Adrian twirled the sword in his hand. He began teaching Prince Yuasa how to hold a sword properly, followed by how to swing it. The movement looked easy. However, when Adrian ordered him to swing the sword one hundred times, everything felt different.
After swinging the sword one hundred times, the unusually pale hand that wasn't used to holding a sword hilt had turned red. It hurt. Several spots were scraped and blistered.
“Does it hurt?” Rosaline asked.
“No, it doesn’t hurt,” Prince Yuasa replied, even though he was actually feeling the sting. He didn’t want to look weak because of a minor injury.
“Use your ability and heal yourself!” Adrian ordered.
Prince Yuasa nodded, then healed the light scratches on his hands caused by swinging the sword. All the pain vanished instantly.
A week passed with the same training regimen, and Prince Yuasa had made progress. At least he could now run five laps before resting, though that was still far from enough to meet the requirements for entering King and Queen Academy.
“Only five laps. Your stamina needs work.” Adrian checked the requirements for passing King and Queen Academy’s physical exam.
“Halfway there. Ten laps minimum.” Prince Yuasa wiped the sweat from his brow, breathing hard as his chest heaved for air, his body stretched out on the ground while he stared up at the sky.
“You’ve made progress. You can do it, Prince,” Rosaline said encouragingly. She sat beside Prince Yuasa as he rested.
“Yeah. Halfway there,” Prince Yuasa replied.
“Will I be able to fight someday? To defend myself against the people who are going to kidnap me?” Prince Yuasa muttered. He realized that his current abilities would only make him a burden.
“I think it’ll take more than a month for that,” Rosaline replied. He would need a lifetime to reach the abilities of a bodyguard. However, Rosaline couldn’t bring herself to tell him the truth.
Prince Yuasa gazed at Rosaline’s red hair and her signature sweet smile, which made him smile with renewed enthusiasm.
“You’re so beautiful, Rosaline. If only I weren’t a yellow crystal. But I’ll prove that yellow crystals can fight too,” Prince Yuasa thought.
“All right, five more laps!” Prince Yuasa shouted, getting to his feet and running again.
“Wow, that’s amazing progress. With a body as fragile as his, it’s incredible. He’s made extraordinary progress for a yellow crystal in just one week,” Adrian said, praising Prince Yuasa.
“Do you think he can run ten laps?” Rosaline asked, looking worried as she watched Prince Yuasa struggle.
“He can. It’ll take time, but little by little, his body will get used to it,” Adrian replied.
Adrian had a year and a half to hone Prince Yuasa’s abilities. In two months, Prince Yuasa successfully ran ten laps. It was an impressive achievement for a yellow crystal.
“I did it! Rosaline, I can do it!” Prince Yuasa shouted after finally completing one of the requirements he would later be tested on: running ten laps around the field. He jumped up and down like an excited child.
Rosaline was so happy that she hugged Prince Yuasa without thinking.
“Congratulations, Prince. You’re amazing!” she exclaimed.
Prince Yuasa’s pale face flushed, the red in his cheeks spreading to his ears and clearly revealing his feelings. Meanwhile, Prince Yuasa paid no attention to his surroundings. He didn’t realize that Adrian had noticed everything.
“Does Prince Yuasa like Rosaline?” Adrian wondered uneasily. Adrian detected a rival and began recalling Rosaline’s behavior. He had sniffed out a potential rival who might steal Rosaline away.