Regaleon: The Forgotten Knight

Maverick waited alongside Cedric in companionable silence, his attention fixed upon the youths training within the arena.

From where he stood, he watched Instructor Aegon give a slow nod after Maven finished speaking. The veteran knight folded his arms behind his back before raising one hand toward the trainees. His commanding gesture immediately drew everyone’s attention.

The youths who had been immersed in their respective exercises gradually brought their training to a halt.

Those engaged in sword sparring disengaged before lowering their practice blades. Those refining one technique or another completed their final forms before stepping neatly into disciplined ranks.

Years of rigorous instruction became immediately evident as every movement was executed with remarkable order and precision, and within moments, the once-resounding training arena became noticeably quieter.

Only the rhythmic clatter of wooden weapons being returned to their racks and the occasional exhalation of weary breaths lingered in the air.

After ensuring that everyone had stopped, Instructor Aegon began to address them with a few brief words.

Though Maverick stood too far away to discern the conversation clearly, he could easily infer its general contents from the expressions spreading across the youths’ faces.

Several instinctively turned toward Maven before shifting their attention to Cedric standing some distance away. Curiosity gradually replaced the intense concentration that had occupied their expressions only moments earlier as they wondered what was happening.

Once Instructor Aegon finished speaking, Maven stepped forward and continued the explanation. From time to time, he gestured toward Cedric before pointing at Maverick, prompting several youths to exchange glances of contemplation among themselves. A few even leaned toward one another, whispering quietly.

Only after explaining the purpose of Cedric’s visit and Maverick’s introduction did Maven turn back toward Instructor Aegon, who responded with another approving nod. Receiving what appeared to be permission, Maven turned around before leading the group toward Cedric and Maverick.

Then within moments, nearly a dozen youths stood before them.

Although each differed in stature, temperament, and bearing, they all shared the unmistakable characteristics of House Valehart’s bloodline, and that alone was enough to distinguish them from the ordinary trainees occupying the outer training grounds.

The instant they arrived, almost every one of them offered Cedric a respectful greeting.

"Young Lord."

Only a select few, including Maven, addressed him simply by his name, likely due to the familiarity they had developed over years of training together.

From Maverick’s perspective, however, it all seemed to reflect an unspoken hierarchical stratification carefully observed among the younger generation.

Actually, this did not surprise him one bit. After all, equality rarely existed where noble succession and lineage were concerned, and nowhere was that more apparent than within the Great Houses.

Cedric acknowledged each greeting with a faint nod before stepping slightly forward.

"Everyone..." He began. "I apologize if I’ve interrupted your training. Please accept my apologies."

His voice carried an unmistakable undercurrent of courteous sincerity when he said those words.

"There is no need to apologize, Young Lord." A voice replied almost immediately.

The speaker was a lean youth with slightly messy golden hair and an easygoing smile. He stepped forward slightly before adding.

"It’s actually a good thing you showed up when you did. If you hadn’t, Instructor Aegon was just about to double today’s endurance drills, and honestly, I don’t think any of us would’ve survived that."

A girl with her golden hair tied neatly into a high ponytail immediately rolled her eyes.

"Of course you’d think the training is unbearable." She said dryly. "Because you’re the laziest person among us, Tristan."

The moment those words left her lips, the entire group burst into laughter. Even Cedric found himself smiling faintly.

Through the laughter, another youth folded his arms before adding with a smirk.

"That’s exactly the problem, Elena. Everyone knows Tristan treats hard work like it’s his mortal enemy. So asking Instructor Aegon to increase the intensity of training is practically the same as adding to his lifelong suffering."

That remark only ignited another round of laughter amongst the youths.

However, throughout this lively exchange, Maverick himself remained silent. Rather than interrupting, he simply observed and what he witnessed left him genuinely impressed.

Despite the obvious hierarchical stratification existing among them, there remained an unmistakable sense of camaraderie and mutual respect.

They teased one another freely, laughed without restraint, and conversed with an ease that could only be born from years of growing, training, and overcoming hardships together.

This was an unmistakable sign that the relationships within this generation of House Valehart were remarkably healthy. And honestly, for a noble house, such harmony was rather surprising.

The reason for his surprise is not far-fetched as it was exceedingly rare to find a noble family whose younger generation interacted with one another with such unfeigned camaraderie.

Noble Houses were renowned for one thing above all else... Their relentless rivalry.

Competition over succession, prestige, resources, influence, and recognition often fostered jealousy, division, and internal discord. In many noble families, cousins or siblings were raised as rivals long before they were ever regarded as kin.

Yet, House Valehart’s younger generation appeared refreshingly different.

Whether that harmony was genuine or merely superficial, however, only time would tell.

Besides the unmistakable camaraderie shared among the youths, Maverick also found himself quietly evaluating their individual abilities.

It was obvious that the overwhelming majority of them had already awakened their Soul Essences as indicated by the subtle Aetheric aura radiating from them. As for the Tiers of those Soul Essences, he had no way of knowing.

What truly intrigued him, however, was something else entirely.

Most of them stood on the verge of crossing the threshold from ordinary Awakeners into true Etheryeans.

As for Maven, the broad-shouldered youth who had first noticed Cedric’s arrival, he had already stepped into the Initial Stage of Rank One Etheryean, placing him on equal footing with both Cedric and Maverick.

And that realization surprised him.

This is because such cultivation at their age spoke volumes about the intensity and methodical rigor with which House Valehart nurtured its younger generation.

Honestly, everything Maverick had witnessed thus far had undoubtedly earned his admiration. But whether House Valehart would continue to exceed his expectations, that remained to be seen...