Raised in Dungeon

"What the hell did Sir Tobias do?! Why did he should say that?!"

The 11th and 12th Princes, Edward and Edmund walked irritably in the castle's corridors. They intended to make Francis the target of their frustration and exhaustion, but after hearing what Tobias said about their duel, they were even more irate.

"SHIT! "I SHOULD HAVE PUNCHED FRANCIS HARDER AGAIN UNTIL HE GIVES UP!" exclaimed Edmund.

Edward trudged along silently, his annoyance bubbling inside of him. It wasn't directed at Tobias, as it had been in the past. This time, he was annoyed because he felt controlled by someone else-his sister. The injustice of it simmered within him, and with each step he took, the atmosphere seemed to thicken, the emotions intensifying.

"Congratulations on your victory. How did it go? Is Francis getting stronger?"

Refusing to be escorted, Edward and Edmund left the castle and went to the rose garden. Their sister was there, and she looked at them both with a smile.

"Your ears are as wide as ever, Sis Alicia. I never told you that Edmund won the match," Edward said.

"Oh? Edmund won it? I didn't know that. "I thought Edward was the one dueling Francis," Alicia exclaimed, surprised.

'Liar,' thought Edward who became even more irritated when he saw Alicia's face, which he thought was feigning shock.

"Where did you start predicting everything from, sis?" asked Edward seriously.

"Eh?! What?! What predictions?" Edmund was confused, not understanding what Edward was talking about.

Edward then explained

"When we got to the castle, who welcomed us home?"

"Sis Alicia."

"Then who told us to go to the training ground to vent our stress?"

"Sis Alicia-"

Edmund then realized what his brother meant.

Edward thought all of their actions from when they arrived at the castle until they met her now were all Alicia's plan. He had been merely following her lead since they first came; he now felt like they had both been dancing in her hands

"First, you told us to come to the training ground to vent our stress. For some reason, Francis happened to be there.

Secondly, when we arrived here, you immediately said 'congratulations' on Edmund's victory, then asked us about Francis. Even though we hadn't said a single word about the duel with Francis, even if you heard about the duel from the waiter, the result wouldn't have reached your ears that quickly because we left the training ground as soon as the duel was over.

You knew that Francis was at the training ground, then you asked us to vent our fatigue at the training ground; somehow, you could speculate that Francis would offer us a duel, and now you eagerly want to hear the result."

Edward's lengthy explanation made Edmund think so, too, while Alicia just chuckled,

"Fufufu, you're overthinking it. I found out about it from a passing waiter. The whitmoon festival is soon, right? The servants often walk here and there."

Edward was getting annoyed; then he said:

"AH! Whatever! You liar!" he turned around and walked away, followed by Edmund behind him.

Seeing the two of them again, Alicia chuckled again.

"My brothers are so cute," she thought.

After that, she returned to her book, thinking about Francis.

"I hope with this, Francis will have some character development." Alicia thought.

...

Francis slept on his bed in the afternoon sunlight that almost filled part of his room. His body was covered in bandages and bruises. He had been given a potion to heal his wounds. Still, the effect of the potion was not instant. The mana in the potion would be dispersed throughout the body after being transported by blood, just like food, so the result of the health potion would be seen at most an hour after taking it, but it only affects minor wounds.

Beside Prince Francis' bed was Sabine sitting on a chair while reading a small book. She repeatedly looked toward Francis to check whether he was awake or not.

But it seemed unnecessary because Francis

"Ah!" woke up with a loud noise. He sat up right away after waking up.

"Your highness! You shouldn't move too much; your wounds have not healed yet."

"What happened to the duel?!" he asked sadly. Sabine stayed quiet, her head bowed. Prince Francis knew he had been defeated, but he still asked, desperately hoping for a different answer.

"I know, after all, I'm the weakest prince," he grumbled.

He had put so much effort into training but still ended up losing. He wondered how he had been beaten so easily.

Sabine looked up at him with a sorrowful expression. She said quietly, "You may have lost the duel, but you have not lost yourself. Remember that. The most important thing is that you never give up," NO, Sabine did not actually say that.

Sabine wanted to comfort him. Like she used to, she had seen the prince grow since childhood.

Prince Francis had carried a heavy burden since he was a child. He was expected to be the same genius as his older siblings, so Sabine always comforted him. Every time he fell, she would pick him up again; every time he slipped, she would help him up; and every time he got lost, Sabine always found the way for him.

Finally, after much thought, Sabine realized that she had been the main reason why the prince was so spoiled and unwilling to listen to others. She had always been there to help him and make his life easier, so of course he had become used to it and expected it. For the prince to learn how to handle his own issues and become a better person, she had to stop comforting him and start being sterner.

Still, it was hard for her to adjust her behavior toward the prince she loved and cared for. But Sabine knew it was for his own good, so she held her ground and forced the prince to learn independently.

"You lost against Prince Edmund. It can't be helped; you are the weakest prince of all."

The prince's face, which was actually looking for some consolation from Sabine, immediately changed.

"Bu-but! I got the applause at the end!"

"Applause?"

"That's right! I got applause because I survived to the end! I didn't give up until the end!"

"That's not an applause for you, but for Prince Edmund who won."

Of course he was aware of that, but he didn't remember the people cheering his name.

Sabine continued,

"Not only that, but you are now injured because of your recklessness in challenging Prince Edmund. Your bones are broken, so you must rest for five days to recover fully. This means you can't even practice dancing, nor can you practice swordplay. Your recklessness and naivety gave you the worst results."

"Sabine, what are you-"

"Right now all you need to do is rest. Don't move too much, and don't go anywhere; you'll only get even worse results if you argue-"

"Sabine!"

Sabine held her mouth, realizing that she had said too much. She then bowed and left the room.

"Take care of yourself, your highness."

Francis felt a wave of frustration wash over him. He had just lost a duel to someone much more skilled than him, and this was a stark reminder of how he was the weakest among his siblings. Sabine who had always been there to comfort him, was now gone, leaving Francis feeling lost and alone in disarray. Francis held his blanket tightly and the tears cascaded down his cheeks as his emotions mixed with anguish and sorrow overwhelmed him. The sound of his cry traveled out of the room and reached Sabine who was still standing outside. She couldn't take it any longer, and soon tears started rolling down her face too. All she could think to do was pray for him and hope he would find the strength he needed to carry himself through this bleak time.

Then the next day, when Sabine came into the prince's room.

He was already awake, standing up while swinging his sword.

"Your Highness! What are you doing?! You should rest!" said Sabine.

"I was just swinging the sword; I asked the healer, and they said swinging a sword would be fine."

"..."

"One more thing. You can start your class as usual; I will try to learn carefully this time."

'What happened to him?' thought Sabine in confusion.

'Whereas he was still down yesterday, he has suddenly turned as usual?'

Sabine approached Prince Francis and pinched his cheek.

"Ow! What are you doing?" prince Francis shouted angrily.

"Oh, sorry. I thought you were a different person,"

"What the hell do you mean by that?!"

"Nothing... it's just, why so sudden?"

Francis stopped swinging his sword. He lowered his head and then said

"I've been thinking about it. Everything that happened yesterday was embarrassing. If it continues like this, I will really become the weakest prince as people say. Therefore, I must try to change."

"Prince..."

"Yes, if possible, I don't want to learn to dance; it's really pointless."

Hearing Sabine's answer, Sabine then thought

'Yeah, he's still the same person,'

Sabine had seemingly remembered every little detail about the prince's life since the day he was born, including a defining moment when he was five. It had been a breezy spring day when the prince, a brave and adventurous soul from the start, had somehow managed to accidentally wander off into the nearby forest and face off against a menacing wild boar. By no fault of his own, the young prince was overcome and left in tears, clinging to Sabine's leg as they made their way home.

However, Sabine never forgot the prince's determination, despite the setback. The prince trained for days to prove his strength, focusing with all his might and eventually overcame the boar. After ten days, the prince proudly returned and presented the boar, who followed with a smiling face, to the amazed Sabine.

'He's always been this kind of person,' Sabine thought.

"Don't talk nonsense; dancing is important too. But because of your current condition, we can't practice dancing," said Sabine.

"Then there is a point to getting injured, hahaha!"

3 days before whitmoon festival begin

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