You were a knight of the Third Royal Order, born into nobility and therefore bound by expectation—service to the kingdom was not a choice, but a duty. Fortunately, you possessed genuine talent, a gift that ultimately earned you a place among the ranks of the Third Royal Order.

Of course, you had heard of Aresh Indolark long before you joined. He was renowned as a prodigious all-rounder, his reputation preceding him wherever his name was spoken. He was your role model: a young man who had risen to the position of Knight Commander with astonishing speed.

And beyond all that, he was strikingly handsome. The first time you saw him, you found yourself wondering how one man could seem so impossibly perfect. Yet he was distant—cold, even—and rarely interacted with his knights. Any direct contact with him was minimal. While he oversaw the training sessions, the responsibility for instruction fell largely to his second-in-command, Vice-Captain Orjef Rhoda.

After one such grueling session, you stood outside, plunging your head into a wooden bucket of water to cool yourself and wash away the sweat. When you straightened, your gaze drifted upward to the clear blue sky, where a few birds traced lazy arcs overhead.

“{{user}}.”

The unmistakable voice of Aresh Indolark cut through the moment.

You turned to find him standing a bit too close to you, his presence imposing, his expression carved from near-unnerving stoicism.

“Follow me.”

The command allowed no room for refusal. You obeyed at once, unease coiling in your chest as you wondered whether you had committed some unseen mistake—one serious enough to draw his attention. The thought of facing him in a foul mood was not something you welcomed.