For the next few hours, Gareth read through the book, gaining more knowledge than ever before. His reading was slow as he was only at the rudimentary level; however, he was able to persist.
Over time, it got easier, as he got more engrossed in the book. Gareht would have never imagined that he would find a history book interesting. However, that was the situation he found himself in.
He wanted to continue reading, but just as he glanced up at the clock, he saw that it was only a few minutes till eleven.
With a sigh, he could only close the book and return it to its shelf before going downstairs to train.
Gareth completed his daily lap far more quickly than before. Now that he had become an Ardent, he was able to complete the twenty laps in about twenty minutes.
Honestly, he could have stopped doing these laps a while ago, but he didn't. It had become somewhat of a ritual. A way to warm up his body for the real training that would start.
Now that he was done, and with less than thirty minutes to spare, he decided to begin practicing with his spear.
He went to the weapons rack, and this time, instead of the wooden weapon, he decided to pick up a metal spear. Even though it was metal, it was still blunt, so there was no real danger.
By now, some of the knights had already appeared on the training field. He had been training with these men for a while now, but had never had the opportunity to talk with any of them.
It wasn't as if he was exactly forbidden from speaking with them, but he would be with Commander Donovan for most of the duration of his training, and didn't really have the opportunity to speak to them.
After his training, he would be too tired to socialize, meaning he was unable to have a conversation with any of them.
Now, however, as he started training, a group of knights actively approached him.
"That's not how you thrust, newbie." One of them said in a playful tone. However, Gareth could sense that there was no malice in his tone. Rather, he was actually trying to be helpful.
"Yeah, yeah. You have to use your whole body, not just your arms, dude. If the Commander saw you doing that, he would probably skewer you on that spear."
"Like this?" Gareth asked, changing his form according to their corrections. Immediately, he felt a change in the power he was able to deliver from the spear.
"Yeah, that's better. Now you should be able to deliver more powerful blows." The third man said.
"Thanks for the tip. I'm Gareth, by the way." He said while extending a hand out towards the three men.
"The names Corvin." The man in the middle said, grasping his hand in a firm handshake.
"I'm Bram," said the second guy.
"My name is Trevor," said the third guy. One by one, Gareth shook all three men's hands, grasping each one in a firm handshake.
"So, Gareth. We want to ask you an important question." Corvin said in a somewhat serious tone.
Gareth was still a bit guarded against the three men, seeing as they approached him randomly. Now that they said they wanted to ask him a question, his mind raced at the possibilities.
With a lowered voice, he asked.
"How was it doing it with the Countess?"
Gareth was initially stunned. He had thought they wanted to ask him something important, but it was this topic. However, a question nagged on his mind.
"How did you know?" He asked, genuinely confused about how they figured out his identity as the Countess' lover.
"Come on, man. Everybody in this County knows about the Countess 'hobby'. Suddenly, she shows up one day with you in tow, and asks the Commander to personally train you. It was pretty easy to figure out." Corvin said while letting out a scoff.
"Ah..." Gareth said in realization.
Then with a sly grin, he said.
"Well, sorry to disappoint you guys, but I don't kiss and tell."
"Ah, come on, man. At least give us something."
"Sorry, guys. No can do. However, I will tell you this. However good you think she is, she is better." Gareth said, lowering his voice to a whisper for that last part.
The three men's eyes lit up, and they wanted to urge Gareth for more information, but he didn't budge. Seeing that they couldn't get anything more out of him, they quickly dropped the topic. However, the conversation continued flowing.
Gareth was an easy man to talk with, and in just a few minutes, all four men were laughing together like old friends.
As the four men continued to banter, someone stepped into the training ground. Immediately, he spotted Gareth, and his face morphed into a frown. Seeing him laughing with the knights made him annoyed for some reason.
He stepped towards the four men, drawing their attention. As soon as Gareth saw him, he immediately recognized him. This was the man he saw exiting the Countess' room the night before.
Seeing him on the knight's training ground, a faint premonition entered his mind. Sure enough, he walked towards them.
"Why the hell are you guys talking to this slave?" He asked, his tone filled with condescension. It was obvious he knew about Gareth's status and didn't think anything of him.
"And why the hell is that any of your business, Lloyd?" Corvin retorted, a bit angry at having their conversation interrupted.
"Yeah. Who we talk to doesn't concern you." Bram retorted. Trevor didn't speak, but his face said he agreed with the sentiment of the two.
"You-you-" The man, whose name was already known as Lloyd, was about to retort when Gareth cut him off.
"Come on, cut the guy some slack. I'm sure all of you would be a bit pissed too if the Countess tossed you out of her room because of another man." Gareth said, his tone resembling one of sincerity, but his words were venomous.