(From Demetrius''s Perspective)


    That day, I came back at midnight. My wife had fallen asleep in a chair by the window with the cat on herp. It was like she was very peaceful.


    "At least, wrap a nket around yourself. You will catch a cold. You are too careless," I muttered as I wrapped a nket around her.


    The cat woke up the moment I came in. I did not feel good about my wife having a mental connection with this cat out of everything else. I had a mental connection with her as well after our marriage since I made her my mate. But I still did not like her having a connection with this cat much.


    At least, the cat was making her feel good sometimes. So, I decided not to do anything and try not to throw the cat away.


    The oddest thing was that the cat liked me for some reason even though I did not like it at all. The cat touched my hand with her paw while meowing. She had scratched me once before though. It did not matter since she was good to my wife. That was enough.


    "Why do you keep on touching me? Honestly..."


    I picked the cat up and held it in front of me. Blue was right. She had eyes like green sapphires. They shone brightly in the moonlight.


    "Well, you are not ugly and you behave quite well as well. But that doesn''t mean I like you," I said and the cat meowed.


    I ced the cat in her small bed that was in front of the chair beside the window. Then I went to wash my hands. After I came back, I found my wife sleeping just like before.


    "You are working really hard these days. I am worried in case you are pushing yourself too hard," I mumbled as I carried her to bed.


    There was the sudden news of a group of rebellions. The duke sent me a letter that he had caught a few young boys who were making a fuss in the market area and trying to get people against the current rulers, me and Blue. It was not much of a thing since this kind of thing was verymon. But the duke''s people found out that they had a connection with Lacuna.


    Even my spies said the same thing that Lacuna was perhaps trying to get the people of Querencia against us and then start a war.


    It was very sudden. It was kind of like someone was luring the King of Lacuna from behind so he would go against Querencia suddenly. Even after knowing that our force was stronger than Lacuna, he was going this far. He was either being an idiot, or he had some other n.


    "Huh..."


    I looked down at my wife who made a small noise in her sleep and started moving a bit. I touched her forehead with my palm.


    ''Is she having a nightmare or something? It''s not rare. Even I have weird dreams these days as well. They can''t be called dreams at all. They are like nightmares. She leaving me is like a nightmare.''


    "It''s alright, baby. I am here. I am with you. So, don''t worry and sleep. I will drive your nightmares away. If that guy appeared in your dream again, just grab his neck and smash his head against the floor or something.


    He is pissing me off, that damn guy!"


    "Dem..."


    "Yes?"


    "Mm... I don''t want to leave you."


    My heart clenched. I gritted my teeth and asked, "Why are you saying this? You don''t have to leave me in the first ce. I don''t want you to leave me."


    ''I won''t let you leave me.''


    "I love you..."


    "Me too. I love you too," I said and kissed her on the forehead. She was sleep-talking again. It was after a long time that she sleep-talked again.


    She had gone quiet all of a sudden and just when I thought she was sleeping soundly again, she suddenly got up.


    "What the...? Don''t get up so hastily, you will get a bad headache... You already got it, right?"


    She pouted and looked at me. It was more like a re. Just as always, she looked very cute when she was angry.


    "I told you to have an exnation ready for me about Calix," she said. Check back at m-v le-mpyr for more


    I thought she had forgotten about it. So, I did not bring it up either. I still did not understand why she was behaving that way about it.


    "You are the one who did not ask me again."


    "Aftering back yesterday, I had lunch and then you did not give me any time to do anything else. Then I met again when we went on a date. We were having a good time, so I forgot about it. At night, it was the same as every other night. I could not meet you this morning since you went to train your knights and after that, I went to practice. Now, I am meeting you for the first time today," she said.


    "That''s why I could not ask you. You didn''t mention it either. Well, it''s alright. Now tell me. Why did you do this?"


    "Do what? Appoint him as a knight?"


    "Yes. He is sixteen, Dem. He is a kid."


    "He is an extraordinary swords-master," I pointed out. "It would be a waste to leave his talent just as it is without helping him use it."


    "... You don''t understand. I did not say that you should have left his talent just like that. Of course, that was not going to happen. He should still be training. No matter how good he is at wielding a sword, it''s not okay for him to be an official knight at this age.


    He has been to wars before, right?"


    "That''s where I found him."


    "Perita told me. Thew says that only after eighteen, does one be fit to be a knight."


    "I am the King. I can easily make an exception."


    She sighed and touched my face gently with her palm. "Honey, you don''t understand. Alright, let me tell you this," she said calmly. "Most people do not mature before eighteen. Even after eighteen, some people do not mature. In any case, it doesn''t matter if the person has matured or not, sixteen is the age for teenagers.


    It''s not a time when they should join wars. I understand that he is very blessed in swordsmanship. But it is no reason for him to be a knight. His mentality is still the mentality of sixteen years old. If it''s not, then it means his mind is ruined. It''s not alright.


    For him to grow up as a fine man, he needs to cherish his life ording to his age."


    "You understand what it means to face something you are not supposed to at an early age?" she asked, looking deep into my eyes.


    "I do...," I mumbled.


    "It affects your mentality. Your past did affect your mentality. Your insecurity, nature- your past yed a huge part in it. No one deserves to have a bad childhood. At least, until they grow up, one should have a good life. After that, they can decide what they want to do with their life.


    Kids can skip grades because they are extraordinary. But it''s different for Calix''s case. Skipping grades doesn''t involve the kids with blood, and violence, right? That''s why I oppose your decision to make Calix a knight. I know it''s toote to change it. But you can still do something if you are willing to."


    After she told me, I understood why she did not like my decision. I did not think about anything like this. I saw that he was very good at fighting, so I made him a knight. If I knew that it would disappoint my wife, I would not have done it.


    "What can I do?" I asked.


    ''It''s fine. If it''s for her, I will do anything. Though I still don''t think it''s too wrong, I will just listen to her. It will make her feel better.''


    "Even if there is a war anytime, don''t let Calix join until he is eighteen. Unless it''s an emergency, don''t let him join. He can still be a knight and don''t let him know that you decided this. It will hurt his feelings. He will still be a knight, but won''t join any war. One person won''t make much of a difference, right?"


    "It can be done," I said.


    "Good. And also, promise me that there won''t be any more exceptions. If someone is too good at swordsmanship, they will still be practicing. Only after they are eighteen, they can be a knight. Promise me this."


    "Alright, I promise," I said, holding her hand. "There won''t be any more exceptions."