12 Moving Forward

Leylin stood in attention as names were called on the podium.

"Leylin Franklin" Came the voice of the general.

And so Leylin marched up to the podium receiving his degree along with his medal.

It had been another year and Leylin was finally graduating from Military Academy. He had of course gotten perfect scores and come first. Thus was bestowed the medal for excellence.

Now all that was left was for him to get his assignment, he would be getting that in a month and had that time free. This was the time most would go back to their families as some might not return.

Soon the ceremony ended and Leylin walked out along with the crowd. He then moved towards the cafeteria.

"It seems you did get the first place," Cornelia said, as she sat there waiting for him.

"Were there any doubts?" Leylin stated as he took off his medal and pocketed it.

"After this much time, no. So you still sure about your decision."

"Yes your highness, if you would allow me"

"I'm sure you know what will happen now. Knowing you you have already done your research."

"Why yes, Mr. Guilford challenged me just last month, I had to explain to him why the delay was needed and that it was not a sign of cowardice"

"Well, you did say no as soon he challenged you"

"Well, it seems he filled you in. Did he mention how I was so afraid of his stature I hid behind the table not even getting up?" Leylin said chuckling.

"I know a biased account when I hear one Leylin. Ughhh at least you have decided on a time."

"It's all thanks to you giving me a chance your highness. I probably would not even be considered otherwise."

"Oh no, you would find a way. I know you enough Leylin, I have to say you are the second smartest person I know. And while I may hate guile in battle, I know that in battle everything that can help is important. That does not mean you can do anything dishonest in the duel."

It took Leylin considerable effort to convince Cornelia of the need for "dishonest" tactics during war. She still believed that such things should not be used during duels and battles, however, had relented on their use in war.

"Please princess, I would never attempt such things against a fellow Britannian," Leylin said as he smiled.

"Yes, well I would suggest not as my brother would be watching. I may consider you the second smarties but he is the smartest."

"Prince Schneizel will be attending?" Leylin asked in genuine confusion.

"Yes, I mentioned you to him and you seemed to have caught his eye."

"I would try not to disappoint," Leylin said as internally he started planning. Prince Schneizel was someone even Leylin knew to be wary of. While it did not seem like he had any physical powers, his intelligence was apparent from the position he held.

At the age of 20, he had already created his own faction that was the largest faction present. Leylin knew of many of its participants and thus knew that to get them together would not only need great skills in negotiation but also a great deal of leverage on the nobles.

With how fast Prince Schneizel was rising it was apparent that he was in line to be the next Emperor. While many other princes and princesses were still not in the public eye, being there first had a natural advantage and Leylin knew that Prince Schneizel would be a runner in the race for power.

Still, once he met Prince Schneizel and got a moel of him he would be able to predict his moves. That was one of the major features his AI chip had as of now. While he used it a lot to get battle suggestions, he could also store the data on a person for the AI chip to run simulations on them and thus predict how a person might react.

He had done something similar with Cornelia. Having known her for two years his AI chip could predict her decisions pretty well. This was not without its pitfalls though. Humans were ever-changing creatures and the simulation itself needed to keep evolving according to what the other person learned.

That was one reason he wanted to become Cornelia's knight as with that he would be able to map her better and thus control her. While Leylin appreciated and respected Cornelia, he knew that to proceed he needed to be able to manipulate her to follow his plans.

"I better start some practicing princess, while we had a live battle in here, he seems to have experience in the battlefield and I would hate to underestimate him," Leylin said as he finished eating.

Cornelia nodded and got up herself.

"I know you will win, but still, best of luck," Cornelia said leaving.

"Thanks, princess" Leylin said and left as well.