The Perfect Knight and the Illusionist (BL)
Chapter 2: Leo

Chapter 2: Leo

LEO

I sat on the edge of the chair. I was fidgeting. I was sure Mom could tell I was hiding something, but being the kind soul she was, she was probably just letting me off.

Dad was talking loud. Some silly joke he heard at work from his colleague. I normally liked hearing his jokes, but I was too nervous today.

I really, REALLY didn’t expect that I would actually be accepted to the Royal Knights Academy.

It all started with me, thoughtlessly, helping a traveler from the capital about a year ago. Mom and Dad always told me I should be kind to strangers in need. "A small good deed done today is better than a grand plan for the future," they always said.

I didn’t think much of it back then. Just a simple magic.

It was a little secret only between Dad and Mom and me, but I could use magic. Probably the only one in the village.

We didn’t know how or why, but mostly, the main question was ’what is it good for anyway?’

My magic didn’t help with farming. It didn’t help lift heavy things.

And heck, I wasn’t even very good at it.

And Dad told me not to do it without permission, which was like almost never, except when we celebrated birthdays and stuff. A little party trick I sometimes wished I could show off to my friends during festivals but had been a good boy to keep secret.

But that one time, the man needed help. If I didn’t do it, he might have gotten caught by the bandits and gotten hurt.

So I just performed simple magic to help him get out of a sticky situation. Nothing big.

But the man was very impressed. Overly so.

He said he worked at the Royal Knights Academy and if I was interested, he could help me enroll. All I had to do was apply and he’d put in a good word for me during the application review.

Wasn’t that like... abusing connections?

I felt iffy about it. But the man said it was fine, maybe even well-deserved.

A boy of my ’talent’ (what talent?!) deserved a chance, he said.

I can’t say I wasn’t a little flattered, though.

Then I forgot about it for a long time. It was only after overhearing Mom and Dad lamenting our money issues one night that I decided maybe—just maybe—I would give it a go. A Royal Knight was supposed to earn good pay. Much, MUCH more than my dad could earn for sure (although I knew neither how much my Dad earned nor how much a Royal Knight earned).

Then I received a letter this morning while I was sweeping the yard. Mom had gone to visit Grandma, who had been complaining about a cough recently, and Dad was doing his usual thing at his workshop.

An acceptance letter.

From the Royal Knights Academy.

I had been literally sitting on it for the past few hours trying to find the right moment to break the news.

"Leo," Dad suddenly called out to me as I was lost in my thoughts.

"Yeek!"

I yelped.

"So what are you hiding?" he asked me, winking.

He knew.

Of course, he knew.

I was a horrible liar and they knew me too well.

Mom placed a hand on my shoulder as if to tell me it was okay for me to say whatever I had on my heart.

"Er... I... I..."

I could feel my cheeks getting hot. I hated that my body just randomly decided to blush at times.

Mom patted my back, encouraging me.

Geez. They were still treating me like a child...

But... isn’t becoming a Royal Knight something cool? Something to be proud of?

I was sure they’d be happy.

IF I could really become a Royal Knight, that was.

I may not be the smartest boy in the village, but I wasn’t naive enough to think that just entering the Academy would guarantee that I’d become a Knight. I was sure it’d involve a lot of tough training. I’d have to ’man up.’ One thing I’d always been miserably bad at.

"Leo, dear—It’s okay if you don’t want to—"

"I’M GOING TO BE A ROYAL KNIGHT!"

I ended up yelling, cutting Mom off.

Mom and Dad paused, looked at each other, and smiled.

"Maybe someday, Leo," Mom said, encouragingly.

"You better bulk up a little first, Leo," Dad said, laughing.

I sighed.

I knew it.

How could I expect them to believe me?

But now that I had gotten the first words out, there was no going back.

I pulled out the letter from under my bum and handed it over to Dad.

He looked puzzled, said nothing, then opened it.

He read it a few times, even took out his glasses to examine it closely, then handed the letter over to Mom. Mom looked at it carefully as well, then they looked at each other, then Dad said in a somewhat stern voice,

"Leo, forgery is a crime."

God... I hate myself.