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342. Childhood Friends – Royal Knights

“I shall return safely.”

A few days later, Prince Eric de Yeriel embarked on his journey.

His parting words didn’t include a promise to come back, and a modest procession left Rutina. Concubine Nedostia personally boarded the carriage to send her son off.

Prince Eric was on his way to meet Princess Elika de Isadora, heading toward the capital of Aisel Kingdom. Reb hoped for a harmonious trip, but for various reasons, that seemed impossible.

“They’ll be eating inside.”

“…Understood. Please inform the chef to set the table.”

Eric’s demeanor was gloomy. At first, it seemed like determination, but he remained cooped up in the carriage, making the mood of the procession darken by the minute.

“Yes, Captain of the Guard.”

Despite the simple arrangements, being a prince of a country meant the procession included over seventy people, and Reb was the captain overseeing them.

There were eight coachmen, five handmaidens assigned to the prince, the chamberlain, two personal attendants, and forty-five royal knights in total.

Naturally, there were several knights as well. Reb was not the only royal guard.

Four royal knights, two additional knights summoned from the knights order, and six squires assisting them.

Counting the numbers, that made seventy-three, and adding Reb and Leah wrapped up the headcount.

Not an easy task.

Thanks to this, Reb was spending his days not harmoniously, but rather frantically trying to keep everything in order. A comment from Lean flashed through his mind.

– “To meet the king, you need a title. Hang in there.”

Even if it wasn’t specifically Lean’s persuasion and recommendation, it was still a problem that needed sorting out.

Reb was a commoner, and for a commoner to meet a king, one usually needed more than just basic means. It was as if Lean was filling that gap for him.

Reb expressed inward gratitude while urging the soldiers to prepare their meals. The prince could eat on the carriage, but the soldiers couldn’t do the same.

“Knights, you should eat too.”

“Sure thing. Joen, good job.”

“Reb, yours is here.”

“Thanks. You should sit down too.”

“I already ate. Anyway…”

The soldiers received their rations and sat down haphazardly on the ground while the knights gathered around a wooden table.

The squires, busy serving their respective knights, hurriedly brought a tray from Leah to Reb.

On the thin porcelain plate was white bread, covered in a thick soybean soup. White bread, huh? Quite a lavish meal.

The royal guards were cutting the wet white bread to eat, and even though they were sitting on the ground, they had to have at least this much since they belonged to the royal family.

The whiteness of this bread was the pride of the royal guards, something envied by the defenders of Rutina. Of course, knights had a few additional dishes served to the prince.

Clink-clank— yum yum.

A gust of wind blew. As Reb was eating, he lifted his head to glance at the lined-up carriages, the empty fields from the harvest, and soldiers scattered about eating.

The wind was a southwesterly breeze, commonly known in Conrad Kingdom as the “Companion Trade Wind,” pushing us toward the Aisel Kingdom.

That wouldn’t make the carriage go faster, though… As Reb looked northeast, Leah caught his eye.

Leah wasn’t a handmaiden but was using a carriage alongside them. She must’ve gotten to eat first since she was working during meal times, now staring blankly toward the west. Her hair danced in the southwestern wind, and her cheeks looked just as beautiful. Random, but still.

“Leah.”

“Why?”

“…Nothing.”

“Boring.”

Leah smiled just like she always did. Like brushy foliage flourishing in the forest. Reb, gathering his courage after a long time, wanted to tell her she was ‘pretty’ but was interrupted by Jenia Jaqueri.

“I heard you are from the Orun Kingdom, Reb. May I ask which area you lived in?”

“I lived in a village at the foot of the Lognum Mountain range, near our Conrad Kingdom… Sir Jenia, do you know much about the Orun Kingdom?”

“I’ve been there before. Is it near the territory of Duke Gaidan?”

“Exactly. I heard you worked as a mercenary there, so you must have visited it then.”

Jenia smiled and twisted her wrist, seemingly used to it. As much as Reb knew about her, he chose to steer clear of dangerous topics and kept the idle chatter going.

To be honest, there was nothing remarkable about the small talk. It was just that this was the first time Jenia initiated a conversation with Reb, and that held some meaning.

A young man, who was as fresh as spring grass, had surprisingly taken over the captaincy.

Not by any formal process, mind you, but as a mere recommendation from Prince Lean de Yeriel, which made Reb endure suspicious glances.

However, in the past few days, Reb had led the procession well, and its success was spilling out in Jenia’s idle chatter. Other knights seemed to share that sentiment and actively joined in.

“Lognum Mountain range… I heard there are many barbarians there, are you one of them, Reb?”

“Neil!! I’m sorry, Captain. This guy doesn’t think before he speaks.”

“Ah, what’s the big deal about barbarians? The way you say it makes it sound weirder. I don’t discriminate against them.”

Neil and Wendy were a couple of royal knights.

Even though they were a bit older, Neil still had a playful expression, while Wendy hadn’t lost her beauty.

Another royal knight nearby, Barin, laughed at their banter but received a sharp glare from Neil. A silver ring was on his left hand.

“Haha. It’s alright. My father is of barbarian descent, but he’s been naturalized for a long time now.”

“Oh, I see. Is your father a great warrior then? I heard from Bart that he’s incredibly strong.”

“Ah… Is Sir Bart okay?”

He definitely took a solid hit. I could feel the weight transferring from his hips to his knees, then feet and finally hitting his neck.

Neil laughed heartily.

“Bart is fine. Honestly, he had it coming. With two sons and now enjoying being a grandfather, he’s been half-involved with work lately. Jenia, you know, right? He got disciplined alongside someone from the knights order. Was it Alvin?”

“…He’s pretty well-known. Not from our knights order though. He’s from the Third Knights Order.”

As Jenia subtly drew the line, the knights burst into laughter. If someone from the Third Knights Order had heard that, they would have been quite offended, but luckily, none were present.

“Shh. Don’t laugh too loudly.”

“Oh no! Why is the prince acting like that… Ah!”

Wendy’s arm had multiple muscles bulging. She pinched her husband’s belly as the topic switched.

“By the way, what’s the relationship between you and this young lady, Reb? I understand she’s nominally your handmaiden, but it doesn’t seem like it at all.”

“We’re…”

“We’re childhood friends. We’re going to get married.”

Leah answered straightforwardly. The concise and bold reply made the middle-aged female knight chuckle lightly.

“Ah, that explains it. The way the captain looks at the young lady isn’t ordinary. Are you engaged? I mean, he said there’s no need for a formal engagement since they’re getting married anyway…”

“Now that’s a pointless remark… And isn’t that correct? If you’re getting married anyway. Barin, isn’t that right?”

“I was engaged before marriage.”

“See? What was it like when you got engaged? Even if you’re going to marry anyway, doesn’t it feel different? Isn’t it nice?”

“It was.”

Barin was stoic and didn’t continue the conversation. This exemplary knight began gathering the dishes, spurring the squires into action.

The squires quickly cleared away the empty dishes, and if anything had been left at the table, they might have talked more, but the mood didn’t allow for it. Neil suggested they should have a sparring session with Reb as the wooden table was carried back into the carriage. The royal guards also seemed to sense that their break time was coming to an end and began to rise.

“We’ll set off as soon as the prince finishes his meal. And chef, stop slacking off. The soldiers need to do their duty.”

Due to the limited food that could be prepared on the road, they had brought along a royal guard who could cook decently.

Reb pointed out the chef’s negligence while arranging the procession, and at last, indicated to the banner bearer to raise the flags.

Swaying a bit. This procession, which was finally moving calmly again, would take several months to arrive at the capital of the magical kingdom, Ofrantis.

They would stop at villages along the way to restock supplies and occasionally visit lord’s castles. In a journey that wasn’t much different from yesterday and today, something worth noting happened when the wind changed direction. Winter. The chilly breeze tickled our left ears.

*

“Prince. We have arrived at the gate.”

There’s usually a village in front of the gate.

Not just a trade hub, but with many merchants passing by, warehouses lined the streets, and due to the heavy foot traffic, the lodging businesses thrived. Such villages typically wished to be called the ‘last’ stop.

Anyway, upon reaching this village, the prince’s procession (of course) received a warm welcome and briefly halted to check their schedule.

After all, the prince was crossing into foreign lands, which meant plenty of matters needed handling.

Preparations on the other side should also be set, and they had to notify about the passage of seven knights and dozens of royal guards in advance.

Not something to be peddled through the village guard, so the so-called gatekeeper, the official, was called down.

However, while the gatekeeper waited in front of the carriage with a bow, Prince Eric seemed lost in thought. The silence stretched for so long that Reb thought,

‘Surely, he’s not thinking about turning back?’

It was an absurd worry. After long waiting, the words from the prince were thankfully not about turning back.

“I will postpone the crossing by a bit. I shall pass through precisely four days from now, so ensure that there are no issues with the gatekeeper.”

“Your grace, thank you.”

It seemed he was allowing ample time for the task. But not two, nor three, but four days? Reb thought that was excessive, but this was just the beginning of Prince Eric’s peculiar antics.

“Hand me my sword.”

Behind the entire rented lodging, Prince Eric began swinging his sword.

As far as Reb knew, he didn’t know how to wield a sword and had never showcased it until now, only exuding his power as Oriax’s envoy.

Was this different this time? Reb watched with curiosity, but…

“It’s the second day. Shouldn’t we stop him?”

“Not sure…”

It was just as terrible as expected. The sword was being swung recklessly and was incredibly dangerous.

That wasn’t practice; Eric was sweating unnecessarily. At this rate, it was an accident waiting to happen, so Reb had Leah stand nearby. Jenia Jaqueri also chimed in from the side.

“I don’t know why he’s doing that.”

“…”

Reb didn’t respond.

He had no way of knowing why Eric was acting like this, but he had experienced something similar before. At some point, Reb had swung a sword in a similar fit of rage.

– “Damn it! What should I do! How should I… Arrrrgh!!”

It was a time when the sky felt resentful and darkness loomed just a step ahead.

Recalling that pain, Reb stepped forward holding a sword. Eric looked at Reb with bloodshot eyes.

“If you want…”

“…Thank you.”

What followed was not a spar.

Eric relentlessly pushed Reb, who effortlessly met Eric’s clumsy strikes with clang! clang! and sent him stumbling back.

[ Leo, you engaged in a fierce battle with the Swordmaster. For this achievement, you receive the {Swordsmanship.4v: Jacobryu (流)} ability.]

Even though Eric’s swings weren’t very strong, strangely, the sword began to crack little by little until it finally shattered. Eric was in shock for a moment, then broke into a relieved smile.

And two days later, Prince Eric crossed the border. Reb couldn’t understand why he was acting this way, but he could faintly guess.

With the birth of Lean and Reriana, Prince Eric and Concubine Nedostia had been pushed to the back room. Now, with Oriax gone, it seemed the unresolved sense of loss was surfacing.

In the eastern part welcoming winter, the marshes of Aisel Kingdom greeted the prince’s party.