Second Arc (His Art of War) - 139. The Elite Soldier and The Princess I
The sun began to show itself on the eastern horizon. Dim sunlight began to illuminate the sky above Ecrin Village. The cold night air gradually replaced with the warmth of the sun. The villagers started to wake up and come out of their small houses one by one to complete their important task which had not been completed last night, they had to bury the rebels' remaining ashes. The women did what they used to do every morning as they tried to erase last night's bad experience from their minds. The others went around the village to check if there were any corpses and traces of blood left behind. The rest were watching from the watchtower to make sure their village was safe from monsters since they didn't dare to open the gate before making sure their village was safe.
Several villagers, who walked to fetch water from the well to fill big clay jars in front of their houses, turned to a small house, looking at a man and woman who was sitting and fell asleep in front of the house covered in blankets. Some of the villagers felt guilty since they recognized that both of them were their saviours as well as one of them was a royal family's member who shouldn't sleep in such a place.
"I don't understand. Why did Jyne let Her Highness sleep outside?" whispered one of the villager women to the person beside her. Her hands were busy drawing water from the well, but her eyes were staring at Angel and Rose from a distance.
"I don't know. But Jyne is not a rude person. Maybe Her Highness decided to sleep outside to accompany that soldier," whispered another.
"Did something happen between them?" Their eyes were on Angel and Rose. Even though Rose fell asleep on Angel's shoulder, his head did not rest on her, but on the wall behind him, it showed they weren't a couple.
"Is that Euphorion Soldier who didn't let Her Highness get too far from him?" guessed another. Seeing the Euphorion soldier's presence, even though they were in a small village, of course, they realized that something had happened in the capital. But since they were still unsure of what happened, they didn't dare to take any action nor asked. After all, Angel had saved their village.
"I think we should wake them up," said another. It would be inappropriate for a princess to sleep by the side of a soldier anyway. And they had to protect their princess's reputation like she protected their village yesterday.
Meanwhile, the villagers' noise and the dim sunlight woke Angel from his sleep. As his eyes opened, a sight of the reddish dawn sky entered his vision. Pausing for a moment, his thoughts reminded him that he'd spent the night in a small village. He took a deep breath to inhale the fresh morning air, letting the wood smell mingled with the fresh dewy smell greet his nose as he shook off the chill that was biting his skin. Then he lifted his head from the wall behind him and turned to his heavy shoulder.
At his side, Rose was still fast asleep, she didn't even realize it was morning. Even though this was not the best place to sleep and rest, Angel somehow felt so peaceful in this place. Especially since he had led wars and been involved in the political battle lately. A faint smile began to appear on his lips as his eyes fixed on Rose's face.
'It's been a long time since I felt this way.' He knew this was a good opportunity to take Rose with his teleport skill. But his heart refused. Somehow he wanted to spend more time with her a little longer before he returned to his duties as king. Because only with this, Rose could treat him not as the king of the enemy kingdom, Likewise with him ... He could act as himself without having to consider the risk of his actions.
The sound of careful footsteps from before him took his attention to the villagers who were trying to approach him in hesitation.
"Excuse me, sir," said one of them in a low voice.
He turned to them. His index finger pressed against his lips, asking them to be quiet. Then he nodded politely and waved his hand out, indicating he understood and asked them to leave. The villagers glanced at each other before finally nodding their heads and leaving in doubt. Occasionally, they turned, their eyes looked at Angel and Rose, but judging from Angel's gesture, they could catch Angel didn't mean anything bad to Rose. It was just their curiosity that kept bothering them, especially why the one who accompanied the princess was a Euphorion soldier, not a Zephyrus.
The door at Angel's side opened, Jyne came out of there with a pale face since she didn't find Rose by her side and turned to Angel and Rose.
"Ah! Your High ---"
Again, Angel turned to Jyne and put his index finger on her lips, asking her to be quiet.
Jyne pressed her lips. She was too tired last night and fell asleep after she lay on her bed. That's why she was so shocked when she found Rose not on her side, let alone the mat on her side was neat like there was no trace of someone sleeping there.
"Umm ..." A slight groan escaped Rose's mouth as she began to open her eyes. The village scene with the dim dawn sun entered her vision. As her eyes caught the sight of several villagers walking away and occasionally staring at her, it struck her that the place she was leaning on was a person.
Quickly, she pulled her body away and turned to Angel in a panic.
"Good Morning, Your Highness," said Angel calmly with a nod.
"Um ... Good Morning, Rai," replied Rose awkwardly. Her mind returned to last night's events as she tried to find out why she fell asleep here.
"G-Good Morning, Your Highness," said Jyne. Even though she didn't know why Rose ended up sleeping outside, guilt still tickled her heart.
Rose turned to Jyne.
"Good morning, Jyne," she replied. Then she stood awkwardly, holding back her embarrassment. Her hands folded the blanket. She remembered that she decided to have a chat with Angel last night, but she ended up falling asleep because she was too tired.
Angel took his sword and got up. After he tucked his sword into his belt, his hands folded the blanket in his hands.
"Do you want to leave now?" asked Angel.
"Wait, you can't leave just like that. At least you have to have breakfast first," said Jyne quickly. Her hands took the blankets from Angel and Rose's hands.
"It's fine, we don't want to trouble you," said Angel.
"Rai is right. Besides, I'm not hungry yet," said Rose. This was a small village, she felt bad if she took the villagers' food. Besides, she wanted to leave immediately since Jyne had caught her sleeping with Angel.
"I have a few slices of bread. At least you should eat before you go," said Jyne.
"It's fine. I'll eat in Fortaare Town later," said Rose. Then without waiting for Jyne's reply, Rose turned to Angel without looking at him, awkwardly.
"I'll check on the boy's father. Please prepare the horses for us." Then without saying anything else, she left.
A smile appeared on Angel's lips after he saw Rose's attitude. Then he turned to Jyne.
"I think this is a goodbye. Take care of yourself, Your Highness," he said with a nod.
"Take care, Sir Rai," replied Jyne.
Then he left.