The man looked up to her. It felt like a second too long, but the man only looked at her and scratched his head, then, came back to what he was doing as if she was just a passing wind. Her brows slightly furrowed and looked at the content of what he was preparing, in persistent desire to help.
"We only have oats, bread and water… there is no need for your assistance."
The man's voice was flat. There was no enthusiasm in his tone to at least pretend to welcome her. It was as if he wanted her to not involve herself into his business.
A voice came out from the back. It was the Captain of the Saintsknight, Johan. He asked, "Is the princess uncomfortable with anything?" His voice was somewhat cold. Johan approached Elena closer, his eyes passed by her and directed towards the knight who was by the fire.
"I didn't do anything. Her highness was just asking… I did not offend her."
The knight was quick to defend himself as if Johan was already throwing accusations towards him just with his eyes.
Elena quickly coughs to intervene, "Is there anything I can help with?"
Johan quickly swung his eyes towards her, their distance much closer than before, and asked with slightly heightened brows, "No, there is nothing you need to do… it's okay."
The man behind Johan silently laughed as if finding the words of his Captain ridiculous to hear.
"How can we ask the Princess of Ibreotha to prepare our food?"
His voice became dangerously low as if it was a murmur. He stood, the man was tall, almost the same height as Johan, and brushed off the dust off his pants. His charcoal locks and hazel eyes, redden by the reflection of the flame.
By his malicious words, Elena flinched. Time and time, their lives have been endangered due to her father's hostility. How can she be so thoughtless as to think they can trust her with something like that? It was mindless of her.
"Gael Leoz."
Johan covered her like a shield, his broad back against her small figure. Johan clenched his fist as he addressed the knight's by his name.
"...Captain."
Gael, who looked at her with an inch of resentment, was forced to look at Johan. Though the two don't have much difference in height, Elena felt like she was looking at a tiger and a cat. Tiger being Johan and the cat being Gael.
Because he couldn't stand the long and awkwards silence, Gael lowered his gaze, avoiding to meet Johan's eyes. His brows only furrowed in silence, defeat in his eyes. He could not understand why the Captain was trying to protect the daughter of the horrible King-- has the Captain already forgotten what King Stefan has done?
"Please be cautious of what you say to the Princess, Gael."
The man lowered his voice, his large frame still hiding her small fragile figure on the back. Gael could see the hurt in the maiden's face, yet the heavy chunk of bitter feeling he could not get rid of cannot be pushed away. He sighed and sat back down with no further arguments. With flames reflecting on his eyes, Gael recalled Johan's expression when he declared his marriage with King Stefan's daughter.
Void of any emotion, the Leader of the Knight has agreed to the marriage in exchange for the life of one of his comrades. Looking back at it now, Gael couldn't understand how the Captain could start harboring feelings towards the maiden on such pretense. Gael can only suspect one thing-- Aprohdisiac.
For centuries, in the north, Dedum and Ibreotha have been trying to perfect their own version of Aprohdisiac. The drug was highly popular in the West Kingdom of Nealon-- they were greatly dependent on the addicting drug, making them the highest consumer of Aprohdisiac.
Because of Dedum's underdeveloped country, they were at a heavier disadvantage than Ibreotha. With vast natural resources, Ibreotha was in the lead from all four kingdoms. It was also the reason why there were too many territorial disputes when the four Kingdom emerged from the fall of the Probiterra Empire.
The man standing in front of Gael stared at him with cautious eyes, pricking his presence onto him, betraying Gael's belief that he too hated the King for killing his own family… The way the captain protected the maiden was something that irritated Gael. If his assumption is right, then Elena Clarice De Ibreotha should not be trusted.