Rowena walked towards Sir Cedric, the more she walked towards him Sir Cedric walked backwards away from her.
Rowena bowed half of her body like a noble's woman when she was about to greet a male noble. "Greetings to you, Young Duke Litchbell."
That little thing Rowena did brought back Sir Cedric's memories of when he was ten years old. At that time he and his father went to the Edelle Kingdom as representatives of the Sunverro Kingdom to discuss the cooperation between the two kingdoms.
Cedric once got lost while in the gardens of Edelle's vast palace. It was there that he first met a little girl who was about four years younger than him. The girl had long fiery red hair and sapphire blue eyes.
The girl smiled sweetly and greeted Cedric very politely. The girl's manners really need four thumbs up because they are perfect. All things about the little girl are always remembered by Cedric, because little Cedric had promised to propose to her when she grew up.
"Princess Rowena Odelette de Edelle? Is that really you?" asked Sir Cedric who still wanted to be sure, because he was very sure that the little girl in his memory had a very different nature from the woman in front of him now.
Rowena gave a warm smile. "I'm glad you still remember me."
"What? Is this real? Why are you here, Princess Rowena?" asked Sir Cedric who seemed to be starting to get a little flustered.
Rowena put her right hand on Sir Cedric's shoulder and started walking on their way looking for firewood. "Hey, I'm no longer a princess. Now I'm just a commoner who became the first female knight in the entire continent named Rowena Ernest."
"What exactly happened while I was back in Sunverro?" asked Sir Cedric.
"A few years after you left Edelle, my mother was killed by that evil queen. I think you'll understand what happened next," Rowena said with a smile.
Sir Cedric took a deep breath and said, "If I had known you would end up like this, I should have taken you away from Edelle a long time ago."
"Stop regretting like that. If you took me away from there, I also wouldn't want to. After all, let's let it go," said Rowena, picking up firewood on the ground.
Sir Cedric turned to Rowena and looked at the woman's blue eyes seriously. "You mean you want to live a quiet life as a knight?"
"Huh? Do you think I'd think that? Of course not. I'll be returning in a few years to Edelle as their worst nightmare."
"I still can't believe the cute and sweet little girl I've ever met has now grown up to be such a cruel and ruthless woman," lamented Sir Cedric.
Rowena smiled again at Sir Cedric's complaint against her. "Inevitably you have to accept me now as a friend for who I am."
Sir Cedric took some of the firewood that Rowena had brought. "Of course. If you're having trouble don't hesitate to ask me for help. I'll always be there for you anytime."
"Well, I'm so glad to hear that. Besides, I hope you don't tell anyone about me, Sir Cedric. I don't want Edelle to hear about my living me."
"Then I will assume this is a secret between the two of us."
After feeling that they had gathered enough firewood, the two of them decided to return to the tent. They reminisce together about their childhood when they first met. Unconsciously, they had arrived at the tent. Sir Damian and Prince Helios were briefly surprised to see the closeness of the two people. Even though when they set out to look for firewood, the two of them looked awkward with each other.
"Hey, what happened between you two?" asked Sir Damian bluntly.
"What do you mean, Damian?" asked Sir Cedric sulkily.
"I mean didn't you previously think of Rowena as a sworn enemy just because of Helios uh I mean His Highness Prince Helios made him who is an enemy knight a knight of our kingdom. But look now, from the look in your eyes on him it's like a grown man staring at the girl he had loved for a long time," explained Sir Damian.
Boom. Sir Damian's words were spot on. Sir Cedric's ears turned red when he heard that which indicated that he was embarrassed. Prince Helios seemed to have noticed that there was something odd about Sir Cedric, but he preferred to ignore it altogether.
Sun was breaking in the east. The four of them resumed their journey after finishing cleaning up their tents. After seven hours of traveling, they finally arrived at Duchy Ellien.
For a while they stayed at the castle Terania. Their arrival there was warmly welcomed by the servants and other subordinates. Several maids who saw Rowena's arrival immediately pulled her to take a bath and make up because the people there misunderstood thinking Rowena was a woman belonging to Prince Helios.
Luckily Rowena was patient and kind at the time, otherwise surely now the condition of the maids who attracted her would be the same as those of Sunverro's court. She was forced to soak in a large pool filled with milk and flowers.
After bathing, she was taken to the dressing table to be dressed. After her make-up, a maid led her into the dining room because there were already Sir Cedric, Sir Damian, and Prince Helios having lunch together.
Rowena was wearing a thin red short-sleeved shirt that clearly showed her belly and a red gold-plated skirt that reached her ankles. Not to forget the long cloth of the same color as his shirt wrapped around his arms. Her long black hair that fell down added to her charm.
Rowena walked gracefully into the dining room. The three men who had been there all this time were immediately fascinated by Rowena's beauty. Even though Rowena has a rough attitude, it must be admitted that the woman has a very beautiful face.
Rowena sat right next to Sir Damian and started picking up the food that was on the dining table. "Why are you looking at you like that? Is there something strange on my face?"
"No, it's not like that. It's just that it's just too much for you to make up and wear women's clothes," replied Sir Damian.
"Oh, the maids in this castle think that I'm Prince Helios's secret lover. So they did their best to dress me up. Don't you think this is a bit too much," said Rowena casually as she chewed the food.
Prince Helios who was busy eating his food immediately choked at Rowena's words. How could she say such a shameful thing so casually.
"No. You look very beautiful," said Sir Cedric.