"Can I?" The doe eyes looked at the commander, full of hopes.
Kyren's lips pursed. This was the first time Anna had made such a request.
"Are you sure you're already well?" He frowned a bit, contemplating.
"I'm perfectly fine. I told you I wasn't hurt," she replied earnestly.
The commander pondered for a moment. His wife's request was not so bizarre. In fact, it was just a simple request that anyone would want; the freedom to walk around the area.
Kyren knew his wife had stayed quietly in his tent and didn't wander around at will. It was hard for him to believe the woman could stay put for that long without stirring a camp full of men during his absence.
"Fine. You can go." Anna's eyes immediately sparkled upon receiving the approval.
"Thank you so much!"
A bright smile was carved on her lips, drawing the commander's attention. It had never been so radiant like this.
An ominous feeling gripped the commander's heart suddenly.
What if those knights saw her beaming like this?
He didn't want any of them to have a wild imagination about his wife since they had not met another female for several months. He knew the knights very well. Their topic of discussion always stayed within the issues of the campaign, their skills and achievements in combat and women.
"But you can't walk alone. I'll assign an escort for you," added the commander.
"Escort? You won't be accompanying me?" she asked.
"I've work to do. You'll end up wasting your time waiting for me."
"Is it essential to have an escort? I'm going nowhere far. Just within the camp."
The princess looked at her husband wonderingly.
"This place is full of men. Of course, my knights won't harm you. But, you are not familiar with them. An escort would be handy," advised Kyren.
Anna nodded at his reply.
No sooner, a knight arrived at the tent on the commander's summoning.
The man with obsidian eyes and jet-black hair looked bold and dashing, with a stature a little less tall than Kyren. His face was serious without a hint of a smile, and his steps were firm. From the look of it, he was definitely an experienced knight.
"This is Noah Brooks, one of my best knights. He'll be your temporary escort for a few days," introduced Kyren.
"My lady." The knight bowed to Anna, paying his respect to her.
"Hello, Sir Brooks." The princess hesitantly nodded.
Her eyes blinked several times, looking at her new escort. The knight had a much of a muchness personality with her husband; both had an intimidating and overbearing aura.
Of course, if she wanted to compare the two, Kyren would have won.
"Go on. I'll be busy the whole day. Don't wait for me for lunch," said the commander.
Anna was doubtful for a moment. She did not expect her overbearing husband to permit this easily.
"Are you going out of the camp?" she asked him.
"No. But I've meetings and other things to do. So you go ahead." Kyren smiled, nudging his chin towards the tent flap.
"When will you be free?"
"Late afternoon. You don't need to worry. I'll find you when I'm done."
Anna nodded again delightedly.
The lady and her escort started to walk out of the tent.
"Where does my lady wish to go first?" asked Noah, walking on her right side.
"Can we go to the infirmary? I want to meet Ayden," said Anna brightly.
"Yes, sure."
The two began their tour at the campsite. When they reached the place, they could hear loud voices arguing.
"It's 'kallar', not 'kaller'... so it means to dissolve it in water," stressed Ayden.
"No! I still remember the translation. It means to transform it to a liquid state." Now, the voice of Rafe resonated in the infirmary.
As the two quarrelled, Anna peeked from the entrance and greeted them, "Hello. May I come in?"
The healer and his assistant paused their argument and inclined towards her.
"My lady? What are you doing here?" Ayden was utterly surprised seeing the princess.
"I'm looking for you. I haven't seen you for two days," she replied.
Anna smiled as she walked into the infirmary with her escort. The healer and his assistant were again startled to see Noah with her.
"You? Why are you with the lady?" Rafe was curious as he saw the knight.
"Oh, this is my escort. Kyren allows me to walk around the area provided he accompanies me," the princess quickly answered before Noah opened his mouth.
"He becomes your escort?" Ayden asked in disbelief.
"Yes, temporarily," added Anna.
The two men were astonished by the reply. Both of them shut their mouths and did not argue further.
"Are you well now?" Rafe asked after a moment.
"Yes, I am. Nothing to worry about," she replied. Anna was still wearing the shawl to cover her neck and chest from the onlookers.
The healer and his assistant nodded in satisfaction.
Then, the princess asked, " Sorry for interrupting. But, just now, if I'm not mistaken, you were pronouncing a word in the Ro'an language, am I right?"
"Ah... I nearly forgot. My lady surely knows this word. Here, could you take a look at this? Which is the correct translation for it? To dissolve in water or transform to liquid state?"
Impatiently, Ayden took the opened book from the table and handed it to her. His index finger showed a sentence from a paragraph written on the page.
"Mittrar ré kallar en salven andani," Anna muttered slowly in the old language as she read the words.
The two men looked at her mesmerisingly while the knight watched coolly. Rafe, who knew the language but was not fluent, was sure her pronunciation was perfect.
"If you translate it literally, it would mean transforming it to liquid state..."
"Yes!"
Rafe bunched his fist and thrust down his elbow. Ayden's face quickly pouted at the loss.
"But, you have to read this part as a whole context. Overall, it means the ingredients are to be transformed into a liquid and added to water. So, both of you are half correct."
Anna smiled as she finished her explanation.
"I told you the lady is proficient in Ro'an! You don't believe me!"
Ayden let out a proud smirk.
"You surely are interesting, my lady. It's not easy to master the old language. Where did you learn it?" asked the healer.
"My teacher taught me. Also, there are plenty of books in the language in Constance," she replied.
"Ah... that means you had a formal education," Rafe concluded.
"Well... Sort of..."
Anna did not want to talk much about her past life. When she was reminded of Ardel, the terrible experience would soar, making her uneasy.
"Forgive me. You said you were looking for me. Is there anything I can help you with?" asked the assistant healer.
"Not exactly. You usually come to see me every day... So it feels different not having you around," she said.
Noah raised a brow, listening to her reply. It seemed that Ayden was quite close to the commander's wife.
"Oh, I don't want to disturb you and the commander. After all, our Mr Nice Healer here has given me tonnes of work. One of them is to go through this book," explained the assistant healer, sighing at the given task.
"Are you preparing a new potion?" she curiously asked.
"We thought of enhancing the previous medication. So, that's why I asked Ayden to check on the formulas," Rafe enlightened.
"I see... Perhaps I can give a hand," suggested Anna.
The healer and his assistant glanced at each other before turning to her.
"You want to help?" asked Ayden with round eyes.
"I don't know how to make potions. But I can help with the book's translation," she added.
"Does the commander mind?" Rafe uttered the question.
"Oh, I'm sure he won't. He said he's quite busy the whole day, and I could spend the time on my own."
"That would be very helpful! I'm glad my lady could assist!" said Ayden cheerfully.
Anna's face glowed brightly from the excitement. For the first time, she felt helpful for being able to contribute her knowledge.
The princess sat on the chair and started to do the translation, accompanied by Ayden, who was keen to learn more about the language.
When both of them were so engrossed in studying, Rafe, who stood away, approached Noah and whispered, "I want to have a word with you."
The healer's gaze was stern, and his eyebrows were pulled together.
"I'm afraid I'm on duty right now," Noah snobbishly answered, averting his eyes from the healer with a solemn face.
"Just outside the tent. You don't have to worry about the lady. The commander entrusted her in our care too," Rafe firmly stated.
"Fine. Just a short moment only."
As they went out of the infirmary, Noah started their private conversation.
"What is it? Hurry up! I'm busy!" He grunted with an arrogant look.
"Why do you become her escort? As far as I know, you won't do anything that benefits you. Are you up to something no good again?" asked the healer seriously.
"You heard the lady yourself. The commander appointed me," the knight replied nonchalantly.
"I don't believe you willingly take the task. Of all people, you become her escort? Huh! Wait until Sir Navin hears this!" Rafe snorted.
"What is it got to do with you or him? Mind your own business!"
Noah gritted his teeth and sharply glared at the healer.
"You only know how to dig into other people's secrets and extort money from them! Whatever you do, you always cause trouble to us!" Rafe scolded him.
"Don't you dare bring about my past! You've no right to judge me!"
Noah almost shouted. Luckily, he remembered that the lady was inside the infirmary. If he put on a fight with the healer here, that would only disadvantage him.
"Past or present... you'll never change! That's what you are. I can't believe the commander still wants to keep you in the knighthood."
"Screw you!" cursed the knight.
"If I found you were up to something bad on the lady, I swear I won't let you go!" Rafe continued.
"You —"
"What's going on?" Noah's word was cut off when a soft voice came between them.
The princess stood at the entrance, looking perplexed. Just now, she had been looking for the healer but could not find him, so she went out to see Rafe.
The two men cleared their throats and looked away.
"Nothing, my lady. We were discussing a matter," the healer responded.
Anna stared at both men in silence. She did not know what the issue was, but she was aware that they were quarrelling, and it was not a friendly argument like Ayden had with Rafe.
"I see... Well, I just want to ask. Since the translation might require some time, can I and my escort have lunch here?" asked Anna.
She quit her previous question because she did not want to investigate their disagreement further.
"Sure, no problem at all. You're most welcome."
Rafe smiled at the princess.
Glancing at Noah, a surge of worries emerged in the healer's heart. He prayed nothing wrong would come from having the knight around the lady.