A gust of wind hit the beautiful face of a black-haired girl, who was silent as her eyes gazed thoughtfully at something. The surrounding leaves caressed her face repeatedly as if trying to tempt her to stop being in the same position for these few minutes. But no amount of teasing could disrupt her incredible focus. The girl calmly took out her arrow while her clear blue eyes remained fixed on the prey in front of her.
As soon as the wind stopped blowing, the girl raised her arrow and aimed the weapon at her quarry. It wasn't long before the arrow shot through the air. One animal was easily hit by the arrow. The sound of applause followed after that, making the girl's serious expression turn into a smile that enhanced her beauty.
"Judging from the way you hunt, I don't think there's anything else I can teach you, Your Highness."
"You praise me too much, Teresa. I only do what you teach me and keep honing it so that I will never forget it."
The girl replied humbly as Teresa, her knight, praised her abilities with pride. That girl was a girl who never had enough of her abilities. Even if her abilities were almost on par with her elder brother, the girl would continue to be humble and not stop learning to hone her skills.
"I wish my brother could come back to praise me."
The girl's mood began to change when she remembered that her brother, who was currently away on a peace mission, had not returned until now. The girl fixed her arrow quickly when she realized her words had affected Teresa's mood. The girl tried to change her mood back, then smiled when Teresa looked at her with a sad look.
"Teresa, please help me carry my catch! Since we are now in a ceasefire situation, it's fine if I bring this animal to the soldiers' camp for them, right?"
Teresa knew that the girl just wanted to help as much as she could. The woman smiled gently before help the girl to lift the large deer she had managed to get earlier.
"Very well, Your Highness. The soldiers will surely be pleased that you have brought this animal for them," she said as she began to carry the deer on her strong shoulders.
***
The Kingdom of Cyrille is a small kingdom located between two warring kingdoms, so their situation is almost miserable everyday. The natives of the Cyrille Kingdom were famous poison and medicine experts, so the two kingdoms had been trying to conquer them all along. Melisa thought she had seen how people fought over their land ever since she could remember. But until Melisa was 18 years old, the kingdom was still standing thanks to their persistence in defending their homeland.
The Kingdom of Cyrille was neither powerful, nor large. However, almost every resident knew each other and formed such strong bonds that they were difficult to conquer over the years.
"Her Highness is coming to this place!"
"Your Highness!"
The sight of royalty coming to the soldiers' camp to bring food was not a common sight in other kingdoms. But in the Kingdom of Cyrille, it was so common that the soldiers were already accustomed to the presence of the girl or any other royal family. The girl familiarly talked to one by one the soldiers who were there. Seeing them smiling was a joy for a girl like her.
"Sigh... I hope this kind of peace will last forever."
Amid their conversation, a soldier talked and was immediately supported by the rest of his comrades. Being forced to survive under the power of two large kingdoms was not easy, especially for a small kingdom like theirs. The girl also realized that their kingdom wouldn't be able to survive much longer. Because of this, her brother went to offer a peace treaty to the side most likely to win this battle.
Becoming an ally of the kingdom that had been oppressing them was not a pleasant option. However, when the girl thought the treaty was there to protect the laughter of the people around her, she ended up having nothing to say about it.
"I hope so. Right now, my brother is trying to make that peaceful time a reality. Therefore, let's wish him all the best, shall we?"
The other soldiers were moved as their sweet princess smiled while her words tried to comfort those who were tired. The soldiers nodded firmly. In this era of increasingly heated wars, there was nothing more they wanted than the peace that the royal family was striving for.
"His Highness, the Crown Prince has returned!"
"His Royal Highness has returned!"
After a shout from the border guards of their kingdom, another shout was heard from the cavalry that seemed to be getting closer to them. The girl quickly rose from her seat. Her gaze was filled with anxiety and hope, especially when she could vaguely see that her brother had returned with the troops he had brought on the peace mission.
"Brother!"
As soon as the troops finally stopped, the girl couldn't hold back any longer and advanced to approach her brother. Sentiment filled the girl's emotions as she saw her brother dismount from the horse and then stretch out his arms to welcome her embrace. Only when the girl managed to hug her brother tightly did all the anxiety she felt finally disappear. Since her brother left for the enemy kingdom a few days ago, the girl was always afraid that he would never come back.
"I'm back, Melisa."
The girl, Melisa, felt a little strange as her brother, who looked sad when he saw her, spoke in a trembling voice and hugged her a little tighter than usual. Melisa thought her brother might be scared of being in the enemy kingdom for so long. Thus, she patted her brother on the back in hopes of comforting him a little.
"Yes. Welcome back, Brother."
Melisa said softly, and their hug broke apart after that. Melisa could hear her brother take a deep breath after that. The Crown Prince of the Cyrille Kingdom tried to regain his composure before he spoke to the soldiers, who were anxious about what kind of news he would bring from another kingdom.
"This peace treaty was successfully approved. Everyone, from now on, our kingdom will be under the protection of the Sigmund Kingdom."
Almost everyone cheered when they heard the news, including Melisa, who was even happier when she heard the good news. The Sigmund Kingdom was a powerful kingdom that was feared by other kingdoms. By giving them the protection, it was certain that their kingdom would be safe for at least the next few years.
A kingdom without war was something they had longed for. Everyone cheered, all of them shouting to vent the joy in their hearts.
"All hail the Crown Prince!"
"All hail the Crown Prince!"
At first, Melisa cheered with the other soldiers to praise her brother's ability to successfully make peace for them. But halfway through, Melisa stopped when she noticed the sad look her brother was showing her. Melisa couldn't understand what was wrong with her brother. In the end, she could only come forward to hold her brother's trembling hand as gently as she could.
"Let's go home, Brother. We must immediately convey this good news to Mother and Father."
Her brother nodded. Together with his troops, they finally left the soldiers' camp to return to the royal palace.