THE STEADY sounds of hoofs galloping, followed by the neighing of the horses pulling the carriage, entered the silent Wispwood Forest. Aside from this sound, there were also those distinct sounds coming from nature that give off a peaceful atmosphere.
If not for the vigilant and uptight figure of knight soldiers riding in their own horses, anyone who looks at their long entourage will think that it was a parade.
This entourage consists of five carriages pulled by pairs of stallion horses. On each side of the carriage were knights riding on horses. There were at least fifteen knights riding their horses and guarding the carriages.
And at the front of this entourage were two carriages pulled by two or more horses. The one on the left was an ordinary-looking six-seater carriage being pulled by two stallion horses in a stable manner.
The carriage was made of wood, giving it a common quality but a person who is well-versed in carriages and different wood types would certainly give this carriage a five-star rating.
It was because the wood used in crafting the carriage was from the Juglandea trees, which were one of the most rare tree species. This type of tree can only be found in places that have a balance of hotness and coldness.
And the only place that can nurture these delicate trees is the forest surrounding the city of Auraxia, which has the most stable weather in only sunny and rainy seasons. And because it was where the holy temple of Auraxia was built, cutting trees there is very tiring because one must have acquired a list of requirements.
Preparing all the requirements can be manageable, but after you have them completed, you are only allowed to cut no more than three trees and you must also prepare a sapling to replace the trees you cut.
It was not only troublesome but the ending result was also maddening. Like, what can three pieces of logs be made of? If you're doing it for business, the liabilities are obviously far greater than the assets. It's a total loss of money and effort.
However, all parts of the tree are usable and sellable; having only three of them wasn't enough. The only thing that was profitable were its leaves for making tea and a calming medicine. The flowers were good for making aromatic soap, perfume, and such.
While the fruit was more rare than the wood itself because it can be used in many miracle medicines, unfortunately, mature Juglandea trees will only bear fruit once and will only bear one to two fruits. And the fruit wasn't even big enough, just as the size of a pingpong ball.
Luckily, there were also some forests in different kingdoms that produced these trees. Although there were dangers, it was more manageable than the trouble of completing some arduous requirements.
Going back, inside this ordinary but expensive carriage were some miscellaneous things, such as thick and comfortable bed covers, quilts, soft pillows, and some big and small cabinets and boxes with unknown materials inside.
The inside was empty of people but the driver's box had a knight soldier driving it at the same speed as the bigger carriage beside it.
If the first carriage was a hidden gem, this larger carriage was grander inside and out. It's size was twice as large as the first one, with fifteen to twenty seats. It was big enough for fifteen mature men to lay around.
Aside from its complicated and delicate design, talking about the materials used was more troublesome. To make a long narrative short, the carriage consists of high-value wood, metals, and non-metal materials. Even treasures such as gold and gems have their own components added.
It was because this carriage was for the use of a monarch that it only deserves the high quality and high price.
This time, the inside of the carriage has people in it. And it was none other than the royal family of Ciltara. After a week of preparation for the upcoming journey, their group finally started and after three days, they finally came out of the scope of the Kingdom of Ciltara.
They are now traveling along the forefront of the Wispwood Forest. This wild forest is the only forest around Ciltara Kingdom. Wispwood Forest became the acting boundary that secures Ciltara Kingdom from enemy invasion, as the whole forest encircles the kingdom like a giant wall.
The kingdom may be among the smaller kingdoms, but Wispwood Forest is one of the largest wild forests in Auraxia. Before one can come out of the Ciltara Kingdom, they must travel across the Wispwood Forest for two to three weeks. If they got lucky and didn't encounter any dangerous or high-ranking beasts, then one week is the fastest.
"I already told Cadie that we should have brought fewer people. But he insisted on bringing those servants and additional carriages for some unnecessary things. Now, it became a lot more inconvenient to protect more extra baggage," Calleous coldly answered his mother.
Aleera chuckled at her son's indifference. It made her both happy and worried. Happy because it just shows how special they are in their son's heart. While worried for their son's social well-being.
Probably because of the peculiarity of this son of theirs, he became anti-social and elusive to other people. Aside from them, despite his popularity, Calleous has had no friends since he was a kid. Not even a companion or an acquaintance.
If you ask him to list the names of people he knows, it would only be the names of his parents and brother.
Maybe they were also at fault. Because they didn't help him to acquaint with other people, just because of what happened when Calleous was three, he became more aloof with people. For him, other people were unrelated and bothersome, so he would prefer to be alone than to be troubled by others.
This results in his now uncaring for these unrelated people. Especially if they are ordinary and common people. For him, if a person is useless, then it's better for him not to relate himself. Because of this, he was more accepting of knights whom he deemed useful compared to the commoners.
"Your brother is a king. For sure, your brother wanted to follow your request, but his people wanted to do their job as followers of the king. And as a king, your brother can't put aside the thoughts of his people," Aleera tried to console her youngest. "And don't expect your brother to always adhere to your wants and capriciousness. He can't spoil you now since he has a kingdom as his responsibility," she added, reprimanding her son in advance.
Calleous pouted while picking among the tray of pastries. Aleera did not continue consoling her son and instead, she focused on relishing the delicious tea in her cup.
This pair of mother and son were having their own conversations on the other side of the carriage while enjoying the tea and pastries that the servants prepared for them, which they bought after they passed the town nearest to the forest's boundary.
After three days of straight travel from the capital, they had to pass through at least three big towns and two smaller ones before they reached the boundary. And they only decided to take a stop-over when they were in the last town to buy and supplement their food and other necessities before they embarked on another journey inside the Wispwood Forest.
"Then I can only keep my mouth shut. At least, they proved to be useful since they made this journey comfortable for my brother and me. If not for it, even my brother can't stop me from leaving them in Siara Town."
Aleena could only give a helpless smile. Maybe changing Calleous' social perspective is now too late.
Feeling bored with the pastries, Calleous slightly turned his body to look at his brother, who was on the other side, playing chess with their father at their own table. Although the roof's height was enough for them to be able to stand inside, the tables were set in the carriage in such a way that the person using them would have to sit on the carriage's floor with only a soft cushion as a cover.
"Brother," Calleous called out.
Cadmus quickly looked at his brother when he heard his call. "Yes, Callie?"
"If we encounter a dangerous beast, let me kill it." It wasn't a request but was like Calleous just informing his brother of what he would do.
Before Cadmus could object, Calleous carried on. "You have to let me, Cadie. This will be my first time using the strength that was bestowed on me by the goddess. If I didn't practice it, what if we suddenly encountered a five-star beast? Even if the other knights help me, we can't kill it without earning some damage because I wasn't able to properly exhibit my new skill."
Cadmus was really amazed at how good with words Calleous had become. When he was having this type of conversation with his younger brother, Cadmus would always find himself raising the white flag.
Thinking about it now, it seems like it was him who swore a blood knight oath towards Calleous since they were young and not the other way around.
He could only sigh. "Fine. But I won't allow you to fight alone. As long as you let some of the knights assist you, then I can allow you to fight."
"As long as they did not hinder me," Calleous disdainfully agreed.
"Yes, Your Highness," Cadmus playfully said, making Calleous laugh.
Calleous will always laugh every time he hears Cadmus call him that. Compared to his nickname, being called 'his highness' was better than 'Callie'. Unfortunately, Cadmus only calls him 'his highness' when he's using his haughty attitude in front of his elder brother.
"I would love to see the might of a blood knight," Cirius suddenly commented, earning everyone's attention.
Aleera, who was also curious, excitedly nodded her head. She put his cup on the table and acted dreamily by putting her hands on her cheeks.
"My baby Callie will surely be the most beautiful knight! Brandishing his sword while using pure physical force, it's too beautiful—no. It's too handsome!" Aleera fanatically shared her imagination with everyone.
The first part made Calleous scowl but when his mother emphasized the last word, he flashed his most dazzling smile, which he thought was his most handsome smile but instead, it only made his androgynous beauty transcend.
"I will try not to use my sword but my strength alone in the fight, mother, so watch carefully, yeah?" Calleous cockily said this to his mother.
Aleera, being the number one fan of her youngest, nodded her head in a pecking manner. "I will! Definitely!"
Cadmus and Cirius, this father-son pair, watch the other pair with an endearing smile. As the man in their family—please note that this sentence was carefully hidden from Calleous or hell will open up—they can only delight in the other two's whimsical urges for the peacefulness of the world.
"Owooo!"
However, this so-called peacefulness was cut short when they reached the deepest part of the forest.