The next day, the knights assembled in perfect rows, their polished armor gleaming under the morning sun. Duke Ashford and Commander Theo stood at the forefront, exuding authority and strength. As I approached, Theo greeted me with a friendly smile, but Duke Ashford's sharp gaze quickly turned to me.
"Ah, Your Grace, you're early," I said, attempting a casual tone.
He crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow. "And you're 30 minutes late, Miss Aria."
I averted my gaze, slightly embarrassed. "I've always been a little tardy with my timings," I admitted sheepishly.
He sighed, clearly used to my habits by now. "Well, alright. Are you going to lead us, or are you going to follow?"
Without a word, I leapt onto a tree branch above, grinning. "I'll assist you, Your Grace."
He glanced up at me, sighed again—though there was a hint of amusement in his expression—and nodded. "Alright then, Miss Aria. I hope you can keep up with us."
As we approached the Black Forest, a palpable tension hung in the air. The dark aura emanating from the forest's depths was suffocating. No wonder it was called the Cursed Forest.
I darted from tree to tree, scanning the area for any signs of monsters. To my surprise, I found nothing. Realization dawned as I glanced back toward Duke Ashford. His aura, dazzling and overwhelming, was spreading across the area like a beacon, scaring off anything that might have otherwise attacked us.
I stopped abruptly and yelled down to him, "Your Grace! Please stop showing off your aura! The monsters won't come near us at this rate!"
He looked up, his face a picture of mild confusion. "Oh, my apologies," he said, reining in his power.
With that, we continued deeper into the forest. Along the way, we encountered a few A-rank and even an SS-rank monster, but nothing particularly challenging. "Nothing out of the ordinary," I remarked, slightly disappointed. "Maybe we should go deeper."
Duke Ashford nodded thoughtfully. "We should take a break here for now. I don't think our horses can go any further. It seems we'll need to camp here and leave the horses behind."
"Alright, Your Grace," I said, agreeing with his plan.
As his knights began setting up camp, I heard a familiar voice behind me.
"Miss Aria. Long time no see," Aiden said with a grin.
I turned, genuinely pleased to see him. "Aiden! Nice to see you, too."
He glanced around. "Where's your tent? Now that I think about it, you didn't bring any supplies, did you?"
With a proud smile, I replied, "Of course I did. It's all in here." I reached for my Eight of Clubs card, activating its storage ability. The card glowed briefly before producing the largest and most extravagant tent anyone had ever seen.
Gasps of astonishment spread through the camp as the knights stopped what they were doing to stare. Even Duke Ashford seemed momentarily taken aback.
"You never fail to impress me, Miss Aria," the Duke remarked, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
I smirked, crossing my arms. "No wonder I'm called the Joker."
Aiden burst out laughing. "I don't think anyone's calling you the Joker anymore."
I looked at him, puzzled. "What do you mean, Aiden?"
He grinned mischievously. "I think they're calling you 'Monkey Lady' now… because you were jumping from tree to tree."
I froze, my jaw dropping in disbelief. "Who came up with that hideous name?!" I pouted, crossing my arms.
Aiden chuckled, waving me off. "Never mind." He walked away, clearly amused.
Before I could recover from the insult, Duke Ashford passed by, his signature charming grin firmly in place. He leaned in slightly and whispered, "Monkey Lady."
Frustration bubbled within me as I watched him walk off. Whoever came up with this name, I thought, clearly didn't think about how unimpressive it sounds!