Knights of The Dauntless Princess

Chapter 51: His Past

Dravis went to Ranz because they had an arrangement, and Louie was also there. Dravis turned his gaze towards the young healer and immediately smiled with a hint of embarrassment.

"Wh-Why? Um, I just fell asleep somewhere last night due to being drunk!" said Louie.

Dravis replied casually, "What do I care about where you sleep? I'm looking out the window behind you. I think rain is looming."

Ranz looked at it and agreed with Dravis. "Seems like it. If we leave for Niall now, given the length of our journey, we'll definitely be caught by it."

Louie also looked out of the window and nodded in agreement with them, as the sky had become overcast. Louie then turned his gaze back to his companions and noticed that Cyrus wasn't there.

"Where's Cyrus?" he asked.

"He's still in the cabin, snoring away," Dravis replied.

"Huh? Doesn't he know we're leaving now?" Louie asked again.

"He's probably awake by this time," Dravis said. "If not, my fist will wake him up."

Louie winced at Dravis' words and remained silent.

"Let's go and leave. We still have a long journey ahead," Ranz said, leading the way outside. Dravis followed him, as did Ranz's five other companions.

Louie joined them as well, and as they headed toward where their horses were located, they saw that Cyrus was already there.

"It's good that you're awake," Dravis said, his eyes narrowing.

Cyrus scratched his head, "Yeah, indeed. Sorry, but aside from that... there seems to be something not right."

They turned to look at what Cyrus was staring at and saw Amara and Nina approaching them, each carrying their belongings.

"W-Wait, why are they here?" Ranz asked.

A tinge of guilt showed on Cyrus' face, "I'm sorry! I slipped up and I told them earlier that we're going to Niall today—Ouch!"

Dravis immediately smacked Cyrus. Louie rubbed his forehead and Ranz let out a sigh.

"Didn't we discuss that we shouldn't bring them along? It's too dangerous in Niall right now! The weather isn't great either, they might struggle with the distance of our journey!" Ranz expressed with evident irritation.

"I-I'm sorry! They asked me, and because I just woke up and I wasn't thinking clearly due to the hangover, I blurted it out to them, Sorry!!!" Cyrus apologized.

"Hello! We're ready!" Amara cheerfully exclaimed as she approached the young men.

"Are we leaving?" Nina asked with a smile.

"You can't come with us," Ranz and Dravis replied, surrounded by an aura of seriousness.

"W-What? W-Why!?" Nina stammered, furrowing her brow. "Do you think we'll just be a burden? Is that it!? Hmp!"

"Enough! You can't come with us now! Niall is too far away, and there seems to be a storm approaching! Just stay put for now!!" Ranz said firmly.

Amara furrowed her brow due to sadness, and Nina noticed the glint in her eyes, so she held Amara's hand and headed towards their horses.

"Come on, princess! If they don't want to bring us along, let's just the two of us head there!" Nina stubbornly declared, her determination matching Ranz's irritation.

"What the heck, Nina!? Why don't you listen to me!?" Ranz said in annoyance, but the young woman was undeterred. "Your wound might not be fully healed yet, and you're already joining us!?"

Nina mounted her horse and pulled the hood over her head. "Are you going to take us or should we embark on our own journey there!?" Nina's question carried a hint of a threat.

Annoyed, Ranz sighed and covered his face with his palm, but it didn't change the situation. He knew that Nina would never be stopped from doing what she wanted, even if he, as the leader of their group, tried to intervene.

"It seems like there's nothing we can do about this," Louie forced a smile.

Meanwhile, Ranz and Dravis gave Cyrus stern looks, and the young man apologized once again.

Dravis turned his gaze to Amara, knowing that she also truly wanted to join them. It wasn't that he thought she'd be a burden, but he was genuinely concerned she might get hurt again.

"Fine. Okay, you can come," Dravis said. "Looks like we don't have any other choice."

Amara's face brightened when Dravis said that. She nodded and happily mounted her horse. Everyone got onto their respective horses and prepared to leave for Niall. Ranz's companions greeted them at the gate, as well as Louie's siblings and Nina's sister.

"Be careful on your way!" reminded the old cook, who seemed to be the motherly figure of everyone in that fortress.

"Big bro Louie, could you perhaps buy us some new clothes?" Shiloh suggested.

"I'll try," replied Louie, earning smiles from Shiloh and Erica.

"Noreen, don't leave here while I'm gone, alright?" Nina said.

"Y-Yes, you don't need to worry about me," Noreen responded, feeling Louie's gaze turn towards her. She felt embarrassed and immediately looked down. Noreen's heart raced, but because of her desire to see the handsome face of the young man again, she stole another glance at him.

Noreen couldn't understand why she was feeling that way. It started the previous night when the young man got drunk and she took care of him. They spent the entire night together in the small hut. She had intended to escort him to their cabin, but due to his excessive drunkenness, he couldn't walk anymore. She couldn't find anyone to help Louie, as almost everyone was intoxicated as well. So, she ended up letting him sleep in the small hut where they kept some training equipment, as it was the closest place. She couldn't carry Louie's physical weight all the way to their cabin.

Noreen didn't know if the young man remembered what happened the previous night, especially... Louie's action of kissing her lips. She couldn't deny that the taste of those kisses was delightful, especially since it was her first kiss. But Noreen also knew that Louie did it due to his extreme drunkenness. She was sure he didn't remember it.

While Noreen secretly looked at Louie, he also turned his gaze towards her and gave her a sweet smile. Noreen tightly pressed her lips together, nodded, and then averted her gaze due to the overwhelming embarrassment.

"Let's go! We might get caught in the rain and have an even harder time!" Ranz exclaimed as he pulled the reins of his horse and began to gallop.

They followed him and left the place. Their group consisted of eleven people, including Amara and Nina, along with Ranz's companions. They continued along the path, heading towards Niall, which was the farthest part of the Emmett kingdom.

News had reached them that the town of Niall was currently in dire straits. Due to its prosperity, it had drawn the attention of the kingdom's rulers, who wanted to harness the skills of its people in weapon-making. The current king likely thought that they needed to bring the entire town under their authority so that no one would dare to oppose them. The entire town was tightly guarded by soldiers led by the seemingly heartless general, Nolan, making it quite challenging for them to infiltrate.

Rain began to pour. Their horses had been running for hours, yet they were not even halfway to Niall.

"I believe we should rest for a while! Our horses will struggle if we continue like this," Ranz suggested, and everyone agreed.

They took shelter in a cave as the rain continued to fall. They lit a fire to warm their bodies, and Cyrus prepared hot soup for them to eat.

"Uhmm... This tastes really good," Nina praised as she tasted the soup, which immediately caught Ranz's eyes looking at Cyrus.

"Hmp! It's not that great!" the leader of the bandits grumbled.

"Is that so? Then why did you finish it so quickly?" Orson asked.

The leader seemed to bare his fangs and retorted, "Are you mocking me, Orson? Well, I must be hungry, that's all!"

Amara couldn't help but chuckle at their playful banter once again.

"When I was studying, I went to different places and I was alone, so I needed to learn how to cook. With the help of the books I read, I learned and eventually grew fond of it," Cyrus explained.

"Really? Why didn't you become a cook or open your own restaurant then?" Nina inquired.

Everyone's attention shifted to Cyrus as they listened to his story while eating, the rain still pouring heavily.

"I was once a soldier. Dravis was my superior, but we've been together since childhood. Our fathers were both former soldiers and they perished in the war against Gustava. During our youth, because of that war, many citizens suffered, and there were children who couldn't go to school. Some of them, even after ten years, still couldn't read or write. That's why I said back then that I wanted to become a teacher, and up until now, that's still my aspiration," Cyrus shared.

Amara was intrigued by Cyrus' openness. "Oh, that reminds me. If you wanted to be a teacher, why did you become a soldier? Was it because of your father? Did he force you?"

Dravis grinned after slurping his soup. "No. It's because he lost a game."

"Huh?"

Cyrus seemed to slump into a corner, wrapped in an immensely gloomy aura. "I lost to Dravis in rock, paper, scissors, and his condition was that I would be his follower for the rest of my life. He's incredibly cruel."

Everyone seemed surprised by Cyrus' words, but Louie and Ranz burst into laughter.

"That's why you're always trailing behind Dravis!!! Ahaha—ouch!!" Ranz exclaimed as he was suddenly hit with a wooden bowl thrown by Dravis. He shouted at Dravis, "What's wrong with you? That hurts!"

"It just slipped into my hands," Dravis innocently lied.

"I didn't know you were Dravis' loyal sidekick—ouch!!" Louie chimed in, and his laughter was interrupted when the wooden spoon Dravis had been holding earlier hit his forehead.

Louie and Ranz stared at Dravis, and just as he had acted unintentionally with Ranz, he did the same now with Louie. "That one also slipped."

Louie and Ranz gave Dravis a brief annoyed look, but they didn't retaliate as the young man stood up.

"I'll rest for a bit," Dravis said, and went even further inside the cave to sleep.

They only watched Dravis with their eyes as he left, and Amara came up with another question for Cyrus.

"You've been together since childhood, you said, right?" Amara asked, getting a nod from Cyrus. "So... you know his fiancé?"

Cyrus seemed to pause as Amara mentioned the woman Dravis had deeply loved.

"E-Eula?" Cyrus softly said, and a hint of sadness could be seen in his eyes.

"Dravis had a fiancé before? W-Wait, where is she now? Why didn't they get married?" Nina inquired.

Once again, everyone fell silent, and it seemed they were all interested in knowing more about Dravis' past. They looked at Cyrus, waiting for him to speak up.

"Eula was also our childhood friend. Eula's parents were separated, so her father raised her in Erin. She grew up alongside Dravis and I can say that... Eula was the most important woman to Dravis. Until we reached the right age, I witnessed their love for each other and I was genuinely happy for them. They were together for years until they decided to get married. However, Dravis and I were already soldiers by then. Eula always pleaded with Dravis to leave his position and live a normal life in the town of Erin. But because Dravis dreamed of becoming as skilled as his father, he couldn't do that. When Dravis proposed to Eula, she agreed on the condition... that Dravis would quit being a soldier. Dravis agreed, but we carried out one final mission before we completely left our duties. However, while we were in the midst of our battle, we didn't know that the town of Erin was being targeted by enemies. They set houses on fire and massacr3d many people. Many lives were lost... including the parents of Dravis' nephew and Eula. We saw... her body was charred by the fire and almost unrecognizable," Cyrus recounted.

Nina covered her mouth in shock, unable to believe what she had heard. Amara, too, was taken aback by what she had just learned. She knew the woman had died, but she hadn't realized the brutality of her fate. Everyone fell silent, and their faces were filled with sorrow for Dravis.

"Dravis felt overwhelming guilt at that time. He blamed himself for not being able to save the person he loved most, even though he was a soldier. Since then, he has changed. His life seemed to lose direction, and he drowned himself in alcohol. He was always looking for fights to release his inner turmoil, and he was consumed by that event for years," Cyrus added.

Amara felt immense sympathy for Dravis. Only now did she truly understand why the young man had the attitude he did when she met him again. She clenched her fists tightly, realizing he didn't deserve that. Eula shouldn't have died for Dravis to suffer so much. She recalled their first meeting, when Lord Lennox, her father, had allowed Dravis to resign from his position. Back then, she hadn't agreed, but now she understood why. It was because of Dravis' intense love for his former girlfriend. Amara's heart ached, and she wondered if she could ever make Dravis feel the same way about her as he had for Eula.

"If Eula hadn't died... Dravis might have his own family by now, and he'd probably be happy with them," Amara said, her tears starting to well up.

Cyrus nodded. "Most likely."