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Currently, the princess of the kingdom, someone who used to be dear to him was sitting on the chair next to the bed where he was laying. The situation somehow made Emery feel uncomfortable.

The princess looked deep in thought for a few moments before asking.

"I think this means you can try again next year."

Though the princess tried to appear neutral, her smile was forced and Emery could see it clearly. He's sure the princess wished he could finish the tournament and win.

To be honest, Emery didn't think the wound was such a big deal. Even without casting a healing spell, his battle power had increased so much and with it came an increase in his natural healing rate. With the treatment he had just received, Emery thought he would be at least 90% fit for tomorrow's tournament.

"My lady, I would like to keep fighting tomorrow." Emery smiled politely.

"You will? But your wound… no, you really shouldn't, please rest. "

"I'm really fine, my lady, I really should get back to the others, thank you for the treatment."

He was used to pushing his body even though he was wounded and right now, just laying on the bed all alone with nothing to do felt like torture. He decided to sit up and get down from the bed, but the princess stood and pushed him back as strongly as she could.

Emery winced. The princess unintentionally hurt his wounded shoulder.

"I am sorry… but no, I cannot permit that. You shall rest here and this is an order!"

Silence fell upon them. The situation had turned even more awkward than before.

"Lanzo… I heard the others calling you Lanzo, can I call you that?

Emery didn't even have the time to nod or say anything, but the princess took his silence as a yes. Unexpectedly the Princess ask many questions about the other squire, about their wellbeing and preparations. Emery did not expect the princess to be so curious about the squire's condition. After a few questions, finally, she asked the one question about him.

"So tell me, Lanzo, why did you challenge the Cantiaci prince? I know you intentionally provoked him earlier."

Emery was turned to silence. Indeed, why did he decide to do that? Was it because he hated the arrogant prince? Or was it because of her?

He took a deep breath, before saying.

"I simply wanted to fight him, princess. I wanted to prove myself against another champion."

The princess was startled. She looked at his eyes for a bit and smiled. "Lanzo, you really are a bad liar… But whatever your reason is… I'm glad you decided to do that. Thank you."

The princess kept on looking at his face. It seemed she was lost in thought.

"What is it, princess?"

"Nothing, but you somehow remind me of someone…"

"Someone?"

"A good friend I used to have… someone I grew up really close to."

"Used to?... What... happened to this friend?"

The princess shook her head, her expression one of genuine sadness. "He died."

Emery's heart suddenly beat faster, was she talking about him?. He decided to calm himself and say whatever comes to mind

"I am sorry to hear that my lady. I am sure he would be happy to know you are still thinking about him."

"No, Lanzo… it was an old story and I really wish I can just forget about it."

Emery felt his heart was stirred. He wasn't sure which part really bother him. The part where the princess was still thinking about him, or the part where she wanted to forget about him? Though a little bit of him knew her forgetting him was for the best, Emery was still shaken.

The princess finally stand from the bedside chair

"I guess I will not bother you again, Lanzo. I suggest you use your time to sleep and recover. If you really feel better tomorrow, you can choose to join or not to join the tournament, but remember, please don't feel pressured. Whatever the decision you make, the kingdom will support you."

Emery looked at the princess back with a mixed feeling, for a moment he forgot why he disliked her in the first place.

When the door closed, Emery quickly cast [Nature Blessing] on himself. The greenish light felt comfortable on his wound.

After he was outside, he cast [Hide in Shadow] just like before and a thin shroud of black mist came to surround him, blending him with the darkness of midnight and the dancing shadows provided by the torches. All around him, the knights kept on patrolling, seemingly tireless.

Emery needed to find more information about this divine order compound and this night being away from the other squires, giving him the perfect opportunity to run around freely all night without worries.

He decided to return to the highly guarded fort-like place again. With his spirit force and blink he could easily pass through even after they doubled the amount of patrolling guards.

Emery took his time to search the place. He didn't really know what he actually looking for but this fort-like place certainly a special place for the knight. After a while, he finally ended up finding a mysterious room with a big door right after following the stairs to the basement of the fort.

What made it mysterious, other than the fact it was guarded by half a dozen silver knights, was that Emery seemed to find his spirit force being twisted and distorted whenever he wanted to try to sense what was behind the door.

What was in there? What is strong enough to distort even his senses?

Before he rashly decided to force his way in, he decided he should probably ask around about this. After all, going in would be a risk and most likely he could get some answers from the other knights, or at least he can always go back to Venta with his [spatial gate] and ask Kastan about it.

He wasn't too keen about going back to rest in the room prepare by the princes in the estate, he doesn't want to have any more awkward encounters with the princess in the morning. Therefore Emery decided to return to the squire camp instead, Finally like a thief in the night, he sneaks back to the squire bed, stretched his body, and closed his eyes. Tomorrow was a big day and he needed to be well-rested.

To be continued