"The princess told you to stop!" the golden knight added, with an even louder voice.
Emery finally stopped in his steps when he heard that. He turned around, looked at the princess for a moment and bowed his head while saying, "Anything else that I can do for you, my Royal Highness?"
Even though his tone was normal, after seeing him being ignorant earlier and hearing him saying things like this, the princess was smart enough to tell that Emery was being sarcastic. But unexpectedly, instead of being angry due to the sarcasm, the princess took Emery's words rather calmly.
She slowly sheathed the blade in her hand and said, "Raise, squire. Let me see your face."
Emery raised his head and this time, locked gaze with the princess. The two were standing face to face, looking directly at each other.
At this moment, as if there was a section of void separating him and her, Emery was silent, unable to say anything. No, rather than that, it was more accurate to say that he currently did not want to think or have anything to do with her. Hence, his silence and earlier actions.
Alas, the girl standing in front of him was the princess of the Lioness Kingdom and, as a squire of her kingdom, he swore to obey and protect her.
The princess stared at him for a few seconds before she opened her mouth.
"You… You don't like me very much, do you? … May I ask why?"
Emery was quite startled by her straightforward question. This character of her was one of the qualities he used to like about her.
"No, of course not, my lady. I sincerely apologize if I somehow have offended you." said Emery, bowing his head again.
The young girl walked closer to the bowing Emery and said, "Lanzelot, do you know you aren't a very good liar?"
While Emery was still keeping his head down, the princess proceeded to walk around him while saying, "Was it just me? Or do you dislike most nobles?"
Emery was silent, the girl was too perceptive. Therefore, it was probably safer for him to just say less, or nothing if possible.
After doing her round of circling, the princess returned back in front of Emery. Looking at the sight of Emery still maintaining his posture, she said, "I am sorry for suddenly attacking you earlier."
"I and my teacher here, Sir Yvain, have been practicing with swords and we were talking about you just now. Hence, the reason for our invitation."
Emery still kept his mouth shut as he heard the princess apologize to him.
Not many royalties would apologize to their subject, not even casually. But here, the princess swiftly delivered her apology and was aware she was the wrong one. Another of her admirable qualities.
Emery was annoyed, the memories of their childhood together kept coming back at him. He tried to think of the reason why they came back at this moment, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
Seeing Emery was adamant on keeping his silence, the princess said, "Anyway Lanzelot, we were just hoping you could achieve the silver knight title this year."
Upon hearing this, Emery smirked a little, while derision began to appear in his eyes. Fantumar or the princess. As he expected, their agenda should be pretty much the same.
But then, what she said next startled him, as it did not go as he had thought.
"Honestly, I think you are amazing, knowing what you have been through. Therefore, now that you have the opportunity to have a new future, Lanzelot, I really wish you success. The knight tournament could be a life-changing event for you.
Hearing these words, that he didn't expect coming, Emery got curious and decided to ask a question.
"My lady... pardon my bluntness, but wouldn't it bother you if other kingdoms took an interest in me?" asked Emery, as he lifted his head.
Once again, to his surprise, the princess was not angry. Instead, she strangely became a little excited.
"Aha! That's what has been on your mind, was it?"
The beautiful girl walked a few steps closer, until she reached a distance that made both Emery and Sir Yvain, who watched from the side, uncomfortable. Alas, the girl didn't seem to realize it as she said,
"Do you know what it really means to be a knight, Lanzelot?"
The unexpected question threw Emery off guard. Of course he knew what being a knight was. It had always been his dream to be a knight, how could he didn't know what it represented?
But surprisingly, the moment he tried to answer the question, not one word came to his mind. He tried to remember what his father taught him, but thanks to myriads of things that had been happening the last two years, Emery couldn't seem to remember, as if a shroud of fog stood before him.
While Emery was still trying his best to find the correct answer, the princess opened her mouth again. And what came out of it surprised him.
"Lanzelot, if you are thinking about land, title or power, then you are wrong. Those are just what come with it, but they aren't what being a knight is about."
The princess slowly drew her sword, raised it high in the air and said to Emery,
"When you succeed later, you will be reminded again during the accolade ceremony."
The princess then put the sword on his shoulder as she pretended to perform the knighthood ceremony that Emery knew too well.
She moved the sword from his left shoulder to the right while saying, "Justice… Truth… and Honor."
The princess then showed a genuine smile to Emery.
"You see, Lanzelot... Which kingdom you choose, how big the land you receive, and how much wealth you earn. All of those would only matter as long as you stay true to yourself. That's what it means to be a knight."
The words uttered by the princess were somehow able to remove the shroud on his mind, as Emery felt as if he could hear the voice of his father again, saying the exact same words the princess said.
"Yes, my lady. Thank you for reminding me." This time, Emery really spoke from his heart.
The princess chuckled a little bit seeing Emery's reaction.
"Still, Lanzelot, you shouldn't be too proud of yourself. You should focus on achieving success first before thinking about those offers you might receive."
"Yes, I understand."
A glint appeared in the princess's eyes as she said, "Then, will you help train with me now?"
Inwardly, Emery sighed deeply. It was clear he just got trapped by her words… again.
That night, the princess had earned herself a sparring partner. He was training with the princess, while the golden knight helped by showing a few examples. Emery, of course, hid his ability as much as he could during the spar.
From the chat that happened after the spar and the observations he did, it was apparent the girl was more skillful compared to the other 25 squires. This was also the reason why she chose him to be her practice partner as none the other are good enough for her, except that Abe that she despised.
The princess was so happy with Emery, that she summoned him again the next night. Without realizing it, Emery starts to feel comfortable being around her again. On the other hand, being the princess 'favorite' squire, made the hard-earned relationship Emery had built with the other 25 squires crumble instantly.