The five days tournament had finally ended.
There was still one last day of celebration, where all the squires would be called to witness the winners get their awards. But that would be held in the Divine Order hall tomorrow, and no one aside from Divine Order knights and the squires would be invited there.
Emery wiped the sweat off his brow and walked out of the arena together with the knighted Lioness squires. Right after crossing the gates, he saw crowds had formed all around the place.
Most of them were high ranking nobles, famous prominent figures from various kingdoms and even royalty.
No Lioness knight or squire had experienced such a thing before. They were all shocked, unable to decide what to do in this situation.
As for Emery, he could say he completely hated it. The crowds made him feel suffocated. All he could tell from the confusion was that these people just liked to befriend him to get some kind of benefit from his talent.
He wished he could just cast [Blink] to instantly get away from all that.
Right when he seriously considered disappearing in front of the crowd, the Princess and her knights came, opening up a path for him.
"Come, Lanzo. You can ride in my carriage!"
Now it was either taking the princess' offer, or being accosted by the flood of annoying strangers, but time was not on his side. Without further consideration, Emery quickly walked towards the carriage. The scene only made all the other squires squinted at the carriage in jealousy. After all, the vehicle was small, and Lanzo would get a chance to be alone with the beautiful princess.
The carriage was closed and they started to move away from the arena. All the Lioness knights followed behind them by walking.
Emery was sitting right across the princess in a plush couch made of the finest fabric. Though the carriage looked simple, it had an elegant design.
"Congratulations for your victory, Lanzo. You really made us proud."
"Yes, thank you, Princess. It is my duty as a citizen."
The princess looked at him and flashed a meaningful smile.
"Now, let me ask, what would you do? Now everyone knows your name; offers will come from all over Briton."
Emery looked away for a second before answering.
"I… I will return to my family land to pay respects to my parents and rebuild my family estate."
"Ah, I see…" The princess' smile faded slightly. "With your talent, you are more than capable of being in active service of the kingdom, you know."
Emery looked back at the princess with a resolute gaze and answered.
"No, Princess. I don't think I will. For now, I have no intentions of being in any kind of placement."
The princess looked at him with surprise. It seemed she did not expect being rejected outright just like that.
"Then, tell me, Lanzo, what do you plan to do after you go back home?"
However, the answer Emery gave, only surprised her even more.
"I was thinking of taking up farming, actually?"
Hearing the answer, the princess let out an unrestrained laugh. In the confines of the small carriage, Emery saw a side of the princess he never saw before.
At first, the princess thought the squire in front of her was joking, but his serious expression said otherwise. She had seen the squire lie before, and it seemed this time, he was telling the truth.
"Ah, I see, you're not joking, huh?"
Emery nodded. To be exact, he wanted to use his time for his apothecary research. He just hoped he would find Morgana and then finish the sword quest as soon as possible so he can return to the bloodline research and his cultivation training.
The princess suddenly turned emotional
"Huh!! This is not funny! Many people can only dream to have strength like you. You remember this Lanzo. Never forget! With the strength being entrusted to you, comes a responsibility you must fulfill.
Emery was surprised by the princess's sudden outburst, he wasn't sure the princess talked about him anymore, did she talk about herself? Did she talk about the burden of being the princess?
The princess looked at him seriously and said.
"I would rather see you joined another kingdom, as long as you are in service to the people. Look at the Norgales, they always need more talented knights fighting at north. Don't blind yourself to the truth, Lanzo, there are many other things that could only be done by people like you!"
Emery sighed internally. He had planned to reject this offer, but he certainly didn't expect the princess would have such a strong adverse reaction to his plan. He waited for a few moments, while the princess calmed herself down before saying.
"I apologize, princess, but that is not my priority right now."
Not only did he have no interest in doing active duty, he also had no plans on being Lanzelot for the rest of his life. He merely needed to find some information and after everything was done, he would slowly make Lanzelot Dulat disappear from Briton.
The princess bit her lip and asked.
"Then, why did you even learn how to be a knight in the first place?! Even if you have talent, you must have spent years of your life practicing!"
"Once again, I'm sorry, princess. Indeed, I trained to be strong, but I have no wish to be in service to any kingdom, at least not in the near future."
The princess became even more annoyed after hearing his answer.
"Then, what is the point of you being a knight at all? You should be ashamed !! Remember, Lanzo, come to the accolade ceremony tomorrow, I want you to rethink your oath."
Finally, the carriage reached the estate and both of them separated in a sour mood. The princess didn't talk much afterward, not even during the celebratory dinner.
Though the princess was smiling, Emery knew her heart was still troubled.
Emery harbored no illusion, she would put that much thought onto him even if he was an ordinary squire. It seemed what influenced her to act was her burden of responsibility. They were childhood friends before and the princess didn't exactly keep her desire to be free a secret.
It seemed the fact 'Lanzo' was free to do whatever he wanted must have struck a nerve to the princess.
He did not realize it, but the princess' burden slowly became his as well.
Written by Avans, Published exclusively by NovelFull,