Five days had passed since the fall of the Lioness Kingdom.
Inside a simple, yet beautiful estate standing near the edge of Venta town, a blonde girl was sitting at the edge of a long table, facing around a dozen knights divided into two neat rows.
The knights kept talking amongst themselves all day, while the girl could only listen in silence.
"Princess Gwenneth, here are all the reports we received regarding each of the nobles." The knight who sat the closest to her spoke.
From the 359 noble families of the Lioness Kingdom, 70% had accepted Cantiaci as the ruler of their land and only a few dozen families dared to speak of their loyalty to the Lioness. The rest was nowhere to be heard.
"Princess, I think we should act as soon as possible." A knight with a calm expression stood up before speaking. "For now, the best course of action is to gather up your supporters. Many have received false rumors about your death. Allow me to accompany you in your visit to them. With time, I am sure we could-"
Another knight stood up quickly and interrupted him.
"Marc, how do you expect us to do that?! Did you really just suggest to the princess to ride with minimal protection and meet all these nobles? That's incredibly dangerous!"
"Lucas, what do you think it will be?" Marc glared at him and said. "Of course it is dangerous and every one of us knows how dangerous this situation is… But, this is the right thing to do!"
"Right thing to do? Even if you manage to convince all those 30% remaining nobles, they are all mostly low-ranked nobles without many knights to lend, besides, are you telling us to face the might of Cantiaci and 70% of our own families?!" Lucas yelled.
"Our own? What do you mean by our own! Those nobles can no longer be called our own!"
"Marc, listen," Lucas took a deep breath and sighed. "Everyone in this room has at least one distant cousin or uncle who chose to be part of that 70%, so of course, they are still our own."
"We… But, we still have the people on our side-"
"Seriously Marc? Do you want to involve the civilians to rise and join the fight?!"
"Yes, what else are we supposed to do?! They have the right to defend their kingdom and so do we!"
"Marc, your rash decisions will only lead to more people dying!"
"That is the cost we must take, so-"
"Ahem!"
The golden knight Yvain fake-coughed, with that gesture the heated argument instantly stopped.
After making sure the noises had died down to hushed whispers, Yvain looked towards the end of the table and asked.
"Are you feeling unwell, Princess? It's pretty late already, should we adjourn the meeting and perhaps continue tomorrow?"
Even though she was silent the entire time, witnessing her knights falling apart tired the princess out. She nodded and the golden knight announced the end of the meeting. Everyone quickly left the room, leaving the princess alone.
Since the loss of her kingdom and the death of her father, the princess hasn't been herself. Her eyes looked tired and sunken and every time she was spoken to, she did not wear her usual beautiful smile. It seems her glow was lost on that fateful night.
After everyone left, Gwenneth walked with tired steps out of the estate. She closed the gate slowly, ensuring no one heard her leave and stared at the mansion that stood behind her with mixed feelings. Since that night, she had been staying here for five days.
Under the cover of darkness, she walked further away, towards the outskirts of the town. The night felt chilly and lonely. Only the crackling of torches and the distinctive walking noise of the poeple as most of the citizens had closed their business for the day. Unconsciously, she pulled her clothes tighter onto her body.
In the darkness, no one could discern her identity, leaving her to her thoughts. Several days had passed, but the event kept replaying in her mind, haunting her dreams and keeping her awake.
She finally arrived in a beautiful yet simple garden, with a carved block of stone in its center, surrounded by colorful flowers.
The princess knelt in front of the stone and traced the carving on it.
'Here lies our beloved King, Richard the Lioness'
Gwenneth stared at the stone for a few moments. Tears started to dot the block of stone, but she had not yet gathered up her courage to say just a word.
With trembling lips, she finally said.
"I miss you. Father.."
Like a dam had burst open, tears flowed down on her cheek. She then gradually starts to spur words, talking to the stone about the things that have happened the last five days. What the kingdom has become and what she has become.
"Father, how did you do it…? I… I don't think I can."
She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and continued.
"I… I can't,... I do not want to see these people kill each other… Father, I am not strong enough to give them that order…"
She cried and cried, with nothing but the noises of night wildlife and the cold winds to keep her company. In the dead of the night, she let out everything she had been holding.
After a while, she stopped talking and merely sat to stare at the name of her father.
Time passed and Gwen spent it alone with her thoughts. At last, she finally remembered her father's last words.
"Father, I am sorry for what I have decided" Gwen stood up and said. "But, I will keep my promise… From now on, I will only do what makes me happy."
Gwenneth tightened up her clothes once more and braved the chilly night. She returned to the estate with a new conviction ablaze in her heart.
The next day, she gathered all her knights and told them the Princess of Lioness was no more. They were told to return back to their family, to their own land, and stop thinking about her or the Lioness kingdom.
It was such a shocking decision, some taking it very hard but in the end seeing the princess' condition, the knights accepted it.
She bowed to the knights, showing her gratitude for their service to the kingdom. Afterward, she took a small leather bag she had prepared the night before and left the estate.
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Written by Avans, Published exclusively by NovelFull,