The king caught up to Silvia.
After a moment of silence, he could not help but voice out:
"Are we not being far too lenient? He ruined the tournament and disrespected our kingdom in public and yet we let him go easily?"
"Also, are we seriously going to leave our daughter with him?" The king couldn't stop the tinge of annoyance from appearing in his voice.
After a short moment of silence, Silvia's beautiful voice drifted into his ears:
"You failed to consider something important."
"What?" replied the King, a bit confused.
"Even though he is very strong, in the end, he is just a boy. You do not expect him to be mature, do you?"
Silvia looked at her husband from the corner of her eye and seeing him scratch his head embarrassedly, she could not help but chuckle.
"From the look in the eyes of that boy, I could tell that he had gone through a lot. A child should not carry those types of eyes. It felt as if he wanted to rebel against the world. Therefore, it is quite understandable for him to behave like that. I am sure his past has not been easy. Of course, that is not enough reason to forgive him. Neither does that justify his actions. Still, he won the tournament, so we shouldn't go against our promise. As for our daughter being with him, I believe it is okay since they should be close to each other to build some feelings. Besides, don't you think it is about time we fulfilled Rita's desire to explore the outside world? We have been restricting her movement just to prevent her strange powers from being revealed to the world. But the boy is strong, so she shouldn't need to act personally."
Before the king could reply, she continued...
"Besides, I gave her three protective talismans that would activate when her life is in danger."
The king swallowed the words about to come out of his mouth.
His expression became visibly relaxed as they continued on their way.
What he didn't know was that there was one more reason why the Queen was being lenient with Arthur, if not, he would have been put to death if not worse.
'He is special, just like me!' It was the first time she met someone like her, and just his mere existence filled her with so much excitement.
'I thought two Celestial talents couldn't appear at a time in the universe.'
....
Three hours later.
The effect of the skill, 'Time loop' wore off as the golden light surrounding Arthur disappeared.
Arthur immediately collapsed on the ground and fainted right away, his face deadly pale.
Looking at the worn-out figure of Arthur, Rita could not help but sigh once more.
'I have always wanted to leave the palace, but to think that when I finally did, I have to take care of an unconscious boy.'
She had already searched their surroundings. Right now, they were located on a flat plain. She had already found out that a small building was a few kilometers away from them, after a short walk.
She moved toward the fainted Arthur and clumsily raised him, and placed him on her back with both of Arthur's legs trailing on the ground.
'Well, I am a princess, so you cannot blame me for being so rough with you.'
….
After about an hour's walk, Silvia appeared in front of the house.
The sun had already long set, and it was nighttime; the stars shining bright in the sky, with pale moonlight filling the suroundings.
Huff! Huff!
Silvia panted roughly as she tried to catch her breath. Her clothes were already soaked with sweat, and her golden hair was a bit messy.
Arriving in front of the door of the two-story building, she called out weakly:
"Hello!"
"Hello!"
Perhaps because it was already nighttime, the door was slightly opened after a few breaths which showed that her voice was heard.
A small head poked out of the door cautiously as a timid voice rang out:
"Wh-Who is it?"
Looking at the small girl of about five years, Rita replied as friendly as she could:
"Hey there, could I perhaps talk to your parents?"
"I-I don't ha-have any parents," the small girl replied, her face a little pale as she seemed scared of Rita.
Before Rita could reply, an elderly voice sounded out from the house, as the sound of footsteps pulled closer.
"What are you doing, Mia?"
The small girl immediately turned back, and the door opened fully from her abrupt movement.
"Grandma, there is someone here."
"Oh!"
Rita met eyes with an elderly woman with black hair partly dyed white from old age.
She tried to bow but couldn't because of the load on her back.
"Hello, how do you do? My friend and I were passing close by, but he suddenly collapsed. Therefore, I was looking for a place to care for him and came across this place. Would it be possible to stay for the night? I would really appreciate it and would gladly compensate," Rita said politely.
Looking at Rita's beautiful yet worn-out appearance, the elder could not help but feel pity. Her eyes glanced through the beautiful yet sophisticated golden dress on the little girl, not to mention the jewelry on her body. Her eyes soon shifted to the fainted boy, on her back. Despite not seeing the face of the girl, she could tell from how drenched her clothes were that she was on her last leg.
With a light, gentle smile on her face, the elderly woman pulled little Mia into her embrace before voicing out:
"There is a room for you to stay in. And there is no need for you to pay. Besides, it is not safe for a girl to be out late at night. Come in, dear."
Hearing her reply, Rita could not help but release a relieved sigh as she thanked the elder.
….
In a simple room with only a small bed beside the window and a table by the side, Arthur lay unconsciously on the bed as Rita sat beside him.
Arthur opened his eyes. His vision was a bit blurry, and he felt a slight headache. He opened and closed his eyes a few times to adjust to the light.
When he came to, he was stunned.
Looking at the golden-haired veiled girl place a small white cloth in a small basin on the table in front of the window and then place it on his head without even squeezing it, he could not help but blurt out:
"What are you doing?"
His face was already covered in water, and his hair was soaked. Even a small part of the bed was wet.
"Shhh," Rita hushed him.
She placed the wet, soaked cloth on his head, then his eyes, forcing Arthur to quickly shut them. She pulled it down further to his nose and finally, to his mouth before dipping it in the basin once more.
"What the hell are you doing?" Arthur could not help but blurt out once more, this time quite exasperatedly.
"I told you to shh, didn't I?" she pulled out the cloth and smacked it on his head.
"Ah!"
"Again?" Rita shouted angrily, and Arthur immediately shut his mouth firmly.
"Humph," She harrumphed coldly.
'What is wrong with this crazy girl? Is this how you take care of someone?' Arthur screamed begrudgingly in his mind.
Though he said that, he could not help but have a weird feeling. This was the first time he was being cared for by someone. So, he didn't know how to feel about it.
Rita, on the other hand, was in a world of her own.
'What a mess! I tried to help him, but it just ended like this. He must think I am a spoiled princess. I am so embarrassed right now.'
She had thought not squeezing the cloth would allow the water to remain longer on his body, and cool his temperature. But from his reaction, she could tell she was only embarrassing herself. She felt like digging a hole and jumping into it.
when had she ever had to handle such miscellaneous tasks in her life?
In her flustered state, she could not react quickly as...
*Swoosh.* The wind blew in wildly, lifting her veil.
Seeing the face that had always been hidden underneath that veil, Arthur's heart could not help but skip a beat. His eyes flashed wide open, and his mouth widened to form a big O.
Looking at his great reaction to her visage, Rita's face reddened like a tomato.
She dumped the white cloth in his wide open mouth and screamed, "Idiot!" before she stood and ran out of the room.
Arthur, on the other hand, choked on the cloth.
*****
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