Drip Drip
Sweat poured down my face while the sun burned high in the sky, casting powerful shadows over the terrain.
It was often warm in the city of Alexandra and today wasn't different.
Together with the fact that I was standing in the sun and wearing a full body knight uniform, the heat was affecting me quite a bit. Not enough to actually bother me but annoying nonetheless.
Since becoming awakened, not only have I become stronger but my resistance to drastic weather has increased a lot. I'm sure that no regular sunray can burn me.
It wouldn't surprise me if higher Tiered awakened are completely immune to sunburns.
Instead of my regular black and silver uniform I was wearing something different. My current uniform had a white and black theme all over, with luxurious golden accessories that exuded "honor", to onlookers.
The outfit came with black boots that looked stylish and suitable for combat and comfortable white gloves that almost reflected the sun's light.
Right below my neck, in the center of my chest there was a red decorated gem and on my left shoulder, there was a symbol of a setting sun.
The outfit I was wearing was simply…..Sublime.
'It seems becoming a personal knight comes with some perks.'
After staying with Kayla for a while I went back to my room to prepare all that I needed for today's departure. I told her when I'm departing but I'm not entirely sure about whether she's accepted it or not.
When I woke up the next morning, a maid brought me a uniform I was told to wear for the trip. Not only that, but this maid was also instructed with "grooming" me properly.
After wearing the uniform, she relentlessly styled my hair, applied all kinds of weird products to my face.
It was quite humiliating.
But not even I can argue with the end result.
Right now, I looked like I was the epitome of valor. Refined, elegant, and mostly….experienced in combat.
I never really cared that much about my physical appearance but today, I felt confident to compete with even the best of them.
Currently, I'm waiting for Vera in front of the carriage at the gates. There were a few staff members around the area, taking care of logistics and whatnot. I'm not really aware of what they are doing but I figure some of them are going to be accompanying us towards The Capital. After all, it's quite a trip.
Vera should be coming soon.
Tap Tap
My attention snapped towards the footsteps coming behind me.
"Jeez, were you really planning on leaving without saying goodbye? That's heartless, you know." A brown haired man complained while crossing his arms.
"I wasn't. I knew you would come see me off me so I didn't see a need in calling you." I replied to the man, to Henry.
And he wasn't alone either.
Together with him were Amy and Frederick. Unfortunately, not with someone I wanted to see.
"Sir Frederick, I wasn't aware you returned." I respectfully addressed the Knight Commander.
He merely shook his head. "It is not an issue. I just returned yesterday night. I didn't want to miss the departure of my best student to Sunrise Academy.
"Wait, aren't I your best student? I'm your so-" Before Henry could finish complaining, Frederick grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.
'Here we go again.'
He swung his arm and threw towards massive protective walls.
"Tch, you would be my favorite student if you didn't slack off so much."
With a sigh, I turned away from the familiar family drama.
"Hello Amy, thank you for coming." Amy quietly waited next to Frederick while the entire banter was going on.
She bowed her head respectfully with her usual expression. "It is my pleasure, Kaelith."
"But why are you here? Did you truly come just to see me off?" Amy was still the head maid, so it wouldn't make sense for her to come see me off like this.
"No, I came to see off the Lady."
'You could have just said you came to see me.'
"But I also came to give you something." Amy pulled back the sleeve and took a bracelet from her wrist.
She held it out to me with both hands.
"This is a Tamo bracelet. I want you to take this with you on your journey."
'A Tamo bracelet? I've never seen this before.'
"This bracelet originally comes from Drifthold. It is meant to convey good luck to the receiver."
'Good luck, huh.'
The bracelet was made from a string with rough crystals on it. Nothing really expensive, probably. But nevertheless….
"Thank you, Amy. I appreciate it." A smile crossed my face as I said this.
"It is no issue. This is merely a gift to congratulate you on learning all the things I taught you," with her face still passive, she explained.
'Hehe, your face never changes does it.'
"Still, thank you." Amy nodded her head with a thin smile.
The heavy clanking of metal approached us quickly.
When I turned around there was a knight standing in front of Frederick.
The knight had dirt blond hair that was slicked back neatly. He seemed to be in his early thirties with no wrinkles to be seen.
Though his body was covered in steel armor, that didn't stop me from noticing the power his body possessed.
The man slightly bowed his head to Frederick. "Sir, the preparations have been made. We are ready to depart at any moment. All that is necessary is The Lady herself."
Frederick merely nodded his head. "Good. Make sure to be vigilant the entire time."
The lean knight's brown eyes shone before nodding his head. "Yes, Sir."
I knew that knight. I have seen him around a lot and even talked with him a few times. He was also the one that was going to be protecting me and Vera on our way to the Capital.
That man is the Vice-Commander of the Dawn Knights, Elias.
Elias turned towards me and walked in my direction.
"Good morning, Sir Kaelith. I hope you are ready for the trip." With a slight bow, the knight greeted me with respect.
"Yes, I am ready. With you here, I'm sure nothing will go wrong." I responded in kind.
"You flatter me too much. I still have much to learn."
The Vice-Commander is the perfect idea of what a knight is supposed to be. Respectful, honourable and kind. He has helped me quite a few times with my training during my stay here.
From what I heard from the other knights, Elias is not only respectful, but also incredibly skilled. Despite just being in his early thirties, he has already attained the rank of Vice-Commander of The Dawn Order. It is quite a reassurance that he will be protecting us.
As we kept talking, the time to depart came. But…
"Lady Vera is late. I wonder what could be holding her up?" Elias spoke out the thoughts of most of us.
Vera was unusually late. We should leave by now.
From what I gathered, Vera is a very precise and ordered person so being late is not in her book. Better yet, she hates being late.
As we started discussing the absence of Vera, the door of the mansion opened with a resounding creak.
Coming out of the door was an inconspicuous maid. The maid walked to the side and curtsied her dress as another woman came from behind her.
She had long blond hair that went down in waves instead of her regular straight hair. Her red eyes contrasted with the whiteness of her skin.
The woman was wearing a luxurious corset dress, with a long skirt. The dress was red and white in color with golden linings and markings. The dress seemed to be made from the finest silk with not a speck of dust on it.
The lady had long white stockings that disappeared behind the skirt alongside dainty black shoes that were polished so cleanly that they reflected the light.
Along with the red dress, the woman was holding a red umbrella to shield her pale skin against the might of the sun.
The Heiress of Dawn has arrived.
Frederick, Elias and Me put a fist on our chest while Amy curtsied with her head down.
"Good morning, everyone. You may raise your heads." Putting away the umbrella for a moment, Vera revealed her flawless skin to us.
Frederick raised his head while shaking his head. "It is of no issue, my lady. Were there any issues while coming here? It is unusual for you to be this late."
Her eyes then drifted towards me before chuckling. "You don't have to worry, I was merely….testing out different dresses, that's all."
'Why did she look my way while saying that?'
I shook my head as we started moving towards the carriage.
"So we are ready to depart, aren't we?" Vera asked.
Elias measuredly nodded his head. "We are ready to leave whenever you please. All the knights are ready." He said while pointing at the protecting knights that were coming with us.
"Great." Me and Vera started walking towards the carriage as Amy and Frederick stood back to watch us leave. Elias and the other knights got ready to protect the carriage as soon as we left the gate.
I turned back one last time to look at the mansion before shaking my head.
'I guess she isn't coming.'
"A hand?"
As we reached the entrance of the carriage, Vera held up her arm towards me. With practiced elegance, I held her hand and helped her up into the carriage.
"Thank you, Kaelith."
"You're welcome, my lady."
'It seems all of Amy's lessons paid off.'
I could feel someone staring holes into me while I was helping Vera. I would rather not know how she would react if I messed up the procedure.
After helping Vera up, I entered the carriage myself.
"Gates!" As a yell came from outside I heard the gate slowly creak open.
'I guess we're leaving, huh. I was finally leaving this mansion for the first time in 2 months. I suppose this place has affected me more than I thought.'
With that thought the carriage started moving towards the now opened gate.
"Hmm?" I felt Vera poke me from the other side of the carriage with her folded umbrella. When I turned to her she pointed at the window.
When I looked outside, I saw Frederick and Amy waving at me. Henry seemed to have recovered as well and was enthusiastically swinging his arm up and down.
But when I looked closer, I saw a girl running up to the group.
"About time, she arrived. I thought she was going to miss it." Vera said with an amused smile.
'She?'
The girl was dressed in a beautiful white ball gown that was clearly too big to be hers. With her shining black hair held up with accessories, the girl looked like a royal princess of a far away nation.
'That dress….It's familiar…'
As the girl got closer to the carriage, recognition started to set in.
"Kayla!" My loud voice came out as I sat up in shock.
Kayla was wearing a similar dress to the one she got for her tenth birthday. Almost as if it was picked for that purpose.
As we reached the gate, Kayla stopped running and waved at me with a giant smile for what I could make out.
"Kael! When you come back, I'll bake you the best cake you ever had! I promise!" She screamed across the courtyard, pulling the attention of everyone in the vicinity.
I sat there shocked with my eyes widened. I thought she was still disappointed by my departure. I never thought she would show up like this.
My eyes fell to Vera. Her thin smile told me all I needed to know about why she was late.
'This woman….'
A grin crept onto my face. I waved back through the window and yelled, "You promised!"
Kayla's smile deepened as we kept waving at each other before the gate closed, sealing our promises.
A scoff escaped me.
'I guess the gods will be watching both of us.'
As the carriage moved slowly, we were headed towards the capital of Felora.