Simon sat on a tree root as the bearded knight cleaned his wrecked up carriage.
He still feels a bit bewildered while holding a steaming cup of tea he got from his brother's attendant, Rode.
"It seems Lady June doesn't plan to leave her hiding spot," he mumbled to himself as he sipped his tea absentmindedly. "I wonder why she decided to stow away with us?"
"Your carriage is all clean now," the bearded knight called out to him.
Simon stood up and went close to him.
"Will... thank you for saving us..." he whispered to the knight.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Prince Simon," Will said with a frown. "All I did was tell you who to stick your sword into. You did the rest yourself."
Simon felt himself blush.
He was elated to meet his savior again, but as usual, Will does not wish to be recognized for helping him.
He watched him climb the coachman's seat where he would be spending the night standing guard over the carriage.
"Now hop inside and get some sleep," Will told him. "That little friend of yours has been asking for you for some time now."
Simon looked at his brother Juno's carriage where
his two knights kept standing guard on horseback.
His brother has probably gone to sleep already since it was getting pretty late. It took quite a while for Will to wash all the blood out from the carriage floor.
Simon sighed and entered his damp carriage, pulling the curtains on the windows close as he did.
"Is that you, Prince Simon?" came a soft voice from within the seat in front of him.
"Yes, Lady June, it's me. You can come out from there if you wish."
"Oh, thank goodness!"
The seat cover lifted up as the hooded head of Lady June peeked at him. She took the cover off completely and stepped out of the boxed seat.
Simon saw a nest of blankets inside before she replaced the cover and sat in front of him.
"Augh! I'm aching all over from that cramped space!"
"W-why did you decide to hide in there in the first place, Lady June?" Simon asked as the young lady stretched herself.
"Just call me June," she told him. "In return, I'll call you Simon when there's just the two of us."
"I-I don't think it would be appro-"
"Why not? And why are you so stiff?" June slapped him on the shoulder. Simon stared at her wide-eyed. "Let's be friends since we'll be traveling together for quite a while."
"I... I guess so..." Simon said awkwardly.
He has had very little interaction with the opposite sex, and this lady was even one of his prospective fiances!
June stared at Simon with a mysterious smile.
She had a lot of plans in her head, and one of them was making use of the spineless, ignorant, and gullible 9th prince to get to the Capital.
She's been having second thoughts, though, after seeing him fight with the knights earlier.
'I guess he's not that big of a push over after all.' she thought to herself. 'I still find it hard to believe that he could actually handle a sword. He could really kill me if I push him too far.'
"So..." Simon broke her chain of thought, "why were you hiding in my carriage?"
"I decided to accompany you to the capital," said June, thinking that saying the truth would be best. "I have always wanted to learn in the Royal Maralict Imperial University, and frankly, traveling with you is the only way I can go there since my father refuses to send me."
"Then... does this mean that your father has no idea that you're here?"
"Yes."
"But, wouldn't he be looking for you?"
"Obviously."
"Then you should go back at once! He must be worried sick about you!"
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that, I told him I would be leaving early for my boarding school. He won't know about my absence until the Convent of the Lilac Rose calls him in about a month from now to ask why I haven't arrived yet."
"But still..."
"Don't worry about a thing," June interrupted him. "I have brought enough funds to last me a year in the capital, and I already have a place to stay with a friend I have correspondence with," she assured him. "All I need is a ride to get there."
"Well... if that's the case..."
"So, where's our first stop?" she asked while taking out a blanket from beneath her seat. "I couldn't hear much of what your brother said earlier since I was hiding."
"Well, as you already know, we'll be staying here in the edge of the Twilight Forest for the night, since we couldn't make it to a town before nightfall. We'll go to the nearest town tomorrow morning and send a report to our father the King, then make our way to the nearest city with a warp portal to the Empire."
"Right... it would take us three weeks to get to the nearest warp zone," said June, making herself comfortable on the cushioned seat.
"That's what they said... wouldn't it be difficult for you to travel underneath the seat, then?"
"Just keep the carriage doors locked and the curtains closed and tell them it's cold."
"Oh... okay..."
"Do you have anything to eat?" June's stomach gurgled.
"Ah... I forgot to get you some stew from dinner!" Simon gasped. "I have some beef jerky here, if you like..."
"Thanks."
"I can ask Will to get you something else to eat..."
"Will?"
"The bearded knight who helped us."
"No thank you, this will be enough," June replied with a yawn. "We should turn in to sleep soon since we had quite a rough day."
"Oh, okay..."
Simon lay on his seat, pulled a blanket up to his chin, and closed his eyes.
Lady June stared at him in the half darkness, the crescent moon outside, the only light.
'He looks so weak and small,' she thought to herself. 'I still can't believe he was capable of killing those treacherous knights on his own...'
A deep frown formed on June's smooth forehead as she recalled the events earlier.
How the bearded knight pushed Simon towards the incoming knights.
How he parried their blows with a fearful grunt.
How his face drained of color as he killed men much bigger than him one after the other.
'Well, now that I look properly,' she thought, 'I notice how sinewy his arms are. He's pure muscle with hardly any body fat, and he carried that steel sword as if it was merely made of canvas. I guess he really is the hero who defeated the Behemoth after all...' she pondered with a grin. 'He'll be pretty useful as a traveling companion and a bodyguard to boot.'
She turned on her seat to find a more comfortable position and sighed.
She can't seem to fall asleep due to all of the excitement.
Frowning, she looked at Simon once more, pondering if she should talk to him some more, but then again, it would be best to let him get some rest.
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CHOICES:
[Ask if he's still awake.] go to Part 49
[Just go to sleep.] go to Part 50
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