Arc#3 Interlude: Just Another Knight (Patreon)

When she was young, Gwen didn't live a very good life.

Gwen had never seen her father.

As for her mother, Dana, she was kind and pretty, but sickly. Dana raised Gwen in a remote village on the outskirts of the Argonia Empire by using her meager skills as a seamstress.

In a decrepit village where people usually just endured until their clothes became rags, her services weren't very popular. Despite this, Gwen and her mother never seemed to go completely hungry.

When their coins dwindled or when Gwen got sick, Dana would take out a box of gold coins under the floorboards and take one out. She would then trade it for smaller coins in the nearby town. Naturally, this was Gwen and her mother's greatest secret. Even the young Gwen knew that the other villagers would find some reason to ask for a few—and the village chief would probably take it all.

The village chief.

Gwen didn't like him at all. He kept on pestering Dana to marry him even though she refused him a number of times. The village chief even said that Gwen should marry his son when she got older.

Their constant refusal made the village chief angry so he made trouble for Gwen and her mom at every turn. Dana had even wanted to move out, but they apparently couldn't, because it was dangerous. Even though this village was poor, it was much more peaceful than other places outside.

Gwen didn't really understand why it was more peaceful in other places, but Gwen loved her mother and was convinced that she was never wrong.

There was also another reason why they couldn't leave the village—Gwen's father might not be able to find them.

Gwen didn't think her father would return. At least, that's what the other villagers thought. Maybe it was because she was "cute", or people liked her blonde hair and green eyes, but a lot of adults were nice to Gwen. And those adults who were normally nice said that her dad would never return, so Gwen came to believe their words.

Still, since her mother believed that her father would return, Gwen also prayed for the same thing. She just wanted her mother to be happy after all, and her father's return would definitely do that.

And then one day, Gwen thought that their prayers actually came true.

Their house was small so there was only one room with one bed where Gwen and her mother slept together. Then there was a table and two chairs where they would eat their meals. Just outside of their house was a small hearth where they did all their cooking.

That's why, when Gwen was still pretending to sleep because she wanted to pull a small prank on her mom, she managed to see when a mysterious man she didn't know entered their little house.

Gwen thought that this might be her dad since her mother seemed to know him.

But that was wrong. He was blonde too, but he didn't have the same green eyes as Gwen. Her mother said that Gwen inherited her eyes from her father, so there was no way the man in the room was her father—since the man in the room had brown eyes.

The mysterious man and Gwen's mom talked for a bit, then her mom started crying. As for the man, his face looked calm but Gwen could somehow tell that he was sad too.

Apparently, Gwen's dad was dead.

As for Gwen and Dana, the man—Criston was his name apparently—would take them away from this place.

Gwen didn't feel as sad about her father's death as her mother, but she was happy that they wouldn't have to stay in this village anymore. She wouldn't have to marry the village chief's bratty son while her mother wouldn't have to deal with the chief's pestering.

It was a very good thing and Gwen was all for it.

So that very same day, Gwen's mom "woke" her up and they left the house behind. Naturally, they took the secret stash of gold with them and Dana tried to hand it over to Criston.

But Criston said they should use it for themselves since he had lots of money.

The three of them traveled for a long while together. Gwen remembered what her mother said about it being dangerous in other places but that didn't seem to be true. Even when they had to sleep outside, Criston would walk around and all the scary beasts would go away. And when bad men tried to bully them, Criston would just make Gwen close her eyes and the bad men would have gone away by the time she opened them.

Gwen thought that her mother must have been wrong about it being dangerous outside. But that was okay since Gwen loved her mom even though she was wrong for once.

Traveling was fun. Criston bought them new clothes every few days. Gwen would think that it was a waste to throw their old clothes away but Criston said that it couldn't be helped.

Criston.

Gwen really liked him because he was really nice to her. He was handsome and he smelled good too, unlike all the other adults in their village. Criston also told her lots of stories while traveling and made her treats out of berries they found.

Sometimes, Criston looked really scared though, and Gwen would get scared along with him even though she didn't understand what was happening. Criston would then make her smell something really nice that made Gwen sleepy afterward... then when she woke up, they'd be at a completely different place and everything would be okay.

There was even a time when Criston made her sniff the nice thing over and over again, even though she had just woken up.

But that was okay. Gwen knew that everything would be fine because Criston always said so.

And it was.

Soon, they made it to this really nice place where Gwen could eat as much as she wanted. Criston also helped them get a new house that was way bigger than the one Gwen grew up in. He also said that since her father "died honorably", Gwen and her mom would get a bunch of money every month even if they didn't work.

Gwen got to go to school and learn all sorts of new things. She also made a whole bunch of friends who didn't try to steal her food. The clothes she wore were all pretty and new. Her mother also smiled a whole lot because the nice people from the church made her healthier.

Happy.

Gwen was really happy. Every day she just kept on getting happier and happier.

She didn't understand why her life suddenly got better, but her mother always told her that when someone did something nice for her, she had to say "thank you" and try to pay them back. Not a whole lot of people ever did something nice for her though, so she didn't get to say thank you a lot.

Criston came to visit them from time to time and Gwen thanked him every time. But then he would always look troubled, making Gwen wonder why.

When she asked, Criston said that she shouldn't really be thanking him because he'd just done his job.

Gwen didn't fully understand, but she just wanted to thank someone for all the happiness she received—because it was a lot.

"The king was the one who made me save you," Criston had said.

The king.

Gwen didn't know who that was. The king sounded like a great person though, if he was the one who told Criston to bring them to their current home. Apparently, their house and the money they kept getting came from the king too.

I have to thank the king, Gwen had thought.

So she snuck out and tried to go to the big castle where the king lived. But big men in armor stopped her with a troubled smile. Even when Gwen told them that she was just going to thank the king, they wouldn't let her through even though they stroked her head.

"There's a festival three days from now. There'll be a parade and the king will go around with his family. Why don't you just thank him there?"

Gwen had nodded at the nice armored man's suggestion. She gave up on sneaking into the castle and waited patiently.

Then the festival arrived.

Her friends seemed to be really excited to go around but Gwen wasn't like them—she had a mission. So even though her mother had things to do, Gwen pestered her to see the parade. Criston heard about it too and came along.

There were lots of people waiting along the streets because they wanted to see the king just like Gwen. Gwen was afraid that she wouldn't be able to see the king at this rate, but Criston took them to a place where only special people were allowed, so she could see the main road just fine.

That's why Gwen was able to see the king.

Gwen will never forget the time when she first saw the king.

The king was tall and handsome, maybe even the most handsome man Gwen had ever seen. His hair was like night while his eyes were like the sky, and on his face was a warm smile. He waved enthusiastically to everyone as his chariot rode by. From time to time, he would respond to the countless cheers he received, yelling his answer over the roars of the crowd.

Gwen didn't know what she felt at that time but by the time she realized that she'd been staring too much, the king was about to pass her by.

She had felt panicked. More panicked than she'd ever been her entire life. If she couldn't thank the king now, would she ever be able to?

So with that in mind, she mustered all the strength her little body could muster, shouting as loud as she possibly could.

"Thank you for saving me and my mom!"

It was just a single sentence but Gwen felt exhausted after the fact. Even her throat hurt and her head felt like it was ringing.

But none of that mattered because the king seemed to hear her.

Gwen didn't know why. Maybe it was because while everybody else was shouting for the king to look at them, Gwen had yelled something different. Maybe it was a coincidence. Maybe the king just looked her way because she was cute.

But the king looked at her. Their gazes met even though there were thousands of other people there.

"You're welcome! Little Gwendolyn!"

Gwen was really happy that the king answered her. But then she was shocked and speechless when she realized that the king knew her name. She didn't even know the king's name! So why did the king know hers?

"Good for you," Criston had said, patting her on her little head. "King Rodin heard you."

King Rodin.

Gwen had clenched her fists. She was bothered when the king knew her name when she didn't know his. But the question remained—why did the king know her name?

"Don't you remember?" Criston had answered her. "I said it was the king who ordered me to save you."

Gwen did remember. So that was why. Still, she thought it was amazing that the king remembered her name. Or was it normal to do so? Maybe the king didn't order for a lot of people to be saved.

She then wondered if the king ordered people to save kids like Gwen all the time, and Criston nodded like it was obvious.

"That's amazing." Gwen had said. "Why does he do that?"

"Well..." Criston had thought hard about it. "I think it's because he's nice?"

"Can I save people too? Like you did for me!"

"You have to be a knight to do the stuff I did. But don't worry, there are other ways to save people. Like making medicine and—"

Gwen hadn't listened to everything else that Criston said. She was just focused on one thing.

Knight.

She wanted to be a knight.

Because the king had ordered a knight to save Gwen and her mom, they were really happy now. Gwen was so happy she thought she might blow up.

It would be great if she could make other people happy too.

"Hey, hey," Gwen had pulled on Criston's shirt. "Can I help the king if become a knight?"

"Huh? Well, I guess, you can...? But like I said, that's not the only way to—"

Gwen had clenched her little fists when she heard she could help the king too. Now she had even more reason to become a knight.

Knight.

Gwen would become a knight.

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"Gwendolyn! Get down here! Breakfast is ready!"

Gwen opened her eyes and she was greeted by the ceiling she'd grown familiar with. She checked the nearby clock and nodded when she confirmed that she had slept for exactly eight hours.

After getting out of bed, she took the spatial ring on her bedside table and put it on. Then she took out her uniform and wore it with practiced movements. Her firm but slender limbs slipped into the black uniform effortlessly and she was soon ready in exactly two minutes.

Gwen briefly scanned her room to see if anything was amiss then proceeded for the door.

She was on duty today.

Vacations and rest days were nice, but she liked her work. Today, she would have breakfast while chatting with her mom for twenty minutes and then she would rush to the barracks within five.

But when she got downstairs, she immediately realized that her usual schedule might be broken.

Gwen rushed down the stairs and saluted. "Sir."

"Hey, hey. Calm down, will ya?" Criston chuckled as he munched on a piece of toast. He looked just as young as the day he saved Gwen and her mom. "I'm just here to visit. At ease, at ease..."

"Yes..."

"Come on. Get some breakfast."

"Yes sir."

"I said at ease... Geez." Criston laughed in exasperation. "You've become a splendid knight, huh?"

Gwen's lips curved into a smile as she sat down. "Thank you."

"A bit too much of a straight arrow though. Let loose a little~!"

"Thanks, mom." Gwen ignored the knight's words and smiled at her mother. She respected Sir Criston as a person, but he and Gwen had different viewpoints on knighthood. "You're back from the frontlines again."

"I got kicked out for grave misconduct."

Dana giggled as she put down two mugs of coffee in front of them. "That joke's getting old, Criston."

"Eh? It is? Oh, dear... Now I'll have to think of a new one."

Gwen chewed on a mouthful of toast before her eyes fell on a piece of paper on the table. "What's that?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing much." Criston sipped on his coffee only to be scalded. He grimaced as he offhandedly said. "Just a letter from King Rodin. Some kind of secret order for you."

Gwen almost spat out her toast but stopped herself. She glared at the man she treated as her second father before snatching the letter and reading its contents. There was quite a bit of writing on it, but the essence could be summarized in a few words.

Dame Gwendolyn will be participating in the exhibition match against Prince Reivan Aizenwald. And by order of the king, she had to do everything in her power to win—except if it involved permanently damaging herself, which was forbidden.

"Hm." Gwen impassively ate through her breakfast. Nothing else mattered to her. The king gave his orders and she would complete it.

"Oh, you're fighting His Highness?" Criston remarked with amazement.

"...Did you read the letter? I can report you for this."

Criston pointed behind her, making Gwen glance back to see a mirror hanging on the wall.

'That wasn't there yesterday.'

"Oh my." Dana hadn't been listening, she only saw that they were looking at the mirror. "Do you like it? A scary man was going around the neighborhood selling mirrors... He looked sad because nobody was buying from him so I bought one. Quite a nice lad, actually. I'm glad I brightened his day."

"I see." Gwen sighed as she shook her head. "Good work, mom. We needed a new mirror."

"I know, right? I'm glad you like it."

Gwen watched her mom head off to buy groceries at the market before glaring at Criston. "You better not tell anyone."

"My lips are sealed~!"

Gwen didn't believe him but since he already knew anyway, she may as well ask him his opinion. "What do you think?"

"About what? Your marriage prospects? I think if you stopped being such a prude, you could snag a guy soon... Your mother and I are worried."

"...She is?" Gwen raised her brows but shook her head. "Wait, that's not what I meant. I meant the match with Prince Reivan."

"Ah~ His Highness?" Criston nodded. "He's a good lad. We bonded about two years ago when he unlocked his qi. Good times..."

"I heard he had numerous special abilities. Talented too."

"You have a special ability too. And you're a twenty-one-year-old half-ascendant. What are you worried about?"

"Not worried. More intel wouldn't hurt though, no?"

"God, you're a perfectionist..." Criston rubbed his chin. "I'm not telling you anything I saw. It's a man-thing. I'm not going to sell out my fellow man."

"Hah...?"

"But just think of it this way... Prince Reivan's been getting a lot of attention from the Sword Star and the Saintess. I wonder why?"

Gwen sipped her coffee as she sunk into her thoughts.

Criston smirked after a while. "So? Nervous?"

"No. The king has commanded me to win."

Gwen put her cup down and stood up. It had been exactly twenty minutes after she started her breakfast.

"And so I shall."