Theo searched Roderyk's body. He took off what left of his armor and picked up Talon and Claw from the ground. He also took anything Roderyk carried before burying his body. "You shouldn't loot his body. It's disrespectful of the dead." Said Ana. She was uncomfortable looking at Roderyk's dead body and looked away.
"Sorry, Ana. You may think that this is disrespectful, but if I left his body this way, then bandits will come to loot it. By taking it now, I can return his belonging to his family later." Theo didn't have any intention to do that. Why would he give away perfectly good swords and armor.
"Can't we bring his body?"
"We could, but that will double our travel time. I'm afraid the body would have started decomposing when we reach the capital."
"De-decomposing." His words gave her quite a shock. "H-how far is the capital?"
"Two days walking at the fastest. Faster if we're on a horse. Luckily, Roderyk brings his black mare here, we can use that."
"You can ride a horse?" She asked.
"Not just horses. I have a pretty high general riding skill." He said with pride. 'There is one type of 'riding' I'm very good at though.' He laughed inside his heart.
Theo looked at Ana and realized that she was staring at him all the time with a blushed face. She looked away when he noticed her.
They rode Roderyk black horse back to the Capital. It was a pretty fun ride for them. They talked during the ride and get to know each other better. She also hugged him tight from behind. For the first time that day, he was glad he didn't have his plate armor, or else, he wouldn't feel anything.
Theo remembered that Princess Anastasia was called the jewel of the kingdom. Before, he was so focused on the fight that he didn't realize, but the ride made him remember. Not only she had an attractive face, she also had a very curvaceous body. She has one of the biggest breasts Theo had ever seen on a human chest. That combined with her below average height, made it even more clear.
He took the ride slowly, even as the rest of the kingdom was in a panic over her disappearance.
The next morning, an army that supposed to rescue the princess, stopped them. Theo counted at least 500 hundred soldiers in that army.
The army moved out of the way as a woman in full steel armor walked toward their horses. Her blue hair stood out from the crowd of metal wearing soldier. It was long and tied behind her head to not hinder her movement. A glasses sat in front of her eyes adding some cuteness on top of her serious looking face.
"Please unhand the princess." The woman spoke with a serious tone. The warrior and knight around her pointed their weapon at Theo.
"Emilia. Don't be rude to my savior." The princess yelled from behind.
"Who is she?" Theo whispered.
"Emilia, The general of pe..Blue army. She is a close friend of mine. We can trust her."
"I'm sorry, Princess. But before our mage confirmed that you are not under any sort of mind control, I must remain at full guard. Especially since you both are riding on Sir Roderyk's Horse.... Mage!"
A mage appeared from the crowd. He cast an appraising and scanning spell on both Theo and Princess Ana. This came as a surprise for Theo, he didn't expect any of the army to use a mage. Though the blue army might be a specialized army. After a few moment of checking, the mage finished his spell and reported to Emilia.
She bowed her body almost ninety degrees. The whole army behind lowered their weapon and followed her action. "We are sorry for doubting you, adventurer, our princess' savior. Please accept our deepest apology."
"It's okay. You're only following the procedure of your work."
"Princess, may I ask you what happened to Sir Roderyk?" Emilia asked.
"Dead." Theo answered.
"W-what happened?" The news came as a shock to Emilia.
"It's sister." The princess answered.
"A-are you sure princess?" She asked not believing it.
"I'm sure of it. I don't know what kind of trick she used to make Sir Roderyk follow her order."
Emilia raised her body straight up. "Then please let us escort you back to the capital, as an extra measure. We don't know what kind of scheme Aria is playing."
"Please do." Theo replied.
--------
The sound of steel boots stomping the marble floor echoed throughout the hall. The pace was quick and rapid. "Princess!" The door to the room slammed open.
An old man in gold colored armor, a royal guard, entered the room in a hurry. The little amount of hair he had left in his head were all salt colored and his face was full of wrinkl. He looked older than anyone Theo had ever seen. Despite all that, the way he walked, the way he stood, the aura oozing out from his body, and the glimmer in his eyes showed that he never left his prime condition.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt, Princess?" He asked full of worry.
"I'm fine Sir Arslan. This man here, Theo, he saved me from my kidnapper."
He bowed. "I'm so sorry, Princess. I was unable to come to your side. You have my deepest gratitude, Sir Theo." He placed his hand forward, offering a handshake. Theo hand was trembling as he shook Sir Arslan hand. "I, myself will personally assure that you will be rewarded."
"N-No. I-It's fine. I....I...uh...I did it for the princess, not for any reward or anything." Theo stuttered.
"Please. That's the least the kingdom can do for your ."
"W-Well. If-If you insist."
"Sir Arslan where is father?" Ana asked.
There was a look of pity in his eyes before he answered. "I'm afraid to say that the king still locks himself inside his chamber like usual. Even when we told him about your return he hasn't come out from the chamber yet."
"Is that so." There was an undercurrent of sadness and disappointment in her voice. For all Theo knew, there was nothing wrong with the king. Something must have happened recently that made him lock himself up.
"Princess, please tell me what happened back there. Everything. The full event." Sir Arslan stared at the princess in her eyes. "Please."
The princess was unsure. She looked around the room. She gazed at the wall, the bookcase, everything, before returning her gaze to Sir Arslan's eyes. "The driver of my carriage betray me. A group of bandit attacked and slaughter all my guards. Sir Roderyk tried to save me but died in action. Luckily, Sir Theo here, heard about the event of my kidnapping and come to save me. We buried Sir Roderyk body where he fell because we were unsure if carrying his body here is a wise idea. That is the 'story'."
Sir Arslan nodded, understanding what the princess meant. "I see. That is the 'story'." He sighed. "If you excuse me, Princess, I have more matter to attend to. I will call Emilia if you want." Sir Arslan placed his hand on Theo's shoulder, making his body jump a little bit. "Theo isn't it? Once again, thank you for saving the princess. I will call the chamberlain to discuss your reward. There's also some matter I want to discuss with you later"
"Thank you Sir Arslan, and please do call Emilia here." The Princess said. Sir Arslan bowed and left the room. As he left the room, Theo fell to the floor. His body shaking, his eyes opened wide, and his jaw trembling. "Theo are you alright?" Ana immediately approached him.
"Yes. Yes, I'm fine. I'm just so... overwhelmed. Is that truly, truly Sir Arslan Hartman?" Ana replied by nodding her head. "Oh my god!"
"You have a history with him?" Ana asked, confused by Theo reaction.
"No, but as someone who wields sword since very early age-... no, I think anyone who is aiming to be a great swordsman knows who he is. The red dancer, the finest swordsman in the continent, fire beard." Theo took a deep breath, unable to contain his excitement.
Ana laughed. "You're cute when you're like that."
"Thank you, princess, for your flattery."
Ana froze, realizing what she said. Her whole head turned red. She didn't mean to say it out loud. She was screaming inside, unable to cope with the embarrassment. "Y-you know, you shouldn't call him fire beard. He's sensitive about his latest title even though he's most famous because of it."
"Yeah, I shouldn't. Being known for your beard catching fire when you're defending a castle isn't something you can be proud about. But I think that's what the great part about that title really. Even as his beard and hair caught on fire, he stood. He fought against the endless horde of the demon army, slashing and cutting through them."
"You really admire him don't you?"
"Admire? I idolized him. He's a living legend. Even my father, who is well, let's just say he's not the most proper person. Even he held him in such a high respect. I still remember what my father told me about him. Every night, he told me a story about how Sir Arslan fight during the great war." Theo took a deep breath again. He controlled his breath. "Sorry princess if I speak improperly with you. I'm...I'm overwhelmed."
"It's fine. I may not know how much you admired Sir Arslan, but I know the feeling." The Princess blushed. "If we're alone like this please don't be too formal with me. Please call me Ana like before."
A knock came from the door. "Princess. This is Emilia, may I come in?"
"Theo stand up!" Ana whispered. Theo immediately stood up. "You may come in."
Emilia opened the door. "You called me princess?"
"Yes. Please close the door and make this room secure."
Emilia closed the door and cast a magic. A magic circle appeared above her opened palm and after a while dissipated into thin air. "It's done. Is it about Princess Aria?"
"Yes. There is something that Theo wanted to ask you."
"What is exactly the situation here? This succession war, I get the general idea, but I can't help you if I don't know the whole thing." Said Theo. He approached a wall and touched it, he felt the magic that covered the entire room. "Also is this magic necessary? There's no one here beside us."
"It is necessary. Inside the castle, even the walls have eyes and ears. Anything we say and we do, will be known to someone else if we don't take extra precaution." Emilia answered."To answer your question let me tell you about the source of the problem first. This is a secret, I hope that you won't spread it around."
"I won't."
"Around 17 years ago, just two years after King Alonon VI coronation, he suddenly fell to an affliction that targets the mind. We never tell it to the public to not cause a panic or incite any rebellion. Those who are familiar with the kingdom history call it the king's curse. Every king, since King Raoul II, fell ill to the same affliction the day the previous king died. The king fell into despair, he became distant with his family, and everyone. Every day, he locks himself in his chamber, staring at the distance while uttering 'Nothing matter. Nothing matter'."
"No one ever tried to search for the cure?"
"Of course we have. We have called doctors, healing mages, voodoo doctors, curse specialists, and more. Most of the time, the king doesn't want to and sent them away. Even when we were able to check his condition, none were able to come to a conclusion."
"So the king became unable to rule the country is that what you mean?" Theo asked to make sure.
"Yes, but at the same time, he didn't step down from the throne. And because of that, his work are mostly done by the council. That's where the problem lies. Most of the member of the council are not neutral. Most, want Princess Ana to succeed the king, but a few wants Princess Aria to become the queen. Only Sir Arslan was neutral. "
"Wait, wait! You say that every king was afflicted, why would anyone want to rule?"
"Because only princes are affected by the curse. If a princess claims the throne, they never got the curse." Emilia coughed. "Continuing where I left. The princess Aria felt that she has the most claim to the throne since she was older"
"But she was born from the mistress right? And the noble doesn't support her claim. What's the problem?"
"The problem is, she basically already control half the kingdom. While she doesn't have support from the majority, the few that support her are loyal and have the most important role in the kingdom. Two of the five, now four, royal guards are fiercely loyal to her. The general of the hawk army, Alex Red, is more loyal to her than to the kingdom. Minister of the trade, her supporter. House Fenix, the richest and the most powerful noble house in the kingdom also support her. The only good thing is that she hasn't been able to get her hand on the spy corps or the secret police."
"Well, that complicates the problem." Theo sat on the chair behind him. "Roderyk. The way you say it, he wasn't supposed to support the Princess Aria is he?"
"No. Like Sir Arslan, he used to stay neutral. That's why I was unable to believe he cooperated with the Princess Aria on an assassination mission."
A knock came from the door." This is the chamberlain. Sir Arslan told me to come here."
Emilia looked at the door and dispelled her magic. She whispered to Theo. "Sir Theo, we will discuss this matter on another time. "