“Whewwwww! My throat feels all dry already!”
I turned over to Rose and saw that her eyes sparkled with joy, like a baby entranced by its mother’s singing voice. “That… that was amazing Onas!”
“Wow…” I mumbled in awe as Onas proudly held his chest puffed out. The destructive power of the spell alone was enough to wipe out an entire squadron of knights at once.
“Say, Rose… you took over as Commander after I left, right?” Onas began. “You were my most experienced knight after all.”
Excitedly, she nodded her head with a smile across her face. “Yes! I’m just not in uniform right now because I didn’t want to draw too much attention on the way here. I’m extremely honored to take this position!”
<[Appraisal Activated]>
“Bahahaha! You’re awesome Rose! Come here, I’m so proud of you!” Onas laughed as he teasingly pulled her close and began rubbing her hair. Her face turned beet red from embarrassment, yet she smiled with joy.
I glanced at the two other knights and noticed that they were staring right at me.
“Sir Onas, may I talk with your son for a bit?” one of the knights asked.
Onas, who was still teasing Rose, nodded and responded, “Of course.”
The first knight gestured for me to come over. I shrugged and walked over to him as we began walking away from Onas and Rose while the other knight followed behind us.
“Your name’s Wyliame, right? My name’s Jil. The other guy’s name is Ryan, but he doesn’t really talk too much.”
Although they both had their helmets on, the tone of his voice was an apparent sound of excitement.
“Nice to meet you guys.”
He nodded. “I just wanted to ask you a really important favor… a favor that nobody else could do except you. Are you okay with it?”
I looked at him with my eyebrows raised. “Something that nobody else could do except me?”
Jil nodded again. “Whew… alright here goes nothing. Can you erm… explain to me Onas’ secret to becoming so powerful? I’m a huge fan of his but I’m too nervous to even talk to him. My buddy Ryan admires him too, but as you can see, he doesn’t even talk at all.”
I glanced over at the other knight and he simply nodded at me. The only sound that came from him was the rattle of his helmet. Seriously…?
“Here, I’ll give you this!”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Jil handed me a small yellow flower, one that was so vibrant that a faint golden luminescent emitted from it.
<[Appraisal Activated]>
“Wind lily? How did you get that?” “We just found it on the way here, but none of us really have a use for it. Just think of it as a gift from me to you, Wyliame.” Eh, I don’t have a use for this either. I guess I could just give this to Mya. I gently placed the flower inside my pocket. “Thanks for the gift.” Jil nodded with a smile. “So um… as I was asking earlier… what’s Onas’s secret to becoming as powerful as him?” I stared at him intriguingly and gestured for him to bring his head down to my level. It was slightly embarrassing that I was merely half his height. “Do you really wanna know the secret?” I whispered to him. “If I tell you, then you’ll have to lock my words deep into your memories.” Jil continued to nod with excitement while the other knight- Ryan- stood completely still as if he was too nervous to hear what I was about to say next. I have absolutely no clue what “secret” they’re even talking about, but I could use this opportunity to learn more about Onas. “Then tell me everything you know about Onas- I mean Dad. I’ll tell you his secret to becoming powerful afterward.” Jil glanced at Ryan but he didn’t say a single thing and shrugged. “Alright, fine.” Jil sighed. “After I tell you this you’ll have to keep it a secret, okay?” I nodded. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything.” “Onas and Rose were lovers.” … … … “WHAT?!” “Hey, hey! Keep your voice down! I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to tell you this!” No way… lovers? Does Lorelia know about this? What about Mya? “All of this happened around half a century ago, though.” “Half a century?” Jil nodded and continued, “I’m not sure how accurate this information is, but from what I heard, their relationship started during the Great Cervos War.” !!! War…? Cervos…? “Um… what exactly was the Great Cervos War?” He looked at me with a puzzled expression. “Eh? You don’t know? Your parents never read you stories about it?” I shook my head. Maybe I can learn more about Cervos right now… “I wasn’t alive back then but from what I heard, the Great Cervos War was an all-out battle between the four kingdoms- the bloodiest battle in the entire history of the continent. I’m not exactly sure how the war started, but apparently, the result was devastating for every kingdom. A bunch of lives were lost with no true ‘victory’. To this day, the four kingdoms all remain enemies. You’ll learn more about this when you’re older in school.” … “And, during one of the major battles, Rose was about to be defeated by a knight from the Kingdom of Sapphire until Onas came by and saved her life. I guess it was right there and then that she fell for him. It’s a cliche romance, but it's certainly real.” I glanced over at Onas and Rose, smiling at them. “They’ve had such a long history together, and yet they’re still such good friends,” I observed. Jil nodded. “Right? I almost envy them.” “What happened afterward? After they fell in love?” He shrugged. “I’m not too sure. That’s something you’re gonna have to ask Onas yourself.” Now I’m curious. What could’ve possibly happened between them? I mean, they’re still good friends, right? Isn’t that kinda odd for former lovers? I glanced back at Onas and Rose, who were now gently punching each other with smiles on their faces. I’ll have to ask Onas about all of this when we’re alone.