Page 135 of The White King's Favorite

“Maybe? You barely said a thing and the Yonchaa Tribe is now lending a hand! And she talked to you, of all people! You’re making your mark around here!”

“I wouldn’t say that t-too fast,” sighed Cessilia. “You d-didn’t see all the g-glares I got at the c-council earlier. I was not p-popular with everyone...”

“Four out of seven is already pretty good!”

Cessilia nodded, but she didn’t want to think too much about that for now. In her head, the Yonchaa Tribe Leader had agreed to help her own people and her King. This may not have much to do with Cessilia at all. She kept serving the food to a few more people, but after a while, she felt someone staring at her. It wouldn’t have been too surprising given the situation, but her instincts were telling her to be cautious... She raised her head, and after a glance around, she found her. A woman with the dots and line tattoos she had noticed earlier was leaning against a wall. She wasn’t in line, and Cessilia was pretty sure she hadn’t received food or tea yet. Who was she? She was wearing a raincoat and half of her face was hidden under her hood, making Cessilia a bit curious to see her fully.

Someone coughing loudly in the line brought her back to the current situation. People were definitely falling sick. Cessilia glared at the water, still up to their ankles. That downpour was too much...

“T-Tessa, Sabael, I will be back.”

She ran through the rain until she found Ashen, still in front of the doors. He was actually helping one of the Dorosef Tribe’s carts that seemed stuck in the mud. Cessilia rushed to help them out, and after a few minutes, the cart was free to go. She turned to Ashen.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes, b-but we need to d-do more. Ashen, p-people are getting sick. We n-need more water t-to go away. We need t-to tear the wall down.”

“...No. We can’t.”

“Ashen, we d-don’t have a choice! If we don’t d-do something–”

“I can’t!” He shook his head. “Cessilia, I can’t take down this wall! Do you realize how long it took to make the Capital secure? If we tear it down, people will be in danger! Raiders, thieves, criminals, they will all rush in! You don’t understand what it’s like, I just can’t! I don’t have a dragon to establish peace like your family does!”

Cessilia suddenly pushed him away from her furiously.

“You don’t need a dragon!” she shouted back. “What do you want a dragon for, look around you! Your people are already in danger! They don’t need a dragon, Ashen! Your people need their King!”

It was as if she had slapped him. He remained stunned for a few seconds, staring at her with a speechless expression.

Cessilia was really mad, glaring at him with her pouty lips and rosy cheeks. She hadn’t stuttered to shout at him, as if her anger had kept the stutter away, but it seemed like she had been too mad to notice it herself. She was drenched, her lips a bit blue and her wet hair stuck against her face, but that clear, bright light in her eyes seemed to wake the King up.

After a long while, Ashen sighed. He combed his white, wet hair back again, looking around as if he was seeing this crowd for the first time. It was more accurate to say he was seeing it with new eyes. There were many people still waiting in line, trying to catch a glimpse of the small tent and the warm food and tea waiting for them. Some children were crying continuously, having not been fed yet, and people were starting to cough and sneeze more and more. Most barely had anything decent to cover them and keep them warm at all. After gazing around for a short while, his eyes fell back on Cessilia.

The young Princess looked just the same as before. Soaked to the bone and mad at him. Despite her serious and furious expression, he found her adorable. He broke into a nervous chuckle, suddenly feeling much better.

“Ashen, it’s n-no laughing matter!”

“...I know,” he muttered. “I’m sorry.”

Before she could protest, he grabbed her cheek gently and put a quick kiss on her wet lips.

“You’re right,” he said. “I don’t need a dragon... I only need you.”

Despite still being a bit angry, those words melted her anger quite effectively. She glanced to the side, a bit embarrassed, notably because there was still a large crowd behind them.

“W-what are you d-doing... Th-there’s still a lot of p-people...”

“We basically announced our relationship already.”

“N-not to these p-people! And it’s n-not the moment, either...”

“Sorry, you were too cute, I couldn’t help it. You were right, Cessilia. Thank you for reminding me.”

He put another quick kiss on her forehead this time, and took off his coat, putting it on her shoulders.

“Ashen? What will you d-do?”

“Exactly what my princess said,” he sighed, caressing her cheek. “I will tear down that wall. You were right. Walls or not, gates or not, I have the power to stop them now... and you’ve shown me the families are more than willing to cooperate as well. Maybe not entirely, but at least, you got them to change their positions. I knew most were only partaking in the competition for the sake of it, but... now, they really want to be serious about this. I’ve never seen them get involved with people that aren’t their own like they are now.”

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