Page 78 of The White King's Favorite

She meant Ashen had reconquered his Kingdom almost... on his own? It seemed unthinkable, and yet, it would have explained why all his people worshiped him like a god. He was their War God, the one who had single-handedly saved the decaying Eastern Kingdom. If she put together everything the Counselors, Nana, and Bastat had told her, their country was an absolute wreck for the past two decades. The one King who had first tried to restore some peace had turned out to be a tyrant himself, and the most barbaric tribes had fueled the years of civil wars in between.

What she had seen so far reflected very little of that. Although she had witnessed the dangers in the Outer Capital and the ravaged landscape, the Capital still seemed to be thriving. The Inner Capital was completely secure, and the economy was given a new breath, enough for the locals to try and grow more activities, trades, and businesses. All this in the span of just five years... Cessilia had always felt something was off about the way people treated Ashen, but now, she knew why. His legend wasn’t just a tale he had simply fabricated. It had been forged by his actions, and the miracles he had conceived.

Miracles she didn’t believe in.

“...Lady B-Bastat,” she suddenly asked, turning to Bastat with a resolute look, “d-do you kn-know which cities were freed r-recently?”

“I do not,” Bastat shook her head.

“I know!” Nana suddenly raised her hand, popping up before them. “Sab and some of his friends were chatting about it last week. But why?”

“I want t-to g-go.”

“Are you sure?” Nana frowned. “It’s a bit far, and probably not very nice to visit...”

Cessilia smiled at her and turned to Bastat.

“Th-thank you very m-much for the visit t-today. I will c-come to the market a-again, another t-time.”

“You will be welcome anytime, Princess Cessilia,” Bastat nodded politely. “I will have some art pieces delivered to you later if that is alright with you.”

“Th-thank you. Nana, let’s g-go.”

“Alright... Bye, Lady Bastat, thank you for the invite!”

They quietly left the market, Bastat waving as they exited the little alleys of the market. However, Naptunie frowned and got closer to Cessilia.

“It’s not that I don’t want to go, but... why are we going there? It’s really not a good place to go, even if the King freed that city. The cities usually take a while to get back on their feet and for people to go back there to open trades. If they liberated it last week, it’s probably still very, uh... unsightly.”

“I kn-know. Th-that’s why I want t-to go now.”

Naptunie was a bit confused, but she still decided to follow Cessilia quietly, without further discussion. Whatever the Princess did, she was always curious to hear and see. It was more interesting than any of her books.

“So... do you want us to rent horses? If we take really fast horses, maybe we can get there tomorrow morning, but it’s still going to be a dangerous journey... I can ask Sabael to come, but it might not be enough! I know Lady Tessa can fight really, really well, but...”

“D-don’t worry, Nana,” chuckled Cessilia. “I have th-the ride and s-security already c-covered.”

Nana frowned for a second, and then she slowly understood, her eyes opening wide and her heart beating a bit faster. She opened and closed her mouth several times, unable to formulate her thoughts. She walked a bit quicker next to Cessilia, only to realize they were going to the Royal Guards’ training grounds, probably to get Tessandra. Perhaps they were picking her and Sabael up before going to rent horses? However, Cessilia had definitely said the ride was covered... Nana tried hard to contain her excitement, but she was practically jumping when they arrived at the training grounds, not even daring to ask the question that was burning on her lips, which was quite a first.

“T-Tessa!” Cessilia called once they got there.

In the middle of a training field, her cousin was shining. With two short, wooden sticks in her hands, she was defeating her four opponents with incredible ease. When her cousin’s voice got to her, she turned her head at the same moment she blocked an attack coming from the opposite side, as if her arm was operating by itself. Then, she turned around, and as if she had been resting until then, she quickly ended the fight about one minute later. She was sweating a bit, but compared to the young men with their bodies and egos on the ground, she was fine. She quickly walked up to Cessilia and Nana, Sabael appearing behind her with a faint frown, and a bruise forming next to his chin.

“Cessi, Nana! Are you guys back already? How was it?” Tessa asked, a large smile on. “How come you’re back already?”

“We need t-to go somewhere,” Cessi said. “N-now.”

“Got it. Are you coming, handsome?”

“I told you to stop calling me that...” Sabael blushed. “Where are you girls going?”

“To the Muram Village,” said Nana.

“What? Why would you go there!”

“We won’t b-be long,” promised Cessilia. “We will be back before dusk.”

Next to her, Nana’s eyes sparkled with joy, but her brother had a different opinion.

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