Ever Ever After - Chapter 25

Chapter 25: His Good Luck Letter

“Ailea? That’s a name I’ve heard before… oh, didn’t Captain Ron sometimes brag and tell us stories about his children? His eldest daughter’s name is Ailea.”

“Oh, I remember. Yeah. Captain Ron loves to talk about his daughter Ailea. Good times.”

Ailea flinched at her father’s name.

“Wow… I miss you, Captain Ron. The last time I saw you was when I was twelve years old…” Kaiton said.

Everyone became silent at Kaiton’s words, albeit for a moment.

“He’s my role model!” Kaiton roared, livening the atmosphere.

Tarren stuck his chest out and thumped it hard.

“Hey, Captain Ron is too good of a role model for a guy like you. Go down a little bit. Yeah, it should be me.”

“Though I’m younger than you, vice-captain, watch out. I’ll catch up to you soon enough.”

“You son of a b*tch! You want to try it out?”

“Ughhh! Sa-save me! Shante!! The vice-captain’s trying to murder me!”

Tarren locked his arm around Kaiton and pretended to strangle him. Kaiton choked out loud and made a grab for the air.

Ailea laughed for the first time in her life. It had been a while since she felt sheer joy. She wanted to see more of their antics, but the hungry and sleepy knights were too tired. They went to their respective rooms and slept.

***

As soon as he returned to the Outer Palace after two years, Clint habitually sat on a study desk. Feeling a sense of alienation, he pulled out a book from the shelf. His favorite books had been repaired with leather and well-twisted threads. It was a quality type of leather that would be difficult to catch on fire.

The only other person who had access to this room was Ailea.  Had she gone back to the Imperial City? Why was her and Lawrence’s wedding postponed again?

Clint pulled out the books he always carried with him out of his bag. It was done so naturally that he didn’t even realize it. Ailea’s letter was interpolated between the books. He opened the locker in his study room with a key and gently placed the letter inside. To him, Ailea’s letter was a symbol of his gains and victory. It was his luck.

After looking around the study, Clint came out and opened all the doors to check outside. He could hear the loud snoring outside the door. His men were asleep.

When Clint opened one room, a pleasant smell swirled around. He quietly moved and approached the bed, seeing Ailea sleeping on the bed.

He had hoped that she had returned back to the Imperial City.

Clint frowned.

But this was not the case.

She was still here.

***

Ailea, who woke up from a sound sleep, was startled soon as she opened her eyes and frantically rose from the bed. She had said that she was a maid, yet she slept more than usual. She hurriedly cleaned her bedding and ran out, tying her long, golden hair tightly with a hair tie.

“I’ll make you a quick meal…” Ailea spoke and blinked in surprise.

The castle was empty, leaving only the rich smell of pungent feet telling her that yesterday’s event was no dream.

“Where did they all go…?”

But without a moment to worry, a shout came from the outside.

Ailea ran out of the door and saw the knights training harshly in front of the castle. She stared blankly in awe at their difficult training.

Clint stood in front of them.

She looked at him as if possessed. Short black hair and dark gold eyes… his sharp features, manly face, and full lips made him look fiercely handsome.

Clint had spent two years on the battlefield. He was no longer the light flirt she once knew. She wanted to ask him in detail about how he recaptured Excalibur, but she wondered if she’d look pessimistic.

Two years was a long time…

Clint’s gaze kept the knights rolling and rolling without a moment’s notice.

The pondering Ailea soon headed to the kitchen. She thought, for the time being, to pretend to be a maid and attempt to borrow a horse and find a chance to run away.

Ailea sighed.

That wasn’t even a clear plan because… she didn’t know how to ride a horse.

Right. Something unexpected had occurred in the Outer Palace and she was sure, despite Louison’s earlier grumbling, that Lawrence didn’t know that the knights were stationed at the Outer Palace or he’d come running here.

Because Ailea lived alone, there wasn’t much food in the castle. Still, it was a good thing that she recently bought salted meat. She took it out, minced it well, meatballs, and made sauce from boiled tomatoes. The knights were much larger than the average man and there were about twenty of them. Ailea wasn’t sure how much they ate so she dug up all the potatoes left in the garden and boiled them.

The scent of food began to waft in the castles. The knights lying and rolling on the ground in the early morning sniffed and stood up.

The first one who ran to the kitchen was Shantee. He was dead famished.  Suffering from the thought that he’d have to go to the mansion and eat food prepared by the Crown Prince, Shantee rushed to Ailea who was boiling tomato sauce.