Chương 48: [BL] 47. Equipment [2]

Willow never thought that armor could be so imposing and regal at the same time. Rudo said that the armor was designed for a noble lady, and Willow could see that. Its blackened plate, narrowed at the waist, connected to a dark cuirass, which had a gorget on top to protect the neck. The armet helmet itself had two angular slits for both eyes. For the limbs, articulated vambraces and gauntlets of a dark gold lay neatly just beside the armor stand, catching the flickering light of the smithy.

A tasset cinched around the hip, extending down to a skirt of plates—more overlapping armor for the legs. The whole armor was graceful and would fit her well, but she could not help but wonder if she could move inside it. She reached forward, touching the polished helmet carefully. [Fire Knight Plate (Tier Two)] [Slot (Fire Rune: 2/2)] [Flame Coating] [1]—Burst with protective flames.

[Fire Knight Plate (Tier Two) Imbuement Option—[Guard Tier One]] [90 Strength, 70 Dexterity, 100 Vitality, 50 Constitution, 10 Sense, 10 Arcanic] [Imbuement not possible]"That is quite an armor," Princess Elesis said, stepping beside Willow and running her finger across its ridged pauldron down to the plated arms.

"Very well done, blacksmith."

"It was a big order, Your Highness," Ragna said, shrugging his shoulders.

"One that would've changed our lives."

"But you chose to come here. I suppose that is my fault, isn't it?" Elesis said, turning and shooting an apologetic look at Ragna.

"I apologise if my decision took away the result of your hard work." Ragna raised his arms in a hurry.

"Please, Your Highness. It's not proper for you to apologise to me. How about this? Thank my son, and we can forget about it all."

"If you insist," Elesis straightened. She looked at Rudo and smiled at the boy. The Princess made him blush as he knuckled the side of his head.

"There's no need; it's nothing, really, my lady."

"It's not nothing. Thank you for making this. If the Bright One couldn't imbue this splendid armor, then may I offer to purchase it from you? My Royal Guards always need spare armor ready, and in the future I'll probably have more recruits in need of reliable armor."

"Ah… Your Highness, I don't mean to be rude, but I'd rather the Bright Lady wear it if possible—""You dare speak that way to the Imperial Princess!" The cult man shouted, pointing a shaky finger at Rudo. The teenager took a step back in haste, almost crashing into the armor until Willow put her hand on his shoulder, steadying him. He blushed again and quickly stepped aside, which made Willow wonder if she smelled or something.

"You." Willow glanced at the man.

"Who said you could raise your head?"

"A—Apologies, Bright One," he said as he slammed his head back down with a loud smack that almost made her flinch. Okay, these people are crazy. I probably shouldn't have anything to do with them. But I still want the armor tho.

"My lady, as for your sword," Ragna stepped forward, eager.

"I will have it forged. If you can tell me your runes—""Master Ragna, you're overstepping yourself," Leynah cut in. Willow glanced around, mostly at the kneeling cultist. She did not mind telling the blacksmith about her runes, since it was better if they knew anyway. But this cultist?

"I'll tell you later, Ragna. As for the Fire Knight Plate, I'd love to take it. But I can't yet until my Guard class reaches Tier two—I really wouldn't be able to wear this for some time, but I'm hoping you guys will save it for me. Right, I can pay—""No!" Rudo, Ragna, and even Rom raised their voices.

"It will be our honour to keep unwanted hands off the armour until you're ready, my lady," Ragna said.

"That's kind of you," Willow said.

"And Rudo…" She furrowed her brows, trying to see the boy's class, but none came. It certainly wasn't because it was too dark… Huh, unclassed. It had been a while since she met an unclassed. She had almost forgotten that Class Stones were a precious resource, but with the Cycle underway, there would be more monsters, so she expected the value of common class stones to go down. Or, maybe not. People will die, and replacements will be needed.

"Catch!" Willow tossed something to Rudo. The boy almost fumbled it. He opened his fingers and almost let out a literal yelp at the [Warrior] class stones.

"It's just a Warrior class stone. Sorry if that's not to your liking. But I figure a class is better than none."

"Just a class stone, she said," Leynah mumbled.

"I can't accept this!" Rudo raised a cry. He insisted Willow take it back, but the brother and father remained silent, clearly wanting Rudo to take it but not wanting to push it. Huh, so the Empire, or at least the Duke's army, could not give everyone a class? That meant she could sell her class stones to them, but oh well, she was grateful for the armor, and a relationship with a good blacksmith would be an excellent investment. Rudo kept insisting and even got in front of Willow.

Willow grabbed Krywen and put her in Rudo's path. Being the good squire she was, Krywen told Rudo to take it, and that dispelled any hesitation he had.

"I'm grateful for this, truly, but is there something better than this I can use now?" Willow asked, slinging her Bow of Frost from her back and Cold Dagger from her sheath. Ragna took them from her and motioned to someone. A new smith brought her a bow and dagger. The dagger looked well made enough as its steel gleamed in the darkness, but it was no Cold Dagger. The bow might not be bad, but again, it was not an enhanced item. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent.

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"I'm sorry, my lady. I'm sure we can find something when we're back with the Duke's army," Ragna said, scratching the back of his head.

"I will introduce you to the Enchantress, Spellwright, and Weaver the Duke employs when we reach the main camp," Elesis said, laying a hand on Willow's shoulder.

"It concerns me to leave your tier-two mage class with no imbuement. We will do something about that."

"That will be nice. I'll hold you to that, Your Highness. I can also compensate—" Willow stopped, almost offering the Princess, out of all people, money.

"Uh."

"Just protect me in the real battle to come so I can sneak out safely, and we will be even," she said, squeezing Willow's hand.

"None of my Royal Guard can fly, you see. And the Pegasus Knight is still busy with rifts… It is also too dangerous to ride the Thunder Pegasus without a Rider class. So my life is truly in your hands and the young Rider's." That seemed like a stretch. Sneakily, Willow eyed the princess's hand, and they gripped her a bit tightly. Was she trying to build a sense of camaraderie? Or maybe I'm overthinking this.

Regardless of their blatant attempt to appease her, Count Kroos and Princess Elesis have been pleasant with her. I probably should give them some grace.

"And my life is in yours as well, Your Highness," Willow said, and that earned her a surprised, wide-eyed look from the princess; then she broke into a smile.

"My Lady, would you fly with me? Just the two of us? It's about time for us to execute the plan as well anyway. I would like to have a talk with you." What was this about? She grew suspicious before mentally shaking her head. She seems a bit desperate...

"I'd love to." With a tug, the Princess led Willow out of the smithy. The group behind them followed. When they crossed to the sunlight once again, Willow forgot about the cultists who were still prostrating themselves to some random smithy worker.

"Your Highness, if you excuse me, I want to—""Let's fly!" Angelic wings sprouted from Elesis's back, and they unfurled upward. White, pure feathers spun around. One of them tickled Willow's cheek as she found herself staring at it. The Princess flapped her wings down and hovered upward, sending wind gusting around them, all the while her hand still tugging on Willow's. Carried by the Princess's enthusiasm, Willow summoned her huntress wings and took to the air with her.

She looked downward at Leynah, who gave her an annoyed wave. Once again, Willow left her to follow her up. Willow furiously bowed her head in apology, and they flew upward, higher and higher, passing by the throne room which sat on the castle's middle floor. Through a new arching window, they saw Kroos reading a book inside his lonely throne room with one leg propped up on his throne rest.

"Come on." Elesis bumped Willow's hip, and she came to a stop, knocking on the window to earn Kroos's attention. When Kroos looked up, the princess spread her wings and soared upward, pulling Willow in a burst of speed that made her yelp out loud. She put a foot on the castle's top battlement where ten soldiers stared in bewilderment as they were in the middle of propping ballistas.

"That was childish, Your Highness."

"But it's so satisfying," she grinned from ear to ear. The Princess brought Willow upward again until they passed the gawking eyes of countless soldiers along the castle's wall. They kept going up past the four towers. On one of them, a Pegasus flexed its wings, but the [Rider], Josha, held it back. From afar, Josha gave Willow a thumbs-up for some reason. What did he think I'm doing? Then she realised every single eye was on them.

Every legionary stared at them, unsure of what to make of the two flying class holders. Around the castle, monsters flew in circles. They hovered and glared. Willow could feel the predatory gaze creeping through her arms. They were still a considerable distance away, at least. For now, she could make out figures of Wyverns and Griffins, a flying horse with eagle heads. A flock of them consisted of a dozen. Willow counted three flocks from west, east, and north.

From the south, the Wyvern flocks gathered like one big flying army consisting of at least three dozen, perhaps—even more than when they attacked the Hollow Knight's farm rift. Based on Kroos's information, these Wyverns were much stronger. Some of them were Tier-two, and that included the Griffins. Willow clearly remembered that Kroos did not want them to fly and would rather they just march… That was obviously the safer choice. So why the hell—"I want to apologise, Bright One.

I pressured Count Kroos into this plan." Elesis said, raising her voice against the wind.

"You do…" Willow mumbled.

"Why?"

"I want to save my mother, Ed's father—my future father-in-law, and of course my husband." A sliver opened between Willow's lips. She closed it.

"I can guess what you're thinking. Let's hear it."

"Your Highness. You carry such force with you." Willow swooped her arm around.

"And I hear the main Duke's army is larger?"

"Ten times at least."

"They're supposed to serve the people of the Empire, aren't they? In the capital—the people you abandon."

"You're right, and yet here they are. Joining me on my journey."

"Did you do it because the capital's defence is more than enough?"

"No," Elesis said bluntly.

"I have no such noble thought. I just don't want to be married to an outworlder. I'm hiding my pregnancy from my father, but even if I'm not carrying, I'd still run away with Ed." Was that truly that simple? Abandoning her duty to protect millions, or however many the Empire's citizens were, for that? Willow did not get it. Perhaps it was because she never truly had any attachment, so such a concept of abandoning so much for something else was foreign to her, alien even.

"Yet, here you are about to rush to your mother and leave your child here. It's like the Cycle caught you, didn't it?" Willow asked.

"Yes," Elesis said, a small, sad smile curving across her lips.

"I ran to have freedom, yet here we are. Trapped between two decisions, both equally important to me. The stars are always watching, like how the Guidance Spirit will harshly reduce experience gain if you kill a monster caged by someone else. Now I realised I can't escape their gaze." She tipped her head up.

"I'm sure you will show us then. Willow, was it? Your name."

"I'm not sure I'm following."

"I no longer know what I am supposed to do." The Princess admitted.

"This is supposed to be an escape. I'd thought that once we're inside the village, we could just have a peaceful life, all the while offering help to reinforce a village whose population wouldn't leave anyway. There's always some, you know—those who refuse to leave their homes and end up falling to the Cycle's cruelty. It's admirable and foolish. Who would be willing to let monsters maul their families just to stay on a plot you grow up with?" A wry tone filled the Princess's voice.

"Not that I know anything about a love for one's hometown." A sombre look took over the princess's charming face, making her look pale for a moment.

"I made that oath to the people of Sheran knowing full well that Duke Edward—Ed's father—has his own ambition and plan. This elopement is just a convenient excuse for him. I know that deep down. And that many legionaries lost their lives because of me and Edward's carnal desire to be together. Yet the desire still burns so brightly inside me. Which is why—" The Princess clutched Willow's arm and raised it high. A cry rose below them.

Legionaries banged their shields against the ground and slammed their fists against their chest plates. Their names rose as if the wind carried them and spun around her. And the pressure was far heavier than the predatory gaze of the monsters.

"Which is why I'll follow you. A Bright Star. You're meant to guide us, and I want to see what the stars above think about this desire of mine." A chuckle escaped Willow's lips, not one of amusement but one of pure disbelief.

"That's selfish." She tried to wrest the Princess's arm away.

"I want you to be watchful of Lord Edward's ambition." Elesis pulled Willow close.

"I love that man. He is a noble father to Ed. Yet, when I found out the reason Sheran Village has multiple Tier-fours, it all clicked together." Just as Willow was about to ask, she fell silent for a moment. She knew that once the reason was out, there was no going back, and that she would now be heavily involved. Still, she asked.

"What is it?"

"Later." Elesis gave her an understanding look; her gaze softened.

"I'll dig into it deeper before I tell you with the utmost certainty. This will affect you, but not to a degree where your life will be in danger. If anything, the Edward I know would love to lend a hand and help you grow stronger. Just know in the future you will be forced to make a hard choice." The Princess hovered backward, leaving Willow alone, still staring after her. She summoned her spear and turned toward the Wyvern flocks.

"For now, let's focus on preventing this tree from growing."