Noah sat alone under the shady tree, away from the group enjoying lunch in the open area outside the infirmary.
Anna, Rafe and Ayden were heavily chatting, sotis giggling over the topic of discussions that did not interest the knight.
He shoved the green apple into his mouth and took a bite as his sharp eyes fixated on the commander’s wife. It had been a few days since he had beco her escort, and the lady had been routinely visiting the infirmary.
The little lady got along well with the healer and his assistant. Every ti they talked, her eyes shone brightly. She was happy and content with her new activities.
Anna was a simple person. She never asked anything out of the ordinary or displayed suspicious behaviour. She was as transparent as the glass, as if she had no hidden secret.
Other than her proficiency in a few foreign languages, there was nothing extraordinary about the commander’s wife except for her eye colour. Even her pretty face was considered average among Cassian’s beauties.
Noah’s sensitive ears picked up a noise approaching, distinctly alerting him. When he inclined to the sound, a knight with brunette hair and grey eyes appeared, a familiar face he did not wish to see.
"So, I heard the great Sir Brooks has beco the lady’s escort, huh?" A contemptuous smile flashed on the lips of the man who ca into sight as their gazes collided.
"What do you want, Eric?"
Noah’s look changed imdiately. The scornful tone of the second-in-command knight was intended to offend him.
"It’s Sir Navin. May I remind you, we’re currently on duty at the frontier."
The smile had left Eric’s face, and his voice was now as stern as his face.
"Why would I address you respectfully when you don’t know how to honour ?" Noah scoffed.
"You dare... I’m the second in command after the commander. Know your place, Sir Brooks!" Eric squinted his eyes at the knight in disapproval.
"You don’t need to brag about your position. Haven’t you forgotten that you lost the last duel?" sneered Noah.
"We are even! You were badly beaten in the previous duel before that," countered Eric.
"So? You want to rechallenge , is it?"
" rechallenging you? Don’t you rember that you were the one who kept on challenging everyone to prove yourself worthy as the Knight of Gerhard?" This ti, Eric laughed mockingly.
Noah gritted his teeth and clutched his fist. The apple in his right hand had fallen hard to the ground.
"If you have nothing to say, leave!" he shouted.
"Oh, yes, I have. Stay away from the lady! A sinner like you shouldn’t be near any woman!" Eric raised his voice.
"What did you say?" Noah took a step forward, confronting Eric.
"Or should I call you the ’r*pist’?"
A flash of pain landed on the knight’s face after the sound of a ’thud’. The force was firm, making Eric draw back a step. Apart from the commander, if anyone else could match his strength and skill, it was definitely this man.
"Son of a b*tch!" Eric cursed.
The knight charged forward and smashed Noah’s face as a counterattack. Eric tackled him and punched hard while Noah fought back with his kicks and fists. The two knights fell and rolled onto the ground in a fierce brawl that imdiately caught the attention of onlookers.
The sudden uproar quickly reached Anna, Rafe, and Ayden, who were bewildered by the commotion. They all stood up and rushed to the gathering crowd, where they watched the fistfight.
"Sir Navin and Sir Brooks! Stop this right now!" Rafe shouted at the knights, who were continuously hitting each other.
His face flashed with an intense expression. However, the two n ignored the yelling and kept fighting.
"Stopp!!"
A woman’s scream reverberated in the air, bringing the brawl to a halt. Both n looked up as their chests heaved with rapid breathing. Blood trickled down from their nose and lips.
"Stop fighting right now! Both of you!"
Anna’s voice, which had always been soft and sweet, was now high-pitched and yelling.
All eyes darted at her. The lady’s face was as red as an apple, glaring at the brawlers.
Eric was the first to stand up.
"What is all this fighting about? Aren’t you both from the sa knighthood?" scolded the princess.
The atmosphere was in total silence at the commander’s wife’s reprimand.
"My lady, I can explain," Eric quickly said as he cleared the dripping blood from his nose with the back of his hand.
Noah sat down first, wiping the blood from his face. Then, he rose and pushed his hair back, clenching his jaws to hide the anger.
"This man is not a good person. He’s not suitable as your escort. I strongly suggest you change him with another knight," said Eric.
"You have no right to propose that!" countered Noah furiously.
"I’m telling you, my lady. He’s a dangerous man, and it’s not good for you to have him around," added Eric, ignoring the knight’s argunt.
"Why do you say that?" asked Anna, her sight fixed on them.
"Because he’s a rapist!"
The princess’s eyes widened at the statent.
"I’m not! I was never convicted. The case was dropped!" shouted Noah, defending himself.
"That was because the proof was insufficient! Everyone knew you did it!" Eric cried out.
Noah was about to yell back when Anna quickly intervened.
"Stop arguing!" she shouted again. Her eyes turned to Noah and stared at him broodingly.
The knight pursed his lips. Looking at her face, he could already guess that she too would have the sa opinion as the rest of the n.
A mont of silence passed.
Anna’s eyes shook as she stared at both n. She took her ti to unravel the thoughts in her mind from both n’s claims and finally decided.
"What is your na?" the princess turned to Eric and asked.
"I am Sir Eric Navin, the commander’s second-in-command," the knight introduced himself to the lady.
Anna paused before opening her mouth.
"Sir Navin, as the highest ranking officer after my husband, isn’t it your duty to keep the safety of the camp rather than beco the cause of disruption?"
The piercing gaze of her erald eyes shot to the knight’s face. Eric raised his eyebrows, returning the look.
"Yes. I’m aware of that. But, my lady, he was the one who started the fight. I just ca to remind him to stay away from you."
Eric glanced at his opponent and added, "He’s a troublemaker."
"Sir Navin... please apologise to my escort!"
A firm order ca out of Anna’s mouth as if she were ignoring the warning given by the knight.
Surprised by the demand, Eric sternly opposed, "I will not! Why would I stoop so low to request forgiveness from this shaful person?"
"Sir Navin! Don’t let repeat myself! Are you aware of what you’ve done?" Anna shouted again, making everyone baffled by her stubbornness.
"My lady, please calm down. Sir Navin is right. I’ve been trying to tell you the sa, actually," Ayden, who was at her side, cut in.
"Please don’t interfere, Ayden. This is between these two n and !" Anna firmly answered.
The assistant healer was taken aback by her reply. Throughout their ti, the princess had never shown this side of herself. She had always appeared docile and fragile.
Noah was also surprised by Anna’s sudden change of behaviour. Knowing they were estranged, he never thought the commander’s wife would take his side.
It was weird, too, since she pushed away the assistant healer, her closest friend, from the argunt.
"You’ve done wrong, Sir Navin. You obstructed my escort from doing his duty and caused a commotion. For that, you need to apologise," Anna explained.
"You’re getting off on the wrong foot if you put your trust in him, my lady," warned the knight.
"I don’t. But my husband appointed him," the lady replied, adding, "I trust his judgent. If Sir Brooks is such a bad person, why would the commander put under his care?"
Eric downcasted his gaze. He and everyone else also questioned it when they learned Noah had beco her escort.
"Are you saying my husband misjudged his decision?" the princess asked him again.
"I wouldn’t dare! The commander always has great insight," Eric replied in defeat.
He looked down again, averting his gaze from the lady.
A disparaging smirk etched on Noah’s lips, realising that the commander’s wife had a great sense of discernnt.
"Sir Brooks, don’t think I’m taking your side just because you’re my person." Anna glared at his smiling escort.
The knight’s curving lips returned flat at the admonishnt.
Despite the scolding, a hint of warmth erged in Noah’s heart when he heard the words from the lady’s lips. No matter how skilled he was, except for the commander, no one had ever acknowledged him as their ’person’.
Once a rcenary, Noah had always been used as a tool to achieve his client’s purpose. It was a path he had previously undergone, and there was no emotional attachnt to any task he took.
Yet sohow, only after a few days of him becoming her escort did the commander’s wife announce him as her person, a aningful declaration from a lord or lady to their knight.
Anna opened her mouth again.
"As knights and comrades, you should have put aside your differences while on duty and upheld chivalry. Both of you should’ve known this better than I."
This ti, the two n were reprimanded.
"Yes, my lady!" Eric quickly answered.
"Sir Navin, please apologise to him," Anna continued.
Eric turned to Noah, who was holding himself back from smiling at the victory. With a solemn face, he slipped the apology words to the knight.
"Sir Brooks, please acknowledge his apology," ordered the princess.
"I acknowledge."
A little smirk escaped from Noah’s lips.
"Now, both of you shake hands," the soft voice further instructed.
"What?!" both n shouted with wide eyes.
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