Chapter 92

Lord Corvus left the next day, as did the lords close to him or his territory, including Lord Thomas.

As for the tent horde, it was still a hive of activity, but most were preparing to leave and packing their things. Still, the people carried an air of enjoyment from the tourney, and it would likely be a story to tell once they returned to their homes.

There was a smell of cooked meat wafting through the air as Adrian and his group passed, causing his throat to bob. Pity he could only look while with the group he was in. The only saving grace was that they weren’t all ladies, Lord Bronsone, Lord Wes, and Lord Leland were also with them, entertaining and focusing their attention on the women.

“Are you truly leaving tomorrow, Lord Harrow?”

“I am.”

“Pity. Lord Harrow has been a pleasant conversation partner so far.”

‘Am I’? Adrian thought dryly as he nodded.

“Perhaps, Lord Harrow, if you have time tonight…” Lady Karen spoke before Adrian chimed in.

“Unfortunately, I have to prepare for tomorrow.” Adrian politely replied.

Lady Karen was no fool, however. A glint flickered in her eyes before she backed down, her mood souring a bit.

Adrian actually held a better opinion of her since she immediately took the hint, compared to the other ladies who still held out hope. Were they naive? Or was he being cruel by not directly rejecting them? He had rejected them, just not bluntly, keeping it polite so neither party was stained by the rejection.

At some point, the conversation turned so dreadfully dull that Adrian saw a chance, took it, and left the group, weaving between tents toward the other side. A smile formed on his fac, a real one, after spending hours with them. Just in time, too, as he passed a vendor selling skewers and immediately bought one.

“It's good to meet you, Lord Harrow.” The vendor offered his goodbye. Adrian truly was popular among the commonfolk here.

He passed a stack of crates and suddenly yelped when his skewer was snapped from his hand. The stick grazed his palm, making him bleed slightly, and he frowned at the thief, only for the frown to loosen when he saw it was a dog. It seemed dirtied and injured on its rear by the way it limped back toward the crates. The dog had glassy yet fierce eyes as it glared at him while chewing the bit of skewer it had stolen.

Adrian looked at his slightly bleeding palm, then back to the dog. He knelt down and slowly reached out a hand. The dog was wary and growled at first, but after a few moments, Adrian managed to pet it.

“I hope you don’t have rabies…” Adrian murmured as the dog licked his palm. Though he had already healed the minor injury, there was still some blood left for the dog to clean off.

He stood up and wiped his hand on his trousers before continuing his solo adventure, wondering how long it would take for Dexton to find him.

It was then that four cloaked figures appeared ahead, walking in his direction. The lead figure suddenly paused.

Adrian's hand strayed slowly toward his sword while he kept his face neutral, until the leading cloaked figure raised their head, and striking blue eyes greeted him.

The princess!?

--

“I won't get to play against Lord Harrow for some time.”

‘For some time?’ Adrian thought.

Aloud, he responded, “Then perhaps the next time we meet, if there is such a time, the princess might surprise me and finally beat me, as she should.”

“If you put it like that, why didn't you lose during our last game?” The princess turned slightly toward him.

“It would be a disservice and unfair to you, Your Grace.” Adrian whispered the last two words.

“Hmm...” Although Adrian couldn’t see her face, he was fairly certain she was giving him a dry look.

Behind the princess was her lady's maid and two guards, also dressed in cloaks.

“...Forgive me, but what does Your Grace hope to see roaming around?” Adrian spoke after a moment. “It could be dangerous, especially with only two guards.”

He suddenly felt someone faintly glaring at him from behind and knew it was one of the guards. ‘Is he mad because I'm doubting his ability to protect the princess’?

“And how about you? What is Lord Harrow, champion of the joust, doing out so openly?”

“Mainly taking it all in and seeing the people. It will be a long time before I see something like this again.” Adrian responded.

A group pulling a cart passed by them. Some recognized him and bowed, a kid even waved, and Adrian waved back, though the commonfolk were wary of the cloaked figures standing with him.

“Then I am the same…” Princess Skyla said after the group passed. “Lord Harrow is truly popular.”

‘For a princess, she must have seen far grander sights than this...’

Adrian suspected it wasn’t as simple as the princess claimed, but he wasn’t about to dig deeper into it.

“I'm sure if the princess showed her face, I would immediately be forgotten.” Adrian answered perfunctorily.

“Hmm...” The princess merely hummed in response.

A few moments passed while Adrian was thinking of an excuse to leave before she spoke again. “The elves are leaving tomorrow, and I heard you are as well.”

Adrian raised a brow. He hadn’t known that. “Are they? I haven't spoken to them since the feast.”

He had already gotten all he needed from the elves, which is to say, no real answers, plenty of vague information, and some frustration. He hadn't approached them since, even if he was still curious about their history... or whether their anatomy was the same as a human's.

“Gotten all you need from them, then?” the princess said bluntly.

Adrian froze. ‘Did she read my mind?’

“I actually don't know how to act around elves, nor am I familiar with their etiquette or culture…” he recovered smoothly. “I only dared approach them at the feast.”

“Lord Harrow... what are your ambitions?”

Adrian was surprised by the sudden change of topic, but he pondered it for a moment before answering. “To improve my territory.”

He had already told her about his territory, his general plans and goals,  so she should have already had a clear idea of what he wanted.

“An admirable goal, and how far are you willing to do to achieve it?” The princess asked.

Adrian paused, stopping in his tracks. Princess Skyla did the same as he pondered her question.

“Well, I’m willing to spend my whole life trying to achieve it.” He said vaguely.

It was his territory after all, and unless he was replaced, he would naturally spend his entire life there.

Woof!

“Hmm…” A bark caught his attention just as the princess spoke, but Adrian’s gaze drifted toward a dog that had suddenly appeared.

It was the dirt-stained, brown dog from before, except now it was standing just fine, wagging its tail as it looked at him. The dog seemed eager to approach, yet remained wary of his company. But the last time he’d seen it, the poor creature was limping with an injury to its hind legs.

“I apologize, but I didn’t catch your words, Your Grace.” Adrian offered, his attention still distractedly fixed on the dog following them from a distance.

If the princess was offended, she didn’t show it, not that Adrian could see her face clearly under her hood anyway.

Soon, their conversation came to an end.

“Lord Harrow’s qualities will surely become widely known, and you are still young. I look forward to our next meeting.”

“Oh yes, wait, next meeting?” Adrian tilted his head in confusion as the princess’s group departed. ‘I thought they were leaving tomorrow?’

He heard the princess chuckle, but she didn’t turn around or answer.

Footsteps sounded behind him.

“My lord…” Dexton said.

“How long have you been following me?” Adrian asked, looking at his knight with a raised brow.

“Ever since you petted that dog…” Dexton smiled. “The lords and ladies were quite confused about where you’d gone, though I made sure none of them tried to follow or search for you.”

Dexton’s words made him remember some matter. “The dog… where is that dog?”

“Hmm?”

Adrian began looking around and calling out for it. Luckily, the animal hadn’t gone far.

Woof!

“Hey there…” Adrian knelt down and petted the dog, who eagerly licked his palm. Dexton started to object, seeing how filthy the stray was, but noticing his lord’s focus, he chose to keep quiet.

“Hey, fella. You seem to be doing remarkably well for someone who looked desperate a short while ago.”

It was truly curious. He examined the dog’s rear legs, though the caked-on dirt made it difficult to discern the exact nature of the injury.

Adrian and Dexton took the dog back to the castle and had a servant clean it up. The dog made it clear that its leg was still tender, nearly biting the servant while being washed.

Shortly after, the dog was brought into Adrian’s quarters. Dexton stood guard outside to ensure no one barged in.

The dog was now happily gnawing on a bone on the floor. Adrian decided to name him Rabbit, a nod to the meat the dog had stolen earlier. He hoped the dog didn’t belong to anyone, though given the state he’d found him in, Rabbit was almost certainly ownerless or abandoned.

Rabbit had fully warmed up to him, letting Adrian pet him with ease. Adrian’s attention turned to the scabbed bruise on the dog’s rear thigh. It was large and gnarly, the kind of injury that would normally take weeks, or even a month or two, to heal on its own.

Adrian didn’t know what he was doing. Maybe he was just losing his mind, but an idea had taken root when he noticed the dog walking so well after their first interaction, combined with the recent change in his… gift.

If he was right, and that was a huge if, then…

He shook his head. There was no point obsessing over it when he could test it right now.

Adrian hovered his hand inches above the scab and activated his gift. A gentle heat washed over his palm, feeling like he was holding a warm piece of coal.

After a moment, he pulled back and looked closely. Then he realized he probably should have inspected the wound more carefully beforehand to notice a subtle change. He couldn't tell if anything had actually happened.

Rolling his eyes at himself, Adrian moved to plan two for now. Drawing a small knife, he sliced a quick cut across his palm and held his hand out to the dog. Smelling blood, Rabbit turned and began licking the wound.

Adrian made sure to channel his gift at the exact same time. Once the blood was licked clean, Adrian’s eyes darted back to the dog’s leg injury.

His eyes bulged, his mouth agape wider than it had ever been.

“How could this be?!”