Jovis, Year of Severus, 15, I.R., the 51st day of Fall, Arenfall

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The sea of black and gold cavalry looked daunting as their numbers became more apparent the more they came nearer to them. Lord Prestonheim was ready to fight the bastards down to the very last one of them. He was confident of his men's skills and believed that he could kill a huge chunk of Lady Bieroff's army before the rest would scatter across her kingdom.

To the silver-haired Commander, their numbers weren't an issue for him. He could easily dispose as many of these weak-willed knights as he wanted. But this wasn't the scenario he's facing at the moment. His godson would be the one to face this huge army. If he was being honest, he wasn't as confident as he wanted to with his godson facing Lady Bieroff. However, he couldn't stop himself from obeying the young prince. He tried his best to defy his wishes, but he had always ended up conflicted with his interruption.

Lord Prestonheim couldn't help but stare at the back of his godson as the young prince stood in front of them, waiting for the Lord Bieroff's cavalry to arrive. The young prince didn't have the best posture there was. He had a head start posture, meaning his head was awfully forward from his back. His posture wasn't the most ideal for someone born as a royal. It looked weak and clumsy, a posture that only a pauper would have.

It was a standard that every noble had to follow to make sure they get respected and recognized. Prince Arterius, however, was shaped different from the mold. The poor prince was frowned upon and ridiculed for his so-called weakness, but in truth, he had more potential to the throne than that of his brother. He was smart and took calculated risks to win. He had a pure heart and was compassionate to others. He believed that force should be the last option in an argument and not the primary one. He had all the makings of a great leader, expect for his posture and strength were the nobility saw as a greater asset.

Lord Prestonheim saw his godson took another deep breath as the cavalry finally stopped at the entrance of the mines. He patted Prince Arterius' back and whispered.

"Don't show them that you're intimidated." His last words to Prince Arterius as a messenger from House Bieroff approached them.

Prince Arterius smiled at him, "Don't worry, godfather, I got this!" He whispered.

The messenger stopped exactly in front of them and went down from his horse. He approached both of them and curtsied in front of the prince.

"Bastard—" Lord Prestonheim bit his lip as he tried to stop himself from lashing out at the messenger.

Lady Bieroff knew that wasn't the proper bow to the prince. She knew it and yet she didn't even bother to correct the knight who confidently did the bow. As a Lady of the House, she had the obligation to train her messengers proper etiquette especially when facing a royal blood. But unfortunately, the foolish Adrena threw it all away and didn't bother to educate her messenger.

"Fair Greetings, Prince Arterius and to you as well, Lord Commander." The knight bowed once more.

His godson nodded back at the knight. Lord Prestonheim nodded back while stopping himself from punching the bastard of a knight straight on the face. He had always lauded his godson for his patience over such degrading situation. According to Prince Arterius, he was already used to it. It was a sad reality that his godson had to swallow every day.

"And to you as well." His godson bowed back to the knight politely.

The prince's answer interrupted the Commander's train of thought. He couldn't help but stare in awe as Prince Arterius diplomatically shook the hand of the filthy messenger. The brief interaction was followed by an awkward pause. The Prince and the messenger stood silently in front of each other, as if they were waiting for either of them to break the silence.

The knight cleared his throat after that long awkward silence and spoke, "Our Lady wishes you to stop what you're doing. You are UNDER the Bieroff's property!"

Lord Prestonheim wanted to react to Adrena's audacity against the royal bloodline. Her newfound courage might have something to do with his brother's support. It was more likely that Senator Lucresia had already known the situation and wanted to butt-in on the expedition to dampen Prince Arterius' chances of succeeding.

He approached Prince Arterius and wanted to whisper something on his ear, but the brave young prince already rebutted the moment he tried stepping in.

"Oh, is that so?" Prince Arterius nodded. "I never thought that a Lord or Lady had the power to interfere directly with the operation of the royal family?" He scratched his head.

The knight never took away his eyes from his godson and answered back. "You are under the Bieroff's property! I am sure that even a prince would understand that?!" He sarcastically asked.

The offensive remark truly made Lord Prestonheim's blood boil with rage. That the last straw of his patience and he wanted to throw a piece of his mind towards the arrogant knight. However, he didn't want to foil whatever plans Prince Arterius had and thus, he remained as stoic as he could be.

Prince Arterius burst in laughter as he heard the knight's question. "I know that is!" He wiped the tears from his eyes. "But I do wonder if the Lady recalls Order 356? Oh? Do you know what that is?" He asked the knight.

The knight casually shook his head. "I think I don't have to kn—"

"But of course, you should!" The prince insisted. "Well, let me educate real quick about what Order 356 is." He walked closer to the knight and whispered it on his ear.

Lord Prestonheim knew what that Order was. It was the order hindering other nobles from interrupting on the affairs of the royal family. Suddenly the knight's face turned pale. Prince Arterius tapped his shoulder and called out Stolas.

Stolas came rushing towards him and was surprised with what he whispered to him.

"Are you serious, Prince Arterius?!" He exclaimed as he confusingly tried to stop him from whatever he was planning.

"Yes, of course I am." He patted his ward's shoulder and asked him to follow him to the horse. "Hey, Ser Knight, I am borrowing your horse! Or do I need to explain to you that part again?" He looked back at the petrified knight.

Stolas fumbled towards the prince who waited for him near the towering Dressler. He helped him up into the horse and strapped him snuggly on the saddle.

Lord Prestonheim was surprised and confused of what his godson was about to do. He immediately ran towards him and held the horse's reins until he could get an explanation of what he's planning.

"What are you doing?!" He held the reins harder as Prince Arterius tried to yank it away from him.

"I am trying to do my job as the heir to the throne!" Prince Arterius answered while still yanking at the reins.

"Prince Arterius, please reconsider." Lord Prestonheim sighed. "You do not have to risk this—"

"Who's risking anything?" His godson asked him back. "I appreciate your concern, godfather but let me do this…alone." He yanked the reins once again and finally Lord Prestonheim had no choice but to let go.

Prince Arterius led the Dressler towards House Bieroff's army. Lord Prestonheim turned to his knights who stood idly waiting for his orders.

"Men…" He shouted. "Get ready to defend the Prince with your life! Await my orders!"

The knights thud their shields in agreement.

The tension was slowly building up as the young prince approached the sea of black and gold fearlessly. Lord Prestonheim subtly raised his arms as he planned on how to rescue the prince in case the other house would try and strike him.

Prince Arterius approached the baffled cavalry and shouted. "LADY BIEROFF! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE HIDING!" He skillfully steadied the horse. "MY LADY, I HOPE YOU WOULDN'T DISRESPECT A PRINCE'S INVITATION! WHAT WOULD YOUR BROTHER SAY WHEN HE HEARS ABOUT THIS?!"

The Bieroff's cavalry suddenly began to whisper within themselves. Lord Prestonheim could see their look of utter confusion. Prince Arterius had outsmarted her. The thought of him not budging after seeing the cavalry had definitely messed her strategy and morale.

"LADY BIEROFF! I AM CERTAIN YOU MEAN NO HARM WITH THIS VISIT!" He approached. "I WILL SEE TO It…aaheemm…" He cleared his throat as his voice slowly faded from the strain. "I Hope you do the same for me.

The cavalry was unmoving and silent like trees that stood silently at the side of the hill. On the other side, Lord Prestonheim and his knights were waiting for the black and gold army to make their move. The pressure was so intense as both parties waited for one to make a move.

All of the sudden, there was movement on the Bieroff's cavalry. The cavaliers from the center front began to make way for someone. Lord Prestonheim alerted his men and readied themselves to rescue the prince. They slowly raised their shields but for some reason, the prince somehow saw it and gestured for them not to do it.

Lord Prestonheim hesitated whether to follow the order or not, because at the end of the day, it was the prince's welfare that mattered most.

The cavalry in the front line finally made way for a single black horse with a lady clad in black. Her face was covered with a black veil but Lord Prestonheim could tell who it was. After a silent discussion with the veiled lady, Prince Arterius looked back at them and shouted.

"STOLAS! PREPARE TEA FOR OUR HONORABLE GUEST! AND BRING A…ahem…A DAMN BIG TABLE!"

Lord Prestonheim was confused and relief at the same time. He didn't know how to react on it and he's still baffled how that silent conversation went, but somehow his godson pulled it off.