Only after returning to University Town that Oscar gradually felt himself to be in a fine mettle. Although Faran’s King was not very much interested in Prince Kristen’s affair, he still hoped to ascertain where the possibilities laid. After all, Prince of Faran had been assaulted on the foreign land of the Titan Empire.
Alfa III the Majesty was smart. Since the Farans demanded an explanation, His Majesty decided to offer one, but one that limited its scope to only diplomatic disputes. This way, both parties could come to an agreement by just negotiations. However, as Alfa III understood perfectly, Titan was indeed not in a good position to defend themselves in this matter, this move was merely perfunctory.
Oh right, young Prince Kristen was not dead. Perhaps it was because Oscar attacked too quickly and didn’t aim accurately; he also didn’t wish for the other party to identify his hidden weapons. As a result, young Prince Kristen was still alive, but that didn’t mean his life was any better because of that. Half of his face was completely disfigured, and his head was full of stitches. People screamed in terror when they encountered his monstrous appearance at night.
Prince Kristen pressured his brother the King, albeit His Majesty was not very much bothered. The King of Faran exclaimed that he was unwilling to launch an attack on the powerful Titan Empire just to figure out one small truth.
Was there anything else that dissatisfied young Oscar? Of course, he neither liked being in Marshal Robin’s house nor did he adore his way of living. The Highness The Prince was only a young teenager, he absolutely did not fancy living the old man’s life so quickly. To be fair, Marshal Robin was indeed an unreasonable man to deal with. Every time Oscar tried sneaking out from the residence, the old marshal would appear out of nowhere and catch him red-handed.
Eventually, Oscar gave up. It wasn’t as if he had many affairs to handle out there anyway. He stopped meeting Viscount Tove Van Sukhoi as the unlucky guy was expelled from the Military Academy before being forcefully brought back to the north by his father. Not long after that incident, Oscar wrote to apologize. Anyhow, all these happened because of that chaotic scuffle.
The leaves turned yellow and gradually covered the ground. Oscar demanded a few of the marshal’s servants to clean up the front yard with him. Marshal Robin rose early from bed too, but he did not participate in the physical labor. Instead, he ordered his man to set up the table and seats near the porch so he could leisurely enjoy his coffee and cigar. Oscar ignored the old man, who liked to idle away his time, but he couldn’t deny the fact that the old man was, in fact, the best choice as the Dean of the Imperial Military Academy. He treated all kinds of military affairs with clarity and precision, and he had plentiful experience especially in teaching. All of his students achieved good results under his commands, but there would always be an exception. Although Robin discovered some lovely traits of O’Neil Andrew Morisette, in general, this young man was just downright a little rascal.
"Little rascal! You should go water the flowerbed!" Old marshal’s crisp voice came shouting from the porch.
"I’m not your gardener. Moreover, it’s only fall now, there’s no point in watering the beds!" Oscar raised his fists in the air in protest.
"Young men nowadays… if you don’t water them frequently no flower will blossom when spring comes. Do you understand what I say?"
"I know!" Oscar paced to the porch, "You’re cursing me! I know you’ve been cursing me since the first time we met."
"You think so? What shall we do about that then?" the old man snickered in a bantering voice.
"I don’t know! It’s either I kill myself or you die of a sudden death!"
Old man poked fiercely at Oscar’s butt with his Interimstab, "Little rascal, I’m still as fit as a fiddle, I can possibly live until eighty! You should worry about yourself, little rascal! You can’t have dinner tonight if you can’t figure out all the nine types of offensive tactics for cavalry army group on the sand table!"
"What?" Oscar glared at the old man.
Old marshal poked at him again, "Because you’re merely a Lieutenant General, and also a prisoner sent to my house by Alfa III the Majesty. That’s why you have to listen to me!"
"Alright, alright, old man! Why are you not dead yet?" Oscar rubbed his butt and dashed to the door. He was going to fill his massive appetite with a full and delicious breakfast before starting a long day of research.
Simultaneously, a sudden burst of laughter broke out in the small garden at the front yard. Marshal Robin couldn’t help but strain his neck to anticipate the arrival of Young Lady and other ladies of Andrew House.
"Seems like it’s a good idea to have some young people in the house?" Old marshal said, satisfaction in his voice.
Standing beside him was an experienced orderly who worked for him numerous years. He smiled and nodded in agreement.
This way, O’Neil could finally learn! The old marshal either forced him to deduce strategies on sand tables or memorize theories from books. Not only that, all his personal companions were rejected at the door, even those adorable ladies’ visitation hours were limited to only a brief while. Young Lady was easier to persuade, for her dear brother was learning after the esteemed marshal. That was definitely a good thing! On the other hand, Alanis, with a straightforward personality, called Marshal Robin an old monster who loathed love! Anyway, Oscar was indeed improving as time passed!
Days after days, years after years, the construction process in University Town never stopped. The little birch tree still looked as sick as last year, only that its branches appeared even barer during this time of the year. The ground was deprived of life, apart from the complicated entanglement of bryophytes. Across the vast sky flew skeins of wild geese arranged in a neat formation, dropping a few stools over the people on the ground who they did not like.
Nature itself was ethical, and only human beings could make it unethical. Winter was near, and people seized the time for deforestation in order to obtain enough charcoal to survive the freezing winter. Even that birch tree of old age was not pardoned. Through thousands of years, Sparjoxin had grown from a small town, with only a few small stone houses, into what it was today, at the expense of thinning forests and fewer land for the inhabitants.
In fact, people would not regard the opportunity to walk through dense forests or listening to bird songs as such a great privilege. The idea didn’t seem strange or rare at the moment. Children grew up in the arms of nature, and from an early age, they knew how to hunt small animals. When they were finally strong enough to pick up their axes and stretched their bows, naturally they would choose to deal with larger goals. As a result, the forest, the animals, and all of nature suffered. When these children eventually grew up and led their own children to the forest to listen to the singing of the birds like the mountain imperial pigeon, the male nightingale, and the willow warbler, they would never reflect on what they had done.
Anyway, the wilderness was still full of vitality, although the flora and fauna had felt the chill brought by the monsoon winds. In order to continue the race, wild bees were playing the final symphony of life as they mated at the expense of their own lives. Insects waved their tiny wings around muddy swamps deep in the woods, not knowing countless hungry birds were chasing their back, waiting for the first taste of a delicious feast. Just as a fully-fledged female bird intended to rest on the branches to comb through its beautiful feathers, a fox swallowed it in just a blink of an eye. This meant that a nest of fledging would lose their main support, which would, in turn, lead to them fighting to feed on each other. Eventually, not even one would be spared from being the meal of their siblings.
Behind the residence of Marshal Robin Sparse was a farmhouse which enclosed stables, chicken coops, a duck pond, and a pasture that could stock more than thirty cows. There were only a handful of workers on the farm, so sometimes Marshal Robin personally took charge of the affairs such as helping to deliver cattle or purchase a new breed of horse. Most likely, no one had seen the marshal feeding the chickens, but it was said to be very fascinating. Apparently, the old marshal would shout out slogans like he was commanding his own soldiers and then gave a kick to those who tried to disturb the order.
Now that Marshal Robin acquired a helper, Oscar was assigned to take care of the duck pond. There was a high chance that no one had ever seen His Imperial Highness The Prince of Titan Empire tending brace of ducks, and it was said to be a rather enthralling sight too. The young man would shout "Andrew Haila" to shoo the ducks into the water, and took a short nap underneath the shade after sprinkled into the pond some fish pellets. When he woke up, he would cry again "Andrew Haila" and the ducks would automatically waddle up to the shore, obediently directing themselves into the nest. Initially, they did not pay much attention to the unfamiliar, chubby young man, but this stranger fat man slaughtered the few most obnoxious ones in front of the badling of ducks, and so the unlucky ducks gave in. If the ducks could speak like humans, they would surely imitate the fat man and shout out loud the command "Andrew Haila." The fat man appeared to be delighted after each scream of the slogan, and the ducks knew it, they only did not have a way of expressing it. When the fat man kicked at them, they could only refute in return a couple of quacks. Actually, this meant 'Andrew Haila' in the ducks’ language, except that the fat man couldn’t seem to understand that.
"Old thing!"
"Get out!"
"Alright, alright!" Oscar performed a military salute, "Your Excellency Marshal, your humble student would like to have your advice on a problem."
"Come over here," The old man let down of the work on his hands immediately. He knew that this young fella wouldn’t have express explicitly his trouble if it was something he could handle for himself.
"How much do you understand about horses?"
Marshal Robin shrugged nonchalantly, "I don’t know much about them, but my own horses know loads about me."
"I would have guessed." Oscar came nearer, "Have you noticed my Raytheon recently? He seemed to be acting rather strange lately!"
"Be more specific."
"I have not any clue what is happening with him!" Oscar scratched his head helplessly. It wasn’t something he could easily speak of without being embarrassed about, but he had to do it. He went an inch closer to the marshal, and with his lightest voice possible he whispered, "You know, I’ve seen it riding a cow just yesterday!"
"Pfft!" Marshal Andrew hurriedly took a napkin near him and began wiping the tea spilled from his mouth, "Really, what a waste of my good tea!"
Oscar stood up from his seat and extended both his arms in front as if he was holding the bottom of a cow, "You know, my Raytheon couldn’t stop doing this motion the whole time!" He said while thrusting his butt forward into the air.
"Enough, enough!" The old man finally had enough of the mischievous young man. "Your Raytheon has grown up, and he’s going through a heat period! You’re well aware of this, I’m sure. Hurry and go find him a mate!"
Oscar appeared to see the light but promptly shook his head, "It’s not going to be easy! My Raytheon fought the lead bull on the farm before and appeared to be not his opponent, I’m definite that he wouldn’t dare to go near their cows anymore."
"Oh! My God of Light!" Marshal Robin slapped softly at his own forehead, "Your Imperial Highness Prince, are you an idiot or a moron? Your Raytheon is a horse! A purebred stallion! Obviously, he’s going to choose to mate with a tall and big creature, but the other party also has to be a horse. The reason he had picked a cow earlier was simply that there wasn’t a female in the stable that suited his taste! Do you understand now?"
"I understand now, but what can I do?"
The old marshal rolled his eyes impatiently, "There’s plenty more fish in the sea! Go outside and get him one!"
"Haha! This is what I’ve been waiting to hear!" Oscar cheered in excitement and performed a backflip while standing on the chair, "I’m going out now! You just allowed me to!"
The old man was stunned for a second, but soon he let out a laugh, "How nice must it be to be young!"
Exactly! There was plenty more fish in the sea, and there was already a handful among the ladies surrounded Oscar, Sasha, Antonia, Fenrar, Rolanda, hmm… Alanis and Aeolia were not too bad of a choice as well. However, for a Raytheon, it was indeed quite difficult to search for a good partner.
"My brother, it’s already the ninth day!" Oscar petted its Raytheon’s head lovingly, "We left the house early in the morning and only return when night falls, in the end? Maroon wasn’t your cup of tea, and you don’t seem to like the ones with spots. I really have no idea what is the best fit to your liking."
The massive Raytheon arched his head, he had had enough of his master’s grievances. He had set his own standards for a perfect partner; amazing mane, strong and graceful built, and most importantly, she must have a big butt! otherwise, how would she be able to deliver his foal?
All of a sudden, a sweet and wonderful scent caught Raytheon’s nose! The rare sweet scent made him unexceptionally excited! It was the taste of a massive buttock! The stallion increased the frequency of his gallops, near the corner of his mouth was even dripping with thick saliva.
"Is she the one?" Oscar said while pulling tightly on his rein, he wouldn’t want his Raytheon to rush hastily to the target.
That wonderful scent belonged to a strong built, purebred horse with a fierce morning glow! Oscar couldn’t bring himself to name the horse, but he judged from that kind of noble awe-inspiring appearance that it must be a purebred horse. Purebred horses had gotten rarer in the whole world, just like his own Raytheon. Because of the high possibility of casualty, the Andrew House had forbidden them to participate in the war anymore.
On the other end of the woods, Oscar jumped off from his seat and watched silently from afar. There were four horses in total, and the fiery horse was among them. The other rests didn’t stand out from the crowd, so it must be this one that his Raytheon had laid his eyes on. However, Oscar doubted if it was a female horse. It had such a massive built!
Whatever, he couldn’t care much at this point. The horses were fitted with saddlery, some armor, and weapons, which indicated their owners most probably came to the forest to hunt. Raytheon must succeed in getting what he thirsted for before their owners return! Oscar unlocked the reins and saddle as he thought about it. When the Raytheon felt the last buckle began to drag loose, he dashed in full speed toward its morning glow! Oscar was right, his Raytheon charged right for that morning glow!
The sudden arrival of the black stallion made the other male horses jumped in exaggerated surprise. They were all tied to the tree, prayed silently for that salivating gigantic creature would not do them any harm.
The fiery red "Morning Glow" cautiously turned her head around at the strong male fragrance. That scent made her dizzy, but she was well aware what the black creature had in mind.
As expected, seeing as she hadn’t moved an inch, after some careful ponderation the Raytheon caught "Morning Glow" by her big buttocks with his forelegs.
"Come on! Come on!" Oscar shouted from a distance.
After a short while of indifferent "Morning Glow" felt a small pain as the black fellow poked at her back. She fostered all her might and kicked at the Raytheon. "Strong!" She thought to herself, as her leg touched the black fella’s muscles.
The rest of the males understood that the big creature was trying to encroach on their dreams. This couldn’t be it! One of the magnificent stallions leaned forward with desperation, but immediately the Raytheon sensed it. It was absolutely not allowed, especially not when "Morning Glow" was still sending him confused signals.
Without any explanation, Raytheon sprang so fiercely that horse stallion did not even have an opportunity to dodge. The male horse fell heavily to the ground after being struck by the Raytheon’s heavy pectorals. The Raytheon swaggered proudly around the other two horses which had their heads hung down pretending to be eating grass on the ground.
"Morning Glow" finally moved closer. It had a pair of beautiful big eyes. It nudged at the Raytheon’s butt with its own, well-proportioned huge buttock, and the Raytheon obediently followed her to the other side of the tree with its tongue sticking out like a male dog. A few moments later, the big guy finally got tired of the foreplay, and once again it leaped onto "Morning Glow" back. That was the beginning of a beautiful love story!
Bored stiff, Oscar was playing with the dried branches on the ground. He gave his full blessing to his Raytheon, after all, he deserved that fiery beauty for being such a good companion after all this while.
Out of the blue, a human voice was heard in the dense forest and Oscar glanced nervously to the source of the voice. Sure enough, the hunters have returned! What a perfect timing! Oscar thought perhaps he could explain the situation, but almost immediately he was reminded that no one would allow their purebred horse to mate so casually! This was not an era of free love. Not only a purebred horse represented the symbol of wealth, but also the ancient history of the family that owned it.
"Do you need help?" Paul appeared out of nowhere.
"Ola! I knew you wouldn’t leave me behind!" Oscar said while rubbing his hands, "What should we do? We can’t let those guys ruin my boy’s good moment. I bet the newlyweds would need at least another hour.
"There!" Paul handed over a black cloth to Oscar. The voice from the forest was approaching closer!
"What is this for?" Oscar asked in confusion.
Paul unfolded the black cloth and covered his whole face with it, revealing only two holes for eyes and one for the nose.
Oscar couldn’t care more! He followed suit and put the cloth over his own head, though he took forever to locate the holes to see and to breathe.
"What now?"
A chaos broke out in the forest, and two parties met in the middle. Just as the crowd new to the party popped their eyes with confusion the King of Assassins revealed a gleaming dirk, "I’m sorry everyone, hands in the air please!"
Oscar almost choked on the air! Robbery? But… it seemed like the best idea at the moment!
With a crisp bright clang, His Highness The Prince revealed his machete, "Surrender your weapons, and hand over all your valuables!" Within seconds, he was already into the character.
A spectacular expression washed over the others’ faces. The three men smiled slightly and complimented on that excellent idea, while the girl, the girl so beautiful and ardent she resembled a raging fire, pointed at the two "robbers" and burst out into a loud laughter.
It was Oscar’s first experience in robbing, and he experienced deeply the abominable humiliation!
"What should we do now?" One of the men from the opposite party asked while pulling at his bow.
Paul whistled softly, and suddenly ten or more masked warriors, who held long swords in their hands and crossbow on their back, appeared and surrounded the three men and one girl in an instant. The ones being surrounded immediately stopped laughing and acted all serious.
"Crossbow mechanism of Titan Military… you’re not bandits! Who are you actually?" The girl demanded an answer.
"Who are they actually?" Oscar was curious too.
Paul whispered in a low voice, "They’re your knights, and they will be following you around during most of these days."
Oscar nodded in understanding, it seemed like strength in numbers was the eternal truth.
"Hey! Surrender your weapon! I do not wish to repeat myself for the third time!" Paul has gotten a little impatient by now.
A tall figure stepped up from the encircled crowd, "Your Excellency, I’m Paladin Edeis, Commander of West Percy Kingdom Sea Emperor Knights. You should know the rule of Paladin, I would never surrender my weapons without engaging in a real fight!"
"What do you want then?" Paul also took one step forward.
"Someone from your side must step up and accept my challenge! If I lose, I would do as you told. If I win, my men and I will still stay behind and leave ourselves to your discretion, but the girl must go."
"Edeis!" The girl shouted.
The paladin refused to answer but waved his hand to dismiss the girl. "Deal!" Oscar declared suddenly. This paladin had earned his respect.
Paul turned around and said to Oscar, "If so… you will fight with this guy."
"Why?" Oscar’s face fell.
"You promised him," Paul answered and took a few steps backward tentatively.
"Damn it!" Oscar mumbled. He hadn’t engaged in fights for quite some time now. Hopefully, this commander of Sea Emperor Knights was only some inexperienced foreigner.
Paladin Edeis pulled out his wide blade sword while Oscar encircled his machete around his chest. A fierce battle was about to begin.
Suddenly, a couple of loud neighs came from the distance. Just when the crowd was about to turn their head to the direction of the chaos, a ferocious wind gushed accompanied by a dazzling blade and swept up the fallen leaves from the ground.
The knight warded off the attacking sword accurately! Every viewer was visibly moved as the clashes of the sword and machete blade sent sparks flying into all direction. The deafening noises thundered and tore at people’s eardrums.
Oscar finally slowed down in his twelfth strike. From the few milliseconds, the knight managed to pick at the machete with his sword and circled an offense strike.
The sword was waved into a steady rhythm that resembled a sharp gear motion. Immediately, Oscar turned and ran away before even looking at it. As people were baffled at his move, the knight sword began to charge even further. Oscar jumped and stepped on a stout trunk, followed by a forceful somersault. The knight sword brushed pass the young man’s back by an inch. When Oscar landed on the ground he stormed to attack the unprotected back of the paladin. It was as though the paladin had eyes grown on his back, he managed to ward off yet another strike.
Oscar began to gasp for air. By now, there was a safe distance between himself and paladin, and the two fell into a circling movement like the wrestlers. All at once, the silver knight sword drew a large arc in the air. This time it was Edeis who made the attack. Oscar abruptly bent down and sprung to his feet like a flexible spring. Oscar's instinctive move was within the paladin’s expectation, and so he pulled another strike in the air when His Royal The Highness was still in mid-air. Oscar footsteps were unsteady when he landed and staggered while trying to avoid the blow. Oscar knew he could not be so passive anymore! At that thought, he fiercely dragged out his machete and threw it in the opposite direction.
"Knife Throwing skill?" the paladin screamed and pulled out his sword in the attempt to block a rotating machete, but Oscar kicked his leg fiercely. Paladin fell to the ground, and the machete also landed on the patch of dried grass beside him.
Oscar pulled out a dagger out of nowhere and pinned it down near the paladin’s face, "You lose!"
"You’re a Persian?" Paladin Edeis thought the fight ended with unfairness.
"No!" Oscar answered with a straight refusal.
"But you know how to perform Black Belt Warrior’s Knife Throwing skill?" Edeis was still full of doubt.
"I learned it in secret! But… how do you know about this skill?" It was Oscar’s turn to be confused.
"I’ve been to West Percy by sea and took up a challenge with a Black Belt Warrior."
"What happened in the end?" Oscar was getting interested.
Paladin did not answer. He slowly got to his feet and walked toward his companions.
"Sorry my lady, I’ve disappointed you."
The girl did not blame her knight, instead, she just shrugged nonchalantly. "It’s alright, I’ve never been robbed before. It was definitely an experience to be remembered!"
"There are all sorts of peculiar people in the world!" Paul whispered in Oscar’s ear. However, he seemed to have forgotten that they just robbed someone because their horse wanted to mate another one. How ridiculous was that!
Soon, golds and silver accessories were cast all over the ground. The beautiful girl in the fiery red deerskin hunting jacket and wore a high ponytail called out happily, "Hey! Can we go now?"
Both Oscar and Paul instinctively turned their head around. Damn it! Raytheon was not finished with his business yet? What a beast!
"What should we do now?" Oscar scratched at the cloth which covered his head.
Paul suddenly snapped at his fingers, "Honourable lady, what do you think of a game of cards right now?"
Oscar had to lean his weight against the tree in order to not fall to the ground. "Um…yes! Cards game! Do you know how to play cards?"
Three men and one girl looked at each other in surprise, and the girl finally opened her mouth after a while. "Edeis, you should be ashamed that you were defeated by a lunatic!" She stomped toward the horse right after, she had had enough of these ridiculous bandits.
"Hey! Come back!" Oscar scrambled to stop the girl, but it was already too late. From the distant, she noticed a black monster riding on Esmeralda!
"Let me go! Let me go!" The fiery girl jumped up and down anxiously, "My Father King would definitely put you to death! He would kill you into pieces! Let go of me!"
"Father King?" Oscar seemed to have understood something. Was she a princess of West Percy Kingdom? At the thought of this, his grip loosened, and the girl took the chance and stepped hard on his foot.
"Ouch!" Oscar held his leg to his chest and hopped away in pain. He watched in exasperation as the girl darted to the direction of the horses.
Soon enough, the girl’s unrestrained cry broke out across the forest!
"Waaa… rascal! Rapist! You cheap hooligan, you should die a thousand times! Waaa waa waa… let go of my Esmeralda! Waa waa… get off her immediately!"
The girl wept as if someone has turned on the waterworks. She tugged at the Raytheon’s tail like a mad woman, but the latter didn’t acknowledge her at all. If it wasn’t for the fiery scent that lingered on her, he would have kicked her off miles away for sure!
"Waa Waa… You disgusting rascal!"
The Raytheon was busy thrusting with all his might.
"Your Excellency!" Paladin Edeis came closer to Oscar, "Are you really… so that your house…"
"That’s right! Anything wrong with that?" Oscar wasn’t intending to hide what he did anymore, he couldn’t have gotten any more embarrassed than it already was anyway!
"Um… it’s really unethical of you for doing so without getting permission from the owner. Besides, that horse is the treasure of our Kingdom’s Royal Family, it’s the most valuable red-blood horse in the whole Westland! The Royal Family of my Kingdom would definitely hold you responsible."
Oscar rolled his eyes, "What a joke! I’ve never heard of that before! Hold a person responsible for something his horse has done? Also, are you indicating that my Raytheon doesn’t deserve your red blood horse?"
"Raytheon?" Paladin Edeis opened his eyes widely, "You’re a direct descendant of the Andrew House?"
The paladin took another look at the machete held in Oscar’s hand. A son of Andrew that used a machete?
"Your Imperial Highness Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette!"
In one swift move Oscar removed the cloth which he used to cover his head, "You’re right! That’s me! Why did you shout so loudly? Want to fight once more?"
"No! Your Highness, that was not what I meant. What I’m trying to say is… should you go forward and comfort our princess? Since it was your Raytheon who…"
Oscar glanced over to the direction of his horse, "Oh? They’ve finished now?"
The girl was sitting on the ground, crying her heart out. She called out to Esmeralda several times but her closest companion which she treated like her own sister didn’t acknowledge her owner, as she was indulging in the attention of the Raytheon. That tall black hooligan looked immensely satisfied, he would have thought himself had just arrived in heaven!
"Um… beautiful princess! Please stop crying, there’s no point crying over spilled milk. I… I will take responsibility for this!" Oscar had no idea what he was saying, he had always been hopeless when dealing with a weeping girl.
"Waa waa…"
"Um... I have an idea. You could have the foal when it’s delivered!"
The girl was wailing even louder now! All the men presented shook their heads at the shoddy mediator.
"Um…" Oscar scratched at the nape of his neck helplessly, he honestly had no idea how to solve the catastrophe.
"You have to compensate it to me! My Esmeralda doesn’t even listen to me now!" The girl raised her head abruptly, her tear washed face was unbelievably lovable. Oscar was immediately dumbfounded!
As if she sensed the man was distracted, she began pulling at Oscar’s hair, "I want my compensation! Give me back my Esmeralda!"
The moment Oscar couldn’t take in any more dizziness, he hit at the fiery girl’s neck and sent her into a deep and quiet sleep.
"Edeis!" Between his fingers, Oscar rubbed at the hair pulled out by the girl, "Are you sure she’s a princess?"
Paladin nodded in embarrassment, "She’s extremely bright and adorable. Of course, that is when you’ve not provoked her."
With no other choice, Oscar invited both the massive black and red horses, a foreign princess and her three knights back to Marshal Robin’s residence.
The jubilant old man ordered his man to prepare lunch for the guests and even set up the dining table at a spot near the racecourse which had now been enclosed by a wooden fence. The shining black Raytheon and fiery red Esmeralda stood closely next to each other. They were enjoying lunch too. Their menu included fresh green grass, kidney beans, and ripe red apples from late fall. The newlyweds would occasionally touch their mouth with each other’s and appeared to be deeply infatuated with love.
"Highland stallion of Andrew House and red blood treasure of West Percy Royal Family, I’m so looking forward to their future foal!" The old marshal smiled while observing the two beasts.
"Your Excellency Marshal!" Paladin Edeis rose from his seat, "I’m immensely grateful for the invitation to lunch at your place, my knights and I are extremely overwhelmed by the flattery! We…"
Oscar waved his hand at the paladin, "Please take your seat, Edeis. I know that the hierarchy system in your kingdom is very strict, and I assume you probably have never sat next to a marshal and a prince in such a close proximity before. Although some people in Titan also adhere to the hierarchy specification, you know what? They are some tremendously boring guys. Relax, myself and Marshal Robin treat you and your knights simply as our friends from a foreign country! Sit down! Relax!"
Paladin Edeis sat down shyly. As a matter of fact, he had not dined at the same table with a prince or a marshal before. He was only a colonel, this would never ever happen in West Percy.
"I’m really thankful for your hospitality."
"We get it, young paladin!" Marshal Robin waved him off, and suddenly he was reminded of something else. "Oh! Your Excellency Paladin Edeis, in accordance with my understanding, Sea Emperor Knights mount battleships instead of horses. Since you are the commander of Sea Emperor Knights, have you participated in the Lannia naval battle happened in year 787 between your kingdom and Engels Kingdom? That event shocked the entire western world."
"Yes, I participated in that battle. However, I was just a captain of knights at that time. I had only been bestowed the Paladin title at the end of the battle."
"That makes you a battle hero then!" Old marshal’s eyes lit up with excitement. He remembered clearly as recorded in the history of the Lannia naval battle, it was mentioned that those who survived that battle was all one of the mighty warriors.
"No! Your Excellency Marshal!" Paladin Edeis shook his head sadly, "I am not a hero, the real heroes are sacrificed in the naval battle. I am only honored to have fought alongside them!"
Oscar nudged his elbow at the old marshal’s arm, "I told you, Paladin Edeis is a respectable soldier."
Marshal Robin nodded, but this was not what he valued about the young man, "After the naval battle in Lannia, the arrogant Engels Navy was forced to flee to the coastal ports, which gave your country an opportunity to control the entire heart of the sea and the western oceans. Your victory won your motherland a new era, a whole new era as the dictator of the seas!"
Although he did not understand why the old marshal’s gaze was so overbearing, Edeis nodded his head eventually at the man’s comment, "It is not wrong to say that the victory of the Lannia naval battle had indeed brought my country an inexhaustible wealth, but…"
"What is it that you want to say?" The old marshal asked while playing with the wine glass.
"Our Royal Family made a huge fortune through maritime trades, but the wealth was not used to make up for the losses the army suffered, instead… instead…" Edeis felt his companion stepped on his feet under the table, "Forget about it! After all, these are the affairs of my Royal Family, I’m not in a good position to speak about that."
Marshal Robin nodded, he fully understood what was going on. West Percy’s Royal Family was either baffled by the victory or they were dazzled by the golds that came flooding their way. Ever since the year 787, the year of the Lannia naval battle, the expenditures of the West Percy Royal Family repeatedly exceeded that of the most extravagant Manuel Dynasty of Italia Kingdom. Each year, the King of West Percy would purchase loads of luxury goods for his palace. The same was true of the West Percy nobles, which spent lavishly on hashish and alcohol. The abundance amount of money spent on these two sources could account for almost forty percent of the usage of the entire Westland. If this continued to go on, the Engels Kingdom which had been licking their wounds would soon return as a better and stronger opponent.
All of a sudden, Oscar stood up and everyone turned to look at the same direction the prince’s eyes were locked on. A fiery red silhouette appeared from the residence.
"You… you’re awake," Oscar’s hand instinctive went up to his nose.
"I’ve decided!" The Princess of West Percy suddenly grabbed Oscar by his arm, "Your big black fella seduced my Esmeralda, so I would have to seduce you in return! You must propose to me!"
Oscar stared at the princess in disbelief, "Oh no! Is it possible that I’ve hit her too hard that it caused a concussion in her brain?" Oscar thought in his mind and turned to the paladin that was equally dumbstruck with terror.
"Edeis, are you sure your princess doesn’t sleepwalk?"
"You’re the one who sleepwalk!" Princess reprimanded loudly.
"Alright then! Can you please explain to me the logic of this theory?"
Princess of West Percy lifted Oscar’s ear and screamed into it, "Your horse seduced my Esmeralda!"
Oscar shook his head from left to right, he couldn’t fathom why West Percy Royal Family had fostered such a monster?
"Alright! Alright! But I’m already engaged, Your Royal Highness Princess! What are you going to do with that?"
"What should I do? Should I do anything at all? You should be the one who’s taking the actions! You should call off the engagement! Simple!"
Oscar let off a long sigh, he was extremely convinced that this princess was not entirely right in her mind, "Listen to me, you’re suggesting me to call off my engagement with my fiancée and then propose to a girl whose name I don’t even know? It’s completely irrational!"
The fiery girl suddenly pushed her own chest tightly against Oscar’s, "Remember this! My name is… No! Your wife’s name is Catalina Don Holmes! Your wife is the most beautiful, hottest, and smartest princess ever in the history of West Percy Holmes Dynasty!"
"Ola! I will be sure to remember that!" In fact, Oscar believed he would never forget that name. Princess Catalina was in all seriousness. Oscar couldn’t help but shook his head, as he finally came to realize that he had once again brought upon himself another huge trouble!
Only after returning to University Town that Oscar gradually felt himself to be in a fine mettle. Although Faran’s King was not very much interested in Prince Kristen’s affair, he still hoped to ascertain where the possibilities laid. After all, Prince of Faran had been assaulted on the foreign land of the Titan Empire.
Alfa III the Majesty was smart. Since the Farans demanded an explanation, His Majesty decided to offer one, but one that limited its scope to only diplomatic disputes. This way, both parties could come to an agreement by just negotiations. However, as Alfa III understood perfectly, Titan was indeed not in a good position to defend themselves in this matter, this move was merely perfunctory.
Oh right, young Prince Kristen was not dead. Perhaps it was because Oscar attacked too quickly and didn’t aim accurately; he also didn’t wish for the other party to identify his hidden weapons. As a result, young Prince Kristen was still alive, but that didn’t mean his life was any better because of that. Half of his face was completely disfigured, and his head was full of stitches. People screamed in terror when they encountered his monstrous appearance at night.
Prince Kristen pressured his brother the King, albeit His Majesty was not very much bothered. The King of Faran exclaimed that he was unwilling to launch an attack on the powerful Titan Empire just to figure out one small truth.
Was there anything else that dissatisfied young Oscar? Of course, he neither liked being in Marshal Robin’s house nor did he adore his way of living. The Highness The Prince was only a young teenager, he absolutely did not fancy living the old man’s life so quickly. To be fair, Marshal Robin was indeed an unreasonable man to deal with. Every time Oscar tried sneaking out from the residence, the old marshal would appear out of nowhere and catch him red-handed.
Eventually, Oscar gave up. It wasn’t as if he had many affairs to handle out there anyway. He stopped meeting Viscount Tove Van Sukhoi as the unlucky guy was expelled from the Military Academy before being forcefully brought back to the north by his father. Not long after that incident, Oscar wrote to apologize. Anyhow, all these happened because of that chaotic scuffle.
The leaves turned yellow and gradually covered the ground. Oscar demanded a few of the marshal’s servants to clean up the front yard with him. Marshal Robin rose early from bed too, but he did not participate in the physical labor. Instead, he ordered his man to set up the table and seats near the porch so he could leisurely enjoy his coffee and cigar. Oscar ignored the old man, who liked to idle away his time, but he couldn’t deny the fact that the old man was, in fact, the best choice as the Dean of the Imperial Military Academy. He treated all kinds of military affairs with clarity and precision, and he had plentiful experience especially in teaching. All of his students achieved good results under his commands, but there would always be an exception. Although Robin discovered some lovely traits of O’Neil Andrew Morisette, in general, this young man was just downright a little rascal.
"Little rascal! You should go water the flowerbed!" Old marshal’s crisp voice came shouting from the porch.
"I’m not your gardener. Moreover, it’s only fall now, there’s no point in watering the beds!" Oscar raised his fists in the air in protest.
"Young men nowadays… if you don’t water them frequently no flower will blossom when spring comes. Do you understand what I say?"
"I know!" Oscar paced to the porch, "You’re cursing me! I know you’ve been cursing me since the first time we met."
"You think so? What shall we do about that then?" the old man snickered in a bantering voice.
"I don’t know! It’s either I kill myself or you die of a sudden death!"
Old man poked fiercely at Oscar’s butt with his Interimstab, "Little rascal, I’m still as fit as a fiddle, I can possibly live until eighty! You should worry about yourself, little rascal! You can’t have dinner tonight if you can’t figure out all the nine types of offensive tactics for cavalry army group on the sand table!"
"What?" Oscar glared at the old man.
Old marshal poked at him again, "Because you’re merely a Lieutenant General, and also a prisoner sent to my house by Alfa III the Majesty. That’s why you have to listen to me!"
"Alright, alright, old man! Why are you not dead yet?" Oscar rubbed his butt and dashed to the door. He was going to fill his massive appetite with a full and delicious breakfast before starting a long day of research.
Simultaneously, a sudden burst of laughter broke out in the small garden at the front yard. Marshal Robin couldn’t help but strain his neck to anticipate the arrival of Young Lady and other ladies of Andrew House.
"Seems like it’s a good idea to have some young people in the house?" Old marshal said, satisfaction in his voice.
Standing beside him was an experienced orderly who worked for him numerous years. He smiled and nodded in agreement.
This way, O’Neil could finally learn! The old marshal either forced him to deduce strategies on sand tables or memorize theories from books. Not only that, all his personal companions were rejected at the door, even those adorable ladies’ visitation hours were limited to only a brief while. Young Lady was easier to persuade, for her dear brother was learning after the esteemed marshal. That was definitely a good thing! On the other hand, Alanis, with a straightforward personality, called Marshal Robin an old monster who loathed love! Anyway, Oscar was indeed improving as time passed!
Days after days, years after years, the construction process in University Town never stopped. The little birch tree still looked as sick as last year, only that its branches appeared even barer during this time of the year. The ground was deprived of life, apart from the complicated entanglement of bryophytes. Across the vast sky flew skeins of wild geese arranged in a neat formation, dropping a few stools over the people on the ground who they did not like.
Nature itself was ethical, and only human beings could make it unethical. Winter was near, and people seized the time for deforestation in order to obtain enough charcoal to survive the freezing winter. Even that birch tree of old age was not pardoned. Through thousands of years, Sparjoxin had grown from a small town, with only a few small stone houses, into what it was today, at the expense of thinning forests and fewer land for the inhabitants.
In fact, people would not regard the opportunity to walk through dense forests or listening to bird songs as such a great privilege. The idea didn’t seem strange or rare at the moment. Children grew up in the arms of nature, and from an early age, they knew how to hunt small animals. When they were finally strong enough to pick up their axes and stretched their bows, naturally they would choose to deal with larger goals. As a result, the forest, the animals, and all of nature suffered. When these children eventually grew up and led their own children to the forest to listen to the singing of the birds like the mountain imperial pigeon, the male nightingale, and the willow warbler, they would never reflect on what they had done.
Anyway, the wilderness was still full of vitality, although the flora and fauna had felt the chill brought by the monsoon winds. In order to continue the race, wild bees were playing the final symphony of life as they mated at the expense of their own lives. Insects waved their tiny wings around muddy swamps deep in the woods, not knowing countless hungry birds were chasing their back, waiting for the first taste of a delicious feast. Just as a fully-fledged female bird intended to rest on the branches to comb through its beautiful feathers, a fox swallowed it in just a blink of an eye. This meant that a nest of fledging would lose their main support, which would, in turn, lead to them fighting to feed on each other. Eventually, not even one would be spared from being the meal of their siblings.
Behind the residence of Marshal Robin Sparse was a farmhouse which enclosed stables, chicken coops, a duck pond, and a pasture that could stock more than thirty cows. There were only a handful of workers on the farm, so sometimes Marshal Robin personally took charge of the affairs such as helping to deliver cattle or purchase a new breed of horse. Most likely, no one had seen the marshal feeding the chickens, but it was said to be very fascinating. Apparently, the old marshal would shout out slogans like he was commanding his own soldiers and then gave a kick to those who tried to disturb the order.
Now that Marshal Robin acquired a helper, Oscar was assigned to take care of the duck pond. There was a high chance that no one had ever seen His Imperial Highness The Prince of Titan Empire tending brace of ducks, and it was said to be a rather enthralling sight too. The young man would shout "Andrew Haila" to shoo the ducks into the water, and took a short nap underneath the shade after sprinkled into the pond some fish pellets. When he woke up, he would cry again "Andrew Haila" and the ducks would automatically waddle up to the shore, obediently directing themselves into the nest. Initially, they did not pay much attention to the unfamiliar, chubby young man, but this stranger fat man slaughtered the few most obnoxious ones in front of the badling of ducks, and so the unlucky ducks gave in. If the ducks could speak like humans, they would surely imitate the fat man and shout out loud the command "Andrew Haila." The fat man appeared to be delighted after each scream of the slogan, and the ducks knew it, they only did not have a way of expressing it. When the fat man kicked at them, they could only refute in return a couple of quacks. Actually, this meant 'Andrew Haila' in the ducks’ language, except that the fat man couldn’t seem to understand that.
"Old thing!"
"Get out!"
"Alright, alright!" Oscar performed a military salute, "Your Excellency Marshal, your humble student would like to have your advice on a problem."
"Come over here," The old man let down of the work on his hands immediately. He knew that this young fella wouldn’t have express explicitly his trouble if it was something he could handle for himself.
"How much do you understand about horses?"
Marshal Robin shrugged nonchalantly, "I don’t know much about them, but my own horses know loads about me."
"I would have guessed." Oscar came nearer, "Have you noticed my Raytheon recently? He seemed to be acting rather strange lately!"
"Be more specific."
"I have not any clue what is happening with him!" Oscar scratched his head helplessly. It wasn’t something he could easily speak of without being embarrassed about, but he had to do it. He went an inch closer to the marshal, and with his lightest voice possible he whispered, "You know, I’ve seen it riding a cow just yesterday!"
"Pfft!" Marshal Andrew hurriedly took a napkin near him and began wiping the tea spilled from his mouth, "Really, what a waste of my good tea!"
Oscar stood up from his seat and extended both his arms in front as if he was holding the bottom of a cow, "You know, my Raytheon couldn’t stop doing this motion the whole time!" He said while thrusting his butt forward into the air.
"Enough, enough!" The old man finally had enough of the mischievous young man. "Your Raytheon has grown up, and he’s going through a heat period! You’re well aware of this, I’m sure. Hurry and go find him a mate!"
Oscar appeared to see the light but promptly shook his head, "It’s not going to be easy! My Raytheon fought the lead bull on the farm before and appeared to be not his opponent, I’m definite that he wouldn’t dare to go near their cows anymore."
"Oh! My God of Light!" Marshal Robin slapped softly at his own forehead, "Your Imperial Highness Prince, are you an idiot or a moron? Your Raytheon is a horse! A purebred stallion! Obviously, he’s going to choose to mate with a tall and big creature, but the other party also has to be a horse. The reason he had picked a cow earlier was simply that there wasn’t a female in the stable that suited his taste! Do you understand now?"
"I understand now, but what can I do?"
The old marshal rolled his eyes impatiently, "There’s plenty more fish in the sea! Go outside and get him one!"
"Haha! This is what I’ve been waiting to hear!" Oscar cheered in excitement and performed a backflip while standing on the chair, "I’m going out now! You just allowed me to!"
The old man was stunned for a second, but soon he let out a laugh, "How nice must it be to be young!"
Exactly! There was plenty more fish in the sea, and there was already a handful among the ladies surrounded Oscar, Sasha, Antonia, Fenrar, Rolanda, hmm… Alanis and Aeolia were not too bad of a choice as well. However, for a Raytheon, it was indeed quite difficult to search for a good partner.
"My brother, it’s already the ninth day!" Oscar petted its Raytheon’s head lovingly, "We left the house early in the morning and only return when night falls, in the end? Maroon wasn’t your cup of tea, and you don’t seem to like the ones with spots. I really have no idea what is the best fit to your liking."
The massive Raytheon arched his head, he had had enough of his master’s grievances. He had set his own standards for a perfect partner; amazing mane, strong and graceful built, and most importantly, she must have a big butt! otherwise, how would she be able to deliver his foal?
All of a sudden, a sweet and wonderful scent caught Raytheon’s nose! The rare sweet scent made him unexceptionally excited! It was the taste of a massive buttock! The stallion increased the frequency of his gallops, near the corner of his mouth was even dripping with thick saliva.
"Is she the one?" Oscar said while pulling tightly on his rein, he wouldn’t want his Raytheon to rush hastily to the target.
That wonderful scent belonged to a strong built, purebred horse with a fierce morning glow! Oscar couldn’t bring himself to name the horse, but he judged from that kind of noble awe-inspiring appearance that it must be a purebred horse. Purebred horses had gotten rarer in the whole world, just like his own Raytheon. Because of the high possibility of casualty, the Andrew House had forbidden them to participate in the war anymore.
On the other end of the woods, Oscar jumped off from his seat and watched silently from afar. There were four horses in total, and the fiery horse was among them. The other rests didn’t stand out from the crowd, so it must be this one that his Raytheon had laid his eyes on. However, Oscar doubted if it was a female horse. It had such a massive built!
Whatever, he couldn’t care much at this point. The horses were fitted with saddlery, some armor, and weapons, which indicated their owners most probably came to the forest to hunt. Raytheon must succeed in getting what he thirsted for before their owners return! Oscar unlocked the reins and saddle as he thought about it. When the Raytheon felt the last buckle began to drag loose, he dashed in full speed toward its morning glow! Oscar was right, his Raytheon charged right for that morning glow!
The sudden arrival of the black stallion made the other male horses jumped in exaggerated surprise. They were all tied to the tree, prayed silently for that salivating gigantic creature would not do them any harm.
The fiery red "Morning Glow" cautiously turned her head around at the strong male fragrance. That scent made her dizzy, but she was well aware what the black creature had in mind.
As expected, seeing as she hadn’t moved an inch, after some careful ponderation the Raytheon caught "Morning Glow" by her big buttocks with his forelegs.
"Come on! Come on!" Oscar shouted from a distance.
After a short while of indifferent "Morning Glow" felt a small pain as the black fellow poked at her back. She fostered all her might and kicked at the Raytheon. "Strong!" She thought to herself, as her leg touched the black fella’s muscles.
The rest of the males understood that the big creature was trying to encroach on their dreams. This couldn’t be it! One of the magnificent stallions leaned forward with desperation, but immediately the Raytheon sensed it. It was absolutely not allowed, especially not when "Morning Glow" was still sending him confused signals.
Without any explanation, Raytheon sprang so fiercely that horse stallion did not even have an opportunity to dodge. The male horse fell heavily to the ground after being struck by the Raytheon’s heavy pectorals. The Raytheon swaggered proudly around the other two horses which had their heads hung down pretending to be eating grass on the ground.
"Morning Glow" finally moved closer. It had a pair of beautiful big eyes. It nudged at the Raytheon’s butt with its own, well-proportioned huge buttock, and the Raytheon obediently followed her to the other side of the tree with its tongue sticking out like a male dog. A few moments later, the big guy finally got tired of the foreplay, and once again it leaped onto "Morning Glow" back. That was the beginning of a beautiful love story!
Bored stiff, Oscar was playing with the dried branches on the ground. He gave his full blessing to his Raytheon, after all, he deserved that fiery beauty for being such a good companion after all this while.
Out of the blue, a human voice was heard in the dense forest and Oscar glanced nervously to the source of the voice. Sure enough, the hunters have returned! What a perfect timing! Oscar thought perhaps he could explain the situation, but almost immediately he was reminded that no one would allow their purebred horse to mate so casually! This was not an era of free love. Not only a purebred horse represented the symbol of wealth, but also the ancient history of the family that owned it.
"Do you need help?" Paul appeared out of nowhere.
"Ola! I knew you wouldn’t leave me behind!" Oscar said while rubbing his hands, "What should we do? We can’t let those guys ruin my boy’s good moment. I bet the newlyweds would need at least another hour.
"There!" Paul handed over a black cloth to Oscar. The voice from the forest was approaching closer!
"What is this for?" Oscar asked in confusion.
Paul unfolded the black cloth and covered his whole face with it, revealing only two holes for eyes and one for the nose.
Oscar couldn’t care more! He followed suit and put the cloth over his own head, though he took forever to locate the holes to see and to breathe.
"What now?"
A chaos broke out in the forest, and two parties met in the middle. Just as the crowd new to the party popped their eyes with confusion the King of Assassins revealed a gleaming dirk, "I’m sorry everyone, hands in the air please!"
Oscar almost choked on the air! Robbery? But… it seemed like the best idea at the moment!
With a crisp bright clang, His Highness The Prince revealed his machete, "Surrender your weapons, and hand over all your valuables!" Within seconds, he was already into the character.
A spectacular expression washed over the others’ faces. The three men smiled slightly and complimented on that excellent idea, while the girl, the girl so beautiful and ardent she resembled a raging fire, pointed at the two "robbers" and burst out into a loud laughter.
It was Oscar’s first experience in robbing, and he experienced deeply the abominable humiliation!
"What should we do now?" One of the men from the opposite party asked while pulling at his bow.
Paul whistled softly, and suddenly ten or more masked warriors, who held long swords in their hands and crossbow on their back, appeared and surrounded the three men and one girl in an instant. The ones being surrounded immediately stopped laughing and acted all serious.
"Crossbow mechanism of Titan Military… you’re not bandits! Who are you actually?" The girl demanded an answer.
"Who are they actually?" Oscar was curious too.
Paul whispered in a low voice, "They’re your knights, and they will be following you around during most of these days."
Oscar nodded in understanding, it seemed like strength in numbers was the eternal truth.
"Hey! Surrender your weapon! I do not wish to repeat myself for the third time!" Paul has gotten a little impatient by now.
A tall figure stepped up from the encircled crowd, "Your Excellency, I’m Paladin Edeis, Commander of West Percy Kingdom Sea Emperor Knights. You should know the rule of Paladin, I would never surrender my weapons without engaging in a real fight!"
"What do you want then?" Paul also took one step forward.
"Someone from your side must step up and accept my challenge! If I lose, I would do as you told. If I win, my men and I will still stay behind and leave ourselves to your discretion, but the girl must go."
"Edeis!" The girl shouted.
The paladin refused to answer but waved his hand to dismiss the girl. "Deal!" Oscar declared suddenly. This paladin had earned his respect.
Paul turned around and said to Oscar, "If so… you will fight with this guy."
"Why?" Oscar’s face fell.
"You promised him," Paul answered and took a few steps backward tentatively.
"Damn it!" Oscar mumbled. He hadn’t engaged in fights for quite some time now. Hopefully, this commander of Sea Emperor Knights was only some inexperienced foreigner.
Paladin Edeis pulled out his wide blade sword while Oscar encircled his machete around his chest. A fierce battle was about to begin.
Suddenly, a couple of loud neighs came from the distance. Just when the crowd was about to turn their head to the direction of the chaos, a ferocious wind gushed accompanied by a dazzling blade and swept up the fallen leaves from the ground.
The knight warded off the attacking sword accurately! Every viewer was visibly moved as the clashes of the sword and machete blade sent sparks flying into all direction. The deafening noises thundered and tore at people’s eardrums.
Oscar finally slowed down in his twelfth strike. From the few milliseconds, the knight managed to pick at the machete with his sword and circled an offense strike.
The sword was waved into a steady rhythm that resembled a sharp gear motion. Immediately, Oscar turned and ran away before even looking at it. As people were baffled at his move, the knight sword began to charge even further. Oscar jumped and stepped on a stout trunk, followed by a forceful somersault. The knight sword brushed pass the young man’s back by an inch. When Oscar landed on the ground he stormed to attack the unprotected back of the paladin. It was as though the paladin had eyes grown on his back, he managed to ward off yet another strike.
Oscar began to gasp for air. By now, there was a safe distance between himself and paladin, and the two fell into a circling movement like the wrestlers. All at once, the silver knight sword drew a large arc in the air. This time it was Edeis who made the attack. Oscar abruptly bent down and sprung to his feet like a flexible spring. Oscar's instinctive move was within the paladin’s expectation, and so he pulled another strike in the air when His Royal The Highness was still in mid-air. Oscar footsteps were unsteady when he landed and staggered while trying to avoid the blow. Oscar knew he could not be so passive anymore! At that thought, he fiercely dragged out his machete and threw it in the opposite direction.
"Knife Throwing skill?" the paladin screamed and pulled out his sword in the attempt to block a rotating machete, but Oscar kicked his leg fiercely. Paladin fell to the ground, and the machete also landed on the patch of dried grass beside him.
Oscar pulled out a dagger out of nowhere and pinned it down near the paladin’s face, "You lose!"
"You’re a Persian?" Paladin Edeis thought the fight ended with unfairness.
"No!" Oscar answered with a straight refusal.
"But you know how to perform Black Belt Warrior’s Knife Throwing skill?" Edeis was still full of doubt.
"I learned it in secret! But… how do you know about this skill?" It was Oscar’s turn to be confused.
"I’ve been to West Percy by sea and took up a challenge with a Black Belt Warrior."
"What happened in the end?" Oscar was getting interested.
Paladin did not answer. He slowly got to his feet and walked toward his companions.
"Sorry my lady, I’ve disappointed you."
The girl did not blame her knight, instead, she just shrugged nonchalantly. "It’s alright, I’ve never been robbed before. It was definitely an experience to be remembered!"
"There are all sorts of peculiar people in the world!" Paul whispered in Oscar’s ear. However, he seemed to have forgotten that they just robbed someone because their horse wanted to mate another one. How ridiculous was that!
Soon, golds and silver accessories were cast all over the ground. The beautiful girl in the fiery red deerskin hunting jacket and wore a high ponytail called out happily, "Hey! Can we go now?"
Both Oscar and Paul instinctively turned their head around. Damn it! Raytheon was not finished with his business yet? What a beast!
"What should we do now?" Oscar scratched at the cloth which covered his head.
Paul suddenly snapped at his fingers, "Honourable lady, what do you think of a game of cards right now?"
Oscar had to lean his weight against the tree in order to not fall to the ground. "Um…yes! Cards game! Do you know how to play cards?"
Three men and one girl looked at each other in surprise, and the girl finally opened her mouth after a while. "Edeis, you should be ashamed that you were defeated by a lunatic!" She stomped toward the horse right after, she had had enough of these ridiculous bandits.
"Hey! Come back!" Oscar scrambled to stop the girl, but it was already too late. From the distant, she noticed a black monster riding on Esmeralda!
"Let me go! Let me go!" The fiery girl jumped up and down anxiously, "My Father King would definitely put you to death! He would kill you into pieces! Let go of me!"
"Father King?" Oscar seemed to have understood something. Was she a princess of West Percy Kingdom? At the thought of this, his grip loosened, and the girl took the chance and stepped hard on his foot.
"Ouch!" Oscar held his leg to his chest and hopped away in pain. He watched in exasperation as the girl darted to the direction of the horses.
Soon enough, the girl’s unrestrained cry broke out across the forest!
"Waaa… rascal! Rapist! You cheap hooligan, you should die a thousand times! Waaa waa waa… let go of my Esmeralda! Waa waa… get off her immediately!"
The girl wept as if someone has turned on the waterworks. She tugged at the Raytheon’s tail like a mad woman, but the latter didn’t acknowledge her at all. If it wasn’t for the fiery scent that lingered on her, he would have kicked her off miles away for sure!
"Waa Waa… You disgusting rascal!"
The Raytheon was busy thrusting with all his might.
"Your Excellency!" Paladin Edeis came closer to Oscar, "Are you really… so that your house…"
"That’s right! Anything wrong with that?" Oscar wasn’t intending to hide what he did anymore, he couldn’t have gotten any more embarrassed than it already was anyway!
"Um… it’s really unethical of you for doing so without getting permission from the owner. Besides, that horse is the treasure of our Kingdom’s Royal Family, it’s the most valuable red-blood horse in the whole Westland! The Royal Family of my Kingdom would definitely hold you responsible."
Oscar rolled his eyes, "What a joke! I’ve never heard of that before! Hold a person responsible for something his horse has done? Also, are you indicating that my Raytheon doesn’t deserve your red blood horse?"
"Raytheon?" Paladin Edeis opened his eyes widely, "You’re a direct descendant of the Andrew House?"
The paladin took another look at the machete held in Oscar’s hand. A son of Andrew that used a machete?
"Your Imperial Highness Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette!"
In one swift move Oscar removed the cloth which he used to cover his head, "You’re right! That’s me! Why did you shout so loudly? Want to fight once more?"
"No! Your Highness, that was not what I meant. What I’m trying to say is… should you go forward and comfort our princess? Since it was your Raytheon who…"
Oscar glanced over to the direction of his horse, "Oh? They’ve finished now?"
The girl was sitting on the ground, crying her heart out. She called out to Esmeralda several times but her closest companion which she treated like her own sister didn’t acknowledge her owner, as she was indulging in the attention of the Raytheon. That tall black hooligan looked immensely satisfied, he would have thought himself had just arrived in heaven!
"Um… beautiful princess! Please stop crying, there’s no point crying over spilled milk. I… I will take responsibility for this!" Oscar had no idea what he was saying, he had always been hopeless when dealing with a weeping girl.
"Waa waa…"
"Um... I have an idea. You could have the foal when it’s delivered!"
The girl was wailing even louder now! All the men presented shook their heads at the shoddy mediator.
"Um…" Oscar scratched at the nape of his neck helplessly, he honestly had no idea how to solve the catastrophe.
"You have to compensate it to me! My Esmeralda doesn’t even listen to me now!" The girl raised her head abruptly, her tear washed face was unbelievably lovable. Oscar was immediately dumbfounded!
As if she sensed the man was distracted, she began pulling at Oscar’s hair, "I want my compensation! Give me back my Esmeralda!"
The moment Oscar couldn’t take in any more dizziness, he hit at the fiery girl’s neck and sent her into a deep and quiet sleep.
"Edeis!" Between his fingers, Oscar rubbed at the hair pulled out by the girl, "Are you sure she’s a princess?"
Paladin nodded in embarrassment, "She’s extremely bright and adorable. Of course, that is when you’ve not provoked her."
With no other choice, Oscar invited both the massive black and red horses, a foreign princess and her three knights back to Marshal Robin’s residence.
The jubilant old man ordered his man to prepare lunch for the guests and even set up the dining table at a spot near the racecourse which had now been enclosed by a wooden fence. The shining black Raytheon and fiery red Esmeralda stood closely next to each other. They were enjoying lunch too. Their menu included fresh green grass, kidney beans, and ripe red apples from late fall. The newlyweds would occasionally touch their mouth with each other’s and appeared to be deeply infatuated with love.
"Highland stallion of Andrew House and red blood treasure of West Percy Royal Family, I’m so looking forward to their future foal!" The old marshal smiled while observing the two beasts.
"Your Excellency Marshal!" Paladin Edeis rose from his seat, "I’m immensely grateful for the invitation to lunch at your place, my knights and I are extremely overwhelmed by the flattery! We…"
Oscar waved his hand at the paladin, "Please take your seat, Edeis. I know that the hierarchy system in your kingdom is very strict, and I assume you probably have never sat next to a marshal and a prince in such a close proximity before. Although some people in Titan also adhere to the hierarchy specification, you know what? They are some tremendously boring guys. Relax, myself and Marshal Robin treat you and your knights simply as our friends from a foreign country! Sit down! Relax!"
Paladin Edeis sat down shyly. As a matter of fact, he had not dined at the same table with a prince or a marshal before. He was only a colonel, this would never ever happen in West Percy.
"I’m really thankful for your hospitality."
"We get it, young paladin!" Marshal Robin waved him off, and suddenly he was reminded of something else. "Oh! Your Excellency Paladin Edeis, in accordance with my understanding, Sea Emperor Knights mount battleships instead of horses. Since you are the commander of Sea Emperor Knights, have you participated in the Lannia naval battle happened in year 787 between your kingdom and Engels Kingdom? That event shocked the entire western world."
"Yes, I participated in that battle. However, I was just a captain of knights at that time. I had only been bestowed the Paladin title at the end of the battle."
"That makes you a battle hero then!" Old marshal’s eyes lit up with excitement. He remembered clearly as recorded in the history of the Lannia naval battle, it was mentioned that those who survived that battle was all one of the mighty warriors.
"No! Your Excellency Marshal!" Paladin Edeis shook his head sadly, "I am not a hero, the real heroes are sacrificed in the naval battle. I am only honored to have fought alongside them!"
Oscar nudged his elbow at the old marshal’s arm, "I told you, Paladin Edeis is a respectable soldier."
Marshal Robin nodded, but this was not what he valued about the young man, "After the naval battle in Lannia, the arrogant Engels Navy was forced to flee to the coastal ports, which gave your country an opportunity to control the entire heart of the sea and the western oceans. Your victory won your motherland a new era, a whole new era as the dictator of the seas!"
Although he did not understand why the old marshal’s gaze was so overbearing, Edeis nodded his head eventually at the man’s comment, "It is not wrong to say that the victory of the Lannia naval battle had indeed brought my country an inexhaustible wealth, but…"
"What is it that you want to say?" The old marshal asked while playing with the wine glass.
"Our Royal Family made a huge fortune through maritime trades, but the wealth was not used to make up for the losses the army suffered, instead… instead…" Edeis felt his companion stepped on his feet under the table, "Forget about it! After all, these are the affairs of my Royal Family, I’m not in a good position to speak about that."
Marshal Robin nodded, he fully understood what was going on. West Percy’s Royal Family was either baffled by the victory or they were dazzled by the golds that came flooding their way. Ever since the year 787, the year of the Lannia naval battle, the expenditures of the West Percy Royal Family repeatedly exceeded that of the most extravagant Manuel Dynasty of Italia Kingdom. Each year, the King of West Percy would purchase loads of luxury goods for his palace. The same was true of the West Percy nobles, which spent lavishly on hashish and alcohol. The abundance amount of money spent on these two sources could account for almost forty percent of the usage of the entire Westland. If this continued to go on, the Engels Kingdom which had been licking their wounds would soon return as a better and stronger opponent.
All of a sudden, Oscar stood up and everyone turned to look at the same direction the prince’s eyes were locked on. A fiery red silhouette appeared from the residence.
"You… you’re awake," Oscar’s hand instinctive went up to his nose.
"I’ve decided!" The Princess of West Percy suddenly grabbed Oscar by his arm, "Your big black fella seduced my Esmeralda, so I would have to seduce you in return! You must propose to me!"
Oscar stared at the princess in disbelief, "Oh no! Is it possible that I’ve hit her too hard that it caused a concussion in her brain?" Oscar thought in his mind and turned to the paladin that was equally dumbstruck with terror.
"Edeis, are you sure your princess doesn’t sleepwalk?"
"You’re the one who sleepwalk!" Princess reprimanded loudly.
"Alright then! Can you please explain to me the logic of this theory?"
Princess of West Percy lifted Oscar’s ear and screamed into it, "Your horse seduced my Esmeralda!"
Oscar shook his head from left to right, he couldn’t fathom why West Percy Royal Family had fostered such a monster?
"Alright! Alright! But I’m already engaged, Your Royal Highness Princess! What are you going to do with that?"
"What should I do? Should I do anything at all? You should be the one who’s taking the actions! You should call off the engagement! Simple!"
Oscar let off a long sigh, he was extremely convinced that this princess was not entirely right in her mind, "Listen to me, you’re suggesting me to call off my engagement with my fiancée and then propose to a girl whose name I don’t even know? It’s completely irrational!"
The fiery girl suddenly pushed her own chest tightly against Oscar’s, "Remember this! My name is… No! Your wife’s name is Catalina Don Holmes! Your wife is the most beautiful, hottest, and smartest princess ever in the history of West Percy Holmes Dynasty!"
"Ola! I will be sure to remember that!" In fact, Oscar believed he would never forget that name. Princess Catalina was in all seriousness. Oscar couldn’t help but shook his head, as he finally came to realize that he had once again brought upon himself another huge trouble!
