Knights of The Dauntless Princess

Chapter 11: Disguise

Give him a reason? And what reason could I possibly give him to make him show me his face?

Amara was training herself while pondering over that question. She seemed more determined to see Dravis's face since she saw the possibility of making it happen, but she struggled with how to do it.

Amara returned to Dravis's house in the afternoon and saw Cyrus there. She greeted him immediately.

"Cyrus, how are you? Why are you here?" she asked.

Cyrus turned to her, his smile widening upon seeing the woman who brightened his day.

"My beloved princess!" Cyrus exclaimed, standing up from his seat and cheerfully responding to the lady. "I just dropped by to see you! Did you miss me? I missed you so much!"

Dion frowned at his words. "Hmm? Weren't you here just last night? You missed big sis already?"

"When someone is important to you, every minute feels like a long time when you're not with them," Cyrus grinned widely and approached Amara, taking her hand. Amara awkwardly smiled but allowed the young man as she thought he was just joking.

"Every minute feels long? How is it possible?" Dion asked with a puzzled expression, and Lillian giggled at him.

"My dear princess, would you like to come with me today? I have something to show you," Cyrus asked.

Amara's concern was evident in her reaction to Cyrus's request. She knew she couldn't just go out freely, and she was also worried that Dravis would be angry with her again.

"B-But—"

"If you're worried about Dravis, leave it to me! I'll take you home before he arrives," Cyrus assured her. "And if you're concerned that someone might recognize you, I've already thought of that!"

Cyrus took out a large bag and pulled something out of it. Amara was puzzled by its contents, but when Cyrus showed it to her, her eyes immediately sparkled, and a smile lit up her face.

"Ta-da! These are clothes for your disguise!" Cyrus grinned.

"Cyrus!!! You're amazing!" Amara happily exclaimed, taking the clothes. "Thank you so much!!!"

Cyrus chuckled softly; he was overjoyed to hear the princess's praise.

Amara quickly changed her clothes, and when she looked at herself in the mirror, she was also amazed at how she appeared as a young man. Even Dion was delighted with Amara's transformed appearance. Amara picked up a fake mustache and beard that she would wear, and a mischievous idea popped into her mind. She combed her hair down to cover her eyes before imitating Dravis's manner of speech.

"What part of what I said didn't you understand?" Amara mimicked Dravis's cold voice, seemingly irritated. They all burst into laughter at Amara's playful act.

Amara borrowed one of Dravis's horses. They bid farewell to Lillian and Dion and promised to return before it got dark.

"Where are we going, Cyrus?" Amara asked.

Cyrus turned to her and smiled. "To school! We'll teach the children!"

Amara felt a surge of excitement upon learning their destination. She realized that Cyrus had remembered that she mentioned wanting to try that before. She nodded to Cyrus, and joy radiated from her face.

They arrived at a small school that Cyrus had established for underprivileged children who couldn't afford education in the town. They found Clea, Cyrus's younger sister, teaching the children at that time. Cyrus introduced Amara to Clea as Amir, as they didn't want anyone else to know Amara's true identity. Although Clea had some reservations about Amara, she trusted her brother enough not to question them.

Amara thoroughly enjoyed her time at the school, and just as she had wished, Cyrus allowed her to teach the children. She told them stories and sang songs together. Cyrus could see how happy Amara was, and his joy knew no bounds.

In the afternoon, the children went home. Amara and Cyrus bid them farewell before returning to Dravis's house. Little did they expect they would have unwanted visitors that would bring trouble again— it was Falcon and his gang.

"You are an i***t, Cyrus! Didn't I tell you to leave this place?" Falcon said, glaring sharply at Cyrus.

They were about to mount their horses, but Falcon's gang had no intention of letting them go easily.

"Now is not the time for me to argue with you," Cyrus firmly said as they needed to hurry. They couldn't risk being caught outside, as Dravis would surely be angry if he found out he had taken Amara with him.

"Huh! You don't get to decide when I want to cause trouble," Falcon replied angrily, signaling his men. "Get rid of these people from my property! I don't want any garbage here!"

Amara furrowed her brow in confusion and concern, quickly turning to Cyrus.

Amara furrowed her brow in confusion and concern, so she immediately looked at Cyrus. Cyrus clenched his teeth while glaring at them.

"This land is ours! I paid for this land in full to your father!!!" Cyrus exclaimed, his fists tightly clenched.

Falcon laughed and didn't accept what he said. "You haven't paid for years, so there's interest, and that's what you haven't paid! This land still belongs to me!"

Cyrus's eyes narrowed even further in anger at the man's audacity. "That wasn't part of my agreement with your father! There was no interest or anything that should be collected besides the payment. You have no right to change our deal! If your father were still alive, he would never do that!"

"That's why I'm doing it for him. I'm the one reclaiming our land!" Falcon laughed again.

"You have a completely different character from your father, so now I'm thinking... maybe you were just adopted by him or picked up from some trash bin," Cyrus mocked him.

"What did you say!? You shameless imbecile!" Falcon grew even angrier and couldn't let it slide. "Attack them and teach them a lesson!!!"

Cyrus immediately thought of Amara and turned to her, saying, "Please, hide. I'll take care of them!"

Amara didn't want to do that, but she knew that Cyrus would be in greater danger if she fought, and they discovered the truth about her. Darkness was approaching, and Amara was getting anxious; Dravis was surely on his way home. Nevertheless, what worried Amara the most was the chaos caused by Falcon and his men.

"Amir, are you okay?" Clea worriedly asked as Amara entered the school to hide.

"Yes, I'm okay, but... but Cyrus—" Amara replied, still trying to pretend. "Who are they?"

"That is Falcon and his stupid men. They're a bunch of lunatics!" Clea explained as she watched the unfolding fight. "They're trying to take this land away from us. Our father mortgaged it to Falcon's father, but when our father died, Cyrus took over the payment. Falcon's father was kind, but he suddenly died when we fully paid for the land. Falcon refuses to accept it because he's after the interest we accumulated over almost ten years of mortgaging it to them. That's also why they keep coming back here to drive us away. He was using his position in this town to do so."

Amara understood everything from Clea's explanation. She realized it wasn't fair, primarily since Cyrus had worked hard to pay it off. She wanted to help Cyrus fight against Falcon, but when she discovered that Falcon was an official in the town, she became even more hesitant.

Cyrus continued to fight, and his face showed exhaustion and struggled as he defended the place alone. It was growing darker, and Cyrus was getting tired of facing them. He tried to avoid killing them, but the consequence was his suffering as they continued fighting despite being injured.

"Stop it! Leave! This land is mine!!!" Cyrus shouted at them. He wanted to make them leave and take Amara back to Dravis's house because, in truth, he was more worried about Dravis's anger when he found out what he had done. He wanted to take Amara home safely.

"This isn't yours. THIS LAND IS MINE!" Falcon shouted back and immediately attacked Cyrus.

Due to Falcon's much larger body, Cyrus struggled as he blocked his sword with his own.

"You damn bastard, just die!!!" Falcon yelled, trying to cut Cyrus.

With the force of Falcon's sword, Cyrus was pushed back but didn't let go. He had no intention of giving up. Amara became extremely anxious as she saw one of Falcon's men taking advantage of the opportunity to attack Cyrus while he could not move.

"Cyrus!!!" Amara shouted, almost rushing out of the school, but she stopped when she saw a familiar silhouette of a man helping Cyrus. Her eyes widened as she recognized the figure fighting alongside him.

"D-Dravis," she whispered softly, feeling relieved that it was indeed Dravis.

"What nonsense are you doing?" Dravis asked Cyrus coldly. "Why didn't you clean up this trash immediately?"

Cyrus, who had been exhausted, seemed to regain his fighting spirit when Dravis arrived. He laughed in response to Dravis's question and joined him in wielding his sword.

"I'm sorry, but I'll clean it up now," Cyrus confidently replied, which irritated Falcon.

"What do you mean, clean up? I'll trash all of you!!!" Falcon shouted and attacked again.

Cyrus was determined to fight back at that moment. That time, he didn't hesitate to severe his opponents.

"I can let this slide, but what you did by bringing that girl here without my knowledge is a different matter," Dravis said as if giving him a hint that he'd see hell after that. "I'll make sure you regret it."

"C-Can't you just let that go too? Eheh?" Cyrus trembly smiled with anticipation.

"No, I can't, you fool," Dravis replied, and they chased after Falcon and his companions one by one.

"They're amazing!!!" Clea exclaimed happily, which Amara nodded at. "I hope they learn their lesson— ahh!!!"

Clea screamed when they realized that some of Falcon's men had entered through the school window. One of them grabbed Clea and tried to restrain her.

"Clea!!! Huh!?" Amara was about to attack the man who had grabbed Clea when another man held her hand to stop her.

"Don't resist! Just surrender," the madman grinned.

Amara tried to fight them, but her disguise kept getting in her way. She couldn't freely move as she realized that if they found out she was the princess, it would only cause more chaos. Amara managed to kick the man and break free, but she was once again taken aback because her hair almost came loose from her cap.

Amara and Clea were tied up inside the school, and the men left. They lit torches to threaten Dravis and Cyrus, saying they would burn down the school while Amara and Clea were still inside if they didn't do what they wanted, but it was too late. When they came out, they saw that Cyrus's sword was impaled in Falcon's stomach.

"Boss!!!" Falcon's men simultaneously shouted.

"T-Take me to a doctor! Quickly!!! Faster, you idiots!!!" Falcon said, despite his weakness.

The men quickly dropped their torches inside the school and ran to rescue their boss. The school immediately caught fire because of the easily flammable materials. Dravis was about to chase after Falcon, but he noticed that Cyrus suddenly panicked.

"Let them go! She and Clea are still inside!!!" Cyrus shouted in trepidation and ran towards the burning school.

Upon learning this, Dravis hurried as well. They fearlessly entered the school and there, they saw the two ladies inside; their bodies tied up and almost unconscious due to the smoke.

Cyrus immediately carried his sister, while Dravis carried Amara, and they quickly left that place.

Clea, though she felt so weak, regained consciousness, but Amara still felt dizzy from the heavy smoke she had inhaled. Dravis removed Amara's disguise to help her breathe. While Dravis was holding the poor princess in his arms, he gently tapped her beautiful face to wake her up.

"Lady Amara! Amara!!!" Dravis exclaimed with concern.

The true appearance of the princess was revealed to Clea, which caused her to widen her eyes in shock.

"W-Wait isn't she—" Clea was so startled.

"Don't be afraid of her. She's not like what was reported throughout the kingdom," Cyrus quickly defended Amara. "You saw it earlier, didn't you?"

Clea realized what he meant, and although she was still surprised and curious, she decided it was best to remain silent.

"Dravis," Amara softly uttered upon hearing the voice of the man who saved her again."Dravis."

"Glad that you're okay," Dravis smiled faintly in relief.

"W-Wait, but the school..." Amara tried to sit up, and as she turned to look at the school, she tearfully watched it consumed by flames. "N-No! No!!!"