Knights of The Dauntless Princess

Chapter 34: Rivalry

Is he really annoyed whenever there's another man getting close to me? But why? Besides, they are our colleagues. Isn't it natural for me to get close to them?

"By the way, why can't you sleep? Is something bothering you?" Dravis asked, his gaze now turned to the dark sky.

"H-Huh? N-nothing, really," the princess denied. "I just can't sleep, that's all."

"It doesn't seem convincing," he said, slightly grinning.

"Hmm? Why not? And you, why are you here?" the young woman asked, furrowing her brow. "Does it mean something is bothering you?"

"It seems like your thinking is becoming sharper," the young man replied, teasingly. He looked at Amara again and gestured for her to sit beside him.

The girl pursed her lips and stood up from her seat. She took a few steps to sit beside the young man, but she was surprised when Dravis suddenly pulled her hand, causing her to sit in front of him.

"D-Dravis! Perhaps someone might see us!" Amara said anxiously in a whispering voice.

"You're not afraid to venture alone into Fardowsa, but you're worried about this?" Dravis replied, wrapping his arms around Amara.

Amara lowered her head, unsure why the young man's actions felt different. Yes, there was tenderness whenever they were alone together, but at that moment, it seemed like something else. In her opinion, it was... uneasiness.

Amara sat facing away from Dravis. His arms were still around her waist, and after a moment, he gently rested his forehead on her shoulder.

"Dravis, is there a problem?" Amara asked with concern.

"We never seem to run out of them," the young man replied, and Amara heard what seemed like a sigh from him.

"What's troubling your mind?" Amara asked, looking at the large, round moon.

"What's troubling my mind? I wonder," Dravis said, tightening his embrace around Amara. "The truth is, I can't stop thinking about what would be our next step. I don't want what happened to Fardowsa to happen to you again, but with your stubbornness, such situations will likely repeat. I'm worried that as we continue to create an alliance, they will eventually discover us. I'm thinking about the day that might happen, and I hope by then, we'll be able to match the new king's power. We're still far from being strong enough, and to be honest, our forces are probably not even half of theirs. I can't help but wonder how I'll get you back to Emmett and how I'll help you reclaim your kingdom."

Because of the young man's sincerity, it seemed that Amara's heart was moved, and she slightly smiled. She briefly glanced at Dravis and gently touched his face. Dravis was somewhat surprised, but he didn't move from their position.

"Dravis," Amara softly spoke, making sure that no one else could hear her except the young man. "I apologize for constantly causing you worry. I never meant to do that; all I wanted was to help. I'm sorry if I always make you keep an eye on me because of my stubbornness. I'm sorry... and thank you for always coming when I need you. Thank you, Dravis."

Before Amara could remove her hand from touching him, he immediately held her hand and only then lifted his head from resting on her shoulder. Amara gasped in surprise and turned to face the young man.

"You don't have to thank me," Dravis said, gently kissing Amara's hand. "You don't owe me any gratitude, princess."

Dravis released Amara's hand and turned away from her again. Amara sighed and embraced her knees.

"Do you know how burdensome it is for me to feel like I'm just bringing you all my problems!? I also wish I could make it up to you guys," Amara said, bowing her head to her knees. "Especially to you."

Upon hearing Amara's words, Dravis smirked. "Do you want to know how you can make it up to me?"

At Dravis' question, it was as if cold water was poured over Amara... and she trembled even more when she felt Dravis' lips softly kissing her nape. She felt like all the hairs on her body stood on end, and her blood seemed to rush rapidly through her veins. Trembling, she covered her mouth to suppress any noise when Dravis' hands firmly grasped her breasts.

"D-Dravis... Uhmmm!!!"

Despite Amara being dressed, she could still feel the heat of Dravis' palms squeezing her ample bosom. This was all that Dravis did for her, yet she felt like she was going to lose her mind from the pleasure it brought.

"Kiss me, princess," Dravis commanded, gently tilting Amara's face to meet his own. He passionately kissed the young lady, and Amara seemed to lose herself in the deep and fiery kiss of the young man.

****

"Lady Amara!" Shiloh and Erica greeted the princess cheerfully.

Amara turned around and saw Louie's siblings, Shiloh and Erica, approach her.

"Oh, how are you both doing here? I hope you had a good night's rest," Amara smiled at them.

The two girls' smiles widened, and they giggled softly, "Yes, we did! We had a great night's sleep! We also took a dip in the hot spring, and it was so refreshing!"

"That's good to hear," Amara replied and glanced at the three young men approaching them: Dravis, Cyrus, and Louie.

"Big brother!" Shiloh and Erica exclaimed upon seeing their older sibling.

Louie only smiled at him, then quickly shifted his gaze to Amara. "Good morning, dear princess."

Amara stole a glance at Dravis, as she remembered what the young man said last night. However, she felt that not responding would be disrespectful.

"Good morning to all of you!" she smiled at everyone.

Cyrus's eyes narrowed as he looked at Louie. "Hey! Hey! Stop trying to be cute with my princess! Back off, alright!?"

"C-Cyrus?" Amara tried to intervene, feeling embarrassed by Cyrus's behavior.

Louie just chuckled. "And why should I stay away? From now on, I want to protect her! And I want to be by her side always!"

"As long as I'm here, that won't happen!" Cyrus threatened, but it seemed like Louie didn't take him seriously.

Louie approached Amara and suddenly held the princess's hand, intertwining their fingers, which surprised them.

"Come on, princess! Ranz wants to see us, right!?" Louie innocently asked.

Amara was momentarily taken aback by the young man's actions but quickly regained her composure. She was about to withdraw her hand due to the piercing gazes of Dravis and Cyrus, but Louie tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her away.

"L-Louie!" Amara exclaimed, but he simply smiled at her as if he hadn't done anything wrong.

"Hey!!! You bastard! Let go of my princess!!!" Cyrus yelled and tried to chase after them.

Dravis, on the other hand, remained behind for a moment, watching them as they moved away. His eyes were soft, and although he also felt irritation, he decided it was better not to join their chaos.

As Louie continued to hurry towards the room where Ranz called them, they suddenly came to a stop as they ran into Nina. Nina glanced at their hands and her anger was evident from the furrowing of her eyebrows. Amara's eyes widened, and she quickly released her hand from Louie's grip. She looked at Nina for a moment, who seemed even more annoyed with her.

"N-Nina," Amara tried to speak to her, but their attention shifted when Cyrus arrived, breathless.

"You! I told you not to touch my princess!!!" Cyrus said as he grabbed Amara's hand.

Nina's eyes narrowed in anger even more. She took a deep breath, looked at Amara with irritation, and walked away.

"I didn't know being a flirt was a characteristic of being a princess," she said as she took a step away.

It seemed that Cyrus didn't like what Nina said, which prompted him to call her out.

"Hey, skinny dragon! Who gave you the right to talk to the princess like that? You're disrespectful!" Cyrus said with irritation.

"C-Cyrus! That's enough!!! P-Please," Amara intervened.

"Princess, he's disrespecting you! He deserves to be told off!!!" Cyrus stated firmly.

"I don't agree with how he behaved either," Louie concurred.

"N-No! You don't understand!!! Please, just leave her alone!" Amara pleaded.

"Hm, you are really good at playing with people in your hands," Nina remarked and turned her gaze to another man approaching; Dravis. "Oh, here comes another loverboy! Huh!"

Nina quickly turned away from them, causing her hair to flutter in the breeze. Dravis didn't understand what happened, but he was certain that it once again caused a pang in the princess's heart.

Nina left them there, and they were left surrounding Amara.

"Are you alright, princess?" Louie asked, noticing the sadness on the young lady's face.

Amara forced a smile but it was evident that she was just pretending.

"What's that woman's problem? Is she on her period or something? So annoying!" Cyrus remarked, looking back in the direction Nina had gone.

Dravis merely glanced at Amara, sensing that her disagreement with Nina weighed heavily on the princess. Among the three men, only Dravis turned away and continued walking toward the room where Ranz was waiting.

"Let them be," Dravis said, trying to get her attention. "If they are truly considered each other friends, only they can resolve it."

Amara looked up at the young man, struck by his words. His statement seemed to echo repeatedly in her mind, reminding her of how Nina introduced her to her sister Noreen back then.

'She is my precious friend, Lady Amara.'

"You really are terrible at giving advice," Cyrus said, shaking his head.

Amara clenched her fists as if she already knew what she was going to do.

"No. He's right, no one else can fix this... except the two of us!"