An Archer's Promise

Chapter 38: Primrose

Beta read by Shigiya, Fluffy Slayer and DOOMRAIDER.

Check out the AN at the bottom of the chapter.

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-Alicia’s camp-

The journey from Ansur to Feoh took only a few days for Claudia and her platoon to traverse, but it was a grueling experience for most of them. Due to the urgency of the situation, they were forced to march faster than normal the whole way, covering distances at a pace that would traditionally take weeks to a few days. As such even with the healers working relentlessly to rejuvenate their stamina, it still couldn’t circumvent the mental exhaustion building up within the units. Magic after all, may be omnipresent, but it wasn’t infinite nor was it a cure-all. Claudia understood this inevitability, the accumulating exhaustion and insomnia having drained her considerably.

"We are nearly there everyone! Stay sharp and persevere!" Motivated by her words, the Knights and nuns responded in return with tired cheers. 

All hoping to impress her with their resilience.

The distress signal from Alicia had been quite effective in boosting this initiative. Initially, she feared the worst and thought that Feoh or Ur had been invaded by the forces of the Dark Queen. But that was put to rest by one of the scout messages mentioning that Prim Fiorire had disappeared into the woods with her trail disappearing near a waterfall. 

For this to occur under Alicia’s supposedly watchful eye was inconceivable to Claudia. The shield was notorious for how overprotective she was over Prim, usually appointing dozens of bodyguards for any trip outside the castle walls. 

This was the sole reason why they were aggressively heading towards the West forest. Klaus remained in Ansur to take care of the administrative paperwork and the goings ons of the kingdom while also trying to convince his father about the topic of adopting a child. They knew it wouldn't be an easy feat, but Claudia was confident that her husband would find the courage to confront Grave.

The challenges that awaited him were monumental, not to mention his father was far too narrow-minded on certain subjects. His desire to gain another heir after labeling his own son 'incompetent' was known by many if not all of the people in their kingdom.

'Klaus can do it… he's not a wimp and I know he can overcome anything as long as he believes in himself.' 

"It's Alicia-sama's carriage!" Signaled by one of the girls, Claudia could now see the camp in the distance. Knights were guarding a golden-gilded coach that she recognized immediately. 

Noticing their approach, a squad of Alicia's Knights and a few Templars started getting into defensive positions, but were frozen in place when they noticed that familiar steely glare. 

"Everybody stand down!" Realizing who it was, they quickly stood aside in hopes of not offending the Shield who trained them. Not to mention how gruesome their punishment would be if Alicia ever found out that they pointed their weapons at her mentor. 

One by one, they all bend the knee with their heads bowed. Their weapons sheathed as the galloping horses of Claudia's group came closer and closer. With bated breath and fear-stricken faces, they all heard the following command from the Princess Knight. 

"Bring me to Alicia." She ordered, her voice stern and cold, showing that she is not in a good mood right now. 

"Right this way, Alicia-sama has been expecting you."