Not So Cowardly

Chapter 3: Not So Cowardly

The rhythmic clatter of hooves against the dirt road filled the air as Princess Evelyne of Veridion rode in her royal carriage, her eyes fixed on the blurred landscape outside.

She stared out the window but wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings. The once-familiar path to Drazenovia now felt distant, foreign, as if the land itself had changed along with its fortunes.

Three years ago, she had been betrothed to Prince Julian, a decision made when Drazenovia stood strong, its wealth and influence undeniable. Back then, her father, King Reinhardt, had seen the alliance as beneficial.

Drazenovia was a powerful nation, its army feared, its economy thriving. But now, things were different.

Veridion had flourished, growing into a prosperous kingdom of trade and agriculture since then, while Drazenovia crumbled under the weight of war, economic decline, and political instability after the passing of their king.

The engagement, once a symbol of strength, had become a burden. And Evelyne had no intention of tying herself to a sinking ship.

She had no problem ending it however, prince Julian was quite bluntly not mature enough or manly enough to be the man she would spend the rest of her life with.

At first she begged her father to end the engagement, but he refused at the time, stating that they had too much to lose.

But fate can be so cruel, to the point that her father was the one telling her to end the engagement by herself.

"Well it's not like we're losing anything." Evelyn said under her breath, but it was loud enough to get the attention of her accompanying knight.

"Is something troubling you, lady Evelyn?" He asked, obviously concerned about her well being.

"I'm fine Callen." She said shortly. "And I've told you to stop adding Lady whenever you speak to me. Just call me Evelyn."

"I'm sorry lady Evelyn, but when we're out on official duties I have to maintain formalities." He said with a shrug.

Callen Rhenford was Evelyn's assigned knight and childhood friend. Handsome, from a good family and an established knight.

The dream of any noble woman, yet Evelyn couldn't bring herself to have feelings for him, despite being told multiple times by Callen about his feelings. She felt like there was a part of himself he was hiding behind his practiced smiles and statements.

But until she figured out what it was, she would just stay quiet and act none the wiser.

"We'll be arriving the Drazenovian capital shortly." The coachman said from the front of the carriage.

Callen looked at Evelyn in all her beauty, her silver hair which was a trademark of the Aurelis bloodline.

She should have been his, instead she had been engaged to Julian, a coward who wasn't deserving of her, simply because he was born to a higher family.

When he heard the order to escort Evelyn to break off the engagement he was ecstatic. Finally that lucky bastard would be out of Evelyn's life, and she would finally give him a chance.

***

We have arrived at the palace my lady. The attendant in the carriage said, as she stepped out and opened the door for Evelyn.

Her and her entourage made their way to the great hall, where she would request an audience with the queen and Julian himself when she heard a commotion coming from the throne room as she walked through the palace halls.

She stood in front of the massive doors, surrounded by her entourage. And could clearly hear the exchange of words between Julian and The Duke.

However there was something different about his voice. He spoke with a confidence she had never heard before, and the sly way which he spoke and threw jabs back at the Duke…. That couldn't be Julian.

Seeing Evelyn's ever changing expression, Callen couldn't control himself. He didn't care what was going on, he just needed to see the embarrassment and look of despair on Julian's face when the engagement was broken off.

Without thinking, he threw the massive doors open with his strength and entered in the middle of what seemed to be a show down between the prince and Duke.

He was surprised, seeing Julian standing so confidently. For once he actually exuded the energy of a prince.

"Callen, what on earth are you doing??" Evelyn asked, obviously dumbfounded by the sudden act of her knight.

"We request an audience with the crown prince!" Callen man said arrogantly.

Evelyn's blood went cold, this wasn't such a light matter that could be spoken about so loosely. Callen was deliberately trying to embarrass the crown prince and queen. Even though Drazenovia had lost much of its influence, it was still a well known empire.

"What is the meaning of this?! How dare you waltz Into our castle in such a brazen manner?!" The duke said, finding his voice again.

"The lady of Veridion wishes to-"

SLAP

The sound of a palm coming in contact with skin rang through the hall as Evelyn struck Callen strong and hard.

Slowly Evelyn walked towards where the empress was sat, bowing her head deeply.

"Your grace, I must apologize for the actions of my knight. I do not know what has come over him, and I sincerely hope that you can forgive us for this." She said, the shame in her voice palpable.

James stepped forward from where he was previously stood. "Everyone except the Lady's entourage, my mother, the Duke, and Edwin. Please leave the hall." He said with a voice of authority no one had ever seen from him.

But nonetheless they all obeyed, and slowly trickled out of the room until it remained only the princess and her entourage.

James walked to the seat besides the empress, the one that was designated for the emperor originally and sat confidently.

"You may get up, lady Evelyn." He said, prompting her to finally get up.

She looked at the prince, his gaze piercing through her like a sharp needle, entering the smallest gap of a thread.

"Before we enter Into the ridiculous and foolish actions of your knight. Why have you come here? Unannounced I might add." He spoke authoritatively.

If someone only judged by his voice, they would think that it was the emperor himself who was speaking.

"Well… I-i am here on orders of my father." Evelyn managed to say.

"And what exactly were your orders? I don't have all day here, and I'm sure you must have heard that I'm just recovering from an ailment. I'd rather not spend my time listening to you stutter." He said with an impatient tone.

The whole room was surprised, not only by how Julian spoke to Evelyn but how he had been behaving for the last few days since he woke up. Almost as if he were a completely different person.

"Watch how you speak to the princess." Callen blurted out.

A look of disgust became visible across the prince's face as he folded his arms. "You still have the audacity to speak after you opened your foolish mouth and put them in this situation?" He asked with a wicked smile.

"I- I may have acted out of line, but-"

"But nothing! The only reason I haven't ordered for your head to be chopped off is because you are the lady's personal knight." He said without a skipping a beat, he really would have had him executed if he wasn't important for later in the game.

"From now on refrain from speaking unless you are spoken to." He said without so much as a glance towards Callen.

"Now Lady Evelyn, what is the reason for you coming here unannounced?" He asked once more.

"I'm here… because my father told me to break off the engagement." She finally managed to say.

This shocked the empress, the Duke and Edwin. But not James, of course he coded the universe they were living in, so he knew this would happen.

However this was a bit sooner than expected. He should have finished the first quest first before this happened, so why??

"Could it be a bug?" He mumbled under his breath.

"How can you say such a thing? And the fact that your father couldn't even send a proper envoy to pass the message speaks volumes." The empress said.

"We apologize, however to atone for whatever problems this may cause, we have come with ten million pieces of gold and silver. The Veridion kingdom realizes that that this will not be enough. But please accept it as a sign of our sincerest apologies." She said with a bow, causing the rest of her entourage to bow as well.

The empress and the rest were in a bind, although it was embarrassing and they were also showing their lack of respect for them, anybody could easily see that the king was using their situation against them.

James didn't mind however, since this could be beneficial to Drazenovia as well.

"How heart breaking that i would recover from my illness only to be met with such heart breaking news." He said while resting his head on his hand.

"I understand your highness, which is why we came with the gifts we did." Evelyn said, managing to meet his eyes.

"I see, unfortunately that won't be enough." He said, prompting everyone to look at him.

"Well, I'm sorry I do not understand." Evelyn said, obviously puzzled.

"I'm saying that won't be enough to pay for the embarrassment this will cause. Your family came to us for the engagement, remember? To end it, we should be compensated accordingly." He said with a manipulative undertone.

"Um, well. What would you suggest we do then?" The advisor who had been sent along with Evelyn spoke for the first time in this whole interaction.

James had a wicked smirk from across his lips. "It's nothing much, all I need is for you to give the empire…."