The Hero's Forsaken Princess
Chapter 17: Knight vs Hunter

Chapter 17: Knight vs Hunter

Eve was put in a daze, staring at her savior. She blinked in amusement. She couldn’t believe that the hunter who protected her was young and gorgeous.

Though he had a fierce look on his face, she couldn’t take her eyes off his blue orbs. They were as clear as the waterfalls.

Unlike a normal knight, this man wore light combat armor beneath his black robe, with various weapons strapped to it. Indeed, this man was worthy to be called a hunter!

The man cleared his throat after sensing her intense gaze.

"Who are you? Why are those bandits chasing after you?" The man asked Eve. Then he turned around and crouched down to check Annie’s pulse.

He shook his head, confirming Annie’s death. "I’m sorry. But she’s gone."

Eve kneeled next to him as she gently caressed Annie’s cold face.

"My h-husband..." she mumbled in her hoarse trembling voice.

She paused, touching her throat. She couldn’t believe her voice had returned under these unfortunate circumstances.

Then she continued, "He hired them to kill me... since he wanted to marry another woman."

He was dumbfounded upon hearing that. He pitied her.

"You should have divorced him," he blurted out.

But Eve just smiled bitterly, shaking her head. She held Annie’s cold hand, squeezing it tightly.

"I can’t. I won’t give him what he wants. I will avenge her death." There was a hint of deep resentment in her cold voice.

The man in a black robe just heaved a deep sigh while shrugging his shoulders.

"Little girl. You look so fragile. Do you really think you can handle this revenge?"

Eve turned to face him. "All my life, I acted as a coward... letting them bully me. I keep my silence, pretending to be dumb... thinking it’s the only way I can survive. I had enough. This time I have to fight back."

The man let out a soft chuckle. Amusement could be seen in his sparkling blue eyes. "I like your determination. Keep it up, little girl." he patted her head.

Eve pouted her lips. "I’m not a little girl," she retorted.

Then she grabbed his hand. "Thank you for saving me. You are strong. Can you teach me how to fight? So that I will learn how to defend myself."

Another husky chuckle bubbled up in the air.

"I’m not teaching for free. You should hire me and pay me. But I have to warn you. You might not afford my standard fee."

"I’ll pay you." Eve promptly responded. Then she focused her attention back on Annie. "Can you help me bring her body back? I want to give her a proper burial."

With her pleading request, he couldn’t refuse her so he nodded in response.

"By the way, may I know the name of my savior?" Eve asked him expectantly, her reservedness was gone in front of this stranger. He made her feel safe and secure.

"I’m Gideon, known as the Black Hunter. If you haven’t heard my name, I have to warn you now. I’m a dangerous man... more dangerous than those bandits chasing after you." He said in a serious tone, eyeing her meaningfully.

"Gideon..." she softly called out his name which brought a faint smile to his face. "I’m Eve," she introduced herself. She wasn’t scared of him.

Gideon accepted her hand. Then he helped her up to stand.

At that certain moment, Eve suddenly felt dizzy. The emotional stress of losing Annie and this traumatic encounter with the bandits slowly sapped her strength.

Her mind and body grew extremely tired from constant strain. Pain, sadness, anger, and an all-consuming fatigue overwhelmed her, causing her to pass out.

"Eve!" He exclaimed, quickly catching her as she collapsed into his arms.

And from out of nowhere, someone flew toward them, pointing a sword at Gideon.

With his flash wind-moving steps, Gideon dodged the attack while securing Eve in his arms. He turned to face the attacker with a sneer. "What a sneaky attack!"

"Release her!" A cold stern voice echoed in the waterfalls.

Gideon arched his eyebrow. "And who are you? Did those bandits call for help since they failed to kill this lady?"

Alaric frowned deeply at the mention of those bandits. ’Does it mean he is not a bandit?’ He assessed him from head to toe.

At the same time, Gideon sized him up, noticing the full armor he was wearing. ’He appears to be a knight. Not a bandit. Wait... he looks familiar.’

His eyes widened when he finally recognized the man standing before him. ’He is Alaric Stormholt, Kingdom Averion’s Hero.’

Meanwhile, Alaric continued glaring at Gideon. He couldn’t carelessly attack him because Eve was being held by that man.

"What do you want? Money?! I can give it to you. Just release my wife!" Alaric said through his gritted teeth.

Gideon was taken aback when he heard that. He darted his gaze back and forth between Alaric and Eve who was in his arms.

’He is her husband. Does it mean... this woman is Princess Evelina, The third princess of Averion?’

Gideon scoffed at him and said provokingly, "You are the kingdom’s hero. And yet, you can’t even protect your wife from those bandits?"

Gideon remembered what Eve had said to him. Her husband wanted to kill her so he couldn’t possibly hand her over to this man.

Alaric clenched his jaw. He was losing his patience. "How could I protect her if she was the one who ran away from the palace?"

"And who are you?" he asked Gideon while looking daggers at him.

Gideon chuckled before responding. "I’m the one who saved your wife from those bandits."

"Did you hire them to get rid of your wife?" he boldly confronted Alaric.

His question angered Alaric further. "That’s nonsense!"

"I’m here to retrieve my wife and bring her back to the palace. I will kill you if you stand in my way." Alaric threatened him, gripping his sword tightly. He was dying to cut the annoying man.

Gideon let out a sarcastic laugh. "Instead of killing me, you should reward me for saving her."

"Or perhaps, you hate me because I saved your wife." Gideon kept taunting him.

This time Alaric could no longer control his raging fury. In one swift move, he charged toward Gideon, swinging his sword.

His sword made a clean slice through the air with a fast movement.

Woosh!

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