The Hero's Forsaken Princess
Chapter 48: Archery

Chapter 48: Archery

’She doesn’t need to remind me. I had known from the start that Eve didn’t have feelings for me.’

Alaric clenched his jaw tightly, his gray orbs blazing with rage.

’Though she betrayed me once, It doesn’t mean I should do the same.’

Without a second thought, Alaric withdrew his hands away from Thalia’s body.

"I’ll forget that this ever happened. Princess Thalia, you are a royalty. Please respect your own self."

Alaric stood up and left without looking back. He needed to distance himself from Thalia to avoid committing a sin. He still had hope that his marriage with Eve would still work out. He wanted to try and give their relationship a chance to flourish.

Meanwhile, Thalia’s face darkened in both annoyance and embarrassment the moment Alaric walked away. He just made her feel like she wasn’t desirable enough for him to be tempted.

’Damn it! How long is he going to resist me? Why is it so hard to claim him?’ Thalia felt like crying as she wrapped Alaric’s robe around her naked body.

Thalia looked daggers at Alaric’s back. Then she vowed to herself, "I will not give up, Alaric. I am confident that I can easily ruin your relationship with your worthless wife. I will show you that I’m the right woman for you. I can give you everything."

"I know you are not aware that your wife is just a fake princess. She is a daughter of a slave! Will you still want her once you find out her identity?" A sly smile tugged on the corners of her lips.

Thalia was thinking of so many ways to break them apart.

"Sooner or later... you will be mine. You will finally give in to my temptation. I’ll make sure you can’t resist me. I’ll use my power, my influence– whatever it takes... just to have you."

*****

At Stormholt Manor

Clueless to the impending schemes and threats that would try to tear her and Alaric apart, Eve focused on her training. For one week, her health had improved a lot.

She could eat, sleep, and rest properly in the manor. No one was abusing her. Her body recovered quickly with the help of Gideon’s training menu.

Gideon secretly taught Eve a fist-to-fist combat. When he observed great improvement in her exercises, he leveled up her training. Today, Gideon and Eve were on the practice ground for the archery lesson.

"You can do it, Your Highness!" Marie cheered for her as Eve grabbed the bow and arrow. She was standing at the back together with Sera and Claire.

The other knights were also present as they were also doing their routine practice.

Today’s practice was no longer a secret to Sera and others. Gideon told them that Eve should learn archery because she would need this during the Hunting Event which was not a lie.

Aside from the grand banquet, King Solomon also organized the Royal Hunt to entertain Crown Prince Cassian. He heard that the crown prince loved to go for a hunt.

He encouraged the members of the royal family to participate in the Royal Hunt. He would also use this event to make Princess Alessandra get close to Crown Prince Cassian.

Princess Alessandra was good at archery. King Solomon wanted his first daughter to flaunt her skills during the hunt, impressing the crown prince of Kingdom Eldara.

"Shall we start, Your Highness?" Gideon uttered, grinning broadly.

Eve just smiled awkwardly. She wasn’t used to people watching her train. She was getting distracted. But she had no choice. They needed to borrow the practice ground for her training.

"Just relax. I’m here to give you tips. Don’t mind them. You need to focus." Gideon reminded her.

Eve chewed on her lower lip and nodded.

She took a deep breath as she fixed her shooting stance. Aiming at the target, she released the arrow.

Swoosh!

Claire and Marie whimpered in frustration while Gideon’s laughter bubbled up in the training ground. Eve glared at him while blushing with embarrassment.

Eve’s arrow fell on the ground, failing to reach the target. She wished for the ground to open up and swallow her whole to hide her embarrassment.

Sera could only shake her head as she watched Eve’s poor posture. If it were her standing there, she would have already hit the bullseye.

"Your Highness. It’s fine! Don’t mind the first miss. You are going to hit the target. Just keep shooting!"

"Don’t give up, Princess! You can do this!"

Randolf and the other knights started cheering on her as well, encouraging Eve.

Gideon blinked in amusement. He hadn’t expected Eve to gain so many supporters. Leaning closer to her, he whispered, "What did you do? The knights seem to have turned into your loyal dogs."

Eve just pursed her lips, giving Gideon a warning look. ’Keep quiet, Master. They might hear you!’

Meeting her gaze, Gideon cleared his throat, turning into a serious mode. He transformed himself into a strict ’Professor Deon’.

"Alright. Do it again." Gideon motioned for Eve to try and shoot again.

Eve tried another shot but she failed miserably. She turned to Gideon with her pleading eyes, asking for help.

’What should I do? Why can’t I even hit the target? I prefer darts and daggers.’

Gideon’s lips twitched fighting a smile. Seeing her poor performance, he could only scratch the back of his head.

’She can do it. She is just being distracted by other people’s presence.’ Gideon thought.

He moved to her back and held her waist, fixing the position of her arms and feet. He guided her and adjusted her body to a proper shooting stance- how her feet should be apart, how far to pull the string back, and how to aim.

"You know the drill. Think of someone you want to hit by this arrow! Imagine that person’s face." Gideon whispered to her.

Eve followed his every instruction. Feeling comfortable with her current posture, she took a deep breath and thought of that person. With her sharp gaze, she pulled the string and released the arrow in her hand.

Swoosh!

BULLSEYE!

Everyone rejoiced upon witnessing this scene. The knights even raised their swords as they cheered for her.

"You did it! Princess!"

"Your Highness. Good Job!"

"We told you! You can do this!"

They were in the middle of savoring Eve’s successful shot when an uninvited person showed up.

Clap! Clap!

"Whoa, You are now prepared for the upcoming Royal Hunt, Princess Eve."

Eve’s eyes widened upon seeing Gavin. ’How dare he show up here?’

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