The Hero's Forsaken Princess
Chapter 86: Conflicted

Chapter 86: Conflicted

Gideon went to see Norah at Floryn Tavern. He had some explaining things to do. The Siren Ensemble would be leaving the capital the day after tomorrow.

"Why did you lie?" Norah asked, lifting her eyebrow. She crossed her arms over her chest as she waited for Gideon to speak up.

Gideon smiled guiltily, scratching his face. "Forgive me, my friend. I had to fulfill the princess’ request."

Norah pursed her lips, eyeing Gideon with intrigue. "I didn’t expect that you were close to the third princess of Averion. It is so unlikely of you to associate yourself with a member of the royal family. How did you meet the princess?"

"I saved her life once," Gideon responded. "I didn’t mean to cause trouble for your group. Did they reprimand you last night?"

Norah took a deep sigh. "Queen Amara and the other princesses were unhappy with our last performance. They thought we colluded with Princess Eve to impress the Crown Prince of Eldara. I doubt if they would still invite us again on other occasions."

"But don’t worry. The Chamberlain still paid us with ten thousand gold coins." Norah grinned broadly. She didn’t want to blame Gideon and Princess Eve for what happened last night.

Gideon felt relieved upon hearing that. He apologized to Norah once again.

"How long are you going to stay here in Kingdom Averion?" Norah gazed at him curiously.

Gideon fell silent for a moment, thinking about Eve. He narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips as he recalled last night’s incident. Although he was supposed to send Eve back home, she chose to be with Alaric. For some unknown reason, Gideon felt a pang of jealousy.

Norah’s giggle snapped him out of his deep thought.

"It seems like you are conflicted about something. Is it because of Princess Eve?" she asked, teasing him.

"Of course not!" Gideon promptly denied her accusation. "I’m still eager to have fun adventures. I won’t stay here for long."

Norah didn’t believe him. She could see in his eyes that Gideon was hesitating.

"I still have unfinished business here," he added, eyeing her meaningfully.

Norah just nodded while letting out a soft giggle.

"Alright. I won’t keep you here for so long. I have to meet the other members. I promise them that we will tour around the kingdom’s capital today."

She stood up as she bade farewell to Gideon.

"I know we will meet again. This is just a small world." Gideon said, waving his hand.

"I hope the next time we meet, you will introduce your woman to me!" Norah continued teasing him before she left.

Gideon could only pout his lips while squinting his eyes. "I’m not interested in finding a woman."

As Norah vanished from his sight, Gideon became lost in thought once again. He glanced absentmindedly at his half-empty tankard.

’What should I do now? I think I already found her.’ Gideon thought as Eve’s charming face flashed in his mind.

He instinctively tightened his grip on his tankard, complicated emotions could be seen in his eyes.

’I know my obligation. But damn it! Why am I hesitating?’

He stayed in the tavern for an hour to gather himself. After careful consideration, Gideon had made up his mind. He took a piece of parchment paper and wrote something. He sealed the letter after imprinting it with his signet ring.

After a while, a man with a mask approached him. Gideon handed the folded paper to the man.

"Deliver this to your leader. Make sure to send this letter discreetly. No one else should read the letter. Otherwise, I’ll hunt you down and kill you. I have a way to know if you fail your task." Gideon threatened the messenger.

The man wearing a mask just nodded. He could understand the seriousness of this matter otherwise, the Black Hunter wouldn’t summon him there. After receiving Gideon’s instructions, the man immediately left.

Gideon finished up his drink and stepped out of the tavern.

"Black Hunter!" someone called him from behind.

Gideon turned around only to see a familiar face. ’Caleb, Alaric’s knight commander. What is he doing here?’

"Are you here to capture me, Commander?" Gideon asked, cocking his eyebrow while putting on a smug smile.

"No! No!" Caleb shook his head. "I’m not here to pick a fight with you. General Stormhold sent me here to invite you. He wants to talk to you. Can you meet him at Stormholt Manor?"

Gideon’s eyebrows twitched upon hearing that. ’An invitation from the kingdom’s hero. Hmm. Interesting. What does he want from me?’

"Princess Eve also invited you to join them for dinner," Caleb added.

Gideon’s guarded expression changed instantly at the mention of Eve’s name.

"Fine. Tell them I’ll come," he accepted the invitation without hesitation. Besides, he wanted to know what happened between the two. He wondered if they had reconciled or not.

Caleb nodded in response.

"Mr. Gideon, I would like to apologize for my rude behavior during our first encounter. We have misunderstood you. My general was grateful to you for saving Princess Eve."

Caleb grabbed this chance to apologize to Gideon. They were so wrong when they captured him and brought him to the prison fortress. He was Princess Eve’s savior. They should have treated him well.

Gideon merely laughed it off, waving his hand. "I don’t bear a grudge. Just return my weapons you confiscated from and we will be fine. I’ll forget about it."

Caleb smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "Yes. I will return your weapons. I’ll collect them from the prison fortress and bring them to Stormholt Manor tonight."

Gideon moved closer to Caleb, patting his shoulder. "A piece of advice, Commander. I think you should strengthen security in the prison fortress. Someone of my caliber can easily break free and escape."

Caleb felt a bit embarrassed about that. Indeed, they hadn’t expected Gideon to escape from the prison fortress. He was truly a formidable man.

"Hmm. The prison fortress is not in our jurisdiction. I’m just a mere knight commander of the 5th Batallion. I don’t think they will listen to me. So... I guess I have to discuss this with General Stormholt. The Head Warden might listen to him."

Gideon chuckled once more. "I will be looking forward to that. See you later in the manor."