[The Royal Castle] (2 Months Later)
Seo-Yeon was currently touching her stomach in confusion.
"That's odd..." she murmured. "Almost a week passed and I don't feel anything yet."
While Seo-Yeon was trying to figure out what was wrong, there was a knock on the door. The door then opened to reveal Henry who walked in with a handful of letters.
"Darling, did something good happened?" Seo-Yeon asked after noticing that Henry was smiling.
"Aye," said Henry. "These letters are from some of our old friends. They're coming to the capital to attend the upcoming "Celebration Day" next month."
"Ah..." (Seo-Yeon)
Seo-Yeon began to understand why Henry was in a good mood.
"Also, Maya and Lucas managed to gain full control of the Solitario province," said Henry. "If they're lucky, they might be able to make it to the capital before the festival starts."
"I'm assuming they're going to bring their children as well?" Seo-Yeon asked.
"Of course," said Henry. "I doubt they would leave them behind and just come here by themselves."
"Great, this wou- Ump!" (Seo-Yeon)
Seo-Yeon suddenly began to gag.
"What's wrong?!" Henry asked as he ran towards his wife.
"I don't know... i've been feeling strange for the past few days..." said Seo-Yeon. "I thought it would go away after a day but it's not..."
"Hold on..." Henry murmured. "Do you feel like your seasick right now?"
"I think so..." Seo-Yeon replied.
Henry then lifted Seo-Yeon and carried her to the bed.
"Oh my, Henry!" Seo-Yeon giggled.
"Seo-Yeon, stay in bed for a minute," said Henry. "I'll go get Matthew."
"Alright," said Seo-Yeon. "But hurry! We have to go see how Dunha is doing with her training with Blue."
"Of course," Henry smiled.
He then quickly walked out of the room.
🔸🔸🔸
[The Steelwood Forest]
In the outskirts of the Capital City of the Star Kingdom, the Starian princess, Dunha Star, one of the 7 Great Generals, Blue Sky, and two members of the Elite Royal Guards were currently walking in the Steelwood forest.
"Just hang in there, Dunha," said Blue. "We're almost there."
"Okay..." Dunha panted.
A month after Great General Blue Sky departed from the Capital to solve a bandit problem in his territory, he returned. He then proceeded to keep his promise with Dunha and began to train her.
"To think that the first part of my training is to walk in a forest..." Dunha thought. "It seems like my second life is different from my first... I don't remember this as the first part of my training in my first life."
She began to chuckle.
"Haha... I overestimated myself..." she thought. "I thought this training would be easy because of my experience with Blue's training in my previous life... I was wrong."
When Blue began Dunha's training, he only agreed to advance her training if she reaches the destination that he personally marked. Dunha expected to complete this with ease, however, she has nearly forgotten that she was currently in the body of an untrained child. Although Dunha's memories and intelligence followed her to her second life, her stamina did not.
"It seems like my stamina is slowly improving..." she thought. "Just a month ago, I barely reached half of this forest before I collapsed from exhaustion."
As Dunha continued to walk, she began to pant more frequently.
"Are you feeling well?" Blue asked. "If you're too tired, we can return to the castle and try again late--"
"No. I'm going to end this today," Dunha interrupted. "We're almost there... I don't want to start all over."
Although her body was beginning to cramp, she was determined to complete the first part of her training today. However, life can be unpredictable.
"Huh?" (Dunha)
Blue suddenly paused as he raised his fist.
"Great General, is there something the matter?" a guard asked.
"Look," said Blue as he looked down.
Dunha and the guards noticed a trail of blood leading to the deeper parts of the forest.
"This is blood..." Dunha thought.
"It's fresh," Blue murmured as he touched the ground soaked in blood.
Dunha and the carefully checked their surroundings, however, they did not sense any hostile aura near them.
"I don't sense any assassins nearby..." Dunha thought. "Maybe this trail came from a wounded animal..."
A guard approached Blue who was trying to figure out where the trail came from.
"Should we investigate the trail?" a guard asked.
"I believe it'll be wiser if we fall back and send out the scouts to investigate it instead," another guard spoke.
"I think we should..." (Blue)
Just then, everyone heard the sounds of leaves crunching from the distance which caused the guards to hold onto their weapons tightly.
"Whoever made this trail is close," said Blue. "You two, keep the princess safe."
"Understood," said the guards.
Blue slowly approached the bushes as he unsheathed his broadsword while the guards. He then took a look behind the bushes before turning around.
"It's a silver tiger," he said in a calm voice.
"What?!" the guards shouted.
Dunha was also shocked at what Blue said.
"A silver tiger?!" she internally shouted. "I thought they were extinct!"
Silver tigers once roamed the continent and had a population of over a million when the Star Kingdom was founded. However, due to the high value of their silver fur, they caught the eyes of greedy poachers and were hunted to near extinction. They were believed to have gone extinct when the last silver tiger was found and killed in 1702 P.D.
"But to think they still existed..." Dunha thought.
She then noticed the two guards standing in front of her with their spears pointed towards the bushes.
"You're the fastest here, carry the princess and run as fast as you can!" a guard shouted.
Before one of the guards tried to pick up Dunha and run, Blue began to speak.
"There's no need to panic," said Blue. "It's not going to hurt anyone any time soon."
"What do you mean, Great General?" a guard asked.
"Come over here and look at this," said Blue.
Confused by the general's words, one of the guards slowly approached the bushes with his spear and took a peek. What the guard saw was not an angry beast ready to tear him apart but a beast who was on the verge of death after taking half a dozen crossbow bolts to its body. The silver tiger was barely breathing as it growled and glared at Blue and the guard.
Dunha also ran towards Blue to look at the tiger and was amazed by its size.
"Wow... It's bigger than the royal carriages!" she thought.
She was also surprised to see the tiger still alive despite its wounds.
"Who attacked it?" Dunha asked.
"Poachers maybe?" the guard answered.
"You're right," said Blue. "Look at its mouth."
The guard carefully took a closer look at its mouth and noticed bits of bloody clothing stuck between its teeth.
"There was a report of two bodies being discovered near the southern rivers this morning," Blue explained. "It seems like they were mauled to death and I think we just found the culprit."
"Poachers..." Dunha mumbled as she angrily stared at the bolts.
"What should we do?" a guard asked.
The tiger's crystal blue eyes met Blue's as its panting grew weaker and weaker.
"..." (Blue)
After staring at the dying tiger for a few seconds, Blue sighed before pulling out a dagger.
"I'll put you out of your misery," said Blue.
Blue then proceeded to stab the tiger's neck. The tiger growled one last time before it slowly closed its eyes forever. Once he confirmed the tiger's death, he pulled out one of the bolts that were stuck in its body.
"Hm... It seems like those poachers dipped their bolts in some kind of poison," said Blue as he took a closer look at the bolt.
"Despicable bastards," a guard murmured.
"..." (Blue)
Blue ignored the guard and placed his hand on the tiger's body. He then began to whisper something.
"Incineration..." he whispered.
The silver-like fur of the tiger began to slowly darken and before anyone could figure out what was going on, its entire body turned into ashes. The ashes were then blown away by a sudden gust of wind.
"That is one terrifying spell," Dunha thought. "I wonder what would happen if you use that on a living person."
As Dunha wondered how effective the spell was, everyone suddenly heard another growl. However, unlike before, they heard a squeaky growl.
"Is there another one?" a guard asked.
"I'm not sure but I suggest we leave this place," the other guard answered. "Great General?"
"I think we should finish this walk at a later time," said Blue. "Dunha, I--"
Before Blue could finish talking, another growl was heard by all. However, this time, Dunha managed to figure out where the sound came from.
"The sound's coming from that hollow tree," said Dunha.
She then ran towards the tree to investigate it herself.
"Dunha, wait!" Blue shouted.
"Princess! It's dangerous!" a guard shouted as he ran rather her.
Before anyone could stop Dunha, she reached the tree and took a peek inside the hole, and discovered a silver tiger cub. Its eyes were still closed as it let out another squeaky growl.
"It's a cub," Dunha thought.
She then grabbed the cub by its scruff and pulled it out of the hole just as Blue and the guards reached her.
"It seems like that dying tiger was a mother tiger," a guard commented.
"Indeed. The wounded beast must've hidden her cub in that hollow tree before collapsing from her wounds," said Blue.
"There's blood on its fur even though it doesn't look wounded," said Dunha.
After thinking for a full minute, Blue managed to solve the puzzle.
"After killing those poachers, it must've grabbed the cub with her mouth and got some of it on its fur," Blue replied. "What an unfortunate end."
"Can I keep it?" Dunha asked.
The guards were surprised by her words.
"A wild tiger is no pet," said a guard.
"It is far too dangerous, princess!" another guard added.
"Does this look like a dangerous tiger?" Dunha asked as she raised the cub above her head.
The cub simply yawned as the guard made an uncertain face.
"B-But..." (Guard)
"Pleeaaase???" said Dunha.
The mysterious screen with floating words appeared in front of her.
[Your "Actor" skill has been activated!]
Tears began to form in Dunha's eyes which filled the guard with guilt.
"Pfft." (Blue)
Blue began to silently chuckle.
"Hahaha, I guess allowing it wouldn't hurt," said Blue.
"But Great General!" a guard complained.
Blue leaned towards the guards and whispered to prevent Dunha was hearing him.
"Do not worry, if it becomes a threat to her or the Royal Family, we'll kill it then but for now... Let her keep it as a pet," Blue whispered. "Besides, if we force her to leave the cub behind, she'll most likely start crying. If the queen sees her in this state once we return, she might give all of us a special lecture."
"!" (Guards)
The guards began to shiver at the thought of the queen's special lecture. They suddenly remembered a time when a newly appointed officer insulted the queen by calling her a "filthy foreigner", unaware he was speaking to the Queen of the Star Kingdom. Rather than executing the insolent young officer for his impudence, the queen instead smiled and personally gave him a lesson known as a "Special Lecture" in front of the many fresh recruits and royal guards. By the end of the day, the younger officer became very humble and never insulted anyone again, at least not in front of people.
"Just thinking about what happened that day makes me shake in fear..." a guard thought. "I was surprised that only 3 percent of the fresh recruits dropped out after witnessing her special lecture..."
The guards then looked at each other before nodding at the same time.
"I-I suppose it should be fine if all of the guards take turns and keep an eye on it while it's around the princess..." the first guard said.
Dunha was internally dancing with joy.
"Yes!" she shouted internally.
Blue then approached Dunha and crouched in front of her with a serious expression.
"Dunha, make sure not to mistreat it," said Blue.
"Of course!" Dunha smiled. "I'll take good care of it!"
"Haha, good to hear that," said Blue.
He then chuckled once more and patted her on the head. For most people, this would not be allowed and could have them imprisoned for laying their hands on a member of the Royal Family. However, as Blue was a close friend to both the Queen and King, he along with the 7 Great Generals were an exception. The guards were aware of this and did not say a word to Blue.
"Alright, let's return," said Blue. "Also, I want someone to scout this area so we don't have a similar encounter like this again in the next few days."
"Understood," said the guards.
"Let's get going," said Blue. "Come on, Dunha."
As everyone began to walk back to the capital, Dunha continued to smile as she held onto the cub.
"I don't know much about silver tigers but I do know that they can grow as big as a carriage and are strong enough to overpower a fully grown elephant," Dunha thought. "If I can tame such a beast, it might be helpful in the future."
She then began to happily whistle for obtaining a potentially powerful pet.
"It seems like someone is in a good mood," Blue thought as he smiled.
🔸🔸🔸
[The Royal Castle]
After a long walk, everyone returned to the castle, however, they all noticed that was something off with the atmosphere.
"Strange..." Blue murmured.
"Agreed," said Dunha. "Why is everyone so full of energy today?" she wondered.
She noticed that many servants and maids were speed walking back and forth with excited smiles on their faces.
"You there," said Blue.
Blue managed to stop one of the maids.
"U-Um, Great General!" said the maid as she nervously bowed. "How may this maid help you?"
"You could help me by telling me what is going on here," Blue asked.
The maid smiled as she rose her head up.
"Today is a day of celebration!" the maid answered. "We were currently preparing for tonight's celebration!"
This confused Blue and the others.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Her Highness has just been confirmed to be pregnant!" the maid excitedly shouted.
-End of Epilogue
[See you all in Vol. 2]
2021/03/18