Aeana fidgets under his gaze, however, she has to be quick before Micah notices, and so, she lays it all out on Ayva.

"Around 5 years ago, before you know Micah, he was a squire to a knight in the court. You know the age that we imperial knight recruits squire at right? Micah was 14 at that point.

Princess Aries was 8.

Because they are almost similar in age, princess Aries was closer to Micah more than all other. The princess was always someone who is fond of stories. She wishes for a lifetime romance with a knight who would sweep her off her feet. However, all the knight in her employ was older, experienced knight who understand their position.

Except for Micah. I respect sir Micah but he was out of line at that time. At 15, he became the youngest knight to won a tournament. Princess Aries was over the moon. Sir Micah was bold.

He wanted to win the hand of the princess, but it was never going to happen. Even though the princess wanted a forbidden romance that makes the storybook, it was not possible.

One day, the king met the man whose talents gather the interest of his daughter.

After one single conversation with the king, it is said that sir Micah knows his place. In the next tournament, he lost all of his confidence, and lost in the preliminary.

Most likely, the King threatened sir Micah. However, the princess wanted sir Micah to discard all social norm and run away to a faraway land with her.

Sir Micah did not do that. From that day he became a shadow of the man he used to be.

Around 4 years back, the king designed a test for sir Micah. He made sir Micah the princess guard for Aries. While the princess's interest hasn't waned, the king designed the ultimate test.

However, it was then that tragedy struck.

That monster... I mean, a demon has snuck into the imperial court. It has been in disguised for a long time. It was a demon specialized in disguise so it was much weaker than a regular demon, however, it was still much stronger than a normal human.

It has chosen that moment to strike at the king's heart, capturing the imperial princess.

As the princess's guard, sir Micah was the first one on the scene. However, he was completely not the young man he used to be. He was logical, he was everything that princess Aries hate about adult.

While princess Aries was in the demon's slimey arms, all she wanted was for Micah to save her. However, instead, he stalled for time, acting weak, pitiful and chose to amuse the demon instead. He begged, then let the demon stab him, all to amuse the demon and stall for time.

As a knight I could understand his strategy, his logical thinking. At that moment, the princess was in close quarter with a physically powerful demon, not to mention the fact that it was not sure if sir Micah could even defeat the disguised demon without the handicap, the demon could kill the princess at any moment notice.

Instead, according to the record, sir Micah stalled for 20 minutes letting himself be humiliated by the demon in front of the princess so that a maid that was hiding at the scene could get reinforcement.

However, to princess Aries at that moment who was dreaming about her perfect hero from the storybook, the sight of Micah begging and acting as a clown in front of the demon was disgusting.

If he has actually disregarded his doubt and attacked the demon right then and there, even if he died, the princess told me that he would always be the hero of her dream. However, he didn't and chose to think thing through in a logical way.

That action has dispelled all the dream of the princess about a perfect knight on a white horse.

And the worst thing is that sir Micah's action and the reinforcement was not needed at all. It was at that moment of realization that her previously infatuated hero was just a sham that awoke the princess to her heritage.

The princess froze the demon to dead while it was grabbing her hair. Alone, she walks out of that room, leaving the horrifically injured sir Micah behind. It was around that time that it was judged that sir Micah has failed his mission, the judgement was pushed through by both the king and the princess, Micah's charge, despite my master's insistence. He was then exiled, sent to your village."

Ayva listens to the tragedy intently trying to understand the reason of sir Micah's talk with him.

"What does all of that has to do with me? If he loves the princess, why would he want me to take her away from Leonel?" Leonel was his friend after all. Even if sir Micah has a tragic past, it has nothing to do with Ayva

"I don't know if you has noticed it, but the two of you are awfully alike." Aeana pointed out

"From the way your stand lacks confidence to your awfully lackluster personality." Ayva wanted to complain however, she has a point. Even though he hasn't acknowledged the other part, he has to admit he has an easier time getting along with sir Micah then the other.

He was like him in a way.

The knight was quiet and yet somehow Ayva always understands what he wanted. It was from an understanding.

When sir Micah's flask was out for example, Ayva knows to fill it without asking because he knows sir Micah was too shy to ask for a refill and needs another to iniate the action. It was because if he puts himself into that situation, he would keep his peace too even though it was just a normal thing.

Their personality is alike. Yes, they have an understanding.

Aeana starts fidgeting around, playing with her hairlock.

"Sir Micah couldn't win the princess's hand because of his position in society and lacks of power, however from the little I have heard from sir Micah, he respected your power. As a member of the hero's party you are also in the social position where you can feasily win the hand of the princess if you work toward it."

Aeana's voice turned lower with a hint of sadness toward the end.

"He probably saw himself in you, however, you are in just the right position to win everything that he wanted. You are not like the hero Leonel, while he has already had a head start, he was not alike sir Micah at all. He wanted you to win."

It was not only that. As a member of the party since the nearly start, sir Micah saw how Ayva, a person like him is treated. In a party with a girl, Ayva is always a loser in romance. With the princess, Ayva didn't even have a chance.

Sir Micah rationalized it as 'Ah yes, he is me. He is exactly like me. And in the end, I never win.'

However, after witnessing Ayva's power first hand, sir Micah has started to hope.

'If it is him, if only with that power... If it is him, he can do it. He can have the life that I never have.'

It is a situation not unlike the expectation some parents put on their children, especially parents who have been in poverty before.

There was cases in the world, where parents put all of their expectation on their children, forcing them to study and work beyond their limit because they saw it as making their children do something they never could, becoming rich. Only with an education can you become rich, and so some parents overworks their children with the expectation.

It was as if they are trying to regain back something precious that they have lost.

The mood was somber with Ayva and Aeana with Ayva digesting everything that he was told.

What does he feel right now?

Sympathy?

Perhaps he will achieve sir Micah's dream for him and win the princess's hand?

"That kind of life is not for me." Finally, Ayva said

"Even though he projected himself onto me, he doesn't understand me at all. He and I have different dreams and ambitions. It is sad that he never achieved his dream, however that kind of life, living another dream will never bring me happiness."

Suddenly, Ayva's mind drifted back to his childhood, when he feels true happiness. Eliza was on a swing, and he and Leonel was pushing it. The three children was laughing carefree without a worry in the world. There was no money, only firewood, hunt and harvest.

Ayva longs for that kind of life.

Finally, Aeana can breathes out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you. That was all I wanted to say. I didn't want you to go after my friend with that kind of half-ass motivation either even though I respected sir Micah."

Ayva looks at Aeana. 'Then why don't you plug that hole in his heart for him?' he wanted to say, however, it was an absurdly rude thing to say and it would make him feel like he was pushing it on Aeana. Instead, for sir Micah's sake he probes.

"So Aeana, how do you feel about Leonel?"

"Why are you asking me that?" Aeana fires back at him ,as if trying to guess his purpose

"...I'm just curious since it seems you don't approve of me getting near the princess yet approve of Leonel that is all."

"He is a splendid man much better than you. He was confidence in getting what he wanted and has an air of charisma that makes people like him. If he wanted to be my husband, I would accept in a heartbeat. He is a much better fit for the princess than you, from personality, future prospect and social position. He is the hero, you are just his friend." Aeana stated it plainly, with each words stabbing right through Ayva's manhood.

But it is not like Ayva cares about his pride since a long time ago. Silently, he whispers a silent prayer in his heart for sir Micah who he asked this for

'I'm sorry sir Micah, I really am.'