Arthur honestly thought the worst was over after the wolves died, but then his body decided to remember it wasn't built for any of this. His legs wobbled like jelly, his hands shook a little, and his heartbeat felt like it was auditioning for a drum solo.
"I'm gonna pass out," he muttered.
"You can't pass out," Leon said, half-carrying him down the slope. "Everyone is watching you."
Arthur looked around. Yep. Everyone was watching him — soldiers, villagers, some kids, even an old lady holding a basket like she was judging the results of a cooking contest.
"Oh… great," Arthur whispered, dying inside all over again.
Leon guided him toward the village like Arthur weighed nothing. It was honestly humiliating. Arthur was a grown man, technically older than Leon, and here he was being dragged like a tired sack of flour.
As they reached the village entrance, a crowd had already formed. People whispered things like:
"That's the baron?"
"He looks… softer than I expected."
"Hey, he doesn't look like the war type."
"Is he limping?"
"No, that's just how he walks, I think."
Arthur wanted to curl into a ball and roll into a ditch.
A middle-aged man with messy hair stepped forward and bowed awkwardly. "My lord! Thank you! We… we thought we were done for."
Arthur scratched his cheek. "Uh, I mean… it wasn't just me. The soldiers did most of the work. Also Leon did like… 95% of everything."
Leon blinked at him. "My lord, I only—"
"Leon, dude, you punched a wolf in the face," Arthur said. "That's not… normal."
Some kids giggled.
A tiny girl tugged on Arthur's sleeve. "My lord… thank you for saving my mommy."
Arthur's heart melted into goo. "Oh no… don't say stuff like that, I'll start crying."
And to make everything worse (or better?? he wasn't sure), one of the villagers stepped forward — a girl around his age. She had soft brown hair tied into a low ponytail, simple clothes, and the gentle kind of beauty that made you think of quiet mornings and warm bread.
She bowed, her cheeks pink. "My lord… th-thank you for protecting us."
Arthur stared probably one second too long and nearly choked on his own breath. "O-oh! Um. Y-Yeah. No problem. I mean. It was a big problem. But uh… we solved it?"
Leon coughed loudly beside him, trying not to smile.
The girl fiddled with her fingers. "My name is Ella Woodvine… my family lives by the west fields. We… we're very grateful."
Ella.
Oh. Oh crap.
Arthur suddenly remembered: this was the first love interest. The shy one. The gentle one. The one who would probably break his fragile heart if he wasn't careful.
He tried smiling politely, but it looked more like he'd eaten a lemon. "Oh! Hi! Uh—nice to meet you. I mean, not nice because the situation sucks, but—nice in general."
Ella blinked confusedly. "Um… thank you?"
Leon leaned in and whispered, "My lord, you are scaring her."
"I know," Arthur whispered back. "I'm scaring myself too."
Ella stepped closer, still blushing. "My lord, if you… if you ever need a place to rest or… fresh water… or anything… um, you can visit our home."
Arthur felt his soul evacuate his body.
Leon elbowed him lightly. "Say something normal."
Arthur blurted, "WATER IS GOOD."
Ella jumped slightly. "O-Oh… yes. It is."
The silence that followed was painful.
Thankfully, Evelynn and Lily arrived just in time to save him from further humiliation.
Lily ran straight at him and hugged his leg. "Brother! You're alive!"
Arthur patted her head awkwardly. "Alive is… a strong word. But yes."
Evelynn approached with gentle footsteps. "Arthur… you did wonderfully."
That made him feel proud for about half a second until his legs finally decided "nope" and almost gave out. Leon caught him again.
"My lord needs rest," Leon said firmly.
Evelynn nodded. "Yes. Bring him home."
Arthur didn't argue. He was too tired to think, and honestly too emotionally drained from Ella's unexpected cuteness.
Back at the Manor
Arthur slumped in a chair while Evelynn brought a bowl of soup that smelled amazing and also slightly burnt (which somehow made it more comforting).
Lily sat beside him, swinging her legs and staring at him like he was the coolest person alive.
He absolutely didn't deserve that level of admiration, but he let her stare anyway.
"Arthur," Evelynn said softly, "you handled yourself today. Better than your father would have expected."
He almost choked on the soup. "Better than—? What? No. I panicked like 17 times."
She laughed quietly, brushing hair from her face. "Fear is normal. But courage is doing what you must despite it."
Arthur didn't feel courageous. He felt like a wet noodle wrapped in anxiety.
But he couldn't argue with her warmth.
Leon entered the room then, arms crossed. "The village is stable for now. Scouts say the forest quieted down."
Arthur nodded slowly. "Good… good. Maybe the world will leave me alone for… like… two days?"
Leon raised an eyebrow. "Unlikely."
"Yeah, I figured…"
He slouched deeper into the chair.
Then Evelynn said, "Arthur… tomorrow we should address the tax issue."
Arthur froze mid-slurp.
"Tax… what issue?"
She hesitated. "Viscount Craymore sent a message. He demands triple the usual amount due to 'border instability.'"
Arthur nearly spit out his soup.
"Triple?! We don't even have single!"
Leon sighed. "Craymore is trying to crush us."
Arthur buried his face in his hands. "I JUST GOT HERE. CAN'T HE LET ME BREATHE FOR LIKE FIVE MINUTES?!"
Lily patted his shoulder. "It's okay brother… you can do it…"
Arthur groaned like the world was ending.
"Tomorrow," he mumbled, "we come up with a plan."
Evelynn nodded. Leon nodded. Lily nodded.
Arthur just wanted to nap for 48 hours.
Later, Alone In His Room
Arthur finally flopped onto the bed face-first.
"Okay…" he said into the pillow. "Step one: don't die. Step two: don't go broke. Step three: maybe stop embarrassing myself in front of Ella."
He rolled over and stared at the ceiling.
"Actually… step three might be impossible."
His eyes closed slowly.
He felt exhausted… but for the first time in forever, a weird tiny spark inside him whispered:
Maybe you can do this.
Then the other half of his brain kicked in:
Yeah, right. Good luck, idiot.
And with that comforting thought, Arthur finally drifted to sleep.