The Knight from the Fairytales-Chapter 15: Stay

Just as Beihai sensed something was wrong and his thoughts began to scatter, his hands did not stop for a moment. He directly tucked the little dragon into his embrace, while his other hand was grabbed by the King. The sudden abnormality severed Beihai’s train of thought. He instinctively lifted his head and the expression that met his eyes on the King was indescribable.
The King’s face was impossible to read. He clearly wanted to cry, yet he forcibly propped up the corners of his mouth into a smile. Tears and snot flowed down as if they cost nothing.
Beihai’s expression turned bitter. The next second it shifted to terror; his mouth instinctively gaped open, as if he wanted nothing more than to punch the King into the air.
The King grabbed Beihai’s hand and kissed it, but with tears and snot smeared all over his face and extra saliva to boot, Beihai wanted to chop his hand off!
The King realized this wasn’t right, so he used his luxurious ceremonial robe as a rag to wipe Beihai’s hand. Once it was clean, he kissed it again. Seeing the wound on Beihai’s hand from fighting the demon made his heart ache; the demon had thrown off only a head and a single life, but the Knight’s hand—so white and flawless—was injured!
“Your Majesty, what are you doing?!”
Beihai spat the words out and mercilessly yanked his hand back, but the King’s greed wouldn’t die and his grip was incredibly strong. Beihai couldn’t pull his hand free; instead, the King pulled him closer and suddenly flopped onto Beihai’s body.
“Respected Knight, how can I ever repay you? We are strangers who only met once, yet you were willing to risk your life to save my daughter, and you refuse any reward. Your conduct is so noble, your spirit so pure.”
“Your Majesty, this is simply what I should do. Compared to that, tracking down the witch is the important matter.”
Beihai slapped the King in the face without mercy, trying to shove him away, but this King was like an octopus. In the end it was the Queen and the other witches who could not stand it; they tugged and pulled the King off Beihai.
After the King detached from Beihai, he hurriedly straightened his clothes, called for guards to bring a basin of water, and washed his face. Only then did his appearance return to normal, but the redness and swelling around his eyes could not be wiped away so easily.
“Knight, do not be too anxious about the witch. I will send people to gather intelligence, and we have sworn—we will find that witch.”
Beihai was not in the least anxious; he just wanted to get away from this place. The King made him sick. Besides, after fifteen years of growth, no matter what else, that old witch trying to suppress Beihai’s development now was impossible. After all, the old witch was clearly severely injured. When she recuperates and prepares fully to come out again, Beihai could crush her with a single punch.
In other words, right now the old witch could only hide like a rat. If she hid for sixteen years and Beihai couldn’t find her, then she would win. But was that likely? Absolutely not. In this world, with magical tools, travel is a thought away; one can go anywhere, even find specific people. Even if something goes wrong, one can borrow the System’s power. With more than a decade to prepare, Beihai was not panicked at all. Even if only half a year remained, he could quickly grow stronger and beat that old witch to death.
“Knight, listen to me. If you search now you’ll be like a headless fly—completely unable to find her. But I will mobilize the kingdom’s full forces to search. When there is news, it will not be too late for you to set out.”
The King feared Beihai would leave, and he anxiously seized Beihai’s hand again. Were it not for his position, the King might have clung to Beihai’s thigh. Perhaps Beihai did these good deeds while calculating the maximum benefit, so in Beihai’s own eyes he could not be called a good man; but to onlookers it was an entirely different story. Sometimes we judge skill without questioning motives—no one is perfect.
“Please stay in the kingdom for a few days. When news comes, I will be the first to inform you. After all, this concerns our daughter.”
The Queen urged. The King nodded without restraint, terrified Beihai would leave.
Actually Beihai found it puzzling. He had set out to save the King’s daughter; the sooner the better. Why were they stopping him now, refusing to let him leave?
The remaining witches gathered around. Eight of them stayed; they would search for the missing witch’s whereabouts. If they found her, they would send word to the King and the Knight at once. Of the eight witches who stayed, three remained specifically to look after the beautiful little Princess Aurora.
These three witches were the fairy-like figures from the movie version: Fairy Huala, Fairy Emerald, and Fairy Blue Sky.
With witches out searching and the King mobilizing resources, waiting here for news was far better than Beihai going alone to wander. But was Beihai going out really only to find that witch? No—he planned to keep helping, to poke his nose into things and grow stronger. It just seemed he could not get his way. Both King and Queen kept tugging and coaxing; Beihai mounted his horse, only to be pulled down again.
“Whether wealth or status, you must grant us something from your past. I have many books here, and the kingdom’s best swordsmen. And won’t you stay to see the lovely Aurora? Once you leave, who knows when you might see her again?”
Both the King and Queen looked at Beihai with nothing but admiration. It was as if Beihai could do no wrong in their eyes, like lovers seeing their idol.
Hearing this, Beihai finally found it mildly interesting. After all, he currently possessed strength, but his fighting relied on reflexes and crude techniques. Formal, systematic training would greatly increase his power. As for Aurora, Beihai had little interest. Her blessing was indeed extraordinary, but she was only a princess—what could she really do? Whether the curse was lifted or happened, she was only sixteen, still in middle school! Who would be interested in such a little child?
Beihai couldn’t help but feel pity: poor princess! All those blessings—so what? At most she would learn dance and etiquette. What a shame.