It was yet another calm night in Greenfield. The chilly breeze swirling about, the fresh smell of the grass and the serene sounds of the forest was inviting everyone to get inside and sleep watching the wide atlas of stars laid upon the sky. At that time, everyone in the town was sleeping soundly and peacefully. Everyone, that is, except Clyde.

What next to do now? Clyde was turning and tossing in his bed with little to no drowsiness despite all the herbal tea he collected and drank specifically to make him sleep easier. As a ranger, he was taught to sleep on demand but apparently, that sort of training was only effective in missions as the ginger haired apprentice had his eyes wide open laying on the small bed. Through the window beside the bed, he could see the sky and the stars shining and blinking at him, yet no matter how many times he had fallen deep in thought gazing at them, he still couldn't sleep. Clyde started to feel tired of not feeling tired.

Slowly, he shifted his sight to inside his small room. The wooden wardrobe, the small carpet on the floorboards, the chest that he kept his apothecary equipment in, right next to his ranger equipment... He looked at them one by one as if he was counting sheep, until suddenly the oak door facing the window opened slowly to reveal a large, shadowy figure.

"Couldn't sleep, could you?" Bryce poked his head through and smiled at the boy. "Mind a guest?"

"Always." Clyde smiled and got up the bed, taking a sitting position as he shifted to one side of the bed, signaling his mentor to sit beside him.

"Are you restless too?" Clyde asked curiously.

"Sort of, I guess." Bryce replied. "I suppose it is the excitement."

"Of what?"

"Don't you remember? The Gathering is not that far away." The shaggy bearded ranger grinned.

"Oh, well... I suppose? I don't know." Clyde turned to his front and sighed.

"Is something the matter?" Bryce asked gently.

"No, I just felt bored for a moment." The boy leaned his back on the wall.

"You're bored? In that case, how about a bedtime story?" Bryce chuckled.

"Don't be like that, I'm serious." Clyde pouted with a small blush on his face.

"So am I." The mentor laughed as he put his arm on his son's shoulder. "Have I ever told you the time I became a ranger?"

"What? No, you didn't!" Clyde replied excitedly. He was very curious about his mentor's past.

"Well, I promised to tell you everything from now on, so I'll talk about a lot more than that. Is that okay with you?" Bryce looked at Clyde meaningfully.

"Oh, of course!" Clyde nodded eagerly.

"Well then, once upon a time, there was a dashing young man..."

"Y-you're making it sound like a fairy tale!" Clyde interrupted, somewhat annoyed.

"Oh, my apologies. I just wanted to mess with you." Bryce chuckled as Clyde glared at him, but soon after, the boy also joined in the laughter.

"Alright, I mean it this time. It all started when..."

"Ahh... I'm finally done. Time for a break!" A young Bryce wiped the sweat off his forehead, looking at the tilled land in front of him. "Let's hope all this fetches a good price." He threw the worn hoe aside and headed back home to wash his face filled with dust and dirt from all the work.

"I'm home!" He yelled as he opened the loose wooden door of the small settlement a few minutes away from the crops.

"Is it you, boy? Are ya finished?" Came a deep voice from inside. Bryce walked in after dusting his clothing with his hands and greeted his father.

"Yes father, it's done!" He smiled brightly.

"Good, good. Go eat something now, will ya? We already ate a while ago."

"Ah, here comes my Bryce. How did it go?" A woman with a small scarf tied around her hair to hold it up walked in with a bowl full of milk and a huge loaf of bread with lots of cheese melted in it in her hands. She put the food on the wooden table in the room and almost tripped on the woven rug on the floor on her way to embrace her son.

"I-it was fine, mom. I do this every day, you know." Bryce replied somewhat overbeared.

The father shook his head. "Don't I always tell you, woman? You're raising him too soft. He needs to get tough for the life ahead."

"Aren't you the tough one? We see you bowing in front of Lord Jean every day to get the smallest bit of payment." The woman replied sassily before Bryce could answer for his own accord.

"Wait, wait, wait... Bowing before a Lord? Tilling the land? Isn't this..." Clyde interrupted the story with a surprised face.

"Right. It's like in Gallica, because I was born in there." Bryce said calmly.

"You never told me this! So you weren't Araluan?"

"Well, partly. My mother was from Araluen, but we lived most of our lives in Gallica behind the safe walls of Lord Jean."

"I see... Weren't the Lords harsh with their... Um..." Clyde fiddled with his fingers as he search for an appropriate term.

"Well, more or less, most were treated like slaves, but not Lord Jean. There were some fair people in my times, Clyde. And I doubt there aren't any now, just very obscure." Bryce shook his head meaningfully. "Well then, let me continue, will you?"

As the couple kept bickering as means of spending time, the father grabbed a large bucket from under the table and handed it to his son without breaking eye contact with the woman.

Bryce nodded and left the room after taking a piece of bread with cheese in his mouth and washing it down with the milk. The large bucket was to be filled with fresh milk. The milk was not for the family, but to be sold for a reasonable price outside the walls. Lord Jean would pay for the produce when it was presented to him, but the sheer amount of his people made it impossible to pay a good price for most of it. For this reason, many of them were sold outside instead.

Bryce took a deep breath and grabbed the bucket filled with pure white fluid after he was done milking the cows.

"Now comes the hard part... Come on Bryce, you can do it!" He encouraged himself as he started walking towards the outdoor market far away from home. The gray, sturdy stone walls of Lord Jean's residence was far behind as he stepped out to the green plains beyond. The patches of grass were not as bountiful and alive as Araluen's, as it was visibly faded in colour on the footpath and around.

The spot Lord Jean's settlement stood in was pretty far away from the center of the country, and the piece of land was divided by a river that had a small bridge on it. To reach the market, Bryce needed to cross the bridge after walking all the way there, but the problem was more about surviving the bandits and thieves all around more so than walking a long path with a heavy bucket in hand.

Finally, after a long travel, Bryce was just steps away from the bridge sitting on top of the river that ran fiercely as if tearing the land apart. He put the bucket down and exhaled deeply, panting as he felt the exhaustion running through his veins. His short hair was sticking flat on his scalp from the sweat and the bright sun glaring from above didn't help either. He tried to shake it off and approached the bridge, only to see a man clad in armor, riding a horse blocking the path.

"Stop right there, peasant!" The man yelled at him. The cracks in his voice and the weak looking posture of his body told the young Bryce that this man was quite old still, he was wearing a strange helmet and some armor, so he could easily pass for a knight in a peasant's eye.

"Excuse me, sir. Could you let me pass? I need to go to the market if I want to sell this milk." He raised the large bucket and pointed to it with his other hand.

"Well of course, peasant! Only if you pay the toll. The Knight of the Crimson Rose could only be satied with valuable things." The man opened his palms expectantly.

"Pffft! The Knight of the Crimson Rose? That's the silliest name I have heard in a while!" Clyde interrupted the story again, this time by laughing.

"Well, I am translating everything from the mother language, so take it with a grain of salt." The mentor chuckled. "It sounds cool when it's in Gallican."

Bryce scratched his head and waited for a moment.

"You could just have a bit of the milk and let me pass, sir." He raised a bowl he carried alongside the bucket. The knight laughed at him mockingly.

"A mere milkman shall not pass the sacred bridge. Now get out of the way or perish by my sword!" He waved the sharp sword around threateningly.

Bryce was scared, but he didn't have time to react as the so called knight charged towards him with the horse. He narrowly dodged a slash and ran as fast as he could as the bucket of milk fell on the ground and spilled around some of the liquid inside. The plain didn't have many vegetation on it besides a few trees, and he decided to take refugee on the one that looked the sturdiest.

"What kind of knight attacks a normal person like this?" Bryce asked in confusion. The man slashed with the sword again, only to get it stuck on the tree bark. He struggled to take it out, and when he couldn't even make it budge, he gave up and took his lance on his hands instead.

Bryce acted on instincts and pulled the sword with his hardest the moment the man let it go. He moved it around as it sent cracking sounds through the sturdy bark, and after just a few seconds, it popped out. The boy now had a weapon in his hands, but no knowledge of how to use it.

"En garde!" The knight charged at him once more. Bryce didn't think he could deflect a blow from a lance with just a sword, so he once again followed his instincts and threw the sword with both of his hands at the knight. The heavy hilt tilted the balance of the sword and it hit the man right on the head with the blunt pommel. With the force of the clashing metal, the man fainted, falling off his horse. The horse didn't wait around for one moment and ran off towards the unknown.

"What just happened?" Bryce looked around meekly, then grabbed the bucket once again and swiftly hit the road for the market to sell what remained of the fresh milk.

After getting a moderate amount of money for the produce, Bryce started walking back home. As the long road kept going on, he strangely felt like he was being watched by multiple eyes. Despite looking around continuously, he didn't catch a glimpse. Then he shrugged and decided to move on.

"Is that all?" Bryce's father looked at the coins in his hand in confusion.

"Sorry, a knight stopped me when I was passing the bridge and I spilt some of it when I was avoiding his lance." Bryce said apologetically.

"You what!?" The parents yelled loudly in unison.

"It's OK! I'm not hurt. I would run away but he just attacked before I could." The boy tried to ease his parent's minds.

"Some knights these people are, attacking innocent people like my son!" Bryce's mother ranted loudly as she grabbed the boy's arm to help him get seated on a wooden chair, then she left to get a glass of water.

"Well son, if it's that dangerous outside then I don't need you selling the milk on the market. Lord Jean will do just as well." The father said, concerned. As harsh as he might seem, he was actually as concerned about his son as the mother.

"Ah, no, no! It's fine. I like to be outdoors even if it is dangerous and hot outside. We don't get many chances to stay out in our lifetime." Bryce protested politely.

"What do you mean!? We stay in to stay alive!" The father replied angrily.

Before Bryce could talk, the mother came in and handed him a glass of fresh water and he drank it as his parents talked about the situation.

Suddenly, the door shook slightly as someone knocked loudly.

"I'll go." Bryce got up and answered the door. A man dressed in fashionable clothes and a vibrant red hat was standing in front of him.

"Greetings." the man spoke politely.

"Ah, er... Greetings." Bryce was shocked at the sight of the man in obviously higher standing. What could he be doing in here?

"You are part of Lord Jean's serfs, are you not? Sir Philip will arrive in a few days, therefore all serfs will participate in making a great feast for his arrival." The man exclaimed shortly and left without waiting for an answer.

"A feast, eh? Well, we better get working then." The father rolled up his sleeves. The mother wore her apron and joined the father in preparing food. Bryce looked at them and also joined in, eager to help.

The feasts in Lord Jean's residence were not something one would experience often, but they were always welcome as the serfs got to eat more than usual as well. Lord Jean was one of the rarest kind of feudal lords in Gallica, treating his serfs like his guests rather than his slaves. This made them all the more eager to work on preparing the food, with respect and love.

Days later, the feast was done with great amount of effort. The tender meat and roasted vegetables, the soft, creamy cakes and sweet pies, lots of fruit and a wide variety of drinks to be enjoyed... It was certainly a wave of food that one couldn't tear their eyes away from.

As the serfs waited, Lord Jean came out of the castle and headed to the entrance encircled with stone walls. Sir Philip had arrived just a moment ago. He leapt off his horse and walked towards the lord.

"Good day to you, Sir Philip. We've been expecting you." Lord Jean smiled as he welcomed the knight into the castle. Sir Philip nodded and greeted him back, then the feast started with no further ado.

The nobles were set on a big table adorned with the wonderful products and silver cutlery. While they were eating, serf families were also enjoying the great food in a separate table for the commoners. Looking around the place, Bryce started to eat a small piece of steak he took on his plate. The meat was seasoned with fresh thyme and was lightly salted, and its texture was as soft as a steak could be. As he happily chewed on the piece of meat, Bryce felt someone tap on his shoulders. He turned around without paying much attention to it, but upon seeing who it was, he nearly choked on his food. The hand on his shoulder belonged to a tall man with long blond hair tied in a small ponytail, wearing simple yet expensive looking clothing.

"Hahaha, enjoying the food?" It was no other than Sir Philip himself.

"Ah, y-yes sir!" Bryce stood straight like a fence from fear.

"Relax, relax. I was thinking of getting some fresh air, why don't you join me?" The man pulled Bryce's arm as he looked helplessly at his parents, he hoped inside that he had done nothing wrong.

Away from the loud atmosphere of the feast, the grassy field was rather calm and refreshing with a light breeze and the smell of fresh grass flowing around. Sir Philip stopped dragging Bryce along and turned his face towards him. The clean face of the man still looked rough with both fresh and old scars.

"Er... Sir, may I ask... That um... Why-" Bryce stumbled around trying to form a sentence without stuttering and failed miserably.

"Right, right. It isn't for anything bad or something, so relax." The knight calmed the boy down.

"Th-then..."

"I'm explaining right now. I've heard about your little victory against... Against the-" He laughed uncontrollably. "The Knight of The Crimson Rose."

"Hahaha, so it sounds just as ridiculous in Gallican!" Clyde chuckled.

"Pfft. Nothing escapes your hearing nowadays." Bryce smiled at him.

"Now, we're getting to the good part so keep your laughter for later."

"Ah, I was just trying to sell the milk, Sir..." Bryce felt embarrassed. He didn't think such a small encounter would be heard anywhere.

"Well, what a resilient milkman you are!" Sir Philip laughed loudly.

"Let's get to the point. You have a hardened body from the serf work, you can handle yourself well too... I was thinking of getting a squire and you fit all the basic requirements."

"I... Huh?" Bryce paused for a second.

"Do you accept or not?" The knight asked.

"Well, I shall tell my parents about it... Sir." Bryce tried to talk formally.

"No need, I'll talk to them personally. I want to secure them as much as you do, tearing apart a family was never my objective." Sir Philip said in a serious tone.

"So that's how you became a knight?" Clyde asked excitedly.

"No, that is later. A squire is more like an apprentice." Bryce replied.

"How did your parents respond to it?" Clyde asked curiously.

"Well, listen and find out." Bryce continued talking.

"Bryce, my dear son... Are you going to be alright?" The mother asked in a concerned voice.

"I think so, mother. If I become a knight as well, then I can be more powerful and you two won't have to be that concerned about life. I... I want to make a better life for us." Bryce said with a blush on his face.

"That's my boy! Yer making us proud!" The father lightly jabbed at the shoulder of his son. "But take care of yourself, too. We don't want you getting too into it."

"Don't worry, father. I'll be fine. I wanted to be more free like this as well, this is just the job for me." Bryce smiled.

"Oh, my dear boy. Worrying about you is our job. We'll watch you from afar, always with you, sweetheart." The mother was on the verge of tears.

"Are you done packing your belongings? We're leaving soon." Sir Philip's deep voice rung in Bryce's ears.

"See you soon, Father, Mother!" The boy waved his hands while smiling in a bittersweet manner.

"Our little Bryce is growing up." The mother wiped the tears off her face with a handkerchief, then waved the handkerchief in the air with a sudden burst of energy.

"We love you!" The parents yelled in unison.

"And so on, I moved from our house back in Lord Jean's castle to Sir Philip's house and began my life as a squire." Bryce said, feeling rather nostalgic.

"Was his house nice?" Clyde asked immediately.

"That is what you're wondering out of anything else?" Bryce chuckled. "It wasn't that big, but it was comfortable."

"I see... When I first arrived in this hut, I thought it was lovely!" Clyde said happily.

"Really? You didn't even smile one bit, though."

"I did!.. Well, at least from the inside." The boy scratched his head.

"Anyway, where were we left? Ah, yes. I trained for several months alongside Sir Philip and learned how to use a sword..." Bryce continued the story.

It has been a lot of time since Bryce had accepted the offer of Sir Philip. The young squire worked hard day and night and did his best to keep up. The knight had a very interesting training routine of climbing, running, sword and lance training, riding and much more. At first, Bryce was surprised at how many forms of training he had taken in such a short time but then he got used to it as well. Days were passing by very quickly, and he felt warmed up to his new mentor just as fast.

The daily training was an important part of Bryce's job but he was also expected to join Sir Philip in his journeys. Sir Philip was not like the other knights in Gallica, he helped other people, be it a serf or a lord, in daily basis. Bryce soon had his share of carrying water from the wells and rivers, catching sheep scattered away from herds, cutting wood and so on.

"W-wait a minute, that is basically doing the villager's jobs for them!" Clyde said, surprised.

"Well, we usually helped people that weren't capable of doing such chores." Bryce explained.

"But... I mean, that's not my point. Isn't Sir Philip a knight? Doesn't he have missions?" Clyde uttered with a confused expression on his face.

"Oh, that." Bryce coughed lightly. "Gallica was not the lawless land it had been since the last few years, but the royal family still had little to no influence. All knights were as good as turned rogue since nobody could give them orders."

"Ah, so that's why you had to make do with community work?" Clyde seemed to understand where his mentor came from.

"Yeah, I guess you could say so." Bryce nodded. "We did deal with lots of bandits though, so we weren't just doing chores around."

In one such day, the knight and his squire had just fought against a pack of thugs hiding in a small forest and won thanks to their combined effort. Bryce was getting really good at swordsmanship as he managed to disarm some of them with visible ease. However, he was still no match for Sir Philip who ended up defeating the majority of the group. Just as they were done, Sir Philip remembered something important.

"Ahh, I should have told you to remind this to me!" He said in a rather troubled manner, then he turned to his squire as he sheathed his sword. "Bryce, I've got to go to a nobleman's house for a visit. I completely forgot that was scheduled for today." He climbed onto his horse in a rush and started riding away from the boy.

"Er... What should I do?" Bryce yelled from the back. He was getting trained in horse riding and using lances, but he wasn't riding a horse into fights yet. His master had said that he was several months of training away for that. For this reason, he was stuck in the middle of the woods without a horse if the knight left by himself.

"I can't take you with me, so you should go ahead and ride a carriage. I've lent you money, haven't I?" Sir Philip said and he rode his ash coloured horse in the fields just outside the forest, towards his urgent appointment.

Bryce looked around feeling a little nervous and shrugged.

"I hope everything goes alright." He said to himself as he walked towards the shortest path that could take him to a town, where he could take a ride home. He thought it would be easy to find the way back, but with his master far gone and the nearly identical trees forming confusing pathways, the squire felt lost within the first minute. Then he decided to walk straight in one path to get out of the forest, as he could find the town later. Walking in the dense, lush forest, he started to feel slightly anxious. However, as he kept treading the soft, muddy soil, he slowly started to realize the anxiousness came from the strange feeling of being watched rather than the fear of being lost. He looked to his right and left, but nothing was in sight. Touching the hilt of his sword, he kept walking while alert.

Suddenly, a hand touched his shoulder from the back. Turning around swiftly, Bryce drew his sword instinctively, but there was nobody behind him. Scratching his head, he was about to unsheathe his sword when he was suddenly pushed into the ground. Falling in the muddy grass face first, Bryce rubbed his eyes trying to get the dirt out of them. As he was trying to comprehend what just happened, he heard a mischievous laugh, probably belonging to an older man.

"Not bad, squire! Or should I say Sir Bryce? Not if you keep being this sluggish."

Bryce finally managed to lift his face up and see the man in front of him. With messy, almost pitch black hair with a short beard, coupled with the hood that covered the most of his face and the green and gray coloured cape, this man could easily mix into the scenery. Even when he was standing still, the boy was having a difficult time trying to differentiate between the forest colours and the green fabric. In all honesty, Bryce had never seen a person like this before.

"What are you looking at, kid? Is a dirty old man like me just that fascinating?" The man laughed. He offered Bryce a hand and helped him up. Bryce felt slightly less afraid of the man when he saw him being so carefree, but his outfit and the scar across his face still made him look very scary.

"Er.. Um... What brings you here, sir?" Bryce tried to piece his words together, but it just felt awkward.

"Hahaha! Is this your way of saying 'What are you'?" The man snickered. "I'm afraid that is classified information. But I can tell you my name. I'm Ernest."

"Ah... Bryce, Sir." The boy bowed down slightly.

"I know. I've heard of you, kid." Uttered Ernest nonchalantly.

"Huh?" Bryce was surprised. Who would know about a simple squire, let alone this man?

"The brave milkman who beat the... The... Pfft..." Ernest laughed once again. "Who beat 'The Knight of The Crimson Rose'... That's you, yes?" He pointed at the boy.

"Why does everyone know about that?" Bryce was no less surprised than before.

"Not everyone, just a few people around the town. It's just that I'm skilled at gathering info." Ernest replied in an uninterested manner. "That being said, you do look like you have some potential in you. That's why I came here." He smiled.

"Um..." Bryce scratched his hair. He didn't know what to say. Just what was this man? An enemy? An ally? A crazy person? He didn't know at all.

"Well, you have a big build, but you seem like you can handle this kind of thing... Wanna give it a shot?" Ernest asked. Bryce had remotely no idea what he was talking about.

"What kind of thing, exactly?" He asked back.

"To avoid sight, of course! You might as well call it camouflage." The man answered as if it was the most basic knowledge in the world.

"My apologies. I was just about to leave for the town-"

"But can you?" Ernest interrupted the boy's sentence and put up a sly smile on his face.

"I might be lost, but... Ah, alright. I give in. Please teach me." Bryce sighed deeply.

"Glad you made the right choice. It's a win-win for you anyway. I'll lead you out of here once we're done." Said Ernest, then he started to prepare.

"A ranger taught you before you actually became one?" Clyde said, surprised.

"I know, very interesting, right?" Bryce smiled. "I didn't know what a ranger was back then, though."

Bryce was taught by the ranger on how to hide, mix into the surroundings and stay out of sight in what seemed to be a condensed version of the 5 year ranger training. However, the effort he spent and the aches in his body didn't feel that condensed to Bryce. After they were done, he could barely find the strength in himself to walk.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Ernest said with a smile on his face. He seemed to smile and laugh a lot but more than half of the time it was sarcastic and that made Bryce feel slightly annoyed. However, by this point he was assured the man was not malicious at all.

"I... Can I ask you a question, Sir?" Bryce asked meekly.

"It depends. Ask the question first." Ernest said as he looked straight towards the road.

"What... Is your job? Why did you teach me all this?" The boy asked, feeling very curious.

"I won't answer that first question, but for the second one... I've been watching around for a while and I happened to stumble upon you. I just felt like you needed to know these skills. It might just save your life one day." He smiled once again.

"W-well... Thank you, Sir." Bryce said, kind of embarrassed.

"Also, drop out the 'Sir' already, sheesh!" The man looked slightly annoyed.

"Sorry, Si- Er... I mean..."

Ernest sighed as Bryce couldn't form a sentence for a few seconds.

"Here. Just walk straight from here and you will find a pathway to the nearest town." He stopped in his tracks and disappeared from clear view.

"E-ernest?" Bryce looked around in surprise.

"I'll see you around, Bryce. Don't forget, I'm always watching." Ernest's voice rung in his ears ominously as he gave up on locating him. It was time to head back home after this interesting encounter.

"And... After that, it is mostly training and usual, boring life. You wouldn't want to listen to that, right?" Bryce stretched and yawned silently.

"W-what, are you going to finish it right here?" Clyde asked in a disappointed tone.

"Huh? Heavens, no!" Bryce chuckled. "I haven't even told you about Cecile yet. I'll just skip a little and get to the good part."

"Whew... That's a relief, I was wondering about that." Clyde smiled. His eyes were drooping but he was too excited to be asleep. Perhaps Bryce's idea of a bedtime story had backfired badly.

As several months passed by, the clumsy squire slowly became into a dashing, skilled young man thanks to the intense training of his master. Sir Philip was proud of who Bryce had become, as he hadn't only improved his body but his personality and his mind as well. He didn't feel so afraid of everyone now and he was also much more like what he was as a ranger now, his kindness shining through among friends, his fearsome look scaring away the foe...

"You brag far too much." Said Clyde with a flat face.

He was also still inexperienced in many fields, but what he learned from Ernest already made him much more versatile and put him much higher on the pedestal compared to other knights.

However, growing up also meant having more responsibilities. With Sir Philip away for a duty of his own, Bryce was expected to take care of his place and protect the people around by himself, until the blond knight returned.

Deciding to patrol around the residence of the knight, he rode his horse, which he could ride properly now, towards the plains nearby the castle of Sir Philip.

The gray walls were reminiscent of Lord Jean's castle. Bryce felt nostalgic as he recalled he hadn't sent a letter to his parents this month. He came to see them once in a while, but he barely found any time to do so lately. He etched it in his mind to visit them later as well.

His mind deep in thought, he almost didn't notice the voices coming from a nearby pathway. The path was mainly used by horse carriages operated by merchants, so Bryce was surprised to see multiple people without horses standing in the middle of the road. He decided to stay hidden for a while to assess the situation. Jumping off his horse, he pulled a green cape over him and moved just like the cunning ranger had taught him to reach a large rock right beside the road. To his luck, the green plains were almost the same shade of green as his cape. He assumed that he wasn't spotted as he watched the suspicious group from a few meters away.

"Come on lass, we do this the easy way or the hard way!" A malicious voice rung out. Bryce slowly peeked at the scene from behind the rock. The voice belonged to a large man with a rusty knife in his hand.

"B-but I haven't sold a single flower today! I don't have anything to give you..." The woman in front him said meekly. She took a few steps back feeling afraid but for every step she took, the man took one more.

"It doesn't have to be money." The man smiled in a creepy manner. The young woman was about to be backed into a corner.

Bryce had seen enough. He quickly climbed on his horse and rode it full force towards the brigand. The lance on the horse's saddle appeared in his hands so quickly it practically flew into them.

"Leave her be!" Bryce yelled as he grabbed the lance tightly. His arrival didn't seem to scare the man. He was likely confusing the skilled squire with the fake knights and stuck up nobles he was so used to scare away by one mere wave of his knife. However, the smile on his face disappeared as he noticed the young man on the horse was not going to stop as there was just a few meters between them. Before he knew it, the bandit was knocked off his feet by one strike of Bryce's lance. Had he wanted to, he could easily impale the evildoer with the pole, but he couldn't find it in himself to mercilessly slaughter someone while the helpless woman was watching. He got off his mount and quickly went to bind the man with the leather strips he took from the bag attached to the horse's saddle. As he was busy with that, the young woman tried to assess the situation, feeling both very scared and dazzled.

Being done with the job, Bryce bound the man on the thickest tree he could find and returned to the woman's side. As he lifted his face up to see her face, he noticed this was the first time he did so, being caught up in the heat of the moment.

The confused woman's face lighted up when she saw the squire walking towards her. She was apparently excited as she quickly attempted to fix the golden locks of her hair messed up from the confrontation. Failing to do so, she instead tightened the old head scarf she tied in a knot right above her head to keep her hair in place.

"Are you okay?" Bryce asked, concerned.

"Ah, yes Sir... Uhm..." She replied with a flustered face.

"Hm? Oh, you don't need to bother with the 'Sir's and 'Lord's. My name is Bryce, I am a simple squire." The young man smiled with sincerity.

"R-really? A squire? Your face looked so confident I thought that you were a knight." The young woman said with a surprised face. "And... Thanks for saving me, I am really grateful to be saved by such a nice person."

"Ah, it is alright, I'm just doing my duty." Bryce felt flustered, but managed to not blush. He scratched his medium length hair instead, almost nervously curling it around his finger without realizing. "Say, what brings a young lady over this merchant route?" He asked curiously.

"Oh, I was trying to sell these flowers... I am a flower girl... A flower-seller? Yes, a flower-seller." She shyly lifted the handmade basket, which was filled with colourful flowers, with two hands.

Bryce cheerfully peeked at the basket. There were many flowers in it, but none of them were familiar to him.

"What beautiful petals they have! Such charming flowers you're selling, Miss flower girl." He smiled gently.

"Oh, I didn't even tell you my name, so sorry! My name is Cecile." The flower-seller said.

"Nice to meet you, Cecile. You should be wary around these paths, lots of bandits are laying about." Bryce slightly bowed and walked over to ride on his horse.

"Oh, I... Well... Um..." She tried to form a sentence as Bryce patiently waited for her. "E-excuse me, but could you... Could you please accompany me?" She said in an embarrassed, squeaky voice.

"Well, of course!" The squire grinned. "It might be nice to keep the merchant path clear as well. Hop on!" He pointed to the saddle of the horse.

"Huh? Ah, it's okay, I can walk..." Cecile tried to object, but her sentence was cut short by the young man's laughter.

"I don't think you can outrun a horse, Cecile. Don't be shy, it's the duty of a knight to help people." He helped her onto the horse. "Ready? You better find something sturdy to hold onto. This pal of mine is a bit rowdy." The squire said as the horse sparked up and bolted with immense speed without any warning. Taken by surprise, the only sturdy thing Cecile could hold onto ended up being the tall squire's waist. Startled, Bryce tried to keep his cool, but this time he couldn't help but blush a little. Little did he know, the flower girl behind him had already changed into a bright red colour not unlike a tomato. She felt lucky that Bryce couldn't turn around to see her face.

It took her a minute to realize, but the journey towards the end of the merchant route had already been over. She looked around and took Bryce's hand again to get off the horse. She had never thought that she would ever reach the end of the merchant route as she always walked to there every time, finding her way to an inn once she was tired of walking.

"This is the last stop, Cecile. Was it fun riding a horse?" The squire smiled warmly.

"Yes, it was amazing! Thank you for everything, Bryce. Now I can find plenty of people to sell my flowers." She smiled back.

"Now that you mention it... Would you mind selling me a flower as well?" Bryce asked curiously.

"Of course! Let's see... Your favourite is the white lily, right?" Cecile suddenly took on an energetic personality.

"Well, I've never thought about that before... Why did you assume that?" Bryce asked, somewhat surprised.

"It's my intuition! I spent a lot of time selling flowers so I can guess well." Cecile said as she handed over a white lily to the confused squire.

"That's very interesting." Bryce took out a golden coin from his pouch and placed it on the flower-seller's hand.

"H-h-huh? Wait a minute, this is far too-" Cecile panicked seeing the glittering metal in her hands.

"Consider it a parting gift. See you around, Cecile!" Bryce didn't wait as he rode off to the horizon. Cecile stood there for quite a while, looking at him disappear. What were the odds of meeting such a nice person in this dangerous place? She smiled. Selling flowers was her whole life ever since she was born into the streets, but now she felt like something new has made her feel just as joyful.

Clyde sighed without saying a word. The blue eyes of the boy looked deeply at the wooden floorboards.

"Is something the matter, Clyde?" Bryce asked, a little concerned.

"It's just that... That lily was the one you always used to carry with yourself, right?" Clyde meekly turned his face to his mentor.

"Well, yes. It was." Bryce could already see where the conversation was headed to.

"I... I just realized I didn't apologize for destroying it. It was so horrible, even if..."

"You were not in control at that time." Bryce cut off the words of the apprentice. "Besides, I think I am better off without it. My memories of her is not limited to a dried flower, every time I think of her, I feel that she still exists, somewhere within. I will be the one to keep her existence known, so I don't need the flowers anymore. Don't feel bad, okay?" Bryce wiped the newly surfacing tears off Clyde's face.

"I'm sorry. This was supposed to be a sweet moment, you telling your life story and all." He said, wiping his face by himself.

"Well, I still have much to tell. You didn't even meet Mary yet, did you?" Bryce smiled in a bittersweet manner.

"No... But I want to." Clyde forced a smile as well, but then dropped it and lightly laid his head on Bryce's shoulder. "I'm getting drowsy, though... Don't make it boring, okay?"

"Roger that, let's move on!" Bryce said eagerly.

One day, the squire was on a regular patrol along with the knight. The plains were coloured a fair yellow like hay fields as autumn came around. Brown leaves were getting caught in a small whirlwind, spiraling upwards while making a soothing sound. Riding their horse around the castle, Bryce could almost fall asleep with the gentle breeze blowing into their faces. However, seeing a weird, green shape over the road quickly got the squire back on his senses.

"Sir, over there..." He pointed his finger towards the lumpy figure laying right where the road curved downwards with the farm fields visible on the horizon.

"Is that..." Sir Philip squinted as he put his hand over his forehead to block out the sunlight. "Hurry!" He rushed down the road with his horse. Riding the animal with mastery, the curved road was no obstacle for the blond knight. Bryce followed right after, albeit slower.

The green shape twitched slightly once the squire and knight stood over him, having jumped off their horses. Bryce slowly crouched down and lifted the green cloak off the man, revealing the ranger Ernest underneath. The black haired ranger had a deep wound on his thigh.

"Ernest!" Bryce yelled out in surprise.

"Heh. Long time no see, kid. Kind of... Kind of embarrassing to be seen like this." The man said, whimpering and pausing between words. Despite this, he looked like he wasn't bothered by the wound at all. In fact, he was chattier than when they met for the first time.

"Bryce, do you know this man?" Sir Philip asked in a questioning tone.

"Before that, let's carry him inside!" Bryce returned to the reality of the situation. The knight nodded and they picked the ranger up to carry him towards one of the serfs' house. Bryce was about to suggest going to the castle instead, but it would be hard to climb the curved road with a fragile person, even if they used the horses.

"Frankly, I was lucky to be found. Thanks for the help, kid." The ranger spoke as he laid on an old bed the knight had prepared. He didn't want to order the serfs around while they were busy making a living in the harvest season. Once a healer that arrived from the castle cleaned the wound and wrapped it, the tense situation around the room was gone. According to the healer, Ernest would likely be able to walk it off after a week of rest or so.

"Why don't you stay over in my castle, ranger? It will be easier for you to make a recovery." Sir Philip spoke calmly, but as soon as the word 'ranger' got out of his mouth, Ernest got a surprised expression for a small moment before turning it to a smirk.

"So you know, eh?" He said with eyes that looked rather threatening.

"Yes, I spent some time in Araluen myself. And who could not recognize a ranger after they first see one?" The knight had no change in the tone of his voice.

"Sir, what is a 'ranger'? I'm afraid I have no idea." Bryce asked, confused.

"You met this man before, no? Didn't he mix into shadows and act ominously all the way through?" Sir Philip crossed his arms as he answered the question.

"Well, now that you've mentioned it... I think he did, Sir." Bryce said.

"Cut it short, will you? We're the spies that secure the entirety of Araluen." Ernest chimed in unexpectedly.

"That is the closest explanation for sure. He's a part of the Ranger Corps of Araluen." Sir Philip nodded. "Anyway, will you accept my offer? I don't think you will be able to continue whatever mission you were on in this state."

"Heh. You got me, i suppose." Ernest said in defeat. "I'll stay over and teach that squire of yours a few more tricks, perhaps."

Over the next few days, the ranger made his recovery in the comfortable castle, and got back up on his feet pretty early, despite the protests of the healers. All along the way, he taught Bryce about the basic skills of a ranger, watching the curious expression on his face with joy. For a man that was supposed to be a spy, he was sure chatty, at least for the young squire. In the final days of his recovery, he called Bryce secretly in the middle of the night. Seeing the man appear suddenly in front of him, he woke up, startled.

"Psst. Hey, kid. Come with me for a moment." He called Bryce outside.

The autumn breeze was stronger than usual, and the land was painted in a dark blue colour beneath the light of the full moon. Bryce felt a bit chilly, taken away from the warm embrace of the soft blanket into the cold plains outside.

"I'm leaving today." Ernest said simply and clearly. "You've been a nice student, so this is my farewell present to you. If you ever make it to Araluen, I'll make sure to open the doors to you and make you into a true ranger." He smiled, but it was barely visible from under his hood.

"A ranger... Me?" Bryce said in a surprised manner.

"Do you see anyone else here, kid?" Ernest said as if he was scolding him, but Bryce couldn't help but get a friendly feeling in his tone. "The choice is yours, but I say that it would be a waste to not become one of us."

"I..." Bryce hesitated to say anything. "Farewell, Ernest."

"So long, kid." The ranger had already disappeared, almost as if he dissolved into thin air.

"So he left? Figures." Sir Philip shook his face once he heard of the news. Bryce was feeling strangely deep in thought ever since Ernest returned to Araluen, so he looked at his master with a blank expression on his face.

"Do you have something in your mind, boy?" The knight asked curiously.

"Huh? Oh... Nothing, Sir." Bryce briefly returned to his senses.

"Do you want to go on patrol? You might sort out your thoughts in the open field with fresh air. I'm not really a thinking man myself, so I doubt I can help you." Sir Philip said, speaking in a serious manner.

"Thanks, Sir. I shall do that." Bryce left in a short moment as he answered nonchalantly.

Absent-mindedly riding his horse, Bryce looked towards the horizon as he proceeded to leave the castle, getting closer to the merchant route to start the patrol. His heart was still stuck between following the words of Ernest, and staying in Gallica and living his life as it was now. Inhaling the fresh air to clear his mind, the squire sighed and kept advancing through the road.

As he looked forward, he saw a small figure on the path running towards him. Squinting a little and leaning on forward, he could see the blonde flower-seller with an excited, yet sorrowful look on her face.

"Bryce! Bryce!" She stopped suddenly and took a few moments panting and catching her breath. Meanwhile, Bryce had left his horse and was standing in front of her.

"Cecile, is something wrong?" Bryce asked, concerned.

"No, but I wanted to see you again." She looked at the squire and smiled innocently.

"That doesn't look like just an 'I miss you' face, does it?" He questioned the girl.

"Ah, I mean... Well... Oh, nothing gets past you!" She said, flustered. Bryce smiled at her.

"I've got spare time. Why don't you talk about what's making you so upset?" He proposed. Cecile nodded, making a strange, squeaky noise.

The two of them sat on the hay coloured grass side by side and enjoyed the breeze going through their hair.

"So, what's the matter?" Bryce opened up the conversation again.

"I... Um... It's just that... I've come to say goodbye." Cecile said, looking desperate.

"Huh? Why? We've bumped into each other quite a lot here, so I'm sure we'll meet again." Bryce said with an optimistic tone.

"No, I'm leaving. Leaving Gallica." Cecile said, looking away from the squire

"Leaving? Er... That's..." Bryce didn't want to obstruct the young woman, so despite feeling conflicted with her leaving, he didn't say anything.

"Thanks to all your help, I've collected enough to travel back to Araluen. It has been my dream to visit there. Here's a little bit rowdy and hard to live on your own, after all." She giggled melancholically.

"That's very nice, Cecile." Bryce also smiled in the same way. "But... Why do you look so sorrowful saying that? Shouldn't you be happy?"

"Oh, I am happy... It's just that... There's been something I was waiting for this whole time." She moved around uncomfortably.

"What is it?" Bryce asked curiously.

"I... I was waiting for... Well..." Cecile tried to form a sentence, feeling flustered. "Did you ever wonder why we always bumped into each other?" She suddenly asked.

"Er... No? Why?" The squire asked back.

"It was because... I wasn't just taking the road for selling flowers, I was... I was just hoping I'd meet you." Cecile like she was at the verge of crying.

Bryce paused for a moment hearing her sentence.

"Every day, I hoped that you'd notice me, staring into your eyes, hoping that you would... You know... I... I just like you so much." She tried to conclude.

"Oh, I like you a lot too, Cecile. You've been a great friend to me." Bryce smiled.

"N-not like that, I... I 'like' like you... That is to say... I... Um... I love you, Bryce!" Cecile's face was painted a bright red. Bryce's face also became a light tint of pink in a moment.

"Oh! Th-That's... Um... Er... That's... Nice." He blurted out in visible shock.

"Pfft... Ahahaha! 'That's nice'? That's how you answered?" Clyde burst into laughter. Bryce not so gently elbowed the ginger haired boy.

"Heh, We'll see how you handle it, too." He said, half laughing.

"Wh-what, I don't have anyone like that..." Clyde said, blushing.

"Oh, are you certain?" The mentor struck a meaningful gaze at his adoptive son.

"U-um, can you continue, please? I really wonder what happened next!" Clyde almost squeaked in embarrassment. Bryce chuckled, satisfied.

"Wh-what do you mean, 'That's nice'? Bryce?" Cecile asked excitedly, her heart banging as fast as possible, almost ready to burst out of her chest. She could almost hear the young man's heartbeats, as well.

"I-I... I mean... I love you, too. A lot." Bryce replied meekly, still a bit startled.

"Ah, I'm so relieved!" Cecile shed a tear clutching her chest, feeling her heartbeats as she sobbed. "Ever since you bought that flower from me, you've bought my heart with it... I didn't want to leave it back here in Gallica."

"Cecile..." Bryce came back to his senses. "I have a surprise for you, but first..."

"Huh? A surprise? What are you talking about, Bryce?" Cecile felt curious, wiping her tears off.

"You really, truly love me, yes?" Bryce held both of her hands in his own. The little hands of the flower-seller felt so cold to him, but right now, he was feeling warm enough to heat both of them up.

"Of course! Of course I love you." Cecile looked directly into the squire's dark brown eyes. "If I could, I would live inside your warm gaze just to feel your eyes on me at all times..."

"Then... Will you marry me?" Bryce blurted out instantly.

"Huh!? B-but you... Aren't you staying in Gallica? You know I would accept in a heartbeat, but..." Cecile said, confused.

"I've been thinking about this for a while now... I've been looking for a change. Perhaps it lies within Araluen? Regardless, I've made my choice." He said back. Finally, the clouds inside his mind and heart have been dissipated.

"Oh, Bryce! I-I promise to be the best wife I can be for you!" Cecile suddenly embraced Bryce. Startled, he slowly wrapped his arms around her.

"I promise too! We'll be together from now on."

"Aww, that's so sweet." Said Clyde, slightly blushing.

"Isn't it? Think about how I felt. It was like I was about to turn into charcoal." Bryce laughed. "I still miss her innocent gaze." He looked away and sighed.

"Oh... I'm sorry, Bryce. I just made you relive that pain, didn't I?" The boy apologized.

"It's okay, Clyde. I was the one who wanted to tell about it. Besides, why should I be afraid of my memories of bliss? I'm glad I lived through all of them, and that I'm able to share them with you." Bryce pat his apprentice's back gently.

"Ehehe..." Clyde smiled in a slightly melancholic manner. "In that case... I'm glad I'm getting to know you better, too."

"I've known for a while you wanted this." Sir Philip reacted to Bryce's request to leave Gallica rather mildly.

"R-really? For how long, Sir?"

"As soon as that ranger left. You've got your mind set on being one of them, right?" Sir Philip crossed his arms.

"Well, yes... I-It's not like I don't like being a squire, Sir! Just that-" Bryce said nervously before getting cut off by the knight.

"I know, I know. You're longing to be free, aren't you?" Sir Philip said wisely as Bryce nodded in agreement.

"Then, just before you go..." He drew his blade from its sheath. Bryce felt slightly nervous. "Kneel down." He said and watched as Bryce did so.

Touching his shoulders lightly with the sword, he raised it high.

"From now on, you are no longer a squire, but a fellow knight. Hereby, you shall be known as The Knight of The White Lily." He helped the new knight up and put his hands on his shoulders.

"Good luck, Bryce." He looked like he was about to shed a single drop of tear.

"You too, Sir. Thanks for all you've done for me." Bryce tried to bow down, but the knight stopped him and gave him a hug instead. Just this once, the formalities could wait, both of them thought as they bid farewell to each other.

"Sir Philip really was what you were to me, wasn't he?" Clyde said, feeling emotional.

Bryce nodded. "Exactly. I still haven't lost contact with him, even though he is a retired old man now. The bond between us was surely stronger than the one between Gordon and I."

"Gordon? What does he have to do with this?" The boy asked curiously.

"Oh, have I never told you? Well, let's get through it briefly, then."

After the tearful goodbye, Bryce and Cecile left Gallica to live in Araluen. Bryce's family would rather stay in Gallica, so he had talked to them and promised to send letters even more frequently. Normally, both of them would object to him leaving, but the years had changed them so: Now they trusted in their son no matter how concerned they were.

After arriving in Araluen, The first thing Bryce did was to join the Ranger Corps as per Ernest's suggestion. Accepted into the Corps despite being slightly over the age to become an apprentice, he became the apprentice of who would later be the Head Ranger of the Corps, Gordon. The strict man was no less adamant on the new apprentice, and soon shaped him into a skilled enough ranger, without pampering him at all. As such, the relationship between an apprentice and a mentor, this time built much later, was much less personal to both of them.

"That was horribly short. Did nothing really happen in between?" Clyde asked, somewhat disappointed.

"No, not really. Well, that Shieldless Knight we fought in the cult and a few more knights running after fame may have fought with me, but nothing else. I found them too repetitive, but I can tell if you'd like." Bryce explained shortly.

"No thanks, I've had enough of fake knighthood for one night." Clyde shook his head.

"You just heard one." Bryce looked at him directly.

"...and that was enough for one night." answered Clyde.

"Haha, I see." Bryce nodded.

"So, not much left after that... You know what happened more or less."

"But you never told me how you've had Mary." Clyde said with a straight face.

"Oh, well... Er... That's... Maybe when you're older?" Bryce said, looking somewhat disturbed.

"N-no, that's not what I... When! When you've had Mary, is what I'm asking! Ah, this is so embarrassing..." Clyde covered his face, feeling flustered.

"Oh... I see. We've had her after I completed my training, so she'd be around your age or a bit older, I suppose." Bryce quickly returned to his normal, cheery tone.

"You think we would be good friends?" Clyde asked, looking forward as his eyes started getting heavier.

"You'd be like siblings, I bet." Bryce smiled warmly.

Clyde yawned and felt his sleepiness closing in.

"Are we sleepy enough now? Good to know my story didn't go to waste." Bryce chuckled and stood up to let the boy lie on the bed. Looking at him as he assumed he was fast asleep, he approached the door of the small room.

"Hey, Bryce... One more question." Clyde said from the bed with a tired voice.

"What is it, Clyde?" Bryce turned his head towards him.

"Who's this Ernest? Why haven't I ever seen him with you before?" He asked. Bryce's face looked a bit worn out, almost frightened as soon as he heard the question.

"It's... We were close, of course. Jacob, Ernest and I... Merlin wasn't with us yet."

"...but?" Clyde looked at him with questioning eyes.

"Shortly, we had an argument and crossed roads. You can't get along with everyone, right?" He tried to force a smile. "But... If you ever meet him, please don't think of him as a bad person. I don't want to affect you like so. You alone should decide how you feel against anyone."

"Dad... You're really thoughtful." Clyde closed his eyes as he gave him a half smile.

"Good night... son." Bryce also smiled, then he got closer to the door, to leave Clyde by himself.

"Wait, one more thing!" The boy said in a hurry. "Let's visit Cecile and Mary next time."

Bryce nodded. "Then on the way, we should visit your uncle too."

"Are you done now?" He said patiently.

"Heheh, I guess so. Good night." Clyde turned his back and instantly fell asleep. Bryce finally closed the door and went back to his own room. How many hours has it been? Regardless, it was nice to get some family time after a long time.

The stars were burning brightly up in the sky. Bryce gazed upon them through the clear window in his room.

"Cecile, Mary... I'll never regret these memories. Wherever you are, I'll carry you two in my heart."

"We love you, too!"

Bryce suddenly lifted his face up. Did he just hear the wind, or was it... He shrugged and slowly got into bed. Running his mouth for too long must have been tiring for him. He closed his eyes and soon started to sleep as well. A content smile was fixed on his face as he gave a relaxed breath.

Hello again, I know it is a little late, but I've returned with the final sidestory! Shortly, the second half of Silent Ranger will follow. Keep on watch, and thanks for reading!