Third person~
Eric sat motionless in his chair as the rugged looking men around him were engaged in real war talk. His heart thudded in his chest. This was bad, this was really bad.
No, in fact, this was fatal.
The body of the man he'd borrowed had experience, skills and training for battle. Meanwhile, Eric had once sprained his wrist opening a soda can.
"Sir Everan," Kaelith called again. "Have you nothing to say regarding the northwestern flank?"
Eric blinked. Flank, right, of course. He knew that. It was… the side… of something. He leaned slightly toward the map for a label or something that could save him, but instead, all he saw were flags in various colors, and wooden horses. If the situation were any different, he would've thought this was a little board game they were playing.
"I…" he began as he tried to concentrate on the map to find out where the northwestern flank was.
He could feel their eyes on him as a bead of sweat rolled down his back.
Eric cleared his throat as his brain gave out. For the life of him, he couldn't remember what a flank was. So he decided to improvise.
"I believe... um… flanking is a great idea. Perfect idea. You're so smart, sir."
Someone snorted and Kaelith's jaw twitched. Eric saw it and smiled weakly, certain that he'd said something wrong.
Kaelith turned to another knight. "General Leorne, see to it." And then turned back to Eric. "Sir Everan appears to be suffering from heatstroke."
The men shifted uncomfortably and a few of them cast glances Eric's way, murmuring their obvious discomfort.
"Leave, all of you," Kaelith's voice echoed in the room, and almost immediately, the men left.
Eric staggered to his feet once the men had left, and while trying to avoid Kaelith's gaze, he tried to sneak out.
"Where do you think you're going?" Kaelith thundered and Eric froze.
Kaelith Thorne was terrifying, just like he was in the comic. Terrifyingly beautiful. He was the main lead and future husband to the crown princess, and above all, he had a soft spot for his most loyal knight.
The comic did not focus much on Evric Everan as a character, all that was mentioned about him was that he was in love with his lord and died fighting for his lord's love. Back then, Eric had thought it was silly for Evric to fight for someone who didn't love him in return.
Kaelith didn't really have any romantic development with the crown princess for the entirety of the comic and Eric decided that his heart was just as cold hearted as his face.
"I… uh… outside?" Eric replied.
Kaelith slowly stood from his chair, and Eric turned back the moment he heard the sound of the chair scraping against the floor. Though he regretted it almost immediately, Kaelith's stare made his sheepish smile disappear the moment they locked gazes.
"Come," Kaelith said coldly.
Eric whimpered, but very quietly. Evric Everan was not a sheepish man, he was a bold man who always seized what he wanted. He was the knight everyone looked up to, brave, powerful, skilled. Everything Eric was not.
"Come, Evric," Kaelith commanded.
Eric flinched. The lord had called him by his first name, it was not mentioned in the comic that they were friends, or anything remotely close enough to refer to each other on a first name basis. Although it was revealed that Kaelith was slightly gentler with Evric than with anyone else, even his wife.
"Yes, my lord," Eric said and took brave steps forward, towards Kaelith.
Eric's chest thumped louder and louder as he approached Kaelith. If they were as close as Kaelith was insinuating, then there was no way Kaelith wouldn't know that the current Evric was in imposter. Eric tried not to hyperventilate as that would ruin the fake bravado he was putting on.
He stopped a few feet in front of Kaelith but his eyes were on the floor, he didn't dare to look at him. He couldn't.
Kaelith moved closer and Eric clenched his eyes close, hoping for the worst. Instead, he felt a hand on his cheek. Confused, he slowly opened his eyes and looked at the person standing in front of him.
It was Kaelith, it looked like him, but as the same time, it didn't look like Kaelith Thorne. His expression was… soft. He was smiling, and gently caressing Eric, or rather Evric's face.
Kaelith raised a brow. "You're trembling. Remove your armor, you'll only injure yourself if you keep it on."
Evric blinked again and again, as if he hadn't just heard Kaelith right.
Kaelith sighed and removed his hand from Evric's face, and placed it on the buckle that was holding Evric's chest plate together. With ease, he unbuckled it and removed the armor that covered Evric.
"I don't understand you," Kaelith said as he continued to help Evric with his armor. "Why become a knight if your skills are batshit?"
"Huh?" Evric said.
"You're being a scaredy-cat more than usual. At least try to hide it from the knights, they definitely noticed that something was up."
Kaelith finally got off the last of the armor, Evric looked at him. Kaelith's rugged features were gone, the same ones that made him look icy. They were replaced by soft features that made Kaelith look as gentle as he currently looked.
For a moment, they locked gazes but Kaelith broke it, blushing.
"Huh?" Evric repeated softly.