"Your Highness," the old knight moved closer and lowered his voice. "We don't have much time."
"I know." Veronica lowered her voice as well. She knew her knights were brave, but even the bravest person had a heart. In this situation, she had to avoid damaging their morale as much as possible. "They'll probably attack in about half an hour, and the battle flag only has two charges left."
The old knight hesitated, but still couldn't help asking, "Can we really find that mountain?"
"Do you believe me?" Veronica asked softly.
The old knight froze and answered almost instinctively, "Of course..."
"But I don't dare be so confident. Sir Morian, you've been my swordsmanship instructor since I was six, so there's nothing I can hide from you. I found the information about the Holy Mountain in an ancient book that was already incomplete. There were only a few brief sentences and a sketch that was better than nothing. The book was so tattered that it was almost impossible to tell what it had originally looked like, so it might even have been nothing more than a collection of heroic tales written by some fanciful bard and then kept out of curiosity by one of my ancestors. That's why even I don't dare believe we can truly find that mountain."
Hearing Her Highness the Princess's words, the old knight showed little shock or disappointment. He merely sighed softly, as though he had known this answer all along.
Veronica was somewhat surprised. "Sir Morian, you..."
"Your Highness, as you said, I've known you since you were six." The old knight shook his head. "You might fool those young fellows, but you can't fool your own teacher. Still, even if that mountain doesn't exist, people really do need hope in a situation like