Part 1.
The shadows were growing long by the time I opened my eyes. I could hear quiet trilling sound in my left ear and feel sporadic shaking coming from the area near my hip. Looking revealed the culprit to be a small child, curled up on my side. She as sleeping, but from the looks of it, she was having some kind of nightmare. I wrapped my arm around her and gave her a gentle squeeze. I could feel her body relax and her trilling change into a gentle breathing sound.
“You poor girl. I am not sure what happened, but you’re safe now. I promise.” I said softly in her direction. I gave her a gentle pet on the head, then slowly and carefully edged myself off the bed and over toward one the wardrobes. Opening the doors caused a squeaking sound from the hinges that made me flinch. I quickly looked back and saw the up and down motion of the little creature’s stomach that told me that she was still sleeping. I returned to the wardrobe examining the clothes hanging on the rack inside. “Gaudy doublets and stuffy overcoats… definitely a no.” I thought, perusing through the hand clothes. I opened one of the drawers inside, it made a deep low grinding sound, but if the squeaking sound of the hinges didn’t wake her, I wasn’t too worried about this one. Inside the top drawer I uncovered a pair of loose cotton-like black pants and a note left on top, no doubt the some secret letter of confession, but I tossed it to the side and reached for the pants. A few drawers below I found a clean white shirt. “Hmm... I guess it will do.”
I took off the tight black shirt I was wearing and the light brown pants that I had been given to wear earlier by the staff. While I was putting the pants on, I remembered that I wasn’t alone in the room, I gave a look back and saw a pair of eyes staring back at me from the post at the foot of the bed. “Shit… You sure picked an interesting moment to wake up.” was the first word that popped into my head. I quickly pulled my pants up to cover my very exposed rear. I turned around to face her while putting the shirt on.
“I guess you will need to get some actual clothes too. You can’t keep wearing a piece of fabric, and I won’t let you put those foul rags back on.” I said to her, only to be met with a blank stare. “I guess a light blue color would match best with your complexion and hair color.” So, using [Create] I made a baby blue dress equipped with fancy embroidery and a bow on the bottom. I also made a lacy hair band that had some decorative embroidery in it, just to add a bit of class. I pointed over to a standing mirror that was next to the wardrobe behind me.
The smile on her face when she saw herself in the mirror made tear up. In this moment she was a completely different girl that the person I had found in the cage. Warm meal, bath, good sleep and clean clothes, while they are just basic necessities for life, they can make a pauper feel like a king. After looking at herself for a minute, she turned to me and gave me the biggest toothy smile I had ever seen, then rushed toward me and wrapped an arm around my leg, only to then look up and smile again. “You very welcome little one.” I said in a calm voice. “Now…” I held out my hand and waiting for her to place hers in mine, “let’s find the library, you need to learn Hume if you are going to be living here.” With that the two of us walked out the door and into the hall.
The two of us ventured through the halls together, till we were finally shown the way to the castle library. When we opened the doors, we were amazed to find a great multi-storied room full of shelves and shelves of books. A multitude of all kinds, some were tall, some were fat, some were old, some looked to be brand new. If I looked down the aisle, I could see the row go on for a distance, and if I turned the other way, I was greeted with the same sight. “I am happy to see the appreciation for knowledge, this must be the largest library in the world.” I said aloud.
“It is only the second largest, the one in Dwallendwell is said to be far larger than this. However, its history dates back to before the existence of Humans or Beastmen.” Said a voice behind me. It was a familiar voice, and had a dignified tone to it, with just a splash of annoyance.
“Forgive me princess, I didn’t see you.” I said while turning on my heal and giving her a dignified bow. “I see you appreciate literature as well.”
“Every decision we make affects the lives of thousands of people. Not learning from the ones that came before us would be irresponsible of anyone in my position.” She had a proud tone in her voice now, and flames in her eyes.
“I wish all nobility thought the way you do.” I followed with another bow. This was in fact my true feelings. I wished nobility in all worlds did this. Too many times studying history you see cases where nobles did things their own way, some boorish, some cruel and some were just plain dumb, and this world was no exception to that. While mostly the case in The Empire, as there were very few nobles in The Faustian Principality, which also had a much shorter history than its geriatric neighbor. The Empire had many parallels with Roman structure back on Earth, and with it came many Roman problems. The corruption, power balances between Emperor and Senators, the mob unrest and more. There were many cases of these nobles going out and using a senatorially outlawed ius primae noctis on their people, or just outright enslaving or executing those that they didn’t wish to deal with. So, when I said that I wished all nobility thought like her, I truly, truly meant it, for all the people in all worlds.
In return she gave me a hard stare and then looked down at the small creature attached to my hip. “If I remember correctly, you said something about an age gap between us. You could have just said you had particular preferences.” She said with a glare in my direction.
“Why does everyone assume I am doing something inappropriate with a child? Is this some fad that I am not aware of?” I screamed internally. I looked behind her and saw the same young maid that had brought me food and the basin of warm water earlier.
“I understand why you would be upset. I promise you; I have done nothing that would sully my name with this child. I did bring her to my room from a brothel, but I promise that that sounds worse than what it actually is.” I turned and looked down at her. “I found her in a cage, cold, hungry, scared and all alone. She was supposed to become a victim of some noble that is coming here. Something inside just told me, ‘I must save her.’ That is all I swear to you.” I said, flashing the best reassuring smile I could muster.
“Do you really swear?” She said, her facial expression breaking into a pout.
“I do. If I am lying, I’ll eat one thousand needles before I die.” I replied.
“Giazel, you have heard his oath. She will be your personal maid for the rest of your time here. If you do anything inappropriate, I’ll have the blacksmith make one thousand extra sharp needles.” she said forcefully, lifting herself on her toes to get into my face. “I haven’t given up on you yet.”
To be honest, I couldn’t help but blush here. I kind of understood why she was the way she was. I was a new guy from a new world, and I had shown that I was powerful. Regardless of how some may feel, all people are drawn towards security and those with power are perceived to be the ones that can provide it. This actually wasn’t the first time I had delt with this kind of attraction either, back in my days in the JET program, I was teaching at Hida High School, which actually in Takayama, a small city of less than 100,000 found nestled in the mountains of northern Gifu prefecture. In the two years I was teaching there, I had received a stack of love letters, which I would occasionally find at my desk. Most of the other teachers around me would laugh it off as something harmless, but it just made me question what was going through these girls’ heads. The way it was explained to me was, I was new, foreign, could speak English along with being fairly fluent in Japanese, on top of that I looked younger than my age, so that mix of all of those together apparently made me quite popular with the girls… and female staff. Neither of which were fruits I was willing to savor.
So here I was again, before me, a young girl, ripe into puberty attempting to court me. To be honest, the young male body of mine, craved it. The old man on the inside was screaming about how inappropriate it was. She was in fact a truly beautiful woman, her long blond hair was straight and well groomed, she had a chest that was well developed, but still modest. Her figure was incredibly well maintained, no doubt the product of a strict diet and exercise, a thought that was reinforced by her lean, but defined arms. The most attractive thing, however, was her personality and insight. We talked about many things over the course of my stay. She enlightened more about the local customs, the technology and standards of magic in this world, and in turn I had spoken to her about my world, with the wide variety of customs and religions you would find, the different technology, which only caused her eyes to grow wide with the thought of all the information of world being accessible from a small device in your pocket at any time you desired it. Until yesterday, any conversation we had was refreshing and honestly fun. Part of me was upset with myself for turning her down, but I had to focus on my goal.
“Listen princess, why do you choose to go so far for me?” I asked her plainly.
“Much like with the little girl at your side.” She looked down, and surprisingly was met with a harsh look from arguably the cutest face in the castle. “Something inside said you and me were…” her voice trailed off, and her face grew red.
“WAIT A FREAKING MINUTE! When did she become a TSUNDERE!?” My internal voice was screaming with amazement, and apparently my eyes showed it, because the maid gave a soft cough when our eyes met.
“I am sorry princess… I… I didn’t quite catch that last bit.” I said coyly.
“Something was saying I had to marry you!” She yelled back at me. Her face was crimson.
I looked over at the maid, and she broke eye contact looking in the opposite direction.
“I… see…” I paused, trying to collect my thoughts. The thought of marrying someone her age, while legal in this world, still felt weird. “Ah. How about this? Princess, I must reject your proposal to me, for reasons that I previously stated before. However, I will make you this promise. After I have finished my task, if you still feel that way, ask me again. Then I will give you, my answer. This is the only compromise I can give you.” I said to her, in a serious but gentle voice. She was a princess, so if she found some suitor she preferred in the meantime, then all will be well, and if she didn’t, well… by then she would be older, and my conscience would be clearer.
“You do realize you are rejecting a princess, do you?” She replied, but this time there was a playful sound in her voice.
“You do realize that I am not a citizen of this world right, let alone a subject of your country. The only time you would ever by my princess, is if you become MY princess.” I shot back at her.
This seemed to please her, as a big goofy royal smile made its way across her face. “I accept your proposal. We shall push back the matter till a later date. I thank you for your time.” The roleplaying continued, and even the maid behind her was doing her best to not break out of character. “Then good sir. I shall return to my quarters.” After that she turned on her heel, red faced and a hand attempting to keep the laughter in as best it could, though it was proving to be like trying to stop a tsunami with nothing but a few pebbles as a seawall.
“Oh. Umm... princess! Are there any books for learning the language here?” I quickly asked before she could go far.
“You already speak it perfectly though.” She questioned.
“Not for me, it is for…” I said looking down at the angry ball attached to my leg. “Not sure what set her off.”
“It appears she is quite attached to you.” Said the princess flatly. “Second floor, fourth section, look for the case marked twelve, it should be in the center.” She gave another good look at the little girl, but then turned her head and walked out of the room. I stood there blankly until the sounds of her heels could not be heard on the marble floors.
“What was that about?” I said looking down to a face pouting in my direction. “Did she understand that conversation?”
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Part 2.
“You’re making me uneasy just standing there.”
“My lady said that I am to attend to you. So I am here to assist you with any request you have.”
“You mean she left you to spy on me.”
“I do not recall my lady giving me such orders.” I dropped my face onto the wood table at her response. “I request you be more careful. My lady would be distraught if you were to harm yourself.” Her voice did not match her words at all.
“So, if you are to assist with any request I have, if I say, ‘undress right here’, you will have to do it.”
“Indeed. Thought I am sure when my lady hears about such a request, she would become rather upset to hear that her beloved has requested such a thing.” It felt like she shot needles into me with her eyes.
“Yeah, well… I had no intention of actually making that kind of request anyway.” I said looking up at the ceiling. Only to be brought back down to earth by a kick to my shins under the table. “Hey, hey! No unnecessary violence!” I said, scolding the little girl whose face was covered by a book that was larger than her face. “Sometimes I wonder if you can actually understand what we are saying.”
“Why do you not refer to her by her name?” ask Giazel.
“Well… I guess because when I asked her, when we were on our way to my room, she wouldn’t tell me.” I said with a sigh, remembering the trip from the brothel to the room. “Just thinking about taking a small child from a brothel back to my room…” I said with a disgusted shake of my body.
“Then you understand how my lady felt after hearing about your new roommate.” she said coldly.
“Haven’t I already told you, nothing inappropriate happened. I simply gave her some food, washed her back and we slept… next to each other.” I complained in response.
“…” She simply faced another direction and closed her eyes.
“The silent treatment. Fine.” I mentally groaned. I turned my head back in the direction of our little bookworm. “Truth is, I am extremely curious about her. She looks just like a little human girl, maybe six or seven, but she only speaks the Beastmen language.” I scratched my chin, forgetting I didn’t have a beard in this body, and thought about whether or not I should just [Inspect] her. I had already done so to pretty everyone that was important in the castle, but it was more so just to gauge my strength against theirs, especially after all my levels from the forest. Doing so let me know that I was much stronger than any normal person. Even Holdebark, who was in his late sixties now, and had achieved a level of 48, was only around half of my total stat value, and he was by a good margin, the next strongest person in the entire castle, probably in the country. Since learning that, I had found no reason to go about using my skill on random people, it felt like a sort of invasion of privacy.
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Coming back to reality, I was questioning whether to use it on this little girl or not. If I did, it would no doubt answer a lot of questions that I had, but how would she take it if I suddenly said her name to her. I don’t think I could take it if she came to hate me for doing such a thing. On the other hand, being able to know what to call her would make things less awkward, instead of just referring to her as girl or the kind.
“I’m sorry, please forgive me for this.” I said to myself, having made up my mind. I used the skill and a box with numbers appeared in my mind.
“Her name is INARI! What the hell!? She has the same name as a fox kami!? Okay… okay, what else is here. Is this right? She is 15 years old, but she looks 6!? She is also a Moon Fox… whatever that means, wait… she is a kitsune.” I looked down at her, my eyes in bewilderment. The little person in front of me was a 15 year old kitsune named Inari. “Well… that explains why she only talks is in Kimmimoki.” I paused my mind and took a deep breath. “I feel like I really should be more astonished by all of this, but the fact that I am in a different world, big surprises just don’t seem that surprising to me anymore.”
I looked at the book in her hands, focusing on the spot where I thought her eyes would be. “Ina-“ before I could finish, she began to nervously shake the book. She moved the book from in front her face, and on it was the look of absolute fear. Not suspecting this kind of response, I quickly went about consoling her and assuring her that everything was fine and that there was no need to worry.
“How did you know?” she asked me in a quiet shaky voice.
“I have an ability that allows me to see information on others.” I said, laden with guilt.
“When did you first know the truth about me?”
“Just this minute.” I responded back. “I am a little surprised, but it answers why you don’t speak Hume.” I finished with a smile.
“Now that you know… do you hate me?” she asked on the verge of tears.
“WHAT!? Why would I hate you?” I quickly shot back, the most confused I had ever been.
“Tama told me that Humans hate the Beast-kind, and that…” she trailed off for a second, the pain in her eyes was clearly visible. “That we should always hide our true selves. Especially me since I was the most hated of all. Even by the people that look like me.” There it was, with that last bit, the flood gates opened and tears streamed down her face.
I leapt from my seat and wrapped my arms around her, doing my best to comfort her. I could feel her small hands grabbing onto the front of my shirt tightly and wet stains forming, though I didn’t care. My biggest worry was just making sure that she was going to be okay, and giving her the time to let out her bottled up emotions. I looked back over at Giazel, her face was a mix of confusion and annoyance. “Ah. Right. We weren’t speaking in the common tongue. So, she has no idea what I said. Knowing how she thinks of me, I can only imagine what is going through her head.” I simply gave her a reassuring smile and returned my attention to Ina.
“Hey, little one. Are you okay now?” I asked her while placing my hands on her shoulders.
She looked up at me, tears still streaming down her face. “You really don’t hate me?”
“How could I hate someone this cute? I’ll never hate you. No matter what.” I said and pulled her in for a deep embrace. “You don’t have to hide anything from me. I’ll always be on your side.” A gave a little extra squeeze and kissed the top of her head. I placed my hands on the sides of her face and looked directly into her eyes, “Something told me to take you from those men. Something told me I had to save you, that I had to protect you. I don’t know what, I don’t know why, I don’t care. If the world is your enemy, then the world is my enemy, and we will fight them all together.”
She lunged her face into my body and rubbed herself against me. In turn I gently wrapped my arms around her head and kissed her scalp again. “I really have no idea what called me to you. But I swear, I will end the world before it ever hurts you again.”
After some time had passed, and she calmed down, she took her seat and went back to trying to study the local language. I got up from my seat and walked over to Giazel, who had no doubt taken a plethora of mental notes to give to the princess. “Giazel, can you come with me for a second.” I said walking towards the other side of the library. “I know what you saw, and I am pretty sure you don’t understand a word we said…” I paused to think carefully about my words. “She was a small girl taken from the only people she trusted, and believes that the world for some reason hates her. So before you think I was saying anything-“she stopped me by putting a hand up to my lips.
“It looked like a father trying to console his distraught daughter to me.” She stopped and smiled at me. “It didn’t seem to be inappropriate at all, in fact it looked like you were well practiced in comforting little girls.” I couldn’t quite tell if the smile was genuine, but that last bit definitely felt like a jab.
“Umm... well I did have a daughter back in my own world, who is around 12 now.” I said in a shaky voice.
The aura around her changed a bit, and she narrowed her eyes. “Is that true? So, then you really aren’t some massive pervert who likes little girls?” she asked flatly.
“I am so sorry Giazel that you think that of me…” I was crying on the inside, “but I really, truly, do not go after children. In fact my wife back home was –“
“SUUUTAAA!” screamed Ina’s voice behind me. The two of us rushed back over to see a small fat man, with two armed guards surrounding Ina, and her trying to break free from the short man’s grasp.
“Hey, you fat fuck. Let her go, or I will turn you inside out.”
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Part 3.
“Go take a shower, and then right to bed okay. It is already late.”
“Yes papa.” Said the voice of Hina, as she walked down the hall toward the bathroom.
I walked over to the couch and flopped down and placed my hands on my head. “What a god-awful day.” I said with a sigh. Now that I was in the comfort of my own home, I felt the built-up stress from the day begin to relax and with it my own emotions wanting to break forth.
“If today is as bad as it can get, then tomorrow can only be better. Right?” said Sumire as she walked over and sat beside me. “It is what you always told me after a hard day.” She placed a hand on my arm in a way that was attempting to comfort me as well as ask for my permission to touch me.
“Is this as bad as it gets?” I asked pointedly.
There were things we had to discuss. How long was this going on behind my back? How far were you going? Whose idea, was it? Though that last one I could already guess.
“Tell me.” I said plainly.
“What do you want to know?” she asked apologetically.
“Everything. When did this start? Why did this start? Where have you gone with these men? Did Hina know about this? How long were you planning to do this? Are you wanting a divorce? Did you have sex with anyone else?” I was doing my best to hold back my emotions, and keep my voice down. Truthfully I wasn’t mad, even though I had every right to be, I was simply just hurt. As I had learned in previous relationships though, yelling doesn’t accomplish anything. The best thing two people can do in this situation is sit down and be honest with one another. How do you know the other person is being honest, you don’t, you simply have to trust them. If you can’t trust them, then the relationship is already over anyway.
As hurt as I was, I still loved my wife, and I was willing to trust what she was going to tell me.
“It was dad’s idea. He came to me a few months ago and told me he had the sons of a few men he knew that he wanted to introduce me to. When I told him no, he threatened to bring up the issue in Shinjuku, and use every connection to get you removed from your position at work. So, I accepted his request. He told me to meet five different men, twice each, and tell me which one I thought was best.”
“You know there are laws for deformation of character that we could hit him with for this?” I said, interrupting her.
“You would still likely be fired, he has strong connections all around the city. Plus, he has more money than us, he would just pay the fine easily. I felt that this was the only way to protect us, to protect you from him.” She said; Her eyes were still full of guilt, but the face she wore was one of determination. “I know you want to say that I don’t need to protect you, and that it is your responsibility to protect me and Hina. But I love you just as much as you love me, and sometimes I want to protect you too.” Now it was the angry face that I had learned the hard way wasn’t just a pouting face, but it still made me smile.
“Thanks Mama.” I said through a grin.
She crossed her arms in response and continued. “I only met two of them so far, and I haven’t slept with any of them. I refused to be unfaithful to you, so I told dad that I would only ever meet them inside his home. The few when Hina was there, she stayed in the back, away from them.” She looked down while saying this, but her face wasn’t ridden with guilt this time, she was simply lost in her thoughts.
I wrapped my arm around her, snapping her back to reality. “No more though. You don’t have to continue this.”
“But what if dad chooses to-“
“I don’t care. I understand why you didn’t want to tell me, considering my temper when it comes to you girls. But I don’t want my wife meeting strange men because her father is a bigot. If something happens, it happens, and we take care of it. If I can’t find work in the city because of his connections, then I go find work in another city, or I adapt to a new line of work he doesn’t have connections in.” I looked at her and smiled. “Adapting is my greatest ability, I have been doing it all my life.”
Her facial expression was unsure, but she nodded in approval. “Even if you are out of work, it is not like we would be hurting. We have a healthy savings, and either one of us brings in enough to afford our lifestyle.” She said in a positive tone.
“Who’d have thought that you being stubborn about wanting to keep working would wind up being a blessing.” I laughed.
“I love you, and I am sorry.”
Hearing the words from her made me tear, and I turned my head looking out the window into the night sky. I wiped the tear drop from my eye and turned to her. “I love you too. More than anything in this world.” I leaned in embracing her and giving her a deep kiss.
There was still uneasiness there, but it seemed that we had patched things up enough for the time. What the future would bring we didn’t know, but we trusted and loved each other to move forward, hand in hand.
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Part 4.
“Do you know who I am you peasant?” Said the watermelon-esque man.
“Dead if you don’t let her go. 1.” I said coldly.
The response caused him to flinch, but he quickly recovered and ordered his guards. “Seize that man. He dares to threaten a noble!”
“Platz, I will kill you. 2.” I shot back.
The guards began to move toward me.
“3.”
Before the vibrations could make their way into the ears of the grotesque dwarf could hear the last count, I had already launched forward and ripped Ina from his hands, breaking a few fingers for go measure, placing her behind me so that I was in between the two.
When he finally realized what had happened, he started screaming in pain. The two guards, startled at my disappearing act, quickly turned around to assist their master.
“How dare you assault me. OW!!! OW!!!” He yelled.
“Don’t worry, I will end all you pain really fast.” I said, purposely moving toward him.
“Let’s not.” Said a commanding voice from behind. In the doorway of his own library stood Hordin, Holdebark and Princess Eline, alone with a few guards. “I ask that you not soil my library. Some of these books are the only ones in existence.” He moved forward towards the chubby man-child on the ground, crying about his shattered fingers. “Margrave Platz. I only just heard that you had arrived, when my butler came to me and said that you were on your way to the library. Interesting that you should arrive from below the castle, rather from the front gate.” The Prince said with a smart grin on his face.
“After the long travel, I figured some rest and relaxation would do me good.” Platz said, struggling to keep his voice from shaking. “And, the girl I had arranged to be there when I arrived… I find out was not there. Instead, she was taken by some violent stranger, and…” he gave a hard swallow, before continuing. “The thief even killed me guards in the process. As a patron of the same establishment, I am surprised you hadn’t heard this news, my lord.” He was attempting to look smug after this, but the pain in his hand was stopping him from actually pulling it off.
“Oh, I knew.” Said Hordin unsympathetically. “I was the one that took him there. I was the one that told him he could have any girl he wanted in the building. Also, I was the one that had the last man executed for violence in the establishment.” He then looked up at me and said, “If you are going to do something, do it right the first time.”
The look and comment he gave me hit like a bullet. “Shit… that is usually my line. Got it, more power in the future.” I thought to myself.
“They attempted to attack him, after he chose to take the little girl from the cage. When I invited him, I hadn’t realized that you and he shared the same interests.”
“Okay old man! That is enough. How many times do I have to say, I haven’t done anything immoral to this girl. Plus, she is nearly as old as your daughter, would have said the same thing if I had accepted Eline’s advances?” I screamed in my head.
“It was only after they threatened him, did I learn that she belonged to you. You can’t really expect me to go back on my promise now, can you? You have plenty of resources, I am sure you can find some way to get a new girl that fits your… desires.” He finished. The entire time he was speaking, he kept a cool, confident regal tone. One that was simply asking for anyone to challenge his authority.
“But my lord…” Platz said from the floor, “she is special to me. I must have her.” He was starting to beg and beginning to forget about the pain in his hand.
“What makes this girl so special?” Hordin asked.
Platz looked desperate, as he racked his brain for an answer. “Did he know that she was a kitsune? Is that why he wanted her so badly? Is he secretly a furry, or is there some other unapparent reason?” His reaction brought forth more questions surrounding his small girl.
“Hordin, I’ll make this plain and simple. I have already sworn to this girl that I would protect her from now on, against the whole world if need be.” The entire room was eyeing me, and the tension was palpable. “That means that if anyone attempts to harm her, I will kill them. If the world tries to harm her, I will kill the world.”
The fact that I had essentially declared war on the entire world was not lost to those in the room.
Hordin calmly spoke. “You do know that you were summoned to save this world correct, and not to destroy it.”
Platz eyes grew wide hearing the word summoned. “He’s a hero!?” He belted.
“I’m not a hero.” I shot back at the pig man. “I already told you that I was probably the worst possible summon you could have gotten. Even if Vathsala came down and ordered me to hand over the girl, I would refuse. What is the worst that could happen, someone gets lucky enough to kill me? I’d like to see you try it, I’d like to see you waste the effort of summoning me and let your world be destroyed.” For the first time since I dueled Royden, me and Prince looked each other in the eyes as adversaries. “One girl, and I will save the whole world.”
I looked over at Eline who was doing her best to keep herself together. “Correction, two girls. One now and one later.” Hearing this, her face softened a little, but she still refused to look in my direction.
“Deal.” Hordin said coldly.
“But my lord.” Squealed Platz.
“If you want the girl, get her yourself, but there will be no violence in my holdings!” The Prince stormed off down the hall. And I let out a silent sigh of relief. The Princess then quietly followed off, but before she left, shot me a look that was first annoyed, then happy. Holdebark then followed, the clang of his metal greaves and sabatons could be heard a good long way down the hall.
“So, do you want to finish this at a later date?” I asked the portly margrave, still sitting on the floor and being held up by his two guards.
“At a later date, you filthy foreigner. I will have her, and I will kill you for this.” he said vehemently. Before also making his exit, assisted by the other men with him.
It was only after the sound of the footsteps in the hall had vanished, did I allow the tension in my body go. My legs liquified and I fell back into the chair near me, Ina climbing into my lap and hiding her face in my chest.
Giazel walked over and put a hand on my shoulder. “I am sorry for before. The only man that would ever be crazy enough to declare war on the whole world, is a father protecting his little girl.” The additional relief of having one person acknowledging that I wasn’t some pedophile was a rather euphoric feeling and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Thanks, Giazel.” I said before letting out a long exhale.
“Good job adding in the princess, she seemed pleased at that. How will you handle Lord Hordin though?”
“Yeah, she did her best to hide it, but I noticed.” I chirped. “As for him, it is all good. There was a note I found earlier from Willian. It told me how to expect Hordin to act if an incident like this happened. So, while it wasn’t exactly planed out, we planed for it before hand.” I said with exhaustion in my voice. “I think Hordin has actually been looking for a reason to get rid of Platz, and now he wants to use me to do it.”
Her face was stunned. Normally assassination was not spoken about so freely, but I didn’t have the energy to care about proper decorum.
“Tomorrow I am going into town to gather supplies. It will be our last day, and then we are setting out. Shall I be expecting you?” I asked the maid.
“It is not usual for maids to go about the town while on duty.” She responded.
“Well you are my personal maid, and the princess spy right?” I said, mustering the last of my energy to make a light hearted joke. “So, you have to watch me and make sure I don’t do anything inappropriate to the little one here.”
Her face softened and a smile worked its way across it. “It seems I have no choice. It is my duty to look after you.” she said warmly.
“Then it is a date.” I said with a laugh.