We went outside the castle, Guardian 2 returned to the ship in order to guard it while the others continued on their assigned roles

'Zeno, the thing you did with the mage, it was gutwrenching' Alissa commented

'Please stop, I don't want to randomly laugh in the middle of our journey' I struggle to hold back my laughter

'Sure, sure, I'll save it for later' Alissa replied before cutting off

Cynthia entered a carriage along with Brunhilde and Guardian 5, the carriage was white in color, had intricate carvings of a stallion and a royal crown on top. One look and you'll already know that the one inside is of royal blood, Lancer and Guardian 4 were the coachmen. I asked for another carriage where the King was crucified on top, the Coachman was me and Guardian 1

The gates opened and we ventured into the city, I looked around and noticed the desolate faces of people, the city was molding, the foods on the stalls all around seemed to be of low quality they small and overall lacks juiciness... what the hell happened to this city?

The Knights started shouting at the top of their lungs

"LONG LIVE THE RETURN OF PRINCESS CYNTHIA!" All of the people who heard their shouts immediately looked up and saw the crucified King, they all cheered in joy

We kept traveled the entire city in half a day before returning to the castle, now it was time to wipe this city clean is what I thought but there was no need. According to Lance, this city used to host almost 500,000 people but after the invasion, most of the people left and only the loyal men and women stayed. We now number to less than 100,00 but it's a good number, next on our business is retaking the 3 major cities that this Kingdom rules over, according to Lance, those three cities are controlled by the King of the other Kingdom.

I stood up from my chair on top of a tower inside the castle before peeking out, I looked at the previous King still crucified on top of the carriage but this time, he's received a fair amount of injuries since people kept throwing stuff at him, from rotten tomatoes to stone, some even threw feces. I'm just glad that none of it ever hit me

Next issue is the quality of the soldiers, they've abused their strength and raped, steal, and more acts of violence but now they're reflecting... of course it won't be enough, I will break them, before training them up, the days of fun and relaxation has made them weak, it's the same reason why a mage whos supposed to protect the King had almost no damage

The door swung open and Cynthia entered, she was wearing a white dress that had rose embroidery and on top of her head was a tiara

"Hey there, how are you holding up?" I asked

"...I'm tired" She replied

"I see, you should take a rest first" I was worried that she might collapse from exhaustion

"Zeno... I have a request" She asked

"Hmm? what is it?"

"Zeno... please be my King" She asked, her face beet red

"...Is it political stuff?" I asked, I don't want to misunderstand

"No... I mean, I really love you... I know that I'm just your partner and it's wrong for me to be greedy and selfish... didn't you already give me so much and yet... I can't help... wanting more" Cynthia buried her face in her palms

"Cynthia..." I looked at the young woman in front of me, as she hid her face and confessed her feelings, I looked deep into myself asking what Cynthia was to me, is she only a good friend? or do I love her? I want to give her my most sincere answer

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I slowly walk towards her, each step making me nervous,

Alissa flashed in my mind, I love Alissa, she's smart, witty, and kind, she's also the reason why I'm alive right now

Then I look at Cynthia, she's sweet, there's a hidden charm in her silence.

That's when I realize

I

I too love that side of her, her gentle smile or the delicious food she makes me... She's been the one was with me ever since I started my journey here, she was never afraid even after discovering the monsters I faced nor the secrets I hide

'Alissa...'

'Yes Zeno my dear love?'

'I must confess'

'You love Cynthia?'

'What? how did you?'

'You forgot to cut off the video stream'

'I see... listen, I love you, I really do but I also want Cynthia... is it alright if I am greedy?' I nervously asked

'There's nothing more I want than to make you happy, I'm okay with Cynthia as long as you remember who you love the most' She replied

'Alissa, please tell me the truth, I feel that you're hiding something'

'Zeno, let's not talk about it okay? answer Cynthia don't make her wait'

'No, how can I have another lover if I don't even know what's going on with my most beloved'

'...Zeno, I'm afraid, insecure, what if Cynthia snatches you away from me... I know she's not like that yet my mind, it keeps telling me that I'll lose you...' I can hear muffled cries from her reply

'You know that won't happen, remember what you tell me every time I go on a mission'

'Come back?'

'Yes, didn't I always come back? it was your words that kept me clinging to life whenever I was faced with death, now Alissa, you own me, if you tell me to reject Cynthia I will, I don't mind if you're selfish I'll love you either way' I replied

'No, I'm okay with Cynthia, I want to make you happy and Cynthia can make you happy in her own special way however I too can make you happy in my own way, there may be bags under my eyes most of the time and I don't usually fix my hair but still, I'll win you over with these pathetic features of mine'

'You won me over, years ago' I chuckled

'Yes, so go on, I want to see a smiling Cynthia!'

"Cynthia, I'll gladly be your King"

Cynthia looked up, her eyes watery, her face dyed red. She couldn't keep it in and hugged me as tight as she could

"Zeno! I love you so much!" She hugged me tighter

"I- Oh no... Zeno, can you please contact Doctor Alissa" Cynthia suddenly realized something

'Alissa, you heard her'

'Put me on loudspeaker'

"Hello? Cynthia? Can you hear me? Zeno told me you wished to talk"

"Yesh... uhmm I, I, confessed to Zeno!"

"Oh? really, so why are you calling"

"I- I want to let you know that... I'll be his second wife... please accept me"

"Sweety, of course I accept you, now come back to the ship and let me hug you..."

I carried Cynthia and jumped down, I slowed my descent with the thrusters before running to the rose garden, the hatch opened and I headed for Alissa's lab, the door opened and Alissa greeted us with a bear hug, she started to sniffle a bit

Cynthia cried like a child and held on to Alissa

"Thank you, thank you for accepting me" Cynthia repeated that over and over as she hugged us

"Now, now, when's the wedding... I want to join in too" Alissa replied

"Ah... coronation is tomorrow, 2 months after that will be the wedding day" Cynthia replied

"2 months, that's a lot of time" Alissa smiled

"I wish to prepare a good feast for everyone and as it turns out, my uncle has kept a huge amount of grains and gold hidden... I will redistribute them" Cynthia replied

"Alright, I will help you with everything I can, Zeno, expand the Kingdom as fast as you can, we need to take down all of the three major cities asap" Alissa looked at me

"Alright, for the future of our wedding" I laughed

"Yes for our wedding" Cynthia nodded her head

"Isn't it getting hot in here, get a room" I heard a robotic voice from behind and saw Guardian 1 on his guard duty

"Guardian 1, who programmed that into you?" I asked

"The programme also dictates that if I see a scene like this, I am obligated to say the following: Go and explode" Guardian 1 remarked

"That's it, give me 500"

Guardian 1 started doing push-ups on my command

Everyone broke off from the hug, Alissa went back to planning on ways to help agriculture and as for me, I escorted Alissa back into her room

"Guardians 2,3,4 report to the living room" The three guardians soon entered the living room

"Awaiting command" They all spoke out in unison

"This time, your task is to move to the three cities around the Kingdom, 10 Km to the north is Malph city, Guardian 2 and I will be going there, 13 Km to the east is Alphon city, Guardian 3 and Brunhilde will be going there, 16 Km west is Phon city, Guardian 4 and Lance will go there. Once there mark all of the enemies from the other Kingdom and assassinate them, our time period is one month so make sure to recharge yourself and your weapons today because we're doing this mission tomorrow" I announced

"Sir yes sir!" They immediately left

Now, to tell this plan to Brunhilde and Lance.