He knew something was amiss when the sickly sweet smell of a cup of tea with too much sugar in it hit him. Francis walked the whole way to her chambers, her own personal chambers, with Katalina behind him. Every step he took echoed within the large, empty hallways.

“I’m here,” he said as he knocked on the door.

“Come on in.”

When the door opened, that smell only grew stronger. It attacked every part of his nose, and threatened to slip down past his throat. He held back the involuntary gag, and focused his eyes on the princess.

“So.”

“Care for a cup of tea, Fran?”

“Not particularly. With that much sugar.”

“Well, that’s fine,” she said as she took a sip.

“I took a bath before this. What do you want?”

“Oh, you can go now.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah. You can go now, Fran. The one I want to talk to is Ms Knight.”

“Katalina? Why?” he asked.

“Can’t girls have a private talk?”

“And who was the one that insisted I wear dresses? And stuffed my wardrobe full of those?”

“Your sisters did that too, you know,” Haein said in a matter of fact way.

He sighed and massaged his temples. That was it? That cancerous lump within his gut faded away. False positive.

“Right. Then I’ll leave you two alone then.”

“Thank you.”

Standing up, Francis approached the door to leave. His hand gripped the golden door handle, but he turned back. The gaze of Katalina solely on him.

He adjusted his clothes, and went back towards the princess. She stared at him with curious eyes, before shooing him away. The action was rude, no doubt, but none of them there really cared. Francis sat himself down, next to his knight.

“Why do you want to talk to her?” he asked.

“Must you question it?”

“Yes. If I find that the topic is something that she is uncomfortable about, I will have to put a stop to it right there.”

“Are you her guardian?”

“Katalina, if she makes you feel uncomfortable or anything like that, let me know. And don’t worry about authority or anything like that, I’ll find a way.”

He shot a look at the crown princess. A soft, but strong smirk spread across her face. Almost as if she anticipated that.

The knight nodded. From the side view, her worries were obvious. Did she already know what her highness wanted?

“Its... Alright, my lord. You need not concern yourself with me.”

“Again with that?”

He placed his hand on her shoulder. The girl placed her hand above his. But, the sick smell was all that he could really focus on. The man spoke without thinking, and what felt natural just spilled out of his mouth, past his lips. It was like a poison. Or a safety hazard, perhaps. But it was the first time that he had such a reaction to it. Not even within Francis Rayleigh’s memories could he find an occasion like that. Then what was different?

“Before anything else...” he started.

If there was a time to settle the cause of it, that time was when he first encountered it. The second best time of course, was the present. And he didn’t want to leave it to the future.

“What is that smell? It's so... urk.”

“Hm? That’s surprising. You must have a very good nose to smell that then.”

“Smell what?” he asked in a peculiar voice.

“Varinout. It's an exotic flower.”

“And that thing is in your tea?”

“Yeah. It’s a substitute for sugar.”

“Just use sugar instead. That damned smell is nauseating.”

He would have preferred the sharp sterile smell of the hospital he was used to over this. It was as if he had to stand besides a dumpster, filled with rotten meat that had been left forgotten for several weeks.

“Interesting. Very interesting, in fact.”

The cup clinked against the ceramic plate. She looked back up at him. Their eyes met, momentarily.

“How so?”

“Just very interesting. And you must have an amazing sense of smell.”

“I do not smell anything off, my lord,” was Katalina’s report.

He was the only one then. The one that was so disturbed by that. And by something used for flavouring, no less.

“Well, I’ll get rid of it.”

A small rope hung by the corner of her room. When he first entered, he didn’t notice it. But, as she walked towards it, that tightly woven rope was hard to miss.

With a tug, a bell outside rang. It chimed and echoed throughout the hallways. Soon after, a knock came at her door.

“Your highness?”

“Come on in,” she said.

“What may I help you with, your highness?”

The man that walked in was an elderly man, edging on either his late 60s or early 70s. Nonetheless, the wrinkles on his face and skin were a mark of time and age. As he walked in, he scanned the room. And Francis wasn’t sure, but he was pretty sure that the servant just shot a glare at him.

“Take this away. I’m finished with it.”

She handed him the porcelain cup and coaster. It really was wonderfully designed. If he put it up on auction on a website, it could probably net him quite a bit of money.

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It clinked as he received it. He bowed, and left the room. They were alone again, the three of them. But, with the warm air circulating through the room, the disgustingly sweet smell began to clear out. With its source gone, Francis finally managed to relax slightly.

“Are you feeling better, my lord?” Katalina asked.

“Yeah,” Francis said, “ Right, back to the main topic. What exactly do you want her for?”

“It's on a topic you shouldn’t be here to listen to,” the princess replied without a moment of waiting.

“That’s too vague. What, a secret sword technique?”

“Although we do have those, our conversation will not be on fighting.”

“Then? State secrets?”

“And why would I tell her those, and not you?”

“Then let’s cut the guessing game short. What?”

“Are you really insisting on this?”

“Yes. Her safety and comfort are my responsibilities.”

“You’d make a good ruler. Or a good lover. Oop.”

“Huh?”

“Well, since you insisted so much to know, I just I’ll just have to tell you.”

“I think that all could have been skipped.”

“Then it's not fun, is it? I don’t get a lot of entertainment, here.”

“Is that right. So our late night chats weren’t entertaining, then?” he said with a sigh.

By his side, Katalina visibly flinched. Her eyes twitched at his words. Why? Was that something she was uncomfortable with?

“No, those were entertaining. You helped me pass the time, Fran. But, if you insist.”

With a sigh, she looked away. As if she was disappointed. Throughout his entire time living within the imperial palace, he had never spent that much time with the princess.

“Ms Knight, if I told you my questions, would you let him know if you were alright with it? He seems rather protective of you.”

Of course, there was only one answer. He wasn’t so stupid as to not see where it was going. She would whisper those words into the knight’s ears, and no matter what, she couldn’t decline. It was the princess after all. If she said no, there was no telling what the princess might have done. That was just the difference in power. Francis could have contested that all he wanted, but eventually, she would have gotten her way. But perhaps that was a small show of defiance.

When Katalina said that there was nothing wrong, it was as expected. Though, she did squirm when she heard it. In fact, it was a rather interesting reaction. Because, she mostly held that stoic face up.

“Right. Well then, I’ll get going. Contact me when you’re done, your highness. You know how, what with your morning wake up call today,” Francis said.

He stood up to leave. Walking towards the door, he couldn’t help but turn back and look at the two ladies. As soon as he whipped his head around, the crown princess stared at him, as though she thought that that might happen. When he pushed the door open, she nodded her head but kept her focus. Especially on the man past that door.

“Mixed blood.”

“It's you.”

Meeting him there, with his eyes glaring was a man Francis didn’t really expect to see. If Edmond Ren, the third Arcleus he met, was a wildcard, then he wasn’t sure what Benjamin Wynt could be considered. Benjamin shot sparks when their eyes met, and his cocky figure was further accentuated by his height.

“Let’s have a talk,” that man said.

***

When her lord closed the door behind him, her highness immediately got started. A flood of questions flowed out of her mouth, and she didn’t stop for breath. Not even once. It was only when the knight asked her to, then did she catch herself then.

The topic at hand was a touchy subject. It made her flinch. She didn’t really want to talk about it, but what could she do? Katalina was in front of a princess, whilst being a lowly knight herself.

“Well then, can I call you by name?” Haein asked.

“Of course you can, your highness.”

“Hmmm. You aren’t like him. So, tell me. What are your thoughts?”

“There isn’t much to say, your highness.”

“Do you take me for an idiot? Or are you just bottling it up?”

Her highness, she moved closer to the knight. At such a distance, Katalina could easily see the fine details of her face and skin. A slight tingle appeared on the tip of her nose, perhaps from the princess’ breathing.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.”

No matter what, she couldn’t say it. She couldn’t be the stormy sea that she really was. A knight, to protect her lord, had to be calm. A lull of her inner sea.

She had to store everything in a chest. Never to open, for that was a taboo. A line that shouldn’t have been crossed, was crossed. And that was her mistake.

Was it planned? If so, then fate and destiny was playing a long joke on her. And that mistake was going to be presented to the crown princess. Her execution will probably follow. So that was it, then? A talk before death?

“I’ll start then. Let’s see, he’s interesting, for sure,” the crown princess said.

“And he’s intriguing, to say the least. There’s something mysterious about him as well,” she continued.

Katalina kept quiet. The less she spoke, the better. Just let her highness wear herself out. This was what her plan equated to.

“What about you? What do you think?”

“I agree.”

If she just kept nodding her head, there was nothing that could go wrong. The death wish was to go against the wishes of the crown princess. So, just keep saying yes.

“Hmm. Were those your instincts? Or your honest answer?”

“My honest answer.”

Frankly speaking, it was a bit of a 50-50. She did think of him as an interesting fellow. Not once had that man gotten angry, or lost his temper. He really was a peculiar person. Not one to be mad at.

“Mm. You’re a nice girl, Katalina.”

“Thank you, your highness.”

“You can protect him, right?”

“That is my duty.”

“Then, why do you want to do it? Do you actually want to do it?”

“What do you mean, your highness?”

“Like... What motivation do you have? What drives you to help that helpless man? He has no worth, yet you want to stay with him.”

Katalina closed her eyes. It was the least she could do to calm herself. But, a small bubble of rage formed. Nothing else really mattered in the moment. The duty, the role that she had sworn herself to, was to be a loyal guard of her master. To protect him from all threats, to be his shield. Did that include protecting his pride, even without him knowing? She’d say yes. Nine out of ten times.

“Your highness,” the knight took in a deep breath before continuing, “I cannot accept that. He is my master. He is not helpless.”

To attack, and defend at the same time. A master would be able to execute that in a single breath. Use the enemy’s momentum, and turn it around against them. She recalled the lessons she learnt in swordfighting.

“I guess my phrasing wasn’t the best. Why do you want to protect him? Is it just duty? Or is there something more? Something more primal, perhaps?”

But, if the enemy ignores that attack, what can be done? The crown princess charged straight on, and attacked again. Either dodge, take the hit, or counterattack. And Katalina did not want to take that hit.

“And what about you, your highness? Why do you want to stay with him that much? What part of him has piqued your interest to that extent?”

The crown princess smiled.

“It’s not what you think it is.”

“And what might that be, your highness?”

“Oh Katalina. No need to feel so defensive around me. My interest, and your interest are not the same. We just have a common goal, after all.”

“Your highness. I don’t know what you mean.”

“Just drop that. And let’s be honest. You might not notice it, but I have.”

“Noticed what exactly, your highness.”

“Come on! You’re just like a maiden in love. Actually, you are one.”

“No! Your highness! I have a duty to follow. I am not in love with my master,” Katalina shouted out loud.

“When did I ever say who you liked?”

The crown princess wasn’t wrong. It's just that his image always flashed by. But she didn’t want to accept it. Her mistake went directly against her duty as a knight.

“I’ll let you know something. You can have him. And he seems to prefer you too.”

“Huh?”

How it turned out was different from what she expected. What were the crown princess’ goals? Was she giving him up? And he preferred her? How? Against not just another girl, not just another noble, but a princess? And the crown princess at that?

Haein glanced at her with a surprised look. In that short period of time, she looked not like the princess, but as a normal girl. That girl chuckled, with her fist in front of her mouth.

“You really are like a maiden in love. You have my full support. Only you can do him.”

“Huh?! Do him?!”

The knight slammed her hands down on the table. Her palms stung, but she ignored that. If the porcelain cup were still there, it might have fallen off and broken.

“Yeah. Like pushing him down, and making him...”

A giggle that was most unlike the princess slipped out. She had a different feeling around her. If she had an air of eternal grandness and nobility before, in this moment, all that melted away. Left in its corpse was something more akin to a lewd girl, watching something interesting unfold.