Chapter 3

"Clang, Clang."

"Go on! You will be the princess' protector, so you must succeed in defeating me!"

"Yes, commander!"

Indeed, as some might guess, I am training with the sword. Let's go back one year ago.

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"Grandfather, do you know why His Majesty asks for me?" I said with anxious words.

Seeing this, the head butler, whom I compare to my grandfather, looked at me and shook his head.

"I don't know, Aiden. His Majesty didn't say anything more than to bring you to her."

After that, we continued to walk fast, as it is unwise to keep the queen waiting, especially when you are summoned. As I looked around, I saw the other servants starting to whisper and surely spreading rumors, and surely bad ones. Many are jealous of my position as the princess' servant. Being a princess's servant gives us a much better chance of becoming the chief maid or chief butler, a very attractive position for servants.

After walking for 5 minutes, we arrived in front of the throne door. There, the butler turned around and handed me my clothes properly.

"Stand up straight and be polite to His Majesty, and all will be well," said the butler, trying to smile to comfort me, and I admit, it works.

"Your Majesty, may we come in?!" And a deep voice answered us.

"Enter."

Then the door opened, and I could see Her Majesty, a woman who had wrinkles due to her age but had not lost any of her ruling wisdom.

Then I rushed to kneel before Her Majesty.

"Aiden, greet Her Majesty."

"Sebas, greet Her Majesty."

Then, after a silence, the queen decided to speak.

"You may stand up." And then the queen looked me in the eye and said, "Do you know why you are summoned?"

"No, Your Majesty."

"Well, that's all right. We're waiting for someone."

Then, after saying these words, the doors opened abruptly, and a figure that had grown a little taller came in.

"Grandma, don't do anything to Aiden," and looking around the room to see where I was until she saw my figure, she rushed in front of me as if she wanted to protect me.

Seeing this, the queen couldn't help but smile appearing on the front of her face as she saw this childish behavior of her granddaughter.

"Who are you trying to protect, and especially from me?"

"I don't care; you can punish me, but not Aiden!"

"Who said I was going to punish him?"

"Huh?!" "But you said if I didn't come right away, Aiden would be exiled from the castle."

"Fufu, these normals. Would you have come if I had called you without specifying Aiden?"

Ciri looked away and said in a low voice, "No."

"Don't worry, Ciri, I wouldn't do anything but reward him for looking after you because it's real torture to look after you, you know that?"

"That's not true; it's a blessing to look after me, isn't it?" said Ciri, looking at me, who said to say yes.

With a sigh and a smile, I replied, "Yes, Princess, it is a real blessing to look after you."

Then Ciri turned to the queen and said proudly.

"You saw, I'm great as a princess."

"Yes, indeed."

Then the queen turned her gaze back to me but couldn't help but notice white streaks in my hair, even though they are not much.

"You have changed a lot since then, and even white hair is appearing. Have I been deceived by the slavers who sold me an old man?"

"No, Your Majesty, I do not know why white hair appears either."

Indeed, after a few months, I feel changes in me like feeling things through the walls or reflexes much improved. As proof, an arrow was missed in the shooting range and went directly to me, and the worst was that I had not seen it. But suddenly, as if I felt the danger, my body made the movement to dodge the arrow without me seeing it. And while I had made the soldiers speechless, I was surprised after that smaller things like memory improved.

But the weird thing is that I started to have visions of myself running through the forest with Ciri in my arms while crying, with Cintra castle burning with black horsemen rushing towards us. But every time I woke up suddenly in a sweat when I saw a man easily defeating the black soldiers and approaching us and then throwing some kind of sign with his hand. And I woke up.

"Do you have to warn me about something, Aiden?"

His Majesty's voice woke me up from my thoughts, and I was able to compose myself.

"No, Your Majesty."

"Well, I called you because I think a reward was deserved with all those years of hard work with Ciri."

"You're not..."

"I don't want to hear no. Tell me what you want."

I thought about it, but I could only see one thing, and having made up my mind, I said.

"Please, I wish to become more than a servant and rather the personal guard of the princess. Allow me to be taught like the soldiers," I said as I bowed my head, hoping she would accept.

A silence reigned, but the queen decided to speak.

"Fine, I accept, but you will have to train like a soldier while keeping the role of looking after my granddaughter at night, okay?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"You may go, and Ciri, you stay here."

Then we got up and headed for the door to leave as Ciri wanted to follow me, but listened to her grandmother, as she didn't want a spanking.

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As I watched Aiden walk out the door, I returned my gaze to Ciri.

"Ciri, you are far too attached to that slave."

But after saying that, the word, I see Ciri's angry face looking at me.

"So what? At least he cares for me and loves me as I am and not the princess!"

"Speak in a different tone, young lady," I said in a cold voice. Hearing this, I saw Ciri start to cry, and it tore my heart out, but I had to do it for her future, even if it meant making myself look like the bad guy.

"You are engaged, and especially by getting close to this slave, you are humiliating your fiancé. So this will have to stop."

Then seeing my little girl crying, I wanted to come and comfort her, but I couldn't because my title of queen prevented me.

"You will be a future queen, Ciri, and you can decide then. But for now, I decide what is best for your future."

"Oh yeah, so marrying a pig who sees me as a piece of meat is fine with you then? No, like you said, when I become queen, I will be happy because I can finally decide what I want and not what others want!"

Then Ciri escaped to her room in tears.

Seeing Ciri leave, I reached out as a reflex to stop her from leaving, but it was too late. I could already see Ciri; she was too far away from me.

Then as I sighed and got back onto the throne properly, I couldn't help but look at my bloody hand which was bleeding from my nails.

"Ciri, forgive me for all this; one day you will understand, and on that day, you will be a wonderful person."

Then another face appears in my head appeared.

"Aiden, although you are a slave, you have become much more to Ciri than you have to me. Perhaps your fates are much more connected than I am. If I hate fate, strangely this fate is not so bad."

Indeed, strangely enough, I could see Ciri's face appearing as a smiling teenager holding hands with Aiden.

Then I noticed that tears were streaming down my face.

"Don't worry; I'll try to make this moment happen in reality."

Then the door closed.

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"Well, that's it for today."

"Thank you, commander."

"Don't worry, kid, you..."

But as he finished speaking, a figure approached us.

"Aiden, are you ok?" And Ciri hurried to look at my body.

"Princess, don't worry; the commander is still being nice to me."

"But even so, I don't want you to get hurt."

"Don't worry, princess, this kid is tough as nails."

"Mmh, come on, Aiden; we'll buy you some bandages." Then Ciri took my hand and rushed to buy me some bandages.

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"Commander, are you alright? You've had that wild smile on your face since earlier," my second in command questions me.

"Chris, this kid, he's a genius, not a monster. He says I'm nice to him, but every time I train, I have to put everything into defeating him."

"WHAT, impossible commander; you are the best swordsman in Cintra."

"I thought so too, but now I understand what a monster something superior to a genius is."

"Well, let's go do a spar, Chris; it gave me the fighting spirit."

"Alright, commander."