16 People are dangerous.

"My lady..." Vanessa said while she groaned in pain because her foot was hurting from walking for hours.

Alexandria turned around and looked at Vanessa who struggled to walk. "What? If you're going to ask for a break, I'm going to leave you on your own because I'm not planning on staying in this forest all night,"

Nadia seemed to be having the same problem, they both couldn't walk because they were exhausted and they didn't have lunch earlier and it was nighttime already. They both wanted to keep going but their bodies couldn't handle the fatigue.

Ares looked at them and felt nothing for them since he hated them the most because they were the reason why Alexandria died in his previous loops. He then looked at Alexandria and realized that her legs were shaking because she was exhausted as well but her will to keep on moving was still high that she could endure the pain in her feet and the fatigue in her body.

"My lady," Ares said as he looked at Alexandria who was glaring at Vanessa and Nadia.

Alexandria turned around and she looked at Ares who was looking at her feet. "I'm fine! I don't need to rest so let's keep on moving,"

Ares went on his knee and looked at Alexandria's heels that bleed because of her heels. "I'm not going to ask my lady to rest, but if my lady keeps on walking like this, my lady will injure your feet. Aren't my lady has so many things to do tomorrow?" he asked. "Let me carry my lady on my back if my lady wants to at least until my lady feels a lot better," he continued as he looked up at Alexandria.

Alexandria looked at him and thought about it for a moment, she knew that it wasn't a bad offer and there was no reason for her to decline his offer, so she nodded in agreement.

Ares turned his body and slowly Alexandria rode on his back with her hair falling onto Ares's cheek. He could smell Alexandria's scent and it was the same scent that he smelt for hundred of years. He then slowly stood up and carefully touched Alexandria's thighs to prevent her from falling down after he asked for her permission to do that.

Ares walked further away from Vanessa and Nadia who barely had any energy left to walk. It was just silence and only the sound of crickets that filled the silent night, Ares didn't bother with the silence but Alexandria did. "Hey, can I ask you something?" she asked quietly and it sounded like she was whispering into his ear.

"Yes, my lady, you can ask anything," Ares replied quietly as he kept walking.

Alexandria went silent and then she cleared her throat. "Why are you doing this, I mean I never treated you well but why are going to this extent just to be with me?"

"If I say that because my lady saved my life, would my lady believe that?" Ares asked as he glanced at her from the corner of his eyes.

"Don't be stupid, I'm not a fool who would believe something like that. In fact, you said it yourself that you don't even remember who your parents are and their names. It's the other way around that my family took your freedom and now you're here," Alexandria replied.

"But isn't that the truth? I have become a knight and I have a better life than some people already and I'm grateful for that. If I didn't become your slave, I might end up in a small village and starve myself to death that has nobody to help me but myself," Ares answered.

"So you never hate me? Not even once?" Alexandria asked.

Ares shook his head with a gentle smile on his face. "Never, and I can put myself hating my lady for whatever reasons," he said. "Ever since I came here and became my lady's slave, and no matter what you did to me in the past, I couldn't and never had any of that thought," he continued.

"That doesn't make any sense..." Alexandria said. "Was it because you don't have anyone else but me?" she asked.

Ares looked up and sighed while he was smiling. "I think my lady is right," he replied. "I think that's the reason why I can't hate my lady is because my lady is the only one that I have in this world so I will do whatever it takes so I can stay by my lady's side," he answered.

Alexandria covered her face and silently wrapped her arms around Ares's neck because she thought and felt the same thing. The reason why she was mocking Ares once she heard that he wanted to be a knight, the reason why she was bewildered when Ares accepted as a knight, the reason why she was furious when Ares became a knight, the reason why she ignored him when he left to war, the reason why she had a pain in her chest when she heard the Valtris Knights came back from war, the reason why she felt relief when she saw Ares were all because he was the only one she had and she didn't want to lose him.

Ares turned around to check on Vanessa and Nadia, they both were so far away from them that he had to wait just for their safety or Alexandria would be furious at him.

While they both were waiting for them, Ares glanced at Alexandria. "My lady, can I ask you a question?"

"Just say it," Alexandria answered with a straight face.

"What's the reason why my lady hates commoner so much?" Ares asked without hesitation.

"It's simple because I just hate them and their existence is really annoying that they all have to depend on us and demanding when things went out of control, but the moment they got what they want and we asked them to do certain things so the same mistake won't happen again, they would raise their voice and fist as if we were their enemy and said bad things behind our back in their tiny and dirty slum," Alexandria answered. "I just want them to see how hopeless they're without us the nobles, and I want them to suffer so they can see with their eyes and use their brain to think not with their lousy and dirty mouths," she continued.

"But not all the commoners are like that, my lady. Some of them are living peacefully and aren't bothered with those things as long as they can pay the tax money and have food on their tables. They would love to work so they can just enjoy their lives with their little family. Of course, there are bad commoners out there, and those bandits were one of them. If my lady decided to show your hatred toward them like that, you would encounter those kinds of people again in the future, my lady," Ares said.

"Is that a threat?" Alexandria asked as she glared at Ares.

"No, my lady, that wasn't a threat. A commoner isn't like a noble who has a lot of things to reconsider before taking action, but not a commoner. There are a lot of commoners that have nothing to lose, they would do anything to get something that they never had in life. It doesn't matter if it's a minute, an hour, a day, a week, a month, or a year as long as they could make themselves feel the pleasure of wealth, they would do it," Ares answered. "That being said, they don't care if you're a royal family, or a powerful family, they would take the risk to attain that pleasure even if it cost them their lives," he continued.

Alexandria just listened to his explanation silently.

"The real problem isn't the commoners, my lady," Ares said. "The nobles are way more dangerous than them. They could make you feel good and better about yourself, but behind all that, they could plot something to take you down. My lady soon will have your debutante, and that means my lady will become an adult. I want my lady to be wary of them nobles rather than the powerless commoners because they could take you down low and make a fool of yourself, my lady, so please, be careful," Ares explained with a worried tone in his voice.

Alexandria chuckled. "What do you know about nobles? You're just a knight, a commoner, so don't say things that you don't know anything about them,"

"If my lady thinks I'm just a fool, my lady can ignore my words and just pretend that my lady didn't hear all of that," Ares said. "But my lady, I have gone to war and I saw nobles push each other down to the ground so they can save themselves while the commoners stood together and protected each other. My lady is a smart lady, so please don't let them fool you because that's what I wish for my lady," Ares continued.

Alexandria could see the genuinely worried expression on Ares's face. "Who do you think I am? I'm Alexandria Valtris and if anyone dares to mess with me, I will make them kneel and bow their heads on my feet,"

Ares smiled gently. "Then I will protect my lady if they dare to raise their hands on you no matter who they are and how powerful they are, my lady,"