3 Strong but powerless.

"How foolish I was to think that being strong was enough to protect her..." Ares said as he scoffed.

Ares trained his body and mind all day and all night ever since he lived in that dark and small room. He wouldn't want to waste a second of his life by doing nothing because it was necessary for him to get back to his prime as in the previous lives he had.

The door was unlocked and Ares lifted his head and stood up. A knight opened the door and he looked at Ares with sweats all over his muscular body with scars all over it.

"Yes?" Ares asked.

"The young lady is calling for you." The knight said as he looked at Ares's body with a surprised expression since Ares's body was more fit and muscular than his.

"I will be there in a second," Ares replied as he grabbed his shirt from the bed.

Ares put on his worn-out white long sleeve shirt and black worn-out pants. He left his room and the knight guided him out of the basement prison.

Ares walked to the garden behind the mansion where Alexandria was waiting for him. He took a turn and saw Alexandria on her own in the gazebo while she was drinking her tea.

Ares approached her and stood outside the gazebo silently. He looked at Alexandria's nape and it reminded him of when they beheaded her in front of the public in Ares's fifth successful loop.

"Any last word, Alexandria?" A man with blonde hair asked Alexandria at the edge of the stage where a guillotine was in the middle of it.

Alexandria scoffed as she glared at him with a sinister smile. "I hope we can see each other in hell."

Alexandria spat on that guy's face and immediately the people who watched her from below threw her rotten tomatoes and rocks. Alexandria looked at them with a scary glare that was enough to make them stop throwing things at her.

Ares was there in between the crowds, he realized that he made a huge mistake and he regretted his decision. Ares had been through a lot by joining the mercenary group because he thought that being strong was enough to protect Alexandria. He didn't know much about the world he was living in, he didn't know that being strong was useless if he has no power and influence.

All his previous lives, he was nothing but a slave even though in the previous life he had the chance to live as an ordinary commoner, but his way of thinking was still like a slave. His narrow-minded way of thinking made him blind to his surroundings other than the thing he wanted to have in his life by working every day until his death. He never knew about politics, business, fame, or anything that could help him live a better life because of that.

Ares stood there and thought to himself that he wasted that life by only seeking strength and nothing more. Not only that, he realized that without his presence in Alexandria's life, she became the evilest and most inhuman human being. She massacred commoners with the power she had because of her hatred toward them, she made sure that all of them suffer and proved to them that they were nothing but trash in her eyes.

Alexandria was on her knees as her head and hands were locked on the guillotine. Ares watched the blade above her head start to fall and decapitated her head. He watched Alexandria's head roll over the stage and fall to the ground, he looked at Alexandria's nape with blood on her hair and on the ground.

Ares decided to walk to the front while the people were cheering on her death, he saw Alexandria's head below him, and then he looked at the blonde guy on the stage. He jumped and landed on the stage then unsheathed his sword, the knights were running to the stage but it was too late for them because Ares already stabbed his sword onto the guy's chest and made sure he died by keeping thrusting the sword deeper into the guy's chest.

Ares smirked as he glared down at the dead prince in front of him and then one of the knights pierced his spear into Ares's neck and killed him. He knew that he had no purpose in that life and decided to start a new one and spend his entire life learning about the empire and what he could to gain power and influence so he could protect and save Alexandria from her death.

"Hey, commoner, come here," Alexandria said as she turned her head and glanced at Ares from the corner of her eyes.

Ares walked into the gazebo and stood in front of Alexandria. "Yes, my lady?"

"Ugh... you reek of sweat!" Alexandria said as she covered her nose and glared at Ares with disgust.

Ares immediately took a few steps back. "My apologize, my lady. I was training in my room." Ares said as he lowered his head.

"You? Training?" Alexandria scoffed.

Ares just gently smiled at her.

"Why are you wasting your time on training? You won't be able to do anything but be my slave for the rest of your life." Alexandria said as she furrowed her forehead.

"I have a dream, my lady..." Ares replied.

"A dream? You're a slave, you have no purpose nor do you have the time to think about your dream but to serve me." Alexandria said as she raised her voice to remind Ares that he belong to her.

Ares smiled and bowed his head. "Yes, my lady..."

After that conversation, it was just silence for a whole minute, but then Alexandria stole a glance at Ares. "What's your dream anyway?" Alexandria asked as she took a sip of her tea.

"I want to be a knight, my lady," Ares replied.

Alexandria coughed because she was surprised by Ares's answer and choked while she was drinking her tea.

"Are you alright, my lady?" Ares looked at Alexandria with a worried expression.

Alexandria shook her head as she covered her mouth with a handkerchief. "You want to be a knight?" Alexandria said then started to chuckle and bursted into laughter. "You're so funny, commoner," Alexandria said as she sighed.

Ares smiled as he looked down at the floor.

"You don't even know how to hold a sword and yet you want to be a knight?" Alexandria asked as she mockingly smiled and raised her eyebrows.

"Yes, my lady. The reason why I want to become a knight is how cool they are when they wear the armor and ride a horse." Ares replied.

Alexandria covered her mouth as she laughed at Ares. "Is that really your reason? You're so stupid commoner, but a funny one." Alexandria said as she cleared her throat and took a sip of the tea.

Ares bowed his head. "Thank you for the compliment, my lady, but I'm serious about my dream," Ares said.

Alexandria glared at him with no expression. "Is that so?" Alexandria said. "You think just because you trained every day you could become a knight?" Alexandria asked.

"I don't know, my lady, but I know for sure that I need to have a very good strength to become a knight," Ares replied.

"Huh? Do you think becoming a knight is that easy?" Alexandria said. "Alright, I will bring you to the training ground where the knights are training tomorrow and I will make sure that you will suffer and regret that you want to be a knight anymore," Alexandria smirked as she threatened him.

Ares lifted his head and look at Alexandria. "What if I won against them, my lady? Will you allow me to become a knight?" Ares asked as he kept staring at her.

Alexandria's smile immediately disappeared and glared at him. "Sure, but I'm going to choose your opponent. If you win against him, I will ask my father to make you knight of Valtris, but if you lose, I will order them to put you back to your place, commoner."

Ares smiled and nodded. "Yes, my lady."

Ares looked at Alexandria's hands. "How are your hands, my lady? Are they still hurt?" Ares asked.

Alexandria looked at her hands and immediately hid her palms on her thighs. "Why do you care?"

"Am I not allowed to be worried about my master's condition?" Ares asked as he raised his eyebrows.

"Stop it," Alexandria said. "I don't need your pity, especially from a commoner like you." Alexandria continued as she stood up.

Alexandria clicked her tongue and sighed. "You really know how to piss me off and now I'm not in the mood to see your face anymore. I'm leaving..." Alexandria said as she left the gazebo.

Ares watched Alexandria go into the mansion as he kept standing in the gazebo. He then looked at his right hand and clenched it. "This is the beginning, and I can't mess it up again..." Ares said as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.