Chapter 6

Everyone inside the room can see how red the Marchioness was upon hearing those words from Zen. Although still weak from the previous battle Zen forces himself to walk towards the King and kneels in front of him with his head on the ground "Blessings to the Sun of Etilania!" His voice cracks but his composure did not falter.

"My King you have entrusted me the palace when you left but I failed you! All those people were killed because I was too weak, if you wish to banish me please do so, I will accept it!" He did not lift his head but Leon can tell that Zen, in front of the King he's become vulnerable.

"I did not know you care so much for those people" said the King

Zen looks at him, "Pardon?"

The King of Etilania smiles, "Your only job is to protect my son, why would you care for others?" It's vague but he can sense the King is releasing a bit of aura to shake him "It's unfortunate yes, but they have served their purpose, my son lives"

That's right, this man in front of him is heartless. He is after all their King, Zen thought. He stands up and makes a fist out of his right hand and places it on his chest "For showing such weakness in front of you Your Majesty, this Knight apologize"

The King doesn't need to answer him and directed his gaze to Catori, "You saved them?"

"Your Majesty, clearly your knight is still unstable from the battle, this woman can't help others let alone save the young prince!" Marchioness Silina interrupted and covers Catori

The King turned his gaze to Zen "Are you unstable?"

Startled, Zen shakes his head "No your majesty"

"He's lying your majesty! This woman here seduced my husband first before killing him! I'm sure your knight is being seduced by her also!" The Marchioness's grand composure disappeared when she answers back. It's clear that all she wanted was to kill the woman behind her but the moment she finally has the chance, that chance was taken away from her.

"This woman! This woman! She needs to disappear!" With her right hand the Marchioness actions to slap her but was stopped by Leon

"My lady, for you and your daughter's safety let us not concede to violence in front of the King" pleaded Leon

Both mother and daughter turn their heads to the King and shudders to the sight of him with his piercing black eyes, looking at them. "W-w-were sorry, p-pl-please forgive us, your majesty!" Together they lower their heads

"Zen" he calls out

"Yes, your majesty"

"Exactly how did she saved you?" He asks

Zen was hesitant at first, if he tells the truth people inside the room will find out that the young prince's bodyguard is weak only to be saved by a prisoner. He gritted his teeth but in the end he decided to tell them because it's not his way to lie in front of the King. "She easily sliced off their heads your majesty" he confessed

"Oh, how can a sickly girl like her sliced the head of a hobgoblin who is twice bigger than her?" Astounded the King questions again

"To be honest your majesty, I don't believe it either but I knew what I saw and I can't deny it" Zen explains

Everyone in the room turned their gaze towards Catori even the Marchioness herself.

Zen, "She was only holding a long sharp object and the moment the hobgoblins attacked her she killed them without hesitation."

Knowing that everyone was staring at her Catori became uncomfortable, she looks at the King and there was no doubt he's enjoying this. "I-I" she utters "I only killed them because they were already weakened by Sir Zen's attacks...When I heard of the explosion outside, the guards who were guarding me runs out to the front and ---"

"Then, can you explain why your cell was blown into bits?" The King asked

Catori, "Someone blew them up for me"

The King got confuse "Someone? Was there someone with you?"

Catori nodded.

"Who?"

For a moment Catori was breathing heavily when gushes of dark light surround her and there came out of her a faceless shadow. Catori points to him "He did".

Everyone looks at each other with doubts in their heads except for the King.

"There's no one there! See! I told you, Your Majesty! This woman is crazy!" shouts the Marchioness

Catori sighed in disbelief and looks at the shadow in front of her.

Even though he already came out of her, no one can still see him, she thought. Because of what she did she is now in a tight situation to be called a crazy woman again, she looks at The King and was surprised to see him staring at the shadow. She looks at the shadow and to the King and kept doing it several times until The King ordered her to stop.

"Stop doing that it's annoying," he said

The Marchioness thought he meant for her so she stopped talking. The King rises and all the knights inside the room bow their heads. He looks at the shadow one last time and can't help but give off a quiet laugh then his looks changed to being serious.

"Marchioness Silina" he calls

The Marchioness tremble that she might have offended him.

"I cannot kill someone who saved my son's life" he continued

Marchioness Silina, "W-what are you saying Your Majesty? Don't tell me you believe in this woman!?"

The King stared at her with cold eyes "What if I do? Is there a problem?"

Marchioness Silina gritted her teeth and could no longer hold her composure much longer, she faces Catori and run towards her and grabs her by the arm again.

"This wench killed my husband! The Marquis! Your loyal subject! Why would you pardon her when she committed a grave sin! I don't understand Your Majesty! She is crazy! Is Your Majesty being manipulated as well!?" She screams

Her daughter Amber could not even stop her mother's rage and just sat there afraid.

"If only I had killed you two years ago then this would not happen. You destroyed everything!" She held Catori much tighter when Leon comes in front of them and swings his sword wounding the Marchioness's arm.

"Aaaaargh!!!"

"Mother!" Amber rushes to her mother's side

"Why you insolent Knight! How dare you wound me!? Wait till I'll tell the King about this!" Furious the Marchioness rants

"Your Majesty! Look what your Knight did to me! He hurt me! The Marchioness of Luwan! He must be punished!"

The King gave no expression towards her.

"Your Majesty?"

Leon, "I believe you've been misbehaving my lady. The King is not happy with this"

"Me? Misbehaved? But Your Majesty! I am the victim here! My husband has been killed and I am left with nothing but became a widow! My daughter, she's only seventeen and soon will be of age, if only your majesty will accept her as one of your candidates as future consort then I'll pardon that woman and ---"

"Mother!" Amber shrieks "This is not the right time to talk about this"

The King, "You want me to marry your daughter? "

"I did not exactly say to marry her your majesty but if by chance she can be a candidate then -"

The King, "Do you think she's my type? Your daughter who looks just like you?"

The mother and daughter's expression turned sour.

"No, but I changed my mind with regards to that prisoner. I will keep her."

The Marchioness could not answer back despite the efforts she did to execute Catori. She stands up along with her daughter "Your Majesty, if that's what you wish then so be it but please keep it in mind, I do not and will not accept that wench"

"Hmn, then we're done here, you may leave"

Catori receives nothing but glares by the Marchioness and her daughter as they leave outside the conference room. She did not understand what has happened but she knew she was saved by the King.

She looks at him and looks at the shadow again.

"Do you two knew each other?" She asked the shadow

The shadow shrugs his shoulders.

A smile can be seen from the King as he observes the two. Leon who was beside him noticed it and can't help being curious. "If it's not much your majesty can I ask something?"

"What is it?"

"Is someone there?" He finally blurts

The King stands up from his throne still smiling "That's a secret, now I'll be going to the library you don't have to go with me" He walked past Catori.

"Your Majesty" Catori uttered

The King stopped

"Thank you"

Without answering the King steps out the conference room.

---

After what happened in the conference room Zen decided to visit the young prince.

"Prince Aiden?" He knocked on the door

"Zen? Is that you?" A voice inside speaks up

"Yes Your Highness"

The door opens and came out running Prince Aiden hugs Zen. "You're alright! I was so worried about you!"

"Thank you for worrying about me your highness, I'm fine" he pats the Prince's head.

"Is your head okay?"

"Yes"

"Then we must go testify to the Marchioness! Catori is in danger!" Prince Aiden grabs Zen but Zen stopped him.

"It's okay your highness," he said

Prince Aiden, "What do you mean?"

"Your father saved her, she's currently transferred to a guest room"

"Really? My father did that?"

Zen nods "You'll see her during dinner so you can rest well your highness"

Prince Aiden lets out a sigh of relief "I did not sleep after that night but now knowing Catori is safe, thank you Zen, I can rest easy now. I must thank father as well"

Zen gives him a soft smile.

"Is there something wrong?" The young prince asks him

Zen can only hide his face from the Young Prince as he speaks to him "I'm sorry if I couldn't protect you...Your Highness, to witness such things..."

"It's not your fault..." The prince answered back

Zen raises his head to face him.

"I'm alive because of you and Catori... That is why thank you Zen...for protecting me and being my knight" the Prince gives him a full smile.

Zen could not help but chuckle at the sight of him and starts to mess his hair.

"Then I guess you know what to do right? Let's have sword practice first thing in the morning tomorrow"

Both laughs as they were being watched outside by Leon who followed Zen after the the conference room. Seeing the two boys with all smiles again made him satisfied and leave them be.

He continued his walk upstairs to the palace to check on the King. This is the first time the King tried to visit the palace library. No, this might be the first time he showed interest to someone, Leon thought.

He made sure Catori was not treated a prisoner after the King decided to keep her, he had to make sure to relay the message to his knights. On the other hand, Catori kept saying thank you over and over again even if the King was no longer around. She was asked who she was talking to and kept pointing to something in front of her.

She must be crazy, the King adopted a crazy woman, everyone thought. Though Leon could not see what that woman was pointing at he can sense a different aura aside from her. It was similar to the aura he felt in the King's chamber and also the time he met the young prince after the goblin's siege. That's why he believed her, he wanted to because the King did. For many years the King held executions this was the first time he pardoned someone.

Catori must have shown something that has given interest to him (The King) to make himself go to the library, Leon knew something was up and decided to visit him despite the King telling him not to follow.

Just a few more steps and he'll reach the library when he noticed something was odd. The air is becoming denser that it's harder to breathe.

Why would the King put up such a defense? He thought

For a normal human, just a few seconds between these walls would mean death but to a trained master knight such as himself, this is nothing. Once he reached the library he was greeted by the King who opens the door for him.

"I see it's only you Leon," said the King

Surprise by his gesture Leon took a while to greet him back "Y-your Majesty, forgive me for prying but I believe I must stay by your side even if you hated it so much". The King gives him a doubting glare.

Leon coughs "Ryu, you can trust me, you know that very well"

The King opens the door "Sigh, why is everyone being annoying recently"

"Are they? I believe your the one who's acting rather strange" Leon rebutted

Ryu glares at him again and sits to his table where a ton of books can be seen everywhere.

Leon, "Wow, I see you've been studying hard... What is this about? Is this related to that Catori woman?"

Ryu, "Hmn"

Leon walks around the room as he watched all the books the King has read. Most of them were history books dated a thousand years back. He looks at Ryu still reading.

"Is she that special your majesty?" He finally asked

Ryu closes the book he was currently reading and gets another one from the pile of other books he prepared beside him. "No" he answered

"Then why are you doing this?"

Ryu, "I never said she was the one who is special"

"What? Then who?"

Ryu moves forward and places his arms on the table and raises it so his head could lean on it, with a grin he said: "It was never her from the beginning but the shadow together with her, have you heard of the group who called themselves 'Creed'?"

Leon, "No, your majesty"

"They were an infamous group thousand of years ago, my grandfather used to tell me stories about them back when I was a kid" Ryu explains, his face indifferent.

"They were criminals, serial killers"

Leon, "If what you said were true then she must not live your majesty, why would you harbor a dangerous person?"

Ryu, "But she doesn't know that"

What Leon heard next was worst than harboring a dangerous person but it did not shocked him also, as expected of the King of Etilania, he is twisted.

"Why not train her and become a Knight?"

----end.