Prologue

Louis could remember the promise he made to Lia, the day before disaster ran out.

"I will find a way to solve this issue. I will make sure everything has a good ending. You will be safe, I promise."

What went wrong? How did the ending turn out so bad? He was supposed to protect her, but he didn't make it in time.

Next thing Louis knew, he was holding the hand of Lia, growing colder as each precious second passed.

"No...No...Stay awake. Stay alive. You're going to be fine, just hold on." Louis cried.

In the back of his mind, he knew this was something she had almost no chance of surviving. He didn't specialize in any kind of healing magic, there was no way for him to heal the gaping wound in Lia's chest.

'No...no...I promised her she would be safe. How did I fail this bad? I'm sorry, please forgive me, Lia.'

Though Louis didn't say any of his crying thoughts out loud, Lia knew exactly what he was thinking, after all, Louis's nature was caring, so he was predictable in situations like this.

Lia's strength is leaving the body and she could feel the death itself approaching her. Her vision was blurring and her train of thought was fading into nothing.

Using these last moments of her life, she was able to smile on last time as she struggled to speak.

"...It's okay….I'm not mad at you. You did your best...Louis…."

Her body went limp. Lia's life was no more.

The eeriness of silence, the weight of failure and the devastation of loss. Each of these feelings overwhelmed his mind.

'No..no..no..no'

He couldn't bring himself to accept the reality.

"No...this….this Isn't REAL!!"

After that day, Louis was too ashamed to face anyone after his failure. He didn't want to even do the simplest things like going to the store or make his appearance known. He was one of the best in accomplishing tasks, so his sudden disappearance was big news among the high officials of the kingdom.

'Sometimes even the greatest of people fail, I guess.'

5 years later…

Knock..Knock..Knock..

Louis had been in a deep sleep, until he was woken up by a firm knocking at his door. He was currently living in a run down shack, so who could these sudden guests be?

That was when a bold voice spoke from outside the door.

"Open up. We are knights from the imperial guard."

Knock..Knock..Knock…

Louis let the knocking continue as he thought to himself.

'Imperial guard? What could they want?'

Knock..Knockk.KNock..

Finally, he brought himself to slide the door open. As the sunlight nearly blinded him, he saw four knights dress in silver armor. And by their faces, it seemed to be something serious.

"What could be the cause for this visit?" Louis slothfully asked.

"Under the king's orders, We are to have you, Louis Loopy, summoned to the castle." The knight stated.

Louis's ears nearly jumped at hearing his name. It was the first time in 5 years that someone knew him.

'How did they even find me?' That was the least of his worries. Right now, he needed to know something else.

"For what reason, exactly am I being summoned. If you don't mind answering."

The knights shook his head, refusing to answer the question.

"I cannot answer that, I'm afraid. This information is confidential. Only the kind, himself should give the facts."

Louis wasn't sure if he was ready for this meeting. It had been forever since he spoke to anyone like the king. Louis's stomach felt uneasy and it felt like his guts were spinning. He wanted to vomit.

'I can't...do this…'

Seeing how Louis wasn't feeling great, the knight asked about his condition.

"Are you okay, sir? Do you need a moment?"

Louis's emotions and anxiety were truly a disgusting feeling, but it wasn't anything he couldn't tough out.

Shaking his head, he voiced that he was fine.

"..I'm fine..let's just head to the castle… you guys brought a carriage or something...right?"

"Indeed, sir. It's only on the side of the road."

"Is it?...Let's get going, I guess."

Louis rushed to put his grey coat on, before getting into the carriage with the knights.

'I'm being summoned, huh. If the king made an effort to track me, it must be something big. Nonetheless, I'll have to tell him that I'm not up for it. I am 5 years out of practice, after all.'