Chapter 18 - Is Alfred still young?

'Alfred really knows his job.', Avendial sat calmly in his chair, his eyes fixed on Aecilia as she was seated nearby. A sudden blast erupted a few meters away, casting a bright yellow glow across the area.

Flames surged upward, reaching the 10 metre height, while a shockwave raced toward him. The gust of wind from the explosion swept past, ruffling his hair and grazing his face. Yet, Avendial remained composed, but his sight soon got covered by a shadow.

"N-no!" As Aecilia saw the shining light getting closer from a distance of 2 meters, she quickly realized that it was yet another assault on the man. With swift reflexes, she rose from her seat, tossed the chair aside, and then dashed towards him. In her haste, she stumbled but managed to lunge forward and embrace him tightly, exclaiming,"Aven!?"

'?!'

Avendial was caught off guard as he felt a sudden force wrapping around his neck, pushing his face into something warm and soft. His eyes were wide open, hands still folded, as Aecilia embraced him tightly. He tried to redirect his gaze towards her, but all he could focus on was the faint trace between her cleavage and lingering scent of her body.

"Come swiftly help the Marquess!" Aecilia, shielding the man from the explosion, swiftly turned her attention to the panicking doctors and servants who were attempting to flee. They halted in their tracks upon seeing her protectively holding the Marquess in her arms, signaling to them that this was no mere accident caused by machine failure, but rather another deliberate attack. Without hesitation, all of them rushed towards Marquess Avendial who was most important person here.

"We need to escape this place! Where are the palace guards?" One of the doctors looked towards the palace servants but noticed only a few of them remaining, who were already drenched in sweat as they rushed towards them to help.

"They have left to accompany the Princess!" One of the servants from the palace informed the doctor that most of the soldiers had been sent with the Princess and noble men.

"How careless!" One of the nurses felt that there was a lack of proper management from the princess but couldn't fully express it. Instead, she, along with other doctors, attended to Avendial, who was surrounded.

'Indeed, How careless of you, princess', As Avendial gazed at the flames illuminating the garden, he paid no attention to the soft sensation on the left side of his face, pressed against Aecilia's chest. A smile crept onto his face as he realized he now had the upper hand for tomorrow's meeting with the princess, specially after being attacked once again in the princess' palace,' but first...'

"How careles of you, Miss Aecilia", Avendial clearly expressed his dissatisfaction and firmness in his voice regarding the actions of someone hugging him without his permission, as it was a clear violation of his privacy.

"Huh? F-forgive me, Marquess," Aecilia was taken aback after hearing such a tone from the man whom she may have offended, considering the fact that she really pushed his limits today.

Indeed, unlike usual when it appeared as if there was a wall around him, which made everyone keep a suitable distance, today, he appeared much more approachable. It somewhat gave the impression to her that maybe he would not get offended.

But now, it appeared that she may have crossed the boundary due to the urgency of the situation.

In the end, hierarchy was what determined one's behavior towards others and gave the privilege to stronger individuals to decide if they felt offended according to their mood or not.

"Let's leave this place first," Avendial said, observing how Aecilia was distancing herself from him. Ignoring her awkwardness as she scratched her chin, he reiterated his suggestion to leave the place.

"Yes, this way, Maquess," others swiftly guided him as all of them made their way out of that place.

'Now, let's go find Miss Rivia', Upon observing the departure of all the servants and individuals from the garden with the Marquess, Alfred turned his attention to a nearby tent containing emergency surgical gowns or scrubs for the doctors and nurses, before entering and preparing for the upcoming task.

A few minutes later, Left the tent while carrying a set of clothes and made his way towards the lake, specifically heading towards the dense trees.

He had just reached the corner of the lake, with the trees still 20 meters away. In the cold breeze, his feet stopped as a sharp and firm voice came from within the trees, "Take one step closer and you will be dead, old man."

Alfred stood there, holding the clothes, glancing between them and the trees. He sighed before saying, "Miss Rivia, I brought clothes for you. By the way, I've told you many times, but I'm only 57 years old."

"Throw them here," came the emotionless voice in a firm tone, as it ordered.

"Fine, but..." Alfred nodded as he looked at the clothes in his hand, his eyes glancing towards the trees as a cold glint passed, remembering the mistake this woman had committed by endangering their master. This prompted him to declare, "Wouldn't letting you die here be more profitable for me?"

"Do not cross the line, old man," again that sharp voice responded inside the place, causing the tense atmosphere to become even more palpable between the two individuals.

"Do you realize the problems our Master had to deal with because of your recklessness?" Alfred reiterated, highlighting the seriousness of the situation and the sacrifices his master had to make, even going as far as to compromise his own reputation for a mere bodyguard.

Of course, Alfred had seen both his master and Rivia grow together after she was brought from the orphanage. So, he had a parental attachment towards both of them, but his loyalty towards his master outweighed everything else.

".....If you tell Master anything, I will kill you" Rivia declared through gritted teeth, her fingers tightly wrapped around the hilt of her sword as her thoughts raced through her mind,' Should I kill him? Could I just blame the explosion for his death? But what if Master finds out? Will he hate me? Will he stop caring for me? No, will he abandon me?!'

"You should be grateful. If master hadn't ordered me to rescue you," Alfred adjusted his bow and threw the cloth towards the dense trees before turning to leave. He uttered his words, clearly sticking to his cautious personality. If it were someone else, after that threat, he would have just left them to die on their own in this place. He continued, "I would have left you here to die at the hands of Princess Katheria."