We are seated on a large red sofa separated by a low and fancy table. One thing I notice from this room is that it has no window. It somehow resembles an interrogation room but make it more exaggeratedly fancy almost making me feel that I am a welcome individual.
"Should I speak now?" I ask almost like whispering. The pressure is present in the room and that sets me off. As a trained weapon, I am utterly not satisfied with my actions right now. I never once acted like this someone aside from my favorite character.
"Isn't that what I'm waiting for?" He rolled his eyes and clicks his tongue. His face twists in a look of annoyance. If this was not my favorite character, I would have fumed over him.
"Well..." I shift my body and continue, "I'm sure that you already asked or of your man to do a background check on our Kingdom's royals and nobles." I nod in the realization that it might be easier to explain it to him.
"Why do you say so?" He asks blankly.
"Because I know that you're not a fool to reside in the Empire's greatest enemy's territory. Thus, as of now, I'll be explaining the difference between a knight and a protector. Oh, also the ones you want answers." I smile in satisfaction.
"Sounds good." He nods in satisfaction but doesn't show much of his reaction. I notice how the butler slowly moves his position where his hands are covered in the sofa. Basically, he is trying to get where my eye's blind spot is to take notes of the new information being shared.
"The knights as you may know are being handled by the House of Lykaios which are known as the Kingdom's protectors but do bear in mind that they're not the protectors I've been talking about. It's the House's title. The masters of the House are differently and similarly..." I stop talking trying to find the right word but takes a lot of time.
"Just rephrase it." He sighs clearly hating to waste some of his time.
"Oh, ok." I awkwardly reply and clear my throat as I continue, "The first master, the Marquess, has always buried himself to blood and to get the House function without him, his younger brother, who just recently earned the title Earl due to his outstanding performance in the latest battle."
"I get it. They both love war and had a weird policy which is never going to war when the other master is absent." I whistled when Sunghoon made it shorter making me feel like I have to frank.
"Okay. The difference is, the other one hates war but due to the blood of a soldier, they get bloodthirsty. Anyhow, all of the knights are assigned and trained in their house. If you ask me why the King isn't afraid of treason, it's obvious they give their oath to him but it can be broken after all their just words." I smirk.
"So, the king decided to form the protectors. Rather than a knighthood, brotherhood, or sisterhood, it is more like an organization where we are free to choose our Master." I said.
"And why is that?" He asks. He uncrosses his legs and rests his back against the sofa.
"Because we were forced to take the role of protectors." I sadly smile. Sunghoon flinches that made me think he hasn't sealed his emotions yet probably waiting for the Empress to miss him.
"The King currently handles the protectors and we agreed to make him our temporary master for personal reasons," I said especially when I'm out of lies.
The reason why we made him a temporary master is due to a contract and if we break the rules that were applied in the contract, this is what we call, death upon the protectors. The Kingdom of Altalune versus the protectors.
"Except, you have me. We can annihilate them." Phthonus boasts his ego while I scoff.
"Stop reading my inner feelings, Phthonus." I fume as he laughs.
"In that case, are you saying that the protectors' job is to protect the throne and not the whole Kingdom?" He scoffs as if finding the King's plan foolish. Well, I do agree with him.
"No. We assist the knights whenever the King receives a letter that the battle is not our side." I answered.
"If that's the case, I would prefer a knight than a protector." He hisses.
"That's kind of insulting." I click my tongue. If only he knew the real meaning of being a protector and a weapon, he wouldn't say that. Sunghoon shrugs making me continue, "Don't bother in replacing me. The King's order is absolute and no one can change it." I sigh reminiscing the days when the King is hard-headed.
"Now, answer my two previous questions." He threatens. I sigh thinking he is rushing this discussion. He probably has a lot of schedule in his hands considering how the King favors him.
"First question, why I knew the greeting? Simple, we are protectors and we need to know everything." I lied. We are too busy learning about war strategies, politics, and different styles of fighting that we don't have time to form a bond with the citizens. I was being careless about my previous actions, too reliant on the movie.
"You're not planning on attacking the Empire are you?" He says angrily and starts to hold his sword tightly, ready to raise it against me.
"No, what I meant was once we have a guest coming from a different land, those who are assigned to guard them, are forced to learn their tradition or culture to make them feel welcome and home." Another lie came out. He moves his hands away from the sword's handle, believing what I've said but his eyes are still holding suspicion against me.
"Second question, the King wanted us to focus on killing who is a threat to the throne that's why we are completely separated by the Altalunians to focus on our training." I scrunch my nose thinking how awful the training was. There was a lot of blood.
"That's enough for today." He says and stands up but hits his knee against the table. I hurriedly come to his aid to support his weight to maintain his balance.
The whole meeting, I was staring at his eyes but this time, I can clearly see that there is no light and life within them.
"Your Grace, perhaps you can't see where the light and dark are placed?" I ask slowly. He hisses at me and pushes me but somehow, he is adjusting his strength to not hurt a woman. "That's one of your curses, right?"
I watch the butler as he aggressively shakes his head from left to right to let me know that it is enough and that I should not say any more words to not overstep in the line of the boundary.
I was about to apologize but Sunghoon suddenly replied with a face that is disgusted with himself for being a useless person right now while trying to hide it with a smile. He indeed failed to hide that.
"And so, what if I am?" He looks at me probably thinking he is not looking at my eyes but he did. He got some sharp senses, alright.
"Then, aside from being a protector, can I be your eyes now?" I unconsciously said and as soon as the words that left on my mouth are being replayed by my mind, my cheeks get red.
"Speed." Phthonus said while whistling, obviously teasing me. "I never thought you're such a flirt, my child." I choose to ignore him and tried to recollect the last piece of my dignity.
"You're pitying me now?" He fumes. "Ah, you're doing your job." He sarcastically said.
"Yes, I do pity you. After all, despite having a good reputation aside from being banished, you're a human after all." I smile. Yohan drops his notes and quickly hide them from me but I paid no attention.
"Rejected." Sunghoon whispers and exited the room leaving me and Yohan behind.
