A Princess Named Harry

Chapter 32

Marcus asked her again, "Well, did you like him?"

Harry answered tensely, "Yes, he was very nice."

"Could you see him as anything more than a friend?"

"Par-pardon?"

"Princess, you are around marital age, so don't you think you should start to look for a suitable partner?"

Harry had no idea what to say. She was one of those people who had never given any thought to marriage and instead wanted to spend her whole life with her mother.

"What do you think, Princess? I know my nephew would treat you well, so- "

"That's enough!"

Marcus suddenly found himself on the receiving end of Kahil's fists. He fell hard onto the ground.

"Harry are you okay?" he asked rather calmly.

"Yes, I am," she answered. "But wasn't that too much? Punching him, I mean."

"Huh? No?"

Harry saw a big bruise already starting to form on his cheek. She bent down and tried to speak as softly as she could, "Um, Sir Marcus, you see . . . I don't think I'm ready for marriage yet." She looked away and then back at him. "At least not yet anyway." She noticed his look of disappointment. "I'm sorry if I have disappointed you."

"Disappointed?" he asked confused. He thought for a moment and then gasped, "Oh! No! No, no, no, no, no! I'm not disappointed in you; no one is! It's fine if you're not ready for marriage yet, I'm twenty-five, and I'm still not married."

"Are you implying that you will be?" asked Ivan mockingly.

"Yes, I happen to be a good-looking man, you know?" Marcus said a bit bitterly.

"You are?" asked Laura.

"Yes!" he shouted. "I'm a catch!"

All of the knights began to laugh.

"I am," he said, a little less confident. He looked around at them. "I am," he said again with zero confidence. He quickly turned to Harry. "Princess!" he cried. "You think I'm a catch, too, right? Right?"

She simply looked at him and gave him a small smile. He looked around at everyone laughing at him again. He then grew angry and yelled, "Fine!" He stormed off, causing the laughter to die soon after.

"And he's gone," sighed Kahil. He sounded as if he had been waiting for that to happen.

"He's upset," Harry muttered quietly.

Kahil shook his head and continued, "Anyway, Harry, I've heard you've been vigorously training for the last few days for your upcoming duel."

"Yes, that's right," Harry answered. "I've been working hard."

"Well, you don't have to."

"Why?"

"You don't have to do what some commoner ordered you to do."

"Commoner . . . you say."

Kahil looked at her with judging eyes.

"I," she started nervously. "I . . . want to accept this challenge. I think I should work hard to be acknowledged by the citizens of this kingdom. I don't think they should immediately respect me just because I am a princess. I should work hard to earn their respect, you know?"

Kahil was bewildered and a little disgusted by Harry's way of thinking. He could not comprehend her, nor did he want to.

"Is such a thing really that important to you?" he asked.

"Yes," she boldly answered.

Kahil sighed more aggressively than usual, "Okay, I'll help you train."

"R-really?" Harry asked.

"Yes, that's correct."

"Thank you so much, Your Highness!" Harry exclaimed.

"Ah," he gasped.

"What's wrong?"

"You-you're still referring to me as 'Your Highness.'"

"Yes?" Harry asked in a very confused manner.

"Why don't you call me by my name?" Kahil asked her.

Harry tilted her head to the side and answered, "I don't call His Majesty by his name either."

Kahil crossed his arms and grinned at her. "Well, in that case, you should call him father."

Harry did not respond; she only looked at him with a big smile plastered across her face. Kahil knew that Harry wouldn't call them comfortably even if he were to beg on his knees.

"I said I'd train you, right?" he asked, a little annoyed. "But I'm not going to today. Take a break for the rest of the day."

"But," Harry protested. "It's still very early in the day."

"Precisely," Kahil responded. "So go and take a rest day."

When he noticed Harry's unwillingness to go, he added, "You'll need it because first thing tomorrow, you and I will be right here sparing."

When he looked back at her again, he saw the glow on her face and the stars in her eyes. "I understand," she replied in a serious voice. She was clearly holding back her excitement. "Thank you, Your Highness! Truly, thank you!"

She dashed off in a little merry skip. She cheered that she would get to spar with the crown prince tomorrow.