I Will Hold Your Hand Gently

Chapter 4: The commander knight, Jarold

~ A few days before the marriage ~

A young man throws two daggers into the air. The daggers fly straight towards the hordes of monsters and mercilessly cut them down. The dagger shortly returns to the man's hand. He flicked off the blood and put the blades back into the shaft hanging on his waist. A man with a scared face walks up to the owner of the daggers with a heavy large sword on his back. The large sword was a claymore.

"Careful, you wouldn't want to scare off your future wife with such a scary aura," said the scarred-faced man.

"If you have time to joke around then get back to work, Jarold."

Jarold sticks the claymore into the ground, "I'm just worried about you, Zwei. I thought for sure you would stay single your whole life and go mad without a Guide now that Alice is married."

"Address her with the correct title, Jarold," said Zwei as he crushed the monster's corpse underneath his feet, "If anyone else heard you addressing her by her name, you could get thrown into prison." 

"Are you worried for me?" Jerold smirk.

"Should I end your life before you get thrown into jail?" Zwei threatens with his blade.

"I just find it strange for you to suddenly agree. Especially since your bride is from that Spheral Household. Is everything alright?"

"...An order is an order," said Zwei as he walked away, "That's all."

Jarold watches as Zwei enters deeper into the wood to get rid of any stragglers. He scratches his head as he watches Zwei take down more monsters. His blade grew a dangerous light. Zwei says that it was an order and all, but all Jarold saw was him struggling to agree with his decision, because the person who asked him to get married was none other than the woman he was in love with, Alice. 

Jarold leans against the handle of his claymore, "I wonder if this marriage will turn out alright..."

Grrr...!

Jarold picks up his claymore and cuts down the monster sneaking behind him into pieces. His claymore is glowing a purple shade. Blood splatters all over his face. He wipes it off with a sigh, "What a tragic fate for the future bride... Ordered by the king to become Zwei's guide while acting as a spy for her family... I wonder if she knows the danger and risk for even agreeing to become Zwei's bride."

Jerold turns towards the forest, "Then again, I can always end her miserable life should she be a threat to Zwei and the rest."

~After the wedding~

"Whoa... What happened here?" Jarold asked Viola as he hugged her from behind.

The moment the wedding ceremony was over, Zwei did not escort his new bride back to the dukedom. Instead, he left with Jarold to take care of the monsters' outbreak ravishing the border town. After taking care of the outbreak, Zwei returned to the palace to give his report, and Jerold returned to the Dukedom to check on the bride. He didn't think the mansion would change this much in such a short amount of time.

It's only been a few days and he can barely recognize the once cold and old mansion. The landscape flourished in greenery and flower fields. Trees were back to life, and even animals came to share their joy. The historic vibe of the mansion was still there, but it didn't give off the unkempt feelings it used to. Viola hands Jarold a wooden bottle of water to cleanse his thirst.

"Madam redecorated the entire villa," Viola smiles joyfully, "She also brought more furniture to furnish the place."

"Hmmm..." Jarold was impressed by the decoration.