Selfless Love (Akagami no Shirayukihime x Reader)

Chapter 1: Meeting

Author's note

Edited! Hope this flows better. Thank you for reading this!

"That's all you got?" *Slam* "Let's end this." With a swift flick of my wrist, I sent my opponent's sword flying into the air. The loud cheers of the crowd signaled the end of the Prestigious Annual Swordsmanship Competition. The Annual Swordsmanship Competition was an internationally renowned event, attracting participants from far and wide. Regardless of their gender, age and nationalities, anyone could be a potential champion. Thus this led to many rich merchants and nobles traveling from neighboring countries to scout for personal guards. Amidst the cheers of the crowd and my joy for winning the competition, I walked over to offer a handshake to my fallen opponent who I nicknamed grizzly bear due to his huge built. Exhibiting his poor sportsmanship by ignoring my outstretched hand with an unjust expression. He immediately stalked off the arena not before threatening me, which I decided not to take it seriously.

During the prize ceremony, cheers erupted as I, 20-year-old Cynthia, also known as Luna, was proclaimed the new champion—the first and youngest female winner in the history of the competition. While accepting my reward, the gold medal and a bag of gold coins, a handsome young man caught my attention. Every lady would swoon at his feet because of his good looks, but my attention was drawn to his hair. Even though he had the hood from his royal blue cloak over his head, he seemed to be deliberately showing his blond hair to me and oblivious to the crowd. Blond might not be a big deal back in my country, Sereophia, since it was a familiar sight as most of my countrymen have them. In contrast, dark hair was rare and symbolized nobility and royalty in Sereophia. In Clarines though, it was the exact opposite, which meant that this icy blue-eyed young man would at least be a noble. I had heard rumors that the palace of Clarines would scout the winner of this annual affair to join their security team, but I did not expect a noble would come down to watch it personally. Joining the palace security team through this competition would be a significant advantage, as one would not be a mere soldier but a personal guard or aide to a prince. After the realization, I sympathized with the grizzly bear since he had lost to someone who had no interest in being scouted.

As I re-entered the participants' holding area while waiting for the closing ceremony, the very same young man walked up to me. Now with his hood down, I realized he was much better looking from close up. He had luscious straight blond hair that looks like a piece of gold silk while his sparkling large icy blue eyes shone brightly. Even though his cloak, his 6 feet well-toned build was still able to capture the eyes of the ladies and the envy of males. To add on, he had the poise of a leader which could not be toned despite dressing in an effort to blend in with the crowd.

"Congratulations on your victory, Miss Luna. I will cut to the chase, I am here to offer you a job, and you can start work imm-"

"Hold on, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" I cut him off coldly, silently pissed at his rudeness, although his velvet voice was unexpectedly pleasant to listen.

"... Pardon my rudeness, you can call me ... Zen." He looked at me amusingly, as though I was the first person he had ever met to interrupt him. On the other hand, since it was obvious he had a high status plus a good looking face, no one would dare to disrupt his speech.

"Zen as in His Royal Highness Zen?" I noticed his pause but I was more intrigue with his name. It was hard not to know about the names of the princes of Clarines, since everyone, especially the female population, admired them.

"Prince Zen is my cousin, it is a common name among nobles and royalties. Many have mistook me for him especially those who didn't meet him before." I stared at him warily, to which he replied with an innocent yet charming smile. His reply was flawless and logical, thus I did not see the reason for doubting it.