The Emperor's Daughter

Chapter 9: Starting point

The sound of the train and the bumpy ride made him unable to sleep. Yet, the girl had no problems with it. They had a long night, which ended up with going to the station at the earliest time of the morning. Fortunately, he had some sleep while they were taking turns to watch over each other before the train came. While the breakfast hadn't been served yet, he guessed it was okay to close his eyes a little bit before the coffee enters his stomach.

A familiar voice was coming out from her, yet she couldn't recognize whose it belongs. Maybe it was something her mind fabricated based on reality. The dream was like a movie and she was in the perspective of one of the characters. Wait, there was another voice coming out from her. 2 voices overlayed themselves, but one sounded rather echoing. This time she was switched to the audience's point of view. She could see 2 people were doing things in motion at the same time. Like one was trying to imitate another. Or one was being controlled by another.

"Shiki! Wake up." a voice called her out. She slowly opened her eyelids. "They are serving breakfast."

She covered her mouth with a yawn. What a weird dream she had. To be honest, she didn't know that she could sleep that deep to get such a dream. Nevertheless, at least she got some rest.

Coffee was served to them again. Seeing her cup of dark brown water, Shiki quickly put a few sugar cubes in her cup and stirred it with a given teaspoon. It really warmed her body, and the taste was a mixture of bitter and sweet, which she drank it delightfully. Meanwhile, Vincent was enjoying his sugarless cup of coffee.

But now that her mind was clearer, Shiki realized that the trip to Tei family was a waste of time. She didn't get anything, only a harsh reminder of how her family and relative would never treat her like a part of them. Funny how they said that blood is thicker than water, yet her family was either treating her like a plague or using her to get what they want and ready to discard when she was useless.

"Sorry that the whole trip was a waste." Shiki looked out the window and watched the scenery passed by.

"No really." said Vincent "I did learn a lot about your family. If another Mikado appears, I will know that it was the former Tei."

"You could have saved the time by asking me instead of following me."

"Do you regret it?"

"What?"

"The fortune. It was yours."

She threw away all of her family fortunes with a statement and a signature on the contract which she only saw it as some paper.

"If they want it so bad to force their eldest son to marry a girl whom they disgusted, and tried to harm her, it's better to just give it to them. It doesn't matter to me. Those things didn't belong to me anyway."

She looked at the man for a few seconds before facing the window again.

"Mikado. Tei. In the end, it was just a name. Yet causing so many troubles." Shiki mumbled.

It was in silence, the scenery kept passing one after another on the window. Her mind was occupied with some random thoughts.

Then she remembered.

"Anyway, I guess this will be our last time together since officially I have no uses for you, for the organization."

There was no need for them to going together. The journey had ended. It felt sad, yet she was ready to embrace it.

"Shiki." He spoke "How about you became my bodyguard?"

"What?!" she turned her face to Vincent.

"You are good at handling combat. As the matter of fact, you might be even on par with some of the best fighters in the organization. And I do not plan to waste such talent."

Shiki looked at him like he was saying something stupid. "Are you serious?"

"As the matter of fact, quite serious. I will give you a monthly wage, a place to stay. But you have to follow me and provide protection."

"Oh god. You are serious." she changed her facial expression drastically.

"You don't have anywhere to go right? At least working for me, you don't have to look for shelter and worry about food."

While it was unbelievable, but it was her best opportunity. Vincent was right, at least she wouldn't have to wander around cluelessly. Not mention she was being hunted by someone or some group of people. Not only it was a good choice, it was her only choice right now.

"All I have to do is to follow and protect you, right?" she questioned.

"Yes. Precisely."

Sounded easy enough for her.

"Alright then, I accept."

It was hard to find a reason to refuse the offer. On top of that, staying with him was not a bad idea, and she didn't have to say goodbye to him. It was all happy on both sides.

"Then how about we start with visiting the market since I don't have any clothes right at the moment. And you would want to have a cool looking bodyguard, right?"

Hearing that, Vincent looked at what she was wearing. It was the same clothes that he bought for her 2 days ago.

"Absolutely. If you want, we could go to a tailor. But that will be deducted from your monthly payment."

"Okay."

"No. I was teasing you."

Unlike his expectation, rather being angry, she was quiet, in a calm way.

"And anyway, I am glad that you accept my offer." he changed the subject.

"It was nothing." Shiki turned her face to the window again. "It's not like I have many choices. But why do you need a bodyguard? You could handle yourself just fine."

Vincent put his cup of coffee down.

"Sometime, when I have to go for a mission, there might be some conflicts. And having another person to watch my back feel much safer."

Although it was unknown to her whether it was a lie or not, yet she felt joyful when someone put their trust on her.

"I see." Shiki showed a confident smile. "Leave it to me. I will protect you and won't let anything harms you. You can trust me on that."

Hearing that declaration, Vincent couldn't help but reply with a smile.

"I will leave it to you."

The rest of the trip was ended up with small conversations about little things like food and weather. It was not too long before the train reached its end.