doki doki, my hearteu

Chapter 7

He really disliked his current job. To reinforce that statement, his forehead would wrinkle every now and then as he watched the kid shaking his hands while keeping constant nervous glances at the little girl whom was doing her paperwork outside. Jackson was filing a summary of his report while Reighlani prepares a cold fruit tea.

Nikolai was the best knight that the butler had recommended, who once served Alphon's grandfather, Duke Hendrick Archer Morgan-Esquivel.

He gone through one of the most dangerous sieges in world history which made the Esquivel household sat amongst the legendary heroes. The crevasse of everlasting sorrow, an enormous portal near the borders of Ignia that sends numerous waves of dangerous beings that scorched the world.

Numerous poets and works of art had praised the legendary hero and kings across nations would visit the land just to catch a glimpse from the duke. Who would've thought that he'll end up as babysitter? The son of that very pompous, narcissistic asshole.

The former hero had very humble origins. He was a commoner who had lived a very poor life. His father was a lumberjack, her mother a seamstress while he was an errand boy.

Despite all of them having decent jobs, the money they had wasn't enough. They can only afford to pay the interest as the interest had only increased the longer their primary debt unpaid. The family was in a very huge debt when Hendrick's uncle ran away with the money he owed at a gambling house.

When he got older, he was hired as a gardener from a noble house. Hendrick was a very smart person and a problem solver to which the lord and lady completely favors him.

"Stop shaking and stand properly. It is unfitting of the grandson of the most powerful duke in history." Alphon had always knew that story, of his grandfather's glory days. There was no person in the entire continent who had never heard of him.

"The only way for the nightmare to stop is to face them. And it starts here. Now raise your weapon, and show me the remnants of your suffering." Alphon tightly grips the wooden sword, his legs slightly crouches down to increase the sprint he was about to pull.

There was a rule that Nikolai had set beforehand. That was to avoid using spells until he have mastered his grandfather's swordsmanship.

Alphon was coming in fast but Nikolai was way faster, receiving his blows with only one hand still having a very dissatisfied face.

The young duke landed on his butt, sword sliced in half while the other, pointing at his throat.

"Give up." Alphon glares before kicking the sword away from his neck. He lounged at him unarmed, pinning the adult man down to the ground.

The lower half of his sword that stood beside them was now at the knight's throat. Alphon grins while catching his breath.

Nikolai overturns the tides. Leaning his body to the side, he grips the boy's wrist enough to unhand his weapon. His tall body immediately knelt down, a large hand covers Alphon's wrist while his foot steps firmly to his torso.

"Death isn't the greatest loss. The greatest loss is what dies inside of us while we live." His lavender eyes peeks at a handkerchief in his pockets with those same words.

"Ok."

Was the male lead often like this? She couldn't shake the feeling of being too complacent. She could read how his eyes shift from igniting to panicking every so often. The Alphon she knew from the novel was vastly different from the boy she was currently witnessing.

She ignored the idea, knowing that the male lead was a righteous person. If he knew she had bad intentions, he would've been hiding behind the butler's back as to seek for protection. But as if the action would've stopped her.

As she read the contents of the paper, she immediately jots down a lot of missing details throughout the financial report. The cost materials being bought doesn't match up to the loss of their own assets and among them were the missing money obtained from one of the duke's diamond mine.

Her anger was slowly rising, reminiscing her old life. No matter which era she was in, a human's greed knows no boundaries.