Ryul on the last day at the castle

It's night again and I'll just go back to my room to sleep like every night. Man... I wish I had a girlfriend... Auch! Damn it, my whole body hurts... My teacher really has no compassion for me even though I train all day. He is cool and belongs to the Royal guard, but sometimes I think he likes to see me suffer. Maybe he is "M" hahaha! Well, but thanks to him, I have learned so much about my monk class. ...I wonder if I will ever be as strong as he is. I don't have much time left.

Sadly, our group will separate this last week, but at least I will still be with Leona while we train with Dante this last week at the castle. And even more so, at the end of the week. What am I going to do if everyone chooses different guilds? I would like to be in the same guild as my buddy Darx, but I definitely don't want to join Oblivion. It seems that he is pretty interested in Syvis, and maybe he will join the same guild as her. But I don't blame him. Syvis has such an erotic body that... wait, I shouldn't speak that way about my friend's woman.

And I don't know where Shalia and Leona will go either. I would like all of us to continue together...

Oh, speaking of Darx, where the hell did he go? Don't tell me he's in the library again!? Man... He's a chick magnet, but he misses it by being a bookworm. Although it seems that he is so dense that he doesn't seem to notice. Humm, maybe that's what gets him popularity points. Perhaps I should try to act like him and maybe that way I can get a girlfriend. Nahh, no kidding, I would never be able to read an entire book and would die of boredom if I spent as much time as him in the library. I'm not far from the library. I should go see if he's in there. I want to know if he wants to come to town with me tomorrow.

I thought it would be easy to find him, but I was speechless when I started walking around the library. What the hell? Why is this place so big? The time we were here with Syvis, I didn't pay attention to how huge this place is.

If I remember correctly, Darx said on one occasion that he frequents the third floor. Instead of wasting time searching the first two floors, I went straight to the third floor, where there didn't seem to be anyone. It appears that he is not here, but to be sure, I will search a little.

"DARX!!"

Oh shit, you're not supposed to speak out loud in here... My bad...

After walking for a few minutes on the third floor, I hear someone walking through the corridors formed by the bookshelves. Bruh, I bet it's Darx; I caught a glimpse of his shadow. It doesn't seem like he noticed me, I'm going to scare him, keke!

I will use [Deadly Rush] to get to where he is without noticing me and scare him. I have trained that skill so much that now I control it perfectly.

"[Deadly Rush]"

"DARX!!!!"

"KYAAAAA!!!!!!!"

I thought it was Darx, but who I scared was..... "....P-P-P-P-RINCESS!!!!!"

"KYAAAA! W-Who are you?" The princess asked with tears in her eyes.

"EH?"

"AH?"

"UH?"

"I..."

W-Why is the princess here? "I am so sorry?” I say, quickly offering her the same greeting that everyone does to the queen and the princess.

The princess looks as confused as I am.

"I heard noises from the third floor. The princess must be upstairs!" A woman's voice was heard in the distance.

"Oh no!" Kathleen exclaimed. "We have to hide."

"Ehh?"

The princess took my hand and pulled me up to one of the reading rooms. I don't understand what is going on.

Kathleen closes the door behind us and told me, hiding behind a sofa. "Don't tell them I'm here."

I hurried to sit down and grab a book that was on the table, pretending I was reading. Seconds later, a maid who looked stressed entered the room, asking for the princess. “Princess?! Are you in here?!”

"Ehh?" With the best pokerface I can do, I said, staring at the maid who came in, "P-Princess? I-I have been taking care of my skin, but I'm far from looking like a princess... Ha- ha -ha...."

The maid made a disgusted face at my ridiculous comment and awkward laugh and she left the room looking at me like I was a freak. “I’m sorry for interrupting....”

I got up and looked out the small window of the door where I saw the maid who entered and two more servants walking the floor looking for the princess but ultimately go down the stairs once more.

"They are gone.” I call out to the princess.

“Thank you,” Kathleen says as she crawls from behind the sofa. “T-that was my maidservant. She probably needed me for measuring yet another dress.”

"Don't worry, princess, but why are you hiding?"

"S-Secret."

"Ah, O-Okay..."

Now that the situation is more relaxed, I finally realize the reality that I am alone with Princess Kathleen in this small room. I'm starting to get nervous. No one is going to believe me if I tell them.

"E-Excuse me, y-you named Darx earlier..." Kathleen asked in a shaky voice.

"Yes, your majesty, he is my friend and I was searching for him ...By the way, I'm sorry I scared you, I mistook you for him ...wait, do you know him?"

“N-no, it’s my fault.” Princess Kathleen stutters. "I don't know him well, but he helped me on one occasion and I have been wanting to thank him ever since."

"I see..."

"And you are Ryul, right!?"

"Eh? How do you know who I am?"

I was quite surprised that the princess knew who I am. After all, I'm nobody important.

"I know the names of all the recruits. Furthermore, I usually watch you practice."

"You watch me practice!?"

"N-Not to you especially," Kathleen replies as her face quickly turns red. "It's just that from the balcony of my bedroom, the view overlooks the castle gardens, but I can also see the area where your group trains."

"O-Of course! hahaha!" What was I expecting...

But Princess Kathleen is magnificent. It's hard for me to think that someone like her exists. She is so pretty! I had never seen silver hair like hers or the queen, I wonder if it is something characteristic of royalty. She seems to be a little taller than me, but she looks so delicate that she resembles an angel. Her skin is as white as snow and her lovely blue eyes almost seem to sparkle.

"R-Ryul, is something wrong?"

Damn, I stared at her too long.

"I-I'm sorry, your majesty!!, I don't know what happened to me."

"Please don't be so formal. It's okay." Kathleen said, smiling.

Man, The way she smiles at me melts my heart... I would marry her without thinking twice.

"H-Hey Ryul..., if you have time, would like to stay and talk with me for a bit." The princess said, half stuttering.

I thought I was dreaming because of the princess's request and I had to pinch myself to see if I wasn't. Is it an illusion? Whatever the reason, the answer is obvious.

"Ryul?"

"O-Of course, I would love to stay and chat!!!"

The princess smiled tenderly and said, "Thank you! The truth is that I don't have many friends and fewer people who tell me what life is like outside the castle."

"Do you want to know what life is like outside the castle!?"

"Yes! Please tell me about your life outside the city and anything about adventurers."

I thought it was a bit weird the topic she wanted to talk about since she is a princess and doesn't seem like the kind of girl you would see on a battlefield. Either way, we sit and chat for hours. Maybe because I grew up surrounded by three sisters in a small house, I tend to talk a lot and some people even told me that I talk too much, but this time it was very helpful. The princess listened carefully and with a smile all the time. I think this is one of the best moments of my life.

But all dreams come to an end and the time came for the princess to leave. The princess used the secret passage to leave but not before telling me something that made my day even more. In the cutest way possible, she said, "R-Ryul, if you want, would you like to meet here again tomorrow?"

I can't resist her puppy eyes. With the biggest smile, I replied, "Of course!!!"

Going down the stairs while daydreaming by such a magical encounter, I was distracted by the conversation of two guards who didn't notice my presence.

"Where did the princess go? If we can't find her soon, we'll have to inform Odette." One of the guards said to the other.

"I don't want that... she scares me."

"Both the mother and the daughter are shameless. And we have to pay the consequences."

"Hey, watch your mouth. You're talking about royalty."

"It's because you're new, but I was in charge of patrolling the corridors that lead to the queen's chambers and on several occasions, I saw Zhoron enter the queen's bedroom late at night and leave until the next morning. You can imagine what they were doing."

"Zhoron!? S-Rank Zhoron!? Are you serious?"

"Yes! You heard the rumors, right!? About the oddity of the king's ****. I am sure they are true."

"No way... are you saying that Zhoron killed the king?"

"Yes! and by order of the queen."

"That has t...."

"Hey, you two. Do you want to be beheaded!?" One more guard arrived and said, scaring the other two.

"I-I'm sorry!! P-Please, forgive us!"

"I am new! I-I didn't say anything."

"Tss, you two are lucky that I was the one who heard you, but if you want to stay alive, you better watch your words. Especially inside the castle."

"Yes!! I'm sorry!!"

"The princess is already back in her room. Go back to your posts."

"Yes, sir!"

"Yes, sir!"

What was all that? I kept hidden and listened to everything they said. But what the hell! You've got to be freaking kidding me. There's no way that's true. What kind of crazy night I had.

The next day I had to do my best not to be thinking about Kathleen while training, but constantly my eyes focused on the balcony where she watches us train. Meeting each night became routine during this last week. I told her about my life, even about what happened to my parents. The only thing I never talked about was what I heard the guards talking about. After all, it must be a lie. She also tells me about her life in the same way. When she told me that she also took the ritual and she is a cleric, I couldn't believe it but made more sense of why the princess is so interested in adventurers. In addition to that, she answers questions I had, for example, she told me about Zhoron when I asked her. Zhoron was the first S-Rank I met, but he is rarely seen. The stories about Zhoron, the new S-Rank who used to live with dragons, spread all over the continent and for someone like me who lived in a small village, he was some kind of hero.

The princess started telling me about him, "Actually, Zhoron was my bodyguard for a long time, even before he was an adventurer. He was a little younger than you when he arrived at the castle and took the ritual in his twenties. Much later than normal."

"Why did he decide to wait so long to take the ritual?" I asked.

"I'm not sure, but he was already strong enough even without taking the ritual and that's why he was my bodyguard."

"Amazing!"

"He's really amazing, as you say." Kathleen reply with a big smile. When she talks about Zhoron, the princess speaks more happily and without nervousness. And smile more.

"I imagine you two are close." I said.

With a drastic change of countenance, she replied, "Y-Yeah... We used to be, but when he became an S-Rank adventurer, he was moved to protect my mother and we grew a little apart."

"I see..."

I am learning many things from the princess. I thought she only sees me as a momentary friend that she may soon forget once I leave the castle, but after talking with her all those days, maybe I'm wrong. Right now, I can't help but dream.

Tomorrow will be the last day we will be at the castle and a party will be prepared as a farewell or something like that. It is time to return to reality, but I will miss the delicious food and of course, my time with the princess.

Talking with Kathleen, we started talking about her balcony for some reason and she told me what the city looks like from above, to which I said to her that I would like to see that view too and to my surprise, her response was that she would take me there to see. There will be many guests during the party, and there will not be many guards in the bedroom area as they will be busy looking after other areas. So on the day of the party, we agreed to meet here in the library where she will take me to her balcony.

I feel bad for not being at the party with my friends. I haven't even told Darx about my encounters with the princess, but since this is most likely my last time talking to the princess, I want to go with her.

The last day arrived and halfway through training, Dante was called to the castle and the training ended early. Taking advantage of the extra time, I went to my teacher and thanked him for his help for everything he taught me about being a Monk. And as if everything he taught me was not enough, he surprised me by giving me a suit to wear at the party. What a great dude!

I arranged myself the best I could and at the appointed time, I met Kathleen in the library.

"Ryul, you look good! Your suit suits you well." The princess said.

I'm not used to receiving compliments and less from such a pretty girl, so I couldn't help but get a little nervous.

"If you allow me, you look beautiful too!"

"Thank you, Ryul! You are very kind." Kathleen replied smiling, "Come on, we'll use the secret passage to get to my bedroom."

"Y-Y-Your bedroom!?"

"Yes, the balcony is in my room. Let's go."

Kathleen asked me to turn around while she opened the passage. I hear as if something heavy was dragging, and when I turned around where a bookcase was, there was now an entrance. The corridors were narrow. Barely one person fit. The halls were dark, with the exception of certain parts where there was light created with magic. On top of that, the walls had a weird blue glow. After asking the princess, she told me that the walls were enchanted with powerful magic, which makes the walls more resistant, as well as not letting the sound of the corridors pass outside.

There were too many interconnected corridors which seems to be a maze. Crap! I did my best to remember the way, but I hope I don't have to go back alone.

After many stairs and walking for a few minutes, we reached the entrance of her bedroom.

"Come in!" The princess told me.

It is my first time in the room of a woman other than my sisters. The room is so big! And luxurious!

"This way!"

The entrance to the passage from the princess's room is also camouflaged as a bookcase. The princess took my hand and we crossed her room until we reached the exit that leads to her balcony.

"What do you think, Ryul!? The sunset creates such an idyllic setting. Don't you think?"

"Wow! It does!"

It really is an incredible sight. I can see much of the city from here and even further out the farms outside the city walls and the mountains in the background. Also, I can see where we train. Kathleen must have good eyesight to see us from here. Uh? I wonder what's going on down there? There are many people gathered in one of the training areas. I thought all the groups had finished training early.

"It must be great living in this place!" I said.

"Yes, but the view is the only good thing. The solitude of being here alone all the time without being able to go anywhere is a high price to pay."

"O-Oh, I did not think on that. It must be difficult," I reply.

"Everyone expects great things from me, although I am not like my mother. She is skilled at everything while I get nervous just being in public. I am a failure... I don't see myself leading Riledo once my turn to govern arrives."

"Don't say that. I'm sure you will be a great queen! Look at me. When I left my village, I thought that I would only work for a few years in the city in whatever, to help my family and look at me now. I am on top of a castle talking to a princess, being a high-ranking adventurer. You never know what can happen. I'm sure you can do it!"

"Those are wise words coming from you." Kathleen said with an expression of surprise and mischief, "But those kinds of words don't sit well with you for some reason. Hahahaha!"

Hold on.... Did she just diss me!? ...Whatever, I'm happy to see her laugh. But is it okay for me to be here? Now that I think about it, if someone sees me here, it can be quite troublesome.

"Princess, is it really okay that you let me into your bedroom? You are the princess of Riledo, after all."

Kathleen fluster maybe misinterpreting my words and replied, "I-It's not like I'm inviting anyone, I'm not like that! And I mentioned to you once that I don't actually have friends. I trust you and that is why I invited you."

Does she mean that she considers me her friend!? Damn, Kathleen's words make me feel something in my stomach. I can't help falling more and more for her.

"Thank you, princess! I consider you a friend too if it's not inappropriate."

Kathleen smiled at me tenderly as we watched each other on top of the balcony at sunset. My heart was beating fast. I can't help but put my gaze on her lips.

"Prince...."

*knok* *knok*

Suddenly someone knocked on the door.

Both the princess and I fluster.

"I'm coming in." Male voice.

"Wait!" The princess responded agitatedly. "Ryul, you have to go!"

"Y-Yes!"

I ran to the passage entrance and closed the bookcase, but it got stuck with the mat, leaving a small opening. Shit! At that moment, I heard the door open.

"I told you to wait." The princess said in an angry tone.

"Why aren't you ready yet? In a few hours, you'll have to join her majesty at the farewell dinner for the adventurers."

I recognize that deep and calm voice. It is Zhoron. Shit, shit, if he realizes I'm here, I'm done. I kneel, trying to move the mat.

"I'm going to send your maids to help you." Zhoron continued.

I hear his footsteps return to the door.

"Wait!" The princess said, stopping him, "Since you're here already, why don't you help me?"

What did she say?

There was silence for a moment, then I heard something similar to falling clothes.

"I'm not here for that. My job is not to help you dress. Put your dress back on." Zhoron reply.

I can hear Kathleen's footsteps approaching Zhoron. Did she take off her dress?

"That was not what you said the other night." Kathleen said in a seductive tone that I had never heard her speak before.

"I'm going to send the maids. Make sure you're on time."

"No matter what, you always prefer my mother over me. Is her body better than mine? She stole you from me." Kathleen said in an annoyed tone.

"Her majesty did nothing."

"You always defend her, but I will never forgive you two for what you did to my father."

"You don't know what you're talking about." Zhoron reply with his monotonous tone of voice that characterizes him.

*knok* *knok*

Someone else knocked on the door.

A voice behind the door said, "Mr. Zhoron the queen is looking for you. She says it's urgent. We received the report that several villages were attacked."

I managed to move the mat and close the door. The noise the bookcase made closing was minimal, but I'm sure Zhoron heard it. Shit, I must have waited for him to leave.

I used [Deadly Rush] to get as far away as I could quickly and enter my [Heaven's Stance] to calm myself down and prevent him from perceiving me. Hidden behind a wall, I heard the door of the bookcase open. If it weren't for my Heaven's stance, I would be shitting myself right now. Fortunately, the door was closed, but I stayed still for a few minutes to make sure not to be discovered.

...Shit, what was that all about? I heard clearly everything they talked about. So, Kathleen and Zhoron!? They are... and he is also with the Queen? Then the rumors about the king's **** are true? I don't know what to think... Did the princess realize that I heard them?

Seriously, what was I hoping would happen with the princess. She is out of my reach. How stupid...

Shit...