[Several minutes earlier]
Dunha and Lily went out of the room to play as there weren't many places to hide in a single room. The guards then noticed the two children leaving the room.
"Princess, are you heading somewhere?" one of the guards asked.
"I was just leaving the room to play with Lily. The room doesn't have many places to hide so it's no fun!" said Dunha.
In reality, that was just an excuse for Dunha to head to the meeting room and see Lily's mother, Clover Ashlyn.
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Clover Ashlyn is Lily's mother and one of the 7 Great Generals of the Star Kingdom.
She's well-known around the kingdom for playing a crucial role in the climactic battle against the previous Starian king, Jack Star the Feared.
Using her superior agility, she was able to attack the old king with her poisoned daggers while dodging his attacks. Her attacks were able to create an opening for the others to attack him as well. However, she lost one of her legs during the fight to save Dunha's father from being cut in half.
After the war ended, she was later able to replace her missing leg with a prosthetic leg which allowed her to continue her military career.
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"I have to make her stay by our side for the next few months no matter what!" Dunha thought. "If Lily's mother is around my mother, I won't have to worry about any further assassination attempts in the future."
The reason was because Lily's mother is part of the cat-human race. All of her senses are superior to most humans and she's also better at detecting any sense of danger around her than Dunha.
"I was only able to barely notice the arrow flying at my mother because I somehow sensed it at the last second," she thought.
"However, if she was there, she would've noticed them before they even had the chance to draw their bows."
Dunha then heard a guard calling out for her.
"Princess?" one of the guards asked after being concerned about Dunha's sudden silence.
"H-Huh? Oh yeah, so could you please move aside and let us through?" Dunha asked as she made an innocent smile.
"Apologies, princess but I cannot allow that until her Highness arrives and order us to do so. This is for your safety, princess," said the guard without any hesitation.
"Damn it! My cuteness wasn't able to convince him to let us go..." Dunha thought. "What should I do... Huh??"
A screen then suddenly appeared right next to the guard's right side.
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Name: Andrew Remington
Age: 28
Level: 52
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Occupation: Royal Elite Guard
{Stats}
Mana: 0/0
Strength: 78
Agility: 66
Intelligence: 60
Stamina: 75
{Skills}
Swordsmanship: Lv. 8
Spearmanship: Lv. 10
Axemanship: Lv. 9
Archery: Lv. 8
Dash: Lv. 9
Stealth: Lv. 6
Mental Calculation: Lv. 8
Literacy: Lv. 10
Self-defense: Lv. 9
Poison resistance: Lv. 3
Venom resistance: Lv. 3
Physical resistance: Lv. 5
Mental resistance: Lv. 4
Endurance: Lv. 9
Recent Incident
[Andrew Remington has accidentally broken one of Queen Seo-Yeon's handmade vases during his watch in the middle of the night. He secretly dispose of the broken pieces and buried them somewhere in the garden. Queen Seo-Yeon is currently unaware that the vase is missing.]
Crime severity: Very Mild (Unintentional)
Reason: The queen does not care about the vase and was planning to throw it out anyway.
The time of the incident: 4 days ago
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"Again with this screen! But... I think this will come in handy right now," she thought.
Dunha made a small grin.
"Is that so... I understand. I'll stay in the room," said Dunha as she pouted.
"Thank you for understanding, princess," said the guard as he sighed in relief.
Just as she was about to go back to her room with Lily, she turned her head around.
"By the way... I'll make sure to tell mama about the vase, Andrew~," said Dunha with an innocent smile.
"!" (Andrew)
The moment she talked about the vase, the guard froze. Although she couldn't see his face through his visor, Dunha could tell that he turned pale and was also most likely sweating as well.
"Vase?" the guard next to Andrew asked.
"Yes, I think it was about 4 days ag-"
Andrew began to cough as loud as he could to interrupt Dunha.
"Since the whole castle is under lockdown, I suppose as long as she does not leave the building, I believe it should be alright to let the princess out," said Andrew as he pulled out a small handkerchief out of his leather side pouch to wipe his face under his helmet.
"But her Highness strongly advised us to keep the princess safe!" the other guard argued.
"It's okay... I can just wait for her in my room with Lily... By the way, I remember seeing mama being so happy about a colorful vase... I wonder if she'll be upset if she finds out it's..." (Dunha)
"The queen did advise us to keep the princess safe, however, her Highness did not say to keep her locked up in her room until she comes back. I think it will be alright as long as we follow the princess and lady Lily when they leave," said Andrew as he interrupted Dunha once more.
"Hmm... I supposed you're correct," said the guard without giving any second thoughts.
"Thank you, everybody!" said Dunha as she happily smiled.
"Where are you and Lady Lily going to go?" a different guard asked.
"Mmm... The left hallway!" said Dunha.
"But that's where her Highness is at... I believe she's currently..." (Guard)
"Don't worry! We won't bother her. We'll just walk past the meeting room and head straight to the library!" said Dunha.
After hearing the word, library, Lily looked disappointed.
"Ah...? Libwary?" Lily asked with a dissatisfied face. "Reading is boring..."
"We don't have to read there. The library is huge! We can play hide and seek there or we could just look at the fishes!" said Dunha. "If my memories are accurate, there should be a large fish tank somewhere in the library. Lily used to always look at them with excitement," she thought.
The moment Dunha talked about the fishes, Lily's expression suddenly changed from unhappy to excited.
"Fishy? Alwight! Let's go!" said Lily as her tail moved everywhere in excitement.
The sight of Lily jumping in excitement caused Dunha to blush.
"So cute! I just want to pet her!" Dunha thought.
And so, with a little bit of convincing... Dunha was able to successfully leave her room.
After walking towards the library, a large noise was heard which startled everyone including Dunha.
*Crash!*
"Eek!" Lily squeaked.
"Milady Lily and princess! Please stay behind us, me and Andrew shall investigate the cause of this unpleasant noise," said one of the 5 guards as he and the others got their weapons ready.
"I don't think that'll be necessary..." said Dunha.
"Necessary? How do you know such advanced words, princess?" one of the guards asked as he looked surprised.
However, instead of giving him an answer, she tapped Lily's left arm and ran.
"Tag! You're it!" said Dunha as she ran past the guards.
"Wha... No fair!" said Lily as she chased after Dunha.
"W-Wait! We told you to stay behind us! You lots! Follow them!" a guard shouted.
As they ran after the two children, it did not last long as they found them standing in front of the meeting room, where the source of the noise came from.
"Shall we stop them from entering?" one of the guards asked.
"Her Highness loves her daughter very much. Every time she's with her, it becomes a happy moment for her Highness. If we were to interrupt one of her moments, the consequences would be dire..." said the guard as he shivered at the thought of the angering queen.
"Since the princess and lady Lily were not harmed, we should be okay," Andrew added.
They all agreed and simply stood near the waiting room to wait for them to leave.
"By the way, Andrew," said a guard.
"Yes sir?" Andrew answered.
"What was the princess talking about? What vase? And why were you so nervous when she talked about it?" the guard asked as he looked at Andrew with suspicions.
"Well...? Um..."
"We got plenty of time," said the guard. "Explain."
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He was later sentenced to 1 week of community service and had to clean the stables for breaking one of the queen's invaluable items. However, that's a story for another time.
(To be continued.)
2020/03/16