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If there was one thing that practically everyone knew, it was that the prince of Castrum Kremnos was relatively spoiled. Not in the sense that the prince ordered everything and everyone to comply with his wishes, but in the sense that, once he decided something, no matter how absurd it might be, it was virtually impossible to get him to change his mind.
Perhaps that was why no one questioned the fact that the kingdom’s greatest warrior had a bodyguard. Was it a necessity for royalty? Not at all, after all, the prince was fully capable of destroying his enemies with his own hands. But it was merely a consequence of the prince’s whim: he had simply decided he wanted a specific person as his bodyguard.
Despite this, there were days when Krateros wondered if he should have pressed His Majesty a little harder not to give in to his son’s wishes. Or rather, Krateros should have convinced the queen that that foreign dog was not a suitable candidate to be the prince’s bodyguard. Perhaps that would have spared the old warrior from seeing the two of them in a suspicious situation again.
How on all of Amphoreus the king still didn’t suspect a thing was perhaps the biggest question in the castle, since the pair was anything but discreet about their affections.
“Caham.” Krateros cleared his throat to get the attention of the two, who were definitely not doing anything forbidden. “Prince Mydeimos, you are expected in the throne room.”
“Understood.” The prince merely nodded before starting to walk toward the throne room. “Let’s go, Phainon.”
And as the two strode away, Krateros chose to pretend he hadn’t seen the bodyguard’s hand grabbing the prince’s ass, even as the guard gave him a knowing wink.
Phainon knew that at the rate the two of them were going, it was only a matter of time before all of Castrum Kremnos knew that the prince was in a relationship with his bodyguard. But it was hard to resist the temptation to tease Mydei in public, especially since he knew the prince would return the favor once they were alone.
Phainon knew about the rumors and how people called him “the prince’s dog,” but it didn’t bother him… much. It was just a mark of ownership, and he had to admit, when it came to the prince, he was indeed jealous. Maybe that’s why he was so good at his job as a bodyguard (even though Mydei didn’t even need one, but who cares about that detail?).
“Phainon.”
“Yes?”
“Your hand.”
“Am I doing something wrong?”
“HKS, you know full well where we’re going. If the king finds out—"
“Don’t worry, Mydei, he won’t.”
Mydei simply looked at the knight with his classic expression of doubt. It would be an unprecedented scandal if their relationship were to come to light, not that the prince’s inner circle didn’t already know about it.
“Behave yourself.”
“Yes, sir, Your Highness. Any other requests?”
“Try to restrain yourself in front of Krateros next time, he’s one step away from asking my permission to throw you into a colosseum with rabid animals.”
“It’s an interesting idea, at least.” Phainon paused for a moment, his finger on his chin, before directing that mischievous smile at Mydei. “Hmm… I’m sure I’d come out on top in the end.”
“Don’t claim victory before the battle, HKS.”
“Ah, but we both know I can hold my own against lions.” Phainon winked at the prince, who was actively trying to suppress the redness at the tips of his ears.
“I hope you’re referring to doing that in a fight.”
Phainon’s guilty expression said otherwise. He certainly wasn’t talking about a fight.
“HKS.” Mydei hissed as she tried to regain her composure. “We’re almost at the throne room, try to act like a civilized person for at least a few minutes.”
“Of course, Your Highness.” Phainon took a step back as he continued to follow Mydei, quickly assuming a serious expression that was the complete opposite of the provocative attitude he’d displayed toward the prince just seconds earlier.
Anyone who saw how well-behaved the prince’s dog was in the throne room would never have imagined that just a few minutes earlier he had been actively testing Mydei’s patience.
But the prince couldn’t help but glance sideways at his bodyguard, especially since an incessant sense of danger was pounding through his mind. The king usually went to great lengths to avoid having to summon his spoiled son to the audience chamber, and on that particular day, for the first time, Eurypon looked at the pair with an expression of pure suspicion.
“Mydeimos.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know why I summoned you here today?”
“I was simply informed that my presence was expected here today.”
“Some slightly troubling reports have reached my ears regarding the dog you insist on calling your bodyguard.” The king now fixed his gaze on Phainon. “Something about him not being properly disciplined.”
“I can assure you, Your Majesty, that everything is perfectly under control.” Mydei replied through clenched teeth. “And that your concerns are merely unfounded rumors.”
“Then it wouldn’t be a problem to put him to the test.”
“But haven’t we already done that? Is another 10-day duel really necessary?”
“And who said it would be a duel?”
The king merely looked at Mydei’s confused expression before turning to Phainon and speaking the words that would seal his fate in the coming days.
“He must be able to demonstrate his skills in the arena. So why not make this a spectacle worthy of Strife himself?”
Perhaps it was a little too late to admit that maybe, just maybe, Phainon had pushed fate too far and was finally paying the price for his big mouth. At least he had the comfort of knowing that Mydei believed in his victory.
(Or at least he hoped that if there were bets, Mydei would bet on his victory.)
The noise in the arena was intense. You could feel the crowd’s anticipation for the spectacle that had been promised there. In the corridor leading to the arena, Phainon took deep breaths as he tried to calm himself. His sword was in perfect condition, ready to be used against any opponent Eurypon might have chosen, and this was the moment to make it clear once and for all why he was the only one capable of standing side by side on equal footing with the prince.
With his mind focused, he finally stepped into the sunlit arena as soon as the gates rose.
Phainon looked around, searching for his opponent. Normally, the arena was used for military training, with the occasional ceremonial event where duels took place there. Phainon had expected to face veteran warriors, but there was no sign that his opponent this time was a person.
The hail of arrows that struck the spot where he had been standing mere moments earlier only confirmed his suspicion.
On the opposite side of the arena stood three Titankin: one wielding a bow, another holding a priest’s book, and a third who was simply a melee fighter. Phainon simply resumed his natural fighting stance and advanced toward the trio.
Even the arrows enhanced by the priest couldn’t touch him. Every time a volley was fired, Phainon made precise cuts, clearing the space he needed to keep advancing. The fighter tried to shield the other two titans with his hands, but Phainon quickly closed in and began to isolate the titankin without much difficulty. The moment a millimeter-wide opening appeared, he seized the opportunity to strike the construct’s core, break through the front line, and take down the two titankin attacking from a distance.
Covered in dust, Phainon stood up after defeating the three opponents and turned his gaze toward where the royal family was seated. Mydei watched the scene with a bored expression, while the king was unimpressed by the display. The knight knew this was only the beginning, and he was ready for as many rounds as it took to prove his strength.
The next round of opponents took the arena, and Phainon once again found himself focused on defeating them. More Titankin, with different team compositions, advanced toward him, and Phainon responded mercilessly, seeking to put on a display of technique while avoiding injury.
At the same time, a battle was unfolding in the background in the separate seating area reserved for royalty. It was clear that the king wanted to get rid of the prince’s dog once and for all, but that his original plan (to let the arena handle the problem) was failing. Mydei remained unmoved by the battles below, after all, he knew full well just how skilled Phainon really was.
As soon as the queen stepped out for a brief moment, the atmosphere between the king and the prince became clearly tense. The two really didn’t get along.
“Is there something you’d like to say, Your Majesty? Or will we have to put up with this farce for a few more hours?”
The king didn’t answer, he just gritted his teeth. He had no other option but to resort to the final plan he had prepared. He couldn’t back down, so he simply signaled for the final challenger to be released into the arena.
As soon as the creature stepped into the arena, Phainon knew he perhaps shouldn’t have boasted about being able to handle lions with ease. Because the five lion-like titankin that entered the arena were definitely not the kind of lions he had spoken of before.
Phainon could already imagine how Mydei would later taunt him when the two of them were alone in the prince’s chambers. And just imagining how he would have to put the brat of a prince in his place made Phainon feel his irritation rising to his head.
The lions didn’t stand a chance against the angry knight. And up above, in the royal seats, the king was forced to admit defeat.
The closing speech was nothing but static to Phainon’s ears. He could hardly wait for his reward, which would be handed to him personally by the prince, if only, of course, he could manage to wait until the two of them were alone.
As if that excited dog could possibly wait for his reward.
Krateros was already wondering why he hadn’t intervened and gotten rid of that wannabe knight himself, the one who kept harassing the prince in public. But seeing how the prince simply let his dog whine and beg for a reward after his exploits in the arena, perhaps the problem wasn’t something Krateros could simply solve with a blade and a flimsy excuse.
Or rather, he couldn’t interfere with the pair’s brazen actions simply because the queen loved the gossip about what those two had been up to lately. And if there was one thing Krateros was, it was loyal to Queen Gorgo’s will.
Which didn’t mean he had to stand by and put up with the public displays of affection from the two of them, who shouldn’t even be doing that sort of thing in the first place.
“Mydeimos.”
“What is it, Krateros?” Mydei simply addressed his former mentor, without stopping his active petting of Phainon.
“Perhaps it would be more appropriate for you two to continue this in a more… private place.”
With a reasonable excuse for them to leave, Krateros was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief for a minute… until he heard the moans and deeply regretted believing he’d have enough time to get out of there before being subjected to more information than he’d care to know.
Come to think of it, Krateros wasn’t willing to be the one to reveal the secret that existed in broad daylight and that practically everyone knew about. Even though he didn’t like Phainon. Even though he wondered every day where they’d gone wrong in raising Mydeimos, to the point that the prince ended up with such terrible taste in partners.
At least, at the end of the day, the queen was still enjoying that soap opera. And if Queen Gorgo approved of that shameless dog, who was Krateros to talk too much and inform the king of what was going on?
The only certainty was of the entertainment when everything eventually came to light. And come to think of it, Eurypon’s expression when he discovered the affair would be priceless.
Maybe in the end it would even be worth keeping the secret. But only maybe.