The Princess And Her Alpha Bodyguard

10~ ALPHA KING VERSUS BETA KNIGHT

"Stop it, Gerold!" echoed a deep voice from my right. It unmistakenly belonged to the very person I'd been thinking of.

I had to admit, his timing was impeccable. It was as if he could hear my call for help. Of course, it'd be exaggerating to say it was telepathy. But it was similar. How else could I explain his arrival just as I was about to run out of breath?

"I said, stop!" the voice became louder, so I assumed he was getting closer to where I was. Or rather, where we were.

I opened my eyes to see the claws were only a few inches away from my face. It looked like Valdemir's presence had saved me from being ripped apart. Surely, I didn't want to imagine what would happen if he arrived a second later.

"Gerold. That's enough," said Valdemir, his hand gripping my attacker's wrist. "Let her go."

So, this psycho Beta's name is Gerold? A voice popped up in my head.

"Right now," Valdemir's eyes fixated on Gerold, even though that guy was still focused on me. "Gerold," he said in a stern voice.

When Valdemir called his name for the third time, this Beta guy finally let me go. "Fine," he murmured.

My body slid down to the floor when Gerold let go of my neck. With my hand rubbing my throat, I breathed in the air through my nose and mouth as much as I could before my lungs stopped functioning. I doubted I could still live to tell the tale if Valdemir appeared just one minute late.

"What do you think you're doing?" asked Valdemir.

"That should be my question. What're you doing?" Gerold's voice showed no trace of fear, even though he was speaking to a king.

I looked up to see Valdemir retracting his hand while Gerold put down his clawed hand. The way they dressed already showed the difference in their status. Gerold was dressed in a green tunic, brown vest, a leather belt, and black pants. It was a typical attire for a high-ranking soldier. As for Valdemir, he must have come here right after the meeting because every piece of his clothes showed a majestic presence: a well-embellished tunic with gold-work thread, a white surcoat made from silk, black pants, and the burgundy cloak with white fur on the top and bottom. The only missing royal piece on his body was the crown.

It was apparent that Gerold had a lower ranking than Valdemir. After all, who was more powerful than the king?

But another question was, why did Gerold not show any respect to his king? Not only did he talk back in a disrespectful voice, but he also looked Valdemir in the eyes.

This behavior was totally unacceptable in Zariya. Even the highest-ranking ministers couldn't look at the royal members for more than thirty seconds.

Is Ascian not taking this thing seriously? I kept the question to myself. Right now, I didn't dare to utter a sound. It'd be better if I could be invisible so that I could hide from these two muscular men who stood before me.

"What do you mean?" asked Valdemir.

"You know what I refer to," said Gerold. "That woman." He pointed his finger at me but kept his eyes on Valdemir.

What is it now? I became alarmed in an instant, fearing he would attack me again. I'd tried my best to stay quiet so they would forget about me. But this guy still came at me as a dog persisted in biting on a piece of big bone.

Valdemir turned and looked down at me. And this was where his red eyes—less red than the night before—met mine. But it only happened for a short moment since he directed his gaze back to Gerold. "We've already discussed this."

"No," Gerold stepped closer, making the tips of their black boots touch. "We didn't discuss. You only announced it in the throne room this morning. You left us no chance to argue."

"To put it correctly, it was you who literally left the room. I didn't forbid anyone to voice their opinions. You know that," said Valdemir.

"Yes, I was the one who left. That was because I couldn't stand you breaking the rule because of this woman." Again, he paused and pointed the finger at my face. This time, he also looked down at me. "She wasn't supposed to step foot in here in the first place. The tree roots should've finished her the moment she stepped inside the forbidden forest. But you saved her. And if that wasn't enough, you also brought her, an outsider, into our territory. Do you even know all the unnecessary things that you've done?"

Excuse me? I dropped my jaw in bewilderment. Don't tell me this guy is mad this whole time because Valdemir has saved my life. He's totally the definition of a jerk in a handsome shell.

"Saving a life isn't something unnecessary, Gerold," Valdemir shook his head and sighed.

"But her life isn't worth it!" Gerold snapped. It was as if he couldn't hold it in anymore.

And he wasn't the only one.

"Hey, you. Beta guy! Enough is enough. What do you take to determine the value of my life? We barely know each other." I remained on the floor and looked up at him. I didn't want to stand up because that would be like giving his hand access to my neck. With the height difference as we were now, at least I had time to dodge.

"Shut up! This isn't a place for you to talk." He glared at me.

"Trust me. I don't want to. I wouldn't do it if you didn't include my name in your conversation as if I wasn't here."

"Damn you, loud woman." Gerold turned his body around to face me.

I circled my neck in reflexes, hoping to shield his hands away if they were to come. Thankfully, he didn't attack.

Or rather, he couldn't.

"Gerold," Valdemir called out his name in a threatening voice. It was like he was trying to warn this Beta guy not to think of doing anything violent.

Gerold clicked his tongue in annoyance and turned away from me to face Valdemir. "How many more do you plan to break the rule because of this woman? Even though you're a king, rules are rules."

"If you still remember that I am a king, please show my words some respect," said Valdemir.

Finally! You should've done that from the beginning, Valdemir. A cheery voice popped up at the back of my head when I saw Gerold's shocked expression. This Beta guy deserved it.

After recovering from the shock, Gerold took three steps backward and put his right hand on the left side of his chest. "Forgive me, Your Majesty. I stepped out of bounds," he said with his head lowered. "From now on, I'll wash my hands out of any matter that involves this woman. However…" he trailed off and lifted his face to look at Valdemir, "I hope you won't repeat the same mistake as your great-grandfather."

"Gerold!" Valdemir raised his voice. I couldn't tell what his expression was like since his face was hidden behind the mask. Still, judging from his tone, he was angry.

"I'll take my leave now." Gerold turned on his heels and walked away, but not before he threw a hostile glance at me, to which I mimicked his action back. I kept glaring at his broad back until he turned the corner.

When I was about to direct my gaze back to Valdemir, another blurry figure entered my vision from the direction Gerold disappeared into. I squinted my eyes to see Lumina running toward me. Her braided hair was a mess, sending strands of hair blowing in every direction as she picked up her pace.

"M-mis-ss!" said Lumina as she struggled with her breath. "Miss, why are you on the floor? Are you okay? I just saw Sir Gerold left. Did he hurt you?" She picked up my injured hand as if to inspect my wound. When she was about to reach for my ankle, I grabbed her hand to stop her.

"I'm okay." I smiled. "He was trying to kill me, but Valdemir saved me just in time." I motioned my head to the person standing next to me.

Lumina looked up and gasped. Her body tumbled backward, making her land on her butt as she fell. "Your majesty, forgive me for not noticing your presence." She picked herself up and knelt again. But this time, she was facing Valdemir. "Please punish me. I failed my duty." She put both her hands on her thighs and lowered her head.

I turned to look at Lumina in confusion, wondering what she meant by that. Out loud, I asked, "What're you saying?"

She turned to me with her face remaining low. "I left you waiting for so long, miss. Now, you've hurt yourself." Then she turned to Valdemir. "I didn't attend to miss as you'd ordered. I'm willing to accept any punishment, Your Majesty." She placed her hands on the ground and lowered her head in the space between them.

"Lumina, don't be like that," I tried to get her up, but she was out of my reach.

"You don't have to help me, miss. I must bear the consequences of my action." Lumina's muffled voice echoed as she refused to lift her head.

I clicked my tongue, unable to believe her stubbornness. Since she didn't listen to me, then I'd have to speak to another person. I hoped he'd listen to me. I turned to Valdemir to see he was standing still and looking down at Lumina with no reaction at all.

"Valdemir, you can't," I looked up at him. "She didn't neglect her duty. We were on the way to the garden to get some fresh air, but I forgot the cape. So, I sent her to get it for me. She'd done a wonderful job attending to me since early morning. She even helped me with the wound. She obeyed your order very well."

"No, she didn't," he said curtly.

"What do you mean?" I frowned, wondering why he said this even though I'd already explained the reason. "I'd told you I was the one who sent her away. She didn't leave me of her own will."

"I'm not referring to this. I was talking about how she let you out of the room. With this, she already disobeyed my order," said Valdemir with his eyes still looking at Lumina.

"No. You got it wrong." I got up instantly, wanting to stand before him and clarify things. However, when I tried to step in front of him, a yelp escaped my lips. "Kyah!" I tumbled forward as my ankle couldn't hold my weight anymore.

"Be careful." He held me before I could hit my head with his chest.

"S-sorry." Although he'd saved my head from the collision, my hands were already there. They were right there on his broad chest, and I could feel the up and down movement as he breathed.

"What happened? I thought your ankle was getting better." He looked down at my feet, to which I did the same.

"I don't know. I was fine back then." I shook my head. But then, I seemed to recall something. "Maybe I got hurt again when I tried to run away from Gerold."

"That made sense," he murmured. "Well, it can't be helped then."

Before I could ask what he meant, Valdemir threw my hand over his head and lifted me in a bridal style.

"Whoa. What're you doing?" I asked in shock.

"Carrying you, of course." His nonchalant voice contradicted the beatings of my heart.

"Put me down. I can walk."

"Do you not want your leg anymore? If you keep putting pressure on it, you might not be able to walk for a long time. Is that what you want?" He turned to me. Although his voice sounded a little rough, his eyes were full of gentleness.

"Well, then. Don't complain that I'm heavy." I smiled.

"I'm stronger than you think." He then looked down at Lumina. "You are excused now. Go to the kitchen and get lunch ready since it's nearly noon. I'll take care of her."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you." Lumina got up and curtsied before walking away.

I thought we were heading in the same direction since it was also where my room was. However, Valdemir turned around and took a different route.

"Wait. Where are you going? My room is that way," I said in confusion.

"Don't worry. I know the way around my castle well." He continued walking.

"Then why are we going this way?" I asked.

"Because that is where the garden is."

I couldn't help but smile when I realized he paid attention to every word I had said. I only mentioned this once, and he remembered it.

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