Chapter 2: To Open One's Eyes
Sienna approached the man. She was planning on chasing after him if he continued to run away, but the man stood still with his back turned to her.
'I've gone absolutely insane.'
Kuhn put a hand to his face and sighed. After finishing his meeting with Dian, he saw the maze garden from afar. He should have just left it alone. Why did he think about the Princess? Why did he enter the maze?
"First things first, I want you to tell me your name."
He heard her voice come up behind him. It was a beautiful voice that one couldn't forget after hearing it. The tone was high, like a young pre-adolescent boy's, but it had a sense of strength behind it.
Kuhn slowly turned around. Princess Sienna was standing a few paces away from him. It looked like she was coming back from her swordsmanship practice as she was wearing a sparring uniform and equipped with her sword. He saw that her eyes were sharply looking up at him. She was so beautiful to him that Kuhn felt like he was on the edge of a cliff.
"Name."
A fake name...
"Your real name."
"...Kuhn."
Damn it.
"That's all?"
Why couldn't he think of a fake name? It was already too late anyway, so Kuhn answered obediently.
"You can just call me Kuhn."
"The mercenary organization Kaligo."
Sienna brought up the information she had learned by chance. The man's silence told her she was correct.
'This is bad. How should I handle this?'
Behind Kuhn's poker face, intense chaos was brewing. Everyone around him nagged him about being careful in everything he did, but now he'd gone and made a mess of things. If the Princess ever decided to delve deeper into the connection between him and Dian, it would be incredibly troublesome indeed.
'I better stop coming to the Palace for the time being. I should also stop all contact with Dian as well. Should I just leave the capital altogether?'
"You were right."
"...What do you mean?"
"About the knights matching my skill level during our practices."
Kuhn blankly stared at the Princess. The tension left from his body at her unexpected words.
"Are you Prince Dian's personal guard?"
"As you know by now, I am not a knight."
"There is no law saying that only knights can become personal guards."
'Mother hated Prince Dian with a passion.'
Sienna felt that Patricia wouldn't have left it with a few choice criticisms when it came to Dian. She might have actually gone as far as to try and harm him. No matter how much Sienna tried to put her mother in a good light, Patricia was not a good person.
If Prince Dian had ever felt threatened within the Palace, he wouldn't be able to trust the knights either. It was understandable that he would want to bring someone else inside to become his shield.
'Is this an advantageous situation for me or not?'
Kuhn tried to figure out what Sienna was thinking, but he couldn't glean anything from her expression alone.
"Kuhn!"
Kuhn's hand flinched. He had heard his name called many times throughout his life, but why did it suddenly feel so special now?
"I haven't even finished speaking to you yet, so how dare you keep your back to me? Do you not know basic manners?"
Kuhn crossed his arms and reluctantly replied.
"I apologize. It's because I'm such an ill-bred brute."
"I don't find your tone pleasing either."
Kuhn tilted his head to the side.
"What should I do? Should I go on my knees and beg at your feet like a dog?"
Kuhn's plan was to become such a discourteous man that Sienna wouldn't even want to be in his company ever again. He wanted to enrage the Princess until she left while grinding her teeth while muttering, 'Such a trashy brute'. But the thought of that happening made Kuhn a bit sick to his stomach.
"I am not your vassal, Princess. When I leave the Palace, that's all there is to it. Why do I have to wag my tail whenever I'm in your presence, Princess? What scraps of food do you have to offer?"
"And what about Prince Dian?"
"What is there to know? I'm the kind of guy that throws away promises like they're old shoes."
Sienna scowled at Kuhn when she heard his sarcastic words. Contrary to Kuhn's intentions, Sienna didn't plan on letting him go that easily. She thought that he was only acting out because he had been offended.
'He is truly a rude person.'
Even in private, her maternal grandfather, the Duke of Rimone, watched his manners with her. Wasn't a mercenary considered to be the worst kind of commoner? This was the first time Sienna encountered such a man. A man who made a big deal about his hurt feelings in front of the Princess of the Empire.
"I did not mean for my words to be so rash. I wasn't belittling you."
For the first time in her life, Sienna said something that was close to an apology. What other choice did she have? She had to be the bigger person here. She still had something she wanted to ask Kuhn. However, he didn't respond. Sienna frowned at the man who was simply staring at her.
"Must you hear a formal apology from me?"
"N... No."
Kuhn shook his head.
"I was the rude one."
Kuhn awkwardly replied. He could have been ruder, but for some reason, he didn't want to do that.
"I have something I need to ask you."
"Hmm."
Sienna glared at Kuhn's odd response.
"What does that mean?"
"I'm thinking about it. Whether I'll answer your question or not."
"Obviously you must answer my question."
"It's not that obvious. I am not your vassal, Princess."
"A subject is also a vassal."
"I am not a subject of the Empire."
Sienna froze for a second.
"The Emperor is the master of the world. No matter what kingdom you're from, as a subject of that kingdom, you must serve the Emperor. Naturally, you must obey the Emperor and the Imperial family."
"I believe I said that I'm not a subject of the Empire."
"You're quite stubborn, aren't you?"
"I'm not being stubborn. My family and I..."
Kuhn changed 'clan' to 'family'. If one were to split hairs, not everyone in his clan was related to him by blood. However, while they weren't bound by blood, they still treated each other as if they were.
"We don't have a nationality. More accurately, no country or lord has authority over us."
Many kings and lords were waiting in line with bloodshot eyes to claim authority over his clan. It was almost disgusting how many people wanted to claim the Raad clan as their own, but Kuhn didn't bother mentioning that to Sienna.
"Surely you must live on land that belongs to a specific territory."
"There is a place we are staying at for now, but we move around quite often. If a subject from another kingdom stays within the Empire's territory for a short while, does that automatically make them a subject of the Empire?"
"Then where were you born?!"
"Both of my parents and all of my siblings were born in different places. I was born in a small country at the edge of the continent, but it collapsed a long time ago."
Kuhn smirked before continuing.
"I'd like to add that my home country has now split into five different countries."
Sienna clenched her hands into fists. She could feel her anger boiling up to the top of her head. For the first time, Sienna felt that she was losing a battle of words.
It was obvious why. Who would ever talk back to the Princess? No matter what she said, everyone responded with 'Yes, you are correct' and 'I will obey your command'. She had only ever heard people answer her with obedience. Sienna felt horrible, and the fact that she was experiencing an emotion like anger was strange and vexing.
"You are very impertinent."
Don't laugh.
Kuhn grit his teeth. If he laughed now, the Princess's anger would explode, and he didn't want to provoke the Princess to that point.
Chapter 2: To Open One's Eyes
Sienna approached the man. She was planning on chasing after him if he continued to run away, but the man stood still with his back turned to her.
'I've gone absolutely insane.'
Kuhn put a hand to his face and sighed. After finishing his meeting with Dian, he saw the maze garden from afar. He should have just left it alone. Why did he think about the Princess? Why did he enter the maze?
"First things first, I want you to tell me your name."
He heard her voice come up behind him. It was a beautiful voice that one couldn't forget after hearing it. The tone was high, like a young pre-adolescent boy's, but it had a sense of strength behind it.
Kuhn slowly turned around. Princess Sienna was standing a few paces away from him. It looked like she was coming back from her swordsmanship practice as she was wearing a sparring uniform and equipped with her sword. He saw that her eyes were sharply looking up at him. She was so beautiful to him that Kuhn felt like he was on the edge of a cliff.
"Name."
A fake name...
"Your real name."
"...Kuhn."
Damn it.
"That's all?"
Why couldn't he think of a fake name? It was already too late anyway, so Kuhn answered obediently.
"You can just call me Kuhn."
"The mercenary organization Kaligo."
Sienna brought up the information she had learned by chance. The man's silence told her she was correct.
'This is bad. How should I handle this?'
Behind Kuhn's poker face, intense chaos was brewing. Everyone around him nagged him about being careful in everything he did, but now he'd gone and made a mess of things. If the Princess ever decided to delve deeper into the connection between him and Dian, it would be incredibly troublesome indeed.
'I better stop coming to the Palace for the time being. I should also stop all contact with Dian as well. Should I just leave the capital altogether?'
"You were right."
"...What do you mean?"
"About the knights matching my skill level during our practices."
Kuhn blankly stared at the Princess. The tension left from his body at her unexpected words.
"Are you Prince Dian's personal guard?"
"As you know by now, I am not a knight."
"There is no law saying that only knights can become personal guards."
'Mother hated Prince Dian with a passion.'
Sienna felt that Patricia wouldn't have left it with a few choice criticisms when it came to Dian. She might have actually gone as far as to try and harm him. No matter how much Sienna tried to put her mother in a good light, Patricia was not a good person.
If Prince Dian had ever felt threatened within the Palace, he wouldn't be able to trust the knights either. It was understandable that he would want to bring someone else inside to become his shield.
'Is this an advantageous situation for me or not?'
Kuhn tried to figure out what Sienna was thinking, but he couldn't glean anything from her expression alone.
"Kuhn!"
Kuhn's hand flinched. He had heard his name called many times throughout his life, but why did it suddenly feel so special now?
"I haven't even finished speaking to you yet, so how dare you keep your back to me? Do you not know basic manners?"
Kuhn crossed his arms and reluctantly replied.
"I apologize. It's because I'm such an ill-bred brute."
"I don't find your tone pleasing either."
Kuhn tilted his head to the side.
"What should I do? Should I go on my knees and beg at your feet like a dog?"
Kuhn's plan was to become such a discourteous man that Sienna wouldn't even want to be in his company ever again. He wanted to enrage the Princess until she left while grinding her teeth while muttering, 'Such a trashy brute'. But the thought of that happening made Kuhn a bit sick to his stomach.
"I am not your vassal, Princess. When I leave the Palace, that's all there is to it. Why do I have to wag my tail whenever I'm in your presence, Princess? What scraps of food do you have to offer?"
"And what about Prince Dian?"
"What is there to know? I'm the kind of guy that throws away promises like they're old shoes."
Sienna scowled at Kuhn when she heard his sarcastic words. Contrary to Kuhn's intentions, Sienna didn't plan on letting him go that easily. She thought that he was only acting out because he had been offended.
'He is truly a rude person.'
Even in private, her maternal grandfather, the Duke of Rimone, watched his manners with her. Wasn't a mercenary considered to be the worst kind of commoner? This was the first time Sienna encountered such a man. A man who made a big deal about his hurt feelings in front of the Princess of the Empire.
"I did not mean for my words to be so rash. I wasn't belittling you."
For the first time in her life, Sienna said something that was close to an apology. What other choice did she have? She had to be the bigger person here. She still had something she wanted to ask Kuhn. However, he didn't respond. Sienna frowned at the man who was simply staring at her.
"Must you hear a formal apology from me?"
"N... No."
Kuhn shook his head.
"I was the rude one."
Kuhn awkwardly replied. He could have been ruder, but for some reason, he didn't want to do that.
"I have something I need to ask you."
"Hmm."
Sienna glared at Kuhn's odd response.
"What does that mean?"
"I'm thinking about it. Whether I'll answer your question or not."
"Obviously you must answer my question."
"It's not that obvious. I am not your vassal, Princess."
"A subject is also a vassal."
"I am not a subject of the Empire."
Sienna froze for a second.
"The Emperor is the master of the world. No matter what kingdom you're from, as a subject of that kingdom, you must serve the Emperor. Naturally, you must obey the Emperor and the Imperial family."
"I believe I said that I'm not a subject of the Empire."
"You're quite stubborn, aren't you?"
"I'm not being stubborn. My family and I..."
Kuhn changed 'clan' to 'family'. If one were to split hairs, not everyone in his clan was related to him by blood. However, while they weren't bound by blood, they still treated each other as if they were.
"We don't have a nationality. More accurately, no country or lord has authority over us."
Many kings and lords were waiting in line with bloodshot eyes to claim authority over his clan. It was almost disgusting how many people wanted to claim the Raad clan as their own, but Kuhn didn't bother mentioning that to Sienna.
"Surely you must live on land that belongs to a specific territory."
"There is a place we are staying at for now, but we move around quite often. If a subject from another kingdom stays within the Empire's territory for a short while, does that automatically make them a subject of the Empire?"
"Then where were you born?!"
"Both of my parents and all of my siblings were born in different places. I was born in a small country at the edge of the continent, but it collapsed a long time ago."
Kuhn smirked before continuing.
"I'd like to add that my home country has now split into five different countries."
Sienna clenched her hands into fists. She could feel her anger boiling up to the top of her head. For the first time, Sienna felt that she was losing a battle of words.
It was obvious why. Who would ever talk back to the Princess? No matter what she said, everyone responded with 'Yes, you are correct' and 'I will obey your command'. She had only ever heard people answer her with obedience. Sienna felt horrible, and the fact that she was experiencing an emotion like anger was strange and vexing.
"You are very impertinent."
Don't laugh.
Kuhn grit his teeth. If he laughed now, the Princess's anger would explode, and he didn't want to provoke the Princess to that point.
