Chapter 15: Enoch (1)

Flashback…

Aranrhod Linister, the empire’s first and last imperial daughter, slipped out of the bed and pulled out the clothes hidden under her bed. She managed to obtain loose-fitted-shirts and tight trousers by coaxing a young servant who had similar height and built like her.

To the young servant, it sounded akin to a threat but to Aran, it was sincere.

She changed her clothes, tied her long platinum blonde hair in front of the mirror. She looked at herself. It was a man’s clothing and it looked awkward, but it was not too bad. Rather… she liked it. It was more comfortable than the everyday dress she wore.

“Okay.”

She stirred under the bed one more time and grabbed the wooden sword and book. She carefully picked up the wooden sword and looked around, stumbling slightly due to the weight. She fell, almost… but she was not discouraged.

She’d come to admire the female knights of the Imperial Knights these days. She’d steal a furtive glance each passing day as she watched them in their black uniform while skillfully handling the sharp sword.

Forgetting her weak body, she imagined herself a knight.

Once upon a time, on her thirteenth birthday, she asked her father to teach her swordplay as her birthday present. Her father doted on her and would always ascend to her request but this one… he almost fainted attempting to appease her. He tried, albeit a failure, to reject her, but the look on her face was not something he could ignore. Eventually, he was forced to accept her pleading.

She would learn the way of the sword when she grew of proper age.

But she had no intention of waiting till she was of age.

Fine.

If it was like that, then she’d learn the way of the sword on her own.

Aran slipped out of the bedroom through the window with the sword tied around her waist with a string. She was glad that her bedroom was not too high up, otherwise, she’d have a difficult time escaping her bedroom.

Hiding in shades of darkness, she trotted to the place she longed to be in during the day. When she arrived at the place, she took out the candles fastened under her arms and lit it on fire. Then, she opened the book and looked at the knight. She copied the knight’s posture as written in the book, but all efforts were sloppy.

But she did not give up.

Each time she swung the wooden sword, her breathing grew heavier and heavier till she was out of breath.

Unable to continue any further, she flung away the wooden sword to the side and laid still on the floor.

It was in the midst of the night, but the moon had yet to shine. Though it looked like it looked to break free alongside the twinkling stars.

The breezy night cooled her damp forehead and Aran closed her eyes pleasantly.

At that moment, a sudden movement echoed.

“Who is it?” Aran questioned as she quickly rose up. She picked up the wooden sword next to her.

No matter how late it was in the night, the chances of an imperial daughter facing imminent danger was as low as that of a commoner being struck by lightning in the middle of the street, but, still, Aran wielded the wooden sword tightly.

“…..”

The only folks who’d come out at this time of the year were the maidservants. Maybe they planned to scare her or snitch on her father that they saw the empire’s imperial daughter sneaking late at night.

At that thought, Aran’s eyes flashed and she stared at the darkness intently.

“Who is it?” she asked again.

“It’s Enoch… from the House of Roark,” the voice said.

Then a boy appeared.

“House of Roark…?” Aran opened her mouth blankly, immediately forgetting her determination to scare the stranger.

Maybe she was not as confident as she thought, similar to the moon who had yet to make its appearance in the night sky.

The boy looked at Aran’s hair.

Blonde hair that was pale enough to appear silver at first glance… was the imperial family’s symbol.

Recognizing Aran, the boy immediately knelt.

“You are Princess Aranrhod. It’s a pleasure meeting you, Your Highness.”

Aran was embarrassed at the sight of the boy greeting her politely. She’d never seen such a beautiful human being in all her life.

Her heart began to beat.

“Um…”

She was relieved that it was late in the night. That she was veiled with darkness, the boy would not be able to see how much of a mess she looked with sweat and dirt. And her cheeks… it was red like a ripened apple.

Enoch, unaware of Aran’s circumstances, tilted his head and looked at the princess hesitantly.

“Are you unwell, Your Highness?”

He did not know what she’d been doing here all this time, but her posture… it looked clumsy.

Was she in danger? Was he hurt?

Enoch stood up at the immediate thought that something terrible occurred to the princess.

“No! Stay away!” Aran stepped back and shouted sharply.

She was embarrassed. She smelled of sweat.

Shame… it was an unfamiliar feeling. She, who was always praised, never felt this way. The thought shocked her. Was she a shy person?

Her pleading cries stopped Enoch from approaching.

“You’re not hurt?” he asked.

“No. I’m not hurt. So… don’t come any further, okay?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

With his calm disposition, she realized the stupidity of her act. Her response was in no way or form rational, but what she was certain of was that the longer she lingered, the higher the possibility that she would do something ridiculous.

She decided to leave before she made a complete fool of herself.

“K-keep it a secret that you saw me… otherwise…” Aran hesitated, unable to speak out the words lodged in her throat.

How could she dare threaten this beautiful boy?

She quickly turned around and left.

Returning to her room, Aran threw away the wooden sword and slumped on the bed. She had trouble sleeping. Her heart kept pounding. The image of that beautiful boy pervaded her mind.

…Was this love?

The next day, she learned the boy was her fiancé.

It was the happiest day of her life.