Defending Left-Handed

Chapter 4

“Liriel, you are already hurting me,” the princess cried in a whisper as Liriel’s grip became tighter and tighter. His eyes were fixated on the dead body bathed with its blood. Liriel could feel his ears burning. Another left-handed has been killed. For the past five years, Liriel had been witnessing a lot of bloodsheds and it was his parents’ blood that he saw first.

Princess Slithen could feel how Liriel’s hands trembled. She tried to pull her arm away from him but it was too tight. She could not endure the pain anymore. Liriel was holding a gun in the other hand. She was afraid that he would decide to shoot her. She knew how much he hated her father. She was the daughter of the man he despised the most. He could hurt her too. He could hold her as his hostage.

“Clean the body,” the king commanded to their earpieces. The king did not even have a second thought. He was so fixated on killing anyone that was on his way. Liriel looked at the princess and let go of her. He could see how she winced and how she rubbed away the pain that he had caused.

Liriel’s other workfellow went to the dead body and they covered it with a cloth. They immediately carried it away from the venue and maids hurriedly cleaned the blood on the dance floor.

The people present at the party were still in shock, but as soon as they heard the orchestra perform their piece, everything went back to normal as nothing happened. They were now laughing and drinking. Big smiles were evident on their faces.

Liriel heard them clapping as soon as they saw the king and queen go back to their position, to their throne. Liriel looked at the princess and disbelief was all he could project.

“Your parents are unbelievable,” he said in a tone of disappointment. He put his gun back into his holster and walked away from the scene. The princess could not follow him anymore, since she was already around a lot of people. She would be the talk of the town if people saw her with a knight. She just hoped that they were all too focused on what happened earlier so that they would not be able to notice how tight Liriel gripped her wrist earlier.

“Why are you all so careless?!” the captain shouted as soon as the company gathered. The captain paced back and forth. “How could he even manage to get in?! He was wearing ragged clothes for heaven’s sake! There’s no way any of you will notice him!”

None of the company met his eyes. Even Liriel and Reasee. Reasee was already aware of the plot but he never really saw the man enter the area.

“Look straight! You are all chosen to be the king’s knight for a reason. How can you all be a disappointment?!”

The company of knights followed their captain’s command but none of them uttered a single word.

“You are supposed to be having a break tomorrow but because of your clumsiness, we will train for the entire day. Understood?!”

“Sir, yes, sir.”

The captain shook his head. “This is just the start. The left-handed are already working on plotting against our king. We should all be vigilant. We need to secure his safety. At 4 am sharp, tomorrow at the grounds. Understood?”

“Sir, yes, sir,” the knight said in unison.

“You are all dismissed.”

The captain left them and the other knights followed to proceed to their quarters.

“Where have you been earlier?” Reasee asked as he took off his knight’s upper uniform, exposing his pectorals and defined abdomen. It was the result of their training to become a knight.

“With the princess,” Liriel simply answered.

“With the princess? Do not tell me you are planning something to her?”

Liriel did not look at him and proceeded to fetch a bottle of water from a cooler.

“Liriel? She is the future queen. You should be careful when you are with her,” Reasee said, warning him.

Liriel placed the bottle of water forcefully on the table. He was already tired of his nagging. He knew what he was doing. Reasee always treated him like he was incapable of deciding on his own.

“I know what I’m doing, Reasee. Just do your job here and leave all my plans alone. This is my battle.”

Reasee sighed. “Where are you going?”

Liriel went back outside their quarters and left him unanswered.

The palace was already quiet. The guests were no longer present at the party’s venue. The maids were already cleaning the area. Liriel was still wearing his knight’s uniform, which was why the maids were looking down when he passed. He stopped by the area where the left-handed man was killed. He signaled one of the maids to get near him.

“What is it, sir?”

“ Do any of you see how the man got into the palace?”

The maid shook her head. “I’m sorry, sir. None of the maids got an idea of how the man entered the palace.”

“Is that so?” the maid nodded and left Liriel. As a palace maid, being questioned by a knight was the last thing that you wanted. The maids were mostly blamed when something happened in the palace because of their position in society. If no one was there to blame, all the blame would fall on the maids. That was how their society worked. Liriel understood that.

Liriel knew he was at the darkest place in the area earlier. If someone was plotting against the king, they should have passed that area but he saw no one. How did that man get inside? And if the palace knights were already planning, for a possible plot, then there must be a group of left-handed people outside the palace. He must get in touch with them, but first, he must memorize the interior of the castle. If he wanted to take revenge on the king, he must be familiar with his victim’s lair.

“Liriel?” A man’s voice called Liriel’s name.

He faced the man who called him and he felt his blood boil when their eyes met.

“Son.” The man hugged him tightly. “It has been five years. I have been looking all over the country for you. Where have you been?”

“Orphanage.” Liriel wanted to laugh to mock him. There was no way he looked for him. With his power, there was no way he could not find him. Or even if he decided to look for him, for sure, he would kill the boy he once was.

The man removed himself from the hug and looked at Liriel from head to toe. “You have grown to be such a fine man. I never knew you worked as my knight. Since when?”

Liriel could not stop himself from staring at his eyes intently. He really knew how to divert a topic. “I just got here, King Conrad.”

Yes, it was the king who was in front of him. It was the king who killed his parents. The king was said to be chosen by God. The tyrant king. There was a smile on the king’s face. Liriel could not believe how he could face him after what he had done to his parents. He really has no shame.