The Princess And Her Alpha Bodyguard

17~ LIKE A PIG TO THE S-L-A-U-G-H-T-E-R

"Who are you to come and go as you please?" echoed an icy voice that sent a chill down my spine.

I jumped in surprise and screamed. But there was no sound coming from my lips because a big hand covered my mouth from behind.

I widened my eyes in fear when the big palm refused to let me loose. I tried to get the hand off my face but to no avail. No matter how hard I struggled, I couldn't escape. I wracked my brain for an answer, trying to come up with an excuse. But I realized it didn't matter even if I found a good one because my lips could barely move. Every word I tried to say came out as a mumble that even I couldn't understand.

"You're getting bolder, woman," the owner of the angry voice stepped past me to reveal he was none other than Gerold.

I should've known. I thought to myself. Who else could this cocky voice belong to? But he wasn't alone, was he? Gerold was already standing in front of me now, but someone was still holding me from behind.

I thought I had come across a new member of a werewolf. Judging from the muscularity of the broad chest against my back, this must be a guy. Perhaps he was a Beta, like Gerold. Or maybe an omega. I didn't know, and I didn't care. I only hoped that he wouldn't have anything against me the way Gerold did. After all, my neck was entirely at his mercy. He could crush my windpipe anytime without so much effort if he wanted to.

My body stiffened at the thought of that big hand encircling my neck and crushing it.

Please don't. I begged inside my head. I tried to free myself again, but to no surprise, I couldn't.

"Ssh. You snuck out here, didn't you? Do you want to ruin your plan and alert everyone?" A deep voice echoed next to my ear.

As he leaned closer, the smell of sandalwood hit my nose. That was when my body relaxed because I knew the owner of this voice and scent very well.

I shook my head in answer to his question.

"Promise not to scream, and I'll let you go," he said.

I nodded.

When he let me go, I took a deep breath to calm down and watched as Valdemir walked to stand next to Gerold.

"You really are the epitome of stubbornness." Valdemir shook his head as he looked back at me.

"And spoiled," said Gerold.

I glared at Gerold before directing my gaze at Valdemir. "I came to talk to you."

"Have you decided?" he asked.

"Yes." I nodded before landing my eyes on Gerold. "Alone."

"Perfect." Gerold's lips curve up into a lopsided grin. "If it's a yes, which I think it is, I'm going to have so much fun."

I frowned, wondering what he was referring to. But before I could say anything, he turned to Valdemir and nudged him by the elbow. "Thanks for coming up with that idea. I'm going to enjoy it."

“Gerold,” said Valdemir with a sigh.

"Don't worry. I'll keep her alive. I'll make sure she still draws breath when I return her to you."

He tapped Valdemir on the shoulder. "I'll leave you guys alone to talk." He whistled as he walked away. But he made sure to give me a smirk as he passed.

My eyes followed him until he disappeared from view. Then, I turned to Valdemir. "What's he talking about?"

"I'll escort you back. We don't want anyone else spotting you." He took the first step. "We'll talk along the way. Come."

Instead of using the main road, Valdemir and I walked on the forest path—the one I used when tailing Dila. Neither of us breathed a word for the first few minutes, leaving the air around us filled with nothing but silence. I watched his high, half-ponytail red hair bounce against the middle of his back as he walked and wondered if his werewolf form would be as red as these strands. That would be a rare case since I'd only heard of black, white, and grey werewolves.

"You know, even though there are five letters, it's only made up into one word. What makes it so difficult for you to say?" said Valdemir as he became the first to break the silence between us.

"What do you mean?" I snapped out of my thoughts and tried to make my voice sound normal and not like someone getting caught losing in a trance. After all, I'd been staring at his back and thinking about him this entire time.

"I saw everything. I also heard it. You were trying to apologize to Lumina, weren't you? You tried to say the word 'sorry,' although no one would hear it. But why couldn't you say it?" he asked.

"Oh." I looked down at the yellow and orange leaves under my feet. I couldn't tell him that my pride made my lips too stubborn to say the word.

"Is it because of your pride? You think it's low for a queen to apologize to a maid?"

I clenched my dress and bit my lips, hating that he could see through me like an open book.

"You know, saying sorry doesn't make you inferior. In fact, it's the complete opposite. It shows courage. Not many people are brave enough to admit they're wrong."

"I know. It's just…." I trailed off, not knowing what to say next.

"Being a leader means leading a group of people toward a goal, not bossing them around. The same goes for you. Wearing a crown doesn't make you a queen, Lae. You have to find the value of a true queen from within," he said.

"I… know… I'll…" I stopped walking. Then I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Give me some time. I'll work on it." When I opened them back, Valdemir had also halted his step and looked at me.

"I know this is none of my business, but do you know why Lumina asks me to transfer her back to the main castle?" He stood with his hands behind his back.

"Because she is upset with me. I can understand why she wants to avoid me." I sighed.

"You're wrong," he said.

"Then she wasn't upset, but she was mad?" I asked.

"None of that." He shook his head. "It's true that she's avoiding you. But she only does that because she doesn't want to put you in a bad mood."

"Huh?" I tilted my head to the side in confusion. "I don't understand."

Valdemir sighed and looked at the tree next to where I was standing. "She thought you were angry with her. That was why she came to me last night to ask for a transfer. She thought that by sending Dila, you won't have to see her face again."

"What?!" I exclaimed in shock. "But that wasn't how I felt at all. I was the one who thought she was mad at me since I took my anger on her last night. How could she take it this way?" I shook my head in disbelief.

"That was what I told her, too. Still, she insisted on the transfer. I think it'll be better if you tell her what you truly feel. A small misunderstanding can lead to a big dispute," he said.

"That's true." I nodded.

We stood still in silence, listening to the sound of birds chirping and leaves rustling. Inside my head, I kept thinking about how I should apologize to Lumina. Valdemir didn't like me coming out here. And if she refused to go back to the secluded castle, how could I find a way to meet her?

"When you're ready to face this, just tell me. I'll send her to you," said Valdemir as if he could read my mind. I was starting to wonder if he really had this superpower because I couldn't hide anything from him at all.

"I will." I nodded again.

"Come. We should be there before Dila returns. Or else she would be worried." He turned around and started walking again, to which I followed suit. "By the way, didn't you say you came here to tell me your answer?" he said after we walked for about ten steps.

"That's right. I thought about it the entire night," I said.

"And your answer is?"

I took a deep breath and said, "I accepted your proposal."

Valdemir continued to walk as if nothing had happened. I couldn't see his reaction, given how I could see only his back. But there was only an air of serenity around him. It was as if he had predicted that I would agree.

And I was right.

"I thought as much. You don't have any other better choice, anyway," he said in a calm voice.

"But I have a condition." I picked up the pace until I walked side-by-side with him.

"Sure. Say it." He turned to my side but he didn’t look at me. Instead, he only turned to brush the dark brown leaves off his black cloak.

"You can order me to do anything except sleep with you," I said in a stern voice.

Once again, I waited to see his reaction. And this time, there was one.

Valdemir let out a soft pearl of laughter as if he found amusement in my words. When I was about to ask him why he thought it was funny, he said, "that'll never happen even if you don't bring it up. I have enough female werewolves to warm my bed. Why do you think I'll be interested in a mere human like you?" He asked without looking my way.

"I don't know." I shrugged, trying to brush it off and pretend that his words didn't affect me. "I'm only saying. It's better safe than sorry."

"Alright. I'll give you my words. I won't sleep with you without your consent. However..." he trailed off and turned to look at me, "if you throw yourself at me, that'll be a different story."

"Hey!" I glared at him. "That'll never happen."

"Okay. I'll see about that," he chuckled.

By the time he had his fill with laughing, we'd already arrived at my secluded castle. As I stepped on the causeway that led to the inside, I noticed he didn't do the same. I stopped and turned around to find he was standing still.

"Aren't you coming in?" I asked.

"No." He shook his head. "I had lots of things to take care of today since you already said yes."

"Why does it relate to me?" I frowned in bewilderment.

"Because your first task as my servant begins tomorrow." He looked into my eyes. "You'll be going to the training camp."

"Going to where?" My jaws dropped open in bafflement.

"Training camp." He repeated. "You'll be learning sword fighting."

I widened my eyes, taken aback by what he'd said. "Me? Learn sword fighting?" I shook my head. "But I don't know how."

"That's the point of sending you to learn. And don't worry. Gerold is an excellent teacher."

"Say what?!" I exclaimed in shock. "Sending me to the training camp is absurd enough. But now, you also send me to that psycho Beta?"

"He's good at training new recruits," said Valdemir in his usual calm voice.

"That's not the point. That guy wants to kill me!" I stood with my arms akimbo. "It's like a pig to slaughter if you send me to him."

"Wanted." He corrected me. "It was all in the past. I already talked with him this morning. He won't do that again. He gave me his words."

"But—"

"Remember, you're my servant now. You can only listen to me." He cut me off.

I clamped my mouth shut, knowing I had no chance against him. "Fine." I dropped my hand and sighed. "Then you can expect to see my corpse tomorrow."

"You don't have to worry. Gerold is a man of his word," said Valdemir. "And to make you feel convinced, I'll be giving you a bodyguard. He'll be there to protect you if Gerold acts out of place again."

"A bodyguard?" I tilted my head to the side in puzzlement. "Who?"

"You'll see him tomorrow. He'll come and pick you up in the morning," said Valdemir as he turned on his heels and walked away, leaving me no chance to ask him further.

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