Soon, the birthday banquet arrived. Although I was dressed very handsomely, Princess Ariel was very shy and asked her father, the King, for the opening dance.
This was perfectly understandable. In the subsequent ball, I successfully invited Princess Ariel for a dance.
I plan to keep the glove from the hand that held her small hand today as a precious souvenir.
Then came the King's announcement regarding the appointment of Ariel's Guardian Knights.
I would naturally become Ariel's closest Guardian Knight, warding off any enemies and becoming her strongest shield.
After completing my oath of loyalty, I was full of joy. But then, something unexpected happened.
The King called out the name of my red-haired rival, Daolin Prodia Grellat. The King actually wanted him to be Ariel's Guardian Knight as well. Was there some kind of mistake?
I knelt there, forgetting to stand up. I turned around to look at the red-haired figure behind me.
His face was full of astonishment and confusion, and his body even seemed to show a hint of resistance!
What did this mean? Was he actually unwilling to be Lady Ariel's Guardian Knight?
A position I dreamed of was like a monster to him. If he didn't like it, even better; I hoped he would refuse the position on the spot.
Unfortunately, he wasn't that stupid. He still stepped forward and accepted the duties of a Guardian Knight.
Well, in this world, things rarely go as planned. I accepted my fate, but I was full of confidence. I would surely gain the Princess's appreciation and favor more than that red-haired brat.
After all, my family supports Princess Ariel entirely, while his family supports Prince Gravil. It's obvious who would be more important in the eyes of the Princess.
Dammit, why did this happen?
The next day, Dorin came to the palace to see Her Highness Ariel. As I expected, because his grandfather didn't support Princess Ariel and because of his family's bad reputation in the capital...
He was loathed by Princess Ariel's attendants. All the attendants were targeting him. Unlike me, who was flattered and fawned over upon arrival, he was blocked outside and couldn't even see the Princess.
He actually thought of using his title as a Guardian Knight to forcibly drive away Princess Ariel's attendants. How laughable.
Just as I thought he would soon leave in disgrace, something unexpected yet logical happened.
Ariel's attendants were about to attack him. You have to understand, several of Princess Ariel's attendants were teenagers. With such a large age gap, I was afraid this six-year-old child would be beaten to a pulp.
The result left me dumbfounded.
No, it's impossible. Is he really an Advanced Mage? How can he use Chantless Magic at such a young age, and such powerful magic at that? I feel like even my former magic teacher couldn't use the magic he just performed.
AI Model: gemini-2.5-flash-lite
At the moment the lava sphere was about to smash in front of us, my mind was a total mess. All I could think about was why he was so incredibly powerful.
Why is it that no matter how hard I study, I can't even catch up to his dust? Why is that? Is this world just inherently unfair? Are some people born with such immense learning capabilities?
While others live their entire lives achieving nothing, no matter how hard they try.
Before I could even react, the magic ball, blazing with fierce flames, passed right over our heads.
He swaggered toward Ariel. No one dared to stop him again, and neither did I. I was so scared I couldn't move. My legs were still shaking.
He walked up to Lady Ariel and spoke to Princess Ariel in a contemptuous tone. He didn't give Ariel a chance to retort at all before finding a convenient excuse for not fulfilling his duty as a Guardian Knight.
Then, he left.
I hadn't even processed what happened. Wasn't he supposed to be here to protect Her Highness Ariel? From their conversation, I sensed his disdain for this position. It seemed like he didn't want to be near Her Highness Ariel at all.
This should probably be considered a good thing. My main rival has directly forfeited. This leaves me as the only Guardian Knight by Princess Ariel's side, and all other attendants have a lower status than me, allowing me to be closer to Ariel. From this perspective, I should even thank him.
Forget it, I won't bother with him. Perhaps Dorin and I are simply not people from the same world. I should focus on the tasks at hand.
Days passed one after another, and Her Highness Ariel's relationship with us grew closer and closer.
She was actually a very easy person to get along with. After spending a long time with us, she would chat with us about all sorts of topics every day.
Recently, Her Highness Ariel has been agonizing over whether or not to contend for the throne. All the attendants, including myself, support Her Highness Ariel.
If Her Highness Ariel does not fight for the throne, she will only end up as a beautiful vase within the Asura Noble circles, possessing no real power.
Once Prince Gravil ascends, he will surely arrange for Princess Ariel to marry a noble he needs to win over, or a prince from another country.
This is definitely something we do not want to see. I could even picture that red-haired man in my mind. If his magic is that powerful, Prince Gravil might very well betroth Princess Ariel to him. This would not only win over the Prodia Family but also secure a powerful mage.
This is a very real possibility, so I absolutely must support Princess Ariel's ascension to the throne to ensure such a thing never happens.
Without delay, we used our respective behind-the-scenes influence to build momentum for Lady Ariel and searched for a way to break the deadlock.
As expected of Lady Ariel, her speeches and acts of grace toward the commoners and the army were very successful. This gave us hope for success.
Until the arrival of that day.
That day, after the patrol legion returned, Her Highness Ariel held an awarding ceremony for the legion leaders and also gave a speech among many knights and commoners, greatly boosting Her Highness Ariel's influence.
In the afternoon, taking advantage of a rare opportunity to leave the city, we went shopping in the commercial district with Lady Ariel. Of course, Lady Ariel was in disguise.
However, I don't know if it was the First Prince's faction or the Second Prince's faction, but someone initiated an assassination attempt right outside the shop where we were browsing.
The accident happened so suddenly. We immediately lost one companion. Seeing my comrade dead, I was completely stunned. Only when I saw the other attendants beside me drawing their swords did I timidly draw the sword I carried.
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