The people in the palace started to call the young duke as 'Aiden' instead of his real name since the empress herself was the one who started it. Only those who have red the latter half of the novel would know why the empress called Frederick as 'Aiden'.
"Lady Emond, what do you think about Aiden?"
"What... I think about him?"
"Yes"
"Well...."
I glanced towards the captain of the imperial knights. Unlike the social butterfly John, Sir Aiden would be a wallflower, a very eye catching one.
Though he doesn't speak much and would always stay behind the scene he does have this weird air and charisma that pulls people towards him.
"He is a very reliable person"
"Really?"
She grinned.
"Yes"
"If that's the case" Empress Lucia turned towards the captain. "Frederick von Theano, this is an imperial order: From now on you will be in charge of Diana Emond, my honored guest's safety while she is here in the empire. The one who will act as my bodyguard will be Jonathan"
"....."
What is up with this kind of development? In the novel, the empress never change her bodyguard which is Sir Aiden since... I get it now. She really is a cruel person.
The captain of the imperial knights knelt down on one knee and bowed down.
"I will do as you order, your majesty"
After getting back on his feet, John and Sir Aiden switched places as an indication of who they are protecting.
There are two reason as to why John is the vice-captain of the imperial knights. The first would be because he is a commoner while Sir Aiden will become the next duke, a position only second to the imperial family.
The second would be their sensory skills. In terms of overall swordsmanship and experience they are equal, it's just that Sir Aiden's five senses are extremely sensitive which beats John's abnormal spatial awareness.
"Up next is a rare egg!"
The count remove the cloth and revealed an egg that was placed on top of a man made nest.
The egg which had the same size as an ostrich's egg was white with translucent flower pattern all over.
"A rare egg that was found just a year ago which is believe to be an egg from a rare animal just based on its size! Ladies and gentlemen, just think about what it is like to have a rare animal as your own!"
The light that was directed to the egg made the egg shimmer a bit.
"Your majesty, I would like to have that egg"
"Really? But I am interested on that egg myself though"
"Does that mean that the Empress would break her promise?"
"Of course not"
Once again, the empress stood up and yelled a ridiculous amount of gold coins which is enough to build a mid-sized castle.
"I wonder what you are planning on doing with the items you are about to receive"
"Something advantageous for me, I guess"
"So, what is the third item you want me to get for you?"
"It will be a silver chalice that has a very peculiar design like no other"
"I am looking forward to it"
I stood up and went out with Sir Aiden. Though the plan was me going out with John instead of Sir Aiden, everything else is going smoothly so far.
"Where would you like to go, my lady?"
"To the count's garden on the northern side. The rats would be going out there later so it would be better to wait for them instead"
Thanks to a maid of the count's manor we were able to go to the garden without any difficulty.
"The white roses here are beautiful"
"...."
"Sir Aiden, when will you tell her majesty?"
"About what my lady?"
"Your unrequited love, I suppose"
Among all else, he must be wondering how I knew about something that only he knows of. Not even the empress herself can notice his feelings for her which shows just how much cautious Sir Aiden is on hiding his feelings for the empress.
"Are you not going to ask how I knew?"
"You already know so many things, my lady. I am sure you knew about it the same way as how you know of all the other things"
"Wrong! When the empress said that you would become my bodyguard instead of Sir John, you flinched. That is when I found out about your unrequited love"
True, I already knew from the novel but I was able to confirm it when I saw it myself. That the blank expression he always wore had a bit of sadness when Empress Lucia assign him to be my bodyguard.
"Do you think I'm lying?"
"No. Your heartbeat, breathing, and eyes signifies that you are not lying"
Boom!
Something exploded on the other side of the count's estate.
"It seems like it is starting already"
"As you have said it is starting. Though will it be alright to entrust your life to me?"
"I am not entrusting my life to you as I can protect myself"
Screams and the exchange of swords echoed through the whole estate.
The clamoring ended abruptly.
Only after a minute, the whole estate became dead silent.
Sir Aiden drew his sword and faced the hallway leading to where we are.
Footsteps can be heard from a distance. Not long after, several men who were not caught by the knights were desperately running to get away.
Sir Aiden storm through the intruders of the count's mansion and defeated them all in a flash.
He then piled up the unconscious bodies on the side of the bench we were sitting on just a few minutes ago.
"You didn't even left one for me?"
"It is my job to protect you. Though, for a group to infiltrate the count's manor they surely are weak"
"No, no, they are not weak. You are just strong"
When the knights of the Olbrecht county arrived, the two of us went back to where the empress is.