"Don't address me with any honorifics as I'm only a son of a merchant and call me by my name. You are the princess, the future ruler of the North Kingdom after all."
Mark.
Now, Hena had been certain.
This man was the friend she met back then when she was a thirteen year old girl. They had the same voice and face, and even the way they talk and their mannerisms.
But how on Earth did he arrive here in the East Kingdom?
"That is still far from the future." Hena specifically answered. "I still have no idea if the choices I'm going to take will lead me to the future I wanted to take."
"No one will never know, milady." Mark replied with a dazed look in his face. "If we ever knew about it, then it's always going to be easy and boring."
She became amused.
He was right.
Life is unexpected in many ways and that's what makes it more fun and enjoyable.
"Mark, I have one question to ask."
"Ask away, milady."
The door suddenly burst open. As a reflex, their heads immediately turned towards the door and they saw Claire with two teacups and a teapot on her serving plate.
"Please excuse my interruption," Claire placed the teacups on each opposite side of the two. She poured earl grey tea in each glasses up to the brim and placed it on the center of the table. "Here is a glass of earl grey tea. Enjoy."
"Thank you, Claire."
"You're welcome, milady." She responded with a meek smile. "Please call me if you have any requests."
Hena nodded in response. She watched the maidservant leave the room and later on, fixed her gaze on the teacup. Grabbing the handle of the teacup, she smelled the tea first before taking a sip on it.
Glancing at Mark, he did the same as well. Both of them mirrored each other as she lightly put the teacup back on the table.
"You are a human, right?" she carefully asked, trying to bring the topic as vaguely as possible. "Did you come from the North Kingdom?"
The royal knight appeared surprised. His eyes rounded for a split second but he managed to compose himself in an instant.
"I come from the South Kingdom, milady."
"Really?"
Hena was so sure that this man was her childhood friend, but it appeared that she was wrong. Her childhood friend who had a similar face as Mark, was born and raised in the North Kingdom as a son of a wealthy merchant.
"Since when did you come here?" Hena asked a follow up question. "I'm curious."
He was silent for a moment and didn't reply.
"Is it inappropriate for me to ask?"
"No, not at all." He shook his head in response. "It's just that I was a little bit surprised when you asked."
"Why? Is it supposed to be a secret?"
Mark let out a boyish laugh. It was contagious enough for Hena to do the same as well.
"It's not supposed to be a secret."
"Well, if you're not feeling like sharing it with me, then it's fine."
"It's not that, milady." Mark smiled at her as he took a sip of his earl grey tea. "It was just that no one has specifically asked about my story since I came here, aside from Prince Luka."
"Prince Luka?"
"Yes," he nodded as he continued. "Prince Luka might appear bold yet eccentric at the same time, but he's extremely kind. People look up to him here and treat him as the best future ruler of the East Kingdom."
"You're singing praises about him."
"Of course, he was the one who saved me after all." Mark said as he fixed his gaze on the teacup on the table. "Eight years ago, I was sold to a rich merchant vampire here in the East Kingdom. Prince Luka, along with the owner who bought me from slavery were good people and they recognized my talents in swordsmanship. That was the reason why I became a royal knight."
A royal knight, who looked to have been almost the same age as Hena. First and foremost, Hena was sure that some of the vampires wouldn't like a human becoming a royal knight that would serve the ruler of the kingdom. Exactly the same way the loyal subjects in the North Kingdom wouldn't like to become a vampire to protect to protect the royal family.
"Prince Luka is level-headed. He is great at his job and looks after the people around him." He added, "Even if he may not seem like it. He takes good care after you, and even let me go out of my usual task to guard and protect you."
Hena couldn't help but smile hearing his words. Luka even asked him to protect her, his best loyal knight to protect her. Was it because she was now becoming a special person to him?
Or was it because she had now become closer to becoming proclaimed as his first official wife who would bring him an heir, securing his spot as the king of the East Kingdom?
Thinking about the latter made her feel slightly temperamental. Even though she knew of the reason, and even if she herself wanted to become one and raise her status, she ended up getting wrapped around her own thoughts when the possibility of them just acting on it for the benefit it has disappointed her.
Here, she thought that she had seen another ally. But hearing the fact that he came from the South Kingdom made her frown. Anything that relates to that kingdom has never failed to make her blood boil in anger.
Even if he had already left the South Kingdom eight years ago, it seemed like she just can't seem to forget about all the hardships she had to face because of that particular kingdom.
The door suddenly burst open. And instead of hearing Claire's voice, the two of them heard a voice coming from an unknown direction.
"Can I join your small tea session?"