In his life, Harris was a simple and an ordinary man, he wanted a smooth life, a normal life like living peacefully, being able to eat enough, having a place to live, sleeping well, having enough friends and interacting with them, and then one day maybe he would get married, become a father and have children.
Harris always wanted that ideal life, ever since he was young, he did not have the intention to become a knight but one day King Jonas called him after he cleaned the stables of his beloved horse, a platinum blond haired boy about his age stood behind his father, as usual with that signature cold expressionless face. The man he had known since he was little.
Jacob.
Jacob Hunt. The youngest child of the Barlow royal family.
Harris's stomach churned, he knew something he did not want would happen to him, whether he wanted it or not, he seemed to have had a signal ringing 'no, this isn't good' when King Jonas came to him.
The old man, to be honest Harris didn't really like King Jonas. Even though the man had never done anything bad to him, he somehow disliked King Jonas. Maybe because he had some sympathy, knowing how that man treated his own son Jacob— nevertheless King Jonas's leadership had clearly made this kingdom more prosperous than before.
Although of course even though there was something that Harris did not agree with about the man's principles, he could not help but acknowledge the skill and prowess of this man's leadership.
'Harris,' his body froze when he heard his name being called by King Jonas, dark brown eyes stared at Harris who lowered his head. 'During the opening of the knight registration at Barlow palace you must enter. Do you intend to become a knight for this kingdom?'
The question he had obviously been thinking about for a long time, his father was a former knight commander in Barlow, retired many years ago but he still lived nearby in the Barlow castle grounds, having the privilege of enjoying the luxuries of this kingdom as a former commander knight of King Jonas.
The answer in his brain said --No, I won't register, I will help my mother's restaurant.
However the sharp gaze of King Jonas who did not break eye contact with Harris made Harris' mouth go numb.
He pushed himself mentally, come on, just say no. One word. No. It's certainly not that difficult, right?
Then as if realizing his position, he glanced alternately at Prince Jacob and King Jonas, he was like a deer surrounded by two huge lions.
'You're the only one who can nearly keep up with Jacob when fighting him with your swordsmanship. There's no other young man as good as you, it's a shame if that skill goes to waste.'
Somehow Harris wasn't glad at all even though he received such praise, maybe because he could already see his future and what would happen to himself years later. Harris maintained his smile, still not answering, seeing Harris in a state of hesitation King Jonas spoke again.
'You will have the privilege of being Jacob's personal knight when he finally sits on the royal throne, which means you will become the personal knight of a king—'
What in the hell—
His eyes widened, that was somehow unexpected, usually a personal knight would be a senior, someone who had more experience like the current commander. Even his dad, a loyal knight for King Jonas never got this offer.
Being a commander knight already had many privileges, such as being given a luxurious house for retirement, having the right to marry descendants of nobles, not to mention high honor in the eyes of the citizens.
Personal knights had special privileges. Those who became personal knights would gain the right to marry into the main royal bloodline– such as marrying a princess – subject to the condition that the princess accepts the proposal. Therefore Harris was surprised to hear that he would have this special opportunity.
For a moment the beautiful face of Princess Jeanette crossed his mind, Harris imagined if Princess Jeanette became his wife, spending the days with a beautiful woman, and they lived happily until the day they were old, taking care of each other, living a simple happy life.
His face was suddenly warm, no, there was no way a Princess like Princess Jeanette would give a beta man like him a chance, she probably wouldn't give him a drop of water.
'But I'm a beta.' those words should have been in his mind but he involuntarily muttered.
Sure enough King Jonas heard what he said, he raised an eyebrow before finally nodded, letting out a faint chuckle, 'It's true you're a beta, usually Barlow only gives this opportunity to alphas, but no other boy is as good as you at swordsmanship. You show your skills time and time again, Harris. I hope you won't disappoint me and accept this honorable offer.'
Jeanette.
Jeanette Hunt.
An extremely beautiful woman with wavy ash blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes that if he were given a chance to look at them, he would stare at them all day.
Will I get a chance to approach her? one opportunity that is even as small as a drop of water.
So with that in mind, a moment later, he stupidly nodded, agreeing to the offer from King Jonas. Without rethinking what kind of life he would lead after this decision.
Before Prince Jacob was officially inaugurated as king, Harris had accompanied Prince Jacob every time he went with King Jonas to a meeting of nobles, even though he hadn't officially registered himself as a knight, people could say Harris had become Prince Jacob's personal knight right after he agreed to the offer.
After several years of knowing Prince Jacob, Harris saw how strong and smart this prince was, even though he was cold and rarely spoke, Prince Jacob never did anything that could tarnish his image in the eyes of the people, always obedient to King Jonas. Previously he couldn't understand why King Jonas did not want his first son— Prince Johan, to become the crown prince, even though Prince Johan had a warm and friendly nature, reliable guy, high potential as a future king.
However, not long after, Harris bit his tongue, as if he regretted ever having thought that way.
Months after the death of King Jonas, several regions wage wars against Barlow, Harris was worried because of the power vacuum considering that Prince Jacob hadn't yet reached the official age for the succession ceremony.
For a while the internal matters of the kingdom were taken care of by Princess Julia, and for external affairs, Prince Johan who was the duke of Dorsa— Barlow's western region, handled the enemies who were planning to threaten Barlow's safety.
He remembered the first time he was summoned by Prince Jacob to accompany him as a sidekick, at that time, he insisted on joining the war even though his older brother would never allow him to go to war before the succession ceremony— Prince Johan was a bit overprotective of his youngest brother.
Prince Jacob— ignoring his brother's protests, put on his armor and rode off with his favorite horse, and Harris remembered the feeling of his throat going dry, his chest pounding as if he were on the verge of death.
'Tell the others to back away from where I stand.'
Right after that, a bitter aroma seemed to want to steal all the oxygen from deep within his lungs, wafting through the air.
Harris noticed the nearby enemies suddenly stop, they seemed to be having difficulty breathing.
His head was dizzy, feeling like he was about to vomit, Harris— who was a beta, covered his nose tightly.
Then an incident like a nightmare happened.
'Stay still.'
The enemy troops that were close to Prince Jacob's position could not move their bodies and at the speed of light, Prince Jacob slashed his sword, five, ten, twenty, he did not know how many more— bodies covered in blood fell like flies.
Harris who had been in war zones many times should be used to this sight, but a chill ran down his spine, Harris was instantly grateful that he was not this madman's opponent.
He knew Prince Jacob was an alpha prime, but this was the first time for him to see his abilities as an alpha prime right before his eyes, and it was terrifying.
The enemy troops who were far away from him, were not so affected by Prince Jacob's pheromone— shouted to attack again, frustration and fear were implied in the screams, but this time Prince Jacob did not release his pheromone, as if the first incident was only a warning for them; stop attacking and give up.
Unfortunately, the enemy heeded the warning.
The knight commander of Barlow called for them to come forward to protect Prince Jacob, but in Harris' opinion that man needed no protection whatsoever. After seeing something as horrific as that, Harris's legs were still shaking slightly.
Shit.
What a monster.
And whether Harris admired or loathed it, probably both.
The war they won in a short period. After that Prince Jacob slain many enemies, more than his own soldiers, without the help of his pheromone.
The fastest war record of the Barlow kingdom.
It was such a relief that Prince Jacob wasn't a greedy person.