Kill Me Slowly || Tartaglia/Childe

Chapter 03

A soldier pulls out his gun, pointing it at you. Martin gives you a look that said 'are you crazy' and bows. "Sorry, my friend must've mistaken you for someone else. Please don't shoot." He apologizes. The orange-haired man waves his hand in the air, telling the soldier to back down. The soldier moves back to his original place and tucks his gun back into his pocket. "Ajax." You repeat. Martin groans and closes his eyes, crossing his fingers. "Don't let me be a coachman in my next life please." He prays.

The general looks at you, displeased with the name you had given him, and says, "General Tartaglia, as I'd like to be addressed. I do not know who this Ajax is and I do not plan on knowing." You bit your lip, embarrassed at the thought of mistaking him for someone else. "Sorry," You mutter under your breath, loud enough for Tartaglia to hear. "What were you doing here?" He asks, "This is not a playground for children, you know." He adds, staring at Martin then at you.

"Remove the hood." He says, "Or I'll have one of my men remove it for you." Your hands slowly travel to the hem of your hood and you paused for a bit, contemplating whether you should do it or not. In the end, you decided to do it. You were about the bring the hood down but a knock was heard. "Reporting to General Tartaglia. A woman named Noelle wishes to speak with you."

"Come in." He says and the door opens. Noelle breathes in a sigh of relief when she sees you. When she turns to Martin, she gave him a deadly glare to which Martin notices. He averts his gaze away, avoiding the look Noelle was giving him.

"Has the princess arrived?" He asks the maid. "Yes, safe and sound." She replies, emphasizing the last three words. "Please do send her my warmest greetings as I can not meet her today. I need to deal with these intruders first."

"These intruders you speak of are the coachman and the princess, General," Noelle says. Martin didn't want to prolong his agony so he decides to remove the hood, revealing your face. The soldier from earlier gasps in surprise. "I pointed my gun at the princess. Oh, dear." He thought. He almost looked like he was going to faint.

"I express my deepest apologies." Tartaglia bows, taking your hand in his before placing a kiss on the back of your palm. "I am General Tartaglia at your service, Princess." You blush as you retrieve your hand back, the warm sensation of his lips still lingered. Noelle clears her throat, garnering the attention of the people inside the room. "It's getting quite late now. Princess (First Name) needs to rest."

"Ah yes," Tartaglia says, gesturing to the soldier. "Please do guide the princess to her room." The soldier walks to your side and tells you to follow him. You get up from your seat, trailing behind him. "Noelle?" Noelle shakes her head and says, "I will be coming shortly. I have some matters I need to discuss with the general and the coachman." You nod your head in response, exiting the room.

After a few minutes of walking, the soldier bows, opening the door for you to enter. "Please call me if you need anything, Princess." He says before closing the door.

You trail towards the bed and flopped down onto the soft sheets. Laying face-up, you take a deep breath as you think back to the events that happened earlier. It reminded you of the time when you visited Liyue and met a boy named Ajax, who had a similar appearance to General Tartaglia.

Your father had to visit Liyue to attend the Rite of Decension which was being hosted by Ningguang, one of the Liyue Qixing, a group of seven merchants and business leaders who specialize in commerce and trade sectors, though she had transferred to the military camp as she was offered a role to be a captain. Due to her diligence and perseverance, she rose above several ranks and landed at a rank lower than Tartaglia's, Lieutenant General.

The same thing was offered to Beidou two years after Ningguang was scouted. She rejected the offer at first because she loves traveling the ocean with her crew and besides, if she were to be a captain, will she be able to act freely? What's going to happen to her crew? Of course, the position of captain came with many benefits and they do not restrict whatever she wants so she gladly accepted where she began her role as Captain. Though she's missing in action most of the time, she comes back with plenty of ingredients for Xiangling that she traded from other places.