𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐃𝐎𝐌

𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲.

王国

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    Walking through the garden with Ronan that next afternoon, (Y/N) couldn't help but be suspicious of Duran's recent behavior. Ever since the previous evening, he had been acting quite strangely, avoiding her touch and her eyes entirely, forcing her out of the rooms at times as if he didn't want her there.

It baffled her.

Especially since he had always been so adamant on her serving him whenever she could.

Ronan, seeming to sense her unease, whimpered upward up at her as he panted, his tongue hanging out of his mouth that exposed his jagged and sharp teeth, yet he looking more like a concerned puppy more so than anything. She smiled down at him and pet his soft fur, wondering if he was finally starting to understand that he should no longer act so hostile. After Silas was fired so suddenly—for reasons she still did not know—Duran banned anyone else from being hired, instead merely ordering for her to be the one to completely take care of Ronan from then on.

She sighed.

Honestly...

That King's mood swings are so constant and ever changing it's hard to keep up sometimes.

Turning the corner of the courtyard, watching as the flowers on the bushes slowly started to change in color and variety, (Y/N) faltered when catching sight of a familiar figure standing just a few feet away from her. He had been walking in her direction, and when he caught sight of her, his eyes filled with familiarity.

"Ah... Sir Elioud," she greeted with a small wave, her eyes narrowing when Ronan growled softly.

Zenon stared at the beast.

And though Ronan could not see Zenon's eyes from behind his armored mask, the wolf was smart enough to recognize the man in front of him after having seen him many times with his master, Duran, and knew that he was very dangerous.

"You... take care of that?" The knight finally asked as he pointed to the wolf.

"'That?'" She quoted with a raised brow.

He seemed even more displeased with her answer, his stance rigid as he and Ronan glared at each other. (Y/N) glanced between the two of them, more confused than anything as to why they acted so antagonistic towards each other. But the more she thought about it, the more she could see why, putting together the fact that both were merciless killers whose sharpened senses probably made them aware that they were very much like one another.

"Are you making your usual rounds?" (Y/N) then asked, trying to dispel the rather negative atmosphere.

    "Yes," he responded, finally tearing his eyes from the wolf just like she wanted.

    "I know I promised you that I would be in the garden frequently, and that I would teach you how to read, however there have been some complications to my schedule, so I apologize for not being here when I said I would," she smiled softly as her (E/C) eyes curved with just a hint of guilt.

    "Oh... it's fine..." he trailed off, finally understanding why he hadn't been able to see her even though he sought her out frequently.

    But he would never tell her that.

"I am here on a walk with Ronan, however we've already been out for thirty minutes, so I have some time to spare," (Y/N) mentioned as she pulled out the pencil and paper that she always carried with her, a fact that she was now grateful for.

Zenon instantly seemed to light up.

"Here, come sit down with me," she said, patting the seat next to her of the nearby concrete bench.

Tying Ronan's leash to the bench leg, giving the wolf a sharp glare to behave, she smoothened out the sheets of paper before starting to write, making sentences for Zenon to read or just using examples of grammar rules that he needed to follow. Sometimes, she would also have him copy what she had written down as well. (Y/N) couldn't help but smile when sensing the pride radiate from the man when looking down at his own work, wondering about his childhood that prevented him from being able to do so before.

She already knew he was bred to fight.

To kill and destroy.

But she still found it odd that he never once took the time to care about learning to read and write.

Maybe he just didn't need it.

He didn't know it, so why need it at all?

    "You're much kinder than I thought you would be, Miss (Y/N)," Zenon murmured as he gazed downward, his words surprising the other. "I've heard the rumors of a maid who seemed to be unfeeling that recently started serving His Majesty closely. I'm glad to see the rumors aren't true."

"Are there really stories like that spreading around?" She hummed with a smirk. "And... how did you know it was me in that rumor?"

"I just knew."

She chuckled at his answer.

As the two continued like that for a while, the sun slowly starting to sink lower into the sky, they didn't notice Duran stop short from where he was approaching them. He had been avoiding (Y/N) all day after the incident in the bathroom when he became all too aware of their close proximity, now finding her enjoying the company of his head knight like a shot to the heart. He could physically feel his chest tighten, as if just the sight alone was causing him pain, and his teeth ground together so hard he thought they might crack.

He didn't understand it.

Didn't understand anything of what he was feeling at the moment.

And unfortunately, before he could even begin trying to sort out his thoughts, both Ronan and Zenon sensed his presence and stood up as if on command. Zenon placed a fist to his chest and bowed his head, Ronan merely lowering his eyes to the floor so he wouldn't have to meet his master's gaze.

And then there was (Y/N).

She followed where the knight was looking and met Duran's eyes, the expression upon her face not changing as she too stood up and bowed.

His fingers curled into fists.

"It seems that I have been too lenient with my staff considering they're not working and are merely slacking off," Duran scowled, his mood worsening by the second the longer he went over the image in his mind of (Y/N) and Zenon together. "And to think it would be my personal maid and captain of the guards. Honestly... this is quite a disappointing predicament, isn't it?"

"I apologize, Your Majesty," Zenon instantly lowered to one knee in shame.

Duran's eyes narrowed.

But his lips trembled as if wanting to grin.

Because no matter the circumstance, he was the one that wielded power over both (Y/N) and Zenon, something he would very much extort.

⎡ 𝑻𝑶 𝑩𝑬 𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑼𝑬𝑫 ⎦