What exactly were the guest quarters?
Her gaze shifted toward the door.
The thought of being left alone with the guards made her uneasy.
She had already knocked two of them unconscious.
What if they decided to take their anger out on her once Eryndor was gone?
And if she defended herself again, wouldn’t they simply claim she had attacked them first?
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
That would be troublesome.
She glanced toward Eryndor.
He was already preparing to leave.
Maybe she could just go with him.
“Y-you…”
“Where are you going?
I’m coming with you…”
She said it as she held onto some of the fabric of his sleeve lightly.
“You are not.”
She pulled it twice, lightly.
“I am coming.”
“You are not.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”
He blinked at her.
“Doing what?”
“Your guards…
I don’t think they’ll be very happy to see me after what happened.”
“I think they’re going to attack me if you aren’t near.”
He looked at her for a few seconds.
“They won’t.
They listen attentively to orders.”
‘Of course they would do it.
It’s about the honor of their title—the royal guards.
They won’t let her leave peacefully even if I hang all of them upside down.’
“Liar.
They will clearly go after me…
It’s 99.9999999999986 percent.”
“And you will take their side without even listening to me.”
She puffed out her chest childishly.
“There will be a lot of injured people.
Don’t you think it’ll get reaaaally reeeeaaaaaaally annoying for you?”
“Beating all of them up will be a headache for me too.”
“So…”
“I won against the two guards, as I said, so I’m your personal guard now, as in the deal.”
“I’m going with you.”
“You?
My guard?
You can’t even follow basic instructions.”
“My guards train for years.
They follow orders without question.”
“I will do what you say, so just take me with you.”
She thought about the whole headache that was going to happen if he didn’t take her.
She didn’t think she would be able to sit for even two minutes before having to do a lot of physical effort for who knows how much time.
Listening to some orders would be best for her peace of mind.
“You need me too, don’t you?
Both of your guards are with the healers.
You’ll need a guard to enter with you.”
‘Well, I have plenty, so there’s no problem.The ones she defeated weren’t my personal guards in the first place.’
‘But it may be a good opportunity…
If she hears something in the council and tries to report it to her kingdom….
If she was a spy, it will be easy to catch her like this.’
“Fine.”
“Stay close and don’t speak during the council.”
He stepped towards the door, knocking twice lightly as the door was pushed open.
Two guards stood in the corridor, their armor gleaming in the morning light.
The corridor stretched ahead, walls lined with torches.
Guards stood at attention every few paces, their eyes followed her movement
The council chamber doors loomed ahead, carved long golden door, two guards flanked the entrance their hands resting on sword hilts
He stepped into the council chamber, his bare feet silent on the poolished stone floor.
The room was circular, with a massive table carved from dark woods with golden threads on it at its center.
Eight figures sat around it, elves with varying skin tone and hair colors, all dressed in formal robes.
The conversation stopped immediately.
All eyes turned towards the doorway.
They all stood simultaneously when the king entered.
One of the council members—an older elf with silver hair—stood from his seat.
His amber eyes narrowed as he looked at her.
“Your Majesty,” his voice was sharp, “isn’t this the human who attacked your guards?”
“She’s here as my guard.”
She really wanted to stay silent, but she got pissed.
She leaned slightly toward him and spoke in a measured voice, quiet enough that no one else could hear.
“Instead of defending yourself, you should ask him how he knew the information.
Having spies in the palace is a serious offense!”
“And he even manipulated the story.
I didn’t attack anyone.
That was a spar.”
“If you let him manipulate the words like that, you’ll be the one in a bad position when you defend me.”
She spoke carefully, keeping her voice low and her movements subtle enough that no one in the room noticed what she was saying.
Eryndor’s jaw tightened.
Her words reached him—quiet, measured, meant only for his ears.
His green eyes flicked sideways toward her, then back to the silver-haired council member.
‘She’s right.
How did he know already?’
‘What he mentioned just happened in the last ten minutes?!
Rumors always spread, but this…’
“Council Member Theron.” His voice was cold.
“I don’t recall informing you of any incidents this morning.”
Theron’s expression shifted—just slightly.
His fingers drummed against the dark wood table.
“Word travels quickly in the palace, Your Majesty.”
‘No.
This was too quick.’
‘I guess I was really exhausted from all the things that happened not to see something like this immediately.
I really need to get enough sleep today.
My precious, rare rest was interrupted by her the day before.’
‘Thinking about this really irritates me…
Should I just throw both of them in the dungeons and rest from all this headache?’
Eryndor’s hand remained on the arm of his chair.
“Then perhaps we should discuss how information reaches the council before it reaches me.”
The other council members exchanged glances.
One—a younger elf with copper skin—leaned forward.
“Your Majesty, we were merely concerned for your safety.”
“My safety?”
Eryndor’s voice dropped lower.
“Or my authority?”
Theron’s lips pressed into a thin line.