Side Story: I’ll Be The One To Protect Viola

Side Story: I’ll Be The One To Protect Viola

Having seen Viola (and the crown prince chasing her) in the gardens, I ordered my men to meet me there before chasing after the two.

Opening the glass door leading outside, I jumped out into the dimly lit gardens.

Where are you, Viola?! Where did you go?

Searching for her, I moved along the hedge. There would be no way to find her if she’d headed deeper into the gardens, but I figured she must have been aiming for the reception hall. So...to the left! Just as I was was deciding which way to go at a crossroads, I heard something startling

“Whoa?!”

Viola had let out a short scream. It was...to the left. She must have been heading towards the hall, then.

I’ve gotta follow her voice! I thought, jumping through the gap in the hedge. As I caught my breath, I saw Viola sitting on the ground, with the crown prince inched closer.

“I’m fine! Absolutely fine!”

“No, no, your ankle is terribly swollen! I’ll take you back to your room.”

While Viola snapped at him, the crown prince’s nasty hands were about to touch her.

Don’t make me angry.

I thought I heard something snap inside of me.

“Stop right there, Your Royal Highness, Crown Prince of Aurantia. And step away from Viola, if you would.”

Even I was surprised at how low my voice got. I must have been even more pissed than I thought.

I could see the tension in Viola’s face soften when I appeared. You must have been so scared. I’m sorry I took so long! They always say that heroes show up late, but I promised I wanted to find you faster than I did! Please believe me, Viola!

Pushing the crown prince who had been closing in on her out of the way, I gave her a hug. That calmed me down, at least a tiny bit.

Viola was so relieved that she clung to me and cried. She almost never cries. Actually, that might have been the first time I’d ever seen her cry. She must have been truly terrified!

Unforgivable.

The crown prince was blabbering something stupid. I can beat him up now, right?

I was angry, but I held myself back. It’d be trouble if I pulled my sword on him first.

“Dammit!” Swearing, the crown prince drew the decorative sword that had been hanging on his hip and pointed it straight at me.

What a lucky break. He drew his sword first, right? Now this was legitimate self-defense—I had to protect myself and Viola.

“Oh my. Drawing your sword in another country’s palace? You really are a lost cause,” I drawled, pulling out my own sword. Honestly, I wanted to thank him for making the first move.

He took a few steps back, and I made up the distance. I was glad that we’d moved away from Viola naturally. I didn’t want to get in a swordfight with her right nearby. I didn’t want her to get hurt.

But damn, the crown prince’s stance was awful. It was so bad that I nearly started laughing. His hips were pulled back, and he was holding the hilt with two hands. It was clear that he was actually terrified. Flür’s crown prince (only five years old) was probably better at this than him, and of course he’d only just begun to learn. And was he seriously going to attack me with a decorative sword? Was he making fun of me?

The crown prince was putting all his weight behind each swing, but since his center of gravity was off, it was easy to knock him away and off balance. He was so bad. If I got serious, I could get behind him and take him out with a single slash, but I didn’t want to subject Viola to such a violent scene.

I kept toying with him as he came at me, forcing him to waste his strength.

“You done? That was boring.”

But even with my mocking,

“What are you saying?! It’s not over yet!”

Seems he still wanted to go. “Ah, so you can still fight? Guess I’d better get serious, then.”

Don’t think I’m gonna let you off easy for making Viola cry.

I switched myself to serious mode. I’m a knight who trains daily. Don’t underestimate me. Plus, my sword felt especially light today.

I was at my fighting best, while the crown prince struggled to just deal with my blows. Actually, he was barely even doing that. As we fought, he was getting covered in small scratches.

Finally, I’d backed him against the hedge. Playtime was over. I smacked his wrist with my sword’s hilt and made him drop his weapon, then I quickly kicked it away from him as it fell to the ground.

Next.

I stabbed my sword at his head—or, more accurately, right beside his head.

I’d done this because judging by what I’d heard from Chamomile and the others, and what I’d seen from him so far, this guy was a dumbass. And just as I expected, his legs gave out immediately, and he slid down to the ground.

“Seriously, I was holding off on striking the final blow because I wanted everything to finish quickly, but you just didn’t take the hint. Want me to raze your country to the ground and salt the earth this time?”

“...Eeek!”

Just as I’d grabbed him by the collar and given him a piece of my mind...

“I’m all for that!”

“Let’s do it!”

“I’ll give it my all this time around!”

I heard Corydalis and the others. So they finally showed up... They’ve definitely been listening to the whole thing from the other side of the hedge. That’s fine though, since it’ll give us some objective testimony of what the prince said and did.

The next day Corydalis would say, “Huh? It’s not like you needed us to save you. Plus, you wanted to get revenge yourself, didn’t you? That’s why we stayed in the shadows and watched the crown prince’s every move instead!” with a smile.

Leaving the Aurantian royal siblings to His Majesty and my men, Viola and I were allowed to leave.

She was injured, but at least Viola was now safely in my arms. She gave me a big smile to keep me from worrying before resting her head against my shoulder. The fact that I actually felt happy feeling that weight meant I was already head over heels for her. No... I had been that way for quite a while.

Feeling lonely at hearing her formally calling me “Mr. Fisalis”...

“...Not ‘Mr. Fisalis,’” I told her, really putting on the pressure with my best smile.

“...? Cer...cis?” Eyes upturned, Viola called my name.

Oh no. My wife is too cute!

I was truly glad that I was able to protect my adorable, precious wife. From now on and forever, I’ll be the one to protect her.