Episode 39
“You’ve lived an easy life.”
“An easy life?”
No way. How could a life full of constant training be easy?
Canaria’s head was full of thoughts to argue back at Koa’s words.
But then Koa said something that made her swallow all her complaints.
“I was born an orphan and lived my whole life as a mercenary in dark alleyways.”
“Oh…”
With just that one sentence, Canaria couldn’t say anything else.
Knights and mercenaries lived in completely different worlds. From the beginning, knights were noble, and mercenaries were commoners.
Knights who followed the official path were respected, but when it came to hardship, mercenaries definitely had it worse. And Canaria, who had worked so hard her entire life, understood that better than anyone.
So in the end, she truly and humbly knelt down.
Listening to their conversation, I smacked my knee.
Right! Raymond said he takes in commoners and makes them his subordinates.
Kargo was one, and so was Koa.
Her smooth, natural combat skills must’ve come from a lifetime of fighting to survive. Maybe even from birth.
Nothing in this world comes for free.
I silently clapped for Koa, feeling deep respect for her strength and determination.
As I nodded in admiration, I noticed my mother, the butler, and the maids were all nodding with me. At this point, it was clear—Koa was basically chosen already.
After all the duels were finished, only the final round—the interview—was left.
The earlier tests judged skill, but this last part would evaluate personality.
To keep things relaxed and natural, each candidate was interviewed one by one. We sat around a table and talked while drinking tea.
The questions were mostly about their work experience and their mindset. All the candidates answered very well—so smoothly it made me wonder if they had gone to public speaking classes. The head maid later explained that candidates usually prepare a lot for this part.
That’s why I got nervous again when it was finally Koa’s turn. I was sure she didn’t prepare anything, thinking she would be picked anyway.
But Koa sat up perfectly straight as soon as she was asked to. It must be a habit for fighters to always keep their posture neat.
Then the interview began, starting with the head maid.
“Where did you work before this?”
“I was in a mercenary group until I turned twenty. After that, I worked as a temple knight.”
“What made you apply for this job?”
“I wanted to experience more of the world. I also felt confident in my skills.”
To my surprise, Koa answered all the questions clearly and calmly.
“What’s your specialty?”
“I mostly use a sword, but my real strength is in stealth and throwing weapons.”
“Oh really? Can you show us?”
“Yes.”
Mother showed interest and gave a signal to the waiting staff. One of the servants brought over a pouch filled with throwing knives and handed it to Koa.
Koa took one, looked toward an empty spot near the window, and threw it. Whoosh! The small knife flew and stuck right between two windowpanes.
A servant walked over and took a closer look.
“There’s a small insect stuck to the tip of the blade,” he reported.
Apparently, the blade had hit a flying bug and pinned it to the wall. And all of this happened in the blink of an eye.
“Wow! Bravo!”
Mother jumped up and clapped loudly. Everyone else followed with enthusiastic applause. No one was faking it.
Once all the interviews were done, only the judges remained. While the butler was calculating the final scores, Mother turned to me.
“Eilene. What do you think?”
“Me?”
“Who do you like best?”
“Um… I like Koa the most.”
I guess she was waiting to ask until the very end. As soon as I said Koa’s name, everyone else agreed too.
“Me too.”
“Same here.”
“I agree as well.”
The head maid, the butler, even my mother—everyone chose Koa. Mother cleared her throat and declared in a strong voice,
“Then it’s decided. Koa will be Eilene’s personal guard.”
She smiled at me.
It had been a long and complicated process, but the result was just what I hoped for.
A few days later, Koa officially moved into the Duke’s mansion. From now on, she would be living here with me.
As my personal guard, Koa was always by my side. Before, male guards had to stay a bit farther away, but now she was practically like my shadow.
This is probably why Mother wanted someone of the same gender.
It almost felt like a 24-hour surveillance system—but thank goodness it was Koa.
If it had been anyone else, I wouldn’t be able to meet Raymond anymore.
Technically, Koa was part of the Grand Duke’s faction, so I naturally paid close attention to her. And more than that, she was my favorite person’s closest aide. Of course, I wanted to treat her well.
Just like I would cherish my favorite item, I wanted to treasure my favorite person’s people too.
Maybe I went too far.
Whenever we were alone, I kept asking if she needed anything. “Is your leg hurting? Are you thirsty? Do you need a break?” I kept fussing over her so much that eventually, Koa looked uncomfortable.
“Please don’t do this, Lady Eilene.”
“No, it’s fine! Really, it’s okay.”
I still wasn’t used to speaking casually to her either.
“If you keep treating me this way, it’ll be hard for me to do my job.”
“Okay… I mean, alright.”
Yeah, I guess being cared for too much could feel suffocating. It’s kind of like interference.
After Koa asked seriously, I finally toned it down. But all that overflowing affection inside me had to go somewhere.
“Hi, Eilene.”
“Adrien! Come on in. This is my new guard, Koa!”
“Ohh, so this is the one you picked.”
As soon as Adrien sat at the garden table, I introduced Koa. He must’ve already heard from my mother that I was hiring a guard.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Koa.”
“Nice to meet you too. Please take good care of our Eilene.”
Adrien smiled with his eyes and then looked at me, noticing how focused I was on Koa.
“You look excited.”
“Huh? Do I?”
“Yeah, super excited. You like having a guard that much?”
“I guess I do. I feel like showing her off to everyone!”
She’s part of the Grand Duke’s faction. Raymond’s person!
Just having her nearby made my heart race—like I had a piece of him with me.
As I rested my chin on my hand and tapped the table, Adrien gave me a suggestion.
“Then come to our house.”
“Huh?”
“Naveen’s planning a tea party soon. She’s writing the invitations.”
“Oh, right! That’s perfect!”
I can show Koa off to Naveen!
Excited by this new idea, I giggled happily.
But my bragging didn’t stop there.
Even when I went to the palace because the emperor called for me, I couldn’t stop my shoulders from twitching with joy. I tried to hold it in, but the emperor noticed right away.
“Eilene. Did something good happen?”
“Huh?”
How did he notice?
“If you’re asking how I know…”
As I froze in surprise, the emperor pointed at my face.
“Your cheeks are lifted. Your smile hasn’t dropped once.”
Then, with a lazy motion, he traced my jawline with his finger. I covered my face with both hands, embarrassed.
“Ah, is that so?”
“What made you so happy?”
He asked, and I hesitated. Should I lie?
But I had no reason to lie—and no good excuse came to mind—so I just told the truth.
“I got a new bodyguard, Your Majesty.”
“Oh? A new guard.”
“Yes. That one over there is Koa.”
The emperor stared at Koa, who was standing quietly inside the terrace. I got nervous—what if he realized she was one of Raymond’s people? But then I remembered: Raymond had told me that no one knew Koa’s face. I relaxed.
“And getting a guard made you this happy?”
“Yes! It feels like I made a new friend.”
“A friend…”
He rubbed his chin and tilted his head slightly.
“You’re truly kind. You don’t judge people by their status—whether they’re commoners, nobles… or even an emperor.”
“Is that so? Haha.”
Thinking it was a compliment, I scratched the back of my head shyly.
But then… wait. Why did he include “even an emperor” at the end?
That was weird. But I didn’t want to ruin the mood, so I just smiled awkwardly.
Eventually, I made my way back to Raymond—and of course, the bragging continued.
“Eilene.”
“Raymond!”
As soon as I entered the upstairs room of the pub hideout, I shouted:
“I’m so happy that Koa is my guard!”
“Oh… really?”
“Yes! She’s skilled and even good at talking!”
I started praising her nonstop, ignoring all context. Behind me, Koa quietly cleared her throat, embarrassed.
Raymond looked at her for a moment and then waved his hand, calling her over.
“Koa.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“….”
But after calling her, Raymond didn’t say anything. The silence dragged on, and Koa started sweating nervously.
“Your Grace… is something wrong?”
“No. Just make sure you protect Eilene well.”
“…Yes, I will.”
Koa bowed and stepped back.
I was watching the whole thing with a puzzled look—and then suddenly remembered something important.
“Oh! I almost forgot to say this!”
Raymond looked at me.
“What I love the most… is that now I can see you whenever I want!”
Filled with joy, I practically jumped with happiness.
Raymond’s cheeks turned pink like a peach. Smiling, he gave a small nod—his face full of satisfaction.
