Saying this, Eric extended his hands to us. When I took his hand, he squeezed mine firmly back.
He truly was an amazing man. He overcame so much hardship, and through it all, he learned to rely on others.
Eric has changed. I know he will be a perfect king.
I had to work hard to be just as perfect a queen.
Linboldt wasn’t after the Death Poison. We could trust him to act in accordance with one goal alone: breaking our betrothal. I needed to take pride in myself as a future princess, and I needed to steel myself so that I could repel any horrible things he said to me.
“I’ll take my leave now,” Dale said. “I’ll use the information you just gave me to see if I can predict what their next move will be.”
“Understood. We’ll get to work as well.”
And with that, Dale left us to do some research, and Eric and I departed for his study.
✦ ✦ ✦
We entered Eric’s study to find Johann sitting ceremonially on his knees, waiting for us.
“Johann,” Eric said. “What is it?”
His strange appearance made me tense up a little.
“Prince Eric, I’ve come to give you this letter!”
“Letter? Regarding…what? W-wait, are you—?”
Eric noticed Johann’s sword was set down on the floor in front of him, along with the letter. Eric picked up the letter, read it, transfixed by the contents.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Let me see.” I scanned the words “What?! Johann, are you serious?”
It was a letter of resignation.
This must be some sort of joke.
Johann was Eric’s childhood friend and his most trusted captain of the guard. Why would he suddenly quit?
“What is the meaning of this?” Eric demanded.
He had a right to be confused. Johann was his closest friend—he would not take his resignation without a fight.
“Well, actually…this is something I’ve been mulling over ever since Prince Liu requested Lady Lin’s return. I believe tensions between the two nations must be resolved…so I request permission to accompany Lady Lin to the Ren Empire! And I would go knowing that I would probably never return!”
As Johann bowed to us, Eric and I exchanged glances. Neither of us had dreamed he would request to run away with Lingsha.
Wow…things are really getting out of hand.
Johann probably planned to solve Lingsha’s problems once they were in the Ren Empire, which meant there was no guarantee he would be able to return. If Lingsha was stuck in Ren, he would vow to stay by her side for the rest of his life and watch over her, leaving him with the heart-wrenching decision to leave Eric.
It doesn’t matter how noble Johann’s motives are if Eric doesn’t allow it.
To Eric, Johann was so much more than a bodyguard. It was hard to imagine Eric letting him go.
“Wait, Johann, slow down. I know you wouldn’t joke about such a thing…but it’s just so sudden that I can’t believe it.”
This was too much even for Eric. I had never seen him in such a panic. After all, he trusted that Johann would stick with him through anything. He never once doubted the man.
“I knew you would say that, Your Highness. I did promise to stay by your side until you made your ideal vision a reality.”
“Johann…”
“Nevertheless, I will not be swayed. If you cannot forgive me for breaking my promise…then by all means, take my sword and kill me where I kneel!”
A firm and passionate look in his eye, Johann lifted the sword off the floor with both hands and presented it to the prince. Eric flinched ever so slightly.
He’s ready to die for this. So I was right about Johann and Lingsha…
Johann had someone he was willing to die for—Lingsha. That’s why he was prepared to lay down his life in penance for breaking his promise to Eric.
“Sir Johann, pardon me for asking, but are you and Miss Lin together?”
After a long pause, Johann said, “Yes, Lady Lin and I are romantically involved. It started this year…around the Foundation Day Festival.”
“I see. I thought that might be the case. You two seemed a lot closer lately.”
Ever since Johann’s house arrest, he seemed attracted to Lingsha. I had a gut feeling that something might have happened between them a little while ago, but I didn’t expect to be proven correct…
Eric, who was still quite green in matters of romance, gave a perplexed look and said, “Hmm, I see. I didn’t notice at all.” But surely, he had thoughts about the matter, as his eyes looked lonely.
“The powerful dukes who wanted you dead, Berklein and Algrene, have been thwarted. All your enemies are defeated, Your Highness. And most importantly, you now have Lady Leia to protect you, and she is much stronger than me.”
“Johann, I—”
“I already know how you feel, Your Highness. But I wish to devote my life to being a shield that guards my beloved. This is my chivalric code.”
Eric stayed quiet for a time, letting Johann’s words sink in. He then took a deep breath and walked up to Johann. The dismay and confusion from earlier were gone, replaced with an expression of dignified majesty.
Eric took Johann’s sword and turned the tip to Johann’s throat.
Eric, you can’t be… No, that’s not what you’re doing. I know it’s not.
As swift as my thought came to my head, Eric swung the sword. The blade was but a flash, impossible to see with the naked eye.
“No—Johann, I need you. I can’t let you go…I can’t let you die either.”
His resignation letter fluttered to the floor in two pieces before Johann’s eyes. This was Eric’s display of intention: He would never abandon Johann.
“Your Highness! B-but I—”
“This isn’t only about you. I’m not letting them take Lingsha either, so I can’t accept your resignation.”
Eric handed Johann his sword and smiled gently.
Johann stood up, took a step back, held his sword low, and swung it twice. “Lady Lin told me that this is the Renese ritual that one does to express the desire to be killed by someone they respect.”
Then he swung his sword high, and I immediately took a defensive stance. That was just how vicious, how severe Johann’s devotion was.
Johann really is prepared to die.
I’d only known Johann for less than a year, but I knew. I knew that Johann Olbrun’s convictions were never half-hearted.
“Johann, what are you doing?”
As Eric was a longtime friend, there was no way he would miss Johann’s conviction. Even so, he knew what Johann was prepared to do, and he couldn’t stop himself from asking why.
“I defied your orders, Your Highness. I was going to desert. If I cannot be forgiven, then strike me down for treason where I stand!”
“What a stupid thing to say!”
At that moment, Lingsha blasted through the door and smacked Johann with a flying jump kick. Caught flat-footed, Johann fell on the spot.
“Bluh?!”
Remorseless, Lingsha mounted him, grabbed him by the collar, and shook him. Johann’s eyes rolled back in their sockets—she must have really taken him by surprise.
“What the hell are you thinking, Johann?!” she snarled. “If you die, you won’t be able to eat anymore!”
“W-well, true, but—”
“Then why’re ya doing this?”
Johann let out a defeated whimper and said, “I’ve never been good with relationships…so this was the only way I could think to protect you, Lady Lin.”
With a wild smirk, Lingsha rolled him over and said, “But there’s a much easier way, oh yes!”
“L-Lady Lin?”
Lingsha grabbed his hands and yanked him to his feet. Then she flung her arms around him and squeezed tight. Not only was Johann surprised, so were we.
“We can do this the Renese way: Blast ’em all away till they do what we say!”
Unable to handle her over-the-top sincerity any longer, Eric burst into raucous laughter. “Ha ha ha! Lingsha, what kind of plan is that?”
Johann joined in the laughter. “That’s my Lin… It’s your straightforward, wholehearted ferocity that I fell in love with.”