Chapter 416 A new guard
The fourth prince brought me back to the dwarven residence and then dropped me off in front of it.
After we had come to an agreement, there wasn't much else that we had talked about, so we had spent much of the ride back in silence.
The fourth prince seemed to be thinking something as he looked out the window.
As for me, I was trying to figure out just what the fourth prince had wanted.
No matter how I thought about it, it didn't seem like the fourth prince would make a deal where he would suffer a loss like this.
This deal not only required him to protect me from the other princes, he would also not get a slice of the trade with the dwarves and the elves. He told me to give all of that to the king for the kingdom, so none of that would go to him since it would all be arranged by the king.
Why would he do that?
But I just couldn't figure it out by looking at the fourth prince.
It was as if his mind was completely hidden from me and I wasn't able to see a thing.
I normally thought that I was quite good at reading people, but that didn't seem to be the case this time.
But then again, there was a reason why he was known as the final boss.
His thoughts had been hidden for so long that no one had been able to notice anything until it was too late.
After getting out of the carriage, I was heading into the residence when the fourth prince suddenly called out to me.
"Wait, before you go, I have something for you." The fourth prince's voice came from behind me.
I turned around to see the fourth prince sticking his head out the window of the carriage.
This scene really didn't fit the prestigious and handsome fourth prince, but here he was doing it.
It was just a good thing that there was no one around to see him do this.
The fourth prince gave a snap of his fingers and then there was a cloaked figure that appeared.
I couldn't help being taken aback by this cloaked figure that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Looking at them with a cautious look, I took a step back away from them.
The fourth prince saw this and revealed a faint smile before saying, "There's no need to be cautious, this is one of my guards. I'll be leaving them to you to protect you just in case anything happens."
My brows slightly knit when I heard this.
He said that this was a guard that was sent to 'protect' me, but all I could see was a guard that was here to watch over me.
The fourth prince that I knew definitely wouldn't do anything like this without something to gain, so it made me more certain that he had something that he was hiding from me. That was why he was sending this guard to 'protect' me.
After a moment of silence, I forced myself to stay calm as I said with a smile, "Your highness, there's no need for that much trouble. I can take care of myself."
But the fourth prince just wouldn't take no for an answer as he said, "You never know what will happen, so it's better if you have more guards by your side. This guard of mine is an elite that can fight on par with the captain of the knights. They definitely will not let you down."
The more that he endorsed this person, the harder it became for me to reject.
After all, if I did, it would be like slapping the face of the fourth prince by saying that I didn't trust him.
At a delicate time like this, I couldn't do something like that.
So in the end, I had no choice but to say with a sigh, "Then I'll have to thank your highness for your concern."
The fourth prince gave a nod with a smile before turning to the cloaked figure to say, "You will take your orders from Count Zwein from now on. Make sure to protect him, even if it costs your life."
The cloaked figure suddenly fell to one knee in front of the carriage and said, "Yes, your highness."
I was surprised to hear that the voice of this cloaked figure wasn't hidden and it was a female voice.
I couldn't tell at all that this was a female because her figure was completely hidden by the cloak that she wore.
But I didn't look down on her since she was a female.
This was a world where females could be just as strong as males, this was very evident when it came to the case of Cecilia.
She was much stronger than most male knights that were in the same position as her.
I was just worried that there might be other orders that the fourth prince has given this guard that could cause me trouble…
The fourth prince didn't seem to care at all as he brought his head back into the carriage.
With one final wave, he said, "Count Zwein, I hope that I'll be able to see you again, but I don't think that there will be time for that soon. You should be careful during this time, there's no knowing what my brothers will do."
He didn't give an explanation for this as he just left, but I couldn't help deeply knitting my brows when I heard this.
The leaving of this guard and the cryptic message that he met, it seemed that he knew something that I didn't. And it seemed that this thing was related to the other princes…
After thinking for a bit, I gave a sigh.
I would ask Scar and Shaka about this later since I needed Shadow Garden's resources to find out this information.
I wouldn't be able to do anything worrying about this and excessively worrying about this wouldn't be good for me either.
I would deal with these things when they came.
I was about to go in when I suddenly remembered the guard that the fourth prince had left me standing there.
She had been standing there in silence after the fourth prince left, almost as if she was waiting for an order.
I slowly turned to look at her before asking, "What are you going to do now?"
She said in a cold voice, "My orders were to follow you and protect you, so I will do that. If there's anything that you want me to do, then I'll do it."
Though she said this, it was clear that there was a trace of unwillingness in her voice.
But there was no doubting the conviction that she said this with.
It was as if she really would follow my orders, regardless of what orders they were.
It seemed that she would even follow some orders that wouldn't be as good for her…
But I didn't have that intention at all.
I just asked, "No, I mean what are you going to do now? Are you going to follow me around, or what?"
She said in the same cold voice, "I'll do as you order."
"Eh?" I couldn't help saying with a surprised look. But in the end, I said with a sigh, "Alright, follow me then."
Before going in though, I remembered one more thing, "What should I address you by?"
The cloaked figure just simply said, "There's no need for names. Just call me Shadow Five."
I looked at her with a strange look when I heard this, but I didn't dive deeper into it.
I'm sure there's a story behind this, but that was her story and it wasn't my place to ask.
So I simply said, "I'll be counting on you then, Shadow Five."
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