Where Duty Begins

A sharp voice rang across the field, cutting through the clamor. Edmund stormed toward them from the castle’s keep. He was short in stature, yet radiated authority with every furious step.

“Oh, Edmund.” Charlotte blinked.

“Your Highness! Are you hurt?” He hurried to her side.

“N-no. I’m fine,” she replied, hiding the sword she was holding from him.

With her answer, relief washed over his face. Guilt pricked at Charlotte’s heart. He and his wife, Vanellope, had never liked seeing her with a blade in hand.

The knights snapped to attention—all except Jack, who lifted a lazy hand in greeting.

“Hey, Ed. You saw that, huh? Pretty good match, don’t you think?”

“Don’t call me that so casually! And what do you mean, a good match? What if Her Highness had been hurt—”

“That’s why I made sure Hoche wasn’t armed.”

Edmund’s face turned a deeper shade of crimson as Jack casually waved him off, then his eyes landed squarely on the silent knight standing nearby. “And that man you brought in—Hoche, was it? You’ll drag in anything you find, won’t you? He’s not some stray dog or cat!”

“He’s way more useful than either,” Jack replied with a shrug. “Passed the entrance test with an almost perfect score.”

“Oh, he passed it all right! By destroying a training dummy with his dagger!” Edmund flailed his arms in frustration. “Magic-powered combat puppets, imported from Bahharis! Do you have any idea how valuable those are?”

Charlotte blinked in surprise. Those were prized magical tools—automated, durable, used only for high-level training.

And he broke it with a single dagger?

Jack scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, that one’s on me. I should’ve been clearer about the test parameters.”

“How can you sound so unbothered about this? He may indeed be strong, sure, but what this kingdom needs is a knight bred with loyalty to the kingdom and royal family. Unless we’re suddenly in need of a walking weapon, I fail to see where that gets us!”

Jack gave Edmund a smug grin at his whining. “A walking weapon, huh? I’ve started thinking this kingdom might actually need one.”

Edmund stared at him, scandalized. “What are you saying?”

“There’s a role he’s perfect for. And we were just looking for someone to fill it.”

“Stop talking about nonsense! Where would such a position even exist?”

Everyone around them listened intently to the exchange. Charlotte found herself holding her breath. She couldn’t even begin to imagine where this conversation was heading.

With deliberate weight, Jack said, “Why not make him Charlotte’s personal guard?”

The words hung in the air for a suspended moment. Every single person—except Hoche—gasped aloud.

“What! Me?” Charlotte pointed to herself, eyes wide. She looked between Jack’s satisfied expression and Hoche’s impassive face.

“Commander, are you serious?” Marius looked half shocked, half exasperated.

The rest of the knights buzzed, voices rising in disbelief.

Edmund, naturally, was the first to explode. “Y-you . . . you absolute lunatic! Where does that absurd idea of yours even come from? She is the one and only princess of this kingdom! The sole heir to the throne!”

Edmund’s furious rant only made Charlotte’s shoulders tense. The other knights shifted uncomfortably, exchanging glances that said they’d seen this kind of outburst before. Yet, Edmund raged on.

“And yet you suggest entrusting her safety to a complete stranger? It’s madness! Absolute nonsense!”

Jack raised his hands in mock surrender. “Hey now, I said ‘her personal guard’, but I didn’t mean he has to stick by Lotte’s side all the time. He’d only accompany her when she needed to leave the castle.”

At those words, tension in the air eased. Even Edmund, who had stood tense and watchful, began to settle.

Jack continued, “You’re right—there aren’t many roles in this castle or this capital that suit him right now. But it would be a waste to keep that talent locked up in the training yard. Gil may still be in good health, sure . . . but he’s retired from active duty.”

Several of the knights let out hums of agreement. It sounded like a perfectly reasonable explanation to Charlotte as well.

Hoche was far stronger than Sir Gilbert. But he might not be familiar with the kingdom—its patrol routes, its chain of command, the roles assigned at the start of spring. There might be space for him to fit in somewhere, but with his speed, his poise, and the sheer force he carried, he was built for guarding someone closely rather than charging into battle on the front lines.

Still, she never would have imagined Jack to be the one suggesting such a thing.

“Of course, if either of them refuses, I won’t push it. What do you think, you two?”

Caught off guard, Charlotte struggled to answer. The same man who pointed a blade at me without hesitation—this stoic, unreadable stranger—is going to be my bodyguard?

“If it’s an order, I will obey,” he replied in that same flat tone she was beginning to recognize as his normal voice.

And it only made Edmund seethe more. “You ungrateful wretch! Do you have any idea how much of an honor it is to serve as the princess’s personal guard? It’s a privilege—one most would kill for!”

“Wait,” Jack cut in, grinning. “I thought you didn’t want him to guard her.”

“That’s beside the point!”

Charlotte hesitated to join in on the bickering between the two. They were like a cat and a dog, somehow getting along through constant arguing.

“Um . . . actually . . .”

All eyes turned. Charlotte felt each gaze pin her in place, her heart racing in the sudden silence. But managed to keep her voice steady. “I do see that he’s strong. And if having a personal guard means I can visit the town more freely . . .” 

She paused, glancing toward the training grounds and the dust that clung to her boots. “. . . then maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.”

Edmund’s jaw dropped open in sheer disbelief. The knights’ eyes went wide.

Hoche remained entirely expressionless. But just for a moment, his gaze flicked toward her with a hint of surprise.

Jack smirked in amusement. “Oh? Now that’s some sound reasoning, Lotte.”

“Jack, you insufferable—! Princess, please, I beg you to reconsider!!”

Edmund’s desperate voice, however, wasn’t enough to stir Charlotte’s heart.

“But you saw what happened, right? I wrecked the training field, and still couldn’t win . . .” She looked over at the field where they had fought. The traces of her magic were still visible—deep cracks splitting the earth where violent green energy had surged through. Vines, grass, and wildflowers now bloomed wildly from what had once been a plain training ground. Until a gardener cleared away the overgrowth, it would be utterly unusable for sparring.

“If I cannot be both the princess and the blade, I suppose I’ll settle for half.” Her voice tried to sound light, almost joking—but the quiet bitterness seeped through. 

Edmund’s brows knit in concern. Unnoticed by her, Marius elbowed Jack sharply in the side.

“More importantly . . .” Charlotte shifted her eyes toward Hoche. Her gaze, clear and gemlike, met his deep blue. “Are you really okay with this? With being my guard?”

“Yes. If that is the order.”

That flat, emotionless answer stung her—but oddly, it also calmed her. That cold, professional distance . . . that was what she needed right now.

“Wait just a minute, Princess Charlotte! Commander! And Chancellor!”

One of the younger knights with dark brown hair had stepped forward, his face flushed red, trying his best to be noticed. “Instead of trusting some outsider with the princess’s safety, please . . . choose someone who was born and raised in this kingdom. Choose me!”

At his words, the other knights immediately erupted.

“Wait, Simon! That’s not fair!! I want in, too!”

“If it’s up for grabs, I’m the best choice!”

“No way—pick me! I’d do a way better job!”

The chaotic storm of voices sounded like a fistfight might break out any second.

Marius sighed heavily. “This is exactly why we always left the role to Sir Gilbert.”

“And if you volunteered, we’d be done with this nonsense already.” Edmund glared at him.

“Oh, no thanks. I’m not interested in babysitting a tomboy princess,” Marius replied with a shrug.

In the middle of the chaos, Jack clapped his hands and called out. “All right, all right, boys. Let’s do this.” 

Everyone fell silent and turned to face him.

With a devilish grin, Jack said, “Beat Hoche in a duel. With swords, of course. Then the job’s yours. Simple enough, right?”

Groans echoed from the knights.

“Geh—Commander, be serious!”

“He’s too fast! And tiny!”

In the midst of the commotion, Charlotte stood there, listening to their conversations. Despite being called “tiny,” there was nothing diminutive about the way Hoche carried himself. His presence cut sharply through the noise. And then she remembered—he served in the First Unit. The one known across the realm for its unrivaled skill, the sharpest blades of the entire Order.

The other knights, eager to win favor, were trying not to look too desperate.

“I may not be the fastest,” one declared, puffing his chest, “but I’ve got strength and honor on my side!”

“Strength? You’d spend more time gawking at the princess than guarding her!”

Laughter erupted across the field. Marius shook his head, and Edmund silently glared daggers at Jack.

Charlotte stole another glance at Hoche.

He seemed to sense it again and turned toward her—and just like before, she quickly looked away.

As expected, his expression hadn’t changed one bit.