Chapter 4 Our kingdom

Chapter 4

I watched as he immediately walked away. But now, she was looking at me. She kept staring at me like I was the first person she had ever seen, and it irritated me.

"Mama," she whispered while still looking at me.

"What?!" I almost dropped her when she called me that.

'What the hell is wrong with her? Did she lose her mind?!'

"Mama!!" she repeated, this time wrapping her arms around me.

"What the fuck-stop! What the hell?!" I snapped, but she just kept hugging me like I was really her mother. This is crazy. This girl must be insane. Damn it, I think I made a mistake coming with her.

"Mama? Am I a good girl?" she asked, looking at me with innocent eyes.

What the hell is happening to her? Her expression hasn't changed at all despite my confusion. Even though I had no idea what was going on, I still answered, my brows furrowed.

"Y-yes... yes, you're a good girl."

It was the first time I ever stuttered while speaking to someone. I wanted to push her away, but... what if she just missed her mother and mistook me for her?

"Hehehehe."

She giggled like a little child. I chose to ignore her and just focused on the road ahead. I also noticed that we were now alone-I think the others took a different path or only traveled up to a certain point.

I felt her weight shift, a sign that she had fallen asleep again. I glanced around our surroundings while continuing to ride. That's all I could really do since we were on horseback.

Fast Forward...

It was already late afternoon when we arrived at Natnerion. Yes, we made it, and yes, she slept the entire way.

I already knew the path since there weren't any complicated routes to take.

"Viviette, wake up," I called.

She immediately stirred, stretched, and looked around before nodding. Then, she transferred back onto her own horse and started moving forward. I simply followed her lead.

After a while, we arrived at a large house-or at least, I think it was a house. I saw her dismount, so I did the same. Two men approached us and took our horses. Viviette then walked straight into the building, and I had no choice but to follow. It seemed like she knew her way around.

"Hi, Sister Elsie!" she greeted a woman with a bright smile.

The woman looked to be in her twenties, but you wouldn't immediately notice unless you stared at her closely. She was tall and had the elegance of a model. Her shoulder-length hair was slightly wavy, yet it had a glossy sheen. Her skin was fair, with a pinkish glow on her lips. She had a slightly pointed nose and innocent-looking dark green eyes-so dark that they almost didn't look green at all.

"Hello, Viviette. The usual?" the woman, Elsie, asked. However, there was sadness in her eyes.

Viviette nodded in response.

Elsie immediately stood up and walked toward a large circular structure. She started chanting something I couldn't understand.

Princess Viviette's POV

"Come on," I said with a smile, motioning for her to enter the portal. I could see her hesitation, but in the end, she stepped through.

Actually, we were supposed to return to our kingdom earlier, but we got delayed because my sister Elsie wasn't in Wirsyian. Only Sister Elsie and Old Sonia have the ability to open a portal that can take us home to any kingdom.

"Don't worry, this isn't like the portal we entered before," I reassured her. She nodded, though I knew she was still feeling nauseous from our previous journey. The truth is, I brought her with me because I saw something in her. I think it was the right decision, and I honestly didn't expect her to see the two trees. But to my surprise, she did-and that made me happy.

As soon as we stepped out of the portal, we were greeted by the grand gates of our kingdom. I turned to her with a smile, but she only furrowed her brows as she glanced around. I pouted at her serious expression-she wasn't even smiling! I decided to ignore it when a guard approached us.

"Welcome back, Princess Viviette," he said. I smiled at him, though I didn't miss the way he sneered slightly. I chose to brush it off and instead pulled Nymeria inside the gates.

As we walked through the palace, I explained everything to her. She simply nodded in understanding, and I had to admit, I was impressed. She caught on to things quickly-maybe I really did bring the right person.

"Come on, I'm sure they're already eating," I told her. She nodded and followed me. The maids opened the doors for us, some greeting me politely, while others glared. Well, it's fine. I'm used to it.

The moment we entered, silence greeted us. I walked straight toward the dining hall, knowing that my parents and brothers would be there having their meal.

"Hello, Mom and Dad. And to my dear brothers as well," I greeted them with a smile.

What I didn't expect was to see the other royals-the kings and queens of neighboring kingdoms-present as well. I guess I had bad timing.

"Viviette, where have you been?" my father asked, his voice cold and laced with warning.

"Hehehe... just around," I replied playfully. Of course, I didn't tell him the truth-that my so-called wonderful siblings and the royals were the reason I had been away for days. I knew they hated me. Even my parents did, though they still cared when I went missing. My brothers, on the other hand? Nope. They only cared about Mirette.

Before my father could say anything else, I quickly cut in, not wanting him to ask any more questions.

"This person beside me is Nymeria. She's going to be my personal knight!" I announced proudly.

Scoffs and mocking glances filled the room.

"Tsk. That's your personal knight? She probably can't even protect herself," sneered Prince Connoly-or Conny, as they call him. I simply shrugged. He had no idea what Nymeria was capable of.

"Princess Viviette, it looks like you made the wrong choice. She seems weak and completely defenseless," added Princess Rina. Again, I just shrugged.

"Are you referring to yourself, Miss?" Nymeria suddenly spoke up, catching everyone off guard.

"W-what?" Rina stammered, her face turning red with anger.

"Do I need to repeat it? Well, okay. I said, Are you referring to yourself, Miss?" Nymeria repeated, her voice calm but sharp.

"Hey! Watch your mouth! Do you even know who you're talking to?!" Prince Gwen snapped at Nymeria. But she only looked at him coldly.

"I don't know, and I don't want to know. Do I need to repeat myself?" she replied, bored.

I stayed silent, watching the exchange with interest.

"You've got some nerve! Who do you think you are?!" Prince Gwen hissed. He was quick to anger and hated being talked back to-unless the person was of higher status than him.

I saw Nymeria simply shrug. That only made Gwen even more furious. In a flash, he was right in front of her, rage burning in his eyes. A guard approached from Nymeria's side, but she ignored him.

No one seemed willing to step in-not even the king and queen. I didn't know why.

My eyes widened when Gwen unsheathed his sword. And not just any sword-it was a Dwarf's Blood Sword, one of the strongest in existence. No blade could match its durability. It was forged by the finest dwarves, the very first dwarves to ever exist in this world.

Just as Gwen was about to strike, Nymeria swiftly grabbed a sword and blocked his attack.

"Do you really think your sword can match mine?" Gwen smirked.

Nymeria didn't respond. Instead, she kicked him in the stomach.

Gwen gritted his teeth, standing up quickly. He charged at her again, but before he could get close, Nymeria swung her sword.

We all gasped in shock.

Gwen's sword-his supposedly indestructible Dwarf's Blood Sword-was cut clean in half. Meanwhile, Nymeria's blade remained perfectly intact.

"Not bad. This sword is nice-smooth to swing," Nymeria remarked casually. Then, turning to Gwen, she asked, "What was it you said earlier?"

But Gwen didn't answer. He only stared at his broken sword in disbelief.

"Tsk. J*rk," Nymeria muttered. "It's not about how strong your sword is or who forged it. It's about how you use it. If you can't even control your own sword and lose it in a single swing, then you're not capable of wielding another one. You'd better practice before running around and swinging your weapon at me."

With that, she handed the broken sword to a nearby guard. I saw Gwen clench his fists in frustration. I could only imagine how he felt. After all, who would've thought that the strongest sword would break against an ordinary one?

But I couldn't blame Nymeria either. Gwen had simply chosen the wrong opponent.

"Ahem." I cleared my throat, drawing their attention back to me. I smiled brightly.

"So... can she be my personal knight now, Dad?" I asked sweetly.

My father only nodded in response.

I grinned.

To Be Continued...