Bodyguard's Love

Chapter 30

The next morning, on the way to the city of Avigona, Lucas and Hector's horses walked side by side while their masters chatted. The two men were dressed in long black hooded capes to prevent anyone from recognizing them.

"Are you mad at me for hiding the truth from you, Lucas?" asked the former captain suddenly.

"I can't say yes. But I can't say no, either," the young man answered indifferently.

"That means that you're, indeed, a bit mad at me," he concluded.

"It was quite sudden for us that you decided to retire in the middle of an important mission... In the beginning, it was a bit difficult to adapt to your absence..."

"I know... But believe me, if I wasn't sure that you had the skills to be a very good captain and that you could lead your comrades to victory, I would never have left you this position, Lucas."

"It honors me to hear that from you, Master," the young man answered, smiling slightly.

"You are my only disciple, Lucas. If I don't trust you, who can I trust?"

"Then why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me you were going to work as a double agent in our enemy's side ?"

"It had to be kept a secret, Lucas."

"His Majesty, Duke Lobelia and Sir Andvari knew about it though," he retorted.

"They had to. It was part of my mission, Lucas. I had to keep in touch with Sir Andvari in total discretion. He was going to be the messenger between me and His Majesty and Duke Lobelia."

"Yes, I understand..."

"I never wanted to hide anything from you... You're the best person to understand me, Lucas... After all, you too have a lot of secrets... Huge secrets... "

"But you know everything, Master..."

"Not everything, My Boy... There are things I don't know about... Like, for example, the fact that you are madly in love with Her Highness Princess Luana..."

Hearing these words, the young knight's face turned red like a ripe tomato.

"That's not true, Master..." he lied, avoiding Hector's gaze.

"Oh really ?" asked the former captain with an amused smile.

"Y-yes..."

"I must admit that I greatly admire your ferocity and your intelligence in regard to your duties as the captain of the Imperial Knights... But I must tell you, My Boy, that you have a lot of work to do on the control of your own emotions," he remarked with a laugh.

Lucas lost all his means, finding no valid reply to respond to his master's teasing.

"Once you hear the princess's name, you become a whole different person, Lucas," Hector added, smiling affectionately.

"It's stronger than me, Master... I can't help it..."

Arminel pulled on the reins of his horse to bring it much closer to Lucas's before putting his hand on the latter's shoulder.

"I understand you perfectly, My Boy... I too am an Imperial Knight and I understand the nature and intensity of the feelings you have... I, too, have experienced the same thing with my beloved Saria... May she rest in peace..."

"You liked her a lot, didn't you?" asked the young man with a sad smile.

"Crazily... And I still love her as much... From the day I met her to this very moment, my feelings for her have only grown stronger and more intense... Just thinking about her makes my heart beat very hard..."