Chapter 178 For the queen

Chapter 178 For the queen
The Castle

While walking back to the castle, the Queen stumbled upon Kael, who was practicing in the castle courtyard with another soldier. The two men were locked in a sword fight, but from the look of things, Kael was losing terribly. A small part of ?Freya wondered how Kael had even managed to join the army with such terrible sword-fighting skills and the fact that he seemed afraid of almost everything. Then it clicked in her mind that it was probably all because of Lord Preston, who had helped him along the way.

"That is not how you do it," Freya called out.

Only then did Kael stop fighting and turn his attention toward her. Both Kael and the soldier he had been training with immediately bowed their heads as a sign of respect. Freya gave the soldier a signal to leave, leaving only Kael standing in the courtyard, waiting for her.

As soon as she reached him, she looked deeply into his eyes, silently wondering where his true loyalty lay as the son of Lord Preston.

"My Queen, is there anything you want from me?" he asked. For his question, Freya hesitated before asking the one thing that had been burning inside her heart for quite some time.

"Yes, I have a question, but I do not trust you. After all, you are the son of Lord Preston," she said, not with malice but with a hint of concern, which Kael picked up on without much effort.

"I know you might think I am untrustworthy, My Queen, but you have saved me quite a few times without holding any malice toward me. I feel that I have no choice but to be a good servant to you." 

Freya listened to Kael's response, and even though she was satisfied with it, she needed a little more proof before deciding whether she could trust him. She called one of the nearby soldiers, who handed her a sword just as large as the one Kael was holding.

"Very well. I will ask you the question. However, I will only ask it after I beat you in a sword fight," she said confidently.

Kael raised a questioning eyebrow. "My Queen, I cannot possibly fight you. You are the Queen and I might accidentally hurt you," he replied and Freya scoffed.

"Kael, you're forgetting that I just watched you fight another soldier and I must say you need a great deal of help with your sword-fighting skills. It often baffles me how you even became a soldier."

Without waiting for another excuse, the Queen raised her sword.

Kael reluctantly attacked first. Every strike he made was blocked with ease. Whenever he thought he had finally gained the upper hand, Freya effortlessly countered his attacks, forcing him further onto the defensive. Within moments, she swept his legs from beneath him, sending him crashing onto the ground. Before he could recover, the tip of her sword rested against his throat.

"I win," she declared confidently.

Even while lying on the ground, defeated, Kael slowly raised both hands in surrender. Instead of looking upset, however, he simply smiled. He could hardly believe that the Queen had defeated him so easily, but then again, he reminded himself that she had once been a female warrior, the only woman to serve in the Cilium army during her time of her capture.

Freya quickly removed the sword from his throat before offering him a hand. As soon as Kael was back on his feet, he brushed the dirt from his clothes and turned his attention back to her.

"Now that I have won, I hope you can keep your end of the bargain," she said.

"Definitely, My Queen. I am at your service," Kael replied before giving her a slight bow.

"Something will happen today. However, I need you to cause a distraction and that distraction must be aimed at none other than Master Henry."

The two of them stood in the courtyard as Freya quietly explained the plan she had for Henry. Once she was finished, she looked him straight in the eyes, waiting for his response.

“Are you sure you can do this?” she asked. Kael nodded his head in agreement and he seemed far too thrilled to carry out the order, which made the queen feel a little uneasy.

“Of course, my queen. I will do whatever you say. Besides, I would have helped you with this plan whether you asked me to or not,” Kael responded with a smile on his face that left Freya feeling slightly confused as to why he was so eager to take such an instruction, one that could automatically lead him into trouble.

“Why are you so thrilled about causing this destruction?” Freya asked, genuinely confused by Kael's actions.

“I don't know if you've noticed, my queen, but I'm not exactly fond of Master Henry. For me to do this would be my ultimate pleasure. Perhaps I could make the little idiot run around and be at my beck and call,” Kael answered confidently.

Only then did the queen smile. She nodded her head before walking away from the courtyard while Kael continued practicing his sword fighting.

“I didn't like how close you and the queen were.” Kael turned around only to see his father walking toward him. Instead of panicking, Kael stopped practicing and turned his attention to his father. He looked completely calm and unbothered.

“Yes, you saw me and the queen talking, but it is nothing of great concern. She was simply giving me tips on how to hold my sword better. That's all, Father. No need to be alarmed,” Kael said before continuing to practice his sword fighting.
Lord Preston stared at his son. He could not help but feel that something was wrong.

“Well, I hope that is all there is to it because I would hate for you to become close to our enemy,” Lord Preston said. Only then did Kael stop practicing his sword fighting once more.

“First of all, the queen is your enemy, not mine. I have nothing against her and I highly doubt she has anything against me,” Kael responded confidently as he went back to practicing his sword fighting, while his father stared at him, confused as to why his son was being so kind toward the queen and defending her.

Elsewhere...

Henry rushed toward the main entrance of the kingdom. One of the soldiers had called for him and informed him that one of the sections the king had placed under his supervision had caught fire. It was a large blaze that was supposedly causing severe disruption to the export and import of goods.

However, as soon as he reached the entrance of the town, he saw that the fire had already been put out.

After asking a few questions and carefully observing the area, Henry soon realized that the fire had not been such a huge problem after all. As he walked along the length of the wall, it quickly became evident to him that this had not been a coincidence after all.