Sacrifice: Time of Mine
Chapter 9: The Whistle of a Loner

When the pair saw the old man's hunched back, at the same time, Marquis Eran turned around to see them;

"Oh, you were so quiet that I thought I was talking to myself." the senile old man said with a wrinkly smile while relentlessly quivering from time to time.

While on the outside, Edora was the first one to wake up from her daze as she looked at the three sisters at the back, also riding a horse like them, and said to them after she composed herself, "You three! The princess got injured, you're her attendants, right? Why are you lowly servants just dozing there!?"

When the three heard Edora, their faces paled in fear.

They were the three attendants of Princess Edora who would bathe her, feed her, clothe her, and more since the princess was just a little girl. They almost had the same age bracket as the princess while having the same age gap between the sisters.

Nara, the oldest sister, 19 years old; Mera. the middle sister, 17 years old; and lastly. Shierra, the youngest, 15 years old. They were initially slaves who were about to be sold off to nobles but when the princess demanded maids as young as her, the three were chosen and were saved. Although the princess was intolerable sometimes, they were thanking her in the deepest of their hearts.

It was better to take care of the princess instead of being a slave to an unknown noble who could've done nightmarish things to them.

However, after all the time they are with the princess, this was the first time they heard her apologized for something she had done.

One time, when the princess was young, she tripped on a little stone. It was no one's fault except her but still, she ordered the knights to "Beat the rock to death!" She then haughtily laughed when the stone was crushed till it was sand.

Then, another time, she slapped a son of a duke, who was her cousin just because he didn't want to share his dessert with her. She already ate hers but still wanted his so she slapped him. When the slap was too hard, she cried because it hurts her palm. That cousin was forbidden to get near the princess from then on.

And so, the three immediately came down from the horse they were riding and took a first aid kit from one of the bags on the horse's saddle and then ran towards the little castle.

Once they were there, they heard laughter. They knew it was from the princess so they followed it to replace the kitchen area of the little castle and saw Avion holding a pack of ice as he softly pressed it towards Princess Alisera's cheek which tickled her.

The sisters looked at each other and knew they were not needed there. But as they looked at the pair, they thought, 'Why do they look so perfect to each other?' which was very, very weird to feel.

After the three went in, Edora heavily walked into the little castle with a stomp on every step. Which the two princes followed with their attendants and few bodyguards behind them.

Prince Julio recovered while Prince Harold had both a saddened and angry face.

'I'm the princess's childhood friend! I'm her childhood sweetheart! Why is she treating me like this?!'

The commoners who gathered there to greet the princess a welcome didn't know what to celebrate anymore.

"Want to have an afterparty?"

"Yeah, sure."

The crowd began to disperse as the rumors about Princess Alisera and the kid named Avion Teller spread like wildfire all over the Trading-Hills Capital. With merchants and traders going in and out of the capital, the news will eventually reach the three kingdoms in just a matter of time which will be heard by the King of Karan.

Even Edora couldn't prevent this since she was too shocked and forgot about it. When she remembered, it was already too late.

But even though the people and the residents there in the capital knew the nature of their new ruler, they didn't despair that much since they knew that Prince Harold was there to make the correct decisions for the capital. Only one great crowned prince/princess is enough to make it, the Crown Council, work and correctly govern the Trading-Hill Capital.

As of the moment, inside the little castle in the middle of that capital, a buffet was being prepared with all the nobles of the Trading-Hills Capital invited.

However, that is for the night while they wait for the nobles all around the capital to prepare their gifts in welcoming the princess while some had present their sons and daughters to show off to the two princes and the princess.

Since there is an odd number of kingdoms in the alliance of the Haliviana, they decided not to marry each other's prince and princess since one kingdom will be left out. This made the nobles ecstatic as they had the chance to become royalty if their child is chosen by the prince/princess.

So, they have to give their all, even to the point of selling their house just to groom their children. Because if their child does get chosen, then even selling themselves and their everything was worth it.

Meanwhile, Avion was asked to wait in a lobby room to wait for Marquis Eran to decide for him what room he shall be in while still not knowing what the princess is planning to do with him.

While sitting alone in the large lobby room, his eyes would wander around as he chuckles, 'I wonder why I feel so ease and happy towards a girl, especially as beautiful as Princess Alisera more than a boy? That Prince Harold is handsome too and easy to look at but I am kind of annoyed by him, so beauty is not a factor here...'

Since Princess Alisera was being groomed by the three sisters in preparations for the evening buffet, they couldn't meet. Seemed like Avion was not invited to this party since he was not being readied which saddened him a little.

Silent and alone. It was just for a little while but Avion felt it wasn't, and it was a very long time since the last time he had this feeling. He began to appreciate it. It was serene and peaceful, easing to the nerves.

As he calms down with a smile, he began to whistle to a tune he was fond of. He was not easily bored as for all his life, he was alone and sometimes would just whistle through the lonely silence.

But this time, he felt his tune less sad than before. Meeting new people and getting acquainted with them was a bit a wonderful thing, Avion thought.

While he whistles his loneliness away, the door suddenly creek behind him and when Avion was about to turn around with his lips still slightly sticking out, he felt a little push on his back.

He felt his heart heating up when he felt something on his back. He turned around to see the open door and when he looked at his chest, what Avion saw was:

Red.

Red flowing on the surface of a sheen.

Avion's blood enveloping a blade that pierced through him.

He looked around to see the female knight who was glaring at him. She held her word tight while she looked at his dying eyes emotionless.

"You're a problem for the Haliviana. Please die."