In the princess's chamber, Melty said to Alex and Karden:
"Alright, gentlemen, I won't waste your time. To put it simply — we're going out."
Hearing that, Alex froze for a moment, confused.
"What do you mean, we're going out?" he asked.
Melty replied, "We're going out to the market. I need to buy some jewelry. That's why today we're heading down to the lower city of the capital — specifically, the Northern Market."
Alex: "So…"
Karden: "To make it simple — our job today is to escort the princess to the market, wait for her, and then bring her back. After that, we can return."
Alex: "Alright, got it. When do we leave?"
Melty smiled and said,
"Right now."
After about an hour, Alex, Karden, and Melty finally arrived at the Northern Market.
Alex sighed, "Seriously, this capital is huge. The princess made us walk the whole way. It took us an hour to get here, and to reach the city's edges, we'd have to walk twice that distance again. Plus, the castle's right in the center, on top of some hill, and even the lower city's surrounded by a massive wall. It's a nightmare… how would anyone even escape from here…"
"Alex! Alex! Alex! Hey!"
The words startled him — it was Princess Melty. She approached him with a smile and said,
"Alex, lost in your thoughts?"
Alex quickly pulled himself together and replied,
"Sorry, it won't happen again."
Melty: "Don't be so formal, it's fine. Just try to stay focused."
She turned and said, "Come on, Judith, let's hurry so we can free these gentlemen sooner."
Alex thought, "Right, there's also Judith — the princess asked her to come along. Honestly, she's been dragging us a lot. Anyway, this market… it's incredible."
And Alex was right — the Northern Market had hundreds of stalls and was packed with people. For someone used to the tiny market back in his village, it was enormous.
As they walked from stall to stall, Alex felt uneasy.
"Something's wrong… it feels off, like everything's fake… something's going to happen. Seriously."
He scanned the area while Melty and Judith admired the jewelry. By chance, he bumped into a wooden jewelry stand — and his eyes accidentally caught a reflection of sunlight off a rooftop. Then, a faint whoosh — the sound of an arrow being released.
By reflex, Alex grabbed the wooden tray behind him, spilled everything on it, and hurled it in front of the princess — all in a moment that seemed to move in slow motion.
The tray spun through the air and clattered to the ground — pierced by an arrow. No one had time to react, except Alex, who shouted,
"Karden!!! Move!!"
Before he could respond, Karden was struck in the thigh by a dagger, slipping through the joint in his armor. He immediately grew dizzy and collapsed.
Alex: "Poison!"
Another dagger flew toward Alex from behind, but he dodged it instinctively — without even seeing it. A second one came from the front; he avoided that too, but more followed in quick succession. He barely managed to block them all, then drew his sword.
"All the daggers are coming from above… and with a delay — just one person. I need to finish this quickly, but something's…"
Standing in the middle of the market, Alex shouted toward the stalls,
"You, hiding under the tables — think like living beings and get out of here!!!"
At that moment, people finally understood what was happening and began to run.
On a nearby rooftop, a man smirked. Five daggers shot toward Alex at once — all from one direction. Alex deflected them with his sword, but then the attacker lunged at him, leaping down from the roof. The man wore a long black coat, his face half-covered, hood drawn over his head.
He unleashed a flurry of sword strikes, but Alex blocked them all. Then, the man tried to flee, but Alex cut off his path. The assassin quickly pulled a dagger from his belt and hurled it toward a little girl who was running away. Alex snatched up an apple and threw it — knocking the dagger off course.
When he turned back, the man was gone. Alex spotted him again — chasing Melty and Judith down an alley. He picked up another dagger and sprinted after him, gritting his teeth:
"He's pissing me off — acting without thinking and not giving me time to plan… Damn it! I hate this!"
Alex climbed onto the rooftops, leaping from one to another until he was close enough. The assassin noticed and turned, throwing a dagger at Alex. Alex jumped, dodged it, and threw the dagger he'd picked up earlier — hitting the man square in the back and knocking him down instantly.
He ran to Melty and said,
"Quick, Princess, get back to the castle!"
Melty stopped, turned, and said,
"Oh, right!"
Then Alex suddenly felt dizzy — everything spinning — before realizing the princess had just kneed him in the groin with a sweet smile on her face.
Behind him, he saw Judith being grabbed — a cloth pressed over her nose — by the assassin, now wearing some kind of protective mask.
The man escaped with both Melty and Judith, leaving Alex collapsing unconscious.
When he opened his eyes again, he was surrounded by several knights in full armor. One of them barked:
"Alex Andreas, where is the princess? Don't try to fool us — we know you're pretending!"
END OF CHAPTER
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That was Ben. See you in the next chapter.
NEXT CHAPTER: The Princess's Assassination Attempt (2)