Chapter 1

“That man over there is Tolcher?”

“That’s right, princess. He looks quite young, no?” Hans said, amusement in his voice.

He clearly found the whole thing entertaining.

“Hmmm. From here he does look young,” she said, her expression bored.

“To enjoy this game, you will be best off choosing someone completely opposite of me.”

“Who is opposite of you?”

Still watching from above, the knight came back into her view. She couldn’t help but admire his unique hair color and robust physique. Her attention piqued. On top of that, he was an exceptionally handsome young man. The epitome of a dashing young knight.

They were standing on a third-floor stone terrace with a clear view of the training grounds. The location was not only high, but the curtain was drawn at a clever angle, its pale-yellow fabric fluttering in the wind, and giving them the perfect vantage point to spy on the knights without being seen. Unless a knight craned his head to look straight up, it would be almost impossible to see them.

The first training session ended, and the more seasoned knights left the training grounds, their armor and swords clanking as they left the field, replaced by the relatively young rookie knights who had been watching from the sidelines. They had come early to learn what they could from the older vets.

She watched surreptitiously from behind the curtain as the newest knight made his way onto the field.

“Hmmmm.”

Watching the knight, her features suddenly lit with excitement and her bright olive-green eyes shone from the shadows of the terrace. The princess, who had grown out of her girlish prettiness, was now an exquisitely beautiful woman, with rose-colored hair that fell in gentle waves down her back, and flawless milky white skin that contrasted strikingly against her olive eyes and full red lips. She was a woman now. A woman who always got her way.

“His hair is green… Aside from his tanned skin, he certainly looks like an elf.”

“You’ll feel it more when you get a closer look, Miss Sherri. On top of that, you, as a princess, will be unconventional for him, and of course he has no real experience with women, so no immunity to your charms.”

At those words, she turned to study Hans with pity on her face, and perhaps a touch of amusement.

“Inexperienced? Now, I know why you said he’s the opposite of you, Hans.”

“No matter, princess. I, too, will live honestly after I get married.”

“Enough. I’ll take him. Tell that to the head knight,” she said, not taking her eyes off the muscular young man below with hair the color of new spring leaves.

Hans, now standing closely next to her, looked disappointed, and almost jealous.

“It’s such a shame.”

“What is?”

He moved closer, and placing a finger under her chin, he gently turned her head away from the knight and towards him.

“I mean, it’s a shame that I won’t be here to watch as the sharpened spear pierces a shield that has never been pierced before.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Aren’t I leaving for the capital in three days? This will be our last time meeting like this.”

Perhaps it was because he had taken the liberty to put his hand on her, his skin hot where it stroked her chin, but irritation flashed in her eyes. Looking up into Hans’ handsome face, however, she hid her irritation behind a smile, pretending not to know his true feelings.

She draped her arm around his neck, and said, “All right, since this is the last time. You want a reward for having gone through so much trouble, is that it?”

“Am I not the one who knows you more than any other man, Miss Sherri?”

“Is that so?”

Abruptly, Hans swept up Sherri’s petite form, and lifted her into the air, drawing the curtain closed behind them as he left the terrace to enter the bedroom. He stalked over to the bed, where he gentle set her down, looking deeply into her eyes.

With one arm still hanging around his neck, she seductively raised a finger and shook her head ‘no’, though a smile played across her lips.

Hans’ face broke into a returning smile, as he lowered his head to her, his eyes on her lips. Just as Han’ lips were about to press into hers, however, she pressed a delicate pale finger against his mouth, blocking his kiss.

Hans looked confused for a moment, but Sherri’s fine index finger did not stop him from kissing her lightly.

That’s when his face pushed closer, waves of desire coming off him.

“Hans.”

She just stared up at him for a moment in silence, her finger still against his mouth, and as the moment stretched, a child-like blush crept up his neck and reddened his face.

“Yes, Miss Sherri?” he answered, uncertainty in his eyes.

The subtle smile left Sherri’s face, and she pressed her finger harder into Hans’ lips, pushing his squared jaw away from her.

“Are you really going to act like a dog, right up until the end?”

“Ha, a dog? I was your teacher in the beginning. You’re too cruel to me, princess.”

Openly expressing her lack of interest, she lifted one heeled foot and kicked Hans straight in the chest, pushing him off the bed. Even so, she knew very well that he, a well-trained knight, would be unfazed by it.

“Ugh,” he said, rubbing his chest while smiling begrudgingly.

“I’ve learned one thing for sure.” Sherri nonchalantly wiped the finger that had touched Hans’ lips on her satin dress. “People never change. And players are even worse.”

At those words, Hans’ face darkened. It was a fiercer blow than the one he’d received from her shoe a moment ago. But who could refuse her anything? And when it came to seduction, who could resist her? Even a man like the young knight, a new shield that had never been pierced before, stood no chance against her.

“There’s an old saying, princess, that people only die when they change…”

After pushing him away, Sherri, who rose off the bed and brushed off her clothes, stared at him sharply. Is this really what he wants to do? She thought they’d been over this already. She thought he understood.

“Are you saying you want to die?” she said, a bit too seriously.

“No, your highness. I correct myself,” Hans said quickly, straightening his back and closing his mouth.

Sherri looked at him sternly a moment longer, before pulling a package from a wardrobe and handing it to him.

At first glance, he could see it was made from expensive, high-quality paper. Hans didn’t take it but rather he just stared at it. Impatient, Sherri finally just shoved it into his hands.

“What is this?”

“It’s not for you, it’s a wedding gift for your new bride, Julia.”

That’s when Hans, noticing the engraved design on the front of the bag, mumbled something in a low voice.

Madam Chloe’s Boutique. He had thought the design looked familiar.

“Come to think of it, Hans, are the wedding preparations going well?”

“Thanks to your attention to detail, Julia is quite satisfied, princess. And… Isn’t this the most famous dress designer in the capital?”

Sherri’s eyes widened at Hans’s ability to recognize that. There was nothing written on the outside of the bag, but he knew right away that it was the design of a specialty shop that made women’s clothing.

As expected, he was the second-best player in the empire. Shouldn’t she stop him from marrying Julia even now? For poor Julia’s sake?

“You don’t need to say much, Hans, since you said that the two of you have a good relationship. You really will love Julia, right?”

Hans burst into laughter at her unexpected sincerity, and her sudden desire to confirm his affection for his fiancée.

“That’s right, princess. As you know, I’ve never once wanted marriage, didn’t really think I would marry, but I think she is great. Should I call it love? I don’t know.”

The marriage, and love, between Julia and Hans may never be Sherri’s idealized version, but it will be a marriage, nonetheless.

“Well… you sure have changed compared to the first time I met you. Now don’t cheat on her after you’re married! A man who makes his wife cry is the worst, you know.”

Responding a little exaggeratedly as if it were a play, Hans bowed low and kissed Sherri’s soft hand, “Who am I to disobey? Your wish is my command, Miss Sherri.”

Smiling despite herself, she pulled her hand away, and said, “So, what did you mean earlier about the shield and spear, or whatever it was?”

“From what I know that guy Tol still hasn’t been with a woman, princess.”

“What? With those looks? His face is a bit young-looking, but… that’s ridiculous. How old is he?”

“Uh, he turned twenty-two this year, I believe.”

“Twenty-two? Just by looking at his face, I felt he was barely a day past eighteen.”

When she headed back out to the terrace in shock, planning to get another look, Hans grabbed her hand in his, pulling her back and clicking his tongue.

“He’s not too young,” he reminded her, “Even if he was eighteen, which he is not, he would still be old enough to get married. He isn’t as young as he looks. Weren’t you also unique at eighteen, Miss Sherri?”

It had already been two years. Sherri looked coyly up at Hans’ smiling face.

“Hmmm, come to think of it, the purpose of the shield is not to prevent all possible strikes. In the end, even if a shield is pierced, it has been successful if you still hold the spear.”

“What in the world are you trying to say, Hans?”

Hans grinned. Even if you’re older than eighteen, no, twenty, you cannot call yourself an adult if you’ve never been in love. Not until you’ve given away your heart. Even more so if it’s this princess, who could easily hold any heart in her delicate hand, as he knew only too well.

“From now on, your job is to turn me into a woman.” He remembered the look on her beautiful face that day two years ago, when she had commanded him proudly, though he had also seen the nervousness and innocence in her olive eyes. It was right around the same time that he had fled the capital, retreating to his country’s small villa, because of the ‘incident’.

Afterward, every time Hans saw her, he thought of the young knight with the bright purple eyes, and he flinched a little. And he couldn’t help but notice the faint jealousy and longing that passed over her face.

Obviously, he knew all this and chose his actions anyways, but his lips thinned in regret at his thoughts.

Forcing his mind back to the present, he said, “Like I said, it’s because he is the complete opposite of me. Oh, and Miss Sherri. Can I give you one piece of advice?”

“And what makes you think I need any, Hans?”

She, not some random knight, was the spear, and not the shield. Although, she was curious about what he had to say. The title of “Greatest Player in the Territory” was not whispered about Hans because of his handsome face alone. He was so much more than just his looks, as she knew better than most.

“As you’ve always done, just poke him and he’ll fold.”

“So, you are indeed saying that I am a spear?”

Hans shrugged as if saying yes. As expected, Sherri was no dim-witted princess.

“Wait, didn’t you say earlier that they were boring because they were too easy for you?”

Sherri, who quickly lost interest in most things these days, raised her slender hand and waved one perfectly manicured finger at him. “That’s enough. Perhaps I don’t want to waste my time on a knight who is just a bodyguard, no matter how impossibly attractive he is.”

Watching her closely, Hans said, “It’s not too late to meet him for yourself and decide then, princess.” Then lowering his voice conspiratorially said, “Oh, and…”

Sherry had no choice but to lean towards him to hear what he would say next, his expression suddenly serious.

“This is a secret, princess, but the knight… apparently his c*ck is magnificent. So much so, that it shocks the other knights every time he uses the barracks shower. For someone with a babyface, he is probably the most well-endowed of all the knights.”