I steeled my resolve, went to the door, and went down on one knee. I would not meet my new master without showing him my deepest respect. 

I would take his hand of my own volition, and I would declare my loyalty to him. I would swear to protect him against the world, and anyone that would ever mean him harm.

I would make these vows upon my own life, so he would know I was serious. That he could use me however he wished.

And I would tell him I would never ask for anything in return. Not forgiveness. Not food. Not clothes. Not payment.

He would become everything to me, and I would be his loyal sword, cutting down everything that was in his way.

I lifted my hand to knock. 

My scrawny little child-hand did not seem like it could hold a knife, much less a sword. But I could not wait until later. The Fourth Prince had already started to make his moves before I ever was in the picture, and now that I knew that, I would have to be beside The Sixth Prince at all times.

Knock-knock knock, I knocked. Repeating the pattern I had heard ‘Lyric’ make, as well as I remembered it. If it was a code for letting me in, it was worth a try. I did not think normal knocking would have anyone open it.

And then… it opened.

Outward. 

Almost slamming in my face because I had kneeled too close to it. I barely fell out of the way before it was too late, but my loyalty-swearing position had been ruined.

“Tria, why are you already back? Are you okay? Did you forget anything?” The small voice I knew as Lyric’s whispered out into the alleyway before he looked around, saw me, and immediately changed his stance.

Where he had looked like a boy up to mischief with slight worry, he now looked like the prince I knew, just… smaller.

Any doubts about him not being The Sixth Prince evaporated like the happy smile on his face, which turned into a smirk that seemed like it was trying to hide his confusion.

“Mal… You came back?” He asked, the purple in his eyes shining even in this sort of place. He did not sound annoyed or confused, rather just curious.

“I have come to swear my loyalty to you. On my life, I swear I will – “

“Oh… Thank you, but I must decline.” 

He interrupted immediately, shutting me down, confusion flaring up in that small face of his, but he sounded every bit as regal as he could with that high-pitched voice and that small frame. I didn’t understand what he was saying.

If I heard right.

“You’re… Declining…?” I nearly added a ‘my prince’ but remembered, despite my confusion, that he had not told me he was one. He was only ‘Lyric’ here, and I could not explain how I knew otherwise.

“Yes. I do apologize, but I find I am a bit busy and must attend to some duties now,” he said and then he walked back inside. 

“Excuse me,” he said and slammed the door shut behind him.

…

…?

For a few seconds, my mind was blank. Clean and bright white. Not a thought was formed.

I didn’t understand what had just happened.

It had not even occurred to me that my plan to swear my loyalty and service to him could be declined. That I would fail before I had even started

I had not even had a chance to properly swear it. He had simply interrupted me, declined and run away.

The Sixth Prince… The picture of royalty who would rather wear fine clothing than run for his life had just run away from…me?

Without meaning to, my hand lifted and knocked on the door once more, followed by silence.

I didn’t hear as much as a rustle behind the wooden door.

I wanted to knock again but stopped myself this time. I needed to figure out a plan. A way to get him to hear me out. He didn’t need to acknowledge me, but I would not be able to protect him if he did not let me stay near him, and if he didn’t give me orders on where I should be and when, I could ruin potential plans and cause damage.

For a moment, I considered what I knew.

Fitting the pieces of information from my previous life into this one, creating a picture that could lead me to my answer.

From my previous life, I knew that The Fourth Prince needed time to gather enough people to his side, both nobles, politically and amongst the common people, before he dared staging a full attack. It was no secret, and I had helped gather forces to this.

He was careful with his plans, and liked to know the outcome before doing anything. He did not want people to go against him because of a wrong move.

Knowing this, I could only assume he was trying to do something with The Sixth Prince, because he currently was here, in the city and not the castle. It would be easier to get rid of him outside the castle's walls, and much easier to stage it as an accident.

But since The Sixth Prince was very much alive as a young man, this plot had undoubtedly failed the first time around. I had not even known it was happening at the time, so it might have already failed by the time I officially entered into The Fourth Prince’s service.

Was it safe to simply leave The Sixth Prince for now, then?

Did I have to force myself into his service, potentially falling into his bad graces, and then failing to protect him before he was ever in any real danger?

Or… had I already changed the past so much that he was still in danger, currently?

I did not know, but it was a risk I wasn’t willing to take. 

Though it would work out if I went off to train my childish and starved, weak body, and could come back and show I could be of actual use, he might give me a chance to prove myself.

But if I went away and came back to nothing, I would never be able to forgive myself.

This life, this second chance, would have been wasted, and I would have failed with one foolish choice.

No.

I could not risk simply leaving him.

But I could not risk him declining me, once more.

And while I could certainly share information about The Fourth Prince, I would most likely just seem even more suspicious than I did currently.

Thinking back, I must have seemed very suspicious.

I had slept in trash, ate his food, not given him any proper information, ran away, and suddenly came back, knocked in his ‘secret’ code and talked about swearing my loyalty to him, ‘Lyric’, because I should not know he was a prince. For all I supposedly knew, he was a baker’s son.

Suddenly, I couldn’t blame him.

I would not have trusted me, either.

I was too blinded by my previous life to think clearly. Too intent on making things right, that I saw too far into the future and forgot to consider my current present.

There was only one thing I could do for him.

Protect him from the shadows.

Gather information.

Learn everything I possibly could about the things that were going on now.

And once I had a clear picture, I could find the best course of action from there.

He did not owe me anything.

I had already decided to give him everything, wanting for nothing in return.

Expecting him to immediately make me his knight was too arrogant of me.

I needed to work for it. Prove myself. Earn it. Earn the right to stay close to him.

This wasn’t my previous life.

I had to work for what I wanted. Not simply take an outstretched hand with false promises and strings attached.

For now, The Sixth Prince was simply Lyric, and I would treat him as such. I would win his favor and his trust, and once he told me, of his own accord, that he was a prince, I would get down on one knee, and I would swear my loyalty to him once more, giving him no choice but to accept.

That was the plan. 

Simple as it might sound, I gathered resolve in my chest, swearing to myself this was how it would be.

But until that day, I would do what I could do.

And, hate is as I might, it meant I had plans tomorrow.

I gathered my resolve once more, this time for a meeting I did not know how would end.

I needed information, and there was one person who might give it to me.

One person who did not yet know we were enemies, and thought he could play around with me as he wanted.

I had to go and meet The Fourth Prince.