"Princess!"

Princess Cecilia's gaze turned to the man who was running fast towards her. The man was around six feet in height. His titian-colored hair was fixed with such slick gel that she could see his annoyed and wrinkled forehead. His black suit is slightly wrinkled too and his shoes that were once shiny were already covered in dirt, so she could really tell that the man has been running around this whole time.

The moment he got to her, he was catching his breath as he tried to stand properly, stopping himself from the urge of bending down and putting his hands over his knees. She turned to him, facing him.

Who would've thought that he would see her in the town's plaza, wearing a ridiculously huge white hat and a red wig?

"It's a disguise," she said. But for him, it was the total opposite. She was clearly standing out.

"There. You. Are," the man spoke when he finally stabilized his breathing. "I finally found you, Your Highness! Thank . . . heavens!"

"Childe?"

"You left your phone and sashayed your way out of the palace for what? Just to stroll around without any guards around you? Are you out of your mind, Your Highness?"

Princess Cecilia stared and blinked at her personal bodyguard, Childe, who was still trying his best not to pant in front of her. Grinning, she responded. "Yeah!" then she offered him an apple candy.

"You can have this. A good old lady gave me two of these because I helped carrying her baskets to the other side of the plaza. This is one of the goods she's selling to children. Try it! You looked so exhausted and this will definitely solve that. Try it!"

Childe glared at her then closed his eyes. He took a deep breath before responding, "Yes, Princess. I am exhausted. I ran in and around the palace for an hour to look for you." He tried his best not to flail his hands while talking but to no avail. "Do you know how alarming it was to find a note on your table saying "You will never see me again"? That almost gave me a heart attack, did you know that? I really thought you got kidnapped or something! I almost alarmed the whole palace and the whole nation because of it!"

Princess Cecilia looked at Childe in awe, then she giggled. "Calm down, Childe. I am here. Nothing happened to me. See? Cease your worry," she couldn't help but laugh. "You're so anxious over everything. You should know how to chill, you know?"

"Don't you laugh at me right now. I almost freaked out because of it, Ceci."

"Oh, so you're dropping honorifics now, huh?"

"Because this bad princess is still my mischievous childhood friend."

"It was just a prank I was trying to pull on His Majesty. I didn't expect that you'd be the one I'll fool."

"You really need to stop pulling pranks, Princess Cecilia De Saint-Germain Aldrich," Childe glared at her again.

"Oh, so scary . . ." Princess Cecilia muttered, hugging herself before grinning and clinging to Childe's arms. "Now, now. Don't be upset now, Sergeant Childe Harrison. It's not going to happen . . ."

Well, if it's really not going to happen, that is.

"And now you're calling me with my title in the army, huh?"

"Well, before you became my personal bodyguard, you were a soldier, a sergeant in the army . . . so, yeah."

"We really need to go back to the palace or else, His Majesty is going to worry once he's informed that you sneaked out of the palace again. You just sneaked out like that after the meeting and you even fooled everyone by riding a horse and with that disguise!"

Princess Cecilia pouted and Childe instantly knew that she was against the idea of coming home. "Aw, come on! I just stayed out for an hour. I don't want to go home yet. And, duh, he won't worry if you're not going to say a word to him—not that I care, though."

"Are you really that upset after your conversation with His Majesty last night?"

Princess Cecilia's grin slowly faded as her grip on Childe's arm loosened, until she finally let go of him. She looked down and sighed as she slowly walked away from him, all while looking at the path of flowers on their way.

"Oh," Childe muttered as he followed her. "I didn't really mean to eavesdrop. I just . . ."

"It's okay, Childe. It's not really a secret," she said in a weak voice. "The moment His Majesty summoned me that night, I knew that the whole palace and the whole nation will know all about it," she stopped and looked at him. "If you're asking if I am upset, then yes . . . I am. I almost went bonkers last night."

"Your Highness . . ."

"I mean, who wouldn't be if . . . out of the blue, your father would bring up marriage to you? And worse, he already got you arranged with someone you don't even know? I don't even know what he looks like or who really he is aside from his name," she said, sighing. "I know it's not unusual for someone like me—a royalty, specifically a Crown Princess who's next in line to the throne—to marry someone, but I am not ready for it. It's the least of my priorities."

Childe stared at her in silence as she continued. "I still want my freedom, Childe. You know that, right? Ever since we were kids, you know exactly what I want. Ever since I was crowned as the Crown Princess and you were appointed as my personal bodyguard, you know exactly what I want. I want my freedom, Childe."

"I know, Princess," he said in a soft voice and nodded. "I know that. But you know, His Majesty thinks otherwise. You're Eshasea's Crown Princess. You're His Majesty's sole heir to the throne—the future queen of this country. Such a dream of seeking freedom is simply wishful thinking. You know exactly what will happen if you keep chasing your freedom. Danger will follow you, Your Highness. You know that."

"I know," she responded. "But, that doesn't mean I'm going to give up my freedom to do everything that I want. That doesn't mean I'd just get married to a stranger and get chained in my responsibility as the next ruler of this nation. I will not be giving up my freedom, Childe."

Looking at her purse, Princess Cecilia fished out a white envelope and showed it to Childe. "I will have my freedom . . . whatever it takes."

"You're what—?" Childe frowned the moment he saw what was written at the back of the envelope as he looked at the crown princess, dumbfounded. "Your Highness . . ."

Princess Cecilia smirked at him. "I told you . . . whatever it takes."

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