"Please, let me apologize for our prince's attitude." Alan Phoenix acted as if he was Cain's parent who was summoned to a teacher-parent meeting because his son was mischievous at school. "In place of the royal family, I should say we are really sorry."

Rigel had just known the man before him for about ten minutes. And he could see why his current master has an attitude problem. Cain's obviously spoiled rotten. As the only prince, the king and the princess doted on him way too much. And this palace advisor–who should be his mentor–also could not really educate him. Instead of disciplining the prince, here he was, together with him in the paramedic's room, apologizing for the prince and his cat's attack.

"It's okay, Mister advisor. I don't expect that orange fur ball would scratch me in the face. Fortunately the wound is not deep."

Rigel would never guess Nara would jump on him and scratch his nose bridge with his round paw. Not his fault. Nara was 'not threatening' looking, and Rigel was not ready to accept a surprise attack like that. How could it jump so fast with all those fats?

"You are indeed lucky, the cat scratched you in its normal form." The paramedic, an old woman with a low voice, added, "If he turned to its magical form, herbs could not help much."

"Yeah. I know." Rigel was on a career path close to being a paramedic himself. He knows the wound from the magical beast could not be treated with only herbs. When mixing the ingredients for wound medicine, he had to examine the type of the wound and better ask how did the patient get it. Special potions injected with specific elements sometimes needed to neutralize the energy that infected the patient.

"Oh right. You were an apothecary. A really talented one from what I hear." 

"Whatever you hear, Sir, I am sure it's just exaggerated news." Rigel patted the wound plaster on his nose lightly, making sure it was perfectly stuck to his skin. "I am very mediocre compared to this Ma'am. I am sure of it."

Such sweet words from a handsome man, the old woman couldn't hold back her smile. It was such an unfortunate event that this eligible bachelor committed fatal crimes. Looking at his face and the way he presents himself, anybody could say that he’s a nice person. If not for his criminal status, she would surely introduce this red haired guy to her youngest daughter. 

"Please do not be so humble. After all it was your plus point as our prince's guard. It's good to have someone who can tend to him. He's kind of reckless sometimes."

“It doesn’t help much that the prince would not let me treat him.” The old woman gave a big sigh. Then in a soft voice–almost whispering–she added, “After all it is not easy to take care of an emotional wound.”

It seemed like Alan did not hear her last sentence. But Rigel sure did.

“It’s okay.” Alan reassured her. “I could still attend to him. My medical knowledge is limited but with Mister Winter’s help, please do not worry.”

“Oh yes, Sir. I always believe in you.” The old woman smiled sweetly.

After making sure that Rigel had proper treatment, both him and Alan asked to be excused. Together they walked passed through the corridor, intended to get back to Cain’s study. 

“Is there anything wrong with your majesty the prince?” Rigel asked directly, it was better than keep it at his heart and let this matter puzzled him more in the future.

“Pardon me?”

“Something about not letting even the royal paramedic treat him if he’s wounded?” Rigel emphasized his next question, “Is there really no one he could trust in this palace? To the point he has me to keep him safe even though my status makes me unfit to be the royal guard?”

Unconsciously, both of them had stopped walking. Rigel returned the calm gaze of Alan’s gray eyes with the same sentiment. He didn’t think his question crossed any line at all. He just had to ask and if Alan refused to answer, he’d just leave it at that.  

“I do not think I am in a position to tell you that.” Alan cleared his throat. “But maybe…”

Rigel waited for him to continue his sentence. 

“... maybe the princess could tell. After all she’s more deserved ”

Just after Alan said so, the door at the end of the corridor–the door leading to Cain’s room opened with a loud bang. Very beautiful woman with an exquisite dress went out. The way she walked was so inelegant, unlike her overall appearance. She turned toward them and Rigel did recognize her face. She was the queen of Alrauna, Queen Andromeda. Estelle followed behind her. The beautiful princess was about to say something but she stopped when she realized that Alan and Rigel had come. 

Andromeda looked at Alan and Rigel and while Alan bowed his head soon after their eyes met, she still looked at him as if he was a dirty creature. 

“Lowly servant.” She tutted. Just like that and she walked away so fast. 

What an ill mannered person, Rigel thought. Even he who came from humble backgrounds never acted that rude to anyone, at least not in normal circumstances. 

Estelle did not follow her after that. She said in a regretful tone after the queen was not in their sight anymore. 

“I am sorry, Alan. And also you, Mr. Winters.”

“No. It was me who had been rude. I did not recognize the majesty before looking closer.”

Estelle shook her head. She sighed. “It was a familial affair. Sorry to make you uncomfortable but…”

“Estelle…” A low and weak voice came from the room, the prince’s bedroom. “Is Alan there?”

Alan reacted first. Estelle and Rigel soon followed him inside the prince’s room.

The room was in a mess. It was so different from the study room where Rigel first talked with the prince before. His bedroom had a broken vase on the floor, falling painting, and spilled hot tea on the floor.

And blood. There was a wound on Cain’s side forehead. Not too deep it would be considered fatal, yet not so shallow as a scratch. It was indeed a wound caused intentionally. 

“I’ll tend to you.” Alan said as he brought out a medical box from Cain’s wardrobe. “What did Her Majesty the Queen get angry about this time?”

“I don’t know…” Cain answered half heartedly. “Ouch.”

“I’m sorry it’s because of me.” Estelle put her hands into tight fists. “I should not be this incapable. She lashed out on you because of me.”

Rigel did pay attention to their conversation. Yet he could not really understand. Alan paused his movement of cleansing Cain’s wound and sighed deeply.

“Both of you were not in the wrong.” He then continued applying disinfectant and then herbal salve on Cain’s wound after the bleeding stopped. “Afterall, it is possible for innocent people to get hurt also. Being treated so badly, doesn’t always mean you have done things that made you deserve it.”

If there’s someone in the wrong here, it would be the Queen–was an unspeakable agreement between the four people in the room. 

***

The night had fallen. The wind blew softly through the leaves, causing a rustle. At the castle roof, Rigel sat watching the stars and also the surroundings within his area of guard. 

“Damn. The air is especially cold today.”

He had already drunk his fourth cup of coffee. He could tell it was not good for his stomach and yet he had to take at least that much to stay awake.

It had been a week full of idle time. He just watched Cain training, do his social political study and etiquette practice. While he had to admit it was quite entertaining to see such a young man excel in combat technique and offensive magic, Rigel still did not find his current job satisfying.  

To be a shadow protecting the prince they said? The prince was strong enough to kill at least a third grade monster the way he was. He was just there as a babysitter, offering him a towel after practice and helping him bring a bunch of grimoires from class to class. Cain sometimes also asked him to fill Nara’s bowl with cat food and change his water to a fresh one. 

He’s basically downgraded from the prince’s bodyguard to the cat’s maid.

“I kinda miss the old life.” Rigel closed his eyes. It was still so vivid in his mind about the life he lived in Beckett. The village was so peaceful, the villagers were kind to each other and there he had led a good life. 

If only he could turn back time.

Just when he was reminiscing about his old life, Rigel could sense the difference in the wave of energy surroundings him.

“What the hell…?”

The castle was within the protective barrier of the royal wizard. For him to be able to sense the unusual wave of energy like this, it must mean that the attack came from within.

It was no longer a question why the prince trusted no one.

Rigel jumped from one tower to another, detecting the area where the unusual energy emitted the most.

It was in the garden at the center of the palace. He could see a massive silver purplish magic circle shone so brightly. Inside the circle, there was a fountain where a vortex was formed. Small at first but it grew bigger just in second. The water from the fountain splattered until it ran dry and the Sea Fairy appeared. 

Although the name was Sea Fairy, its shape was not beautiful at all. The creature was three meters tall with feet like a frog and a gray furry body like a mop. Its eyes are round and yellow colored with a snake-like pupil. It also has a long tongue just like a chameleon. To put it simply, the overall appearance was ugly. 

“Ugh what a smell…”

To make it worse, it also emitted the strong odor of rotten corpses.  

Rigel chanted some spells in hope to break the magic circle before the summoning of this monster completed. A red fiery rune flew across the air, forming an arrow that directed to the circle. 

“Released!” 

It really would stop the summoning ritual just in time, if only the arrow hit the circle. A magical shield blocked Rigel’s magical arrow. The clash between two energies caused a loud bang. 

“?!”

Rigel searched for the source of the intervention. He caught a glimpse of an olive colored robe. 

“WHO’S THERE?”

The culprit jumped from one tree branch to another. They seemed to know the palace map well and used their knowledge to escape swiftly. 

The royal guard finally gathered at the central park when it had been too late. They were all confused and in panic to see such a creature appear in the center of the castle. 

“Shit!”

The summoning ritual was completed. The magic circle had vanished into thin air and what was left was an ugly water monster roaring loudly.

The monster lifted  its hand and swept some guards, making them fly away before falling with a broken bone. Rigel jumped and evaded the attack smoothly. His mind was busy calculating a strategy to kill this monster. He’s a  fire elementalist. Just his bad luck to encounter the water element monster. He could burn it but it had to be an accurate attack before it could fight back.

“?”

Another surprise, the monster which should not possess high intelligence, aimed to the window of Cain’s bedroom. Like a puppet controlled by a skilful master, its movement was direct and precise. With its sticky hand, it climbed the flat wall, leaving a trace of wet bluish green liquid on the smooth ivory surface.

“Disgusting.”

Rigel focused his energy on his feet and stabilized himself in the air. Then he formed a fire arrow and bow in his hands. This time he shot the head of the sea fairy directly. The blue blood splattered from the deep wound. The arrow burned its fur and the smell of rotten corpses getting more unbearable. Seeing that it was not enough, Rigel chanted more spells and put his hands into a fist as if he was grabbing something so hard in order to crush it. The fire getting bigger, the cries of the sea fairy was also getting louder.

“Nice. You are indeed useful.”

It was a youthful voice Rigel recognized easily. Behind him, also flying in the air was Cain and a big orange feline. Rigel instantly knew it was Nara in its true form, a magical beast with the same element as Rigel’s. 

“The arrogance is not matched with your costume right now, your majesty.” Rigel mocked Cain who still wore his blue silk pajamas and soft slippers.  

“I was asleep, stupid. You expect me to go to bed in armor?”

The sea fairy realized that its prey was flying in the air. It then jumped and stuck out its long tongue to capture Cain. Rigel formed another weapon with his fire and a long sharp blade cut the tongue aiming at his master. 

“Not bad, Winters.”

If it was not his job, Rigel really  would let this damned brat to be eaten alive. The cockiness really annoyed him. 

  “The finishing blow should be left to me and Nara.”

Cain chanted some spells and three small magic circles appeared in the air. He summoned three smaller water creatures with a higher rank than the sea fairy. The three creatures with a fish tail and human body move in the air just like swimming in the water. They harmoniously sang a song that made the sea fairy cry in pain. 

“Sea fairy’s natural enemy is the sirens. They rival each other when it comes to land a prey in the sea. The sea fairy used to be the siren’s slaves after all before they rebelled and started to attack the ship on their own.”

Rigel narrowed his eyes. He found the view of the pale sirens kinda scary. Their faces distorted here and there, their eyes were hollow and yet their song was captivating. 

Soon the sea fairy lost its mind and fell face first into the ground.

“And now for the last attack.” 

Cain patted Nara’s head and the feline then threw a fire from its mouth, burning the sea fairy until nothing but ashes were left. 

“Oh wow. He’s just not an ordinary fat cat indeed.”

Cain slapped Rigel’s back of head lightly. Rigel cursed in his mind. This prince really won’t let anyone talk bad about his cat. 

Both of them landed on the ground after they made sure Nara had finished the sea fairy. The guard who was not badly injured nor had broken bones helped each other. Now Rigel could pay better attention to his surroundings, he realized that all the royal guards tonight wear the same olive colored robe like the culprit he saw before. 

“Oh my…” He sighed. 

“What?”

“They wear the same thing.”

“Who?”

“The one who summoned the sea fairy and your royal guard.”