Capítulo 46: What Is Your Name?
All across Kinshearth, from the bulletin boards across the capital city to the ones in the small towns and villages, a huge notice had been put up in the three days following Laina's return from Dracona.
"Did you hear about the new announcement?" one street vendor whispered to another while they were setting up their stall for the day.
"New announcement?"
"Yeah! There's going to be a competition to be held in the Royal Palace in four days!"
A competition of skills has been announced by the Royal Decree of Crown Princess Laina. Everyone and anyone was welcome to participate, so long they are a citizen of Kinshearth. All who arrived will have their abilities accessed and be placed in different categories.
It was like large-scale talent scouting.
There was also a prize at the end of the competition. Those who pass the test will have work and money. Needless to say, the competition attracted all the citizens' attention. Overnight, it became the hottest topic in the entire Kingdom.
Back in the palace, Laina was hard at work making the final preparations for the upcoming competition. A knock on the door pulled her out of her work and into the present. Margaret entered the room with someone trailing closely behind.
"Your Highness, as previously mentioned, for your safety I have hired a personal bodyguard for you. Now, I know you're apprehensive…"
"Apprehensive?" Laina asked as she folded her arms, "Margaret, I clearly recall objecting to the idea."
Margaret gulped, "Yes, I recall that. But, I had the Tobias and Lucinda's vote, so we overrule you on that one."
Laina objected, "Overrule? Margaret, my dear, you're getting bolder."
Margaret grinned, "I learn from the best, your Highness."
She walked up to Laina and took her hand in her own. She truly cared for Laina's safety. She might only be the Crown Princess but in due time, she would be Queen. When that time comes, her life would be in greater danger than ever.
Not to mention, she also wanted to avoid as much contact as there possibly can be between Dante and Laina. For as long as she possibly could. Furthermore, there was no harm in having extra hands to help protect Laina.
Margaret stood to the side, bringing forward a person for Laina to meet. From the chains around his hands and feet, Laina realized this person had been sold as a slave. She stood up from her seat and walked over to the man. His silver-colored hair was a rare sight indeed.
"Margaret, what is going on?" Laina asked.
"I know he's not much to look at right now, but he will be your new personal bodyguard. All he needs is a drop of your blood." the handmaiden explained.
She could not believe her ears.
"A drop of my blood?! Lady Margaret, I am going to need more explanation from you before I explode," she exclaimed.
"Okay okay, hear me out. I bought you a servant with a contract seal."
"It already sounds horrible, you basically bought me a slave. Continue," Laina said in a defeated tone.
"Oh don't worry, no one saw me there. Anyways, he is a vampire. So all he needs is a drop of your blood to recognize you as his master and he will carry out your every order. And protect you."
Laina was livid.
"So he's only going to be able to protect me at night? Vampires can't be under sunlight, Margaret. I expected you to know that."
Margaret quickly explained, "Yes, yes of course I know that! Which is why he is a hybrid! He's half-vampire, half-human. So he can walk under sunlight, no problem."
Though her questions were answered, Laina still was not sure how to proceed. She walked over to the young man.
"Can you understand what I'm saying?" Laina asked him.
She lifted his face up so that she could get a better look at him. Laina was surprised to see he had a muzzle over his mouth. His eyes were glacier blue, enchanting, and filled with mystery. She could see the contract seal that had been burnt into his chest.
The wound was still red and raw. His frame was skeletal at best, it was as if he had not eaten in days!
"Do you understand my words?" she asked him again.
He looked straight into her eyes and nodded.
"He's apparently been trained to not speak unless ordered to," Margaret explained as she walked over.
"Margaret, sometimes I wonder what sort of circles you mingle in. Getting hold of a slave in Kinshearth? Was that not a banned practice already?" Laina sighed as she continued to assess the young man.
Margaret shrugged her shoulders, pretending as if she did not know what Laina was talking about. The Crown Princess rolled her eyes at her handmaiden's response. Recently, she felt as if her handmaid was a lot more mysterious than she was leading on.
"Do you have a name?" Laina asked the hybrid.
He shook his head. Laina nodded. Although she did not like having someone following everywhere she went, she could not bear for the young man to be sent back to the slavers market either.
She would just have to make do with him. Laina clapped her hands together. The young man flinched.
"Alright, Margaret, I will take him on as my bodyguard. But, you are in charge of his training."
"As you wish, my princess," Margaret curtsied.
She walked over to Laina's side and removed the hybrid's muzzle. A gentle tap on the cuffs around his hands and came right off, falling to the ground with a clank. Margaret stood protectively in front of Laina, in fear that the hybrid might attack.
But he was meek and quiet, silently standing there. He was waiting for an order to be given. Margaret carefully pricked Laina's finger and squeezed it. Blood formed on her finger. Before she could even give the order, the hybrid's pupils turned ruby red and he reached for Laina's hand.
He lifted it close to his mouth and licked the blood off her finger. Laina stood there, as still as she could. Margaret was worried that the hybrid might go into bloodlust, wanting to sink his fangs into Laina's wrist to drain more of her blood.
But he did not.
He released Laina's hand and closed his eyes. The contract seal on his chest burnt bright red for a moment, before disappearing completely. All that was left was a soft red glow on his skin that slowly faded away.
"The contract seal is complete," Margaret declared, "All he needs now is a name."
"A name…"
Laina pondered deep in thought for a moment. She came up with the perfect name.
"From this day forward, your name is Kol."
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
ValestriaMoon
ValestriaMoon Introducing our new character... Kol! The half-vampire bodyguard~ He is bound to Laina by a master and servant seal~
He will be a loyal boi~
New Book Alert!
Please check out my latest book <The King's Cursed Bride>!
Capítulo 47: Has The Crown Princess Lost Her Mind?
Grand General Tobias and Royal Chancellor paced nervously in the Drawing Room. They had requested an audience with Crown Princess Laina. People of all backgrounds have arrived at the palace for the competition.
"The Royal Treasury is already in shambles and she wants to host this… this art competition?! Has the princess lost her mind?" Lucinda sighed.
"We should have stopped the plans when we had the chance. Now, we can only hope for an explanation," Tobias remarked.
Laina entered the room. Before the General and Chancellor could get on their knees to pay her their respects, Laina stopped them from doing so.
"Spare the formalities, Tobias, Lucinda. We simply do not have the time. Margaret informed me that you wish to speak to me, hence I am here. Speak quickly, there is much still waiting to be done."
She walked over to take a seat on the sofa. Kol, her new personal bodyguard followed closely behind and stood beside her. He had his eyes on the General and Chancellor, watching their every move.
"We are concerned, your Highness."
"Concerned? Whatever for? Things are going smoothly…"
"But what is it all for, your Highness? Pardon our lack of vision but what our Kingdom is already in a lot of debt, what good will the art competition do?" Lucinda asked.
Tobias backed her up, "Not to mention, the cost of sustaining these people."
Laina stood up from her seat. She turned to the both of them and asked, "So that's what you're concerned about? Do you think I spent days planning just to waste it all away?"
"No… your highness-"
The Crown Princess folded her arms and sighed. She had hoped her subjects would have more faith in her. But it seems, they just saw her as a princess who wanted to play. That is something she will work endlessly to change.
"First of all, the money will come from my personal vault, so don't worry about that. The art competition is an investment I am working on. All I need from the both of you, is your understanding and support," she reached out to them as best she could.
But Laina could see it in their eyes. Without proof that her plans had worked, they would never believe in her vision. They would not trust her to lead. Their lack of faith only spurred her on. She will not give up.
Laina left the Drawing Room without saying anything else. Kol and Margaret followed closely behind in silence. To keep her mind off things, Laina decided to visit the people who have come for the competition.
The ballrooms that once held countless parties had turned into an art gallery. People from all over Kinshearth came to show their talents. Laina went to the Petunia Ballroom, where the painters have been situated.
Not wanting her presence to cause any disturbance, Laina disguised herself. She did not wear her tiara and chose a less regal outfit to wear. Upon entering the Ballroom, she looked like a servant more than a princess.
No one cared to give her a second look. Laina grinned, that was exactly what she wanted. She moved through the different stations, each belonging to an artist.
"Something isn't right," Laina whispered to Margaret as they made their round through the ballroom.
Everyone in the ballroom was dressed in finery, they had the best supplies and even had servants helping them. How was this possible? Even Margaret noticed it was amiss. The competition was for everyone.
Yet all those who were in this ballroom were nobility, rich upper class. Where were the common folk? Had none of them turned up for the competition?
"Can you believe they wanted those peasants to paint here, with us?" one of the nobles haughtily commented as he moved his paintbrush across his canvas.
A noble lady laughed in response, "Exactly! How can they ever compare to us?"
Laina gritted her teeth in anger. Looking at the amount of space available, there was more than enough room for at least another fifty workstations!
"Margaret, where are the other participants?" Laina asked.
"According to my records," she flipped through the materials she had in her hands, "One of the royal courtyards had been cleared to accommodate them."
Laina took in a deep breath. She tried to calm her nerves so that she could deal with the situation calmly. Just then, there was a tap on her shoulder. Laina turned to see the noble lady from before holding a pail of dirty paint water.
"You there, go get me a new clean pail of water," she ordered.
Laina did not move, nor did she reply.
Annoyed, the noble lady asked again, "Are you deaf? I said, go get me a clean pail of water."
"Oh I heard you the first time," Laina snapped back.
Insulted by the way Laina responded to her, the noble lady gritted her teeth in anger. From the side, she could see the nobleman whom she spoke to earlier laughing at her.
"I didn't know servants in the palace could be so ill-mannered! Perhaps this will teach you a lesson."
The noble lady raised the pail of dirty paint water and splashed it in Laina's direction. Everything happened so quickly, they barely had any time to react. Seeing that Laina was being attacked, Kol leaped into action.
He stood guard in front of Laina, blocking her from being splashed with the dirty water. The coloured water splashed all over Kol's body. Everyone gasped in shock by the sudden turn of events.
Even Margaret was not quick enough to stop this from happening. The noble lady threw the pail onto the ground.
"Pick it up, and get me my clean water," she said haughtily before sitting back down to continue painting.
No one else came up to say anything. They witnessed it first hand, but they chose to remain silent. Laina gritted her teeth, she wanted to teach the lady a lesson. But she knew she had to remain calm.
Margaret watched on in anger, she too wanted to react. But she could not, she waited for Laina's command. Kol, on the other hand, stood there blankly. He wanted to take a step forward and confront the noble lady.
The noble lady attempted to humiliate his master, he was not about to let this go so easily. But Laina grabbed onto his wrist. She turned him around and checked on him.
"Kol, are you alright?" she asked. Laina's voice was filled with concern as she checked on him.
Kol nodded, he did not say anything else.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES
ValestriaMoon
ValestriaMoon
I have been overwhelmed with joy these few days as I see more and more people adding this novel to their libraries. T^T I truly appreciate every single one of you!
I have also been reading all the comments you awesome people have left. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
You have no idea how happy you've made me. T^T Author san will work hard on this novel!
New Book Alert!
Please check out my latest book <The King's Cursed Bride>!
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