CHAPTER 14
Kael scoffed, shaking his head. The headache started to numb his senses. "Enough." He stood up, towering over her as she remained in her seat. "Drop the act. Whoever put you up to this, tell them it's not working."
Diandra furrowed his brows and looked up at him. "I am not lying, sir." She said firmly. Happy for herself that she finally got it right. But why was he thinking that she was playing, acting, or something?
"Oh, really?" Kael crossed his arms. "You expect me to believe you magically woke up in my backyard with no past, no memories, but a perfect excuse to stay by my side?"
He wasn't finished yet. But before he could say another word, Diandra had shot out of bed, which automatically made him retreat. She dropped to her knees in front of him, her head bowed low in perfect formality.
"I would never dare lie to His Majesty, the Emperor." She blurted out in conviction.
Kael froze, caught off-guard by the sheer devotion in her tone. The room grew silent with the weight of her words. He blinked slowly and dragged his breathing. He let himself fall on the sofa again and had his back against the seat as he stared at her bowed head. He was beyond furious. But he couldn't let it out. He should have been able to have answers now, but every time he tried, it only led deeper into strangeness. He exhaled loudly. Tired in his raging anger.
"Get back on that seat." He uttered a cold command. She instantly pulled herself up and got back to her earlier position. She met his gaze like she did nothing wrong. Like she wasn't guilty of anything.
He wanted so much to laugh at it. At how ridiculous it was. This woman sure kept his sanity on edge ever since she appeared.
"Who are the enemies then?" He asked in a monotone. Kael already knew the answer. It was the rebels that sided with the monsters and black magicians. They wanted to take over the Regulous Empire to reign on their own and to rule with cruel control over everything and to have access to powerful things that could destroy a nation.
He asked, and he wanted to know how much knowledge she had of the confidential story.
Diandra's brows furrowed at Kael's question. "The enemies?" She repeated. Right. Who were they? What kind of things or people did she have to protect him from? She dug through her mind.
Anything. I had to give him at least an answer to this.
She had even closed her eyes for a brief moment to search for her memories. But she winced instead for trying so hard. A sharp pain flashed across her face. Her hand instinctively went to her head. "I don't know." She admitted frustration, lacing her tone. "I cannot remember what kind of enemy we had." Then she raised her gaze to meet his eyes. "I only know that I had a mission. That is to protect you, Your Majesty." She blinked. "Sir." And corrected herself again.
Kael narrowed his eyes. How convenient. How excellent her acting is!
"So, you don't even know who you're protecting me from?" If he couldn't make it his way, then he'd do it with hers. Playing along until she slipped in her character.
Diandra pressed his lips together. Clearly bothered by her own lack of answers. "No. But I know I must protect you. That is the one thing I'm certain of. And as for that, Your Majesty, can I have my dagger returned to me? I don't have my own sword yet. I am weaponless, and it is not convenient for a knight not to have something to wield."
Kael clicked his tongue. He hadn't gotten over anything else, and now she was asking for a weapon? He took a sharp breath and was ready to say something else, but she beat him to it.
"As His Majesty's personal knight, I should have something with me to protect you better."
He leaned back as he inhaled deeply. With arms crossed, he studied her, and a smirk stretched his lips. "That's where you got it wrong, lady." He wasn't comfortable calling her the name she claimed to be.
Diandra looked up, brows furrowed in confusion.
"You weren't my knight." His voice was low but deliberate. "You were assigned to protect Princess Fiona. The emperor's sister."
Diandra blinked. Her expression faltered. "His Majesty's sister?"
Kael's jaw tightened. That's right. Princess Fiona. The one Dame Diandra was sworn to protect but failed.
He exhaled sharply, rubbing his temple. "Yes. But she's dead."
Diandra's breath was caught in her lungs. "What?" Her heart pounded loudly, hoping that she heard him wrong. It couldn't be—
"The emperor's sister. Fiona. She's dead." He watched as Diandra's face twisted in disbelief. Her hands clenching into fists on her lap.
Upon hearing it again, Diandra's chest started to constrict. Her gaze lowered, and her mouth opened in shock. "No…" She uttered, slowly shaking her head. "That's not possible. I would… I would never let that happen." If that was what happened in her past, why couldn't she remember it? Why couldn't she remember even her failure?
She tried to swallow, but it was hard with the lump in her throat. Being a knight was all she remembered. It was the only thing she prided herself on despite all the confusion around her and being lost in the darkness of her mind. But if she even failed in it… she didn't know what to do anymore.
A knight who couldn't fulfill their duty was no knight at all. She didn't just fail the princess. She also failed the emperor and their allies. It was unforgivable.
In an instant, she was on her feet and kneeled right in front of him. She bowed so low, her forehead almost touched the floor. "Your Majesty." Tears started to spill down her cheeks. She may not remember everything, but she knew that she must have suffered herself when she lost the princess in her care. The hurt that was creeping up in her chest was undeniable. She may have lost her memories, but she could feel the grief in her heart upon hearing about it. "I have committed the gravest sin. I have failed you... I have failed her."
Kael's heart pounded as he froze on the seat. What the—
"I do not deserve to live." Her fingers dug into the floor, and she was sniffling. "I will take whatever punishment you see fit. Even if it means my life."
His breath was caught in his lungs. Is she serious?