The Crown Prince's Guard

chapter 9: Candy and Robber

"You-" the princess stuttered in annoyance, clearly offended that she was not recognized by the guards.

"Come here, you annoying brat! I'll tell my brother how disrespectful you are to me." Long'Er put aside his threat easily while sighing.

"You know, if you really did that, someone else might find out about your attempt to sneak out of this palace. Do you really want that to happen?" The princess gaped in fear, unable to find any words to refute.

He definitely did not want anyone to know about this, let alone the King and Queen. Who knew how long he would be punished again when he was caught running away? Growing red beets on the face, the princess covered her mouth in defeat and stomped her feet like a child.

"Alright, whatever. But I'm still leaving the palace and you're coming with me as my bodyguard, okay?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"No." The princess returned to the chest with a stern look.

"Come, waiter. Lift me up and make sure to catch me from the other side" he ordered.

"Quickly, we don't have much time before someone catches us." Shaking his head, Long'Er did as he was told. As much as she wanted to ignore the princess and her rampage, she could not let Li Xun's sister be vulnerable and alone in the darkness.

Who knew what kind of trouble he would face? Long'Er climbed up the crates, pulling the princess with him. Given the fact that he was taller and stronger, he lifted himself up easily.

After he made sure His Majesty was lifted up and sat safely on top of the wall, Long'Er jumped up and landed on the other side. He turned around and spread his hands wide, nodding towards the princess assuring that he would catch her.

When the gentle girl jumped up and landed in her arms, the princess felt her cheeks instantly blush as she was carried by her brother's bodyguards. She rushed out of Long'Er's embrace and busied herself by brushing the folds from her dress, avoiding eye contact.

"Come, little boy," the princess muttered.

"Next here."

The place where the princess brought Long'Er was a bookstore located in the heart of the market. He must have been a regular visitor, since he knew the way around the area well. Ensuring that her face was partially covered by her silk outerwear, the princess spoke a few words to the shopkeeper, who nodded quickly and went to the room behind to look for the book requested.

Long'Er picked up a book from the shelf and read it quickly. After reading a few lines, his eyes widened in shock and his cheeks flushed red from the indecent content. He closed the book and put it back on the shelf speechless. Stunned, he turned to meet the spirited princess, who was humming lightly.

"So, when you mention that you really have to leave the palace for life or death business, you mean i-this?" Long'Er stammered in astonishment.

"Your Majesty, aren't you ashamed?" The princess raised one finger to stop her scolding.

"Be careful with your words, hamlet boy. And yes, that's why I came here. How else would I be able to survive in the palace if I didn't have romance books to prevent me from dying of boredom? Just like men, we women have our wild fantasies- "

Long'Er covered the princess' mouth, muffling her words so that no one passing by to hear her. Goddess, even if she was unaffected by her own words, Long'Er experienced shame on her behalf. He must have regretted agreeing to help the princess on this trip.

What made him land himself?

The shopkeeper then returned with a stack of books in his arms. With a delighted smile, the princess happily made her purchase before throwing the neatly wrapped books into Long'Er's arms. Complaining from the burden, Long'Er shifted the books before tucking them under his arm.

"Your Majesty," he said desperately.

"I'm a bodyguard, not your personal servant."

Even though it was late, the shops were still open for business because customers were busy after work hours.

"Why don't you ask your waiter to buy these books on your behalf? You don't have to risk your own safety to sneak out" Long'Er asked. The princess shook her head sadly.

"My servants are all under the control of my parents, not mine. All my movements will be reported to the King and Queen. His books will be confiscated before I even know it. I had to pretend to be asleep before I could sneak out early. "

strawberry layered honey that looks very appetizing. Without a second thought, he bought a few of them and gave one to his bodyguards. Grasping the stick with his fingers, Long'Er examined the candy carefully.

"What's this?" The princess gave him a surprised look.

"You don't know what this is? I thought this was a snack eaten by ordinary people?"

"Well, I don't really live around here." The princess frowned while thinking.

"You must have come from a far away place. Then you should try it. It's really good."

Demonstrating how one should eat sweets, he put strawberries in his mouth before pulling them from the stick well. Long'Er reflected her actions, but she bit him hesitantly. A burst of sweetness spread on his tongue and he closed his eyes to enjoy it.

"Hm" commented.

"That's pretty good."

"okay?" They continued to walk leisurely along the way, heading towards the direction back to the palace in silence as they finished their snacks.

"So" the princess started chatting.

"How did you end up being my brother's bodyguard?" To her curious question, Long'Er shrugged her shoulders casually.

"The story is long - you've probably heard of it because it pretty much circulates around the palace."

"Alright, tell me the story again. I'm bored and we have time to tell stories until we get back to the palace." Before Long'Er could respond, their path was suddenly blocked by a group of spooky-faced men brandishing weapons.

"Lady," the man standing in the middle greeted them. Showing an arrogant and ruthless attitude, he looked like their leader.

"If you're bored, we can entertain you better than your partner." The princess instantly froze in fear, all traces of humor vanished from her face.

He whimpered a little before rushing over and hiding behind Long'Er for safety. Long'Er's hand instinctively went to the hilt of his sword. He gave the bookcase to the princess and took a defensive position. Scanning a group of*******, he calculated that he was going up against eight gunmen. He whispered softly, but it was loud enough for the princess to catch his words.

"Listen, Your Majesty. I will keep them as long as I can. In the meantime, please run back to the palace, okay?"

"H-h-huh?" Terror enveloped the girl's voice.

"What about you?" Long'Er pursed her lips in seriousness.

"I'll be right behind you." But a small part of him was afraid that he would not be able to come back to life.