The Rose That Blooms In North
Chapter 2: Luciole Violette

“You don't understand!” Shouted Princess Anastasia.

“Your Majesty, with all due respect, you must put your own safety first. Because my priority right now is to make sure you stay alive and safe.”

Princess Anastasia threw the paper she had taken from the market notice board towards Leon and went out of the cottage while stomping her feet. Di took his sword which had been lying on the floor of their wooden hut. Both hands were clenched, looking very angry.

Leon picked up the paper from the floor. It was the leaflet that made the Princess suddenly speak to him again. The leaflet that reawakened the spirit of life in his soul was on the verge of death. The leaflet found by Princess Anastasia on the information board in the market, which contained mostly illiterate people, contained an official announcement from the Nordhalbinsel kingdom.

"His Highness Crown Prince Xavier of the Nordhalbinsel Kingdom is looking for a personal bodyguard who will receive a wage of 100,000 gold every month. There are no special conditions. Women and men from all over the world and of all ages are allowed to come and take part in his audition which will begin in two weeks' time in the Hall of the Main Palace of Nordhalbinsel."

That is what was written on the paper containing the announcement.

Princess Anastasia asked Leon to teach her all the swordsmanship she knew and what she needed to do to be elected as Crown Prince Xavier's personal bodyguard. He planned to enter the Nordhalbinsel Palace in this way in order to save his mother and sister. But Leon immediately rejected her and even forbade her from approaching the Palace because it would be very dangerous if anyone found out that she was the daughter of the missing Schiereiland.

In the end, Princess Anastasia practiced the sword herself. Compounded by Leon's words of rejection earlier, still full of anger, he swung his sword towards a tree not far from their log cabin. Anastasia continued to attack the tree mercilessly while venting her anger because her only friend, her foster brother, the man she trusted so much, was not supportive of what she wanted to do.

“You will hurt that tree, Your Majesty.”

Princess Anastasia did not even need to stop her attack to turn her head towards Leon who had now caught up with her to her place of training alone. He remained concentrated on the imaginary enemy before him which was an old tree with a thick log. Attack after attack was launched only to make the tree sway slightly and drop its dried leaves. Not at all satisfactory to him.

“You think that tree is me? Well, Your Honor, if it were me for real, I would be dead.” Said Leon again, this time in a persuasive tone. Now he was leaning against another tree not far from Princess Anastasia. He observed his every move with the observant eyes of a sword-wielding teacher and the experience of a General. “Raise your elbow again, Your Eminence.” He added, when he saw there was a little mistake made by his student.

Princess Anastasia who realized the position of her hand was wrong, immediately fixed it. After all, it was Leon who had trained him for many years. So, no matter how angry he was with Leon, he obeyed the words of his sword teacher.

Princess Anastasia again attacked the poor innocent tree with her sword, now she is more secure to keep her attacking position right. The wrong position would make his sword feel heavier and eventually easy to beat, it could also make his muscles ache and hurt. He recalled that lesson from Leon many years ago.

The attack to the right, the attack from the bottom up, from the opponent's blind spot, he tried various attack patterns that had been taught by Leon. Recollecting everything because only in that way could he try to become the personal bodyguard of the Crown Prince and in the end, save his mother and sister.

Just as he was about to swing his sword again, the sword with the rose ornament on its handle that was the symbol of the kingdom of Schiereiland was pitted against the legendary sword of Leon. As they clashed, the two swords created a loud metallic clanking sound that split the silence in the middle of the forest. That was the sound he wanted to hear again. That sound was what he had missed so much. It felt as if she could return to her past life as a royal princess. To his happy times during sword training with Leon was his favorite in his spare time, not an obligation done with the aim of saving his family and his kingdom. Princess Anastasia tried to hide her smile when she saw Leon fend off her attack.

"Don't be happy yet." Leon looked at her seriously and said, “If you can defeat me, I will allow you to audition it.”

Of course it was a very difficult thing even almost impossible for him, considering Leon was the General of the royal army of Schiereiland in every war they won. His name on the battlefield is more feared than the name of the King himself. People call him the Lion of the South or the Lion of Schiereiland not without cause. Leon had been undergoing extreme training by the Western Swordsman since he was 6 years old. At the age of sixteen, he had already led the Schiereiland army and obtained his first victory. Whenever there was any war or battle, King Edward always sent Leon to the vanguard as the leader of his army. Defeating Leon means defeating the kingdom of Schiereiland, that's the term.

Princess Anastasia started attacking Leon with her sword. The sound of the clanking of their swords clashing together created a kind of melody that made his heart flutter. In a moment, the various sword science lessons that Leon had been taught disappeared from his head.he was too focused on finding a way to defeat Leon quickly. He ignored everything and only focused on his sword movements.

Princess Anastasia swung her sword from Leon's blind spot, just then, victory was seen before her eyes. And he was lulled by the sweetness of the victory that had not yet come until he missed noticing that Leon had already blocked his attack quickly. Their swords clashed in front of the chest.

Princess Anastasia gasped. Dots of sweat began to appear on his forehead. His face was reddish while his chest rose up and down, trying to catch his breath. His heart was pounding violently as Leon showed a slanted smile at him. More to mock instead of flirt. This is fun for Leon, even though Princess Anastasia is trying to exert all her efforts to defeat him.

“You are too close to your enemy, Your Majesty. In this close distance, you can die if you are not careful.” Leon said with a smile.

Leon had always managed to block the continuous attacks from him. They kept fighting swords until he started to feel tired. A Royal Princess who was raised to sit still and smile sweetly, fought a General who had already brought her kingdom in triumph several times while at odds with other kingdoms. This fight looks unfair to him and he has to rack his brains, figure out how to beat Leon. If he's not strong enough to fight Leon, then he should be smart enough and look for his weak spot.

The problem is, Leon doesn't seem to have any weaknesses.

An hour had passed and now he was out of breath. His gaze began to blur, and the world around him seemed to spin until he finally fell to the ground, unconscious.

***

When Princess Anastasia opened her eyes, it was already night. Leon was not far from him, burning the fish he had bought in the market. The good smell makes his stomach sound. The sound immediately made Leon realize that he was being noticed.

"You're awake, Your Majesty" he said as a greeting.

"You beat me that easily" Anastasia said as she tried to sit down. But his head felt heavy and finally returned to lying on his bed which was only a pile of hay and shabby cloth.

Leon immediately approached him with water in his left hand and a plate of grilled fish in his right hand, out of nowhere he got the plate. Without hesitation, Anastasia immediately took the water and swallowed it up.

"You haven't eaten in a long time. Maybe you can beat me once your stomach is full." Ledek Leon with sarcastic tone.

"Of course."

Princess Anastasia immediately picked up the plate containing the grilled fish that looked very tempting. The fish was the simplest food he had ever eaten in his lifetime. Usually for dinner, the palace chef would prepare nine main dishes for each member of the royal family. The food is made in a complicated way and quality ingredients. But now here, in a log cabin with a dirt floor and a fireplace in the form of a small bonfire, he ate the grilled fish very greedily as if it were the world's most delicious food.

Leon looks proud to pay attention to Princess Anastasia who ate her cooking greedily. His cooking skills were never appreciated by his fellow soldiers during wartime. If it was his turn to cook dinner, usually his members would subtly refuse by saying, "How can we let the General cook while we just relax-relax. Let us cook." But at this moment, her cooking was the most delicious meal between the two of them, as the Princess could not cook at all.

"You eat so voraciously that you don't remember letting others taste your food first. What if the food is poisonous?"

Princess Anastasia did not let Leon's words stop her eating. It's not because he's hungry. Even if that was the case, he trusted Leon too much who had been his bodyguard since the day he was born to even doubt his loyalty a little.

"You're not eating?" tanyakanya.

"I ate it already." Leon answered quickly. Too soon, so he finds out that Leon is lying. They didn't have enough money to buy two fish. And Leon obviously just looked after her from then on.

"I'm full.” He said as he got up leaving half of Leon's baked fish so that Leon could eat it too. He also walked to the outside of the cottage, “I want to shower. Please prepare warm water and—“ his words just stop. He had almost forgotten that they were no longer in the Palace. That there are no servants around. "Wait, how's— Not, I mean, where's the bath?"

"Bathroom?" Repeat Leon. He laughed sarcastically, stood up straight, then bowed in dramatic motion with his arms outstretched as if to ask him to dance, "Your Majesty, let me take you to your bath."

***

After walking not too far from their log cabin, they arrived at the bathhouse that Leon was referring to.

"Lake?" pekiknya can't believe it. "You're telling me to take a bath in the lake?"

The lake was indeed bigger than the royal bathtub that was in the palace bathroom. But obviously it was not a proper bathing place for a Royal Princess.

However, the lake that lay before them was a clean lake. The water was so clear that they could see the weeds growing underwater, some small fish and small pebbles. The lake empties directly into the Scheine river, the longest river in Schereiland that flows along this forest. Around the lake, there grew bushes and some wild roses, making the air around them now smell like roses.

A Tree that the Princess had never seen before grew in the middle of the lake. The tree has long roots that stick out to the top of the lake surface and form a triangle with the tree trunk as its peak. The leaves of the tree widened to form a giant umbrella in the middle of the lake. A few fireflies flew around the tree. Fireflies were flying around the tree. It was a different type of fireflies from ordinary fireflies. Its lilac-colored light shone brightly into the darkness of the night within the forest. Making the view that night on the lake look so magical.

"It's so beautiful, isn't it?" said Leon while looking at the Princess who was stunned to see the tree surrounded by purple fireflies.

He nodded involuntarily, still mesmerized by the beauty of the scene before him. Hurriedly realizing his current situation, he immediately shook his head. "You mean, I'm gonna take a bath in this open place? What if someone sees me?"

Leon raised his eyebrows. "Your Majesty, we've been living in this forest for a week. No one else has ever come to this place. This forest is too vast and too creepy for people to pass through."

"I mean..." He's chirping, "you?" his cheeks immediately frowned when he said that. The Princess was grateful that the forest was too dark to show the red hue on her cheek at that time. But Leon was close enough to be able to see her face blushing in embarrassment.

Leon laughed loudly at it. It made him upset that Leon hadn't thought about it. How can a respectable woman bathe in the open while there are men who can see her naked. Of course he's embarrassed. Even though Leon is actually five years older than her already like her own brother.

"Your Majesty, I've known you since you were born. I even helped the ladies replace your diapers as a baby—“ But Leon didn't continue his words when he saw the Princess looking at him in annoyance. That sharp gaze was more deadly than any sword and was able to leave a General speechless. "alright. Alright. I'll be leaving soon. Forgive my sass.” Leon prepared to leave, but the Princess' hand held him.

"That's not what I mean. Don't leave me. You stay here and don't peek."

Princess Anastasia immediately went behind the bushes to prepare for a bath. As he turned to look back at Leon, his face heated up. Heart's pounding. But this time it was not because of the adrenaline that he felt when he was practicing the match earlier with Leon. It's because of something else. He set his breath and tried to calm his heartbeat before finally taking off his clothes and dipping one leg into the lake.

A sigh of relief escaped from her lips as she felt the coldness from the lake water radiating all over her body. It turned out that bathing in the lake wasn't as bad as he thought.

"Your Majesty—“

Reflexes, the Princess immediately covered her body with her hands. "What else is it?" he said, annoyed that Leon surprised him.

"It's okay." The sound of stifled laughter rang out from behind the bushes. "I just want to remind you, the water is cold. And the rocks on the edge of the lake will be very slippery. So please be careful."

***

The next morning, even before the sun was completely visible, Princess Anastasia had already woken up and was preparing to practice the sword herself. After an overnight meal, and a cold shower, his body was able to rest well. This morning he felt very healthy and fresh both his body and mind. He assured himself that he would be able to defeat Leon today even if not in an easy way.

Last night he thought about how to beat Leon. Certainly not in the usual way. He knew he might not be able to defeat Leon even by training for two weeks, whereas he only had less than two weeks before the election of Crown Prince Xavier's personal bodyguard in Nordhalbinsel. Not to mention a trip to Nordhalbinsel that would take as soon as three days if they were riding a horse or horse carriage. To rent a horse and fill supplies during the trip to Nordhalbinsel also they will require a lot of costs. There is too much to be prepared and thought about.

While continuing to swing her sword, training the moves she learned from her sword duel yesterday with Leon, Princess Anastasia who was born with abundant wealth, thought about how they could earn money.

Only this time he realized that finding money was not an easy matter.

"You look very excited this morning, Your Majesty." Leon, who had just woken up, came out of the log cabin and met the Princess who was practicing the sword herself. He stretched out his hand and showed a gold necklace with a red rose-shaped pendant decorated with red gemstones. "You forgot to put this necklace back on after the shower. You want me to put it on?"

Princess Anastasia stared at the necklace for quite a while. The necklace is a necklace that is given by generations from the mother to her daughter or granddaughter. Her grandmother, Grand Empress Dowager, gave it to Queen Isabella on her wedding day. Then Queen Isabella, her mother, gave the necklace to her on her seventeenth birthday. The red rose necklace, which is the symbol of the country, is one of the treasures of the Schereiland kingdom, which is very expensive. Because the necklace is a marker of her identity as Princess Schiereiland.

"no need. I'll just keep it in my dress pocket." He said while taking the necklace from Leon's hand.

"All right, then." Leon shrugged his shoulders. He turned around and would only go back to their log cabin when the Princess blocked his path.

"You want to go to bed again?" tanyanya, can't believe it. Both hands were folded in front of his chest, while his sword was already draped in his waist belt.

Leon raised his eleven eyebrows, looking confused and full of question marks. "Is there anything we should do today?"

"Yes. Take me to the market." The Princess ordered.

***