**Rodrick**
For more than thirty years, I have been her personal knight. I had met Olivia von Ehrich when she was just turning twelve. I can still remember it like it was yesterday. I was still fifteen when she innocently clasped my hands and asked me “…to protect her from now till the end of time…”. I could tell she didn’t mean it; those lines were from one of her favorite plays, but I still got on one knee and made my vow to protect her even after the end of time. I guess my response had been a bit too cheesy since she barely suppressed a giggle. But I didn’t mind, I just knew that I wanted to protect that smile till the end of time and beyond.
Her hands were soft and slim, in complete contrast to my own, which were almost twice her size and riddled with calluses. Her voice was melodious like a songbird. And her smile became the new light of my life.
I trained daily, making sure I could always keep her safe. We spent a lot of time together. I was like her shadow, always a step behind her, always there if something went wrong. And over time, even though I knew I could never reach her, I fell in love. Or maybe I had been in love from the very beginning? However, I wasn’t the only one who noticed that I was getting a bit too close to her.
When she turned eighteen, her father started to arrange more and more meetings with his daughter and “Suitable” marriage candidates. And he ordered me to stand far away from the two. So I could only watch as more and more slimy teenagers and gross men tried to win her favor. Till that point in my life, I never wanted to kill someone this much. Thankfully, though, she refused them all. Much to the distress of her father, who didn’t want his daughter to potentially one day run away with her personal knight.
Because of this, I could barely contain my bubbling rage whenever one of them took her hand or put an arm around her. So despite all of this, I could be content. All until he arrived.
Wilhelm Yuwen, that asshole, ruined everything.
That oh-so-tragic orphan boy, the last of his family. The very moment they met for the first time, it was over. I could see it in her eyes. The way she looked at him and only him. Instead of looking for me, she had only eyes for him. So it goes without saying that the two of us didn’t get along. I never showed that side of me when she was around, but over the first two months since their first meeting, I had over ten duels with him. The conditions? He must leave Olivia alone. Not only did I always lose, but he would also never make up any conditions himself.
I believe he only did it so I wouldn’t be able to complain to Olivia about it. Still, it also showed that he was so sure of his victory every time that he wouldn’t need to make any conditions for himself. Which only made me more furious. However, all of that ended when they got engaged.
Only two months, and they were already gonna marry? I was overwhelmed and desperate. But no matter what I did, she still walked to the altar, and I had to watch as the light of my life married someone else.
After the ceremony, we moved to Fort Rosedorn, Olivia’s new home. And just a few months later, Olivia got pregnant and gave birth to Janus and his stillborn twin brother. In all honesty, I never knew how to feel about her and that man having children. On the one hand, they were her children; on the other, Janus looked so much like his father that sometimes I fantasized about enacting my revenge on him instead of his father, who had only grown stronger. But imagining was all I did.
Shortly after giving birth, Olivia came down with an illness. Her father and husband tried their best to find a cure, but ultimately failed, even after they contacted the pope herself. I also looked for cures throughout the years, only to find nothing but swindlers and fairy tales.
After Olivia became ill, Wilhelm took three more wives. He reasoned that it was only to ensure enough heirs, as if anyone would believe that, lecherous bastard.
And so, I spent my days guarding my mistress as she withers away. But my love and devotion never faltered until one night last summer, I was approached by someone in a bar I had been frequenting. It was a bleak little man with a thin face and sunken cheeks. A Halfling, but thinner than any halfling I have ever seen. He handed me a piece of paper with the words “I can fulfill your desire. I can give you the woman you love.” It wasn’t really the kind of message you would expect to get from someone this shady in a bar. Still, when I lifted my eyes from the paper, he had already vanished as if he had never been there.
I weighed my options. But I ultimately decided to go since if it was a trap, I could just kill them all, and if I didn’t like their offer, I could kill them anyway. With low hope, I went to the address mentioned in the other side of the message. I was really surprised when I didn’t meet the Halfling but that elf with his signature shit eating grin on his face. I would help him, and he would help me. I would kill or get rid of Titus, and he would help me get Olivia, and not just that, he also promised that he would even heal her and make her reciprocate my feelings.
It sounded too good to be true. Then again, the elves were known throughout the lands as the most magically proficient race, said to be able to cause miracles just by mere touch.
I told him I would think about it, but I had already made up my mind. The next day, I visited him again and agreed.