The Hero's Forsaken Princess
Chapter 98: An Unexpected Offer

Chapter 98: An Unexpected Offer

Gideon froze in his chair for a few seconds after being confronted by Alaric’s direct question. Alaric looked at him sharply, anticipating his reply.

A sudden chill ran down Gideon’s spine at the way Alaric was staring at him as if he would draw his sword should Gideon give a dissatisfying answer.

"General Stormholt, are you seriously asking me that? Will you kill me if I give you an answer that you don’t like to hear?" Gideon said, letting out a soft chuckle as he tried to lighten the mood. Alaric was very serious.

Alaric put on a dangerous smirk. "Well, let me hear your honest answer first. Then we will find out what I’m going to do next."

Gideon smiled awkwardly, darting his gaze around his surroundings. He wondered if Alaric’s men were hiding somewhere, aiming an arrow at him.

"Ahem," he cleared his throat. "Let me answer your first question. I have two reasons why I’m doing this. First, your wife hired me and promised to pay me. Second, your wife is good at her words. She managed to convince me to help her and cooperate with her."

Alaric nodded, not interrupting his words. He just continued listening to Gideon.

"Hmm. Your second question is too personal." Gideon let out another chuckle. "What will you do if I tell you I do have feelings for her? Will you forbid me from seeing her?" Instead of answering Alaric, he threw a question back to him.

Alaric fell silent for a moment, assessing his feelings. He thought about Eve, recalling their heart-to-heart conversation. After a while, a faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Even if you have feelings for her, Eve is my wife. And I do trust her. She won’t betray me."

Gideon smirked at him, arching an eyebrow. "You are quite confident about that, General Stormholt. Does it mean you won’t forbid me from seeing your wife? Aren’t you threatened by me? I might steal her away from you since you keep making her cry."

He tried to provoke him, testing Alaric’s reactions.

"Princess Eve is such an amazing woman. She is full of surprises. Aside from her beauty, she is incredibly talented. Braver and fiercer than you think," he added, praising and complimenting Eve.

Instead of getting mad, Alaric just nodded with a smile. "Yes. I have to agree with you. My wife is an amazing person. And that is why, I won’t give up on her and I won’t let you steal her away from me. But it doesn’t mean I will forbid you from seeing her. You are her friend. To her, you’ve become an important person."

"Even though I envy you a lot, I won’t be selfish and narrow minded, because that’s the right thing to do. I don’t have the right to control her and stop her from getting close to people. She had been isolated for so long. She only has a few friends."

"Cough! Cough!" Gideon choked on his tea. He was truly surprised that Alaric was very talkative and expressive tonight.

Despite his honest opinion about getting jealous of Gideon, Alaric sounded friendly as he talked to him.

’This guy is now being considerate toward Eve. I didn’t expect him to be more understanding of Eve’s situation. I think he truly cares about his wife.’ Gideon thought to himself.

"Are we done talking? I’m a bit hungry now." Gideon decided to change the topic.

"No. I’m not yet done. There is another reason why I invited you here," Alaric replied. His expression turned serious once again.

’Damn! Why is he looking at me like that? I can feel a sudden pressure in the atmosphere.’ Gideon crumpled his face.

"Tell me now so that I can finally eat."

"Don’t worry. I won’t keep you here for so long," Alaric reassured him.

Then he fixed his gaze on Gideon as he continued his words.

"One month from now, my wife and I will be leaving Kingdom Averion. We are going on a journey."

Gideon was dumbfounded for a moment. Eve didn’t mention anything about this.

’Why are they leaving?’ he pondered to himself.

Before he could ask Alaric, the young general continued talking to him.

"I heard from Eve that you became her trainer. You taught her some self-defense for her protection. I truly appreciated that. Since you already have a special bond with my wife, I’m here to give you an offer."

Gideon narrowed his eyes with intrigue. "An offer? And what is that?"

Alaric looked at him, not breaking their eye contact.

"I want you to join us in this journey. I will pay you. Can you be my wife’s personal guard? I need you to protect her," Alaric asked Gideon, his words hung in the air.

Gideon was rendered speechless. Alaric was giving him one shock after another. ’I thought he was jealous of me. But here he was, asking me to be Eve’s personal guard.’

Meanwhile, Alaric stayed silent, waiting for Gideon’s reply. He had thought about this over and over before he talked to Gideon.

Alaric found a reliable man whom Eve trusted. He wanted to set aside his jealousy to secure Eve’s safety. He was doing this for his wife’s sake.

Since the assassination mission had great risks, Alaric would be more at ease knowing that Eve would be protected by someone even if something bad happened to him during the mission.

He was willing to rely on his rival’s support as long as Eve would be safe from potential harm.

Alaric also acknowledged Gideon’s great combat skills. He was a good fighter. Aside from that, he managed to escape from the prison fortress. He was suited for this task.

If something went wrong in the mission, Gideon could help Eve escape from Kingdom Zephyra without getting caught by the knights. Alaric decided to put his trust in this stranger since this man had been by Eve’s side when she needed him the most.

"If you can’t decide now, I’ll give you time. But I truly hope that you will consider my offer. I will compensate you well." Alaric broke his silence.

"I understand. Let me think it over first. By the way, where do you plan to go? Why are you leaving Kingdom Averion?" Gideon asked, his eyes filled with curiosity.

"Kingdom Zephyra," Alaric simply replied.

Gideon’s eyes widened and his face turned pale almost instantly when he heard Kingdom Zephyra.

’Damn! Of all the places they could go, why is he taking Eve there... to an enemy kingdom?!’