For a moment, Rivalen feared that he had overstepped a boundary with Roxanne when she sighed at his request to tell him about herself. His worry was short-lived though, because soon the princess had stopped walking and began to give him an answer. He leaned back against the opposite banister, taking in every word she spoke. His motives for doing so were not as innocent as he would have the princess to believe, but he still wanted to learn as much about her as he could. Perhaps she might even tell him something that he could use against Cedric later on. If only he was so lucky.

However, Roxanne’s first words didn’t sit well with him. Rivalen felt a familiar stab of frustration when she spoke of hating witches and wizards in such a lighthearted manner. It seemed that everyone in the royal family shared in the ignorant belief that all magic users were rotten to the core. [i]If only they knew![/i] He almost wished that he could tell the princess what he really was so he could prove to her that not all wizards were the heartless killers she imagined them to be… But, then again, he wasn’t the best example of a ‘good’ warlock, either. The entire reason he had even chosen to become her personal attendant was so that he could get close enough to the royal family to inevitably take their lives. It wasn’t exactly the most convincing argument to persuade her that he wasn’t just another bloodthirsty brute. So, he swallowed his anger and forced himself to simply nod at Roxanne’s words—he also had to keep up the part of a ‘witch-slayer,’ after all.

When the princess brought up her deceased mother, Rivalen wasn’t surprised. It was common knowledge that the late queen had been killed by a magic user and was the reason why Cedric began exterminating all of the witches and wizards in his kingdom. What [i]did[/i] catch him unawares was the brief pang of sympathy he felt for Roxanne. The death of his own mother he left him traumatized for years during his childhood. Since then, he had learned to channel his grief into hatred for the king, but he still felt an occasional hollowness from the loss. He supposed he knew better than anyone what the princess was going through.

[i]But that doesn’t mean I can empathize,[/i] Rivalen reminded himself. Even if he shared a similar history with Roxanne, he couldn’t let himself get too close to her. It was already going to be difficult enough to kill her; he didn’t need to make the task any more challenging by adding emotional ties into the mix. So, when the princess moved past the story of her mother and went on to describe her passion for the outdoors, he was relieved.

Rivalen watched her features light up with an infectious smile as she described her affection for horseback riding before she sank back into a sullen melancholy when telling of her father’s intentions to marry her off to a suitor. He nodded in understanding since he knew firsthand just how stifling one’s duties could be. His mission in the castle was particularly so. He was forced to suppress his own morality in order to lie and manipulate everyone so that he could ultimately murder three people. Even though it was for a good cause—the freedom of magic and vengeance for his mother—he wasn’t fond of the process.

But he chose not to dwell on that now. Instead, Rivalen copied Roxanne’s earlier sideways glance, looking at the princess discreetly from the corner of his eye as he considered what she said about her father’s desire to marry her off. In all honesty, she was a striking young woman, one whom many a suitor would be eager to court. He imagined it wouldn’t take long before one of them won her hand in matrimony—if she lived long enough, that is—but she didn’t look happy about the thought. Rivalen supposed he could understand. Once she was engaged to some wealthy prince, she would likely be unable to continue her personal hobbies. He didn’t know much about traditions between married nobles, but he suspected that Roxanne wouldn’t have very many freedoms [i]after[/i] she was married, either.

“It is true that you may not be able to do those things forever,” Rivalen admitted as they continued to climb the staircase. “But you do have them now, so I would suggest you hold on to them for as long as you can.” He paused for a moment and then laughed. “I suppose that must sound obvious to you right now, doesn’t it? What I meant to say was that from what you told me, it seems like your life will only get busier from here, what with all of the visiting suitors and an inevitable marriage, so you should hold on to the moments you get to yourself now without ruining them with worries of the future.” He glanced sheepishly at Roxanne. “Was that alright? I know I’m not much of an advisor, but I promise I [i]am[/i] trying my best…” He blinked, suddenly realizing he had been so focused on trying to console the princess that he had forgotten to use proper titles. “…My Lady.”