Geez, I don't want to keep going with this lady training! There are so many rules I have to follow around here, and it just makes my head spin! I can't wear too short of a skirt, I can't sit with my back slightly curved forward, I can't walk like a normal person. I have to cross my legs while doing so, and ugh! It's too much!

  One of the main disadvantages of being a gal is the rules I did not know about before, and honestly, I would rather it stayed that way. So what if they call me the panty flasher? It's just more comfortable to sit with your legs crossed! After several hours of torture with the old hag Dolores, the training for the day is finally over, and I am allowed to linger back in the palace.

  The King's palace is truly an astonishing piece of infrastructure if I do say so myself. Not just anyone is able to construct such beautiful pillars with elegant designs carved into them, and his rose garden is so cute! The guards in the palace are all well-dressed and barely even move unless I make contact with them!

  {Footsteps}

  "Such a coincidence to see you here, Miss Annabel. Do you like the flower garden my daughter designed?" I hear Adriale's voice right behind me while I hold a small flower I grabbed from the garden just a couple of seconds before hearing him nearby. "Uh! Yeah! It's gorgeous!"

  Adriale simply softly scoffs at me, turning a blind eye to my little mischief. "If you wouldn't mind, would you go on a walk through the garden with me? There are some things I need to discuss with you that are related to who you are." Oh boy, here we go again. I guess I can't really refuse, can I? Oh well, let's do it!

  "Sure, I've got nothing else to do for now," I respond to Adriale, and he goes along with his suggestion by slowly walking along the garden path with me. "As you well know, we have Martigan in custody, still waiting for his trial for human trafficking and rape. Rest assured, I will ensure he gets the harshest penalty under the law."

  Uhmm, I am not sure a jail sentence sits well enough with me, but I suppose I will let the justice system deal with that monster, or I could also get in trouble for murder, couldn't I? "I appreciate your help in that regard, Your Highness," I say to Adriale.

  "Now, when it comes to dealing with you, I have no problem giving you asylum for a while until you come of age to undergo the magic knight's test, but I wanted to ask you about what you are planning to do with your child." Oh shit, now he was hitting right on an open wound, but I suppose he was right. What would I do with a baby at like 13?

  "If I am to be honest with you, I am afraid I don't know what I will do; I suppose I will have it and raise it. I've considered killing him, but I don't think it's fair to end its life when he did nothing wrong; it was Martigan who raped me, not the baby. I know I am already asking too much, but would you help with this task?" I boldly respond to Adriale.

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  "You are a vampire, so the chances of you dying at concession are low, but still, don't you think it would be best for that child to grow up with older parents instead of living with you? You're still just a kid; I don't think you're ready to be a mother, no offense." Adriale brings up a good point there; even in my past life, I never had kids or ever had to babysit. I honestly had no idea what to do here.

  "Your idea is very noble, Your Majesty, but I don't know anyone with whom I would feel comfortable with leaving my child." Adriale slightly scoffs again as he picks up a red rose in the middle of our walk, stopping at the sight of a big water fountain.

  "I understand what you're saying, and I can tell you've already made up your mind very well. Since I am willing to help you in exchange for possible future help from you, it will be nothing to provide a few more resources to help you raise your kid here in the palace. Although I don't think telling your kid the truth about his father is optimal either, what do you think?"

  Goddamn, man Adriale was such a deep thinker. He beat me to the punch with such questions, things I didn't think about myself until he said them, and to be fair, I felt the same. Telling my kid he is the result of a rape and that his father is a criminal would be traumatizing, but then who would be their father? A kid is bound to ask me that eventually.

  "I don't know. You raise such valid points I never thought of before. I don't know what to do now." I say to Adriale while he finally drops the bomb he had been holding all along. "That's why I proposed adoption at the start. You say you trust nobody, but could you not trust me? You see, my wife, she, well, she can't give me children. My daughter is the baby from one of my concubines, not the queen."

  Would I be strong enough to go through with such a plan? Can I live with myself giving away my kid to the King and his Queen to be raised as royalty by them? From whatever angle I look at it, it's what would be best for them, regardless of gender. I am not an experienced parent, but I don't just want to give them up.

  "I only have one question regarding your offer, Your Majesty. Why would you do all of this for me? You barely know me." I ask the big elephant in the room, leading to an uncomfortable answer. "If I am to be honest with you, which I think is what would make you happy, I wanted to make you one of my concubines when you grew a little older. No offense, but you're very much to my liking."

  So he also finds me attractive, uh? Man, am I also cursed with turning guys horny around me or something? "I don't know about that, Your Majesty. I am still slightly disgusted by men in general. I don't know if I will be able to see men in the same light as before so easily, at least not in bed anytime soon."

  "I was afraid you'd say that, but I understand. Your case was too brutal for even me to let go of that guy with a bond or a light sentence. Fret not, young lady, for I will never do anything without your consent, but if you're open to it, would you allow me to courtship you for the time being?" Was he being serious? A poor peasant girl like me in a relationship with an actual king?!

  "Oh wow, this is uh, uhm. Am I allowed to think this through a little before answering?" I respond to the King, who simply grabs my right hand and kisses it right before me, kneeling as he does so, making me feel weird things in my gut. "Of course you are. Take the evening off and think it through with a warm bath in your room; just tell the maids to prepare a bath for you, and you will have one in no time."

  I guess being pretty pays off, right? At least this guy wouldn't try to rape me, so maybe he would be a good person to heal my trauma with. He seemed like a complete gentleman, not going to lie, and while I did not want a relationship, I did feel little weird things when he looked me right in the eyes.