Chapter 299: Sir Callen’s Silent Tears
Back to the main point, Primrose decided she would have to find out later who was behind spreading that disgusting rumor.
Not long after, Solene’s thoughts slipped into her mind again. [But actually, I can understand why Sir Callen became Her Majesty’s personal guard so quickly.]
[It seemed like Her Majesty didn’t have the time to wait for him to take the test, because she wanted to leave for Moonshadow right away.]
Primrose was truly lucky that Solene was someone who was always surrounded by a positive aura and rarely thought of anything negative in her head.
"Then ... would you also need time to train, like Sir Callen?" Primrose asked seriously. But if both Solene and Callen were tied up with training, then who would stay by her side?
She definitely didn’t want Leofric to accompany her every moment. The only thing she would gain if Leofric was always around her was a headache. Besides, she wasn’t even sure if Edmund would allow Leofric to be near his wife anymore after today’s mess.
"Oh, don’t worry about that, Your Majesty!" Solene said cheerfully. "I’ve already passed the royal guard’s test once, so I don’t need to train that hard again. Besides that, I’ve been practicing a lot in the training grounds these days, so I think I’m already well-prepared."
"In that case, I can still protect you too, Your Majesty!" Callen added quickly. "I can train in the afternoon and at night—"
"No, you clearly need to train day and night," Solene cut him off. "I can ask one of my friends to help train you, or ... why don’t you just ask Sir Leofric? I’ve heard he actually enjoys training soldiers for the test whenever he’s in the palace."
Primrose nodded slowly. "Right. I suppose Sir Leofric will be staying at the palace for a while anyway."
Since he had asked her for a favor, Primrose was certain he probably wouldn’t leave the kingdom until his sister got better or ... possibly even until she passed away.
On the other hand, Callen’s face went pale the moment Solene and Primrose suggested that he train under Leofric’s guidance. "W-wouldn’t I just be bothering him? I ... I heard he’s a very busy man, and His Majesty always gives him missions."
Primrose pointed toward the window. "I don’t think His Majesty will be giving him any missions for a while. After what he did today, there’s a good chance my husband will punish him by keeping him busy with endless work inside the palace."
She still didn’t know exactly what Edmund would do to punish Leofric, but she was sure the best punishment for Leofric would be to trap him close to the Lycan King for some time.
"But I—"
"Don’t worry." Primrose cut Callen off before he could finish. "If you’re too afraid to ask Sir Leofric, I can speak to him directly and have him train you."
[I’M DEFINITELY GOING TO DIE IF SIR LEOFRIC TRAINS ME!] Callen’s thoughts spiraled into panic. [I’ve heard so many stories that every soldier who’s ever been trained by Sir Leofric leaves the training ground with broken limbs!]
Oh, Primrose had heard that too from her husband. Edmund once told her that Leofric turned into a true monster the moment he stepped into the training ground. That’s why soldiers would immediately scatter like frightened chickens whenever they saw Leofric near it.
In some cases, there was even a soldier who claimed their mother had just passed away, so he needed to go home immediately. The funny thing was, that man used the excuse three times, and he was actually an orphan.
Even though he was a monster, Edmund still admitted that Leofric was the kind of mentor who could turn soldiers into steel. The problem was, he rarely came to the palace, so only a few unlucky souls had ever experienced his brutal training, and survived stronger because of it.
"Are you scared, Sir Callen?" Solene asked straight to the point.
As a man who still had his pride and sense of shame, Callen immediately puffed up his chest and shook his head. "Scared? Why would I be scared of Sir Leofric?! Your Majesty, I’ll train harder than anyone under him!" he declared.
Right after making that statement, Callen screamed inside his head. [WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST SAY?!]
[Oh no, I’ve signed my death sentence. The moment I step into that training ground, I’m done for. Forget becoming a royal guard, I might as well start saying goodbye to this world and prepare to meet my father in the afterlife!]
Alright, maybe that was a bit too dramatic.
Besides, Primrose wasn’t sure Leofric would be that cruel, but ... who knew? She herself had never stepped inside the training grounds anyway.
"That’s good." She patted Callen’s shoulder warmly, her eyes full of encouragement. "I really hope you’ll pass the test without too much trouble, Sir Callen."
Callen forced a bright smile and nodded, but Primrose didn’t need her gift to know the truth. Inside, the poor man was already weeping like a child.
"Alright then," she said after a pause, lowering her voice into a quiet hiss. "Since there’s nothing else to discuss ... can we head back to my room now? My feet are starting to ache again."
She had even been running not too long ago, so it wasn’t surprising that her feet were aching and stiff now. Honestly, she wasn’t even sure she could make it back to her chambers without someone’s help.
Solene immediately stepped closer to Primrose, slipping an arm under hers to carry her. "Of course, Your Majesty. Let’s get you back to your chambers."
While Solene escorted Primrose to her room, Callen stayed behind in the library to wait for Sevrin to wake up and for Leofric to finish whatever ridiculous chase he was having with Edmund ... and, of course, to deal with the corpse.
Primrose wasn’t sure how long that would take, but later that evening—long after dinner—Solene casually mentioned that those two were still running around the palace grounds, darting from one end to the other like restless wolves who had lost their minds.
Honestly, if anyone saw them right now, they wouldn’t think they were two of the most feared men in the entire kingdom. No, people would probably mistake them for a pair of lunatics fighting over who got the last piece of bread at the market.
Then, in the middle of the night, just as Primrose was about to fall asleep, her husband suddenly barged into her room through the balcony door and said, "I’ve already thrown Leofric into the dungeon."
He said it so casually, as if he had just dropped off laundry. Without missing a beat, he spread his arms wide. "Now, wife, give me a hug. I need my night hug."