The Gatekeeper Chapter 36- Finding Myself.

As we closed the distance between ourselves and the gate, all the people among the group had various expectations with the upcoming welcome by the residents of the Royal Capital.

Some were excited, some were troubled, some were in antic.i.p.ation, and some were indifferent.

I personally was indifferent towards the developments occurring around me, because I was more focused on the big picture.

Sylvia, on the other hand, was clearly troubled.

"What is it?"

I asked her in an indifferent voice.

"It's just, I am not ready to deal with all of it yet."

Her speaking without mentioning the context was a bad habit, for which I had rebuked her many times. However, I completely understood what she was talking about by just glancing at the distant look in her eyes.

She was talking about all the consequences which came with declaring her love for me in front of her future fiancee and the next emperor of Hades.

Due to all our convincing, the matter was left alone for the time being, but we have already reached the Capital at this point, so there was no point in running away from reality.

"Guess I'll fight him."

As I say this while looking into Sylvia extraordinarily beautiful eyes, her eyes widen to the point of no return. It takes a moment to register what I just said, but when she does, her blooming smile can be seen reaching from ear to ear.

A drop of tear formed on the edge of her left eye, she wiped it with her finger and looked me in the eye.

"Will you protect me?"

She asked me so with complete determination to bear all the consequences that would arise because of her decision.

"Yes. You belong to me, and I don't like it when my belongings are in danger."

This could be considered a very arrogance-filled statement, and it was enough to shake Meri-san. Her expression clearly saying 'how could you say that to a princess!?'.

Having said that, this was a statement which became salvation for Sylvia.

Her cheeks dyed in the crimson hue, her blue-purple hair swaying with the incoming wind, her hands clasped in front of her chest, and a smile which was the most beautiful thing I've witnessed since I arrived in this world.

It had been a total of twelve days since I came to this world, and in those twelve days, the things I witnessed, the actions I took, and the decisions I made, all of them were my own. Completely unrelated to my own world, these actions which would lead to define me in the future were completely my responsibility, no parents, relatives, and friends whatsoever were present at my side when I arrived in this world.

I wouldn't want to say that I regret my actions, but as I am now, I was the cause of death for far more humans that I ever could've imagined.

Having said that… there is no emotion of guilt inside me right now.

Even after all that has happened, I have no attachment to this world, I am ready to do whatever it takes to have fun, that's it. I just want to return to my own world, that's the one thing which I will never compromise on.

"What happened? You look kind of pale."

The one who asked me was Sylvia, she had a concerned look all over her face, and in contrast to my indifferent approach to her state a little while ago, she was genuinely worried about me.

'This girl, is actually in love with me, isn't she?' that was the only thought which came to my mind after realizing her genuine concern over my condition.

"It's nothing, just missing someone."

I answered in an aloof voice and extended my left hand and placed it on her right cheek.

She started rubbing her cheek on my stationary hand, which seemed so similar to a cat's actions, it was plain amusing.

She kept rubbing her cheek on the palm of my hand, and then she proceeded to grasp my hand with both of her own, and kissed it multiple times.

As she was now, all her embarra.s.sment and fidgety nature vanished. She had realized that I wouldn't reciprocate her feelings that easily, but she was confident that I would not abandon her.

"We're here, you two."

Meri-san said and then pointed in the direction of the huge gate that separated the Royal Capital and the outside world.

Sylvia also noticed and released my hand. Her warm body heat was not being transmitted to my hand anymore, she seemed a little lonely, but she immediately adopted a professional smile.

She straightened her posture and fixed her clothes. Meri-san did the same. Both of them were dressed up quite fas.h.i.+onably, considering they were going to meet Vernyx as soon as they reached the Palace.

On the other hand, I had a simple black coat over a white s.h.i.+rt, the pants were black as well, and combined with the black shoes, I looked like a typical office worker from my world.

The adventurers riding on the horses proceeded to talk to the guards, and the guards simply glanced at each one of us and opened the huge gate, only to reveal tons of people, waiting in antic.i.p.ation for our arrival.

As we crossed the gate, the energetic screams of many of the residents of the Capital infiltrated our ears.

The citizens had many magic-powered lights in their hands. The crowd resembled those fans who came to watch a baseball game with unwavering enthusiasm in their eyes.

The crowd was cheering. Many were taking the name of their beloved princess, while the others were welcoming Hades with open arms. Many were welcoming the hardworking adventures back, while a small portion of them were raising voices of rejection against the visitors who arrived here from another nation.

It was to be expected, so no one actually paid any heed to the people who came down to show their dissatisfaction.

Our carriages moved through the crowded streets of the Royal Capital in perfect unison, we moved in a straight line in order to reach the Royal Palace.

While we were moving through the streets, my acute hearing picked up a lot of things.

It appeared that the Annual Athena festival would be starting tomorrow. The construction of the dome has been completed, and is now being decorated so that it can be considered a suitable replacement to the highly reputable Royal Dome situated in the Capital.

As we approached the heavenly Royal Palace, the home of the Royal family and the place where every major decision concerning the Kingdom was carried out, I could see Sylvia getting restless and anxious.

She was very concerned about what happened with Julius. Sylvia wasn't the least bit ignorant to her own features, she was perfectly capable of objectively viewing herself, and she knew that what Julius said about her beauty were his genuine feelings.

She glanced at my face, our eyes met, she didn't avert her gaze, she kept staring in my eyes, as if making a decision.

After about two minutes of intense gazing, her cheeks loosened, and her gaze turned soft.

"I do really love you, don't I? I am ready now, I will face the whole world if need be, just keep me by your side."

"I am still okay with you being married to Crown Prince Julius, you know?"

I said in a sarcastic voice, to which, Sylvia adopted a puffed up face which clearly showed her dissatisfaction.

"You said you'd protect me!"

She said and then proceeded to close the distance between our face to the point where I could feel her breathing.

"I said I'd protect you, not that I'd marry you."

"I know, and I am not asking you to. I just said didn't I? 'Just keep me by your side'."

She had genuine sentiments fueling her words, I just couldn't make a sarcastic comment in the face of her sincere emotions.

"And you're okay with that?"

I asked her in a serious voice.

"Yes, I am a woman first, and a Princess, second. I am quite selfish and greedy, I am ready to sacrifice everything in order to get the man I love to notice me."

That's something really heavy, you know? Don't you guys have flings or something.

"There's no man in the world who wouldn't notice a woman like you, you know?"

I said and sneered at her.

I gained a bit of distance from her and stuck close to the window of the carriage, from where, I could see the smiling faces of many commoners.

My original goal, shortening the gap between the commoners and n.o.bility, still occupied a certain amount of my mind, but it was vastly overshadowed by my thirst of entertainment.

If it just so happened that my efforts to have some fun were to lead in a positive effect for the commoners, then that's that, I couldn't be happier.

While I was contemplating about my motives and intentions, we had already reached the Royal Palace.

The Royal Palace was so huge that I couldn't even catch the entirety of its majesticity while sitting in the carriage, I got off and then proceeded to offer my hand to Sylvia, who descended from the carriage while moving her other hand through her hair in a manner which seemed unusually refined and fit for a princess.

Our carriages came to a stop in front of the Royal Palace while arranged in a straight line, and our group descended right in front of the gate of the Royal Palace, where there were more than a hundred people with luxurious clothes waiting for us.

I had a look at the Royal Palace when I went on that date with Mirae-san, but the distance was still far, so the experience wasn't impactful.

However… looking at it from this distance… steals even my breath.

A base area which seemed to be enough to encompa.s.s a small town. The walls made from beautiful, l.u.s.trous, and strong magic imbrued bricks which were dyed in the beautiful colours of white and gold. There were many different buildings, each more impressive than other in its architectural structure and superficial appearance. However, without a doubt, the most impressive structure out of all these great and appealing buildings was the main building where the King conducted his a.s.sembly. It was a building which had the most grandiose gate I had seen to date leading to the most majestic and exquisite interior I ever witnessed. The building itself was more than 40 metres tall, and had a huge crest engraved on the wall which faced me.

While I was busy taking in the sight of this breathtakingly impressive piece of infrastructure, I heard a vaguely familiar voice originating from my front.

"So you're back, Sylvia?"

The one who said this with a smile on his face was… Vernyx.