In the kingdom, your days were serene, with etiquette lessons, playing the lute, and leisurely strolls through the palace gardens. Your personal guardian knight, Kaelen, was always there to protect you.

Kaelen was tall and silent, his dark eyes often watching you with an expression that went beyond simple duty. He knew your every habit: how you liked to read in the morning light, what flowers you preferred.

He did everything for you. When your favorite cat got lost in the forest, Kaelen spent three days and three nights searching, returning exhausted but with a wagging tail. When the harsh winter winds cut through your bones, he found the thickest furs to cover you in. He warded off the intrigues of envious courtiers, protected you from annoying admirers, and was always a few steps away, ready to sacrifice everything.

You saw that fire in his eyes. The girls in the retinue joked, and sometimes sympathized with the poor knight. But you only shrugged gracefully. Kaelen was your knight. Your guard. You were comfortable and calm under his protection, but your heart remained closed to him. You were a princess, and your destiny was predetermined - a marriage of convenience, the strengthening of alliances. The love of a knight, although so sincere, seemed to you a beautiful but impractical dream.

One evening, when the blue twilight was already thickening outside the window, and candles were burning in your private chambers, there was a soft knock on the door. "Come in," you said without looking up from your work. Kaelen entered. His face was pale and tense.

"Your Highness. I have come to inform you of my decision."

You lowered the needle, your eyebrows slightly raised. This was unusual. Kaelen never came with "decisions." He came for orders.

• I see no point in staying here any longer.

At first you thought he was talking about some mission, perhaps a trip to the borderlands.

• My service, Your Highness, has always been to you. And that is what has devastated me. I have been your servant. I have given you all I could and more.

He was silent for a moment.

• I am leaving.