He was about to take his leave for the night when the princess whispered, “Wait!”

He turned back to her. “Yes, your highness?” With a mischievous smirk, she closed the gap between them and left a soft peck on the knight’s cheek.

“I love you.”

Oh! How the knight’s heart was smitten with guilt and grief. Stricken, he turned away, unable to meet the princess’s gaze. “You shouldn’t. You shouldn’t love me.”

“What do you mean?” she cried in confusion. “Titus, what’s wrong?”

He clenched his fists and with a shaky sigh explained, “You shouldn’t love me, for I am not the man you think I am. My true name isn’t even Titus. It is Lune.”

“What? But, why use a false name?”

“Because… I was given a mission. My king, the King of Shardonia, desires to have your kingdom. But war is costly both in manpower and in monetary needs. When he heard of your father’s contest to choose a guard for you, he figured that it would be the perfect scheme—he would choose a knight to pose as a loyal follower and a loyal knight only to slay the princess in secret.”

There was a long, tense pause before the princess murmured, “Then why do you not strike me down now? Especially after telling me all?”

After a minute that felt like an hour, he choked, “Because-because I love you, Charlotte. And yet, I have been given my task as a loyal servant of another kingdom.” A tear raced down his cheek as he sobbed, “What am I to do?!”