Chapter 7
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[Kourin's POV]

When I looked at Aichi, he was bleeding. My heart dropped and I felt worry. I grabbed him by his wrists and we ran back to the castle.

"Kourin, are you alright?" He asked me.

"Yes, but you're not!" I replied. We both stopped at the gate of the castle and the guards came running to us.

"I'll send the prince to a nurse, you all should continue your duty! An enemy is attacking us and his name is Morikawa!" I exclaimed at the guards and we ran inside.

"Kourin-" Aichi spoke and I looked back at him. He was shocked to see me, and I realized that I was crying.

Huh? Why am I crying?

"A-Aichi…" I took a breath and held his hand tightly. He went closer to me as if he knew that I my worry for him is overwhelming.

"Don't cry, I'll be fine." He told me as he gave his usual sincere smile and wiped my tears away; I could only nod. "Come, let's go to the nurse, princess."

"Alright," I replied and we both walked.

-

I sat at the chair inside Takuto's study room. As I looked down on my feet, I noticed that my legs are shaking. I remembered how I used to be scared when I was little, my legs would shake in fear and I'll fall down on my knees to cry.

Takuto came back, he arrived with Suiko and Rekka. They all looked at me sympathetically and I could only look down.

"Kourin, how is the prince?" Suiko asked as she sat on the chair alongside Rekka.

"He's being treated, but the arrow that was shot to him was too deep." I replied.

"The attacker was Morikawa, right? That same person back then." Takuto asked me, I glanced at him as he was looking through the window. I gave a nod.

"Yes." I said.

Takuto then looked back at me and he frowned. "Then we have no choice but to tighten the security even more." He said. "I'll tell everyone in the palace about this."

"Alright…"

A few hours later, I was walking in the hallways and looking around. I could still feel my nervousness all over my body that I had to stand against the wall to keep myself from out balancing.

I have to go back to Aichi…

I quickly ran back inside the room, I panted and opened the door. Clearly worried, I yelled out his name.

"Aichi!"

I found him lying on the bed and is really surprised, there's a bandage wrapped around his shoulder to his chest and he smiled at me awkwardly.

"What's wrong, princess?" He asked.

"O-oh… it's nothing." I stuttered as I approached him and sat on the bedside. I touched his face and ran my fingers on his hair. I could see him close his eyes and rested his face on my palm, he was smiling brightly.

"You're worried, Princess." He muttered.

I could only nod in agreement. I admit that I am really worried about him that it makes me scared, I don't want anything bad to happen to him.

"I'm fine, so please don't cry." He spoke with a sincere smile and he wiped my tears away. And I didn't know I was crying yet again. "Don't worry, we'll surely defeat him."

"Aichi…"

My eyes felt heavy, there were tears threatening to fall down once again. But this time, I let myself cry in front of Aichi.

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[3rd Person POV]

It was afternoon, Aichi woke up and found Kourin sleeping beside him. He could only smile and pats her head as he stared on the ceiling. He was wondering on how and why is Morikawa still alive after defeating him 6 months ago; it was confusing and suspicious. Did he use magic and saved himself that time? Or was he resurrected by an ally?

He noticed Kourin moving and she woke up as well. She wiped the dried tears from her cheeks and smiled at him.

"Are you alright now?" She asked.

"I am, princess." He replied and smiled back.

Kourin then stood up and stretched her arms out before turning to Aichi and she took out a sheathed sword from the corner of the room.

"I'm going to the goddess." She said.

"Eh? But why?"

"I want to learn about magic, of course. And she might be of help." Kourin explained.

"I see, please be careful on your way." Aichi told her.

"I will." Kourin then opened the door and gave a bright smile. "Get well soon Aichi."

The door closed, leaving Aichi on the bedroom. Aichi was blushing hardly after she gave him a bright smile, he couldn't help but to be flustered and covered his face on the pillows.

-

In the forest, Kourin walked along the trails to the place where the goddess Misaki was. But she heard a sound of some people fighting, then she heard the goddess yell.

"What is wrong with you fighting against a goddess?!"

Kourin gasped and ran to the scene, she found Misaki blasting magic and fighting some soldiers with swords.

Kourin grasped her sword and unsheathed it, she launched an attack and hit the soldiers with the slash of sword's blade. She moved around quickly as the other soldiers attacked her as well, she turned around and struck them with the blade. Misaki noticed her and she jumped and muttered a magic spell before casting it and letting out daggers. The soldiers were hit and fell to the ground. Misaki landed beside Kourin and stood up. The lilac haired goddess then noticed a shadow-like smoke disappear from the soldiers and they all disappeared without a trace.

"What the…" Kourin was appalled by the disappearance.

"An enemy is on the loose, am I correct, princess?" Misaki asked as she looked at the blonde princess.

"Yes," Kourin nodded. "My husband was hit and it was the same culprit who did it before."

"I see."

Misaki took a breath and she walked to the door of her house. "Come in."

Kourin gave a nod and followed the goddess inside.

Kourin was sitting on the chair, she noticed a cat sleeping on a basket. She smiled before looking back at Misaki who was holding a plate of cookies. Misaki sat in front of Kourin and she poured a cup of tea.

"So is there anything else you want to talk about?" The goddess asked.

"I want you to teach me how to gain magic and power." Kourin replied sternly, taking a bite on a cookie.

Misaki took a sip of her tea and looked at the blonde princess. "Magic?"

"Yes, I can't just stand here and not being able to protect Aichi."

"He's a knight with an incredible amount of strength when he's determined, he's on par with Kai and Ren. You are also a strong princess as you have been trained, you earned the title as the Knight Princess. So why do you need magic?"

"I don't want to be a damsel in distress. Seeing as you are a powerful goddess as well, I want to learn more from you." Kourin explained. "I want to be able to protect everyone, I don't want to be a burden because I didn't fight back in a conflict. So, please."

"I see, I understand." Misaki then stood from her seat and pats Kourin's shoulder. "I will help you."

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END OF CHAPTER 7