The Lady of the Golden Bloom, Part 1

“YOU SHOULD GO TO BED, PRINCESS,” said the voice of an old knight.

“Just a moment, Dominic. I’m almost done with this,” replied the young lady.

She was the last student left in the library of the Imperial Academy, but judging by the pile of books on her table and the half-written essay next to it, she had no plans to leave anytime soon.

“It might be my memory going bad, but I recall hearing that two hours ago.”

“You must’ve dreamt of it.”

“No, it would be a dream if you took a break for once.”

“Mhm,” the Princess ignored him, her eyes glued to the book in her hands.

The knight sighed, fearing he’d have to nag at his liege for the rest of the night.

“You do remember you have a knighting ceremony tomorrow, right?” he pointed out.

“Of course. It’s Legate Julius from the 2nd Legion. He’ll be my 100th knight.”

“The hundredth and first.”

“No, he’s the hundredth. My father knighted you, so you don’t count.”

“Princess, you wound me!” laughed the old man, not taking offense from it.

His name was Dominic Gray, the former commander of the Palace Guard. And his master was Princess Olivia, the youngest daughter of Empress Henrietta and the recently deceased Emperor.

“It took me three years to bestow a full company, and we still haven’t replaced even half of the men we lost from the war. I can’t afford to rest now,” said the Princess, turning the page of her book.

“You’ve knighted thrice as many as your brother, my Lady. You’re the first person to have a full company at your age.”

“And it’s not enough,” she replied, putting the book down on the table. “Can you pass me the scroll over there? The yellowish one.”

“The one about curses?”

“That’s the one. Have you read it?”

“I have, long ago.”

“Can you explain it to me? I tried to read it yesterday, but I don’t understand some of the old words.”

The knight admired her determination, but he remained silent for a moment. It was hard to answer without hurting her spirits.

“You won’t find it there,” he settled with.

“What do you mean?”

“The way to cure him. That’s what you’re trying to do, aren’t you?”

Olivia’s expression darkened as her closest confidant hit the nail in the head.

“No one else is trying.”

“Well, no. Madame Gizelle said it’s impossible.”

“And I say Grandmother is wrong. My mother is, too. If they can’t do it, then so be it, but I won’t leave alone him like that.”

“The damage is done, Your Highness. Even as a demigod, you aren’t omnipotent.”

“I don’t have to be. Mother inscribed that thing, so there has to be a way to undo it. There has to be a spell, a very specific one. And if there isn’t one, I’ll make it.”

Dominic scratched his chin, wondering if he could ever dissuade her.

To the common folk, the Princess was a paragon. On the day the Emperor died, so did the spoiled brat she used to be — and she was replaced by a studious little lady who excelled in academics, magic and fencing.

But to her closest peers, the real Olivia was very different. She was a hopeless workaholic, slowly drowning herself with goals too high to accomplish… and chief among them was lifting the curse from her former mentor, Galardos Alessia.

Few people in the Empire were aware of his affliction, and Dominic himself was in the know only because he’d been there that day. When the Empress had captured the demigod, it was him who led Olivia to the dungeon.

The Empress relieved the old knight from duty for his insolence, and the young Princess asked him to pledge his service to her instead.

Thus he became the first member of the Order of the Golden Bloom, Princess Olivia’s knightly order. Over the years, she had grown its roster at an impressive pace, but even a veteran like Dominic was worried she would burn herself out.

More often than not, the Princess barely slept… and now that she reached a point in her studies where she learned about curses, her obsession grew even worse.

“She’ll need an intervention at this rate. Maybe Madame Gizelle could handle it,” thought Dominic.

However, before he could persuade his liege to take a break, the library’s door was swung open by a fellow knight of her order.

“Your Highness! Pardon the late intrusion, but I have an urgent report.”

“At ease, Sir Lucas. What’s happened?” said the Princess.

As the soldier broke the news to her about Galardos’ return to the capital, and then the events that followed... Dominic could only cover his face in dismay.

“Oh Goddess…”

“LORD VAHRAM DID WHAT!?”