Please Don’t Remember Me - Chapter 10. Julio Asti (2)

Some time after Julio became a Knight of the Kingsguard, a tournament for the Kingsguard was held. Rumor has it that the top ranked knight would be a candidate for the next vice commander, and the escort for Clara was always chosen from the top five. Of course, Julio’s goal was to be in the second to fifth position. The vice commander was the assistant commander, whoever has that position would be very busy and rarely get to guard anyone. Julio didn’t want that.

Julio had been playing the game well. To be honest, he was still holding back.

His body was light. He could see his opponent’s movements perfectly.

It seemed that Julio had a natural talent. He knew that it was cultivated on a foundation of daily effort, so all the members of the group were genuinely rooting for him.

‘What should I do? It’s hard to lose.’

(*T/N: He wants to lose so he doesn’t become the vice commander. That’s the first place if he wins. He just wants to be in the second to fifth place to have a chance to escort Clara.*)

It was more difficult to lose than to win. In front of the king, he couldn’t even use fake moves. He tried to make as few moves as possible, but he ended up conserving his energy, and before he knew it, he had advanced to the final round.

‘This is bad. I have to lose here. It’s really bad.’

Julio lied down in the tent that served as the waiting room. His friends brought him lemon water and massaged his arms and legs. It was hard to lose…..

When Julio let out a small sigh, the outside of the tent quieted down for a moment, and then murmurs quickly spread. When he quietly looked out of the tent to see what was going on, he saw that Crown Prince Ernesto emerged from behind the king.

And behind him, a thin, small shadow was seen.

“It’s Her Highness Clara!”

The knights at his side shouted happily.

Ernesto sat down on the seat next to the king. Behind him, in the shaded area, sat Clara. In her hand, she held a bouquet of bright red roses.

‘No way, if I win, I’ll get a bouquet of flowers from Her Highness…?

Julio drank the lemon water in one gulp and ran out of the tent. By the time he grabbed his sword, he had forgotten that he was aiming for second place.

He kept thinking about getting the bouquet from Clara, and he might be able to say something to her.

When he casually looked at Clara, he even felt as if she was smiling at him.

The match was instantaneous.

At the signal to start the match, suddenly his opponent was blown away and  fell to the ground.

‘Oh no, I’ve won!’

When he turned around in a panic, he saw Clara smiling and applauding. He felt his cheeks burning as he realized that the applause was for him.

The members of the group surrounded Julio with cheers and shouts. There were shouts of praise from all directions, but he didn’t hear any of them because he was weighing the position of Clara’s Knight and the bouquet in his head.

Julio, the winner, was called to the stage.

First, he knelt in front of the King and placed right hand on his chest. Or was it left hand? He wondered, but then immediately bowed his head. He hurriedly rushed through the knight’s courtesy because he wanted a glimpse of Clara’s face.

It was the usual unfriendly expressionless face, but Julio, who slowly climbed the stairs, was actually thrilled. He put a lot of effort into his eyebrows so that people wouldn’t realize how upset he was. Contrary to his action, it made him look even more unsociable, and he looked like a calm and quiet knight who was not excited about winning.

“Huh…?”

There was only the king standing there with a bouquet of roses and a beaming smile on his face. As Julio stood there with disappointment, forgetting to kneel, the king approached him and gave him the bouquet.

“I’ve heard rumors about you, but I’m surprised you made it this far. Well done, and congratulations on your victory.”

‘What’s about Her Highness Clara….?’

The king smiled and patted Julio on the shoulder. He could hear the cheers of the people in the distance.

***

Julio found himself sitting on the bed in his room. The bouquet of flowers was next to him. He had no memory of how he got down the stairs and back to his room. All he remembered was the feeling of disappointment.

Slowly, he picked up the bouquet.

He recalled the image of Clara holding it, then he stroked it without knowing it.

For the time being, he needed a vase for the flowers….

The next day, Julio received not a letter of recommendation for the position of deputy commander, but a letter of appointment as the personal bodyguard of the crown prince Ernesto.

No one could refuse an appointment directly from the royal family. His fellow knights didn’t begrudge him, but they were happy to see that Julio had risen as high as he had. In the first place, they were all aware of the unscheduled visit of the Crown Prince during the competition. He had been training very hard and was rapidly rising to prominence, and Ernesto had been keeping an eye on him for some time. The only person who didn’t know was Julio himself.

‘No, no, no, no, no. I didn’t want to get ahead. I just wanted to go around with Her Highness Clara in the castle!’

Ernesto was going on an inspection tour of various places, and as his knight, Julio had to be able to take care of the Crown Prince’s personal needs.

One day, when Ernesto’s schedule was empty, Julio heard something unbelievable.

“Julio. I’m going to the palace, can you prepare it for me?”

“You’re going to the palace? What are you doing there?”

“What’s the matter with you? You’re being unusual. Didn’t you know what I was doing there? Daniela and her daughter, Clara live in the palace. I visit them once in a while. When I’m tired, seeing my sister helps me relax.”

When he followed Ernesto into the detached palace, Clara was waiting in front of the reception room. She was waiting for Ernesto’s arrival and was smiling happily. She looked lovely in a lace-trimmed dress, not the kind of dress at the soiree. But she was very, very pretty, outrageously pretty.

Sitting on the sofa, sipping tea and chatting with Ernesto, Clara was far from sickly, she was a young girl in her prime. Although she was sitting in the room, Julio, who was standing near the door, could not hear what she was saying. Even so, he tried to keep his eyes open as long as he could without blinking to catch the sight of Clara’s carefree smile.

After that, Ernesto often went to the detached palace whenever he had free time. Sometimes Ernesto was alone, and sometimes Auguste, the second prince, was there.

Although Julio couldn’t be Clara’s guard, he began to think being Ernesto’s guard was not bad after all. Because he could see Clara’s smiles that he could not see anywhere else.

Clara’s engagement was announced.