The Apathetic Mage Loves Cats

Chapter 14: Bodyguard

"King Caiden, with all due respect, this is how your father would do it." I watched as a short balding man stood beside Caiden at a table. His fat belly brushing against it lightly as he pointed to pieces on the surface.

"With all due respect, Lawrence, I am not my father, and I want the citizens transferred from the Oldavian neighborhood and have temporary residence in the Jislen neighborhood. I understand a new lot of homes were created. Place each family there until we can fix the damage caused by the demons. Assign each family a home and write down where they are stationed, so we make sure they move out after construction is done. You are dismissed." Caiden's voice wasn't soft. Instead, it was commanding– demanding that this pudgy man before him follow his actions. The man, seemingly Lawrence, nodded, his breath coming out a little shallowly as he rolled up the parchment before him. His forehead glistening as he wiped away his sweat with a cloth.

"I'll get on it right away, sire," he responded hurriedly, bowing as he made his way out of the room, letting the knights close the door behind him. I watched as Caiden collapsed on a chair in his professional meeting room, his eyes closing as he finally managed to calm down. He was in his heavy robe and crown, something that I learned these past few weeks that he absolutely hated to wear.

"He was gross," I blurted out with a frown, watching the spot where his stomach rubbed the table lightly glisten. I was upset that I was forced to stand for hours while Caiden went through meeting after meeting, all because I was appointed his bodyguard; so I lashed out the only way I could by insulting a stranger.

Caiden let out an exhausted, breathless laugh in response.

It had been approximately three weeks since I was appointed as Caiden's personal mage, and to be honest, it was quite boring. Typically, I would enjoy a slow day, but really, that was only when I was allowed to laze around. Caiden was far too busy for me to do any of that, and I constantly had to watch him and ensure nothing happened. This meant that I had to stand around him, watching everything that happened from dawn until dusk, sometimes not even getting sleep.

"He was quite... damp," Caiden said lightly. I kicked off the wall near the door, where I stood watching over his interaction, and made my way towards him. He raised his left hand to brush his face, seemingly wiping away his fatigue. His eyes were closed as he did this, trying to rest as much as he could.

"Are kings allowed to be so rude to their subjects?" I asked, flopping down in a chair beside him. I watched as he lightly turned his head, his eyes hooded as he glanced at me and his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed.

"It's not like you care," he murmured. I shrugged.

"True." He huffed out a light laugh and closed his eyes, sinking his body into the chair even more. The silence dragged on as I sunk down into my chair as well, waiting for Caiden to say something. However, after a few minutes, I realized he wasn't going to speak, so I felt like I had to in return. "Shouldn't you eat something?" Caiden waved his hand absentmindedly, opting to keep his eyes closed as he spoke.

"I don't feel like talking to anyone yet. Let's just stay like this," he murmured. Because I followed Caiden around everywhere as his personal mage, he opted to have his knights stay outside of the room in order to feel more comfortable when he's by himself. He mentioned the first day that he felt uncomfortable around knights and other people, but he never really told me the details, so I never found it in myself to ask.

However, because he opted to not have knights or any servants attending to him all the time like other Kings, he forgot or deliberately chose not to eat so that he didn't have to deal with others. I think that he felt the most comfortable around me because we were the same age, so he didn't find me as much of a threat as others. But who knows? He was strange.