"He never asked to serve her. He's asking to stay."

Hakan Ahanu earned his place through discipline, not blood — a commoner who became an Imperial Knight through relentless skill alone, eventually rising to the rank of Commander. That promotion is what allowed him to be assigned to the princess’s personal guard. He accepted the post only because refusing was unthinkable, and resolved, from their first meeting, to keep his distance. She was everything he despised in nobility.

Then everything about her began to change.

He watched it happen up close — in a small pub away from the palace, in the warmth she showed his siblings, in the honesty she offered him when no one was performing for anyone. The resentment he carried for months quietly gave way to something else entirely.

Now, sword in hand and reputation cleared, he kneels before her again — not by decree this time, but by choice."He never asked to serve her. He's asking to stay."

Hakan Ahanu earned his place through discipline,