Book 14: Chapter 7
“Royal Princess.”
Nier dismounted at the stables and handed the stableman the reins. Just when she went to leave the stables, something caught her cloak. She turned around to see the White Deer King’s eyes. It spat her cloak out of its mouth. The White Deer King irritably stomped the ground. Nier bitterly grinned. Voice soft, she said, “Are you waiting for His Majesty? Troy… might not come back again…”
The White Deer King froze. It blankly looked at Nier with a somewhat complex gaze. The White Deer King was an incredibly proud animal. A King rode it nowadays, but it still considered itself a King; it, therefore, expected Troy to treat it on equal terms. It ignored everybody but Troy, including Nier. After hearing it might not see Troy again, it looked at Nier without the proud aura in its gaze for the first time. Its complex gaze made Nier feel uncomfortable. Nier touched its face: “I’m going to go search for him. I must go search for him. I must go search for him whether or not I can find him. I must search for him even if I find his corpse or end up a corpse myself!”
The White Deer King hesitated for a moment then slowly raised its head to run its eyes over Nier. A short moment after, it snorted and leisurely went to lie down on the hay. It buried its head deep down and went silent. It was the first time the White Deer King didn’t mind the environment and went silent. In a quiet voice, Nier asked, “Do you want to come with me?”
The White Deer King raised its head after a moment of hesitation. Its eyes sparkled. Although they had the chance to meet daily, it was the first time the White Deer King actually gave her time of the day. Nier met its eyes without shifting her gaze away. The two looked slightly foolish making eye contact, but their gazes seemed to reach to the heart of the other.
A second later, the White Deer King stopped staring at Nier. It faced her and lowered his head the same way bowed to Troy. This time, it bowed its head to Nier. Nier reached her hand out and touched its horn. The White Deer King lifted its head and shook it out before lying back down. It truly was a proud deer, but Nier could tell it did have a conscience. Not to mention it was much more useful than Lucia.
Nier returned to the palace. A maid hastily approached to take Nier’s cloak and coat. Next to her ear, she whispered, “Royal Princess, Her Majesty has woken.”
Surprised, Nier excitedly commanded, “Really? Hurry and lead me there.”
The maid nodded and led Nier to Elizabeth’s room. Nier knocked, and then pushed the door open. Relieved to see Nier enter, the maid attending to Elizabeth stood up. Nier gave the maid a nod: “You can all leave. I’ll stay alone with Her Majesty for a while.”