Chapter 229 - :

Walking outside of his hotel room, Nathaniel slid his go bag to his shoulder and looked at Amal who was positioned outside of the next room, the room where his grandfather was currently still sleeping. Even if Robert could be considered an early riser, it was still night time outside and so it was not surprising to Nathaniel that his grandfather was sleeping.

"Amal, what are you doing here? I know full well that you are not supposed to be on guard duty right now." Nathaniel asked.

"I heard what happened last night." He answers concisely.

Nathaniel sighed even if he wasn't surprised. His grandfather had been really vocal last night when he came back and told him he was going on a dangerous mission in Central America the next day. His grandfather was the one in the family who hated the most what Nathaniel was doing and he wasn't hiding it. Last night was just a tired grandfather trying to impose his will on his grandson and that same grandson pushing hard against that.

"Yeah." Nathaniel sighed tiredly.

"You know he's like that only because he loves you, right?"

"I know but it's still grating. We are just too much alike."

A ghost of a smile seemed to appear on Amal's face but was quickly replaced with his usual stone and neutral expression.

"You really are."

"Yes, don't I know about it. Just keep him safe while I'm away alright?"

"I always do, you shouldn't worry about that, after all you are the one who is leaving on an operation without support or back up."

"I don't need back up, I have my team, it's enough for me. Now, I need to get going, have fun with my grandfather when he's going to wake up." Nathaniel said with a smile and a wave.

Amal just shook his head, he knew exactly in which state of mind his friend was going to be when he woke up and found his grandson wasn't here anymore. Well, he was used to his character by now and he wasn't going to change now.

Walking outside of the Hotel, Nathaniel was going to hail a cab when he spotted someone sitting in a car with a nice view of the Hotel and seemed especially interested when he saw Nathaniel walking out. That's when he recognized where he met that man before and an idea came to his mind. Crossing the street Nathaniel walked to the East, looking like he didn't realize that he was being spied on. When he arrived near the car where the man was looking at him, Nathaniel abruptly stopped and knocked on the glass.

Startled the man quickly recover and seeing that he was found out, opened the window.

"Yes?"

"I know you right? You were one of the bodyguards of the girl last night? Brunhilde right?" Nathaniel asked.

"What right do you have to call her by that name!? Do you know who she is? If you knew, you would be terr..." The man starts to say in anger when Nathaniel stopped him.

"Don't know and don't care so keep your outrage to yourself. Now, why are you stalking me?"

"I have been given orders to wait for you to wake up and then invite you to see the Duchess. She wants to meet with you."

"The Duchess heh?" Nathaniel smiles before getting serious again. "I have bad news for you, I'm leaving right now for work so I can't meet her. Sorry, maybe next time." Nathaniel shrugged, turning away before stopping and looking at him. "Don't follow me anymore or I'm going to get angry." Nathaniel warned him codly.

"You can threaten me, it's not going to work. I have orders and I'm going to uphold them even if you do break my legs. Even then, I don't think you want to make an enemy out of me or the Duchess." He said confidently.

"That is indeed true, you are quite perceptive for a bodyguard, what's your name?" Nathaniel asked while walking to the other side of the car.

"I'm Herman, what are you doing?" He asked when he saw Nathaniel open the passenger door, sit beside him and put his bag on the backseat.

"Well, you said it yourself, you are going to follow me whatever I do to you so since we are going to the same place, we should at least be eco responsible about the whole thing. Herman, start driving, we are going to the Airport."

Herman just looked at him like he was crazy until he let a long laugh out and turn the engine on. The car started rolling a few moments later.

*****

Inside the Hotel room, a sword was busy cutting the air, each movement more sharp than the others. Wearing only short shorts and a beige top, Brunhilde was breathing evenly. She was training her swordsmanship for the next two hours and even if she was sweaty, her breathing wasn't even perturbed.

Feeling something approaching, she suddenly turned before angling her sword at fifteen degrees. She stopped the first throwing knife that was coming for her heart with the tip of her blade, the second was deviated from his path the same way and the third one dodge by angling her body backward at an impossible angle.

Even then, she failed to stop the fourth one in time, the blade leaving a shallow cut to the back of her right calf. Blocking the little pain coming from the wound, she made a roll to the left and using her momento launched herself five feet into the air, her sword coming into an arc, the last knife knocked away from her with so much force that it embedded itself into the wall.

"Enough." She ordered once her two feet were on the ground again.

"Are you alright Duchess?" Her protector asked anxiously seeing the blood on her leg.

"It's fine, it will heal." She said, stoically before seeing that her second protector was back. "Herman, did you pass my message?"

"I did Duchess." He answers, lowering his head.

"Is he going to come?" She asked, taking a towel to clean herself.

"No, he's not Duchess."

For a moment, there was only silence inside the room, the two protectors waiting with apprehension to know what her reaction would be like.

"Why?" She asked coldly.

"He claimed he had work and didn't have the time to meet with you. He took a flight to Miami half an hour ago." He answers succinctly.

"Did you follow him to make sure he was telling the truth?"

"I didn't have to Duchess, I drove him there." Herman said.

Hearing that, his fellow protector and Brunhilde look at him intensely.

"You did what!?" She asked with a voice way too calm to be a good sign.

"He managed to spot me the instant he left the Hotel and walked to me. After he told me that he couldn't come, he claimed that since I was going to follow him whatever he does, we should as well go together to the Airport. That way, I managed to confirm that he did in fact take the plane to Miami."

"I see. We will talk about this more Herman." She said with a voice so cold that made the two protectors shivers. "I���m going to shower." She adds before walking away.

None of her two protectors ever noticed the amused smile that she let out once she had turned her back to them.