"What happens next depends on you," Kiri said.

"What are the options?"

"Well, the Duke and Nash, if we are being honest, still want to know what you did to the ants, and now they want to know what you did to Harper as well. You have made an enemy of Harper and, by extension, Cook. Harper has an almost unblemished record of closing cases, and you have ruined that and shown a weakness. Everybody knew she had mental skills and was on their guard, but she seemed to still get what she wanted."

"It was very subtle and persistent," I said.

Kiri nodded. "Which is the clue to stopping her. I can start spreading rumours through the nobles about her getting past their defences."

"What will that do?" I asked.

"It will stop the nobles from dealing with her directly. They will use her, but from a distance, this way she won't get to influence nobles directly."

"Do you think she was?"

"Absolutely," Kiri said. "With a skill like that, the temptation is too great."

So she and Cook are out to get me. The Duke and Nash want my information and then probably have me in their service at best," I summarised. "I guess I could just leave and wander the wilds again."

"That is an option," Kiri said. "You will be dodging Bounty Hunters, but that is something you will have to get used to, regardless." I raised an eyebrow in query. "There are rumours already circulating. You single-handedly took down the ant nest and crushed Harper, etc. The powerful will want to use you, and they will not want their rivals to use you."

"So I should leave then."

"You are forgetting something," she grinned, "you can blame the head injury."

"Oww," I said, putting a hand to my head. "What am I forgetting?"

"You are forgetting that you promised to help me find my Aunt B, and I promised to help you find your mum."

"So you want to come into the wilds with me?" I asked.

"That is a very tempting offer," she said, and she was very serious. "Unfortunately, our best lead is the Chalonian School, and our best way in with them is through your mysterious contract. This means we must stay here another two and a half months, assuming they are not delayed."

"You have a plan then?"

She grinned again. I am not sure I liked this grin. "My brother is leaving to head back to Hrothgar in a week or so," I nodded. "Therefore, I find myself in need of a bodyguard."

She had absolutely no need of a bodyguard, especially not with Pānihi, and certainly not one weaker than her, like me. "And this helps how?"

"This puts you in the employ of the Duchess of Hrothgar. Therefore, you are off the market to the local nobility. That does not mean they won't tempt you away or threaten you. You should be aware that Mum has her enemies as well. Duke Vitja won't be happy, but he and Mum have an uneasy alliance, and he won't jeopardise it over this. He will also see it as offloading the problem of you onto her."

She looked at me for a minute. "You and Felix stand out both physically and, now, in reputation. That will follow you wherever you go."

"Won't this complicate what you can do here?" I asked.

"Not overly," she said. "I grew up among nobles; this is child's play. You should treat it as training for more complicated stuff. We are looking for Auntie B, a master manipulator and crime lord. Eventually, we will be getting our hands dirty on both sides of the law. This Chelonian School heist is exactly the sort of thing she would organise and leave her rivals to suffer the consequences." She pulled out the Blacksteel war knife, "Obviously something didn't quite go to plan."

What have I got myself into? "What does this Bodyguarding role involve?"

"Not a lot," Kiri said. "You have the Guard Class, so it will not be seen as unusual. We will try to get you the bodyguard specialisation as soon as possible."

"I need a couple more Guard levels first," I said.

Kiri nodded, "I figured. Adelia and Eli are Leif's personal Bodyguards. We can set up some training before they leave. I will need you out and about with me when I go out as Kiri, and at the few functions I can't avoid."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"When you go out as Kiri?" I asked.

"Yeah. I have a couple of disguises and personalities I use for other things. One thing nobody but family knows about my Dad is that he has the Spy Class. He became very good at disguises, and he taught me the basics. I am not great at it, hence I stick to two alternate personalities. I doubt my Roleplay Skill will even get out of the apprentice level, but it lets me get around unseen. This is not something you will ever be able to use. Physically, you stand out too much."

I nodded. I could understand that. It is not really something that interests me. The fact that she has the Roleplay skill brought up some questions. "Did you have sex with me to draw me into this?"

"No. I understand where you are coming from, though. I grew up amongst manipulative Nobles and have a skill similar to Acting. I had sex with you because I was horny and I like you. I still like you, and I like your blunt questions. They are so far removed from what I grew up with that I love it." She reached out and touched my face, "Don't ever change. Our relationship will develop, assuming you are still interested in developing it, and trust between us will grow."

"How will our relationship affect my being your bodyguard?"

"There are two options. First, we can hide it. That will work for a while, possibly the three months we need. However, perceptive people are out there, so it won't stay hidden. Secondly, we can flaunt it. I will take the brunt of that, and it will protect you from some offers. I prefer we flaunt it, as I can use that more. I will get a reputation as a cross-species pervert, which will be half said as a derogatory term and half in envy. Kiri's public personality is a rough, don't care attitude, which is my Roleplaying that part of me to an extreme. Me fucking my beast-kin bodyguard will play into that. What do you want to do?"

"I am not the kind of person to hide things. I have no deception-type skills at all," I said. "Conversely, I am not enthused about flaunting it either. I am not a flaunting type of person. I would like to continue to build a relationship with you, though. We have barely started, and you have so much depth; it is fascinating."

"You are sweet. I am not sure there is that much depth there." Kiri said, "We will bottom out quite quickly, and then the new lover period will end. OK, we will not flaunt it. You be you. We will play the bodyguard and noble in public, and when the rumours start, I will twist them to our best interest as I can. Deal?"

I nodded, not quite sure what I was getting into.

"Good. I will get Leif to draw up a Bodyguard Contract with the Duchy, and we will register it with the Mercenary Guild." She turned to leave.

"Ah, couple more things. What about Yoboc, Goldie and Makara?"

"I will let Yoboc and Goldie tell you about their plans. Makara is interesting. I have not had a lot to do with Mer before. With her affinity, she will get job offers anywhere. I am betting the Chelonians will want to take her on. Having you and her as my bodyguards would be quite striking. I will make her an offer. She is much more mercenary than you. If I could find a body double, everyone would know where I was, wouldn't they?"

"Kevin is about the same size as you. A slightly lighter skin tone, and short hair."

"Kevin, huh?" Kiri said. "The right costume, padded out and some training. He would need some strong mental skills to pull it off."

"His strongest attribute is Mental Agility."

"Interesting. Do you think he would be open to it?"

"He is fascinated with you and your family. That is a big motivation for him," I said.

"That is a negative. He would need to keep a lot of secrets,"

I shrugged, "Ask him and test him."

She smiled at me, approached, and gave me a big kiss. "You are a wonderful boyfriend with a lot of depth yourself," she said.

As Kiri turned to leave, I asked, "So where am I?"

She laughed. "You are at the Hrothgar Duchal Estate. It is not as fancy as it sounds. It is a large townhouse just up from the main centre. Yoboc and Goldie should be here for dinner. Come downstairs to the living area when you are ready, and I will give you the tour. You are in a guest room. Leif has the penthouse upstairs. My suite is also on this level at the end of the corridor," She winked, "you are welcome to visit."

Pānihi followed her out, leaving me and Felix alone.

Wow. That was quite the conversation. I was exhausted and drifted back to sleep.

It was mid-afternoon when I found my way downstairs. Kiri might not think the house was fancy, but it was big. The top story was only the penthouse suite, and the floor with my room had five bedrooms: Kiri's double room, a single room on one side, and three rooms on the other side. The ground floor was the kitchen and living areas, and the first basement level was another five bedrooms. The second basement was storage and an open area with work benches and some tools. The boar bones were there. I saw a ramp and locked doors that would let a small cart into the space.

The ground floor opened to a moderate-sized garden, where Felix and Pānihi were each chewing on a bone. I wondered what Pānihi got from that. At the end of the garden was a stable with a separate barracks above for the guards. The stables opened to a rear lane that serviced the row of houses, or mansions, as I would call them.

As I went through the mansion, I looked at it with the eyes of a guard. How would I protect this place, or more specifically, one particular person in it?

There was a guardhouse manned outside the front door and an iron fence along the road frontage with a lockable iron gate. That wouldn't slow down many people. The locks on the door and windows were high-quality. The problem was that there were too many windows and points of access.

The gate to the lane at the back also had a manned guardhouse. I walked around the outside. The ground floor of the building was stone, and the upper floors were wood. A stone fence along each side of the house had spikes on top. The neighbour's houses were close to the fence, and it seemed an easy jump from roof to roof.

The ramp to the second basement level came out in the backyard, not far from the stables. I appreciated that the entrance was trapped, as well as locked and barred.

The windows overlooking the rear yard were even more open, with balconies and a sturdy trellis that I am sure was installed for Pānihi to access Kiri's balcony. Pānihi's new size probably negates that now, although she could probably jump it now.

I have never guarded a house before. Technically, I would not be guarding the house, just a particular person in it.

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