"Your Highness!" Eric exclaimed, rising in alarm. The knights and the healer behind him were also thrown into a panic. "Please reconsider your decision! You will lose everything!"
"It's all right, Eric. I have made up my mind. You and the rest of the knighthood may stay and serve His Majesty. I don't want any of you to come with me," Kyren decided.
He understood his men's situations. Some had just begun their married lives and were starting families. It would be too selfish to have them abandon what they had and follow him.
Lord James, Sarah, and the other nobles were left utterly shocked and speechless. They had never anticipated that the Grand Duke would make such a drastic decision.
"Are you out of your mind, Kyren?! You're letting go of everything for her sake?" the king asked incredulously.
"Yes! If this is what I must do to be with the woman I love, then so be it!" the Grand Duke answered firmly.
He then turned to his wife with a dimness in his eyes.
