16. Can't Give Up

Tristan had woken up 30 minutes ago.

He was still lying on his soft bed. With his gaze fixed on the ceiling. A little sunlight shone into his room through the ventilation gap.

The maids who were in charge of preparing everything he needed for bathing, tidying his room, and preparing clothes for him to wear were waiting for him in front of his room.

They were patient and didn't try to ask if their king was awake because their king didn't like them waking him from his dream.

Tristan lost interest in carrying out his regular routines. The penalty he received is still in effect today. He was tired of dealing with all the terrible luck that had come his way.

Last night, he could barely sleep after he caught a lizard on his bed and a toke stuck to the ceiling above his bedroom door.

He was physically and mentally exhausted, but feeling very irritated made him not feel sleepy.

Then the next morning, Tristan found himself sleeping on the bed. Maybe last night he suddenly fell into bed, he was lucky he didn't sleep on the cold floor.

"I can't give up. I have to face all the obstacles in my life." Tristan struggled to sit up. Lying down for too long is also not good, your back hurts.

He shouted for the maids to come into his room. The maids immediately did their work and tried hard not to pay attention to their king, who was daydreaming while sitting on his bed.

Tristan suddenly remembered his mother, who died while he was imprisoned. His mother was already ailing at the time, and her condition worsened after the judge ruled that Tristan was guilty and sentenced him to life in prison.

Tristan's prison sentence was reduced since he behaved well and completed all of his duties while in prison. This resulted in him serving only 10 years in prison. After all, he was not the true culprit.

Tristan couldn't see his mother in her last moments on earth, and he also couldn't attend his mother's funeral.

"After I got out of prison, when I went to my mom's grave, I told her that I didn't know when I would come to see her, and it turns out I can't go to her grave again forever." Tristan shook his head with his eyes closed.

Tristan touched his back and his neck, where a knife had been stabbed by the robbers who robbed his friend's house. He could still slightly feel how painful he was at that time.

Maybe one day Tristan will wonder why God didn't put him in hell and why God put him in someone's body instead.

***

Tristan walked casually towards his throne room, his two knights behind him.

His stomach was full. Tristan deliberately ate a lot because he apparently needed the energy to accept all the bad luck that was coming his way.

Tristan's blue eyes found the beautiful woman again, whom he saw yesterday sweeping the garden. Now the woman was watering the blooming flowers.

"Hey, you guys." Tristan asked his two knights to walk beside him. Knight Aiden and Knight Ajax obeyed his orders hesitantly. "Have you guys ever loved a woman?"

The two knights were shocked and blushed, but they quickly shook their heads.

"Don't lie, I know you guys like women." Tristan glared at his two knights.

"We like women, and we are used to throwing away our feelings of attraction," said knight Aiden, with sadness flashing through his eyes.

"We can never have them, so those feelings of love should not exist in our hearts," said knight Ajax. He failed to hide his sad feelings.

"Why are knights forbidden to marry? Can't you ask your wives and children not to interfere with your work?" Tristan didn't understand.

In his previous life, all countries never prohibited soldiers and police from dating and getting married.

"We have to focus on our work, Your Majesty," said the knight Aiden. "After all, we already knew the risks we would be taking before we agreed to take part in training to become knights."

Tristan frowned. He thought hard about why knights were not allowed to marry, while soldiers and palace soldiers were allowed to marry and have children as they wished.

However, he didn't find an answer. Tristan Madigan didn't know about it either.

"But you guys are sad that you can't love a woman, aren't you?" said Tristan when they arrived in front of the door to his throne room, which was 5 meters high.

"We are sad, but we never regret it. Being a knight has been our dream since childhood," answered knight Ajax with a wide smile on his lips. He was honest; he was proud to be a knight guarding his king.

Tristan frowned again. He glanced at knight Aiden and knight Ajax standing to his right and left. He considered whether it would be embarrassing if he asked them about how they could restrain their lust for women.

"Your Majesty!" A palace soldier ran towards his king, who was about to step into his throne room.

Tristan turned around and then raised an eyebrow as the palace soldier stood five steps in front of him, panting. "What is it?"

"Your horse has been found, Your Majesty. The three palace soldiers who found him have brought him back to the palace," said the palace soldier.

Tristan rushed to the front yard.

The light brown horse's condition looked terrible, his head was lowered, not daring to look at Tristan. He knew he had made a fatal mistake, and his actions almost caused his master to be seriously injured.

"His leg is broken, Your Majesty," said a palace soldier fighting to capture the stallion, pointing to Max's broken right front leg. "We found him slumped under a tree."

Tristan Madigan loved the light brown horse. The horse had been with him since he was twelve years old.

The horse had never done anything bad to Tristan Madigan and Tristan was actually quite close to Max, but the system made the horse go berserk so that Tristan would get bad luck.

"Max, you are no longer useful to me." Tristan stroked the horse's cream hair. "Thank you for accompanying me wherever I go for these 6 years."

Without hesitation, Tristan took out his sword and quickly slashed Max's neck. His eyes closed as the light brown horse's blood splashed onto his face and clothes.

He had killed a horse because of the system.

The System had already made him kill a man and a horse.

Everyone bowed their heads to pay their last respects to Max. Then ten palace soldiers carried the body and head of the light brown horse out of their king's palace to be buried.

"Your Majesty." A palace soldier guarding the gate bowed to his mourning king. "I bring news, Your Majesty."

"What news?" Tristan received knight Aiden's handkerchief to clean his face of horse blood.

"20 farmers forced us to let them meet you, Your Majesty. They want to protest your decision."