“… Mm… Mhh…” [Tiffany]

Tiffany’s eyelids twitched and her voice leaked out. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the familiar ceiling of her room in the castle. However, that should be impossible since it was taken over by Sirius and his men. The last place she slept in was a dark and cold cell. Yet, here she was, lying on her huge, fluffy bed and covered in a soft, warm blanket.

“Where…?” [Tiffany]

“TIFFANY?!” [Leila]

The moment she spoke in a weak voice, she heard Leila’s loud shout. Turning her head, she saw her little sister’s worried face by her bedside.

“You’re awake…! You’re awake…! Thank the gods…!” [Leila]

She whispered, relieved and with tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Leila… Where…? What…?” [Tiffany]

“It’s over now! It’s over! We’re safe. Sirius can’t hurt us anymore.” [Leila]

“Sirius…?” [Tiffany]

“Yes, he’s been imprisoned. His coup d’état failed and his army is being hunted down.” [Leila]

“… Sirius!” [Tiffany]

Her memory was a mess, but after slowly recalling the past events, she shouted the name of the man that killed her and raised her upper body.

“It’s okay! It’s okay!” [Leila]

Leila, seeing her panicking, quickly reassured her and had her lie down again.

“Elder sister, you’re safe here. This castle is our home again.” [Leila]

“But… How? And father? Mother? The knight commander?” [Tiffany]

“They’re alright. Father and mother wanted to be here, but they need to take care of the country. Klauss is out with the surviving members of the knights. Everyone’s okay. You were the one in the most danger.” [Leila]

Hearing that her parents and the knight commander were alive, Tiffany breathed easier. She looked at the ceiling and thought about what happened back then, atop the platform in the plaza.

“… I thought I died.” [Tiffany]

She whispered. A tinge of fright was in her voice.

“Leila, what happened?” [Tiffany]

When she asked, her little sister had a wide smile on her face before it changed into a frown, which made her puzzled.

“That’s idiot’s back.” [Leila]

She said in a rather warm tone of voice.

Inside a certain noble’s mansion…

“Quickly! We must hurry!” [Noble]

The master of the house was barking orders to his attendant following behind him. He walked at a quick pace down the hallway, heading for his personal office. It had been refurbished when Sirius took over the kingdom. He chose to side with him because of all the tempting promises that would give him more wealth and power. He thought he would rise even higher when the coup d’état succeeded, but just as victory was in their grasp, it slipped out of their hands because of some masked man.

“Marquis Dulado, the loading of your valuables is done, but-.” [Servant]

“Then get ready to leave!” [Dulado]

“But, how will we-?” [Servant]

“Don’t question me! We’re leaving!” [Dulado]

The marquis knew what the man who served him for years wanted to say. There was no way they could escape from the middle of the city without being noticed. His residence was close to the castle, right next to the base of the enemy. Many nobles that had betrayed the crown had been arrested already. It was only pure luck that they hadn’t set their sights on him yet. But, that was exactly why he needed to take this opportunity and make a run for it.

“(They don’t have enough soldiers to chase after all of us. I’ll find a new life elsewhere. Maybe Stornith, the empire where prince Sirius came from.)” [Dulado]

While he was planning his future in his mind, his servant left to make the preparations he ordered and he reached his study. It was a wide room that had basically no furniture except for a red carpet that went from the door to the other side of the room. There, a luxurious throne made of gold was placed. His new study reflected his dreams and ambitions which, unfortunately, had been dashed.

The men that served as his personal force were already there. He had bought them all simple, but sturdy steel armor and weapons. Twenty or so soldiers under his command were all on both knees with their hands and foreheads on the ground. That wasn’t how knights normally knelt in front of their king, but Dulado didn’t care. He was short on time and it was respectful enough. He walked to the throne, sat down and looked at the back of their heads that was covered by a helmet.

“We’ll be escaping from Sakael and make our way out of the kingdom right away! You will all follow me and assure our safety!” [Dulado]

He declared solemnly, hiding his shaken state of mind.

“Marquis, pardon my rudeness, but how should we escape with the knights hunting us down?” [Soldier]

One of the soldiers who were groveling on the ground raised his head and spoke up.

“That is your job to figure it out!” [Marquis]

His mask of calmness broke quickly and he angrily yelled at his subordinate.

“M-my apologies for my thoughtless remarks! Then, where shall we go?” [Soldier]

“Anywhere but Garroth! That’s all that matters right now.” [Dulado]

“B-but, will we have reinforcements…?” [Soldier]

“We’ll get them later! Once other allies escaped, we’ll link up with them! Understand?!” [Dulado]

The soldier flinched in fear, but still held eye contact with his employer.

“Yes, sir! I will be sure to remember your words! Then, should we first rescue king Sirius?” [Soldier]

“He is no king! He failed! It’s too dangerous to save him and there’s nothing to gain in doing so. We will leave him!” [Dulado]

“Understood! Also, if I may add one more thing…” [Soldier]

“What is it this time?” [Dulado]

“You’ve got no plan at all, do you?” [Soldier]

Just as Dulado was starting to get irritated at all the useless questioning, the soldier’s tone of voice suddenly became impolite and rather laidback.

“… What?” [Dulado]

The abrupt change left him dumbstruck for a second. Before his eyes, the insolent soldier slowly stood up from his prostrated position and took off his helmet, revealing a head of black hair. He had pale skin and plain looks, except for his eyes of different color where one was dark brown while the other one was white. Staring at his face, the marquis, though he didn’t remember the faces of everyone that served him, knew that he wasn’t one of his. It wasn’t just because of his rude behavior. The way he stared at him sent shivers up his spine.

“Someone like you probably doesn’t know anything useful. Well, at least I wouldn’t tell you any useful info if I was in charge.” [Ryner]

Ignoring his turmoil, Ryner, who was trying to indirectly extract information out of him, casually stood there and scratched his head.

“Who are you?! Guards! What are you doing?! Arrest him!” [Dulado]

He shouted, wondering why no one was moving at all.

“Ah, about that.” [Ryner]

Ryner got down on one knee and grabbed the head of the man next to him. He raised it up so that Dulado could see his face. The soldier’s mouth was wide open with foam in the corners of his lips and his eyes were rolled back, showing the white of his eyes.

“They’re all dead.” [Ryner]

He declared in a horribly relaxed manner, causing Dulado’s body to freeze.

“Everyone in this room is dead, except for you and me.” [Ryner]

“… Huh?” [Dulado]

The marquis’ voice leaked out stiffly. His mind was still trying to catch up to reality.

“It was a pain to keep my puke in… More of a pain to set all their bodies like this.” [Ryner]

“… Can’t be… My elite units…” [Dulado]

“There’s nothing elite about these guys. Not one of them realized that I flooded the room with poison gas.” [Ryner]

Ryner shook the head of the corpse he was holding.

“Y-you sneaked in here…? During the day…?!” [Dulado]

“I’m good at it. Besides, your security sucks since everyone’s running around and getting ready to leave. And your lookouts probably expected to see an army coming for them, not one guy pretending to be one of them.” [Ryner]

He let go of the cadaver and it hit the floor limply. The clanking sound of armor made the marquis’ body jolt and he jumped off his throne. Dread was slowly overcoming his mind. Right now, he was alone in a room with an assassin.

“Someone! ANYONE!!” [Dulado]

“The mansion’s pretty empty right now. You fired most of the workers, right? I don’t think anyone’s coming.” [Ryner]

Ryner stood up and stared at the shaking noble in the eyes.

“Marquis Farn Dulado of the Dulado House.” [Ryner]

His voice, no longer carefree, cruelly delivered his target’s punishment.

“You are arrested for the crime of treason against the crown and the country.” [Ryner]

The traitor, knowing full well that he couldn’t win in a fight, weakly fell back in the luxurious throne he built. His face was as pale as the corpses around him.

Ryner opened the door without knocking and without hiding his presence. The person in the bedroom was staring outside the window and didn’t turn around upon his entry.

“… Did you kill my husband?” [Marchioness]

It was the wife of Marquis Dulado. She was originally in charge, but had been locked up. Having come in contact with Ryner when he sneaked in her room, she gave him various pieces of information that she managed to collect from the servants and her husband.

“He’s alive. Knocked out and tied up inside a room full of dead people, but alive.” [Ryner]

“Then, did you kill what was left of his private army?” [Marchioness]

“Did you want me to spare them?” [Ryner]

“No. Like I’ve told you before, they acted like ruffians ever since they believed the coup d’état succeeded. Many of the servants in our house’s employment suffered under their harassment. The populace most likely did as well, considering how most of Sirius, that fake king’s forces consisted of thugs and mercenaries.” [Marchioness]

The marchioness chuckled and a bitter smile floated on her lips.

“But, I guess I shouldn’t judge them too much since I lost control over mere ruffians.” [Marchioness]

Sighing, she thought about the man she married. She still regretted how powerless she was when her husband locked her up in the bedroom and, ignoring her will, joined Sirius’ side.

“Honestly, I don’t know what suddenly got into him, but he started speaking of living like a king once the old rulers were overthrown. He wanted to change Garroth and have it implement an extremely patriarchal system, much like Bistan. Now, look at that country. It’s in the middle of a civil war.” [Marchioness]

She shook her head and closed her eyes, feeling irritated. Then, after calming down a bit, she turned around and looked at Ryner.

“What are you going to do with me?” [Marchioness]

“Nothing much. Your husband’s under arrest, so you’ll take charge again.” [Ryner]

Ryner said and shrugged his shoulders.

“Is that the queen’s decision?” [Marchioness]

“She said she’d leave it to me. So, yeah, I guess it is.” [Ryner]

The Marchioness narrowed her eyes and studied the man standing before her.

“Who are you really? From what you’ve said, her majesty trusts you greatly, yet I’ve never seen or heard of you before. You do not appear to be a noble, but you’re no ordinary commoner either.” [Marchioness]

“I was a tourist.” [Ryner]

“… Tourist?” [Marchioness]

“Tourist.” [Ryner]

“… I see.” [Marchioness]

She sighed and looked out the window again. It didn’t seem like she would get any answers out of him.

“Please tell her majesty that I will do my very best to make up for this horrible mistake my husband committed. I shall do everything that I can to wash away this stain on the Dulado House’s name.” [Marchioness]

“Elder sister, are you sure you’re alright?” [Leila]

“I’m fine, Leila.” [Tiffany]

When Tiffany’s parents saw her walking with Leila supporting her and flustered maids following behind them, they dropped the papers that they were working on and yelled her name in surprise. They left their desks from which they were tackling a mountain of paperwork and rushed to her. Hugs, tears, relief and happiness were present in their emotional reunion.

“It doesn’t hurt anywhere. I’m only feeling a bit tired.” [Tiffany]

“But…” [Leila]

“It’s fine, really. You worry too much.” [Tiffany]

Now, she was sitting on a soft couch with Leila at her side, fretting over her wellbeing. Her parents needed to handle domestic affairs, so they couldn’t stay with her. After reluctantly parting, they went back to their work. Her mother, Clara, needed to approve anything that went through her hands as the queen of her nation and her father, Adrian, worked hard to lighten her load. While their parents were managing the country, the two sisters were sitting, drinking tea and waiting for a certain someone.

“Can I help it? You got stabbed! I thought you died…” [Leila]

Seeing Leila poking her index fingers together and muttering in a low voice made her smile. She hugged her little sister that rarely showed such a cute side ever since she took up the sword.

“Fufu, I’m okay. I promise.” [Leila]

“Th, there is no need to hug me to say that though.” [Leila]

“Being embarrassed and pouting, you’re really cute, Leila. How about you start wearing dresses again?” [Tiffany]

“N-no! I have chosen to follow the path of a knight!” [Leila]

While the two were messing around, someone entered the room without knocking.

“Ah, you’re here, kid. Your parents told me you woke up.” [Ryner]

It was the person they were waiting for.

“Oh? Ponytail is here too.” [Ryner]

“Stop calling me ‘Ponytail’!! Stupid! Stupid Ryner!!” [Leila]

Within five seconds, Ryner made Leila angry. He didn’t seem regretful at all and ignored all of the childish insults she threw at him. On the side, Tiffany watched this exchange that at one time happened so long ago, stunned.

“… Ryner?” [Tiffany]

“Hmm? What is it?” [Ryner]

When she called him, he responded. He was real. She wasn’t hallucinating.

“You looked like you’ve seen a ghost.” [Ryner]

“Put yourself in my elder sister’s shoes. You suddenly came back when we were about to be executed. Of course she’d be surprised when she finally sees you again.” [Leila]

“Oh yeah, you totally lost against that Sirus guy. Even though you kept saying that you’d beat me one day.” [Ryner]

“S-shut up! This and that are different! And his name is ‘Sirius’! Do you have a problem with remembering people’s names?! Is that why you keep calling me ‘Ponytail’?!” [Leila]

Ryner and Leila were there, arguing like they used to. To Tiffany, it was a nostalgic scene. Her spellbound expression eventually faded and was replaced by a smile. She chuckled lightly and warmly gazed at him.

“Pfft~ fufufu! It’s good to see you again, Ryner. How long has it been? One month? Two?” [Tiffany]

“Who knows? Nice to see you too, though the first time I did see you again, it freaked me out a bit. I mean, you had a hole in your guts and all.” [Ryner]

“Yes, that was quite scary. I heard what happened from Leila while I was unconscious. Could you tell me about it too?” [Tiffany]

For a second, she went quiet and looked down at her feet.

“You… Saved me again, right?” [Tiffany]

Her cheeks were red and a lovely smile adorned her face.

“Thank you.” [Tiffany]