It has been many days since Key has visited in the Royal Capital. But somehow, his presence remains in the minds of everyone who has met him. Especially the thugs who tried to attack him. The bruises he dealt to them has not yet disappeared for some reason and is preventing them from doing more crime.

But there is another person who remembers him whether she likes it or not. Because of Key, she has been piling up work that she has never done before. And that person is none other than Princess Thema.

Currently, she's in a room where she usually studies. But now, she uses it for her work. She’s been trying to win the favors of earls and barons using her position as the princess, trying to let rich nobles and merchants invest on her work, and even argued with some high ranking nobles because of it. She has been doing this nonstop for weeks already, and yet it seems she hasn't seen the end of the tunnel just yet.

Although she's giving it all, she is actually working in reluctance. But using her fear of Key's wrath and her anger towards him, she makes steps forward in her work.

While writing a letter, Princess Thema grits her teeth while enduring the stinging pain on her fingers. She has been writing letters endlessly the whole day and still hasn't taken her lunch yet.

Even though she is busy writing, somehow, she's been muttering some words that isn't the same with what she's writing on her letter.

“I'll kill that man! I'll make sure he'll suffer when we meet again! Even though I'm a princess, he gives this huge task to me! I'll kill him!”

It's a really an unbelievable sight for a princess to show, but because of the stress she's been piling up, she can't help but think of such thoughts.

“How dare he gives me this kind of work! He probably used the children because he knew that I wouldn't say no for them. If I meet him again, I'll strangle and rip that arrogant smile on his face!”

Because of her eye bags, she almost looks like a witch that's uttering some chant for her curse. And also because of that, she scares some of the maids that's serving her.

While she was in the middle of her work, she suddenly heard a knock on her open door. When she looked it was a big man with a huge beard. Not only that, his presence alone makes it obvious who he is. The King of Valeshtyre Kingdom, King Exalmus.

“So I heard that you have been busy for quite some time now.”

“F-Father?! Since when were you standing there.”

Because of the sudden visit, she was so surprised that she immediately stood up.

“Just now. So what has kept my daughter busy these days? I heard that you went and made arguments with Earl Proque and Viscount Chrisle about a certain project. I was worried about you so I came and visited you.”

When King Exalmus came near Princess Thema, she lowers her head as a sign of respect for her father.

“This is something that doesn't need your concern father. I can do this myself without your help as King. It would be very shameful if I would ask help from you instead of using my position as a princess.”

The King was shocked by her firm words. He didn't expect her daughter to become very responsible over something to the point of depriving herself of sleep over one simple project. For the King, he saw that her daughter has already grown up. But it makes him curious as who had pushed her to do this.

Since he knew her daughter would not answer her if he's too direct, he decided to do it the other way.

“Anything that happens in my kingdom is worthy of my concern. As your father, I'm very curious in what you have been busy on. Will you care to enlighten me with it?”

“B-but, don't you have a meeting with the viceroys in the noon?”

“What are you talking about? It's already afternoon.”

When the King mentioned it, Thema rushes to a window and looks at the sky. When she saw that the sun is already setting, her face became gloomed while she touches her body because she also realized that she has not taken a bath or a shower yet.

“Gods, I hate this work!”

Thema cried out to the sky with all her heart. Her flooding emotions made her forget that her father was also in the same room.

In contrast to her gloomy expression, the King was rendered speechless from the shock of seeing something unexpected from her daughter.

The daughter he used to know was quiet, calm, and elegant. But now, he can only see a woman who complains to the sky, very honest of what she feels, and has lost her elegance. These changes shocked the king and made him more curious in what her daughter is doing.

While waiting for his daughter to calm down, he looks around the messy table and decides to read some of the letters.

Both official and non-official letters are scattered around all over the place, but there was one letter that caught his attention.

Since he is a man well versed with swords and magic, seeing a magic array on a letter's border put him into alarm.

“Thema! There's a magic scroll mixed with the letters!”

The king thought that someone is trying to threaten his daughter when he saw the magic array. However, Thema calmly picks the letter and reads it.

After that, she makes a very annoyed expression and looks like she wants to crumple it but she won't.

“It's not a threat, it's just a letter with a special magic. It only creates an illusion of a flower so there's no need to be scared.”

After Thema explains it, the king lets out a relieved sigh. Then sudden, he realizes something about the letter.

“Did you say flower? Does that mean that one of the nobles have taken interest in you?”

Instead of becoming flustered, Thema lets out a grim giggle while looking at her father.

“If you're talking about in a romantic way, it's a no. The flower illusion is just his decoration for the curse he gave me.”

The King gets more confused by her words. Even though the person who sent the letter did not mean any harm, how come his daughter considered it as a curse?

“Can you please show me the letter?”

Out of curiosity, he wants to read the letter himself. However…

“No!”

Thema wraps her arms around the letter and backs away from the King's hand. The king got really surprised that he apologizes inadvertently.

“So it's really a courting letter! That's why you won't show it to me.”

“Please do not misunderstand, father. This is not what you think it is! Although I can't tell you the contents of the letter, I can say that it's the reason why I started doing this. If I won't follow his words, he may become a threat to our kingdom. Oh no!”

Because of her verbal slip, the King got more interested, but in a different way.

“A threat? What do you mean?”

“Uhm… uh…..”

The king took the letter by force and read the contents. Thema couldn't do anything about it after she saw the angry expression her father made.

“So his name is Key Godfre Chardelier, a Chevalier.”

“Father, please! Don't do something against this man! He is a really powerful magician. It's not a good thing to go against him!”

“How can a mere magician scare you this much? There are many magicians out there that's stronger than him. How can he be a threat?”

When she was asked that, all of a sudden, Thema takes a letter knife and handed it to the king.

“Try cutting the letter and you'll see.”

The king was puzzled on why he was given such order. Still, he followed her daughter's words and tried to cut the letter.

However,

“What the--?! How can a thin letter like this be harder than steel?!”

“Exactly! I even tried to destroy it by letting Victorum slash it with his sword, but it only repulses any attack that comes to it. It seems the letter itself is like the [Letter of Gods] from the legends.”

The king got tired of slashing the letter and decided to throw it out the window. But somehow, it came back like a boomerang and cut a few of his long grey hair. It looked like the letter fought back from his point of view.

Even so, he didn't falter and turn his gaze to the letter again. To his surprise, he found it lying on the table far from Thema.

“What the hell is that letter made of?!”

“I know you're frustrates about the letter, but that's not important. What's important is that I follow what the contents on it.”

“I don't care about the contents! All I want to know is how powerful this man is!”

Thema picked up the letter and walked towards her father. After that, she replied with a calmer voice for some reason.

“I think that this person is someone whose powers we shouldn't try to measure. He may sound like a bad guy, but I think he actually isn’t. Yes, he was really cruel towards me. But he also gave me the chance to experience something I couldn’t as a princess. Not only that, the reason for all the work he gave me is not for personal gain. It took me a long while to realize that what he wants is the welfare of the children in our streets. I was naïve for thinking that he was a bad man for using them, but in reality, he just wants to help them. Would you believe me if I told you he did it on a whim?”

At first, the king thought she was trying to warn him. But the more he listened, the more he saw her daughter talk about him in sweet words. It's like every sentence she says ends with a giggle. And because of that, he saw something different, yet familiar side of her daughter. He was convinced that the person in question is not really a threat. Even so, he did not tell his daughter that his opinion has changed.

“Thema let me ask you this. Is this Chevalier an evil man?”

When she was asked that, she put her fingers on her head and tries to remember.

“Well, he was bullying me, but I think he's not a bad guy.”

Upon receiving an answer, the King lets out a sigh and turns a heel.

“Then that means he's not a threat, is he?”

“More or less?”

The king starts to walk out of Thema's room. Before finally leaving, he turns back to Thema and ask her one last question.

“This man, do you dislike him?”

Although it was a harmless question, but the grin under the beard of the king made it sound something different.

“W-w-what are you asking me that for?! Of course I hate him!”

“I was just asking if you dislike him or not though.”

Thema panicked because of the unexpected question. Her face became flushed and she flailed her arms around while rejecting her father's words.

Seeing such sight, the King leaves her room in a laughter which echoed across the hallway.

“Geez! I will never fall for such a man. NEVER!”

After that, she dashed towards her window and breathes in deeply before yelling her heart out.

“I WISH WE NEVER MEET AGAIN!!!”

Little does she know that in the future, she will be linked with the person she loathes the most.

-End of Intermission-