Back in the present.

'If only my life could be different. Then I could be free to live my life,' Hilda thought, as she looked straight ahead. Hilda was ignoring the world passing by the carriage's windows as they went through the City of Tairal.

She was no longer wearing the bland dresses that the order made all women wear. She was now wearing a white long-sleeved dress, which hugged her curves. It was considered risque back in the Alliance but it was on the conservative side in Fiafyr due to it covering her cleavage. Her red hair had a tiara made out of white gems and her face was now made up in the fashion of a lady. Her makeup was on the lighter side due to her natural beauty, the makeup was mainly designed to enhance her eyes. She was not wearing any lipstick or lip gloss. Her lips were naturally red and her eye shadow was blue, which really showed off her purple eyes. She didn't even wear any perfume. The reason why she didn't wear any perfume was due to the Order of the Three's doctrine stating that any type of scent was sinful.

Even with her change in appearance, Hilda's personality had not changed one bit.

Gretchen was sitting in the coachman's seat as the horses pulled the carriage towards the Ecros Manor on the southern part of the city's outskirts. This manor belonged to Marquess Wrightwood. She was accompanied by two people sitting across from her. One of them was her older stepbrother, Zane Stoneworthh, who was sitting to the front left of her. The other was Prince Terenthiel Marrell, who was the main contact to Prime Minister Duval Wrightwood.

'What am I going to do?... Father has sold me off to the wolves. And it's not like I can run away. Where would I go?... If I were a man, I would fight for my freedom. But the fates are cruel... Why couldn't I be born a man?...' Hilda thought, as she finally looked out the window, seeing the city pass by.

As they approached the entrance gate to the manor, the two guards stopped the carriage and the coachmen stopped the carriage. When the carriage came to a stop, Hilda was brought out of her thoughts of the past.

"What business do you have with the Prime Minister?" one of the guards asked, as they stepped in front of the carriage.

"You dare block the path of—"

"Sir Darius, we are no longer in Alliance territory. They don't know about the Divine Three's children. Let's not cause any trouble..." Terenthiel told the Paladin.

Darius relented even though he wasn't happy about it.

"We are here on official Alliance business. I'm Prince Terenthiel Marrell, the Fifth Son of the Holy Order. We are here to see the Prime Minister," Prince Terenthiel said from his window, while the carriage door was opened by Darius.

'Great... It's these assholes again... The fucking Divine Three... I don't know why the Prime Minister even deals with these creeps,' the guard thought.

"Of course, My Prince. Welcome to Fiafyr," the guard said and waved to the other guards in the post behind the wall to open the gates.

The gates started to slowly open. Once everything was clear the carriage and its protection drove past it. The manor was about a 15-minute walk from the city wall. But the carriage made the trip in a quarter of the time. The manor was the biggest mansion that the party had ever seen. It was almost as big as a castle. The manor had four towers on the corners and each tower had a blue and white flag, which had the symbol of a turtle on it, blowing in the breeze. It was the Wrightwood family coat of arms.

"Wow... That's a pretty big place," Zane said, as he looked at the manor.

"It's nothing compared to the Castle of Light, the palace where the Divine Three reside," Terenthiel said.

Hilda didn't respond. She didn't even bother to look.

'I wish this carriage would crash so I could escape and never look back,' Hilda thought.

When the carriage arrived at the manor, the guards were already at the entrance doors with several servants waiting to assist their guests.

Darius' holy armor glistened as he dismounted off his horse. The five other holy knights followed suit. He came around and opened the carriage door, so the Prince could come out. Zane and Hilda followed Terenthiel and stood next to the prince. Hilda wasn't allowed to stand directly next to her stepbrother and Terenthiel because of the social differences between the two. They were waiting for the Prime Minister to make his appearance. It only took a few seconds before Duvel came hurrying out of the foyer.

"Prince Terenthiel Marrell," Marquess Wrightwood called out while walking down the steps of the entrance. "Welcome back to Fiafyr. I was busy doing my daily duties when I was informed of your arrival. I hope your travels went smoothly," Marquess Wrightwood asked while greeting the Prince and his Paladins.

"There is much to discuss, Sir Wrightwood. Please take us to your private study and we will discuss our business there," Terenthiel demanded.

Duval's poker face cracked a bit but he recovered back to its stoic nature. 'Do they know about the crown prince taking a different bride? That's a Dark Elf?'

He looked at the one Paladin and his holy knights and noticed they were acting like their usual, stick up the ass, selves. 'No, they don't know yet. Or they wouldn't have brought the princess.'

"Of course. But before we head there, I was wondering if you wish to have dinner. I'm sure you could use a bit of—"

"I want to get this done with as soon as possible, Wrightwood... Take me to your study," Terenthiel cut him off.

"O-of course, Prince Terenthiel. Right this way," Duval said as he led the way. He started walking back to the manor, and the group followed him.

***

Back in the city of Dorn. Quinus, Johan, and Sir George were waiting in the dining room of the Dule Manor. They have been sitting there, waiting, for the last ten minutes and started wondering if the ladies were going to join them for dinner.

"They're sure taking their time," Sir George commented.

"Yeah, I'm hoping that they are getting along with each other," Quinus responded.

"What do you mean, My Lord?" Johan asked.

"Well, your wife didn't seem too pleased to throw a tea party for my fiance," Quinus answered.

Johan looked a bit concerned. He thought the same thing after he asked her to host the future Queen.

"Well, she didn't know you were bringing a dark elf to our home. I mean, it's very unlikely for someone to bring a different race with them, especially a dark elf. I'm glad she's taking it as well as she has... It takes time to get used to another race that you've been told is evil. Frankly, I was surprised to see Lady Rya by your side," Johan answered.

"And why is that?" Quinus asked, curiously.

"It's hard to explain. But it seems like she is out of your league, Your Highness," Johan answered with a smile.

"Oh? You're playing with fire, Johan. Don't be surprised if your invitation gets lost in the mail for the wedding ceremony," Quinus said, jokingly.

"Ah, please don't take it seriously, your Highness. I just meant that she is a beautiful woman, and it's surprising to see a Dark Elf by your side. Frankly, I'm also surprised that your retainer got a Wolfkin to fall for him. I've never seen a human take a different species as their partner," Johan replied.

"Well, I think that was more of Rya's doing. She saw something in both of them and put the idea in Lady Dalia's head," Quinus replied.

"Is she a Mind Mage?" Johan asked.

"No, not a Mind Mage. But she would be a good matchmaker to help those in need of help in finding a partner," Quinus answered with a chuckle.

*SLAM!*

Sir George pounded the table with his fist.

"Her!? A Matchmaker!? I'm not going to lie down and have her put me out of business!? Never! When there are troubled loney men in desperate need of love advice. Then they will come to me, Sir George the Gallant Love Sage!" yelled the old knight.

'Jesus, George... Now you're gallant? I really need to change his views on flirting... But that's for another day.' Quinus thought as he held back the look of disappointment.

"Hahaha. That will be a day. If you have such a following, Sir George, then I would like to get some free love advice," Johan replied.

Sir George, the Gallant started losing his bravado when asked a simple question.

"W-Well, I'm working on that, young Master. A-And once I do then you will be the first to get my advice. It shouldn’t take too long, thanks to all the things I’ve been picking up this last month. I'm sure I'll be getting a following in no time, once I get a success story from a few students," Sir George said with confidence.

Quinus laughed and he wanted to knock down Sir George's confidence but the door opened to five beautiful women. Rya was the first to walk in, followed by Tayna, Dalia, Yuliana, Nieren, and a few maids. They were all happily chatting away as they entered the dining room.

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"That hedge maze was quite impressive, Tayna. How often do you walk through it?" Rya asked as she sat next to her fiance.

"I usually walk through it once a day. When I want to be alone. Or when I need to think about something. But the best part of the maze is the middle. When the flowers are in bloom, it's truly breathtaking," Tayna answered.

Quinus and Johan were both stunned by Tayna's change in attitude towards Rya.

'How the hell did that happen? They were at each other's throats before and now they are having a friendly conversation as if they've always been friends,' Quinus thought.

"If I was staying here longer. I would have loved to grow some elven herbs. There are a few that only grow in a maze and a few that thrive on the forest floor. If we had both, then your garden would become truly whimsical," Yuliana said as the Wood Elf was always happy to talk about growing her plants.

"Really?" Tayna asked with an intrigued expression.

"Yes. But if the seeds are not planted at the same time. They could interfere with each other's growth and overtake the rest of the garden. It's ill-advised to plant them all willy-nilly. But I'm sure I could figure out a few ways to do it with less-than-ideal tools. Maybe there's a few spells I can try to overcome those issues," Yuliana said as the gears started spinning.

"Well, I'm sure once everything is settled in the capital. You can come back and have a look. And if you like, you can stay and help me plan out the rest of the garden," Tayna offered.

Yuliana smiled, "You humans do surprise me with your love of nature. I would love to see how far the human race has come in understanding the forest."

"Guh... I'm all for nature but who cares about planting things in such ways? Just let them be," huffed the Wolfkin who sat down next to Rya.

"Huh? I thought a beastkin would care more about nature than that. I mean most of the tribes live in the forests or am I mistaken," Johan asked while looking at Dalia.

"We love nature, but you all try forcing nature to your will. We would rather keep it wild and free so we can adapt to our surroundings," Dalia replied.

"Well, I guess someone doesn't want sweets anymore," Rya said with a smirk.

Dalia became concerned, "W-Why would you say such a thing? What's wrong with wanting nature to be wild?"

"Well, it would be harder to find all the necessary ingredients if we didn't try and cultivate some land," Rya replied.

Dalia had a blank stare as she was lost in thought.

"I suppose it's not so bad to control a little bit of nature if it allows me to have sweets," she said.

Rya chuckled at how quickly her friend's convictions were broken.

"Huh? What is so funny?" Dalia asked with a hint of annoyance.

"Nothing. You just make life more fun, is all," Rya replied to her friend.

Dalia looked a bit flustered and tried to hide her blushing face.

"I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or an insult," the wolfkin muttered.

Quinus glanced at Rya who noticed him staring at her.

"What?"

"I'm just impressed with your ability to get along with others. Especially with her. How did you do it," he asked in a low voice.

Rya smiled, "It's my warm personality, babe. And I would love to give you some advice, but then you wouldn't need me."

"Hmm, that's not true," he said.

Rya leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you, for being by my side, no matter what," she whispered back.

Quinus just looked at Rya with a soft gaze.

"I will always be by your side. Till the day I die," he said softly.

The two looked at each other lovingly and forgot about the rest of the world around them. They were brought out of their trance when Percy hurried into the room.

"I-I'm sorry! I got distracted, and it took me longer than I expected," Percy said.

Dalia stood up and pouted, "Where have you been!? Aphla and the others have been teasing me all day. When I needed my mate to come and save me!"

Percy looked a bit nervous.

"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to—"

Dalia grabbed Percy's collar and pulled him into a deep kiss. Nieren, Yuliana, and Tayna were baffled by Dalia's bold move. The two broke their kiss and Percy's face was beet red.

"W-We are in front of people. W-What would they think?" he asked.

Dalia didn't say anything, she just sat down and gave a smug look to the other four girls.

"So, are we going to eat?" The Wolfkin asked as she started rubbing her hands together.

"No one is going to take Percy from you, Dog!" Nieren tried to scold her.

"Hmph, I don't know that! So, back off, Woody!" Dalia barked back.

"Stop calling me Woody! You are an annoying mutt!" Nieren growled.

"What did you call me!?"

"Enough! Dalia! Start acting like a proper lady or you won't have dinner," Rya snapped.

"B-But she started it," Dalia muttered.

"Sit down and behave or you can go sit in the corner and think about what you did," Rya commanded.

Dalia's ears went flat as she sat back down and stared at the floor.

"Hmph! Serves you-"

"Nieren!... No, gloating... I can't have you two fighting either. Just... calm down," Rya said sternly.

"..."

Nieren didn't reply. Yuliana was surprised at how Rya was able to get control over these two. Especially her daughter. She wanted to ask for a few pointers from Rya in private.

"How often do those two bicker?" Johan asked.

"Agh... It seems like they argue every five minutes," Tayna cut in not realizing that she was responding to her husband, which made him happy. "They are lucky to be in a small party. I don't think the nobility would look too kindly on them."

The maids entered the dining room with a cart with all their meals. They saw that everyone was quiet and seemed to be waiting for them to be served as they placed their food on the table.

"Thank you. Well, if you don't mind. Let's all have dinner, shall we?" Johan asked as he tucked in his napkin.

They all nodded and started eating and talking about various things going on in the kingdom. The topic of the conversation switched to Johan and his marriage to Tayna.

"How long have you two been married?" Rya asked.

"About six years. It was arranged between my family and hers," Johan answered.

Tayna remained silent.

"I see... So, what was it like, being forced to marry a stranger?" Rya asked.

"Hmm, I'll admit that it wasn't easy. But I was able to get along with her eventually," Johan said.

Quinus leaned over to whisper in Rya's ear.

"His marriage is struggling. I don't know if it's a good idea to bring this up in front of Tayna," he warned her.

Rya leaned in to respond, "I know, babe. Just trust me. Okay?"

Quinus looked at her quizzingly as he wondered what she had in store, but he decided to not say anything.

"So, are you two planning to have kids anytime soon? You have been married for six years. Seems a bit long for just a political marriage," Rya said.

Tayna almost spit out her wine through her nose and looked at Rya with a confused look.

"W-Well I know I would like that, but Tayna would like to wait. At least till we are comfortable with the idea," Johan answered.

"Is that so?" Rya said as she gave Tayna a quick glance.

Tayna was looking away and tried to focus on eating.

"What's your thoughts on the matter, Lady Tayna? Would you ever want to have kids," Rya asked.

Tayna didn't reply right away. She seemed a bit uncomfortable.

"I told you at the tea party. I have no interest in having kids. If it happens, it happens. But I won't go out of my way to do it," Tayna answered.

Rya played along even though Tayna told them she was worried about giving birth to a noble child with a weak mana vein.

"That's understandable. You need to be romanced before you'll let someone put a bun in the oven," Rya said with a wink.

Nieren, Quinus, and Johan almost spat out their food. Tayna looked like she was about to die from embarrassment.

"Yeah, that didn't come out right... I was trying to lighten the mood, but it came off a bit vulgar," Rya said, awkwardly.

Tayna coughed a bit before regaining her composure.

"I-It's fine. But that would be an odd thing to say to someone you just met," Tayna said.

"Plus, I don't want to rush things. I worry that I would push Tayna away if I did so," Johan added.

Tayna looked at Johan with curiosity, but he didn't notice.

"I thought you said that you two didn't have any romantic feelings for each other. Yet, you worry about her feelings and you don't want to push her away if you get intimate too soon. That doesn't sound like a person who doesn't want to get close to their spouse," Rya commented.

Tayna felt her heart skip a beat right when Rya spoke. Johan blushed a bit and avoided eye contact.

"I-I'm not sure how to respond. It's hard to explain. I do want us to have a strong relationship, but I also want to make sure she is comfortable with me first," Johan explained.

Tayna's heart was racing, and she had trouble speaking. 'W-Why am I acting so strange around him? I mean he's not too bad on the eyes. But his mana vein is what's holding us back. Now that I'm healed. I don't need to hide myself anymore. So, maybe I can find a different suitor if things turn out for the worst.'

"Johan is right. We should focus on getting to know each other first. Then we'll see," Tayna said while acting like nothing happened.

"Alright, then. That makes sense. I don't think it's a good idea to have a child, without having a stable relationship," Rya agreed.

"Yes, a healthy relationship is essential to have a happy home," Johan chimed in.

"That's very true," Tayna added.

"So, why are you asking so much about our marriage, Lady Rya?" Johan asked.

Rya just smiled, "Just curious."

Tayna looked at Rya and knew that she was lying. She didn't know what her angle was, but she didn't like being toyed with.

"What are you curious about, Lady Rya?" Tayna asked.

"You really want to know? Fine, I'll tell you," Rya said.

Everyone's attention was focused on Rya. She could see that everyone was on edge and that was exactly what she wanted.

"Well... I think Johan is too much 'man' for you, Tayna," Rya said bluntly.

Tayna was shocked by the answer. While everyone else did a double-take.

"W-What does that mean?" Johan asked with a stutter.

Rya smirked as she got the reaction she was looking for.

"Exactly what it sounds like. You're too much man for her, Johan. And she's not taking advantage of that fact," Rya said.

"Huh!? W-What the hell are you talking about?" Tayna objected to Rya's remark.

"I'm just saying. You're married to one heck of a man. It would be a shame if he went to waste," Rya said.

Everyone had a perplexed look.

"I-I don't understand, Lady Rya. No one has ever thought of me in such a way. Not even my mother," Johan said.

"And that's why you are moping around the castle. Because you're too busy worrying about other people's opinions instead of your own happiness," Rya shot back.

"I'm not unhappy. I'm just respectful," Johan defended himself.

"Listen, I think there's something holding you back, Johan. Something that keeps you from being truly happy. And once you realize that you are the one keeping yourself down, then you will have the confidence to reach for your dreams. Which in turn will make Tayna fall madly in love with you," Rya stated.

"Pff! You jest!" Tanya scoffed.

"It wouldn't be the first time you didn't believe me," Rya retorted while she smirked at Tayna before glancing down at her gloved left hand. Which was fully healed by Rya not too long ago.

"W-Whatever. That was different. How would you even know that I'll fall in love with him?" Tayna argued back.

"Well, let's just say I have a unique perspective when it comes down to knowing what men and women want. It's a talent of mine. I'm a bit of an expert on the matter," Rya said, smugly. 'Tayna would lose her shit if she knew I was born a man from another world. But that knowledge is only for Quinus and my closest friends to know. It’s not for the general public and it never will.'

"You're just bluffing. There's no way you can read people that easily, not even Mind Mages can do that. It's impossible," Tayna shot back.

"I guess you'll find out the fun way," Rya said.

Tayna blushed and looked away from everyone. While Rya just shook her head. "Well, I think I'm ready for bed." Rya stood up from her chair and when she did all the men stood up as well.

'God. I feel like I'm in the UK or something. I guess I'll get used to it at some point.' Rya thought to herself before she spoke, "No, sit down, guys. It's okay."

"Well, I'm tired too. Unless you don't want me to join you, my lady?" Quinus said as he took her hand.

"The charmer as always," Rya said.

"Am I any other way?" Quinus asked with a grin.

"Nope," Rya replied as they started walking. She stopped next to Johan who gave her a slight bow.

"Johan, I appreciate you and your wife's hospitality," Rya said as she held her hand out.

"Of course, Lady Rya. We are more than happy to have you. You and your friends are welcome here whenever you like," Johan said as he took her hand and kissed her ring. It was a part of the Fiafyrian protocol that all nobility were taught from a young age. Rya didn't waste any time channeling her void healing magic into Johan.

'You got this Rya. You saw those brown particles floating around his mana vein. I just wish I could use the Seer Stone on him to make sure everything is alright... Come on. I can feel it.'

"Thank you, Johan. You're a true gentleman. You know..." Rya moved closer to whisper, "Don't go too hard on Tayna. She's not used to having a man like you."

Johan was taken aback and looked over at Tayna who had a surprised expression on her face.

"I don't follow what you're saying, Lady Rya."

"Trust me, you will. Have a good night, everyone," Rya said as she winked at Tayna.

Then Rya walked off with Quinus leaving everyone there with dumbfounded looks on their faces. They didn't know what Rya's deal was. After a few minutes of silence, some of them started to finish up their meals before calling it for tonight.