The next day, in the very early morning, in the capital's orphanage…

Niklaus is putting his boots on in the entry hallway. Hearing the familiar rustling and creaks of the wooden wall and floor, she rushes to the door.

「Niklaus?…」

Mary quietly asks, looking at his back while he's already tying his laces.

「…Mary? Go back to sleep-」

Before he can even finish his sentence, Mary clutches onto the pieces of his leather armor with her worn fingers, mostly the chestpiece.

「Niklaus!… You weren't home the whole day yesterday. I was so scared…」

Mary says with a hushed tone, her voice cracking.

「Nobody is going to hurt you or the kids because of me, Mary. It's just a place for me to sleep at, it always was-」

Niklaus explains, unwilling or unable to even gaze at her, staring down into a corner between the exit door and the wall beside it.

「That's not it!… That's not it at all…」

She raises her voice, cutting him off, yet still speaking on the verge of tears in a hush to not wake the children.

「…I was worried about you! I thought you would not come back! I thought someone wanted revenge, and it all caught up to you…」

Mary says, and clutches harder onto him. A brief, complete silence starts, devoid of even a slightest backdrop of the daily life in the city, or the orphanage.

「…It is what it is. If that happens, petition the queen to keep funding the orphanage. She has a good heart, she'd likely agree.」

Niklaus says, gently peeling Mary's hands off of himself with no resistance. He reaches for the door, and opens it.

「…Are you going to come back covered in mud and blood again?」

Mary asks with tears in her eyes in the darkness. They glimmer ever-so-slightly in the moonlight pouring in through the door.

「It's not that kind of job anymore, Mary.」

He says, twisting his lips into something akin to a smile, though pained. And his eyes aren't included in this attempt at a smile, lifelessly staring at her. He shuts the door behind him, and heads for the gate.

《It's worse. Far worse…》

Niklaus thinks, looking up at the brightening sky.

《…But someone has to do it.》

He shuts the orphanage gate behind himself, and heads for the bank…

…

Just before noon, a few minutes away from the afternoon bell, in the bank…

「Please fucking tell me we're not suddenly down a thousand gold.」

Straf says, stomping into the bank with his hand in his pocket.

「No sir, a lot of people redeemed the drakes earlier, but merchants also made a large purchase. I'd say we're about even, balance-wise.」

One of the tellers replies with a bow of her head.

「Straf! I thought you were leaving?」

Nona says with a happy grin, leaning onto the desk with her elbow and her chin on her hand. Niklaus is slumped on the desk with his face in his forearms.

「Yeah, I am- Niklaus, are you fucking sleeping?」

Straf stomps over to the desk, and gives it a rough knock with his open hand's knuckles.

Thud!

「Rghrh- No, Iwas jus…」

Niklaus jumps at the sound, his head still hangs low as he slurs some form of explanation.

「I thought I told you something about this-」

With his hand in his pocket and his mouth aslant, Straf says with frustration in voice as he looks down at him.

「Straf! Boss is actually working hard! And isn't today a day free from labor?…」

Nona interrupts Straf, poking Niklaus's hanging head with her finger while looking at Straf with big amber eyes.

「Not for government employees! Do you think the palace guards just get to waddle away?」

Straf points at Nona with a tight-lipped grimace on his face.

「Tsk.」

He clicks his tongue, and stares at Niklaus as he slowly lifts his half-conscious eyes up to meet his gaze.

「Is he now?」

Straf asks a rhetorical question with an annoyed tone, and Nona energetically nods her head.

「Yup! He barely sleeps!」

「What?…」

Nona exclaims, and Niklaus glances at her with groggy half-open eyes.

「Straf, listen to this! I have a perfect conviction rate!」

She says with a proud grin, leaning forward towards Straf a little.

「Wait, you're the prosecutor now? Conviction rate of what?」

Straf furrows his brows, tilting his head a little with his hand in his pocket.

「Of criminals! They all admit guilt on record when I deal with them! All of them!」

She says with a huge grin, slapping the desk with her hand. Her excited amber eyes look up at Straf. Straf lifts his index finger at this claim, about to say something, and appearing slightly troubled by this statement, but then he snaps his fingers.

「Good job. I bet you worked hard for that.」

He says, pointing at her.

「Ahahaha… Well…」

Nona giggles softly, taking the brim of her hat between her thumb and finger, and hiding her grinning face behind it.

「Alright. I guess I'll let you off the hook this time, Niklaus, since she's vouching for you. Keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't slack off while I'm gone.」

Straf glances at Niklaus, then snaps his fingers and points at Nona again, heading for the exit.

「Straf! Wait!」

She calls out, just before he's about to leave. Straf looks at her over his shoulder with his brow inquisitively raised.

「I know a guy we could arrest, because he's behind some really bad people… But he's in another city. Can I go there and arrest him?」

Nona asks, tilting her head. Straf brings his hand to his chin and gives it a rub.

「Yeah, I guess. Do what you want. Take as many Ministry people as you need. Or Ministry vampires, whatever.」

Placing his hand back in his pocket, Straf shrugs.

「Ookaay! Got it!」

Nona tips her peaked cap at Straf by its brim with a massive happy grin on her face. Straf shrugs again, and exits the bank, heading for the palace…

…

A man enters the throne room, approaching Cycelia. Straf enters shortly after, following him. She watches the man from her throne, but acknowledges Straf at the same time with a smiling nod.

「Your majesty, the carriage is ready at your pleasure.」

The man bows low, with his hand on his opposite shoulder.

「Thank you. I will be there shortly.」

She replies, and the man nods his head. He straightens out, and bows his head to Straf with his hand on his shoulder as well as he passes by.

「The carriage is ready, but is the princess ready to lose her glass slipper from all the cliches?」

Straf asks with his fist on his hip, and a smirk.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

「Straf, I'm a queen now, not a princess…」

She protests Straf's statement with a soft sigh and a gentle smile.

「It was a reference you won't get. It's kind of empty in here now, isn't it?」

Straf looks around the now empty throne room, devoid of its usual set of plumed palace guards and the captain of the guard beside the throne. Though the throne room was usually already a quiet place, it is now grave silent.

「Yes… The usual guards are all over the palace now, some are keeping Sir Vinis company.」

「You don't look ready.」

He remarks, noting Cycelia's obviously discomforted body language. She sighs again, longer.

「…I am a little nervous.」

She admits, idly rubbing her thumb into her armrest.

「Nervous? Why? The swimming classes weren't that helpful?」

Straf sarcastically scoffs, smirking at Cycelia.

「I'm just a little concerned about leaving all of this to someone else to manage.」

She says, faintly grimacing as she looks down at the steps.

「I thought you said that p- Sir Vinis is good enough?」

Straf shrugs his hand, shaking his head slightly.

「Yes, and I still think so. But despite that, I'm still worried about letting the kingdom's affairs slip my hands. Among other things…」

Cycelia nods her head, still anxiously rubbing her finger into the armrest as she grips onto them.

「Well, Lia, it's about to become not your problem. We're going back to the adventures and snappy pacing, right? Aren't you excited? I mean, we're about to have a beach episode!」

Straf asks, spreading his arms.

「…I still don't know what you mean by a beach episode, Straf…」

Cycelia says quietly, smiling softly at Straf as her head tilts.

「Well, I think all beach episodes ought to have some form of a game in them, right? Volleyball, watermelon smashing, splashing each other with warm water-」

Doooooonnnnggg… Gonnnnngggg… Donnnnnnnnnnnggg… Gonnngggggggg…

「Oh. There it is. Well, Lia? Still feeling nervous?」

Straf looks at the tall windows as the afternoon bell tolls. His gaze returns to Cycelia, who is still sitting in the throne with an anxious look on her face. She lets out a quiet, discomforted grunt with a troubled face.

「Well? It's the afternoon bell. You're no longer the ruler, Lia.」

「Yes…」

Straf says with his fist on his hip and a grin on his face. Cycelia nods her head in response, quietly agreeing.

「So… Let's go? We've got a whole set of beach episode cliches to experience!…」

Straf says with an enthusiastic tone, spreading his arms.

「…And hours of slow travel by land!」

He adds, with the same enthusiasm.

「Yes.」

Cycelia says, and nods her head. Her fingers continue idly rubbing the armrests.

「…Well, come on. Get up, Lia.」

Straf motions Cycelia to stand up with a broad wave of his hand upward.

「Yes, in a moment.」

She replies with a smile and a nod of her head. Cycelia and Straf look at each other, smiling in silence for a few moments.

「Okay. Now?」

Straf asks, shrugging his shoulders with a smile.

「Just a bit.」

She replies with a smile, her emerald eyes blinking at Straf. His eyes roll out of the way.

「Lia, you can't go to the beach if you sit on your ass like a NEET.」

Straf throws his hand up, and walks up the steps to Cycelia.

「Ni?… Ah. No, I don't intend to.」

She gently shakes her head with a smile, looking up at him while he stands right in front of the throne. They look at each other in brief silence again.

「Okay… So… We're going to the beach?」

「Yes…」

「Now?」

「Mhm.」

Straf asks, and Cycelia nods in acknowledgment with a soft smile.

「Okay… So you're going to stand up and come with me to the carriage. Right?」

「Yes.」

She nods again.

「Right. So you'll stand up.」

「Yes…」

「Yup…」

「Right.」

「Right.」

The exchange goes nowhere again, and Cycelia continues anxiously rubbing her fingers into the armrest with a smile aimed at Straf. Straf puts his fist on his hip and sighs.

「Lia. Come on. People waited a week for this.」

Straf grumbles, looking off to the side with a slanted mouth. Towards the windows.

「Right. I'll be there. In just a moment.」

She says with a smile, nodding her head. Straf's tight-lipped grimace intensifies, and his lips narrow further.

「Lia, you're not the ruler anymore. It's not even a throne. It's just a fancy chair now. And it's not even that comfortable.」

Straf says, shrugging his shoulders, tired of the exchange. Her expression shifts, and she appears to be processing his words. After a moment, with a sigh, she looks down and slightly aside.

「Yes… Yes. You're right. Sir Vinis is ruling now… You're right.」

She nods, almost frowning.

「So, we're going?」

Straf asks again, shrugging with his hand.

「Yes… Let's go.」

She nods, and stands up from the throne.

「Finally. There's healthy limits on nervousness, Lia.」

Straf says with a smirking smile as they approach the door through the empty throne room.

「Sorry…」

「Don't worry about it. But, uh… If you see a tanned blonde guy at the beach, scream, okay?」

「Huh?」

Cycelia tilts her head at Straf's quest, as they leave the powerless throne behind with Straf pointing his finger at her…

…

A few minutes past the bell, within the guarded palace perimeter…

Straf and Cycelia approach the already waiting large, wide carriage. Lily stands off to the side, pouting with her arms crossed, while Greaves's party is discussing something near the carriage itself.

「Well, everyone is here, then?」

Straf says, and only then Lily decides to join the group.

「Indeed. You are late, Straf.」

Lily says, looking up at Straf with her brow raised.

「S- Sorry…」

Cycelia apologizes for Straf, rubbing the back of her neck with a guilty grin. Lily's brows inquisitively rise and her crimson eyes snap to Cycelia's face.

「If everyone is here, should we head out, your majesty?」

The mustached driver peeks out from behind the carriage's frame, sitting at the driver's seat. The four horses in front sweep their tails side to side like brooms.

「Ah. Yes. Sorry…」

Cycelia apologizes to the driver for the delay as well, and he looks at he with surprised eyes as he hops down from his seat.

「Hm? You have nothing to be sorry for, your majesty. On time, is whenever you decide to arrive.」

The driver humbly remarks, and opens the carriage door.

「Please.」

The driver bows his head, and invites Cycelia inside. She climbs in, lowering her head a little not to bump into its top.

「Go on in, I want to sit near the window.」

Straf nods his head at the carriage, looking at Lily.

「I want to sit near Straf…」

With her arms crossed, Lily announces loudly with a pout on her pale face. Straf sighs.

「Perfectly 1000, and 12 years old at different occasions…」

He shakes his head, and walks up to the carriage door.

「Hey, Lia, could you scoot over to the other side so Lily can be in the middle?」

「Ah. Yes, sorry…」

Straf peeks in, and Cycelia immediately takes the far end of the cushioned seat.

「Well, go on. Now you get to sit near Lia and me.」

「Tsk. It's a trade-off I'm willing to accept…」

She says, and climbs in, taking a seat just beside Cycelia without even as much as glancing at her.

「Well, go on, hop in.」

Straf calls out to Greaves's party. They turn their heads towards him. Alicia is smiling nearly ear to ear and Lian has her usual smug smile on her face. Only Will appears a little annoyed, and Greaves has his mouth aslant with his arms crossed.

Alicia, Will and Greaves enter with no problems, but then Lian realizes an issue exists.

「Ah. My spear won't fit…」

She remarks, and places her body-suited fingers on her chin as she furrows her brows in search of a solution.

「Uh, you can leave it here with us.」

A young man peeks at her from the front, leaning significantly to see past the carriage's corner. Lian approaches the front seat, spear in hand.

「Wow. You're tall.」

The driver remarks, looking into Lian's almond-shaped black eyes as she's nearly head-level with him, despite him sitting on the carriage.

「The carriage is small.」

She quips with a smug smirk, and holds the spear out for the man. He takes it, and slides it behind the driver's seat, between themselves and the carriage.

「We'll keep it safe for you, don't worry miss.」

The mustached driver reassures her when Lian returns to the door. She climbs in, and takes a seat at her party's side of the carriage.

「Please.」

The driver nods his head, waving Straf in. He joins everyone inside, and takes a seat at the window side near the door.

「We'll have to stop and camp just before we're there. We'll be traveling until it's too dark out to continue safely. We should be there by tomorrow morning, give or take.」

The driver says to Cycelia, and she nods in response. He nods back, and shuts the door with a loud door latch. Moments later, the carriage starts moving with a loud clopping of horse hooves outside.

The carriage is wide, leaving a lot of room for the passengers to sit in, and the bench-like seating is cushioned for comfort, unlike the public transports for the masses. Royal red fading into purple, and perhaps a tone of pink dominates the interior color scheme.

The windows at the sides have their own little curtains, permitting the passengers to shut the exterior world off and perhaps cut a little nap. However, it's unlikely anyone inside will be able to.

While Straf's side of the carriage is very loose and comfortable, Greaves's side is at its capacity for reasonable comfort. All of them sit shoulder to shoulder, with not much more room for even a slight slump to either side.

While this doesn't bother Greaves much, as his arms are already crossed and his naturally small stature makes it even less of an issue, Alicia's decently large breasts have become a liability. Lian on the other hand, is experiencing issues with her stature.

Her black head has to remain uncomfortably bowed to fit in while normally sitting inside the carriage. While she puts up with this for a few moments, it becomes apparent she's quite tired of it.

「I'm going to get a little more comfortable…」

She announces with a grunt, shifting around.

「Ah. Go ahead. I asked for the largest carriage we have, but I suppose it's not enough…」

Cycelia nods her head with a smile at Lian, encouraging her to get more comfortable. Lian slides down on the cushioned seat, pulling her feet further towards the center of the carriage, lazily slumping with her arms crossed.

Then, she slams her foot into the seat opposite of her with significant impetus, right between Straf's spread knees. He looks down at her foot with his eyes wide open, and his lips narrowed into a tight-lipped grimace.

「You don't mind, right?」

Lian asks, looking at Straf with a neutral expression, almost implying something else entirely with her smug smile nowhere to be seen.

《….Ahhh, shiiit. That was close.》

Straf thinks, nervously grinning at Lian's foot between his legs. The idea of her foot slipping and going further will certainly stay with him for a while…