At the castle, Kay was greeted by the guards.

“Are you armed?” asked one of the guards, searching Kay.

“Only with my attire,” Kay replied calmly.

“You don’t have to do that to him, let him pass!” Emilia said, approaching to welcome him.

“Excuse me, you can go ahead!” said the guard, letting Kay go with a gesture.

Kay was walking when, suddenly, Emilia ran towards him, her smile lighting up the room. With a sparkle in her eyes, she threw herself into his arms, and Kay quickly picked her up, spinning her gently.

She laughed, delighted by the moment, while the wind messed up her hair. Kay, with a wide smile on his face, held her tightly, enjoying her joy. As soon as he put her back on the ground, Emilia looked him in the eyes, her expression full of excitement.

“You’re here!” she exclaimed, still panting.

“I’m here!” Kay replied, still smiling. — How are you?

— I'm great! I can't wait for the festival! — Emilia said, bouncing with joy.

— We still have time — Kay said, with a calm smile.

— I want to tell you about my training, and you tell me about Mineford! — Emilia replied, excited, pulling Kay's hand.

— Sure — he replied, letting himself be guided by her.

They sat in the garden, and the conversation flowed for hours, between laughter and stories.

— Like you said, I'm training my body to be more flexible. There's a maid here who can even bend her body backwards and pass between her own legs! She's teaching me some exercises — Emilia said, enthusiastically.

— That's great! — Kay commented, impressed.

— Want to see what I learned? — Emilia exclaimed, her eyes shining with excitement.

— Show me! — Kay said, encouraging her.

Emilia took a few steps back, preparing to demonstrate what she had learned, her face beaming with happiness as she concentrated.

“I’m going to open spaghetti!” she said excitedly, preparing herself for the move.

Kay, noticing something she hadn’t, tried to warn her quickly:

“Emilia, be careful with your pants, they might…”

But before he could finish, she was already coming down, spreading her legs in a perfect split. At the same moment, a small rip was heard, and Emilia’s face froze, her eyes wide with surprise and embarrassment. She stood still, not knowing what to do, clearly embarrassed by the situation.

Kay, trying to remain calm and not make her embarrassment worse, approached her carefully, turning her face to the side to give her privacy.

“You managed to stretch it completely… Impressive,” he praised, with a gentle and sincere tone.

Without hesitation, Kay took off the blouse she was wearing over her outfit and handed it to her, keeping her eyes averted to respect the moment.

Emilia took the blouse, thanking her quietly, her cheeks pink with embarrassment.

“Thank you…” she murmured, as she wrapped the blouse around her waist to cover the tear in her pants.

She took a deep breath, still blushing, and said, trying to regain her composure:

“I… I’m going to change and I’ll be right back!”

“No rush!” Kay replied, smiling understandingly.

“I’ll be right back!” Emilia repeated, looking away and hurriedly retreating, almost running down the hallway, her face still red.

Halfway there, the queen saw her passing by, clearly in a hurry and with a flushed and distracted expression.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“What happened to her?” the queen asked, intrigued, as she watched Emilia disappear down the hallway.

The queen went to the garden, where she found Kay sitting on a bench, muttering something to himself with a slight smile on his lips.

"She's lively!" he said to himself.

The queen approached, watching him curiously.

"Isn't your division busy working? Don't tell me you ran away from duty," the queen exclaimed, with an arched eyebrow.

Kay shrugged, still smiling.

"I did my part, the captain released me. But if I needed to, I would be able to run away," he replied, in a playful tone.

The queen looked at him carefully.

"For my daughter?" she asked.

"Yes," Kay replied directly.

The queen was silent for a moment, evaluating him, before asking:

"You met her recently. At most, you've seen each other twice. Why are you so close?"

Kay looked at her, answering with conviction:

"Because we're friends. She's my apprentice and I enjoy her company." I don't need any more reasons.

The queen seemed to think about his answer.

"Is that so?... So it's because of you that she's exercising? I thought it was because of the soldiers at the base."

"It's good for her health. And one day, she'll be able to protect herself on her own, without relying on guards," Kay said confidently.

"And why do you think that?" the queen asked curiously.

"Her eyesight is good, she's an intelligent, hard-working girl and a quick learner. She'll probably have an aptitude for firearms in the future," he explained.

"The training she does seems to be more focused on swords. Why do you think firearms would be a good choice?" the queen asked.

Kay explained patiently:

— The exercises are strengthening her body. The flexibility she is acquiring with the maid will help her, whether with short-range weapons or in more difficult shooting positions if she is a sniper. And even if my prediction is wrong, she will still have the strength and flexibility to handle swords or any other weapon she needs.

The queen smiled slightly.

— Interesting. Her way of thinking is not that of a common soldier.

Kay looked at her, with a determined glint in her eyes.

— At some point, mentally and physically, she will need to be prepared to protect herself, when the time comes.

The queen sighed, with a look of concern.

— I hope that time never comes — she said.

— No one expects it. Because, if it does, it means that the capital will have already fallen — Kay replied seriously. — And, by the way, today I will take her to the festival. I will protect her, so you don't need to worry. She will return safely.

The queen raised her eyebrows in surprise.

— I didn't know that.

Kay smiled.

“Let her have some fun. It will be good for her. And if you want, you can come too. I will protect you,” he said jokingly.

The queen laughed lightly, a little surprised by his boldness.

“Protect me? How charming. Bring my daughter back before nightfall. I will ask them to release you at the gate.”

“You have my word!” Kay said, with a confident smile.

The queen looked at him for a moment, considering.

“I cannot trust my daughter to a stranger, but I will have some guards nearby. They will not interfere, just make sure she has fun.”

“Understood. We will go in disguise so as not to attract attention. Ask the guards to do the same,” Kay replied firmly.

The queen nodded and, as she walked away, said:

“You better keep your word.”

“Thank you!” Kay replied gratefully.

She glanced at him over her shoulder before continuing on her way.

— It’s for my daughter.

As soon as the queen left, Kay leaned back in his seat, deep in thought.

"A mother is a mother, no matter the status or race. Now, I'm in the Army, I'm a squad leader, I have friends, an amazing girlfriend and even a princess friend. You'd be proud of me, wherever you are?" he thought, looking up at the sky.

Later that night, Kay met Emilia and her parents, the king and queen, who were standing by the gate.

"Take good care of her, or your head will roll!" the king warned, in a serious tone.

"Dad, don't threaten him!" Emilia complained, embarrassed.

"Come back before eight," the queen said firmly.

"Only five o'clock?" Emilia protested, with a sad look.

"Don't complain!" the queen replied, holding back her laughter.

"Okay!" Emilia said, resigned.

"Shall we go?" Kay called, already getting into the car.

"I'll be back before eight!" — Emilia assured, as she got in next to Kay.

— Have fun! — said the queen, smiling.

As soon as the car left, other vehicles discreetly began to follow at a distance.

“They’re keeping a good distance so as not to attract attention.”, thought Kay, noticing the cars behind.

— What’s wrong? — asked Emilia, noticing Kay’s attentive gaze behind her.

Before she could turn around to check, he interrupted her.

— You’re going to have fun. Look ahead and to the sides, but not behind you! — he said, with a smile.

— Okay... — replied Emilia, turning to the front.

— Put on these glasses and that scarf in your hair. It’ll be your disguise — said Kay, handing her the items.

She put them on and then asked, amused:

— How do I look?

Kay looked at her and smiled.

— Perfect. Now no one will know it’s you!

She blushed slightly, smiling shyly.

— That's not what I wanted to hear... — Emilia thought.

Kay put on a pair of glasses too and said jokingly:

— Now we're a match.

Emilia laughed.

— Yours can't even be called a disguise!

— I don't need it. You're the famous one here! — he replied.

She nodded, smiling.

— You're right.

— When we're there, call me brother. That way we can walk around together without drawing attention. And I'll call you that too — Kay suggested.

— It'll be weird... — Emilia murmured, but with a smirk.

— How about if I call you "Emy"? — Kay suggested.

— Emy? — she repeated, surprised and with red cheeks.

— Don't you like it? I can call you "dear little sister" if you prefer — he said, teasing her.

— Emy is great, thank you... brother! — she replied, laughing, still blushing.

They arrived at the festival and got off a little away from the crowd, so as not to attract attention.