Lately Dietrich was too fretful. Wearing a necklace he had given her as a gift made the knight happy for a while. However, every time the princess consulted Sieg about the kitten, Dietrich would return to being sulky. At first, Cornelia tried to cheer him up, but it was a long and tiring journey, so she eventually decided to leave the knight to his endless pouting.

As soon as they arrived at the palace square, the princess noticed Jack among the welcoming servants. The man walked straight up to Sieg without even giving him a second to breathe. 'It seems like my father can't wait to hear what happened during the journey. Even though he has spies in Fuego, I guess a first-hand report is much more entertaining.' Meeting with the stolid guy’s gaze, Cornelia waved goodbye. He bowed slightly and followed Jack into the palace. Hopefully, this should end Dietrich's sulking.

Leaving the sleeping kitten in the maid's care, the princess walked towards the royal guards, preparing to escort her into the palace.

"It's nice to see you back," Cornelia greeted Kroghan with a smile. The man smiled back. His uniform looked even neater than usual.

"Thank you, Your Highness," he said. "Did you miss the capital?"

Before she could answer, a familiar voice said, "She missed all the fun."

On the stairs, César was standing. The young woman holding him by the arm was, by all appearances, his wife Olive. The portrait Cornelia saw before reflected her beauty well, but it did a poor job of showing the expression in her greyish-blue eyes. Or maybe it was a newly acquired feature, something like a wedding gift that she received from her husband. The woman gazed at the princess with a mixture of lenience and haughtiness. The couple wore wedding rings on their right hands, continuing to play the madly in love newlyweds. Unlike the king and queen, who wore rings on the left hand right from the start, stating that their marriage was simply a political alliance. 'Knowing César, it will be over soon. He is not like Gahiji or Kroghan when it comes to fidelity.'

"Did the Margrave Nolden pay you a visit?" Every newspaper Cornelia read during the trip sided with César's version of events. Readers were delighted with stories of the prince rescuing Lady Olive from her cold and abusive husband's clutches.

"No," scoffed César. "He sent a brief, rude letter of protest, claiming that the breach in the wall prevented his presence."

"There was a breach in the wall?" Cornelia asked, shaking her brother's unnecessary bravado.

He shrugged. "Who cares? Those empty-headed militarists are only good at guarding the wall, if anything."

The princess frowned. He acted even more arrogantly than before she left.

"The king's earned credit of confidence gives him the right to act unadvisedly, but you should be more careful with your future retainers."

"Thank you for your opinion," said César, rolling his eyes. His wife, still holding the young man's arm, giggled. Encouraged by her approval, the prince grinned. "Oh wait, I don't care!"

With a burst of laughter, the newlyweds returned to the palace, leaving those who had arrived behind. Following them with her gaze, Cornelia replied to Kroghan's question: "I certainly didn't miss him."

The crown-prince's and his wife's behavior infuriated Dietrich. With a shaking voice, he wondered aloud: "Does she really understand what she is doing? How dare she treat Your Highness in this way!"

"I suppose she wants to gain her husband's favor by siding with him. Not sure if it will help."

The young man gritted his teeth. "That's the wrong favor she should be trying to gain."

In contrast to her guard's furious look, Cornelia acted calmly, almost indifferently. "That's her choice. What do I know about marital relations to give her advice? For as long as I can remember, girls have been crazy about César."

"It's understandable - His Highness is an attractive man."

Cornelia tilted her head, watching the newlyweds in the distance. "You think so?"

"You don’t?" – puzzled by her question, Dietrich asked. – It's strange. He is well-known for his refined looks."

"Wouldn't it be stranger if I thought of him as an attractive?"

"I suppose so," after a long pause, the knight agreed. "I was just wondering if Your Highnesses is not fond of blond hair..."

His question was never finished - the royal guard's vice-captain offered to escort the princess to her room. He remained silent during their conversation but stepped in just in time to bail out the tired girl.

Before crossing the study's threshold, Sieg thought about a warm meal and maybe even a bath. But the king was not satisfied with a brief report. He demanded details and asked many unexpected questions. When they were finally dismissed, Sieg felt too tired to do anything but sleep. This level of interest in his daughter's life felt weird even for a guy who had no parents. When he shared his thoughts with Jack, the man smiled faintly.

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"His Majesty has no choice but to look after his children, in order to prevent any scandals. Her Highness, as they say, is a woman who is not content with mediocre pleasures. She has not finished even one party, always leaving with a new lover before the end of the event."

Even though it might seem from the outside that Jack's words were just gossip, Sieg heard a warning behind them: "No close attachments to the royal family." Everyone in Lazaretto, including him, followed this rule. But he could observe the princess during the trip to Fuego del Tierra. She was popular with nobles as a dance and chat partner, but that was expected due to her royal status. So, instead of silently agreeing with the superior's words, Sieg asked: "Where did you hear this from?"

Jack looked at the guy. Grey eyes showed a sign of curiosity with a sudden question.

"From the king himself. He is her father, and it's not like these rumors can improve the royal reputation. Thus, he had no reason to lie about it."

"I didn't notice anything like that."

It sounded like he was defending the princess, which made Sieg feel awkward. But despite accepting a general rule, it seemed wrong not to voice his observation. Jack took off his glasses and polished them with a handkerchief. When the man put the glasses back on, he sighed.

"Too many scratches. I guess it's time to buy a new pair," he complained out loud. Then Jack looked at his young subordinate. "It's fine to have your own views but try not to share them with others. You never know who can use them against you."

The man reached out for the medallion hanging on his neck. He simply glanced at the picture inside and then closed the metal cover.

"And let me give you a piece of advice. If you aim to have good relationships with a member of the royal family, then choose the crown prince. He will be your next master, not the princess. If you are on good terms with the prince, he might bestow some privileges on you, like His Majesty did for me."

"Sieg, you are back!"

As always, Timo appeared from nowhere with a huge smile on his face. He was currently one of the youngest in Lazaretto. This gave him freedom to move around, but he still seemed bored easily. Others envied his opportunity to stay inside, to lie around with books and practice, instead of working. But a teenage boy with sparkling hazel eyes and fawn-beige skin couldn't contain his excitement and curiosity each time someone returned from a mission. Out of habit, Sieg ruffled the boy's chestnut hair before lying down on the bed.

Yet this greeting wasn't enough for Timo. Like a puppy that hadn't seen its master for a day, the boy jumped on the bed and leaned over Sieg.

"How was your job? Did you have fun? What did you see? Oh, right! I heard you met the princess! What is she like?"

All this time, Sieg had been lying with closed eyes. But as soon as Timo mentioned royalty, the atmosphere in the room became tense. The boy didn't notice this, but Sieg could tell even without looking around. He blinked a few times to fight off drowsiness.

"Extremely stubborn. And too energetic, in this respect, very similar to you."

His brief answer made the boy disproportionately excited.

"Oh! Does that mean we can become good friends?"

Someone snorted. Nico, a guy two years younger than Sieg with russet brown skin and short black hair, stopped the boy's naïve thoughts."

"You can never be friends with the royal family. And you shouldn't. They are our masters."

"He is right, Timo," Sieg closed his eyes again. Even without looking, he could tell that Timo was disappointed. But it's better not to encourage him to do anything dangerous. "We should never get close to royalty."

The boy sat quietly for a few seconds, then he poked Sieg's shoulder and asked, "You look really tired, Sieg. Did you use it too much?"

Nico answered instead.

"Timo, at times like these, you shouldn't bother a fellow, even if they haven't used it at all."

Was he sulking or wanted to let Sieg to rest, in any case, Timo jumped out of bed and left the room. Nico sighed and turned a page in the book. "It's probably one of those detective novels he buys in the city," thought Sieg, and buried his face deeper into the pillow.

"He is such a child," grumbled Nico. Among everyone in Lazzaretto, he liked peace and quiet the most. But another one of his peers disagreed.

"It’s better for him to stay one as long as he can."

Not taking any part in the subdued argument, Sieg finally fell asleep.