Mia barely woke up in a fluffy bed and sighed heavily after she read the letter from her sister, which had been waiting for her on the nightstand. Rizk'a had arrived in the middle of the night with all her remaining soldiers, and if it had not been for Tia and the rest of the mentioned soldiers, he would have challenged King Theon for a duel. Unfortunately, he was loud enough that King Theon for sure learnt everything by now. Tia, who never especially liked Rizk'a, ordered the soldiers to restrain him and 'throw that hot-headed idiot into Mia's room.' That would explain why she hasn't slept well at all. Rizk'a sometimes really acted like an idiot, so she couldn't blame the soldiers that they were far too eager to bind him entirely with ropes and gag him. For the entire night, he was mumbling something and trying to break free while Mia wondered what kept waking her up. How Tia had anticipated his arrival or how she managed to plant the struggling Rizk'a in the far corner of her room was one of the many mysteries of the universe. Recalling the orders she had given to the remaining soldiers she left in the Wolf Manor, Mia grumbled angrily. She picked a long dress and, after making sure she was adequately clothed, she opened the canopy by the bed and stepped outside.

"Mhmmm! Hummmghmmm!" Rizk'a mumbled happily upon seeing her.

"Rizk'a..." She pulled at the bridge of her nose in disappointment.

She then clapped two times, summoning a Slime Maid that was assigned to serve her while she was in Avalon. The distinguished lady look-alike entered the room and curtsied in front of her.

"You called, Lady Mia?"

"Can you set my hopeless knight free?" Mia sighed.

"At once!" Before Mia could see what happened, the ropes holding Rizk'a were cut, and he kneeled on one knee in front of her.

"Your Majesty! I'm so glad to see you alive and well! I will immediately give orders to the soldiers and we will break you free..."

"SILENCE!" Mia allowed her anger to be heard in her voice. "Rizk'a, what in the hell you are even doing?! Are you sabotaging my efforts to build a friendly relationship with the Kingdom of Avalon?"

"What? Of course not, my Lady!" He was taken aback by her outburst. "I was just worried because you disappeared so abruptly..."

"I left you orders, Rizk'a! Orders you not only disregarded, but blatantly ignored!" she hissed at him, laying down her cat ears in anger. She looked at him flatly. "I'm disappointed in you, Rizk'a."

"But Your Highness!" He was shocked.

"Silence, Rizk'a! I'm not finished!" He shut up immediately, feeling that this time he crossed the line. "Break me free from Avalon? Are you fucking stupid? First of all, I'm here on my own will. Secondly, do you think you could fight your way out? You would be long dead before you could even reach those very doors!" She pointed at the doors of the bedroom. "Also, what is this nonsense about challenging King Theon for a duel? Have you finally decided to kill yourself and stain the honour of Hilgvar?!"

"No..." Rizk'a paled, staring fearfully at the floor.

"For God's sake, Rizk'a! You are no longer a kid! You were supposed to be older than me!" She pointed her finger accusingly at him. "You are the Hilgvar general and one of the most important people in my Kingdom! You can't run around and act like this!" Mia sighed and sat near the tea table where the maid swiftly served her breakfast. "What should I do with you, Rizk'a?"

"I'm so sorry, Queen Mia," he whispered.

"If you would have just listened to the soldiers, Rizk'a, we wouldn't have had this conversation. What's wrong with you?!" she asked, with tears just forming in her eyes. "The information about you challenging King Theon has surely reached his ears. Do you have any idea how bad this is?!"

"No. To be honest, we shouldn't even be here, my Queen." Rizk'a finally looked at her. He calmed down and took a deep breath. "Avalon is a Dungeon. King Theon, or whatever he wants to be called, is a scion. You shouldn't be here in the first place! We should be continuing our mission and seeking aid with Queen Josla!"

"Rizk'a..." Mia's eyes went wide in shock as she looked at the maid.

"I don't care if she spies or not! Avalon is not a real country! We tarnish the good name of Hilgvar to just humour your wish to see the man who cured your sister, my Lady!" Something broke in Rizk'a. He no longer saw his Queen as the Princess whom he was sworn to protect and whom he loved with his entire person. He felt obliged to appeal to her sense of duty. "If the Cridians learn we were here, they will rightfully accuse us of helping insurgents in the best-case scenario. They may even straight up declare war on Hilgvar!"

"Rizk'a, just shut up..." Mia said grimly. She felt the tears in her eyes and bit her lip to calm down. "I trusted you and your judgement without thinking, Rizk'a. But it turns out you were blind all this time! Do you want Hilgvar to associate with Cridia? Do you want them to dictate to us what to do? You want them to run their disgusting slaver operations in Hilgvar?"

"They are powerful! You could use this situation and tell Queen Josla and King Korkas about the many things they need to win the civil war… maybe even form a political marriage..." Rizk'a stopped when he looked into her eyes that gazed at him with disgust.

"How could you even propose such a thing?! If not for your faithful service, I would outright arrest you for treason." Mia took a long sip of exquisite tea, wondering what to do with her troublesome knight. Her tail was lashing angrily and whipping the floor, but she couldn't help it. "Miss Maid, is King Theon angry with that challenge?"

"Oh no, Lady Mia. He thinks it's actually adorable that your knight is trying so hard to protect you. But King Theon didn't take it seriously, only because General Rizk'a was quite polite in the way he issued the challenge and there was no one to hear it," the Maid bowed slightly while replying. "Also, you don't have to be worried about me spying. As long as nothing I learn endangers the safety of the Kingdom of Avalon and its citizens, I will keep it secret, Lady Mia."

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"Thank you." Mia relaxed and let out a sigh of relief. Even her tail calmed down. She then looked at an angry Rizk'a and sighed. "Enlighten me, my Knight. What benefits did you want to obtain from the Cridian Rulers?"

"By capitalising on the simple benefit of meeting with the Cridian Royal family, we could create the image that you are backed by Cridia. That should scare Gilmour Verksa enough to make him retreat from Hilgvar. Using all the treasures we took from Hilgvar, we should be able to bribe our way to such a meeting!" He looked at her with high hopes she would see the only way to save her country.

"You want to beat the Kingdom of Verksa with... Rumours?!" She covered her face with her slender hand.

"As I mentioned before, you could propose an alliance through marriage..." He hated himself for saying that, but this was the only chance for Hilgvar.

"Enough. Rizk'a, this is an order from your Queen. I hereby renounce your status as the Hilgvar Army General. You will be still my knight thanks to your past merits," she cried as she announced his fate. "This order is absolute."

"Why!? What have I done wrong?" His face turned purple in humiliation.

"You haven't even..." She frowned and quickly stood up, picked up a few pieces of paper and gave it straight to his hands. "Read this and tell me that you still deserve to be a general!"

He read the papers begrudgingly and paled. Four days ago, Queen Mia had left him clear instructions, and he even recalled something that his adjutant tried to tell him about it. Then three days ago there was a happy note, in which she discussed her successes in negotiating with King Theon. He had agreed to lend her ten thousand soldiers with almost one thousand auxiliary forces to help her retake her country. He also remembered that he was too furious to listen to anyone on the way to Avalon. The next message was full of concern about him and whether he was feeling better because he hadn't replied to any of her messages. The last message was directed to his adjutant, in which she requested an extensive report of how Rizk'a was feeling and why he was not responding to her letters. All his anger and resentment vaporised in the feeling of burning shame that washed over him. With tears in his eyes, he took off his general insignia and raised them towards his Queen. He had realised his foolishness too late.

"No, my Queen. I failed you and almost destroyed all your efforts to secure a genuine ally. I tarnished your honour and I am unworthy to be called your knight, my Queen." He couldn't look into her eyes right now, knowing how much he disappointed her.

"Rizk'a, I am happy you finally calmed down. Fortunately for you, I know that I was the reason you acted like that. You still love me, don't you?" She sighed, taking the insignia.

"Yes..." He whispered with pain in his voice.

"Rizk'a, I don't see you as husband material. I told you so many, many times that you are like a brother to me. I never will be able to reciprocate your feelings. Please, stop chasing dragons..." She wasn't angry, but sad. She looked at him for a long time before rubbing her temples. "What should I do with you? I can't make you a general once more and I don't want anyone to think badly of you..."

He was staring at the floor silently. He deserved her anger and scolding, but her sadness was far more painful. He gritted his teeth and cursed himself for his stubborn stupidity. He waited for her decision, knowing fully well that he was going to accept any punishment. The miraculous deal she had managed to secure was far better than anything he thought they would get from the Cridians. Rizk'a knew that he suggested going to Avalon, knowing Queen Mia's sudden obsession with the mysterious King Theon, but he hoped that after she saw him, she would listen to her general and they would try to negotiate with the Cridians.

"Rizk'a, I am going to appoint you as the military attaché in the Hilgvar embassy in Avalon. You will also be a provisional ambassador until I appoint enough diplomats to fully staff the outpost. Can I count on you? Will you behave normally this time?" He felt her burning gaze, and he cocked back his head, looking straight at her.

"But!" He bit his tongue.

"I know you swore to protect me. However, securing a good relationship with Avalon is the best way to secure my safety. Not only mine, but everyone in Hilgvar. Rizk'a, my brother, can you do that? Can you organise and run our diplomatic mission in the Kingdom of Avalon?"

"Yes, my Lady!" He bowed his head.

"And find yourself a wife, Rizk'a. I don't want you to be obsessed with me," she whispered. "If you feel better, treat that as my order. Be happy, start a family, and please forget about me."

"As you wish, my Queen," he whispered back with tears.

"You are herby relieved from the duty of the Queen's bodyguard, Rizk'a. I now appoint you as the provisional ambassador of Hilgvar in Avalon." She took out an ornamented scroll and gave it to him. "I still trust you, my knight. Please, prove to me I am right about you."

•••

Tia entered Mia's room right after Rizk'a left it with a sad face. However, he looked changed, and she saw determination in his eyes. He deeply bowed to her, apologised for what he had done, and then thanked her sincerely for stopping his stupidity. That sudden change left Tia astonished and looking forward to seeing future changes in his behaviour. Mia was standing near the window as she observed some kind of ceremony that took place before the entrance to the Palace. Tia entered, just in time to hear from the maid that a Hero, who contributed greatly to saving the city of Pine Hills from the monster siege, was about to be promoted.

"Mia? Are you all right?" Tia asked, surprised by her sister's apathy.

"No." Mia turned to Tia, and she saw her tears. Mia's eyes started turning red from crying. "That stupid man..."

"You should have gotten rid of him a long time ago..." Tia frowned.

"Tia, I have known him since childhood. And... Well... He loves me." Mia cut short whatever her sister wanted to tell. "I hoped that maybe one day I could love him back, but I never gave him any hope. I just couldn't dispose of him..."

Tia sighed. "Whatever... What will you do with him, then?"

"I will leave him in Avalon. He promised to prepare the embassy for the arrival of our diplomats. I will ask King Theon to allow him to attend the Academy or the University so he can learn," Mia said with a heavy sigh. "I must leave him behind sister, so maybe when he loses me from his radar he will finally stop being obsessed with me."

"Well... That might work, sister. I won't tell you anything or help you in his case." Tia shrugged and then grinned. "Back to school?"

"Oh yes. That ceremony explains why today's lessons were shifted to the afternoon." Mia nodded and started looking for her less formal dress. "Aha! Tia?"

"Yes?" Tia was surprised when Mia threw something at her.

"You are the General now. Good luck."