I glanced back at my two servants for a moment before following inside. After Rogan closed the door, his smile vanished from his face, likely realizing the same as I. I sat down in front of Father’s desk while Rogan remained standing.

His eyes as I looked at him, and him at mine, seemed to say “We’re fucked, aren’t we?”

Were we? I don’t know yet.

Also, um, aren’t you going to sit down, dude?

Maybe that’s how things work since father merely sat down and stared at the two of us, not asking Rogan to sit down. He was just silent, eerily… come on, get to the point.

“Father? Why have you brought me here?”

“... Daughter, are you acquainted with this knight right here named Rogan?”

Was he trying to see if I was going to lie my way out? I don’t get the point of testing me here, but if I lie, his impression towards me would lean towards the bad that I don’t want. So I decided to be honest, not like there’s any saving grace in lying.

“Yes.”

He raised his eyebrow.

“You immediately told the truth?”

“I'm not completely fond of lying.”

“Then Estelia, be honest with me. How long have you been acquainted?”

“Not long.”

Wow, I feel like I’m in an interrogation. He must be preparing for this moment since there were no other attendants here. Was he perhaps keeping this a secret? Not even my other family members seemed to know what this was about.

“I see… Then, for you Rogan… Did you receive any orders from the princess of the kingdom?”

Rogan stood firmly and took a while to answer.

“No, the princess never gave me direct orders.”

Yeah, I don’t think I ever gave him a direct order, I don’t particularly have any right to do that. I may be the princess, but it was not my place to command knights directly, they would be under Estevan’s jurisdiction, or father’s.

“Really? Are you lying to me?”

“I am not, your majesty.”

“Hm.”

Father tapped his finger on the table a few times.

“Then your actions, spreading information about potential traitors in our midst, was that not a result of a command?”

“It was of my own volition.”

“You see, I came to realize something…" he took a deep breath. "Estelia, you told him about that information didn’t you?”

“...”

“There was no one else that should have known about it. True there were rumors, but those rumors only became stronger by the information coming from an elite knight. Please do not lie to me, my daughter.”

He sounded more stern now than before.

“I implicitly told him about it.”

“Implicitly? What do you mean by that?” He looked genuinely baffled.

“I mean it exactly as I said it.”

“Rogan?”

“I think that was implicit.”

“So in the end, you leaked the information about the situation.”

Father palmed his face.

I didn’t know how this meeting was going to end, but I just have to go along for the ride.

“Estelia… You did another risky thing again.”

Well, technically it was the first.

Then he suddenly continued with a loud and forceful tone.

“No, not risky, it was utterly dangerous! What if Rogan was the traitor all along? What do you think will happen?”

“True, Father, he could have been the infiltrator. However, it plays to my benefit to realize that.”

“What are you saying? What benefit could there be in telling anyone that?”

He asked me in exasperation and the way he said it implied that he believed it was a ridiculous thing to do.

“There are several reasons why I did what I did. And they are hard to express.”

“Even so, you shouldn’t have done that.”

“I only did what I believed to be necessary.”

“That again? Why couldn’t you have just told me what your plans are at least?”

You would just get in the way, Father. Sometimes, thoughts just pop up you know and I can quickly simulate how things would happen and end. Things would only slow down if I had to tell them each and every one of my movements.

“You wouldn’t have agreed to it. And I do things my own way, Father… I apologize if I made you angry...”

I lowered my eyes after that trailing voice.

“Daughter, I want to understand your actions…" he sighed tirely. "The night when you set up the trap, you brought Rogan with you. So that could mean you have come to trust him after Oryn exposed himself, yes?"

“No.”

Rogan in particular jerked his chin in surprise, looking at me with wide eyes.

“No? Is that not the reason?”

“Father, please, I need to ascertain those around me.”

“Princess… so… you were also testing me at that time?”

I gave him a sweet smile.

“To be honest, you were just a bit of extra benefit, and a great one at that.”

He flinched.

“As I thought, you are scary…” he quietly said.

“How rude of you. Don’t you just see everyone scary?”

“Hehehe, maybe so, your highness.”

“You two already look close.”

I stared blankly at my Father. We’re not close at all. I mean, we don’t have much interaction. Rogan just looks like someone who would appreciate a casual conversation, so I did a bit of that.

“We are not exactly close…” I said with a quiet voice.

Rogan slightly nodded his head.

“In any case, allow me to know something regarding that, Estelia,” he sighed. “How is bringing Rogan with you to Oryn’s room benefit you?”

Well, there were a couple of things basically, but let me give one that he wanted to hear.

“The trap wouldn’t have worked if Rogan was colluding with the enemy. As I said, Father, I want to make certain of those around me.”

“... Is that so?”

Father stared at me with a contemplating gaze — I can’t tell what exactly he was thinking. He sighed again.

“I have the feeling that you won’t tell me everything you are planning on doing. But please be careful.”

I nodded my head.

He stood up and reached out to me, then patted my head.

“Then, daughter, what about I appoint a knight for you, to protect you."

“Huh?”

As I was puzzled on what he meant by that, he faced Rogan and straightened himself.

“Rogan Dorien, I hereby appoint you as Princess Estelia’s personal knight. Protect her with your life.”

“Uh… Huh?” Rogan was also shocked at how things unfolded. He was suddenly appointed as my personal knight after all. “Ahem… Yes, your majesty, I hear and obey. I swear I will carry out my duty. If it comes to it, I willingly offer my life for the princess.”

With that commitment, he bowed deeply.

I was also frantically looking at the two of them like a small child. To be honest, I’m fine with this.

“Good. Start tomorrow.”

“Um, is that alright, Father? I will be taking one of your elite knights.”

“If it’s for you, it’s fine.”

“... Okay!” I beamed brightly with joy.

Father smiled in amusement. “Alright, you can go now.”

“Thank you, Father.”

With a little farewell, we two visitors began leaving, but I stopped halfway. This could be a good chance to bring that up. Rogan who had opened the door looked inquisitively at me.

“Princess?”

“Ah, you can leave first, I have one thing to talk to Father with.”

Rogan looked at the two of us first before nodding and leaving the room. Now the door closed, I turned to look at my father.

Technically, I am still grounded and supposedly unable to make any request. However, this kind of request was different, and besides, maybe father had forgotten about it.

“You have something to talk to me about?”

“Yes, Father… Um, will you listen?”

“Of course, I’ll listen.”

“Then…can I have Vernon as my direct subordinate. Meaning, he’ll be my personal attendant.”

“...”

Father was speechless as he watched me with wide eyes, never expecting what I had just requested from him. It’s to be expected that he would react this way, Vernon was like his long-time assistant after all. However, if he refuses, there’s nothing I can do about it.

“You want Vernon?”

“It’s fine if you refuse…”

I clasped my hands together meekly.

“No… It’s just, why?”

“Why? It’s because I like him.”

“...... Is that so…? I’ll think about it…”

I nodded my head gently.

“I understand, father. Excuse me.”

With that, I left the room and saw Rogan standing by a corner with his usual grin. He walked towards me with a casual shrug.

“It would seem I would be directly serving you, dear princess.”

“You don’t like it?”

“Oh please, being a guardian knight of the princess is one of the greatest honors there is.”

“Your friends would be impressed then.”

“Oh I’ll rub it on their faces,” he grinned widely.

“I’m sure you will be amused.”

I started walking down the hallway with Rogan, down the halls I could see both Vernon and Mera on standby.

“Still, I didn’t expect his majesty to just call me all of a sudden and you coming along. I was worried there for you for a minute.”

“It’s to be expected that Father would realize sooner or later. But it’s good we moved that problem out of the way.”

“You know princess, I’m surprised you’re making conversations with me.”

I stopped and furrowed my brows while looking at him.

“I also talk, you know.”

“Now now, please do not wrinkle your brows like that, it will chip away your beauty for a bit.”

“... Okay.”

Yeah, I don’t want that. Such perfection of my being shall not step into imperfection.

It was then that my two servants approached me.

“Milady, is everything alright?”

Mera asked me, she must be concerned that something might be wrong since Father called me in.

“And the knight… Sir Rogan is even with you.”

Hm, was there a delay before she said his name? Did she forget his name for a moment there? Honestly, it felt like Mera’s starting to get meaner and meaner to other people, and I am sure I have nothing to do with it…... Well, a boy and a girl together, doesn’t exactly look pleasant to the heart of a third party that… you know. Jealousy is a frightening thing.

“Um, well. Things happened. Sir Rogan, you can go ahead and explain.”

“Understood. Greetings, I, Rogan Dieren, will be working with you starting tomorrow. On this day, I was appointed as Princess Estelia’s personal knight, as ordered by the King. I’m looking forward to working with you.”

With a wide and amused grin, he extended his hand towards Mera waiting for a handshake. He must have had a feeling that Mera didn’t like him that much, but that was amusing for him. This guy had some sharpness to his eyes despite his easy-going demeanor.

Mera, still processing what she had only heard, slowly touched Rogan’s hand followed by a little handshake.

After that, Rogan offered his hand to Vernon and the latter immediately shook it.

“Then with that done, you can go back to your friends for now, Sir Rogan. I’m sure you have to let them know. As Father said, you can start tomorrow.”

“Understood. Please excuse me.”

With a bow then followed by a casual wave of a hand, he left.

“I wonder why his majesty decided to appoint him as your knight,” said Vernon.

“I wonder… But no point in pondering about it. Let’s go to what we should be doing now, time is moving.”

***

Leodoule gazed out the window, reflecting on his meeting with his daughter and the knight Rogan. He was still thinking about how to take Estelia’s action, for some reason, he was still in disbelief. She had never shown that side of hers before.

“She’s growing…”

Somehow that notion pricked his heart. He just loved the cute Estelia so much that any sign of changes just stings a little. Even though it wasn't a good thing to feel, he still couldn’t help it.

And what’s with her interaction with Rogan?

That piqued his interest, they were surprisingly very friendly to each other, the least he would expect that Estelia would do. She was never that way.

“Wait…”

A thought came to mind. Why Rogan specifically? He recalled that she once visited the knights and they held a mock battle between elites when the princess came to watch. If it were the battle of elites, then Rogan surely would have participated.

“Could it be?!” he sprang up from his chair.

It dawned on him. There could be no other explanation. Why Estelia approached him first of all. Why she was so friendly with him. There was no other possibility.

“She likes Rogan?”

He couldn’t help but let in a loud gasp. This was the shocking news of the century, a giant leap of humanity — no rather a giant leap of his daughter.

“Is this alright though?”

He had his worries. Rogan wasn’t exactly a reliable type, and he was quite a playful man. Why did even the princess begin to like him? Could it be during the mock battle, he was so dazzling that it caught the eyes of the princess?

“What do I even think of this?”

He muttered, he truly had no idea. To think that Estelia would like someone. It reminded him of another boy, now a young man that was blatantly in love with Estelia.

“Lucious fell behind.”

Eleden’s assistant, Lucious, that childhood friend of theirs.

Actually, Leodoule sympathized with the boy, Estelia didn’t even give him that much attention. It’s hard being ignored by their crush.

And Lucious had been carrying that feeling since they were children.

No, perhaps there was still some hope for him. For now, the way Leodoule saw it, Estelia merely had an interest in Rogan. Maybe there was no intense romantic feeling yet. There was still a chance.

Not that he rooted for Lucious, it was just that, Lucious was more reliable. If it was Rogan, one could imagine how politics would react to that.

But in the end, it’s up to Estelia who she picks. Leodoule decided to just be a normal guide for his daughter whenever she would be distraught when it comes to love. Maybe if she has troubles, he could give her advice. If she gets jealous or hurt, he’ll be there to comfort her.

“I never thought her love would begin blooming like this… But I guess…”

...This is what makes her a normal girl.

This was what he wanted, her being normal. And he was glad.

He looked at the window with a smile.

“... Vernon, huh.”

He didn’t expect that Estelia would outright request to have Vernon. She certainly has grown attached to him. But, Vernon was his old friend ever since he was young.

I need to think deeply about this.