"Morning, Pascal, Kaede," Kaede heard Princess Sylviane the moment they stepped into the dining room.

"Good morning, Sylv," Pascal replied while Kaede offered a quick dip for a curtsy from the door.

"Good morning, Your Highness."

The Princess smiled at her to show that her exercise in propriety did not go unappreciated.

Pascal sat down at the head of the table, while Kaede took her usual seat to his left. Their late arrival to breakfast meant that Sylviane's armigers, who were all staying at the estate as guests, had already finished their meal. Only Lady Mari remained behind to accompany the Princess, while the rest had left to go about their tasks.

Two servants were in the midst of cleaning up the used plates and silverware, while two diminished trays of breads, fruits, and cheeses remained at the table. One of the footmen then carried in a covered tray with two plates. He served one of them to Pascal and the other to Kaede. Each dish presented a jam-filled pfannkuchen doughnut with caramelized apple slices on top.

We really are aristocrats, Kaede thought with nagging guilt as she stared at the fancy food before her eyes.

"What's wrong, Kaede?" It was Sylviane who noticed her reluctance to eat first.

"Is it really okay for me to consume such lavish food while most of the city is eating at soup kitchens?" Kaede wondered.

"Had it not been for your actions during battle, Nordkreuz might be in the midst of urban combat even now," Pascal spoke as he sliced into his doughnut and began to eat. "You have fulfilled your duty beyond anyone's expectations. I see no reason why you should not reap the privileges."

The Princess nodded as she was in clear agreement, yet Kaede continued to frown as she looked upon the abundance of food before her.

"Should we not at least be sharing this food with the people in the city?"

"I have already sent half the stored stocks. And I am paying the cooks extra for them to help out within the city, if that makes you feel better," Pascal remarked before his tone grew more authoritative. "Now eat. You are of no help to anyone if your brain is distracted by hunger."

I feel like that's what CEOs tell themselves as they dine in fancy mansions while their employees live on minimum wage, Kaede scowled.

"Speaking of, what's on your agenda today?" Sylviane asked. "Are we ready to discuss the situation in Rhin-Lotharingie?"

"This evening, I think," Pascal nodded. "I am meeting with the city's guild and business leaders later this morning, alongside the Chancellors' representatives from the Ministry of the Interior. And around lunch I plan to inspect the new kitchens we have set up around the city." He added with a smirk as the 'inspection' was clearly meant to be a surprise. "I think in both cases it would be helpful if you joined me. You are a better negotiator than I am, and a visiting princess would be great for the city's morale."

"Of course."

"What about me?" Kaede asked as she finally began to consume her sweet breakfast treat. "Should I come along?"

"Only if you wish," Pascal replied. "Though I think your time would be more fruitful if you visited Major Karen." He then turned to Sylviane: "do you have an armiger to spare to accompany her? The army camp is only just outside the city. Though after what happened yesterday I would prefer she not go out alone."

Kaede looked down as she distinctly felt like a kid who had just been scolded for going out on her own and getting lost.

...

By the time they finished breakfast, Sir Robert had yet to return. Pascal decided it was still a bit early to leave for the city, so they all took a break to relax in the dining room with cups of black tea.

"Did you know," Pascal smirked as he looked at his fiancé, "that Kaede has courted a girl before?"

"Is that true?" The Princess' interest instantly peaked.

"Ehhhh..." Kaede hesitated before sighing. She really didn't want to touch this topic, but it seemed unavoidable now.

Guess I might as well get this over with, the Samaran girl thought.

At least the servants have finished their cleanup and left. Kaede definitely did not want information about her gender mixup circulating within the servants' hall. She was already receiving enough uncomfortable looks from the maids as it is.

"It was more like... she courted... me," Kaede spoke with a shrug.

"So she asked you first?" Pascal's response was surprised, perhaps even a bit impressed.

"Yes," the familiar replied. "It's not as common as the other way around in my culture either, but it happens."

"It's actually not that rare in our world, at least among the nobility," Sylviane commented in an intrigued voice before giving Kaede a smile. "But when a lady is the initiator of the courtship, she tends to be very picky about the qualities of the man."

Kaede's mouth felt dry as she made a faint scowl. If Sylviane was trying to offer a mild compliment, it had the exact opposite effect.

"Did you agree?" Pascal asked.

"Ehhh... I didn't really know her well. But I figured since I was in high school and a romantic relationship was lauded as like -- the ideal school life -- why not?"

Kaede then had to take a moment and explain what modern standardized education was to the Princess. For a brief moment, she thought Sylviane's fascinated look meant the Princess might change the topic, which would have suited her just fine.

Unfortunately, the Princess suppressed the urge and returned to her attentive smile:

"How did the courtship go?" The Princess asked with an attentive smile.

"We dated for about two weeks before she dumped me," Kaede shrugged.

"Well that was fast," Pascal bluntly remarked.

His familiar sent him a stare, which made Pascal append in his usual, drawling voice:

"I never said most girls in teen years are any less retarded than most boys."

Are you trying to console me or insult me? Kaede thought as her gaze hardened into an outright glare. "You're only twenty yourself."

"I never belonged under 'most teens'." Pascal countered as his haughtiness emerged in full, which then fell aside as he hurriedly added: "nor did I say you do."

Your compliments suck. Kaede glared at him.

"Did she explain why?" Sylviane finally derailed them back towards some semblance of maturity.

"Apparently I'm not manly enough," Kaede shrugged, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice. "She said since I studied martial arts, had excellent grades in academics, good friends, and knew what I wanted to do for life while still in school, I seemed like a pretty mature guy. Then she accuses me of being uncompetitive, unambitious, indecisive, and introverted..."

Kaede's thoughts grew more and more agitated as she continued. Even she began to notice the acidity that slowly crept into her voice.

"--Basically she had the delusional fantasy in her head that I was some kind of alpha male figure when I'm not. Reality is such a disappointment."

"You do fit a girl pretty well though," Pascal commented in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Geez, how nice of you!" Kaede's fake gratitude was dripping with sarcasm. "Now can we please get off the topic before I reward your kindness with a fresh stabbing?"

The Princess giggled silently in response. But as her wisteria eyes met Kaede's, Sylviane gave the familiar a gentle smile.

"The best traits of men are courage, vision, and tenacity. I would say that your recent actions prove two of those qualities just fine."

Kaede blinked several times as she ran those words through her mind a second time. For Sylviane to acknowledge her with such directness... she almost wondered if she was hallucinating.

"I... uh... thanks," she stammered back. "It was a pretty desperate situation, so I kind of jumped in..."

"That is what courage and leadership are: decisiveness in the face of necessity. Willingness to bear responsibility even if nobody else will." Pascal interjected before his voice turned harsh. "Had you taken such unnecessary risk any other time, it would have been purely imbecilic. The only difference between a hero and a fool is that the hero was lucky enough to succeed. Only morons would gamble on that in anything but utter desperation. I certainly hope my familiar will not do so unnecessarily in the future."

"Do I look like a moron to you?" Kaede glared back. "I certainly don't plan on jumping in front of oversized swords again anytime soon."

"Good."

Pascal's single response was almost cheerful before he took a look at his arcane pocketwatch and stood up. Sylviane then followed suit as she realized it was time for them to leave for their meeting with the city's guilds. As Kaede followed the others down to the entrance, she finally realized why Pascal had acted the way he did.

Can't you just say you were worried about me?