3

The castle’s buzzing.

Maids rush down the halls, soldiers check the equipment.

No surprise, really. Next week, Prince Aldo—the fiancé of the princess—is coming to visit. Every department’s in a tizzy, scrambling to prepare for the welcome and the meet-and-greet.

Even now, I’m left twiddling my thumbs. What can I do, after they took the Armunale from me? Not much, really. Can’t help it.

Thinking that, I glance sideways as a maid passes with a bucket, then knock on the door ahead.

“Eld.”

The door opens. She gestures me in.

“Princess, I just wanted to go over the security details for the day… What on earth are you doing?”

“Can’t you tell? I’m sewing.”

My lovely (mischievous) princess sat by the window, her face all serious as she poked the needle through the fabric—tick-tick, tick-tick.

“You don’t need to tell me that. What I’m wondering is why *you’re* doing it. This isn’t just embroidery, is it?”

The cloth she held looked, as always, like something expensive at a glance—but today, instead of the usual handkerchief size, it stretched all the way down to the carpet, and scattered across the nearby table were piles of fabric, like someone had spilled a whole bolt.

Sewing this much? That’s not the sort of thing a princess should be doing.

“Yep, it’s my first meeting with my future husband. Gotta make an impression, right?”

Which, really, should be someone else’s job entirely…

She grinned, innocent as a child who’d just thought up a prank. No doubt about it.

“With that wicked smile, all I can feel is dread…”

“It’ll be fine. With this outfit, I’m sure I can give a splendid welcome.”

“Now, now—keep it reasonable. Speaking of the guard duty…”

The visit’s not until next week, so I still can’t touch the Armunale yet. That means today I’ll be standing guard in the same spot as the side attendant. In other words, right alongside the regular soldiers.

At the same time, Ange and the others were each assigned to guard various spots inside the castle.

Normally, the princess should be under house arrest and forbidden from leaving her room—but you can’t exactly tell a foreign prince that, so today she’s free to move about, though not entirely without limits.

“I can’t ride the Armunale myself, so on the day of the visit, I’ll be staying mostly within the castle walls.”

"Yeah, that’ll do. Father said I’m not to step beyond the castle walls, so I’ll just stay within them and make do with whatever’s inside."

"Such a loaded way of saying it…."

She’s definitely got something up her sleeve—no doubt about it. So, I guess I’ve gotta keep a close eye on the prince, just in case things go sideways.

I’m already thinking I might need to stock up on stomach medicine, but I press on with the conversation.

"Right now, that’s about all we’ve settled. The other side’s security officer’ll be coming here the day after tomorrow, and we’ll go over the details then—where we’ll go, what we’ll do. We’ll let you know the specifics as soon as they’re set. If you’ve got any requests, please let us know by tomorrow."

"Understood."

The princess lowered her gaze to the fabric in her hands, needle pricking through the cloth, and answered.

The other maids were all busy with their assigned tasks, and when I stopped talking, the whole room settled into silence. That’s when I suddenly noticed.

“Wait—where’s Ange, anyway?”

Ange should’ve been here this morning, summoned to help the princess. But there was no sign of her.

The princess finally looked up, her gaze drifting toward the far door.

“She’s sulking and won’t come out. I went a bit too far with the prank, I suppose!”

“Ah, I see.”

The dress from yesterday—right, it was borrowed from the princess. The one that got ruined was washed clean by Ange’s skill and returned, but even after a whole night, Ange’s anger toward the princess hadn’t cooled down one bit.

“Completely deserved, really.”

“But you had fun, didn’t you?”

“Very much so.”

I return the smug grin the princess shoots at me with a quiet smile. If I flinch now, I lose. That much, after half a year of this, even a fool’d learn.

The maids around us are all pink-cheeked, but I’ll let them suffer through it.

“But what’s with that dress? Ange said the ones you wore before didn’t have anything like that, right?”

“Yes, this is mine.”

The princess stands, showing off the dress she’s wearing now.

Looks like today’s dress is the same kind as yesterday’s.

From a hidden pocket at her side, she pulls out a cord—exactly as Ange described—and tugs it hard. The dress doesn’t come off. Instead, wings sprout from her back—angelic, white, and feathered.

“So that’s how Ange was fooled.”

“Fufu, this is a maid’s angelic dress—meant for unmarried ladies. But the one I put on Ange? That’s the same look, but a different kind. This one’s for married women, and the trick is—”

“Once you take it off…”

“—you’re in for a real show!”

She grins, poking her thumb through the gap between her index and middle fingers.

“Where’d you learn a move like that?!”

“Fufu, don’t underestimate a princess’s education!”

“Ugh, always shoving useless knowledge down my throat! I’ll tell His Majesty about this!”

“Useless. The teacher’s a secret. One of the maids—only the teacher and I know who it is!”

“Tch!”

She’s covered every angle. Fine. I’ll find her—then give her a proper lesson.

Some side piece, probably.

I was thinking that, and glancing around, I noticed every maid subtly avoiding my eyes.

Could it be… everyone?

My cheeks twitched, but I shook it off and brought the conversation back on track.

“So, what’s Ange doing now?”

“She’s finishing up some embroidery in the back room. Should be done soon—why don’t you go back together?”

“Then I’ll just check on her.”

I pushed open the door to the inner room, and there was Ange, head down, hands busy.

Before her lay a neat row of tiny flowers made from lace.

“Ange.”

She looked up, startled, then blinked at me.

“Eld?”

“How’s it going?”

“Pretty good. What’re you doing here, Eld?”

“Just got a bit of security business to sort out. They said your work should be wrapping up soon, so I figured—why not head back together?”

"Yeah, I'll wrap this up quick then."

Ange smiles, happy-like, and starts tying together all the little flowers with string. Could make a bride’s veil with some lace, maybe.

Watching her hands, thinking that, Ange checks the shape of the tied flowers a few times, then nods, satisfied.

"Good, done."

"Then let's go."

"Yeah!"

Handing the cheerful flower garland to her side, she gives a light bow to the princess, then steps out of the room.

At that moment, Ange seemed… a little distant. Just like the princess said. Probably has it deep in her roots. Well, either the princess apologizes, or time fixes it. I’ve had my fun—can’t say a thing.

"Alright, we’ve got time, where to?"

"Yeah. What about dinner?"

Walking down the castle’s corridor, lost in thoughts about tonight’s dinner, I spotted a familiar face approaching from ahead.

When we stopped, the man—Leon—hurried toward us.

“Just in time, you two.”

“What’s up?”

“Got a free moment after this?”

‘?’

Ange and I exchanged glances, tilting our heads. Leon seemed… flustered. Like someone was pushing him. That’s what it felt like.

“Ah, right—just talking about dinner, weren’t we?”

“Perfect. How about eating at my place tonight? The fiancé I mentioned earlier wants to meet you two.”

“Fiancé!?”

Right—Ange hadn’t heard about that yet. Not that I’d had a chance to tell her, really.

I quickly summarized what I’d learned yesterday. Ange nodded along, eyes bright, clearly intrigued.

“Said she’d introduce us, but she’s quick about it. Was she nice?”

“Yeah, personality and looks? No issues at all. Honestly, I’d go so far as to say she’s wonderful.”

“Huh. Leon saying that, now?”

Us, dragged around by Ange and the whole bunch of gorgeous girls from the Support Maid Academy—well, we’re not exactly impressed by your average pretty face.

And Leon’s the one in our group who usually doesn’t care much for the ladies. So if *he* says she’s wonderful… well, she’s got to be something special.

Then—suddenly, a grab at my backside.

“Mmm…!”

Ange puffed out her cheeks, still holding on. That little rascal.

“Anyway, while we were talking, I told her I was friends with both of you. She insisted she *had* to meet us.”

“Us?”

“Why?”

Didn’t think I’d become famous enough to get asked to meet by a noblewoman, though. Unless it’s after I got the Knight’s Medallion?

“Forgot how impressive it is just to earn the Lion’s Medallion? And if you’re noble, you’ve already got the intel on retaking Kailen Base. She knew that, and apparently became a fan of mine and Eld.”

“Huh. That could happen.”

Well, true—family like Leon’s, they’d probably have that kind of info already.

Then again, if that’s the case, no reason to refuse. Might as well go visit.

I glanced at Ange for confirmation. She nodded.

“Alright, then. We’ll go.”

“Right. I’ll make sure to treat you like royalty.”

And so, without warning, we found ourselves summoned to a noble’s home.

Seventeen o’clock. The sky was darkening, and we were already in the carriage Leon had arranged, heading toward the manor.

Ange and I were both dressed up proper—me in knight’s formal wear, her in a dress borrowed from a princess.

Honestly, this one’s just a regular dress. Ange had been suspicious as all get-out, checking it every which way. But come on—she’d just pulled it off a rack. No way they’d go to the trouble of planting a trap in something like that…

“Feels like I’m getting nervous.”

“Why? You’re used to being in front of royalty, aren’t you?”

Well, true, the real royalty are a bit different—but even so, we’ve met princes plenty of times before, just by her side. This shouldn’t be any worse than that.

“C’mon, today we’re the ones in the spotlight, right? Usually we’re just hiding in Ines’s shadow, keeping quiet—but today? Can’t do that.”

“Huh. I guess that’s a thought.”

We’re summoned, so we’re the center of attention. The whole story’s gonna revolve around us. Gotta feel different from usual, I suppose.

Still, it’s not like we’re going to someone’s house for the first time. No need to stress over it, really.

Anyway, let’s just do the charm first.

“Here—write ‘person’ three times on your palm, then swallow it.”

Texts look different here, so who knows if it’ll work. But it’s just for comfort, really.

“Yeah.”

Ange did as told, tracing ‘person’ three times on her palm with her finger, then swallowing hard.

“How’s it feel?”

“Not at all different.”

“Yeah, figured.”

If it really worked, nobody’d be getting stomachaches from nerves.

“Meh, it’s just Leon’s place—just think of it like visiting a friend’s house.”

“Eld’s nerve endings must be made of steel. I’m jealous.”

The carriage jostled us forward, creaking and rattling, and somehow we’d already slipped inside the mansion.

Through the window, the garden looked neatly trimmed—no fallen leaves, even in winter—blooms in full, bright color.

The main house was the size of a school from my old life. A fountain stood before the front door, water spurting up nonstop.

The carriage circled the fountain, then stopped right at the entrance.

“Thank you for your journey. Please watch your step.”

A maid stood waiting by the door, quick to open it. I stepped down first, then reached back to help Ange down, glancing around at the grand foyer.

Beyond the wide double doors stretched a vast hall, and there—glimmering—was a lavish chandelier.

Even the entrance looked like it could host a dance party—me, even I felt a bit out of place here.

“Glad you came. Welcome, both of you.”

The voice drifted from the hall, and from the shadow of the door, Leon stepped into view.

Beside him—could this be the rumored fiancée? A woman, truly beautiful, stood there.

Her slender frame was accentuated by a dress like a Chinese qipao, drawing attention to her ample chest—so much so it seemed impossible to ignore.

Explosive breasts. I’d never seen anything like it, not even in my past life.

Ange was staring, eyes wide as saucers.

So massive, they seemed to steal every thought—yet her face was perfectly sculpted, and her long, soft peach-colored waves, reaching down to her hips, swayed with each step like they weighed nothing at all. Her breasts swayed too—just slightly—like they had a mind of their own.

"Let me introduce her—my fiancée, Cimel Lorentz."

"Lord Leon, please—Cimel Lazarre, if you would be so kind. I am always ready, at your service, my lord."

"Hmph… Cimel Lorentz."

Leon coughed once, then repeated it, as if correcting himself.

Cimel puffed her cheeks slightly, annoyed—but just as quickly, she smoothed her expression and turned back to us.

"Nice to meet you. I’m Cimel, honored to be introduced. Please, do take care of me."

"Nice to meet you. I’m Eld."

"Ange. Thank you so much for the invitation."

I’ve been wanting to meet you ever since I heard about you from Prince Leon. The knight of the princess, hailed as the finest swordsman in the land—Eld, who reclaimed the Kailen base with just two Armunale, alongside Prince Leon. And you, Ange, the one who stands by his side. I’ve heard all sorts of stories about you two from Leon himself. Every single one of them was splendid—so when I learned I’d finally get to meet you today, I couldn’t help but be thrilled.

I wonder what kind of tales they’ve been spinning… but judging by the way she’s talking, it’s probably been stretched a bit too much…

“Let’s not stand out here. Come inside.”

“Thank you.”

“Shall I go first?”

Ange, flustered and biting her lip so hard it turns red, makes my heart skip—still, we’re led into the house.

Thanks to all your support, we’ve won Honorable Mention in the Second Light Literature Newcomer Award.

Thank you.

I know things’ll get busy with the book coming out and all, but I’m hoping to keep the updates steady and wrap it up properly. So, please keep reading—I’d really appreciate it.