"This way! This way!" Henry excitedly ran through the streets of Solfin with a smile on his face and a spring in his step. It was a bright fall day with a brisk wind cutting through the streets as the city enjoyed its annual harvest festival. Market stalls were filled with produce, butcheries were packed with customers and the sound of cleavers chopping meat, and the streets were filled with people enjoying the festivities. Henry turned around and called back to his traveling companion, "Come on, Aiko!"

  "Slow down, Henry!" Aiko called after her cousin as she fought through the crowd to keep up with the scurrying five-year-old. She had no idea how Henry was still bursting with energy while she felt so out of breath. "We need to wait for the knights!"

  "Only little kids need knights," Henry proudly declared and puffed out his chest. "I turned five…two months ago, so I'm a big kid now!"

  "…" Aiko didn't point out how Henry needed to pause to count how many months ago his birthday was as his mood was too joyful to ruin.

  "And you'll be six next month, so you'll be an even bigger kid!" Henry was looking rather sure of himself as he nodded at his own logic for running ahead.

  Luckily, Aiko had plenty of experience dealing with Henry's supposed 'logic', and she asked, "But, don't you also want the knights to enjoy the festival?"

  "…?" Henry tilted his head to the side in confusion.

  So, Aiko continued, "They're not just here to babysit us, the Baron put a lot of work into the festival which makes everyone want to enjoy it." Ever since Lucina became Duchess she found less and less time to properly govern Solfin which prompted her to give out the title of baron. Thanks to his years of administrative experience both in and out of Solfin, Jeremy was the perfect candidate to be elevated and granted the Barony of Solfin. Together, he and Elise worked hard as Baron and Baroness to keep Solfin the beautiful city Lucina had helped it become. "But the knights can't enjoy anything if they can't find us, they'll be too busy being worried about us to remember to have fun! A really big kid would help out the adults by making sure they also have fun at the festival."

  "I-I know that!" Henry tried to deflect and embarrassingly averted his gaze away from Aiko. "I…just forgot, but now I remember!"

  "I'm glad," Aiko smiled warmly at her cousin and gently patted him on the head.

  "Th-Then let's go!" Henry would never admit he liked it when Aiko patted him on the head since that was something little kids liked. Taking Aiko by the hand, Henry led the way back through the bustling streets while mumbling, "Stay close…so you don't get lost."

  "Yup, I'll follow you." Aiko was perfectly fine with directions, but she wanted to indulge Henry and knew he enjoyed taking the lead when they were together.

  "…Mm." Henry and Aiko scampered through the festive Solfin as they attempted to retrace their steps in order to meet back up with the knights who were originally escorting them. The sun was shining brightly in the sky as the two children wove through crowds and crossed streets, but the sun wasn't the only thing watching the children.

  "…Henry?" Aiko slowed down and pulled Henry closer to her. "Are we going the right way?" An uneasy feeling crept along Aiko's back as unseen eyes, hidden in the shadows, pierced into her.

  "W-We are!" Henry tried to sound confident, but his voice was shaking too much to be convincing. Solfin, for the uninformed and unprepared, was a maze of buildings with alleyways snaking to and fro leading around, too, and away from the main roads in seemingly random directions. It was the perfect place for two young children who were rushing ahead to get lost. "We're almost to-!"

  "Oi!" And it was the perfect place for two young children who were rushing ahead to go missing. "Are you two lost?" From up the alley, a man and a woman blocked the path leading back to one of the main roads. They did their best to puff out their cloaks to block the children's vision of the road, and the woman lied, "You're quite a ways away from the street. Are you out by yourselves?"

  "…" Aiko slightly narrowed her eyes as she sized up the two adults. The woman had an average build and was most likely the face of their operation while the man was hiding bulky muscles under his robe. Without missing a beat, Aiko lied back, "We're not lost, Mom and Dad are waiting for us at the café." Before the adults could fully block their view, Aiko managed to see the sign for a café just beyond the alley's exit.

  "Then what are you doing here?" the woman's voice was sweet like honey, but Aiko could taste the bitterness hidden beneath. The adults slowly started approaching them.

  "We met some friends and ran off. This is a shortcut back." Aiko continued to lie as she felt Henry's hand trembling in her own.

  "Then we'll bring you back." The woman beckoned for Aiko and Henry to come closer to her. "Come, it's just ahead."

  "Thank you, but we'll be-!?" A sound caught Aiko's attention and she turned her head to see another cloaked man appear behind them down the alley. Both exits were blocked. "…We can take care of ourselves."

  "Hmph," the woman's tone shifted once the man down the alley appeared, and she dropped all pretense of kindness. "Didn't your parents ever teach you that you're supposed to listen to adults?"

  "I was taught about stranger danger," Aiko inadvertently let out some snark which visibly ticked off the adults. She was still getting used to previously unknown emotions and failed to control herself.

  "And no one likes a brat!" the woman snapped and motioned for her compatriots to move in on Aiko and Henry. "Perhaps we're doing your parents a favor by freeing them from brats like you!"

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  "…!" Aiko flinched as she saw the man behind them start quickly closing in on them. "I-"

  "S-Stay away from Aiko!" Henry, who had been silent for the whole affair, now stepped forward and in front of Aiko. Even though he was trembling and tears filled his eyes, he stepped between Aiko and the two adults in front of them while putting up a brave front. "J-Just…go away!" His voice cracked with fear, but his eyes glared up at the woman.

  "…" Aiko was stunned by Henry's actions.

  "…Tch." And the woman was ticked off. "Grab'em and let's move."

  "Alright." The men moved in.

  "S-Stay away!" Henry yelped out.

  "…Enough!" Raising her hand, Aiko shot a small fireball into the air; even in this life, she was blessed with Alm's flames.

  "What the-!?" The men stopped advancing once magic came into play and they watched the small fireball shoot into the air above the buildings. While it wasn't very big or threatening, Aiko concentrated on intensifying the heat of her flames which burned the air and caused the fireball to let out a loud screech as it soared above Solfin.

  "…That's it?" the woman scoffed as she watched the fireball sputter away in the wind. She barked at the two men, "That'd barely singe you!" She slapped the closest one to her, and once again ordered, "Grab'em already!"

  "R-Right!" More hesitantly this time, the men slowly started approaching Aiko and Henry. Their eyes never left the small fireball Aiko kept summoned in her hand as a warning to not get closer.

  "A-Aiko!?" Henry still stood in front of Aiko, but his bravery was faltering.

  "Just a little longer," Aiko whispered in Henry's ear to try and keep him from acting erratically. "It'll be over soon."

  "Stop whispering!" the woman annoyedly complained. "And you two, hurry it up so we can-"

  "I found them!" a woman's shout interrupted the kidnapping.

  "Who-!?!" A blur rushed past the kidnappers followed by a strong gust of wind as a woman in a Hellhound uniform effortlessly wove between the adults and made her way to the kids.

  "B-Big sis!" Henry sniffled out through his tears as he looked up at the Hellhound knight kneeling in front of them and he rushed into her waiting arms.

  "That's right, big sis Sophie is here," Sophie reassured Henry as she brought him and Aiko into her arms. "Look how brave you were standing up to those fiends for your cousin!"

  "!!!" Henry started crying into Sophie's shoulder while Aiko let out a sigh of relief that her signal managed to attract the knights.

  "…It's just one knight!" the female kidnapper reasoned and pointed to Sophie. "Take her…out…?" But her words soon failed her when blue flames encircled Sophie as she activated her aura to defend the kids.

  "Blue flames!?" one of the men let out a gasp as he realized who Sophie was. "The Captain of the Hellhound's daughter!?!"

  "I'm sorry you both had to go through this," Sophie, Peter's daughter, completely ignored the kidnappers and was doing her best to comfort the crying Henry and anxious Aiko. Offhandedly addressing the kidnappers, Sophie angrily mentioned, "We thought we cleaned every inch of Solfin for the Duke and Duchess' arrival, but it seems like we missed a spot."

  "?!?" The kidnappers were speechless and frozen in place as they deliberated on what to do next, but that ultimately sealed their fate.

  Sophie spoke to someone behind the kidnappers and bowed her head low, "Once the children are safe, I will accept any punishment for this failing, Duke!"

  "…Duke?" the female kidnapper muttered as a glowing white flower petal danced in front of her vision. Slowly, with hearts filled with fear and dread, the kidnappers looked up the alley.

  "…" Surrounded by glowing flower petals, Olivia was slowly making her way down the alley. She was still in her training uniform as she'd been working out when the knights informed her they lost the kids and she rushed into the city without changing. A longsword glinted in Olivia's tightly closed fists whose knuckles were white with how tightly they were clenched. Her eyes were lakes frozen over with anger as they glared at the kidnappers with an expression that sent the chill of death down their spines.

  Since Olivia wasn't saying anything, Sophie took the opportunity to retreat with the kids, "Th-Then I will return to the mansion and await your arrival!" Infusing her aura into her legs, Sophie jumped up to the rooftops of the surrounding buildings and escaped the soon-to-be bloodbath.

  "…What petty gods," Olivia muttered to herself as she coalesced her aura around her blade. Even though Arlexia was experiencing a time of peace and prosperity, that didn't mean crime didn't exist in the recesses and dark corners where the light of the crown couldn't reach. No matter how hard they cracked down, there was no such thing as a 'perfect' society free of all hardships, struggles, and dangers. And, technically speaking, since the knights managed to arrive before anything ended up happening that meant the promise wasn't broken. At the end of the day, the children were safe and sound…technically. And Olivia hated Zulm's technicalities the most.

  "…W-…We surrender!" the female kidnapper fell to her knees and begged for her life. "W-We didn't know they were-"

  "And if they weren't mine, you would have gone through with it?" Olivia dryly retorted without giving the woman time to fully beg. "Disgusting trash needs to be thrown out."

  "P-Please! Merc-!?!" the kidnappers' cries were silenced as a wave of flower petals sliced their necks under Olivia's rage.

  ***

  "…" From her place in Sophie's arms, Aiko silently watched Solfin pass her by while they made their way along the rooftops toward the mansion on the hill. Henry was sniffling next to her and she knew this would be a defining moment for him growing up so she tried to make the best of it by saying, "Henry?"

  "…Hm?" Through tear-filled eyes, Henry looked over at his cousin.

  "Thank you for protecting me," Aiko's voice was filled with relief and she softly squeezed Henry's hand to assure him she meant it. She smiled warmly at him, and continued, "You were really cool."

  "C-Cool?" That seemed to perk up the five-year-old and slightly lifted his mood.

  "Mm," Aiko nodded. "You'll make a great big brother when your mom gives birth."

  "…O-Of course I will!" Henry tightened his grip on Aiko's hand and Sophie's uniform. "I'll…I'll make sure my little siblings never have to get scared!"

  "Mm," again, Aiko nodded while softly squeezing Henry's hand. She knew it would take more than just her words, but at least she would be the catalyst to turn this experience in Henry's mind into something he could use to become a good person when he grows up.

  "You were pretty brave yourself, Lady Aiko!" Sophie chimed in as they made it to the forest of trees that surrounded the mansion. "Your quick thinking launching that flare allowed us to find you in time!"

  "Y-Yeah!" Now that the danger had passed, Henry was starting to calm down and he was able to properly talk. "How did you do that?"

  "My mom taught me how to do that," Aiko replied as she thought back to when they first learned she could use fire magic and Lucina started training her on how to use it in a practical sense. "She said Magisters in the military did it to communicate with each other, so she taught me to do that whenever I was in danger."

  "So cool~!" Henry didn't have any magic or aura, so he was mesmerized by Aiko and Sophie's abilities.

  "Not as cool as you," Aiko made sure to keep praising Henry and cement this event in his heart as one with a happy ending.

  Sophie nervously laughed, and mused, "If only it could save me from the Duke's wrath later…Haha…" The kids were almost kidnapped under Sophie's watch so she was under no pretense that she would get off with just a warning or light scolding. "I'm deeply sorry about losing sight of you in the square…I have no excuse."

  "Don't worry," Aiko smiled at Sophie as she reassured her, "We were the ones who ran off without you, so I'll make sure Dad isn't too hard on you."

  "My Lady~!" Sophies eyes filled with tears of admiration as she walked up the path to the mansion with the kids still in her arms. "I'll never forget your kindness!"

  But the happy moment was quickly shattered as a voice up the path called out, "Really? You'll talk Olivia down?" Lucina stood in front of the gates to the mansion with her arms crossed waiting for them. Despite the smile on her face, her expression was completely unreadable but held a sinister undertone. "Then, what will you do about me, Aiko?"

  "D-Duchess!?!" Sophie straightened herself to attention as her voice cracked. "I-I…?" She glanced down at Aiko for help but found the five-year-old girl aggressively avoiding eye contact.

  "…" Dealing with Olivia was one thing as Aiko could always melt her father's heart with a bright smile and soft words, but Lucina was an iron wall that refused to budge when she was serious. "…I'm sorry, Sophie." And Lucina was currently very serious.

  "…I will accept my punishment, Duchess!" Sophie quickly cried as she accepted her fate. Once the children were taken inside and examined by a waiting physician, Sophie was put on probation under Lucina's unrelenting gaze until she was satisfied with the punishment. After Olivia returned, and washed the blood off so as not to scare the kids, she almost intensified the punishment if not for the intervention of Aiko who, just as she promised, managed to talk down Olivia into letting Lucina take care of it. It was also decided that Aiko and Henry were to always be accompanied by at least three guards each as well as two shadows from the Hellhound's shadow knights. And, eventually, Sophie managed to make it through her probation and return to her duties guarding Aiko which she would return to with a renewed vigor and zeal to repay Aiko's kindness. From that point on, not a single unclean hand would ever touch Aiko again as her personal knight, Sophie the Azure Flame of Solfin, would always be by her side.