Marcus rolled his eyes as he watched the slack-jawed Sordalian officers in front of him. Each one of them stared at Stella as if they had just laid eyes on a ghost. The question was practically etched on their collective faces.

  ‘She’s alive??!’

  Well, except for one of them. Marcus remembered that guy earlier from Eisenfeld, and his name was Heinrich, if his memory wasn’t lying to him. Heinrich only took a momentary pause before bowing reverently at Stella’s presence.

  Then, Stella followed up by introducing herself in that overly cheerful voice that was enough to bathe an entire city in radiant light. Upon finishing her introduction, immediately, the two other officers beside Heinrich bowed too, practically tumbling over themselves to present themselves to the princess respectfully.

  Everyone truly drops to their knees in the presence of royalty, huh?

  Marcus had only ever heard about that rule in stories and such, and he only really interacted with nobles in the military, where the standard behavior was to salute as usual in their presence, but he had never met the equivalent to Stella’s rank back in his days.

  Not even the Emperor himself. He imagined he would also grovel on his feet back in those days if this scenario happened to him, so he didn’t blame the soldiers for their comical reaction to Stella’s unannounced visit.

  “Y-Your Highness,” the fatter one of the three officers spoke first. “My name is Major Karl Brunswick, commandant of the permanent Branburg garrison.”

  “I’m Captain Fritz Stiglitz, of the 101st Wyvern Air Wing, and this man beside me is Lieutenant Heinrich Richtofen.” The man in the middle was calmer and more composed. “It’s…a surprise to meet you, Your Highness. Your disappearance has caused quite a stir, so we were searching for you.”

  “It’s okay,” Stella nodded brightly as she placed a hand on her mouth to stifle her tiny giggle. “On that note, you three have no need to bow like that any longer. It’s not like we’re in the palace or anything.”

  They all raised their heads, then Fritz spoke, his tone neutral and monotone. “Your Highness, if you may, will you come with us? Your father is searching for you.”

  Direct and on point, I’m liking this man.

  Marcus smiled a bit inside. It seemed like he was looking at a good soldier here. So he’s a wyvern knight, huh? So far, his experience with these guys was good, Marcus thought. While they fumbled in Eisenfeld, they fought nice and well when the situation turned around.

  It made sense that the King of Sordale sent them to find his daughter. They seemed up to the task, and even the fumble at Eisenfeld was something Marcus didn’t blame them for. They were outnumbered and ambushed.

  He watched many elite formations in the Imperial Army ages ago who had been had by demonic ambushes too. It simply happened due to the fog of war; it was about as natural as dying in battle.

  “Sure, that’s in fact why I am here,” Stella said. “I wish to reduce the fears of my father and my countrymen by telling them that I’m alive and well.”

  “I see. I’m sure His Majesty will be delighted by this news. On that note, who is that…person?” Fritz pointed at Marcus, his eyes narrowing.

  “A-ah, don’t worry about him.” Stella nervously raised her hand defensively before lowering it. “He doesn’t speak much, but he's…my new guard, of sorts. He saved me from the Death God Cult back during my failed training mission.”

  Shame started to seep again in Stella’s voice. It wasn’t something that Marcus could miss. The contrast between her earlier positive and friendly tone was just too stark to ignore.

  Most of all, it wasn’t something Marcus liked to see. He didn’t like the idea of Stella beating herself down for something that wasn’t her fault. She was given a mission, and she did her best to execute it, enough that she dealt considerable casualties to the cultists.

  That, and seeing her miserable in front of people that she believed she was serving, was no good. So he quickly spoke up.

  “Chin up,” Marcus ordered, his tone almost a whisper, but that was enough to snap Stella back into working order. She raised her head and smiled again, shaking her head.

  “Ah, sorry about that.” Stella cleared her throat. “But yes, this guy here, he’s a bit more private than me, but he really is my good friend. Please don’t try doing anything to him.”

  Fritz nodded, but it was clear he didn’t lower his guard. “Understood, Your Highness. Please, may I lead the way?”

  “Sure.”

  “Then let’s go. We have much to discuss.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Marcus sat on the side of the major’s office as Fritz and Stella discussed the situation. It seemed that King Aolis Folre vi Sordale had been, quite reasonably, extremely worried about Stella’s disappearance. The king apparently organized many search parties throughout the continent.

  Of course, Stella disappeared in Valeon, so that was where investigations started. Unfortunately, she wasn’t found there, and Sordale didn’t exactly have an army in Valeon to scour the entire countryside. It was also well known that the Death God Cult operated beyond national borders.

  Thus, Fritz and the 101st were tasked to find Stella in Sordalian borders. Fritz recounted their efforts, and then Stella recounted what happened to her, mostly with strategic redactions about the details of Marcus’s involvement.

  Marcus remained silent, letting Stella steer the ship on her own. At this point, he knew that Stella was the best of the two when it came to talking, and in this case, her intelligence showed its streak.

  She expertly weaved a tale about the White Watch, its goals, and why she wanted to be in it in the long run to exact revenge and eliminate the Death God Cult, as her job as [Saint] demanded.

  She also revealed the less than stellar treatment of the church on her as an alibi for refusing to return there.

  In the end, she barely gave anything too compromising, explained her part, and made sure that Fritz, Karl, and Heinrich understood her side of the story well. When they were done, Fritz took a deep breath.

  “Unfortunately,” Fritz eyed Marcus, who had so far remained dead silent. “I can’t decide in His Majesty’s stead. Ultimately, we’re just here following his order, and our order is to bring you back.”

  “I am planning to return to the capital.” Stella clarified.

  “You do?” Fritz leaned forward. “I thought you were worried about the church’s presence interfering with your work, so you’re trying to lay low.”

  “Well, I trust that the king and you guys will keep your lips shut,” Stella smiled. “Right?”

  Fritz didn’t answer. Instead, he glanced in Karl’s direction. The man let out a groan.

  “Piss off. I’m not about to run my mouth unless directed by Her Highness or His Majesty,” Karl guffawed. “Trust me, not a single one of my subordinates will hear a word of this.”

  “Make sure of that,” Marcus spoke up, his tone low and ominous, enough that Fritz and Karl’s demeanor shifted to a more defensive one. “Stella seems to value promises way too much.”

  “Y-you!” Karl bashed his fist on his table. “Referring to Her Highness that casually? Who do you think you are?!”

  “Sir, you’re not being productive right now,” Fritz hissed from his seat. “Stand down, and keep things on the down low. It’s quite obvious that he and Her Highness are friends. This should be expected.”

  “Nevertheless—”

  “I said, shut it, sir.”

  “Please don’t start a fight!” Stella waved her hands wildly with a nervous smile. She glanced at Marcus, gesturing for him to just leave things to her. “I don’t really see a problem with it. In fact, Sir Karl, Sir Fritz, and Sir Heinrich can refer to me as Stella too if they wish to do so.”

  “That resolves it then,” Fritz declared, ending the talk as he stood up from his seat. “I’ll be reporting to my superiors, and then we’ll organize our departure here to get to the capital.”

  He turned to Karl. “See to it that information about this does not come out of this room. Her Highness is still officially missing, unless deemed otherwise by His Majesty.”

  “I know.” Karl seemed tired of it all. “I have enough headaches as it is. Sorry, I just didn’t like how that guy acts. He’s just sitting there, all silent and observant. It irks me.”

  Karl stared at Marcus with both ire and wariness. Meanwhile, Marcus just smiled beneath his mask. This guy may be stupid for running his mouth too much, but he seemed like he understood the danger Marcus presented.

  To Marcus, that was a good quality of any soldier. Though, of course, he wished that Karl would improve himself. He seemed like one of the stereotypical peacetime stock of military officers. Laidback, out of shape, and a bit too stiff about protocols.

  “I’m only here to guard her from the Death God Cult,” Marcus said. “You people have nothing to worry about.”

  “You,” Fritz spoke up again, taking Marcus’s attention. “I notice that you present yourself as a level 30 [Swordsman]. You’re lying, aren’t you?”

  “You have an [Identify] skill?”

  “Answer it.”

  Marcus just stared up at Fritz, smiling lightly. He didn’t answer. That seemed to be enough, and the wyvern knight just nodded before bowing at Stella.

  “Your Highness, we’re taking our leave,” Fritz said. “We might take an hour or two to report everything and organize the 101st. If you wish to run around the city, please come back here before sundown.”

  “Ah, don’t worry about it,” Stella waved her hand. “I’m not the kind to wander around too much. I might just visit a nearby shop or two.”

  “You have disguises?”

  “Yes.”

  “I see.”

  The wyvern knight nodded. “Until we meet again, Your Highness.”

  Then, they left, both Fritz and Heinrich. Marcus, on the other hand, watched briefly as Stella profusely tried to reassure Karl that he was fine, as Karl began begging for forgiveness about his outburst earlier.

  On the other hand, Marcus just sighed. If meeting low-level officers of the Sordalian kingdom was this awkward, he couldn’t imagine how much more it would be once he met up with Stella’s parents.

  Maybe I should just hold back and let her do it on her own.

  But Marcus tossed those thoughts away. He promised that he’d help her out no matter what happened. He still was not sure about how safe it would be for her to be alone in the palace.

  After all, there was a church presence there, not to mention the lingering threat of the Death God Cult. She may be strong enough to probably deal with it and escape, but Marcus didn’t want to place Stella in that situation.

  It was best if he was with her and if he could use his skills to mitigate or prevent any incident. So, as Stella continued to talk to Karl, Marcus made up his mind.

  He’ll meet Stella’s family.