"Welcome, Princess Sidonie to the Hellan Kingdom," King Noah said with a smile the moment Princess Sidonie disembarked from her flying carriage.
"It is our pleasure to be here, Your Majesty," Princess Sidonie replied and did a curtsy.
The silver veil that hid her face fluttered gently in the wind, but it still kept her face from being seen by anyone in the vicinity.
"Greetings, Princess," Prince Lionel bowed his head respectfully. He wasn't able to stop himself from making his presence known to the lady of his dreams. "It has been a while since you've visited our Kingdom. It would be my honor to be your tour guide during your stay in our humble kingdom."
King Noah's face remained calm, but there was a slight hint of disapproval in his eyes. However, this disapproval didn't last long because Lionel's action was a normal thing for a Prince of the kingdom to do.
"Thank you for your offer, Your Highness," Sidonie replied. "However, the journey has been long and if possible, I want to rest for a few days before seeing the attractions of the Hellan Kingdom. I hope you don't mind my selfishness."
"Not at all, Princess. It was me who had forgotten how to be a good host. Please, allow me to escort you to your quarters," Prince Lionel bowed apologetically.
This time, Princess Sidonie nodded her head and acted how a proper guest should act.
King Noah nodded internally and didn't get in the way of Lionel's initiative. He was not stupid. With a single glance, he could tell that his son was smitten with the Third Princess of Freesia. In fact, a year ago, he had asked him to play matchmaker and propose that Princess Sidonie be wed to him in a marriage alliance."
The King of the Hellan Kingdom thought that this was a good idea, however, the recent events that had happened inside his Kingdom had prevented him from putting this proposal into motion.
'Maybe this is a good opportunity for the two of them to get closer,' Noah thought as he made a gesture for his aides to take care of the Aerial Knights from Freesia. Since their purpose for coming was to be their reinforcements, King Noah prepared the best rooms for them as well as the best accommodations for their magical beasts.
While his aides were busy guiding their guests, King Noah walked towards the flying carriage that belonged to his Second Knight Commander, who hadn't even poked his head out to greet the Princess of their allied kingdom.
King Noah had conflicting feelings towards William because he was also someone that Est praised highly. As a father, he could see the signs that indicated that his "son" was very attached to the Half-Elf and hoped that it was just due to admiration.
"Commander, the King is making his way here," Dave reported.
"Hah~ Can't he just leave me alone?" William grumbled as he gently lifted Wendy's head from his lap and used a soft cushion as replacement to allow the sleeping beauty to continue sleeping.
He then stepped out of the carriage to meet the King of the Kingdom with a smile on his face.
"Greetings, Your Majesty," William said as he placed his right fist over his chest. "I have accomplished the mission that you decreed upon me."
"You did well, Commander William," King Noah replied. "I'm sorry for calling you out of the blue and asking you for an escort mission. I hope you don't mind the inconveniences I caused you."
"There was no inconvenience, Your Majesty," William replied with a smile. "As long as it is for the kingdom, I will do my best to meet your expectations."
King Noah eyed the young Half-Elf with a critical gaze.
There had been many nobles that had voiced their criticism for allowing a "slave" to hold such a prestigious position as a Knight Commander within their kingdom. However, King Noah ignored them all because William had proven himself very capable for his age.
He understood that the nobles were only whining because a slave suddenly held the authority to punish them if he found them guilty of a crime. This was a deterrence that Knight Commanders possessed and they were afraid that William would use his influence to bring them down.
After the incident with Kingsley of the Misty Sect, the Rhodes family had been very low-key as of late. In the past, they had been very domineering since they were one of the dukedoms of the kingdom. All of that changed when William knocked the living lights out of Kingsley and made the Rhodes Family more subservient to the orders of the King.
"Lord William, are you getting along with the Head Prefect of the Magic Division?" King Noah inquired.
"Est? Yes. the two of us get along very well," William replied. "I treat him as a very close friend of mine."
"I see…" King Noah remained calm on the surface, but deep inside he felt anxious. "There have been rumors flying around that you are in a relationship with Miss Wendy, how much of that is true?"
William only smiled, but said nothing else.
King Noah felt a headache incoming because he understood William's silence. As a King of the Kingdom, he already knew how to read the unspoken words between a King and his retainer.
William had silently admitted his relationship with Wendy, and King Noah didn't know how to feel about it. The only thing he could do was to pat William's shoulder and whisper something in his ears before walking back towards the palace.
The Half-Elf looked at the King with a stiff smile on his face. He didn't understand what the King meant when he said the words...
"If you make her cry, I'll personally whip you a hundred times."
-----
"Finally, that nosy Prince is gone!" Princess Sidonie's attendant exclaimed the moment Prince Lionel left her room.
The Prince stayed for over an hour and chatted with Princess Sidonie about the current affairs in Freesia. Prince Lionel had been sorely tempted to snatch the veil covering his beloved's face so he could admire her beauty up close.
However, he didn't want the Princess to hate him so he fought this impulse while keeping a smile plastered on his face.
If not for Princess Sidonie hinting that she was very tired and wanted to rest, Prince Lionel might have stayed longer. Fortunately, the Crown Prince knew when to advance and retreat, so he decided to take a step back and allow the Princess to finally rest.
Before she left the Kingdom of Freesia, The King gave her several powerful artifacts to suppress her powers. This allowed her to safely interact with King Noah and the rest of the representatives of the Hellan Kingdom.
Still, she felt a certain dislike for the Crown Prince of the Hellan Kingdom. He was like the other men that had pursued her because they were charmed by her powers. If Princess Sidonie wanted to, she could make all of them do whatever she wanted, but she chose not to.
However, there was someone that didn't like to live the life of a pacifist.
< Where's the fun in making ordinary men grovel at our feet? >
A voice sounded from inside Princess Sidonie's head.
< Sidonie, let's hurry to find a man that can awaken the power inside you. Don't forget our deal. Four years from now, if you still haven't found the man that would make you know the meaning of love, you will switch places with me. >
'I'll keep my promise. Why are you in a hurry, Morgana?'
< It's because I don't want you to become a late bloomer. >
'Is that the only reason?'
< No. The real reason is because I am bored. Come on, why don't you swap with me for an hour or two? I promise I'll behave. >
Princess Sidonie sighed. She didn't know when or how it happened, but on her tenth birthday, a voice started speaking to her inside her head. This was also about the time that her powers had awakened and almost caused a disaster inside their kingdom.
For Princess Sidonie, Morgana was an overprotective older sister that would nag at her whenever she acted timid in front of other people. Sometimes, Morgana would forcefully take over her body whenever she was in grave danger and protect her from harm.
After living in the same body for many years, Princess Sidonie and Morgana had grown extremely close to each other. Sometimes, when Princess Sidonie didn't want to deal with other people, she would hide inside her Sea of Consciousness and allow Morgana to take over.
Morgana also knew that Princess Sidonie was at the age where she would be interested in the opposite gender. However, the little girl was a romantic type. What she wanted was someone who could love her without being affected by her powers.
Because of this, Morgana proposed that whenever Princess Sidonie found a candidate, Morgana would assess the man to see if he was worthy of her "little sister". Princess Sidonie agreed to this condition because she knew that Morgana only wanted the best for her.
Sadly, all the candidates that Princess Sidonie had chosen succumbed to her powers, even before Morgana could swap with her to assess them.
< Well, don't give up. We will be staying in this kingdom for some time. Maybe we can find someone among the good looking guys here. >
'Well, we still have four more years before our deadline ends,' Princess Sidonie thought. For now, she decided to play along with her "older sister" and meet the candidates of the Hellan Kingdom that had been listed by her "pets" that were staying inside the Hellan Kingdom.