“So this is it.” Marcus stared straight at Stella, who had now changed fully into a regal light yellow dress. “I hope I don’t mess it up.”

  “You won’t. I’m sure you’ll impress my father enough that he’ll be convinced of our cover story.”

  Right then, Stella walked in Marcus’s direction. He didn’t expect this, but she began straightening his robes. Marcus stepped back a bit, but he steadied himself.

  “You know, you’re in your parents' palace,” Marcus nervously chuckled. “You should probably avoid being this close to me. It might give them the wrong ideas.”

  “Wrong ideas? Hmph, whatever you say, Sir Marcus.”

  “I’m being serious.”

  She took his right hand, giving him a reassuring squeeze.

  “Look, whatever you think it is that worries you, it’s fine.” Stella then stepped back and curled her fist with a smug face. “As the [Saint], I can force them, even my father, into anything. Quite frankly, I doubt you’ll even have to lift a finger.”

  “So you’re not going in there blind?”

  “Nope. I have a simple plan. I’ll explain my part to them, and then I’ll tell them that, unfortunately, I have work to do with you, and I won’t be able to stay here for so long. I’m just here to reassure them that I’m alive so they don’t spend any more lives and resources searching for me.”

  Her words then turned bitter. Stella had been bothered by that a lot, Marcus noted. She was simply just that considerate. The idea of soldiers being sent out into danger just because the king thought she was in danger bothered her enough to go through this quagmire.

  It was a quagmire that Marcus found tedious. Yet she refused to retreat. “I’ll do nothing more here. I do wish to stay for a little bit to spend some time with my old friends, though, but nothing more.”

  “I see. What about your mother? Your brothers and sisters?”

  “Well, they’re here too…” Stella squirmed a bit. “Ugh, I don’t really want to see my eldest brother, though. He’s a bit overprotective of me.”

  “You mean the crown prince?”

  “He really didn’t like the fact that I was going to serve under the Holy Church. No one in my family really did.”

  “I see…”

  Marcus and Stella’s conversation was cut short when the two maids, Marie and Phoebe, suddenly arrived in the little room that Stella and Marcus had taken for themselves to prepare. Outside, Fritz seemed to be waiting.

  “Your Highness,” Marie bowed a bit at Stella. “The king is now ready to receive you. And he wants you to go there now. Bring him in too, he ordered.”

  Stella grumbled. “Why is he making it sound like I have to drag him there?”

  “Your father…doesn’t seem quite amused about that man’s presence here, and he would like to appraise him to see if he is a threat or not,” Phoebe curtly explained.

  “Makes sense,” Marcus said on the side.

  “It absolutely doesn’t!” Stella huffed. “But, whatever. At least he’ll stop being a worrywart after this.”

  Stella walked forward, escorted by her maids. Meanwhile, Marcus followed close by behind her, with Fritz closing the door of the room they were in. Afterward, they travelled through winding hallways until they reached the main, widest hallway that led to the throne hall. Marcus was a bit dazzled by the sights around him.

  The walls were lined with beautiful displays of gold-plated paintings, depicting battles, dinners between nobles and religious figures, and more. His eyes in particular locked on a painting depicting a blonde elven man wearing a dark blue coat uniform, and a black, feathered tricorne. He held his saber high as he rode a horse near a mass of battling foot soldiers, like a proud and bold leader who led his troops at the front. The walls were grand limestone, supported by marble facades with intricate plasterwork. Even the floor they walked on was a pretty red carpet, while the ceiling was adorned by elaborate chandeliers.

  Fritz must have noticed Marcus looking left and right curiously, his eyes either staring at the paintings on one side or at the tall windows where the afternoon sunlight filtered in lazily. Fritz chuckled a bit as he leaned close to Marcus.

  “Like the view, eh?” Fritz asked.

  “It sure is a fancy place,” Marcus said, quite honestly. “Never been to a palace, by the way.”

  “I’m rarely in palaces either. It’s always nice to be in one, though, if it didn’t mean that includes trouble.”

  “I share that opinion.”

  Fritz snorted a bit. “I can tell that you’ve turned awfully stiff.”

  “You don’t need to point that out. Knowing that the king probably doesn’t like me and the fact that this is going to be Stella’s reunion with him makes me feel bad for her.”

  “Every word you say makes me think that it won’t be you making a scene today.”

  “I’m definitely not going to instigate bullshit.”

  “Alright, heads up, watchers ahead of us. Time to get serious.”

  As Fritz cleared his throat and straightened himself, Marcus picked up the pace. Lined up on the side of the hallway as they made a turn were dozens of palace guards, all of them holding imposing halberds while wearing heavy armor. A quick, cursory scan with Marcus’s [Identify] skill revealed that the men were mostly silver-ranked [Knights], which was, as far as Marcus remembered, a specialization of the [Swordsman] or [Spellblade].

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  In any case though, none of them should be able to threaten Stella and Marcus in any way. The only one who seemed threatening so far was the [Knight] at the lead of the line, who, unlike the rest, was of gold rank. Now that Marcus thought about it, that seemed to be the common rank of most powerful people in this world, interestingly.

  Outside of the Death God Cult, which may have skewed Marcus’s perception about the strength of people in this world a bit, most folks around him were…quite frankly, not up there in terms of strength. Even the best mages, he noticed, like the professionals at Branburg’s academy, were only silver-ranked at best.

  It was interesting, and it made sense, as this was a world of peacetime. As such, it was only natural that the levels of people were going to be low. It wasn’t like there were a lot of veterans who fought high-level demons on a daily basis walking around. But now, his curiosity became stronger and stronger as the [Knights] opened the door to the throne hall

  I wonder…how strong that old man is.

  King Aolis Folre vi Sordale was hundreds of years old. Most of all, he was a part of the House of Sordale, a noble family originally of the old Holy Astrean Empire. It was he who conquered the entire north, founding a kingdom after his name. As such, he wondered, as he stepped forward, if this was going to be his greatest challenge.

  And as he gazed upon a regal elven man who sat on an elevated throne a fair distance away, his hair as golden as the fanciest furnishings in the palace, Marcus utilized [Identify]. King Aolis, even at his age, was in no way old-looking. In fact, he resembled a man in his forties, in the best health possible.

  And his stats, oh, his stats.

  It would have probably awed anyone who wasn’t Marcus. King Aolis was a [Grand Spellblade], level 70; in other words, he was a platinum-ranked elf. It would have been a sticky situation if Stella hadn’t gotten stronger, as Marcus would absolutely have had to step in. But now, it was clear.

  He indeed wouldn’t have to lift a finger, as she said.

  Stella calmly curtsied after she neared her father’s throne.

  “Father, I am home now,” Stella said, her tone low and slow. “I apologize for my tardiness and the fact that I gravely worried you all.”

  Then, Stella took a split-second side glance at Marcus when he stood beside her. After a deep breath, she continued, using her hand to present Marcus to the king.

  “Over here is a new friend of mine too. Since he saved me from the Death God Cult’s clutches, he has been acting as my steadfast bodyguard,” Stella explained, while Marcus bowed at the king, as had been requested earlier by Marie and Phoebe. It was all for ceremony. “He’s a powerful individual and an exceedingly reliable one. That’s why I wish to acquire him as my knight.”

  Yes. This is the best solution at hand. With this, if Father accepts, no one will object to Sir Marcus staying as my companion, and no one will be permitted to ask who he is.

  Because he’ll be under my employ.

  But the reaction was different from what she expected. While her father merely boredly grunted and narrowed his gaze, Marcus, on the other hand, sputtered a bit while bowing. She, after all, didn’t warn him in advance about this. She couldn’t. When she was walking in the throne hall, she was actually still finishing formulating her strategy.

  This, technically, was just her winging things.

  Please just bear with me, Sir Marcus.

  Luckily, one look from Stella was all it took for Marcus to adjust and straighten himself, not making any objections. All he did was a brief nod, as if confirming Stella’s intentions. While it was a tiny thing, that was enough to make Stella smile a bit. She liked how well Marcus understood her, enough that she didn’t even have to speak a word for him to play along with her schemes.

  “I see…” King Aolis still didn’t seem convinced, as he let out a weary sigh. “You truly are proclaiming your full independence from me. Is that exactly what you planned to do first when you came home here?”

  “Father, you’ve schooled me to always be direct in my business. I am merely following that,” Stella replied coolly.

  “My. You’ve turned quite hotheaded, haven’t you?” Aolis frowned. “I am both quite miffed by it, but…”

  Then, a smile grew on his face.

  “It seems my daughter is now truly ready to leave her nest.”

  Stella’s eyes widened.

  What?

  She was expecting a more combative reply from her father; it was why she tried her best to seem dignified and professional. If her father tried to make a scene, Stella wanted to make sure that she would stand her ground and make it clear that things would only go her way from now on. But now, all that went for naught, as the king wearily nodded along.

  “Your familiar, Lady Siris, where is she? Can she confirm anything?” Aolis asked as he raised his head.

  That was when Siris materialized on Stella’s head. Truthfully, both Siris and Stella have been communicating at all times since she arrived in the palace telepathically. Even Siris was a bit surprised by the king’s reaction, but now that she had revealed herself to the world, the white kitsune simply raised her head high.

  “Your Majesty, I have been watching over your precious daughter and her new guard,” Siris said. “He is most trustworthy and a close friend of your daughter already. He bears no ill intent, unless an attempt is ever made on your daughter’s life or safety.”

  “Is that so?” The king then looked at Marcus, at last, narrowing his eyes. He still didn’t seem to trust Marcus, but, for some reason, he was considering Stella’s words and listening to her. “You haven’t spoken once. Why the silence?”

  “...Lady Stella will be the one to represent me,” Marcus steadily replied, looking up at the king with his impassive mask. “I have no reason to speak for myself, Your Majesty.”

  “You,” the king pointed at Marcus. “You are deceiving us. All of us. You’re more powerful than the stats you present to us. You do know anyone worth his salt will notice the mana you emit, which is beyond that of a platinum-ranked individual?”

  “...”

  “You will not answer when spoken to by a king?”

  “...”

  Aolis suddenly laughed boisterously. “Madness. Most interesting indeed! So you’ve really deferred everything that will happen here to my daughter even with you strength?”

  And Marcus simply bowed.

  While the king and Marcus exchanged words, Stella blanked out for a few seconds, trying to understand why her normally controlling father was acting this way. It was so alien and out of her expectations that it left her stunned.

  Strength. Strength rules over weakness. Stella closed her eyes for a while. I get it now. I expected this, but this overshoots my expectations.

  She looked up at Aolis, who was now speaking as if he was currying favors from Marcus.

  He recognized me and Marcus as worthy people. That’s why he’s not treating us badly.

  She loved her father because she always tried to be a good daughter, but she knew her father wasn’t a truly good person. The realization now that Aolis could simply change and become less of a tyrant when meeting someone on his level struck her. It was quite a bitter and sobering thought.

  Well, I guess at least things worked out for now. All because I got stronger.

  She curled her fist.

  I need to get stronger.