A small forest near the capital.
“Bleegh!”
“Ugh—!”
The sounds of people violently vomiting echoed through the trees, as if they were throwing up their intestines.
Three mages in robes clutched at separate trees, bent over, retching uncontrollably.
“Ugh…”
The unpleasant sight caused the surrounding knights and mages to slowly inch away from them.
“Ahem, milady. Perhaps we should keep some distance from them… Wait, when did you get over there?!”
“Can’t you tell just by looking that they’re about to puke?”
Of course, Riana had already distanced herself from the scene, holding the fluffy creature in her arms.
Naturally, Kyle and Ail were right beside her.
The knights and mages quickly rushed over, grumbling as they came.
“Gah…! You should’ve warned us earlier!”
“Oh, come now. If you’re guarding Riana Robellin, you ought to be able to predict that much.”
The guards booed playfully at Riana’s teasing.
To outsiders, it might have seemed like their chain of command was too relaxed. But for them, it was perfectly natural.
Riana was generous to her people, and all of them had been personally knighted by her.
“Bleeugh…!”
The mages vomiting in the distance were no longer her concern.
‘It’s a bit pitiful, but… Well, they shouldn’t have picked a fight with my people in the first place.’
Being a mage herself, Riana knew exactly how painful mana exhaustion could be.
The wrenching in your guts and the spinning in your head—no matter how many times you went through it, you never got used to it.
And even though she knew how painful it was, she hadn’t stopped it because of the way they had acted at first.
More specifically, because they had looked down on Riana’s personal guard—those standing by her side now.
‘Nobles are always like this. That’s the problem.’
All 25 of Riana’s guards—including Kyle and Ail—were former commoners or slaves.
What they all had in common was that they were people with no family and nowhere else to go.
“Milady, where shall we wait once you enter the palace?”
The one who asked was Chelsea, a knight with dark green hair tied in a ponytail, who had come to stand beside Riana.
Everyone else turned to look at her as well.
Clearly, they had all been wondering the same thing.
“What kind of question is that?”
“…Huh?”
“Of course you’re coming with me.”
Riana casually answered as she gently stroked the fluffy creature—still nicknamed “Scruffy” since she hadn’t come up with a proper name yet.
“Whaaat?! We’re going to the palace?!”
Shocked voices rang out all around.
Even though Riana always said the palace was a dump, it was still a big deal for commoners to set foot in it.
Only those who had been following Riana for a while—like Kyle and Ail—weren’t surprised by her answer.
“Guys, I’m an outcast.”
At that moment, Riana made a bizarre statement. Her guards stared at her, puzzled.
Did she just say she’s an outcast? What did that even mean?
“You all have to come with me to protect me. That royal couple waiting in the palace and my half-siblings are probably going to eat me alive. Bones and all.”
Her guards’ expressions soured at her words.
…Protect her? We’re supposed to protect her?
And it was obvious who she meant by the “royal couple” and “half-siblings”—the King and Queen, and the other princes and princesses.
They all knew Riana didn’t get along with them.
But still…
“Um, milady?”
“What.”
The one who spoke—Len, a knight with curly orange hair—had a conflicted expression.
‘Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t she be protecting us from the royals? And is she really someone who’d get eaten alive? Seriously?’
But he didn’t say any of that out loud.
Luckily, Riana didn’t seem to notice Len’s awkward silence and instead looked down at the fluffy creature in her arms.
Kiwooong?
The fluffball blinked sleepily and tilted its head under Riana’s gaze.
Riana gently stroked its tiny face and then raised her head to look at the distant palace visible even to the naked eye.
“Hmm… Maybe I should sneak it in.”
If anyone found out the creature might have demonic blood, it would immediately be cast out of the palace.
Well, she’d already put measures in place three years ago when she brought in Rune. So this fluffball should be fine too.
At that moment—
“Um…”
The three mages who had been vomiting approached with pale faces.
It was finally time to head to the capital.
*
Funny enough, only those with official clearance were allowed to use teleportation magic into the royal palace.
Riana and her guards didn’t have that clearance. Or more accurately, the stingy King had deliberately refused to give it to them.
“Wow, this is my first time in the capital.”
“Huh, really? Weren’t you here three years ago?”
“Nope. Don’t you remember we had a lottery for who’d go? I drew the losing ticket right away.”
“Ohhh, right.”
“…That reaction’s really annoying, you know?”
“Then you should’ve drawn better. Anyway, enjoy the sights.”
Riana glanced back briefly at her noisy guards before turning to stare at the massive palace up ahead.
She hated that vast royal palace.
She hated the selfish people living inside it. She hated the constant stares that followed her.
…And most of all, she hated it because it was the place that had consumed her gentle mother.
That was why she had run away even before her coming-of-age ceremony.
It was one of the greatest perks of being born a magic swordsman.
“Kyle.”
“Yes, milady?”
“How did that old man end up so petty?”
“…Excuse me?”
Kyle, who had been riding slightly behind her, looked flustered at Riana’s unfiltered words.
When he turned his head to look at her, thankfully, she didn’t seem irritated.
Apparently, she hadn’t been expecting an answer. She lazily muttered to herself as she rode.
“From what I’ve heard, the late king was a very generous man. Aren’t sons usually like their fathers? It really would’ve been great if he’d taken after him.”
Her sarcasm even included the late king’s legendary love story.
The former king, who had died young, was famous for being a romantic.
At twenty years old, shortly after his coming-of-age ceremony, he fell in love with the daughter of a fallen count, five years his senior.
But the woman rejected him, saying the age gap was too large.
Rumor had it that she did have feelings for him too.
‘…The late king must have known that, because he pursued her consistently for three years.’
In the end, he won her heart, and they married.
Their love story had captivated the entire kingdom of Rone.
And yet, the current king—his son—was a shameless womanizer and possibly the worst philanderer in Rone’s history.
He was slightly more subdued now because he doted on the queen, but he still harassed palace maids regularly.
“Just thinking about my father being recorded in history as that man is so embarrassing I can’t even lift my head.”
“…Milady, we’re about to enter the square. You may want to watch your words.”
At Kyle’s serious warning, Riana sighed deeply and lazily straightened her posture.
Her dislike of the capital wasn’t directed at the kind citizens welcoming her return—but at the infuriating royals and nobles inside.
And since she knew the King would be even more annoyed if she looked composed, she had no intention of showing any anger.
‘Let’s scratch His Majesty’s fragile ego one more time.’
She didn’t say it out loud, but that was her honest thought.
As they passed through the quiet street and entered the square—
WAAAH—!
A thunderous cheer erupted, shaking the entire square. The roar must’ve reached the palace walls.
“It’s Her Highness, the First Princess!”
Several years ago, a mistake by the commander before Riana had cost many lives at the forest border.
In contrast, Riana had led dozens of battles to victory and perfectly defended the border after becoming commander—her popularity was through the roof.
“Those are her personal guards! The ones in white uniforms are knights, and the ones in white robes are mages!”
“Are those the ones stronger than the palace knights?”
“Yes! I heard the princess personally knighted every one of them!”
While Riana smiled slyly at the thought of the King scowling, her guards tried hard to suppress their grins.
“…Hey, did you hear that? They said we’re stronger than the royal knights.”
“…You really believe that? It’s just flattery.”
“Is that so? Maybe tell your twitching lips to stop smiling first.”
Despite their dashing appearances, their whispered banter was ridiculously childish.
Some tried to look calm and noble, while others shamelessly basked in the attention.
“You’re the best, Mage!”
“Haha, thank you, little lady.”
Ail flashed a lazy smile as he smoothly caught the flowers thrown at him from the crowd.
His gentle demeanor and handsome face charmed everyone watching.
Their formation and behavior as they passed through the crowd gave the citizens all the spectacle they hoped for.
“…Sometimes I wonder.”
“About what, milady?”
“Whether you two aren’t actually real brothers. How can twins be this different?”
At her ridiculous comment, Kyle clamped his mouth shut.
Riana likely interpreted it as his serious knightly silence—but in truth, it wasn’t.
When he was younger, around nine, he’d wondered the same thing.
“…Brother, are we really blood siblings?”
“What? Why are you saying that in the middle of eating?”
Ail had brushed it off, but Kyle had really thought about it seriously.
Sure, they were fraternal twins, so looking different was normal. But personality-wise, they were complete opposites.
‘…Embarrassing pasts should stay buried.’
If he told their commander about it, he already knew how she’d react. She’d tease him to death.
Outside of formal settings, Riana was lively, approachable, and playful—almost unbelievable as royalty.
Wasn’t she the one who gleefully listened to the story of Kyle’s bitter first love, drunkenly spilled by Ail?
Lost in their various thoughts, the guards crossed the square, leaving the crowd’s thunderous welcome behind as they arrived at the palace gates.
Wuuuung—
As they approached, the light blue dome shield surrounding the enormous royal palace began to fade in sections—appropriate for a kingdom of magic.
‘It’s been a while since I saw this.’
Inside, the barrier was undetectable, but from the outside, it was clearly visible.
The barrier was a form of security, preventing unauthorized people from entering.
“Let’s go!”
After waiting briefly, Riana spurred her mount Rune forward into the palace gates, now open with the barrier lifted.
