141-150

Currently, we were all in a receiving room within the estate where one would receive guests. And besides myself, Sei, Sophie, Adel, Lance, Jeeves, and King Gravos, there were about ten knights of the Magic Knight division and the stupid cat and his guard, the rabbit girl whose name seems to be Sally. The Knights surrounded the two beastkin due to them being held under arrest at the present moment. iｎ𝓷𝓇𝒆α𝒅. 𝗰𝘰𝘮

I watched as the King crossed his arms across his chest and stared at the stupid cat. "Now…. Prince Rythilin, explain to me. Why did you try to break into Faith's new home and, on top of that, bring with you a sleeping sedative that would knock anyone out for ten hours?"

"I said this before Your Majesty, but the sleeping sedative is mine. I use it a lot since I have a hard tim…."-.

*Bam!*

"Do you take me for a damn fool!? Do you think I do not know the movements of other kingdoms!? Do you not remember that you already failed to trick poor Faith into dating you!? Word travels fast! Word of Faith's prowess has spread far and wide. Many want to throw a damn collar around her neck and control her like a puppet. While others wish to marry her to their kin. I myself am also guilty of this! But I will never force Faith to do something she doesn't want. You tried to break into her house and were ready to put her to sleep so you can do what? Cook the rice and take her back as your wife!?" I blushed, hearing the King's words. I mean, while it was not a saying known around the world back on Earth unless you were from an asian country, the saying cook the rice was something one would learn from reading certain novels as it meant to take someone's virginity.

"That…." The stupid cat tried to speak up for himself but quickly slumped his head low. I really wished to hit him again. Just seeing his actions now was the same as saying he was guilty. Since he was caught red handed, I guess he had no way of saving himself. My disgust for this stupid cat has grown so much that I really wish to just kill him. While the rules of adulthood were different on this world and age varied between kingdoms, the fact of the matter was that he planned to do something so sinister in the first place. I feel like I am going to puke….

"You will be held prisoner until your father comes here personally to pick you up. Your attendant will also be arrested, and the two of you will be separated for the time being." The King gave his final order. "You better hope that your father is willing to take the time out of his busy schedule to come here. Otherwise, you will be stuck in prison until the day you die. I will say this now. Faith is like a daughter to me now, and I will not allow anyone to do anything that would cause her harm.

"While your plan failed, the fact of the matter is that you still attempted to do something so sickening! Faith is still a few years away from being of age, not to mention she looked younger than she is, but yet you….." The King's face turned red as she clenched his fist, "Take this little bastard away before I beat him myself! Make sure his attendant is put in another prison for those with strong powers. She and him are not to communicate at all, so make sure you strip the little bastard and check him for any magic communication tools."

I was truly touched by the King's words just now. Whether he said it on the spur of the moment or not, either way his words touched me. I wonder, if I called him papa, would he suddenly freak out? I better not. I could lose my head if I joked at a time like this.

"Royal Father, I would like to kick the trash over there at least one more time before he is tossed in a cell." Ah, Adel, the face you are making, and the royal way of speaking do not match. Please stop trying to kill the stupid cat with your eyes. You use a knife, the knights all seem to be carrying one. Okay, no, I would never tell her such things, but a girl can dream, right?

"Make it quick." I almost choked. Umm, Your Majesty, I know you are mad but wouldn't this make things harder when the stupid cat's father shows up? Not that I was one to talk now that I am thinking about it. I mean, I am the reason his nose is broken and probably why he is holding his sides. But I still held back my strength enough to not make his head explode! I am quite proud of myself.

"Ouch! Wait, you only said once!" The stupid cat yelled out. Well, I guess being punched in the stomach does not count as a kick, so she is safe!

"Humph! You make demi humans look bad. I hope you are stuck in prison until your hair turns gray!" Adel yelled in anger. Lance stood up and pulled her away. But he did not say anything, only glared daggers at the stupid cat while trying to calm Adel down.

The entire time Sally kept her head low, her ears flopped down, not daring to say anything. She shook like a leaf, though. Now that I think about it…. "Your Majesty, what will happen to Sally?"

"Her? She will probably be deported back to her kingdom to deal with. Although I can not count on her not being punished." The King replied. His answer made me frown.

"Then…. Can she make a magical contract with me and become my guard instead? Someone as talented as her should not be tossed away. In the first place, she was only following orders, right? If she is forced to do something even if she does not wish to, I think it could stand to say that she is an innocent bystander who was forced into the sinister plot of the stupid cat." I was having trouble trying to explain myself, but I do know that for a talent like Sally, it would be best to keep her and put her to work where she can make use of her talents.

"While it is true she was following orders. It is also the attendant's job to stop their master from doing anything stupid. She failed at this. But…. you make a good point that she does have talent, from what I hear. Alright. Sally, was it?" The King looked at Sally, causing her to lift her head.

"Y-Yes, Your Majesty," Sally replied, her voice shaking. I know she thinks that she will be killed. After all, an attendant isn't really safe under the laws of another kingdom.

"Then Sally, while you were following orders, it is still wrong of you to not stop your master. But this time, I will let it slide because Faith is asking me to let you go, but you will need to sign a magic contract with Faith and will become her protector. If you do not wish to abandon that little bastard, then you can live out your days in jail and hope your King will also try to take you back as well." I am not sure if I should say his words are evil or what but that was basically forcing Sally into doing the magical contract. He was using her fear against her. I am not sure if I agree with this or not. But at the same time, I could just be very naive about how the world works. Although, I do know that if we can pull Sally to our kingdom's side, then the kingdom would have another powerful soldier.-.

Sally looked at the King and then at me with a confused expression on her face. "Does…. Does this mean I will not be k-killed?"

"Hmmm? As long as you sign a magic contract with Faith and serve her faithfully. I will also arrange for you to join the Royal Magic Academy with Faith as well." The King was really thinking ahead. Just by having Sally take the test to enter, he can get a full understanding of Sally's strengths and what she is good at. To be honest, I never would have thought of that.

"Magic Royal Academy!?" Sally's eyes opened wide. I guess she never expected something like this. Her mouth hung open, and it seemed she had stopped breathing altogether.

"Sally, I think it will be well worth it. At least you wouldn't be forced to do things you did not want to do." I know I saw how she might have feelings for her master, but the fact of the matter is any girl who was being forced to do something like she was would not hold those feelings for long. Unless she was so used to it that it was normal to her. If that was the case, then there would be nothing I could say or do for her.

"As Faith said, it would be very worth it. I can promise you that no repercussions will befall you if you enter the contract. The Beast King will also not seek to punish you either." The King followed up on my words.

"I…. Will I really not lose my head? I won't be forced to do things I do not wish to do? I won't have to harm innocents!?" Sally suddenly lifted her head with tears in her eyes. Just seeing her like this made me wonder just what she had to go through as the stupid cat's attendant.

"I can swear upon my name and my family that I will never make you do anything that will go against your conscience." I did not mind making this promise as I would never want her to commit any acts that would make her do something that I myself would not do.

"Then…. I will accept…." Sally answered with slight hesitation before bowing her head towards me. "From this day forth, you will be my Master…."

"Let's not use the word, Master, please. Just call me Faith. It makes me feel strange being called master. If you must call me with some form of formality, then Young Miss also works as I am used to it now." I still get shivers when people call me Master or anything of that nature. It just doesn't sit right with me.

"Then, Young Miss." Sally finally formed a smile. But not even a second later, she was kneeling on the ground. "Young Miss, I still must apologize for what I did. I should have used my strength to stop Prince Rythilin, but I did not in fear of losing my head."

"Sally, raise your head. There is no need to apologize when you were just following orders. Plus, I feel that if the stupid cat did try to use that sleeping agent, you would have stopped him, no?" I asked this because of her reaction when I laid the situation out to her. She, without hesitation, wanted to hand the stupid cat over to me. inn𝘳e𝑎𝘥. co𝐦

"I would have probably knocked him out and then would have blamed it on one of the guards after I took him away…." Sally replied. "It is true that Prince Rythilin uses the sleeping agent to sleep at night. He has always had nightmares since he was young, and only the sleeping agent allows him to sleep through them all. But he would never take it with him. Once he reached his destination. He would leave it in the place he was staying as he knew it would cause misunderstandings otherwise. So even I was surprised to know that he had such a thing on him."

"That's what I thought. I figured you did not know because the look on your face when I pointed it out was that of surprise, although the look only lasted for a second, and when I asked what you would do in my shoes, you immediately wanted to hand him over. But I must ask because I am not quite sure. You were not in love with Prince Rythilin, were you?"

"I…. I thought he was my world…. Since young, I have been the one to guard him while going through training. I have been by his side, but after tonight, after he basically confessed those feelings that were starting to rise within me are now gone…. Luckily I never…." Sally bit her lip as she clenched her fists. She did not need to finish her words for me or the King to understand what she meant. It seemed she was indeed a lucky rabbit.

I got up and sat next to Sally and hugged her. I could see the tears that were about to flood out, and as soon as she felt me embrace her, she burst into tears. Adel also got up and came over, trying to comfort her. "As the princess of the Gravos Kingdom, I swear on my name that I will not allow that bast…. Ermmm idiot, to do any harm to you. In a way, you are lucky. You met Faith, who has the ability to help those around her more than she thinks."

I chuckled slightly, hearing Adel's fumble with words there. "And if for some reason that stupid cat does somehow get to you…. I will just destroy the beast kingdom…."

"Oi!, Faith, your words are a little much there!" King Gravos yelled out. I turned and stuck my tongue out at him. "I was just kidding."

"It didn't sound like you were joking!" Hearing his retort, I let out a laugh. I would never go as far as to destroy the beast kingdom, but to pull the tail off a cat and hang him from the tallest point on his castle, that is easy enough.-.

"I do not know about destroying kingdoms, but I will also stand at your side as well." Lance stood up and announced. I wonder if he took a liking to the rabbit…. Is it because she has big boobs? This may just be the case. I will be sure to double the protective barrier on her room in the house.

"Ahem…. Anyway, we will need to set up the magic contract. Faith, I will need you to come to the castle tomorrow, and until then, Sally, I will need you to be patient as we will be having you placed under house arrest for the time being at the castle. It will only be for one night, and then you will be following Faith from tomorrow on." King Gravos explained.

"By your will, Your Majesty." Sally wiped her tears as she got up and bowed to King Gravos. Her way of speaking was very knightly.

I had said my goodbyes to Sally, who I would see the next day, and headed back to my room. With everything settled, and after almost two hours of lost sleep, I finally got to go back to sleep. Although this time, I had two people sleeping on each side of me.

I woke up four hours later. I had already agreed to go to the castle around mid morning. Sophie said she would be staying as she did not feel comfortable going to the castle. So she would be staying at the house with Sei. Lance and Adel would be coming with me since it would be a kind of formal event. And also so I would not get lost in the castle….

And as for the reason why I woke up so early, well…. I planned to set up all my traps. I only have today to do it as I will be heading to the academy the next day to take the entrance test.

I was excited and nervous at the same time. But I do hope I can make some more friends. I couldn't even think what my life would have been like if I lived in a kingdom that enslaved demi humans. But I do wonder what my life would be like if the Norain army never invaded.

I wonder if I would still be able to meet the people I have met or even have a chance to make my way into the Royal Magic Academy. Would I have met Adel or Sophie? Gesel and Sei? Would their lives be much different than they are now?

As I was lost in my thoughts, I barged into Sei's room and dragged her out of bed. "Wait, no! Five more minutes! Faith! You demon!"

"We don't have time! I have to go to the castle in a few hours, and then I really need to get ready for tomorrow. And so do you!" I do feel bad for dragging her out of bed, but if I do not act in such a forceful manner, she will never actually make it out of bed. She will try to keep sleeping for many more hours if I do not drag her out of the bed like I am. I mean, water magic chilled with ice is not the best way to wake up. 𝑖𝗻𝙣𝐫e𝙖𝗱. 𝚌𝗼𝓂

Shivering, Sei gives me a dirty look while putting on some clothes. "One of these days, I will get even!"

"You would need to wake up earlier than me." I said while casting a drying spell on her. "I just wish you would learn this is not the first time I dragged you out of bed before."

"You only did it two times, including this time!" Sei yelled back as she buttoned her pants. "Alright, let's go. I want to get more sleep after you leave."

I smiled and followed her out of the room and down to the first floor. We had to create the core of the barrier and trap system first so that everyone in the house could get registered to the core before I left. This was the reason why I needed Sei here. I wanted to make sure it was done right because the last thing I wanted was for me to mess up something and someone getting hurt.

"Okay, like before, we will inscribe the runic equation telling the core what it will be doing. But this time, you will be doing the inscribing. You have more mana than me. One thing to remember while inscribing the equation is that you have to go into fine detail on every aspect of what you are trying to do. If a single detail is off, it will cause the whole system to malfunction.

"Like say you want to put up a barrier that repels attacks but also allows you to attack from the inside. And during the equation, you forget to designate which side of the barrier the attacks should be repelled on. You would end up having both sides repel the attacks causing you to attack yourself even if you set it up to have your attacks go through the barrier." Sei explained. It is for this reason that I have her here. Because I will have her read my equation after I finish it to make sure I did not mess anything up. In a situation where you only wish to harm those with ill intentions having two minds is better than one.

The process of inscribing a core was much more difficult than I had imagined. Each stroke of a runic letter had to hold the same amount of mana as the last. And each runic letter had to be absolutely perfect without any defects, or it could cause the core's effects to weaken. I guess this was the reason Sei went into a state of concentration when she inscribed the core at the slums. It is indeed a delicate job. Just to write all the information and instructions about the magic circles, I was going to be connecting to the core took almost an hour and a half.

I wiped the sweat from my brow, and I looked at my inscription with a satisfied nod. "Very well done, but…. Faith, why a metal washbasin? Why pitfalls? Why a tree trunk that swings in and hits people!? What is this banana peel thing!? And seriously, what is a Truck-kun!?"

"Hmmm? Well, besides having explosive magic runes and the riddle maze, I was thinking of adding in a few extras. Also, do not look down on Truck-kun!" Yes, please do not look down on him, he can send people to other worlds. I have personally experienced it!

"I do not even know what a Truck-kun is!" Sei yelled out. She looked exhausted. I don't know why, though. At any rate, the Truck-kun thing was just a joke as it is impossible for me to make a truck appear out of thin air that is real.-.

Basically, I have the core set up to do two major things. The first is setting a barrier around the entire house that is basically an added layer to it. The people living here will be able to move around freely in and out of it without hindrance. I did not make a huge barrier as I did before because I wanted those nobles to try to sneak their way in. It would be counterproductive to have the entire property covered in a barrier because then no one could get in and actually allow us to catch them. Also, they would not be able to take on the second major thing.

The Riddle Maze! They will be placed into an infinite maze when they enter the property. Not only will they need to make it through the maze and answer riddles that they will never understand, but they will also need to deal with explosive traps, tree trunks, banana peels, pitfalls, and walls that will close in on them. Even the wonderful washbasin. The entire thing will be a real life illusion. In order to make everything a surprise so that things can just appear out of nowhere, I will use spatial magic and have all the objects randomly pop out and do their job.

Well, the banana peel will be an illusion since this world does not have such a fruit, and I have yet to see any replacement for it. So I will be doing a little trick. While the illusion will show a banana peel, I will use some slippery slime goo to make the ground slippery under their foot. Now that my brain is turning, I can actually make the truck kun thing works as well, but I will hide a giant boulder in the illusion of the truck…. 𝓲𝗻𝚗𝑟𝑒𝓪𝑑. 𝘤𝚘𝚖

"Faith, you have this strange smile on your face, and it is scary." Sei snapped me out of my thoughts, causing me to purse my lips.

"Since you will be home all day, I want you to go out and get me everything I need for the traps." Humph! Call my face scary. I will put you to work!

"What!? No, I wanted to sleep most of the day since I will not get a chance to anymore!" Sei immediately complained, which I knew she would.

"You will go get the items I need…."

"Faith, I wanted to sleep in…."

"You will go get the items I need…."

"I…"

"You will go get the items I need…."

"Fine, I will go get them! Stop repeating yourself. It is annoying!" Sei stomped her feet and gave me an aggrieved expression. I chuckled and patted her shoulder.

"I will go make a list now and also grab a few gold coins to pay for everything. Also, bring Sophie with you since she can use spatial magic. It will make things easier. But please protect her." I know that Sei would not let her guard down, but I still had to remind her to protect Sophie as Sophie could be a target for kidnapping as well.

"If I let anything happen to Sophie, I am willing to take any punishment you see fit." Sei replied with a knightly bow. Sometimes I forget she is a knight.

"I thank you. I will also give you an extra gold so you can get some food while you're out and keep whatever is left over for the trouble. Hopefully, by the time I get back, you two will have returned then I can quickly finish the defense system." The last part, now that the runic equation was already written, was to fill my spatial space with the items. Everything was connected to me, including the barrier. I was providing it with a small stream of mana. This little function I mixed into the equation so that it wouldn't be easily found. Otherwise, I am sure Sei would have picked up on it.

Now that the core was set up, I called everyone in the hose over to inject their mana into it. Only then would they be able to move around freely. This took another half hour to do because Adel was taking too long to get up, even with Sophie trying to drag her out of bed by her ankles. When everyone was finished registering with the core, we had breakfast and then got ready to leave. I was now off set up a magic contract with Sally so she could be my guard. I just hope she will find her new life fulfilling and will not regret her decision.

The carriage rolled down the road at a very slow pace. Surprisingly enough, the area around the castle was always very busy, it seems. At least, this was what Adel told me when I asked about it. Lance also added in that during the lunar year festival that was held in the capital at the start of each new year, that the streets were so packed that driving a carriage was impossible. It was only during the week of the festival that all nobles would walk to the castle.

The lunar festival was the same thing as the new year celebrations you would have back on Earth. Only this was a new festival that the King came up with recently and had only been around for five years now. While it was popular with the nobles and others within the capital, it had yet to spread to the rest of the kingdom. Mainly because it would cost the nobles money to have their territories fund such events. Kind of a hypocritical way of doing things. While the King foots the bill for the capital and the nobles go to the castle with fanfare to enjoy the festivities, They ignore their own domains all because they're too cheap to spend money.

It took an hour to get to the castle gates. Luckily we did not need to wait in line as both Adel and Lance were in the carriage with me. I could see many carriages lined up, all fancy with different crests on each one.

From the castle gates to the entrance that was set aside for royalty only took another half hour. So in total, it was an hour and a half ride just to get here, and this was not counting the next fifteen minute walk I was about to undergo.-.

As the carriage came to a stop, the knight at the second gate walked forward and opened the door to the carriage. He then placed a stepping stool for everyone to use when they got off before stepping to the side and bowing. "His Highness Prince Lance, and Her Highness Princess Adellia, It is good that you had a safe journey."

I watched as Lance got off first. He did not even say a word to the knight. He just gave him an indifferent nod before turning around and reaching out with his hand. Adel was next as she took Lance's hand and lifted her skirt just enough to allow her feet to be free so she could step out of the carriage. Seeing these fluid noble movements of the two made me realize that they were indeed a Prince and a Princess. Sometimes I forget this fact because of how close I am to the two. We talk and joke around like we have been friends since birth, so it feels slightly strange when I see them acting this way.

"This way, please, Your Hingesses." The Guard bowed and went to lead the two away, but after taking a few steps, he stopped and turned around. "Your Highnesses?"

"We are not two but three," Lance said curtly. He seemed angry about something.

I went to make my way off the carriage when I heard the knight suddenly say: "Your Highnesses do not need to worry. I will take the demi servant to the servant quarters so they can get regis….."

*Slap!* 𝐢𝘯𝑛𝓻𝚎𝙖𝑑. ᴄ𝗼m

I was at the door of the carriage staring at Adel's stretched out hand when we both turned to look at Lance standing in front of the knight with his hand in the air. "Say that one more time!"

"Your highness!? What did I do wrong!?" The knight was confused and quickly dropped to his knees and bowed his head. But I could see a bit of reluctance in his expression as he did so. It felt like something was off.

"Lance, get back here this instant!" I yelled out as I jumped forward while at the same time casting a barrier around Adel. I instantly arrived in front of Lance just in time for a dagger to lunge at me. I really had no time to think. I didn't even get to input up any form of barrier or mana shield. I only heard a cracking sound as the dagger suddenly shattered into pieces and fell to the ground. The knight was standing in front of me, still in the same pose he was in as he tried to stab forward with a shocked expression on his face. I guess he couldn't comprehend what had just happened.

""Faith!"" I heard two yells from behind me. Lance, who was directly behind me, drew his sword and chopped the knight's arm off that was still stretched out. Everything happened so fast that not even the other knights on duty had time to react. But now, they had run over and were pinning the bleeding man to the ground.

"Faith, are you okay!?" Lance asked. His eyes were full of worry.

"I am fine. Luckily I have a sturdy body." I said with a wry smile. I looked down to see a small nick on my skin. Luckily no blood was drawn. But the skirt I was wearing now had a big stab wound on it. I actually liked this dress too. It was a sky blue color with white frills at the bottom. It was not overly extravagant but simple yet good enough to wear in front of royalty.

But to think there would be an assassin here at the castle. Maybe it was a good thing that Lance and Adel were at my house. I looked down at the young girl who was currently giving my body a full inspection and sighed. "Adel, I am fine. I am a dragon kin, a simple knife will not do me any harm."

"I know but still…. Faith…. Thank you…." Adel said as she hugged me. "I may not show it but Lance is still my brother. I do not wish for him to die."

"Yes please allow me to thank you, Faith. You saved me just now." Lance bowed his head to me.

"Lance, raise your head. You and I are friends first and foremost, so I would save you no matter what. Second, your father has also entrusted me with your safety, so even if I hated you, I still would have saved you. But for assassins to be able to get into the castle so easily…. We need to hurry to the King." I was worried for the King's safety. While I know he has many strong people around him, but by the fact that an assassin was able to make their way to the entrance where only royalty was able to enter through goes to show that this was definitely an inside job.

"You are right. Faith, can I ask you to help this man's arm and.…"

"Your Highness, he has already passed…." The knight that was holding the assassin on the ground frothed at the mouth, and his eyes had rolled up into his head.

"Damn!" Lance cursed. Something he does not do very often. "Bring him with us. I want his body searched for any clues as to what organization he works for or who may have hired him. Also, lock down the castle! No one is allowed in or to leave."-.

"By your word, Your Highness!" The night replied before turning and giving out orders to the other knights.

"Faith, how did you know he was going to harm Brother?" Adel asked.

"The way he looked as he bowed when being yelled at by Lance. When he knelt down, he showed signs of reluctance, and instead of admitting to his wrongs as a normal knight would, he went to question Lance instead and even raised his head. That was why I reacted as I did. But Adel…. I will say this once." I reached out, balled up my fist, and bonked Adel on the head with it. "If you ever leave a barrier I set up around you again, I will force you to eat all the green habbagins in the capital."

"What, no! Not those! They are sour and disgusting! Faith, I'm sorry! I just…. When I saw you get stabbed, I panicked and wanted to race to your side." Adel had tears in her eyes as she spoke, which made me feel slightly bad, but I had to stay firm on this. Whether she was worried about me or not, that barrier was there to protect her. If there was more than one assassin, she could have died.

"Even so!" I turned and looked her seriously in the eye. "Even if you were worried about me, never leave the barrier! That was a foolish thing. What if there were more assassins and the first was just a decoy? What then!? What if you got killed while I was saving Lance!? Do you really wish for me to live with that!?"

I know my words are harsh, but I have no choice. This is something that must be said. She had to understand that she has a whole kingdom on her shoulder. She is a princess who is very well loved by her people. Lance is also the next King who upholds the ideals of his father when it comes to demi humans. Even if I was seriously hurt just now, it would have been fine because I am a dragon. With my current stats, even a stab to the heart wouldn't kill me.

"I'm sorry…." Adel lowered her head, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Faith, That's enough. I think she understands." Lance spoke up, stopping me from continuing.

I took a deep breath and placed my hand on Adel's head. "As you worry for me, I worry for you. In a world where my kind is disliked, I have made friends with an incredible person who befriended me without discriminating against me. I do not wish to see you get hurt. Sorry for yelling at you."

"Noo…. It's me who should say sorry. " Adel shook her head as she wiped her tears. "You do not need to apologize. I was at fault. I should have more faith in my bestfriend."

"We were both wrong. Because I know you care about my safety as well. I should have been easier with my words." Life is hard sometimes. When you want to protect someone, and at the same time, they wish to protect you. I, for one, should have been more vigilant. But I was not. 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝙧𝗲𝓪𝙙. c𝒐𝙢

"Let's go see father." Lance spoke up, cutting the silence that had filled the air. Both Adel and I nodded and made our way to King Gravos.

—

"I see…. I will have my people look into it. It seems it has come time to really do some house cleaning. If nobles think they can do as they please within my kingdom, then they have another thing coming to them." I could tell King Gravos was doing his best to keep calm. We were currently in the throne room with a few nobles along with the Prime Minister, whose name was Pholin Segri. To be honest, he was someone who did not give off good vibes.

"Your Majesty, I will make sure this incident has been thoroughly looked into. So please leave the investigation to me." The Prime Minister stepped forward.

"Pholin? Alright, you can do the investigati…." I for some reason could not stop myself as I stepped forward and said: "I object!"

Just call it a hunch but the feeling this prime minister gave me did not sit well with me. It was as if he did not want anyone to touch the case. But I guess my interjection was not welcomed because I soon heard the prime minister yell out: "Insolence! Who gave you the right to speak when the King is speaking!?"

"Who?" I tilted my head to the side and whispered: "Bell…."

"Faith you called!?" A little figure suddenly flew out of my hair and hovered in front of me with a sweet smile on her face. She looked very cute but at the same time the prime minister seemed to be sweating.

"Why? Why is there a spirit here!?" The Prime Minister stumbled backwards with a look of fear on his face.

"Ahem…." King Gravos shook his head at me, causing me to purse my lips. "Pholin, you of all people should know that Little Faith here is not only my honored guest but also someone that I see as family. Why are you making a scene?"

"Faith?" Bell looked confused as she floated over and poked me in the cheek.

"Sorry, Bell, it seems it was a false alarm. Did I wake you from your nap?" I asked while petting her head. Bell was definitely cute.-.

"Mmm… But it's okay since it was Faith who called me." Bell said sweetly, causing me to smile. Even some of the nobles who were standing at the side smiled at her words.

"Sorry about that. Go ahead and get some more sleep. I will find you something good to try later." I felt kind of bad. I mean, I just used her as a means to shut up the Prime Minister. Sorry, Bell!

"Okay! I will be waiting!" Bell happily spun around before turning into a ray of light and entering my body.

"Ahem…. I apologize, Miss Cryilia…." The Prime Minister seemed to have composed himself and stepped forward and bowed. But as he raised his head before I could even say anything, he continued: "But what do you object about?"

"What do I object about? Well…. This situation should not be overseen by anyone but His Majesty and his most trusted people who specialize in investigation. But do not get me wrong, I am not saying you are not to be trusted, but I, for one, do not know you. The only ones in this room that I know and trust with my life are Princess Adellia, Prince Lance, and His Majesty himself. And because it involves the lives of not only royalty but people I care for, I would not trust anyone I do not know with any kind of investigation." I tried to explain in a roundabout way of saying I do not trust you through a hole in the wall. This involved an assassination, for one thing, so this was not something that should just be handed off.

King Gravos looked at me with a grateful expression. While it only lasted a second, I still caught it. But it seemed the Prime Minister was not very convinced with my explanation. "While I can understand your distrust in me, but I should mention I have been the Prime Minister for a very long time. His Majesty has trusted me this entire time, so would it not be beneficial for me to handle the affairs that should be passed on to someone else?"

"So you're saying that an assassination attempt on the crown prince of this kingdom is the same as pushing a file full of papers that deal with the budget!? That doesn't sound like someone I would trust. If you can not see the urgency in the situation, then I think you are not cut out for your job. Why sit and argue about such a thing when it is as simple as letting His Majesty handle the situation that involves his kids?

"While he is King and needs to draw a line on when he can favor his child, this is not one of those times. This is one of the times when the King should stand up to the injustice that was cast on the royal family and lead the investigation that deals with his own kin. Not pass it on. By passing it on to someone else, it shows he does not care for the Crown Prince and could sow discord in the court. Or is this what you were attempting to do?" Thank the gods for my addiction to reading!

I smiled as I saw the Prime Minister's face turn sour. I mean, what can he say? My play on words pushed the fact that if he tried to continue to take the lead on this case, he would be the one trying to sow discord in the courts which would cause the factions on each side to begin fighting. In fighting makes for an easier time if you are planning something. To be honest, I think some of my military tactics and acting skills kicked in there as well. I never really know since they are passives.

"Haha! Faith is always thinking about her friends and this kingdom. I will do as Faith says and handle this myself. Pholin, I appreciate your concern, but this is something I should do as King, just like Little Faith here said." I breathed a sigh of relief as I heard the King agreeing to handle things himself. 𝗶𝗻𝙣r𝑒𝑎𝚍. 𝘤𝑜𝘮

"As Your Majesty wishes." Pholin gave a noble bow which I almost snorted at.

"Pass down my order. Everyone in the castle is to undergo questioning under the black knights." King Gravos did not hesitate to use his own personal guard as the ones doing the investigation. This was good because from what I know about the black knights was that they were extremely loyal only to the King himself and would not take orders from anyone else. "Also… Faith Cyrilia!"

Hearing my name called out, I instinctively knelt down as a knight should do in this situation and bowed my head. All though I was not a knight, but still, I can act it out in times like this, no? "Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Please raise your head." At his words, I raised my head and looked the King straight in the eye. But seeing that mischievous smirk hidden within those eyes, I have a feeling he is about to do something that will not make many people happy in the slightest. But it's things like this that make me kind of excited. So I can only wait in anticipation to see what he will pull out of his hat.

–AN: Hello everyone, it is your wonderful, amazing Author Invayne! Okay yeah, cringe but still… I have a new novel court called: I Became A Hero In Another World. (You will need to search for it by title as it is not approved by webnovel yet.)

It is my Webbnovel Spirity Awards entry. If you have the time, please give it a read and let me know what you think… Also, the MC may also become a dragon girl… Anyway, thank you all for your support!—

I watched as the King stood up and pulled a sword from his side, and walked over to me. "On my name, William Gravos, King of the Kingdom of Gravos, I dub Faith Cyrilia as a Provisional Knight. And is granted the title of Baron!"

Wait a minute! Why am I suddenly getting titles!? Yes, I did want to work my way up to such a thing, but why now all of a sudden? I thought I would need to wait until I graduated! "Faith, you need to accept…."

My thoughts were broken by the King's words causing me to blush lightly. "By your will, Your Majesty. I swear upon my name Faith Cyrilia, to be my King's sword and protect the Kingdom of Gravos and the royal family from any harm."

"Mmm! Well said!" The King said with a smile. But I was actually quite nervous as I only knew these lines because Adel had told me them before when preparing me for anything that had to deal with the castle and nobles.-.

I tilted my head to the side because I thought I heard an extra word in there. Now that I am thinking about it, Provisional Knight? What was that? I looked up at the King for more explanation, but he did not seem to be wanting to explain himself. Instead, after he sat down, he continued: "Baroness Cyrilia, from this moment on, you will be in charge of the safety of Princess Adellia and Prince Lance."

"By your Majesty's command." I said while bowing my head once again. I had a lot of questions, but I guess they would need to wait until after everything is completed.

"Good! Now that this is over, it is now time to form the contract between Faith Cyrilia and And Sally." As the King's words fell, the doors to the throne room opened, and Sally was led in by two guards with her hands cuffed. When I saw her walking in like that, I frowned, but she gave me a small wave when she saw me, so I guess she is fine. I didn't see anything wrong with her, at least. I guess the King gave her special treatment.

"Sally, while I have asked you this yesterday, I will ask this again. Do you wish to defect to the Kingdom of Gravos and serve Baroness Cyrilia, or do you wish to undergo trial for the crime of trying to break into a residence that held two members of the royal family?" The King asked. I wonder how annoying it must be to have to ask all these questions even though he already knew the answer.

Sally seemed to be surprised at my new title. I mean, even I was surprised by it. But she quickly composed herself as she answered: "Your Majesty, if I am still allowed to serve Baroness Cryilia. Then I would like to offer up my life to her."

"Well said! Now, Baroness Cyrilia, Are you willing to take in Sally, who once tried to break into your house?" The King turned to me and asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Her talents will be very useful to the kingdom. I would be a fool to reject such a talented person." I answered in my best noble voice. Yay, acting skills!

"Very well! From this day forth, Sally, you will be under Baroness Cyrilia's family name and will take on the Cyrilia name. Both of you step forward and drip a drop of blood onto this magical contract that is imbued with your Mana. This contract will only activate if Sally Cyrilia tries to betray Baroness Cyrilia in any shape or form. The punishment for such betrayal is death." I was a little surprised at the conditions of the magic contract, but I guess this was to be one hundred percent sure that I will never be betrayed. As she has already betrayed her previous master, there is no way to tell if she would do it again or not.

As our blood fell onto the magic contract that was brought over to use by one of the court mages, the magic contract that was inscribed on some kind of special parchment began to glow with a bright light and split into two small balls of light. One flew into Sally's body, while the other flew into mine. I felt nothing as it entered my body, but I could feel a slight connection to Sally, which I guess meant that the contract was a success.

—

"Hah!" I let out a long sigh as I rested my head on the back of the chair in Adel's lounge room that was off to the side of her bedroom. Sitting next to me was Adel on my left and Sally on my right. Across from us was Lance. "That was nerve racking."

"I have to say you did very well, Faith. Especially your vow when you were knighted." Lance praised.

"Thanks, but what I am confused about is what is a provisional knight?" I asked as I sat forward.

"A provisional knight is someone with a temporary knight title. It is given to exceptional individuals who have yet to graduate from the academy. In truth, you would not have gotten any titles if not for the fact that you saved Lance." Adel explained. "Father had to reward you no matter what, as saving a member of the royal family could not be overlooked. And now that those nobles have started to move behind the scenes with the assassination attempt today, Father seems to not want to hold back any longer."

"I just wished he gave me a heads up! I was so nervous! I mean, come on! Why would he suddenly do that without warning? I thought I was going to bite my tongue." I said with a pout. I really wish I knew ahead of time before things like this were going to happen. At least then I could be prepared. 𝚒n𝚗r𝗲𝒂𝗱. c𝑜𝓶

"Don't complain. Having the title of baroness is a good thing. Not only for you, but Sophie as well."

"A good thing?" I asked. I was not understanding why having a title now made much of a difference.

"Because you are now an official noble of your own house. You're Baroness Cyrilia, a noble with two people in your noble family. Sally and Sophie. Sophie is under your care. Father had given you guardianship rights over her. This basically makes her an adopted daughter. While I know this is not the case but it is how it will be looked at by other nobles." Adel explained. But her explanation did make a little sense. This would make Sophie a daughter of a low ranking noble which was much better than a commoner. I actually did not know how I felt about this. Would Sophie need to call me Mother now? No. No! NO! No, no! Okay, that thought is out of mind, out of sight.

Anyway, I can see this being good for us. And since Sally is my guard, she is under my last name as well. "I see… I guess this is a good thing. "

"Mmm… Also, you have the ranking of provisional knight. Which gives you a bit more standing as those of knight families with a noble title are more respected than a normal knight. I actually think you will be very popular with both boys and girls once you enter the academy. Which means I will have my work cut out for me." Hearing Adel's last words made me purse my lips. I wonder if she is going to turn into a cat again and attack everyone around her.

"Adel, no bullying people just because they talk to me." I had to make this clear now.-.

"But…." Adel gave me an aggrieved look.

"No! Bad Adel!" I was joking as I said this, but I made sure I said it in a serious tone. 𝒾𝒏n𝗿𝒆а𝑑. 𝘤𝘰m

"I'm not a dog!" Adel yelled out with her cheeks puffed out.

"No, you are a cat."

"You two really do get along like sisters." Lance said with a smile.

"No one asked you to talk, Lance. Go jump out the window and flap your arms. I wanna see if you can fly."

"Adel, we are ten stories up in the castle tower! I would die! Unlike Faith, I can't fly!" Lance yelled out.

"You won't know until you try, so shoo, shoo!" Adel really cracked me up when she teased Lance. They may not seem it, but they really do get along well.

In the end, the castle lockdown ended around evening, and we were finally able to go home. When I arrived, Sei reported that everything went smoothly and no one tried to harm Sophie in any way. This made me feel relieved.

After storing the items she brought me in my spatial storage for use with the defensive systems, I finally could relax. Tomorrow was the day that would be my start at the academy. In six months time, so many things have happened it has been quite insane. I never thought I would end up experiencing so many different things.

In my past life, I grew up in my family, spent my days reading and studying while talking while spending my days in school complaining to my best friend Jen about not having enough time to read. I had loving parents and a really good life, but it all ended when I was hit by that truck.

In this new life, I was reborn and was given a very loving family who cared for me no matter how I looked. I fought in a war and commanded an army of thousands. I killed so many people as if it was nothing. I met the leaders of the spirits for the Gravos Kingdom and made friends with little Bell. I met Adel, Sophie, Gesel, and many more. And now, six months later, here I am on the brink of entering the academy living in a fancy house with a new fancy title added to my name. I really wonder what the next six months will bring….

—

The next morning I wore my leather armor and fastened my sword to my side. Sophie was next to me in her own armor along with Adel and Sally. Lance and Sei were also getting ready as well. All five of us were about to climb aboard the carriage and make our way to the Royal Magic Academy.

In books of my past life, the Academy arc was like the relationship arc. Like the otome games. There would be many more romance targets. Let's just hope none of them rear their ugly heads.

We all got into the same carriage. This was an actual royal carriage. Lance said we would be using it from this day forth. It was to help show that the kingdom was fully behind me and those who were under me. While I do not like the saying it as such as if Sophie and Sally were lower than me, but as I was the head of the household, this was how society saw it.

It took an hour to get to the academy. The towering gates soon came into view which already had a line of carriages waiting in line. Because the academy was a place where status did not matter, even Adel and Lance will be forced to wait in line along with me.

Luckily instead of taking the test alone like I thought I would many months ago, I would now have four others by my side. This eased my nerves a little, but I was still not sure what was to come. What the test will be on this year was beyond me. I just hoped it would not be too hard.

As our carriage came to a stop near the gate, all eyes turned on us. While I had expected this, I still felt a little uncomfortable being stared at by so many, being judged left and right. Sadly I felt more gazes filled with malice than I did anything else. What that malice was for I did not know. But I think it had a lot to do with the idiot prince at my side. Like why is he standing so close to me? Shoo! Shoo! Your fans want to kill me!

Ignoring the possible fan girls who wish to kill me, I know not all these hateful gazes were about the prince. But I could care less if they hated me. Let them. They can hate all they want. As long as they do not try to do anything stupid, everything will be fine. But once they do something that will harm those around me, I will need to take action.

"Faith!" A yell came from the right. I turned to see Grace running over with a smile on her face. I forgot Grace was of age as well to enter the academy. 𝑖𝐧𝓷𝓇𝙚𝙖d. c𝚘𝐦

"Hi, Grace!" Why is it that I have only said two words, and the stares have become even more intense?

"Hehe, I am glad I ran into you all. I was nervous about taking the test all on my own." Grace said as she pushed by Adel as if she was air and reached out her hand. "Let me congratulate you on your noble title."-.

"Ah yes… Thank you." I took her hand and shook it. But that only lasted a split second before someone chopped both of our hands, breaking them apart.

"Grace, what is the meaning of ignoring me!?" Adel yelled out.

"Oh my!? I am sorry, Princess Adellia, I didn't see you there. Ho ho ho….. Anyway, Faith, or should I say Baroness Cyrilia, you are one of the youngest nobles here who is the head of their house. That is quite the achievement." Uhhh… Grace, Adel seems to be preparing some kind of magic spell. I would pay attention to what is happening at your side. I do not know why these two always fight when they are together, even though they can get along quite well at times.

"Both of you cut it out…." I said in a hushed tone. Adel, who was writing a spell in the air, stopped her actions while Grace folded her fan and bowed to Adel. "It is good to see you again, Princess Adellia."

This time Grace gave Adel a proper greeting befitting a noble. Adel only snorted in response, though. At least she was not getting ready to attack.

"Oh!" Grace suddenly turned back to me: "Faith, be careful. I have heard from my sources that there are quite a few noble families out to get you. I have taken care of a few that were of lower status, but there are too many. I am not sure what is going on, but there are enough noble houses wanting to tear you down than I can keep count of. And this all came to be since yesterday."

"I kind of figured this would happen but not so quickly." I sighed. It was probably the Prime Minister who I forced to concede in front of so many. If my thoughts are correct, he is the mastermind before everything that has been going on with the assassinations. I do not know exactly what he is planning, but at least for the time being, the King knows to keep an eye on him. He is a smart man, so I am sure he understood the underlying meaning of my words.

"You knew this would happen?" Grace asked, her voice full of curiosity.

"Let's just say I had a hunch. Anyway, any word on what the test will be?" I asked, changing the subject. Grace raised an eyebrow but did not try to push the issue.

"I could get nothing, and I tried every channel I could. But the Academy always keeps these things tightly sealed." Grace answered.

"Yeah, even Father would say anything when I asked." Lance added.

"I tried as well and even asked in a cute manner, but he only told me to wait until the next day." Adel said while pursing her lips. She seemed upset that her cute daughter act didn't make the old man budge.

"Not like it matters. Let's just do our best and try to get the classes we want." We would not all be in the same class, which would stink, but there was nothing we could do about it. We all had different interests. And we were coming here to learn our trades that we wished to follow upon graduation.

Like I will be taking every course I can in military and working my way up to becoming a magic knight. This was the goal I set for myself, and I plan to keep it. I also wanted to read every book in the library. Or, more like I want to skim through them so I can steal the contents and imprint them into my mind. One thing I love about photographic memory is that I will always remember it all.

"The gates are opening." Sophie whispered from the side. I looked up to see the colossal gates to the academy opening up. They had two carvings of knights holding swords carved into the double doors that stood so tall that I would have to crane my neck to look at them if I was standing much closer. Luckily I was standing further away at this time, so I could easily see what they looked like.

After the gates fully opened, a group of people who were walking on air appeared and passed through the entrance and stood up over all the examinees who were here to try to enter the academy. There was one old man in the front with ten others standing behind him, each varying in age.

Adel leaned over and whispered to me: "That is Aford Golorham. He is one of the strongest mages in the kingdom."

Strongest mage… I wonder just how powerful he truly is. I kind of wish to fight him. I wonder if this makes me weird…. Is it wrong to want to test your skills against the most powerful mage in the kingdom to see where you stand? I think it is actually a good way to rate just how strong a person is. But I know I will not be able to do such a thing any time soon.