The moment Felix caught sight of her, his aggression vanished. He dropped quickly to his knees and bowed his head in a gesture of profound respect. Aurora, finally pulling her heel away from Yule’s back, scuttled over and fell to her knees beside him, mirroring Felix’s subservient pose
As Aurora bowed her head, she swallowed hard, her eyes falling upon the exquisite embroidery just below the other person’s knee. It was breathtakingly elegant; such intricate, noble craftsmanship was a rarity even in the highest circles. It was a silent, shimmering testament to a status far beyond anything Aurora had ever encountered.

(As expected from the merchants of the Royal Family…! The work of the Royal seamstress is also incredible, bringing together this design, fabric, embroidery, and jewels. If this is what an evening dress looks like, what about the embroidery on a formal dress? Oh, I’d love to see it up close and personal once, just once…….)

Beside Aurora—who remained transfixed by the exquisite embroidery, the violence of the brawl already fading from her mind—Felix offered his greeting. His voice was steady and his face entirely devoid of its former murderous intent as he addressed her.

“Your Highness, it’s a pleasure meeting you.”
“Oh, spare me the formalities. I was quite surprised when you suddenly vanished on me, Clavis. When I asked Messalla to track your location, he informed me that you were in the middle of casting an offensive spell—which, as you can imagine, surprised me even more. Isn’t that right, Messalla?”
“Yes.”

The Princess glanced back over her shoulder, prompting a low voice to answer from the shadows behind her. He emerged draped in midnight-black robes—every bit the court magician he appeared to be.

“Well, raise your heads. Loomis, can you look up at me?”
“…..I’m sorry for showing you such an unsightly state.”

Wiping the corner of his mouth, Yule slowly rose to his feet, moved along the wall and knelt. “Very well then.” she smiled, raising one eyebrow in dismay as she surveyed the rough-and-tumble room.

“I’m amazed they were able to cause such destruction. Even putting aside the Knight’s rank, could anyone destroy a room to this extent?”
“……Sorry about that”

Felix bowed his head again. Yule followed, bowing deeply until he was almost to the ground.

“However, it is unacceptable for the knights of the Imperial Order to fight privately. Isn’t that right, Marquis Loomis?”

The princess turned around, and the three people in the room—except for Messalla—followed her gaze. The maids by the door had vanished, replaced by the Marquis of Loomis, who looked deathly pale. Yule turned visibly blue, while Felix’s face went beyond expressionless, becoming a total void.
The princess pulled up the corner of her mouth in a slight smirk as she looked at the two battered knights.

“Was this caused because Loomis made a move on Clavis’s fiancée?”

Yule, who was quickly identified as the cause of the incident, stared at the floor with his back pressed against the wall. Perhaps remembering the cause, Felix clenched his teeth and glared at Yule from the side.

“Well, setting aside the question of who caused it or who started it… it is illegal for members of the Imperial Knights to engage in private combat. As members yourselves, you are aware of that, are you not? Though I may only be a figurehead, as long as I am entrusted with the position of Third General, I cannot overlook this.”

Beside the two silent men, Aurora bit her lip. She glanced over at the Princess, whose eyes sparkled mischievously. Aurora involuntarily stiffened as she caught the expression on the Princess’s face; it was strikingly similar to the Crown Prince’s. The Princess was clearly going to be a difficult person to deal with.

“Clavis’s fiancée was, I believe, the daughter of an Earl, wasn’t she? Lady Porta, I’ll allow you to speak.”
“Thank you very much. Um, this is not a private fight. It’s just a drunken brawl!”
“Hmm?”

The Princess looked at the two of them with a grin, and when she saw them awkwardly look away, she stifled a laugh.

“So?”
“Both of them were quite drunk; neither had weapons in hand, and neither used any magic.
My mother, the Commander of the Porta Frontier Knights, said that men express their friendship with their fists. Felix-sama and Loomis-sama were born in the same year and were classmates at the military academy, so, naturally, they “
……Please, let it slide this once as a simple drunken brawl!

Aurora knew she was being reckless, but in her desperation to protect Felix, she didn’t even notice the princess, with her arms crossed, was looking at her with amusement. Thanks to their mock battle, Aurora knew all too well that Felix was poor at making excuses or defending himself. If left alone, he would simply accept the punishment, thinking, ‘I was also at fault.’
Moreover, this would not have happened if she had not followed the maid so readily; even then, she should have recognized the suspicious circumstances and fled as soon as possible. The same went for Yule. Although he did try to make a move on her in the end, that wasn’t why he had summoned her in the first place. It was Aurora who had provoked him—the one who had summoned him to judge and complain all at once.

“Besides, Loomis didn’t call me here to lay hands on me.”
“Oh, was I wrong?”
“…..Loomis-sama seemed to just want to vent his frustrations to me. It was a sort of love-hate relationship. Well, not to me.”
“Love and Hate…..?”
“Yes…..”

Aurora glanced up at her fiancé, who was beside her. After seeing his expression visibly twitch, she turned her gaze to the princess, who let out an exclamatory, “Hmm?”

“I see?”
“……..Sorry, Loomis. I don’t mean to be prejudiced, but I’m not interested in that.”
“What are you talking about?! My love interests are strictly of the opposite sex!”
“Well, that’s fine, but……”
“Don’t give me that drawn-out look!　You’ve got it all wrong!”

Yule roared, and Felix took a step back. Aurora, who was watching nervously, heard another snicker from behind her. It was, of course, Her Highness the First Princess.

“Your Highness…….”
“Hahaha -no, that’s funny. You got a funny girl, Clavis!”

The Princess laughed heartily. Although she had the figure of a lady, her gestures were those of a bold and open-hearted general. Aurora’s eyes widened, while the two knights looked at her reproachfully.

“Can’t help it, I’ll pretend I didn’t see it today, in honour of your cute and funny fiancée. …… Well, originally, if Lady Porta wasn’t harmed, I had planned on making them clean the stables or pull weeds in the training grounds as a punishment.”
“……You had that in mind from the beginning?”
“Fufu, as Lady Porta said, knights and soldiers are certainly hot-headed. It would be unreasonable to punish them so harshly for a single fight. Well, if it was one-sided, excessive, or involved others, I would have strictly considered it as violence.”

The princess tapped her silver cane on the floor and straightened her back. Yule and Felix gave a quick salute, then put their fists against their chests. It was a bow to show that they were Welbum Kingdom knights who carried neither swords nor magic. Aurora also bowed and lined up beside them again.

“I shall order the two of you to clean this room and pay compensation at a later date. Is that acceptable, Marquis Loomis?”
“Fortunately, it has not gone public….. so we will handle it as Your Highness wishes.”

In response to the princess’s question, Marquis Loomis, who looked much like Yule and must have been very popular in his youth, bowed his head deeply.

“Well, that settles the matter. You can both thank Miss Porta. –Now, get dressed and return to the soiree!　It’s almost time for the final waltz.”

＊

By the time the three returned to the dance floor, the final waltz had already begun. The evening party sparkled like a jewel, with a splendid ambience that gave no hint of what had happened behind the scenes. Aurora vaguely wondered if the fight from earlier had been a dream or something, but when she turned her eyes back to Felix in front of her, it was easy to see that it was reality.
The dress of Felix was in disarray in some places because he had made the necessary adjustments by hand. There was a white compress on his cheek, and his insignia was missing in some places.
Still, he held out his hand to Aurora with an elegant gesture, as if the scuffle from earlier had never happened. When she cautiously took it, he pulled her more firmly against his waist.
Aurora’s dress was also shabby, and her hair, tied back in a hurried rush, was a mess compared to before. Yet, she surrendered herself to the beautiful music and to Felix’s arms, twirling and stepping across the dance floor.

『….. It’s been a tumultuous night, hasn’t it?』
『I wasn’t expecting this kind of turmoil.』

They channeled a drop of magic into the stones at their ears, and a whisper that no one else could hear passed between them. Felix let out a deep sigh, and Aurora laughed softly, the sound vibrating deep in her throat.

『I, too, did not expect to be involved in such an event. I was prepared to be bullied and criticised.』
『……It’s because my social skills are so poor. My apologies for that.』
『I’m fine now, so let’s put this matter to rest. It was a unique experience, if you think about it. I may never again have the opportunity to be addressed by Her Royal Highness in such a friendly—if unusual—manner.』

Aurora, who preferred to let the past be the past, smiled at Felix; however, he remained gloomy, shaking his head slowly from side to side.

『When I realised you weren’t coming back, it chilled me.』

The arms around her waist tightened just a little.

『I shouldn’t have left you alone.』
『I also realized that I had let my guard down. Everything had been going so smoothly that I had forgotten I was standing in the middle of enemy territory.』
『Me too…..It was only thanks to your help that we were able to enjoy a moment of peace. I had forgotten that.』
『……Oh my, did something happen while I was gone?』
『It’s the same as always…』

Aurora smiles at him as he suddenly looks at her distantly. He must have been surrounded by women or something.

『Now that I think about it, how did you know I was there? I thought I’d been taken quite far inside. That was Felix-sama’s magic, right?』

Turning his head like remembering something, Felix nodded shallowly.

『It is the power of the protective magic stone. I’ve placed them in your necklace and hair ornaments so that if someone with malicious intent touches you, a teleportation circle will activate and summon me to your side immediately.』

Aurora stared in amazement, thinking that this might have been some incredible technique, to which he nodded as if to agree with her.

『I had to borrow some help from the Royal Court Magician. My own magic doesn’t work well with specific triggers, such as ‘when ill will is directed at the wearer.’』
『Well… that’s something pretty amazing you’ve prepared for me.』
『I had even discussed with the Royal Court Magician how it would have been best if the stone were never needed. …It was my fault that things reached a point where it had to be used at all.』

Felix nodded, but he still made a sharp, decisive turn. The song was nearing its end, and the evening party would soon be over.

『I’m sorry, because of me you had such a horrible experience.』
『Please don’t worry about it. I only bumped my forehead, and it is Felix-sama who is covered in wounds. Besides, you came to my rescue when I was in the most difficult situation.』

Right? When I tilted my head, Felix’s eyes shook wistfully.

As the waltz entered its final phrase, Felix gently placed his hand on Aurora’s cheek. He slid his fingertips toward her ear, cutting off the flow of her magic into the stone, and murmured in his own natural voice.

“…..I’m really glad you’re safe.”

Author’s Note:-

The story is half over here.
The second half begins from the next chapter.

It should be noted that a few days after this evening party, Felix and Yule were seen pulling weeds in the knights’ quarters, with no magic permitted……
Felix was plucking the weeds diligently but still missing a lot, and behind him, Yule was plucking the weeds neatly while complaining loudly, “Pluck them more carefully!!”