Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

Adalinda shook her head, she then glanced at Simon before narrowing her eyes and remarking "Don't you think that princess was too kind and hospitable to us?".

"Eh?" being asked something like that all of a sudden, he became speechless. He thought over the actions of the violet hair woman who also turned out to be the princess of this kingdom. Although her actions might seem as being too kind to others, Simon who had increased his value in front of her and saved her precious friend and aid didn't think much about her action.

He told Adalinda not to worry over it too much and climbed up the stairs before disappearing inside his room.

Now left all alone in front of the door of her own room, she pursed her lips and softly mumbled "Did that beast soul say something to her… Anyways I hope that you are right and this is just me thinking too much".

A carriage travelled through the commercial district of the city, passed through many luxurious manors and castles, before appearing in front of a fortress that surrounded the royal palace in the centre.

The royal palace including the fortress and the surrounding areas, covered almost 3% of the entire landmass of the city. The soldiers guarding the royal palace were much more stronger than the ones patrolling the city and each and every one of them was releasing a strong presence.

Seeing the carriage that had arrived, was carrying the princess, the leader of the soldiers allowed the carriage to pass through. After meandering around the front yard of the castle. The carriage finally stopped in front of the royal palace where the royal family of Ellesmere resided.

The maids and the servants of the palace, made a neat line to welcome the princess who had just stepped down from her wagon.

"Welcome back your highness" all of them performed a graceful bow simultaneously.

Cynthia nodded her head and walked in alongside her guard commander. The interior of the palace just like its exterior, gave off an aura of ambience with many artistical designs and decorations filling up the place.

"Oh dear sister… ah, it's such a relief to see you come back safe and sound. Your first brother here was worried sick when I heard you were travelling back without waiting for the royal escorts".

Just as she reached the wide hall of the palace, an emotional voice carrying warmth and concern, sounded out. Turning her head, Cynthia spotted a man with reddish-brown hair and wearing a neat black suit, approaching her from the other entrance of the hall.

The man was of average height and accompanied by his handsome face and the amiable aura he released, he was the bane of many noble ladies. At this moment, he was accompanied by his guards as he walked towards her.

"First brother,  thank you for your concern, I was able to reach the capital safe and sound"Cynthia smiled her elegance was not the least bit out shadowed by the person in front of her.

"Haha, It's all good as long as you are fine. your brother is quite busy with the upcoming events that our city is going to hold so I will not accompany you any longer. We shall have a talk some other time".

Saying that, the first price walked past her and disappeared from the hallway.

Cynthia looked at the back of the man who she had just referred to as her first brother. Alstin Elrand Ellesmere, he was her half-brother and just like her, born to a mistress.

He was a man who carried himself with grace and was popular amongst the royal servants and guards. Although in terms of martial prowess he cannot be compared to her third brother, he still had quite an attainment at his age.

After coming out of the hall, the next person to cross their path was… "Big Brother!?" Alvara shouted delightedly from beside Cynthia. She rushed towards him and nestled in his embrace.

The middle-aged man in front of them was the very own brother of the guard commander and also the strongest royal guard of the palace responsible for guarding the safety of the king.

He was donned in an armour that gave off a blue sheen whenever the sunlight shone on it and carried a large greatsword that was one of the treasures of the kingdom. Draping over his back was a red mantle with the mark of the royal family engraved on it.

"You little girl… do you know how worried I was these past couple of weeks" the royal guard said tousling the hair of his sister who was a head shorter than him.

Alvara pouted and acted just like a little sister would in front of her brother.

"But big brother Cyrus is always busy with work and does not even have time to look after his little sister".

Looking at his little sister who was brooding and trying to ac cute, Cyrus could help but laugh bitterly. He patted her head when he was relieved that she had suffered no injuries before turning his attention towards the princess.

The royal guard got on one of his knees and bowed "Please excuse the rudeness of my little sister you highness. Usually she does not act like this but it appears that I have spoiled her a tad too much".

His words immediately made the face of the guard commander beet red and she couldn't help stomp her foot in annoyance.

Cynthia smiled seeing the sibling bicker the moment they met and also at the same time her eyes became melancholic. Looking a the familial love and the care the two had for each other, she was once again reminded how incomplete and alien her family felt to her.

There was no such unbounded love and even the slight concern her brother showed towards her was all a façade. It would be a lie if she said that she wasn't jealous of her friend who could enjoy something like this without having to struggle for it.

"I don't mind the least on the contrary I quite enjoy seeing you two like this. It's a rare opportunity to see my guard commander who always appears to be apathetic and cold to others, act like that. That reminds me, Alvara there was missing you quite badly during our trip saying things like 'If only big brother was here then all of this would amount to nothing', 'was I able to close the gap between me and my brother even a little bit with this level up' and so on and so forth".

Cynthia explained grinning wildly.

At this moment, Alvara felt like dying with embarrassment and her entire face till her neck was a shade of red.

Cyrus laughed at those words from the princess and exchanged a few more greetings with her after which his expression became serious. His earlier attitude of easy-going and friendly, was nowhere to be seen taken over by the solemnity and aura of a warrior.

"Your Highness, although it is not my place to inform you about this, I still feel indebted to you for taking care of my sister and that is why I ask of you to remain vigilant even if you are in your personal quarters".

His sudden change in expression and tone, alerted the two as they knitted their brows.

"Did something happen big brother?" Alvara asked hurriedly. If he the strongest royal guard is saying that something was up and they should remain vigilant, they cannot simply ignore it.

Cyrus made a difficult face and shook his head saying "I cannot say any more than this. If the princess wants to find out more she can employ those fellows from her guild to dig out more. Additionally, now that the princess is here, you should visit his majesty. There are bound to be a few more changes to the tournament".

After saying what he needed, he patted the head of his little sister before excusing himself. He was after all, the leader of all the royal guards tasked with protecting the safety of not just the king but also all of the royal members.

During this time when hordes of people are arriving from different regions of the kingdom and possibly even from foreign lands, he was bound to be busy and his days hectic.

Alvara made a frustrated face and badmouth her brother who had left without explaining the whole thing "Kuh, he is always like this. He never explains the whole thing and shrouds everything with a layer of mystery".

Cynthia smiled bitterly and consoled her friend who rarely showed such emotions other than when in front of her brother.

"Don't say like that. He is your big brother and is very concerned about your safety. There must be a reason for him not being able to say the whole truth to us directly. Nonetheless, he still told us to remain cautious and dropped a clue".

Though she did not know why she needs to remain vigilant even in her personal quarters, she had an inkling as to why even the captain of the royal guards couldn't say a word about it to anyone. Other than the king himself who else had the authority to make the royal guard to remain silent.

'I must deploy the shadow guards and get to the root of it' Cynhtia thought internally before walking towards the study of her father, the king where he spends most of his time.

The study room of the king was located at the edge of the hallway and one must pass through many line up of soldiers to arrive before the room.

"Royal father I'm back. Can I come in?" Cynthia knocked on the door that was more than three meters wide.