Inside a large room with a number of benches, shelves, and tables, a couple dozen women in various states of undress were walking around, changing clothes, or tending to their wounds.
Or rather, they 'were' going about their business until Lucas burst through the door and intruded upon them.
It was no surprise that the door looked familiar to Lucas, as he had been here several times before with his mother. This was the Town Guard's women's changing room, where the female members kept their arms, armour, and clothes.
Currently, this room was also being shared with Celestina and the outside female members of the army who had come to Redwood Town.
After just experiencing a difficult battle, it was no surprise that a number of women were in this room, cleaning themselves up.
Had Lucas given it the slightest bit of thought, he would have realized just how likely this scenario was; however, while he was running for his life, how was he supposed to think about anything else?
Of course, even the youngest woman in this changing room was old enough to be Lucas' mother, while several of them could easily pass for his grandmother, so they weren't the slightest bit embarrassed to be seen by a pre-pubescent child.
For the most part, these women just tilted their heads in confusion, wondering why Lucas, who all of them were now at least somewhat familiar with and understood to be a well-behaved child, had suddenly broken into this female-only space.
If it had solely been adults inside, Lucas might have gotten off scot-free, or at most had to endure a light scolding, but as if the Heavens were intent on mocking him, there was one individual present who absolutely couldn't abide her precious little brother acting like a pervert and peeking at her and all her pretty big sisters and aunties.
"KYAAA!!! DON'T LOOK!" With this ear-piercing scream, Eris' fist came flying and landed right in Lucas's face, sending him tumbling backwards.
As the world spun and went dark around him, Lucas couldn't help marveling both at the paradise like scenery he had just witnessed, and the extreme irony of the situation.
This all started because he had embarrassed the princess from the capital, causing her to want to punch his lights out to wipe his memory of the incident.
Last year, on his fateful 9th birthday, he had been thrown out and struck his head hard, causing him to suffer serious memory loss. Having been through such an unpleasant event once already, Lucas certainly wasn't eager to experience something similar again, especially in such a violent manner, so he ran.
Just when Lucas thought he had reached safety, however, he actually embarrassed the local princess, whose response was to punch his lights out!
Truly, the Heavens were cruel and uncaring.
…..
No more than 3 seconds after Lucas hit the floor did Christina fly through the changing-room door and shout, "Where is he?!"
In a huff, the Rockwell Kingdom's youngest princess scanned the room before her with almost bloodshot eyes, only to be stunned by what she saw. Even though she had grown up in the Royal Palace and was used to seeing powerful Masters, it was still exceedingly rare to meet so many of them in one place.
What's more, there was even a Spirit Adept present!
Similar to their reaction when Lucas had barged in, the women in the changing room all stared at Princess Christina was interest.
Some of these women were locals who had been on guard duty when the attack happened but had now been relieved after the fighting had stopped. These female guardsmen had no idea who Christina was, so they just looked at her with curiosity, wondering when such a pretty girl had appeared.
As for the soldiers from the Raging River and Golden Wings Legions, thanks to Vanessa's warning, all of them knew that the Twelfth Princess was here in Redwood Town, but was concealing her identity, so none of them tried to bow or salute, keeping up the illusion that this silver-haired girl wasn't anyone worth taking note of.
The awkward silence continued for a good half-minute before Eris finally broke free of her embarrassment and spoke up, "Um… hello?"
Jolted out of her daze by this unfamiliar voice, Christina glanced over at a girl a few years younger than her who for some reason was missing her right forearm. Immediately upon seeing this, the princess couldn't help feeling sorry for this girl, despite never having met her before now.
The next thing Christina noticed was how there was a fresh 'corpse' lying on the floor a step or two in front of the one-armed girl.
Shifting her eyes back and forth between the boy she had been chasing, and the slightly blushing girl with a clenched left fist, Christina quickly put 1 and 1 together.
With both pity and gratitude in her heart, Christina strode forward, grabbed Eris' remaining hand tightly, and declared forcefully, "From today forward, you are my Sworn Sister!"
"Uh… wha… huh?" Eris was now thoroughly confused as everything was happening too fast.
First, her little brother broke into the women's changing room, then she panicked and knocked him out, then the most beautiful girl she had ever seen in her life suddenly burst in, seemingly looking for Lucas, then that very girl walked up to her and declared they were going to be Sisters from now on.
It was all too much for Eris to understand.
"You caught this little bastard and punished him for me, which makes you my friend!" Christina continued in a tone that allowed no argument before she turned a menacing gaze down at Lucas and snarled, "Let's see how you run now!"
Just as Christina was about to reach down and grab her now defenseless prey, a hand landed on her shoulder and held her in place before a calm but serious voice asked, "Would you care to explain what exactly is going on here, young lady?"
Hearing this familiar voice, Christina froze up again before hurriedly turning around and bowing slightly, "Greetings, Aunty Celestina."
"En," Celestina nodded, her expression completely unreadable as she stared down at the little troublemakers in front of her, asking once again in a firmer tone, "So?"
"Uh…" Christina was suddenly at a loss for words, wondering just what to say.
Was she supposed to say how she embarrassed herself so badly in front of this boy that she decided to 'silence' him, only to fail to catch him until the one-armed girl next to her knocked the little bastard out?
Wouldn't that just be adding to her shame?
If it had been anyone else, Christina could have just brushed this question off and no one would have been able to object; she was a princess, after all. However, Celestina Balfour was the woman she most admired after her mothers, and the one she desperately wanted as her Master, so there was no way Christina could tell her to 'mind her own business'.
More importantly, even if Christina wanted to stay silent or lie here, she didn't have the guts.
Forget her, a mere princess, Christina had once witnessed this fierce female General throttle and punch her Royal Father before making him kneel on the ground and answer her questions!
She never did figure out what her Royal Father had done to earn him such a scolding, but ever since she saw that astonishing display all those years ago, Christina had sworn to never anger Marquess Balfour, for there truly was no one in the kingdom who could save her if she did!
Unable to stay silent, and unwilling to tell the truth, Christina could only mumble as she stumbled over her words, "Um, I… he… we were… uh…"
After listening to this incoherent speech for a few seconds, Celestina let out a sigh and rubbed her temples before saying, "Eris, this is Tina. She's… the daughter of an acquaintance of mine and has lived a rather sheltered life. Could you show her around the Manor for a bit while I… take care of Lucas?"
Still trying to process what was going on, Eris blankly nodded before rushing back into the changing room and throwing on a shirt.
Running over and grabbing hold of Christina's hand, Eris then led her out.
Once the two teenage girls were gone, Celestina promptly followed up, "Clear the room. I need to have a word with my Disciple."
With many different amusing theories swirling around in their heads, the other women in the room nodded, saluted, or simply grinned before quickly putting on their clothes and filing out of the changing room.
Only after the door had closed behind the last person and she was certain they were no alone did Celestina snort before lightly kicking Lucas' foot, "Get up, I know you're awake."