At the gate of the capital city, Baeleon,
Relia frowned,
"What do you mean they are being detained?"
Looking at the guard at the gate, the normally composed noble lady had menacing eyes.
Receiving such a gaze, especially from nobility, would cause anyone to cower,
And this gaze came from none other than Relia Aureus, the daughter of the Aureus dukedom, one of only 6 ducal families holding influence similar to that of the Royal family.
Yet this guard didn't flinch,
Why?
Because he wasn't just any guard but a royal guard serving under the royal family.
He spoke sternly,
"The Aurues family has violated the Air Space Law and is now trying to bring in unknown people? The rules must be followed. They will be detained and held until a proper investigation occurs."
'But I was getting assassinated!'
Relia screamed in thought, and soon sighed.
'In their minds, they don't know the full story yet. They know masked assassins appeared, but don't know where they came from. They must think we brought them! But why would we!?'
Did they really think that the Aureus family was trying to start a coup?
With not even 50 people!?
'I know they're following procedure, but this is stupid! And most of all they're…'
Slow, painfully so, if you weren't the king or a very high rank noble, the time they took to do things slowed to a snail's pace.
As mentioned before, due to a failed coup 30 years ago, heavy laws were put in place requiring extensive checks when entering the capital, especially with creatures that could fly, such as Wyverns.
This also included individuals they believed were suspicious, such as Ria and Ren.
'It makes sense, but feels too narrow-minded and alienates nobility. But maybe that's the point. If everyone is wary of each other, there is less time to plan a coup. I wonder what Ren thinks?'
'Creatures that fly? What about creatures that dig? '
Relia had given Aria and Ren a brief rundown of this event during their carriage ride.
In any case, Relia's escort was split into two groups,
One group brought the wyverns to be inspected, and they were composed of the strongest knights since the wyverns couldn't be handled by those weaker than them.
They also only moved when flown; although they could land, they turned quite rowdy when moving much on the ground, as if their instinct pointed them to the skies.
As cool as wyverns were, they were honestly a terrible mount to have.
'Why did I even bring them?'
The thought occurred to Relia that she would have had an easier time if she hadn't brought any wyverns, but she shook her head.
'The wyverns were father's task. It's not like I had much of a say anyway.'
In fact, the wyverns weren't actually part of the Golden Dragon Order.
A rank 5, like Hale, could jump as high as they could fly and move much faster than wyverns, even on harsh terrain, and although slower, the rank 4 knights under him were also superhuman.
Hale and the knights were delivering the wyverns by the Duke's order, and with her own scheming, Relia managed to hitch a ride for the free protection.
This was a protection that Relia, who knew she was getting attacked, desired greatly.
Although her father cared for her, there was a limit to the number of guards she could bring, especially since she didn't have evidence that she was going to be assassinated.
Going with Hale was her best option.
'Sir Hale is mentioned in the novel, but I don't think he was with Relia Aureus when she was assassinated. So, I had no choice but to risk the long inspection of the Wyverns if it meant the protection of a Marital Lord.'
A Martial Lord of the Marital Union, like Hale, had a lot of freedom, but most of that freedom was taken away by his job as the captain of the Aureus knights.
So the opportunity to get his protection was few and far between, even for Relia, the daughter of the Duke he served.
[We were attacked by masked assassins…]
Hale's words came to mind,
'Wow, thank goodness I followed him.'
If what Hale told Relia was true, he fought over a dozen assassins.
In the novel she read, it didn't confirm the total number of assassins, only that 'Relia Aureus was assassinated.'
As she finished her thoughts, which only lasted a moment, she looked at the Royal Guard in front of her.
The Royal Guard had actually contacted them last night through Hale and escorted them from where they set up camp to the capital gate, where they were currently.
It was under the pretext that the Aurues Knights broke the banned airspace, as well as fighting the Royal Guard that tried to stop them.
They couldn't stop or jail Hale since he was a Martial Lord and was politically hard to touch.
As for Relia, she did nothing wrong; she didn't command the knights to run back to her when she was getting attacked, only signaling that she was in danger.
So they couldn't stop Relia from entering, and she was the daughter of a duke; although improper, she could force her way in, and the Royal Guard wouldn't be able to lay a finger on her.
They only prevented her from entering when she tried to bring Ren and Aria along with her.
They even wanted to detain the two.
'But they haven't resorted to force yet, probably because of that…'
The reason Relia was here at the Capital of Baeleon.
If Relia was going to get assassinated on her way to Baeleon, why the hell would she even step foot outside?
'My coming of age ceremony.'
It was an event very important to nobles and would be when they debuted in noble society.
Normally, the children of nobles would do this at home, sending invitations to nearby nobles, and receiving a standard letter from the Royal Palace congratulating them.
But as a noble of the prestigious Aureus Family, Relia had to be there in person, with the emperor himself or his chosen heir, congratulating her.
'It begins in 2 weeks.'
Two weeks may have seemed long, but it was far from it, especially for an event of his level.
In fact, Relia should have arrived a month ago, but she delayed to give herself more time to prepare for her assassin.
'Father will arrive on the day of. I have a lot of work, and now this Royal guard blocks my path and wants to detain my allies!'
After all she said last night about saving the world, how could she back down?
Relia glanced at the pair, but they didn't seem bothered, seemingly fine with being detained.
Relia had told them there would be a chance of this happening, but even she didn't believe it.
'Don't worry, you two, I got this!'
Nevertheless, Relia gave them a reassuring stare as if she wouldn't give up without a fight.
'Go get 'em!'
'Don't push yourself.'
Ren and Aria returned her reassurance with encouragement and slight amusement.
Relia pulled an intricate, decorated envelope bearing the Royal Family's sigil.
Tactic: I know your boss!
"I have been invited here for my debutante by the royal family, no less. Are you really going to cause problems at such an important juncture?"
The royal guard remained composed.
"Lady Relia, your debutante is indeed very important, but that's irrelevant to bringing in two strangers without proper identification."
The guard countered. Since he was professional, he didn't outright say it, but he called out Relia's Red Herring.
But Relia was unaffected; instead, she smiled lightly
"Strangers? No, these are servants of the Aureus Duchy."
The guard saw an opportunity and took it,
"Even so, they must go through the various checks to ensure their and our safety. If they are servants, they should have applied for identification before arriving."
Relia smiled outwardly, but she frowned internally.
'Normally, you can enter temporarily while your identification is processed, albeit you'll have a magic tracker. But they're suspicious, so they won't give us that option. They want to detain the two aswell.'
Relia thought of her options; she herself could enter, but Ren and Aria couldn't.
'The process takes a month; with my authority, I can't do much.'
Relia was still underage; her potential authority was high, but right now, her authority was even lower than a Baron's.
The chaos cult would appear in that month, although Ren and Aria were only rank 1; that didn't mean they were useless.
Relia also wanted people she could fully trust by her side.
'Father…'
Her father could instantly solve the problem, but he was still at the Aureus Duchy; he would only come in two weeks, which was much shorter than a month, but still a time too long.
'What about Sir Hale?'
Hale didn't have a noble title, but he did have his title as a Martial Lord,
'No, the Martial Union works closely with the Empire, but they draw a line at certain points. Then…. I'll just stall for time.'
Hale was also busy ordering the knights around, so he wasn't here at the moment.
After a few moments, Relia stared at the guard once more, her smile remaining the same since the start.
"These people aren't just servants, but people I took in; they've gone through a lot, living a life of wandering before meeting me."
The guard frowned,
"If their origins are unknown, that makes them even more suspicious."
Relia's smile faded to a frown; it was followed by a disappointed tone.
'I'm really sorry, Sir, but you left me no choice!'
"Do you not believe my judgment? Are you saying the Aureus family can't make proper decisions?"
Tactic: You dare insult my family? Are you courting death?!
Relia was going to throw a tantrum!
Although she didn't have the full authority of a ducal family, her dignity was still that of a Duke's daughter.
Authority and dignity were closely connected; insulting a noble's dignity was insulting their family!
The guard took a step back and bowed,
"I apologize, Lady Relia, but I still can't…"
"Sir Galahad, can't you make an exception for my little sister just this once?"
Following the tapping of heels, a soft voice spoke from behind the royal guard, interrupting him,
Relia smiled as a pretty woman appeared. She wore a witch hat with intricate golden decoration along with a stylish yet professional attire.
With a short cape, its green background, and gold detailing, it paired well with her blonde hair, which was a lighter color than Relia's golden blonde.
Her green eyes glowed like emeralds as she smiled towards the Royal Guard, who narrowed his in return.
"Lady Claire"
"Sister!"
Claire stared at her younger sister with a warm smile, then a professional yet slightly friendly smile as she stared back at the guard, Galahad.
"I can allow Lady Relia to enter, but these two…"
Claire spoke plainly,
"Worry not, they were invited by me, right, Relia?"
Relia tilted her head in confusion before nodding quickly,
"Yes, my sister saw talent in these two and decided to invite them to her magic tower."
The guard, Galahad, frowned. If that was the case, why wasn't there a letter?
But Galahad nodded,
"I see, you should have started with that Lady Relia. Then I apologize for holding you."
Galahad gave in surprisingly easily; was it because of the pressure from Relia Aureus?
Or maybe the pressure from Claire Aureus, a fully fledged mage at rank 6 with noble authority right under her father, Duke Aureus.
It was for none of those reasons; although as an individual he couldn't compare, he was still a Royal Guard, a group of people under the Royal Family.
'Less paperwork for me….'
Galahad wasn't without common sense; it was obvious that Aria and Ren weren't dangerous.
Even if they were, what could two rank 1s even do?
But Galahad had to follow the rules set in place, not because he wanted to, but because,
'My vacation will be shortened if I mess up. If that happens, I won't be able to rest, then I will make more mistakes, and shorten my rest even more.'
The life of a Royal Guard(Actually a servant) was harsh and unyielding, a pitiful life unknown to most, where you were the middleman in the squabbles between nobles and the Royal Palace.
'Lady Claire's invitation? An obvious lie, but who cares! If it's less work for me, I happily take it.'
Galahad wanted to jump in joy, but as a professional guard, he had to keep his composure, giving Aria and Ren their temporary IDs.
"Take these and return in a week. I trust Lady Claire, so I won't put a magic tracker on you."
"Thank you, Sir."
"Thank you."
Ren smiled while Aria nodded.
As Galahad watched them leave, he sighed in relief.
'I don't regret it, at least the pay is good, right?'
Is that what mattered?
Turning, Galahad spotted a snickering Hale,
"Pft, you still have a rough don't you?"
"You…"
Galahad frowned at his old friend, who, unlike him, with dark circles under his eyes from overwork, approached with the blooming definition of health and good rest,
It was health and rest that Hale got because of his nice job as a knight captain of the Aureus knights.
Galahad's frown turned into a scowl.
'I take all that back! I hate this job!'