Valencia Selios, 2nd Princess of the Kingdom of Melern, Kindred of the Dragon Maroeth, lazily sat on the large, comfortable couch of her carriage. She was fumbling a pretty doll and combing its hair. Her dragon lay beside her, its small silver body curled up as it slept. The carriage continued to move smoothly on the road – its comfort was maximized for the sake of the long journey.

She had started this trip with an excited heart. She really had. But going through city after city, road after road, moving day and night without a decent moment of rest, she had grown tired of it. Her almost five-year-old mind couldn’t concentrate on the parades anymore. She wanted to go back to the capital and play with her doll collection. She wanted to drink tea with her elder sister.

“Princess, you must get ready,” said Valencia’s nurse sitting across her. “We are nearing the city. According to the guards, the people are packed in the streets to catch a glimpse of you.”

“Don’t wanna,” Valencia stated while pouting. “It’s like that every city. I wanna go home. Don’t wanna!”

“Now, Princess, is that how you were taught?” scolded the nurse. “What would the Queen say if she saw this?”

The Princess buried her face in a pillow. Her mother would definitely reprimand her. But she didn’t want to go outside. All the people, the cheering and gawking—it hurt her head. She liked it when it was quiet. She wanted to sit in the Royal Garden and watch the leaves fall.

“I don’t wanna…I don’t like being seen…”

“Now, now, princess,” soothed the nurse as she came over to sit by Valencia’s side. With the comb in her hand, she started to straighten out the princess’s long, silver-blonde hair. “All of your elder siblings had to complete the journey. Even Princess Rayel. If I remember correctly, Princess Rayel was delighted to tour the country. The records tell of her brilliant smile that warmed the heart of everyone that saw it.”

“But I’m not my sister. If they did it, why do I? I wanna go home. I did enough, right?”

Princess Valencia raised her head and pouted at her nurse. The nurse patted her head and smiled.

“Being a princess means to hold the Kingdom and its people in your heart. If you don’t view the Kingdom for yourself, how will you ever know?”

“I read books. My teachers teach me,” argued the Princess.

“That’s different, princess. You’ll understand when you grow up.”

“But I’m not grown up!”

The nurse lifted Valencia with her strong arms and set her on the ground.

“It’s almost time, princess. Let’s get you dressed. This is a part of growing up. See? Even your dragon feels the presence of the city.”

The Princess looked back to see the dragon Maroeth stirring in its spot. It opened its yellow-orange eyes and yawned, its tiny white teeth visible to the observer. Then it flapped its wings and stretched.

“How many cities are left after this, Nona?” asked the Princess.

The wrinkles on the old nurse’s face stood out as she smiled warmly. She touched the princess’s small face with her wrinkled hands gently.

“Just nine more, Princess.”

“Papa better give me something good for my present,” muttered Valencia. Her dragon screeched in agreement and flapped its silver wings.

“The King will give you the best gift he can.”

“Okay." She raised her arms and beckoned to her nurse. "Nona, help me.”

“As you wish, Princess.”

〄 〄 〄

The cheering grew louder and louder below where Shaden and Rother were seated at. They couldn’t see the parade yet, but the cries and excitement of the people proved that the Royal Carriage was near. Shaden was still on alert as the invisible figures still hadn’t disappeared (he even saw a few move around) but since he wasn’t killed yet, he guessed it was safe enough to lower his guard.

Not that he ever fought someone before. Shaden practically had zero fighting experience.

Rother nervously bit his finger and glanced around the area.

“Hey Shaden, we’re not in trouble, right? I mean, no one’s arresting us.”

“No? They let us go.”

“…You’re probably right. I hope we can enjoy the parade.”

“Yeah!”

The siblings continued to sit with some anxiety as they awaited the arrival of the parade. The sound of music was nearing them, so Rother stood up and peered into the distance. He shaded the sunlight with his hands to get a better view.

“Shaden! Banners! The silver dragon!” Rother exclaimed with excitement.

Shaden too got up on his legs to view the procession. Like his brother had said, there were banners of the Royal Family sticking out between the buildings. They had yet to turn the corner and march down the road, but their tall poles were visible even at this distance.

Finally, the first soldiers appeared out of the corner. Their full plated silver armor shined brightly in the sunlight, bearing the crest of the Royal Family. Each soldier had a sword strapped to their side and a long banner placed in their right hand. They marched in unison, and the sound of clanking metal slowly reached Shaden’s ears.

Their helmets covered all of their faces except for their eyes. It was shaped like the head of a dragon with metal spikes coming out from the back like horns. No soldier was out of sync, and their legs stomped down the road rhythmically going, *clank*, *clank*, *clank*, with each step.

“The Royal Guard! That’s the Royal Guard, Shaden!”

The Royal Guard?

Shaden glanced over at the soldiers again while squinting his eyes. Their armor and helmets looked sturdy and sufficiently decorated, but it wasn’t what Shaden expected to be on the level of a ‘Royal Guard’s armor.’ Simply, they looked too plain. The armor was polished and shiny, but there weren’t many designs on it, like markings or branded figures. It looked like regular, sturdy armor.

The parade continued to emerge in the distance. Shaden still couldn’t see much beyond the banners because the parade was coming straight from the side, but he could hear the instruments approaching. The drums, the trumpets, and the horns. Along with some kind of airy sound he didn’t recognize. The crowds continued to raise their voices and cheer.

Then Shaden started to hear screams. Not distressed, fear-induced screams, but screams that sounded very familiar to him. Like the screams of people back in reality when they saw a pop-star they liked or a celebrity who was famous. Screams of fangirling.

It was coming just around the corner. A long way away still, but it was coming.

Shaden looked at the parade again. He could see the instruments now. They all looked foreign to him except for the drums that rolled on. For some reason, even the instrument bearers were all masked, just like the banner-holders. They too were armed but in lighter armor. Instead of a metal helmet, they wore pieces of cloth over their heads. Covering the face was like a tradition here. Or was it only for the soldiers?

The instruments were followed by another row of heavily armed soldiers, but this time without banners. They held shields and longbows instead, with the shield-bearers at the front and the archers following behind.

Yes, the archers were heavily armed. Shaden squinted. Their longbows were made out of metal. The bows themselves were as tall as the soldiers who bore them, and the strings looked slightly transparent and white. It was like no other bow Shaden had seen before. These people were carrying portable ballistae!

Now that he took another look at the shields, they were thick like gates and big as doors. How were the soldiers managing to carry them? If they were made out of steel, the weight had to be at least over a hundred kilograms. Yet these people were marching with them like nobody’s business.

This was the Royal Guard. The current unit was under the possession of Princess Valencia, comprised of only loyal elites who pledged their swords to the Princess. They were like her private army – a small but formidable force.

Shaden noticed that altogether, their numbers didn’t exceed a hundred. The parade had looked long because they were marching in spaced out rows of four.

Then he heard the screams grow closer.

“Shaden, over there! The carriage is here!”

Shaden turned his head towards where his brother was pointing and saw it. The carriage.

No, it was too big to be called a carriage. It looked like four carriages that were sewed together to form one giant super carriage. There were four horses pulling it in pairs of two. Or were they horses? At a glance, they looked like white stallions, but as they neared, Shaden noticed that their eyes were green. Additionally, they had silver scales on their legs like some kind of reptile.

“I see the Princess!” said Rother.

On top of the carriage, there was a small platform with fences around it. Shaden could sense some kind of magic surrounding the vehicle like a barrier. And inside, a small figure was smiling and waving at the crowd. No; two small figures actually.

He dared not to turn his eyes away as the carriage approached. The silver that gleamed dully under the sunlight, the small creature that was resting on the Princess’s shoulder. It was small, but it was what it was.

“A dragon!” Shaden exclaimed.

The carriage neared their position, and thanks to the carriage’s height, they could get an excellent view at its passengers. Shaden and Rother lay on the building and poked their heads out so that they wouldn’t attract any undesired attention.

Then out of nowhere, the little dragon’s head turned towards Shaden.

They made eye contact. Shaden could clearly see its orange eyes staring directly into his.

What the heck? Why was it looking at him?

〄 〄 〄

Valencia forced herself to smile as she waved at the crowd. Her nurse had cast some magic on her to ease her nervousness, but the screams were still very bad. She hated them. What were they so excited about? It just hurt her head and made her want to go home.

At least she had Maroeth next to her. Because they were bonded by ancient magic, she felt at peace whenever he was at peace. Their emotions were slightly connected, allowing her to remain strong despite everything that was going on.

They were going through the city uneventfully as they had previously done. Her dragon wasn’t that affected by crowds. He was rarely affected by anything, except for the occasional hiss and grunt at the Reaper Squad that the King had ordered to protect her. She couldn’t see them, but her dragon did. Beasts were much more perceptive of mana than humans.

Then suddenly, she felt her dragon’s uneasiness course through her.

It must be one of the bodyguards, she thought.

Yet the uneasiness stayed. Valencia turned to her dragon. Maroeth was staring at something. His eyes were fixed on something above them. He had never reacted like this before. Dragons were creatures of immense power and mana. Even the legendary Reaper Squad only got a hiss from her Maroeth. They weren’t creatures who were easily disturbed, and yet the dragon had its eyes focused on something that was able to cause it to feel uneasy.

Valencia turned her eyes where her dragon was looking.

〄 〄 〄

Shaden made eye contact with the princess. Now it was both the girl and the dragon that was staring at him. That was weird. He hadn’t done anything that would attract attention though. Only the top of their heads was showing, yet they had attracted the princess’s eyes.

“Um, Shaden,” whispered Rother, “I think the princess is looking this way.”

“Me too,” whispered Shaden back.

Rother continued to stare at the princess.

“I think she’s looking at you.”

“Uh-huh.”

The little princess continued to look in their direction. Shaden felt a little worried. Her constant stare made it feel like he did something bad. And this was a five-year-old.

Royalty sure are different, he thought to himself.

Finally, she broke eye contact and looked down again, continuing to wave at the crowd. Shaden was surprised at her sudden change of action. All signs that she had been aware of him was now gone, replaced by a little girl who was innocently greeting the crowd. But the tiny dragon still had its eyes fixed on him.

〄 〄 〄

Valencia looked up to see two little heads poking out from a tall building.

Her first thought was, how had they gotten there?

Her second thought was, why was Maroeth so wary of a little boy?

There were two figures, one older than the other. Yet her dragon was interested in the younger one, someone who clearly looked uninteresting. He looked like any other boy, just with black hair and eyes. They weren’t very common, but she had seen a few in her life. So she had no idea why her dragon was acting this way even though they shared senses.

The princess, like a proper five-year-old, quickly lost interest in the boy. She turned to the crowd and resumed her royal duties. Her dragon was just being weird.

〄 〄 〄

Shaden watched as the last of the Royal Guard disappeared in the distance. The blimp-like airships stationed above the city were relocating too; two had already left while one was hovering away at a slower pace.

Honestly, Shaden was disappointed. He had expected the princess to come while riding on a dragon, not carrying one. The dragon had been tiny—it was literally the size of Shidey. He had been surprised when the tiny beast kept staring at him, but it turned out to be no big deal. Maybe it was just curious of two boys sitting on top of a roof.

“I think we can leave now,” stated Rother. “The parade’s basically done and it’s time for dinner soon.”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

The figure that had been watching the area had moved along with the carriage along with some other camouflaged figures. Shaden didn’t sense anything invisible nearby.

They climbed down the building and made their way across the city. Rother kept an eye out for Shaden, but his brother was doing fine. Shidey was a cat, so she was trailing behind them without a problem. After making a few turns and twists, they finally reached their home.

“That was fun,” said Rother.

Shaden agreed. He had seen a dragon, even if it was a little small. The Royal Guard had been very impressive, much more than he had expected.

Though a small thought crossed his mind. There was no way they could carry their heavy equipment throughout the whole country, was there? They would die from exhaustion before they completed the journey. This was a fantasy world with fantasy rules.

Their armor and equipment had been silver in color. And when Shaden thought of silver-colored metal in a fantasy world, he thought of mithril. A light metal that was much harder and stronger than steel. It was very likely.

Well, he couldn’t be sure. There were still so many things he didn’t know about this world. He would read more and ask more to satiate his curiosity. This was his dream after all—he wanted to explore every nook and cranny of it.

They entered the house. Melsei was sitting on the couch, her stomach now very big from her pregnancy.

“How was the parade~?” she asked.

“It was great! The princess was really cute! She had a small dragon!” said Rother with excitement. “Mom, I want to join the Royal Guard.”

Melsei smiled and stroked Rother’s hair. Then she looked at Shaden. Her son was so quiet sometimes.

“How was it, Shaden?”

“I liked it. Rother and I saw everything well!”

“Really? Tell me all about it. Mom wants to know~”

So, they told her everything they had seen and experienced. Rother made sure to include the part where the princess looked at them, inducing some laughter from Melsei.

It seemed like he hadn’t noticed the stare of the dragon.

Well, there was no point in pondering about it.

Shaden joined his brother in telling their mother about the parade.