While Anna, Maya, and Chloe were chatting the hours away in the mansion, Sophia and Ari still had yet to return. The two got a little sidetracked because they helped a lost couple back to their inn, which had taken a little longer than planned because they had a great time with them. Once they were finally done with that, the duo decided to head back home.

“Eve and Theo sure were a nice couple!” While they were walking back to the mansion, Sophia seemed to be in a great mood.

"Yes," Ari gave her a slight nod. "I’m glad we were able to help them.”

“Ehehe~.” She let out another chuckle. “I somehow liked them a lot! I hope we see them again. Something about them felt familiar in some weird way because I don’t really know anyone with their personality, but it was super nice!"

“Really…?” The jaguar tilted her head.

“Yup!”

“Hmm… I agree that they were nice and friendly, but they didn’t feel familiar to me. Then again, that doesn’t have to mean anything, though.”

“Probably…” Sophia then tilted her head. “I wonder who they remind me of…”

"Well, should we pick up our pace a little?" As Ari didn't feel like the tiger would find an answer to her question anytime soon, she tried to motivate her a bit.

“Sure! Let’s head ho- Ah.” Instead of picking up her pace, the blonde actually stopped walking entirely.

“W-What’s wrong?!” As usual, Sophia’s sudden ‘Ah’s were met with panic.

“Uhh…” She paused for a moment. “I just concentrated a little more on my detection magic again and… Our dear queen seems to be out shopping.”

“E-Eh?!”

“She’s actually on the street right around the corner there.” She pointed towards the intersection the two were heading towards right now.

“S-Seriously?!” Ari turned pale in an instant. “C-Can we hide somewhere?! Please!” She didn’t want to face her right now.

“Ahaha.” She enjoyed her panicked reaction. “I kinda want to meet her, though.”

“H-Huh?!”

“I’m curious about what is going on in the castle right now~.” The tiger just smiled at her. “Don’t worry. I won’t make you accompany me. Feel free to hide in a store for the time being.”

“B-But the queen will definitely find out that Anna and I are staying at your place if you start asking questions!”

“Come on, do you really think she doesn’t know that already…?” Sophia just stared at her. “First, where else would you go, and secondly, she's still the first princess, and this is the capital. Someone 100% saw you and or Anna heading over to our place.”

"A-Ah…” She hadn't thought that far yet. “Urgh…”

“She’s getting closer, by the way.”

"F-Fine…" Giving up, Ari then disappeared into the nearest store to hide from Queen Kira, who was about to run into them.

----------------

“Oh my, would you look at that.” The blonde had remained near the store where Ari disappeared in and waited for the queen to run into her. Once Kira walked around the street corner, she quickly spotted the fellow tiger and walked up to her.

“Hey~.” Sophia casually waved at her. “What a coincidence, huh?”

“Sure, miss who can sense everyone’s magic all over the capital.”

“Ahaha…” She just scratched her cheek. “How is it going?”

“Apart from a couple of slightly embarrassing conversations I had in the castle today, it’s going great.”

“Oh? Did something happen?”

“…” Kira just stared at her for a moment. “You know exactly what happened, don’t you? Our idiots crashed at your place, after all.”

“It was worth a try.” The blonde stopped feigning ignorance quite quickly. “Is it really as bad as the two tried to tell Maya and me?”

"I wouldn't call it bad…" She shook her head, "After all, almost everyone in the castle had been rooting for them for quite a while already.

“Haa… Someone should’ve kicked their butts a long time ago…” Sophia had to sigh after hearing that absolutely everyone except the girls in question knew about what was going on between them.

“Well, no one dared to interfere with the love life of our princess. Not that it matters anymore. Everyone knows that they're together now."

“Everyone…?”

“Yup…” She only nodded. “For one, the bedroom of our dear jaguar is located quite centrally in the castle and isn’t really as sound-dampened as the royal rooms. Together with how far sounds or the echo travels in the long corridors… Did the two also mention that they started going at it during the later afternoon hours and continued to do so during the entire evening? You know, when the castle is at almost full capacity and buzzing with activity because everyone is leaving after having finished their work?”

“Seriously…?”

“Seriously.” Kira nodded again.

“I’ve never met as many people that only blushed while they couldn't look me in the eyes as today… Even more so after the two went for seconds in the morning… You know, when everyone comes back to the castle and gets ready for work. The hallways are full of people during those times.”

“…” Sophia had no words.

“It’s not like stopping them was an option, either. That would’ve done even more damage.”

“Really…?” The blonde wasn’t sure if more damage would’ve even been possible.

“Maybe…” The queen just scratched her cheek. “Well, I had I chat with Ari’s mothers in the evening, and we decided to leave them a message. They also said they would knock to get their attention before leaving, but they either forgot about it, or the two were so busy that they hadn’t heard it.”

“From what I’ve heard… definitely busy.” Sophia also looked a little awkward. “Ari noticed the letter the next morning when she… uhh, wanted to get clothes for the princess. Afterward, they fled and begged us to let them move to our mansion. Anna even tried to bribe us with a gigantic cake. Delicious cake, I want to add~.”

“I can’t say that I’m able to blame them…”

"So, you aren't mad they ran away to hide at my place?"

“If I were in their shoes, I would’ve been on the other side of the continent right about now…”

“Ahh…” The blonde felt a slight sense of déjà vu as she had made a rather similar exclamation when Ari had asked her about that before.

“Well, we need to have a talk with them at some point because I doubt anyone wants something like that to happen again, but no one’s going to scold them.”

“That makes sense.”

“Though that will probably be the easy part…” Kira’s expression suddenly turned a little awkward.

“Hmm?”

“Everyone loves Ari and is in favor of her, but she’s still dating the first princess of this nation now. That comes with some, no, a lot of obligations. I’m not worried about her seriousness and devotion, so that won’t be an issue, but she'll appear in public much more frequently now. She didn't do that well with this in the past, so that might be a bit bothersome for her. Basically, Ari will be by her side from now on whatever royal duty Anna has or needs to attend to. Whatever person Anna will be introduced to, Ari will be just as well.”

"Urgh…" Sophia grimaced from just imagining all that.

“Also, while it is of no importance right now, some other sort of commitment of both would be favorable in a year or two.”

“…” The blonde tilted her head for a moment while thinking about something. “Wait… kids?!” At the exact moment she said those words, loud clattering, as if something fell over, could be heard from the store right next to them.

"Hmm? Ahh, nonono, that’s completely their own decision. Though, I definitely look forward to seeing some grandchildren somewhere in the future.” While saying so, she glanced at the store where the sound just came from.

“I see. Then, what kind of commitment do you mean?”

“Marriage.”

“Ah… A-Ah…” Sophia had to repeat herself because she had to roll her eyes at repeated clattering coming from the nearby store.

"Why is this idiot so adorable…?" Kira also rolled her eyes while mumbling those words as she glanced at the store again. "I mean, there is no actual rule, and we're not going to force it, but that's the common and expected practice in noble and royal families.”

“I see… Well, I guess that’s nobility for you, huh?”

“Yup.” While giving her cheerful reply, the queen then stared at Sophia with a big smile. “This is certainly how it is, my dear tiger.”

“I don’t like that expression…” She had a bad feeling about this. “I’m technically also… Is the same expected from Maya and me…?”

“As I said, no one is going to force you.”

“That’s just a roundabout way of saying yes, isn’t it?”

“Pretty much, yeah.” Kira simply nodded. “You two don’t want to?”

“That’s not it.” Sophia shook her head. “I’m not o-opposed to it… Not at all. Everything's happening way too fast lately, anyway… Still, ask me again in a year or two, just like your idiots.”

“Gladly!” The queen liked her answer. "A double marriage would be fun, too~."

"S-Shush now!"

"Ehehe~."

“Well, I guess it’s time to head home. Dinner today will probably be a little fancy, and some preparation is needed for that." The blonde held up some of the grocery bags she was carrying to prove her point.

“Sounds fun. Yeah, I have to go, too. Greet my girls from me, okay? Also, I'd like to see them on my birthday, which is coming soon."

“I will. The two also already agreed that your birthday will be their deadline for running away.”

“Happy to hear. Ah, before I leave, Ellie wanted to see you and Maya. She didn't tell me for what, but you might want to pay her a visit soon.”

“I absolutely will!” Hearing that, Sophia’s voice turned incredibly cheerful. "Tell her that we'll come over tomorrow!"

“Great. Well then, until then.” Saying so, Kira turned around to leave.

“Bye!” She waved after her.

“Ari~.” While walking past the noisy store, the queen also waved toward its shop window.

“She’s good.”

“…” A few moments later, Ari exited the store again and walked up next to Sophia without saying a single word. She looked incredibly embarrassed, and even small tears had formed in the corners of her eyes. She apparently had heard everything Kira had said and sustained a lot of damage from it.

“Should we head home…?”

“G-Gladly…”

During the walk back to the mansion, the two hadn’t exchanged a single word.