“And last, but not least I present Ser Fena. Though her appearance may cause one to underestimate her, her unrivaled bravery and hidden strength cannot be found anywhere else. She possesses a unique quality to her abilities, and will lay down her life to see her work complete.”

Fena expression turned stony as the Guildmaster spoke, and the Crow stuck out its tongue at her as soon as she turned around.

“A mighty group of warriors indeed. I see you have thought carefully about this Lady Montegrie. Levitia, what do you think?” said the King to his beloved daughter. 

“They seem fine. As long as I can choose my personal escorts,” answered the princess in a slightly irritated tone. 

“But of course my dear. Would you like anyone from here in particular? Or would you rather wait to meet the adventurers first?”

“Well…” A slight blush crept onto the girl’s face as she eyed the muscular Antony. “The tall fellow seems like he could take good care of me.”

Fena could not stop a snort from escaping as yet another hormonal teenager fell for that idiot’s looks. Unfortunately, the princess noticed.

“Excuse me! Are you making fun of me?!” shouted the self-conscious young girl.

Damn it. Fena gave a humble bow. 

“Not at all Your Highness. I was merely coughing.”

“You were laughing! Daddy, she was making fun of me!”

The King tried to calm his spoiled little princess. 

“Now, now dear, I’m sure it was just a little misunderstanding.”

But the girl was having none of it.

“I’m the princess! You can’t laugh at me just because I happened to choose someone good looking!”

Fena couldn’t stop her temper from rising, despite Antony’s shoe that was now pressing down on her foot.

“If you did not choose for such a reason, perhaps you’d be as equally willing to choose someone else?”

The Princess stared at her with anger blazing in her eyes and Fena knew she had gone too far.

“Fine! If that’s what you think, then I’ll pick you as well!”

“Hah?!” Fena couldn’t stop her jaw from dropping as the Crow fell off her shoulder in shock.

The Princess gave her a sudden smug smile, seemingly pleased with her reasoning. 

“See? I proved you wrong! Now you have to serve me as well.”

“That actually works out quite nicely,” said the King, rubbing his chin. “I would not feel comfortable surrounding my daughter with male bodyguards.”

Lady Montegrie quickly stepped forward, opportunity blazing in her greedy eyes. 

“If I may suggest Your Majesty, why not assign all my soldiers as personal bodyguards? They have the advantage of knowing each other well and Sers Fena and Avairy can guarantee Her Highness’ honor.”

Fena stared at Montegrie, shocked at her opportunism as the King pondered.

“Hmmm, should we not meet the adventurers before deciding that...?”

“Trust me when I say you will not find anyone better amongst those uncivilized commoners,” responded Montegrie in a surprisingly arrogant tone. “Unlike the adventurers, we understand how to treat our noble clients correctly.”

“Very well… what do you think my dear?”

The Princess still was wearing her smug expression, evidently feeling pleased over somehow winning the argument.  “That’s fine.”

“Very well. Ser Fena and Ser Avairy, I entrust my daughter’s honor to you. You will stay by her side at all times, during the night and day and ensure that it is never put into question. As for the rest of you, you will be her last line of defense in case the adventurers fall. And Lady Montegrie…”

Montegrie offered a pleased smile. “Yes?”

“We have been friends for a long time and I trust your judgement but… it will be both your and Gendric’s heads if anything happens to her.”

Lady Montegrie bowed in response and answered, “I swear upon my life we shall not betray you.”

“Good! Now send in the adventurers; it is time I meet the rest of those protecting my daughter.”

------

Once clear of the royal audience chamber, Lady Montegrie practically skipped with joy with no regard for her image. The rest of them followed along quietly, still confused about what just happened. 

“Haha, I knew stuffing you all into those clothes would be worth it! Royalty always trust a uniform over some slapdash armour. I can’t wait to see Gendric’s face when he realized he lost the best part of the escort mission!”

Antony raised a hand in confusion.

“Umm, I don’t know about the rest of these guys, but I’m not a noble. Did you just tell the King we were knights?”

“Semantics, my dear handsome anweiran. I stretched the truth a bit. Who is the King going to entrust his precious daughter to; a bunch of rowdy commoners or the uniformed noblemen of our guild? It’s all about setting an image when dealing with the powerful.”

“You said I could be far away from the VIP. Now I suddenly have to sleep in her tent?!” spat Fena in anger.

“Antony, would you…?”

Fena suppressed a yelp as the foot stomped down on her own.

“Thank you. Truth be told, I was expecting the King to choose a combination of adventurers and mercenaries, but I guess my little dress-up scheme was more effective than I expected. You’re all her personal escorts now so deal with it Fena; I honestly don’t care about your insecurities.”

Montegrie suddenly spun around and gave Fena a rare grin. 

“Besides, the pay is much better, I get a bigger cut, our Guild’s reputation will increase and you get to order the adventurers around. What could be better?”

“We get to order the adventurers around?” asked Shadow ne. Oswald.

“Of course. You’re the princess’ personal bodyguards now. While they’re accompanying you on this mission, they’ll have to listen to your orders.”

Catching a glimpse of Oswald’s ominous expression she quickly added, “Except for you. I don’t want you even talking to them, just in case you start something.”

“Forget the adventurers, I barely even know you assholes. How am I supposed to work with you if I don’t know anything about you?” interrupted Avairy with a foul expression.

Antony suddenly brightened up. “Oh, I know a good place! I’ll buy the first round too.”

“Right,”  whispered the Crow. “What’s a better way to get to know a bunch of lying, socially awkward freaks than over a bottle of alcohol?”