Approximately a week later, there was a festival in town. It was an annual celebration of the harvest season ending. Rachasia doesn’t have a proper winter, so half of the year is dedicated to harvesting crops. The other half is living off the bounty of the harvest season while the soil and nature recover.

“These things…They’re sho goob…” Claire had her mouth full of a skewer with a mix of meat and vegetables on it. She seemed quite preoccupied with it as we sat on a bench while watching the festivities.

“I’m surprised you enjoy the more rustic foods as well.” I offered her a napkin to wipe her face. She had a slightly messy way of eating for a royalty.

From a small distance away, I could hear the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching us. They were very little footsteps.

“Mamaaaaa!” A little girl rushed at us, clutching onto my legs. Her eyes were full of innocent joy, the clouds of the sky reflecting off of their blue as if heaven itself were shining through.

“Amy!” I was caught off guard, only to find my husband closing in on us from a distance away as well.

“Aaaahhh…! I’m sorry, dear. Amy saw you, and I couldn’t stop her! I know you’re on duty and…!” Matthias, my husband. Also known as Matt more casually, was quite flustered by the situation.

Matt was… How should I put this? Extremely handsome to a dangerous degree? It was like there was a choir of angels following him wherever he went. He had slightly long dark hair, murky, yet passionate eyes and a jawline to match the marble statues depicting ancient deities. In addition to the physical appeal, he was also a gentle and loving father, who was more than willing to sacrifice anything for the sake of his family.

“Amy! You know mom is on duty now! It might be dangerous to run around without dad!” I scolded the little bundle of joy grasping onto my legs gently.

“D-dangerous…?” Amy looked around, only to notice Claire. She blinked twice with her big eyes. “Are you… dangerous?”

“Waaah!” Claire squealed with delight. “Mmmmmmaybe I ammmmm! Grrawrrr!” She laughed and grabbed Amy, beginning to tickle her. “I AM THE TICKLE MONSTERRRR!”

The little wonder giggled and squirmed in Claire’s hands. “MAMAAAA!! HEEELP!!”

I gently bonked Claire. “Gaaaaghhhhhhh!” She reacted dramatically, collapsing like a defeated monster. “Ughhh… I have been defeated!”

“Uaaaahhh…!” Amy’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she lunged onto my lap again, bonking her head on my armor a bit. “Uwweh…”

“I told you to be careful…!” I laughed softly as I pet her head. “Please keep a sterner eye on her, Matt.” My gaze was moved up to Matthias, who kneeled in front of Amy and me.

“Forgive me. I was distracted momentarily by a florist.” He smiled apologetically and handed me a single colorful flower.

“Ooohh! You must be the husband I’ve heard so much about!” Claire brightened and stood up, offering a polite curtsy to Matt.

“Y-your Highness! You shouldn’t need to be so polite! I am a mere commoner.” My husband was quite a devout follower of the local laws, which made him awkward in situations with those of higher stature than his acting casual.

“I feel people should be equally polite to each other despite social standing.” The golden princess bubbled in her usual carefree manner. She marched over to Matt and extended her hand to shake.

Matt was clearly a bit surprised. “My… A quite open-minded young lady.” He scratched the back of his head, which was a habit of his whenever he was slightly awkward. He did eventually shake Claire’s hand and calmed down.

Claire got along with Amy really well. It was honestly a relief to see she didn’t start thinking less of me despite my family. When I originally rose to power, countless people questioned if I was truly worthy of my position as the head of the royal guard when I had to take a maternity leave for Amy. It was a refreshing turn of events to see Claire’s treatment of me and my family remain unchanged regardless of the circumstances. I felt like I had indeed found my first true friend. The king truly was wise in his choice of assigning me to help her. I didn’t know until then how much I needed someone like Claire in my life.

… Or so I thought.

A few weeks later, I was in the royal garden with Claire.

            “So! Let’s have some girl's talk!” The girl began.

            “G-girls talk?”

“Yeah!! Tell me about your husband! How did the two of you meet? Share all the embarrassing details!!” Claire was quite energetic about the subject. Not that it felt particularly odd. In fact, it somehow fit her quite well.

“Oh… Uh… I um. Matt was studying in the knight academy when I went there. He was a year older.” I revealed.

“Ooohhh!! He’s also a knight?! No wonder his body is in good shape!” Claire’s eyes sparkled.

“W-well…! After we had Amy, he decided to take a break from being a knight and remain a stay-at-home father in order to take care of her.” I continued.

“Waaaahhh! And a kind heart too?! Wouldn’t it normally be expected to have the woman stay at home with the child?”

I couldn’t help but blush over recalling the events. “Yes… We got along well, and after we got to know each other better, Matt really began respecting my devotion. He fought tooth and nail for me to not be sent home to take care of Amy. It was…”

“ROMANTIIIIIC!!” The princess squealed.

            “Y-yes…”

“You gotta introduce me to him properly sometime!!”

“V-very well…”

Only a few days later, Claire got her chance, when I forgot some important papers at home.

“Can I come with you? Pleaaaaasee! I got nothing to do here in the castle by myself!”

“Hm?! No! You should stay here. It might be dangerous for you to wander around on the streets, even if I am there. You need a proper escort!” I panicked.

“NnnNNnooooo~! Please let me come too! Please, pleaseee!”

I stood my ground. “No means no! Even if it’s your Highness! Please understand, I’m thinking of your safety here.”

“Hohoho…! What seems to be the problem here?” The king himself approached us. He seemed to be on a walk through the palace.

“Your Highness! Please help her understand it’s too dangerous to go out!” I argued.

“Ohoo… Is this what this is about?” The old man chuckled and stroked his beard.

“I forgot some important papers at home… As much as I hate to admit it. I simply wished to go retrieve them, but Cl… Her Highness insists on coming along! It could be dangerous!”

The king glanced at Claire, then back at me. He laughed a bit. “Aren’t you overreacting a little bit, Amelia?” His smile was as warm and wise as always.

“W-what do you mean?”

“She’s guarded by my most trusted paladin. How in the world would any kind of harm come to her?” The king was as underhanded as he was wise.

“Mmmghh….!” I grit my teeth.

“THAT’S WHAT I THOUGHT TOO!! Glad you understand, your Highness!” Claire linked arms with me… and that seemed to be the end of that conversation.

I sighed deeply, walking down the bustling streets with Claire while she marveled at the sights. She didn’t really hold any grudge towards me not wanting to bring her along. I suppose she understood I was merely trying to think of her well-being.

We eventually made our way to my house. It was a quaint little building located in the more suburban area of the town. Amy had a cute little vegetable garden growing in the yard, and there were also a few toy swords and a ball strewn about.

The building itself was made of stone, making it look quite homey and welcoming. It wasn’t a big house… but we weren’t a big family, so it was a good house, in my biased opinion.

I opened the door and announced my presence.

            “Helloo. I’m home. I forgot some papers.” I shouted into the house.

“I was waiting for you.” Matt’s smiling face welcomed me home. The papers I forgot were neatly piled on the table. “I figured it might be a bad idea to try to bring them to you, since we might miss each other if you decided to return to pick them up.”

“Good thinking.” I sighed in lamentation.

“Good morniiing~!” Claire welcomed herself into the house too.

“Oh my! Your Highness. What brings you here?” Matt smiled warmly at the visitor.

“I bullied Amelia into letting me join her!” She declared shamelessly.

Matt’s laughter was quite hearty. “Hahahahahah!! Rough morning, huh?” He had grown a bit less awkward around Claire at this point, so he was able to keep up with her banter a bit better.

I gestured for Claire to sit down. “Please make her some tea… I need to make sure all the papers are here.”

Claire didn’t sit still. She began wandering around the room aimlessly, looking at various photos and such. I decided against telling her to sit down, since it’s not like her roaming was particularly harmful anyway… And I genuinely didn’t expect her to listen in the first place. Her somewhat childish bouts of selfishness were the reason she was here in the first place anyway.  

“Oooh! You really are a knight!” My attention was pulled away from the papers by her voice. I thought she was addressing me, but upon looking up, I realized she was speaking to Matt.

“I… I am…” He nodded a bit awkwardly, as Claire was quite shamelessly rubbing his arms and chest.

“I can tell you still work out despite not working as a knight!” She bubbled cheerfully.

“A-are you perhaps interested in bodybuilding?” My husband was clearly trying to steer the conversation away from her rubbing him.

“Mm… In a sense!” Claire nodded.

Matt gently guided her back to the table. “Please be careful…! The kettle is very hot. We wouldn’t want you to get burnt.”

“Kaaay!” She sang cheerily.

Honestly speaking, I felt slightly annoyed by this. She was quite shamelessly groping my husband in front of me. I knew I shouldn’t call her out for it, since she was generally flirty with almost everyone. It still irritated me… and a tiny speck of uncertainty started growing inside my heart.

I am aware some kingdoms and cultures in different areas of the continent support polygamous relationships, but I had grown my entire life in Rachasia, and for this reason, I found Claire’s physical closeness to my husband somewhat intrusive. I recall wishing she’d respect the culture of our kingdom a bit more at the moment.

It might have been subconscious, but I started paying more attention to her. I started noticing she was… really staring at my husband a lot. Whenever we’d talk, she’d often try to guide the conversation in a direction where Matt would be forced to participate somehow.

It was… strange.

But… she was flirty, and Matt was handsome. I’m sure she wouldn’t cross any lines, since he was married. Surely, she knew better than to go too far.

Luckily, I was correct in my assumption. As soon as Amy came down from upstairs, Claire’s attention was fully on her. The two played on a carpet near the table for a little over than an hour.

Maybe it was just my imagination, but I think I caught her glancing at Matthias with an almost… lustful gaze whenever I averted my eyes.

Nothing really came of it, to be fair. We left after I sorted the papers, and then returned to the castle. Everything remained completely normal for the next two weeks… outside of Claire asking a few more questions about Matt. She was also quite touchy-feely whenever Matt was nearby, but my husband seemed to grow more used to it as time went on, so I decided against raising a ruckus about it as well.

Then one evening a good while later, the door got knocked. I was at home drinking some evening tea and reading. Matt went to open the door, and in rushed Claire, who instantly hugged Matt, rubbing her face against him.

“P-princess!?” Matt looked at me in surprise, most likely expecting I had invited her.

“Claire? Wh-what are you doing here?” I stood up instinctively. Something about this felt… wrong.

“I snuck out of the castle… It was boring. I wanna have a slumber party!” She declared cheerfully, flailing around a big pillow.

“W-what?! No…! I didn’t hear anything about this! We haven’t prepared or anything! And besides, it’s dangerous!” I argued back. I didn’t even notice before, but my chair had fallen as I stood up. At that moment, I couldn’t figure out why my body reacted so powerfully to Claire’s surprise.

“Slumber party?” Amy slowly walked down from upstairs.

“SLUMBER PARTY!” Claire celebrated.

“YEEEEEY!” The innocent little bundle of joy replied by throwing her arms up in the air. “I’ll go find my favorite pillow!!”

“N-no! Wait! You don’t even have permission from the castle!!” I tried my best to convince her otherwise.

“N-no slumber party…?” Amy’s sad face was weaponized mercilessly against me. It was so hard to say no to her… Especially when off-duty.

“Claire is a princess. She might be in trouble if bad people found out she’s here without guards.” I tried to explain.