When Tiran returned to the castle of Gilliast, the exclusive construction team sent by the Lord of the Beacon, Governor Alex, had already arrived. The leader was still the old man with a beard who had come last time to replace the damaged furniture that was smashed by Aya. He stood by a damaged wall, smoking a pipe.

More than ten young men under his command were carrying sledgehammers, ready to demolish the wall. Since it was already riddled with holes, it was better to just knock it down and rebuild it instead of wasting time repairing each individual hole. Fortunately, Gilliast was not an ancient castle with a long history, otherwise they wouldn't dare to demolish it so casually.

"Your Highness Tiran?" The old man with a beard saw Tiran land with his ice crystal wings and was so shocked that he almost dropped his pipe.

Tiran also felt a bit embarrassed. He had deliberately come to the castle from the side to avoid being noticed, but he didn't expect to run into someone head-on.

After teaming up with Aya to defeat Angel, the confidence of Princess Tiran skyrocketed. Hmph, see that? Even the fiery Angel of the goddess was dealt with by this lady. Who else dares to challenge me?

So originally, Tiran planned to come back and tidy up a bit without alerting anyone, and then go alone to Sains to settle the score with that Hermes guy and bring back Jiu Jiu. But now it seemed unlikely.

As he walked to the front courtyard, he saw busy construction workers, soldiers patrolling back and forth, and a group of knights in bright armor lined up in front of the castle gate. A flag fluttered beside them, with a bright cross emblem dancing in the wind against a dark background.

"The Cross Knights?"

When Tiran saw the elite knights, his expression became conflicted. The Cross Knights were the elite forces under the king, and on the day of the coup, when the palace guards and court mages suffered heavy losses, they became the only force in the kingdom that could directly confront the Holy Knights under Heinrich. And now they were sent here...

"Which means that old man already knows?" Tiran covered his face.

"Everyone, assemble and form up!"

One of the knights standing by the flag noticed Tiran approaching and immediately walked over after giving the order. He took off his visored helmet and held it in one hand, bowing to Tiran in a knightly salute. "Your Highness Tiran, I am Shuma of the Cross Knights, here to greet you."

Unexpectedly, under the helmet was a handsome face with neat shoulder-length hair. It was actually a female knight.

Tiran's gaze shifted slightly downward and he noticed the knight emblem on her chest.

Level 8 Knight? After confirming that he wasn't mistaken, Tiran looked at her with a different expression. After reaching level 8, knights were granted the title of "Great Knight", and every Great Knight was a powerful figure who had made a name for themselves.

Even the Kingdom Cross, which was known as one of the top knight orders on the continent, only had a few members who held the title of Great Knight. But Tiran didn't recognize this Shuma.

What was even stranger was that Tiran felt a sense of familiarity when he looked at her.

"Hey, Aya, have we met this person before?" Tiran asked Aya through their contract communication.

"We haven't, but I also feel like I've seen her somewhere." Aya also felt a sense of familiarity, but couldn't remember where it came from.

"Your Highness Tiran? Where have you been? Why did you only come back now?"

From the half-opened castle gate, a woman wearing formal attire and thin glasses walked out quickly and descended the stairs to stand in front of Tiran.

"You're... Delua?" Aya blinked and after a moment, recognized her.

She was the female chief attendant by the side of the king, the terrifying presence who often tied up the king with a rope and dragged him back to the palace when he sneaked out. It was just that her appearance had changed so much that she couldn't be recognized at once.

She had changed from the usual attendant uniform to a black formal suit, with a tie around her collar. Her long hair was tied up and hung down behind her, and she wore a pair of black-framed glasses, giving her the appearance of an efficient secretary.

Tiran was really starting to get confused now. It was understandable to send the Cross Knights, but why did they also send the female chief attendant?

"I went to see a friend... Wait, why are you here, Delua? And who are these Cross Knights..." Tiran pointed to Shuma in front of him and the Cross Knights who were still standing straight like statues. He suddenly felt that things were not as simple as they seemed.

If it's about repairing the castle and investigating the attackers, the engineering team and the military intelligence department are enough. There's no need to involve the Crusaders - their expertise lies in combat, not investigation and repair.

"Your Highness, please follow me inside. I will explain everything to you," Delua didn't explain right away, but took a step back and gestured towards the castle gate.

Delua led Tiran and Aya to the study in the castle.

As expected of an officer, Delua quickly familiarized herself with the castle's structure. On the other hand, Princess Tiran looked surprised, exclaiming that she didn't know such a place existed in her own home.

It turned out that Tiran had never been here before. The bookshelves were filled with books, each with a meticulously crafted leather cover, exuding a sense of weight and antiquity. The titles were all from renowned authors throughout history.

Of course, for Princess Tiran, they were just decorations. Although they were free from dust due to the diligent work of the maids, each book remained untouched, as if they had just been placed there and never read.

Because of the intense battle that night, Justice had evacuated all the maids, chefs, and workers - ordinary people. So there were no servants in the castle now. Delua prepared three cups of hot tea herself.

Two cups were for Tiran and Aya, while the last cup was for the female knight, Shuma, who had accompanied them.

"Let me introduce her. This is Shuma, Shuma Dorans," the female captain introduced, "She is the ace knight of the 'Shadow Division' in the Crusaders. She excels in covert operations, assassination, intelligence gathering, and will be the escort for this trip to the Kingdom of Seins."

"Isn't she a spy..." Tiran quickly accepted this setup. Well, it's the royal family after all, so it's not abnormal to have an organization responsible for handling shady matters. But it seemed like that wasn't the main point. "Wait, did you just say an escort to where?"

"The Kingdom of Seins," the female captain repeated, speaking earnestly. "Afterwards, we will escort you to Seins for negotiations. Shuma and her subordinates will serve as the escorts, while I will be your secretary, Your Highness."

"Eh...eh?!" Tiran and Aya exchanged a glance, both looking confused.

"Yes, according to the intelligence from the Shadow Division and the descriptions from eyewitnesses, we can confirm that the attacker is a researcher from the Kingdom of Seins, Hermes Melt," Delua explained.

Well, it seems like I underestimated our own intelligence agency. A merchant of information can only gather and deduce so much, while a government department with better mechanisms and clearer divisions of labor can deduce even more.

"King Granzon's stance is clear. The royal family being attacked within our territory, with multiple people injured, is an intolerable act," Delua pushed her glasses up. "But due to the current tense situation, His Majesty doesn't want to escalate unnecessary conflicts. Additionally, since there were no casualties and the Kingdom of Seins has shown a positive attitude and willingness to compensate, it was decided to send an envoy for negotiations."

"So, my dad dumped this huge trouble on me?" Tiran pointed at herself and reluctantly slumped onto the table.

"This is the best choice. After the coup, most senior officials, including the diplomatic department, were trapped in the capital and detained by Prince Brad. The generals of the military are busy preparing for war and can't spare any personnel. Our country needs someone with authority to speak... and in this situation, Your Highness is the most suitable candidate," Delua explained.

"So you're saying that since I usually have nothing to do, I'm the perfect candidate for this job?" Tiran raised her head, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

Delua paused for a moment, then smiled apologetically, "To be honest, in a way, I do think that's what His Majesty meant."

Can't you just lie to me and comfort me a little?! The princess is really hurt.

"I have a question," Aya listened to their conversation and, after finishing her tea, interjected, "The young lady is good at fighting, but are you sure she can handle diplomacy?"

Well, that does make sense. The princess felt a stab in her heart, but in order to get rid of this troublesome matter and find the Chirp Chirps as soon as possible, she gritted her teeth and nodded.

"No problem. His Majesty appointed me as Your Highness's temporary secretary precisely for this matter. As long as Your Highness is here, leave the rest to me," Delua assured.

Delua showed a confident and calm smile.

"Well, thank you very much..."

The princess started to feel annoyed. After thinking calmly, it seemed like what was said was right. It seemed difficult to refuse this matter... The problem was that if Jiu Jiu was taken back by Hermes, every second would increase the danger for the child. If they still had to slowly travel to the Kingdom of Sains with the Knight Squad and then handle the negotiations...

Tsk, if Jiu Jiu was turned into some kind of mechanical puppet core again, Tiran would definitely kill that damn pervert!

In the end, the matter was settled like this. Delua immediately left the study to confirm the itinerary once again, while the female knight, Shuma, went to gather her knights and prepare for departure.

............

"Shuma."

As they walked out of the study, Aya, who was following behind Tiran, suddenly stopped and turned around to call out to the female knight who was leaving in another direction.

The footsteps of the female knight stopped, and she turned her head to look at Aya. "Is there something you need, Miss Aya?"

"It's not anything special... I just wanted to ask, I feel like I've seen you somewhere before."

"...Miss Aya, even if you're a girl, using this kind of pickup line is outdated."

The female knight showed a brief helpless smile, but her expression became slightly bitter afterwards. "Miss Aya probably saw my older brother, right?"

"Brother...?"

"His name is Eomer, Eomer Dorans."

Shuma slightly bowed to Aya and then turned to leave.