Everyone saw the bubbly girl sitting down beside the king. They knew who the star of the show was. The king looked at his daughter and stood up to introduce her to the people. He took Alice to the stage and then said he would show everyone the results of his heart's formation works.
Alice looked at her father for a moment, then gave a cute nod and began using runes to make a square. That was all she could manage with her current strength. Her father brought a formation disk for her to store it inside. Alice placed the formation into the disk.
The king then activated the formation Alice had created. There it was: a square formation. Everyone was shocked—everyone except two individuals. Ray and Diana were watching, unimpressed. Ray had done this same thing yesterday, and more—he had created a 36-rune formation in a single day. That was a record.
Ray looked at his mother and asked in a very low voice, "Mother, shouldn't the king be hiding the fact that his daughter is a genius?"
Diana smiled and replied, "Who in the world would have the guts to target the daughter of the king?"
Ray answered plainly, "The neighboring kingdom?"
Diana was stunned, and so was Selena, who had been listening to their conversation with a smile. The boy had just uttered a most shocking truth.
Diana then said, "Do not worry. Alice is protected by special guards all day long."
Only then did Ray nod. Selena also nodded in agreement with what Diana said. But Diana was having different thoughts. If the enemy could defeat the guards, wouldn't that mean they could eliminate Alice? She needed to discuss this with her husband.
The king then gave a short speech and told everyone to enjoy some music and socialize. Every noble started sending their boys aged six to thirteen toward Alice to greet her.
Selene, Barbara, and Roxane sent their children to try and make friends with her. Barbara noticed Ray still sitting with Diana and asked, "Shouldn't little Ray go and meet Alice as well?"
"There are a few hundred little children who went to meet Alice. He thinks there are children aged 12 and 13 there too. They might bully him if he goes, so he's staying here to enjoy the fun from afar," Diana said with a chuckle.
Hearing that, they all nodded. It was true. Barbara's eight-year-old was already getting bullied. Roxane and Selene's ten- and eleven-year-olds were barely managing and were locked in a showdown with children from the Montclair family.
Eventually, one of Alice's elder caretakers had to step in to stop the madness. He said, "All children may return to their seats. You are supposed to make friends, not enemies."
Then the caretaker asked Alice, "Is there anyone you're interested in making friends with?"
Alice nodded. The elder chuckled in surprise because Alice had never shown interest in any child for the last six years, despite meeting countless boys and girls from across the kingdom. She even avoided meeting some girls her own age and ignored many princes and princesses after being bullied by them.
But now, she wanted to make a friend? Was it a girl or a boy? The elder was curious. He asked, "Who do you want to be friends with?"
Everyone turned to look at the white-haired, bubbly girl. She pointed toward the table where Ray was sitting.
All eyes turned toward Diana and Selene's table. There were two mothers and four children there. Everyone assumed it must be one of Selene's children. Selene looked pleased.
The caretaker brought Alice over to the table. As they approached, it became clear Alice wasn't walking toward Selene's children. She was headed in the opposite direction. She pointed at Ray and said, "I want to be friends with him."
Ray was stunned. So were Diana and the crowd. "Why this kid?" they all seemed to wonder.
As if reading their minds, the caretaker gave Ray a piercing glance that nearly made him shiver. The caretaker then asked, "Why him? He didn't even come up to greet you with the others."
Alice looked at Ray and replied, "Out of all the people who watched me make a formation and place it in the disk before my father activated it, everyone showed surprise—except for him. So I want to be friends with him to know why."
Diana and Ray gave a wry smile. They both knew the reason. But they hadn't expected Alice to notice.
The caretaker asked, "Would you like to be friends with the princess, boy?"
Ray looked at Diana. She gave a nod. Ray then nodded to the caretaker.
The caretaker said, "Follow me and the princess to the backyard garden. She wants to show you her favorite place."
Ray nodded and followed them. Everyone watched the scene unfold and smiled wryly. The other children were stunned. If only they had hidden their reactions, maybe she'd have picked one of them.
Diana, still feeling uneasy, went to her husband to discuss her concerns. When she voiced her second concern—"What if the enemy defeats the guards and sends assassins?" — Robert gave the same reply Diana had earlier. But he was now also unsure.
So Robert said, "Go to Ray. If anything happens, try to save both the princess and our son."
Diana nodded and headed toward the backyard.
...
As they walked, the caretaker slowly distanced herself to give Alice and Ray space to talk. Alice, who had waited for this chance, kept glancing at Ray, wanting to speak, but her shyness held her back. No one besides her mother and maternal siblings really talked to her.
The caretaker was practically fuming at Ray for not starting the conversation. Couldn't the boy see the princess wanted to interact?
Finally, Ray spoke, making Alice nervous and eager to hear. "Hello, I'm Ray, Ray Walker. I'd truly love to be your friend. But if you want to be friends with me just based on my reaction, shouldn't you consider if I'm a good person first?"
Alice asked, "Then, are you not a good person?"
Ray chuckled. "That's for you to find out. Tell me, what do you do with friends? How do you make friends? And how do you know if someone is good or not?"
Alice thought hard but couldn't find an answer. "I don't know."
The caretaker was curious about Ray's answer too.
Ray said, "People become friends when they have something in common—like a hobby or interest. You find out if someone is good or bad by getting to know them. So, what do you like that might be in common with me?"
Alice answered, "Formation and flower gardens."
Ray replied, "I'm not a genius like you, learning formation at six. But I've read a lot of books on it. Still, if we talk about formations now, will it be fun?"
Alice nodded. "It would be fun."
Ray shook his head. "It'll be more fun later. Right now, there are many things we little kids can do—things adults wish they could go back and do again."
Alice tilted her head. "Like what?"
The caretaker looked confused too. What could it be?
Ray smiled. "Play, of course. Come, I'll teach you a few games you'll enjoy right away."
In her six years of caring for Alice, the caretaker had never seen the princess laugh so loudly or enjoy herself so much. She even joined in a game or two herself.
But the fun didn't last. Diana's fears came true. Five assassins arrived. Three hidden guards protecting Alice in secret emerged to fight them off, along with the caretaker.