Princess Hisui thought for a long while before finally speaking.
"How about… you cover half of the medical expenses?"
Rhodes, Natsu, and Lucy all looked at her in disbelief.
"Is that too much?" Hisui asked uncertainly, tilting her head.
Lucy quickly shook her head. "No, it's too little. Although our guild rarely causes injuries, if we ever do, we always cover the full cost."
"Oh, I see," Hisui murmured. "When soldiers are injured in battle, the Kingdom covers all medical expenses and subsidies, so I thought asking for half was already quite harsh…"
Her kind tone revealed her gentle heart. In truth, her personality wasn't too different from Lucy's, both were a little too trusting, a little too kind.
And, for Layla's sake as much as her own sense of fairness, Hisui didn't want to impose anything too severe.
Rhodes, however, clearly had other ideas.
"Well," he said casually, "it wouldn't hurt to give Natsu a good lesson. Let's say… an extra week of training. Lock him up in a room with dumbbells, one thousand bench presses and one thousand squats every day. If he doesn't finish, no meals."
Hisui blinked, stunned. "Isn't that a bit… much?"
She was genuinely worried that level of exercise might kill someone.
Natsu just grinned and flexed his arms, flames of pride practically flickering behind him. "No problem! I accept!"
Hisui hesitated. "Alright, then. How much weight are we talking about?"
Rhodes raised two fingers.
Natsu smirked. "Two hundred kilos? Easy!"
"Two tons," Rhodes replied without missing a beat.
There was a loud thud as Natsu collapsed onto the floor. He leapt back up a moment later, slamming his forehead against Rhodes'.
"Are you trying to kill me?!"
"I saw Happy put you through 'devil training' once, frog jumps with a rock on your back. That rock weighed about this much."
"But he didn't make me jump a thousand times!" Natsu yelled.
Rhodes sighed dramatically and placed a hand on Natsu's shoulder. "That was eight years ago, Natsu. Have you really not improved at all since then?"
The word eight years lit a fire under Natsu immediately.
"Of course I've improved! I was just a kid back then!"
"Then it's settled," Rhodes said smoothly, taking advantage of Natsu's moment of pride. He turned to Hisui. "Please, Your Highness, make it happen."
"Alright," Hisui said, stifling a laugh behind her hand. "But perhaps prepare a set that's… adjustable."
"Good thinking," Rhodes agreed with a grin.
Hisui chuckled softly. Mr. Rhodes, she thought, was rather mischievous, but oddly charming.
And so, the matter was temporarily settled.
Natsu and Lucy were assigned guest rooms, located far from the royal chambers, and since the King's official order had yet to arrive, the Magic Sealing Stones restraining their magic hadn't been removed.
Meanwhile, Princess Hisui went to consult her father, escorted by her royal guards.
Yukino stayed behind with the others.
Naturally, Rhodes didn't leave either. Given the situation, he wouldn't dare let Lucy remain here alone. If another Star Spirit tried sneaking into the palace, things could get ugly fast.
Besides, he had something he wanted to ask Yukino, about what she had been through since they last met.
Lucy, with nothing else to do, joined them. Natsu's "punishment" hadn't started yet, so they all sat together as Yukino began her story.
Her voice was soft, carrying faint sorrow. "After that incident, I searched for my sister for a month… but I couldn't find any trace of her. Eventually, I didn't even know what I should do anymore."
Thinking back, she continued, "That must've been when the Council's pursuit was at its peak. They must have been in hiding, their whereabouts completely sealed."
Natsu leaned forward curiously. "Your sister? Who is she?"
Rhodes briefly introduced Yukino, giving Lucy a moment to process.
Lucy clapped her hands in realization. "Ah! That explains it, you're also so skilled in Celestial Spirit Magic!"
What surprised Lucy most, though, was the difference in how Yukino viewed the Star Spirits. Unlike most mages, Yukino genuinely cared for their feelings, she treated them as friends, not tools.
Rhodes skipped over Lucy's comment and asked, "So how did you end up joining the Royal Army? And becoming the Princess's guard?"
Yukino's gaze softened as she met his eyes. "That… actually has something to do with you, Saint Rhodes."
"Me?" Rhodes blinked.
She nodded. "Yes. Back when I didn't know what to do, news of your exploits spread, from the Kingdom of Joya all the way to Fiore."
"Your deeds, capturing the bandit leader, being knighted as an Earl, wiping out bandit gangs, and later being promoted to Duke, they inspired me. I thought… if I could serve the royal family and earn merit, perhaps my sister might be pardoned someday."
"Ah..." Rhodes blinked, momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected his own reputation to have played a role in all this.
Sorano was considered a major criminal, judged by the Council headquarters, but because she was from Fiore Kingdom and the major incident she caused was in Fiore Kingdom,
Since she was arrested in the Kingdom of Fiore, Fiore can speak on her behalf. If the evidence is strong enough, the King could even declare her innocent.
"The same goes for the other members of the Oración Seis, but to reach that point, one must have performed some extraordinary service, large, undeniable contributions to the nation, something on the scale of what Rhodes did."
Rhodes grimaced slightly. "It's not easy in a peaceful place like Fiore. Even an act like saving the princess last night? That alone probably won't be enough."
"I know," Yukino said, resolve hardening in her eyes. "But I have to try." The entire guard squad had done their best during the incident, and she had fought well, yet it still wasn't enough to change the Council's verdict.
Natsu sat up and a mischievous glint crossed his face. "How about we really go and assassinate the princess?"
"Natsu! Don't say that!" Lucy hissed, glancing nervously toward the door as though someone might overhear.
"Please don't joke about that," Yukino added quickly.
"I'm not serious!" Natsu protested. "I mean, we pretend to assassinate her. Then Yukino chases us off. We try again, get chased off again." He puffed his chest out, striking a triumphant pose. "Do that a dozen times, and if she 'saves' her life from us each time, that should count as merit, right?"
Lucy bonked him on the head. "Idiot! That won't work, they'd see through it in a heartbeat."
"We could disguise ourselves, like ninjas," Natsu insisted, tying his scarf over his face and peeking through a slit with a dramatic whisper: "Nin..nin..nin! They'll never know it's me!"
Lucy put her palm to her forehead. "Oh please… I've seen this act before."
"Lucy, you think this will work too, right?" Natsu hopped from foot to foot, doing his best to look covert.
"Mr. Rhodes," Lucy begged, handing the problem to Rhodes.
Rhoes's first reply was blunt: "That's foolish, Natsu."
"Exactly," Lucy said, relieved.
Then Rhoes's expression shifted into something sharper and more practical. "If you're going to do something like this, do it properly. Capture a few members of a Dark Guild. Use Gemini to interrogate them. Have one of us impersonate them."
"Let Mira turn into someone, Macao transform, and the old man can take another form. We'll study the enemy's magic quickly so we can infiltrate the palace, get 'caught' by Yukino, be publicly driven out, then swap in our people later so Yukino captures the imposter."
"Interrogate the captured players severely; if they refuse to confess, they'll be seen as hardened criminals and held for more questioning."
"Then we rotate. The next day, different guild members impersonate them and attempt the 'assassination' again. Yukino chases them off again. Each rescue frees one of our people. Eventually that Dark Guild will be crushed, but in the meantime, we'll have created a string of plausible, high-profile incidents that prove our side's bravery and utility."
When Rhodes finished, Lucy, Yukino, and Natsu stared at him like he'd proposed a plan half devil, half genius.
...
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