Alice Pov
After making my way up to the forest's entrance, I was able to observe smoke rising into the air from the heart of the forest.
"I appreciate your small help earlier."
I said it in a hushed voice as I turned toward Sascha, who was standing behind me.
I don't want to go into too much detail because I'm not overly enthusiastic, and, for some reason, I'm a little bit tired.
"As always, I am very impressed by the very sharp eyes that you possess."
Remarked Sascha with a bright smile on her face, but it soon became apparent that she had more to say after all.
"In fact, I'm the one who wants to apologize for the soldiers' behavior earlier. It was a hard slap for me because I've said in the past that they will always follow orders."
"Even though I've seen a lot of soldiers who try to disobey the orders of their superiors, it still makes me feel very embarrassed when Princess Alice meets one of them."
Sascha spoke at length in an effort to provide a justification for what had occurred earlier. However, the fact that I did not respond to her words caused her to become a little anxious.
Perhaps she believed that I was a little upset as a result of what had occurred earlier and that I intended to complain to my brother, which would have caused Sascha to be a little concerned.
"I almost forgot to ask something. How did princess Alice know I was watching from behind a tree?"
While attempting to shift the conversation's focus, Sascha asked with an inquisitive expression.
"I never said that you were the one because all I felt was that I was being watched from a distance, but I didn't know by whom."
Still speaking in a low voice, I responded to Sascha's curiosity.
"Ohh... that makes perfect sense, but how can you be so certain that I was the one who came to their tribe on that particular day?"
Even after hearing the response, Sascha continued to look perplexed as she posed the next question.
"I was just making an educated guess, and you said yourself that you prepared these people to be the main objective of this practice while they were in the forest,"
While I was saying it, I looked at Sascha's face to see if she had changed her expression, and she was slightly lowering her head.
"That's interesting. I don't recall ever saying that before."
Said Sascha with a smile that contained a hint of irony.
After having a short break and a conversation with Sascha while sitting in the shade of a tree, I decided I couldn't stand to wait any longer.
I got to my feet and then headed in the direction of the horse that was tied to the tree not too far from the entrance to the forest.
It's probably safe to assume that Sascha rode this horse all the way here.
"All right, let's go, take me to the castle first!"
I don't have the patience to wait any longer for the soldiers to finish cleaning up this area.
Because of this, I made the decision to go home first, and Sascha, who shared my opinion, drove me straight back to the castle.
As I sat in the back, I could feel the refreshing breeze blowing and take in the serene scenery because the sun was obscured by clouds at this point in time.
Because neither of us spoke to the other during the journey, the atmosphere remained tranquil and soothing throughout the entirety of the journey.
Not much longer after that, the two of us arrived together in front of the castle, and I could see the standard routines that the soldiers were performing here. Nothing had changed.
Sascha and I started walking in the direction of the castle while leaving the horse in the care of the soldier who was going to return it to its stall.
Even though there was no ceremony or anything special to welcome me, of course, I didn't care, but I was a little disappointed when I didn't see the figure of my brother greeting me warmly.
"Perhaps the young master has his hands full with something right now."
Sascha made an effort to reassure me as if she knew what I was going through in my head.
When I heard Sascha's words, all I could do was give a slight nod. Perhaps he was extremely busy.
Following that, we proceeded to go to my brother's room, which is not too far away from where I am staying.
I was getting close when I noticed a number of maids rushing out of my brother's room. They seemed to be in a hurry.
'Princess."
The maids quickly fled the scene as soon as they caught sight of Sascha and me, displaying an embarrassed expression while lowering their heads.
I didn't care either, but I noticed that Sascha, who was walking next to me, had a smirk on her face as if she was laughing at something she knew.
After that, when I was at the door and prepared to knock, I heard my brother's voice coming from within the room.
"enter."
I immediately and without any thought opened the door, and Sascha, who was following behind me, did the same.
As soon as I walked into this room, the first thing I noticed was that my brother was seated in the chair that was located behind the desk. From the looks of what he was doing, he appeared to be writing something down on paper.
My brother quickly got to his feet and started walking over to where I was standing.
"I really miss you."
My brother spoke to me in a gentle voice while he hugged me very tightly, giving the impression that he didn't want to let go of me.
"I am home."
I told him with a warm smile. My entire body was enjoying the sensation of being held by him because it was so relaxing and comfortable.
Since we have spent the entirety of our lives together without ever taking any time apart, this is the first time that my brother and I have spent more than a few days apart from one another.
And because I was able to find him right away when I was in the palace, and because my brother was never far from my side, it is understandable that this particular moment is becoming a little bit overly dramatic.
Because I am aware that in the future it is possible that we will not only see each other fewer times but also for more extended periods of time, such as several weeks or even months.
Therefore, I want to spend the most amount of time that I can with my brother.
After a period of time during which I was unaware that we had hugged each other, I could feel the warmth leaving my body as soon as my brother released our embrace.
"So how would you say your training went?"
My brother inquired while displaying an expression of interest.
"Sascha taught me a little about magic, but after that, she left me to lead the troops in the forest by myself."
I said in an irritated tone while looking at Sascha for confirmation.
"Of course, seven days are not sufficient to educate Princess Alice in any other subject."
"However, the things that Princess Alice has managed to achieve in the past week are genuinely remarkable."
Sascha fumbled through an explanation of my performance while simultaneously trying to praise me in front of my brother.
"I was instructed to lead a group of obedient people who always obey, so this training did not present any kind of a challenge to me."
I continued to point out the problems with the training Sascha had designed because I was unsatisfied with her response.
"The enemy is only a group of people who have a low level. At the very least, you could include some of your subordinates so that I could have a little challenge, right?"
After Sascha had heard my words, the smile she had been showing this time displayed a slight twitch.
"Is that right, Sascha? What's the strategy? I only used the most basic strategy, but I was able to corner my opponent and leave him helpless."
When Sascha heard my critical remarks, she had the expression of someone who was about to cry.
"I have faith in what Alice has said, then Sascha needs to be disciplined for her incompetence."
However, this time after hearing the response from my brother.
Sascha gave the appearance of being silent while lowering her head. In addition, her body appeared to be trembling until her hands gripped tightly.
Her lips were trembling, and her cheeks were blushing slightly.
She is strange and eerie at the same time.