As Lucas and Sylv heard the sounds of footsteps approaching the scorched ground, they gazed ahead and saw the royal guards coming towards them.
"Ah! Looks like our help arrived, Lucas! The white-uniformed elves you see are the royal guards, which I doubt you knew, hehe."
"S-shut up, okay? I already knew that." He obviously lied, not fooling her at all and making her laugh again.
As the guards finally approached, they all respectfully got on one knee in front of Lucas and Sylv, as Lucas was still on her lap, even though he had recovered. Both of them chose to stay in this position.
"Your Highness, His Majesty ordered us to find you immediately, as he got worried for not receiving any contact from you upon your arrival at our kingdom. The deadline to notify him that you were back in the elven kingdom had passed," one of the royal guards, who was at the grandmaster stage, said. If Lucas had to guess, it would be low to mid 8-star level.
"We apologize for arriving so late, Your Highness, and not being able to protect you when your life was in danger," the guard said, glancing at Lucas.
"There is no need to worry since Lucas saved me from an attack by a dark elf that unfortunately took down Sir Gerhald."
"I see. Sir Gerhald was a talented young man; his father and grandfather will surely want revenge after hearing about this," the guard said, turning his head down towards Lucas, who was still lying on Sylv's lap, not giving a care if they would get offended.
"Kid, we are grateful for saving the life of Her Highness when we failed to," the guard said as he and all the other royal guards bowed their heads to show their thanks.
"Mm. It was my mission to escort her safely back, so there is nothing to thank me for," Lucas replied with no emotion on his face and his voice neutral.
The guards grew annoyed at the attitude of the white-haired human but didn't dare to say anything now, since it was obvious he was quite 'close' with the princess.
"We would like to ask you to join us while we escort the princess back to the capital. I am sure His Majesty would like to have a talk with you and reward you personally for your deeds," the guard said, looking hatefully at Lucas, who was still lying on their princess's lap.
"Hmm, sure. I don't mind following you," Lucas responded in the same tone and face.
"Very well, Your Highness, if you would please enter the carriage, while you, kid, please enter the other carriage. I am sure you are still 'tired', so you can rest there," the guard said, standing back straight up with the other royal guards.
Before Lucas could answer, they all heard a cold voice that was soft yet angry.
"Hey. What is your name?" Sylv asked with a cold expression, her eyes devoid of any kindness, sending shivers down the spine of the guard.
"Y-your Highness, my name is Dennis Sendreth," the guard answered nervously, stuttering.
Both Lucas and Sylv stood up now. Lucas was curious about what she was planning, so he decided to watch the show play out.
"Dennis Sendreth, Lucas is the one who saved my life, so it would be best for you to show respect to him, unless you want to put the reputation of the royal guards to shame and that of the royal family as well. And Lucas will be going in the same carriage as me, as I only trust him the most here. Is that understood?" She said in a soft yet strict and cold voice, making the guard go pale.
"Y-yes, understood, Your Highness. Please forgive me, Sir Lucas, for my previous attitude!" The guard said, bowing his head towards him.
"Lucas, let's go inside," Sylv said as she started walking ahead.
"Mm, yeah, sure," Lucas said as he followed behind, with Luna sleeping on top of his head comfortably.
***************
As they were finally inside the carriage and moving, Lucas decided to talk.
"I didn't expect you to get so mad, you know?"
"Huh, of course I would be mad at him if he offends you, who is my savior and friend—" Suddenly, she stopped talking, realizing what she just said.
Lucas opened his eyes wide at hearing her words.
"A-ah! I'm sorry, I spoke without thinking. W-what I meant was, instead of frie—"
Cutting her off, Lucas replied with a small smile.
"It's okay. I consider you my friend also... Pfft!" he answered but laughed in the end.
"Why are you laughing!? Are you making fun of me?" she said, her face turning beet red like a tomato, embarrassed about all of this.
"No, no! I wasn't laughing at you, I swear. It was just funny that my first friend is the princess of the elven kingdom," Lucas replied with a bitter smile.
Hearing his words, she opened her eyes wide in surprise.
"Eh, I'm your first friend!? I thought you would have tons of friends with how popular you are," she said, not expecting him to have any friends.
"Haha, unfortunately, before my travels as Noctis, I was a lazy introvert who didn't leave the house at all. So, you see, I'm not the best with my social skills, so I'm sorry if I say something weird sometimes..." Lucas replied while laughing dryly.
Hearing his words, she shook her head frantically, denying his words.
"No! You don't say weird things. You're my first friend as well, so I'm happy that you're my friend now!" She said but instantly turned beet red again as a tomato, realizing what she just exclaimed.
"Haha! Well, to a new friendship," Lucas said, pretending to hold a glass of wine in the air.
"Pffft! Yes, to a new friendship!" Sylv replied, following along with his antics while laughing happily as her face was still a little red.
On this day, Lucas Nightstar and Sylviette Velariah started their new relationship.