“It’s good to have self-knowledge. Yes, I’m coming to talk about my little daughter with you. I’ve heard that, she has some delicate relationship with you. Could you please tell me some details?”
“Well, I once helped her cut her lessons, but I was unintentional that time!”
“I knew that. But that’s not the thing I want to know most. Let me say it in another way. Do you love her?”
“I, I…”
“Maybe it’s hard to state?”
“Hmm…”
“Do you remember your role as an ordinary?”
“Yes. And she is a noble. We are not fit…”
The knight lowers his head, waiting for his death sentence.
“You get it. I won’t allow my little daughter to marry an unknown man. But if he has some exploits, it’s much different.”
“What do you mean, Your Majesty?” the knight suddenly finds hope.
“You should take some time to think about your future. After all she is still a little girl.”
“So you will excuse me but not execute me?”
“Well, young man, I suffered a lot from the arranged marriage,” the emperor stops and sighs, “so I’ll support you, as long as you can be sure to take your responsibility of caring her.”

“I promise, Your Majesty!”
“You should not only show hollow words! I permit you to be with her from now on. She needs someone to come alone with.”
“I’ll do my best to show you my determination!”
“Good. Keep your positive attitude then!”
The emperor stands up and pats the knight.
“I’m sorry, young man, but I’m busy these days, and I still have many things to do. Do you remember the way back?”
“Yes, yes. I won’t take up your precious time. And thanks for your favor, Your Majesty!”
“Hi, Head, I’m back.”
“Wow, you look delighted. Are you mentally deranged?”
“How can you say that! I’m just glad to know I can live down!”
“So you won’t need me to pack your corpse at all? What’s the topic of your talk?”
“You do know it.”
“Then the result?”
“You can see it.”
“Wow! You mean His Majesty has permitted you to have a courtship with the little girl? I can’t believe it! I’m convinced by you the lucky guy!”
The knight scratches his head shyly.

The Head claps his shoulder with gratification.
It is time for afternoon tea.
But the little princess seems depressed.
“Is your cake unpalatable?”
“No, teacher…”
“Do you hate me for telling your father?”
“No, teacher…”
He holds her in his arms.
“Sorry. But I want to keep you away from vulgar things, and protect you from being hurt by anyone.”
“I know, teacher…”
“Good afternoon, teacher,” the crown prince comes to asks, “what happened to the girl?”
“Wish you a healthy day, Your Highness. Yes, she is upset because of her lover. Do you remember I told you about him?”
“Yes, I remember him. Well, His Majesty has talked about him with me, and he seemed to be satisfied with him.”
“His Majesty has mentioned that he is fit to be a senior knight.”
“Yes, and His Majesty said that he’d like to let them keep the complex.”
“Really?” the little princess suddenly becomes excited.
“Yes, me sister, it’s true!”

“Wow! I just know you’re the best brother!”
She jumps into her brother’s arms.
“What? You mean what?”
“Sorry, teacher, I’m their supporter. Sorry for concealing it to you.”
“But…”
“Just bless to them, teacher, now then His Majesty has permitted it.”
The royal magician seems still not to be reconciled to what the crown prince has said, so he comes to His Majesty again.
“Your Majesty, are you sure of recognizing that ordinary to be your future son-in-law?”
“Well, my little daughter loves him, so I’d like to help her.”
“Do you think they are fit?”
“Sheer nonsense! Arranged marriage is really a waste matter. It had ever caused I had to marry a girl I didn’t like. She is my first empress. I still have almost no feeling with her. So I’d like to let my little daughter arrange her love at liberty.”
“But how can an ordinary…”
“So you treat yourself as a noble!”
The royal magician is astonished as the emperor shouts at him.
This is his tender spot.
“Don’t you remember it was my father who gave unprincipled protection

to you and made you still keep your position as the royal magician? Anyway I won’t protect you like him. My little daughter would like to be with you, otherwise, you would have already been driven out of the palace!”
“I’m sorry…”
“I won’t carry on my father’s steps. You gets out now.”
“Yes, Your Majesty…”
The royal magician leaves with hate.
The knight is going to take a break.
There he meets the eldest princess. She is sitting quietly.
She looks mild, elegant and dignified now. She is much more beautiful now.
He swallows, rouses his courage, and goes to get a conversation with her.
“Hi, Your Highness.”
“Oh, it’s you.”
“Yes. Er, Your Highness, do you feel tired after training?”
“A little. Well, I’m thinking about how to improve my rate of waving.”
“You’ve already done so well!”
“Then shall we take a fight?”
“Ah? Oh, no! I dare not to do that! You are too formidable! Er, I mean, I don't deserve to be your opponent!”

“How can you say that! As a senior knight you should not be so cowardly! Now, accept my challenge and draw out your sword to fight!”
“Ah, ah…”
He feels regret for talking to her. He is worried and scared now.
“Hey, young man, she is waiting for you in the lobby.”
“Oh my savior!”
“Hah?”
“Sorry, Your Highness. Someone is waiting for me. Can the Head take the challenge instead?”
“Seems alright.”
“Good,” he pats the Head, “then please you fight with this beautiful lady sir.”
“What! You wait!”
The Head tries to catches him, but he runs away quickly, and the eldest princess is getting closer.
“Mr. Reounie, come here!”
The knight finds the little princess waving her hand. The royal magician is sitting elegantly near her.
“Hi, Your Highness, and, er?”
“I’m sincerely sorry, Mr. Reounie,” the royal magician stands up, “for my extreme words before.”

“Er?”
“I’m just coming to say sorry. I was once suspicious about your moral qualities and forbade you two to meet. It now seems that I was wrong.”
“Never mind. I can understand your mind. I know you only want to keep her safe. I think I would do the same as you if I were you.”
“Thanks for forgiving…”
“Mr. Reounie, it seemed to be brother who persuaded father…”
“Your Highness! I’ve told you not to be impolite!”
“Sorry, teacher…”
Then she walks forward and joins hands with the knight. She looks happy.
The royal magician looks at her affectionately, and sighs.
The knight perceives something delicate in the royal magician’s sight has changed, so he will try to break the awkward surrounding feeling.
“Er, sir,” he says, “I still have no qualification to woo her…”
“I know. I’ll take care of her until you are ready for it. You must have a good prospect young man!” he finally shows his smile to the knight.
The knight starts to think, that the royal magician may be not a bad man. Though many people have prejudices against him.
“Mr. Reounie, are you going back to train soon?” the little princess strokes the knight’s hand and asks.
“In fact I don’t really want to go back right now…”

“Why?”
“You know that, the first princess, she is also a senior knight…”
“You got caught by her again?”
“Hmm…”
“That girl is really easy to get violent,” says the royal magician, “you could be bullied by her very often!”
“No,” the knight shakes his head, “I don’t have many connections with her. In fact I always hides myself from her…”
“So do I!” the little princess is excited to finds one to share a hardship.
They talk for a while.
The knight thinks the royal magician has changed his attitude to him. Maybe this man is not very hard to get along with.
“Oh, I think I’d better get back now. Maybe the first princess has lost her interest in me,” he says.
“So you must leave now?”
“Your Highness, we should not take up much his time.”
“Yes, Your Highness, and you should listen to your teacher right now.”
“Well, I see…”
“Goodbye then, Mr. Reounie.”
Before they going far, the little princess suddenly turns around, and shouts, “Mr. Reounie, come to the fourth remote palace, if you have time!”

The Head is sitting there with his head down. He seems depressed.
“Hello?”
The knight comes and tries to greet him.
The Head raises up his head, with a look full of complaint and regret.
“Are, are you still, fine?”
“I’m fine. Thanks, young man.”
“Did I overdo?”
“No, young man, it’s not your fault.”
“What on earth happened to you?”
“Nothing. I think that girl can take my position very soon.”
“Did she bully you? Snap out of it!”
“No,” the Head waves his hand, “I’m too old now.”
“What! How can you say that! You’re still energetic!”
“No, I’m too old…”
“I think you need some inspirations.”
“Thanks, but I want to be alone now.”
“Well…”
“Training over today!”
Some nobles stop and are about to go back to their mansions, and some are still waving their swords.
The knight comes to the Head.

“Why it ends so early today?”
“You really don’t need to train very hard every day. Just take a rest today.”
“Are you still OK? You still look depressed.”
The head looks up to the sky, then sighs.
“Young man, you also take a rest now. Why don’t you go to find your girl?”
“Er, well, where is the fourth, remote palace?”
“Oh, it’s the one which I saw you and your girl. Wait, you are actually going to meet her, aren’t you?”
“Er, er…”
“Since you have more time to be with your girl today, wish you to have a sweet time!” the Head finally shows his smile constrainedly.
The eldest princess seems to go to the same direction.
“Why are you walking after me?” she turns her head and says.
“I, I…”
She is staring at him, making him afraid.
“Well, Your Highness, what did you do to the Head? He seems depressed all the day!”
“We only took a fight. He was just so-so. It’s not very hard to beat him.”
“You’re so powerful!”
“By the way, you’ve run away in the half way. When shall we take a fight

again?”
“Ah. ah…”
She suddenly grabs his arm. Clearly he has missed the time to run away.
It seems that he still has not escaped from his fate. He is afraid of being killed.
“Hi, what are you doing here?”
A tall, handsome, and thin young comes.
“Brother!” the eldest princess cries out.
“This is the crown prince?” the knight says.
“You should not be so impolite!” she shouts at him.
“Sorry.”
He starts to look the crown prince up and down. It is such a man who always helps him on the sly.
“Then, sister, why are you holding his arm?”
She lets go of the knight immediately, “nothing.”
“Wow, sister, don’t tell me you finally decides to find a companion for yourself, right? Ha-ha.”
“No! Brother! No!”
She is so excited.
At the same time the crown prince gives the knight a look.
The knight nods, and runs away quickly.
“Hah, I see, sister. But you’ve already reached your age to marry. You’d

better think about your marriage now.”
“But I still don’t want to get married now…”
He finds tears in her eyes, so he comes to wipe them away.
“I just want you to marry a close one. Then I can still see you very often,” he says, “I want the whole family can always be connected.”
He holds her in his arms.
Her face turns red.
“Wait, brother,” she says, “you do also always cancel your appointments with prospective marriage partners for the same excuse, don’t you?”
“Ah, that, that is…”
“Father already had we two babies when at your age!”
“Hmm…”
Behind the palace, the little princess and royal magician are sitting in a pavilion.
The knight appears.
“Hi, Mr. Reounie!” she is happy to see the knight, “you actually come!”
“Welcome, Mr. Reounie,” the royal magician greets him, “would you like some cookies?”
“May I join in you?”
“Of course! Sit here please.”
“Thanks.”

“Yes. In fact, to keep the first wife and the second wife of the crown prince in harmony, I always let them two stay in the same place and took care of one together with the other. I still remember the first thing she learnt to do is to catch her elder brother’s arm.”
“Teacher, you did look after them at that time?”
“Well, they were two lovely babies at that time, and I was a teenager then.”
Recalling the past, the royal magician looks happy.
“Years later, your other three sisters, the triplets, were born. I once liked them very much. However, not long later, when they became kids, I found they would be that kind of people I disliked. So I finally turned to you.
“What’s more, each time the first princess tried to hold you, you just started to cry and cry. Then I would take you away from her arms and made you stop crying. It was really enjoyable to see her emotion full of envy. Your brother enjoyed making fun of her in this point very much.”
“Hah. It seemed that I made her angry…”
“You seems to have lots of happy stories, sir,” says the knight.
“Yes. Memories always make me delighted. I like kids very much,” the royal magician is smiling happily, “And what about you? Do you have many things valuable to recall?”
The knight slowly lowers his head, and gets into silence.
“Teacher,” the little princess says in low voice. She seems to be pleading.

“I’ll take some senior knights with me. Though I think the success rate is very high, we still need to do multiple insurance. If I don’t get back, you just order anyone to kill me. Do you have some advice?”
“Hmm, what about Sash?”
“Why he? I don’t like him.”
“Your Majesty, I know that, you have a prejudice against him. But I think he is still loyal as a royal magician. He can have a great influence when you are out.”
“Only you two brother and sister have positive views on him,” the emperor sighs, “well, I’ve considered. I’ll take him too.”
A delicate smile appears on the crown prince’s face, and it soon disappears.
“What’s more I’d like to take my future son-in-law with us.”
“What? Why?” the crown prince seems nervous.
“You know he loves your little sister, right? But he is too shy! I’d like to give him a chance to show his qualities.”
“But he is not a noble. I think it’s better not to let any outsider know it…”
“He soon will be one of us. He can use this chance to express his minds after coming back.”
“Your Majesty, but…”
“Wasn’t it you who persuaded me to accept him then? Why are you against me now?”

“Hmm…”
“Latest news, young man.”
“Do you feel better now?”
“Not really. Oh, I don’t mean that. What’s more important, you have been chosen to do a very, I mean, very difficult task.”
“What is it?”
“A big problem perplexing the royalty for years.”
“Why? I’m not royalty!”
“Don’t you get the point? It must be that His Majesty has recognized you as the future royalty! You cannot say no to it! Think of your girl! She must want you to render meritorious service! Think of what she will do when you get back successfully! So you must accept the order!”
The knight is surprised by the Head’s high spirits. However he is still a little hesitant.
“And I’ll go with you. I’m also called to do the same task.”
“Well…”
“Get prepared for it. We’ll set off, in two weeks.”
The little princess is very upset now.
She is sitting, leaning on the royal magician.
“It will be so boring then,” she says.