That made the older high elf step back and cover her own mouth with her own hand—lost in thought while muttering under her breath.
"A high elf in Londria?"
"What's wrong with it?" Priscilla interjected. "Aren't high elves hard to come by just about anywhere?"
Phoebe turned to Priscilla.
"Well, yes, but remember that Londria used to be ruled by an elf." When she mentioned the word 'elf' there was a clear, unfiltered sign of disgust coming across on her face. "He wouldn't just let high elves live there in peace." After taking a short breather she turned her attention back to Rionara. "How did you manage to come here? Londria didn't have open borders for trade until a few months ago."
She averted her gaze while her hand clenched into a fist near her breast. Hesitation was clear in both her eyes and body as just remembering the days of traveling were enough to make her entire body throb in pain.
"I…"
Rionara was feeling the world weighing on her shoulders before she felt a gentle squeeze from Priscilla as she walked beside her—she had a faint smile on her face as if to reassure her.
"You don't need to force yourself to explain it."
"But I… I don't want to be a burden to you, Pris."
Phoebe glanced at her fellow knight with a serious gaze.
"Depending on who her parents are, you could end up dragged as a victim."
Priscilla frowned her brows as if she heard the most incredulous thing.
"Victim? Victim of what?"
"Politics." Phoebe leaned closer as she whispered. "Imagine a royal knight of a foreign kingdom kidnapping the daughter of a prestigious Londrian family. Londria could clearly declare war under those terms."
"What?!" Priscilla flinched as she raised her voice with widened eyes. "That is ridiculous!"
Phoebe raised both hands and shoulders while shaking her head.
"Such is politics. The public won't care if you indeed saved her or not." Her gaze then fell on Rionara, who instinctively shrunk within her own arms. "What matters is how we should proceed with this. If she truly is the daughter of some influential noble in Londria then we must return her there."
That sentence made Priscilla step forward with her eyes narrowed into a sharp glare.
"We are not taking her back. You haven't seen what has been done to her, even if her parents are nobles… no, even if she is from Londria, treating her with so little regard to her well-being is not right."
"And so you would sacrifice your title, your kingdom and your Queen for some girl?"
"Yes." There was a fire of determination in her eyes as she brandished her right arm outward. Phoebe only knew one more person that was capable of saying such things with zero hesitation and that was her Queen. "We protect those who cannot protect themselves. If my Queen were to tell me that my decisions thus far have been wrong, then she is no Queen of mine!"
There was a silent grin curling on Phoebe's face as she looked at Priscilla dead in the eyes.
"Oho? Do you think yourself above Her Majesty?"
Sparks were flying under the tension in the room. Priscilla knew she wouldn't be able to win if a fight were to break out in such a closed space. Every single fiber of her being was screaming of danger as Phoebe's deep blue eyes stared her down not as a fellow royal knight, but as prey.
Blades were sure to be drawn, until a faint and timid voice sounded from behind Priscilla.
"...Arc. M-my name is… Rionara Arc."
Phoebe's confident grin suddenly darkened as both of her arms lost their tension as she was about to pull out her half unsheathed daggers.
"What…?" The assassin stepped forward but Priscilla got in her way. "What did you say?"
"I'm… Rionara Arc."
"Ha… haha… no, that's impossible…"
"Dame Phoebe, I suggest you don't step any closer to Rio."
"Or what, Priscilla?"
"Or I'll have to resort to force."
"Hmph." Her gaze then focused on the young woman beyond the spell fencer's extended arm. "Rionara, are you truly Jakob's daughter? You aren't using his last name for convenience, are you?"
"N-no… I know what it means to be the daughter of that… thing." That made Priscilla feel a sting in her heart. For someone to call their parents a 'thing' could only mean one thing. "I… I fled Londria long before you and your Queen killed him."
Phoebe closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again.
"I see… that would make sense then." With a distinct clink, she sheathed her daggers which made Priscilla relax her shoulders as well. "Rionara. You are Londria's rightful ruler, do you understand what that means?"
She shook her head with her small hands still trembling.
"N-no… but… I don't wish to rule or become someone as revered as your Queen… I just want to live beside Priscilla."
"...very well." Phoebe glanced again at the spell fencer, this time with a cautionary gaze, uncharacteristically of the dame known for being the most aloof amongst her peers. "Careful with your words Dame. I might be lenient enough to let it go but if commander Leonard were to hear you say those words, you wouldn't even be standing right now."
"...I will keep that in mind."
"D-Dame Phoebe." Surprisingly, Rionara spoke up as she walked up beside Priscilla. She attempted to see the high elf eye-to-eye but nervousness was getting the better of her as she averted her gaze to Phoebe's collar. "How… how was my father in his last moments? Did he repent?"
The assassin looked at her and shook her head.
"Both the commander and the Queen dealt the killing blow, not me." She had a bitter smile on her face as she spoke. "In fact, if not for them, I wouldn't be here in the first place."
The young woman fell silent, seemingly disappointed, but deep down she was satisfied. There was a sense of closure in her heart which made her look at her again and bow her head.
"Thank you, for saving Londria."
"I did no such thing." She shrugged off. She wasn't used to people thanking her, even less so when it was about taking lives. "Save your thanks when you go back to Arcadia with Priscilla."
She had a faint smile on her face that wasn't obvious to Rionara at first but it was obvious to her fellow royal knight which prompted Priscilla to smirk and chuckle shortly, causing the assassin to frown her brows towards her and ask.
"What?"
"No, nothing. Pardon me." She placed her left hand behind Rionara's back and bowed slightly to Phoebe. "Thank you, for allowing me to continue taking care of her."
"You shouldn't be thanking me." Phoebe turned around and glanced over her shoulder at the spell fencer. "Thank her for telling me her name. Otherwise we might have crossed blades here."
With a final smirk, she opened the door and quietly left the room. Her footsteps quickly vanished into the kitchen behind the closed door.
At that moment it felt like the entire world was lifted off Priscilla's shoulders as she let out a long, exasperated sigh. A first for Rionara. The young woman looked at the knight with worry clear in her eyes.
"Pris… are you alright?"
"Y-yeah… it's just… Dame Phoebe is quite the difficult colleague to work with."
She reached for her own left shoulder with her right hand to massage it while turning her head around lightly as if to relieve the tension. Seeing her that way for the first time made Rionara wonder.
"If the two of you fought, who would win?"
"Hm?" She turned to her and chuckled nervously. "I wouldn't even stand a chance."
Rionara's eyes widened as she flinched back.
"Really?! But Pris… you're so strong…"
"Yes, but Dame Phoebe was trained in the high elven arts of killing. I'm more of a… common knight. Besides using magic, there isn't anything peculiar about my fighting style."
Unconvinced, Rionara turned to her with her eyes almost sparkling from awe.
"Wouldn't you win if you were far away? She only had two daggers."
"Haha, that is what she wants you to think. She always carries a hand crossbow with her."
"A hand crossbow? What is that?"
"Don't you know what it is?"
"Nuh uh."
Priscilla scratched the side of her head before asking.
"Have you seen a bow?"
"Yeah."
"Imagine a bow that can fire arrows using mechanisms instead of a person's arm like huh… a fusil."
"Are those things that go boom and then it fires a pointed piece of metal?"
"Yeah, those."
"Aaaah… I see. I understand it now."
"Glad to have helped."
She smiled. But deep down she was still feeling the weight of her conversation with Phoebe. The way the high elf mentioned her commander felt surreal.
'Leonard… he was very kind to me when I was a squire… but the way Dame Phoebe spoke felt… strange…'
But before those thoughts could cloud her mind, she chose to forget about them for now and focus on the present.
The knight looked at the wooden tray and then turned to Rionara once again.
"Should we take this to the main hall and have some breakfast?"
"Ah, yeah."
"Okay, I'll grab the tray. Open the door for me, please."
"Alright."