"This is... This is unbelievable. This is simply beyond anything I could ever conceive." The blond woman paced back and forth in the middle of the meeting room, making dramatic hand gestures to express her current state of mind: utter panic and disbelief. She stopped mid-step to narrow her eyes at the women sitting before her, the culprits responsible for her internal turmoil. "Do the two of you have even the slightest idea of what you have done? What wrongdoing of catastrophic proportions you have committed in this very kingdom?"

"I am very aware." The redhead replied, unfaltering under the harsh gaze of the blonde. "And I am more than willing to be held accountable for my actions."

The blonde kneaded furiously at her temples. "And how, exactly, do you plan to go about all of this, Linus?"

The redhead raised her hand, intertwined with that of the brunette sitting beside her. "I, Linus, the High Constable of the Kingdom of Angelus, will take Princess Seolhyunari as my wife. We shall be wed in the Kingdom of Roseus. As a royal advisor of the Court, what do you think of it?"

"Ah, so it is now that you finally seek my counsel, when you have already done the worst you could possibly do." Choaya clicked her tongue in disapproval. "As for eloping with the princess, the mere consideration of that is beyond impractical. It is nonsense. Outrageous." She shook her head and sighed. "Do I dare to inquire, how did you even...find the opportunity to..." The royal advisor began to speak in a more hushed tone. "...deflower the princess?"

Linus and the princess exchanged glances before the latter nodded, prompting the redhead to explain: "Well, as you already know, I am the High Constable of Angelus. Therefore, I hold one of the highest military positions of the kingdom. I am a woman as well, and so the King himself decided to entrust the princess to me to watch over and protect. To put it simply, I am the princess' personal guard. As a result, we are together at all times...and during those times, we grew close, much closer than expected...until alas, the one day our passions eventually overcame our better judgement, we could contain ourselves no longer and quickly disrobed one another - "

"I wish to hear no further. That will be enough." Choaya sighed for the nth time. "The arranged meetings with the other kingdoms must be cancelled. The princess is no longer fit for marriage."

"Which is why I will marry her myself."

"Yes, of course. In the Kingdom of Roseus. Among their legendary, breathtaking roses I suppose? Because it is just that simple and effortless? That must be what you are thinking, in that empty, thick skull of yours - " Before Linus could make a scathing response to Choaya's insults, the brunette by her side stood up, looking stern.

"Please do not speak to Linus in that manner." Seolhyunari finally spoke up, disagreeing with the advisor's condescending tone. "I admit it. We have done something foolish and irreversible. However, we are not eloping to solve any problems. We are doing it out of love. I am in love with Linus, and I believe she feels the same for me. I want to love Linus as freely as I can, and I will even abandon my family and my kingdom to do so."

"That is selfish, impulsive, and reckless. I do not condone your decision, Your Highness."

"This is the decision I am making for myself, Choaya."

The royal advisor remained silent for a moment, eyes flickering between the determined faces of the redhead and the brunette. "...I have no more to say. Do as you wish."

Linus offered a small smile of satisfaction to her lover. "Very well then. We will depart today, in the dead of the night. It will be advantageous to leave as soon as possible. The King has deployed most of his forces outside of Angelus to fight in the ongoing war against the Kingdom of Dies. We will fare better with less troops on our tail. Do you desire the company of anyone else on our journey? They must be trustworthy - anyone with the slightest probability of informing the King of our plans is unacceptable."

"Do not fret, Linus. I intend to bring only those dearest to me." Choaya caught Seolhyunari stealing a glance at her, and she groaned lightly.

"Yes, I will be coming as well. Let us meet at the rear gate when we are all prepared." The blonde agreed defeatedly.

"...six...seven...eight. So there are eight of us. Once we set foot off of castle grounds, you will be considered traitors and accomplices to the unlawful relocation of the princess. Without a doubt, the King will send troops after us to retrieve the princess, and they will not hesitate to eliminate each and every one of us. By coming along, you are putting your life at risk. If you would like to reconsider your decision, I offer you this chance to turn back." Linus paused, sitting high atop her white horse. Seolhyunari sat directly in front of her, studying the faces of the women she had chosen. Nothing changed, and not a single movement was made. "Excellent. You will be under my care, and I will do everything in my power as the former High Constable of Angelus to assure that everyone makes it to Roseus alive and unharmed. Now, let us depart." Linus gave the signal to the guards in the towers, who raised the rear gate of the castle. Silently, the women on horses trotted through the gate and into the deep, shadowy forest.

"What about those guards? Won't they be considered traitors for letting us go past the gate?" Seolhyunari whispered to the woman behind her.

"I have already instructed them on what to say and do. They will inform the King of our departure in the morning, since he will find out eventually. At least now, we can have a head start." Linus placed a kiss at the crown of the princess' head as they watched Choaya light a lantern. "Are you afraid?"

"No, I trust you. My life will be in your hands."

"Good. For you, Your Highness, I would die."

"And I would do the same for you."

Linus wanted to wrap her arms around Seolhyunari but her hands were currently occupied with guiding their horse by the reins. Instead, she settled for nuzzling her face into the princess' luscious brown hair. Someone lead their horse to trot right beside theirs, and the redhead cursed under her breath. They weren't going to have much privacy on this journey.

"Linus, I suggest we avoid passing through Dies and just ride through the forest instead. They may seek to take the princess as a hostage for the war." Yunaria warned. "As Grand Master of the Hunt, I can navigate us through the forest very well and we can easily lose the the King's troops."

"That makes sense, but I am afraid that we will follow the original route. We do not have to worry much about the princess as long as we keep her identity a secret. I doubt the King will let out the fact that his daughter is running around freely outside of Angelus territory; no one will even realize it is her. We can also use the war to our advantage as Angelus troops cannot enter enemy territory, and we can cut them off at Dies. Besides, Seolhyunari, you have always wanted to go to Dies, correct?"

"Yes."

"She has always wanted to go...to see their beautiful women and hand