The cunning NPC and his reincarnated villainess

Zorivia, escorted by Medea, was making her way to the outer wall of the royal castle, walking past the courtyard where young knights were being rigorously trained as the newest batch of royal guard candidates.

The blond-haired girl and the black-haired young man kept the proper distance expected of master and servant, making it impossible to misunderstand their relationship.

Because of Zorivia's radiant beauty and Medea's distinctive raven-black hair, the pair was easily recognizable – but despite that, none of the instructors watching over the practice fights of the young knights called for a pause in order to greet the noble lady.

Zorivia didn't seem bothered by this clear disrespect in the slightest, holding her head high, and clearly wasn't going to grace the mannerless lot.

Similarly, her black-haired personal assistant wasn't looking around, seemingly out of it as his expressionless face and thick glasses gave him the impression of someone lost in their own little world.

Then, it all happened so fast...

The pair of knights locked in the mock battle so fervent that it was indistinguishable from the life-and-death duel got too close to the path that the noblewoman and her assistant were following.

*CLING* *CLING* *CLING* *CLING*

*CLANG*

"Oh≤ crap!"

As the weapons clashed with each other in a mortal song, one of them broke apart, and a sizeable portion of the shattered metal was sent flying right in the blond-haired villainess's face.

"...?"

In the following split second, Zorivia turned her gaze towards the alarmed gasp of one of the knights and turned her eyes towards the oncoming involuntarily projectile – but her vision was blocked by the hand of her personal assistant, who was outstretching his arm to intercept the danger with no regard to his own safety.

*CLANG*

Even so, the sacrifice ended up unnecessary because of the sudden appearance of a shadowy figure that seemed to materialize out of thin air – a masked person dressed in black with a small buckler strapped to their right arm smacked the broken-off piece of the blade to the ground while clenching a parrying dagger in the other hand, alarmed and ready to take on whatever else could pose a threat.

"...?"

Zorivia raised her brows a bit and gently touched Medea's hand, pulling it down to have a better look at the masked protector who had already turned around to face her and kneeled down and concealing the dagger.

"Please forgive us!"

"We got too into this and didn't think of the possibility of any weapon giving out!"

The two knights rushed over and bowed down, apologizing hastily about to push the masked person to the side with their vigor.

"Ah, yes. Rune. You've finally had a chance to show yourself to the people in this castle."

"...!"

Zorivia didn't acknowledge the apologizing knights, only glancing towards her black-haired assistant before addressing the masked girl veiled in black, making her flinch in surprise without daring to raise her head.

"Young lady Zorivia. We beg you, please don't tell the drill sergant about what happened!"

"Please, lady Zorivia, just tell him that you were spooked a bit and there was no threat to you! We would never be able to become members of the royal guards if this would come out!"

The knights became more flustered and, in their hastiness, ended up revealing the reason for their agitation and eagerness to bow their necks.

It, of course, had a lot to do with the opinion that the crown prince's fiance had about her – those same youths, one older than Zorivia and the other younger than her, would not even acknowledge her presence any other day that the blond-haired girl was walking around the palace.

"Raise your head with pride, Rune. I am very happy that you proved that Medea's eye for people is never wrong."

"...!"

While the knights were speaking progressively more anxious as the member of the royal guard overseeing the training was making his way towards them with a ghastly pale expression and fury in his eyes, Zorivia said towards the masked girl and smiled as the girl looked up at her.

Even with the mask on, the atmosphere around her was that of disbelief and shock, which, to Zorivia, free from the burden of any details regarding her new personal bodyguard, seemed like some adorable antics.

"Could you give me your hand for a moment?"

"..."

Zorivia asked, reaching out towards the kneeling Rune, to which the masked girl reacted in timid silence, fulfilling the command.

Zorivia's smile brightened as she held Rune's hand and bestowed her with six bracelets that Medea took out of his inner pocket and passed onto her.

The blond-haired aristocrat put every single bracelet on her bodyguard's wrist.

"Paralisis resistance, sleep resistance, poison resistance, fire resistance, and ice resistance. Oh, and charm resistance, too. It's not a well-spread magic pellet, but I asked Medea to get one, too, just in case. Please, continue taking care of us, Rune."

"...my lady...!"

Zorivia said warmly, while Rune, lost for words, could only gasp while staring at the bracelets that released dim light for just a moment before returning to normal.

A proof that all of them were bound items that would be impossible to take back without her consent... or death of the current owner.

It was a sign of trust that doubled as a threat and a reminder of her position.

"..."

"...~"

Rune dared to take a peek at Medea's face and barely held back a gasp when she saw the gentle look in his eyes through his glasses, softening his serious expression even more.

"Lady Zorivia! This is a matter of utmost importance to our future!"

"...!"

But right then and there, the touching moment was interrupted by the younger one of the knights who stepped between Rune and Zorivia and called out urgently while pushing the two girls away from each other.

"This is outrageous! Sir! Step away from young lady Zorivia this instant! It s highly inapropriate for...!"

"Back off!"

Medea rushed over and reached for the younger knight's wrist but his hand was slapped away by the agitated youth.

"It doesn't concern you!"

"...!" *thump*

The other knight stepped up and moved his arm in order to separate the two, but as a result, Medea was knocked off balance and fell on his back without ever changing his expression.