Nine years ago.

Sophia stood in front of the window of her dormitory, and the scene of the royal city was half smaller. However, what caught her eye was not the royal city she was familiar with, the long corridor of the courtyard did not see the industrious figures of the maids, but instead of the patrolling soldiers, in addition to the familiar royal army, there were some people near the wall that she had never seen before.

The armor of those knights was brighter, and the most striking thing was the mark of open wings on the armbands.

Free and powerful, young Sophia read this from the imprint, so she stretched out her index finger and asked ignorantly, "Who are those people?"

"They are the knights of the Church, our reinforcements. Someone answered her.

"That'...... Why don't they fight the bad guys?" asked Sophia, looking up, innocently.

Sophia knew that their city was in danger, that the commoners fanned by the bad guys rose up, that they took to the streets to slaughter the nobles, that they set fire to every place they passed with torches, but they were not satisfied, they always craved more, more food, more clothing, more power.

These were all things she had heard from her servants, who, since the rebellion, had issued a ban on the servants and bodyguards, forbidding young Richard and Sophia from contact with the outside world. Every day, hordes of guards took turns guarding her bedchamber, and even the maids carefully arranged and carried her room into her room.

Sophia had heard a lot, but she had never seen anything.

"This ...... It's complicated. The person who answered her continued.

"How complicated?" said Sophia, a little dissatisfied.

Adults always use such excuses to prevaricate her, but they don't know that she has grown up, and she is no longer the weak princess who is ignorant and only knows how to hide behind people. Sophia's stubbornness came up, she turned around and tugged at the other party's sleeve, and asked reluctantly, "Explain it to me quickly!"

"Hmmm......"

The man she tugged on the sleeve met Sophia's stubborn gaze for a moment, and he quickly lost the battle. He had learned how powerful Princess Sophia was, a little girl who could squeeze out tears at any time and anywhere, and whose cry seemed to evoke guilt in people's hearts...... What he meant was that he didn't want to be a nuisance that made the princess cry in such an extraordinary time.

"I really can't do anything about you, Your Highness Princess. ”

Sophia saw that the other party's attitude softened, and she was snickering.

"Anyway, sooner or later, you'll know about these things, and maybe one day in the future, you'll be the one who will carry the entire alliance on your shoulders...... So you have to remember that at all times, don't think of the knights of the church as friends, and the only thing that can support you is your country and your people. ”

"Why, isn't the church a good person?"

Sophia had heard more or less about the church before that.

"That's right. But there are times when good people can become enemies of good people. ”

"Wait, I don't understand!" Sophia interrupted by patting the windowsill hard.

"That's why I've said it's complicated, and you'll probably understand these things when you grow up. In short, the Church has chosen not to attack the rebels because of various positions, but they are here to protect you and the V, so as long as you stay here, absolutely no one can hurt you. ”

"So, they're pretty good, aren't they?"

"Of course. The man nodded proudly.

"Then they should go and fight the bad guys!" Sophia tilted her head in thought, and then made a look of sudden realization.

The other party almost collapsed when he heard it, he really shouldn't overestimate the princess's receptivity, no matter how she is still a little girl who has not been deeply involved in the world, plus the fifth generation regards her as the pearl of her palm, and almost never lets her step out of the royal city, her understanding of this world is probably even less than that of children of the same age.

Sure enough, trying to explain this kind of thing to her was too self-conscious.

"By the way, aren't you also a knight of the Church?

"It's all said no, besides, my status is quite special, if I make a move, the Senate will definitely make a big fuss again!" the interlocutor rubbed his hair frantically. He found himself making many mistakes lately, the biggest of which was breaking into the princess's bedchamber while wandering around the palace one afternoon.

"Senate!, what is that? You can't make it up to lie to me!" Sophia asked menacingly.

"Senate...... Anyway, it's an organization of strange old men and women, who are always behind the scenes, and more importantly, they are our sworn enemies. ”

Faced with the man's explanation, Sophia snorted disdainfully.

"I've seen it for a long time, you're not a member of the church at all!" Sophia folded her hands around her chest, she felt that she had seen through this man's lies, and she hadn't said a word of truth since he had broken into his room that afternoon—— "Here's the evidence!"

She pointed to the golden sword and shield emblem on the man's armband.

"Why is your mark different from theirs?

The man was dumbfounded.

He didn't expect the situation to take such a turn for the worse, Princess Sophia, who had always spoken softly, put on an expression of "solve the case in an instant" at this moment, but the basis for her solving the case once again exposed her ignorance...... Well, it's not very involved in the world.

"Well...... this"

The man proudly pointed to the golden sword and shield insignia and said, "This is much more advanced than those knights outside, in the church, only eight knights are qualified to wear this kind of insignia." ”

"And this one too?"

Sophia lifted the man's sleeve, revealing the black crow pattern on his left wrist.

The atmosphere was a little dreary for a while.

"This ...... It's even more complicated. The man said with a bitter face.

"It's useless, you've been seen through by me...... Huh?" Sophia's high tone suddenly stopped, her eyes widened in surprise, and she pointed to the pattern on the man's wrist: "Wait a minute, it's moving!"

Sophia's attention was so focused on the man's wrist that she couldn't notice the other's sudden change in expression.

"Your Highness the Princess. ”

The silence lasted for a few seconds before the man spoke again.

"Huh?"

"Let's make a pact. ”

"What agreement?"

"You must not tell anyone what happened today, and as compensation, I will tell you a good thing. ”

Sophia thought for a while and mentioned the conditions: "No, you have to tell me first!"

"If you promise me not to tell me about it, I will teach you how to put down the rebellion, so that no one will look down on you. ”

"Really?" Sophia was a little excited.

"It's true. ”