Chapter 7: First Friends Among Royals.

“Sarju, she’s with me—”

Roy hurried over and spoke up, but Sarju refused to yield.

“I can’t entrust her to someone she can’t trust. Roy, Karius—both of you return for today.”

His tone carried clear displeasure at the fact that they had not immediately offered her a hand.
Having been shunned and avoided without understanding why until now, Amelia felt fresh tears threatening at the sight of Sarju growing angry on her behalf.

“…But, Your Highness—”

Still, leaving a member of the royal family to act alone was unthinkable.
His guards looked deeply troubled.
Since Sarju refused to let Amelia go, they couldn’t even assist.

Yet he paid no heed to the flustered guards trailing behind him.
He simply continued walking straight toward the infirmary, carrying her in his arms.

“Sarju, what happened?”

A voice suddenly called from behind, finally causing him to halt.

“Brother. Perfect timing.”

At those words, Amelia realized the one who had stopped him was Third Prince Julius.
She hurriedly bowed her head.

Julius appeared to be on his way back to the palace, accompanied by his own guards.

Normally she would have offered a proper greeting, but being held in Sarju’s arms left her able to do little more than lower her head.

“I need you to use healing magic on her. I caused her to get hurt when she ran into me.”

“Sarju? It was I who ran into you—”

Amelia frantically corrected him.

She had dashed out without looking ahead properly; the collision and any resulting injury were entirely her fault.
To use healing magic on something so minor felt far too extravagant.

“I’m fine. It’s nothing serious.”

Third Prince Julius specialized in water magic.
He had short-cropped black hair and green eyes, tall and imposingly built, yet strikingly handsome.

The Crown Prince and Sarju shared the same legitimate mother—the queen consort—while Second Prince Est and Third Prince Julius were born to a concubine, so Julius bore little resemblance to Sarju.
Still, it was well known that the four royal brothers were exceptionally close.

“If my little brother caused trouble, then allow me to make amends. Let’s get you to the infirmary right away. Ah—you lot can head back now. I’ll stay with Sarju.”

At Julius’s words, Sarju’s guards—who had followed in visible confusion—bowed deeply and withdrew.

And so, accompanied by the two princes and their remaining attendants, Amelia was carried straight to the infirmary.

She attracted considerable attention from everyone around them.

If possible, she wished they would simply let her return home like this.
But she couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud, so she kept her head bowed the entire way.

The infirmary was empty.
Julius unlocked the door as casually as if it were his own room and ushered them inside.
Sarju gently and carefully lowered her onto the bed.
Julius immediately cast healing magic over her ankle.

“There. That should do it. Does anything else hurt?”

“No. Thank you very much. I’m fine now—but, um, Prince Sarju’s injury—”

When she pleaded for Sarju to be healed as well, Julius turned a stern gaze toward his younger brother.

“Where?”

“…”

Sarju remained silent.
Julius’s eyes shifted to Amelia.

“Uh, um… I believe it was his right wrist.”

At her answer, Julius touched Sarju’s right hand.
Seeing the healing magic envelop it, Amelia finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thanks. This guy tends to hide his pain and say nothing, so if I hadn’t known, it might have gotten worse.”

“No, please—thank you for using healing magic on such a trivial injury for me as well.”

She bowed her head again.

Julius smiled warmly and told her not to worry about it.
He seemed surprisingly approachable.

“By the way—you’re the young lady Sarju escorted at the new student welcoming party, aren’t you? Has Sarju finally decided to choose a fiancée after all?”

“No—no, that’s absolutely not the case!”

Amelia shook her head frantically.

“Lady Amelia already has a fiancé. That night she happened to be alone, so I simply asked if I could escort her.”

Sarju quickly explained the situation.

“I see. That’s a shame.”

Julius’s gaze turned toward Amelia.
Only then did she realize she had not yet introduced herself properly.
She managed a curtsy and spoke.

“Forgive my delay. I am Amelia, daughter of Count Grond of the Renia Earldom.”

“I’m Julius. May I call you Amelia?”

“Yes—of course.”

Relieved by his friendly, kind tone, she relaxed slightly—only for Julius to suddenly burst into laughter.

“If you’re dissatisfied, you could just ask for permission to call her by name too, couldn’t you?”

The remark was clearly not directed at Amelia.
That left only Sarju—but there was no way he would desire such a thing.

Julius was surely teasing his brother.

The playful banter between close siblings was heartwarming, yet Amelia wished—out of sheer awe—that they would not use her as the subject.

As those thoughts crossed her mind, she glanced at Sarju.
He was staring straight at her.
Those emerald eyes, sparkling like jewels, met hers directly.
Her heart gave a sudden, sharp thud.

“May I… call you Amelia as well?”

“Eh? Y-yes—of course.”

She nodded reflexively.
Sarju’s face lit up with a delighted smile.

It was different from his usual gentle, amiable expression—this one carried real emotion.
This was only the second time she had seen him smile like that.

“Sarju, congratulations.”

Julius—the one who had started all this—clapped his younger brother on the shoulder.

“Your first friend. Treasure her.”

Amelia was stunned by Julius’s words—and equally shocked to see Sarju nod with a slightly embarrassed look.

“S-someone like me could never be His Highness’s friend—”

“Call me Sarju, Amelia.”

“Y-yes.”

Said so directly by a face so perfectly handsome it captivated anyone who looked upon it, she found herself nodding without thinking.