While heading to the end at Crows side, a pleasant scent tickled Fiis nose.

It was definitely a food stall.

And Fii suddenly recalled that she was hungry.

(Auu, Im sooo hungryy)

But it wouldnt do to buy food now.

She had money, but it wasnt the currency being used in this nation.

They were made from precious metals so if you weighed them, you could easily convert the value.

But a boy going shopping with money from another nation would draw eyes whether he wanted toor not.

(Bear with it Bear with it)

Fii desperately ignored the food cart as she made her way past it.

Whats up?

Nothing at all.

She couldnt rouse Crows suspicion any further.

She tried glossing over it.

Crow stared hard at her for a while.

Wait here for a bit.

Crow-san?

He suddenly went off somewhere.

When Crow returned, in his hand were two skewers of grilled chicken.

He handed one to Fii.

Here. Eat up.

Eh, but

Youre hungry, right? Dont worry about it and eat. With your body like that, youre not gunna pass the exam, yanno.

A pleasant scent was drifting from the skewer in her hand.

Fii looked up at Crow entreatingly, and he responded with a nod, so she opened her mouth and took a bit.

The taste of the first meat in weeks spread through her mouth.

(Its yummy! Its so yummyy!)

She couldnt stop at one bite.

Forgetting any manners as a princess, she frantically gulped down the chicken.

Haha, dont rush. Youll choke, yanno. Cmon, its nothing to cry about, right?

Crows words made her notice the tears dripping from her face as she ate the chicken.

Since coming to his country, the people here had all ignored her. Nobody would give her the time of day, and she spent weeks locked up in the villa, given nothing but loneliness

Crow was the first one to give her kindness since she had come here.

While eating the warm chicken, something even warmer filled her heart.

Crow-san Thank you very much

Because she couldnt stop her tears, Fii thanked Crow instead.

And though a little troubled, Crow smiled and said,

Like I said, stop crying already. Just letting you know, but even if a guy cries, nobody is gunna comfort him. Were only supposed to comfort women when they cry in bed.

Yes!

Although she was still crying, Fii nodded with a smile.

It made her want to give her all.

If the knights had people like him, it would definitely be a good home.

Was there any better place to start her new life?

She might even end up in the same unit as Crow.

Before long, the pair finally reached the end of the line.

Thank you for everything, Crow-san.

Dont worry about it. Its part of my job,

Though Crow said this, it was obvious that treating people to grilled chicken was not actually.

Just to let you know, Im not going to show you any favour in the exams. We do things fairly.

Yes, I understand.

Seeing Crows expression turn a little more serious now, Fii nodded in reply.

It was natural.

The length of the queue spoke of how many applicants there were. If just being a little close to a knight meant that you would be treated specially, the exam would never last.

With this many hopefuls, it would definitely be stiff competition.

Was it possible for her to succeed?

No, shehadto succeed.

If she wanted to escape her life of rotting away in that villa as the Second Queen, she had no choice but to succeed as Heath.

Her expression had suddenly become strained, so Crow pat her on the shoulder. Looking up, she found him grinning roguishly at her.

I wont show you any favour, but Ill be rooting for you.

What a joy to hear.

Fii who had been alone the whole time since coming here, had found herself somebody who would root for her.

Yes! Ill try my best!

Yeah! Go for it!

After cheering her up, with a wave, Crow made his way back towards the castle.

(A knight I want to become a knight!)

Compared to the time when she just wanted to quit being Second Queen, the feelings she held now were even stronger.