After clearing the misunderstanding, Rosie and her group bought certain flowers and incense. They headed to the aristocratic cemetery outside the city gate shortly after.
Following the grave keeper guidance, they headed for the burial grounds that belonged to the Reinhard Family.
'Lisha, please forgive your big sister. May you be happy and calm in heaven--' Rosie burned incense and put flowers on her niece-, her little sister's grave.
After delivering her long prayer, she moved to Alisha's father and mother's grave to pray for them. Fran and the others did the same, but the protectors were only watching from the side.
'Alisha, I still don't know if you are on Earth, in my Subconscious Mind Realm, or have gone to the afterlife... However, I wish you all the best. May yourself be blessed and given the gift of happiness wherever you are.' Elysia put her hands together and sent her prayers. She made Alisha's grave, which had nothing in it, the last to be visited.
'Amen.' Elena uttered at the end of Elysia's prayer.
Elysia heaved a subtle sigh afterwards and stood up. She turned to the side and saw Rosie and Fran still continuing their pilgrimage even to the more than a hundred knights who died during the tragedy that night.
Then, she carried back the white cat, who felt a little confused and lost. How could that not be? Vanessa was at the funeral of people who died because of her brother. The white cat just shook her head and buried her face in her master's soothing breasts.
Elysia was quiet. It was true that some of the knights here died because of Vanessa's brother... But most of them were the work of Sylvia. May this be passed and forgotten or never brought up again. Well, if the push came to shove, Elysia couldn't lie either.
After an hour or two on the pilgrimage, Rosie and Fran decided to return. The others, of course, just nodded without saying much... Considering that Rosie and Fran were in a bad mood. Something like the previous misunderstanding could happen again.
Just as they were just stepping out of the burial area, a knight lady in black armor stood near their carriage. She had black hair dangling down the middle of her back and a tattoo-like black scar on her forehead down to her chin, past her right eye.
"Woah, Saint Holy Knight Ariel Evadne! His Majesty didn't tease me this time and spoke the truth. Finally, I met the youngest Saint-level holy knight of the Holy Central Region, hehe..." The lady in black armor mumbled under her breath. She was excited about the obvious reason.
However, she immediately cleared her throat and spoke in her knightly fashion. "Ahem, let me introduce myself. I am Hannah White, the escort sent by His Majesty. I will be the liaison between you and His Majesty to ensure your safety during your visit."
"Yes, Emperor Elliott told us beforehand. Please take care of us during our visit, Miss Hannah." Evelyn represented the others in a polite response.
As Hannah and Evelyn exchanged courtesies, Elena stared suspiciously at the knight lady in black armor. 'Ely, this knight lady is named Hannah White, but why is her armor black? She has black hair, brown eyes, and olive skin. Apart from her white teeth, I failed to see the white of this knight lady.'
'A-uhh... Sister Elena, you that, ah.' Elysia didn't even know what to say in response to that. It was also none of their business to dispute someone's name.
Yet, she knew Elena was just bored and raised it up for a joke. Elena chuckled afterwards, and it was definitely true.
Finished with the greetings, Hannah and Rosie's group headed back to the Reinhard Family's mansion. It was noon, and Rosie had promised to have lunch with her family. Elysia and the princesses obviously had to go along at Rosie's request.
"Rosie, Fran, and distinguished guests... You are on time. Lunch is almost finished, and you must have lunch with our family. Yes, everyone~" Rosie's mother invited everyone who had just come to move into the dining room. All of them, without exception. Even Hannah was categorized as distinguished guests in question.
"All right, please, make yourself at home." Rosie gave a polite pointing hand gesture before guiding the others.
After they arrived at the dining room, several people were already seated in their respective seats. The dishes were lined up neatly on the long dining table, attracting the culinary connoisseur's full attention. Vanessa instantly forgot everything else because the delicious food was justice itself.
Elysia and the others sat down politely to the assigned seats, on the guest seats.
Meanwhile, Rosie looked at the family's head's vacant chair with a slightly sad expression, then she just sighed as she stared at the three chairs that were left empty nearby.
However, Harold came into the dining room not long after. Somehow, he no longer wore a sad or depressed expression for some unexplained reasons.
"Please, lunch is ready. Oh, you were sent by Emperor Elliott to be the escort, Senior Hannah?" Harold sat down and invited the others to eat, but his attention was caught by the knight lady in black armor.
"Oh, of course, it's me, Junior Harold. Don't say you didn't welcome me, hmm?" Hannah put her hand to her chin with a mysterious smirk.
"Ha-haha, nobody said that. Go ahead, eat as much as you want. For the guests, feel free and make yourself at home." Harold waved his hand in front of his face once with a dry laugh, then invited the others. After that, they had lunch together.
Ella and Evelyn had a silly expression for a moment. They looked at Hannah and then at Harold. They believed Harold was older than Hannah, but why did the former refer to the latter as a senior?
Even so, the two of them put the matter behind their heads a moment after. It was different for Elysia, who already knew Harold and Hannah's age because she could see their status screen.
Elysia was somewhat relieved that she wasn't the center of attention anymore. She only ate lunch while occasionally feeding the white cat on her lap.
Not long after, their hearty lunch was over. The dining table was professionally tidied by maids and butlers.
"Miss Elysia, Princess Evelyn, and Holy Princess Gabriella ... May you tell me about your activities after this? You won't go straight back to the Holy Central Region, are you?" Harold asked for confirmation. For some reason, he wanted them to stay the night and see Elysia a little longer.
"Uhm, Rosie's original plan said that we would return to Aeddoterra City in the late afternoon soon. However, it looks like that has changed a bit for some reason." Evelyn looked at her best friend, then at Rosie. She wanted Rosie to explain their plans as they would return to the academy together.
"Yes, I think we'll stay for the night, and we'll leave for Aeddoterra City in the morning." Rosie nodded with what she thought was the best. After saying that, she looked at Elysia with imploring eyes.
Elysia's acceleration magic was effective at shortening travel time without consuming resources. So, they didn't need to rush and follow the original plan, right?
"All right, we'll stay overnight. I hope we don't bother you." Elysia gave a gentle smile with understanding.
"Haha-ha, no, nothing is a bother no matter what. You can do whatever you want without feeling awkward or embarrassed." Harold laughed, but his eyes lit up a little because of that. "So, what are you going to do next? Going for a walk in the city? Going shopping or visiting somewhere?"
Evelyn didn't know, and Ella was as clueless as Evelyn about what they were going to do. They needed recommendations and guides as this was their first visit to Cuttexus City.
The advice given by Harold wasn't a good thing to do due to limited time. Not to mention, they were still under the tutelage of the protectors, and that wouldn't be fun. Ella and Evelyn unknowingly turned to Elysia, curious about Elysia's plans for the day.
"That's an interesting suggestion, Sir Harold. However, please forgive me as I have a plan for today. Miss Ariel, would you do some practical training with me today? I want to try what I learned last night." Elysia clasped her hands together with a sweet smile. She wanted to practice the science of physical attacks using magic.
Fran, who was drinking tea, immediately coughed because Elysia's words made him choke. Practical training, learned last night... What did they do last night!? Could it be that Ariel taught these innocent girls certain something about lady's matter?
Well, Fran wasn't the only one who misunderstood that, but a certain grandpa too.
Ariel smiled softly at Elysia's enthusiasm for learning new things. "With pleasure, Miss Elysia. Princ-"
Before Ariel had time to invite Evelyn and Ella, the two girls immediately raised their hands slightly with the same enthusiasm. "We're in. Let's just do the exercises."
"Cough, ahem! If I may know what exercises will you do?" Maximilian interrupted the conversation when the opportunity came. He had suspicions and hoped that the training mentioned was nothing more than magic or sword practice.
"Of course, it's magic practice, Sir Maximilian. The girls and I are going to train in an open field or a wide training ground. Miss Hannah, can you please request a permit for us?" Ariel didn't understand the meaning behind Maximilian's question. She only answered simply and turned to look at the beaming Hannah.