Angel Monarch

—New Athens, Thea's Mansion, in the gym—

Thea faced off her new best friend, Lydia. It's been a few days since Astrid and Kim left, leaving them to train alone.

Their past trainings and Astrid's special talk with Lydia made them closer. They fought well against each other and even began having fun with each session.

However, Lydia wasn't happy when her friends and teachers left her behind. She even slacked off with her training, so Thea dragged to girl into her family's gym and forced her to spar.

After getting beaten a few times and with Thea's constant teasing, she quickly regained her motivation. She then used the newfound resolve to beat Thea into the metal ground.

They hadn't left the gym for nearly two days. Their matches lasted longer, and they even chatted a few times, although Lydia was really introverted.

The maids brought them food, and Marko, Thea's brother, came to observe them a few times.

The gym turned into their makeshift home. They even had a large holo-screen, which they sometimes used to watch movies or played games on.

They did everything together, from eating, to sparing, sleeping, and even showering. Other than sparing, their schedule was fairly empty, and even Lydia became bored after hours of fighting.

After the first day of their new routine, they began referring to themselves as the 'Useless Duo', since literally nobody needed their help… However, they didn't expect that after only a few days, Vicky would require their immediate help!

Thea and Lydia were dueling. As usual, Thea held herself against her partner, but Lydia gradually beat her back, until eventually she would lose.

Just when Lydia came close to winning, a portal opened nearby. She halted her movements, but Thea noticed too late, so her training sword accidentally hit her friend.

"Ow! Dammit, Thea! Pay attention! Don't you see the portal opening!"

Lydia rubbed her head where Thea's blade hit her. The other girl just giggled and patted her friend's head.

"Sorry! However, you should never get distracted while fighting! Isn't that what Astrid taught us?"

The overly serious girl groaned in annoyance, but she couldn't hold back the small smile from appearing on her face.

"You're annoying… Especially when you're right! Now let's see what assistance our Princess requires!"

Thea made a mock salute towards Lydia, and together they went towards the portal, just as it fully opened.

The first person through was Henry, carrying a small, unconscious boy. Close behind, followed Vicky, looking more serious than usual.

"Good morning, you two! We need Lydia's ability to seal this boy's powers!"

Lydia smiled genuinely, just from receiving an order from her Princess. However, Thea didn't take kindly to Vicky's treatment, and she voiced her opinion without caring about her own lowly position compared to the Princess.

"Its past midnight, but it's not like you care… You know, for a moment I believed you came here to converse with your supposed best friend, who you ignored for weeks…"

"I really overestimated your ability to care for your other relationships. You seem to only care for your friends if they can provide help with your current problem!"

Everyone stared at Thea in stunned silence. Vicky's white eyes turned angry for a moment, but she quickly dismissed those emotions. Instead, with a serious expression, she turned to Lydia.

"Sorry I hadn't spent time with you, but I was a bit busy in the past weeks… Anyway, I'm on a short schedule, so could you seal it before he awakens?"

Lydia took a step forward, following her Lady's orders without a word of defiance. However, Thea glimpsed at the hurt in those gleaming, light blue eyes.

She would've never voiced it, but Vicky's words deeply hurt Lydia. After spending two years following the Princess, she never truly realized how one-sided their friendship was.

However, since she began seriously training with Thea, she finally got a glimpse of how a genuine friend acts like… It pained Lydia's heart, how little her Princess actually cared about her…

Luckily, Thea noticed and saw through everything clearly. She reached forth and grabbed her friend's arm, not letting her move towards Henry and the boy he's holding.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but you can't just waltz in, expecting everyone to jump to your help! Lydia is your friend, not some loyal dog whom you can order freely!"

"Or do you perhaps disagree? What happens if Lydia refuses your order? Will you force her? Will you threaten her? Are you just a dictator acting as a Princess?… Do you have no sense of shame?"

Vicky squeezed her hands tightly, trying to dismiss Thea's words. Her mouth kept opening and closing, unsure how to respond.

Eventually, though, the Princess seemed to deflate, while the weight on her shoulders continued to press down, suffocating and trying to break her will.

"Fuck me… You think I don't want to spend time with all my friends! If you hadn't noticed, I'm leading an entire continent! I'm thirteen fucking years old and responsible for more than a billion people!"

"You have no right to judge me! You don't know my suffering and how hard I work! I'm sorry, I didn't pay enough attention to our friendship, but I barely have time for myself!… Could you please take care of this since I have–"

Before Vicky could've continued, Lydia stepped forward. Her expression turned angry and subverting everyone's expectations, the young girl slapped the Princess.

Vicky's pale face turned red, but she couldn't care less. Her eyes became wide while staring up at Lydia. Henry and Thea just watched everything, speechless.

"I'm sorry too my Pri–… Vicky, but all I heard is excuses! I'm certain you spend hours each day doing nothing but chat with Henry! Sure, I forgive you when you trained with Yvonne for weeks, but before that?!"

"Since you officially became a Princess, we barely spent any time together! Even before that, you always left to spend time with your mother… I tried my hardest, but our friendship didn't end weeks or days ago. It has been degrading for two years!"

Tears ran down Lydia's face as she walked up to Henry. She reached out and placed her hand on the unconscious boy's forehead.

A gentle glow appeared along Lydia's hand, and slowly it spread along the boy's body. It took a few seconds, but eventually, she sealed his powers.

Afterward, Lydia glanced back at the Princess, her light blue eyes showing nothing but contempt.

"You need to leave the boy so I can renew the seal every day. He's a Transcended, so my ability is pretty limited... Also, please refrain from ordering me in the future. I'll help when I want to!"

Vicky didn't even argue or ask questions. It seemed Lydia's words hit her much harder than Thea's. She looked both sad and annoyed, as if her loyal dog had just tried to bite her.

"We understand, then please take care of him for now. His name is Lin, the son of Xinya, and possibly the child of whoever controls the ravens… He's extremely powerful, so Cass will leave an avatar nearby. She'll help if something happens!"

Both girls nodded towards Henry, accepting his words. He carried Lin to the gym's makeshift livingroom… Basically the corner of the room with a large sofa, a wall-mounted holo-screen and a small fridge full of snacks and drinks…

Afterward, the Princess opened another portal and stepped through without addressing either girl.

Henry just sighed at his love's depressing display. He stopped before the portal and glanced over his shoulder at Thea and Lydia.

"I know she might seem harsh, but Vicky's trying. She's not great at asking for help, so all the weight of leadership falls on her shoulder. I'm not making excuses, and I'll definitely talk to her later, but... Please, be patient with her…"

Lydia slowly shook her head, regret showing on her face. There were many emotions and thoughts clouding her mind.

"We'll, but don't contact me for a while… I need time to evaluate our relationship and my goals in life… I really wanted to be Vicky's protector, like Faith is to our Goddess. However, I'm not certain anymore."

The Prince stared at his longtime friend. A small smirk appeared on his face and he ruffled Lydia's curly, long auburn hair. The young girl giggled and swiped at her friend's hand.

"I'm here for Vicky. Find your own path! Ask yourself what you truly desire and try to achieve that goal… Anyway, thank you for taking care of Lin. If either of you needs anything, don't refrain from asking!"

Both girls nodded and waved as Henry stepped through the portal. A second later, the portal closed, plunging the gym into silence.

Lydia stared into empty space, her thoughts running astray. Her friend watched with sad eyes, helplessly.

After a few seconds, Thea took a deep breath. She walked up to her friend and firmly elbowed Lydia.

"Hey! What was that for?"

Thea just giggled and grabbed the training swords. She tossed one at Lydia, who easily snatched it out of the air.

"Come on, our duel got interrupted so you haven't won yet! But if you're too tired or weak, we can take a break! What will it be?"

Her taunted seemed to find its mark as a wide, excited smile appeared on Lydia's lips. Thea also grinned, and soon the sound of metal hitting metal echoed inside the gym.

While there was a lot on Lydia's mind, a good duel always cleared her head, especially when fighting against Thea.

Somehow, this abnormally tall fifteen-year-old gorgeous girl always looked clearer than anything else in this world.

While fighting her, Lydia's heart always beat more quickly, her breathing always became more uneven, her hands always turned more sweaty.

She had mixed feelings while sparing against her. Her personality and mind wanted to win, but her heart didn't want to hurt Thea. These mixed feelings caused confusion though, so she mostly ignored them.