After that day.
Rellia started taking Oscar on her left and Romeo on her right.
The other children glanced at them with curious eyes as the two called Rellia "Captain."
The priests once called Oscar and Romeo over and asked, "By any chance... has His Highness Crown Prince Leo of Auraria ever struck you two?" which caused some awkwardness.
Fortunately, Rellia was soon cleared of the false accusation.
The two children had proven Rellia's innocence.
Thus passed days that were peaceful yet not quite peaceful.
The time for that "certain activity" Rellia was reluctant about approached.
The Temple in particular intended to deepen the children's friendship, and this "special activity" was devised for that purpose.
However, this activity had some problems.
'These crazy bastards. Why on earth do they do this sort of thing? Even to children this young?'
The priests explained it as "an activity to defeat the demons that seek to invade your hearts."
In short, it was to eliminate the fear of demons.
'It's just a courage test, isn't it.'
Irritation welled up, but since Rellia was in a position where she had to behave herself, she couldn't even complain.
And with all the other children accepting it quietly, she couldn't very well be the only one to say she wouldn't do it.
'Even if I speak up, that won't stop them from proceeding.'
Everything was happening with the guardians' permission. No matter that she was the Crown Prince, once the Emperor had granted permission, a ten-year-old's opinion held no weight.
The children were excited, saying they would now be able to fight demons. They were unmistakably like lower elementary school students.
'Certainly in the novel...'
Rellia couldn't be purely delighted like the other children, but she simply accepted it calmly.
However, she was carefully recalling one incident she had seen in the original work.