Both Gilbert and Maria swore their loyalty to the kingdom in return for Pride's kindness, and the matter was closed completely.
Later, Arthur talked with Stale in a room. Stale asked him whether he could go on being a knight now that he knew what his power really was, or whether he would become a healer instead. Arthur was confident. He would be a strong knight forever.
Then Arthur changed the subject and asked whether Stale was truly all right with Gilbert being forgiven, and Stale answered yes.
The knight was not convinced so easily, and pushed him to be honest.
So the angry boy vented. He was furious that the princess had let Gilbert go after all the horrible things the man had said about her. Underneath it, he felt that he was not protecting Pride enough, and Arthur hurried to comfort him.
He told Stale that before he had ever known anything about Pride, the town had been full of nasty rumors about her character — and that after some time those rumors had died down, clearly because of how hard Stale had worked. Arthur told him he had protected Pride from what he could, and that he should not expect himself to be able to protect her from everything, all the time.
To reassure him, Arthur offered his own protection for Pride whenever Stale was not there.
Stale was surprised, and complimented Arthur for being so mature about it. Arthur dismissed that; he had been far worse at Stale's age.
Stale decided he had shown too much weakness. He would never let himself be vulnerable or cry again. That shocked Arthur, who wondered whether he would really carry on like that forever, and Stale added that he would wait until he was eighteen to tell Pride his true feelings.
Arthur agreed with him and gave him his support, and the bond between the two boys grew deeper still.
Later, at night, the group attended Gilbert and Maria's wedding. Tiara asked Stale whether he genuinely hated Gilbert or not. Stale was still bitter about the man's crimes, but he admitted that he was happy Gilbert had ended up with the woman he loved. Then Tiara pointed out the other reason Stale disliked him: that fantastic confidence of his.
Stale blushed with embarrassment, and Gilbert appeared at exactly the right moment to greet them. Like a proper tsundere, Stale told him he hated him, and Gilbert took the words lightly.
Afterward, Gilbert proudly announced his marriage to Maria to everyone in attendance. He had his happy life with his lover at last.
Some days later, the royal family held an Imperial Guard exam for the knights.
Arthur took part in it and dominated his fellows, and so became a personal guard of the royal family. Now he would be around Pride in her private life as well.
Not long after, as the group traveled together in a carriage, they came upon a man lying fallen in the street. To everyone's surprise, it was Val.
Val woke later in a room, covered in bandages. He saw everyone gathered around him, and Pride understood at once what had happened: he had come back because the contract had forced him to ask her for help.
She asked him why he needed her help. Val claimed he did not need anything.
Realizing he was far too proud to admit what he wanted, Pride used the contract and forced him to tell her what was going on.
He told her that he had to free two children, Sephi and Kemet. They were his family, and they had been taken by traffickers. The kidnappers had demanded five more children in exchange for them, though he doubted they would honor the offer anyway.
Pride thought about it and understood that Val was entirely helpless here. She told him he would be under house arrest for a while, and began getting ready to move against the criminals.
Later, Pride faced Val in her room, where he seemed annoyed by the very fact of her presence. He threw a knife at her, and it barely missed.
Stale was enraged. Pride remained unfazed. She told Val to eat well and rest well for the hostage recovery operation, which infuriated him further.
Val screamed at her that he did not need anyone's help, and Tiara asked him whether he did not want to save the children. Did he not care about their well-being at all?
The man admitted that he wanted the kids back because he wanted to live comfortably.
His heartlessness brought tears to Tiara's eyes. She thought he was using the two of them as mere servants. Pride comforted her sister, and then told the angry Stale and Arthur to leave the two of them alone.
She wondered aloud why he wanted to save the children, and then asked him how he had met them.
Val told her that the kids had simply been orphans living in his abandoned house. They had started following him around for protection, and had been annoying him with their company ever since.
So Val was annoyed by their presence. Pride wondered, then, why he was so worried.
He kept talking about them. Sephi was a young girl who used her power to shoot water in order to protect Kemet, and Kemet was a little boy who only ever followed his sister around.
As Val mentioned one small thing after another about the two of them, Pride observed that he cared about them, and asked him again whether he was worried.
Val answered no.
She asked him what things he considered precious. The criminal answered that money and his own life were the only things that mattered. His parents had abandoned him. He had never had friends. He had never cared.
Then Pride asked him whether he would care if something happened to Kemet and Sephi.
Val hesitated, and then turned on her in a fury. He denied caring about the children at all, and he rolled over in pain as he said it. He felt nausea and an ache in his heart whenever he thought about the two of them, and in his anger he pinned Pride down for making him realize that pain existed.
He blamed her for letting him live. He blamed her for letting him develop feelings for other people. The heartache, he said, was crushing his soul.
Pride watched Val cry, awkwardly, confused by his own feelings, and she understood. Val wanted to help the two children because it was the only way to quiet the discomfort and pain in his heart, and that pain was there because he loved them.
She hugged the broken man, comforting him, helping him understand what was happening inside him.
Val had been a homeless orphan boy, and he had never learned how to care about anyone. The unknown feeling of love and worry had terrified him. The truth of that was extremely sad to Pride, and she held him tightly.