Back at the palace of the Exceed queen, Shagotte was staring at three mirrors while her butler helped her dress up. Her subjects hated the idea of a human being allowed to be with her like that, but she had the final word. Besides, the butler actually had permission to deal with any threat or nuisances the queen faced, and it included fellow Exceed. Not that he'd do it, but the thought scared them enough to not anger him.
"Have you figured out what that dart was, Your Majesty?" he asked while adjusting the large set of robes over the cat woman's tiny body.
"It wasn't a poison, as I've been told… ugh…" she groaned as he tightened her robes, "Must you be so rough?"
"Sorry." His words had her sigh.
"No, forgive me." she said seriously and took a deep breath while he adjusted her robe around the waist, "This is one part of being a queen I'll happily leave behind once we put a stop to this madness. As for the dart, it is a pheromone. Apparently, the King may have wanted you to lose control. It would have made you prone to outbursts of anger if it had hit a vein."
"I must thank that Knightwalker's aim was off, then." He commented before putting her frilly collar around her neck, much to her dismay, "Though, why would they need me to be angry?"
"Possibly to have you attack one of us or even myself with the right motivation." She stopped talking as he tilted her head back to not suffocate her while buttoning the collar, "How're you feeling, though?"
He replied bluntly, "I think the only moment I had a rush of adrenaline and the need to be rough was with you last night under your bedsheets."
Her white face became pink with the red hot blush under her fur dyeing it, "That would… definitely explain why I was… Uh…" she looked at the dart, which was in a small glass vial, "Do you think we could…"
"I can see what amount worked, though I think you were also affected by it." He suppressed the urge to rub his shoulder, "The marks from your teeth still haven't left, and I think your claws left some lasting scars."
She awkwardly coughed into her paw, "We shall… see if the effects remain tonight. Now, please let this torture end."
He placed her cape on her shoulders and spoke up, "There, now… We have to stop King Faust's madness, but we also owe him our thanks for helping us enjoy a good night."
She blushed harder, "Please, I know you're trying to be more in touch with others with emotions, but refrain from making jokes…"
He blinked, but didn't change expressions, "Sorry, I just wanted to make light of the situation, it's what people do to avoid stress." He looked at his pocket watch and tried to finish the last touches to her outfit, "To be honest, I am worried and I know I'd be furious knowing that the king tried to make me attack you. After all, I still find you to be the most wonderful lady I ever met."
Taking a deep breath, she looked at him and nodded with a small smile, "And I still have too much to thank you. Now, let's get this day over with."
"You sound like it's tiring." He commented.
She sighed, "It is. Talking with these people who believe this lie I made and having to stroke their egos while they think they're gods among others for being nobles is… tiresome. You're lucky that lacking emotions makes you invulnerable to this boredom."
"I think I'll take that as a compliment." He answered after a brief pause before opening the door for her.
And before them was Panther Lily, "Excuse my abrupt arrival, but I'd like to talk with you, butler. If you do not mind."
Said blond looked at his queen, who nodded, "I shall be all right, and will call you if you're needed."
Nodding back, he turned to the panther man, "What is it you want, then? Do know that any requests you make have a limit considering who you're working for."
Panther Lily looked at him seriously, "It is to see something for myself. More specifically, to see how strong I need to become to protect the queen as efficiently as you."
The blond didn't even twitch a brow, but he was interested, "I'm listening."
"Have a duel with me." Panther Lily put a hand on his chest, "Let me see your true skills in a fair fight, one-on-one. I need to see what you're capable of after your fight with Knightwalker."
Closing his eyes briefly before adjusting his monocle, the blond didn't look at him but replied calmly, "It would be a fine chance to get some rust off my shoulders. Fine then, I shall amuse you."
Panther Lily grinned, "That confidence of yours can be your undoing, butler."
"I'm curious about why you're calling me by my title, that's another reason I'm doing this." The blond's monocle shone briefly, giving his close-eyed face a more menacing look, "Do not expect me to hold back."
"That's what I'm asking for." The panther man said.
Soon the training grounds was bursting with Exceed wanting to see the famous butler and bodyguard of their queen face off against one of the best knights in the kingdom that happened to be one of their own. As soon as the nobles heard the news, Queen Shagotte was dragged by them to see the spectacle. Worry could be seen on her face when she first heard of it, but she forced her face to stay neutral when she arrived.
At the dirt square that made the training grounds with dummies and weapons for the Exceed and a set made for the butler that was more than twice their size, the two fighters stood opposite from each other. The knight held a massive sword that could only be described as a large slab of metal while the butler had his arms crossed behind his back. An Exceed barely reaching the butler's knee and clad in armor was the referee,
"Ladies and gentlemen, this shall be a match to remember!" the tiny knight cheered, "On one corner we have our pride, a warrior unrivaled by many, our one and only Panther Lily!"
Cheers erupted and said large knight sighed, "I… I apologize for making this into a show."
The butler shook his head once, "Don't bother, the gossip network here is insane, and we'd have this crowd no matter how secret you wanted to make it."
"And in this corner, the mysterious bodyguard and butler of our queen, a man that singlehandedly stopped countless humans barehanded for her sake, our Haru-nyan!"
The blond didn't blink, even if he was still being cheered on, but he spoke up, "I wish they'd take my name a bit more seriously."
Panther Lily nodded and approached him, "Well then, are you ready to do this? If so…" he aimed his sword at the blond, "DRAW!"
Doing so, Haruto jabbed the air with his right arm, and with a flash of light a simple weapon appeared on it. It was a rapier, with a double-edged straight blade and three foot long, it looked almost ordinary. It had a golden guard designed to look like a wing coiled around his hand, a red handle, and a golden pummel. And connected to the pummel was a red cord, and attached to it was a bell shaped like a cat's head.
Keeping his left arm on his back, the blond moved the blade closer to his face with the tip aimed skywards, "Fair is fair, if you draw your sword then I shall use mine."
Panther Lily nodded, putting on his game face, "Impressive sword. What powers does it have?"
"None." The blond replied simply, "I can summon it at any time, and it can repair itself, but other than that this sword, which I have named Killer Queen, only needs me to be deadly."
"Why would he name it that?" a noble Exceed girl in a pretty dress asked her father.
The queen answered, "It was because I gave him it… He thought it would honor me to put Queen in its name, but I don't know why he put Killer in… I've never had the heart to tell him to change the name."
Everyone who heard her felt some form of shame or pity. Shame at that being the reason the sword got its name, and pity that the queen's butler was not very good at being tactful.
"You're a fencer, then." The knight started as he walked closer to the butler.
"I've had five years to master this art to serve my queen, let me see if it's good enough." The butler answered with his left arm still on his back.
Lily advanced with his sword ready, keeping up his guard at all times while the butler remained where he was, unmoving. When the larger fighter was within swinging range, the butler surprised him by throwing his left hand forward. Reacting swiftly, Panther Lily used his massive blade to block three throwing knives, but his defense allowed the butler to jump right at him. With his rapier ready, Alter delivered a powerful and simple stab that Panther Lily also blocked. However, the larger knight was shocked when his body was forced back with his feet digging into the ground, leaving a mark as he skid to a halt.
Twirling his sword once to return to his stance, the butler stared at the knight, who spoke up, "I see you still have your tricks."
"If it's for the queen's sake, I don't care how underhanded the method to victory is, I'll use it." He replied calmly as the two started to circle each other.