Once they land, Roger asks Mel to check her luggage to make sure none of her “explosive suitcases” mysteriously vanished. While she’s doing that, she notices Roger’s dragon staring intensely at her. For a moment, she thinks it wants her for lunch—until she realizes it’s actually ogling the leftover royal moodle meat Roger is holding like a snack he’s been saving for later.
Feeling guilty for the hungry beast, Mel asks Roger to share. Roger hesitates—because he was definitely planning to eat that— but after seeing his dragon’s shimmering, begging eyes, he sighs and sacrifices the precious meat. The dragon happily chomps it down, and Roger officially welcomes Mel to his castle.
As they walk across the bridge, Mel spots a school of fish in the moat. Roger explains they’re called bacta, monster-fish used to clean up the moat whenever someone drops something… or someone. Mel immediately wonders if they’re edible and how tasty they’d be if grilled.
But then disaster strikes. Mel spots her reflection and nearly screams—her hair is a frizzy disaster, thanks to their midair chase. She can’t fix it with just her hands, and there’s no way she wants to meet Roger’s people looking like she fought a lightning spirit. Now she desperately needs a plan before she’s introduced to the entire castle looking like a startled raccoon.
Mel nervously calls out to Roger, asking a question. He stops and listens, and the fact that he doesn’t seem bothered by her wild, frizzy hair makes her wonder if she’s overreacting. But she quickly shakes the thought—after all, as the Duke’s wife, she has to make a good first impression.
Roger notices Mel sitting near the edge of the moat and assumes she’s staring at the bacta fish. He cheerfully tells her they’re delicious when stewed. For a moment, Mel forgets all about her hair and starts rambling about how she’s never tried bacta before. Roger offers her one, and she happily agrees—then abruptly remembers she’s totally off-topic. She sheepishly admits her real problem: she wants to make herself presentable before meeting everyone and asks if he can show her to a room to “tidy up a bit.”
Realizing he’s been completely inconsiderate, Roger immediately calls Mullen, declaring an emergency and instructing him to summon the Blanch Corps—a team of female knights who can assist her. Turning back to Mel, he apologizes: the castle has no chambermaids, and he hadn’t prepared for a duchess in ages. The Blanch Corps, he explains, are the best they’ve got. Once assembled, they treat Mel with full respect, much to her relief.
The captain of the Blanch Corps, Blanch Lucible, introduces herself to Mel, who is left utterly speechless—mostly because Blanch is ridiculously good-looking. The other two knights are Vice-Captain Natalie and Lillian. Roger explains that Mel just finished her first flight, so he’d like the knights to help her recover from the ordeal. Blanch cheerfully accepts the task.
Mel asks Roger how long she has before being formally introduced to everyone. He hasn’t set a strict time but thinks dinner would be perfect, giving her a few hours to get ready. Before she leaves, Roger grabs her hand, removes his glove, and plants a quick kiss on it. Mel immediately turns bright red—she can’t believe he did that in front of the knights! Roger shrugs and reminds her they are engaged, so it’s no big deal. He also tells her she can stop by his room anytime if she needs anything.
Once Roger leaves, Natalie gestures for Mel to follow her to her room. Mel is amazed at how pretty and cozy the room is. But then she hesitates: her boots are dirty, and she’s worried about staining the plush carpet. Blanch immediately notices and, without thinking twice, scoops her up and plops her gently onto a chair. Mel can’t help but question her life choices—being carried like that by Blanch feels… intense.
Blanch kneels and offers to massage Mel’s feet, but Mel quickly protests, saying she can manage herself. As Mel takes off her boots, Natalie and Lillian ask if she’d like any sweets brought in. Mel politely declines, not wanting to hog their precious time.
Mel tells them she can manage on her own, but Blanch refuses. After all, Roger trusted them to act as her personal guards, and they take that duty very seriously. “Think of us as your knights,” Blanch says, presenting her sword as a symbol of her loyalty.
As she unsheathes it, Mel notices a familiar insignia—the same one Roger had on his sword the day he saved her. She carefully resheathes the blade and says that the fact they were chosen by Roger alone earns her trust, but they still know next to nothing about her—and she knows just as little about them.
Returning the sword, Mel reminds them that a knight’s blade is as valuable as their life, and it shouldn’t be handed to a stranger. She acknowledges the rumors that might surround her, but she made a promise to Roger. On the way here, she figured out how she wants to make herself useful in the Galbreth region. Until she proves herself worthy of the title Duchess of Galbreth, she asks Blanch to hold off on offering her sword.
Blanch nods in understanding. “Then I’ll work to become a knight worthy of serving you,” she replies. Mel thanks her sincerely, and Blanch begins putting her sword away.
Curious, Mel asks if the sword was made by the same smith who forged Roger’s blade. Blanch confirms that all the knightly swords are crafted by a smith in Midlake. Mel explains she hopes to commission her own sword and wonders if Blanch could introduce her to him.
However, Blanch doesn’t think introducing Mel to the Smith family would be a good idea. Mel pleads with her to at least mention them, and Blanch, unable to say no to such insistence, relents.
A little later, Blanch offers to help Mel brush her hair. As soon as she starts, though, she realizes there’s way more hair than she expected. “I… may not be equipped to handle this alone,” she admits. Mel begs her to keep trying—after all, she needs her hair fluffy for dinner because Roger likes it that way. Blanch is stunned; she had no idea Roger was such a fan of fluff. Now, however, she makes it her personal mission to untangle, perfume, and fluff Mel’s hair to perfection in time for tonight.
Pulling out all the haircare equipment she has, Blanch gets to work. Mel feels a little guilty for keeping her from her usual duties and apologizes. Blanch waves it off, saying she used to brush her own daughter’s hair all the time, so she’s more than capable. Mel is relieved, though still shocked to learn Blanch is married with kids. Blanch notices her curiosity and explains she has two children—a daughter and a son.
Her daughter has recently shown interest in becoming a knight like her, much to Blanch’s husband’s worry. Blanch is proud but also aware of how tough life as a knight can be. That’s why she can’t quite understand why Mel wants to commission her own sword—but she’ll support her anyway.
Mel explains that she simply needs a blade to butcher monsters properly. This catches Blanch off guard—she definitely wasn’t expecting that answer.
To make sure she’s not misunderstanding, Blanch asks if Mel plans to butcher monsters so she can eat them afterward. Mel confirms it. After all, monster meat was basically the reason she and Roger got together in the first place.
She calls over to Natalie and asks her to fetch her work tools from one of the bags. Natalie obeys, pulling out a bag of knives that could easily qualify as war veterans. The blades are so worn that they’ve shrunk to less than half their original width. Mel explains that she usually uses them to cut through bones and flesh, so the wear is completely normal.
Then Lillian asks if Mel actually eats monster meat regularly. Natalie quickly covers her mouth, thinking it’s rude—but Mel doesn’t mind. She expected their curiosity about her monster-eating habits. Mel goes on to explain why she started developing ways to eat monster meat, and Lillian is fascinated.
Honestly, Lillian had always wanted to try monster meat herself, but no one ever let her because “terrible things might happen.” She timidly asks Mel if she could cook some for her. Mel says that as long as Roger is okay with it, she can prepare some leftover Zanas. Lillian is overjoyed—but Blanch chimes in, wagging a finger, that it’s incredibly rude to make requests of Lady Mel.
So, Lillian is dismissed for the day. She tries to argue, but Blanch insists she leave immediately. Reluctantly, Lillian bows in apology and starts toward the door.
Before she steps outside, Mel stops her and asks how old she is. Lillian replies that she’s only 15—but technically, the age of adulthood here is 17. However, since she’s already been knighted, she’s officially considered an adult anyway.
Mel smiles and asks if she really wants to try some monster food together. She adds that she’d be more than happy to accommodate her. Blanch and Natalie try to protest, but Mel waves them off, inviting them to join in too. In fact, she says, if anyone has suggestions on which monsters they’d like to try, she’s all ears.
Natalie and Blanch are momentarily speechless, but Lillian raises her hand and says she wants to try the fruit of the Screamingwood monster. She’s never eaten it before, but she once heard Mullan claim it was the most delicious fruit he’d ever tasted—though he did end up with a terrible stomach ache and fever afterward. That had put her off trying it… until now. If Mel insists she can make it safe to eat, Lillian would love to try it.
Mel is surprised—she’d never considered experimenting with monster plants before. But if the fruit is rich, sweet, and juicy, she’s eager to give it a try. Seeing Mel so excited, Blanch and Natalie can’t help but get invested too.
