“Yeah, let’s get up, get up. Our superstar is always right, so I should listen.”

“What’s with calling me a superstar?”

“It’s a compliment, a compliment! Our Lady Rain doesn’t need to know~!”

At Caryl’s flattery, Evolaine burst into a chuckle and walked toward the shade.

“Hey, help me up too!”

“Look at those perfectly fine legs before you talk!”

“Why are you so quick to notice?”

While Caryl grumbled and moved to the shade to lie down again, someone called Evolaine from far away.

“Evolaine!”

“…Head Maid?”

Since the only reason to go to the main building was when Cardel called, it had been quite a while since she’d seen the Head Maid.

“What brings you here? Did you come to see me?”

The sharp, dark atmosphere from their first meeting was gone, and when the bright twelve-year-old girl welcomed her, the Head Maid hugged Evolaine with a newly touched heart.

“I’m all sweaty!”

“What does that matter? When you’re happy to see someone, you hug them.”

“Still…”

“Don’t worry about useless things. Got it?”

“Yes.”

She’d first seen Evolaine in winter, and now it had become summer, the season when life thrived.

Her gaunt body had grown healthy through regular exercise and meals, and she’d grown much taller too.

“You’re already thirteen. I’ve only seen you a few times, yet two seasons have passed.”

“I don’t really have reasons to go to the main building…”

“Still, come often. I’ll bake you cookies, okay?”

Thanks to the Head Maid taking care of her like a mother, Evolaine’s cheeks flushed pink.

“Alright. But what brings you here today?”

“Oh my, look at me. I came because I have something to give you. First, take this.”

What the Head Maid handed over was none other than a basket.

A basket that looked like something you’d take on a picnic. Inside, it was filled with cookies, sandwiches, and drinks.

“This is too much…”

“At your age, you can eat a lot. With the training you do, you won’t even gain weight, so don’t worry and eat it all, understand?”

“Yes…”

“Carrot? Carlit? Anyway, share it with your new friend.”

“…It’s Caryl, Head Maid.”

Last time she’d mentioned training with Caryl and getting along well, and since then, Caryl had been called various names like Carrot, Carlit, and Karen.

“Her hair is orange, so it reminds me of carrots. I’ll definitely remember next time.”

The Head Maid cleared her throat and quickly changed the subject.

“And this is a letter for you. I came to the training grounds to deliver this.”

“A letter? I don’t get letters…”

“Well. I was a bit puzzled too, but it seems to be from the imperial palace. Read it later when you get to the dormitory.”

“Yes, thank you, Head Maid.”

“Alright, train hard and stop by the main building soon.”

“I will.”

The Head Maid hugged Evolaine tightly again.

Though not her own child, she was a child who truly tugged at her heartstrings like one.

“Alright, ten minutes are up! Everyone gather!”

When Leopold’s vigorous voice rang out, the resting knights began getting up one by one.

“I’ll get going. Head Maid, you… have a good day too.”

“…Yes. You have a good day too.”

After greeting the Head Maid, Evolaine ran to the shade and woke Caryl.

Caryl, who’d been dozing in the shade, was grabbed by Evolaine and dragged to the training grounds.

After making a tearful face, Caryl spotted the basket and smiled brightly, bowing to the Head Maid.

“…”

Children were truly amazing. Just watching them made you smile and want to feed them one more delicious thing.

Like throwing a stone into calm water creates ripples, the child named Evolaine had been thrown into the Head Maid’s heart, creating waves.

She wanted to see this child longer.

She wanted to watch Evolaine living a happy life from beside her.

The Head Maid forced her reluctant feet to move.

As Evolaine said, to have a good day, she needed to go to the main building and work hard and productively.

* * *

The sun slowly set, dyeing the sky red.

The training grounds’ scorching heat gradually cooled, and most of the scheduled training had wrapped up.

“Training ends here for today! Everyone go wash up and rest. We have training tomorrow too, so don’t give me any crap about not washing. Dismissed!”

“Yaaaay!”

When he ended training earlier than usual, the Lacrel Knights’ cheers toward Leopold grew loud enough to pierce the sky.

The training grounds, filled with weap*ns and personal items, gradually cleared as the knights left.

“Evolaine, what are you doing after this summer training ends?”

“Summer training?”

“They said we get leave to go home when training ends. Did you forget?”

“Ah… I just remembered.”

She’d probably forgotten since she’d be staying in the dormitory even after training ended.

‘Going home, yeah right.’

She’d be fortunate if she didn’t get attacked.

Evolaine shuddered, recalling how she’d turned that banquet upside down.

“I’m going home when training ends.”

Caryl began talking about her plans for what she’d do after training ended and going home.

“I’ll meet friends after a long time, and, um, I’m going to bake cookies with my family.”

“Cookies?”

“During breaks or leave, we all make bread or cookies together. Other foods are complicated, so we do something easy.”

“Sounds fun.”

“Right, it is fun.”

Caryl paused for a moment, then made an unexpected proposal to Evolaine.

“Want to come?”

“Me?”

“You’re not going home after training anyway. Come play at my house this summer.”

Caryl went on with additional explanations about how it would be fun to play together, how baking and eating cookies yourself was on a different level from buying them, but none of it registered in Evolaine’s ears.

‘She invited me.’

Why? Wasn’t inviting someone home something you did with close people?

Questions followed one after another.

But through that, Evolaine came to realize something.

‘She really thinks we’re close.’

A friend. She’d never imagined such an existence would come into her life.

“I’ll come to play next time. This break, I have something to do too.”

“Ehhh? Suddenly? You said you’d just be at the dormitory with nothing to do.”

“No, really. I’m not saying this because I don’t want to go, so don’t worry.”

“…I’ll be watching.”

When Caryl narrowed her eyes and pretended to glare, Evolaine burst out laughing.

Caryl laughing along was the natural progression.

‘This is fun.’

What if this kind of daily life continued?

If that happened, wouldn’t she be truly happy?

She didn’t know what the answer was, but Evolaine desperately hoped.

Please, let the path she walked be the right one.

* * *

Exactly three days after the Princess’s visit, at dawn.

Hesion was waiting for Astrian near Shop Number 5 on Fastro Street.

‘This has to be right.’

The Marchioness still hadn’t regained consciousness.

They said she’d fully recover in about ten days, but he hadn’t thought she wouldn’t wake up even after three days.

To make matters worse, Verit was on a hunger strike, saying she’d eat when Mother woke up.

He’d considered dragging Verit, who barely came out of her room, and forcing her to eat, but he couldn’t even attempt it.

The siblings were growing more distant.

“Young Marquis.”

“Your Highness, you’ve arrived.”

At exactly 2 AM, Astrian emerged from the alley.

When he removed his robe, the imperial family’s symbol radiated its presence clearly.

His deep green hair and golden eyes took on a blue tint in the moonlight, and shadows accompanied his strong features.

“We don’t have time, so I’ll get to the point. Can you access the Marquisate of La Voletta’s records?”

The records Astrian requested weren’t ordinary content.

They were documents recording the Marquisate’s inner workings—content about the Kelic heirs passed down through generations and private matters the Marquises wanted to hide.

“You can see them, but you’d need to enter the room where the record documents are kept.”

“What room?”

“A secret space connected to the head of the house’s room.”

“…Meaning you need the Marquis’s permission to enter.”

If it was a room directly related to the head of house, even the heir Young Marquis wouldn’t have authority to enter.

The problem was that the Marquis of La Voletta was currently in poor condition due to his worsening illness.

When he barely woke once every ten days, how could they persuade him?

“Why does Your Highness want to know about Evolaine?”

“…Then what about you?”

“I asked first. And I need to know Your Highness’s purpose to clearly understand what I can help with.”

“…”

At Hesion’s question, Astrian stroked his chin, lost in thought.

To tell the truth, the person who’d ordered him was too big a figure.

‘The Marchioness of La Voletta and the Empress are half-sisters.’

If Hesion happened to subtly mention it to the Marchioness, the sharp-witted Empress would notice even with a small clue.

“It’s difficult to say.”

“…Why?”

“I trust you, but I don’t trust your family.”

There were aspects of the Marchioness and Verit that felt suspicious.

Having such thoughts in front of the person involved wasn’t right, but either way, they were insufficient to trust—that was fact.

“Then if I tell you my reason for wanting to meet Evolaine, will you change your mind?”

“Perhaps.”

Astrian couldn’t understand why Hesion was pushing this far.

His investigation into Evolaine was purely because of the person who’d ordered him, but that didn’t mean it was related to Hesion.

‘What’s he scheming?’

“Have you heard news about my mother?”

“Ah, I heard she caught a bad cold. They said she can’t get out of bed—is she alright?”

“That’s… not the truth.”

“What?”

“Mother is… currently unconscious due to an attempted poisoning.”

It wasn’t a cold? Astrian’s eyebrow twitched.

If the Marchioness had been the target of attempted poisoning, rumors should have spread like wildfire throughout the capital at least.

Yet it was known as simply catching a cold from working too hard?

“You had no idea?”

“None at all. Why was the attempted poisoning incorrectly reported as a cold?”

“Because I covered it up.”

“…You did?”

For Astrian, who knew well how much Hesion loved and cherished his family, this was a bewildering answer.