A quiet night settled over the secluded alley. Despite this, there was a shop where cheerful sounds and light spilled out. Inside the noisy tavern, numerous knights wearing imperial badges clinked their glasses together, drinking heartily. It was a rare company dinner and free time.

“We rented this whole place today, so let’s enjoy ourselves! And a toast for the Commander and Vice Commander who aren’t here!”

“Ooh!”

Following Louis’s words, the other knights raised their glasses. The staff bustled about carrying several barrels of alcohol. While some knights sipped slowly, others poured liquor down their throats like they were drinking air, holding large mugs.

“Ah~ How long has it been!”

Louis admired the taste of the alcohol and wiped his mouth. Somehow, since becoming an imperial knight, there had never been a moment of leisure. 

He chewed on dried snacks. Some knights elegantly drank wine, but refreshing beer was exactly to his taste. Louis asked his colleague in the next seat:

“You had a rough time this round, didn’t you?”

Louis had been one of the knights who remained at the palace.

“Don’t even get me started… The snow was pouring down, His Majesty kept nagging us to hurry up. At the end, he told us to bring back every single piece of fur without missing one, then took off by himself carrying just one!”

His colleague lamented and slammed down his glass. After the monster subjugation ended, they had to lead their exhausted bodies and carefully stack the Kelpie fur one by one onto carts. 

They did hard labor through the snowstorm.

“Even the dignified Commander protested to His Majesty, so that says it all…”

“But thanks to that, we get to drink. And we each got such a nice cloak. You worked hard.”

Seemingly annoyed by Louis’s leisurely attitude of patting his back like it was someone else’s problem, he shouted for him to remove his hand. Louis, regardless, rubbed his face against the cloak with a goofy expression. This cloak was worth far more than several months’ salary.

“That’s probably why I feel a bit burdened using it.”

“Hey, didn’t you hear our lady’s words? She said to use it comfortably. She even said if it tears or gets lost during a mission, she’ll give us another one. She’s someone with a heart as vast as the ocean.”

“True. It was an enormous amount.”

One of the knights who had pulled the cart shuddered, saying he didn’t even want to think about it. Then the door opened from behind, and the bell above it jingled. The person who entered was a comrade-in-arms who had once fought alongside them on the battlefield, sword in hand.

“Hm? It’s Kali. You said you weren’t coming, but you came after all?”

“You guys told me to come.”

“The ringleader is someone else.”

“I know too. Who else would pull this kind of stunt?”

Kali looked around, scanning the area like searching for prey. Then she spotted Louis. The ringleader the knight mentioned was obvious. As soon as Louis saw Kali, he waved his hands enthusiastically in welcome.

“Huh? What, it’s Kali? You really came? Here! Sit here!”

Kali plopped down in the seat Louis made for her. Louis looked at Kali sitting next to him and asked about her situation.

“How is it? Up north? Is it livable?”

“It’s livable. It’s nice not having to deal with you guys. I even got a castle.”

“You always wanted to get ahead.”

Kali was roughly gauging the atmosphere, looking for the right timing to throw out her question. As the margrave in charge of the northern gateway, she wasn’t idle enough to attend drinking parties. But her curiosity was the problem. That’s why she had attended this gathering.

With Rosana’s debutante ball right around the corner, they were the right people to ask about her. And she knew very well that if she had something she was curious about, asking Louis was the fastest method. However, before Kali could open her mouth, Louis spoke first.

“Kali. You’re attending the banquet this time too, right?”

“What banquet?”

“Our lady’s debutante!”

Louis and the other knights exchanged glances with each other. Kali focused on the title he used. Our lady? She had sensed something unusual when she heard they were guarding a palace, but the title was extraordinary.

“I’m attending.”

“Then watch over her well! Our lady is, you know, incredibly kind? See this?”

Louis fluttered the cloak he wore. Then the knights all shrugged their shoulders in unison, showing off.

“Our lady gave us this as a gift. We all received one.”

Kali raised her eyebrows at the ball of fur that suddenly blocked her view, but soon her eyes sparkled when she saw the glossy, fluttering fur. She lightly stroked it with her hand.

“…Kelpie?”

Louis triumphantly fluttered his cloak, showing off how he wore it to the fullest. He even had one leg up on the table. Kali rubbed her chin. She had heard that the emperor gave her a mountain of Kelpie fur as a gift, but…

Coincidentally, Kali’s reason for attending this gathering and Louis’s reason for calling her were the same. Their interests were all directed toward the same person. Kali cleanly downed a glass of alcohol.

“But is it okay to talk about this? Isn’t everything that happens in the imperial capital classified?”

Louis’s face sobered up, seemingly not having thought that far. The other knights were the same, coughing. Kali laughed heartily at their dumbfounded appearance.

“Just kidding. The rumors have already spread thick. Though your attitudes are unexpected.”

“Why did you come? You had a reason to come, didn’t you?”

“It’s already been answered. Our lady…”

Kali giggled. It was a laugh that didn’t match her beautiful appearance at all, but she had picked it up from rubbing shoulders with rough guys.

“You, don’t be surprised when you see our lady. No, wait. Will you be surprised seeing His Majesty? You’ll have to watch that doting fool’s antics with your own eyes. How much he keeps her in his arms… If anything goes even slightly wrong, he narrows his eyes into triangles like this and calls an assembly.”

Louis lifted the corners of his eyes with his fingers as he spoke.

“Hmm… My expectations were originally low, but it seems like something interesting will happen.”

She whistled, waiting for that day to come. She had a premonition that quite a big storm would blow in.

* * *

“When did all this preparation…”

Rosana had come to the hall thinking she might be of some help.

She had experienced Jade’s murderous schedule firsthand. 

Rosana knew how many documents he had to process and how many people he had to meet, and she didn’t want to make him handle ball preparations by carving out time from that. She didn’t want to make things hard for him.

She had also gained confidence from successfully concluding the banquet for the Ales Kingdom delegation. 

However, the hall, which had already reached the final stages of preparation, had no need for Rosana’s touch at all. That was because Jane, who could be called an expert, was overseeing everything.

She seemed busy somewhere… So she was preparing the ball. Even after the delegation’s banquet ended, she had suspected something from seeing her unable to let go.

“Jane.”

Even though Jane heard Rosana’s voice, there was no change in her expression whatsoever. 

Rather, she bowed in greeting, saying she had come. Before Rosana could even ask, Jane spoke first, seemingly reading her mind.

“His Majesty said this. Would you be happy if you prepared with your own hands a ball you should be enjoying?”

“…I see.”

They had removed the long tables used during the delegation banquet and made it so people could move about freely. On one side, tables and resting spaces were prepared so people could enjoy simple foods.

Among the people moving across the hall, several had familiar faces.

“His Majesty’s people.”

“His Majesty specifically requested that we proceed in secret, so I asked for help. Everyone readily accepted.”

“…”

“I can tell you there’s nothing at all to worry about.”

Rosana found it difficult to answer. People glanced at Rosana while silently doing their work. 

Like waves seeping into sand, a change in perception was occurring. Jane spoke it aloud because she knew this too.

Things were definitely changing. Not just Rosana, but others around her too. It wasn’t the same look they had when they first treated her. Everyone was gradually realizing it.

“I see. Were there any particular difficulties?”

“You maintained the hall so flawlessly that there wasn’t much for me to touch.”

Rosana slowly looked around. The biggest change that caught anyone’s eye at first glance was the two chairs. 

The chairs with splendid gold embroidery positioned atop the circular stairs seemed to confirm the position of those who would sit there. Noticing where Rosana’s gaze was directed, Jane said:

“His Majesty gave special instructions. Isn’t this Lady Rosana’s debutante ball? The protagonist must be more confident and beautiful than anyone else.”

Then she heard footsteps from behind. Rosana’s gaze was captivated by the chairs. Jane noticed his presence first. She bowed her head slightly and stepped back.

“That’s where you’ll sit.”

“…”

Looking at the prepared seat, she felt an indescribable overwhelming emotion. Unlike the past when she was only swept along, she was standing here by her own will. She would clearly inform everyone. All the numerous nobles of Diovaha.

“Jade, I’ll do well. The days when I ran away and collapsed feel so distant now. Sometimes I’m anxious, but… that’s proof of living, isn’t it?”

Jade looked at Rosana, who couldn’t take her eyes off the chairs for even a moment. He could see her there in front. It was a distance his hand couldn’t reach.

“…You’re right.”

“Yes. So, I have a favor to ask. You’ll help me, won’t you?”

“…When you put it that way, I can’t not help.”

* * *

“Lady Rosana. It suits you wonderfully.”

Venice clapped her hands, looking thoroughly exhausted. Rosana smiled apologetically seeing her complexion. Today she looked even more serious.

The dress Venice poured her passion into creating was incredibly beautiful. It was the color and style Rosana had wanted. Even to Rosana, her reflection in the mirror didn’t feel out of place.

“It’s exactly my dress.”

The embroidery beautifully engraved on the hem and chest was clearly visible even from afar. 

The dress flowed down gracefully with every movement, showing it was made from luxurious fabric. A matching necklace and earrings were also prepared.

It was an appearance she had lived with her whole life, and above all, it was clothing that revealed Rosana well. Rosana was satisfied with her appearance.

“Venice, you worked hard. Please rest now. It’s far more beautiful than I expected. I’ll tell His Majesty to compensate you more generously.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll extract sufficient payment.”

Venice’s eyes sparkled. Rosana laughed.

“If there’s anything uncomfortable, please tell me right away. I’ll fix it.”

“No. It’s fine.”

Jade tended to give generous rewards according to results. He didn’t even assign work to those from whom he didn’t expect results in the first place. 

Venice touched the dress while looking at Rosana’s reflection in the mirror. Rosana’s appearance adorned in the red dress was bewitching.

Venice was certain. She would receive more than the set compensation. She knew Rosana didn’t like red, but red suited her best of all.

“Lady Rosana, you’re beautiful.”

With a dress like this, it was suitable both for capturing attention and overwhelming others.