The sword slept like a person. So, while waiting for Caravan Master Amadeus and his party, it fell into a deep slumber. Finally liberated from the noise, Rosie heaved a deep sigh.

“Phew.”

“What’s with the sigh?”

“Because of the sword you gave me.”

“You mean the treasure sword?”

At Arthur’s question, Rosie shook her head wearily.

“Why?”

“That thing chattered all night long.”

Last night, the gifted treasure sword had tormented Rosie all night.

-Look at this, master! I can even fly around like this! In three thousand years since the Age of Magic, this is the first time I’ve felt such liberation!

-Master, sleeping? Master? Huh?

-Master, are you asleep~?

Ah… remembering last night’s commotion was still dizzying.

‘It said it’s so lively because it hasn’t been free from the seal for long.’

When she asked the sword why it was so noisy, it said it had been asleep for 500 years before waking up.

As Rosie explained the whole story, Arthur furrowed his brow as if he couldn’t believe it.

“It really said it had been asleep for 500 years and just woke up?”

“It’s not some evil spirit, is it? Arthur, really.”

“Are you saying Amadeus gave you something like that? He’s on your side, isn’t he?”

“Well, that’s true, but you’re the one who accepted it… right?”

Rosie’s voice grew quieter. As the two were shifting blame to each other about the noisy ‘talking sword,’ the head steward approached silently from afar. Bowing his head, he reported in a respectful tone.

“My apologies for interrupting your conversation, but I have a message for Your Majesties.”

“Speak.”

“There is a guest waiting outside.”

The meaning of that ‘guest’ was clear. Rosie and Arthur stopped their bickering and each sighed for different reasons.

The time to receive the guest had arrived.

***

“I greet the sun and moon of the Empire.”

“It’s been a long time, Amadeus.”

Amadeus replied, a crescent moon of a smile on his lips.

“Though it is presumptuous, I trust both Your Majesties have been well. Especially Your Majesty, the Empress.”

His gaze turned toward Rosie. The moment their eyes met, Rosie couldn’t help but let out a stifled laugh. It was because of his expression, which seemed full of mischief.

“It’s been a while.”

At Rosie’s natural, familiar address, a vein twitched on Amadeus’s brow.

‘So you’ve become a noble lady in that time.’

Many emotions crossed his mind.

When he first saw Rosie, she was a poor woman with nothing, trying to raise a fatherless child. He remembered being wary, thinking she was trying to seduce his son. But now, that woman was the Empress before him, overflowing with grace.

The Empress, called the moon of the Empire.

‘Her coronation was two months ago, wasn’t it?’

During those two months of staying in the palace and learning etiquette, Rosie’s bearing had become quite proper. The elegant gesture of lifting her teacup, the composure of lowering her gaze slightly and responding in an unwavering tone, and everything else about her were all unfamiliar.

‘What a relief.’

Amadeus concluded his brief thoughts.

A feeling both welcoming and bittersweet, a private wish to congratulate her on the present, surged forward, but the reason he had come here today was clear.

‘I cannot forget that.’

Amadeus.

Today, instead of his usual red cloak, he wore a dark green one. Instead of keeping his beard short, he had grown it, oiled it, and even combed it this morning. Most of all, his ears, unlike usual, were proudly exposed without a single thing to hide them.

Perked up.

These very perked-up ears.

Seeing his reflection in the tea water, he felt a lump form in his throat.

“Pointed ears are the proud symbol of our race.”

His late father’s words came back to him.

“Are you familiar with the legend about elves’ ears resembling blades of grass?”

Pushing aside his nostalgia, he soon began in a solemn tone.

***

Rosie was smiling on the outside, but inside, she felt a certain puzzlement.

Cain.

She recalled a man’s name.

‘Did Cain not come?’

Frankly, she had hoped he would come, but in another way, she also hoped he wouldn’t. Because Arthur would mind. It was clear Cain had once harbored feelings for her, and Arthur seemed to have some inkling of that too…

But beyond personal feelings, this was an official setting.

Naturally, being a matter concerning the elf clan, she thought Cain, the deputy caravan master she was acquainted with, would have come too. But whether her assumption was wrong or not, he wasn’t there. And she hesitated to break the flow of conversation. Amadeus was speaking in a rather grave tone.

‘Caravan Master Amadeus.’

She mentally picked up the title she used to call him long ago. Setting aside her thoughts about Cain for a moment, she looked at him.

He looked entirely different from usual. His pointed, upturned ears, and completely changed eye and hair color.

‘…He’s not wearing the necklace he always wore before.’

It seemed he had been using a transformation artifact all this time.

His originally pink hair now held a brilliant silver sheen, and his red eyes contained a deep blue pigment. With eyes as deep and captivating as if stained with ink, one could be momentarily enchanted. Because he exuded a youthful freshness and passion, more like a young man than a white-haired elder.

“Are you familiar with the legend about elves’ ears resembling blades of grass?”

Meeting his eyes, now emptied of the warmth and playful expression he had shown when greeting her, leaving only solemnity, Rosie held her breath.

‘Right. I should put that thought aside for now.’

Because there were more important matters at hand.

Arthur seemed to be of the same mind; his listening blue eyes held a deeply subdued light.

“We elves have protected the great nature for generations and lived harmoniously with other races. These pointed ears are proof of that. However, due to misguided policies decades ago, we who love peace lost our place.”

As the conversation reached its main point, Amadeus said the words as expected. He asked for land.

“Time has passed, but I still cannot forget the shame of that day. When our homeland was destroyed, and our brothers and sisters were scattered or sold into slavery.”

He spoke, pouring out his resentment.

“I hold hatred toward the former dynasty, but since the House of Aden, who proposed the Law on Eradication of Non-Humans, has been wiped out, I intend to inquire no further about them. And if you have not forgotten the terms of our cooperation, I ask for your help.”

Rosie looked at Arthur, sharing the sentiment, and Arthur listened with a reaction that was neither excessive nor lacking, eventually offering a concise conclusion.

“I will keep my promise. It is true you provided significant aid in quelling the rebellion. As a ruler governing a nation under divine law, I cannot disregard the principle of karma.”

“……”

Amadeus’s eyes wavered. In the middle-aged gaze that seemed condensed with decades of resentment, Rosie felt an inexplicable lump in her own throat.

“Moreover, I heard it was you who saved the late Emperor Decaline.”

But Arthur’s following statement contained an unexpected truth. One even Rosie would find surprising.

‘What, the caravan master saved Decaline?’

As Rosie looked back and forth between the two in surprise, Arthur continued speaking with unwavering consistency.

“Her Majesty the Empress Dowager has expressed her gratitude for this and decided to transfer one of her privately owned estates. It is in the south, and beyond it lies a vast forest, so you need not worry about enemy invasion as long as you are careful of wild animals. Well, there is a saying that elves can communicate with beasts, so if that’s true, even that shouldn’t be a major concern.”

Rosie’s eyes widened at this first-time hearing, while Amadeus, on the contrary, was deeply moved and repeatedly expressed his gratitude.

“I am at a loss as to how to repay the gracious benevolence shown by the sun of the Empire.”

Looking at his moist eyes, Rosie, while equally unable to grasp the full situation, shared in the emotion for a moment before remembering the sword he had gifted and adding a word.

“I shall not forget the favor of aiding in Nadia’s rescue. And I also wish to say I received the treasure sword gift well.”

Though it was a thank you laced with a respectful nuance, Amadeus smiled contentedly and replied.

“I am glad if you liked it.”

It seemed the discussion was finally reaching a warm conclusion. Amidst it, Rosie, while processing the facts she hadn’t known, recalled another uncomfortable truth.

‘Should I ask why Cain didn’t come?’

She looked at Arthur. Continuously gauging his eyes and expression, she agonized over whether to bring up that topic.