“It’s behind the tree. It’s in the shade, so you can just go right there. As I mentioned earlier, the path has been cleared……”

“I’ll go with you until we get there, so don’t worry.”

Royan, who had approached without notice, cut off Charlotte’s words.

“Even if I can’t accompany you on the way back, I’ll go with you on the way there, Rel.”

“Did you manage the event opening well? I saw your speech.”

“How was it?”

“You did well. Better than all those nights of practice.”

Royan, who had turned ten this year, had been given the role of delivering the congratulatory speech and ringing the bell that signaled the start of the festival to commemorate his official recognition as the heir of Vicheravali.

When he first heard the news, he had refused, but when Reibella said she would watch his speech, from that day on, he suddenly started writing and practicing his speech, preparing quite diligently.

Thanks to that, the eyes of the children from the territory who participated in today’s event were sparkling. The boys’ eyes shone with admiration, and the girls’ with unrequited love.

Whether he knew this or not, the once-impressive Royan was now smiling broadly with a completely relaxed face at just one compliment from Reibella. It wasn’t exactly the face of a male protagonist.

“Don’t smile like that elsewhere, Royan.”

“Why?”

“Because I think you need to preserve others’ dreams and hopes.”

To think that this handsome young man could smile like a puppy. Well, perhaps everyone would love this as a charming twist to his character.

‘He was very mature when he was with the princess.’

Still, it seemed he knew how to present himself properly in front of others. That was admirable.

Feeling somewhat proud, Reibella raised her hand and patted his head, which made Royan chuckle.

“Shall we go now?”

“What about your armor?”

He wasn’t wearing any armor despite saying he was going to hunt a demonic beast.

“If I wear armor, my movements become sluggish, which is more dangerous. Don’t worry, I won’t get hurt.”

“Is that so?”

Wondering if it was true, she looked at Jeranov who was nearby. Jeranov nodded.

“Miss, I will protect the young master. Please don’t worry.”

“I’m counting on you, Sir Jeranov. Please take good care of my brother.”

“Yes.”

She felt somewhat reassured knowing that the second most skilled knight in the Silver Wolf after Cassius would be accompanying him. Reibella cautioned Royan once more.

“Be careful, understand?”

“Yes.”

Royan looked as if he was just going for a walk in the hills, which made her more worried. Ten years old is really young. At such a young age, this child was going to kill something big, hard, and threatening with a sword.

‘I think I trembled just seeing a tiger yawn at the zoo when I was that age.’

Despite being so worried, the reason she didn’t stop him was because he was the male protagonist of this world, and he needed such experiences to grow. All of this was part of his journey to become a true male protagonist.

“Shall we go then?”

When Royan asked for Reibella’s opinion, she nodded. Then she called out to the Silver Wolf knights.

“Please take good care of Royan!”

“Of course! Miss.”

“Don’t worry!”

The knights who added cheerful comments one by one seemed very energetic and relaxed. Seeing Charlotte, Milia, the knights, and Royan all acting as if nothing was wrong made her feel like she was the only one worrying unnecessarily.

With everyone’s cheers, Royan went ahead, and Reibella followed. It was her way of showing respect for the young duke’s position, but before they were even out of people’s sight, Royan suddenly pulled Reibella to his side.

Then he continued walking as if nothing had happened, looking completely natural.

“I’ll feel sad if we’re apart when I’m about to leave you, brother. You haven’t even played with me lately.”

“But yesterday was good, wasn’t it? My gift was nice, right?”

At the mention of the princess, a shy expression crept into his previously brazen cheeks. His face turning pink was cute.

“I-it was good. Of course. My sister worked hard for her brother. I thanked you yesterday too.”

He had indeed come to thank her as soon as he parted with the princess, saying thank you, but please don’t do this again.

Who was it that froze up at the sight of the princess because he liked her so much?

Reibella, who had been walking with her arms swinging energetically forward, spread her small hands like maple leaves and tapped her chest.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep pushing you forward. I promised, didn’t I? That I would make you happy.”

“……I don’t need that.”

“What’s this? Brother, do you think you can do well without this sister’s help? That’s kind of admirable.”

Royan, whose face had turned slightly red, hurriedly replied.

“Th-that’s not it…… I don’t know if Her Highness will like me, and it’s not right to be so presumptuous……”

Look at this protagonist!

“You fool. That’s why I came! Don’t worry. No matter what man appears, there’s no one better than you, Royan. Ah, there is one.”

“……Who?”

His eyes sharpened at the mention of someone better than him, a stark contrast to his earlier timid demeanor.

“There is one. I’ll introduce him to you later. But he’s not your competitor.”

Since he was related to the princess. No, since he was also her enemy, perhaps it would be more appropriate to call him an adversary.

“So who is it?”

“It’s…… Ah! The tree.”

While conversing as they walked, they had already reached their destination. As Charlotte had said, there were no other trees around the large tree. Perhaps that’s why it looked majestic, standing tall alone on the wide undergrowth.

“It’s somewhat mysterious.”

The closer she got, the warmer the energy felt. It was as if a gentle air was enveloping her entire body, and somehow she felt protected by the tree.

……But this feeling, it seems like I’ve felt it somewhere before.

“My body feels lighter too.”

Is this what it feels like to be in space?

Strangely uplifted, she hopped in place and then ran around the tree in a circle. Royan laughed out loud at Reibella’s childlike reaction, which seemed unfamiliar to him.

“It’s the place where the first Vicheravali stuck his sword to commemorate the end of the war with the demonic beasts. The first Felicity grew a tree there. The tree embraces the sword.”

“Ah. Hearing that, I remember. Felicity’s sanctuary felt like this. I went there once when I was young.”

It was so long ago that the memory was faint, but she remembered running around next to her dad like this back then. Her dad had said something while watching her…

‘……No.’

What was it that he told her not to do?

While she was lost in thought with a blank stare, Royan came into her view. Perhaps because she had mentioned ‘Felicity,’ Royan was looking at her with concerned eyes. Reibella quickly shook off her thoughts and continued the conversation with a smile.

“So the tree embraces the sword?”

“Yes. The tree is so big that we can’t know if it’s true without actually cutting it down, but that’s the legend.”

“You mean no one has ever tried to cut it down?”

It seemed like a legend that practically screamed ‘cut me down,’ yet no one had tried.

As Reibella looked at the tree with eyes that suggested she might cause trouble at any moment, Royan briefly covered her eyes as if to kill that impulse, then removed his hand.

“Anyone from Vicheravali territory loves the blessing tree. Especially people from Louvindisi.”

“……So that’s why they hid the egg here.”

Now she understood why they had hidden the egg in this place.

Just as the blessing tree was loved, so was she loved by many people. It seemed this was a place that everyone had thought of for her, who was pointed at by many.

Feeling somewhat sentimental, she took one more step toward the tree. But then…

“Mmph!”

A strange sound came from somewhere. She tried to turn her head toward the source of the sound, but Royan suddenly approached, wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and made her look forward.

“Royan, here……”

“R-Rel. How does it look up close?”

He suddenly asked in a somehow urgent voice,

“Hm? How does what look?”

“How does what look?”

“Th-that. Ah. This tree was grown by a spirit. I was wondering if, as a Felicity, you might feel something different.”

“……Was that it? So that’s why it feels similar to the sanctuary.”

“Y-yes…… How is it? Do you feel anything?”

Leaving Royan rambling, Reibella quietly looked up at the tree. As she did so, she pondered over his question.

Meanwhile, as Reibella focused on the tree, Royan was letting out a sigh of relief. His gaze briefly shifted to one spot. He caught sight of Cleo and Tony lifting and moving a man wearing a pitch-black mask nearby.

‘I’ve lost count of how many times this has happened.’

Royan sighed softly as he gazed at Reibella.