“Kyaah!”

Rodi quickly ran toward the door.

Realizing that Eclise was only threatening her with words and not actually approaching, Rodi giggled and stuck close to Eclise again.

“Actually, Boss is the coolest.”

“It’s too late.”

“Really, really!”

“You’re such a con artist.”

Eclise opened a drawer and took out a candy.

As the unwrapped candy approached, Rodi’s mouth opened automatically like a baby bird’s.

With a plop, the candy went in, and Rodi’s cheeks immediately bulged.

“It’s strawberry flavor.”

“Now that you’ve eaten, stop chattering and go.”

“Mmm.”

Hmph… who caught who? I was going to leave anyway.

Rodi gathered the snacks and headed for the door.

As she opened the door, she suddenly turned around and looked at Eclise.

“Boss.”

“Why are you calling me again.”

“If you’re ever in danger later, I’ll protect you.”

“What?”

Eclise raised his head with an incredulous laugh.

“I decided to be friends with the imperial princess earlier. So if you ever get in danger, I’ll shield you. I’m super useful, right?”

As Rodi raised her chin, Eclise burst into giggles.

“Sure. I’m moved to tears.”

“Right?”

“Yeah. So take this to the general affairs office and tell Padrid to come up.”

“Got it!”

Rodi ran, took the documents, and closed the door behind her.

***

Having barely escaped her shame, Lili moved her feet.

When she was halfway down the stairs heading to the first floor, her face suddenly lit up with delight.

Someone was walking up from the first floor toward Lili.

Though the staircase was quite wide, it was a one-way path where it would be impossible to pass by pretending not to notice each other.

As they got closer, Lili raised her hand to greet them.

However, the person coming toward her simply bowed and passed by.

Lili paused and turned around.

“Jin.”

Only when Lili called out did Jin stop walking.

“You don’t even greet me first anymore.”

Lili spoke softly to the back of Jin’s head.

Only then did Jin turn around and bow again.

“It’s been a long time, Your Highness.”

Lili laughed softly.

“Your form of address has changed too.”

“Because I’m no longer an ignorant child.”

At those words, Lili’s smile somehow turned bitter.

“…Right. That’s true. But it’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”

“……”

“Seeing your face, it seems you’re doing well here, which is a relief. I was just happy to see you after so long.”

“……”

Even at those words, Jin only moved his lips without making any particular response.

After gazing at him endlessly, Lili stepped aside first.

“Well, take care. I should be going now.”

“Your Highness seems to be doing well too.”

At Jin’s words, Lili’s face immediately brightened.

As if nothing had happened, Lili gracefully turned to Jin.

“Really? Thank you for saying so. Maybe it’s because the imperial palace is still full of interesting things.”

“Is that so.”

Jin was still radiating discomfort with his whole body.

Lili, who couldn’t help but notice this, decided to make her final farewell.

She was also tired from what had happened upstairs.

“It might be uncomfortable, but let me know how you’re doing occasionally. We’re still siblings, after all.”

“……”

“Sorry, I made you uncomfortable again. But thank you for greeting me. I’ll go now.”

Watching Lili turn around and head toward the entrance, Jin bowed his head.

“Take care.”

Jin only turned to continue on his way after seeing the imperial princess completely exit through the entrance.

***

Blink, blink.

Rodi stood pressed against the second-floor corridor wall, clutching the documents and snack container, blinking her eyes.

She had come down thinking Lili had left, but when she reached the second-floor corridor, she heard voices.

What did I just hear?

Jin and the imperial princess knew each other!

“It might be uncomfortable, but let me know how you’re doing occasionally. We’re still siblings, after all.”

“……”

Siblings.

Siblings??????

Soon, the approaching footsteps stopped, and a shadow fell over Rodi, who had frozen in surprise.

Rodi slowly raised her head.

Jin was looking at her with a slightly surprised expression.

“J-Jin!”

“Have you been here the whole time?”

Rodi nodded, watching Jin’s reaction.

“Yes, I was with the boss on the third floor and came down.”

Though that wasn’t her intention, she had indeed overheard.

Jin smiled gently.

“I see. I was just about to go to the general affairs office thinking you might be there. I’m in charge of the afternoon education.”

Rodi nodded, wondering if he knew what she had heard.

“Ah, I’m going there too. The boss told me to take this to Padrid!”

“Then let’s go together. I’ll carry the documents.”

Jin bent slightly and held out his hand to Rodi.

“Okay!”

When Rodi handed over the documents, Jin held them with one hand and extended his other hand.

Rodi took Jin’s hand familiarly.

As they headed to the general affairs office together, Jin spoke.

“Rodi.”

“Yes?”

“Did you perhaps hear my conversation with the imperial princess just now?”

Rodi flinched a little.

Indeed, there was no way she couldn’t have heard.

“…A little?”

But soon she confessed that she seemed to have heard everything.

Jin then paused his steps briefly.

“Would you mind keeping this a secret from others?”

“A secret?”

“Yes, I’d rather not make things uncomfortable.”

“From everyone? Even the boss?”

“Yes.”

Even the boss couldn’t be told.

It seemed she had discovered quite a significant secret.

If that was the case, she shouldn’t tell anyone, even if someone offered her mountains of food.

What if they offered lots of gold coins?

Still, she felt she should keep her promise to Jin.

“If you promise to keep the secret, I’ll explain the reason later. So please.”

Rodi remained silent for a moment before nodding.

“I’ll keep it a secret!”

“Thank you.”

“Um, but Jin.”

“Yes, Rodi.”

“So are you really siblings with the imperial princess?”

Rodi asked in a whisper, soft enough that only Jin could hear.

After a brief silence, Jin shook his head.

“…Not anymore.”

Not anymore?

The answer was somewhat strange, but Rodi had promised Jin she would keep it a secret.

Though she was curious about why, he had promised to explain later, so she decided to wait.

As they talked, they had already reached the general affairs office.

As soon as Jin opened the door, Padrid greeted them both.

“Jin, welcome. The Rookie is with you too, I see.”

“Padrid! The boss told me to give you this and said you should come up to the third floor.”

“Oh, thank you. You may rest easy.”

Padrid rose from his seat, examining both the documents he had been reviewing and those Rodi handed over.

“Jin, are you free tomorrow?”

“Yes, I’m free tomorrow. Do you have a task for me?”

By now, Jin was retying Rodi’s disheveled hair with delicate hands.

“A special request has come in, and I’d like you to review whether you can take it on. It should be quite simple.”

Busier than anyone, Padrid always effortlessly handled several tasks at once.

“Special request? What’s that?”

Rodi asked while diligently untying the ribbon on her snack, her hair in Jin’s care.

“It refers to a request with a high fee and elevated rank regardless of the difficulty of the mission.”

“Wow. They must be rich.”

“Usually escort missions come in like that. They pay excessive fees specifically to select senior-level staff.”

Jin helped with the explanation from beside her.

“Wow, I want to do that too.”

Rodi’s eyes sparkled at the mention of money.

Both Padrid and Jin looked surprised before bursting into laughter.

“This request is for a distance that won’t even take two hours. It’s just a simple delivery, not an escort.”

“Check it over, and if the timing doesn’t work, pass it to Lord Hailo. I’ll head upstairs. I told him to be here during the day, but where has Hailo gone again?”

After inserting the last pin, Jin showed Rodi a mirror.

“Ah, it’s a rabbit pin I’ve never seen before.”

“I saw it on the way and thought of you, so I bought it. It suits you well.”

Padrid discreetly averted his gaze from the sweet atmosphere between the two and nodded slightly.

“Padrid, I’ll take this request. And Hailo was receiving a confession at the fountain earlier.”

Padrid’s face, which had shown a small smile while looking at Rodi, transformed into an expression as if recalling the world’s worst garbage.

“I was a fool to trust him… Hah. Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“I’ll report to you right after the mission.”

Padrid nodded and opened the door.

“Ah.”

Padrid leaned backward as he was about to leave.

“Do you have more tasks for me?”

“Not that. Did anything happen during today’s mission?”