Chapter 23

“Your Highness, anyone could speak of the Mage Tower. Do you truly think it’s connected?”  

Michael shook his head.  

“Her age, hair color, and even her features—there’s no doubt she resembles the Master of the Mage Tower. The timing is far too coincidental to call it mere chance.”  

“But, Your Highness, there aren’t many people in the world who know the Master of the Mage Tower’s face in detail.”  

A thought had been troubling Michael’s mind for a while now—a possibility that the purpose of the kidnapper’s actions might align with his own.  

What if the perpetrator was searching for Kanis Riventi? Hoping for her “return” to the Mage Tower?  

Michael knew of another person who had disappeared after following Kanis Riventi at the Mage Tower.  

Yenen.  

A man whose origins, age, and identity were completely unknown. Everyone simply assumed the name Kanis called him by was his real name.  

Perhaps he, too, was searching for Kanis Riventi.  

Michael had even considered the possibility that Yenen might have already found her.  

“Is there something on your mind, Your Highness?”  

“…It doesn’t hurt to be cautious.”  

But he decided not to jump to conclusions. Kanis had taken on her first disciple in three hundred years.  

Though he never expressed it, he cared for her.  

Michael clenched his fist silently.  

It was time to turn his attention back to the Mage Tower.  

“That girl.” For reasons he didn’t fully understand, those words had been nagging at him for a long time.  

“Let’s depart.”  

At that moment, there were no signs of trouble in his immediate surroundings.  

***

The servants gathered in front of Kanna’s bedroom door, steeling themselves for the task ahead.  

“We need to stay sharp! Everyone knows the plan, right?”  

“Miss Kanna is still young.”  

“Making her uneasy with unclear matters is—”  

“A failure as a servant!”  

“A failure as an adult!”  

“A failure as a human being!”  

“Let’s do this!”  

With a spirited cheer, they raised their hands high in unison. Just then, the bedroom door swung open.  

The servants screamed and scattered.  

Each of them pretended to be busy, taking up random positions and engaging in pointless activities with all their might.  

Kanna lowered her hand from the door and surveyed the servants one by one.  

One servant by the window was repeatedly opening and closing it, locking and unlocking it.  

Another was stroking the carved dragon decoration on one side of the hallway for no apparent reason.  

Scratching her brow, Kanna asked, 

“What are you all doing?”  

“What do you mean?”  

“We’re not doing anything.”  

Feigning ignorance, Kanna stretched her arms wide in a yawn.  

Sensing their chance, the servants quickly regrouped in front of her.  

“Miss Kanna, is there anything you’d like to do today? We can—”  

“I have somewhere to go first.”  

“What? Where to?”  

“The Princess’s Palace.”  

The servants exchanged silent glances.  

If it was Princess Nadia, she would undoubtedly spill everything to Kanna the moment they met.  

If Kanna were to be shocked to the point of tears…  

Even imagining it made their heads spin and their hearts feel heavy.  

“…Alright, but let’s have breakfast first, okay?”  

“The chef made pudding just for you, Miss Kanna.”  

With harmless smiles, the servants gently guided Kanna to the dining hall.  

Only after ensuring she picked up a spoon did they regroup in the hallway outside.  

“What do we do now?”  

“We absolutely can’t let her go there.”  

“But we don’t have a good reason to stop her.”  

“Eventually, Miss Kanna will… she’ll have to know, won’t she?”  

“Not now, at least.”  

With determined expressions, they locked eyes and nodded in agreement. Only Sylan stood slightly apart, looking hesitant.  

“If we can’t stop her outright, we just need to distract her, don’t we?”  

“For example?”  

“Well, we’ll need reinforcements.”  

“The person who has the most influence over Miss Kanna would be…”  

“The aide.”  

“Jehel Evham!”  

“Where is she right now?”  

“She reported for duty early this morning because of the emergency.”  

“Her office is on the third floor.”  

“I’ll go get her.”  

“No.”  

A senior servant grabbed the eager one by the arm before they could dash off.  

“For something this critical, we need to pull out all the stops, don’t we?”  

The servants immediately understood and their eyes gleamed.  

“Let’s all go together.”  

“Strength in numbers, after all.”  

***

Jehel worried that she might forget what her husband’s face looked like at this rate.  

Just yesterday, she had been stopped on her way home and dragged back to work.  

It had been two days since her last attempt to leave.  

Since then, she had been summoned here and there all night, barely getting any rest. Her eyelids felt impossibly heavy.  

Everyone she encountered seemed deeply unsettled. It was the perfect climate for conspiracy theories to thrive.  

In two years, the Monster Wave would hit. Kanis Riventi had disappeared. The Capital Defense Barrier had lost its power. And the only Crown Prince was…  

Everyone could feel it in their bones—something was about to change, starting this winter.  

So it was only natural that people were desperate to know more.  

But even Jehel had nothing to tell them.  

She had done her best to keep the palace staff tight-lipped, but rumors would inevitably leak.  

And in some way or another, Kanis Riventi’s absence would continue to cause problems, like a domino effect.  

But Jehel couldn’t blame Kanis Riventi.  

She had already done her best for far too long.  

Jehel clicked her tongue.  

The Crown Prince shouldn’t have gone to the Mage Tower after leaving the border empty-handed.  

The Prince had known that the report from the border lacked credibility.  

The Master of the Mage Tower wouldn’t be so easily spotted.  

Everything had been triggered by that single phrase: “Her life is in danger.”  

Just then, someone grabbed Jehel’s shoulder.  

“Ah, you startled me.”  

“Aide.”  

“Why are you all here? Is something wrong?”  

“Fortunately, not yet.”  

“That’s a very ominous answer. Haha.”  

“…”  

“…”  

“Aide.”  

“Look, I’m a little busy right now.”  

Trying to slip away, Jehel’s arm was firmly grabbed by one of the servants.  

“W-What are you doing?”  

“You’re not part of the team that’s heading to the Mage Tower, are you?”  

“Well, no, but…”  

The servants stepped closer.  

“Strictly speaking, Miss Kanna is under your care, isn’t she?”  

“That’s true, but…” 

“And after what happened yesterday, shouldn’t you be by her side to ensure her stability?”  

“Well, yes, but…”  

“With His Highness Michael absent, do we really need to remind you what your top priority should be?”  

Jehel found herself backed against the wall, surrounded by servants.  

“…This is scary.”  

“So, you’ll come with us now, right?”  

Dragged along helplessly, Jehel muttered in protest as a last act of defiance.  

“Isn’t this going too far, considering we’re all supposed to help each other?”  

“My, weren’t you the one who said being around Miss Kanna was rejuvenating?”  

“…”  

“That’s what you get for hoarding all her affection.”  

Though she suspected some personal grievances were at play, Jehel wisely kept her mouth shut.  

Sometimes, silence was the best strategy.  

But all the servants’ efforts were ultimately in vain.  

When they returned to the dining hall with Jehel, it was empty.  

Grabbing a passing servant who was tidying up, they asked, 

“Where’s Miss Kanna?”  

“She seemed to have something urgent to do, so she finished her meal quickly and left.”  

“Where to?”  

“She said she was heading to the Princess’s Palace.”  

“…”  

“I thought you all went with her.”  

Jehel raised her hand.  

“Excuse me, but could someone explain what exactly is going on here?”  

“What if Miss Kanna finds out about His Highness Michael?”  

“What? There’s nothing confirmed yet. As long as everyone watches their words—”  

Jehel trailed off as realization dawned.  

“You were trying to keep her from meeting the Princess.”  

One of the servants grabbed Jehel’s shoulder and asked desperately, 

“Tell us, you worked at the Princess’s Palace before, didn’t you? Would she tell Miss Kanna?”  

“She would.”  

Leaving Jehel behind, the servants rushed out of the dining hall.  

Jehel ran a hand through her disheveled hair, sighed, and checked the time.  

Then, belatedly, she ran out after them, shouting, 

“Wait, I’m coming too!”  

***

Kanna closed the book she had been reading.

“So, are you satisfied now that you’ve gotten what you wanted?”

The Princess, spinning a pipe in her hand, asked at just the right moment.

“Well… I suppose so.”

Kanna shrugged her shoulders and pushed the thick hardcover book aside.

“Is there nothing else you’d like to read? If you tell me, I’ll bring it to you.”

“Weren’t you going to demand a piece of advice for every book?”

“Now that I’ve realized you’re quite a capable advisor, I thought it wouldn’t be so bad to show some kindness.”