Eventually, silence settled between us. I sighed as I noticed the people huddled behind me, anxiously watching our exchange.

‘First, I need to get these people out of here.’

Just as I was thinking this, another familiar voice accompanied by rustling sounds reached my ears.

“Oh my, look at all this dust. Young lady, are you over there?”

‘Huh?’

What’s this? That guy didn’t run away?

Ilian was approaching us with a smooth smile on his face. I looked at him with slight surprise. I thought he would have fled immediately, but he hadn’t.

Being clever, he must have understood why I disappeared alone without taking him along. Suddenly remembering something, I asked him:

“What about Evelyn?”

“Ah, I sent the little miss back to the mansion long ago. And our young lady? Are you unharmed?”

“No. I’m fine.”

“Really? That’s a relief. I was worried.”

Why?

I blinked in confusion. The situation still made no sense to me. Even giving Lerrhagen the benefit of the doubt, why would this guy worry about me? Didn’t he come to kill me?

Thoroughly bewildered by everyone’s strange behavior today, I stood there feeling perplexed. Noticing my expression, Ilian smiled brightly.

“I suppose if I don’t handle this personally, the one who sent me would be displeased.”

What’s this guy saying? That he’ll finish me off himself?

“I called the guards. They’ll be here soon. Oh, and about those two outside…”

“Right, we should capture them and take them to the palace immediately—”

“Sorry. I already turned them into pulp.”

“…?”

“But don’t just blame me. I wasn’t the first one to act.”

“…”

“I simply stomped on them more thoroughly.”

“Shut up. Stop using food metaphors.”

I let out a deep sigh. I couldn’t predict how the situation would unfold—how Lerrhagen had found me, why Ilian was standing here with that smooth smile, and where Hasis had gone in the meantime.

‘No, it’s normal that Hasis didn’t come.’

As I was thinking this, Lerrhagen suddenly spoke.

“Don’t ever do something this reckless again.”

“…”

“I’ll say it again, sacrificing yourself—”

“No.”

I interrupted him before he could finish.

I rarely talked back to him like this. Well, I had talked back before, but this time I responded with genuine firmness. Normally, I would have just nodded and said I understood. But something about Lerrhagen’s expression made me unwilling to simply brush it off.

“If something like this happens again, I will come. My promise was not to sacrifice myself—it didn’t include not helping others, not protecting people, or not taking risks.”

“Esht.”

“In other words, it’s my choice. I can avoid sacrificing myself, but beyond that, it’s not for you to interfere with, Fa…Papa.”

I knew my words were quite insolent, especially considering he was in a position to help me. However, the issue was that just as much as he worried about me, I had a duty to save anyone in this land who was in danger.

Lerrhagen’s lips tightened at my words.

After what seemed like an eternity, he left only one sentence before suddenly disappearing.

“Do as you please.”

I wasn’t foolish enough to take those words at face value.

Ilian, who had been listening to our conversation, quietly approached me. After a while, he spoke.

“Young lady, sacrifice isn’t just about dying for someone else.”

“What do you mean?”

“Taking risks to save someone is also what we call sacrifice. The only difference is whether it ends in success or failure.”

“How is that sacrifice? That’s just a rescue operation with accepted risks.”

“Our young lady didn’t even realize her choices were sacrifices?”

Ilian spoke to me with unusual gentleness. His words made me feel strange.

Shortly afterward, the capital’s guards arrived along with the Second Knight Division.

“Your Highness, are you safe?”

“I’m fine. Thank you for coming. I’m perfectly alright, so please take care of those people over there first.”

“That won’t do, Your Highness. The guards will handle them. We’ve already contacted the temple. Are you injured anywhere?”

“Not at all. I’m perfectly fine, as you can see.”

The knights looked relieved at my appearance.

Eventually, everyone who had been trapped inside was rescued. After watching them, I turned back to the commander of the Second Knight Division standing before me.

“Send those people to a nearby hospital for examination. And tell them not to speak freely about what happened today.”

“About today’s incident…”

“Magical beasts were discovered inside.”

“…Pardon?”

“Fortunately, I had the magic stone given by Her Majesty…and Papa, as well as the artifact my brother gave me for protection, so nothing serious happened. But they might still be in psychological shock. Besides, wouldn’t it be troublesome if rumors about magical beasts spread?”

“Understood.”

“And there’s no need to report this to the Central Knight Order. No, just keep absolute silence about today’s events. Her Majesty will handle it.”

I absolutely refused to allow any leaks from official reports.

‘Besides, I’m the one who dealt with the magical beasts. We can’t let strange rumors spread.’

The knights seemed taken aback by my composure, unusual for a child, but soon nodded in agreement.

This much could easily be attributed to my status as a Dragon Lord’s daughter and a princess.

“Shall we go now, young lady?”

“Yes, let’s.”

Perhaps because of Lerrhagen’s attitude, I felt somewhat strange inside.

However, after taking just a few steps, someone called out to me.

“Child, no, Your Highness.”

I turned my head slightly. The old man who had called me “child” earlier was looking at me.

“What is it?”

“How could a mere human like me understand the heart of a Dragon Lord, but…”

“…?”

“Even if everyone else in the world died, parents want their children to live safely in this world.”

“…”

“At least, that’s how I felt during my short life.”

At that moment, my expression became subtle.

Could he be saying this after hearing our conversation earlier?

Of course, that was possible. I could understand that.

But…

‘Lerrhagen isn’t my real father.’

Unlike the strong bonds formed by blood relations, my relationship with Lerrhagen—like all the connections I formed after becoming a child—was merely established out of necessity.

So why…

“I see.”

In the end, I said nothing more and boarded the carriage. Just then, I heard the bright voice of the boy from earlier behind me.

“Thank you! Oh, I mean, thank you very much!”

I smiled faintly at him before completely hiding myself inside the carriage. Soon after, Ilian also entered.

Neigh.

The carriage began to move with the sound of horses.

Inside the bumpy carriage, I glanced outside and contacted Rigan through communication magic.

<Visit the guards. Clean up thoroughly. Make sure not a word leaks out, use whatever means necessary to silence them.>

Ilian’s expression subtly changed when he noticed this, but he said nothing.

The carriage was filled with silence.

* * *

“Hey! You troublemaker! Huh? You absolute troublemaker! Hey!”

“Your Highness! Are you alright? Goodness, kidnapping? What is this… You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

“You really need to get into serious trouble before you come to your senses.”

“Should I call the priest? Is the priest on duty now?”

“If you disappear like that again, you’ll really get it from me and my master.”

“Your Highness, you’re really alright? Really, really alright?”

“…Could both of you please calm down?”

As soon as I returned to the palace, I was bombarded with questions from Hasis and Sela.

To be more precise, it wasn’t so much a bombardment of questions as it was them fussing over me. Hasis even spun me around about three times before finally sighing with relief.

“Seriously, I thought my heart was going to stop.”

“You’re really not hurt at all?”

“I’m fine. More importantly, could you prepare a bath for me?”

“Yes! Should I call the priest…”

“No, it’s fine. Big brother Ilian already treated me on the way back.”

“Huh? I did?”

“…”

“Yes. I did.”

Ilian nodded with a smile after catching my look. Only then did Sela sigh deeply with relief.

“Then I’ll prepare warm water for you.”

After finishing her words, Sela hurried back to my room.

Once she was completely out of sight, Hasis contorted his face and asked:

“What exactly happened? With your skills, you couldn’t have actually been kidnapped in such a crowded place.”

“Of course not. What do you take me for?”

“Hah. You need to be scolded more.”

“I’ve already had enough with Lord, so don’t you start bothering me too.”

“With Master?”

“Yes.”

Hasis looked surprised. But soon, he made a face that suggested he understood.

“Don’t tell me you said something like ‘my life is my own’ or something similar?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“I thought so.”

“But it’s true.”

“Well, it’s typical of you, but how about considering the people around you? Your attendant ran out with a pale face, and your lady-in-waiting was crying her eyes out until you returned.”

“What?”

“If I hadn’t been suddenly confronted, I would have gone straight to you.”

“Confronted?”

Only then did I notice the slight injury on Hasis’s face.