“Really? You don’t have any animal friends at all?”

“No, Your Highness.”

“But I really want to go into the forest.”

“Hmm.”

“That’s why I begged Papa…”

I put on the most pitiful expression anyone could imagine while slumping my shoulders.

The knights looked troubled by my reaction. Of course, from their perspective, if they allowed the empire’s only princess to enter the forest and something terrible happened, it would create an even bigger problem.

However, I seemed to be the only one thinking this way. The knight who was Jasmine’s boyfriend suddenly covered his mouth with both hands and made a sympathetic face.

“Oh my, you must have been really looking forward to it.”

“Yes. I really was.”

I deliberately drooped my shoulders. If they continued to refuse despite me, the princess, going this far, I would show them the true taste of power. With this thought, I continued speaking.

“I’ve learned enough magic from Papa to handle most dangers. So it should be fine for me to enter the forest.”

“Absolutely not. We cannot predict what dangers might arise the moment you enter the forest. That’s why we’ve been securing the area daily with the Commander until the hunting competition begins.”

What? They come here every day?

No wonder they were already here despite the hunting competition being days away.

Sever Kelliard, you unnecessarily diligent, rigid, and proper nobleman.

I grumbled internally. If I had known this would happen, I would have brought Lerrhagen along. I thought I could visit quietly without encountering anyone, but ended up in this situation instead.

‘But if they come here daily, what can I do? This means I’ll encounter knights no matter when I come. Maybe in the evening… No, knowing Sever’s personality, he’d probably order even more vigilant monitoring of the area at night.’

Perhaps I could bring a doll disguised as me next time?

But that probably wouldn’t work either. Finally, I spoke with the most pitiful face I could muster.

“I won’t tell anyone I met you. If anything happens to me, it won’t be your fault.”

However, contrary to my expectation that the knights might at least pretend to consider my proposal, they shook their heads even more firmly.

“We cannot allow that, Your Highness. As members of the Central Knight Order, we have a duty to protect the princess safely. Our duty doesn’t disappear simply because no one notices. Even if we were to die alone with no one knowing, we must protect Your Highness and His Majesty.”

Their words left me speechless. Yes, of course. This was their duty and their mission.

It saddened me that they were so “stubborn” despite my offer to turn a blind eye.

‘Ah, this isn’t working.’

I finally gave up.

Indeed, it felt wrong to call knights who were simply doing their duty annoying.

After all, the Central Knight Order always lined up behind me whenever I went out or made official appearances. If anything, I was the one at fault for presenting them with such a difficult request.

“I understand.”

I finally nodded.

The knights looked somewhat relieved when I nodded obediently.

At that moment, perhaps feeling sorry for my dejected appearance, one knight spoke up.

“Well, while going deep into the forest might be too much, couldn’t we look around the forest edge?”

The one who spoke was a knight with neatly cut hair reaching her neck.

She had been occasionally responding to Jasmine’s boyfriend knight earlier, and they must have been quite close, as I heard him chiming in beside her.

“Oh, right. Commander Philon, even if the deep forest is too dangerous, wouldn’t there be rabbits or cute animal friends at the forest edge? While the forest interior might be too dangerous even for us to provide proper escort, the edge should be fine, shouldn’t it?”

“That’s right. We have some time before assembly anyway, so why not take Her Highness for a little sightseeing?”

“It would be a shame if she came all this way and couldn’t see anything.”

“True. And in a few days, those old men will gather and how boring would that—”

“Hey, watch your words.”

However, I immediately took a liking to the knight who had blurted out “those old men.”

How moving it was to hear someone say what I had always wanted to say but couldn’t due to imperial dignity, prestige, and decorum.

“What if we take a short walk around the forest edge before the Commander arrives?”

“Since we have some time before heading back anyway…”

I exhaled a long “hmm” as I watched the knights each offering their thoughts.

Originally, I hadn’t come to see animal friends—or animals at all—so there was no real need to wander through the forest.

Besides, if I really wanted to enter the forest alone, I had plenty of options, like concealing my presence or using a cloak that hid my body.

However.

I gazed at the knights who were smiling kindly.

Sever’s knights.

‘While the Central Knight Order is directly under the Emperor, I’ve had almost no interaction with them outside official events. Maybe I should use this opportunity to see what kind of people they are?’

Though I wasn’t particularly interested in knights, their behavior earlier had suddenly piqued my curiosity.

“So what do you say, Your Highness? While the forest interior is difficult, would you like to look around outside the hunting grounds? Sometimes small animals or cubs run around, so with luck, you might get to see some.”

“Yes, I’d like that!”

Well, at this point, it would be good to leave a trace of magic at the hunting ground entrance. It would be beneficial if an enemy happened to get caught, though the possibility was extremely slim.

With that thought, I smiled brightly.

Just as I was about to say, ‘Shall we go then?’ suddenly, heavy footsteps accompanied by an all-too-familiar voice coldly cut through the air.

“What’s going on here? Why is everyone gathered?”

“Ah, Commander.”

“If your duties finished early, you should have assembled… Princess?”

I turned my head toward the voice.

Standing in the bright afternoon sunlight was none other than Sever Kelliard.

Ironically, the dazzling sunlight breaking over his night-sky-like hair suited him perfectly.

Truly ironic.

‘Oh no. With Sever’s personality, I’ll be lucky if he doesn’t immediately take me back to the palace.’

I inwardly muttered.

Sever paused upon seeing me. Soon, a questioning look appeared on his face.

“Why is Your Highness here?”

At his question, I carefully chose my words. I had no idea how to respond in this situation.

While I didn’t mind acting childishly in front of the knights as the princess, I wanted to maintain at least some dignity before Sever.

Of course, acting too mature would be problematic too.

“I heard there would be a hunt in a few days, so I came out of curiosity.”

“Did you come alone?”

“Yes. Papa transported me here with a warp spell. I actually know simple magic too, but Papa insisted on doing it himself.”

So please don’t think about stopping me.

However, Sever seemed to interpret my intentions completely differently. A look of disbelief crossed his face before he asked me again.

“His Majesty…?”

“Mother naturally gave permission too. She’s probably attending to state affairs now.”

Of course, since Sever knew that Estria had lost consciousness, he would recognize my statement as a lie.

But I wasn’t really asking him to believe me.

In this situation, since he couldn’t openly mention that the Emperor had lost consciousness, my intention was simply to prevent him from probing further.

Though Sever probably just saw this as a child’s clumsy lie.

Proving this, a disapproving look settled on Sever’s face. Or more precisely, since he wasn’t a man of many expressions to begin with, it would be more accurate to say he slightly hardened his gaze.

He kept his lips tightly sealed and stared at me, lost in thought.

The complex emotions in his eyes made it abundantly clear whom he was seeing through me.

‘But no matter how much he dislikes me, he wouldn’t take it out on a child.’

Given Sever’s nature, he wouldn’t vent his frustrations on vulnerable people like children or the elderly.

Trusting this, I smiled even more brightly and spoke.

“Anyway, I came to play in the forest, but since they won’t let me in, we decided to just walk around the area. Right, Lord Philon?”

“Ah, yes? Yes.”

Lord Philon tensed up when his name was suddenly called.

Not just him, but the knights behind him also became visibly tense, their faces rigid and formal, unlike earlier.

‘Sever really keeps these kids in line.’

The situation was so obvious that I couldn’t help but grumble internally.

However, the more Sever acted this way, the more rebellious I felt for some reason.

“It’s okay, right? I won’t enter the forest. I’ll just look around and leave. You won’t say that’s not allowed either, will you?”

“The forest is not a place to visit alone. That person really…”

However, Sever stopped mid-sentence, seeming to remember I was standing right in front of him.

“That person” probably referred to Lerrhagen.

Sever remained silent for a long while after that.

His elegant and captivating golden eyes remained fixed on me.

The calm and serene gaze that formed above them made me feel strange again despite myself.

However, I deliberately maintained a childlike expression, just staring at him with wide eyes. After what felt like a long time, he broke the silence.

“Very well. But.”

“…?”

“I will accompany you. Then, Princess, you may enter the forest as you wish.”

What?