“Yes. Tell them to keep my room empty.”

“The woman…”

“Blonde.”

Lord Trow recalled Peirose. He also remembered Baron Durford’s expression as he fawned over her, calling her a fairy.

With a cold smile, he changed his mind.

“No, tell them to prepare a redhead.”

***

“Has some curse befallen our Leah?”

After Helix rescued her from nearly being kidnapped, Duke Piert collapsed into a chair and couldn’t get up for a while.

He sighed deeply.

“First attempted poisonings, then malicious rumors in society, and now kidnapping. Is this happening because we saved a child who was fated to die…”

“Father, don’t say such weak things. This is exactly when we need to protect Leah more.”

At Young Lord Rikeil’s words, the Duke finally came to his senses.

“You’re right. Is Leah alright?”

“She’s sick in bed from the shock. But with Helix by her side, she’ll recover soon.”

Just then, the door to the Duke’s private reception room opened and Helix and Ruyan entered.

“Helix, good to see you. How is Leah?”

“She’s much calmer now. The Duchess said she would look after her for a while.”

The three men breathed sighs of relief.

Helix didn’t give them time to relax before speaking up.

“Leah thinks her kidnapper might have been Prince Archaik.”

“What?”

He proceeded to tell the shocked Piert men everything. That he was the owner of the Dragon mana that had made Leah a mage, and that he was the culprit who had set fires and cast sleep magic trying to kill their group when returning from the north.

“He must either be a somewhat lacking dragon, or someone strongly contracted with a dragon. He seems too inexperienced to be a dragon, but possesses power no human could have.”

“…If we’re matching those characteristics, Prince Archaik of the Oken Empire is indeed the only one who fits.”

After thinking it through, Rikeil spoke.

“While our Kingdom of Peiren treats dragons as legends, the Oken Empire seems different.”

“How so?”

“In the Oken Empire, the imperial family claims to be descendants of dragons. I heard they’ve been claiming that dragons have been revived recently and that Prince Archaik Oken is the incarnation of a dragon.”

Helix’s eyes gleamed at this unexpected information.

“Does the Young Lord think there’s credibility to that claim?”

“It’s probably not entirely baseless. After all, Prince Archaik was the child furthest from succession among the Emperor’s many children.”

It was said that Prince Archaik’s maternal family was an obscure viscounty that couldn’t even protect their daughter, let alone support a fight for succession.

“Why would a family of that status send their daughter to the imperial palace?”

“They were greedy despite lacking ability.”

Rikeil continued.

“If it were a made-up story, there would be no reason to push Prince Archaik, with such a background, as the dragon’s incarnation, right? So there must be something to it.”

“Hmm.”

Duke Piert and Rikeil said they would look further into Prince Archaik and the empire’s movements. Ruyan, realizing he wouldn’t be of help right now, went off to train.

“Ruyan, you must focus only on meditation and mental training.”

“…Why does everyone treat me like an unleashed mad dog?”

Though grumbling, Ruyan couldn’t bring himself to hit Helix, who was his and Leah’s savior.

***

As soon as Leah recovered, she went to see Master with Helix.

“After almost getting kidnapped, I’ve been thinking.”

Her eyes sparkled.

“I think that Archaik has an information network in Peiren’s social circles.”

“Leah, what do you mean?”

“You see, while you were gone, Helix…”

Leah poured out her story, mixing in all her frustration and resentment from that time.

The War of Roses and Lilies, Lady Seigan fleeing from Baron Durford’s persistent courtship, Baroness Whipft who seemed to be cooperating with the Baron, Lady Seigan and Baron Durford’s disappearance, and the bloodstained fur muffler.

Helix’s expression shifted from anger to disgust and back to anger as he listened.

“…So you and Ruyan were framed? For harming those two?”

“Yes. Can you believe it? Helix, I really suffered!”

“You’ve been through a lot.”

Though brief, his voice conveyed his heartfelt sympathy. Leah felt as if all the frustration that had been bottled up inside her suddenly vanished.

“Ah, Helix really is my medicine…”

“Didn’t you say before that you needed to recharge?”

“You’re a cure-all that can both heal and recharge. No wonder I felt so terribly difficult while you were gone.”

Leah sighed deeply as she hugged Helix’s arm and leaned on him. As conflict flashed across his stiff face, she suddenly lifted her head.

“But Prince Archaik knew about it.”

“What?”

“Pardon?”

Helix’s voice sharpened. Even Master, who was trying to self-hypnotize himself into being invisible despite being in his own office, was startled into asking.

Leah continued.

“He didn’t just know about it, he was trying to use it. He said that even if I was kidnapped, Peiren would think I ran away because I was scared after committing crimes, and that once we crossed the border, we’d change carriages and I’d get a new identity…”

As she spoke, fear suddenly overwhelmed her. She had been too shocked to process it at the time, but thinking about it now, it had been a truly dangerous situation.

“Wow, if Helix hadn’t come, it really would have happened just as he said, right? If they’d left just a few pieces of evidence like the fur muffler in the carriage, I would have been completely…”

“Leah, don’t say anymore.”

Helix took her hand and spoke reassuringly.

“Such a thing wouldn’t have happened, so there’s no need to think about it.”

“But it would have happened, right? If Helix hadn’t come…”

“That’s why I’m saying it wouldn’t have happened.”

He spoke firmly.

“Whether crossing borders or going anywhere else, do you think a guardian would just leave their contractor?”

“That’s right, Lady. The Guardian isn’t someone who would leave his contractor in danger.”

Master, backing up Helix, pondered Leah’s words.

“This certainly confirms that Prince Archaik has an information network in Peiren.”

He narrowed his eyes.

“Perhaps it’s more than just an information network… He might have planned this together with someone.”

“Planned together? With whom?”

“Who else could it be?”

Master replied with his own question before saying.

“Recently, I’ve noticed more imperial figures frequenting Count Trow’s side.”

***

Leah thought to herself.

‘God of Magic, please allow me to become a righteous flamethrower.’

Should she go to Count Trow’s mansion now and trap them with a firewall? Wouldn’t erasing the Trow family from maps and noble registers be doing the world a favor?

“Leah, calm down! If Prince Archaik is in league with Count Trow, he’ll interfere with your magic!”

At Helix’s words, she felt herself becoming slightly more rational.

“True… That sneaky bastard might redirect the flames somewhere else and pin everything on me.”

“To think you’d immediately shift to such a negative perspective, Lady Piert might be better suited for our line of work than the ducal family’s.”

Leah pretended not to see Master’s eyes that clearly said ‘Our dark guild always welcomes talented individuals!’

“Helix is right. That guy can control people who have awakened with the same mana, like me and Karai. I can’t let myself fall more under his control.”

“Well thought. First, we need to deal with the sleep magic’s aftereffects.”

At Helix’s words, Leah swallowed hard.

“Did you find anything in the north?”

Helix nodded and said.

“To break a dragon’s magic, you need dragon magic of similar level. I learned it, but…”

So that’s why it took so long. Leah waited for the rest as she understood.

“For the magic to work properly, we need dragon mana.”

“You mean we have to pretend it’s dragon magic as much as possible?”

“Exactly.”

Leah furrowed her brow with a groan.

“Then should we look for dragon mana from the empire? Master, do you have any connections in the empire?”

“…Not enough to obtain dragon mana. For that, you’d need connections to the imperial family.”

“Ughh.”

Leah groaned.

Even though the Piert Ducal Family was prestigious, that was only within the Kingdom of Peiren. It wouldn’t work in the Oken Empire, which was much larger and treated Peiren almost like a vassal state.

“Isn’t there anywhere else we can get dragon mana? Besides that Prince Archaik?”

The solution came from an unexpected source.

“Lady, you need dragon mana to remove the sleep magic’s aftereffects, right? Would it work in potion form?”

Karai, who had heard the story, stepped forward.

“Potion? Of course it would! Obviously!”

“That’s a relief. I know how to get that.”

“What? How?”

Karai lowered his voice.

“Yan Trow carries potions around.”

***

Karai explained to Leah, Helix, and the Piert brothers what kind of person Count Trow’s eldest son Lord Yan Trow was, and why he carried potions.

He was the type who couldn’t say a word against his father but took out his frustrations on those beneath him.

‘Do you know who I am? Huh?’

He would steal one potion at a time from the strictly controlled supply and carry it around, bragging about it when drunk.

‘I’m someone who carries such precious and secret items. Moreover, do you know how dangerous this thing is? Just one drop and swoosh!’

Leah was dumbfounded.

“He’s even more pathetic than I thought.”

Karai smiled brightly.

“He is extremely, very, intensely pathetic, my lady.”

Ruyan interlocked his fingers and leaned forward.

“Then let’s rob Yan Trow.”

“Rob him to steal the potion?”

Nod.

Ruyan Piert nodded with a face that suggested this was obvious, though his face alone seemed like a mix between a fairy and an angel.

Leah narrowed her eyes.

“Little brother’s not just going to steal, right? You’re going to beat him up.”

“I’ll only hit him enough that he can’t walk for a few days.”

“That’s robbery, you know? If you hit him, he’ll die, you know?”