The day had fully darkened. The palace, having completed its activities, held a silence tinged with a certain desolation. Rohayden, with a single sweeping motion, extinguished the magic lamps imbued with the palace mage’s unstinting efforts, and soon lay himself down on the bed.

A faint moon rose in the sufficiently darkened sky. It was late. But on a usual day, he would still be at his desk, working, rather than retiring to bed.

The emperor was one to sleep sparingly, often going to bed later and waking earlier than most. Thus, going to bed at this hour, as he was now, was quite an unusual occurrence.

Rohayden lay straight, closing his eyes.

“Van.”

The girl, unaware of his true identity, innocently spoke the name. It was less of a call and more of a soft murmur, as though she were mulling over what she’d heard. “Van.” She murmured it once more, then shared her impression.

“It’s a pretty name. More so than I’d expected.”

She added with a slightly cheeky tone and smiled playfully.

Rohayden fully relaxed his body. Though he had acted on a whim, he found he did not regret it as much as he’d anticipated.

After all, what good would regret do him now? He couldn’t exactly take back what he’d already revealed, deeming it a mistake. Besides, he found he enjoyed hearing his name voiced by her. Even if he could take it back, he wouldn’t.

He didn’t bother asking himself why he’d done it. Perhaps he knew he wouldn’t find an answer, or maybe he sensed that probing into it would only lead to a headache.

Perhaps his subconscious was urging him to let it go.

The faint moonlight was the only thing that entered the quiet, dark space, where silence settled heavily. Time passed, and a shroud of sleep overtook him, cloaking him quietly. Memories, submerged deeply beneath consciousness, followed him as dreams he could no longer recall.

—

“Your Highness, why that face? Does the food not suit your taste?”

“I don’t like it.”

“Your Highness?”

“I don’t like such stiff titles. Please… call me something a bit… a bit more affectionate.”

“….”

“….”

“…Van.”

“….”

“My beloved… my one and only Van.”

—

People sometimes waste energy on things incredibly pointless and trivial. For example, they might gather to scheme just to bother one specific person.

After fairly distributing the silver coins from their pockets, Ena spoke.

“So, what should we start with?”

“Let’s start with something effective and fun.”

“Like what?”

“Hmm… sowing discord?”

“Oh, that’s a good one.”

There were four people in total having this conversation: Ena, Bina, Sina, and Dina. These girls, usually seen together, were showing an unusually close bond today. They had a shared purpose.

And what was that purpose?

To “harass Mail von Vizeat from the Kingdom of Belthier.”

More precisely, they weren’t harassing her directly. They were passing on various ideas to Amy—one of Ormil’s maids, who had handed them the purse of silver coins. Still, they were being generous enough to demonstrate a few tactics themselves.

Of course, they weren’t planning on physical harm. They didn’t have the audacity to lay hands on a noblewoman. Instead, they devised more subtle, indirect acts.

The others clapped as Sina suggested her idea.

“Didn’t they say she’s staying with the princess?”

“Then we just need to make sure the princess dislikes her.”

“Leave her isolated and abandoned in a foreign place.”

“It’d be nice if the princess were foolish.”

They’d already received basic information along with the purse: her accommodations, companions, and her relationships.

Ena, who led the group without much effort, laughed quietly. It was a mischievous laugh.

While most people wouldn’t behave this way, those with a twisted nature might find discord an amusing game. Watching relationships strain and shatter was a source of entertainment for them.

The four heads huddled together, whispering.

“Let’s create some plausible rumors and let them slip out subtly.”

“Right now, tensions are high. Everyone’s nerves are on edge because of the selection ceremony. People are likely to have sharp ears.”

“Once a seed of doubt is planted, it can blossom very easily.”

“I wonder how she’ll react, being branded a traitor by the very person she serves.”

The words exchanged flowed naturally, as if indicating that this wasn’t their first time attempting such antics. Meeting each other’s eyes, they stifled laughter.

“This is perfect, isn’t it? We were getting so bored!”

The four girls nodded in agreement, each confirming their shared sentiment.

The plan to spread rumors was simple. The target, a young lady always in attendance to her princess, wouldn’t be with her every minute of the day.

They just had to pick a moment when the princess was alone or with someone else besides the lady-in-waiting. Dropping gossip was easy enough — they’d only need to chat in passing as if sharing the latest rumor.

“Didn’t that girl say she saw the target leave her quarters alone earlier?”

“That girl?”

“The one who paid us — Amy.”

“Ah, yes, Amy mentioned that.”

“Perfect. Our work for today is already done, so how about we head over near her quarters? We might catch sight of the princess.”

“Sounds good. And if we get bored, we can just chat amongst ourselves.”

With their plan set, the girls quickly took their places along the path leading to Riela’s quarters.

They were lucky. Not long after, they spotted Riela emerging from her chambers, accompanied by a maid, Rose, as they walked down the hallway to return a few books.

Ena and the others felt like the goddess of fortune was smiling on them. But their excitement was short-lived; almost immediately, they recoiled in shock.

“Did you all see that?”

“What is she? The maid with the princess… is she even human?”

“She was carrying three books with just her pinky!”

“Wow, I thought I was seeing things.”

“Isn’t this… dangerous?”

Their pupils collectively shrank as they processed Rose’s presence. Rose’s mere existence, a maid exuding such strength, was nothing short of startling. Though she wore a maid’s uniform, it looked somehow more formidable than armor.

No one had warned them about this intimidating bodyguard. Amy’s information hadn’t mentioned anyone like her.

What if — by some misfortune — they attempted something, only to get caught? And then, if that warrior-maid took it upon herself to punish them…

Dina, imagining a tragic end in a foreign land, turned pale and let out a whimper.

“No! I don’t want to end up in a coffin!”

“Being in a coffin would be a relief. Did you see her fists? We’d be dust in an instant.”

“Calm down! We’re not targeting the princess herself. Looks like that maid is her bodyguard, so unless we harm the princess directly, she probably won’t interfere.”

Ena, who had managed to keep her cool, cut in and settled the group’s anxiety.

It wasn’t that she didn’t find Rose intimidating. In truth, Rose’s presence was an unexpected twist. But to Ena, that wasn’t reason enough to abandon the plan altogether.

“Think about it — what exactly are we doing? Attacking the princess? Challenging the maid to a duel? No, we’re just going to drop a few words. It’s nothing serious.”

“Well… that’s true.”

“Exactly.”

“Admittedly, I find that maid, or whatever she is, unnerving. But all we have to do is finish this rumor and leave. The rest is Amy’s responsibility anyway.”

“…Alright?”

“Yes, I agree. We’ll just plant some rumors in the princess’s ear and get out of here.”

“Great!”

The group, momentarily shaken, gathered resolve once more, following Ena’s lead. It’s just a bit of rumor-spreading — what’s the harm? They decided not to push beyond that, given the circumstances.

“So, let’s think. Where was the princess headed just now?”

“She was carrying books, so… probably the library?”

“She did go in that direction. And there’s only one library in the secondary palace.”

“Let’s wait for her on her way back, then.”

They moved quickly, finding a spot along the hallway that connected the library to Riela’s quarters, and took calming breaths to steady themselves.

Soon, the person they awaited rounded the corner. The princess’s golden hair glimmered as she walked. Ena and the other three tried to avoid looking directly at Rose and started a conversation as naturally as possible. Once they got going, the dialogue flowed as if they had rehearsed it.

“Hey, have you heard that rumor?”

“What rumor?”

“There’s a princess among the selection candidates — you know, with long blonde hair.”

“Oh, you mean the one who brought along a lady-in-waiting from her home country?”

“Yes, her.”

Though their voices were low, it wasn’t hard to hear them from a short distance away. The quiet of the hall worked in their favor.

While speaking, Ena cast a subtle sidelong glance to check their proximity. Good, close enough for the princess to hear.

“So, what about this princess?”

“Don’t be shocked, but I heard this from someone else, and apparently…”

Bina, who had started to warm up to the act, suddenly trailed off. Something felt off.

By now, she should have at least glanced over. It’s only natural. People tend to listen in, even unconsciously, when they hear someone talking about them, even if they’re occupied with other things.

Whether one is swayed by the overheard story or not is a different matter. At the very least, it’s natural to pay attention. It’s an instinctive, almost elementary response—if one has ears, they tend to listen.

But Riela defied that expectation. Her reaction was completely unexpected. If she had taken a glance and then resolutely dismissed it, that might have been understandable.

However, Riela didn’t even look their way. She brushed past them as if she hadn’t heard a thing—almost as if they didn’t even exist.

It was beyond indifference; it was pure non-reaction.

The four people left in the hallway belatedly felt a wave of confusion.

“…Huh?”

“…What was that?”