“Princess? Lady Vizeat?”

“Lord Mohaim.”

As they moved through the garden, the sun had sunk lower, and the twilight cast shadows across the distinct features of the man’s face. His deep navy-blue hair, under the dimming light, could almost be mistaken for black. Banther greeted the four of them with a surprised expression.

“What brings you here…?”

“We came out for a walk. What about you, Lord?”

Banther hid his hands awkwardly, unwilling to admit that he had come to toss coins into the fountain. Instead, he improvised an answer.

“Something similar. Just a walk.”

“What a coincidence.”

“I’m surprised as well.”

Banther’s surprise wasn’t an act. Setting aside the improbable coincidence, of all places… He found himself repeatedly wondering how to discreetly hide the coin in his hand.

It was a slightly embarrassing habit that only a select few knew about—tossing coins into the fountain as a ritual before important events.

“Good evening, Lord Mohaim. I am Mac, temporarily assigned to guard Lady Vizeat.”

At that moment, Mac, who had been standing a step back, stepped forward and greeted him politely. Banther’s gaze shifted to him. They were not strangers. Once, they had crossed swords during training, with Banther serving as a mentor of sorts. Mac Flurry held deep admiration for Banther as a knight. While the two exchanged greetings, Riela approached the fountain.

“Princess, you might fall in.”

Rose, following closely, voiced her concern. Riela leaned close to the fountain and peered into the water. It was an ideal position for someone to push her in as a joke—not that anyone here would dare. Riela responded nonchalantly.

“I know how to swim.”

“That’s not the point.”

“Oh? There’s something in the water.”

Staring blankly at the fountain, Riela suddenly reached out as if she had spotted something. Her movement was instinctive, without any forethought. Banther, however, intercepted her hand just in time.

“…?”

Mac, distracted mid-conversation, blinked in confusion as his companion suddenly vanished from sight. Riela glanced down at Banther’s arm, which had blocked her reach. Banther let out a breath of relief, having just averted a mishap.

“Princess.”

“Banther!”

“Yes, it’s me.”

“When did you arrive?”

It wasn’t a matter of arriving; he had been there first. Riela, who had been fixated on the fountain the entire time, seemed unaware of his presence. Banther, who had expected this, responded calmly.

“I just arrived a moment ago.”

“Why are you here?”

“No particular reason. Just out for a walk.”

“Same as me. Then why did you stop me?”

Because Banther had extended his arm to stop her, Riela’s hand didn’t reach the fountain water. Retracting his now-duty-fulfilled arm, Banther answered smoothly.

“Your gloves would have gotten wet.”

“That’s true.”

“And the fountain is deeper than it looks. Even without the gloves, your sleeves would likely get soaked. Let me retrieve it for you instead.”

He acted like a gentleman. Nothing extraordinary, just the level of courtesy a knight typically shows to a lady. Mail, observing the scene as a bystander, was surprised by something entirely different.

‘He reacted faster than Rose.’

Mail recalled the moment. Riela had carelessly reached out to the water, forgetting even her own attire, and Banther had swiftly intercepted her. Up to this point, it all seemed natural. The issue was the sheer speed of Banther’s reaction.

‘He was clearly chatting with Sir Mac just a second ago.’

His movement was instantaneous, something that couldn’t have happened if his attention had been elsewhere. This meant that even while conversing with Mac, his focus had been entirely on Riela. Having pieced this together, Mail’s eyes glimmered with understanding. Rose seemed to be on a similar wavelength.

When the mention of her gloves came up, Riela had begun to remove them but frowned at the subsequent objection.

“Really? I can’t get it myself?”

“If it’s submerged rather than floating, it’ll be difficult. What did you see?”

“That.”

What she pointed at was easy to spot. Despite the considerable distance and the object being at the bottom of the fountain, the clear water made it plainly visible. The rippling surface occasionally distorted it, creating an optical illusion. Banther stifled a groan.

‘It’s a coin.’

The round copper coin gleamed conspicuously even underwater. And whose coin was it? None other than the one Banther had tossed in a few minutes earlier. The idea of retrieving it, after having thrown it in, left Banther momentarily speechless and conflicted.

‘If she’s merely curious about the coin itself, that would be better.’

The coin’s position was quite far from where they stood. Riela’s perception of distance was questionable, given that she thought she could reach it with her hand.

Banther hesitated, weighing the embarrassment of wading into the fountain to retrieve the coin against the humiliation of producing another from his pocket. Neither seemed less mortifying.

“I want to get that out.”

“…Princess.”

“Yes?”

“Do you specifically want the one that’s underwater?”

Banther finally extended his hand, resigning himself to the situation. He couldn’t hold onto the remaining coin forever anyway. His attire lacked pockets, so he attempted to remain composed.

“It’s the same thing.”

He placed a copper coin onto Riela’s white glove. Her golden eyes widened in surprise.

“The color is strange.”

Curious, she picked it up and examined it. Her unfamiliarity with it was evident. Naturally, it was a copper coin. Where would royalty ever have had the chance to use copper coins instead of gold or silver ones? Riela didn’t even know it was money.

“Is this meant to be thrown into the fountain?”

Clueless about its purpose, Riela asked about the coin’s use. Of course, despite being legitimate currency, it wasn’t created specifically for that purpose. However, Banther, who had brought it for exactly that reason, couldn’t immediately answer. At that moment, Mail, recognizing it at a glance, interjected.

“It’s a copper coin, isn’t it?”

“A copper coin?”

“The coins the princess usually sees are gold coins. On rare occasions, silver coins. This one is copper.”

“That’s correct.”

If anyone here was most familiar with copper coins, it was Rose. Seizing the opportunity, she elaborated on Mail’s explanation, informing Riela that it was money. She even added that buying the dress Riela was wearing would require at least tens of thousands of such coins, as a single one held very little value. Mail chimed in.

“Do you have something important coming up?”

Though she hadn’t even seen the submerged coin in the fountain, Mail cut straight to the heart of the matter. Banther, caught off guard, coughed.

“You knew?”

“The combination of a fountain and a coin. There’s no way you’d have a reason to use a copper coin otherwise.”

Tossing coins into a fountain while making a wish was an old tradition, typically performed in town squares before events like harvests. Though unusual, it wasn’t odd for an individual to practice it alone in a private location.

Mail didn’t think much of it, but Banther clearly felt otherwise. Uncharacteristically flustered, he covered his mouth with his hand. His ears turned red. Unable to break a habit he had held for over a decade, and now having it exposed, the mid-twenties knight was relieved that the twilight masked his embarrassment.

“What is it? I want to know too.”

“Have you ever tossed a coin into a fountain, Princess?”

“Why would anyone throw coins?”

Riela looked genuinely perplexed.

“Hmm, it’s like a small ritual. You throw a coin into the fountain while wishing for something to go well,” she explained.

“Will it go well if you throw it?”

“There’s no guarantee, but you hope it does,” she replied.

Riela fiddled with the coin after listening to the explanation. She had just learned two new things. After glancing at the coin and then the fountain, her gaze turned to Banther.

“Banther.”

Hearing Riela address Banther by name, Mac Flurry belatedly widened his eyes in shock. Unbothered by Mac’s reaction, Riela continued speaking.

“What do you want to go well?”

At that moment, Banther was slightly surprised. Her tone and expression suggested more than mere curiosity; her demeanor carried a sense of obligation. She seemed to be saying that since she was holding the coin, she would make the wish on his behalf and toss it in. But Banther, having no intention of revealing even that much, shook his head.

“It’s nothing important.”

“What’s not important?”

“It’s really a trivial matter…”

“Exactly. Tell me about this trivial matter.”

Riela’s persistence was unusual, and her tone suggested that refusal would be disappointing. Her insistence caused Banther’s blush, which had only reached his ears earlier, to spread further across his face.

“Your Highness…”

“Come on, tell me. You need to throw the coin.”

Was it really an act of kindness, or did she just want an excuse to throw the coin herself? Despite her insistence, Banther firmly declined.

“It’s unnecessary.”

‘After all, I already threw one’, he thought, though he couldn’t bring himself to say it aloud. Riela stared at him, as though she couldn’t comprehend why he was refusing.

“Why not? Don’t you want things to go well? If it’s a secret, you can just whisper it.”

Her white face, with its delicate features, carried a stubborn expression. Banther met her gaze with some difficulty, realizing that her straightforward gaze made it harder to refuse.

It was like being a bad adult refusing the innocent request of a child. Unable to bear the guilt weighing on his conscience, Banther finally covered his face with his hands and surrendered.

“…Alright.”