But Saena had a slight idea.

“If the Guardian Spirit has abilities like healing power or creating fragrances, this ring might be useful.”

“Hmm…. Well, they say there used to be many different types of Guardian Spirits, so that could be possible.”

Though currently all the Guardian Spirits of the four ducal families seem specialized for war and offense.

“But… could it be… do you have healing power?”

That would be quite troublesome. He muttered.

“What? No. I was just giving an example.”

“Then that’s a relief…”

Isn’t healing power an amazing ability?

“Isn’t healing power good to have?”

“No. It could lead to unnecessary interference and competition.”

True, even though she’s not a doctor, all sorts of people might crowd around asking her to heal someone or something.

Especially in the current situation with the Emperor bedridden. She might end up confined in the Imperial Palace.

“…Can you tell me what abilities your Guardian Spirit has?”

Constantine carefully asked while watching Saena who had fallen into thought.

“What? You mean Yolly?”

“No, just tell me if you can use his power offensively. Since Guardian Spirit powers aren’t always the same…”

Then he added.

“Actually, you should never answer when asked such questions.”

“…What?”

“Even asking such questions is rude and inappropriate. Originally, even I have no right to ask.”

“Even as a husband?”

“Usually marriages are political, and being spouses is separate from being Oathkeepers.”

“Hmm. But… I think you’re okay.”

It might seem like a somewhat thoughtless answer, but it was sincere.

“Constantine, if I can’t trust you, who can I trust?”

In this situation, beyond being her husband, he was the man she loved.

“…Again.”

He rubbed his face and muttered.

“This is troublesome here. It’s already… hard to control myself in this enclosed space.”

Since their reconciliation(?), Constantine’s stimulation threshold seemed to have become very low.

“Ah, this place is a bit…”

“Saying this place is a bit… does that mean other places are fine?”

“…No skipping steps.”

Though it was an office, it was still broad daylight.

At Saena’s firm expression, Constantine chuckled and continued the conversation.

“Anyway, in that sense, only the Oathkeeper themselves should know their Guardian Spirit’s true abilities. You don’t need to reveal all abilities even to the Imperial family.”

“…Really? But aren’t the current five Guardian Spirits well known?”

“The characteristics of the four ducal families and the imperial family have inevitably become somewhat known outside due to such a long succession period. Even so, it’s correct to say they only revealed representative abilities among their various powers.”

“Ah, like using Morev instead of Caligo?”

“Yes.”

Guardian Spirit abilities…

“But I don’t really know what powers Yolly has.”

“You’ll learn gradually. Current Oathkeepers inherit many records and cases from their predecessors over years of succession. It’s natural that you don’t know.”

Not only records and cases, but they also inherit their predecessors’ experiences directly. It’s no exaggeration to say that the successor training of the four ducal families focuses more on succeeding the Covenant than managing the territory or political areas.

But Saena was practically like the first Oathkeeper. Naturally, she had no information.

“It would be good to get familiar one by one through conversation and training with Yolly. As you keep using the power, you’ll naturally become familiar with his attributes.”

“Yes.”

“And depending on the situation, these jewels might be more useful than summoning him, so separate practice is necessary.”

“Yes. I understand.”

After the theory lesson(?), they went outside.

Since this kind of training couldn’t be shown to others, they headed to the duke’s private training ground, and even then, they ordered Commander Wesley to guard the surroundings.

After actually using various types of jewels, she got a rough sense of how to use them.

“Try recharging them yourself too. It will help you understand the flow and intensity of power.”

“True. It seems easier to just burst them out.”

“It’s good to practice a lot since you don’t know your maximum power capacity yet. Even with this fainting ring, if it’s too weak, adult men or knights might wake up quickly.”

“Ah.”

Constantine was an excellent teacher.

Perhaps because hiding Caligo and using dual control through Morev was his daily routine, he was surprisingly skilled at detailed control.

Though she could use power instinctively upon becoming an Oathkeeper, fine control was another matter, so it seemed she had no choice but to practice a lot.

* * *

During the preparation period, Saena practiced attacks and recharging using accessories every day.

Opening the jewelry box and charging before bed had become a recent habit. Since the intensity and number of times she could use the weapons(?) varied subtly depending on how she charged them, Saena often asked Yolly various questions.

— Just do it roughly. You don’t really need this stuff.

“Huh?”

— I can just kill them, what’s the point.

“Oh, you have offensive power?”

— Even without specific offensive power, do you think there are humans who can beat a Guardian Spirit’s manifestation? This isn’t the Arles-Promesa era. In materialized state, only Oathkeepers can’t be defeated. And Oathkeepers can’t be killed with these tools anyway.

Hearing this, she realized he was right. Then what had she been doing all this time?

— Well, it helps with power control, so I let you practice but…

Yolly muttered while looking into the jewelry box.

— Still, this one hmm, might be useful?

Then he tapped a necklace with his bear paw while speaking.

It was the simple design necklace Constantine had explained last. A simple design necklace with just one teardrop-shaped gem on a thin chain.

“This one? How?”

— Try charging it.

Since she hadn’t used this one yet, it had been sitting in a corner compartment.

Saena took it out and placed her finger on the center of the gem. As she tried to concentrate, Yolly put his front paw on it too.

Though she was already drawing on Yolly’s power, it felt different from before. Saena’s eyes widened at the feeling of two subtly different powers mixing and condensing into the gem.

“…What is this?”

— I thought it might work, and it does.

“What works?”

— Give this to the nanny. Tell her to keep it with her always.

“The nanny?”

— Yeah. It’ll help quite a bit.

“Oh, really?”

— Yeah. If it neutralizes that bastard Caligo’s energy, she should live longer than before. It’s not permanent though, so it’ll need charging once a month.

“Wow! Really? That’s great!”

Isn’t it wonderful news that Yolly’s power can help with the nanny’s illness?

“Is this related to why I can touch Constantine safely?”

— Yeah.

“What kind of attribute makes this possible?”

— Hmm. Should I call it ‘purification’? Something like that ability.

“Purification?”

— Yeah. No more poisoning in your life. I can purify it.

“……”

Was it really a coincidence that Yolly gained such an ability among his many powers?

Somehow feeling it wasn’t, she felt both sad and choked up.

Saena suddenly hugged Yolly’s large body. Unlike when Yolly’s body was small, now it felt more like being embraced even though she initiated the hug.

— Hmm?

“When you fell asleep before… that was using your purification power too, right?”

— Well… I overdid it using power before fully awakening. But the nanny’s life was hanging by a thread.

“You’re kind.”

Foolishly kind.

Despite everything, Yuri was a kind-hearted fellow.

— Hey, I’m supposed to be a cool and cold-hearted guy.

“You’re too kind.”

So for someone like me…

Somehow feeling like she might cry, Saena jumped up.

“I need to go give this to the nanny right away!”

“Where are you going?”

But Constantine came in at that moment.

“Ah, this…”

Saena explained while showing the necklace.

“She’s probably already in bed. Let’s go tomorrow.”

“Oh… would that be better?”

“Yes. Nothing major will happen in one day. More importantly…”

Constantine stared at Saena for a moment before approaching.

“Why were you crying?”

“…What?”

“What happened?”

“I wasn’t crying…”

Though she almost did.

But Constantine looked at her steadily with an expression that said she was lying, then sighed softly. And he picked her up.

“—Ah?!”

After putting her down, he immediately climbed onto the bed.

“Co-Constantine?”

Saena rolled her eyes, concerned about Yolly. But somehow he had already disappeared. That fellow had impeccable timing.

“We’ll go to the nanny together tomorrow.”

“Together?”

“Yes. Now… I’m thinking of asking her to return to the main castle.”

“Ah, that’s good. Now it doesn’t matter…”

“All thanks to you.”

He pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips to her forehead.

“So…”

His lips traced down her nose bridge until their foreheads touched.

“Don’t cry anywhere except in bed.”

“……”

“I don’t want you to shed any tears except those I give you.”

Though it was meant to be touching, wait. So in the end, he still won’t give up making her cry in bed?

Saena laughed, finding it absurd.

“Why not make it so I don’t cry in bed either?”

“That… I’m not very confident about.”

He wore an expression suggesting this was perfectly natural.

“Because you cry when it feels too good.”

“I won’t cry today.”

At those words, Constantine smiled softly as he climbed on top of her.

“Are you confident?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll have to work hard to make you cry.”

Their curved smiling lips met.

Their breaths intertwined as each pledged their victory.

Thus through the long night, sometimes the victor became the loser, and sometimes the loser became the victor.