Saena felt rather dazed by the Princess’s excessive generosity.

And she was glad that the strangely tense atmosphere from earlier had improved again.

“So. What are your hobbies?”

“Hobbies?”

Not having anything particular she enjoyed doing, Saena pondered what to answer for a moment before recalling her reputation.

Rumors that she was a bookworm, obsessed with the Arlesian language, and such.

In truth, she spent her time studying the Arlesian language and exploring <Arles-Promesa> simply because she genuinely enjoyed it.

If she had taken it up as a hobby solely to stand out as a noble lady, surely no one would have gone so far as to research Arlesian.

Though she didn’t aim to become a scholar, she had delved into it deeply like she was one. And those hours she had built up were her identity. She didn’t feel the need to hide it or name some other more plausible hobby.

“I… enjoy learning about the history of the ancient civilization <Arles-Promesa> and Guardian Spirits, and studying the Arlesian language.”

At this rather uncommon answer, the Princess’s eyes widened in surprise.

“…Guardian Spirits? Arlesian? Really?”

“Yes. The Guardian Spirit Parade is my favorite event.”

Saena smiled slightly, thinking of Morev, the most recent Guardian Spirit she had seen.

Perhaps the Princess’s next response would be ‘How peculiar’ or ‘That’s quite different.’ Most people except Kirsten and others had such reactions.

And that was actually quite toned down. Usually, people would indirectly say things like ‘That’s really strange’ or ‘What use is there in studying such things.’

“Then which Guardian Spirit is your favorite?”

“Pardon?”

“I love Francis, Halcon of the Southwest the most!”

It wasn’t the response Saena had expected.

The Princess brightened incomprehensibly and shared her favorite(?) Guardian Spirit. While Saena was too taken aback to speak, she added further explanation.

“You know that air current that forms when Halcon leaves Duke Francis’s shoulder and soars into the sky? It’s like he’s tearing through the blue sky with his talons as he flies! Have you seen it? Isn’t it so magnificent?”

The Princess’s silver eyes sparkled brightly. No matter how you looked at it, that was genuine. She truly loved it.

A smile spread across Saena’s face.

“Hehe. Ahaha.”

What started as a smile burst into audible laughter. The clear laughter echoed through the library.

As a blush from laughing rose across Saena’s face that had been pale as white, her whole atmosphere completely changed. Even the Princess, who must have seen countless beautiful things, momentarily lost herself staring at that smile.

“Ah, I apologize. I was just so happy to hear that Your Highness also loves Guardian Spirits.”

Though they were mysterious beings, people surprisingly didn’t like Guardian Spirits much. Especially among nobles.

They were more often objects of reverence, fear, or envy.

Real power, not for show. Power that ordinary nobles didn’t have, and the foundation of the Four Ducal Houses’ authority, that seemed to be why.

“I love Aberdeen’s Erenhorn the most. Actually, I was so disappointed recently when I thought the parade would be Aberdeen’s turn but it wasn’t.”

Saena also shared her preference.

“My, Lady, you truly have an indescribably beautiful smile, don’t you?”

“…Pardon?”

But the Princess suddenly countered with something completely different. Then she whipped her head around to look at Sir Shapiro behind her.

Embarrassment colored Sir Shapiro’s face.

“You saw it too, didn’t you? You must have seen it.”

“…What do you mean?”

“I mean when the Lady smiled like sunshine just now. You seemed quite entranced for a moment?”

“…I was not entranced.”

“Ha! So you did see it?”

“……”

It was fascinating to see embarrassment appear on the face of Sir Shapiro, who seemed like emotionlessness was his default expression.

‘…Is Her Highness teasing her guard?’

She could understand if that was the context — there must be a certain enjoyment in seeing such discomfort appear on that stoic face.

If that’s the case, even excessive compliments about her smile being beautiful and like sunshine made sense.

“Anyway, Erenhorn you say? The unicorn?”

But perhaps because Sir Shapiro showed no further reaction, the Princess turned back to Saena and continued their conversation.

“Yes.”

“Right, if we’re talking about beautiful Guardian Spirits, Aberdeen’s is the finest.”

“Yes, it’s beautiful.”

“But I thought you would answer Morev. My prediction was wrong.”

“…Pardon? Why……”

“Aren’t you quite close with Duke Kramer?”

“C-close?”

Saena felt flustered. This was something she hadn’t expected at all.

Moreover, given that recent kiss incident, the word ‘close’ particularly bothered her.

“Duke Kramer has never been personally close to any lady before. By that standard, you two are very close indeed.”

“……”

“It’s also his first time staying in the imperial capital this long. Well, though he seems to travel back and forth to his territory every week.”

“Pardon? Back and forth?”

“Yes. He uses the warp gate every week. Since he returns to the capital after weekends, I predicted it was all because of his appointments with you.”

“……”

It seemed true, yet she wanted to deny it.

In fact, Saena was even more surprised because she wondered several times if it was alright for the Duke to stay in the capital this long.

‘So that’s why he looked increasingly fatigued.’

It couldn’t be easy traveling back and forth every week, even with the warp gate.

‘A warp gate……’

It was equally surprising that warp gates still existed. She had seen them mentioned in historical documents of <Arles-Promesa>, but they were described as ancient ruins.

“But are warp gates… still around? Do they work?”

She couldn’t understand why such an incredible device wasn’t widely known.

“They might as well not exist, actually.”

“Pardon?”

“Nobody except the Emperor and the Dukes can use them, so they’re not widely known.”

I see.

The Princess continued her explanation.

The Macfeyden Empire had exactly 5 warp gates. One in the imperial capital Phaesle, and the other 4 in the territories of the four great dukes.

Warp gates were devices created during the <Arles-Promesa> era. While they were invaluable devices capable of instantly traversing enormous distances, their power source was the problem.

Since they operated on spirit power, those without Guardian Spirits couldn’t use them. That’s why the remaining warp gates were useless to most people.

‘But isn’t this supposed to be secret……’

She couldn’t understand why the Princess was telling her everything so freely.

“It doesn’t matter since no one without spirit power can use them anyway. The reason this fact isn’t known outside is purely at the Dukes’ request.”

“Because it’s better to keep it secret?”

“No. They say it would be troublesome if people knew they could travel around so easily.”

“……”

What a reason…. But thinking about it, it made sense. Famous people often found things bothersome.

Saena nodded and took another sip of her Royal Rose tea.

She discussed many other things with the Princess as well. Despite Saena’s initial nervousness, she had quite an enjoyable time.

The Princess surprisingly knew and showed interest in many things about Arles-Promesa and Guardian Spirits, so their conversation seemed endless.

“Next time, I’ll invite you along with your friends. I hope you’ll accept.”

“It would be an honor, Your Highness. I truly enjoyed our time together.”

“Take care on your way.”

After exchanging formal farewells with the imperial family member, Saena left the study.

Outside, a woman who appeared to be a lady-in-waiting was waiting for her.

The chief attendant who had guided Saena earlier was nowhere to be seen. Though slightly puzzled, she figured the same person didn’t need to both welcome and send off guests.

“I will escort you back.”

The lady-in-waiting had a somewhat stiff expression. Saena followed her without much thought, assuming she was just doing her job.

However, after walking for a while, she noticed they were going in a different direction than before.

‘No matter how I think about it, the carriage should be that way, right?’

Even though the imperial palace was vast and this was her first visit, Saena could at least retrace the path they had come. But this wasn’t the same way.

Saena stopped the lady-in-waiting to ask.

“Excuse me. Is this the right way?”

“……”

The lady-in-waiting’s shoulders stiffened, and she half-turned as she spoke.

“You are Lady Saena of House Debov, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Then we are going the right way.”

“……?”

What does that even mean.

“You’re saying this is the way to the carriages? We came from that direction earlier.”

“…As I said before, we are going the right way, so please don’t worry.”

The lady-in-waiting just mechanically repeated herself without giving a proper answer.

Sensing something was wrong, Saena stopped walking.

‘Is she really someone from the Princess’s palace?’

Something felt off no matter how she thought about it. She looked around to see if anyone else was nearby.

“My lady?”

“…If you won’t tell me exactly where we’re going, I won’t move from this spot.”

“……”

The lady-in-waiting showed expression for the first time. She looked slightly troubled.

“…Someone is waiting for you. Please follow me.”

“What? I came to see Her Highness the Princess.”

“I know.”

“So… you’re saying someone else… is waiting for me?”

“Yes.”

“……”

What does this mean now?

She suddenly felt a chill in her heart.

‘Did Her Highness the Princess know about this too?’

Doubt suddenly crept in.

Even the enjoyable time they had spent together became tainted with suspicion.

“…Hah.”

She had no choice either way.

Given the circumstances, Saena didn’t seem to be in a position or situation where she could refuse.

‘Nothing bad will happen. Just endure it……’

Though it seemed clear something unpleasant would occur, she consoled herself that she hadn’t committed any grave sin and wasn’t being dragged away, so she just needed to endure for a moment.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Saena followed behind the lady-in-waiting’s steps.

But her anxiety grew. For some reason, there wasn’t a single sign of life as they walked.

‘Surely they won’t do something to me in secret…?’

After walking for a long time through secluded paths that only someone who had lived in the imperial palace for years would know, the lady-in-waiting finally stopped.