The next day, unable to contain their worry, her father and Sage came up to the capital from early dawn. Even though she had sent letters saying she was fine and not to worry, they must have needed to confirm with their own eyes.

Since Saena had been preparing to go to Delvon, they would have just missed each other if they arrived slightly later.

“Ah, daughter.”

Count Debov immediately embraced Saena with relief as soon as he saw her.

Though he must have received Constantine’s letter, he seemed to have worried a lot.

“Father.”

“Hey, I told you to call me Dad!”

Count Debov insisted. Seeing his determined(?) gaze that wouldn’t back down until getting the answer he wanted, Saena opened her mouth.

“…Dad.”

“That’s right, my daughter.”

Seeing the love rise in the Count’s eyes made her feel both embarrassed and warm inside.

“I worried you might be sick and suffering, but I’m glad you’re fine.”

Sage also thoroughly examined Saena. She decided she absolutely must not mention that she had a fever for a day. Even more so about injuring her hand.

“By the way, how did you end up staying at the Duke’s mansion?”

Sage asked quietly after clearing the area. The wrinkles between his brows showed quite an irritated expression.

“Well, when I was heading to Delvon…”

Saena explained the series of events — the rain turning to hail that destroyed the carriage, the hail turning to snow, and encountering the cabin while trying to return during the blizzard.

The father and son listened with surprised eyes to Saena’s story, as the Duke’s letter must not have contained detailed explanations.

“Even so, was it really necessary to go to the Duke’s mansion?”

Though Saena suspected it was due to the medicine, explaining it would mean revealing her injured hand—and that would surely earn her a scolding…

“I was nearly frozen at the time so he must have been urgent. I was about to faint.”

So she decided to hide it appropriately.

“What?! It was that serious?”

“Daughter! Are you really alright now?!”

Given their deep-seated trauma from Saena’s past colds, their reaction was, unsurprisingly, far from moderate.

“The Duke probably wasn’t sure if House Debov had a physician, and his mansion was slightly closer distance-wise…”

Saena desperately made excuses.

“But then too much snow fell and we got trapped.”

Though she wasn’t sure why she ended up in a position defending the Duke.

“I’m completely fine now. The Duke took good care of me. You can see that.”

To emphasize how healthy she was, Saena spoke with a bright smile.

“Hmm. Still something feels off… There must have been some ulterior motive…”

But Sage still seemed suspicious. And what ulterior motive?

“…What kind of ulterior motive?”

“With our Saya being this pretty, and His Grace being a man after all, he must have had his chances. Giving in to momentary temptation…”

“……”

“He didn’t do anything… strange, did he?”

Sage asked with an expression suggesting ‘His Grace’ would quickly become ‘that guy’ or even ‘that XX’. Strangely flustered by the question, Saena forced a smile.

“…No, nothing like that. You know how gentlemanly the Duke is. He was the perfect ‘gentleman’ the whole time.”

Saena emphasized ‘gentleman’ as she explained.

Though he could be strangely persistent even while being gentlemanly… And they had agreed to date…

“Didn’t you just hesitate before answering?”

Startled, Saena spoke louder like people tend to do when caught.

“N-no I didn’t! Brother, you’re being too harsh even for family!”

“How am I being harsh?”

Sage made an uncomprehending expression like he was asking what was wrong with such an obvious question.

“What could His Grace possibly lack to need ulterior motives!”

“Why couldn’t he! He absolutely could! All men are beasts!”

“Then you’re a beast too, brother!”

“Of course… No, wait! Not with you! I’m your brother!”

Not with me? No, something seems off about that answer…

“Anyway, if it weren’t for the Duke, I might have gotten frostbite that day! Thanks to Morev, we quickly escaped the blizzard.”

“Then couldn’t he have taken you home on Morev!?”

Huh? …Come to think of it, that’s true?

No, no, it was because of the medicine.

“Well, the doctor…”

“That’s enough.”

The Count stepped in to stop the conversation that had started going in circles.

“What’s the point of questioning what’s already done, and His Grace didn’t cause any harm.”

“……”

“We should be grateful he saved Saena in a moment of crisis.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Let’s have dinner together later.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

And so the strange conversation between siblings came to an end.

Later that same day, during dinner time…

“I found out the requirements for a Hebeta.”

The Count spoke as they were finishing up their meal.

“Really?”

“What are they?”

Saena and Sage listened intently to the Count’s answer.

“To become Hebeta, a woman must have spirit power. It seems that’s the condition for conceiving an heir to the Guardian Spirit.”

Spirit power? Are there people with spirit power other than Oathkeepers?

Not understanding, Saena asked about that part.

“In the past, there was a time when many people could control Guardian Spirits, so some might still have weak remnants of that power. Even if they’re not quite Oathkeepers.”

“Ah, you mean bloodlines?”

“It seems so. Looking at how they investigate family histories, they must be checking if there were any Oathkeepers among ancestors.”

An Oathkeeper among ancestors…

Though many families might have the possibility, it would be hard to determine randomly, right?

‘Could it be…?’

Saena asked anxiously.

“Does the imperial family perhaps have a device that can test for spirit power?”

“How did you know? That’s right. They say there’s an identification tool from the Arles-Promesa era in the imperial family.”

“……”

“They say it uses blood, but I couldn’t find out the exact method.”

Saena froze.

‘…Blood?’

A word that gives her déjà vu. Suddenly, the events at the imperial palace flashed before her eyes.

The Prince’s sudden appearance as soon as her finger bled, the servant who flew in with a basin like they were waiting, the light that occurred as soon as the blood spread, and even the color that changed like magic.

‘What was especially strange was the Prince’s reaction…’

Though it seemed just bizarre at that time, almost to the point of madness, it makes sense if he was rejoicing at confirming the result he desired.

“What’s wrong?”

Count Debov and Sage asked, seeing Saena’s suddenly deteriorated expression.

‘Should I… tell them?’

Though she hoped it was nothing… if her suspicions were correct, it would be disastrous.

Saena took a deep breath, then slowly explained what had happened at the imperial palace.

“What?!”

“What, the bloodwater spread and the color changed?”

The Count and Sage’s reactions to Saena’s story were very intense.

“That son of a…”

Sage started committing treason again with his words, while Count Debov sank into thought with a grave expression.

“…They say it can probably detect spirit power strength too, and that must have been it. I don’t know exactly, but they seem to distinguish it by that color.”

So that’s why the Prince laughed so heartily…

“Judging by the Prince’s reaction, Saena’s spirit power must have shown quite strongly.”

“It seems so.”

“This appears to be an emergency situation.”

“Oh my…”

“Though no central noble has ever become Hebeta before, the absence of a precedent doesn’t guarantee safety. Especially since the current Prince has been struggling for years. He must be burning up inside about not becoming Crown Prince. He might use extreme methods.”

“…Sigh. Though I wish your words were just needless worry, I think the same. This is serious. We need to establish countermeasures immediately.”

The three finished their meal and moved to the reception room. After dismissing all the servants, they began devising countermeasures.

“Once an imperial order comes down, it’s over. We must take measures before that.”

“For an imperial order, His Majesty the Emperor’s seal is needed…”

“Her Majesty the Empress probably has it now, right? Her Majesty must also want her son to be confirmed as Crown Prince quickly… We should plan countermeasures assuming the imperial order will come.”

“Indeed. Ah, how did this happen…”

“It’s because Saya is so lovely. Though I understand the Prince is human too, I can’t help being irritated.”

“……”

Though Saena was momentarily dumbfounded by brother Sage’s persistent overpraise, Count Debov showed his agreement with that opinion by not reprimanding Sage’s disrespectful remarks about the Prince.

“Dad, I… don’t want to become Hebeta. If it’s just a false alarm that would be fortunate, but if not…”

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that way.”

The Count wore a grave expression.

“Since the first precedent is always important, other nobles won’t like selecting Hebeta from central noble families either.”

“Right. We should seek help from other family heads in advance. Even if not help, we should at least inform them beforehand.”

“Yes, there are other families with daughters too, so we should gather public opinion.”

The Count, Sage, and Saena discussed various matters.

“If we had arranged an engagement earlier, this wouldn’t have happened. The situation has become quite ridiculous.”

“Who could have known this would happen when we delayed it to avoid burdening you with an unwanted man.”

This is a noble society where political marriages are rampant. Despite that, Saena had no fiancé, and there had never been any suggested matches earlier.

Saena had just thought there weren’t any, but it seems her father had been blocking them. She felt newly appreciative and also regretful of her past foolishness.

“Daughter, is there any man you’re interested in these days?”

“…Pardon?”

Her father suddenly came in with a direct question.

“If there’s a man you’re interested in, I could quickly send a letter to his family…”

“Father!”

Sage shouted, apparently displeased.

“I want to keep my daughter with me forever too. But given the situation, isn’t it better for her to live with a man she likes than being forced into the imperial family?”