“…Well, that’s true, but…”

“Though becoming Crown Princess and then Empress would be an incomparable honor, we all know well there’s no guarantee of becoming Crown Princess just by being Hebeta.”

“I don’t care about her becoming Crown Princess either. First of all, once you enter the palace, you can’t even come and go freely.”

…Brother, I don’t want that either.

“Daughter, what do you think? Is there perhaps a man you like?”

“……”

“Even if it’s not quite love, perhaps someone you think is decent enough?”

Duke Kramer—Constantine—immediately came to mind. And she felt embarrassed at herself for thinking of him right away.

“Hmm…. Uh, no one.”

Seeing her strangely slow response, the Count narrowed his eyes and asked again.

“…No one? Really?”

“No one, really.”

“They say strong denial is affirmation…”

As the Count examined Saena suspiciously, Sage also joined in staring at her with sharp eyes.

“Instead of getting engaged or involved with a man… aren’t there other solutions?”

Saena swallowed hard and tried to change the subject.

She truly wanted to find another solution besides using a man to block another man.

“Marriage would be more certain than engagement.”

No, I’m telling you I’m against marriage…

“Or studying abroad?”

“She’s already studying too much. That won’t do.”

Sage objected. Having to flee to another country, physically separated from family — Saena didn’t like that idea either.

The three discussed countermeasures for several hours but couldn’t reach any meaningful conclusion.

“Sigh, I’ll look into a few more things first.”

Come to think of it, a few other methods did come to mind. Like receiving a large scar like a burn on her face, or spreading rumors that would damage her reputation, such as having already spent the night with someone.

All of these required harming Saena herself, so they were excluded as well.

She couldn’t destroy herself just to avoid the Prince.

‘…Is marriage really the only way?’

Saena knew too. That marriage was the most certain method.

‘I really planned to live unmarried in this life…’

She had sworn she didn’t need a husband, just family… but here she was.

She could only sigh. Life really doesn’t go as planned.

* * *

Once the snow stopped, the imperial capital Phaesle quickly returned to normal.

The roads were cleared for horses and carriages to pass, and shops reopened for business.

Since messengers could move again, letters and invitations began circulating once more.

There had been various accidents due to the heavy snow, so everyone picked up their pens to write letters asking after and sharing news with close acquaintances. An enormous number of ceremonial greeting letters were exchanged for networking purposes as well.

Saena also spent quite some time receiving letters and sending replies.

Elizabeth had sent a letter expressing detailed concerns, but Saena only sent back a formal reply.

“From Sister Kiki.”

Kirsten seemed to have written back again to her reply. Thinking she was quite caring in her own way, Saena broke the seal and opened the envelope. Though the contents that popped out were somewhat different from what she expected.

“Hm? A pajama party?”

Skimming through it, the content was asking if she could come to a pajama party they were planning to hold at the Ackroyd house.

A pajama party… Was this something people normally did with close friends? Her heart started beating strangely when she received such an invitation for the first time.

“Kyaang?”

But suddenly Yolly, who had been lying quietly over there, came trotting over and started making a fuss. He kept tapping the invitation with his short front paws, apparently displeased about something again.

“What’s wrong now, you?”

“Kyang!”

“What? You want to see this?”

“Kyang, kyaang!”

He shook his head while spinning in circles like chasing his own tail.

“I got invited to a pajama party. You know Sister Kiki, right? Hehee. It’ll be fun, don’t you think?”

“Kyaang!”

“What’s with all the yelling? Are you saying I shouldn’t go?”

“Kyang.”

Yolly suddenly stood still and nodded.

“…You’re really saying I shouldn’t go?”

This guy really expresses his opinions clearly. Seeing him nod again made it certain. Though I thought he wasn’t an ordinary animal, he still surprises me every time.

“But why? I want to go?”

“…Kyuuing.”

He kept tapping his tail as if something displeased him. Though his attitude wasn’t strictly forbidding, it was somewhat ambiguous.

After doing that for a while, Yolly suddenly grabbed a basket from somewhere with his teeth and dragged it towards Saena while whining. Then he looked at Saena once before hopping inside and sitting down.

Seeing that posture…

“…You want me to take you too?”

“Kyang!”

Seems I guessed right. No, why do you want to go there? He’s really such a funny one.

“I’ll ask about it. If sister says no, I can’t take you.”

“Kyaaah!”

“Eek!”

He suddenly jumped onto her chest and expressed his displeasure with his whole body. It startled her.

This one will definitely try to follow secretly if he’s not allowed. He had thrown such a fit when she left home during the recent snowstorm. It seems she’ll have to try getting permission somehow.

“Kyang?”

Just when things seemed settled, his demands weren’t over as he suddenly perked up his ears and started barking.

“Kah! Kyaang!”

He ran to the terrace making a huge fuss.

“You, what’s wrong now?”

By now, Saena could roughly gauge Yolly’s mood just from his barking tone. Though she found it somewhat funny and amazing herself, it was really true.

This sound was him expressing opinions about something he didn’t like.

Wondering why he was making such a fuss by the window, she got up when there was a tapping sound on the glass.

“…Huh?”

Tap tap. Hearing another sound of glass vibrating, she opened her eyes wide to look and saw a small bird outside. It was a bird of such deep black it seemed to absorb all light. With only yellow eyes embedded, it gave an even stranger feeling.

And… Saena could immediately recognize what this bird was.

‘When I need to contact you, I’ll send a messenger. Don’t be surprised even if it comes directly to your room.’

‘Directly to my room?’

‘It’s manifested through the Guardian Spirit’s power, not a person.’

‘Ah….’

So this bird must be created by the Guardian Spirit’s power.

Saena opened the door hurriedly with sparkling eyes.

“Kyaang–!”

Yolly made a huge fuss, hopping up and down trying to catch the bird.

I’m so thankful he’s not a cat at times like this. Even when he’s jumping with all his might, he can’t even reach a person’s knees.

Saena closed the terrace door and reached out toward the bird flying in the air. Somehow knowing, the small bird gently landed on her fingers.

She took the bird to the console table she uses for letter writing and sat down. With careful movements, she lowered her hand to the console, and the bird hopped down her finger, walking with tiny steps.

‘But didn’t he say it was a messenger? Is this not the bird?’

A messenger usually refers to something that carries things back and forth. But this bird looked too small to carry anything.

But then…

— Haak.

Though no actual sound came out, the bird opened its mouth wide like it was making that sound and… gakk, regurgitated something.

“……”

It was a rolled-up paper.

Though it was rolled up, watching it pull out a bundle nearly half its body length from that tiny beak was… honestly more grotesque than cute.

Though there were no visible stains, touching paper that had been regurgitated wasn’t exactly… appealing.

The bird, apparently not just meant for carrying letters, pecked at the roll it had produced and looked at Saena.

It seemed to want her to check it quickly.

“……”

With no choice, Saena reached for the rolled paper.

Fortunately, it didn’t feel wet or slimy. It had the normal crisp texture of paper.

They said it was a kind of spirit body created using the Guardian Spirit’s power, so it probably just appeared to be regurgitating.

“Kyang! Kyang! Kyang!”

Ignoring Yolly who was barking madly about something he didn’t like, Saena unrolled the note.

It was indeed a message from Constantine.

[Saena.

This is Constantine.

If you ever need anything or want to say something, please feel free to contact me through this bird anytime.

If you write a letter and put it in its mouth, it will bring it to me.

Since it’s not a real bird, you don’t need to provide water or food.]

A secret messenger between just the two of them, without going through a third party… Though it was possible because Constantine was an Oathkeeper, it made her feel strange somehow.

Like she had become someone special.

Though the special one was Constantine, not her, she felt that way just from being near him. Her fingertips felt tingly, and her emotions were stirring.

Unnecessarily embarrassed, Saena cleared her throat and thought she should write a reply.

[To Duke.]

To Duke… Is this strange? He asked me before to call him by name instead of Duke, hmm… Dear Constantine?

But using such an intimate address felt awkward somehow, and trying to be properly formal would take too much space on the small paper. If she wrote formally on this tiny note, just the introduction would fill it up.

She had no choice but to write just the main points, which naturally resulted in a format used between close friends.

[…The bird is fascinating. Though I was surprised when it regurgitated.

And I won’t be able to come this Wednesday. I got invited to a pajama party. I plan to accept.

Ah, how have your dreams been lately?]

Though she thought about rewriting it since it seemed too disorganized, she figured it would turn out the same way and just rolled it up. After securing the rolled paper similar to how the note had been when she received it, she put it to the bird’s mouth, and it opened its beak wide.

“……”

Even when she watched it happen, she couldn’t understand how it swallowed it. After swallowing the paper, the black bird hopped onto Saena’s hand with bouncing steps.

‘It’s cute when its mouth is closed…’

When she opened the terrace door with the bird in hand, it flew away and quickly disappeared. The sight somehow made her smile, and after watching for a while, Saena closed the door and went back inside.

* * *