Was dancing always this fun?

Her beautiful smile in full bloom drew many gazes around her, but completely unaware, Saena remained absorbed in the moon-greeting dance.

No matter how enjoyable a dance is, one can’t dance all day.

Dancing enthusiastically made her thirsty and her legs ache. She hadn’t expected to dance such an energetic dance and had worn high heels, which made it uncomfortable.

Saena caught her breath, thinking it was time to leave the circle.

‘I should get out now.’

The decisive reason was actually that she spotted George Hollander among the male participants approaching from that direction.

‘At parties, he just…’

She had merely glanced in that direction briefly, but their eyes met as if he had been waiting for it, which made her feel even worse.

Saena took this chance to slip out of the circle.

She needed to have a drink and rest for a while. She thought she might not have energy left for the treasure hunt later at this rate.

Moving around leisurely while looking around, she still couldn’t see Constantine.

‘It would have been fun to dance together…’

Though she couldn’t really imagine him doing the moon-greeting dance, that’s what made imagining it more fun.

If he joined in, everyone around might freeze and run away.

A laugh escaped her.

‘The meeting must be really long.’

Seeing almost all other nobles had arrived, the state council meeting seemed to be over… Did he choose not to attend?

‘But he asked if I was coming to the imperial palace on Black Night, right?’

Even if not other dukes, Constantine would have come to find her if he had time.

‘I think I heard there’s a separate meeting for the Four Duke Houses. Is that why?’

She seemed to remember hearing about a separate security meeting related to the Guardian Spirits, apart from the state council where the Four Dukes and central nobles all gathered.

It felt strange to see him so busy without even a moment to meet after always appearing so leisurely.

He probably wasn’t actually leisurely at all.

As she sipped her drink, the moon-greeting dance music that had been playing continuously finally stopped.

And the music changed.

‘Oh, is it over?’

It seemed to be time for the event to change.

Everyone’s gaze naturally gathered at the platform.

The Prince and Hebeta came up. The Empress couldn’t be seen. The Prince’s gaze swept across those attending the Moonlight Ball and stopped on Saena.

She flinched and lowered her eyes at his spreading smile.

‘…What’s that about?’

The Prince began his speech. It seemed to be the opening address before the treasure hunt.

While watching him enthusiastically delivering his speech and trying to figure out what to do, she spotted Elaine Barnes glaring at her with fierce eyes next to the Prince, and immediately decided she needed to leave.

“Saya?”

“Sister, I’m going to head out first.”

Saena whispered to Kirsten, who showed confusion at her retreating form.

“The garden area should be restricted right now, though? It probably won’t open until 10 o’clock.”

It seemed they had restricted access to the garden where the event would be held to prevent people from searching for treasures early.

“Ah, I was planning to stop by the lounge first.”

“Ah, alright.”

Actually, she was moving to avoid the Prince early. She felt he would come looking for her once his opening address ended.

Even as she stealthily moved, she could feel gazes following her back. The Prince’s words quickened as if he’s trying to quickly wrap up the opening address.

“…Treasures await in the garden, and rewards will be given according to their number and content. In particular, expect something special for whoever finds the imperial family’s Guardian Spirit doll. Now then, on this night of the dark moon, let’s go clear away the darkness while waiting for the new year.”

Woah!

The treasure hunt began.

Saena quickly hid herself in the gaps between the flowing crowd.

Everyone from the banquet hall streamed out through the entrance that the imperial knights had been guarding and now opened. Even the Prince couldn’t reach her through this wave of people.

Hoping the night’s darkness would conceal her position, Saena followed behind them.

She hid herself as much as possible while slipping deep into the shadows.

“Did you find it?”

“No. Somehow I can’t see it anywhere.”

Considering they were at the imperial palace’s main garden, its vastness made it feel sparsely populated despite the many people searching for treasures.

Moreover, it was an especially moonless night. Though torches and lighting devices were installed along the paths, it felt more dim than bright.

It could feel scary being alone. Perhaps that’s why most people moved in groups.

‘…It’s a bit eerie.’

Saena was alone. Of course, she had no torch.

She briefly regretted not coming out with her friends, but then she would surely have been caught by the Prince and forced into another strange conversation. Hebeta’s glares would have been the inevitable bonus.

‘Oh well, whatever.’

Since the prize wasn’t her goal, she thought she should quickly find the doll and leave the garden. Saena moved while carefully examining her surroundings.

Fortunately, she wasn’t afraid of the dark. Being alone was also familiar, so being by herself wasn’t particularly challenging. However, even she wanted to avoid encountering unfamiliar men in dark places.

Though imperial knights patrolled regularly, Kirsten had warned her that some still attempted harassment under the cover of darkness.

Saena moved diligently. Since the treasure hunt lasted only until midnight, she put in great effort.

“I’ve found everything… except Erenhorn.”

Since the Aberdeen family’s Guardian Spirit, Erenhorn, was what she wanted most, she couldn’t bring herself to leave.

‘Just one more to find…’

Saena looked around. Where could it be? She constantly scanned for places where dolls might be hidden, her cautiousness decreased and her vision narrowed as her obsession grew.

Because of this, even she, who had been good at avoiding people until now, finally ran into someone.

“Eek!”

A woman screamed when Saena suddenly appeared around the corner. Though startled by the scream, Saena managed not to scream herself.

“Oh, how frightening. Who’s there?”

There were three of them. Though she considered how to pass by without greeting them, there were too many eyes watching to make that possible.

“…Hello.”

“Oh my, isn’t this Lady Debov?”

“Yes, yes. Have you found many treasures?”

She looked at the faces of the ladies who quickly recognized her and asked various questions. Oh no, they were from Lady Harper and Hebeta’s group.

“You seem to have found one of each type?”

“Ah, yes.”

Not having brought anything to carry them in, Saena held all three dolls in her hands. Naturally, they were easy to spot.

“Could you tell us where you found Morev?”

Lady Harper’s group asked. Thinking it fortunate they didn’t seem to be picking a fight, Saena answered.

“Morev seems to be mostly around the pond area, near the rocks rather than trees.”

“Oh my, we didn’t think to check the rocks. Thank you!”

As they turned to leave, one of them called out to her.

“You don’t have the unicorn?”

“Oh, there seemed to be many over there. We all found ours there.”

“Right. There are many over there.”

Saena’s ears perked up when the topic of the unicorn doll’s whereabouts came up.

‘Over there?’

Looking in the direction one lady pointed, it seemed to be toward the hanging garden.

“All three of us found our unicorns there.”

“That’s right.”

“Well then, we’ll go look for Morev.”

Fortunately, the ladies left without any tension, having casually dropped the exact information Saena needed.

‘Over there… Hmm. Would it be okay?’

The hanging garden was a terraced structure, and being on the upper level, she had avoided it so far thinking she would be too visible.

“…Oh well, nothing will happen.”

Saena’s desire for the unicorn doll finally made her walk in that direction. The approaching midnight also made her anxious.

Saena checked for people’s presence near the landing before taking steps. She hurried up the stairs since they had more torches than other areas. Though the brightness was good, she didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention.

‘Hmm… The structure is quite complex.’

This was her first time coming up to the hanging garden, and the upper structure was quite complicated. Not only was the multi-level structure complex, but there was also a maze garden that made her worry she might get lost.

‘Let’s just check the outer areas first.’

Saena searched carefully for the doll, examining suspicious gaps and blind spots.

Flap.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of wings.

Freezing in place as she despised insects, Saena looked around.

At first, she saw nothing. But as she focused her vision carefully, she saw a black-feathered bird that absorbed the darkness of night, fluttering before her eyes.

“…Huh?”

Isn’t this the black bird? Isn’t this Constantine’s messenger bird? Could it find her even away from home?

Saena extended her hand with a dazed feeling. She temporarily set down the dolls she was holding.

The black bird perched on Saena’s index finger. She felt pressure and ticklishness as its toes wrapped around her finger like a perch. Smiling slightly, Saena raised her other hand and opened her palm before the bird.