This year’s Founding Festival parade wasn’t originally his turn.

It was Duke Aberdeen’s turn, but he whined to Constantine to switch turns because he couldn’t finish dealing with the unusually abundant demonic beasts this year.

— Master, if you don’t want to go to the Imperial City, let’s hunt them instead. Then tell Duke Aberdeen to go to the parade! Wouldn’t that be good for everyone?

Given Caligo’s nature and love to see blood, he constantly pestered to just hunt demonic beasts.

“Shut up.”

— Why is ‘shut up’ the only thing you ever say to me!

If you’d just chatter moderately, I wouldn’t have to say such things.

Since he didn’t particularly like going to the Imperial City, following Caligo’s suggestion didn’t seem bad, but Constantine accepted Duke Aberdeen’s request.

— Master! Why do you voluntarily take on difficult tasks! That white horse’s master likes the Imperial City! And you hate it, so switching would be perfect!

The reason was simple.

‘I don’t want to do what this bastard likes.’

The Imperial City was as usual.

The Prince approached him several times following the same pattern before leaving with an angry face, and as always, he wanted to leave as soon as he arrived.

It wasn’t because he missed his daily routine of hunting demonic beasts in Kramer territory.

Rather, to him, life in the Imperial City felt fake. No battles, no bloodshed.

What other nobles considered worries were merely games unrelated to survival from his perspective.

That gap always prevented him from settling here. He felt detached everywhere.

As always, he planned to return to Kramer territory right after the first evening banquet following the parade.

The parade began.

He summoned Morev and revealed his form outside. He maximized his size to be visible from afar.

Cheers erupted from everywhere when the massive black lion appeared.

Morev is the widely known Guardian Spirit of House Kramer. However, he wasn’t actually House Kramer’s true Guardian Spirit.

The true Guardian Spirit of House Kramer is Caligo, who commands shadows.

Caligo has no fixed form, and due to his nature of controlling shadows and craving blood, he didn’t match the righteous image of imperial protection that the empire’s people imagined.

You could say people would rather be wary if they knew his true nature. So for generations, House Kramer had presented Morev instead of Caligo as their figurehead.

In reality, Morev is one of Caligo’s lesser spirits.

Guardian spirits can control up to four lesser spirits depending on their rank and power in the spirit realm.

Since the Guardian Spirit Covenant naturally binds not only the Guardian Spirit but also its lesser spirits, Morev was also under Constantine’s control.

— This guy’s slacking off. Hey, you! Can’t you hold your mane up properly? Huh? Make it flutter more majestically!

— ……

At Caligo’s scolding, Morev straightened his back more and puffed up his mane.

People cheered at his majestic appearance.

“Waaaaaah!”

Just as the thunderous cheers pierced his ears, Constantine sensed a faint disturbance from far away.

— Ah, master. Spirit scent! I sense the energy of our kind.

Caligo seemed to have detected something too.

‘…Spirit scent?’

Is that this disturbance?

Unknown to ordinary people, Guardian Spirits could sense each other. Though they needed to be close to identify which Guardian Spirit it was, they could sense each other’s presence even from afar.

That’s why Oathkeepers couldn’t hide their identity as Oathkeepers. At least not while another Oathkeeper was nearby.

But this energy was too weak to be a Guardian Spirit’s power.

How to put it… Rather than a Guardian Spirit, it felt like slight remnants of one?

‘Hmm.’

But the direction of that feeling was clear.

Constantine immediately looked toward the source of the sensation.

‘…The viewing platform?’

He saw the viewing platform specially set up for nobles to watch the parade. Though not as many as the imperial citizens packed in the streets, there were still quite a few nobles gathered on the platform.

Among them, he noticed the silhouette of a woman sitting alone in one corner, apart from others. It seemed slightly peculiar to Constantine, who usually only saw noble ladies moving in groups, but,

‘Hmm. Must be waiting for a date.’

He soon saw her joined by some man.

While watching them chat intimately, he momentarily forgot his purpose.

‘…What was it?’

He tried to find that subtle feeling again but couldn’t.

And that same evening…

In a hall of the Imperial Palace where the debutante ball was being held.

Constantine entered late to avoid giving people unnecessary opportunities to approach him with pointless conversation.

It was around the time when the introductions of debutantes were almost over, but before the imperial family’s opening speech.

Even though he entered while forbidding the herald’s announcement, all eyes in the hall instantly turned to him as he entered. Such was his presence that naturally drew attention just by being there.

He advanced forward, staring straight ahead without giving attention to anyone.

Just then, the curtain on stage opened and a lady walked onto the platform with her partner. She was a pretty lady wearing a lime blonde dress in olive green.

Their eyes met briefly, but he quickly looked away. The lady smiled her prettiest smile at him, but Constantine didn’t even notice.

Because he sensed something disturbing his senses again from beyond.

— Huh? There it is again! That scent!

Constantine felt it too.

The energy was coming from inside, beyond the stage.

— What is it? It’s an unfamiliar scent? But I don’t like it! It’s somehow itchy… anyway, I don’t like it! Master! I feel bad! Let’s leave right now!

Though he didn’t understand why Caligo was suddenly acting this way, Constantine mercilessly ignored his words as usual and intently stared at the stage.

He wanted to see who was emanating such energy.

And… soon she appeared.

A woman wearing a snow-white dress…

“……”

Her black hair, sparkling like the night sea, made her white skin appear even whiter, and her face, which showed a series of expressions from momentarily closing her eyes as if dazzled to slowly opening them again, was as delicate as a bisque doll.

— Master? Master!

He momentarily forgot how to speak.

Apart from the strange energy he had felt, her first impression itself made him temporarily lose his words.

— Ugh. I’m telling you it’s a scent I hate!!

Caligo threw a fit and made a fuss. Though Constantine forcefully restrained him from bursting out on his own, he couldn’t do anything about the energy that wavered out behind his back.

And then, that lady turned her gaze toward him.

“……!”

When those purple eyes widened and looked at him. Him.

And shortly after when she turned her gaze away from him. He…

Somehow felt cold.

Despite having lived almost his entire life in coldness and it not being anything new, he suddenly felt a chill.

‘What is this feeling?’

Not knowing what he had just felt, Constantine watched her dance with her partner in an ambiguous state.

Without taking his eyes off her once.

He stared as if entranced when a small smile appeared on those red lips.

Constantine, though it wasn’t a smile directed at him, somehow couldn’t look away.

He usually left right after the imperial family’s opening speech. He didn’t even know what he was doing himself.

After watching her finish her first dance with her partner, his feet moving was a kind of impulse.

His feet moved before he could decide to do so.

Perhaps startled by his large frame, she stumbled when she saw him, and as Constantine helped steady her delicate body, he asked for a dance.

“Would you dance one song?”

Though he felt slightly puzzled at his own behavior, the desire to observe her more closely was stronger. Dancing was the best way to do that.

‘…She’s young.’

Up close, she… made him realize she was a fresh debutante.

Though she emanated a more mature atmosphere in her eyes and demeanor compared to other debutantes, she was still just barely past girlhood.

Looking at those fair cheeks and innocent doe-like eyes, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was doing something wrong.

— Do you want to mate with this woman, master? I’m against it! The compatibility doesn’t seem right! Huh? Master. You’re just dancing, right? Answer me quickly!

“……”

— Aaaargh! Why is this music so long! Master! Let’s go back home quickly, okay? Let’s go hunt some demonic beasts?

For unknown reasons, Caligo was going berserk.

‘Sigh. I’ll deal with you later.’

While inwardly sighing and making that promise, he noticed her somehow staring over his shoulder.

Her luminous purple eyes held shock as though she was seeing something she shouldn’t.

— I think this woman can see me? What’s going on? Hey! You woman! Can you see me?

What?

“What do you see there?”

When he asked, sensing something strange, she flinched momentarily before answering that she was just nervous.

‘……’

To think his first words were asking if she could see Caligo.

‘Acting like an ignorant child doing foolish things.’

As he was self-deprecating, she suddenly asked.

“Why did you ask me to dance?”

“……”

That somewhat bold question, tinged with a hint of hostility, caught him off guard.

Usually, if a lady received a dance request from a Duke at the debutante ball, she would consider it a great honor and feel proud, but this lady…

But he couldn’t demand why she didn’t consider it an honor. Constantine was left speechless. After all, he himself didn’t know why he had asked her to dance.

— This woman seems weird in personality too! Let’s let go of her hands and leave right now! Master!

Constantine desperately tried to think of something to give as a reason.

“I have… some things I’d like to ask.”

“What? Ah. Please ask.”

…What should I ask.

“…Does House Debov have connections to <Arles-Promesa>?”

Of course they would have connections. How could an ancient house like House Debov not?

— Master! Are you asking this in your right mind! Don’t you smell the spirit scent all over her? Master! Being next to this woman seems to be making you weird too!

…Shut up already, you bastard.

He somehow managed to keep the conversation going by making it seem like he had some proper reason. Fortunately, she seemed interested in the topic and responded well.

— The music! The music ooooh! It’s ending!

Though he wanted to push away Caligo’s inexplicably hysterical voice far away, the problem was that the woman before him wore a similar expression.

Though she might think it wasn’t showing, her expression grew brighter as the music neared its end. Seeing such an attitude somehow made him feel spiteful.

“May I visit House Debov?”

He knew deep down. Though he added the condition ‘if it’s not too much trouble,’ it was mere formality.

How many people could refuse his request? Even though he had given a plausible reason.

“I’ll speak to Father about it. You’ll send a separate letter, right? I think you can visit according to that schedule.”

But seeing how she kept trying to maintain distance so clearly…

“I want you to guide me.”

Somehow it made him even more stubborn.

Even if it was spite.

“I’ll look forward to it.”

And who knows.

If we meet once more, perhaps I’ll figure out… what this disturbing feeling is.

* * *