“That’s good then.”

“Yes.”

With her response, silence fell. Kana quietly stared at the flowers before shifting her gaze to Kiriel and speaking.

“By the way, what brings the Tower Master here?”

“I had business with Viscount Round.”

“Oh, is it because of the spirit stones?”

When Kana clapped her hands and asked, Kiriel nodded affirmatively.

If it weren’t for the indirect acquisition of spirit stones, he wouldn’t have had a reason to come to the Round estate. She folded her hands on her lap.

“Then your business is concluded?”

“Yes. And since it was over, I thought I’d stop by to see you.”

Kiriel recalled Viscount Round, who had asked him to wait for a moment since they were in the middle of a tea party. Uncharacteristically, he waited until the tea party ended and the invited guests left.

Kana speculated why the sub male lead had taken the time to see her. Her hand naturally moved to the pure pearl on her necklace.

“Oh, I see. Were you here to see the spirit?”

“…Ah, yes. I suppose so.”

A vague answer slipped from Kiriel’s slightly parted lips.

In truth, he hadn’t thought of a clear purpose and had come absentmindedly. In a way, her words had given him a reason to fit the situation.

Unaware of this, Kana found his momentary hesitation curious but calmly called for Celia. The wind spirit emerged from the pure pearl on her necklace and gently settled on her shoulder.

Kiriel alternated his gaze between Kana and the low-ranking wind spirit.

“Your energy has increased.”

“Yes. It seems to improve little by little as I go. The difference is minimal, so it might not be noticeable… but the Tower Master is very perceptive.”

Kana was once again impressed by his keen observation, which quickly noticed subtle changes. The sharp senses of the main characters were always astonishing.

Kiriel, as if it were natural, crossed his legs and rested his chin on his hand, replying indifferently.

“Well, it’s not really something to be impressed about. You see it if you look.”

“Still, I find it fascinating. Most people wouldn’t notice. It’s possible because the Tower Master is exceptionally talented.”

Her experience as a supporting character made her instinctively compliment the main characters. Kana chuckled at her habitual response.

Kiriel watched her, his expression turning peculiar as she went from excited to deflated like a balloon. Such a diverse range of emotions. He asked calmly.

“Why the face?”

“Hmm, I feel like I’m the only one getting excited.”

Kana replied playfully, shrugging her shoulders. Kiriel blinked slowly.

“I didn’t really notice.”

“Then that’s a relief.”

With no other topic to continue, the conversation halted.

‘If he’s confirmed the spirit, shouldn’t his business be done? He could leave now.’

With Kiriel still there, she couldn’t easily leave either. Just as Kana was about to subtly suggest he leave, Kiriel abruptly asked.

“Lady Round, how is your sword training going?”

“Yes. It’s going quite well.”

Kana recalled the shock on her parents’ faces when she declared she would train in swordsmanship and physical conditioning. They opposed with worried words but eventually couldn’t deter her determination and allowed it.

Everyone thought she would give up quickly, but Kana steadily sought advice from the family’s knights and persevered. Her consistent efforts eventually earned recognition from Lena and her parents.

Kiriel’s dry gaze swept over her.

“To be blunt, you won’t be able to awaken your aura.”

“I know that too. But there’s no harm in training anyway.”

As a characteristic of a background supporting character, good talents were not easily given. Naturally, Kana had realized this early on and planned to make good use of spirit energy instead of aura.

Looking at her determined face, Kiriel recalled the conversation they had at the magic item shop before.

“…To protect yourself?”

“That’s right. You remembered.”

Kana nodded affirmatively. Kiriel tilted his head slightly.

“Hmm, I don’t understand. Considering your disposition and surroundings, there shouldn’t be much risk.”

“You never know what might happen.”

Kana’s face was serene as she answered in a rarely subdued voice. Whether it’s calm or stimulating, novels usually have events.

If unlucky, one could get caught up in an incident, and unlike the usual female protagonist, a background supporting character didn’t have someone to protect her separately, so she had to protect herself.

When she didn’t know much in the beginning, she stayed still and got into trouble, getting expelled from the novel and losing star ratings. So, she made sure to hone her self-defense skills as much as possible in any novel.

Unaware of these circumstances, Kiriel saw her actions as inefficient. Spending effort on a field without talent when there was much to do seemed like a waste of time. He stared at her and gave his opinion.

“Then it would be better to hire a highly skilled bodyguard. It would be difficult to protect yourself with mediocre skills.”

“You’re right. But I think one should have their own strength separate from a bodyguard.”

To be exact, Kana only trusted herself and Celia. When she was in the villain’s camp, she had been betrayed by her own side despite her role.

‘Come to think of it, I learned a lot of self-defense when I was in the villain’s camp. Probably because there were more chances of getting hurt.’

The swordsmanship and other self-defense techniques she was practicing were all based on different novels.

While Kana was lost in thought, Kiriel, who had been stroking his chin, narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Really?”

“Yes. Even if I lack talent and weak.”

Kana firmly stated. Kiriel chuckled.

“Even if you don’t have the backing ability, your mindset isn’t bad.”

“…Ahaha.”

Kana let out an awkward laugh.

‘What a personality. Less prickly but doesn’t say nice things even as a formality.’

[I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or an insult.]

Celia’s bewildered voice intruded into her thoughts. Kana answered nonchalantly.

‘Since the latter part carried weight, it’s probably a compliment.’

[Why add confusing remarks then.]

‘Exactly.’

Kana agreed with the spirit. Although only Kana could hear, Celia whispered in a hushed tone as if someone might overhear.

[But when is the Tower Master leaving?]

‘I don’t know.’

It wasn’t a lie; she truly didn’t know. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Kana awkwardly suggested.

“Master, would you like some tea before you leave?”

“Ah.”

“…The conversation took longer than expected.”

“Sure.”

Kana called for Lena to bring tea. Lena was startled to see Kiriel, who had said he would just see her lady briefly, still there but didn’t show it.

The two sat facing each other and drank tea. Kiriel looked around anew and asked.

“Did you have a tea party here?”

“Yes. It would be perfect if two more people were sitting here.”

Kana made a V shape with her fingers. Seeing her smile, Kiriel asked casually.

“How was the tea party?”

“It was a useful and enjoyable time.”

In fact, Kana was very happy to have achieved her hidden main objective.

However, Kiriel, who couldn’t feel the usefulness of small-scale tea parties with a few people, as he only attended important and significant parties and social gatherings, didn’t understand.

“It’s just a small tea party, is it really that helpful?”

“Of course. You can build connections and gather information from the conversations.”

Kana cheerfully agreed. Unlike her, Kiriel didn’t need to attend various parties or gatherings to get most of the information he needed, thanks to his background as a member of one of the four great families and his position as the Master of the Magic Tower.

“Hmm.”

“If you stay still, you won’t gain anything, so you have to keep moving.”

Kana smiled a resigned smile. Especially in novels, background supporting characters rarely encountered good fortune. Such things were reserved for the protagonist.

Kiriel twirled the teaspoon in his hand and asked nonchalantly.

“Did you invite Lady Letie Serade to build connections too?”

“Yes.”

As expected of the sub male lead in the novel, he immediately mentioned the female protagonist. Kana thought that the inevitable had come and nodded.

Kiriel put down the teaspoon and stared at her composed face, trying to gauge her true feelings.

“Considering reputation and abilities, Lady Cordelia Serade would be better.”

Cordelia was from the opposing faction. Unable to say that she had joined the female protagonist’s side due to her role as a supporting character, Kana roughly glossed over it.

“I was just drawn to Lady Letie.”

“Ah, I see. So you’re deeply interested in her?”

“You could say that.”

Kana forced a smile as she affirmed his words, which shamelessly quoted her own.

Before they knew it, their teacups were empty. Kiriel’s gaze moved from Kana’s face to her neatly braided light brown hair.

“You braided your hair again.”

“Is there a problem?”

“No.”

He naturally recalled their first meeting in the garden pavilion, where she had decorated her hair with wildflowers.

For some reason, that image occasionally came to mind. Annoyed by this, he had brought a hair accessory to replace it. Kiriel snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, small white lights embedded themselves in her braided hair. Mistaking it for an attack, Kana reflexively raised her arms in a defensive stance.

“What are you doing all of a sudden?”

“Check it out later.”

Kiriel thought the small diamond star-shaped hairpins that adorned her braided hair looked decent. Unaware of his thoughts, Kana frowned.

“What?”

“It’s definitely better than those shabby wildflowers.”

Before she could ask more, he stood up and disappeared using teleportation magic.

‘Shabby wildflowers?’

Kana, bewildered, finally snapped out of it and took out a hand mirror to inspect her hair. Seeing the hairpins decorating her braid, she gaped.

“…What the.”

Until Lena, who had been worried about her delay, came to call her, Kana could only laugh in disbelief.