Kiriel’s eyes narrowed. It was an unexpected combination. Of course, they could be acquainted since Alderaan was the brother of Olivia Short, who was friends with Kana, but he didn’t expect them to be this close.

Moreover, Alderaan was very different from his lively and proactive sister; he was quite frail and quiet. Just a minor official in the Treasury Department. Alderaan Short was perceived as just that by the public.

Despite this, the two were laughing heartily, even clapping their hands. Occasionally, they had serious conversations too.

Kiriel suddenly realized that while their lips were moving busily, only the sound of the wind could be heard on the terrace.

‘Did they block the sound?’

It seemed they had used a wind spirit to block the sound. Although Kana’s spirit was supposed to be low-level, the spirit magic being used was advanced.

His curiosity about her spirit magic was brief, as Kana’s bright smile caught his eye.

Her eyes curved into crescents, her pupils sparkled, and her slightly parted lips formed a graceful arc. It was a much more natural and fresh smile than usual.

‘I thought she usually had a weak reaction, but she can smile like that too.’

Kana was genuinely smiling, having dropped her work facade in front of an industry friend, but Kiriel, unaware of this, felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

He hesitated, unable to enter, which was unlike him.

‘I’m her partner… No, why am I even bothered by this?’

He was quite confused. Although he sometimes faced perplexing situations while training or researching magic, he had never been this flustered.

Kiriel sighed, rubbing his forehead in his complicated state of mind.

* * *

Kana and Alderaan, who were having a lively conversation on the terrace, suddenly flinched simultaneously. They stopped talking and looked at each other. Kana rolled her eyes and cautiously started the conversation.

“Alderaan, don’t you feel a presence?”

“You too? So do I.”

Based on their years of accumulated experience, they sensed a presence near the terrace. Alderaan furrowed his brow.

“Could it be Kiriel? Maybe he came looking for his missing partner.”

“Huh? No way. I sent him off on purpose so he could work comfortably. He’s not the type to be overly concerned about a partner meant as a shield.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Alderaan awkwardly scratched the back of his head, unable to deny the interpretation of Kiriel’s character. Kana adjusted her attire and spoke.

“Shall we go out and check directly? It’s a bit unsettling if someone’s watching, so let’s just consider it as returning to the hall a bit early.”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

The two left the terrace together. Kana blinked awkwardly when she immediately saw Kiriel’s face. Alderaan patted her shoulder and whispered quietly.

“…See, what did I tell you?”

“No way, why is this actually happening?”

Kana genuinely hadn’t expected him to come looking for her. Kiriel, exuding a strangely chilly aura, looked back and forth between the two of them.

“You two seem quite close?”

“Oh, Lord Alderaan is the brother of a friend of mine, so we’ve become acquainted.”

Kana, only momentarily flustered, quickly made up an excuse and responded calmly. Alderaan also chimed in to support her statement.

“Miss Kana is right. We were just having a brief personal conversation on the terrace.”

“Then is that ‘personal conversation’ over now?”

Kiriel’s voice carried an edge. A subtly sharp atmosphere formed between the two men. Kana exchanged a quick glance with Alderaan and answered.

“Yes. We finished and came out.”

“Alright. Then you can come with me now. I’m your partner, after all.”

“Sure.”

In the end, Alderaan stepped back first for the smooth operation of his industry friend. Kana gave him a look that suggested they could talk later and then approached the tense Kiriel.

“Lord Kiriel, are you upset?”

“…No.”

Judging by his slightly delayed response, it seemed that seeing his partner alone with another man had bothered him. Given his persistent and proud nature, it was understandable.

Kana inwardly chuckled but spoke softly on the outside.

“I didn’t expect you to leave the gathering so early, given how busy you are. Since we didn’t discuss any personal contact rules as partners, I thought it would be okay. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

Kiriel couldn’t bring himself to argue with Kana, who was already apologizing. After all, they hadn’t made any specific agreements, nor were they in a relationship that required such restrictions.

Kana clapped her hands and smiled brightly.

“Thank you for understanding. Shall we return to the hall?”

“Alright.”

They returned to the hall together. By then, the atmosphere of the banquet had become even more lively. Kana positioned herself in a suitable spot for work.

She placed herself at a distance from the chandelier where she could see the situation clearly, and there were young ladies around, making it easy to start conversations.

‘Now I just need to watch the situation and work when necessary… The problem is Kiriel.’

Kiriel, who she thought would keep a reasonable distance, was diligently sticking by her side. He ignored those who were circling around, trying to talk to him, and stayed close to her.

‘Well, it can’t be helped. I’ll just do what I need to do. As long as he doesn’t interfere when I speak, it’s fine.’

Kana put aside her interest in the sub male lead and focused on the situation.

When the female protagonist and male protagonist of ‘The Fake Saint Was Real’ drew attention by dancing in the center, two chandeliers hanging from the ceiling made an ominous creaking sound and swayed precariously.

Letie, suddenly recalling memories from before her regression, acted quickly and pulled Richard away. Right after, the two chandeliers crashed to the floor, shattering with a sharp noise.

“Ah, the chandeliers!”

“What’s happening?”

Others nearby were also in a panic. Shards from the brilliantly glittering chandeliers flew towards Kana’s direction.

Before Kana could use spirit summoning with her fan, Kiriel pulled her inside and cast a protective shield with his magic. Thanks to the wide range of the shield, others in the same direction weren’t hit by the shards either.

“Thank you, Tower Master.”

Kiriel gave a curt nod instead of a verbal response, but no one pointed it out. Before delivering her prepared lines, Kana expressed her gratitude to him.

“Lord Kiriel, thank you for blocking the shards.”

“Protecting my partner is a given.”

Even as Kiriel released the protective barrier, he did not let go of Kana, whom he held with one arm. She spoke with a serious expression.

“Will Lady Letie and the Second Prince, who were just below, be alright?”

“They weren’t hit by the chandelier, so even if they got hurt, it would only be a scratch.”

As Kiriel assured, the two were fine. Letie was unharmed, and Richard had a scratch on his arm from the shards.

“Oh my, Your Highness!”

“Everyone, please don’t make a fuss. Thanks to Lady Letie pulling me, I am unharmed.”

While Richard raised his uninjured arm to calm the crowd, Letie brought her hand close to his injured arm.

A pure white light flowed from her hand and enveloped his arm. Soon, it was as if there had never been a wound. Kana seized the opportunity and shouted loudly.

“Oh my, it’s a healing ability! Lady Letie has healed the Second Prince’s arm!”

Letie, who heard her words amidst the commotion, smiled at Kana. Kana also winked in response.

Meanwhile, the nobles, who were momentarily stunned by her words, began to murmur.

“What? Didn’t they say she had no talent?”

“That’s right. They said she couldn’t awaken her ability on her own.”

“In the end, she did it. Well, she is still a daughter of the Serade family.”

While everyone was admiring, only Cordelia’s eyes, hidden behind her fan, turned cold. The talent of her half-sister, whom she thought was beneath her, was dazzlingly radiant.

The mood of the First Prince, Riden, also soured. After all, Richard was unharmed, and Letie, whom he hadn’t even glanced at, had suddenly changed.

Regardless of the feelings of the villains in ‘Fake Saint’, the situation was well resolved. The protagonists in the center of the hall sparkled. Kana gently removed Kiriel’s arm from around her waist and spoke.

“It’s a relief that Lady Letie awakened her healing ability.”

“It must have been difficult to awaken under such conditions, but she found another way.”

Kiriel was briefly interested but soon lost that interest. Kana narrowed her eyes at his weaker-than-expected reaction.

‘Huh? Didn’t Kiriel feel curiosity towards the female protagonist at this point, which then developed into interest? This is an unusual case.’

Normally, the sub male lead’s instinct to be drawn to the female protagonist was unaffected by the presence of a partner. It meant that it didn’t change regardless of whether a supporting character was next to him or not.

Kana decided to keep a close watch on him and praised Letie with a smiling face.

“Still, it’s amazing. It’s not easy to seek another method when the set path doesn’t work.”

“That’s true.”

Kiriel responded half-heartedly. He felt slightly down because she kept mentioning Letie, ignoring her partner.

Regardless of his feelings, Kana slipped into the midst of the ladies and diligently performed her duties.

“Did you all see that? If Lady Letie hadn’t shown her quick thinking, what would have happened…”

“Exactly. That was such a dramatic moment.”

“Really amazing!”

“Yes!”

Kana carefully observed the faces of the ladies who agreed enthusiastically and stored them in her mind. The key event of the episode flowed well, and she performed her supporting role without issue.

Kiriel found her active praise of Letie unfamiliar. Unconsciously, he grabbed her arm while she was catching her breath after talking for a while.

“Miss Kana, don’t you think it’s time to stop talking about Lady Serade?”