Rubbing her sleepy eyes as she got up from bed, Liria realized that the basket where Kiki slept was completely empty.

“Oh no! Where did he go without coming back?”

Kiki, who had gone out to find a hole leading outside the castle gates, hadn’t returned by the next morning.

“What if something happened to him?”

As she worried and was about to put on her slippers something tapped on the window.

Two tiny front paws could be seen.

“Huh? Kiki!”

Liria quickly approached, opened the window, and picked up Kiki.

“Finding a hole is good, but how could you stay out all night? What if a large beast had caught you…!”

Kiki wouldn’t stay still in Liria’s arms, grabbing her hair and the hem of her clothes.

“Peet! Peepipeet!”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“Kyuut!”

He had an expression that suggested he had discovered something.

“Don’t tell me you found a passage?”

In response to Liria’s question, Kiki pointed outside the window with exaggerated movements.

“Alright. Let’s go check now.”

Liria took Kiki and went outside. Jumping out of Liria’s arms, Kiki twitched his whiskers for a moment and rolled his black eyes.

Gathering his magical energy, he puffed out his chest and tilted his head from side to side, carefully measuring something unseen.

Then he began to sprint in a specific direction.

“…Huh? Wait for me!”

Scurry scurry.

Pitter-patter.

Kiki ran nimbly with his elongated body.

Suddenly stopping, Kiki tilted his head.

Liria, who came running while catching her breath, asked.

“What? Are you confused?”

Kiki began climbing a large tree visible nearby.

Looking down from the tree, he could see the flow of mana more clearly.

Especially through small gaps or holes, mana moved faster following the wind.

Kiki stretched his neck and looked around.

He could see where the mana flow accelerated about 3 meters ahead.

It was a place where green bushes and vines were tangled.

Coming down from the tree, Kiki looked at Liria and drew a large circle with both arms.

“You found the right one this time?”

“Kookook!”

Liria followed the path that Kiki guided.

After pushing through the undergrowth for quite some time, Kiki stopped in front of a long-hanging thicket.

“Is it here?”

As if urging her to follow quickly, Kiki took the lead and slipped into the thicket.

It was true.

There was a hole.

But it was small enough that Liria had to bend down and crawl to enter.

At her feet were vines that had been chewed by animals.

“My goodness. How did you find this? You did well, Kiki!”

“Kookook!”

At Liria’s words, Kiki puffed out his chest proudly.

“Yes, yes. I’ll reward you plenty for this.”

After passing the entrance, the passage gradually widened, taking the form of a tunnel.

It would be difficult for adults, but children could easily pass through.

Holding Kiki, Liria walked all the way to the inside of the tunnel.

It felt like a gentle breeze was blowing from somewhere.

And what spread before her eyes was a clear sky.

Across, she could see that hill beyond the north gate, the shade of the tree, and the stream.

It was the escape route Liria had wanted.

“Great, now I can go outside more freely!”

Perhaps someday in the distant future, she might even be able to help the male protagonist escape.

Although it would be three more years before Adrian would be kidnapped by Osdel, there’s no harm in preparing early, right?

Liria happily went to the shade of the tree.

All the cookies and madeleines in the basket had disappeared.

“Noah, you came by.”

Instead, the basket was filled with fresh wild strawberries and raspberries.

“Wow, a return gift. Then I can’t just do nothing!”

From that day on, Liria occasionally began delivering snacks to Noah through the basket.

It wasn’t just snacks.

She also sent healing ointment and bandages, fairy tale books, writing utensils, and oddly enough, even dolls.

Before long, waiting for Liria’s gift basket became a part of Noah’s daily routine.

Liria also felt reassured seeing her basket items disappear, thinking that Noah must be doing well.

***

On a warm afternoon.

Marit and Yuphi were called by Head Maid Anna for specialized maid training at the main castle.

Liria was training her mana alone in the annex.

Summoning the key and book, reading the hints about the new key over and over again, Liria grew impatient.

She thought she should speak directly to her grandfather.

Perhaps she could bring up the temple while softening his heart with stories about grandmother during tea time?

After wandering around the main castle since morning, she finally had a chance to face her grandfather.

“Grandfather, if you’re not too busy, would you like to have tea time with me?”

However, the Duke stared at Liria as if he had heard something absurd.

“You and me, you say?”

“Yes, I wanted to tell you about meeting Grandmother in my dream while drinking tea.”

Upon hearing the word “grandmother,” the Duke, whose eyebrows twitched, entered the small drawing room with the tea room first and said.

“What are you doing? Come in.”

As the Duke settled on the sofa, Liria followed him with tiny steps.

“Yes, I’m coming, Grandfather.”

On the way, she made eye contact with Head Maid Anna, who was supposedly in training.

“Lady Liria, I’ve instructed the senior maids to properly train your maids.”

“Ah, thank you.”

The perceptive woman approached and helped the short Liria onto the sofa.

Head Maid Anna said.

“For the head of the family, I’ll prepare Earl Grey as usual, strong. What would you like, Lady Liria?”

“Ah, I…”

Not knowing much about tea, nothing came to mind. Head Maid Anna carefully recommended.

“How about a sweet and tangy fruit latte for the young lady?”

“That sounds good!”

While Head Maid Anna went to prepare the tea, Liria glanced up at the Duke, trying to overcome the awkwardness. He took out a pocket watch from his pocket, checked it, and said.

“I need to go to the conference room in 30 minutes.”

“Ah, yes. I don’t intend to take up much of your time.”

“So, you met Lillian in a dream…?”

Liria nodded.

“Yes, in my dream, grandmother was guarding the spirit tree and watching over the Roberg heirs to ensure they manifest their magic well. She also encouraged me to be a good child who supports you and father.”

At Liria’s words, Vladimir suddenly recalled the warmth he felt when passing by the spirit tree.

Although it was just a child’s story, he somehow felt it might really be true.

She had loved and cherished Roberg as much as he did.

“…But I was surprised to learn that grandmother was an elf. And she was extremely beautiful too!”

At those words, the Duke’s red eyes widened and then momentarily became wistful, memories of the past washing over him.

“It seems your dream is quite accurate.”

Head Maid Anna came with the tea, wearing a warm smile, and as Liria continued to share more stories about her grandmother, she felt a warmth in her heart. After all, her grandfather’s gaze changed only when speaking of her grandmother.

“I must go now.”

“Ah, Grandfather. Just a moment. There’s somewhere I’d like to visit.”

At that, the Duke instantly returned to his usual cold expression.

“The temple, you mean? I know you want to go, but it’s not possible. Those temple people are the kind who only think about how to extract money by any means. Don’t even think about such places. I don’t believe in gods.”

“……”

“Remember this as a child of Roberg.”

Saying so, the Duke brought a history book that was shelved in the tea room.

He opened it to the passage he had left, placed it in Liria’s hands, and swiftly left.

“…Grandfather, you just crushed my childhood dreams.”