“Please call Noah here. Tell him I’ll be back after waiting for a while.”

“Understood, Your Grace.”

After relaying the message to the servant, Lynen walked away alone.

His plan to personally introduce Noah to the Crown Princess was ruined.

The Crown Princess had stormed out in anger.

He didn’t try to stop her.

Though she was prideful, she was a child who valued her responsibilities as Crown Princess more than her pride.

Having shown her Calliphe’s skillful riding through the vision orb, and with time running short…

‘She’ll come looking for us. Just as Calliphe predicted.’

So one purpose of his visit to the imperial palace was accomplished.

Now it was time to take care of his own business.

Lynen passed through the magnificent garden and luxurious decorations, crossing a quiet walking path.

The path gradually became shadier and darker.

He arrived at a place surrounded by cold fences that didn’t match the splendid imperial palace.

“Halt.”

As Lynen approached, the royal guards protecting the entrance crossed their spears to block his way.

“No one except the imperial family may enter here.”

“To be precise, no one except the imperial family and the Duke of Ortega may enter this place.”

Lynen said calmly.

“Because the area inside is also private property of the Ortega family.”

“Y-Your Grace. Please excuse our rudeness.”

The knights straightened their crossed spears with discipline.

“But even for Your Grace, without permission from the imperial family…”

Lynen thought of Calliphe for a moment.

Thinking of her gave him strength he didn’t have before.

“The Crown Princess has given her permission.”

The shameless power to lie without changing his expression, that is.

Knowing that the Duke of Ortega was the Crown Princess’s biggest supporter, the royal guards opened the gate without suspicion.

Lynen strode inside.

Before him lay ancient ruins that showed signs of weathering over time.

The only intact thing was a large stone door.

It was the entrance to a dungeon.

‘The traces of the Special Magic Division that the Saint said disappeared seemingly into thin air.’

The common assumption would be teleportation.

But the Special Magic Division member Lynen had been tracking disappeared near the imperial palace.

‘Magic is forbidden near the imperial palace.’

Because this area had a special barrier that prevented all transportation magic from being used.

So it couldn’t have been teleportation.

‘Then they must have used another method. For instance, a dungeon.’

Dungeon.

It was once a nest for monsters installed by the black mage Lumen.

Lumen had tried to cause great calamity to the empire using these dungeons but was eventually sealed.

Afterward, those under the imperial family’s orders found and closed the dungeons. This was to prevent other black mages from misusing them.

The Ortega ducal family had made the greatest contribution at that time.

It was the Duke of Ortega of that era who discovered the hidden dungeon entrance on the imperial palace grounds and dealt with the monsters.

‘They say Lumen used dungeons like portals to travel long distances.’

This was information most people didn’t know because no one used dungeons anymore.

‘But if the Special Magic Division knew about this, they could very well have used the dungeon.’

Lynen approached the dungeon door.

‘I just need to find traces of use.’

If he found traces of someone else, it would confirm that the Special Magic Division had used the dungeon.

He slowly pushed the door with force to enter the dungeon.

But then…

“I didn’t know there was another visitor.”

Lynen stopped pushing the door.

In the direction of his gaze stood a young man with silver hair.

Mysterious black eyes that seemed to smile but not quite.

Lynen looked at him for a moment, then slightly bowed his head.

“I pay my respects to His Highness the Prince.”

“It’s been a while, Duke Ortega.”

Blaine answered in a gentle voice.

“What brings you here? I thought you would be with Lucilia.”

“Her Highness said she wanted to be alone.”

“Ah, I see.”

Blaine approached Lynen with a light smile.

“She seems to be worried about handling the griffin these days. I was waiting for you too. You’re the one who knows most about monsters, after all.”

“I only know how to cut them down.”

“The reason you’re held in such high esteem must be because of that modesty.”

Blaine stopped in front of Lynen and smiled slightly.

Then, moving to walk beside him, he continued speaking.

“You must have seen it today? How was Lucilia’s skill?”

Oh dear.

He had been drawn into a proper conversation before he knew it. It would be rude to back out now.

Reluctantly, Lynen matched his pace with the prince. The dungeon entrance receded behind his back.

“I heard that Lucilia’s training instructor is a famous wyvern trainer. Does he handle griffins well too?”

“…Wyverns and griffins are completely different monsters, starting with their habits. Not many people know the difference.”

“Haha. Since flying on griffins is very rare. That person must have clearly learned the difference after this accident.”

“You knew about the accident?”

At Lynen’s question, Blaine gave a faint smile.

“You haven’t forgotten my nickname, have you?”

“…”

The Caretaker Prince. True to his nickname indeed.

“The position of training instructor is now vacant. Could you possibly take it on?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Why not?”

“Cutting down monsters and training them are clearly different domains.”

“Is that so? That’s a shame.”

Blaine, whom Lynen expected would insist further, surprisingly backed down easily.

As he walked out beyond the fence, he asked.

“I’d like to continue our conversation elsewhere. What do you think?”

“…”

Lynen suddenly realized that he had reached the boundary of the dungeon grounds. The Crown Prince had led him this far.

“I’d like to have tea with you after such a long time.”

“I apologize, Your Highness.”

Lynen answered expressionlessly.

He had gone along with the prince this far, but he hadn’t forgotten his purpose.

“I would like to look around this place more.”

“Ah, excuse me.”

Blaine laughed softly.

“Did my order sound like a suggestion?”

“…”

To Lynen, who frowned slightly, Blaine spoke gently.

“It’s already getting dark. If you must look around that place in the middle of the night, I should hear the reason first.”

“…”

“Of course, it would have to be a significant reason. You would have to explain it before His Majesty the Emperor as well.”

“…”

Blaine tilted his head slightly toward Lynen, who was frowning.

“Will you continue to stay here?”

Eventually, Lynen stepped outside the entrance.

Blaine smiled slightly.

“Let’s not feel regretful about this. I’m not pleased either that you entered this place using false permission.”

As he turned around, he said.

“Lucilia, who ran to the greenhouse in anger, couldn’t possibly have given you permission to enter this place, could she?”

The Caretaker Prince. Recalling Blaine’s nickname once more, Lynen sighed inwardly.

‘His Highness was receiving reports about my movements as well.’

And it seemed he had been waiting to leave a small warning for the presumptuous duke.

At this point, he couldn’t insist further.

Regrettably, he decided to examine the imperial palace dungeon another time, paid his respects to the prince, and withdrew.

Lynen returned to where Noah was waiting.

“Your Grace.”

Noah, who spotted him, jumped down from the chair and ran over.

As Lynen took the child’s hand, he noticed that Noah had only a sock on one foot.

“Did you lose your shoe?”

“Yes. And also the flowers for Her Highness… ah.”

Lynen picked up Noah with one arm. Noah blushed and carefully wrapped his arms around Lynen’s neck.

“You must be disappointed that you couldn’t meet the Crown Princess.”

“More angry than disappointed. A little bit.”

“Angry?”

“There was a strange kid.”

Noah pouted.

“It’s sad that she doesn’t know how amazing Lady Calliphe is. Right?”

“…”

When no answer came, a pair of green eyes stared at him intently, almost uncomfortably.

“Right?”

“Y-yes.”

Lynen learned a new fact: Noah could be scary sometimes.