At House Offensa.

“Have you heard the news?”

After finishing their monthly meeting, the family administrators and retainers gathered in small groups, discussing the recent hot topic.

“Lady Calliphe has become the Crown Princess’s mentor?”

“Every noble in the territory knows about it. Her Highness personally visited for three days straight.”

“What? Three days? You mean Lady Calliphe rejected Her Highness during that time?”

“That’s right. She rejected her three times. What’s even more surprising is that Her Highness kept coming back each time.”

“Goodness… I heard Crown Princess Lucilia has tremendous pride.”

“Already, nobles with children of similar age are desperate to have Lady Calliphe as their mentor too.”

Amid the whispering crowd, a somewhat irritated voice cut in.

“Strictly speaking, she’s not a real mentor! How can someone use the title of mentor when all she’s teaching is how to handle magical beasts?”

“Well, that may be true, but…”

Another noble shrugged his shoulders.

“Now that rumors are spreading about her being the Crown Princess’s mentor, does it matter what she’s teaching?”

“Haha, exactly. Nobles are lining up wanting her as a mentor without even knowing what she teaches.”

“Nngh…!”

While Viscount Gallard gritted his teeth, the other nobles continued their conversation.

“It’s certainly enviable. Lady Calliphe now has close ties with Duke Ortega, the Reparatio High Cardinal, and now even the Crown Princess.”

“At this point, she definitely has tremendous influence. Almost too dangerous for someone who merely holds succession rights.”

In other words, she has perfect conditions to become the family head.

The nobles cautiously lowered their voices.

“I wonder what Young Marquis Caiman is thinking.”

“I wonder too. But he surely has something in mind. He doesn’t have the look of someone who knows nothing.”

“Hmm.”

Viscount Gallard, who had been listening, pounded his chest in frustration.

“No matter what, how can a woman who can’t even use magic become the head of a prestigious magical family? You’re all so frustrating!”

Enraged, he stormed off.

And returned to his room in the annex of the marquis’s residence.

“The Young Marquis must be preparing something. I need to be of help to him.”

He had failed to properly carry out the order to hold Calliphe back.

Instead, he ended up being partly responsible for the mistake of the training instructor he had recommended, resulting in a hefty fine.

That was frustrating enough, but his plan to spread malicious rumors about Calliphe also fell through.

He had thought things would work out easily thanks to the griffin incident, but suddenly the Crown Princess intervened, asking Calliphe to become her mentor.

Viscount Gallard gnashed his teeth.

He was now in no position to be picky.

It seemed like he wouldn’t be satisfied until he paid back more than the damage he had suffered.

“Come to think of it, that brat said she’s participating in the Harvest Festival. The martial arts tournament prize… what if I take it away?”

Viscount Gallard, who had been anxiously pacing back and forth in his room, suddenly stopped.

“That’s it!”

He immediately wrote a letter.

He had heard that the Crown Princess was currently learning griffin riding, so the Empress was handling the Harvest Festival preparations.

“Then she’ll accept this…”

After sealing the letter, he handed it to his attendant and added one more thing.

“Bring Dillen. I need to enter him in the youth division of the martial arts tournament.”

“Dillen… you mean the boy under your patronage? I believe he’s already registered for the adult division…”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Viscount Gallard snickered.

“The more certain the victory, the better.”

And so, Viscount Gallard’s protégé Dillen was entered in the youth division of the martial arts tournament.

He was a character who appeared in <Marino> at every Harvest Festival.

He was also a strong contender for victory, appearing from the point when Noah participated in the adult division of the martial arts tournament.

* * *

Chirp, chirp—

Lucilia and Yvonne II circled in the air, following the sound of Calliphe’s whistle.

After training, they also checked the day’s issues using a vision orb.

“Thank you again today, Master!”

Lucilia bowed deeply and was about to return to the imperial palace with satisfaction.

Or rather, she was trying to.

“What are you doing?”

“I still have something to do.”

“And that something is…”

“Grunt.”

Brushing Imelen’s fur?

As soon as Lucilia’s training ended, Imelen appeared from somewhere and rolled onto the grass.

Then Lucilia, with a solemn expression, received a high-quality brush from her attendant.

“Um, don’t misunderstand. I don’t have a hobby of serving animals. It’s just that this animal is actually a spirit, and I made a promise before.”

I didn’t ask.

The Crown Princess blushed with embarrassment but diligently brushed the fur.

“How is it, Spirit? I’m sure it feels nice, but I’m asking just to be sure.”

“Mmm, the side too.”

“The Spirit is quite demanding, isn’t it?”

Though she grumbled verbally, her other hand was busy stroking the fur.

Leaving the two unexpectedly playful little ones alone, Calliphe entered the annex.

“Sigh…”

Once alone, the fatigue she had been hiding became evident.

While Lucilia was making her three visits, Calliphe hadn’t been leisurely waiting either.

‘I need to go supervise the renovation of the magic training ground.’

As soon as she decided to help Noah overcome his wall, she immediately took action.

She was renovating the training ground within the marquis’s residence.

Many people with talent failed the Magic Tower assessment because they didn’t know how to train properly. That’s why House Offensa sponsored and supported them.

Many of those currently in the Magic Tower had greatly benefited from this training ground.

‘But now it’s being renovated as a facility for the martial arts tournament.’

It was being temporarily converted into a facility exclusively for Noah (and as a bonus, for Mihail).

This was a privilege possible only because she was a direct descendant whose status had risen even more after becoming the Crown Princess’s mentor.

Just as Calliphe, suppressing her fatigue, was about to head to the training ground.

A low voice from behind caught her ankle.

“Where are you going now?”

Turning around, she saw Lynen leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

“You startled me. Make some noise when you move, Lynen.”

“I asked where you’re going.”

“Training ground.”

“How many days has it been since you coughed up blood from your nose and mouth?”

“That’s already in the past.”

“It may be in the past, but you haven’t properly rested since then. As soon as you recovered from coughing up blood, you went out to compensate the merchants, and after returning, you’ve been dealing with the Crown Princess while frequenting the training ground. You’ve also been taking care of the griffin and Yvonne II to prevent them from going wild.”

“Well, of course I had to…”

“And I heard you even fainted while secretly researching this ‘magic infiltration’ thing without telling me?”

“I did faint, but nothing hurt…”

“And now you’re running around again trying to renovate the training ground. Without saying a word to me.”

Only after hearing Lynen’s words did she realize. Calliphe glanced at him cautiously.

“Oh, did I… not mention it to you?”

“……”

One of Lynen’s eyebrows rose slightly. An aura of discomfort emanated from his uncharacteristically crooked posture.

Calliphe felt a bit wronged.

She had kept the magic infiltration research a secret because she didn’t want to tire Lynen out too. As for the training ground, she had genuinely forgotten to mention it.

But she couldn’t argue.

‘…Ugh.’

Remembering how Lynen had rushed at full speed to catch her when she was falling during the griffin incident, she couldn’t bring herself to argue.

‘Even though he’s a Sword Master, his face was red from running so hard.’

Thud.

What’s this? Calliphe touched her chest area.

“Am I really tired?”

“What?”

“Ah, nothing. Anyway, I didn’t deliberately not tell you. I-I’m sorry if you were upset.”

“……”

Lynen’s eyes widened slightly. He never expected Calliphe to apologize.

Although the “sorry” was so quiet that only a passing ant might have heard it.

Lynen’s expression softened. But it crumpled again at Calliphe’s next words.

“Now that I’ve told you, it’s fine, right? So I’ll go to the training ground? It’s almost finished.”

“…!”

This woman!

Lynen, feeling a surge of frustration, grabbed both of Calliphe’s cheeks with one hand and pressed firmly.

“I’m telling you to rest. Are you trying to cough up blood again and trouble everyone?”

“…?!”

Surprised, Calliphe growled back and likewise grabbed his jaw.

They ended up in a ridiculous posture, holding each other’s jaws, but Lynen was quite serious.

A question he had never even considered before filled his mind.

‘How do I get this paper monkey to rest obediently?’

…Is that the only way?

He really didn’t want to do it.