NIWA 23

Chapter : 23

“I’ve heard about this in advance, but I haven’t had a chance to greet you… I’m truly grateful that you’re helping me and His Highness the Crown Prince. As a token of my thanks… would you like to come have dinner with me sometime?”

I glanced down at Arienne, who had a bright, innocent expression, with a cold gaze for a moment, then smiled faintly at a moment that didn’t seem strange.

“If it’s the young lady’s residence… you mean the house of Duke Aisien. As long as I have no prior engagement, I’ll come by whenever you contact me.”

Arienne clapped her hands together like a little girl receiving a gift, her face lighting up with genuine delight.

“I’ll send the invitation soon. My father will be pleased to have a spirit mage visit!”

“Arienne.”

Turning at the familiar voice behind me, I saw the Crown Prince standing there, though I hadn’t noticed when he had arrived.

“Oh, Your Highness!”

Arienne hurried over to him like a dog meeting its owner after a long time, linking arms with him and smiling. The Crown Prince returned her smile in kind.

“It’s been a while, spirit mage. Have you been well with my mother?”

I nodded to his greeting, and the Crown Prince’s smile deepened.

A cunning woman and a scheming man.

They were a perfect match in many ways.

“This is the first time I’ve seen you two together. I’ll leave you to your conversation.”

“Ah, wait—”

Just as I was about to turn, the Crown Prince approached me, bent slightly, and leaned toward my ear.

“Soon, Princess Strien’s birthday banquet will be held. I hope it will be… fruitful for you.”

I narrowed my eyes at his whispered words, subtly nodding before brushing past Arienne and the Crown Prince, who were sharing a strange little smile.

Princess Strien… there was no one else who held that title but Lilia. My mind began to churn.

Let’s think slowly. At Lilia’s birthday banquet, naturally the attendees would be those close to her or Duke Strien—basically, nobles loyal to the Crown Prince.

A gathering of Crown Prince–aligned nobles… something’s going to happen? Or perhaps something will be staged among them, and we’re expected to gather information there?

I had no way of knowing exactly what the Crown Prince meant by “fruitful.”

“Tch.”

Feeling a headache coming on, I clicked my tongue softly.

First, I should talk to the Crown Prince.

I froze.

As I sifted through my tangled thoughts, a shiver ran down my spine, and I jerked my head up.

What was that just now?

A sudden, intensely unpleasant feeling crept up my legs before vanishing in an instant.

Wait… where am I?

I had been walking toward the entrance of the Imperial Palace, yet I found myself in a dense forest.

“…?”

“Quite perceptive, aren’t you?”

I whipped my head toward the unfamiliar voice and saw a man with dark navy hair standing there.

He smiled at me, a circular, unsettling grin.

“What’s your name? How did you get here?”

“…And you are?”

The heavy sense of discomfort from before had faded, but the space felt extremely off. It was a forest, yet not a forest. No sound could be heard, just a “forest” visually imitated. It felt like a place full of well-crafted model trees.

“I’m Res. Just wandering around looking for something fun,” the man added.

“I don’t like being bored.”

“So… your name?”

“…Lien.”

I kept my guard up, speaking cautiously.

Whoosh.

The man suddenly moved right up to me, and I flinched, stepping back a few paces.

“Not only perceptive… but also full of a very irritating energy.”

“…Where is this? I was definitely in the palace.”

He grinned slyly, shrugging his shoulders.

“You are in the palace.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry. You’re interesting enough that I’ll send you back.”

His attitude toward me was aggravating, like teasing a wary cat.

“…Ah, geez.”

The man, still grinning at me, suddenly paused, wearing an expression of frustration.

“Sorry, my contractor called me. See you later?”

Contractor?

Before I could even process what that meant, his deep, blood-red eyes flashed, and he pushed me hard.

“What the….”

I was speechless.

Though I had only taken a few steps back, I suddenly found myself back inside the palace.

Was it magic? No—there was no mana. Even if it were a barrier, using it would require mana. What was that?

“Lien!”

As my thoughts grew increasingly dizzy with complexity, someone called me.

“…Lihart.”

“You didn’t come out to the entrance even after waiting, so I was worried.”

So he had been waiting for me.

“…Waiting…?”

I looked up at the sky, frozen.

The bright blue sky had now turned into a dim evening. Even if I had wandered lost in thought, when I left the Empress’ Palace with Arienne, the sun was still high.

“What…?”

“Lien?”

That forest and the man… what was that?

I grabbed the Crown Prince’s shoulder.

“Lihart, could there be a mage or someone with similar powers in the palace… Lihart?”

His face flushed bright red.

“…? Are you hurt?”

“…You’re too close…”

I could feel his face heating up.

In haste, I grabbed his shoulder; we were close enough to feel each other’s breath.

“S-Sorry.”

I stepped back, fanning my heated face with my hand.

The awkward tension continued until the Crown Prince accompanied me into the carriage.

“So… what did you want to ask?”

He spoke first, and I finally relaxed slightly. I had intended to ask about the man earlier but decided to postpone that—it wasn’t the priority now.

“I’ve heard that soon there will be a young lady’s… Lilia’s birthday banquet. You should be careful in multiple ways.”

[“Soon, Princess Strien’s birthday banquet will be held. I hope it will be fruitful.”]

Hearing the Crown Prince’s words echo in my mind, I furrowed my brows and rubbed my ears. His gaze narrowed.

“Was that the Crown Prince?”

I nodded.

I wasn’t sure what exactly the Crown Prince was planning, but being careful couldn’t hurt.

“Tell the Duke to strengthen security for now.”

Lilia… she was the first person in the empire who had genuinely stirred my feelings. Despite my difficulty trusting people, she kept making my heart flutter. If something happened at her birthday banquet, I probably wouldn’t even be able to see her face.

After getting off the carriage, my mind still preoccupied with the banquet, I deliberately asked to be dropped off a bit away from the mansion. While walking, I froze as a shadow suddenly landed in front of me.

“…?”

The man was dressed like any ordinary passerby, but as he brushed past, he whispered:

“You’ve been sent by the little sun. Tonight at midnight, come to the fountain in the central square.”

And with that, he disappeared into the crowd.

“Have you arrived?”

Late at night, I was guided to a room in a building near the central square, and I sat across from the Crown Prince, crossing my legs.

“Why am I here?”

“This is about the banquet I mentioned earlier. Since Princess Aisien is involved, I couldn’t explain in detail.”

I tilted my head.

“I understood that Princess Aisien and her family were cooperating with you. Was that not the case?”

“That is correct, but the fewer people who know about a plan, the better, unless they are directly involved.”

The Crown Prince placed his interlaced hands on his crossed legs, staring at me with dark violet eyes, gauging how much he could trust me.

“Can I… trust you?”

I smiled faintly.

“What a question to ask at this point.”

He smiled mysteriously.

“That aside, due to your position, betrayal is common, so I need assurance.”

“Assurance?”

“I heard that you are quite close to Princess Strien. This task could tear that bond apart. Are you willing?”

I narrowed my eyes.

“Let’s hear the details first.”

The Crown Prince smiled.

“The method doesn’t matter. Take care of Duke Strien.”