“…”

“Even though I’m an old man, I used to be a knight who served this Empire. Suddenly I have this unknown power, so I should use it for the Empire I love.”

He drew his sword, and a white blade of magical energy shot out. It was a proper blade, not the mirage she had seen before.

“You’re quite skilled for an old man.”

“Yuk, what is this young bastard saying?”

Cassis and Duke Feriel chatted as if they had known each other for a long time. Rosha watched them closely.

Like the old man said, she also had considered gathering people, as she had formed a small team in her previous world.

But she was hesitant, thinking that Cassis would want to join…

Listening to the old man, she realized something.

‘I will eventually face the trials, and I can’t just tell Cassis not to follow me…’

If Duke Feriel stands for the Empire, then Cassis stands for his family.

“What do you think? Have you given it some thought?”

Rosha nodded subtly to the old man’s question.

She felt a bit clearer about what she should do.

* * *

Duke Feriel shared many stories afterward. First, about Cedric.

“What does it mean to serve in the Imperial Secret Intelligence Service? It means literally that. He’s core personnel of the Emperor. Probably most information in the Empire goes through him.”

And about the relic storage that the Master of the Trial destroyed.

“They’re rebuilding it now, but some relics that were there are missing. I returned everything I had, but they’re still missing. Hmm, are they buried deep underground?”

“…Haha.”

Lastly, he talked about Froy.

“So, are you close to Duke Echerzen? On the day the disaster started, you two disappeared from the banquet together, so I’m asking.”

“We’re not close, but we’re not strangers either.”

“Is that so? I recommend getting his cooperation without getting too close. He seems to be capable, and most importantly, he would be a great ally.”

Duke Feriel added one last comment that stuck with Rosha.

“He knows how to shake things up.”

 

As the hours went by, the night deepened.

In the hidden summer palace deep in the imperial city, a bird flew in. 

It was an impressive parrot with shiny white feathers and a yellow crest. After moving around a bit, the bird settled in a shaded corner of a building and observed its surroundings for a while.

And then, as he dropped the pen he was holding in his hand to the ground-

Whoosh!

In no time, two people appeared, cutting through space. They were Froy and Rosha.

“Huh, really…”

Froy, who picked up the pen, looked at Koko as if he couldn’t believe it.

With creativity and intuition, the uses of this ability seemed endless.

However, the summer palace was hidden deep in the imperial city, so even with the Duke’s ability, it was hard to reach at once, and naturally, there was no ‘exit’ in the imperial city for long-distance travel.

There were methods of traveling through mediums like notes or pens, but there was the risk of the location changing or not knowing whether there were people around, so it was too dangerous to use.

He definitely thought it would be like that…

“It’s truly amazing. At first, when you said the bird would help, I wondered what you meant, but Koko understood your instructions and placed a medium in this summer palace.”

“Koko is very smart.”

“I can’t deny that. Soon, it might even speak human language.”

Koko puffed up its chest, flapping his wing as if to ask for more praise, but Froy, who didn’t notice, changed the subject.

“More importantly… Are you sure about this? Breaking into the summer palace? If you, a guardian knight, get caught, the consequences could be significant.”

“That’s why we shouldn’t get caught.”

Before Koko could say anything, Rosha hurriedly closed his beak and responded.

At this point, meeting the princess was the obvious choice. Because anyone with the ability of prophecy should be connected.

Plus, with the quest from the ‘God of Prophecy’ now available, this was a must-do.

‘I need to find out when the second trial will begin, too.’

She looked up at the summer palace. At first glance, it looked ordinary, but she could see the magic barrier tightly set up, as if no one could enter.

“…You’re right. Let’s move on then, Rosha.”

Froy, who carefully checked the surroundings, offered his hand to her. It seemed like he was prepared for a quick escape, but it seemed to have another purpose.

Because there was a ‘plate’ at his feet that would sound an alarm when stepped on.

Rosha quietly grabbed his hand and pulled him close, saying:

“Don’t step there.”

“Oh.”

* * *

The magic barriers had various effects besides intruder alerts, such as the ground sinking or suddenly catching fire. These effects usually activated when a specific zone of the barrier was touched, and people called these zones ‘plates’.

-Stepped on a plate? There’s no healing for the likes of you, you devil.

That’s why there were memes like that.

Because there’s always a gap in the magic barrier that one can exploit.

Rosha was also slowly entering the palace, using those gaps.

“This way, Froy.”

Having identified a gap in the barrier, she firmly held the man’s hand and led him on. There weren’t completely devoid of people, but the gaps were quite spacious, so they didn’t have to be on edge all the time.

Fortunately, no one was inside the summer palace.

It was silent yet beautiful, and not too dark even at night.

Moonlight and starlight descended on the lake beyond the large arch-shaped windows that ran down the corridor, and from the small forest beyond, the sound of rustling leaves could be heard.

Walking hand in hand down an empty palace corridor felt oddly romantic given the circumstances.

Froy seemed to have the same thought, murmuring softly.

“It feels strange.”

“What?”

“Nothing, just…”

The man who was looking at the back of her head soon spoke.

“Having someone who sees what I can’t and following them is something I rarely experience.”

“…Ah.”

Upon hearing his words, Rosha remembered something she had momentarily forgotten.

Froy had been known throughout the Empire since childhood as an exceptional strategist.

Though they hadn’t met many times and she didn’t know him well, he always seemed to appear at critical moments.

She quickly gathered her thoughts and made a light suggestion.

“Manipulating magic isn’t that hard. Would you like me to teach you?”

He probably needed some talent, but she felt he would learn very quickly.

But his answer was unexpected.

“No, I already know.”

“…Really? How?”

“I could see the magic since right after the trial started, and the ‘plates’ you mentioned were initially hard to distinguish, but following you and trying, they became visible.”

…Isn’t this level of talent cheating?

And his talent didn’t seem to end there.

“What I’m curious about is why you don’t take the shortest route to where the princess is. There must be a reason I’m not aware of, but no matter how much I think, I can’t guess.”

Haha, every time there was a fork in the road, she used [The Guiding Lantern] and he noticed.

‘I guess this way is much easier, so the ‘lantern’ guided us here.’

Rosha felt his persistent gaze piercing the back of her head and finally replied.

“It’s a trade secret.”

“Is it? Can I ask you something else?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“I heard that Duke Feriel visited your mansion today. It seems he’s about to make a move… Aren’t you going to ask me about it?”

It sounded like he was more than willing to help if she was gathering people.

Was everyone waiting for her to take some action?

Without even asking, Rosha had also planned to cooperate with him, but she pretended not to know and looked back.

“What?”

“…Nevermind.”

She teased him out of spite for his inhuman talent, but Froy didn’t let go of the hand he was holding, even as he turned his head sharply.

They arrived at the princess’s room less than a minute later.

At the end of the corridor on the top floor of the summer palace.

Squeak-

As Rosha cautiously turned the doorknob without losing her tension, a spacious reception room appeared through the softly opened door.

Over the white marble floor, a scarcely used table and sofa were placed.

Beyond that, in the innermost bedroom, was the princess.