It was a warm, sunny afternoon.

On the Stella Sky Balcony Café, Sayelan Orkan had the rare opportunity to join her princess, Hong Si-hwa of Adol Levitt, for tea.

These meetings didn’t happen often.

Though Hong Si-hwa had her hands in Stella’s affairs, much of her focus was on external matters, leaving most internal issues to Sayelan.

“How did it go?”

An abrupt question.

Hong Si-hwa, who had been sipping her tea gracefully with her eyes on a document, suddenly spoke after half an hour of silence.

After a brief hesitation, Sayelan responded in the way she always did.

“It was fitting for Your Highness.”

“Haha, I’m not asking for formality. Tell me what you think. Was it revolting? Do you find me detestable?”

“...Not at all.”

How could she dare to use such words toward her princess? Hong Si-hwa knew this yet still asked such questions. Was it appropriate to call her “playful” for this?

“Then, let me rephrase. How did my sister react? Hmm? How did she respond?”

With eyes gleaming like a curious child, her chin propped on her hands, Hong Si-hwa gazed at her intently.

“She… remained indifferent. Does her reaction matter to you, Your Highness?”

“Yes, it’s extremely important. I made sure to reveal my secret to her on purpose.”

“It did seem a rather sensitive secret…”

“No. You don’t understand. It wasn’t that kind of secret.”

“...What do you mean?”

Placing Isaac Morfran’s body on the altar. Was that not the whole secret Hong Si-hwa was hiding?

“You might not know, but she might have figured it out. She’s clever.”

“...I see.”

“Did being ignored make you feel bad?”

“Not at all, Your Highness.”

“Don’t worry. Without you, I wouldn’t be here as I am now. I can’t imagine life without you, so you needn’t worry.”

In her early years, when Sayelan was just learning letters and etiquette, her parents introduced her to Princess Hong Si-hwa.

Back then, she only knew that the princess was preparing to enter Stella Academy. Sayelan had eagerly anticipated meeting her, knowing, even at her young age, that Stella Academy admitted only the world’s elite mages.

But when she finally met her, Sayelan felt an unexpected chill.

Her eyes were empty, as if her soul had been drained.

Her lifeless gaze and hollow movements gave the impression that she was somewhere else, far from this world, filling Sayelan with anguish.

‘How can someone so beautiful and radiant be unable to shine on her own?’

Though it was her parents who had brought her to serve the princess, Sayelan had made her own decision.

She would bring light back to this princess.

…She had no idea what that decision would ultimately mean.

“Well, I’m off now. Do try to get along with Bi-yeon.”

Sayelan knew, perhaps better than anyone, how impossible that would be, yet still, the princess made such requests.

After Hong Si-hwa left, Sayelan blankly stared at her half-finished tea.

‘Princess Hong Bi-yeon…’

The “Purification Ritual” from this past weekend.

It had been an unfamiliar and disturbing experience for Sayelan.

Yet Hong Bi-yeon had completed the ritual without a hint of unease, walking away gracefully as if unaffected. Sayelan couldn’t help but feel a strange admiration for her.

There was, however, one thing she found curious.

*The Golden Restriction.*

During the ritual, Hong Bi-yeon had shown signs of suffering from the effects of the restriction, but if Sayelan understood her personality correctly, she would have outright rejected it.

Could such a proud person accept the restriction imposed by the queen and Hong Si-hwa? Taeriban may have trusted his own judgment and disregarded any doubts, but Sayelan, whose magical discernment wasn’t as sharp, found herself growing more suspicious.

‘She’s definitely up to something.’

An absurd thought.

There was no way a seventeen-year-old girl could resist the restriction magic crafted by Queen Hong Sae-ryu.

Sayelan Orkan was a realist, a rational thinker. Yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that something flickered in Hong Bi-yeon’s eyes in that moment. Could it really have been just a trick of the mind?

She had almost pointed this out to Taeriban, suggesting that they return and scan Princess Hong Bi-yeon to verify the restriction’s effects. She might have revealed the truth had she done so.

But she didn’t.

Strangely, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

It was the first time in her life she had ever hesitated.

Looking back, this was the first time she had faced Hong Bi-yeon personally and spoken to her, person to person, instead of merely observing her from afar.

Clink-

As she gently touched the cup Hong Si-hwa had drunk from, she closed her eyes in thought.

The secrets of the Morfran Forest were horrific, even to her cold sensibilities.

Could she truly continue serving her princess sincerely, even after learning this dreadful truth?

What should she do when she could no longer serve with genuine devotion?

Crash!

“...Oh.”

The teacup slipped from her hand and shattered under the table.

Though a waiter quickly came to clear the mess, the damage was done.

‘Is it too late?’

There would be no way to restore Princess Hong Si-hwa’s broken cup.

---

In true simulation game fashion, this episode presented the player with a choice. Not to select a hero, but rather which mission to undertake.

Most players would pick monster hunting, as there was little reason to tackle the more challenging persona gate in a slower-paced episode.

However, in rare cases, players would find themselves compelled by the characters to follow a specific path.

I hadn’t played the game diligently enough to trigger such an outcome, and even the most experienced players didn’t see it often.

“So, you’re accepting the persona gate mission?”

How I ended up getting dragged along with Hong Bi-yeon on this mission, I still didn’t know.

Well... considering that we’d infiltrated the Adol Levitt Palace together and melted the frozen coast of Levian, we did share some history. Still, it didn’t seem like enough to explain why Hong Bi-yeon would cling to anyone.

‘Hmm. Does she have a thing for me?’

A thought every guy entertains at least once. The mere fact that a beauty looked his way sparks the “Does she like me?” fantasy.

Of course, it was just wishful thinking 99% of the time.

I didn’t call it 100% because, on very rare occasions, things did turn out that way—at least according to rumors on the internet.

The way to check that 1% was simple.

“Hey.”

“...What is it?”

As Hong Bi-yeon filled out the mission form, I spoke to her, and she glanced at me with a nonchalant side-eye.

Just from that glance, I could tell where this was going.

“Do you like me?”

Her hand, busy writing, froze. She turned her head toward me slowly, her expression severe.

Her crimson eyes seemed to blaze. Was it an illusion, or was she genuinely radiating magic?

“...Are you out of your mind?”

“Cough! Well, no need to glare like you’re going to kill me.”

I quickly snatched up the mission form she’d filled out and read it.

[Persona Gate Mission Application]

[Difficulty Level: 3-Risk]

A 3-risk persona gate usually required at least five third-class mages to attempt. The Mage Association recommended a minimum of one fourth-class mage along with seven third-class mages for a safe mission.

“You’re going as a two-person team?”

“...Yes.”

“Right.”

The assistant instructor looked at us with a skeptical gaze. If a boy and girl registered together, he might usually make a “no dating on campus” joke, but considering our “commoner and royalty” combination, he seemed to decide against it.

“You two will be assigned to another team. Cadet Hong Bi-yeon hasn’t officially registered as a fourth-class mage due to her student status, and as for you… well, you’re registered as a ‘zero-class’ mage.”

“Ahem, yes.”

“So, you’re excluded from the main fighting force. Additional members will be assigned from other teams.”

A harsh reality.

Being a registered zero-class mage, Baek Yu-seol had earned a reputation as “the baggage carrier” in-game. This contributed to his character’s relative unpopularity.

“Anyway, mission orders will be distributed later, so…”

“Wait a moment.”

Hong Bi-yeon interrupted the assistant instructor.

“This commoner… he’s registered as a zero-class?”

“Oh? Yes… that’s right.”

Flustered, the assistant instructor stammered before coughing and correcting himself.

“Why?”

“Why? Isn’t it obvious? It’s because his mana hasn’t been properly measured.”

The fundamental unit of a mage’s class was based on their “Total Mana Capacity,” with the number of mana circles they possessed serving as the main criteria.

A second-class mage wasn’t necessarily superior to a first-class mage. One could still perform great magic with the power of a single circle.

However, the stereotype persisted.

It was common sense that a mage with stronger and more abundant mana circles would generally wield greater power.

“Unbelievable... really idiotic. If it were up to me, I’d issue certifications based purely on combat strength, not some meaningless mana capacity.”

“Um, Cadet Hong Bi-yeon? I’m afraid there

’s nothing I can do about this. I didn’t make the rules.”

“Ugh…”

I blinked as I looked between the flustered assistant and the irritated Hong Bi-yeon. I wasn’t sure why she was suddenly so worked up, but I knew enough to realize it’d be hard to stop her once she got angry.

“Excuse me, Princess. I don’t mind being zero-class, so maybe we should just move on…?”

Hong Bi-yeon shot me a sharp look before grabbing the mission order from the assistant’s hand.

“It matters to me.”

With that, she headed to the orientation for the persona gate mission, and I felt a slight chill at the thought of following her.

‘This... is going to be fine, right?’

As I stared blankly at her retreating figure, the assistant nudged my shoulder.

“Cadet Baek Yu-seol…? Well, uh… good luck with that.”

"...Thank you.”

That encouragement wasn’t exactly reassuring.