Click. The door to the armory opened, and the doll moved again, accompanied by the sound of a song.

Even hearing it for the second time, Crescent thought it was fascinating as she and Meteor stepped out of the shop.

They had spent a bit more time browsing in Cyrillote’s armory before finally heading out.

Cyrillote saw them off, coming all the way to the front of the shop.

“Your Ladyship, will I see you again? And, of course, your handsome brother too.”

Now that it was time to leave, Cyrillote’s jet-black eyes were filled with obvious reluctance.

Hugging the carefully wrapped gun, Crescent responded, “Of course. We both have to return to the Holy Palace now, so I don’t know when I’ll be back, but I’ll drop by from time to time.”

“Oh dear. If knights like you, busy battling Magi, take the time to visit me, that would truly be a waste. Just send me a letter if there’s ever an issue with the gun. I’ll come check it out myself.”

“Ah, okay. Thanks. I’ll train hard with this and make sure to defeat the Demon King.”

“Haha.”

Cyrillote chuckled lightly.

Crescent also shared a brief smile with him.

As the moment came to board the carriage, Cyrillote approached Meteor.

“It was truly an honor to have you visit today, dear patron.”

“I didn’t exactly come here intending to be a patron….”

Meteor murmured as he shook the hand Cyrillote extended toward him.

After a brief handshake, Meteor and Crescent headed for the carriage.

“Thanks for everything today, Cyrillote. See you next time.”

“Take care, Your Ladyship.”

It was at that moment.

Cyrillote reached out and lightly grabbed Crescent’s hand.

Crescent widened her eyes, wondering what he was up to. Meteor also flinched slightly. The reason became clear immediately.

Cyrillote lifted Crescent’s hand to his lips and gently kissed the back of it before letting go.

It was a formal gesture, one a gentleman would typically make to a lady.

However, Crescent, who wasn’t used to such experiences, hesitated slightly and pulled her hand back.

“Ah, sorry. That surprised me.”

“Haha. If you’re going to live as a noble lady, you’ll need to get used to it.”

“Well, I’ll probably spend more time as a knight than a noble lady.”

“You sound like a real knight when you put it that way.”

“That’s because I am a real knight. Anyway, thanks again. I’ll be going now.”

“Alright.”

With Cyrillote’s farewell, Crescent and Meteor climbed into the carriage.

The door closed, and with a clatter, the carriage began to move.

As soon as they were on their way, Crescent eagerly unwrapped the gift. The silver gun sparkled in the sunlight.

Though it didn’t feel quite the same as receiving a family heirloom from Reuben as a child, the excitement of acquiring a new weapon was undeniable.

“Thanks so much, Meteor. I was in a bit of a pinch earlier, but you helped me out.”

“It was nothing.”

Meteor replied casually, gazing out the window.

What was this feeling?

From the moment he entered the Ciel Armory to now, he had felt an inexplicable unease.

Was it from the moment he first saw Cyrillote, the armory’s owner?

Learning that he and Crescent had been in the same orphanage was surprising. The idea that the armory owner knew her felt rather sudden.

But beyond that, something else was bothering him.

It was an indefinable discomfort.

It came entirely from Cyrillote.

Meteor was briefly confused, unable to understand why his instincts were so on edge.

Then, as if something had suddenly occurred to him, he asked, “What are you going to call that gun?”

“Huh?”

“I mean the name. Even our family heirloom has a strange name, doesn’t it?”

“Oh, a name?”

Right, it needed a name.

Crescent hadn’t thought about that until now.

“Hmm, our heirloom is called Pinky because it has a pink gemstone, and this gun is silver, so… I’ll call it Silver Grace! Hello, Silver Grace!”

“…Sure.”

Crescent patted Silver Grace affectionately, clearly pleased with herself.

Meteor let out a faint sigh and turned back to look out the window.

Even if the armory owner unsettled him, seeing Crescent so happy gave him mixed feelings once again.

***

The carriage veered off from the bustling city and arrived at a nearby village.

As planned, we were exploring the area to search for traces of Magi.

Meteor and I walked together along a quaint forest path. We didn’t talk much as we walked.

I kept scanning the surroundings for any signs of Magi, and Meteor was similarly focused on our surroundings.

After about ten minutes had passed, I broke the silence.

“You know, I always feel strange at times like this. Part of me hopes Magi will show up, but another part of me doesn’t want them to appear. It’s better if they don’t, right? But when you’re searching and don’t find any, it feels like a waste….”

“Don’t say things like that. You’ll just jinx it.”

“Alright, alright. Spit, spit, spit!”

I mimicked the act of spitting to ward off bad luck.

Among Holy Knights, there was a common belief that saying, “Why aren’t there any Magi?” was a surefire way to summon them.

It was like when a shop assistant thinks, “Why are there no customers today?” only for a sudden rush of people to flood the store.

We continued walking along the path.

Just then, a group of people turned the corner ahead of us. I looked at them absentmindedly but then froze in surprise.

“Huh?”

They were dressed as Holy Knights.

What’s more, their faces were familiar.

As I studied each one, Lucas was the first to recognize us.

“Meteor!”

Thud, thud!

The sound of Meteor’s footsteps pounding against the ground echoed sharply through the air.

Startled, I stepped back slightly as Lucas barely managed to stop just short of colliding with Meteor.

He looked as though he was about to embrace Meteor but hesitated, his arms twitching awkwardly. Finally, he managed to speak.

“Meteor! Is it really you? I heard rumors you had returned home, but it’s true!”

Unlike the overly excited Lucas, Meteor replied calmly.

“You’ve grown a lot, Lucas. It’s been a while.”

“And you’ve grown too, Meteor—! No, you’ve grown so much that anyone would recognize you instantly. You have no idea how much everyone has missed you!”

Come to think of it, Lucas was one of Meteor’s biggest admirers.

Soon, the other knights approached. Edgar, Adrian, Alruin, and even Evan were there.

Just as I was about to greet them, Adrian shouted first.

“Crescent! What a coincidence to meet you here on such a humble roadside! This must be fate!”

“It’s not fate; it’s just a coincidence. Anyway, what are all of you doing here?”

It was an odd group.

I’d never seen them all together before.

Alruin was a mentor to the knights, and Evan worked closely with the cardinals. He had even accompanied me to the Demon Realm to confront Count Ismir.

Considering their roles in the Holy Palace, they weren’t the type to usually associate with Lucas, Edgar, or Adrian.

Were they on patrol, perhaps?

The Holy Palace frequently sent knights out in teams to patrol and eliminate Magi in the surrounding areas.

Alruin greeted Meteor warmly.

“Meteor, it’s good to see you here. It’s been a while.”

“It has.”

Meteor shook hands with Alruin and then greeted Evan as well. My curiosity was answered when Evan spoke.

“Crescent, I heard you’ve officially become part of the cardinal’s family. Congratulations. We’re out here on patrol.”

“Oh, I see! That’s what I thought. And thank you for the congratulations. I only just found out about it recently at the debutante ball.”

“I’m truly happy for you, Crescent. After all, one less rival for your hand in marriage is great news for me.”

A strange comment rang out. Of course, it was Adrian.

I squinted at him, wondering what nonsense he was spouting now.

Adrian never missed an opportunity to court me.

Despite his considerable popularity in high society, he ignored all the lovely ladies fawning over him and instead focused his attention on me.

Ah, was it because he thought marrying me would produce the strongest offspring?

“What rival? What are you even talking about?” I asked flatly.

Adrian’s gaze shifted toward something. Following his line of sight, I saw he was looking at Meteor.

Meteor’s expression had turned visibly sour.

“Crescent, I can’t tell you how relieved I am that Meteor is now officially your legal brother. Cardinal Reuben adored you so much I was worried he might make you his granddaughter-in-law instead of his granddaughter. But now that you’re officially his granddaughter, it’s such a relief. Truly, a blessing.”

“…”

Sigh. Sigh.

Adrian let out exaggerated sighs of relief, clutching his chest as though he’d narrowly escaped death.

The atmosphere turned cold as ice.