"So, to summarize… Uncrowned Millennial Horn can be found from a four-horned goat. Lime-touched Rainbow Grotto Wood is cut from a seven-colored tree that grows inside of swamps. Nebulous Star Root comes from a meteor. King Lightning Wisp Breath is from the nest of… these Lightning Wisp insects. This is a tough request, Your Highness," Lord Fredrick chuckled lowly.
"You don't need to worry. Just information will suffice."
He pondered briefly. "How about this? We can exchange any information we find for information about the Xingyuu Empire."
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. She posed to benefit, because no matter what happened, they would still have to bear the cost of gathering information. It was a win for her, which was why she was slightly suspicious. There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Why would Lord Fredrick be this generous?
As if reading her thoughts, he explained with a smile. "Please consider it an apology from the Ovarr and Dewshard Households. While we might have been allied with the Lannisail Household, we were deceived by the treacherous Lord Wenmord as well. I hope Your Highness can forgive us for our ignorance in this matter."
"It's fine. This was settled last year. You don't need to apologize."
"But I insist," he stated firmly.
"…" She was inwardly impressed by how shameless he was acting. It was clear Lord Fredrick was trying to get into her good graces. That being the case, she might as well take advantage of him. She nodded. "Alright, I can forgive you and your families."
"Thank you, Your Highness," Lord Fredrick and Lady Kalasena replied.
"Stop it. And you don't have to keep calling me Your Highness. It's hurting my ears. You can just call me Elizabeth."
"Isn't this… inappropriate?"
"I asked, so it's not a problem."
"Understood then… Elizabeth." How awkward! He cringed. As someone who followed rules and etiquette to the finest detail, this made him extremely uncomfortable. However, since Elizabeth herself requested it, he could not deny her.
Elizabeth was greatly amused, seeing him act out of place. Hiding her laughter, she replied, "I guess even the Graceful Willow, the number one young lord in the kingdom, can be stumped."
"Please don't tease me, Your Highness. I never considered myself that greatly."
"Really, now?" She grinned.
"…"
Sitting on the side, Benedict's face bent into a frown. Although he knew there was nothing deeper going on, it still sounded and felt like they were flirting together. One was a shining princess, the former heir apparent, the famous Princess Elizabeth. The other was a flawless gentleman, a Grand Lord of the highest caliber, the Graceful Willow Lord Fredrick Ovarr. Benedict did not want to admit it, but… they were a perfect match. It was like they were destined to be together! And that realization stabbed into his heart like a merciless blade. He was always slightly slow when it came to his emotions. He struggled to understand how he felt about Elizabeth, because she was the splitting image of who he used to love, Isabella. Sadly, Isabella died in his arms, and Elizabeth magically replaced her. Confusion and guilt swelled up inside him. What did he feel? Or rather, what should he feel?
Shirley saw his uncomfortable face and realized the problem instantly. Peace was a miraculous thing. Back when the war waged on, everyone was too busy fighting for their lives. No one had the time to sort out their own emotions, much less act on them. That was why Benedict's feelings were shoved in the corner, isolated and forgotten, until now. It was unfortunate though. Benedict was ignorant about his true feelings, and Elizabeth… she was too focused on other things to notice. These two… were hopeless. And of course, despite knowing that Elizabeth and Lord Fredrick were not interested in each other at all, a faint trace of killing intent erupted from her. She felt the urge to protect Elizabeth from any bad influences, like an older sister would! The killing intent was small, almost too small to notice, but everyone in the room felt it, especially the Perception Realms. Lord Fredrick's Perception Realm guard and Lady Kalasena's two Half-Perception Realm maids flinched, their hands reaching for their weapons.
Elizabeth frowned and whispered, "What's the matter, Shirley? Do you sense an enemy?"
"No, it's- it's nothing! Ignore me!" Shirley answered with flushed cheeks. Here she was criticizing her friends for their emotional immaturity, when she lost control of her emotions herself… Her face was red hot!
"…Either way, that should be everything. We will take our leave now, Your Highness," Lord Fredrick announced. He could tell the strong animosity was pointed at him, for reasons unknown.
"I won't see you out. Till we meet again."
He nodded and prepared to leave, except Lady Kalasena remained seated, giving Shirley a heated gaze. Everyone had question marks raised above their heads. She remained mysterious as ever. Even Lord Fredrick was mildly confused. Fortunately, her two maids could speak in her place.
The first maid said, "Our lady would like to request a spar with Lady Shirley."
"Me? You want to spar me?" Shirley pointed at herself. She could not understand where this came from. Was it because of her burst of killing intent earlier?
Elizabeth thought the same, and quickly added, "Please forgive her. She didn't mean to startle everyone. She meant no harm."
"That's not it, Your Highness," the second maid replied. "Our lady wanted to witness the legendary strength that Lady Shirley showed in the war. This is unrelated to the events earlier."
"Is that so…" Glancing at Lady Kalasena, the girl nodded lightly to confirm. Elizabeth was dumbfounded. Was Lady Kalasena always this weird? She could not help, but feel a little sorry for Lord Fredrick, who accompanied her. "What do you think, Shirley? I won't stop you from agreeing."
"Why not? This is the first time someone challenged me to a spar. It sounds fun. She won't complain if she loses, right? You know, being a Grand Lady and all."
"Our lady assures that won't be a problem."
"Then-"
"Could you let me fight instead?" Benedict interrupted. "We're both Grand Nobles, so there won't be any problems afterwards."
"Hmm…" Shirley looked at Elizabeth then to Lord Fredrick and understood. She grinned. "Sure, I don't mind."
"Our lady agrees," the first maid said.
An hour earlier, Nassandra charged out of the room as Freon chased after her. He felt ashamed of himself. His sister, Nassandra, was a Ten Dawn, one of the pillars of the Zino Kingdom, so she rarely showed her emotions, much less cried, both in public and in private. Exceedingly mature for her age, that was what made it all the more painful to see her cry like this. She must have been holding in those feelings the entire time. He cursed himself. Why did he never notice? He was supposed to be her older brother, no? How pathetic of him. Determined to fix his mistake, he picked up speed, and yet… she stayed ahead. Freon was stunned. It was not because she was using magic or because she was a fast runner. Rather, it was because he was appallingly slow! He could not catch up at all! After all, he was focused on developing his magic and Core Level, never his stamina or body. He was actually inferior to a young girl! Rounding a corner, he crashed into something, knocking him onto the floor. Nassandra then disappeared from his sight.
"Ow… What the heck did I hit?" Freon mumbled. He hit his head, so he was a bit dazed. Looking up, he froze.
"That's a rude greeting for our second time meeting, don't you think, Lord Freon?" a deep voice said. A large, muscular girl stood in his way. It was Lady Vivian Malkhorn, the other first-ranked graduate from the university. She was also a Low Condensed Drop Arcanist like him!
"Sorry, but I don't have time for this," he quickly said, jumping to his feet and running after Nassandra. Getting acquainted with these Engelsheft would yield nothing, but trouble.
"What a curious boy," Vivian chuckled. "What do you think, Kel?"
A short, quiet boy was standing next to her. Hair covered most of his face, which made it hard to tell what he was thinking. Kel Lanark, the third first-ranked graduate, replied softly, "…He doesn't seem that impressive to me."
Vivian roared in laughter. "That's true! I didn't feel that legendary strength the rumors talked about. I guess that goes to show you that you can't believe everything you hear."
Kel kept staring at Freon's back. "Regardless, he and his sister belong to the Arcellius Family. We should proceed as planned."
"Alright."