Julius's shocked gaze was fixed on Mia. She felt as though the pale green gemstone on his forehead was staring straight through her—alive and aware.
So he was from this world, too. The shock was mutual. The suspicions she'd formed over dinner that day turned out to be true.
Julius slowly opened his mouth.
"Mithys... is missing? So you're here as a queen candidate in her place...?"
Mia gave an awkward nod.
"Yeah. Still, it's nice to see you again. I didn't have any friends here, but now I guess you can be my first."
"How dare you! A lowly human speaking so brazenly to the heir of House Yusshargen, Grand Duke Julius Viyola!"
The brown-haired man shouted indignantly, and Mia let out a small laugh despite herself. Oh, so this guy's some kind of noble around here?
"Sorry, I'm not from around here, so I didn't know. Anyway, nice seeing you again. Bye."
"Wait. You—stay right there."
Julius moved without thinking and grabbed her wrist. Mia flinched and looked up at him, only for the brown-haired man to raise his voice again.
"My lord, what are you doing! Touching your fiancée—no, your queen candidate—before marriage?!"
It was as if something hit Mia in the back of the head.
She glared at Julius, and he let go of her wrist awkwardly.
"Sorry. I just... had a few things I wanted to ask you."
"You're... my fiancé?"
Mia muttered in disbelief. The scent of roses clung even more thickly to the air. Julius shrugged with a complicated expression.
"Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Julius Viyola Yusshargen, Grand Duke of the Peridot bloodline in Sibareth."
Mia was at a loss for words. So he was the fiancé Mithys had mentioned—the man destined to become the next king! Too much had happened in one day for her to keep up.
"Th-this was not my intention... I should go."
With that, Mia turned and ran back toward the palace. For some reason, she felt flustered and overwhelmed. Thankfully, neither the golden-haired Julius nor the brown-haired attendant followed her.
The sun had long since set, and the night was dark. Back at the palace, Mia came to a sudden halt.
'Wait. Where was my room again...?'
The palace was enormous, and she had left so impulsively that she hadn't memorized her way back. The rows of opulent, identical doors blurred together in her eyes.
She decided to just start walking. Surely she'd find it eventually. But the palace was more of a maze than she'd expected, and the room she thought she'd find quickly didn't appear. Anxiety began to gnaw at her.
There wasn't even anyone to ask...
Just then—
A strong musk scent hit her from behind, followed by the sound of women laughing.
"Oh my, you must be Lady Mia."
A clear, melodic voice. Mia turned around.
And there stood an astonishingly beautiful woman. Her long silver hair flowed down to her waist, and she wore a violet flower crown that matched her amethyst eyes and the jewel embedded in her forehead.
Her figure was slender and elegant, wrapped in a luxurious gown of pale violet and silver.
'Wow. She's gorgeous.'
Mia had thought human-form Mithys was the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen, but this one was on another level.
"Who are you?"
In response, the woman gracefully lifted the hem of her gown and gave a small bow.
"I am Shamanaz Para Bismildun, daughter of the Duke of the Amethyst bloodline. I'd heard of you, and I'm pleased we finally meet."
Shamanaz smiled serenely. Mia nodded and offered a slightly awkward bow.
"Tonight, there's a festival held by the Spirits of Light. I was just on my way there with my handmaidens. If it's not too much trouble, would you care to join us?"
"A light festival? Where is it?"
"A bit far. We were going to teleport there—would that be alright with you?"
"Does that mean... you'll take me with you?"
Mia remembered how Leca had teleported her and asked the question hopefully. But a trace of a smirk touched Shamanaz's lips.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. Just taking my handmaidens is difficult enough. You'll have to get there on your own."
Mia tilted her head, something feeling a little off.
"I don't know how to teleport yet..."
Shamanaz's large violet eyes widened even more.
"Oh dear. You can't even do that yet? You'll need to study magic very hard from now on."
With a light laugh, Shamanaz vanished along with her giggling handmaidens. Mia stood there dumbfounded.
'What was her problem?'
Shamanaz didn't actually attend the Spirits of Light festival. Instead, she headed to the training grounds where Leca was practicing. He was drenched in sweat, deeply focused on his drills.
Shamanaz dismissed her handmaidens and boldly stepped in front of him. Leca flinched mid-swing of his flame and dropped to one knee.
"Lady Shamanaz? What brings you here so suddenly?"
"You're asking me that?"
"...?"
"Even if Mithys died, how could you bring in another idiot to replace her?"
"Ah. So that's what this is about."
Leca gave a weary smile and stood. The amethyst on Shamanaz's forehead shimmered intensely under the night sky.
"Don't smile! I'm serious! How could you do this when you know how I feel?"
"You know I'm bound by the duty of a spirit."
"That's a lie. Spirit pacts don't mean anything for you, Leca..."
A translucent violet liquid began to drip from the gem on Shamanaz's forehead. Leca looked around nervously and tried to stop her.
"Shamini, someone might see you like this..."
"Don't call me by that nickname!"
The violet tears hardened into tiny amethyst shards as they fell to the ground.
"I kept your secret. And you, knowing how I feel, have never once considered my heart."
Leca turned his head away, as if in pain. The gem on Shamanaz's forehead continued to weep violet tears.
"You were always on my side when we were little—me and Jules. But now..."
"...I'm the kingdom's High Commander now, Shamini..."
"Go back to your new master. I think she's still lost, wandering around somewhere."
With that, Shamanaz spun around and left. Leca rushed into the palace. Come to think of it, it was her first day and he'd completely neglected her. What if she really was lost in this vast place?
He quickly made his way to Mia's room. He could faintly sense her mana nearby.
"Lady Mia? Are you inside?"
He knocked. No response. Had she not returned yet? Just as he raised his hand to knock again—
—Who is it? Leca?
Her voice came from within. Leca answered quickly.
"Yes, Lady Mia. It's me."
The door opened. Mia stepped out, rubbing her eyes in her nightclothes.
"Did I wake you?"
"No, I laid down for a bit and must've dozed off without realizing it."
"I'm sorry to disturb you. I just wanted to check—has everything been alright?"
"Well..."
Mia trailed off. Should she mention meeting Julius and that strange woman? But she felt too drained to explain everything.
"I'm just tired. I don't think anyone here likes me."
"Why would you think that...?"
Mia sighed.
"Something must have happened."
"It's nothing. I'm just tired."
She stood there blankly. Afraid. Anxious. Leca was the only one she could rely on now.
"Can you... come in for a bit? I can't seem to fall back asleep..."
Leca entered the room. Seeing Mia lying on the bed with a distant look in her eyes, his throat tightened. Had it been a mistake to bring her here?
"Lady Mia, would you like to see the border between Sibareth and the neighboring kingdom of Naizman? It's quite beautiful."
"Sure. Show me."
Leca summoned a large flame. Inside it, like a crystal orb, a clear image of a vast desert appeared.
"This is Naizman, the kingdom that borders Sibareth. A land of sand and sun."
"Wow... a desert."
"It's also the homeland of fire spirits like me."
"Your homeland? Sibareth isn't?"
"No. Sibareth is home to spirits of fire, water, air, and earth—but only the earth spirits are native. The others came from elsewhere."
"That's... amazing. So amazing..."
Leca's voice must have sounded like a lullaby, for Mia's eyelids fluttered closed. Leca gently blew out the candle and left the room.
Meanwhile, in her dream, Mia found herself lying on a bed in the mole kingdom. A girl stood over her, holding a small lantern.
—Mithys?
—Yeah, it's me. How have you been?
—You always appear like this. How's your body holding up?
—As you can see. And Sibareth—are you doing okay?
—I have a million things to ask! I don't even know what to do anymore. I'm still going to get my reward when I get back, right?
—Ah, about that...
Mithys's smile faded. Her lips moved to say something. Mia sat up and leaned close, trying to catch the words coming from her mouth—