"Where the hell am I?" Murd said, looking completely disoriented.
Several butlers passed by Murd wearing various outfits. Murd tried to speak to them, but they were all too busy to help him.
"I'm absolutely sure that girl was around here," Murd muttered, continuing his search for Amelia.
Murd turned a corner and found a medium-sized door. Outside, a girl stood wearing a light yellow dress that perfectly matched her brown hair.
"There you are," Murd whispered.
"See you later! Thank you so much, Karina!" Amelia called out, waving goodbye to her maid.
She closed the door and turned toward the corner next to it. Before she could pass, she bumped into a boy slightly taller than her.
"Ugh, I'm sorry," Amelia said, her eyes closed from the impact.
"I'm the one who should apologize. I stepped in your path," said the person she bumped into.
"Nah, don't worry..." Amelia finally opened her eyes and couldn't finish what she was saying.
Murd was standing in front of her.
"Hello?" Murd asked, startled by Amelia's silence.
"H-h-hello," Amelia stammered, a little nervous and blushing slightly. "Goodbye," she said quickly and moved to the side, trying to leave.
"He's cute", she thought.
"Uh, excuse me, can I ask you something?" Murd said, approaching Amelia.
"Uh, yes, of course, tell me," Amelia said, quite nervously.
"Thanks," Murd replied, scratching the back of his head.
"I've been walking for a while and I can't find the Banquet Hall," Murd said shyly.
"Really? You're lost, then. You have to go straight ahead from here, turn right, go down two floors, then right again, and then left," Amelia said, smiling.
"Left, right... left," Murd whispered, confused.
I didn't understand anything. I guess I'll have to follow her from a distance, he thought.
Amelia noticed his confusion, blushed deeply, and raised her hand to play with a short strand of her hair.
"W-we can go together if you want? I was just heading to the hall," Amelia said shyly.
"Oh, seriously?! Thank you so much!" Murd said, getting very close to Amelia.
"No problem," Amelia whispered, turning to head towards the hall. Murd followed right behind her.
"I'm Amelia Astrea"
"Nice to meet you, Amelia, I'm Murd Cadwell."
Once they were on their way, Murd broke the silence. "Thanks for helping me. I was left stranded here and didn't know where to go."
"Left stranded?" Amelia asked.
"Yeah, sort of. My teacher left me here. She said we'd meet at the banquet, but I ended up getting lost," Murd replied.
"Don't worry, I know this whole area like the back of my hand," Amelia said, turning to give Murd a proud smile.
"Where in the Empire are you from?" Amelia asked as she resumed walking.
"Huh? Well... I'm not from this empire, or even this world..." Murd said quietly.
"Wait, are you transmigrated too?" Amelia asked, getting very close to Murd's face.
"Yeah. Hehe," Murd said, smiling.
Amelia noticed how close they were and blushed before speaking. "Sorry..."
"No problem," Murd said, still smiling.
A couple of seconds later, Amelia regained her composure.
"L-let's go," Amelia said as she stepped in front of Murd to continue walking to the Hall.
"Okay," Murd said, putting a finger to his cheek and laughing.
He jogged smoothly to catch up with Amelia.
They resumed walking a couple of minutes later, finally drawing close to the Banquet Hall.
Amelia, who had calmed down from her initial panic about being late, spoke up. "You said your teacher abandoned you, didn't say a single word, and just left you loose in the Emperor's territory? Who does he think he is, leaving his own student without any guidance or information?" She frowned, seeming genuinely annoyed on his behalf.
"So, who actually is your teacher?" Amelia asked, turning to look at him.
"Uh... well, she's..." Murd spoke rather slowly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Who is she?" Amelia pressed, tilting her head.
"Cynthia Ferris," Murd whispered.
Amelia froze.
Her entire body went completely rigid, the breath catching in her throat. Wow... so it really is strange being on the other side of this... she thought vaguely, recalling Verju's sudden collapse from earlier. And then, without making a single sound, she fainted right on the spot.
"Uh, hello? Are you alright?" Murd blinked, approaching her with deep concern.
He stared around the empty corridor, frantically trying to figure out what to do. With no guards or servants in sight, the only idea that came to mind was the one he immediately acted on. Scooping her up, he carried Amelia like a princess and followed the path she had been leading him down, cutting across a side corridor to reach the open courtyard.
"She should be fine here," he muttered, carefully laying Amelia's unconscious body down on a stone garden bench.
He stood back, letting out a weary sigh. "Why the hell do the weirdest things always happen to me?" he grumbled, more irritated by his bizarre luck than actually angry.
His eyes drifted back to her face. "Though... she really is quite pretty," he whispered.
An instant later, he aggressively slapped his own cheeks to snap himself out of it. No, no, no, and absolutely no! Verju probably likes her. After she deigns to help him tomorrow, Verju is totally going to fall in love with her and see her as his emotional anchor. Yes, yes, yes! I'm a goddamn genius, he thought, snickering to himself and swelling with pride at his own matchmaking intelligence.
After praising his own match-making genius, Murd stretched his arms wide and settled back against the opposite end of the stone bench.
The warm, late afternoon sun bathed his face, casting long shadows across the courtyard and catching the symmetrical, sharp lines of his features. He gently brushed a few stray locks of hair away from his eyes, letting them cascade softly back into place as he looked out over the greenery.
The gentle rustle of leaves filled the quiet air, carrying the faint, sweet scent of vibrant, multicolored flowers blooming across the garden. Small, unique animals—ever-present fixtures of this magical world—scurried playfully through the brush, breathing a sense of lively freshness into the hidden sanctuary.
Taking it all in, Murd drew a deep, grounding breath. A profound sense of clarity washed over him. Everything in this moment felt so close, so real, and he loved it.
He knew this tranquility wouldn't last forever. In a world as volatile and dangerous as Circe, moments of absolute peace were a luxury. This might very well be one of the few quiet interludes he would ever get in his new life—perhaps even the last. Yet, fully knowing what the future held, Murd simply leaned his head back and let a genuine smile touch his lips.
"Beautiful..." he whispered softly into the sunlight.
"Incredible..." a faint, breathless whisper echoed from right beside him.
Murd turned his head. His gaze locked with Amelia's bright amber eyes. She was staring at him intently, looking as though she were witnessing something precious from the absolute depths of her heart.
"Sleep well?" Murd teased, his eyes crinkling with a playful smirk as he gave her a polite, seated bow of his head.
Amelia's face instantly flushed a vivid, furious scarlet. Jumping up nervously, she stood frozen for a second, trying to gather her scattered breath and courage.
"C-Can we be friends?" she blurted out.
The question felt entirely ridiculous the moment it left her mouth—after all, who actually asks for permission to be friends in real life? But the words had come straight from her soul, bypassing her brain before she could stop them.
Murd let out a soft chuckle, his expression turning bright and lively. "Sure. Let's be friends."
Amelia continued to look at him, her amber eyes sparkling with quiet relief. "Th-Thank you," she mumbled, lowering her head slightly to hide the lingering blush on her cheeks.
"Don't mention it," Murd said, still smiling. "But if I were you, I'd probably hurry along to the banquet hall. Your parents are going to be furious if you're late."
Amelia's expression shifted from embarrassed to sheer terror in a split second. "Wait... H-How long was I asleep?!"
"No more than ten minutes," Murd reassured her. "You still have plenty of time to make it if you run."
"What about you?" Amelia asked, pausing right as she reached the edge of the courtyard. "Aren't you supposed to be heading to the banquet hall too?"
"I'll stay here just a little longer," Murd replied, shifting his gaze back to the vibrant colors of the garden. "Go on ahead."
"Okay... see you later then," Amelia said, throwing him one last glance before sprinting through the massive double doors.
"...I hope so," she whispered softly to herself, her voice swallowed by the grand corridors as she disappeared into the palace.
Amelia, already in the hallway, lifted her dress slightly to move more easily.
A whirlwind of thoughts flooded her mind.
"Let's be friends? Is that all you could come up with? He probably thinks I'm an idiot," Amelia thought before turning the last corner and entering the banquet hall.
"Damn, I made it just in time!" she exclaimed, straightening her dress.
"If Murd hadn't warned me, my parents would have been furious." Her thoughts stopped abruptly. "How did he know my parents were going to scold me?" she wondered, puzzled.
"I guess it was obvious to him, that must be it," she whispered before stepping through the majestic doors of the banquet hall.