Allowing Arietta to meet his sister had been deliberate.
He had expected something.
Jealousy.
Resentment.
Instability.
Manipulation.
He observed carefully.
Her posture.
Her tone.
Her breathing.
She showed none of it.
She apologized directly.
Accepted responsibility.
Spoke without fear.
When she said she liked him—
There had been no calculation.
That unsettled him more than deception would have.
He had given her access to measure her reaction.
Instead—
She measured them.
And he learned nothing.
That, in itself, was information.
But not enough.
————————
The castle was easy to understand.
Magic operated similarly to her world.
Rune lamps activated through mana flow.
Doors responded to inscription arrays.
Water systems used pressure sigils.
That part was familiar.
What differed were the small things.
Cleaning tools weren't enchanted here.
She watched a maid scrubbing the floor manually.
"You don't use dust-repulsion charm?" Arietta asked.
The maid blinked.
"…We polish weekly."
"Oh."
In her world, even border towns had low-grade maintenance enchantments.
Interesting.
Military design differed too.
When she visited the training yard, she watched ranged drills.
Bows.
Arcane projection.
Thrown blades.
"No ignition rifles?" she asked casually.
The nearby knight frowned.
"Ignition… what?"
"Mana-propelled projectile tubes."
The knights exchanged looks.
"We do not use unstable weapons."
"…So that's a no."
Her world had crude magic rifles.
Heavy.
Temperamental.
But effective at mid-range.
Here, they never developed them.
Different evolution of warfare.
The castle was easy to understand.
Magic operated similarly to her world.
Rune lamps activated through mana flow.
Doors responded to inscription arrays.
Water systems used pressure sigils.
That part was familiar.
What differed were the small things.
Cleaning tools weren't enchanted here.
She watched a maid scrubbing the floor manually.
"You don't use dust-repulsion charm?" Arietta asked.
The maid blinked.
"…We polish weekly."
"Oh."
In her world, even border towns had low-grade maintenance enchantments.
Interesting.
Military design differed too.
When she visited the training yard, she watched ranged drills.
Bows.
Arcane projection.
Thrown blades.
"No ignition rifles?" she asked casually.
The nearby knight frowned.
"Ignition… what?"
"Mana-propelled projectile tubes."
The knights exchanged looks.
"We do not use unstable weapons."
"…So that's a no."
Her world had crude magic rifles.
Heavy.
Temperamental.
But effective at mid-range.
Here, they never developed them.
Different evolution of warfare.
The training yard carried the steady rhythm of discipline.
Steel collided in controlled arcs.
Boots pivoted in practiced patterns.
Mana flickered briefly along reinforced blades.
Arietta stood by the outer railing, watching quietly.
Advance.
Strike.
Recover.
One knight noticed her observing for longer than most visitors would.
"Hey," he called casually, wiping sweat from his jaw, "it must be boring to watch this."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Why?"
He shrugged. "If you don't understand combat, it's just people swinging metal around."
She looked back at the yard.
One fighter shifted weight before committing to a strike.
Another baited a reaction deliberately.
"It's not boring," she said.
The knight raised a brow.
"Oh?"
"I like watching people move."
He paused. "Move?"
"Balance shifts. Timing. When they decide to commit."
That caught more attention than she expected.
Another knight approached.
"You understand fighting?"
"Yes."
"Can you fight?"
She answered immediately.
"I'm strong."
That earned laughter.
"Strong?"
"Yes."
No hesitation.
No joking tone.
Just a simple statement.
One knight smirked.
"Should we test that?"
Another scoffed lightly.
"We don't spar women."
"And not untrained ones either," someone added.
The tone wasn't hostile.
Just matter-of-fact.
Standard.
Arietta blinked once.
"Oh."
There was no frustration on her face.
No challenge.
She simply gave a small shrug of her shoulders.
"Alright."
And turned her attention back to the yard as if it didn't matter.
The knights resumed training.
But after a moment, one of them glanced back at her.
She wasn't sulking.
Wasn't offended.
She was watching again.
Carefully.
Observing footwork.
Measuring spacing.
Tracking reaction speed.
She watched the captain demonstrate advanced reinforcement.
Mana distributed in layers, not bursts.
Efficient.
Controlled.
Solid.
Very solid.
If even their regular knights moved like this—
Then this country's standard was high.
But she noticed something missing.
None of them fought like someone who had survived catastrophe.
Their movements were polished.
But not desperate.
One knight called out to her again.
"So? Still not boring?"
She nodded once.
"You're solid."
He laughed.
"We'll take that as praise."
"It is."
She didn't elaborate.
From the upper balcony—
Klaine had been watching.
She didn't argue.
Didn't insist.
Didn't attempt to prove anything.
She accepted dismissal without ego.
And then evaluated them anyway.
Not as equals.
Not as superiors.
But as data.
That expression again.
Analytical.
He did not like how calmly she adapted to everything.
He liked even less that she seemed to be measuring his kingdom.