With Dalia blinking in sheer astonishment, unable to find her voice, Annie took it upon herself to speak up.
“How could Her Imperial Highness the Princess be out there alone?”
The only princess in the entire empire, on the verge of drowning all by herself? It was unthinkable.
“It was a failing on all our parts in caring for Her Highness. Because of the nasty rumors it could stir up, knowledge of the incident has been kept strictly confidential.”
Orion offered a wry smile before slipping smoothly back into his professional secretary persona to finish the explanation.
“I see.”
Dalia nodded in understanding.
Whatever the reason behind the Princess falling into the lake, were word to reach the nobility, endless rumors would run rampant.
“Is Her Highness doing well now?”
Dalia asked cautiously after the Princess's condition.
This time, the Head Butler answered before anyone else could.
“Yes, and it is entirely thanks to you, Miss.”
“No, not at all. Anyone would have done the same in that situation.”
Hearing her modest reply, the wrinkles around the Head Butler's mouth deepened into an unmistakable smile of satisfaction.
To risk her very life to save someone in distress, and then remain so humble… What a truly ideal Empress she would make!
He had already heard from Orion that she was terrified of water. How terrifying must taking that plunge have been?
“Miss, should you ever need anything within the imperial palace hereafter, please come to me directly. I will do everything in my power to assist you.”
“Oh, you don't need to—I mean… Yes, of course. I'll rely on you.”
Dalia pivoted mid-sentence, realizing getting close to the Head Butler would be an excellent way to learn more about the Emperor.
“And any matter regarding Miss Herdlan will naturally be my top priority as well.”
Orion chimed in from the side.
“The same goes for me! Please don't hesitate to call on me whenever you wish.”
“I will.”
Dalia gave a bright smile.
Getting close to those in the Emperor's inner circle meant gathering far more news about him.
Gazing at her radiant face, the Head Butler murmured to himself under his breath:
“Hohoho… It seems His Majesty's eye was sharp indeed.”
“Pardon?”
Dalia asked, not having caught his words, prompting the Head Butler to wave his hand dismissively.
“It is nothing. At any rate, I shall take my leave now.”
“I will come by to see you shortly, Miss.”
Orion gave a playful wink, then followed the Head Butler out of the room.
“…Why is he coming back?”
Dalia turned to Annie, but Annie merely shook her head, looking equally baffled.
Orion reappeared just as Dalia finished eating and was preparing to step outside.
“Would you two follow me, please?”
“May I accompany you as well?”
Cole asked with a tense expression, standing a pace behind them.
“Of course.”
Orion agreed readily and led the way.
They followed him along a path not far from the main palace until an annex appeared deeper along the grounds.
A sprawling garden lay before the entrance, furnished with a tea table; exterior walls fashioned of crystal shimmered with iridescent light, and pillars of white marble were polished to perfection.
It was a stunning annex, captivating the eye at first glance.
“Shall we head in?”
The moment they pushed the gate open, maids lined up along one side came into view. When Dalia's gaze met Hart's at the end of the line, she offered her a warm smile.
“Welcome, Miss.”
Dalia and Annie exchanged puzzled glances.
“Mr. Orion, why are we here?”
“Oh, drop the formalities with me. Just call me by name. Starting today, you two will be staying here.”
Orion announced with a mischievous grin.
‘Since when were we close enough for that?’
The thought almost slipped past Dalia's lips, but she swallowed it down and asked something else instead:
“All right, Orion. But why just the two of us?”
“It seemed your previous quarters housed quite a few men, so His Majesty thought it might be uncomfortable for you both.”
“It wasn't particularly uncomfortable.”
Dalia answered mildly. Orion cleared his throat and continued:
“Most importantly, His Majesty assigned this place specifically to you. It's a token of appreciation for your bravery, Miss Herdlan. For what you did. Do you like it? It is one of the loveliest annexes in the entire imperial palace.”
“Ah… Yes.”
Dalia surveyed the surroundings with evident nonchalance, bringing a knowing grin to Orion's face as if a thought had just struck him.
The maids, meanwhile, began murmuring among themselves, stunned by her lukewarm reaction.
A palace constructed entirely of exorbitantly priced crystal was every noble lady's dream to behold even once.
And yet… that was all she had to say?
Did she not know how precious crystal was?
“Crystal is quite easy to come by in the Kingdom of Wyvern, isn't it?”
“Yes, more or less.”
Dalia nodded innocently.
Crystal walls were so common throughout the royal palace that the sight barely elicited any special feeling from her.
In fact, the stable for her favorite horse, Gentle Mara Fine Charisma, was built entirely out of crystal, too.
Hearing her offhand response, the maids' whispers grew louder still.
Evidently, the tales of crystal being everywhere in the Kingdom of Wyvern had not been an exaggeration after all.
Dalia quietly called out to Orion.
“Mr. Orion, may I speak with you for a moment?”
He stepped over without hesitation, and she leaned in close, whispering so only he could hear:
“There is something I'm curious about… Who was the person who rescued me? I feel I ought to thank them.”
“Ah… To tell you the truth, it's a bit difficult for me to say…”
Orion rubbed the back of his neck hesitantly.
Because the situation involved the Princess, it seemed he was doing his best to keep every detail quiet.
Dalia nodded as if she understood.
“Then could you pass along my gratitude on my behalf?”
“Yes, I will.”
She then added:
“Oh, and by the way… Did you happen to find a letter there?”
“A letter? Was there a letter? Was it important? I could go look—”
Dalia hurriedly cut him off, visibly flustered:
“No! It's completely fine if you didn't see one!”
“All right. Is there anything else you require?”
Orion offered a gentle smile.
“No, thank you.”
“In that case, I hope you have a pleasant stay here.”
Orion swept into an exaggerated bow like a stage actor, then took his leave.
Deep within a dense forest.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A two-meter-tall iron cage, seemingly empty, rattled violently as though about to shatter to pieces.
Skreeeech!
Though the cage appeared thoroughly bare, a beast's piercing howl erupted from inside.
Luand approached the knights cautiously surrounding the perimeter.
“Excellent work, Commander.”
The vice-commander bowed swiftly.
“You did well to capture it.”
“No, the credit belongs to you, Sir. Had you not tracked it down, catching it would have been impossible. If killing it were our only goal, we wouldn't have gone through all this trouble.”
From a glass vial, the vice-commander splashed high-grade, golden holy water into the cage.
Skreeeech!
The instant the holy water made contact, the beast's form suddenly materialized inside the seemingly vacant cage.
A solitary, leathery bat wing.
A body bearing an eerie resemblance to an ape.
And a hideously split maw bristling with razor-sharp fangs taking up half its face.
Three crimson eyes glared at Luand with unadulterated venom.
Yet as soon as the holy water dried, the monster's body faded into complete transparency once more.
“Seeing this creature up close is truly horrifying.”
The vice-commander furrowed his brow, staring at the empty-looking cage.
These monsters possessed entirely translucent bodies and could only be apprehended using holy water or Aura imbued with divine power.
Had someone not stumbled across one by chance after it had been splashed with holy water, no one would have even known they existed.
So far, the creatures had only appeared on the outskirts of Lucifon's imperial capital, but their numbers and origins remained completely unknown.
Because they could fly freely on top of being invisible, capturing this single specimen had taken over an entire month.
Krr… Krr… Krr…
Having thrashed against the bars and shrieked, the beast abruptly changed its call.
Sensing something amiss, Luand swiftly drew his sword and scanned the surrounding trees.
“Everyone, stay on your guard!”
