Chapter 115

“It’s okay. He probably thinks of Sir Dane as his owner.”

“Owner… Can I really do that when I’m under the Princess’s care?”

“Of course. You’ve been taking care of them all this time, haven’t you? But Jerky, you said? Does it mean what I think it does?”

Jerky?

Clidane laughed heartily and nodded.

“He just loves jerky too much.”

Palos, who had been listening intently from behind, mouthed an ‘o’ shape and then mumbled, “He likes jerky.”

Seeing him so eager to befriend Jerky, I suppressed a smile and continued to ask Clidane, “Did you name the bluebird friends too?”

“Ah… yes! This too, I mean, Miss…”

“I told you, no apologies.”

At that moment, Palos, unable to contain himself any longer, butted in with sparkling eyes.

“You… you have birds, too?”

I gestured to Clidane with a smile on my face.

‘This is a chance for them to get closer.’

Fortunately, Clidane wasn’t tactless and immediately understood my intention. He handed Jerky to Palos and said warmly, “Thanks to the Princess, I have three of them. Do you want to go see them later? If you want.”

“Um… okay.”

Good.

Just as I made eye contact with Ramande and nodded lightly, pleased with the smooth flow of the conversation, the butler announced the arrival of the remaining guests who would fill the empty seats.

“The guests from the Schultz Merchant Guild have arrived.”

Palos’s hand paused, but the moment Jerky looked back at him, it began to move again.

‘Keep petting me, human!’

…I saw that look in his eyes, which clearly conveyed that message, and had to suppress a laugh as I greeted our guests.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Princess. I am Dylan Schultz, the head of the Schultz Merchant Guild.”

“My sister has told me a lot about you. Please, have a seat.”

I motioned with a smile, and as they finally sat down, I understood why Clidane had been so excited when he met Palos before.

‘They really… look exactly alike.’

Cynthia was an adult, but aside from the difference between an adult and a child, their faces were so similar that they could be mistaken for twins.

‘She really takes after her mother.’

Her face was like her mother’s, but her hair and eye color were the same as her father’s. How could someone inherit genes so evenly(?)

After a moment of observing them, I lightly tapped the back of Ramande’s hand. He gently squeezed and then released my fingers before getting up.

“I am Ramande Plendena, a priest of Plendena, the goddess of love and beauty.”

Ramande, who had bowed slightly, held up a silver needle he had prepared next to him and smiled sweetly.

“Since I have obtained your consent in advance, I will begin the blood collection immediately.”

Although we are now a family, it was because of this procedure that I asked Ramande to be present even though I knew he didn’t have a biological family.

Divine power was truly convenient and powerful; with a consecrated blood collection tool, a priest could confirm blood relations on the spot.

‘No need for a DNA test.’

Of course, not all temples could create them. The temples of Judgment and Justice or Gold and Credit were said to make a tidy profit from them.

While I was thinking these things without any tension, Ramande placed the silver needles he had used to prick Palos and Mr. Schultz’s fingers into a glass sphere slightly smaller than his palm.

Click.

The sound of them fully combining was heard, and a few seconds later, a bright light emanated from the sphere, melting the silver needles into the emblem of the temple.

“You are indeed relatives.”

If the two people tested were not related, the sphere would have turned bright red.

This was a widely known fact, but Mr. Schultz and Miss Cynthia, who had been anxiously waiting for Ramande’s declaration, stood up abruptly. Mrs. Schultz’s eyes were red, and she was pulling on her handkerchief so hard it was almost tearing.

While the family expressed such intense emotions, Palos was frozen stiff in his seat, seemingly forgetting to even breathe.

At that moment, Jerky barked loudly.

“Woof!”

Only then did Palos take a deep breath and look at me as if clinging to me.

‘This kid.’

I feel sorry for Miss Cynthia, but Palos and I had a relationship that went a little beyond the typical sponsor and sponsored child. It was impossible not to feel affection for this smart, diligent boy who called me “Noona” and trusted me.

That’s why I knew I shouldn’t stay here any longer.

“Palos.”

I stood up and gently stroked Palos’s head.

“Can you talk with your family?”

“……”

“Jerky will be with you.”

Even though Clidane had a little affection for me, he was here because of Cynthia, so it would be hard for Palos to rely on him.

Palos looked up at me silently, then nodded.

“…Yes, I’ll be fine.”

“Do you see that door? It connects to the other drawing room. I’ll be there, so you can finish whenever you want and come over.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t feel pressured. Understand?”

“Yes.”

I was a little puzzled by his stiff answer, but then I realized the trust in his eyes as he looked at me and was a little moved.

‘He’s deliberately trying to keep a distance.’

He wasn’t even calling me “Noona.”

He was a smart kid, after all. Palos was being cautious, worried that his newly found relatives might use him to harm me or my family.

“You can be purely happy.”

I whispered quietly so others couldn’t hear, and Palos’s eyes trembled.

‘He must have already seen how friendly I am with them.’

I smiled and bid farewell to the Schultz Merchant Guild family as well.

“Then, have a comfortable conversation.”

“Grand Princess… I don’t know how to repay this kindness.”

“I have done nothing. You can thank Miss Cynthia’s boyfriend for this.”

Clidane, who was unexpectedly mentioned, flinched.

‘Good luck with the proposal! But of course, start with dating first!’

I patted Clidane on the shoulder in support and moved with Ramande to the adjacent drawing room, which I had just told Palos about.

Since my parents and sisters had said they had no guests today, the room should have been empty.

…It should have been.

“Huh?”

Inside, Brassidas was naturally nestled on a sofa, sipping tea. As soon as the door closed behind me, I smiled and tilted my head.

“When did you get here?”

“Hmm. Right after our Palos got his leave pass?”

He’s such a doting father.

“You couldn’t stand the worry?”

“I knew the purpose and the destination, but… thinking about sending a child alone.”

“I understand.”

As I sat down across from him, Brassidas added belatedly, “I was also curious about our disciple Minuelle.”

“I told you, I’m not your disciple, Archmage.”

But I was glad he had come.

It was because of the poor state of Gabbie, which hadn’t improved even after increasing the amount of his life force.

‘In this state, even injecting Austin’s power probably won’t have much effect.’

‘The power of fire that passes through you becomes purer. It’s easy to handle… and strong.’

As my power grew stronger, I naturally understood. The reason Austin had said that was because of the power of sand he wielded with fire. In other words, it was mixed with impurities.

Even so, Gabbie was in a state where every bit of power was precious, so Austin’s power couldn’t be withheld from him.

‘But to get him completely back to normal, I feel like another method might be needed.’

So I suggested to Brassidas, “I think I need to go to Hirobimi Volcano soon. Isn’t the magic school on winter break now?”

“Hmm. Can you go before the break ends?”

“I’ll try my best to match your schedule.”

The break was long, and he was still worried.

Brassidas, who had caught my look, chuckled as if making an excuse.

“I was a little worried about leaving Palos alone for a long time.”

“He’s a very reliable child. If you’re really worried, he can stay here in the meantime…”

I was about to continue my sentence when I narrowed my eyes.

“Did those rude students still treat Palos so insolently, even in front of the Archmage?”

“Did you know, too?”

“They’ve been doing it since the entrance ceremony!”

“Ah, that’s right.”

That was typical of Brassidas, who was only interested in research and Palos. On that day, I had intervened and given a warning, and Palos wasn’t the type to run to his master and complain about the bullying that followed.

“I happened to witness it. The children scattered as soon as they saw me, so I couldn’t drag them away and scold them.”

Since he was a faculty member, his actions were naturally limited. And Brassidas wasn’t the type to flip the school upside down just because a speck of dust got on Palos’s cheek.

“Hah.”

Sighing and leaning back, I briefly explained the situation to Ramande, who had been listening silently.

“There are some insolent kids who don’t know their place. I warned them twice, but it seems they still haven’t learned their lesson.”

Moreover, their parents were clearly the kind of people who couldn’t even protect their own assets. Did they not check who held their debt?

‘Or are they just not concerned about their debt?’

That would mean they have no intention of paying it back…

The thought that the original creditors wouldn’t have been paid back if I hadn’t taken the debt made me let out a hollow laugh.

“Well, really. Even if you want to live life YOLO, you should know that making others cry tears of blood can lead to your own demise.”

Ramande nudged my side.

“Are you going to act like a hero of justice again?”

“What hero? I’m just helping a good student.”

I don’t have the capacity to be a hero.

“Then what do you think would be best?”

“Hmm.”

I was about to say something after a moment of thought.

Knock knock knock!!

Before I could answer, no, even before the urgent knocking had stopped, the door burst open, and the butler entered with a pale face.

“Excuse me, Miss. An urgent message has arrived from the Imperial Palace.”

“From the Imperial Palace?”

What reason could the Imperial Palace have to contact me?

I was puzzled, but it was the first time our butler had acted so urgently, ignoring etiquette, so I decided to check the message first.

‘The emblem is…’

The seal of the Karnian family.

That meant my mother or my sister Elga had sent it, and my face darkened as I broke the seal, which had been so hastily pressed that the emblem was uneven.

But that was before I read the contents.

Looking at the short, two-line letter, I stopped breathing.

[The traitor Austin has escaped.]

It was Elga’s handwriting. Her usually perfectly neat script was slanted as if she had scribbled it.

‘He escaped?’

How on earth?

With that question, I read the next sentence.

“……”

The letter fell to the floor with a soft thud.