Sheyla felt the warmth of another person's embrace for the first time in a very long while.
So... this is how warm it is.
Right beside her, Joshua was crying his heart out like a child who had lost his parents, but strangely, his crying didn't bother her.
Elysia's hand was still gently patting her back.
She hadn't meant to, but the image of Elysia firmly meeting her gaze and speaking calmly even after being slapped remained vivid in her mind.
If it had been her brother, he probably would have only glanced at her briefly or let out a sigh.
Or he would have simply walked away.
If he were angry, he would have raised his voice and ordered her into confinement.
...Was Elysia not angry?
Still burying her face in Elysia's arms, Sheyla cautiously lifted her head.
The moment she did, her eyes widened.
Elysia looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment.
Recognizing that expression, Sheyla parted her lips slightly.
When their eyes met, Elysia forced a smile despite her tear-filled eyes.
"It's okay now."
With that face?
How could anything be okay?
It would probably be better if she just cried openly.
Every time Elysia said she was fine, she looked more broken than anyone else.
For the first time, Sheyla felt like she could finally say the words she had swallowed for so long.
Her tightly closed lips slowly began to open.
Just then—
Someone knocked on the door.
"Excuse me."
All three turned toward the open doorway.
Several maids were standing outside.
Judging by the cleaning supplies they carried, they had come to clean up the room.
"Head Maid Greta instructed us to clean Lady Sheyla's room..."
They looked awkwardly at the unusual scene before them.
Elysia quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
Then she gently patted the children's backs and explained,
"It looks like they're here to clean. They'll probably need to prepare another meal too, so I'll go to the dining hall."
"Noona, can't I come with you?"
Joshua, still frightened, grabbed her skirt.
Elysia looked troubled.
Then Sheyla silently tugged at Elysia's clothes as well.
It was obvious she wanted to go too.
Elysia let out a helpless smile and took Joshua's hand.
"Then let's all—"
She suddenly stopped.
She had felt warmth from her other hand.
Looking down in surprise, she saw Sheyla holding her hand tightly while staring straight ahead.
"Noona! Aren't we going?"
Joshua shook her hand impatiently.
Only then did Elysia snap back to reality.
"Right, let's go. Shall we go together, Lady Sheyla?"
Smiling, Elysia gently held Sheyla's hand.
Sheyla nodded and matched their pace.
Before she knew it, Elysia was walking with a child holding each of her hands.
The maids who had come to clean stared as if they had witnessed something impossible.
Elysia greeted them with a polite nod and stepped out of the room.
Then someone quietly called her name from behind.
"Elysia."
She turned around.
The speaker was a maid with silver hair cut short like Elysia's and violet eyes.
She was so beautiful that she stood out even among the other maids.
Carefully glancing inside the room, she approached.
"I left your spare uniform in your quarters."
Her voice was barely above a whisper, as though she didn't want anyone else to hear.
Come to think of it, Greta did mention a spare uniform...
Elysia remembered their earlier conversation.
"Oh... thank you."
"You don't need to use formal speech with me. And..."
The girl hesitated, as if she wanted to say more.
"Raviena! Why are you standing around out there?"
A voice from inside the room called out impatiently.
The girl jumped.
"I'm coming! Sorry, I'll talk to you later."
Struggling with a pile of heavy cleaning equipment, Raviena hurried back inside.
The sound of others scolding her for being late drifted out from the room.
"The silver-haired sister."
"Hm?"
Joshua, whose nose was still red from crying, spoke up.
"She must be really strong. She was carrying all those heavy things by herself."
Now that he mentioned it, the other maids had only been carrying brooms and mops.
Raviena had been carrying completely different things.
A stone bucket filled with water.
A heavy cast-iron container for cleaning food stains.
Things that looked far too heavy for one person.
Elysia found it strange and stopped walking for a moment.
Seeing this, Sheyla finally tugged on her hand.
"Ah, right. Sorry. Let's go."
Elysia quickly regained her focus and continued walking.
"I've confined all of the maids to their quarters and assigned guards so they cannot communicate with one another."
After finishing his report about the disturbance caused by the maids, Hillmayton swallowed nervously.
The atmosphere around Yulias, seated in his office, was unsettling.
This hadn't been caused by a monster attack.
Nor by a scheduled mission.
He had suddenly been summoned to the capital because of an imperial order.
Yulias stared at the bloodstains on his hand while holding a pen and let out a sigh.
As if intending to ignore them, he set the pen aside.
Hillmayton immediately stepped forward and offered a handkerchief.
"I heard the imperial order was related to the breach that appeared at the fortress."
Yulias smirked.
He understood the meaning behind the words Hillmayton had left unsaid.
"If that were the only reason, it would merely be annoying."
Wiping away the blood with the handkerchief, Yulias stood up.
He moved to the sofa and let out a tired sigh.
"They want to verify the Demint family's bloodline again."
"...What?"
For a moment, Hillmayton thought he had misheard.
Yulias, however, seemed amused by his reaction and rubbed his chin.
"Hillmayton."
"Y-Yes."
Startled out of his thoughts, Hillmayton answered quickly.
"When you think of the Demint family, what comes to mind?"
As someone from a family that had served the Demints for generations, he obviously had an answer.
"...I have both my personal opinion and what my parents taught me."
"I want both."
Honestly, what a personality.
Asking a subordinate to evaluate his employer's family.
This would have been much easier over drinks than in the office.
"Then I'll start with what I was taught."
Hillmayton calmly returned the handkerchief.
"Historically, the Grand Duchy of Demint has existed to protect the Empire."
He continued,
"In an empire like Askila, where bloodlines are considered important, requesting a verification of the Grand Duke's lineage suggests that someone has begun questioning the family itself."
"Not questioning."
Yulias corrected him.
"Suspecting."
Hillmayton nodded.
"In my opinion... it's beyond suspicion. It's closer to distrust. His Majesty wouldn't act this way himself, so perhaps..."
A particular person came to mind, and he frowned.
Yulias had clearly thought of the same people.
"The Emperor's children."
"Aren't your relations with them friendly? Besides, the twins attend the same academy as Lady Sheyla..."
"That's exactly the problem."
Yulias leaned back.
"Even the Emperor seems troubled when it comes to his own children."
"Your Grace, if I'm expected to understand this situation, please explain."
Hillmayton looked completely lost.
"First, bring Greta."
While Hillmayton left the room, Yulias pressed his fingers against his temple.
His thoughts deepened.
"As you know, Her Highness has a close relationship with your sister and is personally concerned about her. They're very close, after all."
A bright, cheerful child with a small frame typical of a ten-year-old.
The Emperor's beloved third princess.
A child he treasured so much that he treated her like fragile glass.
They dragged even the knight order to the capital. Are they seriously claiming it's only because they're worried about Sheyla?
As Yulias pondered the suspicious reasoning, the office door opened.
Hillmayton and Greta entered.
Yulias pushed aside his endless thoughts and changed the subject.
"Before anything else, I heard your report. How is Sheyla doing?"
Based on past experience, he expected her to have locked herself in her room after causing trouble.
It wouldn't be the first time.
"She is currently in the dining hall with her assigned maid Elysia and Elysia's younger brother Joshua."
"Yes, she's in the dining hall with them..."
Yulias blinked.
"...What?"
"She is currently eating in the dining hall with the two of them."
The completely unexpected report left Yulias staring in disbelief.
