Silvena hesitated for only a brief moment before finally giving a small nod.

Now that she knew the woman standing before her was the Third Princess of Averenthia, there was little room left for refusal anyway.

And more importantly...

Lovia did not seem dangerous.

At least, not toward them.

Throughout their conversation, Silvena’s instincts had remained strangely calm around her. There was no hidden hostility, no sense of danger lurking beneath her smile.

So it should be fine.

Hopefully.

Lovia’s smile brightened slightly after receiving permission. Then, without further hesitation, she gently removed the masquerade mask covering Ruvian’s face.

For a brief second, the disguised appearance remained.

The white-haired man standing nearby narrowed his eyes slightly with a frown as he looked down at Ruvian’s false features.

Then slowly, the illusion faded away.

The mana maintaining the disguise dispersed quietly into the air, revealing his true appearance beneath it.

Dark hair spilled loosely across the floor beneath him while the sharp lines of his face became visible under the dim light surrounding the ruined theater.

Meanwhile, Lovia, who was still crouching beside Ruvian, simply stared at him for a moment before a look of genuine awe appeared on her face.

Then she glanced up toward Silvena with a playful smile.

"I think I can understand why you care so much about him," she said lightly.

"He’s very handsome."

Silvena immediately looked back at her with a slightly strained smile.

"You’re not wrong about that, Your Highness," Silvena replied calmly. "But that’s not the only reason."

Lovia laughed softly at the answer.

"Of course."

Her golden eyes drifted back toward Ruvian once more.

"Then would you mind telling me his name too?"

Silvena let out a small sigh before finally answering.

"...Ruvian."

Her gaze lowered slightly toward his unconscious figure.

"His name is Ruvian Castelor."

*****

[Lovia’s POV]

Amid the quiet night, a lavish carriage silently drifted through the sleeping streets of the capital.

Its polished white surface reflected the moonlight softly while beautiful golden engravings decorated the edges like a flowing art. It was so beautiful and radiating that made the nearby pedestrians instinctively step aside the moment they saw it approaching.

Even the two horses pulling it looked majestic beyond reason, their silver-white fur shining beneath the moonlight like creatures raised solely for royalty.

And yet...

Compared to the inside, the exterior almost felt modest. The inside of the carriage was also luxurious to an absurd level.

Soft crimson seats filled the wide cabin while beautiful golden patterns were embroidered across them with such sumptuous detail.

Inside that lavish space sat two people facing one another.

One of them was Lovia Von Saintinac.

One of her legs rested casually atop the couch while the other hung lazily downward. Her elbow leaned against the side of the carriage while one hand supported her chin as she stared outside through the window.

And on her face... was an unbelievably bright smile.

No.

At this point, calling it merely a smile almost felt insufficient.

She looked delighted.

Utterly delighted.

The corners of her lips had remained raised ever since they left the underground auction hall, and every now and then, a quiet laugh escaped from her as though she was replaying tonight’s events repeatedly inside her head.

It was obvious.

The Third Princess of Averenthia was in an extremely good mood tonight.

Meanwhile, seated across from her was another young man.

The masquerade mask he wore earlier was already gone now, revealing neat dark hair and striking golden eyes beneath the warm light of the carriage.

He was handsome in a very gentle sort of way.

His features looked calm and refined, carrying an easy warmth that contrasted greatly against Lovia’s mischievous energy.

The dark coat from earlier had also disappeared. Instead, both of them now wore the white uniform of Wellencrest Academy.

The young man seated across from Lovia quietly watched her for a while before finally letting out a sigh.

"You’ve been smiling a lot tonight," he finally said while leaning slightly back against the crimson seat.

Then his expression turned a little more serious.

"But Lady Lovia... was it really alright to reveal your identity to them?"

The carriage continued swaying gently.

"I mean..." he continued carefully, "I don’t think they’re bad people or anything. But still... revealing who you are carries risks too, doesn’t it?"

Only then did Lovia finally turn her head away from the window and look at him directly.

The smile on her face remained relaxed.

"Don’t worry so much about that," she replied casually.

Then she shifted slightly on the couch, lowering the leg she had lazily rested earlier before crossing her arms comfortably.

"It’s important for them to know me," she continued calmly. "And it’s also important for us to know them. Well... more specifically, him."

The young man blinked a few times. Lovia leaned back deeper into the crimson couch while softly tapping her fingers against the armrest.

"If we want to hunt down all those demons properly," she said, "we’re definitely going to need his help eventually."

A faint grin appeared on her lips again.

"And besides..."

"We’re going to see him quite a lot in the future anyway from now on."

The young man frowned slightly before reluctantly accepting her explanation.

"I-I see..."

The response came out weakly, almost like a sulking puppy forced to agree against his will.

Lovia immediately noticed it.

Her brows lifted slightly.

"Haaa... why do you still look so displeased?"

The man let out another sigh before finally speaking honestly.

"Well, how could I not?"

He pointed lightly toward himself with visible frustration.

"Did you even see the disguise that guy was wearing?"

Lovia blinked. "And?"

"It was literally my face," he continued. "My exact hair, eyes, nose, everything!"

His expression grew increasingly conflicted the more he spoke about it.

"I know it could technically just be some ridiculous coincidence, but seriously... for him to somehow create a disguise that looks almost exactly like me is a little absurd, isn’t it?"

Lovia simply stared at him, blankly.

Then suddenly...

She burst into laughter.

"Pfft—!"

She leaned forward slightly while smacking her lap repeatedly, unable to hold it back anymore.

"Ohhhh... so that’s what’s been bothering you this entire time!?"

Now everything finally made sense to her. No wonder he had been so insistent about removing Ruvian’s mask earlier.

The young man looked even more dissatisfied seeing her laugh this hard.

"What?" he muttered. "You seriously didn’t notice it?"

Lovia wiped the corner of her eye lightly while still smiling.

"How was I supposed to notice properly during that encounter?" she shot back playfully. "Half of his face was still covered by the mask at the time."

"I mean..." The young man awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah... I guess that’s true too."

The young man slowly folded his arms across his chest, though the slight frown on his face still remained.

"Anyway, don’t think too much. It’s probably just a coincidence."

"Fine. But Lady Lovia..." he said after a moment,

"Weren’t we originally planning to come to the Ashway Bazaar to get the scroll ourselves? You mentioned before that it would be extremely dangerous if that thing fell into the demons’ hands."

His golden eyes shifted toward Lovia seriously.

"So is it really alright to just let those Velthia scholars keep it?"

Lovia listened quietly before letting out a soft laugh.

"Of course we came here for the scroll," she replied casually.

Then she lazily stretched her arms upward.

"But tonight wasn’t exactly a loss either."

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

"We still managed to collect a few useful items from the auction. And we managed to help and free some slaves too, along the way — just like what you wanted."

Her voice remained relaxed, though there was clear satisfaction hidden beneath it.

Then her expression softened slightly.

The smile on her face slowly turned more knowing. Especially when thoughts of that dark-haired young man crossed her mind again.

"But anyway, I’m going to be honest with you, there’s really no need for us to worry too much about the scroll anymore."

"Things changed a little bit along the way. Now that I think about it... I guess it’s all thanks to you. If you hadn’t made a fuss over that man was using your face as a disguise... I wouldn’t be able to make a guess of who he was."

She slightly laughed at her tease.

The man stared at her blankly, utterly unable to understand what she found so amusing about that. In the end, he simply let out a quiet sigh.

"So Zian, to ease your concerns..." her golden eyes narrowed slightly with amusement. "I actually think it’s safer if he is the one to keep it."

The young man blinked.

"Really?"

"Yes, absolutely."

"What makes you think so?"

Lovia’s smile deepened faintly as she looked outside toward the passing moonlit streets.

"Hehe~ quite simple, after all..." she said softly,

"That scroll is currently...."

──────── ✦ ────────

[Chapter 172: In Much Safer Hands]