When I turned around, a pretty face framed by dazzling blond hair was standing there with a [N O V E L I G H T] gentle smile.

“Lich—! Fourth Prince!”

Since we were in the Imperial Palace, I carefully used his title. Licht laughed out loud and dropped the document into my hand.

“Yes, Princess.”

After answering in a teasing tone, Licht pressed close and whispered low,

“There’s no one here right now.”

Soft blond hair like cotton candy lightly brushed past my cheek.

“Oh.”

In other words, that meant we didn’t have to bother with this awkward formal speech, right?

Licht gazed down at me, then naturally guided me back to my seat.

“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”

“Yeah. But how did you know I came to the Imperial Palace archives?”

I asked out of genuine curiosity, and the fine curve of his eyes folded slightly.

“How could I not know when you came?”

Did he hang a bell on me or something?

“I told the gatekeepers to let me know.”

I see.

Still, he got ridiculously tall too.

I secretly rose onto my toes, trying to catch up, then gave up. Even standing on tiptoe, the best I could do was reach his shoulder.

No, why? Was the Imperial water I drank the only one lacking nutrients?

It’s not that I’m short. He’s just too tall!

Then I thought of someone else who’d supposedly gone through a similar growth plateau. According to Dad, let’s see...

Khalid must still be shorter than Licht too. He’ll probably be upset about that.

Their relationship was bad enough already.

It might get even worse.

“Rubian, did you eat breakfast?”

Just then, Licht asked, lightly tapping my fingertips.

“I did.”

“Ah, then this is perfect.”

He pulled out a neatly boxed dessert from inside his coat and handed it to me.

“Isn’t it nice to have this again?”

“Macarons!”

“Look through the documents while you eat. And make sure you tell me how they taste. Baking them was a little difficult...”

The last part was so quiet I barely caught it.

“You want a taste evaluation?”

That, I was absolutely confident in.

I eagerly pulled out a strawberry macaron first and took a bite.

“Mmm. The crisp, scattering texture is satisfying, but it’s a little lacking in chewiness. More than anything, I think the overall harmony of flavor would improve if the filling were increased by about twenty percent. It’s nice that the filling is homemade, but in this case, a commercial jam might actually be bet—”

“No, that’s enough. It’s fine.”

Licht stopped me with a gloomy expression.

Oh no. Don’t tell me it’s from a shop someone he knows runs?

Should I have phrased it more gently?

Still, it was tasty overall, so I kept nibbling away as I skimmed through the materials.

“By the way, how is the search for the Magic Kingdom going these days?”

I lowered my voice as I asked.

Licht turned the macaron around in his hand a few times before answering quickly. Maybe it really was from a shop he knew.

“We still haven’t found it. That hasn’t changed. But we’re planning to launch a new exploration vessel this time.”

“A new exploration vessel?”

I asked casually as I turned a page.

“From the magic-tool production tower... Ah, you know, right? Father has been persuading the stationed mages who didn’t return to the Magic Kingdom to make magic tools for him.”

“Of course. I know.”

I’m the one supplying magic stones to that magic-tool production tower...

Besides, I’m a mage too...

But whatever the case, for now I was still a mage hiding my identity.

And because Licht knew that too, he didn’t bring it up directly even when we were alone.

“They’ve developed a new search magic tool. We’re going to launch an exploration vessel equipped with it. So this time...”

Licht’s aquamarine eyes gleamed.

“We should get meaningful results.”

That’s faster than I expected.

It hasn’t been that long since I sent the blueprints.

I was the one who designed the blueprints for that new search magic tool. Since I’d been supplying magic-tool blueprints through the magic stone shop too, I’d expected it to be completed sooner or later, but I hadn’t thought it would happen this quickly.

After thinking for a moment, I crooked a finger at Licht. As if he’d been waiting, he leaned toward me.

“You know, according to the recent reports, the fog around the sea looks highly likely to be illusion fog. So maybe one more magic tool that could interfere with that effect—”

Just then, I heard a group of maids chattering as they passed outside. Startled in the middle of our secret whispering, I jumped.

“Ahem! It says in this book that you should, uh... take it with you! Ahem! Ahem!”

I jabbed a finger at a random line in the book and spoke loudly, and Licht laughed.

“Ah.”

He slid his finger right beside mine and slowly traced along the line. My finger was lightly pushed aside, and with a playful wink, Licht whispered,

“It really is a very good book.”

“You—”

“Yes?”

“You’re banned from looking at me like that!”

I shook my head hard.

Geez. I almost got swept away again.

Licht laughed under his breath, then straightened the body he’d been leaning so close to mine.

“Oh, right. I heard Liam Zebbert stopped by the Imperial Palace.”

“Huh? My brother? What brought him out of the Academy for once?”

“He must have someone to meet in relation to his research topic. But Liam... exactly when is he ever going to graduate from the Academy?”

That was what I wanted to ask too.

Once Liam entered the university research division...

He was finished.

It’s not that the Academy won’t let him go.

“My brother just won’t let the Academy go...”

Headmaster Odelly had personally pleaded with him to please graduate already, but—

“I have devoted my soul to the university research division.”

“No one asked for that. Please just submit your graduation thesis.”

“I did submit it.”

“Submit one that matches the topic!” Headmaster Odelly had howled. “How am I supposed to give you a passing grade like this? If you love the Academy that much, then graduate and become a professor instead! Special appointment! Accepted! Salary on the level of Yuliope Moulton!”

“I’ll see you again next year with an even more enjoyable research topic.”

“Aaaargh!”

And so...

He was in the process of becoming a fossil of the Academy.

Anyway, I should go see my brother’s face after all this time!

Though, to be honest, I had run into him the day before yesterday when I was buying self-help books at the bookstore.

“Ah! Come to think of it, I heard there’s going to be a victory celebration banquet soon!”

The thought struck me suddenly, and I said it out loud.

“That’s right. Khalid is—”

Licht began shortly, then corrected himself.

“Sir Khalid will be returning.”

“Hngh... You two should really try getting along.”

“I deliberately put some distance in that phrasing just now, Rubian. Notice it, please.”

Licht added mildly.

“The King of Casalia will probably be coming with him too.”

That was news to me.

“Huh? Why?”

“This time the Round Table is being held here in Babilon. I heard the King of Casalia asked Sir Khalid to escort him.”

Ugh, our little puppy is tired enough already. And now they’re making him do escort duty too?!

I made a displeased face and cursed the King of Casalia in my head.

“But... the Round Table is usually held in the summer. Why would he come all the way here from winter?”

“This time it’s being held in the spring. And Father personally invited him as well.”

“Why?”

“There are various reasons, but... maybe this is the one worth paying attention to.”

Licht pulled out several news sheets and handed them to me. They were publications from various countries, including newsletters issued in Casalia.

Oh. International affairs.

The lost royal jewel of the palace recovered after fourteen years! First public appearance at last by Casalia’s First Princess!

Amid controversy over the princess’s legitimacy, the Casalian royal family states, “There is no room for doubt.”

Princess Sebelena: “It just so happens that, when I was found, my family turned out to be royalty. Status is not important.”

Uh... so basically...

“They found a lost daughter? And she’s the princess?”

“That’s right.”

Licht nodded.

“Wow. That’s pretty hot news.”

Turns out I’m actually a princess?

I’d always thought that sort of thing was a cliché, but hearing that it had happened practically right nearby made it oddly fascinating.

“They say the King of Casalia really did find the daughter he lost in the early days of the human-demon war. Somehow she survived among the forest tribes west of Iosia.”

“Oh...”

I once lied and said I was from Iosia too...

Then my gaze landed on the second article.

“But what’s this controversy over her legitimacy?”

“The King of Casalia searched so desperately for his daughter that there were plenty of frauds who came running over the years, hoping to get their hands on royal wealth. But...”

“But?”

Licht smiled and added,

“They say something Princess Sebelena brought from a forest tribe in Iosia helped.”

“What was it?”

“I don’t know the details, but... apparently it’s a secret art unique to a forest tribe in eastern Iosia.”

I blinked.

Iosia was a country made up of many tribes, well known for advanced pharmacology and medicine.

Each village was close-knit, so there were plenty of proprietary medicinal formulas and medical knowledge that had never been made public.

I used that myself once, back when I was pretending to be from Iosia...

In truth, it was knowledge I knew because I was a mage, but I’d passed it off as something I’d learned because I was the son of an Iosian apothecary.

“So what was the secret art?”

“A potion that determines whether there’s a blood relationship.”

Wait, what? They have something like a twenty-first-century genetic test?

“Well, other physical traits matched too, but that was apparently the decisive factor.”

“I see.”

It was an extremely interesting story, but honestly, it was someone else’s business.

If she comes, I’ll sneak a look.

Would I get the chance to speak to her?

Will she come wearing a crown and everything?

Well, she was a princess, after all.

“Hmm.”

I absentmindedly flipped through the pages.

Of course, back then, I had no idea.

I had no idea what kind of butterfly effect that princess of Casalia would bring into my life.