Early morning sunlight streamed through the gauzy curtains.
Franndo was the first to wake up.
She discovered that her entire body was practically tangled around Isavel, her legs draped over Isavel’s waist, and her arms encircling her neck.
Isavel still lay flat, maintaining her posture as if she were a statue entwined by vines.
Franndo’s face instantly flushed bright red. She tried, ever so carefully, to “untangle” herself.
But at that moment, Isavel woke up.
Her lips curved in a teasing arc as she whispered, “Your Majesty, your sleeping posture last night was much wilder than the ‘nightmare’ you described.”
Franndo buried her face into the pillow, seemingly overcome by shyness.
“…Don’t say that!”
“Now you’re embarrassed? And who was it last night that swore up and down, ‘It’s just sleeping’?”
“Wasn’t it just that?”
“So if we’re not sleeping, what did you have in mind?”
Realizing the meaning behind Isavel’s words, even Franndo’s ears turned red. Still, she stubbornly retorted.
“Hmph, doing that would tarnish the Empress. You’d be arrested!”
Isavel sat up, her black hair cascading like a waterfall. Leaning in close to Franndo, she gently lifted her chin with a finger. “Would you really bear to arrest me? My Empress.”
With that, she rose from the bed, leaving Franndo alone, blushing and heart pounding from the ambiguous gesture and the way she’d been addressed, unable to come back to her senses for a long while.
Still, this time, she didn’t flee in panic.
After all, pulling the covers over her head and hiding beneath the pillow seemed a better way to hide her embarrassment than running away.
……
In the blink of an eye, the Rose Knights, led by Isavel, had all arrived at Mills City.
Since they would be living here for three months, on the first day, Isavel gave everyone the day off so they could get familiar with the city and purchase the necessities they’d need for their stay.
Coming out of the bustling street, Leanna was hugging a pile of boxes, mumbling to herself:
“Three months, huh? These whetstones should be enough, I suppose.”
“Whetstones? Come on, Captain, we’re supposed to be studying Magic for the next three months.”
Meilin’s mouth twitched—she was sure Leanna had bought the wrong things.
“So what? Didn’t you hear Isavel’s difficult orders? In these three months, we not only have to pass the Final Magic Examination, but we also have to reach Thirty Level and above! Also, you…”
Leanna stuffed the boxes into her tote bag, then looked suspiciously at the jewelry box in Meilin’s hand.
“Although Isavel gave us a generous budget, why did you buy so much jewelry?”
Noticing her attention, Meilin immediately hid the jewelry behind her back and darted her eyes up at the sky, her voice full of guilt.
“It’s my hobby.”
“Really? I don’t recall you being all that into jewelry.”
“What do you know? S-some of it is for my Mother.”
“Is that all? I see a pair in black and white… Don’t tell me those are for the Saintess?”
Leanna took a few quick steps forward, almost pressing her face to Meilin’s.
Meilin bit her lip, a bead of sweat appearing on her forehead—her guilty conscience was written all over her face.
Everyone was buying necessities together, but here she was, sneaking around to buy gifts for the Saintess.
If the others found out, they’d probably call her a thieving cat!
But so what?
She liked the Saintess and was determined to buy gifts for her!
They didn’t buy gifts only because they didn’t like her enough!
Besides… even though Aelia hadn’t come with them this time, she could bet that Aelia definitely bought a gift for the Saintess too!
With that thought, Meilin’s guilt transformed into righteous confidence.
“Tch, so what? You’re the one being silly, only buying whetstones for yourself—Magic training doesn’t even wear out your weapons.”
“Anyway, Isavel gave us plenty of budget. Why can’t I spend some on gifts for the Saintess? It means I like her! But you guys—hmph—so ungrateful!”
Leanna hastily argued:
“Ungrateful? I keep all of Saintess Isavel’s kindness in my heart! And I know, the best way to repay her is to improve myself and become a perfect Rose Knight who doesn’t make her worry!”
“That’s why I bought so many whetstones. Besides, I’m the squad leader—if I don’t set an example, how can you guys follow me?”
She closed her eyes, swept her hair back, and put on a sacrificial air, as if bearing all this for everyone’s sake—completely unaware that Meilin was frowning and growing more suspicious.
Thinking this, Meilin quietly edged closer and reached toward the box full of whetstones. Only then did Leanna realize what she was doing.
Clatter—
The box slipped and fell to the ground. The lid popped open, revealing a string of exquisite jewelry instead of whetstones.
Meilin glanced up at Leanna, who hurriedly blinked and put on an innocent face.
“Oh, you! Thieving cat!”
“What thieving cat? What are you talking about? Who stuffed jewelry into my whetstone box? So annoying!”
Meilin raised her hand to swat at Leanna, who laughed and darted away down the street.
Behind them, Teresa covered her mouth, giggling at the scene.
Only during a break like this would Leanna put aside her role as squad leader and act like a real girl, laughing and playing.
No matter how mature Leanna seemed, she was still just a teenager.
But…
Teresa turned to look at Aixi, who stood beside her.
Aixi was the captain of the fourth squad—a golden-haired girl who had helped them defeat the Dragonkin Demon at Sand Fortress.
But Teresa had noticed that when Leanna joked about giving all the jewelry to her Mother, Aixi’s expression had clearly dimmed.
She seemed both lost and anxious.
She, too, must have a painful past.
Quietly, Teresa stepped closer and asked, “Aixi, did you get all your essentials?”
“I suppose so, but there’s still some money left…”
“Save it. If you ever want to buy someone a gift, you’ll have it.”
“Mm.”
Aixi bowed her head, took a deep breath, and hid her emotions away. Then she changed the subject.
“By the way, Teresa, why did you buy so many Magic materials?”
“I need them for my work as Tutor Assistant.”
“Tutor Assistant? What’s that?”
Leanna and Meilin stopped chasing each other and gathered curiously in front of Teresa.
Raising an eyebrow, Teresa cleared her throat, pressed a hand to her chest, and blinked with feigned innocence.
“Eh? You didn’t know? Isavel appointed me as the Tutor Assistant for these three months. That means, when the Mentor isn’t around, I’m your Magic Mentor.”
“If you’d like, you can try calling me Mentor now.”
“…Huh? So the real thieving cat is here?!”
What had started as a chase between two people suddenly included Teresa.
Silvery laughter echoed through the streets; passersby turned their heads, and seeing it was a group of young girls, couldn’t help but smile knowingly.
Teenage years—such is the springtime of girlhood.