Kaon sat down, setting down a glass of lemon juice. He’d taken the tray from the maid himself to ease his nerves. It was ridiculous, really. There was only a single curtain blocking the way, but he was nervous about passing through it.

He sat down, and Alessia, who had looked at the condensation droplets on the surface of the cold glass, took a careful sip.

“It’s delicious! So refreshingly sweet and cool!” Her eyes widened, her cautiousness thrown to the wind as she gulped the juice down.

Kaon wondered if she knew what lemon juice was and that was why she like it so much, but it was also weird to see her react like it was her last meal.

‘Does she just like to eat?’

He decided to move on. He had more important things to think about.

Kaon bowed politely. “I would like to apologize for Yvonne’s disrespect, Alessia.”

“No, no, as I’ve already told Sir Duval earlier, I don’t really mind.” She waved her hands, smiling like she always did.

Her generous forgiveness made Kaon feel even guiltier, but apologizing any more would be burdensome, so he decided to bring up the main topic. “Yvonne has a bad memory of mages.”

Two years ago, a mage who had been dispatched to Ferdinand had claimed that his powers were exhausted. However, he had already missed the inspection several times for various reasons, and due to that insincere attitude, was scheduled to return to the Tower. In the end, the knights had gone out to the forest without a mage.

“Several of the knights in Yvonne’s unit were wounded and killed that evening.”

The reason why the mage’s negligence had not caused any problems previously was that the forest had been quiet for several weeks at that time. It was a terrible coincidence that a group of hungry monsters had gone wild and passed the borders.

“Yvonne’s closest friend passed away that day. He was her childhood friend.”

Kaon had seen her cry for the first time that day. Had seen the uncommonly talented knight cry like a child.

“She held onto the coffin and cried until she was exhausted. Yvonne staggered like someone possessed and went straight to the mage’s quarters. Of course, she was stopped because harming the mage would ultimately do more harm than good, and she failed to achieve her purpose.”

Yvonne hadn’t even been able to touch the mage’s collar. Her fellow knights had stopped her because they didn’t know what would happen if she attacked a mage from the Tower.

“Still, the mage returned and protested fiercely, and as a result, she was sentenced to probation for three months. Since that incident, she’s become extremely vigilant and hostile against mages.”

“…That’s understandable. I would have been the same.” Alessia’s face darkened.

Kaon winced. It was uncomfortable to tell the story to a mage, but it seemed a better option than leaving her clueless as to why Yvonne hated her.

“Like Niels said, she doesn’t act recklessly during inspections. However, if she makes you even more uncomfortable, then I’ll step in.”

He sympathized with Yvonne, but that didn’t mean she could keep crossing the line. Again, this wasn’t a concern for Alessia, just a concern for the knights’ discipline.

“No, Kaon, you don’t have to.”

“But, Alessia…”

She shook her head firmly, her determination seemingly at odds with her small stature, then smiled mischievously. “I’ll tell you when I need help. Please help me then”

“Of course,” he answered immediately.

But he knew deep in his bones that Alessia would never ask for help.

***

Lying in bed, Kaon stared at the passage. Not a single glimmer of moonlight passed through the thick velvet curtains that had replaced the annoying lace ones.

“Apparently, Miss Alessia had requested it first. She wants to join the inspections as soon as possible.”

Joseph’s words had come as quite a shock to him, as he expected such a request to come from Leonida first.

‘Why?’

He kept thinking, but he couldn’t find an answer. No mage ever appreciated going to the forest of monsters, even though it was an excellent opportunity for research. Did she perhaps not realize that she could lose her life?

“Why in the world…?”

“What?”

Kaon closed his eyes. It seemed he was having hallucinations now after too much thinking and too little sleep.

“Kaon?”

“Alessia?” But he’d never heard of hallucinations being able to make appropriate conversation. He jolted to a seated position.

“What were you saying? I heard my name.”

“…Did you hear me?”

“…A little bit?”

The suite was so spacious that he hadn’t even thought it was possible, but at the same time, it was believable that the sound could be carried over since it was a quiet night.

He carefully opened his mouth, “I heard that you asked Leonida to go to the monster forest first.”

“Yes, I did,” Alessia answered without hesitation. “She asked if I needed anything while we were eating lunch.” Her quiet voice sounded so different from what he was used to. “I said I didn’t need anything, but that I had a request.”

Which was the request to participate in the inspections.

Kaon was still confused. Even Leonida must have been surprised.

“Isn’t it too early? The mage from the Tower is expected to stay in the duchy until the end of the year. Also, even knights must be at least seventeen to participate.”

No matter how much he thought about it, it seemed too unreasonable to let her join the inspections now. Even skilled mages sometimes froze in the face of the monsters, not because they were cowards, but because the monsters were just that terrifying.

Knights were given time to adjust during their first few inspections.

“Thanks for your concern, Kaon,” she said, halting the litany of worries running through his mind. “It’s fine. I have to do it at some point.”

‘Yes, but that doesn’t mean you have to do it in advance, right?’

He sincerely hoped she would reconsider her decision.

”I think it will be easier to learn if I experience it,” Alessia replied maturely. “Although it’s a little scary since it will be the first time I’ll see a monster. I don’t know if I can do it well…”

Maybe it was just the late hour, maybe it was just an illusion, but she seemed different somehow. More cynical than cheerful.

“I will do well, though. It’s my role here, so I want to perform it well.” She sounded optimistic once again, as if the darkness in her voice earlier had just been in Kaon’s imagination. “Then I’ll be recognized, right?”

“I’m sure you will be.”

“…Thank you.”

Kaon wondered what kind of face she was making from behind the velvet.