‘What am I thinking?’

No one was listening in on his thoughts, but he immediately denied them.

‘She isn’t adorable, she just looked adorable at that moment.’

Alessia held out her hand to him first, the second time in the entire time they had known each other, and she smiled when their eyes met. “I’m looking forward to living here. Please take care of me in the future, Kaon.”

“I hope you enjoy your life in Ferdinand…” he trailed off before softly adding, “Alessia.”

Her eyes turned into crescents, and Kaon had a feeling that her brilliant smile would stay with him for a long time.

***

A quiet atmosphere surrounded the dinner banquet. The occasional polite question was asked, such as whether the travel route was peaceful, if the room was satisfactory, and if there was anything else that could be done.

Leonida didn’t ask anything else. The words, “I hope you have a comfortable stay,” marked the end of the banquet.

“The estate’s cook is very skilled. The grilled turkey was especially excellent! The cream sauce was so soft; it wasn’t greasy at all,” Alessia said on their way up the stairs, so enthusiastic that her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were lit up like lanterns.

This was the most excited Kaon had seen her since they first met.

‘She looks like she’s a picky eater, but…’

Alessia was so petite that he assumed she was fussy about her food, so it was refreshing to see her eat so well. Her healthy appetite made her feel more relatable somehow, more human and less otherworldly.

“The desserts were really good too. How did they make the cream pink?”

“As far as I know, they added dried and powdered strawberries to it.”

“Oh my goodness! Really? That’s fascinating.”

She had been that excited and admiring too when the chef proudly shared his creations earlier.

‘Doesn’t Ingelos have desserts?’

Kaon frowned. The trend of making colorful desserts started from the social circles within the capital and spread to all the corners of the realm. Since the quality of the desserts was a measure of how wealthy a family was, most of the nobility spared no money for their kitchen budget.

In their mansion’s case, it was just that their chef enthusiastically devoted himself to his cooking, which was the only reason why Kaon knew of the trend and the nature of the sweets they ate.

But Ingelos wasn’t a no-name family either…

‘Well, they probably weren’t in the position to splurge on desserts.’

Sugar was still one of the most expensive ingredients on the market. If someone was in a bad enough situation that they had to ally with their enemies for money, desserts would undoubtedly be a needless luxury.

“At Ingelos, we don’t value food very much,” Alessia explained in tandem with his thoughts.

So they disliked sunlight and food, which was… suspicious, to say the least, but Kaon kept his mouth shut. He was more curious about something else.

‘You’re very observant, aren’t you?’

He’d thought it was just a coincidence, but the more he looked at her, the more quick-witted she seemed. Even though he didn’t voice all his thoughts, she spoke as if responding to them. She always looked like she was reading the room.

Which was great, really. She wasn’t selfish or insensitive like most of the troublesome mages he’d encountered either in the flesh or in rumors.

They quickly and silently reached the second floor.

Kaon stopped in front of her door, taking a deep breath. “I’ll stay in my own room, Alessia. It will be more convenient for you to use the room alone, so please be at ease,” he said, reciting the words he had mulled over during dinner.

“But Kaon, they prepared a room for us to share. Is it okay to do that?” she asked cautiously, eyes wide.

“You don’t have to worry about that. It must be difficult for you to adjust to a new land, so let’s just do what’s more comfortable for the both of us.” He nodded in reassurance.

Perhaps Leonida would scold him, or Baroness Robert would nag him, but that was tolerable. His future—their future—was already set in cold stone anyway.

“Thank you so much. I don’t know how to thank you for your consideration.”

“It’s only natural. In the first place…” Kaon bit back his words.

Wouldn’t it be rude to say, “In the first place, isn’t it absurd to suddenly share a room?”

Instead, he said, “See you tomorrow, Alessia. I hope you have a good night.”

Kaon turned around to step closer to his own room, opposite hers, feeling a little proud of himself. After all, a knight never abandoned their comrades. The two of them were destined to be on the same boat, so they had to look out for each other.

He turned the doorknob.

Or at least tried.

“…?”

Clink. Clink.

An ominous sound filled the hallway. He tried twisting the knob with more force and knocking on the door, but it still did not open.

Feeling a chill streak down his spine, Kaon walked down the hallway to look at the state of the other rooms.

His hunch was correct.

All of the doors on their floor were stuck.