The next day.

After resting for a day at the inn, the group headed straight to the palace in the capital.

It was to meet King Valter Mariette, Abelson’s father.

“So this is the palace… It’s incredibly magnificent.”

From the outside, it didn’t appear that large in size.

Compared to the Black Giant Star, it was embarrassingly small.

However, its splendor was different.

The palace, built with pure white bricks, was as beautiful as a castle from a fairy tale.

“Is it alright to just go in?”

Abelson walked confidently towards the palace entrance.

Although it had been a long time since she left the palace, she was still undeniably a princess of the Mariette Kingdom.

There was nothing to hesitate about.

“This is the royal palace. Please state your identity and purpose of visit.”

A knight blocked their path.

As befitting a guard of the palace entrance, he wore elaborate armor, and his voice was both weighty and courteous.

‘He’s quite skilled.’

The knight was concealing his magical power.

Given the situation, they couldn’t openly check, but just from the slight leakage of magical power, one could deduce his level of magical control.

“I am Abelson Mariette.”

“Pardon?”

Unlike his previous dignified appearance, the knight blinked with eyes like a rabbit’s.

“I said I’m Abelson Mariette. Sir Maol. Have you forgotten my face already?”

“P-Princess…!?”

The knight called Maol exclaimed in surprise.

Realizing his mistake, he quickly composed himself and continued speaking.

“Ahem! It really is you, Princess. I apologize for questioning you.”

“It’s fine. It’s been a while, Sir Maol.”

“Yes. It’s been over 5 years already. I’m truly relieved to see you safe, Princess.”

“I want to see my father.”

“Understood. However…”

Knight Maol looked at Choi Hyun-seok.

“Who is this person behind you?”

“They’re my companions.”

“Someone whose identity hasn’t been verified cannot have an audience with His Majesty.”

“This person has protected me throughout my journey. I will vouch for their identity, so you need not worry.”

“But…”

“Sir Maol. Not only did you fail to recognize me, but you’re going to embarrass me in front of my benefactor?”

“…”

“It seems the kingdom has changed much in these 5 years. To think the palace would be so cold to members of the royal family.”

Abelson’s voice dripped with frost.

Knight Maol quickly bowed his head.

“I apologize! I’ll contact the inner palace right away.”

Choi Hyun-seok watched the situation with wide eyes.

‘Ms. Abelson seems like a different person.’

He had felt it yesterday too, but after the intense training, Abelson’s demeanor seemed to have changed slightly.

While she had been cold and rigid before, now there was an added sharpness to her manner.

She is strangely aggressive.

“Princess. Please follow me.”

Shortly after, many people came rushing from inside the palace.

They guided the group with overwhelmingly courteous manners.

‘The palace really is on another level.’

Throughout their walk, elaborate decorations continued endlessly.

Gold and jewels were laid everywhere the eye could see.

Choi Hyun-seok looked around like a country bumpkin, constantly expressing amazement.

“Please proceed that way.”

They finally arrived at a massive door.

Presumably, the king would be waiting once these doors opened.

A knight standing in front of the door approached.

“I’ll need to check your belongings.”

Choi Hyun-seok raised his hands to gesture that he had nothing.

“Thank you for your cooperation. However…”

The knight narrowed his eyes.

“What is this dog?”

“As you can see, it’s a dog. Like a pet, haha…!”

Choi Hyun-seok said while hugging Bobo.

“We cannot allow such a beast in an audience with His Majesty.”

“Well, um… This is troublesome.”

Choi Hyun-seok showed an uncharacteristically troubled expression.

‘I can’t exactly tell them ‘pay attention to it if you want to live’, what should I do?’

They had made sure to fill Bobo’s stomach well before coming, just in case.

But you never know what kind of trouble Bobo might cause.

The whole palace could potentially be turned upside down.

“Our servants will safely look after the dog, so please don’t worry.”

“No, that wouldn’t be safe…”

“We are accustomed to such matters. Please trust us and leave it to us.”

“No… Well…”

Just as Choi Hyun-seok was in trouble,

Abelson stepped between the knight and Choi Hyun-seok.

“It’s fine.”

“Princess…?”

“I will take full responsibility if anything happens.”

“…Understood.”

When Abelson spoke firmly, the knight had no choice but to back down.

He turned and knocked on the door.

“Princess Abelson Mariette entering.”

***

King Valter Mariette is a middle-aged man with a benevolent atmosphere.

Despite wearing elaborately decorated clothes and a crown, perhaps due to his plump figure, he had a friendly neighborhood uncle-like approachability.

“I see. So that’s what happened…”

Abelson and the king had a long conversation.

Most of it was about her time as the next Holy Maiden.

They did talk about what happened after being captured by the Demon King’s Army, but not in detail.

She simply ended it by saying there was a misunderstanding and she was being pursued by the Holy Empire of Gatren.

“You’ve been through so much these past 5 years.”

The king held Abelson’s hands.

His eyes were moist with tears.

“That hair color must also be a disguise to avoid pursuit.”

“Yes…”

Abelson nodded while pressing her lips together.

Meeting her father after so long seemed to overwhelm her with emotion.

“Can I stay here from now on?”

“Of course! Most certainly.”

“We don’t know how the Holy Empire will react. They probably already know I’m here.”

“Don’t worry. Our Mariette Kingdom is not that weak.”

The king patted Abelson’s shoulder.

“By the way, who is that man standing behind you?”

“Ah, he’s the hero who protected me during my travels.”

“Hero…”

The king nodded and approached Choi Hyun-seok.

“I apologize. I should have greeted you first.”

“Ah, no. It’s an honor to meet you. Haha…!”

Choi Hyun-seok knew nothing about etiquette.

So he just roughly bowed his head in greeting.

The knights positioned around them made fierce expressions, but he completely ignored them.

Fortunately, the king seemed to have an unpretentious personality and didn’t nitpick about etiquette.

“Thank you for protecting my daughter all this time. Please rest assured from now on.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

“Hahaha! What a spirited young man!”

The king laughed heartily and clapped his hands.

“Well, you must be tired from your long journey, so rest for today. We can continue our conversation later.”

“Yes.”

After brief greetings with the king,

Abelson and Choi Hyun-seok were each shown to their lodgings.

On the way out,

Choi Hyun-seok subtly moved closer to Abelson’s side.

“Ms. Abelson. Are our rooms far apart?”

“What?”

“If possible, please don’t stay too far from me. I think it would be better if our rooms were as close as possible.”

Choi Hyun-seok whispered quietly while checking their surroundings.

Abelson looked puzzled for a moment before nodding.

“Alright. I’ll make arrangements.”

“Yes. I’ll explain the reason later.”

***

Despite Choi Hyun-seok’s request, Abelson and Choi Hyun-seok ended up staying quite far apart.

They were assigned to completely different buildings.

Choi Hyun-seok had asked to at least be in the same building, but the palace wouldn’t allow it.

They said this was already the closest they could manage due to Abelson’s request, so there was nothing more to say.

“I’m sorry. This is the best we could do.”

That evening,

Abelson and Choi Hyun-seok were having tea and talking in the garden.

“It’s fine. Can’t be helped. By the way, Ms. Abel… No, Princess.”

“You can call me casually like before.”

“Hmm, alright.”

After seeing people flip out and throw fits when he called her ‘Ms. Abelson’ earlier in the day, Choi Hyun-seok had taken to calling her ‘Princess’ in public settings.

“So what was it? What you were saying earlier.”

“First, I think we need to clear the surroundings.”

“What?”

Abelson made a puzzled expression.

Currently, no one was around due to her orders.

However, Choi Hyun-seok was frowning while looking somewhere.

“There’s one in the bushes right behind. One in that tree too. Two more on top of that building over there. Seems like there’s another one behind that wall.”

Choi Hyun-seok said while quickly scanning the surroundings.

Abelson checked the directions Choi Hyun-seok pointed to in surprise.

Her face hardened.

Once he pointed them out specifically, she too could detect that someone was there.

“What is the meaning of this…”

At Abelson’s words, a knight in plain clothes emerged from the bushes.

He walked over with squared shoulders, and his bold attitude made Abelson’s expression grow even colder.

“I’m certain I ordered that no one should be around.”

“I apologize. Leaving the princess alone with an outsider is unacceptable…”

“Shut up.”

Late at night.

Abelson’s voice rang out coldly.

“This is your last chance. Make sure no one is around. I don’t know if you’re too stupid to understand, but this includes you all.”

“…Understood.”

The knight withdrew with a stiff face.

Only then did Abelson let out a sigh of relief.

“Phew, it’s finally quiet. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Haha! I’m enjoying seeing many new sides of you.”

“…”

Abelson’s face turned slightly red.

She seemed to be recalling her words and actions belatedly.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just joking.”

Choi Hyun-seok smiled and called Rachel.

“Rachel. Can you block sounds in the area?”

“Yes. I can block vision too if you want!”

“That won’t be necessary. Just block sound – we don’t want them barging in thinking something happened.”

“Got it!”

Rachel used magic to block out noise.

Once they were completely alone, Choi Hyun-seok got to the main point.

“I’ll continue what I was saying earlier today.”

He continued with a serious expression.

“Something feels off.”

“Off?”

“Yes. Both when we were talking with His Majesty earlier, and now – people are gradually leaving the palace.”

“What…?”

Since arriving at the palace, Choi Hyun-seok hadn’t let his guard down for a moment.

He had spread his magical power widely to check the surroundings for threats.

As a result, he could tell that many people in the palace were moving busily.

“At first I thought I was being oversensitive, but now I’m certain. Something is wrong.”

“What exactly feels wrong?”

“The knights guarding this place – the royal knights you mentioned – have all left.”

“What? What do you mean…?”

“Other than the five who were just watching us, there are no royal knights anywhere nearby.”

The Royal Knights were the most important force protecting the palace.

They guard the palace under any circumstances.

It was almost unheard of for them to leave the palace as a group.

“Could it be because of training…?”

“Would they empty the palace like this even for training? Not even leaving half behind?”

“Well, no, but…”

“The Royal Knights, the core defensive force, are leaving the palace right when you arrive.”

“…”

“I don’t want to doubt your father, but shouldn’t we be prepared?”

Choi Hyun-seok continued with a grave expression.

“And we’ve had a similar experience before.”

“Similar experience…”

“Gardrak Castle. Do you remember?”

The 8th Division headquarters, Gardrak Castle.

At that time, during a large-scale war, the 8th Division Commander Crocodile-head Grat carried out a plan to leave the castle and counter-attack the humans.

Most forces left Gardrak Castle then, but for some reason, only Choi Hyun-seok and Abelson remained in the castle.

“It turned out to be a setup with the humans, and if we had stayed in Gardrak Castle, we could have died.”

If Reidrun hadn’t made the decision for them to leave the castle to save them, they might have died there.

“Withdrawing defensive forces and letting in outside enemies. Only the stage has changed from Gardrak Castle to the palace, but isn’t the situation almost identical?”

“…”

It was too coincidental to be mere speculation.

Abelson was confused.

‘Father… Why…?’

She didn’t want to believe it.

But if she didn’t trust Choi Hyun-seok, there was no one else to trust.

That’s when Choi Hyun-seok gave a comfortable smile.

“Don’t worry too much.”

“…”

“I’m not saying we need to do something right away, just that we should be careful. I could be wrong, you know.”

“Yes…”

Abelson nodded, but her expression was dark.

The palace air that had felt so cozy seemed to have changed.

The cool night air began seeping between the folds of her clothes.

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