***
“Good morning!”
Waving my hand cheerfully, I greeted Serdin as he approached from a distance.
“I knew you’d come for a walk here.”
This was the path Serdin always used to walk when he stayed here.
Now that he was back, I figured he’d want to stroll down it again.
And I was right.
As I smiled proudly at my foresight, Serdin returned my smile and said softly,
“I knew you’d be waiting here, so I came to meet you.”
“Huh?”
“I came to see you. I just knew you’d be here.”
With that, he naturally sat down beside me, as if we’d arranged this beforehand.
“You kept your promise. I thought you’d forget about me.”
“Of course not. I told you I wouldn’t forget.”
“But you know you lost the bet, right?”
Huh? What bet?
“No, I recognized you!”
“You didn’t recognize me right away, though.”
“…Ugh.”
That was because the Archmage had been so distracting.
And because his eye color had changed, I initially thought he was someone else…
I pursed my lips in frustration.
No, denying it would just make me seem petty.
“What’s your wish?”
I decided to admit my loss gracefully.
“But it has to be something I can realistically do for you.”
“Is that all?”
“Also, it has to be something I can fulfill before you return to Ilnord.”
There, that should cover it.
“Alright, tell me.”
“Alright.”
Serdin’s eyes curved gently with delight.
It seemed he already had a wish in mind.
What could it be?
As I waited, slightly nervous, Serdin’s lips slowly parted.
“My wish is…”
***
“Oh my… You’ve surpassed all my expectations. How is this even possible?”
Monia covered her mouth with both hands, staring at me with an expression of awe.
“I’ve watched you since the day you were born, but today, you’re the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. From now on, even if it’s not a special day, you should…”
“No. If there had been even one more day like today, I would have run away.”
Before she could finish her sentence, I quickly cut her off.
Once was more than enough.
And I meant it.
Looking back on the grueling preparations of the past week… I couldn’t go through that again.
‘So today has finally arrived.’
From today, a three-day spring banquet would commence, followed by the official Foundation Day ceremony.
Today marked the beginning of it all with the spring banquet ball held in the imperial palace.
Over the next month, numerous grand and small banquets would take place across the empire.
But of all these, today’s event was the largest, most extravagant, and the one people looked forward to the most.
Because of this, the morning had been hectic with preparations to attend the banquet.
The stars of the spring banquet were the young adults making their debut in society this year.
Their parents took a step back, watching from the sidelines as supporting characters.
Delight and Blueny were no exception.
Delight and Blueny came to see me before the banquet.
And now—
“This is a big problem. Even in a hall full of people, everyone will only see our Ollia,”
Delight muttered gravely, staring at me after I finished getting ready.
“They’ll all be asking to dance with you.”
His brow furrowed deeply, as if he could already picture it happening.
“That’s great. It means everyone likes Ollia,”
Blueny said, sounding more excited than worried.
“In fact, why don’t you dance with as many of them as possible?”
“Really?”
Surprised by her response, I asked again.
“That way, no one will harbor false hope.”
Of course.
Delight looked like he had made up his mind about something, standing there with a determined expression.
“It’s fine. I’ve already decided who I’m dancing with.”
“What? The banquet hasn’t even started yet. Who’s the— Wait, don’t tell me…?”
“I’m dancing with Serdin.”
That was Serdin’s wish—the one he mentioned as the reward for winning our bet.
“Dance with me at the banquet.”
It was a wish that met all the conditions: something I could do with my abilities and something I could fulfill before he returned to Ilnord.
“Alright. I’ll dance with Serdin at the banquet.”
There was no reason to refuse his wish.
“What did you just say?!”
However, Delight’s reaction was different.
He clenched his fists as if he absolutely couldn’t accept it, his tone filled with indignation.
“To dance with Prince Serdin first at the spring banquet! You might as well dance with your father instead!”
“Dancing with one’s father at the spring banquet is like declaring you’ve given up on spring itself.”
“………”
“Don’t even think about it.”
Blueny cut off Delight’s delusion decisively.
“Ahem. Wouldn’t it be better to choose someone suitable at the banquet instead of Prince Serdin?”
Delight tried to persuade me, but it was no use.
“I’ve already promised Serdin.”
“……Ugh.”
Delight clutched his chest dramatically.
Was it really that shocking to him?
I was starting to wonder if I needed to comfort him when he said,
“If you dance with the Prince of Ilnord, there will be many rumors and speculations.”
This time, he seemed genuinely concerned.
Was he trying to scare me into changing my mind?
Either way, I didn’t care about such things.
If anything, this was actually a good thing.
“This will just make it more talked about, won’t it?”
This wasn’t part of the plan before Serdin mentioned his wish.
But now that I thought about it, there couldn’t be a better combination to stir up attention during this banquet.
Either way, it would become a topic of conversation among the people.
Seeing that his words weren’t having any effect, Delight’s lips drooped in disappointment.
While I was prepared to deflect anything he said, this time his reaction felt different.
His face darkened, and instead of showing excitement or frustration, he looked serious.
It was even more concerning to see him like this than when he was upset.
“Ollia. It’s been ten years since you last saw Prince Serdin. And now, he’s here as an envoy from Ilnord.”
Delight spoke in a calm, subdued voice, his tone much different from earlier.
“He may no longer be the prince you once knew.”
It was a sincere piece of advice.
In other words, he was telling me not to trust Serdin too much.
“Prince Serdin is from Ilnord. You can never truly know what’s on his mind.”
This was a rational suspicion from Delight, speaking as an Emperor.
“If he doesn’t meet your expectations, don’t let it hurt you too much.”
And as a father, he was worried that I might get hurt because of it.
***
Serdin dressed in formal attire for the banquet.
He slicked his hair back neatly.
After a final check in the mirror to adjust his appearance, Serdin picked up a sealed envelope from the table and left his room.
The letter—or rather, the report—was meant to be sent to Ilnord.
He headed to Hayron’s room to hand it over, as Hayron would use magic to deliver it directly to the Emperor of Ilnord.
Unlike during his time as a hostage, sending letters and maintaining contact was no longer difficult.
Thinking about this, Serdin paused in the corridor and looked back.
The imperial palace hadn’t changed much in the past ten years.
‘But not being here as a hostage changes everything.’
The feeling was strange.
Memories from the past kept resurfacing in his mind.
“When I become Emperor, you’ll regret this.”
He still remembered the words he had spoken to Delight ten years ago.
At the time, they had been said out of sheer emotion.
But after returning to Ilnord, those words, which had once been an empty boast, gradually became his genuine resolve.
He no longer wanted to smile as though nothing was wrong while being ignored and belittled, just to survive.
All Serdin wanted was to live true to himself.
To do that, he needed to become Emperor.
And he was willing to do anything to achieve that goal.
To succeed, he had to flawlessly accomplish what the Emperor of Ilnord desired.
Serdin pulled out the vial he always carried with him and examined it.
It was transparent, but upon closer inspection, tiny particles floated within.
‘As I thought, this must be liquidized counterfeit magic stone.’
Although the Emperor hadn’t explicitly stated its contents, Serdin knew what it was.
The production of counterfeit magic stones in Ilnord was a closely guarded secret.
Even Serdin had not been officially informed about it.
However, during his time in Ilnord, he had secretly gathered bits and pieces of information about the counterfeit magic stones on his own.
Ilnord, having succeeded in producing counterfeit magic stones, was now researching various ways to utilize them.
This transparent liquid was likely one of those experiments.
If consumed, it would mimic the effects of prolonged use of a counterfeit magic stone.
‘Then it will cause the side effect of berserk symptoms, won’t it?’
The Emperor of Ilnord seemed to be banking on this effect.
He intended to use the counterfeit magic stone to turn Princess Ollia of Promian into a hostage.
If the princess’s life depended on Ilnord’s resources, the Emperor of Promian would have to make a choice.
Would he bow to Ilnord to save the princess?
Or would he abandon her?
‘Is this how Ilnord operates?’
Serdin’s mind was in turmoil.
Letting out a quiet sigh, he resumed walking.
For now, he had no choice but to act according to the Emperor’s wishes.
Serdin arrived at Hayron’s room.
“I’ve brought the letter to be sent to Ilnord.”
He knocked and waited, but there was no response.
‘Is he out?’
When Serdin opened the door, he found the room empty.
‘Where did he go?’
Hayron was nowhere to be seen.
Serdin was about to leave, but then he paused.
Turning his head, he glanced back into the room.
‘What is that…?’
