"It’s a little difficult for me to speak informally."
Mary said this with an awkward expression.
Mary was someone who was always conscious of others.
Although she was a member of the imperial family, she was not accustomed to speaking casually and found it difficult to treat those beneath her rudely.
"Has this person perhaps made Your Highness uncomfortable?"
Kalius looked at Eliana with an openly hardened expression.
Eliana did not avoid his gaze. Instead, she smiled politely.
To be honest, she wanted to snap back and ask what he was staring at.
But if she did that, she might be dragged off to prison for insulting a noble, so she forced herself to hold back.
Kalius clicked his tongue when he saw Eliana’s smile, frowned sharply, and turned his gaze away.
‘What was that look of contempt?’
Eliana withdrew the smile that had gained her nothing.
Mary, apparently unaware of Kalius’s expression, smiled brightly and praised Eliana.
"No! It’s the opposite. Lately, thanks to Eliana, I’ve been learning what it means to be myself."
"Yourself?"
"Um… well."
Kalius asked again with a puzzled expression.
Mary looked around as if searching for an easy way to explain.
After a moment, she lightly struck her palm with her fist and lifted the hem of her dress.
"Ah! For example, this dress."
"What does that dress have to do with you being yourself?"
Kalius still looked unconvinced.
"It’s the first outfit I chose myself. I always used to wear only the clothes given to me, but when I started choosing them myself and failing over and over again, it was difficult but also very enjoyable. I’ve never felt like this before."
"You enjoyed something so troublesome? Did this person perhaps push her own work onto Your Highness?"
"No! Eliana stayed up late helping me choose! It probably would have been faster for her to do it alone."
At Mary’s protest, Kalius glanced at Eliana.
Judging by his expression, it seemed he thought she might be somewhat useful after all.
It was not praise Eliana particularly wanted to hear.
Eliana shrugged.
Kalius turned his gaze back to Mary and held out the veil.
"Is this acceptable as the accessory you said you needed?"
"Yes! It’s exactly the veil I was thinking of! I just couldn’t remember the word veil."
Mary spoke energetically and reached out to take it.
But Kalius did not hand it over.
Instead, he placed the veil directly over Mary’s head.
With a soft rustling sound, Mary’s vision was covered by the veil.
Kalius lowered his head and, in the briefest instant, kissed her lips.
"You look beautiful."
When Kalius smiled at her through the veil, Mary’s face flushed bright red.
Having witnessed the entire scene, Eliana felt her hands curl inward.
At that moment, her eyes met Kalius’s.
He stared coldly and jerked his head toward the door, signaling for her to leave.
‘What? I was about to leave anyway… but now that he’s ordering me to, I suddenly don’t want to.’
Originally, Eliana had been here first.
It was a situation where a rolling stone was trying to push out a stone that had already settled in place. Of course, the rolling stone was Kalius.
A rebellious feeling slowly rose within Eliana.
Even though she had received the signal, Eliana remained standing where she was.
Kalius spoke.
"Are you going to keep standing there?"
"I still have something to do with Her Highness."
"How insolent."
Kalius let out a short scoff.
The atmosphere darkened instantly.
Although all the windows were closed, a faint wind began to swirl around Eliana.
The door opened by itself.
‘So he’s using magic now?’
Eliana clenched her teeth as she remembered that Kalius was a wind mage.
This was not just an ordinary breeze.
It was magic deliberately meant to drive Eliana out.
Eliana struggled to endure as the wind pushed against her body.
‘This isn’t even a matter of pride. What is this?’
She did not want to leave as if she were being chased away. Even if she left, she would leave on her own feet.
For a moment, Eliana imagined splashing Kalius with water.
What if the germaphobic man ended up looking like a drowned rat?
The thought alone was satisfying.
Of course, she could never actually do something like that.
Only briefly distracted by that thought, Eliana tried to raise an ice wall to block the wind pushing her back.
‘I’ve practiced quite a bit, so I’ll make a big wall and show him properly.’
Eliana opened her mana core.
And then…
Splash.
"Gasp!"
"Eek!"
"..."
A moment of silence.
Eliana stared blankly at Mary and Kalius, both soaked with water.
Through his drenched hair, Kalius’s eyes gleamed sharply as he glared at Eliana.
His gaze was murderous, as if he might kill her at any moment.
I only imagined it!
As Eliana stepped back awkwardly, Kalius spoke in a cold voice.
"...What exactly are you doing?"
‘I should be the one asking that!’
Eliana protested silently to her own body.
What on earth was this supposed to be?
Was it trying to get its owner killed?
Of course, no answer would come. Her body could not speak.
Cold sweat trickled down her back.
She had thought she had become fairly skilled at using magic lately while learning from Velkirei, but it seemed she had been too confident.
Facing the worst possible situation before her, Eliana began to sweat nervously.
"Th there… I mean…."
She needed to come up with some kind of excuse in front of Kalius’s overwhelming killing intent, but the words would not come out properly.
‘I definitely only imagined it!’
Eliana felt wronged.
She had only briefly thought that splashing him with water would feel refreshing.
The problem was that she was still inexperienced with magic and had not properly controlled the line between imagination and casting.
The thought she had just imagined must have been activated first, creating this disaster.
This was exactly why she should never have used magic on a person if she could not control it properly. Yet she had stubbornly created trouble for herself when she did not need to.
‘Kalius was threatening me so much that I instinctively tried to stand my ground….’
At that moment, Eliana’s skirt fluttered violently. A fierce wind blew around her.
As Eliana slowly stepped backward, Kalius approached.
D Don’t come closer!
Each step Kalius took left wet footprints.
The splashing sound, the violent wind, and his drenched figure with that fierce gaze.
It was pure terror.
Eliana’s back hit the wall.
With nowhere left to retreat, Eliana squeezed her eyes shut.
At this rate, she felt she might be killed by Kalius before Velkirei ever got the chance.
Still, thinking he surely would not actually kill her, she opened her eyes slightly.
But she quickly shut them again.
Surely not? No, he really looked like he might kill her.
Eliana was terrified of the furious Kalius.
It seemed her fate ended here.
Yes. Perhaps it had already been a miracle that she had survived this long through sheer improvisation.
Just as Eliana waited for Kalius’s judgment in her mind, a clear burst of laughter shattered the silence.
"Ahaha!"
Mary, who had been standing stiffly until now, suddenly burst out laughing.
At that bright laughter, Kalius stopped walking.
Eliana also opened her eyes and looked at Mary.
Why was she laughing all of a sudden?
For a moment, Eliana wondered if Mary had gone mad from the shock of being splashed with water.
In a situation where she should be angry, Mary was laughing.
And judging by her expression, it did not seem like mocking laughter.
She looked genuinely delighted.
"...Mary?"
Kalius called her name blankly.
He looked just as surprised as Eliana.
Mary paid no attention to the two of them staring at her and continued laughing while holding her stomach.
Her laughter echoed clearly through the room, breaking the frightening silence.
But unlike her, the other two could not laugh.
Or rather, Kalius could not.
Eliana quickly regained her senses and smiled brightly.
Then she quickly moved beside Mary, avoiding Kalius, who still looked stunned.
It was because she had a feeling that Mary would take her side.
At the very least, if she stayed beside Mary, Kalius would not be able to touch her.
"Where do you think you’re going!"
As Eliana hid behind Mary, Kalius finally frowned and approached.
Just then, Mary spoke to Eliana.
"Ah, really. Eliana, you’re the best."
Mary had barely managed to stop laughing as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
Hearing her unusually high tone, Eliana relaxed slightly.
She did not know what exactly had happened, but Mary clearly was not angry.
At Mary’s words, Kalius stopped the wind.
It seemed he had also realized Mary’s reaction.
"Are you alright?"
Kalius reached out to squeeze the water from Mary’s hair, but she waved her hand and stopped him.
Mary looked extremely cheerful, as if something that had been blocked inside her had suddenly burst free.
With an excited expression, as if she had just finished playing in water, Mary said,
"This is the first time I’ve ever been splashed with water like this!"
"I I’m sorry, Your Highness."
Eliana quickly bowed her head with an apologetic expression.
After all, she had dropped a sudden shower of water out of nowhere.
Mary must have been startled.
But Mary spoke with a bright face.
"I’m not blaming you. It was actually very fun. Whenever I’m with you, Eliana, I always experience something new. It feels strange."
"You might catch a cold."
Kalius spoke with concern, then shot Eliana a sharp glance.
His expression clearly said that if the princess caught a cold, he would have her head.
Only then did Eliana suddenly realize something and grabbed Mary’s collar.
"Ah I’ll dry you right away!"