As usual, Shuher, who had finished preparing early, was eating alone when he called for Emil.

“You called for me, Your Majesty.”

“Has Lady Ibnel risen?”

“Ah, should I say she has risen?”

His gaze turned to Emil at the ambiguous words. Despite his look urging her to speak properly, she had a reason for answering that way.

“I hear she was already not in her room when the maid went.”

It seemed she had prepared alone without calling a maid and left the palace. Emil also couldn’t help but be flustered upon hearing this.

Since no one had seen Ibnel, it meant she had risen even earlier than the servants. Where on earth had she gone so early?

Seeing his silence, Emil hurriedly bowed her head.

“I apologize. You told me to watch her closely. I will search for her immediately.”

“No need. I think I know where she went.”

With those words, Shuher rose from his seat and immediately left the palace. And he recalled what Demil had told him yesterday.

That she had competed with the knights and won the training ground by her own strength. He felt like he had let his guard down and taken a hit.

‘I didn’t expect her to win so easily.’

He took pride in the fact that the knights he led were not inferior in skill. For that, they had been training intensively every day.

But to think all that time would be overturned like this at once.

Shuher turned his feet from heading to his office and went towards the knights’ training ground. If it was Ibnel, she would surely be there.

He had something to tell her anyway.

But for some reason, knights were gathered at the entrance, staring blankly at one spot, so absorbed they didn’t even notice his approach.

“What’s going on?”

“Your Majesty.”

Shuher looked towards the training ground, ignoring those bowing their heads to him. Only then did he notice a person who had been hidden.

Ibnel was silently running there.

With her cumbersome hair tied up, wearing a black training uniform, and even a gun at her waist, she could be mistaken for a knight.

Her face was already covered in sweat, who knew how many laps she had run.

“How long has she been here?”

“She was running like that before we arrived.”

It was Demil who answered Shuher’s question.

Even the knights hadn’t expected her to be here earlier than them, so they had been watching with bewilderment.

Ibnel, who had momentarily stopped to catch her breath, belatedly noticed the eyes on her and calmly approached.

“How long have you been here? Good morning.”

Despite her rather energetic greeting, there was no response. To be more precise, they didn’t know how to react.

After all, until yesterday they had competed as opponents.

Then Shuher stepped forward and asked.

“What are you doing?”

“You can see, can’t you? I was jogging lightly before breakfast. I seem to be quite lacking in stamina.”

For her, training early in the morning was all too familiar. Until now, she just hadn’t done it due to lack of motivation.

Physical training was also necessary for shooting. Moreover, it was even more essential given the special situation of having to face magical beasts.

It felt rather refreshing to run enough to break a sweat after so long.

“Emil brought me this outfit yesterday. It fits perfectly.”

Even to Shuher’s eyes, she looked much more natural than when wearing a dress. As if this was her original appearance.

“Ah, I also received the gun well. Did Your Majesty come to train as well?”

“I have something to tell you.”

Seeing her questioning look, Shuher glanced around. Noticing this, Demil led the knights away so the two could converse comfortably.

Once the surroundings were clear, he calmly informed her of the matter decided yesterday. And he carefully observed Ibnel’s reaction.

“Two weeks from now will be tight. I understand. I’ll prepare too.”

“Is that all you have to say?”

Shuher couldn’t help but ask that, as she neither inquired further about the subjugation nor hesitated to accept. Of course, the decision wouldn’t be reversed no matter what she said.

“Yes. The condition for me staying here from the start was to help when needed, wasn’t it?”

From Ibnel’s perspective, his reaction was even stranger. Why was he asking such a thing when he had even built a separate residence for moments like this?

To Shuher’s eyes, she seemed to be taking it too lightly, so he decided to coldly inform her of the reality.

“Subjugation is completely different from facing a single magical beast. Anything can happen there, and in the worst case, you could die. Even a talented lady like yourself is no exception.”

To her, his words sounded like this:

Even if such a thing happened, he wouldn’t save her, telling her to struggle and survive by her own strength alone.

But Ibnel knew that as well. That the only one who could protect her was herself.

“I know that too, of course. And I’m prepared to accept whatever happens there, whatever it may be.”

Her determination was clearly visible to him as well. It was fortunate that he didn’t have to bother saying annoying words unnecessarily.

“More importantly, I heard you had a match right after arriving yesterday.”

“You must have heard from Lord Demil. Thanks to that, I’m now using this place so confidently. It was quite beneficial for me as well.”

Shuher could also sense Ibnel’s confidence.

“You’re saying you knew you would win from the start?”

“Of course, I had no intention of losing. Ah, I’m absolutely not disparaging the knights’ skills. Lord Shan’s skills were truly excellent. Besides, knights don’t just do shooting.”

She had only stated the facts as they were. Shan had very solid fundamentals. That would surely be the same for the entire knighthood.

“I happened to see the knights of the Estella duchy training, and they were really terrible.”

“There’s bound to be a difference from Aodin when it comes to shooting. We’ve been constantly researching to face magical beasts.”

In contrast, it was only natural that Aodin, accustomed to peaceful days and unprepared, met such an outcome.

Shuher recalled something he needed to confirm regarding this subjugation and asked her.

“I’m asking just in case, but do you know how to ride a horse?”

“A horse? No.”

Ibnel shook her head with embarrassment. There was no way she could ride a horse. In her previous life, even seeing a horse directly was a rare occurrence.

“We’ll be traveling on horseback due to the tight schedule. The route crosses forests and mountain ranges, so moving by carriage is impossible.”

“What should I do then? I have no experience with horseback riding at all.”

“You can handle guns but can’t ride a horse.”

“If I don’t know something, I can learn. I’m confident in my ability to learn.”

Ibnel showed strong determination. There was still time, so she could learn during that period.

“I wonder if there’s anyone who would teach you, Lady.”

Though it might sound cold, Shuher’s words weren’t wrong.

Even now, they were desperate to drive her out, so would anyone volunteer to teach her? Ibnel agreed on that point as well.

“You’re certainly right. Hmm, though two people who could teach me properly do come to mind.”

“Who might that be?”

“Lord Demil and Your Majesty.”

Her hand pointing at Demil in the distance then turned towards Shuher. Seeing that hand, his brow furrowed.

Was she really serious?

“Are you telling me to teach you personally?”

“I brought it up, but I thought it was absurd too.”

As Ibnel smiled awkwardly, Shuher felt incredulous but wanted to hear her reason for thinking so.

“Why Demil and me of all people?”

“You’re the ones I’ve talked with the most in Karies, and you seem like you could teach efficiently within the limited time. I don’t want to waste precious time on unnecessary tension.”

Ibnel had made the decision thinking objectively, but she didn’t intend to insist on it.

“Please assign someone suitable, Your Majesty. It doesn’t really matter who.”

“I’ll assign Lord Demil.”

Rather than following her words, he somewhat agreed with her reasoning. He also didn’t want the schedule to be disrupted over something like this.

“Thank you. I’ll make sure to learn properly before departure.”

Ibnel organized her future training plans in her mind. Physical training, shooting practice, and now horseback riding – it was clear she would be very busy.

“Ah, are there any restricted areas within the imperial palace? Places I shouldn’t go?”

“There aren’t really any such places, as long as you don’t particularly interfere with training or work.”

“I understand. The knights need to train too, so I’ll be going now.”

After obtaining all the necessary information, Ibnel immediately left the training ground. Shuher’s gaze naturally followed her retreating figure.

It felt like an unexpected whirlwind had swept through since morning.

Ibnel, who now returned to the palace without getting lost, took off her clothes and washed off her sweat.

It was still awkward to receive someone’s service. So she didn’t want to rely on others for things she could do on her own if possible.

As she changed clothes and came out, she happened to run into Emil.

“Where have you been, Lady Ibnel? We were surprised when you left without saying anything.”

“Ah, sorry. I went to the training ground. I’m comfortable moving alone, so don’t worry. I don’t particularly need the maids’ help either.”

She thought of Lia, whom she hadn’t seen since yesterday, and asked.

“By the way, where’s Lia?”

“She should be working with the other maids.”

At those words, she decided to put off looking for Lia until later. She didn’t want to disturb her work, and it could cause more resentment because of her.

“I see.”

“I’ll guide you to the dining hall.”

“Thank you. I was just getting hungry.”

Emil guided her to the dining hall within the imperial palace. It was her first time eating here, as she had only eaten in her room until now.

“The meal will be served shortly.”

“Ah, is there a place where I can read books? I feel like I don’t know anything about this place.”

The most urgent thing for Ibnel was information about this place. She needed to learn about Karies for the future as well.

“There’s a library in the imperial palace. There’s also an archive here.”

“Archive? Can I use it too?”

“Yes, it’s fine since important documents and books are stored separately.”

After Emil left, as she was thinking of visiting the archive briefly after eating, suddenly a sharp sound of glass clinking came from nearby.

A plate of food had been placed in front of her. Turning her head, she saw a palace servant standing there.

Judging by the discontented expression, it seemed they had deliberately set the plate down hard.

“Eat.”

As if they had no intention of being polite from the start, they disappeared briskly after saying just that.

Ibnel picked up her utensils without minding.

“Should I be grateful for not starving?”

It was a better choice to eat rather than wasting time arguing, which would only hurt her own mouth anyway.

But beyond the dining hall door, there were discontented eyes watching her.