“So you’re saying that I have an ability that has been passed down for generations in Aodin?”

Having heard a rough story from Shuher, Davian couldn’t believe it and had no choice but to keep asking.

She knew about the divine blessings passed down to the two empires. But it was only bewildering that she possessed it.

Shuher was closely observing Davian’s reaction.

“You didn’t know about this at all?”

“No, not at all. I can’t believe it even as I’m hearing it from Your Majesty now.”

Ibnel could understand how Davian felt. It would naturally be hard to believe if told overnight that you were a being with special abilities.

Just like she had been.

“It’s not unreasonable not to know. It’s not common to encounter magical beasts.”

“Then what should I do from now on…?”

“You will stay in the imperial palace. With treatment befitting your ability.”

Shuher had no reason to let Davian go. She was a being of value greater than gold that had rolled into his grasp of her own accord.

“I’m going to stay in the imperial palace?”

“From what I saw earlier, you don’t seem to have anywhere else to go.”

“That’s…”

Just by looking at her appearance, one could tell at a glance that she had lived a difficult life. From his perspective, it was a welcome thing to be able to hold onto Davian firmly.

As Davian hesitated to make a decision, Ibnel stepped in at the right moment.

“I think it would be good for you to stay in the imperial palace as well, since you can gradually learn about your abilities later. We will never do anything that could harm you.”

Apart from everything else, she wanted her to stay in the imperial palace because of the dangerous men chasing her. Moreover, she judged that it would be good for her to be close to Shuher since she was the female protagonist and had abilities.

Just then, with a knock, Demil entered.

“Your Majesty, they say the preparations are complete.”

“Guide her to the palace where she will stay from now on.”

“Yes. Please follow me, Lady Davian.”

At Demil’s words, Davian looked around nervously, and only after seeing Ibnel nodding that it was alright did she get up and follow him. Only Ibnel and Shuher were left in the reception room.

Ibnel asked him curiously after hearing what Demil had said earlier.

“Isn’t Davian staying in Your Majesty’s palace as well?”

It seemed that unlike telling her to stay in the emperor’s palace, he had prepared a new palace for her to stay in.

“I’d rather not have my palace become any more crowded.”

“Ah, then should I leave?”

Ibnel had said it for the sake of a smooth relationship between the two protagonists in the future, but for some reason, Shuher’s expression was not very good.

“There’s no need for that. Unlike you, that woman won’t have any reason to run away.”

“Certainly that’s true. I hope she adapts well to the imperial palace.”

“It will be incomparably better than how she’s lived until now, so there’s no need for useless worry.”

Davian’s existence was nothing short of a miracle for Karies. So it was natural for her to receive the utmost treatment. Even now, the servants who would attend to her were perfectly prepared.

“It’s different from that. Being alone in an unfamiliar environment will be frightening and scary. And…”

Ibnel told him about the situation when she first met Davian. She thought he should know about it too.

“So please pay some special attention to her as well, Your Majesty.”

Of course, being the female protagonist, she would probably manage well on her own, but seeing her being chased by men earlier made her feel somewhat concerned.

Shuher, seeing Ibnel expressing concern for Davian all this time, finally said those words.

“Now is not the time to worry about others.”

“Pardon?”

“As soon as tomorrow, that woman’s existence will be known. You must know how your position will change then.”

“Ah…”

Realizing what he was trying to say, Ibnel closed her mouth. Davian’s appearance was also a crisis for her.

With Davian’s appearance, there was no reason to borrow Ibnel’s abilities, which meant there was no reason to keep her in Karies.

Although they had no choice but to wait and see due to the awakening of her abilities, Ibnel was still an enemy of Karies and someone who should be killed.

Knowing that well, yet still worrying about others so casually, Shuher couldn’t help but not understand.

“I am just as surprised and perplexed by this situation as Your Majesty.”

Ibnel knew that Davian would appear someday, but meeting her so suddenly brought more bewilderment than joy. She hadn’t yet decided how to handle the situation after her appearance.

But at the same time, it was also an opportunity for her. It was for a day like this that she had secured a promise from Shuher.

“Do you remember the condition I mentioned regarding the duration of my stay in the imperial palace?”

Shuher remembered it clearly too. Until then, he had been certain that it would never happen, but to think it would actually occur.

“Now that someone with the same ability as me has appeared in Karies, the power I possess is now meaningless to Your Majesty.”

Hearing her speak so calmly, as if she had been waiting for this situation, Shuher couldn’t help but have one suspicion.

“Did you know? That someone with the same ability as you would appear?”

At his sharp gaze that seemed to pierce through her innermost thoughts, Ibnel slightly lowered her head. And trying not to let her voice tremble to avoid being caught, she said,

“How could that be? How could I have known that?”

This is a novel, and you are the male protagonist, so of course I knew that the female protagonist would appear by your side, but if I said that, I’d only be treated as a madwoman.

But Ibnel was perplexed that Shuher had only been mentioning things related to her. This was not the attitude he should be showing.

“Shouldn’t Your Majesty just be happy? Why are you worrying about my treatment?”

Shuher couldn’t give any answer to Ibnel’s question. As she said, what he should be focusing on now were matters related to Davian.

Whatever happened to Ibnel, there was no need to care about it. But showing concern only for Davian somehow made him feel stuffy inside.

“It’s enough for me that Your Majesty keeps your promise.”

Having finished speaking, she rose from her seat before Shuher.

“I think it would be better to have a more detailed conversation next time, as I need time to organize my thoughts as well.”

Shuher just watched her, and when left alone, he ran his hand through his hair with a complicated expression. Contrary to Ibnel’s expectations, there was no joy visible in his appearance at having met Davian.

The next day, stories about Davian began to spread within the Karies Empire.

At first, people couldn’t believe it, saying it was nonsense, but when they soon learned the truth, they showed surprise, shock, and ultimately intense joy.

What more was there to say when someone from Karies appeared with Aodin’s ability?

In the imperial palace, along with that story, Ibnel’s name was being mentioned. They cursed and blamed her more severely than when Ibnel first came to Karies.

Now that Davian had appeared, there was no reason to maintain even minimal courtesy towards her.

“Miss, are you alright? I think it would be better to stay in the palace today.”

Having heard the story directly from Ibnel, Lia was restless seeing her trying to go to the training ground as usual. With the atmosphere being unsettled since morning, she wanted to prevent her from going outside as much as possible.

Knowing what Lia was worried about, Ibnel patted her shoulder with a gentle touch.

“It’s okay. It’s nothing new, right?”

“But still.”

“That’s because I skipped training yesterday too. You should stay with Emil as much as possible. Understood?”

“Miss.”

Leaving behind Lia’s concerned gaze, Ibnel left the palace. Since it wasn’t something that could be resolved by just staying in the palace anyway, she decided to move around as usual.

In the current situation, there was no reason for her to bow her head or avoid. Somehow, she wanted to act even more confidently in this situation. There was nothing for her to be ashamed of.

As Ibnel was heading to the shooting range, as expected, voices openly criticizing her could be heard.

“Wow, look who it is. She still hasn’t been kicked out?”

“I know. Well, seeing that horrible face here will soon be over anyway.”

“She must be feeling the heat now, right? She probably thought she was something special. Ah, I can’t wait to see that person’s face. She’s incomparable to someone who’s an enemy.”

With each step Ibnel took, even though words that pierced her heart like daggers were heard, she just kept looking ahead and walking. Even if she went to confront them now, they would clearly respond with arrogance.

‘I guess I should leave after all.’

She had been pondering countless thoughts until she fell asleep after parting with Shuher yesterday. Now that Davian had appeared, what should she do?

Originally, she had planned to leave without looking back. She wanted to go to a place where Lia and she were unknown and live freely.

That feeling hadn’t changed, but somehow it felt fainter than when she first arrived. Moreover, if the current daily life continued, she even had the sudden thought that staying in the imperial palace might not be so bad.

‘What am I thinking right now?’

Ibnel was surprised by her own thoughts and hurriedly shook her head.

“You’ve gone mad. Or are you immersed in playing hero as people say?”

‘Or could it be that I’ve gotten used to this life?’

Although there were times when it was so hard that she wanted to give up everything, maybe she had gotten used to the daily life here as days passed. She was able to do shooting, which she liked, again, and gradually there were people she got along with.

“We meet like this again here.”

Raising her head at the voice that broke her reverie, a face she didn’t particularly want to meet at this moment was approaching.

Even knowing that Ibnel’s expression had slightly hardened, Halan deliberately stopped in front of her. Unlike last time, there were several nobles with him.

Since it was too late to pretend not to know, Ibnel greeted first.

“We meet again like this, Duke Halan.”

“I didn’t expect to meet by chance like this. Ah, we’re on our way to the conference room. The reason is,”

“I know.”

Guessing what he was about to say, she mentioned it a step ahead. It seemed he deliberately made this acquaintance because of that.

“It’s because of Davian, right? I don’t know if you’re aware, but I was the first person to meet Davian.”

“You’re quite composed despite knowing that.”

Contrary to what he expected, Halan’s expression hardened at Ibnel’s unexpectedly calm response. By now, she should be prostrating herself.

‘She still doesn’t know her place.’

So he intended to make her understand clearly this time. That now that Davian had appeared, she was of no use whatsoever.