Bris, who glanced at Ibnel, lightly ignored her and asked Davian.

“Where are you going, Sir Davian?”

“Ah, Ibnel said she has somewhere to go together.”

“It’s a bit inconvenient right now.”

As she openly showed her unwillingness to be with her, Ibnel stepped forward and asked directly.

“Why is that?”

“I think it would be better for Sir Davian to rest because of yesterday’s incident. And you need to prepare for the banquet.”

Perhaps because she was used to such gazes, Ibnel could see how much Bris looked down on her. Like last time, she seemed very displeased to see her with Davian.

However, she wasn’t going to give in so easily this time.

“When I asked Davian earlier, I heard there was no special schedule and his physical condition was fine.”

At Ibnel’s cold gaze, Bris flinched and stepped back. Then she glanced slightly towards Davian as if seeking help. But Ibnel wasn’t going to let that slide.

“Don’t tell me you just lied.”

The words she uttered with a slight smile felt somehow more threatening to Bris. It made her bow her head involuntarily. Especially those two different-colored eyes were not easy to face directly.

Davian, observing the atmosphere between the two, hurriedly intervened.

“It seems Bris is just worried. It’s not urgent, is it?”

At that moment, as if meeting a savior, she immediately nodded.

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll go with Ibnel.”

“Please be careful.”

Bris bowed her head with a forced smile.

Ibnel watched this scene and then left the palace, with Davian following behind. Soon, Davian, who had been observing her, spoke words that seemed to defend Bris.

As if not thinking at all about the rudeness committed against Ibnel.

“Bris worries a lot. Because I don’t know much.”

“She seems to be the closest maid to you?”

“Yes, she tries hard for me. Thanks to her, I’m adapting well.”

Seeing that Davian liked Bris and followed her well, Ibnel was cautious about saying anything outright.

It was good to get help and seek advice to adapt to the imperial palace, but she was worried about the part where he seemed to rely on and follow unconditionally. Apart from how she thought of herself, she feared he might accept whatever that maid said as if it were natural.

Since they hadn’t met for long, there wasn’t enough time to know what kind of person Bris was.

At least it was fortunate that she was good to Davian, but somehow she couldn’t shake off the feeling that she shouldn’t be kept close.

Out of concern, Ibnel made just one request.

“If you have any concerns or don’t know something, feel free to ask others too. Me, the knights, or other servants are all fine.”

“Yes, I will.”

Davian didn’t know why Ibnel brought this up, but he nodded anyway.

“By the way, are the preparations for the banquet going well? I heard it seems quite busy.”

“I’m getting help from the maids for that part too. I’ve never seen such beautiful dresses before. There are so many that I’m even worried about which one to choose. And since it’s a banquet being held for me, I’m even more excited.”

Seeing her suddenly talking about various things like an excited child, a smile naturally spread across Ibnel’s face.

‘I’m glad she seems to be doing well.’

After quite some time had passed, the anxious and dark look in her eyes when they first met had completely disappeared. The precarious image from back then had lingered like an afterimage, causing her concern, but seeing her adapt well now was a relief.

‘Well, who am I to worry about others in my situation.’

“What about you, Ibnel? You’re coming to the banquet, right?”

“Ah…”

Ibnel couldn’t give any answer to the voice full of expectation. At the same time, she remembered Shuher telling her to come to the banquet yesterday. She had just tried not to think about it, but it seems it had remained in a corner of her mind all along.

Especially that look in his eyes, as if he had been hurt.

“Ibnel?”

“Ah, I’m not sure. Since it’s a banquet for Davian, I’m a bit hesitant.”

“But it would be nice if you came. It’s my first time at such an event, and I don’t know anyone at all.”

So Davian thought he would feel a little more comfortable if she were there. Ibnel didn’t think so. Although she was a noble, she had no experience attending such events either.

To change the awkward subject, she quickly pointed to a building that caught her eye and said,

“Ah, that’s the imperial library. It’s a place I often visit when studying about magical beasts.”

“You mentioned that before too.”

“Come to think of it, have you thought about what I said back then?”

At that question, Davian showed a hesitant look and couldn’t answer promptly. He had completely forgotten about it due to the incident of the magical beast’s escape.

“Although we have the ability to see the core, our combat abilities are significantly inferior compared to knights. So I thought it would be good to compensate for that with something else. By studying about magical beasts, their terrain, or ecology.”

Still, since she had more experience dealing with magical beasts than him, Ibnel wanted to help even in small ways.

“In truly dangerous situations, you might need to protect yourself. Knowing the characteristics of magical beasts will definitely help. Also, since you’ll be moving with the knights, it’s good if you can work well together.”

When dealing with magical beasts, you never know what variables might arise, so her wish was for Davian to have the power to protect himself as well. The more you know, the more the vague fear of magical beasts will disappear.

“Ah, I spoke as if I know too much. Actually, I’m still studying too. I got ahead of myself thinking it would be good to do it together.”

“No, thank you for being so thoughtful.”

“Besides that, it’s also good to find personal interests. There are quite a lot of interesting things.”

Ibnel showed Davian around various places in the palace, explaining the locations of major buildings. And when Davian saw the final place they arrived at, he looked at her with a surprised face.

“This is.”

“We came here yesterday too, right?”

Davian couldn’t help but hesitate at the familiar building in front of him. He wondered why she had brought him to the magical beast enclosure where the accident happened yesterday.

“Don’t tell me we came to see the magical beasts?”

“It’s not that.”

“Then why…”

“There are people who really need to receive an apology, right?”

Where she was pointing, the two knights they had met yesterday were guarding the entrance. In fact, those two people were the ones who suffered the most from the magical beast’s escape. They probably received unfair reprimands because of this incident.

“But…”

Davian was certain that they would have negative feelings towards him. That’s why he hesitated to approach them.

“They must be angry at me. They won’t forgive me.”

“We won’t know unless we face them. Besides, you’ll run into them by chance in the future, so you can’t keep avoiding them forever. It’s okay. I came to apologize too.”

It would be nice if they accepted the apology, but even if they didn’t, there was a big difference between apologizing and not apologizing, which is why Ibnel had deliberately brought her here.

“Let’s go.”

Ibnel held out her hand to mean it was okay, and Davian, after hesitating, took that hand. And they walked side by side towards the entrance.

The knights’ expressions hardened as soon as they saw the two.

“What brings you here?”

“We wanted to apologize for yesterday’s incident.”

The two knights didn’t hide their surprised looks at the unexpected words. Ibnel bowed her head politely first.

“We’re truly sorry for causing you trouble unintentionally because of us. This may not ease your minds, but we really wanted to apologize.”

Seeing this, Davian also hurriedly bowed his head.

“I’m, I’m sorry. It’s because I opened the door…”

Seeing them sincerely apologizing, one knight spoke first.

“Honestly, we’re not saying we’re not angry.”

Fortunately, they were able to continue their original duties, but they received a severe reprimand from Shuher because of that incident. At that answer, Davian thought ‘as expected’ and closed his eyes tightly, but their words didn’t end there.

“But we also clearly made mistakes, and we received help from Lady Ibnel, so let’s call it even. Thank you for coming in person like this.”

Her face immediately brightened when they said they accepted the apology.

“Didn’t I tell you?”

“Yes, I’m glad we came.”

As Ibnel said, Davian felt much more at ease after hearing their response.

At that moment, the firmly closed entrance slowly opened, and the two knights hurriedly bowed their heads while making way. Ibnel turned her head towards there in confusion, and saw Shuher appearing through the gap.

Their gazes unexpectedly met.

Shuher, who had been conversing with Demil, also noticed the two of them. The expressions of Ibnel and Davian upon seeing him were starkly different. While Davian looked pleased, the smile disappeared from Ibnel’s face.

“Why are you two here.”

“Ah…”

At that moment, Davian stepped forward first to answer.

“We came to apologize to these two for yesterday’s incident. Because I felt so sorry. Why did you come, Your Majesty?”

Shuher, who had been looking at Ibnel avoiding him blatantly and staring at the ground, answered that question.

“Since there was a battle yesterday, I came to check if the repairs were done properly.”

“Ah, I see.”

Even while conversing with Davian, Shuher’s gaze was directed towards Ibnel’s bandaged arm.

Why did she come all the way here in that physical condition without resting? He had clearly said there was no need to apologize. Soon, recalling yesterday’s events, he withdrew that gaze.

And as he was about to pass by the two, Davian followed behind him and asked,

“I was just about to return to the palace too, may I go with Your Majesty?”

No particular refusal was heard from Shuher. At that silent permission, Davian immediately approached his side.

At that moment, Demil’s gaze turned to Ibnel, who was still standing in the same place.

“Aren’t you coming, Lady Ibnel?”

“Ah, I…”

For a moment, Ibnel’s eyes met Shuher’s, and she hurriedly turned her head to look at Demil.

“I have other business to attend to.”

At her look suggesting the three of them should go, Shuher hesitated for a moment before coldly turning his back and walking away. Demil also bowed to her and left.

Left alone, Ibnel only began to move when the three were completely out of sight. Unlike before, her steps were now limping.