Hayden, asking so, looked genuinely happy.

“Anything is fine.”

“That’s a bit tricky. Anything is fine, and there’s nothing more you want from there.”

Hayden pointed to the boxes confiscated from Moiqufel. He had already separated a few rare pearls from those boxes. All of those would be returned to this lovely lady who was looking up at him.

Before getting married, he would make accessories that ladies use and gather the teardrop-shaped pearls to make a separate tiara for the empress. Hayden smiled and kissed her forehead again.

“Everything is so beautiful that it’s difficult to choose.”
“Ah, if that’s the case, I will try my best. However, you must attend the gathering held at the palace this time.”

Loo finally burst into laughter, as expected.

“Even though I don’t have any jewels, are you so worried?”

“I’m not worried.”

He rested his chin on Loo’s forehead and murmured.

“Wherever you go, our knight should not be intimidated. I’ll make sure to show that I’m always taking care of you from behind.”

Or it could be a warning not to cast any covetous eyes on a body that already has a guardian. Hayden tried not to pay attention, but just knowing that Cedric Lambert had mentioned Loo made him acknowledge the fact that he was bothered.

“Please do it.”

“Yeah.”

She smiled softly and nodded.

“Thank you. Uh… I brought something too, not as much as pearls though.”

Loo hurriedly walked to the basket that Hayden had placed near the jewelry box.

“From the Flache, Sia and Bella came. They’ve been rolling around the garden and the practice field so much, so my mom did what she used to do when I was little.”

“When you were little?”

Loo glanced at him for a moment.

“It’s nothing special; if you’re from an ordinary middle-class family, your mom teaches you one thing at a time. Making a mess in the kitchen.”

It was undoubtedly not what noble young ladies did. It seemed somewhat humble and a little embarrassing, considering it was a game for ordinary middle-class girls.

In the basket were colorful cookies, pies with fruit toppings, and muffins. Hayden looked particularly at the cookies that were in disarray.

“This is Bella’s work.”

“You knew?”

Hayden nodded with a smirk.

“I thought she might be busy, so I waited for a few hours, preparing to meet her. I didn’t expect to meet her so soon. I was going to suggest having tea together. On your face…”

Loo hesitated, lowering her head.

“But still, I missed you. I thought you would be happy to see me too.”

He hugged her tightly.

“I’m so happy not because I didn’t tell you that I didn’t come to disturb you or because I was too busy as the emperor. I’m happy because I tried to meet you, not because I was afraid of disturbing you.”

The ladies’ gathering hosted by Ophelia was scheduled to last for about three days.

Worried about the traditions of the old imperial palace and the education of modern ladies, the Western Sage made a comeback. It was already a special event that the imperial palace, which no one used to visit, was now hosting events one after another.

Loo’s appointment as a lifelong knight was scheduled to take place during this ladies’ gathering.

“…Why am I hearing this from Lady Ophelia just now?”

Arriving at Shalaya before the gathering, Loo, who had come to greet Ophelia, asked with a bewildered expression. Ophelia, who wore the beautiful belt of the constellation in the western sky and smiled until wrinkles appeared around her eyes, laughed.

“Well, the news has just officially come out.”
“Now it feels quite distant, but in fact, unlike the time of the Western Expedition just a few months ago, the Western Sage is livelier, and the face looks more presentable. It was a natural story since he succeeded in breaking one-third of the curse that had been tightly bound for 430 years.

“I heard on the way back from the court lady. She said it was okay for me to talk first since I asked if I could.”

Loo has just learned that in the Sage Council, where sages must respect each other, they use polite language regardless of age. Ophelia, who was a better teacher than the Dragonlord who spoke with a sneaky smile, was preferred.

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

A lifelong knight. Exciting. Loo laughed, thinking of the ‘lifelong knight’ that was attached behind her parents’ titles recorded in the noble genealogy. She was becoming a knight again.

“Of course, I won’t be affiliated with Imperialle. You know, you’re the Southern Sage. It’s an honorary title, you know?”

“Yes.”

If you look at it that way, her parents weren’t affiliated with Imperialle either. It didn’t matter.

“I like it.”

“Of course, you do.”

“If it were Carlos, he would have disliked it. He might not have shown it, but looking back, he didn’t like the idea.”

Ophelia’s eyes were looking into the past.

“I’d rather hope the fact that I’m a sage is announced from the beginning. I liked revealing myself; it was a personality trait.”

“Even now, that personality remains.”

Loo replied straightforwardly.

“It was extreme.”

With whom? Loo looked at Ophelia.

“Poor, wise, brave Sophia Clarice. Daughter of the snow-covered mountain range, protector of the North.”

Ophelia, who rested her chin and looked out the window, called out the old name with full of longing.

“She was shy. She hated to take the lead. The Southern Sage liked to take the lead, and the Northern Sage hated it, so it was indeed extreme.”

The story of the missing Northern Sage. Loo just listened to Ophelia, who had been depressed and lethargic for over 400 years, recounting stories intermittently.

“She was very short and had a quiet personality. Since the North is cold, she always wore a cloak with a hat. She even meticulously wrote about the hat, telling me to show my face a bit.”

“Did she really say that?”

Ophelia nodded with a smile. She who didn’t often smile when talking about old stories was laughing now.

“She didn’t come to Shalaya often and was always in the North. Even in that cold place, she diligently went around taking care of people. Always wearing that black cloak and hat.”

In the palace specially prepared for the Western Sage in Shalaya, transparent curtains were hung, and the windows were opened wider than usual. There were traces of special consideration for Ophelia everywhere. She stopped talking there for a while.
Loo quietly drank the tea without asking further questions. Today, she learned from Ophelia that tea should be enjoyed as much as one wants, whether leaving some or having more, and that Eastern nobles may have their rules for tea cups and prescribed amounts to drink, but the original Perseta etiquette wasn’t like that. It was said that it was okay to have coffee, juice, or anything else instead of tea.

“At that time, the North was a nice place to live. … The West was the same.”

“I see.”

“Yes. Sophia Clarice was much more diligent than me and turned the North into a better place to live. She cherished people and loved animals. She was always affectionate.”

“She seems like a wonderful person.”

Ophelia nodded.

“I thought the successor of such Sophia would be similar.”

Her head tilted as if disappointed.

“Is there a successor to the Northern Sage?”

“Don’t you feel it?”

Loo blinked.

“Um…, is it because I’m less sensitive to magic? I’m not sure.”

“Even though I’m bound by a curse, I noticed that Ong-Ae is the Southern Sage.”

“How do you know?”

Ophelia smiled slyly.

“Let’s try waking up to that ourselves.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s find out where the Northern Sage is at least once before our ladies’ event is over.”

Suddenly, an enormous assignment was thrown at her.