Seeing the merchant’s eyes rolling incessantly, Jade smiled broadly.

“Thank you for risking the dangers and entering the forest despite it not being the right season. I hope Bernard compensated you sufficiently.”

“Don’t worry. I gave him more than enough. So much that you’d be angry if you heard.”

Bernard scratched his beard and shrugged. Jade extended her hand to the knight again, and the still unnamed knight tried to help her mount.

“No, what are you doing? Give me the reins. I’ll ride the horse myself. Riding together is so slow, it takes away the fun of galloping, doesn’t it?”

After taking the horse from the knight, Jade looked back once.

There was a space that felt like it had an excessive number of trees compared to the surroundings. Its entrance looked as dark as the eerie rumors passed down by word of mouth.

But Jade knew that wasn’t true.

She was probably the only one in this group who knew how kind, how diligent, and how loyal the people living in there were. It was an experience unique to her that she didn’t want to share with anyone else.

“Let’s go.”

But that was all. As Ollie said, Jade didn’t belong there.

Even knowing and understanding that, why did such a tired sigh escape her?

Jade pulled the reins with a resolute gesture as if cutting off her lingering attachment. The horse’s hooves struck the ground as if to crush it. Dust rose behind them, swallowing their figures.

They didn’t need to ride for long. As soon as they arrived at the small estate right next to the Athanase Forest, there were several people waiting for them.

Among them was someone who had been part of the subjugation team with Jade, standing and anxiously wringing his hands. He was a mage named Arlo, a young man with particularly impressive chubby, round cheeks.

“Oh, Arlo.”

Since she had left the subjugation team in such an absurd manner that she couldn’t even say goodbye, Jade raised her hand cheerfully. He was one of the few mages she felt comfortable with, given that she didn’t have many close acquaintances.

But when Arlo met her smiling eyes, he suddenly started crying. Jade was startled.

“Why are you crying all of a sudden!”

“Jade, I’m really, really sorry. I still don’t know what happened at all! The person I saw certainly looked trustworthy and sincere, so I only recommended him…!”

He grabbed Jade’s hands and cried, snot and tears flowing.

Although his pronunciation was slurred, it seemed that Arlo was the one who had recommended the teleportation mage who had dropped Jade in the Athanase Forest.

Being from a good family himself, he hadn’t been subjected to harsh interrogation, but it seemed he had suffered greatly under suspicious gazes.

“Some people say I received instructions to kill you, but I really had no such intention! Why would I do that? I…!”

“Arlo, calm down. I don’t believe you would have done that either. You have no motive at all, and if you had made an outright recommendation, it would have been too easy to arouse suspicion. By the way, where is that teleportation mage?”

“That person is already dead.”

Rigel intervened to answer instead of the sobbing Arlo.

“He died at the hands of monsters even before people realized that you had gone missing, Lady Jade.”

“Why? Teleportation-specialized mages are usually in the rear. They shouldn’t have many chances to be attacked by monsters.”

In response to Jade’s question, Rigel adjusted his collar with an indifferent gesture.

“Nobody knows why that mage entered the monster’s habitat alone. We only know that he had two young children and a mountain of gambling debts that he couldn’t repay even if he worked for the subjugation team for decades. May God protect such pitiful souls.”

But after that teleportation mage died, all the gambling debts would have disappeared, and the young children would probably have met some guardian with a decent inheritance.

Erasing all evidence and taking one’s own life, that must have been the final condition.

A few words were enough to make a rough guess.

Felix Broen wanted to kill Jade Broen. And Felix Broen was a severe gambling addict. To the extent of frequenting the town’s gambling dens every day.

Jade laughed with a deflating sound.

“I’m sorry, Jade. I really didn’t know about his circumstances. He always had such a friendly smile…”

“Does just shedding tears make you innocent? This is what happens when you go around making recommendations carelessly. Really, why do you walk around with those eyes as round as a cow’s? At your age, do you still think someone’s a good person just because they smile at you?”

Arlo’s head drooped at the harsh words. Jade calmly kicked Rigel in the shin.

“Ow!”

“I’m the one who suffered harm, I’m the one who received the apology, and I’m the one who said it’s okay, so why are you butting in? It’s really okay, Arlo. One dinner invitation with your fiancée will be enough next time. I enjoyed it last time.”

Arlo’s fiancée was the most beloved daughter of the Mayvin family, so it was a profitable deal.

Rigel, who had been hopping around in pain, cried out with teary eyes.

“I am the head of the Hias family! How can you treat me like this in front of this stupid and useless third son? I tried so hard to help…!”

“You can file for damage compensation later. For your shin, or something like that.”

Jade glanced at Rigel with indifferent eyes and took the documents Bernard was offering.

“These would be good to read before entering the castle. There’s also information about that teleportation mage.”

“I’ll refer to it. Thanks.”

Bernard leaned in and whispered.

“But we did receive a lot of help from Lord Rigel…? From the search to borrowing reliable knights.”

“Why didn’t you go to Countess Snowden instead?”

“I wanted to, but the Countess was busy with other tasks we had requested. I’ll explain this later.”

Rolling her eyes, Jade crumpled up the documents. Then she turned back to face the fuming Rigel. A bright smile had already appeared on her face.

Of course, if Gordon Murray, the merchant who had been dealing with the Athanase Forest, had seen this face, he would have advised Rigel to be careful, but unfortunately, he wasn’t here.

“But Rigel, I forgot to say thank you. For stepping up like this for the sake of our friendship.”

Jade smiled even more broadly at Rigel, who was looking at her as if to say, ‘What kind of crazy talk is this?’

“Everyone knows that mages proficient in the water attribute particularly value doing the right thing. As expected, you’re the same. Like transparent water!”

“That’s right. Do you think Sabik, the divine judge, holds scales for no reason? It’s a constellation that signifies things like righteous deeds, justice, and such.”

Bernard nodded vigorously and agreed loudly.

“Ahem, hmm.”

Rigel, who was clearing his throat with reddened ears, looked particularly young today.

Actually two years younger than Jade, he had just undergone his coming-of-age ceremony, and soft down was still visible on his cheeks. In other words, he was very susceptible to praise.

Especially when Jade, who always ignored him, smiled brightly at him, he couldn’t even make proper eye contact. It was because her sparkling purple eyes were like jewels.

“Thank you.”

At her gentle words, he even started shaking his legs, not knowing what to do.

“W-well, yes. It was morally right to help find Lady Jade. Since you disappeared while we were both part of the subjugation team. And we both serve His Majesty, so…”

“So, it was something you wanted to do.”

“Of course. Because it was the right thing to do!”

The mage with light blue eyes answered loudly, and the mage with deep purple eyes nodded.

“I see. Then let’s just exchange pleasantries and not worry about exact cost sharing.”

“…Pardon?”

“You said you did it because you wanted to. That’s great. Thank you so much. Well then, I’ll go ahead first. Goodbye!”

Jade left a smile-only greeting and quickly moved away, leading Bernard and the others. Rigel just stood there, staring blankly at their departing figures.

“It would be a waste to spend the budget on this. It’s fortunate that Rigel is rich.”

“Ah, I was worried that you might not be the same Lady Jade as before. Fortunately, you’re the same in many ways.”

“I don’t know what you mean. Draw up a gift list and submit it. Of course, keep it reasonable.”

“Certainly.”

They approached the teleportation mage who was waiting for them, walking briskly.

“Is this person trustworthy?”

“Of course. His Majesty sent them personally.”

The mage, aware of the series of events, just smiled slightly without showing any displeasure.

“You know the price, right?”

“I wish I were good at wind attribute magic too. This is really a good business.”

The woman who chuckled at Jade’s grumbling began to chant the spell. She was a mage who always sang her spells like a song. One could understand why the wind had chosen her.

Jade closed her eyes and enjoyed a very short rest. And when she lifted her eyelids, her breath caught.

White outer walls, old vines running over them. Three castle walls rising above.

What she faced was her home, and her prison.

“Lady Jade!”

She could see people running from afar and others standing behind, waiting for her to approach. Those approaching were smiling to welcome her, while those waiting had stern faces to guard against her.

The words she had quickly skimmed over on the paper earlier came to mind.

“Felix Broen tried to hold a funeral for Jade Broen, but due to opposition from the king and some nobles…”

Jade smiled.

“Uncle.”

“Welcome back safely, Jade.”

Felix Broen stretched his lips as he looked at his safely returned niece. It was a rather modest welcome for the heir of the family returning from the jaws of death.

Still, Jade smiled.

It was fortunate. The mask she had worried might have rusted from disuse while in the forest remained as solid as ever.