Nigel, whose whole body had stiffened in surprise, barely moved her lips.

“You… knew?”

“Why are you surprised when you’re the one who asked me?”

“Well…!”

“You really don’t know the power of the Wellider, do you?”

Wellider, the royal librarian who manages all the books and documents of the imperial family.

She suddenly realized how much authority was given to the hands of a girl her age calmly drinking tea.

“…Well, looking at Oliver, such a shallow judgment is quite possible.”

Lifne muttered as she put down her teacup.

Lifne’s words were the key.

There was an unbridgeable gap between Oliver, who prided himself on throwing books without damaging them, and Lifne, who sat upright without allowing the slightest disorder.

“The Shining Rose is a place that chooses to do dirty deeds, whether in slums or social circles. They probably started their full-fledged activities this year. Notable examples are the social club Histon and Count Lumen’s auction house.”

“…Histon and Count Lumen’s auction house.”

Their voices overlapped as if they had agreed to read the same passage in the book.

Lifne looked up at Nigel with raised eyes.

“As expected, you know well, befitting someone who was at the center of the incident.”

“Unfortunately, I was only in the incident, and wasn’t told anything about what happened afterwards.”

Nigel shrugged her shoulders.

“…The manager of Histon was a baron. A baron in name only who had lost his territory to gambling. He was sentenced to deprivation of position and execution for illegally exploiting the magic power of imperial citizens.”

A calm voice as if talking about the weather revealed someone’s death.

“Also, in the case of Count Lumen, who trafficked Nox, he was sentenced to dismissal and deprivation of position, just like the above. However…”

Nigel tilted her head at Lifne’s meaningful face.

“The former Count Lumen, who showed signs of mental disorder since the day of the auction, only muttered that he couldn’t find something until the end of the trial.”

Lifne kindly informed her of the recent political situation, adding that after severe punishments were imposed on high-ranking nobles following Cedric’s rebellion, many nobles voluntarily reported the secret funds they had accumulated behind the imperial family’s back.

“Anyway, their identity and scale have not been accurately grasped yet. However, two things are certain: that they are obsessively fixated on magic power, and that although they could thoroughly hide their actions, they didn’t, as if they wanted to show someone.”

As if to show someone.

This statement left a big mark in Nigel’s mind.

Although the intention was unknown, one thing became clear.

They are doing these things to find the saint, or her substitute.

Nigel was choked up with the freedom obtained by placing those who were innocently harmed under her feet, and couldn’t say anything for a while.

Then she came to a conclusion. That she must somehow dismantle them before they lay their hands on the demons.

Only after making this firm resolution did the hard lump turn to powder and scatter.

“By the way.”

Soon, Nigel recalled a blind spot that had been put aside.

“Is it okay to tell me such information?”

It wasn’t that she wanted to blame Lifne for telling her valuable information. She was just worried about Lifne, who had divulged information that would be classified as imperial confidential.

Lifne elegantly put down her teacup and stared at Nigel.

“It’s okay. You’re a qualified person, aren’t you?”

“Qualified…?”

Nigel muttered the word ‘qualified’ in a daze.

What qualification could it be? The things that came to mind, such as Oliver’s junior or Sienna’s top student, had no intersection with the qualification Lifne mentioned.

Lifne, who had been staring at Nigel, smiled and personally opened her mouth to give the answer.

“Honestly, I wasn’t sure, but as soon as I heard your name, I knew right away, Nigel Ars.”

Lifne’s voice emphasized each syllable of Nigel’s name.

‘Qualification… did she mean ‘that’ qualification?’

At that moment, Nigel felt the same frustration as a chess player who had all their moves exposed to their opponent.

“Nigel ‘Ars’? The abbreviation of Arenius, the imperial family name, is too obvious.”

“…”

Lifne was right.

The reason for choosing the surname Ars among many surnames was because she wanted to create a point of contact with her mother, whom she had never seen.

There was no need for excuses.

“Yes, there’s no need to deny it unnecessarily. I’m not stating an assumption now, but a fact.”

After finishing her words, Lifne suddenly rolled up her sleeve and extended her thin wrist.

Twitch.

Lifne’s chin moved in a short straight line. Nigel understood the meaning of that gesture and brought her hand to Lifne’s wrist.

“…!”

As Nigel’s fingertips touched Lifne’s skin, a ‘W’ pattern appeared on Lifne’s wrist, which had been without a single scar.

And as Lifne’s wrist went down, the pattern disappeared in an instant.

Lifne returned her neatly folded sleeve to its place and looked at Nigel again.

“It’s a pattern that only the head and heir of the Wellider have. It’s a sweet and unfair oath that gives the authority to access imperial confidential documents, but takes your life if you divulge it to anyone other than the imperial family.”

Lifne, who was smiling as refreshingly as the wind brushing through the leaves, was suddenly grabbed strongly by the shoulders by Nigel.

“Nigel Ars, what are you doing?”

The eyes that were filled with displeasure at the sudden rudeness relaxed as soon as they met Nigel’s.

“Lifne… did you just bet your life on me?”

After hearing the desperate voice, the two eyes briefly held surprise.

“I told you. It’s not an assumption, but a fact. I’m not a gambler. I just proved the fact.”

Lifne raised her hand and precisely covered Nigel’s purple eyes.

“The purple eyes, slightly bluer than those of Princess Abelin, are clearly influenced by Duke Dien. The black hair and sharp eyes… well, there’s no need to say who they resemble.”

“Everyone except you didn’t know.”

Nigel’s voice unconsciously mixed with resentment.

“I suppose so. Everyone is indifferent to others. Especially, who would dare to think of connecting an orphan like you, who has absolutely no benefit, with the princess and the duke?”

Yes, for these reasons, Nigel could move around comfortably. Like Sid and Widrun, Stella, people usually focus on status rather than people.

Nigel bit her lip at the fact that was revealed so easily.

At that time, Lifne, who had been maintaining a correct posture all along, leaned back deeply into the sofa. It was a movement as if trying to relax Nigel’s tension.

“After the oath tattoo disguised as the heir appointment ceremony was over, the first task given to me was to read all the documents in the imperial confidential archive.”

Lifne’s eyes, which rarely showed emotion, revealed regret.

“You… know everything.”

“Yes. I can’t forget that there were not one but two daughters of Duke Dien, and that one was kidnapped right after birth and still hasn’t been found.”

Lifne, who had flopped down on the sofa, finally straightened her back, unable to bear the discomfort.

“Moreover, at that time, before the crown prince was born, the right of succession to the throne passed to you, excluding Meriel, who was the first…”

Nigel quickly reached out and covered Lifne’s mouth.

“Lifne, it would be better to end this conversation here.”

Nigel removed her hand and smiled good-naturedly.

“It’s not a request, but an order.”

“What if I refuse?”

“What…?”

Of course, the other person was Lifne.

“But if it’s a friend’s request, not an imperial order, I can listen.”

“What do you mean…”

Nigel mumbled stupidly and belatedly noticed the pretty corners of the mouth that had risen.

And she laughed helplessly along with Lifne.

“Congratulations on having the best legal informant as a friend, Nigel Ars.”

“Then will you answer other questions too?”

“Depends on how you do.”

Without anyone being first, laughter burst out simultaneously.

It was the moment when the two became friends.

“…Lifne, according to your assumption, Widrun has no possibility of belonging to the Shining Rose, right?”

Although the friendship meeting disguised as questions continued until dawn broke, Nigel asked without a trace of fatigue.

“Widrun? You mean Sage Widrun? It’s the first time I’ve heard that this person was involved… I’ll take note of your opinion.”

‘That means she absolutely won’t take it into account.’

Nigel let out a small laugh at Lifne’s graceful and quick way of changing the subject, which resembled someone exactly.

By the way, the fact that Widrun didn’t belong to this group was understandable but irritating.

In the end, he was a fundamentally wrong person who was busy monitoring whether the orphaned Nigel would be a bad influence on the academy kids, even though he knew she was the saint.

“So, have you extracted enough information to be satisfied now?”

Lifne said, glancing at the pile of books on the large desk behind the sofa.

“Well…”

“What is it? Don’t make people uncomfortable for nothing, just say it.”

Lifne, who was as quick-witted as Oliver, even poured tea herself as if telling Nigel to drink and speak quickly.

Nigel carefully brought up the question she had been pondering whether to speak about all through the dark night when stars and moon adorned the sky until the sun brightly lit the sky.

“…I’m curious about the conditions for the manifestation of holy power.”