Nigel returned safely to the inn before sunset.

The inn was bustling with people drinking and having dinner.

“Ah, Nigel’s back? You’ll have dinner, right?”

“…Yes.”

Nigel answered Andy while avoiding eye contact for no reason.

“Haha! Good choice. A carriage came earlier, so I put your luggage in the room. Check it out later.”

Nigel nodded while taking a seat at an empty table.

“Nigel, you’re more capable than you look? Ludin’s Atelier, that’s a place that appears a lot in gossip columns. Did you win the lottery or something…?”

Smack!

“Ouch!”

Just then, someone hit Andy hard on the back.

“Andy! How rude to ask such questions to a guest!”

“Ah, Mom!”

It was none other than the inn’s chef.

“I’m sorry, Nigel. Our child is still immature. Ah, I’m Andy’s mother, Julie. We met this morning, right?”

Julie smiled warmly.

Nod nod.

“I’ll bring out the food soon, so please wait a little.”

“…Okay.”

Nigel answered while fidgeting with her hands.

Shortly after, Julie personally brought out the food and set it down on Nigel’s table.

At a glance, the variety and quantity were noticeably different from what other people were eating.

“This is grilled sausage and vegetable assortment, this is potato and broccoli gratin, this is meat stew simmered all day, and this is…”

“Mom! Are you trying to kill Nigel by bursting her stomach?”

Andy, who was serving, quickly approached Nigel’s table upon seeing the plates piled high.

“What? I’m giving her more because she eats so well. Look how sunken her cheeks are, she needs to eat a lot and gain weight.”

“You scolded me for being rude earlier, but aren’t you being even ruder, Mom?!”

Julie sheepishly ran her hand through her hair at Andy’s reproach.

“I’m sorry for being so meddlesome in my old age. It just reminds me of when our daughter was working away from home.”

“No, thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

Nigel replied.

As Andy had said earlier, it was an excellent meal that would have been regrettable to miss.

Especially the meat stew suited her taste perfectly. It tasted similar to the stew Handel would occasionally make.

“I tried making it Northern-style, I’m glad it seems to suit your taste.”

Nigel looked up at the sudden voice while dipping bread in the stew.

“Uh… I…”

“Why are you blushing and looking so flustered? I’m sorry.”

“…You don’t need to worry about me when you’re busy.”

Nigel said, lowering her reddened face.

“Don’t worry, I switched shifts with the kids’ dad. Oh, I’ll get up if you’re uncomfortable with auntie.”

“No, no.”

As Nigel frantically waved her hands, Julie sat down in the chair opposite her with a smile.

“How did a young lady like you come all the way from the North to the capital?”

“Well…”

“Oh my, I said something that could be misunderstood. I’m not trying to pry into your personal life, I’m just worried because there have been a lot of scams targeting young girls your age lately. Just a few days ago, flyers looking for people were spread all over the neighborhood.”

Warm concern could be seen in Julie’s eyes.

“I’ll be enrolling in the academy soon.”

“Is that so? My goodness! How impressive, how impressive. If you came all the way from the North, you must have been accepted to quite a good place? Gordon? Mailer? Or could it be Sienna?”

“That’s right.”

“Haha, I’m on a roll today. Which one? Gordon? Mailer?”

“…Sienna.”

Nigel opened her mouth after a pause.

Saying it herself made her feel embarrassed, as if she was bragging.

“…Sienna?”

At some point, Andy was standing next to Julie with her mouth wide open.

“You mean THE Sienna that Princess Avelin attended? The one where most of the students are from noble families!”

Nod.

Nigel nodded once.

“Oh my~ How lovely. If you’re this pretty, I wonder how beautiful your parents must be. They must have been overjoyed when you were accepted.”

As Julie patted Nigel’s head, Nigel’s face turned bright red.

“Ahaha, are you shy? It’s okay, don’t hide your face.”

“I thought everyone who went to Sienna would be stuck up, but there are such cute freshmen too~”

Nigel’s head remained lowered until the mother and daughter left their seats.

[This is the timeline separator]

Nigel returned to her room after taking a bath. This time she washed with hot water instead of cold.

Whether it was because she washed with warm water or because she had been teased earlier, Nigel’s face was flushed.

Although she had been teased, she didn’t feel bad. Rather, she felt good.

Nigel unconsciously touched the head that Julie had patted.

“…What a strange feeling.”

Perhaps because she was always around men, her mouth would naturally stiffen when dealing with women, making her words and actions quite awkward.

“Right, it was like this back then too.”

It was when Nigel went to the First Temple of the North for the novice clergy exam.

The white-robed woman she met then also patted Nigel’s head, saying she was admirable for being so young.

“It was because of her that I wanted to go to Sienna…”

Though it was a brief encounter like a mirage, Nigel decided her future based on their conversation.

“Well, of course I got in thanks to my own efforts.”

Nigel went to bed, recalling the brutal entrance exam.

[This is the timeline separator]

Time flew by quickly, and soon it was the day before the eve of the festival.

Nigel said goodbye to Andy and Julie and went to the communication bureau.

The communication bureau was packed with people even in the early morning.

Recently, portable communication stones had been released for civilians, but few people owned them due to the ridiculously high price.

There was no need to spend a lot of money for momentary convenience when communication bureaus were located all over the empire.

−Oh, who is this?

The voice of someone who had spent money on momentary convenience came through from beyond the large magic stone carved into a vertically elongated hexagonal prism.

It was none other than Allen.

−…Could it be Nigel?

“Yeah.”

−Nigel! Do you know how long I’ve been waiting?

Allen let out a groan.

“How would I know?”

−I even made plans to buy supplies together and go sightseeing around the capital…

“That’s too bad.”

Nigel said flatly, without any change in tone.

−It’s okay! We have 3 whole years to play together.

“…”

−Nigel? Hello, Nigel? Can you hear me?

“Yeah. The communication was unstable for a moment.”

−Well, I heard the communication bureau gets crowded these days and often cuts out. Anyway, about tomorrow’s party, do you want to meet up and go in together before the party?

“Hmm…”

−Don’t worry. I’ll escort you properly. Oh, oh?? Sebastian, you’re saying we have to leave now?

“…?”

−Sorry. I want to talk longer but something urgent came up. Then let’s meet at 6:30 in front of the Golden Dragon statue before the party starts! You’ll be able to find it right away when you arrive at Sienna. See you tomorrow, Nigel!!

“Wait a second…”

Click−

The communication cut off. He said everything he wanted to say.

Nigel’s face wrinkled a little.

She didn’t particularly have anything to say, but she felt annoyed.

Not exactly bad, just annoyed.

“…See you tomorrow, Allen.”

Nigel left an unreachable greeting towards the turned-off magic stone.

[This is the timeline separator]

The day of reckoning.

Nigel’s complexion was noticeably dark.

“Nigel, isn’t today the day you’re going to Sienna? Why do you look so gloomy on such a good day?”

Julie, who had naturally started speaking informally, looked at Nigel with concern.

“…It’s okay, Julie. It’s nothing.”

The problem was that what was nothing to others was something to her.

Nigel couldn’t bring herself to tell Julie that she had trouble sleeping because she was worried about whether she could find the Golden Dragon.

“Can you eat? It’s your last day leaving, so auntie put in some extra effort.”

…Nod.

“Oh my, you eat so well, it’s lovely to see every time.”

And so, Nigel scraped her plates clean until the very last day.

“Nigel, there’s a carriage in front of the inn, isn’t there?”

Andy, who had just returned from feeding the horses in the stable, gestured towards the outside.

As Andy said, a carriage with the atelier’s logo was waiting outside the window.

It was time to leave.

‘…How hard could it be to find that Golden Dragon? It’s the symbol of the imperial family, so they must have made it ridiculously big.’

Nigel pursed her lips and picked up her even heavier luggage bag.

“You’re already leaving. I feel sad even though we’ve only known you for a few days.”

“Yeah. It was fun having someone our age around after always seeing just uncles.”

“…I’ll drop by sometimes when I have time.”

The two brightened at Nigel’s words.

“Sure, come with your friends later. I’ll give you lots of delicious food until your stomach bursts.”

“Tell me all the fun things that happen there. Got it?”

Nigel nodded.

“Then… thank you for the short time.”

“Take care, Nigel!”

“Come anytime. You’re always welcome here.”

Feeling a warmth in a corner of her heart, Nigel boarded the carriage.

[This is the timeline separator]

Madam Ludin had been in an excellent mood since last evening, as if she could fly at any moment.

The dark shadows under her eyes showed evidence of overwork, but mere fatigue could not stop her professional spirit.

Ding-a-ling.

The long-awaited protagonist had finally arrived.

“Welcome, Lady Nigel!!”

With just over ten hours left until the party, there was a mountain of work to be done.

But that also meant there were 10 hours for the lady’s elegance to grow.

“Su, Lina, let’s begin.”

Ludin grinned as she looked at Nigel, who was trying to appear nonchalant on the outside.

It was like a wolf that had been starving for days eyeing a lamb.

[This is the timeline separator]

Chirp chirp. Caw caw.

Before long, the sun was setting, and even the birds were heading home from work.

Nigel, exhausted before even going to the party, plopped down on the sofa.

No, just as she was about to, she straightened her back at Su’s sharp gaze.

The reflection in the mirror looked quite presentable, given the time invested.

From morning until now, the three people from the atelier had done everything from various massages to applying everything known to be good for the skin, meticulously applying powder and rouge for makeup, and trimming each strand of hair one by one.

‘Looking like this, I seem like a lady from a good family rather than someone from Tillin. …Well, I am.’

Ludin, Su, and Lina gazed fondly at Nigel, who was blinking while staring intently at the mirror right behind her.

Ding-a-ling.

Just then, an uninvited guest suddenly visited the atelier.