Even so, Sesenia showed no signs of worry. As if she knew someone was coming. Time passed like that for a while. Sesenia slowly turned her head to look at Ted.

“Ted.”

“Yes, mistress.”

“Why do you follow me like that? Because I saved you?”

“Ah.”

Ted pressed his lips tightly at those words.

‘Is it my imagination that he follows me?’

Seeing this, Sesenia smiled with a rather relaxed heart.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to follow me. That’s not why I brought you. I was just… curious.”

“I…”

It was then.

Just as Ted was about to say something, a strong wind blew into the carriage. At the same time, the entire carriage shook.

Instinctively, Ted moved in front of Sesenia, standing before her as if to protect her. Lizbeth’s eyes widened as she belatedly grasped the situation.

“Uh… why, why is this happening? I’ll check it out.”

But Senia firmly shook her head.

“There’s no need. Let’s close the door and depart now.”

“What? But you said a guest would come…”

“The guest has already boarded. Let’s go then.”

Lizbeth tilted her head with an expression that couldn’t understand Sesenia’s words at all.

No matter how she looked around, there was no sign of anyone boarding. Just the carriage shaking a little. Nevertheless, Sesenia was adamant. From the position of having to follow her mistress, Lizbeth had no choice but to tap on the window towards the coachman, and the carriage door closed.

There were still only questions, but even so, the carriage departed.

“But… why is Teddy standing like that? Young lady.”

Only Teddy remained in the same posture as before, protecting Sesenia.

“Well.”

“There’s an unpleasant smell.”

“An unpleasant smell, you say. It’s fine.”

“No. I’m not okay. Anything that threatens the mistress is absolutely. Not allowed. Absolutely not.”

He was quite adamant at times like this. As if he had no intention of backing down, Teddy was protecting Sesenia while emitting a very ominous aura from his body.

“I don’t think there’s anything as dangerous as you here.”

It was then. As if those words Teddy spoke were quite unpleasant, Silian, who had been hiding in the darkness, revealed himself.

The childlike appearance from earlier was gone, replaced by a man who looked no different from an adult like Teddy. Even his voice was different from before, but Sesenia immediately recognized that he was Silian, the elder brother of the twins.

“Wh-who are you!”

Lizbeth’s eyes widened as she shrank back. But except for her, no one else was surprised.

“As expected. There was one guy giving off a really unpleasant smell.”

“You’re one to talk. Seeing how you can’t control your own fierce aura, you’re no different from a beast.”

As if instinctively hostile towards each other, the two bared their teeth as soon as they met.

“Stop it. We’re going to live together from now on, shouldn’t we get along? And since we’re the ones helping, you should greet properly before coming out. Otherwise, you’ll scare my maid. Orphanage kid.”

“You seemed to already know I wasn’t a kid.”

Silian looked at Sesenia with fierce eyes. Although she already knew the names of the twins from the Kingdom of Salmon in the orphanage and all their circumstances, there was no need to reveal excessive information beyond what was necessary.

There are times when knowing a lot can be helpful, and times when it only provokes hostility in the other person.

This was exactly that. It was obvious that as fugitive royals, their wariness would be at its peak. So Sesenia kept her mouth shut.

“Is that so.”

“…Anyway. Since you told me to greet… I’ll do it. I’m Silian.”

He greeted, but even then, Silian’s gaze was fixed on Sesenia. A small wrinkle formed between his brows as if worried she might say something else.

“This is Tedel. You can call him Teddy, and this is my maid Lizbeth. I’m Sesenia Bestel.”

“So, are you keeping your promise?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep my promises well.”

“Young lady. Who is that man… to be so…”

“The guest I mentioned.”

Sesenia grabbed Ted’s wrist, who was blocking her view, and sat him down beside her. Teddy, who had been frozen like a statue, sat down limply beside Sesenia like a deflated doll.

“What do you mean by guest… I didn’t even know he got on.”

“From now on, he’ll be that kind of guest. As if we don’t know he’s getting on or that he’s here.”

“Ah. So you’ve taken in someone for no reason again? Sigh. Elder brother says that young lady’s heart is too…”

“Don’t worry, Lizbeth. This time it was also the hypocrisy of a wealthy person, but there’s something to gain.”

Unlike Sesenia, who smiled brightly, Silian’s expression hardened as he looked at her.

“So you had something you wanted after all.”

“Yes. Protect me. Originally, when you do business, you tend to make quite a few enemies. If you just do that, I’ll protect you. So follow me. There’s probably no one who can help ‘you guys’ as much as I can.”

“That’s nothing to worry about. But we need to make sure of something before we proceed. Otherwise, I might end up killing you.”

At the mention of killing, Teddy, who had been lying down like a lazy cat beside her, stood up again.

“You don’t have to act like a sharp-clawed cat, Teddy. People who always talk about killing usually can’t kill anyone.”

It was then. As if those words Teddy spoke were quite unpleasant, Silian, who had been hiding in the darkness, revealed himself.

The childlike appearance from earlier was gone, replaced by a man who looked no different from an adult like Teddy. Even his voice was different from before, but Sesenia immediately recognized that he was Silian, the elder brother of the twins.

“You’re going too far. Do you think I can’t kill you?”

“If you kill me, you’ll become a fugitive again, are you okay with that? You might be fine, but what about ‘that child’?”

“…”

“So swear on your name and make a promise with me.”

Sesenia’s cheeks dimpled attractively due to her smile.

“This is an extremely unfair contract.”

“Even so, you’ll end up taking my hand. Won’t you?”

“That’s what’s really annoying. You acting like you know something.”

“It’s not ‘you’. It’s ‘mistress’. Speak properly.”

Finally, Teddy, who had been watching Silian, couldn’t contain his anger and spat out words. They were just words, but they were full of thorns.

“It’s not like you’re my master anyway. And if anything, I should be the one feeling offended, right?”

Silian shifted his gaze to Sesenia with a bewildered expression.

“Knowing who I am, why are you consistently speaking informally?”

“Because I don’t want to use honorifics to someone who spoke informally to me first? So, if you want to hear honorifics, treat me with respect. Silian.”

There was no backing down at all. For Silian, humans were only of two types.

Those who revered him or those who disrespected him. A royal descendant of Salmon. The next in line for the throne. Silian Salmon, born as a high-born. No one could disrespect him.

He was born that way.

All those circumstances made him special.

But now it was different. No one who knew his bloodline could disrespect him, but this woman was different.

‘This is the first time someone has disrespected me.’

That sensation was new. He thought it would feel bad, but far from feeling bad, it gave him a new sensation.

“Whenever you feel like it, just say so. I can use honorifics anytime.”

Something in his heart kept pulling and stretching. It was curiosity. Curiosity about someone else that he had never had in his life. His life had only been about being royalty and protecting his younger sibling, but for the first time, Silian was curious about someone.

This woman disrespects him even though she knows his identity. Does she have strong power? Or is she really out of her mind? Whatever it was, Silian found this moment new and interesting.

“Let’s make a contract then. But do you know what it means to make a contract with me?”

In the past, when Sesenia unexpectedly heard that the Imperial Temple was protecting the Salmon royalty, she had looked into it. What they were. What kind of beings they were.

Long ago, there was a god. In the distant past when beasts and humans were not much different. At that time, the god descended to earth and cared for humans. He gave strength to the weakest group and treated them like his own children.

They were the first to receive power, and that power later manifested as what is called magic.

Even the name of the kingdom, Salmon, was the name of that god, so Salmon loved the god and the god also loved Salmon.

The power given by the god. Magic. The problem started because of that power.

When people gather, naturally the strong become leaders. Contrary to the god’s wish for everyone to be equal, they competed to choose the strong. That person became the leader and the kingdom was established.

To strengthen their power further, they only married among the strong, so the power of the royal family gradually decreased, and children with problems were born.

Salmon, the god abandoned Salmon. The god abandoned the humans he loved who had strayed far from his ideal. After that, the power of the Salmon royal family could not exceed a certain level. It was in this situation that Silian was born.

One with power close to that of a god.

‘But in the past, Silian just became a puppet of the Imperial Temple. Held back because of the younger sibling he was trying to protect.’

In that pity, Sesenia looked for ways to help them. And she realized, strangely enough, why Silian couldn’t leave the Imperial Temple.

“I know. Words become swords, and swords pierce the heart, making promises through death as a medium.”

“Ah, young lady!”

“Mistress. That’s…”

“That’s why I’m doing this. I’ll give you my life, Silian.”

While Sesenia smirked, Silian’s eyes filled with a fierce light.