“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Ah… No. Why would I go there? You’re my friend, and you’re the one I care about.”

“No, it’s okay if you go. Ian. And you don’t need to worry about me. I’m doing my job better than anyone else, and I have many people around me who help me. So, don’t come anymore.”

He seemed quite shocked by Sesenia’s firm words.

“Why are you saying that? Ah. You were upset. Right. You always got upset over strange things.”

“……”

“Okay. I’ll visit more often from now on. Is it because I didn’t come often?”

Sesenia slowly approached him.

“Ian.”

“Yes. I’ll come often and hug you. Will that do?”

“I hate unintelligent humans the most. And also mediocre ones. And you fit right into that category. That’s why I don’t like you.”

“What…?”

“You seem to misunderstand that I love you. I don’t want you to have such misunderstandings. You’re just a friend to me. Nothing more. So, please get lost?”

‘Since when, Ian? Since when has your heart been directed towards elder sister? Since when have you been on elder sister’s side, telling her everything about me?’

Sesenia stared at Ian, who had been a long-time friend.

‘Whatever it was, in the end, you played with my feelings. So when… doesn’t matter.’

She had no desire to forgive him or continue to be with him.

Just seeing him was horrible, and she felt pathetic about her past.

“Sesenia.”

“Will you leave then? And is it okay for a royal to open a noble lady’s door like that? What if there are shameless rumors?”

“…Why are you doing this?”

“Until now, we were friends, so I won’t spread rumors… But it would be better to be careful from now on. Because we’re no longer friends. So, will you leave?”

“…What is it that you don’t like again, making you act like this towards me? I find it hard to handle you every time this happens.”

Seeing him still not understanding, Sesenia smirked.

“When did I ever ask you to handle me? What a strange excuse. Please stop talking nonsense and get lost. From now on, go play with that elder sister you’re so worried about. Since you won’t leave, I’ll go.”

Sesenia moved towards the outside without hesitation.

“Sesenia. Sesenia!!”

“Ah. You should leave the room quickly too. If it’s discovered that the noble Prince Ian was alone in a noble lady’s room… Wouldn’t bad rumors spread?”

That was the end. Ian looking at Sesenia with a dumbfounded expression, and Sesenia mocking such an Ian as she went outside. Ian, who came to his senses belatedly, hurriedly chased after Sesenia, but Sesenia had already long left that place.

“Where did Sesenia go?”

He hurriedly asked a passing maid about Sesenia, but the maid only shook her head.

“Ha… Really……”

Where could she be? Ian quickly looked around, but he couldn’t even guess where she might have gone. He wasn’t in a position to search. Just hearing the news that Ian had come, Sesenia used to come to him wagging her tail like a puppy.

Not once had he ever thought of looking for Sesenia.

“Damn it……”

It was the first rejection he had ever received in his life.

Although she never said ‘I love you’ out loud, Sesenia always looked at him with loving eyes, craving his love. Because her family didn’t love her, didn’t care for her, she craved Ian’s love even more.

He disliked that. It was childish. That’s why his gaze went to Elzere, who seemed adult-like, yet lovable. But, but Sesenia rejected him. That came as a big shock to him.

“No. She’s probably just doing this temporarily. There’s no way Sesenia, who craved my affection for so many years, could change.”

He tried to compose himself as he passed through the corridor. Assuring himself that next time, Sesenia would cling to him like a dog. And so, he returned to the imperial palace.

**

Two days passed. As if waiting for Sesenia to wake up, Elzere flung open her door.

“What’s the matter? Opening the door so rudely without manners?”

Sesenia, who was drinking tea as if nothing had happened, quite welcomed her elder sister’s visit.

“Seeing how calm you are… I guess you don’t know yet. Sesenia.”

“Know what?”

“Well. You’ll find out soon.”

It was the brightest smile among all the smiles Sesenia had seen from Elzere. Sesenia slowly nodded her head while looking at her elder sister.

“What happened to make you like this? Is there some good news?”

“Of course. Very good news. Ah, it might be terrible news for you.”

Seeing Elzere laugh as if gloating, her intentions were all too clear.

“What is it that you’re building up to?”

Slurp. Slurp. Only the sound of Sesenia drinking tea filled the room.

“This is not the time to be doing this.”

“If it’s not the time to be doing this. Why, should I go and put out a fire or something?”

“Then the fire… Huh?”

It was Elzere who was taken aback by Sesenia’s unexpected words.

“Ah, no. Asking like this seems too much like guessing the culprit. I’ll ask differently, Elzere. Did a fire break out in my warehouse?”

Elzere, who seemed quite flustered at the first question, laughed awkwardly. She was still a person who couldn’t manage her expressions well.

‘Because everything went according to her wishes, because everyone loved her, there was no need to manage her expressions.’

How could a person who has lived like that suddenly manage their expressions now?

“Why not?”

“Did you know?”

“What are you asking? Are you asking if I knew about the fire, or are you asking if I know that Elzere is the one who started the fire?”

Elzere’s cheeks trembled. Seeing her face turn unusually pale white, Sesenia shifted her gaze to the teacup.

“If you ask so suspiciously, it makes me suspect that you did it, elder sister.”

“N-No! I didn’t do such a thing!”

“Okay. Let’s say that.”

“…Why are you so nonchalant?”

Elzere frowned at Sesenia, who seemed strangely okay.

“About what?”

“The warehouse with the Hepria cotton that you wanted so badly caught fire, why are you so calm?”

“Ah. That.”

Just as Elzere had done earlier, Sesenia was only building up suspense. She should clearly be flustered, she should clearly be making a fuss. Seeing Sesenia looking unconcerned, Elzere felt a sense of unease creep in.

“What’s with you, really.”

“But, wasn’t the size of the warehouse with the Hepria cotton quite large? Wasn’t it difficult for the fire to start?”

“What?”

“I’m asking if it wasn’t difficult to set fire to that vast plain. There must have been a lot of guards, so it must have been quite troublesome.”

Elzere just blinked her eyes, wondering what this situation was.

“Well then, would you like a cup of tea? My conjecture seems like it will be long.”

“W-What are you trying to say?”

“Listen, elder sister. Originally, autumn is the season of dryness. So the guards of my warehouse would have been periodically sprinkling water there. Right?”

Sesenia put down the teacup she was drinking from. The calm tea in the cup rippled from the reaction.

“The person who received a lot of money must have become impatient. Somehow they had to start a fire. Somehow they had to finish the job to receive additional compensation. In the end, after trying to throw arrows a few times and failing, they must have chosen another method.”

“……”

“In the end, the person who received the money had no choice but to get oil. It must have been quite difficult for commoners to obtain oil. But they had no choice. Because they received quite a large sum of money for a task that wasn’t difficult. How rushed they must have been.”

“What are you doing now?”

Despite Elzere’s words, Sesenia continued without the slightest hesitation.

“To start a fire with the hard-to-obtain oil, that person must have gotten burns on their hands or somewhere.”

“Why… why are you telling me these things?”

“I’m just telling you the incident log. The incident log that will soon be reported to you, elder sister, and to me.”

It was then.

With a bang, the door opened. It was Rohan. Lizbeth was also with him behind. Lizbeth, as if she had deliberately not stopped her elder brother from entering, belatedly grabbed Rohan’s arm.

“I told you not to enter like that when there are guests~”

Lizbeth, who scolded Rohan belatedly, grinned.

“I apologize, young lady Sesenia. I thought you were alone and acted rudely.”

“No. The person who was already here was being extremely rude, so.”

Sesenia raised her body that had been leaning towards her elder sister.

“What is this now?”

“What do you mean, what is this? I’ve just made some guesses about some stupid person who set fire to my warehouse. And judging by how your face has turned pale white, it seems quite accurate?”

“Are you suspecting me now?”

“Even if I try not to suspect, you keep making me suspicious.”

“I don’t know anything. I just, just! I came to tell you after hearing that your warehouse caught fire.”

“That’s right. Of course that’s right. Elder sister. You know what? I really hope there’s nothing related to you in this report that Rohan just brought.”

Sesenia, smiling brightly, carefully examined the documents Rohan handed over.

“Anyway, I’ve told you about the fire, so I’ll be going now.”

“Okay. Take care.”

Sesenia didn’t stop Elzere as she left. She just glanced slightly in that direction.

“By the way, elder sister.”

“What. What. Are you trying to corner me again?”

“No. You know… You seem quite happy that my warehouse caught fire… Unfortunately, that warehouse… had nothing in it.”

At that moment, Elzere’s steps stopped.

“What?”

“It’s exactly as I said. There’s nothing. The goods were already sold a week ago.”

“…You’ve gone mad now. Are you trying to show that you didn’t suffer any loss by telling such lies?”

“It’s true. If you don’t believe me, go see for yourself.”

At Sesenia’s words, Elzere shook her head.

“Don’t lie. If there really was nothing, why did you increase the number of guards there!”

“For someone who’s not the culprit, you seem to know the situation quite well. You really~ seem like the culprit.”