Just before entering the room, Sesenia had ordered Lizbeth to bring tea.

Usually, she would have entered the room together, but this time was different.

Even she herself felt it was a bit strange.

She wanted to drink tea before changing clothes, which was something she never did before.

“Was it all because of you?”

“Huh? What?”

“This strange feeling. The thought that I shouldn’t bring Lizbeth in with me.”

“Not at all. It’s probably just a coincidence.”

“Are you sure it’s not you?”

“Yeah. I don’t lie.”

Seeing Silian’s firm and confident demeanor, Sesenia quietly nodded.

“This time too… Perhaps it was a moment when God briefly stayed to place us in this time.”

She was bewildered by her own words. But it seemed the only explanation for doing something she normally wouldn’t do.

To think she would say God had stayed, when He hadn’t helped her in the past when such things happened to her.

“God, huh? You must be quite desperate.”

“…No. It’s just nonsense. I’m not desperate. I despise God terribly.”

Silian chuckled and slowly nodded.

“By the way, how long have you been in my room? For a moment, I thought I had entered the wrong room because you looked so comfortable.”

“For a while now. Some strange old man was chasing me, so I ran away. When I couldn’t see him anymore, I came here.”

“A strange old man?”

“Yeah. He seemed quite capable of using magic… That old geezer was so energetic, he looked like he’d chase me to the end.”

Silian shuddered as if recalling the earlier incident.

Given the peculiar time overlap between the Archmage and what he was saying, it was obvious.

The energetic old man he was talking about must be the Archmage.

“That’s the Archmage.”

“No wonder. I really didn’t like him.”

“Is there anyone you actually like?”

“You?”

“…What?”

“Usually people are really happy when they hear that kind of thing.”

“Unfortunately, I’m not usual.”

Rather, Sesenia’s face hardened as if she had eaten something foul.

Silian, who had spoken quite carefully, looked quite hurt.

“Am I that bad?”

“Yes, extremely.”

“…That hurts.”

“So you get hurt by this kind of thing. If that’s the case, I’m sorry.”

Sesenia, who extremely disliked hurting others, quickly softened her expression and apologized. But.

“I’m kidding.”

“What…?”

“I’m not hurt. It wasn’t sincere anyway. Why would I like you?”

“You… You’re really like a 10-year-old boy. Childish and not funny.”

“Are you getting upset? That’s kind of cute.”

Silian, who had been grinning, got up from the sofa and strode over to Sesenia.

“…Don’t. Don’t say weird things. Got it?”

“Our contract holder might get angry at this rate. Alright, alright. But isn’t this kind of nice?”

“In what way?”

“Our relationship is a bit stiff, right? So to loosen things up? You should be grateful. Someone as great as me is trying hard to improve our relationship, even looking up books.”

His words about looking up books brought an unexpected feeling.

Yet wondering if even this might be a lie, Sesenia slightly rolled her eyes.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be a lie, as Silian showed quite an aggrieved expression.

“…Anyway, that’s not what’s important. You must have come here because you have something to say.”

“Rather than having something to say, I just came by while I was at it.”

It was then.

“Young lady. I’ve brought the tea.”

“Come in.”

No sooner had the words ended than Lizbeth opened the door. At the same time, Silian, who had been standing in front of Sesenia until just now, disappeared.

Where he had vanished, sky-blue white feathers scattered softly.

Though it was instantaneous, it seemed as if some white object had flown off somewhere.

“Young lady?”

As she stared blankly at that spot, Lizbeth approached Sesenia’s side with a puzzled look.

“Yes?”

“Did something happen?”

“Do I… look like something happened?”

“Yes. You seem really strange today. From asking for tea before even reaching your room… Are you not feeling well? You seem to have been overworking lately…”

Lizbeth, seemingly quite worried, set the tea set on the table and approached Sesenia, peering at her face.

“You don’t seem to have a fever… Are you not feeling dizzy or having a headache?”

“I’m fine. I’m tougher than you think. Don’t worry. I’ll pour my own tea. Lizbeth, go out and attend to your work. We’ve been out for too long, so you must have a lot to do.”

“Are you really alright?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll go out and take care of things. If you need anything, please call me anytime.”

Indeed, Lizbeth, who had been frequently going out with Sesenia recently, hurried out as soon as she got permission.

After the door closed, Sesenia scanned the room.

“Where are you?”

Wondering if he might have left, Sesenia wandered around looking for him.

“Do you miss me that much?”

A sudden voice. Moreover, the owner of the voice was pouring tea himself through the teapot Lizbeth had left behind.

“…What? When did you appear?”

“Around when you started looking for me.”

Sitting on the sofa, he leisurely crossed his legs and lifted his teacup.

Feeling a bit deflated, Sesenia let out a hollow laugh.

“I thought you’d left.”

“I was going to, but you seemed to be looking for me quite eagerly.”

“What does that have to do with leaving?”

Embarrassed at not being able to find him, Sesenia cleared her throat and took a seat opposite him.

“By the way, you seem quite adept at transformation.”

“I can’t change into other human forms, but I can transform into anything that’s alive.”

“Is that your specialty?”

“No. Our god Salmon is also called the Salmon of Life. So we have a good affinity with living things.”

“That’s fascinating.”

“Not just anyone can do it. People who can do it as well as me are rare.”

As if not wanting to miss even a brief opportunity to boast about himself, Silian was busy praising himself.

“I see. But it seems you can’t change colors. There were feathers like this where you disappeared.”

For a moment, Silian’s expression hardened.

“…That’s… natural. There are things we’re born with. Anyway…! Ah, right, I came because I had something to say.”

“What did you want to say?”

“That guy. Are you going to keep watching him? Keep him by your side? I’ve been waiting to ask that.”

Sesenia, who couldn’t help but know who Silian was talking about and what he was worried about, wore a slightly sad expression.

“You know too, Silian. What it means to have power.”

“What does that have to do with keeping him by your side?”

“It wasn’t power he wanted, and he didn’t intend to put me in danger. He’s just clumsy at handling his power. So of course I should keep him by my side.”

At Sesenia’s calm words, Silian set down his teacup on the table with a thud.

“…So you’re going to try to understand him?”

“I don’t know. What it’s like to have that power. What it’s like to have power you can’t control. But even though I don’t know well, I want to understand Teddy.”

Seemingly genuinely frustrated, Silian let out an exasperated sigh.

“Are you an idiot? Don’t you judge that it could be dangerous?”

“I know. That it could be dangerous, that my behavior is arrogant. But Silian, Pepe would do the same, wouldn’t she?”

“Why do you always bring up my sister?”

“Don’t Pepe and Teddy’s situations seem similar? So instead of just trying to push him away, let’s just watch. Okay?”

“Since you say you’re fine with it, I have nothing more to say. Just don’t regret it later.”

Knowing that his words were also out of concern, Sesenia nodded.

“Okay. So protect me.”

“It’s really strange, you know? Asking me to protect you when you’re already protecting yourself in thousands of ways even without me…”

“Is that so? I need to be careful now. Because dangerous things are about to happen to me soon.”

“What kind of things are going to happen?”

“It’s a secret for now. But… it’s very much related to Teddy.”

“Whatever the case, humans threatening someone isn’t dangerous. What matters is transcendent power. And what that guy is experiencing is madness.”

“Madness?”

Sesenia’s eyes widened at the unexpected words.

“Madness is…”

“I heard it’s something the Imperial royal family experiences. But not all members of the Imperial family suffer from madness. They say it’s something experienced by those born with the strongest power.”

“So you’re saying Teddy has that madness?”

“Yes.”

“I guess you knew Teddy was part of the Imperial family. I thought you wouldn’t know because you avoided that place.”

Silian shook his head as if Sesenia’s words were ridiculous.

“I deliberately avoided that place. It didn’t seem like something I needed to hear.”

“How long have you known? That Teddy is… royalty?”

“From the beginning. I just felt it. That his power, the power filling his inner self, belongs to the Imperial family.”

Sesenia nodded slowly, deliberately.

“I see. Then Silian, do you know a lot about madness?”

As if he had been waiting for those words, Silian leaned forward.

“How well do you know the history of the Empire?”

“All imperial citizens know it well.”

“Then have you ever heard this? That your history books are false.”

“False? There’s no way I would have heard such a thing.”

Sesenia was also adamant. It wasn’t just anything, but history books passed down from ancestors. How could they be false?

Even if they were false, there would be no way to prove it.

“Well. The judgment is up to you. I’m just telling you because you’re curious about madness. Should I stop if you don’t like it?”

“No, no. Tell me. What madness is, and what it means that the Empire’s history books are false.”

Silian’s voice, unusually subdued today, drew the listener’s focus.

Even Sesenia found herself unable to take her eyes off him.

“Well, I’m not trying to deny your history. I’m just going to tell you about the content that’s hidden, covered up, and erased in your history books. Will you listen? To the truth that you’ve hidden.”