“This ring isn’t the family seal, is it?”

Rukna opened her eyes wide as she looked down at the luxurious diamond ring.

Perta, who had checked the contents, flailed his hands in the air.

“Th-this is the wrong ring I took out, Rukna. I’ve been carrying it around and just…!”

“You’ve been carrying such a diamond ring around, elder brother?”

“T-to propose.”

Perta’s face turned bright red as he answered like that.

Rukna burst into laughter, finding it cute how those innocent eyes kept glancing at her.

She felt proud anew seeing her elder brother, who had been weak as if he might die any day, regain his health and prepare for marriage.

“It seems the pillar of the Golden County has become strong again, elder brother. Such a large jewel must have been expensive and difficult to obtain.”

“It’s all thanks to you, Rukna. If you hadn’t helped me then, I wouldn’t have been able to stand up like this.”

“You’re too modest. How is that thanks to me? You and Giselle rebuilt the family, didn’t you?”

Giselle and Perta had joined forces to drive out their uncle, who had been the temporary family head, and were now running the family.

She heard they were also diligently practicing magic, upholding the will of their ancestor, the hero Golden.

“Giselle has struggled more than me. She could have entered St. Agnes Girls’ School to prepare for marriage, but she stayed at the mansion for the family.”

While Saint Guard School was the empire’s representative male educational institution, St. Agnes Girls’ School was an exclusive place only for noble young ladies.

To marry well, one had to graduate from this school, but Giselle had given up on that, she said.

Rukna briefly recalled Sister Agnes who had raised her in her previous life at the mention of St. Agnes Girls’ School, but soon shook her head to clear away the thoughts.

The coincidentally overlapping name evoked longing after a long time.

Perhaps seeing that expression as sad, Giselle, who had been watching Rukna, clenched her jaw at Perta.

“Stop saying unnecessary things, elder brother. I told you I’m well-suited for the family head’s work! I don’t want to waste time learning embroidery at that school.”

“S-sorry. I made a mistake again… I’m the problem.”

Because of me, Giselle couldn’t even enroll and is struggling at the guard school, and I couldn’t even protect Rukna… Perta’s expression turned gloomy as he teared up.

“Elder brother Perta has struggled too. I hear you’ll be recognized as co-heads with Giselle once His Majesty approves.”

“Yes. Once I become the head, I’ll sort out your family register first, Rukna.”

“I feel a bit sad to leave the Golden family though?”

Rukna laughed, drooping her eyebrows.

Giselle, who had been watching their conversation, kept poking Perta’s side as if feeling frustrated.

Ugh! Perta, seemingly remembering something, straightened his back tensely and pointed to the diamond ring.

“Th-this ring, would you like to try it on, Rukna?”

“Me? Why?”

“The woman I want to propose to has similar fingers to yours.”

Perta lowered his bright red face with a whoosh and avoided eye contact.

“Ah, like size measurement?”

Rukna took out the ring and tried it on her finger.

The flawless jeweled ring sparkled excessively over fingers scarred and calloused.

‘It really doesn’t suit me.’

A bitter smile hung on the corner of Rukna’s lips.

Her situation of pretending to be a man after drinking the gender juice came into sharp relief.

If she was going to possess someone, a more plausible role would have been better, but that would be too greedy.

‘Still, I’m a descendant of a saint after all. I’m just hiding my identity due to circumstances, so I should be able to live quite splendidly once I graduate.’

Come to think of it, this life was much better than her previous one.

It was much more enjoyable now, enduring life at the guard school with the holy sword, than back then when she drifted through the world with nowhere to truly belong.

There was the satisfaction of growing stronger through consistent early morning training, and didn’t she even gain a club that cherished her? Clearly so, and yet…

‘Why do I feel this way?’

Rukna tried to swallow the tears that were suddenly welling up. If she cried here, the Golden siblings would be bewildered too.

They were already fidgeting, checking Rukna’s expression, but still.

‘Hey Bisbi. Tell me something funny to dry up these tears completely.’

「Just trust me, master. What kind of milk does King Sejong like?」

‘…Hey, you fake holy sword. Where is King Sejong in this world!’

「Master, you really have no flexibility.」

Ha. The tears had already gone away. It seems to be data updated from the last time in Korea, like Heungbu and Nolbu.

‘So what’s the answer?’

「A-ya-eo-yeo-o-yo milk.」

Haah. Rukna rolled her eyes big and sighed before starting to chuckle.

This kind of joke always gets a delayed reaction. It’s really so absurd.

「As you requested, your tears have completely dried up. The great holy sword will now take its leave.」

“R-Rukna? Are you okay?”

Giselle asked, observing Rukna who had started laughing after sobbing.

Perta was shaking and blaming himself, saying, “It’s because I dared to be greedy.”

“Sorry, Giselle. I was just thinking of something else for a moment.”

“You’re alright?”

“Of course. The ring is really pretty. It’s really beautiful, Elder Brother Perta. Don’t worry and go ahead with your proposal.”

Rukna returned the ring she had been wearing to Perta without any lingering attachment.

“Rukna can keep it if you want…”

“Why would I keep your proposal ring, elder brother? Haha.”

“R-right. That’s true.”

Perta nodded, his expression somehow darkening.

Through the cafe window, a familiar figure was visible.

‘Isn’t that Matian?’

Even after rubbing her eyes and checking again, it was Matian.

He was tightly gripping the fabric near his solar plexus and quickly walking away to somewhere else.

It was then that she also spotted Bolton stuck to the window like a barnacle.

As soon as their eyes met, Bolton was startled and belatedly looked for Matian before disappearing after him.

“Giselle, I think I need to head back to the guard school now. It seems something has come up.”

“You should wipe off the cookie crumbs on your mouth before you go, Rukna.”

Giselle reached out and brushed off what was on Rukna’s mouth herself, then licked the cookie crumbs that remained on her finger once.

Seeing the flirting that would have made several girls cry if she had been born male, Rukna’s eyes widened, and Giselle smiled, saying, “The cookie was sweet.”

“It was nice to see your face today, Rukna. Let’s meet again.”

“It was nice to see you, Rukna.”

The Golden siblings bid farewell.

Perta, who had parroted Giselle like a parrot, looked dejected like a man who had just been rejected for a proposal.

‘Matian should be in the dormitory, right?’

Rukna hurried her steps as she crossed the school grounds.

At that moment, the school nurse wearing black glasses called out to Rukna while tapping the ground with her white cane.

“Oh my, Rukna. Are you on your way to Matian?”

“Nurse Gale?”

Rukna quickly looked around before looking at the school nurse.

There were many other students around, so how did the nurse recognize her? Can she see a little after all?

“It’s the mind’s eye, Rukna.”

The school nurse clicked her tongue and took out a small glass bottle from her bosom, handing it to Rukna. Inside the glass bottle was the red medicine from before.

“Please deliver this to Matian.”

“Matian?”

“He seemed to be in pain when he passed by earlier. That kid never comes to see me even when he’s sick. He’s such a funny one.”

Rukna was about to say, ‘Not just Matian, but other students don’t particularly seek out the infirmary either,’ but she held her tongue.

Of course, the school nurse read that thought without it being said.

“These ignorant fellows don’t recognize a true doctor. Isn’t that right, Rukna?”

“Y-yes. Haha.”

“Oh my, look at me.”

The school nurse took out another small glass bottle and said, “This is for you,” as she put it directly into Rukna’s pocket.

“How did you…!”

Rukna immediately recognized its identity, having drunk it once before. The identity of the liquid, which was even redder and thicker than the red medicine, was gender juice.

“It seems the effect is gradually wearing off.”

“What effect?”

“You know that drinking this changes your gender, right? It also slightly changes your facial structure, and now that the effect is wearing off, you’re probably getting prettier, like a woman.”

“C-can you see?”

Rukna opened her eyes wide and looked around. Is that why Bolton said she was pretty?

〈She is pretty.〉

The first person she thought of was clearly Bolton, but the voice playing in her head was Matian’s.

Rukna fiddled with her tingling earlobe and bit her lip inward.

“It’s the mind’s eye, I tell you. But I sense a ticklish emotion from you. Did someone you like tell you you’re pretty?”

“N-no?”

“Hoohoo, why so surprised. Anyway, the effect has started to wear off, so take care. Remember, normally one drink lasts about two months.”

Then goodbye! Nurse Gale turned around sharply and walked briskly in the opposite direction.

Rukna was carefully examining the red medicine Nurse Gale had given her and putting it in her pocket when she was about to head back to the dormitory.

After walking about five steps, Nurse Gale shouted, “I forgot, I forgot!” and came back to Rukna.

She was going in a slightly wrong direction, so Rukna called out, “Nurse Gale?” to stop her.

It was quite fascinating how the mind’s eye, which supposedly recognizes the other person’s emotions and expressions, fails to grasp their location.

“Is there perhaps another message to… oof?”

Nurse Gale spread her arms wide and hugged Rukna tightly to her chest.

Rukna stiffened up with a dazed expression.

“I forgot to give you a hug.”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t live your life too tensely. Where you are now is where you should be.”

At those words, Rukna’s shoulders trembled slightly.

Nurse Gale would occasionally say such meaningful things, and like now, they would unexpectedly press on her hidden tear ducts.

‘Why am I like this today?’

The back of her eyes stung, and her vision gradually became blurry.

She was being emotional earlier too when she tried on the ring Perta handed her. Really, how sentimental.