I extended my hand toward him.

“Stand up.”

“……!”

“Returning to your original job would be best. A culinary expert clumsily cleaning is inevitable.”

“Saintess!”

The head chef tried to dissuade me.

“I am……. ”

“I know.”

I looked the servant squarely in the eyes. The unremarkable man, who seemed to be in his thirties, could only lower his head in shame.

“From now on, he will be in charge of my meals.”

He suddenly raised his head.

“……Are you serious?”

I smirked slightly.

“You can refuse if you wish.”

Silence ensued. Both him and me, and everyone around us knew the weight of my offer.

It may seem like a privilege at first glance, but it was more like a poisoned chalice.

Entrusting him again after he already messed up once?

There won’t be a third chance; it must be done perfectly.

“I will do it.”

He looked at me with firm eyes.

‘As expected.’

I nodded my head. I was relieved he complied as I had thought.

“What’s your name?”

“……It’s Max.”

“Good, Max.”

I engraved that name in my head and smiled again.

“I look forward to working with you.”

Feeling no need to linger, I greeted the chefs and left the kitchen.

As expected, Amy immediately released the question she had been holding in.

“What are you thinking, Saintess?”

“Shush.”

I pressed my finger to my lips.

“We’ll talk later.”

I did want to share the inside story with Amy. I wanted to discuss whether my suspicion that people were afraid of me was correct.

But not here.

‘Let’s talk about this slowly when we get back. Have to be careful not to be overheard.’

I spoke cautiously to Amy.

“Amy, could you go ahead and prepare the room? It would be great if you could prepare the bath as well.”

“……Yes.”

Amy hurried away with a reluctant expression.

I felt relieved internally. Having the everwatchful Amy around would naturally make me nervous.

Her departure gave me some time to clear my head.

Of course, I was still escorted by knights, but they didn’t ask pointed questions like Amy did.

On the contrary.

They only asked incredibly frivolous questions.

“Saintess, what color do you like?”

“I play the lute really well, would you like to listen later?”

“Saintess, please train with us again whenever you like! We’d be glad to practice through the night.”

Look, if I stay up all night, I’ll die…….

But it eased my mind a little, knowing they neither feared nor found me troublesome.

At least, I don’t have to convince them that I’m not a dangerous person.

Enjoying the conversation with them, I deliberately walked slowly down the hallway.

About halfway there, a familiar face suddenly appeared.

“ViceCaptain!”

When the knights immediately saluted, Tobias nodded his head.

“Relax. You are escorting the Saintess, aren’t you?”

“Yes!”

“Sorry to interrupt your joy, but His Highness just finished the last training. You should all go and see.”

“Again……training?”

One notably youngfaced knight slumped his shoulders as he asked.

“It’ll probably end soon. Tomorrow is the farewell banquet, after all. How hard could he drill you?”

Despite Tobias’s consolation, the knights’ moods did not lift.

“Understood. But what about the Saintess….”

“I’ll escort her.”

“Is it alright to do so alone?”

Tobias’s consistently gentle tone turned stern.

“Are you doubting my skills now, knights?”

I blinked. Tobias’s authoritative words briefly reminded me of Hades.

‘Is it because they spend time together?’

The effect was considerable. The knights immediately stepped back.

“No, no! We’ll go check it out right away.”

Once the knights hurriedly left, Tobias extended his hand to me.

“Shall we go?”
I didn’t hold his hand. Amy had emphasized repeatedly that there was no need to invite unnecessary misunderstandings. Instead, I walked beside him, stealing glances at him.

“Does Tobias not have to participate in the training?”

“I can afford to be a bit late. Thanks to the privileges of being the ViceCaptain.”

“Calling it a privilege seems a bit trivial.”

Tobias gave a faint smile.

“Well, those friends we just passed are probably quite envious of me. Your Highness never takes training lightly.”

“But earlier, you…”

“It was a kind lie. Those friends probably knew, right?”

As we conversed, we had unknowingly arrived at a door.

So…

A door I knew nothing about.

I stiffened my body and abruptly turned around.

I couldn’t believe that I had strayed into a side path even though I knew every corner of this castle.

‘How did I not notice?’

Feeling overly flustered, I realized too late that I needed to leave immediately.

“Tobias, where is this…”

Before I could finish my question, Tobias had swung the door open and pushed me into the room.

“Tobias!”

I screamed, but Tobias locked the door with a blank expression. Without any explanation.

I suppressed an internal scream that told me I had to flee and attempted a final conversation with him.

Surely there is a valid reason, I repeated to myself.

“Tobias, let me out.”

Finally, Tobias replied.

“You can’t.”

“Why? At least tell me why.”

“……”