Floyd and Roxiana, who created a warm atmosphere like a newlywed couple’s kitchen, were actually arguing contrary to appearances.

“It’s dangerous, Princess.”

“Your Highness always says it’s dangerous. But look. I was helpful in this subjugation.”

“You were helpful. But yesterday, and the day before, you became pale from exhaustion, didn’t you?”

“The other knights were even more exhausted than me.”

“That’s their job!”

“Then what’s my job? Wiping fruit and making juice here?”

“Who said to do that? If you had waited safely in the Grand Duke’s palace, they would have sent someone when the subjugation was almost over. You could have purified the land then.”

“But following along reduced the damage. There were more monsters than expected and the knights were tired and injured, but the juice I made and the wind I summoned helped them.”

Floyd glared intently at Roxiana.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?”

“Princess, you really are as stubborn as iron wire.”

“So are you, Your Highness.”

Floyd wiped his juice-stained hands on his pants.

“People say that after a rift spews out monsters, it stabilizes for a while, but that’s not true. Even rifts that seem stable are just as unstable. If stimulated incorrectly, they can spew out monsters without warning or even explode.”

“I know. I read it in a book.”

“You say you know, but you still want to go to the rift? Knowing what could happen. There have been people sucked into it before.”

“I read about that in books too. Rifts expel monsters, but occasionally they pull people in. And no one who’s been pulled in has ever come back.”

“That’s right. If you get sucked in, Princess, I have no way to save you.”

“I won’t get sucked in.”

“How do you know that, Princess!”

Floyd’s voice rose, but no one paid them any attention. Roxiana and Floyd arguing over safety issues had become natural by now.

Only Robert, who hadn’t been here long, was watching the two with curiosity.

At that moment, Floyd shot Robert a look as if asking him to intervene. Robert shrugged.

Who could stop the stubborn princess?

And Robert knew that when Roxiana was being stubborn, it was because she had good reasons and confidence. Roxiana wouldn’t be stubborn recklessly.

Although it made onlookers anxious, Roxiana had never caused trouble for others with her stubbornness.

“I want to go to the rift to check something.”

“Princess, you really have a lot of things you want to check.”

“Do you dislike that about me?”

It was half-jokingly said. Whenever Roxiana was being stubborn, she would ask the people scolding her, “So you dislike me?” as a joke, or maybe seriously. It was a habit of hers.

People would usually respond with “I do dislike it!” or “I don’t dislike you, Princess. I’m just worried.”

She expected a similar response from Floyd.

“I like it! I’m crazy about liking it! Understand?”

His unexpected words made everyone freeze. Not just Roxiana, but everyone present. Even Lion and Red.

Floyd, who had shocked the people, horse, and wolf, seemed unaware of what he had said due to his worry for Roxiana. He brushed back his hair covering his forehead with annoyance and said:

“Princess, you tend to neglect your own safety while caring for others. I find that very frightening.”

Roxiana blinked.

‘What exactly did I just hear?’

The others blinked too.

‘Surely he’s not going to confess like that and just move on?’

Even Lion and Red blinked.

‘Is he an idiot?’

But only Floyd stared straight at Roxiana with both eyes open.

“Princess, don’t make me so scared.”

As if waiting for an answer this time, he held Roxiana’s shoulders and waited quietly. Roxiana, who had barely regained her senses, moved her lips.

“…Yes.”

“Good, then let’s forget about the rift issue.”

“No, Your Highness!”

It wasn’t time to pay attention to her racing heartbeat caused by Floyd’s ripple. What she was trying to do now was a very important matter.

“I need to go to the rift.”

“…Princess. What does all this have to do with your revenge? Lucas Pelur and Elise Hailis have nothing to do with rifts or monsters. Taking the lead in solving these things won’t get you closer to them any faster.”

“It is related, Your Highness. It may not get me closer to them faster, but at least I can prepare.”

“Prepare?”

“Your Highness, you’ve forgotten. They might have a dark mage.”

“Ah.”

Only then did the strength leave Floyd’s eyes.

Dark mage. An evil mage who handles monsters and uses magical energy.

“Not much is known about dark mages, so I’m not sure if everything in the books is true. The Karan Guild informs us about dark mages as they hear information from here and there, but we can’t know if it’s all true.”

Still, there were a few stories that seemed true.

Dark mages worship demon gods.

Dark mages receive power from demon gods, so they become stronger near rifts where magical energy flows.

Dark mages can create things that don’t exist in this world by sacrificing their own life force.

“To face Lucas and Elise, we need a way to deal with dark mages. For that, I need to properly understand the power I have. Isn’t that the basics of any fight?”

Floyd let out a dry laugh.

How does a princess who’s never been to war know the basics of war?

Unable to hold back, he gently grasped Roxiana’s small chin with his thumb and index finger. Her green eyes, glaring at him provocatively, were lovely.

“Princess, you’re really stubborn and clever.”

“That’s not something for you to scold me about.”

“You’re right, I’m admiring you right now.”

Floyd slowly traced her eyes, nose, the small chin below her lips, and her slender neck. His Adam’s apple moved as if swallowing saliva.

He bent down and brought his lips to Roxiana’s ear. His breath brushed past her earlobe.

“Rest today. I’ll guide you tomorrow.”

As she watched his back as he turned and went back to the knights, Roxiana felt someone’s gaze and turned her head.

“Why… are you looking at me like that, Robert?”

Robert gave a generous smile.

“It’s nothing, Princess.”

+++

As she became better at handling the power of spirits, she could hear more stories from them.

Spirits have lower spirits, intermediate spirits, high spirits, and a king. There are countless lower spirits, but only one intermediate spirit per region, one high spirit per continent, and only one king in the entire world.

−The intermediate spirits aren’t enough, Roxy. You need to call a high spirit.

−We don’t know how the rift will react, as Floyd said. It might swallow you. So call the high spirits before getting too close.

−If the high spirits are there, you won’t be pulled into the rift.

−But dealing with high spirits will be incomparably more overwhelming than with intermediate spirits. You must stay close to Floyd.

Roxiana listened carefully to the spirits’ words as she headed towards the rift. Once the spirits learned that Floyd could heal Roxiana, they no longer tried to stop her.

Floyd and Roxiana rode their horses side by side, with Hexten and Robert following behind. Although the land filled with magical energy absorbed even sunlight and was gloomy, Roxiana’s platinum blonde hair sparkled as if it held light.

Floyd turned to look at Roxiana, who was sitting straight on her horse.

Even if she knew how to ride, long-distance travel must be painful, but Roxiana never complained. Despite the blisters on her thighs and buttocks and the terrible muscle pain, she showed no sign of discomfort.

“Aren’t you tired? Even though your juice is good for fatigue relief, it doesn’t heal physical injuries.”

Roxiana tossed her hair and turned to Floyd.

“A little. It’s a bit hard, but I enjoy learning new things more.”

Roxiana looked around at the trees that had turned black from the magical energy.

“So this is where you always fight, Your Highness.”

He couldn’t understand why his heart sank at her words.

“It must be hard for you. Yet you never complain. Even with such strong power, it must still be scary and difficult, but you never say it’s hard. That’s amazing.”

He couldn’t take his eyes off her as she spoke monotonously while looking around. His heart repeatedly tightened and loosened as the image of the young girl who handed him an umbrella and told him not to get sick overlapped with Roxiana calmly reciting the emotions Floyd might feel on this battlefield.

Floyd gripped the reins tightly, struggling to contain his overflowing emotions.

Roxiana turned to look at Floyd and smiled gently.

“That’s what I’m thinking about.”

“…I see. Ah, let’s stop here. The rift is close.”

Roxiana was also feeling a strange pressure.

As they got closer to the rift, the pollution level increased and breathing became difficult. Even though the wind spirits, Sylphs, were constantly purifying the air around them, they couldn’t completely remove the contamination. With each breath, she felt a burning pain in her lungs.

“This is the first time I’ve been able to breathe this easily so close to a rift,” said Hexten, who was following behind.

Robert coughed.

“You call this easy breathing?”

“Usually by this point, we’d be coughing up blood. That’s why we don’t go near rifts unless accompanied by a priest.”

They dismounted and looked towards where the rift was.

“It’s not visible from here, but when you get closer, you’ll see that the space around the rift is slightly distorted. It’s hard to explain, but it’s like the air itself is twisted.”

The ends of Roxiana’s hair were turning black. The Sylphs said:

−Roxy, we can’t protect you any further than this.