Roxiana greeted Floyd with courtesy, but Floyd did not respond for a very long time. He stared intently at Roxiana without even blinking.

Roxiana found his gaze uncomfortable and embarrassing.

‘Did I dress incorrectly?’

Not knowing Torkan fashion, Roxiana had left it to the maids and Petria to dress her up. The maids had braided her hair and chosen accessories for her, but it occurred to her that it might not be appropriate attire for accompanying the lord of Torkan.

‘Well. They’re all maids who do cleaning and laundry, so they might not know much about this sort of thing. Or maybe…’

Roxiana looked down at her collarbone exposed above her dress. The slave brand there had been carefully concealed with makeup by Petria and wasn’t very visible, but it might be noticeable to others.

Or she may have misunderstood entirely.

Perhaps instead of inviting her to watch the circus together, he meant for her to come along as a slave to serve him, and was taken aback by her dressed-up appearance.

Either way, thinking she needed to smooth things over, she was about to speak when Floyd spoke first.

“It suits you well.”

“Did I make a mistake?”

“A mistake?”

“I should be serving you…”

“You’re talking nonsense again. I’ll throw a frog at you every time you mention the word ‘serve’, so watch out.”

“…How did you know I dislike frogs?”

“You look like you would.”

At his blunt words, Roxiana quickly felt her face.

‘My face looks like it dislikes frogs? Is there such a face?’

Seeing her reaction, Floyd laughed heartily.

“You really are strange, Princess.”

“Pardon?”

Roxiana couldn’t understand which part of her he found strange. With a faint smile, he extended his hand towards her.

Not knowing what to do, she just looked down at it, so Floyd said:

“Are you going to embarrass me?”

“Pardon?”

“The escort.”

“Ah.”

Of course, Roxiana knew how to be escorted. But usually, one would offer their arm with the back of the hand facing up, and the lady would lightly rest her hand on the forearm. She had never seen someone offer their hand palm-up like this, as if to hold hands.

Roxiana barely remembered ever walking hand-in-hand affectionately even with her former fiancé, Lucas.

‘Is this Torkan etiquette?’

Roxiana hesitated, then gently placed her hand on top of his to avoid embarrassing him further. In contrast to Roxiana’s careful attitude, he firmly grasped her hand and grinned.

“Your hand is small.”

“That’s the first time I’ve heard that.”

Because Roxiana was quite tall, her hands and feet were larger compared to other women. Lucas, who had been about the same height, used to laugh and say, “If you hit someone with those hands, they’d fly away,” whenever he saw Roxiana’s hands.

“Really? But they’re so small like this.”

In his grasp, they really did look small. His hands were large, long, with thick, strong joints.

It felt strange to see his large hands completely enveloping hers. Her hand seemed very delicate, nestled in his. Like Elise’s small, lovely hands.

She couldn’t understand why Lucas and Elise kept coming to mind now that she had resolved to live. She also couldn’t understand why words and actions she had brushed off without a thought back then now made her chest feel tight.

She didn’t want to think about them. With so many other issues to consider now, she wanted to focus solely on retrieving her family’s remains.

Roxiana was pulled from her thoughts as Floyd tugged on her hand. As he walked holding her hand like a young boy, Roxiana looked down at their swaying hands, a bit flustered.

A carriage was prepared in front of Lily Palace. Though it was of ordinary size with no coat of arms, the interior was more spacious, clean, and luxurious than it appeared from the outside.

After helping Roxiana into the carriage first, Floyd ordered the coachman.

“Drive slowly. So it doesn’t shake.”

Floyd sat across from Roxiana. His long legs lightly brushed against her knees. Though the carriage wasn’t particularly small, it seemed cramped for someone of his large build.

He seemed uncomfortable, as if it had been a while since he’d ridden in a carriage, shifting his body this way and that. Noticing Roxiana staring at him, he said:

“Am I acting too childishly?”

“Pardon?”

“You’re looking at me with that expression.”

“No.”

She had thought his behavior lacked decorum, but she didn’t think he was acting childishly. However, since she didn’t dislike his disregard for etiquette, Roxiana didn’t elaborate further.

He examined Roxiana’s face, then shrugged.

“Please understand if I do things that go against your etiquette, Princess. I’m not well-educated in such matters.”

“I’m no longer in a position to judge my master’s etiquette.”

“There you go again. If you keep that up, I’ll really act like your master, you know?”

Though she was curious how he would act as the master of a slave, Roxiana didn’t respond and lowered her gaze.

Floyd stared at Roxiana’s long eyelashes, then chuckled and crossed his legs. Despite trying to be careful, his long legs caused his foot to brush against the hem of Roxiana’s skirt.

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

“My lord need not apologize to me.”

Floyd was about to protest her words, but seeing her prim expression, he closed his mouth.

‘Was that just a joke? But looking at that expressionless face, it doesn’t seem like a joke… Was it a joke? Or not?’

Except for when she was surprised or protesting the title of “Princess,” Roxiana rarely showed any expression. Even when angry, her face changed so little that it was hard to tell if she was truly upset. It was no easy task to figure out how she was feeling.

Perhaps that was why.

The reason he felt particularly anxious when facing Roxiana.

As Floyd pondered whether Roxiana’s response was a joke or serious, the carriage passed through the main gate of the Grand Duke’s palace. Then, a knight on horseback fell in beside the carriage.

Floyd, who had quickly noticed this, opened the window and looked out, asking:

“Hexten, what are you doing?”

“Escorting.”

“Escorting? The carriage I’m in?”

“No. The carriage the Princess is in. As you know, I swore to protect the Princess, didn’t I? So I must protect her.”

“When I’m here?”

“The more people protecting, the better. It’s crowded during festivals, so you never know where danger might come from. There’s no shortage of people who target the lord at times like these. I’m worried the Princess might get caught in the crossfire.”

Hexten’s words weren’t wrong.

As Floyd’s popularity grew with his rapid rise at a young age, those who envied him also increased. There was no shortage of people sending assassins to try and break Floyd’s unyielding spirit.

While Floyd could take care of himself, Roxiana needed protection. Hexten’s judgment was correct, but Floyd couldn’t understand why he felt displeased.

‘It must be because of that smiling face of his that I don’t like.’

Hexten had been grinning from earlier, and that expression didn’t sit well with Floyd. He was usually a cheerful fellow, so why did that smile seem so significant today?

Floyd narrowed his eyes and glared at Hexten before closing the window.

While this subtle power struggle played out between Floyd and Hexten, Roxiana slightly lifted the curtain on the opposite window and took in the scenery outside.

After leaving the Grand Duke’s palace and traveling for a while, streets lit up as if starlight had fallen came into view. Though the sky was already dark, the streets were as bright as day.

“Those are magic stones,” Floyd said.

“When we kill magical beasts, we get magic stones. The less valuable ones are used in Torkan instead of being sold. When we decorate with magic stones containing light magic during festivals like this, it looks quite nice.”

“It’s not just nice, it’s truly beautiful.”

Roxiana knew that even magic stones considered less valuable still traded for considerable prices. She could sense just how wealthy Torkan must be to use so many expensive magic stones simply for a festival.

As they entered the bustling area, the crowds grew.

Merchants calling out to attract customers, people singing and dancing, bands and dancers performing, spectators watching acrobatic displays, storytellers shouting with beer mugs in hand, and servers running around with drinks.

The lively scene poured in endlessly, making it hard to keep one’s bearings.

The circus grounds were located in a large open area, slightly removed from the bustling streets.

“During festivals, the competition to rent this open space is fierce. Last year it was a theater troupe, but this time the circus managed to secure it.”

Stakes were driven into the ground along the open area, with ropes tied between them to mark the boundaries. The carriage stopped before entering the staked area.

Roxiana took Floyd’s offered hand and stepped down from the carriage. This time, walking while holding his hand felt quite natural.

Next to the colorfully striped circus tent were several cages made of iron bars. Inside were various kinds of animals.

Wolves, rabbits, cats and birds, and lion-like beasts.

When Roxiana stopped in her tracks upon seeing this, Hexten, who was following behind, explained:

“These are the animals that perform tricks in the circus. This circus troupe is especially known for their animal acts.”

Roxiana looked around at the powerless animals trapped in the cages. Their appearance overlapped with her own image when she had been caged.

Though she felt sorry and pitiful for them, knowing she couldn’t take responsibility for them all, she bit her lower lip hard without showing her emotions.

Just then, the wolf cage caught her eye.

In the cage with two adult brown wolves, small creatures were squirming about. Looking closely, she saw they were wolf pups.