“If you’re friends, you should wear the same nightgown!”

“Really? I’ve never seen that before.”

“Actually, me neither. I don’t have friends.”

As Evelia’s expression quickly changed to look like she was seeing the world’s most pitiful child, Arital hurriedly made excuses.

“It’s customary for a princess not to have friends. Who dares to stand alongside the flame? They would only get burned.”

“Well. I can handle water spirits, so it’s not that hot.”

Evelia answered nonchalantly as she changed into her nightgown.

Arital’s hands, buttoning up the nightgown, stopped abruptly.

Her words, thrown casually as if they meant nothing, were indeed warm.

“Princess.”

“Yes.”

“I will become a hotter flame in the future. The kind of flame that will illuminate the entire empire.”

“It seems so.”

“Even then, won’t you find me hot, princess?”

Evelia, who had buttoned up all the buttons, smiled and replied. There was still no hesitation.

“People say I resemble the Orca Sea.”

Arital flipped the blanket over with a loud flap and wriggled his feet inside, in an irresistible flutter of excitement.

After a simple dinner, Arital told Evelia legends associated with the palace.

Among them, what attracted Evelia’s attention was undoubtedly the room where the ghost appeared.

The two little ones, pursuing bravery, moved their steps to the socalled ‘Ghost’s Room’ with shaking fear.

“Why is it so dark here?”

“You… you came to the Ghost’s Room, that’s why.”

Truly, it lived up to its name. Even the nearby hallway was pitch dark, and the stones forming the walls seemed slightly red, perhaps due to the lamps.

Not only were there few signs of people, indicating the rooms were rarely used, but even the statues standing next to them looked coolly bizarre.

“There are no ghosts. There are no ghosts. There are no ghosts.”

Evelia, scared to the core, chanted a ghost repelling spell and crushed the garlic she had brought in her pocket.

“Go away! Go away!”

Arital sprinkled a strong spice, which was effective for driving out ghosts, as he moved around.

Thanks to this, every path the two little ones passed reeked of intense garlic and spice.

‘…What on earth are they doing?’

Agares, who was secretly following to ensure the safety of his little friend, couldn’t hide his amusement, but didn’t stop Evelia.

‘As long as the kid is having fun.’

However, the two little ones’ brave attempt to explore the Ghost’s Room was spectacularly thwarted when they encountered a maid cleaning window sills in the dark corridor.

“Aack!”

Startled, Arital screamed and stepped back, bumping into Evelia who was sprinkling garlic everywhere behind him.

Thud.

The impact caused Evelia to fall and instinctively grabbed a decorative statue that was standing next to her.

“Ah.”

Crash!

The statues, which were standing on thin legs, fell one after another causing a domino effect. Soon, the corridor in front of the Ghost’s Room became a disaster area, enough to scare even a ghost.

“Be careful.”

Agares lifted Evelia to prevent her from being hit by the fragments of the statues, but he didn’t touch the falling statues.

It wasn’t his place to care if someone else’s palace was in a mess.

Meanwhile, Evelia’s face, held aloft in Agares’ arm, paled. It was clearly a major accident.

Evelia cupped her soft cheeks in her hands and her lips, pouted out due to the action, mumbled,

“…To imprison me, you need the permission of our emperor.”

“…I am royalty and thus, immune.”

Even Arital, who was always confident, turned blue.

The dignified princess seized Evelia’s wrist and darted into Prince Adniel’s room, only to be ultimately arrested by the royal knight squad.

Among the two children taken into custody, Arital received punishment by raising his hand on the emperor’s orders, and Evelia pleaded earnestly before the emperor, asking not to tell her mother that she too had raised her hand and received punishment.

The emperor, who had been holding back his laughter while watching his daughter and her friend, suddenly became contemplative.

‘Should I confiscate the golden badge, even now…?’

Arital, who returned to the room rubbing his chilly arm and flopped onto the bed, showed signs of regret.

“Aye. Today was the day.”

“It’s because Arital got scared seeing the maid and it ended up like this.”

“And who was the princess that boldly claimed she wasn’t afraid of ghosts at all!”

“Goodness. I didn’t expect Arital to be scared like a frightened chick by seeing not a ghost but a maid!”

The two children, who looked at each other as if the other was ridiculous, burst into laughter at the same time.

While snickering with laughter, Arital pointed at Enlir with his chin and asked.

“But princess, what’s with that fox?”

“It’s the fox I cherish the most in the world.”

“Hmm. It seems to be lacking something.”

“What?”