With those final words, the Captain activated his ability.

At first, I tried to stop him somehow, but soon I couldn’t.

The air surrounding the Captain had become painfully hot.

To think this was the power possessed by a single human.

The already warm air now felt as hot as if it contained flames.

As my skin was about to be cooked, I quickly spread a cold aura to protect Karl and myself from the heat.

I also continuously drew upon my ability to maintain that state, but it wasn’t enough to completely block the Captain’s heat.

So, sweating profusely all over my body, I thought:

This doesn’t seem like a phenomenon caused by a person.

This is more like a natural disaster.

The power of flames, as strong as a wildfire devouring vast lands, continued to boil the water.

The grass blades that had been blooming by the water’s edge had long since dried up and crumbled to dust, and hot steam was slowly rising from the water’s surface.

Then, at some point.

Grrrrrr―!!

The monster that had been hiding underwater, waiting for us to enter, raised its head above the surface.

Unable to withstand the suddenly rising water temperature, it had come out of the water.

I quickly shouted to the Captain who was concentrating.

“Captain! The monster…!”

“I’ll handle it, step back!”

I knew well that the Captain wasn’t one to be defeated by a half-cooked snake.

For that reason, instead of rushing towards him, I spread my cold aura even more strongly to protect Karl and myself.

Meanwhile, the Captain leaped towards the monster, wielding his halberd.

Slash―

While I could barely pierce the skin with my sword,

The Captain’s large halberd easily cut through the monster’s thick skin and body.

Splash―!

The severed head of the monster fell onto the hot water surface.

The body, having lost its head in an instant, thrashed about in all directions as if in a final struggle, splashing hot water everywhere.

I quickly raised an ice wall from the ground to block the water splashing towards us.

Then I called out to the Captain.

“Captain! Are you alright!”

The steam was so thick that I couldn’t see anything.

For a moment, an ominous thought crossed my mind.

That the Captain might have been hit by the thrashing body of the decapitated monster.

Or that he might have fainted right after beheading the monster due to overusing his ability.

If so, the Captain would be sinking into that hot water unconscious.

“Captain!”

As I was about to rush to the water’s edge calling for him,

Once again, someone grabbed the back of my neck.

“Trying to go into the water again? I really can’t take my eyes off you.”

The person who grabbed me was, of course, the Captain.

He had quietly approached while the steam obscured our vision and was now holding the back of my neck.

He glared at me once as I dangled from his hand, then slowly released his grip on my collar.

“If you go into that water now, you’ll be cooked alive. Yet you were trying to go in, what were you thinking?”

“I thought you had lost consciousness and sunk below the surface, Captain.”

“…Unnecessary worry.”

The Captain said in his usual curt tone and turned his head away.

On the surface, he seemed to be scolding me, but having spent about 6 years with him, including the time before the regression, I could tell.

That his mood wasn’t in such a bad state.

While I was observing the subtle emotion that had appeared on the Captain’s face, Karl bowed his head towards the Captain.

“I’m sorry for causing worry, Captain. But fortunately, the Queen has been dealt with, so how about returning first? It will take a long time to destroy the mana stone as we need to wait for the water to cool down.”

“That won’t be necessary. I’m worried about leaving you two alone. Let’s destroy the mana stone together and return together. Above all―”

The Captain, who had spoken up to that point, now looked at me and continued.

“There’s no need to sit and wait for the water to cool down, is there, Vice Captain?”

“Yes. Please wait a moment. I may not be able to cool such a large amount of water completely, but making it lukewarm should be easy.”

I crouched down by the water’s edge, just as the Captain had done earlier, and dipped both hands into the water.

Then I activated my ability and spread cold energy into the water.

The cold energy that spread from my hands slowly cooled the heated water.

When it reached a temperature where it was safe for a person to enter, I went into the water myself and smashed the mana stone.

Crack―!

With that, we were able to safely close one rift.

When we came out of the rift, the sky was dark.

We rode the horses we had tied nearby, traveling leisurely through the night, and were able to return to the camp around sunrise.

Having finished a difficult battle, I wanted to rest, but sadly that seemed unlikely.

A carriage that appeared to have been sent by Ernant was parked in front of my tent.

The imperial servants and knights who had been loitering near the carriage without sleeping bowed deeply upon seeing me.

“By imperial order, we are here to escort Lady Yulia to the Marquis’s residence on the island. Are you ready to depart?”

As expected, they were indeed sent by Ernant.

He had sent an escort in advance, fearing that I might disobey his orders and delay.

Marveling anew at his thoroughness, I replied to them.

“There’s nothing else to pack. We can go as is.”

“Then please board the carriage now. His Majesty is eagerly awaiting your arrival on the island, Lady Yulia.”

With an imperial order issued, I had no right of refusal.

Whatever the case, I had to go up to the island early, put on the dress Ernant had sent, and become his partner.

Feeling a bit helpless, I sighed as the coachman opened the carriage door.

As he tried to even take my hand, I refused and was about to board the carriage when I heard the Captain’s voice from behind.

“Are you leaving?”

“Yes, His Majesty said he wants to see me as soon as possible, so as a loyal subject, I must move quickly.”

Though unintended, my words were laced with thorns.

It sounded as if I was daring to mock the Emperor, causing the coachman and knights sent by Ernant to flinch slightly.

Ignoring their reaction, I bowed my head to the Captain.

“I’ll see you at the Imperial Palace. Please take care until then.”

“…If you’re going, then go quickly.”

“Yes, I’ll depart now.”

It was an incredibly dry conversation, but I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

It wasn’t as if I could throw a belated tantrum to the Captain about not wanting to be Ernant’s partner.

In the end, I boarded the carriage Ernant had sent, and left the camp.

Without being able to see what kind of face the Captain made as he watched me leave.

The people Ernant sent were quite courteous.

They constantly asked if I was uncomfortable during the journey and made sure I was well-fed.

They treated me like a typical noble lady.

For me, who had lived roughly as a knight, this treatment was a bit burdensome, but thanks to it, I was able to arrive on the island comfortably.

More precisely, at the ‘villa owned by the Schnesthern Marquis family’ on the island.

Upon arrival, about twenty servants who had come out to greet me bowed their heads all at once.

“Welcome, Lady Yulia! We will do our best to ensure there are no inconveniences during your stay here!”

Receiving their greetings, I couldn’t help but feel quite burdened once again.

Today too, the greeting was grand.

It must have been Johannes’s instructions.

Johannes. The head of the Schnesthern Marquis family, the Margrave of the Empire’s border, and my only younger brother.

Since our parents passed away, he is the only family I have left.

Anyway, every time I came, Johannes would gather everyone like this to greet me, and I was partly to blame for this.

The reason he acted so stiffly was also due to my strict home education.

Just then, the butler who was among the servants approached and asked me.

“Shall I guide you to His Excellency? He is also here at the villa for the event. He arrived early and has been waiting for you.”

“Yes, I should see Johannes first.”

“Please leave your luggage with the servants and follow me.”

As my luggage consisted of only a sword, I left it with the servants and followed the butler.

He guided me to the study, and there I finally met my beloved brother.

A face identical to mine. My brother with the same silver hair and the same purple eyes as mine was there.

As soon as he saw me, he hurriedly stood up from his seat.

“Si-Sister? You’re here already? I’m sorry I couldn’t come out to greet you personally. I’ve been so busy with a mountain of work to handle…”

True to his words, his desk was piled high with documents.

As the head of a great family supporting one pillar of the Empire, he always had a lot of work to handle.

That’s probably why he forgot to come out to greet me, even though he had intended to.

It was completely understandable, but he seemed to be quite bothered by it and started hurriedly organizing the documents.

“I’m sorry for showing you such a disorganized state. I’ll tidy up right now―”

“Johannes.”

“Yes?”

“It’s alright. Take your time. I’ll wait.”

Johannes, who had been flustering, suddenly stopped his hands.

Then, as if he had heard something unbelievable, he started to examine me with trembling eyes.