Siod proved to be quite useful.

“Her name is Mariana Yebley. She’s a second cousin to the Empress, and was born with a weak constitution. Though her debut was delayed, she was set to be selected as the Empress’s lady-in-waiting immediately upon debut. However, while staying at the Imperial Palace before her debut, she suddenly took leave and disappeared.”

“Was that when she became pregnant?”

“I think she must have fled as soon as she realized she was pregnant. The last hotel she stayed at was owned by the Yebley family, so she may have asked them for help. But on the day the Empress invited Lady Yebley to the palace, her daughter went missing.”

“She was abandoned,” Guinevere said with a grave expression.

“After that, the Yebley family hastily declared their daughter deceased, and well…”

Siod shrugged and added, “Perhaps it was because the family quickly treated her as dead that she was able to survive until the end.”

“I see…”

Guinevere smiled bitterly. Though they both knew it was more likely the Yebley family had abandoned their daughter in a desperate attempt to preserve their position, neither of them mentioned this fact.

“What will you do?”

“About what?”

“Larisa wants to know about her parents.”

“We must keep it a secret.”

Of course, Siod fully intended to respect Guinevere’s opinion. However, he hoped she wouldn’t end up hurt because of this later.

“Won’t you regret it? Lara might resent you later.”

“…When Lara becomes an adult. Not now. If Marina didn’t tell me in the first place, she must have had her reasons. I’ll respect Marina’s choice.”

Siod nodded. After appearing serious for a moment, he soon smiled brightly and said:

“Then let’s go on a date now!”

“Not now.”

“What? Why?”

“Later. I’ve already planned our date schedule, so you just need to follow along.”

Siod was so moved that he covered his mouth with both hands.

‘So assertive.’

This is my woman.

*

The day of the Academy festival that Larisa had been looking forward to arrived.

“Eek! Sir Knight, please help me!”

William inwardly sighed for the thousandth time and walked steadily towards the young lady calling for a knight.

“What seems to be the matter, my lady?”

“I’m too tired to walk. Please take me over there.”

When he looked to see where “there” was, he saw the central fountain, one of the hot spots for couples.

“Very well.”

William approached the young lady playing the role of “lady” and extended his hand to escort her. The girl quickly linked arms with him, pressing close and thrusting her face near William’s.

“You’re Sir William Rodante, aren’t you?”

“That’s correct.”

“Oh my, how cute!”

William frowned, wondering which part of him could possibly be considered cute. And why did they all insist on calling for him when there were plenty of cool, handsome upperclassmen around? He felt like he was going to die of exhaustion.

“We’ve arrived. If you’ll excuse me.”

“Wait, just a moment, Sir Rodante! Let’s chat for a bit!”

William pretended not to hear and walked away. However, he was soon surrounded by a group of young ladies blatantly calling out “Sir Knight, please help us!” right in front of him.

‘Among the first years, you’ll probably have the hardest time.’

William was experiencing firsthand the truth of his seniors’ words.

“What seems to be the problem?”

“We’ve lost our way. Could you guide us to the library?”

The library was the farthest place from the festival grounds, kept open for fourth-year students facing graduation and job hunting, unrelated to the festival.

And the young ladies before him looked to be about his age at best. William inwardly sighed for the thousand-and-first time and replied:

“I’d be happy to guide you.”

Kindly and politely. As he continued this charade, going round and round the Academy grounds, he suddenly found himself missing his mother.

Not because he actually missed her, but because festival knights were allowed to avoid interruptions when guiding their families.

‘Even without such a rule, no one would dare approach if I were beside Mother.’

He was newly realizing just how comfortable (?) a position being Guinevere’s son had been.

‘But it’s not like Mother would come, right?’

Or would she? Larisa had said she wanted to come, so who knows. Ever since Larisa appeared, his mother seemed to have become a completely different person.

‘Maybe she’ll come with Larisa… or is that too much to hope for?’

William chuckled to himself. It was amusing how he was already having such expectations after just a few months.

‘Wait, expectations?’

Expectations, indeed. It’s not like he wanted his mother to come to the festival. Rather, if she said she was coming, he’d be worried…

William’s heart began to race. It was his mother’s voice. He quickly checked his wristwatch and saw it glowing.

“Mother?”

“Wait, wait. Right now?”

William hurriedly turned the second hand of his wristwatch and pressed a button. A red light emitted from the direction the second hand was pointing, drawing a magic circle on the ground.

The young ladies gasped in amazement.

“Is Lady Rodante coming?”

“I’ve heard about this. The Rodante family’s wristwatch is a special magical tool. I thought it only did video calls!”

Soon after, with a resonating “woong” sound vibrating through the air, Guinevere and Larisa appeared above the magic circle.

Larisa, who had been held in one of Guinevere’s arms, smiled brightly and called out:

“William!”

William instinctively reached out to embrace Larisa, who was naturally extending her arms.

“I missed you!”

It was the greeting she never failed to give every time they met on weekends. William’s face flushed as he felt a tickle in his chest.

“Me too.”

The young ladies each let out exclamations of admiration.

“How adorable!”

She was a lovable little girl at first glance. And here was a handsome young man smiling unknowingly while holding her. The sudden visual treat delighted the young ladies.

“Are these your friends?”

“No. They’re ladies who’ve lost their way, and I was guiding them.”

Moreover, Guinevere Rodante indeed looked like William’s birth mother, but her mature and charismatic aura made the young ladies’ hearts flutter.

“I see. Then continue with your guidance. We’ll follow behind.”

“No, it’s alright! Sir Rodante, we’ll head back to the festival grounds now. You should spend time with your family.”

The young ladies made fighting poses as if to cheer William on. William nodded, bewildered.

“Ah, thank you.”

“Not at all. It’s really too bad to leave like this, but… we’re rooting for you, Sir Rodante!”

“Pardon?”

“Have a good time with your mother and little sister!”

The young ladies ran off, giggling. William stood there, still looking dazed.

‘I’m grateful they left, but what are they cheering for?’

It was because of the rumor that the cold-hearted witch Guinevere Rodante had finally started to acknowledge her son, but William was unaware of this.

Larisa tugged on the clothes of the dazed William.

“Sir Knight, please help me!”

She knew this spell from James. Festival knights couldn’t refuse when it was used. William burst into laughter.

“How may I assist you, my lady?”

“You’re calling me ‘lady’?”

“That’s the rule.”

“Then can I also ask for things like buying me candy?”

“Usually not, but since it’s you, Lara, I’ll buy it for you.”

‘They’re having fun.’

Guinevere frowned as she watched the two get along so well. Seeing these little ones already being all lovey-dovey despite still being kids irritated her.

“Ah, Mother… Did you come to drop Lara off?”

William finally turned to Guinevere and spoke. Guinevere felt annoyed. So you already want to play alone with her, is that it?

“No. I came to enjoy the festival too.”

“What?”

“What do you do at an Academy festival? Guide me.”

Then William asked with a surprised expression:

“What? You’re not leaving?”

“Would you like me to?”

“Pardon?”

“Would you prefer if I left?”

Guinevere asked, raising an eyebrow. It seemed like it would be a big problem if he answered that he would…

“Ah, no, that’s not it… It’s just that you’re busy, Mother.”

“I am busy. But this is my first festival too.”

“Ah…”

“What are you doing? Guide me already.”

Larisa, unable to stand by any longer, chimed in.

“Oh come on, Mother. You should say ‘Sir Knight, please help me!'”

“What?”

“James said that to order around the festival knights, you have to say ‘Sir Knight, please help me!'”

“I see.”

Guinevere said with an expressionless face.

“Sir Knight, please help me.”

William’s face began to turn red. Why was he the one feeling embarrassed when his mother was being so shameless?

“Understood…”

“You should say ‘my lady’, William.”

“Understood, my lady…”

“Put me down quickly. And escort Mother properly.”

“What?”

“What are you doing, William?”

William put down Larisa, who was dangling her legs, with a bewildered face. Then he looked at Guinevere with a helpless expression.

Guinevere gracefully extended her hand.

“Sir Knight?”

William took his mother’s hand with a bright red face. He felt like his hands and feet were curling up in embarrassment.

‘It’s so hard to get these two to get along.’

Larisa thought to herself as she watched them. William was too shy, and Guinevere seemed like an emotionally barren person at first glance.

But Larisa felt that both Guinevere and William were people who got very lonely. She didn’t know for sure, but somehow she had that feeling.

‘As long as my magic doesn’t completely disappear, I’ll continue to live with a youthful appearance.’

Guinevere’s face looked terribly lonely when she said that. At the same time, Larisa remembered what her mom had said.

‘With Lara here, Mom isn’t lonely.’

Perhaps Guinevere had given birth to William because she was lonely. After all, living with a youthful appearance for over a hundred years meant being alone for over a hundred years.

Larisa shook her head to clear her thoughts and said:

“Sir Knight, buy me candy first.”

“Then I shall escort you to the candy shop.”