“All this relies on the princess recovering her health, anyway. I’ve already taken that little kid to the princess as Elga asked. Isn’t that big help?”

“That’s true but…”

“This is as far as I can help. From now on, it’s up to the princess. Let’s see how the situation unfolds over time.”

In the end, Valtor, who failed to persuade Vlady, left the office with drooping shoulders.

When had so much time passed? The long corridor with its white marble floors was faintly lit by the setting sun.

‘I should probably give Sione a heads-up about Lord’s intentions.’

Though when Princess Bella would recover was uncertain, if Vlady suddenly lifted the Rose Palace’s closure, the one falling into the most difficult situation would be none other than Sione.

Even if Sione had incredible magical power, it seemed too much to handle the dark-hearted elders and nobles alone.

Since Elga would also return to the mountain to fulfill her duties once the princess overcame her illness, Sione would essentially have to protect the princess alone.

“After all, let’s not go to Rose Palace and just be in love with me.”

Valtor sighed deeply, recalling the event fifty years ago when he accidentally confessed his feelings to her.

After Daphne left the world, Sione wanted to go to the Rose Palace where the sleeping princess was imprisoned.

He couldn’t easily accept the fact that she, who was his subordinate and his exclusive sorcerer, would give up all the glory to take care of a princess who was essentially dethroned at birth.

He tried everything to change Sione’s mind, but she wouldn’t, and the incident burst forth in that process.

“Sione, it’s not too late even now. Go to the Lord and say you won’t go to Rose Palace. You don’t have to throw away everything you’ve worked hard for.”

“I promised Daphne that I would protect both of you. I’m just going to keep that promise.”
“Young and full of life, yet you’re willing to become a nanny to a baby who may never wake up? You can’t even take care of a child to begin with.”

“I’m more accustomed to a life of killing people. But I no longer want to live like that. I want to live a life where I care for someone and love them.”

“You don’t have to do that in the Rose Palace. If you want to do that, just date me instead!”

“What? Are you out of your mind?”

Since their school days together, the feelings he’d hidden came bursting out. Sione, assuming Balter was joking, cruelly ignored him and headed for the Rose Palace.

Deeply wounded, Balter lingered near the Rose Palace whenever he wanted to see Sione but never mustered the courage to approach her.

Thus, for decades, a wall of misunderstandings had built up between Balter and Sione, who were once best friends and comrades.

The timid Balter couldn’t bring himself to send her even a single letter, and Sione, having not heard from him in half a century, assumed he was avoiding her.

And as time passed, Balter deeply regretted those moments.

“I should have communicated my feelings more effectively.”

“Let’s help the princess. And then confess to Sione again. There will be plenty of opportunities to get closer to her while hanging around the Rose Palace.”

He recalled the royal banquet not long ago, where he danced with Sione.

Sione, who never bothered with makeup or fashion, appeared in a beautiful dress, capturing Balter in a whirlpool of jealousy.

Even without makeup or fancy clothes, Sione always looked beautiful to him. But dressed up, she was dazzlingly enchanting.

He almost wanted to gouge out the eyes of all the men drooling over Sione.

“Yes, Princess Bella also seemed to favor me.”

Despite his good looks, Balter was essentially introverted.

His solution, conceived after much thought, was to seek cooperation from Bella.

Though he still couldn’t fully understand it, Sione was clearly captivated by the princess.

Even Sione, who was generally uninterested in romance, might be intrigued if Bella actively supported a relationship with Balter.

“Alright. I’ll start working on it tomorrow.”

He felt proud of his seemingly flawless plan, although it wasn’t a good idea.

Given Sione’s straightforward personality, it would be better to directly express his feelings rather than scheming through someone else.

But how could Balter know that? He walked down the long, empty hallway, humming to himself.

Meanwhile, Raven, spending quiet time in her room, raised her head upon hearing distant footsteps.