The carriage stopped at the center of the Guild Street.

At first glance, this bustling area looked like an ordinary shopping district.

While there were shops and inns, true to its name, it was a place where various guilds coexisted.

‘Servant guild, mercenary guild, merchant guild… there’s everything here.’

It was said that if you went to the back alleys, there were even places that did dangerous work.

But more special places were always shrouded in mystery as a rule.

I looked at the scattered signs to find my way.

‘Let’s see.’

Although I had looked at the map beforehand, the street I actually faced was wider and bigger than I thought.

With so many people, it wasn’t easy to look around.

When I didn’t move, Ludvion stepped forward.

“I will take out the map.”

“Ah, no!”

I hurriedly grabbed his wrist. I felt his hand, which was about to pull out the map from his chest, flinch.

“In a place like this, looking at a map or looking around too much will make us seem like novices.”

It was basic knowledge about tourists that I had come across on the internet.

‘You’ll either get robbed or dragged into a back alley… anyway, scary things will happen.’

Ludvion would protect me, but it was best if such things didn’t happen at all.

“Come on, let’s go!”

I pushed through the crowd while tightly holding his wrist. I gripped it firmly, afraid I might lose him if I let go.

As I searched for the way, I could feel Ludvion hesitantly following behind me.

“Umm, so. Ah, over there!”

I saw the sign for the Florist Guild. If we turned past that, we would find a tavern called ‘The Fairy’s Oak Barrel’.

Just as in the original work, I saw the entrance of an old-looking tavern.

‘That’s it.’

Before getting close, I stopped in an alley to adjust my robe.

‘No one will pay attention to me, but… I’ve always wanted to try something like this.’

After carefully covering even my head, my heart pounded as if I had become an important person.

Ludvion was watching me do this.

“Ahem, it’s here.”

He probably couldn’t understand what I was thinking, but it was a bit embarrassing.

Instead of acting awkward, I pointed to the entrance of ‘The Fairy’s Oak Barrel’.

“…Are you going to a tavern?”

“Ah, that’s not it.”

Ludvion asked in a stiff voice.

‘He doesn’t think I’m asking him to keep secret from Kashar that I’m going to a tavern, does he?’

It would be strange to deny it too strongly.

“You’ll see when we go in. But are you hot? Your face is red.”

When I first saw Ludvion’s face after finding the way, it had turned very red.

He hastily stepped back as if he hadn’t realized his face was red. As he did so, my hand holding his wrist came loose.

Ludvion’s gaze seemed to linger on the tips of my fallen hand, but only for a moment.

“…It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

He shook his head and went inside.

‘Why is he acting like that?’

There hadn’t been enough time to get close.

Instead of hiding my awkwardness, I followed behind Ludvion.

Since it was still daytime, there weren’t many customers.

As we sat right at the bar, an elderly bartender gave us a look.

“What can I get you?”

He looked very annoyed at the customers who had just entered.

Even his unfriendly attitude was just like in the original work.

I didn’t mind and said what I wanted.

“I’d like a green caterpillar with mushrooms, please.”

Crack.

The bartender’s hand stopped wiping the glass.

The sudden change in his attitude instantly created tension.

‘The password hasn’t changed, has it?’

That horrible menu item was the password to meet the guildmaster of Elvitor.

If you want to deal with Elvitor, you can go to the guild.

But to meet the real guildmaster, you needed a different approach from the start.

‘Elsius went to seek help.’

Elsius, who had fled from Kashar, was looking for a place to hide.

The temple not only protects Elsius but also restrains him. It was clear that if he went back there, he wouldn’t even be able to meet Michael, so he needed a new place to stay.

The Guild Street he visited to find a force that would hide him.

Starting with healing an injured princess there, his connection with the Elvitor Guild also continues.

This password also came up around that time.

“Follow me.”

The bartender left the bar with a stern face.

I followed behind him, inwardly sighing with relief.

‘Phew, thank goodness.’

Fortunately, it seemed the password wasn’t wrong.

‘Still, I remembered it well.’

It was key that it stuck in my mind because it was so strange.

The bartender opened a door leading to the basement.

I swallowed dryly as I went down the stairs.

‘There should be one more door inside.’

In the basement, there was a door connected to Frigia’s study.

You might think you could just go right in, but of course not.

Beyond that door was an underground maze filled with magic landmines.

If you went in recklessly, you could say goodbye to this world after being hit by lightning or fireballs.

‘Well, should I call this typical of a magician?’

That’s why the bartender’s presence was necessary.

Only the guardian and the creator knew the path to avoid the magic landmines.

‘Is that it?’

At the end of the dark basement lit by torches, an old door was visible.

However, before we could even get there, the bartender’s footsteps stopped.

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

Consequently, Ludvion and I also had to stop in the narrow corridor.

The bartender, facing us, gruffly asked.

“Who’s your recommender?”

“Re-recommender?”

‘Was that necessary?’

When I awkwardly asked back, the bartender’s face hardened.

Something was going wrong.

‘I thought it was too easy!’

In the original work, the bartender would guide you through the underground maze just by saying the password.

But that was the story of Elsius, who had already made acquaintance with the princess, and I wasn’t the female protagonist.

“Ah, I do! I do have one!”

When I nodded belatedly, a suspicious gaze followed. I was being treated like a completely suspicious person.

“Then speak.”

The bartender reached for the axe hanging on the wall.

‘Why is that there?!’

It was already absurd that a weapon was attached to a perfectly normal wall, but he was acting like he was about to kill me.

Ludvion also reached for his sword hilt.

It was a critical situation.

With an ‘oh well, whatever’ mindset, I shouted his name.

“…Duke Kashar Bladis!”

In my urgency, I sold out the name of my contract boyfriend.

Then, the basement fell silent.

“…Duke Bladis?”

The bartender’s eyes glinted. Could there be some personal grudge I didn’t know about?

“How dare you come here!”

The iron-like hand grabbed the axe.

There was only one thing I could do now.

‘I have to run to survive.’

As I prepared to turn around, Ludvion’s eyes sharpened.

It was the moment he was naturally expecting a fight to break out.

A blue light spread from the door beyond the corridor.

‘A magic circle?’

Even to me, who knew nothing about magic, several overlapping patterns looked complicated.

With that, the door opened and out popped Frigia, the person I had come to meet.

“Lady Hallen!”

Frigia, her long hair fluttering, ran over and tightly grasped my hand. She was smiling brightly as if she had met a dear friend.

“Oh, Princess El?”

“Oh my, please call me by my name. May I call you Eileen as well?”

“What? Yes.”

I was drawn in by her smiling face.

Not stopping there, Frigia poured out words in a torrent.

“I’m so glad to meet you, Eileen! If you had come to the guild instead of here, I would have rushed right out!”

“Princess El… I mean, Lady Frigia?”

That high-nosed secret guildmaster, me?

When I asked in bewilderment, Frigia let out a sigh.

“Of course. Do you know how much I’ve been looking for you, Eileen? How many letters and people I sent to where you live… Ah, I’m not blaming you. Your lover must have intervened.”

What is she talking about now?

While I had been dreaming of moving, a lot had been happening behind the scenes.

“I heard you were moving… but it turned out to be the Duke’s castle. The road there was so heavily guarded. Moreover, there’s a barrier around the castle, right? Ah, I could break through it, but I wasn’t confident I could sneak out. The Duke’s personality is… quite good, isn’t it!”

Frigia laughed ohoho and patted my shoulder.

‘…She even tried to sneak in?’

She was a much more fearless person than I thought.

Moreover, to say such ambiguous things about Kashar, whether praise or criticism, was impressive.

“Let’s not stay here, let’s go inside. Thanks for guiding our guests, Robert!”

“…Yes. I’ll take my leave now.”

The doorkeeper, as if he had never touched the axe, became docile and left.

It was fortunate that we could meet without fighting.

As Ludvion and I approached, Frigia opened the door.

“Now, please come in.”

Beyond the door was not a maze, but her study.

The room, with hundreds of books on every shelf and various plants placed around, looked clean and cozy.

“Then, excuse me.”

“No need for formalities. Please sit comfortably! You too, Sir Knight!”

“I will stand by on the side.”

“Is that so?”

Frigia didn’t insist further and brought out tea for two people.

A pleasant orange scent wafted from the steaming tea.

Just as I was about to touch the cup.

I could feel Frigia looking at me with curious eyes.

“But how did you know about that passage? And that I was the guildmaster… You don’t seem very surprised.”

“I have my sources of information.”

“As expected, you’re no ordinary person!”

Frigia clapped her hands.

It was embarrassing to pretend, but this was better than being looked down upon by a potential business partner.

I decided to speak directly.

“You said you were looking for me. Was it because of the auction item from that day?”

“Oh my.”

Frigia, putting down her teacup, smiled meaningfully.

It was the face of a mysterious guildmaster, not a beautiful princess.

“That’s right. That alcohol you submitted, you know it set the highest price in auction history, right?”

“I’ve heard so.”

It was the moment when our makgeolli took the lead in an empire where wine was thriving.

‘It’s good to be recognized, but…’

Since all the winning bid amount was registered as a donation, I couldn’t touch a single coin.

I hoped it would be used for good causes, but it was too large an amount to let go.

“Since you seem to want to speak quickly, I’ll talk from the guildmaster’s perspective. That alcohol, we want to sell it exclusively.”

The highest-ever auction item in Oloroge auction history. Add to that the name of the Elvitor Guild, and makgeolli would surely sell like hotcakes. And for an enormous sum at that.

‘Originally, doing business with the Marchioness would be the norm, but.’

The Lemang Marquis family was the enemy, and currently awaiting imperial trial while in detention.

In the end, it had become a situation where I only made donations with nothing left for myself.

“But I can only supply a small amount.”

“That’s even better. The less there is, the more valuable it becomes. Do you have any desired sales direction?”

Frigia’s eyes sparkled.

In fact, as she guessed, I did have something in mind.

“I want to build a building. As a luxury store that only sells rare alcohol.”

Here, luxury goods were obtained through word of mouth and connections. Even with money, without complex networks and guarantors, you couldn’t get them.

It’s better to eliminate such troublesome intermediate procedures.

At this, Frigia’s eyes flashed.

“That’s a really good idea!”

I was glad she had the same thought as me.

Afterwards, Frigia and I continued to discuss business-related matters.

Finally, she made one last proposal.

“By any chance, could that also be sold?”

“What is it?”

“The black, round pie that was wrapped in plastic!”

Black and round?

As I racked my brain, I remembered the choco pies I had given to the children.

“Did you try that?”

Strange.

I vividly remembered that count’s son messing them up.

“Yes! There was one behind a pillar. I picked it up and tried it. Really, I’ve never tasted such sweetness before! The sweet and slightly bitter taste… what on earth is that white thing in the middle?!”

Still, she’s a princess.

Even if it was packaged, to pick up and eat something from the ground, she was an amazing person.

Frigia straightened her upper body and slammed the table. Her impassioned speech wasn’t over yet.

“How did you come up with such amazing recipes…! Lady Eileen, you’re not human, are you!”

“What?”

“You must be an angel. You must be an angel who came to spread heavenly flavors to the world!”

A bizarre situation was unfolding where I had become an angel because of makgeolli and choco pies.