Eustar’s eyes widened slightly upon hearing Laila’s question. Laila had no idea why he reacted that way… The brief moment waiting for an answer felt like years to her.

After a heavy silence—only for Laila—passed, Eustar suddenly burst into laughter. It was a voice that sounded strangely refreshing.

“Was that the first thing you wanted to ask?”

Laila looked at him with wide eyes.

“Of course. No, there were many other candidates too. But… You were a prince? You, really?”

Eustar rested his chin on his hand with a relaxed smile, like a prankster who had set a trap.

“Yes. Let me introduce myself formally, young lady Laila. My name is Eustar Hyanmorik. I am the prince of the Kingdom of Sierou and also the head of Tentinella. This is information you deduced earlier, but I’m worried you might have forgotten in your surprise, so I’ll tell you again.”

Hyanmorik. Come to think of it, Laila remembered that he hadn’t mentioned his surname when he told her his name. Even if he had said it, whether she would have realized it right away was another matter…

Eustar watched Laila’s constantly changing expressions with amusement and said,

“I’ve heard that witches generally express very little emotion, but you don’t seem to be like that.”

Laila replied,

“Well, maybe it’s because I’m odd. My mother sometimes said that to me too. No, she didn’t say it. It was just a thought, but somehow I could tell. I wasn’t raised being hated, but whenever I noticed such things, somehow… I felt like I wasn’t born from my mother’s body.”

“Is that so? Did your mother find you in the middle of a field full of chicory? Like in old tales?”

“Well, that could be. After all, my mother wasn’t a medium… Though she was an excellent witch.”

She had a thoughtful expression for a moment, then suddenly looked down at the unfamiliar dress she was wearing, as if she had just remembered something.

“Why did you put this on me?”

“Are you asking out of curiosity? Or are you complaining?”

“Let’s say half and half.”

Eustar’s eyes sparkled as he smiled. For a moment, Laila thought he might be quite an impulsive man.

It wasn’t based on any logic or long observation. It was a sudden sensation that flashed through her mind, like a swung blade cutting through her body.

Switching hands to rest his chin on the other side, Eustar asked a question instead of answering hers.

“Don’t you like the dress?”

Laila said,

“It’s not that I don’t like it. It’s just… It’s my first time wearing something like this, so it feels awkward, and I don’t think it’s the kind of clothes I should wear.”

“There’s no set rule about who should or shouldn’t wear dresses. Right? If you’re born a noble, are you given the right to wear dresses, and if you’re born a commoner, are you obligated to wear only homespun clothes for life? It’s not like that, is it?”

“Well, that’s true, but what I mean is…”

Before she could finish, Eustar nodded in agreement.

“I know what you’re trying to say, Laila. But that’s how it is fundamentally. You can wear any kind of clothes, and remember that. From now on too.”

“Once I leave here, I’ll never wear something like this again.”

Eustar smiled enigmatically.

“You never know. Don’t be so sure.”

Laila didn’t pay much attention to his words. She just thought he was giving her simple comfort, saying she didn’t need to feel so awkward.

If she had known earlier that this was completely wrong, would things have been different? Even later, Laila would sometimes vividly recall this day, her first step into the Sierou royal palace, as if it were yesterday. Even the conversation she had with Eustar…

But that is a story for much later.

Eustar suddenly tilted his head back. His long hair fell back, swaying gently.

His platinum blonde hair, beautiful enough to be mesmerizing, swayed like willow branches in the wind. His relaxed posture, leaning comfortably against the backrest, matched perfectly with his slightly loosened attire.

He really is a prince. Laila thought. While the royal palace was a place that burdened people by its very name, for Eustar, this was home.

This place will never burn down or crumble away. No matter what happens.

“What’s wrong?”

Eustar straightened up and asked, noticing Laila’s expression darken. She slightly raised her red eyes, then let out a short sigh.

“Nothing. I was just thinking about home for a moment. There’s probably only ashes left.”

Eustar looked at her with a regretful expression.

“I’m sorry. Truly. But… I’ll do something about it. I promise.”

“How? Are you going to build me a new house?”

“Of course, if that’s what you want. Right now, even. I can build you a stronger, better house. Is that what you want?”

This time, Laila tilted her head back. A wry laugh escaped her. Was it because she and he were so different? Because of the enormous difference she couldn’t even begin to comprehend? She felt dejected.

Fiddling with the ends of her hair, Laila said,

“I appreciate the offer, but that doesn’t seem to be the problem right now. And even if you build a new house… Even if you build a castle, it can’t be the same as the home I lost. That place was where countless witches, including myself, lived. My mother and grandmother and… Maybe even the first witch built that house. It would have been hundreds of years ago, so if that’s true, it would be quite something.”

The first witch. It was a story passed down in the Kingdom of Sierou, almost like an old folk tale.

Hundreds of years ago, a woman looking for the perfect husband summoned a demon to make a wish. But the demon was so attractive that she ended up having relations with him, and thus became the first witch, according to the story.

The story says she gave birth to a daughter, who was also a witch. However, the daughter did not summon demons to have children. It was easier and simpler to seduce human men.

“That’s why people all hate witches. Even though they can’t distinguish whether they’re seeing a real witch or not… That’s why there were terrible things like witch hunts in the Dark Ages. The funny thing is, most of the women called witches actually helped other women. They willingly made tinctures to reduce the pain of childbirth or reduce inflammation. Sometimes they even made something that could secretly dispose of unfaithful husbands… But even women hated them.”

Laila, speaking calmly as if talking to herself, touched her hair with her fingers, then traced her fingertips near her eyes.

“Black hair and red eyes. These two are the marks of a witch. The fact that I’m alive here means that the bloodline of ‘real’ witches survived even the Dark Ages. The women who died were probably just apothecaries who lived alone and were good at making tinctures. Poor things.”

This was a story Eustar was also familiar with. The evidence of a witch’s bloodline. This evidence had been clearly specified since ancient times, but in the Dark Ages, witches were not sought out based on such criteria.

If someone was different, if they didn’t fit in with others, an ordinary woman could be transformed into a witch. Hair color, eye color, age, and such had nothing to do with it. Social status didn’t matter either.

Laila said,

“The story got a bit sidetracked. Anyway, in the future… even if I get any kind of house, it can’t be the same as that one. That was a real witch’s house. A house of countless witches.”

Eustar, who had been listening quietly, smiled and agreed.

“I understand what you mean. I think I spoke a bit insensitively.”

“I didn’t mean to blame you. I appreciate the offer of a house.”

After a brief silence, Laila tapped the edge of the table with her fingertips and asked again.

“You said you needed me, right? But why are we staying in the royal palace? I have a vague idea of what I need to do in the future, but…”

Eustar pondered for a moment how much he should tell her.

The worry that she might run away in the middle of the night if she knew in advance that she had to meet his elder brother crossed his mind, but… keeping it a secret would surely lead to even worse results.

Without trust, nothing works. Eustar thought. If there was anything most crucial between him and Laila right now, it was trusting each other.

Even if it was very thin and one-dimensional, it was fine. There were things waiting for them that they couldn’t do together without a trusting relationship.

“We won’t stay in the royal palace for long. Probably. A month… No, it won’t even take that long.”

Laila’s eyes widened. A month? The thought of spending a month here alone was suffocating. She could barely stand a week, let alone a month!

“Anyway, you’re saying we have to stay for a few more days.”

Eustar smiled regretfully but in agreement with her words.

“The headquarters is here. I’ve been away from my post for quite a while looking for you. There are a few things I need to be briefed on when the members return. And… there are things you need to prepare for too.”

“As for what I need to prepare…”

“It’s simple. How to use portals, how to use magical tools… Learning those things. You have special eyes and ears, but with just those, you’re likely to get into danger. As you can see, even the smallest synch can have tremendous influence and danger. The synch we saw in Lizikus was barely a grade 1 in terms of rating. Yet it tried to control you.”

Laila raised her hand like a student and asked,

“What’s a grade rating?”

Eustar answered,

“In Tentinella, we grade synchs to manage them. There are various criteria like size, energy concentration, and danger level. Grade 1 synchs are the weakest, and grade 5 synchs are the strongest. The strongest observed so far was equivalent to grade 4. We lost a third of the members from the 4th and 5th branches dealing with the magical beasts that came out of that synch.”

The back of her neck bristled. She knew that accompanying him wasn’t going to be a simple matter, but now the fact she had only vaguely understood in her mind seemed to sink in.

Eustar continued,

“So, Laila, you need to prepare too. There’s one more important thing you need to do. This is something you must do even if you don’t like it.”

“What is it?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Eustar said with a sigh,

“Tomorrow, you need to have an audience with my elder brother… that is, His Majesty the King of Sierou.”

Suddenly, Laila’s vision began to spin.