The argument between the two friends unexpectedly ended in Jay’s victory.

For someone like Rayleigh to lose an argument!

Surprised by this unprecedented result, Alicia opened her eyes wide and looked back and forth between Rayleigh and Jay.

Was her gaze more impactful than losing the argument?

Rayleigh groaned and banged his head on the table.

And Jay burst into laughter triumphantly at Rayleigh and opened his mouth towards Alicia.

“Haha, there’s no need to be so surprised.”

“You seem quite pleased for someone saying that.”

“Winning is always good no matter what.”

Well, that wasn’t wrong.

Winning is better than losing, after all.

As Alicia nodded and emptied her teacup, Rayleigh recovered from the shock of defeat and straightened his posture.

Though he had things to do, it was time to hear why Alicia had left the imperial palace to meet him.

“Now that you’ve visited the Information Guild as you wished, may I hear what it is you wanted to ask me?”

“I suppose it’s the same information the Viscount was trying to get from Jay here.”

“At this point, I don’t think there’s much use in that probing tone…”

“I wanted to ask about magic beasts. Specifically about ‘mutants’.”

Was Alicia’s answer unexpected?

Jay couldn’t hide his surprise as he looked at Alicia’s face.

In the information he had, Alicia was ‘the emperor’s cherished princess’, ‘an immature girl whose only interest was Duke Diaz’.

A royal with no interest in the throne.

‘Unless her head… I mean, unless she’s living with a flower garden in her head, that’s impossible.’

It was a well-known fact throughout the empire that the current emperor and his children had a good relationship.

But having a good relationship doesn’t mean they wouldn’t covet the throne.

Aren’t humans born with greed?

So in Jay’s mind, Alicia was nothing more than a lucky woman born as royalty, neither more nor less than just such a figure.

‘Whether her head is a flower garden or whatever, is a royal still a royal?’

But the princess he directly faced showed a completely different image from the one in his head.

He had never thought a person could exude nobility just by breathing… but even just standing there, it was like looking at a work of art, and even when she uttered a single word, there was a naturally embedded dignity.

‘And she wants to know about magic beasts, it seems she’s still not interested in the throne, but why?’

She’s a princess who has never shown any political moves so far.

Yet she’s showing interest in ‘mutants’ which aren’t well known to others yet.

It’s not simply because she’s afraid of that ‘mutant’ going around calling her name.

‘If that were the case, running to the emperor and crying for help would be the best option.’

Isn’t the emperor extremely fond of the princess?

Even the crown prince was said to drop everything and come running for his only sister’s matters.

“As I said before, that’s all I can tell you.”

While Jay was observing Alicia’s appearance, Rayleigh was dealing with her quite firmly.

But due to her next answer, Rayleigh realized he could no longer pretend not to know.

“I saw the report you submitted to His Majesty.”

“…How?”

“In His Majesty’s office.”

“…Did His Majesty show it to you?”

“Of course not.”

“R-right?”

“I just saw it myself.”

Of course, she hadn’t examined the contents in detail, but it wasn’t a lie.

It was true that she had directly seen the report, even if it was just the title.

She just wasn’t informing Rayleigh of that fact in detail.

“…Why did you look at it?”

“I was curious.”

Rayleigh’s purple eyes wavered, unaware of the truth Alicia hadn’t spoken.

Before the regression, he had been a cold and detached man without a single weak spot, but now he was a man with plenty of vulnerable points.

Perhaps thinking the same as Alicia, Jay clicked his tongue shortly while shaking his head at Rayleigh.

It seemed his stupid friend had become even more stupid while he wasn’t looking.

‘Did he hit his head or something? If not… is that princess the problem?’

When his thoughts reached that point, Rayleigh’s stupid appearance started to take on a different meaning.

Though it was unlikely, if it was that kind of thing, Jay’s lips curled up involuntarily at the thought that he might see some really interesting scenes in the future.

“If you saw that, you shouldn’t need to ask separately, right?”

“I want to confirm if I read it correctly.”

Unaware that Jay had started looking at him with a meaningful gaze, Rayleigh tried to back out one last time, but Alicia, smiling gently as she answered, didn’t allow it.

Realizing that he would eventually have to spill the information Alicia wanted, Rayleigh let out a long sigh.

“The fact that I spoke about this is a secret from His Majesty and the Crown Prince.”

“The fact that I saw your report is also a secret.”

“Ah, really…”

I’m totally caught.

Rayleigh roughly ruffled his hair, picked up his chipped teacup to wet his mouth, and then slowly began to explain what he knew.

Not only Alicia but also Jay was present here, but Rayleigh wasn’t paying any attention to that side at all.

That was because all the information written in Rayleigh’s report was information that Jay had confirmed and provided.

“We have confirmed that black crystals are related to the mutation of magic beasts. However, we haven’t been able to determine where and how the black crystals originate. Mutants are always found where black crystals are discovered, but black crystals are not always found where mutants are discovered.”

“So the black crystals change the magic beasts?”

“The method is quite disgusting, but yes, that’s right. Most black crystals and mutants are found in the north, but while they’re most numerous there, they’re appearing evenly across all directions.”

“Is the capital safe?”

“We can’t be certain. Right, Jay?”

“Yes, Rayleigh is correct about that. We haven’t discovered any black crystals in the capital yet, but since magic beasts have been found in places other than the north, we can’t say the capital is ‘absolutely’ safe.”

Black crystals that mutate magic beasts.

It wasn’t clear whether they were man-made or naturally occurring.

If they were man-made, who was making them and for what purpose, and if they were naturally occurring, what was the cause?

It’s true that the beast lands beyond the northern border are still the area with the highest occurrence of mutants, and that they can’t leave Killian’s territory, but considering that the place with the second highest discovery of mutants is near the western border, it was clear that the capital couldn’t be at ease.

“Soon, other nobles will also learn about the mutants. One sharp-eyed noble is already going around inquiring about magic beasts and black crystals.”

“Who is that?”

“Count Findley.”

At Jay’s words, Rayleigh failed to manage his expression and quickly turned his head so Alicia wouldn’t notice.

Is he thinking of using the magic beast issue as an excuse to reclaim his past territory?

Or is he gathering information out of concern after hearing news of magic beasts appearing in the west, his former territory?

‘No, that’s definitely not it.’

Rayleigh had confirmed through Jay that the reason he was currently stirring up various nobles was closer to a desire to get back at Killian than an intention to reclaim the western territory.

It seems he wants to hold Killian responsible for his father’s death, but unfortunately for Count Findley, the emperor has already made a judgment on this matter.

No matter how great Count Findley’s resentment, he didn’t have the power to overturn the emperor’s judgment.

‘So instead of moving openly, he’s trying to scheme behind the scenes.’

Shaking off the image of Count Findley’s yellow eyes glaring at Killian with a gloomy face at the last banquet, Rayleigh composed his expression and looked at Alicia again.

“So, have you confirmed everything you wanted to check?”

“Just one more thing.”

“Please go ahead.”

“When exactly did the black crystals and mutants first appear?”

“As I wrote in the report, it was last winter… Wait, Your Highness? Didn’t you say you saw the report? Why are you asking about that?”

Something’s strange.

Belatedly noticing this strangeness, Rayleigh questioned Alicia with a face that said ‘Surely it’s not what I’m thinking?’

If she had seen the report, there’s no way she wouldn’t have noticed the occurrence time written at the beginning.

Seeming to notice his doubt, Alicia avoided Rayleigh’s gaze.

“Your Highness, surely… did you lie to me?”

“I didn’t lie. I did see the report you submitted to His Majesty.”

Did see?

Jay’s eyes sparkled as he noticed the subtle nuance in her words.

He had a strong feeling that something interesting to him, but likely to make Rayleigh’s insides churn, was about to happen right here.

And his premonition was not wrong.

“To be precise, I only saw the title of the report and your name as the author.”

“Wh-what…!”

To think that this sharp-witted jerk would fall for someone else’s lie!

Though he had occasionally won arguments against him, Jay had never managed to deceive him. He looked at Alicia with overly sparkling eyes.

He had noticed that this princess was an interesting person, but he hadn’t expected her to show such an amusing side so soon.

“My goodness, this is really interesting.”

“…Can’t you say things like that internally?”

“Did I make a sound? Sorry?”

“I know you’re not sorry, so just shut up for a bit.”

Alicia turning away as if embarrassed, Rayleigh clutching his head with both hands at the fact he’d been deceived, and Jay observing the scene of these two with sparkling eyes.

A truly rare sight was unfolding on the first floor of .