The Imperial Princess’s palace was bustling from early morning.

The princess, who normally never invited guests for meals, had invited those who were to join her on the journey to the Tower of Sages to the palace before her departure.

The chef, who had obtained an opportunity to show off his cooking skills to outsiders after a long time, had been up since dawn, pushing his assistants.

“Isn’t this too grand for breakfast?”

Alicia, who had changed clothes and sat at the table in front of the terrace, shook her head as she saw dishes that were rarely seen being placed densely before her.

At this rate, it might have been better if she had gone to the dining hall instead.

It was her thought alone, unaware that the chef had actually reduced the number of dishes upon hearing that Alicia would have breakfast in her room.

In the end, Alicia, who had sent down most of the food without even touching it, set out for an early walk in the rose garden.

Although she had assured herself the previous evening that it would be fine, as the appointed time approached, she became increasingly anxious and couldn’t sit still.

“Knight White. How does my garden look to you?”

It was when she had visited the rose garden alone with Kasa, leaving behind the maids busy with preparations for receiving guests.

Alicia, who had been bothered by the fact that although Kasa had become her guard knight, they hadn’t been able to have private conversations, thought this was an opportunity to get closer to her.

Kasa answered her question in a calm voice.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Do you like roses too?”

“I don’t dislike them.”

“Then what’s your favorite flower?”

“I like sunflowers.”

The questions and answers exchanged were short but continued.

Alicia, who burst into laughter at her words that she liked sweets so much that she had once lined up to match the opening time of the most famous dessert shop in the capital, sat down on the bench in the gazebo.

“Ah, come to think of it…”

Recalling when she had met Reilly here recently, Alicia turned her head towards Kasa, who had taken her position behind her.

“Knight White.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I heard you were classmates with Viscount Anderson at the academy.”

“…You mean Viscount Anderson?”

I heard she would grind her teeth at just the name…

Kasa’s face, which really answered with gritted teeth, froze so coldly it was scary.

Was the question wrong?

Although such a thought crossed her mind, Alicia, feeling the need to understand exactly what had happened between the two since they were to travel together, did not withdraw her question.

“I heard you’re not on good terms…”

“Don’t worry. I’ve been taught to separate public and private matters. I will conduct myself so that Your Highness doesn’t feel any discomfort due to my relationship with the Viscount.”

It was an answer that saw through Alicia’s concern.

“I believe you’ll do well.”

“Thank you.”

“Although I haven’t known Knight White for long, I know you’re not someone who would get angry over trivial matters. I was just curious about what happened for you to dislike the Viscount. So I hope there are no other misunderstandings.”

Kasa, who had been looking into Alicia’s eyes for a moment at her words of trust, confirmed that there was no lie in those eyes and slowly opened her mouth.

“…As you said, I don’t get angry over trivial matters.”

Kasa, who started to look into the distance as if recalling the past, gritted her teeth and clenched her fist tightly.

Her face seemed to redden a little, as if just thinking about it made her angry.

“My entanglement with Reilly Anderson was in the liberal arts class.”

“I heard you did a group project together.”

“It was a disaster.”

She said at first there were only minor clashes.

It would have been more difficult for the strict Kasa and the free-spirited Reilly not to clash.

The fortunate thing was that both of them knew the strengths and weaknesses of their own personalities well, so they could compromise to some extent even if they didn’t like each other, but Reilly was the one who first broke that stable situation, she said.

“It was three legs.”

“Pardon?”

“Not two-timing, but three-timing with women. As if that wasn’t enough, all three of them were members of the same group.”

Although Alicia had never done a group project, seeing Kasa’s tightly clenched fist trembling, she felt she could somewhat understand what kind of disaster it had been.

“The fact that his three-timing was discovered on the day of the project presentation was the beginning of the disaster.”

They pulled each other’s hair, kicked legs, and threw everything they could get their hands on, each claiming to be Reilly’s real girlfriend.

The male members of the same group couldn’t bring themselves to lay hands on women’s bodies, so they couldn’t do anything even seeing that chaos, and Kasa was the only one who threw herself in to stop that fight.

Although Kasa had been training her body since childhood to become an excellent knight, it was extremely difficult to deal with three women who had lost their minds and were lunging at each other with their nails out.

Kasa, who still had long hair until then, cut her hair short right after experiencing that fight.

She had learned firsthand how disadvantageous long hair was in combat.

“It was a mess. Even the professor in charge of that class couldn’t stop it.”

Although she had experienced the nervous warfare of noble ladies in social circles many times, there were none who engaged in physical combat with her.

Was that why? Alicia, who was deeply immersed in Kasa’s story that even felt strangely vivid, felt all the strength draining from her body even though she hadn’t fought herself.

“Later, we barely managed to separate the three by calling in several professors from the knight department.”

Kasa, who didn’t know that the fight of noble and elegant young ladies could be so fierce, glared at Reilly, who was the cause of this fight, without even thinking of arranging her messed-up hair and clothes.

Even Reilly, who wouldn’t budge over trivial matters, had his handsome face turned pale blue.

“Then someone asked. So who among the three was the real girlfriend?”

“And then?”

Alicia, who was focusing on Kasa’s story with sparkling eyes, urged for the next words.

“I still vividly remember that answer.”

“What did the Viscount say?”

“I don’t have anything like a girlfriend.”

“…Pardon?”

“He said exactly that. ‘I don’t have anything like a girlfriend.'”

Kasa’s navy blue eyes blazed, remembering that moment so vividly even now after years had passed, because of how absurd and angering it had been.

Looking at those eyes mixed with disgust and anger, Alicia swallowed dry saliva and carefully opened her mouth.

“What happened to those three young ladies after hearing that story?”

“They attacked me.”

“…Suddenly?”

“Yes, suddenly.”

“…I’m sorry, Knight White. I really can’t understand what kind of flow that is.”

“It’s alright. I didn’t understand either.”

Thinking back to what one of the young ladies who was angry at her at that time said…

[Kasa, you’re Reilly’s real lover, right? Reilly used us to hide the fact that he’s dating you! Right?]

She said such nonsense.

“But the Viscount said he didn’t have a girlfriend.”

“The three claimed it was an excuse to protect me.”

“What…? What did the Viscount say?”

“He said he was sorry for causing a misunderstanding to the three, but he really didn’t have a girlfriend.”

“…Was he leaving room for interpretation?”

“He went around smiling frivolously with that handsome face of his.”

The three women didn’t believe Kasa’s words until the day they graduated, and because of that, she had to endure a strange ostracism in every liberal arts class.

“Thanks to that, I was able to focus on the sword and improve my skills.”

“…No matter how you try to wrap up the story like that, it doesn’t make it heartwarming.”

Fortunately, because Kasa had many friends who knew her character, her reputation didn’t hit rock bottom, but she had to deal with unfair treatment and rumors until the day she graduated.

“What about the Viscount? Did he just stay still?”

“He did apologize, saying he was sorry.”

I see, he apologized but she didn’t accept it.

If the group project had failed, she had suffered from false rumors and even been ostracized, even I wouldn’t have forgiven him.

“Wasn’t there an apology from those three young ladies?”

“They contacted me last winter and apologized, saying they were sorry back then.”

…She didn’t accept that either, I guess.

Alicia nodded.

“Do you dislike the Viscount because of that? For getting you involved in such an incident?”

“That’s part of it, but I just dislike that person himself.”

Kasa’s tone was more resolute than ever.

“He goes around flashing smiles with that handsome face of his, manipulating those around him, and moves without any regard for others’ positions to satisfy his own curiosity, or leaves bad situations unattended.”

She was really resolute.

The woman who had been walking behind Alicia and having calm conversations until just now was expressing with her whole body how much she disliked Reilly.

“Meanwhile, he’s very well aware of how great he is, so he uses that to his advantage, and while I’m staying up all night memorizing textbooks until my head splits to take exams, he gets perfect scores after just skimming through the textbook once in a last-minute cramming session!”

I think I understand what this is.

Alicia nodded as she watched Kasa’s anger delve into extremely personal areas the more she spoke.

‘I see, the Viscount’s very existence has become a point of anger for her.’

It seemed that after being caught up in that fight and having a hard time, they continued to clash until graduation due to their different personalities.

She had thought it was fortunate that they wouldn’t have to see each other’s faces after graduation, but now that they were to travel together, it seemed like the anger that had been buried in her chest all this time had caught fire.

“It looks like Knight White will have to suffer emotional distress because of taking charge of my guard.”

“It’s alright. If worse comes to worst, you just need to allow me one sip of alcohol.”

…At that moment, Mina’s cheerful voice brushed past Alicia’s ear.

[She throws daggers at people she dislikes when she’s drunk.]

And she never misses, wasn’t it?

Alicia nodded, thinking how someone could say they would throw knives so casually, and decided that as soon as she returned to her room, she would call the chef and tell him not to serve alcohol at today’s lunch.

After all, she couldn’t watch her guard knight throw daggers at the talented individual who was to become the next chancellor of Eregron and assist her brother.

Watching Kasa, who was listing Reilly’s flaws with flashing eyes and clenched fists, Alicia could only earnestly pray that this journey would be peaceful.