She clearly heard many stories, but all that remained was the last piece of advice she heard: be careful not to get caught.

‘What should I not get caught by?’

Alicia tilted her head, thinking she would find out someday, and rummaged through her luggage to find a notebook.

She brought it with the intention of drawing, but it would also help organize the stories she heard today.

She sat at a small desk in the corner of the guest room, opened the lid of the inkwell, and picked up a pen that looked well-worn even at a glance.

Mutant, black crystal, fairy, Alicia Craig.

She jotted down the words in no particular order as she remembered them, but they would definitely help when she recalled today’s stories later.

After moving the pen for a while, Alicia wrote ‘a way to turn back time’ at the very end of the page filled with letters, then immediately crossed it out with the ink-soaked pen.

Alicia would be able to make out the letters that had disappeared under the black ink smudge, but others would not.

“I didn’t get a single accurate answer… But there is one thing that became clear.”

Her regression had caused a problem.

The demons and black crystals that react to her, who carries two streams of time.

Come to think of it, she had never seen or touched a black crystal directly.

‘Will that show some kind of change too?’

Since mutants show a clear obsession with Alicia, the black crystal will also react to her in some way.

It didn’t seem like a bad idea to check.

The problem was where to get and touch that black crystal.

The first thought that came to mind was that Reilly, who had been unwillingly entangled with her, and Killian, who had reluctantly allowed it, would never permit it.

For a very brief moment, the thought of ‘what if I give a lot of money that Jae can’t refuse and ask him to get the black crystal?’ crossed her mind, but…

‘No matter what, he doesn’t seem like he would cooperate that much.’

Although she had only met him once, she got the feeling that he knew exactly where he needed to draw the line.

And Alicia asking for the black crystal was definitely crossing that line.

No matter how much money she offered, he would not accept it.

As for finding another guild that does illegal activities and requesting it… there was no way to secretly leave the imperial palace.

The secret passage she had used for her last outing was already blocked, and the other secret passages were known to the emperor, making them difficult to use.

There was no choice.

Except for the secret passage in her bedroom closet, the rest were all things that Alicia learned after ascending to the throne in the past.

In fact, since she took the throne without preparation, she didn’t even know about the passages passed down by word of mouth, only the ones documented.

If you really think about it, it means the emperor knows more secret passages.

In such a situation, how can she find and use a secret passage leading outside?

She felt like digging a dog hole, but even if she moved with a teaspoon instead of a shovel in her hand, she would definitely get caught.

‘There’s nothing inside the imperial palace that Father doesn’t know about.’

Then there is only one way left for Alicia to obtain the black crystal.

She has to find the black crystal herself.

The probability of encountering another mutant on the way from the Prisca Mountains to the imperial palace is low.

How could they encounter them again when they had wiped out every single one they encountered?

But recalling that black crystals are likely to be found where mutants appeared…

‘I remember the places where demons appeared. If I search around those areas, wouldn’t I find at least one?’

Since there was a set time to arrive at the Tower of Sages, they only dealt with the demons they encountered and sent a report to the imperial palace that such an incident had occurred.

The forest where she first encountered a demon was quite some time ago, so it would be difficult, but for the places she had passed through not long ago, there was a high probability that the imperial palace had not yet sent anyone to investigate.

But here another problem arises.

‘I am the imperial princess.’

She’s not a low-ranking knight or a busy maid who has to move around.

She herself was the noble imperial princess of Eregron, whose gaze people followed with every move.

Such a person searching for black crystals in the areas where demons appeared?

She would definitely get caught.

There was no option where she wouldn’t get caught.

‘Is there any way?’

Leaving the Tower of Sages is tomorrow morning.

Since her business was finished, there was no excuse to stay longer.

Then she has to find a way while traveling…

Trying to find a way to obtain the black crystal while being wedged between Kasa and Marisa on both sides, fending off Reilly who occasionally comes to flirt, and not being mesmerized by the back of Killian riding ahead?

‘Nope, it won’t work.’

Alicia, who swiftly cut off any issues other than giving up on Killian, had to quickly acknowledge what doesn’t work and find another way.

‘Is there any way?’

Alicia, who was sitting on a chair holding her head, groaned and kept pondering.

And the next morning.

Alicia, whose face clearly showed that she hadn’t slept properly, covered her mouth with her hand and yawned slightly.

They were on their way out of the tower and down the mountain range.

The path going up from the bottom was so rugged, but the path going down was well-maintained.

‘Since it’s a path that can only be used when leaving the tower, they must have made it comfortable.’

If it wasn’t for that, she would have been in big trouble.

Just the thought of retracing the path she had taken up in this state was scary, as it seemed like an accident would happen.

“White Kyung and Viscount So had to constantly deal with the onslaught of demons.”

As she continued talking with Kasa to try to wake up, the conversation reached the test given by the ‘thing’ she mentioned yesterday.

Just as Alicia moved with Killian, Kasa moved with Reilly.

Unlike Killian who ignored the blatant arrows, the two who diligently followed the arrows had a hard time dealing with the demons that appeared every ten meters.

“Fortunately, they only had one-tenth the monstrous strength of real demons, so they were manageable.”

During the journey, Kasa had no intention of leaving Alicia’s side.

However, after having dinner and Alicia going to bed, she would entrust the tent guard to a fellow knight and join the wolves to learn how to deal with demons.

She said that when she expressed her determination to go to the northern lands someday and leave her name at Gripul Fortress, everyone generously shared valuable information with her.

Through their conversation this time, Alicia learned that the reason Kasa couldn’t head north was because of Adrian.

While taking an interest in female knights to select one for Alicia’s close guard, he discovered the talented Kasa and stopped her from applying to the north.

He promised to send her north under the conditions she wanted after working as an imperial guard for a few years, right?

Adrian was a man who kept his promises well, but honestly, Alicia didn’t have much faith in his promise to Kasa.

If it was the elder brother Alicia knew, wouldn’t he try to change her mind somehow during the contract period?

She couldn’t directly ask Kasa, but she was convinced that behind-the-scenes work was being done without her knowledge.

“I just had to watch because Kasa took care of them all.”

Reilly, who had been waiting for a chance to join their conversation, didn’t miss the opportunity and spoke up.

Although he had proposed out of the blue, when he realized that Alicia was excessively wary and trying to distance herself, he treated her as his original self.

He hadn’t given up, but was probably looking for another way.

Building a light friendship like this might be one way to approach her.

Alicia had also worried about how to deal with him approaching in a way that was difficult to refuse, but thanks to Kasa, it was easily resolved.

“If you don’t stay more than ten steps away from Her Highness…”

“Why? Are you going to break my legs?”

“No. I’m going to fold your waist in half.”

“The human waist is originally bent in half, my friend.”

“I’ll specially let you experience your waist bending the opposite way. I’m warning you, if you call me friend one more time, I’ll definitely do it.”

It was thanks to Kasa’s iron wall like this.

Alicia believed that with Marisa joining in, it would be difficult to break through not only Reilly but even Adrian.

“I see the exit over there!”

The real Brody, who was in charge of guiding Alicia’s group to the exit, raised his voice.

Alicia was worried about his way back, but when he said there was a separate entrance only used by the tower’s people, she put aside her worries and bid him farewell.

The one who naturally took the spot beside her after leaving the mountain range was Killian.

He had been at the forefront during the entire journey to the exit, but after reaching level ground, he walked beside Alicia, matching her pace.

There was no conversation, but Alicia, knowing it was his way of being considerate of her, blushed slightly.

If she could just obtain the black crystal on the way back like this, it would be perfect.

Alicia, trying hard to sort out her mind that was getting complicated again, waved her hand towards the group waiting for them in the distance at that moment.

“Princess Alicia!”

Marisa, who spotted her, quickly ran to her side.

Did something happen while they were waiting?

But for something big to happen, it had only been a day since they went up the tower and came back down.

It would be difficult for anything major to occur, so what could it be?

Thinking that, Alicia turned her gaze inside the campsite and asked Marisa.

“What happened?”

“A mutant appeared!”

“…What?”

“Then it suddenly disappeared!”

“…Disappeared?”

“Yes! It disappeared without a trace, so Sir Burns is searching the area with the wolves, but they can’t seem to find it at all!”

…If done well, it seems like she might be able to easily obtain the black crystal?