Among them, the most popular were undoubtedly Duke Noah and Amy.

“Excuse me, Steward. Would you bless our daughter?”

A woman wearing a simple headscarf placed her small daughter in front of Amy and asked shyly. The child’s face was flushed red, seemingly in admiration of Amy.

“Well, if I’m fine with it, I’d be happy to do it.”

Amy seemed puzzled by the frequent requests but willingly kissed the child’s forehead.

“Listen well to your parents and grow up healthy.”

As Amy spoke these gentle words, bright smiles appeared on the faces of the mother and daughter. Afterward, Amy continued waving goodbye to them until they were out of sight.

“People are strange. They want blessings from Steward Amy even though she’s hitting me like this.”

Dwayne grumbled.

“A talisman that’s a bit too violent, don’t you think?”

Jack, who had been listening nearby, cautiously stepped back from Dwayne. Amy silently glared at Dwayne, then turned to Jack.

“I’d like to depart as soon as possible. When might that be?”

Jack frowned.

“It’ll take at least two days to reorganize the patrol. You mentioned Count Shemoar’s domain in the west, right?”

Jack sighed and murmured about needing to familiarize himself with the map first.

“Don’t worry, Steward. I’ll surely find it.”

Dwayne, who had been glaring at Amy just a few minutes ago, now grinned at her. Amy looked at him dubiously but eventually closed her mouth and nodded.

“Amy.”

Noah finally approached her. Amy turned to look at him and smiled broadly.

“Your Highness. How did you get here?”
Amy quickly approached Noah and checked his well-being. It had been two months since he arrived at the ducal castle. The boy had put on some weight and grown a bit taller, likely due to eating well and resting properly. Amy smiled fondly as she looked at Noah, his face glowing with health.

Noah took out a handkerchief wrapped around some food from his pocket and handed it to Amy. She naturally accepted it, unwrapped it, and began to nibble on the apple and cheese pieces inside.

“I would have come if you had called me.”

After quickly finishing the food and shaking out the handkerchief, Noah shook his head as he watched her.

“Amy is always busy.”

“No matter how busy I am, I’ll come running if you call, Your Highness. You know that.”

Amy straightened his skewed clothing, ensuring Noah’s appearance was in order. Every time her hand brushed his neck or back of his hand, his cheeks flushed pink. The surrounding people watched them with heartwarming and proud eyes.

“Did you have breakfast?”

Amy led Noah towards the hall. The crowd around them scattered, making way for them. As they walked through the middle, Noah shook his head.

“Not yet.”

“Why not? I told Joseph to take you there.”

Amy frowned, but Noah chuckled.

“I can go now.”

“Should we?”

The two conversed softly as they walked. As they entered the corridor, brilliant sunlight poured into the courtyard.

“Amy, about that thing…”

“The magical tool?”

Noah had barely started his sentence when Amy, as if reading his mind, responded. Noah nodded and looked at her worriedly, as if fearing she might be upset.

“How did you find it?”

“…Someone told me.”

Amy hesitated but then honestly admitted. Noah bit his lip and asked cautiously.

“Who told you?”

“…”

Amy closed her mouth and stared at Noah. Realizing he might have been too intrusive, Noah’s eyes flickered nervously. He was about to say she didn’t have to answer when Amy replied.

“It was someone who’s already dead. I heard it in passing. At the time, I was skeptical… but since I was coming to the north anyway, I decided to look for it. And it was really there. I was just lucky.”

“Uh-huh…”

Relief and joy successively appeared on Noah’s face. As he walked forward, his fingers rhythmically tapped on his thigh.

Seeing this, Amy decided it was time to share one more piece of truth.

“By the way, Dwayne and Jack, whom you saw earlier, will be leaving the castle soon.”