Chapter 136
“Your Highness made such a decision.”
Seeing him carefully choosing his words, I became more certain. Killis seemed to dislike the idea of bringing in a new guardian.
“Do Lord Isaac and Lord Reno know about this?”
“Reno doesn’t know yet. I plan to tell him when he comes to switch shifts with Isaac tomorrow morning. But…….”
After hesitating for a moment, I carefully asked.
“Is bringing in a new guardian not a good thing?”
“How could that be? If it wasn’t good, Her Majesty Evgenia wouldn’t have given it to Your Highness as a birthday gift.”
When I heard that, it made sense.
“Then why did you think it wasn’t good?”
“It’s just my guess, but…… somehow Killis and Isaac don’t seem pleased about it. So I wondered if it was a bad thing.”
I carefully shared what had been bothering me. Then I observed Killis’s face. He looked a bit surprised.
“Lord Isaac showed displeasure?”
“He didn’t say it directly, but that was my impression.”
“I see. While I can’t speak for Lord Isaac’s thoughts, as you guessed, I don’t like the idea of bringing in a new guardian.”
“Didn’t you just say bringing in a new guardian would be good?”
“If we bring in a guardian from a good family, that family will support Your Highness. That would strengthen your position, so it’s good in that sense.”
Hearing Killis’s explanation, I recalled the hidden quest notification I’d briefly seen while talking with Evgenia.
Come to think of it, that window had mentioned Evgenia wanting to open a ‘new path’ for me.
‘Since my position seems weaker than Meliana’s, is she trying to give me more power?’
If my guess was right, it made sense why Evgenia mentioned my birthday while taking credit. For someone aiming for the throne like me, it was the greatest assistance.
While I was lost in thought, Killis’s voice reached me again.
“Politically speaking, that’s true.”
“……?”
“A guardian is someone who receives mana in exchange for pledging complete loyalty to their master.”
Receives mana?
“Ah.”
I finally understood his meaning and sighed. It wasn’t just about political benefits – it meant establishing a deep physical connection as well.
‘I really hadn’t thought of that.’
That made sense since currently, Isaac was the only one I shared mana with. When thinking about a new guardian, I only considered how it would reduce Isaac and Reno’s guard duties. I hadn’t thought about sharing mana.
While it might be fine if we could find a guardian who didn’t need mana like Reno, that seemed almost impossible.
‘They did say Reno was a special case.’
Finding someone from a good family who didn’t need mana would be extremely difficult. So Killis was acting this way assuming I would naturally share mana with the new guardian.
Especially since Killis thought I was already sharing mana with Reno too…….
‘No wonder he dislikes it.’
Considering the pure love Killis had been subtly showing me before, it made even more sense. At least his affection didn’t seem to have dropped, right?
Ding!
[<System> Affection with ‘Killis Yelpen’ has slightly decreased.]
I flinched at the notification that came right as I was thinking about it.
‘How much did it drop?’
[<Character> Killis Yelpen
―Affection: 90 / 100 (Love)]
When I quickly checked the system window, this is what I saw. While it was still at the ‘Love’ level which was fortunate…….
‘Aren’t games supposed to be where affection doesn’t drop once it rises?’
These delicate emotional changes made them feel more real, which troubled me. I was afraid of getting too comfortable here.
I had my duty as an older sister to look after Jiyu.
Because of that, I couldn’t even give Killis empty words about not bringing in a new guardian.
Instead, I decided to change the subject. Fortunately, a topic came to mind quickly.
“Um, Killis? Have you heard any news about Cirilla?”
“I haven’t heard anything special about the Third Princess……. Would you like me to look into it?”
“No, if you haven’t heard anything, that’s fine.”
I waved my hand dismissively. Though that didn’t make my heart any lighter.
‘Even though Evgenia deliberately led the Futurum duke’s family to be investigated to find a connection, there’s no news.’
I knew it wouldn’t be easy to investigate with Morris Futurum standing firm and the Futurum duke’s family’s power being so strong. Still, I couldn’t help feeling anxious.
“Has there been no news about the Futurum duke’s family being punished or anything else?”
“I heard Her Majesty Evgenia issued some orders, but I understand no detailed circumstances have been revealed yet.”
Ah, so the investigation must still be ongoing. It seems they’re planning to handle all punishments together.
I focused on my lesson with Killis, hoping Evgenia would soon learn about Cirilla’s situation.
A few days later, something happened that turned the palace upside down.
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