Leinas quickened her pace, exiting the long corridor and stepping onto the pure white marble steps, soon arriving before a wide door carved with exquisite patterns.
A feeling of worry rose within her heart.
Leinas, who never much cared for following rules, wanted to push the door open and enter, but halfway through raising her wrist, she ultimately decided to knock instead.
Knock! Knock!
With a "click" sound...
The exquisite door soon opened.
Pure sapphire-like eyes were the first thing to enter Leinas' vision, leaving her stunned, as the one opening the door was Renner herself.
"Your Highness," Leinas said, quickly bowing and curtsying.
"You've come, Leinas."
Renner looked happy as she reached out to take Leinas' wrist, pulling her into the room.
The palace room was spacious and bright.
However, it seemed somewhat empty; the many maids who usually served here were all gone.
Seeing this scene, Leinas couldn't help but frown, a rare trace of warmth—or rather, heat—flashing across her face.
Renner's position in the court was actually quite special; her external beauty and reputation for intelligence were indeed well-known to the outside world.
But her status within the royal family was not high; to the royal family, the identity of a princess was merely a bargaining chip for marriage alliances or to win over powerful nobles.
Putting that matter aside for a moment.
What truly angered Leinas was that regardless of Renner's past status, the moment she joined the Princess's camp, Renner's own status had effectively risen.
Those maids neglecting Renner was, in Leinas' eyes, a slight against herself as well.
"Your Highness, where are the maids? Why aren't they here?" Leinas asked, a hint of coldness already in her tone.
She had always had a short temper.
"I sent them back. On a festival day like today, the maids have many noble gatherings to attend as well."
Renner seemed not to notice the change in Leinas' tone as she spoke with a smile.
The maids serving in the palace were different from ordinary maids; most came from noble families. Especially those serving the royal family, they were not roles that ordinary minor nobles could fill.
While speaking...
Renner had already pulled Leinas to the center of the room, let go of her wrist, and jogged over to the tea table, picking up an exquisitely packaged, palm-sized gift box and handing it over.
Leinas caught it subconsciously.
"As you know, Leinas, unlike my two older brothers, I have no extra way to obtain money. This isn't anything precious, but it is my festival gift to you."
Click!
The palace room door closed again.
Leinas walked out, holding the gift box, feeling a bit dazed.
So?
Renner called her over just to give her a festival gift.
Walking down the corridor, Leinas' expression was complicated: "There are no maids, and the guards outside the corridor didn't look out of the ordinary. This means this isn't the first time Renner has sent the maids back."
"And then there's this gift..."
She opened the exquisite box.
Inside lay a pair of lace-patterned gloves, thin as a cicada's wing. They weren't woven from ordinary silk thread, but likely from the silk of some kind of magical spider.
They had no magical effects, but were extremely tough.
As an expert, Leinas could tell at a glance that these lace gloves fit her hand shape perfectly; they were clearly prepared with great care.
"If I hadn't already sworn a knight's oath to my Master, I really might have fallen for this 'meticulousness'." Leinas slowly exhaled.
Inside the empty palace room.
Renner watched the door close and Leinas depart, the corners of her gentle mouth curling up slightly.
She pivoted on her heel.
Her white dress fluttered over the exquisite carpet.
With a "clack"...
Her translucent high heels landed on the carpet.
Renner gave a light hop and sat gracefully on the tea table, her flawless white feet peeking out from her dress and swinging in mid-air.
"Heh, that wasn't my real gift, Leinas."
While Renner had a smile on her face, her eyes were exceptionally calm as she murmured in a voice only she could hear:
"I wonder if recruiting 'Free Will' into the palace counts as a real surprise for Young Miss Leinas."
"Hmm, that's a bit too blunt. Actually, the leader of 'Free Will' is even more worth looking forward to."
"How can I meet him?"
"Oh right, 'Blue Rose' and 'Free Will' just had a conflict... After the festival ends tomorrow, Lakyus will come here... I can ask Lakyus for help."
If Leinas were here, she would surely be shocked that Renner, who supposedly stayed deep within the palace, actually knew about what happened outside the royal capital some time ago.
Those usually inconspicuous maids were an important channel for obtaining outside information. With Renner's intelligence, simple deductions allowed her to easily understand many things.
...
The massive grand festival continued until midnight, with no sign of stopping.
Amidst the crowded and bustling flow of people.
Lyle looked at Enri and the Emerald Leaf Witch walking ahead of him and shook his head gently.
He actually had no interest in such events; compared to the events of his previous life, this held no attraction for Lyle.
He would rather spend this time researching Alchemy, but Enri's expectant mood had influenced him.
In the face of such a grand human event, even the Emerald Leaf Witch, who usually acted cold, now showed a look of interest.
"There's been no movement for a while. Is she waiting for something, or does she have other ideas?"
Lyle watched the lively scene ahead while his mind pondered other matters.
Since arriving in the royal capital, he had not taken the initiative to have any direct contact with Leinas, and it wasn't entirely to avoid risk.
Rather, Lyle wanted to see how that Renner would make her move.
Lyle never believed the fact that he and Leinas knew each other could be hidden from Renner; the other party might even be able to guess that his relationship with Leinas was unusual.
Though this deduction had no basis...
When it came to Renner, Lyle believed she should be able to guess to this extent.
This was his confidence in the Golden Princess.
Therefore.
Lyle was actually very curious about what actions Renner would take in such a situation.
And the reason Lyle wasn't worried about things getting out of hand was that, besides the fact that he had the strength to kill her even if she stayed deep in the palace...
Even if Renner told people about this, no one would believe her.
At the same time.
For Renner, this was also an opportunity to escape her status as a "canary."
Ultimately.
Lyle sending Leinas to Renner's side was, in fact, a hint of "cooperation."
Leinas might not have realized this, but Renner definitely would.
Lyle was just a mediocre ordinary person in his past life and didn't think he was incredibly smart, especially when facing this top-tier intelligent person.
Therefore, only by standing on a higher dimension could he produce a suppressive effect. To put it in more common terms, he could flip the chessboard.
At that moment.
A slender figure moved through the crowded flow of people with clever footwork, soon arriving at Lyle's side.
"I didn't expect you would be interested in something like this. It seems you value those two in front even more than I initially expected."
A faint voice sounded, sounding as if the speaker was owed money.
"Oh, it seems there's good news." Lyle turned his head to look at the disguised Imina beside him and spoke with a smile.
"There isn't."
Imina put her hands in her side pockets and walked forward with the crowd alongside Lyle.
"Is that so?"
Lyle shrugged. "Then that's truly a pity."
"Hey, you haven't answered what I just said yet." Imina's amber eyes glared at him.
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