The next morning.
Lellia looked at her puffy eyes in the mirror and hung her head in despair.
Just then, a small message window flickered before her eyes.
[Oh my!(ಠoಠ)!!! When your eyes are swollen like a goldfish, we recommend
"...."
Is this mocking me right now...?
Lellia grumbled inwardly but still took out the medicine from her inventory as instructed.
In its own way, this 'Help Mode' seemed to be of some use.
It was almost like a 'Beginner's Guide'...
Thanks to it, she had also managed not to overlook Calix, so it had definitely been helpful.
Lellia barely managed to reduce the swelling in her eyes, took out a few medicines, and made her way to Calix's room.
"...."
Calix, who had personally opened the door, glanced at Lellia with a strange expression.
His face looked incredibly awkward for some reason.
"This is... medicine I gave to Lord Calix yesterday, not knowing the situation. I thought it might help."
"...What kind of medicine?"
"Painkillers and sedatives."
"...Oh."
With those words, silence descended.
Feeling awkward for no reason, Lellia left the room without another word.
'Come to think of it, did Romeo make it back safely?'
She was peeking toward Romeo's quarters with that thought in mind when-
Thump, thump, thump.
She heard someone approaching from afar with irritable footsteps.
Turning her head, she saw Lut wearing an expression full of rage.
"Sir Lut?"
Lut approached like an enraged bull and immediately grabbed Lellia by the collar.
Judging by the bloodshot eyes, he seemed absolutely furious.
Lellia was bewildered.
"Sir Lut...! What in the world... Why...!"
That was when it happened.
"Sir Lut! Put that hand down this instant!"
Someone else was approaching from a distance. Choking with her collar grabbed, she glanced over to see Cedric and Damian.
'What is this...'
As the imperial princes approached, Lut reluctantly lowered his hand from her collar.
Yet still seething with indignation, he clenched his fist and trembled as if he might punch Lellia's face at any moment.
An inexplicable anxiety began to darken Lellia's vision.
She coughed hoarsely and looked at the two princes.
"Wh-what..."
Cedric and Damian, now right in front of her, surveyed her from head to toe with thoroughly displeased expressions.
Then they dropped a shocking statement.
"Just why did Juliana ask to put someone like this as a fiancé candidate..."
Wh-what?
Lellia was so surprised she couldn't even speak properly.
The next words made her feel even more like fainting.
"Let us go together, Lord Raymond. His Majesty wishes to see you."
"....!!"
Lellia stood frozen like ice.
"What is this?"
Perhaps due to the commotion outside, Calix opened the door and stood at an angle, looking this way.
He had a thuggish expression, like some gangster passing by.
But only for a moment. Seeing Lut, Cedric, and Damian surrounding Lellia threateningly, Calix frowned.
Then he strode over and pushed Lut, Cedric, and Damian's shoulders away with his fingertips—tap, tap, tap.
As if telling them to back off.
Such insolent and audacious behavior toward the imperial family. Lellia was appalled inside.
But more than that, what Cedric had said earlier was even more baffling.
'Someone wants to see me?'
Perhaps being pushed was more offensive than expected, Damian scowled deeply.
"What do you think you're doing? How dare you to the imperial family?"
"I saw three people surrounding one person, so I thought you were gangsters, not imperial family."
Calix said sarcastically. His own tone and expression were even more like a gangster's.
"Hah."
Ignoring Damian's disbelief, Calix grabbed Lellia's arm and pulled her behind himself. It was clearly a protective stance.
Seeing this, Cedric and Damian made even louder sounds of disbelief.
"It is an imperial command. You had better come along before we drag you away."
At Damian's words, Lellia gulped.
She had tried so hard to avoid facing Emperor Perseus.
Truthfully, the chances of meeting him were almost nil.
No matter that she was a guest staying at the imperial palace, she was neither an imperial family member nor a hero of the Light Dragon Subjugation like Romeo or Calix.
The Emperor wasn't some neighborhood dog out for a walk; his schedule would be busy all day long. Honestly, even if she tried to meet him, the reality was that she wouldn't be able to see his face.
So why on earth...
'Has Juliana lost her mind?'
No, yesterday she was looking at her with such scorn, and now a fiancé candidate?
If things went wrong, the fact that she was a woman could be exposed.
Lellia recalled the medicine she had prepared for emergency situations.
Just then, Calix turned around and looked at Lellia. She realized she had been clutching Calix's hem in her anxiety and let go.
"Hey, what crime did you commit?"
At Calix's question, Lellia shook her head.
"But you're so terrified."
"Th-that's... Even, even so, when His Majesty the Emperor summons me, I just feel..."
"...Want me to come with you?"
Calix asked with a somewhat reluctant expression.
Lellia tried to say it was fine, but contrary to her thoughts, she was nodding her head frantically.
"Wait."
Calix told Cedric and Damian, then pushed Lellia into her room.
Then he went into his own room as well.
Fortunately, it seemed he still had enough common sense to know one should dress properly for an imperial audience.
After seeing him treat Cedric and Damian so rudely, she had thought he'd forgotten all about proper decorum toward the imperial family.
Lellia tied her cravat with trembling hands and went outside. She didn't forget to check that the medicine was still in her inventory.
Stepping outside nervously, she saw Calix already waiting.
Surprisingly, he had tied his cravat in the proper fashion. Though he himself had abandoned his title, Calix too carried the blood of the imperial family.
Perhaps because of that, dressed properly, he looked not like a thug but a dignified imperial family member.
Being tall and well-built, he exuded more authority than even the leaner Cedric and Damian.
The only problem with him...
Was that he was arguing with Cedric and Damian who had been waiting, leaning against the wall?
Come to think of it, Cedric, Damian, Lut, and Calix.
These four all knew each other.
They had all been part of the Light Dragon Subjugation force.
However, their relationship did not seem good at all.
"If you're staying as a guest, couldn't you at least behave quietly?"
"Did I come here as a criminal? Who do you think you're ordering around?"
"...."
At Calix's words, Cedric couldn't say anything. Because it was true.
In truth, the imperial family had been the ones to insist he stay at the imperial palace since he was going to stay in their capital anyway.
Having imperial family members and heroes from another nation stay at the Auroria Imperial Palace for an extended period would be seen in a positive light.
Especially at this tense moment in the tug-of-war between the Five Empires and the Temple.
Anyway, Lellia headed toward the main palace with them, feeling nervous.
She had never imagined Calix would offer to come along. Somehow, it put her mind at ease.
Lut kept glaring at Lellia like he wanted to kill her, saying nothing the entire time.
'Just yesterday he was treating me like a benefactor... and now suddenly like an enemy.'
Ignoring Lut's gaze, Lellia hid behind Calix.
"Did you borrow money from that bastard? Why is he like that?"
Seemingly puzzled by Lut's behavior, Calix asked Lellia in a low voice.
"...Princess Juliana supposedly put me forward as a fiancé candidate."
"What?"
Calix let out a burst of laughter—'kuek'—but quickly covered his mouth with his large hand without making too much sound.
Judging by how he was squeezing his eyes shut while laughing, it must have been hilarious.
But because of Calix's laughter, Lut glared at Lellia even more fiercely with blazing eyes.
'He probably thinks I'm mocking him.'
I don't know anymore...
Lellia blinked slowly, like someone who had reached enlightenment.