“Me?” Lucas pointed at himself again, confirming repeatedly with Lelia.
He had no prior connection with the princess—why would she want to see him?
“Yes, Princess Lina wants to see you. I’ll go to her first tomorrow morning, then you head to the palace a bit later. I’ll take you to meet the princess.”
Meeting the princess…
Lucas had never met anyone of such high status before.
He had no idea what the kingdom’s princess was like.
“Don’t worry, Princess Lina is a good person. She won’t give you a hard time.”
Sensing Lucas’s unease, Lelia reached out and took his hand to comfort him.
“Don’t be nervous. Just act like you do at home. The first time I met Princess Lina, I was just as nervous as you are now.”
The princess’s name was Lina.
That name… was surprisingly ordinary?
Lucas had expected the name of a kingdom’s princess to sound more noble.
As for what kind of person the princess was, Lucas would have to see for himself tomorrow.
What intrigued him even more was why the princess wanted to see him in the first place.
Lucas tossed and turned in bed, pondering this matter, barely able to sleep the entire night.
Just when he finally drifted off, he was awakened by the faint sound of Lelia quietly getting out of bed beside him.
Normally, he shouldn’t have been such a light sleeper.
Pretending to still be asleep, Lucas felt Lelia lean close to his face and gently kiss his cheek.
Hmm? Had Lelia always done this before she left for work in the mornings?
Then he heard her whisper softly into his ear, “Stop pretending to sleep—you’re awake, aren’t you?”
Lucas opened his eyes and met Lelia’s tender gaze.
“Caught…”
“Idiot, you think you can fool me? Your eyes twitched the moment I kissed you just now.”
Lelia lightly poked Lucas’s cheek.
She could tell that easily?
“What’s wrong? Are you nervous about meeting Princess Lina today?”
Lucas nodded.
“Alright, don’t be. Just talk to her like you normally would.”
Lelia stroked his hair gently.
“Try to rest a bit more. If you meet the princess tired and in a bad state, it’ll be embarrassing if you mess up.”
“What if I oversleep?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.”
Lelia tucked the blanket around Lucas.
“Sleep a little more, my Lucas.”
With that, she placed a gentle kiss on his forehead and quietly left the room.
Silence returned to the room.
Lucas’s eyelids felt heavy as if weighted down with lead, and he couldn’t help but close them.
Soon, Lucas drifted off into sleep.
“Hey, wake up. It’s time to get up.”
Someone shook him roughly. Lucas opened his eyes to see Nori shaking him.
So, the final measure to prevent him from oversleeping was Nori.
“You’re finally awake. You really had no idea how deeply you were sleeping.”
Nori’s forehead was covered in tiny beads of sweat, showing how hard she had been trying to wake him.
“Sorry for troubling you.”
Lucas sat up and stretched.
After that nap, he no longer felt so sleepy and could be in better shape to meet the princess.
“Once you’re awake, get ready and head out quickly. Don’t make people wait too long.”
Nori instructed, tossing his clothes to him before closing the door.
Lucas tidied up his appearance a little and glanced at the saw spear and musket resting in the corner of the room.
He probably didn’t need to bring those when meeting the princess.
In the end, he left empty-handed and headed toward the palace.
From a distance, Lucas saw Lelia waiting at the palace gates.
Because of her work, Lelia was dressed in the palace’s official uniform.
The upper half was a blue high-neck blouse trimmed with white ruffles, and the lower half a white skirt that fell just past the knees.
A cinched waist made the outfit look even more fitted.
Paired with white knee-high socks and brown tall boots, Lelia looked quite elegant.
“Lucas!”
Lelia waved to him from afar.
“Over here, over here!”
Lucas had never seen Lelia in this outfit before.
He had to admit, the royal family’s taste in clothing was indeed refined.
At first, when he heard about Lelia’s work, he assumed her uniform would be like those worn by other cleaning servants.
“Um, do I need to change into something else before meeting Princess Lina?”
Looking down at his simple clothes, Lucas asked.
“It’s fine. Princess Lina isn’t the type to care about such things. Just behave properly and don’t be rude when you meet her.”
Hearing that, Lucas became even more curious about Princess Lina.
What kind of person was she?
Lelia led Lucas to a grand door on the palace’s top floor and gently knocked.
“Please come in,” came a voice from inside.
Lelia opened the door and gestured for Lucas to enter the room.
At first glance inside, Lucas saw Ivina standing by the window.
How to say this… it wasn’t surprising at all to see her here.
Only then did Lucas shift his gaze to the girl sitting at the desk.
Indeed, just as Lelia had said, Princess Lina didn’t quite match the image Lucas had imagined of a princess.
Her long golden hair hung loosely, and she wore a simple black form-fitting dress.
At the moment, she was sitting with one leg crossed, her black stockings hooked on black high heels, gently swinging.
Even with a visitor, Lina still rested one hand on her cheek while lightly tapping the desk with her fingers, looking pensive and showing no sign of straightening her posture.
“Princess, Lucas has arrived,” Ivina quietly reminded from the side.
Only then did Lina sit up straighter and signal for Lelia to leave.
Lelia bowed and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Princess Lina’s casual demeanor was a little too relaxed—completely unlike the image of a kingdom’s princess.
“Surprised to see me like this?”
Lina finally spoke to Lucas with a light laugh.
“Don’t be so nervous. Just think of this as friends having a chat.”
“Uh… hello, Princess Lina. I’m Lucas…”
“No need to be so formal. It’s just the three of us here, so you can just call me Lina.”
Lina stood and walked over to Lucas, looking him up and down.
“Well, not bad at all. No wonder Lelia likes you so much.”
“Is that all you wanted to see me for?”
“Of course not.”
Lina sat back down at the desk.
“I’m just curious about you—someone who has obtained the authority of the Creator God. Ivina speaks highly of you, so I thought I should meet you in person.”
Lucas looked at Ivina.
Though silent, his eyes questioned why she had told Lina about his divine authority.
Ivina closed her eyes, as if silently saying, “I had no choice.”
“I’ve heard some things from Ivina already. Let’s get straight to the point. Lucas, I need you to help Ivina and me eliminate the Eight Sins.”
“I’m already aware of that. Why call me here just to say it again?”
“Because I called you here to discuss something with you.”
Lina propped her chin on her hands, watching Lucas closely.
“For example, some special privileges you might receive.”