“Forget it, you may rise.”
Even though Natalia had been somewhat offensive and had stood in opposition to them for a while, Field magnanimously let it go.
After all, Natalia truly hadn’t known who she was, and her behavior hadn’t been overly insulting.
Furthermore, she was indeed a sister of the Church.
Therefore, Field chose not to be petty and spared her.
“Although you were a bit forward, I will forgive you this time since you were unaware of my identity.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Hearing Field’s words, the weight on Natalia’s heart finally lifted.
She let out a sigh of relief and stood up straight.
“However…”
Just as Natalia rose, Field’s tone suddenly shifted, sending Natalia’s heart right back into her throat.
“You must provide a reasonable explanation for this matter. You have already proven your status as a sister, so I may not need to doubt the legitimacy of your identity or actions—but what was your motive? Why did you want to follow us in the first place?”
Field’s question was pointed, yet her tone remained calm.
Coupled with her youthful appearance, she seemed many times gentler than she had while wearing the mask.
However, even without any magical pressure, Natalia felt even more intimidated now than she had when Field was masked.
The reason likely lay in Field’s status as a Princess; even if Field didn’t consciously project authority, her mere title exerted immense pressure on Natalia.
Natalia, who had just moments ago stood confidently before the trio to confront them, was now somewhat at a loss for words.
“Well…?”
“Speak plainly. Tell me quickly: what was your reason for wanting to approach us, and why did you look like you were ready to notify the Church just now?”
Field was growing a bit impatient with Natalia’s hesitance.
She actually preferred Natalia’s previous, unyielding attitude.
“Very well.”
Nudged by Field’s prompting, Natalia finally made up her mind to inform Liyakade and the others of her reasons and suspicions.
If she didn’t speak, she would certainly face consequences; speaking up might offer a slim chance of understanding.
“Actually… during the day, I was near your carriage and heard you discussing something related to the Demon Race, so I…”
“Eh? That’s it? Your reason for targeting us is a bit too simple, isn’t it?”
Hearing this explanation, Liyakade couldn’t help but jump in to question her.
“No, it wasn’t just that…”
Natalia’s attitude toward Liyakade had softened significantly.
While Liyakade’s silver hair and red eyes were indeed strange within the Kingdom, the girl was at the Princess’s side.
Furthermore, the Princess seemed to treat her as an equal.
Consequently, her previous suspicions about Liyakade had completely crumbled.
How could someone trusted by the Princess be problematic?
“From the decor of your carriage, it was clear that your status was quite high. For such nobles to be heading toward the Kingdom border while discussing the Demon Race… all these factors combined made me suspicious. I wanted to ascertain your identities and purpose. It was a lack of foresight on my part…”
“I see.”
Liyakade nodded.
Field was also a sensible person; hearing Natalia’s reasoning, she could understand her perspective.
Indeed, all those factors layered together would naturally arouse suspicion.
Furthermore, Natalia was a sister of the Church and naturally sensitive to such anomalies.
Combined with a church member’s sense of responsibility and justice regarding the Kingdom’s internal security, it was only logical that she would want to investigate Liyakade and the others for their unusual behavior.
“Yes, I can understand your thinking. However… at that point, you should have only been in the suspicion phase. Yet later, you seemed certain that something was wrong with us. Why was that?”
Field expressed her understanding of the initial reasoning, but she wanted to know why Natalia eventually seemed so convinced of their guilt.
After all, Natalia’s suspicion wasn’t actually wrong—Liyakade was problematic, as she possessed a Demon bloodline.
Field’s reason for getting to the bottom of this was to find out exactly what had tipped Natalia off about Liyakade, so they could be much more careful in those areas in the future.
“Your Highness, if I speak plainly… would it be too offensive to you?”
As Natalia said this, her gaze briefly lingered on Liyakade.
This fleeting look was naturally caught by Field.
It seemed there were indeed aspects of Liyakade that had caused Natalia’s doubt.
“It’s fine, just say it.”
Field gestured for Natalia to continue.
Having spent so much time with Liyakade, she knew exactly what would offend her.
If it was just about her appearance being different from others, Liyakade wouldn’t mind at all.
Of course, that applied to the current Liyakade.
If it had been the original host, it would be hard to say.
In the original story, the original host had been extremely envious of Alice’s beautiful golden hair.
“Your Highness… your friend’s appearance is truly rare to see in the Kingdom. Furthermore, some books in the Church mention that the pupil color of the Demon Race is mostly red or reddish. Your friend’s pupils happen to be crimson, which increased my suspicion.”
“Moreover, when that noble named Vidar approached you earlier and your friend scared him off, her eyes briefly turned a deep scarlet. My experience is limited, and I haven’t seen others use that kind of magic before. I am truly sorry, please forgive me.”
Because Field was the Princess, Natalia’s suspicion toward Liyakade had now completely vanished.
As for the eye color change, Natalia simply assumed it was some kind of magic she happened to be unfamiliar with; she had already conjured up a justification for Liyakade in her mind.
As Natalia finished, she looked at Liyakade and gave a slight bow, apologizing for her previous rudeness and suspicion.
“Uh… no, it’s fine. You were just doing it for the safety of the Kingdom and the caravan. I can understand, you don’t have to do that. Oh, and my name is Liyakade. You don’t have to keep calling me ‘the Princess’s friend’ anymore—that’s too much trouble.”
Hearing Natalia’s apology, Liyakade felt a bit overwhelmed, her lips twitching slightly.
After all, Natalia’s suspicion had actually been spot on.
Now, the woman was not only apologizing but had even come up with a perfectly logical explanation for her—Liyakade herself hadn’t even figured out how to explain the eye color change yet.
Earlier, Natalia had wanted to know their names but hadn’t asked; now, Liyakade had introduced herself voluntarily.
Then again, Natalia’s observation skills were indeed sharp.
Liyakade had only briefly changed her gaze to intimidate Vidar, yet that split-second transformation had been caught by Natalia from a distance.
One had to admit, Natalia truly deserved her level at such a young age, especially as a sister of the Church.
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