“Lord Feide, won’t you introduce me to your two companions? For instance… this young girl with silver hair and red eyes?”
Upon hearing Natalia’s words, Liyakade’s heart raced with anxiety, and even Field felt her composure wavering.
By asking this, Natalia was undoubtedly signaling to Field that she found Liyakade suspicious.
“Natalia, you would do well to remember your place.”
Although Field herself felt a bit uncertain, she knew she had to maintain a firm front outwardly.
“The fact that I chose to hire you does not mean you are permitted to pry into our private affairs.”
“Things are different now.”
Natalia’s tone grew equally firm.
If she had merely been suspicious before, she was now almost certain that there was something wrong with Liyakade.
“As a sister of the Church, I cannot allow a problematic human to wander freely within the Kingdom’s interior. Be honest and tell me who you really are. Otherwise, I won’t hesitate to notify the nearby Church immediately.”
A sudden, tense silence fell between the two sides.
Natalia was convinced Liyakade harbored a dark secret—one she believed posed a threat to the Kingdom.
Meanwhile, Field was racking her brain for a way to explain.
She could choose to reveal her true identity to Natalia to earn her trust, but she needed to get inside the tent first.
“Fine. Let us go into the tent to discuss this in detail.”
Ultimately, Field spoke up, taking the initiative to yield a step by inviting Natalia inside.
“No.”
To Field’s surprise, Natalia flatly refused the invitation.
“Eh? Why not?”
Beneath her gold silk mask, Field’s brow furrowed in displeasure.
She couldn’t understand it; she had already compromised and intended to reveal her identity, yet Natalia wasn’t showing the slightest bit of appreciation.
She wouldn’t even step into the tent.
‘Who knows if you’ve prepared some kind of trap inside that tent? If there’s nothing shameful to hide, then let’s finish this conversation right here out in the open.’
Natalia did not lower her guard despite Field’s concession.
On the contrary, she believed Field was only yielding out of desperation, hoping to lure her into the tent to use some means of controlling her.
She wasn’t about to fall for it.
“How can you be so…”
Field ground her teeth.
She was starting to get truly angry.
She felt a strong urge to rip off her mask right then and there to show Natalia exactly who she was dealing with.
Even if it meant exposing her status as the Princess to the rest of the caravan, she could hardly tolerate Natalia’s unreasonable stubbornness any longer.
Just as Field’s delicate fingers touched the gold silk mask, ready to lift it, an aura of Light Element erupted from beside her—far more powerful and infinitely purer than before.
Alice made a quick gesture toward Liyakade, seemingly as a warning or a request for her to endure it for a moment.
Then, Alice pressed her hands together in prayer, and a dense radiance of Light Element surged toward Natalia.
Having seen Alice’s signal, Liyakade was prepared and did not show any signs of alarm.
“You… who exactly are you?!”
Natalia’s pupils contracted.
She had never encountered such a concentrated Light Element in her life; it was denser and purer than anything she had felt within the Church itself.
In that instant, Natalia deduced Alice’s identity.
This girl was undoubtedly the Light Element Magic User mentioned in the prophecy.
Though Natalia didn’t know the girl’s name and had never met her, the Church had notified all sisters when the Light Element Magic User had awakened.
Thus, Natalia was well aware that such a person had emerged.
She just never expected to run into her today.
“Can you believe us now?”
Alice lowered her hands and took a step forward to face Natalia.
The thick Light Element surrounding her dissipated the moment she let go.
Liyakade felt a sudden lightness as the oppressive pressure vanished.
“…I apologize for my earlier rudeness. But who are you all, truly?”
Natalia fell silent for a moment before her tone shifted back to one of deep respect.
As a sister of the Church, she understood the significance of a Light Element Magic User better than any commoner.
Such a person was the absolute nemesis of the Demon Race—a being who could be called a Savior.
However, a sliver of doubt remained amidst her reverence.
A mysterious girl wearing a gold silk mask who hid her gender; the prophetic Light Element Magic User capable of defeating the Demon King; and… that silver-haired, red-eyed girl with the rare, eerie appearance and strange behavior.
What was the story behind this trio?
“Are you finally willing to talk properly? Can we sit down in the tent and chat now?”
Field lowered her hand from her mask.
With Alice’s help, she had finally managed to gain Natalia’s temporary trust.
Now, it was time to head back to the tent and have a real talk.
“Yes.”
This time, Natalia nodded.
Seeing that Natalia had agreed, Field led the three of them into their tent under the watchful eyes of the rest of the caravan.
“So, Lord Feide, who are you all?”
Once inside, Natalia couldn’t wait any longer to ask about Field’s identity.
She was burning with curiosity about the three people standing before her.
Field snapped her fingers, using her magic power to isolate the sound inside the tent from the outside world.
She then turned to Natalia and slowly removed the gold silk mask from her face.
Upon seeing Field’s true face, Natalia froze for a second before quickly dropping to one knee in a formal salute.
“Your… Your… Your Highness?! Is it really you?”
“Honestly, you’ve exhausted me. Think about what you were saying earlier. I told you that once I took off the mask, you would regret your words.”
With the mask off, Field stopped acting like a generic superior and allowed her natural emotions to show.
She glared at the kneeling Natalia with a hint of lingering irritation.
“Your Highness, I am deeply sorry. I didn’t realize it was you…”
Natalia was genuinely terrified.
She never could have imagined that the “suspicious” people she happened upon in a caravan would turn out to be the Kingdom’s Third Princess.
She had truly hit the jackpot of bad luck.
Her heart was trembling with worry; after all, she had been quite disrespectful to Field.
If Field decided to hold a grudge, Natalia wouldn’t just lose her position as an apprentice nun—she might be thrown into the dungeon.