‘I was careless…’
Isabella clutched her chest.
Even through the ample flesh, she could still hear her frantic heartbeat.
She hadn’t intended to reveal her desires so early, but just as she had said, Winnitis had been far too cute in that moment.
She simply couldn’t help herself.
Fortunately, Wendy was still the same silly Wendy.
Isabella only needed to mislead her slightly to move past the incident.
‘Calm down, Isabella. You still have plenty of time. There’s no need to rush for a moment’s pleasure. It wouldn’t be good to scare Wendy away.’
The Princess took deep breaths, her beautiful face returning to its normal snowy-white complexion in a short time.
But before she could decide on her next move, a voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Princess…”
It was the Captain of the Guard of the Trenton Family.
This warrior, who possessed the strength of a Level 8, caught up from the back of the convoy and lingered awkwardly by the window.
“Did you have some sort of disagreement with Lady Winnitis?”
Aaron hadn’t seen the state his young lady was in; he had only seen her fly out of the carriage in a panic.
He naturally assumed the two young ladies were having a spat.
If it was just a small squabble, it would be fine.
After all, such things happened frequently at the Trenton Duke Mansion or Princess Isabella’s Emerald Palace.
However, if it were a simple squabble, the young lady would usually be shouting, not flying out of the carriage like she just had.
As one of the two strongest experts in this escort group, Aaron felt it necessary to remind this Princess, whose personality seemed somewhat difficult, of her behavior.
“The journey from the Empire to the Nature Forest takes nearly ten days. For these ten days, the young lady will be with you. If possible, I hope Your Highness can be a little kinder to her…”
Aaron took a deep breath and spoke, even while facing the weight of royal authority.
“If the young lady wishes to return home halfway, I will leave the group and escort her safely back, even if it means facing charges of treason.”
Winnitis was the darling of the entire Trenton Duke Mansion and a child Aaron had watched grow up.
He would fulfill her every wish.
After speaking, Aaron waited quietly for judgment.
His words could be defined as a challenge to the royal family’s majesty; according to the law, he wouldn’t be wronged even if he were thrown into a dungeon.
However, as the only member of the imperial family present, Isabella was not angry.
Instead, she smiled slightly after seeing the earnestness on the Captain of the Guard’s face.
“Uncle Aaron, you worry too much. Winnitis is my most important friend. How could there be a conflict between us?”
Isabella smoothed her golden hair.
Her jelly-like red lips pursed for a moment before she spoke again.
“I just felt a bit of an itch and asked Wendy to help me scratch it, but she left because she was shy.”
“That’s all there was to it…”
“So that was it.”
Aaron came to a sudden realization.
The entire Duke Mansion knew about the young lady’s shy personality, and he did seem to see her face looking very red just now.
“In that case, do you need me to select a few servants for you? We haven’t left the capital yet. If you have any needs, they can be met immediately.”
Aaron asked seriously.
He found it strange that these two noble ladies were not equipped with servants, entirely unaware that this was something Isabella had requested from the Emperor herself.
“No need. Where is Wendy now?”
Isabella poked her head out of the window.
After failing to see the silver figure she wanted to see among the crowd, she retracted into the carriage in disappointment.
“The young lady is currently…”
“Shhh!!!”
Aaron looked at the silver-haired girl who had drifted over and was sitting on the carriage roof, gesturing frantically at him.
The words suddenly stuck in his throat, and he didn’t know whether to speak or stay silent, stammering without knowing what to say.
But Isabella was no fool like Winnitis.
When Aaron’s gaze subconsciously flickered upward, she knew where the person she wanted to see was.
However, she didn’t expose her, only telling Aaron to return to the end of the convoy to prevent any accidents.
‘It’s over! Isabella definitely found me!’
Knowing she was exposed, the young lady covered her face with her hands.
If her Invisibility Magic wasn’t still unpracticed and unable to hide her during large movements, she would have almost rolled around on the carriage roof!
Anyway, the roof was large enough that she didn’t have to worry about falling off.
“Hah… whew…”
The girl sat on the roof and took deep breaths.
The cold wind traveled from her throat straight to her stomach.
The icy sensation was transmitted through her nerves to her cerebral cortex, and her chaotic thoughts gradually calmed.
‘Alright! Cooling complete!’
Having returned to normal, Winnitis was in no hurry to return to the carriage because she hadn’t yet thought of how to face Isabella.
She simply sat on the roof with her knees pulled up, observing the appearance of the capital with her large, curious turquoise eyes.
Because she followed a life philosophy of staying at home and being lazy, she wasn’t familiar with this city where she had lived since childhood.
Looking back on her 15-year-old new life, she most frequently visited only four places: the Trenton Duke Mansion—her home; the Emerald Palace—Isabella’s residence, where she was often called to play; The Sanctuary—the Trenton Family were devout believers in the Holy God, and as a member of the family, Winnitis had to visit The Sanctuary at least once a month; and the Royal Academy of Magic—she was actually still a student there, though her performance was so outstanding that she didn’t have to attend classes.
In short, this was the first time she had seen the city she lived in so clearly.
The Robert Empire possessed obvious Western elements, and the combination of cathedrals and knights gave it a strong medieval flair.
However, the lives of the common people, at least those living in the capital, possessed conveniences far exceeding those of medieval residents.
Vivid clothing could be seen everywhere.
The aroma of freshly baked bread wafted through the air, and fresh, sweet roasted apple pies were sold out as soon as they left the oven.
Bards from all over entrusted their stories to the wind, letting them flow into the hearts of every listener along with the thick scent of wine.
There were two factors that caused such a vast difference between the two worlds—one was magic, and the other was Winnitis.
Magic could be used not only to fight monsters and destroy fortresses but also to drive production and liberate labor.
The former was Traditional Magic, while the latter was Life Magic.
And Winnitis was the pioneer of Life Magic.
As early as age 3, when she first came into contact with magic, Winnitis could easily chant low-order spells and became a Level 1 Mage.
At age 6, she used the Trenton Family’s transcendent status in the Empire to promote the popularization and practical application of magic, successfully engraving a fire spell onto a tool to create a “lighter” unique to this world.
She named it a Magic Tool.
Thanks to this, Winnitis soared to become the most watched child prodigy in the entire Empire.
Even the Dean of the Royal Academy of Magic personally visited the Trenton Family to humbly ask her about the principles and production techniques of Magic Tools.
Winnitis hid nothing.
Recognizing the significance of Life Magic, the Royal Academy of Magic pushed its implementation vigorously.
In less than ten years, the Empire’s economy, agriculture, and other statistics had quintupled.
Several kingdoms that had previously harbored ill will toward the Empire also tucked away their claws and became peaceful vassal states.
Even the Emperor of the Empire, at her 12th birthday banquet, personally gave her the Staff of Moledi, used by the legendary Grand Mage Master Moledi, as a birthday gift.
Afterward, she was tricked by Isabella and spent two full years as a student at the Royal Academy of Magic before returning to her lazy days.
Even so, she was now already a Level 5 Mage.
A 15-year-old Level 5 Mage was second only to Master Moledi, who became one at age 14.
But anyone familiar with Winnitis knew that if she worked a little harder, she could definitely surpass Moledi to become the youngest Level 6 Mage in history.
‘Being a genius is quite embarrassing, really~’
Winnitis flipped her silver hair narcissistically.
Seeing the theories she proposed actually becoming tools that helped the people’s lives improve, she could feel a bit of joy from those genuine smiles.
She was just such a woman—easily softened and easily satisfied.
Whoosh—
A gust of cold wind blew.
Wearing only a ceremonial dress that was useless for anything but looking good, Winnitis couldn’t help but shiver.
‘I should probably go back to the carriage. The roof is too cold.’
Just as Winnitis was shivering and preparing to fly back into the carriage, the sharpness of a magical genius allowed her to immediately notice the activity of light elements within the capital.
But…
Winnitis looked toward the source of the activity, that holy building, and shrugged her shoulders.
‘That’s The Sanctuary! It’s normal for light elements to be active there.’
Besides, this was the capital.
There were five Level 9 powerhouses here, along with one Grand Knight and one Grand Mage!
Nothing would surely happen.
Compared to that, she felt that figuring out how to return to her warm and comfortable bed without attracting Isabella’s attention was more worth her consideration