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Of course, Yulis could be considered an exception, but the visit of Illyna de Pallan in the territory was certainly enough for news to spread. She was none other than the doted daughter of the strongest empire’s emperor. Most other nobles and royalty of other kingdoms would’ve made a big fuss and gotten ready to greet her right away. Her visit was like the division commander suddenly coming to the ordinary soldiers’ tents.

In fact, people were saying that Davey had no choice but to agree to Princess Illyna’s sudden visit. Thinking about this, Davey nodded to himself. ‘It might not be a bad idea to jump on the bandwagon if that’s how it’s going.’

“A request…”

“What should I do? Should I lead her into the drawing room?” There was a hint of anxiety in Amy’s question.

Davey wasn’t sure why Amy was nervous, but he had already made his decision. While pushing up her red horn-rimmed glasses, Amy just waited for his order as if she knew what he was going to say. Davey then said, “Decline.”

“Yes… Pardon?” Amy looked dumbfounded for a moment.

‘What. Why?’

Davey knew how signifcant it was that Princess Illyna had come all the way here, and he knew how great her presence was; however, that wasn’t a reason for him to meet her unconditionally.

Looking confused, Amy silently bowed her head and left the room; it seemed like she still remembered that Davey didn’t like to say things twice.

* * *

-You. Are you not afraid of the consequences?

Princess Illyna was triggered when Davey had refused her request.

Davey declined once more, then declined again and again. They kept requesting and declining back and forth, like they were trying to see who was the more stubborn one. Both sides had thrown their courtesy towards each other out the window and were just competing to see who was more persistent.

Although Davey was the one who started it, Princess Illyna was also being petty and had chosen to play dirty. Thanks to that, the people who were suffering weren’t them, but the people stuck in the middle.

Davey did hear that the Red Dragon Knights, Illyna’s personal knight order, were fuming because he had refused Princess Illyna’s request to visit. Regardless, he chose to ignore them. ‘They aren’t causing trouble since they aren’t idiots.’

“I’m not denying her for no reason,” Davey told Perserque.

-No way… Are you increasing the territory’s value even in a situation like this?

Perserque looked sick of it.

“Let’s act hard to get while we’re at it.”

There was something called noise marketing. The visitor was none other than the precious princess of the most powerful empire in the continent; there was no better for the territory than this. It was even better in the Heins Territory, since lots of information circulated from the large number of intelligence guilds and merchant companies based here.

-Life is not a game. You are not scared of anything, really… How are you so unafraid when there’s no way the other person will act as you think?

It wasn’t like Davey didn’t know what Perserque was trying to say. He shrugged and said, “It’s okay because it’s that Princess.”

‘Although it’s just my guess for now.’

Davey didn’t worry about the consequences or aftermath when he chose to do something; he was just cautious before making up his mind. Actually, this trait of his may cause the people around him to dislike him. It was the worst possible decision to make in this world where everyone conspired against everyone, but he chose to move forward rather than retreat.

The competition between persistence and stubbornness went on for a few days; it didn’t become a huge problem, just like Davey had expected, since Princess Illyna probably didn’t want that either.

At last, Princess Illyna was the first to wave the white flag. Did she just go back? Well, not exactly. Growing impatient from the continuous rejection, Princess Illyna chose to…

“Hey, Prince Davey.”

“Do princesses of empires learn how to jump over the wall nowadays?”

Princess Illyna chose to jump over the wall. She put on a bright smile when Davey asked in bewilderment. She asked, “Don’t we have a lot to talk about with each other?” Her smile was dazzling, since she was one of the most beautiful women on the continent. But strangely, it seemed slightly off this time.

“Don’t we?” Princess Illyna asked again.

The princess of the most powerful country had persistently requested to meet an ordinary prince of a small, insignificant kingdom, and the prince had been blatantly denying her request for no reason. It had been a petty competition of stubbornness that would make people think that they were joking around with each other.

Princess Illyna hadn’t been able to hide her shock, so she ended up waving the white flag and then following through in the most outstanding way possible.

“Hm, a lot to talk about…” Davey pretended to think about it, as if clueless about what Princess Illyna was talking about.

The princess smiled cutely as she stood on the windowsill. Her rich blond hair and hairpin, which was pinned on the back of her head, stood out against the night sky. They shone so brightly. She asked, “We don’t? Are you sure about that?”

“Come down from there first. The wind is cold.”

Princess Illyna quickly looked around before entering the room. She was in an elegant and refined short dress, blushing with a slight frown on her face. It was as if she had remembered something as soon as she heard Davey. Then, she slowly came down from the windowsill while trying to pull down her dress.

“Someone’s going to think that we are having a rendezvous,” Davey teased.

“I’m afraid to even hear that in my dreams.” Illyna snapped with a bright smile.

‘Ouch, a scratch! It seems like she’s quite mad.’

Davey appreciated the smile of a beautiful woman, but he didn’t really want Princess Illyna’s anger. Of course, aside from being selfishly beautiful, he felt like he was dealing with a cute younger sister rather than a possible romantic interest. Princess Illyna had a young face, and she was also short, after all.

“Seriously, I didn’t know how difficult it would be to get a moment of your time, right, Prince Davey? It’s funny that I’m saying this, but it wouldn\'t even be this difficult to meet a king,” Illyna pointed out.

“Haha, it’s give and take, right?” Davey responded.

“There’s a rumor going around the territory that I’m doing anything and everything to meet you.”

“I was aiming for that,” Davey said playfully.

Illyna picked up her teacup with a straight face. “Did you do that to raise the value of the territory…” She looked sick of Davey, now realizing why he had constantly refused her request. “I know that it’s a little arrogant for me to say this, but don’t you think you are too fearless?”

“I am quite courageous.” Davey smiled.

Princess Illyna clicked her tongue.

‘She clicked her tongue?’

-That Illyna girl can be quite rude at times…

Princess Illyna did not know of Perserque’s existence; however, Perserque had observed Princess Illyna for a long time through Caldeiras.

-Don’t tease her too much, Davey. She has a kind heart.

Perserque pulled Davey’s ear and whispered. It seemed that she had some affection toward the princess.

‘It’s ticklish, man.’

Giggle.

Davey glared at Perserque, who was backing away with a soft smile. He then glanced at Illyna. He said, “Let’s stop here as both of us have done wrong. It seems like you have a lot you want to talk about if you jumped the wall in the middle of the night.”

“I grew impatient because of someone. First, I want to thank you.” Princess Illyna put her hand on her chest and bowed. “I am indebted to you for my life. I thought that I should make that clear.”

Davey hadn’t really taken action to save Princess Illyna, since he had only thought about Winley at that time. But he did end up saving the princess too, so he didn’t explain himself to Princess Illyna.

“And I was able to awaken Caldeiras thanks to you.” Although she was the contractor, Princess Illyna was just Caldeiras’s master. She hadn’t been able to materialize her into a sword yet. However, she was able to do that after the swordsmanship tournament at the Duchy of Felicity. There were probably a few reasons, but either it was because her level had increased after that incident, or…

[Davey!!! Damn you!!]

‘Or it became less difficult as Caldeiras’s power became weaker.’

-You’re quick.

Princess Illyna’s brooch began to shine even before she could say anything; the light took on the form of a little girl and charged toward Davey. She looked to be around six years old; her appearance was a mix of green and silver like Perserque, but they were different in many ways. If Perserque had a soft and cheeky cuteness, this girl had the cuteness like a young child.

With an angry face, the small girl grabbed Davey’s neck and shook it, ignoring the fact that she was an energy form.

[Because of you! Do you know that all of this is because of you?!]

“Caldeiras.” Illyna tried to stop the figure of Caldeiras who was screaming with tears in her eyes by pulling her back, but Caldeiras held onto Davey’s neck for a long time and didn’t think about letting go.

Although he normally would’ve plucked Caldeiras off, Davey just silently put up with her tantrum. Besides, it was true that Davey had stabbed her in the back.

[Do you know how long I was unconscious?!]

“Sure, did you sleep well?”

As Davey patted and stroked her head, Caldeiras clenched her jaw.

[You should’ve at least told me before you were going to use my mana!!]

How could there be time to tell her when people were dying by the minute? Caldeiras probably knew this as well; however, the reason she wanted to see Davey was probably not because of the holy magic. It was true that she took a hit from the loss, but she was a divine sword that had been through a lot.

[Per… Where is Per…]

Unsurprisingly, Caldeiras couldn’t see Perserque. The only beings who could see Perserque were Davey, and Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon, who were contracted to his soul.

“You can’t see her?”

[…]

“She’s doing well. Perserque came to me when the stigmata formed unexpectedly. We’re companions.”

Caldeiras glared at Davey with tears in his eyes.

[Per! Per! He didn’t do anything bad to you, right?! You’re okay?! Right?! Answer me! Please…]

As Caldeiras shouted mournfully into space, there was a worry and yearning in her voice that made it difficult to think that they were once adversaries. It seemed like she was worrying if Perserque was alright, and whether Perserque was really with Davey and not anywhere else.

-Davey.

After silently staring at Caldeiras for a while, Perserque called out to Davey.

-Can you…lend me some of your mana?

‘Of course.’

Perserque smiled brightly as soon as Davey agreed. Then, she floated both herself and Caldeiras up into the air. She put her forehead against Caldeiras’s. Whoosh… At that moment, a large amount of mana began escaping from Davey, but he didn’t want to disturb Perserque. He knew that she was using this as a way to get in touch with Caldeiras.

“C—Caldeiras?” Princess Illyna widened her eyes when Caldeiras suddenly became quiet and floated up into the air.