The three-day preparation periodOrdoshad provided was over.

AsShironerode in the carriage toward the academy withReina, he was tested on royal etiquette.

Reina:"What’s the first thing you do during an audience?"

Shirone:"Kneel, lower your gaze to a 45-degree angle, place your hand over your heart, and say, ’I humbly await Your Majesty’s summons.’"

Reina:"The royal court’s official definition of ’morning’ is...?"

Shirone:"Thirty minutes before the lunch bell rings."

Reinanodded in satisfaction.

Reina:"Good. You’re doing great!"

Shirone:"Hehe! It’s similar toTormia Kingdom’scustoms, so it wasn’t too hard."

Though separated by era,TormiaandKazurawere sibling nations that had both gained independence from theYakma Republic, so their cultures weren’t vastly different.

Still, for someone likeShirone—who wasn’t nobility—memorizing all this was no small feat.

ButReinawasn’t worried.

He had always been sharp, and sure enough, he’d absorbed every rule in just three days.

Yet,Shironestill seemed uneasy.

Shirone:"What if I mess up? Like, ’thirty minutes before lunch’ is kinda vague, right?"

Reinapatted his head reassuringly.

Reina:"Relax. Even nobles get that wrong. They won’t throw you in jail for a minor slip-up."

Even after arriving at the academy,ShironeandReinakept chatting as they walked to the dormitory.

WhenReinateased him with a mischievous joke,Shirone’sface turned red—which only made her laugh harder.

Male students shot envious glances atShirone.

Reinawasn’t just beautiful; she was a famous pianist, practically the idol of nobility.

Seeing her walk arm-in-arm withShironemade him seem far more impressive by association.

AmyandSerielpaused when they saw the two heading to the dorms.

They had been on their way to greetShirone, but the intimate sight made them hesitate.

AmyknewReinawasRian’ssister—but the atmosphere was nothing like three days ago.

Back then, they’d been distant. Now, they were practically glued together.

SerielnudgedAmy,whispering excitedly.

Seriel:"Oh my god!Amy,see that?! There’s no way they’re ’just friends’!"

Amy:"How should I know? She’sRian’ssister, so maybe they’re close? They probably lived together when he was a butler."

Seriel:"Nope! I checked—whenShironewas a servant at theOzent Family,Reinawas away as a pianist’s apprentice. They hadzerotime to get close. So for them to bond this fast... Could it be—?!"

Amyshoved her.

Amy:"Ugh, whatever. Let’s just go."

Seriel’sdigging proved how curious she was—butAmywasn’t feeling great either. Still,Shirone’ssituation took priority, so she suppressed her emotions and followed.

Normally, girls weren’t allowed in the boys’ dorm, butShirone’sdeparture was an exception. The potential discovery ofKazura’s First Princewas an event big enough to override school rules.

TheOzent Family’scarriage waited outside.

Teachers chatting at the entrance nodded absently atAmyandSeriel’sgreetings before resuming their conversation.

Before they even reachedShirone’sroom,Reina’slaughter echoed from inside.Amy’schest tightened, but she forced herself to keep walking.

Inside,IrukiandNeidwere giggling whileShironeandReinadanced in each other’s arms—likely practicing for a royal ball.

Shirone’smovements were painfully awkward.

(Which made no sense—the kingdom’s top magic studenthadto have decent reflexes. Clearly, he’d frozen up underReina’saffectionate gaze.)

Shirone:"Eh?! A-Amy!"

Spotting her,Shironescrambled out ofReina’sembrace.

Amypretended not to notice, stepping inside. She ignoredNeidandIruki’sgawking as well.

Reinasmirked and waved.

Reina:"Oh,Amy’shere! Hi~"

Amyforced a polite smile.

Amy:"Hello. Today’s the day, right?"

Reina:"Yep! Just doing some last-minute practice withShirone. He’s... surprisingly bad at dancing."

Shironeflailed defensively.

Shirone:"N-No! I was just nervous—!"

Reinacovered her mouth, laughing.

Reina:"Hohoho! Nervous? Because of me?"

WhenShironestammered,Amy’stemper flared.

Even if their relationship was fake, they weresupposedto be dating. Shouldn’t he at leastpretendto care?

But no—he’d been clinging toReinalike a lost puppy.

There was some unspoken understanding between them, andAmydidn’t like it.

She pushed the thought aside and asked:

Amy:"You ready?"

Shirone:"Yeah. But... I’m worried I’ll mess up."

Amy:"Don’t be. They’ll overlook small mistakes."

For a split second, she caught a flicker of tension inShirone’seyes.

So hewasaware—his brain hadn’t completely short-circuited fromReina’sattention.

On the surface, this was about reuniting with his birth parents—but something feltoff.

Reinapatted his shoulder reassuringly.

Reina:"You’ll be fine.Kazurawouldn’t risk announcing this if there were dangers. They’re not a military powerhouse likeTormia, and our family won’t stay idle either."

Her words eased his nerves.

Reinawas sharp, politically savvy, and well-versed in noble dynamics.

With her leading, nothing too strange should happen.

Shirone:"Yeah. I’ll trust you, Noona."

As he smiled,Reinahappily ruffled his hair—then noticedAmy’sdarkening expression.

’...Oops.’

Over the past three days,Reinahad thoroughly analyzedShirone’srelationships.

Most of his friendships were solid—IrukiandNeidwould be great lifelong companions.

ButAmywas the issue.

Theyclaimedto be dating, yet their conversations screamed otherwise.

Real couples had a unique intimacy.ShironeandAmyhad none.

Yet they’d kept up this charade for ayear.

Normally, people either broke up or got closer—not hovered in limbo.

Reinahad seen countless cases like this, where time eroded fake relationships into mere friendship.

In her eyes, they werenothingto each other.

(Though the potential for passion was there, their personalities made it unlikely.)

Part of her wanted to meddle—but the thought of themactuallygetting together annoyed her so much she dropped the idea.

’Hmph. Guess I’m jealous too.’

But if there was no real competition, why bother?

Reinachecked the time.

Reina:"Let’s go. We need to pick up your parents soon."

Amycut in.

Amy:"Wait. Let me talk toShironefirst."

Reina:"Hm? You can chat on the way down. The carriage needs prep time anyway."

Amyinsisted.

Amy:"Just a minute."

Reinablinked, then relented.

Reina:"Fine. I’ll wait downstairs.Shirone, come down when you’re done."

As she left,NeidandIrukibowed like starstruck fools.

Amyscoffed and shooed everyone out exceptShirone.

He adjusted his backpack and turned to her.

Shirone:"I’ll be back. Good luck with your exams."

Amygot straight to the point.

Amy:"You feel it too, right? Something’s wrong."

Shironesmiled bitterly.

Shirone:"I do... but I don’t want to think about it. If they’re really my parents, I shouldn’t doubt them..."

She understood.

To the world, this was about a lost prince—but toShirone, it was about meeting the parents whoabandonedhim.

Even if theywerehis blood, that wound wouldn’t heal.

Amy:"Will you really be okay?"

Shirone:"I don’t know. Right now, I’m... numb. I’ll figure it out when I get there. But I don’t want to judge them yet."

Sadness and anxiety flickered across his face.

Amyhesitated, then spoke up.

Amy:"Should I come with you?"

Shirone:"Huh? What?"

Amy:"I’d help, right? Classes are over anyway."

His chest warmed—but he shook his head. He couldn’t steal this crucial time from her life.

Shirone:"It’s fine.Reina Noona’swith me."

A sudden chill flashed inAmy’seyes—gone as fast as it came, but her voice turned icy.

Amy:"Right. Let’s go. Wouldn’t want to keep Reina Noona waiting."

She stormed out without looking back.

Shironestood confused, too burdened by his own turmoil to decipher her feelings.

Outside,Reinachecked the carriage’s cargo while reviewing documents.

Shironesaid goodbye to his friends. The trip would last ten days at most—yet it felt like a final farewell.

Neidgrinned.

Neid:"Come back safe. And if you become king, buy me a jumbo cream bun!"

Shirone:"Haha! Deal. But when I return, it’ll be vacation time."

Reinawatched fondly asShironechatted with his friends.

LikeRian, he had grown so much in a year.

DefeatingDante—the kingdom’s former top student—had become one of theOzent Family’sproudest moments.

Rian’sinstincts hadn’t been wrong.

And neither were hers.

AsReinagazed atShironewith quiet affection,Serieltrembled with rage.

Seriel:"Ugh,Shirone’sso disappointing! A real man would’ve drawn the line by now."

She glanced atAmyfor agreement—then froze.

Amy,who usually brushed things off, was glaring daggers atReina, her eyes sharp as a blade.

"Seriel, I’m off."

Seriel’s face turned pale. Of course, they had discussed this before, but she never thought she would actually go through with it.

"Amy, are you serious?"

Seriel’s eyes quickly filled with concern.

In just two weeks, the graduation exams would begin. This was not the time to be distracted by anything else.

"It’s fine. Classes are over anyway, and it’ll be good to take a break—call it an overseas trip."

Seriel knew better than anyone that this wasn’t the whole truth.

In a way, she envied Amy, who was willing to throw everything away for this moment.

If she was determined to go, she had to send her off with all her heart. So she wouldn’t look back. So she wouldn’t have any regrets.

Seriel gave Amy a push on the back and spoke.

"Go ahead. This big sister gives you her permission."

Amy hastily added,

"I-It’s not like I’m doing this because I care about Lady Reina or anything! I’m just worried about Shirone..."

"Hohoho! Sure, sure! Who’s judging you? Go and crush their pride!"

With Seriel’s encouragement, Amy walked toward the carriage.

Just then, Shirone, who had been preparing to leave, turned and waved goodbye.

"Amy, good luck! You have to pass. I’ll do my best too."

"Move aside, will you?"

"Huh?"

Shirone didn’t understand. Amy flicked her hand dismissively to the side.

"I said move. Ladies first, ever heard of it?"

Shoving Shirone aside, Amy climbed into the carriage, leaving Reina with a bewildered expression. Unfazed, Amy bent her back slightly and entered.

"Hello. I’ll be in your care on the way there."

"Oh my, where are you going?"

Reina, thoroughly annoyed, pretended not to know. Even if nothing would change, she didn’t want to acknowledge this situation with her own words.

"Well, I couldn’t just send him alone. I figured I’d have to look after him."

Shirone opened the carriage door and stuck his head in.

"Amy! What’s going on? Are you really coming?"s

"That’s why I got in. Hurry up and sit down. We don’t have time."

Reina’s insides burned like a furnace.

Carmis Amy.

From what she had observed over the past few days, she was usually cautious in everything she did, making her fun to tease. But now, it seemed she was just as hot-blooded as Rian.

She regretted lighting an unnecessary torch, but the spilled water couldn’t be taken back.

"Are you really going? I’ll be fine on my own."

Shirone didn’t like the idea of Amy distracting herself with other matters right before the graduation exams.

Even if she was the top candidate, anything could happen in a competition. If she failed, Shirone would feel responsible.

Of course, Amy would never think that way, but as someone who wanted her to succeed, Shirone couldn’t help but want to stop her.

"This is important to you. Lady Reina will be busy handling palace procedures, so you’ll need someone by your side to escort you. What, don’t want me to come?"

If Amy accompanied him, Shirone couldn’t ask for a more reliable ally.

Just like during their time on Galliant Island, Amy was an absolute powerhouse in terms of ability.

"No, of course I’d love for you to come..."

"Then it’s settled. End of discussion. I owe you, so it’s time I repaid the favor."

Shirone couldn’t recall what Amy owed him, but countless memories flashed through Amy’s mind.

When Arcane attacked, it was Shirone who saved her from the cliff. And when she was captured by Kariel in Heaven, she wouldn’t have made it back alive without him.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com