T Y D O T S F

110

"That's not the Sage I knew."

After returning to my room, I fell into serious thought.

In the time since I last saw him, Sage seemed to have become a completely different person than I knew.

Sage, who had been happily playing hide-and-seek with us, was now nowhere to be found.

Be careful around wild beasts. Are you threatening me now?

But there was one thing Sage didn't know.

"Huh. I'm not the same as before?!"

For some reason, Sage seemed to want to reestablish our relationship.

I've heard that even among friends, beasts establish a hierarchy. Is that what Sage wants too?

If that were the case, I would be so sad and upset.

"You fool, Sage."

Who would have thought I would just follow your will so easily? If you thought I was easy, you were mistaken.

As I was sulking and holding back my anger, I heard a knock on the door.

smart.

"who are you?"

"Miss, it's me. I'm Hestia."

"Hestia!"

"Do you like the room?"

Hestia opened the door and came in, looking inside. It seemed like she was checking if it was okay for me to stay there.

"Yeah. It seems like they took the time to give us a room. How are the rooms that Hestia and the other escorts stay in?"

"It's cozy and nice. I guess it wasn't just words that the Kiraas family put a lot of thought into preparing it."

That was fortunate.

Because I was secretly worried that I might be the only one staying in the comfortable room.

Hestia took something out of her pocket. It was a pheromone stone.

The intricately crafted purple pheromone stone sparkled softly.

Hestia handed it to me.

"I've been collecting them all the way to Kiraas Castle. Would you like to try them out?"

"Wow, it's pretty. I want to try it."

Clank. A necklace with pheromone stones as a point was hanging around my neck.

At that moment, a cool breeze flowed into my body.

I gasped in surprise.

I thought I was used to the subtle imbalances in pheromones by now.

I felt with my whole body that the unstable pheromones were quickly becoming stable.

That's why I said we need the energy of the North.

"How are you, Miss Irene?"

"It's so comfortable, Hestia. I understand why Dad sent me north."

I once wondered if, if we needed the energy of the North, why not just send someone to get it?

I was curious as to why they sent me north, risking the possibility of my family's secrets being revealed.

That's why it was like this.

Kaid must have known this fact?

Somehow, my heart was filled with emotion. If you had thought of your family first, you wouldn't have sent me north.