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“What is your name?”
Leaning forward, the king asked Ains.
However, the words did not reach Ains’s ears.
“His Majesty the King is addressing you! Answer at once!”
A knight raised his voice threateningly.
Still, Ains showed no sign of responding, continuing to observe the hall.
“…Ains-dono.”
Kansas spoke in a low voice, unable to hide his agitation.
“Ains-sama.”
Sophia also called out, sensing that this was becoming dangerous, and only then did Ains finally register her presence.
“Hm? …Ah. You can leave things about me to Sophia. Explain it however you like.”
The face he had turned toward Sophia immediately dropped back toward the floor, and Ains continued his inspection, touching the surface with his fingers.
Though spoken only to Sophia, the volume was far too loud for the silent hall.
Veins bulged on the knights’ faces, Kirishiya and the young man beside the king showed confusion, and Kansas and Laika went pale.
Only the king on the throne remained expressionless.
“……”
Sophia hesitated, unsure how to respond on behalf of the master she served.
It was only a brief moment.
Yet to everyone present except the king and Ains, the time felt interminable—so slow it seemed as though time itself had stopped.
“Fufufu… hahahaha!”
The king’s sudden laughter shattered the tension.
“Such insolence, such a peculiar presence and air about you—it reminds me of the first time I met a witch.”
Still smiling, the king leaned back against the throne and continued.
“Knight beside him. I have seen the crest on your sword many times. That belongs to the Silver Snow Knights, does it not?”
The king’s gaze shifted from Ains to Sophia.
“Yes. I am Sophia of the Silver Snow Knights. It is the greatest honor to be granted an audience with Your Majesty.”
With the king’s attention moving away from Ains—and Ains’s earlier behavior effectively overlooked—Kansas and Laika felt as though they had narrowly escaped death.
“Indeed. The Silver Snow Knights. Commander Gaus has aided me many times. Why is one of your order here?”
“Yes. The one beside me is my lord—the one to whom I have devoted this life and this sword.”
“I see…”
Kirishiya, Kansas, and Laika kept their expressions steady, but the king, the young man beside him, and the civil official immediately grasped the gravity of those words.
“Then, Sophia. Would you explain the Corbelli incident?”
“Understood.”
She recounted everything—from the encounter with Laika to Corbelli’s capture.
Sophia’s explanation, grounded in solid magical knowledge, was clear enough for the king and those beside the throne to fully understand.
“…I see. Without them, Lady Laika’s life might well have been lost.”
The troublesome nature of Corbelli’s magic, and how a single spell had nearly routed the marquess’s knightly forces, was enough to make even the king acknowledge the power of a mage from the Next-Era Luminaries.
“Um, excuse me.”
Suddenly, Ains spoke up.
“You there! You are not permitted to speak!”
“Enough, Knight Captain.”
The sharp-eyed knight appeared to be the Knight Captain, and his anger was silenced by the king’s calm words.
“What is it, Ains?”
Sophia’s explanation had included Ains’s name.
Ains pointed toward the seat where the king sat.
“I would like to sit on that throne.”
“……”
Once again, the hall fell silent.
“…That’s enough! I will tolerate this no longer!”
Face flushed red, the Knight Captain strode aggressively toward Ains.
“Stop, Knight Captain. Ains is a contributor of merit.”
“This is a separate matter, Your Majesty! He has just committed the grave crime of suggesting rebellion! As Captain of the Royal Guard, I—Darte—cannot allow this outrage to go unpunished!”
The Knight Captain Darte drew his sword as he advanced.
Sophia stepped forward, placing herself between him and Ains.
“Move aside.”
“My duty is to protect my lord.”
Darte’s massive frame loomed threateningly, yet Sophia did not flinch.
“Wanting to sit on the throne… rebellion… please come to your senses, Ains.”
Laika pleaded desperately, her face pale.
“Hm? No, nothing like rebellion. I don’t want to be king or anything. I’m interested in the spellwork that makes up this throne—or rather, this entire hall.”
“The throne hall… is a spell structure?”
At Ains’s words, only the king reacted, his eyebrow twitching slightly.
Morning sunlight streamed into a room within the royal castle.
“Lady Lizelotte, I have brought your breakfast.”
A maid pushed open the door and entered, guiding a cart inside.
With a soft rattling sound, it was brought up to a large dining table covered with a white cloth.
“Please be careful, it is hot.”
As the steak plate was transferred from the cart to the table, it crackled violently, oil splattering as the meat sizzled.
“Fuaaah… yes, I know.”
The figure clad in a negligee with slipping shoulder straps stretched languidly, her slender silhouette accentuated by the morning light filtering through the fabric, enhancing her bewitching allure.
Yawning as she stretched, the woman padded barefoot from the bed to the table and sat before the steak.
The maid continued setting out soup, bread, and more.
On a refreshing morning filled with birdsong, Lizelotte slowly picked up her knife and fork.
With practiced movements, she cut the meat and brought a thick, juice-dripping slice of red meat to her mouth.
Her expression did not soften; instead, she chewed with a slight furrow between her brows.
The maid standing beside her had seen this scene many times before, yet never grew accustomed to it—it was enough to make one feel heavy just watching.
“Mireine, are you not earlier than usual today?”
After washing the meat down with soup, Lizelotte asked the maid Mireine.
“Yes. Today, Marquess Kansas Brandy is scheduled for a private audience with His Majesty.”
“And what does that have to do with me waking early?”
“Lord Brandy has reported that he captured Corbelli of the Next-Era Luminaries with the cooperation of another individual.”
Lizelotte tore a piece of bread, dipped it into the soup, and—
‘By rights, Brandy’s forces alone should not have been enough to defeat Corbelli. Could it be that this companion is truly formidable?
—tossed it into her mouth.
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