I had received the ring from Xenon—or more precisely, the communication magical artifact disguised as a ring—a few hours before the imperial palace's security magic was lifted.
After seating him in the backyard, where he grumbled about being harassed too much by the Magic Ministry people and how hard it was to find an excuse to come see me in the midst of it all, I abruptly told him to stay a while longer in the imperial palace.
Though phrased as a request, it was closer to a notice or a command.
"Huh? Why should I stay in the imperial palace?"
"I'll be moving my residence to the Roam mansion at midnight."
Xenon jumped up and protested vehemently. But there was no other way. How would it look if Xenon and I disappeared simultaneously?
At least officially, Xenon must have no connection whatsoever to my whereabouts.
Moreover, Xenon had a plausible reason to remain naturally in this imperial palace, while also being one of the few people I could trust.
"Weren't you saying the Imperial Magic Ministry is begging you to stay a few more days anyway?"
"I won't be staying!"
Xenon shuddered as if I had betrayed him.
"Stay here and handle a few things for me instead."
"You have Prince Heinri!"
"I'm going to pass him evidence of Roam's corruption. I need a messenger, and there's no one better than you."
To deliver the documents to Heinri, it had to be through the most trustworthy person. So, who else but Xenon?
Yet Xenon's expression remained hardened.
"What about those animals? Can't you just tie them to a cat's body and send them over?"
[That is animal cruelty. The author is truly heartless. I will handle it.]
Regardless of Minte's angry hissing beside him, Xenon stubbornly insisted he absolutely would not stay.
"My business at Roam will be over quickly. I don't plan to drag it out like at the imperial palace."
"Even so..."
"Just dealing with Roam is enough. After that, we can travel comfortably for real."
Because they won't be tracking me, neither at the imperial palace nor at Roam. They won't have the mind to do so.
I spoke flatly, but for some reason, Xenon stared at me intently with a subtle expression.
As if he had glimpsed some emotion on my face.
He didn't argue further. Instead, he spoke in a worried voice.
"That household is full of nothing but strange people, isn't it?"
"They want me. They won't try to harm my life."
"But they could try to suppress you in some way to force submission. Just like the people in this imperial palace do."
That was also true. I fell silent for a moment, then slowly parted my lips.
But before I could say anything, Xenon sighed first and continued.
"...I wish I didn't have to use this."
He pulled a ring from his pocket. It was a smooth, dark brown ring without any pattern. I didn't know what it was made of, but its subtle hue was strangely elegant.
Staring intently at the ring, I said in a flat voice.
"I have no intention of marrying yet."
No matter how anxious he is about being apart from me, skipping all the intermediate steps like this without any sense of propriety—what is he doing?
When I stared at Xenon with a hint of inner reproach, his face turned bright red.
"Th-that's not it!"
"It's not?"
"It's a magical artifact! A communication artifact!"
"Does a communication artifact have to be a ring?"
"I was taken aback when I received it too, but, well, honestly!"
With his reddened face, he kept letting out hollow laughs into the air before finally hanging his head and letting out a deep sigh.
"Well, yes. To be honest, I was actually pleased it happened to be shaped like a ring."
"Your honesty is refreshing."
"Really, there's no sense of being moved, no thrill..."
Xenon, with a drained expression, pouted his lips and grumbled. When I held out my hand, his eyes widened like a startled rabbit's again.
"You're giving it to me, right? Give it."
He looked at me with dazed eyes, then let out a deflated laugh. Then he carefully took my hand.
I had literally meant just to hand it over, but he seemed to have interpreted it differently.
Holding my hand lightly, he carefully slid the ring onto my finger. His actions seemed very reverent, as if performing a delicate task.
"If you turn the ring this way, you can receive my contact."
Perhaps to explain how to use the ring, he didn't let go of my hand.
"Turn it the other way, and you can contact me."
No, it didn't seem to be just about the instructions.
His touch, lightly rubbing my fingertips, seemed a little... reluctant.
"Depending on the activation method, it's a high-level communication magic that can summon anything from simple voice messages to, on a larger scale, even the illusion of the other party. I got it from my brother, so I can vouch for its performance."
'Ah. I heard Dekin was in the capital; it seems he met him.'
As I let out a low exclamation, he continued.
"Especially when summoning an illusion, the sender's consciousness entirely transfers to the illusion that appears on the receiver's side. So you must cast it in a safe place."
Even while meticulously listing precautions, he didn't let go of my hand. Xenon really went on and on, down to the smallest details.
"And..."
"There's more?"
"There will be. Just wait."
I suddenly grew curious.
Was he deliberately putting on an act so I'd ask, or did he really think I wouldn't know?
Wondering how far he'd go, I stayed quiet, and he, unable to find another excuse to linger, reluctantly released my hand.
The ring, which had seemed loose, shimmered faintly and then transformed to fit my finger perfectly.
Finding that fascinating, I was gazing down at the ring when I turned my eyes to Xenon.
"What about yours?"
"Ah, I have mine too. Here..."
"Give it here."
The expression Xenon wore when I took the ring from his hand and slid it onto his finger myself...
Frankly, I must admit. It was quite adorable.
The eyes darting about restlessly, the lips pressed tightly together, the flush on his cheeks that wouldn't fade—all of it.
"It's not a marriage proposal."
"Ah, I know that!"
It was a rough, thick man's hand.
Completely different from Maxel's delicate, pale hands. Though he likely didn't wield a sword, it had calluses and was surprisingly large, seemingly capable of covering my hand entirely.
I finally understood a little why Xenon had been fidgeting with my hand. In that moment, I too found Xenon's hand quite intriguing.
That was the reason I hesitated momentarily when I meant to just put the ring on and let go.
...Though I hadn't expected Xenon, not missing that instant, to quickly interlace our fingers.
"It's not marriage, but you're attaching meaning to it, right?"
"Meaning?"
"I confessed, didn't I? We kissed, and now we've exchanged rings."
For someone who had been acting so shy and flustered, it was a rather blatant expression, so I couldn't help but be surprised.
As I widened my eyes and fell silent, a hint of doubt gradually filled Xenon's sparkling eyes.
"Lady Anelli?"
Hmm, that aggrieved expression suits him better than the shy one, I think.
"You're not toying with me, are you? This is my first love? You haven't been trifling with my pure heart, have you?"
"Ah, I've heard somewhere that first loves don't come to fruition..."
"In the Magic Tower alone, I know three people who married their first love."
Oh... It seems the mages of the Magic Tower are all romantics?
"But in high society, broken engagements, betrothals, and affairs are frequent."
"Is that high society of yours a hotbed of immorality?"
Xenon shuddered in disgust. Yet, the fact that he still didn't let go of our interlaced hands was somewhat amusing.
"Take this chance to learn about solid and proper dating culture through me."
"I'll think about it."
"Yes, that's a wise thought... Huh?"
"I said I'll think about it."
At my nonchalant reply, Xenon's mouth fell open. Naturally, he was filled with a sense of betrayal.
"Hadn't we implicitly become that kind of relationship?"
"From one kiss?"
"This is why I deliberately prepared a gift for the next day too... I knew it. Once corrupted by that utterly bizarre aristocratic culture, you shouldn't tease people like that."
Grumbling, Xenon didn't press me further. Of course, he didn't let go of my hand either.
It was a very... strange and fascinating experience. He didn't pressure me for anything, yet he didn't hide his desires either.
'Come to think of it, I was being a bit mischievous.'
Thinking back, if I were in his position, I might have been quite annoyed.
―Compared to the imperial palace, this mansion is too easy. I doubt anyone would notice even if I warped.
I snapped out of my brief reverie.
Xenon, in his smoke-like illusion form, was scanning here and there in my room, detecting any potentially dangerous magic.
While it was impressive that a simple illusion could even do that, I was also amazed by Xenon's foresight in getting the artifact from Dekin, as if he had predicted this situation.
―If you call, I can come right away, so if anything happens, use the ring without fail.
"I am the Captain's escort knight, you servant!"
―...Be careful not to let that person's helmet come off.
Even without Xenon's warning, Pallides's helmet was already firmly secured.
To the point it wouldn't come off unless someone charged in intending to smash his head with a hammer or axe.
―By the way, are all imperial palace mages like this?
Having roughly confirmed my safety, Xenon sat in a chair and began earnestly cursing the imperial palace mages.
Occasionally, when the Dullahans retorted to Xenon in ways he couldn't understand, Pallides relayed each one to Xenon.
Then Xenon would flare up and scold the Dullahans, and the Dullahans would circle around me as if to provoke him.
Thus, the first night at the Roam mansion passed in a somewhat bustling manner.
By the time I went to bed in the late dawn, the gloom I had felt since entering the mansion had washed away as if cleansed.
* * *
The 'people' with whom Anelli shared her plan to overthrow Roam were three.
Prince Heinri, who would laugh hollowly between the Emperor and Duke Roam, maintaining balance. The mage Xenon, who would serve as the liaison between Roam and the imperial palace.
And the holy knight Samuel, who would guide her back after everything was over.
After coaxing and persuading the priests who insisted on bidding a final farewell to the Resurrected One and sending them back, Samuel slumped onto the bed with an exhausted face.
Officially, it was announced that he had returned to the Grand Temple with the priests.
But he had secretly taken up separate lodgings in the capital while hiding his identity.
He needed to prepare fake identification documents for the upcoming schedule and plan the route to leave the capital and head to the Veladia Valley.
To the Temple, he could explain it as 'having to carry out a secret mission according to divine will.' It wasn't entirely untrue.
'Divine will.'