That day, Lil was stopped by Ian.

“What is it, Dad?”

“Sorry, but I’ve got to go to the castle. I’ll be gone for a few days, so stay here with everyone else and hold down the fort.”

Lil remembered—right, her dad was a prince.

“What for?”

“The king is abdicating, and my oldest brother is going to inherit the throne. There’s a coronation ceremony.”

Ian was worried about Lil, but as a prince, there was no way he could skip the coronation.

Their father, the king, had a chronic illness—one that even Ian, with his “Healing” skill, couldn’t cure. That’s why he had decided to hand the throne over early to his eldest son.

Their father had told him to bring his granddaughter, but Ian flatly refused.

If, by any chance, someone recognized the girl who was supposed to be the deceased Saint of the neighboring country, it could become a major issue. She couldn’t be brought to the royal castle until she was a little older.

Besides, Ian had another reason for going, one he hadn’t told Lil yet. He was planning to meet with Ria. They were going to discuss the future.

“How long will you be gone?”

Lil looked uneasy.

“I’ll be back in about four days. Three days from now there’ll be a festival in town for the new king’s coronation, so you all should go.”

Lil lit up at the word “festival.” Ian couldn’t attend, but at least this way, she wouldn’t feel too lonely. As soon as the tiresome coronation was over, Ian planned to return to the base as quickly as possible. He intended to skip the banquet, too.

Seeing Lil and the others off, Ian departed the base with Louis.

After Ian left, Lil felt a little lonely. The other knights and divine beasts were there, but Ian was still someone special to her. It was her first time being apart from him for four whole days, and she felt restless.

“It’ll be alright, Lil. Four days will fly by if we all play together,”
Marron comforted her. Lil pulled herself together.

If she was a good girl while he was gone, he’d definitely praise her a lot when he came back. Maybe she could try something new and surprise him. Lil decided she would.

What should she do? Lil thought hard. After a bit of pondering, she came up with knitting. Maybe she could make a scarf. That seemed doable for her.

She decided to ask Rosaline for help.

“You want to make a scarf? I’ve got just the thing.”

With that, Rosaline brought out a board with lots of holes and sticks. From Michiru’s memories, Lil knew this was a knitting loom called a “Lillian.”

Rosaline taught her how to use it, kindly demonstrating as she made something herself right beside her. If she kept at it, she might finish in time before Ian came home.

Lil knitted carefully so as not to make any mistakes. When she glanced over for a break, she saw Rosaline churning out yarn-stuffed balls. They came in different sizes—how curious. What were they for?

When Lil stared, Rosaline explained they were gifts for the divine beasts. Oh, so you could make toys from yarn too. Lil was impressed.

As she worked by the fireplace in the living room, everyone started to gather.

The fireplace was only in this room, so the knights often stayed there. The other rooms were all warmed by Warm Air Devices. But still, the fireplace had a special charm.

Seeing Lil and the others knitting, the rest began making things too. Maynard carved wood statues, Martin painted, and Gloria made potpourri with dried flowers.

For some reason, Hayden was simmering meat in a pot over the fire. The delicious smell made Lil’s stomach growl.

Meanwhile, Ian had arrived in the royal capital. As soon as he reached the main gate, he was surrounded by escorting knights and entered the city. He envied Livian , who didn’t need guards thanks to her skills.

When Louis was with him, people instantly knew he was royalty, and all the attention made him uncomfortable.

Especially with the coronation so near, people kept waving at him. Smiling and waving back was torture for Ian. He marveled at how Livian could do it so naturally.

Ian sighed, already wanting to go back to the base.

When he arrived at the intended residence, Merlin greeted him. The knights stood down, and Ian was finally alone. Merlin led him to the room where his brother awaited. Louis seemed to be chatting with Merlin, but without Lil, Ian couldn’t understand a word—and that disappointed him.

In the room he was guided to, Ian saw his second-oldest brother and a girl with short silver hair.

“Hey, welcome. Must’ve been tough coming back to the capital after so long.”

Ian was slightly irritated by Livian’s teasing tone. His brother was always like this, and he fought the urge to sulk—doing so would only get him teased more, so he tried hard to keep a neutral expression.

He turned to the girl next to Livian.

“Thank you for coming today. I’m Ria—formerly Mireille Adams.”

The girl gave a perfect curtsy. Ian had heard she didn’t like skirts, but today she wore a dress.

Seeing her like this, despite being twins, she and Lil felt very different. Ria was taller and had a healthy build, so they looked more like sisters than twins. Their polite mannerisms were similar, but the girl before him seemed far more refined—like a well-bred noble lady. Which, of course, she was.

“Nice to meet you, Ria. I’m Ian Wilson—Lil’s father.”

For some reason, Ian was extremely nervous. Ria watched him intently. Ah, so this is the bearer of the Eye of Truth, he thought, understandingly.

“Is Lil doing well?”

“Yeah. She’s having fun at the base every day, playing with the divine beasts. Lately, she’s gotten stronger and runs around outside a lot.”

Ria smiled in relief. Even the way she smiled was completely different from Lil. It didn’t feel childlike at all.

He had heard that, even from a young age, Ria had been praised as a prodigy. She must’ve gone through a lot.

“Ian, do you get what I meant now? You won’t find a more low-maintenance child than her,”
Livian said.

It was true—she was too well put-together. Ian figured Livian must’ve had a hard time too.

“If I’m low-maintenance, isn’t that a good thing?”

Ria responded dryly, but didn’t seem offended. She was probably used to such comments by now.

Ian silently hoped the discussion to follow would go smoothly—for Ria’s sake, too.