Before knocking on Heretia’s door, Haild took a deep breath and made sure that his clothes were neat and the bandages were neatly wrapped around his face.

A man who was known to be Heretia’s guard looked at Haild suspiciously from beside him.

As far as Haild knew, the guard was the man who had a broken leg when he first met Heretia when the carriage was overturned. Haild thought that he knew the guard’s name, but he forgot—not that it was important anyway.

“Please feel free to go inside.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

Haild cleared his throat and nervously prepared to knock on the door. He had encountered Heretia several times in the Imperial Palace, but it was the first time that he was invited to Heretia’s room.

Whenever he ran into Heretia in the Imperial Palace, Haild had tried to hold a conversation with her as he recalled his memories from the Magic Tower, but she didn’t seem to care much—it was as if it wasn’t a big deal. Heretia had too much work to do and did not have time to have a good laugh while reminiscing about the past.

Although Haild was considered one of the closest acquaintances of the emperor, no specific job was assigned to him. This was only natural, since Haild was taken to the island to be taught about the Crack and train his swordsmanship even before he had a chance to receive proper education. While he did not have the knowledge needed for administration or tactics, he wasn’t even used to having...