It was Sunday, and the sky was clear and bright.

The magical fireworks left no haze in the air—they were, after all, a proud creation of the Church of Truth.

Felyn sat in the back seat of the ceremonial vehicle, gazing out the window at Saiwa.

A lot had happened in the past week.

But what troubled Felyn more… was what lay ahead.

There were still two months left on his contract with Adelina. How was he supposed to act when he saw her again? Pretend like nothing happened? Or deliberately keep his distance?

The wide streets outside gradually grew more crowded, and the pedestrians' clothing shifted from bright colors to pale grays.

They had arrived at the Mist District.

Felyn had never really thought of this area as a poor neighborhood. It wasn’t that bad, after all.

But after coming back from the Capital District, it really did feel like a slum.

By rights, he and Miss Daiyi should’ve just used a Transfer Seal to jump straight to the church in the Mist District, and then taken a ride home from there. It would’ve saved them the whole car trip.

But Daiyi had simply brought too many clothes and bags. They couldn’t even fit everything into the Transfer Seal’s range.

And royal ceremonial vehicles from the Capital were never meant for cargo—they couldn’t exactly be used to haul personal luggage home either. If they wanted the goods delivered via a merchant company, Daiyi would have to wait at least half a month before receiving her clothes. That was absolutely unacceptable to her.

Back in front of his familiar home.

Felyn watched the attendants who had just finished unloading the luggage from the fleet. After placing the boxes at the door, they gave a formal bow, then boarded their cars and drove off.

“Miss Daiyi, they’re just leaving like that?”

The crowd passed them by, leaving behind a pile of luggage on the doorstep.

“They can’t enter private residences once they leave the Capital District,” Daiyi explained while counting her luggage. “It’s already good that they helped unload. According to procedure, they’re not even supposed to leave the car.”

Felyn helped carry the bags into the house.

“Isn’t Miss Bernice your bodyguard? Where is she?” Felyn asked, thinking Bernice could’ve easily handled all this in a few trips.

“No idea. I rarely arrange her schedule.”

Bernice! Where are you?! You always show up when there’s drama, but now that there’s work to do, you’re suddenly nowhere to be found?

Felyn set down a suitcase and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

Just a few boxes and he was already sweating. The early autumn sun still had some bite to it.

“Sorry to put you through this, Miss Daiyi. Letting you stay here and not even having a servant around…”

Daiyi leaned back against a stack of luggage, and a look Felyn feared most appeared on her usually composed face.

“Aren’t you my servant? And besides, now that we’re lovers, I wouldn’t mind becoming your maid either. If you asked me, I might just put on a maid outfit.”

That was exactly the kind of thing Felyn couldn’t handle.

“Actually, there’s a maid outfit in that suitcase right there. Open it, and I’ll wear it.”

Felyn froze mid-lift, the suitcase dangling in his hands.

Then he heard Daiyi giggle.

“Miss Daiyi! You’re so annoying!”

Turning around, Felyn saw the smug little smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

She got me again!

I’d bet anything there’s no maid outfit in that suitcase. She’s just messing with me!

Today, Daiyi wore a wide-brimmed straw hat and a gray jacket with the sleeves rolled up to her forearms.

Her black leather shoes clicked pleasantly against the floor as she strolled over and crouched beside him, right in front of the suitcase.

Click.

She undid the latches and pulled out a black-and-white dress trimmed with lace.

“You missed your chance.”

“No way… You actually brought it?”

Felyn recognized it immediately—it was that short, frilly maid outfit Daiyi had bought earlier.

Bringing something like that in a suitcase meant for visiting the royal princess… that was a little twisted.

“I was just worried that once we got to the Capital District, I wouldn’t have a way to please you anymore. You might end up spending the night at another girl’s house.”

“I would never! You just wanted to use it to tease me while we were in the Capital and didn’t get the chance, didn’t you?!”

Nearby neighbors peeked their heads out and smiled as they watched the two youths—fresh off the royal ceremonial fleet—carry their bags inside.

Not long after, another car pulled up at the far end of the street.

A beautiful girl with pink hair stepped down and jogged over, drawing curious glances from the bystanders as she approached Felyn’s house.

She was clearly a noble’s daughter—what was someone like her doing here?

Naturally, that made everyone even more curious about Felyn’s identity.

“Who’s that?”

“Felyn, it’s me—Viloti.”

Felyn opened the door and was greeted by the sight of Viloti’s flushed cheeks and heaving chest, sweat dripping from her run after arriving.

Meanwhile, Miss Daiyi had hair clinging to her face and sweat glistening on her brow.

Something about the scene… didn’t look quite right.

“S-Sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt!” Viloti clamped her eyes shut, bowed deeply, and turned on her heel to flee down the steps.

“Hey, wait!” Felyn grabbed her wrist. “You’ve got the wrong idea, don’t you?”

“We were just moving luggage, right, Miss Daiyi?”

Daiyi leaned against the table and tugged gently at her collar, revealing her collarbone. “Oh? Were we? Fine… I guess we were just moving luggage.”

“We were!”

Felyn gently tugged Viloti inside. Her cheeks were still red, her chest rising and falling with every breath.

“Sit down. What’s the matter, Viloti?”

“Teacher Sophia asked me to come see you. She needs to talk to you,” Viloti replied, sitting at the dining table and watching Felyn closely.

“She could’ve just messaged me. No need for you to come all the way.”

“She… she said you weren’t responding. And it’s kind of urgent, so she asked me instead.”

Only then did Felyn realize his Communication Seal wasn’t on him. He must’ve left it in the house while moving the luggage.

Picking it up, he saw several dozen messages from Teacher Sophia.

She’d never been the strict type with him.

[Felyn, you’ve qualified for the Capital’s early-entry exam.]

The Capital’s early-entry exam was only available to individuals with outstanding achievements or contributions to Saiwa. It focused less on written tests and more on practical performance—perfect for Felyn.

Viloti and Zervanie had both gotten in through that same exam.

As for what counted as a “major contribution,” Felyn figured it must’ve been the incident where he protected Adelina in the Capital.

Adelina had pinned the whole incident on him. From the royal family’s perspective, he not only protected a noble but also used sigils to kill three members of the Church.

In other words: a genius.

And so, the royal family granted Felyn the right to take the early-entry exam.

Daiyi walked over with a teapot and poured Viloti a cup of tea.

“Here, have something to drink, Miss Viloti.”

“Thank you…”

Viloti accepted the cup with both hands, but something still felt off.

“Daiyi, wait for me at home. I need to head to school real quick.”

“Go ahead. I’ll wait.”

Viloti couldn’t help but notice—it really felt like these two were a married couple.

Still, seeing Felyn head toward the door, she gave Daiyi a polite nod and followed him without saying anything more.

They walked together toward the school.

“Viloti, why did Teacher Sophia ask you to come find me? Surely there are other students who live closer.”

“M-Maybe because… I…”

Viloti struggled to say it.

What Teacher Sophia had actually said was:

“Miss Viloti, your Felyn hasn’t been answering me. Could you go check on him?”

Your Felyn.

Your Felyn.

Just hearing that was enough to make Viloti drop everything and come running.

(End of Chapter)