Only after going through a series of complicated procedures were they finally able to have an audience with Emperor Calliona.

With her red hair tightly pulled back and her sunset-colored crimson eyes shining, Calliona was now thirty-three years old.

The Empress Dowager had been recommending various marriage candidates, but she was still unmarried. Her solid build and neatly tailored uniform still suited her well—she was a towering, imposing woman.

Though she was far overshadowed by the Empress Dowager in social circles, she had consistently defended her own domain and now had complete control over the Imperial Knights.

And that upright Calliona...

‘What the hell... What is this?’

As soon as she faced Zahid for the first time in a long while, she flinched, her confidence shaken.

He was clearly showing her the proper respect, but the atmosphere around him was anything but normal.

‘Why the hell is he looking at me like that? What is this?’

There was no way Calliona and Zahid could be said to have a bad relationship. If anything, though they weren’t close, there was a firm trust between them.

In fact, due to the age gap, Calliona had thought of Zahid as a good, dutiful youngest brother she needed to protect.

‘What’s with those eyes, like I betrayed him?’

Calliona dismissed everyone except Julian and Zahid from the room. Then she looked at Zahid and spoke first.

"Um, Zahid. Did you, by any chance, hear something awful about me?"

The Temple must’ve spread lies—there was no doubt.

"Whatever misunderstanding you have, I’ll clear it up no matter what. We may not be blood, but I really think of you as my own brother. I mean it."

Zahid, seated before her, slowly blinked.

Maybe it was because he was idly fiddling with the pipe Julian had handed him earlier, but the air around him was heavy.

Was it really okay for some twenty-year-old kid to act like such a beast? Just judging by his presence, no one in the Imperial Knights could hold a candle to him.

"Your Majesty, then..."

As both Calliona and Julian tensed up, wondering what the Temple could’ve told him, Zahid slowly asked, in a defiant yet clearly accusatory tone:

"Is it true that you tried to arrange an engagement between Rosie and Ray?"

"...What?"

Calliona blinked blankly at the completely unexpected words.

"Lady Linna said so."

"W-what did you say?"

As Calliona faltered, Zahid continued in that slow, pressing voice.

"She said that back when Lord Julian asked you to find Rosie a match, you recommended Ray Lavendal."

"Zahid Dyfenril."

Julian immediately cut in with a chilling expression.

"Why are you bringing up something from ages °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° ago? Are you really making that scary face over something that old?"

Calliona, even in that tense moment, glanced at Julian, feeling a flutter.

"Obviously, that happened before I lost my memory."

Julian drew a firm line.

"So I’m not responsible. No point dragging me into this."

Calliona felt betrayed.

So he was saying he had no responsibility, and Zahid should take it up with her alone?

She glared at Julian, completely dumbfounded, when Zahid slowly put the pipe to his lips and spoke.

"You think of me like your own brother... but not quite like Ray, your real blood."

"T-that’s—!"

Calliona flailed her hands, trying to explain.

"Back then, you had a fiancée! Your second or third one, whichever!"

Zahid groaned in displeasure at the memory.

"Of course, I thought your aunt Elizabeth was taking good care of you..."

There was nothing Calliona could say to that. Back then, her intelligence network was weak, and she had no idea Zahid was being abused like that by his relatives.

"Hey, hey. You’ve been engaged three times before Rosie, so why are you getting worked up over an engagement that didn’t even happen?"

Julian, seizing the moment, quickly jumped in.

Calliona, her resentment toward Julian forgotten, joined in.

"Zahid, why are you so jealous of Ray?"

The answer came quickly.

"Because Rosie’s only friend is Ray."

At Zahid’s words, Julian and Calliona nodded in unison.

"Oh, that’s true. Yeah. The kid doesn’t have friends. Said she’d make some at the Academy and ended up with only two."

"Ah, so you plan to be jealous of all Rosie’s friends, but it’s just Ray, huh? She did end up in the Tower, right? Not like she’d make friends there."

Anyway, that topic wrapped up for the moment. They had to move on to why Zahid had gotten out of the Temple earlier than expected.

"Aietar disappeared a few days ago. Along with the Sacred Relic of Power."

Zahid briefly explained the situation he’d shared with Yuta.

"So I plan to go to the Holy Land, Arhad. It seems like he’s going there to absorb divine power."

At the mention of "Arhad," Calliona’s expression darkened.

The Holy Land, Arhad...

Nine years ago, when Julian said he was going there, she’d felt this same anxiety.

"You’d better prepare thoroughly before going."

Calliona spoke slowly.

"According to old records, Aietar was missing for quite a long time. And it’s said that’s when the Divine Beasts’ power weakened. If the situation’s similar, it could take a while. If I look through the Imperial archives, maybe I can find something useful..."

"But it’s not like we have endless time. He’s already been missing for several days."

As Zahid stressed this point, Julian, who had been silent, finally spoke.

"Then I’ll go with you, Zahid."

"...What?"

"Let’s go to Arhad together."

Calliona’s eyes wavered.

Julian continued calmly.

"You go ahead and scout the area. I’ll follow after I search the archives with Her Majesty. We’ll meet in front of Arhad."

"But... there... you..."

Zahid hesitated, looking uneasy.

"You just go first, Zahid."

Julian pulled Zahid to his feet.

"Move quickly, sneak around nearby, you might uncover something."

Zahid hesitated, then cautiously stood.

"Then I’ll go ahead. There’s a place I’d like to stop by, anyway..."

After giving a formal bow, he left swiftly with Fire.

Only Julian and Calliona remained in the office.

Once Zahid left, Calliona let out a deep sigh.

"Julian."

Her voice trembled slightly.

"...You’re going to Arhad? Again?"

"Your Majesty?"

"Again... to that dangerous place? Have you forgotten what happened to you there?"

"Yeah... I forgot..."

Julian’s gloomy reply left Calliona speechless. So she decided to just throw a fit.

"Julian... I don’t want to send you there again. You know how dangerous it is."

"I don’t want to go either. Who likes danger?"

Julian grinned, scratching his head.

It was such a human answer, but Calliona’s heart sank.

He wasn’t coldly saying, "I’m going anyway," like before, but she still knew the result would be the same.

"Back then, I was some genius who knew the whole future, so I must’ve known how dangerous Arhad was. And I still went, didn’t I?"

"...You weren’t quite that much of a genius..."

"I’ve always wanted to go at least once. But being human, I was too scared to until now. And how can I let that rookie go alone to such a dangerous place?"

Julian grinned like he was trying to soothe her, then added with a serious face:

"I just got word from Ethan. The High Priest is looking for children who never learned to read."

"Ah."

"They’re casting a wide net, and there are plenty of kids like that, so it’ll take time. But the fact is, Rosie’s name did come up."

At the mention of Rosie’s name, Calliona let out a soft sigh. She knew now she couldn’t stop Julian.

"Before anything happens, we have to do everything we can."

To the speechless Calliona, Julian casually scratched his head and continued.

"And... you never know."

His green eyes, filled with all sorts of emotions, curved gently.

"If I go there, maybe I’ll take a good hit to the head and get my memory back."