She was so pleased that, without realizing it, a moment of sincerity had slipped out.
She quickly recovered and stiffened her expression.
“As you know, I am the chosen wing by the goddess. Even if you are the prince, I cannot overlook such an insult.”
“Righteous? What does that mean?”
“What?”
“Just now, you said that I spoke righteously, didn’t you?”
Noel looked at Calisto with an incredulous gaze.
‘This guy, why is he so quick-witted?’
She liked him even more because a quick-witted person hated Josephina.
After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. It was only right to be pleased if an ally’s ability was outstanding.
However, now was not the time to openly be pleased. Noel quickly composed her face and asked incredulously.
“I have no idea what you are talking about. Righteous speech? When did I ever say such a thing?”
“I clearly heard it with my own ears just now.”
“You must have heard wrong.”
“That’s impossible. I have very good hearing.”
“You heard wrong, I tell you.”
“No. That’s not it.”
“Ah, unbelievable.”
Noel glared at Calisto with a frustrated expression.
‘Not only is he quick-witted, but he’s persistent too?’
Prince Calisto. The more she observed, the more she realized his worth. Persistence. Wasn’t that the most important trait in a hunting dog?
‘He’s quite smart, isn’t he? And good with magic. I think he was mentioned as a candidate for the next Archmage. If he’s loyal to Lady Leticia, would the magic empire side with Lady Leticia? What else is he good at…’
Perhaps it was the joy of finding a comrade for the first time. Noel forgot the situation and kept pondering Calisto’s usefulness.
She even thought about provoking him to test his abilities.
‘If he’s a candidate for the next Archmage, he must be strong, right? How strong, though? Weaker than me, perhaps? But could he destroy a divine temple? How can I find out his strength? Fighting is the best way, isn’t it? Should I provoke him? Would insulting the royal family be most effective?’
If they fought, the divine temple would surely crumble to ruins. Just the thought made her feel good.
Noel decided to stop her sweet imaginings there. She was too exhilarated and might make another mistake.
‘Let’s assess the prince’s power later. Fighting is not an option. If I overpower the prince too easily, Josephina will be pleased again. I’m sick of seeing that.’
That thought snapped her back to reality. For a perfect performance, Noel began self-hypnosis.
‘Prince Calisto is Lady Leticia’s enemy. A very bad person. Lady Leticia hates him. She would shudder at the mere thought of the imperial royal family.’
It was nonsense, but repeating it made her genuinely want to hit Calisto.
After ending her self-hypnosis, Noel looked at Calisto with an icy gaze as if she had never been flustered.
“Stop talking nonsense. I really don’t understand why you are doing this to me.”
“Still going to play dumb?”
“Playing dumb? That’s offensive. I am the wing chosen by the goddess for the saintess. Even if you are royalty, you cannot treat me so rudely. Show some proper respect.”
“Show respect to a mere hunting dog? I hardly show proper respect to Josephina. Is she even the sort to deserve that?”
Noel almost broke out of her self-hypnosis to offer Calisto a handshake.
‘He’s dangerous, indeed. I need to get out of here now.’
For a different reason now, Noel began to feel a sense of urgency.
“Your Highness, have you already forgotten what I said earlier? If you insult the saintess again, I will never forgive you. Did you not understand my warning? Or maybe.”
She made her expression even sterner.
“Do you wish to personally test how powerful an angered wing can be?”
At that moment, an intangible energy blossomed around her. The air froze, and the water nearby began to resonate with her emotions.
From the wine on the table nearby to the water of the lake she had controlled earlier.
All the water in the banquet hall vibrated, awaiting her command.
People who noticed the disturbance began to look their way.
Calisto felt the pressure increasing and narrowed his eyes.
And just then, he felt a pain on his cheek.
The rampant energy quickly subsided for a moment.
Calisto, who had reflexively brought his hand to the spot, chuckled dryly.
“Ha.”
Though faint, there was undoubtedly blood on the back of his hand.
Noel had inflicted a wound on his cheek with invisible tiny droplets of water.
That meant.
‘…Perhaps I need to revise my plan.’
While his wound was small, the meaning behind it was not.
‘Noel Armos. Is she not as easy an opponent as I thought?’
He was confident he could have defended against any visible water attack. However, Noel Armos did not choose that approach.
Thus, he could not defend.
‘I thought I could easily trample over the saintess’s ninth wing.’
If not, he had to postpone his plan.
The plan to overpower Noel in the banquet hall and embarrass Josephina.
Moreover.
‘Noel Armos. There must be something about her.’
Noel kept denying, but Calisto had heard clearly.
‘Was it just a slip of the tongue?’
It wasn’t impossible, but Noel’s reaction was very strange.
‘How could a wing, so devoted to the saintess, let an insult pass and react only belatedly?’
It was against the very instinct of a wing.
Noel Armos was an abnormally strong wing.
There’s only one reason a wing can be stronger than her superior.
It’s about being truly loyal and trusted by the master.
‘To think such a loyal wing would let an insult to Josephina pass.’
It didn’t add up at all.
‘Clearly, there’s something.’
Meaning, there was a secret he needed to uncover.
He stared at Noel’s face as if the answer to the secret was hidden there.
Noel met his gaze without yielding. Calisto, after staring at her intensely, decided to back off for now.
“Fine. If that’s what you insist, let’s leave it at that for today. But remember, next time it won’t be this easy.”
“I have only spoken the truth all along. Stop picking baseless quarrels. And don’t speak as if you’re covering up my lies.”
“Really? Is that so?”
“Don’t be unreasonable, you clearly said…”
“Regardless, isn’t it a fact that you reacted late to your master’s insult? That’s something you cannot deny.”
“Enough. If you’re going to keep being unreasonable, I’ll be going. I don’t want to ruin the banquet prepared by the saintess.”
With that, she didn’t even glance back at Calisto and walked away quickly.
Making a point to stomp her feet loudly as she went.
Calisto quietly watched Noel’s retreating figure.
To chase after her and probe further, or not. While he was hesitating.
“Cal!”
A familiar voice called out to him.
When he glanced back, Princess Dana was quickly approaching him.
She checked to make sure no one else was around and quickly asked.
“There was no issue, right? You didn’t provoke the saintess’s wing or anything like that?”
“Nothing happened. Don’t worry.”
“Then why did Noel Armos use the power of the wing!”
“Sister.”
“Please, please stop, Cal!”
Princess Dana looked up at Calisto with a face that seemed on the verge of tears.
“Why do you have to go this far? Even taking painkillers to stand against the saintess?”
“There was no issue.”
“Do you know how painful the oath’s agony is, how hard it is! Why do you keep doing this? Why!”
Eventually, the princess burst into tears.
Calisto looked at her silently for a moment before carefully pulling her into a hug.
Then, he gently patted her back.
“Don’t cry, sister.”
Calisto felt no particular emotion as his sister cried.
There was a faint ache deep in his heart, but that was all.
There was a time, long ago, when he too would cry with his sister and share her pain.
‘Those days are long gone.’
He no longer felt such human emotions.
All that remained in him was resignation, hatred, and anger.
‘Can it be… reversed?’
He laughed bitterly at the thought.
‘Obviously not.’
Ashes burned to dust can never be restored to their original form.
His crushed emotions were irrevocable. All he could hope for was to alleviate this pain, even if just a little.
‘How long can I endure?’
Despite relying on the power of magic, the agony of the oath was worsening day by day.
This made him even more determined to uncover the secrets of Noel Armos. Because.
‘Noel Armos seemed unaffected by the agony of the oath.’
A wing could never take lightly an insult to their master.
Otherwise, the pain of the oath would consume the wing instantly.
But Noel Armos was different. She appeared entirely unharmed.
What could possibly free her from the agony of the oath?
There was only one way to find out.
‘I’ll have to dig into Noel Armos’s background for a while.’
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