WCDGS 10

I was drawn in by the smell and entered the restaurant, taking a seat in the empty outdoor area.

The owner, noticing me, approached with a notepad.

“What would you like?”

“What’s that?”

“That’s our restaurant’s special. Noodles stir-fried with a generous amount of garlic.”

“I’ll have that.”

Watching others devour their food so eagerly only made me hungrier.

Time felt like it dragged on, but finally, the owner brought out a steaming hot bowl of noodles.

“Looks delicious.”

I pushed aside everything that had happened at the shop and focused entirely on the food before me.

Until now, I had always eaten modestly and cautiously, so this was my first time eating at a restaurant.

Just as I was about to twirl the noodles with my fork and take a bite, a shadow suddenly loomed in front of me.

“Excuse me. We need to conduct a brief inspection.”

Annoyed at being interrupted while eating, I frowned and looked up.

“Inspection?”

“Yes. We received a report.”

“We are palace guards.”

Two young men in knight uniforms stood on either side of me, making sure I couldn’t escape.

A bad feeling rose in my chest, so I quickly shoved the forkful of noodles into my mouth.

And the moment the spicy, savory flavor filled my mouth, I was genuinely moved.

“…So good.”

I was stunned that something could taste this amazing.

Is this what all restaurant food tastes like?

I felt tears sting my eyes from the injustice of having lived without knowing this flavor.

But even though I wanted to savor it more deeply, I couldn’t, not with these guards standing in front of me.

“We received a report that someone fled from the tailor shop after showing a Black Eagle Order brooch.”

The brooch again.

Unable to hold back, I twirled more noodles on my fork and continued chewing as I spoke.

“I didn’t run away. I just didn’t want to get involved.”

“Can we see the brooch?”

For a moment, I thought of the sword I had left at the guild and had to suppress the urge to smack them both on the neck.

Causing a scene would do no good, so I showed them the brooch to get this over with quickly and return to my meal.

The guards examined it carefully and nodded.

“This is authentic. And it’s Sir Seniel’s brooch, no less. Are you sure you didn’t steal it?”

“He gave it to me. Personally.”

“Then what is your relationship to Sir Seniel?”

According to my current ID card, Seniel and I were complete strangers.

People believed Seniel had no sister, so if I claimed to be one, it would complicate things.

In times like this, the best answer was:

“…Friend.”

My answer only made the guards more suspicious.

“Can we see your identification?”

“I forgot to bring it.”

“Then can you come with us to your residence and show it there?”

“I live far away. Not in the capital—I’m just visiting a friend right now.”

One guard frowned, wondering how I could sound so confident, but I really couldn’t show them my ID.

I couldn’t risk revealing the false identity created for missions involving Seniel.

Eventually, the guards exchanged troubled glances and whispered to each other before speaking again.

“There’s only one way to verify this. You’ll have to come with us to the palace so we can confirm your story.”

I didn’t have any pressing appointments, and Seniel would likely be at the palace.

In fact, this might be a good opportunity to explore the usually hard-to-enter palace.

The only problem… was my barely-touched food.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the dish and asked hopefully,

“Can I at least finish eating first?”

“Our shift change is coming up.”

“We have a lot of pending duties. We need to resolve this quickly and move on.”

Their firm answer left no room for negotiation, and I sighed in defeat.

Once again, I thought of the sword I had left at the guild and shook my head.

“Good thing I didn’t bring it.”

If I had, I might’ve actually attacked these guards who interrupted the rare joy I had just rediscovered.

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Lead the way.”

The inside of the palace was far more splendid and vast than I’d imagined, with so many buildings in different architectural styles, it was impossible to take it all in.

If I hadn’t been detained by the guards, I would have loved to wander around and memorize the palace’s layout.

“Don’t look around too much. You’ll look suspicious.”

Apparently I had been too obvious, because one of the guards gave me a quiet warning and led me to a guard post near the main gate.

“Fortunately, Sir Seniel is in the palace right now, so we’ve sent someone to fetch him. But if you really are his friend, why can’t you prove it?”

I met the guard’s suspicious gaze calmly and replied,

“I told you to ask him directly.”

“If it turns out you’re lying, you could be sentenced severely. If you tell the truth now, we can take that into consideration.”

“Ah, sure.”

I leaned casually against the guard post’s railing, tuning out the guard’s threats.

Because the post was high up, I had a great view of the palace grounds below.

I smiled as I studied the palace layout and tried to memorize it.

Just then, I heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

“Seniel?”

I turned around eagerly, thinking he had arrived already—but instead, a man I didn’t recognize appeared.

He wasn’t wearing a sword and had on a white robe that reached his ankles. His attire was unusual, and he wore silver-rimmed glasses that covered half his face.

He must’ve been someone important, as the guards stiffened and saluted him quickly.

“Greetings! I’m Jayden from the 3rd Knight Division, on duty.”

“Tom from the 4th Knight Division, sir. Greetings, Lord Kayan.”

“You’ve been working hard.”

The man turned his gaze to me, eyes curious, and gave a small smile.

“What’s the situation?”

“Well… We received a report that someone had stolen Sir Seniel’s brooch, and apprehended the lady. She claims he gave it to her directly. We couldn’t verify her identity, so we brought her here.”

“She had Seniel’s brooch?”

The man, apparently named Kayan, snapped his fingers and approached me, looking me over carefully.

As our eyes met, his green eyes behind the silver frames sparkled with curiosity.

Leaning toward me, he asked in a low voice,

“Are you… Seniel’s sister, by chance?”

“…Who are you?”

“So I was right.”

I narrowed my eyes, wondering how he had guessed, but he smiled kindly.

“Pleased to meet you. Please come with me. I’ll take you to Seniel.”

The man seemed friendly enough, but he was still a stranger, no different from the guards.

I frowned slightly and shook my head.

“I’ll just wait here. Seniel will come.”

“It may take a while. Things move slowly at the palace. And…”

He lowered his voice even further.

“You haven’t revealed that you’re Seniel’s family. Isn’t that putting you in a difficult position?”

I was surprised by how quickly he had picked up on everything. His intuition was almost frightening.

I still wasn’t sure if I could trust him, but at least he knew about Seniel’s family.

“…Alright. I’ll go with you.”

He smiled and turned to the guards.

“She’s someone I know well. She would never steal a brooch. We can let her go, right?”

“Excuse me? But she has no ID and—surely we must confirm with Sir Seniel first…”

The guards looked panicked and tried to protest, but the man’s next words shut them up.

“Jayden. Tom. I know you’re aware of who I am. Are you suggesting I’m lying?”

“N-No, of course not.”

“We must have been mistaken. Please, go ahead. We’re terribly sorry.”

The guards bowed so deeply I could see their throats gulping nervously.

The man offered his hand. Despite his gentle appearance, he clearly had a cold, commanding air.

“Shall we?”

“Yes.”

As we walked out of the guard post, he turned to me and finally introduced himself.

“I should’ve introduced myself sooner. I’m Kayan Evidrian, from the Royal Research Institute.”

“I’m Rosia.”

He was clearly a noble—and from a family well-known enough even I had heard of them.

“How did you know I was Seniel’s sister?”

“Seniel wouldn’t lose or give away his brooch to just anyone.”

He continued walking, casually guiding me forward.

“I wondered who he might trust enough to give that to,