Lakeheart Island, the Royal Palace.
Shien and Vivian entered with ease.
Vivian handed a letter to the Knights guarding the gate, asking them to deliver it to the Princess. Just as Vivian had said earlier, they immediately declared that an audience could be arranged now.
However, only Shien and Vivian were permitted to enter the Royal Palace. Tier, Lumya, and Merika were not allowed in.
The reason was that there were too many of them.
For a private meeting, bringing so many people along to see the Princess was indeed rather inappropriate.
Thus, Lumya and Merika hurriedly claimed that they could simply wait outside.
"I-I'm really scared of meeting the Princess!"
"Yeah! It's so sudden!"
That was how Lumya and Merika put it. They looked as though they were about to cry, clearly overwhelmed by the prospect of meeting the Princess—or rather, completely unprepared for it.
After all, things were different from before. Lumya and Merika now had a real sense of the Princess's reputation. Going to meet her just like that was still a little too much for the two girls' hearts.
"Then I'll stay behind and keep them company."
Tier said that, and so she did not enter the Royal Palace either.
Thus, with the Knights' arrangements, Tier, Lumya, and Merika waited in a reception room outside the Royal Palace for Shien and Vivian to return. Shien and Vivian followed behind the leading knight, entering the palace and heading toward the Princess's chambers.
Along the way, the knight guiding them treated Vivian with considerable respect, while Vivian herself moved through the palace with such familiarity that one wondered whether she even needed anyone to lead her.
Watching from the side, Shien waited a while before quietly asking Vivian a question.
"You seem to come to the Royal Palace