Isabel's Authority

"The Cardinal Bishop's clothes have already been delivered."

Lily's voice came clearly from the doorway. "Would you like to change into them and try them on first?"

"Sure."

Iver agreed and rose to open the door.

As the main door opened, a familiar figure suddenly crashed into his arms like a little cannonball.

Wearing an elf-style short skirt designed for ease of movement, Isabel leaped lightly into the air.

She wrapped both arms around Iver's neck and used the momentum of her jump to lift herself up, her toes briefly leaving the ground.

"Did you miss me?"

Isabel asked with a radiant smile. Once the momentum of her leap ran out, her white little shoes naturally slid down and lightly stepped onto the tops of Iver's feet.

But Iver barely felt any weight from Isabel.

She stood lightly on tiptoe, looking as charming and adorable as a fairy. Even though he couldn't see any wings on her back, she seemed as if she could simply remain perched atop a blooming flower.

Somewhat surprised, he reached out and instinctively stroked Isabel's cheek. Yet even then, he couldn't feel any seam where the mask met her face.

Isabel neither dodged nor resisted. Instead, she puckered her lips and moved her face closer, letting Iver examine the details more carefully.

She teased, "If you could feel the seam just by touching me like that, then the 'Puppet Mask Grimoire' would be far too useless."

Iver glanced at Lily, who stood quietly by the doorway, holding the Cardinal Bishop's robes. Her presence was so faint that she seemed like a phantom made of bubbles. He suddenly understood. "This is... Selene?"

"She's too restless. The moment I stopped watching her, she gnawed through half the ham in the kitchen. The sausages were the same—the most