"Boreas?"
When the staff member whispered the report in her ear, a barely perceptible flicker of surprise crossed Ariel's amethyst-like eyes.
She knew better than anyone what that surname represented in the Asla Kingdom.
The Greyrats of Asura, a branch of the Four Great Nobles.
The image of a black-haired young man surfaced in her mind.
The Displacement Incident, the great migration, the Blessed Child, the prophecy...
Ariel also glanced at Ghislaine beside her.
The three former King-level retainers of Boreas: Roxy, Cui Ciyou, and Ghislaine.
Beside her, Ghislaine's lone eye suddenly narrowed, and the muscles of her hand tightened instinctively around her sword hilt.
That surname was like a key, instantly unlocking memories she had sealed away for nearly four years.
It touched the most tender chord deep within her heart.
Was it... them?
"I understand."
Ariel instantly regained her royal composure and nodded to the staff member. "I'll be right there."
Her pace remained unchanged, and her smile was as flawless as ever, but her mind had already begun racing.
Whoever the visitors were, they had come at a delicate time, when she had only just secured her footing and powerful enemies surrounded her.
The arrival of anyone connected to the Asla Kingdom's royal power was no small matter.
Friend or foe? Was Father testing me? Or were they agents sent by my two older brothers?
Or could this be support from Sauros...
Countless possibilities flashed through her mind, and every one demanded caution.
Creak-
The reception room door was pushed open from outside.
Cui Ciyou opened his eyes. His dark gaze, made all the deeper by his inner anxiety, shot toward the doorway like a pair of invisible blades.
A girl with waist-length golden hair stood gracefully there, dressed in a white school uniform that did