It was the middle of the night, and Deanna had just gotten up to blow out the light to go to sleep.
An unexpected guest landed noiselessly in the room.

"Deanna?
Kai?

A little surprised, Deanna turns around. They can move freely through the ceiling and hidden passages, and they can enter in the morning or at night if they want to. It's possible, but it's a rarity for him to come to this room this late at night.

What's wrong?　...... Did something happen?
"Yes, I think so. --Turn off that light and come here.

The dark blue eyes in the darkness had a frighteningly cold glow to them. His tone was light, but he didn't want you to think about disobeying him.
Doing as she was told, Deanna blew out the light and moved by Kai's hand to the corner of the private room. The moment Kai puts his hand into the bookshelf right there, the wall in the corner spins around.

".......
"Yo.... Are you okay?
Yeah, I'm fine. It's a trap door. It's here.
Did you know it was there?

In the darkness, they couldn't see each other's faces, but they could tell by the tone of his voice that he was amused. Deanna laughed back.

The wall between the main room and the private room is too thick. Rita and I were just talking about the fact that it must be there somewhere.
Didn't you ever think of finding it?
Rita probably would have found it. She probably would have, but I wasn't interested in .......
Maybe this is an emergency shelter, you know?　It would be useful to know.
That's why. I didn't enter the Red Rose Room as the queen. The secrets of this room are only good for the person who wears the crown of the queen to know.

In fact, it would be bad if one of the ladies knew about it.
When I laughed, Kai also seemed to chuckle.

"You're still the same, Deanna.
"Anyway, what's wrong?
"Oh, I think she'll be here soon.

I'm sure he'll be here soon." Kai said this at the same time that there was a faint metallic sound behind the trapdoor. Deanna naturally killed the sound and looked through the door.

Apparently, the door to the bedroom had opened and someone had come in. It was not the maids of the Red Rose Room, as they had all been sent down after finishing the bathing today. First of all, they don't make such busy footsteps.
If you're looking for the best of the best, then you're going to have to look at the best of the best. I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not, but it's a good idea. I can't think of anything else.

The intruder, who seemed to have looked around the private room, went straight to the main room, and when he came back after a while, he went into the bedroom again. As expected, Deanna can't see anything beyond the bedroom.
But the person next to Deanna is a professional in the field. After a few moments of silence, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He's gone.
Did he leave the room?
"Oh. I was afraid he would stay in the bedroom, but he didn't.

But I think we should stay here for a while, just in case.
This made Deanna's head tilt up.

You're being very careful.
"Just in case. Did you find out anything about ......?
The only thing I know is that it's not someone I know, that it's one of the Knights of the Inner Palace, and that he was probably wandering around looking for me?
Did you mean to say that you might have been harmed?
There was a disturbing atmosphere. I mean, it was disturbing, but not deadly, right?
He's an amateur. They're amateurs, they don't have the skills to kill like Sirius and the others. They don't even know what killing is. You don't need to be able to kill someone, you can just kill them with hostility.
...... In a way, that's scary.

Deanna has been trained by Sirius, and her body reflexively reacts to a killing intent. But if you're asking yourself if you can be that sensitive to mere hostility, the answer is no.

"Did the intruder look like he was going to kill me, Kai?
"I can't say for sure, but at least there was something about the way he came towards the Red Rose Room that I couldn't ignore.
Anyway, you know what?　I've been in the palace for only four days, why would a knight of the Kingsguard target me?
I'm just guessing because I'm not able to monitor the movements of the headmistress every step of the way. --I'm just guessing, but I think it might have something to do with the movement in the outer court.
"Movement in the Outer Palace?

That's what's more important than the intruder.

What's going on?
You're biting off more than you can chew. It's just that the king noticed Diana's bait and ate it.

Kai's words were abstract, but their meaning was clear.



"Yeah. --Well, that was quicker than I expected.
I looked at the documents and saw the possibility of fraud. I consulted with Mr. Alford and called the assistant director of the outer court office.
"Oh, you know Mr. Keith?
Oh, you know him?
He's a friend of your father's and your brother's. I know him. He's a friend of my father and brother. ...... Well, now that Keith is out, the rest will be quick.
I'm sorry. The king heard the suspicion that the headmistress was cheating on the treasure in the treasury, so he secretly called Chris and ordered him to prepare for a secret ...... inspection of the treasury tomorrow or today.
The keys to the treasury are under the jurisdiction of the chief ...... of staff, so they'll know.

The key to the treasury is under the jurisdiction of the head mistress.

You are a funny guy, aren't you, Chris? I've been ordered to keep the Chief of Staff in the dark about it, but I've been breaking into burglaries with impunity.
No matter how many times he broke in, he would have noticed if the key was missing. Not even the headmistress.
I heard he left a fake so he wouldn't be recognized right away. Well, they must have found out from somewhere.
If the intruder, a knight of the Kingsguard, was from the headmistress's side, it would have been easy for him to detect his sister-in-law's movements.

It seems that even Chris doesn't yet have a firm grasp of the identity and personalities of the fifteen knights of the Inner Palace. It was mainly Alford who had chosen them, so he trusted them at least, but it was likely that someone who could slip under his radar and do evil had gotten mixed in. We'll find out who it is later.

"Anyway, Kai.

Deanna stared at the faceless man.

"You know a lot, don't you?
"What are you talking about?
"What do you mean?" "I don't know. You talk about the outer court and the king's office as if you've seen it all.
Not "as if. I'm telling you exactly what I saw.

I knew it. Deanna sighed heavily.

In case you didn't know, that's an immediate death sentence if they find out.
No, they won't. There's no one in or out of that office who can detect my presence.
Still, it's the only place in the kingdom where people are allowed.
There have been exceptions, right?　Like during the Azure Rebellion.
That time, the royal court was the complete enemy. Now, the King is not our enemy.
No. He's not an enemy. --He's not a perfect ally.

Kai's voice changed. Somehow, even in the darkness, I can see a deep purple-blue color.

"I'm sure the Dark Ones of House Crester will do as their masters wish. I don't have a master. I'll do as I please.
Kai!
The good-natured Red Rose.

In a world where there is no light, the sound of each other's voice, breathing, and body heat feels closer than anything else. It's not until the illusion that even the boundaries have melted away that we realize that we're not alone.
--Or was it that I felt the heat of someone else's body on my wrist?

You want to protect more than you can hold in your hands, but you don't want to take any of it.
"C'mon, ......?
I know what you mean. Deanna is the type of person who would rather give her jewels to the right person than keep them in her treasure chest. She doesn't care if her treasure chest is empty.
"Hey, what are you mad about...?

Kai's voice has the most urgent tone I've ever heard. I don't know what it is, but I don't know what it is.
I don't know what it is, but it seems that I've offended Kai. The moment he opened his mouth to apologize, his grip on my wrist tightened.

I'm not mad. --If I'm angry, it's not with Deanna.
Then why are you...?
Don't stop me.

I'm pinned against the wall. The air was unlike anything she'd ever experienced before, but not unpleasant, and she shut her mouth.

I'm not going to let Deanna protect me. --So don't worry about me, don't stop me.
"It's...
I'm not going to be protected by Deanna.

Before I could question the meaning of the words whispered in my ear, the heat on my wrist had left. The air, which had been so tense, suddenly dissipated.

"Kai?
"Well, it looks like you're not coming back, intruder. Tomorrow... well, it's already today, and it's going to get noisy, so Deanna needs to get some sleep.
"Kai!

I can't just leave him like this. I can't just leave him like that. He may have finished what he wanted to say, but we have something to say too.



What is it?
You told me not to stop, so I'm not going to tell you to stop. Even though .......

There was only one thing Deanna could read in Kai's mood. --He'll do anything, no matter how reckless, depending on the situation.

"Please. Take care of yourself. If you saw me as greedy, you'd know it.

Yes, I'm greedy. I don't know what's going on with the other person, I'm just letting my emotions get the better of me.

You're already one of the people I don't want to lose.
"What?

The trapdoor spun around, the right arm pulled firmly, the strong arm I felt on my back for a moment.

When all this passed, Deanna was alone in her private room, next to a bookshelf.

"Kai!
"...... You're so cunning, Deanna.
"Which one of you is cunning, at least let me hear your answer!

For some reason, Deanna was furiously annoyed with the other person who had disappeared.

I don't know anything about you.　I don't know anything about you, but you're finding out more and more about me!
It's not my fault. It's not my fault, Deanna.
I've never been told that before. "I've never been told that." "Don't try to change the subject.
"I feel like I'm being unreasonably pissed off, but ......--okay.

He seemed to be chuckling at the sound of her voice.

I'm not going to be reckless, and if I'm in danger, I'm going to run. Isn't that enough?
"Can I trust ......?
"Let me tell you something. I'll tell you what, most people are the prettiest people in the world. I'm one of them.

It's a strange sound, light yet heavy. From the side of me that thinks I can't trust, comes the thought that I can trust this person. I'm one of them." A soft voice fell on Diana, who raised her eyebrows at the contradiction.

I'm sure you'll be fine. I don't think so, but if there's another intruder, I'll wake you up.
'...... My security isn't exactly what you do, is it?
What are you talking about?　I'm simply monitoring the Red Rose Room.

I'm just monitoring the Red Rose Room," Deanna sneaked in with her sleepy head.