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“Why? Does it seem otherwise?”  

The Duke fixed the nobleman with a steady gaze, and the man jumped, frantically waving his hands.

“N-No, of course not. Your Grace is always right. I just didn’t express myself well… I apologize for my lack of eloquence.”

“Is that so? Then I suggest you work hard on improving your eloquence in the future.”  

With that indifferent remark, the Duke casually wrapped his arm around my shoulder and addressed the room, surveying the gathered nobility.

“It seems I haven’t had the opportunity to introduce my daughter to everyone. This is Reshia Elpinard.”  

The Duke made meaningful eye contact with each noble as he introduced me, his gaze icy. As their eyes met the Duke’s, many of them visibly flinched and quickly lowered their heads.

‘Is it really okay to introduce someone in such a terrifying way…?’  

Though his tone was calm, it felt as though he was introducing me with a stern warning.  

At that moment, the entrance to the banquet hall grew noisy again. With the Duke already inside, there was only one other person whose entrance could cause such a commotion.

‘Kirke, I suppose.’  

I turned my head towards the entrance, my expression indifferent. As expected, Kirke, dressed in resplendent attire, strode in with the confident bearing of an emperor. He acknowledged the bows of the nobles with a nod before making his way directly towards the Duke and me.

“Thank you for inviting me on this fine day, Duke.”

“It is I who should thank Your Majesty for gracing us with your presence.”

With the emperor now joining the already intense focus of the nobles, it felt like the entire banquet hall was staring at us. Seizing the opportunity while the two high-ranking figures exchanged pleasantries, I carefully stepped out of the spotlight.

But where had the three men who had entered with me gone?  

As I glanced around, I noticed Axel a short distance away, deep in conversation with a servant, his expression serious. Eugene and Leonid were standing nearby, their faces just as grave. Something had clearly gone wrong this time.

Thankfully, the guests seemed too distracted by the emperor’s presence to notice the strange tension among them. The servant Axel had been speaking with suddenly turned pale and hurriedly left the hall. Watching the servant depart, I tilted my head in confusion, only to realize that the three men had approached me.

“There’s a problem with the prophecy book,” Axel whispered quietly in my ear.

If there was an issue with the prophecy book, it wasn’t just this party that was in jeopardy. I gasped and asked, “What kind of problem?”

“It went missing on the way from the Ivory Tower to the banquet hall.”

“What? How could it go missing?”

The Ivory Tower guards the prophecy book as if it were more precious than life itself.

Even when I, as the Saintess, barged in demanding, “Hey, let me take a look at that prophecy book!” the scholars from the Ivory Tower had swarmed out in refusal, adamantly protecting it. For today’s public event, five of the Tower’s scholars were supposed to personally bring the prophecy book. But to hear that those meticulous scholars had lost the book? It sounded more believable that the sun had risen in the west.

Eugene and Leonid, who knew the Ivory Tower as well as I did, seemed to agree with my reaction.

“Someone must have deliberately stolen it. There’s no way the professors would carelessly lose the prophecy book,” Leonid insisted.

“Exactly. I think so too,” Axel nodded slightly in agreement.

Despite the urgency of the situation, Axel’s demeanor seemed oddly relaxed. His face was still furrowed, but the intense and anxious atmosphere he had while speaking with the servant was now absent. Eugene and Leonid didn’t seem to notice this, but I, who understood Axel’s thoughts from one to ten, could see the subtle difference.

Narrowing my eyes, I stared at Axel. He quickly stepped in front of me, blocking Eugene and Leonid’s view.

All I could see was Axel’s back.

“You two should head to the Ivory Tower and work with the professors to track down the prophecy book. I’ll stay here with Reshia and stall for as long as possible.”

“What if we can’t find it in time?” Eugene asked calmly.

“You have one hour. If you don’t return by then, I’ll create a distraction that will force the event to be canceled.”

“One hour… Understood.”

With the tight deadline, Eugene and Leonid hurriedly but cautiously left the banquet hall. As soon as they were gone, I nudged Axel’s side with my elbow.

“Is the prophecy book really missing?”

“Well…” Axel shrugged, then discreetly revealed a book hidden within his jacket. I only saw the cover for a brief moment, but I instantly recognized it as the “missing” prophecy book.

“The prophecy book is missing, yes. But what’s actually missing is a ‘fake prophecy book.’”

“So…”

“I figured someone would try to interfere with this public event, so I switched the book in advance.”

“And who knows about this?”

“The Duke, Kirke, you, and me.”

So the scholars from the Ivory Tower genuinely believed that the prophecy book had disappeared. Moreover…

“If no one from the Ivory Tower knows… how did you swap the book? Did you steal it?”

“Let’s just say it’s being safeguarded against potential dangers.”

“No way… so you did steal it…”

I let out a disbelieving laugh. Who knew that the esteemed Sir Axel Elpinard had such a knack for thievery?

“Why didn’t you tell me? I’m much better at sneaking things away than you are!”

“…Are you really upset about that part?” Axel clicked his tongue in mild exasperation as he subtly glanced around. The initial attention that had been focused on him due to the emperor’s arrival was now fading, and people were beginning to murmur about the “prophecy book.” It was clear that everyone was eagerly anticipating this rare event. 

Given that the Duke, Kirke, and even Axel had all joined forces to organize this event, there had to be a significant purpose behind it.

‘If they chose to stage this drama at a party filled with nobles…’

I leaned in closer to Axel and whispered, “So now we just go around and observe the nobles, trying to figure out who stole the prophecy book?”

“Is that what you think?” he responded, tilting his head slightly, his tone casual.

“Isn’t it? The former emperor is returning soon,” I continued. “He’s likely sharpening his blade, preparing for a counterattack. But if Kirke preaches the divine blessings while revealing the prophecy book that’s been locked away in the Ivory Tower for so long, the former emperor’s return could be overshadowed.”

I was convinced that whoever was intent on sabotaging this event had to be linked to the former emperor’s faction—perhaps even a follower of the Mad Dragon. This event was the perfect opportunity to weed them out.

“Your reasoning is correct, but there’s no need for deduction,” Axel said with a slight shrug. “I’ve already placed a tracking spell on the fake prophecy book. We’ll be able to identify the culprit easily.”

“What? Then why did you send Eugene and Leonid to the Ivory Tower?” I asked, surprised. I had assumed the plan was for them to handle any suspects at the Tower while we dealt with those at the banquet.

“Because we need to give the impression that we’re panicking. If the culprit thinks they’ve fully deceived us, they’ll relax. We can’t just grab them by the tail and let it end there.”

“That makes sense… but did you really need to involve Eugene and Leonid in this?”

“Shh. Let’s stick to the plan and stall for time. We want the thief to feel completely at ease, thinking they’ve won.” Axel firmly silenced my concerns, lightly tapping my ear with his finger.

“Do you hear the music?” he asked.

“Yeah, I hear it.”

Elegant music had been filling the banquet hall for some time, creating a refined atmosphere that enhanced the mood of the party. Axel casually took my hand and began leading me to the center of the hall.

Several couples were already dancing gracefully to the music, but as Axel and I stepped into the center, they all gradually moved aside, making space for us. Despite his slightly indifferent expression, Axel placed his hand on my waist.

“Let’s dance.”

“Dance? Now?”

“Yes. There’s no better way to stall for time than by having the main characters take the floor.”