After running for a while, a bustling town came into view. I could feel its liveliness.

It was definitely bigger than the country of Duelkis. It would be easy to get lost just looking at it from the side.

“The Kid should be old enough to drink. Let’s go.”

At Victor’s words, everyone grabbed the reins of their horses.

…Oh my, am I about to make my drinking debut here? And was I going to have to run again?

“Good for you. It’s an honor to celebrate your birthday with the prince himself.”

Ceres whispered as she looked at me.

It most certainly was. As if being forced to run as fast as I could while sick would be a nice gift.

Did you forget that I was a woman? I would rather read a book than drink! Or use a good sword!

You don’t understand women at all. A prince of the Ravaal Kingdom could easily get a sharp sword or a history book about this country.

Suddenly, my eyes met Grandfather’s.

Oh, I completely forgot. The three old men were going to be my teachers.

I had already received a very valuable birthday present.

“Your expression changes all the time. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but that’s a strange noise…”

Vice Captain Neil stopped talking before he could finish.

…Hmm?

“It’s like you’re playing a piece of music.”

“Huh?”

I couldn’t help but gasp out loud. My expression must have been strange. It was not the kind of expression one would expect to see.

“Because your expression changes so much, it’s as if you’re playing some kind of strange music.”

“Since when did you start using such poetic expressions?”

Vice Captain Neil appeared a little flustered at my glare, but he quickly gave a small cough and became expressionless.

And what exactly were you and Ceres whispering about earlier? It was too suspicious.

Hmm, hmmm, fummm …hot springs! Not happening!? It would be wonderful if there were hot springs here, but that is just my wishful thinking.

“Hmm, hmmm…na.”

Could it be that they found out that I was a woman? I have no memory of last night.

Everyone froze at my muttering. After a moment, Victor heaved a huge sigh.

His sigh caused Vice Captain Neil and Ceres to shudder. What were you so terrified about? It was only Victor.

“I didn’t think these guys could hide anything, but I didn’t expect them to be this bad.”

“I agree.”

Captain Marius shook his head.

I thought Captain Marius was the most likely to slip up. I bet by the end of the day he would have slipped up too.

“Well, it’s not like I was going to keep it under wraps forever. …Hey, kid.”

Victor turned his gaze toward me. His yellow-green eyes reflect mine.

“I told these guys you were a woman.”

He said the words in a matter-of-fact manner, without a hint of apology.

I wondered what it was. It wasn’t a secret I had to defend to the death, but hearing him say it like that infuriated me.

Why was the prince blabbing my secret, and why wasn’t he feeling the least bit apologetic about it? I wanted to say a lot of things, but I kept them to myself.

If that’s how he’s going to behave, I should have thought twice about how I should act so that my secret wasn’t so easily discovered. He didn’t seem to mention that I was a young lady, but I should be able to demonstrate the villainess skills I cultivated over the years.

“Yes …and?”

I flashed him a big smile.

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