Elna, who was assigned to guard Mitsuba in the harem, had a significant focus on guarding Krista.
When Mitsuba and Krista were acting separately, Elna would always be by Krista's side, and Mitsuba accepted this as a matter of course.
And on that day, Krista went to meet Rita, who was in the castle, so Elna accompanied her.
"Ta-da! Look at this! Kuu-chan!"
"What's that...?"
In the usual castle square, Rita was taking out a coin.
The coin looked like nothing more than a dirty piece of trash at first glance.
However, Rita proudly showed it to Krista.
"What could it be? What do you think?"
"Hey, tell me...!"
"Hmm, what should I do? What should I do?"
"Fine! I'll ask Elna! Elna, tell me!"
"Oh my goodness!!?"
Krista walked over to Elna, who had been watching the two, and asked her. Elna smiled wryly in response.
Of course, as a knight candidate, Rita would use such an item. Elna, a formal guard knight, also knew about it.
However, Elna thought it might not be appropriate for an adult to join in the children's innocent conversation, so she shifted her gaze to Rita.
Seeing Rita's expression, eager to show off a new toy to a friend, Elna was reminded of her younger self, who would always boast to Al and Leo about new swords or magical tools she had acquired.
"Well, that's a knight's secret tool, so I can't tell you for free. If you win a game with me, I'll tell you."
"A game...?"
"Yes, a simple game. If you can guess where I've hidden the stone, you win. Rita, come over here too."
"Okay!"
Rita, who was called by Elna, watched with keen interest, clearly intrigued.
Elna, who was not exactly an idol but a well-known older sister to Rita, was a fascinating presence.
Elna picked up a stone from the flower bed, placed it on her palm, and showed it to the two.
"Rita, you should join too. If you guess correctly, I'll let you explain it."
"Really!? Rita will do it!"
"Yes, that's the spirit. Now, here's an ordinary stone. I'm going to hide it. Watch carefully, please."
"Okay...!"
"Don't miss it!"
While the two watched intently, Elna moved the stone from her right hand to her left, and then back to her right.
At first, she moved it slowly enough for the children to follow, but gradually it became so fast that it was impossible to see, and eventually, it was too fast to even perceive.
Unable to understand what was happening right before their eyes, the two were momentarily stunned, but Elna's hands soon stopped.
Her hands, which had been open, were now clenched into fists, and Elna smiled.
"Well, where is it?"
"Hmm, which one...?"
"I don't know..."
"It's a matter of intuition!"
"No, no! Rita! This is about teamwork! I'll choose right, Rita will choose left."
"Ooh!! Kuu-chan is smart! That's it! Rita will choose left!"
"I'll choose right...!"
Elna's smile deepened at the children's clever answers.
However, when Elna opened her hands, there was no stone.
The stone, which should have been there, was missing, and the two were left speechless. Eventually, Krista whispered, trembling.
"Elna ate it..."
"No, no! It's in your chest pockets!"
Elna pointed to the chest pockets of the two, who were in a state of misunderstanding.
Realizing their chest pockets were bulging, they peeked inside.
And there they found...
"Oh my goodness!!? Two halves of the stone in Rita's pocket!?"
"Two halves... Elna, you switched them...?"
"I didn't cheat. It's the same stone from before."
"But it's in two halves!"
"I cut it with a hand strike."
"Wow!! Amazing! You're amazing, Elna!!"
"..."
While Rita was excited, Krista was recalling something Al had said.
The words "my sword."
At the time, Krista thought it was just an example.
After staring for a while, Krista nodded as if understanding something.
"Elna, swords... don't touch, dangerous..."
"Why not!?"
While having such a conversation, Elna felt a bit relieved.
When she first started guarding, Krista had put up a bit of a wall against Elna.
To break down that wall, Elna told stories about Al's past to build a bond with Krista. It was necessary to gain her trust to be an effective guard.
However, as a result, some of Al's embarrassing stories had been passed on to Krista, but Elna thought it was inevitable since Al had asked for her help.
Now, they were completely at ease, and Krista trusted Elna.
"Elna, what if we both guess wrong...?"
"In that case, I win, and I'll explain it. Rita, lend me the coins. Both of them."
"Sure! Elna!"
While thinking that the nickname had become a habit, Elna took the two dirty coins. She then gave one to Krista.
"Keep it carefully, please."
"Okay..."
"Then, I'll hide these coins the same way as before. Try to find them."
Saying this, Elna moved the coins back and forth between her hands as she had done before.
She increased the speed to make it impossible to track the coins, and then presented both hands to the two.
"Well, where are they?"
"Chest pockets!"
"Behind, left."
"Both of you are wrong."
Elna opened her hands, and there were no coins. The coins were not in the chest pockets of the two either.
The two searched everywhere but couldn't find them.
"Now, Princess Krista, please take out the coin from before."
"This one...?"
"Yes. Keep it in your palm, and Rita, put your finger on the coin."
"Okay!"
"Now, watch carefully. 'Bande.'"
As Elna whispered with a bit of magic, a thin thread of light extended from the coin.
It connected to Elna's skirt pocket.
Elna took the coin from her skirt pocket with her free hand and showed the thread to Krista.
"The name of this coin is 'Bond Coin.' It's a magical tool that comes in a pair. When you touch one and say the password, a thread extends to the other. This thread is generally only visible to the person touching the coin. Only someone with exceptional magical skills might be able to see it, but that's rare."
"Amazing... So you can communicate with your friends with this?"
"It can also be used for secret rendezvous or tracking. For example, one person can infiltrate with the coin and expose a hideout. However, production hasn't caught up yet, so it's limited to knights in the capital and its surroundings. Eventually, it will be distributed throughout the empire. So, Rita, don't lose it. You got it because you're a trainee in the castle. Your instructors are also watching to see if you can manage valuable items like this."
"Okay!"
Elna sighed at the enthusiastic but lackluster response.
Meanwhile, Rita and Krista went off to play in the square.
"Can she really become a knight...?"
No trainee had ever become a guard knight directly.
However, Elna hoped Rita would be the first. She thought Rita was needed by Krista's side.
As a guard knight, one could guard the royal family. Since Rita was not from a noble family like Elna, she could become a dedicated guard knight if Krista wished it.
Thinking of such a future, Elna steeled herself.
She had to prevent a cruel future to protect that future.
Just as Elna reaffirmed her resolve, Krista called out to Rita in a voice that sounded like a scream.
"Rita!"
"I'm fine! I'm fine! Ah!"
Rita, who was climbing a pillar in the square, lost her balance and let go when she saw Krista watching from below.
Rita's body fell toward the ground.
However, Elna, who reacted instantly, caught Rita effortlessly.
"Really, how can a knight make the royal family worry? Rita."
"Hehe... Sorry."
"Rita! Are you okay!? Are you hurt anywhere!?"
The pillar wasn't that high.
Even if she fell, it wouldn't be life-threatening. Elna knew this from experience.
She had once made Al climb it for training, and when the unathletic Al fell, he only got a few scratches.
However, Krista's reaction was far from normal.
It was because of a future she had seen.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. I do this all the time, you know?"
"Stop it! Don't do dangerous things!"
"Princess, please calm down a bit."
"Rita! I can see the future! I saw a future where Rita was in danger! So, uh...!"
In a moment of panic, she was too late to cover her mouth.
Elna, who had already covered Krista's mouth, remained vigilant.
After sensing no one around, she sighed and looked at Krista.
"Princess, didn't Al tell you to keep quiet?"
"...He did... I'm sorry."
"Since it's already out, there's nothing we can do. Rita, pretend you didn't hear it."
"About what just happened? Got it!"
Rita responded with a smile.
Elna didn't need to reiterate the warning.
She thought Rita would not spread the word, as it would be seen as a child's nonsense, and Rita was not the type to spread such things.
Rita, who had grown up interacting with various children, could read the room in her own way. Elna thought it would be fine.
However, Elna didn't know.
She didn't know that someone who could not be detected by her was nearby.
And that this person was the most confidential servant of Zandra.
"I'll report to Lady Zandra."
The chestnut-haired maid smiled thinly.
She had been keeping an eye on Elna on Zandra's orders and had unexpectedly gained valuable information.
Elna's vigilance was not ordinary.
Even she, who had undergone thorough training, had broken into a cold sweat when she realized she had been detected. Even Zandra's trained assassins would probably have been caught.
However, this made it more credible.
The third princess, Krista, could see the future. In other words, she had this innate magical ability.
With this certainty, the maid slowly disappeared into the darkness.