Chapter 21
When she walked back along the corridor, this time priceless paintings and porcelain pieces were lined up in neat rows.
“Your Highness?”
The guard knight stationed before the king’s office raised his voice in surprise at Sienna’s sudden appearance.
“At such an early hour—what brings you here?”
“I’m going into the sealed chamber.”
“…Pardon?”
She simply stood there, waiting quietly for him to step aside.
It was a space only royal blood could enter. He had no authority to stop her.
“I—I apologize.”
Without another word, Sienna entered the room.
Creeeak.
The heavy door shut behind her, and in the silent space, only the sound of her footsteps echoed.
Sienna picked up a royal treasure resting atop expensive silk.
Just in case something really was about to happen, she wanted to check it for herself.
But it was only cold and hard—nothing more.
“No reaction today, huh.”
She tossed Stern’s Bell up and caught it again, like a tennis ball.
“What kind of guardian deity is this, anyway?”
Because it had inexplicably reacted to her, she’d gone through nothing but hardship and loneliness.
“No matter how I think about it, you were the beginning of my misfortune.”
If she followed her heart, she would smash this thing first.
But—
“If you really are Stern’s guardian deity, then I have one request.”
Suppressing her anger, Sienna spoke as politely as she could.
“Never react to Pierre. Even by mistake. Absolutely not.”
Otherwise, it would become a thorn in Pierre’s side for the rest of his life.
If it had even a shred of conscience, it should grant her that much.
“Haa…”
She let out a heavy sigh.
Just as she was about to put the jewel back in place, having gained nothing—
Jingle.
At the sound of a bell, Sienna’s hair fluttered slightly.
“…Wind?”
But this was a sealed chamber.
Startled, she staggered back and dropped Stern’s Bell.
The jewel was glowing.
The light surrounding it gradually grew until it filled the entire room.
From the center of the light, a soft, downy mass of radiance drifted toward Sienna.
Staring blankly at the sight for a moment, she finally asked the light:
“W-Who… are you?”
—A spirit?
The small bundle of light spun excitedly around Sienna.
“Kyaaah!”
Startled, Sienna squeezed her eyes shut and collapsed where she stood.
When she opened them again, the light that had filled the room was gone.
“…Huh?”
What on earth just happened?
Clutching her wildly pounding heart, Sienna barely managed to speak.
“…W-What did you say?”
—I’m a spirit. I’ve been waiting for you, Master.
Faced with the overly cheerful spirit pressing in on her, Sienna shook her head and stepped back.
Thud.
Her back hit the wall, and she flinched, trailing off mid-sentence.
“I never summoned you, though?”
What kind of spirit just appears on its own?
She had read her fair share of fantasy novels back in the day.
Spirits usually required a magic circle, mana solution, and even fairy dust to be summoned—if you were lucky.
And they didn’t appear to just anyone.
They only revealed themselves to humans they deemed worthy.
Yet this so-called spirit had skipped every step and barged in uninvited.
—Come on, let’s make a contract.
“What? That’s so sudden—what are you even—”
—It won’t take long. It’ll be over in a flash.
This was going nowhere.
What kind of contract was this—springing it on someone like lightning cooking beans?
And that glowing mass—whether excited or desperate, it couldn’t stay still for a second.
Grabbing her throbbing head, she pleaded,
“I’m dizzy, so could you stay still for a moment?”
—Okaaay.
It even answered politely.
Sienna took a deep breath, calming her racing heart, and decided to start from the beginning.
“Alright. You say you’re a spirit?”
—Yes. I told you.
“Then what element do you belong to?”
—Element?
“Water? Fire? Wind? Earth? Or since you’re glowing—electricity or light?”
She was curious.
Spirits weren’t something you encountered every day.
With sparkling eyes, Sienna stared intently at the little mass of light.
