Hi...

"Arina? Arina!" Call a girl when Arina is just about to walk out of the garden. With her yellow dress waving left and right, the woman named Olivia ran toward Arina. "You came! It's been a long time since I saw you, you know. How come you never come to my tea parties? Everyone misses you!"

'Tsk.' Arina could sigh and grumble directly to Olivia's face because she was still too lazy to be disturbed right now. But after remembering that Olivia is a person who likes to go around here and there to talk to everyone, Arina decided to smile.

"Sorry, I'll come next time. Rather than that, your waist seems slimmer than the last time I saw you, huh?" Tease her.

"Re-Really? I knew it. You were the only one who noticed it!" Olivia replied with a big smile. "This is all thanks to the herbal tea I've been drinking lately. I still have lots of it. If you want, I can send a few boxes to your house."

Then after letting Olivia ramble on for a while, Arina finally starts asking slowly. "By the way, do you know who the man my father is talking to? I heard he's a merchant or something?"

"Ah, him!" Olivia exclaimed, starting to glow again. "His name is Ergin. It seems His Majesty met him at a gathering a while ago and took a liking on him. Although still young, it seemed that he had traveled to many places and was quite experienced. It's even said that the minister plans to make him an official member of the royal trade union."

Then while lowering her voice, Olivia brought her body closer to Arina's side to continue with a blushing tone. "He's not like the other nobles, but don't you think he looks more 'manly' than the others? Haha, but maybe I shouldn't ask this to the prince's fiancé." She joked.

Arina is actually still waiting for Olivia to talk about the man's relationship with the high priest girl. But because she didn't look like she was going to turn the topic that way at all, Arina finally concluded that everyone didn't know the fact that the two of them actually knew each other. Maybe that's why they were standing far apart too.

Well, as a high priestess, it was indeed strange if she had an acquaintance to an ajin. Even though it didn't make to a prophecy like Arina herself, creatures that couldn't die were still a taboo subject.

"As for the new high priestess, have you met her?" Arina asked again.

"Of course. And as you can see, she looks kind and… A little pretty." Olivia replied, sounding a bit reluctant when she said it. "She also seems to be talking to your mother all the time."

Arina was silent for a while as if she wasn't sure whether she should approach her or not. But after being bullied by prince Felix earlier, it feels like Arina will experience insomnia again if she just goes home empty-handed. So with a heavy heart, she finally walked over to his mother's table who was sitting with the head priest and the girl.

"Rina!" Call her mother first when she sees Arina walking to her table. "Where have you been? You should meet Effiria. She's the new priestess who came in earlier."

"Ah, nice to meet you, I'm Effiria." She said, standing up respectfully. "Mrs. Anastasia has told me about you."

Arina was silent for a moment as she took a quick glance at the mark on her neck, but then she stretched out her hand. "I'm Arina."

Effiria happily welcomed Arina's hand, but actually Arina herself was a bit worried that her hands might turn to dust immediately when they touched each other. But fortunately not.

And judging from her reaction, she doesn't seem to sense anything about Arina's dark magic either. Looked like the necklace that used up several boxes of gold in her savings was indeed very effective at hiding her magical energy.

"...Ah, sorry." Said Arina who seemed to be holding Effiria's hand for too long. "You look so beautiful up close, I'm a little surprised." She said carelessly, even though it turned out that the other person immediately blushed when she heard it.

"N-No, absolutely not. You are much prettier." Effiria replied frantically with flushed cheeks.

And while the two young women were looking at each other, Anastasia, who seemed relieved to see that Arina's mood had improved, started turning towards the head priest again. "See, Arina can also be friendly when she's nice." She said, showing off proudly.

The head priest only snorted at that, but to be honest Mrs. Anastasia also thought that Arina's friendly attitude, especially to someone she had just met, was a bit unusual.

Especially when her daughter was seen again widening her smile towards Effiria. "By the way, have you met my father? He also works in the palace, so you might see him once in a while." She said again.

"Eh? Oh, not yet."

"Really? Then let me introduce you to him." Said Arina who just walked away to her father's place. So even though it was a bit awkward, Effiria was forced to follow her.

Arina glanced at the man with long hair and a thin mustache briefly, but then she immediately turned to her father. "Father! This is my father. Father, this is Effiria. You two haven't met yet have you?" Arina said immediately.

"N-Nice to meet you. My name is Effiria."

"..." Mr. Almira is actually still confused because he doesn't know that his daughter is present at the celebration. But in front of the new high priestess, he too decided to put those suspicions aside.

"Oh! The new high priestess! I've actually wanted to talk to you since earlier." Reply Mr. Almira. "I am Hendrick Almira. I work as a building designer in the palace area. But I'm not close to the king, so don't get your hopes up on me. Haha!"

Arina would usually put on a disgusted face when her father made such incoherent jokes, but because she only wanted to see the interactions between Effiria and that Ergin guy, Arina allowed her father to ramble on as he pleased.

And indeed, with a slightly awkward glance, the two seemed to be trying not to react to each other. Maybe that's why he seems to prefer reacting to her father's jokes. "But if I need to build a house, it looks like Mr. Almira can be relied on." He said.

"Oh? What's this? Even though you're not yet an official member, have you thought about making a home here?" Ask Mr. Almira. "Could it be that you've met a woman?" He joked again even though the man just laughed.

Not only 'manly', he also looks really friendly. Can react nicely to her father's jokes, that's already strong evidence. Exactly the same as when Arina saw him 1-2 years ago.

On the other hand, the aura of killing and death that Arina felt 2 days ago had not left a trace at all.

"Ah, right. You guys should also meet Ergin." Said Mr. Almira then who finally noticed his daughter's sharp gaze. "He is a new member in the trade union. Well, candidate."

The man bowed a little friendly to Arina, even to Effiria. "Mr. Almira, you did not tell me you have a beautiful daughter." He added again.

"Haha, she is engaged to the prince now. So I can no longer flaunt it to many people. You better not try too." Said Mr. Almira who was half laughing, half serious.

"Prince? Um, prince Alexander?" He asked like he needed to remember first how many princes the palace had. And judging from his deduction, he seemed to know that it was impossible for Arina to be engaged to the first prince. "Prince Alexander must be very lucky." He added.

Everyone just laughed at first, but then Arina said again. "Rather than me, don't you think priestess Effiria is also a beauty?"

"Eh?! Ah, uh, I-I'm not at all…" Effiria said with a panicked face, making Arina almost happy to see it.

"Sorry, sorry, I was just teasing you." Arina added, who then returned to hold Effiria's hand. And again, while Mr. Almira felt strange seeing his daughter being that friendly to other people, Effiria actually felt blushed by Arina's smile, which in her eyes looked very sincere.

'Wow, she really is way more stupid than Olivia.'