Princess Iris, with her regal bearing and thoughtful expression, held a delicate por cup with both hands, staring at the steaming liquid as if searg for answers in its swirls.

  Tht was Hestia, who sipped her tea while occasionally gng at her superior, the healer who had first treated Non, sitting in plete sile with an upright and watchful posture.

  Finally, Iris broke the silence.

  "Hestia, did you really find out nothing more about that girl?" she asked in a calm tohough her fiightened slightly around the cup.

  Hestia shook her head, letting out a slight sigh before responding.

  "No, Yhness. Truth be told, that young dy is quite the oddity," she admitted as she carefully pced her cup oable, ensuring it made no sound. "She’s scatterbraihat much I say for sure. She didn’t show the slightest annoyance when assigned as a church handmaid. Acted like it was her p the world. No, she’s no hat much I assure."

  Iris lowered her gaze to her tea, her lips curling slightly into a tight line.

  "That firms what I thought," she murmured, more to herself than to the others.

  Then, Iris looked up at Hestia, her clear eyes filled with a mix of and curiosity.

  "Do you think… she holds any grudge against us for treatihat way?"

  Hestia seemed to ponder for a moment, her gaze drifting to a er of the room before responding.

  "I don’t believe so, Yhness. From the little time I spent with her, I tell Emily is rather submissive, doesn’t seem to harbor hidden iions or reses."

  However, Hestia’s words hung in the air. It seemed she wao add more but hesitated. Iris, who had a keen eye for detail, tilted her head slightly and frowned.

  "What else, Hestia?" Iris insisted, narrowing her eyes. "You seem unsure. Is there something you haven’t told me?"

  Hestia hesitated a moment longer, bringing a hand to her as she searched for the right words.

  Finally, she looked up at the princess and fessed:

  "Well… there was something peculiar. Emily spoke with Princess Amara."

  The revetion almost made Iris spill her tea. She quickly set the cup down oable, her eyes widening in disbelief.

  "With my sister? What did they talk about?" Iris asked, her voice rising slightly in surprise.

  Hestia, taking another calm sip of tea, replied in a measured tone:

  "Emily seemed quite curious and respectful. From what I recall, she appeared ied in learning more about monsters and demons."

  Iris tilted her head, clearly puzzled.

  "Curiosity about monsters and demons? That’s… odd." The princess crossed one leg over the other, leaning slightly forward. "Why would she be curious about something so basic? It’s on knowledge, even among oners."

  Hestia nodded slowly.

  "That’s what I thought at first, but then it made more sense. Emily seems to e from a pce where suowledge isn’t as crucial. Maybe she lives near Non’s neighborhood. Those areas are the safest, and information about external threats doesn’t circute much there."

  Iris fell silent for a moment, processing what she had heard.

  The out a sigh and leaned back against the chair.

  "I suppose that makes sehough, it worries me that someone so… uninformed, for ck of a better word, has caught Non’s attention."

  The mention of Non caused the other healer to look up from her tea, though she said nothing. Iris, ign her superior’s rea, tinued.

  "Hestia, what i did my sister show in Emily? Did she say anything else?"

  Hestia set her cup down on the saucer and reflected for a moment before answering.

  "Not much, Yhness. Though… Amara seemed curious too. I think she wao know what kind of girl has Non’s attention."

  Iris stared at her tea cup, her lips tightening slightly. She murmured to herself, just loud enough for the others to barely hear:

  "So Amara is still deg what to do…" Then, her gaze shifted towards the chief healer, as if seeking firmation of something more, but she remained impassive.

  Hestia also shifted her gaze towards the chief healer, as if she had just remembered something.

  "So, what do we do now?" Hestia asked. "Non said he no longer reatment. Does that mean our role here is done?"

  The other healer, who had been silent all this time, set her cup down oable with a movement.

  "If Non has decided so, then our job here is cluded," she replied with a firm aral voice. "It’s uo press further than necessary."

  Iris, however, frowned and raised a hand to stop her.

  "Not so fast. I don’t want you to leave the capital just yet." Her tone was authoritative, though not aggressive. "Non was attacked retly. He might have made a hasty decision, given the circumstances. I’d prefer you to stay close in case he ges his mind."

  The healer nodded with a slight movement of her head, accepting the and without question.

  "As you wish, Yhness."

  Finally, Iris set her tea cup down oable with a soft ‘click’ that resonated in the room.

  "Besides," she added in a softer tone, "I’ll be visiting him tomorrow m. I don’t want him tet that my birthday is ing up, as that day is important."

  Well, thank you for your patieo tinue reading this novel, because of work and other things it was plicated for me to follow my novels, and what I promise now is that....

  At least, this novel will receive one update per week. The neters will be published every Friday, and this will be the case for the rest of December.

  Merry Christmas!