A bolt from the blue?

No.

If I were being honest, it felt more like a death sentence.

The moment the words "Her Royal Highness wishes to see you" left Valtraus's mouth, the first thing that came to mind wasn't honor or reward.

It was Reisir.

The protagonist.

The walking bundle of variables capable of overturning the original story's flow.

And unfortunately, the current situation was full of reasons for him to be summoned as well.

The First Princess had personally experienced the anomaly.

She had personally fought the monster.

And she had personally delivered the finishing blow.

Naturally, she would want to hear testimony from others who had survived similar incidents.

Among them, there was no way she would overlook the person who had defeated the monster at the graduation ceremony.

In other words—

Reisir.

The more I thought about it, the more certain it became.

My expression must have darkened.

Because Valtraus suddenly frowned.

"...Why do you look like someone just informed you of a funeral?"

"Because I dislike troublesome things."

"Meeting the First Princess is troublesome?"

"Extremely."

Valtraus looked at me as though I had lost my mind.

Ragfrid, meanwhile, nodded slightly.

"I understand."

"...Older Sister, why are you agreeing with him?"

"Because I would also find it troublesome."

"That's because you're strange."

"No, that's because you're the strange one."

The siblings immediately began bickering again.

Watching them, I quietly leaned back in my chair.

At least one thing was fortunate.

No matter how much the original story had changed, it seemed these two still had no intention of dragging me into family politics.

The problem was that fate itself appeared determined to drag me elsewhere.

The First Princess.

The imperial family.

The anomaly.

The Awakened.

And Reisir.

One by one, the pieces that should have met years later were gathering far too quickly.

This really isn't good.

In the original story, the protagonist's rise happened gradually.

He survived the first anomaly.

He gained experience.

He built connections.

Only after accumulating achievements did he come into contact with major figures such as the First Princess.

But now?

The timeline was being compressed. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

As if someone had taken the original plot and folded it in half.

"Karvaldr."

I lifted my head.

Valtraus was looking at me.

"What?"

"Don't do anything strange when you meet Her Royal Highness."

"..."

"Why are you silent?"

Because I had absolutely no confidence in that.

Fortunately, I possessed enough common sense not to say that aloud.

"I will conduct myself appropriately."

"That answer somehow makes me even more anxious."

"I agree."

Even Ragfrid joined in.

For a brief moment, I seriously considered leaving immediately.

Unfortunately, before I could stand—

A servant entered the greenhouse.

"Young Masters. Young Lady."

The servant bowed respectfully.

"There has just been a message from the main residence."

Valtraus straightened.

"What is it?"

"The summons from the Imperial Palace has been finalized."

The greenhouse fell silent.

The servant continued.

"His Grace has instructed that Young Master Karvaldr attend."

As expected.

I quietly closed my eyes.

Then came the next sentence.

"And another guest has already accepted the invitation."

Something about the servant's expression felt oddly complicated.

Valtraus noticed it too.

"Who?"

The servant hesitated briefly before answering.

"The young lord of House Reisir."

"..."

"..."

"..."

At that moment, I genuinely felt the urge to fake an illness.

Unfortunately, judging by the looks Ragfrid and Valtraus were giving me, it seemed neither of them would allow it.