As these thoughts tormented Emily, the door to the room suddenly opened.

  A young woman with long, shiny hair, meticulously styled, entered, dressed in quality clothing and exuding regal bearing: it rincess Iris.

  Her presence filled the room, radiating an air of authority that immediately made Emily feel even smaller in that spabsp;

  Upon seeing her, Iris frowned slightly when she reized Emily in the er, c as if trying to disappear.

  The princess vaguely remembered having seen her alongside Non in their previous enter but had assumed she was one of those girls roached him only to ask for favors or help. Yet there she was, still o Non, which caused her some disfort.

  'What is she doing here?' Iris thought, though she decided to ignore her for the moment.

  The healer, upon seeing the princess, immediately stopped what she was doing and bowed respectfully, perf the formal greeting expected of a royal family member.

  Emily, though out of pce, also realized the importance of that gesture and tried to remain still to avoid drawing attention.

  However, when Non saw Iris, he remembered that he hadn't greeted her properly before.

  The norms of courtesy toward royalty felt somewhat distant to him, and due to the time he had spent away from the nobility, his formal manners had grown rusty.

  When the healer finished paying her respects, Nretted that he couldn't get up to greet her properly.

  His body still ached after the treatment, and at that moment, he didn't even have the strength to sit up.

  "Princess…" he began, with a slight apology in his voibsp;

  The princess, seeing his effort, waved a hand as if to say not to worry.

  "There's o be formal with me, Non. You call me by my name."

  Emily froze.

  Had she heard that right?

  Princess Iris, the king's daughter, had just told Non that he didn't have to treat her with the formality her title demanded.

  Even the healer, who always maintained an impeccable posure, showed a slight expression of surprise at that decration.

  Emily, for her part, was even more bewildered.

  'Were they that close?'

  She had imagiheir retionship to be distant, almost formal. However, that small iion revealed something very different.

  'I have no ce of being that important to him,' Emily thought, feeling a slight pang of sadness.

  "Thank you for the offer, Iris. I suppose I will take it," Non replied, pronoung her name as if it were pletely natural, though also somewhat out of pce giveuation. "But... what are you doing here?"

  Iris, somewhat nervous, shot a quice at the healer, who intervened immediately.

  "The princess is studying sacred magid she has e to observe... if it's not a bother, Non, while we treat your mana core."

  Non frow the idea of being the subject of study, even if it was from someone of royalty.

  Though he wasirely fortable with the idea, he knew his mana core was in a critical situation. If this increased the ce of being healed, he would accept it, even if it felt somewhat humiliating.

  Before he could respond, the healer, notig his disfort, added:

  "The princess has been reized as a prodigy in sacred magic. She has studied uhe best and has already proven to be exceptionally capable."

  The ent finally made No.

  If the princess was a genius in sacred magid could help heal his core, there was no reason to refuse.

  "Alright," Non murmured. "If she help me, I accept."

  Iris approached slowly, her hands csped in front of her, asking for permission before toug his abdomen.

  Uhe healer, whose touch was delicate and ical, the princess's hands felt more aware, as if she were expl not just his skin but his mana itself.

  Iris's fingers brushed against Non's tense muscles, and he could feel the differen her touch: it was more evident, more personal.

  "It's... incredible," Iris murmured, a hint of awe in her voice. "Your mana core... it's beautiful."

  Non looked at her, surprised by the ent, while

  Emily, still in her er, blinked in astonishment.

  'Beautiful?'

  Emily didn't quite uand what she meant, but the fasation in the princess's eyes was clear. However, that amazement was soon repced by a look of sadness.

  "But..." Iris added with a tone ret. "It's a shame. There are small cracks all over. If we don't do something soon, they could expand."

  Iris raised a hand, beginning to jure a spell to try to close one of those cracks when, suddenly, a loud crash shook the room.

  A powerful explosion from the door made the window panes rattle and the floor tremble violently.

  The air filled with dust, and a seari enveloped the room.

  Something had exploded he door, and the impact was destio reach them all.

  Emily, paralyzed by fear, watched as the world slowed before her eyes, and just when the wave of destru seemed about to hit Non... time stopped.

  The silence was absolute, the dust particles suspended in the air, frozen. The fragments of wood aal that had been shot toward them remaiill in their deadly trajectory.

  Time had e to a halt.