In this life, I exist only to see you smile.

“I remember that the official documents issued at the time bore the names of a certain person and Liangyin. Why is it that the person who arrived is not the one I specified?” As soon as the certain someone had taken their seat, Bradleyk wasted no time in raising the question.

“Uh...” The certain person wanted to reply, but seeing that Bradleyk was staring intently at Lance without sparing her a glance, she could only touch her nose, chuckle awkwardly, and try to imagine herself as a wisp of air.

“Liangyin ran into a bit of trouble, so I am standing in for her,” Lance replied, maintaining his pleasant smile even under the weight of Bradleyk’s intimidating gaze.

“Trouble?” Bradleyk let out a cold snort. “The cultural envoy of Kyrenia has been declared wanted there for theft. Quite the turn of events, wouldn’t you say?”

Lance’s gentle smile did not falter, expressing calm understanding, support, and innocence regarding Bradleyk’s investigation of Liangyin.

Meanwhile, the certain someone kept her gaze fixed on the ceiling at a most innocent forty-five-degree angle.

Fortunately, Bradleyk did not press the issue further. Clearing his throat slightly, he moved on to his next question. “General Huanluo seems to place a great deal of trust in the two of you?”

Lance replied, “I wouldn’t call it trust. We simply happen to be the most suitable for this task.”

“Indeed, quite suitable,” Bradleyk sneered. “Ordinary people wouldn't be able to find anything in your records.”

Well... records and such... there truly was nothing to find. The certain someone’s eyes widened; she had no idea how to respond. Should she say she’d dropped out of the sky? Or claim to have sprung from a stone, parentless and rootless? Was she supposed to explain to Bradleyk that she was someone from another world?!

Lance, on the other hand, remained composed, his face betraying nothing.

“Would it be possible for the two of you to provide your documentation or some identification to help dispel my doubts as an average person?”

“Uh...” The certain someone was at a loss for words. Where were her ID card, property deed, certificate of only child status, and household registration book when she needed them?!

“I am an orphan,” Lance said with an elegant smile. “Raised on charity, I’ve always lived on the outskirts between the city and the Forest of Magical Beasts. It’s only natural that the city has no record of me, but the Mage Guild does. From the day I was able to hunt alone, I registered an alias account with the guild to sell my trophies. You may send someone to verify this.”

The certain someone regarded Lance with a puzzled look, as if to ask: That counts?

Lance confirmed it with a look.

Left with no choice, she revealed the little she had. “Actually, I’m also an orphan! Raised on charity as well! I, too, have an alias account with the Mage Guild. I’ve been selling homemade potions through the guild for the past few years to make ends meet. Later, I joined the Grant family in Whiteborder City as a guard. That part of my history should be easy enough to check.”

“So, your verifiable pasts are both rather short, aren’t they?” Bradleyk remarked.

She thought to herself, Isn’t that the truth? If only I’d arrived here a few years earlier! Outwardly, she maintained a sincere smile as she explained, “I was a slow learner. It took me a long time to become proficient, so my records are a bit short.”

“I was fifteen before I could roam the forest’s edge and hunt small beasts on my own. For a mage, that’s not particularly late,” Lance shrugged.

Not late? It’s downright early! The certain someone stared at Lance in shock. For mages, whose constitutions were usually frail and whose agility was lacking, joining a hunting party at the forest’s edge required being at least eighteen. The forest was dangerous, after all. To be able to hunt alone at fifteen—this guy was a monster!

But if Lance truly was an orphan, who had trained him in such innate elegance and polished social manners?

Could it be that people in this world just picked up etiquette, bearing, and conversation skills on their own?

Once again, the certain someone found her meager intelligence woefully inadequate.

“It appears General Huanluo is quite close with you both—close enough to entrust such an important task to two people with unverifiable pasts?” The king’s gaze darkened.

“It’s not a matter of trust, merely a matter of suitability,” she quickly clarified, worried he might cast unwarranted suspicion on Huanluo. “Of all Acacia, only the two of us fit the requirements for mages, which is why Huanluo asked us to come.”

“Asked?” The king latched onto the word.

“That’s right.” The certain someone decided to make things clear, distancing herself from any unnecessary associations. “Neither Lance nor I have any connection to the White Tower Kingdom. Our acquaintance with Huanluo is little more than a passing encounter. She once did me a favor, and I’m simply repaying it with this task. As for Lance, his relationship with Huanluo is even more remote—he’s merely... accompanying me, isn’t that right?” She gave Lance a slightly awkward nudge.

Lance played along, saying, “Yes. I just didn’t want to see her rush headlong into danger.”

“But you two have only just met, haven’t you?” Bradleyk’s research was evidently thorough.

“We... fell in love at first sight!” she blurted out through gritted teeth.

Lance could only go along with the mounting fabrication, nodding in agreement.

“I thought you might be pretending to be a couple for the sake of convenience during this mission,” the king remarked, his interest in their relationship seeming to replace his earlier hostility toward Lance.

Somehow, the certain someone sensed what the king truly wanted to confirm, and she played right into his expectations, laying it on thick. “There’s nothing to be done about matters of the heart—they’re hard to control. Love at first sight, love blossoming at the second meeting, and by the third, it’s time to vow eternal commitment.” As she spoke, she leaned closer to Lance.

Lance maintained his enigmatic smile, slipping his arm around her and saying solemnly, “She speaks the truth—those are my feelings as well.”

Leaning into Lance’s embrace, the certain someone kept her eyes fixed on Bradleyk, watching as his gaze toward Lance shifted from hostility to suspicion, then to curiosity, and finally settled on reassurance. This obvious change fit perfectly with a suspicion growing in her own mind, and she began to feel as though she might soon be able to wield some real influence here in the White Tower Kingdom—though she needed further confirmation.

“In fact, Huanluo asked me to pass along a message to Your Majesty when I met you, just to ensure the mission’s success,” she added, pausing dramatically to pique his curiosity. Then, word by word, she delivered Huanluo’s message: “She said, ‘In this life, I would smile only for you.’”