Rozen hadn't expected that the eerie mural they'd seen in the Adelard monastery would conceal such profound secrets.
According to La Folia, the alchemist who had secluded themselves in the monastery must have been a figure of considerable significance—otherwise, they wouldn't have possessed the genuine Sinful God's Artifact, nor would their research have triggered such a catastrophic magical accident, forcing them to seal themselves within the mural to prevent further disaster.
La Folia explained that the Aldegyr Kingdom's magical technicians were tirelessly analyzing and researching the mural. In time, they might be able to rescue the alchemist and even acquire their research findings—an endeavor of immense importance.
As for the Sinful God's Artifact, it seemed to have been merely part of the alchemist's collection, inadvertently sealed within the mural alongside them.
This was why Aldegyr had been able to extract it separately. Originally, they had planned to study the power of the otherworldly artifact—perhaps even uncover the secrets of the God of Sin. But before their research could begin, the artifact stored in the magical research institute was stolen by The Cleansers and brought to this country.
La Folia had pursued The Cleansers all the way to Tokyo in order to retrieve it.
Gajou, upon learning of this, had gone to Tokyo alone to find La Folia and bring her here, hoping to counter The Cleansers' schemes.
However, by the time they arrived, the black shell at the bottom of Shinjin Lake had already shattered—the Dragon had emerged, the Horned Serpents swarmed, and Rozen had already confronted The Cleansers, clashing with their Knights of the Sinful God.
Thus, deciding that her intervention wasn't necessary, La Folia had calmly remained at the Kamioda Shrine, observing the battle through magic—only to be detected by Rozen's Wise Eye and Mind's Eye, leading him to discover the princess watching from the shadows.
La Folia seemed fully aware that Rozen had noticed her presence long ago.
Rather than being alarmed, she was inexplicably delighted, smiling brightly at him.
"It's been a while, and your strength has grown again. Not only did you completely annihilate the original, seize the Fourth Primogenitor's magic and Beast Vassals, but you even defeated the Third Primogenitor, the Chaos Bride. Truly worthy of being my Nichiyo—this is the man I've set my sights on."
Her flirtatious words earned not only an eye-roll from Rozen but also discontented murmurs from the Servant girls within him.
However, even they couldn't help but be impressed by La Folia's presence.
"To think she's a princess of a nation..." Mash sounded surprised.
"So beautiful..." Serenity murmured with admiration.
"That ethereal beauty and natural spiritual aura—she resembles Guinevere, but she doesn't seem as pure. There's something almost... Morgan-like about her."
Artoria [Alter] found herself inexplicably nostalgic before frowning slightly.
"A flawless princess, huh? You really do know all sorts of people, don't you?"
Jeanne [Alter] sneered at Rozen.
Rozen ignored them.
Because...
"As the princess of a nation, personally pursuing terrorists who attacked your country is understandable. But you couldn't have come alone—the Holy Knights must be accompanying you, right?"
Rozen's lips twitched.
"Those loyal knights wouldn't happen to have been unilaterally ditched by you, would they? Not only are they not searching for The Cleansers, but they're probably panicking and looking for you all over Tokyo?"
La Folia blinked again.
"What do you think?"
The same words, but this time, instead of a radiant smile, she feigned ignorance with an almost comically poor attempt at evasion.
Anyone could see that Rozen's speculation was far from baseless.
"La Folia..."
Yukina slumped her shoulders helplessly.
Just imagining the princess recklessly slipping away from her entourage and wandering around alone made it easy to picture the sheer panic of the knight order.
Naturally, the higher-ups of the government would be in chaos too.
If the princess of Aldegyr went missing in their country, it could easily escalate into a diplomatic incident.
This nation would be in deep trouble.
Yet La Folia, the cause of it all, remained utterly unbothered—even amused.
"At any rate, The Cleansers have been dealt with, and the Sinful God's Artifact has been recovered by Nichiyo. My mission here is effectively complete. Even my father won't be able to reprimand me—in fact, he'll have to praise my efficiency."
La Folia had calculated everything perfectly.
It never occurred to her that while she was satisfied, the knights who'd lost her would likely face severe punishment.
Having a willful master was truly a curse.
Even the Servants inside Rozen were left speechless.
"See? This is what royalty is like—utterly self-centered. Wouldn't you agree, King of Stubs?"
Jeanne [Alter] smirked pointedly.
"Feeling a kinship with those loyal knights, Balloon Girl? Betrayed by your own country?"
Artoria [Alter] shot back without missing a beat.
"Sh-She seems... difficult to handle..."
Serenity seemed almost intimidated by La Folia.
"Somehow, she reminds me of Da Vinci-san and Queen Marie..."
Mash laughed weakly.
Clearly, La Folia's free-spirited personality left a deep impression on the Servant girls.
They were all strong-willed individuals themselves, so seeing La Folia's antics gave them a strange sense of camaraderie.
Meanwhile, La Folia had already stepped right up to Rozen.
"So, will you present the Sinful God's Artifact to me, Nichiyo?"
She stared directly at him, her smile unwavering.
"And why would I do that? That's my spoils of war."
Rozen replied flatly.
"Then how about I pay you in return?"
Rather than discouraged, La Folia's eyes sparkled with mischief.
"Like the Dragon, I could embrace you with nothing on. That should be a fair reward, don't you think?"
Without hesitation, she began unbuttoning her collar, preparing to disrobe.
Rozen nearly choked.
"Stop that!"
He grabbed her hands.
"What are you doing, La Folia?!"
Even Yukina panicked—but instead of scolding La Folia, she shot Rozen an accusatory glare, making him want to cough up blood.
What did I do?! I didn't tell her to strip!
The group descended into chaos.
"My, my. What a shame."
Only Gajou looked genuinely disappointed, as if he'd truly wanted to see the princess undress.
As for the Servant girls inside Rozen, they were utterly speechless.
At this point, they all shared a single thought:
"She really is a free-spirited princess."
That summed it up perfectly.