《Royal Princess of Blood》


 Prologue - [Edited]

    I pressed a hand on the bullet hole in my shoulder, trying to hold back the bleeding. As I gritted my teeth to endure the pain, faint voices shouted from behind me. I panted heavily, running away from those chasing me down. Going through this dark alley should give me a small time of safety.


    I was getting tired, but there was no way I¡¯m going to stop just because of that.


    Ridiculous.


    The mission failed. I failed.


    Shit!


    I found it hard to believe. But dammit, all just goes to shit. Fortunately, I slipped and escaped before they could completely corner and kill me. A proud achievement, though, I left quite a satisfying amount of bloodshed in my escape. I expected nothing less from myself!


    But this did not make up for the fact that I failed to kill my target. Ridiculous. It wasn¡¯t supposed to be hard! And I got shot, terrible fucking performance.


    I turned towards a narrower dark alleyway, hoping to lose those chasing me, at least for a little while. A few seconds was better than nothing.


    My mesmerizing, smooth, and long unkempt hair rattled in the wind as I sprinted with all the strength I could muster, all in desperation to escape. I gripped my handy pistol in anticipation of what may greet me ahead.


    I saw a faint glimpse of a road, but I stopped when I heard the sounds of a vehicle and saw its headlights coming. I stuck close to the wall to hide in the darkness. My dark combat outfit helped me blend in. My beautiful brow knitted in distress. This was damn annoying. The vehicle stopped in the road that I was supposed to cross.


    Do I have to take them all head-on? I couldn¡¯t run back. There¡¯s no time. Enemies were also coming from the rear. I imagined they were spreading all over the area, hoping to catch me anywhere. There was no backup. I was alone, no one I could rely on in this.


    I snuck a peek from the side of the wall, only one vehicle, four doors. Two men stepped out from the back of the car. Wasting no time, as they came out of the door, I stepped out and aimed out my weapon. Instantly, I had one in my sight, and I pulled the trigger.


    With a loud bang, I shot my enemy in the head, his rifle dropping to the ground. I swiftly shifted my weapon towards the other one popping his head out. I fired my weapon and popped his head.


    At that moment, the pair at the front exited the car holding their weapons and immediately opened fire at me. At the same time, I stepped back and took cover back to the wall. I could hear their rapid bullets hitting the concrete I was using as cover. And they didn¡¯t stop firing.


    I glanced at the alleyway I went through and mentally clicked my tongue.


    Dammit, bastards could come out from there at any second.


    Taking too long pinned down here was too dangerous. Enemies from behind me could catch up at any moment. Two enemies on both fronts ¡ª I¡¯ll die.


    My grip tightened around my pistol. I can¡¯t die like this. Not here. I refuse to die. However¡­ if that were to happen¡­ then I¡¯ll rather end it with a bang! No way I¡¯m moping around. If I¡¯m gonna die anyway ¡ª even though I didn¡¯t want to ¡ª then I¡¯ll do it on my own terms. I won¡¯t make dying easy! At least with that, there¡¯s a chance where I¡¯ll live.


    I keenly listened to their firing as I pulled out a dagger tied to my thigh. A moment later, their firing stopped. Either they¡¯re advancing towards me, or were reloading. But both cases were good. I could surprise them.


    ¡°This way!¡±


    There was a distant shouting from the alley I came through. Therefore, time has run out. I dashed out of the wall. My pistol extended forward in one hand, with a dagger in the other. The two men were dumbstruck as I suddenly emerged from my cover.


    With that opening, I fired my gun, hitting one guy on the neck. I was intending to shoot the head, but because of the pressure, I missed. But that was fine, he¡¯ll still die. Before anything else, I also threw my dagger to the other guy¡¯s chest.


    He staggered back, and I quickly pointed my gun at him and shot him two times.


    ¡°Ggh!¡± However, as he fell down, he managed to open fire towards me. Even with his poor accuracy, he hit me in my stomach. I grimaced in pain and covered the bleeding wound with my free hand.


    Fuck!


    But there was no time to dally, enemies were coming from behind. I pointed my gun behind me as I rushed towards the vehicle. Enemies popped out, but regrettably, I only shot down one. Worst of all, I¡¯ve run out of bullets.


    No time to reload, I entered the driver¡¯s seat as bullets rained towards me. I stepped on the pedal all the way down. The tires screeched as my car moved.


    Hah! With this car, I might escape. Jokes on you, you bastards!


    As my vehicle went, I saw other cars coming towards me. They opened fire, and I ducked to take cover. I could not see what was ahead, but that was fine. I already saw the road, so going straight was just alright.


    I headed for a bridge. Pieces of glass from the car shattered as more hail of bullets came at me.


    Shit, can¡¯t they be gentle with a pretty girl like me? Damn!


    I may sound a little sarcastic, but this was truly a serious situation. And I was taking it as one. But I was used to danger. That¡¯s why I could act casual here and there.


    Ultimately, I have hope that I could live.


    But, amidst that thought of hope, an explosion erupted from behind my car. I became frantic for a moment and glanced behind me. My eyes widened.


    A fucking grenade launcher?! Bullshit!


    I tried not to drive in a straight line and evaded explosions twice, thankfully.


    The bridge was within reach, and the river beneath it flowed vigorously. I was about to reach its center, but at that moment, an explosion erupted in front of me. In reflex, I turned the wheel. But instead of staying on the road, my car went straight to the edge of the bridge.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    And I fell into the dark cold water, bathed in darkness. As the car fell deeper along with the water current, I climbed out through the window. It was a struggle, but I successfully made my way out. The powerful water current dragged me with it.


    I couldn¡¯t see anything, and thus I crashed against some obstacles on the way. My wounds, my bullet wounds throbbed in pain, as blood bled out, mixing with the water. That said, with this, I might escape and survive. Truthfully, if there were no other options, I intended to dive into the river.


    I¡¯m a genius, right?


    Now, here I went, hoping I won¡¯t drown. I swam with all my strength towards the surface. When I reached above, I looked around. The river current seemed to have brought me to safety, seeing that there were no enemies in sight.


    I was getting cold and weak, roughly breathing. Losing a lot of blood. I quickly swam to the river bank. I barely held onto the concrete, but I managed to climb up. Extremely tired, I collapsed to the floor. My hands shivered¡­ no, it was my entire body. My eyes were getting heavier. A puddle of blood began forming on the floor.


    I don¡¯t like this, not at all¡­ The pain, the blood, the cold¡­ I don¡¯t like it. I was dying.


    No¡­ I can¡¯t die like this¡­


    There¡¯s still more to see in this world¡­ to taste.


    There was still too much to experience in this world, despite my restrained life. I wanted to at least have a carefree life, even for just a glimpse.


    My life had always been in shackles, bound to an unmoving boulder. Unable to do everything I wanted, to only do things what I was told. How I often envy the lives of others, the lives of normal people.


    They could go wherever they wish. They could go to malls with their friends, shopping and all. Laugh together, eat with each other¡¯s company. I even envy those that go to normal schools. Even though normal people stress about it, it looked fun. A life so carefree, not a chain to tie them down.


    And now, here I was, reaching the end of the line.


    No¡­


    There was still hope to survive.


    I forced myself to stand up, my body trembling. I never felt so heavy before, so unpleasant. Nothing was pleasant here. Dying¡­ sucks.


    I need immediate medical attention.


    Yes, if I were to survive this, I need it. Hope. I placed a hand on the hole in my stomach as I lifted my feet, slowly moving forward. I was somewhat familiar with this location, but hospitals or anything were totally not close by. It¡¯s impossible to reach one.


    Maybe some person will come across and help me.


    Yes, if someone came, I might be saved.


    As I walked a little more, leaning on the wall, I came across a road. There was a headlight coming towards me. Surely it¡¯s not an enemy.


    The vehicle stopped, and its door opened. With squinted eyes, the person became clearer.


    ¡°You look miserable.¡±


    It was a familiar man¡¯s voice. A faint smile formed on my lips. He stepped forward. The man was in his mid-twenties. He had golden blonde hair and blue eyes. He was beautiful. He could charm just about any woman he came across or desired.


    But I felt nothing. I never felt infatuated with him. Not even to my same gender. I feel nothing special towards anyone, no butterflies. What? Could this mean I¡¯m sort of a monster? No way¡­ I¡¯m human as one can be. Perhaps that was just the way I am¡­


    The man flashed me a soft and charming smile.


    I stepped forward, leaning my back on the wall, and shrugged.


    ¡°Indeed. I¡¯m a m-miserable beautiful twenty-year-old girl, v-vulnerable. So what are you standing a-around for? Help me.¡±


    He was a colleague of mine, after all. Therefore, everything¡¯s alright.


    ¡°Ah, h-how did you find me, anyway?¡±


    ¡°The tracker.¡±


    ¡°... What?¡±


    Somewhere embedded in the back of my neck was a tracker. All assassins of the organization had them. But hearing that surprised me.


    ¡°How come you have access to my tracker¡¯s location?¡±


    ¡°Before the mission, I was, well, you could say, promoted.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± I frowned and warily watched him. ¡°Why are you still standing there? I¡¯m dying here. Where¡¯s my first aid?¡±


    He heaved a deep sigh before moving his hand to his back.


    ¡°Your face was seen, you know. You were exposed, and caused all that trouble.¡±


    My body grew tense. ¡°... So what?¡±


    ¡°You have exposed the mission and yourself. And look at you, dying, in the middle of a dreary street.¡±


    Hearing his words, I already knew where this was heading. I glared at him. ¡°You¡­¡±


    We stared at each in hostility. However¡­


    I lowered my gaze, taking a deep breath.


    So this is where it ends, huh¡­


    Trying to fight back was pointless. I was terribly wounded and weak. I didn¡¯t even have any weapons. Yes, this was the end of the line. This kind of occurrence was not so shocking. They always discard those who no longer have any uses, or have failed miserably.


    And here I would be thrown away. Disposed of.


    I lifted my gaze back to him. We had worked together for a long time. A few years now. He showed no sympathy as he was about to kill me. That was to be expected. Some people just didn¡¯t have a heart.


    They can kill like leisurely drinking tea. Taking a life was trivial, even if they were to kill a long-time colleague. I suppose I¡¯m the same way as him.


    My eyes sharped. ¡°Go ahead t-then. But don¡¯t think I won¡¯t fight back.¡±


    He smiled, as if amused. ¡°You¡¯ll die of blood loss anyway. But, it appears it will take some time. So I¡¯ll end it myself.¡±


    He pulled out a dagger, ready to throw it. It seemed he didn''t want to engage in a direct fight with me. Well, of course, he felt threatened by me even in this state. Or he just didn¡¯t want to dirty his clothes.


    ¡°You¡¯re an ugly man, you k-know that?¡±


    I rushed my feet forward. If I could hit him just once, I¡¯ll be satisfied.


    But before I knew it, his dagger had already pierced my heart. As I tried to keep on my feet, I staggered back, before leaning back on the wall and collapsed. Gotta say, it¡¯s painful. I clutched the dagger stuck to my chest, but I had no strength left to pull it out and throw it back at him.


    I felt sleepy.


    He walked a little closer. ¡°You really are a hard girl to kill.¡±


    As I stared at his eyes, I saw a glimpse of hesitation within them. Pain. His mask slipped a little.


    I smiled at him as I felt my life draining away. ¡°Just¡­ the way things are.¡±


    He bit his lip for a moment before answering me. ¡°... Indeed. So please, don¡¯t bear any grudges towards me in the afterlife.¡±


    Of course, there would be no grudges. I knew this could happen to me at some point. But, honestly, I have some regrets. I didn¡¯t want to die, but I was already dying. No escaping from death¡­ No, perhaps, dying would be a blessing in this kind of life.


    ¡°Y-You¡¯ll be fine¡­¡±


    He blinked and lowered his eyes.


    ¡°Hey.¡± I called him, and he raised his eyes back at me.


    And I said my last words.


    ¡°Have a good life, my friend.¡±


    His eyes widened.


    Even if he killed me, we were still colleagues once. We were raised in the same organization. So, despite how we treated each other here, we still had respect for each other. We still somewhat have a relationship. The word I could think of to describe it was friendship, or perhaps kinship?


    He answered me back. ¡°Friend? Yes, we are indeed friends, in the end.¡± A faint smile appeared on his face. ¡°I hope something good will happen to you¡­ if souls do exist and end up somewhere.¡±


    My eyes gradually closed, hearing the last words I could hear from him.


    ¡°Farewell, our angel.¡±


    That was the moment my life faded away. My corpse laid on the cold hard street, with a dead heart full of regret.

 Chapter 1: A Pure Princess (Part 1) - [Edited]

    ¡°Oh gods, please save the princess.¡±


    ¡°How is she?¡±


    ¡°This is the worst!¡±


    It was noisy.


    What the hell? Can¡¯t I even have a good quiet death? Shit.


    From the sound of it, they were panicking. Strange¡­


    Wait, there was no one around where we were.


    The place where I was eliminated was a quiet and secluded place, and I vividly remembered it. No, I think that was not the issue here. The main issue here was¡­


    Why the hell am I laying down on something soft?


    Almost like I was on a proper bed, facing up. Again, very odd. I died on the street. No, did I survive somehow? Maybe, when he left me, someone found me and I was still barely alive.


    This could mean a lot of things, though. That old colleague of mine had mistaken me for being dead. And most of all! This could also mean I¡¯m free! I couldn¡¯t feel more happy! I mean, who wouldn¡¯t be? Haha!


    My face twitched because of the positive emotions dancing inside me.


    ¡°The princess moved!¡±


    I heard a woman¡¯s loud and relieved voice.


    I wonder what princess they were talking about.


    Was there even something like princesses during this generation? Oh wait, there were. Well, not where I was.


    Maybe someone had the name princess? A certain country uses that word as a literal name.


    Or maybe, by some strange fate, a princess ran away and encountered an accident, and thus we ended up in the same room. Good, she could be useful if that was the case. Maybe if I go all friendly with her, she would treat me nicely. Maybe she could take me somewhere. I mean, princesses were wealthy girls, so helping someone who was as good as me would be no big deal.


    ¡°Physician, she¡¯s still closing her eyes. Please make sure there¡¯s nothing wrong with my dear sister.¡±


    Hm? Wait, why the hell is someone touching the side of my face?


    Must be a mistake, there must be a timing coincidence. Someone just happened to check up on me at the same time.


    It was then I noticed something was amiss. I wasn¡¯t wounded in the head somewhere. Which was again strange. I was supposed to have a bullet wound on the shoulder and on the stomach. Wait, I was also stabbed in the heart. I was supposed to be dead. Could it be perhaps I was tougher than I thought? Pfft, of course not. A stab to the heart was a sure death.


    ¡°The healing spell healed her head in time, so it should be alright.¡±


    An adult man¡¯s voice reached my delicate ears.


    Hm? What did this guy just say? Healing spell? Hey hey, what the hell is going on?


    I was totally confused. Was something weird going on? This guy was unquestionably an adult, not some kid playing around and saying stuff like spells.


    ¡°Princess, can you open your eyes?¡±


    Now I was just more lost. That voice, it just whispered to me.


    Me? Princess?


    Was this some kind of joke?


    Still confused, I opened my eyes. Oh boy, what greeted my eyes only made me think I have lost my mind.


    What is this? Some kind of cosplay?


    I knew the concept and have seen what they were, so that was what first came to me.


    I saw people who were wearing strange clothes, clothes that were definitely out of their time. A woman somewhere in her mid-thirties with silver hair and bluish eyes stared at me. She was wearing a white dress emblazoned with plenty of intricate patterns with lines dyed yellow. Her hair was tied up neatly into a bun.


    But that was not exactly the main issue, the clothes were. They were not modern designs. No one would ever wear something like that under normal circumstances. In any case, her outfit just didn¡¯t sit well with the current time.


    On the other hand, there was a young man with golden blonde hair and purple eyes also staring down at me. He was perhaps in his late teens. He wore a white and gold long coat with of course clothing underneath it. Trousers and boots, by his neck, tied an ascot. As expensive looking as the aforementioned woman. Again, weird.


    They both looked like they came from a time when swords still existed and were used as a weapon.


    Two maids were also present at the back. How did I know they were maids, you might ask? Well, they were wearing black and white dresses, which totally looked like they were worn by maids.


    And beside me was a plain looking middle-aged man, although his clothes still looked a little expensive. Could this person be the physician they were talking about?


    Woah wait.


    If that¡¯s the case, didn¡¯t that make me the ¡°Princess¡±?


    Oh my, I may be beautiful, sure. And being called a princess sure is nice. But who are these weirdos? What the hell?


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Only then I noticed the room I was in. The ceiling was high, a small chandelier hanging from it. White walls with beautiful decorations. Embedded on the walls were also extravagant looking lamps. Well, the room sure was nice, but that was not what I was worrying about right now.


    This is way out of its timeline.


    Modern architecture didn¡¯t look like this at all. This looked somewhere around medieval times.


    ¡°Estelia.¡±


    The woman from before leaned closer to me.


    What did she just call me?


    ¡°... Estelia?¡± A puzzled look formed on my face.


    ¡°Estel? Are you okay?¡± The young man, seemingly sensing my confusion, gently called out to me.


    I ignored him and pondered. My mind was in complete disarray.


    Aaah! What the hell is going on?


    I didn¡¯t have enough free world experience to come to an acceptable conclusion. I have always had a limited life. Every action I take must have restrictions. In other words, I was always focused on the task given to me. Not enough free time to go around.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°¡°¡°HAAAAAAAH?!¡±¡±¡±


    Everyone in the room screamed and gasped in horror at my question. I would have given them credit since it looked genuine. Hm, but since it looked genuine, then it could be. They were legit surprised.


    ¡°Physician! My daughter! What happened?! She just asked who we were! Could it be?!¡± the woman asked as her eyes rattled around.


    Panic ensued.


    ¡°My dear sister? No¡­¡± The young man looked away in dismay, clutching his head.


    Ah, sorry, I asked on the spur of the moment. I should calm down.


    ¡°She fell down the stairs that hard?¡± the physician muttered as he covered his mouth in shock.


    I glanced at the maids, they disturbingly looked distressed.


    Hm, wait, did he just say fell down the stairs? I did? Wait, who am I?


    I looked at my hands and touched them. They were pale as snow. I looked like I never left shelter at all, and never even felt the warm touch of sunlight. I shifted my eyes towards my long, straight hair. They were white, no, ¡°platinum¡± would be the appropriate word to describe it.


    I¡¯m not me while I''m me at the same time?


    That was the only thing I could conclude at the moment. I was a different person. And this was a totally different place.


    ¡°Agh!¡± A surging pain suddenly erupted within my head. I clutched my head, it felt like it would burst and explode. The people around me panicked even more as they saw the pained expression on my face.


    Fuck! It hurts!


    Then, it came the feeling of something being injected into my brain. It was overwhelming. I saw. I remembered. I felt. These were¡­ memories.


    I am...


    ¡°Estelia Vernisia Wisteria.¡±


    ¡°You remember?!¡±


    I looked at the woman who exclaimed in joy.


    ¡°Mother¡­ Meliya.¡±


    Meliya Helvinia Wisteria, the Queen, and my mother.


    ¡°Aaaah, you remember! Thank the gods!¡±


    She suddenly moved closer to me¡­ my eyes widened and my body turned stiff. I didn¡¯t know how to react to this.


    She¡­ wrapped her arms around me. She was hugging me. It was warm. It was comfy. A foreign feeling and moment for me. Was it always this pleasant? Was this what normal people feel when they hug each other?


    I didn¡¯t know the answer. But, I was feeling it.


    This was¡­ wonderful.


    No!


    I shook my head, shaking off this ridiculous feeling. This was a feeling that should not be accepted. These emotions were prohibited! These kinds of emotions only beget weakness. I have seen many people die and fail during my assassination missions due to emotions. Due to attachments!


    There was even a time when my target was a female. She was supposed to be my only target, but a man came taking the bullet. Ridiculous. Self sacrifice.


    There was also a time when a fellow agent went into an infiltration mission. She needed to pretend to be their ally as we gathered information. However, when time came for execution, she fucking hesitated to kill a single man. How unbelievable.


    Emotions are hindrances. Attachments are absolutely forbidden.


    Dreams were nice, but these kinds of emotions were not needed. They would only get in the way.


    I will not get attached because of this short, empty moment.


    Plus, I am not Estelia. I am¡­


    This was a foreign body. Not mine. Therefore, I have no relationship with these people, only this body did. I have no attachments towards them. I took a deep breath and began acting.


    ¡°Mother, please let go. You¡¯re suffocating me.¡±


    Acting was an essential skill and had a lot of uses depending on the mission given. Therefore, acting was easy. I was trained hard for this.


    When she heard my sweet gentle voice, which could calm any soul, the woman ¡ª or rather, my mother ¡ª apologized as she slowly let go.


    ¡°Sorry, I thought you had lost your memories.¡±


    I formed a beautiful and pure smile, my eyes turned tender. I should speak softly. Just like the original Estelia did. ¡°To be honest, my memories slipped my mind for a moment. But thankfully, it returned shortly after. Did I scare you? I apologize.¡± I bowed my head and formed a troubled expression. Well, I looked like I was about to cry.


    ¡°N-No,¡± Mother frantically waved her hand as she consoled me. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped that you acted that way first, so you do not need to cry.¡±


    ¡°Sister? Do you remember me?¡±


    The young man moved in front of me. A bright smile beamed on his lips. He was quite handsome, if I say so myself. As expected of royalty, I suppose. But no way my heart would flutter. Plus, he was supposed to be my brother, so no no. Let¡¯s not take a weird turn. Well, it¡¯s not like I would have any special feelings for anybody.


    ¡°My big brother, Estevan,¡± I said so innocently to him.


    His eyes brightened as he looked at me. I, who appeared like a pure lamb that must be protected at all costs.


    He was Estevan Verziniel Wisteria, my older brother.


    ¡°My dear sister remembers me! That¡¯s great! You really scared me there.¡±


    ¡°I did fall from the stairs. I-I¡¯m¡­ sorry¡­ I am very clumsy. It¡¯s m-my fault.¡±


    I intentionally stammered in my words, which only enhanced my pure and innocent performance. It should closely resemble how Estelia originally acted. But maybe I acted more innocently compared to her.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t say that. I like the way you are.¡±


    I smiled at my brother. I have two brothers, this one was the second eldest. The eldest was currently absent for some reason. If I remember correctly, he was out on a diplomatic errand. By the way, I¡¯m the youngest and the only girl in the family. Well well, this would work to my advantage.


    Who wouldn¡¯t protect their cute youngest sister?


    I¡¯m currently sixteen years old, but that¡¯s still young for me. I definitely needed protection. What? Don¡¯t tell me no one would protect this pure, vulnerable and fragile girl that was me? Nonsense.


    ¡°You seem to be fine now, your highness.¡±


    I looked at the one who spoke to me. This man was the palace physician. One could also cast healing magic.


    Eh? Magic?


    Magic, huh? I heard a lot about that back in my old life. They came from fantasy stories, but now in this world, they seemed to be real. But Estelia only had little knowledge about it, not only about magic, but also about everything else. Hell, she barely knew anything about the outside world. Not helpful.


    ¡°Y-Yes,¡± I responded to him as I slowly raised my body up. ¡°I feel fine. I think I can even walk around now.¡±


    ¡°Please rest for a while. Moving around is still risky.¡±


    I would have done so if these people were not around. Well, Estelia did have an emergency and was sent here ¡ª to my room. And her family panicked and quickly came to her ¡ª or rather me.


    Agh, I still have trouble differentiating.


    ¡°In that case, I will take a rest.¡± I laid back down on the bed and closed my eyes, hoping that everyone would leave. That would give me at least a quiet space to think.


    ¡°Yes, rest well, my daughter.¡±


    Meliya caressed my forehead. It was a gentle touch. But I thought nothing of such a thing. I just hoped they would leave me alone, I needed to cope up with everything that was happening.


    She then continued. ¡°Just ring the bell and Mera will assist you, okay?¡±


    I looked at the handbell placed on top of the table beside my bed. I¡¯m interested in trying it, but not now.


    ¡°Oh yes, you should change your clothes. There is a little blood on them. I will assist you.¡±


    ¡°Later, mother. I still feel a little dizzy. I¡¯ll take care of it when it subsides.¡±


    Why would I even let you help me dress? That would be embarrassing to do with a stranger.


    With that, Meliya nodded. The surrounding people, one by one, left.


    ¡°Estel my dear sister, take care~.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes brother.¡±


    The last one to leave was a maid. She bowed before taking her leave and closing the door. I waited for about a couple of minutes, making sure that everyone truly left.

 Chapter 2: A Pure Princess (Part 2) - [Edited]

    <div>


    Shortly after, I left the bed, did a bit of stretching, and there sounded a bit of cracking. But it was satisfying, nonetheless. My first objective was the mirror. I have memories of how I look, but I still wanted to see it personally.


    Once I looked at the mirror, a gasp escaped my lips.


    ¡°Oh, my.¡±


    I touched my cheek with my delicate and slender fingers. To be honest, I was a bit overwhelmed by what I saw in the mirror. Even though it was my face, I still couldn¡¯t immediately believe it.


    I have a delicate and sweet pale face. I looked so fragile. My long silky hair straightly flowed down. It was of beautiful platinum, and they glimmered like a pile of treasure amidst the infiltrating light. My crimson eyes were like blood, but so beautiful to look at. I could even look so pure with those eyes of mine if I willed it to.


    I was extremely beautiful. World class. I could charm any man with a single wink with this appearance. Hell, I think I might fall in love with myself if I stared for too long. Just kidding. But seriously, many would go mad just to have this beauty. Now I think I understood why this girl, Estelia, was a sheltered princess.


    With this beauty, going outside would be too dangerous. This would be a target of many. But hey, I¡¯m not complaining. This was perfect. In any case, with this, I imagine I could do a lot of things I wasn¡¯t able to do in my former life.


    Freedom.


    ¡°Ah.¡± This reminded me of something as I looked at myself.


    Estelia.


    This girl¡­ had already died. I could tell from the memory. I remembered the same sensation when I was dying, and Estelia felt the same. She fell high from the stairs, rolling around as she descended. The most damage she received was to her head.


    As delicate, meek, and fragile as she was, I suppose she couldn¡¯t last long and died before anyone could tend to her. Her last moments were the last of her memories, and then I came. What a tragic fate. Dying from falling down the stairs.


    For me, it was indeed tragic. She could have at least died differently, like having your last stand. But, well, this girl differed from me, so yeah¡­ maybe her kind of death was normal.


    Should I say something? Hm.


    ¡°Rest in peace, Estelia. I will put your body to good use,¡± I whispered to the air. Perhaps she could hear me or something.


    I walked away from the mirror to the window. And I smiled at the magnificent view. According to the memories, I was around the rear of the palace, and I should say, I was way up, third floor. I could see a few houses from here. In the far distance, several mountains covered by green forest towered.


    Judging from everything I have gathered, I was in a world where it was still in the medieval age. But since magic exists ¡ª which I¡¯m looking forward to seeing, by the way ¡ª a lot may differ from my knowledge.


    ¡°I want to go out.¡± I said I wanted to rest, and they said I needed to rest, but I was feeling fine. Seriously. But it would be strange that I would go out when I just said I would rest.


    Fine, I¡¯ll wait.


    I silently stared at the view.


    By the way, this body barely had any muscles, making it a struggle to fight with this. But I didn¡¯t want to ravish my perfect and beautiful form with muscles. Back in my old life, I only made my muscles around average so I wouldn¡¯t ruin my hourglass figure. An attractive and good appearance was essential, with plenty of uses during missions.


    So what I was planning to do was workout this body for just a little. Enough to easily lift a dagger or something. I¡¯m not expecting to find a pistol here, so yeah, I¡¯m going to workout so I could wield a dagger.


    I looked at my hands and fingers.


    But these are beautiful hands. I don¡¯t want to damage them¡­


    Well, I was the princess now, so perhaps I do not need to fight anymore. Someone would protect me anyway.


    I need to think about this carefully.


    For the preservation of my absolute beauty. And most importantly, my life.


    I stared outside for several minutes like an idiot. During missions, patience was important to have. But for some reason, I was struggling to keep my patience.


    Ah! Dammit! Let me out of here already.


    I looked at the handbell, squinting my eyes in my desire to use it. I mean, who wouldn¡¯t be interested in having a servant come to your beckon? I sure am interested.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    On my way to the bell, I noticed myself in the mirror again. My dress had a few blood splatters on them, so I should change my dress before going anywhere. And thus I did. There were a lot of pretty dresses in the wardrobe, to my delight, but I have to pick the somewhat simpler one. I placed the used one on a nearby chair.


    After changing my outfit, I reached for the bell. I was quite excited using it to call a maid with this little thing. Personal experience was just different from another¡¯s memories. I shook the bell and a sound loudly rang out. Almost immediately, knocks came from the door before it opened. A maid entered the room.


    ¡°Milady, you called.¡±


    This was the girl who bowed to me earlier. She had blue hair tied into a ponytail. Her eyes were dark green and her skin was light brown. She was seventeen years old. If the memories were right, this girl was of nobility. However, her family was far away from the capital. Might as well say they were in a remote territory. Her father was also a mere baron.


    She is very far away from home.


    She and Estelia had a somewhat friendly relationship. But they weren¡¯t always together though since the maids were rotated. She was merely one of the maids that was commonly assigned to be my attendant.


    I returned to my act as the pure princess. ¡°Um, I want to go out.¡±


    ¡°Go out¡­? But milady, aren¡¯t you still recuperating?¡±


    With a bright smile, I said, ¡°I feel completely fine. I imagine I can even run around now with no problem at all.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    I energetically walked towards her with slightly prancing steps, taking her hands and squeezed them tight. ¡°Even if something happens, you will be by my side. Am I wrong?¡± I tilted my head with a bit of a pout on my cheeks. Since I was so close to her, I could clearly see her blushing cheeks.


    See? Even my beauty works on women.


    The maid, Mera, stared at me for a moment before taking a deep breath. ¡°I understand, milady. But please take it easy and be careful.¡±


    I giggled adorably as I left the room. ¡°I will~.¡±


    I walked down the corridor. This place truly looked like a home of royalty. The walls were clean, decorations were luxurious, maids were also around cleaning. They would stop their work and bow to me.


    There sure are a lot of rooms here.


    Indeed, as I walked around the palace corridors, I came across several rooms. They were occasionally used for guests. But the common rooms used for that purpose were the rooms on the second floor.


    There was not much to do here, so my goal was to go outside. I realized too late that I was walking with rush paces, and Mera was trying to catch up to me. I stopped in my tracks as I waited for her to catch up with an amused smile on my face.


    Oops, I shouldn''t smile like that. Happy smile, happy smile.


    I changed the way I smiled.


    ¡°Mera, Mera. Let¡¯s go outside quickly,¡± I said as though impatient.


    Mera¡¯s eyebrows went up. ¡°Milady, you should take it easy. Didn¡¯t you say you would do so?¡±


    I covered my mouth and gave an apologetic look. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    Mera sighed. ¡°But, if milady wants to come outside, then we will.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I held her hands and leaned closer. I could see her gulp.


    ¡°Y-You do not need to thank me, your highness.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Is that so? But I want to.¡±


    Mera looked like she was taken aback by my words. Did I act too much? Isn¡¯t this how Estelia normally acted? All innocent, pure, and quite possibly na?ve? Well, I just need to act close to what she was.


    The reason? I didn¡¯t want anyone to be shocked by the sudden change. They might become suspicious of me. That would complicate things. Therefore, I would slowly do things. But bear in mind that I have no intention of acting like how this girl was supposed to be forever. I can¡¯t pretend for the rest of my life. There will be no freedom in that regard.


    I at least want to act the way I wanted. While only acting like Estelia a little. But at this time, I was going to do it slowly.


    Judging from how everything went, I was still close to how Estelia was. So I wasn¡¯t that worried. I¡¯ll be gentle. Like sex for the first time¡­ Okay I shouldn¡¯t say something like that with this pure face.


    I let go of her hand and continued onward, although slowing down my steps. As I reached a certain point, I halted. I glared down with hostility, but adorably.


    Ah, my murderer.


    What laid before me was the one who killed Estelia. In other words¡­ the stairs.


    I¡¯m sorry, you¡¯re not taking my life.


    As I was about to step forward, Mera abruptly moved in front of me.


    ¡°Milady!¡±


    Her somewhat loud voice startled me. There was fear in her eyes.


    ¡°Please, let me hold your hand as you go down.¡± She offered me her hand.


    Oh? Is she perhaps scared for my safety?


    I could see her concerns were genuine, though. Seeing this, a smile emerged on my pretty face.


    ¡°Then I will take your offer.¡±


    I took her hand, like a princess accepting the offer of her prince ¡ª or was it a knight?


    She slowly led me down the stairs. She was extremely careful, so our speed was terribly slow. But I was quite entertained watching her.


    ¡°Mera, you don¡¯t have to be this concerned.¡±


    ¡°Milady, I can¡¯t let the same thing happen again.¡±


    ¡°Were you scared?¡±


    She looked at me with surprised eyes.


    ¡°Were you scared for me?¡± I was referring to the moment Estelia fell down the stairs. Mera wasn¡¯t there when it happened. No other maids were there during the fall, based on memory. So I was curious if Mera was truly scared as Estelia almost died. Well, technically she did die, but for Mera, she didn¡¯t.


    Mera averted her eyes away. ¡°Y-Yes. Yes, I was.¡±


    I was a bit surprised by her answer. It sounded like it came from the heart. Her eyes even shared that feeling. I couldn¡¯t tell if the other maids would also think and feel this way. But Mera was truly concerned.


    She isn¡¯t concerned about me, but about Estelia.


    That was what I felt.


    But I was Estelia now. Still, I didn¡¯t know how to take in all this. Therefore, I threw away the needless thoughts. What they think mattered little to me.


    ¡°Thank you, Mera.¡±


    Mera stared at me, seemingly lost in what to say in response for a moment.


    ¡°Mm¡­ Not at all, milady.¡±


    We reached the second floor. It was then I became wary. What was I wary of? It was my family. I currently don''t have the time to entertain them. I wanted to entertain myself.


    ¡°I wonder where Brother Estevan is?¡±


    ¡°Lord Estevan is currently in the courtyard, training.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡±


    Ain¡¯t that nice.


    ¡°And mother?¡±


    ¡°I recall she went to the studies. Perhaps to read books?¡±


    ¡°She must be reading some novels.¡±


    Meliya loved reading stories, so that must be it. If I recall correctly, she loves reading romance stories?


    Well, at least they won¡¯t be disturbing me.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the garden.¡±


    I recalled from the memories that it was a wonderful place. So, I wanted to go there first.

 Chapter 3: A Pure Princess (Part 3) - [Edited]

    <div>


    My eyes widened and my mouth left agape as I stared at the garden before me. Many flowers sprouted on the ground, blooming in various colors. Pink, yellow, red, blue, purple, and white. There were also bushes decorated with tiny flowers.


    Not only that, but this place was huge. I couldn¡¯t believe that they actually made a garden this large. But that was not the main attraction here. The most eye-catching were the wisterias. And they stole my breath the first time I saw them. A lot of them were scattered around. Their purple color beautified the scene, somehow making it magical to behold.


    I excitedly entered the garden and crouched down before a pink flower. Gently, I plucked one and moved it closer to my nose to smell it. People often smell flowers, also on TV shows. I tried smelling some flowers once, but they didn¡¯t smell that good. I just copied what people did when there were flowers, also curious what flowers would smell like since people seem to enjoy sniffing them.


    Well, I can¡¯t say I was satisfied with the smell the first times I smelled flowers. In any case, not that great. But, when I smelled this flower, I was awestruck. A pleasant fragrance came to my nose. This almost smelled like perfume. Were all flowers in this world smell this good?


    ¡°Milady! You shouldn¡¯t pluck flowers in the garden.¡±


    I suddenly heard Mera¡¯s panicked voice beside me.


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    I seemed to have been caught in the moment and picked up a flower without thinking. I looked at the flower in my hand. It was too late now.


    I stood up and looked at Mera with a concerned face. ¡°I already plucked it off¡­¡±


    Mera appeared to feel troubled. I couldn¡¯t just throw it around here. Someone would still discover it. It may become one of those wasted and thrown away flowers. The gardener might get angry. Well, I was not that worried about that person. I was more worried about my parents. They might scold me. That would be bothersome.


    ¡°Ah.¡± I had an idea. I pushed back my hair and placed the pink flower on my ear. With the flower on the side of my head, I smiled and waved my hand.


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    ¡°What do you think, Mera?¡± I said so as I spun around. The skirt of my dress fluttered in the air.


    I displayed myself to Mera with a beautiful flower decorating my hair. Judging from her stunned expression, I must have looked good. How amusing.


    ¡°Mera?¡±


    ¡°U-Um, yes! You look wonderful, milady!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± I giggled as I turned around to look around the garden once more. Since I can¡¯t just pull off another flower, I could only lower myself to smell them. To my surprise again, these flowers smelled wonderful. Each different colored flower even had distinct aromas.


    I reached a wisteria cluster. I could smell them too.


    Does every flower here smell this good?


    I touched a wisteria. Which reminded me, my surname was Wisteria. It was clearly based on the flower. I recalled the origin of this kingdom from Estelia¡¯s memories.


    There were basically two lovers. They loved flowers heartily. Thus, they planted different kinds of flowers around their home. But the most that caught their attention were the wisterias. Captivated by their beauty as every flower illuminated under the moonlight, they fell in love with the flowers. And therefore, they had their family name after the majestic flower. In the flow of time, people gathered, and the kingdom gradually formed.


    Quite a sweet story, I think? But that was legit the origin of this kingdom named Wisteria. By the way, the wisteria here glows during the night. It was quite the beautiful sight in the memories.


    Aaah, I should definitely see that during the night.


    I stared at the wisteria.


    How wonderful.


    The smell and the beauty. The peace and serenity. I began to adore this place and this scene. These flowers. How could the world keep something hidden from me for such a long time...?


    I felt something strange within my heart. Something that came from the realization that there were things like this that I had never experienced my entire life. It was a heavy realization. But, somehow, it made me happy to experience a glimpse.


    ¡°Milady?¡± Mera called out to me from behind in a somewhat concerned tone.


    I turned around and saw her worried eyes. Did she sense my emotion somehow? Not good. I can¡¯t just openly expose my emotions like that. That was a mistake.


    ¡°Yes. This place is indeed wonderful, like always. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± I smiled, erasing the emotions I just felt.


    ¡°... Yes, it¡¯s wonderful.¡±


    She looked baffled. But I didn¡¯t think much of it. I am just going to move on.


    ¡°Say, let¡¯s take a look around.¡±


    I continued walking amidst the beautiful garden. Petals of flowers fell and flew in the air in the gentle wind. A serene moment for me. It was like the flowers were celebrating the day my freedom was finally granted to me.


    <div>

 Chapter 4: A Pure Princess (Part 4)

    Mera and I went back to the entrance of the garden, being done with my errand.


    ¡°That was a great trip.¡±


    I said cheerfully as I thought of what I should do next.


    ¡°Ah! Let¡¯s go to my brother!¡±


    If they were training, then there would certainly be weapons. Yes, weapons!


    ¡°You still have plenty of energy left it seems, milady. Considering what happened earlier in the morning.¡±


    She must be referring to the time I fell down the stairs earlier this morning.


    ¡°If you have energy to spare, might as well use it.¡±


    I stepped forward.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to my brother.¡±


    We went around the palace towards our destination. The place was big of course, with tall walls right by the outside. There were quite a lot of guards walking around, wearing their armor. Perhaps that was supposed to be expected. But it seems they were only plain soldiers, I have yet to encounter a knight.


    Maybe there were a lot of places where my brother was having his training. I expect there should be a lot of men there. I smiled playfully internally.


    Should I play with their hearts? I think I¡¯ll do it.


    If the knights were of good character, and if they were to see me as an innocent and defenseless girl, they would protect me with all their heart if we had a friendly relationship.


    They will be useful meatshields.


    Yes, I¡¯ll be a sheltered princess worthy of protecting.


    Some young soldiers passed by and halted in their tracks. Their eyes wide and mouth agape as they stared at me, captivation evident in their eyes. There was even a delay of their bow when I walked past them.


    I guess the flower by my ear boosted my attractiveness.


    But of course being super attractive had its downsides. However, if I could at least train this body a bit and have a weapon, I should be fine.


    I¡¯ll cut their excaliburs if I have to.


    But to be honest, this beauty of mine was terrifying, wasn¡¯t it? I mean, this level of beauty that puts other utterly beautiful women to shame should be illegal.


    My old appearance could only level about more than half of it.


    But oh well. At least this appearance was mine now.


    Not for long, we arrived at the courtyard. I could hear the shouts of men as they delivered their strikes to the strawmen, and some to their sparring partner. Some men wore their knights armor which had the color set of dark bluish and white. I should say, the design of their armor was cool.


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    It has style.


    Then, amidst all that, I saw my brother, Estevan, having a spar with a young knight. They were not wearing their armor, but rather plain clothing. Sweat beaded their brows and wet their hair. They breathed heavily as they grew tired from their activities.


    I glanced at Mera, whose eyes were uneasy as she looked all around. A playful smile crept up on my face, of course masked in a sweet smile.


    ¡°If I may ask, Mera.¡±


    ¡°... Milady?¡±


    ¡°There are quite a lot of good looking young lads around, isn¡¯t it? So, which one do you think you prefer?¡±


    She looked shocked by my question.


    ¡°M-Milady, what are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Hm~... What do you say to the young man sparring with my brother?¡±


    ¡°Eh? Um,¡± she looked towards what I was pointing at. ¡°Um¡­¡±


    ¡°What is the matter? Come on, this is our little secret conversation.¡±


    I recall in my past life that girls always do this kind of thing in their youth. Talking about crushes and such. So, I sort of wanted to try that. How would that feel? What would it be like? Though I doubt I could feel attracted to anyone, perhaps the conversation would be interesting.


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Mera looked like she was hesitating, but then began to speak. ¡°... I think he looks handsome. Yes, he looks quite charming.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Does the mere sight of him send your heart aflutter?¡±


    Mera frantically looked at me.


    ¡°Uh, no¡­ He may look charming, but it wouldn¡¯t make me feel love immediately. It would only be something that is¡­ attracting to the eyes. And I do not know him, so I don¡¯t feel anything special.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Is he your type?¡±


    ¡°... I don¡¯t think so?¡±


    ¡°Think so? You don¡¯t sound sure.¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know what I would like.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    I was a bit disappointed. This didn¡¯t end up like I imagined. You know, girls yelping, blushing, something like that. Mera did not seem to be one of those types of girls. Oh well...


    ¡°What about you milady?¡±


    I was taken aback for a bit when Mera asked me. I didn¡¯t expect this.


    Oh? Finally striking a conversation back? Well well, that¡¯s good,


    I had a delighted smile as I answered her.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see. A lot of them are quite good looking, but nothing that would stroke my maiden¡¯s heart.¡±


    I peered around.


    ¡°Hm, wait. Wouldn¡¯t one be so lucky if a princess like me looked favorably at them?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I think they would be so happy that their life would be fulfilled if they realize that,¡± she confidently said with a proud smile.


    ¡°I can imagine that. But¡­ I guess my dear brother is the most handsome of them all. Then I think the type of man I like would be someone like my brother!¡±


    ¡°M-Milady¡­¡± Mera blinked in surprise. ¡°I-Is that allowed? I mean in this type of conversation, those from the family wouldn¡¯t do.¡±


    ¡°Is that how it is?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay. Then, I have nothing. There are a lot of handsome men there but, I doubt my heart would react to any of them, or anyone in that matter.¡±


    But then again, my brother had intense beauty as a man, so that was great. But that was just the preference of looks. To be honest, this reminded me of that guy who killed me.


    These damn pretty boys.


    ¡°Of course, only those worthy of you can win your heart, milady.¡±


    I blankly looked at Mera after hearing that strange remark.


    ¡°No one can win my heart, Mera.¡±


    ¡°... Y-Your highness?¡±


    Mera¡¯s guard broke down when she heard my straight reply, her eyes wide.


    I smiled and took a step forward, ignoring her puzzlement.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go greet my brother.¡±


    I said so, like a cute young girl eager to speak with her dearest brother.

 Chapter 5: A Pure Princess (Part 5)

    We entered the courtyard as I pulled Mera by the hand. Several gazes immediately shifted to focus on us, causing Mera to become uneasy. They were all the eyes of men, and we were the only two women here, so I suppose it was to be expected she would be this way.


    There were supposed to be a few female knights here. Where were they? Not here it seems.


    The knights who saw me immediately stood up straight.


    ¡°Her highness, the Princess!¡±


    One of the knights shouted, instantly catching the attention of the others that hadn¡¯t yet realized I was here. They all halted their activities and kneeled on one knee with their heads bowed. I was taken aback by this to be honest.


    I acted all flustered as I held out my hands with a little wave.


    ¡°Uh, please rise. You can ignore me and continue with your work. Don¡¯t let me bother you.¡±


    The knights complied and stood up. They returned to their work, back to training and swinging their swords, using their spears, and so on, or that was what was supposed to happen. But they seemed unable to focus. What could the reason be?


    Ah yes! It was me!


    But something like this should be expected. Aside from my beauty, I was also the Princess.


    ¡°Estelia, my dear sister!¡±


    I heard my brother¡¯s happy voice, then I saw him walking towards me. A bright smile beamed on his face, his eyes seemed to sparkle as he beheld me.


    ¡°Brother!¡± My loud sweet voice echoed in the courtyard.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be resting?¡±


    ¡°... I feel fine already. Besides, I have Mera by my side. It¡¯s alright.¡±


    Estevan furrowed his brows.


    ¡°But even so¡­ is it not difficult to walk around after you just literally fell from the stairs?¡±


    Gasps of surprise escaped from the lips of the knights the moment they heard what happened to me. I smiled internally. Dear sweet brother of mine, you might have unintentionally helped me.


    ¡°... Yes¡­ I was hurt at first, it was painful, it hurt the most when I fell, blood coming out¡ª¡± I shook my head. ¡°No, it¡¯s already over. There is no need to think about it.¡±


    I averted my eyes away, seemingly about to break into tears as I remember the pain I went through. I caught glimpses of worried and concerned gazes directed at me from the knights. When I met some of their gazes as I looked at them, I flinched and looked down, avoiding their eyes.


    I appeared so vulnerable and weak that they were looking at me with sympathy. Just the reaction I desired from them.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I wasn¡¯t able to help you immediately. I¡¯m such a useless brother. I should have kept my sister from any harm.¡±


    Estevan had a pained expression on his face, he must have felt truly guilty.


    ¡°N-No! Don¡¯t blame yourself brother,¡± I took a step forward, my ever so pure eyes were wide open as the corners were becoming damp. ¡°It¡¯s my own fault. It¡¯s because I¡¯m clumsy.¡±


    ¡°Estel¡­¡±


    ¡°B-But don¡¯t worry, brother. I¡¯ll work hard to become a clumsy girl no more!¡±


    ¡°Estel, you don¡¯t have to do that, you¡¯re perfect the way you are.¡±


    He gazed at me with eyes filled with passion which shocked me because of the amount of intensity it had. How could such a brother feel this much towards his sister? This perhaps goes to show just how much he cared.


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t want to be a nuisance.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not a nuisance¡­¡±


    I stayed silent for a while, seemingly unconvinced by his words. But then shortly resigned and responded to him.


    ¡°Okay¡­ But I¡¯ll make an effort towards self improvement¡­ So, let me borrow your sword.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    He was dumbfounded by my request.


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    Perhaps you were wondering why I asked such a thing. Well, I require a weapon. I am not quite fond of swords since daggers were much better, but a sword was still a weapon.


    I want to try such a weapon. Might consider using it.


    ¡°My sword? Wait, why?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I¡­ I want to try holding one.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re a lady, dear sister. There is no need to use one.¡±


    ¡°I only want to try holding one, not swing it. I¡¯m curious to how it feels. Please?¡±


    He looked at me, then to the sword as he contemplated. He seemed to make up his mind, and with the support of my insistence, he presented the hilt to me.


    ¡°Be careful, okay? Also, it¡¯s heavy, so watch out for that.¡±


    With a nod, I reached out for the hilt. It was a bit exciting to try it out. The sword was on the longer side, a long sword, perhaps it was called.


    As I saw earlier, this was indeed a two handed sword, so I held it with both my hands. Of course not that I didn¡¯t know that long swords were to be held with two hands.


    The moment he let go, my muscles tensed up as my arms received the weight of the sword. I kept lifting the sword.


    Damn.


    It was heavy, not to my taste, and not the preferred weight that I would like to use as a weapon. I adjusted my posture so I could carry it more properly, I also adjusted my grip. It had become better. The sword in my hand was pointed forward, so I raised it up.


    ¡°Careful now.¡±


    I heard my brother¡¯s voice, I only nodded as I focused on the sword.


    ¡°Can I swing it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°Just swing it forward, right? It¡¯s not harmful.¡±


    ¡°...I guess.¡±


    I tightened my grip, then I swung forward, slashing the empty air. However, with the amount of strength I have, the force of the swing with the motion of the sword carried me with it as the sword struck the ground.


    Dammit.


    This was not good at all. With muscle training I could do it better. That said, I don¡¯t like swords, they''re too long and slow. Daggers would be much better, lighter, and faster. Well this was all based on what I was used to.


    I raised the sword again. This was a bit tiring already, since I disliked it, it would be pointless to force myself to go on. But I¡¯ll think about using the sword in the future, it might become useful.


    However, can I swing it again? Brother would allow it, right?


    Without asking him for permission, I swung again with a better stance and better footing, I stopped the blade before it touched the ground. It was a struggle in the arms. This body was not built for this.


    ¡°You¡¯re doing great, Estel!¡±


    ¡°Really? That¡¯s great!¡± I chuckled. ¡°But, this is enough for me...¡±


    I can¡¯t properly use it. This was a failed attempt to obtain a weapon. Well, not like they would allow me to train with the sword.


    But, I really need to increase my muscles.


    ¡°Brother, you can have your sword back.¡±


    I offered the sword to him as I let the blade touch the ground.


    ¡°Hehehe, how does it feel to lift a sword?¡± he asked as he received the sword.


    ¡°It was a good experience.¡±


    I massaged the muscles on my arms. My poor precious feeble muscles, they must be shocked. I feel a bit numb though.


    ¡°You alright?¡±


    ¡°Um, yes, I¡¯m completely fine.¡±


    As I looked at my brother, I noticed a young man behind him. He flinched when he met my gaze. He was the young man I pointed to Mera earlier, and my brother¡¯s sparring partner.


    He had brown hair and black eyes, with his skin a bit tanned due to being bathed in sunlight most of the time during training. He must be around my age.


    ¡°Hello.¡±


    I called out to him with a wave of my hand and a precious smile.


    ¡°Uh-Eh-Uh¡­¡±


    He was stuttering around as he tried to respond. My brother saw this and grinned.


    He pulled him forward and introduced him.


    ¡°This guy is Alan Welford. Fourth son of Count Welford. Come on, say hi to my sister or something.¡±


    ¡°Ah, um¡­ G-Good afternoon, your highness.¡±


    I giggled inside, how amusing his bashfulness was.


    ¡°Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Alan.¡±


    I said as I curtsied. With the elegant curtsy and the flower by my ear which boosted my beauty, it had quite the impact on the young man.


    ¡°Is training going pretty well?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°Y-Yes your highness.¡±


    ¡°Splendid! I¡¯m sure with hard work, you can become incredibly strong in the future. Let¡¯s do our best to improve ourselves, Sir Alan.¡±


    His eyes went wide, not only was he captivated by my beauty but was also entranced by my words. I lump us together, our, I said to him. My words meant that we would improve together. As young as this man was, I imagine this would have a considerable effect on his impression towards me.


    ¡°Y-Yes, certainly!¡±


    ¡°Perfect. Ah, I have interrupted your sparring session. Please brother, you can return to your work, pay me no heed.¡±


    I ought to not keep disturbing them and the other knights. Talking or interacting too much while they were working would only bring me the opposite of what I was intending to do. I must not become annoying. Therefore, I must take it slowly. These people looked serious in their job, so I must be careful not to overdo it or do anything unnecessary that would bother them too much.


    I have planted the seeds, thus I only need to cultivate them.


    If Estelia wasn¡¯t somewhat antisocial and introverted in the first place and interacted with the knights even for just a little, I might have gotten to expend less effort and use less time. However, that was not the case, thus, I have no choice but to act.


    ¡°But sister¡ª¡±


    ¡°Brother?¡± I pouted a little as I stared forcefully at him.


    ¡°Fine¡­ Let¡¯s go Alan.¡±


    I waved at them goodbye. Of course, I also waved at Alan as he glanced back at me a couple of times. When they left me, I looked around. They were working hard. This reminded me of the early times in the organization.


    The training of the knights here were incomparable to what I¡¯ve been through. It was hell and painful, if I might say. They trained me hard when I was still a little girl, along with others. We would be often ordered to fight to the death. Not a day went by that I didn¡¯t have any wounds or bruises.


    I even had plenty of broken bones. But, thanks to my excellent performances, I was not disposed of. Nevertheless, it was a painful experience. And how I was glad when I was freed from the training facility.


    Doing missions was much better compared to that.


    As I scouted the area, a knight caught my eyes. He was a middle aged man, black haired, brown eyes and brown complexion. He was muscular and a long scar by the side of his face, showing the long years of servitude as a knight and hinting what he went through. But that wasn¡¯t what attracted my eyes. It was the dagger in his hand.


    When I looked closer, there were also a few more daggers by the table next to him. I became excited.


    Daggers!


    ¡°Mera, come.¡±


    I beckoned Mera to follow me.


    ¡°M-Milady, where are we going?¡±


    ¡°There.¡±

 Chapter 6: A Pure Princess (Part 6)

    I approached, and the middle aged knight turned to me with surprised eyes. When I got closer, he genuflected before me.


    ¡°Your highness.¡±


    ¡°Um, you may rise, knight.¡±


    ¡°Yes, your highness,¡± he said as she stood back up.


    ¡°W-What is your name?¡±


    ¡°Elson Metrial, your highness.¡±


    ¡°Sir Elson, what an honor it is to make your acquaintance.¡±


    He looked quite confused as to why I approached him.


    ¡°Likewise, your highness.¡±


    I walked towards the table where the beautiful daggers were placed. Okay, not exactly beautiful since they were somewhat plain. But they were daggers nonetheless.


    ¡°You¡¯re training with daggers.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ But I also use a sword.¡±


    I smiled broadly.


    ¡°Of course, it is always better to have a secondary weapon, isn¡¯t that right? Sir Elson?¡±


    His eyes went wide for a moment, surprised by my words. Then he spoke again with a smile. He must be delighted by what I said.


    ¡°Indeed, your highness. If I lose the sword, I can use my daggers.¡±


    ¡°Not only daggers can be used on melee, you can also throw them at your enemies.¡±


    ¡°...Yes indeed.¡±


    ¡°Can I touch one?¡±


    I asked him for permission to take a hold of one. I shouldn¡¯t just take one, it was his weapons after all. Plus, this fits well with my character.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it dangerous, your highness? You might wound your fingers.¡±


    ¡°I will be careful.¡±


    He shifted his eyes towards my brother. He must be worried about what would happen if I got hurt. And my brother had a big role in that worry of his.


    ¡°You have no need to worry about my brother. So may I?¡±


    ¡°... Very well. But please be careful.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    I took a dagger by the handle. A sense of relief and comfort instantly came surging into me. I touched the blade with my other hand, gently stroking it.


    Ah, daggers.


    I felt much better than before the moment I got hold of the dagger. I felt safer, you might say. We were taught how to handle daggers, and I loved using them. The hardness of the blade was wonderful. The weight was satisfying.


    The deadliness was amazing.


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    Now at the moment I was holding a dagger, I couldn¡¯t be more comfortable. However, it was heavier than what I was used to. The muscles of this body were too low. However, something like this was still manageable.


    I have experienced several weights in my lifetime. I could still execute someone with it. I could also throw it, but I expect accuracy will leave more to be desired. But I only need to adjust myself.


    But how wonderful it was to hold a dagger. I was in bliss.


    I raised my eyes and saw a few knights also practicing their daggers, and some were throwing them at some target. But they were way off the bullseye. How disappointing, they must still be novices in this department.


    I returned my eyes to the dagger in my hand. I sort of wanted to throw it. Throwing it at a living corpse would be more satisfying, but of course I couldn¡¯t do that. A target practice would suffice.


    I held the blade of the dagger with my slender fingers on one hand. The weight was more than what I was used to, but it was fine. This was indeed manageable.


    ¡°Your highness, it¡¯s dangerous to hold it there.¡±


    I heard the concerned voice of Elson which I paid no heed to. I had a desire. Longing. Blood.


    My whole life I have spilled blood. I may have wanted freedom, but executing was engraved deep into me. Taking the life of my enemies was what made my life.


    Execution. Assassination. Murder.


    I lived for that.


    It was my purpose. I embraced it.


    As I was lost in thought of my life, I tossed and flipped the dagger. It spun in the air, and as it descended, I caught it between my fingers by the flats. My fingers were unwounded, the blade was back to where they were.


    ¡°...Milady?¡±


    ¡°Your highness?¡±


    Their calls brought me back to my senses. I turned my eyes towards them with wide eyes. Then I frantically returned my eyes to the dagger in my hand. Of course these were just acts of mine.


    ¡°Oh? Would you look at that, Sir Elson. I did it. What a lucky one.¡±


    I said energetically towards him. He saw how I spun the dagger in the air along with Mera, but I just said it was a lucky shot.


    ¡°Milady. That was dangerous.¡±


    Mera approached me as she took the dagger away from my hand and placed it back on the table. She checked my fingers for any damages.


    ¡°Are you hurt somewhere?¡±


    ¡°... No, I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Thank goodness.¡±


    Seeing how concerned everyone was for me, I¡¯m terrified to think if I bled.


    ¡°You worry too much, Mera.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ getting wounded is bad, milady.¡±


    I smiled. She looked quite adorable.


    ¡°Yes, wounds are bad to have, ah¡­¡± I turned to Elson. ¡°Can I keep one?¡±


    Elson froze, being unprepared hearing my question. Why would a princess like me want a dagger? Such a question might have appeared in his head.


    ¡°...Huh? Your highness¡­ um, it¡¯s¡­¡±


    He looked hesitant to answer. Given it was a blade, it would be bad for a princess to keep one. But I also asked him, a princess, so his mind must be in a mess as to what and how to respond.


    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous, milady. Not allowed.¡±


    But it was Mera who firmly turned down my request.


    I pouted with puffed cheeks. It was regretful that I wouldn¡¯t be able to bring one. I guess that was to be expected. Should I ask help from my brother? No, from the way he treated me, he wouldn¡¯t let me have one, everyone here was too protective towards me.


    I was troubled on how to do this. I was more comfortable to have a weapon beside me.


    What a headache.


    I groaned inside. I was dispirited.


    ¡°Fine¡­¡±


    The plan of stealing one sneakily came to mind, but I immediately dismissed it. I can¡¯t trick anyone with this many people around, plus they were knights ¡ª fighters. I¡¯ll be an idiot if I try to snatch one.


    ¡°At least let me try¡ª-¡±


    Nope. Bad idea.


    ¡°Nevermind.¡±


    I was about to try throwing one at a target, but no. I might get a bullseye or closer. It would be weird they see me do that. I could try missing miserably on purpose. But where¡¯s the satisfaction in that?


    I¡¯ll just come back to my room.


    ¡°Then¡­ keep up the good work, dear knights. I¡¯ll be cheering you on as you strive for greatness and strength.¡±


    I said like a sweet young girl before walking away.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be going. Let¡¯s return, Mera.¡±


    On the way, I noticed the eyes of the knights lit up after hearing my words, seemingly more motivated than before. But it appears that it was more effective towards the younger knights who were just about my age. Even so, that was fine, I imagine I still had some effect towards the older ones.

 Chapter 7: Asking Permission to Go Out (Part 1)

    I collapsed on the bed. The softness instantly brought comfort to me.


    ¡°What a tragedy¡­¡±


    I need a plan to obtain a dagger. For the sake of my sanity.


    Should I get a knife in the kitchen?


    No!


    Kitchen knives sucks! They¡¯re fit for slicing meat and vegetables, not for killing. Should I sneak in the knight¡¯s armory or something? There should be weapons there and of course definitely daggers.


    But there will definitely be guards. They may even be knights. And I can¡¯t exactly sneak around with this dress, and I don¡¯t have any other decent clothes for mobility. Therefore, complete stealth was a no.


    There was the option of knocking out guards. But that would be foolish to do in the palace grounds. They might think there was an enemy. And worse if they discover me.


    Not only that, I¡¯m not confident I could take out any guard with no fatal weapon. I¡¯m weak after all. Might as well put a label of fragile on my forehead.


    I sighed.


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking a lot on my first day here, huh.¡±


    Well, thinking was better than not. In any situation, you must think, especially when in a predicament. It was strictly taught to us and engraved into our mind. If in a dire situation, find a way to make amends.


    At any rate, the only option here was to obtain a dagger somehow without anyone knowing. Then bring them to my room and train here slowly. It doesn¡¯t have to be intensive since I would only be increasing my muscles a little bit, and I¡¯m already skilled in using daggers.


    Then, if I can¡¯t obtain daggers here, I¡¯ll get it from the outside. Therefore, I just need to get outside the palace. Perhaps if this was the medieval age, I would need to find a blacksmith.


    Wait, this was the palace, perhaps there was a palace smith or something. Ah, but they wouldn¡¯t let me have a weapon. So that was already in the drain.


    I need to find a way out.


    Although, one problem. I have no idea about the exact layout of the capital. I didn¡¯t even know where one place was, let alone a blacksmith shop. Therefore, I will need a guide.


    Who could be the guide?


    Mera?


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    Nope, no way. She would not let me leave the palace. And they wouldn¡¯t assign a maid with me outside without any combat experience. My brother could be an option, I¡¯m sure he would protect me.


    Oh, Alan should do it. I mean I did him good. I have remarkable skills to express my charms after all. I can see from his eyes that he was captivated by me, so I imagine he would guard me.


    But, sneaking out of the palace was a no go. So, going through the front gates was the only option. Even if I bring Alan with me, they would check my identity no doubt. So I must go out officially with permission.


    I¡¯ll ask mother, I wonder if my father would be there later this dinner.


    Where was he anyway? He wasn¡¯t in my room after I fell down the stairs.


    I heaved a sigh again in exasperation. Come on, I¡¯m troubled since I couldn¡¯t obtain a precious weapon.


    I grabbed a pillow and hugged it within my arms as I lay on the bed.


    It¡¯s soft.


    I hugged it tighter. It was calming. I didn¡¯t have a lot of chances to experience something like this in my past life.


    Should I eat cookies?


    I raised my body from the bed with the pillow in my arms. My hair was already messy so I fixed it. Then, I had an idea.


    A playful grin appeared on my face.


    Should I tease Mera?


    Playing the heart of men was one thing, but playing the heart of women was very entertaining. Although, I don¡¯t expect them to fall in love, but rather be flustered.


    I returned laying down on my bed. I turned to the side facing the door while hugging the pillow. I fixed my posture and the position of my legs. I have confidence this would work, especially considering my beauty.


    I rung the handbell loudly. Then shortly, Mera came into my room.


    ¡°Milady, you ¡ª c-called¡­¡±


    She stopped in her tracks as she stared at me dumbfounded. I slowly shifted to my soft facial expression, like a vulnerable maiden. She quietly stared at me with wide eyes, I could see a slight flush on her cheeks before she regained her composure.


    ¡°Mera.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, milady?¡±


    ¡°I request cookies. Please have the chef make them and please bring the cookies to me. I¡¯m¡­ hungry.¡±


    I moved my gaze downwards as though embarrassed to admit that. Truth be told, I¡¯m curious about what I looked like at the moment. I wish I had a mirror in front of me.


    ¡°Understood. I will bring the sweets.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Then she left the room.


    When time passed, I was already sitting on the bed when a knock came from the door.


    ¡°Milady, I¡¯m entering, bringing the cookies you requested.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes! Enter!¡±


    She entered and with her was a steel tray with a large plate of cookies. My eyes shone upon seeing the amount of sweets about to be presented to me. Hey, not everyday you can eat sweets, okay?


    She placed the plates on the round table by the corner of my room. I approached and sat on the chair.


    ¡°Many thanks, Mera.¡±


    ¡°Not at all, milady. Excuse me.¡±


    I nodded to her then she left the room.


    I immediately grabbed a cookie and bit into it.


    ¡°Hm.¡±


    It was delicious. Although not as great as back in my old world since the ones I tasted were exceedingly delicious. I¡¯ll give this seven out of ten. But there sure was a lot, I won¡¯t be able to eat all of this in one sitting, but oh well¡­ I¡¯ll just cover it if I can¡¯t eat it all and eat them later.


    But damn, eating sweets sure was nice.


    But not too much. Diabetes is a bitch.

 Chapter 8: Asking Permission to Go Out (Part 2)

    It was late in the afternoon, almost sunset. I sat by the window, admiring the view, too bad I won¡¯t be able see the sunset from here. With my elbow on the side of the chair, I placed my palm on the cheek.


    ¡°Aaaaah, this is the life.¡±


    Everything was great as time went on. Peaceful, no one to bother me. I didn¡¯t have to obey any command. They can¡¯t just go ¡®Hey you! You¡¯re going to England! Kill this guy!¡¯ or something like that.


    I expect now that nothing would interrupt me during my sleep. Oh! And I might no longer need to be traumatized by my alarm. I can sleep all I want. I¡¯m a delicate princess after all.


    But, it sure would be nice to go out. I can¡¯t just stay here for the rest of my life. That couldn¡¯t be called life if I stay here like a prisoner.


    But this sure was nice.


    I can just laze out in this room. To be honest, I already feel like I¡¯m getting lazy. I can already imagine my future days. With servants, I can just ring the bell, and they¡¯ll come serve me and give me what I want. Plus, I¡¯m royalty, so basically I¡¯m rich, I can buy many things!


    But¡­ what was the point in being rich if I can¡¯t even go out spending it.


    ¡°Haaaah, I really should find a way to go out.¡±


    The only option I have was to openly say it to my family. Then hope they would agree. If needed, I¡¯ll just drag Estevan into it.


    ¡°Daughter!¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    I heard a loud voice from the other side of the wall, somewhere in the hallway. It was a manly voice. Then I heard loud stomps hitting the floor on the other side.


    ¡°Daughter!¡±


    Then the door slammed open.


    ¡°Keh!¡±


    I can¡¯t believe I uttered such a disgraceful sound. Who could blame me?! A large man just slammed the door open without any warning. My door no less. What a surprising violence, goodness.


    ¡°Daughter!¡±


    That¡¯s¡­


    I recognized the man as he rushed forward towards me. His steps were loud as ever as his face was flustered.


    ¡°F-Father?!¡±


    He held my shoulders with his large hands.


    ¡°I heard what happened!¡±


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    Yes, this was my father.


    Leodoule Erestro Wisteria. He was a man in his thirties. Large, because of him being a fighter himself, using the sword. He had rough blonde short hair, short beard, and violet eyes. Currently, he was wearing formal clothes, a coat with an ascot on his neck, clean trousers and boots.


    ¡°Are you okay now? Tell me!¡±


    ¡°Ah- Eh. I am fine.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Really. And please don¡¯t grip on my shoulders too hard father, it hurts.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes, my apologies.¡±


    He removed his hand on my slender shoulders. Come now, I¡¯m a fragile being, no one should touch me roughly like that. I might break like a piece of glass.


    ¡°Deary!¡±


    I heard my mother¡¯s voice from the door. She was breathing heavily a bit. She must have been chasing father.


    ¡°I already told you she¡¯s alright. You don¡¯t have to lash out like that.¡±


    ¡°But still, I can¡¯t just calm down knowing my daughter was hurt.¡±


    Mother Meliya sighed as though giving up.


    Ah yes, by the way, my peace just went up in smoke.


    ¡°Mother¡­¡± I called out to my mother. ¡°Father is just worried about me, so it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°My daughter¡­¡± Father looked at me as though I was a saint.


    Yes yes, might as well call me a saint.


    ¡°By the way father, where have you been?¡±


    ¡°I was checking the defense of the capital. A king ought to check it out himself to make sure people don¡¯t slack off. People tend to be when there is nothing to do.¡±


    Yes, like me for instance.


    ¡°Amazing, how incredible my father is, truly!¡±


    ¡°You think so? I¡¯m glad to hear that, come give daddy a great big hug.¡±


    ¡°Ngh!¡±


    I turned stiff as he suddenly brought me into a hug. His body was a big rough and hard compared to Mother Meliya. But¡­ Why was it that I can feel the same thing I felt when I was first hugged?


    The warmth of¡­ what kind of warmth was this? I have no idea. I couldn¡¯t recognize what I never had in the first place. But I could feel my heart turning soft.


    No no no!


    No! I will not be swayed!


    Attachment only creates shackles. A hindrance!


    I felt irritation deep into my heart as I tried to reject the feelings coming into me. I don¡¯t want this to go on. Thus, I spoke to Leodoule.


    ¡°F-Father, too tight, can¡¯t breathe.¡±


    Father gasped as he frantically backed away.


    ¡°Sorry. You¡¯re fine, right?¡±


    ¡°I am fine, father.¡±


    ¡°Good good. Let¡¯s have dinner later, okay?¡±


    I nodded my head.


    ¡°Yes. Oh, I have a request, but I¡¯ll tell later during dinner.¡±


    My father and mother blinked in astonishment after they heard what I just said. This in turn only made me all confused. I recalled all of Estelia¡¯s memories. There was no inconsistency in what I just said. Strange.


    Was I missing something?


    ¡°What? Why are you surprised?¡± I asked innocently.


    ¡°Well, this is the first time you have something to request, during dinner where we all are present at that.¡±


    Really? I slightly panicked. Indeed, Estelia always has what she needed, therefore, she barely had any need to request something. However, there was always a first time for everything. Then what could they be so surprised about?


    Well, it seems they were surprised because it was the first? Or was it because it was rare for Estelia to ask for something. Well, it doesn''t matter that much.


    ¡°Oh, I see¡­ But will you listen?¡±


    I looked at my father with pleading eyes. Like a puppy waiting to be petted.


    His eyes wavered as he looked at me.


    ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll listen.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡±


    Now here¡¯s hoping it will end well.

 Chapter 9: Asking Permission to Go Out (Part 3) - [Edited]

    A faint clink resounded from my porcelain plate as I used a table knife to slice a part of juicy meat. I pierced my fork through it and put the meat in my mouth. The juicy meat clouded my tongue.


    It was good.


    I also scooped some vegetables, it was also good. The food was surprisingly well seasoned. I guess that was to be expected in the palace where royals live. I thought food from the middle ages was bleak, but I guess the same thing doesn¡¯t apply here.


    I¡¯m just thankful that the food here was delicious. Otherwise I would go insane. Part of a good life was eating delicious cuisines, after all.


    The room I was currently in was quite luxurious. This dining room was clean, the utensils were fine, the plates were shining, and the cloth covering the table was fixed and designed well. Bright giant chandeliers hung high on the ceiling.


    Maids and manservants were positioned at the corners. I felt like some kind of a bigshot now. I like it.


    Mother was sitting beside me, my brother Estevan on my opposite side, and my father on the honorable seat. They saw my smile as I ate the food, and it also influenced their mood. I was genuinely happy to eat good food. Well, the food from my past life was great, but here, it was good enough for me. I was not one to complain.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, dear,¡± my mother called out to father. ¡°How is the situation outside the walls?¡±


    My father drank a bit of wine from his goblet before speaking. ¡°I assigned more soldiers to watch over the forest by the north. A few monsters emerged recently and caused some casualties.¡±


    ¡°Oh dear.¡±


    My leisure movement stopped when I heard the word monster. I wondered if they truly meant monster as in a monster that looks horrid. Estelia never saw one of course, only heard it. But judging from that, they were very dangerous. Well, good thing I won¡¯t be facing those creatures, whatever they were.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sending knights tomorrow to cull some monsters.¡±


    ¡°Will you be coming with them?¡± Mother asked with concern.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°But dear! As king, you¡¯re risking your life too much.¡±


    ¡°A king must lead, my love.¡±


    Father spoke sternly and unwavering. He was quite brave, wasn¡¯t he? But if he perishes, that would be troublesome for me. I heard he was very strong, according to the memories, that is. Plus, he had been doing it for years, so it should be fine. I hope.


    But still, Mother couldn¡¯t help but feel worried for her husband.


    ¡°The knights will be more than enough to handle them.¡±


    ¡°Meliya¡­ do not worry too much, I¡¯ll be stronger than those monsters. I can take care of them myself.¡±


    I don¡¯t know about that, Father. Complacency and carelessness kill. And sometimes, things just go wrong.


    But hey, who was I to stop him? Mother even couldn¡¯t. I could try, though, but I¡¯m not going to. It would be very difficult. But, well, he had been doing it for a long time, so, I think it was fine. Again, I hope.


    But if he perishes, well, nothing I can do. Just have the eldest brother have the throne then. There may come some problems, but I expect it wouldn¡¯t be that hard to fix. And I wouldn¡¯t be the one fixing most of it, soooo¡­.


    Ah, the kingdom¡¯s decline should be taken into consideration. But whatever, we¡¯ll cross that bridge when it comes. I have confidence he¡¯ll come back anyways.


    Mother heaved a long sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do with you. Estevan, tell the Knights¡¯ Order to ensure the king¡¯s safety above all else.¡±


    ¡°Of course, mother.¡±


    Hm, I wonder if my brother will come with them this time. If he would, I would be greatly troubled. He could prove to be extremely useful, after all. If Father dies, and then the eldest dies since he was currently out of the country, then Estevan will inherit the throne. But if he dies too¡­ shit.


    Becoming queen was cool and all but¡­ I have no idea about anything like that.


    I groaned inside. Best to be optimistic.


    ¡°B-Brother,¡± I called out to him with eyes full of fear and worry. ¡°Are you coming with them?¡±


    Estevan¡¯s mouth was agape when he received my question. ¡°Could it be¡­¡­. is my dear sister worried about me?!¡±


    ¡°W-Why wouldn¡¯t I be? I¡¯m always worried about you, you know¡­ And of course to the rest of our family.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± He smiled. ¡°It always surprises me when you directly tell me that you are worried about my wellbeing. And it¡¯s just wonderful, as always.¡± He sat back down. ¡°Worry not, my dear sister. I am not coming along. Can¡¯t have two royals in danger.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that is a relief¡­¡±


    ¡°Daughter¡­ What about daddy? Aren¡¯t you worried about me¡­?¡±


    I turned to look at my father, whose eyes were pleading for my worry. ¡°Of course I am worried, Father. But even if I express it¡­ you wouldn¡¯t change your mind.¡±


    ¡°B-But, I would like to at least hear it.¡±


    ¡°Only if you change your decision, I think I might have.¡±


    ¡°Noooooo.¡± He hung his head as though his spirit had left him. To be honest, he looked pitiful right now. So, I decided to be a bit kinder.


    ¡°But don¡¯t worry, Father. I will pray for your safe return. You will never leave my mind.¡±


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    His head jolted up as he stared at me with a wide smile.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Really.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I will come back as fast as I can!¡±


    ¡°Thank you, father.¡±


    Mother nodded several times beside me as I returned to my meal. This was a bizarre experience for me. This was the first time dining with a family. But it wasn¡¯t all that bad. So far, it was entertaining.


    ¡°By the way, any news from Eleden?¡± Father asked.


    Eleden Venzura Wisteria, he was my eldest brother.


    ¡°For a while now, nothing yet,¡± Estevan answered.


    ¡°I see¡­ I hope the endeavor of establishing a friendly and cooperative relationship with the Kingdom of Myra is going well.¡±


    ¡°I imagine it is going flawlessly. We don¡¯t have any feud with them,¡±


    Myra Kingdom. I heard it was a kingdom somewhere in the northeast. It has been four weeks since Eleden left, so it had been a while.


    Next they talked about a few trivial things to each other until the topic came back to me when my brother mentioned I went to the knights¡¯ training grounds.


    Father looked at me in surprise. ¡°Why did you think of doing that?¡±


    ¡°... Well, I was only curious. And¡­ I barely even met or saw those who serve to protect us and the kingdom, so I decided to see them.¡± I smiled brightly as I answered.


    ¡°Did¡­ Did someone look weirdly at you?¡±


    Father narrowed his eyes and wrinkled his brows, waiting for an answer. He looked a bit strict right there. And I knew what he meant by weird¡­ but I¡¯m going to act like I had no idea. Like a clueless girl that I should be.


    ¡°Why? What do you mean by weirdly? I mean¡­ they are our knights, so I don¡¯t think there was anything weird the way they looked at me¡­¡± I tilted my head with bafflement evident in my facial expression.


    ¡°Um. Yes, they are our soldiers¡­ Forget I asked.¡±


    Father looked away, seemingly still bothered. Estevan had an amused smile on his face as he watched him.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right, Estel also tried to hold a sword.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Really? Why?¡±


    Mother and Father were surprised, both stared at me. Um, I felt like I was going to receive a scolding here.


    Brother, you¡¯re not helping.


    ¡°She said she was curious. Of course, she couldn¡¯t lift it properly.¡± He chuckled. ¡°To be honest, she looked adorable.¡±


    ¡°B-Brother!¡± I blushed as I puffed my cheeks.


    ¡°Sorry, sorry.¡±


    Even though he said that, chuckles still escaped his lips. I wasn¡¯t bashful about this in contrast to my expression. I was only a bit bothered by it. It was unnecessary to tell Father Leodoule what happened. Now I was worried that he would prohibit me from holding a weapon again.


    ¡°Good thing there wasn¡¯t any accident.¡±


    ¡°... Um, yes.¡±


    ¡°Hm, from the things that happened earlier, was your request had something to do with that?¡± Father asked.


    Good, he brought it up. Well, he must be precisely thinking that my request had to do with weapons or perhaps swords. Funnily enough, it was about obtaining a weapon. But of course I¡¯m not going to mention that. From my experience today, and the memories, they wouldn¡¯t let me have a weapon, so I would just request something that had nothing to do with it and still get precious daggers.


    ¡°N-No, it has nothing to do with that.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then, what is your request, my daughter?¡±


    I hesitated as I looked at their eyes full of anticipation.


    ¡°I¡­ I request that you let me out of the palace walls.¡±


    My words were met with silence. I was genuinely confused. I mean, I¡¯m sixteen, for crying out loud. I¡¯m old enough to at least go around on my own. Well, I suppose I couldn¡¯t casually walk around since I¡¯m royalty. But still, having a guard would suffice.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s dangerous for you, dear,¡± my mother said. ¡°Not all people are kind out there.¡±


    I know what they were trying to say. My intense beauty that would charm all men was the problem. It would only bring danger. I might even get kidnapped.


    ¡°And you¡¯re a royal, and a princess,¡± Father added.


    I expected I would face opposition, so I already thought up some propositions.


    ¡°If it helps, then have my brother Estevan guard me.¡±


    ¡°Me¡­?¡±


    He looked confused, but for some reason a smile crept on his face. However, my father still seemed hesitant, so I continued.


    ¡°And I will be hiding my identity. So me going around the city will be a secret.¡±


    ¡°... That could work.¡±


    Yes, it will work! Now I just need a little push. Pure and innocent princess time!


    My pleading eyes aimed at Father, my hand clasped together, I spoke like a proper gentle and naive girl.


    ¡°Please, Father, let me. I¡­ I want to see the outside.¡±


    Father looked worriedly at me, then to my Mother, who only sighed as though giving up. He pondered as he went silent for a moment.


    ¡°Fine.¡±


    I could feel my smile creeping up as I heard those words.


    ¡°However¡­¡±


    However¡­?


    ¡°It can¡¯t be tomorrow, you have tutor lessons tomorrow, then the next day, then the day after that.¡±


    Huh?!


    I recalled the contents of Estelia¡¯s memories. And my heart sank. That¡¯s right, ever since she turned sixteen, both parents had tutors teach her things again. I said again because this had already happened when she was around nine years old.


    So in other words, the lessons will be some sort of refreshers and a level up. These sessions happen three days a week.


    Dammit, and it has to be the next three days?


    Still, I couldn¡¯t escape this. I have no choice. These learning sessions might prove entertaining, I hope.


    ¡°I understand, father. Then, after three days, is the only time I can go on with my request?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    Good!


    I hope nothing goes wrong.


    Shortly after, we finished our dinner. I was about to leave the room when my brother walked up beside me.


    ¡°Allow me to take you to your room.¡±


    I have no reason to refuse, so I agreed. As we were about to climb up the stairs, he begged me to be careful and offered his hand. Everyone here looked like they were utterly traumatized by what happened to me.


    Look what you''ve done, Mr. Stairs.


    Since it was night, the halls were silent. Barely any servants were around.


    When we reached the door of my room, Estevan called out to me.


    ¡°Estel.¡±


    When I looked at him, there was the lack of his usual smile.


    ¡°You seemed to be doing perfectly fine. That¡¯s great.¡±


    I tilted my head in puzzlement as to why he was talking about this. But he continued on, and now with his usual bright smile.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± He reached out for my hands and squeezed them. ¡°I will protect you when we go out in the city. I won¡¯t let any harm come to you.¡±


    He was looking passionately at me with his beautiful eyes. I sense deep sincerity from him.


    ¡°Yes, thank you¡­¡±


    He softly stroked my cheek, which surprised me a bit. He moved closer.


    No, we can''t, we''re siblings¡­. I¡¯m your sister...


    I jokingly thought. I wasn¡¯t flustered or anything, I felt nothing inside. However, what happened next was beyond my expectations.


    ¡°I was really scared.¡±


    He hugged me tight, with both arms wrapped around me. My eyes widened, my body turned loose. His embrace was comfortable. I felt¡­ safe.


    How many times has this happened just today alone? This warmth I always feel from them.


    ¡°If something had happened to you, I wouldn¡¯t be able to forgive myself.¡±


    I had nothing to say.


    Was this always what normal people felt? Was this how Estelia always felt? From the bottom of my heart, there was a faint sense of envy.


    What a wonderful life you led, Estelia.


    Yes, it truly was. I felt myself resigning to these feelings.


    But¡­ But¡­ But¡­


    This feeling was still foreign to me. All my life, I never felt anything special. It was not because I wanted to, but because I couldn¡¯t. My life differed completely from the norm. And this sudden change, I find difficult to accept and adapt to.


    Not only that, I was also wary of these¡­ feelings.


    But¡­


    I bit my lip. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to hug him back. I couldn¡¯t. I can¡¯t understand myself.


    I forced myself to speak. ¡°Brother¡­ Sorry I scared you. Don¡¯t worry, no harm will come to me.¡±


    Harm will definitely come eventually. It always comes. And in any form. I only said it to ease him up.


    He slowly moved back as he removed his arms from me. ¡°... Okay¡­ But still be careful.¡±


    ¡°Of course, brother. I don¡¯t like getting hurt.¡±


    ¡°Alright. You know, I feel like you changed a bit.¡±


    I became alarmed.


    Did I mess up?


    ¡°But that change I felt today wasn¡¯t that bad.¡± He extended his hand forward and tapped on my forehead twice. ¡°Maybe the bump on the head did something, hahahaha!¡±


    ¡°Brother!¡±


    He was laughing loud, tears damp the corner of his eyes.


    ¡°Sorry, sorry. Anyways, have a goodnight, dear sister.¡±


    He waved his hand as he walked away.


    I touched the doorknob, but before turning it, I heaved a long sigh.

 Chapter 10: Mera Sylvares

    Mera Sylvares, the second oldest child, and one of the two daughters of Baron Sylvares. Currently serving as a maid in the royal palace and had been for four years. She was still fairly young when she was sent here.


    But it didn¡¯t matter, if it was for her family, she would go so far as the royal capitol and serve as a maid. Her household was declining, and her father¡¯s status as a baron was under threat. They were becoming poorer, and the territory was declining. They didn¡¯t even have any decent connections.


    Thus, she took it upon herself to become a maid in the palace. Training was not easy, but she still went through it. With now that she was a royal maid, her family now had the backing of the crown. It somehow made their position secure.


    There were trying times being a maid, especially when there were guests around to serve. But being a maid, hard work was only to be expected. At least she was lucky that her superiors were kind. In fact, the entire royal family was, unlike a lot of nobles.


    Then, it was during her time as a maid did she meet the princess. Estelia Vernisia Wisteria. A girl with beautiful hair of platinum and eyes of hypnotizing crimson. Skin pale as snow, and smile bright as the sun.


    She was quite worried and a bit scared the first time she was assigned as her attendant for a short time. She was a princess after all. But that was not all there was to it.


    The princess was delicate, timid, and gentle. She was a fragile being. And her family was very protective of her. Mera was worried that she might cause a mess and accidentally do something bad towards the princess.


    But her worries were unfounded. The princess was surprisingly well behaved. She did not have much to request. In fact, Mera had less work compared to other maids every time she attended the princess.


    As time went on, Mera began to think that Princess Estelia was the purest of all existence. A treasure that must be protected, kept away from all danger. And whose purity must be preserved at all costs.


    Then, eventually, they became close, they were able to talk normally. Almost like friends. However, there was always that distance between them. Mera wasn¡¯t the cause of that, but the princess herself. Mera couldn¡¯t understand why.


    But she still served the princess proudly.


    Then, the accident happened. She didn¡¯t know what happened at first, but when she saw it, the princess was already on the bottom of the stairs. Bruises, head wounded, blood began to stain the floor. Her heart sank as she saw that terrible and terrifying scene.


    She could feel her tears flowing down her cheeks as the princess was quickly being treated.


    But she couldn¡¯t be more overjoyed when the princess once again opened her eyes.


    ***


    At the moment, Mera was leading the princess to the baths. It was early in the morning. Princess Estelia¡¯s eyes were still half close, that was understandable since it was still early in the morning, she must still be sleepy. However, she had to wake and clean up.


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    Today was her etiquette lesson. She had heard that the princess had already gone through that, but she was to take it again. The princess was already graceful though, Mera couldn¡¯t understand why they have to make her go through it again.


    Mera had also gone through the same thing since she was to serve as a palace maid. Therefore, learning proper etiquette was crucial. And the instructor was somewhat strict, she was a fellow maid. She would rather not go through that again. She still couldn¡¯t forget how many times she was scolded.


    Perhaps that¡¯s just how it is with royalty. Must perfect etiquette.


    The way one presents and delivers themselves was important in aristocracy. And the king¡¯s family must be the top of the hierarchy, thus, the way they move must be of the highest class.


    They have arrived at the bath. It was a wide pool within a luxurious large chamber. Faint steam emitting from it. It was warmed up by ¡°Heat Stones¡±, because it was early morning, it was expected to be cold. And the princess shouldn¡¯t endure something like that. She must have a leisurely time.


    Mera untied Princess Estelia¡¯s clothes and carefully undressed her. In the process, she was greeted by the princess¡¯ skin as white as snow, incredibly smooth looking and flawless. Every time she saw this, her heart would always beat fast.


    Her movement stopped for a moment. She was often a bit flustered by this. The princess had the form of any woman could dream of.


    ¡°Mera?¡±


    Mera jolted up as the princess softly called her name when she stopped. She had her sweet and innocent smile, which only made Mera more flustered.


    ¡°Y-Yes, milady. My apologies.¡±


    She didn¡¯t expect she would act this way. She was more flustered than usual.


    She realized the reason for that.


    It was because of what happened yesterday. The time when they were together.


    The princess was the same as she always was. Perfectly as she was.


    But, there was a bit of change. It felt like the princess was more open than before.


    Her words when she told her that she wanted to go out, with Mera by her side. It somehow stayed in her mind. Then, while going down the stairs.


    It felt like the distance between them that always existed had shortened.


    Mera saw a satisfied smile from the princess as she walked towards the bath and slowly lowered down.


    Mera could feel a sense of peace from her as she closed her eyes with a wide smile on her face. It was like she was so relaxed, like she had been relieved of something heavy. Mera had also noticed the same thing the day before.


    It was when they went to visit the garden. The princess just suddenly plucked a flower and sniffed it, as though she was curious. Not only that, the moment she saw the garden, it was like it was the first time she saw it.


    The princess looked extremely happy. Happier than before.


    Mera was baffled and astonished the moment she saw that moment.


    But then when the princess began touching the wisterias, Mera felt some sort of melancholy emanating from her.


    Mera couldn¡¯t understand it. But she wanted to.


    Mera left the bath and stood at the door. She was to wait until the princess was finished.


    ¡°Princess¡­¡± She murmured.


    She won¡¯t be serving the princess tomorrow. What a shame, she somewhat wanted some more time with her. Especially with all the small changes she noticed.


    After the princess fell from the stairs, there had been indeed some changes. Though only slightly.


    It was like the princess became more open. Was it because she nearly experienced death?


    Near death experiences often change people because they realize something.


    Maybe that was what happened to Princess Estelia.


    Mera placed a hand on her chest then inhaled sharply.


    She was happy that the princess was still with her. Maybe someday, they could become true friends.

 Chapter 11: The Troubled Hidden Assassin (Part 1)

    I heaved a long exhale as I savored the satisfaction when I submerge myself in the warm bath. I couldn¡¯t be more satisfied. There was also a pleasant fragrance from the water which was almost reminiscent of soap.


    Perhaps this water had some cleansing stuff mixed in. Also, did I mention how big this pool is? I mean, damn, I feel like a true big time boss of a mafia or something. No, wait, I am royalty, so it was only to be expected to have this kind of thing. That being said, I already knew this existed from Estelia¡¯s memories. But it was different when experiencing it personally.


    I wet my hair carefully.


    I am starting to love my hair more. They looked more valuable than jewels to be honest. Again, my treasurable existence itself felt like it was illegal.


    I scooped some water and washed my shoulders, then caressing my snow pale skin. It was smooth as always, every part of my body was flawless, without any kind of scratches or scars. I was surprised since this body fell off the stairs. But I guess this healing spell did some wonders.


    I looked down at my bosom. I was satisfied with this, truth be told. Just average. Not too big, not too small. This was perfect enough. Too big, and it will be terribly and undesirably troublesome. Too small¡­ Well, if that happened, I would have to wish my seduction skills good luck and hope my target doesn¡¯t mind flat.


    Don¡¯t get me wrong, being small is not a bad thing. What matters is the person. And there are just others out there that don''t mind such things, I think. I just heard some people say something like that, okay?!


    It¡¯s just that, during assasination missions, a decent figure was crucial.


    At any rate, I was very satisfied with this body.


    I thought about yesterday, and I agonized about the fact that I missed the glow of the wisterias under the moonlight. It somehow slipped my mind. Last night, my mind was occupied and was processing everything that happened.


    There were just too many things that occurred which I was not used to. Which came as a shock and confusion to me. It just further supported that this palace just like Estelia so much.


    I scooped water and washed my face gently. The warmth of the water touched my face. I deemed it would not burn my skin, so I was not worried.


    The events of yesterday came into my mind again.


    Why am I bothered by this?


    Ridiculous.


    My innocent persona melted away as I stared at my reflection on the water. My usual curled smile became straight, my eyes that were once pure turned cold. My crimson eyes seemed to turn deadly yet indifferent.


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    I was glaring at myself.


    I have begun to realize that this palace, everything that was happening, and that was just a single day, was affecting me already. Ridiculous. Unacceptable.


    Ever since I was conscious of everything, even the beginning of my memories, when I was but a very young child, we have been raised and taught not to feel. Not to be clouded by emotions and attachments. For the sake of efficiency. So that the weapons were to be sharp as always. Unhindering. Unthinking.


    And I agree.


    I only longed for freedom. Not the nuisance called emotions and attachments. Happiness, sadness, anger, fury, yes, such emotions were acceptable. But emotions towards others were not.


    I stood up and surveyed the room.


    ¡°Whatever.¡±


    I left the pool and reached out for the towel, wiping the water off my body.


    I returned to the act of a pure princess, a smile formed on my face, and my cold eyes turned warm.


    ¡°Mera.¡±


    I called out to my maid. She entered, seemingly surprised a little. Well, maybe that was because I finished earlier than expected. I was not the type to linger long in a bath anyway.


    She led me to the dressing room, there my dress, undergarments, and boots were already prepared. She must have brought them here before I went to bathe.


    She helped me dress up.


    I was still weirded up by this. Being helped with dressing and undressing. But I¡¯ll adapt in time. It was not like I was embarrassed to begin with. I have complete confidence in my body. I could feel that Mera would even pass out if I try to play around and seduce her, even though she was a woman.


    Want to try?


    That would have been fun, but alas. I have matters to attend to.


    I sat down on a chair and Mera neatly fixed and stylized my hair. She was somewhat enthusiastic about it, it seems.


    ¡°There, milady. All done.¡±


    I stood up elegantly after she said it was done.


    After leaving the bath, I went straight to the dining room to have dinner. When I arrived, there was only my mother and brother there. I recalled that my father was supposed to go to the forest where monsters were.


    He must have assembled the knights early in the morning then set out.


    I hope everything will go well. For the purpose of me not being troubled.


    ¡°Good morning, dear mother and brother.¡±


    I greeted them as I walked towards a seat and sat down beside my mother.


    ¡°Good morning.¡±


    ¡°Great morning, sister!¡±


    A servant served me breakfast and I delicately ate.


    ¡°Your instructor should be arriving in two hours.¡±


    Mother spoke to me. My first lesson in the three day weekly classes was etiquette. Even though I believe I was elegant and regal enough, thanks to my experience in the organization, I figured that learning proper etiquette here will be crucial for the future. So I didn¡¯t mind it that much.


    Not like I have any much of a choice. Even so, I was still annoyed that my tour of the outside was delayed because of such things.


    At any rate, etiquette lessons shouldn¡¯t be too hard.


    Just then, I remembered something from Estelia¡¯s memories. The things that I will be practicing.


    Dancing¡­


    I groaned internally. Yes, formal dancing. Based on the memories, the dance was somewhat different from my old life that I knew of that was used in formal events.


    But that was not all that problem there was. I was more into music. As for dancing, not so much.


    Dammit.


    I can¡¯t believe I even thought that etiquette lessons were going to be easy.

 Chapter 12: The Troubled Hidden Assassin (Part 2)

    And my worries couldn¡¯t be more founded. Before that, let me tell you what happened.


    My instructor was a woman around her thirties. She was seemingly kind when we greeted each other. However, judging from the memories, this one was quite strict.


    And the memories were not wrong at all. Even the slightest mistake, she was able to spot it, like a sharp sniper. She even scolded me that during our greetings, I didn¡¯t use the traditional formal noble greeting. My memories did have that, but that wasn¡¯t mine and I didn¡¯t experience it, and since I didn¡¯t think it would be that important, I well... greeted her formally in my own way. Plus, she didn¡¯t even say to greet that way last time she taught Estelia.


    By the way, the instructor was also an aristocrat, bearing the status of a Marquess. She was the lady of their household, and was asked by Father to teach me. Their family was apparently close with ours.


    Actually, this instructor of mine was quite scary, well for others it would be. But not really that scary for me. Compared to the organization on which you make a small mistake they would slap you on the face hard, this was on a much brighter side.


    Then when we were working about the way I walked, I was confident in that regard. Oh boy, I was perfect¡­ though that was what I expected.


    ¡°You have improved compared the last time we met. However, you have yet to reach perfection.¡±


    Yup, that''s what she said. Years of assassination training wasted. I was quite hurt to be honest.


    She placed a book on top of my head and had me walk around the hall several times. I would start again if it fell. Well, as it was expected of me, it did not fall. But she was not yet satisfied, so I walked straighter than a straight pole.


    My hips swayed hypnotizingly. I delicately clasp my hands before my belly, movement so graceful, and a facial expression so regal. We were at it for who knows how long, I think around an hour or more? Although I didn¡¯t think much of how long it would take, so I didn¡¯t count.


    It took a long time since she had me repeat it several times even though I was already doing fine. She must have wanted my performance to be impeccable.


    She was surprised though that I was able to do well in that short time frame. Estelia was not that enthusiastic about improvement here, and only provided a small effort for development. Therefore, progress took a lot of time. However, I was used to learning and practice. Therefore, I was able to follow and improve in a short time.


    That was even though it was my first time being taught here. The only thing I had were memories, and memories alone. They were not muscle memories or something like that, but only akin to images, you could say. So I could only remember how the movement goes. That being said, I did have my regal skills from assassinations which helped a lot. Gracefulness was useful in some missions after all. In short, I was already familiar with this type of thing, so I did not need much improvement.


    Then, after that, we had a short break.


    After that break, we had language lessons. Manner of speaking, formalities, like that. Not that much noteworthy or hard.


    Then dining etiquette. Be graceful and neat. There were a lot of restrictions. But I guess that was to be expected during formal events, or banquets, or something similar in nature. She had me show her how to dine like a proper royal. The memories of Estelia were a lot of help.


    Thankfully, she gave me a passing remark.


    Everything was going swimmingly well.


    Then after a short break, it was time for dancing.


    I groaned painfully.


    First let me explain okay? I know how to dance from my past life. However, that was not entirely applicable here. Sure I do have Estelia¡¯s memories, but then again, I didn¡¯t have any muscle memories here. I can only remember images of the dance. How the movement goes, something like that.


    And recalling it was not the same as memorizing it. Thus, well¡­ I guess you might have expected it¡­ I suck.


    ¡°Princess! Do it properly.¡±


    I was being shouted at by my instructor.


    ¡°What has happened to you, Estelia?¡±


    I had my head lowered as I visibly flinched. I was that bad to the point that she was making her frustration show.


    ¡°It appeared like we had returned to the beginning! Care to give an explanation? Why have we returned to square one?¡±


    How cruel! It was not back to square one, at least.


    ¡°I¡­ I have no excuse, Madame Eleanore.¡±


    It¡¯s not that I wasn¡¯t fond of dancing that I was bad at it¡­ okay maybe that was one of the reasons. But ¡ª But come on!


    I glanced up at Marquess Eleanore Moira Yveno, my instructor. She had golden hair and beautiful peach eyes. She had three words in her name, like us in the royal family. Because they were a high ranking aristocrat family, they were granted a name between the first and surname. And the title of Marquess or Marquis was just below the King. Oh yes, the royal family are the ones to grant the name in the middle.


    In addition, after marriage, the former surname of the woman would be erased and changed into her husband¡¯s. Which means, unlike the world where I came from, they don¡¯t have such things as middle names in the form of the old surname of the wife, therefore, the children also wouldn¡¯t inherit the former surname of their mother.


    Eleanore massaged her temples.


    ¡°Why have I been teaching you for a long time?¡±


    I pursed my lips as I gripped my arm.


    ¡°You should have been familiar with it in the first place since it was taught to you when you were still a young child. Then why are you struggling with having a partner?¡±


    Okay! How long are you gonna keep beating me up?!


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    Sorry okay! Sorry I suck!


    ¡°Mother, maybe we can take it slow for the time being?¡±


    I directed a grateful and hopeful superficial look to the young man beside me. He was two years older than me, he had a charming face, golden hair and bluish eyes. He beamed a smile which would captivate ladies who were easily fallen or fooled.


    Eleanore let out an exasperated sigh.


    ¡°Jalen,¡± she uttered his name as she contemplated. ¡°... Very well. To your poses.¡±


    I should also mention the other why I was failing other than the fact that I suck at dancing and not quite fond of it. You see, last dancing sessions were solo, meaning I didn¡¯t, or rather Estelia, didn¡¯t have a partner. This was the first session to have a partner, and what Eleanore brought was none other than his son, Jalen Moira Yveno.


    We faced each other. Eleanore picked up a string instrument, a vynelin. It resembles a violin, strings and bow, while the musician would play it by their shoulder, basically a violin. She had only brought it twice, so this was my first time seeing it personally.


    ¡°I shall be playing the music slowly.¡±


    She said as a slow and gentle music spread throughout the hall.


    I looked at Jalen with concerned expressions. I also had a thought, he was smiling all while, ever since this began. I was sure it wasn¡¯t because he was amused by me. I bet this guy was happy she had to dance with me. And have a chance to touch me. I am confident about that conjecture.


    Good thing Estelia wasn¡¯t here doing this now. I imagine she would be uneasy.


    I extended my hand as he extended his. With our palm touching, we revolved, and stepped back, the footwork was a bit complicated since we have to be in sync, or else we would step on each other. But since it was slowed down, I was barely managing.


    But, I would almost trip occasionally which I imagine prompted Eleanore to grimace.


    Of course my brain was at its full speed, trying to recall what was next. And it was the footwork was what I was having fucking difficulties with.


    In addition, syncing with my partner was also the part I was struggling hard.


    He pulled me towards him, his hand behind my waist as his body pressed into me, while my hand was by the side of his shoulder. Our other hand raised just about shoulder level as they clasped each other. Our face was completely close so that I could hear his breathing.


    I sort of wanted to play him around, but Estelia must be silent for the time being.


    With a turn, he let go of me. I was delayed for a bit since I momentarily forgot this was what was next.


    This was the part where the lady would dance solo on the dance floor. My hands waved with magnificent grace as I beautifully spun around slowly. Of course I was not to focus only on the gracefulness of the hands, but also the movements of my feet and legs. I was exceedingly graceful overall¡­ or that was what supposed to be if I knew this dance very well.


    I know I must be around just a little above average. I could catched the disappointed glare of Eleanore from the corner of my eye.


    Then after the solo, the gentleman, Jalen returned to me and I catched his offered hand. After some movements, while holding each other¡¯s hand, our arms extended, distancing ourselves. Then with a quick pull, I returned to him with a spin as let my body fall and let him catch me. I looked up at his eyes as he looked at mine.


    My breathing was rough since this body didn¡¯t have much stamina.


    After a short stare down, he carefully carried me up. We faced Eleanore, he bowed deeply and I curtsied.


    Eleanore sighed, apparently not satisfied. But Jalen was still all smiles as he turned to look at me.


    ¡°That was a better performance compared before, your highness.¡±


    I timidly stepped back as my eyes went around, as though trying to come up with a response.


    ¡°This was only possible due to your suggestion of slowing the dance¡­ You have my thanks, Jalen.¡±


    ¡°Please think nothing of it. We improve in due time, I am sure you will perfect the dance ¡°Fluttering Petals¡±.¡±


    Fluttering Petals, it was apparently the name of the dance.


    I grinned widely within my heart, impressed by what this man was trying to do.


    He¡¯s trying to get on my good sides it seems. I see.


    He wanted to win this maiden¡¯s heart.


    Good luck on that.


    I could see through his motives, and I could also get a grasp on what he was thinking about me. Since I was a meek lady, he must be thinking that I was an easy target. If he complimented me, and tried to give the impression that I could rely on him, he must have thought that I would fall for him. It may not be for an instant, but at least it would happen slowly.


    I stole a glance at Eleanore with my innocent gaze.


    Was this perhaps also a scheme of that woman?


    Having your family enter into the royal family circle, that would be quite an achievement. It would undoubtedly reap incredible benefits for their family. It was comical actually, that they were targeting me because I was the one who appeared so vulnerable.


    That being said, I didn¡¯t have that impression from Eleanore. So I must be wrong that she was scheming something like it. For all I know, this could be Jalen¡¯s personal plans. Perhaps driven by the merits he would receive, or by his manly instinct. But then again, it could be both.


    But I shouldn¡¯t be thinking much about this. I would do very well to prioritize my dancing skills.


    Shit. Screw dancing.


    ¡°After a short break, we shall be returning to practice at once. Do you understand, Estelia?¡±


    ¡°U-Um, yes Madam! I understand.¡±


    Then we have our short break, with Jalen offering me a towel to wipe away my sweat.


    Of course, Jalen was striking conversations with me. Which I was obliged to respond to. I wasn¡¯t annoyed by this, but rather it was quite entertaining, the way he was trying. He also seemed to be showing his handsome appearance as he often fixed his hair.


    But of course, this didn¡¯t cause any change within me.


    Then we spent another round of practice. Once it was done, it was time to say goodbye.


    ¡°Estelia, please remember to practice if you have free time to do so. I expect some improvement next week.¡±


    Eleanore said as she went for the door.


    Jalen looked at me.


    ¡°I enjoyed the time I spent with you, your highness. I am looking forward to next week for the time we may meet again.¡±


    ¡°... I as well, Jalen. Take care on your way back home.¡±


    With that, they left.


    Mera then came to me, she had already prepared the bath, so I immediately went there to wash myself clean.


    ***


    I had dinner then with my family with the exception of my father. He has yet to come home, but this often happened whenever he was out of a mission to exterminate monsters in the forest.


    Of course, with my father gone for the time being, mother was visibly tired. She must have handled the jobs that were supposed to be father¡¯s.


    You can do it, mother!


    I cheered her on from the inside.


    My brother on the other hand was incredibly chatty as he asked me about how I was during the tutor of Eleanore. I told him honestly what happened, then he encouraged me as I appeared to have lost motivation and upset.


    I sort of wanted to go out to take a look at the wisteria since it was now night time. However, this over protective family of mine adamantly compelled me to go back to my room to rest.


    Thus, I have no choice but to comply. I was planning to do something anyways.


    When I returned to my room, I stood up as I stared out from the window. I waited for the food in my stomach to digest. Otherwise, a full stomach would complicate what I was going to do later.


    Around more than half an hour, I began stretching.


    I was to exercise this body.


    Yes, in my personal room, I did stationary jogging, I began to sweat profusely as I breathed rapidly. Once I was no longer able to keep jogging, I rested for a while, of course I didn¡¯t sit down. I rested with trained breathing. I sort of wanted to shout, but that was a no go.


    Then after a while of rest, I exercised my arms, carrying what was heavy in the room and stressed my arms. Did a few sit ups, curl ups, and a couple of push ups.


    A short time passed, I deemed it was time to stop. Wiping off the sweat in my body and resting for about an hour while waiting for my evening clothes to dry up, then after that, I went to bed. I will have to do this routine for several days.

 Chapter 13: Sword Magic (Part 1)

    The next day, it was time for academics. The instructor was just a normal woman, a commoner would be the more accurate word. That being said, she had quite a high standing in society and was popular. Due to her excellence, she was chosen as my tutor. Furthermore, it would seem that she was also the one who was teaching the children of other nobles.


    She was also the one who taught Estelia in the past when she was still young. Although, Estelia had forgotten most of that and the refresh lessons did help a lot. This time though, I was taught geography.


    She showed me a map which had several countries laid out while introducing those countries to me. She didn¡¯t teach this subject before I became Estelia, that time she was more focused about our own kingdom, Wisteria. Teaching Estelia about traditions, regions, and also had her memorize the names of nobles.


    Since the memory had become hazy because Estelia forgot a few of them, I will have to review. That aside, as my instructor introduced to me the other countries surrounding, I took a mental note of the four kingdoms which I found interesting.


    Myra Kingdom was due northeast, it was where my oldest brother currently was. A country who values chivalry, honor and dignity. They were seen as¡­ well along the lines of proper human beings.


    Then the bizarre one, the Tornridge Empire to the east, a city of barbarians, they were seen as here. It was mainly because of their history of being aggressive, violent and so on. In the establishment of their nation, they invaded other countries through brute force, plundering and raiding anything that came their way. It now became a fairly large nation.


    Due west lies the Valaies Holy Kingdom. A country where the church was the top of the hierarchy and ruled by religious groups. It was a place where they worship the six gods. the God of Light, the Goddess of Darkness, the Deity of the Stars, the God of Inferno, the Goddess of Water, and the God of Nature. That was a lot of gods, I tell you. Basically, the Valaies was a religious nation.


    To the south was the Eventon Republic which lied by the ocean. Where ocean traffic was profound, and businesses filled the streets. Might as well describe it as a country of merchants.


    Then, what about our own kingdom? Well, it was sort of a mix of them. You see, we were at the center of those countries, therefore, foreigners in the past would constantly visit Wisteria. Then because of their influences, we became a kingdom where the characteristics of those aforementioned countries mixed in with us, although, with the exception of the Tornridge Empire. There were times in history when they tried to conquer us, but ended in failure.


    For our religion, the church of the six gods also exists here. However, our main religion was to worship the Deities of Serenity and Compassion. Two gods, the former being female and the latter was a male. It was quite a romantic religion if you ask me.


    Is everything in this country all about romance?


    I mean, the origin of this country were also couples.


    Whatever¡­


    After that, it was time for arithmetics. The math I was taught were only basics, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, although the values I had to solve were not that simple. Even so, I managed to ace them all. My teacher nodded in satisfaction as she saw my results.


    I expected there to be more complex topics in mathematics, but it seems such things like algebra, geometry, something like that, wasn¡¯t part of the curriculum, or this world just didn¡¯t have such complicated things just yet. Perhaps there was indeed high level mathematics I have yet to know that people do.


    But, I didn¡¯t delve into it more since it wasn¡¯t important.


    Then after that, lessons were done for the day. When I stood up and strode forward, I held back a groan that threatened to escape from my throat.


    The reason? My body was sore. I had muscle pains all around my body. This was the aftermath of my exercise last night. That being said, I expected to experience this. I just need to hide the fact that I was feeling pain.


    Something trivial as this was easy to bear.


    When I approached the door, my attendant for today opened the door for me. The maid was a woman in her thirties, light brown hair and brown eyes, her skin had a fair complexion.


    This person was no fun. I enjoyed it more when Mera was with me. I like her more. Perhaps because she was a youngster like me. In any case, it was hard to get along amiably with older women.


    Therefore, I didn¡¯t get any chance to tease my maid.


    ¡°I shall be having a walk.¡±


    I said as I headed for the first floor. I had no plan actually, I just wanted to walk around to exercise my legs. Then, a thought came into me.


    The knights¡­


    Since I was going for a walk anyway, I decided to visit the training grounds of the knights. There must be something I could do that would be worthwhile.


    I headed straight towards my destination. My maid quietly followed behind me.


    As I was getting closer to my destination, I could hear loud shouts and cheering. A faint sound of metal clashing metal rang out. I was curious as to what was going on.


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    When I reached my destination, I hadn''t approached the people yet since I decided to take a peek first.


    There, in the open ground, two knights were clashing, their swords clanged with every hit. Knights, men and a few women, watched the fight from the sides. Cheering on which side they think would win or which they were rooting for. I even saw my brother amidst all of them.


    When I looked closely, I recognized one man that was fighting. It was a young man named Alan. He was fighting someone who appears to be a few years older than him. Also, they sort of resembled each other.


    Alan appeared tense, but the other man had a mocking smile. The latter was easily intercepting and blocking Alan¡¯s attacks.


    Just then, something odd happened. Alan¡¯s blade shone, he took a step back and swung his sword in the air. An arc of light emerged from the swing of his sword, headed towards his opponent. However, the latter¡¯s blade also shone and quickly swung it down, forming an arc of light.


    Both their attacks clashed. However, Alan¡¯s arc of light was instantly overwhelmed and his opponent¡¯s attack kept on charging forward. Alan quickly held out his left hand, and a translucent barrier of sorts emerged from his hand and spread out to cover his front.


    His opponent¡¯s arc of light crashed into his barrier, it didn¡¯t take several seconds for Alan¡¯s barrier to break and sent him flying. He had a pained expression as he flew in the air, losing his sword, then he hit the ground. It was a defeat.


    His opponent walked closer to him before scoffing. He sheathed his sword.


    ¡°Little brother, you''re weak. When I was your age, I was way stronger than you are now. Pathetic.¡±


    Alan slowly sat up and lowered his head, avoiding his gaze. His hands clenched.


    ¡°Why did you even join the knight order? If you are this weak, you might as well be called a disappointment.¡±


    Alan lowered his head even more.


    I approached closer.


    ¡°Now now, Alzen, he¡¯s still young, and you¡¯re older. Is it not to be expected that you would be stronger?¡±


    My brother, Estevan, walked towards Alzen as he spoke, waving his hand around.


    ¡°I held back, your highness. And the strength I used was when I was the same age as him. That was why I could tell that he is weak. His swordsmanship wasn¡¯t that impressive, his Sword Magic was feeble. Was his training wasted all this time?¡±


    ¡°Surely it is not. I saw some improvements from him, so don¡¯t be too cold.¡±


    My brother was still smiling as he spoke. But I could tell that he was a bit bothered by this situation.


    Right about then, the knights began to notice me.


    ¡°The princess!¡±


    I held out my hand instantly before they could genuflect. I didn¡¯t need that now. Alan flinched when he heard that I was here. However, it seems he couldn¡¯t bring himself to turn to look at me.


    How cute. Was he worried that I was disappointed?


    He must have realized that I saw everything and was afraid to look me in the eye. I smiled internally. This kind of moment was useful.


    I rushed on my steps and stood in front of Alan who was still lowering his head from shame.


    ¡°Hello, Alan.¡±


    I saw his hand tremble when I called out to him.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t ignore me.¡±


    I said with concern. He hesitated for a short while before slowly looking up at me. I shifted my eyes towards his hand.


    ¡°Oh no, your hand is bleeding.¡±


    I kneeled to even our level. The palm where the barrier emerged from was bleeding. I held out my hand towards it, but froze, seemingly unknowing of what I should do. I frantically looked around, and saw the stunned knights as they watched me.


    ¡°H-Healer! We need a healer, he is¡­ he is bleeding.¡±


    I frightenedly said as I looked around. Only then a female knight rushed towards us.


    ¡°Pardon me, princess.¡±


    I stood up and moved back, giving space to the healer. She held out her hand, a glow of green came from her hand. The wound on Alan¡¯s hand began to close.


    Interesting¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s just a small wound, there¡¯s ¡ª¡±


    ¡°Shut it, Alan. Don¡¯t complain.¡±


    The female knight immediately shut him down. After that, the wound was completely sealed. The knight stood up and straightened herself.


    ¡°It is done, your highness.¡±


    I sighed in relief.


    ¡°Thank the Lord of compassion and Lady of serenity that you are here to help. I am grateful.¡±


    ¡°...U-Um, not at all, your highness. It is my duty to help and protect after all.¡±


    ¡°I see. But I¡¯m still glad someone like you is here.¡±


    I immediately approached the sad looking young man sitting on the ground.


    ¡°Everything better? Let me help you up.¡±


    I extended my hand. His eyes went wide as he looked into my eyes then to the hand I was offering to him. He was reluctant.


    ¡°Come on.¡±


    I urged him with a bright and innocent smile. He averted his eyes a couple of times before accepting my hand. I pulled him up, but it was mostly his own strength that helped him go up. I was willing to use my own strength, but it seemed he didn¡¯t want me to exert any strength since I was the princess.


    ¡°T-Thank y-you for your h-help, your h-highness. You have m-my utmost g-gratitude.¡±


    He stammered around. He must be flustered due to what I did for him.


    ¡°Do not worry about it. What matters is that you are alright. That is enough for me.¡±


    ¡°Princess¡­¡±


    He looked like he was in disbelief.


    Meanwhile, I only looked compassionately at him with a gentle smile. Like a saint helping her fellows.


    But I smiled differently in my heart.


    ¡°Estel,¡± my brother called out to me, so I turned around to greet him with a smile. ¡°What a surprise you came back here again.¡±


    ¡°Um, well. I had nothing else to do. So I thought of visiting here.¡±


    ¡°Is your class now finished?¡±


    ¡°Of course, brother... By the way brother, judging from how I saw things are. Are you having mock battles?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. It¡¯s a good way to enhance one¡¯s skills and abilities. Having an actual opponent is often better than fighting dummies.¡±


    I have witnessed a glimpse of their magic. However, that was only it. I required more information. If the knights here can use such bizarre abilities, then it could mean that there were also others out there who can do the same.


    I need to watch more and analyze.


    ¡°Are you already finished?¡± I said as I tilted my head while clasping my hands. ¡°If not, then, may I please watch?¡±


    Brother pondered for a moment before speaking.


    ¡°That is fine. You have nothing else to do, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then, you can watch. There are still four more pairs left, so there are plenty you can watch. Come.¡±

 Chapter 14: Sword Magic (Part 2)

    He brought me to the sidelines, and there a chair was offered to me. I gracefully took my seat, my maid behind me while my brother stood beside me.


    ¡°I will be the one guarding you, dear sister. We have to be careful of any stray attacks.¡±


    I nodded my head.


    They called a pair of knights, then they stood several meters away from each other. They drew their swords and waited for Brother to declare the start of the match. I focused my eyes. Their stance, the way they gripped their two handed swords, I observed them.


    ¡°Begin!¡±


    Then with that, the match began. The knights charged towards each other. However, I was taken off guard.


    What the fuck?


    Their steps, the speed of their legs were abnormal. They were fast, abnormally, and bullshitty fast. It only took them about a second to have each other in the reaches of their blades.


    In an instant, their blades clashed. Their normal attack only lasted for a couple more attacks before their blades began to glow. I squinted my eyes to keep up what was happening. Their swords clashed again, and a gust of wind blew from them towards all directions, even reaching me.


    I grew cold as I watched.


    One knight was being pushed, so he backed away, giving themselves some space. But immediately after that, he slashed his sword in the air, and violent flames came forth, heading towards his opponent.


    What the fuck?!


    I was bewildered and stunned. This was different from the plain light that I saw just before. I was becoming more worried. The knight on the receiving end of those flames thrust his left hand forward, and a blast of frost crashed into the flames, spreading it away. I could feel the faint coldness from where I was.


    Just as the flames were dissipating away, the knight who casted the frost rushed forward with quick steps. The blades of the two knights once again crashed into each other, but this time, both sending a strong gust of cold wind as they both emanated cold magic.


    Then at the same time, they let go of one hand from their swords and thrust forward. This time a plain light spread from their hands and crashed into them, sending the both of them flying away from each other. But in mid air, they regained their footing.


    I bit my lip.


    Bullshit! Is this the standard of this world?!


    Ridiculous! If I fight someone who can cast magic head on, I¡¯ll die. I have no chance of winning. Fighting would only be suicide. In other words, my fighting skills in this world would be worthless in the face of those who use magic.


    If I were to face someone capable of using the damn thing, then I need to take them by surprise. They must not anticipate my attack at all. I must take them out silently, or make them lower their guard, then launch my surprise strike. And that strike must be an absolutely decisive one. The one that will surely kill them. Otherwise, they would be able to take me out like a puppy barking against a lion.


    Furthermore, I must not remain stagnant.


    I must also learn this so-called magic. I have to be able to use it so I can stand up against anyone who could use it as well. That way, if I had no choice but to face them head on, I can at least give some resistance and defend myself, or defeat the enemy.


    The two knights clashed again, their magic going wild.


    I recalled what I learned from my academic lessons, or rather, lessons of Estelia before I came. Nobility had greater magic affinity than commoners. In addition, they also had greater amounts of mana. I was ignorant about how great magic was, but now its power was slapped into my precious face.


    In any case, having nobles becoming knights was an important factor for the country. Normal commoners or soldiers couldn¡¯t match up against monsters. Therefore, the knights must be dispatched to handle those monsters. The nobles were the ones who protected the people from dangerous elements beyond their capabilities.


    If that was the case, then how strong were monsters?!


    At the same time, two large waves of flames intercepted each other, the waves were as high as a house, and as large that could swallow someone whole. It could burn someone to crisps.


    Are flames and ice only they could do¡­?


    I hesitantly asked myself.


    Just then, the match was decided as one already had a blade on his neck. The one who won was the knight who first used ice magic. They shook hands with a smile on their face before walking away.


    ¡°What do you think, sister?¡±


    My brother asked me.


    ¡°... It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s breathtaking and mind boggling.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± a broad grin emerged on his face. ¡°Then, this next fight will be a blast. One contender will be the strongest spearman, and the other will be our fastest dual wielder of swords.¡±


    I swallowed.


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    So that was not the strongest?


    Dammit!


    If only Estelia was a bit familiar with such things, I wouldn¡¯t be this surprised.


    If I were to compare myself now, I would be an ant! I was an amazing fighter in my old life. I could take on ten skilled mercenaries in a melee fight for crying out loud and emerge victorious. I was one of the greatest assassins in the organization!


    But here?! Nope, I was nothing!


    If that was the case, then I will only have to work for it.


    Two knights stepped forth into the open. One was a fit knight holding a spear, his light brown hair was tied into a short ponytail, his brown wide eyes hinted at his carefree nature, he wore a broad grin as he stood in preparation. The other was a bigger man, short dark hair, dark eyes showing his grumpy personality as he glared at his opponent, in each of his hands were swords that were shorter than what the knights usually had.


    ¡°Begin!¡±


    The two charged at each other, then I immediately noticed what happened to their weapons. Electric currents engulf the upper half of the knight¡¯s spear as he thrust it forward. His target easily evaded it, but he immediately swept it sideways.


    The dual wielder blocked it with his face turning into a grimace. Light engulfed the edges of his blades, fighting against the sparks of electricity from the spear. He stepped back before immediately rushing again to the side of his opponent.


    His sword clashed against the spear. However, he kept swinging at great speed, launching a strong attack every time there was an opening. But it was not easy, the spearman would often use the bottom part of his spear to block the other sword. Spinning the entire spear to defend if he had to.


    The fight was so intense that I had to hold off my jaw from falling. Gust of wind burst out at every strike, sending dust into the air. The spearman, seemingly being pinned down for the enemy being close to him, he leaped back after a vigorous counter attack.


    At that moment, greater sparks of electricity formed into his spear. Then with a single thrust forward, lightning struck out. A literal lightning! It was quick and it only took a short moment to reach its target. But before it could do it, the dual wielder had already crossed his swords together, with a simultaneous swing, plain lights followed in an x shape, larger and brighter than the ones I saw previously.


    The two deadly elements crashed into each other.


    A tremendous energy burst out and caused a strong wind to go wild all around, sending my hair fluttering and prompting me to cover my face from the dusts. Before even anything else, they fought once again.


    Tch! This is magic, huh.


    Manipulating flames and ice were ridiculous enough, but lightning?! Bullshit! And there was something that even went up against that lightning!


    Damn.


    But I did notice something. It was the element I was familiar with.


    That lightning. The lightning was not as fast as I thought it would be. A true lightning would come in a flash. But the one that spearman did was not as fast as that. It did not happen in a flash.


    Therefore, I surmised there must be limitations. What could those be?


    With the memories of Estelia, and the fact about nobles, I had a guess. That limitation could be their overall magical power, or to be precise, the amount of mana. Nobles were strong because of the amount of their mana. Therefore, that could also mean that was the amount of their power.


    And that spearman wasn¡¯t able to conjure the full power of a true lightning because he was not at a strength that gives him the ability to do so.


    But this is interesting.


    It was great to learn something that was vital about this world. Even though I was annoyed that such powers exist. But if I were to learn that, I would not be annoyed anymore.


    If only Estelia learned even the basics¡­


    It was regretful, but there was nothing I could do. I still had determined some weakness.


    They can¡¯t attack if they didn¡¯t know they were already dead. Okay, that wasn¡¯t clear.


    They can¡¯t attack if I already attacked a decisive strike before they could even react.


    I turned to my brother.


    ¡°What are those magic on weapons called?¡±


    ¡°Armament Magic. Using your mana, you can enhance and do plenty more things with your weapon.¡±


    Oh, I thought it would be called along the lines of Sword Magic, or something.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    As I thought, mana.


    ¡°Teach me that, brother.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    He looked at me in confusion. He blinked at me several times as he was processing what he just heard.


    ¡°What did you say, dear sister?¡±


    ¡°Please teach me.¡±


    ¡°Aaah, uh, hm, but there¡¯s no need for you to learn that, Estel. You are a princess, not a warrior.¡±


    The other knights also looked at me with bewilderment. They must not have expected that I would ask for such a thing. I looked around as though embarrassed. At that moment I was assured that there was someone indeed missing. It was Elson, the one with those daggers, he must have been with Father.


    I directed my eyes to my Brother.


    ¡°Why not, at least I can defend myself.¡±


    ¡°... It¡¯s not that easy, you had no experience in magic. Plus, you¡¯re a princess, you have no time with learning such things. Leave these kinds of things to soldiers and knights.¡±


    Why are they so strict towards me? In that case...


    ¡°Then, please at least teach me anything that is magic.¡±


    Anything will do. I had guessed that the magic the knights used here were not for beginners or those who have never been a warrior. I am a princess, this body does not have the experience of being a fighter.


    However, there must be something that could be useful. Something that they would allow me to learn.


    ¡°.... If you say that, I¡¯m not sure if Mother and Father would allow it.¡±


    ¡°Then please convince them!¡±


    I leaned towards him with my fingers intertwined with each other. My pure eyes pleadingly gazed at my Brother with my lips pursed.


    ¡°.......¡±


    My Brother looked away as though in thought.


    Then at that moment, the victor had been decided. The one who won was the dual wielder.


    My Brother sighed as he made up his mind.


    ¡°Fine, I will go ask father if that is allowed.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, my Brother! I love you so much!¡±


    His eyes brightened. I just gave him a little motivation.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best! For my dear sister! Hahahahaha!¡±


    I will learn and use anything that could be used as a weapon.


    For the sake of self preservation, and for my beauty.


    Hm. I guess old habits die hard.


    I heard faint murmurs from the knights around me as they whispered to each other while glancing at me. There were statements from the female knights such as ¡°The princess looks so adorable¡±, then some ¡°She¡¯s so sweet¡±, along with ¡°She¡¯s so beautiful, I¡¯m jealous¡±. As for the men, I heard awed words like ¡°The princess is an angel¡±, and ¡°She¡¯s also kind¡±.


    When I heard those, I had to hold myself from smiling delightly on my face. I had to be clueless after all.


    After all that, two more pairs fought before it finally ended. During the matches, I observed carefully, since there might be something to note of. Then, as for there was nothing else to do now, I excused myself and left, returning to my room. I had to do a bit of thinking.

 Chapter 15: Alan Welford

    Alan Welford¡¯s eyes were focused only at one being. A girl. Her hair was white as platinum, eyes red as blood yet dazzling, her skin as white as snow, and beauty that one could never dream of ever laying their eyes on. Yet, that was not all there was to her.


    The princess was already leaving after the mock battles of the knights. And yet, Alan felt like his heart was leaping forward, wanting to follow after her. But that was a ridiculous endeavor to do. At first, he was only captivated at the first time he ever saw her.


    However, now, why was it that his heart was pounding every time he lay his eyes on her? Even her presence alone would make his heart jump. Alan had realized what this feeling was, perhaps this was love.


    Which was strange since he just recently met her. But, such things do happen.


    The princess was pure and kind. She might as well be the purest of all the people Alan had ever known. She was even kind enough to help him even though he only had a small wound on his hand.


    But when he looked at her eyes at that moment, he saw true concern in her eyes. Which made his heart warm only by remembering it. How wonderful it was to receive the concern of such a beautiful person. Her compassion was something to be valued, and if ever received, one must treasure it for the rest of their life.


    ¡°Uwah, the princess is gone¡­¡±


    Alan heard the disappointed voice of one of his fellow knights. He held a spear in his hand. He approached Alan and smacked his back.


    ¡°... Rogan, stop that,¡± Alan said to him.


    ¡°What? Am I interrupting your ¡°mesmerization¡±?¡± Rogan chuckled as he slapped his back a few more times again.


    Truth be told, it hurt quite a bit.


    Alan frowned as he responded to Rogan who had his carefree smile as always.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Come now, I¡¯m also a man you know. I know that kind of look anywhere.¡±


    Rogan pointed a finger at his face. Alan couldn¡¯t deny it. He stepped back, removing Rogan¡¯s hand from him.


    ¡°Stop it before anyone gets the wrong idea.¡±


    Rogan had an amused smile as he heard that.


    ¡°Oh? You afraid someone else might find out.¡±


    Rogan placed his hand on Alan¡¯s shoulder before whispering.


    ¡°Fine, a secret among men. So how was it?¡±


    ¡°... How was what?¡± Alan had no idea what he was referring to.


    ¡°You know, it¡¯s rare for us to see the princess, no less touching her. So how was her hand?¡±


    ¡°W-What?¡±


    Rogan ignored his confusion then continued.


    ¡°Was it soft? Was it smooth? Come on, let¡¯s spark the wonders of youth here, you follow me?¡±


    ¡°......... Yes, it was soft, and smooth.¡±


    It was indeed. It was incredibly pleasant to the touch. Alan somewhat wished he could hold them a little while longer. But, he shouldn¡¯t talk about something like this to the princess.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about the princess when it involves such a thing as this.¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡± He sounded disappointed. ¡°And you had just responded. But whatever, it is kinda blasphemous.¡±


    Rogan chuckled as he stepped away.


    ¡°But isn¡¯t it wonderful?! To be helped by the princess herself!¡±


    Alan furrowed his brows as he realized that Rogan was still teasing him. As he was about to respond, another voice intervened.


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    ¡°That¡¯s right, and he even had the audacity to refuse the help asked by her highness.¡±


    A woman joined them. She was the female knight who healed Alan earlier.


    ¡°Ayana¡­¡± Alan called her out. ¡°I¡­. well, it was just a small wound.¡±


    Ayana merely scoffed.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you see how worried she looked? There¡¯s no way I could just ignore her request when we can just heal you on the spot.¡±


    ¡°.... Yes, my bad¡­¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you the lucky one to be noticed by her highness. I¡¯m sure Rogan over there is jealous.¡±


    Ayana said with a wince as she pointed at the spearman.


    ¡°Of course, what man wouldn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°I expected so.¡±


    Alan smiled as he watched the two. But then, a knight suddenly joined them. His voice was stern and with a mocking tone.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get ahead of yourself, Alan.¡±


    Alan froze when he heard his brother¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Brother¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think highly of yourself that the princess noticed you. You are still weak, our father couldn¡¯t be more disappointed when he hears you barely improved.¡±


    Alan averted his eyes away and bit his lip. He was always compared to his big brother who was one of the strongest within the knight order. Perhaps because he was the strongest that Alan was always compared to him. And their father had some high expectations for Alan to follow in his brother¡¯s footsteps. It was not pleasant at all to be compared, and always being called weak.


    Would he be able to catch up to his brother? Such questions would often pop up into his mind.


    ¡°You should stop it, Alzen.¡±


    Another voice joined it. Alan turned his eyes towards that person with hope. It was the princess¡¯s brother, Estevan. He must have joined them because he was done tidying things up.


    ¡°Stop demotivating those who had the chance to improve.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. Whatever you say, your highness. If you¡¯ll excuse me.¡±


    It was rude to act that way to a royalty, however, Estevan let it pass and watched Alzen walk away.


    ¡°Ain¡¯t that guy cocky,¡± Rogan said with a grin on his face. He didn¡¯t seem to be afraid of giving that remark.


    ¡°Men always act that way when they have power.¡±


    Estevan smiled when he heard that statement from Ayana.


    ¡°But I¡¯m not like that at all, Ayana.¡±


    ¡°... It would appear so, your highness.¡±


    Estevan nodded with satisfaction before turning to face Alan.


    ¡°Alan, don¡¯t let his words get into your head. Keep training, and you will undoubtedly improve.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Rogan wrapped his arm to Alan¡¯s shoulders tightly. ¡°He got the princess as motivation, that would suffice.¡±


    ¡°Huh? My sister¡­? What do you mean by that? Rogan?¡±


    A shiver ran down Alan¡¯s spine as Estevan said those words. He had his usual smile, however, what he sensed from him was completely different from warm.


    ¡°Ah ¡ª Eh ¡ª well you see¡­¡± Rogan also seemed to be having difficulty finding the proper words to say.


    And the one to save him was Ayana.


    ¡°Anyway, your highness. It¡¯s rare to see the princess go out of the palace then to here. No, it would be more accurate to say it is more than rare.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Oh yes, indeed, it is as you say. But this is the second time she visited us.¡±


    ¡°I heard, and unfortunately we weren¡¯t here.¡±


    ¡°To be honest, ever since the incident, there had been slight changes to her. But I guess something might have crossed her mind after that terrible thing happened.¡±


    ¡°But it sure is nice to have the princess visit us often. Keeps you going you know,¡± Rogan said.


    ¡°Indeed, and it was of great pleasure that her highness watched the knight¡¯s mock battles,¡± Ayana added.


    Rogan nodded then he raised his spear a little.


    ¡°And I even gave my all seeing that the princess was watching. Hell, even that dual wielding maniac didn¡¯t even hold back!¡±


    Alan did notice that the battle between the two was oddly intense considering it was only a mock battle. However, it would seem that the knights wanted to show off to the princess. Alan felt bitter that he only looked pathetic in front of her.


    ¡°Indeed. It would appear that with the appearance of my dear sister, it boosted the troop¡¯s morale. As expected of my sister!¡±


    ¡°The knight order has fallen for her~! The pure princess, so innocent and lovable! An angel so fragile that must be protected at all cost!¡± Rogan declared loudly and all the knights heard him.


    ¡°Indeed, my sister is the best there is! Hahahaha!¡±


    Alan smiled wryly as he watched the two of them. Ayana sighed then quietly spoke to Alan.


    ¡°Better keep your distance from those¡­ weirdos.¡±


    ¡°He-he-he. Not that I can avoid them.¡±


    That being said, the look of the other knights seems to agree with those two¡¯s words.


    Alan thought about the princess, whose beauty surpasses all, and a person full of compassion. He hoped he would have a chance to speak with her more. Have a proper conversation.


    The princess would not easily go out of his mind. He would always recall her. Her smile. Her eyes. Her kindness. Her whole being, Alan would keep thinking about, that was what he expected. But that was fine. It was completely fine.


    ¡°Then, Alan, let¡¯s go train you hard.¡±


    Estevan called out to him. Alan smiled as he nodded. He felt motivated.


    ¡°Can I help?¡±


    Ayana pulled Rogan by the arm after his question.


    ¡°Yes, you can help clean.¡±


    ¡°Wait what?! No, don¡¯t wanna.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t resist.¡±


    ¡°Dammit, Ayana, this is why you could never get a man!¡±


    The next Alan heard was someone being punched on the face hard.

 Chapter 16: The Supposedly Dead Princess

    In an undisclosed location. A man with dark hair, sky blue eyes, and brown complexion walked through the chamber. The ceiling was high above, several lamps and a couple of chandeliers hanging from above. The room was shaped like a dome, with tall pillars serving as its foundations.


    The man had requested an urgent meeting with his colleagues, therefore, everyone should already be there when he makes the call. His steps were quick as they echoed in the chamber, his face tense.


    In the center of this chamber were five hooded figures waiting for him. These were his servants in the human realm.


    The man checked and fixed his appearance before giving orders.


    ¡°Make the call.¡±


    His servants complied and they held out their hands. They shone, and the next moment, everything in their surroundings changed completely. Several figures of shadow now surrounded them, hiding their true identity if they so wished it to add security in their person.


    They were not actually transported to a different place. In fact, they were still in the chamber where they originally were. This was only something akin to an illusion, and the people on the other end of their call could also see them as well as hear.


    ¡°What is the purpose of the urgent call?¡±


    The one who spoke first walked forward, choosing to reveal its identity, it was a humanoid covered in fur, two horns sprouting from its head. Its legs and appearance somewhat resemble a goat. The color of its fur was dark purple, and its fierce eyes were of the color of gold. A Satyr.


    The man straightened his posture.


    ¡°We have a problem.¡±


    It was the greatest of problems that they had thought and expected would fix itself. However, everything that had happened was something out of their expectation since they had already expected what should happen. And yet it did not.


    ¡°What would that be?¡±


    Spoke a female voice before showing herself. She had a curvy figure with grey complexion which could captivate men with the least of effort. She wore a fit dark clothing with the hood lowered down, her long legs covered in fit and stretchable fabric, and dark boots. Her long silver hair fell down, her dark eyes glared at the man. A Dark Elf.


    The man inhaled sharply. He was sure that these fellows of his would not believe him at first. However, he must deliver this invaluable information.


    ¡°... The Princess still lives.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    There was a moment of silence as they processed his words.


    ¡°That¡¯s absurd!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡±


    ¡°How could that be?¡±


    ¡°No one can escape fate!¡±


    ¡°There must be a mistake.¡±


    Words of denial came into the man¡¯s ears.


    ¡°It is true, there is no mistake.¡±


    He had to explain.


    ¡°First, there was no commotion to the palace nor the capital.¡±


    ¡°Could it be that they were hiding it?¡± the Satyr said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not yet done. Second, well, the princess was walking around the palace and the courtyards. Alive and well. I saw it myself.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be.¡±


    ¡°How could¡­


    ¡°Lieren! Did you not also intervene with fate?! Intruded and further supported it?!¡±


    Another figure showed himself in anger. He had dark hair and light brown skin. He had the ears of a wolf evident on his head, and a dark tail on the back of his waist. He was an averagely large man. He was in a robe like clothes, mostly white, red embroidery at the seams, and the large sleeves reached to his hand. A Beastman.


    ¡°Wha¡ª Yes! You saw it!¡±


    The one they asked and responded was a girl having an appearance of someone in their mid teens. She had silky light brown hair, green eyes like jade, and light brown skin. She should be slender as any of her race, but currently she was wearing a green robe which covered her figure. This girl was an Elf.


    ¡°I was sure it was successful, I felt it! I am sure! Perfectly sure!¡± She frantically defended herself.


    ¡°Maybe there was a mistake.¡±


    ¡°Impossible! I even sacrificed half my powers to intervene with fate itself to help support the prophecy! And it was permanent, I sacrificed my power just for our people, so don¡¯t even try to question me!¡±


    ¡°...Right, I apologize.¡±


    Yes, they even went this far just to make sure what was foretold to happen.


    ¡°What was the prophecy again?¡±


    The one who spoke had half the body of a horse, and half of a human. He had long brown hair and brown eyes. A centaur.


    The one who responded was the Satyr.


    ¡°The one with hair as white as the winter snow, eyes as crimson as blood, and beauty which encompasses all, will cull and spill the blood of the race of mystic. Bringing an end to the golden era, and the genesis of slaughter. The blood of magic that is to be drawn shall purify the river of life of its impurities. And yet, thirty days after the one¡¯s sixteenth year of birth, thy one shall perish.¡±


    The centaur nodded.


    ¡°Then, isn¡¯t it already past the 30th day?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s already two days passed,¡± the man answered.


    ¡°Then, what happened?!¡± the Centaur roared.


    ¡°Could it be the prophecy was wrong?¡±


    ¡°The prophecies are absolute, they have proven themselves many years ago and several times!¡±


    ¡°And I even supported it with my fate altering abilities,¡± Lieren said. ¡°So, it was utterly absolute, it should have happened, she was supposed to die!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think she was the wrong person?¡±


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    ¡°No, with the description from the prophecy¡­ that princess fits it. And¡­¡±


    ¡°The Foreteller saw it in her vision. And it matches up with the Princess¡­ she saw that Princess, Estelia Vernisia Wisteria.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ this changes a lot.¡±


    ¡°The Mystic race will be in danger at this rate... W-We will be in danger.¡±


    Fear was evident from the elf¡¯s voice. There was also fear all over the faces of the others. Of course, the man also couldn¡¯t hold back his own anxiety. Who wouldn¡¯t be when you know that extinction was a possibility.


    ¡°What do you suggest we do? Should we have her killed directly?¡± The Beastman asked.


    ¡°We could try that. However, the Cursed Children are getting in our way,¡± the man said.


    ¡°Them?¡±


    ¡°Damn those horrid creatures.¡±


    ¡°In that case, focus for the time being on slaying the royal family. We can¡¯t let their future go on.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, we must stop the lineage of that being.¡±


    ¡°What about the princess?¡± the man asked.


    ¡°Tread carefully. Something changed the prophecy.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, This changes everything.¡±


    ¡°... Therefore, I suggest finding information for the time being. Ah, by the way, has the princess shown any remarkable skills?¡±


    ¡°None whatsoever. She¡­ she was normal as ever. Clueless, naive, innocent. A completely normal girl.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then, focus on assassinating the king for the time being, we¡¯ll start with him. Remember, we must be subtle with this. Otherwise, the Church will involve themselves.¡±


    If they do not eliminate the royal family, in the far future, someone the same as the current princess might be born again. And the mystic race will once again fall into crisis. Therefore, the ideal way was to purge the royal family. And the highest priority was the king. That being said, the current Queen was someone also to be wary of which must also be eliminated thereafter. The Queen bore some resemblance to the princess, however, her silver hair was not exactly white as the princess, and the eyes differed. In any case, she was still to be executed.


    ¡°Then we shall endeavor to make it appear that a human did the deed.¡±


    ¡°Very good.¡±


    The man looked around, to his other colleagues. Some others decided to not reveal themselves while a hidden couple remained silent all this time, not letting their emotions show.


    Then he turned to look at the elf who had a terrified expression.


    ¡°Something wrong, Lieren?¡±


    The elf grimaced in anger, her beautiful face crumpled.


    ¡°Something wrong? Are you seriously asking me that?! Of course there¡¯s something wrong! The prophecy failed! And my sacrificed powers were wasted. How could there be nothing wrong? How could there be nothing wrong knowing that we are to be slaughtered?¡±


    ¡°That is why we are doing something about it. We will stop that from happening.¡±


    Yes, their destiny must be changed. Even if prophecies were absolute, they will change it. And to do that, they had to take that princess out of the picture. They must rid this world of her.


    ***


    In a mountainous region where trees were tall and foliages were thick. Numerous wildlife scattered around the forest of tall trees, a myriad of birds flapped their wings as they ascended into the sky. A dangerous region where not only wild animals walk, but also powerful monsters.


    A young man traversed the forest, his long bronze glimmering hair sway with his every step, his golden eyes gazed brightly at his path. He had pale skin and a tall stature. He wore a coat of dark green which appeared luxurious.


    A relaxed smile radiated from his face as he hummed nonchalantly in the dangerous forest.


    ¡°~Hmm~Hmm~Hmm~.¡±


    However, every animal or beast kept their distance, growling as they observed him. However, one couldn¡¯t deny the fear in their eyes as they watched him nonchalantly walk. Even the most powerful monsters in his vicinity didn¡¯t even try to attack him. They must avoid this man, their instincts begging at them.


    The young man swept away any plants that went his way. He smiled broadly when he had reached a wide clearing.


    ¡°Hello, old friend!¡±


    The young man said to the creature lying at the center of the clearing. It was a large being with scales as dark as onyx and glimmered under the sunlight. It had giant dark wings folded on its back, and large four legs. It opened its closed eyes and it revealed vertical irises which resembled those of a serpent¡¯s. Sharp teeth revealed themselves when it spoke in a growly voice.


    ¡°Taneva¡­ you have come.¡±


    The young man, Taneva, crossed his arms with a grin.


    ¡°Of course, not often I get to visit you. Well, you were the one to call, my dear dragon friend, which was a moment of the century!¡±


    The dragon¡¯s lips moved, it was smiling. The man continued as he approached closer.


    ¡°But, aren¡¯t you never bored hanging around this place? I mean, it appears to me that all you do is sleep.¡±


    The dragon lifted its head.


    ¡°If I move around places, Taneva, the humans will fall into discord, even if they only see me fly in the distance.¡±


    ¡°Humans are such cowards. In their cowardice, they would attack you even though you were doing nothing.¡±


    He referred to the humans as though they were of different species.


    ¡°They are afraid because they are weaker than me. And because they are afraid, they will endeavor to erase the personification of their fear.¡±


    ¡°Which causes you to isolate yourself here. I don¡¯t know about you, but this is unreasonable.¡±


    ¡°I am fine with it. At least it is peaceful here.¡±


    Taneva sighed.


    ¡°Whatever you say, so what did you call me for? Could it be that you miss me? I¡¯m fine with that, I¡¯m free to stay here for a few decades if you want.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Then I appreciate it. However, that is not the reason.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say I¡¯m not disappointed. So, tell me.¡±


    The dragon glanced at the far sky before looking seriously at Taneva.


    ¡°The River of Life still breathes.¡±


    The relaxed expression Taneva had turned into surprise before once again returning to a proud smirk, as though he found the thing amusing.


    ¡°Interesting. There¡¯s no mistake?¡±


    ¡°There is no mistake.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha! Then, this means, the prophecy got duped or something? Hahaha!¡±


    ¡°Prophecies are meant to be absolute. However, for some reason, it did not.¡±


    ¡°Then this could only mean one thing. The River of Life will cleanse this world of the mystic race. Isn¡¯t this something. They must be shaking in their boots at this moment.¡±


    Taneva had heard of the prophecy. Though he found it weird that it foretold the doom of the Mystic race, yet states the death of the River of Life.


    ¡°Indeed. Also, the Cursed Children must be celebrating.¡±


    ¡°I can imagine that. But, now that it turned out this way, will the gods involve themselves?¡±


    Taneva was carefreely speaking when it crumbled apart when the dragon began speaking seriously.


    ¡°No. The Neverending Observer is attempting to cut the gods¡¯ influence in this world.¡±


    ¡°............ The Neverending Observer¡­? He himself...? What?¡±


    Taneva covered his mouth as he tried to comprehend what the dragon just said. The ¡°Neverending Observer¡±. The All Seeing Watcher. This was a shock for Taneva because that deity was only an observer.


    Who watches only and to never intervene.


    His heart began to beat wildly, a little bit of anxiety creeping in.


    ¡°W-Why?¡±


    ¡°The gods incurred his wrath.¡±


    ¡°Ooooooooh. The order of the gods must be in turmoil right now.¡±


    It was basically one god against many. Yes, the Observer was a god himself. But, the way Taneva saw him when he met him, he was not like any other gods.


    He was normal. Like a normal person.


    ¡°It would seem the gods went overboard in this playground of theirs.¡±


    Taneva said as he spread out his arms, implicating that this playground was this world.


    ¡°If he emerges victorious remains to be seen.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­ But, telling all this isn¡¯t all there is to it, right? What do you want me to do? Protect the River of Life? Or kill it?¡±


    ¡°We are not a part of their battle. That being said, the prophecy has changed, and we have no idea how it will end.¡±


    ¡°So we¡¯re not to intervene then.¡±


    ¡°Watch how things unfold first. Do not let yourself be discovered. Someday, we might have to act.¡±


    ¡°If the River of Life is in danger?¡±


    ¡°If she dies, then that means that fate just corrected itself. But if she lives far longer, then, things have changed completely.¡±


    ¡°This is interesting. What could change fate, I wonder? Could it be the Neverending Observer?¡±


    ¡°We do not know that. I don¡¯t think he would do something like that though.¡±


    ¡°Well, this might be a special case of something unexplainable. But if she were put in danger, I imagine that the Cursed Children will protect her from the Mystic Race or others that want her.¡±


    ¡°So, will you go do it?¡±


    ¡°Of course I will¡­. Should I act now?¡±


    ¡°It would be best, yes.¡±


    ¡°Aaaah, I want to hang out here a little longer. But fine, see you.¡±


    The man turned around and started heading back to the forest.


    ¡°Your anti-teleportation barrier is a pain you know,¡± Taneva complained.


    The dragon chuckled.


    ¡°Bear with it, there is nothing of threat to you here anyways.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah.¡±


    Taneva pondered as he traversed the forest.


    ¡°The Princess of Blood survived, huh. Who would have expected. I wonder what kind of person she is now.¡±


    He smiled.

 Chapter 17: The Princess Plays Music - [Edited]

    Ah yes! Music class! My expertise.


    Yes, compared to when I knew there was going to be dancing, this time I was more excited, well not that I was ever excited about dancing. Today was the day for music lessons, and I believe this was where I was to shine. Although that was not entirely why I was excited. It¡¯s because I¡¯ll get to use an instrument that didn¡¯t exist back in my old world.


    I knew this because of Estelia¡¯s memories, but that being said, I regret that I wasn¡¯t a master of it yet. However, I expect it wouldn¡¯t be much of a problem compared to dancing. With this instrument, I only had to do some chords, meaning I was only to use my hand and fingers.


    It was easier to recall the position of the hands and fingers from Estelia¡¯s memories to form chords. Although I expect I would have some difficulties switching between them, I will adjust in time. I might be able to get through this without having to be scolded due to me being inept or something like that.


    Even so, as long as I know the sound of every chord, I should be fine. The chords and notes used from my old world will be applicable here.


    A tune is a tune. A melody is a melody.


    Music was the language of the universe. Unlike verbal or written language, music could be understood by all things which had the ability to hear. If the song was endearing, it would be endearing. If a song was calming, it would be calming. That said, people had music which they preferred. In other words, music was a matter of perspective, whether they liked something or not. But music was music, and it could be understood by all.


    Alright, perhaps it was just me over hyping music. But that was the truth of my universe. Music was what brought a great sense of calm to me. Even if I agonize and despair due to the pain I felt during when I was young, every time a music play, I was at peace. Therefore, when the organization taught a bit of music, I was happy. Although they didn¡¯t teach much, I learned most myself.


    After finishing my breakfast, I went back to my room to take my instruments. Behind me followed the maid who attended me yesterday, again, not Mera. I had some sort of urge to ask my parents to make Mera my personal attendant¡­


    I entered my room, and the maid excused herself in. By the corner of the room, she grabbed the wooden case that had the instrument inside. The case was shaped precisely like the instrument, so it was perfectly fit. The instrument was a rondalla of some sort, longer and bigger than a normal guitar.


    It was roughly half as tall as me.


    The maid was able to lift it with no problem. As a royalty and the pure and fragile princess, I did not need to do such a menial task like carrying the instrument. Heh, how nice.


    We headed towards the training room, with me having a bright Estelia-esque smile on my face. It was genuine this time. It didn¡¯t take long before we arrived at the room. Inside, my instructor greeted me.


    ¡°Greetings, Princess Estelia. May our hallowed Lord and Lady bless the moment of our delightful meeting.¡±


    The beautiful woman in her late twenties placed her palm on her left chest while the other hand lifted her skirt a little, like a curtsy. Having her one foot about behind the other, she bowed elegantly. Her peach hair gracefully followed her motion, afterwards her emerald eyes gazed at me.


    My instructor today was a noble. And this was the traditional noble greeting.


    ¡°It is of greatest pleasure to meet you, Madame Lanivia. May we receive the resplendent blessing from our illustrious Lord and Lady.¡±


    I did the same greeting and bow Lanivia did. But the movement was so elegant and graceful. My hair, as beautiful as an invaluable platinum, almost seemed like it floated as I lowered my head and upper body. My charming smile inspired purity and innocence, my face filled with captivating beauty, and eyes as the most beautiful of crimson gazed up to greet Lanivia¡¯s eyes.


    Her eyes widened for a moment before the corners of her lips curled up into a warm smile. She seemed to be impressed by my greeting. Because I did a better job than Estelia ever did.


    ¡°Are you ready for your practice, milady?¡±


    This woman was way different from Eleanore. This one was more gentle and kind, so easier to deal with. To that, I was thankful. Less stress I have to go through, the better.


    ¡°Believe me, Madame, I am profoundly looking forward to our session. It is more accurate to say I am wholeheartedly excited.¡±


    ¡°How glad I am to hear that.¡±


    ¡°That being said, I apologize in advance if I were to make a mistake. I¡¯m afraid I have become¡­ rusty.¡±


    ¡°My, we only had our last session last week.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. However, I had a lot of things on my mind. But, please do not worry. I assure you, it will come back to me not for long.¡±


    She smiled as she heard my firm words. I looked softly at her. Which came to mind, this world had people who had colorful hair. Which came as bizarre to me as someone who came from a world which didn¡¯t have anyone that has a natural hair color such as her.


    ¡°I am taking you up on your words. This may sound hard, but¡­ please do not disappoint me.¡±


    ¡°Of course, Madame.¡±


    I didn¡¯t have a lot of worry or the lack of confidence like when I was practicing to dance. I have more love for music after all.


    My maid took out the instrument from its case. A twelve stringed instrument, it was about half as tall as me. At the center of the body there bore a circular hole. I firstly received it by holding the neck, then the body. I sat down on a chair and laid its body on my lap.


    A smile escaped my lips when I held it in my arms. The head stock closely resembled a guitar, also with tuning keys on which the strings were tied upon. And of course, the strings vary in size, yeah, like a guitar. That being said, I was not familiar with what string this was, it was different from the strings of a guitar or a classical one.


    My instructor also now had her instrument laid on her lap. For the record, both our instruments were lavish looking, no less to be expected from aristocrats.


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    ¡°Well then, Your Highness. Before we begin, we shall determine whether our instruments are properly tuned.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, of course.¡±


    ¡°I will play each string, please familiarize the sound of each one.¡±


    It would appear she had already tuned her instrument.


    I listened to each sound of every string of the instrument called a Liathre. The sound of it closely resembled a classical guitar.


    Then finally she hit the last string.


    ¡°Did you catch what they sounded like?¡±


    ¡°I believe so.¡±


    With someone that loves music, and skillful at it due to my hard work, I was now familiar with the notes of each string.


    I plucked each one of the strings on my liathre. Slowly and quietly listened to each one. I reacted when I heard it was out of tune, even for just a little. I adjusted it until it was to my satisfaction. While doing so, however, I found myself doing it carefully. Come on, I didn¡¯t want to make the string snap whatsoever.


    Shortly after, I reached the last string, and with that, my tuning ended. I looked at Lanivia, who nodded in satisfaction. She seemed impressed by my work.


    ¡°Then, we should begin once again to the basic tune.¡±


    I watched as she raised her guitar, the instrument¡¯s neck supported by her shoulder, the bottom on her lap. She plucked a string and proceeded to another one. She did slowly and gracefully, her fingers smoothly moving across each string. Her left hand pressed on strings, and her right hand plucked.


    That¡¯s¡­


    I was familiar with it. I should have known from the memories of Estelia, however, they were not as clear as hearing it personally.


    As I thought, music is the language of the universe.


    She was playing do re mi fa so la ti do. While I listened, I intently observed the fingers of her left hand.


    Then, she was done.


    ¡°There, if you will.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    With the neck of the instrument also supported by my shoulder, I placed my finger by the strings. With the memories of Estelia and my observation, I should do good for a little. Back in my world, even though I love music, I didn¡¯t get to play any twelve string instruments. Therefore, this was my first.


    I quickly pressed the string with the do, and plucked. Then next was re, then next and next and next. I was a bit slow, but I supposed that was to be expected. When I hit the final one, I didn¡¯t stop and did a reverse, trying to get used to the motions.


    Moments passed, and I stopped. I smiled in delight.


    ¡°You¡¯re slower than usual.¡±


    ¡°Ah, my apologies.¡± I regretfully looked at my instructor.


    ¡°That is alright. Surely it will come back.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. May I try out the chords for a moment?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    I recalled the chords Estelia learned. They were the basics, but that was fine. I formed my fingers into one that I recalled. Plucking a few strings at the same time, although almost like a wave to be soft in the ears. Sometimes when plucking I like it better to not pluck at once but having the fingers pluck subsequently after the other. Like a wave. For me, it sounded more beautiful.


    My ears perked up after I heard the first chord.


    It truly is the C chord!


    I switched to a new chord. It was a D major. Then I did the A major and minor. I also did other basics. After hearing those, I became intrigued.


    I wonder what C sharp is.


    Estelia had yet to learn the form of the chord. However, with my experience from my previous life, and some, well, you could say instincts, I tried to find the correct form. I plucked the strings.


    Oops, that¡¯s not it.


    I tried again for about three more times before I smiled in glee when I heard the right sound.


    ¡°Oh? You found the chord Calia highs.¡±


    ¡°Truly?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m impressed. I have yet to even teach you that.¡±


    Apparently, the chords had literal names instead of the letters that I was familiar with.


    ¡°I was in luck, it seems. Uh, can you help me remember some of the chords?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Estelia had forgotten some chords, so I had to learn them from the instructor. I had some difficulty at first, but as time passed, I was getting used to it.


    ¡°You are a great help, Madame. You have my thanks.¡±


    ¡°Not at all, I am your teacher after all.¡±


    I smiled widely at her. Then after that, I asked for specific notes.


    ¡°Madame, how do I make a sound like this¡­¡±


    Since I didn¡¯t know the form on this instrument, I had to use my voice to replicate that note. By the way, this body had a good voice. Lanivia and my maid ¡ª who was sitting in a chair at a corner ¡ª were surprised when I did that. I suppose they didn¡¯t expect that from Esteila. However, I am very eager to learn this instrument. There was no harm in being determined to learn something that I was supposed to learn.


    In any case, despite being taken off guard, Lanivia still answered my questions.


    After that, I thanked and positioned my fingers into the chords I required. Though I have yet to pluck anything, I was just getting used to the chords.


    Lanivia observed me intently, but I ignored her. As moments passed, I was becoming a bit smoother in my transitions between chords. Then I did some quiet plucking for each chord, trying to get the feeling to it.


    After that was done, I nodded in satisfaction.


    ¡°I shall try this¡­¡±


    I began playing a song. As I was still getting used to it, it was slow and simple. However, the way I played it was beautiful, nonetheless, extremely endearing to the ears. A beautiful song which would refuse to leave your mind even after several hours.


    The song made the hearts of those who heard it flutter as warmth flushed all over their chest. The notes going through their ears made them remember those that they loved. The song was beautiful, and romantic.


    Lanivia and my maid gazed at me with intense bewilderment and awe as they watched with their eyes, and listened with their ears. They had never expected me to play like this. Even though I was playing a slow and simple version of this song, it was still a pretty song.


    This was the song ¡°Fur Elise¡± by Beethoven. This was one of my favorite pieces. Currently, I am only playing a short version, not the complete.


    Eventually, the song ended.


    There was silence. Acting confused, I stared at my instructor who had a dumbfounded look on her face, then to my maid who was¡­ crying.


    Weird.


    ¡°Urys. Why are you crying?¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    She frantically rubbed her eyes and cheek with her sleeve. ¡°M-My apologies. I¡­ I was just reminded of someone I dearly knew.¡± She forced a smile.


    ¡°... I see¡­ I¡¯m sorry if what I did reminded you of something sad.¡±


    ¡°No no, you do not need to be sorry, milady. It was a beautiful song, and it touched my heart.¡±


    ¡°... If you say so.¡±


    ¡°Where did you learn that ¡ª no, when did you learn that song?¡± Lanivia asked.


    ¡°Um¡­¡±


    I played a song not known by anyone here. I couldn¡¯t hold myself, okay? That said, I believe it was not a foolish thing to do, okay maybe a bit foolish, but not gravely foolish. It was just a mere song. Nothing was dangerous in doing that. It wouldn¡¯t kill me.


    I just¡­ wanted to do something that I love. Only on rare occasions could I relaxedly play music, and I always take such opportunities to heart. And¡­ I wanted to do what I wanted to do.


    Besides, if I couldn¡¯t even do something like this, what was the point of this new life? When freedom was finally at hand, would you keep yourself from doing what you love? If I restrain myself here, it would be no different to reassembling the already shattered shackles which used to bind me. I want to do what I want, play music if I want.


    Why should I stop myself from doing so?


    ¡°Well, the song came once in a dream. I don¡¯t know why though, it has been on my mind lately.¡±


    ¡°Amazing! It was splendid, Your Highness! I had never heard such a song before, and it was incredibly beautiful at that. It could be a masterpiece! No, it may already be one!¡±


    She was full of excitement. How delightful. Seeing that someone loved music so much, like me, made me glad, and brought to me some respect for Lanivia. It was a great thing to have someone that shares your passion.


    ¡°R-Really? But it was not good. It felt like it still needed some work.¡±


    Indeed, that song was not at its fullest potential since I played it on a new instrument. But I imagine, if I practice for a whole day, I would drastically improve.


    ¡°Then how about we work on it? I shall make you obtain the mastery to use the liathre. That way, I believe you can fully develop that piece you have made.¡±


    Although I did not make it.


    If this song was ever made public, I have to include Beethoven¡¯s name somewhere. In honor of a great musician.


    ¡°Y-Yes, I think if I can practice more, I can perfect the song I played.¡±


    Lanivia and I looked at each other with bright eyes. Immediately, we began practicing.


    I wonder if there is a piano in this world. But I shouldn¡¯t expect it.


    Having a piano would be wonderful.

 Chapter 18: Kind Princess - [Edited]

    <div>


    Around early afternoon, after having lunch together, my music instructor and I returned to our room to continue practice. She was supposed to leave around noon. However, she asked that we practice for a little while.


    Well, who was I to refuse that? So, along with a permission from Mother, we were back here. I was actually getting better, I have familiarized a lot of chords and memorized a few. As for the plucking, come on, I played guitar, so not much of an issue for that.


    As for my instructor, she had also learned some chords used in the song I played earlier. However, she still needed to practice on the song itself. But I should say, I was impressed, as expected from a professional musician, she was learning fast.


    Later on, a servant came to the room bearing the message that my father had arrived and was now at the gates.


    ¡°Excuse me Madame Lanivia, I have to greet Father for his return.¡±


    I was planning to go out by myself, but Lanivia also rose from her seat and gently placed her instrument down.


    ¡°I will also be going. It would be impudent of me if I do not greet the King.¡±


    She was a noble, so as one, she must greet the King of this country if she was in the palace. I guess it would be informal and inappropriate to not greet him.


    Lanivia, Urys, and I headed straight to the front of the palace where Father¡¯s convoy was expected to come. Upon reaching the front doors and stepping outside, I saw several carriages pulled by horses coming in. Some were open and had knights riding upon them, while some were closed, which I imagine were occupied by other knights. At the center was a more impressively designed carriage, colored in gold and red, with an emblem in the shape of a wisteria emblazoned on its doors.


    My mother and brother were already waiting and standing. I could see my mother rubbing her thumb, she seemed to be uneasy and impatient. While my brother turned around to face me, as though sensing my presence. He smiled.


    ¡°Brother, Mother.¡±


    ¡°Hey, dear sister.¡±


    ¡°Estelia¡­¡±


    I stood with them. I had an expression of utter concern and fright as I waited for my father.


    ¡°E-Everything¡¯s fine, right?¡± I asked with a slightly trembling voice.


    Estevan chuckled for a moment. ¡°You see how the knights look?¡± he asked.


    I looked at the knights closely from where I was standing as they headed towards us. I returned my gaze to my brother and nodded.


    ¡°Those expressions are not entirely grim. So it is safe to assume that Father is alive.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I smiled brightly, with joy lighting up my eyes. ¡°Thank goodness.¡± I sighed in relief.


    Before long, the convoys stopped, and the King¡¯s carriage stopped in front of us. In that instant, the door charged open. A man in purple, white, and golden armor emerged from the carriage. His smile widened as he approached us with rushed steps.


    ¡°Greetings, my family! I am alright, as you can see!¡±


    I smiled with happiness when I saw how energetic Father was. I stepped forward as though to make sure that my eyes didn¡¯t deceive me.


    ¡°F-Father, are you sure you¡¯re fine?¡±


    Well, to be honest, that didn¡¯t look to be the complete case. I looked at every part of his armor. The plate by the breast was scratched, and the trace was as large as two of my fingers stuck together. Then his left shoulder armor was torn apart, as though something clawed it off.


    Just how much strength did a creature have to cause that?


    ¡°Daughter~! I¡¯m not bleeding, am I? Healing magic has its charms, so any injuries are treated. Are you scared for me? Aaaw~. Come, give me a hug.¡±


    He spread his arms, but before all else, I held out my hands.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t, Father, your armor will hurt me.¡±


    ¡°I suppose¡­¡± He sounded disappointed.


    ¡°Welcome back, dear,¡± said my mother with a relieved smile.


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    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m back.¡±


    They smiled at each other, followed by a moment of silence when they just stared at each other quietly. Their eyes seemed to be full of fondness and happiness that they saw each other once again. I could imagine countless flowers in the background, blossoming for the sake of these two lovebirds.


    Ain¡¯t that sweet.


    Seeing people act like this was a bit entertaining.


    ¡°Father,¡± Estevan chimed in, breaking their moment. ¡°It is truly a great thing that you have returned alive and well.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, but I don¡¯t know if the same could be said for those who had severe injuries that may as well be called¡­ permanent.¡±


    We turned our eyes towards the soldiers hopping off the carriages. Armors damaged and torn, some by the shoulders, and some by their waist, and some others. Others carried their damaged helms in their hands.


    I saw one knight had a bandage covering half his face, blood at the part of his eye. I think he lost his eye. However, I could still see him smile as he conversed with the other knights.


    In contrast, I saw one knight that had lost two of his fingers on his right hand, the pinky and the ring fingers. But he didn¡¯t seem to think a lot about it. Then there was one who had lost his hand from the wrist. He was not like the other aforementioned knights, he looked like he was in despair. His face was completely devoid of any form of joy or relief. It sucks to lose a hand.


    Healing spells were a thing. However, seeing this scene, I was convinced that healing spells can¡¯t heal everything. If the wound was fatally severe, like those injuries, they couldn¡¯t be healed. That being said, all I have seen for the moment were some body parts that were cut off.


    That means that healing spells couldn¡¯t regrow those body parts. But what if you were cut severely in the guts, organs threatening to come out and blood spilling out, can that be healed? After all, there was no need to regrow but only sealing the wound or something. I had no definite answer yet. But I was sure that healing spells couldn¡¯t regrow limbs or such.


    I wonder if there were other kinds of healing spells or magic that can help with those. Now why was I pondering about this too much? Of course it¡¯s for me. What if in the future my precious fingers were cut, or my delicate hands, or what if my eyes were gouged out? I don¡¯t want to be like that permanently. I want to at least ensure that I could regrow those just in case something bad as that happens to me.


    I love my body, thank you very much.


    ¡°H-How terrible¡­¡± I said quietly, my hands trembling as I did.


    ¡°Estel, should we enter?¡± Estevan said.


    ¡°Um, t-there¡¯s no need to rush.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to force yourself if you can¡¯t bear to watch.¡±


    ¡°But they are our soldiers, aren¡¯t they? I couldn¡¯t just simply walk out knowing that they fought for the nation and were injured in the process.¡±


    My family looked at me with wide eyes. A few knights in close proximity were also able to hear me and looked at me with surprised expressions. Receiving their gazes, I flinched and lowered my head while avoiding their eyes.


    My words also seemed to move my father¡¯s heart as he looked around at his knights. ¡°... My Estelia is so kind¡­¡±


    ¡°N-No, I¡¯m¡­ Is there something we can do for them? At least treat them to an elaborate feast or anything¡­?¡± I quietly said that only my family could hear.


    ¡°Well, we can do a feast. I was planning to give them some expensive alcohol at first to serve as a celebration for our success and survival. But since you suggested it, we can maybe do it tomorrow, around mid-morning. And no one died, so that¡¯s a plus and cause for celebration.¡±


    ¡°No one died? Truly?¡± Estevan asked.


    ¡°Indeed, even if the battle was hard, we suffered no deaths.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing.¡±


    ¡°Well, I ordered them to prioritize their lives and don¡¯t foolishly charge in.¡±


    I recalled the mock battles of the knights I witnessed. They were stupidly strong. Now I dread to imagine just what kind of creatures gave trouble to these knights, and especially Father. I wouldn¡¯t want to face those kinds of creatures. Those so-called monsters.


    I looked again at the knights who battled those creatures. I tried to imagine those monsters¡¯ strengths. I wouldn¡¯t be able to win if I faced such things. Amidst my observation, I saw Elson. He appeared to be completely fine, though some torn armor in a few spots. There was a holster strapped across his waist, hung upon them were daggers, and some were already empty.


    Daggers worked on those things? Hm.


    I doubt plain daggers could cause a light of damage. Elson must have used some Armament Magic or something to those daggers.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk inside for the time being,¡± my Mother suggested.


    We, of course, agreed.


    On the way, Father encountered Lanivia.


    ¡°Greetings, my King. It is a pleasure to meet you again. May our hallowed Lord and Lady bless the moment of our delightful meeting.¡± Lanivia performed the traditional noble greeting and curtsied formally.


    ¡°Lanivia, a surprise to meet you here. May we receive the resplendent blessing from our illustrious Lord and Lady.¡± My father placed his palm on the left side of his chest and bowed a little. ¡°I thought you would have left by now.¡±


    Lanivia smiled. ¡°I was supposed to. But I was awed by your daughter. I was tremendously surprised and amazed. Therefore, I wanted to take this opportunity to spend a little more time with Her Highness.¡±


    ¡°You mean that involves music, right?¡±


    ¡°It is as you say, Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°This is the first. What happened?¡±


    ¡°I imagine you will be surprised if you learned of it.¡±


    ¡°Really now?¡±


    Father looked at me in puzzlement but also a bit of curiosity and interest. Well, I would be glad to show off the skills I was so proud of. But I was not completely confident with the current instrument just yet.


    I acted all embarrassed and avoided his gaze.


    ¡°I wonder what that could be.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m interested.¡±


    ¡°I also am.¡±


    Mother and Brother added.


    ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯m¡­¡±


    I looked at Lanivia as though asking for help.


    She answered my plea. ¡°Ah, it is not ready yet. It is far from perfection since Princess Estelia is still practicing the liathre.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Then I will look forward to the fruits of your labor, dear daughter,¡± Father said.


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s return inside. I still need to change out of this armor.¡±


    We agreed, and all of us entered.


    ¡°You can return to your practice for the time being, we¡¯ll meet again later in dinner,¡± Father said. ¡°And also, your suggestion of a feast for the knights, we¡¯ll talk about that.¡±


    ¡°O-Okay.¡±

 Chapter 19: A Big Day

    This was a big day!


    Alright!


    Yes, I am finally going out of this place and touring around the all unknown city. Last night there was a bit of a challenge, but I managed, as you can notice from my excitement.


    So during dinner, father brought the topic of the feast for the knights. And for goodness sake, he wanted me to be the host. Like, come on, no way! I ain¡¯t doing that. Of course I reminded him that I would be going out into the city the next day.


    However, he went and said I can postpone it. Obviously I refused. I waited three days for this, there was absolutely no way I was about to delay it again. What if it was to be delayed again? And again? And again?


    But of course Father just had to insist and even promised to let me go out the day after the feast. After hearing that, I pleaded Brother for help, but he just shrugged. It was vexing. It would seem that Estevan was in favor of it.


    Seeing that my Brother was no help, I asked help from Mother. But, she also agreed with the others. I was being pushed into a corner. But I did not falter. I gave a reason.


    I said to them that I was a lady, a girl. The knights were mostly men, so I said that it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate for a lady to attend such a party. But they rebutted that there were also female knights that were to surely attend.


    Yes, there were indeed a few female knights. But I didn¡¯t back down yet. I added that I was Princess, a royalty. If I were in their presence, they wouldn¡¯t be able to let loose since they had to act appropriately in front of the princess. So, I recommended that I should have no presence in their parties so they can enjoy the event to their heart¡¯s content.


    It was certain that their actions would be restrained and reserved, and they wouldn¡¯t fully enjoy the feast if I was there. Father contemplated at first then later concurred. What a great relief that was.


    If everything went down otherwise, the wait would cause me agony. Okay maybe that was an exaggeration since I am a patient girl¡­ Anyways! Now that was out of the way, it was a cause to be happy about.


    In contrast, about me learning some magic. Well, I decided to leave it to my Brother. However, before dinner, he said that we shouldn¡¯t bring out such a topic yet. His reason was that Father had just arrived from a battle with monsters. So it was best to ask Father when he had already rested and was in a brightfully good mood.


    I sort of agreed. People find it hard to refuse about something when they were in a good mood, with nothing to worry and be agitated about. When stressed, well, some would just reject something outright without giving it much thought.


    In any case, I can wait on that part. I was going out of the palace for the time being anyways, so I am to focus on my freedom. I can worry about learning magic after that.


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    Which brought us at this very moment.


    I wore a light dress which the skirt reached right below the knees. Not too long so I should be able to move around more freely compared to some dresses a princess like me should wear most of the time. Furthermore, I was wearing a pair of brown boots, which was finely made, I should say, it was definitely expensive.


    ¡°Please tie my hair properly, Mera. So that they won¡¯t tangle around when I wear my cloak and cover my head.¡±


    I spoke to my new assigned personal maid. During dinner, I asked my parents to have Mera become my personal attendant, and I was met with no resistance. Cool. Mera was informed quickly about it, and the morning I woke up, she was there to greet me.


    How nice. She was smiling brightly, so brightly that it baffled me for a moment. I suppose she was just happy to be the personal maid of the Princess. I was glad to have her back of course, she was much more entertaining to tease and to have company.


    ¡°Understood, milady.¡±


    Her flowery voice reached my delicate ears as I gracefully sat down on the chair. I should say, my gracefulness has improved a lot compared to my time in the organization. Maybe it was because I was being a real princess. Oh well¡­


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t tie it into a bun.¡±


    ¡°A bun? You don¡¯t like your hair tied that way, milady?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. I like my hair being flourished¡­ Something along those lines.¡±


    In my previous life, I was not quite fond of tying my hair into a bun, even though it keeps my hair from obstructing my view. Thus, I always tie it into a ponytail if I needed to. I like my hair to wave freely.


    Especially now that I have hair as precious as gemstones, yet more polished than any jewels. I don¡¯t want it to be tied like a bun. Not at all!


    ¡°I see. Then as you wish.¡±


    She then went to work on my hair. She enthusiastically styled my hair into a braid. Well, this was nice.


    The room was silent. I decided to have a little chat for the moment.


    ¡°Mera, me requesting for you to be my personal maid was sudden, so I suppose you were surprised.¡±


    ¡°...... Yes, I was surprised when I was told last night¡­ I didn¡¯t believe it at first. After all, you never had someone become your personal attendant.¡±


    Well, yes, Estelia was like that. She never had requested someone to be her personal attendant. Estelia was after all satisfied by how things work.


    ¡°... I suppose. But I was not expecting for you to make up your mind so fast.¡±


    The servants had the capability to accept or refuse such a request. This place had no tyrannical superiors that would forcefully assign a servant to be a personal attendant.


    I turned my head slightly to look at her from the corner of my eyes.


    ¡°I expected you would make your decision after a few days.¡±


    She paused as she greeted my eyes.


    ¡°...... I did give it a lot of thought,¡± she flashed me a bright smile. ¡°But, I was happy to hear the request. So I immediately agreed¡­¡±


    ¡°You were happy?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t comprehend her. Why would someone be happy serving someone? It was no different to being chained to a boulder. Movements restrained, reaches limited, never to escape. And following someone¡¯s bidding.


    What joy is to be found in such things?


    ¡°Yes. Serving you, milady, brings me joy. Standing by your side, following you, aiding you, I am happy.¡±


    Such people were hard to understand. As it was pointless to think hard about it, I didn¡¯t ponder about it for long and gave a short remark.


    ¡°Is that so? I appreciate it, Mera¡­ And, I am glad you accepted my request.¡±


    I turned my head and faced forward, urging for her to continue styling my hair. There was a moment of pause from Mera before I heard her faint voice.


    ¡°Thank you, princess.¡±


    Somehow her voice sounded sincere. But I didn¡¯t think much of it.

 Chapter 20: Awaited Me

    After fixing my hair, Mera and I headed to the palace¡¯s entrance door where my Brother was waiting. A bit behind me, I could sense Mera gawking directly at me as she held the folded brown cloak in her arms.


    I occasionally turn my head to look at her, with a bit of curiosity as to why she was looking oddly at me. Often my movement was swift so I always caught her and she would jolt a little whenever that happened.


    She was quite amusing to watch to be honest. And this was one of the reasons why I had her become my personal maid.


    A few moments later, we had reached our destination. By the door, there my brother, Estevan, was standing in wait. A servant by his side holding the same kind of cloak I had. He was also royalty, so it was to be expected that he should also hide his identity.


    If they were worried about such an issue, then why have him as my guard?


    Well, I did suggest that. But they were the ones that agreed. They could have assigned someone else. That said, my brother was one of the strongest knights, so perhaps my parents wanted someone strong by my side and someone absolutely trustworthy. Whatever, as long as everything goes well, I¡¯m fine with it.


    ¡°Estel! Finally! Hm hm, looking good.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much, brother. And you look dashing as always!¡±


    ¡°Hearing that from my dear sister is incredibly wonderful. So, are you ready?¡±


    I smiled.


    ¡°Of course I am. Why wouldn¡¯t I be? Mera.¡±


    I called Mera and indicated the cloak. She spread it open and slid the clothing unto me. I pulled the hood and covered my head, hiding my platinum hair of pure white, and concealing my beautiful face halfway. I pulled the cloak to further cover my body. The cloak was plain, the sewing and the fabric was not as fine as my dress, but that was completely fine. It can help blend in with the crowd and not to attract attention.


    ¡°By the way brother, does everyone in the city know your face?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°Of course. As a prince, I often have to show my face, especially on special occasions and festivals.¡±


    ¡°I see. But they don¡¯t know how I look, don¡¯t they?¡±


    He nodded as he wore his cloak. Furthermore, he also strapped a sword which was sheathed by his left waist, then covered it from view.


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    ¡°Of course, you never went out of the palace. So no one has seen you beside other nobles.¡±


    ¡°Then this means I am safer than you, brother,¡± I giggled. ¡°The people would swarm you first before they even realize I am the princess.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s good. At least I would serve as a good distraction, you¡¯ll be safer that way.¡±


    He patted my head.


    ¡°... Y-Yes¡­¡±


    I acted embarrassed as a faint flush came into my cheeks while I nodded.


    ¡°B-But if there¡¯s danger brother, you better escape.¡±


    ¡°Now now, there¡¯s no need to be so concerned.¡±


    He gave me a confident smile, as though saying he would be perfectly fine. I nodded at him with a relieved smile on my face. Just then, we heard footsteps coming our way. We turned towards the hallways to see both our parents coming our way.


    ¡°Oh, my dear daughter appears so ready!¡±


    Father said with a smile, when he approached closer, he squeezed both my cheeks with his hand. I was startled since it was out of the blue.


    ¡°F-Father!¡± I exclaimed to show my genuine surprise.


    ¡°My daughter is going out for the first time! This is an important event. It¡¯s quite unfortunate we can¡¯t come with you.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, what a shame. We can¡¯t let the whole royal family tour around the city after all. It¡¯s dangerous. Be very careful, okay?¡± My mother said as she held my hand tightly.


    The air around me felt so friendly and warm... Family? A strange feeling this was, receiving the care of others. It was¡­ pleasant¡­ But, I must not be swayed by such feelings. These feelings offer me nothing good...


    Was that really the case? I don¡¯t know. Perhaps¡­ no¡­ I reject these feelings.


    I shook my head to shake off those bothersome thoughts.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much, I have Brother on my side. But, we¡¯ll be careful.¡±


    ¡°Good. Have fun.¡±


    ¡°Tell us what you encountered later, okay dear daughter?¡±


    ¡°Certainly.¡±


    After saying our goodbyes, my brother led me to the palace gates which leads to the outside. The guards saw us, as I already had the hood of my cloak cover my head, and my brother showing his face, most of their attention came to him first.


    But as we approached closer, a lot of their attention had been aimed at me. I lowered my head as I hid behind my brother.


    ¡°Your highness, the prince!¡±


    All the soldiers surrounding us went down on one knee, greeting my brother. It would seem they did not know that it was me. But I suppose that was for the best. Estevan didn¡¯t seem to care that they did not recognize that accompanying him was the princess.


    ¡°Rise,¡± he gave the command and the soldiers all stood up. ¡°We will be leaving the palace for a while.¡±


    ¡°Understood. I shall prepare the guards.¡±


    ¡°No need. We will be fine.¡±


    ¡°... As you wish.¡±


    None of the soldiers were informed that I would be going out. It would be better if a few only knew after all.


    They opened the gates, as they did so, Estevan spoke to the guards.


    ¡°Speak no one of this.¡±


    The soldiers all responded in affirmative. They often stole glances at me. It appears they already had some suspicions as to who I was under the cloak. Well, as long as they know it was me, they¡¯ll know that they had to keep their mouth shut. Unless some of them were two-faced pricks.


    Of course, as the princess as I was, I avoided their gazes.


    As the large gates made of both metal and thick wood opened, the sunlight from the other side leaked through the gaps. The portcullis raised up, the gates opened, I saw a long expanse of the paved pathway, and beyond I saw different kinds of buildings.


    I smiled in glee as I saw the scene before me, and what awaited me to traverse it.

 Chapter 21: The Pretty Bird Had Left the Nest

    The pretty bird had finally left the nest!


    I wanted to yell that out of my mouth, but regrettably I couldn¡¯t do that. But oh well.


    At the moment we were walking down the pathway from the palace gates. My steps were energetic and springing ever so slightly as Estevan followed behind me. A gleeful smile radiating on my face.


    I walked to the edge and saw a clear river stream going down under the bridge we were walking on. The water sparkled under the gentle light of the morning sun, tiny fishes swam and jumped above the surface, shiny pebbles laying under the water stream only made the scene before me more eye-catching


    Too late did I realize that I had stopped in my tracks to admire the beauty. The river, the fishes, the trees rustling in the gentle breeze. I didn¡¯t have a lot of leisurely time to enjoy such sceneries in my former life. I could only barely have the chance to do so.


    That only made me appreciate more what was happening now. I took in a long sharp breath, inhaling the refreshing air.


    ¡°Estel.¡±


    Estevan suddenly called out to me amidst my adoration, I jolted to the side to face him.


    ¡°B-Brother.¡±


    ¡°We only went outside the gates and you¡¯re already this happy,¡± he said with a chuckle, an amused smile blooming on his face.


    ¡°Y-Yes. I couldn¡¯t contain myself. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°What are you sorry about? There¡¯s nothing to apologize for.¡±


    ¡°... Yes¡­¡±


    Brother gazed at the river before peering all around.


    ¡°What say we go by the river bank for a while before going to the city?¡±


    I beamed up.


    ¡°Really? We can? Let¡¯s do it! Let¡¯s go!¡±


    I strode ahead first with quick steps. Brother followed and positioned beside me. We reached the end of the bridge and we turned to the side and walked over towards the river bank.


    When we got closer, the sound of the flowing water reached my ears more vividly. So calming and peaceful. I kneeled down with both knees beside the river and leaned forward. I saw my face being reflected on the water surface, there was a genuine happy smile upon it.


    Pretty lips curled broadly, eyes that looked so warm and joyful. Not the face I usually see when I see myself in a mirror. I spaced out for a short moment until I saw Estevan¡¯s face beside my reflection.


    I scooped some water, and a cold sensation came all over my hand.


    ¡°Amazing, the water is so clean.¡±


    I was genuinely amazed. You seldom see rivers this serene and clean back in my old world. I raised my hand filled with water and tilted it slightly, I let the water slowly fall as I observed its clarity.


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    I turned to Estevan who was sitting on the grass with folded legs. I smiled at him, showing my happiness. He gave a satisfied smile, as though he himself was glad that I was feeling this way.


    I heard a faint splashing of water, in reflex I turned towards the source of the sound, curious. A tiny fish jumped up out of the water. In addition, a group of fishes swam around.


    Should I try catching a few?


    Thinking to myself, I dove my hand in the water in hopes to catch even just one. But the tiny fishes were swift and evaded my hand. I pouted.


    As expected, they¡¯re quick.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to have a hard time catching the small ones,¡± Estevan said as he glanced at the river.


    ¡°I thought so¡­¡±


    ¡°We should bring a net next time, we can go fishing. Plus, there should be a few big ones, so we might just come back home with a few catches.¡±


    ¡°Yes! We should go back next time!¡± I looked at him with excitement. ¡°By the way, I sort of wanted to take a dip in the water, just my foot. But¡­ the water is not so shallow that we can just step in nonchalantly.¡±


    The water would wet my dress. It perhaps reached above my knee.


    ¡°Hm. There should be somewhere we can do that. Should we go find it?¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°We plan on going to the city. So I think we should do that next time.¡±


    ¡°If you say so¡­... It sure is nice and quiet.¡±


    ¡°Does no one live around here?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re still in the territory of the palace, so no commoners are around here. But if we go further, we¡¯ll start to encounter plenty of houses.¡±


    ¡°Are commoners allowed to come here?¡±


    ¡°As long as they don¡¯t get closer to the palace without permission, it should be fine.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    I took one last glance at the river before standing up.


    ¡°Let¡¯s continue on, brother.¡±


    He stood up as he patted his pants. Then we went on our way


    ¡°Alright, ah, from here on out, please remain right by my side.¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± with that, we strode onward. ¡°Ah yes, it¡¯s a promise that we¡¯ll come here fishing, right?¡±


    Come now, I need a reason to get out, just in case they would be strict with me again. At least next time, I can get Estevan involved.


    ¡°Yeah yeah, I promise.¡±


    He smiled while looking at me as he promised.


    ¡°Don¡¯t break it, okay?¡±


    ¡°Why would I break a promise I made with my dear sister?¡± He chuckled.


    ¡°You better don¡¯t. Else I¡¯ll ignore you for a year¡­¡±


    He gasped as he stopped in his tracks.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s just cruel! Please have a heart, Estel!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why don¡¯t break your promise.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­¡±


    I gave him a charming smile before facing forward. At this moment, I began to see houses in the short distance. Some made of bricks, some made of stones, some made of wood.


    I was getting there. The moment I reach the city, I must definitely tour around! It¡¯s going to be an adventure!


    But there must be something I should find while doing so. Blacksmiths.


    Yes, I must find out at least where one was located.


    ¡°Ah by the way brother. The knight¡¯s feast. Is it really happening now?¡±


    ¡°Of course. When they were told about it yesterday, they were overjoyed and cheered loudly as they did so. Then, they were very grateful when they heard it was per your request.¡±


    ¡°... Was it necessary to tell them that?¡±


    ¡°I think so. They think highly of you, you know.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­ That¡¯s embarrassing to hear¡­¡±


    Good! The meatshields are ready!


    Well, I was not sure if that was indeed that case. But if Brother said it, that should be what they think of me. Not all, but at least a lot of them. Even if I have yet to fully influence them to be my meatshields, at least this just goes to show I was making a decent amount of progress.


    As we got closer to the houses, I began to see many and many more people. Unlike the extravagant clothes nobles wear that I always see in the palace, the people here wore simple clothing. Plain and unlavish. Although I saw very few which wore clothes that appeared more expensive than normal.


    I pulled my hood even more and also pulled my cloak, covering my body even more. My beauty might attract a large amount of attention when people see it at its full glory. And that would be troublesome. Also, the most I should do was hide my hair. Apparently, my hair was very unique, I heard people in the palace said that, as well as my family, so I should do my best to hide them.


    And now, here begins my entrance to the city. I expect a lot of exciteful things to discover and encounter.

 Chapter 22: The Cursed Children & The Eternal Wanderer - [Edited]

    In a nation named after a beautiful flower, there was a city which bears the meaning of calm and peace. And yet, it was the center of undesirable eyes. In this city of Serene, Wisteria¡¯s royal capital, beings of power lurk within, hidden from the eyes of many. Beings that no ordinary creatures could hope to overpower, nor defeat.


    One of these powerful beings was a man. Young and handsome.


    In an alley, this young man with long bronze hair was wandering around. His golden eyes looked at the bottle of liquor in his hand. His smile beamed in delight.


    ¡°This is an expensive wine. I hope it''s worth the time.¡±


    Well, not that his time was strictly limited.


    He had only arrived in the city a couple of days ago, and he did take a leisurely time going around the city. It had been a while since he was here. More than a decade ago, when he heard of something interesting and kind of a big deal.


    He peered around the surrounding alleyway.


    ¡°Hm, it changed a little.¡±


    One reason he went around the place was because he wanted to see what had changed. As a being such as himself, he appreciated even the tiny things that he deemed interesting, this included the changes in the passages of time.


    He gazed at the bottle in his hand once again. ¡°... Fine, just a little sip.¡±


    He was not slacking off amidst his task, just experiencing little things. And a bottle of liquor was one of those little things to enjoy. He opened the cork of the bottle and drank a handful of its content.


    ¡°Hm, not bad.¡±


    As he expected, the wine was good. Wisteria was one of those who made good quality wine, after all.


    ¡°... It never disappoints. Hm, that aside, there sure are a lot of bothersome guys around here.¡±


    Despite him appearing to be fooling around, he was taking in a lot of what was going on in the city. He had to be extra careful and must hide his presence to avoid being discovered.


    ¡°The princess is going to have her hands full.¡±


    The Princess of Wisteria, Estelia. Her hair of platinum was blindingly dazzling, and hypnotizing crimson eyes. He had only just started the observation. But found nothing of note so far. He expected a lot, considering the prophecy.


    It¡¯s starting to make me think that it was fake.


    But of course it was not, it was absolutely genuine. But he was still a bit confused. Maybe things turned out this way because the gods were in disarray. Or perhaps there were other factors at play. Thinking about the gods¡¯ turmoil, he cheered for the Observer in his heart. He was never on the side of the gods, anyway. That was why he felt elated to hear that the Neverending Observer was rebelling against them.


    But the Observer was alone, so there was a high chance he could fail and fall from grace. But if he succeeds¡­


    Good luck to the world then.


    He drank a little from the bottle again.


    Alright, the Princess is out in the city.


    Quite risky, very, in fact. But of course she didn¡¯t know that very risk.


    He could easily imagine what factions were around in the city. The mystic race. Then the Cursed Children. Those two were the first for the time being, but there would surely be others that would join late.


    Well, I may be the third faction.


    The Mythics.


    He may be alone, but he believed he alone was enough to call himself as another faction. Well, for now, he was just watching.


    ¡°Whatever¡­ At least this wine right here is good. I can relax for a bit¡­¡± He furrowed his brows. ¡°Or not.¡±


    He sighed as he sensed a few presence surrounding him.


    They¡¯re fast, as I expected.


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    He was already completely outnumbered and surrounded, and the other party were no normal beings. Still, he didn¡¯t appear anxious or threatened. He was nonchalant as ever.


    Amidst the shadowy shades of the buildings surrounding him, several figures came into view. Humans, perfectly human in appearance. Men and women, young and old. However, they were entirely not what they appeared to be.


    A man in his early twenties showed himself in front of him.


    ¡°Eternal Wanderer, why have you come here?¡±


    The man had black hair and amber eyes. The others also have the same features.


    The Eternal Wanderer raised both his hands, showing he was not intending to fight. These people were serious, openly showing their hostility. He would prefer not to have a fight with them.


    And here I thought we had an amicable relationship.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I be here?¡± the Wanderer asked.


    The man glared at him. ¡°Your presence alone is something to be cautious about. So, answer me, why are you here?¡±


    The Wanderer smiled as he glanced at a dark corner. ¡°Well, as you can see¡­ I am merely¡­ wandering, obviously. What else could I be doing here?¡±


    The man narrowed his eyes. ¡°This isn¡¯t the time to be joking around.¡±


    Seeing the man so agitated amused the Wanderer. ¡°Why do you have to be so cold towards me?¡±


    ¡°You know the reason.¡±


    Of course, he knew. He also anticipated that they would show themselves to him, eventually. After all, these guys have more eyes here than the mystic race.


    ¡°Ah, yes I do.¡± He smirked. ¡°The only salvation of the Cursed Children. That is the reason you are here.¡±


    ¡°Then you being here is no mere coincidence.¡±


    ¡°But what if it is? I mean, I always go around places, so it¡¯s certain that I would end up here, at this place, at some point.¡±


    ¡°As if.¡± He scoffed. He didn¡¯t believe him at all, despite how honest he might look.


    ¡°Come now, young man, you were not that hostile to me in the past. What¡¯s your name again?¡±


    He only met this person for a short while, so he had forgotten his name since he wasn¡¯t all that important at the time.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to answer that. Now, why are you truly here? Have you come to intervene?¡±


    ¡°What? No, of course not.¡±


    The man gritted his teeth before speaking in a threatening tone. ¡°This is not your battle, Wanderer.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m just here to drink the wine I just bought.¡±


    The man walked closer to him, keeping his sharp glaring eyes pointed at him. ¡°Just as the Princess survived from the absolute prophecy, you came here. There must be a reason.¡±


    The Wanderer smiled, as though reminded of something. ¡°Ah yes! I should congratulate you on that. Good for you! And if I do have a reason to be here, it is surely not to intervene with you, or the mystic race.¡±


    ¡°Really now? Hah! As if I will take your word for it. If you even dare try to harm her, we will hunt you down.¡±


    The Wanderer chuckled at his absurd declaration.


    ¡°Really now? Kill me? That would never work. And, if my goal here was to slay the Princess, I would have done so already.¡± The Wander¡¯s power began to emanate just a little. A presence and aura that could drive away mild beasts and monsters in fear. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have seen her, the hope you so cherished would have vanished from your grasp, you would have returned to your pitiful home, crying in agony and despair. Praying that your torment would end.¡±


    ¡°You bastard. If it comes to it, I will just destroy your entire being until there is nothing left of you.¡±


    ¡°Then better ask the gods for a blessing if you wish to do that.¡±


    ¡°Damn the gods!¡±


    The man¡¯s anger and irritation was evident in his voice and eyes.


    The Wanderer sighed and turned towards a corner as his strong aura vanished. ¡°Old man, why don¡¯t you come out already? I already know you¡¯re there.¡±


    There was indeed someone there.


    ¡°It seems I can¡¯t trick your senses.¡±


    A faint fog which camouflage with the shadows spoke and slowly formed into a man. He looked around his late early forties, the same black hair and amber eyes.


    ¡°Nice try, though,¡± the Wanderer casually said.


    ¡°I should be the one calling you old man.¡±


    ¡°But I look way younger. Anyway, you don¡¯t have to be so hostile towards me.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps. We may have been acquaintances in the far past, but we still have different goals. And as you said, this is our salvation, our one and only. We can¡¯t tread lightly. I hope you understand, Taneva.¡±


    ¡°Of course I understand. But if I am planning to do something, I would have been acting on it now, or have done it already.¡±


    Taneva turned back to the young man with a grin. The man merely scoffed as he stepped back. The older man stepped forward, but still kept a distance from Taneva.


    ¡°Not everything is as it appears.¡±


    ¡°True. However, I ask you, Heneis. If I were to fight either of your factions. Them and you. Which one do you think I would slaughter first?¡±


    Taneva and Heneis stared at each other for a long moment.


    Heneis nodded. ¡°Indeed. You are not a threat¡­for now. And, I couldn¡¯t think what motives could the Mythics have to execute the Princess.¡±


    ¡°See?¡±


    ¡°We are going.¡±


    The older man was about to leave when Taneva called out to him. ¡°Ah, before you go. May I suggest something?¡±


    ¡°What could you suggest?¡±


    ¡°Well, you wanted to keep the Princess safe, right? Then I suggest you do not keep her in the dark. If she had even the slightest idea what is going on, or what she should be wary about, that could at least extend her life.¡±


    ¡°We are planning just that.¡±


    ¡°But not everything, I suppose? You need her for yourself, after all.¡±


    Hell, she might even die in these people¡¯s hands. Eventually, they will need her out of the palace and this kingdom, and have her for themselves.


    ¡°Taneva, that is our business. No need to poke your nose in.¡±


    Taneva shrugged. ¡°Fine, fine.¡±


    With that, all of them turned into black fogs as they ascended into the air and they became faint to the point that the human eye could barely see them.


    Taneva looked at the bottle in his hand as he pondered. ¡°It¡¯s fortunate that I didn¡¯t encounter them at night. That would be troublesome.¡± He took a sip of his wine.


    He thought about the Princess. Taneva began to wonder why his old friend sent him to watch. There was no point in it. Maybe it was just him.


    However, he found the situation interesting and so accepted his friend¡¯s request. And he rarely questions what reason could his friend have for requesting things. No harm will come to him anyways.


    Ultimately, he fully trusts that dragon friend of his. But he didn¡¯t know how everything would turn out.


    ¡°Good grief, the entire world feels like it¡¯s on the move.¡±

 Chapter 23: Serene - [Edited]

    <div>


    The streets were bustling with people. Several carriages traversed the paved road. The citizens of the city chattered with their friends and companions as they walked side by side. By the corner of the streets, there were a few street vendors beckoning for customers.


    On a small stand displayed assorted and colorful fruits. On a small cart were placed several objects for sale, some seemed worn out, indicating that they were already used or were secondhand products.


    I watched over it all with my brother as we stood around a corner. I was feeling excited. There were a lot of people, living their ever so normal life.


    I saw middle-aged couples walking with arms clinging to each other as the wife carried baskets. Young men conversed with each other as they laughed with bright smiles on their faces. Young women carried their own baskets as they walked around. Young couples smiling delightfully at each other, the flower of romance beginning to bloom.


    ¡°Everything appears to be busy already.¡±


    It was past midmorning, and I was taken aback for a moment after seeing the amount of people already walking about.


    The capital city of the Wisteria Kingdom, Serene. I was now standing amidst its grounds. In the far distance, I could glimpse the tall walls. Based on the map presented to Estelia, the wall stretched far and wide around the north up to roughly half of the city region. The north where a dangerous forest lies, where monsters lie. Especially the forest in the northeast direction, not far from the city, called the Elgion forest, had an abundant number of monsters lurking around.


    There were also monsters in other forests but I think not much. Elgion was a special case. I heard the monsters there were more dangerous and deadly, and there seemed to be no end to them.


    That aside, around the center of the capital region was the palace, which was a little close to the city. Although the palace itself had some wide personal space. In addition, around the south of the palace were the small territories of nobles from the capital city. Although they only had small domains, they were more influential and powerful than other nobles outside the capital. And one of those nobles that lived on the south side were Eleanore and Lanivia.


    ¡°Yes, the people are already very lively indeed,¡± my brother spoke from beside me. ¡°Well, this is much better than everything being quiet and boring.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, you¡¯re right. So what are we standing around for? Let¡¯s go!¡±


    I pulled him by the hand in excitement as we dove through the crowd.


    ¡°It¡¯s a big city, so you better don¡¯t give out on me, dear sister.¡±


    I giggled. ¡°Do not underestimate me, dear brother.¡±


    As we traversed the street, I was intrigued by the buildings all around. Even though modern architecture was nice, the medieval structures still interested me as someone from a modern time. It brought a somewhat refreshing feeling.


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    I watched my surroundings. I saw a group of grown men loudly chatting as a pair held bottles of what I take as liquors. Quite early for drinking, ain¡¯t it?


    ¡°You see, there was this one time a wimp was staring nastily at me,¡± a drunkard spoke in a boasting tone. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m annoyed by that shit, so I walked over to him and asked what the hell he was looking at. But the damn bastard just scoffed at me!¡±


    ¡°Shit! Ain¡¯t that rude!¡±


    ¡°Sure it was! It pissed me off, so I punched him in the face and sent him kissing the ground!¡±


    ¡°Then a fight broke out?¡±


    ¡°Nah, him was a wuss, he instantly fled like a rabbit! That guy was nothing! What a wimp! Hahahahaha!¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    ¡°Pathetic!¡±


    Now now, I wonder how much of that was true. But they sure were loud. The others sure look like they suck up to that guy. Oh well¡­


    A carriage was moving through the street, quite luxurious, I should say. It must be owned by a wealthy person. It was moving faster than others.


    ¡°Out! Out of the way!¡±


    The coachmen yelled towards everything that was going in his way, whether it would be people or other carriages. But how would even carriages move faster than you demand? People are just unreasonable sometimes.


    In any case, it seems they were in a rush. But so far, there were no accidents, so everything was fine. I don¡¯t want to be bothered by such things.


    I saw a store under a two floored building, assorted fruits were displayed. It ranged from round red fruits, oblong yellow, peach tiny balls, to large dark green fruits. What a colorful set of fruits.


    ¡°Fresh fruits for sale! The cheapest around these parts!¡±


    The vendor shouted, beckoning for customers. Beside him was a woman, must be someone related to him. From the way I saw it, they were currently having plenty of customers. So business might not be that bad.


    I saw a group of children running around. They were around six to eight years old. Many were boys and some were girls. Each and every one of them had bright smiles on their faces as they enjoyed each other¡¯s company. They were having fun.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll only hide around here. Go too far, and you¡¯re out of the game!¡± a boy said.


    ¡°What? But there¡¯s barely any place to hide here,¡± complained a girl.


    ¡°And it will be too difficult for the seeker to find you. Like last time, one game lasted for one hour.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, no way that''s happening again.¡±


    ¡°Fiiiiine¡­¡±


    ¡°Then, should the count be only sixty seconds?¡±


    ¡°Too short, make it one hundred twenty!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too long!¡±


    ¡°What? How¡¯s that too long? You always complain about this sort of thing.¡±


    ¡°The area is tiny, so the count should be a little shorter.¡±


    ¡°What? Then we can¡¯t find a proper place to hide if time is too short.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what makes it challenging.¡±


    ¡°Tch. Fine. Eighty seconds? That should be fine, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Alright, the last that arrived at the gathering will be the seeker.¡±


    ¡°Me? Already? That¡¯s unfair!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your punishment, you were late.¡±


    ¡°Grrr, fine¡­¡±


    The boy walked to the wall and covered his eyes as the other kids ran in all directions.


    Are they playing hide and seek?


    I never played that when I was a child.


    But it sure was intriguing to see others do it. And seeing them, it made me wonder¡­ If I lived a different life, if I was not raised in the organization, would everything change? I think it would definitely be.


    Do I regret it? I think not. One of my earliest memories was when I was in that facility of the organization. Already being practiced and trained to become an excellent assassin. I couldn¡¯t regret something I never experienced in the first place.


    But was I envious?


    Yes.


    But not so much that I would go mad about it. It was just a sting in my heart. But, let¡¯s put that aside now. I don¡¯t want to think about it if I don¡¯t have to.


    <div>

 Chapter 24: Flowers and Beautiful Eyes - [Edited]

    I saw a store which appeared to be selling bread. A middle-aged woman kept watch. Then a girl about my age emerged from within. An average-looking girl, but should still please the eyes.


    In her hand was a basket. The way she carried it, and the way the basket swayed in her movement, it seemed to have some contents. As we walked by the store, I could hear their voices loud and clear.


    ¡°Everything ready? You didn¡¯t forget anything, right?¡± the middle-aged woman asked the girl.


    ¡°Come on mama, what else should I be carrying other than bread? I¡¯m only bringing old Tommy some bread because he has some trouble walking.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Well, it did seem that the old man''s condition got bad lately. But he¡¯s not the only one there, you know?¡±


    ¡°... Mama, what are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°The young lad I was talking about.¡±


    ¡°Oh shut up. There¡¯s nothing like that. I should be going.¡±


    The girl hurried out of the store.


    ¡°Be sure to look good, okay?!¡±


    ¡°Whatever Mama!¡±


    I glanced at the girl for only an instant.


    Ah yes. A wonder of youth.


    But of course I don¡¯t care for such things of similar nature as that. There was not much importance to it.


    We encountered a shop which had assorted types of flowers displayed at the front. Blooming petals adorned with different hues of red, yellow, blue, purple, and interestingly, some had multiple colors.


    ¡°Please have a look at our flowers.¡±


    A little girl, a child perhaps about five years old, called out to me as we came across in front of them. She had large brown eyes and short brown hair. She looked at me with childlike innocence, pleading with me to check out their products.


    As I found such flowers interesting, I stopped in my tracks and peered over the flowers along with a couple of potential customers. A faint trace of gentle aroma graced my nose. Although, I have no intention of buying anything. It would be difficult to buy now, but I¡¯ll think about buying later when we¡¯re about to go back home.


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    ¡°What pretty flowers you have here,¡± I said to the girl.


    ¡°Y-Yes, thank you.¡±


    I gazed up and found an adult woman arranging and preparing other flowers. It must be her mother.


    ¡°Hm. You¡¯re helping your mother at such a young age, that¡¯s good.¡± I looked at the little girl with my trademark pure eyes.


    I just wanted to commend this child for working. Of course, that doesn''t mean I am fond of children. I care not for children as I care not for adults.


    Her eyes lit up as she stared back at mine.


    ¡°... Beautiful¡­¡± She quietly muttered.


    ¡°Hm?¡± Of course, considering our closer distance, I heard her.


    ¡°I mean, you have beautiful eyes. I never saw eyes like you have.¡±


    An amused smile emerged on my lips.


    ¡°Quite a flatterer¡­ Thank you.¡±


    ¡°... I was just being honest.¡±


    From this short interaction, it seemed this girl was a quiet and shy child. It made me wonder if she even had any friends. Somehow, it reminded me a tiny bit of when I was first released from my training, the Graduation, it was unofficially called. Well, I barely interacted with colleagues at the time. I was entirely focused on the task given to me.


    Kill. Kill. Kill.


    That was my entire being and purpose. Those thoughts filled me at the time.


    Not that I¡¯m different now. I was basically the same. But, well, let¡¯s just say my disposition changed a bit.


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll pass by later to buy some.¡±


    ¡°Really? Thank you!¡±


    Now now, you really shouldn¡¯t look so happy when customers say such things. Most of the time they say such a phrase, but in the end they never come back. That¡¯s what you call bullshit.


    But what do I expect? She was a kid, after all. So this reaction should be understandable.


    But I am considering passing by here later to buy some.


    ¡°See you,¡± I said to her before walking away.


    ¡°How kind of you, Estel.¡±


    Estevan whispered to me from beside. It baffled me why he could say such a ridiculous thing. People often have a weird definition of kindness.


    ¡°Why do you say so?¡±


    ¡°Well, I took it that you had no intention of buying, so instead of outright rejecting, you said you would return later. If you did otherwise, the girl might have felt sad.¡±


    I looked at him with a smile. ¡°You think that¡¯s kindness?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°If you see such a little thing as kindness, dear brother, then I suggest you change your views. What I did¡­ I don¡¯t see it as kindness. True kindness is more than that.¡±


    He stared at me for a moment. ¡°Is that so¡­? But, I don¡¯t see you as anything but kind.¡±


    Ah, Estelia¡¯s pure and innocent character really put some impression that she was a kind person. But I guess she was. She was not exactly rude, she was exceedingly polite, and she was also a well-behaved girl.


    So I guess it was to be expected that he thought of me as kind.


    Then my brother continued. ¡°Your recent actions further prove that you are so.¡±


    My actions? Me? I tilted my head adorably as I spoke to him.


    ¡°Which actions were being kind?¡±


    ¡°First during the mock battles. Then the time you suggested a feast for the knights.¡±


    Oh. Well shit, I was just playing with the character of being a pure and innocent Estelia. I guess that was being kind¡­? So I can¡¯t exactly deny it.


    And now I suppose people think I was naturally kind. But this would perhaps lean to my advantage. With the way they perceive me, they¡¯ll likely lay down their life for me. And that¡¯s acceptable.


    ¡°... I¡¯m not kind¡­ And don¡¯t tell me that personally, it¡¯s¡­ embarrassing¡­¡± I said innocently while averting my eyes away from him.


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± He merely laughed at the way I acted. ¡°Very well, very well.¡±

 Chapter 25: Grill - [Edited]

    <div>


    Just then, I smelled something in the air. I sniffed quietly, it had a nice smell. Someone was cooking. No, it seemed like someone was grilling. It was faint, but I could smell it nicely.


    It seems to come from the right turn in front of us.


    I turned to trace the source of the smell. I raised an eyebrow as I saw the source, which piqued my interest. By the side of the street, there was a spot where smoke was rising.


    A few people gathered in lines in front of a small store on the outside.


    ¡°Brother.¡±


    I called Estevan as I led us towards the store. It actually smelled good. There I saw that someone was indeed grilling. Now I grew more interested. I didn¡¯t expect grilling to exist now in a world that appeared to be in the medieval age. As I thought, I shouldn¡¯t always compare this world to the old one. There ought to be differences.


    But whatever. I was glad to find that barbecue exists here. I ate plenty of barbecues in my old life, and it was delicious! Not the ones you find in expensive restaurants. The ones I was talking about were those on the streets.


    I don¡¯t know what I ate made it so delicious, perhaps the sauce? Or some secret ingredient. It was so delicious that it would do well in an expensive restaurant. If memory serves, what I ate were pork and beef, which was stuck into wooden sticks. Oh! There was also the liver, aah, how nice that was.


    While I tried grilled foods from restaurants, the barbecues from the streets had a unique appeal.


    Oh well, I just hope these are at least on par.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a closer look, brother.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, that place.¡±


    ¡°You know of it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been there a few times. Been a long time since the last one. I was with the other knights and soldiers. The soldiers actually recommended this place, and it was worth it.¡±


    ¡°Then the food must be good. Alright then!¡±


    We reached the eatery. The sign above it said Meaty Sats. Interesting name.


    I looked with anticipation at the food they were grilling.


    I visibly winced at one of the things I saw.


    The hell?


    I pulled Estevan¡¯s cloak. ¡°Brother¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm? What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    He legit looked puzzled at me, as though there was nothing wrong about it at all.


    ¡°Well¡­ Are those worms?¡±


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    Yes, you heard that right! There were long and big worms on each stick. They were already turning brown from being cooked, but I could see some that were still raw, and I could see a dark greenish color from their skin.


    Don¡¯t tell me they eat that?


    Eeeeewww.


    Estevan chuckled in amusement. ¡°Yes indeed, dear sister! Those are worms.¡±


    He even sounded enthusiastic as he answered my question. I grumpily stared at him.


    ¡°And it¡¯s being eaten?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Why was indeed the question. Come on!


    He chuckled again. ¡°Why so reluctant, sister? It¡¯s actually delicious.¡±


    ¡°So you ate that?¡±


    ¡°Trust me, when you try it, you¡¯ll crave for more. And it¡¯s not like those worms you see on the ground. So it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh, then what kind of worms are those?¡±


    ¡°Greleaf Worms. Those worms are actually found on trees and plants. They only eat plants, the leaves to be precise.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see how that is different from other worms. They crawl on the ground, right?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes. But they don¡¯t dig down. So that¡¯s a key difference. Believe me Estel, it¡¯s delicious and completely edible.¡±


    I frowned. That didn¡¯t make much of a difference to me.


    ¡°Come on, give it a try. You won¡¯t know you¡¯ll like it until you try.¡±


    I was hesitant since it was a freaking worm. But there were other people eating it. And my brother had also tried it, so maybe it¡¯s fine to try? Well, the experience wouldn¡¯t be all that bad to have.


    ¡°Fine. But if I don¡¯t like it, you¡¯ll eat it!¡±


    ¡°Fine by me. Come.¡±


    We approached the front desk and Estevan took out some copper coins from his pocket. I also had some coins on me, well I have to ask to have some money since it would be required to buy daggers. That aside, my family really went on their way to also include some copper coins on our allowance.


    Copper coins are the lowest currency on the continent. Higher to that is silver, then the highest is gold. One hundred copper coins equals one silver, and one hundred silvers equals one gold coin.


    Estevan gave the man eight copper coins. Then the man gave him two of those worms. He gave one to me. Again I winced as I had a grilled worm before my eyes, I could even smell its d¡­ delicious aroma¡­ But smell and appearance was different from flavor.


    My brother saw my face, so he took a bite on his own with a smile.


    ¡°See? All good.¡±


    Seeing him chew the damn thing made me feel bewildered. Bad thing was, I was starting to be convinced that it was indeed not bad. However, the appearance of the food made me feel unpleasant.


    Fuck it!


    I slowly opened my mouth, then took a small bite. My face contorted, not negatively, but positively. It was actually not bad. There, I said it. The damn worm was not bad. There was sweetness as though it was dipped in sauce beforehand. The skin was a bit crunchy, and the insides were delicious.


    If not for its appearance as a worm, I could have eaten this with no hesitation at all. But come on, a girl has preferences. And presentation is essential.


    But despite its appearance, I took a few more bites. But I¡¯ll only eat this on rare occasions.


    ¡°I hate to admit it, but it¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°See?¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m not having another one.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, whatever you say.¡±


    ¡°So, what are the others?¡±


    I pointed at the meat being grilled.


    ¡°Well, that one is grilled pork, and the other is grilled beef. Both are also delicious.¡±


    Now we¡¯re talking!


    After I ate the whole grilled worm, I asked my brother to buy me the pork.


    He paid fourteen copper coins and received two. The pork was sliced in a number of pieces and was pierced through by a wooden stick.


    As for the taste, well, it was not that bad. I preferred it way more than the damn worm. However, the one from my old world was more delicious. Of course, I shouldn¡¯t expect such things. But I couldn¡¯t help it, you know. Sometimes you just couldn¡¯t control your expectations.


    After trying the pork, I tried the beef, which has the same price as the pork. Come now, it¡¯s rare to go out, so the least I could do was taste all of it. Plus, why would I deny such an experience?


    After eating all of them, I nodded my head with satisfaction.


    ¡°Hm, it¡¯s very good. But I¡¯m not trying the worm again.¡±


    Estevan chuckled in amusement upon hearing my words.


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s very lady-like of you.¡±


    ¡°... Of course, don¡¯t expect me to like something like that worm.¡±


    ¡°If you say so. Then, let¡¯s go onward?¡±


    ¡°Certainly, dear brother.¡±


    <div>

 Chapter 26: Adventurers - [Edited]

    We continued on, and as I walked, I recalled something from the memories of Estelia. To be exact, the map that she was shown in the past. With that thought in mind, I should really study the local map eventually. I only personally studied the continental map from my previous lesson. And not much was told from it, it lacked intricate details. I suppose it was to be expected in an age where there were no such things as satellites.


    That aside, I should have my hands on a local map for study, I couldn¡¯t just rely on Estelia¡¯s memories alone.


    ¡°By the way, brother, we can reach the eastern plaza through this route, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes indeed. I guess we¡¯re heading there, then?¡±


    ¡°Hm. Why not? I¡¯m interested to see how it is.¡±


    This city has a total of three plazas. The north, west, and east. As we¡¯re heading east, we might as well pass by the eastern plaza.


    Amidst our walk, I noticed a group of people ahead of us. Seeing how they looked, I instinctively raised my guard, becoming cautious. That was because they were carrying weapons. I observed them closely.


    A large man had a giant ax on his back. A slim and tall man had a sheathed sword on his waist. The other man had a spear in hand, the bottom tapping the ground as he walked. Then, a young woman wearing a light robe, however, she had no weapons whatsoever. But she could be hiding it. And lastly, another young woman in a white garb, also apparently with no weapons.


    They were suspicious. They were carrying weapons in a public place. Wasn¡¯t that dangerous?


    I pulled the sleeve of my brother.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Them.¡±


    I pointed at the group. Estevan shifted his eyes towards them.


    ¡°Oh, what about them?¡±


    I was baffled, he didn¡¯t seem to think a lot about them, even though they were openly having weapons at their disposal.


    Estevan was different since he was concealing his weapon in his cloak. But those guys were flourishing their weapons to everyone.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t they dangerous? They¡¯re carrying weapons¡­¡± I said timidly.


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    ¡°Oh, I see. Actually, there¡¯s no problem with that.¡±


    There¡¯s no problem with that? Are you serious?


    Was there no law that prohibits such things? Is this only in this country or also somewhere else? If that was the case for all, then this world needs to work on their policies and improve societal order.


    ¡°They¡¯re what you call adventurers.¡±


    ¡°Adventurers?¡±


    ¡°They belong to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. And through the guild, you can post commissions for adventurers to work with. Of course with a price.¡±


    ¡°What sort of work?¡±


    I mean, they were carrying weapons, so maybe to kill people?


    ¡°You can have them as your escorts. Merchants commonly do that to guard their caravan as they go around other cities or countries. Also menial tasks like, well, building, cleaning¡­.. Also you can task them to find something or people.¡±


    I nodded as I took in the valuable information.


    ¡°Although they are mainly tasked to exterminate monsters. That¡¯s why they are armed.¡±


    ¡°I thought knights deal with monsters.¡±


    ¡°Only for grave or serious situations that would threaten the masses. Like the Elgion forest in the northeast, monsters there are incredibly strong. Therefore, knights would be the ones to handle the problem if it gets any worse, since knights are more powerful than adventurers.


    ¡°Of course not all monsters stay in that forest. Some make their home outside of it, and adventurers would be needed to handle them. They are also the ones to exterminate the stray ones. Well, to be clear, not all monsters exist in the Elgion forest. They also come from other forests nearby, so the adventurers are a great help since the knights wouldn¡¯t be able to secure all of those locations all the time.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡±


    So basically, they¡¯re mercenaries. Understood.


    They could even fight, so they were not people to be taken lightly.


    I remembered that there were also forests in the north, east, west and the south. Furthermore, not just the capital city Serene, but also the whole Wisteria Kingdom was surrounded by a number of forests, a lot of hills, and mountains. So I guess a lot of bad elements exist there, and they need to be balanced out, or in other words, to be eliminated.


    So they go use hired guns.


    That being said, I might also need to study about these so-called monsters.


    Damn, I have a lot to study. I feel like I am truly a student now. Only thing missing was going to school. Oh, there are no schools here, that sucks.


    ¡°There sure are a lot of things to learn. And it is nice to go out, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    Estevan looked at me with tender eyes. He must have empathized with my words, knowing that I had never gone out of the palace. The world was unknown to me, and today was as if I was finally seeing the world for the first time.


    ¡°... Yes, yes, it is.¡±


    I giggled. ¡°Let¡¯s go on, time is of the essence.¡±


    ¡°Understood, dear sister.¡±


    Moments passed as we strolled, and human traffic had begun to increase. Maybe because of the time or the location, or both. Even so, amidst the crowd, I was keeping an eye on every building.


    If they were to place a smith shop, there should be one in which crowds were likely to pass by. I was expecting to find one at any moment. But as we went on, I found nothing.


    I was slightly becoming restless. If I don¡¯t find a place that sells decent daggers, then coming here was a waste. Okay, although not exactly a waste, but I would still fail the true purpose as to why I came here in the first place.


    I took a deep breath as I pondered on what to do.


    Tch, if it comes down to it, I¡¯ll find a way to make Estevan talk.


    That was the last resort.


    Then we have reached the plaza.

 Chapter 27: Disappearing into the Crowd – [Edited]

    Numerous people walked around, some loudly conversing, others just quietly roaming around. I shifted my eyes towards the center of the plaza.


    A fountain was built upon there, water rising and flowing down. At the top were statues of two figures, a man and a woman, intertwining fingers as they gazed at each other. I assume those were the two gods.


    I saw children playing, couples sitting on the grass outside the pavement, and some were just standing around as though enjoying their surroundings.


    Colorful flowers planted in different directions, the leaves of trees dancing in the gentle breeze as their shades underneath gave shielding from the warm sunlight. The peaceful and joyful atmosphere graced my presence.


    A faint smile emerged from my pretty lips.


    I went straight to the main attraction ¡ª the fountain. The clean water reflected my pretty face as I looked down.


    A wind blew past, sending tiny trickles of water from the fountain towards me. But I didn¡¯t mind, it wasn¡¯t a big deal compared to this moment. I felt a sense of freedom¡­


    ¡°Are the other plazas the same as this one?¡± I asked Estevan.


    ¡°There are some differences.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    I took a deep breath, savoring the fresh air and the serenity of the moment. I looked around, then by the street, I saw a lot of people gathering in a single place. It appeared to be some store. I saw one person emerging from the crowd carrying what appears to be wooden souvenirs? They were in the form of a knight, and one was in the form of a bird.


    I suppose they were called figurines. I should get one as a souvenir and remembrance. When I looked around some more, I noticed the group of adventurers again, taking a momentary rest to enjoy the view, I presume.


    They were not that far from me, so I could faintly hear them.


    ¡°Sure is nice to have some peace and relax,¡± said the one in the light robe.


    I casually looked around, so I wouldn¡¯t be noticed as someone suspicious or anything. I¡¯m already wearing a cloak, so that¡¯s a small suspicious sign.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, it''s a pretty good place compared to dangerous forests where we could be suddenly attacked,¡± a man¡¯s voice said.


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    Their voices were a little rough to hear and blended with the surrounding noise, but I¡¯ll manage.


    ¡°By the way,¡± said another man. ¡°You didn¡¯t forget we¡¯ll need to buy you a knife, right?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± said the girl. ¡°Guess we¡¯ll go to the smiths then before leaving the city.¡±


    ¡°I might also buy one for me,¡± said another girl.


    ¡°Then shall we go?¡± asked a man.


    ¡°A moment.¡±


    The smiths!


    Finally! Someone that could lead me to one.


    ¡°Estelia, you alright?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, I was only admiring the view.¡±


    The adventurers were about to leave, I needed to find a way to get rid of Estevan. I couldn¡¯t let him see me buy daggers after all. He¡¯ll just refuse. Worse, he might get confused and suspicious of me if I just desired and bought daggers out of the blue.


    I quickly thought hard and recalled my surroundings. There must be something that would be useful. Then...


    I had an idea.


    ¡°Brother. Let¡¯s go there.¡±


    I pulled him by the sleeve and pointed towards the souvenir shop. That will be the place where I will lose him.


    ¡°Oh? There?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I saw some wooden works, is that what they sell there?¡± I asked as we walked towards the store.


    I sneaked a glance to my back, and the adventurers were already leaving. Heading towards due north.


    Tch.


    I conjured the map from my memories in my head, then added the direction the adventurers were heading. All of those and I made predictions on which road they would be taking. However, this would only be good at the first moment. Any longer and I will lose them.


    I was not personally familiar with the city. So it was another variable that may result in my failure. Better hasten up.


    ¡°Indeed, figurines. Quite an impressive work I should say. Locals and tourists commonly visit it, as you can see,¡± my brother explained.


    With rushed steps, we now stood behind the crowd. I looked around, there was also a crowd that kept passing by us, this number of people will be required.


    ¡°I want some. They look interesting.¡±


    I said to Estevan while looking him in the eyes.


    ¡°In that case, we¡¯ll grab some. Come on.¡±


    I froze as I reluctantly glanced at the crowd.


    ¡°Um¡­ there¡¯s too many people,¡± I said with a shaky voice and frightened eyes.


    I was a sheltered princess. Therefore, it should only be expected that I would be very anxious when surrounded by numerous strangers, and commoners at that. They were different from the people of the palace.


    Also, the amount of people here was not the same as the places we visited earlier. It wouldn¡¯t be strange that I would be reluctant now.


    ¡°... I see.¡±


    ¡°Then what about you buying some for me? I don¡¯t want the stocks to run out on me.¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. There¡¯s no need to worry. I can take care of myself if I just stay here. That¡¯s fine, right?¡±


    He looked around with wary eyes.


    ¡°I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Then please hurry, there''s still more people coming.¡±


    I pushed him forward, urging him to hurry up.


    ¡°... Alright, very well. Be careful here, okay?¡±


    ¡°Certainly.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a moment. Ah, what do you want precisely?¡±


    ¡°Hm, I don¡¯t know really, just something that looks cute!¡±


    He chucked. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll hurry.¡±


    He separated from me and squeezed through the crowd. Slowly, many obstacles had begun to take him away from my view.


    I¡¯m so sorry about this, dear brother. I¡¯m sure my actions will put you in a tight spot...


    As he entered within a few more, I made my move. He was a knight, and I¡¯m sure I had to be extra careful, I must leave no trace in my movement.


    I stepped back several times. My steps were completely silent, devoid of all sounds, light, gentle, and agile as I disappeared into the crowd.

 Chapter 28: Precious Daggers (Part 1) – [Edited]

    <div>


    I blended into the crowd as I went to follow the group of adventurers. I¡¯m now getting farther away from my brother, and he didn¡¯t seem to notice my disappearance. Good.


    I rushed my steps as I headed to the direction the adventurers were heading.


    I wasn¡¯t able to find them immediately. So I frantically searched for them, scanning my surroundings, looking towards every turn. I was hoping that them being a group, walking through the crowds would slow them a bit.


    My targets should be around here somewhere.


    When I looked at the road to the left, I smirked. There the group of adventurers were. They were chatting happily as they walked together. I promptly tailed them from a distance, best not to get close.


    I walked along the street casually, as though taking a stroll. But I feel I was looking a bit suspicious because of me hidden by my cloak. But come on! There were literally people bearing weapons, what makes me more suspicious than them?


    That said, there were a pair of soldiers patrolling, but they didn¡¯t seem to mind me. Back in my world, in cities or places with securities, you would stand out, and standing out around authorities was never good. But here, nope. Maybe cloak wearing people were common here against my initial thoughts.


    Oh well, works for me.


    There were a few spots that caught my eyes, but I have priorities at the moment. And once this was done, I had to return to my brother immediately. He could be freaking out at any moment. I don¡¯t want it to get worse. If it ends up that way, he might send the knights to find me, putting the palace into disarray.


    Better hurry. I was hoping we were getting closer to the smith shop.


    Shortly after, the group stopped in front of the building and entered. It was a fairly large shop.


    After waiting a minute, I approached closer and looked up to read the sign. On it was an illustration of a sword and shield, and the name written was Hats Smithings.


    This must be it. I found the place earlier than expected, cool. I glanced through the window and saw swords, axes, and a variety of weapons displayed.


    I could wait until the adventurers go out of the store, but that would take long. I¡¯m working on a time limit here.


    And thus I entered the shop. Swords were placed into several racks all over the place, long and short. By the walls were spears, axes, and simple knives. Then up the front, behind the counter, was what seemed to be the owner. Behind him were also weapons hung up on the wall. However, they appeared to be more finely made than the others.


    As I casually looked around the place, a couple of men from the adventurers, who I followed, glanced at me.


    I paid them no heed.


    ¡°May I suggest this then?¡±


    A woman¡¯s voice said to the rest of the adventurers as she showed them a knife. Perhaps she was the wife of the one I presumed to be the owner slash blacksmith. They were busy with their own shopping, it seems.


    ¡°This looks fine. Try it out.¡±


    The adventurers¡¯ attention turned away from me. I walked towards the counter, and I saw plenty of decent daggers displayed up front. I gleefully smiled within my heart.


    ¡°Hello there! Missy? Yes, you look like you¡¯re a woman.¡±


    The buff man called out to me in a friendly manner, he had short black hair and brown eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯re new here, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    I furrowed my brows underneath my hood.


    ¡°You can tell?¡± I spoke roughly and a bit strongly, entirely different from my innocent and pure voice.


    It would do me no good if I act all naive, and submissive. They might take advantage of me and scam me.


    ¡°Of course. I can tell who my usual customers are, and the way you acted, looking around just screams ¡®this is new¡¯.¡±


    Tch, I was that easy to read? What a blunder.


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    I was a bit frustrated. However, giving the impression of being a new customer might have its own advantage. This would make shopping a bit easier.


    ¡°I see. Yes, it''s the first time I entered this establishment.¡±


    ¡°Alright! A new customer! So how may I help you?¡±


    I stepped closer and glanced at the daggers.


    ¡°Daggers. May I touch them and have a closer look?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± He grabbed the daggers and placed them atop of the table, presenting them to me. ¡°There¡¯re a variety of sizes.¡±


    Indeed, there were small daggers which you could pin between your fingers with ease. Then there was, what I call, medium-sized that would be fine to use in knife throwing for me, but can still be used in hand to stab and slash. Then there were larger ones with longer blades. It would be hard to throw those and it won¡¯t work for me.


    I want the ones who wouldn¡¯t obstruct my speed, and attack motions, while being able to quickly throw. And ultimately, those that I was comfortable with. I sort of wanted a butterfly knife, but the way I saw it, there was none. So perhaps there were no such things here yet.


    As for the design, it was plain, but kinda decent. Still, it would be fine, the important thing was their function. That said, now that I was here, I sort of wanted to have one for the collection. An old habit of mine.


    I grabbed the medium-sized dagger. Spun it adeptly into a reverse grip, then back. I slightly threw and spun it in the air, and caught it by the blade between my thumb and index finger. I threw it in the air again, letting it spin a couple of times, and caught it again by the blades as it descended.


    Then spun it and grabbed it on the hilt.


    ¡°Hm, finely made.¡±


    The weight was fine for me. The man nodded at me a few times with a proud smile.


    ¡°You¡¯re skillful at using the daggers, huh?¡±


    ¡°You could say that.¡±


    I waved the dagger in the air for a moment. Satisfied, I put it down and looked at the small daggers. They may be small, but they have their uses. Due to being light, they travel faster, depending on the strength I used to throw them. And less strain on my arm.


    Also, due to their size, you wouldn¡¯t easily catch them. But if I were to use one, I need to aim for a soft spot. In any case, it¡¯s useful for a quick draw and quick kill.


    I held one and tried it out. The handle was thin enough, fine for me. The blade and the hilt were balanced, in weight and size. The dagger was good.


    As for the largest ones, I wouldn¡¯t consider it.


    ¡°The weapons are good. But do you have darker shades?¡±


    The daggers were in the color of steel, therefore, they were whitish, or grayish, and shiny, and would glimmer and glint in the presence of light, this color was too conspicuous. Darker colors would be preferable when hiding in the darkness.


    ¡°A darker color, huh? Sorry missy, don¡¯t have those. But you could put in a custom order.¡±


    That was a disappointment. ¡°Is that so? Then how long will it finish?¡±


    ¡°If one of the smallest, then about a day, for the medium-sized, more than a day, Actually, depends on the demand. But since I have no orders yet, I might finish yours faster.¡±


    No can do.


    ¡°I was planning to buy several. But in that case, it will take a few days, I suppose?¡±


    ¡°Hm. Yes, that is the case.¡±


    ¡°That is problematic.¡±


    I can¡¯t just go out of the palace again just after I went out. And it took opportunities to get here and lose my escort. They might get stricter with me in the future.


    ¡°No choice then... How much for the smallest?¡±


    ¡°That will be two silvers each.¡±


    ¡°The other one?¡±


    ¡°The medium is eight silver coins each.¡±


    It was affordable. I have a lot of gold coins in hand, after all. Hehe, one of the perks of being a princess. I¡¯m rich, baby!


    ¡°Perfect! Hm,¡± one problem left. ¡°I need something to store these.¡± I looked at the corner where I saw some products earlier.


    The owner realized what I was looking at.


    ¡°Ah yeah, you need something to store these, huh?¡±


    I was looking at the sling bags hung in a corner. From the way I saw it, they were made of leather.


    ¡°Indeed. By the way, I will buy ten small daggers, and five mediums.¡±


    ¡°Woah, didn¡¯t expect you to buy that many.¡±


    ¡°A lady has her needs.¡±


    He laughed awkwardly. ¡°Then you¡¯re quite a unique lady then.¡±


    ¡°Hm. I will take one sling bag. Furthermore, I¡¯ll have some sort of sheath for the daggers. You know, ones that are included in the belts or straps.¡±


    If there were an easier way to obtain such things, I''d take it. And buying was one of the convenient methods. Plus, I don¡¯t know how to make them. Perhaps I can a little bit, but it would be crude and might as well be trash. And finding materials would be hard.


    ¡°Of course, I was about to bring that up. We have belts and straps. Wait a sec.¡±


    He took a few belts and straps made up of leather from the drawers. Hm, it gave me the impression they were of premium quality since they were kept in a safe place.


    I did see some belts, but they were mostly designed for swords, and very few for daggers, and not that good looking. Perhaps not many buy things that I was to buy.


    ¡°Here ya go. It¡¯s fine made, if I do say so myself. And I also brought the darker colored ones.¡±


    Indeed, some may be dark brown, but there were black as well. Of course I immediately reached out for the black-colored belt and thigh straps.


    I nodded, content. Times may be rare that I would get to use the belt, but the thigh straps will be useful.


    ¡°Then I will be taking four straps and two belts.¡±


    Won¡¯t hurt to have a bit of extras.


    He then totalled the amount of what I bought. Nothing problematic. I still have plenty to spare.


    Damn, being rich is nice.


    I took some gold coins from my pouch, but didn''t take out the pouch though just to be safe. I could tell which one was the gold because it was a little larger than the rest and had a different design.


    At the same time, the adventurers seemed to have made their choice. I could hear them from the background.


    ¡°Finally, I can stab the bastards who get close to me.¡±


    ¡°Good for you. Let¡¯s use that knife of yours for butchering some boars later. Of course, you¡¯ll be the one doing the butchering, hahahaha!¡± a man teased.


    ¡°Uuuh, no way! It¡¯s your job.¡±


    Everyone either chuckled or laughed.


    ¡°There sure are a lot of good swords here. I¡¯m buying when I save up some more,¡± another man said.


    ¡°Oh, which one¡¯s you like the most?¡± asked a heavier voice.


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    And they went on talking about trivial things that I was not obligated to listen to. So I didn¡¯t and looked at the weapons in front of me.


    <div>

 Chapter 29: Precious Daggers (Part 2) – [Edited]

    <div>


    As the smith was giving me my change, I spoke to him. ¡°You have fine weapons displayed behind you, I¡¯m impressed.¡±


    ¡°Haha, of course, those are the things that I worked hard for the most.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, I can see the hard work from the finished product alone.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, thanks.¡±


    ¡°Ah, which reminds me, do you also have any premium quality daggers?¡±


    He smirked for some reason. At this moment, he must really now have the impression that I was a wealthy customer. Well, I didn¡¯t mind.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Then can I take a look?¡±


    ¡°Hehe, wait for a moment.¡±


    From behind the desk, he grabbed a wooden box, it wasn¡¯t something you would call plain. It was all made up of wood, but it was carved beautifully. Various shapes that resembled vines and leaves were all around it.


    ¡°Here it is. It¡¯s one of my older works, but it¡¯s been untouched for a long time, so it should be completely fine.¡±


    I guess he barely makes any daggers which were premium made. Mostly what I see were swords, could be that swords were more in demand than daggers.


    He continued, ¡°As for the box, I also made it myself.¡±


    ¡°You have a wide range of talents, I see.¡±


    ¡°You flatter me, missy.¡±


    He placed the box on the table and presented the front to me. He opened the box slowly, a bit dramatic to be honest. But holy shit, it was actually building up my anticipation.


    Well, the age of my old world and here were different, thus, I was actually looking forward to how this dagger was. And you rarely find any, you could say, custom made daggers. Well, rare for me, that is. It was hard to scout, okay?


    Then when I saw the thing inside, both my eyebrows rose. I have never seen such a marvelously designed dagger before.


    The dagger of plain steel, but there were more. Along the hilt was a trace of gold, wrapping around all the way to the top. In addition to that, there was also something embedded along the steel, perhaps silver. Then at the upper side of the handle, the guard, there were carvings of flower petals, in the color of gold and silver.


    By the blade, at the center, there were lines and traces of gold, then shapes of flower petals and vines carved in, highlighted by a golden hue. The dagger was beautiful and neat. Not only that, it was around a medium-sized dagger. I¡¯m impressed by just thinking of the intricacies.


    ¡°Incredible,¡± I let out my words of awe.


    I want to have it.


    ¡°Right? I added silver and gold on the steel. Although, I only applied thinly the materials used for cosmetics so that it wouldn¡¯t weigh too much and to keep it balanced.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m at a loss for words¡­¡±


    ¡°It can be used for practical purposes. Personally, though, I think it fits best to just be a collection.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s wrong¡­ What¡¯s the use of a dagger if not used for its true purpose? And this one should definitely be used.¡±


    Just imagining as I cut down my foes with it elated me.


    ¡°Oh?¡± He seemed to be taken aback by my words as he raised his eyebrow with smiling lips.


    ¡°... May I touch it?¡±


    ¡°Of course, go ahead.¡±


    I slowly reached out. What I was about to hold was a sacred object. Beauty beyond realms that other people who didn¡¯t have the same interests as mine could understand. I carefully wrapped my hand around the handle, the coldness of the metal spread out through my senses.


    I lifted it and looked closely.


    ¡°Amazing¡­¡±


    I flipped the dagger into a reversed grip and waved it in the air. It could be used perfectly. And, I could see it was still sharp.


    ¡°What fine craftsmanship.¡±


    I¡¯m definitely buying this!


    As I was admiring the beauty of the sacred object in my hand, all of a sudden, the door banged open.


    ¡°Yo!¡±


    A loud man¡¯s voice echoed throughout the entire shop. The owner in front of me looked displeased. I decided not to look back, since I didn¡¯t want any attention. Plus, I bet the dagger in my hand was more pleasing to the eye than him.


    ¡°What¡¯s¡­ up?!¡±


    He sounded drunk. And the way the owner reacted, and the others were completely silent, it gave me the impression this wasn¡¯t the first time that this happened.


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    ¡°Why so quiet, hm? Whatever man, I¡¯m resting today so I might as well have my sword repaired, it¡¯s getting dull.¡±


    He walked towards the owner, and stood beside me. Fuck. Of all places, but it was not that surprising since I was talking with the owner. Dammit, it reeks of alcohol! But that was not the problem at the moment. If someone like him caught interest in me, it would be troublesome.


    I pulled my hood, lowering it down some more.


    ¡°Here smithy. Take care of it.¡±


    With a frown, the smith glanced at the sword placed on the counter.


    ¡°Bertos, you better pay this time.¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯ll pay you.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t pay last time.¡±


    ¡°Huh?! Don¡¯t ya have patience?! I told ya I¡¯ll pay.¡±


    ¡°And when would that be?¡±


    ¡°I will.¡±


    ¡°Then no¡ª¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t even try to deny me your services, Nekero. Or else, I¡¯ll feel upset.¡±


    The smith, Nekero, looked around his shop, the products and so on. Was this one of those ¡®do what I want you to do, otherwise I¡¯ll wreck this shop of yours¡¯? Yup, it seemed that way.


    ¡°.... No, not this time,¡± the blacksmith said in defiance.


    ¡°Oh? Resisting? What do you got, eh?¡±


    Bertos looked at the other adventures and snorted.


    ¡°You think those guys can even beat me?¡±


    I stole a glance at the other adventures amidst the racks, they appeared to be hesitant. The men at the front appeared to be covering the women behind them, hiding behind the bigger man. Almost looked like they were keeping them from view. Could be a battle formation or something else.


    Hm. Was this guy infamous? And if that group were reluctant to resist this guy, then he must be skilled.


    Well, senses and movements are dulled when drunk, so they should be able to beat him. But I suppose it''s this guy''s reputation that made them hesitate.


    I looked at what I assumed to be the smith¡¯s wife, and she was looking at her husband with utter worry.


    How troublesome.


    If I were to settle with this guy, I have to take in mind that he was drunk. So he wouldn¡¯t be at his full capacity. Still, this made me think of magic. However, if I had no choice but to strike him, I have to do it with utter swiftness.


    One issue, this was a public place.


    Bertos gave a confident smile towards the smith.


    ¡°You got no one. Hm?¡±


    It felt like he glanced at me. I didn¡¯t see it as I was avoiding looking at him.


    ¡°Or don¡¯t tell me you have a chance if you have this girl.¡±


    ¡°She has nothing to do with this!¡±


    The smith defended me. I was thankful for that. I hope this will be over with that. But of course, it wasn¡¯t.


    ¡°Hehe,¡± Bertos ignored him. ¡°What a nice baby knife you got there, girl.¡±


    Tch. This asshole just has to keep his mouth talking.


    ¡°Oi, why you not looking at me? Don¡¯t ignore me.¡±


    I kept ignoring him. I would like to avoid trouble if I could.


    ¡°I said don¡¯t ignore me! And I¡¯m curious what beauty you are, come on show us who you are!¡±


    ¡°Bertos! Don¡¯t involve her!¡± the smith shouted.


    ¡°Stop it, Bertos. I can¡¯t just keep watching.¡± The adventurer with the sword walked towards us.


    ¡°Shut yer mouth!¡±


    He extended his hand towards my hood.


    No, no, now that¡¯s crossing the line. Gotta respect a lady¡¯s privacy.


    ¡°Now then, show me yer face.¡±


    I sighed as I made my move.


    The next moment, in a flash, a passing glint of a blade cleaved through the air. Too quick for the unguarded eyes to follow. After that, what everyone could only see was an extravagant blade held by a slender and pale hand, pressing against the bare throat of a crude man.


    His throat had a little shallow wound as the blade dug only just slightly, blood leaking through his skin.


    A voice then reached everyone¡¯s ears, emotionless and cold.


    ¡°Keep on going, and the next thing you¡¯ll see as your insignificant life snuffs out is your own blood spurting out of your throat,¡± I said, with my head looking away from him. I didn¡¯t need to look at him to strike. Training wasn¡¯t a waste.


    He froze in surprise, he didn¡¯t see it coming.


    ¡°Oh, try moving a muscle, and you¡¯re dead. This is a new dagger, so I would like to try it out. But I don¡¯t know if your trashy blood should be what this blade tastes first.¡±


    But blood is blood. It had been a while since I spilled some, since I was last killed. And this little shit, I am willing to put it in its rightful place. What this thing should be, a mere plain, unmoving corpse.


    If he even tries to move which I deemed threatening, my strike will be instant. His throat would have already been slitted before he could even tackle me.


    I waited as I anticipated the fountain of blood that was to come.


    His next action will decide his fate¡­ And I was waiting.


    ¡°... Gh. You¡­¡± He seemed defiant, but he was reluctant.


    Of course he would be. The only thing missing from him would be his life flashing before his eyes.


    Good thing he didn¡¯t have his guard up at all. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t be able to threaten him this way, and an upfront battle will be difficult.


    Even though I had an idea what reputation this guy has from the other¡¯s reaction, that didn¡¯t mean I would also cower before him.


    Fear? If I feel such a thing towards people, how pathetic I would be. What made this man different from other people who I faced that wanted to kill me?


    ¡°Please! No bloodshed in my shop!¡± the smith yelled out of the blue.


    He sounded pretty desperate.


    ¡°Bertos, I beg you. Back down,¡± he pleaded to the man.


    The asshole was silent as he deliberated on how to proceed.


    ¡°... F-Fine. I¡¯ll step back.¡±


    I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes, just a little bit.


    He opened his hand and showed his palm. One by one, he stepped back away.


    ¡°... There, I¡¯m away, satisfied?¡±


    I slightly lowered my blade. As if I would lower my guard.


    I spoke to him. ¡°Walk to the door and stand there.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± He sounded puzzled.


    ¡°Do what I say.¡±


    ¡°Huh, I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t tell me to immediately leave.¡±


    He walked towards the door and stood there.


    I then spoke to the adventurer that approached us. ¡°You with the sword, may I ask you to do something?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, w-what is it?¡± He sounded uneasy.


    ¡°Please give back his sword.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Do it.¡±


    If his sword wasn¡¯t returned, he might get annoyed and just come later, since the smith said he wouldn¡¯t repair it. So it would be good to give him back his sword.


    The reason I had him stand by the door and away from me was so that he wouldn¡¯t strike me the moment he had his sword back. If he decided to unsheathe his sword, the heroic adventurer should be the one to face him first, not me. And I¡¯ll have plenty of time to respond.


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    The swordsman took the sword from the smith and walked towards the man.


    ¡°Here.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, at least you gave it back¡­¡± He received the sword. ¡°Also, you girlie, you win this small round, you got me good. In honor of that, I¡¯ll leave you people be¡­ for now.¡±


    With that, with a loud slam of the door, he disappeared from the shop.


    ¡°How much for the dagger? And oh, please rub off the blood.¡±


    I returned to how I spoke earlier as I presented the dagger to the smith.


    ¡°R-Right, sure. It¡¯s two gold coins.¡±


    He took the blade from me and cleaned it with a piece of cloth.


    I then placed two gold coins on the table.


    The smith returned the dagger to its box. Good thing it was included in the package.


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    He took a piece of fabric from the cabinets and spread it on the table. He took my daggers I bought and placed them on top of it, arranging it while doing so. He then carefully rolled the fabric.


    I grabbed the sling bag and wore the strap by the shoulder.


    ¡°Here you go.¡±


    I received the rolled fabric and placed it inside the bag. How thoughtful of him to place the daggers inside it. I then placed the belts and strap in the bag, and took the wooden box then pushed it down inside the bag before closing the lid.


    ¡°Thank you for the time.¡±


    ¡°N-No, I should be the one thanking you. It¡¯s a pleasure doing business with you.¡±


    I nodded my head and left the shop without a regard for anyone else.


    <div>

 Chapter 30: Undesirable Encounter – [Edited]

    <div>


    Now how do I handle my dear brother? I could already imagine him panicking as he searched for me. He must be in despair realizing his failure to guard me and how he lost me.


    Perhaps he might even be confused as to why I vanished.


    What role should I take?


    Maybe I should take the role of being a stubborn and obstinate girl and leave the spot where I should be because I found something interesting. Should I begin to rebel a bit? Perhaps, hm. But most importantly, I should be utterly apologetic.


    I touched the sling bag.


    I should hide it under the cloak¡­


    I took off the bag that was over my cloak and then hung it inside, on my right shoulder. The sling bag hung straight towards the ground from my shoulder. A bit inconvenient for me, but it will work. I pulled my cloak to conceal myself even more along with the bag.


    It was ideal not to reveal I had this bag, but if it was to end up being discovered, oh well¡­ I¡¯ll manage somehow.


    Alright, I hope you¡¯re still at the plaza, dear brother.


    He could be searching for me, so there was a chance that he was no longer at the plaza and was searching for me all around. But it would be troublesome to search for him, especially when I am personally unfamiliar with the city.


    Perhaps you were wondering if I could go home on my own. Of course I can, what am I? A five-year-old?


    I¡¯ve memorized every route I have taken, so I could just use the route I used earlier to return to where I was to begin with. And as long as I know the direction of where the palace was, I will be completely fine.


    I¡¯m not gonna get lost. If I did, then I suck.


    With rushed steps, I went on to return to the plaza. I should not take long. Of course not too fast since I don¡¯t want to attract any attention to myself. I already did something unplanned at the blacksmith shop, I don¡¯t want to any more.


    Still need to think about how to handle my dear brother. I don¡¯t want him to go calling the knights now to find me. But I imagine he wouldn¡¯t do that immediately considering it was his responsibility to watch over me. And failing that would be a disappointment, not just to everyone, but most importantly to our father and mother.


    If we were to meet father and mother later, I have to tell my brother to keep everything a secret before that. I just hope he agrees, which I was seventy-five percent sure about. Well, let¡¯s just see how everything goes.


    The most important thing was that I already have my precious daggers.


    Just then, I instinctively froze in my tracks. My heart beat fast as I immediately went on high alert. A chilling wind just went around me, this was no normal wind. I was surrounded by different buildings, and this type of cold wind was different, and its movements were circling me.


    ¡°Princess of Blood.¡±


    I instantly sneaked my hand into my bag when I heard that voice. Dammit, it was out of the blue. The daggers were wrapped in cloth and at the bottom of the bag. It would be stupid to take them out now, so I just have to take the dagger from the box.


    I immediately turned to look at the source of that sound.


    There in a small alley by the road, was a man in dark clothing covered in robes from head to toe, but I could see his face. It was a man in his forties, his amber eyes stared at me, his dark hair blended with the faint dark fog that surrounded him.


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    What does this person want with me?


    And Princess of Blood? I had no idea what he was talking about.


    He smiled when our eyes met.


    ¡°Indeed, you are alive. I doubt it no more now that I see you with my own eyes this closely.¡±


    He spread his arms with a smile while he spoke, as though in celebration.


    I was puzzled as to why he was acting this way. It was then at this moment that I had realized that I could only hear his voice, and everyone else, and anywhere else, I couldn¡¯t hear them.


    I still feel the chilling wind, it must be what was blocking the sound. This must be another kind of magic. It was irritating that an unknown power was being used on me.


    ¡°The prophecy told otherwise, and your survival changed the flow of the tides, or changed what we initially expected.¡±


    Oh?


    I smirked inside.


    I¡¯m sorry. Did I fuck up your prophecy or something?


    I wanted to chuckle in amusement. That said, I knew nothing about this so-called prophecy. But I did get that it seems the prophecy spoke of my death. Or, to be precise, Estelia¡¯s death.


    Well, she is dead, and I am here.


    Hilarious.


    In their eyes, Estelia was still alive.


    ¡°Please do not misunderstand, we are overjoyed to see you alive and well, O esteemed princess.¡±


    He bowed his head deeply as though bowing down to a monarch.


    ¡°W-Who are you?¡±


    I took on the Estelia facade as I spoke. Reason? It seems that this person was familiar with me, it would be best not to show who I truly was in front of him. But it made me wonder if he saw what I did in the shop. I hope not.


    ¡°We are not your enemy, Princess.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Hm.... I processed his words, trying to decipher the deeper meaning behind it.


    What he could be doing¡­ I had a faint idea, but it was uncertain.


    ¡°We have been watching you, Your Highness. We have been protecting you from others that threaten you, even more so now.¡±


    From what he was saying, it seemed he had no intention of attacking me. But I still sneaked my hand to grab hold of the dagger from inside the box, which I opened during the exchange. It would be foolish to believe him.


    Even though he had magic, and I do not, that didn¡¯t mean I was not going to fight if there was no other choice. If I were to fall, it would be fighting to the end.


    But, this entire conversation gave me a bad feeling. Like, everything was going to change.


    What I was experiencing recently, all of it would slowly change in the future.


    A strange emotion began to creep into my heart.


    ¡°What do y-you mean?¡±


    ¡°Be careful, for various beings have their eyes on you. Be wary of your surroundings and those around you. Even to your allies and ranks, for your enemies will also be among them, that even we cannot determine which.¡±


    A betrayer?


    ¡°Always be on guard, don¡¯t easily trust anyone. Please live, Princess of Blood.¡±


    He sounded like he was pleading, but I was not in the mood to be empathetic, nor did I have any intention of doing so.


    But what was this?


    I was holding the dagger tightly, so tight that my hand trembled. A violent emotion swirling in my heart. My facade threatened to break.


    I wanted to explode in anger.


    ¡°Farewell for now. But know that we are also here to watch over you. And oh, I suggest you keep our conversation a secret in order to keep everyone around you safer.¡± He faintly smiled. ¡°Take care, Your Highness.¡±


    He turned into a fog and ascended until he disappeared. The abnormal wind that covered me vanished as well.


    I took in a sharp, deep breath as my pure and innocent masquerade broke apart.


    I gritted my teeth as my burning eyes of anger peered around, looking for enemies.


    I was furious. So furious that my heart pounded heavily.


    They¡­ They would ruin my peace?!


    My face contorted into anger as I wanted to shout. The dagger held even more firmer as the raging emotion inside me wanted to blast out.


    I want to slam my fist into a wall. I want to kill. I want to slaughter. I want to execute those who wanted to obstruct my desired path.


    What did I ever do to them for me to end up in this situation?!


    I knew nothing about them. I knew nothing about everything. Who they were, what was going on, what was about to happen¡­


    Everything!


    And now they dare threaten the peace that I have?!


    My days of peace, the days ever since I became Estelia. It came to my mind. They were peaceful. Those were the things I so wanted to have. The freedom. The flowers. The cookies. The lessons. The dancing. The learning. The music. The plan to fish. Eating grilled food. Leisurely walks.


    A place to call home¡­


    B-But¡­ this was going to happen?!


    It felt like everything would crumble apart. All the things I only experienced for a short time.


    Why? Why? Why...?


    I took a deep breath. Losing my calm wouldn¡¯t help anything.


    I closed my eyes as I slowly regained my composure.


    Fine then. Anyone who wants to destroy my peace, come at me! I will face you down. I will take you all. No matter how many you are. Even if it''s the entire world. I will eliminate all that dares to take what I longed for. What I wished for... I will have a life of peace.


    I have made my resolve.


    <div>

 Chapter 31: The Princess’ Plans – [Edited]

    I arrived at the plaza as I contemplated on what I¡¯ll do from this moment forward. I searched for my brother, but he was nowhere to be found. I sighed, I felt tired.


    There was a spot outside of the pavement, a grassy spot. I wanted to sit down for a while, so I walked over and plopped down on the ground. I embraced my knees as I lowered my head.


    Damn interlopers.


    That stranger from before... He was speaking and saying as though he was my ally or some shit. Protect me? Bullshit. As if I would rely and trust them. His words implied he wanted to implant into my mind that he was my friend and was not a threat. But those kinds of people had their own motives.


    I would never rely on them. I only had myself to rely on, to handle everything, to make everything go well.


    ¡­ What if my old allies, from my former world, could I have relied on them if they were also here? I don¡¯t know, perhaps. The man who killed me hesitated, he didn¡¯t want to do it. But I fucked up, I messed up, I failed. It was given that I would be disposed of, and not everyone would hesitate to fulfill the mission and put the rules above all else, even if it violates what they wanted inside their heart.


    In this world, I have no accomplices.


    What was this I was feeling? Melancholy? Heh, been awhile since I felt something like this. But this is ridiculous. What a bothersome emotion.


    It¡¯s pointless to feel this way. I must first think of the future. First, I need to get stronger. I am weak, not in skills of course, I have confidence in that. But what I was wary of was magic. How annoying. I can imagine people with the weakest body could be the strongest with the help of magic. Talk about unfairness. As someone who in the past worked hard, went through hell, I can only say that about it.


    How unfair.


    No, what am I saying? I¡¯m not like this¡­


    My mind was in disarray. I guess everything that happened is getting into me.


    Tch, snap out of it, me!


    Alright! Dammit.


    Plan one, get stronger. I must learn magic. Plan two, information. I don¡¯t know how I could learn about what was happening around me, but I should learn first about the geography of this country at least. I must know the area I was operating.


    Plan three, find out who could be of threat. One of the knights could be one of the traitors, should take that into consideration. But I wonder, if they wanted me dead, one of them could have already killed me.


    Was it one of the soldiers? Perhaps, among them, one could be a spy. Could be tasked to only watch over my movements for the time being. But it¡¯s possible they may be ordered to kill me at some point.


    The palace staff? They could have killed me already.


    But nothing was assured.


    Then, what about nobles? Highly possible, people of power always have motives, mostly for themselves.


    That said, what does everyone even want from me? I know completely nothing, fuck.


    Was I the only one who was told about this predicament? It seems so. The man said not to tell anyone else if I want those close to me to remain safe. But, was I really the only target? The other royal family could be targets, too. I mean, executing them had more merits than killing a princess like me, who had no influence whatsoever.


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    But, what if merits and benefits, financial, or anything tangible, were not the only motives to this? Personal grudges? Might be. But, why was it that who came to meet me seemed powerful? Was this not as simple as I first thought it would be? Something of a greater scale. It couldn¡¯t be. Why would that be? I don¡¯t get it.


    Perhaps I¡¯m wrong. But still, I have no knowledge of anything. First, I must find a way to mend the situation even for just a little.


    I heard someone panting close to me, followed by a familiar voice.


    ¡°E-Estel?¡±


    I instantly looked up and saw my brother. His eyes opened wide, he seemed like he was panicking just a moment ago, but now there was a bit of relief. He was also profusely sweating indicating he was running all over the place.


    I smiled brightly as I jolted up.


    ¡°Brother!¡± I already had one foot forward as though intending to hold him in joy. However, I stepped back with an apologetic expression. ¡°I¡­ I-Im so sorry.¡±


    I lowered my head with regretful eyes while often sneaking a glance at my dear brother.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for what I did¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have done that,¡± I sincerely said to him with a slightly trembling voice. I averted my gaze instantly after speaking.


    ¡°Where were you?¡±


    I looked at Estevan, he still had that somewhat stressed look.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I saw something which caught my attention¡­ I was only to take a look for a moment, but¡­ I also went to another place close to it¡­ I was so caught up that I didn¡¯t notice how long I was away.¡±


    I lowered my head even more. I have to be careful of my movements, I have a bag full of daggers under my cloak. I decided to keep the reason simple so it wouldn¡¯t get worse or anything. I already have a lot of things on my mind.


    ¡°I kept searching all around for you, but I couldn¡¯t find you. D-Did we miss each other?¡±


    I blinked my eyes, pretending to think about it. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know. I¡¯m sorry for what I did, brother! I troubled you immensely.¡±


    I had a face that was on the verge of crying. My eyes were a bit damp at the corners, and my lips pursed tightly. He sighed and the next I felt was his hand patting my head. I formed a bewildered expression.


    ¡°The most important thing is that I found you, and you¡¯re safe. That¡¯s all that matters.¡± His eyes were full of fondness, and his smile filled with warmth.


    ¡°... Okay.¡±


    ¡°But don¡¯t do that again, understand?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°So, how was your lonesome touring?¡±


    ¡°I-It was great. But¡­ that was a mistake. There are just too many new things that I saw.¡±


    ¡°I see. By the way, you looked so melancholic when I found you, are you alright?¡±


    He must have seen me while I was contemplating. I may indeed have looked so sad¡­ Perhaps I was. But that was not what I was intending to convey. It was just comfortable to be in that position.


    ¡°... Um¡ª¡±


    ¡°Could it be that you¡¯re scared because I wasn¡¯t there by your side?¡±


    He had a teasing smile on his face. I furrowed my brows as a blush came to my cheeks.


    ¡°N-No! It¡¯s not that at all, brother!¡± I looked away with a pout.


    ¡°Hahaha! There, there¡­¡± He patted my head again. ¡°Your big brother will alway help you if you need help. If you need saving, I¡¯ll be there.¡±


    He spoke as though talking to a child. I¡¯m not a child, okay? I don¡¯t even look as young as a child. Mmmmmmm.


    ¡°Brother stop that, it¡¯s embarrassing¡­¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°You look cute if you act that way.¡±


    ¡°... By the way, brother, where are the souvenirs that you bought?¡±


    I changed the subject to show my embarrassment.


    ¡°Aaah, about that. You see, I panicked when I saw you gone, so I dropped them.¡±


    ¡°Brother¡­ we can still search for them, right?¡±


    ¡°I guess we can try. Come.¡±


    I followed him, and we arrived in front of the shop which was selling figurines.


    ¡°It¡¯s supposed to be somewhere here.¡±


    We looked around, on the floor and everywhere, but there was nothing.


    ¡°It¡¯s gone¡­¡± my brother muttered.


    ¡°And it seems we can¡¯t buy another one.¡±


    The shop was closed. They must have sold out already. How very successful that business was. Likely they had pretty limited stocks.


    ¡°That¡¯s alright brother, there¡¯s always a next time.¡±


    ¡°I guess... Anyhow, where do you want to go next?¡±


    During the exchange, I have thought of what I would do. I was alone in this endeavor. So what do you think I need?


    Manpower. Allies. Someone to use. Someone that can be trusted.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go home¡­¡±


    Estevan looked at me with confusion the moment I said those words. It was still about midday, we were planning to at least spend the time in the city until afternoon. However, with how things turned out, I was no longer in the mood for a leisure stroll. I didn¡¯t feel comfortable here anymore. I needed to think first. So the best option was to return to the palace, where it was the safest.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    I looked away, appearing to hesitate.


    ¡°I just want to go home.¡±


    ¡°... Is that so? Then that¡¯s fine if that¡¯s what you want... Let¡¯s go?¡±


    I nodded my head. ¡°But let¡¯s pass by the flower shop from earlier.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±

 Chapter 32: Put to Good Use – [Edited]

    And so, we passed by the flower shop.


    ¡°You came back!¡±


    The little girl from the flower shop immediately said to me happily when she recognized who I was. Her eyes so innocent gazed up at me.


    I could hear a faint chuckle from my brother behind me. I ignored him and spoke to the girl.


    ¡°Yes. I did say I¡¯ll come back later, right?¡±


    Well, we were passing by anyway, so why not?


    ¡°Now then, I¡¯ll have one each for different colored flowers. Give me the best ones, okay?¡±


    ¡°S-Sure!¡± The small girl then turned to her mother. ¡°Mama, um, I need help. The customer said she wants the best ones, but I don¡¯t know if what I¡¯ll pick is the best.¡±


    ¡°Really? Alright then,¡± the mother gently said to her child. ¡°Please wait for a moment.¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°What does the customer want, exactly?¡± the mother asked her child.


    The child conveyed my order. After a moment, the mother had bundled the assorted flowers, tied in a few thin ropes.


    ¡°Here you go, young lady.¡±


    I smiled as I received the bouquet, gently taking them into my arms.


    ¡°Allow me to pay, sister.¡±


    Estevan offered, so I didn¡¯t need to refuse.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much, beautiful miss!¡±


    Oh? Such a flatterer, young child. Amusing.


    ¡°Farewell,¡± I said to them.


    I gazed at the beautiful flowers as we walked. Flowers were indeed beautiful. Brother and I didn¡¯t speak as we headed back home. Perhaps there was just nothing to talk about, or perhaps what happened earlier was still plaguing his thoughts.


    I didn¡¯t want to speak for a while, anyway. I¡¯m still troubled about everything. That said, I have decided what I will do.


    When we arrived at the bridge, I stopped in place then immediately looked at my surroundings. It was quiet, no one was around. This place was much better compared to the city. It was safer.


    My brother looked at me with a puzzled expression. ¡°Estel¡­?¡±


    I faced him with fear in my eyes. I looked down before raising them again, meeting Estevan¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°B-Brother¡­ I have something to say.¡±


    ¡°W-What? What¡¯s the matter? Something going on?¡±


    My seriousness startled him. But that¡¯s good, he had to take what I say seriously. As I said earlier, I was alone. Therefore, I need manpower. I need allies.


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    Someone that can be trusted.


    And one of them was my very own brother. I have to tell him.


    What? Don¡¯t tell me you ever thought I wouldn¡¯t tell him just because the man earlier said not to tell anyone? Ridiculous. What am I? Stooopid?


    No. I¡¯m not that pathetic. I¡¯m not an idiot.


    Having Brother realize what was going will be beneficial. A knight, a royalty, a family of Estelia. What was the point of acting as Estelia if I won¡¯t put it to good use?


    And why would I follow the words of some stranger? I need to have faith in my own decisions, and what I think would be the best course of action.


    Everything I¡¯ve built up, the acting, the efforts, I will put it to use. I will have them protect me. All those that can be used as shields, I shall use them. Those that can aid me, I¡¯ll use them. To survive, I¡¯ll use anything that is necessary.


    And the closest thing that could be used for those ends, was my brother.


    Add to that the entire royal family.


    I smirked inside my heart. I have the highest in the hierarchy within the kingdom by my side. I will put them to good use.


    I opened my mouth slightly as though hesitating to speak. But then inhaled deeply, showing my conviction.


    ¡°S-Something happened earlier actually....¡±


    ¡°... What do you mean?¡± Estevan narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°T-There was a man¡­¡± I averted my eyes away.


    ¡°A man? What happened?¡± His voice sounded a bit stern, anticipating my next words.


    ¡°H-He came from out of nowhere, and it felt like he cast some sort of magic.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Magic?¡±


    Now he sounded puzzled, must not be what he was expecting.


    ¡°He warned me. But, there was something strange, he called me something¡­¡±


    ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°Princess of Blood¡­ he called me that.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± He mildly shook his head. ¡°Estel, I¡¯m confused. What happened? Tell me everything.¡±


    I told him everything the man said to me. As to how I met him, of course I omitted the information about coming from a blacksmith. I just said I was just walking around and the stranger called to me.


    Upon finishing conveying the information, Estevan covered his mouth as he processed what I just said. Suddenly, as though in realization, I saw his hand grip his sword¡¯s hilt as he glared at the surroundings.


    ¡°Then, does this mean that there are people watching us? Especially in the city¡­? And to think I left you alone?! I¡¯m a useless brother.¡±


    ¡°B-Brother, don¡¯t blame yourself.¡±


    ¡°Estel, let us quickly return to the palace. I need to speak with Father.¡±


    ¡°O-Okay.¡±


    He suddenly held my wrist and pulled me towards the palace gates. I accidentally dropped the flowers, what a waste. His grip was extremely tight, and he walked hastily. He was severely agitated.


    ¡°Open the gates, quickly!¡±


    He shouted loudly the moment we arrived at the gates. The gates quickly opened, and we immediately entered inside.


    ¡°Your Highness.¡±


    The guard greeted him, but Estevan ignored him. When the other guards began to gather, my brother pulled me towards him and held me by the shoulders as if protecting me from danger.


    ¡°B-Brother, can you please slow down?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    He flat out denied my request. I never saw him like this. His eyes were so severe that one would hesitate to speak with him.


    We quickly reached the front doors of the palace. With no hesitation, he slammed them open and pulled me inside with him. He immediately slammed the door shut, causing a loud bang.


    ¡°Y-Your Highness, what¡¯s the matter?¡± A manservant nearby noticed the agitated Estevan.


    My brother stared at him, no, more like scrutinizing him for only a short moment.


    ¡°I want to speak with my father. Tell him I¡¯m coming shortly.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, at once, Your Highness.¡±


    The manservant left quickly.


    ¡°B-Brother, may I retire to my room? I¡¯m a bit tired.¡±


    Well, I still need to hide the daggers I have hidden. I have to return to my room immediately.


    ¡°... Very well. I¡¯ll take you there.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    He delivered me to my room.


    ¡°Rest for a while, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay...¡±


    He closed the door after I entered. I took in a deep breath before facing the drawers.


    ¡°That went very well, didn¡¯t expect him to react that hard,¡± I quietly muttered.


    I took off my cloak and opened the drawer. I took off the bag and when I was about to put it inside, I paused.


    The maids frequently open the drawer. Then, where should I¡­?


    I looked at my bed.


    Under the bed should do fine. They don¡¯t clean underneath there often.


    That being said, Mera was now my personal maid, so she should be the one to clean the room. So I guess I¡¯ll manage. It was a pain to not have much privacy. But whatever....


    I placed the entire bag underneath the bed.


    ¡°Should work for now.¡±


    Now then¡­ I wonder how things will turn out.

 Chapter 33: Lady of Serenity & Deity of Blood – [Edited]

    Estevan immediately went to his father after bringing Estelia to her room. His blood was in a rush after what his sister told him. Everything was so sudden, it could have put Estelia in harm''s way for all he knows.


    From what he heard, this was a matter so severe that he couldn¡¯t sit idly by. His father, the King, must learn of this at all costs. Only he has the power to do more things than Estevan ever could.


    He shortly reached his father¡¯s office. Estevan opened the door with no hesitation, he already had ordered a servant to notify his father of his visit, so nothing should be surprising about him barging in.


    Inside the office, he was greeted by several papers and quills on the table of his father. Scribes assisted the king in his work, and there was also his mother sitting by the table, appearing to have paperwork of her own. She must have decided to help.


    Estevan was expecting that he would be alone with his father, but it would be fine for his mother to also hear about the situation involving Estelia. No, it would be best for his mother to know about this.


    ¡°My son, you returned earlier than expected. Hm?¡± The king, Leodoule, furrowed his brows the moment he saw Estevan¡¯s serious expression. ¡°Something the matter, Estevan?¡±


    Estevan heaved a sigh, venting a bit of his frustrations. ¡°Father, Mother, I wish to speak with you two alone.¡± Estevan warily looked at the other people around.


    The scribes looked a bit puzzled as to why Estevan was looking at them that way. He was always the friendly type, after all.


    ¡°... Is that so? Then, leave us.¡±


    Leodoule gave the order, and the servants immediately fled the room. Estevan walked over to the door and spoke to the servants.


    ¡°Go rest for a while, eat or something.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, Your Highness.¡±


    With that, they left the proximity of the room. Estevan didn¡¯t want anyone eavesdropping, despite how secure the room was ¡ª or rather, he just didn¡¯t want anyone else close. After making sure there was no one else, he closed and locked the door.


    ¡°Estevan? Is there a problem? W-Where¡¯s Estelia?¡±


    Meliya, Estevan¡¯s mother, asked worriedly. Estevan understood why, for he looked so agitated even just after going out with Estelia. The way he acted only made everyone think that something bad happened.


    ¡°Estel is fine, Mother. She¡¯s in her room.¡±


    ¡°Truly? That¡¯s good, I thought something bad happened¡­¡± She sighed in relief.


    ¡°Then, what¡¯s the matter? Why so tense?¡±


    Estevan walked closer to them.


    ¡°It concerns Estelia. Something happened while she was¡­ alone.¡±


    His father raised an eyebrow. ¡°What do you mean alone? Weren¡¯t you supposed to be with her?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Father. It was my blunder¡­ but there¡¯s something more important at the moment.¡±


    His parents waited for him to continue.


    ¡°Estelia said that a strange man showed himself, he used some magic.¡± He looked into his father¡¯s eyes. ¡°And, he called her Princess of Blood.¡±


    Both his father and mother held their breaths the moment they heard those words. Estevan didn¡¯t expect them to act this way, as though they were familiar with it.


    ¡°H-How could this be?¡± Meliya muttered.


    ¡°... I had my suspicions¡­ But, I never thought she would truly be¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait! You know about this?¡± Estevan was surprised.


    ¡°Not much. In fact, we know too little.¡± His father stood up and walked to the window. ¡°Before that, tell me what happened.¡±


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    Estevan nodded his head and told them what Estelia said. After hearing it, the king felt baffled.


    ¡°Prophecy? What? What more about it?¡±


    ¡°That is all I know, he just mentioned she survived but the prophecy said otherwise. Then I assume that could only mean that she¡­ should have died.¡±


    Meliya took in a shaky breath, anxiety evident on her face. ¡°D-Died? What is going on?¡±


    ¡°And there are many that target Estelia¡­ I never thought it would end up this way.¡±


    ¡°Father, Mother, you were familiar with the term earlier. Tell me, what do you know?¡±


    His father looked him in the eyes. ¡°Estevan, what do you know of our lineage?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± He was confused by the question. ¡°What do you mean? We¡¯re direct descendants of the founders, like any other kingdoms. The bloodline of the first kings and queens.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that is what we are. But, we are more than that¡­ We are descendants of the gods.¡±


    Estevan was flabbergasted. He couldn¡¯t believe it, there was no way. But his father wouldn¡¯t jest in situations like this.


    ¡°... Is that for certain, father?¡±


    ¡°... We are descendants of the Lady of Serenity and Lord of Compassion.¡±


    His eyes widened. ¡°What¡­? I¡­. I never heard of something like this before. I couldn¡¯t even imagine it.¡±


    ¡°Around two millennia ago, the goddess and the god walked our land, aiding humans. Then they had a child.¡±


    Estevan listened carefully.


    ¡°A child of two gods¡­ The child was about to be given the title, the Princess of Blood. As she was about to be a child of monarchs.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ no, that¡¯s a long time ago, it¡¯s impossible that Estelia would be ¡ª¡±


    ¡°The child died.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°While a mere baby, the child died, killed to be precise. But it wasn¡¯t stated how. This is all based on the ancient texts that were never publicized, and only a few knew of this. I was planning to tell you boys about this, but I guess it¡¯s now time.¡±


    ¡°... Wait, Father, I¡¯m confused why the child would be given the title of Blood.¡±


    ¡°Serenity was not the Lady¡¯s first title,¡± his mother said.


    ¡°Then what is?¡±


    ¡°Ruling Deity of Blood,¡± said the king. ¡°That was her original title as Goddess. And, her appearance was described in the ancient text... The Ruling Deity of Blood had hair as white as the purest platinum, skin as white as snow, and eyes as red as the crimson of blood.¡±


    Estevan¡¯s breath stuck in his throat. He closed his fist and pressed it into his mouth, utterly surprised by the revelation.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­. That¡¯s exactly like Estelia.¡±


    ¡°I thought it was only a coincidence the first moment Estelia came into this world. No, I prayed for it to be,¡± Leodoule said weakly.


    ¡°I thought it was only because of the mixture of your father and my features. But¡­ the crimson eyes were just too much.¡±


    ¡°We hoped it was not the case of what we were thinking it to be. But, it was stated in the ancient text that the Lady of Serenity deemed it to be that her daughter was to be reborn again, not to be her direct child, but she would be reborn.¡±


    ¡°... I see¡­ But if the child died, how are we the direct descendants?¡±


    ¡°The Lord and Lady had another child. However, the girl lacked the features of her mother. Then, that is how our kingdom came to be. The child of the gods fell in love with a mortal, and had children. That¡¯s how it was, even some of the nobles in our kingdom are their descendants.¡±


    ¡°T-Then, the blood of the gods really does flow in our veins.¡±


    It was hard to believe, but he had to.


    ¡°Then, why was the ancient text not revealed to the public?¡± Estevan asked.


    ¡°To keep us, the lineage of the gods, a secret. Having come from the blood of the gods be known to the public wouldn¡¯t be good¡­ that¡¯s what the kings in the past millennia decided. No, it might have been requested by our founders. We do not know the full history regrettably.¡±


    ¡°Then, if the first queen was a god, shouldn¡¯t she be eternal? Then where is she?¡±


    ¡°... No one knows.¡±


    ¡°If Estelia was the daughter reborn of the Lady, why hasn¡¯t the Lady come?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Estevan clutched his head. He was being overwhelmed by what was happening concerning his dear sister. ¡°And now there are many that¡¯s aiming for her¡­ And what¡¯s with this prophecy they were talking about?¡± he muttered.


    ¡°I suggest we further study the ancient text deeply, we might find something,¡± Meliya said. ¡°I¡¯ll look into it myself.¡±


    ¡°Meliya¡­ very well, I will send some people to help you.¡± He turned to Estevan. ¡°My son, you make sure there are no traitorous worms within the Knights¡¯ Order.¡±


    ¡°... Understood.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll look into the servants myself.¡±


    Estevan had been thinking about something.


    ¡°Father, about Estelia. What are we going to do?¡±


    ¡°Have her stay here. Prohibit her from leaving.¡±


    ¡°How long?¡±


    ¡°... Depends.¡±


    ¡°Father! I know it¡¯s dangerous, but we can¡¯t make her stay in the palace like a prisoner anymore! I¡¯m against it!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s for her own good.¡±


    ¡°But for her entire life she had never left the palace¡­ If only you could see how she was the moment she left the gates. Her smile was so broad, eyes full of adoration and face so brilliant in celebration. Like a bird finally able to fly with freedom, free to reach for the skies... She was happy. I never saw her so happy before. It warmed my heart to see her like that. Please reconsider, please, don¡¯t lock her up.¡±


    Leodoule shifted his eyes towards Meliya. Both had conflicting expressions, having difficulties deciding.


    The king sighed. ¡°I will think of what to do.¡±


    Estevan smiled. ¡°Thank you, Father.¡±


    ¡°Now go, do your task.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be going out, have them prepare for my leave while you go.¡±


    ¡°Where are you going, Father?¡±


    ¡°Now that it has come to this, I¡¯m going to the Church.¡±


    So Father is going to request the Church for assistance?


    Knowing his father, his request would be no less than a mild effort. If it was for Estelia, he would use the entire Church Order in the kingdom.


    ¡°Understood, Father.¡±


    Estevan left the room.


    He will protect his dear sister from any harm. He wouldn¡¯t hold back. Whether they be allies, or friends, if they threaten Estelia¡¯s life, he would cut them down with no hesitation. Family was more important than others.

 Chapter 34: Beginning of the Hunt

    Last night, during dinner, everyone was so tense that I found it hard to talk with them. It seems that my reliable brother had delivered the news. That said, trapped in my room I was, I never uncovered what actions they exactly took.


    However, if I were to guess, they must be making sure that everyone in the palace was to be trusted. In addition, I also heard from Mera yesterday that my father, the King, left the palace. I asked Mera where he could have gone, but she had no answer.


    I wonder where he went. But I¡¯m impressed they acted immediately when they heard of my predicament. Good.


    Now the seeds of my soon to be meatshields and assistance had been planted and ready to be reaped, I am now to focus on my own self for a while.


    ¡°Milady, everyone seems so tense for some reason today.¡±


    As we were heading back to my room after taking a bath, Mera spoke to me with a concerned voice.


    I had no intention to tell her of the situation, she could offer no help whatsoever after all. And my family hadn''t told anyone else what was happening, so I am not intending to intervene. Even so, Mera will have some uses at any point.


    I acted clueless about it.


    ¡°Is that so? Have you heard anything about why?¡±


    ¡°I only heard about his Majesty leaving yesterday, and his Highness the Prince gathering the knights.¡±


    Hm, it seems my brother started at a place he had the most influence on. But I think the knights had the lowest chance of any internal threat. There was also a chance that the stranger¡¯s words were word plays, or there were indeed infiltrators, but couldn¡¯t be in the palace.


    I am lacking information.


    A high chance of infiltrators would be amongst the guards which were commoners. They could easily be hired, or the enemy could use that method to infiltrate and spy in the palace, keeping track of my movements.


    But why was it the enemy has yet to make their move?


    Was infiltrating the palace that difficult? Or eliminating me? Was there something that limits their movements? Or that stranger was indeed keeping those who threatened my life away from me?


    Were the enemies observing for a while? A possibility. Perhaps waiting for the opportune moment, or they were still gathering information themselves.


    The prophecy the stranger mentioned came to my mind.


    He said it changed. How many knew of that so-called prophecy? My enemies likely knew of it. Was the reason they have yet to make their move was because they were startled by my arrival, thus resulting in Estelia¡¯s survival? Making them more cautious about their actions and coming up ways to understand the situation.


    They might be very careful in making their decisions.


    And here I am, so feeble and weak that I can imagine that a single magic could squash me.


    How frustrating.


    I arrived in my room.


    ¡°Wait for me here.¡±


    ¡°Yes, milady.¡±


    I closed the door.


    This should have been easier if the bath was just on the other side of the room, and if I could dress on my own. But alas, I am a princess. They would just reject my request to let me dress myself anyways if the bath was just one door away.


    In any case, I have a good purpose coming here.


    I kneeled beside the bed, and reached my hand under, grabbing the bag.


    My precious daggers. I have to be armed at all times. You¡¯ll never know when the enemy will come.


    I took out the contents and spread out the cloth with daggers upon the bed along with the straps and belts.


    I lifted my right leg, removed my shoes and placed my foot on the bed. I moved my skirt back, revealing my flawless, smooth, and white thighs.


    Hmmm. Perfection!


    My thighs are more precious than the pig or chicken thighs that you eat!


    ¡­Okay, bad comparison, forget about that.


    Ahem.


    I took a strap and tied it to my thigh. This time I¡¯ll only equip one strap, I¡¯m not going on a full operation here. Plus, it would be easier and safer to conceal the weapons that way. I just need some weapons to guard myself with when push comes to shove.


    There were three slots available. Two slots for small sized daggers at the front side, while one of the medium sized to the side. I took the daggers and sheathed them in. Perfectly fit! They wouldn¡¯t fall off or shake. It seems that blacksmith¡¯s works were designed for each other.


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    Well, you could do the same for others, I guess. But it¡¯s always the best to buy things from the same manufacturer to ensure compatibility for their products.


    But whatever, that¡¯s not important, at least my equipment works, that¡¯s the most important thing.


    Good thing the strap was around my size. Of course I wouldn¡¯t pick something that wouldn¡¯t fit me, so it was only to be expected that they would fit. But the smith offered me this, so perhaps he already had an idea of what size would fit me. So it perfectly fits!


    Ah! Gotta stop thinking about these pointless things. I need to focus on the things more crucial.


    I need to find my brother. I need his help to convince father to allow me to learn magic. That will be required, I don¡¯t even know how to start learning that shit.


    Rules of the world differed from my old world. I might need to expand my perception of how things work.


    I cleaned up and hid my things under the bed again. I tried moving my leg, everything was fine.


    We were about to go to breakfast, so I have no need to go looking for my brother.


    I left the room and along with Mera, we headed towards the dining room. When I first saw the three members of my family, I stopped in my tracks.


    Hm. They all looked like they were deeply thinking about something. Must be about me.


    I looked at Estevan who I was about to talk to first. He seemed on edge, he had been like this yesterday.


    Nothing I can do but cheer him on in my heart. I pushed through the tense atmosphere while acting as though I didn¡¯t notice anything strange and stood next to my brother.


    ¡°E-Estel?¡±


    I smiled sweetly as I rubbed my hands embarrassingly.


    ¡°Brother¡­ about my¡­¡± I whispered to him. ¡°...request.¡±


    ¡°Request¡­?¡±


    I blinked my eyes several times as though flabbergasted by his question.


    ¡°Have you forgotten? How mean of you Estevan,¡± I pouted while emphasizing his name, failing to call him what I usually do.


    He jolted up as though suddenly struck by an arrow through the chest, threatening to take his life. He frantically spoke.


    ¡°W-Wait! Um, Ah yes! I remember now! T-That learning thing?¡±


    A faint smile curled on my lips.


    ¡°Yes dear brother, the learning thing.¡±


    ¡°Ahaha, yes that. Ahem¡­¡±


    I walked to my seat while receiving the puzzled gazes of my parents.


    ¡°What learning thing do you mean?¡± my mother asked, looking at me for an answer.


    I fidgeted on my seat as I sent a pleading gaze towards my brother.


    ¡°What is it about?¡± my father asked with furrowed brows, which caught me by surprise a little.


    I didn¡¯t expect him to be like this in front of Estelia early in the morning, he was less¡­ What word would fit this¡­? He was less welcoming than usual. I sort of wanted to know what they were up to. But patience. It was still early. I¡¯ll learn it at some point. The most important thing was that it¡¯s for my sake. But I would at least want to have an idea, I¡¯ll just wait for the opportunity.


    Father waited for an answer until Estevan hesitantly spoke.


    ¡°Father, actually¡­ Estel wishes to do something.¡±


    ¡°Hm? What is it?¡±


    ¡°She¡­ wants to learn magic.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± my father¡¯s gaze shifted towards me.


    I recoiled back the moment I received those strong eyes. It caused instant regret from my father¡¯s expression the moment he saw how I was acting.


    ¡°Sorry, dear daughter¡­ Just... What brought this on? Why do you want to learn?¡±


    Now how should I answer this?


    ¡°I find magic¡­ interesting. It was a mystical thing¡­ And, it has many uses, I saw how the knights use it¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a lady and princess, you have no need to learn the ways of the knights.¡±


    I shook my head as I intently looked at my father''s eyes.


    ¡°I plan not to take the ways of a knight. However, there must be other kinds of magic, there is, right? Something that fits me?¡± there must be other variants. There has to be. ¡°Also, as I said, learning magic, I might be able to defend myself from¡­¡±


    I stopped my words and looked down, clenching my skirt as fear was in my eyes.


    ¡°I¡­ I think something is going on¡­ I don¡¯t feel at ease. I want to learn magic¡­ Especially now that¡­ I feel¡­ unsafe. So weak. I want power...¡±


    My hands trembled intensely. I was reminding them of what happened yesterday. This would at least make Father consider it.


    ¡°...¡± my father looked at my mother, as though asking what her opinion was.


    My mother reached out and held my hand. She squeezed it, tightly it was soft, the warmth of her hand came to mine. I looked at her eyes which were full of fondness.


    ¡°Estelia, do not fear, for we are here.¡±


    ¡°... But¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Mother turned to father. ¡°I think it is fine for her to learn, even I myself know a little bit, it is no harm for her to learn, yes?¡±


    ¡°Meliya¡­ but if I recall correctly, when you were young, you kept it a secret as you learned by yourself.¡± my father said with a smile.


    ¡°... Indeed that was the case, but no harm, correct?¡±


    My father pondered for a while.


    I was a bit surprised to hear that my mother knew how to do magic. I don¡¯t quite recall her performing it in front of Estelia. Perhaps her capabilities were so small that it was not performed in front of everybody else? Or she decided not to do it because there was no reason to.


    Ladies of the court had no need to worry about obtaining power, for the men will be the ones to protect them. That was why normally, ladies had no need to strive for strength and focus on other things. Their home, politics, diplomacy, sociality and many more matters that have no need for strength but yet essential.


    Perhaps that was why as a princess of the kingdom, I was not taught such things as magic in the beginning. Princesses, or ladies, were not required muscles to lift weights, nor were they required to obtain strength to crush their enemies with their fists or cut them down with swords.


    The men were to be the ones to focus on using their strength, and the ladies were to cover where there might be weaknesses for their partner. Cover their blind spots, you could say. However, this somehow gave me the feeling that it was this way so that the ladies would be protected as the men risked their lives for them, just to keep the ladies out of danger.


    How caring. I guess as expected of such a romantic kingdom that its legit origins were romance, and also the gods it worships.


    That being said, this was no absolute rule. When it was considerably required, they could do what they needed to be done. Then there were some females among the knights, thus proving that rule wasn¡¯t mandatory.


    Even so, I was no mere noble like those knights.


    That aside, mother¡¯s right, no harm from learning it.


    ¡°Very well,¡± my father finally gave his permission. ¡°There are books in the library you can read. However, I personally will choose what books you are to read. So, you have to be a bit patient, Estelia. Tomorrow should be fine, right?¡±


    How long would it take just to pick out a few books?! Whatever, he must be busy to go to the library to pick out the right books now. Tomorrow would be fine, at least it wasn¡¯t days. Besides, they must be working on my threatening situation, so it¡¯s alright. Keep working for my sake.


    Besides, I have to feel around the palace today anyway.


    Gonna scout the area, familiarize the faces of people here. Observe their actions towards me. How would my enemies react if they saw me? Or those who had interests in me.


    It will be risky, I know. But I¡¯ll achieve nothing, progress nothing, if I do not act myself.


    ¡°Yes! That is fine!¡± a happy smile emerged on my lips.


    I must act to defend my peace. I must act to exterminate my enemies.

 Chapter 35: Suspicions

    After finishing our breakfast, my father immediately spoke.


    ¡°Estelia, if you¡¯re planning to leave your room, have a personal guard always with you.¡±


    Oh? Have they found someone trustworthy?


    I nodded my head.


    ¡°Vernon,¡± he called out.


    Just then, a manservant wearing the usual male uniform came in. He wore clothes resembling a black tailcoat, black pants and shoes. He appeared to be old as his hair and beard had almost turned white. Maybe he was around his early sixties or late fifties?


    ¡°Estelia, you might already know him, but he¡¯s Vernon Escaleo. He has been serving me for decades, I trust him. You are free to rely on him.¡±


    He introduced him to me. Although, I remember him from Estelia¡¯s memory.


    But this is good. I hope he doesn¡¯t obstruct my plans.


    ¡°As for fighting abilities, he is excellent and skilled. The most he excels at is unarmed combat, he¡¯s going to be a good bodyguard for you,¡± he turned to Vernon. ¡°Vernon, protect my daughter with your life.¡±


    Vernon bowed deeply as he spoke.


    ¡°Of course, your Majesty. I will sacrifice my life if it comes to it.¡±


    An impressive loyalty. I guess this means there was another meatshield now, well, if he held his words deeply in his heart. I still don¡¯t understand those who offer everything to their masters. Due to lack of understanding, I can¡¯t determine anything concrete about his character or anticipate his actions.


    Well, this was also because I don¡¯t know much about him. Estelia¡¯s memory doesn¡¯t tell me much, just that she often sees him beside Father. She didn¡¯t know much about his nature.


    I spoke to my father.


    ¡°So, he would be helping Mera I presume?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you could say that.¡±


    Then a sound of a chair being moved rang out. My brother Estevan left his seat, he stopped as he came across Vernon, he smiled at him as he spoke.


    ¡°Please, protect my dear sister.¡±


    ¡°I will, your highness.¡±


    ¡°Good good. Alright then, I¡¯ll be leaving, there''s a job to do.¡±


    My brother left with a wave of his hand.


    During all this short time, I was observing Vernon. He didn¡¯t seem to look at me suspiciously or anything weird. Nothing worth nothing about. No strange movement, no suspicious gaze whatsoever. It must be that he was just a good actor. However, Father had known him for decades, Vernon was already here a long time ago before Estelia was even born.


    Therefore, he must be non-hostile.


    Judging on what father described him, Vernon must be some kind of martial artist? Perhaps something close. His arms were quite built, it was possible that he used his arms mostly to fight.


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    Damn, this is quite impressive, being an old man and still physically strong. Was this a norm in this world? I swear if I see a super strong old man, I¡¯ll freak out. Hehe, not much though.


    Well, that¡¯s really not important right now.


    ¡°Thank you ever so much, father,¡± I turned to Vernon. ¡°I will be returning to my room, Vernon¡­ Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Yes, your highness.¡±


    I left the dining room and there I saw Mera standing on her post. The moment she saw me, she then shifted her eyes towards Vernon. She definitely heard what we were talking about.


    ¡°Greetings, sir Vernon.¡±


    She curtsied and spoke respectfully.


    ¡°Mera, we¡¯ll be working alongside from now on. I hope you don¡¯t mind,¡± he said with a smile.


    ¡°Of course I don¡¯t mind, sir. I¡¯ll be looking forward to working with you.¡±


    Vernon appeared to be of higher position than Mera judging from the way she addressed him. Well, he was one of the King¡¯s servants after all, and one of the oldest.


    ¡°Likewise.¡±


    After giving them their respected time for greetings, I went on and returned to my room. I¡¯m very kind, am I? Anyways, I was planning to wait for a short while there. Reason? I don''t want to move in front of Father. Somehow it made me feel I would be restrained, or something like that. Like I have to be more watchful of my actions if I catch his attention.


    When we returned to my room, I ordered Mera to stylize my hair. Of course, as this was a lady¡¯s bedroom, the old man was left outside. I didn¡¯t really need my hair stylized, I just want to speak to Mera. Well, tidying up my hair wouldn¡¯t be bad either way.


    On the chair, while looking at the mirror in front of me, I spoke to Mera who was behind me.


    ¡°Mera, do you trust Vernon?¡±


    ¡°Milady...? What do you mean?¡± she seemed to be puzzled, I guess that was to be expected. It was out of the blue after all.


    ¡°Just curious, that is all.¡±


    ¡°..... Does this have something to do with how tense the palace at the moment?¡±


    Oh? She seemed to be thinking about it.


    ¡°Perhaps. But, I just want to know what you think. Don¡¯t you want to share your thoughts? I think this is a good time to have a bit of conversation, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°.... Y-Yes milady¡­¡±


    ¡°So, what do you think about Vernon?¡±


    ¡°I think he is trustworthy. He has been a palace servant for a long time after all. And, he has helped several novice servants like me in the past. He is a kind person.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think he¡¯s just pretending?¡±


    ¡°Huh? I¡­ I don¡¯t think so, no. He is a genuine person, and very loyal to the royal family... That is what I think.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Do you happen to know his origins?¡±


    ¡°Origins¡­? I only heard he was a commoner and an adventurer once.¡±


    ¡°Is that so...? Ah yes, can you tell me which servants that you have the best impression of?¡±


    ¡°... Y-Yes, I can¡­¡±


    She then told me about the servants she thought were nice and perhaps trustworthy. Maids, manservants, and cooks. All that were working inside the palace. I guess she only got close to those she was always working together with. Thus, she was more detailed about the maids. She then mentioned names which I noted in my mind.


    ¡°Hm. Thank you for telling me all of those,¡± I said with a sweet smile.


    However, Mera seemed to be restless.


    ¡°... Milady, is every servant suspicious for some reason? Does that¡­ include me?¡±


    She was finished with my hair, then lowered her hands on her knees. She seemed to be uneasy, or frightened.


    ¡°Mera,¡± I turned around and greeted her eyes. I smiled, my eyes full of fondness and kindness, and a face full of innocence and purity while graced by a blossoming beautiful and sweet smile.


    I stroked her cheek gently, leaving her jolting a bit, surprised by my action. I felt like her cheeks were beginning to warm up as they slowly turned red.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I trust you.¡±


    She became flustered as her face twitched by the cheeks.


    ¡°... T-Thank you, princess.¡±


    As amusing as ever, this woman. However, what if she was the betrayer all along? Enemies tend to be closer than friends, after all. If Mera was a betrayer, then she was pretty impressive as a pretender.


    With that said, if all of this was just a game of pretend, me saying I trusted her will lead her to lower her guard. She will think that I didn¡¯t suspect her at all. The pure princess was naive as always.


    I don¡¯t know how many enemies I have. Therefore, I might look paranoid, but being cautious was for the best.


    ¡°If they ever suspect you, you can rely on me to stand by your side. I chose you as my personal maid, didn¡¯t I? You have my wholehearted trust, so you have no need to be frightened.¡±


    We¡¯ll see how this interaction will turn out. If you are a betrayer, Mera, I don¡¯t know what I would do, not precisely that is. But in the end, it will all only have one, same, outcome.

 Chapter 36: Cake and Cooks

    Sometime later, I decided it was time to do some scouting. Before going out, I told Mera to keep what we conversed about a secret.


    We went outside the room, and there we saw Vernon on the opposite wall of our room. What a respectful old man, he might convince me he¡¯s no traitor at any point! Hehe. That aside, he was just standing there, and he¡¯s old, I mean he would get tired after a short while, right¡­?


    ¡°Um, Vernon, I didn¡¯t think you would be standing there for a long while. I will need to send a chair for you later,¡± I said with concern.


    He merely grinned at my words.


    ¡°I appreciate your concern, your highness. But you have no need to trouble yourself. My body is trained more than standing. I can even stand the whole day if I wish to do so.¡±


    That¡¯s bullshit¡­ right?


    No way, he looked serious. This world was strange. Whatever¡­


    ¡°But even so, as you can¡¯t enter my room, and you have no station nearby here,¡± indeed, the room nearby, and close to my room were only for maids, not for manservants. Their station was not close around here at all. ¡°I will have a chair delivered and be placed outside my room, just for you to sit on when there is nothing else to do. It worries me to just leave you standing here.¡±


    ¡°Hm, if it puts you at ease, I will accept her highness¡¯ offer with gratitude.¡±


    ¡°That is a relief.¡±


    I flashed him a relieved yet sweet smile, how innocent I was.


    I began walking, my two servants following behind me. Now then, what was I planning to do?


    Something fruitful would be nice. I observed the maids which I went by, I saw nothing worth noting about. Okay, this won¡¯t be easy.


    That said, if assassination would be the mission of any possible betrayer here, the optimal position would be the kitchen. Poison. However, if that was the case, they could have poisoned the food a long time ago if they plan to kill me.


    However, none of that happened whatsoever. It was possible that they were not suspicious characters at all, or they have another plan in mind for the time being.


    I think I¡¯ll pass by the kitchen for a while.


    I headed to the first floor then to the kitchen.


    ¡°Milady, do I take it that you wish to enter the kitchen?¡± Mera asked me.


    ¡°Indeed, curiosity struck me as how everything worked here.¡±


    ¡°Your highness, it seems that they seemed to be cooking, please be careful,¡± Vernon said.


    ¡°Oh? What are they cooking? Let¡¯s get a closer look.¡±


    I entered with rushed steps as though excited to see what was going on. I saw an oven, of course not like I was used to. This one seems to be made up of bricks.


    The cooks were dumbstruck by my sudden visit as evident on their wide eyes and agape mouth.


    ¡°Y-Your highness?!¡± a young man openly expressed his surprise.


    He was probably about seventeen. He had light brown hair and brown eyes.


    ¡°Idiot! Don¡¯t raise your voice,¡± the middle aged man with dark hair and dark eyes chided the young man.


    ¡°Bow you two,¡± the young woman with dark red hair and yellow green eyes bowed deeply first. She appeared to be about eighteen.


    Then she was followed by the two men.


    I observed the way they acted, their eyes, the way they looked at me, even the slightest movement. The young woman was particularly pretty composed despite my sudden presence. Her eyes did bore a bit of surprise though.


    From the information I gathered from Mera, this woman should be the one called Allie Jelimis.


    Hm. A bit odd, yet impressive that she remained relaxed, unlike the two guys. This woman, Allie, was one of the apprentice cooks in the castle, she had been here for three years. She was still referred to as an apprentice since she was still under the umbrella of the head chef.


    As for the chef, he looked at me with confused eyes for a short moment, as though shouting ¡®what the heck is she doing here?!¡¯, however, a confused look wasn¡¯t something to be very suspicious at. But one¡¯s confusion could mean differently from what you initially thought. In addition, he seemed to be quite shaken by my sudden appearance.


    His name was Ceruos Vutio.


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    He had worked in the castle about fifteen years ago. Interesting.


    As for the young man, I could already see the mesmerization in his eyes. I wonder if this guy had seen me before this moment, well he did exclaim when he saw me, so he must have. He might even have fallen in love at first sight, wew. That aside, he seemed innocent enough. However, the best infiltrator or spy are adept at acting. If you can¡¯t even act, then you shouldn¡¯t be sent in that kind of operation.


    This guy had the name of Tenil Gerave.


    He was also an apprentice, but only entered the palace about a year and a half ago.


    All three had commoner origins.


    ¡°Your highness¡­ t-to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit,¡± the head chef, Ceruos, said. Made sense that he should be the one to speak for everyone.


    I placed a finger at my cheek.


    ¡°I was curious as to what you are cooking.¡±


    ¡°R-Really? I mean, we are honored to receive your interest.¡±


    Honored? With just that? Whatever, people in this world are weird¡­ Or I¡¯m the weird one here? What a shiver inducing thought.


    ¡°So, what are you cooking?¡±


    I glanced closely while leaning a little at the oven.


    ¡°We were trying a new cake, we have been experimenting it for a few days¡­ and we expect it will be¡­ great and final this time.¡±


    ¡°Truly?¡± I looked at them with beaming eyes. ¡°Do you mind if I try it?¡±


    I watched them closely as I spoke. The young woman, Allie, had a slight twitch by her eyes when I said those words. Hm.


    ¡°Huh? Ah, no, we don¡¯t mind,¡± the head chef was taken aback by my words. ¡°It¡¯s about done in the oven, but we still had to apply frostings, so I¡¯m afraid it will take a while.¡±


    I smiled.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind waiting. Plus, watching the process should be interesting, right? I¡¯m interested to see the process of how you do it. Especially applying the frosting.¡±


    I looked back towards my two servants.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be staying here for a while.¡±


    The two bowed their heads to show their understanding. But Vernon spoke.


    ¡°Then, in that case, please have a seat, your highness. It would trouble this servant of yours if you tire yourself by standing.¡±


    He walked towards a chair by the table and pulled it, presenting it to me.


    Hey... Why does it feel similar to what happened just a moment ago? Could it be he¡¯s payback swinging at me or something like that?


    I have to control my face to not frown a little.


    ¡°Good suggestion, Vernon. I¡¯ll take your offer.¡±


    I sat down before speaking to the cooks with an anticipating smile.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, focus on your work. It would be a waste if things go wrong.¡±


    They returned to their work after what I said. But I guess they were a bit uncomfortable. What could be wrong? I was only watching them with a sweet smile¡­ Alright, that was the reason, me being here.


    They took out the¡­ bare brown cake¡­? Bread? No, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s called bread. So, maybe just cake. Yes, just cake. Got confused there for a second.


    They placed the quite the averagely sized cake on the table. The young man occasionally stole glances at me. Come on, a boy wouldn¡¯t ignore someone like me you know. Well¡­ that aside, the young woman was looking at me with restless eyes often. I don¡¯t know why.


    The head chef however, looked pretty focused. Was this a difference of experience on personally serving royalties?


    They then began preparing and stirring the frostings. To be honest, it was quite intriguing to see the process of how they make the cake. Especially looking at the frostings. I wanna dip my finger in and lick the sweet frostings, but of course I can¡¯t do that now¡­


    A short while later, they scooped the frosting with some sort of flat wooden spoon, then applied it on the cake. Spreading and flattening it. As time went on, the cake began to look neat and nice. They then placed several red colored berries on top of it at the sides.


    ¡°That should be about done,¡± Allie said with a faint smile.


    ¡°Amazing! Watching the process was interesting indeed. Is it ready for eating?¡±


    ¡°Yes, your highness,¡± the head chef said and carried it close to me.


    Of course there was no way I¡¯m eating this solo.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this the result of your experiments. Then, we should eat together!¡±


    Everyone was surprised and baffled. Come on, as if I wouldn¡¯t take the risk. I¡¯ll have the cooks themselves eat with me, just to avoid any deadly food poisoning. If one hesitates, then it could be poisoned or anything weird in the cake. That said, I have been watching them closely, and I saw nothing strange or suspicious.


    But I¡¯ll be doing it this way anyway. This could feed my pure princess persona, while making sure this food had no poison.


    ¡°Dining with¡­ surely we can¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Why not? If you won¡¯t eat with me per my request, then I won¡¯t take a single bite until you do so.¡±


    Reluctance colored the expressions of the cooks.


    I then spoke to my personal servants.


    ¡°You could also join.¡±


    Mera smiled wryly.


    ¡°I am alright, milady.¡±


    ¡°Your highness, we are currently your attendants and doing our duties. I recommend we refrain from consuming any kind of food for the time being.¡±


    Vernon said. He was quite strict, wasn¡¯t he? Well, that¡¯s fine.


    ¡°I¡­ understand,¡± I faced the cooks. ¡°So let¡¯s go? Please slice it up.¡±


    They slowly sliced several slices, though they seemed restless of the thought of eating with me. They gave me my slice first on a porcelain plate. The cake looked delicious. Of course, I waited until they all had their own cake.


    ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s eat.¡±


    I slowly cut a portion of the cake with my kitchen knife. I did it exceedingly slowly, like I was being careful. Reason? I was waiting for the others to bite it first. The three had made their cut and struck in their forks. I also stuck in my fork.


    So? Was someone hesitating? If someone did, it could mean something.


    However, to my dismay, no one hesitated. All of them immediately devoured the cake on their forks and began chewing. As to not seem suspicious, I also ate mine.


    ¡°Hmmm, this is delicious!¡±


    It was. The sweetness. The tenderness of the cake. Beautiful. Delicious! This was better than the previous cakes I ate here.


    ¡°I commend you three for making such a fine dessert.¡±


    The three had broad smiles as they heard my joyful and satisfied voice. I then quickly devoured my cut of the cake to further show my satisfaction of the food.


    As time went on, I only ate an addition of one small slice. The cooks also seemed satisfied by the results of their efforts.


    Then, I stood up. Time to leave. The cake was good, but time was essential, and I don¡¯t want to eat too much of the sweet cake.


    ¡°It has been a great experience, I look forward to your further cooking in the future. If you¡¯ll excuse me, I fear I have to go. Take care.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the visit, your highness!¡±


    The head chef said loudly as the three of them stood up and bowed.


    With a nod and a flowery smile, I left the kitchen.


    I intend to go somewhere else now.


    Well, my visit to the kitchen was quite a fruitful one, on the food side of things anyway. Although, observing the people there was worth it. I made note of them in my mind. But nothing to help me get a conclusion, as one would expect. Oh well¡­ hunting was not always easy.

 Chapter 37: For his Sister in Peril

    On his desk, Estevan sighed as he leaned his back on his chair. Piles of paper on his table separated from done and not. They were the list of normal palace soldiers, names, backgrounds, age, and so on. Basically commoners. There were a lot of them and he needed to study each and every one of them.


    It was still early in the morning, and his head had already begun to ache a little. He never liked working on the desk, it was more fitting for his older brother, that was why he was solely focused on being a knight. However, his older brother was not currently here at the moment.


    ¡°Haaaah¡­¡±


    He massaged his temples as he heaved another sigh.


    Whether he liked it or not, he had to do this. His dear sister was in peril, he couldn¡¯t just stand idly by and refuse to work on something he didn¡¯t like.


    At the moment, his full focus was on commoner workers in the palace. He lacked knowledge more about commoners than the nobles in the knights. He had less people to trust there.


    As for the knights, he trusted them. From his experience with them, they were loyal to the crown and eager to fulfill their responsibilities.


    However, whether there were truly traitors or not among everyone in the palace, he needed to make sure. Better safe than sorry. And as his sister lives in the palace, all the more reason to suspect those who were always in the palace to be infiltrators.


    They might even try to kill her at any point. Estevan couldn¡¯t let that happen.


    As for his father the king, he seemed to be more focused on matters outside the palace. Working closely with the church.


    The church, huh¡­


    The Church of Serenity and Compassion. The main religion of the Wisteria Kingdom. He didn¡¯t know a lot about the Church Order¡¯s inner workings. However, Estevan knew the local church¡¯s alliance with the Church of the Six Gods from the Holy Kingdom of Valaies. And they were not to be underestimated either.


    They will be helpful allies to have. The crown kept a close touch with the Churches, therefore, they definitely possess some strength and definitely have a great influence. The crown wouldn¡¯t waste time on those who were useless and unhelpful.


    Then there was a knock on the door.


    ¡°Your highness, I¡¯m coming in.¡±


    Estevan knew whose voice this was, and he immediately gave his reply.


    ¡°Yes! Come.¡±


    The door opened and entered a man in a servant¡¯s outfit. He was tall and slender, light brown skin and green eyes. He had long blonde hair which reached his shoulder, loose and covered his ears. This may seem pretty normal at first glance, but once you get to observe him more, he tended to cover his ears, away from everyone¡¯s sight.


    Estevan knew the reason why this servant wanted to cover his ears like that.


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    ¡°Oryn, it seems you are done.¡±


    The servant, Oryn, was holding a pile of papers in his hands.


    ¡°Indeed, I¡¯ve compiled information within our records regarding half of the members of the knights.¡±


    Estevan gave the order yesterday to gather all information they had about the knights in their ranks. Although personally, he already knew them all, but it was best to study written information. Like family situations, financial states, and so on, all about the family of the knights.


    Some sort of motive, a reason to suspect them. And noble families wouldn¡¯t surprisingly be traitorous and mischievous. That said, for Estevan, nobles that reside in the capital were less suspicious than those from the outside.


    ¡°You kept it a secret, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, as per order.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    ¡°That said, this would indeed cause some tension if they discovered that his highness is investigating them.¡±


    That was why Estevan told Oryn that his task would be confidential, it wouldn¡¯t be good if the nobles realized that the crown was doubting their allegiance. It might cause hostilities, tension among noble families, some families which already had unfriendly relationships might cause some turmoil if they learn of the crown¡¯s actions. Some may even take advantage of the situation. Thus, it would be best to keep everything a secret.


    The crown may have the highest power, but so do the other aristocrats, they have any form of power.


    There must be order in the hierarchy and noble society. And Estevan preferred not to bring any disorder no matter how small they would be.


    Oryn was Estevan¡¯s trusted aide and attendant, that was why he left the task to him. He was sure he would abide by his order.


    ¡°How long until you compile the rest?¡±


    ¡°Adding our recent information and findings, I will try to make it tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°As reliable as always.¡±


    Oryn quietly placed the papers on the table, he also seemed to want to ask a question. Thus, he began to speak.


    ¡°... Your highness, w¡ª¡±


    Suddenly, there were three knocks on the door. Quite gentle knocks.


    ¡°B-Brother! It¡¯s me!¡±


    The moment Estevan heard that muffled voice from the other side of the door, his face lit up with joy. He had been stressed enough, but this visit from her was already relieving him of that.


    ¡°Estel!¡±


    He stood from his seat and rushed to the door. He instantly opened it and what greeted him was the adorable face of a beautiful girl. Her crimson innocent eyes were treasures to be treasured. Her long platinum hair was shiny and valuable as countless piles of gemstones.


    His dearest sister.


    He extended his hand forward and sandwiched both her cheeks, causing a surprised expression from his sister. Her cheeks began to fluster ever so slightly.


    ¡°B-Brother! What¡ª¡±


    ¡°Esteeel! I¡¯m dreading, this despair, this stress. Seeing you makes me happy, unlike those piles of papers!¡± he said forcefully as he pointed at the stacks of paper with scorn.


    Estelia glanced at his table.


    ¡°W-Why are you even scouring such a horrendous amount?¡± Her puzzled face was adorable as always. She was cuter than any puppy, or perhaps any creature or being at that.


    ¡°Just some information about some people.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see. And please stop squeezing my cheeks.¡±


    ¡°No way.¡±


    Estelia frowned, but still looked so amusing that Estevan couldn¡¯t help but smile in her cuteness.


    ¡°Brother, it¡¯s embarrassing, think of who is around.¡±


    Estevan looked around him, there was the maid who Estelia selected, Mera, and the other was an old man, Vernon. Well, there was also Oryn, his attendant.


    He realized that this was a bit awkward.


    He stepped away and cleared his throat.


    ¡°Ahem! Yes, hehe, good to see you here, dear sister. Come inside,¡± following his words as they followed him, Estelia and her servants entered. ¡°So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your delightful visit?¡±


    ¡°Owe? Am I not allowed to visit you anytime, dear brother?¡±


    Her eyes were full of concern as though the thought of her being forbidden from visiting him brought her troubles and dread, and it might make her utterly upset. That was how Estevan understood it, and this only made him all frantic.


    ¡°N-No! Of course not, you are free to visit me anytime. Actually! Visit me all the time!¡± he smiled widely at his own suggestion.


    ¡°Really? But if I constantly visit, I would disturb your work.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ fine¡­¡±


    It was fine, truly fine. There was no harm to it.


    Estelia turned to face the other servant in Estevan¡¯s office.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you.¡±

 Chapter 38: Revealing the Hidden

    We went back to the third floor since it was where my brother¡¯s office was situated. My reason for visiting him? I just wanna check out what he was up to.


    He was quite warm in his welcome, I expected he would be thrilled by my visit, but I didn¡¯t expect he would suddenly squeeze my adorable cheeks. He was overly happy it seems.


    It seemed all his stress stemmed from the stacks of papers on his desk. He didn¡¯t even work that long yet, it baffles me why he was already too stressed about this sort of thing. Well, I guess that was the reason why he chose to become a knight.


    My eldest brother has yet to even come home, he might have been more efficient in this type of work, I wonder when I can personally meet him...


    Of course, I immediately had an interest towards the stack of papers. There lies information. But the question was, how much information? How valuable? It would be agonizing if most of it was worthless and would lead me to nothing.


    Well, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to scan. And information was information.


    I acted all sweetly to my brother, until I finally shifted my attention to the other servant.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you.¡±


    I knew this person, I learned about him from Estelia¡¯s memories. He was mostly my brother¡¯s personal attendant, whenever he required assistance, he would always summon this servant named Oryn Iruhen.


    I smiled broadly at him, my eyes sparkling with innocence and sweetness.


    ¡°Hello.¡±


    I leaned my body towards him just slightly while tilting my head as I spoke to him with a gentle and sweet voice. Then the muscles by his eyes stiffened and halted, he was about to frown it seems. Why? I was the princess. Should I be treated as such?


    I am liked by everyone here, right? What reason could he frown at my interaction with him?


    Hm.


    He might be annoyed. Perhaps he saw how I looked or acted unsightly in his eyes.


    Perhaps he didn¡¯t mean anything bad with it.


    Oryn smiled with warmth as he spoke with me.


    ¡°Greetings, Princess. It¡¯s been a while since the last time we met and spoke.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, Oryn. A long time, I sort of missed you.¡±


    A slight twitch on his lower lip. Amusing.


    ¡°Please, I don¡¯t deserve such words from you, your highness.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? But please allow me to thank you for helping my dear brother.¡±


    He bowed his head at my words.


    I have been analyzing his voice, the tension and such, even the slight trembling if there would be. Every little detail was important. I have been trained in the organization to be like this since basically the beginning of my education. Enhancing our observation ability, analysis, assessment and so on. But it rather focused more on humans and the environment, maybe for the reason that we were intended to be sent on the field than the office.


    All graduates in the organization had these skills. However, there will always be those who exceed others. No one was equal. And, the skilled were always the ones to be favored.


    As for why I was scrutinizing this person behind my innocent eyes. He was my brother¡¯s personal attendant, the royal prince.


    As I said previously, enemies tend to be closer than friends.


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    Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. It was reminiscent of that phrase. It can have different meanings. But in this context, keep close to your enemies, learn, observe, know everything about them.


    Being an undiscovered infiltrator and a spy can freely do such actions.


    You think of them as your closest aide, friends. And yet, all that was a ploy to catch you off guard.


    They squeeze you of everything they need from you.


    In short, a trickster, a liar, a pretender, tricks, lies, they are all of it, and they do all of it.


    It was one of the very basics. Even us use such a method. And yet, commonly used, not many victims realized it. Human emotion might have something to do with it. But I possess no such type of emotional attachments.


    For all I know, even Mera herself, who was close to me, could be a traitor. She had done some suspicious actions which I noted, like how she decided too quickly to be my personal maid. It may be because she liked me and was happy to serve me like she said herself. However, was it really the case? Why made it the truth? It could be a lie.


    Even everything you could have been told could be a lie. Whether they be words... or their stories.


    I turned my attention to the stacks of papers.


    ¡°Can I take a look?¡± I asked my brother who was sitting on his chair.


    ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    I sat on a chair as I scanned the room. The windows were shut, I could feel draft coming in from where I was. It seems to be windy in this part of the palace at this time.


    Hm.


    I took a few pieces of paper. I¡¯m surprised they were able to make this much paper in this age. Agh, don¡¯t compare this world to the last one, me! Anyways, I read the contents. I noticed my brother staring at me with that proud smile of his.


    ¡°Brother, you ought to go back to work, time is gold.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, very well.¡±


    Estevan returned to studying the paper in his hand.


    I also read mine. This one was about the knights. Their family, their social status, finance, territory, even attitudes. There were also a few backgrounds about the person and their family. Often one person took two or three pages.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know the knights require such a staggering amount of information before one can join.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not, we personally and secretly had those information gathered, not only for the knights, but so that we would know more about other nobles.¡±


    ¡°... I see.¡±


    I also see Oryn helping my brother to his side. I immediately returned my eyes to the paper. From Estelia¡¯s memories, there was a bit of information that was interesting about this guy.


    He had long hair, but his ears were always hidden, rarely one could see them. But Estelia never saw them. I didn¡¯t manage to ask my servants. But what could he be hiding exactly? What can I do? Often exposing one¡¯s deepest secrets exposes their character, and sometimes breaks their facades even for just a moment.


    I can¡¯t just straightly ask him about that, too inconvenient, might have some risk, like him being guarded when I ask him, another one was him refusing. Also, a sudden occurrence was always the best in this sort of thing, after all. Like attacking an unguarded target.


    What to do?


    I waited for an opportunity to come.


    I read several papers, it would be a waste not to take in this information. My servants were both standing by the wall all this time, just standing, I wanted to act all kind and do some kind things, but they will be fine. It wouldn¡¯t be good for servants to sit leisurely in here when everyone else was working.


    Several minutes later, I heard my brother sigh, rubbing his forehead.


    ¡°Something the matter?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Um, no, hehe, it¡¯s just a bit tiring. There¡¯s not much useful information here. Or I can¡¯t see it deeply enough.¡±


    ¡°... You look awfully stressed, brother,¡± I giggled. ¡°You won¡¯t last long at this rate.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, but I have to do this.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ Ah! I know what to do!¡±


    I suddenly stood up and went to the window, just by Oryn.


    ¡°Having some fresh air would help you, brother,¡± I opened the door in an instant while saying those words.


    Wind immediately entered the moment they had an entrance, I also turned around at the same time. Everyone¡¯s hair waved in the air. But I looked only at one person for a moment.


    Oryn. I saw his ear as his hair fluttered. I wondered what he was hiding, but now I know. His ear was cut by a blade. Not entirely though, just around the edges. I could tell it was a blade because of how clean the cut was. Straightly and cleanly sliced.


    ¡°Ah!¡± I exclaimed as I saw what happened next.


    Estevan and Oryn held down the papers to the table in the wake of the wind. Sudden realization came to my face, with regret, I immediately closed the windows.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± I said with guilt as I looked at my brother. ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t think it through.¡±


    A few of the papers already flew in the air and landed on the floor.


    ¡°I-I¡¯ll pick them up!¡± I immediately said and moved forward.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to, the servants will handle it.¡±


    Estevan nodded towards my two servants. Understanding what he was gesturing, they went to pick up the stacks of papers.


    ¡°Ah before I forget, you two,¡± my brother said. ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone about the papers, understand?¡±


    ¡°¡°Understood.¡±¡± They replied.


    ¡°Good.¡±


    The servants then returned the papers on the table.


    I held both my hands as I returned limply to the chair.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    My brother smiled.


    ¡°A minor accident, no need to look so guilty as if you committed a major crime.¡±


    He said so with a chuckle.


    ¡°Okay¡­. I¡¯ll help big brother then.¡±


    How kind and sweet was my dear beloved brother. However...


    Oryn¡­ I wondered what his story was.

 Chapter 39: Must be in Control

    I grabbed a few papers again and began scanning them. What I was focusing on were papers about the knights, they held more significance than the papers of commoners. Nobles were people with power and influence after all.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    I got a paper which had information about Alan Welford, as well as his brother. It also contains observations about their character and personality. Did my brother add these? No, Estevan wouldn''t do something like this, and certainly not alone, he definitely had some help, and that helper would do most of the paperwork.


    I think Oryn was the one who assisted him in this kind of affairs.


    After reading the information of some more people, I sighed, I discovered nothing of worth just yet.


    But it was still good to attain knowledge.


    ¡°Have any plans today, Estel?¡±


    My brother suddenly asked me when he saw me sighing.


    ¡°Hm? Ah, not really, I have nothing else to do. All I do is stay in the castle anyway.¡±


    ¡°... If only we could go out again, huh.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ But as I have nothing else to do, I ought to help you a little. You should savor my assistance dear brother, I¡¯ll be somewhere else tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, your desire to learn magic, be prepared to read a book with a lot of words, Estel. Hehehe.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with reading, thank you very much.¡±


    I noticed something strange about Oryn. The moment he heard the mention of me learning magic, he seemed to be surprised, not happily, but it felt something else. Was he just surprised to hear I was about to learn magic? Hm.


    ¡°Is it hard?¡± I asked my brother.


    ¡°Not really. We¡¯re royalty, so we have greater affinity to magic and have a greater amount of mana than others or the common people, so you will have an easier time. That¡¯s what I think, that is.¡±


    ¡°Hm. I see. Mother also knows magic, but I never saw her do it in front of me.¡±


    ¡°Well, she stopped practicing magic. She decided to focus on her family, and that was a long time ago. You haven¡¯t even been born that time, dear sister.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Is what I¡¯m about to learn different from the magic used by the knights?¡±


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    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± he looked at me. ¡°What you¡¯re going to learn is the way of a mage. Not physically demanding like being a knight. Fitting for a lady.¡±


    Oh? Now I¡¯m very interested. As someone who came from a world without such a thing called magic, I couldn¡¯t help but feel excited.


    ¡°I''m looking forward to tomorrow. Though I would have preferred to begin now. But, there is nothing I can do.¡±


    ¡°You have my support, Estel. Personally, at this time, it would be best for you to learn magic spells. You would be a little safer.¡±


    ¡°Hihihi, but you would also protect me, right? Dear brother? I mean, you are waaay stronger.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I will be your knight in shining armor,¡± he said with an intense charm that would make ladies fall in love no doubt.


    ¡°...Brother¡­.¡±


    I averted my eyes away as my cheeks turned red from his teasing. He also chuckled in amusement as he watched me.


    ¡°Hmph! You alway try to embarrass me.¡±


    ¡°Yes yes. I alway do it seems. That is because you look very adorable, so I think you¡¯re at your best when you¡¯re embarrassed.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just return to reading the papers.¡±


    I immediately faced the papers in my hands.


    ¡°Hahaha! Okay~.¡±


    There was a long moment of focus on our own work. It was then that Oryn spoke.


    ¡°Your highness,¡± he called out to my brother.


    ¡°Yes? Have something to ask?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes. I was just wondering what this is for? Everything has been tense in the palace recently. What could you be searching for?¡±


    My brother and I looked at each other. I tilted my head, then shook my head subtly. My brother trusted this person, I will not let my brother¡¯s attachment to him influence him to do something foolish such as sharing what happened.


    Never make the infiltrator realize that he was being searched. Otherwise, he might escape from your grasps. And the infiltrator could be anyone.


    I have to be on guard on things such as this. My brother was a brave, strong, and friendly man, but he was still soft inside.


    One may say something, or think of something they think they can do, but when it comes to it, humans tend to hesitate. They would do something they otherwise said they would do.


    Like how one says they would confront their boss because they were pissed, but in the end, they would stutter and eventually give up. Or how one resolves themselves to speak with someone they find hard to talk to, but when it came to, they ended up being quiet.


    Or one that says they would kill someone they cared about for someone else that they cared more. However, ending up hesitating, giving the chance for everything to fall apart.


    One must prove themselves by their own will, their own choice. I could let my brother do what he wanted, like leaving the choice to him here. However, I can¡¯t let that happen in this kind of situation. Reason? I was directly involved in this. I can¡¯t take the risk yet.


    I want to be in control of the situation. I must be in control.


    Thus, for the time being, I will be influencing Estevan¡¯s actions if I need to. Leading him to where I want him to be.


    I must tread carefully.


    ¡°Well, just some things, something very important.¡±


    Oryn had a delay in speaking after hearing my brother¡¯s words.


    ¡°...I see. So it is confidential.¡±


    ¡°Hm, something like that.¡±


    I observed Oryn, his eyes looked like he still wanted to ask. He wanted to poke his nose in. But sorry, Oryn, no matter how long you have been working here and how trusted you are, anyone from outside the family or someone I deem untrustworthy, must never know what was happening.


    I commend my family for deciding to keep everything a secret. I guess they were exceedingly cautious when it concerns family.


    I met Oryn¡¯s gaze and smiled.


    He merely lowered his head and moved on. How cold.


    But this was amusing.


    You¡¯re an interesting man, Oryn.


    I should learn something more about this guy.

 Chapter 40: I will be the Judge

    Around noon, I left my brother on his own to eat lunch. He decided to eat later to finish a part of his work, so I went ahead. Oddly though, I was the only one who ate today during lunch. I was alone on the table.


    Both my parents were nowhere to be found. It seems all my family members were busy. I must have looked miserable as I ate with my lonesome on the table, I could tell from the sad looks from some servants along with the weird stares the other few servants were giving me. Furthermore, Mera also appeared to be saddened, as for Vernon though, he looked neutral.


    I¡¯m not that miserable.


    Although, why does the food feel empty? It felt like¡­ something was missing.


    I shook such thoughts off my head. Such irrelevant feelings, I have no time nor the luxury to bask in such absurd emotions.


    Still, haven¡¯t they even thought that I¡¯d be eating all alone without them...?


    Whatever¡­ such thoughts were unfitting of me.


    After that, I went to have a little snooping around, then later returned to my room.


    Finding infiltrators or betrayers amongst the staff would be difficult unless I interact with them personally. Or, they would act strangely, or some actions that would give them away. However, there were too many and others even looked too insignificant to be noticed, it was difficult. But, this was still the start though, no rush. Besides, I already have a few written on my mental list.


    There was one that was close to someone with power. One close to the target. And another plain one but had a dangerous station.


    First, Mera Sylvares. Her position would be the most ideal if I were the target, and if she hasn¡¯t eliminated me yet, perhaps they had other things in mind. Also, the way she quickly accepted my request of her being my personal maid had begun to bother me.


    Second, Allie Jelimis. The way she acted when I arrived at the kitchen and ate with them, was a bit weird. In contrast, about the other two cooks, they didn¡¯t bother me that much. The boy was just a boy. And the head chef, I found nothing suspicious yet. More observation is required.


    Thirdly, Oryn Iruhen. He was close to my brother. And his actions earlier with me made me suspicious of him, and also some of his reaction. Then his ears. I still need to learn more about him.


    However, all in all, this was all still my observations. That still leads to nothing much when determining which one was the traitor. Plus, there was a chance that they were all not the targets I was looking for.


    However, those observations of mine will be my stepping stones.


    As for the man who my father assigned. I didn¡¯t think much of him. He had been serving the king way before my brothers were even born. Thus, he wasn¡¯t very suspicious. But more observation is required.


    It seems that was all I gathered today.


    ***


    It was finally dinner. I headed to the dining room earlier than usual. The reason was because I needed to have a short talk with my brother. Just as planned, I found him heading to dinner.


    ¡°Brother!¡±


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    Estevan turned around to me with a smile, though I see some exhaustion evident in his eyes. Hang in there my beloved brother.


    I walked towards him.


    ¡°You look awful, dear brother.¡±


    I said to him with a concerned look.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, fine.¡±


    ¡°... If you say so... Let¡¯s go together?¡± I asked softly with a faint smile.


    He agreed and we walked side by side. Though I made my steps slower than normal. Thankfully he followed my speed like a true gentleman.


    ¡°I have something to ask,¡± I quietly said.


    It was just the two of us except for the two servants far behind. It didn¡¯t matter much if they were here or not, I was just going to ask a question about someone. Fortunately, that guy in question wasn¡¯t here.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°... About Oryn.¡±


    My brother raised his eyebrow inquisitively, unexpecting the subject of the question.


    ¡°Hm? What about him?¡±


    I twiddled around with my thumb.


    ¡°Um, actually, earlier, I saw his ear¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    It seems he knew what I was talking about.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to see it. But, it made me curious. What happened to him?¡±


    He seemed to hesitate after hearing my question. What could be the reason that my dear brother was reluctant to share the story with me?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you would be fine to hear about it.¡±


    ¡°I want to know.¡±


    He pondered for a while before sighing.


    ¡°....... Alright.¡±


    I first stopped in my tracks, I don¡¯t want to enter the dining room yet. Good thing my brother followed suit.


    ¡°.... Well, in the past, he shared the story of his torture.¡±


    ¡°T-Torture?¡±


    ¡°He was travelling around to find a good job since he was from a poor and small village. However, on his way to Serene, he was captured by a group of bandits. They robbed him of his possessions, and they made him heartlessly suffer.¡±


    ¡°How¡­ cruel¡­¡±


    ¡°... They tortured him... then they eventually sliced off parts of his ears. And the bandits seemed to enjoy his cries and despair since they took him in for a fairly long time.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Shock and fear was evident on my face as I listened. This was quite a gory story for a soft lady like me. Ah, how cruel. I couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine how things went.


    ¡°Then he was saved by a group of adventurers, tended to his wounds, then brought him here to the capital.¡±


    ¡°... What a horrible story. He must have experienced great pain.¡±


    ¡°I imagine so.¡±


    ¡°How saddening¡­ So magic couldn¡¯t heal them then...¡±


    ¡°It appears so, they cut quite a significant part of his ears. Healing spells can¡¯t regenerate a part that is cut off.¡±


    What was the science behind healing spells? No, science is wrong. What is the rule, that should be the question.


    I wanted to ask my brother, but this was not a place for lectures. I¡¯ll learn about its rules tomorrow. But, shouldn¡¯t magic be considered science in this world? Whatever, no wasting time pondering such things.


    ¡°I see. But I have to ask my dear brother. Do you fully trust Oryn Iruhen? The one you have known for years, the person who helped you in stressing works, the one who told stories of his suffering? Can you give the guarantee that he is trustworthy and loyal? Not to the crown, but personally.¡±


    My brother blinked his eyes in confusion to my long questions. He must not have expected such words to come out of my mouth.


    In addition, I was looking at him with my pure eyes as I usually do. I am still in character, but it seems who I truly was was leaking out.


    Perhaps the reason for this was because my survival and peace was at stake. I am slowly crossing the boundary that I shouldn¡¯t tread too lightly. However, this must be done. Besides, this was not a gravely action. I could just give the reason that I was just utterly concerned.


    I looked at the reluctant eyes of my brother.


    Let me understand what kind of person you are, Estevan.


    Estelia¡¯s memories were not enough.


    I will be the judge.


    Are you a fool, Estevan? Or not?


    ¡°T-That¡¯s a weird question, Estel.¡±


    He wryly smiled.


    ¡°Really? But even so brother, please answer. I am very concerned. Please be honest.¡±


    He was faced with my utterly worried expression. As if I was searching for relief from his words.


    ¡°...I¡­ I think he can be trusted. He has worked for me, and for the crown for more than a decade already. He is definitely loyal.¡±


    I wanted to frown. I was disappointed. I expected more from him. So that was why earlier he looked at me when Oryn asked a crucial question, the point where he would tell Oryn what really was going on or not. I wonder if I didn¡¯t shake my head and he told him what happened, or if I didn¡¯t come at all, what would happen?


    In any case, I have judged him.


    You are a fool then, Estevan


    ¡°I see. Then, I will hold you unto your words, dear brother.¡±


    With a nod and smile, I went on ahead, leaving Estevan behind me.


    I was truly disappointed.


    That said, even fools can be put into shape.

 Chapter 41: Mera’s Worry

    I entered the dining room. I stopped my stride for a moment when I saw my parents. I peered around at the¡­ somewhat pitiful atmosphere oozing around the room.


    My mother carefully massaged her eyes with her palm, she appeared to be tired. While Father seemed to be in deep thought, appearing to be spacing out.


    Are they overworking themselves?


    My parents were still terribly occupied with their work that was unbeknownst to me. I understand Father would be having a headache due to being king and all. As for mother, she also seemed to be the same as Father does.


    Wait, what could Mother be doing? I had no idea.


    Was she covering up for my Father¡¯s kingly work? That seems to be the most plausible.


    ¡°Um, is everyone alright?¡± I asked in a worried manner.


    Mother and Father finally turned their attention to me. My pure and wide eyes colored with concern greeted their sight. I was like a small puppy afraid to be chided by the owner¡­you know, that was a weird comparison.


    At the same time, my brother had arrived by my side. He also stared at their current state. He faintly smiled at the sight as though he sympathized with them.


    ¡°Hehehe,¡± he chuckled. ¡°I guess everyone was busier today than usual.¡±


    I blinked several times, then realization struck me as I timidly lowered my head.


    ¡°T-Then, I¡¯m the only one¡­ not doing much¡­ I¡¯m such a burden, even though I was¡­¡±


    Regret filled my face while I avoided everyone¡¯s gaze. I then felt a hand atop my head, it was my brother¡¯s hand. I looked up at him.


    ¡°What are you so distraught about? Let us handle everything, okay? Everything will be fine. So don¡¯t think much of it.¡±


    I didn¡¯t reply but merely nodded my head with pursed lips. I quietly walked towards my seat.


    ¡°Dear daughter,¡± my Father called out to me. ¡°Lift up that upper lip, enjoy the delicious food.¡±


    I looked at him, his tender smile graced my eyes. I turned to look at my mother, her fond gaze looking at me. All of them, my family, looked kindly at me. Their gazes lacked any mischief and trickery, they were genuine. It made me wonder why I am only seeing it now. Why was I now only feeling their¡­ true warmth? No...


    ¡°We are family, Estelia. It only made sense that we are to give our all for your sake,¡± she said softly.


    After hearing them, I forced a smile, a bit faint, but a smile nonetheless as though I have shown understanding to their words. But I¡¯m sure, by how I looked in their eyes, it seemed I did not understand completely, like I was still remorseful of being unhelpful.


    It was at that moment that the food had arrived and the servants placed them on the table.


    As we ate, my Father spoke to me.


    ¡°Estelia.¡±


    ¡°Yes, father?¡±


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    ¡°Because of the situation, we decided to cancel your weekly lessons for the time being.¡±


    ¡°....... I¡­. I understand.¡±


    I guess this was an expected outcome. However, I sort of preferred if I could still do my music lessons. That subject was my favorite among others.


    What a shame...


    Haaah, I guess there¡¯s nothing I can do.


    Besides, I think it was for the best. That way, I can focus on the task at hand.


    ***


    Estelia was returning to her room, along with her were Mera and Vernon. The moment the Princess arrived at the door, she spoke to the two. Her beautiful face was pure and bright as always.


    ¡°Well then, goodnight to you two.¡±


    Mera smiled as she bowed her head at the same time as Vernon.


    ¡°Goodnight, milady,¡± she said.


    With that, Estelia had disappeared into her room. Mera raised her head the moment her presence vanished.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be going then, Mera,¡± Vernon quietly said.


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    Mera watched the old man walk away in the hallway. She then shifted her eyes towards the door of the Princess¡¯ room.


    With a quiet sigh, she headed for her room close to the Princess¡¯ room. Mera then pondered.


    Princess Estelia was pretty active today.


    The princess went around places like the entire day, Mera couldn¡¯t understand the reason. It was an unusual behavior to be coming from the princess. She indeed seems to be starting to change.


    In addition, she was more interactive to people than usual, like what happened in the kitchen. Mera imagined it otherwise how it would go when she began talking with the cooks. But the princess actually did better than what she had imagined.


    Her impression towards the princess was starting to change. The meek and anti-social one.


    She opened the door to her room and entered.


    But still, this was odd. Her actions today were very strange. No, it was definitely different. Different from the usual.


    Does it have something to do with how tense everything was earlier?


    It felt like her proactivity involved what was going on in the palace. Something that Mera had no idea what it would be.


    She closed the door, however, she didn¡¯t move another step.


    She was thinking.


    And her questionings. Does the crown suspect something?


    Mera was starting to have an idea what they could be having a problem with.


    Are they wary of the staff?


    Mera saw the papers and their contents back in the Prince¡¯s office. Information about knights and soldiers. They were checking their backgrounds and gathering information.


    It seemed as though they were looking for something¡­ or someone¡­


    Mera lightly bit her lip. She rubbed her thumbs together as she got restless and her mind racing. She truly felt anxious.


    I¡­ I need to be more careful.


    She must not be seen in a negative light. That was what she decided, in order to be safe from anything bad that will affect her. One wrong move, and everything she had worked for would vanish.


    ¡°What are you doing standing around for, Mera?¡±


    She snapped back to reality when one of the other maids called her. This room was turned into a quarter for the maids. There were six total beds, three on each side of the wall. That was why Mera wasn¡¯t alone even though she had the position of personal maid of the princess.


    That said, the condition of the room wasn¡¯t terrible at all. In fact, the room was lavish and clean that almost resembled a noble¡¯s personal chamber. Indeed this was a room in the palace, but the servants were also treated very well. Thus their lodgings were in pristine condition. Well, it was not ideal to treat daughters of nobility horribly, so that was one of the reason why.


    The one who spoke to Mera was the closest to her, the maid was lying on the bed as she looked at Mera with a somewhat carefree smiling expression.


    Mera looked at the others, there were two more here at the moment. It seems the others were not finished yet with their tasks. Furthermore, some that were here were already trying to sleep. Everyone was tired as usual.


    ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s nothing,¡± Mera said as she walked forward.


    ¡°Hmmm? Okay, you looked so troubled. That aside, I brought your favorite, orange.¡±


    She pointed towards her drawer. At the top were a few oranges placed upon it.


    ¡°I had them from the kitchen, they were generous enough today to give a few for me. So what about you shower me with love and gratitude?¡±


    Upon hearing the words of the maid, Mera chuckled.


    ¡°I see. Thank you.¡±


    Mera forced aside the troublesome thought and decided to be more careful tomorrow onwards. Especially in front of the Princess, or the entire royal family in this matter. Perhaps also to Vernon.


    Vernon was especially, what she would describe as, cautious. It felt like he was closely watching her even though they were serving the same lady.


    That was why she must be careful from now on.


    She shouldn¡¯t look bad in any way.

 Chapter 42: Allie Jelimis

    Allie Jelimis, one of the cooks in the palace kitchen, a girl who no longer had a home. She was young back then, her family lived in a small ranch, away from civilization. In fact, their family was the only one there.


    No other villagers, no neighbors, it was only them and their ranch. On their small field planted kinds of plants for their food, fruits and vegetables alike. They took care of cows and goats as well as some pigs captured from the wilderness.


    It was a quiet and peaceful place. She was around seven years old that time. Her two young twin sisters played under the shade of the trees. Her older brother helped their father with the field and animals. Her loud mother calling them to have their meals as usual.


    It was an ideal life for her. The young Allie loved her family, she wanted to spend everyday with them, make them proud. That was why she always helped her mother in cooking whenever she had the time or when she was allowed to.


    Her mother was quite strict during cooking, therefore, whenever her mother was so keen on cooking, Allie could only watch and learn. How happy she would be when she would cook and her family complimenting her that it was delicious.


    Then, the peaceful life she had collapsed completely when a stray monster came into their home. Normally, monsters rarely come to this region. If they do come, her father would handle it and occasionally helped by her older brother who was in his mid teens.


    However, the monster they faced was by no means weak. How could they imagine such a creature would come? It was a horrendous and strong monster.


    It was sunset that time, and that tall dark monster came. It stood around four meters tall, its body was covered in furless abysmal dark skin. Its two arms were long, its big long legs left big marks on the soil.


    It had slender and somewhat elongated hands, but in place of fingers were long and thin claws. They were so sharp that it could cleave through big logs of wood with ease. It had four red eyes and numerous needle-like teeth in its mouth.


    Allie could still remember how terrifying that monster was. Never in her life did she ever think of ever seeing such a thing, nor did she ever imagine how things would happen to her family.


    In the sudden appearance of the fearsome monster, her father and brother weren''t prepared for battle at the moment¡¯s notice.


    They quickly prepared their sword and spear, however, another out of their expectations occured.


    Two more of the same creature emerged from the forest from different directions. It didn¡¯t take long for her father and brother to perish in the claws of the monster.


    The ones who still lived tried to run, Allie, her mother, and her younger sisters, but one of the monsters caught her little sisters. Allie saw it with her own two eyes how her two beloved young sisters were torn apart, cleaved into many pieces. Their innards and blood flying into the air.


    Then, her mother decided to catch the monsters¡¯ attention as a distraction to let Allie escape.


    A necessary sacrifice.


    Following her mother¡¯s wishes, she ran away, leaving her mother, her home, her family behind.


    She didn¡¯t know how long she was running, but the moon had already lit up the world from the sky. With that her only source of illumination, she kept on running.


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    Then, she reached upon an unpaved path. It was there she saw a group of people taking camp. Some were asleep, while some were keeping watch.


    The strangers were on guard and jolted up instantly the moment they sensed the presence of the girl. Allie asked for their help, and before she knew it, she had collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.


    How fortunate she was that the strangers were kind enough to help her. It was the time that she would meet the friends she would be with for years to come.


    They were a peculiar bunch.


    They went and checked on Allie¡¯s home, but there was nothing left but only her broken home. Even the corpses of her family were nowhere to be found. She didn¡¯t realize it back then, but now she knew that the monsters had devoured them.


    After that, the strangers, now her friends, decided to bring her along.


    Then, they reached Serene, the capital of the kingdom of Wisteria.


    She stayed there for years as her friends seemed to be working.


    Then as time went on, it was finally time to go their separate ways. She would miss them.


    It was in a tavern that time that a man was bragging about being a chef in the palace. His name was Ceruos Vutio. He was drunk that time.


    Then one of her friends approached Cerous and asked him to take Allie as an apprentice. He then went on to explain her circumstance. How she has no home and no family. And how she needed a job.


    She was good at cooking, so she wouldn¡¯t be a burden that much.


    Cerous went on thinking about it, but in the end he agreed.


    Then shortly after that, Allie would have to say her goodbyes to her friends, and greet each other once they meet again.


    It was then that her life as an apprentice cook began.


    Cerous taught her a lot, and as time went on, her skills in the culinary arts had significantly improved.


    Which then came this moment.


    Allie was looking forward to the cake they were baking. She had been the most impatient of the three cooks. Their hard work must be repaid. They were trying to achieve a more delicious cake than before, and it took a lot of changes and adjustments just to get to this stage.


    It was then someone she didn¡¯t expect at all came. She had immense beauty that Allie herself was a bit jealous. Her long hair of white sparkled in the light in the air. Her innocent and pure eyes peered around.


    The Princess.


    She was the last person she expected to come in such a place like this.


    The other two cooks were panicking, however, she kept her composure. She didn¡¯t need to panic in such a situation. That said, she was surprised though, but she tried her best to hide it.


    ¡°Bow you two,¡± Allie said to the noisy two as she bowed first.


    I shouldn¡¯t be rude to the Princess.


    Cerous spoke to her first, stuttering a little. Then the princess replied in a somewhat childish manner.


    ¡°I was curious as to what you are cooking.¡±


    ¡°R-Really? I mean, we are honored to receive your interest.¡±


    ¡°So, what are you cooking?¡±


    ¡°We were trying a kind of cake, we have been experimenting it for a few days¡­ and we expect it will be¡­ great and final this time.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­ Do you mind if I try?¡±


    Allie¡¯s eyes twitched when she heard what the princess said. It was due to a personal reason.


    She didn¡¯t expect she would ask something like that. Allie didn¡¯t always see the princess, only on rare occasions, therefore, she didn¡¯t know much about her. However, the princess was royalty, and her wanting to try eating an experimental cake was shocking enough.


    Of course, later everyone agreed. Allie kept glancing often at the princess. She was a bit restless.


    She then heard the words of the princess which conveys that watching the process was interesting. Then later, the princess suggested that they would dine together, Allie was hesitant at first to dine with the princess.


    But with the reason she gave, she couldn¡¯t find a way to refuse.


    Allie ate the cake first, a faint smile of satisfaction emerged on her face, it was better compared to last time.


    ¡°Hmmm, this is delicious!¡±


    Allie heard the princess¡¯ joyful voice. Her heart jumped for a moment.


    She watched the bright smile on the princess¡¯ face, so sweet and beautiful. How vexing to know that someone possessed such appearance, such beauty.


    But, no negative emotions lingered for long.


    Then a short while later, the princess left.


    Allie had some strange feeling in her heart. Perhaps bitterness, or was she elated?


    But even so, a thought came to mind above it all.


    If I had known the princess would come and eat the food prepared by us here, I could have done something more, something incredibly more.

 Chapter 43: The Royal Library (Part 1)

    I plan to strap my weapons on my thighs as usual, no way I¡¯m leaving without a weapon. How miserable it would be if I died a miserable death¡­ Pathetic, didn¡¯t even get to fight for dear life or having my last stand.


    I wore a light yet elegant dress of violet after bathing, a nice scent emanating from my beautiful existence. The moment I returned to my room to prepare my weapons, I couldn¡¯t help but admire myself momentarily in the mirror.


    I was beautiful back in my former life too. They didn¡¯t call me an angel for nothing. Of course my appearance was not the only reason why they called me an angel.


    Though I was not quite fond of it, I don¡¯t see the importance of nicknames. But people seemed to like it, nothing I can do to stop them, not that it obstructed my job.


    Then I went to have breakfast with my family. No poison on the food it seems, since as you can see, I¡¯m still alive. To be honest, I can¡¯t even nonchalantly enjoy my food anymore because of any possible threats.


    True that servants do taste some food to ensure there were no poisons. However, they can always put some poison as they were delivered.


    But still, having to worry takes the fun and satisfaction out when you eat your meal.


    I¡¯m starting to miss the early days when I first got here.


    I wonder, were there such things as antidotes for poison that can be casted by magic? Now ain¡¯t that an interesting thought. The way I saw it, my family don¡¯t seem to worry much about poison.


    Estelia¡¯s memories tell me nothing about such magic nor what my family were fully capable of.


    Anyways, guess what I¡¯m doing later! I¡¯m learning magic! That¡¯s right! And it seems I¡¯m starting from the basics and reading books! I¡¯m not really a reader myself, but I¡¯m quite tolerant in reading thick stacks of papers.


    And something like a magic book is something not to be denied. In fact, I think I¡¯m going to enjoy it. A phenomena which didn¡¯t exist back in my old world? How could I not be exhilarated to learn about such a thing, especially knowing that magic can be extremely useful to use in combat and executing my enemies.


    Also more importantly, I can¡¯t hope to defeat someone with magic on a frontal assault when I don¡¯t even have the capability to counter magic. Fight fire with fire... Although magic was different from fire. In any case, I need magic to fight with magic.


    How regrettable this would be, but I would be prioritizing learning magic than searching for any traitors for the time being. I can¡¯t be searching around while learning. However, I will make some time for it.


    Both objectives were important.


    After breakfast, Vernon led me to the Royal Library. Given its name, you could imagine how large it would be. With Estelia¡¯s memories, I know how big that place was.


    On the third floor of the palace, we arrived at a pair of giant doors with grand splendor. Seriously, the doors were extravagant, emblazoned with golden accents, golden door knob, metal flowers made of gold and silver, all on the dark brown wooden door. Mix metals with wooden doors? I guess it would be too heavy to be fully made of metal.


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    One could see this library was made with great love in the past. If memories serve, a Queen in the far past has made this. What a way to show off one¡¯s wealth. Well not that I blame them, even I spent gold coins for an extravagant dagger.


    Hehehe, having a wealthy life sure is great.


    Vernon opened both the doors and awaited my entrance. I entered. I have Estelia¡¯s memories, but seeing it with my own eyes, it was, truth be told, breathtaking. Shelves of books upon books, upon books. The shelves by the walls were especially tall that they almost reached the ceilings with only wooden ladders one could hope to reach for a book up above.


    I could already feel a faint smell of paper from where I was standing.


    Sure back in my world, there were big or not bigger than this one right here. However, I¡¯m not exactly someone to go on a leisurely visit to such a place.


    ¡°Vernon, it always amazes me to see how much books are kept here. What are they mostly about, I wonder.¡±


    ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, most of them are fiction, products of human imaginations. Some are collections from the far past, discussing history, geography, biography, journals and so on. Some are from the royal families, adventurers, voyagers and a few more.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    Ain¡¯t that interesting, a place of knowledge. But of course you can¡¯t expect me to read all of them, just the relevant ones. But if I get to live here for the rest of my life, I may definitely read all of it.


    ¡°Please follow me, your highness.¡±


    I followed Vernon, and then we arrived at a table and a couch. On the table was a single book, quite thick though, there was perhaps hundreds of pages there. It had a brown leather cover and gave of a sense that it was somewhat old.


    Well, books are valuable and expensive, therefore, even old books have values. There were no such things as printing here after all. Writers had to manually write the contents of the book using their own hands. How tedious really when you have keyboards in your past life, but alas, I have to accept it.


    Well, not like I¡¯m going to write any book anyway, so not that big of a deal for me. I am just going to be the consumer.


    ¡°This is the book his majesty said you should read first. That said, there are already some spells useful there. For instance, barriers and healing magic.¡±


    ¡°You have read it?¡±


    ¡°A long time ago. I merely scanned it, not studied it.¡±


    ¡°So, you know how to cast magic?¡±


    He smiled.


    ¡°Not exactly, your highness. My combat style differs from mages. I mostly use martial arts.¡±


    ¡°I see. But you are familiar with magic, correct?¡± I said with an innocent smile.


    ¡°You could say that. But I only use mana to enhance my physical performance.¡±


    ¡°Enhance?¡±


    ¡°You will learn it if you read the book, your highness.¡±


    Somehow I feel like he was saying something there, like there was another meaning to it. Is¡­ Is he thinking I couldn¡¯t endure reading this thick book? Thinking that I would give up and would rather rely on direct lecture?


    Hah!


    I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m not the previous Estelia you know.


    ¡°Of course¡­¡± I giggled.


    But before that, there was a part of the memories that I find interesting.


    ¡°But before I delve into the book, can I take a look around first?¡±


    ¡°Why is that, your highness?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I just want to look around first, maybe¡­ maybe I can find some interesting books.¡±


    I said as I fidgeted around in hesitation to speak, I must have looked adorable. I can see from how Mera was looking at me.


    Now that I notice it, wasn¡¯t she quite behaved? She was pretty quiet ever since this morning. She also seemed more serious than before.


    Interesting.


    It happened when the servants were being suspected.


    But would an expert spy be this obvious? Not really. Depends on the person mostly.


    I sighed inside.


    Mera¡­ everyday I keep suspecting you more.


    But I don¡¯t know any of her inner thoughts. That said, it was best to be cautious.


    ¡°... Hm. Is that so¡­? Then I guess that is fine.¡±


    Vernon said, there was a bit of delay when he seemed to be pondering. But at least I get to walk around. It wouldn¡¯t be too bad to experience strolling around a library this big.

 Chapter 44: The Royal Library (Part 2)

    ¡°So I take it is fine to walk around the library alone, yes?¡±


    I asked Vernon that somewhat strange question. Well, I guess that would be a fine question since he was supposed to guard me. However, I can work more efficiently here if I were to go alone, besides, I have something to check out.


    Furthermore, it was too quiet here as though we were the only people here.


    ¡°I think it is fine, your highness. We are the only people here, so it should be safe,¡± Vernon glanced at Mera for a moment. It prompted her to flinch slightly.


    Hm? Could it be that he was wary of her?


    ¡°Well, with the exception of the Queen, your mother.¡±


    ¡°Mother? Here? Where is she?¡± I said so as I looked around.


    ¡°She is in one of the rooms. But I suggest not to disturb her, she is, at the moment, occupied with something important.¡±


    I became curious, what could Mother be busy with?


    ¡°Is that so. What is she working on?¡±


    ¡°Regrettably, your highness, I was not informed about it.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    So she¡¯s not doing paperwork?


    What could she be doing in the library? It didn¡¯t seem like her occasional visit to the library to read books. If she did, she would be here in the lobby. So this means it was something very important.


    Does it concern me? Well, if that was the case, it would be fine. But the library was a source of knowledge. So¡­ was she researching something?


    It was pointless to keep mulling this over, especially when I have no information. So I decided to set it aside for now.


    ¡°That¡¯s a shame¡­ Ah, you mentioned we are the only ones here, which I¡¯m starting to notice. Where is everyone?¡±


    There should be keepers here or something, with some maids to keep things clean and neat.


    ¡°The King ordered them to leave the library when you are inside.¡±


    ¡°....¡±


    Wow.


    Talk about over protective. Well, they were always like that to Estelia, so this shouldn¡¯t go as a surprise. But I was merely studying, that said, we have a current threat at the moment, so it was understandable.


    Well, this was fine, being no one else around had its merits. With no other eyes, I can feel less restrained than usual.


    I showed my servants a beautiful smile.


    ¡°They¡¯re so charming when they do something like this.¡±


    Vernon¡¯s eyebrows went up a little.


    ¡°I expected you would react in another way.¡±


    I stepped forward enthusiastically as I put my hands behind me, trying to show my cuteness and joy for my parents¡¯ efforts.


    ¡°How else would I react? They are only showing care for me, and I¡¯m happy because of that. Although, to be honest, it is a bit embarrassing to hear.¡±


    I giggled quietly as my eyes darted everywhere.


    ¡°I see. His Majesty will be overjoyed if he hears about this.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Don¡¯t tell him!¡±


    I waved my hands frantically as a faint color of red appeared on my cheeks.


    ¡°T-There¡¯s¡­ no need to tell them what I s-said.¡±


    ¡°Hehe,¡± he chuckled. ¡°If you say so, your highness.¡±


    He bowed his head. But I don¡¯t know if he would follow what I said. He might be a mischievous old man. Well, I¡¯m just going to act accordingly.


    ¡°T-Thank you...  In any case, I¡¯ll be going around for a while.¡±


    I left and headed towards the shelves of books and scrolls. However, as I did so, I glanced at Mera for a second. She was awfully behaved, she barely even fidgeted around. What a weird girl she was currently.


    I went deeper into the collection of books until the servants can no longer see me. I prefer to work with no eyes watching me, so this was good. I stopped in my tracks when I saw a shelf labeled with Story of Monarchs.


    Hm, it appeared to be stories of former rulers of Wisteria, which I didn¡¯t need to point out since the label explains for itself. Actually, each one of these books should rather be called biographies. I had short memories of Estelia taking a peek at one of them, but of course, she didn¡¯t even give the time to read one entirely.


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    Of course I¡¯m not intending to read all of those, come on, don¡¯t expect too much from me. However, I randomly took one out. This one on the leather cover had, seemed to be a name, Junesis Enestrico Wisteria. I opened and read just a bit.


    He was the fifth king before my Father, or the fifth counting from the last including my father.


    He was neither a fighter nor physically built for combat. He was mentioned to be a more diplomatic type of guy. Hm, it seems the man in question was not the writer of this book.


    That aside, it was also mentioned here that he made some moves to form amiable relationships with nearby smaller countries. He also improved the inner workings of the kingdom, by¡­ getting rid of corrupt aristocrats who were deemed¡­ unnecessary for the future of Wisteria...


    Ooooh. This guy wasn¡¯t a softie, cool. Starting a fight with nobles was not easy, I commend this ancestor of mine.


    More than that, he also further supported the Church of Serenity and Compassion in ways that were never shared to the public nor in normal servants in the palace. Interesting.


    In addition, he also started the stepping stones for both the Churches of Wisteria and the¡­ Valaies Holy Kingdom to begin cooperation and forming a friendly relationship.


    Cooperation, huh. Interesting. I wonder how it is now.


    But it was interesting to know that these two Churches cooperated.


    This Valaies Kingdom reminds of the Vatican. It reminded me of the time when I infiltrated the Pope''s cathedral, how nostalgic. Of course I didn¡¯t kill any religious party. The Organization was particularly careful not to earn the ire of the religious order. Heh, don¡¯t underestimate church. They were not to be trifled with.


    That aside, my target that time was someone who was seeking shelter in the Basilica of Saint Peter. He caught wind that he was being targeted. He sought safety in the church, how ridiculous. He wasn¡¯t even a religious person. In fact, he might be one of those that are referred to as false believers. What believer would order the execution of an entire family and a case of rape.


    A hypocrite he was and only using the church as a mere shield. Of course, the walls of the cathedral that he took as a safe haven was worthless to me.


    Now, perhaps you¡¯re wondering, doesn''t the organization sound like some place noble, especially when they had that guy killed? Haha, no way. It was just a job given to the Organization at a great price. Given the difficulty of the mission and my current location was the closest to the Vatican, I was assigned.


    The Organization was neither noble nor compassionate. You can already tell from all their agents once you know them.


    At any rate, that story ends here.


    Oh! I also got inside the Vatican Vault one time and at a different time. I know what¡¯s insiiiideeee. You wanna know what¡¯s inside? Something that is deeper? Something that is a secret?


    Alright I¡¯ll tell you¡­.


    Just kidding! I¡¯ll leave you guessing for a while.


    I returned the book to its place and walked further before picking up another book. This one was the ninth king from the last. I scanned the book, but there was nothing truly significant here. Not much contribution except hanging around with nobles, strengthening the crown¡¯s influence to the kingdom even more.


    That didn¡¯t mean much really, don¡¯t all kings supposed to keep the crown influential? In any case, this one gave the feeling of one of those unmemorable, or incompetent leaders. Ah, I¡¯m disrespecting him, am I? My apologies. But I was only stating what I think. Nothing personal.


    I then returned the book and picked out another.


    This time, if I were to base it from the order of books from the first book I took. This was the 15th king from the last.


    This book seems to be from a man named Essei Irinesus Wisteria. I opened the book and¡­ the first phrase I read was....


    Hey! What¡¯s up?!


    ....... It would seem this was written in first person. Essei himself wrote this¡­. Hm.


    I continued reading.


    So I was told that I need to have a biography. I mean, really? Do they know how old I am now?! I¡¯m already getting headaches from seeing a stack of paper on my table, and now they have me personally write one?! Tch! This sucks. But, nothing I can do. I have to leave my mark on the history books, they say.


    Wow, this guy¡­ wait, how old was he when he was writing this?


    Maybe you¡¯re wondering, whoever¡¯s reading this, how old am I as of writing this.


    The fuck, did he somehow read my mind from the afterlife?


    Well, I¡¯m 60! 60! And they expect me to write from when I was a child? No way, that¡¯s a pain, I barely remember what happened when I was like, I don¡¯t know, fifteen? But still, those were the boring days.


    But I¡¯ll tell you about myself though, ¡®cause, this is what a biography should be. Wait, shouldn¡¯t this be called an autobiography now?


    Um, I mean, he¡¯s not wrong.


    He¡¯s 60 and yet, it feels like I¡¯m reading about a child complaining.


    You see, I am a person who seeks excitement! I want to experience different things, make valuable memories. I am a carefree spirit. Even though as king, I¡¯ll never let go of my freedom to move around and do what I want.


    So, I went to expedition¡¯s and such. Scour the forests! Go to the south and swim the ocean. Hunting beasts, taming animals. Discovering new plants and places. My prime was the best.


    Of course, I also went on to do other things. Actually, I like moving around at a quick speed. Climbing houses, trees, and mountains were difficult and slow to climb. So, as I was already into magic, I decided to create my own spell.


    Create?


    I heard no such spells like this. If there were, I don¡¯t know them, nor do the common people. In any case, I made my own, just the way I like it. It was a spell that could control the wind.


    I was getting interested.


    Of course, not like the wind that blows you away. It was something that you can move with, something you can step on. Haaaah, good times. How amazing that was. I was able to travel faster than I usually would. I can climb easier and faster.


    That said, it¡¯s sole purpose was not only for leisure, no. It can also be used for combat, which was amazing. I was pretty mobile and quick. I prefer to use light and small weapons such as daggers, and the spell was pretty useful for it. I prefer not to encounter enemies head on, it¡¯s more of a hassle that way, really. That is why I prefer doing quick elimination.


    In any case, the spell was like riding the wind. I call it ¡°Air Step¡±.


    To be honest, I hope my descendants would use that spell of mine. I don¡¯t want it to get wasted. And, this spell was fun. I use it all the time in my life.


    I hope someone of the same spirit as mine gets to use it.


    Air Step¡­. This¡­. I was mesmerized and curious. I was interested. It felt like I could use this.


    Seriously, that spell is very important to me. Maybe you, the reader is interested, so go ahead and learn it or something. You must be interested, right? Yes you are!


    Okay.... this feels like Essei was talking to me¡­ Now now Essei, maybe you¡¯re right, I am interested. Wait, why am I trying to speak to a dead man?


    Well, I¡¯ll look into it when I learn how to do magic.


    I returned the book to its shelf. There were pages left, but I¡¯m not reading all of those¡­ But perhaps I will next time.


    I then went on ahead, ignoring the other books. I¡¯m already consuming a lot of time, and time is essential. However, at least the time used was fruitful.


    Then, I turned to a corner, then stopped. I have reached the place I wanted to reach.


    There, what I remember from Estelia¡¯s memories.


    On a pedestal was a grandiose thick book. However, what made this book different from the others was that it was bound in chains.


    The Royal Grimoire.

 Chapter 45: The Royal Library (Part 3)

    I approached the book bound in chains. It had a grey with silvery colored hard cover, and was as thick as a big dictionary found in my old world. I knew of this special book from Estelia¡¯s memories.


    A very important book, the Royal Grimoire. A book only to be opened and read by royalty. And this book was displayed at the center of a hall flanked by other lavish books on pedestals. The others must be the most expensive and historical in the library.


    However, the Royal Grimoire stands above all. The sole book bound in chains. From the memories, here lies the powers of former royalties. Not physical, but magical.


    This was what I wanted to see.


    If what my family said was true, then if I can have this, I might learn a thing or two. Give me power.


    I wondered if the spell Air Step was in there.


    ¡°Hm.¡±


    I knitted my brows. This book was supposed to be old, almost as old as the kingdom. However, the passage of time didn¡¯t show in its appearance. Strange. Don¡¯t tell me this was magic again. That could be the only explanation.


    I can¡¯t pull it out since it was tightly tied by chains with a lock. I know how to pick locks mind you. However, that was modern times, this was a medieval lock. That said, they still work the same, I guess. In fact, I expect it would be easier to pick this compared to the modern ones. I hope I¡¯m right.


    I reached out and held the lock to take a closer look. I pulled it a little, only then that the entire lock and the chains glinted for a moment.


    The fuck?!


    I immediately let go of it. Nothing happened to me yet. That glint wasn¡¯t because of light from somewhere, but it came from the metals itself. No, not exactly, it was just above the metals. Whatever it was, that glint felt like it was a warning.


    It gave me the feeling that it was like one of those electric fences that¡­ well, electrify you with a touch. However, this phenomena seemed to be caused by magic. And it would be dangerous to mess around with it when I know nothing.


    Dammit, it feels like I just call anything unexplainable and implausible as magic.


    I mean, what else could magic be? It defeats common sense. And it¡¯s bullshit!


    In any case, this was a bit frustrating. At this rate, I can¡¯t pick the lock to steal it. I could really  try¡­ but that would just be idiotic. No way this was a small deal. And no way they would just put a measly security measure.


    I could die for all I know. Or worse, I would lose an arm. Yes, that¡¯s worse than dying. I would rather not lose an arm or leg.


    I guess I just have to find some other way. I can¡¯t learn its contents anyway without familiarizing myself with magic.


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    But it¡¯s good to learn that the grimoire had such security. In the past, Estelia never touched it, so I never knew it had something like this. Well, Estevan did warn her not to touch it so¡­


    Whatever, I shall return. Bye-Bye Mister Safeguarded Book. I¡¯ll open you up next time.


    I left the Mister Book alone.


    This place was a library, so I could certainly find information that I wanted. Information about the local area, the outskirts, further than Wisteria, and so on. However, I shall focus on the book that was given to me by Father.


    No distractions.


    Shortly, I arrived back at the lobby.


    ¡°How¡¯s your short tour, your highness?¡± Vernon asked me out of the blue.


    I smiled brightly as I spoke energetically.


    ¡°Oh I just read some books about Monarchs.¡±


    His eyes went wide for a moment, as though surprised by my answer.


    ¡°... Monarchs?¡±


    ¡°Those books that looked like biographies. Although I just took a short peek, there is too much to read.¡±


    ¡°...I see. Well, I do hope you give your whole attention to the book about the basics of magic.¡±


    I wanted to furrow my brows. He seemed to be implying something. He was like an instructor that only wants their students to focus on their subject and nothing else.


    Of course my instructors weren¡¯t so forgiving if you don¡¯t pay attention. Again, they would smack you on the head hard.


    In my early days, I actually experienced that. It was a bit vague since I was very young, but that was a very memorable moment. I think I cried. Uhuh, poor little me. What an abusive place, painful, I have only realized that later when I left the training facility. It was the only place I knew when I was a kid, therefore, I didn¡¯t think it was a truly abusive place.


    There was no hero that came to save us, the world was not as bright as stories children always hear their parents tell.


    There were no heroes and absolute justice. The ones who claim to be heroes of justice are fools. If I actually saw someone who acts that way, I swear I might have a terrible time holding myself back from choking that person myself.


    ¡°O-Of course, Vernon. How could I not? But before that...¡±


    I shifted my eyes towards Mera who was a bit behind Vernon. I had a concerned look on my face as I looked at her, prompting her to flinch in surprise and bafflement. Well, I was suddenly giving her a worried look.


    ¡°Mera.¡±


    I walked towards her as Vernon stood aside. I did have a glimpse of him narrowing his eyes as he glanced at Mera though.


    ¡°Are you alright, Mera?¡±


    Mera seemed to grow a bit restless as both her hands tensed up as they held together.


    ¡°... Y-Yes, milady. What made you ask?¡±


    ¡°Well, you seemed¡­ off. You¡¯re acting strange.¡±


    ¡°S-Surely not, I am normal as always,¡± she said with a faint smile.


    ¡°Is something bothering you?¡±


    ¡°... No, milady. There is nothing.¡±


    There was a bit of delay on her response. Something was indeed in her mind. She realized yesterday that the servants were being suspected of something. Perhaps¡­?


    She was intending to have a low profile?


    Hm.


    Let me try agitating her a bit. If I were her target, there must be something I can notice. If there was, if we say hate, that would be more noticeable.


    I suddenly stepped forward and gently sandwiched her cheeks between my hands. Her eyes went wide by my sudden action and she turned stiff.


    ¡°Stop it with the long face. See? You look better this way.¡±


    I squished her cheeks and pressed it a little.


    ¡°Hmmm~!¡±


    I giggled. ¡°You look adorable!¡±


    ¡°M-Milady¡­¡±


    ¡°There there,¡± I let go. ¡°Cheer up.¡±


    I smiled as I looked at her eyes.


    ¡°...Yes, milady.¡±


    What did I notice? There was no hatred. It was just a genuine surprise. Eyes wanted to scream and retreat. However, that didn¡¯t mean no hatred means no threat. And eyes often means different things than what you initially assessed.


    That said, playing with a possible enemy¡¯s emotions was quite amusing and entertaining. Me deciding to agitate or fluster her might prove fruitful in the future, and give influences that would help her make a decision.


    ¡°That is good, Mera. I¡¯ll be focusing on my studies for a while.¡±


    I left her and sat down on the chair.


    I took the book.


    Right, time to study!

 Chapter 46: Basics of Magic (Part 1)

    The book in my hands began by explaining what magic was. It was said to be miracles granted by the gods through giving their powers to the world. And what they gave unto the world and blessed unto its creatures was mana, the fuel of the miracle called magic.


    All creatures who walk in this world have mana, whether they be feeble or substantial, they vary from creature to creature, but mana nonetheless. Mana can be found within beings, and thus can be controlled by the being storing the mana.


    However, how much they can achieve depends on the amount of mana they possess. As for the question as to why a few had a considerable amount while others small, the answer was unclear.


    Others say it came from their ancestors, from exceptional beings. Others say they were favored by the gods. Some say it was only random.


    However, with great mana comes power. Perhaps that was why most of those above in the hierarchy whether in aristocracy or something else was positioned high because of their power.


    Hm. Maybe that¡¯s why nobles in Wisteria were said to have more mana compared to commoners.


    The book then went on talking about magic. Magic was a product of imaginations and wishes. Creatures wish light, so can magic bring light. One imagines a blue fire, came the existence of blue fire. All was achievable by expending mana.


    Those who have no experience in magic cannot manipulate their mana yet. One needs practice. Like how a baby at birth doesn¡¯t know how to stand and walk, but as they grew, they would learn. Like how you can''t sew clothes perfectly at first, but with practice one can perfect such skill.


    I was slightly concerned about this. It made me wonder, if mana was already there inside the moment you came into existence, then are the people in this world instinctively familiar with mana?


    I am not originally from this world. Therefore, it was a bit concerning. All this magic and mana was completely foreign to me after all.


    Doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯m trying it at some point anyway. Only then will I know the true difficulties.


    The book then went on to explain what a Spell was. A spell, basically, was magic given form and purpose. So I took it that a spell was a specified type of magic given shape or something like that, so the term Magic was more like a general term used when talking about something that had no specifications.


    I then saw an illustration of a human body. It somewhat reminded me of Leonardo Da Vinci¡¯s drawing of the human body. The one that had its arms spread out. Except this one had some sort of veins spread out throughout the entire body.


    In modern terms, I see it as some sort of circuit. They gave the circuits the term ¡°Mystic Medium¡±. An intangible medium where mana passes through which one can freely manipulate. That said, it was also mentioned that the center of mana couldn¡¯t be finalized. That was because none can determine the central point of their mana.


    Therefore, it was generally theorized that the Mystic Medium was the center as a whole.


    Woah wait, why the hell is there theory all of a sudden?


    I expected this book would head straight to how one can control mana and do magic and stuff.


    Whatever, this might prove useful when being practical.


    It then went on to say that one¡¯s Mystic Medium was not final and mentioned it can grow. Some may be born naturally with a feeble amount of mana, or vast, if they nurture their Mystic Medium, they can grow.


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    The more you strive to make it grow, so will your mana. It was explained that the medium grows figuratively larger, so does the container of mana, and the medium which mana uses to flow through.


    Hm, so like a bottle, a container for mana. But a bottle doesn¡¯t expand. So maybe I¡¯ll just see it as a balloon? No, just a flexible channel or something like that. Just gotta stretch it to expand it.


    It was mentioned that the amount of mana can be increased through training and time.


    Okay¡­


    Then, I finally reached what appears to be instructions ¡ª or should it be said a tutorial.


    I read them all and it took me several minutes.


    I frowned so hard, harder than I did for a long time.


    The fuck?


    The fuck indeed.


    I, well, sort of squeezed the book in my hand.


    This, this book was bullshit!


    The instructions were not clear at all!


    Let me give you a short explanation.


    To use magic, expend mana. To expend mana, you need to manipulate it. To manipulate it however¡­ it was more abstract than I initially thought.


    It said that sense the mana inside you, feel the Medium which existed inside you. Feel the flow of the mysterious still stream sleeping inside. Reach for it which was beyond the touchable.


    Grasp it, wave it, control it, express it out.


    Embrace the familiar one that lies beyond which can be held, which was mana. Then, let it out of your body.


    ¡­¡­..


    Cool.


    Big problem though. How the fuck do I do that?! Where¡¯s the damn logical steps? You know, one plus one, two plus two, step by step on what you should do. Process on what you should go through. Tch.


    Reach for it which was beyond the touchable?? How do I do that?


    This didn¡¯t make any logical sense.


    Nothing could get more abstract than this.


    And beginners manage with this book? How!?


    Oh, also, the familiar one? Haha, I don¡¯t even know how that feels. Estelia¡¯s memories were not helping me at all. Maybe it was too vague to become a permanent or memorable memory.


    .... Fine, I¡¯ll do whatever I can.


    I stood up from my seat, a bit aggressive due to how displeased I am. I put down the book and closed my eyes. Took deep breaths, I eased up my body, the muscles loosened, I tried to do what it was said in the book.


    Feel what was inside, reach beyond.


    Time passed, and it was now a couple minutes.


    It was then that I tensed up my muscles. Maybe, you know, if I exert physical force, the mana would come out. My fists began to clench. I feel so tough and stiff, exerting all the strength of my muscles that I may as well fart.


    Then, shortly, I opened my eyes.


    ¡­¡­.. I didn¡¯t do shit!


    Grrrrrrrrr, how do I do it properly?


    Dammit. Calm down, patience. Yes, patience. Shit, why was I so impatient all of a sudden? I assessed myself for a moment, trying to understand what was going on with myself. A self reflection. The way I am now wouldn¡¯t do.


    Then I came to a conclusion.


    I felt inferior. I was one of the greatest in the organization, one of the many skillful fighters in the world. One of the most skilled amongst the assassins. But here, I was insignificant, comparable to a mere damn ant. Not because I was unskilled, but because of a strange source of power. And, I was trying to catch up as fast as I could.


    Catching up to the standards of this world, of society.


    But, who wouldn¡¯t feel bitter when you went through a lot of things just to get overwhelmed by something all of a sudden? I went through hell for my abilities. Those physical training, emotional training, teachings, combat, endurance. How many of my fellows have I killed just to pass the tests?


    I took pride in my skills. But now, the right to feel that way was being stripped away from me.


    How annoying. This was amateurish of me. I shouldn¡¯t feel intensely this way.


    I took in a deep breath.


    I¡¯ll take this, step by step. Slow and steady. Being impatient would only do nothing good for me. I¡¯ll catch up.


    I pondered my failure. This was a book for beginners. But in my perspective, it was vague. Meaning, there was something wrong ¡ª or rather, abnormal about me compared to the people of this world.


    A familiar one, it was mentioned. Therefore, there was a chance that my theory earlier was correct. That the people of this world were instinctively familiar with mana.


    They were born with it after all.


    However, I may need something that contributes to its confirmation.


    And, I may need assistance in doing this.


    I turned around after taking my book. I came to the far back corner of the lobby where my servants were.


    ¡°Your highness?¡± Vernon looked surprised by my sudden appearance.


    I faced and asked him.


    ¡°Vernon, this book, is this used by beginners?¡±


    ¡°Yes it is.¡±


    ¡°Can you really do the instructions laid out here?¡±


    He slightly tilted his head, as though puzzled by my question.


    ¡°Of course, your highness. I¡¯ve read it in the past, and I can say with assurance that the instructions given were correct and were expressed well.¡±


    Seriously?


    ¡°Even when it was abstract?¡±


    ¡°Abstract¡­? I suppose it was a bit, but it was understandable and applicable.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    I think this much confirms it. They have instincts in magic.


    This makes it more complicated¡­ and more difficult.

 Chapter 47: Basics of Magic (Part 2)

    But still, even though they have instincts in magic, this body, Estelia, was still born in this world. Therefore, this body was naturally linked to magic and mana. This didn¡¯t mean I would give up.


    How stupid do you think giving up at first try? I¡¯ll be the biggest idiot in the world if I did.


    ¡°Vernon, any tips you can give me?¡±


    ¡°Tips¡­¡± he looked at the floor as he pondered. ¡°Magic of nobles is different from us of common birth. Yours are more grander, thus when exerting magic, it may differ from commoners, whether it be by strength or method. However, the general concept of it should be the same.¡±


    He smiled faintly as he continued.


    ¡°Mana is like your own limb, your will is what it will follow. Command it to move, will it to show its power.¡±


    Magic is illogical, so does its methods. Unlike science that required mathematics and calculations, as well as process and so on, magic was vague and unexplainable. Therefore, magic was in a league of its own.


    However, without a logical method, this would be harder for me. Or, I am the weird one here for being unable to do something like this.


    But this tip from him was quite good.


    ¡°I see. Thank you.¡±


    When push comes to shove, I¡¯ll bullshit my way through. And how would I do that? No idea!


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep your words in mind.¡±


    I returned to my seat and stared at the book placed upon the table.


    Hmmmm¡­. Alright¡­ Mana is my own limb, you are under my command, thy shall move as I wish. If one disobeys, thy shall fall into penance¡­


    Hehe ¡ª I tried speaking to it. I don¡¯t know if it would help, but hey, didn¡¯t I say I¡¯ll bullshit my way through it?


    And, this place where I was, was not precisely a good place to train. I prefer an open space, a peaceful one, quiet. Sure the place was quiet, but this was not it.


    Looked around and saw a space in this large lobby. It was by the wide windows. That looked like a good place!


    I rose up from my seat and immediately headed over there. The windows were made of glass with gold and silver frames. This place may be more luxurious than my room. And damn the glass installed here was impressive.


    Glass was not exactly easy to come by and by no means cheap compared to my old world. But given how old this library was, I imagine this place being renovated many times already. I don¡¯t intend to think of the cost.


    But come on, we are rich though!


    I was fairly rich myself back in my old world. But if I say rich, I don¡¯t mean a millionaire, I barely reached that. We agents were given, you could say salaries, but not that much. In addition, we were also given some payment when we finished a job. But of course a lot of it was given to the organization.


    It was no big deal however, I mean, I don¡¯t even have much to spend the money on. We mostly use it for daily necessities. We assassins bound by the chains of the organization cannot bask in luxury and leisure.


    But we didn¡¯t think much of it even though we see countless people living a comfortable wealthy life. We were raised strictly to follow orders and kill. That was our purpose.


    That said, now that I have tasted freedom, I was starting to love it. It made me ask, why did I have to live in such a way? But such a question can never be answered.


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    And¡­ I can hardly imagine how my life would be if everything happened otherwise.


    Besides, I met my fellow assassins, raised in the same organization. Ones who were my friends, all that lived, and died.


    The handsome and often bothersome man. The adorable junior girl, I wondered how she was doing. Then, the damn rude ass introvert, this one was strange since I cannot fathom why he ended up that way.


    And, my first team. The pissy girl who always had an angry look on her face. The playful guy who likes to tease people so much. Then the woman who swears a lot, and even though I was cold towards them, she was the one who would always speak to me despite it all.


    How nostalgic.


    Very nostalgic.


    And too bad, I died at a young age of twenty.


    I opened the window and the sweet sunny breeze blew to my face, sending my platinum hair aflutter. My beautiful crimson eyes stared at the wonderful view for a moment before I stepped away.


    Now then¡­


    How should I do this?


    I closed my eyes, trying to imitate what was called a meditation. Trying to feel anything. Imagining and willing, ordering any mystical element that might be out there. The fresh air from the outside greatly helped in giving me a peace of mind.


    Then a short while later, not much changed.


    ¡°Hm.¡±


    Perhaps extending my hand? I tried it.


    ¡°Um, Abracadabra.¡±


    I imagined mana would be exerted from my extended hand. But, of course it did not work.


    ¡°...Fuck¡ª¡± I uttered quietly in vexation.


    I immediately shut my mouth. Wew, thankfully I said that quietly that I doubt anyone heard it. If anyone heard it from a pure and innocent lady like me, I don¡¯t know how they would react.


    You know what, maybe I need to read about casting spells first.


    I went and got the book and returned to the spot.


    I came upon the Spells section. The first one I saw was a defensive spell of some sorts. A quick casting spell and quite efficient.


    With its simplicity, one can easily learn it. It was called ¡°Palm Shield¡±, there was even an illustration of a person extending his hand and from his palm was a semicircle, must be the barrier.


    Judging from the way I see it, this must be the same barrier I saw from the knights mock battle.


    I read how to cast it. It says, shape your mana to take form, imagine it and will it, the more mana you pour into it, the stronger it will be.


    I narrowed my eyes.


    I then closed the book with frustration.


    Ah, progress is going to be slower than I expected.


    I placed the book onto a nearby table and returned to my ¡°training.¡±


    Dammit, if only Estelia¡¯s memories would help me.


    I began to feel as though something was coursing through my veins, and when I say feel, I mean I was imagining that I was feeling it. So yeah, nothing changed.


    I also tried other things, and of course, a lot of time began to pass.


    ***


    It has been a couple of hours. During all this time, I was still trying to let out some mana. I even did some stretching and short exercises, I might have looked a bit weird in the eyes of others if there were people watching me.


    I have been doing all the instructions given in the book, as well as tips given by Vernon.


    It was a bit mentally exhausting at most. Sometimes, you just wish that your efforts result in something. I mean, everyone must know how terrible and bitter it is when your efforts are brought to waste.


    I know I don¡¯t want to waste my time.


    As for what this had to do with everything at the moment, it definitely had something to do with it. I was becoming slightly irritated. There were no significant changes.


    There must be something I¡¯m doing wrong.


    But, I couldn¡¯t determine what it would be. In this case, I will definitely need a personal trainer or something like that. Vernon might do, but according to what I have learned about the type of magic I¡¯m learning, or was it battle style, it was different from a direct fighter.


    Therefore, things might go different if I was taught by Vernon who was a physical fighter. That said however, I was stuck at the beginning.


    So, it should be fine?


    Well that aside, I¡¯ve been feeling a bit strange for some reason. Like something¡­ how do I explain this¡­ itchy? Not on my skin however, but from the inside. It happened all of a sudden during my solo training.


    I don¡¯t know, maybe I hit the spot or something. But that didn¡¯t amount to much. Even so, this must only need time.


    I decided to stop for the time being and return to reading my book. But I couldn¡¯t help but feel frustrated.


    Sitting by the table beside the window, I heaved a sigh as I read the book with my hand on my cheek.


    There were incredibly interesting spells. No, wait, I might actually be interested in all of them. I mean, knowing such things to exist, who wouldn¡¯t be interested especially if the concept of magic was new.


    Just think of the potential of magic.


    Power.


    It has power.


    If you have strong magic, you could easily kill a number of people. Magic was a tool of destruction and annihilation.


    That was how I was starting to see magic as.


    It was thrilling to imagine using it.


    But of course, I first need to solve the current problem to reach that power.


    ¡°Estelia, dear?¡±


    A woman¡¯s voice called out to me out of the blue. It was a familiar voice.

 Chapter 48: Mother’s Love (Part 1)

    I turned towards the source of the voice and saw a woman with silver hair. It was my mother. She looked at me with a faint smile.


    ¡°Mother.¡±


    I sat up straight immediately with a happy smile, showing my emotion when I saw her.


    ¡°You look troubled,¡± she said with a puzzled expression as she walked closer.


    ¡°Um, no, it¡¯s nothing, just minor setbacks, that is all.¡±


    To be honest, I didn¡¯t know if I should call it minor. But I¡¯m just playing innocent here.


    ¡°Is that so? But even so, you look tired, what say we take a breather for a while. Besides, we are going for lunch later, right?¡±


    I pondered for a while, it wouldn¡¯t be bad to rest for a while. And, the way she was saying it, I can guess she wanted us to eat together.


    ¡°I guess it is fine.¡±


    ¡°Splendid! Leave the book, let us sit comfily on the couch.¡±


    She pointed towards the nearby sofa facing the window where one could see the beauty of the view and nature.


    I nodded my head and followed behind her like a true gentle and delicate lady.


    ¡°By the way mother, where were you? I didn¡¯t find you around the library.¡±


    I didn¡¯t exactly go around searching for her, so I have to ask that.


    ¡°... I was inside one of the private rooms.¡±


    She didn¡¯t specifically tell me what room. Well, I did ask Vernon beforehand about Mother, so I quite expected she would be specific. But, whatever, no rush. I can easily determine which room she was using when she returns there.


    We reached the sofa and my mother immediately sat down, I could sense that she was mentally tired. I slowly sat down beside her.


    ¡°Were you reading novels? How was the one you are currently reading?¡± I asked.


    ¡°... No, not novels.¡±


    I looked at her with a puzzled face.


    ¡°Then¡­ may I ask what you were working on?¡±


    She smiled.


    ¡°Oh, just some stuff. You need not to concern yourself, focus on your magic lesson.¡±


    I don¡¯t even know if this should be called a lesson since I was self studying. But hey, I¡¯m not complaining that much. It was not like I was not used to self studying.


    ¡°Okay¡­¡±


    She then suddenly patted my head which caught me off guard. She gently caressed the top of my head, which was surprisingly¡­¡­ pleasant.


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    ¡°Mother?¡±


    She giggled as she greeted my innocent gaze.


    ¡°Nothing, I was just thinking how you have grown. You still looked adorable as ever though.¡±


    She pinched my cheeks. Seriously, why does everyone think I¡¯m adorable? I look beautiful, not cute. Ladies preferred to be called beautiful than being called cute.


    ¡°I miss the hug of my baby.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    She suddenly pulled me and took me into her arms. She was tightly hugging me.


    Woah woah! Hey! What the¡ª


    I was pretty startled.


    ¡°M-Mother?¡±


    She caressed my head gently.


    ¡°I missed our mother and daughter moment, just the two of us.¡±


    Her embrace was warm, soft, and comfortable¡­


    ¡°This reminds me of the time when you cried because Eleden kept ignoring you.¡±


    Really? Oh, there were memories like that, I was around six years old that time, pretty vague memory, but it was the time when my eldest brother kept ignoring me. Wait, I don¡¯t mean me, I mean Estelia¡­ that¡­ that was not me.


    ¡°It was quite funny honestly. You do know he was just teasing you that time, right?¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    Really?


    ¡°You haven¡¯t realized?¡± she asked with an amused smile.


    She then rubbed her cheeks to mine as I was still in her arms. It was again out of my expectations, it was soft though. Quite, pleasant...


    ¡°After all these years, that was just mere teasing?¡± I asked.


    My mother chuckled. She was clinging so much that I turned stiff. But¡­ this wasn¡¯t too bad...


    ¡°Hehehe. How I remember you kept clinging to me that your tears had begun to wet my dress. My cute Estelia.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡±


    ¡°But now you are growing, sooner or later you¡¯re going to turn into something other than my baby, unable to be easily hugged. I don¡¯t want that. And now you won¡¯t even hug me back, are you embarrassed?¡±


    ¡°What? N-No¡­¡±


    I never had a mother. I never knew a mother¡¯s warmth, nor their love. I didn¡¯t even have any family. This was a strange moment for me. But, why was I feeling something strange?


    Like, my heart was starting to soften.


    I wanted it to harden it, but it¡­ hurts. It hurts to force it, it was unpleasant. Like... I just want to let go.


    But this was against everything I was. What I told myself.


    I was starting to have doubts. Experiencing this moment for the first time, my mindset might be starting to change.


    A question crossed my mind.


    Was it necessary to keep holding on unto the principles I hold in my past life? This was a new life, a second chance. If such a feeling exists, that I myself can experience this. This warmth, this emotion that I feel I would melt. This delightful, pleasant¡­ and beautiful feeling.


    Wouldn¡¯t it be fine?


    This wasn¡¯t too bad. I like it.


    Mother...


    What was I feeling towards other people again? Every time I observed other people, normal people having their normal life.


    I remembered again what that was.


    Envy.


    Why do others have that and I didn¡¯t? I want to experience that.


    I want the life that they have.


    ¡­


    I don¡¯t know.


    I don¡¯t know.


    It was still strange to feel this. I must not feel such emotions. Emotions are a nuisance. They would only get in the way.


    But, get in a way of what?


    Everything was starting to become confusing. I do not understand. Why was I confused?


    I cannot assess myself. I do not understand.


    I tried to recall the lessons they taught to me during my education in the organization. They will guide me. Help me decide.


    But before I could, my mother¡¯s calling brought me back to reality.


    ¡°Estelia? Estelia? Are you listening?¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­? Uh, I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry mother, what were you saying again?¡±


    ¡°Hm? I was saying that you don¡¯t have to be embarrassed and try to deny that you are indeed embarrassed.¡±


    Oh, she was talking while my thoughts were in disarray. I was reminded again that I was still in her arms.


    My thoughts became complicated again, it was starting to hurt my head. I do not want to think.


    ¡°Mother¡­¡±


    I¡­ I unconsciously snuggled more into her embrace as I quietly said that single word, even that word I didn¡¯t mean to utter. It just came out of my mouth.


    But...


    It was comfortable.


    I never felt something like this before in my life. This type of comfort was different from normal. Words cannot begin to explain it.


    Family.


    My mother.


    ¡°Estelia? You must be pretty tired, lay down for a while.¡±


    She lowered me and placed my head on her lap. She must have noticed something was wrong with me.


    ¡°... M-Mother I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Nope, relax there for a while.¡±


    With her strong tone, it compelled me to do as she said.


    She stroked my hair gently. I took a deep breath, somehow my mind became clearer.


    I closed my eyes as I unintentionally savored this moment.

 Chapter 49: Mother’s Love (Part 2)

    My mother poked my cheeks.


    ¡°So, what troubles you?¡±


    ¡°.... Um, it¡¯s actually about mana.¡±


    That was not precisely what was troubling me. But she didn¡¯t need to learn the truth. Plus, I was truly struggling on what I told her.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I was trying to exert mana, but nothing is happening.¡±


    ¡°You are having trouble with that? I thought you could easily do it.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    I have nothing to say. After all, I was not originally from this world. Therefore, trying to learn something unique in this world was not easy.


    ¡°For some reason, mana doesn¡¯t like me.¡±


    I giggled after I said that in a jesting manner.


    ¡°Hehe, is that so? Then, I suppose I should help you¡­¡± She said as she stroked my head. ¡°How are you trying to control mana, Estelia?¡±


    ¡°Um, I imagine it, will it, command it. Something like that.¡±


    ¡°I see. But, even if it is a part of you, you must not differentiate it as an entirely different thing... Mana is no mere tool to be used to cast magic.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°The mana inside you is you, one could say. It is no limb that you can use to reach out, it is you.¡±


    That was quite vague.


    ¡°You control mana because it is you, your will, your imaginations, your visions. But I know this is a very vague explanation, and mostly figurative. My grandfather told me that. But in short, do not see mana as a tool, understand it, comprehend it, see it as part of you, and it will follow you.¡±


    I was indeed seeing mana and magic as tools of destruction. Methods and ways to eliminate my enemies. That was all it was.


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    But my mother was telling me to see it other than that.


    This world lacks logic. No, magic lacks logic.


    It was hard to do.


    But, I might be able to put this knowledge to use.


    ¡°Do you understand, Estelia? That is my tip for you in learning how to control your mana. But furthermore...¡±


    She held out her hand forward, I stared at it while my head laid on her lap.


    Just then I turned stiff for a second inn surprise.


    What?


    There was nothing new that happened. Nothing fell, nothing came up, just nothing. But, I felt something strange. I stared intently at my mother¡¯s hand, that was the source of the feeling, this discomfort, this strange pressure.


    My mother¡¯s hand was emanating an unperceivable force, touching me.


    ¡°Do you feel it?¡± my mother asked softly.


    ¡°What is going on?¡±


    ¡°This is plain mana. You cannot see it, don¡¯t you?¡±


    She called it mana, but there was nothing.


    ¡°You cannot see mana unless it is given form.¡±


    She said. I thought I would be able to see when one exerts mana. But, I didn¡¯t expect it would actually be unperceivable by the naked eye.


    ¡°Watch, my daughter.¡±


    Then, the once invisible force began to show itself. No, rather, it was given form. My eyes went wide as I watched a beautiful light of azure begin to emanate from my mother¡¯s palm.


    A dazzling light, glittering like stars you see in the night sky. The light appeared to melt like fluid, then, like a calm stream of the river, it moved around her palm, leaving trails of glittering dust in this wake.


    It was mesmerizing, this one was calm, peaceful, beautiful, unlike the magic I saw from the knights that only brought destruction. The stream of azure twisted and revolved, as though dancing.


    It ascended in the air and it began to physically change, reshaping itself. It formed what it appeared to be wings, then feathers, and finally, I could finally tell what it was.


    It flapped its wings as it flew around the two of us, leaving sparkling dusts with each flap. My mother caressed my head, but my whole attention was towards the blue bird.


    It lowered down in front of my face, I extended my finger towards it. The bird landed on my slender finger, it stared at me as it tilted its head. I unconsciously smiled, when I realized it, it baffled me.


    How could such a little thing make me smile?


    ¡°You like it?¡± my mother asked.


    ¡°... Yes.¡±


    I like it.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Well, this is about one of the very few things that I can do since I stopped.¡±


    She said it, but even so, it made me wonder how strong she truly was.


    ¡°Very few¡­? But, you must still be strong, mother.¡±


    ¡°Strong? Not really, I am about, below average. But perhaps, if I kept learning, I might have become something more. However, I am no longer young, and I have to take care of you and your brothers first.¡±


    She leaned closer to me, I looked at her eyes.


    ¡°But you are still young, my daughter. And¡­ given how things are now, you must become strong, stronger than me,¡± she faintly smiled. ¡°I wish that you could achieve more, be safe always, live long.¡±


    I saw worry in her eyes, and fear along with it. What caused her to feel those emotions? I could not understand. This was all sudden.


    ¡°Always remember, my daughter, wherever you are, what might happen,¡± she formed a warm and fondly smile before saying. ¡°I love you.¡±


    I have nothing to say. I do not know what to feel. All I could do was stare at her silently, her words echoing in my mind.

 Chapter 50: Wisterian Religious Order (Part 1)

    It was nearing sunset, and a group of exhausted and dirty adventurers walked the streets. A member of this group was a priestess who wore a white garb, that was smeared by dirt because of the encounter in their commission.


    She was a young girl around her mid teens. She had average length black hair and dark purple eyes in addition to her light brown complexion.


    Her breathing was a bit rapid because of how tired she was. However, the men in the group didn¡¯t seem to be breathing as quickly as her, but they were still tired, but with the exception of the other girl.


    The other girl had long dark brown hair and dark eyes and wore a light robe commonly seen worn by mages.


    ¡°The day¡¯s finally over.¡±


    The mage named Anita was the first to speak, relief evident in her voice.


    The priestess turned a wry smile towards her and spoke.


    ¡°I would have preferred not to face one of those, but we have to encounter three of those worms.¡±


    The priestess, Tina, didn¡¯t like worms. Especially the enemies they had to fight off which were way bigger than normal worms. Reason being was because those worms were monsters. Sharp teeth on their circular mouth, not only that, they also borrow into the ground, which became a struggle to deal with.


    They would hide, and some escape through the ground, while some attack them by surprise.


    Tina who was mostly in the rear was in a precarious situation since she hadn¡¯t much guard and such opponents would likely come from behind in surprise.


    ¡°Their numbers were quite troublesome, weren¡¯t they?¡±


    The man bearing a sword sheathed on his waist said.


    ¡°Oh yes they are, Dune! The commission didn¡¯t say there would be two more! They better pay us more,¡± Anita complained.


    ¡°Well, we definitely would, we brought trophies from each one, so I think we¡¯ll be fine. So don¡¯t worry,¡± Dune said.


    ¡°Better be!¡±


    Tina smiled at the two. It was quite an intense fight since those worms surrounded them. They might have even lost their lives if not for their impeccable teamwork and her support.


    It was a dangerous situation, but Tina was thrilled. She could never feel such a feeling from inside the church walls. Even the hard training wasn¡¯t comparable to the urgency in real dangerous events.


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    Going outside with friends, and getting into intense situations fills the hole in her heart.


    That said, she wouldn¡¯t want her friends to die.


    A shame that she couldn¡¯t use her full abilities as a supporter since the church forbade her to use the arts taught to them. However, when it comes to it, she wouldn¡¯t hesitate to use it. She would accept the consequences, even if they wouldn¡¯t let her become an adventurer anymore.


    ¡°What are you guys complaining about anyway? It wasn¡¯t that hard.¡±


    The one who said that was a man who had a spear as a weapon, Derin. He frowned at them as though he genuinely thought it wasn¡¯t that hard.


    ¡°It was pretty enjoyable you know. Not always you get to find a challenge.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh, a challenge that would get you killed!¡± Anita glaringly said.


    ¡°Meh, I wasn¡¯t scared.¡±


    ¡°Keep denying.¡±


    ¡°I am definitely not denying anything, Anita. Besides, we got our dear healer and buffer, so we¡¯re safe.¡±


    ¡°I agree, Tina¡¯s support abilities have saved us many times. And this time, it has again,¡± the man with an axe named Iruyu said.


    Tina giggled when she heard them.


    ¡°You guys are welcome.¡±


    Tina¡¯s abilities were focused on supporting her allies, the drawback was that she couldn¡¯t help much in terms of offense.


    A short while later, they arrived at the adventurer¡¯s guild. It was two storeys high, and many people with weapons entered in and out.


    The group entered inside, and the noise immediately assaulted their ears. They were those who were loudly bragging about their achievements, about their day, about the monsters they have killed.


    There were also loud laughters, and quiet drinkers, while some only quietly gaze around.


    Tina followed behind Dune as he walked towards the reception.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go take a short look at the board while you guys go turn in our finished job,¡± Derin said before going towards the board full of papers of commissions.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with him.¡±


    Iruyu then followed Derin.


    Dune, Anita, and Tina went ahead and arrived in front of the desk of one of the receptionists.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the commission we took,¡± Dune took out a paper to show what job they took and placed it on the desk. ¡°There has been some unexpected encounter, it was not only one worm, but there were two more.¡±


    The receptionist read the contents of the job. Dune then brought up a large pouch containing the trophies as proof of the accomplishment.


    ¡°There are three pairs of antennae from the Ruvelur Worm in here, as proof.¡±


    The receptionist took a look inside the bag before nodding.


    ¡°You will be only paid the amount of reward offered in the commission, so no bonus. That said, the guild will compensate you for the other slain monsters.¡±


    The receptionist then gave the group several silver coins. The compensation was not as much as the reward, however, it was fine. Eliminating monsters without a commission bore not that large amount of reward since it was not a contracted work by someone and was only paid by the guild.


    Dune received the payment and returned to the main lobby where everyone else had gathered.


    ¡°So, saw something interesting?¡± Dune asked.


    Iruyu nodded.


    ¡°There was one. Hunting notorious group of bandits known for their cruelty. Theft, slaughter, kidnapping, torture, and some more nasty stuff. It was also mentioned that these bandits had existed several years ago and went quiet, but now they are getting active again.¡±


    ¡°The objective is to eliminate them. It¡¯s also a joint operation,¡± Derin added.


    ¡°I see. We¡¯ll think about if we¡¯ll take it. When is it starting?¡±


    ¡°Three days from now,¡± Derin replied.


    ¡°Alright, for the time being, let¡¯s go back to the inn. I¡¯m too beat to think.¡±


    They left the guild and then returned to their inn.

 Chapter 51: Wisterian Religious Order (Part 2)

    It was a fair inn, not too expensive, and not too cheap. Therefore, the services offered were to their satisfaction.


    Tina and the others went to the second floor. She and Anita entered a room separate from the men.


    Anita heaved a long sigh.


    ¡°I¡¯m exhaaausted.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t collapse on the bed now, you¡¯re dirty.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah. Let¡¯s go to the bath already, I stink, it¡¯s unbecoming of a lady such as myself.¡±


    They have told the innkeeper to prepare the bath of the girls. Therefore, the bath will be ready in a short moment.


    They left their equipment and Tina removed her garb leaving only the plain white dress that was underneath the garb. Anita also removed her robe leaving on a top that resembled a shirt, then short pants.


    They carried their changing clothes and went downstairs, then to the back side of the inn there were a few doors. They entered one of them.


    There was a large bucket filled with water and plenty small and large towels hung on the side.


    The girls removed their clothes after making sure the door was locked. They each grabbed a water dipper and scooped an amount of water before pouring unto themselves, then rubbed their body with a small towel.


    ¡°Aaaah, now that¡¯s great!¡± Anita expressed the refreshment she felt.


    Tina also felt the same way. Nothing beats a fresh bath after a day''s work.


    As they rubbed their bodies with a towel, Anita spoke.


    ¡°I swear if I get to at least rank 6, I¡¯ll stay at a luxurious inn. I heard the baths were top notch. Warm baths, pools, I can only imagine how it would feel.¡±


    The highest rank an adventurer could get rank 7, and with rank 6, they could already get a gold coin from a single mission. Of course, that also meant the missions would get more dangerous.


    Their current party rank was still at 3, so it was still a long way to go. Nevertheless, they¡¯ll reach the rank of 4 soon.


    ¡°That would be great, I always wanted a relaxing bath time,¡± Tina said with a smile.


    ¡°Which reminds me, how are the baths in the church?¡±


    Tina recalled the baths in the church. It has been a while since she last stayed there. Truth be told, the baths there were comparable to nobles.


    ¡°Oh, pretty decent,¡± Tina smirked. ¡°You get to feel like a true aristocrat lady.¡±


    Anita¡¯s eyes went wide.


    ¡°You kidding?! Elaborate!¡±


    Tina chuckled.


    ¡°Well, first things first, the baths for ladies had a large pool. It also has a wonderful fragrance.¡±


    ¡°Oh damn! I¡¯m jealous, I never get to experience something like that. It makes me wonder why you left.¡±


    ¡°... He-he-he, I just want to go see the world.¡±


    That was one of the reasons she left the church. That said, that didn¡¯t mean that she permanently left. One could say she was just allowed to be an adventurer with the permission of the High Bishop, but only temporary, and they have the ability to call her back whenever they want.


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    ¡°Of course. But¡­ I guess you would leave at any moment.¡±


    ¡°... Yes.¡±


    ¡°But if you do return, please join back to our party though. I don¡¯t wanna be the only girl. That¡¯d be boring.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, don¡¯t you like that? Having a harem and all?¡±


    Tina gave her a smirk.


    ¡°Yeah right,¡± Anita said with a scowl.


    ¡°Oh, I see. You only prefer Derin then, okay.¡±


    ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t even say that out loud. Someone will hear you!¡±


    ¡°Right right.¡±


    Tina waved her hand around with a mischievous smile.


    ¡°What about you then?! Hm?! You never even mentioned your interest in someone.¡±


    ¡°....¡± Tina averted her eyes away. ¡°Because there is none¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah right. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t notice.¡±


    ¡°Notice what?¡±


    ¡°How you look at Dune.¡±


    ¡°Ggh. What are you talking about?!¡±


    ¡°Oh come on, don¡¯t be lying,¡± she grinned for some reason that only made Tina anxious. ¡°Hey Dune! Tin¡ª¡±


    ¡°Heeey!¡±


    Tina rushed forward and covered her mouth. She panicked there for a moment. For all she knew, Dune might be nearby, and if Anita shouts like this, he would definitely hear her.


    ¡°Mmmm! Mmmm!¡± Anita¡¯s voice was muffled due to Tina¡¯s hand covering her mouth.


    ¡°Alright alright, I¡¯ll stop teasing you. So, don¡¯t do anything unnecessary.¡±


    Tina slowly retracted her hand.


    ¡°Hehehe. As you wish, dear priestess.¡±


    Tina frowned at her friend.


    After bathing, they donned their clean clothes before going out and returning to their room.


    Anita collapsed on the bed.


    ¡°Aaaaah.¡±


    Tina stared out the window. It was getting dark.


    A short while later, they heard a knock on the door.


    ¡°Ladies, let¡¯s go eat.¡±


    It was Derin.


    The two girls nodded at each other before going out and meeting Derin. They descended to the first floor where they would dine. The others might have already ordered on behalf of the rest, therefore, they only need to wait for the food to arrive.


    ¡°Hey! Looking refreshed, I see.¡±


    Dune greeted them with a wave as he sat on a chair by the table with Iruyu. Tina smiled fondly as he saw him all cleaned up and neat. His hair fixed and clothes proper.


    ¡°You ordered the usual?¡± Anita asked.


    ¡°Of course. As for you Tina,¡± Dune said. ¡°I ordered vegetable salad for you.¡±


    Tina froze when she was about to sit down, she frowned as she spoke, somewhat displeased.


    ¡°... Again, I¡¯m not really into vegetables, Dune¡­ I eat meat too.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯m kidding. I ordered meat. A bunch of vegetables wouldn¡¯t cut it for you after a hard day¡¯s work.¡±


    ¡°Hey, what are you trying to say?¡±


    ¡°Nothing nothing,¡± Dune waved his hand around with a wry smile.


    ¡°He¡¯s saying you¡¯re a gluttonous eater,¡± Iruyu chimed in.


    ¡°What?! No I¡¯m not saying that!¡±


    ¡°Dune¡­¡± Tina said in a grim tone.


    ¡°Um, hehe, miss priestess, don¡¯t look at me like I¡¯m some piece of trash. And oh, nope, stop shining light on your hand, that¡¯s pretty threatening looking already...¡±


    ¡°Should I ask the goddess to smite you and bring down divine retribution?¡±


    ¡°I so prefer not to. He-he-he ¡ª I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Dune bowed his head remorsefully.


    ¡°Before I forgive you of your transgressions,¡± Tina said wisely, like a proper priestess. ¡°Then treat me tomorrow, there are plenty of street foods I want to try.¡±


    ¡°... Um, sure, they¡¯re not that expensive anyway so¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, as you thought of me as a gluttonous eater, I didn¡¯t mention how much I would have you buy for me.¡±


    Dune¡¯s eyes went wide.


    ¡°Have mercy on me, O priestess.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe. Now then, we shall await our dinner.¡±


    ¡°Wait, were you serious? You¡¯re not serious, right?¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Dude, she¡¯s serious.¡±


    ¡°Prepare to use your savings.¡±


    Derina and Iruyu whispered, although loudly so it couldn¡¯t be called a whisper at all, meaning they wanted the others to hear them.


    ¡°Hahaha! I¡¯m so looking forward to this,¡± Anita lightly smacked Tina¡¯s back.


    Tina tried her best to form a poker face. It was one of the training she went through in growing to be a priestess. One shouldn¡¯t easily show their emotions in public. Therefore, she often does this kind of thing whenever she doesn''t want her friends to figure out her feelings.


    Then, the door opened with a creaking sound. Normally, not much would pay attention to the person who would enter. However, this one was pretty different. The people inside the inn couldn¡¯t help but gaze with surprise and puzzlement towards the one who entered.


    It was a woman around her early twenties. She had a light complexion, her long black hair straightly flowing down, her dark eyes peered around coldly as though she was disinterested about everything.


    She wore a white garb worn by priestesses, but differed from what Tina usually wore. Her clothes were fit and the curves of her body were unhidden, and had a different design to Tina¡¯s. The edges of her garb reached just below the knees, and tight black stockings can be seen as she wore high heels.


    She was overall a beautiful and mesmerizing woman.


    Her disinterested eyes peered around then stopped at a single girl.


    Tina immediately stood up, confusion evident in her eyes.


    What is she doing here?


    She never thought that this woman herself would come.


    The woman walked towards Tina.


    ¡°Return to the Church.¡±

 Chapter 52: Wisterian Religious Order (Part 3)

    Her words were short and somewhat cold. But Tina was already used to this.


    ¡°Sister, it isn¡¯t all that long still.¡±


    ¡°Tina, all those who belong to the main cathedral are being called. And I am personally ordered to bring you back.¡±


    ¡°B-But¡ª¡±


    ¡°Why are you hesitating? Do not forget your duties.¡±


    ¡°Surely I am not required. There are many more ¡ª¡±


    ¡°Tina, stop being stubborn.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Then Derin stepped in.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are, but¡­ what¡¯s with the rush? Come on, you have to chill.¡±


    The woman directed an annoyed glare towards Derin.


    ¡°This is none of your business, adventurer. Stay out of it.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean it¡¯s none of our business? She¡¯s a member of our party, you know?¡±


    Dune then rose from his seat and stepped forward.


    ¡°He¡¯s right. There¡¯s no need for you to drag her out now. And definitely not this way.¡±


    The woman heaved an exasperated sigh. Tina knew what she was feeling, she was getting more annoyed. If she was being summoned along with the others, then something big must be going on.


    Her sister must be thinking the ignorants mustn''t intervene with her task. She dreaded the thought of her sister getting angry at her friends.


    ¡°No, you guys. It¡¯s alright.¡±


    Her friend¡¯s flabbergasted faces turned towards her.


    ¡°My sister, will you please give me a moment? I will meet you outside.¡±


    ¡°That is fine, but don¡¯t spend too long.¡±


    Her sister left the inn without a care for all the stares she received.


    ¡°Was that your sister?¡± Anita asked.


    ¡°Something like that.¡±


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    Well, they weren¡¯t exactly blood sisters. But they were like sisters. Despite the woman¡¯s cold demeanor, Tina loved her dearly.


    ¡°Tina, does this mean you¡¯re leaving then?¡± Dune asked, his eyes having a trace of reluctance.


    ¡°It appears so.¡±


    ¡°But! Isn¡¯t this too sudden?!¡±


    Anita grasped and shook Tina¡¯s shoulders with agitation.


    ¡°Sadly, yes, it¡¯s too sudden. But nothing I can do about it, I¡¯m being summoned.¡±


    ¡°Nooo!¡±


    Anita clinged to her arm tightly.


    ¡°I¡¯m not mentally ready yet!¡±


    Derin pulled her away, but she kept on clinging anyway.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do about.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, we can¡¯t fight for her or something like beating her sister. She will be taken back still. Not like we want to start a fight, especially with a lady.¡± Iruyu added.


    ¡°Why did even fighting cross your mind?¡± Dune said.


    It was pointless to think about fighting or dueling her sister. Not only would it be pointless, but they wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat her anyway even if they all combined.


    ¡°Well, then, I guess I won¡¯t be joining you for dinner today,¡± how saddening it truly was. ¡°Excuse me, I¡¯ll get my things.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you.¡±


    Anita offered her help, Tina nodded in agreement.


    Inside their room as they packed Tina¡¯s things, Anita had an upset expression on her face.


    Tina also felt sad, everything was so sudden, she wasn¡¯t prepared in the slightest. No, perhaps she had imagined this kind of scenario once. But, it was saddening nonetheless. She would have preferred to be with them more and go against her sister. But that would be pointless.


    Her duty stands above spending time with her adventurer friends.


    ¡°You¡¯re coming back, right?¡± Anita broke the silence.


    Tina faintly smiled as she answered.


    ¡°Of course. In fact, the problem might be solved only after a few days, so don¡¯t get too sad.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ Now I¡¯m the lone girl in the party for a while. So you better come back quick. I don¡¯t want to be stuck with those stinky boys all alone.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, I¡¯ll return immediately once it''s done.¡±


    Of course, given if she gets permission again.


    Once that was all done, while carrying her bag on her back, they went down back the stairs.


    ¡°Well, you guys. This may be sudden, but goodbye for now.¡±


    Tina said with a smile.


    The party said their goodbyes and Anita being emotional, after that, they saw her off outside.


    There, Tina¡¯s sister was standing by with her arms crossed. She gazed at the adventurers first one by one before stopping at Tina.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Tina nodded and followed beside her sister.


    She looked back a few times as her friends slowly disappeared from sight.


    ¡°So, how was your adventuring experience?¡±


    Tina¡¯s sister asked suddenly which caught her off guard.


    ¡°Big sister Astine, it was great.¡±


    ¡°I see. I suppose that is good. But, you have no need to become an adventurer. I still cannot agree to it.¡±


    ¡°... Yes, big sister¡­¡±


    ¡°It will only put you in unnecessary danger.¡±


    Tina looked up at Astine, her eyes held no warmth as usual. She couldn¡¯t understand why her big sister would have such an expression constantly. But her words were different from her demeanor.


    ¡°The opponents we face are not that big of a deal.¡±


    ¡°Of course, but the higher your rank is, the stronger they will be.¡±


    ¡°... Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°That aside¡­ the issue now is more crucial.¡±


    ¡°Why is it so sudden?¡±


    ¡°I do not know, but the high bishop suddenly ordered to summon everyone. That said...¡± Astine leaned closer to Tina then quietly said to her. ¡°The king did arrive recently to speak with the high bishop.¡±


    Tina was surprised.


    ¡°... The King of Wisteria?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I suspect he asked for our assistance.¡±


    ¡°This¡­ must be a big deal then.¡±


    Tina imagined this wouldn¡¯t end after a few days. She resisted the urge to sigh.

 Chapter 53: Wisterian Religious Order (Part 4)

    They have arrived at the Serenity and Compassion Cathedral. There were two towers embedded by the corners at the front. It had white walls and several glass windows with frames made up of gold. On the walls were statues of both the Lord and Lady.


    The three storey building was lit up on the outside not by flames, but rather by glowing stones, numerous of them were embedded on the walls and in the hands of the statues.


    Tina noticed that the doors of the cathedral were closed, apparently inaccessible to the public at the moment. Priests in white robe guarded the flanks however held no weapons whatsoever. But of course, Tina knew what was up with those guards.


    The church order members commonly have no need for physical weapons.


    Astine and Tina walked towards the door. The guards recognized them instantly and opened the door.


    ¡°Welcome back, Tina.¡±


    One of the guards greeted her, she nodded her head at him.


    When she looked at what was inside, her eyes widened in surprise. This was a rare sight. No, she never saw such a sight before. Numerous priests and priestesses were inside the main chamber sitting on the chairs while others stood by the sides.


    As someone who was raised in the church, Tina was familiar with all of them. But she had never seen them all gathered in one location. Just how much of an emergency requires these many members of the order?


    Tina began to suspect this had something to do with the nation¡¯s security overall.


    ¡°Let¡¯s find the high bishop.¡±


    As they went through the room, Tina was still in awe of everyone gathered today. It especially caught her eyes, those who she knew were strong, strong enough to challenge even a high ranking knight from the palace. But of course, they were only few in number.


    That said, even the others were not to be underestimated. Mere foot soldiers wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat even a single one here. Even her own party members working together would have a hard time. They may be able to defeat that person, but it would certainly incur casualties or fatalities.


    Tina wasn¡¯t in match with their offensive prowess. But her support abilities were amongst the most reliable and powerful in the order.


    Then they arrived at the back of the front chamber. There she saw a few members of the church, but among them was a man.


    The man was in his mid fifties, his dark hair had contained a few white strands. He had a light brown skin and dark bluish eyes. He had a short beard, and he donned a white robe with golden hue at the seams with traces of petals of wisteria flower.


    ¡°High bishop,¡± Astine said as she bowed her head, Tina also followed suit. ¡°I have brought Tina.¡±


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    The high bishop, Xenous Grail, smiled warmly as he looked at Tina.


    ¡°Welcome back home, dear Tina.¡±


    Xenous walked forward and raised his hand, patting Tina on the head. Tina couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    ¡°Yes, I have returned.¡±


    ¡°My apologies for suddenly calling you, but we need all the members we can get.¡±


    It was not all they could get, but rather, from how Tina saw it, it seems the high bishop precisely ordered for all to come.


    ¡°You have no need to apologize, High Bishop. I fully understand, I must fulfill my duties to the church, to the crown, and to the Lord and Lady.¡±


    ¡°That is great... I¡¯m glad you are completely alright.¡±


    Hearing his words warmed Tina¡¯s heart. That said, it was often slightly unsettling when he was this kind. Normally, in private, when he feels strong emotions, he would have a sadistic smile on his face. Remembering that, her smile grew.


    Truth be told, she misses the church.


    And she couldn¡¯t help but feel nostalgic in the presence of the high bishop.


    ¡°Now then,¡± the high bishop retracted his hand. ¡°We shall wait for a few minutes, then I¡¯ll begin the briefing.¡±


    They waited for a few minutes, after that, Tina followed the high bishop and his entourage towards the altar.


    Silence fell when they saw the high bishop standing before them.


    ¡°I thank everyone for coming here today. May us be blessed by the Lord and Lady.¡±


    ¡°¡°¡°May they bless us.¡±¡±¡±


    Everyone said in chorus.


    ¡°Then, I shall tell you the reason as to why you are here.¡±


    The high bishop grinned widely.


    ¡°Enemies have infiltrated our great and holy city.¡±


    Tina was surprised to hear such a thing. It was not the nation as she expected but this city alone.


    ¡°His majesty the king requested the aid of the order. The situation is urgent.¡±


    He paused for a moment.


    ¡°These enemies of ours threaten the peace and safety of our domain. They threaten the royal family. We do not know what the enemies exactly are. But we will find and purge them.¡±


    Tina felt a bit anxious, she had the feeling that this was bigger than she initially thought. How serious was the situation truly? Or could the question be, how serious was the High Bishop?


    ¡°Search those who had nefarious plans against the royal family. Especially¡­ ESPECIALLY!¡±


    Tina was taken aback by the bishop¡¯s sudden loud voice.


    ¡° ¡ª find those who threaten the safety of the royal princess.¡±


    Immediately, countless murmurs began to echo in the chamber. Confusion and surprise. Even Tina felt the same as the others. It was understandable that they would find those who threaten the crown ¡ª the king and queen.


    However, the princess? No one expected she would be singled out.


    The royal princess, not much was known about her, nor was her presence greatly felt. In fact, she wasn¡¯t even that memorable since most people never saw her, only high ranking officials or those from the palace can.


    Tina herself never saw her.


    Why would someone even threaten that sheltered princess? She held no influence whatsoever. For Tina, she was the least important in the royal family. And for the church to go out there to assemble everyone just for her was simply absurd. The two princes were much more important than the princess.


    ¡°Silence,¡± the bishop''s word prompted everyone to immediately shut their mouths. ¡°I am serious. Find and hunt down those who especially meant harm towards the royal princess.¡±


    His voice and gaze was unexpectedly stern.


    ¡°Remember, this is for our divine Lord and Lady. So we must work on this seriously. Otherwise, we might incur the wrath of the gods for our failure.¡±


    Tina felt shivers down her spine. Tina had no idea what was going, so were the others. She was puzzled as to why the high bishop was speaking this way nor why he would go this far.


    It was rare to see him this serious.


    ¡°Now then, shall we begin planning?¡± the High Bishop said.


    Tina resisted the urge to sigh, this would indeed take a longer time than she initially thought. All she could do now was fulfill her duties. And she will proudly do so.

 Chapter 54: Bothersome Emotion

    Yesterday was a hard day. Not often I get to say that genuinely from the depths of my heart. Sure it was a challenging day since I struggled at the very first steps of learning magic. But, that was not the reason as to why I think why it was a hard day.


    It was hard because it was emotionally hard for me. Reason being was...my¡­ Mother¡­


    I was confused with myself yesterday. Like a machine starting to break due to functioning errors.


    I felt something different from my interaction with her yesterday.


    With a day passed, I finally had a clearer mind about it. But, I still do not know how to take it.


    I am starting to have an idea what this emotion I was feeling. This¡­ this prohibited emotion. I am now starting to have misgivings about my principles, my rules, the rules integrated into me that I fully agree.


    I am slowly crossing the line.


    It made me angry, irritated. But it also made me sad¡­ and tired.


    Whenever I reach that point, I¡¯ll just throw it out of my head. I prefer not to think about it. Those are¡­ unnecessary thoughts.


    But, were they truly?


    Tch. See? Doubts have begun to sprung up, and I am not fond of it in the slightest.


    I just want to stop thinking.


    I was currently on my way to breakfast and I am not particularly attentive to my attendants since I was in a sour mood. But of course, there was a facade of disappointment and unmotivated.


    I have no intention of having people a peek of my true emotions.


    But, to be honest, my genuine expression might have been exposed to my mother yesterday.


    When she said those words to me.


    I could still clearly remember it.


    Many always say those words to me, genuine or not. But from my Mother, it felt different, it was more sincere. It wouldn¡¯t leave my head and they always echo in my ears.


    Thinking about it only made me irritated towards myself.


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    How pathetic of me.


    Pathetic. Very pathetic. Foolish. Stupid.


    I then arrived at the dining room. My family was already there, I was a bit late due to having to compose myself and the preparation of the equipment took longer than I wanted.


    There they were, my father, brother, and¡­ mother.


    Mother then raised her eyes and met mine.


    I instantly turned my eyes away, avoiding eye contact.


    I didn¡¯t consciously do it. It felt like I only did it on reflex.


    Why? Why didn¡¯t I want to look at her eyes?


    My¡­ eyes just moved on their own. What reason could there be for doing so?


    I do not understand.


    Seeing my reaction, my mother looked startled and puzzled.


    I subtly took a deep breath, I must not act this way. I must be natural.


    I forced my eyes forward and I smiled slightly.


    ¡°Good morning.¡±


    I said brightly to them before receiving greetings from each of them. I then went on to sit at my usual spot. And I will be beside my mother.


    I did my all to remain as Estelia. The food arrived and I began to eat.


    I wanted to think of something else as I did so.


    Yesterday, I failed. I failed at the very basics.


    That said, it did give me a bit of thinking.


    I might not be originally from this world, but this body of mine was from this world. Therefore, naturally I am compatible with magic. Thus, I only need patience.


    In addition, I finally had an idea of how mana feels like, although that was just the faintest idea. Of course that was with the help of my mother¡­


    I tried to use the tips I received from Vernon and her. Actually, the way I did it gave me a good feeling that I was making progress.


    I have been feeling strange lately. I couldn¡¯t explain how exactly, but somewhere in my body I feel change, like a tingling feeling, or something crawling, not anything bad though. They were just passing feelings.


    I feel it won¡¯t be long.


    ¡°My daughter.¡±


    Suddenly my mother called out to me.


    ¡°Yes, mother?¡±


    ¡°Let us have lunch together again today, like yesterday, alright?¡±


    I resisted the urge to sigh. I would have strongly preferred to keep a short distance between us, for my sake. But, denying her now would be bad, especially in the image of Estelia. In addition, what good reason would I have to deny her?


    If I deny and give no reason, they might start to think something was strange going on with me. I acted weirdly yesterday in front of her, my great blunder. There was a bit of awkward silence when we ate together yesterday.


    Ultimately, avoiding and escaping this would only be tiring. And, I can¡¯t run from this, I can¡¯t avoid this all the time. I must face this head on. Trying to run away in this kind of situation would only be cowardice that would only undermine all what I have faced in the past.


    ¡°Of course, mother. I will be very delighted.¡±


    I said, but I failed to make eye contact.


    ¡°Aaaw, you are to dine together? How lucky.¡±


    My father said with a hint of jealousy in his eyes.


    ¡°You are free to join us, if you like. Meaning leaving your work for a short while,¡± my mother said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡±


    My father flashed a thumbs up with a grin.


    ¡°If father¡¯s going, then I won¡¯t miss the fun. I¡¯ll slam those stacks of paper if I have to, just so I can see my dear sister.¡±


    Estevan said with a broad smile. I am starting to feel like he was treating me as a stress reliever.


    I giggled.


    ¡°I will be very happy if we are together. I am starting to miss our time together.¡±


    I said joyfully. This may be good for me. I would prefer them being around than being alone with Mother.


    Sometimes, having company boosts confidence or helps you move forward, or something like that.

 Chapter 55: Need Some Help

    Currently I am back at the library all alone. Once again, my parents got rid of everyone that should be stationed in the library. I felt thankful since I wouldn¡¯t want people always looking at me while I am training.


    Come on, with my appearance who would put all girls to shame, I sure am to invite a lot of attention.


    I am back at the place I was yesterday.


    I have given a read of some of the contents of the book. Mostly, I gave my attention to healing magic.


    Before that, I realized that healing magic couldn¡¯t restore severed body parts from the time when the knights returned from battle. Then when I read the book, I finally understood the rule of healing magic.


    Healing magic in general cannot regenerate severed body parts. Reason being was because healing magic itself doesn¡¯t conjure flesh in injuries. So in my own terms, it doesn¡¯t produce cells and so on.


    Healing magic only further supports the body. Meaning, it gives, you could say, energy to the body to significantly enhance the body¡¯s own healing functions. Normally, without magic, wounds and injuries heal with time, and the duration of it depends on how bad it is.


    But when casted with magic, it considerably increases the speed of healing. Even when you are dying, if it can be healed normally by the body, healing magic can be used. Even stab wounds can be healed.


    However, if the damage is so severe that healing would be impossible, like cutting off the finger, hand, or any body part, healing magic couldn¡¯t restore it back, but most it could do was stop the bleeding. The human body couldn¡¯t normally regrow a body part, after all.


    It also explicitly gave some examples like if your eyes got gouged out or damaged severely, or if a big hole was blasted through your body.


    With all those I learned, I decided to be especially careful not to be dismembered. Come on, with magic involved, I can easily imagine being dismembered. I would rather die than lose a leg.


    More than that, I also discovered some offensive spells. Aaaah, the candies of my eyes.


    The thought alone of using them was exhilarating.


    At the moment I was standing straight in the middle of the lobby trying to call out the mana inside me.


    I have also been doing breathing exercises since it felt more serene than really trying to physically move.


    As time went on, I started to feel something, something unpointable, something strange. I presumed this would be it. That said, this tingling feeling had not much changed before. Therefore, I might not be making a lot of progress than I initially wanted.


    Eventually, I decided to have at least someone mentor me in this part.


    My mother came to mind first since she apparently has experience in casting magic. Even if she wasn¡¯t all that adept, as she said she was, mana manipulation was still the very beginning of learning to use magic.


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    Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t ask her. She was extremely busy it seems. I tried asking her again on the way to the library. However, she didn¡¯t give me a straight answer.


    ¡°Something very important.¡±


    That was just what she said. By her phrasing, I understood that she didn¡¯t want to tell me about it. What could be something so important that I, her daughter, was not allowed to learn about?


    I have discovered what room she was using, I could sneak in to know. However, that wasn¡¯t greatly important, to be honest. Most likely it was just some top secret something.


    In addition, I am sure it will not bring me any harm.  So I have no need to force myself to figure it out.


    Plus, sneaking in would be difficult and if caught, it will only bring me trouble. First, mother always stays there until lunch, then comes back. Of course I could not sneak in during lunch since we are to eat together. I imagine it would also be the same for the days that will follow.


    Also, I have attendants that always follow me. It will be hard. Sure they were just standing nearby, but they will realize that I have disappeared.


    That operation would be too risky with a high chance of failure. Besides, this was not a high priority thing. Mostly, this was just my curiosity. No need to get in trouble.


    Can¡¯t ask Estevan and my father either. So, the only one I can ask was Vernon.


    He may be a martial artist, not a mage, but he was still using mana.


    Therefore, I was on my way to him.


    I had a tired expression on my face when they saw me. Which I deliberately formed.


    ¡°Milady,¡± Mera was the one to immediately rush towards me. ¡°Milady, do you need water?¡±


    She had been a bit normal compared to yesterday. But she was still a bit more behaved. She must still be trying to be careful of something.


    ¡°No, I am fine. Things are just not working out as I imagined.¡±


    I said to her with a faint smile.


    ¡°I see, I never thought you would be having difficulties on mana manipulation.¡±


    Hell, I can¡¯t even manipulate it yet. She then continued.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t get to experience such difficulties.¡±


    Wait, what did she just say?


    ¡°Mera, you know magic?¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t get the time to learn spells. But, as a daughter of a noble, my family made me learn to at least control my mana. Nobles are required to at least practice mana manipulation.¡±


    I realized, nobles learn to manipulate mana, as they should be. Then why the hell was Estelia not doing anything?!


    Was it because I was a high ranking aristocrat compared to Mera¡¯s family who was basically at the bottom?


    My family didn¡¯t even suggest such a thing.


    Ladies have no need to obtain magical power, but they could if they wanted. Therefore, ladies have no need to learn spells. However, it appears that nobles should learn mana control.


    However, if that was the case, then could noble ladies secretly cast spells? Just like mother? Then does Eleanore, my teacher in Etiquettes can cast spells? Lanivia also?


    Crap.


    But there was something I couldn¡¯t understand. My parents at first didn¡¯t want me to learn magic. If they wanted, they should have done so long before I asked them.


    So, why?


    Was it because they wanted to project the perfect image of a lady to me? Because I truly have no need to learn it? I¡¯m sure they know that even noble ladies know the basics of magic.


    Shouldn¡¯t I, as a princess, should have learned even the bare minimum of it?


    Also, why were they too protective of me? I am beginning to feel it was just not my appearance at all.


    There could be some other reason. Something I have no idea of.


    My thoughts then led me to the term that the stranger called me.


    Princess of Blood.


    Could they¡­ but how would they know? Even my brother didn¡¯t know. ¡°Princess of Blood¡± doesn¡¯t seem to be well known. The stranger was too unknown, so I don¡¯t feel that my parents would know who he was.


    However, what if they have a faint idea?


    Not the stranger, but the term he used to call me.


    Hm, I don¡¯t know how to take this, let me put it aside for the time being.


    I must focus on the task at hand first before I start speculating. As I was not entirely in danger, there was no need to be all scared and rush forward. Besides, that was just mere speculation.


    But I am curious. Since it involves me after all. But if they have not told me yet, and in the many years of my existence, there was a high possibility they wouldn¡¯t tell me anything still. Of course, if there was indeed something going on.


    ¡°I see. Well, as I was struggling, I sought aid.¡±

 Chapter 56: Gaps in Memory

    I looked at Vernon first, then shifted to Mera. Mera had experience, so she might be useful.


    Vernon seemed to have understood what I wanted.


    ¡°Your highness, I take it that you intend to ask us for assistance?¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    ¡°... Hm. I did not expect you to have difficulties in learning to control your mana. How curious as to why it could be.¡±


    How curious indeed. I don¡¯t know, maybe because the soul inside this beautiful existence, that everyone should extol and worship, was from another world where magic was non-existent and but a product of the imaginations...


    He then continued.


    ¡°Despite the difference in usage of mana, I believe I can help you this time.¡±


    ¡°Much appreciated.¡±


    I smiled then turned to look at Mera. She blinked a few times.


    ¡°I am included, milady?¡±


    ¡°Of course, why not?¡±


    ¡°But, I don¡¯t think I can help. I may as well be below a novice since I can only cast out my mana.¡±


    ¡°That is fine, Mera. At least you have experienced it, you can point out a thing or two. Or just watch and maybe figure out what I am doing wrong.¡±


    ¡°... As you wish, milady.¡±


    She bowed her head with a bit of reluctance.


    They followed me back to my usual spot.


    ¡°Alright then, your highness. Please tell us how you usually do this. We actually often watch you, but we don¡¯t have much of an idea of how you do it. So I believe telling us would help.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I followed some of your tips while also following some from mother¡¯s. I use my will, imagine it, see it as a part of me. I also did some physical and breathing exercise thinking that might help a little.¡±


    He nodded his head.


    ¡°A bit of exercise would indeed help. Have you been feeling strange lately?¡±


    ¡°Yes I am. Is that important?¡±


    ¡°If it is not a bad feeling, then it is important.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Mera then added.


    ¡°My father told me that it is a sign that the mystic medium is working. It is adjusting or some sort.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    So I was really making some progress. And there was no pain whatsoever, so it must be normal.


    ¡°That said, if the feeling is so faint, then milady¡¯s progress is slower than normal.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Your brothers easily managed to control mana after a day, and their control was already impressive enough.¡±


    ¡°Incredible. My brothers are amazing¡­¡±


    Must be what should be expected from royals.


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    ¡°What about you Mera?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Um, I managed to cast out mana for¡­ a day and a half was it? Although my control was pretty terrible, all of my mana just went out when I lost grips of it. I even struggled controlling the output later on.¡±


    So there was that kind of challenge I have to face.


    And here I am, a royal struggling to even access mana.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    I held out my hand in front of me. I tried casting out mana, but of course, nothing happened.


    I closed my eyes to focus. Then a couple of minutes passed, Vernon called out to me.


    ¡°Your highness, my apologies for interrupting.¡±


    I opened my eyes and looked at Vernon.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°I get the feeling that you are unable to recognize the feeling of mana.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Your highness, one is normally familiar with mana, and it is what helps us start. Are you not familiar with it?¡±


    Is he starting to notice through observing me prior to this?


    ¡°You are royalty, much closer to the realm of magic, and yet, you struggle. Have you forgotten the deeper feeling of magic?¡±


    I guess I should be honest. No point in lying or hiding. I averted my eyes away with a troubled expression.


    ¡°... Actually, I was confused as to what the book was referring to as familiar.¡±


    ¡°... So that¡¯s it. But how would you forget it? It should be impossib¡ª no, could it be because...¡±


    He closed his fist and pressed it unto his mouth, his eyes wide as he looked at the floor.


    ¡°Sir Vernon, what are you thinking?¡± Mera asked.


    Yeah, what could he be thinking? He seemed pretty disturbed. What could cause such a feeling to the old man?


    ¡°Your highness, could this be perhaps because you fell from the stairs?¡±


    Huh?


    I was confused about what brought that on. In contrast to my reaction, Mera gasped loudly as she covered her mouth.


    What?


    Vernon then asked.


    ¡°Princess, do you perhaps have gaps in your memories?¡±


    He asked that, and I began to realize what he was thinking about. About why I was no longer familiar to the feeling of magic.


    Now then, how should I respond? If I say I have no gaps, then it would be even stranger that I was unfamiliar with magic. However, if I say I have gaps in my memories, I would have a safer route, and less stressing it would be since they would immediately understand the reason.


    Right, I¡¯m going with the latter route.


    But before I could speak, Mera spoke first.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Sir Vernon, there was a moment when Princess Estelia failed to recognize her family when she woke up. So, her memory might have disappeared for a moment.¡±


    ¡°But it got restored shortly, yes?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Or so we thought, it might not have fully been restored, there would definitely be gaps.¡±


    Oh well, they came to a conclusion themselves.


    ¡°Your highness, why didn¡¯t you tell us that you have gaps in your memories?¡± Vernon asked.


    ¡°Would I be able to tell that I have gaps in my memories when the majority of it returned? If I did forget a few, I can think it could just be one of the many things you forget everyday. Therefore, I didn¡¯t think much of it.¡±


    ¡°... Of course, but a few they may be, they could be significant.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    I formed a somewhat uneasy and disturbed expression. Well, Estelia¡¯s memories were implanted into me, so there must be a few that went missing, right? But, I have my doubts.


    Even so, at least this kind of narrative would work for me. Doesn¡¯t matter if I have some incomplete memories implanted into me. But it feels complete though.


    ¡°Do you remember your eldest brother¡¯s face?¡±


    ¡°... Um why do you ask, Vernon?¡±


    ¡°You have not seen your eldest brother since that accident, therefore, depending on your answer, we might be able to come to a clearer conclusion.¡±


    Well, I do remember his face well. However¡­


    ¡°I see¡­ But, I think I remember...?¡± I sounded uncertain. ¡°Isn¡¯t this just one of those you forget as time went by, but recognize them when you see them again?¡±


    ¡°Princess, your brother isn¡¯t gone for years. You should still be able to shape your brother¡¯s face in your mind, especially when you lived together for years.¡±


    ¡°... Is that so?¡±


    Vernon sighed.


    ¡°It seems there are indeed gaps in your memories.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Mera appeared to panic.


    ¡°W-What should we do? What should we do, Sir Vernon?¡±


    ¡°We cannot do anything. We just have to be thankful that the majority of her highness¡¯ memories are not lost.¡±


    ¡°It is not that horrible, right?¡± I timidly asked.


    ¡°I suppose, it is definitely better than having no memory at all. I should tell your parents about this later.¡±


    I meekly nodded my head.


    ¡°Although, even forgetting the sensation of magic within you, is too important to not be anxious about,¡± he added.


    ¡°That is fine. If that is the case, then I just have to familiarize it again. Mother actually showed me mana yesterday, but it was only for a short while.¡±


    ¡°I suppose it is not enough for you to familiarize, you must understand and broaden your feeling of it. As how it should be.¡±


    ¡°But milady is still making progress despite it, that is amazing already,¡± she said with a smile.


    ¡°Thank you, Mera.¡±


    It seems she was trying to cheer me up.


    ¡°Indeed, but progress may perhaps be slower than normal. Therefore, I will help you. Please familiarize the mana I will emanate.¡± Vernon said.


    I nodded my head as I waited for him to begin at any moment.

 Chapter 57: Mana Control

    I held my breath when I felt that harmful force once again. Vernon did nothing but stand there with his eyes looking normal as ever, he didn¡¯t even seem to focus intensely. This was surprising, he just emanated mana like it was nothing.


    I stood firmly from where I stood while Vernon was in front of me. Mera on the other hand, seemingly unable to withstand the pressure, moved away. Well, normally this would have been a fearsome force, I mean, who wouldn¡¯t be afraid of something unperceivable that could potentially harm you.


    But, wasn¡¯t this too much?


    ¡°Sir Vernon, isn¡¯t this too much?¡±


    Yeah Vernon, I am a fragile princess, so chill.


    ¡°It is fine, this will bring no harm. You would just feel its presence, but it wouldn¡¯t kill you.¡±


    Uh-huh. But it could hurt someone right?


    ¡°It also would not physically hurt someone. You just feel uncomfortable, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°But this could be too much for the princess.¡±


    How sweet of Mera, showing concern towards me. However, this was fine. If this would be the most efficient way, then I¡¯ll take it.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Mera. This¡­ this I can handle.¡±


    I focused on the invisible force engulfing me and spreading to the surroundings. Only then did I notice this was not only a strange force that seems harmful at a glance, but there was more.


    I held out my hand and felt the force enveloping it. But when I closed my fingers, I couldn¡¯t hold anything. It avoided closed spaces. Almost resembled air. And, there was this strange feeling.


    It was hard to explain. You know that feeling you feel every night as if you were being watched from somewhere. Or the chills you feel when you¡¯re anxious or scared. Or that feeling when your luck finally struck and hit the jackpot.


    It felt like those. Which was pretty abstract, but it was. It felt like a mixture of many things. Feelings. Emotions.


    Magical.


    It didn¡¯t make sense, but magic was illogical. So I can now easily accept this.


    But this was a bizarre feeling indeed. I never felt something like this back in my old world that had no magic.


    Mana was not empty. It had contents. It has something. It was not defined by not only a pressuring force, but also something else.


    Then, as though a piece of me was completed, something whirled within me.


    That was strange, I did not expect that. It only lasted for a moment. I presume that was part of the process. I have been feeling slightly strange lately after all.


    However, now that I have assessed this mana, I finally felt like I now know the whole picture.


    This feeling inside me, I know it now. That familiar feeling.


    I couldn¡¯t help but smile brightly.


    ¡°Your highness? You look happy.¡±


    ¡°Oh Vernon, I think I remember it now.¡±


    ¡­ Yes, it felt that piece made me remember. But, weird, I was not supposed to remember it. I never experienced it before.


    I am getting weirded out by magic, fuck.


    But whatever...


    Hm, this must be because of the memories from Estelia. Maybe not all memories were indeed embedded. But it can¡¯t be, I truly remember, it felt complete. But maybe, just maybe, those memories or feelings that were pretty vague or abstract had difficulties injecting into my brain.


    The feeling of mana was one of those vague things after all.


    Interesting.


    ¡°You can stop.¡±


    The presence of mana vanished in an instant.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try it.¡±


    I focused. I tried to control the mana I was feeling. Using the tips I have learned, I tried moving it. However, it appears it was not that easy.


    I closed my eyes and increased my concentration. I held out my palm. I was intending to let out my mana out of my hand, the same way I experienced from my mother.


    I took in several calm breaths. My mana was still, you could say, ignoring me.


    But I do feel it. I pictured a container, then passageways, the one they refer to as the Mystic Medium. A circuitry. I imagined mana as some sort of electricity passing through wires and circuits towards their destination.


    Please mana dear, heed my call.


    Mana began to motion. Like an occurring ripple in a pond. It was small, yet a motion nonetheless.


    I imagined moving that energy through my system. Then I felt something like a mild current.


    I opened my eyes, and focused everything on the current.


    I smiled.


    I did it!


    Of course it can¡¯t be seen, but it was there.


    But I pursed my lips, this was anticlimactic. Reason? Well shit, the mana was so feeble that it felt like a barely kindling candle light. Dammit, what a disappointment.


    The guys back at the organization would be laughing at me if they saw this.


    I thought I would be having it, you know, like a big boom! I¡¯m royalty for fuck sake.


    So, what the fuck is this?


    Vernon moved one step forward as he peered at my hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s a start.¡±


    Don¡¯t sound disappointed now.


    I sighed loudly.


    ¡°Not what I expected.¡±


    Perhaps I didn¡¯t put more effort into it. Well, to be honest, it¡¯s harder than it looks, maybe I have to do it even harder.


    I pushed the current of mana even further. I can feel it flow through my metaphorical veins. It was harder to push as I anticipated, that my face contorted a little.


    Only then, like a damn bursting out, a huge wave of mana emerged from my hand.


    I smiled, but that was only for a second because I froze in shock.


    I collapsed on my knees.


    ¡°Your highness!¡±


    Vernon tried to pull me up, but he was unable to. He was also unable to catch me as I collapsed for the reason that he was also shocked. And now, before he could pull me up he was blown away into the air.


    My hands trembled, I gritted my teeth as I endured the pain. Yes, pain. An agonizing pain.


    ¡°Milady?! W-What....?¡±


    With a trembling body I raised my eyes towards Mera a bit distant from me. I already noticed something. The floor was shaking. No, not only the floor, but the air.


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    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    My chest felt like it tightened as I clutched it. It was hard to breathe.


    What is going on?!


    My entire body was filled with pain as the air itself around me trembled violently.


    ¡°Mera, keep your distance! You can¡¯t hope to face this force head on!¡±


    I heard Vernon¡¯s loud voice.


    But I didn¡¯t pay it any mind, I did not pay attention to anything at all. I struggled to breathe, pain radiating all over my body.


    Fuck Fuck!


    This was way more painful than being shot or electrified! It felt like I was slowly being crushed from the inside while being ripped apart.


    I was utterly confused.


    ¡°Your highness! Stop releasing mana!¡±


    I raised my eyes to look at Vernon, he was using all his strength to come to me, but he couldn¡¯t easily do it. It was like a very strong wind was pushing him away. Only then did I notice that the furniture had flown away from me.


    I tried to do what he said. However, I couldn¡¯t.


    I can¡¯t.


    There was too much energy bursting out of me! I couldn¡¯t control it!


    Then I felt warm fluid coming down from my nose, I touched it with my fingers, I realized I was bleeding from my nose.


    I want to swear out loud due to the pain. But I must not, I still had a little string of control in me. As if I wasn¡¯t used to pain.


    However, this was way incredibly intense. Now I feel like I might explode from inside out.


    ¡°I can¡¯t stop it!¡± I yelled.


    My mana was like water bursting out of a dam, unable to be controlled or held back.


    I then felt more intense and agonizing pain.


    ¡°Aaah!¡±


    I yelled unintentionally. But still, I hoped screaming out loud would help since yelling tends to relieve some pain. But it was useless.


    I couldn¡¯t stand. My legs felt weak.


    I couldn¡¯t even pass out.


    ¡°E-Estelia!¡±


    I heard my mother¡¯s panicked voice.


    ¡°Estelia, I¡¯m coming! Hold on!¡±


    I turned and saw a barrier emerging from my mother¡¯s palm. She walked forward, however, the force kept pushing her away, she barely managed to reach two steps.


    ¡°Vernon, make her go unconscious!¡± My mother shouted.


    ¡°My queen! I am using all my body enhancement techniques, but this power is too strong!¡±


    Was that his abilities?


    All this time I have been trying to stop my mana from going wild. But no luck.


    Dammit! I feel like dying again!


    No! No! I¡¯m not dying from something like this! I refuse!


    Fuck this shit!


    My emotions were boiling. However, it felt like a mistake, it only made my pain even more painful. This pain that could only exist in my imagination.


    I glanced at my mother. Her eyes were terrified. Tears flowing down her cheeks. I see that she loved me so much.


    Then suddenly my vision changed. I was still on the floor, but what my eyes saw were different, I was looking up.


    ¡°Look, she opened her eyes.¡±


    I heard a woman¡¯s voice. Everything was blurry, but I saw that woman, looking down at me, her face was close. I was baffled.


    Why? Why does she almost look like me?


    She had crimson eyes, the same color as blood. Her hair was white as platinum, and her skin was as white as snow. Who?


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing! Hahaha!¡±


    I heard an excited man¡¯s voice, but I couldn¡¯t turn my eyes, I couldn¡¯t control my eyes. All I could see was the face of the woman as I looked up.


    She smiled fondly at me, her eyes so warm. It reminded me of my mother.


    What is going on?


    The scenery then vanished in a blink of an eye and returned to normal. I couldn¡¯t process what just happened.


    I then saw my mother still trying to come to me.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±


    I heard my Father¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Estelia?¡±


    ¡°Estel!¡±


    While still kneeling on the ground, I turned my head towards my Father and Estevan.


    ¡°Your majesty! The palace is shaking! Please remain guarded ¡ª the princess?¡±


    One of the knights guarding the inside of the palace that barged in saw me and realized I was the source.


    ¡°Everyone! Put her to sleep, it¡¯s the only way to save her.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    Estevan, Father, and the knights charged forward. However, most of the knights could only cover the same as Vernon. But my father, Estevan and a pair of knights still managed to walk further.


    ¡°My daughter, hang on! I¡¯m coming!¡±


    From the palm of my father, a burst of magic emerged clashing with my own.


    Suddenly pain erupted and intensified again, I clenched my fist.


    So I just need to fall unconscious. How does that work? I have no idea. But I can¡¯t think of any way to fall unconscious but bash my head to the floor. But of course, no way I¡¯ll get knocked out in one bash. So no way I¡¯m not doing that.


    But what if I die here?


    I don¡¯t want to. No way! I¡¯m not gonna fucking die.


    I forced to move my legs forward towards my father. It was hard, like I was carrying a giant boulder on my back. But, I can do this.


    Of course, as I moved, it would get even more difficult for my father.


    ¡°Use your armament magic to push forward, but be careful not to harm my daughter!¡±


    My father said to the knights. The pair of knights pulled their swords from their sheathes. Their swords glowed as they swing forward. But of course even their swings were being pushed back. However, they were doing better than before. Meanwhile Estevan was doing the same as Father.


    They better don¡¯t fucking hit me! Else I¡¯ll fucking kill you myself!


    Then, like before, my visions changed again.


    It was dark with only what seemed like lamps of flames to light the room. Not only the eyes were seeing stuff, but I knew there were also sheets on my back, and it was soft, a blanket covering me. I feel everything that I should feel. Only then I realized I was strangely small.


    Then, a dark figure was looking down at me. It was blurry so I couldn¡¯t tell who it was.


    But, when I saw something, my breath got stuck on my throat. Every muscle on my body tensed up. Above me was a blade, being held by the person. The end of the short blade was pointed at me.


    I was reminded of my death.


    I had an idea what was going to happen.


    Then, as I thought, the blade began to descend.


    ¡°No! Not again!¡±


    My survival instincts kicked in, my mana unleashed more of its power.


    I¡¯m not dying again! Not like this!


    I have only existed in this life for a short time. No way in fucking hell was I going to let it go that easily. I was starting to live a good life. I am not going to let it end. I will survive. I will fight. I will not get the receiving end of a blade.


    However, the vision did not change. I felt the blade dig into my skin. Then pain followed.


    My vision changed in an instant, now back to reality. I feel the wind coming in, going around my skin. I saw the windows had been shattered.


    That vision felt so real. I know I was there. I felt the warmth of the sheets. I felt the coldness of the air. I felt the pain of the blade.


    I realized I was now standing on my own with trembling legs. I peered around and saw my father, Estevan and the knights that were supposed to be closer were now far away, lying on the ground trying to get up.


    My head started to hurt. I held my temples. I felt dizzy and drowsy.


    But I need to hold on.


    I remembered that I have daggers on me. It was stupid of me to forget them for a moment!


    If I fall unconscious, everything I have hidden will be revealed.


    Fuck! Damn you mana!


    I put all of my willpower into stopping the mana. It was almost like pushing forward a heavy large boulder. However, I must do this. If I fail now, everything will fall apart. I gave my all to pull back the mana.


    The mana slowly came back within me and was gradually being compressed. But the pain and heaviness of my body was still there. I still feel like I was going to faint. In fact, it made things a bit worse.


    ¡°The mana is weakening!¡± Estevan shouted.


    I held out my hand towards them, signaling that they should stop.


    ¡°I will take care of this!¡±


    It was difficult to block off the flow of mana from coming out again while taking it back. But a couple of minutes later, the mana I was unleashing had disappeared from the air.


    That said, I felt more terrible compared to before.


    But I can still hold out for a while.


    I rubbed off the blood on my nose with the back of my hand.


    ¡°My daughter,¡± I heard my father¡¯s voice.


    I then saw my family rushing towards me.


    I tried my best to stand firmly.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m fine.¡±


    Dammit, I can¡¯t faint. I can¡¯t. Or else they¡¯ll discover my weapons.


    ¡°I want to return to my room.¡±


    ¡°What? Sister you need to be healed.¡±


    My other family members agreed. However, I have no time for this.


    ¡°Then send the healer to my room.¡±


    I said so as I immediately went on the move. My legs were a bit unstable, but I can manage.


    My family protested, but I have no time to listen. If I were to choose being thought of as acting weird or being discovered to have weapons, I would choose the former anytime.


    ¡°Let me help you, dear sister,¡± my brother said with concern as he held out his arms.


    I have no intention of accepting. If I relax now, I feel that I would lose my grip on my consciousness. And, he must be intending to carry me. No way, not with weapons on my thighs.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I said with a smile, though I was slouching slightly.


    Of course my mother, father and brother were appalled by my words.


    ¡°Estelia, stop it,¡± my father said.


    I ignored him and rushed my steps.


    Shortly I arrived at my room. I instantly went to turn the door knob.


    ¡°Give me some alone time for a while.¡±


    I said to them before entering.


    ¡°Est¡ª¡±


    I closed the door and locked it. My legs trembled, but I still reached for under the bed, where my secret stash was hidden. I pulled it out. I then unstrapped the belt on my thigh, without a care for anything else I put the belt with daggers inside the bag. Of course I made sure to do things quietly.


    ¡°Estelia!¡±


    They called to me from behind the door.


    I ignored them. The sweat from my forehead dropped to the floor. I was sweating like hell right now due to the heavy feeling of my body along with the pain.


    I then pushed the bag back under the bed.


    I sighed.


    I was frustrated. My actions today will cause some strange impressions. But what choice do I have?! Fuck!


    ¡°Ugh.¡±


    I groaned in pain, the mana I was holding was still threatening to come out. And I¡¯m losing my consciousness.


    How do I explain my actions? Think. There was nothing I could think. My actions were too strange.


    Unless¡­


    Should I do that? But it wouldn¡¯t make sense. But, I can¡¯t say it was for no reason at all that I decided to come here despite my condition.


    I need to have a reason.


    Dammit, no choice then. The heavier the reason, the more effective it gets.


    The world had started to blur. Even so, I walked towards the door.


    I opened it, and was greeted by all the eyes of my family. They were shocked and confused when they saw me.


    My hands trembled intensely. Tears coming out of my eyes, lips shook as I tried to speak. It should be mentioned though that my tears felt sticky. But no time to think about it.


    ¡°Este¡ª¡±


    Mother was about to speak when I interrupted her.


    ¡°Mother, is it normal to see visions that felt real?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I-I saw it. I felt it.¡±


    I looked at every one of them, my eyes full of terror.


    ¡°It was painful. A blade coming down towards me. But, I couldn¡¯t do anything...¡±


    I collapsed on my knees as an expression of agony suddenly formed on my face. I released a small amount of mana gradually.


    ¡°I¡¯m s-scared¡­ That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t want to be touched. I¡­ I didn¡¯t know what was going on¡­ I might hurt you. I don¡¯t want to hurt you!¡±


    ¡°Estelia.¡±


    My father reached out for me, but was unable to grasp me. Some force was pushing his hand away.


    Now that I have released my mana, my dizziness only intensified as well as the pain. Therefore, my consciousness was waning.


    ¡°F-Father.¡±


    It was best to let go of my consciousness, so I did.


    It was then there I fainted.

 Chapter 58: Subject 218

    I saw white walls. I saw children under six years old lining up beside me on both sides. This was familiar, everything here was supposedly one vague memory, but I see it very clearly.


    An adult wearing white clothings that resembled a lab coat walked in front of us with a woman beside him. Both their eyes lacked any warmth as they looked at us one by one. I gazed up at them with curiosity, but their eyes merely went past me indifferently.


    Then, the scene before me changed. A man with the same clothing as before pressed a device to my wrist, then I felt a stinging pain for only a moment before it turned into a residual pain as they covered it with cotton.


    They injected a tiny device into my small wrist, they were tracking devices. To keep monitoring us, to keep tracking us, and reduce the chance of escaping. We wouldn¡¯t be able to hide. But, I had no idea at this time.


    They showed us our rooms, and I was joined by other children. Then, came morning and we were brought into another room, chairs positioned all around with a white board at the front.


    They then taught us letters and numbers.


    Sometime during that, I heard a sound of someone being slapped. There I saw someone, it seems a child was hit by the instructor because of that child¡¯s failure in remembering what was just taught.


    I grew frightened.


    It prompted all of us to work harder.


    Then time passed. We have learned all letters and numbers and a few more.


    Another instructor was teaching us another subject. However, I couldn¡¯t understand it at all. In my ears, they were all gibberish. Therefore, I spaced out, bored as I looked at the corners of the room, for no significant reason.


    I didn¡¯t realize that the instructor noticed me. Before I knew it, he was already before me, and I saw his hand come at me.


    He slapped me on my cheek sending a loud sound echoing in the quiet room. It was so painful that I immediately shielded it and curled up to protect myself.


    ¡°You will listen, or else you will receive something much more compared to that.¡±


    His voice was cold that it terrified me along with the pain I felt. Tears coming out of my eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡±


    Then, the scene changed once again.


    I was sweating, heavy breathing. Physical training and exercise. Teaching us basic hand to hand combat. However, this time around, we were to fight each other, me and my fellow children.


    It wasn¡¯t easy. Fists hit my face and body, feet kicking at me. And me trying to fight back.


    Every moment of it was painful.


    When we returned to our beds, I couldn¡¯t easily fall asleep. Bruises and wounds filled my body. Even the simple act of laying on my bed caused throbbing pain all over my body. I hated it.


    Every day, every night, for days, for months, I would always feel this pain during my sleep.


    I hated pain.


    But I couldn¡¯t escape from it. There was no chance.


    I would often cry quietly as I covered myself in my pillow.


    Why do I have to constantly feel pain?


    I always asked myself.


    But I must not be left behind, or else I would only feel more pain. That was why I must work harder. I must not falter, or the pain would only worsen.


    I don¡¯t want any more.


    Then, everything around me changed.


    Now, I was in a hallway, lined up with my fellows. I did not know why we were sent here. But one by one, someone would enter a room. All of us had no idea what could be inside.


    But I was scared. I was always scared of what surprises they would have for us. Nothing good always comes out with it, I know that very well. Mostly, pain awaits at the end of every surprise.


    The ones who entered didn¡¯t exit the same door, only making what was inside more of a mystery. There must be another path they were using. They must have decided that it would be best not to show us the result of what could be happening inside.


    The thought of it only made me tremble. But there was someone beside me, a friend that would comfort me. His smile was comforting as always that it brought a bit of relief in me.


    Then, it was my turn.


    I looked up at the adult as he looked back at me. He then guided me inside.


    There I saw a single chair, straps on the armrests and by the back, as well as by the footrest. The chair was small, enough to fit everyone at my age.


    I became anxious just by looking at it. I felt a terrible ominous feeling from that chair¡¯s presence alone.


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    Given with no choice, I sat down on that chair. They tied my arms, my legs, then my neck. I didn¡¯t like this at all. All my movements were restrained. I still have no idea what was going to happen.


    ¡°You have been through a fair amount of pain and exercise. Today, you will be put to the test.¡±


    A man in front of me said. His voice lacked any sort of kindness nor pity for anyone.


    ¡°Remember, you must endure.¡±


    ¡°W-What do you mean?¡± I asked him with a trembling voice.


    He frowned. He must have not wanted to hear me speak.


    Ignoring my question, he gave the order.


    ¡°Begin.¡±


    The next thing happened was me screaming.


    ¡°AAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!¡±


    I couldn¡¯t hold myself from screaming. My throat immediately began to sore.


    My body was shaking. Something caused by this chair.


    Tears streamed down from my eyes as I received this inscrutable pain. This was more painful than anything I had ever experienced! Why? Why?!


    Too much!


    My body shook and shook, squirmed and rattled.


    My limbs began to numb.


    Then, suddenly, the cause of my suffering stopped. I felt a small relief, but it was not much, since the pain was still there. In addition, every part of my body was numb.


    I squirmed in my chair, but the restraints held me back. I wanted to get out.


    ¡°Please s-stop.¡±


    Stop. Please. I don¡¯t want to feel this much pain.


    My pleading however, fell on deaf ears.


    ¡°Again.¡±


    My suffering continued.


    ¡°AAAAAAAAH!! STOP!¡±


    My cries loudly echoed in this abominable room.


    I tried to escape, to run away, but the bonds were unbreakable.


    Then it stopped again.


    ¡°You have finally experienced being electrocuted.¡±


    I was confused. I now understood what this was. Electricity. What powered the light and machines. It was explained to us once, but I never experienced it firsthand.


    ¡°However, you must get used to it. Endure. Pain will always be your companion, so you must be familiar with it.¡±


    No, I don¡¯t want to!


    I wanted to cry that out. But I was terrified. I didn¡¯t want to make it worse. Resist and it will only make things worse. It will only intensify the pain. That was what I thought.


    ¡°Again!¡±


    Electric current flowed into me again. I feel like I would lose my mind.


    I wanted to run away! Anywhere, just away from here!


    When will this end?


    I had no idea how many times they electrified me. But, at that moment, there was only one thing I learned, that was to endure.


    I must endure.


    I have no other choice.


    I kept screaming, until I couldn¡¯t anymore.


    I remember this moment all too well. The first time I experienced the greatest pain I have felt.


    However, this did not happen only for one day, but also for many days to come.


    Then, my surroundings changed.


    In a big chamber. We were lined up again.


    However, in front of us there were five other children.


    A woman walked forward and faced us, wearing the same white coat as the others.


    ¡°You have done well, your performance was satisfactory,¡± she said.


    The woman then faced the five standing in front.


    ¡°But you five, have the lowest performance rate. Meaning, you are below the minimum grade that is adamantly and mandatorily required,¡± she smiled. ¡°Too bad.¡±


    Under her coat, she pulled out something. I recognized it. A weapon, a pistol.


    ¡°You five, are failures. And you know what will happen to failures, hm?¡± the woman faced us with a smile.


    Then, a loud bang erupted. I froze as I watched. A child among the five fell to the ground, a hole in head, red blood spreading to the floor. I trembled at the sight. Terror crawling into my heart.


    ¡°This is what will happen.¡±


    As the remaining four stood in shock, four more roars came out of the weapon in the woman¡¯s hand.


    Four more corpses fell to the floor. Four children died, killed in front of me.


    All of us were frozen in shock. I wanted to look away, but I know, we know, if we look away, it will only call the wrath of the woman who took the life of the five children upon us.


    ¡°Let this be an example to all of you. So do a good job, okay?¡±


    Her voice sounded playful and warm, which only made her more terrifying.


    I didn¡¯t want to receive the same fate.


    Therefore, I must not disappoint.


    Then the scene changed again.


    My breathing was rapid. A knife in my hand.


    There was blood on my hands. Around me were numerous children, dead, lying on the floor. The scent of blood linger in the air, as the red fluid formed puddles on the white floor.


    The many dead children had weapons along with them. This was a battle. All of us had to fight.


    Only one must survive.


    And¡­ I was the one to kill most of them.


    I had no choice. I didn¡¯t want to die. I must fight. That was what was ordered. And we must not disobey.


    And now, my last opponent was beneath me, my knife raised above him. However, I didn¡¯t kill him yet. I couldn¡¯t. How could I? Why did we have to be enemies here?


    ¡°What are you waiting for?¡±


    His voice reached my ears, my hands holding the knife trembled.


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    I couldn¡¯t. He was my closest friend. I don¡¯t want to kill him. Therefore, even though this was what I must do, I hesitated.


    Tears welled up in my eyes.


    ¡°This wouldn¡¯t do¡­ you must do it.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve won this fight, so you must kill me.¡±


    I shook my head vigorously as my eyes looked away.


    ¡°Hey, look at me.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°Look at me,¡± he repeated it, his voice was warm as always.


    I looked at his eyes.


    ¡°There¡¯s no other way. Do this¡­ for you to survive.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    I firmly held the knife, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to bring it down.


    ¡°N-No¡­¡±


    I refused.


    Then, another voice chimed in, coming from the speakers installed in the room.


    ¡°Subject 218, finish it, now.¡±


    It was talking to me. But¡­


    ¡°Hey.¡±


    My friend called out to me.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be alright. Live a good life for me, okay?¡±


    I could only stare at him with my eyes full of tears.


    ¡°Do it.¡±


    I didn¡¯t want this. But, I cannot escape. If I don¡¯t do this, then it wouldn¡¯t end.


    I closed my eyes as I brought down my blade.


    I took my own friend¡¯s life.


    I couldn¡¯t bear to look at him. Perhaps I was still denying the fact that he was dead. No longer to be at my side. Comfort me when I am sad. Unable to see his warm smile again.


    I stood up, and headed to the door.


    Only then a man came inside.


    ¡°You have done well, 218. However, I must say, wipe those tears away.¡±


    I followed his order and wiped my tears.


    ¡°You must not cry for such a thing. Humans are merely obstacles in your path. They are nothing more, nothing less.¡±


    He cupped my chin and forced me to look at his indifferent eyes.


    ¡°People are of no importance. If they stand in your way, take them off your way, eliminate them if you must. If necessary, use them. People could only either be obstacles, or tools for you to use. Rid of emotions towards them, emotional attachments are only a nuisance in achieving your goals.¡±


    He paused before continuing.


    ¡°This is what you, all of you should always remember. Engrave it into your mind. Do you understand, Subject 218?¡±


    ¡°....... I understand.¡±


    I didn¡¯t want to remember this. I didn¡¯t want to see this. Why was I seeing this again?


    I don¡¯t want to be reminded of this...


    Then like a fleeting dream, everything around me dissipated like smoke, then everything changed.


    However, there was an entirely different color in this world.


    It was brighter.


    In front of me was a large garden. Numerous flowers filled my sight. The sun radiated brightly in the beautiful blue sky. A view I couldn¡¯t see in that place.


    ¡°Estelia.¡±


    ¡°Mother!¡±


    I said excitedly as a woman hefted me up.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the garden!¡± I said.


    ¡°Okay, if you say so, dear.¡±


    This memory, I remember. This was me. Estelia.

 Chapter 59: Estelia

    I wrapped my arms around my mother¡¯s neck as she carried me. The wonderful fragrance of flowers reached my nose. I smiled, pretty delighted. The warmth and softness of my mother, I felt it very clearly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look of the newly planted flowers.¡±


    ¡°Really? Newly planted? I want to see!¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, be calm, my daughter.¡±


    I snuggled more into her embrace as she brought me further within the garden. Several colors of flower petals passed us by. Then wisteria flowers surrounded us, gently dancing in the breeze on this sunny day.


    ¡°Mother, wisteria flowers are much more beautiful at night, the way they glow is so amazing. Why do they glow?¡±


    ¡°It was said that it absorbs the light of the moon and stars.¡±


    ¡°Amazing.¡±


    They were truly beautiful. The first time I saw them, I was mystified. The gentle glow of the countless petals of wisteria was so captivating that it felt magical. What a wonderful sight it was to behold.


    I then heard rushed footsteps coming at us. I looked behind us and saw my brother, Estevan. A smile formed on my lips.


    ¡°It¡¯s big brother!¡±


    He was younger and shorter.


    ¡°Estel! Where are you going?¡±


    He stopped beside us and looked up at me.


    ¡°Mother said she has newly planted flowers.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m coming with you then!¡±


    ¡°Estevan, where is Eleden?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s doing some stuff as always. That aside, let¡¯s go mother!¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, don¡¯t rush Estevan.¡±


    Estevan led the way with excitement. Though I¡¯m sure he wasn¡¯t sure where exactly our destination was. But, I was happy only seeing him here.


    ¡°Mother, I want to get down.¡±


    ¡°... Okay.¡±


    With a giggle she put me down, I then rushed towards my brother.


    ¡°Brother!¡±


    ¡°Little sister, look at that, a red bug.¡±


    He pulled my hand and headed towards amongst the flowers. We crouched down, I smiled upon seeing a tiny red bug on the flower petal.


    ¡°So cute,¡± I said as I intently looked at the little thing.


    My brother then suddenly plucked a flower before putting it on my ear.


    ¡°Hm, looks good! My sister is even cuter now!¡±


    I touched the flower he suddenly placed on my ear. I giggled with a bright smile before speaking with joy.


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    ¡°Really? T-Then, thank you.¡±


    My surroundings changed again.


    ¡°Father! Is there something I can help you with?¡±


    Father was at his desk working on some papers as usual along with some other servants. The servants smiled in amusement as they saw me asking my father what I can help with.


    ¡°Dear daughter... ¡± he smiled. ¡°Alright, you can help.¡±


    I sat on a chair by his desk, he placed a clean paper in front of me and gave me a quill. Then beside it he placed another paper with written words on it.


    ¡°Write this down.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    With a pat on my head, he returned to his work. I wrote the letters that were written on the paper into the clean sheet.


    ¡°Um.... Mm.¡±


    I was struggling on copying the letters. I have yet to memorize how letters and numbers were written. Therefore, it took a very long time to finish this work given to me. Although, as time went by, I was slowly getting used to it.


    ¡°You''re doing a good job, Estelia.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    I smiled at my father¡¯s praise.


    ¡°You¡¯ll master how to write in no time!¡±


    I giggled at his wonderful words as he caressed my head.


    Then with a blink, I was now lying down on my bed in a dim room covered in sheets. My eyes moved to the side to see my mother.


    She was smiling while caressing my head.


    ¡°Tell me a story, please,¡± I said with pleading eyes.


    ¡°... Alright,¡± she took the book beside her. ¡°But have you read this yet?¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°I like it if you read it to me.¡±


    I was not fond of reading books, it hurts my head. It was more convenient if it were read to me after all.


    ¡°Very well¡­¡±


    She read the story to me. Her voice was soothing as always that it immediately made me relax. I love moments like this. Just having the presence of my family close to me... brings me peace.


    Before the story was even over, my eyes were already getting heavier. My mother noticed this and she slowly closed the book.


    ¡°Let¡¯s continue this tomorrow evening, okay?¡±


    I weakly nodded my head with half closed eyes.


    ¡°Goodnight, Estelia.¡±


    ¡°Goodnight¡­ mother¡­ I love you.¡±


    My mother smiled.


    ¡°I love you too.¡±


    Everything darkened. Then, like I just dreamed, I slowly opened my eyes, awakening from my slumber. What greeted my eyes was a familiar ceiling. This was my room.


    Were those dreams?


    They felt like one but... They were so clear. And why was everything mixed up?


    And it had to be during my education, just remembering those irks me. But that wasn¡¯t the greater issue, the issue was, why was I dreaming of those now? I rarely have dreams. And if it does happen, definitely not about the past.


    Furthermore, my dream this time seemed more intensive. Was it because I was about to die?


    Now ain¡¯t that something, I sure am not going to die.


    ¡°Estelia!¡±


    Beside me I heard my mother¡¯s voice of surprise. I turned my head, she immediately set aside the book she was reading and immediately extended her hand towards my cheek. She was smiling but I see concern in her eyes.


    ¡°My baby, finally you¡¯re awake. Do you feel alright?¡±


    I stared at her for a moment. Only then I recalled that I have also dreamed memories with my family. No¡­ Estelia¡¯s family.


    I slowly raised my body.


    I wondered why I also have dreamed Estelia¡¯s memories. Was I having flashbacks or something? Damn. And for what fucking reason would that be?


    ¡°Slowly now¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m feeling fine now mother.¡±


    To be honest, my body felt a bit heavy. Perhaps because I have just laid down for a time, or maybe because of what happened.


    ¡°How long was I unconscious?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Two days.¡±


    Two days?!!


    The fuck? How much damage did I receive? Of course I vividly remember the amount of pain I experienced. But I still had no idea exactly what happened. All I knew was that my mana went out of control. Ultimately, when I have to force my way forward to hide my weapons.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    I formed a shocked expression.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you are awake. We were sure that you¡¯re going to wake up eventually. But it is still frightening to see you unconscious for two days.¡±


    She caressed my head as her other hand held mine.


    ¡°Is everyone alright? I¡­ I remember harming...¡±


    Everyone struggled to get to me, only to be blown away. It was only natural that I would be worried about them, especially my family.


    ¡°They¡¯re completely fine. We¡¯re fine.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Mother¡­¡± I looked at her eyes. ¡°What exactly happened to me?¡±


    ¡°Let me first call your father and brother. They are really worried about you.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡±


    I nodded my head, then she left the room.


    I was alone. My personal maid was not around. I first expected that she would be here being my maid and all. But then I remembered that there were risks of betrayal. Knowing my family. They wouldn¡¯t let anyone here when I am unconscious and defenseless.


    Therefore, my family themselves must have been the ones to watch over me.


    In addition, I didn¡¯t expect to be out for two days.


    And I just had to dream those times.


    I clicked my tongue in annoyance.


    There are just some things that you wish to never remember.

 Chapter 60: This Sucks

    The door of my room slammed open, I acted surprised, frantically turning to look at the door. There I saw my brother with wide eyes as he smiled widely.


    ¡°My sister!¡±


    He walked towards me with impatient steps then snatched my hand. While I was still half up on the bed, I stared at him as he grasped my hand with both hands while leaning towards me.


    ¡°How are you? You¡¯re fine, right? Thank goodness!¡±


    ¡°B-Brother¡­ I¡¯m sorry if I worried you so much.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, the important thing is you are awake. You¡¯re still adorable as ever, so there is nothing to worry about.¡±


    I smiled wryly at my brother. I have noticed this but, the way he spoke to me, I took it as a family thing, but now it now felt more like he was almost flirting. Hehe, oh my sweet brother.


    ¡­ How sweet indeed.


    Now that I thought about it, he didn¡¯t even have any suitress, nor did he openly show any interest in other noble ladies. He was already an adult, so it was quite strange that he has yet to have a fiance, especially as a royalty.


    Oh come on, let''s just admit here that he definitely gives that sister complex vibe!


    ¡°Big brother¡­ Seeing you smile brings me great relief. Now I am less worried about what happened to me.¡±


    ¡°Sorry I didn¡¯t get to reach you during the library, your power is much greater than I thought.¡±


    ¡°My power is greater than you thought? May I ask what you mean?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    There was a delay before he got to speak again.


    ¡°I mean nothing. Let¡¯s wait for Father and the physician, okay?¡±


    In his delay, it almost appeared like he was thinking of something. Debating? Or Hesitation? I wondered what caused them.


    Perhaps, well, I am royalty, so it was only to be expected that I have a great amount of mana. So perhaps they didn¡¯t expect that amount I could exert. However, why did he use the word power?


    But when you think about it, there wasn¡¯t much of a difference between mana and power. Mana is used to cast magic. And magic is power.


    Just then, footsteps came from the door.


    My Father had an expression of relief the moment he laid eyes on me.


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    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alright, dear daughter.¡±


    He said as I gave him a gentle smile. My mother then sat on the bed.


    Another man came closer, it was the physician.


    ¡°May I check your condition for a moment, your highness?¡±


    He asked me, I immediately nodded my head.


    He checked for the rise of temperature of my body by placing his palm on my forehead, like checking on someone with a fever. He then proceeded to ask me if I was feeling anything weird. Uncomfortable, pain, but I said there was nothing. My body was a bit heavy, that was all.


    He nodded.


    ¡°Everything seems fine. I¡¯m sure you are wondering what happened.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    ¡°Your mana went out of control.¡±


    I could tell that was what happened. My mana that time was just kept going out that time, and it was sure hard to hold it in. Maybe I made a mistake?


    ¡°However, it was not due to the reason of failing to control it. It was because you cannot control it. The amount was too great for you to control safely.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ why?¡±


    ¡°It must be your innate amount of mana. Like any other nobles that naturally have a great amount of mana. But, for yours, the moment there was a way out, your mana burst out.¡±


    What? Like when you untie a balloon and all the air just blows out of it? It seems so.


    ¡°You must have a considerable amount of mana, begging to be released, so the moment when you allowed their exit, they all tried to go out.¡±


    ¡°Did it have to be so painful?¡±


    I said with a frightened expression.


    ¡°Normally, no¡­ You are now familiar with the Mystic Medium, yes?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know of it.¡±


    ¡°The Mystic Medium is the passageway of mana, you could say. However, with that amount of mana going out all at once, your medium is not at the size that could handle that much amount. Therefore, you can imagine the medium stretches as the vast amount of mana passes through it, hence the intense pain you felt.¡±


    ¡°Do I have to go through that every time I control mana?¡±


    I mean, come on, that would be annoying as fuck. I don''t want to have to endure that pain every now and then.


    ¡°You are feeling no pain, so the medium has stabilized for now. However, it is still too early to be complacent and careless. I strongly suggest that you limit your release of mana to the utmost minimum. If you release more than necessary, you might go through that pain again.¡±


    ¡°... I see.¡±


    Aaaah, how annoying.


    ¡°However, with time and practice, your medium will adapt in time. But please be careful, your highness.¡±


    ¡°... I will.¡±


    This only made things more difficult for me. I imagine this will make my progress slower. However, I do remember the basic spells consume a low amount of mana. I am starting from the bottom anyway, so I guess this wasn¡¯t that bad.


    That said, not only will I work in learning to cast spells, but also do something so my Mystic medium would adapt at a normal pace. I may have to exert a subtle amount of mana all the time.


    Training. I¡¯m used to such a thing anyway, so I¡¯m fine about it. Besides, this may improve my control in mana. In time perhaps I can control mana and be more precise, like easily putting a thread through a needle.


    But why do I even have such a great amount of mana that even made Father and brother struggle?


    Am I actually special? Wow.


    Well, having a vast amount of mana wasn¡¯t so bad. I mean, I can be powerful! Who wouldn¡¯t want that?


    Heh, but of course I have to be limited by my Mystic Medium so that sucks. I have to be careful so I won¡¯t die.


    ¡°If it happens again, is there a chance of me¡­ dying?¡±


    Hey, just asking to make sure.


    Of course my question made my family flabbergasted, then instantly followed by scared looks.


    ¡°... There is a chance¡­¡± the physician said with reluctance.


    I resisted the urge to sigh. This really sucks.


    But again, I had to have patience. In time, surely this will bring me great merit. Right¡­?


    ¡°That said, I did hear you managed to reel back your mana. Which was¡­ an amazing feat. So, everything might be better than we initially thought. But of course, we have to act carefully.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±

 Chapter 61: Simple Talk with Mera

    The physician had left the room and it was now only me and my family. I slowly got out of the bed. Estevan held out his hand as though preparing to catch me in case I collapsed or something.


    I gave him a sweet smile.


    ¡°I can stand just fine, brother.¡±


    ¡°Hm. Great!¡±


    I sort of wanted to resume my training. Time is essential after all. That said, I imagine my family would have me rest for a while.


    ¡°Estelia, you should rest for the time being. Do not exert yourself,¡± my mother said.


    ¡°Indeed, you can resume your mana control and magic training tomorrow. But, I suppose we need to be extra careful now that this happened.¡±


    Ah, I think I can guess what he was already planning on doing. What should one do so the same thing wouldn¡¯t happen to me again? And what should be done so I wouldn¡¯t overdo it?


    Simple, have someone watch over me.


    I doubt that my family themselves will be the ones to oversee me. But I think I have an idea who he was about to choose.


    ¡°Yes, father¡­¡±


    I said meekly to him while I combed my hair with my fingers. It was a bit tangled. No way I would let my so beautiful hair be like this.


    ¡°Let¡¯s have lunch together later,¡± my mother said as she grasped my other hand. It seems it was currently around before noon. ¡°But, I suppose you need to tidy up beforehand, I¡¯ll call Mera.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°She has been terribly worried ever since, so this should alleviate her worry.¡±


    My mother said with a smile before making her way out of the room.


    ¡°See you at the dining room, dear sister.¡±


    ¡°My beautiful daughter, I¡¯ll have the kitchen make the most delicious dishes for you.¡±


    I smiled happily at them as I saw them off.


    With the sound of the door closing, I was now alone in the room. However, for some reason, my gaze remained at the door, unconsciously. I cannot explain why.


    The moment I realized it, I instantly pulled my eyes away and returned to sit on the edge of the bed.


    ¡°Haaaah, how bothersome.¡±


    You know, when you feel frustrated, you just want to express it verbally. Venting out your emotions helps a lot. If you must scream or shout, go ahead, it¡¯s good for your mental health, relieves you of negative emotions or some shit like that.


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    But of course, at the moment, I have no need to shout, heh. Letting the frustrations out through my breath was enough.


    Now that I am at rest like this though, I¡¯m not feeling like working. Unlike in my past life, I now have the freedom to choose if I were to do something that I want to do.


    ¡­ But it felt like there was another reason why I feel like not doing anything.


    The moment I was about to sigh, knocks gently rang out from the door.


    It must be Mera.


    ¡°Come in.¡±


    The door opened and entered the maid. Mera¡¯s eyes went wide the moment she laid eyes on me. I smiled at her, causing relief to come to her eyes.


    After closing the door, she walked towards me with a closed hand by her chest.


    ¡°Milady¡­ I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alright.¡±


    ¡°Mera¡­ the other day, I must have hurt you. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    She was surely hit by my mana, no doubt about it. She was nearby after all. I decided to apologize, as befitting the action of Estelia.


    Mera shook her head.


    ¡°You have no need to apologize, milady. Nothing happened to me.¡±


    ¡°... I see¡­ We didn¡¯t get to see each other for a couple of days, huh.¡±


    ¡°Yes, your family wouldn¡¯t allow me to take care of you¡­ It seems they don¡¯t have much trust in me.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­ I¡¯m sure they are just being more careful. You know how they are.¡±


    ¡°... I suppose¡­¡±


    There was a moment of silence between us, I was observing her of course. Her eyes darted around but mostly landing on me. Embarrassment? Wasn¡¯t this how a lot of people tend to act when facing someone they like, admired, or something like that?


    I¡¯m already amused that I held myself back from grinning.


    ¡°Mera, is the bath ready?¡±


    She straightened her posture before speaking.


    ¡°Yes, milady.¡±


    ¡°Splendid. I will have a short bath.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    After that, we went to the bath. I only took a short time since I will be having lunch with my family shortly. Of course I made sure to thoroughly clean my beautiful, perfect and flawless body.


    Good thing that terrible event didn¡¯t damage my body. My snow white skin was still smooth as ever. But of course, it was only expected that my body wouldn¡¯t be damaged. I¡¯m not sure about my insides though, the pain I felt that time felt like it was coming from the inside my body.


    If there were indeed damages within, that would be worrisome. However, I am feeling fine, so they must have immediately used healing magic on me immediately.


    After that, I then went to the bathroom wardrobe and changed my clothes with Mera helping me.


    I then sat on the chair as Mera fixed my hair. Returning my bearing O so fair.


    I felt a positive vibe from Mera which was interesting. She must indeed be glad.


    I hope it¡¯s genuine.


    ¡°Mera, what happened to me after I fainted?¡±


    She stopped for a moment.


    ¡°You were in a terrible state¡­¡± she said as she straightened my hair.


    ¡°How exactly?¡±


    ¡°The out of control mana completely vanished the moment you lost consciousness by your room. But, the damage to your body was already done.¡±


    She paused, as though remembering it made her shudder.


    ¡°Milady bled from the nose, then blood came out of your eyes, like tears.¡±


    Holy shit! Blood came out of my eyes?! So that¡¯s why it was sticky!


    ¡°... That¡¯s¡­ I¡¯m at a loss for words.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t know what to do at first. If the mana was able to cause that much damage to milady, I can only imagine how much pain you must have felt.¡±


    ¡°... I never thought things would end up that way.¡±


    ¡°... Milady, your mana¡­ I think it is much more than¡­ your father¡­¡±


    Really now?


    ¡°You think so?¡±


    ¡°... Yes, I never saw something like this happen to anyone. Of course I never heard it happening to his majesty the King, so I might be mistaken. Although, it may be highly likely that you have a greater amount of mana than his highness, Prince Estevan.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    That was good to hear. The more power I have, the better.


    After tidying me up, I then went straight to the dining room.

 Chapter 62: Oh Really?

    My family greeted me in the dining room. The first moment I arrived though, I felt an, well you could say a not so joyful atmosphere for a moment, even though I have just been restored. There were troubled expressions from their faces only to then turn into smiles when they saw me.


    I pretended I didn¡¯t notice then headed to my usual spot with a bright smile on my face. I wanted to eat some delicious dishes! And father said he would have the chefs cook the best cuisines!


    Can¡¯t wait! Though it might not be exactly  a good diet to eat a lot, but come on! Not everyday I get to eat this many. At least let me get loose.


    Okay¡­ maybe this was what they call stress eating. I really am hungry, I am craving something to eat now that the thought of food came to my mind.


    ¡­ I¡¯m still bothered by the memories I dreamed of. And I¡¯m in distress. That was completely unnecessary. Plus, I have to limit my use of mana. I say bullshit!


    But fuck, I¡¯ll just eat some delicious food. That should alleviate some negative emotions.


    Sadly, I have to wait for a while before they get cooked.


    I turned to look at my family. Ah, not one had initiated a conversation yet. Not that one needs to always converse during pre eating. But of course silence was often unnerving¡­


    Should I initiate a conversation first?


    ¡°So um¡­ was no one definitely hurt that time? In the library?¡±


    I asked timidly while my innocent eyes looked at them.


    My brother was then the one to answer first.


    ¡°Well, getting blown away into the air and into the floor, wasn¡¯t exactly pain free.¡±


    He wryly smiled with a bit of chuckle. I did remember them being blown away because of what I took as a near death. That moment felt so real, like I was actually there. So, I naturally tried to defend myself with instincts.


    Only then to realize everyone around me got blown away.


    I turned stiff and gave everyone an apologetic look.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was¡­ rattled,¡± I visibly swallowed. ¡°... Um, I did see I caused some damages to the library. I am terribly sorry¡­ I¡­ I didn¡¯t mean it.¡±


    I grasped my hands and lowered my head.


    ¡°Hm, repair is underway, dear daughter, you need not to worry,¡± my father said in hopes to give me relief.


    I meekly nodded my head.


    My mother then reached out for my hand.


    ¡°You worry about insignificant things, Estelia. You were the most hurt. I saw your expression of great pain.¡±


    I raised my gaze towards her.


    ¡°... It¡­ it was nothing.¡±


    ¡°How could you say that?¡± she said in an almost reprimanding tone. ¡°You even forced yourself to reel in your mana back, I can only imagine how difficult and painful it would be.¡±


    ¡°... I had no choice.¡±


    Her hold on my hands only tightened. I averted my eyes away.


    ¡°You even refused our help and forced yourself to come to your room.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t want to hurt anyone. It is only natural to keep away from everyone.¡±


    ¡°Estelia, you can¡¯t just let yourself suffer like that. We are family, did you forget?¡± she paused for a while, then her stern voice followed. ¡°Look at me, daughter.¡±


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    I flinched as though in surprise of her tone. I slowly shifted my eyes towards her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ever do that again. We are here for you, do not forget that. We will help you whenever you are in trouble. You have no need to bear the pain alone.¡±


    What was this warmth in my heart? This feeling, I cannot explain it.


    ¡°And¡­ I don¡¯t want to see you hurt. So please, don¡¯t ever do something like that again. Rely on us.¡±


    Rely? On them¡­? Trust them¡­?


    I¡­ I feel like I can trust them¡­ No, didn¡¯t I have always trusted them? All because of Estelia¡¯s memories, I trusted them because they brought no harm to me. However, now, this kind of trust that I seemed to want to form¡­


    ¡°I¡­¡± I struggled with what words I should say. ¡°... I¡¯m sorry I did what I did. And, I understand, mother.¡±


    I faintly smiled at her.


    ¡°Good, Estelia. I¡¯m glad to hear that.¡±


    She raised her hand and stroked my cheeks. Her touch was pleasantly warm.


    ¡°My adorable Estelia, I like you better this way.¡±


    Never did I realize that it was at this moment, my heart opened a little.


    Shortly then after that, our food was then delivered by servants.


    My smile was wide with delight at the precious sight. Today, I will be a glutton. I will devour the hell out of these meat! And of course vegetables. Gotta keep yourselves healthy kids!


    I served myself just the right amount of food. Of course, I ate in a ladylike manner, well, almost that is. My pace was a bit faster than normal. I¡¯m just so hungry! Perhaps two days of being asleep was chewing on me.


    My family weren¡¯t particularly bothered by the way I was acting. They must have understood that I was extremely hungry. Good! No one will be holding me back.


    Now that I have some space in my mind, I really did one hell of a ruckus two days ago. I wondered what the reaction of the infiltrator was. Good thing they didn¡¯t come after me during my vulnerable days.


    The overprotectiveness of my family paid off. In addition, that sure was a close one wasn¡¯t it? My weapons were almost discovered. I wouldn''t know what to do or say once they discovered that.


    I¡¯ll be fucked as fuck.


    Now I¡¯m having double thoughts on whether I should carry weapons when I am practicing. Well, at least while I still have trouble with mana, I think I shouldn¡¯t carry weapons for a while. Just to be on a safer side.


    I just have to combat any opponent hand to hand. I have been exercising this body, you know. That said, maybe I shouldn¡¯t strain my body today. I shall be taking a rest today! No stressful things!


    Maybe I should adore myself in front of the mirror or something. Maybe do something fun? What would I do though? But of course, just remembering there were threats really takes out the mood in me.


    Uuugh.


    Okay, maybe I am a bit rapid right now.


    Want to know more about my time in education? Hah! Don¡¯t wanna think about it. Nor do I even want to get in more or deeper detail.


    Tch. This is stupid.


    I was getting agitated.


    I just had to be reminded of when I have to kill¡­


    Right¡­ we don¡¯t have names. So him, as he never received a name since he died, his number was 213. Subject 213¡­


    I shook the thought off my mind.


    Before I knew it, I was already full. Of course I don¡¯t intend to force myself, so I stopped.


    My family was also finished at the same time.


    I heaved a relaxed sigh.


    ¡°That was great¡­¡±


    Great food indeed.


    ¡°Estelia, I want to ask about something.¡±


    My father said to me.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°...¡± he appeared to be reluctant to speak his mind. ¡°... Estelia, you mentioned you had visions?¡±


    I blinked my eyes a few times before weakly nodding my head.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I see. What was it that you saw?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± I rubbed my thumbs before speaking, to show that I was uneasy. ¡°A¡­ a blade¡­ a dagger perhaps, descended upon me. Striking me.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± it was my brother who exclaimed.


    My mother on the other hand was quietly in shock. Father meanwhile kept his composure.


    ¡°I¡­ couldn¡¯t do anything. It felt so real, like I was actually there.¡±


    I ended it there, as my lips trembled slightly.


    ¡°I see. Was there something else?¡±


    Hm, there was something else. There was no point in hiding it honestly. In addition, there was no downside in telling them.


    ¡°T-There was another¡­ it came first actually¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°... I saw a woman. She¡­ she has the same features as me. White hair, white skin, and red eyes.¡±


    For some reason, when they heard my description of the woman, they all went completely silent. They were frozen in place. Wait¡­ do they know about it?


    I wanted to narrow my eyes with suspicion at them, but instead I asked them.


    ¡°W-What¡¯s wrong? Do you know what that was? Who was that woman?¡±


    It was my father who immediately responded.


    ¡°Nothing, no problem. We were just surprised and confused why you would see visions. And why you would see that woman. Don¡¯t you think maybe that was perhaps how you would look in the future?¡±


    Hm? There could be a chance I would look like that in the future.


    He then continued.


    ¡°Maybe you saw yourself to be like that in future. Or maybe it was a vision of the future, or perhaps a hallucination. There are many possibilities.¡±


    Oh, really now dear father?


    ¡°Father, didn¡¯t I mention, the visions felt real. The senses, smell, touch, I experienced them. Does vision do that?¡±


    ¡°... I do not know. But perhaps. In any case, a vision is a vision, no point in dwelling about it if it leads nowhere.¡±


    He¡¯s not wrong.


    ¡°... But, I suppose everyone has no idea¡­?¡±


    They all responded that they have no idea.


    Is that so?


    I see.

 Chapter 63: Contrasting Life

    ¡°Your highness, I am glad to see you all and well.¡±


    When I left the room, I was greeted by Vernon. The old man bowed deeply with a smile.


    ¡°I will be returning as your guard and servant.¡±


    ¡°Vernon¡­ I apologize for what happened that day.¡±


    ¡°What could you be apologizing for?¡± he appeared to be puzzled.


    ¡°... For the troubles.¡±


    ¡°If you refer to that time in the library, please think nothing of it. On the contrary, I see it as my failure. I failed to save you.¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°I did not expect that I would unleash that much power. Being guilty of something that everyone knew impossible to achieve is the height of absurdity. It is understandable if one couldn¡¯t accomplish something because it is out of their capabilities.¡±


    ¡°If that is the case, your highness. Then you should have no need to apologize since what happened is beyond your control. It is understandable if one couldn¡¯t accomplish something because it is out of their capabilities.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe.¡±


    His words caused a genuine chuckle from me. It was amusing actually.


    ¡°In that case, everything is even.¡±


    ¡°It appears so¡­¡± he straightened his clothes with an amused smile himself. ¡°What are your plans today, your highness?¡±


    I began walking as both Mera and Vernon followed.


    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯m not returning to my magic training for today. I plan to rest and go around for a while.¡±


    Besides, this might be a good time to do some scouting.


    Or because I just want some fresh air.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s for the best,¡± Vernon said.


    ¡°To be honest, I have qualms about continuing today. What¡­ what if it happens again?¡±


    I held out my hand. I wondered if I try now, would the same thing happen again? If it happens again though, maybe I can endure it. I don¡¯t have my weapons anyways, so I¡¯m safe. That said, death was possible.


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    I think I should let my body rest.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your highness. I will be overseeing you closely. At a first sign of it, I apologize but I will be instantly putting you unconscious. I have permission from your father.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s for the best, then it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°... Milady, I pray it doesn¡¯t come to that.¡±


    Mera¡¯s words caused me to smile.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Where do you plan to go, your highness?¡±


    ¡°The garden.¡±


    It was peaceful there. The perfect place to get some fresh air.


    We then arrived at the garden.


    I took in a deep breath. The gentle wind crawling on my skin, the waves of waving colorful flowers dazzled in the beautiful garden landscape. The bright colored wisteria rustled as leaves and petals fluttered and floated in the air.


    The cold and fresh air brought me ease. I beheld the eye pleasing garden of countless flowers under the bright sun. I walked closer and the wonderful fragrance of the flowers came into my nose carried by the air and breeze.


    I tread the paved pathway, this for some reason brought memories to my mind. I remembered what I saw in my dream.


    My mother and brother were here.


    I was a child.


    What a colorful memory.


    I headed towards where that time¡¯s destination was. Shortly then, I saw flowers in uniform. Pink petals. There were a lot of them. Compared to the memory, right now they were bigger and taller. Right now they almost reached my knees.


    Perhaps this was as high as they can get.


    I crouched down beside the flower bed. I inhaled the familiar smell. Yes, familiar. For some reason, Estelia¡¯s memories became clearer.


    Almost as if the entire thing had molded completely into me.


    I reached out and touched the petals, I felt the somewhat rough texture on my fingers. Because of the memories, it almost felt nostalgic. Of course I know this wasn¡¯t my personal memory. I could tell because the emotions were not included.


    These memories were like images of videos embedded in my brain with a bit of magical mixture.


    I am still who I am.


    And I¡¯m thankful that there were no other emotions who invaded my mind that weren''t mine.


    ¡°Vernon, you were here before I was born, weren¡¯t you?¡±


    I asked him as I watched the flowers dance in the wind.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°While I was young, it was pretty peaceful, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°... It was indeed peaceful.¡±


    Yes, very peaceful. No pain, no cries of despair, no loss, no grief, no darkness, no fear.


    And mine was the opposite of those.


    How do you think would I feel when I have both those in my head?


    I¡¯m bitter. Angry.


    How incomparably better the other was compared to mine.


    Irritating.


    How could people have such lives and not me?


    A feeling, a question that has been plaguing me for a very¡­ very long time.


    It¡¯s agonizing.


    I stood up.


    But, I have come here, wasn¡¯t this my second chance?


    A change of life. Freedom. I had those, now I will live that life.


    However, the thought of it only made me angrier. Everything was so peaceful, every memory of Estelia. But why now? Now that I¡¯m here, those who threaten me began to emerge.


    Enemies are possibly nearby, within our ranks. And some may even possibly be just outside the gates.


    They threaten me.


    The thought of having a free, relaxing, carefree life was fading away.


    I turned towards the bench under the shade of wisterias and walked towards it. I sat down and leaned back.


    I took in a deep breath then heaved a long loud sigh.


    How tiring and irritating this may be, I must take up arms and face threats head on.


    I will erase anyone that dares to take my peace and wish away from me.

 Chapter 64: Doing Small Steps

    Don¡¯t you just love it sometimes that you just do nothing but sit amidst the fresh gentle wind. Nothing to bother you at all. Incredible! Just watching everything around you, gazing up at the blue sky and white clouds.


    Really, I¡¯m starting to like this, so peaceful. Was this what introverts felt? The ones that mostly just stay in their rooms. The peace and quiet!


    Daaaamn.


    Yup, now I¡¯m feeling rolling on the bed for now.


    Actually, I have been sitting on this bench in the garden for about an hour now. As for my servants that have been standing all that time? They¡¯re doing fine. They¡¯re used to it anyway.


    The thought of inviting them to sit with me did cross my mind, but I didn¡¯t in the end. I want to have space. I¡¯m being mean? Dunno what you¡¯re talking about.


    I stood up from my seat before facing my servants who were behind me.


    ¡°What a good weather today.¡±


    I said with a smile. Mera and Vernon glanced at each other for a moment, as though they were curious by my remark. Well, I was quietly sitting on the bench then suddenly speaking about the weather. But it was truly a good weather today.


    ¡°Is something bothering you, milady?¡± Mera asked.


    ¡°Nope. Let¡¯s take a walk.¡±


    Better to walk after an hour of sitting down. Promote proper blood flow. Plus, it was a good chance to do some scouting. I was planning to do that anyway.


    Well, I just want to have a walk mostly.


    Followed by my servants, we left the garden. I don¡¯t particularly have a destination in mind. So I was just blindly walking around where my legs take me. Eventually I arrived around the front of the palace by going through the paths by the side of the palace building.


    Around these parts, there were knights guarding the pathway. They upgraded the security it seems, sending knights to guard the perimeter.


    The knights stood attention when I passed by, of course I gave them a proper greeting. As we went on, I began to see a few commoner soldiers going about. Then by a corner, I saw a few gathering.


    I narrowed my eyes as I looked at the center of that small crowd. It was a knight wearing lavish armor, then a spear in his hand.


    ¡°Hahaha! You see! This one was this monster that sent me flying. And trust me, I got blown away hard. Damn that thing was massive. Like a mutated gorilla.¡±


    He appears to be telling stories to those soldiers. Looks of anticipation on their faces as they listened.


    ¡°Really thought I was going to die at that moment when other monsters came charging. Wew, thankfully the other knights helped me. Monsters are nasty stuff I tell you that!¡±


    Interesting, a noble talking with commoners like they were friends. No, it also felt like he was bragging and boasting. But, it was not self centered thought. Only telling stories in his perspective.


    This noble was familiar. He was the one who fought intensely using a spear against someone who wielded two swords.


    You know, I do think there might be infiltrators in the knights, but I think it was at the lowest possible chance. But not zero. A man casually interacting with commoners could be a cover, and in actuality, they were sending information through that common soldier without others of importance realizing.


    Of course there¡¯s a chance that this guy was just pretty friendly. But nobles to commoners, I¡¯m not so certain.


    I read some papers when I was with my brother helping him with his work one time. With those descriptions, I think I know who this was.


    If I¡¯m not mistaken, his name was Rogan Dorien. One of the elites in the knights order.


    He was around in his pretty early twenties. Quite a looker.


    When I approached closer, they stopped their conversation and they all turned towards me. Dumbfounded expressions were all over the common soldiers, no one expected to encounter the beautiful princess.


    Rogan on the other hand was pretty composed and merely grinned as he stood straight.


    Then with his spear on one hand, he genuflected as he placed his other hand on his chest. He bowed his head so deep as though he was showing great reverence towards me. But of course I¡¯m sure this was just for show.


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    ¡°Your highness, it is an honor to bask in your presence.¡±


    He said solemnly with a bit of energy mixed into it. He then turned his head towards the soldiers.


    ¡°What are you doing? Pay your respects to the royal princess.¡±


    His voice lacked any trace of sterness, he was surprisingly¡­ well, kind towards them.


    Following his words, the common soldiers stiffly followed his example.


    It was definitely amusing.


    ¡°You may all rise.¡±


    They all followed my words.


    ¡°You look like you''re having a good time.¡±


    I said with a smile, although the common soldiers seemed a bit uneasy. Well, I suppose it was to be expected since the princess was talking to them.


    How great of a person I am.


    ¡°You could say that, your highness¡­ So, to what do I owe the pleasure?¡± Rogan asked.


    ¡°Oh. Just want to talk with you.¡±


    ¡°With me, huh,¡± he grinned widely. ¡°In that case¡­¡± he turned to look at the common soldiers. ¡°It¡¯s a wrap, people! Story time¡¯s over, so time to fill up your stations!¡±


    I don¡¯t even think it was recommended to leave your stations! Was this incompetence, or negligence? Though I highly doubt it. Perhaps there must also be a lot others stationed around, and likely it was break time for these guys.


    With Rogan¡¯s words, the soldiers dispersed and left our proximity.


    ¡°Is it much better, your highness?¡±


    ¡°Definitely! Though I have no important reason to speak with you, so I¡¯m sorry if I ruin your time with them.¡±


    ¡°Please your highness, no need to be sorry. It was just some casual talk, no importance whatsoever. I always have the time to speak with you.¡±


    ¡°... I-I see¡­ That said, it is intriguing to see someone of your status to casually speak with commoners. You have no qualms with that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±


    This was the first I personally saw a knight, and a noble casually hanging out with a group of common soldiers. He didn¡¯t even have any fellow knights with him.


    ¡°Interesting, may I ask why?¡±


    He still had that wide grin on his face as he answered.


    ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t see the reason why not. They¡¯re people either way. And¡­ titles are but titles. Status are but status. They hold no absolution, they can be stripped and taken away. And, I see no reason why that should stop me from doing what I want. Humans are humans in the end.¡±


    ¡°I can imagine a few think you are, forgive my words, somewhat weird.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe. I have heard it several times, but I¡¯m not bothered by it. A matter that can be simply shrugged.¡±


    ¡°I see you are a good man¡­ What is your name?¡±


    ¡°Rogan Dorein, your highness.¡±


    So I was right.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Sir Rogan.¡±


    ¡°Talking with you is also nice, princess. But, I must ask, are you alright now? I mean walking around.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°I heard something happened to you. Losing control of your mana.¡±


    ¡°You have heard of it, huh¡­¡±


    ¡°Knights were present that time, so it reached everyone.¡±


    Quite the gossipers there were.


    ¡°I see. Well, I¡¯m fine for now. But I shouldn¡¯t strain myself yet.¡±


    ¡°I understand. Another I also worry about your highness is your safety.¡±


    What was with this guy? Talking about that stuff all of a sudden. And quite sensitive questions at that. Perhaps he was just carrying out his duty.


    ¡°What is it about my safety?¡±


    ¡°Knights have been dispatched all around the palace to guard. We are ordered to be alert and vigilant. And thus, here I am now. I guessed it must have something to do with the safety of the royal family.¡±


    Quite a close guess.


    ¡°So I¡¯m concerned that you don¡¯t seem to have a guard. A knight as one to be precise.¡±


    I giggled.


    ¡°Your concern is appreciated, Sir Rogan. But, I''m fine.¡±


    ¡°... You must be guarded then. In that case¡­¡± he looked at Mera first for a moment before turning to Vernon. ¡°Ah yes¡­ Now that I had a closer look, you are one of the king¡¯s close servants.¡±


    I suppose it was only to be expected he recognized Vernon.


    ¡°Greetings, sir Knight,¡± Vernon said like a gentle old man.


    ¡°Greetings. You must be strong.¡±


    ¡°Oh? May I ask why you think so?¡±


    ¡°I just guessed it. No way they would leave someone weak to guard the princess.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? But I should correct you, I am only an aging old man.¡±


    Yeah, Vernon is only an old man. Have him carry a big box and he would instant break his back.


    ¡°Really? Then could it be the miss maid right there? Looks can be deceiving after all.¡±


    ¡°Ahem!¡±


    I cleared my throat loudly to get everyone¡¯s attention. This Rogan was getting too observant for my taste. Unnecessarily observant.


    ¡°Thinking about trivial things only confuses and tires the mind, so let¡¯s stop it right there. Say, have you been told what you should be guarding against?¡±


    ¡°Nothing specific. Just be on guard for anything suspicious.¡±


    ¡°I see... Where do you think enemies can strike, Sir Rogan?¡±


    He furrowed his brows the moment he heard my question. It was quite sudden after all.


    ¡°Um, the front, the back, the sides. Anywhere actually.¡±


    ¡°Then in what direction can enemies mostly come from?¡±


    ¡°Mostly at the front?¡±


    ¡°And where could the strike be most fatal, one you mostly never expect?¡±


    ¡°Princess¡­ being attacked from behind sure would be the worst. You mostly don¡¯t see it coming.¡±


    ¡°Then, a strike from behind can be the most dangerous.¡±


    ¡°... I¡¯m confused. Why do you ask those questions?¡±


    ¡°Enemies can strike at any direction, and can attack at their own discretion. But, I suggest you focus your attention more on where it is most dangerous, where you would mostly lower your guard.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ I have had my suspicions since the security is tighter inside the palace...¡±


    Of course, anyone that has a brain would have suspicions on where the problem could lie. Security was greater inside, and lower outside, even though the outside must also be intensely guarded. Then this could mean the enemy lies inside.


    ¡°Now that you have mentioned it, your highness. Then does this mean ¡ª¡±


    ¡°You interpret it the way you like. But, do not lower your guard.¡±


    Now why would I imply as such to this knight? Well, if he was a traitor, he could decide not to share our main conversation here in hopes to lower the alert level of the knights and could tread a bit safer. But even if he still decided to share it, despite being a traitor, the other knights would still become more guarded, having it to be clearer that the enemies could be among them. Then prompting the traitor to act more carefully, but would also become tensed due to the pressure, and being pressured and threatened as an infiltrator is incredibly unpleasant.


    Then, even the small changes I get to notice will become my basis.


    Of course, if he was not a traitor, he was still likely to tell it to the others since it was a pretty crucial thing. If he doesn¡¯t, then he¡¯s stupid. There is no cure for stupidity, I¡¯m afraid.


    All in all, I¡¯m just doing small steps.


    ¡°Remember, sir knight. Nothing hurts more than being backstabbed.¡±

 Chapter 65: Song in the Night

    There was nothing else to do. I did go around the palace grounds, but nothing happened yet. And oh, I didn¡¯t talk for long with that knight named Rogan. Also, it seems that most of the knights were not present on their training grounds. Only having very few of them.


    Also, the young man, what was his name again? Oh sorry, maybe he was just too insignificant for me to remember.


    I¡¯m joking. I¡¯m not the kind to just forget about someone¡¯s name. His name was Alan, right? Not really a memorable chap, but could have been amusing to play with him around.


    In addition, I also didn¡¯t get to see Elson. Might have been interesting if he was there. I felt a bit of kinship with him, you know, he also uses a dagger. He was just someone who favors the same weapons as I do, that was all. That said, I¡¯m interested in how he applies his magic in his blades.


    Would have been great to learn how he does it. I mean, he must be using them against monsters, and I can imagine how strong monsters are. If he uses them against monsters, imagine if they were used on plain humans.


    Obliteration! That¡¯s what!


    Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t get to interview him. Oh well, just got to wait until I get to use magic and can control mana safely.


    After a short stroll in the palace, I retired to my room. I went to bed for a short shut eye. It took a while for me to fall asleep, but before that, rolling around on the bed was great.


    I felt like a child finally freed from her chores, of course that was just my imaginative impression. My childhood was different from the normal, and so was my chores. If stabbing and beating was a chore that is, so yeah, those were my kind of chores.


    The pillow was so soft, I dug my head deep and hugged another pillow.


    This is life!


    And before I knew it, I fell asleep. Quite a pleasant one at that. Sleeping¡¯s the best.


    I was woken up by knocks on the door, it was already dark outside. It was time for dinner. After a stretch, I went out of the room and went for dinner.


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    My family and I conversed with some trivial things with them asking for how I was feeling. Everything was much better actually, after the sleeping. I felt refreshed.


    But I worry that I might not be able to sleep early tonight. I mean, I just slept during the day until dinner. But I guess that¡¯s fine. Nights are often the best.


    I returned immediately to my room after dinner. There was nothing else to do anyway. Of course, it was time for goodnights, so my servants returned to their rooms. That said, there were knights now stationed on the hallways.


    Everything seemed so tight now.


    In my room, I reached out underneath the bed and took out the special dagger.


    ¡°Aaah, my beauty.¡±


    I quietly said as I touched the blade. Without my weapons, I feel naked.


    Should I bring my weapons tomorrow? Danger lingers around me. And having a weapon would be comforting. However, with the risks of controlling mana, bringing my weapons would only cause me more problems.


    I could pass out again.


    So that means, no weapons for me! Ugh, fists and kicks it is then.


    I played around with the dagger, flipping it around, slashing the air and so on. It felt good.


    When can I stabby stab or slashy slash someone? Not yet? That¡¯s too bad.


    I traced the blade with my finger. The sensation of the cold hard metal spread around my fingers. The sharpness of the blade begged me to use it.


    Sorry my precious, but you¡¯ll be resting for a while. Perhaps for a long while.


    I returned the dagger to the bag and shoved the bag bug under the bed.


    I then laid down on the bed and closed my eyes for a few minutes. However...


    ¡°I can¡¯t sleep.¡±


    I stood up and headed towards the window and fully opened it wide. The gentle and beautiful bluish moonlight showered me with its grace. The countless stars glimmering in the sky like jewels. The cold air touching my skin.


    A serene night.


    But it was not such a good day, wasn¡¯t it?


    Memories of my past. And memories of the past that wasn¡¯t mine.


    ¡°Haaaaah.¡±


    I sighed loudly. Then¡­ I took a long deep breath as a short feeling of peace came into me.


    I slowly opened my mouth.


    ¡°~Moon river, wider than a mile¡­~¡±


    I sang. My beautiful voice peacefully echoed towards the outside and blended with the darkness.


    ¡°~I''m crossing you in style... some day.~¡±


    I sat on the windowsill and turned to gaze outside. My calm crimson eyes beholden the silent and beautiful night, the tranquil stars and the moon shining in the heavens.


    ¡°~Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker¡­~¡±


    ¡°~Wherever you''re goin'', I''m goin'' your way.~¡±


    This was quite a beautiful song. One of the best. It became one of my favorites when I first heard it.


    ¡°~Two drifters, off to see the world.~¡±


    Singing often brings me peace. That was why I was doing it now. I do not care if someone hears, I just want to sing.


    ¡°~There''s such a lot of world to see¡­~¡±


    ¡°~We''re after... the same... rainbow''s end.~¡±


    ¡°~Waitin'' ''round the bend...~¡±


    ¡°~My huckleberry friend.~¡±


    ¡°~Moon river... and me.~¡±


    My voice, so wonderful and pleasing to the ears, and the beautiful song, travelled in the air until it was lost in the distance.

 Chapter 66: An Angelic Voice

    There was a beautiful maiden awoken from her beautiful slumber. Her platinum white hair falling straight down was more beautiful than any jewel glimmering amidst the gentle illumination from the morning light, her crimson eyes so captivating were as gorgeous as the full moon shining in the night, and her beauty was unmatched by any other, nor by the view of the sunset by the shores, nor by the ever flowing river in spring. A peerless existence.


    Who could this beautiful girl be?


    That¡¯s right! It¡¯s me! Estelia!


    Quite an introduction, don¡¯t you say?  Well, just trying to keep the mood bright and positive!


    Okay, for what reason was I beaming with energy? Well, surprisingly, despite sleeping during the day yesterday, I still had one hell of a good sleep in the night.


    I couldn¡¯t be more refreshed.


    At the moment, I was on my way to breakfast along with my usual pair of servants when Mera spoke out of the blue.


    ¡°Milady, last night¡­ There was singing.¡±


    I flinched a little. Hm. It seems I got carried away. No, I definitely got carried away! I know! I know! But do I have to see this as a big issue?! No harm doing it. No harm at all! Plus, I like doing that.


    And there are just some times that you just don¡¯t care about anything else except what you want. And that was one of those times.


    I tried not to look back at her.


    Vernon meanwhile nodded his head.


    ¡°I did hear a girl¡­ singing while I was on my patrol.¡±


    I can feel their gazes piercing through me. Yup, of course they have an idea who that was. Ultimately, Mera was just nearby my room, so she definitely heard it on the quiet night.


    I¡¯ll just keep acting ignorant for a moment.


    ¡°I was surprised to hear such a wonderful voice,¡± Mera said with awe.


    I stole a glance at her from the corner of my eyes.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t hear it much, but, yes, it was good.¡±


    Vernon then added.


    Now now, how kind of them to compliment the someone in question.


    ¡°Milady, I didn¡¯t know you could sing that wonderfully.¡±


    I smiled wryly. She just went straight for the head.


    ¡°Ha-ha-ha¡­¡± I acted bashful as I glanced at my two servants. ¡°You heard that, huh. I¡¯m sorry I disturbed everyone.¡±


    ¡°Milady! You did not inconvenience anyone at all. My fellow maids were dumbstruck by your voice, echoing in the silent and peaceful night.¡±


    She said so with a bright smile as both her hands were on one side of her cheeks.


    ¡°And that song, such a marvelous song, truly tugged someone¡¯s heartstrings.¡±


    ¡°T-Thank you¡­¡±


    ¡°Your highness, I never expected you to possess such talent. We never even had a hint of it.¡±


    Vernon was visibly surprised. Yeah, how surprising I have talent. I thought I never had one¡­ hehe¡­ hmmm.


    ¡°Well, I have been keeping it. It¡¯s embarrassing to show to anyone.¡±


    ¡°And, you sang a song¡­ with lyrics¡­¡±


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    ¡°Milady, where did you hear that song? I never heard of it even once.¡±


    ¡°I am too. As her highness mostly never goes outside, she might have learned it somewhere in the palace. But I cannot recall someone else singing it.¡±


    ¡°Could it be that milady came up with it?¡±


    ¡°Wah,¡± Vernon let out a breath of amazement. ¡°This is surprising¡­¡±


    Come on, don¡¯t think too much about it! I know this is to be expected, but still¡­


    And, I did not come up with it at all. What should I do? I can¡¯t just say: yeah I made it up.


    Well, there is no legal system that would sue me, hehehe, not that such a thing would be an issue in the old world for me, sue me all you want. In addition, no one would recognize that song here. So I guess it¡¯s fine.


    But that will make me feel bad!


    Hey, even I respect their respective owners. Most definitely in music.


    ¡°Mmm.¡±


    So, I just shrugged my shoulders with that mumble. I neither denied nor confirmed it.


    ¡°I wonder if your parents heard it, seems unlikely¡­¡± Vernon quietly said.


    My voice was not that loud that I seemed to be shouting. In addition, my family¡¯s rooms were not adjacent to mine, so I doubt they heard me. Wait, where was Vernon patrolling when he heard my voice?


    Eh ¡ª whatever no need to press the matter. If I ask, he¡¯ll just ask for more questions.


    Because of this, I slightly quicken my pace.


    I arrived at the dining table and managed to eat peacefully. Until, amidst the leisurely consumption of delicious cuisine, my father spoke.


    ¡°Oh yeah, some knights heard a singing at the side of your room, Estelia.¡±


    I froze in place. I kept my eyes at the food that was about to enter my mouth. It was at this moment that I knew, there was no escaping.


    ¡°Oh? Singing?¡± Estevan chimed in with interest. ¡°Good or bad type of singing?¡±


    ¡°They say it was angelic.¡±


    I¡¯m flattered.


    ¡°Actually, some of the knights recognize that voice, and you know whose voice they think it was, Estevan?¡±


    ¡°... Who?¡±


    My father¡¯s eyes then moved towards me, obviously indicating that it was my voice. I looked away with pursed lips.


    ¡°Hm? Hm? E-Estel?¡± My brother sounded shocked because of the revelation.


    I ignored him and ate a spoonful of the food. Ah, what a fine meal.


    ¡°Estelia, daughter dear,¡± my mother called out to me from my side, she sounded amused. ¡°Don¡¯t hide or deny it.¡±


    ¡°....¡±


    Aaaah. Perhaps you are wondering why I was avoiding it when the fact that singing was not a bad thing. Well the issue was, well, they definitely will think I made that song. I can¡¯t even lie that I heard it.


    Oh? What about I say I heard it from the outside? You know, during my outing¡­ No! Who would believe that obvious lie of a scenario. No one sings that kind of song in a rowdy and crowded street.


    But still¡­ there might be a chance¡­?


    ¡°Y-Yes, that was¡­ me.¡±


    They all gasped in surprise.


    ¡°You made the song you sang? I mean, you won¡¯t get much of a chance to hear and memorise a song. Your lessons also only teach an instrument¡­¡± my father asked.


    ¡°... Um¡­¡± I acted all embarrassed. ¡°What if I say I heard it from the outside?¡±


    ¡°Impossible,¡± my father flatly said. ¡°The knights said they never heard that song. So it¡¯s unlikely it¡¯s from the outside. And, there is no way you could memorise it while you went out.¡±


    ¡°And, if it¡¯s from bards, one could hardly memorise a song and sing it fluently from such a short time of watching,¡± Mother said.


    ¡°And there were no bards at that time at all. I ran around searching for you, remember? If there were, they would be in that plaza since crowds gather there,¡± my brother just had to add that.


    I¡¯m cornered. No escape. How could have I been pushed this far back and unable to counterattack? Haaah, I¡¯ll just say nothing, to confirm nothing.


    I just turned my head away from them, my cheeks flushed red.


    ¡°You made it didn¡¯t you, dear sister?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to hide it, dear daughter.¡±


    ¡°Estelia, no need to be embarrassed. My cute baby actually hid a talent?¡±


    Say nothing, confirm nothing.


    ¡°What a waste I couldn¡¯t get to hear it¡­ Should I hang around your room every night, Estel?¡±


    ¡°Definitely not, brother¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡±


    And so my breakfast went by with a bunch of teasing from my family all the while. They even asked me to perform live during dinner. Of course I refused.


    Although, I don¡¯t mind performing.


    But let¡¯s calm them down for a while. No time to perform yet. Plus, I¡¯m not comfortable singing in public without an instrument. For me, I just feel a song is incomplete without an instrument. And I have yet to learn much of that 12 stringed instrument in my room.


    Maybe next time.


    Yes, I told them next time.


    After that, I went to one of the large rooms used during my lectures. Well, the library was still in repair, so we couldn¡¯t practice there yet. Vernon was the one to bring the book then placed it on the table in the center of the room.


    ¡°Your highness, I will be closely watching you in your training to not repeat what happened a few days ago.¡±


    ¡°That is a relief. But, would you be able to stop it in time? I mean, that time it instantly went out of control.¡±


    ¡°It will be fine if I act in an instant. That is why I will be closely watching. With that said, I will also be able to help you just a little bit in your spellcasting now that you are able to control your mana, am I correct?¡±


    ¡°I think I can. I¡¯m just a bit wary though so I never tried it yesterday.¡±


    ¡°It will be fine. Just release it carefully and do it in a minimal amount. At the first sign of going out of control, forgive me but I will be knocking you unconscious, your highness. I have also received permission from the King.¡±


    Huh, it must be hard to have to knock out a princess with your own hand. Hey, I know you¡¯ll manage.


    ¡°That is fine. Then, let¡¯s begin.¡±

 Chapter 67: Palm Shield

    I looked at the opened book and scanned the first spell. It was the ¡°Palm Shield¡±, it was mentioned to be the easiest and least demanding, that was why beginners mostly learned this first. In addition, defending yourself was important.


    But of course, a beginner¡¯s Palm Shield spell would be weaker than those who were already experienced. One would need to provide the spell a decent amount of mana to enhance it, in addition, stabilization would also be needed. Meaning, you have to keep the mana stable in forming the spell.


    I just have to imagine, visualize it, shape the mana, in order to cast this spell. Judging by my mana that went out of control, I should have a great amount of mana. So I imagine if I gave it my all, my shield would be harder than what was normally casted.


    That said, I will need to be more careful. And, how regrettable this may be, I have to hold back. I still have that issue with my Mystic Medium. I have no weapons so I will be safe when I pass out. But I don¡¯t want to experience that again.


    Feeling the pain was¡­ bearable. However, I would prefer not to feel that intense pain again. Ultimately, I don¡¯t want to risk my life over something like that.


    ¡°You highness, I suggest that you try and exert mana. See how well it would go.¡±


    Vernon said as he stood beside me. Yeah, I was planning to do that. I need to know my limits. Not knowing would be the height of carelessness.


    ¡°... Let¡¯s see.¡±


    I held out my palm. I recalled the familiar feeling I felt that time when I first controlled my mana.


    I released a feeble amount and slowly let it flow out. A faint force of pressure emanated on my palm that no eyes can see.


    ¡°This is feeble, do you think I can cast a spell with this?¡±


    Just imagine the amount of mana in my palm was equivalent to one small cup of water, filled past halfway. Yes, that small. I only did this amount since it felt more comfortable.


    ¡°Yes you can, but can you try to increase it?¡±


    I tried to increase the amount of mana. However, as I did so, I felt a small amount of pain, like being pricked by a thorn, but within me. Then, the first moment I felt a burst coming out, I closed the lid in an instant, prompting the mana in my hand to disappear entirely.


    Vernon noticed it and looked at me with concern. I smiled at him a little to tell that everything was fine.


    ¡°I felt a little uncomfortable so I stopped before everything became worse.¡±


    ¡°I see. So that amount of mana is all you can do. That¡¯s fine, in time, it will go for the better.¡±


    ¡°I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Then, I shall be overseeing you. But bear in mind that I won¡¯t be teaching you a lot of things since I am no mage. But I can help you in casting Palm Shield.¡±


    Great! Having an instructor was much better than not having one. Maybe the reason my father chose Vernon not only because he was trustworthy and strong, but also so that he can guide me.


    ¡°Excellent! Please demonstrate it for me.¡±


    With a nod, he held out his hand. Next moment, a half circle transparent barrier appeared in thin air from his palm around the size of his torso.


    ¡°Interesting,¡± there was something I noticed. ¡°Your barrier is of different color from the knights.¡±


    ¡°The knights have translucent barriers which lack a conspicuous color.¡±


    I nodded. It was almost transparent. But I can still see a barrier since they were shining. But what Vernon formed was a conspicuous bronze barrier.


    ¡°The knights made their barriers transparent so they could easily see their enemy from the other side. Obstruction from view is inadvisable.¡±


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    ¡°Wait, so, you can freely choose what color you want?¡±


    Vernon smiled as though he found my idiocy amusing.


    ¡°Princess, you shape the spell don¡¯t you? It¡¯s given that it is up to you how you would shape them.¡±


    I pouted. Well, I thought spells were of determined style, something like that. You know, like they have determined form. You could say a standard. An unchangeable uniform. Okay, maybe I haven¡¯t given much thought about the deeper rules of magic.


    Maybe because this kind of thing was just mostly cosmetics that I haven¡¯t given this part much thought. I just thought of the function, that¡¯s all. But no harm done, yes?


    ¡°Alright, I understand. But if it is advisable to not obstruct your view, why is your barrier literally in the color of bronze?¡±


    I sweetly smiled. He narrowed his eyes before grinning himself.


    ¡°I can increase the transparency, your highness. I only made it to have more color than usual so you could see and tell.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? But that would still have a tint of color if your default is more transparent than that, still an obstruction.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    This warm and short cold battle was mine to triumph.


    ¡°... Having a color is warmer, it¡¯s boring to have a plain color,¡± he admitted.


    I smiled wider.


    ¡°So the way things look is important for you after all, Vernon.¡±


    ¡°I like things that are pleasing to the eyes.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    I thought Vernon was more on functionality rather than appearances. But I guess not.


    I glanced at the poor Mera who has been out of the conversation since the beginning. She wryly smiled so I greeted her back with a fond smile of my own.


    I understood the feeling of being left out from a conversation. Hang in there.


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s start the practice.¡±


    I followed the instructions from the book. I extend my hand forward. Released a bit of mana. Expand it and slowly give it form. It was difficult to control it when it''s outside my body compared to inside.


    I visualized and imagined the shape of the barrier. Like weaving clothes. Like slowly putting together pieces to its proper form akin to a puzzle.


    Now then what color should I choose?


    A small translucent barrier slowly formed on my palm in the color of crimson. My concentration level was high just to make this, and I was struggling to keep its form. However, I grinned when I saw it on my palm.


    ¡°I did it!¡±


    However after I said that, the already small barrier broke apart like a piece of glass.


    ¡°Ah!¡± such sound escaped from my delicate lips.


    ¡°Good start, your highness.¡±


    ¡°Why did it break?¡±


    ¡°The distribution of mana was lower than it needed to maintain itself.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that consume more mana than necessary when my goal is only to maintain it?¡±


    ¡°If you distribute enough mana to the spell, it creates some sort of link to each other. Once the link is stable, only then can you minimize the mana required to maintain it. If it does, it is so miniscule that there is no trouble at all to your mana.¡±


    In the end, mana was still required to maintain it. But at least it would be minimized to the point that you won¡¯t be able to tell.


    Stabilization seems to be one of the important things to learn in magic. I suppose that was also how it works in technology made by science, being stable. Like a computer, requiring a stable flow of electricity. Or a stable internet connection so you can easily connect with no problem¡­ Come on, even I use the internet.


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll do it again.¡±


    I did it again, and the red feeble barrier formed on my palm. But this time, I gave it a bit more mana than before. Then I felt a bit of comfort to the casting, then I slowly decreased the amount of mana I exert before it now felt it stopped.


    The barrier was slightly larger than the previous one which was good. And feeling it closely, I can imagine that maintaining this barrier like this is like only letting go a tiny trickle of water. And I mean really tiny.


    After several seconds, I nodded in satisfaction that it did not break on its own.


    ¡°Splendid work, me!¡± I giggled.


    Then Vernon extended his index finger and went towards my feeble barrier. He then tapped the point of his finger to my barrier.


    He didn¡¯t use much strength, it really looked like a casual tap. But my barrier shattered into pieces and also broke my heart.


    I gasped.


    Hey! Don¡¯t destroy my hard work now. My precious shield!


    I pouted as I looked at Vernon.


    ¡°How mean Vernon!¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, it¡¯s weak. Please slowly increase the amount of mana you give to the spell. And it will certainly help the restoration and adaptation of your Mystic Medium.¡±


    Tch. This old man¡­ really¡­ why did he have to ruin my precious shield¡­


    ¡°F-Fine. But don¡¯t do that again!¡±


    ¡°No promises.¡±


    ¡°Hmph.¡±


    I then went on to practice again.


    As I did so, Vernon approached Mera.


    ¡°Mera, as you are the personal maid of her highness, I suggest you also begin practicing spells.¡±


    Mera looked surprised.


    ¡°Me¡­? But¡­¡±


    ¡°As a maid, you ought to protect the princess from harm. How are you to protect her if you cannot even cast simple spells? At least please learn the simplest spells.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    I stopped my work and turned to Mera.


    ¡°That¡¯s perfect Mera! Let¡¯s practice together!¡±


    I approached her and grasped both her hands, a smile brightly radiating on my face.


    ¡°W-What? With ¡ª now?¡±


    I nodded my head.


    ¡°Sure! No harm in it, right?¡± I looked at Vernon. He nodded his head in agreement. ¡°See?¡±


    Mera seemed to hesitate, but the next moment, she nodded her head.


    ¡°... Okay.¡±


    And so, we practiced together like best friends. Heh, I have been observing her while we practiced.


    Seeing how pretty inexperienced she was, I was starting to be convinced that she might not be a traitor after all.


    However, the day for Mera¡¯s judgment was nigh. I only need to find the time.

 Chapter 68: Sneaky Peeking

    It was somewhat tiring, the training I mean. I have lost count how many times I tried and tried. Vernon was ruthless, he was the type of guy that would indifferently destroy your wildest dream in front of your eyes. Seriously, when I finally get to create a barrier, he would shatter it before my eyes.


    It¡¯s like killing your loved one in front of you, you know. Or your child being abused in front of you. Though I don¡¯t know how that exactly feels, and I have no intention of knowing, anyways you get the idea!


    However, Vernon was not as bad as the instructors back in the old days, so this was fine. Of course with every failure, you improve. And it should be said, my shield got stronger! Hah! Praise me my dear subjects, for your princess has reached a greater height!


    But seriously, it got stronger, Vernon punched it and it didn¡¯t break, nice, huh? A downside though, it was still at a pretty small size, so yeah. And, Vernon mentioned he didn¡¯t give his all in the punch. And he was talking about his raw strength!


    It was only this way because I have to hold back due to my mystic medium, this sucks. Progress was incredibly restrained. Mera had also surpassed me, tch.


    But nothing can be done, just let me complain, it¡¯s good for your mental health. Let out the grievances out of your mouth if needed. But of course I can¡¯t complain out loud, and besides, I¡¯m already used to it.


    Now it was almost late in the afternoon. I asked Vernon to end the training earlier than it should be.


    ¡°May I ask why?¡±


    It appears he was thinking that I was already trying to escape from my studies. Oh, old man, that¡¯s not it at all.


    ¡°To the kitchen,¡± I said with a smile.


    Vernon furrowed his brows.


    ¡°The kitchen? Why? If you are hungry, you can just request for food, although I doubt that since you had lunch earlier.¡±


    Yes, I did have lunch, with my mother mind you.


    ¡°Perhaps milady became hungry because of the training?¡±


    ¡°Your highness, please keep the amount of food you eat in mind.¡±


    It was my turn to frown.


    ¡°You¡¯re both wrong,¡± I waved my hand. ¡°I¡¯m just going to make friends.¡±


    ¡°Friends?¡±


    ¡°In the kitchen...?¡±


    Vernon and Mera looked both confused, and about different things it seems.


    ¡°Is making friends bad?¡± I asked with an expression of cluelessness.


    ¡°Um, no,¡± Mera was the one to speak first.


    Vernon on the other hand only stared at me as though he was pondering something.


    Then¡­


    ¡°Your highness, I do not see the reason for doing this. You never did something of this nature in the past, and now, you intend to. I wonder, what changed?¡±


    Tch, I know I am doing something that makes me slowly stray away from the true Estelia. However, sometimes, you just have to do what you have to do. And, I cannot drag this on.


    ¡°What changed you say? Nothing, or perhaps, there is little,¡± I said with a cheerful tone. ¡°However, often, even the most idle have to act. Why do I think I am acting now? Apparently I seemed to have changed? Humans are forced to act when it is necessary. And why do you think I have to act?¡±


    ¡°Because it is necessary?¡±


    ¡°Exactly! It is necessary to act so I can have friends! It¡¯s lonely sometimes, I¡¯ll have you know.¡±


    Vernon blinked his eyes, taken aback by my words.


    ¡°Sir Vernon, I think we should allow milady to do what she wants. No harm in making friends, right?¡±


    Good! Mera¡¯s supporting me.


    ¡°I suppose, but¡­ why the kitchen though? There are none but commoners there, a royal princess befriending them¡­¡±


    ¡°Commoners they may be, they are still humans, just like us,¡± I said with a wise smile. ¡°They can laugh, speak, cry, smile, on the universal level, we are all the same. So, no reason not to befriend someone, especially if they are kind people.¡±


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    Ah yes, the naive princess.


    ¡°Your highness, I¡¯m in awe.¡±


    Hey, what¡¯s with a broad grin and wide eyes old man?


    ¡°You are truly a kind person.¡±


    Hm yes, Vernon is of commoner origin... so.


    ¡°I give you my utmost respect.¡±


    He bowed his head.


    ¡°However, please know that not all people are kind.¡±


    ¡°... Surely there¡¯s no one here that bad¡­ or evil.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, but in the outside world, there are definitely people like that.¡±


    I stared at him, as though unsure how to take in his words.


    ¡°...Alright, I understand. I take it you agree that we stop our magical training at this time?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Excellent!¡±


    And so with that, I headed towards the kitchen! I would have preferred not to have any guards, but I guess they wouldn¡¯t allow that. Guess I¡¯ll have some restraints in my actions then, been like that for a while anyway.


    To be honest, this is getting a bit tiring. I fear the day I might just have enough and let loose! Acting isn¡¯t easy ¡ª well, a bit easy, what makes it hard is doing it constantly for a long time, and that¡¯s gonna be tiring as fuck. Even I have my limits.


    Whatever, just have to bear it with. That being said, it¡¯s close to impossible that I would break. Even I would gradually adjust. So maybe no worries there.


    We came down to the first floor and walked towards the kitchen. I was about to turn towards the corridor leading to the kitchen, as I always looked at where I was going, especially turning corners, I immediately saw my target.


    Allie Jelimis. However, before anything else, I stopped before I left the cover of the wall. It was not yet time for the cooks¡¯ out, so it was interesting to see her leave the room then closing the door. But that was not the most interesting part.


    This part I have luck in play I guess, she was looking towards the opposite direction of where I was. I was planning to observe this behavior of her¡¯s, then I saw something interesting. She was looking intently at the hallway, like she was surveying.


    Then while I was peeking from the wall, she turned towards my direction, I immediately backed away from peeking. I signalled my servants with my hand to stop them.


    ¡°Mil¡ª¡±


    ¡°Sssh.¡±


    I placed a finger on my lips.


    There were no maids here it seems, they must have only finished in this area. So it was only us in the hallway. Allie was surely still looking this way, so let¡¯s wait.


    I ignored the confused look my two servants were giving me. After several seconds, I carefully sneaked a peek.


    Then I saw the girl walking towards the opposite direction. She turned her head, so I retreated just to be safe.


    Hm, she seems to be on a look out.


    What could she be on guard for?


    I peeked again, and saw her turn to the right. I instantly began to follow. My strides were quiet and a bit quick.


    ¡°Your highness, what could you be doing?¡±


    ¡°Oh nothing. And, please keep quiet. Silence your steps and lower your voice. At best, don¡¯t speak at all.¡±


    They appeared to be utterly confused. Then we passed by the closed door of the kitchen.


    ¡°Milady, the kitchen¡­¡± Mera quietly said to me.


    ¡°Not the destination anymore.¡±


    ¡°What do you me¡ª¡±


    ¡°Sssh.¡±


    I stopped to take a peek into the hallway first. I saw her turn left. Then I followed. I hope my silent steps were worth it since I was not following someone alone, but Vernon was doing a good job to quiet his footsteps. Mera on the other hand, I¡¯ll give her a not bad rating. We¡¯re distant from the target, so we¡¯ll be safe.


    Then I saw the girl turn right. When I reached the corner, I stopped in my tracks. Beyond was a dead end, but it had a door though.


    ¡°This leads to the storage. Unused items are stored here,¡± Vernon quietly said.


    The girl, Allie, was not alone anymore, with her now was¡­ a familiar man.


    ¡°Oryn¡­¡± I quietly muttered.


    ¡°Oryn? Your highness, you mean¡­¡±


    Vernon also carefully took a peek.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s something. They seemed to be discussing something.¡±


    Indeed, they were talking, quietly, almost like a whisper. Each of them had their backs on the walls, so the direction of their eyes were not looking in our direction. But this talk of theirs, if they are too quiet, perhaps unnecessarily so, then this talk must be a secret.


    They could have used the storage room, but it must be locked. And as this was basically a trash dump, you could say, not many came here, perhaps especially at this hour. Unfortunately, however, I couldn¡¯t hear them.


    Lip reading? It was dim here, and the distance with their barely moving lips due to them whispering, more than that, they were speaking at a normal speed of speech, it will be difficult. And, well, lip reading was not really accurate since lip movements tend to have similarities to other words spoken.


    But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m still doing my best. Don¡¯t underestimate me.


    ¡°What? What is going on?¡± Mera whispered.


    Curiosity seemed to strike her and she also took a peek.


    Ah yes, three people sneaking glances from the side of a wall.


    ¡°What could they be doing here¡­?¡± Mera quietly asked.


    I picked up a few words, but nothing to be certain of. But given context, I think I caught the words ¡°princess¡±, ¡°busy¡±, ¡°moving forward¡±, from Allie, Oryn, then Allie again.


    They even mentioned me.


    I want to chuckle. This just raised the bar of their traitorous meter.


    Just then, Oryn took a hold of both Allie¡¯s hands. I raised an eyebrow. I caught the word, ¡°alright¡± or maybe it was meant to be ¡°it¡¯s going to alright¡±, then the word ¡°wait¡±.


    Okay, suspicious words depending on the context, however¡­ it should be said, they looked pretty intimate...


    ¡°C-Could they be?¡± Mera was apparently surprised herself.


    She covered her mouth as she gawked at them¡­ well, we as well, the gawking part.


    ¡°It appears so¡­¡± Vernon said.


    Indeed, it gives that kind of impression, huh. But it should be mentioned, looking intently at Allie¡¯s body language, she seemed anxious, apprehensive.


    Hm¡­


    ¡°I never imagined that they would be in this kind of relationship,¡± Mera continued to muse.


    Indeed. Setting aside the gap of ages, a cook and an assistant of a prince? What an¡­ interesting turn of event.


    What, do you think I would fall for such things like: Oh, they¡¯re just lovers hiding their relationship, or something like that! Not enough to prove that! I noted and analyzed their words that I read, just so you know.


    More importantly, before they do the act of leaving, we should leave ourselves.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    I said while tugging and gently pulling on their collars. No slowing down. It would be bad if we were found out.

 Chapter 69: Hard for the Pure Princess

    We had immediately left the scene, everything should be safe and sound now. Whether those two get very affectionate and intimate there, not for me to bother thinking about. Mera though seemed to be still quite bothered by it.


    Her eyes seemed to bulge out as she was in deep thought.


    Hey Mera, your head okay?


    Her imaginations must be going wild there, I could see some faint flush on her cheeks. Ah, a maiden¡¯s innocence.


    What about me? I¡¯m not bothered at all. I have a¡­.


    ¡­ nevermind.


    In any case, it was better to leave early before they even attempt to leave. Eavesdropping tends to be harder when you have loads to carry.


    ¡°Your highness, why did you decide to follow that girl?¡±


    Vernon asked me as we went our way back to the kitchen. Being questioned was often bothersome, but I suppose this was to be expected when they do not know what is happening in the bigger picture. As for this case, my personal picture.


    ¡°Curiosity.¡±


    ¡°Curiosity¡­?¡± he pondered for a while. ¡°Your highness, could it be you have a faint idea of what was going on with the cook girl?¡±


    ¡°I only did it on a whim, Vernon. Why would I have a faint idea about that girl¡¯s life? I only met her once.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ You say that¡­ but¡­ I think you might be more observant than any of us thought.¡±


    ¡°You give me too much credit.¡±


    To be honest, I couldn¡¯t think of any great excuse as to why I decided to follow that girl. But this was no big issue.


    ¡°... And Vernon¡­ if you are baffled¡­ then perhaps, try to think of what the reason for my actions could be.¡±


    Alright, let¡¯s leave it at that.


    ¡°... I understand.¡±


    We arrived at the kitchen, and the door was closed. Well, they must be idle now since there was nothing else to do. At least it worked for me because I was able to smoothly go past this room without being noticed.


    I expect the other two cooks must be here. I glanced at Vernon with a smile, he understood what I was trying to tell him, he then opened the door for me. Come on, I¡¯m the princess, shouldn¡¯t something like this be expected? Well, looks like I am getting used to being royalty.


    Oh no, I¡¯m already getting a little tired of acting like this though, so I might accidentally let out who I really am as I bask in my own royal glory! Alright, that¡¯s enough kidding around¡­ Or was I actually serious? Heh. No, I¡¯m kidding.


    I entered the room, the two male cooks were shocked to see the visitor that was me. Their eyes were wide as saucers, but the head chef immediately regained a little composure. For the young one however, his mouth was still a bit agape.


    I held myself back from smirking in amusement but instead formed a sweet smile.


    ¡°Hello.¡±


    My voice O so gentle reached their ears, my pure and warm gaze graciously blessed them.


    ¡°Y-Your highness!¡±


    The chef stood up from his chair before bowing deeply, seeing that the young man was still dumbfounded, he pulled him and pushed his head down.


    ¡°T-To what do we owe the pleasure?¡±


    I placed my hands on my back, acting adorably as I could, then tilting my head slightly.


    ¡°Oh I just wanted to visit the kitchen. Last time was pretty interesting, and too bad I arrived just as you finished baking. Today, if it is alright, I would like to see how other dishes are cooked.¡±


    ¡°... Really¡­?¡± the young man muttered.


    Yes, consider yourself lucky!


    ¡°Indeed, if possible, I would like something special. You never know, I might be able to cook on my own if I observe and practice.¡±


    My two servants turned their eyes towards me with surprise.


    Hey now what are you guys surprised about?


    Even nobles cook, especially adult ones. So what was so surprising about me learning to cook? Or maybe they are surprised because I am trying to learn.


    I¡¯m not that lazy, you know.


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    ¡°Then¡­ it would be a great honor, your highness.¡±


    The chef said as he lowered his head again.


    ¡°Excellent! Ah by the way, I see that you are missing someone.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, Allie left for a moment. She said she wanted to take a short walk because it was...boring.¡±


    ¡°I see. I sort of wanted to talk to another girl as I went to watch the process¡­¡±


    Mera became restless all of a sudden, she got fidgety a little as her eyes drifted around.


    What¡¯s up with her?


    I wanted to ask her directly, but this wasn¡¯t a good place for this. Although I think I have an idea why she was acting this way.


    ¡°I suppose your highness is more comfortable interacting with the same gender, but she should be returning shortly.¡±


    The head chef, Ceruos, said to me as he glanced with saltiness towards the young man beside him whose name was Tenil. Why? The young man looked disheartened.


    This¡­ this guy held some hope, didn¡¯t he?


    Wow. Even though people tell themselves that there was no hope in achieving something, deep in their heart, they still cling to that faint light of hope. And when it is shattered before their eyes, it will hurt.


    This young man right here, hm¡­ Sorry people, if there¡¯s someone you like, and you feel they won¡¯t like you back, give up. You¡¯ll be wasting your time. I guess I am in no position to give such advice, hehehe, I also heard it from someone.


    Your crush won¡¯t ever like you back.


    Oh, I¡¯m not trying to discourage you, I¡¯m telling you a fact!


    Joking! I''m joking. Go ahead and give it a shot or something, if it is futile, well shoot them in the head or something¡­. I¡¯m joking! Don¡¯t do that.


    Or am I?


    Aight, let¡¯s move on.


    ¡°Then, what will we be cooking, Mr. Chef?¡±


    ¡°Would you like chicken, your highness? Beef or pork?¡±


    Oh my, so I get to choose. Let¡¯s see, beef, chicken, or pork? Hm. Beef and pork are too fatty, you could say, and the cholesterol. I am leaning towards chicken after all. What do I truly want¡­?


    Okay, I am thinking too deeply about this. Oh no, could this be? I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m getting gluttonous?


    I want to palm my face. My life of peace is getting into me. It¡¯s not that bad, peace was great! But I need to be careful to take care of my body and avoid ruining the balance of my movements. I am still a fighter at heart after all.


    ¡°Then I will take the chicken.¡±


    ¡°Chicken, huh. Good timing, your highness! We actually just finished making a new recipe. And we would like feedback from someone like you.¡±


    My face lit up.


    ¡°Truly?! Then it will be my pleasure to help you with it!¡±


    ¡°We are grateful,¡± he then faced the young man. ¡°Tenil, get a fresh chicken.¡±


    ¡°U-Uh, yes!¡±


    The young man left and headed towards what I assume was the storage room. The chef then went on to prepare a butchering knife and a big wooden cutting board on the table used to place ingredients. Of course the table they would use for cooking would be different to the table used for dining.


    A moment later the young man returned with a fresh dead chicken. The chicken¡¯s feathers were already plucked as the skin was left exposed. Then there was a slit on its neck.


    They must have slit its neck to kill it and drained its blood. But I hope their storage room was a bit cold at least. Well, it was supposed to be fresh, and from the way it looked, I judged it to be fine. Also, I imagine they use a basement as storage.


    The young man gave it to the chef. The chef placed the chicken on the cutting board. I looked from the side, I am here to observe after all.


    But I was forming a worried look.


    The chef raised his big knife, then struck it down causing a loud thud, cutting the chicken¡¯s head by the neck.


    ¡°Eek!¡±


    I released a squeal the moment I saw the horrendous moment.


    Ah! How horrible!


    ¡°Milady?¡± sweet Mera called out to me with worry. ¡°Something wrong?¡±


    ¡°N-No. Nothing.¡±


    Everyone looked at me with confusion while I gazed at the chicken with horrified eyes. This implied one thing, the butchering already began to scare me.


    ¡°C-Continue.¡±


    The chef nodded then went on to slice the chicken¡¯s thigh. I began to see the flesh inside. I slowly covered my eyes while taking a peak just a little.


    ¡°Milady? Something wrong?¡± Mera gently held me on the shoulder and on my back.


    ¡°M-Mera? Are you not bothered by t-this?¡±


    ¡°Um, no.¡±


    Oh well, as expected from a maid. Vernon then approached.


    ¡°Your highness, it seems you cannot bear to watch the butchering. I suggest you avert your eyes away.¡±


    I looked at him, then back at the chicken, then to the chef who paused his work.


    Yes, this might be too much for a pure princess such as me. Someone who couldn¡¯t even bear to see blood spilling out, nor some flesh being sliced.


    Aaaah! May the gods save me!


    ¡°N-No. This is the natural process of the world. I should not escape from something such as this. I must watch things unfold, that is why I am here, yes?¡±


    I looked at Vernon innocently. He furrowed his brows.


    ¡°If you say so, your highness.¡±


    Then the chef continued. Whenever he slammed his knife to cut through bone, I would flinch as I covered my eyes every now and then. I am like an adorable young girl seeing something like this for the first time, even though I¡¯m already a teenager.


    Of course, how could I not freak out from something like this? Especially as an innocent princess?!


    Mera was holding me trying to comfort me. I acted as though I was truly comforted.


    I may have looked adorable, pretty adorable really. I could see the young man glancing at me with an amused smile on his face.


    How mean¡­


    Needless to say I am only acting, hehe, I am pretty convincing to the eyes of others. I have seen a lot of nasty things. Guts spilling out of one¡¯s stomach, severed arm and legs, burned face, cut tongue, stabbed eye, splattered brain matter. You name it, I¡¯ve seen it.


    Then the chef opened it apart, and I saw the insides. The intestines, the lungs, the heart and so on.


    ¡°Eeek!¡±


    I unconsciously squealed as I saw it. Nasty!


    ¡°Princess, you¡¯re turning pale!¡± Mera exclaimed.


    I slightly knitted my brow.


    ¡°H-How could you tell that when I¡¯m already pale skinned?¡±


    ¡°Y-Your lips.¡±


    ¡°..... I just never expected to see that a chicken¡¯s inside would be like this.¡±


    ¡°Milady, you can look away if you want.¡±


    ¡°No. I will not crumble here and retreat. If one knows they could overcome something, falling back would be an act of folly and cowardice.¡±


    ¡°Oooh,¡± Vernon let out a sound of awe or something, but I didn¡¯t think much of it.


    I steeled myself as I watched, like a warrior about to face off something horrifying and dangerous. But still standing tall before the danger that lies ahead in front of me.


    The chef took out the chicken¡¯s organs, cutting off the ones that would not be required and then discarding them. He kept the liver and the heart, those were what I only saw since I was covering my eyes in dread.


    How could such a delicate lady such as myself watch something so gruesome?!


    Then I saw that he threw the bag thing that kept the waste ¡ª the shit of the chicken. Well, it could have been cleaned, but these kinds of food were served to the royal family. Plus, it might depend on what food they wanted to cook.


    Then they went on to slice the chicken¡¯s body.


    It was at that moment the door opened. We all turned towards the door. There I saw the person of interest.


    Allie Jelimis.

 Chapter 70: Me? Average? Nonsense

    Allie Jelimis froze at the door when she saw a beautiful girl with white hair, red eyes and snow white skin. Yes, me!


    Her eyes were wide in surprise, never in her life expecting that I would be here today. When she regained her calm mind, she stood straight and bowed deeply.


    ¡°Your royal highness.¡±


    Oh, as I was still covering my eyes with my hands due to the gruesome sight, I slowly lowered it with a wry smile.


    ¡°Ah- Eh, h-hello.¡±


    I stuttered as my cheeks flushed red due to embarrassment. Of course I would be embarrassed, another party suddenly barged in with confusion and surprise when they saw me. Plus, she might have been confused by the fact that I was covering my eyes.


    I cleared my throat quietly.


    ¡°Your name is Allie, am I right?¡±


    ¡°...Yes.¡±


    ¡°In that case, please no need to be all reserved, come inside, this is your station after all.¡±


    I smiled sweetly with warm eyes as I watched her curtly nodding her head and entered inside, closing the door as she did so.


    ¡°Hey Allie, we¡¯re cooking right now, so help me season this chicken right here. Leave the lighting of fire to Tenil.¡±


    Tenil nodded his head before complying to the order of starting a fire.


    ¡°Cooking¡­?¡±


    ¡°I, I asked for it.¡±


    I said to her as I avoided looking at the butchered chicken.


    ¡°The dessert I had here last time was very delicious, so I was interested in what more you have to offer that is not yet offered to my family.¡±


    She blinked her eyes, whether in surprise¡­ or was it flattery I was seeing?


    ¡°And then, the chef mentioned you have a new recipe, so I wanted to try it!¡±


    I said energetically in an excited tone while placing my clasped hands on my cheek. Now that the person of interest was here, time to do some work.


    ¡°I see,¡± she then turned to look and moved beside the chef. ¡°Chicken? What are we making?¡±


    ¡°The recipe you just finished working on.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ that¡­¡±


    I tilted my head adorably as I took in what he just said.


    ¡°You worked on it? You mean you made it?¡± I asked Allie.


    ¡°Um, yes, I was who started working on it, but Cerous and Tenil helped me.¡±


    ¡°But her¡¯s was the idea. We just mostly help on the physical work,¡± the chef added with a chuckle.


    I lit up in awe.


    ¡°My! How incredible! I did not expect someone as young as you to be making an original recipe.¡±


    All of the recipes made here were all made by the head chef and those that came before him. In addition, a lot of recipes were bought from other chefs as well. So an apprentice chef striving to make original recipes was pretty impressive.


    ¡°Did you know, your highness? She was also the one who basically made up that new cake you ate last time you were here,¡± the chef said with a restrained chuckle.


    My eyes went wide at the revelation.


    ¡°Really? Amazing, that was a delicious cake, Miss Allie! I am deeply impressed by your skills.¡±


    She was unable to immediately respond to my words as she was silent for a while with a half open mouth.


    ¡°T-Thank you for your praise, your highness. But, it was hardly worth mentioning at all.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I tilted my head as though in genuine confusion. ¡°But I think such a remarkable creation should be mentioned and acknowledged by many. After all, it is a recognition of your hard work, don¡¯t you agree?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say I disagree. But, it is¡­ a bit embarrassing to be coming from someone like yourself, your highness.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Hehehe,¡± I chuckled. ¡°Then, just remember that I am impressed by your skills, Miss Allie. I see excellence in you.¡±


    ¡°... Thank you, your highness¡­¡± she averted her eyes away as though embarrassed.


    I sort of took her as some sort of person that would remain composed even in tense situations. After all, that was how she was the first I met her when I first came to visit the kitchen. However, now, it seems being praised like this showed a side of her that I have not seen.


    Easily flattered.


    But was I really impressed by her? Well¡­. I am. But not much that my words to her suggest. I have tasted more delicious food back in the old world after all. But, compliments will be important here for getting on her good side. From there, I¡¯ll determine how I would do things moving forward.


    That said, I am just getting started.


    Let¡¯s be more friendly with this girl.


    ¡°Then, if you¡¯ll excuse me for a moment, your highness. I¡¯ll wash my hands then begin helping Cerous.¡±


    ¡°Oh, go ahead. Don¡¯t mind me while you¡¯re working, okay? I¡¯m just going to watch, it has been pretty interesting so far.¡±


    With a nod, Allie left for a while.


    Vernon then went on to speak to me.


    ¡°But you are covering your eyes, your highness.¡±


    I pouted as I glared adorably at him.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t hold myself from doing so. But at least I¡¯m taking a peek rather than nothing at all.¡±


    ¡°If you say so, your highness.¡±


    ¡°Vernon¡­ at least praise me for my efforts.¡±


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    He smiled in amusement.


    ¡°You¡¯re doing well.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. I suppose that is progress.¡±


    I returned my eyes to the chicken only to grimace the moment I laid eyes on it.


    Allie returned and then helped the chef, the latter rubbed salt on the chicken. Meanwhile, Allie grabbed a large porcelain bowl before taking a maroon colored fruit that could fit in her palm. She sliced a bit of the upper part then squished it atop the bowl.


    Maroon liquid squished out of it pouring down into the bowl. After that, she poured a little of what seemed like vinegar from a glass bottle, I could smell a little so it was definitely vinegar. Then she added a few more ingredients.


    I saw the chef washing the chicken. I¡¯m just happy that everything was sanitary. Come on, I¡¯m from the modern world, I could tell just how dirty things would be without cleaning. Good thing soaps exist here hehehe, though not exactly as great as the previous world.


    Here the actual soap was rougher. But hey, at least it bubbles and almost looks like a proper soap, so I¡¯m satisfied with that.


    ¡°Should I light the fire now?¡± the young man asked the two.


    ¡°Nope, do it shortly. I¡¯ll just tell you.¡±


    Allie was the one to reply. The chef approached Allie after washing the chicken. Allie meanwhile was stirring the liquid stuff then crushing what appeared to be herbs in a wooden mortar and pestle. After crushing them thoroughly, she poured them down to the bowl then stirred again.


    Meanwhile, the chef placed the chicken parts inside a larger bowl. Allie then poured what she was working on inside where the chicken parts were.


    Hm. Could they be marinating it?!


    Oh¡­ But a lot of ingredients used were unfamiliar to me.


    Where¡¯s the lamb sauce?! I mean the soy sauce...


    Ahem¡­ Sorry, couldn¡¯t resist, that phrase was pretty famous.


    ¡°Miss Allie, that¡¯s interesting. You came up with all these?¡±


    ¡°Um, the ingredients used, yes. I took into consideration the flavor of each one.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then the method of dousing the meat in s¡ª in those liquified ingredients has already been done?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    She responded to me enthusiastically. She was passionate apparently. Well, that¡¯s how it is when you¡¯re doing something you love and when someone shows interest in the same thing.


    ¡°And after dousing that, you go on cooking it?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, ah pardon me for a moment,¡± she faced the young man. ¡°Tenil, light it up.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    That didn¡¯t seem right¡­. Why are you cooking it shortly after marinating it?!


    Hey, I¡¯m not a pro cook, okay? But I can cook. I can even cook for you if I wanted. I often cook for my teammates. Although, it was only sometimes because they don¡¯t mostly let me cook. Which was weird, I think I was good.


    That aside, even if I¡¯m not an incredibly skilled cook or something, I know what should be done when marinating, okay? And, to enhance the flavor greatly, at least leave the chicken marinated for a few hours. And what they did was just wait for like a few minutes.


    Well, the ingredients used here were different. So perhaps things work differently in this world. Oh well. Let¡¯s just see.


    Besides, generally marinating works after a few minutes¡­ so I guess it was somewhat acceptable¡­¡­.


    With the fire they placed the pan then poured a bit of cooking oil I presume. Cutted garlic was then put into it after the oil had turned warm. And oh, during this time as the oil was warming up, Allie was doing her own stuff. Mixing some water and squishing another fruit, it was on the light green side of color. Then another fruit that almost resembled a lemon but in the color of light brown.


    She cut it in half then just slit the insides before crushing it with her hands, letting the somewhat sticky liquid fall down into the bowl she was just mixing. Then she stirred hard.


    The process was pretty interesting.


    The chef then placed the sliced chicken on the pan, the sound of boiling oil as the chicken was placed erupted. I didn¡¯t want to get near it since I don¡¯t want a drop of hot oil flying unto me. I am a fragile maiden after all, damaging my skin was not an option.


    In addition, he also poured just a bit of what the chicken was marinated in. After several minutes as the chicken had appeared to be close to being cooked, Allie poured the contents of the bowl she was working on. It fell slowly, almost like a sauce.


    Yup, definitely sauce.


    Then shortly after, the food was ready!


    I went on to sit by the table, the food looking good on my plate covered in sauce. So delicious looking! Not all the chicken was put on my plate, mind you. Just the amount that can be placed on the plate and what I can eat.


    As for the chance of food poisoning. Heh, I have been observing closely, as you might have realized. In addition, there were several eyes watching everyone and each other. Vernon also appeared to be keeping a close watch all that time too.


    In other words, I¡¯m safe.


    None would take the risk of poisoning food in these circumstances.


    In addition, as I was reading the book about magic, I also discovered a few anti poison spells, though they were low level. But that was a book for beginners, so there should be a potentially more powerful kind of spell. Plus, my family was not particularly worried about food poisons, plus they are royalty, they should know anti poison spells.


    That¡¯s enough! Time to dig in.


    I gracefully used the kitchen knife to cut the food then stabbed down the fork ¡ª gently as I could be.


    ¡°By the way, the presentation is excellent, I commend you for that.¡±


    Indeed, the food arrangement was neat, and the food didn¡¯t look nasty overall at all.


    ¡°Thank you, your highness,¡± Allie responded with a bow.


    After that, I ate the food. I chew slowly, trying to savor and analyze the flavor.


    I nodded with a smile.


    To be honest, it was good. However, nothing reached the level of my old world. But I think I know the reason.


    ¡°It¡¯s delightful!¡± I said as I took another bite. ¡°That said, it is a bit too sweet for me for a chicken dish. But, this is just my preference. Other than that, everything else was fine to me. I am pleased with this dish, Miss Allie.¡±


    I looked at her with bright eyes and a wide smile. I absolutely looked to be genuinely pleased.


    I then ate again and continued after swallowing.


    ¡°My family will be most delighted once they taste this magnificent creation of yours. I suggest you cook this for them when given the chance. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll love it.¡±


    Allie¡¯s eyes went wide as her mouth opened and closed. Then the corner of her lips curled up.


    ¡°I hope so. And¡­ thank you for your kind words, your highness.¡±


    I giggled.


    ¡°Praises should be given to those who deserve it. As this is your creation, the praise is mostly yours. Of course, others worked too, so a job well done to you both.¡±


    I smiled at the other two. The chef stood straightly and stiffly, while the young man avoided my gaze.


    I then continued.


    ¡°And, I thank you for having me taste this dish¡­ I see that you are pretty talented, Miss Allie. I hope I get to eat more of your dishes.¡±


    Her eyes went wide at my words, and she seemed speechless.


    ¡°First the cake, now this. I can only imagine what you could achieve in the future. But it also made me curious about what you will be making in the future.¡±


    I said excitedly as I ate the food again.


    Then, Allie spoke to me.


    ¡°In that case, your highness¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± I looked at her.


    ¡°... A-Allow me to cook more for you in the future. I will offer you dishes that I have improved and made.¡±


    Interesting. She really seemed to be pushing forward with this.


    Also, this may be to my advantage, and this kind of outcome did cross my mind. But I didn¡¯t think much of it since the chances were pretty low. But if it happens, then I¡¯ll take it.


    I smiled.


    ¡°That will be great! Yes, that will be great, Miss Allie! I am looking forward to it. Guess I have now a reason to visit the kitchen frequently.¡±


    With this, I will be closer to this girl.


    Then moments passed and I ate all of the food while the cooks finished cleaning up.


    ¡°Ah, by the way, Miss Allie.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± She stopped her work then faced me.


    ¡°You doused the chicken in the liquid from the fruit, yes? Do you cook it shortly after that?¡±


    ¡°...Yes. Cooking it must be quick since it would be served shortly. That is how it is done.¡±


    Yes, marinating can be left for several minutes. However, leaving it longer would be better! Hehehe...


    ¡°Hm I see. But dousing it gives flavor, right?¡±


    ¡°... Yes.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then, what about trying to keep it doused overnight.¡±


    ¡°Overnight¡­? That could potentially spoil it, especially when it is mixed with other ingredients.¡±


    ¡°It could possibly don¡¯t. Keep it at a cool temperature as best as you can. Just not too hot of a storage room. Is there such a place? A cold place.¡±


    She pondered for a moment.


    ¡°...The storage basement we use might suffice¡­¡±


    ¡°Try keeping it there. And oh, make sure to cover the bowl.¡±


    Don¡¯t want any bacteria landing there.


    ¡°Then¡­ after leaving it for one night, try cooking it, see how much the flavor improves.¡±


    There was a time when I left marinated chicken for three days thinking it would improve the flavor intensely. But I only got a scolding from my team. And I never did it again. I just learned that it would ruin the meat if left too long.


    Oh well, good to learn. Sometime later that time, they would not let me cook anymore. Weird.


    Oh! One mentioned my cooking was average!


    How rude!


    Me? Average? Nonsense.


    ¡°I understand, then I will try it.¡±


    ¡°Splendid! Tell me how it ends up! I would be lucky if I have the time to visit as you test it.¡±


    ¡°Your highness is learning magic, right?¡±


    ¡°... Yes, yes I am.¡±


    I guess after that incident in the library, everyone has heard of it. Allie¡¯s expression was pretty normal though when I answered her.


    ¡°In any case, I will have to go. Thank you for the time and the delicious food.¡±


    After their goodbyes, I left the room. My stomach was already filled, so it seems I won¡¯t be joining dinner with my family. Better tell Vernon to relay that to my family.


    Now then, I have progressed with Allie, good. Very good.

 Chapter 71: Forgotten First Dish

    It was breakfast when I saw a pretty interesting dish served and placed on the table. I raised both my eyebrows, it was a familiar dish. To be precise, it looked like the one I ate yesterday.


    Interesting, so she deemed it on the level acceptable for royalties. Was there any improvement I wonder?


    ¡°Dear daughter.¡±


    I raised my gaze towards my father who for some reason called out to me as I was about to get some to eat.


    ¡°Father?¡±


    ¡°I heard you visited the kitchen.¡±


    I immediately looked around then to the door. Vernon was nowhere to be found, I might have frowned if he ever got in my sight. He was definitely the one who told my father.


    But this sure was a bit annoying.


    Is every movement of mine being monitored and reported now?


    I am used to this sort of thing. However, as a free girl now, being watched all the time was not entirely pleasing.


    ¡°Y-Yes, yes I did.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± he nodded. ¡°That¡¯s the second time you visited, huh.¡±


    ¡°Is it not good?¡±


    Why was he appearing to be bothered by it? Perhaps he didn¡¯t like the thought of me visiting some commoners. But I was guarded, so I can say I¡¯m safe. Also, it¡¯s not like he would be bothered if I talked to some commoners, my father was not that kind of person.


    I stared at him with a pout as though frightened that I did something unacceptable.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s just that¡­¡± he looked at both my mother and brother then turned to me. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you would go to the kitchen for whatever reason. It is just surprising, is all.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? But you do know I shouldn¡¯t be the same as always, dear father¡­¡±


    His eyes almost looked like they were about to bulge out of their eye sockets when he heard my words followed by surprised looks from my mother and brother.


    I continued.


    ¡°I realized that the way I was¡­ well¡­ lonely.¡±


    ¡°Lonely, you say?¡± my mother murmured.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t make any friends that way.¡±


    ¡°Friends?¡± my brother repeated in surprise.


    ¡°Yes¡­ that¡¯s why, I went to the kitchen¡­ of course, there is also the fact that there will be some delicious food.¡±


    I smiled wryly with a bit of chuckle and embarrassment.


    ¡°Beloved Sister¡­ Maybe the bump on the head really did something to you.¡±


    I cutely scowled towards my brother.


    ¡°What? Is the change really that bad? I suppose I shall not change then.¡±


    He frantically waved his hands and shook his head.


    ¡°Of course not, it isn¡¯t bad at all. Didn¡¯t I mention something like that? It¡¯s just, surprising, that¡¯s all.¡±


    I lowered my eyes.


    ¡°.... I just want some friends.¡±


    ¡°In that case, dear,¡± my mother said. ¡°I suppose we need to introduce you to the noble ladies your age. They will be thrilled to meet you.¡±


    I rubbed my hands as I seemingly pondered what she said.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°I¡¯m a bit nervous about the idea, but it would be good. Although, I guess the crisis needs to pass first.¡±


    I lowered my head, sadness evident in my movement and expression. Although I want friends, I can never get it until things that threaten me disappear. And my enemies were not mere normal people but could be something big. My family realized this.


    ¡°Estelia¡­¡±


    ¡°But, time passes, and so does the storm. Patience is all but I require.¡±


    I faintly smiled, though the sadness still lingered deep in my eyes if one looked closely.


    I immediately went for the food so I stopped any further conversations.


    Come on, it¡¯s getting cold. It would be a waste.


    I ate the chicken first which I assumed to be the one that was marinated.


    I smiled broadly when I tasted it.


    Delicious!


    It was way better compared to yesterday. This was almost to the level of food back in my old world.


    I suggested to my family that they eat this dish. Their eyes widened at the mere level of pleasant flavor of it. In addition to that, it was no longer too sweet unlike last time, so maybe that was what made it better.


    Because of this, my impression of the girl cook improved a bit.


    My family was incredibly satisfied with this dish and my mother gave her compliments through the servants.


    I should say that the girl was impressively talented. Always striving for improvement and discovery. After all, she was the one to come up with those original creations like that cake and this one.


    What could her ambition be?


    I resisted the urge to smirk.


    Whether I would be able to breach through her emotional barrier remains to be seen. Whatever, let¡¯s just do whatever we can.


    After we finished eating, my father suddenly spoke to me as I was supposed to leave.


    ¡°Estelia. I am reminded of something that I have been meaning to discuss earlier¡­¡±


    He looked a bit distraught. Why in the world would he feel that way?


    I waited for him to continue.


    ¡°Vernon told me that¡­ you have gaps in your memories.¡±


    My eyes went wide as though in surprise. So he was worried about that. Surprisingly, both mother and brother were both shocked by the revelation. It would appear they haven¡¯t heard of it yet.


    Therefore, Vernon must have only told father. Then father decided not to tell the others immediately since they would only get more distressed than they already were. I did sleep for a couple of days after all. And I imagine that was already too stressful for my mother, I don¡¯t know about my brother though, but I can imagine him getting all depressed when another problem piles up.


    ¡°Estel?! Is that true?¡±


    Panic was all over Estevan¡¯s face. I flinched in fear in his sudden outburst.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m n-not sure¡­ It doesn¡¯t feel that way.¡±


    ¡°T-Then, could this mean the memories lost are not significant. But, how would you know if you lost something without realizing it¡­¡± he was muttering around, trying to find the best answer. ¡°Sister, do you still remember that time we went to the garden when Mother had newly planted flowers.¡±


    ¡°Um, yes. I just went there the other day after all.¡±


    ¡°So not a pretty good question to get an answer from. Let¡¯s see¡­¡±


    My brother pondered with his hand on his chin.


    ¡°Ah yes! You remember that time when I first gave something I cooked for the first time that went well?¡±


    I tilted my head. I remembered it, vaguely though. That said, I was young and so was Estevan. However, it was not at the age that someone would forget easily if it was such a significant memory.


    Let¡¯s see. Maybe I was eight or nine years old at that time?


    ¡°You did¡­? When¡­ I think I remember¡­ no¡­ I....¡± I held my temple as though having difficulties remembering it. ¡°What dish was it, brother?¡±


    He froze in shock, eyes wide open, his fingers trembling.


    ¡°I-It can¡¯t be¡­. Estel¡­ you promised you won¡¯t forget about it¡­.¡±


    He looked terribly hurt. I mean, I guess it would truly hurt when the sister you loved so much suddenly forgot something so important. I mean, it was his first dish to ever cook pleasantly. He worked hard for it, practiced so much just to show off to me.


    Yes, all for me.


    I¡¯m starting to pity him, really. I mean, look how pitiful he looks right now! He looked like he was shattered into pieces.


    My apologies, dear brother. This has to be done.


    ¡°B-Brother¡ª I¡­.¡± I looked at him with a pained expression.


    He held out his hand.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t be guilty about it.¡±


    I was speechless. I looked at my mother in order to find help. She smiled wryly before speaking to Estevan.


    ¡°Estevan, she was very young back then, it¡¯s not that surprising she forgot about it.¡±


    ¡°But ¡ª that was a very significant memory of ours¡­ and considering her age back then...¡±


    ¡°She¡¯ll¡­ She may be able to recall it once she tastes your cooking again.¡±


    ¡°Ah! That¡¯s it!¡±


    Hey hey, how much food do I have to taste?! I am already gonna be occupied with that fucking woman from the kitchen and taste her foods to get close to her. And now brother?


    ¡°B-Brother! No need, you¡¯re busy, so that can wait¡­¡±


    ¡°But Estel¡ª¡±


    ¡°Brother please, focus on the much bigger issue.¡±


    ¡°..........¡± There was a moment of silence. ¡°But isn¡¯t your loss of memory a big issue?¡±


    ¡°Compared to others, it is a small issue. Isn¡¯t the most important thing for now is that I am still who I am.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s right, Estevan,¡± mother said. ¡°It¡¯s not like we lost Estelia.¡±


    He-he-he¡­ yeeaah. It¡¯s not like you lost Estelia or something¡­ ahem


    ¡°... I suppose you¡¯re right.¡±


    He finally behaved. This time it was my father¡¯s turn to speak to me.


    ¡°My lovely daughter, I can¡¯t say that Estevan¡¯s question confirms you have lost some of your memories. And, it will be difficult and pointless to try pointing out each memory and if you still remember it, since there would be countless memories. But, the signs are there, so let¡¯s assume you really have some gaps in your memories. I am thankful it didn¡¯t turn out to be something worse.¡±


    He smiled in relief.


    ¡°Just speak out if something weird happens. Do you understand, Estelia?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, I understand, Father.¡±

 Chapter 72: Personal Chef (Part 1)

    I have returned to my magic training. I was improving at a decent pace, just so you know. Now that I am familiar with the barrier spell, training to make it better and stronger was going smoothly. On the other hand, Mera was training with me and she was doing pretty well too.


    That aside, I did a bit of reading of the beginner¡¯s book of magic. I searched precisely about curing poisons. And I did find it.


    There were indeed spells for it. Like healing spells, they also enhance the performance of the body. However, poison curing spells focus more on enhancing the performance of the body to repel and clean away the poisons or toxins. This was a beginner¡¯s spell though.


    I decided to ask Vernon.


    ¡°Vernon. Are there any cure spells? I mean against poison. This one here is for beginners, are there any variants?¡±


    ¡°Stronger ones, yes.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the difference between those with this one here?¡±


    ¡°Stronger curing spells also involve magic itself to help clean the poison, that is basically the difference.¡±


    I see. Compared to a beginner''s spell that only enhances the body¡¯s system, a stronger spell also has the support of magic itself, other than relying on the body alone.


    ¡°Can my family cast such a strong spell?¡±


    ¡°Yes, your father and prince Estevan can cast powerful anti-poison spells.¡±


    That¡¯s really a relief to know.


    ¡°I see¡­ Can those spells cure all poisons?¡±


    ¡°... Most poisons. There are strong poisons that spells can barely be barely rid off. However, they are incredibly rare and can only be found on monsters.¡±


    ¡°How rare?¡±


    ¡°I say about¡­ one percent chance of obtaining. Monsters of such potent poisons are very, very hard to fight with.¡±


    Monsters, huh. I don¡¯t ever want to see one. I¡¯m not scared, I¡¯m only bothered to think such creatures would exist. But¡­ I can imagine them as bad and tough as tanks, heh. But whatever¡­


    After obtaining that information, I continued my training. This time I expanded the barrier to cover my torso, the downside however, it was weak. That being said, I think my Mystic Medium was getting better judging from when I managed to harden it while it was wide.


    By the way, Mera had already achieved this before I did, and apparently, she seemed to do it with ease compared to mine. It was unnerving really.


    This almost felt like a competition. My nature of being unaccepting of being left behind triggered. Where I was educated, being left behind meant death. That was why I intensified my training.


    I felt a bit of pain, but as my Mystic Medium got a bit better, the pain had lessened somewhat.


    However, if I pushed it further, it felt like the intense pain came crawling again, so I stopped. I say that my Mystic Medium was restored about 20% now. Just a rough estimation of the feeling, might truly be lower than that.


    I imagined the barrier made up of threads, then I tightened them together in hopes to harden it in some other way. I also imagined those threads having molecules being packed and pressed together to form something solid.


    This was I think a good precise control of mana. Come on, I am expected to have good precision considering what I went through.


    It was a bit rough to harden this, but I achieved the result I wanted. A faint smile formed on my lips. This should be way harder compared to the first time. Not only was it stronger, it was wider to the point it could cover my entire torso.


    Mera may be able to cover most of her body now, but it was weaker than mine. How did I know? Vernon just smacked her barrier after all, shattering it in pieces before vanishing.


    Oh yeah, it was now my turn. Look, I¡¯ll show you how my shield has improved.


    ¡°Now then princess¡­¡±


    I confidently held out my hand with an erected barrier of crimson.


    ¡°I should tell you, Vernon¡­ You are going to need more than slapping it.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡±


    He used his technique for a little then slapped my barrier. His hand stopped on the barrier, there was a slight shockwave in the air when it made impact. Both his eyebrows went up at the results of his attack.


    My barrier was fine.


    ¡°Interesting.¡±


    ¡°Milady, that¡¯s incredible!¡±


    I smirked, although it must have looked adorable in the eyes of others.


    ¡°See? You¡¯re going to need more firepower to break this.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. I guess I will need to give a bit more power into my punch in this one. That said, I need to be careful not to the point that I¡¯ll blow you away.¡±


    The barrier absorbs a lot of the impact, that was why being blown away wasn¡¯t easy. But too much, you will.


    ¡°Be ready, your highness.¡±


    I steeled myself. I made my barrier a bit stronger, I felt a bit of pain within me due to my straining Mystic Medium.


    Then he struck the barrier with his fist. A force pushed my arm halfway.


    I saw the barrier as several cracks, big and small, formed all around it, but not to the point that it would shatter apart. Although a little more slap from Vernon would definitely break it.


    Vernon¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m impressed. I didn¡¯t expect you would reach this level already. It would seem that your Mystic Medium is the only one restraining you.¡±


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    ¡°And so it would seem. How much power did you put into it?¡±


    ¡°A third of my overall power.¡±


    ¡°Is that significant?¡±


    ¡°Yes. A common soldier would struggle to break your barrier.¡±


    A common soldier means a plain soldier that had no support of magic whatsoever.


    ¡°I see. Then how would it perform when faced with a knight¡¯s armament magic?¡±


    I needed to have a basis, and I have witnessed the power of the knights. Their Armament magic... You know, that word¡¯s a mouthful¡­


    That aside, common soldiers were hard to use as a basis of strength for my barrier considering this world. So the knights¡¯ magic would be a good thing to use for measurement.


    ¡°Hmm. A swing of their armament magic ¡ª your barrier will be able to block one, if it came from a below average knight, just a bit below.¡±


    I suppose that¡¯s good progress.


    ¡°I see. Then I just need to enlarge my barrier further once my Mystic Medium is restored more.¡±


    ¡°I should say, your highness. It is excellent that you have managed to precisely shape the barrier this much already.¡±


    ¡°I just got lucky.¡±


    ¡°If you say so.¡±


    For some reason, I saw in Vernon¡¯s eyes that he no longer seemed to trust some of my words when something impressive happened. Like he saw me as someone being humble. Well, I guess I was¡­?


    With a little more training, we then went on to the kitchen. Vernon surprisingly didn¡¯t give a lot of resistance to my decision. It was like he was looking forward to something when he agreed.


    I didn¡¯t think much of it and entered the kitchen. The only one inside jolted in surprise by our entrance. Or rather, by my entrance.


    ¡°P-P-Princess?!¡±


    The person was panicking as his eyes shifted around trying to cope with what just happened. This was the young man within the kitchen who was instantly charmed by me even though we never talked personally.


    I smiled at him.


    He seemed to have regained his wits when he finally bowed deeply.


    ¡°G-Greetings, your h-highness!¡±


    This young man, does he even get the girls if he¡¯s this way?


    But this only made things amusing.


    ¡°You are, Tenil Gerave, am I correct?¡±


    His eyes went wide.


    ¡°H-Her highness knows my full name?¡±


    ¡°Um, yes, yes I do¡­¡±


    He let out a breath of awe.


    ¡°You are alone¡­¡±


    I said as I sat on the chair by the table.


    ¡°B-Both Ceruos and Allie went to the storage room to organize the newly arrived ingredients.¡±


    ¡°Allie also?¡±


    I imagined there would be some heavy liftings, so a man like Tenil should be there.


    ¡°Allie¡¯s ingredients for her own use also arrived, so she¡¯s the one to go with Ceruos. She is very careful and meticulous to her own ingredients. So I am left here to watch the kitchen.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± I shifted my eyes towards the cooking table behind him. ¡°You¡¯re making something?¡±


    He hesitantly looked behind him with a bitter smile.


    ¡°I was trying something while the others were out.¡±


    ¡°Cupcakes?¡±


    ¡°Um yes. I just finished it, so I don¡¯t know how it tastes now. I was about to review it¡±


    ¡°Interesting! May I try it? Of course, I¡¯ll give my opinion about it.¡±


    He was taken aback. He never imagined that the princess of the country would try out his experimental sweet.


    ¡°I-If it is fine with you, your highness.¡±


    Before he could do anything else, I stood up from my chair and walked towards him. He froze in place, unknowing what to do about this. I went past him and reached out towards one of the cupcakes.


    ¡°What makes this different from others?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Uh, um ¡ª I extracted the liquid essence of Yukiohil fruit and Treukim by crushing them and mixing it with the other ingredients.¡±


    I am familiar with some fruits from Estelia¡¯s memories. However, those two I never heard of. I shifted my eyes towards the fruits piled together.


    ¡°Which one is the Yukiohil?¡±


    He grabbed a yellow colored round fruit with bluish spots.


    ¡°This one.¡±


    ¡°And the Treukim?¡±


    He then grabbed a yellow green oblong fruit which almost resembled a cucumber. Of course the texture was entirely different from that. This one looked a bit rougher.


    ¡°Fascinating, thank you for telling me what those fruits are.¡± I said with a bright smile.


    ¡°N-No, not at all, your highness.¡±


    ¡°Well then, I shall try your cupcakes.¡±


    The cupcake had icing on top, although it looked plain. There was nothing much visually appealing about it. But I guess this was still in the experimental stage.


    I took a bite. The moment I tasted it, I froze in place. I then slowly chewed it. My face was not particularly pleased by it.


    I glanced at Tenil and saw that he looked frightened and worried. Especially more now that he saw my furrowing brows. I smiled slightly as I finished swallowing.


    ¡°Tenil, to be honest, it is too sweet, very sweet.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I see.¡±


    He looked disappointed.


    ¡°And it is harder to chew than I anticipated from a cupcake. It should be softer than this, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    He nodded his head.


    ¡°No good then.¡±


    He had a self-deprecating smile on his face.


    ¡°You looked devastated, but isn¡¯t this a par for the course in making something new?¡±


    He looked at me in the eyes then immediately looked away.


    ¡°I¡ª guess.¡±


    As I looked at him more closely, it would seem there was something else bothering him. It might have influenced his work that it ended up having this disappointing result.


    ¡°Is something the matter other than the cupcakes, Tenil?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lying, there is something, can¡¯t you tell me?¡±


    He looked at me once more, my faint smile relaxed him a bit.


    ¡°It¡­¡± He sighed deeply. ¡°The others are always better at cooking, especially in sweets. I¡¯m not good at it compared to those two, that is why I never worked much in making sweets for the royalty.¡±


    Ah, so it¡¯s that kind of problem.


    ¡°So you are always failing?¡±


    ¡°...You could say that.¡±


    ¡°But failure is to be expected, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°But does failure have to be inevitable?¡±


    I began to understand him a bit. He was a person who didn¡¯t want to experience failure. A person who always wanted things to go well, to end well. And ended up considerably disappointed if failure happens or doesn''t end in the way he wanted.


    ¡°Of course. That cannot be avoided. For failure is a lesson. How could we realize our mistakes without failure, Tenil? No matter how perfectly you want things to end, things can always go wrong, and that is a rule of this world that cannot be broken, no matter how hard you try. Failure happens.¡±


    Of course there are situations where failure is unacceptable and must not happen. Otherwise you¡¯ll end up dead. But this was a different situation. Stakes are low here.


    He lowered his head.


    ¡°But Allie looks to be doing very well compared to me.¡±


    Ah, also inferiority to the talented.


    ¡°She is always making good progress compared to me.¡±


    And comparing himself to others.


    ¡°Tenil, humans are good at something, and bad at others. And some are just naturally good at things. But of course, they are just not born with it, they hone it to improve. Allie likely went through difficulties like you are experiencing now.¡±


    ¡°Your highness... Is that how it is? It doesn¡¯t feel that way. It feels like she¡¯s a natural at everything culinary related.¡±


    ¡°Tenil, don¡¯t compare yourself to others. It will only make things difficult for you. I suggest thinking about what you should do to get to that level. Not what makes others better than you. Isn¡¯t it exhausting doing so?¡±


    ¡°....... Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡± I held his shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t think about others, think about yourself, think about how to overcome them. Do not deprecate yourself over failures and then go on to agonize. Experience failures, then think how to improve. Failures cannot be avoided, but because of failure, our mistakes stick in our mind, then we make ways to overcome that failure. Do not be discouraged. Think about the future, not the present or the past. Think about what you will become, think about what you can do to get there.¡±


    I was beaten up more than I could count just to defeat the opponent given to me during the education. I even almost died several times. There were always others better than me. I see them triumph, and I even fall before them.


    However, I did not compare. I did not whimper and cry why they are better, skillful, and stronger than me. I only thought about what should be done. I thought about the future. A future where I will not be a loser. A future where I will live. Especially because I know there was hope. Thus, I worked hard.


    At that time, I knew I must not become stagnant, or I would get left behind where demise was certain.


    Thinking about why others are superior will only be tiresome. Think of only the way to crush and trample them beneath your feet. I did not grumble, agonize and cry because others can cast absurdly strong as hell magic in this world and did nothing, but I acted on how to gain the same power, and even how to overcome them. Because after all, it would be bad if I couldn¡¯t fight back.


    ¡°Do you understand, Tenil?¡± I looked at his eyes intently with a nonexistent smile on my face.


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    He was thinking hard, trying to process everything that I just said.


    I was also curious about one thing¡­


    Why does he suck at his own job?


    I mean, how? Why?! Was this one of the greatest mysteries in human nature?


    Thinking hard about this is way above my paygrade, so nevermind.


    It was then that footsteps sounded from the back of the room. It would seem those two have arrived.


    I then spoke to Tenil one last time.


    ¡°You may not understand now, but think about my words..... Will you rise? Or remain at the bottom?¡±

 Chapter 73: Personal Chef (Part 2)

    I turned with a smile towards the newly arrived two. Cerous was in shock, but not to the level like last time, he must already be getting used to my frequent visit. Allie on the other hand was more composed than him.


    They walked closer to me before bowing followed by a greeting. Allie raised her head first.


    ¡°Your highness, I expected you to come today.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I guess I am that predictable now.¡±


    I said with an embarrassed smile.


    ¡°I got to taste the chicken this morning, a splendid outcome, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Yes, your highness. I was worried that the chicken would spoil or get bad, so I tightly sealed it and placed it in a container within an appropriate temperature.¡±


    Good thing she didn¡¯t store the chicken during the day when it¡¯s hot. The nights here were cold, you know. Unlike in the modern times where cities with massive buildings increase the temperature drastically. Here though, I find it much better, countless trees surrounded us, so it¡¯s cool.


    If I knew it was hot, I wouldn¡¯t have suggested it. Oh well, all¡¯s well that ends well. I should say, it¡¯s quite risky to marinate food without a refrigerator.


    I don¡¯t want to get sick. It would be embarrassing for a beautiful and delicate lady such as myself to get diarrhea. Imagine me, stuck on toilet... fuck that!


    Good thing cooks know when a food or ingredient is bad ¡ª except of course if they¡¯re an idiot sandwich.


    ¡°Good good. But multiple trials will be needed I think before we can say it is at its finest. But, I am quite satisfied by what I ate earlier. I commend you for that.¡±


    I walked nonchalantly towards the chair and sat down. I extended my hand forward indicating the other chair.


    With a wide joyful smile on my face, I spoke to Allie alone.


    ¡°Miss Allie, please sit down.¡±


    She was baffled by my request, blinking a couple of times before finally sitting down on the chair I pointed at. I clasped my hand delicately in silence as I stared at her for a moment..


    Her eyes asked many questions but I merely looked around the kitchen before finally speaking to her.


    ¡°You have been an apprentice for quite a time, am I right?¡±


    I turned to look at her eyes with a bright expression.


    ¡°Uh, um yes, I suppose.¡±


    ¡°I wonder, with your talent and skills in the culinary art, you still remained in that position.¡±


    She lowered her eyes for a moment.


    ¡°Well, the castle already has a chef. And the master of the house needs to appoint you to a position as a chef to be officially recognized as one.¡±


    ¡°... I thought so¡­¡±


    I grew silent for a moment before continuing.


    ¡°I am truly impressed. You strive for improvement and new creations. Experimenting with new dishes... a curious and creative mind. A person who always moves forward, never stagnant.¡±


    She looked confused as ever now, she didn''t seem to understand what I was saying.


    ¡°I look forward to your future, miss Allie.¡±


    I stared at her with a sweet smile.


    ¡°...T-Thank you, your highness. But, I don¡¯t understand where this is going¡­¡±


    I rubbed my thumbs together as I timidly replied.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think someone as talented as you should remain in such a rank. That is why¡­¡± I leaned a bit forward. ¡°I formally request you to become my personal chef.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Everyone¡¯s eyes went wide in surprise. I should call myself lucky that my father has yet to promote Allie as an official chef. If he did, I would not have been able to take advantage of this.


    She had been stuck as a mere cook, a position that undermined her talents and skills. Surely someone like that desires to step up the ladder. That being said, I have yet to hear her reply.


    ¡°Is that so surprising?¡± I said with seemingly genuine confusion. ¡°With talent such as yours, Miss Allie, surely you deserve to level up in the ranks.¡±


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    ¡°I am just¡­ surprised that you yourself would personally offer that position. But¡­¡± she glanced at Cerous.


    ¡°Yes, there will be two chefs if you accept. However, the superiors are different in this case, right? Cerous answers directly to the king, but you are to me.¡±


    Although, I won¡¯t be the one to pay her, hahaha!


    I then continued.


    ¡°If you accept my offer, you will be officially recognized as a chef. You can even be known as the personal chef of the princess. Which I believe will be a great help for your future.¡±


    ¡°...Y-Yes, I guess¡­¡±


    ¡°Not only that, as a chef, you can strive to create or improve dishes more freely. You can use any ingredients without limits, get the ingredients you require. Furthermore, the pay will be better of course.¡±


    I chuckled as I said that.


    ¡°Well, as a chef yourself, you can be a boss and hire new cooks. Of course, permissions to do so will be required.¡±


    She turned stiff as she seemed to ponder.


    With clasped hands, I leaned forward.


    ¡°So, will you accept my offer?¡±


    She looked at me. No, she was staring at me in the eyes. I do not know what she could be thinking about. I saw her lips trembling as though she was holding down her own smile. She seemed to hesitate.


    Allie looked around at everyone then momentarily stopped at the other cook, Tenil.


    She faced forward with a deep breath as though she steeled herself for her answer. What could the reason be for her hesitation? Perhaps it was the young man.


    Yes, she was about to rise up after all, and the other will be left behind. They were perhaps good friends that Allie would feel bad for. However, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.


    Perhaps in a commoner sense, being appointed as a chef in a noble household would maybe not be that big of a deal. However, those who have experienced high society, in aristocracy, or perhaps only in the wealthy, having to become an official chef in a house of a noble was a big deal, it brings a great merit and opportunity if the time comes to use it.


    Plus, being known as a personal chef of a royal princess, just think how others would see her. She would be someone very important. You would get the reputation of being a highly skilled chef to be appointed as a personal chef of royalty.


    No one would want to miss this chance.


    There could be two outcomes. She refuses, or accepts. If she refuses, now that would be suspicious. What reason could she be working hard in this place if she did not even take the chance or even dream about having this? That would make her more suspicious than she already was.


    Or, she would be a fool to reject this chance for some other person. No, she would be crazy. And, it doesn¡¯t seem she had any special feelings for Tenil. Plus, what about that thing that happened in the hallway between her and Oryn? Therefore, it was highly unlikely she would reject my offer for this young man.


    If she accepts, then all¡¯s good. I can get closer to her. But she would also get closer to me. However, I believe in my observation skills.


    The outcome I wanted here¡­


    ¡°Your highness¡­ I accept. I accept your offer.¡±


    I resisted the urge to smirk.


    This¡­ this was the outcome I wanted.


    I formed a wide happy smile as I extended my arm and held Allie¡¯s hands tightly. She froze in shock by my sudden action, she never anticipated that she would be held directly by the princess.


    ¡°Thank you, Miss Allie!¡± I said with excitement. ¡°With this, we can finally become even closer friends.¡±


    Her eyes went wide.


    ¡°F-Friends?¡±


    ¡°Yes, friends!¡±


    ¡°W-With the princess?¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°See? No reason to not be friends. Plus, I get to taste your newly made foods first, isn¡¯t that exciting?¡±


    Her smile grew wider, then she chuckled, in almost of a laugh.


    ¡°Are you happy, Miss Allie?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, yes I am. I finally got to be a chef. It¡­ is a dream come true. Thank you so much, your highness.¡±


    I could hear and feel the great joy in her voice.


    ¡°Mm! And I get to have another friend!¡±


    We stared at each other for a long moment.


    Such friendly gazes.


    ¡°Ah! I have to tell father this quickly!¡± I said with excitement as I stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving to tell him of this great news. See you!¡±


    I turned to move, but halted in my tracks as I glanced at Tenil for a moment. His movements looked like he wanted to say something.


    ¡°Do you have something to say before I go, Tenil?¡± I said with an innocent smile.


    ¡°I¡­¡± he closed his hands. ¡°... I will rise up¡­ your highness.¡±


    ¡°Good! I will watch over your progress with great interest.¡±


    I left the kitchen as I headed towards the office of my father.


    ¡°My father will be in his office I presume.¡±


    I asked Vernon.


    ¡°He should be.¡±


    ¡°Excellent!¡±


    I energetically walked, although not necessarily fast. It really gave off the impression that I was excited to tell my father while conserving energy.


    ¡°Your highness¡­¡± Vernon called me.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Why did you suddenly offer the girl a position of personal chef?¡±


    ¡°Could I not?¡±


    ¡°That is not what I mean. For what purpose did you give that offer? We already have a chef.¡±


    I stopped in my tracks and placed a finger on my cheek as though trying to think how I would explain.


    ¡°Talented individuals are to be cherished. Their abilities, skills, and motivations are to be treasured.¡±


    I turned to look at Vernon then to Mera.


    ¡°Humanity¡¯s individual excellence is what progresses the world, and not humanity as a whole.¡±


    Yes, like how one individual strived to create the first light bulb. Like how the first telephone was made, or the first plane. Many more inventions were led and progressed mostly by one person or carried out by a few. Almost one person always takes the first step.


    Individuals take lead in innovations, and thus, should not the same thing be the same to this world?


    ¡°Society as one cannot progress without the lead of one talented individual. Isn¡¯t that why we have kings or queens?¡±


    ¡°So you see that that girl, Allie, has the potential to bring progress to our society¡­? You truly thought of it this far?¡±


    Well, of course, that was not the complete reason at all. Do I look like I would stress myself out for society? Don¡¯t be ridiculous.


    ¡°... Talented individuals must be given what they deserve. And I know, I can imagine, just how much they could contribute to the people and our future. Besides, the world of culinary arts, I think that is a good place to start. Let¡¯s say it is like our first baby steps.¡±


    His eyes went wide.


    ¡°Your highness, are you perhaps along with it¡­ also finding talented direct subordinates?¡±


    For some reason I felt a bit anxious by how he was looking right now. He appeared to be imagining something.


    Hey, stop it. Stop overthinking this.


    ¡°What could you be talking about, Vernon? I am only doing it for the reason I told you.¡±


    I feel like regretting all I just said¡­.


    ¡°You say that but¡­¡± he stared at me for a long moment before taking a deep breath. ¡°Never mind, your highness.¡±


    ¡°U-huh¡­ Okay¡­¡±

 Chapter 74: Initiating the Plan (Part 1)

    I was now back to my training. Before that, I told my father of my decision to invite Allie as my personal chef and that she accepted. As sudden as it was, he was shocked to hear I made a decision such as that.


    Still, in the end, he agreed to it, as I expected. There was no significant reason as to why he wouldn¡¯t. Potential betrayer? Likely it crossed my father''s mind and considered all potential risks. However, that girl didn¡¯t really bear the impression of a traitor. In addition, everyone here was not worried much about poisons.


    In contrast, he likely accepted because I rarely make a big decision like this. He must be afraid that I would get disappointed at him and be upset because of him.


    Good thing everything ended up as I hoped. If my father denied it, I would have sulked and never talked to him ever again. Good thing it didn¡¯t end that way.


    Of course this morning after breakfast, father talked personally with Allie to formally declare her new position. She was offered a kitchen of her own. Well, this building was a palace after all, there were plenty of kitchens left unused. However, Allie refused the offer saying that she was happy where she was currently.


    Of course, when time passes, she would mandatorily need her own kitchen once she has her own cooks, but we have yet to reach that time yet, so she was left as she was for now.


    Back to the present, I have expanded my shield to have the same height as my body. That said, it was to be expected it would be weaker than it should be, but only a little compared yesterday. However, my control in mana had improved significantly, it was easier now to manipulate them.


    I practiced last night after all. About my mystic medium, it didn¡¯t feel much different. I still feel pain when I overdo it. It felt like it hadn''t changed since yesterday.


    ¡°By the way Vernon, how do you use your magic exactly?¡±


    I asked Vernon in curiosity. I was interested in his techniques.


    ¡°I use my mana to enhance the performance of my body. Strength and speed.¡±


    ¡°What makes it different from the magic I¡¯m learning and yours?¡±


    ¡°Mages cast their mana towards the outside of their body. For me, I keep my mana within me and use it to enhance my body.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s a different process of learning, then?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Will you teach me a bit of your technique?¡±


    I mean come on, if it enhances strength and speed, it will be very useful to me. I can lift things easier without having to appear buff and stray away from my ideal body. And speed, oh definitely gonna need speed.


    Vernon frowned at my question.


    ¡°My technique does not bring a good image for a lady like yourself, your highness. Just imagining the princess doing things with brute force, just does not feel right.¡±


    He must be imagining me punching things and other stuff with the use of my body.


    He then continued.


    ¡°Besides, if you practice your spell casting, you will be stronger than me. A fighter like me can only fight in melee, but you can easily defeat me from a distance if you have the power ¡ª which you will surely have in the near future.¡±


    I guess. However, my main weapon will be daggers. So, I will definitely need that kind of ability, even if I can only learn a bit of his technique and not match his power, that will be fine. I think I will only need additional strength for carrying new weapons such as swords and spears and some other beautiful weapons.


    I am deeply interested in trying out new weapons. But I¡¯m not looking forward to buffing my body for those. I like my incredibly delicate lady-like physical form. Therefore, physical enhancement will be really needed. Plus, a speed boost would be nice when striding through the night.


    ¡°Even so, at least teach me a little bit of it. I have¡­ things in mind to use it for¡­ plus, it would be good for defending myself¡­¡±


    ¡°If you are worried that enemies would get near you, there are plenty of spells for that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ nevermind that. Just, consider teaching me a little.¡±


    He heaved a deep sigh.


    ¡°I do not understand why you suddenly have an interest in such things.¡±


    I giggled.


    Maybe if I learn that, I can finally carry a greatsword with ease. I think it would be cool to try something like that. Or maybe, easily swinging two swords, but I guess long swords wouldn¡¯t be a great idea to dual wield.


    Okay, I just want to have fun, okay?


    ¡°Anyhow, you are doing well in casting the barrier, so I believe we can stop here and learn another spell tomorrow.¡±


    I agree, it would be more efficient to learn another spell. I can practice more on the barrier as time goes by.


    ¡°Is that alright for you, Mera?¡± I asked my maid.


    ¡°Um, I think it is fine.¡±


    ¡°Alright then¡­ if I remember correctly the next spell is something called firebolt.¡±


    I opened the book and confirmed that the spell named ¡°Firebolt¡± was indeed the next one. An offensive spell. I¡¯m pretty much looking forward to this spell. Apparently, it uses the element of fire.


    I expect this one doesn¡¯t have that much of a cosmetic freedom compared to Palm Shield. Reason being that the color of flames indicates its temperature. Well, as Vernon said, we form the spell so we can make it appear as we wish.


    However, something like a fire that has a designated color, I imagine changing its color only on appearance alone, would be a bit difficult. But then again, functionality was the most important here.


    ¡°This is a nice spell,¡± I said with a smile.


    ¡°Your highness, if you are to start this lesson, we cannot use this room anymore.¡±


    ¡°I suppose, I don¡¯t want to set my home afire.¡±


    I smiled with a strained chuckle. Burning my home down would be a nightmare.


    ¡°I will need to find a suitable place.¡±


    ¡°Please do, Vernon.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s proceed breaking your shields.¡±


    Then we went on a shield breaking routine. This was good actually since we get more strained due to the constant breaking and improving of our shields. Like how you would increase your stamina through jogging or exercising hard, pushing and straining yourself.


    That said, as time went on and many shield-breakings, Mera needed to stop first. Reason was that her mana was almost depleted. Apparently, you get way more tired when you keep on using your mana and depleting it fast. Like being drained and losing your energy.


    However, I have yet to experience that.


    Shockiiinnng, isn¡¯t it?! Okay, maybe not much because I had just bursted a vast amount of mana back in the library.


    I guess there¡¯s a good side in me after all! But then again, I am restrained by my fucking mystic medium! Fuck you mystic medium! You suck!


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    And so the shield smashing went on. Of course, there were improvements in the strength of my shields that even impressed Vernon.


    ***


    I was heading to the kitchen earlier than usual. Actually, way earlier. If you wanna ask why, not a particular reason. Maybe I just want to play around with people¡¯s reactions. Come on, it¡¯s amusing, a bit of a stress reliever wouldn¡¯t be bad you know.


    You need to stabilize your mental health or something, you know. What I¡¯m trying to say is, don¡¯t get too stressed out or distressed. Even the organization I was in was mindful of the mental state of the agents.


    If agents had bad mentalities, it would potentially affect their tasks. That was why, often, when noticed by a superior, the agent would be given a break. Of course, if not noticed, the agent themself will find a way to alleviate their stress if they find it unbearable or bothersome.


    Some find pleasure, doing whatever they want, playing games, talking, drinking, and mostly sex.


    Sex was pretty common, agents don¡¯t particularly mind it. However, the pleasure was great.


    For me, those were not my ways to alleviate stress.


    Sex? I find no pleasure in such a thing. Not even in the slightest. Therefore, I am not interested in it. I meant not the pleasure of the body, but the pleasure of the¡­ how should I say this¡­ I find no pleasure in a spiritual and emotional level, yeah, I think that explains it.


    Even if it felt good in the body, I don¡¯t find it desirable.


    My way of alleviating stress was listening to songs, and also taking quiet nightly walks if I could.


    Also, killing, taking one¡¯s life, spilling blood, yeah, that¡¯s also a great way to get rid of piled stress.


    I¡¯m starting to miss it so bad already.


    When we arrived at the kitchen, I instantly opened the door myself. With a bright smile, I entered the room.


    ¡°Hello everyone!¡±


    They were all inside. They all greeted me with a bow. Disappointingly, they were more composed than before.


    Ah, how boring.


    Looks like I couldn¡¯t feast off their reactions anymore. I resisted the urge to sigh.


    I guess there goes my intention to stress relief.


    Wait, maybe there were other ways.


    I turned to look at Mera. Her eyes met mine with curiosity as to why I looked at her. I immediately turned and walked forward.


    It has been a while since the last time I got amusement from Mera. But, it was hard to play around with her with the intention of having fun when I¡¯m wary of her.


    Haaah, looks like I have to focus on the job for the time being.


    ¡°It¡¯s my usual visit, so don¡¯t let me bother you. Keep on doing what you were doing.¡±


    Allie and Tenil returned to their work¡­? They were currently working on something together for some reason. As for the head chef, well he was originally sitting down with his head on the table. But now he was sitting straight in my presence.


    Not much of an entertainment.


    I approached Allie and Tenil.


    ¡°What is my personal chef and Tenil doing?¡±


    ¡°Uh-um well¡­¡± Tenil smiled wryly as he seemed to be hesitating to answer due to embarrassment.


    ¡°Your highness, I am currently teaching some things to Tenil.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see. Finally seeking help, that is good.¡±


    I smiled at Tenil, he blushed as he returned his eyes to the table.


    I still have no idea why he sucked in what was supposed to be his job. Hey, there are just some weird people out there. But it¡¯s good he¡¯s learning.


    That said, I was not lowering my guard to this guy. He may act all like this, incompetent, shy, and a boy in love, that didn¡¯t mean he was clear. The greatest spy is the one who acts perfectly as the character they choose to select.


    And that is frightening because that is the hardest to catch. There were many agents I know who were that way, very excellent people.


    If Tenil was a betrayer, then he was doing a splendid job. Everything about him was genuine. And a genuine person is what always makes me very, very cautious in situations like this. Call me paranoid if you want, but I tell you, I must not trust too quickly.


    And this Tenil guy, due to all his genuine actions, might have a higher chance of killing me without me even knowing it. An exaggeration? Not if there was a chance.


    ¡°By the way, Miss Allie¡­¡±


    ¡°Your highness?¡±


    ¡°Why did you refuse the offer of a kitchen of your own?¡±


    ¡°As I said, your highness, I am currently fine where I am at.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but, you do know you are a chef now. Isn¡¯t that some sort of a new beginning?¡±


    ¡°A new beginning¡­¡±


    She lowered her head as though in thought.


    ¡°I¡­ suppose¡­¡±


    ¡°Then why, truly?¡±


    She looked at my eyes before lowering them again.


    ¡°Maybe¡­ maybe everything just seemed unreal¡­ it just felt sudden¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you afraid of the sudden change?¡± I asked.


    ¡°...¡± she paused as she was about to speak. ¡°... I¡­. I may be a bit scared¡­¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°But that is not the only reason¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°After all the long time I have been here¡­ getting sent to another place would feel¡­ lonely.¡±


    ¡°Lonely¡­¡±


    I suppose, suddenly leaving your allies, or them leaving you, I suppose being alone was going to feel lonely. Especially when you were used to their company. And¡­ having the company of your trusted friends is fun¡­


    ¡°I understand, Miss Allie¡­ By the way, can I call you Allie?¡±


    ¡°Of course your highness. You do not even need to add the word Miss in the first place.¡±


    I smiled.


    ¡°Alright, Allie¡­ can I watch you two?¡±


    And then we hung out as I watched them cook. I acted having fun all the while.


    ***


    It was currently dinner, and I was with my family as usual. Most of the dishes tonight were cooked by my dear personal chef. I should compliment her, her cuisines were exquisite.


    ¡°By the way, Estelia. Is progress going well with your magic training?¡±


    My father asked me as I elegantly ate my food.


    ¡°Everything is going well, father,¡± I said with a smile. ¡°Although, my progress is greatly impeded by my damaged Mystic Medium.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that is to be expected. But, you are truly not in any kind of pain during training, yes?¡±


    I innocently smiled at him. He appeared to be genuinely concerned for my wellbeing. For some reason, it warmed my heart, and I cannot understand why this was happening to me now. I shook that feeling off.


    ¡°Of course, father. I am feeling fine unless I push myself. Oh, you have yet to be informed by Vernon of our next plan.¡±


    ¡°Next plan?¡±


    ¡°Father, the next spell in the book.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ what was it again¡­?¡±


    He tried to remember what that next spell would be for a moment. I guess it was to be expected he wouldn¡¯t recall it from the top of his head since he must have read that book a very long time ago.


    ¡°Was it the lightning one¡­?¡±


    The lightning was pretty interesting. But I was following the process.


    ¡°The fire one, dear father.¡±


    ¡°Oh! That one! Well, as my daughter, I¡¯m sure it will be pretty easy for you.¡±


    I flashed him an embarrassed smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best. But I think I¡¯m getting the hang of it, so I should learn it faster than before.¡±


    ¡°Show me some impressive progress, dear daughter!¡±


    He pumped his fist in the air as he looked at me with a wide grin. He was motivating me.


    ¡°O-Of course, father!¡±


    I¡¯ll make more than progressing in magic. I¡¯ll also take out the rat hiding in our ranks.


    ¡°I believe in you, dear sister!¡±


    I smiled at my ever supportive brother.


    I then went on to eat my food in a flawless lady-like manner. I noticed my mother directing a proud smile towards me, but I paid no heed to it.


    Just then, my brother spoke to Father.


    ¡°By the way, father. Have you been informed?¡±¡¯


    ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°About the information circulating among the knights.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Information? Which one?¡±


    ¡°About a potential traitor in the knights.¡±


    Father stopped his dining as he pondered.


    ¡°Our actions had already incited a little rumor that something is going on, but it¡¯s not that great. So isn¡¯t the same thing should be happening in the knights. What made it catch your attention that you would speak to me about it?¡±


    Estevan lowered his fork and spoon and drank water from his glass. After that, he spoke.


    ¡°This is no mere baseless rumor from observing what is happening all around. The rumor is you could say, stronger. Reason being that a knight spoke about it, an elite at that.¡±


    Father raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Oh, who could it be?¡±


    ¡°Rogan Dorien.¡±


    I resisted the urge to smile when I heard that name.


    Father looked a bit surprised.


    ¡°Him, huh. Any news on where he based that information on?¡±


    ¡°Some sort of specific source was never mentioned. Although I only heard everything about this from another party. That¡¯s why I will be visiting them tomorrow.¡±


    This was good. I thanked Rogan in my heart. He might be a decent man, after all. Or not¡­ nothing was assured.


    At first, I scouted the castle and gathered and observed as much as I could. However, now I have to be a bit aggressive. With this rumor turned to information coming from a knight, surely the betrayer would have heard of it by now.


    They will feel their position was threatened. They will feel tense and restless, and that overall uneasiness will slowly eat them. They will question how it was known. Could someone possibly know who they were? Are everyone in the castle on them? Numerous questions will storm their mind.


    Enough being careful, time to indirectly engage the enemy. Whether they choose to withdraw now or later, it will become obvious that they were the infiltrators all along. Of course, they might become more careful. However, I have already done my observations. Any strange movements will be noticed by me.


    It was a good thing that Rogan had not revealed it was me, which was up to my expectations. However, for some reason, my father didn¡¯t know yet. I thought Vernon had reported it to him.


    Hm, perhaps he doesn¡¯t always give his reports? Or was he instructed only to report the important stuff. What game was Vernon playing? What I did was pretty significant.


    Of course, I wouldn¡¯t mind my Father knowing I was the source. The important thing was that my enemies did not know it was me. I should be the clueless and naive princess after all. And the enemy discovering otherwise would be troublesome. But what if Rogan was with the betrayers? Heh, then it¡¯s not that bad since he was already in my radar. The worst enemies are those you do not know or have seen.


    To be honest, I might have become a bit impatient, that was why I took a great turn in my plans. The impatience must have influenced my decisions. My mentality has been... greatly affected recently after all¡­


    At any rate, no harm happened to me yet.


    ¡°Very well, my son.¡±


    I then chimed in.


    ¡°Brother, when are you going to the knights?¡±


    My brother turned to me with a bit of surprise.


    ¡°In the morning. Why?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I was just wondering¡­ Are you still working on the papers?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We have some new information, so I must definitely look into it. But I guess I will be delayed on looking into it. But, Oryn will sort things out first, so everything should be fine.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    Perfect timing.


    Thank you again Rogan for opening this opportunity.


    I have found a chance for some alone time with Oryn. It would seem my decision to share the thing to Rogan had brought a bit more merits than I intended.


    That said, my brother will be interviewing Rogan tomorrow.


    You better not snitch, Rogan!

 Chapter 75: Initiating the Plan (Part 2)

    After dinner, I returned to my room to sleep after some goodnights to my servants. I closed the door, and instead of lying down, I merely sat at the edge of the bed.


    I planned not to sleep yet. I crossed my legs as I waited for time to pass.


    Now, what could my goal tonight be? Well, I intend to speak with Vernon, alone. I couldn¡¯t talk about this with him when Mera was around. It was time to set a little plan in motion. Just a little plan, that¡¯s all.


    He mentioned he was patrolling. However, I do not know when exactly so I used the time I sang as reference. However, he might be reporting to my father, so a delay may be expected. So I will be moving a little later from the time I sang.


    Furthermore, there were a few things I wanted to learn from him.


    I could lay down the bed to wait, however, I want to avoid accidentally falling asleep.


    I am tired after a day¡¯s work after all. The more tired the body, you might never realize you fell asleep until you wake up. Of course, I have better control of myself, so I will be highly unlikely to accidentally fall asleep.


    That being said, this posture was good for thinking, and I¡¯m just being more careful with myself. The bed was incredibly soft, so I might unconsciously rest my body. In any case, I am just thinking about what I will do tomorrow morning.


    Brother was leaving for a while, out of his office, and I will take that opportunity.


    About more than an hour had passed, I rose from the bed and equipped my daggers, then quietly opened the door. A little creak was unavoidable, but it was not that loud. After making sure there was no one around, I left and gently closed the door to my room.


    The hallway was dimly lit only by a few lit lamps on the wall.


    I would need to search for Vernon, too bad I didn¡¯t manage to ask him of his patrol route. Heck, it was not even assured that he was patrolling at this time. If I can''t find him, then I will have to postpone it. But I prefer doing this now.


    I used the direction opposite of the stairs heading down. I ought to check the other hallway first. My steps were completely silent as I strode forward with a quick pace.When there was a turn, I took a look first.


    A knight was slowly moving towards this direction at the edge. If there was a patrol assigned here, it was unlikely that Vernon was here. Upon realizing that, I went back to the route I went through.


    When I reached the stairs, I made sure there was no one around. There was a pair of guards walking, and I waited for them to move and disappear. Once clear, I descended down.


    If Vernon was to guard me, he would need to be in a place near me¡­ or a place where he could see my room and basing from the time I sang that he heard me. He said he didn¡¯t hear much, but I don¡¯t know how much trust I should put into those words.


    If he didn¡¯t hear much, he must already be heading away from the area of my room.


    The floor below my room I suppose was not a good place to guard me from. Therefore, there was one place I can think of if he wasn¡¯t in the hallway. The outside.


    There should be a door by the side, so I headed there. When I arrived however, as expected, there were guards on the other side of the door.


    ¡°Hey, do you believe Rogan?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, but to think a traitor could possibly be among us. Unbelievable.¡±


    ¡®¡°Don¡¯t tell me dude you¡¯re a traitor.¡±


    ¡°Why the hell would you accuse me of that, we joined together, didn¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°I jest.¡±


    ¡°Haaah, don¡¯t make that kind of joke¡­¡±


    ¡°Right right. That aside, Ayana was pretty dashing as always wasn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes she was¡­ I sure want her to heal me sometimes.¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll marry her, she¡¯ll be welcome to our household.¡±


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t even get started you asshole, my noble household is worthier than yours.¡±


    ¡°Tch! As if!¡±


    I realized their presence because of their chatter.


    As expected of guards on standby, they¡¯re a bit noisy. Tend things to get boring after all.


    I went past the door and headed towards the direction of the rear of the palace. I passed by windows that can be opened from within, curtains partially covering them.


    As I went further from those pairs of guards I began searching for a good window. Then I stopped, there were a couple of windows which were covered in shadow and darkness because there was no light to light the path on the other side.


    The moon was not much of a help too, trees in this part and the palace building covered its illuminations. I made sure there was no one coming then unlocked the window.


    I gently opened it and went over the window then quietly closed it. As long as it was unlocked, I can enter through here again. I then headed towards the rear of the palace. I would know if someone was coming through lamps or any light source. In this darkness, a source of light would be essential after all, one can¡¯t just walk around without one.


    A few moments later, I saw a faint light lighting the ground. It may be a knight coming towards me. So I quietly went over to the side of the path where there were bushes, plants, small trees and darkness. I crouched down and waited for the person to show themself.


    I also held my breath to remain completely stealthy.


    Then the patrol turned from the other side of the wall and revealed himself.


    I smiled.


    It was the person I was looking for.


    I really had to go all through this trouble, huh. Vernon and Mera were always together, and I cannot afford to give any apparent hint that Vernon and I talked. I didn¡¯t even want to risk Mera seeing me asking Vernon to stay behind.


    There was not much opportunity to drive Mera away either. We were all together during magic training. Also, I would eat with my mother during lunch, then lately I¡¯ve been going to the kitchen. I decided to act this now since I have observed enough of Mera.


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    Vernon with a lamp in hand, looked around, he didn¡¯t seem to realize my presence. Then he looked up.


    I quietly emerged from my hiding spot without him ever noticing and stood on the path. When he looked back down, he froze and his eyes went wide. I see utter confusion in him.


    ¡°P-Princess, why are you here? No wait, why didn¡¯t I realize¡ª¡±


    ¡°I want to talk.¡±


    I said with an innocent smile. His brow wrinkled which showed his age even more.


    ¡°T-Talk? If so, you wouldn¡¯t have needed to come out here.¡±


    ¡°No, I deemed it necessary.¡±


    ¡°Deemed it necessary¡­? How did you get here without alerting any guards?¡±


    If the guards discovered me, they would have brought me back to my room, or warned others.


    ¡°That¡¯s not important right now, Vernon.¡±


    I averted my eyes away as I rubbed my hands together. He observed me closely before sighing.


    ¡°Very well, what do you want to talk about?¡±


    ¡°I have something I want to request. But before that, I have something to ask.¡±


    I looked him in the eyes.


    ¡°You report to my father about my actions, yes?¡±


    There was a moment of silence before he answered.


    ¡°... Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­ how frequently do you report to him?¡±


    ¡°... If you want to know if I report to him everyday, then no. I only report to him every two days, or when there is something significant to report.¡±


    ¡°And may I ask how you determine something as significant?¡±


    ¡°First your health, of course. Then when there is some significant improvement to your magic training. Aside from those, well, for example your decision to have Mera learn with you, which was not my intention when I suggested she learn spells.¡±


    I smiled wryly.


    He then continued.


    ¡°Then your actions of frequently visiting the kitchen. That is the most noteworthy, and thus I reported what you did while being there.¡±


    ¡°So, you report to father any significant magic related occurrence. Then my decisions that you deem out of the norm?¡±


    He hesitated for a moment before nodding his head.


    ¡°......Yes, your highness. I apologize if I displease you.¡±


    He bowed his head.


    ¡°Um n-no. I understand that you have to do those kinds of things.¡±


    I shook my hands frantically.


    ¡°I am grateful for your understanding¡­¡±


    ¡°But, I do want to ask you to not tell Father of our meeting tonight, and its contents.¡±


    ¡°....... That¡­ you did something unbelievable, you went out of the palace with no protection¡­¡±


    ¡°Please?¡± I directed a pleading gaze towards him.


    ¡°... Very well. How you managed to come here quietly still eludes me. And how the knights fail to sense your presence, and even me.¡±


    I just became one with nature, hehehe.


    ¡°Thank you. But, this is the next crucial question I want to ask.¡±


    I paused before speaking again.


    ¡°Why did you not tell father that I was the one who tipped Rogan?¡±


    He was silent for a while, no immediate answer.


    ¡°I suppose you realized, huh.¡±


    He smiled faintly.


    I placed my hand behind me casually. It was faster for me to move and take out my daggers when things went towards an unexpected turn. Perhaps there was no point in doubting Vernon because he was my father¡¯s trusted aide. But, it can''t hurt to be too careful.


    I swear, if things go south and become dangerous, then I made a grave mistake.


    I am all alone. When this turned out to be a deadly and undesirable situation, then he could easily kill me without anyone else knowing. That means, this was a good place to assassinate the princess.


    Would he take the chance? No betrayer will let this chance slip if I were the target. And Vernon was strong. He could easily kill me whenever he wanted now.


    Or, that was what he thought.


    He was oblivious to my physical abilities and reflexes. I grew in combat, but he never knew that. Therefore, he underestimated me without him even realizing it. And that will be to my advantage. I cannot be easily killed.


    What about the issue of strength and survival? Perhaps you have forgotten, but I am originally stronger than him. He may be strong, yes, but remember the time in the library. He never even managed to reach me. Therefore, when it comes to it, I¡¯ll unleash all my mana, then crush him. It might hurt, but I¡¯ll do it. Besides, my mystic medium was already partially restored, so I believe I won¡¯t die, and I have a pretty good grasp on mana now.


    In short, this situation was also a little test for Vernon.


    I then responded to him.


    ¡°Of course I would. Earlier at dinner, they mentioned it was unknown who was the source of Sir Rogan¡¯s information. And Father was completely clueless. So, I wonder, why didn¡¯t you tell him? Isn¡¯t that supposed to be your job?¡±


    He sighed.


    ¡°Indeed, it is my job. However, the reason I didn¡¯t report it to his majesty is because¡­ it appears that you do not want for anyone else to know you told that knight.¡±


    ¡°Hm? That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Also, it was very surprising. I never expected that kind of action from you. I thought to myself, the princess must be planning something or perhaps intending for something to happen. However, it could have been dangerous if that knight shared you were the source.¡±


    ¡°He is a knight isn¡¯t he? If he doesn¡¯t have the common sense to hide the fact that the princess herself gave the information, then he is not worthy to be a knight.¡±


    If Rogan dared to share that, then he would be written in my highly potential suspects list. And my anger might have him accidentally die at any point in time. Although, magic will prove to be troublesome for that endeavor, tch.


    In contrast, remember my words with him?


    ¡®You interpret it the way you like¡¯


    I never explicitly said that was a fact and that phrase could be taken in the words ¡®You didn¡¯t hear anything from me¡¯ or ¡®You¡¯re the one who thought that way¡¯. Both ways indirectly meant don¡¯t ever say it came from me or something similar in nature. And from my interaction with him, he appeared to understand. Then it was proven true when he never said I was the source when he spread the information.


    ¡°Such cold words coming from you, your highness.¡±


    I tilted my head as though clueless what he was talking about.


    ¡°Is it? I see it as a fact. They are trained to protect the royal family and country, so they should realize what is the right course of action for the ones they are protecting.¡±


    ¡°I suppose you are right.¡±


    ¡°...Then, are those the only reasons?¡±


    ¡°... Yes, I just respected what I think your intentions are¡­ and I do not want to interfere. If you wanted your family to know your actions, you could have told them yourself¡­¡±


    ¡°Perhaps.¡±


    ¡°Also, Mera is the other one who knows.¡±


    ¡°She reports directly to me. Therefore, there is nothing much to worry about. Also, I trust that she knows what line she shouldn¡¯t cross.¡±


    ¡°Princess¡­ When have you been hiding the abilities of your mind? To be honest, if it does not offend you, can I speak out?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°I thought your mental abilities were lower than this.¡±


    ¡°Even I use my head, Vernon. Plus, I did nothing noteworthy at all. Any normal mind can think of something similar, I am nothing special.¡±


    ¡°..... Not only that, you came here without anyone detecting you.¡±


    ¡°That is not important.¡±


    ¡°You say that¡­..¡± Vernon sighed upon seeing that I have no intention to answer his curiosity and confusion. ¡°Anyhow, what is it you want to request? It is dangerous here to take our time.¡±


    I looked around the area.


    ¡°Is no one else patrolling in the area?¡±


    ¡°At the moment, there should be none yet.¡±


    ¡°Splendid. Alright, I have a little plan, and I will need your cooperation if this will be effective.¡±


    I walked closer to him and spoke to him in a quiet voice that only he could hear.


    I then proceeded to tell him of my little plan. When I say little, I seriously mean little, just so you know.


    His eyes went wide in surprise.


    ¡°Your highness¡­ you may call this a little plan, but what outcome do you want from this?¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t about the outcome, Vernon. But rather about the underlying effects it¡¯s going to have.¡±


    He for some reason gulped. What could he be thinking about?


    ¡°This method is slow¡­ but it will have significant effects, depending on what the situation really is.¡±


    ¡°Either situation will have different effects on the person, I suppose.¡±


    ¡°But, I understand why you have to ask me about this, this wouldn¡¯t work much without my cooperation. Especially that we are always together. I didn¡¯t expect for you yourself to come up with this plan.¡±


    I puffed my cheeks.


    ¡°I¡¯m not stupid, Vernon.¡±


    He chuckled.


    ¡°Of course you are not, your highness.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, with that, I¡¯m done. Oh yes, you reported to father today I presume?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then I suppose you have selected a place for the training place for the next spell.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°But we won¡¯t be going there immediately tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I will be relying on you on another matter.¡±


    ¡°What could you be talking about, your highness?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll realize it tomorrow. Now then, I will be going. The plan will commence tomorrow, okay?¡± I started to turn away.


    ¡°Wait your highness. You¡¯re going back alone?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I stopped in my tracks and turned my head to face him. ¡°You do not need to escort me back. Besides, it will be even stranger for me to be discovered when I¡¯m with you when they haven¡¯t even realized I went past the guards. It would be safer if I am discovered alone, like a girl just sneaking out at night.¡±


    ¡°.... But how you got here quietly is still something to be confused about.¡±


    ¡°... Fine. I went through the window, okay?¡±


    ¡°... I see. But that¡¯s¡ª¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s getting late, I need to return, I¡¯m tired. Goodnight, Vernon.¡±

 Chapter 76: Distant

    It was morning and I stretched my legs as the light of the early sun came through the window. My return to my room last night was flawless, if I had been discovered, it would have dropped a bolt on my plans. Not a wrench since I would just be seen as a teenage girl sneaking out at night.


    Okay¡­ I could have undermined it considering how my parents treat me. But it shouldn¡¯t impede much in my intentions, so it remains a mere bolt. But I suppose a mere bolt can destroy the entire machinery. Alright, let¡¯s stop it with the metaphors.


    There was a knock on the door and I instantly knew who that was. It was the usual routine, meaning Mera had arrived to come and get me.


    Mm, I¡¯m sure Vernon has arrived as well.


    Leaving with no other choice, I would have to believe in Vernon on how he would do this. I expect a lot of things from his age.


    I then allowed her to enter.


    ***


    Mera arrived at the Princess¡¯ room early in the morning when Vernon also arrived. She was about to bow her head to greet, however, she froze for a moment when she saw him looking at her.


    A mere look would have been no problem, except this time, his gaze towards her was different. His was a scrutinizing gaze, and its subject was Mera.


    The maid was confused by this sudden occurrence, however, she thought it was just her misinterpretation about the situation. Moving on from her mistaken thoughts, she proceeded to bow her head.


    ¡°Good morning, sir Vernon.¡±


    ¡°...Hm, good morning.¡±


    His voice was lower than usual, lacking the trace of warmth he usually had when speaking to her.


    Is he in a bad mood?


    Maybe something happened. She couldn¡¯t bring herself to ask if he was already this way early in the morning. He will likely return to normal later on.


    Mera proceeded to knock on the door to the princess¡¯ room.


    ¡°C-Come in!¡±


    Hearing that, Mera gently opened the door. And there she was, the beautiful princess, her platinum hair glimmering in the sunlight. However, her crimson eyes seemed to waver when they looked upon Mera. The maid herself noticed this.


    The princess had her closed hand by her chest, giving the impression that she was nervous. Mera was puzzled as to why this could be. All she could think was that the princess had a bad dream.


    Mera knew that the princess was soft and fragile, and she could imagine that she would be terrified by a little nightmare. Thinking about that side of the princess made her heart warm, and it was a bit comical.


    But of course, she had no intention of telling that to anyone.


    ¡°Milady, I have prepared the bath.¡±


    The princess was silent for a second before she responded.


    ¡°...Y-Yes, I¡¯ll be going.¡±


    The princess timidly walked towards her. That said, she was more timid than she usually was every time she acts this way. This time, her meekness appeared to be more intense. She stopped for a moment then took a deep breath.


    Mera wondered, what could frighten her this much?


    When the princess had gotten closer to her, she turned stiff. It was a bit alarming for Mera. She gazed at the princess¡¯ eyes.


    The princess closed her eyes and took a deep breath again, after exhaling on then she became a bit calmer.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Your highness, are you alright?¡±


    Vernon had noticed the princess¡¯ plight and asked her outright.


    ¡°Uh? Y-Yes, I¡¯m okay,¡± Princess Estelia turned her head to look at Mera. ¡°... Mera, let¡¯s go.¡±


    Mera faintly smiled as she led the princess to the bath. She saw the princess grasping both her own hands, often indicating that she was feeling tense. It was hard to figure out what could be bothering the princess so much that even on the way to the bath she would be acting like this.


    They arrived at the bath, Vernon stood by the wall beside the door outside the chamber. The princess glanced at him with anxiety in her eyes, but as though gathering the courage she took a deep breath and entered the bath along with Mera. Needless to say, the maid only grew more confused about the situation.


    Then as usual, Mera assisted the princess in removing her clothes. However, the moment she touched her, the princess flinched upon contact along with a tiny squeak.


    ¡°Milady, is something wrong?¡±


    Couldn¡¯t contain her confusion any longer, Mera asked her.


    ¡°Um, no,¡± the princess¡¯ eyes traversed around before looking at Mera with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡­ just some things in my mind, that is all.¡±


    Mera nodded her head in belief and continued on with her task. With all that done, the princess proceeded to enter the pool. She often glanced at Mera, but the latter merely smiled and the princess returned it.


    As Mera awaited, she became uneasy about everything that was going on. First it was Vernon, now it was the princess whom she serves. It was like there was something that she didn¡¯t know about happening.


    What could it be?


    Mera stared at the princess. The princess gracefully scooped water with her hand and poured them onto her head. The water gently flowed down, drenching her hair and passed through her bare and white shoulders before returning to the pool.


    She, the beautiful princess that could captivate just about anyone by her presence alone, was there peacefully bathing, unguarded, unprotected, and vulnerable. Mera took in a sharp breath as she watched the sight. Her heart slowly began to race.


    The princess relaxed her back on the side of the pool and lowered her head. Her eyes began to close and started to relax.


    Such a flawless existence.


    But now for a moment, for some reason, the princess began to feel distant again. Mera didn¡¯t want that. She wanted to get closer to her.


    Thinking about what just happened, she thought to herself¡­


    Something¡¯s truly weird going on.


    She couldn¡¯t come to a solid conclusion. The princess seemed to have no intention of answering her confusion. And she expected no answers from Vernon as well.


    Mera grasped her wrist.


    She would have to see and observe everything. However, she couldn¡¯t help but feel worried about herself.


    The princess had finished bathing and Mera assisted her in dressing up. As expected, the princess was stiff in the process. Mera began to feel that the princess was frightened¡­


    And, she was frightened of Mera. No mistake about it. However, if she acted the same to others, it would relieve some apprehensive feelings within the maid.


    After the dress up, the princess looked perfect as always. She wore a wide dress, white colored boots, and a white hairpin in the shape of a wisteria petal. She was very pretty. Like a white flower in a peaceful spring, blossoming beautifully and brightly amongst the gentle breeze and the warm light of the sun.


    Mera herself chose this set of clothes. Fortunately, her lady appeared satisfied since she received no complaints. However, perhaps it could be because the princess seemed uneasy.


    But the princess¡¯s sweet smile towards her lifted off some of the heavy feeling. Although only a little.


    After the bath, they went on to the dining room as the princess dined with her family. Therefore, Mera was stuck with Vernon as always. However, the atmosphere didn¡¯t completely feel welcoming.


    Vernon would sometimes glance at her, as though his eyes were on guard. Mera wanted to ask what could be wrong, but Vernon was not exactly the type she saw as easily approachable now. Not that she would easily approach him in any other situation.


    She just saw Vernon was a bit frightening to interact with. Well, the same as other fellow servants that were superior to her. She was not confident enough to speak lightly with them despite her being the princess¡¯s personal maid.


    In fact, as a personal maid, she should be about below Vernon¡¯s level, considering that Vernon was the king¡¯s direct servant. But that also meant that other servants that were higher than her before being appointed as a personal maid were now in match with Mera in terms of rank. But she couldn¡¯t help but still see them as superiors.


    No, perhaps she just wanted to treat them with respect and utmost politeness as seniors. She had to give a good impression to everyone after all. She didn¡¯t want to look bad.


    As she hesitated to speak with Vernon now, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to ask anything.


    The royal family had finished eating and they saw the prince leave. However, he was not going to the direction of his office.


    A couple of minutes later, the princess appeared.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to my brother¡¯s office.¡±


    Mera tilted her head a little.


    ¡°Milady, your brother didn¡¯t seem to be heading towards his office.¡±


    ¡°... Um, uh. Y-Yes, he is not heading to his office¡­¡±


    Her manner of speaking was timid.


    Mera was a bit bothered, but decided not to think about it at the moment.


    ¡°Your highness, what is your purpose for visiting his office?¡± Vernon asked.


    ¡°I just want to look at things¡­¡±


    ¡°... I see¡­¡±


    After that, they headed towards the Prince¡¯s office.


    Mera still couldn¡¯t understand everything. However, she was starting to have the faintest idea.

 Chapter 77: Ears

    Oryn placed the newly sorted stacks of papers on the prince¡¯s desk. At the moment, he was by his lonesome since the prince left to have a meeting with the knights. Information that cannot be overlooked popped up.


    No, Oryn thought it was just not information that newly came out. But rather, it was a leak. He tried asking, but the prince didn¡¯t say anything significant about it. Such a shame, he wanted to know more.


    His gaze turned towards the papers and picked up a sheet. New information has been gathered about the knights¡¯ families that would require reviewing. The agents sent were pretty efficient in their work. That said, they couldn¡¯t find any information that would warrant any suspicions that the prince was looking for.


    The nobles in the capital were clean. However, beyond it, in the outskirts or any remote territories, or ones outside the capital, there were some things that called for a raised eyebrow.


    Although, they were not a matter of national threat.


    Information of nobles owning slaves. Slaves were not allowed in this kingdom, therefore, nobles owning some were to be noted, especially if the slaves were being abused.


    Furthermore, there were a few mistreatments of the people in their territories. Then some tension with other noble households. The knights in the order didn¡¯t seem to be directly involved in those, however, investigations will be required.


    A traitor, huh¡­


    He thought back to the information heard that originated from the knights order.


    As he was about to sit down on a couch, there was a knock on the door. He furrowed his brows, wondering who that could be.


    ¡°May I come in?¡±


    The moment he heard the innocent sweet voice from the other side of the door, his brow wrinkled. He needn''t think a lot to figure out who it was. There was only one person with that voice and manner of speaking, it was the one and only Princess.


    He left the paper on the couch and straightened his clothes. With a sigh, he walked towards the door and opened it gently.


    He forced a smile upon seeing a beautiful girl with long platinum hair, snow white skin, and crimson eyes. While the beautiful girl smiled purely as she faced him.


    ¡°Hello, may I enter?¡± She asked.


    Does she not know that her brother left for the knights?


    He resisted the urge to sigh.


    ¡°Your highness, I regret to inform you but your brother is not here.¡±


    ¡°I know that.¡±


    She does know.


    Then what would be her purpose here?


    Oryn glanced at her two attendants. First to the maid who had a somewhat disturbed expression, but he didn¡¯t think much of it. Then his gaze shifted towards the old man named Vernon, his gaze stayed on him for a moment before returning to the princess.


    ¡°In that case, you are free to enter, your highness. However, I am curious as to what the reason for this visit is.¡±


    ¡°My brother has a lot of paper to look into, yes? I want to help him even for just a little. I think I¡¯ll write down some important notes.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then please, enter.¡±


    He tried to keep a neutral expression. He recalled that the princess has magic training¡­


    Magic¡­.


    He wondered why she didn¡¯t go and train. That being said, he was more interested in the princess¡¯ goal of learning magic.


    He watched as the princess carefreely entered and sat down on the chair in front of the table.


    Oryn tried to hold back from making an annoyed expression. He was bothered by the princess, and was always somewhat annoyed every time he saw her.


    A person who had no idea of the outside. A presence so pure, ignorant, and living such a comfy life. A girl who knew nothing of the world. And that girl was apparently a very, very important person.


    That was one of the reasons he disliked this princess. The person who was clueless about the world, living a colorful and safe life.


    Oryn once again glanced towards the two servants standing by the corner before retrieving the paper left on the couch. Then after that, the princess spoke.


    ¡°Wow, big brother has a lot of things to work on¡­. Oryn, can¡­ can I have a few sheets of paper and a quill for writing?¡±


    Oryn resisted an exasperated sigh and delivered what the princess wanted.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    The princess began reading some paper.


    It would seem I have to stand and watch the princess.


    The princess didn¡¯t exactly show an image of a reliable person after all.


    As he was reading while behind the princess, the latter suddenly asked Oryn.


    ¡°Oryn, you know what my brother¡¯s purpose of visiting the knight''s order is, am I right?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°What do you think about it?¡±


    ¡°About what, your highness?¡±


    ¡°What is my brother concerned about?¡±


    He kept a straight face.


    ¡°About some story about a potential betrayer within the palace.¡±


    ¡°Yup. So, what do you think? Is it plausible?¡±


    ¡°Why would you ask me that question?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I just want to know the thoughts of someone close to my brother. Can I not learn your opinions?¡±


    Oryn resisted the urge to sigh. There was nothing wrong with sharing his thoughts with her. Well, not like he could refuse to answer a question from the princess in the first place.


    ¡°No, of course I¡¯m willing to share my thoughts on the matter¡­ Well,¡± he contemplated on how he should go and answer. ¡°Perhaps it is plausible to have a betrayer.¡±


    ¡°I see. If there is one, how would you go find them?¡±


    Oryn eyed the princess who was busy writing down on a paper. Such sudden questions. However, he tried to understand her. A girl like her must be anxious about it. Thus the questions.


    However, even if he went to answer it, there would be no point speaking about it to the princess. After all, he imagined she wouldn¡¯t be able to contribute much to the matter.


    A girl with no skills and talent, nothing impressive, a person like that wouldn¡¯t be of much help.


    But, perhaps her being that way was fortunate enough.


    Still, it seems to be changing.


    Having no choice, he answered.


    ¡°Such a situation is not to my expertise, your highness. Therefore, I fear I have nothing to answer.¡±


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    ¡°Is that so¡­¡± she sounded a bit disappointed. ¡°I understand.¡±


    There were several minutes of silence and sounds of papers being moved. Oryn decided to standby since the princess had basically taken his job. Actually, he liked this. The princess doing his job was surprisingly pleasing to him, perhaps he just wanted to see the princess to be a bit stressed.


    He glanced at her servants once more. The maid especially acted strange, she had been like this since arriving here. On the other hand, Oryn looked at Vernon closely for only a second before averting his eyes away.


    Then he found the princess looking at him with her wide crimson eyes.


    ¡°Your highness?¡±


    She wryly smiled.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry Oryn. I¡¯m just thinking about something. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    He was confused by her regretful tone.


    ¡°... What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I saw your ears.¡±


    He felt cold the moment he heard those words, reminded of his ears.


    ¡°I see....¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, when I learned of the reason, it kept coming back to my mind.¡±


    Oryn was salty and bitter upon receiving the pity of the princess. But he didn¡¯t let it show outwardly.


    ¡°Is that so¡­?¡±


    ¡°I heard it was due to bandits¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes it was¡­¡±


    The princess¡¯ eyes widened, her fingers trembled.


    ¡°How frightening. I never imagined people are capable of doing such acts. How¡­ cruel¡­¡±


    She lowered her eyes. Was it sadness that Oryn saw? Shock? Or fear? No, perhaps it was all of them. The princess was feeling all of them.


    But Oryn didn¡¯t feel moved.


    ¡°It was a long time ago, your highness. You do not need to feel anything about it.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    She was silent for a moment before speaking again.


    ¡°And, what of the bandits?¡±


    ¡°Years ago, they were hunted down and they quieted down. Needless to say, a lot of members escaped.¡±


    ¡°So they are still out there then.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ But for some reason, now they have become active again.¡±


    ¡°Really?! This is terrible.¡±


    ¡°That said, I received intel that adventurers have been hired and sent to handle the matter with those bandits. They should still be working on it, it will take some time before everything ends.¡±


    ¡°Adventurers¡­ you mean those people that always carry weapons around?¡±


    ¡°Hm, yes. You must have seen them during your visit to the city.¡±


    She nodded her head.


    ¡°I hope everything ends well. But what about you, Oryn?¡±


    Oryn¡¯s face turned into puzzlement about the out of the blue question from the princess.


    ¡°...What do you mean?¡±


    She looked at his eyes with sadness.


    ¡°They hurt you, are you not going to do anything?¡±


    He furrowed his brows. Why was she asking such questions?


    ¡°I will leave it to the adventurers.¡±


    ¡°But do you feel nothing at all, Oryn? Don¡¯t you feel anger? Hatred? Do you not feel those emotions at all?¡±


    ¡°......... I do feel those emotions.¡±


    Who wouldn¡¯t feel terrible after what happened to him? What cut off from him was part of his body. He imagined anyone would feel terrible.


    ¡°Do you not feel vengeful?¡±


    ¡°I ¡ª¡±


    ¡°Oryn, have you hated anyone?¡± The princess suddenly added that to her question.


    ¡°...... Perhaps.¡±


    ¡°Have you hated anyone that you wanted to kill them?¡±


    Oryn was taken aback by the princess'' words.


    ¡°I¡­ I cannot say I did¡­¡±


    ¡°Those bandits are evil. Do you not feel that you want to do something about it?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I am powerless to do something.¡±


    ¡°Powerless¡­? But there are other ways to fight, not just with strength.¡±


    ¡°... Princess what are you¡­¡±


    Why was the princess saying all this? Was she sympathizing that much with him?


    She¡¯s definitely sympathizing.


    Perhaps that was why she was able to say those things. Why would she feel this way towards him, one whom she didn¡¯t personally interact much with?


    ¡°Oryn, have you ever experienced, or perhaps feel that you have to do something, something that is necessary, that is needed, perhaps for the greater good, or for something else?¡±


    He felt cold again.


    He couldn¡¯t respond instantly.


    But the princess continued.


    ¡°You see, not doing anything especially when it is necessary, it weighs in the heart, doesn¡¯t it? That is why, if it is necessary for one, one should begin to act. Don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    ¡°Begin to act¡­?¡±


    Those words echoed in his mind.


    ¡°Even if the act itself is good or evil, I think if it is necessary, it must be carried out as soon as possible. Because, the longer it gets, the worse it will become.¡±


    Carry out¡­


    He mused.


    He took her words deeply.


    Oryn stared at the princess, then he turned towards her two servants. They also stared at the princess with confusion. Not one expected to hear such words from her.


    Then the princess continued.


    ¡°If those bandits are still walking and running freely, there will be more victims in the future. Things might become even worse than you imagined. And I think, a person who personally experienced their cruelty and heartlessness will be ideal to lead a movement against them.¡±


    The princess picked up the quill. Her expression was filled with anxiety.


    Then she spoke the words that would linger within Oryn¡¯s mind for a long time.


    ¡°The clock is ticking... Time is moving forward, and so does everything. So¡­ Oryn, what will you do?¡±


    ***


    The princess left about more than an hour later when she realized the amount of time had passed. She left the room in a panic as she was still supposed to do her magic training. Oryn was left sorting out what the princess had left behind.


    Amidst all that, the image of the princess remained in his mind. Her words lingered in his thoughts.


    Oryn picked up the paper the princess was writing on. Written unto it were important information about each person she had read about, and it was organized impressively. He mentally conjured the princess¡¯ innocent visage, her long platinum hair, beautiful face, and mesmerizing eyes of crimson.


    As he kept thinking of her words, he realized too late that he had crumpled the side of the paper he was holding. He heaved a weary smile.


    Carry out, huh¡­


    He had been thinking all about it for a very, very long time now. It wouldn¡¯t leave his mind. How could it? It was a matter of great importance to him.


    He touched his ear, causing heaviness in his heart.


    He was not powerless to do something.


    It has gone on for a long time now, perhaps it was time for him to act as the princess said. His heart couldn¡¯t keep this on forever.


    Maybe it was time to disregard all his fears. The princess was right, everything would only become worse as time passed. The clock was always ticking.


    Thus, it was time to bury the fear and wariness. He must face the reason his ears came to be.


    He thought back to the pain as his ears were cut off. A painful memory.


    It was then that the door opened. Oryn turned around and saw the prince wearing a weary expression.


    ¡°Your highness, I suppose it didn¡¯t end well.¡±


    Estevan faintly smiled.


    ¡°Yeah, well not exactly,¡± he sat on his chair behind the desk. ¡°My meeting with the elites went smoothly, with the exception of the primary matter.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then what about the primary matter?¡±


    It was the one with the information that had been spread, started by a knight named Rogan.


    Estevan sighed.


    ¡°There lies the problem, he didn¡¯t say a word. Not one bit.¡±


    Oryn was impressed. Even faced with the prince, Rogan refused to answer.


    ¡°Then we can¡¯t do anything about it, can¡¯t we, your highness?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°What about with the king¡¯s authority?¡±


    ¡°Rogan may act the way he is on the surface, but that man is tough as a boulder. He wouldn¡¯t give it away that easily. Even more so when I threatened him with that.¡±


    ¡°... Even with the king¡¯s permission?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Not many would have the nerve to explicitly say they would even go against the king¡¯s will. Oryn couldn¡¯t understand why he would go this far, unless the source was a pretty important person.


    If it was an anonymous tip, then Rogan would have said it was. However, he didn¡¯t, but rather kept it a secret. Therefore, there was a high chance he knew personally the source of his information.


    ¡°Does this mean that his source is a very important person, your highness?¡±


    ¡°I doubt it. And we did no such thing.¡±


    Of course, the royal family was the very important personnel here.


    ¡°Even Mother was surprised¡­¡±


    ¡°What about the princess?¡± Oryn casually asked, he didn¡¯t mean anything about it.


    Estevan stared blankly towards Oryn as though what he had heard was utterly ridiculous.


    ¡°Oryn, do you really think she could do that?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my mistake. I cannot imagine the princess doing such a thing.¡±


    ¡°Yes, all in all, she was just doing her own business.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is impossible.¡±


    No way the princess could think of doing this.


    Oryn thought.


    He saw the princess as someone incapable of such a significant action. He had known of the princess¡¯ nature since he had been seeing and watching her for a long time now after all. Anyone would get familiar how the princess was after several years of working in the palace.


    Thus, he never believed that the princess would have the nerve to cause a disruption of this scale and importance.


    ¡°Yeah, and in no way would Estel do something like this without telling us. Plus, she was clueless when she first heard about the issue.¡±


    ¡°Mm¡­¡±


    ¡°It also couldn¡¯t be Mother too, she¡¯s busy.¡±


    ¡°What about his majesty the King?¡±


    ¡°If he did, for what reason would he not tell me at least? It wouldn¡¯t make sense that he would keep the fact that he did it from me.¡±


    ¡°Then, could his information come from the servants?¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then there are servants out there that need to be trained and disciplined again.¡±


    In the palace, servants needed to be taught to not spread crucial information, whether it was told that it was confidential or not. Servants needed to turn that into common sense that they shouldn¡¯t spread information from important figures. Otherwise, they would face strict consequences and punishments. Imprisonment was one of the possibilities.


    In other words, servants should know what line must not be crossed.


    Oryn thought about the information from the knight, then to the prince who was agitated and seemed to focus greatly on the matter. And then Rogan who was protecting his source. He concluded one thing, this information was true.


    ¡°But coming from servants, the chances are so low. Haaaah, what a pain!¡±


    ¡°Just take it all slowly, your highness.¡±


    ¡°.... Now investigations need to be carried out.¡±


    Oryn smiled in amusement as he saw the agonized Estevan.


    ¡°Shall I bring you some refreshments?¡±


    ¡°Great! Give me some orange juice then. I¡¯m thirsty,¡± Estevan then laid his head on the table. ¡°If only Estel is here¡­ I want to see her¡­¡±


    Oryn stopped as he was about to leave.


    ¡°Ah, the princess came here earlier.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Estevan sprang up. ¡°And I was not even here?! Wait, what did she even come here for?¡±


    ¡°She said she wanted to help you even for just a little. That¡¯s her work there.¡±


    Oryn pointed at the papers the princess worked on. Estevan instantly grabbed them and a wide smile formed on his face.


    ¡°Aaaawwww. My sister is so nice and kind. That¡¯s it! I¡¯m seeing her now!¡± Estevan began to move out.


    However, Oryn immediately blocked his way.


    ¡°Your highness, please remain in your work.¡±


    ¡°No way, Oryn.¡±


    ¡°I refuse, your highness. Besides, the princess is busy with her training.¡±


    ¡°But still¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you think she would be pleased if you disturb her?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Disappointment was all over Estevan¡¯s face as he slowly sat back down on his chair in resignation.


    ¡°Fine¡­¡±


    ¡°Thank you, your highness. Please stay here as I go to prepare your refreshments.¡±

 Chapter 78: Uneasy Mera

    <div>


    Mera was with the princess learning a new spell called Fire Bolt. As for the Palm Shield spell, Mera had already learned how to cast it with no fail. That said, the strength of it left plenty to be desired.


    Further training of her mystic medium will be required to make it stronger to at least block half of Vernon¡¯s true strength. Mera was often baffled that Vernon, despite being a commoner at birth, was powerful enough that he could match the strength of an elite knight.


    Perhaps it would be because of his hard work when he was young, or he was blessed by the gods.


    That aside, since Vernon was not a caster of magic, he wouldn¡¯t be able to help much in the spellcasting department. Therefore, it was up only for both her and the princess. Everything would have been less distressing if the princess wasn¡¯t acting so weirdly.


    At the moment, they were outside the palace in an empty courtyard, no other personnel could be found here. This was around the eastern side of the palace, although a bit distant. In addition, the area the knights used for training should due south of here.


    Under the shade of a building used for storage, although empty since it wasn¡¯t used much, Mera stood as she looked at the book atop the table, and beside her was the princess. Mera glanced at the princess and noticed she was acting tense.


    Her fingers often shook as she laid them on the table. Mera felt even more uneasy about the situation, she could even feel Vernon¡¯s stare from behind her. Her heart throbbed hard as she felt a small sense of anxiety building up in her chest.


    ¡°M-Milady¡­ is something a matter with me?¡±


    The princess frantically turned towards her.


    ¡°N-No! No¡­. Why? Is something bothering you?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ no¡­¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ So, Mera, have you understood how to do it?¡±


    ¡°I think so¡­¡±


    The princess had begun to act a bit more normally than she was only recently. But Mera was still pretty disturbed.


    As for the spell, in short, just visualize and imagine flames. At the same time, give it properties of heat, as flames originally were. However, it would need to be compressed so it would be truly a bolt of flame that it was designed to be. The hardest hurdle here would be shaping the mana into it.


    Mera has yet to fully master tinkering with her mana. Like having difficulties putting a thread into a needle. Yes she may be able to cast a shield easily, however, she would be casting a new spell. And shaping mana into it would be different to making the shield.


    She didn¡¯t know about the princess though. She was a bit afraid to ask at the moment.


    In the open space, Mera did as what was instructed in the book. She held out her hand and concentrated on the flow of her mana.


    She imagined and visualized flames.


    Fire flickered in her palm. However, in a second, it vanished completely. She did it again and fire came forth flickering.


    Mera glanced at how the princess was doing. The princess¡¯s brows furrowed a little, struggling to create her flames, they flickered around the same as Mera¡¯s.


    About half an hour later, Mera had gotten used to it and a small ball of fire hovered above her palm. However, the best this could do was set afire a bonfire, or cause mild burns on a person.


    She forced forward her mana, and the flames grew larger inviting a smile to play on her lips. After that, she took a glance at the princess. Her eyes froze at the princess¡¯s palm where a ball of fire hovered just above it. What caused her surprise however was that the flames were in a perfect ball shape.


    The fingers of the princess motioned slightly, and the ball rotated around, as though the fingers were carving and controlling the full motion of the flames. However, the ball didn¡¯t seem to be compressed yet. Despite all that, Mera was impressed.


    The princess was able to give a clean form of the flame, Mera was sure that the princess had such precise control of her mana. That being said, she wasn¡¯t sure how much level of preciseness that was yet.


    ¡°Fire bolt, it¡¯s not shot in a swinging throw¡­ so¡­¡±


    The princess murmured. Indeed the bolt was not thrown like how you would throw something from the shoulder forward. If one does that, one would need to focus more than on launching the bolt, but also timing it with your throw. In other words, it was faster and easier to launch the bolt yourself, like how a fire bolt should normally be used.


    The princess held out her hand forward. The ball of fire turned slightly smaller. Then, it shot forward as though propelled by an invisible force.


    However, a few steps of distance, it puffed away into smoke.


    ¡°Huh¡­ it¡¯s not as easy as I thought.¡±


    The princess turned around towards Mera.


    ¡°M-Mera.... H-How is your progress?¡±


    ¡°... I am still trying to give it a form.¡±


    ¡°I see....¡±


    The princess cast down her eyes towards her palm, and flames came forth.


    ¡°Magic really is wonderful, one can easily cast fire. You wouldn¡¯t need to struggle in lighting a fire with this¡­¡±


    The princess seemed to halt all motion as she observed the flames in her hand.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering for a while¡­ Vernon.¡±


    She called Vernon. Upon her beckon, the old man approached her.


    ¡°Your highness?¡±


    ¡°Magic is a pretty, mysterious thing¡­ In this world full of magic, there must be a number of manners of things which are quite mystical, am I right?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°What¡­ What sort of interesting things are out there? Creatures, places¡­ what sort of things are there that resemble something mystical, and mysterious¡­¡±


    The princess gazed up at the sky. For some reason, Mera could sense solemness in that gaze, mixed within were what seemed to be curiosity. A princess who had never seen much of the outside world, of course, she must be full of wonder of what could be out there.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Well, for starters,¡± Vernon said. ¡°There are monsters¡­ Which I think are pretty mystical, and mysterious. I mean, why do those savage creatures have to exist? Creatures that normal humans cannot even hope to match.¡±


    The princess lowered her gaze.


    ¡°I suppose horror exists in the world, no matter how hard you wish for it not to. But, there must also be beauty, is there?¡±


    Vernon faintly smiled.


    ¡°There was a lake in the north, I went there with my old party once. The water was clear during the day. However, when night came, as the gentle moonlight touched the water, the lake shone with various colors. Then, small dots of light in the color of gold began to ascend from the water.


    ¡°When I reached out for them, my hand went through them. They cannot be touched, as though they were spirits¡­ Of all the many beautiful places I came across, that place was the most memorable¡­¡±


    ¡°... Why?¡± the princess asked.


    ¡°That was the last day I was with my party.¡±


    Vernon had a look of nostalgia on his face, however, came along with it were eyes of sadness.


    ¡°I see¡­ I¡¯m sorry I asked.¡±


    ¡°Do not be sorry, your highness. There is nothing to be sorry about.¡±


    The princess nodded.


    ¡°Vernon, please tell me stories of other places next time.¡±


    ¡°As you wish.¡±


    ¡°... Places aside, are there any creatures, you could say, the same as us? Sentient and almost resembled our appearance.¡±


    Mera and Vernon both had a puzzled expression. The princess was specifically asking after all.


    ¡°Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°I am curious. I wondered if there are other living beings almost the same as us. Like a different race.¡±


    ¡°Hm. There are demons in the south, beyond the southern shores.¡±


    The princess jerked her head and faced towards Vernon.


    ¡° ¡ª Demons?¡±


    ¡°Yes, demons. You need to cross the sea though, they are not exactly a kind you could easily be friendly with. Well, this is a continent ruled by humans, so I suppose that is to be expected.¡±


    ¡°I see. But demons? Do they like to possess people or become invisible or haunt you or something, becoming spiritual?¡±


    Vernon raised an eyebrow, baffled by what the princess thought the demons could be.


    ¡°Your highness, where did you get those ideas from?¡±


    ¡°... Just my imaginations.¡±


    ¡°Hm. In any case, they are not like that. They almost resemble the form of humans. Well, almost, so there are conspicuous differences. That said, they are generally dangerous, so¡­ be careful if you encounter one.¡±


    ¡°I would unlikely encounter one in the palace anyway¡­. So, are there any others?¡±


    ¡°Others of?¡±


    ¡°Other races?¡±


    ¡°Ah, if you want to learn of other humanoid sentient beings, that which we can communicate like proper people, no, no other.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    The princess sounded disappointed. She returned her focus to the ball of fire on her hand. Then she raised her head and turned to ask Vernon again.


    ¡°Vernon, have you heard of elves?¡±


    ¡°Elves¡­¡± Vernon echoed.


    Mera was confused by the term ¡°elves¡±. She didn¡¯t know what that was. Vernon also seemed to be in deep thought.


    ¡°Elves¡­ I have heard of it, but barely anyone mentions that word.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ what are they?¡±


    ¡°They are only mentioned in non-popular myths.¡±


    Mera had realized why she never knew of the term. They were myths that were barely mentioned. Mera was not exactly a person that strives for information such as this, therefore it was expected she wouldn¡¯t know about it.


    ¡°Wait, myths?¡± The princess looked puzzled.


    ¡°Yes¡­ Not much is known about them. Well, as myths there are, they likely never existed.¡±


    ¡°So no one has discovered elves? And there is a chance that they never existed in the first place but merely works of fiction?¡±


    ¡°...Yes¡­ but princess, where did you hear that word?¡±


    The princess moved back her elbow, then instantly moved it forward vigorously. The bolt of fire launched forward with great speed, however, it didn¡¯t reach that far, just double the distance from before.


    Mera was in awe of how the princess was able to achieve such distance already.


    ¡°Where did I hear it? You do know there are a lot of mouths around the palace, don¡¯t you Vernon?¡±


    ¡°I suppose.¡±


    Really? I never heard anyone talking about that¡­


    Mera mused.


    ***


    A couple of days had passed since the princess started learning her fire bolt spell. She had shown significant progress to the point that Vernon was wary to take it head on. For that reason, testing it to a person was not an option, not that it was an option in the first place.


    Mera had also shown a lot of progress. However, her bolt was not as destructive as the princess who had a vast amount of mana.


    Regarding the princess though, there was a concerning matter. She would often grimace whenever her bolt strengthened due to her damaged mystic medium which greatly limited her progress. But at least it was better than before.


    Then at the end of that, the princess asked for a break. Mera understood why the princess would ask such a thing. The princess must have been exhausted, not only did she have to train but also endure the pain within her body.


    The princess definitely needed rest.


    Also, needless to say, Mera still received a cold treatment from Vernon, while the princess was still quite frightened, only a bit though since the princess had slowly warmed back up. Mera was a bit relieved about it, but she still had no idea at first why they were acting this way. And that only made her also more anxious as days went by.


    At the moment, the princess was on her way back to her room earlier than usual along with Mera and Vernon.


    Mera snuck a glance towards Vernon as they walked side by side behind the princess. She then returned her gaze forward as she resisted the urge to sigh.


    After all the days that had passed, Mera had come to a conclusion. The princess and Vernon were definitely cautious of her for an ominous reason. It was as though they were suspecting her.


    But could it be simple suspicions? Mera had a feeling that they already had a basis for their actions. With this realization, Mera hardened herself.


    When they arrived at the third floor by the stairs, they found a man that Mera and the others recognized. He was walking from the far side of the hallway and was heading towards them.


    Mera was puzzled as to what this man was doing walking around in this part. If he came from the prince¡¯s office, he wouldn¡¯t need to go through here just to go down. Surprised for the same reason, the princess stopped in her tracks as she gazed towards the man.


    Mera and Vernon followed when their superior began to walk forward, and approached the man.


    ¡°Oryn¡­¡± the princess called his name.


    ¡°Your highness,¡± Oryn bowed deeply with a neutral expression.


    ¡°It¡¯s rare for you to walk around here. What brought you here?¡±


    The princess gazed innocently at Oryn with a blatant trace of cluelessness.


    ¡°I am reviewing the security within the palace hallways.¡±


    ¡°...For what reason?¡± the princess asked.


    ¡°You knew of the information of a traitor within the palace, yes? If that is true, then it is essential to make improvements or check for errors of security within the confines of the palace.¡±


    ¡°Does big brother know about this?¡±


    There was a second of delay before a response finally came.


    ¡°... No¡­ I was intending to check everything out first and formulate a plan before informing the prince. I hope that it would at least relieve him of some things to think about.¡±


    Mera understood and agreed with Oryn¡¯s intentions. Seeing how much paperwork the prince was working on, this way it would lessen the things that bugs his mind. Mera would have done the same for her superior.


    ¡°... And you left him, alone with his work¡­?¡± the princess asked.


    Mera turned her gaze towards her. If Oryn didn¡¯t inform the prince of his intention, then how was he able to leave behind the one he was supposed to assist. If he suddenly left the prince, he was a failure of a servant. A prince full of work would not let his attendant leave freely unless with a good reason.


    ¡°His highness asked for refreshments, and I only took this opportunity.¡±


    Oryn gave his reason.


    ¡°I see,¡± the princess¡¯s smile grew wider. ¡°I¡¯m glad someone is helping my big brother, please don¡¯t let him overwork himself too hard.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­ By the way, your highness, aren¡¯t you a bit red?¡±


    Indeed, a tinge of red colored the princess¡¯s pale skin.


    ¡°Exposing myself under the sun for too long isn¡¯t good for me. It¡¯s a bit painful.¡±


    Because of her snow white skin, she was very sensitive to the sun. Therefore, she would mostly stay under the shade whenever necessary. However, her training got more intense than before, and because of that, she exposed herself to the sun more than before. Which was one of the reasons why she wanted to rest for now and stay away from the sun¡¯s light.


    Truth be told, Mera was a bit surprised that the princess lasted this long. After all, before this, she almost never left the palace and was barely exposed to the sun.


    ¡°I suppose magic training is going smoothly? May I ask what you are learning now?¡±


    The princess pressed her index finger to her lips adorably.


    ¡°That¡¯s a secret, it would ruin the surprise of my improvement if I tell anyone now.¡±


    Oryn chuckled.


    ¡°I imagine the prince will be very pleased when you show him your newfound abilities.¡±


    ¡°I hope so! Alright then, I will be going to rest, so goodbye for now, Oryn.¡±


    ¡°Very well, your highness.¡±


    With that, they left each other and headed towards their own destination. After several steps however, the princess stopped and turned around. Puzzled, Mera also turned around towards where her gaze was directed at. And there she saw Oryn going down the stairs.


    It only lasted for a second before they continued on their way.


    Mera wondered why the princess looked back.


    <div>

 Chapter 79: Her Fellow Maids

    It was evening and Mera had retired to her quarters. She bounced up and down after she plopped down on the soft and smooth bed, her face burying into the pillows. A loud sigh came forth from her lips before turning around facing the ceiling.


    Somehow, it was more tiring than before. No, actually, it had been more tiring for a couple of days, and a bit more stressful. There were a lot of things on her mind.


    She had been terribly careful not to stand out, but why? Why were the princess and Vernon acting that way? It was what she feared.


    If what I¡¯m thinking is right then¡­


    She was anxious that everything she had worked on would become worthless. She thought hard on what she should do. However, it was easier said than done. It felt like she could do nothing about it.


    Grabbing a pillow from the back of her head, she placed it upon her forehead covering her eyes. The softness of the pillow brought some relief within her.


    ¡°Hey Mera, what¡¯s wrong with you? You¡¯re acting as though no one else is here.¡±


    She heard the voice of her fellow maid.


    Mera put away the pillow from her forehead and turned her body to face the other maid sitting nonchalantly on the side of her own bed. The maid was still wearing her maid outfit, her curly pale golden hair was let loose, her blue eyes looked towards Mera with a bit of curiosity.


    ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ¡°Heh? If you say so, don¡¯t come crying to me when things get worse, okay?¡± The maid grabbed a fruit from atop the drawer and offered it to Mera. ¡°Here, pear, you¡¯re favorite.¡±


    Mera pouted.


    ¡°You know I don¡¯t like pear, it¡¯s dull.¡±


    ¡°Wow, Mera, you¡¯re actually so stressed out that you resorted to calling a pear dull!¡± she looked genuinely surprised.


    I suppose I don¡¯t usually call something that...


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want it, then give it to me.¡±


    Another voice chimed in, it was from another maid in the room. She had short black hair and brown eyes, she bore a beautiful appearance which surpassed even Mera.


    ¡°Woah, Macey, I¡¯m offering it to Mera, so don¡¯t go stealing it from her now.¡±


    ¡°Mera called it dull, Ellie, do not force her to eat what she doesn¡¯t like and instead offer it to someone who actually fancy it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Ellie, give it to her.¡±


    Ellie gave the fruit to Macey with a somewhat displeased expression.


    ¡°You better eat it whole. I don¡¯t like it anyway, so go ahead and also have the others.¡±


    ¡°Very well. I''ll have the others tomorrow,¡± Macey said as she took a bite from the fruit in her hand. ¡°And for goodness sake Ellie, you are a noble, please speak as a noble should.¡±


    Ellie lacked that elegant manner of speaking as should nobles have, and that was what bothered her.


    ¡°Eat my ass, Macey.¡±


    ¡°Kuh!¡± Macey choked the moment she heard such a vulgar phrase. ¡°E-Ellie!¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah. No need to suck on traditions when we¡¯re alone in private, so relax.¡±


    ¡°Even so, if you keep doing this, you might become more versed to this than the proper way of speaking.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Maceeey.¡±


    Macey directed an annoyed glare towards Ellie. Mera sensed the air was getting intense so she decided to change the subject.


    ¡°Where are the others?¡±


    ¡°They went to the baths first,¡± Ellie said.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t come with them?¡±


    ¡°We waited for you,¡± Macey replied as she took another bite at her fruit.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡°I see. Thanks¡­¡±


    ¡°It gets crowded anyway, so it¡¯s good to wait, no rush,¡± Ellie lied down on the bed as she faced Mera. ¡°You still sound so¡­ uninspired, what¡¯s bothering you?¡±


    ¡°... I said it¡¯s nothing.¡±


    ¡°Can you not share your trouble with us?¡±


    Macey said as she sat down at the edge of Mera¡¯s bed.


    Mera debated whether she should tell them, but immediately decided not to. Her guess was too big of an issue to tell others. However, it could also be wrong. Even so, telling her friends how the princess and Vernon were treating her, she was not too keen on the idea. Nothing good would come out of it but would only make it worse for her.


    ¡°It is not that big of a problem.¡±


    ¡°Is it a love problem?¡±


    Ellie asked that out of the blue which incited a surprised reaction from Mera. Her question was just too far from the truth that it almost sounded absurd.


    ¡°No it¡¯s not!¡±


    ¡°Oh? Doesn¡¯t sound like it.¡±


    Ellie¡¯s lips lifted into a teasing grin.


    ¡°Mera? Love? Really? Who?¡±


    Then Macey leaned forward, her intense questioning gaze stared directly at Mera¡¯s eyes. Which was honestly disturbing.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not!¡± Mera said in defense.


    ¡°You¡¯re lying, Mera. Why didn¡¯t you tell me anything? You could have at least mentioned it.¡±


    Mera was getting uncomfortable that she recoiled away from Macey. This friend of hers was starting to act weird.


    ¡°Hey, Macey, calm down. That was just a throwaway question, damn.¡±


    Upon Ellie¡¯s words, Macey backed away but still had a pair of doubtful eyes.


    ¡°But she sounded so surprised though.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, she really did...¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because it''s so far from the truth!¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Ellie rose from her bed in laughter. ¡°You¡¯re sometimes funny, Mera. Anyways, why are you so serious Macey?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m interested.¡±


    ¡°Interested? Interested because one of your friends is starting to have a love life and you¡¯re not?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that!


    ¡°It¡¯s not about love life!¡±


    Ellie covered her ears.


    ¡°Ladies, quiet down, it¡¯s evening, you¡¯ll disturb everyone.¡±


    Macey chowed down at her fruit before speaking in an annoyed tone.


    ¡°As I said, it¡¯s not like that. But just so you know, I¡¯m finally getting a spark...¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°And he¡¯s a knight.¡±


    ¡°Aaah, he¡¯s definitely just playing with you.¡±


    ¡°How negative can you get, Ellie?!¡±


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m just stating a possibility.¡±


    Macey crossed her arms and took a bite from the fruit in her hand.


    ¡°Nothing like that is happening.¡±


    ¡°I see, I see. But I wanna know, is it also a spark for the other party, I mean the knight. Or you¡¯re just assuming that there is a spark?¡±


    ¡°Why are you so dummy dumb dumb, Ellie?!¡±


    ¡°Dummy dumb dumb¡­?¡±


    Ellie had a flabbergasted expression on her face as she repeated the comical words that emerged from the elegant maid¡¯s mouth. Mera too was taken aback by those words, it sounded somewhat childish.


    ¡°.... Sorry¡­¡± Macey immediately apologized, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t think it¡¯s like that at all.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡±


    Slightly, Mera¡¯s lips curled up. Because of her friends¡¯ company, she had somewhat lost some anxiety. But only a little.


    ¡°I mean, he is pretty nice to me and all. And¡­ we have been friends since we were children.¡±


    Ellie grinned widely at the revelation.


    ¡°A childhood friend? Oh holy lord and lady, ain¡¯t that something! Hey Mera, are you hearing this?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    Mera was getting more interested in the story.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a story for you two just to enjoy!¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah, so who''s the guy?¡±


    ¡°Um, Alan from the Welford household.¡±


    ¡°Alan, huh. Don¡¯t know the guy,¡± Ellie said.


    Mera on the other hand recognized the name. If memory serves, it was the young man she saw with the princess during the training of the knights. The young man they were checking out. She had only heard his name and never interacted, so she didn¡¯t have much of an impression towards him.


    Recalling that small bonding with the princess brought some elation in her heart.


    Wait, now that I¡¯m thinking about it.


    Mera remembered quietly well the interaction between the princess and this knight named Alan. To be precise, she recalled the actions of Alan. The embarrassed way he acted that time implied one thing, and his expressions.


    Oh no¡­.


    Mera felt a bit bad upon realizing that.


    Well, she couldn¡¯t blame anyone. The princess¡¯s charm was just that great, even with just her casual presence. That was how great she was. So, there was no one to blame if a man fell in love at first sight, and ultimately no one can blame the princess herself.


    It would be unfair to blame her, she didn¡¯t do anything bad after all.


    Now, would Macey have a chance just in case of¡­ no no no, I shouldn¡¯t think like this.


    Imagining that scenario stung her heart a little.


    ¡°Mera, have you heard of the guy?¡± Ellie asked her.


    ¡°Um, I think I saw him once.¡±


    ¡°Saw him... and you know who he is?¡± Ellie leaned forward with interest.


    ¡°...Mera?¡±


    Macey stared at her weirdly. Thinking that this was going in a weird way, Mera frantically shook her hands.


    ¡°Whatever you¡¯re thinking of, it¡¯s not that! Seriously, why did you two suddenly leap to that way of thought?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not?¡± Macey asked in assurance.


    ¡°Yes, it was the time when I went with the princess outside the palace halls.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡±


    Macey instantly became relaxed. Mera decided that it would be best not to mention that Alan and the princess interacted.


    Still, is Macey not aware of the effects the princess brings to young men by her presence alone?


    Now that she thought about it, Macey was never assigned to assist the princess, nor was Ellie. These two were assigned to clean most of the time, and not to assist royalty. Therefore, they didn¡¯t know the princess that much.


    Now what made Mera different from these two that she was given the chance to assist the princess in rotation? Mera¡¯s guess was that she had a high rating given by her superiors.


    In fact, she could guess some flaws of these two. Macey was too elegant and gentle, almost a perfect maiden like, and that brought worries to how much she could do. As for Ellie, her nature was too vulgar for service to the princess.


    It was then that the door opened and a few maids who were now wearing night gowns entered.


    ¡°Looks like they¡¯re done, alright let¡¯s go.¡±


    Ellie suggested, and the three of them went for the baths carrying their clothes for changing and bathing towels.

 Chapter 80: A Leisurely Tea Time

    Come morning after the princess took a bath, she returned to her room after breakfast. For untold reason, the princess decided not to practice magic. She sat on a chair by the corner of the room and laid her hands on the small table.


    Mera watched her lady resting but still seemingly uneasy. The lady tapped her fingers on the wooden table a few times. Mera had only finished organizing the room, neatly fixed the bed, and folded the hanging curtain, that was why she was still inside the room with her lady.


    Seeing that everything was done, she intended to leave.


    ¡°I am done here, milady, please excuse m¡ª¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    The princess took a deep breath before responding, placing a hand on her chest as she did so.


    ¡°M-Mera I¡­¡± she looked away then returned. ¡°I have an order¡­¡±


    Mera slightly tilted her head in puzzlement. The princess had absolutely no need to let her know that. She could have just gone straight and given the actual order. But Mera went along with the moment.


    ¡°I am listening, milady.¡±


    Princess Estelia nodded her head.


    ¡°Um, please go invite Allie to come here in my room, and after that, prepare tea for us.¡±


    Allie¡­ and the princess¡­


    Mera processed the order she was just given. This resulted in her being unable to immediately respond.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Mera?¡±


    Upon her call, Mera snapped back to attention.


    ¡° ¡ª Yes, milady, I understand.¡±


    ¡°Mm¡­ I¡¯ll be waiting here.¡±


    With that, Mera left the room a bit uninspired, ignoring Vernon as she went past him. As she stepped down the stairs, her thoughts wouldn¡¯t stop swirling around.


    Why is it Allie all of a sudden?


    She mused with a little irritation. First, they were being cold with her, and now some other girl was having the attention of the princess. It was upsetting. The princess was slowly drifting away from her.


    That was far from ideal.


    Mera stopped and took a deep breath upon realizing that she was getting agitated. Having returned a little composure, she continued on.


    Allie is, I suppose, quite talented.


    It would come as no surprise that the princess would end up liking her if her cooking was exquisite.


    But haven¡¯t I been much more of a help to milady?


    It didn¡¯t make sense. Was it because Allie was a new subordinate that the princess was paying more attention to her? And Mera was only being neglected because she had been a personal attendant for a while now.


    No¡­ this is likely¡­


    The reason why they were acting weird towards Mera definitely had something to do with it.


    But I didn''t do anything¡­.


    Before she knew it, she had arrived at the kitchen. With a neutral expression to hide her displeasure, she knocked and opened the door. Inside were the three people assigned in the kitchen, and Mera focused her sight towards the girl named Allie.


    ¡°Miss Allie, her highness the princess calls for you.¡±


    Allie sprang up.


    ¡°Yes, but for what reason?¡±


    Mera would not have preferred for her to ask any question and only did as ordered. But she didn¡¯t realize that she was only being bitter because she was irritated.


    But as she was, she didn¡¯t show any emotion and only went on to the business.


    ¡°It would seem she is inviting you for tea in her room.¡±


    Allie was speechless in surprise. Mera understood her, who wouldn¡¯t be surprised to be invited by the princess for a leisurely time.


    ¡°Please follow me.¡±


    ¡°Uh, yes.¡±


    They left the kitchen and as they were heading towards the stairs, Mera glanced behind her.


    Realization struck her.


    ¡­ I¡¯m being a little mean, am I?


    This wasn¡¯t good, she didn¡¯t want to be known as someone mean. Mera, after all, didn¡¯t want any bad attention. Besides, it was nonsensical that she was to treat this young chef harshly.


    And, she is chosen by the princess to be her personal chef.


    Thus, she must be friendly with her.


    ¡°Miss Allie.¡±


    Mera looked back with a faint smile.


    ¡°Walk beside me, let us talk, we are both servants serving the princess after all.¡±


    ¡°... Of course.¡±


    There was a bit of awkward air going around as they went up the stairs slowly. Or perhaps it was just Mera feeling it. In any case, she forced herself to initiate a conversation. She decided to start with a compliment.


    ¡°Her highness truly seemed to be impressed by your skills, Miss Allie. She even strived to become your friend.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, I guess my life effort is not wasted,¡± Allie responded to her in a natural tone. ¡°And, it feels surreal that the princess would want me to become her friend. I mean, with a commoner like me.¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Indeed, it doesn¡¯t happen much, no less with royalty, and even more with the princess herself. But¡­ I suppose their family is just that kind.¡±


    Allie faintly smiled.


    ¡°They are all nice, huh.¡±


    ¡°Yes, unlike other aristocrats.¡±


    Allie halted and gawked at Mera.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you also a noble? So, you have also realized those kinds of doings...¡±


    Mera chuckled a little upon how Allie, a commoner, reacted.


    ¡°I only knew a little. But bear in mind that I am also a servant, and therefore, even I know how much of a relief it is to have a kind master. So, you are free to think of me as an equal within the palace walls.¡±


    Allie nodded her head.


    ¡°That¡¯s great to hear.¡±


    ¡°Although, I wouldn¡¯t say the same to other noble ladies in the palace¡­¡±


    ¡°I imagine they wanted to be treated respectfully by a commoner, as things should be.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re not the same as others. Your name is Mera, right Miss?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but as per our servant status, it is fine for me for you to call me without the honorifics.¡±


    ¡°Then, you can call me by name alone as well.¡±


    Slowly, they had begun to warm up. Mera¡¯s irritation had slowly vanished at every second they spoke with each other.


    Meanwhile though, she was reminded of what she saw, the one with Allie and Oryn. It was an embarrassing thing to think about, so she immediately pushed them to the back of her mind.


    ¡°What do you think the princess will be talking about with me?¡±


    ¡°Hm, perhaps casual things. But do not be anxious, the princess is not hard to speak with.¡±


    ¡°I hope¡­¡±


    The princess was once hard to talk with. At times, she doesn¡¯t even want to speak with anyone and only spends most of her time alone doing her own business. That was why Mera never got close with the princess in the first place.


    However, the princess seemed to have changed and was now more open than before. Mera liked that change. Then it turned out that the princess was not that bad to speak with. Thus, she assured Allie that she would be fine.


    With that though, the bitterness returned when she imagined the princess and Allie sitting on chairs and having tea on a single table, while Mera alone watched from the sidelines.


    ¡°Relax, you can expect that she¡¯ll treat you nicely.¡±


    Well, nicer than I.


    Things had begun to change, and everyone had started to treat her coldly. So with that, Allie will be treated better than her.


    Then they arrived at the door. Vernon looked at them for a moment, reminded of what she did just earlier, Mera bowed her head then went on to knock the door.


    ¡°Milady, I have brought Allie.¡±


    ¡°Come in!¡±


    Upon entering, Allie bowed her head deeply and greeted the princess. She was more composed than Mera expected.


    ¡°Please have a seat Allie.¡±


    Mera closed the door and prepared to brew tea as Allie took a seat opposite of the princess.


    The princess was the one who initiated the conversation, talking about casual stuff like how Allie was doing. Then there was Mera who then poured some tea on their cups.


    When Mera approached close to the princess though, the latter flinched for a moment that Allie also seemed to have noticed but didn¡¯t think much about it.


    As the two new friends talked with each other, there was Mera standing by the corner by her lonesome, staring at the two all the while. A strange feeling swirled within her that her neutral face threatened to break.


    It was then¡­.


    ¡°What is your dream, Allie?¡±


    The princess asked Allie that question.


    ¡°Dream?¡±


    ¡°Wait no, my mistake, I mean what is your ambition?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it was necessary to correct your question.¡±


    ¡°Nope, it is necessary. There are differences between the two, you see.¡±


    ¡°Differences?¡±


    ¡°What is a dream?¡±


    ¡°It could be something that you want to achieve¡­? Other than what we see in our sleep.¡±


    ¡°Then what is ambition?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ the same thing.¡±


    The princess smiled innocently.


    ¡°On the surface, yes, but for me, there is an underlying difference,¡± she paused as she sipped her tea. ¡°A dream is something you want to achieve or have, but it stays a dream in the end... A dream is something that feels fictional that it almost seemed like impossible. An ideal goal.¡±


    Allie listened quietly. Mera also listened intently wondering what the princess was trying to say.


    Then the princess continued.


    ¡°While ambition is something you want to achieve. However, this one had a high possibility of becoming true because it can be achieved practically through practical process. So an ambition is something you can really act on, a practical goal.¡±


    The princess sipped her tea again.


    ¡°Well, that is my definition of the two.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    Why is milady thinking that deeply?


    Mera mused.


    ¡°Then, Allie, what is your ambition?¡±


    ¡°My¡­ I want¡­¡± Allie stared above. ¡°I want to be a famous and extolled chef.¡±


    The princess¡¯s smile grew wider.


    ¡°Yes, that is indeed realistic. You are already walking in the path which leads to that end.¡±


    ¡°What about you, your highness?¡±


    ¡°Me¡­?¡±


    Mera was now more interested. She could never think of what the princess would want to be. Well there was the throne, but she didn¡¯t think that the princess would want to be Queen.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t think of what I want to be¡­¡±


    As Mera expected, the princess had no ambition.


    ¡°I am not talented and skilled like you, Allie. I am not passionate about anything. I am not interested that much in anything actually¡­ I¡­ don¡¯t know what I can achieve, what I want to become.¡±


    ¡°What about becoming Queen?¡± Allie asked.


    The princess formed a deprecated smile.


    ¡°I am not fit to be Queen and I know that¡­¡± the princess held a firm grasp of her own hand. ¡°But, I do have a dream¡­¡±


    ¡°May I ask what that could be?¡±


    ¡°A¡­ A quiet and peaceful life with my family. I want us to be together without having to worry about anything. I dream that things won''t change... I want us to live together as we always have.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand¡­ is that not achievable?¡±


    ¡°No, I fear it is not. We have the crown to worry about. Politics, the kingdom. Then each one of my family, specifically my brothers, will have their own goals in mind, and their own lives to live. I know that I cannot have them by my side as always and expect things to be the same. Everything always changes, sooner or later.¡±


    Mera felt sadness from her voice.


    ¡°Then there are other unforeseen things that might happen, we are the royal family after all¡­¡± the princess smiled sadly. She was forcing herself to smile. ¡°That aside,¡± she raised her eyes. ¡°What is your dream, Allie?¡±


    Allie lowered her head. She didn¡¯t respond immediately as she pondered deeply. Several seconds passed, and she finally opened her mouth.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s not that much different from yours. I want to be with my friends. I want to live safely with them.¡±


    ¡°Friends? Not family?¡±


    ¡°I no longer have my family. No, perhaps not exactly. My friends were like my family.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ But why is it a dream?¡±


    ¡°They have their own goals in mind, and because of that, I feel I can never achieve that,¡± then she looked at the princess. ¡°They may be able to achieve and accomplish what they want, but they will move on to another. I imagine it will end, but it begins anew. Leaving no place for my dream.¡±


    ¡°I see. The way you say it, they must not be here.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°You guys must be close.¡±


    Allie smiled fondly.


    ¡°They took care of me when I was lost, after the monsters killed my family. And I am grateful for it.¡±


    Monsters?


    Mera had never seen one before, not even from her family¡¯s demesne. Soldiers or knights would be instantly dispatched at the sight of one, so even when she was still staying there, she never saw one from her family¡¯s manor. However, she did hear how terrifying and dangerous a lot of them were, especially from that forest.


    ¡°They must be wonderful people.¡±


    ¡°Yes, they are wonderful and remarkable.¡±


    The princess smiled.


    ¡°I¡¯m curious about them. They must be outside of the palace, yes? What sort of things do people do outside?¡±


    ¡°Well, a lot¡­ Ah, you never go out that often, I remembered.¡±


    ¡°Less than often I suppose. So, I¡¯m curious, what kind of people are they? Their jobs, what they do. Tell me about them. I want to learn about the outside, even for just a little!¡±


    The princess looked excited, her eyes beaming with curiosity.


    ¡°Ah, eh¡­ hehe,¡± Allie was also taken aback. ¡°I can¡¯t tell much about them since it has been a long time since I saw them. But they are pretty reliable and strong, I always let them carry the heavy stuff in the past.¡±


    ¡°Fascinating, but I imagine they can¡¯t be stronger than the knights.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say, but I imagine there are strong people out there that can match with the knights.¡±


    ¡°I see. What I can only think are monsters matching with the knights.¡±


    ¡°Well, monsters are very terrifying.¡±


    ¡°Have you seen one?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    ¡°Ah, no. I have realized, sorry, nevermind¡­ I don¡¯t want to touch that topic if it¡¯s hard for you.¡±


    Then the princess went on to ask about casual things like any dishes that Allie was planning. About the difficulties one could face in the kitchen, she then asked for some tips.


    About an hour passed, their talk ended.


    The princess would then proceed to continue her training using the time remaining for the day.


    She was getting better with casting firebolt compared to Mera. In addition, the princess seemed to be doing something else at the same time, like smoke was coming out of her hand. But Mera didn¡¯t get the chance to ask what she was trying to do.

 Chapter 81: Tears of the Maid

    Next afternoon the next day, the princess¡¯s forehead was beaded with sweat as she pushed herself far this time. A shocking result occurred, the princess had set the entire body of a strawman ablaze with a single firebolt, turning it into ash in a short time. However, what lacked was impact, but setting it afire whole was impressive enough.


    Being exhausted as she was, Mera guessed that it was not only because of the depletion of mana. Though she doubted that the princess depleted her mana considering that she had a vast amount within her.


    The princess stopped her training and returned back to the palace.


    The princess had often mentioned that her body felt painful, then it could only mean she truly pushed herself far to the point of straining her mystic medium. That must also be the reason why she was so tired.


    The princess decided to have a bath and so Mera came to assist her as expected of a maid. When they arrived inside, Mera helped the princess undress.


    However, the princess she served seemed to be shaken even more than before.


    ¡°P-Princess¡­?¡±


    ¡°Ah! No, it¡¯s nothing. Let¡¯s be quick, I want to retire to my room.¡±


    ¡°V-Very well.¡±


    The princess almost sounded panicking. Mera couldn¡¯t help but feel worried. The maid nervously stepped away from her lady and folded her clothes. While placing down the used clothes on the corner, she watched the princess go into the water.


    The princess¡¯s eyes were damp by the corners.


    Was she hurt that much¡­ or¡­?


    ¡°Princess, pardon me. I¡¯ll go get your change of clothes.¡±


    Her lady nodded meekly and Mera went outside. There she encountered Vernon watching her closely. Mera became more restless than before, and it finally urged her to ask.


    ¡°Sir Vernon, the princess is acting strange¡­¡±


    ¡°Strange, how strange?¡±


    ¡°She is trembling in my presence.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I wonder.¡±


    ¡°W-Will you not answer why that is?¡± Mera asked with a frightened tone.


    ¡°Mera, I cannot understand the princess, her thoughts or her ways. Therefore, I cannot answer as to why.¡±


    ¡°......Understood. Please excuse me.¡±


    Mera went on her way as she tightly gripped her own hand and hid them as they trembled. With pursed lips, she went on to proceed fulfilling her duty. That said, her chest felt heavy.


    When she returned to the bath, the princess had already started to wipe herself. Mera rushed to her side never expecting that the princess would finish this fast.


    ¡°M-Milady, let me help you dress.¡±


    Her lady flinched with terrified eyes.


    ¡°O-Of course.¡±


    Mera slowly helped the princess dress up, which was harder than usual because the princess was moving stiffly. When Mera tried to make eye contact, the princess instantly averted her eyes away.


    Once finish dressing up, she saw her lady trembling.


    ¡°Milady, your hair¡­¡±


    Mera was about to reach out for her hand to lead her to a chair after seeing her stiffly standing there, however, the princess pulled back her hand and stepped away. Mera¡¯s eyes went wide at this and instantly looked at the princess¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°I c-can¡¯t do this a-anymore¡­¡± the princess said weakly as her eyes faltered.


    Tears seemed to threaten to fall down her eyes.


    ¡°M-Mila¡ª¡±


    ¡°Stop pretending already!¡±


    The princess abruptly shouted which froze Mera in place.


    ¡°I can¡¯t take this anymore. Stop lying already Mera, I know what you truly are!¡±


    What?


    Mera couldn¡¯t understand. The princess¡¯s eyes were full of terror and her actions as she clutched her chest told of heartbreak. It gave off the impression that the princess felt betrayed.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°You cannot fool me anymore, I¡¯m tired of pretending that n-nothing is wrong.¡±


    ¡°Milady what ar¡ª¡±


    Mera stepped forward to try and approach her lady then tried to reach out for her. However, the princess backed away frantically.


    ¡°Stay away! Don¡¯t touch me!¡±


    Mera felt cold feet at those words. Such words which carried fear for her. Mera¡¯s mind was in disarray trying to understand the situation. But she couldn¡¯t think of anything but only how the princess was seeing her now.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me¡­¡±


    The meek princess said quietly as she pressed both her hands on her chest and her eyes lowered to the ground. Her cheeks were brimming with tears while her lips trembled. The princess was shaken to the core.


    And those last words of hers were stuck inside Mera¡¯s mind.


    Kill¡­?


    Mera couldn¡¯t understand anything. Why did the princess she was serving say that to her?


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to see you anymore, this is too much. I know you¡¯re a traitor, Mera!¡±


    Mera could only stand there frozen as those words came through her ears.


    What¡­ me? No¡­ Princess¡­


    ¡°Milady! I am no traitor!¡±


    ¡°Lies! Lies! I¡¯m tired of it. I can¡¯t take it anymore, I¡¯m tired of lies. Stay away from me! S-Stay away...¡±


    The princess was terrified. How could she look at Mera that way? Mera felt a painful sting in her heart ¡ª no, it was like a dagger carving through it.


    Mera¡¯s face broke down as tears slowly welled up her eyes.


    ¡°Mera, leave me alone. If you¡¯re away, I can be safe. Stay away from me, and out of my home.¡±


    What¡­?


    That was the only question that came to her mind. How could someone think she was a traitor? How could someone think she would kill her lady? But it wasn¡¯t those that were breaking her heart.


    It was the way her princess was looking at her, and ultimately, the way she drove her away. Mera only wanted to get close with the princess, but things were going opposite of that.


    Why?


    She couldn¡¯t bear the pain, and the gaze the princess was giving her, they were too painful to receive. Mera wanted those warm, friendly and joyful gaze back. She wanted to receive them once more, not these eyes she was receiving now.


    But why was it that, in Mera¡¯s eyes, amidst the terror, the princess seemed to disdain her as she drove her away? Mera didn¡¯t want to be feared nor hated.


    Mostly hated, that was the thing she didn¡¯t want most to receive from the princess.


    ¡°M-Milady I swear! I¡¯m not a traitor!¡±


    Mera tried to defend herself, to tell the princess she so admired the truth. All kinds of emotions stormed within her heart, but all worked for a single goal to tell the princess what she wanted to say. However, her words fell on deaf ears as the princess called out for help.


    ¡°Vernon!¡±


    In that instant, the door opened and a gust of wind went by Mera. She froze and the next moment, Vernon was now between her and her mistress, like a tall and sturdy wall blocking her way to the goal she wanted to reach.


    ¡°Mera¡­¡± Vernon glared daggers towards Mera.


    They were powerful gaze that seemed to push her away. Mera trembled in fear.


    ¡°S-Sir, there¡¯s a mistake¡ª¡±


    ¡°The princess had failed to endure, huh.¡±


    The princess hid behind Vernon.


    Endure?


    She couldn¡¯t understand, she couldn¡¯t think clearly anymore. She just wanted to speak with the princess. Her heart throbbed wildly as she looked towards the princess, cowering in fear of her. This carved painfully into her heart like several blades.


    ¡°Mera, there is no mistake. We know. You don¡¯t have to hide anymore. If you try to harm the princess, you will have to get through me. You have no more chances.¡±


    ¡°W-What? No I ¡ª!¡±


    ¡°You will be expelled from this palace, or be executed on the spot.¡±


    Mera felt colder at those threatening words. She couldn¡¯t bring herself to speak anymore. Everything was too overwhelming for her to cope.


    ¡°Or choose to follow the wishes of her highness.¡±


    ¡°I¡ª¡±


    She glanced at the princess, who was trembling behind Vernon, who wasn¡¯t even looking at her. Why?


    She stepped back with shaking and faltering legs. Her chest tightened in apprehension, confusion, and breaking heart.


    Mera¡¯s tears fell down onto the floor. She shook her head sending her hair waving in the air and began to run, following the wishes of her lady. She ran away from the room, away from her lady.


    The sobbing maid rubbed her tears with her wrists but they never stopped and kept flowing out of her eyes. She ran heading towards her quarters for she did not know where else she would go. That was the only place she could think of.


    It felt like the world was crashing all around her.


    Meanwhile, two maids were casually walking down the hall, one nonchalantly while the other reservedly.


    ¡°Sparkly clean. Nice job as always!¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    ¡°But sure is tiring.¡±


    They were the two maids Ellie and Macey.


    It was then that they noticed Mera running down the hall.


    ¡°Is that, Mera?¡± Ellie asked.


    ¡°Running in the halls is¡­ Mera!¡±


    Macey tried to call for her, however, she did not seem to hear and only kept running. Upon closer look, they realized that something was wrong.


    ¡°Woah, is she crying? Let¡¯s go check her up.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    They chased after Mera in a rush until they saw her enter the maids¡¯ quarters. Upon arrival, Ellie opened the door with no hesitation and there she saw Mera kneeling down on the floor by the foot of her bed frame.


    The two maids could hear her sobbing as she hid her face in her arms.


    ¡°Hey hey, Mera. What¡¯s wrong?¡± Ellie asked gently as she approached.


    ¡°Mera, speak to us.¡±


    Mera slowly raised her head and looked up at them, her eyes were sore red and wet with tears. She hesitated to speak, but in the end, no longer able to bear it, she uttered the reason for her tears.


    ¡°I¡­ they say I¡¯m a traitor,¡± her tears only intensified as she forced those words out. ¡°T-The p-princess hates me.¡±


    ¡°Traitor¡­?¡± Macey echoed as her eyes went wide looking at Mera.


    ¡°Traitor?! That¡¯s ridiculous! Bullshit.¡±


    ¡°B-But if royalty s-said it, what if¡­¡± Macey was frightened. She seemed like she believed it, or she just didn¡¯t want to get involved.


    ¡°As I said, it¡¯s ridicu¡­ lous¡­¡± For some reason, Ellie¡¯s words trailed off. She stared quietly at Mera as though in deep thought. ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­ No¡­ no way.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a traitor! I¡¯m not. I¡¯m not.¡±


    I¡¯m not I¡¯m not I¡¯m not I¡¯m not I¡¯m not.


    Mera kept repeating those words.


    ¡°See Macey, don¡¯t you believe her?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    They stared worriedly and with confusion at Mera as she lowered her head.


    ¡°... I¡¯m not a traitor¡­¡± she whispered to herself, and to anyone who could hear.


    That sentence reverberated all throughout her mind, and that was what all remained as her chest grew heavy and painful. Despair had begun to engulf her. Thoughts of her life falling apart filled her mind, and the visage of the princess sweetly looking at her slowly faded away as though she would never see her again.


    And there the maid wept.

 Chapter 82: Newfound Devotion

    Vernon watched as Mera ran away from the chamber brimming with tears. Seeing how that young child looked, he began to pity her. This was just a mere test, but to think that Mera would break down this much from this ¡ª he could see the great impact it had on her clearly.


    He didn¡¯t expect she would end up being that way. Vernon realized he should have understood Mera more before agreeing with this. Even so, perhaps this was for the best. From the way Vernon saw it, Mera was assured to be safe now.


    However, he was not the judge. The one to judge was the one who came up with this plan. A plan that Vernon thought first wouldn¡¯t shatter someone but only damage them at best. And this judge called it a mere little plan. A plan to target the emotional core of a person.


    He turned towards that judge that was hiding behind her, she too was in tears. But seeing her, he got cold feet. Why was it? He couldn¡¯t understand why.


    This was a mere plan, but why did the princess look so genuinely saddened? Was it perhaps she was truly suspecting that Mera was a traitor and not a mere test? Was she testing everyone that he never realized?


    Was I ever tested?


    When? When was it? If the princess was willing to do this much, then there was no way she never tested him. It was then he recalled that night when the princess snuck out of the palace to meet him.


    It can¡¯t be¡­. Am I overthinking this?


    Vernon had a hard time wrapping his head around this. Perhaps he was just indeed overthinking things. As he didn¡¯t expect things would end up to this level, the princess surely also never expected it.


    ¡°Your highness.¡±


    The princess didn¡¯t reply as she rubbed her eyes, and yet her tears wouldn¡¯t stop.


    Hm, it seems it¡¯s genuine emotions after all.


    In the end, he was just overthinking things.


    ¡°I hurt h-her¡­¡±


    Hearing her regretful words, Vernon somehow felt relieved. What was he afraid of?


    ¡°Should we go after her now?¡±


    Vernon pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to the princess. She accepted and gently rubbed off her tears.


    ¡°We¡¯ll¡­ we¡¯ll take it slow¡­¡±


    Vernon¡¯s eyes widened. Even seeing her personal maid obviously broken apart, she still decided on keeping it slow. Shouldn¡¯t they rush since the damage would only worsen?


    She¡¯s willing to go this far¡­?


    How much did she harden her heart for this? Vernon never imagined the princess was capable of this. And this method of hers¡­ it was somewhat cruel¡­


    However¡­ that thought was terrible to think of the princess, and this must be done.


    But he needed to make sure of something.


    ¡°Your highness, how much of that is within your expectations?¡±


    ¡°...Um¡­¡± she looked down. ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t expect it would affect her that much¡­¡±


    Vernon wondered if that was the truth. But there was no way the princess would lie like that. She was never a liar, nor a good one at that.


    But her words brought relief within him.


    ¡°It must have been hard.¡±


    The princess had a remorseful expression.


    ¡°She wouldn¡¯t be able to forgive me after this¡­¡±


    Vernon himself also wasn¡¯t sure how things would end now. However, there was a need to ask a crucial question.


    ¡°So, your highness, what is your judgement?¡±


    The princess looked at the handkerchief in her hand as the tears had finally stopped.


    ¡°It is not over yet.¡±


    What?


    Was she not satisfied yet?


    Vernon was pitying Mera even more, and he got colder feet hearing the princess say this. Could there be something more within the princess than he ever thought?


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    First was the thing with the kitchen and that girl cook now chef, then that action with that knight named Rogan, and now this. Vernon couldn¡¯t understand nor read the princess anymore.


    ¡°How long do we have to wait?¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t be long before news spreads in the palace. Therefore, we¡¯ll only walk there slowly. We can¡¯t afford to wait a whole day, I don¡¯t want to damage and humiliate her further.¡±


    Her manner of talking was the usual princess, however, her words seemed more calculated than Vernon expected to ever hear from the Pure Princess. No, there had been actions that seemed to be calculated if one looked deeply enough. But he couldn¡¯t figure out what the goal specifically was.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The princess said as she held her own hands, apparently nervous herself.


    Vernon followed behind her, their speed was awfully slow, way slower than normal walking.


    ¡°Where do you think she will be?¡± Vernon asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but let¡¯s check the maids¡¯ quarters first.¡±


    They headed towards the maid¡¯s quarters and arrived after a whole lot of several minutes. At his point, Vernon was starting to feel guilty for what he did to that young girl.


    The door was slightly opened and they could hear voices.


    ¡°What are we going to do?¡± A somewhat panicking voice.


    ¡°Stop panicking Macey, the hell. I¡¯m telling you, it¡¯s impossible.¡±


    ¡°Yeah? Well, things have been quiet, the knights are surely preparing. They will no doubt take Mera away at any moment.¡±


    When Vernon and the princess approached the door, the former opened it and they saw two additional maids. One was walking around uneasily, while the other was on the bed where a lone girl was sitting down on the floor with her back on the foot of the bed.


    Mera¡­


    Mera, the princess¡¯s personal maid sat there lifelessly. She already looked terribly depressed, as though everything she ever had was all taken away in an instant. Vernon felt even more guilty.


    The additional two maids froze in place the moment they saw the princess. The one on the bed immediately stood up and the one restlessly walking around stood straight with an intensely anxious expression.


    ¡°We greet her highness, the princess.¡±


    The both of them said in unison in a forced tone, which prompted Mera to flinch, but she did not raise her head.


    Then the princess spoke.


    ¡°Leave us two alone for a moment.¡±


    The two maids looked at each other before going out of the room. Vernon glanced at the princess and she nodded at him. Then Vernon left the room and closed the door.


    ***


    It felt like an eternity that she had been sitting on the floor. She had no life to do anything else. She didn¡¯t want to see anyone. She didn¡¯t want to see the world anymore. It truly felt like a long time had passed. Like in a second a day had passed, or a minute felt like a hundred hours or more.


    She thought about her family and how this would impact them. All will fall. Everything she had worked for will be for nothing. But that was not all¡­ her relationship with the princess was severed. She was so hurt about the princess that she struggled to determine the root cause of it, or was she only suppressing the reason and thus she couldn¡¯t find it?


    Her tears had mostly stopped, but her emotion... her heart was still in pieces.


    It was then she heard her two maid friends greet someone. It was the person she never thought would visit her. She never imagined it. But she didn¡¯t look up to look at her, she was afraid.


    She heard footsteps going out of the room and the sound of the door closing. Gentle footsteps came moving towards her, then she heard her voice.


    ¡°Mera.¡±


    A beautiful voice she was accustomed to. But she was afraid to answer the call.


    Then she felt someone kneeling in front of her. A voice closely spoke in front of her.


    ¡°Mera, please look at me.¡±


    Mera trembled.


    ¡°Mera¡­¡±


    She wanted to look at her¡­ and with her repeating call, Mera forced herself to look up. And what she saw first were those familiar and captivating eyes of crimson.


    ¡°M¡­¡± Mera tried to speak, but her throat was dry to even speak all of a sudden. No, she found it hard to speak to her.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± her lady sounded regretful.


    Then, slowly tears also began to come out of her lady¡¯s eyes, Mera didn¡¯t expect this. She slowly reached out for Mera¡¯s cheek and gently caressed her.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said again.


    Then her lady slowly moved closer, and what happened left Mera shocked and confused. The princess wrapped her arms around her tightly. Mera could feel the softness of the princess¡¯s body and her somehow comforting warmth.


    ¡°I am so sorry¡­¡±


    Mera was no longer able to hold it back and tears welled up her eyes. But she couldn¡¯t bring herself to embrace her back.


    However, she forced herself to speak.


    ¡°Milady¡­ I¡­ I am not¡­¡±


    ¡°Not a traitor.¡±


    The princess moved back and came face to face with Mera. She was smiling, full of relief and joy.


    ¡°And no one will be able to say otherwise... But I¡¯m so sorry.¡±


    The princess hugged her again.


    ¡°No one will be able to accuse you of such a crime ever again. Everyone will know, everyone will believe. None shall ever doubt you.¡±


    ¡°...M-Milady?¡±


    The princess tightened her embrace.


    ¡°You will no longer be separated from me.¡±


    The princess whispered in her ear that she could even feel her warm breath.


    ¡°W-What¡­?¡±


    ¡°Mera, I am happy, very happy¡­ and I¡¯m sorry, you may not be able to forgive me with this¡­ but¡­¡± the princess paused. ¡°I wanted to know if you¡¯re loyal to me, that you wouldn¡¯t betray me.¡±


    ¡°S-So, you mean¡­¡±


    ¡°I wanted to prove even for myself that you are truly loyal. And with this, I am now sure, and one witness will support that you are not a betrayer. This way, you will be safer.¡±


    Safer?


    That word stuck with Mera.


    She did it for me?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I hurt you¡­¡±


    So, she did it so I would no longer be suspected¡­?


    Mera slowly raised up her arms, then slowly wrapped them around the princess. Her tears began to well up once again and her heart was warming up.


    ¡°Milady d-doesn¡¯t hate me?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t. I want Mera to be by my side.¡±


    Mera¡¯s embrace to her lady involuntarily tightened. It was a warm and wonderful moment. Like a storm had finally passed by and the first light of the sun had finally graced her world once again.


    ¡°Now no one will be able to take you away from me.¡±


    Those words resonated within Mera.


    The princess was afraid for my sake, and so, she¡­


    Mera was glad, so glad that what the princess said that she wanted Mera to stay away was not genuine. In fact, she wanted Mera to stay with her, by her side.


    The princess moved back, her eyes brimming with tears gazed at Mera¡¯s.


    The maid¡¯s heart raced.


    ¡°Mera.¡±


    Estelia softly touched her cheek then asked...


    ¡°Will you stay by my side? Offer me your utmost devotion, and your heart?¡±


    Then Mera spoke with resolve and certainty.


    ¡°Yes, I offer you everything that I am. My loyalty, my heart, and my soul.¡±

 Chapter 83: Admiration

    <div>


    Mera can be blinded by admiration.


    At first that was merely an initial theoretical observation, nothing final, however, now I have arrived at that solid conclusion. I have lowered the possibility of Mera being an infiltrator to around 20%.


    There were not many signs that supported the possibility of her being an infiltrator. In addition, her emotions towards me also supported the possibility that she was clean. However, I could not be satisfied by such a thing, especially considering that she¡¯s always near me.


    Therefore, I decided to do a little test.


    One that cannot let Mera get the idea that it was planned, therefore, I must give no hints of my briefing with Vernon. Mera wasn¡¯t stupid. In fact, she was observant and fairly smart, and that was why I was being careful.


    The plan was to let her feel threatened, let the anxiety build up within her. Then when the time was right, I¡¯ll reveal that we knew she was a traitor. If done impressively, it will certainly make the traitor think that her mission had failed. And thus, having no choice, go straight for the primary mission.


    With my performance as the pure princess, everything went well.


    However, if Mera was not a traitor, then everything goes well for me too. I predicted how she would react to my heartbroken and terrified performance. The despair in her eyes, the hopelessness, the heartbreak, I expected it and strived to intensify those.


    Mera became broken inside to the point that Vernon seemed to have felt guilty.


    Regardless, I have another goal in mind.


    If Mera wasn¡¯t a traitor, then she was truly loyal to the crown and kingdom. She wouldn¡¯t do anything against it, after all, she had her family to worry about. In addition, she may even be loyal to me. But I am not satisfied with that. I want something even more.


    Not plain loyalty, and not to the kingdom and the crown.


    I want her utmost devotion to me.


    Me alone. I mean, that would put me at ease even more.


    Thus, I let her wallow in despair for a while longer. However, I deemed that making it way longer would instead have the outcome I didn¡¯t want.


    After breaking her apart, I would rebuild her, recollect the broken fragments, and reform her.


    I saved her.


    Then as I hoped, it ended up as I wanted.


    However, as it happened, it was¡­ way more than I had expected. Her eyes intently stared at me with vast passion as our faces were so close to each other that I almost tried to kiss her just for a little tease.


    But decided not to since it would be weird at that moment. In any case, she offered way more to me, and she was full of conviction while doing it that it almost gave me goosebumps. Nonetheless, it happened the way I wanted it, so all¡¯s good. If she had realized she¡¯s in love with me now, oh well, all¡¯s well if it ends well.


    But let¡¯s not think of it as love, admiration differs from love.


    Then that admiration was what blinded her and offered everything to me.


    Hm¡­. Things like this end up in love though.


    Eh, whatever.


    Oh yeah, long time no see. Forgot to greet you after a long time, how rude of me.


    Anyways, after some alone time with just the two of us, I urged Mera to take the day off and rest while showing my most worried expression. It would seem she was so mentally exhausted that she agreed with not much of a resistance.


    When I left her inside the maids quarters, I saw Vernon with a pair of maids. Seeing how worried they were about Mera earlier, then they may be close to each other at a certain level.


    I approached them and asked them their names. The girl Macey was the one who was rattled the most and very uneasy, while the other named Ellie only seemed confused and appeared to not be that concerned about being accused of colluding with the betrayer.


    I told them that everything was fine now and they had nothing to worry about. Thankfully that these two were the only witnesses, I preferred not to escalate this spectacle for the sake of Mera, so I ordered them to not speak of this to anyone. And if they knew and learned anyone else that saw it, have that person also swear to not spread it to anyone.


    As I was leaving, Macey sighed deeply in relief. While the other, I noticed her eyes lingered towards me as I left. She must be tougher than the other one.


    I might need to ask Mera about those two next time.


    ¡°Your highness, I presume that Mera is alright now, yes?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m glad she didn¡¯t hate me because of what I have done.¡±


    ¡°Then her loyalty can go unquestioned now.¡±


    ¡°Yes, she is my vassal. Tell my father that, but do not disclose what I have done to get to that conclusion.¡±


    ¡°... Your¡­ vassal¡­?¡±


    Well, she is now certainly loyal to me.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Or you could just not mention this to my dear father. The choice is yours.¡±


    ¡°I will think about it. But on the good side, there aren''t many witnesses. So I think we can control how information about this goes out.¡±


    ¡°If Macey and Ellie are close friends of Mera, then they would also prefer not to speak to anyone about this.¡±


    And that works excellently for me. I¡¯ll be pissed if it suddenly gets leaked.


    ***


    Next morning, the moment I first saw Mera, she had a bright smile on her face. In her eyes glinted a new light as she looked at me.


    ¡°Are you alright now, Mera?¡± I asked innocently with great worry.


    ¡°Yes, milady. I am completely fine now to serve you.¡±


    I nodded my head happily with a sweet smile at her bright words. When we got out as we were heading for the bath, Vernon confronted Mera the moment he arrived then bowed his head.


    ¡°Mera, I apologize for what happened yesterday.¡±


    My maid was particularly surprised, unexpecting that Vernon would outright apologize. With a dumbstruck face, Mera shook her hands.


    ¡°N-No, I¡­ You had to do it, so I don¡¯t think you need to regret what you did.¡±


    In other words, she was saying there was no need to apologize whatsoever. However, Vernon wasn¡¯t content.


    ¡°Even so, I still feel guilty for what I have done, and I believe an apology is in order.¡±


    It might have felt a bit weird for Mera to see her superior bowing his head and apologizing with regret.


    ¡°Uh, in that case, I forgive you¡­ Sir Vernon.¡±


    With all of that done, I went to take a bath and then breakfast. Everything went the same more or less.


    Oh, I should mention that Rogan didn¡¯t snitch me, so that was great of him. I was thinking of visiting him, but that would just give some hint that I was the one who tipped him. I suppose not anyone could easily think I am the one responsible because I was the pure princess.


    What does a princess like me know of such a dangerous matter?


    Nothing at all. I am not involved in it whatsoever, I don¡¯t have the spirit to do such a thing and do something significant without the knowledge of my family.


    Ahem¡­


    That aside, it would seem my family had no idea about what happened with Mera. Apparently, Vernon decided not to tell my father, and the two maids have kept their mouths shut. Regarding Vernon though, I don¡¯t know what to feel about him hiding crucial information to his superior and no less the King.


    Vernon¡¯s no push over, damn.


    Alright, I am now planning to do my next task. I have noticed strange movements lately, and I have successfully obtained information that may prove useful in the future if things went to the negative side.


    I will need to speak with my brother after I am satisfied with my attack spell.


    I¡¯m getting good, I imagine it may only take two days when I get to act. Firebolt was a scary spell when you have a vast amount of mana. I¡¯m also trying out a new thing I can make with my mana. Then most importantly, I can now use my shields fluently. I could now position it in any direction that I wish, and resize it as I want. Needless to say, it was now way stronger than my first tries. But of course there were some limitations, even though it was pretty annoying.


    Today I practiced my spells and improved them, and I did it for almost a day in the training grounds. I would often need to find some shades to shield myself from the sunlight, but I will need to go out into the sun when I practice my firebolt to fire at the strawmans.


    Tsk, the sun burns.


    What am I now? A vampire?!


    Yeah, well, as pale as I am, of course I¡¯m pretty sensitive in direct contact with sunlight. I could have worn my cloak, but that would just be weird and wouldn¡¯t really feel that comfortable wearing it here in the palace grounds while I¡¯m training.


    Me aside, Mera was pretty motivated to learn and train her magic and had shown decent progress today. Good Mera! Good! You might become a good shield for me or something, or a distraction for me to get the kill. Whatever use will be appreciated!


    Did I just sound heartless in your ears? Well, what are you so surprised about?


    Mera was loyal to me and I¡¯ll value her, however, there will just be times when you just have to decide and use what you could use.


    Wouldn¡¯t you use a hammer to a nail? Or wrenches to tighten bolts?


    Okay, if you¡¯re worried, I¡¯ll still take care of her, okay? Loyalty is not easy to come by. Put value on what is valuable.


    After a day¡¯s training, right about late afternoon, I took a bath since I was sweating way more than Mera did. Hell, Mera didn¡¯t even sweat that much in the heat. My body was just really built differently. But doesn''t that just make me more precious?


    Then, we returned to my room.


    ¡°Mera, retrieve refreshments please. An orange juice would suffice. Get for two.¡±


    ¡°Two?¡± she asked, puzzled.


    ¡°One for me, and one for you.¡±


    ¡°For me¡­?¡±


    ¡°What? I want to spend some time with you.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Her eyes went wide as her cheeks flushed red. Then with a lowered head as she avoided my gaze, she complied with my order and then returned with refreshments for two on glasses with a few cookies.


    ¡°Come sit down.¡±


    I pointed at the chair on the other side of the table. Mera sat down with hesitation, fidgeting after doing so because of uneasiness. How amusing as always.


    Then we enjoyed a leisurely time together.


    ***


    Night time, the windows closed and curtains loose, covering the view of the outside. I sat at the side of the bed as my palm held out before me. A crimson flat hexagon floated above it, then I made it move around my arm. Impressively, I did it so casually, not even breaking a sweat.


    This was the same Palm Shield spell, I only changed it to my choosing. Listen, the palm shield was not a fixed shape, therefore, I am free to shape this barrier as I liked. I can make it a circle, a box, oblong, or any shape. I can even make it in the shape of a chopstick.


    I spread out my fingers and let the small crimson hexagon go between my fingers. I then tried to change its shape akin to a knife, and it did. However, I discovered there was a downside to this. I couldn¡¯t easily cut something.


    This spell¡¯s purpose was to repel, not attack, therefore, I could try stabbing someone with it, however, a lot more effort will be required. If that¡¯s the case, then using a real blade would be way better.


    The crimson construct vanished as I wished it to be, then I folded all my fingers except for the index one. I controlled my mana carefully, then a tiny ball of flame appeared atop the tip of my finger.


    When I was done with it, I dispelled the spell then as I was about to try my experimental spell, I had a strange feeling. Thus I instantly turned to look at the window. With focused eyes I glared at the window.


    I sensed something, it was like someone was watching me.


    Not letting it pass, I rushed to my window and swept away the curtains and looked through the glass. However, there was nothing.


    That being said, I doubt I was mistaken. Whatever could that feeling be, it could be real for all I know, someone must have indeed tried to watch me.


    I moved my face closer to the glass window, then observed every detail that I could see.


    But I saw nothing.


    I raised my head upward, then sighed deeply.


    Seriously, this feeling better not disturb my beautiful slumber.


    I hate being interrupted from my sleep. Sleeping after all was a great thing. I mean, who would hate sleeping? Sleeping is the best there is!


    I returned the curtains to how they were and sat back down on the bed. I had changed my mind on trying out the last spell I was about to try out, it works well anyway. I¡¯m just going to shift to an important practice for now ¡ª just returning an old skill, I have been doing it recently away from anyone''s eyes.


    ¡°Ahem.¡±


    I cleared my throat and pressed my fingers on my throat gently.


    ¡°Aaaah. Aaaah.¡±


    I deepened my voice and changed some things, but it hurts my throat.


    ¡°Ah-Eh-Oh.¡±


    This will indeed take a while.


    After plenty of time had passed when I was satisfied with my progress after a time of practice, I laid down on the bed, a single lamp lighting up my room. I covered myself in my sheets and closed my eyes.


    In the end, I wasn¡¯t disturbed in my sleep.

 Chapter 84: Will You Save Me?

    The strawman was burned asunder after my fire spell hit it, sending small gusts of wind upon impact sending dusts in the air. This spell can blast off a normal human being a few meters away as they burn.


    This was all I could manage, any more and I would begin to feel uncomfortable. No matter, I will have Vernon by my side when it comes, he will be my guard. Just like what happened with Mera. If Mera had tried to kill me in the bathroom, I would instantly call upon Vernon and let him handle it.


    Truth be told, when it happened, I was surprised by how quick he acted. I imagine because of his physical enhancements, his legs performed way beyond human limits.


    As I watched the strawman turn to ash, there was clapping sounding beside me.


    ¡°Amazing, milady.¡±


    I turned to face Mera who was clapping in praise of my efforts.


    ¡°Thank you, Mera.¡±


    I decided to rest a little and headed towards the shade of a tree. I¡¯m starting to hate the sun now¡­ I¡¯m joking.


    ¡°I think I have reached a satisfying line for this spell.¡±


    ¡°Should we move on to another spell then?¡± Vernon asked.


    I shook my head.


    ¡°No, not yet. I have other things to do.¡±


    I innocently lowered my head.


    ¡°Milady, may I ask what that would be?¡±


    I rubbed my hands together as I appeared to be anxious about something.


    ¡°An infiltrator that threatens me has yet to be found¡­¡±


    ¡°Milady, is the infiltrator really targeting you?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ Or perhaps the royal family also.¡±


    I was the only one warned, but it was never certain that my family would be safe. Better safe than sorry. I don¡¯t want all of the family to die and leave me the burden of being a Queen ¡ª if I alone survive. I mean, I didn¡¯t get to do much yet, so it would suck that I would be crowned as Queen all of a sudden.


    ¡°But, is that information true I wonder?¡± Vernon asked.


    I sighed.


    ¡°Vernon, has Father told you how we received that information?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m sure you know the lengths Father took, I heard he even had the church involved.¡±


    ¡°I am informed that yes, frequent reports are also delivered directly to his majesty, and are only for his eyes.¡±


    ¡°Then, it is apparent that they take this seriously¡­¡± I paused as I hesitated. ¡°I¡­ I was directly warned by someone¡­ and the way he was, he couldn¡¯t be taken lightly.¡±


    Only then did I think of something.


    Maybe Vernon had an idea?


    Vernon was an adventurer, and he had travelled far and wide all over the content. Maybe, just maybe he had heard of it.


    ¡°Vernon, do you know of the term Princess of Blood?¡±


    I looked at his eyes only to realize that he didn¡¯t know as his eyes hinted at cluelessness.


    ¡°... What an interesting term¡­ But I have never heard of it.¡±


    ¡°Even a former adventurer such as yourself doesn''t know¡­ What about you Mera?¡±


    Mera shook her head.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m afraid I have not heard of it.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± I paused as though disappointed. ¡°If you two ever learn something that has to do with that term, please tell me.¡±


    They both agreed.


    ¡°Now then, let us rest for a moment.¡±


    I kneeled down on the grass, a cool sensation touched my senses, so comfortable. A pleased smile formed on my lips as I noticed Mera and Vernon were still standing.


    ¡°What are you both waiting for?¡±


    I patted on the ground on both my side, beckoning them to sit down beside me. Mera was the first to act, although appearing hesitant while doing so.


    Vernon watched Mera follow my command, then sat down on the other side of me with a sigh.


    ¡°This is unnecessary.¡±


    He said that. Well, it must be weird casually sitting down with a couple of young girls as though they were on a picnic. People might mistake us for being his granddaughters, which was quite hilarious when you think about it.


    ¡°I will be relying on your strength once again, Vernon, when the time comes.¡±


    ¡°What do you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you soon. I still need to talk with my brother.¡±


    ¡°Your brother¡­? Princess, don¡¯t tell me your ¡ª¡±


    ¡°Perhaps.¡±


    I gazed up at the sky with a solemn look.


    ¡°You know, this¡­ is tiring.¡±


    Indeed, having to worry about such things was tiring. I have already had a tense life in the former life, I just want to be carefree in this life. But these problems denied me of that.


    ¡°Once this is over, I will go beyond the walls and see the world.¡±


    I am curious. I want to walk around, discover, there are a lot of things to see in this brand new world, it would be a waste not to do anything.


    ¡°If that is the case, your highness, then I suggest you hurry.¡±


    I turned to look at Vernon.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°You are a princess¡­ royalty doesn¡¯t really have the luxury to do anything as they become older, and much more a woman. You will need to find a man to marry.¡±


    I frowned. That made sense, every aristocrat needed to have a partner. If one never finds a partner, then good luck with your social life. Perhaps for males, it wouldn¡¯t be much of a problem, but for women, finding a partner is essential, age after all deteriorates our beauty, and an heir is necessary. Though I doubt my beauty would die out that easily.


    Guess I¡¯m running away for a while?


    I should take that into consideration.


    The kingdom would surely go into an uproar, but I don¡¯t care. I will be free as a bird.


    ¡°Then, we¡¯ll cross that bridge when it comes to it.¡±


    ¡°But it will be hard to find someone worthy of milady,¡± Mera said out of the blue.


    Mera really holds me in high regard. And why did she have a subtle displeased expression I just saw?


    ¡°It is not about being worthy, it is about what is necessary. But, if the kingdom¡¯s relationship with the Myra Kingdom in the northeast turns for the better, then I imagine you can find an ideal partner there.¡±


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    The kingdom of chivalry, huh. Going to other countries was on the bucket list. But I¡¯m more interested in the Valaies holy kingdom though. Religious countries might be more peaceful compared to a country of fighters.


    As for the Tornridge Empire, yeah fuck that. Too risky for a princess like me.


    ¡°The princes there I heard are quite exceptional,¡± Vernon added.


    ¡°Hm¡­ Even so, I will not be queen anyways. So no rush is needed in finding a partner.¡±


    ¡°Your highness, why don¡¯t you become queen?¡±


    ¡°Do you even need to ask, Vernon? My brothers are worthier of the throne than I.¡±


    ¡°But, what if you are given the chance?¡±


    No way, being queen is such a pain in the ass.


    ¡°I am not skillful enough to handle the work the throne gives. The kingdom needs someone better than me.¡±


    Vernon stared at me intently for a moment.


    ¡°If you say so...¡±


    ¡°Those aside, the infiltrators will need to be taken care of so I can sleep peacefully at night.¡±


    Plus, I think I can have at least 10 years without worrying about marriage. So perhaps, I might even decide not to run away.


    But if I do, where am I even going to run? I don¡¯t know shit about this world, so better familiarize myself with it before doing something so daring.


    ***


    The porcelain plate clang as I gently sliced a piece of meat on my meal. The juice deliciously came out while a sweet fragrance came to my nose. I chewed the food and a pleased smile formed on my lips, how wonderful. Sometimes I¡¯m just impressed by how people present the dishes.


    Maybe I am underestimating this world¡¯s culinary arts.


    Well, I don¡¯t particularly have any good impression towards the medieval era back in my old world and I brought that impression here. Can¡¯t blame me when I¡¯m used to modern stuff.


    That said, the food in this world needs some more work, no one can beat the fine stuff from Earth, but this world is almost there. Maybe five steps away.


    As for technology, it would have been nice to have guns, but I can''t really cry about it when you have fucking magic! Woah wait, can magic replicate a nuke? Not the radiation side of it, that¡¯s fucking nasty. I mean, you know how fucked up you can get once you get exposed to radiation, right? That shit sends shivers down my spine.


    What I meant was replicating the power of a nuke. Now that would be nice, but I suppose it will need a vast amount of mana to achieve the level of the first ever nuke.


    Can I do it?


    Yeaaaah, I have no idea. Nuke is powered by science, and might become simpler once people can understand how it works. But for magic, replicating the power of a nuke? Eh, who knows, but there¡¯s a chance.


    But nuke like things are nasty. With magic, killing might become more beautiful than how nukes do it. Nukes are tasteless.


    Oh wow, look at my opinion.


    Back to the topic of food. With how good Allie was, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll get to improve the food in this kingdom even more.


    How talented my subordinates are.


    ¡°Father, has Rogan confessed to you yet?¡±


    As I was enjoying my food and wallowing myself in my thoughts, Estevan suddenly asked that.


    My father chuckled.


    ¡°Hahaha, that one¡¯s tough, I tell you that, he wouldn¡¯t even tell me.¡±


    Holy shit! F-Father interrogated Rogan?! Vernon, why didn¡¯t you tell me?!


    That was dangerous.


    If I¡¯m exposed, will I get punished? Uwah, don¡¯t want that.


    ¡°Rogan that rascal¡­ even after all interrogation of his higher ups, then by the king¡­ I can¡¯t believe he still wouldn¡¯t talk,¡± Estevan said.


    ¡°Well, he said he will not say anything for the sake of the person. Who that person is, I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Aaaw, how sweet of Rogan.


    You have my adoration!


    But I should say, Rogan is one tough nut to crack.


    ¡°Still, as rumors had already begun circulating, what he did was not that great of a problem. No need to force him.¡±


    But Father, you could have forced him if you want to. Father¡¯s kind, but I didn¡¯t think he would be this kind.


    ¡°If you say so¡­¡±


    Damn, I really need to act quickly.


    ¡°Ah, this reminds me, I¡¯ll be leaving tomorrow for the Church.¡±


    ¡°Any great news?¡±


    ¡°Just something I need to address personally.¡±


    What? Tomorrow? Shit, and I¡¯m planning to start moving tomorrow. It will be risky to delay any further.


    I don¡¯t want to be exposed just yet that I shared the information. Anyone could kidnap Rogan and squeeze the answer out of him. No matter how tough he was, everyone cracks. That being said, Rogan¡¯s strong and can defend himself sooo....


    But I suppose we have other knights to make up for Father¡¯s absence, just in case. And Estevan should be almost of Father¡¯s strength, while I also have Vernon, so I should be safe, and not to mention the knights were here too.


    Plus, that guy seemed to be starting to act impatient, sauntering around the palace, that¡¯s suspicious as fuck. I wouldn¡¯t be satisfied till I¡¯m sure that guy¡¯s clear.


    ¡°Very well, Father. Please tell me the news once you arrive,¡± Estevan said.


    The church, huh.


    I should check out the church some time.


    Then our dinner was finished. My family left one by one after some goodnights.


    I got out first and regrouped with Vernon and Mera and waited for someone to come out.


    When Estevan came out, I rushed to his side and reached for his hand.


    ¡°Woah, sister.¡±


    He looked at me with surprise, however I failed to not notice the pleased smile on his face.


    ¡°B-Brother,¡± I said meekly as I lowered my head to avoid his gaze. ¡°Please escort me to my room.¡±


    ¡°Now this is sudden, but sure. You miss me or something?¡±


    He patted my head gently as I nodded my head.


    ¡°You have been too busy, and I have my magic training, we didn¡¯t have much time to speak.¡±


    ¡°Really now? Alright, I¡¯ll grant the wish of my beloved sister.¡±


    My expression brightened as I looked at my brother with gratefulness.


    ¡°Yehey! Oh,¡± I moved closer to his ear and whispered after ensuring that there were no other harmful elements around. ¡°I have important things to talk to you about.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­ then I¡¯ll listen¡­¡± he quietly said to me. ¡°But why are we whispering?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s a secret,¡± I giggled adorably as I gently pulled him.


    As we walked together, Mera and Vernon followed behind us.


    ¡°Hmm~¡±


    I hummed joyfully as I took a hold of my lovely brother¡¯s arm. He seemed amused by my actions judging from his wide grin.


    I too enjoyed this moment, hard to explain, but¡­ I feel a slight warmth in my chest. Because of this realization, my superficial humming lessened in volume and slightly wavered, however, I forced myself to go on.


    Then a moment later, we arrived at my room. I opened the door for him and invited him inside, like a woman inviting a man to her be¡ª okay fuck, I¡¯m kidding¡­ don¡¯t get your heads turning now.


    ¡°Come inside, brother.¡±


    I said with a relaxed smile and watched him enter casually. I¡¯m surprised he didn¡¯t act all shy entering a lady¡¯s room, no less his cute sister.


    When my brother entered, I gave orders to my servants.


    ¡°Stand watch.¡±


    After they acknowledged, I closed and locked the door.


    ¡°Please sit, big brother.¡±


    I indicated the spot where I always have my tea or desserts. As Estevan sat down with nonchalance, he asked me.


    ¡°So, what is this about? Quite secretive.¡±


    ¡°Something important,¡± I said as I sat down opposite him with a faint smile. ¡°About my situation.¡±


    His right eyebrow rose up.


    ¡°Your situation?¡±


    ¡°.... Brother, I am the target of our unknown enemies, yes?¡±


    ¡°... Y-Yeah.¡±


    His voice stuttered as he realized the serious topic. I looked down timidly.


    ¡°I believe it is certain, yes? After all, the Princess of Blood¡­ thing¡­¡±


    ¡°...... Yes, we also take it as certain.¡±


    ¡°There are surely betrayer among our ranks. And, I have cleared my two personal servants, Mera and Vernon, of any suspicions, so you have no need to suspect them.¡±


    Estevan furrowed his brows in disbelief.


    ¡°You concluded that¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and you can trust me on that.¡±


    He might still be wondering how I reached that conclusion.


    ¡°Alright¡­ I¡¯ll trust you on that.¡±


    He said with certainty. I already expected he would easily believe me, as he would easily believe those that were close to him.


    ¡°But, what about you, dear brother?¡±


    ¡°What about me?¡±


    ¡°Are you still certain of those servants close to you, specifically Oryn.¡±


    ¡°I have already answered you that, I don¡¯t believe he is a betrayer.¡±


    Not a betrayer, huh. You know, I¡¯ve been thinking, I often refer to the opposition as betrayer, and often an infiltrator. It was a bit difficult to choose the correct term to use. What makes someone a betrayer or an infiltrator is a matter of perspective.


    In our eyes for instance, we can see them as betrayers, or traitors. But for the enemies, they were never on your side to begin with, so the word traitor is less fitting, and the word infiltrator was more proper.


    If an ally suddenly changed sides, then he can be called a traitor. But if our enemy was an enemy in the first place, then he can be called an infiltrator. In a subjective thought, maybe both traitor and infiltrator can be used.


    In the end though, they are enemies to be exterminated.


    ¡°Is that so¡­? Have you noticed anything weird or strange about him lately?¡±


    He thought.


    ¡°No, there was nothing strange.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ But he has been going around the palace lately, and I mean like patrolling around the palace.¡±


    I have often seen glimpses of him walking around. And the moment I truly encountered him was when I was going back to my room. The impression he gave to me was that he was snooping around.


    ¡°Has he mentioned that to you?¡±


    ¡°... No, no he has not.¡±


    My brother was getting uneasy.


    ¡°Surely this is nothing to worry about dear sister.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ He did say he was figuring out how to enhance our security.¡±


    My brother chuckled.


    ¡°See? Nothing to worry about.¡±


    ¡°You look like you only learned of this now.¡±


    ¡°... Yeah, I only learned of this now¡­¡±


    ¡°Now that is strange, it has been a few days since I spoke to him.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps he has yet to suggest anything?¡±


    Well, Oryn did somewhat mention he would only tell the prince when there was something to be improved upon.


    Even so¡­


    ¡°Perhaps. But not even mentioning it to you ever, is quite a failure on his part. However, let¡¯s see it from another perspective, dear brother. See it with the eyes of the opposition.¡±


    He pondered as he lowered his eyes.


    ¡°To know the holes of our security and prepare for it?¡± he said.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°But this is ridiculous, Estel.¡±


    Oh, he used my name?


    He never used my name in this meeting until now. He must be getting restless and agitated.


    ¡°He has been working for the crown, for me, for several years now.¡±


    ¡°Was that a few years after my birth?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and that¡¯s a long time ago. He has been devoted ever since. Suspecting him is just¡­¡±


    ¡°I understand you, dear brother¡­ So, I have a suggestion. If he is indeed not an infiltrator then you have nothing to worry about.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Brother, I will need your cooperation in this.¡±


    He looked away with a clenched fist.


    ¡°Dear brother, will you help me?¡±


    ¡°....... Of course¡­¡± After a moment of delay, he finally responded.


    ¡°Thank you¡­ But I have a question before anything else.¡±


    I paused as he returned to look me in the eyes. With a tender gaze, I asked him in a low voice.


    ¡°Even if your dearest friend is the enemy, will you save me? Will you not hesitate to rid me of those who threaten me? No matter who they are?¡±


    He pursed his lips as though he was hurt that he was being asked such an obvious question.


    ¡°Of course I would. I¡¯ll save you from anyone, and I won¡¯t hesitate.¡±


    He said that, however, I couldn¡¯t put a lot of trust in those words.


    People, after all, tend to do otherwise of what they say.

 Chapter 85: The Deceitful Princess (Part 1)

    Oryn was first to arrive as usual in Prince Estevan¡¯s office. There were documents that he had placed on the table and arranged, from people to remember and others to be reconsidered later. However, as expected, most of the results of their efforts ended up in suspicious activities by nobles and not much about within the palace.


    He was a bit more stressed now to be honest, but he was not one to complain as this would be expected in this kind of job. Not to mention he was serving a prince. Truth be told, his work should have always been like this, but he got it too easy.


    Reason was that Prince Estevan was more into knighthood, so there was not much to assist him with within his job. Oryn was even often stuck cleaning since the prince was constantly with the knights.


    He imagined if he was the assistant of the eldest prince, he might always have had a hard time. The image of the stressed out assistant of the eldest prince came to his mind, it was a bit hilarious honestly. But Oryn could only watch him with empathy, as diplomatically focused that prince was, it was easy to imagine how much that fellow assistant of his has to work with. Perhaps he was lucky to have this job, in the end.


    In contrast, his patrol within the palace was always in his mind and only added to his workload.


    It was only then that the door opened and came inside the prince that he served.


    ¡°Good morning, your highness,¡± Oryn greeted him with a bow.


    ¡°Hey, these had already been organized I believe?¡±


    ¡°Of course, your highness. I¡¯m sure you will have no problem following the paperwork at all.¡±


    ¡°I doubt that¡­'''' he faintly chuckled. ¡°In any case, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t stay here long. To be precise, I won¡¯t stay the entire morning.¡±


    ¡°May I ask why?¡±


    ¡°It has been a while since I¡¯ve been with the knights, I need to check on them thoroughly every once and a while.¡±


    Oryn heaved a long sigh. Somehow, he felt some ulterior motive in what the prince was planning to do. He had somewhat anticipated something like this would happen.


    ¡°Your highness, please don¡¯t escape from your task which consists of papers.¡±


    The prince scoffed as he sat down on his chair.


    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to escape. I¡¯m being serious.¡±


    Oryn sighed again in resignation.


    ¡°Whatever you say then, your highness.¡±


    The prince then went on to review the papers.


    ¡°Better show this to Father when he comes back, he¡¯ll decide what to do with these stubborn nobles.¡±


    Oryn then remembered something after what he heard from the prince.


    ¡°Which reminds me, the King is departing the palace today.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°What sort of problem would require the personal time of his Majesty?¡±


    ¡°.... Mm, he said he¡¯s going to the Church.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    The church, huh.


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    Oryn heard they have been quite active lately.


    Maybe they have caught onto something.


    Something that involves the entire kingdom and something that requires the attention of the King. Whatever it may be, it must be no means small.


    Then more than half an hour passed, and the prince stood up from his chair with a sigh.


    ¡°Now then, I have to go. Take care of the office while I¡¯m gone.¡±


    The prince must be quite happy to have been free from paperwork evident from the slight smile on his face. That said, the way he said those words lacked the energy Oryn expected from Estevan, especially that he was returning to the knights for a while.


    But it may be just his imagination.


    ¡°Understood, your highness.¡±


    When the prince had left, Oryn let out a heavy sigh and sat down on the couch and leaned back. There was nothing else to take care of here, and there was nothing left to do with the papers. The room was also already clean.


    Therefore, he only sat down, but there were some things in his mind.


    He thought about what he wanted to do, but it was harder to carry out as he expected. There were just some obstacles that obstructed his goals and his piling anxiety. That anxiety of his, anyone could understand if they empathize with him.


    He rapped his finger on the couch, pondering on how he should proceed. His heart couldn¡¯t keep waiting anymore, and touching his ears only made him more restless. The pain as they were cut off was still clear in his memories. How could he forget?


    As he fell into his thoughts, about half an hour had passed and there was a knock on the door.


    For some reason, he already had an idea who that could be. There was no one else he could think from the top of his head that would come here and would knock that gentle.


    ¡°Excuse me, brother?¡±


    And as he had guessed, it was indeed the princess. However, it would seem that she didn¡¯t know that his brother was leaving for the knights. Oryn proceeded to open the door.


    ¡°Ah, Oryn,¡± she took a peek past Oryn in search of her brother. ¡°Big brother is not here?¡±


    She asked with a hint of disappointment in her voice as she looked at Oryn with her wide red eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not.¡±


    Oryn looked behind the princess and saw the old man named Vernon, who was supposed to be one of the King¡¯s attendants. Then strangely, the maid was nowhere to be seen.


    ¡°I see¡­ In this case, I¡¯ll help my brother then, may I?¡±


    Oryn had no reason to deny her.


    ¡°Of course, your highness.¡±


    As the princess entered. ¡°You don¡¯t have to enter Vernon, I¡¯ll be fine here with Oryn. Besides, there is nothing else for you to do here.¡±


    Vernon looked at the princess then to Oryn, then with a hesitant nod, he agreed.


    ¡°As you wish, your highness.¡±


    Oryn was surprised by the princess¡¯s decision, she would normally let her servants inside. Granted, they have nothing else to do but stand around.


    In addition to that, the princess seemed to have become comfortable with Oryn, and thus her decision.


    As the door closed, Oryn decided to ask a question.


    ¡°Your maid is not around, your highness?¡±


    ¡°No, she asked to have a day off to rest. Well, she had been training with me and adding to that her duties as a maid, I¡¯m sure it must have worn her out.¡±


    She said so as she sat down on the chair in front of the desk.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°By the way, where did Brother go? He never said anything to me.¡±


    ¡°He¡­ he wanted to visit the knights'' order.¡±


    ¡°... I see¡­¡± the princess looked sad.


    ¡°You have just missed him.¡±


    ¡°A shame¡­ But I suppose Brother is busy, so it is to be expected that I wouldn¡¯t see him much anymore.¡±


    The princess went on to scan the papers on the table.


    ¡°Slavery? Disputes, feuds? And¡­¡±


    She was stunned by the information she had just absorbed. Disbelief was painted all over her eyes.


    ¡°Nobles are capable of these?¡± she asked in a shaky tone.


    ¡°Yes, that is how the world truly is beyond the palace.¡±


    ¡°... What are the punishments?¡±


    ¡°Well, the family members proven to be involved will be stripped of their noble rank and be imprisoned or just penalized. It will depend on the amount of evil deeds they have done.¡±


    ¡°Who will judge them?¡±


    ¡°Mostly the Ministry of Internal Affairs would handle it, and sometimes the King himself depending on the situation. But in the end, the King will sign the final decision.¡±


    ¡°I see. Has Father seen these?¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­¡±


    Oryn looked at the door then returned to the princess. He watched as the princess immersed herself in the paperwork writing down on a sheet of paper. She was clueless and defenseless.


    A few minutes passed by and Oryn looked at the door once again. It would appear that no one else was coming in.


    He placed his right hand behind him and curled his fingers as he looked at the princess. A faint wind gathered up in his palm as he slowly stepped forward, gradually closing in on the princess.


    The princess had no worries whatsoever as a smile played on her lips as she read the documents.


    Then the princess was now within his arm¡¯s reach. Oryn¡¯s heart raced as he proceeded to take out his hand forward. But that was when the princess lowered the paper as a question emerged from her lips. A question no one in this world would expect to be asked here.


    ¡°Oryn, are you an elf?¡±


    What¡­?


    Oryn¡¯s face contorted into utter surprise, and the princess turned to look at him with a sweet smile.

 Chapter 86: The Deceitful Princess (Part 2)

    Oryn had watched the princess for several years now after a few years of her birth. He knew very well what the prophecy foretold and it cannot be left alone unobserved considering its contents. Thus, someone had to go into the human kingdom and closely watch the girl with white hair and crimson eyes.


    However, they couldn¡¯t risk being seen by the humans, especially that they were different. In addition, there were not many species in the Mystic Race that could infiltrate the palace where the princess resides.


    For the exception of elves whose ears are what only made them blatantly different from humans. However, they couldn¡¯t simply walk in with their long and pointy ears. If they wanted someone to watch the princess closely, someone had to get inside.


    But no one was willing to cut off their ears that were part of their very being, what made them an elf. With the exception of Oryn who was so anxious about the prophecy that he wanted to closely watch the opposition.


    And thus, Oryn made a hard decision and cut off the pointiness of both his ears. He could still clearly feel the pain as a main characteristic of his species was removed from his body.


    Then as a choice, to remember what he truly was, he kept his true name as he infiltrated the palace. It took a lot of effort to climb up the ladder until he became the second prince¡¯s assistant. He had interacted with a lot of humans and even made ¡®friends¡¯ with them. However, he felt nothing for them.


    Humans after all were insignificant, they were weaklings in general, inferior lifeforms. Unblessed by the gods. All his focus was pointed only towards one girl.


    At first she was but a toddler, a harmless being, no one could think that she would be the cause of his race¡¯s annihilation. There had always been the option to kill her while she was but a child, however, they all decided to leave her be. Her death after all, was also predetermined by prophecy, by fate. It was best to leave her be and await her death.


    Then she grew older and her beauty also became greater. But her utter innocence remained which only annoyed Oryn more. How could a dangerous girl be so innocent? For some time he began to doubt that what the prophecy foretold would even happen, but he didn¡¯t falter.


    Now that he thought about it, she was starting to resemble someone, from the story about the Goddess of Blood. Or otherwise known as the River of Life. However, she was also known by another name that would tell her rank amongst the gods, it was the Ruling Deity of Blood. That being said, she was not a god looked fondly by the Mystic Race for certain reasons.


    Then came the day foretold in the prophecy that would be her death. Fate was also assisted by the Elf Ambassador, Lieren, with her fate altering power at a cost of her own, and so it was completely certain that the princess would die.


    With fate pressing into her, the princess fell down the stairs, a deadly fall it was supposed to be. However, bafflingly, shockingly, and unbelievably, the princess survived.


    Impossible. Utterly impossible. The prophecies were absolute as was proven by those before. No one can escape them. Then how? Why? Why did the princess survive?


    Oryn couldn¡¯t accept it. It was completely unexpected. True the prophecy did somewhat sound inconsistent, however, everything that is told happens. And death was irreversible, the prophecy told of her death first before about the mystic race. Therefore, she should have died, resurrection was utterly impossible in this world.


    But in the end, she still survived.


    Thus, they became wary. They wanted to assassinate her directly, however, something changed the prophecy. That must absolutely not be underestimated.


    They, even Oryn, could think of one that could possibly change the prophecy.


    That was a god.


    Only a god could change something like this. In other words, the princess was under the protection of a god, or perhaps gods. It was impossible to be the Deity of Blood. If not the lady, then could it be the lord? No, that was also impossible.


    Then who could do it? Which god? They were all clueless. They knew all the gods with power to the prophecy, but they were all on the sides of the Mystic Race. In addition, they were among the highest in the hierarchy of gods, and no other lower gods would dare go against them.


    But Oryn and the others couldn¡¯t arrive at an answer. Therefore, they decided to watch for a while, and be very careful. A being in the level of a god was to be incredibly wary of.


    Then Oryn became uneasy when the princess decided to learn magic. It was surprising that she decided to learn magic when she didn¡¯t show any interest in anything except being alone.


    Then everything became tense when information about a traitor spread throughout the palace. Oryn was restless and uneasy about it, it was like a fog gathering around him and slowly approaching to choke him. He didn¡¯t know how that information started, but he felt threatened.


    So threatened. Time seemed to be running low. However, he decided to calm down. They wouldn¡¯t easily pinpoint it was Oryn. There was nothing that could lead to him being exposed as an infiltrator.


    So he calmed down. However, a growing anxiety was still within him.


    Then came the time the princess spoke to him, and her words stuck to him.


    He forced himself to shove aside his fears, and push away the anxiety.


    Time was running out. It would only get worse, now that the princess was learning magic. He must carry out his duty. Everything else doesn¡¯t matter, the most important thing was to kill the princess, even if a being may strike him down after doing so, it doesn¡¯t matter.


    So he scouted the palace, searching for weak spots and thinking of how he should kill the princess. But it wasn¡¯t easy, she was strictly protected.


    He thought about coming into her room from the outside at night. However, the annoying Cursed Children were all around her during the night when their dark fog couldn¡¯t easily be seen. It was impossible to kill her that way, the Cursed Children were too much for him to handle alone.


    And from within the palace, it was too difficult with all the guards.


    However, there was another easier way. That was to wait for the princess to approach him. The princess always thinks about her brother, and she has been visiting the prince¡¯s office frequently. But he had to be wary of Vernon. In contrast, there would be another chance outside the office, but it was rare.


    Then the opportunity came, the princess came to the prince¡¯s office with Vernon alone. When she was inside by her lonesome, he only needed to wait until she lowered her guard. But Oryn didn¡¯t need to be careful of that.


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    The princess was clueless and naive. She was not a direct threat to him. It would be easy to kill her once unguarded.


    And so, he took the chance.


    With the power of the wind gathering in his hand, he prepared to strike. But before he could, the princess asked a question that he never expected.


    ¡°Oryn, are you an elf?¡±


    Oryn froze with a surprised expression.


    What?


    Why did she suddenly ask that? Elves were merely myths in the world of humans, and it was not commonly talked about. So, what was baffling of all, why did the princess specifically ask that to him?


    ¡°You¡¯re surprised, and unable to answer. In that case, you are one, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Oryn was speechless. As elves were only myths, everyone didn''t believe they existed. And the way the princess sounded certain, it was as though she believed they existed, and certain the Oryn was one.


    He suddenly felt chills.


    ¡°And you were just about to kill me.¡±


    Oryn took a deep breath. There was nothing to fear from the princess. With that thought in mind, he swung his hand upward unleashing a gust of sharp wind towards the princess. This will be a quick death, even the princess wouldn¡¯t even be able to react to an attack this fast and sudden.


    And so, the attack hit the princess. However, there was no blood that splattered in the air. Oryn¡¯s eyes went wide upon seeing a crimson barrier covering the front of the princess. Oryn was familiar with this spell, however, the princess¡­ she didn¡¯t even have her hand raised.


    There could theoretically be a way to not cast the shield without holding out one¡¯s palm. However, they would need to have exceptional control of mana.


    But it''s impossible that she would be able to do it in such a short time?!


    Even knights will find it difficult, then no less should a useless princess.


    The princess winced as she held out her shield, then she shouted.


    ¡°Vernon!¡±


    At that instant, the door blasted open. However, as powerful and skillful Oryn was, he was able to control the wind as some sort of small barrier in front of him and raise his arms to protect his face where Vernon was aiming at.


    With that, he was sent flying towards the wall, prompting Oryn to groan in pain.


    Vernon immediately went between the princess and Oryn.


    ¡°Wind? Magic? Oryn, you never even mentioned you could do such a thing. And trying to strike the princess. You are a betrayer then.¡±


    As Oryn returned standing on the floor, he gathered the wind around him.


    ¡°You are nothing, Vernon. Stand aside and you will live.¡±


    Oryn sternly said towards him with a fierce glare.


    ¡°Hm, you say that but I just sent you flying.


    Indeed, however, in the end, Oryn was not hurt from Vernon¡¯s attack. Vernon saw that and was on highest guard as he positioned his one foot forward.


    Oryn was also on guard, yes, however, he knew Vernon stood no chance against him. He moved his gaze towards the princess behind Vernon, her eyes were wide with fear. It was unexpected that the princess was able to guard herself against his attack, but it won¡¯t happen again, this time, he¡¯ll give his all in a strike to kill her.


    What he only needed to do was take Vernon away from the princess.


    As Oryn was about to strike again, he heard footsteps and immediately raised his hand while covered in sharp winds, a sword then collided with his wind. He glared towards the newcomer.


    ¡°Oryn! What the hell!?¡±


    It was the prince he served.


    ¡°O prince, so you never went to the knights?¡±


    The prince was apparently confused as he stared intently towards Oryn.


    ¡°Why?! Since when?!¡± He sounded like he was in pain.


    But Oryn didn¡¯t care about this human¡¯s emotions.


    Oryn used his other hand to launch a harmful wind towards him, but Estevan saw this and stepped back while a barrier emerged from his palm which shielded him. Immediately, the prince shot forward and swung his sword but clashed with Oryn¡¯s wind.


    The prince¡¯s refined swordsmanship was keeping up with Oryn¡¯s wind as the latter used both his hands to deflect the prince¡¯s every strike. Estevan cast his armament magic sending streaks of flashing slashes with every strike, but those were in turn blocked by Oryn¡¯s magic.


    Oryn grimaced by the intensity of this clash as strong winds blew away papers all around the room, then all of a sudden he saw Vernon charging towards him.


    The bludgeoning fist of Vernon pushed him back but luckily, Oryn regained his footing. However, the prince¡¯s blade had reached him. It was about to pierce him. However, all of a sudden, the prince¡¯s blade slowed down.


    He hesitated!


    Seeing this opportunity, Oryn used more of his mana and with a wave of his hand, a blast of wind erupted sending both his opponents flying away from him. The furniture was also blown away, the windows blasted away outside.


    Estevan, what an idiot.


    As Oryn was about to attack the princess, Vernon suddenly shouted.


    ¡°Princess, run!¡±


    The princess looked rattled as she looked between Vernon and her brother standing up, but then proceeded to run out of the door.


    ¡°I won¡¯t let you escape!¡± Oryn shouted.


    With the support of the wind, he moved forward in fast speed, however, before he could reach her, a kick from Vernon hit him on the stomach pushing him back with a wince.


    These two are indeed stronger than normal humans.


    ¡°I won¡¯t let you get past me.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t let you hurt Estel.¡±


    Vernon and Estevan said as they both blocked the door. No good, the princess was slowly getting away. Oryn didn¡¯t want any more knights coming. It would be hard to try and kill them here.


    Therefore, he decided to only hold them back. However, he would need to maintain the wind and would thus consume his mana every second. In addition, he would weaken. Even so, he need not a lot of strength to kill the feeble princess.


    Oryn clenched his fists and launched forward. He evaded Vernon¡¯s fist and blocked Estevan¡¯s sword. At that moment, he gathered the wind and blasted them away with sharp winds. It left cuts on their arms and torso, but it didn¡¯t do any fatal damage as expected from two combatants.


    Immediately after blasting them away and before they could touch the ground, Oryn pulled them with great force using the wind, causing his two opponents to collide with each other.


    As expected, these two would be hard pressed to kill Oryn. Vernon was about to strike again, as experienced as he was, he was able to counter attack. However, Oryn was able to protect himself with his arm, then before anything else, he blasted them away again causing new cuts.


    At that moment, he used a great amount of his mana and gathered around Vernon and Estevan, levitating them from the ground. A wind barrier imprisoned them.


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°Tsk, a barrier of some sort!¡±


    Estevan and Vernon exclaimed as they both tried to strike it down. However, both of their attacks did no damage.


    Seeing that his plan worked fine, Oryn ran after the princess with the support of the wind, ignoring the yell of the prince behind him. At the same time, he sent wind to the hallways, where they would form a barrier and block any incoming knights, and thus also block the princess.


    In no time, he caught up to the princess. Then he moved himself all of a sudden beside the princess and raised his arm inward.


    ¡°You''re done, princess.¡±


    After saying so, he swept his arm towards the princess as a wind blasted towards her. A crimson barrier blocked his attack, but it was so strong that it sent her flying into a room, breaking the door. Oryn was sure that it would have hurt her.


    He eased up as he walked towards the inside of the room where the smoke of debris was in the air.


    ¡°You know, it was thanks to you princess that I finally had the resolve to do this.¡±


    He stepped inside and walked further in. The princess should be at the edge of the room.


    ¡°I suppose a thanks is in order,¡± he added.


    Then he noticed.


    Isn¡¯t this too much smoke? No, wait, there shouldn¡¯t be this kind of smoke here.


    A white smoke. The princess crashing here shouldn¡¯t make so much that he could barely see.


    It was then an emotionless voice reached his ears.


    ¡°Then, you acted the way I wanted.¡±


    What?


    It was at that moment that a crushing force suddenly filled the very air. He grimaced, it was a force and pressure so powerful that it caused his feet to waver from standing. Confusion struck Oryn.


    Then he sensed a presence behind him, but it was too late as a bolt of forceful flames hit him, blasting away his layer of wind. He was about to regather them, however, before he could do anything else, a hand chopped his throat causing his breathing to stop.


    ¡°Gh!¡±


    As he choked, a punch suddenly struck his ¡®solar plexus¡¯ immediately followed by a kick at the back of his neck. After all the pain that was inflicted upon him while a crushing force was hitting him, he was left sprawled to the floor. As he was about to stand up, an incredibly strong kick hit his lower chin that almost felt like it almost broke his jaw, causing him to lie down and look up at the ceiling.


    Oryn was in a state of shock that his brain was trying to catch up to what was happening. They were quick and successive attacks. Plus, an attack he didn¡¯t see and feel until it was too late.


    He heard footsteps, as they got a little closer, the force which was crushing him became stronger.


    There was only one other person here. But he couldn¡¯t believe it.


    ¡°I suppose thanks is in order, Oryn.¡±

 Chapter 87: The Deceitful Princess (Part 3)

    A familiar voice, but it lacked the usual warmth and sweetness that always came with it. This sudden change caused a chill to run down Oryn¡¯s spine. The voice was cold and indifferent. Unfeeling ¡ª emotionless. He was unable to believe that those words came from her.


    Then she appeared before his eyes. A pair of deep crimson eyes gazed down at him which lacked any emotion she usually had.


    ¡°Princess¡­?¡±


    The questioning tone came out from his lips, trying to ascertain whether that was the princess he always knew, for this one felt like a different person.


    Oryn tried to stand up, but the force was forcing him down into the floor. He was familiar with this and already knew where this rampaging mana was coming from. However, this was supposed to blow everything away, not crush them and force them on the floor.


    Therefore, there was only one answer from this. The princess was controlling her rampaging mana.


    Everything¡¯s wrong!


    Definitely, everything that he knew about everything seemed to have been thrown away into the trash. Everything didn¡¯t make sense. He glared towards the anomaly, but that anomaly gazed back with its chill inducing eyes.


    ¡°Oryn, why are you targeting me?¡±


    That almost monotonous voice was a stranger to Oryn. The princess was keeping his distance from him, if she was a bit closer, Oryn could have grabbed her. However, it seems the princess knew that and kept herself away from his reach.


    She walked around with gentle steps around him, and nonsensical of all, she was calm. She was unbelievably calm, contrasting what supposed to be her true nature.


    ¡°I¡­ I have no need to answer you.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    The smoke thickened again, now Oryn saw it. The smoke was coming from the princess. Oryn tried to get up again and held out his hand, if only he could hit her once, then this would be over. However, before he could do it, the princess stepped back and vanished into the smoke.


    Most terrifying of all, he couldn¡¯t hear her footsteps.


    How? How is she doing that?


    Such a skill couldn¡¯t be possessed by the pure princess. Utterly impossible. He scanned around in panic, but before he knew it, a foot kicked the side of his face out of the blue, sending him lying back on the floor.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±


    Oryn wanted to blast everything away with his wind, however, the princess¡¯ rampaging mana was disrupting the very air itself. Plus, he was also maintaining the barrier where he kept Vernon and Estevan, not to mention the barriers on the hallways.


    It would even be more dangerous to set them free now.


    He watched the princess step back after attacking him, and lifted the side of her skirt and pulled a¡­ dagger.


    A dagger? What¡¯s going on?


    For more than a decade, he had watched the princess. What happened now was crushing his very understanding of her and this terrified him.


    ¡°I should ask, do all elves cast some sort of wind magic? Or is it just you?¡±


    The princess asked. But Oryn did not answer.


    ¡°And, it would appear that elves are not mere myths. Quite interesting that you hid yourselves, but why?¡±


    She was asking all this with an almost blank face.


    ¡°But I¡¯m impressed you actually had your ears cut, did you do it yourself? Then I commend you.¡±


    Oryn looked at the dagger in her hand.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you killing me?¡±


    She had the current advantage, she wouldn¡¯t even need to beat him up and just go ahead and try for the kill. He tried to think what could the princess be planning.


    ¡°If you¡­ if you think you can get information from me, give up, princess.¡±


    The princess slowly strode around him.


    ¡°I can see that. Conviction is often an annoying thing.¡±


    Oryn couldn¡¯t hold it but, the more she spoke, the more he got cold feet. The further she strayed away as the pure princess, he felt even more danger. As he got to witness this, he began to believe the prophecy even more.


    The way she was in front of him, he could imagine that she would be capable of it.


    ¡°Then, what are you waiting for?¡±


    ¡°Patience, Oryn, death always comes to my prey, one way, or another.¡±


    The princess glanced towards the door, then for the first time, a slight frown came to her brow.


    ¡°They sure are taking their time¡­ hm¡­ you did something to them, didn¡¯t you? I doubt you managed to kill them given the amount of time that had passed, so, did you restrain them in some way?¡±


    Oryn was in disbelief for a moment, the princess was able to guess what he did. However, the way she spoke, it seemed as though she had truly thought about everything before speaking.


    This¡­ this isn¡¯t the princess¡­


    That was what he thought at first, but changed immediately.


    No¡­ perhaps this is what the princess is originally.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    So, was everything a deception?


    A deceitful princess...


    Oryn gritted his teeth. He had fallen for her trap.


    Then, the princess continued.


    ¡°If only Brother didn¡¯t hesitate, we wouldn¡¯t have been here.¡±


    A faint trace of annoyance was in her voice.


    It then dawned on Oryn, the princess was waiting. He couldn¡¯t understand why, but the princess had no intention of killing him, at least not yet. Then, there was the fact that the princess was letting her mana go wild while controlling it to pin him down. However, it would seem that the princess was not in full control, evident from the shaking of the entire room ¡ª not all mana was aimed at him.


    It was at the next moment he noticed her wince for a little. The princess was in pain. Of course she would be.


    ¡°It must be painful, princess. Unleashing your mana while controlling it, it won¡¯t be long before you lose control.¡±


    ¡°... You think so, huh?¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m surprised you are able to endure it.¡±


    Indeed, this was not the fragile princess he had always known.


    However, even if she would be able to endure it, she couldn¡¯t keep it up for long. Not to mention this vast amount of mana she had. A human vessel containing the power of a god, because of that she wouldn¡¯t be able to keep unleashing the power she had as the one who was the daughter of the goddess of blood.


    And, she won¡¯t be able to take out her entire power as a young goddess.


    A body born of human flesh, cannot cast the full power of the divine.


    He should count himself lucky that this was the case.


    In that moment, he felt the air change ¡ª no, the movement of the princess¡¯s mana changed. He felt the pressure pushing him down weakened and was instead pushing him away from the princess.


    The princess¡¯s control over her rampaging mana was waning. The princess¡¯s eyes gradually turned sore red because of the pain and mana damaging her body.


    Oryn waited, then the next moment, he was propelled away and hit the wall. He made a decision. It was time to disable the wind barrier containing his two troublesome enemies as well as on the hallways. Vernon will be able to catch up faster than Estevan, therefore, Oryn needs to kill the princess before that happens.


    The moment the link he had with the wind barriers was severed, he gathered a vast amount of wind and clashed with the princess¡¯s mana and caused the smoke surrounding them to dissipate. The princess¡¯s face turned stern the moment she saw what Oryn was doing. His wind after all, was matching with her mana.


    The princess immediately fired a bolt of flames towards him, but Oryn blasted it away then instantly followed it with another blast of wind towards the princess.


    A crimson barrier blocked his wind but sent his target flying back, but the princess then moved the barrier to her back and the one in front vanished to protect herself from the impact. It would seem that the princess wasn¡¯t able to cover her entire body yet, if she did, it would weaken her barrier greatly.


    Seeing that opening, Oryn sent a slash of wind towards her, the disturbance of the mana in the air weakened his attack, but Oryn poured a lot of mana into it, and if it hit, it could fatally damage the princess.


    However, against his expectations, the princess reacted with no delay and fired her spell of firebolt, scattering and destroying his attack. The firebolt spell wasn¡¯t supposed to be too strong. However, pouring a considerable amount of mana into it, it can become stronger. The princess with a vast amount of mana, it was possible for her to strengthen the spell than normal.


    That being said, that was not the most annoying. What was annoying was how fast she could react to his successive attacks. The princess was not the normal princess.


    As Oryn sent another attack, the princess had already swiftly moved from her spot, and the wind destroyed the wall it collided with.


    ¡°As I thought, you were holding back for some reason,¡± she said.


    The princess fired a firebolt, and Oryn sent his wind.


    They exchanged magic a couple of times before Oryn decided to do a close combat. Oryn pushed his fist forward covered in wind, but the princess conjured a barrier as she glared at Oryn. As expected, she wouldn¡¯t risk direct physical combat. No matter how strong her magic was, she would be unable to physically fight against Oryn¡¯s magic.


    But of course, it would have been a different case if they both fought with plain hand to hand. But this was a battle to kill and to survive. Therefore, they will use anything at their disposal.


    The princess still had her dagger in hand, but she wasn¡¯t using them. This was baffling.


    The pressure from the rampaging mana of course was greater now that he was closer to her, and it was dampening the magical strength he could muster against the princess. The princess knew this and she increased the output, her eyes now bloodshot and nose bleeding.


    This princess is tougher than I thought.


    It was shocking that she would be able to stand and fight even though it must have hurt a lot. A surging mana coursing through her mystic medium, the pain should have been intense. But the princess was still able to fight despite all that.


    Then, Oryn heard loud footsteps from outside the room. He glanced towards it for a split second before returning to the princess, but now, her dagger was gone from her hand.


    What?


    Throwing away his confusion, he gathered an intense amount of wind to finish it once and for all. However, as he launched his attack, an interloper grabbed the princess away, his attack making a hole in the room.


    He turned around to see Vernon holding the princess by the waist.


    ¡°Put me down this instant Vernon and fight him!¡±


    The princess said and Vernon immediately complied. Oryn fired his wind and Vernon conjured a barrier of his own to protect himself as he charged towards him.


    Oryn dodged a punch, and he delivered a wind covered attack successfully hitting Vernon¡¯s chest, but the latter returned the punch to Oryn¡¯s stomach.


    This wasn¡¯t good, Vernon was melee oriented and Oryn was not. So the latter stepped back and sent several sharp winds towards him. Vernon blocked with his barrier, but after two attacks, it shattered, and so he protected himself from the remaining winds using his own tough body and arms.


    It was then that a pair of arcs of light came towards Oryn, he was unable to fully protect himself, and slashes appeared on his shoulder to his chest, blood bleeding out. He grimaced as he glared at the prince who sent that magic.


    This will be difficult. Therefore, as cornered as he was, he became desperate and decided to use the entirety of his mana to cause a storm of wind in the room, sending furniture flying in the air. But also in the moment, Vernon landed a punch to his cheek then to his chest which sent him back hitting the wall.


    Oryn spat out blood as a storm was erupting in the room. His two opponents were having a hard time walking, but it didn¡¯t stop them.


    ¡°Brother!¡± it was then he heard the princess, her usual tone of speaking returned. ¡°Do not hesitate!¡±


    This princess. Is she¡­ pretending? Was everything, is everything else an act?


    When was the moment she was manipulating him, making him act the way she wanted? When did it start? Oryn had no time to think. But seeing the princess this way, it truly terrified him even more.


    As he regained his footing he looked at the princess. It was then that he saw her which caused him to tremble as he thought of the future.


    The princess was smiling, a satisfied smile. To others this may mean nothing much, but to Oryn¡¯s eyes¡­it was something sinister.


    No¡­ No¡­ if I fail then¡­


    The future will certainly happen.


    He clenched his fist.


    ¡°Princess!!! You! You¡¯re too dangerous to be kept alive!¡±


    Overwhelmed by emotion, he gathered what remained of his wind and power, but it was too late to do anything else when Vernon punched him on the side of his body.


    In zero distance, he blasted Vernon away, but after that, his extended hand was severed after a flash of a blade cut through it. Oryn¡¯s eyes went wide as he watched his hand fall mid air. It was then followed by a slash to his chest.


    He turned to look the prince in the eyes. Then he felt a blade pierce through his heart as he saw the sorrow in the prince¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Oryn¡­ you¡­ you tried to kill my sister. I won¡¯t forgive you for that.¡±


    Oryn¡¯s knees weakened.


    ¡°Estevan¡­¡± Oryn chuckled. ¡°You have no need to forgive me, but¡­ take care of yourself.¡±


    Oryn didn¡¯t know why he said those words. But, it must have been because of a habit. He had been working here for a very long time indeed.


    The prince pulled back his sword from Oryn¡¯s chest.


    As he slowly fell on both his knees, his consciousness waning, blood spilling on the floor, he raised head to see the princess once more.


    Her smile gone, and what remained was her frightened expression, her wide crimson eyes looking at him.


    Which one was the true princess?


    That question popped in his mind.


    Then, as he collapsed, his senses felt the cold hard floor and his very own warm blood, a single thought came to his mind as he breathed his last.


    My people¡­ are...

 Chapter 88: A Revelation (Part 1)

    That was a close call.


    Though I was not particularly scared since I got everything under control. But Oryn sure was a troublesome bastard. On the other hand, I was actually surprised that elves were legit real here, like ¡ª mind blown!


    That aside, I was glad that the infiltrator acted the way I wanted. He must have gotten impatient, or maybe there were other factors at play. What I didn¡¯t foresee though was his ability to manipulate the wind.


    He was strong, I¡¯ll give him that. But thankfully, in the first encounter, he was struggling to fight off Estevan and Vernon. Even so, everything didn¡¯t go well later on. It was because my dear beloved brother hesitated. If he didn¡¯t, he might have cut down Oryn to at least slow him down.


    Of course as I was not particularly useful in the battle, I ran away from the scene as what a sensible person would do! I mean, why would I stay in a place where my life was in danger? I don''t know what fools would remain in the middle of a crossfire.


    But tragically, Oryn caught up to me, I guessed that he might have done something to restrain my two guards. Of course, I wouldn¡¯t let any of his attacks touch me, they all look like they could splatter me, how dangerous.


    As worried as I was, I decided not to cover my entire body with my barrier and focus on where I should protect myself since my shield would weaken the wider it gets. I couldn¡¯t risk weakening it seeing how strong Oryn was. In contrast, good thing the barrier absorbs plenty of shocks from the impact of each attack, without that, I would have been blown away many times.


    I unleashed my mana to try and slow him down while hurting him. Believe me, it was hard as hell to control the rampaging mana, and the pain was excruciating.


    I tried to interrogate him a little bit, but as expected I got nothing. It was hard to keep a powerful person like Oryn restrained and take him in as a prisoner without him always having to go after me. So I decided it would be best to just kill him if it was hard to tie him up.


    There was one problem I was worried about, I must not be the one to kill him. Killing him with my daggers would only indicate that he was killed by a blade, and not in the hand of anyone else but could only be me who he was with him. Now that would just blow my cover wouldn¡¯t it?


    What? I could just burn him to death? Yeah that would need me firing at him a few more times, and that would prompt him to go wild since he would be dying anyway. And a cornered and desperate rat is a troublesome opponent. The best option would have been to cut him deep in the throat or stab in the heart, but that was out of the question if I didn''t want to expose myself.


    More than that though, and importantly, after burning him to death, well who would be named as the one who killed him? Me! Estelia! Think about it, a pure princess has blood on her hands. Now that would just mess up everything for me. I don¡¯t want that kind of record on me. It¡¯s hard to admit but, reputation is very essential in my current life!


    So, I waited for Estevan and Vernon, but it took them some time and Oryn decided to give his all to killing me. Thankfully I held out until Vernon arrived first.


    Then, eventually, Estevan pierced a blade through the infiltrator ¡ª or a betrayer in my brother¡¯s eyes.


    What a waste, he could have been a source of information to pump from. However, it would be nigh impossible. If someone had infiltrated something for years, it would be utterly hard to make them spit out intel essential to them. Also, I saw conviction in Oryn¡¯s eyes.


    With those into consideration, and the danger he possessed, killing him was the best in my opinion. I got a rule you see, if they¡¯re hard to imprison, just kill them, you¡¯ll be free from a burden and you¡¯ll be safer.


    Can you imagine? Chaining a powerful lion, but this time with magic, and its escape was a possibility. If it escapes, you¡¯ll likely die by its fangs while you are asleep. Yeah, I¡¯m not taking the risk this time. It¡¯s hard to make a lion talk with human language anyway.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I wanted to kill him myself. I was hungry for blood, I craved the feeling of metal digging into skin as blood gradually spilling out, and watched as the signs of life vanish from his eyes. I desired to take life, I miss it!


    But sadly, I need to hold myself back. What a tragic fate.


    Still, I¡¯m plenty satisfied that he died. I watched him fall to the ground as my false expression greeted him in his final moments. I savored the view as an enemy lost his life.


    With that done, my brother turned towards me and dropped his sword.


    ¡°Estel¡­¡±


    He desperately approached me, his eyes full of worry.


    ¡°B-Brother,¡± my voice trembled as I called to him.


    He struggled to come over to me though.


    ¡°Estel, you can stop your mana now.¡±


    I slowly retracted my mana until the air calmed down completely.


    ¡°Brother!¡±


    I rushed towards him and dug myself into his chest, tears welling up my eyes as I grasped his shirt with trembling hands.


    ¡°Brother! He ¡ª He tried to kill me¡­¡±


    He wrapped his arms around me as I weeped in his embrace. His soft and warm body somehow made me feel comfortable¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my sister¡­¡± he said as held me closely.


    ¡°I¡ª I defended myself with all my might¡­ I, I was so scared!¡±


    I pressed myself more, the fabric on his chest began to drench in my tears.


    ¡°Ssshh, it¡¯s alright now¡­ It¡¯s my fault, I¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have hesitated.¡±


    Yes, Oryn wouldn¡¯t have been able to catch up to me if he only managed to strike him. But, nothing we can do to change that now, so I forgive him. But I¡¯ll still have him make up for it eventually.


    ¡°Why? Why did Oryn even betray us?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡±


    I moved my body back and looked Estevan in the eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t leave my side, please. At least just for a while.¡±


    My eyes brimming with tears pleadingly looked at his eyes. He could clearly see the trauma I have experienced.


    He stroked my cheek.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be with you.¡±


    ¡°T-Thank you.¡±


    It was then that I felt a warm sensation down my nose.


    ¡°Estel! You¡¯re bleeding.¡±


    Ah, my nose must be bleeding again from unleashing my entire mana all of a sudden. Damn, it felt weird when my nose was bleeding in the clash earlier.


    ¡°And your eyes are redder than they should be.¡±


    Well, even though I was crying, it must be redder than that which calls for distress. Actually, everything has been blurry for a while, and the world seemed to twist a bit. Yeah, I felt dizzy.


    But I shouldn¡¯t collapse, I have weapons on me after all. I also can¡¯t let them get the impression that I¡¯m not doing so well.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m feeling completely fine now brother. Just a little pain, and the bleeding is the side effect from bursting out my mana. But I will be fine.¡±


    ¡°Still, let¡¯s get you to a healer, okay?¡±


    I meekly nodded my head. Meanwhile, he took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood off my nose.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll prefer to be taken to my room first¡­¡± I said.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    It was then heavy footsteps with sounds of metal faintly resounded and coming towards us. It was the knights.


    Better late than never I guess¡­


    ¡°Vernon, I¡¯ll let you handle things here.¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± Vernon then turned to face me. ¡°Please rest for a while, princess.¡±


    I nodded my head. ¡°Thank you, Vernon.¡±


    Then my brother helped me come to my room. He offered to carry me there, but of course I refused and acted embarrassed. A lady would of course be embarrassed if her big brother carried her like a child.


    But the reason was that I couldn¡¯t let him feel and discover the blades strapped to my thigh. In the end, we walked together while he held me by the shoulders tightly as I acted all frightened still.


    In addition, I was seemingly becoming relaxed by my lovely brother¡¯s touch until we arrived at my room. It took a while though.


    ¡°What do you think the knights will do with¡­. O-Oryn?¡± I asked reluctantly.


    ¡°They¡¯ll check the scene first before they bring the body out.¡±


    ¡°Brother¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­ You must have trusted him¡­¡±


    He faintly smiled, though I saw a hint of pain in his eyes.


    ¡°He¡¯s a betrayer, in the end. It is only proper that I struck him down, especially when he¡¯s planning to kill you, Estel.¡±


    He patted my head softly and ruffled my hair. For some reason, it took a while before he stopped forcing himself to do so. I didn¡¯t show any displeased expression, I didn¡¯t feel that way, I also didn¡¯t act adorably but only looked blankly at him.


    ¡°Brother¡­¡±


    ¡°Rest for a while as I call the healer, okay?¡±


    ¡°...Okay.¡±


    I stepped inside the room and asked my brother.


    ¡°Brother, can you also please call Mera? I want to change my clothes.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    I closed the door and immediately went over to my bed and removed the blades from my thigh and hid them back. Now that it was over, it was safe to remove my weapons. I could have kept them for a while, but with my current condition, it would be too risky.


    I might suddenly fall unconscious. Plus, I will also be checked by everyone and changing clothes. So safer to clean myself of dangerous sharp things that should not be with a delicate princess such as me.

 Chapter 89: A Revelation (Part 2)

    A while later, Mera arrived and I allowed her entry into my room. Her greatly worried eyes greeted me the moment we made eye contact. Sitting on the bed ¡ª because I was feeling dizzy ¡ª I greeted her almost casually.


    ¡°Hello, Mera.¡±


    She stared at my current state and saw that I was smeared by dust, and my dress was dirty. Well, Oryn was controlling the fucking wind, so of course I got dirty. But she noticed my bloodshot eyes, and she seemed to panic. Good thing the traces of blood on my nose have been wiped off by my brother.


    ¡°M-Milady, so Oryn was a traitor?¡±


    ¡°Surprisingly so¡­¡±


    Well, not that really surprising since I was also suspecting him. But I didn¡¯t expect him to have that kind of power.


    ¡°Mera, didn¡¯t you feel vibrations in the air?¡±


    Mera blinked before answering. ¡°No¡­¡±


    Huh, I thought I would affect the entire palace like last time, guess my control and will to limit it has worked. But still incredibly hard. I tried limiting the area of effect of my rampaging since I don¡¯t want to burst them all away and hurt me more than I should, and I don¡¯t want to waste mana.


    I may have been able to limit the range or output, but I in turn failed to lengthen the time of accurately guiding the mana to pin down Oryn.


    ¡°Help me change my dress, and it appears I will need a small cleaning.¡±


    I smiled wryly.


    ¡°I will bring a wet towel¡­ And milady, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alright.¡±


    She said with blushing cheeks which I found so amusing.


    Oh no, she loves me.


    Just a casual and teasing throw away comment...


    The way she felt could just be admiration and mistaken as love. That said, there¡¯s not much difference between the two ¡ª eh whatever.


    ¡°Yes, thankfully Brother and Vernon are there¡­ Otherwise, I might have perished. Quite a close one, actually.¡±


    I giggled with shaking lips, then my hands trembled as though terrified to think back about it.


    ¡°But there¡¯s nothing to worry anymore, Mera¡­ It¡¯s all okay now¡­¡±


    With that said, Mera went out and brought back a clean wet towel and rubbed only the dirt parts of my skin. After that I changed my clothes, I had the process go a bit quickly since I was planning to do something.


    I may be feeling a bit dizzy, but nothing I couldn¡¯t handle. Before the knights could take out the body, I want to check it out. You see, a sudden occurrence, and the death of someone like Oryn the infiltrator, could reveal some nice stuff.


    The stuff could be sweet or bitter or something else, at least it would be something. Of course, there will be some times that you get nothing after a lot of effort, so that sucks.


    In any case, I¡¯m gonna go and check things out.


    But you know, this made me think, if my other enemies are gonna be like Oryn¡­. Fuuuuckkkk!


    Are they gonna be as strong as him? Bullshit! No way! First the guy who warned me turned into a fucking fog, and now an infiltrator has the ability to control the wind, and an elf no less! Then¡­ What about the others? Surely Oryn¡¯s not alone.


    Why are they going after me?


    I couldn¡¯t arrive at an answer.


    Looks like I will need to get stronger than what I am now.


    If the world could just give me a fucking break.


    This was so distressing that I wanted to pull my hair in frustration. Well that was just an urge, not that I would actually do it. My hair is precious, okay? It¡¯s way more precious than the jewels you guys wear, hehe.


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    With the minor affair done, I exited the room with Mera in tow. A short time had already passed, so I wondered if they had moved his corpse out. But the moment I stepped outside, I encountered my mother wearing an intensely worried expression. Behind her was a knight.


    ¡°Estelia!¡±


    She rushed towards me and held me on my shoulders firmly. She frantically checked me all over as though looking for any wounds or damages to my precious being.


    ¡°You okay?¡±


    She then proceeded to sandwich both by cheeks with her hands.


    Um, mother, is this necessary?


    ¡°You seemed to be fine, thank the gods.¡±


    The way she looked at me somehow made me glad that my heart began to race. Why was I feeling this way? And her wide smile of relief was beautifully bright.


    ¡°M-Mother¡­¡±


    ¡°A knight came and told me what happened¡­¡± she told me with a faltering voice. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alright!¡±


    She suddenly took me into her arms, then proceeded to kiss me on the cheek multiple times. The warm embrace and the pleasing kisses on my cheek...What a weird sensation¡­ But¡­ I like it¡­


    A genuine smile unconsciously curled on my lips. I couldn¡¯t even bring myself to lie and act¡­ Thus, I was left unable to speak. Before I knew it, I had snuggled more into her, my face hidden from everyone. I might have blushed a little...


    Only then the healer arrived.


    ¡°My apologies! I heard the princess needs immediate medical attention.¡±


    I backed away from my mother, a strange sense of longing rose from within me, but I pushed it away. I didn¡¯t know what had gotten into me, for me to feel that way¡­ It was a blunder to immerse myself in such a luxury when there were pressing matters at hand.


    ¡°Estelia, let the physician check on you and rest¡­¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°Not yet, I¡¯m still fine. I want to check on¡­.¡± I paused for a moment as though frightened to speak the name. ¡°... on Oryn¡­¡±


    ¡°Estevan¡¯s assistant... And the traitor¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± I turned and looked at the knight. ¡°Are they already taking out Oryn¡¯s¡­ body?¡±


    The knight wasn¡¯t able to respond immediately due to his shock that the princess suddenly spoke to him.


    ¡°... They should be at any moment. It will be brought out of the palace and placed elsewhere.¡±


    Of course, they wouldn¡¯t let a corpse stay inside the palace where royalties stay.


    ¡°Then¡­ Mother, please excuse me¡­.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll come with you¡­¡±


    No reason to refuse, we headed towards the stairs together. The physician also came with us just in case something suddenly happened to me. As we went down the stairs, there were already several knights standing guard around while some were quickly patrolling the hallways.


    Word must have already spread that the traitor has been discovered. Only then that a group of knights came down the stairs carrying a stretcher with a body laid upon it.


    ¡°...I can¡¯t believe that Oryn would¡­¡± the mother muttered from beside me.


    I also turned to look at how Mera reacted, it would appear that she wasn¡¯t all that disturbed. Well, they were never close it seems. However, why did it seem like she was glaring at the corpse?


    Oh well¡­


    When the group of knights carrying the corpse reached the ground floor, only then someone frantically ran forward. It was a familiar girl.


    ¡°Wait!¡±


    The girl stopped the knights and looked at the corpse, upon recognizing it, she covered her mouth. Tears began to well up her eyes, stepping back and shaking her head as though she couldn¡¯t believe that this was real.


    Her despairing expression remained agazed at the dead Oryn. As if she couldn¡¯t bear it anymore, she fell to her knees, her tears never failing to stream out of her eyes.


    ¡°N-No¡­¡± she muttered in denial.


    Ah yes people, this might be the stuff that I was talking about. The one that was to be revealed.


    Allie¡¯s sorrow for the sudden death of Oryn.


    She looked confused about everything. Vernon who was following the group gazed down on Allie with pity, he after all also had an idea of what potential relationship she had with Oryn. We three saw them after all.


    Estevan meanwhile was puzzled about it, only then that Vernon whispered to his ear that he nodded.


    ¡°Keep going.¡±


    Estevan ordered and the knights continued on.


    ¡°Oh dear¡­¡± my mother murmured as she watched my personal chef wallow in sorrow.


    ¡°Mother¡­ please excuse me¡­¡±


    I walked towards Allie and Mera followed behind me. I glanced at her for a moment and she had a somewhat sympathetic eyes. Which made me wonder if they ever spoke with each other in a friendly manner.


    ¡°Allie¡­¡± I softly called out to her.


    She looked up with wide eyes as she beheld me.


    ¡°Y-Your highness¡­?¡±


    Her hand was trembling as she muttered.


    ¡°Allie¡­ Oryn was a traitor¡­¡±


    ¡°...¡± she was silent for a while. ¡°A traitor¡­? No¡­ no¡­¡±


    ¡°And he needed to be struck down¡­¡± I said.


    ¡°No¡­ why? It can¡¯t be¡­¡±


    I saw despair in her eyes before she lowered her head.


    It was then Mera chimed in.


    ¡°Allie, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    Allie didn¡¯t respond.


    O how the maiden¡¯s heart was shattered into pieces, not by heartbreak, but of grief. The broken maiden clenched her hand on her skirt, tears falling, then she gazed up at me.


    ¡°P-Princess¡­ what did he do?¡± she asked.


    ¡°He¡­¡± I paused, fear in my eyes. ¡°He tried to kill me¡­¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± she lowered her head again.


    It¡¯s hard to talk to people in grief.


    Good grief, I¡¯ll just leave her to it for a while. She will need some space. I turned to her two companions from the kitchen.


    ¡°As her friends, can you please tend to her?¡±


    The both of them responded in affirmative with no hesitation. With that, they carefully took Allie away.


    It was then at that moment that Estevan returned to me and Mother.


    ¡°My son¡­¡±


    Mother held out her hand and stroked Estevan¡¯s cheek.


    ¡°Mother¡­ It¡¯s still a bit hard to accept that he was a traitor. He had been helping me for years¡­ And to think that¡­¡±


    Estevan¡¯s pained expression was shown before Mother with no reluctance. It was different from it was just the two of us.


    ¡°Estevan¡­¡±


    ¡°I was the one to take his life¡­ But¡­ I have no regrets.¡±


    Better be.


    After that, the entire palace was on high alert the entire day and they immediately went to check Oryn¡¯s lodgings. A messenger had also been immediately sent to the Church where my father was supposed to be.


    When he arrives, I will need to share to my family what I have discovered about Oryn¡¯s identity.

 Chapter 90: Speaking with Allie and Rogan

    The day after Oryn¡¯s death, I decided to check on my personal chef. I mean come on, she¡¯s my subordinate, it¡¯s only natural for a princess like me to look how a grieving subordinate was doing. I am not that heartless.


    What? Have I ever been heartless?


    Can¡¯t remember when I was one. Hm Hm.


    Think of this as an act of compassion for the broken and grieving. I shall be taking care of my dear subordinate, only for a short while though. What? Do you think people would want you to stay with them the whole day considering that way they were feeling?


    Some may find that annoying, you know. And what do you want me to talk about the whole day? Really, I¡¯m impressed by people that always had something to talk about the whole day. How are you doing that?


    That¡¯s like¡­ one of the greatest mysteries of the universe. Don¡¯t your throats ever hurt?


    Hehe, people with high social skills, am I right?


    Me? Don¡¯t tell me you think I have a high social skill. Pfft.


    Me? Who was raised in an environment without much of an opportunity to socialize? If you think I have high social skills, better redo your evaluation of me.


    My purpose was to eliminate targets, not woo them. So never would I have any top tier social skills.


    But I can¡¯t say otherwise of other batches though. Some others were raised in a different environment and handled by a different administrator. There were two different professors you see. Where I came from was formed earlier than the other one. That said, the later one was firstly on the experimental stages to determine the effect of it on the subjects and how they would grow out to be.


    In the end, data suggests that the first program, where I came from, had better performance than the other. Although, there was not that much of a gap in terms of skills with the second, but later on the second program would be considered a failure. That was because there had been a few defectors from it.


    The organization still hadn¡¯t stopped that program yet though. The skills of the subjects were almost on par with the first program, but the emotional side of the second program was undesirable, perhaps the little merit it had saved it.


    But, it should be shut down later down the line.


    Hell, the later program even managed to steal me from the other, but I had already graduated way before that. It¡¯s just that the professor in charge wanted to integrate me into his program.


    And my first superior was utterly displeased by it.


    I didn¡¯t really care much where I would end up, just that I¡¯ll do whatever was ordered. However, I was still terrified of the professor who basically raised me.


    It was much preferable now that I won¡¯t get to see him ever again. I don¡¯t know what would happen if we saw each other again face to face.


    Back to the present, Mera and I have arrived at the kitchen. I only had Mera to accompany me today because Vernon was currently with the King. By the way, I have already told Vernon my discovery about Oryn, and he was the one to convey to my Father about it.


    I have no idea about their reactions, nor if they believed it. Well, they better believe it, if not, well shit.


    ¡°Allow me, milady.¡±


    Mera said and she walked in front of me to open the door. The people inside looked towards me and gently bowed, although there was one person that was left behind. The girl, Allie, weakly bowed her head as I entered.


    ¡°Allie¡­¡±


    She looked terrible, she had eyebags under her eyes, as though she didn¡¯t sleep much and cried most of the night. Her hair was a little unkempt, her eyes were almost devoid of light.


    ¡°Everyone, please take a seat and relax,¡± I said.


    As they sat down, I walked towards Allie and sat in front of her. She flinched when I reached out for her hand and held them gently.


    ¡°You seemed¡­ to care about him¡­¡± I reluctantly said to her.


    ¡°I¡­¡± She looked down. ¡°I loved him¡­¡±


    And the grand reveal. Both Ceruos and Tenil had expressions of shock after they heard Allie¡¯s words. It would appear that they never knew, perhaps they just both assumed that Allie and Oryn were just friends, and not that close since the two of them never saw them interact with each other, nor intimately.


    Therefore, this revelation and confirmation from Allie¡¯s mouth herself was of great surprise for them. I already had an idea of what their relationship was, so it didn¡¯t come as much as a surprise. However, I acted surprised for the sake of it. As for Mera, I couldn¡¯t see her, but she must be a bit surprised that Allie confirmed it, since Mera wasn¡¯t fully convinced that Allie had that kind of relationship with Oryn, even though she saw them firsthand.


    Well, refusal of belief from a single maybe? Funny.


    ¡°... Oh¡­¡± I said quietly. ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°What did he do, your highness? That he had to die¡­ despite being a¡­ traitor¡­¡± her eyes averted away when she said that last word.


    I analyzed her closely.


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    ¡°He¡­. he tried to kill me¡­ so it must be done.¡±


    I confirmed it to her once again.


    She lowered her eyes.


    ¡°I see¡­ I¡­ I never thought he would do something like that¡­ they wouldn¡¯t even let me see him...¡±


    She clenched her fists with a pained expression.


    ¡°Allie,¡± I put my hand on her cheek and forced her to look at me as I gave her a worried gaze. ¡°Given your relationship with him, you will also be investigated, but¡­ do not falter¡­¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, your highness.¡±


    I faintly smiled.


    ¡°Take care, okay?¡±


    She nodded her head.


    ¡°Um, your highness, I have something to ask.¡±


    ¡°Yes? What is it?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ may I accept the offer of having my own kitchen?¡±


    All of us were surprised as shown on our faces. Whether mine is fake or not, it¡¯s up to you to guess.


    ¡°Of course. But, may I ask why you changed your mind?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s time for a change of pace¡­¡±


    Huh. Was this one of those moments that say ¡®it¡¯s a new beginning¡¯? Hm, maybe she¡¯s gonna cut her hair next.


    ¡°I understand¡­ I will get on it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, your highness.¡±


    ***


    A short while later after my interaction with Allie, I left the kitchen and Vernon was there to greet me.


    ¡°Your highness.¡±


    ¡°Vernon, I thought we won¡¯t get to see each other for now.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but it would seem my efforts were not that much needed when there are others to assist with everything. Therefore, I asked the king to allow me to guard you.¡±


    That¡¯s interesting, Vernon himself asked to guard me. I don¡¯t know his entire thought process to what led him to do that, but maybe he¡¯s starting to like me. I¡¯m not trying to steal servants from Father, okay?


    Hey, at least that¡¯s another meatshield, I¡¯m not one to complain.


    That aside, now that Vernon was here, I should be able to get out of the palace now. They didn¡¯t allow me to get out of the palace for the chance of some danger outside.


    ¡°I see. Then, let¡¯s get out of the palace for a while, Vernon.¡±


    ¡°Understood. But may I ask for what purpose?¡±


    I began walking and responded to his question.


    ¡°Oh, just going to talk to someone.¡±


    I was not heading for the front door but the side one. Doing so would only be very conspicuous for me, so I prefer to lower the attention I would be getting.


    I greeted a few knights which came my way in an adorable manner. At least be kind to people. Making them hate me would only hurt me, would you protect wholeheartedly someone that was mean and rude to you? I won¡¯t.


    Now doing something due to a sense of duty is different to wholeheartedness. You can carry out your duty and protect someone you should protect, but whether consciously or not, one tends not to give their all, you know, them really pushing it.


    However, if they put their heart to it, they will put more strength into it, even if it was all in vain. Besides, who the fuck makes friends with their enemy that had put them through some shit? And who the fucks likes being nice and saves someone that was mean to them because of a subjective reason?


    It¡¯s way better to save an asshole if there¡¯s a good objective reason than saving them because of emotions or some other bullshit ¡ª like saving them because it¡¯s the right thing to do ¡ª bleeeh, makes me puke.


    It¡¯s stupid. Then by some miracle, the bad guy just suddenly became a good guy or some shit like that because a good guy saved them, and they became friends. Utterly absurd. Most definitely not realistic.


    If someone wrote that in fiction, I swear I¡¯ll smack my head.


    As I walked, I recalled something I wanted to ask Vernon.


    ¡°So, how did Father take the information I discovered?¡±


    ¡°About Oryn?¡± Vernon looked around for a moment. ¡°In disbelief, I too cannot believe it¡­ But, his ears were cut, so His Majesty decided to assume that he was indeed one¡­ Is the information true, your highness?¡±


    ¡°What? Do I look like I lied? How mean of you Vernon.¡±


    I sulkily looked at him with a pout.


    ¡°Ah, my apologies, I am just confused as to how you arrived at that conclusion, or what information supported that.¡±


    ¡°Mm, well, I asked him.¡±


    ¡°Asked him? When?¡±


    ¡°Before he tried to kill me, he was surprised and unable to respond. But judging from his reaction and expression, I seemed to have hit the bullseye. The way his ears were, I am certain of this.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ For him to be that strong, perhaps this goes to prove he is one of the myths.¡±


    ¡°How many knew of this?¡±


    ¡°Only the royal family and a few servants.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s good.¡±


    After I exited the palace, I went down the same path I used last time until I saw a familiar man standing beneath a shade of a tree. It was surprising that he would still be positioned in the same place. Or perhaps he just went here on his own volition.


    Furthermore, there were no commoner guards around and so he was alone.


    He smirked when he saw me approaching him, I returned a sweet smile.


    ¡°Your highness, I imagined you would look for me today. And I am overjoyed that it is as I expected, I am truly blessed today that my eyes have been graced by your beautiful presence,¡± he said as he genuflected.


    Wow. The flattery and flowery words. Others might have felt good upon receiving those compliments without thinking deeply about it, but from the way I saw it, it looked like he wasn¡¯t fully serious about it and only said those pleasantries because it was comical for him.


    ¡°I, I heard what you did¡­ I deeply thank you¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, your highness. I knew the moment you shared it with me that you wouldn¡¯t want anyone else to know,¡± he quietly said that only us could hear.


    I nodded my head. ¡°Please stand, we¡¯re too conspicuous here.¡±


    He followed what I said, then I moved closer to the tree and closer to Rogan.


    ¡°Your highness, I should say, I find it quite surprising that Prince¡¯s Estevan¡¯s assistant was the traitor¡­ he looked a bit devastated about it.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ I am worried about Brother also, but I cannot do anything about it. Time will heal him, or he will heal his own self.¡±


    I grasped my other elbow as though saddened about it.


    ¡°That aside, I must have put some problems on your shoulders, I apologize. Even my brother and father spoke with you.¡±


    ¡°Nothing I can¡¯t handle, though the talk with his Majesty was a bit scary. Good thing I didn¡¯t spit it out. Prince Estevan was also a bit scary.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ so, have you perhaps noticed something strange on your part?¡±


    ¡°None. Could it be described as fortunate or unfortunate?¡±


    ¡°Both I suppose. Fortunately since this could mean that there was indeed no one, but unfortunately at the same time that the opposition is still able to hide. However, now that the infiltrator Oryn is out, the prospect of their being another infiltrator is low.¡±


    Commonly, there should be only one infiltrator that is always dispatched. Well, should. A chance of another one or two still exists. However, if Oryn was non-human, then there being another was under 10 percent.


    But what if it¡¯s human?


    ¡°That¡¯s what her highness has surmised, huh¡­¡± he stared at me for a moment.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Um, nothing, your highness. I just find you a bit scary.¡±


    ¡°Do you find most things scary?¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°Yeah, maybe I do.¡±


    I faintly smiled. ¡°Vernon, has Oryn¡¯s room been searched?¡±


    ¡°... Yes, but we found nothing of value yet.¡±


    ¡°Have you moved or taken anything?¡±


    ¡°As far as I know, no.¡±


    ¡°I see. In that case, after dinner, stay with me,¡± I said to my two servants before turning to Rogan. ¡°Also you, Sir Rogan, please meet me later at the schedule I mentioned, we shall await you at my room.¡±


    Rogan had been involved in this too, so I believe it would be great if I invite him. Plus, if he comes to like me more, I¡¯ll have another meat shield. One¡¯s trust and devotion must be cultivated. Rogan¡¯s an elite knight, it wouldn¡¯t be bad to have him as an asset.


    This doesn¡¯t mean that he¡¯s safe from being a traitor, even though him being one was extremely low. Well, let¡¯s just see where this will take us.


    Rogan smirked upon hearing my words.


    ¡°Oh? What will be the purpose, if I may ask?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll take a look at Oryn¡¯s room.¡±

 Chapter 91: The Princess’s Talent?

    Night time came and someone was knocking on the door. At the moment, Mera was with me inside my room leaving only Vernon outside. There could only be one reason why he knocked.


    ¡°Princess, Sir Rogan has arrived.¡±


    I stood up and told Mera that we¡¯re going. She opened the door for me and when I stepped outside, there was Rogan in his armor bowing to me.


    ¡°Good evening princess.¡±


    ¡°Good evening, sir Rogan. It¡¯s good that you came to accompany us.¡±


    ¡°I am honored. But, I still fail to realize my significance in your goal tonight.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not about significance. I am grateful for what you have done, and the way I see it, we could be seen as collaborators now, especially when my family had their strict eyes on you.¡±


    ¡°He-he. I suppose.¡±


    ¡°But, maybe also because I am quite fond of you. Knights of your type are hard to come by, after all.¡±


    ¡°You flatter me, your highness¡­ Hm, can¡¯t wait to tell Alan about this.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this about Sir Alan?¡±


    ¡°Oh? You still remember him?¡±


    I raised a puzzled eyebrow.


    ¡°Why would I forget him?¡±


    ¡°I see. I just think that it would be amusing if I told Alan that you like me.¡±


    Hm, like, how one takes that word would depend. It could mean you just like the person as a person, and the other like is that there was some romance involved. It was apparent that Rogan knew which I meant when I said I was fond of him.


    However, he seemed to be intending to make Alan think otherwise, perhaps to tease him. Well, let¡¯s play along.


    ¡°Amusing? I don¡¯t see how and why that would be amusing. And, why would Sir Alan care about that?¡±


    Rogan smiled wryly.


    ¡°Have you not realized, your highness?¡±


    I shook my head.


    ¡°I see. Well, let¡¯s just say he¡¯s an interesting fellow.¡±


    I think me and Rogan could get along well.


    ¡°Is that so¡­ In any case, time is essential, let¡¯s go.¡±


    They followed me as I began walking down the corridor towards the stairs. Oryn¡¯s room was on the second floor and on the opposite side of the palace where my room was. As we strode, Rogan asked a question.


    ¡°Your highness, why did you decide to check the traitor¡¯s lodging at night?¡±


    ¡°Why? Hm, isn¡¯t that obvious?¡± I asked blankly as though the answer was naturally obvious. ¡°Strange events, suspicious activities mostly happen at night. Such acts are safer to do at night.¡±


    ¡°Hm, indeed.¡±


    ¡°Furthermore, if Oryn was to do something suspicious in his room, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do it during the day since he would be working.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you just leave it to the knights? Or at least bring a group?¡±


    ¡°... I cannot rest if I don¡¯t see things personally. Also, bringing a group of knights would surely be too crowded and rowdy for me¡­ I don¡¯t like being surrounded by too many unfamiliar people¡­¡± I said timidly.


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    Well, the primary reason for this is because I don¡¯t have much trust in strangers'' abilities or competency. Besides, my scope of actions may expand when I discover something. I wouldn¡¯t be able to rest peacefully if I realized that I may have missed something crucial. Furthermore, bringing more people than this would be difficult to manage and control, these guys were enough.


    A while later, we arrived at Oryn¡¯s room, on the way, we encountered a knight on patrol passing by the room. He was surprised to see us four together.


    ¡°Greetings, your highness.¡±


    The knight said as he bowed deeply. I greeted him good evening, then Rogan proceeded to greet the knight.


    ¡°Yo, nice night.¡±


    ¡°Rogan¡­ You¡¯re with the princess, may I ask what brought you here?¡±


    I turned to look at Rogan and nodded my head. Being given permission, he began to briefly explain.


    ¡°We¡¯re just going to search the traitor¡¯s room for anything of value.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright, then, keep up the good work, we¡¯ll be going inside.¡±


    Vernon opened the door as the knight went on with his job while wearing a curious expression. We stepped inside after closing the door, it was a large room, as what rooms were in the palace. Furthermore, his room didn¡¯t have much personality, no large decorations or anything.


    What was only within were papers on the table, piles of books, mostly work related. It would seem he was somewhat a minimalist?


    ¡°Alright, search every nook and cranny. Move the shelfs, shift the carpets, scour the bed, and scan his every paperwork.¡±


    Everyone ¡ª Vernon, Mera, and Rogan ¡ª immediately went on the move. As for me, it wouldn¡¯t have been necessary for me to do anything, but I feel it wouldn¡¯t leave a good impression if I did nothing. Therefore, I approached the desk and took a look at the paper.


    As moments passed, I was convinced that the papers were nothing of help. I also checked below the table. I even tried to move it, but to no avail. As for the drawers, well, nothing of much use except some trivial items and papers.


    I shifted my sight and saw Rogan lifting the sheets of the bed, then Mera searching the shelves, Vernon checking every corner and every object that was left unchecked.


    ¡°Hm, open and flip the pages of the books, there might be something,¡± I said to them.


    We began flipping the pages of the books, however, we found nothing. These were all pre-made, and none was made by Oryn.


    ¡°Milady, perhaps Oryn decided not to leave any physical evidence since it would be too risky.¡±


    Perhaps. But¡­


    ¡°If that is so¡­ he must have some way to communicate with his allies.¡±


    Was this a bust? Shit, I had hoped I would find something. I walked towards the window and opened them completely, letting the cold wind of the night blow inside.


    I looked down, then up, there must be something. I checked every tiny detail, the dark clouds covering the moonlight which caused a lack of illumination to the surroundings. But, much to my disappointment, there was nothing.


    I stepped back with furrowed brows.


    I once again scanned the room. But there was nothing that seemed out of place.


    Was this truly a failure? Then Oryn really thought this through. He might have thought that he may remain here for more than a decade or something, and thus, to be more careful, leave not any physical evidence.


    But I wonder, if he had allies, how would they communicate? Communication was always an essential part of these types of operations. The purpose of spying is to send crucial information, then also report your progress.


    ¡°Is there any spell that allows you to indirectly communicate with someone over vast distances instantly? Like, you can speak and the other side would hear, all with your mind alone or something else?¡±


    ¡°......To my knowledge, no.¡±


    ¡°Nope, I don¡¯t know anything that convenient.¡±


    ¡°I also don¡¯t know any of that kind, milady.¡±


    I nodded my head as I pondered.


    ¡°Hm, could they have perhaps used a spell that is not known to us? I even came here at night in the chance that something would happen.¡±


    Magic was an incredible thing, and I didn¡¯t know the full scale of it yet.


    I walked towards the bed and nonchalantly sat down.


    ¡°Princess?¡± Rogan was puzzled.


    ¡°Let¡¯s wait for a while.¡±


    This should have been the time when all servants had just about finished with their dinner. Servants could either eat before or after the royal family. It all depended on the free time they had, or if they had no work left to do.


    As for Oryn, it would be the same. However, as it was either before or after, communicating would have to be done after since it would be certain that Oryn would be free from any work and was supposed to rest and sleep. This way, there will be no interruptions in their time of communicating.


    I sat down in silence. Meanwhile my companions quietly looked around. Mera was pretty attention grabbing though, she had been staring or glancing at me whenever she had a chance, and it had been constantly happening for a while now.


    Aaah, never change Mera.


    What an amusing girl.


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    Then Rogan began to whistle as though he was bored. Though, it wasn¡¯t exactly a good idea to whistle at night in the silent palace.


    ¡°Sir Rogan, don¡¯t whistle, you might disturb someone and invite any negative attention,¡± Vernon chided Rogan, he must have had the same thought as I am.


    ¡°Right, my apologies.¡±


    We were like this for a few minutes. Perhaps we really wouldn¡¯t be able to find anything here. Could the opposition have realized that Oryn was already dead? Then, what means could they have used?


    I slowly stood up and then there was a small sound like flapping from the window. I turned my head and there was a completely black feathered bird that landed on the window sill. It was a small bird, with a straight beak like any other common bird. Though it¡¯s tail was spread out like a fan.


    Hm, birds are essentially the same in this world.


    I haven¡¯t yet seen birds this close personally, so it was a tiny bit intriguing.


    I took a step, intending to leave since there was nothing to be found here anymore. But I instantly stopped, then shifted my eyes to look at the bird.


    ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t move a muscle and stay quiet.¡±


    Everyone immediately froze stiffly after I quietly said those words.


    Now then, there was an issue with the bird. First, it¡¯s night time, even birds sleep, of course there might be some nocturnal birds. However, the bird stayed in the window frame. And most of all, it was not that fidgety. I have always seen birds move a lot.


    This bird here was not moving its feet. It was moving its head though, however, they were slower than what I had imagined birds normally would be. I wanted to judge more from its eyes, however it was hard to tell any movement since it was all black.


    Ultimately, it didn¡¯t seem alarmed that there were a group of people here.


    ¡°Stay there.¡±


    I said to them in a whisper.


    With gentle and quiet steps, I slowly approached the bird on the frame. I calmed my breathing to be on a safer side, I didn''t want to scare it. However, strangely, when I got closer, it didn¡¯t seem to react. Normally, birds should have flown away already.


    When it looked like it was within my arm¡¯s reach, I slowly raised my arm. Snatching this thing in an instant would be essential to avoid its escape.


    Then, when I was ready, I swiftly grasped the bird and held it firmly to prevent it from escaping. However, I didn¡¯t hear a chirp. Now that I was holding it, it was somewhat soft, but the feather was a bit rough to the touch.


    I quickly closed the opened window just to be safe.


    ¡°Everyone, this bird, is strange.¡± I turned towards the three.


    They all looked at it with interest.


    ¡°And, somehow, it is a bit hard and colder than I expected.¡±


    ¡°Could it be?¡± Vernon muttered.


    ¡°Yeah, I think I¡¯m starting to have an idea¡­¡± Rogan added.


    ¡°You know about this?¡±


    ¡°A Puppet Courier maybe. Made in an image of a bird, but it is mostly made of wood and covered with materials akin to feathers. It¡¯s like a doll.¡±


    Vernon was the one to explain.


    ¡°But to have one of these? It¡¯s almost unbelievable, they must really be a bunch of big times,¡± Rogan said.


    Woah, I thought they knew nothing of a convenient method of communication! Was this a state secret or something?


    Hm, maybe because I asked something that uses the mind and instantly sends messages?


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°A Puppet Courier is a rare thing and incredibly hard to make. It¡¯s not commonly known since Royals mostly use these, or others in the highest of positions. The existence of this is not shared in public since this brings more advantage when most people don''t know about it. In other words, a confidential object and method of communication,¡± Vernon said.


    I see. If the opposition knew of such a contraption, they would likely resort to killing every bird in sight.


    ¡°The magic to create these is also at a high level and I don¡¯t even know who can make one.¡±


    Rogan was in awe as he observed the puppet in my hand.


    ¡°Your highness, this is what your father used to communicate with your eldest brother that is currently at the Myra Kingdom.¡±


    Enlightenment dawned on my face when Vernon said that to me. Estelia had no prior knowledge of this since she had no involvement in any politics or inner workings in the kingdom. The magic guide book has not even mentioned this.


    ¡°Will it escape if I set it down on the desk?¡±


    ¡°Seeing that it didn¡¯t move from the window frame, then it means it has reached its destination, so it¡¯s alright.¡±


    After Vernon said so, I walked towards the desk and carefully set it down. And indeed, it didn¡¯t move.


    ¡°So, how do we use it? There must be a message, yes?¡±


    ¡°Tap its head two times.¡±


    I tapped the bird¡¯s head two times, then it opened its mouth followed by a voice I have never heard before.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be stubborn, you don¡¯t have to do it now, it¡¯s too risky¡­ But, it would seem I can¡¯t stop you from here. Just be careful. If you do carry it out, please succeed and make sure to kill the princess. Although I prefer that you don¡¯t do it yet. Answer back if you change your mind. We¡¯ll be waiting.¡±


    It sounded like a voice from a male.


    Now that¡¯s interesting, a voicemail. Quite a loud message, however, Oryn must have some way to ensure others wouldn¡¯t hear it. He controls the wind, so that could mean he must be using his abilities to block the sound from coming out of the room ¡ª just in case someone¡¯s eavesdropping. Also, there was the spell that I encountered outside that blocked out other sounds.


    They could have used paper, but perhaps that leaves physical evidence? And so they didn¡¯t. They could have just made a cipher, but it would seem they liked this method more. Plus, you could easily recognize the voice if they knew the person, and lower the chance of information manipulation.


    But I think a paper message is better if you have a cipher to use. But if that¡¯s cracked, then, well...


    It could easily be used to send false information if you knew the cipher.


    ¡°W-What? What is this?¡± Mera frantically asked with a trembling voice after hearing the voice message.


    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this very, very serious? They¡¯re seriously going for you princess!¡±


    No shit it¡¯s been very serious from the start.


    ¡°This seemed to be larger than I imagined.¡±


    Everyone was nervous. Indeed, this was pretty troublesome. However, I was already pondering on what to do from here.


    This device can be used to communicate. And there were two options, leave this be, or respond. The most merits will be the latter.


    It¡¯s better to try than nothing. I need to at least set a trap.


    I took a deep breath.


    ¡°What do I do to respond back?¡±


    The three of them repeatedly blinked at my question.


    ¡°Your highness, you have no need to respond.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, it would likely make them more aggressive.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous, milady.¡±


    Rogan, Vernon, and Mera responded with no hesitation as they all realized what I was trying to do.


    ¡°You have no need to worry. I will not be the one to respond.¡±


    ¡°Then, one of us will?¡± Rogan asked.


    I shook my head.


    ¡°None of you will respond,¡± there was only one person that should respond. ¡°It¡¯s Oryn, he will be the one to respond.¡±


    They were all stunned by the absurd words that came out of my mouth.


    ¡°But he¡¯s dead,¡± Rogan muttered.


    ¡°Princess, what are you intending to do? It¡¯s impossible.¡±


    I have been training my body, trying to at least return most of my capabilities from my old life. But, I have also been practicing some old tricks that didn¡¯t require much physical exertion. Though I have been doing it slowly since it was bothersome if I hurt a part of my body.


    Now what was I trying to re-learn? Well, my throat was hurt a few times. Good thing I was familiar with how to do it, only needed for this body to adjust.


    I cleared my throat then recalled Oryn¡¯s voice.


    Now then, a little warm up. Let¡¯s see if I still really got it.


    ¡°Greetings¡­.¡±


    Hm, not good. I cleared my throat again and pressed a few fingers on my throat gently.


    ¡°Hm, let me see. Yes, I just needed a bit of adjustment¡­¡± It was hard for this throat, but I think I¡¯m going there. ¡°How are you three? You think I¡¯m dead after you killed me?¡±


    I grinned as I faced the three of them while speaking in a completely different voice. Mera in particular froze in shock and covered her mouth.


    ¡°W-What nightmare¡­? Is it his ghost?¡±


    Mera was muttering some nonsense.


    ¡°P-Princess, how are you doing that? This is nigh absurd.¡±


    Vernon also looked shaken.


    ¡°Woah, that¡¯s impressive! Yeah, I think that¡¯s his voice?¡±


    Rogan was a bit unsure, perhaps he never interacted much with Oryn or heard him.


    Yes, I was speaking in Oryn¡¯s voice.


    My two servants were completely shaken. Perhaps because it was Oryn¡¯s voice, or maybe also because of this hidden talent, though it was creepy to hear the voice of a dead man.


    ¡°So, what do you think? Do I sound like Oryn?¡±


    ¡°Princess, since when can you do such a thing?! This is¡­ unbelievable¡­your Father definitely needs to know about this.¡±


    ¡°No Vernon, please don¡¯t tell him. No, don¡¯t you dare tell anyone about this. This is an embarrassing thing to do! This is an order!¡± I returned to my true voice.


    ¡°......... U-Understood.¡±


    The rest also responded in affirmative.


    ¡°Good¡­ Now, was it close at least? It hurts my throat.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s off a little, but it certainly is there. Perhaps only twenty percent off?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I also think that¡¯s about it.¡±


    I think it¡¯s fine. From the audio, it¡¯s not the perfect voice of the person. It was like listening from a phone, not that clear of an audio along with all that little echoe. This may be like using a not so expensive or high quality microphone.


    Even so, I should enhance my performance a little.


    ¡°Testing testing, how about this now? Is it alright? Does it sound like he¡¯s certainly here?¡±


    ¡°Woooah, daaamn, Prince Estevan would surely freak out if he sees this.¡±


    Yeah, I think so too.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s closely accurate,¡± Vernon said.


    ¡°Then I suppose we¡¯re good to proceed. So Mister Vernon, how do I use this?¡±


    Vernon¡¯s eyebrow twitched.


    Mera looked pretty freaked out though.


    ¡°Tap its head three times and pour just a tiny bit of mana into it.¡±


    After hearing that, I returned to my real voice.


    ¡°That¡¯s going to be hard for me. To avoid failure, I¡¯ll let you do it Vernon. It only needs to hear sounds, right?¡±


    I¡¯m not used to this kind of thing yet, so to be safe, let the experienced handle it.


    ¡°Yes, it should be fine.¡±


    He moved forward and raised his index finger above the bird¡¯s head.


    ¡°What are you planning, princess?¡±


    When he asked, I used Oryn¡¯s voice to answer.


    ¡°You¡¯ll know.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Ready?¡±


    ¡°Wait, where do you think is a good place for a rendevouz when escaping, and a place for a good trap setup?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Something the Oryn should also know¡­ Ah, he and the prince visited a place once. Southwest of the palace, there are two ponds close together where a small residence is established.¡±


    ¡°Alright if you say so.¡±


    ¡°.... So, shall I go do it now?¡±


    ¡°Yes, go.¡±


    He tapped the head three times and poured a bit of mana into the bird.


    I then spoke with Oryn¡¯s voice, from his manner of speaking, tone and pitch. All based on the current situation I was planning to convey and from the way we interacted.


    ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m in trouble, I think. It seems like they are on to me, I feel eyes watching me all the time. They¡¯re suspicious of me. They are perhaps finding the time to strike or expose me. The prince is acting strange when speaking with me, further supporting the possibility that I have been discovered somehow. Furthermore, the princess¡¯s guard has increased drastically, killing her would be nigh impossible. If I try, it would only be futile and risk my capture¡­


    ¡°I will be trying to escape from here, I cannot risk them capturing me and forcing information out of me somehow. Six days from now, I should find an opportunity to slip out of the palace unnoticed, given if they don¡¯t strike me down first. Meet me at the two ponds southwest of the palace by a small residential area, around midnight approaching the seventh day. If past that, then abandon me, if I delay, it could only mean I am already eliminated, or captured. Don¡¯t try to contact me for the time being, we will meet each other there.¡±


    I nodded my head at Vernon to indicate that I am finished. He then tapped the head once and it finally closed its mouth. He picked up the bird.


    ¡°Is that all, your highness?¡±


    ¡°Yes, send it out.¡±


    He went to the window and after opening it, he threw the bird in the air and let it fly away, blending in the dark night, it seemed to fly towards the city as it ascended.


    Vernon closed the window and turned towards me.


    ¡°Princess¡­¡±


    He still seemed to be in disbelief of what I did. What? Should I not do something? If this could potentially erase my enemies, then I¡¯ll take this chance! Of course, this came at the expense of an exposure of my talent, and a tiny damage to my pure princess image. But, I need to make the investment. This could, after all, catch the ones trying to kill me.


    I turned to look at everyone, they seemed to be waiting for something. Or was still processing what just happened. So I spoke first.


    ¡°There are two outcomes to it. One is that they don¡¯t appear, and the other is that they do. In either case, it is better to try than not. If they cared for Oryn, then they will go to the meeting spot, even if the thought of a trap crosses their mind. If Oryn was expendable, then, they wouldn¡¯t bother. Even so, no loss for us if this fails.¡±


    ¡°Woah princess, I¡¯m surprised you just formulated a plan, just like that. This is quite a big deal...¡± Rogan said.


    ¡°Vernon, tell my Father to set up a trap in the schedule I made in the message. Tell the contents of the message if you will. I imagine you will know what to do after all I did that. But please, don¡¯t tell him how exactly I did that, specifically the changing voice part¡­¡±


    ¡°U-Understood.¡±


    I heaved a deep sigh as I adorably puffed my cheeks.


    ¡°This is a bit tiresome. Alright, let us go and sleep.¡±


    Now that I have compromised to this degree, the trap I set up better work. If it didn¡¯t, then what I have exposed would have been for nothing. This was not something a plain princess could do. That being said, this was way better than being discovered having daggers strapped to my thigh.


    In this situation, it could be described as a mere talent, and nothing more. However, I would still prefer to minimize the potential damages and thus ordered everyone here not to tell anyone about it.


    I could have done something weird like move them out of the room, but they could still potentially eavesdrop through the walls or door. Furthermore, I also needed their feedback for my performance so I can have more accuracy to the voice so that the trap would have a higher chance of success, plus I need a guide for the bird.


    As for the enemies, they should try to extract their agent ¡ª I hope.


    ¡­. Let¡¯s just see how things will unfold.

 Chapter 92: Being Scolded

    I slept the whole night in peace, I even hummed in joy whenever I thought about last night. I¡¯m optimistic about the plan, imagine if it worked, we could get a lot of information. Maybe, I¡¯ll even find out who was trying to kill me and why.


    I mean, I didn¡¯t do shit in this world, so I can¡¯t imagine any good reason they would be hunting me down.


    So when it came for breakfast, I delightly ate my meal. The taste was duller than I expected it would be, maybe because Allie was moving into her new kitchen and didn¡¯t get to cook.


    As I ate though, I could feel the gaze of my father pointed at me. When we were all done eating, our plates clean of dishes and seemingly satisfied, my father stood up first before others.


    ¡°Everyone, let us come to my office, this is important.¡±


    The three of us looked puzzled about Father. However, seeing how he looked serious, we followed him out of the room. Mera and Vernon were also surprised to see that we were moving out together.


    They were about to follow me, but I already had an idea of what this could possibly be about, so I stopped them with my hand.


    ¡°Stay here.¡±


    Mera seemed to hesitate, but Vernon immediately understood and placed a hand on her shoulder followed by a nod towards her.


    A while later we arrived at Father¡¯s office. He had the other servants leave and told them to have a break despite being still in the morning. It was some sort of an indirect way to say to get away from here. When all of them walked away from the proximity of the office, Estevan then proceeded to close and lock the door.


    ¡°The walls and doors are made so that no one could eavesdrop, but, for the sake of Estelia¡­¡±


    For me?


    He raised up his hand and then a flash of blurry wall appeared on all walls before returning to normal after a moment.


    ¡°Let us sit.¡±


    My father sat on the back of his desk. Meanwhile, Estevan grabbed a chair from the corner and placed it beside a chair in front of the desk. My mother sat down closer to Father and I sat beside her while Estevan sat on the opposite side.


    ¡°Dear, what is this about?¡± Mother asked.


    My father shifted his eyes towards me then spoke.


    ¡°Daughter¡­ about what Vernon told me last night¡­¡±


    As I thought, it¡¯s about that. I faced him with a faint smile.


    ¡°Yes. Is it about the arrival of the message?¡±


    Father nodded his head. Only then did Estevan look at the two of us, his eyes seeming to be curious.


    ¡°What message?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Estevan, I¡¯ll explain to you later.¡±


    ¡°... Huh¡­ This looks serious.¡±


    ¡°What could you two be talking about?¡± My mother murmured.


    ¡°Daughter, hm, that was a dangerous thing you did.¡±


    He looked at me with strictness.


    ¡°Did Vernon tell you what I did?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes he did.¡±


    ¡°Did he tell you how?¡±


    ¡°... Only the main idea, but the specific process, he omitted it, saying you do not want to disclose the method you used.¡±


    I averted my eyes away with a blush. Good thing Vernon didn¡¯t say it, wew.


    ¡°Father, what are you two talking about?¡±


    ¡°Just what Estelia did¡­¡± he said before returning to look at me with a severe gaze. ¡°Estelia, if what I think is what you did, considering the way that message was delivered, and you were the one to do it, that was very dangerous. You could have at least told us first so we¡¯ll figure out what to do.¡±


    His tone was sterner than what I have heard from him. He sounded angry¡­?


    ¡°That was a rash action, what do you think they¡¯ll do if they realize it was you?!¡±


    I flinched at his loud voice.


    Woah, what the hell? Am I being scolded? What gives?!


    Is he thinking I did it with my voice?


    ¡°Dear! Why are you shouting towards Estelia?¡±


    My mother frantically came to my defense and reached out for my father¡¯s hand. Estevan also looked pretty confused now by the sudden rise of emotion from Father.


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    ¡°Our daughter did something so dangerous¡­ The servants didn¡¯t even try to stop you, Estelia?¡±


    I didn¡¯t look him in the eye and lowered my head.


    ¡°F-Father, I did what I had to do, what I thought was necessary. Furthermore, any more delay will invite suspicions given the context I was conveying, therefore, I had to do it on the spot.¡±


    ¡°Even so, that was a risky move ultimately for you! It¡¯s always the best option to at least tell your family the dangerous decision you¡¯re about to make.¡±


    I stand by my decision.


    ¡°Dear, what did she do?!¡± My mother asked.


    ¡°She spoke with an enemy.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    My mother was aghast as she looked at me, disbelief clouded her eyes. Estevan also still looked very confused about the situation.


    ¡°Can anyone please explain what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Haaah¡­ A Puppet Courier came to Oryn¡¯s room, and Estelia went on and did something.¡±


    ¡°W-What? What something?¡±


    Judging from what Father said, this place was safe from eavesdrops, and he also seemed to have cast a spell to further support it. So, it must be safe to speak more about this.


    ¡°F-Father,¡± my voice gave a hint of courage built up. ¡°The method ¡ª how I did it was never mentioned to you but it was a safe method for me! Believe me. Furthermore, it has a higher chance of success compared to what you are thinking of what I did.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± My father tried to slowly regain his calm. ¡°Then, how did you do it? What way? What makes you think it has a high chance of success and you¡¯re going to be safe?¡±


    So, am I gonna tell him? Nah. I have my own dignity to protect. ¡®But Estelia it¡¯s alright to tell him and it¡¯s stupid not to¡¯ ¡ª Shut it! I don¡¯t want to, and this situation exactly had no threat to my life that I would compromise. I can convince Father just fine! Hmph!


    ¡°There¡¯s a reason why I ordered my servants to keep it a secret¡­ but I will give you a hint,¡± I paused for a moment to indicate my hesitation. ¡°I tried to deceive them.¡±


    ¡°Deceive?¡±


    ¡°They should be deceived, whoever they are. And there will be a chance that they will fall for it, depending on their relationship with Oryn and what they decide. But I think there is a high chance for success¡­¡±


    ¡°But? How? I don¡¯t see, I can¡¯t imagine what you did.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s a secret, father. And, from now on, I will be relying on you. Please do not let the opportunity slip but take this chance, even if it is not completely assured.¡±


    I grasped my own hand stiffly and avoided their strong gazes. The pressure was too much for me as a pure princess.


    Then, my father sighed.


    ¡°We won¡¯t let this chance slide, Vernon also looked confident from what you did. But, why don¡¯t you want to tell us what you did?¡±


    Not gonna tell them at all, that was a weird talent to have.


    ¡°For certain reasons. But you just have to trust me¡­ the rate of success is high.¡±


    I mentioned this had a high chance of success. Saying otherwise wouldn¡¯t be good and would show a lack of confidence. This is like how you promote or show a product. If you¡¯re not even confident about it, or didn¡¯t show you are, then how can you expect people to buy it?


    Even if you know your product sucks, just show some confidence, and it will urge people to buy from you. It¡¯s like that.


    Of course selling was different from actual fighting and trapping, since on the latter you need to think on both sides and what could potentially happen, so there¡¯s a chance that something might happen that you never expected. But saying it has a high rate of success would be pretty convincing. Saying that ¡°I am certain this will happen¡± without any conclusive materials would just be idealistic ¡ª and for this case, I know nothing of the enemy, so I cannot say it will happen a hundred percent, just that it has a high chance.


    So there¡¯s also a difference between that and selling a product ¡ª but eh you get the idea.


    ¡°Alright. I will send a strong force to deal with this and have them prepare a trap in the time you gave.¡±


    ¡°Wait, Father! This sounds like a big deal! We are fighting someone? Are you sending the knights?¡±


    Father pondered about it for a short moment.


    ¡°No, I will not be sending the knights?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I will send people that are more compatible to this situation. They have been the ones I ordered to handle this.¡±


    ¡°What else are there to¡­¡±


    Yeah, what else? Hm, not the knights. So what could Father be talking about?


    Wait, where else had he been visiting? And the ones he ordered to handle it?


    I could only think of one place that he had put his attention to.


    ¡°The church?¡± I quietly asked.


    ¡°Mm, yes the Church.¡±


    ¡°Wait, the church?¡±


    ¡°Estevan, you know there are other sides of the church, yes? I trust that they will be able to handle this.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    Estevan must have thought of leading the operation with his knights if Father was assembling a force.


    But later on, he gave up given that apparently Father wouldn¡¯t change his mind. If that was what Father decided, then it must be for the best. I¡¯m curious about this Church though.


    ¡°Understood, Father, if that¡¯s what you want. However, please explain what happened with Estelia that made you agitated.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s alright, may I take my leave?¡± I said all of a sudden.


    Come on, I have other things to do.


    My family blinked a few times at me. They must have expected I would stay since this involved me. But I already knew what they were going to talk about, so there was no point in staying here.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine daughter, you are free to go.¡±


    ¡°I thank you ever so much, Father. Please excuse me.¡±


    Good thing Father let me go.


    After leaving the room and closing the door, I halted and moved back towards the door and pressed my ear into it.


    I was just curious, but there was really no sound from the other side.


    I¡¯ll learn that shit.


    Contented, I walked away and through the corridor, at the far end, I saw Vernon and Mera standing at a corner.


    The moment she saw me, Mera¡¯s expression turned bright in a flash and quickly walked towards me, while Vernon casually strode behind the girl.


    I gave them a smile.


    ¡°Father was displeased.¡±


    I said to them when they arrived close to me.


    ¡°I imagine so, he was particularly surprised and agitated when he heard it from me last night.¡±


    ¡°But, everything ended well. Come, I have to check on Allie.¡±


    We descended down to the first floor, and on the opposite side of the palace from the kitchen I frequently visit, there upon Allie''s new kitchen was situated. This way, she could now officially be recognized as a Royal Head Chef in the palace.


    When we arrived at the newly opened kitchen, inside what we saw first was Allie sitting alone by the table. She somewhat looked a bit on the gloomy side. When she saw me, it seemed like her eyes glinted and immediately stood up to greet me.


    ¡°Greetings, your highness.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Allie,¡± I walked inside and headed to a chair next to her. ¡°Hm, it does look a bit lonely. But don¡¯t worry, once we find new cooks, you¡¯ll finally have someone to accompany you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, your highness, but there¡¯s no need to rush. It¡¯s not like it would be the death of me to be alone here.¡±


    I smiled gently.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll visit frequently.¡±


    ¡°Please, you have no need to trouble yourself.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    I reached out for her hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a trouble at all. I don¡¯t like seeing you sad and alone, therefore, I decided to stay by your side whenever possible.¡±


    ¡°Princess¡­¡±


    Her eyes went wide as though she was touched by my words.


    Now, I wonder¡­


    ¡°Princess, I will be cooking later. Will you come and taste the dish I¡¯m trying to improve? At lunch.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Oh I will, can¡¯t miss some good food after all! Sooner or later, she¡¯ll catch up to the level of my old world. And I am so looking forward to it.


    She has a bright future ahead of her.

 Chapter 93: What a Waste (Part 1)

    We three came hanging out at the training ground we always train at. However, at the moment, I was sitting down on the grass as a crimson barrier kept appearing in front of me. A twist though was that normally, you would have to hold out your palm. But, fuck the norm.


    The crimson barrier floated unperturbed in front of me and I slowly widened it. This was an issue for me, the wider it was, the weaker it would be. All due to my damaged mystic medium, but I¡¯m exercising it.


    ¡°Impressive your highness, you don¡¯t even channel it through your hand.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that hard.¡±


    ¡°Not that hard¡­?¡± Mera murmured beside me as she lowered her head.


    It would seem she has not yet vastly improved in her mana manipulation.


    ¡°Well, try to not channel mana only to your hand but throughout your body also, then bring it out and shape it the way you want.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Mera appeared to be trying it, but her face contorted a bit showing that she was not having it easy.


    ¡°Such a method required precision, Mera,¡± Vernon said. ¡°So it will take a while. Though I¡¯m surprised that you were able to do it when you just started a while ago.¡±


    Well, I¡¯m used to this kind of thing, the training and learning. It¡¯s like an everyday life in the facility.


    ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t say I had it easy, it required plenty of effort.¡±


    ¡°Good thing with your effort and mana, you were able to stand and defend yourself against Oryn.¡±


    ¡°... He was terrifying¡­ Which reminds me, Vernon, teach me your technique, please?¡±


    Vernon sighed.


    ¡°You have asked me that before, but, seeing what Oryn could do, I imagine his allies could do the same. Thus, I will be teaching you, but I imagine your Father wouldn¡¯t be exactly pleased if I teach you this style of combat.¡±


    ¡°Then we just don''t tell him.¡±


    ¡°Princess, please bear in mind that I am not your servant originally. What you have been ordering me to do has been hard on me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°But, your father has assigned me to you for now, so there is not much trouble with it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to have you, Vernon.¡±


    Should I try stealing Vernon from my father? I mean, he¡¯s incredibly useful!


    Oh well¡­


    A short time later as I was training, someone arrived and it was my brother. I looked at him with surprise since this was the first time he visited me. With a bright smile, I greeted him.


    ¡°Brother.¡±


    ¡°Estel, I see you¡¯re doing great.¡±


    ¡°Yup, I am making decent progress! By the way brother, this is the first time you visited me.¡±


    ¡°Why? Don¡¯t you like it?¡±


    ¡°What? No, of course I like you visiting me often. I was just surprised.¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t want to disturb you even though I want to visit you all the time,¡± he grinned. ¡°But I just have something to convey to you from Father.¡±


    ¡°... What could that be?¡±


    Somehow, I had an ominous feeling.


    ¡°You really did something dangerous, dear sister. But I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alright.¡±


    He raised his hand and suddenly pinched my cheek.


    ¡°B-Brother!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! Just, don¡¯t ever do something like that again, especially if your safety is concerned. Good thing I¡¯m more lenient than father, but, because of what you did, he has a punishment for you.¡±


    Woah, wait, punishment? Why?


    ¡°W-What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Next week, your normal lessons will be resumed. Then at that time, you will be prohibited from leaving the palace halls.¡±


    Hold on, me? Being punished, wait, am I grounded?! What the hell!


    ¡°B-Brother, you can¡¯t do that¡­¡±


    ¡°Sister, sorry, it¡¯s not up to me. Ah, more than that, we also won¡¯t answer your wishes. All of this will happen for twenty days.¡±


    T-Twenty days! Are you serious?!


    ¡°Brother!¡± I looked at him with wide eyes, trying to gain his pity.


    ¡°It¡¯s not up to me dear sister.¡±


    ¡°But but but, there¡¯s nothing dangerous that I did.¡±


    I heard someone loudly clearing his throat from behind me ¡ª but no time to pay attention to it.


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    Seriously, am I grounded mostly because I didn¡¯t tell them exactly what I did? No way I¡¯ll tell them! It¡¯s too embarrassing!


    ¡­


    ¡­ Hm, wait, now that I thought about it, I¡¯m embarrassed?


    ¡­


    ¡°Even so, dear sister, it calls for a rebuke¡­¡± he stared at me curiously upon seeing me spacing out. ¡°Estel¡­?¡±


    I didn¡¯t respond, I was thinking.


    Why am I embarrassed¡­.. No¡­ it¡¯s...


    I care about what and how they see me?


    This¡­ this is strange, this goes to a personal level. This is ridiculous, I care about how they see me and thus I was embarrassed? This¡­ this never happened before. Somehow, imagining my mother, father, and brother look at me weirdly, it triggers my embarrassment.


    This¡­ this almost felt like a¡­ this is weird.


    I shook it off, it¡¯s too confusing to think about. Guess I¡¯ll just be true to my feelings for now, too tiresome to keep thinking.


    ¡°I understand, brother.¡±


    ¡°...Hm? You do? That¡¯s a leap.¡±


    ¡°... If that¡¯s what Father decided, there¡¯s nothing I can do about it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, true. Alright then, I¡¯ll just cheer you on.¡±


    I puffed my cheeks and averted my face.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t even try defending me.¡±


    ¡°He-he-he, you were in the wrong, sister. There¡¯s nothing I can do.¡±


    But there¡¯s nothing wrong about it. It was a way to catch the enemy.


    Ugh, whatever.


    ¡°Fine¡­ I¡¯ll endure¡­¡±


    ¡°Good, good. Alright then, I won¡¯t disturb you any further, so see you later. I¡¯m going to go check up on the knights.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t look all sad now.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    Who wouldn¡¯t be sad about this!? Ugh, being grounded sucks already.


    Then time went by and spent by improving the current spells I could cast, and then noon came. I agreed that I would visit Allie for lunch, so I¡¯m going. My family might wonder why I went there instead and thus wouldn¡¯t be able to join them at today¡¯s lunch, but let¡¯s leave it at that.


    Hm, should I act like I was sulking a little and so I avoided them for today? Father was just angry with me earlier and they even grounded me, so... it would be a good thing to do to play around for a while.


    That way they will give more attention to me ¡ª


    Wait, why am I seeking attention?


    No, that¡¯s weird. Forget that. I¡¯ll leave them alone for a while, let them think whatever they think is going on with me.


    Besides, I have a priority for the day. I had to tend to my chef who was still feeling sorrowful, one ought to take care of their subordinates after all.


    Don¡¯t say that you doubt my intentions. What? Perhaps you¡¯re thinking that I¡¯m doing this so she¡¯ll get devoted to me and me alone or something weird like that.


    You¡¯re wrong, I¡¯m just doing this casually, you know.


    Not all of my movements were calculated okay? Sometimes you just gotta swing it ¡ª okay no, that¡¯s...


    Regardless! This is just a pretty casual thing, like going on a leisurely walk, watching insects pass you by and perhaps play around with some. Then perhaps take one in your home, but punish it when it bites.


    Yeah, something like that.


    I just want to eat some food, okay? And today was definitely a good time to spend with Allie. Would be great to learn more about her relationship with Oryn, perhaps he mentioned something to her. But regarding me would be pretty unlikely.


    So in the end this was just information gathering? Um, nope. Of course not.  I told you, a pretty casual walk.


    When we were closing in at the kitchen, I nonchalantly spoke with my two servants.


    ¡°Don¡¯t come inside with me.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Vernon asked.


    ¡°You do know how Allie is right now. She probably doesn¡¯t want a lot of people around her yet. Sometimes, you just need a single friend in times of grief, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°I suppose¡­¡±


    ¡°That being said, Vernon, just in case, watch out for my voice, you¡¯re supposed to guard me after all.¡±


    A bemused expression came to his face. It was then that we arrived at the kitchen. She should have finished cooking now, so the food must already be ready.


    I entered and closed the door, leaving my two servants outside.


    Allie was there sitting on a chair, her elbows on the table, hands raised and clasping together, quite tightly. When she saw me, she immediately stood up and bowed.


    ¡°You came, your highness,¡± she said with a relieved smile.


    ¡°Of course I wouldn¡¯t miss it.¡±


    ¡°I am grateful, please have a seat. I already had it prepared.¡±


    There was a plate on top of the table covered by a steel bowl. She picked up the cover and smoke came rising out into the air. The dish was so pleasant to look at, vegetables and plenty of meat. Quite colorful.


    ¡°Hm! It looks delicious!¡±


    I sat down with visible excitement. Damn, it really looks good.


    She put aside the steel cover and stood there facing me, holding both her hands in front of her.


    ¡°Please, tell me what you think, your highness.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    I picked up the spoon, then glanced at her. I saw her for a moment, intently looking at the spoon in my hand. I spooned some from the plate, but halted and lowered my hand.


    ¡°Allie¡­¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes?¡±


    ¡°I am concerned about you¡­ How are you faring? Perhaps you need to rest for a while.¡±


    She stared blankly at me, and she seemed to be sweating a little, but not that much. She lowered her gaze.


    ¡°I am fine, your highness. I can keep doing my work without much trouble.¡±


    ¡°You must have loved Oryn very much.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°I mean, I can see it. I cannot imagine the pain you must have felt. Seeing him dead, and also discovering that he was a traitor. No, rather, an infiltrator.¡±


    The grasps on her own hands tightened.


    ¡°Y-Yes, I couldn¡¯t believe it at first. But, reality wouldn¡¯t change. No matter what I do, he won''t come back, and the situation won''t change.¡±


    ¡°So you have come to accept everything then?¡±


    ¡°I suppose, yes.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then time can only tell how far you will reach into the future.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    I ignored her and raised the scoop.


    ¡°I will cherish this,¡± I said.


    I slowly raised the spoon towards my mouth, I glanced at her for a fraction of a moment, and saw her again staring intently at the spoon heading for my mouth.


    I see.


    I have yet to fully trust her to begin with. There was a chance that she was clean, but not a hundred percent. And, I was right not to trust.


    Besides, she was too obvious. Not too experienced to do this I see. No, she never had experience to begin with, perhaps the job was suddenly pushed into her hands. But because of that, I have realized now, I was certain.


    What a waste.


    A waste indeed.


    ¡°What a waste of talent.¡±


    ¡°Princess¡­?¡±


    I lowered down the spoon back to the plate. I raised my eyes to look at Allie¡¯s confused expression.


    ¡°Allie, I am hurt that you are trying to poison me.¡±


    Her eyes went wide then she turned pale. This reaction pretty much made it certain. She was trying to kill me.


    Unfortunately, she was too much of a newbie that a pro could easily see through this. She should have been more casual. Well, her invitation was already too shady in the first place.


    Oh, I¡¯m not hurt by the way. I didn¡¯t have any strong emotions towards her anyway that I would feel betrayed. It was just a waste of talent.


    ¡°Princess. What are you¡­?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think you can trick me, Miss Allie. I know you poisoned this food to kill me. Well, if you insist on acting clueless, what about you try eating some of your own food?¡±


    I pushed the plate towards her with a smile, quite an innocent smile.


    She pursed her lips and her cheeks trembled.


    ¡°You hesitate. No point in pretending anymore. You have failed in your attempt to assassinate me. Everything is in vain.¡±


    Her eyes instantly shot up and aimed towards me with a strong glare like shooting daggers. At that moment, pushed to a corner and exposed, she immediately grabbed a nearby knife, going in for the kill in this last struggle. Everything had failed anyway, might as well strike while the target was in front of her.


    Funny, she didn¡¯t even question why my two servants were not here. That just goes to show she wished for this situation since that might ease her mind.


    With a knife in her hand, she rushed towards me.


    This situation was one of the scenarios I had imagined when I tested Mera. And it was happening with Allie.


    Foolish girl. A worthless struggle by an insect.


    She cannot kill me, ever.

 Chapter 94: What a Waste (Part 2)

    Before Allie was first sent to the palace, her friends had asked her to do something for them. To be careful of the princess with white hair and red eyes, and meet with their colleague.


    She couldn¡¯t understand why they were telling her to be careful of a princess she never knew or saw. What they only said to her was that she was very dangerous to them, and that there might come a time that they would ask her for help.


    As they were the friends that saved her and she trusted so much, she agreed without much thought. Besides, she would get to cook.


    Her friends, you see, were a particularly bizarre bunch. They were different from the humans from the young Allie knew, but they still appeared so closely to humans. Furthermore, they were strong.


    Some of them had ears like animals on their heads, while some had long pointy ears. She tried to ask why they were different, but one of them, which she was so close to compared to others, only replied that they were made differently.


    He was a kind man, he was warmer to her than the others. And he was the one to convince her to cooperate. He was almost like a big brother.


    Then came the time she entered the palace and eventually met with Oryn. He was the one to first approach her since she didn¡¯t know who the colleague her friends were talking about. Apparently, her friends had already contacted Oryn that she would be entering the palace as a cook.


    As time passed, they often met, and they got to know more about each other. However, not too deep about his own personal life. But Allie found herself developing feelings for the handsome man.


    In her interest, she asked about Oryn from other people. She spoke with maids, but not much since they were nobles, but there were plenty kind enough to talk. She even heard a talk that Oryn didn¡¯t seem to change much in appearance.


    Well, there were just some people that their age just won¡¯t show on their appearance. But that only made Oryn more wonderful to her eyes.


    Then they got closer to each other, it wouldn¡¯t be strange to describe them as intimate.


    Occasionally, when it was time for a day off of Allie, as she would be leaving the palace to go around the city to refresh, Oryn would task her to report to their colleagues. Those same colleagues were her friends ¡ª well, some of them. It was safer for Allie to give the report since it was safer, they said.


    Of course she couldn¡¯t converse with them, but rather she would write down on a piece of paper what Oryn said to write down. Then, she would sneakily pass that message to their colleague within the city. There were a lot of times that she imagined they were the friends she knew, and she was disappointed that she couldn¡¯t speak with them. In the end, she still missed them, but there was nothing she could do about her own longing.


    Then, the time came when Oryn had made a decision, to find an opportunity to eliminate the princess. She wondered why they did not do it a long time ago, but they didn¡¯t tell her the reason.


    She thought about the princess that time. The beautiful and pure princess, an existence so innocent. She was also kind and made her a chef. To be honest, her heart began to warm up to the princess. This led to one time she forgot that she was the target of her friends.


    She just couldn¡¯t figure out why they would go after her like this. But, her friends were the priority, and so she must do what they wished for her to do.


    ¡°If I fail, use this. Utilize your position as her chef.¡±


    Oryn snuck a tiny bottle of dark violet liquid in her hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s a potent poison, not even their curing spells can erase it.¡±


    She looked at the poison before placing it in her pocket.


    ¡°Remember, this is just in case I fail. Once that happens, it¡¯s all up to you.¡±


    ¡°I understand¡­ But be careful.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    He cupped her chin all of a sudden and gave her a kiss on the lips and then retracted.


    ¡°Do good, Allie.¡±


    Then came the moment she found him dead. She found it hard to believe, and it pained her heart greatly.


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    It took a while to cope up with his death, but remembered what she had to do. To take care of someone.


    That someone was the reason why Oryn had to die.


    After successfully inviting the princess, she prepared a dish. Then when she was about to mix the poison, she found herself hesitating. To kill the princess? She was doing something she couldn¡¯t understand why it was necessary.


    But in the end, she steeled herself and poured the poison.


    The princess finally came, and was about to eat, but she stopped which made her heart jump. Allie was of course feeling apprehensive.


    But relief came over when the princess continued to lift up her spoon only to stop again and speak.


    ¡°What a waste of talent.¡±


    Allie was baffled.


    Then it was followed by...


    ¡°Allie, I am hurt that you are trying to poison me.¡±


    She was struck with disbelief, there was no way the princess would realize it. How could she have realized? This was what she had always done, there was nothing that changed.


    Unbeknownst to her, she underestimated the princess ¡ª her mind, her eyes, and the way she reads people.


    As the poison was a failure, she was left with no choice but to do it herself. She grabbed a nearby knife and launched herself towards the princess. When she was about to stab her, Allie¡¯s eyes went wide when a crimson barrier blocked her knife.


    M-Magic?!


    There¡¯s no hope in this if the princess decided to use magic. That was why she had to use poison to kill her, but that plan failed.


    In general, Allie failed her task.


    ¡°Vernon!¡±


    At her loud and panicking shout, the door opened, due to the urgency her shout suggested, Vernon broke the knob. Before Allie could even react, she already felt a hand grasping both her hands holding the knife.


    ¡°What is this insolence?¡± Vernon said coldly as he stared at the knife. ¡°The personal chef attempting to murder the princess?¡± his voice suggested his shock.


    Allie tried to pull away.


    ¡°Let go!¡±


    But at that moment, Vernon swiftly snatched the knife by the hilt and followed by his hand going to her throat. Allie felt the hand tighten around her throat, and it was becoming hard to breathe.


    ¡°Ggghh!¡±


    ¡°Milady!¡±


    Mera entered, shock evident on her face as she fearlessly rushed towards the princess.


    ¡°Are you alright?!¡±


    ¡°I am completely fine,¡± the seemingly shaken princess said.


    Allie struggled, trying to free herself. She glared at Vernon, who was also glaring back at her.


    ¡°Vernon, don¡¯t kill her!¡± The princess said.


    ¡°How kind of you princess, but that''s too generous.¡±


    ¡°Vernon, please don¡¯t test me, I know you have realized that we need her to extract intelligence.¡±


    Vernon faintly smiled.


    ¡°Of course, your highness.¡±


    ¡°I-I w-won¡¯t talk¡­¡±


    Allie squeezed out those words. She would never sell out her friends.


    ¡°Put her unconscious, Vernon.¡±


    Vernon slapped her temple, it seemed casual but that hit was strong enough to knock her out instantly.


    ***


    Wow, he just smacked her on the head, damn.


    How strong was that hit that it was enough to knock her out in an instant?! Oh well, guess it works.


    Vernon slowly laid her down to the floor.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect she would also be one¡­ I suppose he¡¯s colluding with Oryn.¡±


    ¡°So it would seem. Ah, please dispose of the food, it¡¯s poisoned.¡±


    ¡°P-Poisoned?!¡± Mera instantly reacted as she fearfully looked at the food on the table.


    ¡°Have you taken a bite, your highness? We need to detoxify you if so, but you seem to be doing fine.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I didn¡¯t take a bite.¡±


    ¡°You realized it was poisoned¡­?¡±


    ¡°Milady, that was very dangerous, she almost got you. That ¡ª that wench. I never thought she would attempt to poison you. To think I tried to make friends with her!¡±


    Wow, Mera was fuming that she actually called her a wench.


    She¡¯s mad.


    ¡°Calm down, Mera. I¡¯m fine, right? That is what matters.¡±


    I flashed her a bright smile.


    ¡°...Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°But, a poison wouldn¡¯t be much of a threat since royalties can cast high level curing spells.¡±


    Vernon said as though he was convinced that spells could handle any poisons.


    However¡­


    ¡°Oh Vernon, you think they don¡¯t know that? They are profoundly eager to kill me, I doubt they would use a poison that can be cured by my family.¡±


    ¡°But, there¡¯s no poison that can resist the spell¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see.¡±


    Aight, time to loot Allie!


    I walked towards Allie and searched her pockets.


    ¡°Your highness?¡±


    Then I felt some sort of bottle. I pulled it out and it was a small bottle with a tiny amount of dark violet liquid remaining within it.


    ¡°This must be the poison she used.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting, dark violet?¡±


    ¡°Is that weird?¡±


    ¡°The poisons I know, even from beasts I know with strong poison, their venoms are colored purple.¡±


    ¡°So this is a different kind then, no doubt more potent. Which means that it can kill me, and perhaps instantly.¡±


    ¡°How terrifying¡­¡± Mera murmured.


    ¡°Princess, please give it to me, I will have experts look into it.¡±


    I gave it to Vernon.


    ¡°Mera, please call the nearby knight.¡±


    I gave the order and Mera frantically moved out of the room.


    ¡°I¡¯m impressed you managed to see through her scheme.¡±


    ¡°Oryn likely gave her that and had her do it. Allie was pretty obvious.¡±


    ¡°But, you selected her, I thought you would have trusted her enough and never thought she would attempt to take your life.¡±


    ¡°I did trust her, until she shattered that trust.¡±


    That was a lie.


    ¡°Vernon, don¡¯t go thinking I¡¯m excellent or something. It was just a lucky guess.¡±


    ¡°... You¡¯re too humble, your highness¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not¡­ In any case, please make sure to not kill her.¡±


    ¡°.... What are you planning, princess?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not planning anything. In fact, from her on, it will be up to you or the knights, or whoever is assigned to deal with her to extract information. But don¡¯t kill her. Tell me immediately if they plan to execute her as punishment.¡±


    ¡°I understand, your highness. I will do as you command.¡±


    He bowed his head.


    Now then, I wonder if she¡¯s the only one left here. I¡¯ll be fucked if there¡¯s more than five rats here ¡ª no, it¡¯s already too annoying to have two or three.


    Aaaah, my leisurely life, it feels like you¡¯re floating away from me.

 Chapter 95: A Dark and Horrendous Chamber

    Around late afternoon, Vernon had left the princess¡¯s side to deal with an important matter. The king was about to assign the matter to be handled by another, and Vernon asked to be involved as well.


    Prince Estevan wanted to get involved too, but the king rejected him saying he had no need to be involved on this one. The king knew what was being done with the captive in the dungeon and didn¡¯t want Prince Estevan to get into it, considering that the princess was once friends with that girl.


    On the way, Vernon recalled the princess. Based on his observations, he couldn¡¯t fathom her. At first he thought she was just a plain princess who was not at all impressive, nothing to boast, no achievement, no nothing except for her unique appearance ¡ª setting aside her magic potential of course.


    In short, she was unremarkable.


    However, the time he had with her, Vernon¡¯s impression of the princess had completely distorted. The methods she used to get what she wanted. Then there were some actions he couldn¡¯t think of that led to a certain occurrence.


    Adding all that, he concluded that the princess had a hidden side of excellence which might even surpass her brothers. However, it still remains to be seen.


    But the way she always acts, it was hard to tell any excellence at all. Like, she was there for appearance¡¯s sake. That in its way had also seemed to become a deception to the eyes.


    A pair of knights guarding the entrance to the dungeon saw him approach. The knights recognized him and opened the door to let Vernon enter.


    Vernon went down the stairs, at the edge he was greeted by a dirty stone floor, the ceilings dusty. The corridor consisted of jail cells on each side. However, they were empty since there were no prisoners to keep in the palace grounds. Well, until now.


    Vernon headed towards the edge of the corridor to a certain room.


    The torture chamber.


    At the edge were another set of stairs going down, Vernon opened the door after going down those stairs and the stench of blood quickly assaulted his nose, but he wasn¡¯t bothered by it, he was already used to it.


    ¡°Oh, Sir Vernon, you¡¯re here.¡±


    A middle aged man was sitting down on a corner, his apron smeared with blood. He had a short beard and mustache and bald head, his eyes gave the image of nonchalance despite the horrendous atmosphere in the chamber.


    Then beside him was a woman wearing casual clothes, though almost looking formal. She had a sword hanging on her waist. Her average length black hair was tied in a ponytail, her dark eyes looked blankly at Vernon. Vernon knew she was one of the knights.


    ¡°Randol, you¡¯re lazing around.¡±


    ¡°Oh come on, I¡¯m resting, it''s been a hard day''s work, you know.¡±


    It would seem he had indeed been working for almost a day.


    ¡°If you¡¯re still working hard, then she has yet to spit out any useful information.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Then she¡¯s one tough woman.¡±


    Vernon looked behind the man where tools were placed. There were whips, blades in different shapes and forms ¡ª some were like dogs¡¯ teeth, U-shaped, some were tiny blades which almost resembled needles, and so on ¡ª then there were some pliers. Some equipment had already been covered with blood.


    ¡°Did she say anything whenever you ask?¡±


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s the I don¡¯t know line, the part about why they¡¯re targeting the princess.¡±


    ¡°Hm? There¡¯s no way she wouldn¡¯t know ¡ª no, perhaps she doesn¡¯t? She looked so eager to do it, so she must know.¡±


    Vernon turned his gaze towards the center of the chamber and there he saw a girl.


    A rope was hung to the ceiling then wrapped around her wrists, leaving her hanging in the air, her wrist had also begun to bleed and swell. Her naked body was left exposed as she wore no piece of clothing. But her body left nothing to be desired within the eyes of men.


    Blood dripped to the floor. Lacerations were all over her body, waist, thighs, back, cheeks, throat, arms, bruises could also be seen clearly in this torch lit room. Her wounds were left untreated and dripping. Her body had also been smeared by her own blood all around as he was left hanging through her wrists, her feet unable to touch the floor. Furthermore, her fingers were all bent in weird angles.


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    She was like a pig being butchered. But she was alive ¡ª although barely.


    Vernon walked closer to her, never minding the horrendous state she was in. No, he just didn¡¯t care. She was an enemy after all, a threat to the crown, and most of all, tried to kill the princess that was under his watch.


    ¡°Miss Allie, if you want to lessen your pain, answer this question ¡ª why are you trying to kill the princess? What¡¯s the reason for it?¡±


    The girl, Allie, hung her head low as all energy she had had already vanished. Her eyes couldn¡¯t even open themselves. And there was silence for several seconds before her lips slightly moved.


    ¡°I¡­.do...tt¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm, what is it?¡±


    Vernon walked closer so he could listen to the weak girl¡¯s words.


    ¡°I¡­. d-d-don¡¯t¡­.k-know¡­¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Is it possible she truly doesn¡¯t know?


    In that case, to the other question.


    ¡°You were related to Oryn, I saw how you two intimately interacted with each other,¡± thanks to the princess. ¡°Therefore, I¡¯m certain there are others out there, aiming for the same goal. Then tell me, who are your collaborators, allies, or friends?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Vernon waited. However, several seconds passed, then a minute later, there were no movements.


    ¡°You do not wish to speak?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°This won¡¯t do.¡±


    They needed the information since they were still in the dark about their enemies. Furthermore, the princess emphasized obtaining information from her.


    He recalled the face of the princess. Somehow, reporting that he didn¡¯t get any important information made him anxious. It was an unexplainable feeling.


    He couldn¡¯t give up like this. Somehow, he feared disappointing the princess, which made no sense. But, it was his instincts telling him that.


    ¡°Bring her down and heal her.¡±


    The two other people moved in.


    ¡°Ayana, get the chair.¡±


    The knight, Ayana, pulled a chair, while Randol stepped on a wooden box and untied the girl. They let her fall to the ground with a thud. Ayana, who had brought a chair with an armrest, lifted up Allie and had her sit down.


    When Ayana held out her hand towards the girl, a green illumination came forth. Gradually, Allie¡¯s wounds began to heal, and her fingers were slowly restored while Randol manually straightened some ¡ª the girl shouldn¡¯t feel a lot of pain while the spell was being cast on her.


    Vernon went and grabbed a chair to sit in front of the girl.


    ¡°You have experienced it already, but I will say it personally. As long as we are not satisfied, we¡¯ll keep hurting you. We will heal you, but after that, the process will start again. If you¡¯re close to death, we¡¯ll heal you again, and it continues.¡±


    This was what was happening to Allie the entire day. Whenever she was on the verge of death, they would heal her completely until as though nothing happened to her. But that only signalled a new cycle of suffering.


    Time passed, and she was fully healed. She looked up towards Vernon, her eyes still weak, but she should have been physically restored somewhat.


    Hm, she should be fed.


    It wouldn¡¯t do if she would be too weak and tortured again. The princess, after all, didn¡¯t allow her to die.


    Was it because of mercy?


    The princess didn¡¯t know they were doing this to Allie, so perhaps the princess just didn¡¯t want Allie to be killed while being ¡°interrogated¡± ¡ª the kind way of interrogating. Unbeknownst to her, this only meant that Allie would suffer.


    ¡°Well then, you seem alright now, then shall we begin once more?¡±


    Vernon crossed his legs as the torturer, Randol, and knight, Ayana, strapped Allies legs and wrists on the heavy chair. Allie rattled around trying to set herself free but to no avail.


    ¡°Alright, Ayana, you start!¡± Randol said with visible excitement.


    ¡°Understood¡­ Girl, better speak while you still have a little breathing room.¡±


    She sounded indifferent, but Vernon imagined she might have some reluctance in her heart to do this to this girl. If this was another person and that was older, she might not have felt anything.


    ¡°Who and where are your allies?¡± Ayana asked.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°No response huh. Very well then¡­¡±


    She grabbed Allie¡¯s index finger and instantly pushed it all the way to the back letting out a cracking sound.


    ¡°Aaaaagh!!!!¡±


    ¡°Another one.¡±


    Ayana folded another finger.


    ¡°Mmmaaaaagh!¡±


    Allie¡¯s cries of despair loudly, deafeningly, echoed in the entire chamber. In this place of torment, where mercy was fiction, and salvation impossible. Even with her tears, or blood, it wouldn¡¯t stop until those in power decided to stop.


    Not even the princess can save you here.


    Vernon watched the process without averting his eyes.


    ¡°Answer now!¡± Ayana shouted.


    She snapped another finger.


    ¡°You know, the finger snapping is getting old for her now. Let me get something.¡±


    Randol moved towards his tools and grabbed something. It was some sort of trap.


    ¡°A bear trap?¡± Ayana asked.


    ¡°Yeah, this is pretty painful on humans, except this one I made myself. It will bite even digging through the bones a little.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get caught yourself.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine. Alright little missy, we¡¯ll go for the leg!¡±


    Randol crouched down and positioned the trap next to Allie¡¯s calf.


    ¡°Alright, three, two ¡ª¡±


    The trap snapped in an instant, digging through her skin and muscles, biting to the bone.


    ¡°Gghhhaaaa! K-Kill me! J-Just kill me!¡±


    She begged loudly as tears welled up from her eyes.


    ¡°No can do, missy. This is what torture is for, keeping you alive until you speak.¡±


    ¡°N-No¡­.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get the other trap!¡± Randol cackled.


    Even with this much pain, it¡¯s impressive she still wouldn¡¯t talk, despite her age.


    She must have strong emotions towards her friends.


    Then, Vernon watched as the girl screamed and cried in agony. Healing her when the damage was too great, and starting anew. This was like hell to the girl, but her screams reached no one outside.


    Not even her friends.


    How unlucky that she was the one to be captured alive. Perhaps it would have been best that she killed herself before capture or when she realized that she had failed.

 Chapter 96: The Purest of All

    Vernon took a deep breath as he stood in front of the door to the princess¡¯s room.


    A couple of seconds later, he knocked on the door and asked for permission to enter. He was immediately given one and entered inside.


    Mera was also inside the room. She had yet to retire to her quarters since the princess had yet to rest. Reason for this was because they were waiting for Vernon since the princess asked for a report after their dinner.


    Then he moved his eyes further and he saw the princess leaning out the window, the gentle breeze blowing strands of platinum hair waving in the air. The darkness spread outside and was only lit by the gentle moonlight.


    Then the princess spoke to Vernon as her gaze remained outside.


    ¡°So, is there anything that you learned?¡±


    ¡°My apologies, but we learned nothing.¡±


    ¡°Nothing¡­?¡±


    For the first time in this moment, the princess looked back towards Vernon. Her crimson eyes were so innocent, but Vernon felt chills down his spine. Perhaps this innocence of her was what was scary about the princess.


    ¡°Yes. We asked why they were trying to kill you, but Allie insisted that she didn¡¯t know. That¡¯s all she said.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Her voice, she sounded like she wasn¡¯t disappointed at all. Did she perhaps have thought of this possibility? Now that he thought about it, the princess seemed to possess the good qualities of a monarch in his opinion.


    She was kind to her subordinates, compassionate, and pure, not to mention her glorious appearance. Then other than that, she had the will to harden her heart to achieve her goal. Like what happened to Mera. Then her methods, she didn¡¯t seem to hesitate to do somewhat cruel methods when it was necessary.


    Then there was this excellence from her that Vernon had yet to fully behold. Perhaps¡­ Perhaps the princess would make a decent Queen.


    Princess, I think you can be queen. No, I have the feeling that you are worthy of the throne.


    He mused.


    That was what he began to think. The two princes were fine. Especially the eldest one. However, the bad side of that one was that he was too focused on diplomacy. He would prefer to use diplomacy above all else and would utterly prefer not to use violence. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t get the impression that the eldest prince was willing to make a decision that would be cruel in his eyes, or someone else¡¯s.


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    He would be limited in his options, and that might obstruct his decisiveness. He needed to be changed.


    Prince Estevan on the other hand hated paperwork. He only wanted to be with his knight friends, and preferred mostly to fight. Perhaps he got that most from his father. But because of that, it might cause some issues in his rule if he neglects his other duties.


    But the princess was fine with paper work, and was even more enthusiastic with it than Prince Estevan. The princess was even willing to face the enemy head on, like what happened both with Oryn and Allie. She could have brought Vernon along, but she ordered him not to, just for the higher chance that the opposition would act at the opportunity.


    ¡°Vernon, what about his colleagues?¡±


    He realized that he was lost in thought when the princess called out his name.


    ¡°... She refused to speak about them.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­¡±


    The princess leaned again on the window.


    ¡°She mentioned her friends when we spoke¡­ They must be within the city. Adding the message that came to Oryn¡¯s room, it is made even more certain. However, it¡¯s not a hundred percent sure.¡±


    There she was again, her calculated words that he at first never thought the princess would do.


    ¡°At any rate, it is highly possible they are here in the capital. Be careful when you face them, she mentioned they were strong.¡±


    She even managed to get that information!?


    Vernon was awestruck.


    ¡°It is best to assume that they are at the level of Oryn.¡±


    ¡°I understand, your highness, I will convey this to His Majesty.¡±


    The princess glanced back and smiled widely with a nod.


    She stared out again and took a deep breath.


    ¡°The moon lights the world from the clear skies above. This is a good opportunity, I wasn¡¯t able to see it.¡±


    ¡°Milady, what is?¡±


    The princess turned around with an excited smile.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the garden before we sleep, will you come with me?¡±


    ¡°Of course, milady.¡±


    ¡°Yes, your highness.¡±


    ¡°Splendid! Let¡¯s go!¡±


    The princess walked out of the room followed by her two servants. They went down the stairs and shortly reached the door which leads to the royal garden.


    The princess opened the door with no hesitation. When the garden came to view, the princess¡¯s eyes widened as her pupil reflected beautiful colored lights.


    Vernon had seen this scene several times already. But the princess looked like she had only seen this for the first time. Like a child finally being set free to see the wonders of the world.


    The princess seemed to be unable to speak but only slowly walked further into the garden. The gentle light had begun to touch their skin as petals fluttered in the air, but Vernon and Mera were way behind the princess when the glowing fluttering petals of wisteria swirled around her.


    The light of the moon descended into the world and reached the earth, and in turn touched the flowers of wisteria. The countless purple wisteria which filled the wide garden illuminated a gentle radiance which made the scene so mystical. Countless petals sparkled like stars, but way more beautiful to behold.


    The princess stepped amidst the glowing wisteria, looking all around her, even turning around as though in excitement. Mera and Vernon watched her from afar as their breaths were stolen.


    The princess¡¯s long platinum hair seemed to glitter in the air filled with light, it was like jewels reflecting the light of the moon. Her white dress fluttered gently as petals of glowing wisteria swirled around her as though celebrating her arrival.


    The Pure Princess turned around with a wide and bright smile. Her dazzling crimson eyes seemed to glow bright as they reflected the radiance all around her.


    The two knew for sure what this moment conveyed, what the world seemed to say.


    It was that...


    The Royal Princess Estelia Vernisia Wisteria was the most beautiful being to walk the land. A being purer than any gold and diamond ¡ª the purest of all there was. An existence more valuable than any treasure to be dug and discovered in this vast world.

 Royal Princess of Blood Volume 2 Synopsis

    Volume 2: The Wicked Princess (Part 1)


    Now that the snakes have been rooted out, I have finally felt more at ease than before. Pretty great! But there are still plenty of things to worry about, like my social life. Hey, it¡¯s an important thing in life.


    That aside, there are still some enemies outside my home. How annoying. Speaking of outside, I am finally going out of the palace! Not sneaky, sneaky, but in public. The people will finally get to see the beautiful me during the Festival! Alright, whether that¡¯s a good thing or not, who knows. Furthermore, I might need to be careful of nobles¡­


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Also, what is this about a woman who had platinum hair and red eyes I found in some documents? Suspicious¡­ What are my parents hiding from me?

 Vol. 2 Prologue: The Church’s Ambush (Part 1)

    A bit distant from a small and silent residential area, there lies a pair of ponds. The windows of houses closed and lights snuffed out. Everyone living in each house had already fallen asleep as midnight steadily approached.


    Only the faint sound of cicadas and other tiny insects filled the air as thin clouds lightly covered the moon in the night sky, leaving only a small amount of moonlight through. There was utter silence in the surrounding area, as it always would, signifying that it would be a peaceful evening.


    Amidst a forest a small distance away from the pair of ponds, a young priestess hid behind a tree as she kept her breathing delicate and as quiet as possible. Her eyes watched the ponds closely.


    At the moment, she was wearing a dark tight robe which reached just about her thigh, blending in the darkness of the night. In addition, the long sleeves were tight on the wrists and the entire fabric of her clothes was stretchable. Underneath her robe should be a simple shirt, and one could see she wore dark trousers and dark boots.


    These were traditional combat clothes used by every member of the church whenever they carried out an operation. For every mission, they do not preach the wonders and goodness of the light, but they shall dirty their hands for the people. The blood must not taint the purity of white they might spill by their own hands. Thus, darkness shall be where they dwell.


    They would dirty their own hands for the sake of the people and kingdom, and above all, for their gods, who sought peace and harmony.


    The young priestess, named Tina, clenched her fist to prepare for anything. This was not a place to be complacent and she must not neglect, it must be taken seriously.


    The King of Wisteria gave this mission to the Church Order. Details comprised potential enemies falling into the trap that was set up beforehand. None of the church members knew who set up this trap. The King only mentioned that this had a high chance of success, which could cause the capture of the unknown enemy.


    Of course, everyone questioned how the crown even managed to set it up, nor what made them assured that there was a high chance of success. However, the King decided not to disclose any information regarding that.


    As they couldn¡¯t let this chance slip by, the Church Order prepared for an ambush even though a chance this would be for nothing existed. It was better doing something than nothing.


    Tina, however, hoped that something would happen here. She didn¡¯t like to waste any time and effort. It would be annoying that they got nothing after all the fuss. Besides, she wanted to end these threats to the kingdom as soon as possible so she could get back to adventuring and to her friends.


    Well, first she had to pray that she wouldn¡¯t die here in case a battle spurs out. Though the chance of that was incredibly low, since she would be staying at the rear as a support unit.


    She sensed movement above her on the branches of the trees. She looked up and saw one priest crouching down atop of a branch and did it all quietly. Before they began waiting, Tina had cast a silence spell ¡ª a spell which can muffle the sound one emits, therefore it doesn¡¯t completely silence them, however, with their already stealthy movements, not even skilled individuals can hear their movements.


    Then the additional spell was a spell which hides their presence. Some individuals, after all, had abilities to sense a presence, thus to be safe, Tina cast it to everyone. That being said, if their enemies were more powerful than they had expected, then those might end up being useless.


    The priest straightened all his fingers and pointed them towards the pond. Then his lips moved to mimic saying a word. Tina wasn¡¯t good at reading lips so she would have a hard time reading a sentence, but if one simple word, she could, and she understood that what the priest was trying to say was ¡°movement.¡±


    Upon realizing that, Tina turned her eyes towards another person hiding behind the tree in the darkness. It was a tall and beautiful woman with long black hair, the one she recognized as her big sister, Astine. They nodded at each other, and Astine shifted her eyes to the other members present who were blending in with the darkness.


    There were twelve members of the order here in total. They could have brought more, but too many would have a high chance of discovery by the enemies. That being said, everyone here were excellent individuals, so Tina had no qualms about it. Besides, their High Bishop also came with them and was keeping watch from a distance. Tina knew he wanted to watch everything first, wanting to test the abilities of others, and also maybe because it was entertaining.


    How cold¡­


    She thought that, but Tina understood deeply why the high bishop was doing this. He was getting old, after all. The mantle would need to be passed down to the next generation. In ten years, he might have to retire, and someone as strong must replace him. And, he must also be content by the power of the next generation.


    Astine moved her hand in a circular motion with two fingers stuck out. Those above the trees immediately moved out and jumped from branch to branch. It was the order to spread out and go into position to surround the enemy as much as possible.


    All of them possessed the ability of physical enhancement, which made them capable of leaping from a tree branch to another. Needless to say, they were also capable of doing it stealthily. Tina, however, was incapable of those since she spent all her time learning to cast support spells ¡ª well at least she could move stealthily.


    A moment later, as they waited, Tina saw a group of figures walking at the side of the ponds in the open area. There were five of them, and they covered themselves in cloaks. That alone made them too suspicious. On the other hand, Tina found herself feeling surprised that someone actually came at about midnight.


    The figures seemed to be looking around, looking out for something. Astine invited the attention of one priest and ordered him to go speak to them. Even though they seemed suspicious, it was still better to ensure that they were dangerous, otherwise they might mistakenly attack someone innocent or harmless.


    A priest walked forward and got out of the forest and headed towards the open, possessing no weapons whatsoever.


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    The moment he emerged though, the figures immediately turned towards him. They seemed to grow stiff and on guard.


    ¡°Who are you?!¡±


    One figure shouted towards the priest, however the latter kept on walking and didn¡¯t respond. It was a way to get a closer look at the five.


    ¡°Stop it right there!¡±


    One of them shouted again, but sterner this time, and thus the priest halted. Tina also witnessed the five figures seem to discuss something at the same time. They seemed to be flustered.


    ¡°Good evening. May I ask what brought you here in the middle of the night?¡±


    The priest asked respectfully, keeping his hands to his side as to not alert the five.


    ¡°None of your business! So who are you?!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I am a member of the church order. May I ask that you show your faces?¡±


    ¡°Church¡­?¡±


    At that moment, the five took a fighting stance.


    ¡°Dammit, it¡¯s a trap!¡±


    They immediately drew their swords. Tina¡¯s brow furrowed upon seeing this. They definitely were the targets they were waiting for.


    Then came a loud whistle from Astine and every church member sprang into action. Astine rushed forward, followed by a priest and priestess fighters at quick speed. Tina delayed her action since she was supposed to stay at the rear.


    She ran when her team was now several meters away from her. Then, at that moment, others had already surrounded the five strangers. Every fighter was way faster than her. She saw another supporter at the rear of another group like her, a girl the same age. That being said, Tina was above her in terms of power.


    Stopping a few meters away from the team, she watched the five strangers cautiously.


    ¡°An ambush.¡±


    ¡°Then where¡¯s Oryn?¡±


    ¡°Dammit, he must be dead or captured.¡±


    The five glared at the members of the church. Astine, meanwhile, stepped forward.


    ¡°Drop your weapons and turn yourself in. Let¡¯s make things easier, shall we?¡±


    One stranger pointed his sword towards her.


    ¡°Where¡¯s our friend? What did you do to him?¡±


    ¡°Your friend? I have no idea.¡±


    The stranger seemed to glare at Astine.


    Astine truly had no idea what he was talking about, the same with the others. They weren''t told of anything.


    ¡°So, will you give up?¡±


    ¡°As if.¡±


    ¡°Haaaah, so the hard way then¡­¡± Astine sighed.


    ¡°Everyone¡­¡± the stranger said. ¡°Kill everyone!¡±


    At that moment, every one of them charged forward with surprising speed. Tina was dumbfounded, of course. The way they moved was almost on a par with ¡ª no, they were faster than the church members.


    One opponent specifically went after Astine. His sword would definitely strike her down when she had no weapons she could use to defend. However, against his expectations, his sword was blocked. His eyes went wide as a light of gold illuminated the small area around them.


    What appeared in Astine¡¯s hand was a spear made up completely of golden light. It was as if light itself took shape. The other strangers also fell into surprise as the enemies they faced themselves held and blocked their attack with swords and spears of light.


    This was one of the Holy Spells of the Church Order, exclusive only to their members, called ¡°Empyrean Arsenal.¡± It was a spell that allowed them to conjure any weapon they wished, ranging from swords, bows, claymores, hammers, axes, polearms, and so on.


    ¡°You¡¯re quick on your feet,¡± Astine blankly said. ¡°Everyone! Leave at least one alive!¡±


    She swept up the weapon of her opponent, leaving a beautiful arc of golden light in its motion. As her opponent leaped back, she stepped forward and kept on swinging her polearm. She thrusted her weapon whenever she saw an opening, but her opponent still managed to block them.


    ***


    A priest was clashing swords with another. The enemy was quick on his feet. He swung his sword at such a speed that the priest was having a hard time keeping up with him. One priest snuck up to the enemy, but to everyone¡¯s surprise, the enemy held out his hand and wind blew the priest away.


    Wind magic?


    Followed by that, the enemy seemed to cast a spell and vines suddenly grew out of the ground and wrapped around the priest¡¯s legs. Taken aback, the priest involuntarily made an opening for the enemy and the latter swung down his sword.


    However, before the sword could reach the priest, Tina cast a spell. A protective barrier covered the priest, blocking the enemy¡¯s sword. The enemy¡¯s eyes widened in surprise and turned his eyes towards Tina. Before he could do anything else, though, the priest that was blown before had returned and resumed his attack.


    The enemy received the strike, but the priest was quicker to counterattack and kicked the enemy, sending him flying. As he landed back on the ground, his hood was removed.


    ¡°What?¡±


    The ones handling him were dumbstruck by what they saw. Others were dealing with other enemies by pair, so those couldn¡¯t see what they were seeing here.


    ¡°Long ears?¡± Tina muttered questioningly.


    The man had short, blonde hair and a normal face. There was nothing else strange except for his long ears.


    ¡°What are you?¡±


    A priest asked.


    ¡°An elf?¡± Tina murmured, but it turned out to be louder than she had intended.


    She had read a few myths, and one creature which had any resemblance to anything that had long ears was a being called ¡°elf¡±. They were said to be creatures that dwell deep in the forests. And surprisingly, not much was expanded about them.


    Not their true nature, abilities, just where their habitats were. However, for centuries that humans had spread into these lands, no one had encountered an elf ¡ª not in record, at least. But if someone did find one, it was strange that they didn¡¯t spread any news about them.


    The elf jumped up and ran towards Tina all of a sudden. He must be intending to get rid of her first before anyone else. The elf swept his hand vigorously, sending a slash of wind towards her.


    Tina immediately cast a barrier. A golden wall appeared in front of her and received that deadly attack. But to her surprise, the barrier shattered. Her eyes went wide and her heart jumped. The one who could break her barrier that she knew aside from the high bishop was her sister, Astine.


    But even Astine had to give her all to achieve that.


    Tina instantly cast a protective spell on herself and gathered magic in her hand. Now that the elf was about eight feet away, she blasted light magic towards him and three streaks of light emerged from her hand. One shot out from the center, while the other two on each side.


    The elf failed to evade and defend in time, and light struck on his torso and shoulders, causing fatal wounds.


    This was Tina¡¯s trump card in case she herself got in danger. One streak of light costs fifteen percent of her current total mana capacity. That was why she wouldn¡¯t just casually use it unless the situation calls for it since she had to reserve her mana in case someone needed healing or her support.


    As the elf lay on the ground, the two priests had arrived and one changed his weapon from a sword into a pointy polearm and struck down through the elf¡¯s wrist, keeping him down.


    ¡°Aaagh! You won¡¯t take me alive!¡±


    ¡°Dammit! Let go of him!¡±


    They heard an angry shout. Tina turned her eyes towards the source of the voice. One of their enemies was looking at his immobilized ally. As a priest was about to strike him, he parried the sword of light and swung his sword at him in turn, slashing the priest in the chest.


    ¡°Agh!¡±


    Then he subsequently kicked away the other priest with fearsome force and sent him flying away.


    ¡°Cover me!¡±


    Tina loudly said to a priest near her and she immediately ran towards the wounded ¡ª leaving one to guard the elf while pointing a blade at him.


    The priest advanced forward and encountered the enemy. She cast a protective spell to him before healing the dangerously wounded when she was in range. A stream of light emerged from her hand and rapidly healed the wound.


    She shifted her eyes towards another one, and he seemed to be more fine than the other as he was running towards Tina with a pained expression ¡ª his ribs might have been damaged. But with physical enhancements helping him sustain the attack, he shouldn¡¯t be that gravely injured.


    But it was good that he immediately sought a healer in order to be able to fight at full capacity.


    She healed him when he got in range.


    ¡°Bothersome healer!¡±


    Their enemy shouted in a growling voice before coming after her.

 Vol. 2 Prologue: The Church’s Ambush (Part 2)

    Meanwhile, Astine was having a rough fight with her opponent. She had yet to even damage him and all she could manage was to push him away for a while.


    She was using physical enhancement, so even if her opponent was muscular, she should be able to overwhelm him. But that was not the case at all. To Astine''s dismay, he was capable of pushing her spear back at every contact of their weapons.


    In fact, her opponent was plenty skilled with the sword and he dodged her strikes pretty well, which annoyed her greatly.


    As she swung her spear from above, her opponent parried it forcefully, pushing her attack away. Then, at the same time, her opponent struck down his sword. Thankfully, Astine was able to block it with the pole of her weapon in time.


    They glared at each other down, and the man pushed down on his weapon. Astine¡¯s eyes went wide at the sheer strength her enemy was showing. Was he using a technique more powerful than hers?


    This couldn¡¯t be. Astine was one of the most impressive within the church order, and this was damaging to her pride.


    Her arm slowly folded as she was being pushed back, the blade of her opponent closing in to her. She gritted her teeth and gave it her all to push back against him, pouring more mana into her muscles at the same time to where she felt pain.


    ¡°Hah!¡±


    After pushing his weapon away, she lifted her leg and kicked the belly of her opponent with the heel of her boots.


    ¡°!¡±


    But to her shock, it did not blow away her opponent as she expected, but only slid back a little. She was in disbelief. Even so, she didn¡¯t let her shock distract her, and she instantly conjured a short sword made up of light in her other hand.


    But before she could thrust, her opponent grabbed her leg and threw her away. She ricocheted on the ground a few times, but she immediately regained her footing and rebalanced.


    ¡°Ugh, annoying.¡±


    Annoying indeed, why did she have to be wounded so? Their uniform should be able to protect them, however, with the strength her opponent exerted, she had minor scratches on her body, even a little on her face.


    The wounds may only be scratches, but they were bleeding a little, and it was already bothersome ¡ª another person could have tolerated the minor scratches, but not Astine. Getting wounded in any way was bothersome already. And she just had to be assigned as a leader by that old man. She would have been content to be just a plain fighter.


    More than that, her opponent had proven to be stronger than she wanted. Everything would have been easier if everything went easily.


    Taking a deep breath, she glared at her opponent. Time to stop with the conventional method of fighting.


    White mist emanated from her feet, and frost began to cover the soil. Her hands were now holding two spears of light, at the same time, the surrounding ground began to be covered in ice and were spreading and growing.


    Her opponent realized she was about to do something drastic and he immediately charged towards her. But in a second, as though an explosion, weapons made up of ice erected from the ground and slanted, aimed towards the man.


    The numerous weapons all consisted of spears, some of normal size, and others were twice as big. Then, they all shot forward like a slingshot towards the target. The man instantly swung his sword to break others while dodging some, however a few still managed to hit him.


    The attacks which landed wounded him, but they didn¡¯t go in that deep that would be fatal for him. Then, amidst the weapons of ice, a spear of light suddenly came shooting towards him, thrown by Astine.


    He parried and managed to change its course barely, but to his annoyance, his sword broke in half. Without delay, another spear of light followed. Leaving with no choice, he let go of his broken sword and caught the spear with his own hand.


    However, they were not normal hands.


    Astine¡¯s eyes went wide in shock and confusion as she witnessed what just happened.


    ¡°What are you?¡±


    The man¡¯s hands suddenly turned from human to beast-like. Dark fur covered them and they had become larger. Then sharp claws appeared at the edges of his fingers. His hood was undrawn and what revealed was something as strange.


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    On his head were ears like those you would see on wolves. His hair covered the side of his face, so Astine couldn¡¯t determine whether he had human ears, but this guy wasn¡¯t completely human. No, was he even human?


    The man¡¯s hands bled as the spear of light vanished from his grasp and his eyes turned towards Astine.


    Astine tried to piece together this mystery, trying to answer the question in her mind.


    What is he?


    ¡°Are you a demon?¡±


    She had never seen a demon before, but maybe he was one?


    No, none of the demons were described like him, none that she knew of, at least.


    ¡°Demon? Don¡¯t even try to compare me to them, human.¡±


    He sounded repulsed.


    ¡°Graaaaa!¡±


    Suddenly, they heard a loud, violent roar. Everyone¡¯s eyes shifted towards a creature ¡ª a beast. There was a beast walking on two feet. It still wore human clothing, but they seemed too tight as its fur made it bigger. It was mostly colored orange, and its face was feline¡­ like a tiger.


    It had sharp claws as the three priests and one priestess battling it could barely keep up.


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    The beast bellowed. Then Astine saw Tina trying to keep her distance as the beast tried to get to her, but the priests were getting in his way.


    I need to help her! No¡­


    No, she had priests by her side, so she should be fine.


    ¡°You have pushed us this far, overwhelmed. But you humans cannot hope to defeat all of us.¡± he took a deep breath. ¡°Destroy all the humans! Don¡¯t hold back and show your true power if you must!¡±


    The next moment, the man she was fighting transformed. He turned bigger and fur covered his body. His entire head changed into something that resembled a wolf ¡ª no, it was a wolf. His eyes were filled with the fearsome gaze of a predator. A wolf creature standing on two feet stood before her.


    Then a third person changed into something like a dog, not the pet ones but fierce looking ones with sharp ears. Then there was another who didn¡¯t have ears like others but rather had long, pointy ears.


    ¡°... So none of you are humans¡­¡±


    The bishop mentioned preparing for any surprises, but Astine never thought it would be this kind of surprise.


    Then, with no warning, her opponent pounced towards her with frightening speed. She grew ice spears and blocked his path which held him back for a moment. Shortly after, he broke the wall of weapons, leaving a few wounds on him, and attempted to claw her, but she barely managed to block him.


    She conjured a sword in her free hand and parried a claw. At the same time, she also switched to a sword, discarding her spear. It would be difficult to fight off someone this close and striking subsequently.


    She swung her sword and parried, then she felt a slash above her torso, although shallow. This fight was pushing her back hard.


    ¡°Aaaah!¡±


    Then she heard a frightened scream, at the same time, she conjured a vast amount of ice spears below her opponent, burning a lot of her mana. This managed to immobilize him while a few struck him.


    But Astine paid no more attention to him as she shifted her gaze towards that scream. It was a priestess, not Tina, but the other supporting priestess. The dog-like beast held her with both hands as it leaped away.


    ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°Stop it!¡±


    ¡°Save her!¡±


    As the priests rushed towards it, the beast opened its jaw, revealing its sharp fangs and teeth. Astine knew exactly what was going to happen, but she was far. She couldn¡¯t help her teammate from here in time.


    Was someone going to die?


    She would have preferred if none, but was someone truly going to die here? It was hard to process.


    As she thought that, a silhouette crossed her eyes from afar. And the next thing everyone watching saw was blood spilling out as both the beast¡¯s wrists were sliced off, and the priestess falling to the ground along with the beast¡¯s wrists.


    The beast cried in shock as it witnessed a body part of his was severed.


    Then someone caught the priestess and brought her away. The one who arrived was an old man wearing the same outfit as the other church members.


    Astine smirked as she recognized the one who saved the priestess. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t let someone die that easily if he was around.


    The one who arrived was no other than the High Bishop himself. The bishop let down the priestess and the other priest expressed their joy upon his arrival.


    ¡°Who¡ª?¡±


    She heard her opponent ask that, but as it happened, a pair of spears appeared in both the bishop¡¯s hands.


    He moved with great swiftness and the next thing everyone saw was a streak of golden light arcing through the injured beast¡¯s leg, prompting him to drop to the ground instantly.


    ¡°Gaaaaaaaah!¡±


    The beast yelled in agony as its blood spilled to the soil.


    ¡°Stay there for a while,¡± he turned to the group of priests. ¡°Keep watch of him, don¡¯t let it kill itself.


    Astine turned her eyes towards her opponent, who was in shock. Seeing that he was distracted, she sent weapons against him. He realized it and immediately shielded himself, but it still caused wounds all over him.


    At that moment, she moved away from him. It was hard for her to admit it, but it was hard for her to beat her current opponent. Thus, the best option was to let the strongest handle him to end things quicker.


    She rushed towards the bishop¡¯s side.


    ¡°High Bishop, may I ask you to deal with him?¡±


    The bishop grinned broadly, his eyes glinted with anticipation as he stared at the beast. Astine could already see that he was looking forward to fighting him.


    ¡°You dealt with him impressively. You have promising power. However, these are a bunch of surprises themselves. I¡¯ll deal with him, you help the others.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Now then beast, prepare yourself for I bring the blades of penance blessed by our lord and lady.¡±


    ¡°Your gods are nothing.¡±


    ¡°Those who disturb the peace of humanity shall be met with the wrath of those who longs for peace. By my words, along with your strength, the world shall be purified through our enemy¡¯s blood. United, we shall face tribulations, and united shall our enemies fall. Only when everything is done, shall we attain serenity and offer profound compassion to our fellows in the era of peace.¡±


    The bishop muttered loudly, quoting the scriptures with reverence.


    ¡°Freedom is deserved to all free from sins and those who heartedly repent.¡±


    Dozens of weapons made up of golden light appeared in thin air all around him. They floated as they were pointed towards the beast.


    ¡°You who threaten the peace of our home shall pay the price.¡±


    With no gestures, the weapons shot forward as they whizzed loudly through the air.

 Vol. 2 Prologue: The Church’s Ambush (Part 3)

    <div>


    Astine left to head towards another beast that was more dangerous than the one with long pointy ears. She could tell it through how that tiger-like beast was acting violently. The priests were constantly being wounded, but were only kept alive by Tina.


    Tina on the other hand, already looked pretty exhausted; one would wonder how many times she had been casting spells. The fact that she was always running away from the enemy whenever it got near only contributed more to her exhaustion. The beast appeared to be targeting her specifically, but good thing the other priests were getting in its way.


    I won¡¯t let them hurt Tina.


    While the violent beast was distracted after it hit away the priests attacking it, Astine saw an opening and conjured a giant spear that was three times the size of a normal one, made up entirely of ice. With a jump, she kicked the spear while it was still in the air, sending it towards her intended target.


    The beast realized it and leaped back, but he was a bit too late and it severed one of its legs.


    ¡°Gaaaaah! Damn you!¡±


    The beast glared at Astine.


    ¡°Sister!¡±


    Tina called out to Astine, and the latter nodded her head towards her.


    The beast tried to stand up, but of course, it struggled to stand on one leg. It was then that a storm of wind engulfed and blasted everyone away. But Astine managed to hold on by stabbing her spear of light into the ground, gripping it firmly.


    She immediately searched for Tina, and relief came when she saw her just fine a distance away after she was blown away.


    When she returned her sights to the enemy, Astine saw the one with pointy tears now standing before the beast. Seeing that he came there, she instantly turned her eyes towards the direction where the other priests facing it should be.


    Her eyes went wide. The priests were bleeding and were wrapped in thorny vines as they lay unmoving on the ground. There were even slashes on their body.


    ¡°Tina! Heal them!¡±


    Astine shouted and pointed at the priests. It shocked Tina to see how bad they looked. They were just doing well last time she saw them. With a determined face, she rushed to their side.


    Astine shifted her gaze back to the pair of enemies. The pointy eared one seemed to cast a spell, and thorny vines grew out of the ground and launched towards the priests. Astine easily cut away several coming her way, and so she moved closer to her enemies. The enemy saw that and a tempest covered the area around him mixed with slashing winds.


    Astine was surprised as she suddenly suffered cuts, and thus she did her best to block all attacks coming her way.


    As it happened, she heard the two opponents speak.


    ¡°This is a failure, and now here we are.¡±


    ¡°Dammit, I thought we¡¯ll finally get Oryn out after more than a decade.¡±


    ¡°Yes, this could mean our friend is gone.¡±


    ¡°Or captured, he could still be alive out there.¡±


    ¡°Eluer!¡± the captured elf shouted all of a sudden, and everyone turned to look at him. ¡°Is everything lost here!?¡±


    The elf, Eluer, nodded his head. With that simple gesture, the captured elf understood what had to be done.


    ¡°I see. Very well.¡±


    For some reason, the elf held out his hand towards himself. Too late did everyone realize what he was about to do, and a wind slashed through his neck before blood spewed up into the air then onto the soil.


    The priest guarding him was left dumbfounded. Everyone who witnessed it felt the same, even Astine.


    He just took his own life, just like that, with no hesitation. It was such a hard thing to process.


    ¡°Muriyo! What the fuck!?¡± The beast was equally surprised as the priests.


    However, the other remaining elf seemed to be unfazed.


    ¡°Eleur! Lift me up. Let¡¯s get out of here already. That damn idiot... Why did he kill himself? We could have just gotten away!¡±


    ¡°No. Forgive me, but I cannot carry you with all the enemies around us, and we cannot escape. That woman right there is glaring our way, and that old man can catch us easily after he dealt with Hundo, and he appears to be winning already.¡±


    ¡°Fool, we can still get out of here.¡±


    ¡°It is hopeless, Refel¡­.¡±


    The pointy eared one¡¯s sword glowed softly as though it was engulfed in magic.


    ¡°What are you planning, Eluer?¡±


    ¡°The ambassador instructed us to not let anyone fall into enemy hands. That also applies to you.¡±


    ¡°Is that why Muriyo killed himself? Damn you Eluer, are you¡­?¡± realization dawned on his face. ¡°No¡­ I thought we were friends!¡±


    ¡°Yes, and I am doing this for you, and for our people.¡±


    ¡°You damn elf¡ª¡±


    A blade cleaved through his neck.


    ¡°Know, my friend, that my resolve goes this far.¡±


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    The beast stared with wide eyes as they gradually lost any signs of life.


    Astine was in shock as she bore witness to this unbelievable scene. How could someone kill their comrade that easily?


    Astine couldn¡¯t even imagine herself doing something like that.


    ¡°No! No no no!¡±


    She heard a familiar voice.


    Astine saw her sister, Tina, trying to heal the two priests that she was ordered to treat. However, despair was all over her face as her eyes brimmed with tears. The way she was, anyone could easily tell what was going on.


    The two priests died.


    To be honest, the group had never experienced a situation like this. A situation that enemies could fight back with all they got, enemies that could overwhelm them without the proper number.


    All that they had fought were criminals ¡ª humans ¡ª and those people didn¡¯t even stand a chance before their might. No one here had experiences that made their lives intensely in danger. One would wonder how they would do if they battled with demons that they heard a lot about.


    Astine glared at the ¡°elf¡± that killed the two priests. How foolish it was to think that no one would perish here. But it still pained her heart, only hiding it in her stoic face.


    Then the storm calmed down.


    Astine felt a hand on her shoulder. It was the high bishop¡¯s hand. He had that almost blank face, perhaps saddened by the death of the priests.


    ¡°They are a handful more than expected, huh.¡±


    He said solemnly. Astine looked behind and saw the beast she fought previously severely injured and had his left leg severed and both hands gone with a priest watching over him.


    ¡°High bishop¡­¡± Astine muttered with a rough voice.


    ¡°Toughen up. You will inevitably encounter plenty of death in the course of your job. But do not let it distract you in times of duty. Only grieve when everything is peaceful and silent.¡±


    ¡°... Understood.¡±


    Astine returned to glare at the elf.


    ¡°Everyone, surround him!¡±


    Astine shouted an order, and everyone sprang into action. Even Tina separated from the dead allies and took position.


    ¡°I am outnumbered. The church order truly is troublesome. There is no escape for me.¡±


    He moved his hands behind him as he said so.


    ¡°Apparently. Now, will you be so kind as to surrender?¡±


    The high bishop said as a pair of spears appeared and floated on both his sides.


    ¡°Hmm. May I ask a question?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°A friend, we were supposed to extract him. But seeing that you have set up a trap, something must have happened to him.¡±


    ¡°Mm, yes. I did hear someone mention what you might be looking for. Yes, well, he is dead, I heard.¡±


    ¡°Dead¡­ That¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°Good? You are quite a callous one, aren¡¯t you? Then it''s my turn to ask a question.¡±


    ¡°Oh? What is it?¡±


    ¡°You definitely are not human, so I¡¯m not going to ask that. What I want to learn is¡­ why are you targeting her?¡±


    Astine looked curiously at the high bishop. He had never mentioned anything, including the person they were talking about that was already dead, and who this ¡°her¡± they were talking about. That being said, even though he didn¡¯t specifically say who that was, Astine had an idea. The high bishop singled someone after all during the first assembly.


    ¡°Odd. You know?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Hm, who told you I wonder. Did my dead friend tell you?¡±


    ¡°If I¡¯m right, no.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°So, are you answering my question?¡±


    The elf chuckled. ¡°No¡­ I am not answering you.¡±


    ¡°I see. What a shame, then I¡¯ll just make you speak.¡±


    ¡°Regretfully, I have no intention of telling you, nor will my allies here.¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t let you kill them.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you let me, or not, I will win, in the end.¡±


    Thorny vines instantly grew out of the ground and violently lashed out at everyone. Astine and the other priests protected themselves. While everyone was occupied, wind engulfed the elf and propelled himself forward.


    He encountered the high bishop, and they clashed blades. The elf would also use his wind blades to deal with the other weapons. But he was only using his one hand while the other was grasping a ball of wind.


    With a powerful kick, he hit the bishop, sending him backwards. Even the bishop was having difficulties dealing with him since their speeds were a match. But the bishop immediately counterattacked, and a beam of light shot out of his hand.


    But at the same time, the elf already had his hand extended forward as compressed air shot out like a projectile. It moved so fast that no one was able to stop it amidst the storm of thorns and wind.


    The wind hit then shattered the wolf¡¯s face. But the ray of light hit the elf¡¯s shoulder and severed the extended hand.


    But it didn¡¯t seem to slow down the elf and proceeded to move on to his next target.


    Unfortunately for him, the priestess had already cast a barrier to the firstly immobilized beast. Even so, he didn¡¯t stop and the wind from his feet launched him forward again despite bleeding badly.


    As he moved, the bishop caught up with him and swung a sword, but the elf blocked it. It was an admirable effort, but the bishop used his other sword and thrust the blade through his chest.


    ¡°Ggh!¡±


    He stopped in place.


    ¡°You failed.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t underestimate our race, human.¡±


    ¡°Am I underestimating you?¡±


    The elf glared at the bishop. Burning all his mana, he gathered wind at a tremendous amount and speed. The bishop was about to end him there, but the elf was faster and he blasted him away.


    ¡°Cikeus! Make your choice! Yourself or our people?!¡±


    The elf shouted as he made his way to the final beast.


    The beast stared at the elf ¡ª his ally ¡ª and lowered his head. With resolve, he stiffened his body and suddenly leaped up using the limb he had left. He opened his mouth, flashing his sharp teeth.


    ¡°No!¡±


    The nearby priest was about to stop him. But how exactly? Nobody knew, but everyone knew he had to be stopped. He was about to reach out for his mouth. However, the barrier kept his hands away.


    Then the beast bit one of his arms ¡ª or what was left of it ¡ª with great strength, shattering the barrier.


    At the same moment, a slash of wind came passing by, cutting through the beast¡¯s body. At the same time, it also cut down the nearest priest in half with it, sending both halves of his body tumbling away.


    ¡°I¡­ I win.¡±


    With a grin, the elf collapsed to the ground.


    The storm dwindled, then vanished, and the vines died down.


    All enemies died. The church suffered three losses.


    The high bishop glanced at the aftermath with a displeased expression.


    The night fell into utter silence.


    Tina and Astine approached each other.


    ¡°How could they just kill each other like that¡­?¡± Tina asked meekly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    The both of them couldn¡¯t understand how their enemies were capable of such actions.


    ¡°So, we failed.¡±


    ¡°Somewhat, I suppose.¡±


    Astine walked towards the bishop and Tina followed behind her. The bishop crouched down and was staring closely at the corpses of their enemies.


    ¡°High bishop¡­¡±


    ¡°They are creatures that were not in the record of demons. But this one, an elf? They were only myths. I don¡¯t know about this one though,¡± he pointed at the beast.


    ¡°We also suffered losses. All we learned was that our enemies definitely aren¡¯t humans. Furthermore, they are strong, stronger than our standards¡­ but I never got the answer. Why do they want the young ¡ª the young princess?¡± he added.


    ¡°So, they are targeting the princess. But I cannot understand why.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you must not understand it.¡±


    ¡°But high bishop, our allies ¡ª our friends died for this,¡± Astine said sternly.


    ¡°This is a significant matter, Astine. Too significant for the common folk, even for the members of our order.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Astine glared at the bishop, feeling irritated.


    ¡°I want you to understand, all of you, there will certainly be times when you will not learn the truth. Some secrets just have to remain secrets, so there will come a time where you will fight for an unclear reason, but even so, you have to carry out your duty. Do you understand, children?¡±


    Everyone hesitantly responded that they understood.


    ¡°Good. Send a request for reinforcements to take the bodies. Then, we¡¯ll have a prayer for our departed allies.¡±


    Tina took a deep breath. She had never expected it would feel this terrible to lose her friends and allies. And this situation was utterly bitter, they didn¡¯t get what they wanted. No prisoners to interrogate. Nothing except for the fact that the enemies were not humans.


    They didn¡¯t even learn where they were, and why they were here.


    She turned to look at her sister. Her cold demeanor was now more intense than before. It would seem she was feeling the same as her and merely trying her best to suppress and hide it.


    <div>

 Vol. 2 Prologue: The Churchs Ambush (Part 4)

    At a distance, hidden amidst the forest, were a group of people wearing large robes which covered the entirety of their body. In fact, even the clothes they wore underneath hid their entire skin.


    If listening closely, one could hear repressed groans from some of them as though they were in pain.


    At the moment, they were observing the church order battling with the members of the mystic race. They came when they discovered clashing between the two factions, their battle was pretty obvious when one looked high up in the air and saw bright golden lights radiating at a distance.


    That was not only it, they had also noticed movements from the palace and the church, and thus they were on a look out for any strange occurrences. And this is what they have discovered.


    The ones observing the battle were the beings being called as the Cursed Children. They would have been the ones to eliminate the Mystic Race if the church were not present. But it appeared that the church set up this trap. Thus there was no need for them to intervene.


    They would prefer not to be personally discovered by the Church, otherwise things might become more difficult for them to move around. It was best to let the Church focus on the Mystic Race.


    ¡°Now that the Church has discovered enemies, we can expect more movement from them. However, their focus should lean towards the mystic race.¡±


    Their leader, Heneis, said as he kept his eyes on the battle. Truth be told, it did not matter who wins here. However, if the mystic race was eliminated or captured, at least there would be less things to worry about.


    ¡°Battle¡¯s really heating up, huh.¡±


    All of a sudden, a third party¡¯s voice chimed in from behind the group. They instantly took their stance and prepared for battle, only to see a man with long bronze colored hair nonchalantly walking. Everyone instantly recognized who he was.


    ¡°Woah woah, calm down. I come in peace.¡±


    He said as he raised both his hands.


    Heneis held out his hand and ordered everyone to stand down. The man, Taneva, casually went past everyone and positioned himself beside Heneis.


    ¡°What are you doing here, Taneva?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I just wanted to watch the spectacle. Wow, the church is still an impressive bunch. Actually, I was already watching from the beginning, but I discovered you guys, so here I am.¡±


    ¡°You would come to us at night?¡±


    ¡°Yup. I should say, what an outfit you guys have, really hiding that horrid appearance you have, huh.¡±


    Heneis ignored his comment, but Taneva could feel some intense gaze from behind him, but he paid them no need whatsoever.


    Taneva knew just what these people look like behind all those covers. At day they may look perfectly human, but at night, they were akin to monsters.


    Heh, punishment for betrayal¡­


    Taneva mused. He somewhat sympathized with them as the one that was also cursed because of a ¡°sin.¡± But Taneva¡¯s case was different from theirs. He observed them, some were slouching, even Heneis was no exception. He may be silent, showing the strength of his endurance, but others were groaning quietly, bearing some sort of pain.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    At least they can die if they choose to¡­


    Perhaps his curse was way worse than them.


    ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t.¡±


    Someone suddenly loudly muttered. Taneva peeked and saw one kneeling down clutching his own hand.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    One of the cursed children approached and laid a hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°Painful¡­ Thirsty¡­ I can¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t bear it anymore. At least blood, I want blood. Give me blood.¡±


    Suddenly, he lifted his head and looked at Taneva. Upon realizing what this one was intending on doing, Taneva wryly smiled.


    The cursed one then stood up and extended his hand. However, others immediately restrained him.


    ¡°Stop it.¡±


    ¡°Calm down, breathe.¡±


    They said as quietly as possible so they wouldn¡¯t be discovered in this silent forest.


    ¡°I can¡¯t! I can¡¯t! It¡¯s too painful, and I''m thirsty!¡± he said with desperation, struggling to set himself free from his allies¡¯ hold.


    He looked intensely at Taneva, reminiscent of a hungry beast.


    ¡°Your guys are a bit frightening when they¡¯re pushed to near insanity,¡± Taneva said.


    ¡°Who wouldn¡¯t go insane if you feel perpetual pain and agony even as you stand?¡± He then turned back to the others. ¡°Did he not feed earlier?¡± Heneis asked his people.


    ¡°I think not.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why. Get him out of here.¡±


    ¡°No! There¡¯s blood right there, give me!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, even the blood of an immortal is not anything special, trust me, your leader tried it in the past. So, no need to lust after my blood.¡±


    In fact, any blood would do as long as it satisfies their thirst. They could drink blood from any animal, and nothing special would happen, even if it came from a human. Blood is blood. All blood was the same, they wouldn¡¯t change no matter what manner of creature it came from, it won¡¯t save them from their torment, with the exception of one blood.


    ¡°Serious question though, you have the princess right there in the palace, you couldn¡¯t have tried drinking her blood? Maybe it would have worked.¡±


    ¡°We¡­¡± Heneis lowered his head. ¡°We have tried.¡±


    It was hard to obtain blood from the princess, as she was always in the palace, it was hard to catch her alone. Furthermore, the windows to the princess¡¯s room were magically protected whenever they were closed, thus it was difficult to get in quietly.


    In addition, as delicate as the princess was, it was hard for her to get wounded. Not to mention they would still need to get the blood that was from her.


    However, of course, for years, there will always be at least a few times that the princess bled. That being said, they couldn¡¯t just come up to her and drink her blood as she bled no matter how small when there were people all around her, but rather they had to steal the discarded bandages and such.


    Then they would taste the blood that way. However¡­


    ¡°It worked, but only for a short time. We were relieved from our perpetual pain, but it was only temporary.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so she does have her divinity.¡±


    ¡°But she is incomplete.¡±


    A blood of divinity was as is. Meaning it never changes or improves naturally with time. A child of a god will be born bearing the full divinity within it from its parent, thus forming a complete form of its own divinity.


    However, for the princess, her case was different. She was not born from the womb of a god ¡ª her true mother. Perhaps this could be the reason why she was incomplete, and it cannot be changed unless something was done about it.


    ¡°So you need the essence of the goddess. So how would you do that?¡±


    ¡°That is none of your concern.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? But even if you say that, I still have an idea. But you can¡¯t move her. And also, there may be other conditions for releasing you from your curse. Hehe, that¡¯s a lot to process.¡±


    Heneis turned to glare at the Wanderer.


    ¡°You laugh, and yet I can tell you sympathize with us.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, I am also cursed after all.¡±


    ¡°Even so, don¡¯t even try to intervene, Taneva.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, you don¡¯t need to be hostile with me. It doesn¡¯t have any effect on me no matter what you do with the princess. I don¡¯t need her for anything whatsoever.¡±


    ¡°You are lying, you are thinking about something.¡±


    ¡°If there is, it would not obstruct your goals. We are not enemies, Heneis.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Heneis scrutinized Taneva before walking away. ¡°We are leaving.¡±


    They turned into dark haze then vanished into the dark forest.


    ¡°Why are they so cold on me anyway?¡±


    Incomplete, huh. Whatever, I need to watch the princess for any significant changes, then I¡¯ll think of what to do.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 1: Demons (Part 1)

    A single man walked down the paved street within a dark yet noisy city. One could hear loud roars from the distance, one would also hear growly laughter nearby. But the man didn¡¯t pay any mind towards any occurrences which he passed by.


    He had somewhat tanned skin and was wearing a clean all-black suit, black pants, and shoes. His fairly long onyx hair blended perfectly with the darkness as his dark eyes peered forward without much of any distractions.


    ¡°Hey there handsome, want to have a good time?¡±


    He ignored that sweet and seductive voice coming from a woman standing in front of a building made up of stone and bricks. The woman was beautiful, so beautiful that any man would instantly fall for her ¡ª well, mostly humans at least. She had dark curled horns on her forehead and black wings like bats on her back. Then from her waist rooted a long tail with a triangular point, and it waved around hypnotizingly.


    Among the demon race, she was one of the species called a Succubus. The woman was undoubtedly incredibly attractive, but now was not the time to bring himself in the seas of pleasure.


    The man gazed up at the sky where the beautiful moon shone its radiance upon the world. However, dark clouds appear to be slowly gathering to obstruct its blessing unto the land.


    Will it rain tomorrow?


    He mused.


    He had just come back from a mission in another continent to the north and had returned to his home to bear the news that might be of great importance to his race. It was a long trip by sea, and he had to leave a few of his operatives on the human continent.


    Normally, some demons would be hard-pressed to hide amongst the human populace, however, it was different for his species called Imps. Imps were able to shapeshift at a small level. Meaning, they could only hide their true form and appear human, not completely alter their body and face.


    Succubuses could somewhat do the same. However, they were too troublesome of a race to be sent in recon missions. One would just find themselves surprised that the succubus they brought had suddenly disappeared. The next they would know would be that the succubus had returned after seducing a human man and absorbed his life force, leaving a ¡°drained¡± human corpse on a deserted alley somewhere.


    Furthermore, a Succubus had a more risky way of blending with society. They couldn¡¯t do shapeshifting like imps, but they do it by tampering with the minds of people around them. They can trick the eyes of others to change how people perceive them. Thus, they were not exactly a good option to be used, also considering their nature.


    As he was getting closer to his destination, at the side of the road there was a group of buff demons. Their skins were of rough dark red and black, and they were massive as shown by their bulky muscles. They were around ten feet tall, and they didn¡¯t wear any clothes like other demons. In short, they were basically always naked. But on the good side, their skin was almost as tough as steel.


    ¡°Hey! What the fuck did ya just say?¡±


    ¡°What?! I said it! You¡¯re a damn wuss, stop acting like you¡¯re the tough one in town!¡±


    ¡°Bastard! You wanna go?!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go motherfucker!


    The latter immediately punched the other in the face, however, he remained standing and punched his opponent back sending him tumbling towards the direction of the man.


    He sighed upon seeing this and quickened his pace while keeping his distance.


    They were always the noisy bunch, and their large bodies didn¡¯t make it any better. That often annoyed him.


    They were called Hedurus. Otherwise known as Ravagers. That other name came from the fact that they were savages, unruly and violent. If unleashed on the enemy, they would all charge at full speed and they would bring intense violence to their surroundings, always resulting in intense damages and gruesome deaths.


    As he ignored the loud clashing of two giant beings behind him, he looked towards his destination. A wide and tall castle was standing in the center of the demon capital. Truth be told, it was the cleanest thing that can be seen in the city, which was at the center amidst dark and shabby homes.


    Aside from the homes of demons which most had no light lighted, the entire palace was bright as each window had that yellow glow from fires of torches and lamps. Demons had no need for torches or any light in the dark for they could see just fine, even in the night with no source of light.


    The castle was just put that way because it was the center of the demon capital, and where high-ranking demons reside. Therefore, it must look good no matter what.


    Time passed and he had finally reached the gates.


    Two guards wearing armor flanked the giant gates. They were fully armored, and their faces were completely obscured, but on their backs were a pair of dark wings made up of feathers akin to ravens.


    ¡°Rytus, is that you? So you¡¯ve returned.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have something important to report.¡±


    ¡°Of course, but not all Dread Lords are currently here,¡± the guard turned and looked above the wall. ¡°Open it!¡±


    Then the sound of heavy objects moving rang out as the gate slowly opened.


    ¡°If they¡¯re all not here then I have to set a meeting for tomorrow morning at least, thanks for the heads up.¡±


    ¡°No problem, alright, you can go ahead.¡±


    Rytus nodded and went inside. There were two walls in total protecting the castle, and the next gate was not in front of the first one. Thus, it would take a while before he could arrive at his destination.


    As he was about to arrive, he stopped when he saw someone. This person was thin and tall and was wearing an incredibly lavish outfit, a fancy long sleeve shirt, and flashy boots. Both his eyes and hair were black, and on his back sprouted dark wings akin to ravens, similar to the guards earlier.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Under his eyes were dark spots like intense eye bags, but were actually naturally there. As to be clear for the eyes, his entire pupil was dark which would make one think he doesn¡¯t have any irises.


    He was a member of a species called the ¡°Arales¡± on which their wings were their major characteristic.


    The Arales grinned when he saw Rytus as they were about to encounter each other at the gates.


    Rytus saw that he was holding metal chains on each of his hands, and behind him were two human women tied by the neck. They were fairly young as tears stained their cheeks while they were forcefully dragged to follow.


    Furthermore, the women were completely naked, left exposed for everyone to see.


    ¡°Rytus, you back, huh?¡±


    ¡°It is a pleasure to see you again, Lord Vezeres.¡±


    Rytus bowed with respect to the man named Vezeres. This man, after all, was one of the five dread lords.


    ¡°You must have returned to give us some news, but you better not disturb me tonight!¡± He said boastfully with a lecherous grin as he glanced at the human woman.


    The women¡¯s neck had already begun to redden due to being pulled by the metal chains. While they were both on their knees which touched the rough and hard floor, the two were still quietly sobbing.


    Did they just arrive here?


    They must be newly delivered to Vezeres, apparent from their distraught state.


    ¡°Of course, I wouldn¡¯t dare interrupt your leisurely time.¡±


    It would seem he truly needs to schedule a meeting tomorrow.


    ¡°Good, so what do you think of these girls, eh?¡±


    ¡°They are fine, my lord.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Humans really had their good sides.¡±


    ¡°My lord, may I ask where you obtained them?¡±


    Humans were incredibly scarce here in the demon lands. The reason was that they were massacred in the far past, only perhaps leaving very few survivors and those were hard to track down, might as well call it genocide. Well, the demons didn¡¯t bother to find them anyway.


    If Vezeres found humans, then he must have found where a group was hiding.


    ¡°Oh, they¡¯re one of the human girls snatched when I ordered to get some from that group of islands where humans reside.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Kidnapped, huh.


    ¡°But please be careful, my lord. If humans discover your operations, it might become harder to obtain humans in the future.¡±


    Rytus was certain that he would need new ones in the future. Vezeres, after all, disposes of those he had become sick of. And these women here would only have about perhaps one month after every night pleasure ¡ª pleasure for Vezeres. Well, some even reached two months. In short, it all depended on his whims.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have started a plan.¡±


    ¡°A plan?¡±


    ¡°Not only I had women kidnapped but also men. That way, they can breed.¡±


    ¡°Breed, huh.¡±


    ¡°Think of it as a little farm. But, I imagine in a few years it will become bigger. They will provide for me, and some I might sell to other demons. The females will be raised and used once they grow up. While men will be used to breed more humans, it would seem we also need to leave a few females for that. Well, even men in their teens can impregnate women in their thirties so I suppose that¡¯s not that big of a problem.¡±


    ¡°I see. Splendid as ever, Lord Vezeres!¡±


    Rytus faked his enthusiasm. Well, he didn¡¯t care about any of that anyway.


    ¡°Indeed!¡±


    Vezeres puffed his chest in a feeling of greatness, then he heard a human female loudly sobbing. He walked towards her and clutched her cheeks, making her look up at him.


    ¡°Why do you cry? There¡¯s no danger here for you.¡±


    ¡°.... I ¡­. I want¡­ to go home.¡±


    The human looked up at him with great distress, as eyes brimmed with tears.


    ¡°Aaaw, that¡¯s sad, just sad. But don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll forget your home as soon as you drown in the intense pleasure that I will give you.¡±


    He said so as he fondled her bare breasts by a handful.


    Rytus watched blankly at the scene. In truth, what Vezeres was saying about pleasure was both truth and lie. Yes, he would have sex with these humans, however, most of the time, in a bizarre way that Rytus preferred not to think about it or learn what exactly this winged demon does.


    Anyone who always resides in the castle would see the terrible mental state of the human women every morning. They looked like they were broken inside, and traumatized to a maximum extent. The rooms were soundproof, but anyone could imagine that the humans were screaming inside ¡ª whether in pleasure, or agony. Whatever he subjects them to, Rytus had no intention to get involved.


    Vezeres turned to Rytus.


    ¡°Hey Rytus, you must be tired after a long trip, yes? I¡¯ll let you borrow one of them tomorrow if you want.¡±


    ¡°You do not need to trouble yourself, my lord. I dare not to touch your properties.¡±


    ¡°What? No, I don¡¯t mind as long as I give my permission.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the offer, but I will have to pass.¡±


    ¡°Hm, if you say so.¡±


    No thank you, I don¡¯t want to touch a woman you subjected to weird things.


    Vezeres then continued.


    ¡°Alright ladies, let¡¯s have a fun night.¡±


    ¡°Oh? What about we have a fun night together, Vezeres?¡±


    Rytus turned stiff the moment he heard that endearing and seductive voice. He took a deep breath, and the moment he blinked, a demoness was already clinging to Vezeres.


    The demoness had smooth-looking horns on her forehead going to the back of her head above her crimson hair. She had fair and flawless skin, her dark clothes only covered that between her legs, and a thin strap to hold her voluptuous breasts.


    Rytus looked at her thighs and curvy waist, then to her long and pointy tail as it wrapped around Vezeres¡¯s waist. As a special case, she had wings made up of dark feathers on her back.


    A succubus. But not a plain normal succubus, this one was one of the five dread lords. Her presence alone ignites lust to all who see her. That was why Rytus had to take in a deep breath to resist that faint feeling.


    Vezeres¡¯s eyebrow rose.


    ¡°Irian, I appreciate the offer, but no.¡±


    Those who were unfamiliar with her would have been dumbstruck by that refusal. But to anyone familiar, it was understandable that even Vezeres refused to sleep with this demoness.


    Succubus drains the life out of any being they sleep with. They could only do this when they were the subject of strong lust and pleasure of the target. Normal succubuses can only completely drain someone weaker than them, that was why humans were the normal targets if there were, and with only a few demons.


    They can drain someone stronger, but they cannot drain the entirety of the strong since the succubus would get full, like a belly filled after eating one¡¯s meal. And the life they drained would sustain their beauty and youth.


    However, it was different for Irian.


    Even the strongest, even among the dread lords, she could suck them dry. Even if you intend to sleep with her, it will still end up in her draining you until there¡¯s nothing left, even if you talked about it beforehand. It was a part of their nature after all.


    Even men stronger than her would be susceptible to death after draining. She just had that big of a plate which she put a lot on.


    Even Vezeres wouldn¡¯t take any chances. There was actually a member of the dread lords who fell victim to her, and that man was way stronger than her. However, at that time, no one knew what Irian was capable of. The next morning, that member was found dead and completely drained. Irian merely chuckled upon the discovery as she laid on the bed beside him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that, you¡¯ll lose the opportunity of your lifetime. Besides, I¡¯m curious what you do with your human women.¡±


    ¡°I would rather lose that opportunity that you speak of.¡±


    ¡°How mean.¡±


    She let go of him with a pout.


    ¡°At this rate, I¡¯m going to come back hunting on the streets again,¡± she noticed Rytus and smiled seductively. ¡°Hello~ Rytus, been a long time, wanna do me?¡±


    She winked. Rytus could feel his heart tighten.


    ¡°M-My apologies, but I have to refuse.¡±


    ¡°Everyone¡¯s mean here!¡±


    ¡°If you do not drain anyone dry, everyone would have been willing to fuck you.¡±


    Vezeres said with annoyance then continued.


    ¡°Trust me, I want to try, but you¡¯re dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    She crossed her arms.


    ¡°Whatever, I¡¯ll just go inside then, don¡¯t ever talk to me.¡±


    She walked away towards the castle, her heels clicking loudly on the floor.


    ¡°You''re going inside right? Rytus.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go together.¡±


    The two of them walked together towards the castle, while Vezeres pulled the human females using the metal chains.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 2: Demons (Part 2)

    He separated from them after entering the castle. For now, he needed to speak with the castle administrator to schedule a meeting for tomorrow and have all the five dread lords gather. If Rytus alone announced it, not everyone would take him seriously.


    However, there was one problem, the administrator was not an easy person to approach. Therefore, he would need to schedule the meeting through the administrator¡¯s secretary. The good thing was that she was pretty easy to find.


    He entered the room through a pair of big doors and what greeted him were books upon books placed on numerous shelves. The thing was, this secretary always used her free time to read books. In fact, it made him wonder if she had read the entirety of the library.


    He was quite confident that he would find her at the current time since mostly the administrator had no work to do that required her help, so the assistant would end up stuck here. Stuck but enjoying it to a high degree.


    After searching around the library, it was as he had expected, she was here, he had found her by a table where stacks of books were placed.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a lot?¡±


    He said to her as he approached.


    The girl turned her eyes to look at him. Behind the round glasses were pretty red-violet eyes. Her glasses bore no distortion which implied they were only there for aesthetics ¡ª her words. She started wearing those when she saw a human wear one and she ended up being interested in eyeglasses in terms of fashion.


    She had short yellow-green hair that reached above her shoulders. To the sides of her head were her furry elongated triangular ears almost resembling those of a wolf, and they were all slanted down making her look innocently cute.


    She had a short and petite stature which made her appear to be younger than her true age. She wore a dark blue suit and a black short skirt, with dark gloves covering her hands. Her socks almost reached her knees and she wore long boots.


    She truly gave off an innocent and cute demeanor.


    ¡°Rytus, you have returned.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I have an urgent matter to report.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Then¡­ Can you please help me put these on the shelves?¡±


    He wanted to sigh, he would prefer not to deal with books this many. However, he didn¡¯t want to displease this girl.


    ¡°... Alright¡­ where do you want to bring these?¡±


    ¡°I have a new shelf created, please follow me.¡±


    Rytus gathered all the books in his arms, it covered his view so he would have to shift his head to the side. They were thick and heavy, a normal human would have struggled a lot, but it was a different case for demons.


    ¡°Arin, don¡¯t tell me these are a new supply of books.¡±


    He said as he followed the girl named Arin.


    ¡°It is. We obtained it thanks to our human suppliers. Human books are quite interesting and wonderful. If only demons would create even a few.¡±


    These books were not demon-made but of humans. In fact, almost all of the books in the library were human-made. Some were confiscated in the far past when demons overtook this land and most they obtained from beyond their lands.


    Demons after all were not generally a race that did a lot of literature, unlike humans that always had a number of books created every year. That fact was what Arin disliked about the demon race, and she was quite open about her fondness for human creations, especially books.


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    Demons had no qualms about humans, nor were they disgusted by them. For them, humans were just like another and any other race in this world. That was why a person like Vezeres was also fond of human women ¡ª since a lot of demon women were not exactly a favorable bunch.


    In short, they appreciate the existence of humanity. But of course, that didn¡¯t mean they could co-exist and be peaceful to each other. Well, demons in particular didn¡¯t want to equally stand with humans, and that was what made humans afraid and wary of them.


    Demons were violent in nature and always wanted to conquer and expand their domain. That in turn always resulted in warfare. Perhaps that was just the way they were made by their creator.


    The demon race must rule.


    ¡°Huh, you must have spent a fortune.¡±


    ¡°Vezeres was kind enough to give me some money.¡±


    Rytus chuckled at hearing that.


    ¡°What a generous man.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t sound so sarcastic, he is a generous man.¡±


    ¡°Yes yes.¡±


    A short while later they arrived at an empty bookshelf. Rytus carefully put down the books since he didn¡¯t want to damage anything and anger Arin. She wasn¡¯t exactly a threatening demon. It¡¯s just like, it was scary to anger a person who was always quiet and behaved.


    He then placed the book on the shelf with Arin.


    ¡°So, what is it that you want?¡±


    ¡°I would like to assemble a meeting tomorrow, all dread lords present.¡±


    ¡°Must be very important then.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll brief you tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Alright then, what about before nightfall?¡±


    Rytus wanted it to be in the morning, but if she set it at that schedule, then it must not be easy to have others attend that early. With no other choice, he had to accept it.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s fine, whenever everyone is available. I just prefer not to waste a lot of time.¡±


    ¡°I understand, I will work on it immediately after finishing this.¡±


    ¡°Very reliable, thanks.¡±


    ***


    Later that night after having his dinner, a female servant wearing a maid¡¯s outfit was leading him to his room. She had red skin and black hair with orange eyes. Like Rytus, she was also an imp but only in her partial transformation.


    ¡°Sir Rytus, we have arrived.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it was being maintained while I''m gone, right?¡±


    The maid chuckled. ¡°You have no need to worry about that.¡±


    ¡°Good, good. Thanks.¡±


    He entered inside after thanking the maid whom he was familiar with. He had a royal bed inside his room with a shelf filled with books. A bright chandelier hanging from the ceiling. An incredibly luxurious room completely contrasting the normal homes outside the castle.


    But demons generally had no great desire for a luxurious abode, the dread lords were just an exception since they needed to show they were above the hierarchy, and this would also be a home for their god.


    He took in a deep breath, this was home. When he looked closely at the shelf of books, he noticed there were a few new books placed upon it. He pulled out one and given the written language, it was from humans.


    He of course understood human writing as someone who worked in the human lands and had lived for a long time. If he didn¡¯t even understand human writing, he wouldn¡¯t have been given the task to infiltrate the land of humans. Furthermore, Rytus was one of the smarter demons as one who studied plenty of things.


    Other demons you see, were not even that bright, some couldn¡¯t even read their own demon writings. Everyone who resides in the castle was all educated ¡ª well, with the exception of most common foot soldiers since they have no need to operate inside, working on papers and such.


    Rytus returned the book to the shelf, as he was mentally tired, he had no intention to read for the time being. He was not fond of serious reading anyway, he just often did it to pass the time.


    He opened his closet and changed his clothes.


    After that, he laid down comfortably on the bed.


    ¡°Aaaah, wonderful.¡±


    He immersed himself in the exquisite softness of the bed and pillows, unlike the cheap inns of the humans where he had to stay with his companions.


    He placed his hand at the back of his head and heaved a long sigh then closed his eyes.


    As he was getting relaxed and comfortable, he heard a loud roar echoing from afar. He sprang up from his bed and instantly went for the window. After opening it, he squinted his eyes towards the direction of the sound.


    ¡°Haaah.¡±


    As he expected, that loud roar was coming from a massive creature with wide wings, illuminated by the faint light of the moon piercing through the dark clouds. Rytus was familiar with it as well as all other demons.


    It was a fearsome creature with red scales covering its body and a pair of wide wings on each of its sides, a long tail extending from behind it, it was being called a dragon.


    Threatening it may appear, it was not an enemy of the demons. This occasionally happens. Every time that dragon felt bored, it would often stretch its wings and fly around at night.


    At the moment, fire breathes out from the dragon¡¯s mouth, lighting up the night sky.


    Hm, at least this time it isn¡¯t burning a few demons.


    With that in mind, he closed the windows and returned to bed.


    He didn¡¯t care if a few demons got killed outside the city. It didn¡¯t matter much to him anyway if a couple of demons died because of that dragon. He had no luxury to worry about strangers.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 3: Demons (Part 3)

    It was now before nightfall and Rytus was on his way to the meeting chamber. He was following a servant that was sent by Arin to take him. Truth be told, every one of the dread lords had yet to arrive, but it was best for Rytus to be there before they completely gathered.


    Some were not particularly patient after all.


    Eventually, he arrived before a pair of giant doors. The moment he entered inside, he was greeted by gazes from two persons.


    One was a man who had the appearance of a human wearing a suit. He had fairly long hair of black and maroon eyes. Like Rytus, he was also an imp, but one way stronger than him and a one of the Dread Lords named Trigel. It wouldn¡¯t be wrong to call him his direct superior.


    The other one was a giant demon with dark red and black skin. His face was fierce and carried a powerful gaze as though craving for violence. He was a Ravager named Ongrus.


    For the time being, there were only two Dread Lords that had arrived and were sitting at a long table in the center of a lavish room. Three chandeliers hanging on the ceiling, golden embroidery on the walls, and lamps made with glass embedded on the corners.


    At the edge of the room was a fireplace that was giving warmth to the room, and above it on the wall installed a giant flag with a crest embroidered into it. A flame in the middle and two curved blades crossing each other. It was the sigil of their god.


    ¡°Rytus, I am relieved that you have returned safely.¡±


    The imp dread lord, Trigel, stood up and warmly welcomed him.


    ¡°Thank you, sir.¡±


    Rytus stepped inside.


    ¡°So, how are the others?¡±


    ¡°The same as always, still a bit difficult to hold back.¡±


    ¡°Ha-ha! Great, that¡¯s great. I was concerned a little that something might have happened bad happened to you guys. But I suppose even strong humans cannot defeat you easily.¡±


    Rytus smiled wryly at Trigel as the latter sat back down.


    ¡°Hmph, long time no see little guy.¡±


    A growly voice spoke to him.


    ¡°Lord Ongrus, it is nice to see you again.¡±


    The ravager crossed his arms.


    ¡°This better won¡¯t be a waste of my time. I and my crew were just having a sparring match to find who could challenge me, and I have to postpone the rest for this.¡±


    Rytus imagined that instead of a simple sparring, there was plenty of blood spilling and killing.


    ¡°I think you will find my report interesting.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take you on your word.¡±


    What distinguished Ongrus from his other kind was that he was more civilized compared to the others who were pretty much mostly aggressive and hard to talk with sensically. In other words, Ongrus was not dumb. That was why he was appointed as one of the dread lords, setting aside his strength.


    ¡°Ongrus, if Rytus had us gathered, then it is only expected that the matter concerned the demon race entirely.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, even so, I don¡¯t like waiting and wasting time.¡±


    Trigel heaved a long sigh.


    ¡°Rytus, can you give us a little sneak of what the content of this meeting will be?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It involves the movements of the Mystic Race and the Cursed Children in the human lands.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Those guys?¡±


    Ongrus and Trigel leaned a little towards Rytus upon hearing what sort of beings were involved.


    ¡°Hm, it seems it won¡¯t be a waste of time. I¡¯m looking forward to your report.¡±


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    ¡°I wonder why even the race blessed by gods left their own realm just to enter the human world. And the Cursed Children, then this might have something to do with ¡°her¡±.¡±


    ¡°... This will be interesting, but the others seem to be taking their damn time.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Vezeres here in the castle already? Why is he even late?¡±


    At the same time, the door opened.


    ¡°Yes I am here, Trigel. I just had to make my girls behave while I¡¯m gone.¡±


    ¡°Playing with humans again?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Vezeres casually took his seat and lifted his feet to lay on top of the table.


    ¡°So, let¡¯s get starte... and the others aren¡¯t here yet. Why?¡± Vezeres asked with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°Irian might still be out there sucking someone off somewhere,¡± Ongrus said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about Yavia.¡±


    ¡°Huh, alright, let¡¯s talk, it¡¯s boring when it¡¯s all quiet. So Trigel, want to try some of my human women?¡±


    Trigel furrowed his brow.


    ¡°Why do you always ask that to anyone?¡±


    ¡°What? Is it bad to share?¡±


    ¡°It is weird because you want to share.¡±


    Vezeres scoffed.


    ¡°I¡¯m just trying to show you guys how wonderful they are.¡±


    ¡°No thanks.¡±


    ¡°Your loss¡­ what about you Ongru¡ª no, humans won¡¯t work with your size, I¡¯m sorry for even trying to offer them to you.¡±


    ¡°I have no interest in them to begin with.¡±


    ¡°... Okay. Everyone¡¯s so repressed¡­¡±


    You¡¯re just weird!


    Rytus kept that inside his head. Vezeres would just shrug it off anyway, no use changing an impression of a stubborn and clueless man.


    It was then another pair entered the room. One was a cute girl, Arin, carrying a book in her hand and another person was with her. That person was covered entirely in black robe, with his hood drawn on his head, and his hands hidden within black gloves. However, none could see a face but only darkness, as though the darkness itself kept his face from being revealed.


    He didn¡¯t touch the floor but merely floated just above it. He gave off that eerie aura of the unknown. Not much was known about him but he was one of the confidants of the demon god a long time ago.


    He was the person referred to as the Administrator.


    As he moved, Arin followed behind him.


    ¡°The others have not arrived yet? What a troublesome lot.¡±


    His voice was hollow and resonating like a cold wind one feels during winter.


    He held out his hand and a small globe of blue appeared in his hand.


    ¡°Your presence is required, come immediately.¡±


    His voice echoed and echoed inside the globe, Rytus could faintly hear it, as though the sound was trapped within.


    It was then someone slammed the window open.


    ¡°Aaaah! Too noisy! Stop it already, I¡¯m here! I was just finishing someone for fuck sake!¡±


    The one who barged in complaining was a sexy demoness, namely Irian the succubus.


    ¡°Miss Irian, please take a seat,¡± Arin kindly asked her with an endearing voice as she hugged her book in her arms.


    ¡°Grrr, way to ruin the mood. Rytus, you¡¯re to blame for this! See me tonight!¡±


    ¡°No way.¡±


    ¡°Tch!¡± she clicked her tongue in blatant irritation.


    It was a tempting offer, to be honest. But Rytus had to refuse and could only dryly smile at the irritated demoness.


    Irian bitterly took a seat beside Trigel, while the latter merely glanced at her.


    ¡°Hello~ Trigel.¡±


    ¡°... Hello.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m upset, can I lay down on your chest for a moment.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Sir Trigel, you can do it.


    Rytus cheered him on from his heart.


    ¡°.... Haaah,¡± Trigel sighed. ¡°Do as you wish.¡±


    Even if he rejected, she would just do it anyway in the first place.


    ¡°Yehey~!¡±


    With no hesitation, she clung unto him and laid her head on his chest. He should have been at least aroused, however, he was stiff, worried for his life. This was a demoness that can drain even a dread lord after all.


    The door then opened and entered a being who had wings like those of a firefly, except they were in the color of darkness. She was the size of an average human, and she was incredibly beautiful. She looked somewhat sweet and an ominous type of beauty.


    She had long onyx hair and silver eyes, with a pale complexion. She floated and moved above the floor with incredible smoothness. Her ears were long and pointy, and on her head was a dark green crown made up of leaves and vines.


    She wore a magnificent dress of black and green which exposed her navel and the sides of her waist. Her clothes revealed the cleavage of her ample breasts and her smooth pale shoulders. A beautiful and seductive being, but one would not mostly feel lust but rather be mystified due to the magical and wondrous presence she exudes.


    ¡°Stop it, administrator, I was already on my way,¡± she said with a grouchy voice.


    This beautiful creature was a member of a species called Dark Fae. Once they were normal faes that lingered in the peaceful forests. However, they separated themselves from other faes and drank the blood of the demon god. That turned them into something different from normal Fae, and stronger than those, then they were later called Dark Faes, and had been declared as part of the Demon Race.


    And this was their queen, Yavia.


    She sat down on a chair with majesty and straightened her posture.


    ¡°Hey there little fairy~,¡± Irian greeted her with a playful grin.


    Yavia frowned.


    ¡°... Hello¡­ Irian.¡±


    ¡°Hehe still a bit cold, huh.¡±


    ¡°Not after you slept with my husband and killed him.¡±


    Yes, the dread lord Irian slept with and ¡°accidentally¡± killed was Yavia¡¯s husband.


    ¡°Come now, it was his choice, don¡¯t blame me.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ it was his choice, and I hate him for it. But that doesn¡¯t change the fact that you are involved.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s in my nature, fairy~.¡±


    ¡°But to go after my husband?¡±


    A hostile atmosphere had begun to spread in the air around the room as Yavia glared at the demoness while everyone in the room merely stared at the two.


    ¡°I told you, I didn¡¯t pursue him. He pursued me.¡±


    ¡°Shut it, wench.¡±


    The queen glared daggers at Irian even more intensely as her magic began to radiate. But Irian on the other hand merely playfully grinned, unthreatened, while ignoring the flustered imp she was laying on.


    ¡°That is enough,¡± the administrator intervened before everything else got out of hand. ¡°Let us get to the point of this meeting.¡±


    Irian snubbed and turned to face towards the front of the table where the administrator positioned himself. Yavia¡¯s glare remained towards her, one could already imagine that she wanted to strike the succubus down through her eyes.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 4: Demons (Part 4)

    ¡°Rytus, I believe you have gathered everyone here for an important reason.¡±


    Rytus stepped forward.


    ¡°Yes. We have discovered strange movements within the Kingdom of Wisteria.¡±


    Rytus and his squad were only sent a year and a half ago for a three-year mission. In their time there, they discovered some interesting surprises.


    ¡°First, we discovered the presence of the Cursed Children.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, those guys.¡±


    Vezeres nodded as he recalled those people.


    ¡°As they were the former servants of that Deity, it would be nothing that much strange if they returned to where their home truly was, but the question of why still had to be asked. That aside however, recently, we discovered another faction.¡±


    The powerful beings leaned a bit forward to listen to his next words. Normally, there would be no need to report to the dread lords if that faction was feeble or not a threat. For instance the church which could either be from Wisteria or that Holy Kingdom.


    They were not much of a threat unless they directly intervened with the demon¡¯s movements. However, the demons had remained quiet for centuries now, they had not even come to run havoc in any human land. Therefore, the church in turn had no need to mix themselves with the demons. They were more interested in what faction that Rytus was concerned about.


    ¡°We have discovered Beastmen and Elves in the city of Serene.¡±


    The administrator turned his head to look Rytus directly in the face.


    The other dread lords also looked surprised, with the exception of Irian who looked like she didn¡¯t care about anything at all.


    ¡°We do not know how long they have been there as we have only discovered them since our focus primarily was the Cursed Children. The mystic race being there was the last we expected, and they hid themselves well.¡±


    ¡°Those worms crawled out of their holes?¡± Ongrus said with a growl.


    ¡°Mm, I wonder what made them go to that city,¡± Trigel muttered.


    ¡°So even elves, huh¡­¡± Vezeres looked up at the ceiling as though he was imagining something.


    ¡°How many are there?¡± the administrator asked.


    Rytus looked at everyone and he caught a glimpse of Arin casually reading a book amidst this important meeting. She may seem giving no attention to the meeting, but it was the opposite. Well, to be exact, she was both reading and keeping attention to her surroundings.


    ¡°We only discovered a small group of five during their clash with the church.¡±


    ¡°The Wisterian church?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Have you discovered their motives?¡±


    ¡°My apologies, we have not. We cannot capture one since they are hard to find.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. The Cursed Children, the Mystic Race, and the Church¡­ What or who could spur them in action?¡± Yavia muttered.


    It was the same question the others have.


    ¡°We tried looking into the royal family, it¡¯s a bit hard, but we discovered there had been a big fuss there recently. We think that this may involve the blood of royalty, or what we hoped at least.¡±


    ¡°With these powers in motion, the two gods would likely have had something to do with this. Does this mean there¡¯s finally hope once again?¡±


    After the administrator said that, everyone in the room took in sharp breaths, Irian including.


    ¡°We have tried for hundred years, spilling the blood of that kingdom¡¯s royalties, but to no avail.¡±


    Before a few centuries ago, the demons had been kidnapping one royalty every generation which hailed from the kingdom of Wisteria or connected to them by family, the descendants of the Deity of Blood. Then they would spill their blood in the goal of releasing the god of the demons from its seal.


    However, it all ended in failure. They tried and tried, but it was useless. The seal was not lifted. This resulted in their hope turning faint since then at every passing time, and they stopped, the best they could do now was send a few people to visit Wisteria on occasions. One or two missions for every generation of kings. This also considering the rise of power of the church.


    What they had surmised that they needed after all those failures were that a mere descendant wouldn¡¯t work at all, regardless of age or appearance. They needed the divine blood which was reminiscent of the Deity of Blood. But all the royalties had no specialty in their blood or essence, they may be strong, but they were not purely of the Deity. They also lacked the sign of a divine¡¯s power which further concluded they possess none of the divine blood ¡ª or only a tiny amount of it but not enough.


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    Therefore, they were only looking for remarkable individuals that were different from normal. But, there was nothing.


    ¡°Have you looked into the current royalties?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then tell me about each one of them, how remarkable they are. Also their branching family, everyone connected to their blood.¡±


    The administrator for the first time looked worked up as he moved a little closer to Rytus. The family tree had a lot of branches, so Rytus decided to talk about the royal family first.


    I was about to get into it eventually in this meeting, oh well...


    ¡°Well, the king is strong and can handle a few monsters, but I can also do the same. The Queen is plain but charming to the people. The eldest prince is boring, but active on the diplomatic side of things. The second prince on the other hand is active in the knights, and his strength bears promise.¡±


    ¡°Have you looked deeper into this second prince?¡±


    ¡°Yes, he is making decent progress in his power. Is he the one?¡±


    ¡°Decent? The blood of the divine cannot be decent, especially in growth.¡±


    ¡°So, he¡¯s not the one?¡±


    ¡°Humans grow in power at a normal pace. But the offspring of gods which had the blood of their parents already possess great power.¡±


    ¡°Is that so....¡±


    It was unlikely that the second prince would be hiding his power, there was no point to it. It was even best to show his power to the people to gain further support for the royal family.


    ¡°Then¡­ There is the youngest child, the princess. This one is the most that lacked presence. She never showed up at any event and always stayed in the palace.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ How disappointing¡­¡±


    The administrator lowered his head.


    ¡°This is tiring, don¡¯t you think? Holding onto hope.¡±


    Everyone turned towards the source of that voice. It was the succubus.


    ¡°What are you trying to say, Irian?¡± Ongrus asked sternly.


    ¡°Hello~? How many generations do you think have passed since the first rulers of that kingdom, huh? The blood of the divine had surely already diluted in the mixture of other mortal blood. Therefore, it¡¯s gone!¡±


    Silence fell.


    She was right. As time passed, the less likely it was possible for them to free their god.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just live our lives with joy.¡±


    ¡°I will not give up.¡±


    That resolute voice came from the administrator himself.


    ¡°He brought us into existence,¡± he gazed at the demons from within the shadow that covered his face under his hood. ¡°Gave us power and improved our very being,¡± he gazed towards the fae as he said so before scanning everyone. ¡°How ungrateful would we be to abandon him after all he had done for us. He was to lead us to glory, to become kings of every species that walked this world. We cannot give up.¡±


    ¡°No matter how long it takes?¡±


    ¡°No matter how long it takes.¡±


    Irian stared for a long moment at the administrator, at his first show of emotion ever in this meeting. She then shifted her gaze towards others, they didn¡¯t counter his words.


    In other words, they agreed with the administrator''s sentiment.


    Rytus was the same.


    ¡°Whatever, I¡¯m part of the herd anyway, I¡¯ll get dragged along.¡±


    She then proceeded on fidgeting with her fingernails after a casual shrug.


    With her done, Rytus decided to continue.


    ¡°I still have something to inform you of, as we cannot take a look at the princess, we asked a few witnesses that had been in the palace. The most we could get was the princess¡¯s appearance. She had white hair and pale skin, they said.¡±


    ¡°White hair?¡±


    ¡°I know what you guys think, but you should know that the queen has silver hair. So this is more likely a hereditary feature. Furthermore, she never left the palace, which could result in the color of her complexion, like barely being exposed under the sun.¡±


    ¡°But she has no power whatsoever?¡±


    ¡°No. More than that, we also learned that she has red eyes.¡±


    The administrator froze.


    ¡°... Those features¡­ they are like¡­¡±


    ¡°Like her?¡±


    ¡°The deity of blood?¡±


    ¡°Could it be?¡±


    ¡°Everyone, please, he didn¡¯t mention she has any power, does she have none?¡± said Irian.


    Rytus nodded at her.


    So I recommend you not to get your hopes up yet!¡± she continued loudly.


    Everyone then turned quiet. She was right. This could just be a coincidence. One¡¯s appearance had no contribution to the release of their god but only their blood. If she had no power or any kind of profound power, then she would be useless.


    ¡°Rytus,¡± the administrator quietly called his name. ¡°This princess, bring her to me. We will try it with her.¡±


    ¡°... I will do so but¡­ it will be difficult. The¡­ the Cursed Children are always guarding the palace.¡±


    ¡°They are guarding the palace?¡±


    ¡°Or they are guarding the princess.¡±


    The one who chimed in all of a sudden was Arin who now had her books closed.


    ¡°First the Cursed Children returned to Wisteria where they were banished from, then came the Mystic Race, and the movement of the Church. Different forces concentrated in a single city. The princess may be no one remarkable, but why was she stuck in the palace? Never letting her out. Then her appearance. If she has a low presence, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if she is only hiding her power. This princess may be smarter than we imagine her to be, smart enough not to flourish her power, and pretend to be unremarkable on the surface. I suggest focusing on the princess next time, disregard the others ¡ª I said that but you will still kidnap her in the end.¡±


    Arin said all of those words, implying that there was a high chance that this princess was what they needed.


    ¡°As for the conflicts you could encounter, you will have a lot of enemies. The Mystic Race likely has their own motives, I cannot imagine what that could be aside from destroying a presence similar to the Ruling Deity of Blood, they don¡¯t like her after all. As for how they knew of her existence, I have no idea. But I think the gods had something to do with it. Hm, yes, the gods are certainly involved.¡±


    Everyone was a bit off guard by her sudden flood of words.


    ¡°... T-Thank you, Arin.¡±


    Trigel said to her with a wry smile. Arin merely nodded her head and returned to reading her book.


    ¡°So¡­ me and my team will need to find an opportunity, or we¡¯ll risk being wiped out.¡±


    ¡°It could take months if the princess is such a sheltered girl,¡± Yavia said.


    ¡°Say, is the princess beautiful, Rytus?¡±


    Vezeres asked with a curious expression. Rytus frowned upon his question which was far from their main topic, but he had to answer.


    ¡°I heard she is incredibly beautiful.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± for some reason, he grinned widely.


    Rytus already knew what he was already thinking of doing.


    ¡°Rytus,¡± the administrator called to him. ¡°Kidnap the princess and bring her here, do not harm her in any way, keep her alive. Take your time even if it takes a couple of years, all so that you could strike in surprise. Do not be discovered, the mystic race will definitely attack you on sight, and it will be difficult if the Church learns of our involvement. Worst of all, they might hide the princess where we cannot find her.¡±


    ¡°I suggest keeping the team small,¡± Trigel said. ¡°So your team should be enough, but I will send you a pair of strong ones for support.¡±


    ¡°Understood, I will bring the princess here.¡±


    He must tread carefully and carry out his mission into success, for their god and people.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 5: Eldest Brother

    There was a girl elegantly walking down the lavish and clean hallway, her platinum white hair waved at every stride as they glittered like jewels, she had an adorable and pure face, while the overall beauty she had could surpass all there was, and her pair of crimson eyes were dazzling and captivating at a moment¡¯s stare. Her faintest smile could charm anyone just for a second after they behold it.


    Behind her were her two servants. One was a beautiful maid with her silky blue hair tied in a ponytail, while the other was an old man with white short hair and beard wearing a manservant suit.


    As the girl passed by, the servants she encountered bowed their heads deeply regarding her as the Princess of the kingdom. Now, who could this beautiful girl be?


    Who else could it be but me! Estelia Ver¡ª yeah whatever, I¡¯m not gonna say my entire name, too long. Why do people even like making a long name? I have encountered plenty of people with long ass names.


    I mean, parents! Come on, have mercy. You know how troubling it would be if they write their names on paper. They could run out of space, you know. Sometimes, there are even papers you have to fill up, and write each letter of your name in boxes. If you have a long name and run out of boxes, you¡¯re fucked, you¡¯re basically fucked.


    Don¡¯t even get me started on naming a child X AE or whatever that was.


    Alright moving on! Good to see you! Been a long time, huh? Has your life changed? Or have not progressed at all?


    Well, what business do I have with your life, anyway? You do you.


    It has been a few days since that last debacle. Everything had been pretty peaceful, great sleep! Great eating! Good learning. I say, I have made some decent progress with magic now. But, let¡¯s not talk about that now, but later¡­ of course unless I forget.


    Reason being was that today''s a special day.


    No, it¡¯s not my birthday, since it just passed¡­ Alright, basically, my brother¡¯s coming ¡ª not Estevan, but my Eldest brother. Some of you might have forgotten about him, or never even realized he existed. That¡¯s harsh.


    He had been hanging out in the Myra Kingdom for some diplomatic stuff. You know, that kingdom of knights, all about chivalry. And HONORABLE battle, or whatever nonsense chivalry always screams.


    Uwah, no hitting the enemy from the back, that''s dishonorable ¡ª or whatever words they used to describe that.


    What the hell''s ¡°honor¡± anyway? Just a bunch of nonsense. Why can¡¯t you just use whatever means to kill someone? No need to keep adding more work and make it harder for you.


    That being said, they may differ from what I think they are so¡­ yeah. Maybe don¡¯t take my words to heart...?


    At the moment, I was on my way to the front doors of the palace. I am already wearing my beautiful blue dress, and I look magnificent! My sleeves had a loose, frilly fabric from the wrist up. My skirt reached just above the ankle, and it has that neat folded appearance. Then I wore heeled luxurious good looking blue shoes.


    My platinum hair was tied into a braid and the length had almost passed my waist. Quite long now, wasn¡¯t it? But, I¡¯m not planning to cut it whatsoever.


    What? Don¡¯t tell me you want me to cut it because it can be an ¡°obstruction¡± or whatever. Especially when I¡¯m on the move, and so on, and so forth. Shut it! We can avoid it by tying it!


    ¡®But it¡¯s still best to cut it¡¯ ¡ª ah ah ah, I said no. I¡¯m keeping it the way it is. I look fabulous with it. The longer the hair, the greater!


    I do whatever I want now. No one will tell me what to do. I have freedom.


    At least let me do what I want¡­


    Not long after, I arrived at the front door of the palace, at the path before the open doors where my family gathered. My brother, Mother Meliya, and Father Leodoule, all wearing fine and formal clothing.


    ¡°Estel, you¡¯re here.¡±


    I adorably nodded to my beloved big brother.


    ¡°Excellent, you are looking magnificent, my dear Estelia,¡± my mother said as she looked at me with her usual fond smile.


    ¡°I agree! Perfect as always!¡± my father said with enthusiasm.


    ¡°Um¡­ Thank you¡­¡± I lowered my head in embarrassment as a blush appeared on my cheeks. ¡°So¡­ where is Brother Eleden currently?¡±


    ¡°The messenger said they had passed the city gates, they should be arriving at any moment,¡± Father replied.


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    ¡°I¡¯m so looking forward to seeing my big brother after a long time.¡±


    I stood beside my mother as we waited, with Estevan on one side of me. In front of the palace, stood in formation, were the knights, all wearing their flashy armor.


    Somehow, I had the desire to try wearing one to experience what it would feel like. There were female knights, so it¡¯s no problem having me wear armor. Just put a boob on the armor or something, hehehe.


    But I imagine it will be quite heavy for me, having no decent muscle. However, if I learn Vernon¡¯s physical enhancement technique, no doubt I can easily lift weights! There were just a lot of playful and new things I wanted to do. I wouldn¡¯t get more freedom now, so I¡¯m going for it!


    I¡¯m a free bird!


    Hm, as I do that, I think I¡¯ll try selecting some dresses. Ah, yeah, I remember that tailors themselves come to the palace to take my measurements and suggest designs. I¡¯m cool with that. This could also be an opportunity for something else.


    I sensed my brother¡¯s gaze beside me, and I turned my head to look at him. I flashed him a cute smile, and he smiled back. What brother? Are you entranced by my beauty? Now now, careful brother. You might fall in love with me, kukuku.


    That¡¯s a forbidden fruit.


    Although I¡¯m saying that, I feel like he doesn¡¯t love me that way. But his love for me, his sister, was just so intense that it left no love for any other girls. Of course, that¡¯s like him having a sister complex ¡ª or not like, but that definitely was.


    It was then that a loud horn sounded from the walls. Me and my family walked forward, stopping right before the path. I straightened my back, since that horn could only mean one thing. The convoy of my eldest brother had arrived. A moment later, three lavish carriages, each pulled by different horses, came moving in. Flanking them were knights in full armor riding their steeds.


    The carriage in the middle of the two stopped in front of us. At that moment, the door opened, then a tall man descended the steps with impressive grace, deserving of royalty. The regal man had long golden hair which was combed backward and reached his nape. He had beautiful bluish eyes reminiscent of our Mother. He wore neat formal clothing, a fine coat and all, and he carried himself incredibly well.


    Pfft, I can be more graceful and regal if I want to.


    In any case, this was my eldest brother, who was around in his early to middle twenties, Eleden Venzura Wisteria. Since he was way taller than me, I was slightly looking up while looking at him with wide, adorable eyes.


    Ah, he totally beat Estevan in other ways other than in warrior skills. But holy damn, my brothers all look good. I only saw Eleden in my memories, so I couldn¡¯t really judge, but now I can.


    ¡°My son! Welcome back!¡±


    Father and Big Brother shook hands and briefly hugged.


    ¡°Greetings, Father. It is great to see you all again.¡±


    My mother walked forward with a fond smile as she touched his cheek.


    ¡°Did you have fun while you¡¯re there?¡±


    My brother looked down for a moment as though recalling something and a smile formed on his lips.


    ¡°Yes, Yes I had.¡±


    ¡°Oh, tell us more later then, at lunch.¡±


    ¡°Of course, mother. I¡¯m looking forward to eating the dishes from home again.¡±


    It was then that they all looked at me for some reason. Ah, I haven¡¯t spoken or moved at all. Come on, the cute girl in the family was feeling embarrassed.


    ¡°Estel,¡± Estevan whispered in my ear. ¡°Go on, greet him.¡±


    ¡°Uh, um, yes.¡±


    I timidly walked forward.


    ¡°H-Hello, brother.¡±


    I stammered as I greeted him. A small shy smile played on my lips. Eleden chuckled as he suddenly caressed my head.


    ¡°What are you so embarrassed about?¡±


    ¡°Um, no, it¡¯s just. There¡¯s too many people¡­ watching.¡±


    ¡°Ah, of course, my mistake.¡±


    He said that, but he didn¡¯t stop rubbing my head. Good thing his patting was only gentle, but that would still result in ruining my hairstyle. Why does everyone so love patting my head? I¡¯m not a child, and please think about my precious hair!


    ¡°B-Brother, my hair.¡±


    He stopped and retracted his hand.


    ¡°Sorry. I just miss doing that. By the way, you look splendid, Estelia.¡±


    ¡°... T-Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Eleden.¡±


    It was then that Estevan chimed in.


    ¡°I sure am glad to see you again, and relieved that you have returned safely.¡±


    Estevan was grinning widely and one could tell he felt incredibly happy.


    ¡°Estevan, have you been doing good while I¡¯m gone?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do. Perfectly fine, hehehe,¡± he wryly smiled. ¡°I even have plenty of good things to give to you. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll like it.¡±


    Now I have realized what Estevan was so happy about. The things he was to give my eldest brother were the things Estevan didn¡¯t enjoy doing. Paperwork. Ah, my sly big brother, giving the responsibility to another.


    Well, Estevan had been pretty stressed out after the betrayal and death of Oryn. Granted, they had lent him some scribes, but in the end, paperwork was just too stressful for him.


    Remember that it all happened to Estevan because of me.


    Maybe I should make him feel happy some time.


    ¡°Really? I''m looking forward to it.¡±


    Eleden was somewhat a workaholic so¡­ it would be no surprise if he just accepted Estevan¡¯s responsibilities with not much of a resistance.


    Then my mother spoke.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go inside, have your luggage brought inside, do you want to rest for a while, Eleden?¡±


    ¡°I suppose, mother, I am a little tired.¡±


    ¡°Very well, then. Come.¡±


    I followed behind them. When I looked at the side, my eyes encountered Rogan. As expected, he would be here. He smirked upon seeing me, so I faintly smiled at him. Of course I did not know if he saw that, at most he just saw my eyes pass by him.


    Ah, I have to visit the knights at one point.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 6: Treasurable Gift

    At the moment, I was in the large room that was used for my lectures, and with me were my usual two servants. I was reading the book about basic magic. As you can see, I¡¯m not outside since I¡¯m not yet trying to practice anything drastic.


    Furthermore, I¡¯m not practicing any spell in specific since I think that it would be best to familiarize myself with the guides to every spell. Well, not memorize, since to be honest, the most you will need to do is familiarize yourself and you¡¯ll get it.


    Memorizing every word or step would be too time consuming, and unnecessarily brain juice draining. Once you have familiarized yourself with it, you¡¯ll generally get an idea of what you should do. I¡¯m going to finish this entire book first before I¡¯ll practice anything! Otherwise, I¡¯ll only slow down.


    I can¡¯t lose efficiency now that, well, my enemies could very well be very strong. I even had a hard time defending myself against Oryn. I¡¯ll be fucked if I slow down. Aaah, carefree life, where you at?


    In any case, I didn¡¯t waste time these few days. I¡¯ve been trying a light, or using another word, an illumination spell, think of it as a ball of light that can be used in the darkness. I can even make it float in the air, that would be pretty useful just in case I¡¯m in the dark.


    Although, a fire spell could be used for that just fine. But the light spell was brighter and lower mana cost. But that¡¯s not the bright side, haha get it, bright cause it¡¯s¡­ okay anyway, can you guess what it¡¯s greatest use is?


    It¡¯s the flash! I can make it emanate an intense flash of light, it can be like my alternative flashbang! Ain¡¯t I bright?


    Furthermore, I¡¯ve been striving to learn the element of ice. Believe it or not, it¡¯s pretty flexible in my opinion, since I could make shapes of it however I want. Maybe I can create an ice dagger just in case of an emergency. Ultimately, the notion of frost magic is just cool.


    Okay, what¡¯s me and puns today? Maybe my brain kinda got brighter these few days, ain¡¯t that a cool thing!


    Alright I¡¯ll stop, damn.


    If you¡¯re calling me cringe, grrrr, I¡¯ll smack you down hard on your face, and sure damn well you¡¯ll live your entire life with a flat nose.


    Of course, I¡¯m joking. You¡¯re cool.


    Or am I¡­?


    At any rate, I¡¯m almost done with the book. You¡¯ll never know, perhaps someday you¡¯ll be surprised I can call a storm in the future. Yeah, of course that wouldn¡¯t be easy with all my LIMITATIONS!!! Dammit, I¡¯m still pissed off about that.


    Can¡¯t I just have the power to vaporize someone with my mere gaze? That would be awesome. I mean, easiest is best, right? Who would like difficult situations anyway? Shit.


    But alas, I¡¯m not gifted with that kind of power, so I gotta climb up that ladder as fast as I can.


    ¡°By the way, Vernon, can we start the lesson for your technique tomorrow?¡±


    He said he would teach me, no way I¡¯ll let him back out now. Of course there¡¯s no reason for him to back out, but still¡­


    ¡°If we have the time, but remember princess, you are going to continue your normal lessons starting from tomorrow.¡±


    Guuuuuhhh, I knew that. I¡¯m not dreading the general academics, and music, especially music since I love that. The problem was the etiquette lesson, fuck¡­ Manners were easy, but dancing, guuuuh.


    I don¡¯t know, I just get lazy when it comes to it, and I end up not giving it my all. Hey, at least there was a good side now. Somehow, I felt like the muscle memories came back, I don¡¯t precisely know how and when, but it just felt like ¡ª fooossh, came into my head or something.


    What a saving grace. But there¡¯s another problem. No, not exactly a problem, just bothersome. Ugh, dancing means I¡¯m gonna meet that guy that¡¯s taking his chances on me. It was amusing, but now in retrospect, eh ¡ª it¡¯s tiresome to deal with that right now.


    That being said, maybe I¡¯ll find some amusement or something. Haaah, the muscle memories better don¡¯t fail me, else I¡¯m gonna get scolded again by the woman.


    Can¡¯t it just be music every time? Music is better. Give me music.


    ¡°Yes, I have not forgotten my returning lessons.¡±


    Vernon narrowed his eyes towards me as though he sensed my exasperation.


    ¡°Your highness, you have been working diligently recently, please don¡¯t be all lazy now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m not being lazy!¡± I puffed my cheeks. ¡°Mera, do I look like I¡¯m going to laze out?¡±


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    Mera looked at me, then shifted to Vernon. After thinking about it, she smiled wryly at me. Hey, what are you trying to say? But she did not speak a word, but that expression told one thing. She agreed with Vernon.


    ¡°Mera¡­¡±


    ¡°Milady¡­ please listen to Sir Vernon.¡±


    I¡¯m not the old Estelia! Fine! I¡¯ll show you guys how good I can be.


    Hm, I¡¯m surprisingly so worked up about this.


    ¡°Alright! I understand¡­ But there will certainly be free time around late afternoon, so we¡¯ll use that time. Time is essential, after all.¡±


    ¡°As you wish, your highness. Please ensure you also focus on your lessons, not just magic.¡±


    Of course of course, who do you think I am?


    It was then that there came knocking from the door. Strange, I was not expecting any visitors today when Eleden had just arrived. It wouldn¡¯t also be mother since it¡¯s not lunch yet. I turned my head towards my two servants and indicated to open the door.


    ¡°Allow me.¡±


    Vernon was the one to open the door. Hm, was he wary perhaps? Well, perhaps after all what happened, I couldn''t blame him if he was being that way.


    Ever since Allie was captured, it felt everything in the palace just got more peaceful. Of course that was just my own feeling. I am just relieved to clean up a few filths.


    When the door opened, it revealed a familiar person. It was my eldest brother, Eleden.


    ¡°Vernon? I was told that Estelia would be here,¡± he looked towards me. ¡°But, I didn¡¯t expect to find you here.¡±


    ¡°Greetings, your highness,¡± Vernon bowed. ¡°Yes, at the moment, I have been assigned as Princess Estelia¡¯s attendant, as ordered by the king.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting, father actually let you off his side¡­ it must have been for a good reason, but I can¡¯t think of why that would be?¡±


    Of course, apparently my brother didn¡¯t know it yet.


    ¡°....... I believe it will be explained to you by his Majesty soon.¡±


    Eleden furrowed his brows.


    ¡°A reason you couldn¡¯t tell me?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°..... Alright¡­. Anyhow, I came for Estelia.¡±


    My brother walked towards me, I stood up and looked at him with puzzlement.


    ¡°B-Brother, I¡¯m glad to see you here, but why have you come?¡±


    I said with a smile.


    ¡°I came for a special purpose,¡± he then looked at my book, and a bemused expression formed on his face. ¡°You¡¯re studying¡­?¡± He looked surprised. ¡°Magic?¡±


    ¡°Um, yes.¡±


    ¡°Father allowed you? That¡¯s good I suppose, but I''m surprised you would be interested in it.¡±


    Ah, he¡¯s completely clueless.


    ¡°Situation has changed, and that is why father and mother allowed me. And, it is necessary for me to learn.¡±


    ¡°Necessary? I don¡¯t understand. First Vernon is assigned to you, then¡­ Is something going on?¡±


    ¡°Um, it will be hard to explain it here. I think it is best to wait for our other family members.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Then, I suppose I can wait. In any case, let us sit down.¡±


    He smiled gently as he pulled a chair and sat down beside my seat. Oh, I wonder, was he going to give me a gift? Oh, that¡¯s cool! Wait, he came from a chivalry nation so don¡¯t tell me he¡¯ll give me a knight figurine or something. Boooo.


    I¡¯m a lady, I want some ladylike things.


    He grabbed something from inside his coat and pulled out a neat small wooden box with a red string tied on the entire thing while a ribbon formed atop of it. With an extended hand, he presented the box to me.


    ¡°My gift, for you.¡±


    I looked at his eyes before slowly taking the box.


    ¡°I tried thinking of other gifts to give¡­ but, hehe,¡± he scratched his temple. ¡°I couldn¡¯t think of anything else, and then I saw it, so¡­ I thought maybe you would like it.¡±


    He seemed to be having difficulties with what to say, as though he was nervous about his own gift.


    I pulled the string and removed the cover, placing it on the table. My eyes widened at seeing the gift I was receiving. It was a pendant necklace in which the gemstone was half my pinky in terms of size. But that was not I was surprised with entirely, but, it was the shape it had.


    The azure jewel was in the shape of a flower, considering its size and the era I¡¯m currently at, I¡¯m impressed at how precise the carving of this was. More than that, it seemed to be unlike a diamond, somehow, even in where I was where there was no direct contact of light, there were numerous dots of light within it which glimmered like the stars in a starry night.


    ¡°I know that you already own plenty of jewels, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°I love it.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    Yes, I love it¡­ It was¡­ rare for me to receive this kind of sweet gift. Not the first, but rare. And a jewel, a beautiful necklace, of course my heart would dance. I had no luxury of owning things such as these in my past life, but I would often try to buy one for myself...


    And, most that I received as ¡°gifts¡± were just new weapons for me to use, knives, guns, and so on, and some that weren¡¯t weapons didn¡¯t last long. Gifts as simple as these, I greatly appreciate it. Although jewels weren¡¯t exactly simple, I just mean just the type of gift that is simple. And, is a necklace not simple? But simple as it may be, I¡¯ll give value to it.


    I gently took it in my hand, and used my thumb to caress the jewel.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s not a simple jewel, it has a few quirks. I was going to do it, but as you¡¯re already learning magic, I suppose you can do it.¡±


    I looked up at him, wondering what magic had to do with it.


    ¡°Pour a tiny amount of mana into it, but give it a color.¡±


    A tiny amount, huh. I¡¯ve been improving a lot in controlling mana, and pouring a feeble amount should not be too hard in the first place.


    I poured a tiny amount into the jewel and designated it a color of red. Then my mana was absorbed into the jewel, to my surprise, the jewel itself turned red.


    ¡°That jewel is made from an ore called Kaleidronite, which is mostly found at Myra.¡±


    ¡°It absorbed my mana¡¯s attributes?¡±


    ¡°Yes, quite an interesting ore. But, as tiny as it is, don¡¯t pour too much always, otherwise it might break. But if you accidentally pour a lot, it should just expel the excess amount, but too much than it could endure, it will certainly break.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be careful with it!¡±


    He smiled widely in joy and relief as he beholden my proud expression.


    ¡°Shall I help you wear it?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes please.¡±


    He stood up after I gave him the necklace. He moved to my back, moved his hands in front of me to position the necklace forward and put the chain around my neck. After locking it, he stood in front of me with a nod.


    I looked down at the hanging treasure and grasped the now crimson jewel.


    ¡°Thank you so much, brother.¡±


    I smiled broadly at him, it might have been genuine.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome, I¡¯m glad you like it,¡± He spread out his arms. ¡°As thanks, give big brother a hug. I miss you a lot, Estelia, I¡¯ll have you know. Don¡¯t be shy now.¡±


    I chuckled faintly and walked into his arms. He caressed my head like a child as I buried my head into his chest.


    I was reluctant to do this. This type of stuff is just... too much, still, I cannot just deny it.


    But, it wasn¡¯t bad.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 7: Lunch With Family (Part 1)

    Spoons clinking on porcelain plates faintly echoed in the dining room as I was having my lunch. With me of course, was my family. Yehey! The family has been complete after a long while now that the Elder brother had returned. How excited am I really though? Maybe a bit¡­¡­..


    Of course I am exaggerating ¡ª maybe. I think I am. Not like I personally talked with my brother for a long time. But I love his gift, so he kinda grew on me. Maybe that¡¯s the source of my little excitement in our unity. Father, Mother, Brothers, and me, their beautiful daughter, precious and delicate, someone to be protected, eating their meal together, this assembly alone was a cause for excitement.


    Now, how was my dish? Well, back to average. Ugh, where¡¯s the yummy food that was catching up to my modern times? Answer, they¡¯re gone, they¡¯ll return no more. Being Allie the traitor that she was, she¡¯s in prison at the moment.


    She was the source of delicious and developing cuisines, so what a shame. I imagine she might still be being tortured. How did I know? Oh come on, of course I know. Vernon was pretty constrained in telling any details about their ¡°interrogation¡± ¡ª how adorable, trying to hide the dark fate which befell Allie.


    More than that, like come on, she threatened royalty, and we¡¯re like in a medieval era. Torture once in a while should be pretty common. That being said, I did notice that Wisteria almost had that so-called ¡°human rights¡± implemented here, no slavery and all, and proper treatment to the normal citizens of a demesne of a noble.


    But I guess, good they may appear on the surface, this kingdom can get pretty dark underneath. Can¡¯t blame them though, sometimes such measures were just necessary. Even in my old world.


    The government appeared to be so keen on carrying out ¡°human rights¡±, but what do you know, torturing people was more common than you thought. Especially when it comes to gathering information about terrorists. They¡¯re pretty ruthless ¡ª even if you tell them you¡¯re innocent, even though you truly are, they¡¯ll hurt you badly, even if they only suspect you.


    Well, not that I care, as long as it¡¯s not happening to me. Anyone comes hurting me, I¡¯ll hurt them back, I¡¯ll hurt them so bad. If a man tries to torture me or has already tortured me? I¡¯ll tie him up tightly and slowly cut off his penis and make him chew it. I¡¯ll also burn his balls while I¡¯m at it.


    If it¡¯s a woman, I¡¯ll stab a knife into her vagina and twist it around. Maybe also make a slit through her breast.


    Ew, okay...


    Looks like we got to a pretty dark turn, my apologies. This was supposed to be a delightful meal. I¡¯m no sadist, by the way. I¡¯m not! I just get enraged and I wouldn¡¯t be satisfied without getting vengeance in some way. Of course that may in turn result in me getting payback tenfold or some shit like that.


    Now what¡¯s me only giving examples of damaging their sexual organs? Well, people hate it when something terrible happens to their ¡°precious organs.¡± I mean, who wouldn''t, right? That¡¯s nasty. Isn¡¯t that nasty for you too? Yeah, I know I just made you uncomfortable...


    But of course it¡¯s not nasty enough for me to not commit it.


    Okay, maybe it¡¯s nasty, but I wouldn¡¯t be disgusted if they deserved it.


    Alright! That¡¯s enough of that! I don¡¯t know why we got to that topic. Just focus on the food.


    Yum yum yum ¡ª not yum yum. Ugh, the food was underwhelming, but at least not that bad since the first. Maybe they learned a thing or two from Allie. Speaking of which, it has been a while since I have visited that place, so I don¡¯t particularly know what¡¯s up with the staff now.


    Should I visit? I still don¡¯t know yet. I¡¯m sure they were utterly shocked to hear that Allie just tried to kill me. Oh well¡­ they¡¯re currently at a lower priority, so I¡¯ll get back in there when I feel like it.


    In any case, time to take a break from thinking a lot. Keeping working without resting is bad for your health, so I¡¯ll take any carefree moment I could get ¡ª even though I should have the luxury of relaxing most of the day now I¡¯m free from the bounds of the organization and no one can tell me what I should do.


    Fuck you world!


    I took a spoonful of the food. You know what, I think I should support the kitchen by cooking food. I mean, I eat their food every day so the least I could do so I, myself, get more satisfaction is to help them. Me being ¡°unreliable in the kitchen¡± type of stuff my old friends say was nonsense ¡ª no way I¡¯m p-plain in the culinary department.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Besides, they play me around often, so they must be carrying out that teasing to heart¡­¡­.


    My food tastes good!


    Ugh, am I in denial and my brain just automatically thinks the food I eat is delicious because I made it? Certainly not! I think¡­ Alright, I¡¯m really not a choosy eater, it¡¯s just that, this time is different.


    Being royalty gotta have a standard to my way of living and this above all applies to food.


    ¡°So, son, anything new with our talks with Myra? You didn¡¯t look troubled so it must have gone well.¡±


    My father asked Eleden.


    Guess we¡¯ll be talking politics while eating. Am I interested though? Eh, why not? I¡¯m here anyway, not like I can just escape amidst lunch.


    ¡°They have agreed for a joint military exercise, of course the schedule needs to be discussed with you, Father, and their other officials. With this, we can conclude our cooperative alliance has turned more solid.¡±


    ¡°As a country of knights, we should be thankful they are kinder than our other particular neighbor.¡±


    ¡°Yes, now that you mention it, I should mention now that Myra had increased the number of soldiers guarding their border between them and Tornridge.¡±


    Ah, that empire. It was the empire that, to remind you, basically described within our nation as a barbaric country. Lies East of Wisteria, the empire ruled a vast amount of land. To put it in perspective, hmm, let¡¯s see, their territory was maybe roughly half the size of Australia?


    Quite big, huh? Scary. And my precious kingdom was around less than half of that. Well, Tornridge just loved conquering small countries in the past, turning the places they conquered from countries to mere provinces or states.


    Of course, they couldn¡¯t easily conquer powerful countries such as Wisteria. Perhaps that¡¯s why they have gotten quiet for centuries ¡ª yup, their last conquering was centuries ago. However, hostilities were still there. This actually made me wonder if their relationships were just bad with other countries and if they still had a passion for conquering.


    Well, they have been pretty quiet, so maybe a little. But Myra moving to strengthen their borders could mean there had been ominous movements amidst Tornridge.


    ¡°That is to be expected. Only recently, our spies discovered more military activities than the previous years within the empire. More military exercises, and flow of weapons.¡±


    ¡°Knowing that you must have already sent more men to guard the borders.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and we have been more strict in allowing entry of merchants from the empire. If they try to invade though, I¡¯m sure we can certainly wipe them out.¡±


    If I recall correctly, the area between Wisteria and Tornridge, and within our territory, was a mountainous region. Our army might have utilized that terrain and did necessary preparation in case the empire tried to send their army for an invasion.


    Ugh, what a pain. Don¡¯t countries ever get tired or contented? It seems like a pain in the ass to me, increasing the territory even though you already have a wide one.


    ¡°If that doesn¡¯t work, we still have plenty of gifts.¡±


    ¡°Father, you have yet to tell us about this gift.¡±


    Estevan finally joined the conversation, appearing to be curious about the gifts Father was talking about. Yeah, I was also curious, but I¡¯ll remain all innocent and clueless about anything and have a leisurely mealtime.


    ¡°Ah, Estelia, you have sauce on the side of your lips. Let me.¡±


    My mother said to me and picked up a table napkin, gently rubbing the smear off my face.


    ¡°T-Thank you¡­¡±


    Time with my mother was more enjoyable than listening intently to this troubling stuff.


    ¡°Be more delicate, okay? You need to be more mindful about how you eat when you socialize.¡±


    ¡°I understand¡­¡±


    Strange, why was mother thinking about me socializing? Was she thinking about doing something?


    Then the boys continued their serious talk.


    ¡°Only the crowned monarchs may know about them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a shame,¡± Estevan commented.


    ¡°Furthermore, father, I also had them sign an agreement to help each party when an invading force entered our domains, as you wanted.¡±


    ¡°Good, they have been a bit reluctant to offer their military support last time. Their army must have grown a lot since then.¡±


    ¡°Soon, Myra will be officially joining our alliance. With this, if Tornridge tries to invade any country we are allied with, it will have to face the might of two or three large nations.¡±


    Only large nations? I mean, there were smaller countries around. If they¡¯re a part of the allied forces, then they might get the support of the three superpowers. But if one of the superpowers gets attacked, it is unlikely the smaller countries will help since their military wouldn¡¯t be all that impressive and would rather use their own to protect themselves first, so only the rest of the superpowers would help the other ¡ª but I suppose they will be aiding the small countries in need. But in the end, it¡¯s up to the nation¡¯s leader.


    Now, how come Tornridge isn¡¯t shaking in their boots? Well, they were pretty much a massive nation, so with their numbers, they should be able to handle the forces of both Myra and Wisteria at the same time.


    ¡°Now, if only the Eventon Republic would join our alliance.¡±


    ¡°They are still firm with their neutral stance?¡± Eleden asked.


    ¡°Yes. It would appear they put their businesses and trading above all else. Their naval forces would be a big help in case things escalate.¡±


    Hm, so the major participants of this alliance were Wisteria, Myra, and Valaies. With those guys together, I¡¯ll be safe, right? Damn Eventon better don¡¯t backstab us. Imagine our forces were focused on the east, then suddenly the south just started attacking our asses.


    Ugh! Is this gonna be another headache?! I don¡¯t want another one. I still have bastards trying to fuck with me.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 8: Lunch With Family (Part 2)

    Maybe my frustration was sensed by my Mother and so she spoke with the three guys.


    ¡°Boys, can you please not speak about this topic at the moment? You are making Estelia anxious.¡±


    I lowered my head. Would have been good to hear more, but it also stresses me out more. I don¡¯t know what was the best option here, but Mother had already spoken, so nothing could be done.


    When the three boys looked at the meek, beautiful me, they apologized and turned silent.


    ¡°So, let¡¯s talk about something peaceful and enjoyable.¡±


    My mother suggested. What other else would there be to talk about? Nothing exciting happened recently, only headaches. Well, except for Eleden, whom I imagine had plenty of good times in Myra.


    ¡°Which reminds me, Estelia. Is that necklace new? I don¡¯t remember you owning something as such?¡± Mother asked me.


    ¡­ Wait, ¡°don¡¯t remember?¡± Does she just memorize every jewel they bought for me? I mean, there was a lot, not to mention her own jewelry. But I guess she does.


    ¡°Now that I thought about it, beloved sister, this felt like the first time since you wore jewelry around your neck openly.¡±


    Estevan leaned forward with interest, looking at the crimson jewel of my necklace. Ah, it appears that I¡¯ll be the subject of the topic in this one.


    ¡°Um, Eleden gave it to me.¡±


    ¡°How sweet, a gift!¡± my mother gently clapped her hands together. ¡°But only Estelia?¡± my mother pouted.


    ¡°Of course I also have one for everyone, I will give it to you later.¡±


    How sweet, so I¡¯m the first one he gave a gift to, you¡¯re making me blush, brother.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not really looking for a souvenir, but sure,¡± Estevan casually said. ¡°So Eleden, what do you have for me?¡±


    Eleden smirked and turned to stare at Estevan.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll like the knight figurine I have for you.¡±


    ¡°... A¡­ A figurine?¡±


    ¡°Yes, created in Myra, don¡¯t you think that¡¯s special?¡±


    Estevan looked away. Yeah, is Eleden teasing Estevan with that gift? Hehe.


    ¡°Why do you look disappointed? Don¡¯t you love everything knightly?¡±


    ¡°He-he-he, I¡¯m not eight, Eleden,¡± Estevan said with an awkward expression. He appeared to have realized that Eleden was making fun of him a little.


    ¡°Whatever you have for me, my dear son, I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡±


    ¡°Mother, I¡¯m sure you will be interested in it. It is your hobby, after all.¡±


    ¡°My my, I¡¯m excited to see it.¡±


    ¡°As for father, I also have something crafted from one of their finest smiths. It would surely look good for your collection.¡±


    ¡°Oh? I¡¯ll certainly take it.¡±


    I looked down at the necklace hanging from my neck. Would have been nice that I alone had a gift¡­ now that was a weird thought, forget it.


    ¡­ I am indeed selfish¡­


    While I wallowed in self-analysis, my mother spoke to Eleden.


    ¡°So, Eleden, surely you spent your time not just on business. Anything special or fun happened?¡±


    ¡°...I suppose.¡±


    What¡¯s this? His smile was weirdly broad all of a sudden and his eyes suggested that he was recalling something.


    ¡°Tell us about it,¡± said Father.


    ¡°Well, I became friends with several knights, they truly are kind fellows. I should say, they are impressive regarding their prowess. Hehe, to be honest, their knights are almost at the same level as our standards. But, as we have elites, they too have elites of their own.¡±


    ¡°You mean the ones they call the Exemplar Knights? I have learned of their feats, but I wonder how strong they truly are.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you want to put it in perspective. One I saw in training was¡­. I think about Estevan¡¯s level.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡± Estevan reacted.


    ¡°But I was told he wasn¡¯t the strongest among them.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡±


    ¡°Who are they?¡± I suddenly asked.


    Come now, this was an interesting topic. You see, this was essential information that I was missing out on. There wasn¡¯t any mention in my lessons about these ¡°Exemplar Knights¡±, not even in memory.


    The one to answer my question was Eleden.


    ¡°They are knights handpicked by their king and answer directly to him. They excel in swordsmanship and overall combat prowess that no normal elite could take them down.¡±


    ¡°Are they like generals in their ranking?¡±


    ¡°Hm, yes you could say that. They do have a legion of knights of their own.¡±


    ¡°How many of them are there?¡±


    ¡°Ten.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Ten. If they¡¯re about the same level as Estevan, they were a force to be reckoned with. Now, could such individuals change the tides of war by their power alone? Unlike in my old world, we have no magic powers, so pretty much without any weapon, we¡¯re all the same.


    However, here in this world, tools were not necessarily needed to take one¡¯s life. For example, I can burn an entire village with one spell and kill their entire population. I¡¯m sure even knights have their own magic whenever they have no sword to use. In fact, the weapons they used were only for boosting their overall capability, you could say.


    Then as you know, not all can use magic. So if in a war, having one that could use magic could be a considerable advantage. Therefore, if there were ten of these special knights, then with their own legion ¡ª though I¡¯m sure the numbers would vary ¡ª those in itself were a threat to us. If they were stronger than us, it wouldn¡¯t look good politically on us.


    That being said, flexing your powers wouldn¡¯t always be a good idea. I prefer surprises, and taking your enemies by surprise would always be the best since they wouldn¡¯t be prepared for your hidden cards.


    Appear weak when you are strong.


    Appear strong when you are weak.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Father, don¡¯t we have some sort of an ¡°Exemplar Knights¡± of our own?¡±


    Father knitted his brows as he gazed at me.


    ¡°This is a surprise, you are interested.¡±


    ¡°You see father if we do not have a power of our own, how can we stand on our own without anyone¡¯s help? We cannot rely wholeheartedly on our allies. That is what I am concerned about.¡±


    Now now, I feel like I¡¯m preparing for a possible war here.


    ¡°Are you saying our allies wouldn¡¯t help us in our times of need?¡± he asked with a smile.


    Hmm, strange, why does it seem he¡¯s intrigued?


    ¡°I am saying, they won¡¯t always help us whenever we need help. Besides, trusting so much can only get us so far.¡±


    All of them looked at me dumbfoundedly. Did I say something wrong?


    I¡¯m acting differently? Well, I need to make sure, duh! There were just some things I needed to hear from the peak of this kingdom, aka my Father. I can just find them on paper? What papers? Library? Hilarious, like I would just stumble upon secret documents on the shelves.


    Estevan? He didn¡¯t even know some crucial secrets like what the church exactly does ¡ª I realized it the time I got scolded.


    Eleden? Maybe, but I imagine he wouldn¡¯t have a clear picture of things. Mother? She might know, but again, not the clear picture, I can even imagine her saying something along the lines of ¡°you should ask your Father that.¡±


    Vernon? Ah, Vernon might have known something. But then again, I need to know if Father was confident.


    Ultimately, I¡¯m a royalty in this kingdom, I need to have some assurance. This concerns my safety, you know. Don¡¯t think I¡¯ll just stand idly by doing nothing or learning nothing. I¡¯ll act whenever my safety is involved.


    ¡°Dear daughter, don¡¯t worry. We can still stand on our own. Even if we have our own powerful forces, we don¡¯t need to label them as ¡°Heroes of Wisteria¡± and such.¡± my father chuckled in amusement. ¡°I truly do not see the necessity of creating and naming a group of elites. Just include them in any typical order, no need to divide them from others. Besides, it isn¡¯t wise to show our power easily.¡±


    His last sentence brought a smile to my face.


    ¡°That is a relief, father.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­ hm¡­ tell me dear daughter, which of our allies should we be wary of?¡±


    ¡°Why are you asking me such a question, father?¡±


    ¡°I just want to hear your thoughts.¡±


    ¡­ Father¡­ What did Vernon tell him? Yes, I already suspect Vernon as the reason for this weirdness.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you, father, but I cannot answer your question. I know nothing of the inner workings of our kingdom¡¯s allies.¡±


    Nor did I know their officials, their goals, their economic state etcetera, etcetera. Plus, I¡¯m not gonna give Father the time of the day of giving a good answer. I had a feeling that if I answered something serious, he would involve me in something tiresome.


    ¡°Is that so¡­? Very well then.¡±


    On the other hand, Estevan furrowed his brows.


    ¡°Father, please do not trouble and worry Estel, we are here to handle such affairs.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Estevan was so sweet, he didn¡¯t want me to be all stressed out. Because of that, I gave him a small smile of gratitude.


    ¡°Alright, we are straying from our topic,¡± my mother said to us with an amused smile. ¡°Eleden, tell us more of a special moment, is there any?¡±


    ¡°The tours were fun. But, the most interesting occurrence would be my meeting with their royalties¡­ Actually¡­¡±


    What¡¯s this? Eleden lowered his head with an embarrassed smile, hesitating to speak out.


    ¡°My dear son, don¡¯t hide it, something very special happened, didn¡¯t it?¡± my mother said with a grin.


    ¡°... There was this princess, and we spent plenty of time together. We had our special moments that I will always remember, and I would like to see her again.¡±


    ¡°Oh my.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Wait, really?¡±


    Yeah, I was the only one all quiet as I also stared at my brother with wide eyes. Looks like the beauty of youth is blossoming for my dear eldest brother. He should be maybe 23, in this world that¡¯s a good age to marry.


    ¡°Who is she?¡±


    ¡°The second princess, Lillie Eanthia Lionheart.¡±


    Wow, what a brave name. Is she also a knight? If so, damn, I better not be behind.


    ¡°Her, huh. I heard she isn¡¯t much of an active person of power,¡± said Father


    ¡°Yes, she prefers a peaceful time than being knightly. Although, she does have plenty of skills to boot.¡±


    ¡°Oh no brother, then she can beat you up whenever you act all stubborn or idiotic! Hahahaha! I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll stand no chance.¡±


    Estevan made fun of him, he seemed to be amused by his own thoughts. Was he not even bothered or jealous or anything when our eldest brother had found a potential life partner? While he himself still had no one whatsoever, he didn¡¯t even have any woman he was close with.


    But I suppose to do that he first needs to move on from the lingering sister complex he unconsciously has. I wouldn¡¯t mind having his company though, he¡¯s not annoying or anything. So I¡¯m not bothered if we¡¯re gonna be stuck with each other as siblings while we end up dying all alone.


    Well, not like it would happen, chances were that he would find someone eventually, or my parents would force him to find someone as a partner. While I, on the other hand, am gonna run away!!!


    What, marry? Marry and be stuck my whole life in a house doing nothing all day and taking care of ¡°children¡±, god no. And eew, children? Ew.


    I still want to go out there in the world, free as a bird. I want the freedom to reach out for anything I want. Not be bound again. Don¡¯t go all saying I¡¯m acting like a virgin and scared of that deed. Hah! Don¡¯t be ridiculous. I already have plenty of experience in my past life, so can¡¯t I be pure here? In fact, I was forced on others just before I gradu¡ª never mind...


    Now, why don¡¯t I just run away now? Um, how? I¡¯m weak as fuck, and people are hunting me for an unknown reason, too dangerous to be sauntering around. So I¡¯m staying here for a while until everything¡¯s over.


    Eleden smiled wryly at Estevan¡¯s teasing.


    ¡°I imagine so, I¡¯m not even impressive in swordplay, so she definitely could.¡±


    Hm, the princess in that country can fight, huh. So she was definitely trained in swordsmanship. What the hell, and here I am, I wasn¡¯t supposed to learn to fight or anything¡­ Talk about the difference in culture¡­ or my parents were just different. Yeah, certainly because of both of those.


    Father then spoke with a hand under his chin.


    ¡°The marriage between the royals of both nations would be good for us. But if you become king, my son, she will need to be transferred here and become the queen.¡±


    I turned to look at Estevan to see his reaction, but not much.


    Does he even have any interest in the throne?


    Father then continued.


    ¡°However, I would like to keep you in mind, Eleden. I will not force you to marry anyone. You marry the one you love. That being said, don¡¯t take too long. Well, I still have a long way to go, so you have plenty of time.¡±


    My father may give him the chance to marry anyone he likes, but time was a restraint. It wouldn¡¯t do to find a partner when one was too old ¡ª the royals have to take politics into consideration in their decisions. The throne would always need an heir, after all.


    Well, as my father said, there¡¯s plenty of time. No rush.


    ¡°Therefore, get to know her more and grow your relationship. Perhaps someday, you couldn¡¯t bear to be separated from her anymore.¡±


    My father then turned to look at my mother with a fond smile. Mother reached out to my father¡¯s hand and held it tightly.


    How sweet.


    This nation, although they have a pragmatic side, emotions still influenced their choices. Was that for the better? Perhaps. Too pragmatic and it may grow the nation, but what about the people? A number would definitely be trampled down, so to say.


    Too emotional, and it would fall to idealism, which wouldn¡¯t always work in the real world. Failures would constantly happen if they always think ideally and make decisions through their emotions ¡ª the emotions of the leaders.


    So I think the optimal state would be that the leaders have both pragmatic and emotional sides. Compassion was great, but it would be rendered useless without pragmatic methods to carry out that compassion.


    Like how father let Eleden take his time to find a partner he likes, and not force him to marry someone. An emotional side of Father. But taking too long would be too difficult and one day he might force him to marry someone for the sake of the throne and nation.


    Now now, I wonder if the same applies to me.


    ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is. Pick the person that you are definitely sure is the one for you, no rush.¡±


    Yeah, I guess, they just met after all. Several weeks was not enough to determine whether someone was for you, you know. Marriage was for life! Careful! You might get stuck with someone unpleasant.


    Well, what do I know anyway?


    Eleden smiled.


    ¡°I understand, father. If given the opportunity, I would like to visit Myra again.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡±


    ¡°Or we can just invite her in some time,¡± Mother suggested.


    ¡°Not a bad idea,¡± father said.


    ¡°Oh, then what about the festival in four months. Isn¡¯t that a great time to spend?¡± Estevan suggested.


    The festival? Ah, that.


    I never went out to the festival. What reason could that be? Well, my parents didn¡¯t let me in the past, but of course, I also lost interest eventually and only deemed it bothersome to get out at that time. Plus, I heard a lot of people always go out at that time, it was frightening to get out.


    But now, it wouldn¡¯t be bad to go out there and enjoy the festivities, maybe? Yeah, I¡¯m going. Come on, I want to enjoy a bit of freedom.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea, we should invite her,¡± Mother said enthusiastically.


    Invite a princess of another country? Yeah, whatever, none of my business to go against that, nor do I have a reason.


    ¡°Yes, I think so too, she might enjoy it.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll think about how to send the invitation.¡±


    They would need to send that invitation way ahead of time. Traveling would take time in this world, a lot of time, so sending it months ahead would be the best thing to do.


    Another princess may be coming here to my country, but she wouldn¡¯t outshine me. She definitely wouldn¡¯t, in beauty, nor in skills¡­.right?


    Then a short while later while having a bright atmosphere, we finished eating the amount of food we could. I ate plenty.


    After rubbing my lips with a table napkin, I raised my eyes to look at Father. I was thinking of smiling purely, but I¡¯m serious about this.


    ¡°Father¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°You know what day it is, what¡¯s the news?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    My father wasn¡¯t able to instantly reply, as though he was hesitating.


    Eleden, who was clueless about everything, furrowed his brows in confusion about the serious atmosphere.


    ¡°What could everyone be talking about? What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Eleden¡­ This isn¡¯t the place to talk about it,¡± Estevan said.


    ¡°What? It¡¯s something crucially serious, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Everyone, let¡¯s go to my office,¡± said Father.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 9: Lunch With Family (Part 3)

    We left the dining room at a fine pace, encountering my servants on the way as they stood waiting by the wall outside the dining room. Seeing that I was with my family, both Mera and Vernon hesitated to follow. I was thinking about bringing them with me inside my father''s office since they could potentially help.


    However, it was unlikely. Vernon on the other hand would also surely learn of the information later on. Mera meanwhile¡­ hm, I cannot think of how she could help with this, with her being just my maid and all. But that was fine, she¡¯ll do fine just assisting me in my daily life, no need for her to be involved in matters beyond her abilities.


    Besides, we family were gathering and considering the information, my request of letting them inside would definitely be denied. That being said, after my father shared it with me, I could just tell them, no trouble.


    I gestured to them with a tilt of my head while wearing a sweet smile, prompting them to follow behind us. Along with them, I saw another man around the same age as my eldest brother. No, perhaps a little later, maybe a year older.


    He had light brown hair tied into a short ponytail and his skin had a fair complexion, his eyes bore the color of leaves on a healthy sturdy tree. Tall and walking with a straight back while donning a fine coat and trousers with dark boots. A bit handsome with all that getup, but he was nothing very special.


    I remember him, he¡¯s the assistant of my dear eldest brother. He had been helping Eleden since they were little kids, might as well call them childhood friends. Our family and his family were quite close, he hailed from a remote demesne under the rule of an earl.


    When we made eye contact while I was looking at my servants, I faintly smiled at him. What? Is it wrong to act all cute? Come on.


    He, on the other hand, returned a wide smile. Truth be told, we have a pretty decent relationship, but not very close, I think. The term ¡°friends¡± could be used, but friends who never talk much. Hehe, I don¡¯t know if you could even call that friendship. Well, not that it mattered much anyway.


    In contrast, I could see that he looked plenty confused about us royals suddenly going out together and ascending the stairs.


    I was feeling a bit excited to be honest, expecting that everything went well. I¡¯m sure no one would be stupid enough to just kill everyone, surely they caught at least one. With this, I can get closer to learning the reason why they were targeting an innocent and peace-loving beautiful girl like me.


    What if it failed though? Come now, don¡¯t be all negative. Only think of the negative side if the stake was too high and imminent, or the current situation could cause your immediate elimination¡­ Okay, I just want to be positive, okay? It¡¯s so stressful to keep thinking about this when I could instead spend my time in leisure without worrying about anything.


    ¡­. Yes, hope. That was what I was feeling.


    Eventually, we arrived at our destination, locking the door after having the staff leave. Needless to say, my servants and Eleden¡¯s assistant remained outside a bit distant from the office¡¯s door. Although the walls and doors prevent sounds from going out, I suppose it was for the sake of certain security.


    I wonder if there were spells that could do that that I could cast.


    In front of father¡¯s desk, we all sat down with Mother by my side, and my brothers in front of us, while Father sat down at his usual seat. I clasped my hands together as I waited.


    ¡°F-Father, how was it?¡±


    He gazed at me before sighing.


    Ah, what¡­ What''s with the sigh? Shit.


    ¡°The circumstances were shocking¡­¡± he then pulled out a scroll from the pocket of his coat and offered it to me. ¡°Here, as the one who made it happen, I¡¯ll have you read the report first.¡±


    I timidly took the scroll from his hand and opened it up. As time passed, after reading it, I almost crumpled the paper in my hand and had to compose myself before letting my emotions show on my face.


    My efforts were basically in vain. Shit!


    ¡°As you can see, dear daughter, the trap worked,¡± he said as he looked at everyone. ¡°It didn¡¯t go as we wanted, but I wouldn¡¯t go to say we completely failed.¡±


    What? What do you mean, father? This was an utter failure. This was an utter disappointment.


    ¡°We have discovered and confirmed that our enemies aren¡¯t humans, not just Oryn. With this occurrence we can prepare more appropriately in case something happens.¡±


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    But don¡¯t we know that already!? Don¡¯t we already assume that? That¡¯s why it¡¯s a failure. It¡¯s feeble compared to learning what their motives were. Why the fuck they are targeting me!?


    And was Father saying this so I wouldn¡¯t be too angry or distraught?!


    Calm, calm down. Aren¡¯t I getting impatient¡­ but who wouldn¡¯t? A good life was already within my reach, but they would get in my way? Unforgivable.


    ¡°So father, they are indeed ¡®elves¡¯?¡± Estevan asked.


    ¡°Not just elves like Oryn, but there¡¯s another type of creature¡­¡±


    ¡°Beast-like beings who appeared mostly human but with the exception of animal-like ears on their heads. They also have the ability to transform into complete beasts but can stand on two feet,¡± I said, speaking out loud the description of the new creature I had just read.


    I had imagined that there would be other kinds of inhuman enemies, but to be honest, I¡¯m still a bit shocked reading their description. What, are they some kind of werewolves?


    Like for fuck sake, there¡¯s dog-like, tiger-like? Then there¡¯s a wolf.


    ¡°Are our enemies truly not human? This¡­ this is hard to process,¡± Estevan said as he massaged his temple.


    ¡°...¡± Mother remained silent with a troubled expression.


    Eleden on the other hand seemed confused, but he still listened, giving us the freedom to discuss.


    ¡°So, we discovered our enemies, how did it fail? Did they escape?¡± Estevan asked.


    I sighed before returning the scroll to my father.


    ¡°They¡­ they¡­¡± I tried to explain what happened¡­


    ¡°The enemies killed themselves, and each other.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Estevan and Mother both had expressions of shock. I mean, it was a bit hard to believe that they were capable of such action.


    Conviction was such a hard thing to encounter. Gathering from the report, elves were the extremist ones, one killed itself, and one other killed his own allies just so they wouldn¡¯t get captured and extract information from.


    ¡°We failed to capture anyone. But, at the very least, we have uncovered what kind of enemies we¡¯ll be facing.¡±


    I wonder. If one elf managed to kill his own allies amidst the church members, then how strong was that elf? Oryn sure did struggle with just Estevan and Vernon, this could mean their strengths vary. What a pain.


    On the other hand, how strong were the church members? I¡¯m completely clueless.


    ¡°But, tragically, we lost a few priests in the process. I might need the knights sooner or later for improved security, not just the palace but the entire city.¡±


    Then father turned to me.


    ¡°Estelia, I¡¯m sorry it ended not like we hoped after you gave us the opportunity.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do about it, father¡­¡± I said with a smile. ¡°I will put my faith in you that you will solve this problem.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, by the way, father, how strong are the church members?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Hm? Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°I just want to know.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s¡­ how do I describe it?¡± he muttered before glancing at Estevan. ¡°An average member is a little below the strength of our elite knights.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± exclaimed Estevan, his eyes wide in disbelief.


    ¡°Father! Are you serious?¡±


    Wow, his pride might be damaged there a little.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°...¡¯


    This was a surprise for me also, that may be why Father let the church handle it. If I were to guess, the church was somewhat the trump card of our nation. However, they still failed to accomplish the mission, meaning that our enemy was not to be severely underestimated.


    ¡°That being said, my son, I get to say that because the church fighters are flexible with all the spells they can cast. Your knights can still put up a fight against them.¡±


    ¡°Even so...¡­ Looks like I have to harden our training.¡±


    I wonder though if I train them, how will that turn out? I¡¯m not exactly good at holding back when it comes to giving people a hard time when I want to, hehehe. But of course, they wouldn¡¯t just listen to a fragile princess, so let¡¯s leave it to Estevan. But how would I train them? Eh, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to think of with magic in the picture. But I shall make them experience hell. In any case, I have no intention of doing that, too difficult for now and a bother. I¡¯ll focus on myself first.


    ¡°Have your knights prepare for my orders, Estevan. We might need to enhance our patrols at night.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Meanwhile, I will leave it to the church to track down our enemies.¡±


    It definitely wouldn¡¯t be easy if our side required my intervention just to encounter our enemies. Now that our enemies have realized that we knew of their presence, they would be more careful from now on, even though they were already careful from the beginning.


    ¡°Now, can I chime in?¡±


    We all shifted our gazes towards Eleden.


    ¡°Alright, what¡¯s going on?¡±


    Father went on to explain what the situation was. Someone was out trying to get to me and kill me, then the betrayal of Oryn, then the imprisonment of my newly appointed personal chef.


    Meanwhile, I contemplated my predicament. The mission was a failure, however, my other goal was fulfilled. The enemies walked into the trap that I initiated while there were others with me in Oryn¡¯s room. Meaning, there was no betrayer among them.


    Well, I was not testing out Mera and Vernon, but specifically the knight Rogan. The trap worked, therefore, Rogan wasn¡¯t feeding information to the opposition. So it was safe to conclude that Rogan wasn¡¯t colluding with the enemy.


    Good, I would need another asset just in case, and he¡¯ll be fine.


    As for the enemies, their strength sounded troublesome. I need to ramp up my training, tomorrow I will start training on my physical enhancement so I wouldn¡¯t be flicked away with a single finger.


    On the other hand, now that my initial hope and expectation failed, I don¡¯t know what to do. What could be useful¡­ There is a certain chef in the dungeon, but I guess she wouldn¡¯t have much use anymore.


    I¡¯m stuck.


    Haaaaah.


    For the time being, I¡¯ll focus on gaining strength while taking baby steps on the other I¡¯m thinking about.


    ¡°All of that happened while I was away¡­?¡±


    They had finished their recap and Eleden was aghast at everything that he missed. Yeah, a lot of things did happen while he was gone.


    ¡°To think Oryn was a¡­ and that girl¡­¡± Eleden looked at me. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re safe, Estelia.¡±


    ¡°Brother¡­¡±


    ¡°I will put my all into this, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll help where I can, for you.¡±


    I smile proudly at my sweet brother.


    ¡°For the time being, I need time to wrap my head around this.¡±


    Maybe understandable, shit just got hammered into his head after all.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 10: Friend from Childhood?

    I exited Father¡¯s office, intending to return to my usual chambers of study immediately because I want to think more about the situation. The side objective may have been satisfied after the ambush I devised encountered oppositions that I was hoping for, the main objective still failed.


    Not everything was a wasted effort, but there sure were some wasted efforts. More than that, now I¡¯m more troubled about the possible strength of my enemies. If one elf was able to face down that many priests that could be around the average strength of the knights, then I need to keep my guard up.


    Dammit, this had me thinking if there was no magic, everything could have been handled a bit more easily. Physical abilities and raw skills were annoyingly rendered useless in the face of the might of magic. But it was such a normal thing in this world that it was nothing abnormal, maybe I¡¯m still just feeling a bit shocked and apprehensive since I''ve used my entire life without magic.


    Guns may be the equivalent to magic in my old world, however, they were not truly equal. Weapons such as guns, rockets, and such required materials and resources to create, then carrying them was necessary to use. Magic on the other hand was more convenient, you only needed to have mana inside you and practice spells, and you could have the potential to annihilate a normal squadron. Furthermore, you could basically scam everyone that you¡¯re weak and have no ability, and in actuality, you secretly have the magical arsenal equivalent to a tank.


    In conclusion, I like and dislike magic at the same time. But if I get more powerful than anyone, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll like it the most.


    The door was closed by Eleden who left with me. Eleden and I were the only two to leave the office since Estevan and Father needed to discuss how to deploy the knights, along with mother. I imagine they would also send common soldiers to patrol more into the city, maybe have a knight command each squad.


    Also likely, they¡¯ll be keeping the elites here in the palace for further security. I was planning to visit the knights, but I don¡¯t know how that will end.


    Eleden was also urged to rest for the time being after a long time of traveling. Besides, he will be briefed through the documents that will go through him. Estevan must be overjoyed that he wouldn¡¯t be the one to oversee that.


    ¡°So, Estelia, where are you heading now?¡±


    My brother spoke to me with a serious expression, he must still be thinking about what happened and what he had learned.


    ¡°Um, I will be returning to my magic study.¡±


    ¡°I see. You have become more diligent¡­¡±


    Strange, why did he sound lamenting that I am acting diligently? In curiosity, I turned to look him in the eyes.


    ¡°Brother¡­?¡±


    ¡°Because of this, you must be forced to change drastically, and immediately¡­.¡±


    He patted my head gently, and so I stopped in my tracks as I looked up at him in puzzlement.


    ¡°Estelia, you may have already heard this, but I want to say it,¡± he faintly smiled. ¡°You can rely on me, okay? I will help you whenever you need it.¡±


    He moved forward slowly until I felt a soft kiss on my forehead.


    After giving me a fond smile, he continued and I meekly followed a little behind him. Then we have arrived where my servants were, with them was Eleden¡¯s own assistant.


    ¡°Prince Eleden, you already looked stressed, with all that wrinkles on your brows.¡±


    That casual remark came from my brother¡¯s assistant. A normal subordinate wasn¡¯t supposed to interact this way with their superior, but he and Eleden were also close friends, it was no surprise either would interact casually, thus there was no need for reproach.


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    Mera on the other hand though looked pretty aghast. Well, she wasn¡¯t that familiar with them.


    ¡°I came to learn of a new plight.¡±


    ¡°Figures. It isn¡¯t usually a good sign if the entire royal family gathers in the King¡¯s work office and has all servants out.¡±


    His carefree eyes then turned to look at me while a playful smirk formed on his lips. He then proceeded to bow gallantly after taking a step forward.


    ¡°Greetings, O esteemed princess, it has been a while. Did you miss me?¡±


    Ah, now I remember how he always tried to talk to me constantly in the past, even when we were young. Even though I never approached him, and would always ignore him, he still wouldn¡¯t stop bothering me. I just wanted some peace and quiet. I guess it was good to talk? But still, being pushy was annoying.


    ¡°L-Lucious¡­ Hi.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, still the same treatment, huh. Sometimes you¡¯re being distant, Estelia.¡±


    Wow, he just called me without my title, now he had to unknowingly receive a glare from Mera behind him. This wasn¡¯t exactly a formal setting, so I guess it¡¯s fine to be casual. But I guess that wasn''t a good enough reason for Mera, was she not aware perhaps of our long-time ¡°relationship¡±? The relationship where we¡¯re friends and not exactly friends since I don¡¯t exactly go interact with him but he was always approaching me.


    But I guess if we hung out often with my brothers in the past, we¡¯re somewhat friends? But not childhood friends since not exactly very close¡­.?


    Fuck, what even is friendship? Heh.


    I guess we¡¯re just casual friends...


    ¡°Am I¡­?¡± I lowered my head sadly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I offended you.¡±


    ¡°Why are you being formal all of a sudden, don¡¯t I always say that to you?¡±


    Maybe I just didn¡¯t give a shit?


    In any case, I wasn¡¯t the old Estelia anymore, so changes were inevitable. Remember that time I said I¡¯ll show changes little by little? It¡¯s one of those. So maybe I¡¯ll be a bit warmer to Lucious.


    ¡°Yes, yes you do,¡± I gave him a little sweet smile. ¡°So, um, how are you, Lucious?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± He blinked, caught off guard by me checking how he was. ¡°Now this is¡­ Ahem, I¡¯m completely fine, though I have to admit, traveling far distances is quite tiring, and I miss the home kingdom.¡±


    Would you look at that, he looked a bit flustered.


    He might be more surprised than I thought. Let me summarize how we interacted in the past when we were young. He would greet me, I greet him back, but only briefly ¡ª like saying a short hi. He asked how I am, I replied basically okay. Then I would only respond to his ramblings with yes, okay, I see. Now wasn¡¯t that cold of me? Can you blame me? I don¡¯t like interacting with people much, it gives me anxiety, and I¡¯m not used to being too open. And sometimes ¡ª rather mostly ¡ª I want to be alone.


    When we got a bit older, he started working with Eleden, so we didn¡¯t get to talk much anymore. Even if we do, I don¡¯t normally give him the time of the day and would just mind my own business. He could be described as a fly buzzing around me, okay not exactly a good comparison, he¡¯s not exactly bad.


    ¡°On the other hand, you look as good as ever, Estelia. You are doing well, I presume?¡±


    ¡°Um, yes I am. I actually am going back to studying.¡±


    ¡°Study?¡± He slightly tilted his head.


    Hey! Why does everyone seem to be in disbelief every time they hear or see me studying hard?!


    ¡°Did the teachers give you assignments? Hehehe,¡± he chuckled.


    ¡°No, I have not met my teachers in a while.¡±


    ¡°Really? Why?¡±


    My brother has been pretty quiet as he observed us, he wasn¡¯t even bothered by this. The same applied to Vernon, well he was pretty acquainted with Lucious and knew what kind of relationship we have. Mera in particular looked at us now with interest, perhaps curious.


    ¡°There was a situation¡­ I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll learn of it later on.¡±


    ¡°Huh, I see...¡­¡± with a stare at me, he muttered ¡°This is pleasant¡­¡±


    ¡°What is?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, just my muttering. I was planning to tell you my story about my adventures in Myra, but unfortunately, you seemed to be busy.¡±


    Fortunately, I am busy. I can already imagine how long his ramblings were going to be, then I prefer to be spared from it and focus on my work.


    ¡°Then perhaps next time then.¡±


    Am I looking forward to that next time? Eh. But I need to work on my social life, so¡­


    ¡°Next time?¡± he grinned widely. ¡°S-Sure.¡±


    Ah, maybe I shouldn¡¯t have said that. Oh well, whatever.


    ¡°Now then, if you¡¯ll excuse me, I need to go.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay. See you, princess.¡±


    I nodded at him then turned to Eleden. ¡°Later, brother.¡±


    ¡°Yes, later.¡±


    We then went our separate ways, while my brother and Lucious seemed to be heading to the former¡¯s office. As I walked with my servants, I reflected on my action just now. Huh. Yeah, I think I should be more friendly, so what I did was fine.


    There is no need to be too cold to anyone if they can be used in some way, like a meat shield when the situation calls for it or calling in favors. Sometimes developing relationships than degrading them would result in something better. This thought had me recall my plan to visit the knights. But now that situation was changing, their numbers would likely dwindle in their training grounds. Aw, I really wanted to learn how to use magic on my daggers, but I guess for the time being, I¡¯ll learn physical enhancement since that would be essential.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 11: What To Do For The Time Being

    ¡°By the way, Vernon. Did you say something to Father?¡±


    I asked Vernon as we made our way to our destination.


    ¡°What do you mean, your highness?¡±


    ¡°Well, he was acting a little weird earlier. Did you perhaps mention something to him that should be put to my attention?¡±


    Vernon smiled.


    ¡°Princess, I only gave my usual report and observations. It depended on your Father how he took my report.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡±


    It felt like there was more to his report that he had no intention of telling me. Not like it mattered greatly, as long it doesn¡¯t impede me, that would be fine. Actually, this kind of situation, hiding something, was to be expected when you were serving two masters and the other was your true superior.


    I¡¯m not going to become mad because Vernon tried to conceal some parts of his report to me, his true master was my father after all.


    ¡°Alright, I understand.¡±


    A short while later, we arrived at our destination. After having the door closed, I sat down on the table and laid down my elbow with my hand on my cheek as I fell into thought.


    I guess all I could do now was to further improve my magical abilities. I have no cards to play in attempts to bait my enemies, at least not yet. There may be Allie, but she wouldn¡¯t be of much use anymore.


    Use her as bait? Maybe during a public execution and make the enemies save her amidst that? I don¡¯t know if that would work. It would likely end up being useless, if that was the case, I would rather use her in other ways.


    You¡¯ll never know, Allie might only be a disposable pawn to them.


    ¡°Your highness, is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°Please be silent, I¡¯m thinking.¡±


    ¡°... My apologies.¡±


    Resuming. I think she¡¯s merely disposable because they literally have her, inexperienced, to try and kill me, it¡¯s like they didn¡¯t care what would happen at all afterward. What do you think will happen after she carries it out? She didn¡¯t have any skill whatsoever aside from cooking, so she¡¯ll definitely get killed, or captured then killed. It was as if it didn¡¯t matter what would happen to her after she killed me.


    Furthermore, they have yet to try and break her out. Of course, they have only learned about it, so it will take time, so we¡¯ll have to wait. In addition, the enemies seemed to have lacked information, so they must have no spies left. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have fallen for the trap, and they didn¡¯t seem to know that Oryn was already killed.


    How fortunate I am that information traveled here incomparably slower than my old world. If this was the old world, there would already be headlines all over the internet and news broadcasts. Geez, people and their phones.


    In contrast, if they have any spies left, then they should have already heard of Allie¡¯s imprisonment. But there have been no changes as of late.


    ¡°Vernon, has Allie said anything new?¡±


    I looked at Vernon.


    ¡°... I have been meaning to tell you later, but she mentioned that she often delivered messages for Oryn in the past outside the palace walls, within the city at different locations.¡±


    ¡°Nothing else?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°She hasn''t yet given up on telling their whereabouts?¡±


    ¡°Sadly no.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine...?¡±


    ¡°No point in forcing her to speak about that, she wouldn¡¯t know anymore. She would likely be a few years outdated. If they are meeting at different locations, then they¡¯re not meeting at their main base.¡±


    Actually, it would be expected she wouldn¡¯t know.


    If we were to do it, after sending a spy inside an opposition, we would move to another base unbeknownst to the agent. This was so that if that agent ever got captured, they would learn of a different and completely wrong base.


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    Therefore, even if Allie speaks of their whereabouts, she would definitely speak of a location they have used in the past, but that would end up empty upon searching. Furthermore, now that the ambush worked, the enemies would realize the extraction had gone wrong and move their base of operations somewhere else.


    Anyone could think of that precaution.


    ¡°Can I give my order of what to do about Allie?¡±


    Vernon blinked a few times.


    ¡°I believe a suggestion would do.¡±


    As expected, I don¡¯t have full power in this affair. I also don¡¯t want to take her under my ¡°care.¡±


    ¡°Then I suggest stop interrogating her and have her rest.¡±


    ¡°... Princess, could you have realized¡­?¡±


    ¡°What is?¡±


    ¡°What we do to get information from her.¡±


    Of course I do. But I¡¯m not gonna say that.


    ¡°Why? I can only imagine you asking and talking to her inside a room with a table and a few chairs. Are you doing something else?¡±


    ¡°N-No, we are not doing anything else.¡±


    In any case, they have to stop with the torturing, they¡¯ll overdo it. For the time being, I need her to hang around a jail cell in solitude as she wallows in despair and pain, with no decent food and living in a dirty cell.


    The loneliness would only make things worse for her, there were no other prisoners here in the palace walls after all.


    ¡°If we are stopping her interrogation, then¡­ perhaps it''s time to send her to another prison, and await her execution.¡±


    ¡°No, keep her here in the palace grounds.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    If you did so, then my little plan would be ruined before it even starts.


    He then continued.


    ¡°Keeping prisoners here in the palace grounds is not ideal. If you can give me a reason, it will help.¡±


    Damn, it¡¯s hard for me not to have any authority here. Well, I do have authority, just not to that department.


    ¡°Hmmm. Let¡¯s say if we try to move her out, our opposition would try to ambush us, and they¡¯ll likely have the advantage with the strength they have.¡±


    ¡°Their strength?¡±


    ¡°You still don¡¯t know? That¡¯s fine, ask my father later. For the time being, let¡¯s imagine if most of them were at the level of Oryn and a few above him, and a large number of them ambushed the convoy, do you think it would end nicely for us?¡±


    ¡°It would depend on our numbers.¡±


    ¡°Would we really be sending that many knights for one person? And would we sacrifice several lives for one prisoner?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    ¡°Then now you see, too risky to bring her out. Furthermore, if we keep her here, she¡¯ll be no threat to us. When the enemies strike us to break her out, we¡¯ll be at an advantage within our own territory.¡±


    ¡°... Why are you so keen on letting her stay? We could have sent only a few people to bring her to a prison outside the palace.¡±


    ¡°If they break her out from a prison outside the palace, they¡¯ll likely succeed and it would be a wasted opportunity for us. We also cannot afford to send a great number of knights just to guard the sole prison, we need more swords for other purposes.¡±


    Ugh, really I would have preferred not to speak any more than this. But I don¡¯t want them sending Allie out there. Why was I so adamant about letting her stay here? Well there were a lot of things in my mind.


    One of them was that she was a talented cook. I would like to have her on my side, but there is a low possibility of that happening. Hard to fully trust a traitor.


    I can also imagine her doing a few things for us if I can ¡°convince¡± her. But I¡¯m not sure if that would work, but it''s still worth it to invest. I would also like to learn of her relationship with her friends, if such emotions were strong with each other, then I can use that to bait them to each other. Like for instance, have Allie go out there and find them, when they really cared about her, at least one would approach her.


    Even one emotional person among them would help me and have them do something rash. Like make them save Allie.


    I might need to have the enemy feel for the upcoming demise of Allie. I can think of a way to make them feel that way.


    That being said, I need to learn about her relationship with them.


    Now how was I able to think this way? My teammates and I were the same ¡ª no rather, we would try to save the other, if not for the organization''s policy and our superior¡¯s orders. As friends, we would desire to save one in plight, but unfortunately, our organization wouldn¡¯t allow that. Heh, even that handsome man who killed me would have tried to save me if there wasn¡¯t any order or policy to do otherwise.


    ¡°I understand princess, I¡¯ll send your suggestion to the king.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Vernon. Now then, I would like to inquire about what I asked you to do.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I had sent men to investigate any other people that interacted with Allie and Oryn, as you asked.¡±


    Yes, I did. Now that I have dealt with Allie and Oryn, time to give some time to others. Did I fail to mention last time that the first thing I would do would be to check those in high and risky positions like high-ranking officials and the kitchen that always cooks my food since that would be advantageous to the opposition? Also that I would be giving focus on those close to me? I think I didn¡¯t fail to mention that.


    But now that¡¯s over, time to give some resources to small positions. I wasn¡¯t able to do much about this since, come on, I was rolling solo. How do you expect me to investigate each one of the staff, which could amount to several dozens, be realistic, of course I¡¯ll focus on risky positions first.


    But now was different, I have Vernon! Hahaha! I have manpower now.


    ¡°So, how was it?¡±


    ¡°One of the things you asked to investigate is the person and his team that always deliver ingredients to the kitchen which could send out information through. However, we have yet to find anything suspicious.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°We also ran investigations on the actions and history of the maids, but we found nothing to be wary of as of yet. Even those in the laundries, and others at lower positions, we have yet to find any dirt on them.¡±


    ¡°I understand, continue on with what you''re doing.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    ¡°Now then, we¡¯re done with business, I¡¯ll return to studying. Ah, Mera, how are you faring in familiarizing the contents of this book?¡±


    I have been lending out this book to Mera every night since she was so keen on learning with me. She mentioned that she reads about one or two spells per night since that was all she could manage. I mean, she did have to wake up early, so she couldn¡¯t sleep out late.


    ¡°I believe I¡¯m doing well, milady.¡±


    ¡°Great! We¡¯ll be training together for Vernon¡¯s technique tomorrow, yes?¡±


    ¡°Um, yes.¡±


    I then turned to look at Vernon with a smile.


    ¡°Yes, your highness, I won¡¯t go back on my word.¡±


    ¡°Thank you ever so much, Vernon.¡±


    I chuckled.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 12: The Brother, and the Childhood Friend

    <div>


    ¡°Hey Eleden! You saw that, right? She willingly spoke to me!¡±


    Eleden grinned at the excitement and joy that his friend and assistant, Lucious Vekenas, was showing. His friend¡¯s eyes were wide and bright with spirit and his cheeks almost flushed. He was like a child finally noticed by his crush.


    ¡°Yes yes, I saw everything.¡±


    Eleden was amused at seeing his long-time friend acting this way, and at the same time feeling wonder at why Estelia suddenly decided to give a bit of attention towards him and even tried to start a small conversation. Which was quite a bit of a sudden change.


    ¡°And the way she looked at me, my soul wouldn¡¯t stop dancing.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited, it might just be a one-off chance experience.¡±


    ¡°Come on El, don¡¯t be like that. Please don¡¯t let that happen.¡±


    Eleden wasn¡¯t sure how he was going to do that. He cannot control her own sister, she was always a hard one to influence. Or perhaps, Eleden just didn¡¯t want to control Estelia in any shape or form, that was why he found it difficult.


    To be honest, he was completely fine with how Estelia was. The one who was always so quiet and always alone. In his eyes, it was one of her charms, and he liked it.


    ¡°I have no control over her, you know.¡±


    ¡°I know, but at least like you know, help me out.¡±


    ¡°That will be hard to do without creeping her out. This isn¡¯t like when we were children, I imagine now she will be more sensitive. I might even drive her away. So, take it slow.¡±


    ¡°Agh, other noble ladies are easily approachable, and I don¡¯t even like them. But when it comes to her, it¡¯s hard¡­¡±


    It¡¯s not that Lucious was embarrassed to talk with her, it was that it was literally hard to speak with her. She barely interacted with anyone, no less to him. Eleden pitied him a little.


    Eleden patted Lucious¡¯s shoulder a few times.


    ¡°You can do it.¡±


    ¡°Haaaaah¡­¡±


    Eleden understood very well that Lucious liked Estelia, no perhaps one can even call it love. He already knew this ever since they were children, anyone could tell that Lucious liked Estelia just how he always tried to talk with her.


    Eleden wasn¡¯t against it though, in fact, he supported his friend. As he closely knew him as a close friend, he was comfortable knowing that he could leave Estelia to his care ¡ª if that ever happens. Eleden couldn¡¯t predict what Estelia¡¯s future would be, so it was hard to tell if Lucious and her would end up together.


    ¡°Still, I was surely surprised when she started a conversation with me... maybe she¡¯s finally warming up on me. Maybe she realized something while I was in Myra¡­ Maybe there is hope after all!¡±


    Eleden couldn¡¯t help chuckle at Lucious¡¯s enthusiasm and hopeful demeanor.


    ¡°Do your best, she is closing in on her coming of age. I imagine you know how many young nobles would be attending the party.¡±


    When Estelia hits seventeen, as the princess of the kingdom, the party would be huge and could span all nobles to be invited. If that was the case, using the palace to hold the banquet wouldn¡¯t be a good choice. That aside, as Estelia was rarely seen, one can imagine how interested people would be, and how captivated they would become if they saw her only for just a moment.


    Some young ladies might even feel inferior and insecure, however they wouldn¡¯t be able to openly show it of course. Mere nobles have no match for royalty, and also, it was a fact that Estelia was incomparably beautiful than any ladies in the kingdom.


    Eleden could confidently say that since he had already seen most noble young maidens. Lucious would surely agree with that statement. Truth be told, Eleden was a little excited that his sister would be debuting.


    ¡°Tch! Yes, I know. I have to be on guard for others, especially that son of Lady Eleanore.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you meticulous?¡±


    ¡°Of course I would know of it. I¡¯m sure that he must have tried to dance with her during etiquette lessons. No, I feel like he has already done it.¡±


    He sounded a bit irritated and threatened.


    ¡°Well, you have no need to be afraid. Estelia wouldn¡¯t become close with someone she barely knows that easily. I mean, she barely talks with you, whom she had known since childhood.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s harsh.¡±


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to comfort you.¡±


    ¡°Haaah¡­¡± with slanted eyes, Lucious raised an eyebrow. ¡°Where are we going? Are we going to your office?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Come on, El. We just arrived. Don¡¯t you know the word rest?¡±


    ¡°Well, Estevan mentioned he had sent some documents, important ones. I want to take a look and organize them so I can work better tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°At least it¡¯s just some,¡± he heaved a quiet relieved sigh.


    Eleden mentioned the documents, however, judging by his urgent steps, they were perhaps no normal documents. He was indeed a little impatient, he was wondering, curious, and worried of what he would discover.


    Lucious noticed the urgency from Eleden.


    ¡°You look like you''re in a rush?¡±


    ¡°... Yes¡­ You see, Lucious, something terrible happened here while we were out there.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a matter we can easily talk about here. I¡¯ll tell you when we arrive, we might also find out more from the documents.¡±


    ¡°... All right.¡±


    Shortly, they arrived at Estevan¡¯s office. When they entered inside, Lucious¡¯s eyes went wide at the stacks of documents placed on the table. He was surprised they were able to move these out in such a short amount of time, as though they were already prepared to be moved out when the two of them arrived.


    In contrast to Lucious, Eleden walked towards the desk, not bothered by the volume of papers. He picked up a few documents.


    ¡°These seem to be documents Father has yet to review. Estevan isn¡¯t a quick worker when it comes to paper-based work, so it steadily piled up.¡±


    Lucious picked a few, and after reading, he took a sharp breath and closely read the contents of other sheets of paper, as if making his eyes certain.


    ¡°Eleden these are¡­ these are information gathered from espionage. Not to mention these are about our kingdom¡¯s nobles.¡±


    He looked at the documents again, one could imagine how much information was there. But there was no way all of these were all just information of a few nobles. With this much quantity, it would be unbelievable that a few nobles were only covered.


    It was then it dawned on Lucious, Eleden precisely knew what he must be thinking.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me even my family¡­¡±


    He immediately searched through the pile. Panic was in his eyes as he searched for the names of his family. Being investigated by the crown was no small matter, it was almost akin to being thought of as their loyalty being doubted. Not only was it terrible and frustrating to be doubted, it was also dangerous.


    Then eventually, Lucious found a group of documents. His hand trembled slightly after he read the names written upon it.


    ¡°Eleden¡­ Even my family. My mother, father, siblings. It¡¯s not hard to think that my other relatives would be here. W-Why? What¡¯s going on? Why is the crown going to this extent?¡±


    Lucious swallowed his own saliva as anxiety rose.


    ¡°El, you know we are loyal to the crown, we would never threaten royalty and kingdom.¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course¡­ But, the situation calls for it. We need to be meticulous.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Eleden returned the documents and sat down on the chair behind his desk. He urged Lucious to sit down and he followed.


    ¡°Royalty is under threat. Or to be precise, Estelia.¡±


    ¡°What? No wait, why? Estelia has not done anything, she¡¯s the passive and most quiet one in politics or anything.¡±


    Yes, that was the case. Thus, it was hard to understand why.


    ¡°Father has yet to expand on that, and I¡¯m intending on inquiring more. But, it would seem that we also have no clear idea. In any case, the crown is working seriously on this, nobles are no exception to the kingdom¡¯s eyes.¡±


    ¡°... Right¡­ But, I¡¯m certain my family is doing nothing that goes against the crown.¡±


    Eleden nodded his head.


    ¡°To the important matter, there¡¯s something I would like you to know.¡±


    Eleden then went on to tell him what happened in the palace while they were gone, conveyed to him by his family. The part of Oryn, and a cook, and the part where they threatened the princess¡¯s life.


    After hearing what happened, Lucious was in disbelief as he used one hand to cradle his head.


    ¡°How could that be? They even reached within? And¡­ to think Estelia almost died.¡±


    Eleden might have felt the same as Lucious when he first heard of what happened. He couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine what he would have felt or what would happen if he arrived back home only to discover that his lovely and peaceful sister was dead.


    His world would crumble. That was the least he could ever imagine. How he was filled with relief to see that Estelia was alive.


    ¡°And Oryn, I would have never expected,¡± Lucious muttered.


    ¡°You two were quite close weren''t you?¡±


    ¡°... We are both assistants of the princes after all.¡±


    ¡°... I see.¡±


    ¡°I never would have thought that he was intending to kill Estelia¡­ That guy¡­¡±


    ¡°For now, I would like you to gather more intel about this. There might be a few things that Father will miss to tell me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to the servants.¡±


    ¡°Very good. Haaah,¡± he sighed ¡°This really is troubling.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. This might be why even Vernon was assigned to Estelia. Also, there¡¯s a deal with the maid, what was her name? Mera, yes that sounds right.¡±


    ¡°I saw that maid, isn¡¯t she one of her rotational attendants?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly, I learned while talking with them that the maid was personally chosen by the princess to be her personal maid.¡±


    ¡°Interesting, is she that skilled?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really know.¡±


    ¡°Huh. But I suppose it¡¯s good that she can finally have friends.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, especially when all that happened to her. She must have been terrified, should I do something for her? You think giving her flowers would work?¡± Lucious wryly smiled.


    ¡°If that¡¯s what you want to do, then go ahead. Just be careful, you might drive her away instead.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes I just doubt that you¡¯re rooting for me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m only giving you advice. In the end, it¡¯s all up to you on how you win her heart.¡±


    Lucious often says doing bold things that would blatantly suggest his feelings towards Estelia. However, he would always find himself back out. Perhaps afraid of being rejected.


    But that was understandable. Eleden knew his sister would start keeping her distance from anyone that would dare step over her personal line, one could say. She was too introverted and antisocial to be suddenly brought into something that happens socially.


    That was why Eleden would often find himself giving advice to Lucious to be extra careful with Estelia. She was, after all, different from any other woman.


    One could imagine that one simple misstep may be enough to drive her away. One might think they were doing fine after doing a mistake they didn¡¯t realize, they might as well give up.


    Other noble ladies may be compelled to find a partner. But not Estelia, she was different. And, Eleden noticed that their parents were also not in a rush to find a partner for her.


    ¡°Haaaah, whatever you say. So, should I start gathering intel?¡±


    ¡°Later, help me with these first.¡±


    Eleden pointed at the papers.


    ¡°Fine¡­¡±


    <div>


    <div>


    <div>

 Vol. 2 Chapter 13: Finally Giving My All To Dancing

    Finally finished with breakfast, I made my way to the training hall. The large hall could be used for special occasions and was spacious enough to be used as a dance floor for my training.


    I dislike dancing, but I guess I have no choice but to do what I can. I don¡¯t want to be scolded again by Eleanore, no one likes being reprimanded at, right?


    Ah, breakfast by the way was okay. Only okay. But there was a bit of improvement, I think, maybe just a coincidence. Which reminds me, Father was frequently looking at me weirdly as though he was observing and wanting to speak to me at the same time.


    Maybe he truly wanted to speak with me, but well, since I have etiquette lessons he didn¡¯t get to talk with me. But why though? I didn¡¯t do anything bad, I am an appropriately behaved cute girl.


    Maybe something came up? That being said, it must not be so important when he didn¡¯t immediately talk to me. So I suppose I have nothing to worry about.


    Eventually, we arrived at our destination and immediately entered inside. Eleanore and that guy should be arriving at any moment, so I will have to wait while I sit down relaxed on the nearby chair with my servants on each side of me.


    ¡°You seem to be fully at ease, your highness. I heard Lady Eleanore is a bit strict when she teaches.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I am not worrying about anything at all, Vernon... I believe I will be fine this time.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­ In that case, I will cheer you on, princess.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe. By the way Mera, how¡¯s your experience in your etiquette lessons?¡±


    I asked her, starting a conversation while I waited. It would be boring not to do so.


    ¡°It was all right, I¡¯m sure it wasn¡¯t as strict as yours, milady. My mother was the one to teach and my younger sister, so she was lenient with each of our mistakes. Although, I have learned most in my training for becoming a maid.¡±


    ¡°I see. But how is your dancing?¡±


    Mera wryly smiled as though embarrassed to speak.


    ¡°My mother said I was excellent, but I never tried performing in a public setting.¡±


    ¡°Have you never been to any social events?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ we are a low ranking noble family and located away from the capital, so we aren¡¯t normally invited.¡±¡¯


    But here I am in the capital and yet never went to any social events. There were a couple of occasions that events happened in the palace, but as you would expect, I never show up. Because I couldn¡¯t even bother about it. Maybe I did participate, but I must be too young to remember so that¡¯s irrelevant. Well, also there were a few occasions that involved family, but I didn¡¯t stay long.


    ¡°Hm. But your family¡¯s situation is starting to go well now, yes?¡±


    ¡°Oh, of course, milady.¡±


    The double doors then opened up at that moment of casual conversation and entered a pair of nobles, passing by the servants which assisted them. One was an adult woman and the other was a handsome man just a little older than me, both carried themselves with dignity fitting a high-ranking aristocrat.


    All right then.


    I immediately stood up and walked towards them with absolute elegance, more elegant than I have ever done in front of her. I just don¡¯t want her to scold me.


    ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you once again, Madame Eleanore, and Jalen. May our hallowed lord and lady bless the moment of our delightful meeting.¡±


    I said so sweetly and smoothly as I put one hand on my chest while the other lifted my skirt a little like doing a curtsy with a smile on my face.


    Normally, it would be the lower-ranking aristocrat to greet first. As the princess, I should have been the one to receive her greeting since she was only a Marquess, however at the moment, she was my teacher, and thus on this occasion, she was higher than me.


    You see, I need to do a good job now since even at this moment, she was already judging me.


    ¡°Your highness, I am glad to see you doing well. May we receive the resplendent blessing from our illustrious lord and lady.¡±


    ¡°I am as well glad to see you again, O esteemed Princess. May we receive the resplendent blessing from our illustrious lord and lady.¡±


    Eleanore greeted me back with a soothing and gentle voice as she performed the curtsy. Jalen, on the other hand, spoke a bit enthusiastically as he placed his palm on the left side of his chest while bowing deeply.


    After the tedious greeting, Eleanore looked at me with scrutinizing eyes. Apparently, she was already judging my appearance.


    ¡°You look splendid, princess.¡±


    Oh yes I am! My neatly braided long platinum hair, clean and cute face, my magnificent dress that bore no wrinkles whatsoever. How could I not be splendid? I am perfect.


    ¡°However, I must say, as this is not an official setting, I will tolerate you sitting down and only coming our way when we enter the room. During an official event, when receiving guests, await them by the entrance as you stand. Do well to remember.¡±


    ¡°I understand, madame.¡±


    The servants that brought them here had already left the room and closed the door.


    ¡°All right, shall we proceed to your practice? It has been a long time since we had our session, so I imagine your skills have deteriorated somewhat.¡±


    Jalen gave a wooden case to Eleanore which contained the violin-like instrument called vynelin.


    She walked towards a small table in a corner and opened the wooden case. Meanwhile, I was stuck with Jalen, he smiled when I glanced at him for a moment, he¡¯s really trying to look good in my eyes, huh.


    Eleanore then finally gave her attention to my two servants, giving them inquisitive looks.


    ¡°So, your highness, are your servants not leaving?¡±


    Yeah, servants usually leave during practice sessions. However, not this time.


    ¡°My apologies, but they will be staying. Having them leave will not be possible.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Is that so? Very well. I have heard there had been some troubles in the palace, but I¡¯m still surprised that you wouldn¡¯t be left alone with any servants around. Is it that bad?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    I have the right to remain silent, hehehe.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Seeing my silence, Eleanore understood that the answer to her question was not for her ears to hear, and thus she nodded.


    ¡°No matter. Let us proceed.¡±


    She turned to face us, leaving the instrument in its case.


    ¡°We will be starting on counting. Princess, Jalen, proceed to the dancing floor.¡±


    I nervously walked towards the center of the hall, holding my own hands. After reaching the center, I gave Jalen a twitching faint smile to show how anxious I was. He meanwhile, smiled in amusement as he oozed with confidence.


    ¡°Princess?¡±


    He presented his hand to me, and I slowly laid my smooth white hands upon it.


    ***


    Did I mention before that my muscle memories suddenly returned, right? Although I have no idea why all I know was that it came shortly after my mana went on a rampage at the library. It felt as if the old me had resurfaced just a little ¡ª I mean Estelia¡­ Like I was refreshed or something.


    That being said, I have not lost my own identity, and that puts me at ease. I dominated you ¡°Estelia¡±. Or maybe she was I and I was her¡­ Whatever¡­


    To the main topic. Eleanore started the dancing lesson first when usually we would start with etiquette. I guessed maybe because I was pretty good the last time, and I was shit in dancing. Therefore, she decided we should start dancing. Maybe we¡¯ll even dance the entire meeting. I sounded unsure because she never said anything. Doesn¡¯t matter anyway.


    So I and Jalen danced gracefully on the dance floor within the vast hall and under the magnificent chandelier. His smile, ever so charming, always faced me as my eyes averted away, avoiding his strong and dazzling gaze. Such a strong gaze, cannot be beared by an innocent maiden like me.


    My steps were graceful and almost silent, my arms waved elegantly through the air, my skirt gently fluttering at every motion. I was like a fairy gracing the eyes of mere mortals. No, I was like a goddess who graced this world with her beauty and magnificence.


    Damn, I¡¯m good.


    During the performance, Jalen would find himself awed for a moment, causing a bit of mistiming, but as used as he was, he was able to recover immediately. I caught a glimpse of Eleanore¡¯s strict expression, finally softening a little as she nodded at my beautiful performance.


    I was not fond of dancing, but I have to give it my all in this. Further headache would only incur me when I do so otherwise. Besides, it was a waste not to live this life.


    When the dance was done, Vernon applauded my performance, seeing that he did it first, Mera followed suit, she must have hesitated at first since she seemed a bit scared of Eleanore.


    ¡°You were wonderful, Princess.¡±


    Janel complimented me with a charming smile. Ugh, I hate superficial interaction and praises ¡ª wow and that came from me... This guy definitely just wanted to get into royalty. If you aren¡¯t sincere, stay away from me. And trust me, I can tell this guy wasn¡¯t being sincere at all.


    ¡°You think so?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it was a breathtaking performance. I didn¡¯t expect you to be that skillful. In fact, I think you were the best I have danced with.¡±


    ¡°... Thank you¡­ To be honest, it was a little difficult.¡±


    He smiled.


    ¡°Please, it appears you weren¡¯t even struggling. I look forward to dancing with you at your peak in your debut.¡±


    ¡°... Ah, that¡­ Of course, I¡¯m sure we will have an opportunity.¡±


    The debut, in other words, my coming of age. By the age of seventeen, a person was considered an adult. Next year, I will be becoming an adult, on my birthday. At that time, there would be a feast and celebration.


    As I am royalty, each noble family would need to have at least one representative to join the banquet. There would be numerous guests there, and I don¡¯t know if it would be pleasing for me. That aside, I would be needing to perform. Yup, perform! I would need to dance and sing as per tradition.


    One could consider this my official debut to noble society. Ugh, but why perform? And dancing? Come on.


    Not to mention all the people that would be looking at me. Well I wouldn¡¯t be bothered that much really. No wait, won¡¯t I be pressured when I come to perform? Shit, I definitely would need to look good so I wouldn¡¯t look bad.


    Fuck, there¡¯s no need to be anxious anyway. A battlefield was way worse than a bunch of eyes watching my would be delightful performance.


    ¡°I will say, that was a splendid performance, princess.¡± Eleanore approached me. ¡°You did a terrible job the last time.¡±


    ¡°Um, yes I did.¡±


    ¡°... Rest for now. I suggest having your servants send you refreshments. Or we can proceed to etiquette, seeing as you did well with dancing, it is fine to proceed to another training.¡±


    The earlier we end her lesson for today the better. I still have to practice Vernon¡¯s technique later. The more time I have doing that, the more progress I can make.


    ¡°Let us proceed to etiquette lessons after a fifteen-minute break.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you in a rush?¡±


    ¡°I will score almost a perfect score later, you have nothing to worry about, Madame.¡±


    She raised an eyebrow as her scrutinizing gaze was cast at me.


    To be honest, I believe in a couple of weeks, my lessons in this department will finally come to an end when she rates me at perfect or almost. With that, I will have more freedom to spend on training my combat capabilities.


    Such things as Etiquette were the lowest priority at the moment. That will not help me at all during combat. What? Am I supposed to act all cute and regal and they¡¯ll leave me alone? I don¡¯t know, I can try¡­. NO. Hehehe, how wonderful would life be if I can make people do that with my cuteness alone?


    I can say something like, ¡®You can¡¯t be violent at me, I¡¯m cute.¡¯ Then tada! They¡¯ll leave me alone.


    ¡°I wonder where your confidence is from,¡± Eleanore said.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure her highness¡¯s confidence stems from her outstanding skills that she may have yet to show completely. I look forward to your spectacular demonstration, princess.¡±


    ¡°... Yes, thank you.¡±


    Dude, that¡¯s how you get a girl? Get back to your closet and relearn everything from scratch. Not working on me at all. Well, maybe on other girls, but not me. Not like he would have any influence on me anyway.


    And so, we took a break. I sat leisurely while drinking the refreshment brought by dear Mera. Silence would have been what I preferred, but Jalen just had to talk to me. Really, did he truly want to be royalty? Don¡¯t tell me he desired the throne.


    Not that he had any chance though, Eleden would certainly be the crown prince in the future. He wasn¡¯t officially declared as the ¡°crown prince¡± since Father has yet to decide whom to give. The eldest prince was the highest chance to inherit the throne but even that wasn¡¯t completely certain when the final decision fell unto the King.


    Well, when based on character and skills, we might as well proclaim Eleden as the crown prince.


    Then the time came to etiquette manners and procedures. We first started on how one should carry themselves when receiving guests. I stood straight as a pole and walked delicately to the utmost of my ability. During my demonstration, I believe I really give off the aura and presence of a beautiful and wonderful noble, or to be specific, a princess.


    Every time I walk I would also need to act perfectly lady-like, my hips swaying with every step. Of course overdoing it would not be delightful at all, so I made my movements smooth as a peacefully flowing stream, as though I didn¡¯t even need to give the effort to achieve such a captivating display.


    I could even feel Mera¡¯s strong gaze from here. At ease, girl. Vernon on the other hand looked pretty impressed as he nodded in contentment at my demonstration.


    We did the formal greeting, then the formal way of speaking. Then proceeded to table manners. I really had to be so gentle, a little shake of the spoon was unacceptable since that might shake off a bit of soup. Well, Eleanore was annoyingly meticulous with details, so I even had to put the spoon in my mouth gently and nobly.


    In any case, everything went on perfectly in my opinion. I should be fine now. I mean, I spent a lot of effort so of course I did more than well. Don¡¯t undermine how passionate I can be.


    Yeah so in the end, I got an almost perfect score¡­... Dammit! Why are some teachers so stingy?


    Fine whatever, at least the lesson has ended today since Eleanore looked plenty satisfied. As they were leaving, I gave them my pleasant goodbyes. I didn¡¯t give a lot of thought about Jalen since he was nothing special anyway. Honestly, he needs to learn how to get along with me first, you know, the first step was to make friends. That guy just took a leap of a step.


    In any case, now that the lesson for today was over, time to move on to another business.


    ¡°Vernon.¡±


    ¡°Yes, princess. I am not going back on my word.¡±


    ¡°Splendid! Alright let¡¯s go to the learning room.¡±


    We left the grand hall and made our way to our usual room. There was another matter I needed to consult Vernon with, so I asked him the moment we arrived at our destination.


    ¡°Vernon, isn¡¯t it about time you tell me what we have learned about the poison we retrieved from Allie?¡±


    He said that the scholars would need at least a week to analyze the poison. It must be something foreign to them if they needed that much time to take a look at it.


    ¡°I received and read their letter of report last night. They stated that the poison was something that they have never seen before. We have confirmed that the poison was so potent that not even the highest detoxification spell we have can cure it or erase it.¡±


    Huh. Good thing I didn¡¯t let the food even touch my lips. Otherwise, I would have died on that cold floor.


    ¡°It was the first kind of poison they have encountered. They have no idea from what creature it could come from. They surmised since that poison was that potent, it could only come from monsters. An animal having such poison was definitely impossible.¡±


    ¡°So powerful poisons usually come from monsters?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Even a snake¡¯s cannot compare in terms of effects and agony one would feel. A snake¡¯s poison can easily be mended by an antidote, but from monsters, you mostly need the aid of magic. As for the case for the newly discovered type of poison¡­ if a human had taken it, death would have been certain.¡±


    Good thing I didn¡¯t take any then.


    ¡°Hm. Are they working on a countermeasure?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    He stared quietly at me for a moment for some reason.


    ¡°They have not mentioned it yet, but¡­ it surely will not be easy.¡±


    ¡°I imagine so. Alright, tell me if they report any progress.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Now then, begin your lesson, Vernon,¡± with a delighted smile I turned to Mera. ¡°Let¡¯s listen closely, Mera.¡±


    ¡°Yes, milady.¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 14: I will do it even with the smallest freedom

    As my maid and I sat together side by side, Vernon explained his physical enhancement technique with a resigned sigh, giving us a verbal warning that this would be a bit dangerous if something went wrong. He warned that we will experience pain in the process, and the amount would vary.


    I¡¯m fine with a bit of pain, but I don¡¯t know about Mera. Well, it¡¯s just pain anyway, I¡¯m sure she can bear it.


    Physical enhancement, unlike normal magic casting, has mana used within the body itself. Instead of manipulating your mana flowing through the Mystic Medium outward and giving it form and attributes, prevent the mana from going out and keep it raw. Which was harder than it sounds since it¡¯s hard to keep mana inside the body while channeling. That¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t keep it stagnant.


    The way Physical Enhancement is done was to have the mana flow through your muscles. When I say muscles, I mean every fiber of the body or which part you want to enhance. Vernon mentioned again that it was easier said than done since you would need to spread out the flow of mana into numerous channels going through your veins, flesh, and fiber in the body.


    Then that was the reason why it would hurt since you would be tampering with your very own flesh.


    ¡°Princess, especially you, please be careful and gentle. I don¡¯t want your family to realize what you are attempting to learn.¡±


    He pleaded to me since my family had no idea that I was trying to learn physical enhancement. If they knew, they would definitely prohibit me from doing it and have me focus on spell casting instead. This kingdom has an ideal image for women after all, women nobles at least. Why would a noble woman learn physical enhancement when they know spell casting and why not improve on that instead? When spells can be stronger than mere physical enhancement. Well, I presume they only say this because aristocrat ladies have no need to go to a battlefield. If time was peaceful, I would have been fine with spell casting alone, but that wasn¡¯t the case at all.


    ¡°Of course, Vernon.¡±


    We started the practice after he expanded on the starting steps. He had me and Mera stand up since sitting down would be too much of a slack. Enhancing the entire body at the beginning would be too difficult and challenging for a beginner, so he had us try to enhance a single arm.


    I chose my right arm as well as Mera ¡ª right-hand gang!


    I unleashed a small amount of mana, I could feel it leave outside my body. But I retracted them and pushed them into my body, grimacing at the face of difficulty. I had it move through my flesh before they could completely go out, however, it felt like there was a wall blocking its way.


    I may have a precise control of mana now, but that was for output and giving it form, not injecting them into my flesh. That aside, I followed a tip Vernon included in his teaching. It was to use mana to find tiny gaps to get through. Were there such gaps? Must be a metaphor ¡ª or he didn¡¯t mean literally.


    I slowly thinned my mana touching my flesh and muscles and slowly spreading them out, trying to find the gap he was talking about. Those gaps were the ones to be used as some sort of channel to spread mana through my system.


    When I tried to push through the walls, there was a stinging pain on my arm, causing a twitch to my cheek. I cannot get through anything. I have already thinned out my mana into strings, but there was no gap to go through.


    I tried pushing through and my arm trembled. Strange, very strange, there was nothing. And I have already spread out my mana to engulf my entire arm.


    ¡°Princess! Lower your mana!¡±


    I flinched in surprise by Vernon¡¯s sudden outburst. Confused, I sternly raised my gaze towards him with furrowed brows. His hair was gently fluttering but there was no wind that touched my skin. I shifted my eyes to Mera and the edges of her hair were waving like Vernon¡¯s, and she looked at me with wide worried eyes.


    Ah, was it because of my mana?


    That¡¯s not right¡­.


    ¡°Princess, didn¡¯t I say to use the lowest amount of mana?¡±


    ¡°B-But I did use the smallest amount.¡±


    Of course I did. I follow instructions, you know.


    ¡°Is that so? Then why are you still affecting everything around you?¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡±


    Huh. I was sure that was all I could bring out at the minimum.


    ¡°I¡¯m s-serious, Vernon! That is all I can do.¡±


    ¡°...¡± His eyes went wide in disbelief. ¡°Do you still lack the skill to control your mana¡­? No, could it be because of the amount of mana you innately have within?¡±


    Normal individuals shouldn''t have as much difficulty controlling the output of mana as I did, like Mera, she didn¡¯t have to struggle as I did in the beginning. However, her difficulties lie in giving mana form. As for me, in the beginning, controlling the amount of mana to let out and control was challenging.


    Could it be that I am still lacking? No, no way. I thought I was doing fine. So something else must be wrong.


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    Then, there could only be one reason.


    ¡°Milady, your arm.¡±


    I look at my arm. My breath froze when I saw it had become tinged in red. I moved back my sleeve and the entirety of my right arm has turned red as if it was sore. I did feel pain though and I didn¡¯t try to think a lot about it.¡±


    As though panicking, Vernon grabbed my arm and checked it. He slowly pressed down.


    ¡°Ow!¡±


    I expressed the pain caused by what he did.


    ¡°It has turned sore already. Could it be because of the amount of mana you flowed through it? Or could it be because of your constitution?¡±


    Maybe both.


    ¡°V-Vernon, is it bad?¡±


    ¡°You will need to rest for today. If we keep on going, your skin will tear and bleed.¡±


    Damn, so it does tamper literally with flesh.


    ¡°We¡¯re fortunately you have no tears whatsoever. Otherwise, your family might have realized, but it will gradually lessen later.¡±


    ¡°What about healing magic?¡±


    ¡°It will be too minor for healing magic, a residue of the redness will remain. You will be fine though, there doesn¡¯t seem to be any bleeding, if it did, your skin would have ripped for a little. It will slowly return to normal, and by dinner the redness should turn faint. However, your family might notice it, they have a sharp eye for you, after all.¡±


    ¡°I will keep the long-sleeved dress then, to at least cover my arm to the wrists.¡±


    ¡°That will do.¡±


    He heaved a deep sigh.


    Conclusion, I have a vast amount of mana that the minimal amount I could exude was already shocking. Ugh, do I need to practice and adjust again?! Add to that injecting mana into my body ¡ª what is this? Steroids?!


    I should also hope the redness would dissipate to a great degree later.


    Vernon had me sit down and rest, my arm was starting to feel numb.


    I turned to Mera.


    ¡°Mera, what about you? How did it go?¡±


    ¡°It is a bit hard, but I am making progress. That said, my arm is starting to ache. But it hasn¡¯t turned red, so I can keep going.¡±


    She¡¯s able to say confidently that she¡¯s making progress, so that must definitely be the case. Maybe because she has less mana than me that it was easier for her, not to mention her constitution, that¡¯s a maid for you!


    Aaaw, and I have a decently good constitution from my past life too. Do I need to workout some more here? Damn.


    ¡°Then, continue. I will cheer you on.¡±


    With a smile, I tried clapping but after one, my arm flinched due to the pain. Yeah, let¡¯s not do that for now.


    With a nod, Mera continued with her training.


    Looks like I¡¯ll be doing nothing for today, what a bummer.


    ¡°Vernon, can¡¯t I just use my other arm?¡±


    ¡°Princess, are you mad? Then which arm will you use if both are sore?¡±


    ¡°Then what about a leg?¡±


    ¡°Certainly not. Please behave for now.¡±


    With a pout, I crossed my arms, enduring the pain while doing so.


    Mera kept on going for an hour. Like how? Even Vernon was surprised about it.


    As I was doing nothing, I played around with magic spells. White mist emanated from my left hand as a small shard of ice formed above it.


    Gradually it formed into a blade those found from daggers, except there was no hilt included. Sadly, this process happened longer than I wanted. Ice was only created an inch every second, not even good to use in urgent situations.


    I pressed the ice construct between my thumb and index finger, it didn¡¯t need much strength to shatter it completely, cracks instantly spread everywhere, and then it broke apart. The ice shards fell off my hand before vanishing into mists. The frost weapon was also too fragile to be used as a poking stick.


    I will need to practice this for several days.


    As I was practicing, I glanced at Mera for a moment. She was grimacing a little. She seemed to be doing well though. I have the feeling that she¡¯ll surpass me in this department. If she manages to have combat capabilities, she will become more useful than before, so I¡¯m looking forward to her development.


    As time passed, I was getting a bit bored, while ignoring Vernon¡¯s prying eyes when I was practicing my frost magic. I was intending to train hard on physical enhancement, but it ended up otherwise. And my arm was still sore.


    A ball of golden light floated around my arm. I wanted to try the Flash Bang, but obviously I can¡¯t do it here.


    Almost two hours had passed, during that time, I would practice my spells and read the book of magic. Might as well make progress. I also took a deeper look at healing magic all the while.


    Then I heaved a sigh.


    I stretched and walked towards the windows, gazing at the outside scenery where the green grasses and healthy trees stood tall. Birds flew around, and some dived through the foliages where their nests lie. It was a peaceful view, in a peaceful place.


    I could have been there. On the grassy floor, maybe having a little picnic, relaxing as I watch the blue sky while white clouds move about. I looked at the walls from afar.


    Maybe, I could have been there outside, peacefully visiting places I have never seen. Only thinking about the leisure and the beauty and wonder of places. I could have been enjoying delicacies to my heart¡¯s content. I could have enjoyed the freedom I have received, where I could stretch my wings however and wherever I want.


    I held out my hand and touched the clear glass window, my eyes gazing beyond the walls of my home.


    I would have been free to do anything. My mind would have been at peace.


    And yet¡­


    And yet I have to think, contemplate, ponder, predict, visualize, strategize¡­ worried for my life¡­ Did the universe consider my actions a sin? What were my sins? Was the universe punishing me for that? Was sin not a matter of perspective?


    Killing? Would such a thing be a sin in a place of death? Would murder be a sin when that¡¯s all you have known to be right? If it was my punishment, then¡­ What right does the universe have to do this to me? Gods? What right do they have to me?


    I refuse to accept such a reason. Absurd.


    ...Everything was starting to feel so short, even life itself.


    It¡¯s tiring.


    What a surprising thing coming from me...


    ...


    ¡­. That¡¯s it.... I¡¯m done being restrained. After all that time I wanted to buy everything at my luxury. Wanting to experience living with no anxiety. Wanting to go everywhere I want with no eyes watching me, and voices warning me.


    I will do everything I can to taste freedom. Danger was around the corner, but I shall be prepared and also be careful, wary. No matter how small the freedom, I shall take it. I will go to the festival even if my parents demand otherwise. I shall maybe meet with other nobles, that could be entertaining, maybe I can meet with other fellow noble ladies.


    I¡¯ll also find a chance to go out into the city again. But then again, maybe I can get that opportunity during the festival. Dresses, I also want new dresses, that could also be a chance to get a special outfit made. Music, I¡¯ll also learn more about the music here.


    Yes, I shall not let anyone get in my way. If they do, they¡¯re dead. Even if there are thousands of them, I shall become a million army if it means their elimination.


    ¡­ Aaah, forming a great resolve felt good. A new ambition. A fabulous desire. A needed wish. It¡¯s a good driving force, repelling the stress.


    ¡°Your highness? Are you feeling okay?¡±


    I heard Vernon¡¯s beckon.


    I turned around, retracting my hand from the window, and faced him with a smile.


    ¡°Yes, good. Very good.¡±


    His eyes went wide, as though aghast. Mera also looked both puzzled and surprised.


    How was I smiling?


    I don¡¯t know.


    But, maybe I have gotten too honest with my wish.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 15: Foreteller (Part 1)

    <div>


    A group of carriages crewed by elves entered through majestic open gates, flanked and installed upon curved sturdy trees colored with green leaves. There was quite a traffic on the way inside the city surrounded by forests.


    All manner of creatures can be seen walking on the road. There were elves, beastmen, centaurs, a few dwarves, and also a few satyrs.


    The group of elves was instantly allowed inside without any tolls since the guards had already recognized that the head of the group was an important official. She was the elf ambassador renowned through the entire population of the race of mystics who had served for a few centuries now. The one who had the ability to alter fate itself, Lieren.


    While inside the fanciest carriage, Lieren leaned her head on the window and watched outside. They passed through a joyful and proud city where different species were united with no conflict in mind. A feat possible only through the help of the gods and people of old.


    There were massive trees with doors and windows, used as houses. There were also wooden houses built on top of trees, depending on the size of the tree, it would determine the size of houses that can be built. One way to get down was to use a spiraling wooden staircase.


    These types of houses were designed and built originally by elves, but now that times had changed, other races had also begun to use these types of houses. Of course there were other houses as well built on surface level made up of woods and bricks.


    One could think this city was a mixture of different cultures as what can be expected from a city where different species live together in harmony. Lieren smiled when she saw children with their parents walking on the streets, some even curiously turned to look at her convoy.


    A short time later the scenery changed and they came across a moat under the bridge they were crossing. The bridge they crossed was entirely made up of wood, however this type of wood was not to be undervalued.


    The wide wooden bridge was as tough as steel taken from a tree called ¡°Farra.¡± It was a rare type that could only be gathered from specific areas. Regrettably, the cutting of those trees had to be prohibited since they were endangered to be wiped out.


    In the far past, craftsmen would collect wood from the Farra tree since it was an incredibly sturdy tree, the most valuable wood. That in turn increases demands, with the increase of demands, the more Farra trees had to be cut down.


    Noticing the dwindling number of Farra trees, the union of the mystic race implemented a law that prohibited the cutting of the now rare trees.


    At the end of the bridge was a gigantic and tall tree with countless healthy green leaves and long vines hanging on the branches. There was a castle built and embedded within it, big and majestic made up of white walls.


    The great castle was built by the joint workforce of different races, showing the unity between species. The sheer scale and magnificence also went to express the conviction and how far they would go to preserve their unity.


    The convoy arrived at the edge of the bridge and came to a halt. There was a translucent barrier blocking the way as one of their security features. The guards guarding the entrance approached the head of the convoy, they consisted of different races with the exception of dwarves.


    A satyr with light brown fur approached the carriage where Lieren was currently in and bowed his head before her window. Lieren smiled at him.


    ¡°Greetings, Lady Lieren.¡±


    ¡°Greetings. Please open the barrier.¡±


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    ¡°Of course.¡±


    It was protocol for the head of the guards to personally meet with the head of the convoy to ensure identity. It was essential to personally see the VIP for more assurance and security. You¡¯ll never know that there might come a time a convoy came and turned out there was no VIP inside despite what they said.


    When the satyr gave the go to his colleagues, the barrier on the bridge was deactivated and it dissipated. The convoy continued on, passing the spacious defensive perimeter where guards patrolled all around.


    When the convoy arrived by the gates between gigantic protruding tree roots, the guards immediately gathered. Lieren got out of the carriage and every guard present bowed deeply.


    ¡°It is good to be back here after a while.¡±


    This was not exactly her home, but it almost completely felt like one.


    ¡°Welcome back, Lady Lieren.¡±


    The captain opened the gates and Lieren walked inside with a pair of elves behind her. Past the gate was the front yard of the castle and it was full of foliage giving only a paved pathway for people to walk through.


    Tall plants, flowers, grasses, even small trees filled the area. A few officials stood at corners discussing with each other which consisted of different species like centaurs, elves, beastmen, and so on. A thing to be noticed though that there were no dwarves and dark elves to be seen.


    As Lieren and her group walked further in, from above a wooden platform in the shape of a box with open corners leaving only the vertex descended to the ground. It was an elevator embedded within the castle wall and tree trunk.


    When the elevator reached ground level right before Lieren, a beastman with cat ears stepped forward into the pavement out of the elevator.


    ¡°Lieren, color me surprised. I was not expecting a visit.¡±


    ¡°Toshi, it¡¯s nice that you personally welcomed me.¡±


    This beastman, Toshi, was the governor of the city and a friend of Lieren. Not very close since most of their meetings were mostly about business, and Lieren wouldn¡¯t dare to call herself a close friend of his. But because of that, even though Lieren was essentially of higher status, they still address each other with familiarity.


    ¡°Of course, I rushed all the way here the moment I heard of your arrival. So, may I ask the purpose of your visit? Perhaps only to stay for the day or month? Like a little vacation.¡±


    Lieren chuckled. It would be good to have a little vacation, but she was not longing much about it. She was concentrating more on the current affair which concerns their entire people.


    ¡°Regrettably no, I came here to visit the foreteller.¡±


    ¡°...... I see.¡±


    ¡°So, how is she?¡±


    Lieren asked as she stepped onto the platform and the rest followed, meaning to talk while moving. The governor pressed a metal panel on the column and the platform began to ascend. This entire elevator was made functional by magic, making it move.


    ¡°Well, she wants to stay in her room all of the time, it was as though she was¡­ terrified.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Lieren lowered her head. ¡°It must be hard to repeatedly see the same vision, especially if it had something to do with our people¡¯s ruin.¡±


    ¡°Yes....¡±


    ¡°I need to talk to her and learn if there are any slight changes. Even a glimpse of a good change will be a great relief.¡±


    ¡°I pray that we can change the absolution of this prophecy.¡±


    Lieren wholeheartedly agreed. It would have been different if the prophecy only foretold the destruction of one city, perhaps they wouldn¡¯t have worked to their limits and be this apprehensive of the future.


    However, this concerned the entire people of the mystic race. They had to do everything to change it even with the knowledge that prophecies happened in the end even if they do something or not. If one were given the choice when something foretold that they would be wiped out, would they do nothing or do something?


    Of course they would choose to do something ¡ª they had to change fate. Lieren herself had the ability to tamper with fate, so why should they not hold unto fate that it would change?


    They later arrived at the highest floor and the governor led towards the room of the foreteller while coming across several servants of various species. Eventually, they arrived at a closed lavish door.


    ¡°Leave us alone for a while.¡±


    Lieren said to everyone around her and they dispersed the next moment. The foreteller would prefer to be alone, so having others see her, especially strangers, wouldn¡¯t be ideal for her. But it was a different case for her friends.


    Lieren knocked a few times on the door.


    ¡°Lecia, it¡¯s me Lieren. Can I come in?¡±


    She waited a few seconds for an answer, but none came.


    ¡°I just came to check on you and¡­. There¡¯s something I want to learn¡­ if there are any changes.¡±


    There was no reply. She truly needed to enter, besides, she was becoming more worried about her. Thus, she decided to enter without a response.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming in, okay?¡±


    Lieren slowly turned the knob and slowly opened the door prompting a long quiet creak.


    <div>

 Vol. 2 Chapter 16: Foreteller (Part 2)

    There a person was lying sideways on the bed facing towards the window. A girl that appeared to be in her mid-teens, a beautiful girl with a fairly short height. She had long silky orange hair and fair skin.


    On top of her head were orange furry ears of an animal, as well as a pair of long furry and fluffy orange tails behind her waist, both reminiscent of a fox.


    She was the person referred to as the Foreteller, a beastman and a fox type ¡ª an incredibly rare type of fox beastman who possessed more than one tail. Normally fox type beastmen only had one tail, and having more than one was considered special.


    In fact, only two fox-type beastmen that had more than one tail were known. The Foreteller, bearing the personal name of Lecia, was one of them. Young she may appear, she was actually older than she looked.


    She grew slower compared to other beastmen, almost comparable to elves. Nevertheless, she was still a young woman in the mystic race overall, as well as her mind. They work differently from humans by how they grow.


    Even though Lieren had entered, Lecia didn¡¯t turn to face her but rather blankly stared outside. Lieren closed the door and slowly walked towards her.


    ¡°Hello, Lecia, it¡¯s been a while.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Lieren didn¡¯t expect an answer right away and she didn¡¯t think much of it, sitting down on the bed behind her. She understood Lecia¡¯s troubles, who wouldn¡¯t be burdened by a vision about their people¡¯s demise? Lecia you see, cannot control her own visions, they would just suddenly flash before her eyes, or in her dreams all of a sudden.


    Although she could see a significant future when she wished for it, it wouldn¡¯t work all of the time, and also, she couldn¡¯t stop visions whenever they came for her.  Due to the visions, it made her feel distraught, and then she eventually fell into depression, just the same images of her people dying before her eyes.


    ¡°Lecia¡­¡±


    ¡°Something changed¡­¡±


    Lieren jerked her head to the side and looked at Lecia with wide eyes. What could have changed?


    ¡°What changed?¡±


    Could it be something good, or were they essentially the same?


    ¡°It¡­ has gotten worse¡­ for me.¡±


    ¡°What¡­ what do you mean?¡±


    She wasn¡¯t speaking about the people, but for herself?


    ¡°Lieren, help me¡­ help me¡­ help me.¡±


    Lecia whimpered repeatedly as she gripped the edge of her bed while curling as though wanting to shell herself, tears welling up her eyes.


    ¡°I can¡¯t take it anymore! They wouldn¡¯t stop! It¡¯s always the same burning cities, countless bloodsheds, war¡­ death, ruin. She¡¯s there! But it changed! Everything has gotten worse!¡±


    Lecia was convulsing as though recalling something intensely traumatic. Lieren frantically climbed up the bed and held her on both shoulders. She saw the terrified eyes of Lecia as she was brimming with tears, her lips trembling.


    ¡°Lecia, calm down! I¡¯m here, don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s going to be alright.¡±


    Lieren wrapped her arms around her and tightly embraced her. But Lecia squirmed within her arms.


    ¡°No! No no no¡­ she¡­¡± she frantically shook her head. ¡°I saw... In my vision, she was there, right before my eyes, then¡­ nothing¡­...that could only mean... she killed me¡­.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Lieren didn¡¯t know what to say. Last time, she never mentioned something like this. There was no need to ask who this ¡°she¡± she was referring to, for Lieren already knew the only one she could be talking about. The one fated to come and bring ruin to the golden era of the race of mystic.


    ¡°She¡­ she was also different from before¡­ Now she seemed colder and crueler¡­ I was right before her when I saw her eyes¡­ they were emotionless¡­ as if she didn¡¯t think my life was worth anything special¡­ I was no different from any of those lives she had taken¡­... I don¡¯t understand¡­¡±


    Lieren rubbed her back trying to calm her down.


    ¡°When will this end¡­?¡±


    ¡°I will put a stop to this. I will break this absolution of the future.¡±


    How events unfold may have changed and is ever-changing, but all will end how the prophecies foretold. And that end was what Lieren and the others were trying to change, an end where their people will survive and preserve this golden era of peace and unity.


    ¡°For now, rest¡­ What about we talk about something else?¡±


    Lecia was silent for a moment before she managed to let out a word silently.


    ¡°Okay¡­¡±


    Lieren helped Lecia lie down back on the bed.


    ¡°What about we talk about the island on the far south where leaves of trees and petals of flowers glow along with minerals on the mountain slopes, glittering like jewels during the night? There are also adorable creatures only found there, small and fluffy almost like rabbits, no, almost like sheeps.¡±


    Lecia stared up at her, tears still at the corner of her eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ curious.¡±


    ¡°I will take you there then, soon. But if that¡¯s the case, should I tell you about it? Or not just to keep the surprise?¡±


    ¡°No, tell me.¡±


    ¡°Alright then¡ª¡±


    She was about to tell her about the island but the door suddenly loudly opened. The two instantly turned to look at the door and there they saw an incredibly beautiful adult woman who appeared to be in her early thirties.


    She wore a majestic and magnificent kimono in the color of red and white with floral embroidery. She had a very fair skin color, her eyes had mesmerizing golden irises almost comparable to gemstones. Her long golden hair went past her waist, and above her head were fox ears also in the color of gold. Then behind her waist were beautiful and fluffy foxtails, unlike Lecia that only had two tails, the new arrival sported four.


    ¡°I heard you have arrived, Lieren~.¡±


    She spoke in an endearing voice that could tickle one¡¯s ears.


    ¡°Zennia.¡±


    She was the other special fox-type beastman and held the position of Shrine Priestess in her tribe. Lieren was truly surprised to see her here, the governor failed to even mention her presence. Besides that, she just suddenly barged in, talking about rude.


    Zennia smiled with delight as she watched the two.


    ¡°She looked better already~. She wouldn¡¯t even speak to me~.¡±


    ¡°You tried talking to her?¡±


    Zennia walked further inside, her heels clacking.


    ¡°I was curious and worried you see~. Specially worried about the future~.¡±


    ¡°I see. But you don¡¯t have to barge in like that.¡±


    ¡°Kuku, then pardon my intrusion. I¡¯ve been here for two days now, I hope you understand, O great elf ambassador.¡±


    ¡°Whatever. If you want to know, the end is still the same.¡±


    ¡°Oh my, so she is still coming here?~¡±


    ¡°...Yes¡­¡±


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    Both of them were silent for a while as though trying to process the situation. Then Zennia broke the silence.


    ¡°.... Lieren, have you, and the others, never thought that perhaps it is best to leave her alone?¡±


    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±


    ¡°With you interfering with her life, it causes the end of our people.¡±


    Zennia, despite her words, smiled sweetly.


    ¡°Sometimes, it¡¯s just best not to do anything~.¡±


    With curled fingers gripping tightly, Lieren pursed her lips at the absurdity of Zennia¡¯s suggestion.


    ¡°How many times have we done nothing because we thought it was the best decision? But in the end, the prophecies given by the gods still happened. Do I have to single out a few of them? The rampage of the great white beasts in the northeast, wise beasts they were, and yet we did nothing to them whatsoever. Even so, they trampled an entire city, people lost their lives and their homes.


    ¡°The great volcanic disaster, even though it was natural, we still strived to prevent its eruption. We released more heat emission, created holes, making some parts of it cold, and even lastly casting freezing spells into its crater. It quieted down. But a few days later, it suddenly erupted, destroying an entire region which caused catastrophic damage to the land and people¡¯s homes. A number of common civilians even lost their lives.


    ¡°Then the ascension of the nagas from the depths of the seas, fated to take over the costs to the west. Upon realizing that, we made contact with them and made an amiable and amicable relationship so that no violence could happen between us. It was peaceful, but in the end, they still overtook the shores, slaying hundreds of people. The prophecy still happened even when we did nothing to invite their hostility.


    ¡°The large tribe of Orcs living with satisfaction with their lives and we actually had good relationships with. They never cared about the world outside their villages, and only we knew that the prophecy foretold their aggression, and Lecia¡¯s glimpses of vision of them only served to further solidify that future. And so, as we had a peaceful relationship with them, we decided to not do anything to them, we even forbade interacting with them ¡ª all because we thought that sometimes doing nothing would be best and dealing with them early on would only cause that undesirable future. And how did that end up? They raided towns and cities and took over a number of territories.


    ¡°So, with those events, Zennia, do you think it would be best to do nothing? Even knowing that our entire race is in danger, completely unlike those that came before?¡±


    ¡°...¡± Zennia was speechless for a moment. ¡°Is that why you chose to directly end them before it could happen?¡±


    ¡°Yes, even if the prophecies were absolute, we will break through it and change fate.¡±


    ¡°Is it not foolish?¡±


    ¡°No. We cannot stand idly by.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s why it is best to act early as possible?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°So this must also be the reason why you burned the village of the Whisperers?¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Then what of the mission regarding ¡°her¡±? You seemed agitated. Something must have happened.¡±


    Lieren furrowed her brows then looked down.


    ¡°We¡­ We lost contact with Oryn, and it is suspected that he may already be dead or captured¡­ But, the most crucial part, the princess still lives.¡±


    ¡°How distressing¡­ it¡¯s harder than expected, huh.¡±


    ¡°Even though the prophecy told of her death, she still lived... But we have been thinking hard about the prophecy. Her death must have meant that she would die once, and return again to life.¡±


    Zennia¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief.


    ¡°Is that even possible?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Perhaps even other gods might have interfered personally with this.¡±


    ¡°Then, what will you do?¡±


    Lieren lowered her head.


    ¡°We are shifting focus for a while, for the time being, we¡¯ll focus on the royal family and the entire kingdom. We¡¯ll be using a human nation to handle that, I have already given the order to one of us that has infiltrated their palace.¡±


    ¡°So you are planning to destroy their kingdom¡­¡± Zennia nodded her head once. ¡°I will pray for our success.¡±


    Zennia approached Lecia and stroked her head gently.


    ¡°Everything will be well, little one,¡± she said, her voice and smile filled with profound care.


    ¡°.... Yes, priestess.¡±


    ¡°Take care, okay? Eat plenty of food, it¡¯s not good to eat less.¡±


    ¡°... Yes¡­¡±


    Zennia smiled with satisfaction and stepped back.


    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll be leaving you for a while.¡±


    The shrine priestess turned around and began walking towards the door, however promptly stopped and turned back again.


    ¡°Lecia, an important question, for me.¡±


    With a curious look, Lecia lifted her head to face Zennia.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Did you see me in your vision?¡±


    Lecia seemed to recall her vision then shook her head.


    ¡°N-No. Strange, I never saw you, even in the latest one.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s frightening, maybe I died in some way? Oh well, let¡¯s leave it at that. See you later~.¡±


    ***


    A beautiful tall woman wearing a fancy and elegant kimono walked with her wooden sandal amidst the grassy floor while being surrounded by a tree-filled forest. Her four majestic tails waved hypnotizingly at her every stride, the tiny animals around watched her curiously and cautiously.


    A smile played on her lips as she headed to her destination in the night with only the gentle moonlight to light her path. She was completely alone, neither did her ¡°colleagues¡± know where she was. Not like it was their responsibility to know, she had the freedom to do anything she wanted even when she had the position of Shrine Priestess.


    The position of Shrine Priestess was the highest position a woman could have in a beastman tribe. This woman, Zennia, was the Shrine Priestess of the White Flower tribe and their sole leader.


    That being said, there were also other beastman tribes led by other Shrine Priestesses, and some of those Priestesses were under a male leader called an Alpha. For the White Flower tribe though, there was no one like that, but Zennia alone was the leader as the founder.


    There may be different tribes with different heads, all tribes were united and had no strife with each other whatsoever. Then the head of the union of tribes would be someone called an ¡°Ambassador¡±, the ambassador of the Beastmen.


    To be truthful, Zennia was qualified to become an ambassador. However, she thought it would be too much for her and it was not honestly to her liking. Furthermore, there wasn¡¯t really any great reason why she should get the position.


    Even now that a prophecy appeared in favor of her, she still did not regret refusing that position. That position cannot support the goal she now had in mind after knowing the prophecy. It was hard to change the views and sides of other tribes after all.


    Thus, she would have to focus on the tribe that was loyal to her and then grow that tribe to a great degree.


    She stopped as a question came to mind while contemplating, recalling what she had heard earlier today.


    ¡­ Strange, I wasn¡¯t in her vision. Did she miss me in some way?


    The subject of her thoughts was the Foreteller and her vision of the future. Zennia was just puzzled that she was not in her vision. Surely she didn¡¯t die.


    Why did she think that? Because she was stronger than even any strong beastman. More than that, she wouldn¡¯t be on the side of the Mystic Race.


    She was sure of it.


    Everything had changed now that the prophecy had foretold the coming of the Lord and Lady¡¯s first daughter. There was no chance that she would side with the mystic race, despite being the same species as the beastmen. She couldn¡¯t care less about anyone else aside from her own tribe, nor did she care about any other species now that the daughter was coming, and not for any good or noble purpose.


    Well, there could be other reasons why I wasn¡¯t there.


    Firstly, likely that the Foreteller had died before Zennia could reveal herself to the public. That was a plausible possibility, so she made a decision.


    I shall always remember not to reveal myself to the public as an enemy, not until Lecia is dead.


    She closed her eyes shut as she made that commitment. Sometimes, you do not need to do anything drastic to make the future, there are times little things like this would work.


    Not that she was afraid to die, it was just that she preferred to live. She had to give value to the life which the Lord and Lady, more on the Lady, took care of, her life.


    I should be safe for now.


    The most important fact was that she was yet deemed as an enemy.


    She continued onward while wondering when the reborn daughter would come here. The prophecy never mentions any specific time after all, neither did the Foreteller.


    Speaking of the foreteller.


    Should I kill her?


    She was debating it. There were plenty of advantages when you have someone that could see the future ¡ª they could prepare and often predict.


    Killing her would be the best so at least one of the mystic race¡¯s eyes would be blinded. That being said, there was really no point in killing her, the prophecy after all was absolute.


    But still¡­


    She was having doubts about the prophecy.


    Why the Lord and Lady¡¯s daughter? Very strange, it had to be her. The gods hate them, so why would they make a prophecy that involves the Ruling Deity of Blood and Ruling Deity of Beasts?


    It was odd. Not to mention the scale of it.


    Then that inconsistency¡­ Maybe the first daughter, now princess, has to die once and return to life again¡­ But, is that truly possible?


    Death cannot be reversed. It was the rule of this world. Could the gods return someone to life? If that was the case, why did the first daughter die as a baby? True that she was reborn later in time, but it was not exactly resurrection.


    Zennia was confused.


    Something must be going on...


    Whatever that may be, she would never arrive at an answer, so she shelved it aside for now.


    I¡¯ll let Lecia live for a while.


    Even though Lecia was a special type of beastman, she would be easy to kill. That was why Zennia was so complacent about killing her now or not.


    Hm, wait. If I have a thought of killing her, then there¡¯s a chance I might appear in her next vision. Ah, not good.


    She made a commitment again that Lecia would not die by her hand.


    Then she arrived at her destination. There was a small pond at the clearing amidst the dense forest. The bluish light of the moon glistened on the surface of the water. A smile formed on Zennia¡¯s lips, a nostalgic one.


    ¡°This place never fails to make me feel elated.¡±


    As she spread out her arms while reminiscing, taking in a deep breath, she had the urge to stretch out her other tails, the hidden five tails. The Fox Priestess truthfully has a total of nine tails. When she arrived in this land, she decided to hide the rest to conceal her total number of tails, to be spared from too much attention.


    The originally nine-tailed fox priestess took a deep breath again with closed eyes.


    This was one of the places where she hung out with the Lady a long long time ago, a few millennia ago. She still remembered very well the moment she had with the Lady.


    ¡°Hmmm~ Hmmm~ Hmmmm~...¡±


    Zennia hummed the humming the Lady would sing to her as she went to sleep. She could still remember the feeling as the smooth and soft pale hand of the white-haired and red-eyed goddess stroked her head when she was still a small and young fox. A lone nine-tailed fox she was until the Lady took her in.


    That was why she was indebted to her, and also to her husband who treated her well.


    If only that time in the past could happen again.


    But it wouldn¡¯t¡­


    She lowered her head as sadness filled her heart once again.


    Young goddess, daughter of the Lord and Lady¡­ I shall await your descent into this world. I will be fighting by your side, I will support you as had your mother and father supported me.


    She will be waiting. There was no need to worry about the young goddess dying before coming here, for the outcome was already determined and fate was in motion, no matter what little changes it may have ¡ª the outcome will all be the same no matter what one does. That was what she believed.


    The young goddess will come and bring ruin.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 17: The Sealed Thunderwrath (A Short Side Story)

    There was a plain adequately lit chamber filled with chains attached to the metallic walls. A small amount of electrical current littered the air only to be absorbed by the metal chains. The floors were clean, the ceiling plain, and windows nowhere to be seen.


    It was almost similar to a prison cell. No, it was precisely a prison made especially for one. A specially sealed chamber where not even insects or rodents were able to enter, only having small vents to allow air to get in and out, keeping the sole person inside alive.


    At the center of the chamber was a humanoid, wrapped by dark chains and shackles on all limbs and on the neck. Her arms spread apart, and her legs folded on the floor. The person was entirely covered with metal plates, as though wearing armor for protection.


    Dark metal greaves on the legs, dark gauntlets that fit the slender arms and hands, then armor that covered the entire body fit exactly the wearer¡¯s stature. A special type of equipment. A magical item that would reshape and resize to fit the wearer. However, as though they were unable to be removed, the shackles and chains were attached on top of them.


    That being said, there were a few gaps on the suit of armor that exposes smooth and fair skin. The person had long violet hair, unkempt since she was unable to move at all. Her face was covered by a metal mask that goes around her head, only having small gaps to breathe, and visors for each glowing eye.


    Her gentle breathing expressed her resignation to fate, and also frustrations. Her arms had already become completely numb a long time ago. Hunger had plagued her stomach for who knows how many years, and yet she lived to due to her immortality. But a life of eternity was not delightful at all when living a life of agony. Unable to walk, unable to see but the same old walls and violet lightning.


    Her mind was mostly empty except for a few special memories, and heart carrying hatred. The few memories of life before the binds were the only saving grace for why she had yet to lose her mind.


    Beneath the world above, her life was a peaceful one at a small simple settlement with only a few households, not surpassing fifteen. Only they were fed through their own grown vegetables and fruits, while the men would hunt for animals, and others raise. They were all in unity, because of that they were able to survive without much contact with the outside world, they didn''t even have major roads so traveling merchants did not come across their settlement.


    She was like any normal young girl, hanging out with friends, even found romance when she reached her teens. However, her life changed when she accidentally stumbled upon which would grant her power. Power that she had no need of, nor did she desire any of it. But at the time, she was clueless.


    Upon receiving this power, a bright light of violet descended from the sky, and a roar echoed to the entire region, like thunder striking. The next thing she felt was pain all over her body as she got up, lightning cracking the rocky chamber she found herself in.


    When she reunited with her lover, the moment they approached together, lightning struck out of the blue, killing him, the person she loved. She was confused, panicking, afraid, having no idea what had just happened. How could she comprehend something so sudden and incomprehensible?


    She returned home, as lightning crackled all around her, burning leaves on the way, scarring the trees, and pain slowly searing under her skin. She would ask for help, but, as though her power raged, it went wild as pain spread through her body.


    Before she knew it, she had destroyed the entire settlement, leaving a few people to their dying moment.


    With despair, she ran away.


    A memory she never wanted to remember, but kept haunting her, even in her dreams. She didn¡¯t mean any of it.


    Not knowing how long it had passed, for many days and nights, she traversed the seemingly endless forest, while slowly taming the power she so suddenly had been given. However, it was not easy, it was close to impossible to be able to freely control it.


    Eventually, inhuman beings found her. Distraught and wary of them, she threatened them to stay away. Then, they offered her a suit of armor, saying that it could hold off the power raging out of her. After accepting and donning the set of armor, she was abducted and carried to this place.


    There, they subjected her to many things she couldn¡¯t understand, like they were experimenting on her. She had heard them mention harnessing her power and using that power for different needs. They would even extract her blood for reasons unknown to her.


    With countless experiments while bound by metal chains, she was imprisoned and made to suffer. How many years had gone by? How many meals had she missed? She did not seem to even age in the slightest.


    Frustration, and loathing, several emotions swirled within her. How could someone like a situation that she was in? She hated it. Could that be the reason why the guilt she first felt when she destroyed her home had begun to dissipate? Overwhelmed by other stronger emotions. Or could it be something else?


    Even so, in the end, she could not escape this place. The chains attached to the walls would harness her power before she could do anything with them. Due to the hopelessness, she fell into resignation.


    ¡°...¡±


    How long will they keep her here? She longed for freedom. She craved water to quench her thirst, and food to fill her belly, to receive warmth from the sun.


    But it was impossible.


    She cast her eyes down as she had always done.


    The ground shook a little, that little occurrence would have been hard to notice, but not for her who had been mostly still. However, this could be nothing but a normal shake of the earth.


    Time steadily moved by, and the shake gradually intensified, as though something was stomping on the floor. She could never sense any movement on the other side of the walls, so she was clueless of what could be happening. However, she surmised that this must be nothing special.


    But the ground shook again, and stronger. The next moment, the wall in front of her trembled as though something impacted it.


    ¡°...¡±


    The girl, Herenae, slightly lifted her chin as she looked at the metal doors, one of the obstacles that would block her way to the other side of this tiny world. While that thought crossed her mind, there were several loud bangs, the hinges shook as dust flew in the air, a dent formed on the hard metal door itself.


    The powerful impact repeated a few times before the door opened up a gap and then a hand came from the other side, prying the door open with fearsome strength.


    After the door pried open, there was a person standing there, a woman it seems. She had long blue hair tied in a ponytail, but her face was covered by a mask. She donned a black clothing, covered in plate armour along with a skirt, and for some reason, its design appeared to have been inspired a little by maid outfits.


    She had iron greaves and gauntlets, her torso and even over her breasts were protected by armor. One could imagine the weight she would have to bear when wearing those, but she appeared to be fine as she stepped inside the room untroubled, her steps followed by the clanking of her suit.


    Herenae could not begin to think why this person had appeared in front of her.


    ¡°A woman? Milady, this must be the one.¡±


    It was then a slender woman stepped inside, clad in dark leather armor, dark gloves covering both hands, dark fit trousers and a short skirt as though not only it focused on functionality, but also in decent appearance.


    That woman seemed to be young herself, a person who seemed to have reached the age of eighteen. A dark mask covered her face, but one could see a fair complexion on her neck, her long braided silky black hair were as dark as onyx.


    ¡°Hello.¡±


    The black haired woman greeted her, her voice was sweet and gentle, along with a trace of innocence. How could a voice carry such a tone?


    ¡°I see you are the one they have bound here, exploited of your power. Tell me, do you wish to be free?¡±


    The woman approached, then unexpectedly she removed her mask, unveiling a beautiful young face with a pair of dark eyes, but the two lacked any significant emotion.


    ¡°... Who wouldn¡¯t want to be free from this torment?¡±


    For the first time, the woman formed a small smile.


    ¡°Of course... I can set you free, but in one condition.¡±


    The chains rattled after those words.


    ¡°A condition¡­? You think I would be fooled? For all I know, you may be no different from them.¡±


    ¡°Am I? Please, do not even compare me with those creatures... What I want from you is simple, so listen.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Herenae decided to listen, there was no harm in it. If it was acceptable, then she would accept if that would set her free. However, if this freedom would result in her being chained once again, then she would rather not, there would be no difference.


    ¡°But first, allow me to ask. They have subjected you to activities that even I might struggle to learn about. For many years they have tied you, stealing away your freedom. You could have been out there, in the world, and yet, here you are. Who is to blame for that? Isn¡¯t it them? The so-called Mystic Race? I¡¯m sure you have seen what they are.¡±


    Yes, she had seen what they were, they weren¡¯t of the human race. They were strange beings, some she had heard about a few times while at home. There were creatures with long pointy ears, others had half the body of a horse, some covered in fur, and people with animal ears, and a few more. They were inhuman creatures that had entered this chamber to carry out experiments.


    ¡°...¡±


    The chains creaked as she remembered those creatures.


    ¡°Do you hate them?¡±


    The woman crouched down to her level, making eye contact.


    ¡°.... I do...¡± Herenae¡¯s quiet voice trailed off.


    ¡°Then, this is my condition. Help me in my endeavor¡­ to destroy the mystic race.¡±


    Was that all?


    ¡°Simple isn¡¯t it? Are you willing to take your revenge? Will you kill? Will you help me?¡±


    Herenae lowered her head.


    A small price to pay. Yes, a very small price.


    ¡°... Can you win?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°... Very well.¡±


    However, there remains a question. Can they break these chains? These were made from the same material as her armor and they were not easy to break at all, incomparable to the door that they had just broken through. If it was that easy, she would have destroyed it a long time ago.


    ¡°Good,¡± she looked at her companion. ¡°Break them.¡±


    The blue haired woman nodded her head and grasped one of the chains. She tried crushing it within her grasp, only to realize that she couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°Is it difficult?¡± the black haired woman asked.


    ¡°I think I will be able to destroy them, but it is surprisingly difficult.¡±


    ¡°Hm, so they have this kind of material¡­¡±


    The blue haired woman grasped the chain tightly and pulled it from the wall, she raised her other hand and struck down, breaking the chain.


    ¡°Fortunately, you are still able to break it. That said, we can¡¯t waste time.¡±


    A spear appeared in thin air within the black haired woman''s hand. Then with a single swing, crimson light came forth and broke all of the chains on one side, while the blue haired one broke the other side.


    Once sealed, now free, Herenae¡¯s arm went limp for a moment but she carried them up forcefully. She looked at her wrists, there were still shackles on her wrists, legs, and neck. However, she was now able to move.


    ¡°Can you stand?¡± the blue haired girl asked with concern behind her mask as she extended a hand forward.


    ¡°Yes,¡± she slowly took the hand offered and helped her stand up. It was difficult at first, her feet unstable, but she had regained her balance a little.


    ¡°Do you want the cover on your face removed?¡± the blue haired girl asked.


    She was surprisingly concerned about her that it was a little unsettling.


    ¡°I will handle it.¡±


    She undid the lock on the back of her head herself and the mask fell off, revealing a youthful and pretty face with eyes of violet.


    ¡°Let¡¯s move, as soon as we are out of this building the better.¡±


    The black haired woman said and immediately moved out, without waiting for the other two, wearing her mask again to cover her face. Her spear vanished from her hand.


    ¡°Come,¡± the blue haired girl told her. ¡°Will you need assistance in walking?¡±


    ¡°No, I will be fine.¡±


    ¡°In that case, please follow closely.¡±


    Herenae nodded and followed behind the armored maiden. The moment she stepped out of the chamber where she was sealed, she took in a sharp deep breath. It was an amazing feeling to be finally out of that desolate room, but there was another which contributed to her gasp.


    The hallway was littered with corpses, the walls smeared by splattered blood. On the corner laid the corpses of the very beings she despised, long ears, animal ears, horse half, furry creatures. They had their limbs sliced off, heads decapitated, entire bodies cleaved in half, bodies pounded and crushed, internal organs such as intestines spilled out and scattered to the floor amongst the pool of crimson blood.


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    It was a bloodbath and complete slaughter. She found herself baffled by what she had behold. How powerful were these people that they were capable of such a feat? The black haired especially looked exceptionally nonchalant amongst the bloody surroundings, but one could see discipline in her movements.


    ¡°There they are!¡±


    ¡°Wait that¡¯s the¡­¡±


    ¡°The experimental subject is free!¡±


    In the hallway to the right, the strange creatures appeared and pointed at her. They did not hold any weapons, but it was already certain that they were already armed one way or another.


    ¡°Get them!¡±


    The blue haired girl held out her fist as though preparing to engage. However, before everything else, a sword suddenly pierce through one of the opposition.


    ¡°W-What?¡±


    ¡°Looks like I missed you guys.¡±


    It was a man¡¯s voice. The sword retracted and a corpse fell to the floor.


    ¡°You bastard!¡±


    The rest attacked, claws and magic, but the man skillfully evaded each one, his long bronze hair dancing in the air.


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± with ease, he swung the swords on each of his hands until everyone was cut down. ¡°Trivial foes.¡±


    She could not see the expression the man had behind his dark mask, but he must truly be having fun. He flicked the blood off his sword and walked towards the group.


    ¡°Oh, so she¡¯s the one? Talk about oozing of power, can¡¯t you hold it back? The air feels static.¡±


    He seemed to be talking to Herenae. True, despite her armor, a small amount of her power was still leaking out. However, she couldn¡¯t do anything about it, this power was something she cannot completely tame.


    ¡°I sense divinity from her.¡±


    That voice was almost monotonous, but it was the same voice that spoke to her ever so sweetly earlier. Was this man her subordinate and was this how she normally spoke to them?


    ¡°Divinity, huh¡­ Hm, I see. Now I understand why that power is just going out like that.¡±


    She couldn¡¯t understand what these two were saying. As she was about to ask, the black haired woman spoke first.


    ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡±


    When the black haired woman started walking at a quick pace, everyone followed suit.


    ¡°How are the others?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re still disposing of the remaining trash, they should be done at any minute¡± replied the bronze haired man.


    ¡°I see. Then let us give them a little more time.¡±


    ¡°Still, this surprised me, given how important this place was, I thought the mystic people would be stronger than normal.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we just got stronger than their average strength?¡± the blue haired woman said.


    ¡°Yeah, you certainly got stronger, keep going though.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Steps echoed in front of them and what appeared were their enemies. Before anyone could strike them, the black haired woman waved her hand and dozens of ice daggers shot forward in frightening speed, stabbing each and every enemy like arrows.


    The spear is not her only weapon?


    Herenae thought.


    ¡°You already got them. Heh, looks like no one can match us anyway, so I¡¯ll leave everyone in your hands.¡±


    The swords in the man¡¯s hand vanished all of a sudden.


    What are these people?


    They were interesting, but because of that, she felt more cautious towards them.


    ¡°Please do not give more jobs to milady.¡±


    ¡°Come now, it¡¯s good for exercise.¡±


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    After a few moments, they arrived before a broken massive door, and on the other side was¡­


    The outside.


    Herenae could feel elation within her heart the moment her eyes perceived the soil darkened by the night. There was a faint presence of moonlight which made a few pebbles glint. When her legs went past the threshold, the cold but fresh air greeted her arrival into the world.


    She stopped in place and took an entire breath of the air outside. It was wonderful, bringing a sense of lightness into her chest, as though the cold wind brought her a healing warmth once again.


    She gazed up, the glimmering starry sky filled her eyes, welcoming her. The bluish moon was big and round, so magnificent. How long ago was the last time she saw this kind of view? She had no idea. But it must have been so long that her other memories have turned vague. This view felt like the first.


    As she gazed up at the vast expanse above, she felt something wet streaming down on both sides of her cheeks. After wiping them off with her hand did she realize it was her tears. Indescribable emotions swelled up within her heart. Joy, excitement, anger, irritation, longing, gratitude.


    She gazed up once more at the view of the heavens, savoring this special moment.


    It was then that she heard footsteps coming her way.


    When she lowered her head to look, she discovered the black haired woman looking at her, her eyes hidden behind her mask leaving Herenae clueless about her thoughts, before casually turning towards the approaching footsteps.


    ¡°We have finished our side.¡±


    The men in clothes of black said to the black-haired woman, their faces covered with masks.


    ¡°Good, we¡¯re ahead of schedule. We can wait for the remaining others.¡±


    The man with bronze hair casually approached the woman.


    ¡°We really are killing everyone here, huh.¡±


    ¡°What? Don¡¯t tell me you pity them. I¡¯m surprised to see you hesitate.¡±


    ¡°Now now, don¡¯t make fun of me. But, if we wait long, reinforcements could arrive, something unexpected could happen for all we know.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we have scouts, they can warn us if they are coming. Besides, we have to execute everyone here. A lot of their brilliant minds are here in this facility. Killing everyone will be a massive blow to their forces and technological progress.¡±


    ¡°You really want to harass them that bad I see.¡±


    ¡°....... We also need to make our soldiers gain experience, this will be a good opportunity.¡±


    Herenae looked back at the facility from whence she was kept. It was entirely one building but it was tall and wide, almost looking like a palace. Dark and brown walls made up of stones and bricks, small and wide window panes installed unto walls.


    This facility was surrounded by towering walls, but the front gates were now wide open. They must have used that as an entrance. But she wondered how they were able to open them, perhaps they sneaked inside?


    Herenae would have preferred to leave this place as soon as possible, she felt uncomfortable staying here. However, if they decided to wait for a while, there was nothing she could do about it, she knew she would have no say in any of their decisions.


    It was then a bright flash of light engulfed the surroundings, but it was not directly in front of them. Herenae looked up and saw a beam of light that ascended into the sky before dissipating.


    ¡°Now they have done it!¡± one of the men exclaimed.


    ¡°Now we really need to get out of here. We especially don¡¯t want any special units coming here.¡±


    Herenae lowered her eyes to look at the group, thinking what they were planning on doing now.


    ¡°Milady?¡± the blue haired woman called out.


    ¡°I¡¯ll send the signal for immediate retreat.¡±


    She raised up her hand with the index finger pointed out, then a ball of light shot up into the sky in the color of red before slowly descending.


    At that moment, Herenae sensed a group running towards them from a corner. The rest of the group also turned in the same direction.


    What emerged from the path which goes around the building was a group of the mystic race. The beastmen have already turned berserk, showing their full beast form, elves readying their weapons and magic, centaurs readied their spears and axes, satyrs staying in the rear preparing to use magic for support.


    One of the elves stepped forward and glared towards Herenae, he had short blonde hair and green eyes, a sword in his hand.


    ¡°You freed the experimental subject, fools, do you even know what you are doing?¡±


    ¡°Look at these guys, do you think we¡¯re stupid enough to do something we don¡¯t know what we¡¯re doing? You must be the fool here if you don¡¯t think before speaking.¡±


    The bronze haired man stepped forward and spoke to them in a ridiculing tone.


    ¡°Damn you, I don¡¯t know who you are but you are making a big mistake. Tragedy will befall you if you let her be. She should never be freed, destruction only follows wherever she goes. A monster blessed with uncontrollable power.¡±


    Herenae clenched her fists. She never wanted this power in the first place. And, who was he to determine whether she should be free or not? This elf had no right whatsoever. Not anyone.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that but her power is actually a big deal, you know. Be honest, you just want to harness everything from her.¡±


    ¡°We are the only ones that can restrain her, and we can use her however we want. You humans would never understand our goals, nor do you have to know.¡±


    ¡°Well well, why am I even speaking to you, you¡¯ll be dead at any moment anyway.¡±


    Herenae stepped forward, electricity crackled around her.


    ¡°I¡­ They are mine to take.¡±


    ¡°You think you can¡ª¡±


    At that moment, like a lightning strike, she disappeared from where she stood as violet lightning zapped around in a second. Everything truly happened for almost a single very short moment as several tracks of lightning spread around the mystic race.


    Silhouette of Herenae remained at every turn of the lightning strike. Then at every strike, multiple body parts were cut and severed all at the same time, the air smelling like burned flesh. The entire group of enemies never had any time to escape nor even an opportunity to take a step.


    Like a single lightning bolt striking from the sky, it ended too quickly. Herenae appeared and stood amidst the dead, the ones she had killed.


    She looked at her own hand, there was no blood since there was no direct contact with them. However, she was the one to take their lives away. It felt bizarre. This was the very first time that she truly wanted to kill¡­


    Was she supposed to feel regret? Guilt? She should have. But, she felt nothing of the sort. But instead, there was elation. She looked at the corpse in front of her, the elf cut into pieces. She did not feel guilty, she was¡­ glad.


    Even so, the sight made her stomach churn. Somehow, this reminded her of the vague memory of her home.


    Her hand slightly trembled.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± When Herenae raised her eyes, she saw the blue haired woman approach her.


    Herenae slightly nodded her head.


    ¡°Come, it¡¯s time to get out of here.¡±


    Then several people in black had also arrived from around the establishment. Several giant beasts had also arrived. Four legged beasts that resembled both lions and tigers, but they were fiercer and sported a pair of tails. Their fangs were fearsome, and claws razor sharp.


    The way Herenae saw it, these were not mere beasts, but monsters. However, when they arrived before the group, they lowered themselves. Suddenly, several bodies of dark fogs hovered above them. Such fogs normally couldn¡¯t easily be seen in the night, however, they were so close that even a normal human eye could see them.


    Herenae had no idea what they could be, but there were so many of them that it would take a while before she could count them all.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be riding the beasts, I will be with you.¡±


    Herenae had no choice but to follow. She was wary at first, but it would seem they were tamed. No, was taming monsters even possible? Or were these not exactly monsters?


    She observed the blue haired woman and saw her grasping the fur of the beast and used that to support her climb. This implied that the beast was fine with doing that. Not that this beast would be a threat if it turns aggressive towards her, she just couldn¡¯t help but do things carefully when involving these kinds of things, she might ruin everything for others.


    In any case, she followed how the woman did it. Herenae sat down and she could feel the softness of the thick fur, it was wonderful that she could sleep on it.


    She watched the rest, and the others began climbing up, there was even a large man with a large sword climbing up with a few others and the giant beast was not bothered at all.


    Turning her eyes to the other beasts, she saw the black haired woman sitting down on a beast in a perfectly ladylike manner, while a bit apart beside her was the bronze haired man casually sitting down.


    When everyone was ready, the black haired woman gave the command to move out and the beasts sprinted instantly, everyone held tight unto the monsters and the dark fogs following above them. In no time they got away from the facility walls and towards the forest, crossing through a grassland.


    Herenae looked back and saw the facility becoming distant. She did not wish to return there ever again.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be riding these for some time as we get away from the city. Ah, we have yet to introduce ourselves, my apologies.¡±


    She raised her hand and removed her mask, revealing a face with pale skin and dark green eyes. Her face was full of smiles as she extended a hand towards Herenae.


    In time, these people were the ones she will get to call her friends and comrades.


    ***


    A beam of light had just ascended into the sky.


    A young man was awakened in his slumber, rubbing his eyes, he looked up to see a large man wearing leather armor, he had dark hair and beard, above his head was a pair of wolf-like ears. At the same time, there were loud commotions outside, mixed by loud shouts.


    Instantly realizing what could be happening, the young man jerked up off the bed. His short silvery dark violet hair jumped in the motion. He had a gentle pair of maroon eyes, on his forehead were two short red horns going outward.


    His species were part of the so-called Mystic Race, however, they were among the minority and amongst with the lowest social status and influence.


    ¡°Oni¡± they were called.


    Compared to other species within the Mystics, their common strength was low in comparison to elves and beastmen. Maybe that was why they have a small influence in mystic society.


    ¡°Young hero.¡±


    The beastman called to him in a hushed tone.


    ¡°Hero¡± that was what they began to call him. However, such a thing was not yet publicly proclaimed, having only a few to know.


    ¡°Sir Tevil. What¡¯s going on?¡±


    As he asked, he stood up from the bed.


    ¡°An emergency signal was fired from the nearby facility. Suit up quickly, in these kinds of times you have to act immediately and be alert, don¡¯t slow down.¡±


    The beastman, Tevil, said sternly.


    ¡°Y-Yes sir!¡±


    ¡°You only have two minutes at maximum, get going, Senu!¡±


    The Oni, otherwise labeled as a hero, sprang into action, removing his current clothes for sleeping and donning his fighting clothes and armor. He had no idea what exactly was going on, but he had to act quickly.


    Seeing that Tevil, his mentor, was already wearing his battle outfit, Senu felt ashamed that he fell behind and had to be personally awoken. Next time, if such a commotion happens, he needs to realize it while he is sleeping. It was unbecoming of someone being gifted such power and labeled as a hero.


    He only recently began training, and so one could expect that he would be this unreliable. He was never exactly a fighter, but he had to become one for the world. There was a common threat that had come to their lands that was prophesied to threaten the entire mystic race.


    As someone who was gifted with power, he had to do something, and indeed, he was relied upon. That being said, he was still not that powerful, and he needed to be trained and disciplined. Because of that, Tevil was assigned to accompany him and train him in everything he needed to learn.


    They came to this city so that Senu would learn how it would be like on the field and gain experience.


    Senu was frantically fitting his armor when Tevil suddenly shouted.


    ¡°You¡¯re a second past!¡±


    A second?!


    He felt regret that he went past the designated time. However, he had already finished. Even so, he was behind.


    ¡°You need to be faster next time, boy.¡±


    ¡°My apologies.¡±


    Tevil placed a hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°Well, the first batch of reinforcements have moved out, so we¡¯ll be fine for now. Now come on.¡±


    Senu picked up his sword and followed behind Tevil, walking down the wooden hallway of the barracks.


    ¡°You have improved a lot in combat, however, you still need to be alert in peaceful moments. Should we try camping out in a forest filled with monsters?¡±


    Senu shuddered at Tevil¡¯s suggestion. That may sound casual, but if he said it, it would definitely happen. Facing monsters was not entirely a problem though. If they were weak that is. Small monsters no longer have any threat to him, still Senu felt pressured when facing challenging opponents.


    Knowing Tevil, he may find a spot where only fearsome monsters could only be found. He might even try sending him to fight an entire nest of them. He may be able to defeat a group, but he never exactly tried it yet. The power of lightning may be with him, life threatening scenarios were still something he was not used to.


    Even so, he can not back down and curl like a coward. If he couldn¡¯t even face mere monsters, how can he defeat her?


    ¡°I think we can try.¡±


    ¡°Cool. Alright then.¡±


    A short while later, when they arrived at the courtyard, a number of fifty men gathered consisting of a mixture of different species. However, there was no other Oni there but only Senu.


    There were mainly beastmen, centaurs, and plenty of elves. No satyrs in sight, they might have been dispatched first.


    A captain appeared, a beastman. After seeing everyone had assembled, he gave the order to move out. Following the order, every soldier sprinted and they all disappeared from the courtyard a moment later then started running through the streets.


    ¡°Come on, boy,¡± Tevil said at the same time and began moving out.


    ¡°Y-Yes!¡±


    Senu sprinted and followed behind Tevil, passing by several houses at each second. They had no need to use any mount when the facility was not even far from the city. Furthermore, they would be slower when using a steed compared to just using their legs. They also don¡¯t tire easily when just sprinting for a few kilometers.


    A couple of minutes later, Senu had arrived at a grassland with a few trees scattered about. When the facility was on sight, Senu gripped the hilt of his sword.


    When they arrived, the team halted before the gates. The first batch of reinforcements had already entered, however, everything was silent, no sounds of fighting nor panic.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s over.¡±


    Senu shifted his eyes towards Tevil, the latter wearing a serious expression.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get inside.¡±


    Senu nodded his head as he took in the cold air, anticipating what could have happened inside. After passing through the gates, he froze in place the moment his eyes perceived a bloody landscape.


    ¡°This is¡­¡±


    Corpses scattered on the ground, savagely killed, no sign of honor or dignity from what remained. There were those whose limbs were all cut, some were crushed and splattered that their innards scattered to the soil and walls, then some fortunate enough to have only sword slashes and stabs.


    When he turned his head, there he saw a group of corpses, their entire bodies were sliced into pieces, a smell of burned flesh still lingering in the air ¡ª what a foul smell.


    ¡°What the hell happened¡­?¡± Senu involuntarily asked.


    ¡°Are there even any survivors? Boy, follow me inside.¡±


    With a reluctant nod, he followed behind Tevil through the ruined doors. In the hallway, the smell of blood was way worse that Senu almost vomited. He covered his mouth with a contorted expression, sickened.


    Everyone was brutally murdered. There were even those who didn¡¯t appear to be soldiers and only wore civilian clothing. Everyone in the Mystic Race may be capable of combat, but there will always be those who were too weak or innocent that couldn¡¯t fight in a battlefield.


    The sight inside here was more bloody and sickening than the outside. The people that died here looked as though they never even had the chance to fight back.


    Senu couldn¡¯t help but look at one of the severed heads lying on the floor, an expression left frozen on its face.


    Senu felt horrified.


    ¡°Who could have done this¡­?¡±


    The more they walked within the bloody corridor, the more his stomach churn and the more his heart ached at the terrible demise of these people. They may be strangers to him, but it was heartbreaking to see this.


    ¡°Damn, looks like they killed as many as they did.¡±


    ¡°Sir¡­ people were capable of such atrocities?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    It was sickening. What sort of evil person could do this?


    If only I was here, maybe I could have stopped something like this from happening¡­


    Regret filled his heart and mind.


    ¡°The ones who did this must be brought to justice,¡± Senu said.


    ¡°They will be¡­ let¡¯s get out of here, you already look terrible.¡±


    Senu weakly nodded his head.


    He still cannot comprehend how people were capable of such horror. Do they even have any mercy? Or even a tiny amount of compassion? Can he even fight them off?


    No, I must not lose heart.


    If he cannot defeat an opponent, then he only needs to get stronger. He will train. If he still cannot, then he can rely on the help of his allies.


    As the hero, he must defeat the evil villains that would spill the blood of his people.


    As the hero, he must protect his homeland and the world they belong in.


    He gripped his sword tightly as he made his conviction.


    I will protect everyone!

 Vol. 2 Chapter 18: Cooperation Realized (Part 1)

    When my arm was a bit sore that time, right about nightfall the redness had mostly subsided, which was fortunate. I don¡¯t have to worry about my family noticing what I just did, except if they use their keen eyes to watch me. Quite a weird thing that they would just closely look at my state all of a sudden, but I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they did. Then of course they would notice what¡¯s wrong with their precious and cute daughter, that is me.


    Honestly, I am a beautiful girl, I should go out there and show that. Show my superiority to the inferiors or something like that. And don¡¯t even try to tell me something like me being raped ¡ª you think I¡¯m that simple?! I¡¯ll crush their balls to pieces and I swear men from a mile away will feel it.


    That issue aside, I tried casting healing spells to my arm. As I have only recently read it, I couldn¡¯t properly do it when I first tried it. Well, I think it took effect for a few seconds, but I think it barely helped on the whole scale of things. But good to know it worked even for just a little.


    Spells were easier than physical enhancement. I don¡¯t know why I suck at the latter. Maybe the volume of my mana does not fit much to my physical body. Mera on the other hand was handling it very well. Vernon even commended her ¡ª well I suck.


    When it was dinner, it had become less noticeable. I was most wary of Father and Estevan since they should have good eyes as being knights and all. But there¡¯s also Mother who would typically be worried about me, so she was one of I needed to be careful of. Then there¡¯s Eleden who I shouldn¡¯t underestimate his love for me.


    Dammit! It¡¯s basically all of them.


    Good thing I survived that dinner. That said, Father was strange, again. What the hell is going on? He was staring at my eyes whenever he had a chance as though trying to look through me and figure out what¡¯s behind my eyes. Vernon also didn¡¯t tell me anything.


    Well, as long as it doesn¡¯t put my life at risk, it wouldn¡¯t trouble me that much.


    During the night in my room, I tried out using my magic spells. In particular the ice magic one, I tried shaping it into a dagger but that was it. Not only did it take a while to form ¡ª which I will need more practice on ¡ª it was also as fragile as a thin sheet of ice. It would seem I need to make some calibration on shaping the mana.


    The interesting thing though, when the ice magic construct shatters, it doesn¡¯t leave any type of liquid but only turns to mist. Intrigued, I also tried placing a piece of ice on top of a surface and severed my link of mana to it.


    Gradually, mist formed going upward as every part of the shard disappeared as though vaporizing. There was no moisture whatsoever. Perhaps that was just how it was when ice was formed with magic.


    But it¡¯s one of the good sides though, I don¡¯t have to be worried about getting wet. I don¡¯t like water that much, it soaks everything and everywhere, also a mess to clean and get rid of. Ice constructs vanishing into smoke was much better than leaving water behind.


    I went to sleep shortly after a little exercise.


    Then came morning, the food was okay, as expected, not great either, quality was quite inconsistent. It was also mentioned that the library will be finishing its repair soon, so there may be a chance I get to come back there.


    Important note, mother was frequently going to the library despite the repairs. I mean, with all the guards, she should be fine, but what was up with that? Hm, I am only growing more curious as time passed, especially with all of them lying to my face.


    Maybe I¡¯ll take a look when I come back there sometime.


    There were plenty of books to read there also, so¡­


    For that grimoire¡­ I¡¯ll ask Father.


    Yeah yeah I know, I¡¯m practicing a lot of things at once. But I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ll be getting quantity first before going quality. That¡¯s what I¡¯ll do in this situation where the situation is tight. I have to be versatile.


    I¡¯ll also be asking one of my family to sponsor my new dresses. Well, I''m definitely not going to approach Father, that''s the last resort. What about Mother? Nah, she¡¯ll be too into it, so no go, I don¡¯t want her intervening much.


    The options left were my sweet brothers. Hmm¡­ someone that would sponsor without getting too much into my selections. I still have my gold coins from the last time I went out, there was a lot, but I don¡¯t know if that will be enough for any high-class dresses.


    Wow, I feel broke.


    So which brothers¡­ randomly?


    Let¡¯s roll the dice!


    ¡°My daughter.¡±


    As I was about to mentally roll a dice ¡ª though how that was even possible, don¡¯t question it. ¡ª my father called out to me.


    ¡°Yes, father?¡±


    ¡°I ask that you free your time this afternoon, I have something to discuss with you.¡±


    Huh. You know, when one of my family wants to speak with me privately, it¡¯s freak-out inducing ¡ª not that I would actually freak out¡­ you get the idea. Something¡¯s off.


    Does this have to do with him acting weirdly around me? I have a feeling this won¡¯t be pleasant for me. No, maybe this was good news.


    ¡°Right after lunch?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Since it¡¯s my academic lesson today, I¡¯ll end class right before noon, so no overtime. But if it was music class though, expect some overtime since that would be more fun to do. Academics were important, but music was better, and I¡¯m tired of pretending it¡¯s not.


    ¡°Very well, father.¡±


    As expected though, this attracted the curiosity of my other lovely family members, prompting them to inquire of what was up. But Father said it was just for the two of us.


    I would have been excited if it was a special kind of gift, I would be jumping and giving ¡°I love you¡± to him several times. It would make Estevan envious ¡®cause he would never get to have that¡­ However, adding up how he had been acting just gives the impression that I''m in a bad position somewhere¡­ I can think of a few examples...


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Well, as long as I¡¯m not dying, that¡¯s cool.


    Breakfast ended and when I left the room, I gave Vernon a little glare, giving the impression I was displeased. He froze for a moment, baffled about what I did before uncomfortably asking me.


    ¡°Did I displease you, your highness?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps yes, perhaps not.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ You are displeased?¡±


    Judging by how he was speaking to me and his response, I can tell he was involved in something! Dammit, whatever. This happens when I¡¯m only borrowing servants. In time I will need him completely on my side, his skills will be a great help. Besides, Father had plenty of strong ones with him already.


    For now, I¡¯ll let this slide and leave him alone.


    ¡°It¡¯s up to you to figure out my feelings.¡±


    ¡°How harsh, your highness. If I am being honest, you are hard to read. So I would have preferred you not give me such a task.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes you need to figure things out by yourselves. Of course I believe I have no need to say that to you.¡±


    He¡¯s old and has a lot of experiences in life, so no need to give him any life lessons. I mean, what young person gives life lessons to the elderly? Stop it. Well, I¡¯m not exactly the type to give respect to the elderly¡­ so you don¡¯t have to take it seriously coming from me. Listen to saints or whatever.


    ¡°I get the feeling that you truly are displeased with me. Did I do something?¡±


    ¡°I wonder, did you do something? Hm, I never saw you do something that would displease me, so none could tell what I could be displeased with you.¡±


    With a pout, I walked away and began making my way to the lesson chamber. I heard Vernon sigh behind me. That¡¯s right! Sigh in exasperation for your transgression. I ¡®may¡¯ don¡¯t have any right to be sulky with him, but I¡¯m still gonna.


    ¡°Sir Vernon, what did you do to make milady angry?¡±


    ¡°... I can¡¯t say what exactly¡­¡±


    Hey Vernon I heard that. Can¡¯t say have two meanings, you don¡¯t know, or you know but can¡¯t tell anyone. And the way you act leans to the latter.


    I arrived at the chamber and my commoner teacher was already there. Given how she was already here in the morning, she must have awoken quite early, earlier than me. Well, it wasn¡¯t exactly wise to let a noble, or rather, a royal like me wait. That said, this woman was teaching plenty of nobles, so she should have a pretty high standing in society.


    But I guess in the end a commoner was different from a noble. People seemed to stereotype that when it comes to monarchy, aristocrats were nasty people. Well, maybe it¡¯s a bit true. But there were plenty of good ones, like my family. I mean, it¡¯s not that different from democracy I guess, some are good, some are bad. Reminds me of the time I killed an entire government body¡­ good times. Sure left the people in turmoil for a while. Was that turmoil for good reason or bad? That¡¯s a secret.


    After a short greeting, we proceeded to our lesson. As a good girl as I am, I listened closely to her and learned some things. Listen to your teachers, kids!


    I have conquered math easily of course, as what happened last time. Their math here was basic, so no problem there. Some basic history of the kingdom, but this time, we got a bit deeper about the history of other nations. While we¡¯re at it, we went into more detail about the geography of the continent.


    Maps like these were impressive enough, though they lacked small details, the roads drawn were to be applauded. And damn this continent was plenty big. I was able to roughly familiarize the map now, I gave more effort now since I am feeling a bit serious now.


    Taking the chance, I asked my teacher for us to go into our own kingdom. I want to learn more about the nobles in our homeland and their demesne. This could also be the chance to get into more detail about our geography.


    I was a little curious about one thing, namely the forest in the northeast of the capital, Elgion Forest.  A vast expanse of forest where monsters linger that not even the current knights can wipe them all out as they did with other nearby forests.


    Why did they even make a city close to that? I asked my teacher that question.


    The forest was not as dangerous as it was when the kingdom was first established. Turns out, monsters just suddenly showed up a few centuries after the kingdom was founded. Historians could not even determine the reason for that, there was also no way for monsters to have migrated since the people would have known their movements.


    So they just appeared in the middle of it? Were they perhaps just hiding all that time and showing themselves when humans started to disturb their ecosystem? I mean humans pretty much disturb everything so I can understand that, hehehe...


    Seeing a monster would be pretty interesting... if it¡¯s not threatening me.


    I studied the map of our kingdom, memorizing the location of noble households. I even saw Mera¡¯s household, talk about a remote place, and their territory was quite small compared to those nearby it. But theirs was by no means small, just small compared to areas handled by nobles around them.


    By the capital, there lived nobles that didn¡¯t have much land to govern since it was mostly under the crown. Most they could do was manage things up whenever the crown is focused elsewhere.


    There was a household on my mother¡¯s side there, a few from my cousins. Then there was also Eleanore¡¯s, and then Lucious¡¯s cousins I believe, he mentioned it a few times in the past, was it about his uncle or something? Eh, whatever.


    These house locations will be important to be memorized, even the roads leading up to them or the landscape sketched on the map. Damn, these capital nobles must be rich! I mean, they¡¯re pretty high ranking. But this homeland of mine was interesting, Marquis ranks do not govern any land here ¡ª well, those within the capital.


    When they are promoted into a higher-ranking noble, they would be asked to move into the capital. Of course most would take it since it gives more privilege and offers plenty of merits, and the land they left behind will be managed temporarily by nearby households until governed by a newly appointed lord. That said, it was also fine to not transfer.


    Basically, we those in the capital were the big leagues! Those beneath us shall lick our shoes and bow in our presence. When we lack chairs, they shall be our chairs! None could oppose us!


    And I am way higher than them.


    How bizarre if that would be the case. Yeah, that¡¯s not the case at all. In this kingdom, even the nobles were¡­ mostly kind¡­ even if they feel otherwise inside, they need to act properly on the outside.


    Being a tyrannical bitch wouldn¡¯t look good in public. Sure arrogant nobles can feel displeased or repulsed at the mere presence of peasants, they were to still act benevolently in some way. If you¡¯re too obnoxious, you¡¯ll be frowned upon and the eyes of the crown will be watching you, and not in a good way.


    Damn. Guess you gotta have a pretty tight grip on everyone, huh.


    I wonder¡­ How would my rule be if I were queen? Hmmm, yeah I can¡¯t imagine much. Likely I¡¯ll just do whatever I want¡­ and maybe I would want my strings attached unto every noble¡¯s throat, making sure they¡¯re not working against my wishes. Absolute power shall be mine¡­ Oh oh, that¡¯s pretty much an authoritarian approach¡­ What can I do about it? Sheeps need shepherds!


    Well, what am I even thinking? I¡¯m not gonna be a ruler anyway. Not my problem!


    And after a little discussion and learning, my class ended. I waved my teacher goodbye, ain¡¯t I a kind and sweet princess?


    Then time for lunch. There wasn¡¯t any tension whatsoever as it happened. So everything was pretty chill. Oh, I have made a decision on who I should ask for the new clothes. It would be big brother Eleden! Why? Well, Eldest Brothers tend to be the kindest and sweetest to the youngest sister, that¡¯s why. That¡¯s what I think anyway.


    I¡¯ll make a request when I¡¯m done with the thing with Father. I wonder what it could be. Here¡¯s hoping that this isn¡¯t the peace before something spites me.


    When we¡¯re done, my Father spoke to me.


    ¡°Daughter, are you ready to go now?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    With a nod he stood up and had me follow him to his office, my two servants following me from behind. There wasn¡¯t any tension again, actually Father looked pretty casual about it, which made me feel a bit ominous. But then again, I didn¡¯t do anything too harmful for me.


    Well, not too harmful, but still a bit problematic.


    When we were about to arrive, there was someone standing right outside Father¡¯s office. He was a man wearing a fancy knight¡¯s armor who always had that snarky smile I was familiar with.


    ¡°Rogan, good you have arrived just in time.¡±


    Yes, it was Rogan.


    ¡°I would not dare have you keep waiting, my liege.¡±


    Father nodded his head.


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s enter.¡±


    Oooh, now I see.


    So, Father, you have realized, huh...


    Well shit¡­ what¡¯s he planning to do?

 Vol. 2 Chapter 19: Cooperation Realized (Part 2)

    I glanced back at my two servants for a moment before following inside. After Rogan closed the door, his smile vanished from his face, likely realizing the same as I. I sat down in front of Father¡¯s desk while Rogan remained standing.


    His eyes as I looked at him, and him at mine, seemed to say ¡°We¡¯re fucked, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    Were we? I don¡¯t know yet.


    Also, um, aren¡¯t you going to sit down, dude?


    Maybe that¡¯s how things work since father merely sat down and stared at the two of us, not asking Rogan to sit down. He was just silent, eerily¡­ come on, get to the point.


    ¡°Father? Why have you brought me here?¡±


    ¡°... Daughter, are you acquainted with this knight right here named Rogan?¡±


    Was he trying to see if I was going to lie my way out? I don¡¯t get the point of testing me here, but if I lie, his impression towards me would lean towards the bad that I don¡¯t want. So I decided to be honest, not like there¡¯s any saving grace in lying.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    He raised his eyebrow.


    ¡°You immediately told the truth?¡±


    ¡°I''m not completely fond of lying.¡±


    ¡°Then Estelia, be honest with me. How long have you been acquainted?¡±


    ¡°Not long.¡±


    Wow, I feel like I¡¯m in an interrogation. He must be preparing for this moment since there were no other attendants here. Was he perhaps keeping this a secret? Not even my other family members seemed to know what this was about.


    ¡°I see¡­ Then, for you Rogan¡­ Did you receive any orders from the princess of the kingdom?¡±


    Rogan stood firmly and took a while to answer.


    ¡°No, the princess never gave me direct orders.¡±


    Yeah, I don¡¯t think I ever gave him a direct order, I don¡¯t particularly have any right to do that. I may be the princess, but it was not my place to command knights directly, they would be under Estevan¡¯s jurisdiction, or father¡¯s.


    ¡°Really? Are you lying to me?¡±


    ¡°I am not, your majesty.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡±


    Father tapped his finger on the table a few times.


    ¡°Then your actions, spreading information about potential traitors in our midst, was that not a result of a command?¡±


    ¡°It was of my own volition.¡±


    ¡°You see, I came to realize something¡­" he took a deep breath. "Estelia, you told him about that information didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°There was no one else that should have known about it. True there were rumors, but those rumors only became stronger by the information coming from an elite knight. Please do not lie to me, my daughter.¡±


    He sounded more stern now than before.


    ¡°I implicitly told him about it.¡±


    ¡°Implicitly? What do you mean by that?¡± He looked genuinely baffled.


    ¡°I mean it exactly as I said it.¡±


    ¡°Rogan?¡±


    ¡°I think that was implicit.¡±


    ¡°So in the end, you leaked the information about the situation.¡±


    Father palmed his face.


    I didn¡¯t know how this meeting was going to end, but I just have to go along for the ride.


    ¡°Estelia¡­ You did another risky thing again.¡±


    Well, technically it was the first.


    Then he suddenly continued with a loud and forceful tone.


    ¡°No, not risky, it was utterly dangerous! What if Rogan was the traitor all along? What do you think will happen?¡±


    ¡°True, Father, he could have been the infiltrator. However, it plays to my benefit to realize that.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying? What benefit could there be in telling anyone that?¡±


    He asked me in exasperation and the way he said it implied that he believed it was a ridiculous thing to do.


    ¡°There are several reasons why I did what I did. And they are hard to express.¡±


    ¡°Even so, you shouldn¡¯t have done that.¡±


    ¡°I only did what I believed to be necessary.¡±


    ¡°That again? Why couldn¡¯t you have just told me what your plans are at least?¡±


    You would just get in the way, Father. Sometimes, thoughts just pop up you know and I can quickly simulate how things would happen and end. Things would only slow down if I had to tell them each and every one of my movements.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have agreed to it. And I do things my own way, Father¡­ I apologize if I made you angry...¡±


    I lowered my eyes after that trailing voice.


    ¡°Daughter, I want to understand your actions¡­" he sighed tirely. "The night when you set up the trap, you brought Rogan with you. So that could mean you have come to trust him after Oryn exposed himself, yes?"


    ¡°No.¡±


    Rogan in particular jerked his chin in surprise, looking at me with wide eyes.


    ¡°No? Is that not the reason?¡±


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°Father, please, I need to ascertain those around me.¡±


    ¡°Princess¡­ so¡­ you were also testing me at that time?¡±


    I gave him a sweet smile.


    ¡°To be honest, you were just a bit of extra benefit, and a great one at that.¡±


    He flinched.


    ¡°As I thought, you are scary¡­¡± he quietly said.


    ¡°How rude of you. Don¡¯t you just see everyone scary?¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, maybe so, your highness.¡±


    ¡°You two already look close.¡±


    I stared blankly at my Father. We¡¯re not close at all. I mean, we don¡¯t have much interaction. Rogan just looks like someone who would appreciate a casual conversation, so I did a bit of that.


    ¡°We are not exactly close¡­¡± I said with a quiet voice.


    Rogan slightly nodded his head.


    ¡°In any case, allow me to know something regarding that, Estelia,¡± he sighed. ¡°How is bringing Rogan with you to Oryn¡¯s room benefit you?¡±


    Well, there were a couple of things basically, but let me give one that he wanted to hear.


    ¡°The trap wouldn¡¯t have worked if Rogan was colluding with the enemy. As I said, Father, I want to make certain of those around me.¡±


    ¡°... Is that so?¡±


    Father stared at me with a contemplating gaze ¡ª I can¡¯t tell what exactly he was thinking. He sighed again.


    ¡°I have the feeling that you won¡¯t tell me everything you are planning on doing. But please be careful.¡±


    I nodded my head.


    He stood up and reached out to me, then patted my head.


    ¡°Then, daughter, what about I appoint a knight for you, to protect you."


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    As I was puzzled on what he meant by that, he faced Rogan and straightened himself.


    ¡°Rogan Dorien, I hereby appoint you as Princess Estelia¡¯s personal knight. Protect her with your life.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ Huh?¡± Rogan was also shocked at how things unfolded. He was suddenly appointed as my personal knight after all. ¡°Ahem¡­ Yes, your majesty, I hear and obey. I swear I will carry out my duty. If it comes to it, I willingly offer my life for the princess.¡±


    With that commitment, he bowed deeply.


    I was also frantically looking at the two of them like a small child. To be honest, I¡¯m fine with this.


    ¡°Good. Start tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Um, is that alright, Father? I will be taking one of your elite knights.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s for you, it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°... Okay!¡± I beamed brightly with joy.


    Father smiled in amusement. ¡°Alright, you can go now.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Father.¡±


    With a little farewell, we two visitors began leaving, but I stopped halfway. This could be a good chance to bring that up. Rogan who had opened the door looked inquisitively at me.


    ¡°Princess?¡±


    ¡°Ah, you can leave first, I have one thing to talk to Father with.¡±


    Rogan looked at the two of us first before nodding and leaving the room. Now the door closed, I turned to look at my father.


    Technically, I am still grounded and supposedly unable to make any request. However, this kind of request was different, and besides, maybe father had forgotten about it.


    ¡°You have something to talk to me about?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Father¡­ Um, will you listen?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll listen.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­can I have Vernon as my direct subordinate. Meaning, he¡¯ll be my personal attendant.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Father was speechless as he watched me with wide eyes, never expecting what I had just requested from him. It¡¯s to be expected that he would react this way, Vernon was like his long-time assistant after all. However, if he refuses, there¡¯s nothing I can do about it.


    ¡°You want Vernon?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine if you refuse¡­¡±


    I clasped my hands together meekly.


    ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s just, why?¡±


    ¡°Why? It¡¯s because I like him.¡±


    ¡°...... Is that so¡­? I¡¯ll think about it¡­¡±


    I nodded my head gently.


    ¡°I understand, father. Excuse me.¡±


    With that, I left the room and saw Rogan standing by a corner with his usual grin. He walked towards me with a casual shrug.


    ¡°It would seem I would be directly serving you, dear princess.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t like it?¡±


    ¡°Oh please, being a guardian knight of the princess is one of the greatest honors there is.¡±


    ¡°Your friends would be impressed then.¡±


    ¡°Oh I¡¯ll rub it on their faces,¡± he grinned widely.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you will be amused.¡±


    I started walking down the hallway with Rogan, down the halls I could see both Vernon and Mera on standby.


    ¡°Still, I didn¡¯t expect his majesty to just call me all of a sudden and you coming along. I was worried there for you for a minute.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s to be expected that Father would realize sooner or later. But it¡¯s good we moved that problem out of the way.¡±


    ¡°You know princess, I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re making conversations with me.¡±


    I stopped and furrowed my brows while looking at him.


    ¡°I also talk, you know.¡±


    ¡°Now now, please do not wrinkle your brows like that, it will chip away your beauty for a bit.¡±


    ¡°... Okay.¡±


    Yeah, I don¡¯t want that. Such perfection of my being shall not step into imperfection.


    It was then that my two servants approached me.


    ¡°Milady, is everything alright?¡±


    Mera asked me, she must be concerned that something might be wrong since Father called me in.


    ¡°And the knight¡­ Sir Rogan is even with you.¡±


    Hm, was there a delay before she said his name? Did she forget his name for a moment there? Honestly, it felt like Mera¡¯s starting to get meaner and meaner to other people, and I am sure I have nothing to do with it¡­... Well, a boy and a girl together, doesn¡¯t exactly look pleasant to the heart of a third party that¡­ you know. Jealousy is a frightening thing.


    ¡°Um, well. Things happened. Sir Rogan, you can go ahead and explain.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Greetings, I, Rogan Dieren, will be working with you starting tomorrow. On this day, I was appointed as Princess Estelia¡¯s personal knight, as ordered by the King. I¡¯m looking forward to working with you.¡±


    With a wide and amused grin, he extended his hand towards Mera waiting for a handshake. He must have had a feeling that Mera didn¡¯t like him that much, but that was amusing for him. This guy had some sharpness to his eyes despite his easy-going demeanor.


    Mera, still processing what she had only heard, slowly touched Rogan¡¯s hand followed by a little handshake.


    After that, Rogan offered his hand to Vernon and the latter immediately shook it.


    ¡°Then with that done, you can go back to your friends for now, Sir Rogan. I¡¯m sure you have to let them know. As Father said, you can start tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Please excuse me.¡±


    With a bow then followed by a casual wave of a hand, he left.


    ¡°I wonder why his majesty decided to appoint him as your knight,¡± said Vernon.


    ¡°I wonder¡­ But no point in pondering about it. Let¡¯s go to what we should be doing now, time is moving.¡±


    ***


    Leodoule gazed out the window, reflecting on his meeting with his daughter and the knight Rogan. He was still thinking about how to take Estelia¡¯s action, for some reason, he was still in disbelief. She had never shown that side of hers before.


    ¡°She¡¯s growing¡­¡±


    Somehow that notion pricked his heart. He just loved the cute Estelia so much that any sign of changes just stings a little. Even though it wasn''t a good thing to feel, he still couldn¡¯t help it.


    And what¡¯s with her interaction with Rogan?


    That piqued his interest, they were surprisingly very friendly to each other, the least he would expect that Estelia would do. She was never that way.


    ¡°Wait¡­¡±


    A thought came to mind. Why Rogan specifically? He recalled that she once visited the knights and they held a mock battle between elites when the princess came to watch. If it were the battle of elites, then Rogan surely would have participated.


    ¡°Could it be?!¡± he sprang up from his chair.


    It dawned on him. There could be no other explanation. Why Estelia approached him first of all. Why she was so friendly with him. There was no other possibility.


    ¡°She likes Rogan?¡±


    He couldn¡¯t help but let in a loud gasp. This was the shocking news of the century, a giant leap of humanity ¡ª no rather a giant leap of his daughter.


    ¡°Is this alright though?¡±


    He had his worries. Rogan wasn¡¯t exactly a reliable type, and he was quite a playful man. Why did even the princess begin to like him? Could it be during the mock battle, he was so dazzling that it caught the eyes of the princess?


    ¡°What do I even think of this?¡±


    He muttered, he truly had no idea. To think that Estelia would like someone. It reminded him of another boy, now a young man that was blatantly in love with Estelia.


    ¡°Lucious fell behind.¡±


    Eleden¡¯s assistant, Lucious, that childhood friend of theirs.


    Actually, Leodoule sympathized with the boy, Estelia didn¡¯t even give him that much attention. It¡¯s hard being ignored by their crush.


    And Lucious had been carrying that feeling since they were children.


    No, perhaps there was still some hope for him. For now, the way Leodoule saw it, Estelia merely had an interest in Rogan. Maybe there was no intense romantic feeling yet. There was still a chance.


    Not that he rooted for Lucious, it was just that, Lucious was more reliable. If it was Rogan, one could imagine how politics would react to that.


    But in the end, it¡¯s up to Estelia who she picks. Leodoule decided to just be a normal guide for his daughter whenever she would be distraught when it comes to love. Maybe if she has troubles, he could give her advice. If she gets jealous or hurt, he¡¯ll be there to comfort her.


    ¡°I never thought her love would begin blooming like this¡­ But I guess¡­¡±


    ...This is what makes her a normal girl.


    This was what he wanted, her being normal. And he was glad.


    He looked at the window with a smile.


    ¡°... Vernon, huh.¡±


    He didn¡¯t expect that Estelia would outright request to have Vernon. She certainly has grown attached to him. But, Vernon was his old friend ever since he was young.


    I need to think deeply about this.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 20: Rogan Dorien

    Rogan made his way to their usual hanging grounds ¡ª meaning the courtyard where they usually train or do some stuff. He preferred to call it a place to hang out since well, it was basically a place where he can hang out when nothing else to do, and he also barely comes back home, and he preferred not to.


    It was more fun here and less annoying.


    His excited steps were a bit loud, but that was a voluntary action, which caught the attention of the common soldiers and knights. He wanted to show everyone that he was feeling good.


    ¡°Sir Rogan, you look great today!¡±


    One of the common soldiers greeted him in a friendly manner.


    ¡°Oh sure I am feeling great today!¡±


    Today, he was suddenly assigned as the princess¡¯s personal knight. He never expected such a thing was going to happen which shocked him to the core. But he had no qualms about it, one could think it was rising up the ladder.


    He never wanted to rise up the ranks, but he was not against it either. If he was promoted, that¡¯s alright, if he was demoted, that was also alright. Needless to say that he would feel bad if he was demoted, but it was not that big of a deal. The most important thing was that he wasn¡¯t kicked out of the knights'' order.


    What he did for the princess though was especially risky, but what happened today was akin to a reward for his efforts. Although he never wanted a reward, he was still thankful for it. He was fine being the guardian knight of the princess, in fact, he felt a little interested.


    The princess felt like an interesting person ¡ª he wouldn¡¯t have felt this motivated if it was the eldest prince since he was boring, and if it was Estevan ¡ª well that would never happen.


    The princess was more interesting than the two and more amusing. That being said, she felt a bit scary, like seriously. He may have said that casually previously to the princess, but he was being honest with his feelings.


    There was that eerie feeling he would sometimes feel when he was around the princess. And the eerieness was scary enough for him. Even the king was already scary for him, so perhaps he was scared with the princess and the king in the same amount.


    In short, he didn¡¯t want to get involved in something or someone too dangerous. Even so, no matter how he wanted to avoid it, something dangerous would always come, so he had no choice but to face it and get involved.


    Also, not like he can refuse to be the princess¡¯s knight, the king appointed him himself.


    He imagined how his friends would look if he suddenly announced that he was now the personal knight of the beautiful princess. That would be fun.


    Which reminds him that there was a certain teenager around the same age as the princess that would be struck hard. He was not being mean, but Rogan could do nothing about it that he was assigned to be Princess Estelia¡¯s direct subordinate.


    It might be harsh of him, but he felt like he couldn¡¯t hold himself from teasing someone.


    Yeah, I¡¯m an asshole, so what?


    On the way, he encountered another knight going to his destination as well. She was a beautiful and charming woman clad in the glamorous knight armor of Wisteria, a sheathed sword hanging on her waist. Her hair as black as the night was tied into a ponytail, keeping them from obstructing her eyes, the pair of black eyes turned to look at Rogan carrying a bit of sternness.


    Rogan grinned widely at the sight of her, she may look charming, but for goodness sake, that appearance was a bit deceitful. In short, she was a rough woman, especially to someone as carefree as Rogan. Not that he disliked her, quite the opposite actually, she was a nice friend. Just don¡¯t be deceived when she was acting like this ¡ª the charming part.


    Rogan raised his hand in greeting.


    ¡°Hey, Ayana!¡±


    With a single nod, she approached Rogan.


    ¡°You¡¯re going back?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    They naturally began walking together, as Rogan was blatantly expressing his excitement, Ayana didn¡¯t miss it. She had already guessed something had put him in a truly good mood, that much was obvious immediately to her since they have been colleagues for some time now.


    ¡°What got you all worked up?¡±


    ¡°Well~, something unexpected happened.¡±


    ¡°Then it must be something great, okay. You really showing that to everyone, huh.¡±


    ¡°Why not? It¡¯s not bad to show that something good happened.¡±


    Ayana nodded.


    ¡°You said unexpected, you got a new spear or something? Or did you find someone new to tease?¡±


    ¡°Wow Ayana, what¡¯s with the second part? I don¡¯t normally search for someone just to tease them you know.¡±


    ¡°Normally don¡¯t, you say. So it also implies that you also find someone to tease.¡±


    Rogan shrugged his shoulders in exaggeration. She was not exactly far from the target, but Rogan also had no intention of verbally admitting that. Incurring her usual wrath now would be troublesome.


    ¡°Hehehe, in any case, it¡¯s none of those. Much better, oh and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be surprised. Which reminds me, this means I¡¯m of a higher rank than you now.¡±


    Ayana stopped in her steps and stared curiously at him.


    ¡°What are you talking about? Are you supposed to have been promoted to a captain?¡±


    She appeared to be having a hard time believing that would be the case. If he was made captain, then he would be forming his own squad of knights. That would be fine, however, he was not the type of person who was fit to be a leader ¡ª that was the impression everyone in the knights'' order had of him, he was unreliable to be a leader. That was why despite being one of the elites, he didn¡¯t have a squad of his own. Although Rogan himself wasn¡¯t bothered by that at all.


    ¡°Hmmm, well no¡­ not exactly. I¡¯ll keep it a secret until later ¡ª hehehehe.¡±


    He snickered like an annoying person always does.


    ¡°Wanna get punched?¡±


    Ayana curled her hand into a fist and glared at him. Rogan stepped back and raised his hands.


    ¡°Ah Uh, that¡¯s dangerous. Please don¡¯t damage my face this time, it wouldn¡¯t look good if I do my duties tomorrow.¡±


    Seriously¡­


    He occasionally finds himself being punched by Ayana when he annoys her often. When he had no armor on, she would either punch him on the arm or the stomach. With armor on, she would punch him on the face, but not that hard, at least she holds back in that part.


    Of course as a knight himself, he wasn¡¯t bothered by any of it that much. He deserved it after all, and he enjoyed those kinds of moments with her as his friend.


    ¡°Okay, what the hell happened?¡±


    She grabbed him on both shoulders, restraining his movements.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be mad if you suddenly surpass me, but that would be impossible.¡±


    ¡°Oh, but in one way or another, I did. Hehehehe.¡±


    He grinned widely as his smiling eyes gazed at her.


    ¡°I¡¯m punching you.¡±


    ¡° ¡ª No no no wait! I¡¯m serious, don''t hit me!¡±


    He frantically slipped away from her grasp, and he sighed when he was successful.


    ¡°You¡¯re serious¡­? Fine, you¡¯ll be spared this time. But if you are removed from that armor,¡± she smirked. ¡°I have plenty of spots to hit.¡±


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Hah! If you can hit me that is. With my new duty, I need to be waaaay better than you!¡±


    ¡°Oh? Let¡¯s just see.¡±


    The two gazed at each other with such intensity that they failed to notice someone walking towards them with almost silent steps.


    ¡°What the hell are you two bickering about?!¡±


    The next thing Rogan felt was a smack on the back of his head.


    ¡°Ow!¡± He immediately turned his head to look at the culprit.


    He was a middle-aged man with a scar by the side of his face, he had black hair, brown eyes, and a brown complexion. Rogan stepped back from the muscular man.


    ¡°Why do I have to be the one to be smacked by you, Elson? Ayana started it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah, knowing you two, you both probably at least started it all together.¡±


    Ayana heaved a deep sigh. With Elson here, there will be no form of retribution whatsoever.


    ¡°Alright, now that you two are done bickering, you¡¯re going to the grounds, yes? Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The two nodded their heads and followed behind Elson.


    ¡°Ah yes, expect the decrease in the number of knights tomorrow. It would seem we¡¯ll be able to barely see some friends every day.¡±


    ¡°So they¡¯re done designating the knights, huh.¡± Ayana nodded her head.


    Rogan was briefed shortly about this, where knights would be sent to patrol the city, which they don¡¯t do much unless there was some big problem. The previous day, they worked out the common soldiers first, so the knights will be next tomorrow to be sent out.


    ¡°I heard from the prince that they¡¯ll be leaving the strong ones here in the palace,¡± Elson added. ¡°So I expect I myself will be staying here. I don¡¯t know about Rogan though.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m strong, so it¡¯s to be expected I¡¯ll be staying here. Well, it doesn''t matter anyway, I will be staying here in the end.¡±


    Rogan smiled widely again. Seeing this, Elson narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°What got you all smug?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s been like this moments ago.¡±


    ¡°I just couldn¡¯t help it, you know,¡± he dramatically touched his temple as he heaved an exasperated sigh. ¡°I am just so thrilled about it.¡±


    ¡°Really? Tell me about it.¡±


    ¡°When we arrive.¡±


    ¡°Is it supposed to be a big deal?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it is a big deal.¡±


    ¡°Huh. Whatever then.¡±


    ¡°Now now, don¡¯t start losing interest.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll listen, not like I have any other choice knowing that you¡¯ll publicly announce whatever that is.¡±


    ¡°When you say it like that, I¡¯m losing confidence that it¡¯ll be a big deal.¡±


    Ayana smacked Rogan¡¯s back a few times vigorously, he may not be able to feel it through the armor, but it was enough to shake his body.


    Eventually, they arrived at the courtyard, knights spread out all over, some training, and the rest conversing with each other. Well, lunch was just about over, and Rogan always found himself impressed by how others went straight to training their bodies.


    Don¡¯t they know how to chill sometimes?


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s Rogan, how¡¯s the meeting with the king?¡±


    One of the knights who heard that he was being summoned by the king earlier immediately asked him.


    ¡°You were called by the king?¡± Ayana asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°What kind of trouble did you do this time?¡±


    ¡°Would I be in a good mood if I was reprimanded about something?¡±


    ¡°... Wait, is it actually a big deal?¡± Her eyes widened.


    He grinned and faced the other knights, stepping forward.


    ¡°Yeah, it was great.¡±


    ¡°Woah, I thought you messed up somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Or you misbehaved too much when his majesty called for you.¡±


    ¡°Come on guys, you know I am a well-behaved knight.¡±


    Everyone laughed at his claim. Well, despite his unruly and noisy behavior, he was still a decent knight that carried his duty well.


    ¡°In any case, I have something great to announce. I am regretful to inform you that we won¡¯t be seeing much anymore.¡±


    Everyone became silent, intently looking at him, as though he had said some kind of omen. They were waiting on what he meant by that. It could possibly mean that he was fired or something, which everyone here wouldn¡¯t want to happen.


    ¡°Well, to stop beating around the bush, I am now the personal knight of the Princess of the Kingdom, her esteemed Princess Estelia! Great isn¡¯t it?¡±


    He pointed at himself with a wide grin. Everyone was silent for a moment before they start chuckling.


    ¡°Come on, stop joking around, Rogan.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, even that is too much.¡±


    ¡°I was a bit nervous right there.¡±


    ¡°Seriously, what¡¯s with the weird joke.¡±


    Rogan flinched, utterly dumbfounded that they did not believe him at all. Was that too ridiculous of a claim? Even he himself was surprised and baffled by their reactions. In contrast to most others though, a few had surprised expressions, two of them were Ayana and Elson.


    ¡°Hey yo! I¡¯m not joking around! I¡¯m serious. His Majesty literally appointed me.¡±


    The laughter died down.


    ¡°He¡¯s serious.¡±


    ¡°It appears so.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°No way!¡±


    ¡°You gotta be lying!¡±


    Everyone was in disbelief. Rogan nodded in satisfaction, this was the exact reaction he wanted.


    A few charged at him with dumbfounded faces.


    ¡°No way, why? H-How?¡±


    ¡°Why you?¡±


    ¡°How did you even manage that?¡±


    While Rogan was smiling, someone pulled him from the back of his neck on his armor. The next thing he saw was the stern face of Ayana.


    ¡°You bastard! You really surpassed me! And a personal knight?! That¡¯s ridiculous! How am I supposed to process this?¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, see? I won.¡±


    Her face crumpled.


    ¡°Let me hit you.¡±


    ¡°Ha-ha, no please.¡±


    He immediately slipped away from her, but Ayana didn¡¯t give chase but only gave a pout. Somehow he felt bad looking at her.


    Before anything else, other knights had already gathered before him, even the women were especially frightening in the eyes, as though they were staring daggers at her. Rogan understood all too well how these women felt. They were interested in the princess and wanted to try getting close to her.


    ¡°How did that happen?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, it just happened.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a lie.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s absurd.¡±


    ¡°Did you pull off some strings?¡±


    ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t start thinking something nasty about me now! Maybe the royals were just impressed by my actions, you know.¡±


    Everyone gradually regained their calm as seconds passed.


    ¡°This truly is a surprise,¡± Elson said to him. ¡°You¡¯re a spear user so you can¡¯t bring your weapon freely inside the palace halls while accompanying the princess, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that would be the case, looks like I¡¯ll be using a sword.¡±


    That would reduce his overall capabilities, but one couldn¡¯t say he was weak with the sword. He was just stronger with the spear since it was his favored weapon.


    ¡°Well, being the princess¡¯s knight, more work will come to you.¡±


    One of the knights said.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, I find it interesting anyway.¡±


    ¡°Still, this was something I never would expect.¡±


    The knights chattered.


    ¡°Yeah, like, it¡¯s the princess. Not many even get to see her, nor interact with her.¡±


    The princess was shrouded in mystery, add to that her dazzling appearance and kindness, not only those added to her charms, it also made her very interesting.


    Especially the kindness part, she came here and she was like the very picture of a saint. Not only that, but she was also the one who suggested having a feast for the knights when they returned from the dangerous forest. They have high respect for her.


    Rogan was the same. But he still found her to be a bit scary sometimes. Maybe because of that innocence of her, too innocent as though she didn¡¯t belong in this world.


    ¡°Aaah, I wish I was picked.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡±


    ¡°Yeah me too.¡±


    A few men and women wished that.


    Well, too bad, I got picked!


    There was still a chance for them to become close to the princess though. That is if the princess hand-picked them as her retainers. But that would be close to impossible given that the princess never talked much to anyone.


    It was then a young man approached him around the same age as the princess.


    ¡°Hey, Alan.¡±


    ¡°H-Hey¡­¡±


    Oh? He looks troubled already.


    ¡°What¡¯s up? Oh yeah, sorry man, I don¡¯t know what happened but it just happened.¡±


    ¡°Why are you apologizing?¡± he averted his eyes.


    Rogan chuckled and put his arm around Alan¡¯s shoulder, leaning on him a little.


    ¡°I mean, I imagine you might feel a little jealous, you know.¡±


    ¡°J-Jealous? Why would I be?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I am very lucky. I¡¯ll get to see the beautiful princess every day. She might even invite me to some tea.¡±


    Alan smiled wryly.


    ¡°Good for you, Rogan. Oh, I was intending to congratulate you.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. By the way, I will likely get closer with the princess.¡±


    Rogan looked at Alan with amusement, who simply nodded.


    ¡°Maybe I can find a way to really introduce you, you know. I¡¯ll help you with the princess.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? You don¡¯t need to do that¡­?¡±


    Ah yes, the reluctance of asking for help. No¡­ he¡¯s retreating. We can¡¯t be having that now.


    ¡°Don¡¯t chicken out now. I¡¯ll help you with the princess, you might get a chance to get close to her. Be honest with yourself, would you? You can rely on me.¡±


    ¡°... Really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, in the best-case scenario, I can convince the princess to take you as a retainer or one of her guards at least.¡±


    Alan lowered his head, contemplating it.


    Rogan let go of him and slapped him on the back.


    ¡°Stop overthinking about it.¡±


    It was then someone suddenly decided to approach him, glaring a little at Rogan.


    ¡°Someone like you, get to become the princess¡¯s knight?¡±


    It was Alan¡¯s elder brother, Alzen. He spoke to Rogan as though he was lower than him, he truly was looking down on him, thinking how absurd it was that Rogan got that position.


    ¡°Yeah? Got a problem with that?¡±


    Alzen narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°I wonder what you did. Did you charm her?¡±


    Rogan almost choked himself the moment he heard those words. That was almost insulting to the princess. It would have been fine if he indirectly said it, but this time, it was too straightforward.


    ¡°Careful with your words, Alzen,¡± Rogan casually warned with a smile, but his eyes were stern.


    ¡°Why? It is only a conjecture.¡±


    ¡°An absurd conjecture that is absurd itself that you even arrived at that conjecture. You must be just jealous ¡®cause you never have a chance of even talking to the princess.¡±


    ¡°Watch your tongue, Rogan.¡±


    Alzen stepped forward menacingly towards Rogan. Alan frantically looked at the both of them, debating with himself whether to stop them or not, but he hesitated, knowing these two were elites in the order. In addition, the other knights also did not seem to be keen on stopping them, at least for now.


    ¡°Me? Watch my tongue? Please, try looking at a mirror and say that to yourself.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think we are a match if we fight here.¡±


    Rogan snickered.


    ¡°You wanna go, bastard? I never tried fighting you, but this could be a chance to show who¡¯s stronger. This is a chance to teach you a lesson of not even trying to insult the princess, directly, or indirectly.¡±


    Rogan¡¯s smile vanished and glared at Alzen. He didn¡¯t think much about this guy, he was just some annoying arrogant bastard you would see in every corner of the world. However, Rogan was truly annoyed right now.


    The accusation of charming the princess was the height of rudeness and insulting to the princess herself. In fact, this was almost akin to underestimating and undermining the princess. Rogan didn¡¯t like that at all. Rogan knew Princess Estelia was more than she seemed to be.


    Alzen glared at him, but after a moment, he shook his head.


    ¡°Nevermind. Fighting the princess¡¯s knight here would not be good for me.¡±


    Oh, he actually has some common sense.


    With that, Alzen left as though nothing happened.


    What does he even want?


    Rogan found himself wondering that.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with your brother?¡± he asked Alan.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, everyone!¡±


    Prince Estevan arrived and greeted everyone loudly.


    ¡°What¡¯s up? Everyone looks on edge?¡±


    ¡°Well, some things happened,¡± Ayana was the one to speak to him.


    ¡°Really? What kind?¡±


    Rogan immediately walked towards Estevan enthusiastically.


    ¡°Hey Prince! Do you know? I¡¯m Princess Estelia¡¯s personal knight now.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 21: Musics Back

    Good morning. What a good morning indeed. I had decent progress with my magic spells than with physical enhancement. Yesterday I tried doing the technique, but as expected I didn¡¯t progress that much, I was like a baby making her first steps and falling off after just one. Needless to say it sored my arm.


    Therefore, I decided to practice my magic spells. I focused more on healing spells since I wanted to use the spell to at least soothe my arm so I can perform more physical enhancement than before, and I can say the progress with it was decent for I have only started a couple of days ago.


    I really am talented at this kind of stuff, but alas, I still need to learn physical enhancement or I¡¯ll lose in physical combat for the most part of this world if I face someone way stronger in strength.


    In any case, today was a day I was looking forward to. Namely, music class. Let¡¯s goooo! Damn I can¡¯t wait. This was the best, and I¡¯m also looking forward to meeting Lanivia, she was the one teacher I can get along with the most. Madame Eleanore? Yeah no, no way. The commoner? That¡¯s impossible, personally, or socially.


    Mera woke me up by knocking loudly through the door. I would have preferred to sleep a little longer, but I have no other choice¡­ Wait, aren¡¯t I becoming too lax? Was this a good or a bad thing? I don¡¯t know which one was the right answer. Nevertheless, this was not a matter of life or death, so it didn¡¯t matter that much.


    I let her inside and she fixed my bed, while I sat down on a chair chilling, it¡¯s great to be rich.


    When that was done, together we left the room. I first saw Vernon standing by the wall, then when I turned my head to the right, there was a knight standing straight. It was Rogan, wearing his usual armor, and a sword on his waist.


    I didn¡¯t see him earlier since he was there away from my sight, but what¡¯s more interesting was that he was carrying a sword, and not his spear. If my memory was to be relied on, he uses a spear. Perhaps the spear was too troublesome to carry in the halls when on guard duty? If that is so, will that be alright? I mainly looked favorably upon him because he was an elite, and him losing the weapon he was used to would reduce his battle proficiency.


    ¡°Good morning to the both of you,¡± I said while looking at the two guys.


    After they greeted me back, I turned to face Rogan with a smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s great that you are here, I hope I won¡¯t trouble you much.¡±


    ¡°Please, Princess, as your knight, I will share your troubles, and I shall support you whenever you need it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Wow, how sweet, I might accidentally fall ¡ª hahaha, just kidding. He was only a mere tool for me to use, he was nothing significant in my eyes. Rogan was only a knight that ought to fulfill his duties.


    ¡°By the way, I see that you are not using a spear?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, spears are not exactly good weapons to use in tight spaces, especially with my style of combat with it. But,¡± he grinned. ¡°No need to be anxious, princess. I am still elite level even with the sword.¡±


    He sounded quite confident, well he looked pretty honest with himself, so his proclamation can be relied on.


    ¡°Alright, I will be relying on your protection, my knight.¡±


    Now I have two fighters on my side, although the other one was not entirely mine yet, that was up for Father to decide. To be honest, there was not that a great logical reason not to give Vernon to me, he would be essential for my protection after all. True, he being lent to me with no definite time was also not an issue. But, judging from how things were going, it would be no different if he just gave him to me.


    Ultimately, father had no need for him that much anyway. He had scribes and other servants to assist him, powerful knights to guard him, and he himself was powerful. I, her daughter, would need someone as talented as Vernon more than him.


    What was obstructing him in giving Vernon to me was his emotions. Father was Vernon¡¯s friend after all ever since he was young, it would be hard to let him go. Nevertheless, if he refused, then there is nothing I can do about it. What''s important was that he wasn¡¯t gonna betray me. I¡¯m only bothered that he was also reporting to father, it¡¯s like a subtle backstab you could say. I don¡¯t like it when I¡¯m not in control.


    After that I went to take a bath, on the way inside though, Mera looked at Rogan weirdly, as if she would prefer him not to wait outside. Well, Rogan was a young man, although a little older than me by a few years, still young, and maybe me going into the bath and Rogan outside didn¡¯t sit well with her.


    Oh wait, could Mera be having some indecent thoughts about this? That¡¯s adorable and hilarious.


    Can¡¯t blame them though, I am the embodiment of beauty and perfection. It would be a great transgression if someone unworthy sees me as not in my ¡°proper¡± appearance. Well, no one but Mera can see me inside anyway so I see no problem with that.


    After bathing, I went to have dinner with my family. Estevan particularly looked fidgety, looking at me then towards Rogan. He should have known about it by now, but I guess he was caught off guard about it all.


    But Estevan didn¡¯t complain whatsoever so he must have trust towards Rogan. That aside, Father has yet to talk to me about my request, he must not have yet made up his mind.


    Mother was the same as always, come to think of it, it¡¯s been a while since we hung out. It¡¯s not like I want to be with her often¡­ just sometimes¡­


    Forget it.


    I glanced at my eldest brother, thinking how I would go asking him about my request. Surely he had yet to learn that I¡¯m grounded, good let¡¯s keep it that way. I¡¯ll do it by surprise, no way I¡¯m letting anyone else in my family realize it, otherwise, they¡¯ll tell him I¡¯m grounded, and I wouldn¡¯t be able to make a request anymore.


    When lunch was done, I returned to my room to retrieve my precious instrument called the Liathre. Vernon was the one to carry the instrument placed within its wooden case. No need for Mera to carry it when there were boys around.


    On the way to the learning room, I was already feeling a bit excited, it was a time of peace that I longed for. A moment rare in this current time.


    ¡°So it¡¯s your music training I see, princess. I am excited to see how you perform.¡±


    I wryly smiled at Rogan who said that to me.


    ¡°How embarrassing, I am not yet at the level to be called impressive. I¡¯m afraid I might disappoint you.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Well, I am not one to judge when one makes mistakes in these kinds of things.¡±


    ¡°How are you with the Liathre, Sir Rogan?¡±


    He brought a hand under his chin as though measuring his own capabilities.


    ¡°I can confidently say that I¡¯m decent. I never put much effort into learning about it because I have no interest in it. Holding a weapon is much to my preference.¡±


    Geez, you knights are quite fierce aren¡¯t you? Really, why do people like violence and weapons that much?~


    It¡¯s sarcasm, of course, I mean, look at me!


    ¡°Are you not fond of music? At all?¡±


    Rogan shook his head.


    Hey...


    ¡°Nope. Like, it¡¯s not for me, I don¡¯t understand the great charm of it. Sure it¡¯s great to hear good music, but I just couldn¡¯t find the motivation to play one myself. It was just another skill a noble should learn.¡±


    O lost sheep who does not understand the charm and wonders of music, let thy be smote by the universe for ignoring the significance of its language.


    Ugh, so I couldn¡¯t hang out much with anyone with great interest in music. Looks like it¡¯s just me and Lanivia that could relate to each other. Hm, wait, what about Mera?


    ¡°Mera? What do you think about music and the instrument?¡±


    Mera smiled, eyes glittering. I don¡¯t know if she¡¯s happy I asked about it, or she¡¯s just happy I spoke with her here, at this moment, when my attention was on Rogan.


    ¡°Oh! I would pretty much play the instrument happily,¡± she clasped her hand excitedly.


    Ooh Mera~!


    Then she continued.


    ¡°But I can only play if I know how to. Practicing new melodies takes me a long time to master than others. And I couldn¡¯t even know which chord to use just by ear. In spite of all that, I have not progressed that much.¡±


    ¡°Would you develop your skills?¡±


    ¡°... If I have to, yes.¡±


    Have to, huh...


    Haaaah, at least she had more enthusiasm in playing than Rogan. But she lacked motivation in progressing even further. That¡¯s fine...


    Not for long, we arrived at our destination. My knight opened the door for me and upon opening, there was no one there. Of course as expected, she¡¯s yet to be here.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    I sat down on the nearby chair as I waited for my teacher. She should be arriving at any minute. I am just a tad early so she had yet to arrive, nobles were pretty particular with schedules, so nobles usually never get late. They could be too early, or just in time, not late since that would be pretty unbecoming of a noble.


    Then as expected, Lanivia shortly arrived with her attendant carrying her instrument.


    I immediately stood up the moment I saw her, and she smiled in delight at me.


    ¡°It has been a while, your highness. May our hallowed lord and lady bless the moment of our delightful meeting.¡±


    ¡°I had been anticipating our meeting, madame,¡± I said with a sweet smile. ¡°May we receive the resplendent blessing from our illustrious lord and lady.¡±


    We greeted each other with the usual noble greetings.


    Lanivia scanned with her eyes towards the other people in the room, then tilted her head a bit.


    ¡°My my, it has become a little more crowded than last time.¡±


    Yeah, I too had realized, the number on my side had increased. But that was great.


    Lanivia walked towards the table and had her attendant place the instrument onto it.


    ¡°So how were you, princess?¡±


    ¡°I have been doing well, madame. That being said, I have been longing for your lessons ever since.¡±


    She chuckled.


    ¡°I am glad to hear you like my subject. I was intending to visit you this last few weeks, however I have been denied. The melody you performed last time we met has been in my mind, and I am deeply interested. Have you improved upon it?¡±


    My muscle memories had returned for some reason, the same with dancing, so I should be more used to the chords now than before. Again, something I cannot explain why. Well, as long as it worked for my benefit.


    ¡°My apologies, but I have not. I would like to take this chance to focus on it today with your guidance.¡±


    I just have to be honest here.


    ¡°Very well. Then, will you please play that song?¡±


    My servants took out my stringed instrument while I sat down on the chair in front of Lanivia¡¯s. I couldn¡¯t help but feel the excitement through my fingers, how I longed to pluck strings once again. It sucks that I wasn¡¯t able to do much of what I wanted to do, very stressful.


    Vernon handed the instrument to me, the cool sensation of the wooden instrument traveled through the senses of my hands. After securing it to my lap, I stretched my fingers in preparation.


    I glanced at everyone as I gradually gathered the courage to play after a while. Lanivia in particular was all smiles, her eyes glinted in anticipation making me wonder just how much she had been thinking about it. Well, can¡¯t blame her, it¡¯s Beethoven after all.


    Vernon on the other hand looked pretty interested, while Mera looked at me with a wide smile, can¡¯t certainly tell if she¡¯s looking forward to my playing. The one who appeared to be a bit less interested was Rogan, like okay¡­


    I touched the string after a deep breath, for some reason I felt a bit nervous. Ridiculous, me? Nervous? Why would I be for such a thing? Their gazes at me don¡¯t mean anything significant.


    Now then, if the memory was right, I should have no trouble carrying this out. I formed the first chord and plucked the first string. The feeling of the string, the vibration, and the sound it made endeared my ears greatly.


    I plucked again and slowly continued on with the song, getting warmed up. My chest warmed up as the melody spread across the room, the tune going through my ear and nourishing my heart, a smile forming on my face, losing my attention to the surroundings.


    As the song continued on, I was lost in the song, it was only me and this instrument and the sound traveling in the air. Gradually, the speed in my playing increased as though finally getting the hang of it.


    Making use of the muscle memories and recalling the melody of the song, I played the masterpiece with all my heart, taking care not to make even the tiniest mistake. I don¡¯t like mistakes when it comes to this, it ruins my immersion. Maybe I just wanted perfection even though it¡¯s hard to obtain, but at least I could make it close to it.


    That being said, this was just me playing the song F¨¹r Elise the simple way. I was still limited on what I could achieve. But this was fine for me for now.


    Before I knew it I had plucked the last string of the song, and the world returned to my presence. I consciously took in a sharp breath, I think it went well. How convenient now that I know the chords, made things easier, and I couldn¡¯t be happier.


    I looked up to see the dumbfounded face of my instructor. She should have heard it already, so it made me wonder what incited this reaction from her. At that same moment, I heard loud clappings from the corner of a room.


    Turning my head, I saw Rogan applauding towards me with a wide grin on his face. I immediately glanced at Vernon to see his shocked and amazed face, then there was Mera who looked flustered and followed clapping after Rogan, but only gently.


    Adding all of their reactions together, I must have done a better job than last time. Although, my three servants never saw me perform this song before so this reaction was much to be expected. Therefore, my conclusion was mostly based on Lanivia¡¯s reaction.


    I felt relieved that it didn¡¯t sound weird.


    ¡°Magnificent performance, your highness!¡± Rogan loudly said. ¡°It didn''t sound like a practice session at all. It¡¯s as if you¡¯re performing seriously on the front.¡±


    Rogan was openly applauding and praising my performance, it would seem he had no intention of holding back his feelings.


    ¡°Yes, it truly was a shocking and beautiful song,¡± Vernon said with a few nods. ¡°Through my years, I have never heard of it. It didn¡¯t sound like what you sang in the past.¡±


    You still remember that?


    I acted embarrassed.


    ¡°I a-also think it was wonderful!¡± Mera tried to say.


    ¡°Madame¡­? What do you think?¡±


    I asked my instructor.


    ¡°What I think you ask¡­? How should I even put it into words? All I can say is that it was so surprising and breathtaking.¡±


    They truly think that? Huh¡­ and it was a simple rendition, if I had a piano, it might have been more intense.


    ¡°T-Thank you.¡±


    ¡°I even began to wonder if I have any more to teach you.¡±


    ¡°Please, Madame! I still have a lot to learn, I have yet to know everything I should learn about playing this instrument. These were just the simpler and easier chords, yes? So there is still plenty I need to learn.¡±


    Lanivia chuckled.


    ¡°Yes yes, that was just a casual remark of mine. I should say, that was a much better performance than before, maybe you did practice.¡±


    ¡°N-No¡­ I was just caught up in the moment.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Alright, then we¡¯ll proceed to more difficult chords and techniques. Do you remember the melodies I had you listen to first in the past?¡±


    ¡°I think so.¡±


    When Lanivia first came here to teach me, she had me listen to a couple of songs. Songs that were known by all nobles.


    ¡°You did play a song unbeknownst to us, but I hope you are able to play those I played to you.¡±


    Now that¡¯s an issue. I don¡¯t remember much about those songs, just a bunch of bits that remain in my memory.


    ¡°Um¡­ I might need a refresh.¡±


    Lanivia giggled. ¡°Very well.¡±


    She then proceeded to play a single song that was the most famous among high society. After that, she taught me some other chords. I could have known what to use by ear, but that would leave me figuring out the form on my own when it came to chords used in the song I do not know. I only asked specific chords for Fur Elise after all, so there were a few chords unknown to me. That said, there were some familiarities with some I already know of so it didn¡¯t take a lot of effort to do and remember.


    Then the obnoxious barre chords ¡ª well they were only obnoxious at the beginning of learning that thing. Yeah, it was hard for a beginner, and it took me a while to get used to them, I had plenty of hand and finger strength at that time, so what took my time the most were the switching and forming them instantly ¡ª getting used to them.


    So this time, I got used to the barre chords for this instrument pretty decently, which said to be needing a short while to get used to. My instructor let me practice those specially and she was amazed by the progress I was making.


    ¡°Incredible, you already don¡¯t seem troubled by it. Normally others would take a couple of days to do a decent performance.¡±


    ¡°R-Really?¡±


    Before I knew it, she had finished teaching me all of the chords I needed to learn. A bit fast? Well, she showed them each to me a couple or few times, and I can familiarize myself with them on my own. My fingers were just so awesome that they were able to shortly form up into those chords on the instrument.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s as if you were already familiar with it¡­¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­?¡±


    ¡°You must be incredibly talented in this, princess. I never would have expected, you weren¡¯t like this the first moments I started teaching you.¡±


    ¡°... I just like you teaching me, Madame.¡±


    Her eyes widened then a wide smile formed on her face.


    ¡°My my, you are quite a flatterer, your highness. I am honored by your words.¡±


    ¡°I was just being honest.¡±


    After that short sweet exchange, I went on to practice the chords I would need to use for a specific song. It was a wonderful and beautiful tune, though it was sung in a local language, the melody itself can speak to everyone in the universe. I could have sung it in its original language, which was Japanese, but that wouldn¡¯t work at all.


    Let the notes sing.


    I positioned my hand and fingers at the ready, after forming the first chord, I gently plucked the strings, the very first part of the song peacefully sounded. Then when came the lyrics where words were supposed to be spoken, I let the instrument sing, passing through the language barrier.


    It was not that hard of a song to play in fingerstyle, so I was doing perfectly. As I listened to the tune I myself was playing, I felt a wave of nostalgia. No matter how unpleasant most parts of my former life were, there were bright and wonderful ones. Memorable moments and experiences, and my friends. That memory from my childhood.


    The song I was playing is ¡°Eine Kleine¡± by Kenshi Yonezu. One of my favorites.


    Then with the last vibration of the last string, the song ended.


    I smiled in satisfaction.


    ¡°P-Princess¡­ what was that?¡±


    My instructor looked at me with wide eyes. Everyone else looked pretty surprised upon hearing a song they never heard before. I have been surprising everyone, huh. Well, maybe I just want to show off a little ¡ª and I just miss this. It relieves me of stress and frees me from heavy thoughts, I couldn¡¯t care less about what anyone thinks.


    ¡°Um, a song?¡±


    ¡°How are you able to play songs that I have never heard before?¡±


    I looked at everyone.


    Well, time to lie.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I just hear them in my dream.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Amazing!¡± Rogan applauded loudly again. ¡°I never would have imagined you would be skilled to this extent, princess.¡±


    He truly looked impressed. Yeah I am an impressive one, give me my rightful praise. I am very good at fingerstyles, I am good with my fingers if you know what I mean.~


    Right, I¡¯ll stop with the dirty jokes.


    With a grin, Rogan approached Mera, his eyes implied he had found prey to tease.


    ¡°The lady is amazing, right? Mera? The beautiful princess playing a beautiful melody really gives you an image that a goddess blessed us. Truly, this makes my heart race, and my chest warm, giving a special feeling.¡±


    He leaned closer to her with a grin. With that, Mera furrowed her brows, glaring at Rogan then subtly pushed him away.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get too close to me,¡± she said before moving a couple of steps away, while the glare remained.


    Wow, she doesn¡¯t like him at all. There could be plenty of reasons, one she¡¯s just annoyed, the other she¡¯s feeling bitter or jealous, then it could also be both.


    With a chuckle, Rogan behaved but still wore an amused smile.


    ¡°Princess,¡± Lanivia called to me with bright eyes. ¡°I am in awe of your talent. With this, you shouldn¡¯t have to worry much about what you will perform in your debut.¡±


    Yeah that.


    ¡°So I must perform?¡±


    ¡°Of course, you need to show how impressive you can be in front of the noble society. And as the royal princess, you must not be inferior to others beneath you. But I suppose we have nothing to worry about that part.¡±


    I pondered on what I should be doing at that time.


    ¡°Do I need to verbally sing?¡±


    I just needed to make sure if I needed to personally sing.


    ¡°Not necessarily, as long as you play splendidly with the instrument, you should be fine.¡±


    Well, I can be splendid in the instrument, but in dancing, yeah I need practice ¡ª don¡¯t want to look like an idiot. A long damn time of practicing. Dammit!


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°But if you are to sing, you have plenty of songs to choose from.¡±


    Yeah, there were plenty.


    ¡°Now that you appear to be doing amazingly with the Liathre, we can shift our focus on working out your singing voice.¡±


    I do have a good voice, but there were limitations I need to breakthrough.


    I nodded my head.


    My instructor then proceeded to train my voice by having me humm and other vocal exercises. There were tiny difficulties but I was doing fine. I don¡¯t really like doing very high notes, I don¡¯t get the appeal of it. I like the smooth and soft singing, I think they are more peaceful. There were songs that hit the high notes that were good, but I just like the gentle ones more.


    Then eventually our class ended, a shame she couldn¡¯t stay any longer. Reason was that, in her words, ¡°I have little left to teach you, so I believe it is alright to end our class for today.¡± Then I will be seeing her next time, she also added that I should think of what song I should play in my debut, and in our next meeting, she asked me to teach her the first song I played which was Fur Elise since we expect plenty of time to use next time.


    It almost feels like we were friends or something and doing casual stuff in the classroom. Oh well, I look forward to her return.


    For the time being, I need to change my focus on magic and physical enhancement. I¡¯ll also be asking Eleden for the thing soon. The new dresses.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 22: Requesting New Dresses

    After breakfast, I returned to studying as usual. Very soon, the library should be finishing its repairs, so I should be able to study there for non-dangerous things. I was wanting to read a few things there anyway.


    While I was reading the magic book, Mera was training on her physical enhancement, she seemed fond of it so I let her be. She was making more progress than I was anyway, so it could be a sign that was her thing. I have been slowly making progress on the enhancement though, the challenging part was thinning out my mana while slowly penetrating through my muscles.


    I have to hide it from everyone I was doing that, the forcing part. They have no need to know.


    In any case, the damn mana part was stressing, it was like ¡ª how should I say this, it was like slicing the pasta for spaghetti into half, or another example, cutting a french fry into more tiny pieces as thin as they already were.


    But whatever, I¡¯ll manage.


    As there was no class for the rest of the week, I can do anything I want. There were plenty of things I needed to think about, but I decided to focus on the more crucial part. Two hours passed since I arrived here, so it was time to take my leave.


    ¡°We¡¯re leaving,¡± I said to my servants.


    I have already warned them that I would be halting my studies for a while since I wanted to go somewhere. Mera and Vernon stopped their training ¡ª damn, even though I should be the one he should be training, but I guess nothing can be done when I can barely proceed with the starting steps.


    Rogan diligently positioned at my side.


    ¡°May I ask where you are heading, your highness?¡± asked Rogan.


    ¡°To eldest Brother.¡±


    It was finally time to ask my brother about the dress thing. As we made our way to my brother''s office, Rogan asked me something.


    ¡°I¡¯m just curious, princess. You are practicing magic, right? How come you haven¡¯t done any major training on that part yet?¡±


    Yesterday after Lanivia¡¯s session, I went to training, a little bit on physical enhancement, then proceeded to read the magic book. Rogan should have seen I was practicing a little magic, but he must have been talking about doing it big, like how I did it with the fireball.


    Well, I am grounded, so I can¡¯t go outside to practice dangerous magic, that was one of the reasons. The major thing was that because I was finishing the book of magic while practicing the ice magic, I am especially wanting to improve on that part. Then often I would subtly try doing the enhancement while acting all casual.


    I should be finishing the book today or the next, so I can give more time to other matters.


    ¡°I am focusing more on familiarizing the entire content of the book first, each spell. I believe that progress will be faster if I just know in my head what steps to take.¡±


    ¡°T-The entire book? How do you even memorize the instructions and the inner workings of it without getting it all jumbled up?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that hard, right? And it¡¯s not memorizing, just familiarizing. Even Mera is doing it.¡±


    Rogan instantly turned his head to look at Mera, his eyes asking for confirmation.


    Mera responded with a wry smile.


    ¡°I am trying to familiarize it like milady, but, I end up forgetting a few contents the next days later, and even mix them up often.¡±


    She admitted she was having difficulties following my method.


    ¡°See? It¡¯s not as easy as you suggest, princess.¡± Rogan said to me.


    ¡°Really? Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Seriously? You¡¯re surprised? And you don¡¯t even look like you were having trouble at all.¡±


    It was not that hard really¡­


    Vernon suddenly walked a little faster and walked beside me, staring at my face.


    ¡°Your highness, are you truly confident that you are able to remember the contents of each spell in that book?¡±


    Why was he even asking me that after seeing me do that all the time? Could it be he was doubting the result but still leaving me to my own devices?


    I could lie, failing a bit, but I have already left the impression that I was doing fine, so I will be honest. Besides, I don¡¯t want them underestimating me. Seriously speaking, they underestimate me to an amount that I found unacceptable. It would be fine if they were my enemies, but to my allies, no way. I will not be looked down upon.


    ¡°You doubt my capabilities, Vernon?¡±


    ¡°No, not exactly. I just want to be certain.¡±


    ¡°I have been learning to cast a healing spell, and have been applying it to certain scenarios.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t see you practice¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, I did not demonstrate it to anyone, nor did I have any intention to.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°So, princess, can you do some fighting?¡± Rogan casually asked me that.


    Vernon frowned.


    ¡°Sir Rogan, what is the significance of that question?¡± Vernon asked.


    ¡°Eh, nothing, I¡¯m just curious.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s the princess, she had no need to train in true combat, but only mostly for self-defense.¡±


    Um, Vernon, what do you mean by that? That still basically means able to fight you know? Maybe he just means intense training to achieve fighting capabilities that can go toe to toe to a real fighter, and learning fighting techniques or martial arts.


    Yeah well, the way they were letting me learn was for the reason of self-defense. But I am breaking that gradually.


    ¡°... Yeah I guess so.¡±


    ¡°I do know a few offensive spells, so I guess I can fight a little. Just a little.¡±


    I said with a smile.


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    I can fight yes, but I have yet to fully feel out the powers of this world. I was used to using weapons from the old world, and not swords and magic, which we obviously didn¡¯t have. I was able to fight against Oryn, but that was in addition to taking him by surprise and using my risky ability, the raging mana. Also making him underestimate me.


    What if the time comes that I have to face someone directly and I can¡¯t do any tricks? I did see knights fight, and I had no way to fight that. But now it was different, and a firsthand experience was the best. There will certainly be differences in ways of combat here and there that I need to experience, no matter how little they may be.


    But how do I get to experience that?


    ¡°I assume they are the basic offensives, yes?¡±


    ¡°Um, I guess.¡±


    Hm, looks like I will need Rogan¡¯s help maybe. I¡¯m his charge, so I can order him whatever I need. As for Vernon, I need him to be fully by my side if I were to do that in front of him. Mera was fine, she¡¯s already mine.


    But still, not the highest priority right now.


    ¡°Interesting.¡±


    Then we arrived in front of Eleden¡¯s office. I knocked three times on the door.


    ¡°Brother, it¡¯s me!¡±


    He should be able to recognize me by my voice alone. Who else had this sweet voice of mine? That¡¯s how unique and special I am.


    A second later, the door opened and who greeted me was Lucious, brother¡¯s assistant. My friend since childhood?? Yup, I still don¡¯t know how to describe our relationship with certainty.


    ¡°Greetings, Princess Estelia.¡±


    ¡°L-Lucious, hi. Um, are you busy?¡±


    ¡°Well, there is always time for you, come inside.¡±


    With a nod, I turned towards my servants. ¡°Stay here.¡±


    The three looked at each other with hesitation, Rogan then merely smiled.


    ¡°Looks like as the princess¡¯s personal knight, I¡¯ll be going ahead.¡±


    ¡°You too, Sir Rogan.¡±


    ¡°.... Really?¡±


    Normally, as my personal knight, he should be with me at most times, even in situations like this, discussions, and such. However, this time, I was with family, and he wasn¡¯t required, he must not have considered that. And, I don¡¯t want this place to be so crowded, so I have them stay outside.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be alright, brother¡¯s here.¡±


    Rogan glanced at Lucious for a moment before wryly smiling.


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    I saw Mera smirking on the corner, haaah, what psychological effect did I cause to her?


    I entered inside and Lucious closed the door behind me. With a wide and pure smile, I excitedly walked towards Eleden.


    ¡°Brother!¡±


    He sat behind his desk with packs of paper laid upon it. His quill was already set aside as he greeted me.


    ¡°What a surprise you decided to visit, dear sister.¡±


    He fondly smiled.


    ¡°Well, I want to speak with you, brother. And I also have been meaning to check on you, so I took this chance.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°This reminds me of the time I visited Brother Estevan, he looked so cool working diligently.¡±


    I sat down on the chair in front of his desk adorably and took a peek at my brother''s work with a little tilt of the head.


    ¡°Then I imagine he must be agonizing on the inside.¡±


    ¡°Really? I think he still did a very good job.¡±


    ¡°One thing is for certain, he¡¯s a diligent man when something is at stake.¡±


    Yes, Estevan¡¯s a sweet brother. But he sure ditched the work the moment Eleden arrived.


    ¡°Was there a significant event that involved these documents, brother?¡±


    I want to know if there were some things I needed to know about. I grabbed a thin pile of papers where reports should be and began skimming.


    ¡°Hm, no, nothing too great. Mostly sanctions for nobles after the discovery of their illegal activities. Honestly, some things just evade our eyes unless looked into deeply.¡±


    As I casually read the papers with a happy smile, I sensed the gaze coming from Lucious. With no special reason, I raised my eyes from the paper to look at him. Before making eye contact, he immediately looked away. He appeared to be shy, well I can tell he was looking at me lovingly, you could say.


    Gathering from the memories of the past, I could tell he had feelings for me since childhood. The way he would bother me, wanting to get my attention, it¡¯s typically how boys act to get the attention of their crushes. But of course I ended up feeling annoyed. He always gets in my business. Maybe he was just young back then and he didn¡¯t realize he was being too much of a bother.


    But hey, aren¡¯t we young adults already? Why¡¯s he acting all shy with just that? What the hell? But I guess this was how a person could tell one''s feelings were sincere. How amusing.


    No wait, he wasn¡¯t acting like this the last we spoke. Hm, the only explanation was that he just found himself staring intently at me, and he didn¡¯t show any blush so...


    I resisted the urge to smile a little wider.


    ¡°Ah yes, Lucious. I remember seeing the name of your family amongst the documents.¡±


    He scratched the back of his head.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s really unfortunate, but I understand the reason.¡±


    ¡°Last time I checked, your household held no suspicions whatsoever. Is that still the case?¡± I asked my brother.


    ¡°Yes, their records are still clean. For now at least.¡±


    I glanced innocently at Lucious.


    ¡°But you¡¯re still looking into them, yes? Is that still necessary? They¡¯re already safe, right? I believe we have no reason to doubt Lucious and his family.¡±


    I said to my brother, my hand to my chest.


    Eleden lowered the paper in his hand and stared at me with a smile.


    ¡°You don¡¯t doubt Lucious?¡±


    I tilted my head.


    ¡°Why would I? I don¡¯t believe Lucious would do something bad, even his family. Or am I wrong to feel that way?¡±


    I shifted my eyes towards Lucious, wide and sparkling with innocence. Lucious smiled a little and covered his mouth with his hand, hiding the smile.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re not wrong,¡± said my brother. ¡°But I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t stop them, it just doesn¡¯t work that way.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± I turned towards Lucious with a sad expression. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Lucious, I¡¯m sure everything will be alright.¡±


    ¡°N-No, I, um, I am grateful for your concern, Estelia. It¡¯s great to hear it from you.¡±


    He said to me with a smile.


    But of course I knew they couldn¡¯t just stop gathering information with my words alone. I just said all that for no great reason ¡ª well, just to play around mostly.


    I nodded with a happy smile.


    ¡°By the way, Estelia.¡± Lucious said. ¡°Weren¡¯t you supposed to be on your magic study today? That¡¯s what I heard you were doing while we were gone.¡±


    Oh? Lucious strikes a conversation.


    ¡°Indeed. But I wanted to check up on both of you. It¡¯s been a while since we have seen each other¡­ but, am I bothering you? If I am, then I¡¯ll leave.¡±


    ¡°No, please stay, you have no need to stay. Your presence alone gives me the energy to work.¡±


    I faked a blush as I lowered my gaze.


    Dude if they said ¡°then leave¡± that would have been an epic fail ¡ª but of course that happening was the lowest as a number could be.


    ¡°I-Is that so¡­?¡±


    I looked away and stared at the document after stammering in my words from his subtle ¡°flirting¡±, I saw at the corner of my eyes that Eleden nodded a little with a grin.


    Hmmm. Are they¡­?


    ¡°I m-may be bothering you w-with your work, so I t-think I should leave.¡±


    I said with blatant embarrassment and put down the documents in my hand back to where they came from. While I was standing up, intending to escape, the two panicked.


    Lucious in particular looked more scared. But before I could fully take a step, my brother saved the day and called out to me.


    ¡°Wait! Estelia, I thought you had something important to talk to me about. Let¡¯s talk about it now, don¡¯t worry about our work, we have plenty of time.¡±


    I halted and hesitantly turned back, slowly sitting back on my seat.


    If they didn¡¯t call me back, I would just act that I recalled I needed something. But everything sure went well.


    ¡°R-Right, um¡­ Brother, I have a request¡­ I want new dresses.¡±


    He tilted his head.


    ¡°Dresses?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t have any funds to buy them myself.¡±


    ¡°You could have asked for them, you know.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, but¡­¡± I acted more embarrassed.


    ¡°Well, I can help you with that, it will be my treat. But why ask me though? Isn¡¯t it normally Mother the one working on that?¡±


    I rubbed my hands together.


    ¡°Mother seemed to be very busy with something and always stayed in the library. Father is also a busy man, I¡¯m afraid to disturb him with matters like mine. Meanwhile big brother Estevan is mostly outside and working with the knights.¡± I paused as I looked at Eleden. ¡°You¡¯re the only one I can talk to, brother. And you are the nearest I can approach. I-I¡¯m sorry if I¡¯m bothering you.¡±


    No need to mention I was grounded. Eleden was just the safest.


    ¡°I see. I understand¡­¡± he sighed. ¡°We¡¯re starting to somewhat neglect you, huh.¡± he quietly said.


    ¡°What did you say, brother?¡±


    ¡°No, nothing.¡±


    The voice was so quiet that not anyone should hear it clearly, but I did. With a few sounds and lip movements, I can tell what he said.


    I have no idea what he was starting to think to himself and perhaps misunderstanding something.


    ¡°Alright, Estelia. I¡¯ll handle your request. Lucious, contact our usual tailor and schedule an appointment.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    My expression brightened.


    ¡°Thank you very much, brother! You¡¯re the best!¡±


    If Estevan saw this, he would lose his mind.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you here right now if you want, as thanks.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, don¡¯t you have your own studies to worry about? You can focus on that.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ Then is it alright I take my leave?¡±


    ¡°Of course, you have no need to ask for my permission.¡±


    ¡°Then see you later, brother.¡± Then when I turned to Lucious, I apparently hesitated for a moment, and bashfully spoke to him. ¡°S-See you later, L-Lucious.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah, see you.¡±


    Then I turned to Eleden again.


    ¡°Oh and brother, please keep it a secret¡­ okay?"


    After seeing my brother nod, I left the room with a smile.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 23: The Young Man Who Has A Crush

    The moment the door clicked closed, the two men left inside the office sighed loudly in relief, their shoulders drooping.


    ¡°I almost had a heart attack when she was attempting to leave.¡±


    Lucious put his hands on his hip as he endeavored to let out his fear.


    ¡°Yeah, that was a close call. It would have been too difficult for you if she had exited the room.¡±


    The crisis was only averted when Eleden insisted for Estelia to stay. Otherwise, if she left without anything else happening, Lucious might find it harder to speak with her. Likely she would even start avoiding him completely.


    He couldn¡¯t be more relieved that Estelia spoke to him right before she left and was in a better mood.


    ¡°Still, I never thought she would be affected with only that. I thought it would take way more than that¡­¡± Lucious said as he reflected on his actions.


    He tried complimenting, or rather, flirting with the princess, but that took more effect than he had expected.


    ¡°Hmm, I agree. Even I was surprised¡­ But it could also be because she may be becoming aware.¡±


    ¡°What? Aware of what?¡±


    ¡°Well, you.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah, no way. No way she would be aware.¡±


    ¡°Well, she should be aware now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    Lucious wasn¡¯t sure if that was the case. But if she was aware, would that be a good or bad thing for him? Was her piecing together the puzzle better or worse? And it would have been better that Lucious himself should have expressed his feelings personally?


    Seeing how she was, he had to take a more careful step in the future.


    That aside, seeing her, captivated him more than he could remember. She was naturally very vibrant already, but it was even more when she was smiling. Her soft and smooth pale skin, he wanted to touch her even for just a moment, he had often made physical contact with her during childhood, but, as they got older, it was becoming more difficult to act like when they were kids.


    And her eyes, those astonishing crimson eyes, they were deep and mystifying, he wanted to be lost in those vast depths. Her voice was so sweet that he wanted to hear it every day. Her platinum hair was more beautiful and radiant than any jewels. She was a treasure in his eyes, she was perfect in every way. His heartbeat intensified just remembering her.


    ¡°If that is the case, I hope it goes well.¡±


    He never thought courting a girl would get this difficult. True he could be open with it here and then, but that would result in driving her away for good. He utterly didn¡¯t want that. The deeper one¡¯s feeling was, the more they wanted to be careful ¡ª and that was the case with Lucious.


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    ¡°That aside, it was great to see her smile as always after what we learned.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it felt bizarre¡­ but I¡¯m thankful to the gods that they have yet to take her from this world.¡±


    Recently, they have learned that Estelia happened to have a fatal fall down the stairs that should have taken her life away. When Lucious heard about it, he was so horrified that his soul almost left his body. He couldn¡¯t have imagined someone as delicate as Estelia would fall down the stairs that dangerously.


    That close to death situation he heard flashed back to his mind when Estelia entered the room earlier. That was why he could not help but gaze closely at her, trying to look at every detail of her face. Every tiny detail.


    She was lovely as always, how he loved gazing at her.


    ¡°To think my family would fail to tell me that¡­¡± Eleden quietly said.


    ¡°Still, I can¡¯t think of the reason why someone would come after her. She shouldn¡¯t be involved in something like this.¡±


    Lucious pursed his lips in bitterness. It was a terrible notion that someone was after her life when she was never threatening at all. She was always the delicate and pure Princess Estelia, he cannot even imagine her able to step on a bug.


    ¡°No use mulling our heads without any information. For now, let¡¯s focus on where we can.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ Ah, are you familiar with Estelia¡¯s new knight?¡±


    ¡°Rogan, was it? Not really. But I know a few.¡±


    ¡°I only saw him a few times, but never really got to know him. What do you know about him?¡±


    ¡°You should ask Estevan about that. But what I do know is that he¡¯s a carefree person, playful and that gives the impression he doesn¡¯t take things seriously. He¡¯s still one of the elites despite that. There¡¯s also the part where he¡¯s quite friendly with the commoner guards.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Lucious pondered one thing. ¡°Him and Estelia, they were quite friendly to each other¡­¡±


    There was a weird feeling in his chest that was unpleasant.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°They spoke like they were already open with each other, it gives off that kind of feeling. Estelia n-never did that with me...¡±


    He was feeling a bit threatened.


    ¡°Are you, perhaps by any chance, worried? No, rather, feeling jealous?¡± Eleden asked with furrowed brows.


    ¡°...¡± Lucious remained silent.


    Was he jealous? Was that the case? He and Estelia had been friends since childhood, but that knight that she was supposed to have met only recently now interacted closely with each other more than Lucious and Estelia ever did. He was completely bothered about it.


    ¡°Ah, you are jealous.¡±


    ¡°... It¡¯s just that, why him? I don¡¯t understand. Judging on the description you had just said, and the way he acted earlier, he¡¯s not the ideal knight at all. And him to be assigned as the princess¡¯s knight? It¡¯s unbelievable.¡±


    ¡°... Perhaps.¡± Eleden lowered his head as he pondered what this could imply. ¡°Father was the one who assigned him, but he never talked about it with me. It¡¯s hard to imagine Father was the one to personally select him when there are other suitable candidates.¡±


    Lucious¡¯s heart sank when he came to realize something.


    ¡°... Then the likely chance of him is because the princess recommended him?¡±


    ¡°Maybe, or there are other factors at play.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°This is bad, Lucious. This might mean that he caught Estelia¡¯s eye.¡± He said with an amused smile.


    Lucious drooped his shoulders.


    ¡°I¡¯m joking. It doesn¡¯t feel that way. And remember what I told you? Estelia is not an easy girl. Believe me, I¡¯m her brother. There may just be other reasons that Father couldn¡¯t tell me. There was a time when he and Estelia spoke privately, that may have something to do with it.¡±


    But what could it be? Lucious had no idea.


    ¡°But there is something for certain¡­ Hehe, you have another rival.¡±


    Lucious walked towards one of the chairs and collapsed.


    ¡°I¡¯m not gonna let that stop me.¡±


    ¡°Good determination. Without that, I would have not been in favor of you.¡±


    ¡°Lucky you, El. You already have a love life.¡±


    ¡°I was extremely lucky it seems.¡±


    ¡°Please give me a little free time.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, let¡¯s just see.¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 24: The Princess Tries to Design an Outfit

    The day after I requested to have a tailor sent for me, I decided to start sketching the ideal clothes I would use in times of need. The schedule for the tailor¡¯s arrival may have yet to be made, it was still better to get sketching right away. Although I could just have him design it, I think it would be hard for me to explain and describe what I want to him.


    Plus, he wouldn¡¯t think that I would need it for fighting, not that I would tell him. I will be spending the night thinking up a design and thus setting aside my nightly training. It¡¯s fine, would do well if I shift my focus to something more pleasant.


    Not that I¡¯m saying I enjoy drawing, it was just entertaining to scribble around whatever comes to mind. Needless to say, I¡¯m a pretty good artist. I can pretty much draw from anatomy to landscapes. Although I¡¯m not much into too much detail, just enough and recognizable. That said, I am never into designing clothes, so that might be a bit of a challenge.


    Eh, how hard can it be?


    I already have a decent quill and ink in my room, so I will only need papers, and I will need a stack of them! I just hope the ink has not dried up in the time they were unused. Well, I have no need to use them in the first place, so yeah¡­ those were there for decorations pretty much.


    As we were heading to my bedroom, I asked Vernon to bring me a stack of clean sheets of paper.


    Of course, ever curious as he was with me, he raised his eyebrow while asking a question.


    ¡°If I may ask, for what purpose would you be using them?¡±


    Understandable that he would be interested in knowing, this was the first-ever I requested for such a thing.


    ¡°That¡¯s a secret, so please bring me some.¡±


    I said with a secretive smile, but of course looking adorable as ever.


    Vernon left, then shortly I arrived at my room. I urged Mera and Rogan that they can now leave and I¡¯ll wait for Vernon.


    ¡°Princess, as long as your business isn¡¯t done, it is my responsibility to keep guarding you until it¡¯s over.¡±


    Was that how it works? Well, fine by me, they can do whatever they want.


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    ¡°T-Then I¡¯ll also be staying, milady. Just in case you require anything else.¡±


    Woah Mera, getting competitive now?


    ¡°Okay, Mera, I understand.¡±


    With a smile, I left the door open and walked towards my desk where the quill and inkwell were placed. I picked up the inkwell and shook it a little, feeling the force of the black liquid from the inside. Good, it¡¯s still alright. But they do replace this every few months when they notice it¡¯s drying so I guess there was nothing to worry about in the first place.


    After making certain, I returned to the door to await Vernon¡¯s arrival.


    ¡°So princess, what are you making? Maybe writing a poem?¡± Rogan casually asked.


    I shook my head.


    ¡°Just some personal stuff¡­¡±


    ¡°I see. No intention of sharing, huh. I understand.¡±


    With that, he stopped showing any interest. Good thing he knew when not to intrude too much. Despite his demeanor, was a sensible man after all.


    A short moment later, Vernon arrived with a stack of clean sheets of paper in his hands. They were about an inch thick, wasn¡¯t it too much for one person to use?


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    Is he playing with me?


    Agh, I guess a little extra would do no harm.


    ¡°Here you go, princess.¡±


    I received the papers around the size of an A4 bond paper with a smile.


    ¡°Thank you. Now then everyone, good night to you all.¡±


    With that done, I locked the door and placed the stacks of paper on my desk. Pulling my chair and sitting down, I picked a pair of paper and laid them on top of each other. I¡¯m intending on leaving one beneath so the feel of the strokes would be better than having the quil direct contact with the hard wooden surface.


    I removed the cap of the inkwell and dipped the quill then brought it on top of the paper. It was then that I stopped.


    ¡°...¡±


    I stared at the clean sheet, then at the quill.


    ¡°What should I draw?¡±


    I can¡¯t replicate the design of my operations outfit from the old world. I need to blend my outfit into something fashionable while also promoting mobility. I need to make it look good since well¡­ the tailor was supposed to be making a dress for the princess.


    I can¡¯t just have him create a dark suit.


    I looked straight at the wall, mulling what design I should make. My face got stiff as I thought hard...


    Dammit! Why am I having difficulties thinking of the design? I need to look good, but why can¡¯t I come up with anything?! I placed the quill back into the inkwell as I palmed my face in frustration.


    Relax, think of what I want.


    Um, mix a dress-like design with a combat style of outfit? Hmmmm¡­ Shorts? And a dress¡­ What about the material to use?


    I stared at the quill¡­. Agh, would have been better if I had a pencil but whatever.


    I picked it up and scribbled on the sheet of paper. I drew a face, a beautiful one that almost filled the entire page. The perfect jaw, cheeks, eyes, forehead, neck, hair. It took some time but when I finished I smiled in delight.


    Hmm¡­ wait. It¡¯s my beautiful face!


    I was just scribbling something to pass the time while thinking, and I ended up sketching my face that was smiling so purely. Looking at it made my heart beat harder and I felt excited¡­ I can¡¯t hold that feeling.


    ¡°Damn I¡¯m beautiful.¡±


    My smile grew wider as I gazed at the fine piece of art. My sketch was accurate, anyone would praise me if they saw this.


    ¡°Hehe, I¡¯ll set you aside for now, beautiful one.¡±


    And so I carefully put it aside. I glanced at it again.


    Damn I¡¯m gorgeous and cute, and pure and pretty, and sweet. Damn, I love me!


    ¡°!¡±


    I shook my head.


    I shouldn¡¯t be distracted! I still have something to do.


    I picked another sheet and began scribbling again. This time I drew the shape of an entire human body. Then came the long hair fluttering in the wind, then came a smiling face and beautiful eyes. Then I drew the dress waving in the wind the same way as the hair.


    Then next were the feet and beneath it, the grassy floor, grasses swaying through the blowing wind. When it was done, I smiled in satisfaction.


    ¡­. Haaah, I just drew myself again standing on a grassy plain with an elegant dress ¡ª one of the fine clothes I wear. All that¡¯s missing was a massive hat.


    Yeah, I drew myself so what?! I can¡¯t help it. I''m sorry I¡¯m an idiot. But you gotta admit, I look wonderful. Me standing on an empty yet peaceful plain.


    ¡°Wonderful depiction of myself!¡±


    Damn I love seeing myself.


    Okay, you may ask for what purpose this was¡­. The answer is¡­ nothing. Yup, no big reason at all.


    Hey, don¡¯t be angry now. I can think of a good reason right now if you want! Oh, I know! I can visualize myself through this and come up with a design. Isn¡¯t that how it¡¯s done? You need to look at the subject so you can come up with a design that suits them? Yeah, I thought so. Oh I¡¯m sorry, we don¡¯t have a camera... so drawing is the way!


    I scrutinized the drawing of myself while mulling for a design. I put it in front of me on the wall then picked another paper.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡±


    I tapped my finger on the table, then dipped the quill into the ink.


    Finally came up with an idea, I drew what I had just thought, just the rough sketch of the outfit. When it was done, I groaned outwardly.


    This sucks!


    Doesn¡¯t look good at all, it¡¯s awkward! Who would wear this? Fuck.


    I crumpled the paper in my hands and threw it away. See you, you piece of shit.


    A moment later, after coming up with an idea, I drew a sketch of a design again. But when it was done, I crumpled it again and threw it away out of my sight.


    This sucks! No one¡¯s gonna wear this? Who¡¯s gonna be impressed? I¡¯ll look like a clown!


    Dammit! At this point in time I should have already come up with an idea to improve upon, and I have to sacrifice my time of practice for this. Aaaaaah, right focus.


    I looked up at the ceiling while pondering.


    When I came up with a design, I sketched it down. Scrap it. Draw again. Scrap. Draw. Scrap.


    None were to my satisfaction. I¡¯m a choosy girl, what can I do?


    A lot of time passed and I finally sighed loudly without holding back.


    ¡°Haaaaaaaaaah¡­.¡±


    I¡¯m so irritated right now. It¡¯s embarrassing to even look at these. And my room was now a mess.


    ¡°What time is it?¡±


    If my sense of time wasn¡¯t distorted in the course of my scribbling, it should be midnight now. I barely felt any drowsiness because I was so concentrated on these things.


    Fuck it, I¡¯m going to sleep.


    I have to wake up early tomorrow.


    Cleaning these up tonight was a pain, so I¡¯m just gonna leave them be for now.


    After closing the inkwell, I collapsed on the bed, fatigued both physically and mentally.


    It didn¡¯t take long before I fell asleep.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 25: Embarrassment

    I heard knockings on the door and I groaned awake.


    Aaaagh, I need more sleep. Time is too short¡­


    But, I can¡¯t be like this¡­ If I fell into the temptation of falling back asleep, I would be a failure.


    But it feels so good to sleep¡­ but I can¡¯t.


    I forced myself up and opened the door with droopy eyes. The first face I saw was the cute Mera, I have gotten used to seeing her face first thing every morning. I then noticed that both Vernon and Rogan had arrived.


    ¡°Your highness, you look more sleepy than usual,¡± Vernon commented.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ fine.¡±


    I yawned while covering my mouth after returning to the inside of my room. Then I noticed my dirty room filled with crumpled papers.


    ¡°Princess! What did you do to your room?!¡± Vernon exclaimed in utter surprise.


    Well, my room has always been clean.


    ¡°Looks like a storm just passed through here,¡± said Rogan, he looked genuinely surprised.


    ¡°Let¡¯s clean this up.¡±


    Sweet Mera was the first to suggest, but!


    ¡°N-No! I¡¯ll clean them up myself, they¡¯re my mess!¡±


    Dammit, no way I¡¯m letting them see my cringe drawings! I¡¯m burning these to ashes.


    I hastily picked up those nearest to my bedroom since I don¡¯t want them looking down near the bed. Even though the sheets covered the under of the bed, I still couldn¡¯t take the chance.


    ¡°Milady, you don¡¯t have to.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll take care of this.¡±


    ¡°Yeah sure I¡¯ll help.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s an order!¡±


    I could have not opened the door then cleaned up, but that would take time and they would surely open it up themselves so¡­ no wait, am I just making up excuses? Dammit, alright I thought I wouldn¡¯t be embarrassed if they saw these, but now they¡¯re actually here, I don¡¯t want them to see these.


    This kind of situation never happened in my past life. Every time I show off, I master it first before showing it to everyone, or to the point that I¡¯m satisfied. Like playing music for example.


    But this time, I¡¯m not satisfied with these yet! Who the hell shows something they were obviously bad at?


    ¡­ Huh, aren¡¯t I too embarrassed right now? Too embarrassed¡­ much more than I would expect.


    I am this embarrassed with such a thing? I¡¯m ridiculous.


    Of course, even though I had given an order, it was a little too late. Though Mera froze halfway, and Rogan hesitated, Vernon noticed something. He saw a fraction of my drawing! He picked and opened it up.


    ¡°This is¡­¡±


    Mera and Rogan immediately looked at the paper in Vernon¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Clothes?¡±


    ¡°A dress?¡±


    Rogan and Mera murmured.


    I tried making these look almost like dresses, but they ended up impractical, and most just sucked.


    They got curious and so each picked up a rolled paper and opened them, seeing my sketches, with the exception of Mera who just stood there anxiously.


    But witnessing this, my face almost contorted.


    Disobeying orders! Unacceptable! How dare they! These imbeciles! They would dare disobey me?! Me?! The nerves!


    I violently snatched them from their hands.


    ¡°Don¡¯t. Look.¡±


    I said to them sternly, holding back my anger. As Estelia, I must not lash out.


    I crumpled them again and began picking up the other remaining scattered on the ground, ignoring them. Good thing they only quietly stared at me, otherwise I might have lost my cool a little again.


    After gathering everything in my arms, I got an idea. A bit risky, but I¡¯m not alone, so it should be fine. Not like I¡¯ll mess up something so simple anyway.


    I used the barrier spell and shaped it into a ball, keeping the papers inside it. A gap opened and with a finger, I cast the fire spell, instantly setting the papers inside the ball ablaze. I closed the gap and waited until the papers burned into ashes.


    As the fire dwindled, I opened my windows, letting in the fresh air of the morning. When the fire had disappeared, I moved the hovering ball to the outside and opened it bit by bit, and the ashes flew away in the wind.


    When they were no more, the barrier vanished.


    I heaved a relieved sigh. Now, no one else will get to see my defective creations.


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    I turned around to see the dumbfounded faces of my servants, I still felt a little irritated and I had no intention of hiding it, as seen through my slightly wrinkling frown. Needless to say, I don¡¯t care about what they think of my actions.


    But, this anger may be misplaced. Still, I was displeased by them disobeying my order like that, it was one simple order, and it was not that easy to tolerate. Mera was a bit safer from my wrath though, but she still took a peek at them.


    ¡°Now then¡­ that¡¯s about done, get on with it.¡±


    I said with a neutral expression. That said, there was another thing, or rather, two things that caught their eyes. Namely the sketches I did of myself. I don¡¯t really mind them looking at those, I am confident of the outcome of the two.


    ¡°Your highness, I didn¡¯t know you have a talent for the arts.¡±


    Vernon casually approached my desk and picked up the sketch of my portrait. Probably sensing my irritation just now, Rogan and Mera didn¡¯t pick any paper but only peeked at the paper in Vernon¡¯s hand and to the other drawing.


    ¡°Magnificent, such detail and accuracy,¡± Vernon said with awe.


    ¡°Yeah, I would never be able to do something like it,¡± Rogan added.


    Mera only quietly stared at my drawing with wide eyes, filled with awe.


    ¡°And this¡­¡± Vernon picked up the other one. ¡°To be able to draw your entire body, and even the fluttering dress. Not to mention the landscape and the angle.¡±


    How flattering, but now time to stop this. I snatched the papers from his hands and put them inside the drawers.


    ¡°Now I understand why you wanted paper. Princess, since when are you able to do something that amazing?¡± Vernon asked.


    ¡°Is the answer to that truly important?¡±


    ¡°... N-No, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°Then there is no urgency, nor am I obligated to answer.¡±


    I was about to walk away but Rogan casually spoke.


    ¡°Those dresses, princess, were you trying to design some clothes?¡±


    I glared at him, prompting his smile to freeze.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that they look b-bad, in fact I think they were d-decent.¡±


    No, they were defective designs.


    ¡°If they were decent, I wouldn¡¯t have thrown them away.¡±


    And they were not the design I was looking for. I did have a goal of making it at least a bit extravagant, maybe that¡¯s the flaw when it is to be made for a special purpose.


    ¡°Be that as it may, I still find the way they were drawn to be lovely.¡±


    I stared at him for a moment before nodding, no need for pointless debate.


    ¡°I also think they were lovely, milady. It¡¯s a bit unfortunate they were burned to be honest¡­¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­?¡±


    Even so, hopeless defectives must be disposed of. Drawings are not people that can be changed and improved on top of, you need to start over again on a clean slate. That said, even people can be hopeless and worthless, so they must be disposed of¡­


    Is that why I was killed? Did I become defective?


    Where did I lack? I was useful. I am happy to be free, but I still felt a bit bitter about being thrown away. But, maybe my thoughts would have been different if I wasn¡¯t brought here all of a sudden.


    The afterlife, huh.


    This made me wonder about my team. I hope they¡¯re doing alright.


    After apparently taking in their compliments with my timid nod, we continued on what we usually do. Vernon still appeared pretty occupied with his own thoughts, which I imagined he was pondering about what I just did ¡ª meaning my ¡°talent.¡±


    Well, whatever, he does what he does. I also don¡¯t intend to scold them with something so trivial, this was nothing worth lashing out about. But in different situations, I will be strict. That said, I still couldn¡¯t do whatever I wanted when Vernon was not completely mine, and Father has yet to say anything regarding my request.


    I¡¯ll wait for a while then.


    Breakfast went on as normal, and the food had improved quite a bit compared to last week. Hm, I wonder who was doing this good work. Maybe that young man, I mean, he looked motivated to improve. Now that Allie was gone, maybe his insecurities had loosened a bit.


    As I have no other purpose or reason to visit the kitchen, I don¡¯t have any motivation to visit there. But if I feel like it, I think I¡¯ll visit, that young man should amuse me, with him having a crush on me. Yeah boys, girls like to play around with boys¡¯ feelings ¡ª I¡¯m kidding, there¡¯s only so few of us, I think. Nevermind.


    On the dining table, I glanced at my eldest brother and he immediately noticed my gaze. He smiled as if we were two siblings having our little secret. Wew, good thing I¡¯m such a precious sister that my request of keeping it a secret would be carried out by my brother with no problem at all. If my other family members learned about it, my plans would be thrown in the trash bin, slash trash can, or whichever term one prefers.


    ¡°Right, Estelia,¡± Father called me amidst the dining. ¡°The library is finished with its repairs, you are free to enter now whenever you like.¡±


    Oh cool. I suppose that would be a good place for a reading session ¡ª and there¡¯s also the thing Mother was working on. Were they still there I wonder? I¡¯ll take a peek eventually.


    When we finished eating, I began making my way to the library. As I expected, Mother came along with me to the library.


    She clung to my arm and pressed herself on me. She was pleasantly soft, and the warmth was soothing. I felt a little peace when she¡¯s this close to me, making me recall our moments together in the library.


    She¡¯s growing on me¡­


    I don¡¯t know how to take these feelings. But what I¡¯m certain of was that it was more pleasant to let it be.


    ¡°My my, there surely has become a crowd of people following you, Estelia. In the future, I can already imagine a group of retainers serving you with loyalty to you alone.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ Too many would be too much for me to handle¡­ so I think this number is fine.¡±


    Mother chuckled as though not believing my words. What I said might sound absurd since that surely won¡¯t be possible with me being royalty. But I was a bit serious, I mean, if I¡¯m a plain princess, what am I going to give them as a salary? If it doesn¡¯t come from my own pocket despite becoming an adult, I would feel a bit uneasy.


    Rewards also inspire loyalty to followers. Even the organization gives us a few ¡°gifts¡± depending on the handler¡¯s mood. Some free time, some weapons, and some just a rest day. Well, okay, it wasn¡¯t much, but it already felt rewarding.


    And me relying on the cash of the monarchs and not from me doesn¡¯t exactly make me feel easy. But wasn¡¯t that how it works? Paying the servants from the pocket of the monarch ¡ª ahem, tax money? I guess this was just me thinking about the depths of my follower¡¯s heart.


    I don¡¯t want something motivated by money, I want from the heart. Don¡¯t underestimate what the heart can make someone do. Such a thing was valuable, especially when it has its uses at the right time.


    But if that¡¯s the case, then I have to inspire loyalty in another way. I did it by winning Mera¡¯s heart. As for Rogan, I got it by gaining his interest, but that was not yet enough. As for Vernon, he was following me because of the orders of my father.


    I want my followers to take a bullet for me with no hesitation.


    ¡°If you say so¡­¡± my mother muttered.


    Suddenly she held my hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since the last time it was just the two of us.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­¡±


    I voluntarily gripped her hand gently, a smile I was conscious of slightly curled on the corner of my lips.


    But before I knew it we had arrived at the library, it felt so short¡­


    ¡°I need to go. See you later, okay?¡±


    ¡°Uh....okay.¡±


    When she let go of the hand, my own hand slightly moved forward, but I immediately held it back. I need to focus on something more important.


    With a deep breath, I began walking just a bit behind Mother and towards a bit off her direction but I kept tracking her from the corner of my eyes. When she got a bit further, I slowly followed behind her until I saw her enter a private room. I tried getting a glance inside it but to no avail.


    ¡°Princess?¡± Vernon called out to me in puzzlement.


    ¡°Do you know what¡¯s inside there?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not.¡±


    That¡¯s unfortunate.


    ¡°... Mera, just put down the book on the table,¡± I said to Mera who was holding my Magic Book, although I don¡¯t particularly need it much anymore after a few pages. If she wants it, I¡¯ll lend it to her. ¡°I¡¯ll be looking through the books on the shelves. Do not disturb me and do not follow me, that also applies to you, Sir Rogan. I want to be alone.¡±


    Rogan casually nodded his head.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 26: Royal Disappearances

    There were only very few people here in the library, unlike the last time I was here when it was only me and my gang. But I guess after the traitor was found, there wasn¡¯t much need for tight security such as keeping the staff out of the library just for me.


    As I made my way amidst the shelves, I saw at the corner of my eyes the three looking at each other. There must be hesitation, but it shouldn¡¯t be that surprising for Vernon and Mera since this had already happened before.


    I casually walked through the shelves filled with books, heading towards the section where I last knew where books about the kingdom were. I wanted to know a bit of background about the kingdom since, well, no good in not knowing much about my own kingdom ¡ª true it was taught during my lessons, but no way they go that deep with us just having sessions of a few hours. Unlike a place where school takes place for about eight hours every weekday.


    When I arrived at the section, the texts about the monarchs were of course still here, but I¡¯m not yet reading those. Not even the book that was written by that king that made the Air Step spell.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    I¡¯m also not doing it completely out of obligation sort of say, this might also be a good time to have a little leisure.


    Still, these books are just about the life of specific monarchs and events that happened during their reign.


    I only wanted to read a little more detailed background of the kingdom I haven¡¯t been taught yet. And no way I¡¯m reading dozens of books just for that, too time-consuming. Not like any specific monarchs have any significance for me, well I¡¯ll learn of their significance after reading them in history.


    This will also be a good chance to learn a bit of background from any noble family, figure out who¡¯s truly close with the royal family, one with history.


    But moments later I was still looking for the appropriate book I was looking for. Come on, there has to be someone diligent enough to make a summarized history of our kingdom.


    Is there any librarian here?


    Everything would be quicker if I just talk to one. But there didn¡¯t seem to be a reception desk at the entrance, so I imagined there was no one to serve as a librarian. Maybe the palace has no need for one? Or this world just worked differently in this type of thing.


    Hm, Mother might know, but she¡¯s busy.


    I should maybe ask one of the staff when I grow impatient. Hey, I¡¯m not used to being surrounded by books, so don¡¯t blame me if I lose patience looking for a book I just want to read.


    Just as I was searching, I encountered someone, a tall slim woman wearing a professional-looking dress that covered most of her skin except for the hands, feet, and of course the neck... In short, she looked like she was dressed against the cold. But it certainly wasn¡¯t that cold right now.


    She had short black hair and dark eyes, and she stood tall with her back straight as a pole. The moment she saw me, she took a sharp breath for a second and peered at me as though making sure I was who she recognized.


    After I cutely smiled at her, she took a step back and did an elegant curtsy.


    ¡°Your highness.¡±


    She greeted me with surprising calmness. I expected her to be a bit more shaken or something, but I guess she was used to royals entering the library often.


    ¡°Hello. Um, you¡¯re one of the library staff, yes? Can you help me with something?¡±


    ¡°Of course, what are you searching for?¡±


    ¡°A book about the history of the kingdom. Like, the entire history being written in a single book.¡±


    Without a moment¡¯s delay, she immediately nodded her head as if she had already known what I was searching for.


    ¡°Understood, I¡¯ll get it for you, your highness.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    She began walking opposite my direction and stopped before a certain shelf a couple of shelves away from me. Huh, so it wasn¡¯t that far. She then pulled out a thick book, my eyes widened for a moment after seeing how thick it was, thicker than a bowl of oatmeal ¡ª hehehe¡­ yeah I saw that clip.


    When she returned to me, I received the book and immediately felt the weight and I was distraught at the thickness. It was around two inches thick, a bit more. Well, what history book is thin anyway?


    I let my arms hang down as if suggesting this was heavy for me. No reason, just so I look cute.


    ¡°T-Thank you. Then, excuse me.¡±


    ¡°Do you want me to help you bring it to your table, your highness?¡±


    I smiled at her kindness.


    ¡°No need. Thank you for the offer, but my table is not that far anyway.¡±


    After seeing her nod, I continued onward, returning to where my servants were. As for if I was truly struggling to carry this book, nope, way better than I formerly would. My arm strength had gotten better after all that workout every night and then.


    But of course I¡¯m not going to do it too much ¡®cause my soft appearance is very important to me like how one would take care of their romantic partner. That¡¯s why I need to be capable of using the physical enhancement so I don¡¯t have to worry about strength too much. With the amount of mana I have, I have more range of increasing my physical strength. That¡¯s what I expect at least.


    When I came back, the three gawked at the sheer size of the book within my hand, a thick and lengthy book, that looked like those old ass big dictionaries.


    With a little slam, I put down the book on the table.


    ¡°Princess, what are you intending with that?¡±


    What a foolish question, Rogan. I wanted to say that, but I¡¯m not gonna.


    ¡°To read of course. What other purpose does a book have?¡±


    As it was a fairly old book, it only had a leather cover with no writing whatsoever that suggested what this book was about. I wonder whose generation was the one covered last. I opened the book and on the first page wrote the title ¡°Wisterian History¡± with the author Staugen Lanson. I don¡¯t recall having a monarch of that name, so he must be someone else.


    ¡°The kingdom¡¯s history?¡± Vernon muttered. ¡°This is the least I was expecting you would take interest in, your highness.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, aren¡¯t you already learning about this kind of stuff in your studies?¡± Rogan said. ¡°And to be reading an overly detailed one, apparent from the sheer size of the text.¡±


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    I smiled softly.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it? It''s going to be interesting, don¡¯t you think? History is the best subject.¡±


    No it¡¯s not.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say I want to go deeply about it though¡­¡±


    Oh my Rogan, how shameful of you not to have any interest in the history of our beloved kingdom and lovely home. You should be beheaded under a guillotine. Just kidding.


    ¡°Alright, Mera.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes?¡±


    ¡°You can continue your training with Vernon while I¡¯m reading.¡±


    ¡°... Understood.¡±


    I sat down with a sigh. At least this would be a change of pace for once.


    I turned the page and skimmed through the pages, reading the parts where there seemed to be interesting stuff going on. In the first pages though, it stated that this was written during the time of that certain king who took out the unnecessary nobles and formed a friendly relationship with the holy kingdom. So that king, fifth king back from Father. Quite recently then.


    Then after that page, as expected, it started at the founding of the kingdom where two lovers were. However, there was something new I discovered.


    That¡¯s interesting.


    There were accounts that say that the founding queen, after their children were only a few years old, barely showed herself, never appearing in public since then but only her husband the king. There were sayings that she got ill.


    However, there was another small piece of information that she was also never seen walking around the castle nor were there servants sent to take care of her. That being said, the king insisted that everything was alright and nothing to worry about. However, there was no definite information discovered. Documentation seemed to be very rare that so little information was found that talks about the founding and the first royal family.


    If that was the case though, what could have happened to the queen?


    Well, no point in mulling over it when there¡¯s barely any useful information. For all I know it was just some random politics at work, or the queen just wanted to rest and retired to the countryside. Being a leader of a country is not easy work. Sometimes, simple things just happened in the past and we¡¯re simply overthinking and going wrong about it, making assumptions.


    Moving on I skimmed through the pages again.


    Boooorinnnggg.


    Come on, give me something interesting. Yeah I¡¯m taking this like I¡¯m reading some novel or something. I kept skimming through several pages, only stopping to read the entire page when I caught something interesting.


    Then a few generations later, I caught something interesting.


    A royalty disappearing¡­


    In this one particular generation, an exceptional prince suddenly vanished from the kingdom, never seen again. He was the eldest child, but one day, he just disappeared without any warning, nor did he say he was going somewhere. It was as if he was abducted.


    That being said, there was no known feud he had with anyone nor did the royal family. They searched and searched, but to no avail. Of course, eventually, they just gave up, but it took more than a decade to do so.


    Hm, maybe he eloped?


    Then the next one after that, another record of a missing royalty, this time a princess.


    Maybe she eloped?


    I joked, but in the next generation, another prince once again vanished.


    Woah woah, what the fuck?


    This was worrisome. I mean, why were they disappearing just like that?!


    Next generation, another one also disappeared.


    ¡­ What was going on? Wait, were there any disappearances from the family before me? Something they hid from me, or from us?


    I skipped a few generations. Another missing royalty. Several centuries later, and the pattern of disappearances had changed. Instead of every new royal family, it skipped a family or so. Then during another couple of centuries, only one royalty vanished. Then, when I moved through the pages, events about royal disappearances came to a stop. There were no more disappearances¡­


    ¡°Huh¡­¡±


    I put a hand to cover my mouth, just a thinking posture.


    Is this actually serious?


    I mean, I am royalty. Could this be connected to those wanting to kill me? Oryn, and those inhuman beings? But if that¡¯s the case, why? Why were royalties even disappearing? For what reason?


    Some beef with Wisteria? But to keep happening for even centuries, it¡¯s absurd for grudges to last that long. So, could this mean I¡¯m the target now? And if the ones targeting me wanted me dead, then all those other royalties were killed. Only now did it change, coming out of subtlety because I was warned and then told my family about the situation.


    If that¡¯s not the case, then could the disappearances be caused by another entity entirely? But to last for centuries¡­ and then stopping? Hmm.


    ¡°Does anyone know anything about these disappearances of royalty?¡±


    My three servants looked at me with confusion, taken aback by my sudden question. Considering the topic, it was quite a shocking one.


    ¡°Disappearances?¡±


    Vernon didn¡¯t know, huh. I looked at Mera and she shook her head, but that was to be expected.


    ¡°This is news to me. What disappearances, if I may ask?¡± Rogan asked.


    ¡°For each century, a single member of the royal family disappears, whether they be prince or princesses. It only stopped several centuries ago.¡±


    ¡°If you asked, then the reason was never discovered.¡± Rogan said.


    ¡°They haven¡¯t even found them nor was there any mention of any clue.¡± I turned to look at Vernon. ¡°Did Father never mention anything about it, Vernon? Or the royals before him?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I have no idea¡­ maybe because as you said, the disappearances stopped several centuries ago, it has become an obsolete topic to bring up.¡±


    I furrowed my brows.


    ¡°I wonder if the disappearance of the first queen has something to do with it.¡±


    ¡°The founder? Yes, I did hear there was something about that, just a little.¡±


    ¡°She did?¡±


    ¡°One of the founders disappeared¡­?¡±


    It would seem Rogan and Mera never heard about it. Well, I have only heard about this now, and it was never tackled in any of my lessons at all. Like, why? Maybe it was not that major of a topic? Because it happened like a couple of millennia ago?


    ¡°Do you think they¡¯re connected, your highness?¡±


    Vernon asked me that. However, I¡¯m not quite sure, they may be different situations.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. The timeframe when the subsequent disappearances started and the first queen¡¯s supposed disappearance has a gap of a couple of centuries.¡±


    A difference in pattern. But at the later part though the disappearance had begun to have gaps in their timelines¡­ Could they be getting tired or did some situation come up? Or the royal family was not that threatening to them anymore?


    Vernon took in a sharp breath as though realizing something.


    ¡°Princess, do you think the same thing may be happening to you?¡±


    That could be the best assumption we could make.


    ¡°Perhaps. But bear in mind the past royalties went missing, not dead. Oryn wanted me dead right there and then. That being said, we can also assume they have changed their mind.¡±


    Hehe, maybe they deemed I¡¯m so special and perfect that I cannot exist in this world of imperfections. I am too worthy that they saw me as a threat, hahahaha! I¡¯m just gonna laugh in my troubles. What else can I do!?


    I tapped my finger on the book, playing around as I contemplated. I looked in the direction of where my Mother should be.


    I wonder¡­


    Secrets, you always want to know something when it¡¯s a secret. Above all, they were hiding something from me.


    ¡°Has there been any news from Father¡¯s operatives?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    Useless. Well, not entirely. But still, they failed the first, and now they¡¯re not making any progress. I might as well go out there, but openly going out would be risky without any proper precautions. I need to get a bit stronger, at least before the festival ¡ª since I was planning to go out to enjoy it. What¡¯s a new life if I don¡¯t enjoy it, right?


    I heaved a cute sigh. Yeah, there¡¯s a thing called a cute sigh, it¡¯s cute when you¡¯re cute.


    Whatever, I¡¯ll read more about what¡¯s inside this book. Particularly the noble families that were with the royal family for a long time now. I recognized the family name on my mother¡¯s side, needless to say, they started at a low rank but in time they rose. There were a few I was not acquainted with but am familiar with.


    The Yveno, Madame Eleanore¡¯s family name, also seemed to have been close to the royal family for a long time now. Furthermore, there were no significant entries about Lanivia¡¯s family to be mentioned here. Then there¡¯s Lucious¡¯s family line, the Vekenas. Lucious¡¯s parents were not that highly ranked to be offered to live around the capital. But there was a family branch of them that was offered and moved here.


    In any case, it was a bit of a relief that a lot of family in the capital were my distant relatives. Our family was not the traitorous bunch to be wary of, well to my knowledge anyways ¡ª we were a kind bloodline.


    I wonder, in the next few centuries, the capital would become crowded because families get promoted with every passing generation. Damn, now that¡¯s bothersome. Well, not my problem! Besides, I¡¯ll die of old age before that becomes a problem¡­


    Unless I don¡¯t get old. This was a world of magic, wasn''t it? Woah, could that mean there¡¯s a possibility I get to have a long life? Or better yet, to live for eternity? I¡¯m not against that idea. I mean, I sort of want that! Live for eternity? Why not?


    Oh gosh, I need to research that. At least some kind of magic that keeps me young or something. I¡¯ll sacrifice an entire city if I have to, don¡¯t care. But I guess, everything dies, unless I go against it! Hah! Don¡¯t think I won¡¯t fight fate, mostly now that there¡¯s something like magic, the potential is limitless.


    ¡­ I hope everything goes the way I want it to be.


    I heard footsteps coming my way. Raising my eyes to look at the person coming at me, I smiled when it was nothing but Lucious, which was a surprise. He casually approached me with a slight smile, none of my servants seemed to raise their guards since they knew who he was.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 27: Would You Consider Going Out With Me?

    Lucious glanced at Rogan who was beside me for a second, I turned to look at Rogan to see him wearing a small smile, but I could tell he was amused.


    I returned my beautiful and innocent eyes to Lucious.


    ¡°Lucious¡­ hi.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Estelia¡­¡± he glanced at my book. ¡°Is it a bad time?¡±


    ¡°... Um, no. This is merely a casual read.¡±


    ¡°Quite a thick one.¡±


    ¡°Well, it is the history of the kingdom.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    He awkwardly looked away as though thinking what he should say next. Haaaaah, do I need to help you with this?


    ¡°What brought you here, Lucious? I¡¯m surprised my brother let you go. Oh, and, you can sit down.¡±


    He nodded his head and slowly sat down at the chair in front of me.


    ¡°Well, we managed to finish all important tasks yesterday, so it¡¯s fine to take it slow for today.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great! Best to have a rest once in a while. I¡¯m sure you must be stressed out by the amount of work you two have to do.¡±


    I laid my elbow on the table and positioned my hand on my cheek, squishing them a little as I stared straight into his eyes with a child-like smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that big of a problem really. In fact, I am more concerned about you.¡±


    My eyes widened for a moment.


    ¡°.... W-What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I heard you have been working hard. And I believe it now even more seeing you read this thousand pages book.¡±


    ¡°... I did this of my own volition to pass the time, so¡­ it¡¯s not that troublesome.¡±


    ¡°Are you doing alright though? You¡¯re not feeling too much pressure, yes?¡±


    I lowered my hand and sadly raised my eyes towards him.


    ¡°I know you have already heard everything that happened, Lucious....¡± I smiled with sadness. ¡°So, do you think I would not feel any pressure at all?¡±


    ¡°... I¡¯m sorry I asked. That was foolish of me.¡±


    I glanced around me and realized that Rogan had already moved off a bit away from me, his smile no longer around his face. He must have heard. The same worried expressions were also evident on Mera and Vernon¡¯s faces.


    ¡°But it¡¯s alright, I¡¯m sure everyone is working hard. I believe in them. So this is not something to be so distressed about.¡±


    I showed a forced smile, as though trying to say and express that everything would be alright. That there was nothing to worry about. I have faith in everyone.


    Lucious stared at me with a pained expression, opening and closing his mouth, hesitating to speak.


    ¡°... Estelia, do you have time for a leisure walk?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I think so¡­¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡± he swiftly stood up and gracefully extended a hand before me, like a gentleman asking for a fair maiden¡¯s hand. ¡°May I take you out for a walk, milady?¡±


    How bold.


    My cheeks flushed red as I stared with shock at the hand presented to me. I seemingly became frantic, looking confused, but he didn¡¯t budge at all, he remained steadfast. No hesitating now, huh. It¡¯s like him making the conviction to not let me go this time.


    As there was no other choice, I slowly reached out for his hand. He had a smooth hand with only a little roughness, not the hand of a fighter. He gently helped me stand up, and we now stood right before each other, face to face with only a couple of inches apart.


    I immediately took a step back with embarrassment. He smiled a little, seemingly expecting this. Well, I made it blatantly apparent that I¡¯m embarrassed.


    ¡°... U-Um, w-where are we going, Lucious?¡±


    ¡°I have one place in mind, it should be peaceful and memorable.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    I have no idea what he''s talking about.


    ¡°Have you forgotten?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°The tree.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    That one, huh.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go?¡±


    ¡°...Okay.¡±


    I followed a bit behind him with meekness. My servants followed behind me, keeping their fair distance. Helloooo? A bit of privacy? The flowers of youth are blooming here. Don¡¯t be a killjoy. Don¡¯t be the bees that suck the sweetness out.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    We walked down the corridor quietly. Um, no conversation? No nothing? Come on Lucious. Rogan way surpassed you in any type of conversation initiation. You¡¯ll be left behind. It¡¯s awkward here.


    Oh yeah I need to watch out for any family members seeing me. But they seemed to have forgotten about it, hehehe I¡¯m just a so behaved daughter that they weren¡¯t so strict when it comes to punishments.


    But, I guess there¡¯s nothing I need to worry about, everyone was busy anyway¡­ And we barely talk anymore.


    We reached the stairs and Lucious stopped in place.


    ¡°Hold my hand.¡±


    Um, what?


    ¡°I learned of what happened, and I don¡¯t want it happening again on my watch.¡±


    Yeah, Mr. Stairs was so cruel that time. Piece of shit, I almost died¡­ no wait, I did technically die¡­ maybe?


    ¡°... O-Oh¡­¡±


    I hesitantly received his hand, then he slowly led me down the stairs. Truth be told, this wasn¡¯t necessary, but of course as he only arrived and recently heard about it, the information was still fresh in his mind.


    ¡°By the way, your request, it¡¯s coming tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°T-That¡¯s great! Thank you¡­¡±


    There the conversation ended. Booooo¡­!


    That aside, it¡¯s tomorrow already?! Shit, I haven¡¯t made any designs yet. Guess I¡¯ll do some work later.


    Now then, what to do with this awkward atmosphere.


    ¡°Um, Lucious, you said you would tell me about your adventure to Myra, right? How is it outside?¡±


    Yeah, I¡¯m gonna initiate a conversation. I gave him a bit of sympathy and empathy since it¡¯s not that easy to come up with a good conversation with someone you like. I understand that, and no need to be afraid when I¡¯m the accompanying party, I¡¯m a generous girl. But if this happens again, I¡¯m not gonna do anything anymore.


    I timidly glanced his way, seeing him with a restrained smile.


    ¡°Oh yeah, I did mention that. That was my first time going beyond the kingdom. And I should say, the journey was not easy.¡±


    I quietly waited for him to continue, my eyes hinting at anticipation for his story. I am actually quite expecting what the outside would entail.


    Then as we made our way to our destination, he told me his story of his adventure to Myra. He shared to me his experience in encountering types of monsters for the first time, ones that wouldn¡¯t be found around here in the capital.


    So, could this mean certain monsters have their own habitats or something? If that¡¯s the case, they¡¯re like animals? Damn, now I¡¯m concerned if I encounter what seems like a normal wolf, but turns out to be a monster or something.


    Lucious mentioned what he heard from the knights that the monsters they encountered were easier to deal with than the monsters found in our nearby dangerous forest. I still don¡¯t have any measurement on what that means.


    He then shared that it was pretty much his first time camping out in the wilderness, but it was fun. Good for you, would be hard for a lady like me. If I¡¯m gonna go outside, I think I¡¯ll just stay around the kingdom where I have a proper place to stay. That being said, it all depends on my mood, hehehe. Also if I can find a good motel or hotel, that would be great.


    Lucious continued on his arrival to the kingdom of knights. He mentioned how he enjoyed the dances the commoners did on the town square along with the soldiers and knights. He tried participating but he did not know their dance at all.


    He described the sceneries around that nation and how they were almost similar to Wisteria. But the most noteworthy of all was the mineral called Kaleidronite, the same material as my necklace gifted to me. He still couldn¡¯t forget the moment during the night where a path was filled with Kaleidronite smashed into tiny pieces, almost powder.


    The casters of magic would cast their mana unto the stones scattered on the ground, then they would light up with countless colors, more colorful than the stars in the night sky.


    I stared up at him, he was full of enthusiasm as he described everything, his face colored and bright with a wide smile. Someone might even be charmed by his joy alone.


    Oh well.


    Shortly we arrived at our destination. A lone tree stood in the middle of the yard, a few colorful flowers scattered around, and the soil covered completely by lush greenery. I remember this place very well.


    This was the place we hung out with my brothers when we were young and had nothing else to worry about. Well, when I say hung out, I mean dragged. They say I should at least get under the sun once in a while, and they would force me out of the palace because I didn¡¯t want to get out.


    Needless to say, I stayed under the shade of this tree all of the time, no way I¡¯m getting under the sun, so bright and the heat was bothersome. Here we would just casually sit around with my brothers, Estevan, and Eleden, then there¡¯s Lucious, and rarely our female cousin.


    So, yeah, most of the time when I was dragged here, I was one of the boys basically. Whenever they play around though, I¡¯m just under the shade watching them. And I was quite satisfied with that.


    I smiled at seeing this scenery from my memory. When we got older, we of course couldn¡¯t come here anymore, so it was bizarre to see this place personally.


    We sat down on the grass, I leaned my back on the tree trunk, savoring the fresh air and cold wind. My servants were nowhere to be seen, they must be around here somewhere.


    ¡°Got some weight off your shoulders?¡±


    Lucious asked me softly.


    ¡°... Yes.¡±


    ¡°When was the last time we¡¯re here? Five? Or Six years ago?¡±


    ¡°I think around those¡­ and my brothers were with us.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    ¡°Why did you bring me here? Wouldn¡¯t it be more fun with Eleden and Estevan here?¡±


    I glanced at him and met his eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s not about having fun, Estelia.¡±


    He smiled softly, telling me only just that.


    ¡°... Is that so¡­¡±


    Then there was silence, leaving only the sounds of the grass blades waving in the wind.


    ¡°Estelia¡­¡±


    ¡°... Hm?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ will you be going out to the festival?¡±


    He must be talking about the festival happening in a few months.


    ¡°.... Why do you ask?¡±


    I shifted my eyes towards him, but he avoided my eyes, feeling shy it seems.


    ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯m just, I¡¯m just wondering if it would be alright to¡­ to bring you out and go to the festival with me.¡±


    My eyes widened a little at his proposal.


    ¡°... Y-Yes, I suppose I am planning to¡­ but I¡¯m not so sure.¡±


    ¡°Then, if you do, would you consider going out with me?¡±


    I retracted a little.


    ¡°W-What are you¡­ Why are you asking me?¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course, if you have others you plan on coming with, it¡¯s fine I won¡¯t interfere.¡±


    He looked past me, towards someone perhaps.


    ¡°N-No, I don¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Then, at least for a day, let me be your escort.¡±


    He suddenly reached out for my hand and held them gently. My cheeks flushed red and my eyes turned frantic, looking around just not his eyes.


    ¡°Why are you¡­ a-asking me? I¡¯m, I¡¯m not a g-good company. There are others that are better than me.¡±


    ¡°There are no others, I want you, Estelia.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    The pressure of this moment was evident on my face as the edges of my eyes moistened.


    ¡°N-No¡­ y-you couldn¡¯t possibly¡ª¡±


    ¡°I mean it, I want no one else but you, Estelia. I want to be with you.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    As though an involuntary action, I pulled my hand away from his hand as my body shook, confused by everything.


    ¡°Estelia¡ª¡±


    ¡°T-This i-is¡­ I-I¡­¡±


    With trembling lips I stood up, stepping back a couple of times, breathing a bit heavily, as if shocked.


    ¡°L-Lucious, I¡­ E-Excuse me!¡±


    I turned around and walked away with hasty steps, my cheeks to my ears were beet red. My head lowered and only focused on the path in front of me, avoiding anyone¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°W-Wait, Estelia¡­¡±


    I heard Lucious¡¯s voice trailing off behind me, but I kept facing forward. On the way, I came across my servants.


    ¡°Princess.¡±


    Rogan called out to me, but I ignored him and went straight ahead. Their footsteps loudly followed behind me ¡ª no, there were only two pairs of footsteps.


    Doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯m certain it was Rogan and Mera anyway.


    Eventually, I arrived at my room and locked myself inside.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 28: Locking Herself in Her Room

    Lucious could only watch as Estelia rush away. He might have imagined this scenario once or twice, but it didn¡¯t help him feel any better. No, it was worse than he had imagined. Was he too hasty about it?


    Should he have done it differently? Why did he even do it so directly?


    He didn¡¯t know what came to him, but he just expressed what he wanted, said what he wanted. How else should he have done it? Maybe he should have just been slower and gentler about it.


    But¡­


    This was the kind of scenario he didn¡¯t want, this was the kind of scenario Eleden warned him about, Estelia running away. And he had done the worst-case scenario. There was a chance that Estelia would be reluctant in talking with him now ¡ª no, that would definitely be the case.


    He rubbed his hand to his fingers in regret.


    Lucious watched as the knight named Rogan, and the maid Mera followed behind the retreating figure of the princess. But the old man, the king¡¯s assistant, Vernon, stayed behind and approached him.


    ¡°Mister Lucious.¡±


    ¡°Vernon¡­¡± he forced a smile. ¡°Maybe I overdid it.¡±


    ¡°Mm, perhaps.¡±


    Lucious lowered his head.


    ¡°Did I make a mistake?¡±


    ¡°Knowing you and your charge, you must have anticipated something like this might happen.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ I think I blew it. And now¡­¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s a mistake yet.¡±


    Lucious looked up at Vernon.


    ¡°The princess is a sensitive person, everyone knows that. And, expressing one¡¯s feelings is always the starting step. You would have likely gone through the same thing if you did it another way or in another time.¡±


    ¡°But, I still couldn¡¯t stop feeling that I made a mistake.¡±


    ¡°If you did not do what you did today, you might have regretted it tomorrow, or in the near future. I think this is a good step forward.¡±


    Lucious deeply hoped so. For a long time, he had carried these feelings, never expressing them at all. And they just burst out, failing to hold them back. On top of that, he was worried ¡ª her falling for another man.


    ¡°How, how do you think she will cope with this? How do you think she will take my words?¡±


    He wanted an answer from Vernon who was old and had experienced a lot in his lifetime. And as the person who witnessed the children here in the palace grow up.


    But, to Lucious¡¯s surprise, Vernon sighed.


    ¡°Even I do not know anymore.¡±


    Lucious was baffled.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°My initial understanding and impression of the princess have distorted. I cannot tell for certain now what her thoughts would be. I cannot be of help.¡±


    ¡°What? Why?¡±


    Vernon shook his head.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say¡­ a sensitive lady¡­ but¡­¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°I need to go and return to the princess¡¯s side. You only need to wait, Mister Lucious. Give her time.¡±


    ¡°... I understand.¡±


    Lucious watched Vernon walk away, heading towards where the princess might have gone, before sighing sadly.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    He made his way back to Eleden¡¯s office, and he collapsed on the nearest couch. Eleden narrowed his eyes seeing the weak-looking Lucious.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°I think I messed up¡­¡±


    Eleden dropped his work.


    ¡°Care to elaborate?¡±


    ¡°She¡­. she ran away.¡±


    Eleden looked down with a nod of his head.


    ¡°I thought we discussed keeping it slow.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ but¡­ I may have been a bit impatient.¡±


    ¡°After all the preparations. You got impatient¡­¡± Eleden sighed. ¡°In any case, we can¡¯t jump to conclusions about how my sister took your words. The best we can do is wait and give her time. Approach her when the opportunity and clarity arises.¡±


    ¡°Clarity for what?¡±


    ¡°Clarity for my sister. Let her assess her feelings.¡±


    Lucious understood what he was trying to say. But, he had already felt impatient and frightened about how the future might unfold. The longer time passes, the worse he would feel.


    ¡°What if she starts ignoring me from now on?¡±


    ¡°Then approach her, even if she avoids you, keep trying. If you give up with only just that, then your resolve and feelings are not that great then... She can¡¯t avoid you forever.¡±


    ***


    Vernon walked up the stairs, assuming that was where the princess was going. If he was right, if his impression of her still holds any value, she should be in her room. Completely avoiding human contact.


    Vernon imagined a scenario like this would happen anytime soon if such a situation occurred with the princess, but he never expected it would be now. That being said, he imagined something else would happen, but his expectations that involved the princess had become uncertain. As he mentioned before, his impression of her had distorted that he didn¡¯t know how to anticipate her actions anymore.


    She was once easy to predict.


    It didn¡¯t take long for him to arrive at Princess Estelia¡¯s quarters. But outside, by the closed door, Rogan and Mera stood with worried expressions, and clueless at what they should do.


    ¡°Sir Vernon.¡±


    Mera called out to him.


    ¡°She closed herself?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Vernon sighed after hearing Rogan¡¯s answer. Now, he grew even more confused about the princess. She recently was cunning, and could even be described as brave. But for some reason, this caused her to retreat.


    It was almost inconsistent with the new side he saw. That being said, there were people who are weak emotionally.


    The princess had never in her life experienced intimate moments with any man. No, not only that, she had never experienced anything romantic at all, nor did that come into her mind as she grew up. Such a thing must have been too foreign for her.


    And to be told by her friend since childhood must have come as a shock for her since such a notion never came into her mind. Even the cunning and brave have weaknesses.


    So? Could the princess be emotionally and mentally weak, personally?


    If so, this was an important thing to know about her.


    ¡°Could the prince¡¯s assistant had said something horrible to milady?¡±


    Vernon noticed that Mera didn¡¯t even call Lucious by his name. Did she intentionally do that? Or perhaps she just didn¡¯t know how to address him perhaps. Likely the latter, even she wouldn¡¯t be that rude.


    ¡°His name is Lucious,¡± Vernon said to her. ¡°And no, he did not say anything mean. Rather, it was a sincere one.¡±


    ¡°Hey Mera, weren¡¯t you there? You should have heard something about their conversation, right?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Mera lowered her head. ¡°Yes, but I¡­ I didn¡¯t hear all of it.¡±


    Rogan raised an eyebrow. Vernon also doubted a little, but perhaps she just didn¡¯t pay any attention.


    Rogan then said.


    ¡°Basically, the first prince¡¯s assistant asked the princess out. Like on a date.¡±


    Mera averted her eyes away for some reason.


    ¡°I....I see¡­¡±


    That was all she muttered. Vernon had noticed the same reaction from when Oryn and Allie were first discovered, Mera was flustered. It would appear she was soft when it comes to romantic events.


    Vernon approached the door and knocked gently a few times.


    ¡°Princess, are you alright? You still have your studies and practice to attend to.¡±


    Vernon intended to use that reason as some sort of bait to compel the princess to go out. She had been diligent with her studies, so he hoped this would work.


    ¡°Leave me alone!¡±


    However, it did not work at all.


    ¡°What now?¡± Rogan asked.


    ¡°We go on standby, we can¡¯t just leave her completely alone.¡±


    And so, the trio stood idle in front of the princess¡¯s room. Rogan was becoming bored, Vernon remained steadfast, while Mera was fidgety. There was no activity whatsoever that Vernon wondered what the princess was thinking all alone in her room.


    Maybe she was asleep or spacing out. In any case, she was so used to being alone that she might be completely relaxing there.


    A couple of hours later, the door to the princess¡¯s room gently creaked open. Everyone instantly gave attention and moved in front of it. The princess looked through the gap of the door, her dazzling pair of crimson eyes peered at them.


    ¡°V-Vernon¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, princess? No, wait, are you alright? You ought to come out, your highness.¡±


    The princess merely furrowed her brows.


    ¡°Vernon¡­ bring me a pile of clean sheets of paper.¡±


    Vernon was puzzled, he was sure there should be plenty of papers she could use after he brought her last time.


    Ah¡­


    He recalled when the princess had tons of crumpled pages littering her room.


    She does use a lot of pages¡­


    ¡°I understand. But will you be coming out?¡±


    Without any answer though, the princess closed the door.


    ¡°Wow, first time seeing her like that,¡± Rogan said.


    ¡°I''ll carry out her request. Be on the lookout in case she goes out. She still needs to have lunch shortly.¡±


    So Vernon brought the princess clean sheets of paper, which she accepted quietly and locked herself in again. After that, when it was time for lunch, Vernon knocked on the door to remind her, and she thankfully left the room.


    Vernon had no idea what happened to the dining room after that since he had lunch with his co-servants.


    But after lunch, the princess again sealed herself inside her room.


    Now this reminds me of how the princess usually acts.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 29: Tailor

    Dammit!!!!!!


    Fuck this shit!


    Why?!


    All of that and for nothing?!


    Yeah I¡¯m pissed.


    Right now my floor was littered with round and crumpled sheets of paper! And it¡¯s already night for fuck sake!


    This is cringy as fuck!


    I mean who the fucks designs clothes like this? T-This looks awkward and impractical! Dammit!


    Nothing has ever frustrated me so. This sucks! Why can¡¯t I design an outfit that doesn''t incite this disgust within me? Dammit, creativity be damned.


    I have been thinking and trying to draw since daytime ¡ª mostly spent thinking ¡ª but I have not accomplished anything decent. I just want to look good, elegant, badass, something charming while also good to wear in operations. But nooooooo, my dumbass can¡¯t create anything good!


    Grrrrrrrrr!


    And I began working early for this, and I missed my training!


    I threw a crumpled sheet again in the fit of irritation.


    Fatigued, my head slammed on the desk ¡ª but of course not too strong since that would be unnecessary.


    ¡°Haaaaaaaah¡­.¡±


    I always have this trouble¡­ when trying to be creative in the forms of art. I¡¯m not really into drawing, but I didn¡¯t expect it to be this bad. And this is why I never tried writing songs ¡ª well I tried once, but I didn¡¯t get to finish one line¡­


    Am I only good at killing after all?!


    Maybe I should just give u¡ª Uh ah, was that what you expected to hear? Well, no way!


    This is n-nothing. Yeah. Yeah. I can come up with something. This was a small hurdle compared to music practice¡­


    I had to stop for dinner, so I did while showing almost a blank face, holding in the swirling emotions within me. My eldest brother tried talking to me, but when I was put in a spot, I made my response brief. I¡¯m also not being completely rude to him because, after all, he would be paying for my expenses tomorrow.


    But I tried my best to avoid anything that has to do with Lucious, making my responses vague and somewhat. He¡¯s the least of priority.


    Skipping, and next daylight came. Odd that I said ¡®next daylight¡¯, yes? Well, that¡¯s because I barely slept at all!


    I was woken up by the knockings from the door, but my eyelids felt so heavy. Dammit, even agents need decent sleeping time¡­ Well, this was my doing, but still¡­ I want to sleep more.


    Then knockings again.


    But mom! I don¡¯t want to go to school!


    No, wait¡­ it¡¯s not Mother.


    Anyway! It would be unbecoming of me to let my sleepiness do me in... Buuut, there¡¯s nothing urgent going on. The tailor won¡¯t come until later anyway. Since Lucious was not kind enough to tell me what exact time he would arrive, I had to ask my eldest brother when there was no one around, at the time he tried talking to me.


    I tried getting up, only to deliberately fall back on the soft bed and pillow. Oh no, I¡¯m getting lax.


    I rubbed my cheek on the pillow for about a minute before opening the door. My three servants¡¯ faces turned to shock when they saw me.


    ¡°M-Milady, did something happen?¡±


    For your information, I have already disposed of the trash before I went to sleep, like how I did last time. So the shock they had now was not because of a messy room. It¡¯s because of yours truly.


    You see, I am so perfect that one can easily notice what¡¯s off with me. Needless to say, it was my lack of proper sleep.


    ¡°No, nothing¡¯s wrong. I just didn¡¯t sleep well.¡±


    I adorably smiled at the concerned Mera, but that didn¡¯t seem to put her at ease. In fact, everyone else still appeared worried, perhaps confused as to why I couldn¡¯t get a decent sleep. Eh, it doesn''t matter, I¡¯ll look better after a fresh bath.


    I ignored them and went ahead for a bath. Then after that, breakfast.


    When that was done, my eldest brother spoke to me privately that the tailor had already arrived ¡ª wow how early, way ahead of schedule. I was to meet with the tailor first and Eleden would follow later since he had something to finish first. He assured me that he would not take long.


    Well, he has nothing else to do when the tailor¡¯s measuring me and so on anyway. So before going to meet with the tailor, I returned to my room and sneaked a sheet of paper into the sleeve of my clothes.


    When I arrived at the reception room, there were two people there, one was a young woman, and the other was a peculiar man, but familiar. The woman was someone I have never seen before, and she was young, so she must be new. She got the looks, average-length black hair, and a pair of amber eyes. Her civilian dress looked good on her, and quite fancy, working with a renowned designer seems to have its perks.


    Then who would catch everyone¡¯s eyes the most was the tall fancy looking man. His neck-length blonde hair combed sideways. His beautiful face wore a wide smile and a pair of green eyes. Then fair skin that suggested he worked mostly inside.


    He looked quite eccentric due to his extravagant outfit, colored in fairly bright colors. His boots hid the edges of his trousers, and a long coat with a short cape on his right shoulder. His slender figure was further expressed through his straight posture.


    He snapped his finger the moment he laid eyes on me.


    ¡°Aaaaaah ¡ª O gorgeous princess, it is a great pleasure to finally meet you again.¡±


    He genuflected in a theatrical manner and lowered his head. His companion on the other hand was normal.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Mervizo.¡±


    Mervizo Deyaren, the number one clothes designer and the finest tailor favored by every aristocrat all across the country.


    ¡°Yes, it is, your highness. The moment I received your summons, I couldn¡¯t hold back my excitement.¡±


    He genuinely looked excited. Now that I think about it, based on memory, he always looked excited when measuring me¡­ Guess I¡¯m just so beautiful, hehe. This reminded me of my girl cousin who always makes me wear a variety of dresses.


    ¡°I see¡­ Um, may I ask who your companion is?¡±


    He nodded his head. ¡°She¡¯s my recently hired employee, an aspiring designer, Kali Eryliez.¡±


    When she raised her head to look at me after her introduction, her eyes widened as we made eye contact. She seemed to freeze, like seriously, she gazed intently at me. My crimson eyes and her amber eyes stared at each other.


    I felt like she was in awe, but the intensity, and the silence, made me think there was another emotion within her¡­


    Maybe she fell in love already?


    I¡¯m kidding, but that could be it, or it could be something else.


    ¡°Kali.¡±


    Mervizo¡¯s mention of her name appeared to have brought her back, and she frantically lowered her head.


    ¡°I-It is a great pleasure to meet you, your highness.¡±


    ¡°... The pleasure is all mine¡­¡±


    ¡°Kali pleaded with me to let her come with me today to meet you, and so, as an aspiring designer, why not let her meet the best model there is in the world.¡±


    Hey, I¡¯m not your doll¡­ But not that I mind, just don¡¯t get too annoying.


    When I heard his flattering words, a blush came to my cheeks.


    ¡°Why did you want to meet me, Kali¡­?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°E-Eh, u-um¡­¡± she stammered. ¡°... I, I heard about you in the shop, how pretty you were and how wonderful the clothes they designed for you¡­ And, they always said that you look great in everything¡­ so I became curious.¡±


    Is that so?


    ¡°I see¡­ and the stories¡­ aren¡¯t they exaggerated?¡±


    ¡°....Um¡­¡± she didn¡¯t seem to know how to respond.


    Well, she had never seen me personally dress up, so she couldn¡¯t say anything for certain.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°I vouch for the stories, your highness. Hehehe, I don¡¯t believe they are an exaggeration at all.¡±


    Such flattery, don¡¯t spoil me so much.


    ¡°Oh¡­um¡­ I understand¡­ Then can we proceed with our business?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    He walked towards his small case and took out a tape measure, with Kali by his side seemingly unsure of what she should do. She should have nothing else to do since Mervizo was always the one to measure me ¡ª except for the rare occasion he¡¯s with someone. Before this, he had brought a companion for only twice, but I think those two were the same person. My memory¡¯s hazy to recall. I didn¡¯t particularly pay attention to faces.


    ¡°So, princess, what kind of dresses do you want? And for what purpose?¡±


    He then proceeded to measure my body.


    ¡°You have gotten taller¡­¡± he commented.


    ¡°Um, I want dresses for the upcoming Festival.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes¡­ You didn¡¯t make such a request last time.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I need a few now.¡±


    ¡°I see. Hm, Kali, how about you take her highness¡¯s measurements.¡±


    ¡° ¡ª M-Me?!¡±


    ¡°Relax, come one. Keep your composure. How are you going to work with nobles otherwise?¡±


    She rubbed her hands together, seemingly nervous about it. Understandable.


    ¡°Come now, this will be a good experience. Here.¡±


    He put the tape in her hands without any intention of hearing her refusal. Pushed to a corner, she had no other choice but to walk towards me. I extended both my hands and she positioned herself behind me.


    Her hands trembled a little.


    She¡¯s that nervous?


    I could hear her shaking breath from behind me.


    ¡°What purposes will the dresses have for the festival?¡± Mervizo asked.


    ¡°Ah, yes. I want formal dresses for formal events. Then maybe a pair of casual clothes.¡±


    ¡°Casual?¡±


    ¡°Like for a casual walk around the festival.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Kali was pretty gentle and careful as she took my measurements and then wrote the numbers on a sheet of paper.


    Woah wait, is that? A pencil?


    A shabby-looking pencil, but I knew it was a pencil ¡ª graphite okay? Graphite pencil! Dammit why don¡¯t we have that? Hmmm, I can¡¯t remember it being used in the past by the tailors, memory too hazy¡­ I didn¡¯t pay too much attention to small details! Why do we only have quills in this place anyway? Was it because we¡¯re too luxurious for mere graphite?


    ¡°S-Should I put a few extra values on the measurements?¡± She asked Mervizo.


    ¡°Just a couple of centimeters I believe will do. I trust your physique won¡¯t change drastically these few months, princess?¡±


    Like getting fat? Belly getting loose? As if I¡¯ll allow that, I work out often you know.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    He nodded his head, satisfied by my answer.


    It took a while for the measurements to be completely finished. The moment it finished, I turned to Vernon.


    ¡°Vernon, brother¡¯s taking a while. Would you be so kind as to call him?¡±


    ¡°Certainly.¡±


    With that, he left. Finally¡­


    ¡°Mervizo.¡±


    ¡°Princess?¡±


    I approached him and presented a folded paper, it was my design. I pulled it from my sleeve without anyone noticing, doing it while I was talking to Vernon, a trivial misdirection.


    In another scenario, I might have to forcible speak privately with Mervizo and give him this.


    ¡°This is¡­?¡±


    When he unfolded the paper, his eyes widened.


    ¡°I would like you to make this outfit.¡±


    Honestly, that took me a vast amount of time. Since I was having a hard time coming up with a cool and pretty design, I opted to have it a bit simple, but I think I¡¯ll still look good. The important thing was functionality really.


    ¡°You designed this?¡±


    ¡°Why? Is it terrible?¡±


    He glanced at me then back to my drawing.


    ¡°Not exactly, not that extravagant, but this is mostly what one would expect for this kind of outfit.¡±


    ¡°If you find it lacking, you¡¯re free to give it improvements design-wise.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­ But, you drew this yourself?¡±


    He glanced at the two servants remaining. Mera and Rogan also looked surprised, too bad they won¡¯t be seeing it.


    ¡°And the detail of this illustration, and you even drew your face. Amazing!¡±


    Kali took a peek from behind him, and she also looked amazed by it. Well, they didn¡¯t expect me to make something like this.


    ¡°I never would have expected you to have a talent for designing and drawing, princess. Training would bring vast improvements to your skills.¡±


    Mervizo said to me with a wide smile.


    ¡°That¡¯s not important right now. Please finish them with the ones to be brought to this festival. And is there any stretchable fabric?¡±


    ¡°... Yes there is.¡±


    ¡°Splendid! Then use it for that.¡±


    ¡°As you wish¡­¡±


    ¡°Then lastly, keep it a secret from anyone.¡± I looked at everyone in the room. From Mervizo, Kali, to Rogan and Mera. ¡°Please.¡±


    I smiled at Mervizo and Kali.


    ¡°If that is your request, we will do so.¡±


    He must have realized the bit of sternness in my voice, so he bowed his head, and Kali followed after him.


    ¡°Needless to say, my family, including my brother, has no need to learn of this.¡±


    Mervizo chuckled.


    ¡°I believe they won¡¯t ask for any specifics anyway. So I suppose we have no need to worry.¡±


    My parents didn¡¯t know about this anyway. Color me impressed that Eleden managed to keep this a secret within the palace ¡ª maybe also because my parents were busy, and Estevan was focused on his knightly duties. But I imagine they¡¯ll discover this sooner or later, and mother¡¯s gonna be bugging me how I didn¡¯t invite her or something.


    ¡°Thank you, Mervizo.¡±


    ¡°Anytime, princess.¡±


    Well, not like they can defy my request slash order. It may sound like a request, but when spoken to a commoner, you might as well consider it as an order. Famous and wealthy Mervizo was, in the end, he was still a commoner. He couldn¡¯t just defy the ¡°request¡± from the princess of the kingdom.


    ¡°But if I may ask, princess. For what purpose is this outfit?¡±


    ¡°Hm? I just want to try something new, and that type of outfit is interesting to try out.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? In that case, next time I come back, I can offer a few dresses and outfits for you to try.¡±


    ¡°N-No need, isn¡¯t that too much trouble for you?¡±


    He held out his finger and swayed it side to side.


    ¡°Nope. They¡¯re actually dresses I made in my spare time, and it just so happened that a few can fit you. If they look good, I¡¯ll even give them to you as gifts!¡±


    ¡°R-Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes, your highness. Consider it as my thanks for years of patronage.¡±


    ¡°... If you say so¡­ Thank you.¡±


    Of course, I¡¯m not against it. Why? I can have exquisite dresses that can make anyone fall in love, for free at that! I¡¯m already perfect, but I can still further that perfection.


    A short while later, Vernon had returned with my brother, and another one with him, namely Lucious.


    When he made eye contact with me, I averted my eyes away with a little blush. But as pale as I was, it was too blatant ¡ª aaaah, the drawbacks of my peerless beauty.


    I stole a glance at Lucious for a second and oh boy, he looked pitiful ¡ª let¡¯s leave it at that.


    ¡°So, Estelia, is everything done?¡± Eleden asked.


    I meekly nodded at him.


    ¡°Hm¡­ then¡­¡±


    The tailor then discussed the down payment with my brother ¡ª well not that amount mattered that much. We have the people¡¯s tax money hehehe. Thankfully the tailor didn¡¯t mention my special request. It was a gamble, but there was no other way ¡ª I can¡¯t sew my own clothes after all.


    So, as they discussed, all I could do was behave by a corner. Need to mention that Lucious was looking so frequently at me as though he wanted to approach me. I have been thinking about his offer though, but I still have no definite answer ¡ª it might complicate things for me¡­


    Things finished when my brother gave the tailor a pouch that I imagine filled with gold coins.


    ¡°Then I shall take my leave, thank you for the time, prince, and princess.¡±


    Mervizo bowed extravagantly followed by a formal one from Kali.


    ¡°I look forward to your return.¡±


    I said sweetly to them. After that, they made their way outside. But right at the door, Kali looked back for a second, looking at me, before continuing onward.


    You know, some people were just weird.


    ¡°So, is there anything else you need, my sister?¡±


    ¡°No, that will be all. I¡¯m sorry for the trouble, and thank you.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± He smiled. ¡°Ah yes, I have something to talk to you about. Can we have everyone leave the room for a moment?¡±


    The others looked at each other before leaving the room, my servants were reluctant at first, but in the end followed my brother¡¯s request.


    ¡°Brother?¡±


    ¡°Let us sit down.¡±


    We sat down on the couches facing each other.


    ¡°Will you openly talk to me, my sister?¡±


    Ah I see, let me guess, this will be about Lucious. And now that I had my request fulfilled, he believed that I would be considerate enough to be open in this discussion. Well, I suppose that¡¯s alright.


    ¡°... Alright.¡±


    He smiled softly.


    ¡°Bear with me, okay?¡± After seeing me nod, he continued. ¡°What do you think about Lucious?¡±


    See? They really were endorsing him to me.


    ¡°What do you mean¡­?¡±


    I looked down and pulled strands of hair to the back of my ear with a finger.


    ¡°I have been asking you why you are avoiding Lucious, but you never gave me a proper response.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Do you not like him?¡±


    ¡° ¡ª It¡¯s not like t-that.¡±


    Come on, that question can go both ways!


    ¡°Is that so? In that case, back to my first question, what do you think about him?¡±


    Annoying, noisy, bothersome, always disturbing my quiet times with his shenanigans. Though that was when we were younger.


    ¡°I¡­ I think he¡¯s¡­ a good person¡­¡±


    ¡°What else?¡±


    Dammit, this feels like a therapy session. I hate this kind of thing. Back in the organization, they often send us this fucking therapists, I¡¯m not crazy! What uses were they? If they wanna settle our mental health, leaving me alone for some alone time would have been the best.


    And they were too nosy, even asking questions about my private times, meaning my hobbies, my thoughts about things bla bla bla¡­ Though I have noticed they always go to evaluate me deeper than my teammates. I¡¯m sure the Professor requested that¡­ How annoying.


    ¡°.... Um¡­ I don¡¯t know what else¡­¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ But I¡¯m curious, why are you avoiding him? Please answer this, my sister.¡±


    I understand where this was going, he¡¯s trying to figure out if there would be any chance.


    I rubbed my hands together.


    ¡°... It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s because¡­¡± I squinted my eyes as I lowered my gaze. ¡°He s-said some weird things¡­ About going out to the festival and such and¡­. And¡­¡±


    My blush intensified.


    ¡°Are you embarrassed?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    For some reason, seeing I was unable to respond, he smiled.


    ¡°Why do you think Lucious said those to you?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, no need to force yourself to answer¡­ That aside, do you like someone, my sister?¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    My eyes widened at his daring question. Me? The princess of the kingdom, liking someone? Impossible. But, if that were the case, that man must be so lucky.


    ¡°... I like everyone.¡±


    ¡°I meant, like, as in liking someone very much, so much. So much more.¡±


    I like myself very much.


    ¡°... N-No.¡±


    ¡°What about Rogan?¡±


    ¡°What does Sir Rogan have to do with this?¡±


    ¡°He was assigned as your knight, so, I suspect you recommended him.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Not exactly¡­¡±


    He raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Not exactly? Can you elaborate?¡±


    Long story, so no way. Not that I have any intention of explaining that circumstance. I assume it was supposed to be a secret between me and my father, nor did I have any intention of sharing the story.


    ¡°I can¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Damn Eleden, why you pushing me this much? This was pretty surprising, to be honest. Have mercy on your sister.


    ¡°Can¡¯t say.¡±


    ¡°... Okay, I understand. So¡­ you don¡¯t like anyone in a special way¡­?¡±


    His voice trailed off at the end there, he sounded almost hesitant to ask that.


    ¡°Why are you asking me such a question, brother? I like everyone in their own special way.¡±


    I meekly said.


    ¡°Very well. I¡¯m sorry I asked you these questions.¡±


    He stood up and patted me on the head.


    ¡°Lucious has been so troubled lately. Please try talking to him, okay?¡±


    I gave no answer, hesitation evident on my face.


    I would have enjoyed letting him agonize for a bit more ¡ª but I guess that¡¯s enough.


    Of course my brother didn¡¯t press me for a reply whether I would really do it or not. But he had expectations, so in exchange for his kindness, I¡¯ll do what he asked.


    When we made it outside the room, I instantly hid behind Eleden and grabbed the back of his shirt with my fingers. Behind his shoulder, I raised my head to look at Lucious.


    ¡°L-Lucious¡­ I¡­¡±


    I stammered around and failed to make a sentence, but before I could continue, my brother moved aside.


    ¡°Estelia, don¡¯t hide behind me when talking, okay?¡± he kindly smiled as I was left exposed.


    My eyes begged at him but to no avail. How shrewd, brother!


    I gripped my skirt after my last form of comfort forsaken me.


    ¡°Hello, Estelia¡­¡±


    He smiled wryly, looking to be shy.


    ¡°Hi¡­ Um, I apologize for¡­ suddenly leaving you last¡­ time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s alright¡­ That was understandable.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    There was an awkward silence.


    Dammit, this should be held in private, and not in the eyes where others were.


    I¡¯m not talking no more. As I said last time, I won¡¯t be helping this guy anymore.


    But enough, I have other things to do, so I¡¯m leaving. I have fulfilled my end of the bargain ¡ª brother didn¡¯t say to make a conversation anyway. Just talk, he said.


    ¡°T-Then, you two must be busy, so I¡¯ll be leaving¡­ Excuse me.¡±


    I walked past him, then behind me, I heard my brother sigh.


    ¡°You¡¯re an idiot.¡±


    I heard him, he must have said that to Lucious.


    Yeah, he¡¯s an idiot¡­

 Vol. 2 Chapter 30: Secret Hidden From Me (Part 1)

    About a week had passed, I wanted to get the major stuff done first. So I have been focusing more on my magical abilities while doing minimal social interaction. In other words, I have become an introv¡ª ahem¡­ well, I was always like that so¡­ no wait, that was the me in this world, I mean ¡°Estelia.¡±


    Of course, I did the usual. Dancing practice, academics, and music. Nothing noteworthy really happened except for the last one. Lanivia suggested I can sing an original song during my debut. A surprising and sudden suggestion to bring up, but her reason for that was because she saw me as someone talented in music and basically already ¡°created¡± some tunes. In short, performing something taken as a new original in this world.


    I refused.


    I just¡­ I can¡¯t.


    I don¡¯t know how¡­ It¡¯s hard¡­ I¡­


    I can¡¯t write a song¡­


    I don¡¯t know why¡­ but¡­ I suck at it. No, it¡¯s more than that.


    When I read my notes once, the words felt monotone¡­


    It was disheartening. I heard that you need to feel the emotions to the song, to the story or something¡­ but¡­ I don¡¯t know.


    Wait, doesn¡¯t every known song to me sound new here in this world? But that¡¯s not the point. I took this as something creating a song made myself.


    Whatever, okay? I just can¡¯t compose. Maybe that¡¯s my limit.


    Moving on! Lucious had been trying to speak with me often. It¡¯s a surprise Eleden gave him plenty of free time. So yeah, we¡¯re getting along just fine. But that¡¯s not the important part.


    I have been making decent progress in physical enhancement. That being said, it didn¡¯t change a lot ¡ª as I said, progress, not change. Mera has been leaving me behind in that department by the way.


    In any case, if I keep this up, I should be able to get adequate strength when the festival comes. When that happens, I¡¯ll be able to get some outings! Fuck those who want to target me. I have also been thinking about where I could use the Church that Father was in contact with.


    Plans plans and plans¡­


    ¡°Haaaaah.¡±


    ¡°Something wrong, princess?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡±


    I weakly replied to Rogan.


    ¡°Is that so? Are you not practicing today?¡±


    ¡°I will, I¡¯m just resting for a bit.¡±


    I had familiarized the entire magic book days ago, so I don¡¯t have it right now and I lent it to Mera, so no reading now. I haven¡¯t really inquired about her progress in the spells department, but whatever.


    I tapped my fingers on the table as I gazed out through the windows, random thoughts going into my mind. Yeah, it¡¯s one of those times you space out and a random thing just popped up in your head, it could be good, nasty, cringy, and so on.


    Going out would be nice¡­


    Hm, oh yeah, how did mother do that bird thing?


    Mother demonstrated to me a bird made up of magic, it was very interesting. It seemed to be formed completely of mana, it also seemed tangible.


    Stolen story; please report.


    I held out my hand and an orb of blue appeared, completely translucent. Let me start from here. I imagined what the bird would look like and slowly shaped the orb, it stretched and slowly morphed into different parts.


    I made the wings first, then the tails, then the body, and finally the head. It was firstly the general shape of it without any details. Then roughly draw the feather first and add a few fluffy stuff. This was not that different from drawing really.


    A moment later, the birb¡ª bird was complete!


    ¡°Oooh, a bird.¡±


    Yes Rogan, what the fuck else would this be?


    Now then, fly! Fly, little birdy! Make me proud!


    I threw it lightly in the air! But against my expectations, it plopped down with a loud thud on the table.


    ¡°!¡±


    No!


    My eyes widened in shock. It didn¡¯t even bounce softly as I expected, it was more akin to a rock falling to a table. More than that, I felt the mana tear off a bit there. Fuck, and I almost squealed, I carefully crafted this little thing, I don¡¯t want it to get damaged literally mere seconds after its creation.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t fly off, princess. What went wrong?¡±


    ¡°... Ever tried doing something like this, Sir Rogan?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    Tch, boys, do they even like cute things? Well, I don¡¯t normally. I just like my own creations.


    I returned my eyes to the little birdy.


    ¡°Hey¡­ what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Princess did you just speak to the construct¡ª¡±


    ¡°Shut it.¡±


    Just an impulse.


    ¡°What went wrong¡­¡± I murmured.


    The moment I tried to lift it up, I realized what went wrong.


    ¡°Ugh, it¡¯s rock solid. I might have put in too much mana, or imagined the wrong texture¡­ and also maybe the mass.¡±


    ¡°Princess, you do know it¡¯s magic right? So weight shouldn¡¯t matter, just have it fly, you know what I¡¯m saying?¡±


    ¡°... Sir Rogan, who would want to cuddle a bird made up of brick?¡±


    ¡°Cuddle?¡±


    ¡°Never mind.¡±


    So, how do softness and fluffiness feel again? Recalling it, I applied the attribute to my little birdy.


    I smiled in satisfaction when my fingers sunk a little into the feathers.


    ¡°There it goes!¡±


    Now then, fly my child!


    You know, Rogan was right, I don¡¯t really need to add the laws of physics into the equation. Fuck physics yeah! Magic is the way! Is what I wanted to say, but I imagine it would look so unnatural without the laws of physics, it would be like any bad animation. I need it, at least a little.


    So I added physics, I think¡­. It just flapped its wings and the body followed okay?


    And so, the birdy flapped its wings around before starting to move. It looked like it was very light, but the application of magic has something to do with it, so I guess physics was not completely there.


    But who cares? It¡¯s cool and beautiful.


    It flew around with energy, leaving a trail of blue lines from its tail and wings.


    ¡°Woah, amazing princess. To be able to do something for just a few minutes.¡±


    What?


    ¡°Sir Rogan, is that something surprising?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Of course, not anyone could just create something like it just like that.¡±


    Eh?


    I turned my head to the dumbfounded Vernon, and the awed Mera. Those alone were confirmation enough.


    Hey, you know, I¡¯ve been thinking. Aren¡¯t I digging my own grave?


    Whatever! What¡¯s done is done.


    I¡¯ll just play around with my birdy.


    I had it land on my extended finger and played with its beak.


    ¡°Princess, you¡¯re playing around now.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­¡±


    I ignored Vernon¡¯s reproachful gaze.


    My birdy is so adorable!


    I don¡¯t have time for anything else but adore this little creation of mine.


    I heard a faint creak of a door then followed by a closed one, coming from a familiar direction. Birdy vanished instantly, I don¡¯t want anything that would warrant her to stay with me. Seeing birdy, I¡¯m sure she would start clinging to me.


    ¡°Estelia.¡±


    ¡°Mother?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go have lunch?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ you go first Mother, I¡¯ll finish the last part of my practice momentarily. I¡¯ll catch up.¡±


    She was a bit surprised. This never happened before after all, normally I would come with her.


    ¡°... Is that so? Alright, I¡¯ll be expecting you, okay?¡±


    ¡°Yes, mother.¡±


    With that, she left the library.


    ¡°O Princess, you weren¡¯t practicing, you know.¡±


    My brow furrowed towards Rogan.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to conjure a bird, yes? Isn¡¯t that also practice?¡±


    ¡°... I guess?¡±


    I laid my elbow on the table and placed a hand on my cheek, seemingly bored. A minute later, I laid both arms on the table and laid my head there for a moment before looking up towards Vernon.


    ¡°Vernon¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Please bring me, um, at least five clean sheets of paper.¡±


    ¡°Drawing?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Are you not going to eat?¡±


    ¡°I currently don¡¯t have the appetite. No need to be afraid, I¡¯m just not in the mood.¡±


    He furrowed his brows as he stared at me for a moment.


    ¡°... As you wish.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I smiled gratefully at him.


    After he left and after confirming that the door was closed, I stood up from my seat.


    ¡°Stay here.¡±


    I ordered the remaining two.


    ¡°Princess? You want Vernon to leave, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    I shrugged my shoulders and stepped away from my chair.


    ¡°Milady, where are you going?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll know.¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 31: Secret Hidden From Me (Part 2)

    There were still a few staff here, so maybe driving Vernon off would be useless. But not completely, the staff here can¡¯t touch and hinder me. But Vernon could. I wanted him out of here for a while to make things go my way smoothly.


    I made my way to the room where my mother was working. When I arrived at the door, turning the knob, I discovered it was locked as expected. No problem.


    Casting the barrier spell, I shaped it akin to a pair of thin slips of metal, to be specific, lock picks. One on each of my hands, I began picking the lock. It didn¡¯t take long before I heard a faint click. The repelling function of the barrier spell helped a little, but I needed to make the pick thinner than normal. But everything went well, and the picks vanished after I was done.


    But before I could turn the knob to enter, there were sounds of footsteps coming towards me. It was to be expected that someone would come to me. Turning my head to the side, there I saw a familiar girl, still wearing thick clothes and barely any skin exposed, as though she was feeling cold in this decently warm time..


    The same woman who helped me with the history book.


    ¡°Princess, may I ask what you are doing?¡±


    She asked blankly, perhaps doing her best to be impartial with this.


    ¡°Some important matter, everything is fine so there is no need to worry.¡±


    ¡°Her Majesty the Queen wanted that room to be strictly private and not allow anyone inside.¡±


    ¡°Does that include me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, so please retract. I believe it is best to ask her majesty first.¡±


    Hm, she seemed to have not noticed I had unlocked the door already. I am not particularly fond of outright lying here, and directly involved mother, somehow I am reluctant about lying here. I¡­ don¡¯t want her to have the impression that I learned how to lie to her¡­


    How contradictory¡­


    ¡°Miss, I intend to enter here, I¡¯ll consult Mother later. I ask that you allow me entrance without any trouble.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I cannot do that, your highness. It is her majesty¡¯s order.¡±


    She takes her job very seriously.


    Still, even I am not allowed to enter. There¡¯s something very important here. I want to know.


    ¡°How unfortunate, I hope you forgive me for inconveniencing you on your duty, Miss. Rogan, hold the door.¡±


    He immediately appeared in front of me. As I thought, he was listening. If things went smoothly I would have no need for him, but that didn¡¯t happen. I imagine this would have been more troublesome if Vernon was here. Now then, time is ticking.


    ¡°Hold it right there, Lady.¡±


    Rogan held out his hand.


    ¡°Sir Knight, it is ordered by the Queen that this room is off-limits.¡±


    ¡°I know. Buuuut, my princess gave me the order to hold this door right here, so I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    The woman glared at him.


    With no hesitation, I opened the door, prompting a surprised gasp from the woman.


    ¡°How? It should be locked.¡±


    I closed and locked the door, and silence immediately settled. In the middle of the room, there was a long table and laid above it was several objects, seemingly ancient they might as well be called as artifacts.


    There were worn out and tattered scrolls kept inside opened cases. Touching them carelessly could tear a part off very easily. I tried reading the contents without touching, but I couldn¡¯t understand a sentence.


    Some letters and words were familiar to me, but mostly they were foreign to my knowledge. Not only that, even though I recognized a few words, I couldn¡¯t completely comprehend the grammar. This felt almost akin to reading old English. Damn, the ever-changing language.


    There were single-paged sheets, but I too cannot understand them. Furthermore, there were a couple of stone tablets ¡ª clay tablets? There were writings, and little illustrations, simple ones.


    A crowd facing a pair of figures hovering in the air. And the crowd seemed to be worshiping the same two figures.


    Then on one corner by the table, there were sheets of paper there, next to an inkwell. Mother must have written what she had learned. I scanned them for a moment.


    Summarization of her discovery¡­


    I¡¯m surprised she was able to understand the old writings. She had to be smarter than I knew her to be.


    I sat down on the chair and read her work.


    The story began when two deities, husband and wife, fought for the freedom of the Wisterian people, along with their servants. The slavers of humanity were both monstrous and beautiful, bearing forms different to humans, and perceived humanity itself as inferior beings.


    These two deities happened to be the two gods we worship. The Goddess of Serenity who brought peace to the hearts of the people, and the God of Compassion who showed great kindness. There were also accounts of another who seemed to always be with the two, that my mother hypothesized to be a close confidant. But there was also a mention in the ancient documents that this other man may be a deity the same as the two.


    However, nothing was for certain, and not much information has been discovered yet about him. The servants were also written as peculiar beings, marked with fearsome might.


    The battle for freedom was hard-fought, but with the aid of the gods, the slavers of humanity were driven away, never to be seen again.


    Then came the lost and never mentioned history. The gods themselves were the firsts to establish the kingdom and not the ones who were hailed as the founders. Well, they were supposed to be.


    The two gods had a child as they were establishing the foundations of the kingdom. It was a beautiful baby girl who greatly resembled her mother, skin pale as snow, hair as white as platinum, and eyes as red as blood.


    Wait... That¡¯s¡­.


    What¡¯s this?


    But the joy of the couple didn¡¯t last long. For when the child was still a baby, she was mysteriously killed. Cause of death unknown¡­ as they were not revealed by the deities.


    Wait. What¡­ What does this mean¡­?


    Distraught by the loss of her child, the goddess proclaimed that her child was to be reborn.


    This¡­


    My mind raced trying to process this information. Amidst that, a memory came to mind.


    ¡°That¡­¡±


    The vision, the faint vision that happened last time. There was a woman there. A woman who looked almost completely like me. Crimson eyes, white hair, white skin.


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    ¡°The goddess?¡±


    Then, couldn¡¯t this mean I¡¯m¡­


    But there was another part of the vision. A blade descending towards me.


    If that was me¡­ someone wanted me dead and succeeded?


    I continued reading.


    The goddess didn¡¯t give a time when the daughter would be reborn. But, now, there was a girl who fit the description of the goddess. Mother wrote:


    ¡°We believe that the child reborn, the child of the goddess, is my daughter, Estelia.¡±


    I almost crumpled the paper within my grasp.


    They hid such information from me?


    Furthermore, the two gods had another child who almost resembled the father, another girl. Dark hair and violet eyes. She who we would come to know as the founder. Sometime later, the gods disappeared, no information could be found as to why. The direct servants of the deities were also never mentioned again.


    Thus, after their disappearance, during the time of the second daughter was when the Wisterian Kingdom officially came into existence.


    ¡°Second daughter?¡±


    If she¡¯s a child of the gods, then, isn¡¯t she supposed to be immortal or something? Gods are supposed to be immortal, right?


    In the last entry, the founder was mentioned to have left the kingdom, but the reason was unknown. The ancient documents given were still insufficient to give a full picture of the far history.


    I placed the papers back on the table.


    They hid this from me¡­? Why?


    I didn¡¯t know what I should feel. Should I feel betrayed? Upset? Sad? Surprise? Intrigued? Angry?


    This information would have been useful to me. And¡­


    To think they would hide my true nature from me.


    That explained a lot. My colossal amount of mana, my beautiful appearance that was so unique.


    Why did they hide? Since when did they know? Who else knew? Was I the only one kept in the dark?


    I gently slammed my fist on the table. I guess I am feeling a bit angry.


    People seemed to always want to go after me¡­ What did the goddess even do to warrant such dreadful attention?


    How many times do I have to die in history¡­? I have been killed in like, a total of three times now, counting my former life, the stairs, and the one from the vision. And now, there are even others trying to kill me. But who the fuck are they?


    This information didn¡¯t give me the specific reason, but if I were to guess, it had something to do with me being related to the gods¡ª even though my family line should have the blood of the gods, but I guess I¡¯m different. I can already tell from my power and appearance alone.


    This would have been a bit step closer to finding out the truth, or what the hell was going on. I might have gotten a little peace of mind way earlier!


    And to hide my true nature?


    Why?!


    What was the point?


    At that moment, I heard the lock click and the door opened, and the one who came in was my mother. She was earlier than expected, maybe because I took too long in going for lunch, or Vernon. The former was the more likely.


    Her eyes were wide with shock and worry. Her eyes went to mine, then to the documents. I could see a faint expression of pain within her eyes as she pursed her lips for a moment before calling to me with hesitation.


    ¡°Estelia¡­¡±


    ¡°Hello, mother. I had been sort of waiting for you.¡±


    I tried my best to smile, but the corners of my lips felt heavy, so in the end, they drooped down. Deep inside, this was not a moment to smile, nor did I even feel like it.


    ¡°Did you read?¡±


    I stood up from the seat with agitation after hearing her question.


    ¡°I did, I most definitely did. Quite the intelligence I discovered. Not one I would ever hope to expect, nor imagine.¡±


    I caught a glimpse of Rogan and Vernon from behind her.


    ¡°Estelia, daughter, let me explain¡ª¡±


    ¡°What sort of explanation would you have for me, hm?¡±


    I realized my little facade was breaking.


    I took in a deep breath and calmly spoke as best as I could.


    ¡°It¡¯s unbelievable you would keep such a thing from me, Mother¡­¡±


    I had hoped I could believe in her with all my heart¡­ No, this was wrong to feel. I shouldn¡¯t be feeling this way. This was a wrong feeling coming from me.


    ¡°Estelia¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± She walked towards me with rushed steps but I instinctively stepped back, and yet she forcibly grabbed my hands. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. We wanted to protect you.¡±


    I pulled my hands away.


    ¡°Protect me? Protect me from the truth?¡±


    That was an absurd reason.


    She reached out for my hand again and stroked my cheek.


    ¡°We¡­ We only wanted for you to have a normal life¡­away from these¡­ Normal, just normal. We didn¡¯t want you to be concerned about something beyond our understanding.¡±


    ¡°So Father also knew it from the beginning? You¡­ You kept everything from me.¡±


    My mother was shaking. I didn¡¯t imagine she would be this shaken¡­ Ah, I have never been this mad in front of them before. I was always the calm and gentle one.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, Estelia. Please understand, what we did was for you.¡±


    She looked so pitiful that my anger was starting to dissipate. I didn¡¯t want to see her like this.


    Just a normal person, huh. Thinking from their perspective, I understand them. Knowing that their innocent daughter was involved with the gods might have been frightening. And there was a chance something different from their expectations or imaginations might happen to me.


    Thus, they only wanted me to be normal, letting me think everything was normal. That way, I was away from anything beyond understanding, and away from danger and restlessness.


    But still¡­


    ¡°Estelia¡­¡±


    I still didn¡¯t feel any better, but I¡¯ll take advantage of this.


    ¡°Mother¡­ I¡­ I understand¡­ But, please, let me speak with Father, with the rest of the family present.¡±


    She looked puzzled for a moment but instantly realized why I would make such a request.


    ¡°...Okay.¡±


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s meet later before sunset. I want to be alone for a while¡­¡±


    I stepped away from her, pulling my hand away. Seeing me distance myself, my mother appeared sad, no, perhaps heartbroken¡­


    ¡°Excuse me¡­¡±


    I walked past her and exited the room.


    ***


    Vernon watched the princess rush out of the library with a tiny gap between his lips. He only brought paper sheets as the princess requested, but never did he expect it would end up this way.


    Mera chased after the princess while Rogan turned to Vernon.


    ¡°Don¡¯t wait for me, go.¡±


    Rogan nodded his head and went after the princess.


    When Vernon returned while bringing the papers with him, he found that one of the staff was arguing with Rogan. Something about the princess not allowed inside the private quarter where the Queen has been going. But Rogan would keep her away from the door.


    Vernon had no clue what was going on and he asked the knight, learning the gist of the situation. He never expected that Princess Estelia would force herself inside, going against the order given by her own mother which prohibits entry.


    How was the door opened?


    He knew that the Queen would never forget to lock something important. Now that he thought about it, the exact time Vernon went out to procure papers as ordered by the princess, she went on to intrude the room.


    It was then he realized that she was intending to drive him away so he wouldn¡¯t interfere. Vernon would ideally be adamant to interfere with her, however, he was now uncertain whether he would truly do it or not.


    Shortly after his arrival though, the Queen suddenly arrived looking for Estelia who apparently had yet to take her lunch. Thus, she intended to call her, only to discover that she had intruded the quarters she used. Using the key, she unlocked the door to find a very displeased princess.


    Vernon himself was feeling a little anxious, it was the first time he had seen her truly displeased, and angry. It felt like the innocent princess that everyone had seen her as had evaporated ¡ª perhaps that would be expected if she was angry. It was weird for him to suggest otherwise.


    As the door was opened, of course he couldn¡¯t help but take a glance inside. There seemed to be only old objects there, but he had no idea what those were for. Even so, he had no intention of prying.


    Vernon watched the sad Queen, whose eyes were moist at the corners, slowly exit the room with lowered eyes as she closed the door.


    ¡°My q-queen, my sincerest apology! It was my fault, I failed to stop her.¡±


    The woman, a staff of the library, frantically said to the queen. However, the queen slightly raised her hand before speaking in a weak tone.


    ¡°I don¡¯t blame you, Soliya¡­¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    The woman, Soliya, seemed to try to refute, but the queen shook her head. The Queen turned to look at Vernon.


    ¡°My Queen, will you be alright? Shall I escort you to your room?¡±


    ¡°Vernon¡­ No, it¡¯s alright¡­ It¡¯s just¡­ Estelia¡­ this is the first time she felt angry at me¡­ No, not just me, but I imagine to all of us¡­¡±


    Princess Estelia was always the behaved and quiet child, rarely angry, but not deeply angry, but rather it would be more appropriate to say she had only been irritated, annoyed, or bothered. Still, those were mild.


    Now however, it was different. Her gaze was stern.


    ¡°I surmise she has learned something big¡­ Give her a bit of time to process everything, I¡¯m sure she will organize her thoughts sooner or later.¡±


    The queen nodded her head.


    ¡°Okay¡­ For now, I¡¯ll go to my husband.¡±


    ¡°Shall I escort you?¡±


    ¡°No need,¡± she faintly smiled. ¡°Please tend to my daughter.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    Before leaving, the Queen locked the door to the room once again.


    After exiting the library, the two of them separated and Vernon made his way to what he anticipated where the princess would run to. This side of her was more predictable¡­ the vulnerable side.


    He found relief that there was a part of her that he was able to make a prediction of.


    His prediction was proven right when he saw Rogan and Mera standing outside the princess¡¯s room.


    ¡°So she locked herself in, again¡­¡± Vernon said.


    ¡°It¡¯s almost funny that it happened twice already,¡± Rogan scratched his head.


    ¡°That¡¯s because they always mistreated milady.¡±


    ¡°Mera¡­ the two situations were not a mistreatment though.¡±


    Mera furrowed her brows at Vernon¡¯s words before lowering her head. It was strange for her to think it was that way. But Vernon understood what she meant, the princess had been feeling agitated lately, her emotions going places.


    Add to that the threat to her life. It must have been hard.


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± Mera quietly muttered.


    Vernon walked towards the door before gently knocking.


    ¡°Princess? Are you alright?¡±


    He beckoned, but even after several seconds later, there was no response. It was a little worrying.


    ¡°Are you sure she entered?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Vernon was content with Rogan¡¯s answer, in that case, there was nothing to worry about. The princess needed a quiet and alone time.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 32: Secret Hidden From Me (Part 3)

    Meditation is a lie.


    Yeah, that¡¯s how we¡¯re starting.


    Now, why would I say that? Because I was at the moment trying it out, expecting that I would feel something, but nope! Not wooorking for me, what a waste of time.


    Don¡¯t I sound bitter? Well I am bitter right now.


    I heard it was effective to others, but why not for me? Ugh!


    Fuck this shit what am I even doing. I am trying to think and get a peace of mind!


    Vernon even tried calling me from the other side of the door, but fuck him. I¡¯m not in the mood to play around.


    ¡°Haaaaah.¡±


    I got up from my meditation pose after a solemn sigh, yeah, I really tried doing it, so what? I¡¯m in a state where I¡¯m desperate to try something new, or rather some random stuff. But as you can see, it was useless.


    I don¡¯t get meditation.


    I don¡¯t get it at all.


    Forget it.


    I walked towards the windows and opened them, the refreshing air instantly came in.


    Wait, now that I thought about it, why don¡¯t I have a balcony? Now ain¡¯t that a bitch. Now that I mentioned it, we have no balcony! What the hell?


    Shit.


    So much for being rich.


    I¡¯m a goddess.


    Oops, that thought just popped up, sorry about that.


    No wait, I¡¯m a goddess, but not exactly? ¡®Cause I don¡¯t feel different from a normal human, setting aside my power. Well, I was born from two humans so¡­ maybe I¡¯m part human¡­ Is that how it works? Or do gods even feel any different?


    In any case, my family owes me for keeping such an absolutely essential piece of information, it would have helped progress the puzzle as to why I was being hunted.


    ¡°Haaaaah ¡ª this is pissing me off.¡±


    I lightly tapped my fist on the window sill. It was then that there were knockings on the door.


    ¡°Your highness, your Father and Mother calls for you.¡±


    It was a voice that didn¡¯t belong to any of my servants. It must be time then. I exited the room without showing any significant feelings or emotion, I¡¯m not gonna be all weepy. The woman who called me was the maid that served me during rotations in the past, before Mera became my personal maid, Urys.


    She formally curtsied, with head bowed low.


    ¡°Princess, I shall lead you to the King¡¯s office.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Lead the way.¡±


    I followed Urys and only glanced for a second at my usual trio, Mera in particular looked uneasy, I wonder what¡¯s up with her.


    We arrived at the office and I immediately entered inside while acting impatient. Urys turned the lock and then closed the door, now it was certain there would be no intruders or eavesdroppers. This will be an important topic.


    Inside was the complete family, Father, Mother, Estevan, and Eleden.


    There was silence as I openly showed my displeasure. Mother was looking frightened, Father stiff, Estevan nervous, and Eleden was¡­confused? Does he know or not?


    ¡°My daughter¡ª¡±


    ¡°Hello, Father. Quite a secret you hid from me.¡±


    ¡°Please forgive me, Estelia.¡±


    He slowly walked towards me, but I stepped back.


    ¡°What else are you hiding from me? How cruel of you, of all of you to hide my true nature. Despite the reason I learned¡­ don¡¯t you see what¡¯s happening? To keep such a secret from me, unbelievable!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    It was a piece of astronomical information, not just about anyone, but about me! To think I¡¯m actually involved with gods. Gods! Like, fuck, gods are real, real here and they walked here, leaving a large influence. For all I know, the people hunting me could be working for a fucking god.


    I¡¯ll be a small cute puppy trying to bite a lion when I attempt to fight against that. That could have been a fatal, fatal mistake, I was preparing to fight them, you know!


    Shit! I might die in a single smite.


    Jesus! I might be vaporized with a single thought, granted if the gods were just like how gods were depicted in my old world. But still.


    ¡°And you, Estevan? You knew, didn''t you?¡±


    Estevan stiffened.


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    ¡°Uh, I ¡ªY-Yes, I knew.¡±


    My face contorted into an expression of betrayal.


    ¡°So even you hid it from me.¡±


    ¡°No! Wait Estel. I¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough, you have nothing to explain.¡± I then turned to Eleden. ¡°You too, Eleden?¡±


    ¡°S-Sister, I don''t even know what is being discussed here and what this true nature you speak of.¡±


    Eleden, so the pair of us were kept out of the loop. I¡¯m getting a little feeling of kinship. If the eldest didn¡¯t know, why does Estevan do? Was he told about it only recently?


    Doesn¡¯t matter.


    ¡°Then, let me tell you what they hid from us, dear brother of mine. We are family after all. That¡¯s fine, yes?¡±


    I gently looked at the others, and there was no refusal.


    ¡°You see, Eleden. I am actually the ¡°daughter¡± of our revered gods, the Goddess of Serenity, and the God of Compassion.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    He didn¡¯t seem to believe it at first, and his brows wrinkled in puzzlement at the outrageous thing he just heard.


    I continued.


    ¡°Given that, the founder, the first queen is also their child, we, you, are their descendents. So technically, we should have the blood of the gods, but I guess I¡¯m a special case. From what I discovered, I am the reborn first child of the gods, who once upon a time was killed.¡±


    He grasped his temple, processing what he had just heard.


    ¡°.... Is that true? Truly?¡±


    ¡°Yes, brother.¡±


    ¡°To this scale?¡± he muttered. ¡°Why? Why did you hide it?¡± he asked Father.


    ¡°This is a secret that is supposed to be only known to the rulers, knowledge to be passed down to the ruling monarchs.¡±


    ¡°What else is there, Father? What else about Estelia should we know?¡±


    Father pursed his lips for a second, seemingly hesitant to speak. But immediately gave up as he saw me watching him.


    ¡°...There is another title we know about the goddess. She is also known as the Ruling Deity of Blood.¡±


    Blood? Princess of Blood? Ah, so that¡¯s it, huh. The other title was not mentioned in the library documents.


    ¡°... So you also have realized why I was called the Princess of Blood...¡±


    ¡°That was supposed to be the title of the first daughter of our gods, yours.¡±


    My brows furrowed. Now this just made me more mad.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if you already know why they are targeting me.¡±


    ¡°... We truly do not know, my daughter.¡±


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    I looked away in frustration.


    ¡°My daughter, all the blame falls to me, I made the two of them hide the truth from you. You can get angry at me, only at me... But I ask your forgiveness, Estelia. Please.¡±


    He approached me and grasped both my hands, his expression full of regret. He gently stroked my cheek, rough tough skin as a soldier, but beneath it was a softness from a father¡¯s touch.


    I¡­. I¡¯m not that soft as they think I am. They can¡¯t just ask forgiveness just like that¡­! But¡­


    I lowered my head gaze with hesitation.


    ¡°T-Then, I will forgive you if you grant my requests.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead, tell me, I¡¯ll grant it.¡±


    ¡°I have two, first, grant my request regarding Vernon.¡±


    ¡°... That¡­¡±


    I have given him plenty of time to think about it, he should have come to a conclusion already.


    ¡°I have been thinking about it¡­ Very well, I will leave Vernon to you.¡±


    Oh! That was quick.


    ¡°Thank you father.¡±


    ¡°And the second one?¡±


    ¡°Give me access to the Royal Grimoire and let me read it.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s eyes widened upon hearing my request.


    ¡°Estelia¡­¡± muttered Father. ¡°The Grimoire must only be studied by ruling monarchs, as per tradition.¡±


    ¡°So you wouldn¡¯t do it? Is that too much to ask? Fine then. We¡¯re done here. Forget everything.¡±


    I stepped away.


    ¡°Wait Estelia¡ª¡±


    ¡°My life is in danger that death may come for me next sunrise, and yet you wouldn¡¯t do only that much knowing it is for my own sake? I am willing to do whatever it takes to win, even bending traditions, for it is my life. If you wouldn¡¯t do that much for me, then I wonder what value I have to you, to all of you.¡±


    ¡°Estelia how could you say that? I am your father, I love you so much. As does the rest of us.¡±


    Their love was not to the level that they wouldn¡¯t hesitate to bend the rules and break traditions. That meant their rules and traditions were more valuable than me. I am trying to make them think that. What I¡¯m trying to say is, their rules and traditions were more important than their only daughter.


    ¡°And yet you would hesitate to grant a request that would give me safety?¡±


    If they still refuse, well, I am on the brink, I have grown impatient, I am pissed, irritated, and trying my best not to verbally swear most of the time. I don¡¯t know what will happen next if I am refused, but¡­ I hope it doesn''t come to that.


    You know, there is a way to get away from all of this. That is, to run away completely unnoticed. Everyone knows I am a plain innocent princess, defenseless, barely any useful talents in battle. Nor was I brave.


    The last thing they''d expect was me disappearing all of a sudden. Escaping from the walls is doable after a time of preparation and planning. My enemies will never realize I have gone and left this place, let them fight their fight. I¡¯ll stay away from this place.


    I had enough of this. I want to live, not to survive. Otherwise, it will be the same as last time. If I get away from this place, unnoticed, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about any of this. The world may be unknown, but normal people seemed to be faring well. That was better than any of this, trying to fight unknown enemies, planning and striving so hard to survive. Once I grow enough strength, I can certainly leave.


    But I don¡¯t want to.


    That was the one thing keeping me from leaving.


    This was home.


    I don¡¯t want to leave.


    But, human emotion was an unpredictable thing, even to me.


    ¡°Estelia¡­¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand me¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°I¡¯m leaving.¡±


    ¡°Estelia.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    Father grabbed my hand and suddenly pulled me into his arms, hugging me tightly, preventing me from going away.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I understand you, what you''re going through, what you¡¯re feeling. I understand¡­ These times are tough, especially when you¡¯re the center of it all. You don¡¯t deserve this¡­¡±


    ¡°Father¡­¡±


    I looked up at him with wide eyes. Then Mother walked towards us and joined in on the hug.


    ¡°...¡± I was left speechless.


    ¡°Estelia my dear, you carry a weight so heavy, I¡­ I should have done something to relieve you of them, even for a little. I am also at fault.¡±


    This is too much¡­


    I subtly took a deep breath.


    Eleden and Estevan not joining the hug? What a shame¡­ But men will be men¡­ But don¡¯t men also like hugs?


    I don¡¯t know anymore.


    It took a while before they let go of me. Then Father patted my head.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you access to the grimoire.¡±


    A smile rose from my lips.


    ¡°Thank you, father.¡±


    ***


    I left the room, staying close to my eldest brother. It was then some fellow followed us and called out to me.


    ¡°Estel.¡±


    Needless to say, it was my older brother Estevan. Eleden and I turned around altogether.


    ¡°Estel, I need to speak with you.¡±


    When he got closer I instantly hid behind Eleden and grabbed the edge of his torso, only peeking at Estevan from the side.


    ¡°Estel, I know you¡¯re angry, and I¡¯m so sorry. I hope you¡¯ll forgive me.¡±


    He looked so pitiful, he truly regretted it from the bottom of his heart. And he was afraid that I was so angry at him ¡ª well I am.


    ¡°Um¡­¡±


    I completely hid myself behind Eleden again.


    Eleden heaved a deep sigh before turning towards me, leaving me unguarded.


    ¡°Estelia, don¡¯t hide, okay? Speak with our Brother. He¡¯s being sincere, and I believe that sincerity should be requited.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°No buts¡­ go on, at least speak your mind.¡±


    I meekly nodded my head and slowly turn my head to Estevan.


    ¡°... E-Estevan¡­ I, I understand why you did what you did, and I had forgiven you. I am¡­ I still don¡¯t know how I should talk with you after that.¡±


    ¡°...... I understand.¡±


    ¡°Then, if you¡¯ll excuse me, brother¡­¡±


    I saw Estevan¡¯s sad expression from the corner of my eyes. But I disregarded him.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 33: Spells From the Grimoire

    The next day, my father and I entered the library and made our way to the grimoire. We passed by other pedestals where other important-looking books were placed. However, the major feature here was the thick silvery book wrapped in chains.


    Only the two of us were here, it would have been alright if there were others like my servants. However, the book will be unsealed today, so it was decided to not let others come near.


    We stopped before an extravagant pedestal where the grimoire was placed. Father held out his hand and mana began to take shape then formed some sort of key entirely in the color of purple.


    He just shaped his mana into a key?


    I scrutinized the key but I would need to get a closer look. That being said, surely it wouldn¡¯t be that easy to imitate that.


    ¡°That¡¯s one simple security father. I expected it would require more than that.¡±


    ¡°Only the ruling monarch¡¯s mana can unlock the chains. There are other requirements before one can safely open the book, otherwise, well, it will be life-threatening.¡±


    When his hand with the key got closer, electricity began to appear on the chains¡¯ surface and slowly rose. He tapped the key once to the lock and the electricity instantly disappeared.


    He then proceeded to insert the key into the keyhole before turning it, then sounded an audible click. At once, the chains went loose and was pulled down onto the floor with a thud by gravity.


    ¡°There. Unfortunately we can¡¯t remove the grimoire from the pedestal. We can¡¯t risk bringing around a collection of royal knowledge anywhere. So, my daughter, you will need to read here.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, father. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Hm, go ahead. Try opening it.¡±


    I approached and touched the grimoire, it truly felt like a silver cover. Upon opening, the pages didn¡¯t look old at all. Peculiar.


    ¡°The paper doesn¡¯t seem to have aged.¡±


    ¡°The book has been cast by a special preservation spell.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    In any case, the first page already talked about one spell. ¡°Sound Eruption¡±, blasts off a high pitch sound in all directions. There was a warning, the user would also be affected. Well, fuck I suppose that¡¯s to be expected. Process, hm a bit complicated, but doable, I think.


    Next page, ¡°Ice Crown¡±, a blizzard, but a lot more. Constructs of beasts amidst the blizzard to be used as a small army as long as the spells persist. Hm, this would be hard. The main goal, blind and overwhelm a single enemy. In this world of frost, you hold the crown.


    Next spell, ¡°Infernal Loop¡±, creates a ring of fire around the user. Pulling enemies outside from a certain distance into the ring. Warning, may also burn the user ¡ª learning spell ¡°Immolation¡± is strictly recommended to be protected.


    ¡°Immolation¡±, covers the user with protective flame coating.


    Holy shit man, aren¡¯t these, pretty strong? Holy shit old rulers were not kidding around.


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    ¡°Ripping Tide¡± conjures revolving water as thin as a blade, and hard as steel. Flexible and deadly. Able to eliminate surrounding enemies. Disadvantage, the effective radius is short ¡ª radius may vary on the user¡¯s mana.


    Dude, how many spells are in here, damn. This¡­ wow. This is awesome!


    ¡°Mirror Maze¡±, entrapping enemies into a small realm of mirrors, imprisoning them, and should induce confusion. Furthermore, if enemies attempt to break the mirrors, the shattered glasses will scatter explosively, damaging the enemy.


    ¡°Well of Life¡±, casts an area where any living lifeform inside will be healed, also granting a small amount of magical defense barrier. Disadvantage, as it will heal every living lifeform inside the area of effect, enemies will also be granted the Well¡¯s blessing. Requirements, advance knowledge and skill in healing spells.


    These spells not only seemed powerful, but pretty complicated, and there were a ton of them. It will take a while before I get to finish memori¡ª familiarizing all of it. That said, I was looking for a particular spell that would give me great mobility.


    I skimmed through the pages until I found the spell ¡°Air Step¡±, perfect!


    ¡°Have you found the spell you want to learn, daughter?¡±


    Hm? The spell I want to learn? Was he perhaps misunderstanding something?


    ¡°I intend to learn all of the spells here.¡±


    ¡° ¡ª What?! It would take at least a lifetime of training to perfect all of them. I have only learned a few, but only the ones that will be able to aid me in my swordsmanship.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I will learn as much as I can. I will be reading every spell first before practicing them.¡±


    ¡°Estelia, I regret to inform you but I do not intend to keep the grimoire unsealed for a long time. The most I can do is one month, too risky if we go any further.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s plenty. Thank you, father.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s plenty? I guess you will only be learning what you can.¡±


    ¡°I intend to learn at least most of it.¡±


    Father chuckled.


    ¡°Alright, if you say so.¡±


    He did not seem to believe me.


    ¡°...That being said, when it¡¯s time, I will be practicing this one first of all.¡±


    Father stepped forward and looked at what I was pointing at.


    ¡°Oh that,¡± he smiled. ¡°That will be very useful. If you need help with this, talk to me.¡±


    ¡°You can cast this spell?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s useful in battle. You have a good eye.¡±


    ¡°I just thought it would indeed be useful in combat ¡ª or escaping.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­ Then I shall be leaving you to it then?¡±


    I nodded my head with a smile.


    ¡°Good luck, my daughter.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Eleden!¡±


    As the eldest child of the family was working with his assistant, Estevan suddenly barged into the office, shouting loudly that the ones inside slightly jumped in shock.


    ¡°What the¡ª Estevan, don¡¯t ever do that again. I almost had a heart attack, by the gods.¡±


    Eleden grasped his forehead.


    ¡°What was even the point of that?¡± Lucious audibly asked.


    Reflecting on what he had done, he gently closed the door.


    ¡°Right, I apologize. But this is urgent.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Estel is still mad at me, I¡¯m sure of it. She¡¯s been hesitant in speaking with me.¡±


    ¡°Of course she would be. Just give her time.¡±


    Estevan vigorously shook his head.


    ¡°Let too much time pass and you may lose someone! Sometimes you have to settle the situation as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t lose Estelia.¡±


    ¡°No! She may remain, but an intangible distance may form between us if I don¡¯t do something as soon as possible! That¡¯s why I¡¯m here, to ask for your advice on what I should do.¡±


    Eleden winced. He should have expected that Estevan would eventually act this way. In all within the family, Estevan may be the one with the strongest love towards the only sister. And he in turn wanted affection from her. And thus he was very impatient today.


    Eleden had no choice but to help his brother.


    ¡°Maybe speak with her.¡±


    ¡°I did try earlier, but she merely briefly greeted me. And that¡¯s it. She left after that. The way she looked at me.. It was as if she was trying to avoid me.¡±


    ¡°Haaaah,¡± he sighed. ¡°Then maybe give her something special, or treat her.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°Maybe cook food for her.¡±


    Estevan¡¯s eyes widened and his face brightened.


    ¡°That¡¯s a great idea, brother! I¡¯ll also give her a bouquet of flowers while I¡¯m at it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you nee¡ª¡±


    ¡°Thanks! Alright I¡¯ll be in the kitchen! See ya!¡±


    In a flash, he left the room without giving anyone the chance to slow him down.


    ¡°Flowers, for Estelia?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s sad, Lucious. To think a brother is more romantic than the man who is in love.¡±


    Lucious grimaced as if Eleden¡¯s word¡¯s slapped him on the face.


    ¡°Shut up.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Eleden held his stomach amidst his laughter. He truly thought it was hilarious.


    ¡°Very funny¡­¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 34: Estevan’s Efforts

    Right before the strike of noon, Estevan entered the library with an assorted set of flowers in his hand. His smile was wide in excitement, he was confident that Estelia would warm up to him today. After all, he cooked the best food he could.


    It was the dish that Estelia said she loved so much the last time he cooked for her, and that was a long time ago. He knew Estelia would be thrilled to taste them again.


    When he entered, he only found her servants in the lobby. He timed his entrance, so Estelia should be going out for lunch any time soon.


    ¡°Your highness, what brought you here?¡± Vernon asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m waiting for Estelia.¡±


    ¡°A bouquet, is it for her?¡±


    ¡°Yes, for reconciliation.¡±


    ¡°I did notice she acted rather differently earlier when interacting with you.¡±


    ¡°I hope to fix it today.¡±


    ¡°I do not know the cause, but I wish you good luck.¡±


    Estevan nodded his head excitedly and waited for Estelia. His chest up and the bouquet were shown to all as he wore a bright and charming smile that mesmerized the young women working in the library. A few were even blushing just at the sight of him.


    But unfortunately, his ¡°romantic¡± charms were not for them.


    A few seconds later, a young beautiful maiden emerged from the numerous shelves. A peerless beauty, not even daughters of the gods could hope to compare. A pale and charming face that would steal both men¡¯s and women¡¯s hearts. Her long platinum hair that was more valuable than any jewels worn by the wealthiest men and women wave gently with every step.


    A pair of beautiful crimson eyes gazed at Estevan with wonder, then shifted to the bouquet of flowers in his hand. The princess, Estelia, curled her hand and placed it on her chest as if hesitating.


    Thus, Estevan walked towards her with a smile. Estelia was unable to move.


    ¡°Hello, dear sister,¡± he placed his left hand to his back, while the right one presented the bouquet. ¡°This is for you.¡±


    While surprised, Estelia received the flowers, allowing her to smell the pleasant fragrance permeating in the air from the flowers. She stared at the flowers before raising her eyes towards Estevan, a blush appearing on her already pale cheeks.


    ¡°B-Brother, what¡­ what is this for?¡±


    ¡°My offering to receive your heartfelt forgiveness. I committed a grave mistake, and I want to make up for it.¡±


    Estelia pursed her lips, confused by how everything was turning out ¡ª she never expected this. No one would have expected this.


    ¡°... But I already said I had forgiven you¡­¡±


    ¡°I realized I need to act more than just words.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­?¡± she lowered her gaze to look at the bouquet of flowers, a smile blossomed on her face. ¡°Thank you, for the flowers.¡±


    ¡°I have something more than flowers, Estel. Come let¡¯s have our lunch.¡±


    He gently reached out and grasped her soft and smooth hand, and the princess gracefully accepted his hold with a gentle nod.


    As the prince carefully guided her to the dining room, the princess hid her face a little on the flowers, feeling embarrassed. Of course seeing this, Estevan was feeling satisfied, this meant that his current effort was effective.


    Still, the problem has yet to be solved. However, after lunch, it certainly would be.


    When they arrived at the dining room, Estevan led the princess to her seat and pulled the chair for the lady. Once the princess had seated down, Estevan nodded proudly.


    Eleden, who was already there, palmed his face and shook his head, while their father merely looked at Estevan with confusion.


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    ¡°Mother¡¯s still not here, huh?¡± Estevan said.


    ¡°She should be here at any second,¡± Estelia answered.


    It was then that the queen had arrived.


    ¡°I saw you leave the library with Estelia,¡± she then saw the bouquet of flowers in the hands of her daughter. ¡°Oh my, are the flowers from you, Estevan?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°How sweet~.¡±


    She chuckled as she made her way to her seat, and Estevan pulled the chair for her.


    ¡°Oh? Thank you. Someone¡¯s diligent today.¡±


    ¡°I prepared dishes for today¡¯s lunch.¡±


    ¡°Oooh!¡±


    ¡°Of course with the help from the cooks, but I have a couple I personally made.¡±


    Estevan clapped his hands.


    ¡°Bring them in!¡±


    A group of servants then entered carrying steel platters. With smooth unison they placed them at the table then opening them all at once, steam immediately rose into the air. The royal family inhaled the pleasant smell of the dishes.


    ¡°Sister,¡± behind Estelia, Estevan said. ¡°I also personally cooked the dishes you said you loved. I made them while thinking of you. Please enjoy.¡±


    Then the family started dining. Estevan did feel a bit anxious as he often glanced at his sister, he was sure that the dishes he prepared with her in mind were delicious after tasting them. However, he wasn¡¯t sure if Estelia would like them.


    But he felt relieved when he saw her smile of glee as she ate a spoonful. And thus, he continued eating in peace.


    A while later, they had almost finished eating.


    ¡°Estevan, the dishes you made were wonderful. I had forgotten the last time we ate your cooking,¡± his mother said with a smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you love it. To be honest, I did struggle. But the cooks in the kitchen was a great help.¡±


    ¡°You should cook when there¡¯s an opportunity.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, I will try father.¡±


    Estevan glanced at Estelia and the latter immediately glanced away, feeling shy. He knew this reaction very well, it was entirely different from when she was mad at him. As her brother, he knew that her anger towards him had subsided.


    Estevan wanted to pump his elbow in joy but resisted it.


    When it was time to leave, Estevan encountered Estelia in the hallway. She walked towards him, she must have been waiting.


    ¡°B-Brother¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Estevan couldn¡¯t resist grinning.


    ¡°Um¡­ Thank you.¡±


    Estelia then proceeded to spread her arms and embraced him. Estevan was caught off guard, he didn¡¯t expect her to initiate. He expected she would be meek about it when the problem had just been resolved, but it seemed he was wrong.


    He smiled fondly before embracing her back.


    ¡°You liked my cooking?¡± he said before chuckling.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Are you not angry anymore?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not angry anymore.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe.¡±


    He chuckled with a great feeling of relief.


    ***


    Vernon entered the King¡¯s office when he was summoned. There were a pair of drinking glasses and a bottle of wine on the desk. He imagined that might be one of the king¡¯s finest. Still, he wondered what they were for ¡ª no, it was obvious what liquors were for, rather the question would be ¡ª why do this?


    ¡°Hello, old friend.¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, what¡¯s with the wine?¡±


    ¡°Have a seat, I wish to enjoy this drink.¡±


    By saying that, the king was implying they were not in a professional setting, but friends to enjoy a casual drink. Vernon sat down and Leodoule poured the wine into the glasses. Vernon picked up a glass and twirled the contents gently.


    The two then lightly clinked each other¡¯s glasses and sipped the wine.


    ¡°So, what is this about, your majesty? I have a feeling this is no mere casual occasion.¡±


    Leodoule leaned his back on his chair and took a deep breath.


    ¡°Estelia wants you to be her direct servant.¡±


    Vernon raised an eyebrow and waited for Leodoule to continue.


    ¡°... You do know that Estelia got angry with us.¡±


    ¡°I did realize that.¡±


    ¡°She had requested your transfer beforehand. I was hesitant, but now, she made the demand, I cannot refuse her ¡ª I don¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°What could be the cause to put that much pressure on you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I cannot tell you, my friend.¡±


    Whatever it could be, it definitely had something to do with what the princess learned inside the library, a secret the royal family was hiding. That said, Vernon had no intention of poking his nose into it.


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°So, Vernon, I ask you, will you become Estelia¡¯s retainer?¡±


    Vernon smiled.


    ¡°Boy, will you be alright without me?¡±


    ¡°Heh, I have been doing fine haven¡¯t I?¡±


    Heh, of course he¡¯ll be fine. Perhaps being at the princess¡¯s side will be a good change of pace.


    ¡°True¡­ I¡¯m flattered that her highness would demand my service. You know what that means, right? I will not be able to report to you anymore.¡±


    ¡°Of course. But with you at her side, I will feel relieved knowing that she¡¯ll be safer.¡± Leodoule lowered his head. ¡°Do you think she demanded you because she doesn¡¯t want her actions being reported?¡±


    ¡°Oh? Finally seeing her higher than before?¡±


    ¡°With how she¡¯s acting, I couldn¡¯t deny it anymore.¡±


    ¡°... Maybe that is the reason. Also maybe because she found my abilities useful. Hmph, I wonder who she takes after. Maybe she is indeed future queen material.¡±


    ¡°...Deep in my heart, I have qualms about her becoming queen in the future. But, I¡¯m sure my feelings will change. Still, in the end, if she is qualified, it is her choice if she wants to become the ruler of our kingdom.¡±


    ¡°That being said, it¡¯s still a long road ahead, so no point in thinking hard about it.¡±


    ¡°Sure¡­ Now then, Vernon, your answer?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the point of me answering when I¡¯ll get transferred anyways?¡±


    ¡°I want to hear whether you want it or not.¡±


    Vernon pondered, thinking about the princess. She was not the disappointing royalty she once was, one who basically didn¡¯t seem competent in any way. But now, she was more, more than he had ever thought. Thus, serving under someone excellent¡­


    ¡°I wholeheartedly accept the princess¡¯s demand to become her retainer.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Let this be the last night you shall directly answer to me, Vernon, my friend. Serve my daughter to the best of your ability, and protect her with your life.¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 35: The Fallen Chef & Fighting Rogan

    Hunger, stomach in pain. A stench of urine emanated in the air. Dusty and cold floor. Dark and barren cell. No light from the outside was able to come through to this underground prison.


    The torches were unlit, likely it was daytime outside. But the young woman inside the prison cell would never be able to see the light of the sun in this place. It was hopeless.


    She wore ragged clothes ¡ª might as well describe it as a stepping mat. Her hair was rough and muddy, and itchy as well. Her skin was now colored with dirt, her beauty as a woman had long since vanished, as well as her dignity and ambitions.


    The silence was deafening, the loneliness was suffocating.


    The food given to her was often rancid. No bathroom to use and so she had to relieve herself in this very cell, sometimes in the bucket which she would throw herself when it was time. Never in her life had she imagined she would end up this way.


    She had dreams¡­ ambitions.


    But she was already ruined.


    Regret.


    Just regret.


    What did she do wrong? She knew. Was her actions truly a mistake? Did she make the wrong decision?


    Her sin was the utmost unforgivable in this place. The attempted assassination of the princess of the kingdom.


    And her superior.


    The one who offered her a high position as a personal chef of a royalty. A great opportunity.


    But because of her actions, the fortune she obtained was taken back, everything broke apart. And now she fell deep into the abyss.


    Was it a mistake?


    She believed in her friends. Fought for her friends. Persisted for her friends.


    Was it a mistake?


    They did not come to save her.


    In her mind, she understood why. But in her heart, she wanted to be saved. Or wanted them to at least try.


    But she heard nothing about them. It was as if she was abandoned.


    She will have no savior.


    She would spend her entire life here. To suffer. To never attain the life she once had. A life where she lived in her ambitions.


    Perhaps it was a mistake.


    ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s not a mistake¡­¡± a weak hoarse voice whispered.


    The young woman tried convincing herself.


    ¡°They will come¡­¡±


    How many times had she repeated that to herself?


    She looked at her wrist, thin as a skeleton. She couldn¡¯t cry anymore, they had all but dried out. Terror filled her heart when thinking about what would happen the next day, or the next after that.


    The torture they subjected her still remained freshly engraved in her mind. At night she would have nightmares, reliving those moments once again. The whips, her bones breaking and bending, the blades, the cold, the humiliation, and many more. She trembled at the single thought of those moments.


    They gave her no mercy, but she persevered. Believing in her friends.


    But now, she was feeling doubtful.


    Why did she suffer for this? What were her friends fighting for? She ended up here without knowing the reason for it all. Had she acted foolish?


    Loud footsteps echoed through the corridor. A moment later, a guard¡¯s voice echoed loudly.


    ¡°Hey! Wake up! Get your food.¡±


    She slowly raised her head and saw a pair of guards, one she recognized, but the other didn''t.


    ¡°Oh? So that¡¯s the one, huh.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± he answered then returned to face her. ¡°Hey!¡± he called to her again.


    ¡°What about you let me give her?¡±


    The knight she didn¡¯t recognize received the steel plate, his brows wrinkled after inhaling.


    ¡°This doesn¡¯t smell nice.¡±


    The food on the plate was a piece of bread. To be precise half of what it was supposed to be. But it looked particularly strange.


    ¡°The bread¡¯s been made for a while so it is a bit¡­ well, you understand.¡±


    ¡°Obviously,¡± he moved his hand through the bars and placed the plate right before them. ¡°Eat your fill.¡±


    Hungry as she was, she crawled towards the plate. However, when she got closer, the stranger gripped her jaw.


    ¡°Ngh!¡±


    ¡°The bitch that tried to kill the princess. I have to say, you got some nerve.¡±


    His grip was tight and painful, and she looked away to avoid his powerful gaze while grimacing.


    ¡°You should suffer a bit more. How unthinkable it would be if the princess were to die so suddenly. She had been kind to us lately, just the other day she requested a small feast for us knights. Such a kind person. Attempting to assassinate her is the height of transgression.¡±


    He pulled her closer, causing her face to be pressed against the rusty metal bars.


    ¡°I honestly can¡¯t think of any reason why anyone would try to hunt our harmless princess.¡±


    ¡°Hey stop that already, you might accidentally kill her. As I told you, she¡¯s clueless about the reason.¡±


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    ¡°Then she¡¯s either still hiding it, or a fool.¡±


    He let go of her in a rough manner, almost slamming her away.


    ¡°What a waste of a woman. And I heard she was a fine chef.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to touch her weirdly, okay?¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding me? Who would touch such a repulsive thing?¡±


    They began leaving, the stranger clapping off the grime off his hands.


    ¡°Repulsive? All she needs is a little bath, you know.¡±


    Now that they had left, Allie slowly reached out for the bread and ate.


    ***


    I have a big brain.


    Metaphorically speaking of course.


    In any case, what led me to say positively about myself? I just want to compliment myself, that''s all.


    For multiple weeks I have been intensely reading the grimoire, and it¡¯s going very well! Good brain. Aside from the fact that I had to stand. It was alright for a couple of days, but doing it every day, ugh, it was tiring. But I had no choice.


    I would have started practicing the wind spell, but I have limited time on reading the book, so finishing the contents was the top priority. Of course amidst that I did some other things. Like visiting the knights and asking my family to give the knights a little feast with plenty of liquor of course.


    Also been speaking with Lucious when he visits ¡ª he¡¯s quite slow in courting, isn¡¯t he? Eh, whatever.


    That aside, I think I need a little rest. So I left the grimoire for a while and had a little peace time in the shed that¡¯s in our family garden.


    Vernon and Mera brought me some sweets and fruit juices, and in front of me was Rogan whom I invited to enjoy the sweets with me.


    ¡°Sir Rogan I have been meaning to ask, why are you so keen on having me consider to take Sir Alan as one of the knights in my service?¡±


    He had been mentioning him plenty of times lately. I¡¯m just curious why. I know Alan likes me but¡­ surely that¡¯s not the only reason.


    ¡°He wants to be under your service, your highness.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t beat around the bush, Sir Rogan. I don¡¯t believe that¡¯s the only reason why.¡±


    He smiled and lowered the cup containing fruit juice.


    ¡°I¡¯m worried about him.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°He seems to be losing confidence. I think that him becoming a knight of the princess would give him some sense of accomplishment. At least something to rub against his brother with.¡±


    ¡°I see. But, I couldn¡¯t just accept anyone.¡±


    ¡°I was hoping you would be less strict.¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I would have considered it if he was strong. However, from what I have seen last time, he isn¡¯t. And please keep this conversation a secret.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°... Instead of Sir Alan, his brother would be the one worth considering.¡±


    ¡°Now¡­ I don¡¯t think we would get along very well.¡±


    ¡°I said worth. I won''t consider him unless he changes his attitude.¡±


    I saw him being so cold to his brother and caught a glimpse of him when I visited the knights when I wanted them to have a chill time for once. That guy always have this scowl on his face, and the knights didn¡¯t seem to be pretty friendly with him.


    ¡°That said, I am interested in the knight named Elson.¡±


    ¡°Oh he¡¯s an awesome knight. Fights like a rogue than a knight actually.¡±


    ¡°Would he be interested in becoming one of my knights I wonder.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I also don¡¯t think you can force him like it was with me. He has been in the order far longer than I am.¡±


    ¡°......That¡¯s fine, I¡¯m not hiring for the moment anyway. Oh yes, I have been training my magic, but they are never used in actual combat. Can I ask for assistance from our two combatants?¡±


    I may have fought off Oryn, but remember how that ended up? Many close calls and stuck on defense.


    ¡°Princess, are you suggesting¡­?¡± Of course, the one to immediately react was Vernon.


    ¡°Live combat, yes.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s eyes widened in surprise after my confirmation of their suspicions.


    ¡°But that¡¯s dangerous.¡±


    ¡°But I need it, don¡¯t I, Vernon? Are you against it?¡±


    ¡°... A little but¡­ you do need it. Despite my personal qualms about it, whatever you decide, it will be carried out. This will benefit you more, so as your direct subordinate, I will follow.¡±


    Now this is what I like! He had no choice since I¡¯m his boss now. Awesome.


    ¡°But your family will definitely be against it, princess.¡± Rogan said.


    ¡°They do not need to know.¡±


    ¡°If you say so¡­ What do you have in mind? I imagine we won¡¯t be using magic against you then.¡±


    I smiled.


    ¡°I intend to battle with you first, Sir Rogan. And use your magic.¡±


    Vernon was the one to react.


    ¡°Princess, I am against that. Magic is too dangerous to fight with when it comes to first live combat training. You will get hurt.¡±


    ¡°With me mainly casting magic it wouldn¡¯t be a fair fight, would it? If my opponent uses no magic.¡±


    ¡°But your highness, I¡¯m a spear or sword user. It will be difficult for a mage like you to fight me one on one. It would also be unfair if you fight Vernon. In short, you will be at a disadvantage.¡±


    ¡°I agree, you need to at least fight a fellow caster of magic.¡±


    ¡°What about Mera?¡± Rogan asked.


    ¡°N-No¡­ I¡¯m not confident in my magic abilities. I am inexperienced in any type of fighting.¡±


    ¡°That reminds me, you still need to learn more than just magic casting when it comes to one on one combat, princess. You understand? Like proper response when enemy got closer or training your reflexes at least. Without those, I can beat you easily..¡±


    ¡°You underestimate me, Sir Rogan.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m being honest.¡±


    I would have preferred not to show I can fight to preserve my innocent image, but I need more experience on how people fight in this world. A one-time confrontation with Oryn wouldn¡¯t be enough. It¡¯s not the usual gunfight after all. Magic had more flexibility. I¡¯m used to gunfights, and used daggers mainly to execute, not intense and prolonged direct combat ¡ª although I¡¯m good at it, still wouldn¡¯t recommend it, range battle would be something I like better.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s begin now.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    I looked at Vernon.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the training ground we often used.¡±


    I was not carrying my daggers, so it¡¯s fine. Dammit, I have not been carrying my beloveds for a long time! Soon, you will be used dears.


    They were hesitant, but we still made our way to our destination. I am wearing a proper practical dress, and proper clothes beneath, so no peeking hehehe. Basically how I¡¯m dressed when I confronted Oryn.


    Thankfully there was no one around.


    ¡°Do we have any stadium or closed training grounds anywhere?¡± I asked, almost complaining really. Stupid question actually, I live here after all. But, maybe there was something¡­?


    ¡°We train outside, your highness.¡±


    ¡°Nothing we can do then.¡±


    Yup, nothing.


    As planned, Rogan was to fight with me. Thus, we stood ten paces apart.


    He drew his sword.


    ¡°Are you sure about this? ¡®Cause I¡¯m scared for you.¡±


    ¡°Careful to not injure her, Sir Rogan.¡± Vernon warned.


    ¡°.... I get it.¡±


    ¡°Good luck, milady! And be careful.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Mera.¡±


    ¡°You know, now I¡¯m here, I really don¡¯t want to do this. You have no weapon, princess.¡±


    ¡°A mage¡¯s weapon is their magic.¡±


    ¡°Crap, fine.¡±


    Trust me, I¡¯ll be more comfortable having my daggers with me.


    ¡°Vernon.¡±


    Vernon stood as the referee.


    ¡°When I say start, the training match will begin.¡± he really emphasized that. ¡°Three, two, one¡­ start.¡±


    The moment it began, I enhanced my limbs and fired a bolt of fire towards him. My firebolt moved half the speed of a bullet but he surprisingly was able to react and erected a barrier just in time to block the bolt. But he still looked utterly shocked.


    But at the same time I unleashed that spell, I had already rushed towards him with physical enhancements supporting my movement. The moment the flames dissipated, I had reached his side to the left where his hand was casting the barrier, that way I would have a little distance from his blade and give me a little more time to react.


    I used my ice magic.


    ¡°What?!¡±


    When he noticed me, his eyes widened, he didn¡¯t expect I would be this quick. But it was too late. A dagger of ice was already in my hand and was about to cut him. But he reacted also as quickly, my dagger missed by an inch when he stepped away, and at the same time repelled my dagger with the side of his shield.


    ¡°Holy shit! A mage going hand to hand?!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re holding back, Sir Rogan. If you don¡¯t ramp up, you¡¯ll die.¡±


    I said to him.


    ¡°What the hell?¡±


    A thick mist of cold emanated around me before dozens of daggers appeared from thin air and fired towards him. As expected, he used his shield to block them, how troublesome. But my daggers of ice weren''t solid as steel, so they were more like a distraction or used when there¡¯s a vulnerability.


    I swiftly moved a bit distant to his right side, since going from the left again would be predictable. I would have tried moving to his back, but at this time, I was right in his sight, moving any further would be difficult.


    I needed to move swiftly. With a wave of my hand, a pair of fire bolts shot out. He swung his sword horizontally and an arc of light emerged from the motion clashing with the two bolts, destroying each other.


    I conjured a dozen daggers again at the same time and propelled them in his direction. He discarded his shield, instantly holding his sword with both hands. He swung his sword, sweeping the ice constructs into pieces easily.


    ¡°Defense really is not for me. I¡¯ll lower the output of my magic, princess, so as to not fatally wound you. You appear to be serious about this. Alright, let¡¯s truly begin.¡±


    Now he¡¯s going offensive.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 36: The Princess’s Surprising Abilities

    Rogan raised his guard up the moment the princess launched a surprising barrage of attacks. Never in the slightest did he expect she would immediately try to attack him this mercilessly. Her speed and magic were beyond what he had expected, not to mention her firebolts packed a serious punch.


    But that was not the most troublesome, her movement speed was. It was absurd that she suddenly was able to do such actions. And she even taunted him, it almost made his jaw drop.


    At first he couldn¡¯t go on an offensive fearing that he would hurt the princess.


    But that changed when she almost hit him with attacks that could definitely wound and injure him with no hesitation. She was serious about this.


    If he kept on defending, it wouldn¡¯t be much of a fight, as what he figured the princess wanted. Thus, he discarded his barrier and gripped his sword with both hands.


    He swung his sword horizontally shooting an arc of light, then subsequently followed by a vertical swing. He poured the lowest amount of mana in the attacks, so they shouldn¡¯t fatally hurt the princess. Though it violated his feeling of not hurting her in some way, she still requested this.


    That being said, those two arcs of light were moving with high speed that not any normal soldier would be able to dodge all of them. However, to his surprise, the princess evaded his attacks with surprising agility. She adeptly ducked the first one to keep her footing and immediately twisted her body with a little jump to the side to evade the second one.


    Rogan¡¯s eyes widened, the way she fluidly evaded those attacks, those actions weren¡¯t the movements of a novice. Instantly after evading his attacks with calmness, she fired a pair of firebolts, shooting forward with frightening speed. The speed of her firebolt was faster than they normally would, but he was still able to barely evade the two of them by leaping to the side.


    After he evaded though, he felt chills the moment he saw the princess was already in arm¡¯s reach. He saw it, her eyes. Her eyes were not of the innocence she always had. Those eyes were the eyes of a hunter, cold and direct.


    A sword of ice was now in her left hand and moving to slash him at his vulnerable neck. Rogan blocked it with his sword and as expected it easily shattered, they were as fragile as the daggers she just used. He thought he had succeeded in defending himself from her attacks, but that was a mistake.


    ¡°Wha¡ª¡±


    The middle of his blade was suddenly entrapped by a translucent crimson object, gripping it tightly. He realized immediately that it should be the barrier spell, he was sure of it. He couldn¡¯t pull away his sword, it was then he noticed her right hand moving forward, towards him. He knew instantly he shouldn¡¯t let her hand be pointed at him.


    Right before she was able to fully raise her hand towards him, he used his left hand to push and deflect it, at the same time a burst of flames passed by his ear, heat passed by his skin and his hair waved violently.


    Holy shit!


    It was her firebolt. He felt nervous upon realizing she was intending on casting it at point blank range. Before he could counter attack though, the princess turned her body and the next he felt a kick on his back. No, it was close to his neck.


    The force of the kick was shocking and it sent him flying in the air, at the same time he felt the hold of his sword stopped. His grip on the weapon was firm, if she didn¡¯t let go he would have dragged her with him.


    No, that¡¯s not ¡ª was she intending to kick me on the head?!


    Since when did she start learning some sort of martial art? Such a question was in his head. The kick was so fluid and impressive, like it wasn¡¯t the first time she had done it, add to that her movements in this battle. Athletic.


    He regained control mid-air and he slid a little when he landed.


    And she reacts too quickly!


    No one would have expected something like that from the princess. Her reaction speed was almost at the level of an elite knight that it was absurd.


    Worse yet, the moment he landed, the princess was already on the move, she wasted no time at all. Rogan immediately swung his sword several times, sending the same number of arcs of light.


    It was at that moment that a crimson barrier appeared in front of her, it just appeared from thin air. The barrier protected her from his attacks, then the one barrier split into, hovering to her sides as if they had a mind of their own.


    Of course Rogan was confused, that was not how barriers were normally used. Nor did he ever see someone do something like it before.


    Rogan fired his magic again, but the barriers moved on their own to block his attacks. But he did notice something, the princess looked at the attacks first before the barriers began moving. Even so, the fact that she was able to follow them and then designate her barriers was ridiculous.


    And I¡¯m fighting her while she¡¯s in a dress?!


    She rushed forward again and several fire bolts suddenly came storming towards him. He gritted his teeth and cast a barrier large enough to protect himself from the barrage. It was then he realized that they were all weak.


    As the flames dissipated, on the other side of the barrier he saw the princess. In her hand was a ball of flame, and when it shot forward, a strong force crashed into his barrier. The next moment, his barrier cracked then shattered while pushing him back.


    His eyes widened in surprise, she overpowered his barrier.


    The princess¡¯s other hand was already preparing another bolt of fire. Rogan quickly stepped back and turned the flat of his blade to face the attack. He expected a powerful force just like what she did with the barrier, and when her attack of flames collided, his expectation wasn¡¯t met. It may have made his arm shake, but that much he had expected. The princess didn¡¯t gather as much power into that attack it seems, but a normal person might have been scorched to near death.


    Subsequently, the princess gave him no breathing room and attempted to attack again.


    I should have used a dull blade!


    He wouldn¡¯t have been so concerned if he did so. But there was no dull blade nearby to use, nor did he expect the fight would get to this level. He swung his sword forward, he intended on stopping right before her skin, however, the princess blocked his blade with her arm.


    Not bare, but there was a barrier engulfing her arm, from the elbow to the hand. They pushed each other¡¯s attack.


    ¡°I can¡¯t defeat you in direct confrontation.¡±


    The princess said.


    ¡°So, um, time to surrender?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    With that brief word, smoke suddenly emerged from her hands, white smoke quickly spread out, covering his eyesight. Next, Rogan felt the lack of resistance from his blade.


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    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Rogan couldn¡¯t see anything in this thick smoke.


    Another trick¡­


    He couldn¡¯t hear her at all. Not her footsteps or anything. He also couldn¡¯t find any unnatural motion in the smoke.


    Where is she?


    Light gathered in his palm, after pouring large enough mana into it, he unleashed the ball of light into the ground. A pushing force was unleashed in all directions, instantly dispersing the smoke away.


    He gripped his sword tight and swung it behind him. Then his motion came to an instant halt.


    He grinned.


    ¡°Got you, your highness.¡±


    The edge of his blade stopped right before her neck.


    ¡°If you got any more closer, I would have been doomed.¡±


    Of course the princess¡¯s eyes were wide in surprise. She sighed and eased her stance.


    ¡°I lost.¡±


    Rogan withdrew his sword and returned it to its sheathe.


    When everything was done, the princess began to breathe heavily.


    ¡°Princess?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just exhausted.¡±


    She slouched a little as she was sweating profusely. Rogan stared at her. She looked quite attractive when she was trying hard.


    ¡°You were holding back, weren¡¯t you?¡± she asked.


    ¡°What made you think that?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t use your lightning magic.¡±


    Rogan wondered how she knew about that and then recalled that he used the lightning element to his armament magic during the mock battle when she was watching.


    ¡°Besides, you weren¡¯t even using your spear.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, and so it would seem.¡±


    The princess lowered her gaze and furrowed her brows. Truth be told, despite how fearsome she was just earlier, she looked quite adorable at the moment.


    ¡°Princess, are you actually upset?¡±


    ¡°Forget it¡ª¡±


    Suddenly the princess began to falter on her legs when she tried walking. Her legs trembled and she lost her balance. Rogan immediately caught her.


    ¡°Princess, are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Just¡­ my limbs hurt.¡±


    ¡°Let me bring you to somewhere comfortable.¡±


    Rogan proceeded to carry her gently. He used his one arm to carry her under the legs, and one on her back.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡±


    She looked up at him before looking away. Rogan could only smile in amusement. She was soft and tender. It was hard to believe she was the same person that moved with great swiftness and shocking power a moment ago.


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡±


    She leaned the side of her head to his chest armor. Rogan could feel his heart beating faster not because of the physical activity he just did, but for some other reason.


    Damn, not good. Can¡¯t help it, I¡¯m a man! Ayana, forgive me.


    He tried not to look at the princess and went straight towards the shade of a nearby tree. Not that he had any intimate relationship with his friend Ayana, nor did he ever confess, but they had been friends for some time, and he developed quite a fond feeling for her. So perhaps he was giving himself a bit of limitation.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with milady?¡± Mera immediately rushed towards them.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Rogan gently lowered and put down the princess as he replied to Mera. When she made contact with the soil, she grimaced in pain. She held her leg and massaged them a little.


    ¡°Hm, the physical enhancement caused quite a toll on your limbs.¡±


    Vernon was the one to give the answer to everyone¡¯s question. As Rogan thought, she was using physical enhancement, but have overdid it.


    ¡°Normally you shouldn¡¯t get any pain. But princess¡­ you didn¡¯t apply the technique properly.¡±


    ¡°Apparently¡­¡±


    ¡°Let me call a physician.¡±


    ¡°No need. I¡¯ll treat myself.¡±


    Green light then shone from her hands and held them out right before her legs. Rogan found himself surprised again, he didn¡¯t know what level of healing magic she was casting, but counting other spells she was using, it was already so impressive that she was able to adeptly cast healing magic as well.


    Of course they no longer had any need to vocalize their surprises.


    ¡°Your highness, where did you learn to move like that? Athletic, and the way you fought.¡± Vernon asked.


    Rogan was also curious. He expected she would only be barraging him with magic spells at a distance, but he never expected she would try close combat. And not just any close combat, she had moves, skillful moves. No novice would be able to easily control their movements when trying to move that quickly with enhancements and to use it, along with magic, in combat.


    She even attacked him physically and also dodged his attacks.


    ¡°... I have a lot of personal time.¡±


    That was all she answered.


    What does that even mean?


    In no way she learned all that by herself.


    Rogan thought Vernon would press further, but unexpectedly he merely nodded his head.


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    If he had no intention of asking any further, then Rogan decided to do the same.


    Rogan unconsciously stared at the princess as she started healing her arms, they must be also in pain. Upon realizing he was staring a bit too much, he leaned back and looked away for a moment.


    ¡°Still, you almost had me there, princess. Really surprised me, there was a chance you might have defeated me.¡±


    ¡°...¡± She looked up at him with a nod before continuing to attend to her healing.


    ¡°I too am surprised, I expected you to be defeated after three attacks at least.¡±


    ¡°I would have if Sir Rogan took it seriously from the beginning. No, he didn¡¯t even use his full strength from the beginning.¡±


    Again the princess furrowed her brows, giving the impression that she was infuriated. Rogan felt like she was truly serious in the fight and wanted to take him down. That alone was already a terrifying prospect, there was a couple of times that her attacks may have been deadly if he didn¡¯t escape.


    What if I really died?


    He decided not to delve into it any longer.


    ¡°I have to reflect on my performance.¡±


    Her manner of speaking was almost monotonous as she spoke before standing up. She must be done with the healing.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take a bath.¡±


    The servants looked at each other before chasing after the princess who didn¡¯t wait for them.


    ¡°Is she mad at me?¡± Rogan whispered to Vernon.


    ¡°I think not. After all my observations, I can say she is truly thinking.¡±


    Rogan was a bit doubtful about that, she was acting a bit cold. But, the interactions after that fight with her indeed didn¡¯t feel like she was mad.


    ¡°Milady doesn¡¯t want to be disturbed when she is thinking.¡±


    Mera chimed after hearing their whispered conversation. As she vouched for it, Rogan nodded his head in belief, it would be a bit scary if she was indeed mad about losing ¡ª which would not be a good characteristic, but to be honest, she might look cute when acting like it.


    All of a sudden, the princess halted in her tracks. Rogan immediately froze fearing that she might have sensed his thoughts ¡ª although that was impossible. Even so, ladies have weird intuitions as he had often experienced with Ayana.


    ¡°By the way, how¡¯s Allie?¡±


    Rogan felt relieved at her question but was puzzled at the sudden topic. If he recalled correctly, she was the person who attempted to assassinate, poison, the princess. When the knights heard about it, some were furious, while others were only relieved that the attempt failed. Rogan was on the latter side.


    But if the princess had been treating them more kindly as she just did recently, a lot of them might have been more than furious. The princess has been kind with the knights lately, the princess would definitely have a motive by doing that, like getting on the knights¡¯ good sides.


    She didn¡¯t ask that question directly to anyone, thus if any of the three knew about it, they should answer.


    Vernon was the one to respond first.


    ¡°... My apologies I have not any updates about her, but she should still be in the dungeon, as you requested.¡±


    Princess Estelia then shifted her gaze to Rogan.


    ¡°Uh, I heard no news in particular, given that she is imprisoned.¡±


    ¡°Ever since her imprisonment, has there been news of any suspicious activity? Intruders and such?¡±


    Rogan shook his head.


    ¡°Nothing of the sort.¡±


    ¡°The patrols in the city have not bore any fruit either, what are they planning¡­?¡±


    Rogan knew who she was referring to, namely those that were targeting her.


    ¡°They¡¯re still too quiet¡­ Mera, any new employees in the palace? I am not exactly one involved in the palace staff affairs.¡±


    ¡°N-No, there has been no new staff this month, nor did any leave. I heard the palace planned on becoming more strict during hiring, and opted to favor noble blood in the future.¡±


    ¡°Vernon, anything to add?¡±


    ¡°My apologies, but I no longer have any major information regarding the palace system ever since I was transferred to you.¡±


    Vernon no longer worked for the king, thus he no longer had a direct information source of decisions regarding the inner workings of the palace. Furthermore, he had been working more personally with the princess and had less exposure to everything else.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. If you haven¡¯t heard anything, it could mean no major changes happened. They must have decided to abandon Allie.¡±


    As one would expect, no one would risk their life raiding or infiltrating the palace to rescue one prisoner. However, why did the princess sound like she was making sure?


    ¡°Or they believed she¡¯s dead as well¡­¡±


    The princess lowered her gaze for a moment.


    ¡°Vernon, take a look and visit Allie. Give me a report on her situation, condition, and her environment, her observable behavior, the treatment she had, and your assumption on her mental state. Afterwards, meet me in the room we use during my lessons.¡±


    Rogan was baffled by the specific information she wanted. Then she continued.


    ¡°I want an unfiltered report.¡±


    Rogan already had an idea how she would be treated, and perhaps that was why she wanted a clear and true report from Vernon. If she had specified that order, then, there might have been an instance where they filtered the truth of the matter.


    ¡°... Understood, I will follow your command.¡±


    ¡°Now go.¡±


    Rogan wondered if the princess would be able to handle the truth of Allie¡¯s treatment, she had always been an innocent and pure person. One could even call her a saint.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Then they continued onward to follow the princess.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 37: Report Regarding Allie

    The feeling after a fresh bath was always a wonderful one, I smell so good. My hair was still a little wet, and so for a change, I tied it up in a ponytail to save my dress from getting wet. At the moment, I was still reflecting on my fight with Rogan, which was far from satisfactory.


    I need to ramp up my overall magical capabilities, need more power and a variety of spells. Furthermore, my stamina was not that great, I was too exhausted when it was over, I might perhaps need to strain myself. That being said, I wouldn¡¯t say my body¡¯s performance was bad, it was basically the first time I strained myself fighting while using the spells I had. And I¡¯m still technically human.


    It was different from when I was fighting with Oryn when I only used the barrier and firebolt. I need to get used to subsequently using a variety of spells so as to not strain me mentally and physically next time.


    I decided to use my fog at last by the way since I wanted to try direct confrontation.


    In a real fight and executing the opponent immediately was the goal, I could have used it at the beginning. However, would that always work though? Rogan defeated me amidst my smokescreen after all.


    More than that, he didn¡¯t use his full capabilities. Perhaps I wouldn¡¯t have lasted long if he did. That said, I didn¡¯t use my trump card as well. Unleashing my mana violently. Still, using that constantly wouldn¡¯t be healthy.


    Furthermore, using physical enhancement truly strained my muscles, and after the battle, my limbs hurt like hell. I took note of what Vernon said that I didn¡¯t properly apply the enhancement. But I am confident I made significant progress, I lasted for some time after all. And my flesh didn¡¯t explode or something, so that was good. Dude, that would suck now that I imagined it.


    A shiver ran down my spine.


    Dammit, I have all the knowledge in my head but still can¡¯t use them. It¡¯s a bit infuriating to be honest.


    Guess I should start learning the lightning spell. Lightning¡¯s good for quick and range attacks, my kind of style ¡ª true, firebolt was range, but lightning¡¯s neater and stronger.


    Amidst my contemplation came knocks from the door and Rogan went and opened it, letting Vernon inside. The old man wore a troubled expression, now I wonder why. He stood in front of me.


    ¡°So, Vernon, how is it?¡±


    His eyes suggested hesitation.


    ¡°Do you truly want to hear it? She is your past subordinate so¡ª¡±


    ¡°No need to hesitate. Tell me, how is she?¡±


    ¡°...... Terrible. Her cell smelled foul, her clothes ragged and beyond hopes of cleaning. The surroundings are full of dust and insects, the corners reek with human wastes. It''s dark and cold.¡±


    Rogan seemed to be unfazed by hearing it, Mera on the other hand creased her forehead and lightly covered her lips with her hand. That truly was a terrible way of living.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Good.


    ¡°Are there any other prisoners? Someone she could talk to?¡±


    ¡°None. She is completely alone, there¡¯s no one else who would commit such acts that are against the law here in the palace.¡±


    I suppose, for our enemies, this could be considered the belly of the beast. Any outright act against the crown would be met with swift penance, not any would survive. Allie was an exception since I wanted her alive and wanted to keep her here.


    ¡°Then, how is she treated? As well as the food she gets.¡±


    ¡°The knights never attempted to¡­.touch her. Although they admitted they were verbally harsh to her often because she dared try to assassinate you.¡±


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    Oh my, how sweet.


    Then he continued¡­


    ¡°As for the food, nothing decent. Sometimes a small piece of bread, sometimes fresh, sometimes rancid. Having a decent meal is rare.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡±


    ¡°Princess, I can give the order to give her proper treatment if you say so.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow at Vernon¡¯s absurd proposal. Why would he do that?


    Then followed Rogan.


    ¡°I can also give the guys an earful and warn them not to be harsh with your former chef anymore, your highness.¡±


    I expected Mera to have her own words, but she delayed a bit at my gaze, hesitating.


    ¡°Mera, do you have anything to say?¡±


    ¡°No, milady. I¡­ I don¡¯t know what I should say. It is a bit cruel, but¡­ she should be punished for trying to kill you.¡±


    Daaamn, Mera, what happened to you?! Where¡¯s the sweet Mera at?


    ¡°However¡­¡± she continued. ¡°I will feel bad when such treatment prolongs.¡±


    Huh, she still had some sympathy for her¡­just a little I guess.


    ¡°Princess, I take it you want to help her? That¡¯s why you wanted me to check on her, right? With your words, we can lighten her suffering.¡±


    I wanted to scoff, but I held it back.


    ¡°What are you talking about? Leave her the way she is.¡±


    Their eyes widened at my words. I will not let them interfere with this affair.


    Vernon looked down as if contemplating.


    ¡°...Princess, you don¡¯t have to hold back.¡±


    ¡°Vernon, I said, let her be. Leave their treatment be, let her environment be. Do not tamper.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± he was in disbelief. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s strange of you, Vernon. I know you oversaw her torture, why be sympathetic now?¡±


    ¡°What¡­? You really realized it?¡±


    Vernon wouldn¡¯t normally be all this sympathetic given that he led the torture, so he must have other things in mind in why he was acting this way. Testing me?


    ¡°That aside, give me your analysis on her mental state. Was she able to talk to you?¡±


    ¡°... I¡­ I did talk with her, but her response was brief.¡±


    I sighed.


    Not enough, huh. Well, we have all the time in the world. Should I give her a small gift? Guess not yet.


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°... Well, she looks lifeless, but I can still see a bit of strength in her gaze.¡±


    She¡¯s still a persevering one. That¡¯s what¡¯s often annoying with people. They deeply believed in something and that gave them strength.


    ¡°Do you see regret in her?¡±


    ¡°... I can¡¯t tell¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine¡­¡±


    Every person regrets. If they do not, were they even human? Well, there are people out of the norm, but that¡¯s not the point.


    Allie is a normal human being.


    I would have wanted to intensify her harsh treatment, but being hasty wouldn¡¯t give the best effect, slow and steady wins the race. Human mind is a delicate thing.


    ¡°Princess, what are you planning? Asking for her psyche and her situation. I don¡¯t see any reason other than that you care about her.¡±


    ¡°Nothing. I¡¯m just curious.¡±


    ¡°Curious? I wonder, first you made her stay here. Do you see some use in her?¡±


    ¡°Sharp tools that have become dull are set aside and switched to a new one. However, when you have no other tools to use or chose to save it, then you can only sharpen the dull tool. Is what I want to say, but nothing is for certain now. The situation is mostly unknown, and I have to focus on other more important affairs. Let¡¯s stop thinking about this, it¡¯s pointless.¡±


    I wonder, what should I give her as a gift? Well, given her treatment, something pleasant to fill the belly would be nice in that kind of situation. Still, I need to think about this carefully¡­ But for now, I¡¯m certainly not going to involve myself with her.


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you didn¡¯t say anything unnecessary to the guards, did you?¡±


    ¡°I only garnered information, I did not express any personal opinions.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    If he had said he pitied the girl to the guards or something, that might cause a shift I do not desire. I need to make her suffer more. Make her doubt her beliefs, regret her decisions.


    Doubt and regret. The two most important things to happen.


    It¡¯s not pleasant to be abandoned after all.


    Well, if things don¡¯t happen to my expectations, throw the trash away then.


    ***


    ¡°We¡¯ll have a formal assembly three days from now regarding our plans for the upcoming festival. I have already sent letters to the heads of noble households.¡±


    As we were having our pleasant and peaceful dinner, Father informed us of the appointment with nobles. Not all nobles in the entire kingdom, by the way, only the nobles in the capital are involved in the planning since basically, they were some sort of sub-leaders of the nation.


    ¡°I wonder what other new games we can make up.¡±


    Mother placed a hand on her cheek. ¡°It is getting harder to think of something new as years pass by.¡±


    Keep thinking of something new every year, of course you¡¯ll run out of any creative ideas. With that in turn result in recycling old ideas. Being original is hard. It would be especially hard if you had already used all the ideas you could make up.


    Still, would it even be necessary to have something new every year for the festival? A grand entertainment, performance on a grand stage or something would be alright. In addition, the same old games but better rewards would suffice, I think.


    Eh, whatever, it''s not my responsibility to think. Why would I add more stress for something others can handle? I¡¯ll just enjoy the festival.


    ¡°By the way, Estelia, you¡¯re going to the festival, right?¡± Father asked.


    ¡°Hm? Oh yes, I plan to.¡±


    ¡°And you have already requested new outfits. A shame I wasn¡¯t there, why didn¡¯t you tell me, dear?¡± Mother said with an adorable pout pointed at me.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was scared of disturbing you.¡±


    ¡°... I see. Next time then, when preparing for your debut. You will be the most beautiful in the kingdom. Or perhaps the world.¡±


    But mother, I already am.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 38: Aristocrat Meeting (Part 1)

    The gates opened as noble knights stood guard at the gate flanks, their backs straight and personal weapons on their side. Their armors reflected the sunlight of the mid-morning, and their stern faces were hidden under their helms.


    The gates completely opened with a loud thud and a few minutes later, as expected, a luxurious almost golden carriage brandishing a single flag of the kingdom of Wisteria arrived. The coachman pulled the reigns and made the horses slowly come to a stop.


    The horses neighed and snorted as a pair of knights approached the coachman and gave a brief greeting. The curtains of the carriage window promptly opened, followed by a mutual formal greeting, and the man inside presented the letter he had received from the King. The knight made sure it was the person they were expecting, one of the many.


    ¡°Confirmed, welcome Marquis Yveno, you may proceed.¡±


    ¡°My thanks.¡±


    The coachman snapped the reins and proceeded forward. The knights returned to the side of the road and waited for the next guest. A few minutes later, another fancy bluish carriage arrived. The knight in charge nodded his head as he received the letter and affirmed the guest¡¯s identity.


    ¡°Confirmed, welcome Marquis Natarel, you may enter.¡±


    After that, a few more carriages arrived, until eventually, a particular one arrived. The carriage sported the color of gold and silver, and a pair of Wisterian flags waving in the wind on each side. A small group of knights was positioned at the front and back, protecting the convoy.


    The knights waited eagerly since they had already recognized who this one should be. A relative of the Queen. To be precise, it should be her elder brother. That was why they had to show the utmost respect, they do not directly and heartedly respect the brother, but they intend to respect him for the deep respect they had for the Queen.


    When the carriage stopped before the knight guarding the gate, the curtains opened and they were greeted by a pair of bluish eyes. The man in his thirties had short crimson hair totally in contrast to his younger sister who had silver hair.


    ¡°Good morning, Marquis Teristro.¡±


    ¡°Good morning, we are just in time I assume?¡±


    ¡°A little ahead of schedule.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°A-Ahem. The invitation please.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes sorry. Mizia, the invitation.¡±


    ¡°Here,¡± another person, a young woman, handed the invitation. ¡°Hey, can I see Estelia?¡± he asked the knight.


    The knight had heard of their daughter but never seen her before, so this one here should be her. The knight smiled at the mention of the princess.


    ¡°You ought to ask the palace servants, my lady. If you wish, they can lead you to the princess.¡±


    ¡°Great! I want to surprise her. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve last seen her.¡±


    The girl smiled so widely and eyes bright in excitement.


    ¡°I wonder how she¡¯ll react. Father, how do you think she¡¯ll react? I imagine she¡¯ll just raise both her eyebrows but still remain silent in the end. Which would be lackluster¡­¡± she shrugged her shoulders.


    ¡°I suppose her reaction would be that simple.¡±


    ¡°...Mm¡­ It may be like that on the surface. But believe me, inside, she would be jumping in joy about seeing me, how subtle her outward reactions may be, a lot of things happen inside her. Heh, she¡¯s that easy to read.¡±


    ¡°When you meet her, go easy.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m always easy when it comes to her. I even brought her some clothes to try out!¡± she patted on a sizable case.


    ¡°Pardon me,¡± the knight intervened after checking the invitation. ¡°Invitation confirmed, you are allowed entry, Marquis. Welcome.¡±


    Then the convoy continued on.


    ¡°So, who else are we waiting for?¡±  A knight asked his colleague.


    ¡°The Marquis of house Vekenas. He always comes almost at the exact time.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I was worried he would be late¡­ So that one, the girl, is the child of the Marquis, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s pretty. And she seems fun. I¡¯m a bit jealous Rogan, honestly.¡±


    The knight sighed, the topic suddenly jumped. ¡°What now?¡±


    ¡°I mean he got to personally guard the princess! Who wouldn¡¯t be jealous? If it was me, I wouldn¡¯t lose any motivation, at all!¡±


    The knight snorted after hearing his fellow knight.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Of course, serving a beautiful woman! That¡¯s wonderful. And the princess? I have never seen anyone could match her, not even other noble women could begin to compare. And ultimately, she¡¯s so nice. Rogan¡¯s one lucky bastard.¡±


    ¡°Dude, you should really be careful on where you¡¯re saying those things.¡±


    He warned, but the moment he did so, they heard loud clanging footsteps from behind them.


    ¡°What the hell are you two talking about?¡±


    The two flinched and immediately turned around, the other knights present averted their eyes away.


    ¡°A-Ayana! Didn¡¯t expect to see you here.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean you didn¡¯t expect? I¡¯m making sure everything¡¯s secure. And here I managed to hear about your topic of discussion.¡±


    ¡°He-he-he, just a casual conversation, nothing more.¡±


    ¡°Well? Do it later after there are no more arrivals. Else¡­¡± she brandished her fist.


    ¡°Alright!¡±


    ¡°We get it, Madam, we¡¯ll be quiet.¡±


    ***


    A young woman exited the luxurious carriage with a smile, her bright crimson hair reached past her shoulders, her blue eyes peered at the surroundings as though looking for someone. She wore a beautiful green and blue dress and heeled shoes.


    Her fair-colored shoulders drooped ever so slightly that she didn¡¯t find the one she was looking for. But she supposed that it was to be expected, that girl wouldn¡¯t leave to go outside for any reason, no less meeting other people. Still, she did carry a little expectation.


    She noticed that the royal family was not present as well but only a number of servants waiting for their arrival.


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    ¡°Where are the royals?¡± she asked, and her father emerged from the carriage, wearing his formal and luxurious coat.


    ¡°The royal family do not greet us here. We are here for business purposes, not for a formal gathering, we are not here to play.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°And they¡¯re royals, they have no need to greet every guest here in this meeting. They need to prepare themselves.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re looking for Princess Estelia, aren¡¯t you? Speak with the servants.¡±


    The marquis faced the servants present and he looked around at each of their faces. Someone was missing, normally an old manservant would be leading the servants here.


    ¡°Greetings Marquis, we are pleased that you have arrived.¡±


    A man in his early thirties wearing a servant¡¯s outfit spoke to the Marquis.


    ¡°Hm, old man Vernon isn¡¯t around?¡± he asked.


    ¡°He is no longer at the service of his Majesty.¡±


    ¡°Why? Did he kick the bucket already?¡±


    The servant chuckled for a moment.


    ¡°No, he is now under the princess of the kingdom.¡±


    ¡°Huh? He was transferred?¡±


    The marquis never expected something like that would happen. To his recollection, the king valued the old man as a servant and friend.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Alright, please guide my daughter, Mizia, to a reception room and also bring her case. As for me, I¡¯ll be heading straight to the meeting hall.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    The Marquis¡¯s daughter, Mizia nodded at the servant about to grab the case from within the carriage and gave a grief goodbye to her father as he left with a guide.


    ¡°Lady Mizia, please follow me.¡±


    Another servant came and asked her to follow. She followed the servant and watched the other one carrying her case as they walked in the palace halls to the waiting room.


    ¡°Ah, after this, can you call for Estelia to meet me?¡±


    ¡°The princess? Of course, she never joined the meeting with the nobles, so I suppose it will be fine to call for her.¡±


    ¡°Of course she doesn¡¯t¡­¡±


    Well, Estelia never talk to any stranger in the first place, and she would dislike the professional atmosphere during the serious meeting regarding the festival. Mizia had no problem with that, she was just worried for her cousin when she approaches true adulthood. As the princess, would she be able to handle the pressure?


    ¡­ She¡¯s the princess of the country, and the youngest child, I guess she wouldn¡¯t have much any pressure to feel? The way she is, no way she¡¯s going to inherit the crown in the future.


    In short, she can be as she wants to be. As for marriage, that would be another matter entirely.


    She¡¯s complicated¡­ But don¡¯t worry! I¡¯ll be supporting you, my cousin!


    Eventually they arrived at their destination and Mizia immediately plopped down on the sofa. The servant put down the case beside her.


    ¡°Then go get Estelia.¡±


    And she was left alone. With nothing else to do, all she could do was sit down and tap her hands on her lap. A minute later she already found herself bored.


    ¡°Tut tut tut.¡±


    She made random melodic noises as moments went by.


    Being alone is lackluster¡­


    She ended up losing her lady-like sit in this lonely air. Mind you that it was only three minutes since she had arrived in this room.


    ¡°I need to do something.¡±


    She was impatient, and thus she needed to distract herself at least. She laid her case down on the floor and opened it, revealing an assortment of neatly folded outfits.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see, maybe I should have her wear this one first? No, this one¡¯s better, yes yes.¡±


    She arranged the dresses in order of what she should have Estelia wear first. She was enthusiastically moving the folded clothes all around until there came a couple of knocks from the door.


    Mizia closed the case and stood up.


    ¡°Come in.¡±


    One of the servants from earlier entered.


    ¡°My lady, I regret to inform you that Princess Estelia is unavailable at the moment.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What? Why?¡± she was in disbelief.


    ¡°She is said to be joining the meeting today.¡±


    Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth in shock.


    ¡°You never mentioned it before!¡±


    ¡°My apologies, but the princess never mentioned anything.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ That is going to take hours!¡¯


    ¡°My sincerest apologies. If you wish, we can bring you refreshments as you wait.¡±


    Mizia pouted.


    ¡°Why is she even attending? There is no way she is interested in the discussion, that boring meeting¡­¡± she returned her gaze to the servant. ¡°Fine¡­ bring me sweets. I suppose I will have to wait.¡±


    ***


    At one of the grand halls in the palace, this one was one of the smaller ones, walls of ivory, fine wood, and embedded gold. Shiny chandeliers hanging on the ceiling, fine arts and tapestries on the walls. At the corners, knights in flashy full sets of armor stood guard, with swords sheathed on their waist.


    Maids on standby waiting for any requests made by the guests. At the center of the room was a long table, the nobles sitting on equal sides. And a little further up away from the table were a group of thrones.


    There were fancy thrones for the King and Queen and three for their children. However, only four of the thrones were occupied. The King wore his purple and golden formal outfit, and the Queen wore a beautiful dress as beautiful as a flower garden in the morning.


    Two of the handsome young princes were as dashing as their father with their luxurious clothes and combed hair. The only missing person was the ever so enigmatic princess of the kingdom.


    As always, she has no interest in showing up.


    Marquis Teristro thought.


    The absence of the princess had no massive consequences in the current meeting. Besides, she had never joined any formal meetings of any kind, thus she had no political influence whatsoever.


    That said, not many nobles present here have seen the princess personally. Thus, she was a mystifying person with only rumors about her unmatched beauty only heard. The marquis often saw the princess, but only when he comes with his daughter that wanted to see her cousin.


    And truth be told, the rumors could not make justice to the uniqueness of her appearance.


    In any case, they were waiting for the designated time to start the meeting, they always follow the schedule. A minute before the meeting starts, the once quietly sealed doors loudly creaked open.


    Surprising as this was, everyone turned to see who else would be coming in, there should be no one else to arrive. No, that was wrong, there should be another one.


    Everyone¡¯s eyes widened at the new arrival. It was a beautiful young woman with a hypnotizing crimson gaze and long braided hair of platinum that was seemingly more valuable than any jewels they could afford. Then her skin was pale as snow, so flawless.


    One of the nobles gasped involuntarily.


    This young woman was the princess of the kingdom. She was intensely fitting and beautiful in her purple and golden colored dress, sleeves reaching her wrists, expensive heeled boots, and skirt just above the ankles. Diamond earrings on her ears, and a crimson necklace hanging from her neck.


    She was a peerless existence.


    The marquis turned to look at the royal family, but they were equally surprised as he was.


    The princess arrived¡­ Why? Why now of all times? And¡­ what about my daughter?


    He was worried for his daughter, with the princess here, which meant that Mizia was left alone somewhere.


    I hope she¡¯s going to be alright being left alone¡­


    Then a sweet voice gently echoed in the room.


    ¡°I apologize for my late arrival. Although I believe I am right on schedule.¡±


    Her smile was almost bewitching, but it did not drive men¡¯s lust, but rather stimulated men¡¯s drive to protect that smile full of innocence.


    Then on her side behind was a knight with a fit stature and light brown hair. The marquis knew this man, he was the one who went against his family¡¯s wishes and left for the knight¡¯s order without permission, he was an infamous one. A rebellious man.


    What is he doing with her?


    ¡°I think this should be our first meeting. I am Estelia Vernisia Wisteria, princess of the Wisteria Kingdom. It is a pleasure to meet you all.¡±


    She elegantly curtsied as she introduced herself, but everyone was left speechless by her sudden arrival.


    ¡°Pardon me.¡±


    She walked in, her steps faintly echoed, her back straight, and movement elegantly smooth, she was full of confidence. While the knight followed behind her with a grin. The marquis was baffled. The confidence the princess was showing, this was not the way he knew her.


    The princess stopped before the empty throne, while her family stared at her with wide eyes. The knight left her side and stood guard at the wall in line with the princess.


    ¡°... This is my seat, right?¡± she reluctantly asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    The king replied.


    And thus the princess gracefully sat down on her throne right beside the king. The queen and the two princes beside her stared with wide eyes at how she handled herself.


    She crossed her legs and leaned a little to the side, elbows on the armrest. The marquis had to hold his breath for a moment as he beholden a royal image with both his eyes. Unlike the two princes, that only showed a normal level of professionalism, and gentle eyes, the princess¡¯s gaze was something more.


    The marquis could feel the intensity of her eyes from her kind and innocently smiling face, it was as if she was she was scrutinizing them. Like a person who observes whether a subordinate was worth her time.


    Why is she showing up now? And to give off this impression, what is she intending to do?


    Was that how she truly was? The marquis had encountered a variety of people, and talked with the king many times, he did not know if the others felt the same as he was, but that was the impression he felt upon seeing her. The others may only see a plain beautiful princess, but for the marquis¡¯s instinct, she was deeply observing and measuring, the way she stared at everyone¡¯s faces for a couple of seconds, and to himself, he could tell.


    But why now?


    It was then he remembered that the princess¡¯s debut would be next year.


    So that¡¯s it.


    The princess never had any influence in the politics of the kingdom, no power, no connections whatsoever. And now her debut was due next year, she needed influence. Showing herself now to the noble household leaders was a good opportunity.


    Should he see it funny knowing that the princess was always meek and now she was showing confidence? It was almost funny to think about but to make this bold decision, this was serious.


    She turned to her father.


    ¡°I will only be observing, father. You can treat me as if I am never here. So, can we start?¡±


    ¡°O-Oh, okay. Of course.¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 39: Aristocrat Meeting (Part 2)

    The king rose from his seat.


    ¡°Welcome nobles of the capital. Last year¡¯s First Blooming Festival was a success. The people, as well I, had a lot of fun and the activities were quite entertaining. I would like to personally thank Marquis Teristro as the supervisor of the last festival for the success.¡±


    Everyone clapped loudly and Teristro stood up then bowed his head. When the applause settled, the Marquis returned sitting down and the king continued.


    ¡°And now, here we are once again to discuss our plans for the upcoming festival, which will come in about three months. What activities and events should be reused, or removed, and what new activity do we add? I am sure we may have exhausted most of the ideas we could think of, but if need be, we can reuse the activities from other times.


    ¡°I¡¯ll begin. I believe we should continue with the singing competition. Our people are talented, and I believe this should be displayed. And I still cannot help but be impressed by the sheer talent they showed last year, even the year before that. However, I would like to change something. Instead of only allowing a band to participate, we allow any number of participants, whether they be solo or duo, or a big group.


    ¡°Having to require a band limits the number of participants we have and the talents of others won¡¯t have any opportunity to be displayed and rewarded, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    The nobles looked at each other and nodded their heads.


    ¡°Indeed, your majesty. I¡¯m sure there are many who were unable to participate because of our prerequisites.¡±


    The one who spoke was Marquis Natarel. He then continued.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure my wife would be excited to watch that contest even more.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure she will be. I also intend to increase the contest reward, so expect more budget. My wife and I had discussed this at length, and have thought of any problem that would come with this change. First, we need to expand the stage for more areas for the performers, since we accept any number. And also more space for the audience.


    ¡°We imagine that there may be too many who will come to audition, local or foreign, so before everything else, we should put them on screening first. If they are up to standard, we¡¯ll let them perform on stage. Well, that¡¯s the main idea.¡± He turned to the scribe. ¡°Have you written it down?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± he faced the nobles. ¡°We can vote on it later, for now, let us gather your ideas.¡±


    One nobleman raised his hand, then stood up after the king nodded.


    ¡°I suggest for the event in the arena, instead of a human-to-human fight that we always have. What about we have man versus monster.¡±


    Teristro raised his eyebrow.


    ¡°How are we going about bringing a monster to our city, Marquis Jezuri?¡± Teristro asked.


    ¡°Well, we can have the knights do it. Or perhaps hire mercenaries, there are those who offer services of such.¡±


    ¡°True, but to bring monsters in our midst, not a good idea. Not only they are dangerous, but they also cannot be controlled. Once we lose control, there¡¯s no saying how many casualties we¡¯ll suffer.¡±


    ¡°Then, rather than pure horrendous monsters, what about creatures we can consider beasts? And if too many isn¡¯t possible, we¡¯ll capture one. The winner of fights against humans will fight against the beast.¡±


    ¡°Why are you so keen on having monsters?¡±


    ¡°I think it would be interesting! A single man against a powerful beast! Wouldn¡¯t that be exciting? How will a lone warrior prevail against a creature that required a group of knights to defeat?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m wary everything will go wrong.¡±


    ¡°We will only capture beasts that a group of knights are capable of defeating, that way when it goes out of control we can stop it before there is any drastic damage.¡±


    ¡°We are sending a beast¡­ If we do it, the death of the participant would be guaranteed if he loses. This will be unlike where two humans can communicate a surrender.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll have knights stationed and have the participant signal if he wants to surrender. Besides, it has never been a hundred percent that no one dies in the arena. What¡¯s the difference? They sign up knowing death is a possibility, they know what they are getting into for wealth and glory.¡±


    Teristro sighed and shifted his eyes to the king sitting on his throne, but beside him, Teristro noticed the princess wearing a frown.


    Oh my niece, you didn¡¯t like what you heard, huh?


    What Jezuri said was true however, they get into the arena knowing they might die. So perhaps getting worried about anyone dying would be pointless. If they fear death, they shouldn¡¯t have entered. Besides, most that would join would be adventurers wanting to get rich, they risk their lives every single day, they should be prepared for death.


    But as one would expect, the princess wouldn¡¯t like that. Still, she was silent, as she said, she was only observing.


    ¡°I¡¯m interested in this proposal.¡±


    The one who chimed in was the second prince, Estevan.


    ¡°Please consider it father, I sort of want to see it. The knights will find a capable beast.¡±


    ¡°Brother, you better be certain. If we go with this proposal, the knights will need to make sure nothing goes wrong.¡± said the first prince Eleden. ¡°I still think this is risky, using something we cannot completely control.¡±


    ¡°Let us think on it and vote later, add it into the list.¡± the king said to the scribe.


    ¡°Now then, I have little thing to suggest.¡± The one who stood up was the Marquis Yveno.


    ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve been thinking, don¡¯t you think three days is short?¡±


    Three days was the duration of the festival.


    ¡°Is it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I suggest extending it to five days.¡±


    ¡°Hm, I don¡¯t really see the point of extending it.¡± the king said.


    ¡°It would be more enjoyable if it¡¯s longer.¡±


    ¡°The citizens tend to stop working to rest or to enjoy the festival, aside from the merchants, would it be alright to extend it to five days?¡±


    ¡°... I suppose. But we can enjoy more activities if we make it five days.¡±


    The king placed a hand on his chin.


    ¡°I suppose we can extend it to five days for this year. I was intending on inviting a princess from Myra.¡±


    Teristro¡¯s eyes widened in surprise.


    ¡°Myra? Which princess?¡±


    ¡°Only the second princess, for reasons. This could be a good way to show both our kingdom¡¯s friendly relationship.¡±


    ¡°If that is the case, then three days will be too short for an envoy from another country.¡±


    ¡°And we will need more enjoyable activities, which we can make do by reusing old ideas if we have nothing else.¡±


    ¡°Displaying both our country¡¯s friendship with Myra could make the Empire hesitate from doing any hostile actions upon us.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll take it into consideration.¡±


    ***


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    The discussion continued on at length, gathering as much idea as they could and reusing a few activities in the past. As they took into consideration holding the festival for five days rather than three, they doubled the number of activities to consider.


    After giving the ideas as they could, it was time for a break, and the maids went on to give the nobles refreshments and snacks. While they eat they could think about what activities they should vote on, discuss what should be picked, and they could also casually converse as friends for it was rare for them to meet together.


    Meanwhile, the royal family left for another room to have their own break time. The moment they entered, everyone turned their head to look at the princess and youngest child, Estelia.


    ¡°...W-What?¡± she asked uneasily.


    She lifted her closed hand on her chest as she stared back at everyone.


    ¡°Did I do something wrong¡­?¡±


    ¡°That was shocking, Estel¡­¡± Estevan said. ¡°What made you decide to join?¡±


    ¡°Um well¡­¡± she did not continue but only wryly smiled.


    ¡°And the way you entered, was that deliberate?¡± said Eleden. ¡°Like wow, that was pretty impressive, since when can you do that? That was magnificent.¡± Eleden chuckled.


    ¡°Estel acting all confident like that in front of nobles, what a dream!¡±


    ¡°S-Stop it you two! It¡¯s embarrassing! It¡¯s not e-easy, you know!¡±


    She looked quite adorable when worked up, her cheeks completely red.


    ¡°Besides, it was not my intention to arrive at that time, it was meant to be earlier! It took a while to prepare my dress and tie my hair, that¡¯s why I only got to arrive exactly as scheduled. I¡¯m still not late! So I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any problem.¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course. But that was still an entertaining entrance, not all nobles there have seen you before.¡±


    Estelia pouted at Estevan.


    ¡°Is that so? Maybe I overdid it? Now I¡¯m scared to look at the nobles¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be, at least we can say your etiquette lessons is finally put to use.¡±


    Eleden lightly patted her head as to not ruin her hair. How to act on certain occasions was always taught in etiquette lessons, and as royals they must act with confidence and be above everyone. Her teacher would have likely reprimanded her at length for acting timid.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough, sit down and relax.¡± their father patted the table and sat down. ¡°You did well, my daughter. But I wish you could have told us you planned on joining the meeting.¡±


    ¡°I was not intending to at first¡­¡± she turned at the maid. ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat, just give me juice. Thank you.¡±


    A moment later, snacks arrived but the princess was only given a refreshment as she requested. She gently drank from her glass.


    ¡°So, Estelia do you have any request you want to make? I assume you are intending to go to the festival, so perhaps there is something you want to see.¡± her mother asked.


    ¡°... Not really. I know nothing about what happens at the festival. So, I cannot suggest where I know nothing about how things work. I just want to see and experience what is in store.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? By the way, I heard Lucious asked you out, any plans about that?¡±


    Estelia froze in surprise when her mother mentioned it, no one else should have known about it. She frantically looked at the one possible culprit, since Estevan was likewise surprised and confused, the only one culprit of sharing what his friend did was Eleden.


    Eleden lightly scratched his cheek.


    ¡°I sort of mentioned it to them¡­¡±


    After hearing his answer, Estelia lowered her head with hesitation plastered on her face.


    ¡°Estelia?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know what I should answer¡­¡±


    Meliya pursed her lips.


    ¡°I understand¡­ You still have months away from the festival, you have plenty of time to think about it.¡±


    Even so, it being months away was still too long to give an answer of yes or no.


    ¡°Why do you hesitate, Estelia?¡± Meliya continued.


    Estelia shifted her eyes to look her mother in the eyes and averted away.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I am dangerous to be around with. I know if I go out to the festival, if we are together, he will be put in danger. I don¡¯t want that.¡±


    ¡°So you prefer to be alone?¡±


    ¡°... Well, I don¡¯t think I would be alone though, Sir Rogan will be there with me.¡± she smiled.


    Leodoule took in a sharp breath while momentarily caressing the side of his face. ¡°Rogan, huh¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, dear?¡± Meliya noticed he was thinking about something.


    ¡°Ah! No, nothing¡­ nothing. Just my mutterings, thinking of how to handle the festival. Having Rogan stay by Estelia¡¯s side will be a great relief, so I suppose you¡¯ll be stuck with each other, Estelia. Say, let¡¯s add Vernon to the equation?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Why? Isn¡¯t he added to your side for protection? So, it wouldn¡¯t be advisable to have only Rogan, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Is Sir Rogan¡¯s ability not up to your satisfaction, father?¡±


    ¡°... Um, well, I just want to be more careful.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± she lowered her gaze again. ¡°I suppose we can do that. But then Mera would be left alone here. If I bring Vernon with me, I might as well bring Mera along.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a maid who couldn¡¯t fight, she would be a burden.¡±


    ¡°B-But¡­¡±


    ¡°Haaaah, let¡¯s think about this some other time then.¡±


    ¡°... Very well.¡±


    The princess had such a pitiful expression that Leodoule was uncertain of what actions should be done. Therefore, he decided to throw the matter to his future self.


    ***


    There were to be two major events every day in the festival, morning and afternoon while amidst that were minor ones or none at all since they ought to give more free time so people can do whatever they wish.


    Furthermore, after a short discussion, they opted to make the duration from three days to four days, instead of the initial five days proposal.


    The nobles voted at least two or four events for each day, and end up scrapping a few ideas. And now, it was up to the supervisor to successfully implement the plans.


    ¡°Now then, who will supervise this time¡¯s festival?¡± asked the king.


    Teristro did a fine job at the last festival but selecting him again wouldn¡¯t be a good idea. If the king selected him again, it would show favoritism, thus pushing other loyal subjects to the sidelines. That was why every year the festival would have a different supervisor, giving an opportunity to anyone who has yet to have it or hasn¡¯t in a while.


    Then one man raised his hand.


    ¡°My king, please allow me. I have yet to supervise the festival, I would like to have this opportunity.¡±


    ¡°Are you up for the job, Marquis Vekenas? We will have a guest from another country, bear that in mind.¡±


    Marquis Vekenas was a little plumped bearded man with short light brown hair and greenish eyes. He smiled widely as he faced the king.


    ¡°Of course, your majesty, I am prepared. But I do wish for everyone¡¯s aid when I need it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help, just ask if you need assistance. This is our festival after all, we all want it to succeed,¡± one of the nobles said, and the others agreed with his sentiment.


    ¡°I thank you.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then Marquis Vekenas, you will supervise the preparations of the festival, and it will be your responsibility to make it a success where everyone will get to have fun.¡±


    ¡°I sincerely thank you for granting me this opportunity, my king. I swear to give my all for the festival.¡±


    He bowed.


    And with that, the meeting officially ended, as it ended Vekenas was given the list of plans discussed in the meeting from the scribe.


    With the meeting done, the nobles were free to leave, but if they wish to speak with their accomplices first, they could. Teristro went to approach his younger sister with a fond smile, namely the queen of the kingdom.


    ¡°Hello, my sister. It has been a while.¡±


    Meliya smiled in delight and stood up from her throne.


    ¡°Meril, my brother. I¡¯m so happy we can finally speak without any formalities.¡±


    She hugged her brother for a moment.


    ¡°So, my sister, you¡¯re not working too hard, are you?¡±


    ¡°No, not really that much work. I¡¯m getting proper sleep if that¡¯s what you want to ask.¡±


    The two princes approached the marquis and shook hands.


    ¡°You two haven¡¯t changed at all last year we met. It would seem you have reached your limit!¡±


    ¡°Well I am pretty satisfied with myself, uncle.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do when I¡¯m already past twenty, so I have just to accept I won¡¯t get any taller.¡±


    Teristro chuckled at Estevan and Eleden¡¯s remark. Then he faced the king.


    ¡°Brother in law, I can already tell you¡¯re working too hard.¡±


    ¡°I would appreciate it if you would share a little of my burden.¡±


    ¡°Now now, don¡¯t drag me into your kingly duties, it¡¯s out of my league.¡±


    ¡°Whatever you say.¡±


    Leodoule turned to the princess when he realized that she have yet to come and talk with her uncle. She was merely hiding behind him, her confidence that she had shown at first had vanished, perhaps she realized that they were now off the official setting and can now act the way she truly was.


    ¡°Estelia, come and say hi to your uncle.¡±


    She reluctantly stepped forward while grasping her own hand.


    ¡°Um, greetings, uncle.¡±


    ¡°Mm, hello, Estelia. I haven¡¯t seen you in a long while, you¡¯ve changed. You look more mature now.¡±


    ¡°... Thank you¡­¡±


    ¡°Did you hear? Mizia came.¡±


    ¡°I heard, but I wasn¡¯t able to greet her.¡±


    ¡°To be expected when you joined the meeting. She was quite excited to meet you again after so long. I¡¯ll be staying the day here in the palace, just so you two can properly catch up. That is fine with you, right?¡± he lastly asked Leodoule.


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m sure my daughter would like to speak with the cousin she hasn¡¯t seen for years.¡±


    ¡°She prepared a case of gifts, just something to look forward to.¡±


    Estelia immediately averted her narrowed eyes, perhaps realizing what the contents of those gifts would be. Teristro knew very well what the intent of those gifts would be, but there was nothing he could do about it.


    ¡°Estelia,¡± her mother called. ¡°Mizia has been waiting for hours, I think you should go ahead and meet her.¡±


    ¡°...Very well, mother¡­¡± she turned and faced the knight she came with. ¡°Sir Rogan, we are leaving.¡±


    The nobles that remained in the hall turned their heads and watched the princess closely as she left the room. Some had opportunistic gazes, perhaps thinking about how to get the princess¡¯s favor, since she had shown herself here, it basically meant she could be intending to enter the political circle. While some were only curious.


    That being said, there was not a lot of benefit of trying to garner her favor, she lack any true influence in the greater scope of politics. They would rather ally themselves with the first prince, or the second, with more to the former because he seemed to be the better candidate. He had been the one to closely work with his father after all.


    Teristro wasn¡¯t bothered by it, being the sister of the queen, he didn¡¯t need to work hard to gain more influence and power. Besides, if the princess proves to be a promising candidate for the throne, his daughter had already done most of the job on becoming close with the princess, even though it wasn¡¯t intentional.


    ¡°The knight, I presume he is the personal knight of hers?¡±


    He had heard talks about one of the knights being selected to guard the princess, but he didn¡¯t delve deeply into it, it was not significant to him. But he did know of the identity of the knight. And, as the person tasked with a special position by the king, he was one of the first to know about it.


    ¡°Oh yes, yes he is.¡±


    The king answered.


    ¡°Did you pick him? He doesn¡¯t particularly have a good reputation.¡±


    ¡°I did pick him. And that reputation only involved the outside, but here in the palace, he is alright.¡±


    ¡°I see. But would that be wise? His family might take advantage of this to rise up the ranks.¡±


    ¡°No kidding, they¡¯ve been requesting to have a meeting with him.¡±


    ¡°They even tried reaching him through me,¡± Estevan sighed. ¡°But, Rogan wished not to speak with them, and much more when they want to take advantage of him.¡±


    ¡°Still, he cannot avoid them forever. They are still his family in the end.¡±


    ¡°True, but he dislikes them¡­ who knows how long it will last.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m worried that my niece would get involved in something terrible.¡±


    ¡°If they trouble my daughter, they¡¯ll regret it.¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 40: Aristocrat Meeting (Part 3)

    Now that wasn¡¯t a particularly thrilling meeting. Well, what else was I expecting anyway? In any case, at least I have an idea of what would be happening in the festival, which I am looking forward to. I want to enjoy life too, you know.


    ¡®But Estelia it would be stupid to go out, you¡¯re being targeted remember?¡¯ Excuse me? Are you serious? What about everyone shut it with the griping! Don¡¯t tell me you actually thought I haven¡¯t thought about that. If you did, you¡¯re a disappointment to your family.


    Why do you think I¡¯ve been grinding my ass off all this time? For goodness¡¯s sake.


    Don¡¯t underestimate a goddess! Okay, maybe that fact is getting into my head, it just makes me feel superior. I am already perfect, but add another perfection, that¡¯s just ¡ª mwah! Magnifico!


    Thinking I¡¯m a goddess just gives me the courage to snap pastas in half! That sure would piss some people off ¡ª I¡¯m joking, don¡¯t get mad.


    Ahem¡­ anyway, I just left the meeting hall and intending on meeting up with my cousin. Sheesh. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s better, being in that hall with some old timers or with my cousin. Not like I can choose anyway, my parents basically said to me ¡®go play with your cousin¡¯. In where I would be the one be played instead.


    Whatever.


    On my way though, I saw a familiar man, it was Lucious. He was speaking with a nobleman that joined in the meeting, he was the man who shared the same surname as Lucious, Vekenas. He was also the person who volunteered to supervise the festival preparations.


    They were smiling to each other kindly and spoke to each with friendliness and familiarity.


    ¡°It¡¯s great to hear you¡¯re supervising this year¡¯s festival, uncle. Hehe, I¡¯m sure such a matter is trivial for you.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, you think too highly of me. I am actually feeling rather anxious.¡±


    ¡°If you need help, just ask, I¡¯ll help you the best I can.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I know not all things go to plan, so I might certainly need the help I can.¡±


    It was then that Lucious first noticed me, and his eyes shifted to Rogan who was behind me and frowned, only to return to normal when he returned his gaze at me. The nobleman realizing there was someone behind him, turned around, and his eyes widened at my presence.


    It took a moment of delay before he fixed his posture and formally bowed.


    ¡°Greetings, princess.¡±


    ¡°... Greetings¡­ You two are closely acquainted I see.¡±


    ¡°Estelia ¡ª Princess Estelia, you two haven¡¯t personally met, but let me introduce him. Marquis Hevrik Fumine Vekenas, my uncle. He took a pretty good care of me when I was still young.¡±


    ¡°It is a pleasure to finally meet you face to face, princess. Truly, you are a surprise to behold. I have only heard stories about you from my nephew here.¡±


    ¡°Stories? What type of stories?¡±


    He shifted his eyes to look at Lucious who had an expression of someone who seemed to have been pushed to a corner, he was stiff and eyes wide as if he was trying to convey something to the marquis.


    But the marquis only grinned.


    ¡°He always mentions how he enjoys your company and how he loves gazing at you.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    When I looked at Lucious, he had already averted his face away and rubbing his hand under his lips.


    Busted.


    But damn marquis, you just exposed him just like that? Have a heart. What a snitch.


    I blushed a little as I spoke. ¡°... I understand that I¡¯m disturbing your reunion, so please, continue on. I need to be somewhere else. Goodbye, Marquis.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye, your highness.¡±


    ¡°Lucious.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, see you later.¡±


    I walked past them and made my way to my cousin. I thought about Lucious as I walked, I still don¡¯t know how to answer his offer.


    Dammit, why am I even taking that as a problem? Just adds to my headaches. I¡¯ll just toss a coin or something. Besides, my crew would be with me during my tour, so it wouldn¡¯t be like he had hoped anyway. That being said, it still needed to be pondered about.


    When we arrived at the main lobby of the palace, we searched for a nearby servants that should have been the firsts to meet the nobles at the entrance. The servants that came to let me know about my cousin earlier only told me she had arrived and was waiting for me, and never told where to find her.


    It took no time at all to find a servant that would lead us to the guest room where my cousin would be.


    When we arrived, there was another servant outside the room, must be the one to take whatever order my cousin would have.


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯ll personally enter,¡± I stopped the servant from knocking the door. ¡°Are there no other guests inside?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­ Sir Rogan, stay here.¡±


    ¡°Understood, call for me if something comes up.¡±


    I nodded at him and then rapped my hand on the door.


    ¡°Mizia, it¡¯s me, Estelia¡­ I¡¯m coming in.¡±


    I didn¡¯t wait for her response and opened the door. When I first saw her face, her blue eyes were lifeless as she lifted her gaze at me, before the corner of her beautiful lips rose and her eyes brightened all at an instant.


    The moment I saw that, I immediately closed the door.


    ¡°Estelia! ~¡±


    She jumped up and rushed towards me with arms forward, preparing to hug me. Her crimson hair bouncing as she came to take me into her arms, her embrace tight.


    ¡°Estelia, how cruel of you! Do you have any idea how lonely and boring it was?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    She rubbed her cheek aggressively against mine.


    ¡°Wow! Your cheek has become softer!¡±


    She intensified her rubbing. A bit uncomfortable but cheeks of people were always soft. But still uncomfortable to do.


    ¡°It¡¯s been so long! You missed me, right? Tell me you missed me.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    I said nothing and let things happen with a blank expression.


    ¡°You¡¯re as cute as ever. Mwah!¡±


    She suddenly kissed my cheek.


    ¡°Mwah!¡±


    She kissed me on the other cheek, her kisses were deliberately audible. Seemingly unsatisfied, she kissed me on the other cheek again, then back, then again, and back again. When she was done, she hugged me tightly once again.


    I sighed internally.


    Whatever, I¡¯m prepared for the agony.


    Do your worse!


    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t look at me that way!¡± she giggled adorably. ¡°At least this never changed. How are you, Estelia? I have to say, you did get taller.¡±


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°... I¡¯m alright, Mizia. I am more concerned about you. You must have been waiting for hours.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I was. Since when have you participated in events that involves that?¡±


    ¡°... I¡­ I just wanted to try it.¡±


    ¡°Geez, you should have told me beforehand.¡±


    And precisely how am I going to do that? You never even told me you were coming.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°In any case, we¡¯re way passed that. Come.¡±


    She pulled my hand and we sat down at the couch side to side and faced each other.


    ¡°So, let¡¯s catch up. What have you been up to since the last time we met?¡±


    ¡°Um, not much. Aside from the studying.¡±


    ¡°Same. They weren¡¯t not that hard, didn¡¯t even break a sweat.¡±


    ¡°Is etiquette lesson not hard for you?¡±


    ¡°Nope! In fact, it¡¯s the easiest! No, not quite, it¡¯s right next to academics. Why? Is it hard for you?¡±


    ¡°... A little.¡±


    ¡°Really? You¡¯re naturally gentle, so I thought it would be easy for you. Maybe your instructor is very strict?¡±


    ¡°... Perhaps.¡±


    She is! And the gentle side didn¡¯t help at all when I¡¯m meek.


    I needed to act confident, she said.


    ¡°Is that so? In any case, I¡¯m certain you will prevail! By the way cousin, do you have any new hobby?¡±


    ¡°... No. I don¡¯t do much of anything. I usually focus on my studies, which is all.¡±


    ¡°You really need to find a hobby, Estelia. Maybe drawing? Or music?¡±


    ¡°I will do what I can. What about you, Mizia?¡±


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve been into gardening. Also growing some herbal tea, I often bring them during tea parties with other noble ladies.¡±


    ¡°Tea parties?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! It¡¯s great to make friends. You should come join me Estelia.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ no¡­ I¡¯m alright¡­ I don¡¯t think it is necessary.¡±


    She held out her finger and moved it from side to side.


    ¡°Tsk tsk tsk. Estelia, it¡¯s not just making friends. It¡¯s also about making connections.¡±


    ¡°Connections?¡±


    ¡°For politics and stuff. My parents recommended that I should make connections with other aristocratic children. Otherwise, when we come of age, we will be powerless. I need allies, said father.¡±


    ¡°Is that so.¡±


    ¡°I need to do it even more as the eldest child. As for your case though, I think you have more leeway. So you don¡¯t have to worry too much.¡±


    ¡°Is it not hard for you?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°Not really, I haven¡¯t met any hard challenges, so it¡¯s alright. In fact, it is father who¡¯s still doing most of the work anyway. I have it easy. That aside, it¡¯s not a fun topic to talk about¡­¡± She looked at the nearby case. ¡°Check these out.¡±


    With a smile she stood up and walked over to case, and excitedly opened it, revealing an assortment of outfits. They looked quite fancy. I am a little interested.


    ¡°They look great, right? Let¡¯s try it out on you now.¡±


    ¡°N-No! This is not a place to change!¡±


    Is she crazy? Want me to go nude in this place? No way I¡¯ll let any unworthy bugs see my beautiful and perfect body!


    No wait, technically Mera already saw me naked, and it would be alright if Mizia saw me nude since we¡¯re both females. But that¡¯s not the point! No one gets naked in a guest room, no less me!


    Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m confident with my body. There¡¯s no reason to be embarrassed about it. But I have a sense of decency! I find no satisfaction exposing my body for no good reason.


    Ugh! Why am I even explaining this?


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re right.¡±


    She looked around.


    ¡°Hm, we need a proper place for a lady to change. Your room then.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    She closed her case.


    Did she just say my room? That¡¯s not a good idea! My secret stash! No, she wouldn¡¯t touch my things carelessly, likely she would focus on me most of the time, so it¡¯s alright. Besides, she cannot be stopped.


    Mizia wouldn¡¯t just take a peek under a bed, like who would do that? So there¡¯s no need to worry.


    ¡°Your room, let¡¯s go.¡±


    I can only sigh and watch as she rushed for the door and ordered a servant to carry the case. She¡¯s totally in power here, that¡¯s fine however, there¡¯s nothing life threatening anyway. It had always been like this with her.


    We made our way to my room, Rogan following behind us and with him the servant carrying the luggage. Mizia and I led the way, she knew where my room was, so I have no need to lead her.


    ¡°By the way, Estelia.¡±


    ¡°...Yes?¡±


    She stopped and then pointed behind us with a suspecting gaze.


    ¡°Who is that? I can see he¡¯s a knight but¡­ who is he?¡±


    ¡°Um, he¡¯s my personal knight.¡±


    Her face loosened and stared at Rogan intently.


    ¡°I see. He is obedient, yes?¡±


    ¡°I suppose? I don¡¯t really give him too many orders.¡±


    As we continued walking, she leaned close to me and whispered.


    ¡°Be careful with men, okay? Especially you. As nobles, we need to be more careful. You¡¯re the princess, but you have to realize you look way more than that. Men cannot be trusted so easily, they only want mostly one thing, and it¡¯s disgusting.¡±


    I feel like I have heard this phrase before.


    ¡°W-What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Uh, sorry, that was a strange thing to say. Shouldn¡¯t have said something explicit.¡±


    What¡¯s up with her?


    ¡°Just be careful of their motives whenever they make some weird move on you. Nothing is better than sincerity.¡±


    Of all the things to bring up, she brought up that. What¡¯s next? She¡¯s actually romantically insecure or something? If so, I don¡¯t know if I should pity my cousin and be thankful she¡¯s concerned about me.


    Well, the concerned part I appreciate.


    But hey, Rogan¡¯s cool. But he did not seem to be interested in me, so maybe safe¡­? I got to admit, it bothers me when my charms don¡¯t work much as I expected.


    We shortly arrived at my room and Mizia at once closed the door and opened the nearby folding screen for changing clothes.


    Damn, she is serious about this.


    ¡°So Estelia, try this out,¡± she said as she pulled out a dress.


    I have no other choice but to change behind the screen. It took a while before I was finished, and I had to ask for help from her. And when it was done¡­ I actually look good.


    ¡°Wow wow! Amazing!¡± she clapped her hands as she watched me.


    I was wearing a dark blue dress and loose sleeve, the skirt was an asymmetrical, with the hem on the front being higher, just above my knees, and the back lower.


    She may treat me like a doll, but damn! She brought a nice dress!


    ¡°Beautiful! Alright, try this next.¡±


    Already?!


    But I want to cherish this appearance of mine more!


    Fine¡­


    She had me changed into another one. This time a completely dark dress, perhaps the word gothic was more appropriate to describe this. The skirt is just above the knee, and the sleeves were fit.


    ¡°You look kind of cool. Alright try this one next!¡±


    Yup, looks like I will be her doll for today.


    ***


    Fuck¡¯s sake that was tiring! We still didn¡¯t finish even when lunch time arrived. So my cousin and my uncle had to eat with us. No problem since they¡¯re family. Besides, I¡¯m feeling good being in new clothes, I look beautiful! Everything just fits me you know. How lovely can I get?


    So during lunch everyone had some conversations, not too important. Then after that, we continued the dress up the doll session. I can only surrender myself to fate as she coiled herself around me, and by fate of course I¡¯m referring to my cousin.


    The beautiful dress up doll Estelia Vernisia Wisteria, at your service.


    At least the outfits were good.


    Anyway, she was giving them to me as gifts. But as you can see, she wanted to see me in all of them. Hey, I¡¯ll get the freebies.


    So around the middle of afternoon, it was time for them to leave. In front of the palace entrance was a luxurious carriage and the family was here to give our goodbyes.


    ¡°Cousin, take care, okay? I¡¯ll see when I can visit again. Though expect it would take a while, perhaps a long while. So bear with it even if you miss me, okay?¡±


    She squeezed me in her arms. I have no opinion about her words.


    ¡°Goodbye, Mizia¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, goodbye.¡±


    And with that she entered the carriage with her father, then waved energetically at me. I waved back of course, I¡¯m not such a cold person.


    When every important people had left, we¡¯re back to normal, for now. Half an hour later, I visited father¡¯s office, he was surprised by my sudden arrival.


    ¡°Estelia, for what purpose have you visited?¡±


    My eyes peered one by one at the servants in the room.


    ¡°... Father, I am here to hear your plans on the festival¡¯s security.¡±


    ¡°My plans? The responsibility of laying out security during the festival falls into the hands of the supervisor.¡±


    I sat on the chair in front of his desk.


    ¡°So he can order the knights as he wishes?¡±


    ¡°Basically yes, he can assign them wherever he requested. That said, I of course need to review the plans, so I still give the permission in the end.¡±


    ¡°I take it the knights will be busy guarding the entire festival?¡±


    ¡°Mm, that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Father¡­¡±


    I looked at him then to the servants in the room. He seemed to understand what I was trying to say.


    ¡°Everyone, leave us for the moment.¡±


    The servants dispersed at once and once the door was closed, father spoke.


    ¡°My daughter, if you are worried about your safety, I will spare a number of knights for you.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°Have the supervisor design the security network as he wishes. You can review it if you like, you can do it as you normally would.¡±


    ¡°Then why have you come here?¡±


    ¡°Not much. I just want to make sure. As I said, no need to spare some knights to guard me, be it as normal as can be.¡±


    ¡°Then, what do you really want?¡±


    Everything must be normal, giving the illusion that everything is in control. If the enemy get their hands on the plan, there must be a backup plan. There could be two outcomes when I go out in the city.


    One, if they knew too well about my security detail, they could study it and find their way to me. Second, they hesitate and find another opportunity. I want more of the former.


    That¡¯s why I need more certainty.


    ¡°As the knights will be busy and cannot completely guard me, I have a request.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m listening¡­¡±


    ¡°The church.¡±


    He light raised his eyebrow. Then I continued¡­


    ¡°You are the one that sent them as hunters. And I have the impression they are stronger than average knights. Thus, I would like to involve them in my security.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Is that alright?¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­ I will have the best to be by your side.¡±


    ¡°No, have them hide, do not directly make contact with me. Only guard my surroundings unnoticed.¡±


    I want them to be covert. Plus, I don¡¯t want a crowd following me when I am out on a casual tour. Like come on! That¡¯s no fun.


    ¡°If we do that, there will be a slight delay in response when you are attacked.¡±


    ¡°That will be fine. If Sir Rogan is coming with me, a slight delay will be fine.¡±


    Father sighed.


    ¡°I am worried, but if that is what you want, that can be done.¡±


    ¡°Oh another thing, father. Please have strict and strong security to watch over Allie.¡±


    ¡°Your former chef, why?¡±


    ¡°With the knights dispersed and a festival going on, that can be a good window to break her out. Therefore, better to increase her security.¡±


    ¡°Alright. But why is it you want to keep her here?¡±


    ¡°She will be a good backup plan when all else fails.¡±


    That¡¯s why I don¡¯t want her to slip out of my grasp.


    ¡°And what will be her use to your backup plan?¡±


    ¡°...... Nothing is certain yet, so I cannot say.¡±


    Father sighed, a tiny amount of sadness in his eyes. What are you being sad about, father?


    ¡°... Very well. Anything else?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Please don¡¯t tell the specifics of our plan to anyone. Not even to the supervisor. That is the last one.¡±


    ¡°I can do that.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much, father.¡±


    I gave him a grateful smile.


    ¡°Then I will take my leave. I have disturbed you for too long. See you later, father.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡±


    I stood up and walked over to the door when I heard him say.


    ¡°Not telling anyone¡­ you don¡¯t trust Marquis Vekenas?¡±


    I turned to face him and smiled sweetly.


    ¡°I just think I should know them better before relying on them.¡±


    I don¡¯t trust anyone that easily.


    Especially nobles, they were no different to any politicians. I rather trust a plain soldier more than them. Politicians tend to betray the country more than any soldier.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 41: Stepping on Air

    Been a week passed, and now I was having breakfast with my family. I feel like I have been overworking ever since I was brought into this world. For fuck¡¯s sake.


    ¡°Estelia, what is your plan today?¡±


    My father asked out of the blue, he doesn¡¯t usually do that.


    ¡°Like usual, father. Practice.¡±


    Not like I have anything else to do, can¡¯t even have casual fun, go out or anything. Can¡¯t even have a boyfriend ¡ª just a throwaway comment, don¡¯t mind it. What I¡¯m trying to say, I can¡¯t even have nice things.


    ¡®But Estelia you have a lot of nice things, a palace, money, magic.¡¯


    If you thought of that, you don¡¯t get it, that was not the point.


    ¡°...Oh. By the way, how is your progress with the spells from the grimoire?¡±


    ¡°I was focusing on the spells I have already learned, improving now. Today I¡¯m going to start practicing one of the spells from the grimoire.¡±


    ¡°Which one?¡±


    ¡°Air Step¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you going to practice at the courtyard you always use?¡±


    ¡°Mmm. Yes, I think that is a fitting place to practice.¡±


    He smiled.


    ¡°In that case, I can help you practice. I know how to cast the spell.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± a smile rose on my lips.


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll catch up a bit later though, just need to finish a couple of things and I¡¯ll be right at you.¡±


    ¡°I will be waiting, father!¡±


    Finally, someone to tutor me. Wew, it¡¯s never easy to self-study. And having father teach, whom I trust, was a wonderful thing.


    ¡°If father¡¯s coming, then I¡¯m coming too!¡± Estevan immediately chimed in.


    ¡°No,¡± father denied without a moment wasted. ¡°Don¡¯t force yourself to come when you have other things to do. Estelia and I are meeting to practice, no distractions from you.¡±


    Ooooooh, that¡¯s right Estevan. Tell him father!


    ¡°.... Fine¡­¡± he dranked from his glass of water wearing a disappointed face.


    ***


    At the usual courtyard with the usual team, I was remembering the details and instructions that talks about casting Air Step. I followed the instructions, mana must imitate the wind. It all boiled down to the imagination and visualization.


    Everyone just watched me, of course. They had nothing to help me with, this training was mine alone, nor would I be able to share the details of the spell. Father specifically instructed me not to share details about how to cast the spells from the grimoire.


    The spell was about mainly using the spell on the feet, as it was opted for mobility. I shaped my mana to my feet, forming wind. It took a while before it even got to make form. That being said, the wind was too weak, like a gentle breeze.


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    I formed the mana again around my feet.


    It took some time, until Father arrived.


    ¡°Daughter how is it?¡± he asked me.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s alright¡­ I am just starting after all.¡±


    He grinned. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a tip, one I learned when I was practicing it.¡±


    I listened.


    ¡°It is best to practice forming the wind on your hand first. That way, you don¡¯t have to strain yourself when practicing for the first time. You will have no weight to worry about. Also, gives you more freedom.¡±


    I expected that with my vast amount of mana, I would be alright. But I suppose he had a point.


    ¡°Another thing,¡± he continued. ¡°Do not strictly learn to form the wind, but also learn how to move the air around you.¡±


    ¡°Move the air?¡±


    ¡°With your own wind, manipulate the air around and within them. Pushing them, or pull them, make them move however you want with the force of your own wind.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ I think I understand.¡±


    So, like an electric fan? No wait, was that a proper comparison?


    ¡°Also, would you like me to show you how it¡¯s done?¡± his grind grew wider, and excitement was clear in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll learn a little from watching me.¡±


    Hehehe, he wants to show off.


    ¡°That would be wonderful, father. If you would please.¡±


    I felt the air shift before me, the blades of grasses waved in one direction, the wind seemed to be turning around like a wheel. Tiny pieces of dry leaves and grass floated and swirled around father, specifically, to both his feet, then additionally, to his hands.


    He was also casting wind on his hands. Gradually, he began to float a foot above ground.


    ¡°See? As floating high above for too long would only be a waste of mana, it is best to use this spell while moving.¡±


    He lowered himself again, the wind growing faint, while his body turned towards a more open area. When his feet touched the ground, he lowered his body and legs before doing a leap. At the same came a burst of wind, sending my hair violently snapping.


    Father then twisted his body and turned in almost an instant with winds only at his feet, a dangerous maneuver that no novice could immediately replicate.


    Then he held his open palms downwards and his body jumped up higher into the air, doing a flip midair. When he descended, the winds in his palms seemed to have disappeared and his feet rode the wind as he moved around me with impressive swiftness.


    His legs didn¡¯t move intensely, it was almost like he was only roller-skating in the wind ¡ª or perhaps the more beautiful word was ice-skating?


    When he returned to me, he turned his feet to the side as he slowly came to a stop. Indeed, it was as if he was skating.


    ¡°Impressed, daughter?¡±


    I clapped my hands happily with a proud smile.


    ¡°Amazing, father! You almost appeared to be dancing!¡±


    ¡°You think so? Hehehe, I admit, I did practice hard in the past just to impress your mother.¡±


    ¡°Was it worth it?¡±


    ¡°Of course! I could never forget the way she looked and smiled at me. Anyhow, while I¡¯m here, let me personally teach you.¡±


    ¡°Please.¡±


    And so, he personally oversaw my training. He would point out my mistakes, give me tips. He was quite gentle on me, never strict or stern. He would show me a demonstration in certain parts, but of course it wasn¡¯t easy to see with air being invisible and all, so he would often demonstrate it around where there were dry leaves or dusts.


    Then noon came.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stop for now, Estelia. I must say, you did an impressive progress.¡±


    He roughly rubbed my head, messing up my hair.


    ¡°Father¡­¡± I complained.


    He chuckled. ¡°Ah, your hair, my apologies. Now then come, let us have lunch.¡±


    I nodded my head and together headed to the dining room.


    ¡°I will not be able to be with you tomorrow, but I will be looking forward to your progress a week from now. I want you to perform the spell as much as you can.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Then, I will surprise ¡ª no, I will shock you, father.¡±


    ¡°Feeling confident, are we?¡±


    ¡°Of course, a week is enough for me to cast a stable Air Step.¡±


    ¡°Oh, then impress me, my daughter.¡±


    ¡°I will¡­¡± I looked away and then back to looking at his eyes. ¡°And father¡­ thank you for spending your time to teach me¡­¡±


    His smile became more fondly, and he wrapped his arm around me.


    ¡°Of course¡­ I plan to spend more time with you. Just a father and daughter time!¡±


    ¡°What about mother?¡±


    ¡°She can come if she wants. That¡¯s right, she can come with me next week to see your progress. I¡¯m sure she will be delighted to watch you.¡±


    ¡°That is a great idea.¡±


    ¡°And be sure to be careful, okay? No need to overwork yourself. Remember, safety is of utmost priority.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s weird to hear that from you, father. With you so eager to lead a fight against monsters.¡±


    ¡°Even so, safety is always my first priority, making sure I can defeat the opponent. Otherwise, how will I return to you if I don¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°¡­Then, keep it that way, father.¡±


    Yes, returning home must be a priority, and alive. Even wounded would be fine, the most important thing was that he was alive. Although, I would prefer he¡¯s in full shape, and only get wounds that can heal.


    Honestly, father should have no need to personally fight out there. But he still does. I don¡¯t like that part of him.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 42: Riding the Wind

    I trained hard. And as I practiced more spells, it felt like it was getting easier to learn new spells. Still, just learning, not mastering. That said, I have focused all my time on practicing the wind spell.


    I am confident to say that I am now above average in using it, still not at the level of father, I think. But I worked hard and was so committed that I disregarded all other spells just for this one. A week was enough time to cast the spell safely and with stability. I should not fail spectacularly today.


    At the moment, I was waiting for my parents to come here at my usual place of training outside, they said they would come to see my progress after all.


    ¡°Are you nervous, princess?¡± Vernon asked.


    ¡°Why would I be nervous?¡±


    ¡°You seem to be?¡±


    Was I? No, I don¡¯t feel that way¡­ alright, maybe a little. I cannot explain the cause of this feeling.


    ¡°... I am not.¡±


    ¡°If you say so.¡±


    It didn¡¯t sound like he took my words to heart. But whatever¡­


    Eventually a moment later, I saw two people coming towards me. It was my parents. Mother clung on my father¡¯s arm, and the latter guided the lady like a gentleman. They gazed around the surroundings, this might have been the first in a while that they hung out together outside ever so casually.


    How sweet.


    I walked towards them with impatient steps.


    ¡°You came!¡±


    Father softly patted my head, this time he didn¡¯t mess up my hair.


    ¡°Of course, we wouldn¡¯t miss this.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Besides, we wanted to go out for a while now, no matter how short it would be.¡±


    Good thing they didn¡¯t invite my two brothers, it was better they weren¡¯t here. This wasn¡¯t a family gathering. Not like they need to be here anyway.


    ¡°So, daughter, are you feeling confident now?¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Oh? If you impress me, I¡¯ll give you chocolate.¡±


    ¡°... Just chocolate?¡±


    ¡°Is there anything you want?¡±


    I pondered, something that they can grant me. But¡­


    ¡°No, there is nothing.¡±


    ¡°Really? Want a sword then?¡±


    Mother slapped my father¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Don¡¯t casually give a blade to our daughter, it¡¯s dangerous.¡±


    ¡°I was only joking¡­ But I sort of wanted to reward her.¡±


    ¡°Father, no need. Your presence here¡­¡± I looked at the two of them one by one. ¡°...is enough reward for me.¡±


    Were my words merely empty words? I don¡¯t know, I just wanted to say it. So perhaps, I was a little sincere.


    ¡°Aaaw, look at you, using clever words.¡±


    Mother suddenly squeezed my cheeks. It hurts actually.


    ¡°Mother¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah sorry¡­¡± she looked at me, up and down. ¡°I like your outfit.¡±


    ¡°It was one of the clothes Mizia gave me.¡±


    I wore a white blouse and frilly sleeves that reached my wrists, and a brown waist band tied by black strings. In addition, I wore dark bluish somewhat fit trousers made with fine fabric, it had a little flexibility. Then lastly dark boots. Given what the activity I would be doing today, it was paramount I wear something proper and look good as well. I must give my thanks to Mizia for giving me this type of outfit. She said she brought this type because she surmised this would look good on me as I am approaching adulthood.


    ¡°Oh¡­ and your hair, it is very long now, are you fine with it?¡±


    I touched my braided hair that had reached past my waist.


    ¡°I am perfectly fine with it. In fact, I love it this way.¡±


    Long hair for the win!


    ¡°You look good either way.¡±


    She squeezed my cheek again.


    ¡°Alright then, I heard you¡¯re going to show us your progress of what spell was it? The wind travel one¡­¡±


    ¡°Air Step,¡± I answered.


    ¡°Yes, that one. It was the same spell your father showed me when we were still a young couple, right? He was so adorable when he¡¯s trying hard.¡±


    ¡°Meliyah¡­¡±


    Mother chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t act all embarrassed now.¡±


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    ¡°I¡¯m not¡­ Estelia, are you now ready?¡±


    ¡°Yes I am.¡±


    ¡°Alright, honey, let¡¯s stand there by the tree.¡±


    Father led her to the shade of the tree.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see what you got, daughter.¡±


    I nodded my head and began distancing myself from them before casting the spell. Wind gathered at my feet and hands, I lowered my legs a little and jumped forward, the wind propelling me forward.


    When I was a few feet up from the ground, I stopped the wind on my hands and focused everything on my feet, conjuring wind and moving the air around it. I smoothly moved my foot back as if I was pushing myself, like how would one do skating.


    I was still a little slow, but as I kept flying around the courtyard, I moderately gained speed. I also performed little risky maneuvers when turning, that I of course will be able to do. Feeling comfortable while flying around the courtyard, I lifted my one leg and allowed only one leg to have wind, and I performed a beautiful spin as I slowly spread my arms.


    I am doing something like a performance, applying what I learned from my dancing lessons, and some that I saw from ice-skating from the old world.


    My two legs returned to normal after the turn and I folded my hands, wind gathered around me, lifting the leaves from the ground. After a moment later, I burst wind from my feet and throwing me upwards, while I spun gracefully, the wind at my feet gone, and the wind from my now spreading arms caused the leaves to revolve around me.


    After descending a few feet back to the ground, wind returned to my feet, and I slid forward. I did not promptly drop the leaves but rather slowly weaken the wind from my hands as I went past my parents and the tree they were at.


    I went around them as the leaves slowly returned to the soil while fluttering in the air.


    This magic burned an uncomfortable amount of mana at every second, depending on the strength of the wind. So not many can easily cast this with ease. But it was different for me, after this brief performance, I will still have a lot to spare.


    I slowly stopped in front of my parents, while still hovering a little away from the ground. Truly I felt like I was skating.


    ¡°... So, how was it?¡± I said with a triumphant smile.


    Mother and father looked at each other before applauding.


    ¡°That was incredible, Estelia!¡±


    ¡°Daughter, truly, that was shocking. It was brief, but I was impressed!¡±


    I guess it was brief. Making choreography was not exactly my strong suit.


    ¡°Indeed, to think you are already that skilled in casting the wind.¡±


    I descended and once I touched the ground, the wind vanished.


    ¡°I¡¯m relieved you liked my performance.¡±


    ¡°Dear, what about you and Estelia ride the wind together?¡±


    ¡°Great idea! Though a little dangerous, we can go around the palace.¡±


    ¡°Then come back here to me.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be quick, my love.¡±


    ¡°No, take your time and enjoy. Besides I¡¯m not alone, so you can leave me for a while.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Have fun!¡±


    Father turned to me with a prideful smile.


    ¡°So, daughter, are you sure you can catch up? You still have a chance to give up.¡±


    I furrowed my brows.


    ¡°As if. I won¡¯t fall behind.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe of course. If you fall behind, I will turn back to you,¡± he patted my head. ¡°Let¡¯s go?¡±


    Wind burst forth from father and he leaped up into the air, flying towards the distance and landing upon a shorter rooftop. I turn to look at Mother to check on her before I go, when she caught me looking, she nodded her head, and so I nodded back with a smile.


    Wind swirled underneath my feet and on my palms then I propelled myself into the air.


    I landed right next to my father, I pretended to almost fall off and he caught me by the hand.


    ¡°Careful now.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°This can be a good training, getting used to the motion and various maneuvers. But don¡¯t overdo it, safety is utmost priority.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°Alright, now then follow me.¡±


    He rode the wind, and I jumped off the roof, following father as I too rode the wind. He went under small sheds with impressive agility, and I also went through the same path he did. A moment later after gathering descent speed and momentum, the wind at our hands disappeared, with only staying at our feet. Our speed was nothing to be laughed at, if untrained one would be rattled in this amount of speed.


    We swiftly went under the branches of the nearby trees, causing the leaves to shake violently at our passing.


    Then¡­


    ¡°Slow down here, daughter!¡±


    As father was about to directly go straight at a wall, he twisted his body and his feet faced the wall and subsequently came a burst of wind, pushing him forward at an opposite direction of the wall.


    Needless to say as I was following, I was about to come in contact with the same wall. I could slow down, but he didn¡¯t, so why would I? I already got my competitive spirit writhing, no way I¡¯m gonna back down.


    I know parkour myself. You know, losing yourself in the moment is great!


    I optimized the flow wind at my feet as I turned my body, making the bottom of my feet face the wall. Then my wind made contact with the wall, I felt a little force from my wind, I folded my legs with the wind acting as a cushion to soften contact.


    My movement was smooth and soft before I propelled myself with the wind at my feet and right hand pushing me outward. Father¡¯s way of sudden turning was too direct and reckless, very sudden. Have mercy on my internal organs. And thus, my way was to soften contact first, like landing on a bunch of pillows or a thick pile of snow. Maybe father was able to do that kind of maneuver because he¡¯s one tough guy.


    I caught a glimpse of father having an expression of surprise on his face. He slowed down and moved next to me.


    ¡°Very good, daughter! But don¡¯t scare me like that again, that was dangerous.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­ But I was confident.¡±


    ¡°... Alright, but don¡¯t get overconfident, overconfidence often causes failures. At the first feeling of doubt, retract.¡±


    ¡°Yes, father.¡±


    At that moment we passed by the knight¡¯s training courtyard, and warriors as they were, they became alerted immediately and jerked their heads to look at us. Although they immediately realized who we were. There were only a few numbers of them, other¡¯s might be assigned somewhere.


    We only passed by them for a couple of seconds, and we were already gone. Father climbed up to the roof of the palace by sticking close to the wall. I followed.


    He turned towards me, and let himself fall at the edge, then halfway down riding the wind once again. He truly was showing off.


    But this is fun¡­


    It warmed my heart that we got to hang out like this, I was constantly smiling in excitement, and my body was full of energy.


    I followed behind him as he performed various of stunts. I barely did anything myself because of course I don¡¯t need to, nor I should, besides, I enjoyed watching him having fun. Fun¡¯s great.


    Amidst that, I often looked up at the sky, I was curious. Couldn¡¯t I fly up there? I wanted to see and feel how it would be up there. The marvelous sky, a sky one would always see when flying in a plane, from where you can see the land below stretching on the far horizon. But this time, it was a different world.


    A few minutes later, we were nearing back to where Mother was.


    ¡°I have almost drained most of my mana, let¡¯s get back.¡±


    Father said with fatigue clear on his face.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    I was feeling fine, sure I did feel a lot of mana being drained, but I haven¡¯t really felt anything significant, mostly just physical tiredness with all the physical activity I just did.


    It only took a moment and we arrived at the courtyard. Father landed back on the ground and took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.


    ¡°That was great. Honestly, it drains so much mana.¡±


    ¡°How was it, dear?¡± Mother approached father and rubbed the sweat off his face with a handkerchief.


    ¡°It was a pretty great exercise, and Estelia was exceptional. I found myself surprised at how she was able to keep up with me.¡±


    Mother turned towards me.


    ¡°Estelia, why are you still up there?¡± she asked cautiously.


    Indeed, I was still hovering in the air, looking up at the sky. It was still morning, and the natural wind was still a little cold. I still have plenty mana left, and when I say plenty, I meant a lot. With this, I can get a glimpse of this new world.


    I shifted my gaze to my mother and smiled.


    ¡°I would like to try something, so don¡¯t be afraid.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Daughter¡­?¡±


    ¡°This will be brief.¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 43: The View in the Sky

    The wind around me intensified to a great degree that it made my parents¡¯ hair snap in the air violently. I saw Rogan stepping forward as if going after me, he must be concerned about what I was intending to do.


    They¡¯ll be fine.


    Then I was propelled upward by the force of my winds, causing a single blast of powerful gale to scatter throughout the courtyard below me. I flew like a plane ascending, the wind crashing into my face. I conjured a colorless barrier to my eyes, like a goggle.


    With the amount of force and wind I was using, I was burning twice the amount of mana than earlier at a rapid rate. But I have calculated what should be calculated. If I reach a certain amount of consumption, I¡¯ll stop ascending.


    Just gonna hope no bird¡¯s going to hit me, that would suck.


    I looked down and how tiny everything had turned. The palace looked small and still shrinking, the city was at full view, truly a large city. I turned my body and saw the green distance. Right next to the wall was a large and shady forest, must be the Elgion forest, and another normal looking forest opposite of it.


    Then further was a vast expanse of seemingly endless land, I smiled as I beholden the view.


    Beautiful.


    Truly. I rarely able to enjoy this kind of view from a plane, but now I have complete clear view of the surroundings, I could appreciate the beauty of this world, how little of a glimpse this may be.


    Such a vast world, I could have had a leisure of traveling, discovering, adventuring, even for just a little. Just a casual tour. Everything was ripe for the taking and seeing.


    A new world... With that thought in mind, my smile turned somewhat sorrowful.


    My view changed suddenly as I was covered in white mist ¡ª it was the clouds. I slowed down. Now, I was around the middle level in terms of typical cloud heights, but hey this is already very high, I¡¯m like maybe around seven thousand feet? Not sure, didn¡¯t really count, nor was I very knowledgeable about clouds, like come on, they¡¯re clouds¡­


    I halted, now only hovering high up in the sky. The forceful wind in this high sky pushing me, only mostly resisted by my own wind. I took a gently breath, watching the world before me.


    I genuinely wanted to go out there in peace, anywhere. But I cannot yet, not with threats beyond my palace walls. How regretful, truly regretful. I wanted a little leeway, just a little, to do whatever I want. It was what I wished, perhaps do what normal people do. At least that looked safer and more comfortable than the usual one.


    However¡­ even though now my life changed, I was still so limited. It felt like I cannot take another step towards the path I wanted to taste. If I did, I would be slain¡­ It¡¯s irritating¡­ stressful to think about. I just want to relax.


    But not yet¡­


    Even so¡­


    For now, let me enjoy this moment of tranquility.


    I flew within the clouds, my winds scattering them. It was fun. I¡¯m almost like a kid, am I? Now that¡¯s embarrassing.


    But hey, still fun. It felt cold, but that¡¯s not enough to stop me.


    But amidst all my leisurely flight, my head suddenly felt weird and the surroundings in my eyes distorted for a moment.


    ¡°What¡­?¡±


    I suddenly felt dizzy, and my wind weakened. Now unstable, I began to descend.


    What happened? Did I overdo it?


    I was certain I was casting the spell perfectly and I have been mindful with my mana. So, what could cause this? Damn, everything¡¯s hazy.


    I was gaining speed as I fell from the sky. What the hell happened?


    Was it my blood pressure? No way, I¡¯m still way too young¡­


    My eyes felt heavy. I still cannot tell what caused this, but this was still not enough to knock me out.


    I cast the barrier on my eyes again and turned to face downward and spread my limbs. Not so different from skydiving, except I don¡¯t have a parachute. Fun fact, you can skydive without a parachute ¡ª okay, not a suitable time to joke around when I feel dizzy.


    Judging it was the right time, I turned my body upward and burst out as much wind as I could.


    ¡°¡ª Ngh!¡±


    For some reason, my head was feeling a lot worse. No way, are they connected? No, impossible, I was doing completely fine earlier, so what could be the cause¡­


    My wind fluctuated, but I forced them back. Dammit, my magic was a mess, the weaving was horrible. I am doing my best, but it¡¯s not resulting in what I wanted.


    This was going to be a rough landing. But I¡¯ll live. Maybe a little bruise, but that can be healed. My limbs trembled, not because I was afraid, but because I was using as much strength as I could muster.


    Almost there¡­


    My descent slowed down, but I would certainly still get hurt. Just then, my father appeared below me and sent his wind towards me, prompting my descent to slow down. Slowly and gently, he caught me in his arms.


    ¡°Estelia!¡±


    ¡°Father¡­ Thank you, that was close.¡±


    ¡°Estelia, why did you do that?¡±


    His eyes were stern, but I only formed a strained smile.


    ¡°It was beautiful, father¡­ Truly¡­¡±


    I can lose consciousness now, right? I¡¯m safe. And I don¡¯t feel so good. I also don¡¯t want to be scolded right now. Yeah, they would surely scold me.


    ¡°You don¡¯t look well. Drained mana wouldn¡¯t do this¡­ so what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Yeah, you wouldn¡¯t weaken this much when drained of mana. If that was the case, I would feel just a little fatigued, and not to this extent.


    ¡°... I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    I still have plenty of mana left, so¡­ I wonder. Could it be¡­?


    ¡°Father¡­ can I sleep?¡±


    ¡°Sleep?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sleepy.¡±


    He returned to the ground.


    ¡°... Alright, sleep. We¡¯ll talk when you wake up.¡±


    Guess there¡¯s no escaping this one. Damn, I don¡¯t really feel good, not like when I was raging my mana though, that was worse. I just felt dizzy like I just spun around. I could have remained standing even though difficult, but I¡¯m feeling comfortable right now.


    So, goodnight.


    ***


    I slowly opened my eyes to see a familiar ceiling, my room. A second time I fell to self-inflicted fainting. What a relief I didn¡¯t dream this time, dreams suck, they were never good. The thought dreaming about something that involves the Professors, the first and the second, was dreadful.


    The second was shitty. And the first one was equally¡­ no¡­ never mind.


    I cast side the sheet covering me and took a deep breath after sitting up.


    ¡°Milady¡­¡±


    I failed to notice Mera was there, dammit¡­ I guess when you¡¯re in a comfortable environment, you just lower your guard¡­


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    Mera stood up from the chair at the nearby small round table and walked towards me. She crouched down and looked at my eyes.


    ¡°Do you still feel unwell?¡±


    ¡°Mera¡­ what are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°My apologies, milady¡­¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize, I¡¯m only asking.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ I was ordered to watch over you.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    I stood up and walked over to the window, drawing the curtains open. It was already dark.


    ¡°So, you¡¯ve been with me since morning?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    I turned to look at her now standing while facing me. I could see fatigue in her eyes. She may have been perhaps sitting there, but waiting was also exhausting, in more ways than one.


    ¡°Did you have lunch?¡±


    She slightly smiled.


    ¡°Yes, Vernon brought me my meal here.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t switch places?¡±


    ¡°It was decided it would be proper for another female to watch you in your personal quarters, given that you are a lady, and the princess. Furthermore, it was taken that you would be more comfortable that way if you wake up.¡±


    I wouldn¡¯t really mind it if it would be Vernon or Rogan, but if that¡¯s what they thought, I have no problem with that. It would be problematic if it were a stranger to me, but my family wouldn¡¯t be that idiotic.


    ¡°I see¡­ It¡¯s good you got to have meal. I was concerned there for a moment. Missing one¡¯s meal is not so delightful.¡±


    She looked down as if embarrassed, but I could see a tiny smile on her face.


    ¡°You were concerned?¡±


    ¡°... Yes¡­?¡±


    She looked at me, weirdly. How do I describe it? Like her soul was about to jump out of her eyes. It¡¯s just weird. Almost like she wants to jump at me¡­ Okay¡­ I¡¯m getting a different vibe from this, a not so safe vibe.


    What could cause this? No wait, she¡¯s been here for basically like the entire day. Just the two of us. She could stare at me uninterrupted for hours. Who knows what has been going on in her head!? Fuuuuck¡­ what have I done?! I caused those feelings!


    ¡°M-Mera, are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Eh! Uh¡­¡± She shifted her eyes away. ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡±


    I¡¯m worried, not for anyone, but for myself. I teased her too far.


    ¡°Really? Okay¡­ Um, you can tell everyone, and have Vernon tell my parents I¡¯m awake. After that, take a proper rest.¡±


    ¡°B-But I¡¯m fine, milady. I don¡¯t particularly feel tired.¡±


    No, it¡¯s not your physical body that needs resting, it¡¯s your mind!


    ¡°I insist. For your health. Rest early for tonight so you can serve me at your best tomorrow.¡±


    She looked down again, expressing hesitation.


    ¡°As you wish¡­ milady.¡±


    With that, she stepped out of the room. When the room settled, I sighed.


    I looked at my hand then I went to the mirror.


    ¡°Did she do something to me? No, I would have woken up if something touched me amidst a comfortable sleep. And Mera wouldn¡¯t be that bold as to do something while I¡¯m sleeping¡­¡±


    If she did! If she did ¨C NO ONE DOES ANYTHING TO ME THAT WAY! NO ONE!


    Only did I realized that I have raised my fist to slam into the desk.


    ¡°Haaaah.¡±


    After the sigh, I retracted my hand.


    I took a deep breath.


    Memories¡­ Memories¡­ Touching¡­ Vulnerable¡­ Unable to do anything¡­ Never wished, never knew, never expected¡­


    Strange¡­ Why am I more affected by¡­ I shouldn¡¯t be this¡­¡­. Psychological changes¡­


    I do tease¡­ but to touch me without permission¡­ something like that, something in that way, I cannot allow. Oh god, I¡¯m getting sensitive¡­ like what happened plenty of times ever since I came here¡­ my reactions have become more sensitive¡­ emotional reactions.


    ¡°Stop it¡­ Stop thinking¡­¡±


    Nothing happened.


    I tried convincing myself.


    I stared at my own reflection, it looked back at me with a strong yet cold gaze. I¡¯m changing¡­ That being said, I don¡¯t like being touched without consent or my will¡­ A casual touch was fine, but something else¡­ I don¡¯t like it.


    This never affected me this much before¡­


    Estelia¡­ Were you ever this sensitive?


    No point in rejecting this. I am Estelia¡­ I am also Rena¡­ I have a part of Estelia, I have a part of Rena.


    Still, weird that I feel to be the dominant one ¡ª the Rena part.


    I still cannot wrap my head around this¡­ Whatever. Honesty to oneself is often the greatest delight one could feel. However, I need to mentally train myself. This wasn¡¯t a good part, I still believe my past self the best part. Even if psychological changes occur, I need to try to return to my old mentality. Being this sensitive was not pleasant.


    I just raged there for a moment after all. If there was evidence that Mera did something unwanted to me¡­ I don¡¯t know what would happen. She may be a precious subordinate, but some things cannot be tolerated.


    This characteristic of mine may not be thought of much within the organization, but to people outside, we would be described as wicked and heartless. Take that how you will. Although, it was annoying to hear that. Like, fuck off, leave us alone.


    In any case, I need to avoid any sudden outbursts¡­ not healthy, I had better control of my grievances, never let it show, nor let it grow.


    ¡°Right¡­¡±


    This was only a minor setback, and only a minor occurrence, and minor recollection.


    I was broken off from my cycle of thoughts by multiple knockings on the door. I fixed my hair and checked my appearance at the mirror before heading for the door.


    ¡°Vernon.¡±


    ¡°Princess, dinner will be held shortly, your parents want you to head straight to the dining room.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡±


    I said with a neutral expression.


    ¡°Had Mera taken a rest?¡±


    ¡°Yes, she has gone to their quarters.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­ I¡¯ll be going.¡±


    I¡¯m already expecting to have an earful.


    ***


    Mera was relieved of a heavy weight in her chest that she was enduring most of the day. Collapsing on the bed, she snatched one of the pillows from the back of her head, hugging it tightly as she gazed up at the ceiling.


    Watching the princess was a strenuous task, despite doing nothing else but watch. Her heartbeat rose as she recalled what happened.


    ¡°Nnnnnn¡­!¡±


    She squirmed with the pillow in her arms, rubbing her face into its softness. She hid the redness of her cheeks. The princess was so vulnerable as she laid on the bed, and her beauty was for Mera to behold as she delighted.


    And that made things difficult.


    But that wasn¡¯t the worst part.


    ¡°... By the gods¡­ what was I attempting to do?¡±


    Along the way, she almost succumbed to temptation. Her heart shouted, and her mind forced her. She recalled standing up from her chair and walked over the side of the princess¡¯s bed.


    She kneeled beside it and stared closely at the princess. From the hair on her forehead, to her closed eyes, and then lastly¡­ her lips.


    How she wanted to touch her at that time. She recalled holding out her hand, about to stroke the princess¡¯s cheek, but she hesitated and retracted. But that did not erase the stirring warmth and emotion in her chest.


    She recalled the face of the sleeping princess.


    And she recalled the moment she moved her face close to the princess¡¯s and looked at her lips with a strong gaze. Mera¡¯s lips moved closer. She was about to kiss the princess.


    When their lips were only a couple of inches apart, Mera realized the transgression she was about to commit and pulled herself back.


    Mera squirmed again and turned on her bed.


    ¡°... I was trying to do that? How could I?¡± she muttered quietly. ¡°I was about to take advantage of her¡­¡±


    She felt remorse. If she didn¡¯t hold herself back, she would have committed an unforgivable sin. It was so hard to hold back her desire that the entire time watching the princess from a distance was tremendously exhausting.


    ¡°I¡¯m an idiot¡­¡±


    Idiot¡­


    If she got carried away, the princess might have hated her. As a woman herself, Mera understood how one would feel if someone suddenly did something like that to someone vulnerable.


    When the princess woke up, Mera was feeling shy and tensed in that short amount of time, remembering what she was about to do. And truth be told, she was glad she could let off some steam now. The princess was kind enough to let her rest. Thinking that fact, Mera involuntarily smiled.


    The door opened.


    ¡°Mera? You¡¯re here early. And what¡¯s with your posture? Fix yourself, you look like a child.¡±


    Mera furrowed her brows at the harsh words directed at her.


    ¡°Macey¡­ what¡¯s wrong with my posture? I¡¯m only laying on my bed.¡±


    Macey, her fellow maid, flipped her hair.


    ¡°It¡¯s unbecoming of a lady of your household.¡±


    ¡°This is not a formal setting.¡±


    ¡°True, but at least don¡¯t casually display your legs while on your bed. You should have a little decency as a woman.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes, right.¡±


    Mera moved her skirt down to properly cover her legs. She didn¡¯t even realize her legs were exposed all that time.


    Macey walked towards her bed and gently sat down at the side.


    ¡°I notice something from your face, are you agitated?¡±


    ¡°No not really.¡±


    ¡°... You¡¯re here earlier than expected.¡±


    Mera was thankful that Macey didn¡¯t press further with that specific question. If Ellie was here, and especially just the two of them, she would have pushed Mera to share what she was feeling and thinking.


    ¡°Her highness ordered me to rest.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°I finished early. Although I must admit, I may have rushed a little. I¡¯m feeling more tired today than usual¡­ I did sleep a little late.¡±


    Mera smiled.


    ¡°That¡¯s unbecoming of a lady, Macey.¡±


    ¡°Hmph! I know that. I just couldn¡¯t stop thinking about someone.¡±


    ¡°Someone?¡±


    ¡°When I was assigned to clean the outside of the palace, I met Alan¡­ and we had a pleasant chat.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t tell us that¡­¡±


    ¡°I was hesitant to tell you¡­ Anyhow, how I miss our casual conversation together. He seemed to enjoy it too, which is a relief. I feared that he has disliked my company, which was a mistake.¡±


    Mera gazed up and thought about Macey¡¯s feelings about that knight. Macey would often share lovely moments and much more about this knight named Alan. She also liked romance stories, so when she read a book about it, she would tell them enthusiastically about it in a lot of details, that anyone intending to read that book would be spoiled of the story. Even so, she does not know how to hold back.


    ¡°Macey, you love him, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°... Huh? I, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you confess your feelings?¡±


    Macey¡¯s eyes widened for a moment before avoiding Mera¡¯s eyes and pursed her lips.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Why are you hesitating? You are friends since childhood, aren¡¯t you? You¡¯ve been together for a long time, know each other deeply. I don¡¯t see the reason for not confessing your feelings now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because¡­ I¡¯m scared, Mera.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re friends since childhood, and that makes me more afraid. If I confess my feelings, I fear he might reject me¡­ And that¡¯s not all¡­ I¡¯m afraid that after I confess, we won¡¯t be the same anymore.¡±


    ¡°You doubt your love would not be requited? Why?¡±


    ¡°Alan¡­ he doesn¡¯t seem to see me anything as special¡­ I have always looked specially at him, I love watching him, but he doesn¡¯t seem to look at me the same way.¡±


    ¡°... I see.¡±


    The knight gives no sign of having a special feeling for Macey¡­


    Mera thought.


    ¡°Let¡¯s top talking about this, Mera. It makes me anxious.¡±


    ¡°I understand¡­ Then, Ellie, you seen her? I expected you would be together even though you finished earlier than usual.¡±


    That¡¯s because Ellie always finishes way earlier. She always does her work fast.


    ¡°She¡¯s on cooking duty for our meal tonight, remember?¡±


    Maids cycled on who would cook their meal every day, they wouldn¡¯t normally be provided food from the royal chef, except for special occasions or a surplus. Plus, some maids were still excellent cooks.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right¡­¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t exactly blame you if you often forget about the switching, being a personal maid and all.¡±


    ¡°Yes. I always get my meal for special servants.¡±


    ¡°In any case, we should check if they¡¯re done. Or come hang out with us, it has been a while. We can talk more as we watch Ellie cook.¡±


    Mera nodded her head with a smile.


    ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go.¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 44: Visitors

    It had been a somewhat tiring few months ¡ª no wait, not somewhat, but exceedingly tiring! What a fancy, word¡­ exceedingly... I have been training really, reeaaallyyy hard, just to prepare for this upcoming festival. I have been lying low, time to go higher.


    We have eight days before the great festival! To be honest, I¡¯m quite excited. I didn¡¯t get to enjoy festivals much in my old life¡­ Well, rarely did I even get to be around a festival. That aside, a couple of days ago I received the new outfits made by Mervizo, the tailor, and along with the girl from last time, Kali.


    The outfits were stored in a box, and beneath all of those was the outfit I designed. We didn¡¯t speak anything about the special outfit, but he did wink at me with a grin. Once I checked it out in my room, with I alone and during the night, he really did improve it.


    Like, wow! Mervizo! It was¡ª mwah! Chef kiss! Amazing! He¡¯s as reliable as ever. Truly beautiful!


    That aside, I presume Vernon still had no idea about it. Oops.


    Anyway¡­ Want to see it? Heh, only when the time¡¯s right.


    As for the dresses I would get to wear during the festival, they were beautiful as well. Quite fancy and flamboyant, I should say. He didn¡¯t seem to hold back in designing and expressing his designs. Like wow, I¡¯ll stand out in those, counting my beauty of course.


    Moving on, I have visitors coming today. And I when I say I, I mean truly for me. A surprise, isn¡¯t it? Who would visit a beautiful princess such as me? My cousin? Well¡­ not her.


    I was on my way to the guests¡¯ room with my usual gang. Father was said to be there already, so I shouldn¡¯t dawdle.


    Eventually I arrived at my destination. When I entered, I gathered the attention of multiple pair of eyes, three to be precise. One of them was my own father seated down on a one soft chair while facing the two other people sitting on the couches, they must be discussing something before I came.


    One of the two figures on the couch was a girl in her teens, black hair, and dark purple eyes looking at me widely. The girl wore a fancy white garb with golden embroidery all over.


    Then for the other was a woman in her early twenties, her dark eyes looked at me disinterestedly, pretty in contrast to the other female. She had long black hair and a light complexion.


    She wore clothes like someone from the church, but hers differed a little. Hers was more fit and expressed her exquisite physique. I find it surprising that their outfits varied.


    Her beauty was fine¡­ but her blank face was almost worrisome. It almost reminded me of myself, which was not good. It¡¯s hard to tell people¡¯s feeling if they look that emotionless.


    And she was indifferent to my arrival, to my beautiful form! Like wow¡­ At least the other female human being had a reaction.


    ¡°My daughter, good you have come. Sit.¡±


    I entered inside with only Rogan with me, as Vernon held back Mera from entering and stayed outside after the door was closed. I sat down on the sofa opposite of the two holy persons, while Rogan stood behind me.


    I sat on the sofa with a straight back, poised and regal as I looked at the two visitors before shifting my eyes to Father.


    ¡°Allow me to introduce to you the two priestesses that will be the core part of your security, as requested. The High Bishop specifically sent them as they are one of the most dependable in the order.


    ¡°This one here is Tina, and the other is Astine.¡±


    He pointed with his hand at the younger girl, then to the older one, respectively.


    ¡°Nice to meet you¡­I am Estelia.¡±


    I slowly lifted my hand forward towards them to have a handshake. As one would probably expect, Astine shook my hands with no hesitation, as the other one hesitated. Astine¡¯s hand had some roughness in them, suggesting she could be working a lot physically.


    Well, they should be fighter themselves.


    We let go and shifted my hands towards the other young woman, Tina, and held out my hand in front of her. She shook my hand gently. Her hand was smoother than Astine.


    We let go.


    ¡°I look forward to us working together.¡±


    ¡°It is an honor, princess.¡±


    Astine said with a slight bow of the head, still wearing that indifferent facial expression. Damn, not easy to tell what she¡¯s thinking. Tina was easier, she¡¯s a bit restless, staring at me with a surprise. At least that I can tell emotions, but Astine, it was just blank.


    ¡°Now then, daughter, tell them your plan.¡±


    I turned my head to my father, surprised.


    ¡°Me? I thought you have briefed them.¡±


    He shook his head.


    ¡°I figured it would be best you take it from here.¡±


    Come on, father¡­ What are you trying to do here? Ugh. Fine.


    ¡°Alright¡­¡± I faced the pair. ¡°You will be guarding me, along with a small team, just small, perhaps around six will be fine. But I prefer they be competent.¡±


    ¡°You have no need to worry, your highness.¡± Astine said. ¡°I believe you will find us reliable in times of danger. However, I will prepare strong individual for your security.¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡­ Then, you will be hiding amongst the crowd whenever I go out in public. Wear civilian clothing, act as how a normal civilian would be. In short, you are going incognito. Simple, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Astine nodded.


    ¡°Two main objectives. First, to protect me from any danger that my personal guards would be hard pressed to fight. Second, driving our enemies out into the open, meaning I will be bait.¡±


    For the first time, there was a little shift of expression on Astine, she seemed to be actually surprised.


    ¡°You would use yourself as bait?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I have faith you will protect me.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°If they expose themselves as they try to take me out, expect chaos. Civilian casualties may be inevitable, but I hope we¡¯ll suffer no losses. This is only if the second objective goes through. After all, there is only two ¡ª no, three outcomes.¡±


    I stuck out three fingers.


    ¡°First,¡± I lowered one finger. ¡°They take the bait, and we capture them. Don¡¯t kill them, capture. May be difficult, but we must.¡± I lowered another finger. ¡°Second, they don¡¯t show up, which would be weird, and one I would be displeased with. This may render our efforts and plans useless, but better safe than sorry.¡±


    I lowered the last finger.


    ¡°Third outcome, all else fails. I die, and they succeed in their mission. You could either capture a few or one, but I imagine it would be pointless in the end. For me at least. I won¡¯t even get to feel anything once I¡¯m dead.¡±


    Or I may get another life, who knows. But I wouldn¡¯t take my chances.


    ¡°See? Simple. No need for any complicated plots. Simplicity is best. Ah, if they do attack, best to take out the elves first, one way or another.¡±


    Elves were crazy, they would be willing to kill their allies and end their own lives.


    ¡°I have given you the main points of the plan. I will leave everything else to you, as you will be assembling the team and know their capabilities. We can discuss in depth when the festival is closer, and the team finalized.¡±


    Astine nodded her head, showing that she understood what I was trying to say.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s done, I would like to ask you of your abilities. That way I¡¯ll at least know how capable you are and what you can do, might help if everything goes down.¡±


    Astine shifted her eyes to look at my father, seemingly asking for permission, on which Father nodded his head.


    ¡°I understand, princess. Ask away.¡±


    ¡°So, how do you fight? Bladed weapons? Or martial arts?¡±


    ¡°... I mainly use a spear, so I fight in close combat. I am also proficient in hand-to-hand combat.¡±


    ¡°Magic?¡±


    ¡°I use the magic we in the order use¡­¡± she paused for a moment. ¡°As for other kinds of magic, Tina is talented in support magic.¡±


    ¡°Support magic? May I ask what consists of support magic?¡±


    I faced Tina, she composed herself, her face now wearing a neutral look, as if she was trained to do just that. I wonder why she didn¡¯t just do that in the first place, well, this wasn¡¯t exactly a dangerous place to hide one¡¯s emotion. Maybe Astine was the weird one after all.


    ¡°I mainly focus on assisting my allies, healing them, casting barrier, and cast to them spells that will be helpful in various situations.¡±


    I noticed something when they were explaining to me their abilities. Their choice of words was¡­ vague. Not much of any specifics. I see, they didn¡¯t want to tell much of their skills.


    Astine didn¡¯t even tell or mention precisely what kind of magic their order use. Maybe I could ask for specifics, but they intended to hide them in the first place, given they were vague.


    Hm, best not to earn their ire, no matter how small they may be. No point in learning any of their specific spells anyway, I already have the spells from the royal grimoire in my head. Also, I may be able to ask father later.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°I see. I¡¯m satisfied with what you told me. I will be relying on you during the festival.¡±


    ***


    It was only a brief meeting, perhaps that was why they didn¡¯t send a very important person such as the High Bishop or something. No, they were important enough to become representatives. Well, us meeting each other was particularly important, especially so I¡¯ll get an idea who they were.


    And they seemed reliable enough, I think. I don¡¯t know really, but they should be strong. I still haven¡¯t forgotten the time they failed last time after I gave them the chance to catch the enemy. But nothing can be done about it now, damned elves were crazy.


    Oryn didn¡¯t seem that crazy¡­ was he? Well he did attempt to kill me in the middle of an enemy base.


    In any case, let¡¯s just see how things will turn out.


    Security would likely be thick and strict in the upcoming festival with a royalty from another kingdom coming, whom could be arriving in the next couple of days. Yeah, that princess from Myra, the one my eldest brother was close with accepted the invitation and coming our way.


    Not exactly thrilled about it, don¡¯t hate it either. But to be honest, I¡¯m quite curious. As a fellow princess of a kingdom, it should be interesting to meet a counterpart. Needless to say I have to prepare for the envoy to come¡­ Whatever.


    I¡¯m looking forward to the festival by the way. I¡¯m finally getting out once in a while. That being said, I fear that my revealing myself to the public I would get involved in the kingdom¡¯s politics ¡ª well I have already revealed myself to the nobles¡¯ meeting. I might be involved already. Don¡¯t worry, I did that knowing the possible repercussions ¡ª I just don¡¯t mind it that much yet, I¡¯ll just do what needed to be done when the time comes.


    Good thing politics here don¡¯t involve killing royalty. The nobles both respect and fear the ruler of the kingdom. More on the respect I assume. This kingdom was more like nobles ascending the rank, and if too many were already at the top the ones beneath would drag down those at the top. Not many get to be successful.


    Yeah, I suppose nobles also get demoted and promoted. The ones hard to demote were the ones in the capital, however. Especially the ones close to the royals. I¡¯m not really a juicy one for the nobles to get close with, so I guess I¡¯m safe.


    At the moment, I was making my way to my eldest brother¡¯s office.


    When I arrived, I left my servants outside and entered inside. Now it was just the three of us. Eleden, Lucious, and I.


    ¡°Sister, I¡¯m surprised you visited.¡±


    ¡°Well, I have a reason to be here¡­¡±


    I glanced up at Lucious before going ahead to sit down on the chair in front of the desk.


    ¡°So, brother, are you feeling excited?¡±


    ¡°... For what?¡±


    ¡°Well, your friend from another kingdom is coming.¡±


    ¡°Friend, huh?¡± he giggled. ¡°Yes, if I¡¯m to be honest, I am excited.¡±


    ¡°What kind of person is she? Should I be careful?¡±


    ¡°She is a kind person, Estelia. You have nothing to worry about. Just act as yourself, and you¡¯ll be fine. She is very friendly, so you two should get along just fine.¡±


    ¡°... I hope so¡­ Have you made any plan what you¡¯ll be doing this festival?¡±


    ¡°I did make a plan. Touring, watching events, dinner for just the two of us¡­ As for other else, I suppose I¡¯ll just go with the flow. She is also trained as a knight, so I imagine she¡¯ll be pleased to see our knights.¡±


    I heard that before. But damn. She¡¯s a knight¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised she is the princess and yet she is trained as a knight.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s in their tradition, knighthood is essentially the identity of their kingdom.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ She must be an impressive person then.¡±


    ¡°Is something bothering you, sister?¡±


    ¡°N-No, I¡¯m just a bit anxious to meet another princess. And our values and way of living is different¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­ Just relax. You don¡¯t have to force yourself to be directly friendly with her. Just take it slow. I have told stories about you, so she should have an expectation when she meets you.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡±


    Woah woah, don¡¯t just go telling about me to anyone!


    ¡°So, is there anything else you are worried about?¡±


    ¡°.. Um no¡­¡± I looked at Lucious again, on which he grew puzzled. ¡°I came here for Lucious.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°Him?¡±


    I took a deep breath and stood up from my chair.


    ¡°...Um¡­¡± I rubbed my hands together gently. ¡°About your offer, Lucious¡­ For the festival¡­ I¡­¡±


    I looked at him directly in the eyes, he was eagerly waiting for what I was going to say. He was almost leaning forward. My brother remained silent as he seemed to not want to miss any of my words.


    ¡°I¡­ I would like to take you up on your offer¡­ Um, let¡¯s go out together sometime in the festival.¡±


    Both Lucious and Eleden¡¯s eyes widened as if their eyes would pop out of their sockets. They almost seemed to gasp as they looked at each other in disbelief.


    ¡°R-Really? Truly?¡± Lucious asked as if asking for a confirmation.


    ¡°Truly.¡±


    ¡°Ha-ha!¡± he smiled ears to ears, his short laugh was loud with joy. His face so bright with life and happiness. ¡°Yes¡ª Ahem, thank you so much for accepting my offer, Estelia.¡±


    I smiled shyly and lowered my head, my cheeks red.


    ¡°Mm. Then, that is all I came for¡­ Um, see you.¡± I said to Lucious.


    ¡°Y-Yes, see you.¡±


    With that I left timidly out of the room.


    You heard me right, I decided to give him a chance. I also sort of wanted to try it. Not for romance, but for a genuine joyous experience.


    ***


    Three days later, the palace was in a fuss, nervousness was written on several servants¡¯ faces as they scrambled around, making sure nothing was amiss. Before this day however, everybody was already cleaning and fixing the hell out of the palace, despite the fact that there was nothing wrong with it in the first place.


    As for the reason today was different was because a messenger arrived in advance that the princess from another kingdom sent. The messenger arrived way early in the morning, and thus, I had to wake up earlier than usual.


    Good thing they sent a messenger first, well it should be done whenever a diplomat was about to arrive anyway. Proper procedures.


    I have to bathe early and change into a fancy dress.


    Mera as usual tied my hair, which was getting longer and longer. Good thing my long hair would not affect my height ¡ª yeah, long hair does not affect growth! My hair gets longer, I also get taller. Yes, I¡¯m still growing! I feel it and see it, don¡¯t doubt me ¡ª seriously I am slowly growing.


    ¡°Milady, your hair is becoming longer and longer, might I be so bold to suggest we have it cut later on?¡±


    Mera suggested, she must be concerned that it would be more difficult to move with this long precious hair of mine. But I like my hair long¡­


    ¡°No, I prefer it this way.¡±


    ¡°If you say so.¡±


    She tied my hair with a little bun on the back of my head and let the rest flow down, to compensate for its length. Then she braided the rest of my loose hair. I¡¯ll let the little bun be since it helps shorten my hair even for just a little.


    Mera applied makeup on my face, but I urged her to apply it as light as possible. I¡¯m already very beautiful, to be honest, makeup might just soil my appearance. There are other beautiful women out there, naturally beautiful, and goodness when they apply makeup, they begin to look like shit. I suppose sometimes natural beauty triumphs. Or maybe because the makeup was just too thick, heh.


    Anyways! I¡¯m satisfied with a slight makeup, my natural beauty will carry me.


    This was just an early preparation, so I lingered in my room until I was called.


    It wouldn¡¯t take that long because since the messenger first arrived, I had used plenty of time to prepare.


    ¡°Haaah¡­¡±


    I tapped my finger on the wooden table. The sound. I have been practicing on how to produce sound for my alternative flash bang. But imitating sound was a bit tricky. But I was doing well, I believe. Sound is a vibration in the air. So, I just need to move the air molecules or something.


    Flash bang has science-based explosion and imitating it through magic was easier said than done. I need a burst of deafening sound. And that¡¯s what I have been practicing. Replicating chemical reactions with magic was complicated, magic and science two different things. Once I figure out how things work, casting that sound spell from the grimoire wouldn¡¯t take too long and along with it producing a sound for the flash bang.


    ¡°Princess, it¡¯s time to go.¡±


    My thoughts were interrupted by Vernon.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    I made my way to the palace entrance along with my knight, Rogan. For the other two servants they¡¯ll be staying behind. Rogan was more essential than them and bringing a personal knight in greeting a diplomat was all right. Here in the kingdom at least. I don¡¯t know about others.


    I met with my brother Estevan on the way, wearing a formal outfit, and quite fancy. Majorly white clothes and golden embroidery at the seams. His hair was combed neatly, and his face clean.


    Looking good, brother!


    I on the other hand wore a purple and golden dress with a long sleeve, and a skirt that reached above the ankle. Then boots with the same color scheme. Gotta have that uniformed and matched set of outfit.


    We arrived at the entrance, and mother, father, and Eleden was already there. I observed Eleden, particularly him since he was a fling with that princess. He looked a bit nervous, fixing his collar and checking up his clothes.


    Truly, men acting like that was amusing. Estevan on the other hand seemed pretty casual. This guy really needs to get some romance. Honestly, sometimes Estevan felt mature and immature at the same time.


    While we stood at the sidewalk, waiting for our visitor to arrive, a sound of a loud horn came blaring. The visitors were coming to the gates.


    Alright, let¡¯s get this over with.


    A short while later, a group of Wisterian knights in full set of armor were leading the way at the frontmost of the convoy, they must have been sent when we received the message to meet with the envoys in advance.


    The convoy consisted of three total carriages, with one being the most lavish of them all, with the two that have similar design were second only to it. The most lavish and extravagant, the one at the center, was an intricately carved and designed carriage with the color of platinum and gold. Truly, that would catch everyone¡¯s eyes.


    I can imagine that was where the princess was riding in. Honestly, why do these royalties love to be the most distinguished amongst others. Assassins would be thanking you for showing where the fuck you at and saving us a lot of time. We could just blow it to hell to make things easier, but more conspicuous, but you get the idea. We of course need some sort of confirmation but that¡¯s also beside the point.


    However, if this was the means to deceive assassins, that would be good. Well, we¡¯ll find out if she¡¯s really there.


    As for the other carriages, there must be knights in there or officials. There were also knights on horses donning a full set of armor. Eye catching designs, but our knights had more style. Hey, I¡¯m proud of my own nation.


    Our knights on the walkways fixed their postures even more and stiffened up the moment the carriages grew nearer. By the side of our palace doors were two men on each side, hoisting up a flagpole, waving the two countries¡¯ flags. One was our own, the flower wisteria in the center with streaks of purple and red on the sides, and the other was the flag of Myra, a single flower of pink with a shade of blue, and a sword and a shield on each of its side.


    Both our kingdom¡¯s flag had flowers on them. Hm. One would have thought we were already close in the beginning since we are technically neighbors though distant, but we have only started nurturing and strengthening our relationship.


    The central carriage stopped right before us, meaning the princess would be there indeed. Eeeeh, assassination prevention fail. I could have just fired a lightning bolt at it, perhaps several times subsequently, high chance of killing her.


    No wait, why am I simulating assassination attempts now? Silly me.


    The door opened and came out a knight with an armor in the color of onyx. He had a brown skin on the lighter side, brown eyes, and a short dark hair. Good looking man that seemed to be around in his early twenties. A sword was dangling on his waist, sheathed in a black scabbard.


    He looked at us with a kind smile, and he stopped his eyes at me for a second with interest. But he instantly continued and extended his hand towards the door, and a fair skinned hand came out to accept it.


    A glamorous heeled shoe stepped on the carriage steps, the edge of the dress¡¯s skirt revealed. I watched closely with an innocent expression as a beautiful figure came out of the carriage. Damn brother, really you¡­ Should I be proud? I think I should be.


    A golden-haired young woman in her late teens wore a somewhat simple yet extravagant white and blue dress. Her hair was just above her shoulders, her blue eyes were soft and tender, and smile so precious.


    Hmph, my smile is more precious, right? Come on, be on my side here.


    She walked forward with elegance befitting of a princess.


    My father stepped forward.


    ¡°Greetings to you, esteemed Princess of the Myra Kingdom, Lillie Eanthia Lionheart. I am Leodoule Erestro Wisteria, king of Wisteria, it is an immense pleasure to finally meet you.¡±


    Father didn¡¯t use our traditional greeting since she was from another nation. Also, our greeting involved our gods in it, no need to use it to someone from another country that could believe in another god.


    ¡°Your majesty, the pleasure is all mine. I am overjoyed to finally meet you. Although I was a little taken aback that you would personally greet me here.¡±


    She smiled kindly.


    ¡°Here in Wisteria, we greet our important visitors the moment they arrive, no matter our status may be.¡±


    ¡°I see. On behalf of my home kingdom, and from me personally, thank you. All of you, for greeting me personally on my arrival.¡±


    She curtsied.


    ¡°Truly, I did not expect. If it were in my home kingdom, the visitors would be brought to the throne room.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I heard. Now then, how about we enter inside. You must have yet to have a pleasant breakfast, we have prepared a banquet just for you, our esteemed guests.¡±


    ¡°Much appreciated.¡±


    ¡°Also, no need to worry about your knights, we have prepared meals for them as well.¡±


    ¡°Thank you ever so much, your majesty. I¡¯m sure they will be overjoyed to finally eat delicious food to their heart¡¯s content. Oh, may I bring my personal knight, Jaiden Redmoore, with me?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    The knight, Jaiden, bowed his head, before catching the eye Rogan. I caught a glimpse of Rogan giving a smug look, but still managing to look friendly. What¡¯s this? Maybe Rogan was feeling a little kinship or something.


    The foreign knight nodded back at him with a smile.


    I wonder who¡¯s stronger. This guy right here had a pretty unique suit of armor, completely different from the other knights they brought. Or personal knights of princesses in Myra have different armor? Or maybe he¡¯s one of those Exemplar Knights I heard about. I mean he looked important enough.


    The princess from another kingdom, Lillie, shifted her eyes to my eldest brother and her smile widened for a moment as they gazed at each other for a couple of seconds before we continued on, heading to the grand dining hall.


    I half expected they would try to do a little sweet thing, but I guess this was not the place for it.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 45: Dining With Foreigners, & And I An Anomaly?

    We were in a grand dining hall, the same one used when the nobles from the kingdom came to visit for the planning of the festival. Although this time there was no throne anywhere, and more decorations were placed all throughout the hall.


    The chandeliers weren¡¯t changed but wouldn¡¯t be necessary to change them in the first place as they already looked wonderful and intricate. The lamps on the walls, and the multiple chandeliers hanging on the ceiling brought light into the room, along with the opened window letting the sun¡¯s light and the morning breeze enter.


    An assorted number of foods were prepared and placed on the table, not only cooked by the chef, but also by the other servants who would also cook whenever a special occasion comes, so more like they were collaborating and didn¡¯t mean the chef¡¯s skills were put to doubt. The dishes were somewhat delicious. But there were some that were actually good. All for my taste that is.


    Father was sitting at the corner of the table, the seat of honor. On one side was mother closest to father, then next to her was me, then on my side was Estevan.


    All of us were around a couple of feet apart.


    On the other side were our guests, along with Eleden. With him nearest to Father and next to him was the princess from another country Lillie and was thus right in front of me. Then lastly was the knight, still wearing his armor. Quite a breach of etiquette actually, but I¡¯m not really that strict, nor do I mind.


    Hehe, not like I can do anything. I am but a meek princess, tolerative, and slow to anger. A passive character.


    We began our banquet and ate like royals. Gentle and elegant, very neat. Though yeah, a bit boring. Good thing there was a small group of musicians there! At least there¡¯s music making the atmosphere a little livelier. Using the instruments such as the one that¡¯s the same as a violin, a lute, then the one I used in my music lessons.


    ¡°What do you think of our traditional dishes?¡± my mother asked the guests.


    ¡°It was pleasantly fascinating, soft and on the sweeter side. Something I¡¯m not used to, but a welcome experience.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Now I am curious about your nation¡¯s cuisines. I have never been to any other nation.¡±


    ¡°If you wish, I can cook a few cuisines from my kingdom.¡±


    ¡°Truly? But I would not dare trouble you.¡±


    ¡°No, it is completely fine. Cooking is a trivial thing.¡±


    My mother chuckled. ¡°If you say so, I will not be holding you back. Feel free to tell me if you want to start cooking.¡±


    Wow a princess who knows how to cook, and quite confident about it¡­.


    I can cook by the way. Also I¡¯m good at it¡­ surely even I the princess of this kingdom won¡¯t be behind a foreigner¡­ Hmph!


    ¡°Of course, your majesty.¡±


    Princess Lillie shifted her eyes towards me. Her eyes narrowed as she smiled kindly at me.


    ¡°Hello, Princess Estelia¡­ I have been looking forward to meeting you.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­?¡± I said, a little timid. ¡°I have also been curious about you¡­¡±


    Damn, what should I talk about with her?


    ¡°... My eldest brother, Eleden, mentioned you a few times.¡±


    ¡°Gh¡­¡± Eledens seemed to almost choke drinking his glass of juice.


    ¡°My¡­¡± Lillie covered her lips with her hand. ¡°I wonder what those entailed.¡±


    ¡°He was quite enthusiastic talking about you¡­ he would smile ear to ear every time he describes you.¡±


    I saw a little blush on her cheek as Eleden beside her acted stiff. The knight on the other hand seemed unbothered about it. So nothing¡¯s going on, huh. That¡¯s good. Brother¡¯s good to continue with no obstruction.


    I¡¯m rooting for him of course.


    ¡°Ahem ¡ª of course, her highness princess Lillie is a wonderful person. Who would not speak positively about her?¡±


    ¡°Oh my¡­ I¡¯m flattered, Prince Eleden¡­¡±


    ¡°... Mm.¡±


    I expected they would act more casual, and not like this. But I suppose this was a formal setting so they couldn¡¯t exactly act the way they want.


    Should I stop? Naaaaah, this was amusing.


    To be honest, it¡¯s a bit hard to tease in this formal place, ugh.


    ¡°Ahem.¡±


    As I was thinking on what I should be speaking next with careful consideration, Mother cleared her throat quietly that I was able to hear just enough. I glanced at her and she smiled at me.


    Aaaaw, I need to stop? Come on.


    Can¡¯t do anything then¡­ And I was just getting started.


    I behaved myself and ate my meal slowly like a proper lady. Father then spoke with the princess.


    ¡°The festival is days away, so I hope we can keep you entertained until then. Eleden volunteered to manage that part. I assume a tour around the palace would be a start?¡±


    ¡°Yes, father¡­¡± Eleden replied.


    ¡°That will be remarkably interesting indeed. Oh, would it be all right to see your knights? As one from a kingdom that centered around knighthood, I am curious as to how knights are in another.¡±


    You might as well say you want to check on the capacity and ability of our knights. But of course, Father caught that. She could be sincere, but that still applied. That being said, we should be allies now so no need to be stingy. Besides, Eleden should have seen the capabilities of the knights in Myra first, so better see this as a fair trade.


    ¡°Of course. I would be interested what a princess like you would like to say. Which reminds me, you also know swordsmanship?¡±


    ¡°I have been trained since I was young. Truth be told, it was more obligatory than voluntarily. However, I did not train as hard as my other siblings, so I might be a little lacking.¡±


    ¡°You are still better than an average knight, princess.¡±


    The knight suddenly chimed in.


    ¡°I may be. But there are people stronger than me. Although, I suppose being able to fight is important than not, especially in our nation that favors knighthood.¡±


    Sounds like a tough place to live compared here where we are pretty casual about stuff. We have more leeway in what we wanted to be. Like Eleden who was a prince, but unable to fight like a knight, but focused himself more on diplomacy.


    Estevan who¡¯s more brawns than brains, no ¡ª he would rather use swords than use his brain in diplomatic and office stuff, I could imagine him agonize when he starts being diplomatic. I mean, look at him now! He has not spoken at all!


    While me on the other hand, was useless in summary. Not like it bothered me. I would rather not do anything than do a thing if you get my drip. But of course things didn¡¯t go my way.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°I see. Then feel free to visit the knights training ground if you decide to visit. You can consult Eleden if you need it, he will guide you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Father nodded his head then shifted his eyes to the knight. ¡°Sir Jaiden, am I correct to assume you¡¯re one of the Exemplar knights?¡±


    ¡°Your majesty, there is no need to add Sir, my name alone is sufficient given that you are a monarch and I merely a knight. But to answer your question, yes. I am the commander of the 7th Legion.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Truly I am thrilled to meet a fellow warrior, a knight who is renowned as one of the best in their nation. The princess surely found herself a dependable guard and escort.¡±


    ¡°It is rare to send one of our royals to another nation for a formal visit. We saw it fitting to send a renowned knight to guard her. No, this might be the first in a long, long while.¡±


    So they don¡¯t normally send royals to other countries ¡ª well duh, they¡¯re royals, no one would send an important person for any trivial reason. They normally send an envoy for that kind of stuff.


    But I suppose this time was different with the Empire at our doorstep. Honestly, politics never change, world leaders always find a way to fight each other. Well, we were pretty behaved, so it¡¯s the empire that¡¯s a piece of shit. There¡¯s always that one guy¡­ dammit¡­. I¡¯m not gonna stress on that yet. Not like I can just go there and wipe the floor off their government anyway.


    That aside, we did just send a royal to their kingdom of Myra, seems my home tends to do the initiative.


    ¡°With the empire acting up at our borders suspiciously, it is time for us to help each other. Showing our trust to each other might make the empire hesitate.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. For centuries they have expanded, and now they are trying to expand to their west after a time of silence. Do their desire for conquest know no end?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Some leaders want something more I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Are you not like that, your majesty?¡±


    My father smiled as though he was about to laugh.


    ¡°My home is rich of history and good people. What else is there to desire beyond our kingdom? Our founders raised this kingdom for peace, not for conquest and destruction. Our kingdom is built upon the foundation of life and peace of humanity.¡±


    ¡°And seeking conquest like the empire goes against that foundation?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I see. For us in Myra, I observed that we always walk in the path of the golden light. We uphold honor and principles of goodness, never to be cruel. Treat our enemies with respect. All so our people would be paragons of everything that is good. Are we different from yours, your majesty?¡±


    Damn that sucks. Paragons of goodness? The golden light? If I lived there, I would feel a little incompatible.


    ¡°Perhaps. We strive for the best of humanity, and kind to our allies and friends. And the most important of all, we protect our own people and most of all our family. Is that not the path of the golden light?¡±


    Golden light. From my recollection, they worship someone they call as the Lord of Golden. I learned in my lessons that this light was some sort of symbol. It was clearer for me now what this light meant. A path of good. I had a rough idea before, but this made it a clearer, I did not think much of any other country¡¯s religion since they were of no significance to me.


    The knight smiled.


    ¡°Yes. Yes, it is.¡±


    Hang on, we are not entirely in this path of the ¡°light,¡± like what? Hahaha! Sure we have some ¡°light¡± but we have plenty of ¡°dark¡±, remember the time when a ruler cut off nobles unnecessary for the future of Wisteria? And what about the part of Allie? The torture and stuff.


    Nah, no way there¡¯s a paragon of perfect goodness out there. No way. Those who say that tend to be hypocritical, right? Or am I the one with weird sense of morals here?


    But I guess that was where our difference lies. If they were paragons of goodness, then we in Wisteria were in the side of good but willing to dirty our hands to achieve our goals for sake of humanity. Fitting to say we do not have much of a boundary.


    But whatever.


    So our dining ended after a more casual conversation like the nice spots here in Wisteria, what they the guests would like to do and some casual stuff. Not like I can casually join anyway, I¡¯m not one to chime in this kind of stuff.


    ***


    After that decent meal, the guests were guided to their rooms and sorted out their luggage. As for me, everything went on mostly normal. I¡¯m still with Rogan, my two other servants should be at the usual courtyard where we hung out, as I said where we would meet at this time.


    I¡¯m still wearing the dress I wore earlier, no reason to be changing. I¡¯ll only be practicing my spell casting primarily for today. I have a trick I was trying out, well a few of them. Just mastering them further that¡¯s all.


    But on my way, about to go outside, by the wall was the knight from Myra, Jaiden was it? He looked like a proper guard there, just a blank face and stern posture.


    He noticed me right away and bowed his head when I got closer. How polite.


    ¡°Your highness.¡±


    ¡°Sir Jaiden, may I ask as to why you are here? And alone? I expected you would be with your charge.¡±


    ¡°At the moment, she is speaking with Prince Eleden outside.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡±


    I¡¯m curious as to what they could be talking about. Hehe, let¡¯s see.


    What? I¡¯m curious about the love life of my brother.


    I slowly went to the peek at a corner and there I saw the pair standing by the pathway.


    ¡°Truly, to see such many things is amazing,¡± said the princess, Lillie.


    ¡°Indeed, amidst the hard journey, you can find several interesting new sceneries.¡±


    ¡°I cannot wait to look around this kingdom, your home. Like our tour when you visited, except this time, you will be the one guiding me.¡± she chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m surprised that you volunteered.¡±


    ¡°Of course I would. I¡¯m confident I¡¯ll be a decent company to you. Foremost, I want it.¡±


    The princess smiled. ¡°I¡¯m relieved though.¡±


    Eleden reached out and grasped her hand. ¡°I hope I will truly be a good company.¡±


    ¡°To be honest Eleden, your presence with me is good enough company.¡±


    Brother giggled. ¡°That¡¯s great to hear, but I still want you to enjoy the experience here.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Let us have fun together, especially at the festival. I hope we can go out in public peacefully.¡±


    ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll be going incognito again?¡±


    ¡°Looks like it.¡± she giggled.


    Hey! What the! I intend to go incognito with Lucious! Stop ripping us off! What¡¯s up with royals sneaking out and some shit.


    ¡°By the way, I recall your sister mentioning that you talked about me.¡±


    ¡°... Yes I did.¡±


    ¡°So they know about our¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ that¡¯s alright though. Not like I can bear to hide my feelings.¡±


    I retracted back and turned to the knight. I half expected he would not let something like this happen. That part where my brother and the princess get all giggly.


    ¡°You know about their relationship?¡±


    ¡°I was accompanying them when the prince, your brother, visited Myra. Their forming bond was too apparent to be missed.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re fine letting this happen?¡±


    ¡°I do not see why I would rationally go against it. She is forming a bond with a prince of an allied kingdom, which will be beneficial for the kingdom, and yours too.¡±


    Hm? Did I just catch something there? It¡¯s kinda weird that someone would just include the word ¡°rationally¡± there. Also accompanying them when brother was there, so maybe him and the princess were close to some extent? Hmmmm. Hmmm¡­?


    Yeah, I¡¯m not going to ask anything about that.


    ¡°I understand¡­¡­ I don¡¯t want to disturb them.¡±


    I looked towards the other pathway, thinking where I should go through. They just had to have a sweet time in the direction I¡¯m going.


    ¡°May I speak freely, princess?¡±


    I returned my eyes to Jaiden.


    ¡°¡­You may.¡±


    ¡°You are quite a unique individual, aren¡¯t you, Princess Estelia?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean¡­?¡±


    ¡°I mean your appearance. You are too unique and beautiful that I am in shock that moment I saw you.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Um¡­¡± I blushed; he was surprisingly being too direct. I even heard Rogan let out a faint whistle behind me. Shut it Rogan!


    ¡°My apologies if my words troubled you. But¡­ princess Lillie, and other princesses in our kingdom were praised as the most beautiful, they may be the most beautiful women our entire people have ever seen. And then when I saw you, I had this feeling¡­ your presence felt so unique, as if you stand out in this world, as if you originally are not from here but from somewhere beyond. It is hard to explain this feeling, and a foolish one, my apologies, please forget it.¡±


    What the hell? I should keep my distance from this guy. He almost hit a homerun, what¡¯s up with him? To say something so accurate¡­ Nah, what sort of sorcery is this? Lot of weird people in this world of magic ¡ª wait no, there are a lot of weird people in my old world too.


    Well, I do stand out like intensely, and this guy just felt something exaggerated. Intuition? Nah, that¡¯s kind of bullshit. I believe intuition comes when you¡¯re feeling paranoid, like how you¡¯re in a bad place and have a bad feeling about it. But this was not intuition.


    So rather than intuition, it should be more like he was pretty vocal about his deep feelings. I mean, I do stand out so much¡­ so what he felt should be what other should feel when they see me first time.


    If he¡¯s this vocally honest, if he had feelings for that princess, shouldn¡¯t he have confessed or something? Or perhaps he had already, and he just got rejected. Oof.


    In any case, got to get out of here, just had a shiver from this guy¡¯s words of me being from a place beyond this world. I mean, he¡¯s technically not wrong¡­? I¡¯m both goddess and from another world¡­ and I¡¯m a goddess¡­ Yup I just said it twice.


    ¡°Mm, yes¡­ okay. Then, see you later, Sir Jaiden, I need to be somewhere else.¡±


    He nodded.


    I went the opposite way and rerouted myself. When I was far enough, I spoke to Rogan.


    ¡°Sir Rogan, is that how you felt the moment you saw me?¡±


    He raised an eyebrow, puzzled.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°What Sir Jaiden said, about me standing out in this world, like I¡¯m not from here?¡±


    ¡°Oh that? Hmmm¡­¡± He placed his hand on his chin. ¡°I guess something like that.¡±


    ¡°What? Why?¡±


    ¡°Princess, honestly. You are too bright, sort of say. Like a sun shining brightly in this world, a sun walking among us. And existence so unique and special that should not be found in this world. So it¡¯s to be expected anyone who sees you the first time would feel that way, and apparently some are pretty vocal about it ¡ª Jaiden¡¯s the one I¡¯m talking about. I guess he¡¯s weirded out by it.¡±


    ¡°Now that stings, Sir Rogan, being weirded out because of me.¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s more weirded out in a good way.¡±


    ¡°... So¡­ that¡¯s how people see me, huh?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. You are incredibly special.¡±


    He said as he looked me in the eyes and with a sincere voice. I instantly awkwardly looked away. And then he followed when he realized what he had just said.


    ¡°Ahem¡­¡± he cleared his throat. ¡°Sorry, shouldn¡¯t have said something like that.¡±


    ¡°N-No¡­ think nothing of it. You only answered my question.¡±


    You basically admitted you guys see me as some sort of anomaly! But whatever¡­

 Vol. 2 Chapter 46: Prelude to the Festival

    My family wanted me to get along with the princess from another country¡­ Like okay? I mean, I don¡¯t have many friends, but I don¡¯t really see why it had to be her? Haaaah, it had to be the VIP. Needless to say, they urged me to be careful with how I carry myself and what I say, only to be added that they had no need to worry about it since I wouldn¡¯t be much of a problem when speaking anyway. Given that I am mostly a quiet girl.


    Pfft.


    Furthermore, Eleden was going to be with the princess, so I should be fine. Besides, if my brother was serious about this, she would eventually become family, only need to worry about political complications. But Myra seemed to be fine with it so not much of a problem now that they seemed keen on making friends, hm.


    The empire sure was a threat. Everyone could have just cut off the dragon¡¯s head and everything else should stop moving. That being said, there should be a lot of baby dragons, so kill them too, kill them younglings. Add to that inciting rebellion in the states they control or make them declare independence. No way could an empire manage to give something good to all states if they¡¯re that big, adding the empire¡¯s characteristic on top of that.


    Unless they have good leadership or something. In any case there should be at least one that yearns independence.


    Moving on, at the moment I am with my knight walking down the hallway in the palace. I left my pair of servants again since they would only get in the way if they also came with me. On the first floor I met with my eldest brother, and with him were Lillie and Jaiden.


    The knight now wore formal outfit, coat and trousers, with only a sword on his waist. Guess wearing an armor was unnecessary.


    Then Princess Lillie wasn¡¯t wearing a dress, but this time was wearing a long-sleeved shirt with a waist strap. Brown trousers and brown boots, almost like what a horse rider would wear. Her hair was tied into a ponytail. Still, with her beauty, she still looked fancy.


    Judging from the way she was dressed, she was intending to do something that required an intense physical activity¡­ She¡¯s intending to spar with the knights, wasn¡¯t she?


    Is everyone from Myra battle hungry?


    Like¡­ okay¡­ can people at least be gentle and peaceful as me?


    What? I¡¯m not a peaceful and gentle person? What are you talking about?


    ¡°I apologize for making you wait.¡± I said to them.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, we just arrived a moment ago. Besides, you arrived right on schedule, there is no need to apologize.¡± she assured me with a smile. ¡°Are we ready to go?¡±


    With nothing else to wait for, we were all ready to go and started heading to the courtyard where the knights usually hang around. I wonder if the knights were notified, or this was a surprise visit. I hope it was the former, I would be concerned if my knights were thrown into a situation they weren¡¯t prepared for¡­ he-he¡­ I¡¯m a kind princess, aren¡¯t I?


    On the way, Lillie started a conversation with me, a friendly and casual one. As we weren¡¯t exactly close and given that she was a princess of another country, I opted to call her as ¡°Princess Lillie.¡± But in the process of our conversation, she had me call her by her name alone.


    Why not¡­


    As for our topic, just casual ones, like hobbies and interest. She spoke quite softly to me actually, as if she was extra careful with her words. I¡¯m cool with it. I wonder how this brother of mine described me that called for this kind of interaction with her.


    I am acting interested though, but of course sprinkled some meekness here and there, acting adorable. To be honest, I am a little curious what skills this woman had.


    N-Not because I feel my precious princess position was being threatened of course¡­. Not at all¡­


    No way she¡¯s better than me.


    I¡¯m sorry, okay?! It¡¯s hard not to feel competitive to your parallel! I¡¯m used to that environment! I can¡¯t be a loser! I¡¯m not going to be the inferior one!


    We arrived at our destination to discover less than a dozen of knights doing their own businesses in their training grounds. Some were sparring with their swords, some exercising, some target practicing with bows.


    ¡°Oh! Splendid! Wasting no time at all and training to keep their skills sharp!¡± the princess from another country said with blatant anticipation. ¡°Although, I expected more of them, are their other training spots?¡±


    ¡°Well, actually, a lot of the knights has been dispatched and assigned in preparations for the festival.¡± My brother answered.


    ¡°Oh I see, understandable.¡±


    The moment the knights saw us arrived, they stopped all what they were doing and focused all their attention at us. With no hesitation, Lillie stepped forward and smiled widely in a friendly manner.


    ¡°Greetings, everyone! I am Lillie Eanthia Lionheart, Princess of Myra. If you don¡¯t mind, I would like to be acquainted with you, knights of Wisteria. As someone from a nation with heart filled with chivalry, I am interested about knights from another kingdom, and their skills as well. Feel free to think of this as our nation kindling their relationship further.¡±


    The knights fixed their postures and bowed deeply at the princess.


    ¡°We greet and welcome the Princess of Myra!¡±


    They said in unison.


    Wow, did they practice that or something? No, that aside! Dammit! I hate looking at them bowing at another princess, and from another nation no less! Not like they had any other choice, but still¡­ Ugh, whatever, I¡¯m just being bitter. It¡¯s not pleasant.


    ¡°Thank you. Now then, if you don¡¯t mind, I would like to spar swords with someone. As I have no sword in hand, I would also be borrowing one. So¡­ anyone?¡±


    The knights looked at each other with hesitation. Of course no one would just casually say they would spar with an envoy of a foreign country, no one would be that insane. What if they accidentally injured her? And what if she was displeased about the match? Gotta to be careful with this kind of stuff.


    The knight, Jaiden, stepped forward. ¡°I¡¯m sure you are concerned. But the princess is proficient in swordsmanship, I¡¯m sure you will find her challenging.¡±


    Still, no one came to volunteer.


    Amidst that, Rogan suddenly whispered.


    ¡°Princess¡­ Can I?¡±


    The hell? Is he crazy?


    He hesitated when I asked him to duel me, and he¡¯s volunteering here to fight this woman?


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Well, you see. As your personal knight, in case something small happens, it wouldn¡¯t be that damaging given that I am your knight. It would be different for the other knights here, children of nobles they may be.¡±


    Well, true. But to think he would actually volunteer.


    ¡°I¡¯m also worried about my friends so¡­ Oh, and I imagine you would like to measure the princess¡¯s abilities. I can give you my thoughts afterwards.¡±


    No, I¡¯m not really. Just a little curious¡­


    Ugh, whatever.


    ¡°Fine.¡±


    He grinned before stepping forward and raising his hand.


    ¡°Me! It would be an honor to have a spar with you, O your highness.¡±


    He said so casually as ever as he bowed.


    ¡°Oh! Interesting, Princess Estelia¡¯s knight? Certainly. But will that be alright?¡±


    She asked as she looked at me.


    ¡°Yes, it is alright.¡±


    ¡°Very well then¡­ I¡¯m looking forward to this.¡±


    ¡°As I am, I¡¯m curious what a princess like you can do.¡±


    ¡°Please go easy on me, just use your average strength. I¡¯m quite concerned I would be defeated at the first minute.¡±


    Rogan smirked. ¡°If you say so, princess.¡±


    ***


    During Rogan and Lillie¡¯s match I merely sat down on the chair offered to me by the sweetest knights, with my brother sitting beside me. Everyone watched with interest, anticipating how the match would unfold. Well, I imagine mostly because they haven¡¯t seen a princess try to fight sword by sword.


    ¡­Okay¡­ whatever¡­ melee fighting sucks anyway. I like guns, guns were better, safer distance. When enemy get near, just gun-fu their asses. Oh, what was I talking about?


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Ahem¡­


    Anyways, the fight was pretty simple, not as intense as the mock battle I watched in the far past. They start swinging their swords at each other slowly, as if getting the feel for each other first.


    Gradually, the fight increased in intensity. Now that I have observed Rogan, he¡¯s actually handling the sword pretty well, despite having his main weapon as a spear. As for the princess, he was matching up with Rogan quite well, her form and stance were fine, and the way she swung her sword with both hands was swift and skillful.


    Her training became more apparent at every move she displayed.


    By the way, they were swinging their swords without any magic involved. They did discuss about it beforehand, like notifying the other party if one decided to use magic. But I don¡¯t know if it would escalate to the point that they would use magic.


    As for the foreign knight, he was serving as the referee. But I can tell by way he sharply kept watch at Lillie that he was being careful that no fatal attack would hit her. Severely injuring a foreign princess wouldn¡¯t be good.


    Rogan¡¯s movement was more on the practical side. Lillie on the other hand was graceful when she moved her legs and shifting her body. Still, I do not know if that was her full ability. Brother did mention she wasn¡¯t really very strong compared to the other knights. But Jaiden seemed to be impressed, but maybe that¡¯s just him complimenting her.


    Their fight grew tense as the two swords hitting each clanged loudly. Rogan narrowed his eyes as he stepped back for a moment before charging again. The princess seemed to be having a difficult time following his attacks.


    And then the moment Rogan deflected her blade, he swiftly moved and pointed his sword to Lillie¡¯s chest.


    The princess smiled in delight as she acknowledged her defeat. Seriously? Being happy after being defeated? I would not be wholeheartedly smiling in that situation.


    ¡°Magnificent sword dance, Sir Rogan.¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡­ The sword is not my main weapon, by the way.¡±


    I sense Rogan being a little cocky there.


    ¡°Truly? Then what weapon do you use normally?¡±


    ¡°A spear.¡±


    ¡°Oh my,¡± she sheathed her sword. ¡°If you¡¯re this strong with the sword, I certainly wouldn¡¯t challenge you in a serious fight.¡±


    ¡°You honor me, princess. You are surprisingly skilled yourself. I didn¡¯t expect you would worry me this much.¡±


    ¡°Well, I still lost in the end.¡±


    Lillie pulled out a handkerchief and wiped off the sweat off her face. Rogan pulled his own and rubbed his face.


    Hm, no intention of using magic? Alright then¡­


    The two of them then drank from the glasses of water offered to them.


    Big brother stood up and approached Lillie.


    ¡°Beautiful while fighting as ever. Truly dazzling.¡±


    ¡°... Thank you¡­¡± she smiled lovingly.


    Look at these two¡­


    Meanwhile Rogan had a smug all over his face.


    ¡°So, any word of compliments for me?¡±


    I furrowed my brows as he asked me that.


    ¡°What do you want to hear?¡±


    Want me to go ¡®Oh my god Rogan! You were so cool!¡¯ or maybe ¡®Kyaaa! So handsome! The way you fight makes my heart jump!¡¯?


    ¡°Maybe something along the line of ¡ª you fought so valiantly, Sir Rogan!¡±


    ¡°Hehe!¡± I involuntarily let out a giggle. As thick faced as ever. ¡°Sir Rogan, you fought brilliantly. Truly like a knight in shining armor found in any story book. Seeing my knight fight so valiantly fills me with pride.¡±


    I said sweetly and a bit loudly as I could, humoring him for a little.


    ¡°Thank you, thank you, your highness. Your words give me the greatest of pleasure.¡±


    He theatrically waved his arm towards to his chest while bowing deeply. I was only making fun of him a little and he got along with it. The surrounding knights looked weirdly at us, then staring at each other with frowns and winces.


    ¡°Did you enjoy the spar?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, yes indeed. I¡¯m quite relieved she wasn¡¯t as scary as the last one I sparred with.¡±


    He looked at me with raised eyebrows, implicitly saying he was talking about me. I do remember blasting him with a fireball right next to his face. That would hurt him, but nothing a little healing magic could heal. You think it was cruel and unnecessary? No, it was not. Okay, maybe I disregarded his feelings that time¡­ juuuust a little.


    ¡°Oh my, I wonder who you are referring to. But I¡¯m certain they are apologetic about it.¡±


    ¡°I sure hope so.¡± he bitterly smiled.


    ¡°Ahem!¡±


    Suddenly that deliberately loud clearing of throat came from Eleden.


    ¡°Brother?¡±


    ¡°Sister¡­¡± he glanced at Rogan for a second. ¡°Lillie wants to speak with you.¡±


    With a puzzled face, I shifted my gaze towards Lillie beside him.


    ¡°Nothing important¡­ I just want to know you better, Estelia.¡±


    ¡°... Is that so¡­¡±


    ¡°Your knight has a fine swordsmanship skill. You must find him quite reliable.¡±


    ¡°Oh, uh, he is.¡±


    ¡°Mm¡­¡± she stood beside me as others went away a little to mind their own businesses, leaving us two. ¡°... Um, can you use a sword?¡±


    ¡°... No¡­ I was never taught.¡±


    ¡°Oh, what about a knife?¡±


    ¡°¡­I was not trained to fight, I¡¯m no use when it comes to fighting.¡±


    ¡°Really? Huh¡­ Bizarre. Truly bizarre. So it is not mandatory for you to have any combat training it seems.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ Is it for you¡­?¡±


    She nodded her head. ¡°Yes, all royalty, prince or princesses, must be trained in the way of a knight at a very young age. If your skills are below average, you would be labeled as a failure of a royal.¡±


    ¡°M-Must be hard.¡±


    ¡°I never thought of it as hard, as it is normal for us. That is why I¡¯m quite shocked to learn you weren¡¯t trained for any combat. Though I shouldn¡¯t have been so surprised given that Eleden wasn¡¯t trained in swordsmanship, I still feel surprised.¡±


    ¡°I cannot imagine what experience a princess would go through when trained at an early age that would normally be for men. As weak as I am, I must rely on my knight.¡±


    I glanced at Rogan with a smile, and he merely pursed his lips and looked away. He must be thinking I was deliberately not sharing a few things.


    ¡°Ever thought of training as a knight?¡±


    ¡°... No¡­ I see there is not much need for it.¡±


    I¡¯m just not going to mention that my parents would be against me learning the way of the knight. Heh, nor would I like to. I¡¯m already on the path of the mage, which I believe was much better by the way. And I¡¯m already an ¡°assassin¡± so no sword plays for me. Not much for melee anyway.


    Safe distance fighting¡¯s the way.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    She looked around until her eyes caught the figures of a couple of knights shooting arrows at the round targets, with paints of rings and red circle at the center of them. A knight nocked and then loosed an arrow, hitting a ring away from the bullseye.


    ¡°Oh, archery, I know how to do that. Let¡¯s check it out?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    I let her slowly drag me to the archery range. She asked to borrow a bow, and of course she immediately had it, a recurve bow. She picked an arrow and nocked it to the bow. She pinched the arrow between her thumb and index finger.


    She slowly drew the string back.


    Then loose.


    The arrow pierced through the air before piercing the targeting board, inches away from the center.


    ¡°Aaaw, I was close.¡±


    ¡°That was impressive your highness.¡± One of the knights praised.


    ¡°Thank you, though I had hoped I hit the center.¡±


    ¡°It is never always easy, and what you accomplished was impressive enough.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I trained a decent amount, still rarely I get to hit the perfect spot.¡± She turned to me. ¡°A bow is a fine weapon and safer. If you wish to practice a weapon, I suggest this.¡±


    I merely nodded my head. Archery, huh. I have trained in archery, they were one of the modern weapons after all, technically. Well, modern, but bullets versus arrows? Arrows stands no chance, and they had no beneficial use in my missions. Using bow and arrows were obsolete.


    But we were trained using it to train our accuracy and precision, and at least learn another type of weapon. As for swords, nah, we used light weapons such as daggers¡­ The organization didn¡¯t like training us with swords when they¡¯re obsolete, and we wouldn¡¯t have much time to train for it when we are to graduate around the time we reach our teens. Better for us to have mastery over what was the most optimal and most used.


    I used bows in other occasions though, so I am adept at it at least. A sniper rifle was still better.


    Lillie put down the bow on the table and caught an interest of another group of knights exercising with spears. She¡¯s really into those kinds of stuff, huh. And to think she wasn¡¯t super powerful.


    ¡°Let¡¯s check that out, Estelia.¡±


    ¡°Okay, go ahead.¡±


    And she went ahead. I stayed by the shooting range, then stared at the bow on the table.


    ¡°Princess¡­?¡± Rogan called out to me in a whisper.


    You know, I hate being overshadowed. Being overshadowed meant death. And it irked me being behind someone else. I must not be inferior.


    ¡°You know how to use a bow, Sir Rogan?¡±


    ¡°Eh, no¡­ not really. Not into it.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    With my left hand I picked up the recurve bow. With my right hand I picked up an arrow. I nocked the arrow with three extended fingers, the index, middle, and ring. I fixed my posture, straightening my back.


    I pointed the bow forward, drew the string with the three fingers, the arrow between the index and middle finger. I could feel the pressure of the string on my fingers. The wind was mild, the drew length enough.


    I fixed my eyes at the target and took aim.


    Then I let loose, letting the finger go with the momentum of the release, like letting it slide on my finger. The arrow whizzed, neatly penetrating the air as it shot towards its target.


    Then, it hit¡­


    The knights¡¯ faces at the range, and Rogan¡¯s were dumbstruck. Their eyes wide as they fixed their eyes at the center of the target, where an arrow was firmly planted. I put down the bow back to the table.


    ¡°Oh my, what a lucky shot. Lillie was right, this is a good weapon. But this isn¡¯t for me¡­¡±


    A bow was too slow, I don¡¯t like it. You need to grab an arrow and draw it and stuff. Not my style.


    ¡°Y-Your highness¡­ That was impressive, how did you do that?¡± the knight in front of me asked.


    ¡°Hm? Didn¡¯t I say it was a lucky shot?¡±


    ¡°N-No¡­ it¡¯s just. It looked like you knew what you were doing¡­¡±


    ¡°I just imitated how you did it. I was watching everyone, and you one of them.¡±


    ¡°I see. I should say, luck as it may be, that was still very, very impressive. This deserves an applause¡ª¡±


    ¡°No. No need, let¡¯s not disturb everyone, okay?¡±


    He lowered his hands.


    ¡°¡­Understood.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then I will be going.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    I began walking over to Lillie, as I did, Rogan whispered to me.


    ¡°You surprised me, princess. Did you really just imitate what you saw?¡±


    ¡°Of course, how else would I be able to shoot an arrow otherwise? I never trained in it.¡±


    ¡°Mm. Does your finger hurt?¡±


    ¡°Well a little. Maybe I should have used a little physical enhancement to lessen the burden on my arm.¡±


    A lie of course, it didn¡¯t hurt, it was just one shot.


    ***


    Afternoon. We spent a decent amount of time with the knights earlier, and Lillie seemed pretty pleased with the time. In addition, she didn¡¯t seem to have noticed that I hit the bullseye earlier, she was focused mingling with the knights. It was good though, I didn¡¯t have to explain anything to her.


    Not that I dislike her. In fact, I think she¡¯ll be nice to be with my brother, they seemed to get along just fine. And she had been friendly with me. However, I won¡¯t close our distance. She was still a foreigner. Didn¡¯t mean she was in romance with my big brother I would be lax with her.


    ¡­ Okay, I¡¯m not exactly the type to be instantly genuinely friendly with someone I just met.


    At the moment, I walked down the hallway heading to one of the guest rooms. As usual I was only with Rogan. Busy were these times with the festival ever closer. As for the guests I¡¯m meeting with, it¡¯s the church order. I¡¯m about to meet with the team.


    On my way there, I encountered the foreign knight. What¡¯s he doing walking around?


    ¡°Sir Jaiden¡­ You¡¯re alone, where is Lillie?¡±


    ¡°She is at her room at the moment, resting. As she gave me the freedom to move around, I took this opportunity to tour myself around the palace. I still haven¡¯t taken a look at the outside, but for now, I¡¯m taking in the interior of the palace. Your palace is more colorful than ours.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Then I hope you find pleasure in seeing the sights this palace can offer.¡±


    He nodded his head. ¡°... By the way princess¡­ I saw that you shot an arrow, splendid work. I thought you weren¡¯t skilled in any weapon.¡±


    So he saw it, huh. Then Lillie not seeing it was pointless, then? Eh, not that it matters.


    ¡°That was just a lucky shot. And I was only trying it out, I actually was quite surprised I managed to achieve what I did.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ I should say, you holding a bow was fitting. That weapon will be good on you.¡±


    I lowered me head, embarrassed. ¡°Is that so? But I honestly have no intention of dedicating time for it.¡±


    ¡°A shame¡­ your form was exquisite as you drew the string. But I understand. Wisteria truly has a different culture. Then, if you¡¯ll excuse me, princess.¡±


    I watched him leave. He tends to really express his thoughts, huh. That¡¯s an exemplar? I expected they would have more restraint in expressing with words. Well, who am I to judge? I mean look at this elite knight beside me! Does he give off the vibe of an official elite knight?


    I continued onward and momentarily arrived at my destination. I glanced at Rogan and he opened the door for me.


    Inside were the two females that I had met and then a few others. To be precise, there were five new people wearing priests¡¯ robes. Two females, three males.


    Inside already was my father.


    The guests bowed the moment they saw me followed by a greeting.


    I stepped inside. ¡°Hello, nice to meet you.¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 47: The Pure Princess Has Come

    The street was abuzz with activity and chatter, crowds gathered, and couples leisurely strode. Local vendors busy serving customers in the early morning amidst the heavy traffic of people. Traveling merchants arrived to take advantage of the festival, quickly setting up shops at free corners.


    Assorted, bright and colorful flowers decorated the buildings and homes, on the walls, columns, and windows. Stream of ropes tied from rooftops to another, with countless colorful lanterns of cloth and fabric hanging from them, enclosing the cityscape and giving shade to the busy streets.


    People smiling and chatting. Music loudly played at small stages set up where people cheered and danced. Restaurants filled to the brim with tourists to taste the local delicacies. Groups of children rushing wherever they went, playing and laughing.


    Truly the city was full of life for the biggest day of every year had come. The First Blooming Festival.


    Amidst the crowd of common folk where the wealthy and poor mixed, fancy carriages passed through. Luxurious carriages where the most expensive of metals like gold and silver were used to craft such transports.


    Horses loudly traversed the pavement as the wheels of carriages clanked and bounced, coachmen driving slowly so as to not hit anyone in their way. But seeing how fancy each carriage was, every time they saw one, the common folk would immediately step aside and let them pass.


    This was a normal occurrence as nobles from all over the kingdom comes to the capital city for the festival. However, the carriages would all arrive firstly at the grand cathedral. Carriages stopped in front of the entrance, then nobles stepped out adorned in expensive clothes and fancy pieces of jewelry.


    The common folk standing outside of the cathedral gasped and were in awe every time a noble came out. In this city, commoners have respect for nobles as they were the leaders of the kingdom. Neither were they cruel or needlessly prejudice against the common folk. They were only leading the nation to prosperity.


    That being said, it should be the same for remote regions. But there were always unusual cases where nobles grew too arrogant and instead of improving their domains, they degrade it. As strict as the crown was, once discovered they would be met with swift penance. Going against the kingdom¡¯s progress was essentially a crime against the king.


    After several expensive carriages later, the knights with spears on guard to the door made sure that none of the commoners could still enter, for there were still ones that should be the last to arrive. The citizens waited until a few minutes later a group of carriages came into sight, coming from the direction of the palace.


    Four luxurious carriages brandishing the Wisterian flag rode into the clear road, where knights on horses laid guard, and beside each coachman were knights as well. The first carriage stopped in front of the entrance.


    The knight on the front jumped down and announced.


    ¡°Presenting our monarchs! His Majesty Leodoule Erestro Wisteria and Her Majesty Meliya Helvinia Wisteria!¡±


    The knights on guard of the church entrance rapped the bottom of their spears to the floor, and they kept rapping them while the announcer opened the door of the carriage where the couple emerged.


    The king¡¯s hair was combed backward and wore a fabulous version of white formal outfit, where golden chains hung on each side of his torso. Meanwhile the queen wore an extravagant gown of white with streaks of purple, and long white gloves covered her hands. Her hair freely flowed down. Jewelry hanging on her skirt, gem earrings, and golden necklaces.


    ¡°Long live the king and queen!¡±


    ¡°Hail!¡±


    The civilians clapped their hands loudly and cheered with their hands high, watching the couple with wide and bright smiles.


    ¡°Lady Meliya! Looking beautiful as ever!¡± a woman¡¯s voice shouted.


    Meliya turned her head in the direction of the voice and smiled with a wave of her hand.


    ¡°Lord Leodoule you look so cool!¡±


    ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡±


    Leodoule waved and nodded his head at the man¡¯s praise. The couple felt fulfilled that they received such a warm welcome. Truly being loved by the people was the best option in ruling.


    When the couple arrived right before the door, the knights stopped rapping their spears. Then the king and queen entered inside.


    The carriage they rode in left and came in the next one.


    The knight beside the coachman got down and announced the person inside this carriage.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Announcing the arrival of the second prince of the kingdom, his highness Estevan Verziniel Wisteria.¡±


    The door quickly opened before the knight could open it. Estevan emerged from the carriage with a wide smile. He wore a white and gold coat, white pants, and white and gold colored boots. His hair was combed to the side.


    With a refreshing face, he waved his hands to the crowd.


    ¡°Hello, everyone!¡±


    The people cheered and applauded enthusiastically at Estevan¡¯s friendly greetings to them.


    ¡°Notice me, your highness!¡±


    Estevan immediately shifted his eyes towards that woman¡¯s call.


    ¡°Hey there.¡±


    ¡°Kyaa!¡±


    The group of young women almost collapsed at how the handsome prince actually turned to look at them with his charming face. Estevan kept waving until he reached the entrance.


    The next carriage came in, but this time there was another knight in dark armor with a beautiful face. The two knights got down and the Wisterian knight announced.


    ¡°Presenting his royal highness, the first prince, Eleden Venzura Wisteria! With him our special guest from the kingdom of Myra, the second princess, Lillie Eanthia Lionheart!¡±


    The citizens began to murmur amongst the crowd, surprised that there was a princess from another nation, and was with the first prince. They had indeed heard that important guests came to the kingdom, and they believed that it was just an envoy. However, there were rumors that it was a princess from another nation, but it was not officially announced by the palace.


    But now the people have realized why the princes were in different carriages when in the past they would be together in one.


    The door of the carriage opened from the inside and went out the first prince with his mostly white formal coat, and purple at the seams. And matching colors on the rest of his outfit. On his wrist was a golden bracelet. His hair combed back.


    He stood in front of the carriage door before extending his palm forward, on where a fair-skinned hand received it. A blue and white heel stepped out. Followed by a beautiful young woman with golden blonde hair and a pair of blue eyes. Her blue and white gown was so glamorous that people gave an audible gasp upon seeing her.


    Her earrings had hanging diamonds and a silver necklace hanging on her neck.


    Of course seeing this, everyone had formed a suspicion, which would be likely true, that these two were in a romantic relationship.


    The crowd clapped and waved their purple cloths high up in the air. For those who didn¡¯t have any purple fabric in hand, they used their handkerchiefs. Loud cheers along with it.


    The foreign princess looked curiously at the waving of fabrics.


    ¡°Why are they waving with those fabrics?¡± she asked the prince.


    ¡°Um, well. It means¡­¡± he seemed to hesitate, shy to say the meaning. ¡°It means good wishes for the new couple. May their love last until the sun dies.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± she smiled and tightly grasped Eleden¡¯s hand. ¡°I hope so.¡±


    The two smiled at each other fondly before going into the church entrance holding hands. The knight in dark armor followed far behind.


    Now there should be no other royalty that should arrive. However, curiously, there was still another carriage that came. The citizens murmured and whispered, speculating who would come out of there.


    The knight beside the coachman came down and grinned widely as he scanned the crowd. He stood before the door and stood appropriately, legs together and back straight, his hands on his back.


    ¡°Announcing the arrival of the princess of the Wisteria!¡±


    The commoners looked at each other in surprise along with whispers. The knight¡¯s smile grew when he saw the crowd¡¯s reaction and continued.


    ¡°Make way for her highness Princess Estelia Vernisia Wisteria!¡±


    The knights on guard rapped their spears loudly while the knight opened the door of the carriage. He extended his hand forward.


    Then came a pale and smooth hand to receive it.


    A glistening heeled shoe stepped out into the carriage steps. Then the gown¡¯s skirt revealed reaching about her ankle. When the princess emerged, those who laid witness, their eyes widened in shock.


    The princess wore a glamorous, extravagant, and grand gown. The purple of her gown came from her torso and connecting down to the edges of her skirt, the purple divided into shapes akin to a triangle, then the rest were in the color of white. The purple of her torso, chest to the waist was emblazoned with golden patterns as if they were sewn using golden threads.


    The patterns were a mixture of triangles and flower petals, where a parallel of each pattern was right next to each other. The thin forms of the patterns went all the way down to the edges of her skirt where it was decorated with golden flower petals.


    Her shoulders and neck were covered, her sleeves reached to her fit wrists, gold at the seams. White fabrics hung on the back of her arms, frilly. Her dress completely showed her slenderness, her hourglass figure shown to all.


    She was pristine and pure.


    Two fingers on each of her hands wore rings made up of gold, and silver, with a design that would require fine precision from the craftsman. Then her ears wore cuff earrings of gold and gems, each going from the lobule to the helix.


    Her hair was something that everyone had not seen before. Her extraordinarily long hair was in the color of platinum. It was tied into a long braid that reached past her waist. The top side of her hair was decorated by strings of golden jewelry.


    And the most incredible part of her was her beautiful pair of eyes, red as blood, which scanned the surroundings with a gentle and pure gaze. Her skin was surprisingly so pale as if she had never been under the sun, not even once. She was as white as snow.


    The commoners were hard-pressed to process what they were seeing.


    A beauty so great. An appearance so innocent that it softened the heart. Her movements so graceful, elegant, and gentle.


    The moment both her feet were on the ground, the rapping of the spears came to a halt.


    The princess with a straight posture looked around with a small smile. A smile so charming that stole the hearts of both men and women, even those who were married.


    She was an overwhelming presence, a presence so out of place yet so welcomed. As if a goddess had graced the unworthy mortals, and those mortals were uncertain on how to react. She was a perfect existence, an existence so great that the common mind was having difficulty processing what they were perceiving.


    That was why, instead of the loud cheers that came before, there was utter silence.


    ¡°...¡±


    Indeed, there was only silence.


    Never did they expect that the ever so mysterious princess they have heard about, but barely, would have this kind of beautiful presence ¡ª the princess who has finally shown herself after so many years.


    The citizens could only watch in complete utter silence, staring at an existence way greater than them.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 48: The Festival (Part 1)

    Excuse me? Hello? Where¡¯s my cheer? My warm welcome where I bask in the smiles and words of praise?


    And¡­ what I got is a silent treatment?! Fuuuuuck, this is embarrassing.


    Here I was, wearing the most beautiful dress I got from Mervizo. This fancy dress was one of the few that instead placed in a big box along with others, this one had its own special big, big box where it was spread out to avoid any wrinkles.


    I even tried to think what simple pieces of jewelry I can wear. I imagined so many times and, in much detail, how people would react to my revelation to the public. And this was all I can get?


    My family before me even got loud cheers and a warm reception. It¡¯s all unfair!


    I prepared for this day¡­ this was upsetting. It was like preparing to look good for your boyfriend, but he didn¡¯t even seem to recognize your looks and efforts.


    Shit!


    What? They¡¯re just shocked? True¡­ but silence?? Seriously? I have been standing here for a few seconds and they still gawked at me silently¡­


    To think they would loudly welcome a princess from another nation, and not their own. How insolent. I¡¯m not mad, I¡¯m just disappointed¡­


    And I was confident too.


    I wanted to slouch in dejection, but I cannot. Need to give off a great image!


    Rogan also looked pretty baffled by the silence, he too was excited to show me to everyone else. Apparently, we more or less imagined the same. Dammit.


    Guess I should just go straight out of here.


    With gentle and graceful steps, I walked towards the church entrance with Rogan following behind me. While planning for this day, I have thought of having Lucious as my escort here. However, that was not plausible when there was nothing going on with us.


    That¡¯s why I am here all alone. Guess I understand. I mean with how they welcomed my eldest brother and Lillie, with the fabrics in the air and stuff, if I get Lucious to escort me here it would be akin to announcing we¡¯re having a legit relationship ¡ª which something we definitely did not have.


    In any case, wow, I looked beautiful! Like damn, Mervizo outdid himself again! I looked like someone from another wealthier nation. I have almost mistaken myself as a goddess ¡ª no wait, technically I am.


    But before I could step inside, the crowd gradually began to clap. I stopped in my tracks and turned towards them. Their applause was weaker than before, but at least they were clapping. I lift my smile a bit more at them before entering the cathedral.


    The cathedral was truly grand. A lot of beautiful ornaments and decorations placed all around. Golden finishing on the walls. The first floor was full of chairs, and at the frontal parts was where the nobles sat. A gap separated the seats for nobles from the commoners. There was also a second floor on the sides. Must be another place where the rest can position themselves when the first floor is filled. I expected a little this place would be three stories considering the height, but I guess not.


    The nobles that were standing turned to look at me, all ranging from those in the capital, and outside of it, from adults, elderly, and their children with several around my age. Their eyes went wide in fascination as they watched me walk on the red carpet at the center of the hall. I noticed young noblemen blushing, and others blatantly infatuated with me the moment their eyes saw me.


    Gentle music from Liathre, flutes, vynelin, and a small group of choirs playing together a gentle melody. Nice song¡­ peaceful. That being said, I couldn¡¯t relax, everyone was looking right at me. These are nobles, best to give a good impression at least. Show a bit of confidence, make my parents proud. This was my first appearance in public, don¡¯t fuck it up.


    I should say, this place truly was magnificent. Paintings depicting the gods, stories filled the ceiling. The walls and columns were embedded and decorated with expensive metals such as gold, silver, and beautiful carvings and paintings. This place was almost luxurious as the grand cathedrals back in my world. No, looking at it again, this one here was grander.


    At the edge of the stage was the statue of the lord and lady. Hm, should I call them daddy and mommy next time? That¡¯s weird.


    I stopped at the forefront chairs and turned to the right side where the royal family was ¡ª plus Lillie ¡ª and sat down on the empty seat and everyone else followed given that I was the last one. I smiled at Mother who was beside me, she took and grasped my hand and fondly smiled at me as if saying excellent job.


    Thank you, mother¡­


    I felt warmth in my chest. It was a good feeling.


    The commoners then began flooding into the cathedral with the knights and church people in white garbs guiding them, making sure they won¡¯t get unruly. It took a while before everything was done.


    I have never been to a church ¡ª and when I say that I mean entering one with sincerity, you know, going to church for God, or in this case, for gods. Not that I didn¡¯t believe God isn¡¯t real, it¡¯s just that¡­ they don¡¯t mean much where I''m from. We weren¡¯t groomed to believe and praise God.


    But then again, I¡¯m not against an existence of a deity, or many. There¡¯s a lot of religions, okay?! And that just made things confusing! So, in the end, I just didn¡¯t care¡­


    During the time I infiltrated the Vatican vault was creepy though¡­ I¡¯m serious. Almost like there¡¯s something else there¡­ Very concerning stuff. Felt like supernatural. Good grief, my old world has a lot of secrets¡­


    Then the next moment, an old man followed by priests and priestesses appeared from the back of the front stage. His was a white robe with golden seams and wisteria sewing. They stood in front of the statues and bowed before turning to face us and walking to the altar.


    His gaze went at me and stayed at me for a few seconds as the music played in the background. He smiled before grasping a small and thin cylinder with a blue gemstone at the tip after the music stopped.


    ¡°Today we celebrate and show our reverence to our Lady of Serenity who taught us harmony among our collected existence, and to our Lord of Compassion who taught us to be kind to our fellows.¡±


    The bishop¡¯s voice was amplified as he spoke with the cylinder before his mouth.


    ¡°¡°Lord and Lady, we give our thanks.¡±¡±


    Everyone in the cathedral said in unison, voices echoing in the chamber. Everyone meaning of course including me. My family didn¡¯t want me to embarrass myself, so they taught me beforehand the proceedings of this occasion.


    ¡°Let there be peace and unity among humanity, in the name of the Lord and Lady.¡±


    ¡°¡°Amen.¡±¡±


    ¡°Divine saviors, our gods, who freed us from the darkness and brought us into the light of day, who freed us from our suffering, hear our prayers. We thank you for the blessings you give us every day. Protect us from the evil lurking in the shadows, waiting to take our peace away. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. We implore you to give us strength, guide us in our hardships, help us preserve our serenity, and may compassion and goodwill grows in all of us. Amen.¡±


    ¡°¡°Amen¡±¡±


    Came in the choir playing their instruments and singing a gentle melody. It felt a bit weird ¡°worshipping¡± and ¡°praising¡± religiously. I¡¯m a bit uncomfortable, I¡¯m not used to this kind of stuff at all.


    That aside, aren¡¯t the gods technically my family? Hey, mommy, daddy? You hear me? I need help! Yohooo! Oh, wait, were they even omniscient? The gods here were different, belonging in different stuff like Myra¡¯s Lord of Golden. The gods here were entirely different from the gods in my old world.


    The song continued, while the priestesses on standby swayed their censers, releasing smoke into the air. The smoke¡¯s odor had a particular smell, quite pleasant to the nose, a sweet smell. They must have mixed something in.


    When the singing stopped, the priestesses left the front to the back.


    ¡°I welcome everyone here today. And most importantly, welcome our dear nobles of the kingdom. How wonderful it is to see you all gathered here once more.¡±


    The bishop smiled kindly, like any harmless old man you would find at any street corner.


    ¡°We are gathered here today for the First Blooming Festival. The day of the founding of our homeland when we officially became a dedicated kingdom of Wisteria. But, let me remind you how we arrived here.¡±


    Then he began his story.


    It all began when humanity here in our lands was in a dark age. Strange beings with fearsome power ruled the land with might and fear, where humanity was enslaved to do their bidding. Humanity was completely inferior in the face of these creatures, completely powerless to win their freedom.


    That was until our gods arrived and drove away the savage creatures. The creatures full of arrogance, were powerless in the might of the gods. The Lord and Lady drove them into the dark corners of the world, places unknown to everyone but to them alone. And the creatures were never seen again.


    The gods guided the remaining humanity in the lands, taught them, encouraged them. Eventually the gods left, but humanity lived on, using the values and knowledge taught to them by the two gods. Subsequently the two founders formed the kingdom, who shone brighter than any other humans at that time, they were true leaders.


    ¡°The kingdom started small, until eventually, we became what we are now! A nation full of smiles. Life may be full of hardship, but its people pushed forward and lived. Here we live in peace and singing the glory of the gods! Now people of Wisteria, receive the holy sigil and have it placed on your forehead.¡±


    The servants of the church, priests and priestesses, scattered all throughout the cathedral. In their hands were porcelain bowls.


    They divided themselves, others on the second floor, and the rest were on the commoners at the back. A few were assigned to give the mark to the knights that were on guard. Inside the bowls were white wax. The church servants dipped their thumb into the wax and then drew the outline of a wisteria petal on the foreheads.


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    In contrast, servants were also assigned to the nobles. As for us, we should be going for the bishop.


    The bishop stood in front of the altar with a bowl of his own. First to go was Estevan. The bishop drew the outline of the petal on his forehead. Estevan nodded with a friendly smile at the bishop as if they were familiar with each other. Which I suppose would be expected, I think I¡¯m the only one who never go to church.


    Next was my eldest brother, Eleden. He left Lillie¡¯s side and made his way to the bishop. Lillie¡¯s not doing it obviously. When Eleden was done, Mother went on ahead.


    Yeah, I¡¯ll be the last one. Not my fault, I didn¡¯t ask for this, okay? It was my family. They really took the ¡°save the best one for last¡± line to heart during our discussion beforehand.


    After mother, father followed.


    Then when my father left the bishop, I rose from my seat and slowly made my way to the bishop. I could feel the gaze of countless people on my back. Imagining how they see me, I must look like a bright figure rising up into divine heights.


    I recall what the foreign knight and Rogan said about me. The part that I seemed so out of place in this world. Truth be told, that made me feel special.


    I arrived in front of the bishop, his eyes widened, and his smile grew. He peered deeply into my eyes before bowing his head, and it remained lower for a few seconds. Curious, he didn¡¯t do it for my family.


    ¡°Your highness¡­¡± he slowly raised his eyes. ¡°May the gods grant you protection.¡±


    His hand trembled a little as he slowly drew the sigil on my forehead. I don¡¯t feel the vibe I feel from the others charmed by me, this one here almost felt like reverence. I don¡¯t recall having done anything that warrants that reverence.


    Unless¡­ Huh.


    Seeing he was done, I stepped away and returned to my seat.


    It would seem the bishop knew some secrets.


    ***


    When the mass came to an end after some other things like more prayers, the commoners got out of the cathedral first while we of the higher class waited for them to all leave. I noticed a lot of gazes from the nobles all around me, from high to low-ranking ones, blended with whispers hard for me to understand or hear.


    If they think I¡¯m going to be active in the political circle, they¡¯re mistaken. I only did this to my self-satisfaction and some other goals in mind. Furthermore, I have no intention of getting into politics when I as the princess and youngest child is not compelled to do so. But rather, this was more of a backup plan, just in case. That also meant I need to be careful before I get caught in their bullshit politics.


    I am too much of a higher being to be bothered by their trivial matters. Why should I care about mortals and their inconsequential affairs? ¡®But Estelia it is consequential to you!¡¯ Shut it, okay? I know that, and that¡¯s why I don¡¯t want to think about it! Too many things to think about¡­ that¡¯s why, let¡¯s chill out. I was only playing around.


    Don¡¯t want to think about things, but I need to. Damn adulthood sucks. Bring me back to my carefree childhood! The childhood here in this world, not the other one!


    I tried to avoid looking at anyone, with a little peeking here and there. I¡¯m only a timid girl originally, please don¡¯t harm me.


    When the cathedral had quieted down from the noisy footsteps of the commoners, the nobles began walking out in a more organized manner than the common folk did. We the royal family were the last one.


    When we were lining up, Estevan deliberately positioned himself on my back. I looked up at him puzzled and he merely smiled at me with a nod.


    Trying to protect me, brother? Thank you.


    After walking for a while, we arrived at the exit, the morning light touched my face, my skin and jewelry glistened in the global illumination. Holding my hands together right on my belly, I elegantly walked the pavement, my heels faintly clattering.


    I tried to look as someone befitting of my status. Chest high, back straight, head lifted. In truth though, pretty easy actually. And being the most beautiful being in the world, it¡¯s inflating my pride and ego.


    Filling this vast open area in front of the cathedral were the citizens watching us.


    A moment later, we arrived before an elevated platform. The royal family plus Lillie climbed up the wooden stairs, leaving me behind. Rogan stood by my side and opened an umbrella to cover me from the sun. We could have shared, but oh well¡­


    This spot was safer than standing on top of the platform, so tightening knights around me wouldn¡¯t be that much of a necessity. I have Rogan beside me anyways, and I must trust his skills. Having guards all around me would be against the plan, so I must do the hard thing, whether I like it or not.


    However, I want to be a bit more certain about my survival, so the safer option was to stay away from the top of the platform where I am completely open for everyone to see and strike.


    Well, my mother was against me not having more guards, and it was hard to calm her down. We didn¡¯t mention the church fighters hiding amongst the crowd since it was my plan with my father to begin with. She had no need to know.


    I turned my gaze at my surroundings, looking out for stuff. But all I saw was the nobles being shaded by umbrellas held by their servants weirdly looking at me, but I didn¡¯t bother myself with their stares.


    Eleden shared an umbrella with Princess Lillie on the platform ¨C as for her foreign knight, he remained on the ground. Fret not, this has been discussed beforehand, no need to worry about the other party being offended, and the knight wasn¡¯t bothered at all by it. There were two knights close to her anyway, namely Estevan and my father. Estevan shared an umbrella with Mother. Then Father on the other hand was at the front preparing to address his people.


    ¡°Greetings people of Wisteria! Today we celebrate the founding of our beautiful nation! Let joy and smiles fill our days of festivities and may fortune and your wishes be granted! May love blossom, and peace triumph! The festival is not a time for troubles nor dismay, but for us all to have a good and pleasant time, with our friends, family¡­ all our loved ones! Now smile and shout out for this joyful season!¡±


    The people cheered loudly, excited for the official beginning of the festival. I guess they would be, it was a time when people are free to rest from work, relieve their stress and spend time with their family. And there are the rewards in the events that I¡¯m sure the participants are quite looking forward to.


    The cheers and shouting of the crowd were so loud that I was tempted to cover my ears. I¡¯m not into loud places. Of course, if the cheers were for me, I wouldn¡¯t mind. But in this case, it wasn¡¯t.


    Father held out both his arms and faced the palms together, purple colored magical energy gathered in his hand. It didn¡¯t seem to be any particular spell but only mana extracted and given color.


    Gradually it turned into an orb of purple.


    ¡°Now begins the festival!¡±


    He unleashed the orb upwards, and it fired up into the air towards the sky. Then like a firework it exploded, the sparks spreading like countless branches of trees in the sky. Unlike a firework there was no audible explosion, but this one here was brighter as the purple light was still visible in the day.


    It was wide enough that it halfway covered the entire city. That didn¡¯t cost much mana anyway, it was just colored mana without much other properties. And they were thin enough to scatter. In short, just a light show.


    Before, I could only see that light from the palace window and could only hear what my family had to say about it. Unlike in the palace where it was completely silent as the festival officially began, here it was so loud that it was almost piercing to the ears.


    At least it¡¯s nice to experience this for once instead of staying at the palace. Definitely going to join next year.


    ¡°Now then, for the participants of our first event, come and step forward!¡±


    Groups of people from a specific part of the crowd came in front of the platform and momentarily forming lines. There was a total of five groups, with members of ten. Father then went on to explain the new game.


    The five groups will be searching the city of flower petals made up of bronze. Each petal was scattered all around the northern region of the city. Hints in the form of true flower petals will aid them in their search, giving a sign that a bronze petal was in the area.


    There were thirty-three bronze petals in total. The group with the greatest number of petals will be the winner. Reward will of course be a sizable amount of gold. Quite a safe game.


    ¡°You have an hour to find as many bronze petals as you can! Are you all ready? Then begin!¡±


    The participants at once scattered.


    ¡°And there they go. As for the rest, you are free to do whatever you wish! May you have a pleasant festival.¡±


    With that, the crowd slowly left, with a few managed to find and stare at me. Honestly, I¡¯m so beautiful hehehe¡­ but this made things a bit difficult though, hard to find anyone suspicious with everyone gawking at me like that.


    My family and Lillie went down the stairs. Afterwards, we made our way to a grassy area beside the cathedral where trees give plenty of shade, with sets of chairs and tables.


    This was where we aristocrats were to hang out for a while. Even with our number, the place was big enough that there were still spaces left. This was the only proper place nearby where aristocrats could have a little rest.


    Additionally, this was a good place for us of the higher class to casually greet each other and socialize. I wanted to chill in this cozy place but as a royal, I just can¡¯t catch a break. Representatives of households one by one approached us.


    However, not all of us needed to gather actually, father and mother would do just fine to greet those who want to speak with them. I mean, look at Eleden! He¡¯s with his girlfriend at the moment, away from us! Smiling! The nobles seemed to be giving them space.


    How respectful.


    I could separate from my parents, but I would definitely have some nobles greet me.


    You know what, I¡¯m just gonna act all passive and cute at a specific spot. The first representatives who greeted my parents first turned to greet me and Estevan. When they left, I asked to leave.


    ¡°Father, Mother, will you excuse me? I want to sit down.¡±


    ¡°Of course, dear, go ahead.¡±


    Having my mother¡¯s permission, I left and went to sit down on the spot for us royalty. Estevan stayed with my parents. When I approached a chair, Rogan pulled it back and let me sit down, acting like a true gentleman.


    ¡°Tired, princess?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Oh, yes¡­ It¡¯s my first time to be around too¡­ too many people.¡±


    ¡°Of course, understandable. You¡¯ve never been to the festival.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ Did you have fun at last year¡¯s festival?¡±


    ¡°I have a few enjoyable times. But being a knight and all, I was occupied with work mostly. But it was a bright time. As it always has been.¡±


    I played around with my fingers for a while.


    ¡°So, Sir Rogan¡­ noticed anything?¡± I quietly said, enough for him to hear.


    He looked around before leaning a little closer to me.


    ¡°Nothing. I expected them to do something in the open earlier, but nothing happened. Nothing strange at all.¡±


    ¡°¡­Mm.¡±


    The church fighters haven¡¯t yet approached me, so it could mean they didn¡¯t notice anything strange. Looking around, no commoners either. Just us aristocrats except for a few church staff.


    Were they perhaps waiting for a safer opportunity?


    Could they have perhaps realized it? No, too early to say that¡­


    Dammit, can¡¯t enjoy the festival to its fullest when you¡¯re disturbed.


    In that moment, a trio of nobles came walking towards me, parents, and a son. The son appeared to be the same age as me. When they got closer, I rose from my seat. They greeted me in the textbook noble greeting, and I tried my best to respond to them.


    They seemed to be nice, all smiles and stuff. But cannot let down my guard to these kinds of things. They introduced their son, and he was stammering a little as he spoke with me. Heh, you know men fall in love quickly. As the innocent princess, of course I was exceedingly kind with them. A bit timid, but my voice was sweet and soft.


    This young man here was also on the timid side, shy perhaps. Yes, shy talking to girls.


    When nothing else was to be said, they left. Of course that was not the last of it. Another family approached.


    This time there were two young men, one being a year older than me and another two years younger. The younger one appeared to like me, obviously, but he didn¡¯t try to talk much. The older one on the other hand was acting more confident. He was smooth with his speech, might catch the interest of any other woman.


    When they were done, this time two young men followed, without their parents. These ones were on the cocky side, evident in their voice and mannerisms. Annoying. These two were inferior to me. I am the only one allowed to be arrogant here. Get lost.


    Honestly, who speaks that way to the princess of the kingdom? They really trying to make themselves look valuable and trying to impress me? Zero points! No, that¡¯s a negative! If you gonna act arrogant in front of me, at least don¡¯t look like an idiot. There was impressive type of arrogant people that were actually decent people to be with. But these two? Nah. I can already tell they¡¯re no good at all.


    Their parents must have realized they were walking on thin ice as they chimed in and brought them away from me. Actually, it¡¯s hard to get some interest in these men that I know nothing about. Them being nobles didn¡¯t help at all.


    I¡¯m only comfortable around Lucious and Rogan. As for why? Let¡¯s see, Lucious¡¯s is truly in love with me, and he¡¯s a good person. Downside on the cannot really fight side, but other than that, he¡¯s alright.


    Rogan on the other hand is a carefree person, hard to tell if he¡¯s really a good person that would carry out a good deed without any reward. But he¡¯s a good person to his friends and acquaintances. He¡¯s also reliable as a fighter. Downside, he¡¯s too carefree often, and he needs to tone down that smug.


    Of course I am favorable towards them because I am acquainted with them. That being said, I¡¯m not looking for a partner. I¡¯m still too young, you know. Let¡¯s take searching for a cool man another time, shall we?


    Although I would prefer not to get any romantic commitment. Not really interested in love. Buuuut, when it comes to it, I would prefer a decent and dependable man. A man that is smart. I like smarter guys better than those who are the brawny type. Really don¡¯t matter if they are impressively physically strong, as long as they¡¯re smart. Of course, smart, yet a man with a heart.


    What would I do with a smart man who does not even have a heart?


    ¡®But Estelia you don¡¯t have a heart!¡¯ Excuse me? How rude! I am not without a heart! At least I care about some things. Besides, what¡¯s wrong with having preferences? So what if I have an underlying interest in smart men, hm?


    But I should mention interest is different from love.


    Moving on!


    I had to talk with a lot of people today. Aristocrats are fascinating specimens, aren¡¯t they?


    But in the end, nothing happened. My enemies did not try to attack.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 49: The Festival (Part 2)

    <div>


    Mid-afternoon, and we switched venues nearby. Needless to say, we have to use a carriage. This area was larger where wooden seats at the center and at the sides. Then at the front was an elevated platform, wide and long. To be precise a stage. All in all, this place was like a theatre ¨C or it could be considered a theatre, just not too grand?


    I heard they expanded the stage twice the size, and now the stage was wide enough to keep a choir of more than ten people. We the royal family were in the frontmost row, with the exception of Mother as she was at a long table in front of the audience chair and a bit elevated. Along with her were five other nobles. One of them was my music instructor. I smiled when I saw her. As you can see, they would be the judges.


    This venue had several tall trees and thick foliage; thus, we were shielded mostly from the heat. However, I should say, the heat here was not so bad compared to the old world. I guess the air and atmosphere were cleaner here or something, no global warming and all that. Plus, it¡¯s afternoon, so we¡¯re not completely under direct sunlight.


    I looked around, numerous guards were positioned at every corner. Even so, sitting here in public and stationary was not particularly comfortable.


    I could have not come here. Buuuut, the princess leaving suddenly wouldn¡¯t look good apparently. Still that would have been an option. But the main reason was because I want to experience the festival¡­ and I am bait, so¡­


    Yeah¡­


    But they haven¡¯t taken the bait! Ugh, who would deny a beautiful bait such as me?


    ¡®Estelia are you serious? Setting yourself as bait, that¡¯s stupid!¡¯ Wow, really? What have I grinded my head and body for, hm? I prepared for this! This was one of the ways. If they won¡¯t come out, I¡¯ll make them come out! Besides, Rogan was right beside me, so I¡¯ll be fine.


    Even as casual as I look, I¡¯m still looking out at my surroundings. Plus, the church members were positioned everywhere, not only in the crowd, but possible locations where I could be spotted safely, and also nearby houses.


    Will they attack?


    That¡¯s the question.


    Would I be safe?


    Of course not.


    Would I die?


    Of course not, at least, not without any wounds at least. Hey, sometimes you just must be confident with your skills. If you aren¡¯t, you can¡¯t hope to achieve anything significant.


    In any case, my plan¡¯s simple, you see. No need for that complicated stuff. No scheming, no manipulation, no reading people. I mean, why do people like to complicate things and do something complicated? Simplicity works!


    Why use chopsticks if you don¡¯t know how to use it? Use a fork! If there¡¯s no fork, then you¡¯re fucked. Nothing we can do about it. Yeah, my metaphor wasn¡¯t that deep¡­


    Moving on, I must comment that there¡¯s a lot of people! And I stand out so bad, dammit. Maybe this place here was too much of a risk than its worth¡­ Yeah, it feels that way. Should I leave? I¡¯m really getting cold feet here. I don¡¯t like sitting down right now, too restful¡­


    No, can¡¯t back down. I thought a lot about this¡­ There¡¯s no need to worry, I have my guards. And this world has no such things as a sniper rifle¡­ Can¡¯t change the plan suddenly when I get cold feet. So what if there¡¯s something akin to a sniper rifle that I knew nothing about? Don¡¯t worry, sometimes you just have to adapt.


    I have survived several shootouts, this was no big deal¡­ I have dodged bullets several times¡­ by accident! And luck!


    What? I¡¯m no superhuman that can evade bullets at will.


    Besides, if I get injured, I can use healing spell. In addition to that, I have physical enhancement to enhance my body, more survivability for me. As I said, I¡¯m prepared¡­


    Okay¡­ Haaaah¡­


    Damn the assholes that are targeting me! I can¡¯t even have a leisurely time! Fuck! I¡¯m so angry right now! I have been for months! Okay, sorry¡­


    As a psychologist ¨C of course I¡¯m not ¨C I can conclude I am not emotionally stable right now¡­ Like I¡¯m on period¡­ which I have never experienced before actually¡­ Oh yeah, even in this world I haven¡¯t had a menstruation¡­ Which was weird certainly I had menstruations as ¡°Estelia¡± so maybe something¡¯s wrong. No not maybe, something''s definitely wrong! Maybe I¡¯m pregnant! Pfft, I¡¯m joking, I''m not pregnant.


    There¡¯s definitely something weird going on with me.


    But can¡¯t worry about that now!


    The show seemed to be starting as a host stepped on stage and began greeting everyone followed by introducing the aristocratic judges the performers will have to impress to get to the next stage.


    There¡¯s only this performance and the finals, so there¡¯s only two times the event would occur. As it was a mystery whether the performers would get to the finals, I heard they have a performance for both preliminaries and finals prepared. As this was a singing competition, it didn¡¯t need a lot of practice I suppose¡­?


    There was no need for dancing while singing and such. Just pure singing, whether alone or with a band. They are scored by their musical performance, not by physical performance. Eh, I don¡¯t like dances anyway, so no problem for me. Excuse me while I watch the show¡­ while looking out for myself of course.


    ***


    A show where one would get to display their musical talents, whether solo or with a group. Sound amplification tools were placed on the stage as many as was requested, like the one used by the bishop earlier. Without those, we wouldn¡¯t be able to hear the performers.


    Came performers of various kinds, some with confidence, and others seemed to be nervous and apparently be their first time performing in front of a large crowd. That being said, some that were obviously nervous, their singing voices were appealing and impressive.


    High notes were not what made one¡¯s performance worthy of a high score ¨C thank goodness ¨C but rather by the melody and the way they carry their performance. There were a lot of soft and gentle songs sang in solo, ones that were so pleasant that you want to sleep because it¡¯s so soothing to the ears and mind.


    Those who performed as a group leaned towards an energetic kind of music. They used round wooden instruments as drums, and other instruments consisted of stringed instruments and windpipes. When the audience was familiar with the music, they would sing along. But there were those songs one would think to be sung in taverns with drunkards, and people seemed to enjoy them. But the quality of the performance varied.


    When the audience found a performance delightful, they would cheer so loudly that it shook my eardrums. Needless to say, there were others that have someone to root for, and it was enjoyable seeing them cheer for them.


    But of course, there were those with less than average performance. But they were so meager, after with the screening and all. Not only were the performers from Wisteria, but there were tourists at well. Traveling musicians and traveling bards. While there were those from villages somewhere within Wisteria that has heard of the reward.


    Everything was entertaining to watch.


    There were two solo performers that I particularly liked. A male bard singing with a lute in hand, singing tales, tales about prominent figures he encountered or stories he had heard. Then a local girl who lived here in the city, who sang with a harp. It was a sizable harp that I wondered how much that would be to have. She sang with a soothing melody that touched one¡¯s heart, and a story of love and heartbreak.


    Dammit man, love songs always get the good stuff.


    Of course I clapped to those two. I¡¯m a bit confused about who I should really root for.


    At the end though, when showing the results, half of the performers remained. So it was seven performers for the finals. I know, it¡¯s unlike the nationwide talent shows from the old world, but hey this was just a city-wide contest.


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    And then, in the duration of this entire contest¡­ None of my enemies made their move. I looked around in confusion. I was utterly confused¡­ like what? I¡¯m here and they¡¯re not doing anything. What¡¯s wrong? Maybe the security was too much? No way, they would be suspicious if the security was too thin.


    One of my imaginations suggested that they would go absolutely nuts somewhere I¡¯m at. With of course causing collateral damage during the battle with the knights as they go at me.


    Hmmm¡­


    Maybe they¡¯re still observing?


    None of the crowd particularly stood out. I mean, a lot of people dress bizarrely you know. Cloaked, hooded, hats, masks, and so on. A lot of them even dressed like adventurers or something.


    Those that would be suspicious for me were not suspicious in this fucking world. Dammit. However, they were checked before entering, so I guess that helped ¨C at least that would hold back non-humans, and weapons were taken away.


    Even so, things were not going as expected.


    When the competition came to an end, the crowd slowly dispersed out of the venue, the knights making sure everything goes smoothly. In the end, nothing happened to me. Very strange¡­ That of course made me worry more than anything else.


    When the commoners left, all that remained were the nobles. I made my way to my music instructor, Lanivia, and greeted each other with friendly smiles.


    ¡°What do you think of the show, princess?¡±


    She tilted her beautiful face to the side a little. She was clad in a beautiful blue and white dress, with diamonds as earrings and necklace.


    ¡°I find it very entertaining. It was thrilling how talented everyone was, I never saw that many perform music before.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, of course. This is your first time coming out. I am happy that you finally have decided to go out to the festival. Make sure to have fun, okay?¡±


    ¡°I will.¡±


    ¡°Good, good. So, which performer do you find noteworthy?¡±


    I placed a finger on my cheek as I pondered.


    ¡°I was greatly impressed by two contestants¡­¡± I then went ahead to tell her about the two that I was looking forward to seeing in the finals.


    ¡°Oh, them two, huh. Indeed, fascinating performance. One would endear you with tales from other lands, carried with a dramatic voice. While the other was a soothing and calming tune, with a voice full of emotions that speak with one¡¯s heart.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. I hope they¡¯ll have a great performance in the finals. Aside from those two, the others were also incredible.¡±


    ¡°Let us hope they¡¯ll show a magnificent performance in the finals which we all will be entertained and amused.¡±


    ***


    I met with Mizia before we go on our way back home when the sun sets.


    ¡°Honestly Estelia, you look very, very lovely today. And the dress is magnificent! If today has a fashion show, you would dominate everything and everyone!¡±


    Surely without any expensive and exceedingly extravagant dress I would dominate everything and everyone. With my beauty alone I will be the only and rightful winner of any beauty and fashion contest.


    Imagine if I joined Miss Universe, wew! Call me the Queen of the Multiverse, will you? My beauty was after all is so divine! Get it? ¡®Cause I¡¯m a goddess and all¡­ okay¡­


    ¡°What are you talking about, Mizia? You look wonderful yourself.¡±


    ¡°Oh please, I can see so clearly how the boys around look at you.¡±


    And so I noticed. Hm, if this place was of a different culture, let¡¯s just say more showy and less reserved, a lot would have given me gifts every single day. Like how you would see in stories where people constantly give all kinds of gifts to beautiful beings or something like that. But unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t the case ¨C and I¡¯m an introvert¡­ I like it this way.


    Okay¡­ I was not exactly an introvert in my former life, okay? I talk to people often. It¡¯s just, being a little anti-social was actually pleasant¡­


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t really think much of anyone¡­But I admit, I don¡¯t like being stared at too much. But surely you must have received your fair share of staring.¡±


    She looked good actually. With that fine and an almost glimmering red dress that matches her hair, and expensive pieces of jewelry and gems like rubies and diamonds, she looked truly brilliant. She didn¡¯t fall behind me¡­ okay she¡¯s behind buuut, not that far behind me.


    ¡°¡­ There was¡­ Some men have actually approached me¡­ But I don¡¯t know¡­ The ones from the capital are more noteworthy. But we need to be careful, there are not so good men around.¡±


    ¡°I-Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get careless about it, Estelia. You need to think more carefully before you try to be more friendly to a guy. Trust me, men are often deceiving. You need to see through it now that you¡¯re about to be an adult.¡±


    She¡¯s so bitter about men, what gives? I wonder.


    ¡°Um, Mizia, did something happen to you that involves¡­ men?¡±


    She looked hesitantly at me before looking away at the distance.


    ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s just¡­¡±


    Her eyes toured around until she stopped. I followed where her eyes stopped and saw a group of nobles, where young men gathered having delightful conversations it seems. I don¡¯t recognize them except for one¡­


    It was the son of my etiquette teacher, Jalen. Hard to tell where exactly Mizia was looking.


    ¡°Um, Mizia?¡±


    She turned her eyes at me.


    ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing to share¡­ I¡­ I was getting along fine with a young noble man¡­ I believed we had something special going on¡­ I enjoyed his company¡­ But I discovered sides of him that are not so pleasant to me.¡±


    I slightly tilted my head with concern clear on my face.


    ¡°What happened¡­?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ he¡¯s pretty close to other women¡­ a different kind of close¡­ And I couldn¡¯t believe how easily he turned the cold shoulder at me¡­ next I heard he was planning to make a move on¡­¡±


    She lowered her gaze, hesitant to continue.


    ¡°On¡­?¡± I was genuinely curious.


    ¡°On...¡± she raised her gaze at me with a pained smile.


    The way she said it and paused I can make a guess who that was. Then she affirmed my suspicions.


    ¡°¡­You.¡±


    I shook my head in confusion. I was trying to process what she had just said. Let¡¯s see, those who were making a move on me. Only Lucious would immediately come to mind. But no way she was talking about him, I don¡¯t remember them being that close. And Lucious was a good boy¡­


    Then the guys that interacted with me? Rogan was impossible¡­ So there¡¯s only the son of my etiquette teacher who was so obvious that he was trying to make me fall for him¡­ Oh ¨C shit.


    ¡°¡­ D-Do you mean Jalen?


    She meekly nodded her head as her eyes were full of sadness. A heartbreak, huh.


    ¡°R-Really? Um, I¡­ I didn¡¯t know¡­ I never even met him before practicing with him during etiquette lessons. Uh, I never would have thought¡­ Mizia, are you mad at me?¡±


    I asked her while leaning forward a little, speaking in a weak tone and wearing a face full of maiden innocence as someone completely clueless about everything.


    ¡°What? No. I¡¯m not mad. Why would I be mad at you? You never did anything bad¡­ You didn¡¯t even do anything at all.¡±


    She grasped my hand while she stroked my hair on the other.


    ¡°¡­ Okay¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s more like his fault¡­ I don¡¯t ever want to talk to him.¡±


    Came footsteps coming towards us. As Mizia was looking in another direction ¨C at me ¨C she was unable to see the one coming towards us. You must have guessed already. A typical occurrence. Like come on, this just made things more awkward.


    ¡°Oh, Mizia, is that you?¡±


    Once my cousin heard that ever so familiar voice, she froze and failed to immediately respond. She took in a subtle deep breath before slowly turning around to the man. Yeah, needless to say, it was the devil ¨C like from the line ¡°speak of the devil.¡±


    I stepped a little to the side to have a glimpse of Mizia. Her brows furrowed and lips pursed, giving the impression she was slightly annoyed and disturbed.


    ¡°Jalen¡­ I never expected you would talk to me ever again.¡±


    Jalen raised an eyebrow. ¡°You do not seem pleased. Are you angry? What is there to be angry about? If it¡¯s because of what I think it is, there was nothing between us to begin with.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Mizia looked away before returning a stronger gaze after gathering her courage. ¡°Yes, indeed. There was nothing. And how I¡¯m glad that it didn¡¯t escalate any further than that.¡±


    The young man smiled.


    ¡°Good then! No grievances whatsoever, so you can stop staring daggers at me now. Besides I¡¯m not here for you.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯m relieved. So why are you here before me?¡±


    Jalen shook his hand as though dismissing my cousin.


    ¡°You were just in the way. I have come hoping to have a delightful talk with the great princess.¡±


    Uh, dammit. Please don¡¯t talk to me. I¡¯m so stressed out right now, I don¡¯t want some nobody add on top of it.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°So please excuse me.¡±


    As I was hiding a little behind my cousin, Jalen stepped to the side and politely spoke to me.


    ¡°Hello Princess Estelia. Would you mind if I have a little of your time? As friends, I wish to just have a casual conversation. By the way, I must say you look rather brilliant, not any being can hope to match your presence.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± I acted as if I was hesitating to speak.


    ¡°Yeah yeah, conversation? What would you even talk about, hm?¡± Mizia chimed in.


    Jalen had a look of tiny annoyance as he stared at the interloper.


    ¡°Well, we are dance partners during practice sessions. There are plenty of things to talk about and reminisce.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? If I recall correctly, it shouldn¡¯t be that long ago. So there¡¯s not much to reminisce about, is it?¡±


    ¡°There are a lot of things that can be conversed about, so I don¡¯t see why you have to bother us, Mizia.¡±


    ¡°Really now? Well, I was talking with Estelia first. You are the one getting in the way.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? But you seemed to be done already, so what about you leave us alone for a while?¡±


    Huh, he¡¯s pretty adamant. Jalen had never done any obvious courting moves on me, just complimenting me and stuff. So it was a little doubtful that he was truly aiming for me after moving away from Mizia. That being said, I¡¯m not exactly an easy to approach person.


    Not only I didn¡¯t talk much, but I also don¡¯t make friends that well. More than that, I barely leave the palace, very barely. Maybe those contributed to why his actions were very limited.


    Well, not like I would ever fall for this guy. Well, I exactly never have fallen for anyone. I just mean I won¡¯t get along with this guy. I didn¡¯t like how he treated me during the lessons, I already had a feeling he wasn¡¯t a good man to be with from the beginning.


    He got the looks of a womanizer, he even acts like one, I could see it even though he tried to hide it. I saw that trait through his eyes and well¡­ manners. And also he¡¯s a bit cocky ¨C unrighteous cocky man. He didn¡¯t have the right to be that cocky in front of me. More than that, those flirting of his. Boring! He could have made things a bit fun.


    In other words, he¡¯s on my worthless list. I care not about this guy.


    I just don¡¯t want to be annoyed right now by some bug! I have more important matters to worry about.


    ¡°What about no?¡± Mizia answered.


    ¡°Who are you to answer for the princess, Mizia?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± she glared at him. ¡°Her cousin.¡±


    ¡°Not enough reason. Princess¡­¡± he again politely spoke to me. ¡°Would you please have Miss Mizia leave?¡±


    Haah, fuck it.


    ¡°I apologize but it is time for me to leave. I wished we would have gotten more time, but it seems it is not meant to be today. I will be returning to the palace momentarily. Please excuse me.¡±


    And so I walked away from them. It was nerve-wracking. Not because of them but because of the other issue ¨C the danger to my life and all.


    ¡°Princess wait.¡±


    ¡°Estelia.¡±


    I looked back at them and smiled before continuing onward.


    <div>

 Vol. 2 Chapter 50: The Festival (Part 3)

    My brother, Estevan, promptly walked to my side.


    ¡°Got quite a tension right there.¡±


    He seemed to have noticed the hostility between those two.


    ¡°They have issues to settle.¡±


    ¡°Huh. Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°Back home.¡±


    ¡°Already? The sun¡¯s still there.¡±


    ¡°Have you forgotten, brother? It is dangerous for me here.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Especially the night. It will be hard to detect enemies at night and the more risk it had to remain here. Thus, I will be moving out while the lights were still here. Okay well, part of it was because of those two. But nighttime was just generally even more dangerous.


    Besides, everyone¡¯s moving out later anyway. If I alone left before others, means my carriage will be alone. And you know what that means. An opportunity. Not for me, but for my enemies.


    ¡°For that reason I am leaving early.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯m coming with you.¡±


    Hm¡­


    ¡°That is alright with me. But would you be?¡±


    ¡°Of course if it¡¯s for my sister.¡±


    ¡°I mean there are a lot of people here you can talk to. Ultimately, there are a lot of ladies you can talk to.¡±


    ¡°Ladies?¡± he asked, puzzled. ¡°Why would I prioritize them?¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re more important, Estel.¡±


    ¡°Do any of the ladies even interest you?¡±


    ¡°Honestly, there is. But that¡¯s not important right now. Your safety is the priority.¡±


    Wow, I¡¯m surprised he even has an interest in any girls except me.


    So, do I leave Estevan here and perhaps give him an opportunity to have that bloom of youth? Or do I take him with me for my selfishness? Pfft, you need to even ask? Of course it¡¯s the latter!


    ¡°Very well, brother. And thank you. Then can you please tell our family that we¡¯re leaving?¡±


    Estevan looked behind us where Rogan was following me as my bodyguard. Apparently, he was making sure that I have someone to watch over me as he tells our parents.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be with you in your carriage shortly.¡±


    And then he left to notify our parents.


    ¡°Nothing happened huh, princess.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Yes, Rogan. Nothing, a shame. But be on guard until we reach the palace.¡±


    ¡°Of course, your highness.¡±


    I entered the carriage and Rogan closed the door. I limply sat down on the soft seat as the heavy weight on my shoulders lessened for a little. It felt a little safer here, and I can rest finally. Interacting with strangers was straining, especially the unremarkable ones.


    Some of these aristocratic children were quite annoying, their ego was distasteful. And oh yeah, I never got to interact with other noble ladies but my cousin. I did notice they seemed wary to approach me. To be expected I suppose, I may be a little hard to approach. I¡¯m like the alpha female after all, hehehe. But that¡¯s alright, socializing can be done later.


    Eventually, Estevan joined me in my carriage, I smiled sweetly at him giving the impression I¡¯m relieved. Shortly the carriage shook as we began moving.


    ¡°So sister, did you enjoy finally going out?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ a little yes.¡±


    ¡°A little? I suppose it would be like that¡­¡± he looked outside through the window. ¡°What happened with Mizia? She appeared somewhat displeased.¡±


    I debated whether to tell it, but whatever. Just something to pass the time. I¡¯ll just keep it to the minimum.


    ¡°Something happened she did not like¡­ it involved¡­ love.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± he nodded. ¡°Okay¡­ It¡¯s Jalen, isn¡¯t it? I noticed something was going on with the two of them in the past. But suddenly they turned cold to each other.¡±


    ¡°So you are aware.¡¯


    ¡°Yes. She¡¯s our cousin, I notice a thing or two. But judging from the way she acted earlier, I guess she has hate for Jalen.¡± He smiled a little.


    ¡°Are you close with Jalen?¡±


    ¡°No, we wouldn¡¯t really get along. We are too different from each other, and sometimes I don¡¯t like the way he acts. But I do wonder why he stayed away from Mizia, she¡¯s a lovely woman.¡±


    ¡°You do not know?¡±


    ¡°Nope. Do you know, sister?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ maybe he saw another girl he liked?¡±


    Estevan shrugged. ¡°I guess. I couldn¡¯t think of why he would hate Mizia, so maybe that¡¯s the reason.¡±


    I gazed out at the window, watching the buildings pass by, the people enjoying the festival. Them eating outside, full of smiles. Despite the darkening sky, it would seem they have no plan of stopping the fun just yet.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°What about you, brother? Do you have any girls you fancy?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± his voice trailed off. ¡°There are an abundance of beautiful noble women, and quite lovely in personality. But I don¡¯t have the motivation just yet to pursue one.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Maybe because I¡¯m not yet ready for that. The commitment. Besides, I am still committed to you my sister, you are the most important to me.¡±


    I subtly sighed. Somehow, I don¡¯t like the way his love for me is keeping him from meeting someone that would accompany him in life. He was a normal human being, unlike me. As his sister, it¡¯s not good that he was giving everything to me at his own expense.


    ¡°Estevan, my brother¡­ You¡­ You don¡¯t have to give everything to me. You can focus on yourself, your experiences, and your future.¡±


    ¡°Estel, what are you saying? I want to do this.¡±


    ¡°¡­ B-Brother¡­ shouldn¡¯t you try meeting other people? At least meet a woman that would become someone important to you.¡±


    ¡°Are you¡­ are you driving me away, Estel?¡± his eyes widened, and he shook his head then looked away. ¡°This is what I want¡­ I don¡¯t want some people, some stranger, to intervene.¡±


    He sounded a bit more forceful than before.


    It warmed my heart to see and feel his love for me, an intense love. But¡­ I want something good to happen to him as well.


    ¡°My beloved brother, I am not driving you away. I would never.¡± I reached out for his hands and gently held them. I looked at his eyes, but he kept them away. ¡°Estevan, please look at me.¡±


    He slowly turned his head at me, his eyes conflicted. I fondly smiled.


    ¡°I love you, brother. That is why I am concerned for your well-being, your heart and mind, and most of all your future. I want you to be truly happy, happy to meet and live with someone very special. And that someone could be even more special than me. If you do, I will be relieved knowing that you wouldn¡¯t grow and live alone.¡±


    I stroked his cheek gently and caringly.


    ¡°You are the most important person to me,¡± he said.


    I shook my head. ¡°I know¡­ and I couldn¡¯t be happier. But I know your commitment to me is not completely of heartfelt love, but also due to obligations.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡±


    ¡°Perhaps I may be wrong. However, there might come a time when I have to go somewhere without you¡­¡±


    If that happens, when I no longer need you to always stay by my side¡­ what will you do?


    ¡°There may be a time when you will become alone, a time where your family has other matters to give attention to. Don¡¯t you want someone to be with you? A special someone to be with you when you are alone, in sickness and in health?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± he pursed his lips. ¡°You are the most important person to me, Estelia¡­ no one else. Even if you find someone you love more, you will always be what my heart contains. I will protect you when you are in danger, I will be your shield and your sword.¡±


    I gently shook my head.


    What a stubborn older brother.


    But I¡¯m sure that will change.


    ¡°¡­ I understand, brother. But I will hope you find someone special someday.¡±


    He furrowed his brows and looked through the window.


    There was silence for a moment.


    ¡°...Alright, Estelia¡­ I will think about what you said.¡±


    Glad that he will take my words to heart, I gently kissed him on the forehead.


    ***


    We had arrived home with no problem at all, that caused a bit of frustration within me. The moment the staff heard of my arrival, my two servants that remained here, Mera and Vernon, immediately went to meet me. But our reunion didn¡¯t take long as I wanted to rest in my room.


    I left my brother and headed for my room. My servants remained outside my room, I told them to go and leave me alone and they can go rest. They hesitated of course, and adamant as they were in staying, I was left with no choice but to be forceful. Since I insisted, they left me.


    ¡°Haaaah¡­¡±


    I heaved a long heavy sigh as I covered my face with both my hands, then roughly sat down on the bed. My chest warmed up as I lightly bit my lip. I raised my hand and pulled my hair a little, ruining my hair¡¯s arrangement. But I didn¡¯t care.


    ¡°Nothing happened¡­¡±


    Nothing happened¡­ Not even when I was out in the open, not when I was going home in the carriage.


    ¡°Why?!¡±


    I jumped up and paced around the room, breathing heavily. It was a simple plan but should be very effective! A target running around in the open, a very good opportunity to strike. But nothing!


    I stopped before the desk and slammed my hands, before staring at the mirror in front of me. It didn¡¯t make sense¡­


    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong¡­ something¡¯s totally wrong.¡±


    I grew anxious. Don¡¯t even tell me it¡¯s just the first day. No stupid fuck would miss that fucking opportunity!


    Goddammit!


    I have grown impatient. Months of preparation, and the first attempt failed. Did they perhaps sense it was a trap? No, impossible. I oversaw it. Only I, Father and the church people knew of the plan. Could it be a leak? But why would it be? A spy? Impossible, the church fought with them, and it was unlikely that someone like Oryn would just sneak into the church. Still¡­


    Leaked or not, they could have made a counter plan¡­


    My fist tightened. My blood boiled and my heart raced as I glared at myself.


    Patience? A hunter has to be patient? It was a different case with Oryn. Now, right now, I was not the hunter, I am the hunted. I don¡¯t like being hunted!


    Could it be I¡¯m a failure?


    First it didn¡¯t go as I expected now. Then before this, the attempt to capture the enemies using the fake message failed. Failure to get even the slightest of information about why they hunt me. Then that one significant failure¡­ my death¡­


    My failure caused my death, my blunder. Was that why I was disposed of? I was¡­ deteriorating? The professor¡­ seemed to have noticed something strange from my actions beforehand¡­ maybe that was what started it all... I have become dull, so instead of being resharpened, I was thrown away.


    It c-can¡¯t be.


    It can¡¯t be¡­ No¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m n-not a failure¡­¡±


    They¡¯re wrong¡­


    My head lowered.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a failure¡­ I am excellent¡­ I am remarkable¡­¡±


    I¡¯m tired¡­


    I slowly sat down on the chair.


    I miss my old team.


    Sometimes it¡¯s lonely.


    I closed my eyes.


    ¡­I must wait. Shouldn¡¯t be overwhelmed by emotions. I need to wait until after the festival finish, then I can get on with the other plan. Follow the process.


    I just want to have a little fun.


    Ah, that¡¯s right, I¡¯m about to have a date with Lucious tomorrow. That¡¯s good¡­ that¡¯s great. Exciting stuff. What do people do during dates anyway? Walk around, eat, talk, enjoy the view or something.


    Ugh, I hope I can have a little joy.


    Well, I also hope nothing goes wrong tomorrow¡­ even though it goes against the plan¡­ but I feel like I want some freedom from these stressful thoughts. But it would also be good if something happens.


    Haaaah, conflicted thoughts.


    Ah, I¡¯m not going to act like any teenager squirming as she feels restless for a date that¡¯s coming tomorrow. Like pfft, who does that¡­ not me¡­ I¡¯m only looking forward to it.


    ***


    I was laying down on my bed when I heard my mother¡¯s voice on the other side of the door.


    ¡°Estelia, may I come in?¡±


    I opened my eyes and slowly got up. I walked over to the door and opened it.


    ¡°Mother...¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, dear? Are you unwell?¡±


    ¡°N-No, it¡¯s not like that.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Alright¡­ is it okay if I enter?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    She entered and I closed the door after. We sat down on the bed side by side.


    ¡°Estelia, did you have fun?¡±


    I stared up at her. ¡°¡­ Yes¡­ it was interesting and fun.¡±


    She pouted. ¡°Are you sure? You don¡¯t sound like it. Be honest with me.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I¡­. It¡¯s not completely fun¡­ It was tense, I was restless the entire time.¡±


    She held my hand. ¡°I understand¡­¡± she then wrapped her arms around me and pulled me towards her.


    ¡°It must be tiring¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Estelia¡­ you can stay here in the palace. Isn¡¯t it safer?¡±


    I looked up at her. ¡°But it¡¯s the festival.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­ it¡¯s just¡­ it is dangerous for you out there.¡±


    I lowered my head. I knew it, she was against me walking out there. When we were discussing the plans when going out for the festival, she seemed to want to refuse from allowing me to go out. But just couldn¡¯t bring herself to say it given that the others were fine with it, and it was my will.


    And now she was offering to let me stay here where it¡¯s safe. Like it had always been. Always kept here in the palace walls where it was safe. But I can¡¯t¡­


    ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s alright, mother¡­ I can take it. There are people that will protect me, right?¡±


    ¡°Estelia¡­¡±


    ¡°Mother¡­ it is alright.¡±


    With sadness in her eyes, she lowered her gaze. ¡°Very well¡­ I won¡¯t press you any further.¡±


    She then kissed me on the cheek.


    ¡°You need to change clothes before coming for dinner, okay?¡±


    I was still wearing my formal dress even as I was laying down on my bed. I didn¡¯t feel like changing my clothes when I arrived here. It¡¯s hard to take these off, okay? Plus all the accessories.


    ¡°Okay, mother.¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 51: Date (Part 1)

    Hello! Estelia here! It¡¯s a big day~! It¡¯s a big day! Second day of the fest! And you know what day it is! A time where everyone can freely have fun and tour around the festival, a time where your attention won¡¯t get divided to official events! That¡¯s right, this was the time to spend the festival with someone you like!


    ¡°Life could be dream~ Life could dream~ Do-roo-do-do, sh-boom¡­ Hmm Hmmm~¡±


    I was walking down the hallway with prancing steps with my servants behind me when I quietly sang that particular song. Just the first line, I sang the rest in my head. That just slipped by because of a little excitement. Finally doing something new in life!


    ¡°Excited, princess?¡±


    I turned my head to look at Vernon who asked that question.


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be? I have been waiting for this time with Lucious.¡±


    I smiled. That¡¯s right, the time of the date, it was today! A lot of discussion took place with my family while thinking of how to handle this day with Lucious. But after some compromising and a little of my convincing, everything turned out well than initially thought.


    ¡°Good for you princess, it is important to experience the wonders of youth as you are still young.¡±


    ¡°Really? Yes, I suppose you¡¯re right.¡± I nodded, agreeing with him.


    A true youthful experience! What people around my age tends to do. I have watched plenty of movies that goes through it, I watched mostly action movies by the way, so not much experience. That being said, young adult movies or series were not that great to watch¡­


    There may be a few wholesome ones, I guess. But mostly those that star young protagonists don¡¯t sit well with me. What¡¯s up with people writers going straight and go into sex? Where¡¯s the wholesomeness? All people seem to care about were getting laid. Bleeeh, it disgusts me! And oh gosh the shows in the later years of my life have been bad, all politics and shit. They don¡¯t even make it subtle!


    So much for escapism.


    If some show tries to shove politics into my eyes and throat, get the fuck out! I want to relax, not get stressed!


    There are a few that are actually pretty good, that you just enjoy that you won¡¯t notice anything strange and anything preachy, you just get immersed. But they were so few that I might as well consider them rare treasures. I heard it was not that bad under 2020. I mean it¡¯s not just the entertainment that changed a lot or have gotten terrible or annoying to my tastes, the society as well. Private organizations rose to power way more than in the last decade, and now they can control governments outright, there have been plenty of wars going on because of that. People notice, but what can they do? Damn, there was even one time when a nuke was close to being used, the people mattered little.


    Time of dystopia is coming for sure! If it¡¯s that bad in 2029, I can only imagine how it would be in 2050. Maybe it¡¯s a good thing I got out of there before things got worse. I fear next thing I¡¯ll know there¡¯s a chip in my brain.


    Rogan chuckled from behind. ¡°I¡¯m sure Lucious himself is anxious, so in case your nervous princess, remember that the feeling is mutual. Good luck with the date!¡±


    ¡°U-Um H-Hm¡­ yes, I suppose that can be called a d-date.¡±


    ¡°A d-date¡­¡±


    I turned with narrow eyes at the girl a little behind me, namely Mera. She cast her gaze downward without looking at anyone. She only heard about this today, and she¡¯s been out of it since earlier.


    Really. I went too far with her. What do I do with her? It would be wrong if she expected something big will happen between us. Her feelings were doomed to fail. I only intend to be her ¡°friend¡± at most. I emphasized that word because it wasn¡¯t really that genuine.


    Besides, everyone around me, all of them¡­ were outsiders¡­


    Rogan, Vernon also¡­


    It was different to be accompanied by those that grew the same as me, and those who didn¡¯t. In the end, my deepest and true nature will never change¡­


    My inner feelings say¡­. They are only ¨C no, never mind, that would dampen the mood now, wouldn¡¯t it? People may start to hate me if I speak any further.


    I¡¯ll just ignore Mera for now and focus on my joyful day. Rogan and Vernon of course noticed something was weird with Mera but they didn¡¯t check up on her yet as they have their hands full with me.


    ¡°I would not worry you princess, but be careful of your surroundings, okay?¡± Rogan said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be there beside you.¡±


    ¡°As will I be.¡± Vernon added.


    ¡°Indeed, but you will still be watching over me from afar.¡±


    A bit creepy to be honest. But nothing can be done about it. Lucious of course wouldn¡¯t know about this, don¡¯t have to ruin his day because of me. I can ignore the hidden guards, but I don¡¯t think he could.


    ¡°Hard to be a princess, huh?¡± Rogan remarked.


    It¡¯s not hard to be a princess, but rather it¡¯s hard to be hunted. I swear I¡¯ll end this sooner than later.


    ¡°I just hope nothing ruins this special day¡­¡±


    To be honest, I¡¯m a bit confused about what I want today¡­ My right brain says it wants the enemies to attack, but my left brain says it wants this day to go smoothly. Not literally the brain so metaphorically speaking.


    But if something bad happens, I¡¯m worried Lucious might die. He cannot fight after all.


    We arrived at the lobby and at the same time encountered Eleden and his girlfriend, Lillie. My brows knitted a little for a moment. They were going to do the same thing I was supposed to do with Lucious.


    Going incognito. Royal hiding in public as they have fun. It was supposed to be my unique moment that happened today. But nooo¡­ these two lovebirds just have to do the same, so much for being special.


    I am a bit displeased, no matter how unreasonable that may be. I am only honest with my feelings.


    ¡°My sister, you look fabulous.¡±


    Eleden said to me with a nod.


    I was wearing a laced beautiful white and red dress, and then brown boots. One of the clothes made by my tailor. Simple enough for a casual outing, but beautiful enough that it screams I¡¯m rich! Not that I¡¯m against it of course, I love to look good.


    ¡°I should say, Princess Estelia, your hair is so lovely. The braiding is wonderful as well, the way it shortened the length but still looked neat.¡±


    ¡°Um, thank you. Mera braided it; she has been a great help when handling my lengthy hair.¡±


    ¡°No plans to cut it then?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°I see. Reminds me of my little sister. She likes her hair kept long and would run whenever someone comes to cut it.¡±


    ¡°Is that so.¡±


    I want to verbally say ¡°long hair supremacy¡± but of course I wouldn¡¯t.


    ¡°Then, my sister, we¡¯ll be going first. Lucious will arrive shortly. He was being too meticulous with how he looks.¡±


    He chuckled then grabbed the two cloaks presented by the servant and gave one to Lillie. Eleden should really stop exposing Lucious like that.


    ¡°Okay, brother¡­ um, have fun.¡±


    With that, with cloaks covering them, they left the lobby. Now I¡¯m just waiting for my date¡­ It was still ahead of schedule anyway, so there¡¯s no problem. I¡¯m not gonna get mad because someone¡¯s late, okay? I¡¯m not that type of girl. I am an understanding girl.


    I sat down on the nearby chair and gracefully placed my hands on my lap. While waiting, my fingers tapped on my lap. Happens to anyone who were a bit restless or excited. It¡¯s a bit nerve-wracking to say the least, my first time going on an actual date.


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    ¡®But Estelia you¡¯re an assassin and you get nervous by a date?!¡¯ Shut it! I¡¯m still a girl through and through!


    Is it wrong to feel this way¡­? Hmmm?!


    I waited for about a minute until the one I was waiting for finally came right about time.


    ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry for making you wait, Estelia¡­¡±


    I kindly smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t mind. You look good, by the way¡­¡±


    He looked like a proper young gentleman. His dark blue coat and shirt under were neat without a trace of wrinkle, his trousers just appropriately fit, and black boots. His outfit fit him perfectly, stylish, and attractive. His hair was combed nicely and he looked cool. He looked even more handsome now that he prepared himself.


    ¡°Really? Thanks¡­ And you, you look absolutely¡­ mesmerizing.¡±


    ¡°U-Ehm¡­ mm, yes¡­¡± I pulled my hair behind my ear. ¡°A shame I would get covered by my cloak in the end.¡±


    ¡°There are places where no one should constantly go, you can freely remove your cloak there.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡±


    He nodded his head and turned to face the nearby servant. ¡°Is the carriage ready?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    The carriage we¡¯ll be using was going to be a simple one so we wouldn¡¯t stand out. Then we¡¯ll be dropped off just outside the city. Wouldn¡¯t be a good date if we just ride the carriage around the city streets.


    I received my cloak.


    ¡°Let me help you.¡±


    Lucious offered help, so I accepted. This was another cloak, so two cloaks for me now. I drew the hood upon my head and made sure to cover my face as much as possible, especially my precious hair. Lucious wouldn¡¯t need to wear a cloak since no commoner knows him to begin with. He was just an assistant to the prince, and he didn¡¯t need to go out often where the public can see him.


    Besides, the common populace wouldn¡¯t go crazy for someone who wasn¡¯t a royal. But I guess he¡¯ll just wear the hood to make sure.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±


    ¡°Alright, we can go.¡±


    Vernon bowed his head. ¡°Stay safe, you two.¡±


    Rogan smiled at me. ¡°Have a pleasant time.¡±


    Mera seemed to panic as she was yet to speak, and she frantically lowered her head. ¡°H-Have f-fun.¡±


    I nodded at them with a smile and walked out of the palace beside Lucious.


    Oh wait, there was one problem.


    ¡°Um, Lucious¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°I have no money.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    His eyes widened before his cheek puffed and when he couldn¡¯t hold it in any longer, his repressed laughter escaped. ¡°Hahaha!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±


    ¡°Sorry sorry. Hehehe. I just didn¡¯t expect you would be worried about that. You don¡¯t have to. As the man, it¡¯s all on me. I mean, that¡¯s how it normally goes since I asked you out.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­? Alright.¡±


    Wew. Thankfully it went as I expected. Well, would be weird if I must spend when obviously I¡¯m broke.


    How could I be so poor yet so rich?


    ***


    The carriage stopped and I got down with a hand from Lucious. We were a bit distant from the majority of the crowd and the carriage had to move around a little to avoid it being obvious that the carriage came from the palace.


    I pulled my hood down as I scouted the loud and filled street. People seemed to be really having a good time, food stands on the sidewalks and people eating and chatting. Lucious particularly picked this side of the city as this area was where most activity was. Of course, where the thickest traffic was, was where there were a lot of things to do.


    Lucious audibly inhaled as though nervous as he stared at the crowd of people. I turned to the carriage as it moved to the side of the road, here it will be staying until we¡¯re done.  I gazed up at the blue sky, a morning given life and brightness by the sun.


    Alright, a good day to have a leisurely fun. Just a normal day!


    I stepped forward.


    ¡°Lucious let¡¯s go. I want to check that food stand!¡±


    I excitedly pointed at the stand where there appeared to be a crowd gathering. If there¡¯s a lot of people, it means it¡¯s good. I am of course looking forward to the foods the festival offers, it¡¯s one of the main attractions of every festival. What sort of festival without any special food, eh?


    Lucious chuckled. ¡°Of course, take the lead.¡±


    I moved onward with energetic steps, letting out a little hum of a song. I slowed down when the number of people in front of me increased and I stayed close to Lucious. Shortly, we arrived at the food stand, I stood on tiptoe as I took a peek from the people¡¯s shoulders.


    From what I can see, the stand was selling fried vegetables dipped in some kind of sauce. Some vegetables were familiar of course, and I¡¯m curious what made it different with it being fried.


    The person in front of me left and I took his place.


    ¡°Woah.¡±


    It looked delicious. They were sliced in flat circles, while some curling, reminded me of fried potatoes. All in all, the food here looked pretty interesting.


    ¡°Looks delicious, want some?¡± Lucious asked me.


    I looked up at him and gently nodded my head. He bought one stick for each of us. It smelled good which I think is mainly because of the sauce. One should be cautious when eating street foods. But you know, screw that! I¡¯ll eat whatever for today.


    And so I did bit on the food. As expected it was delicious, the sauce truly gave it some apt sweetness, with the vegetables had a little bit of saltiness but not too much, mainly it had flavor.


    No wonder a lot of people gathered here. Before I can bite more, we needed to leave the stand as more people were gathering. Standing at the side of a building, we finished consuming the food.


    ¡°Interesting that commoners are able to create such a delightful food.¡± Lucious said after he slowly chewed.


    ¡°Indeed¡­ reminds me of the time Estevan had me eat some worms.¡±


    ¡°W-Worms?!¡±


    ¡°Yes, worms. Never seen it before?¡±


    ¡°N-No¡­ but worms? Are they even edible? Is it delicious?¡± he asked hesitantly. It must be unthinkable for an aristocrat to eat something such as a worm.


    ¡°Yes, it is delicious in fact. However, I will not be eating those again.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s for the best.¡±


    ¡°Do you go out to the city often, Lucious?¡±


    We were childhood friends, but when he started to really work for Eleden, we didn¡¯t get to be in touch much as before. So I wonder if he often went out to the city for a variety of reasons. But in my recollection, Eleden never goes out much as Estevan unless for official business. Still, Lucious could be going around places when he¡¯s free.


    ¡°Not really. For sightseeing and scouting sometimes, yes. But for casual visits and such, no.¡±


    ¡°Even during festivals?¡±


    ¡°Festivals are times when it¡¯s usually the busiest. My time to take a look at the festival is scarcely limited. Plus, it is lonely to go out when you have no one else to be with.¡±


    ¡°What about Eleden?¡±


    ¡°Well, he is royalty. It is hard to bring him around.¡±


    ¡°I suppose. Which reminds me, I wonder where the two of them now.¡±


    ¡°Eleden and Lady Lillie? Should not be far from us. We might encounter them by luck later on.¡±


    This could have been a double date, but what¡¯s the fun in that?


    When we finished eating the food, we threw the wooden stick at the nearby wooden trash box. We went around places. Taking a look at what people were selling, from souvenirs to craftings and carvings. Most of the products were wooden as expected.


    That being said, the craftsmanship was exquisite. I¡¯m still impressed at how people were able to do all of that detail manually. Lucious asked me if I want to buy some, but I denied him. Not really my style to keep stuff. And I don¡¯t want to be carrying things on my date!


    Walking further into the crowded district, we encountered a small open area where a group of musicians were playing music with a crowd. Drums, windpipe, and stringed instruments played beautifully, along with them were the classy vocals.


    People danced to the music; smiles filled their faces. Their dance was something I was familiar with, it was taught to me in my etiquette lesson once, one that was only tackled a little as it was only simple. The men and women on the dance floor laughed heartily and joyfully, some looking for partners as they dance, while some brought their true partners with them.


    One of the singers walked to crowd while singing and pulled a couple into the dance floor. They were embarrassed at first but shortly danced with the others. It was particularly not a romantic song; it was a song about companionship. The instrumentals were so catchy that one might be urged to dance.


    I liked it. I smiled at the scene in front of me. I could truly feel the joyous atmosphere. Suddenly, one female singer noticed us and immediately walked over to us. I noticed it a little too late as I was enjoying the scene and would be embarrassing to walk out now.


    She grabbed my hand and Lucious¡¯s. I turned to look at Lucious with wide eyes, surprised that this was happening. Without waiting for a reaction, the woman pulled us into the front.


    Lucious and I ended up facing each other, I looked up at him with a concerned smile.


    He lightly scratched his cheek. ¡°Hehehe¡­¡± he quietly chuckled, his cheeks red. ¡°So, what are we going to do?¡±


    He looked quite cute when he was hesitant and embarrassed. He wanted to dance but was hesitating because I may not like doing it. I smiled sweetly and held out my hand to him, waiting for him to receive it.


    He stared at it and smiled, but the corner of his lips was shaking a little. He gently took hold of my hand, and vertically raised our hands while our palms touched each other. The same we did on the other hand.


    After that, we slowly let go of one hand while the remaining touching palms held their position as we stretched away and slowly made a tiny distance. As we were about to get separated, we swirled while keeping the momentum of our prior motion.


    After that single swirl, we faced each other. I lifted the sides of my cloak, a curtsy, while he bowed, his hand on his chest, while the other was on his back. We waited for that little change in the music. A second later, a shift came, as if it was deliberately changed for us.


    I took a step forward while making tiny stationary steps after one step, all in a timely manner with the music. The vocals were out and only the instrumentals remained. My body swayed with every step.


    Mine and Lucious¡¯s palms touched. We stared each other in the eyes as our faces got closer. We stepped to the side and switched the palms touching each other, with my free hand spread out.


    Feet dancing, body swaying, we swirled and returned touching our hands. We keep our eyes on each other. Our dance was completely in sync, and it was satisfying. I never liked doing it with my dancing partner during practice.


    Lucious¡¯s gaze felt more peaceful. His touch was more pleasant. His presence was gentle. I was lost in the moment. The heavy weight in my heart lightened as all worries slowly slipped out of my mind.


    My smile became involuntary.


    This moment was¡­ enjoyable.


    The next part of the dance, this was the gentle part. With him holding my hand, he gently pulled me. He then gently placed a hand on my waist, while I put my hand on his shoulder. Our faces were closer than ever.


    My body became a little warmer. I lowered my head.


    The dance continued. Footwork silent.


    Eventually, we reached the ending. We separated but keeping the palms of our hands touching each other as we slowly moved back away. After that, we bowed at each other once again.


    With that, our dance came to an end. How unfair, they switched to a romantic song. I knew about it from my music lessons. They may have removed the vocals, but I still recognized that song.


    The people around us applauded. I took a look around, and I was relieved that there were other people dancing with us, so we weren¡¯t the center of attention. My hood was drawn back a little, but thankfully still hid my white hair, I pulled it in further.


    Lucious suddenly grabbed my hand and brought me out of the crowd. We stopped at a corner. We stared at each other, smiling together.


    ¡°That was fun¡­¡± I quietly said.


    ¡°Indeed, it was. A little nerve-wracking though, I have not danced in front of that many people. But I still enjoyed dancing with you.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Mm¡­ It was lovely¡­ dancing with you¡­¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 52: Date (Part 2)

    We went around the city, and truly every corner was busy, bustling with activity. We entered a building where they displayed beautiful and distinguishable paintings drawn on both big and small canvases. Lucious and I discussed a lot about the art, speculating on how some things were done.


    He was quite well-versed in painting it appears, and it was pleasing to speak with someone that can be finely spoken with about art. While looking at the paintings, it was wonderful to see such illustrations where artists get to show their own art styles.


    I can get to look at how they have done perspective, anatomy, and the way they drew colors. I even saw one that was almost reminiscent of Van Gogh¡¯s paintings, I imagine the artist carry the same hardship.


    Back on the old world, I often take a look at paintings whenever I have the time. I may not favor drawing but watching and seeing paintings was still a pleasant time.


    Lucious spoke about his time in his art lessons that his mother inserted among his other studies. His mother loved paintings, and she was exceedingly talented in that field. Which of course the reason she forced Lucious to at least have little training in art.


    We were tempted to buy one of the paintings, but it would be difficult to buy now when we were still planning to go everywhere else. Later on, we decided to return when we were about to go back home.


    After the painting gallery, we encountered a colorful and lovely decorated booth, not a small one but a whole building. Before we knew it, the staff dragged us inside. They assured us there was no need to pay, but that was not the issue here.


    Then shortly we discovered it was a love booth. They forced us to hold hands and then they tied our hands together with a red string. The holding of hands was a shock to me and it felt a little embarrassing. Our grip was loose, but our hands still touched. I looked up at him and he awkwardly smiled, and I averted my eyes away, my cheeks blushing.


    We walked through the passage, and colorful flowers filled the walls, while the staff showered us with red petals.


    This should be illegal!


    I pulled my hood down further.


    There were people here that watched us with bright eyes. Then there was a girl who led us to a small room that seemed to replicate a small park and garden. Then they gave us a red fruit stuck to a stick and requested us to offer the fruit to each other ¨C that meant of course I would feed Lucious the fruit, and his to me.


    How the hell did this end up this way? This was too sudden! So weird.


    But still in the end we carried it out. I felt warmth in my chest, and it was hard to breathe.


    Afterward, there were other moments in the booth that would be deemed special. Embarrassing yet memorable¡­


    But I will not be talking about it!


    I felt a bit relieved when we left, and it felt more awkward to be standing next to Lucious.


    After a bit of walking, we found ourselves going towards a riverbank where there were no other people around.


    ¡°This is a nice spot, we should rest here for a while if you are tired, Estelia.¡±


    I gently nodded my head.


    We gently sat down on the grass, and I gazed at the clear river. I saw fishes swimming in the water, then a few leaping up in the air, leaving a splash as they returned into the water.


    ¡°So um, Estelia, where do you want to go afterward¡­?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I wish to stay here for a while with a clear mind.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­ If I am right, this is your second time casually going out of the palace, right?¡±


    ¡°¡­ How did you know?¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, Eleden and I just heard about it. Some of the staff knew about it, and Estevan mentioned it.¡±


    ¡°Oh I see¡­ I was with Estevan last time¡­¡± I returned my gaze to the river. ¡°¡­ He said we can go fishing the next time we go out.¡± I smiled. ¡°But I imagine it would be a while before that.¡±


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    ¡°¡­ Estelia¡­ will you be going out frequently from now on?¡±


    ¡°It is hard to say. I cannot even go out without having to hide myself. It will be difficult.¡±


    ¡°But if there comes a time when you no longer have to, where do you wish to go?¡±


    I looked up at the sky as I pondered.


    ¡°Firstly I wish to venture around the entire capital, take in the sights. After that, outside the city. Anywhere pleasant will do.¡±


    I¡¯m not really choosy, I mostly don¡¯t have any leisure of picking places I want to visit. Back in the old world, I could only go to places I am interested in if I¡¯m lucky my mission would take place there, and if I survive afterward, and if I don¡¯t have any more orders.


    ¡°If there¡¯s an opportunity, you can visit my family¡¯s demesne if you wish to do so. I¡¯m certain you will have a peaceful time there.¡±


    I turned at him with a wide smile. ¡°Then I can also meet your family!¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    ¡°That would be wonderful indeed! I will be looking forward to it, Lucious.¡±


    ¡°Well, an initial schedule would be appreciated.¡±


    ¡°I cannot say for certain yet, but someday.¡±


    I cannot go out for any leisure outings yet. After I have taken care of the problem, I would need to let off some steam. Meaning, I don¡¯t know, have a peaceful sleep for a week ¨C I haven¡¯t had that for months now, and my body has started to feel a bit heavy. High blood pressure is a bitch.


    A big fish jumped out of the water. It had a beautiful colorful scale like a rainbow. Like wow, I have never seen such a fish. And its tail almost looked like a fan.


    ¡°That fish looks lovely!¡±


    ¡°I never saw like it before.¡±


    We rushed to the side of the river to watch the strange fish. I want to catch it and find out what it tastes like. What? Expecting me to make it as a pet? Pfft, noooo¡­ Oh wait, colorful things in nature tends to be poisonous. So could that thing be poisonous? Dammit.


    Nature and its beautiful, alluring, and deceptive creatures. Beautiful yet can kill you easily.


    Like me¡­ Get it? ¡®Cause I¡¯m beautiful and¡­ ugh, never mind ¡ª this is getting old.


    ¡°Want me to catch it for you?¡±


    I looked at Lucious with wide eyes after hearing his offer.


    ¡°No! You don¡¯t have to drench your clothes. Let¡¯s just admire it from a distance.¡±


    ¡°If you say so.¡±


    Well, I could easily capture it with magic, but what would I do with it anyway after catching it?


    We watched it together for a few seconds before I sensed Lucious gazing at me, at my beautiful face as if remembering every detail. I curiously looked back at him.


    ¡°¡­ L-Lucious?¡±


    ¡°My apologies¡­. I, I just love looking at you.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying so suddenly?¡± I straightened myself as I felt a bit cautious.


    ¡°Estelia¡­¡± he slowly reached out for my hands. ¡°I cannot hold back my feelings for you, Estelia.¡±


    He stared at my eyes intently.


    ¡°My feelings only grow stronger at every moment I am with you, at every moment my eyes perceive you. I want to spend my life with you and build our little castle.¡±


    My eyes widened. I know that indirect phrase, that last sentence of his. It was meant to be used when one was serious and wanted to confess their feelings ¨C used between aristocrats. He was asking if I would requite his love.


    I took in a deep sharp breath. Why so sudden?


    ¡°L-Lucious¡­ why are you doing this?¡±


    ¡°I love you, Estelia.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Why? I am uninteresting, boring¡­ I¡­ I have no usefulness ¨C¡±


    ¡°Estelia, it¡¯s hard to put into words but¡­ I love spending my time with you. My heart grows warm when I hear your voice, my soul celebrates whenever I talk with you.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°You are perfect in my eyes. I have loved you ever since we first met.¡±


    I looked down at his hands warmly holding unto mine. This was the first ever that something like this happened, one that was truly sincere. So sincere that it felt like it burns my flesh.


    Do I want this?


    But there was no way.


    I¡­ I feel no love towards him.


    Am I truly far from being human? No, impossible¡­


    Thinking deeper. I have this strange feeling in my chest. So pleasant. One so small waiting to grow. But I was still uncertain.


    Yes, still uncertain. That was why¡­ I need to be.


    ¡°Lucious, I must ask you to wait for the flowers to bloom during springtime.¡±


    He blinked and lowered his eyes, and then smiled.


    ¡°Then, I will keep on going, until the garden is vibrant with color.¡±


    I decided to have more time and give this progress a chance. Perhaps in the future, a little castle might be built.


    ***


    We returned home around late afternoon. I retired to my room shortly after arrival. I was pretty tired, it was fun yes, but of course I would get tired after all that walking around. Although I really didn¡¯t feel the tiredness until I arrived back home.


    I was so tired that I collapsed on the bed deliberately and heaved a deep sigh. I grabbed a nearby pillow and embraced it. It was a very pleasant time, and it was surprisingly productive.


    I thought back, and a smile slowly rose at the corner of my lips. Lucious¡¯s face flashed in my mind. That felt like the most casual time I ever had in my entire life, there might be others, but they never came to mind at the moment.


    Yeah, so casual that I had forgotten about¡­


    Oh yeah¡­


    Remembering my plight put me off the mood. I rose from my bed and looked in the mirror.


    ¡°It would seem joyful moments are fleeting.¡±


    With sad eyes, I averted my gaze away from myself, then gently set aside the pillow. I rubbed my fingers together, pondering.


    ¡°Haaaaah¡­¡± I sighed.


    I went over to the door and locked it, then properly closed the curtains before stretching an arm under the bed and pulling out a bag. I removed the contents and placed them on the bed.


    ¡°Preparation in case of failure¡­¡±


    No time to feel all tired, no time to rest for now. I then grabbed the smaller leather straps and picked up a small dagger then began tinkering around. As I held the dagger in my hand, I felt a cold sensation, not from the physical contact with the hilt, but from the cold sensation of calmness.


    My anxiety lessened somewhat at the touch of my blades. Then, a feeling I have buried deep inside began leaking out. A craving. A desire I have suppressed for a very long time. An aspect I have been carrying in my entire life that I will never be rid of.


    I did not know whether I should be glad, or sad¡­


    But as I had always done, it was often best to be honest with my feelings.


    And thus, I let that feeling grow.


    Then I continued with my work.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 53: Colosseum (Part 1)

    Way early time of the day, before the sun even began to rise, the entrance to the colosseum has already been opened for the audience. In no time at all, people gradually began entering, seemingly looking forward to the event.


    This particular event, where warriors or fighters fight together in a non-lethal battle, started a long time ago by a warrior king of Wisteria. That particular king loved battle, he loved the thrill of combat, the adrenaline, and dancing with death. He was both respected and feared, but that also made him one of the most difficult rulers to like.


    Bored to death and looking for a challenge, he built a colosseum to satisfy his own needs. It was where he would be entertained by the struggles of other people as they overcome harsh and hard challenges. And perhaps, find someone that he might be on par with.


    But such a plan was frowned upon by his subordinates and members of the family. If he carried on with this, where blood would be needlessly spilled and life taken, they would be no different from the nearby barbaric empire.


    But the king remained stern and proposed that deliberate killing will be forbidden and winners shall be aptly rewarded. If he found someone he wanted to spar with, it would be held in private.


    He indeed was a disliked king because of his nature. But in the end, the colosseum was built and it lived on for centuries and had thus become an essential part of the annual festival.


    But at present, there was a change, the people had heard that not only humans would be coming into the arena, but a monster as well. This made people curious and excited about the upcoming event. A lot had never seen a monster before and were looking forward to seeing one. While others just wanted to see a fight between man and monster.


    It would appear that the people longed for something new. It even came as a surprise that such a thing was allowed as monsters were uncontrollable. But no one would be foolish enough to bring a monster they cannot neutralize, and with the number of knights present, the monster would not be able to do anything too chaotic.


    A middle-aged man walked down the dark corridor of the colosseum, his hair was dark, his eyes brown, and a brown skin complexion. He had a muscular physique and a long scar on the side of his face. Daggers on his belt and sword at the side of his waist.


    He was the knight named Elson Metrial. He was the one assigned to manage the monster that was captured, and also the one who led the capture. It took a lot of deliberation on which creature they should capture as they had to be very cautious of what to pick. If they didn¡¯t, it would risk causing a monster to run rampant in the city that they couldn¡¯t subjugate.


    He nodded at the knights guarding parts of the corridors until eventually he arrived at a wide chamber where knights sternly stood guard as they glared at the cage at the center of the room, with a large beast chained inside. It growled disturbingly, glaring at them with intense pressure.


    The knights had never tried to keep guard a captured monster as they never wanted to before. Monsters were meant to be eliminated after all. This one here was captured before the festival began, meaning they have been keeping this monster in a place that it was not supposed to for a while now. To keep it from going berserk, they would need to feed it with a large amount of meat four times a day.


    ¡°Feed it twice the amount for today. We don¡¯t want it to weaken for its performance.¡± Elson ordered.


    The knights then proceeded to throw large amounts of meat at the monster, an amount that would feed a family for days.


    ¡°Damn, the winner will be fighting that? After duels against multiple enemies?¡± a knight asked.


    That would indeed be difficult to do. No, it would be absurd to expect.


    ¡°This is the first of its kind, the event. I¡¯m sure we can adjust next time.¡± Elson responded. "Besides, this is why this place is also called the Arena of Perseverance.¡±


    ¡°I suppose. Humans overcoming hard challenges, and persevering in the end. The purpose of this event.¡±


    ¡°Adding a monster into the number of challenges would make things more meaningful.¡±


    ¡°Man against a monster. Would make for a good tale. Although I worry that it would be too difficult for the person to fight this, we had a hard time capturing it after all.¡±


    ¡°The intent is different, therefore the result will not be the same.¡± their goal was to capture which would naturally make things more difficult. But in the arena, the goal will be to eliminate the monster. Thus, there would be no need for a human to hold back.


    Elson watched as the monster violently chewed on the food it was given.


    ¡°What if it kills the contender?¡± a knight asked.


    ¡°It won¡¯t, or so I hope,¡± Elson said. ¡°We will be watching closely, and we are free to intervene when we think it is getting too deadly or if the contender is about to die. Besides, they are free to pass, we¡¯ll have participants who would be willing anyway, the reward is quite the sum.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope nothing bad is going to happen. We never have done this before.¡±


    ¡°Everything has a beginning. If this is a success, I¡¯m sure this will go on for centuries. Don¡¯t you want to be a part of history?¡±


    ¡°I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Then keep up. Make sure everything is prepared to move out in the afternoon.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    ***


    I slipped into my white gloves as Mera decorated my hair, just on the light side of things. I was clad in a white and black dress, extravagant, almost like a gown, but light enough that I can walk with ease. The event I¡¯m going to had no need to wear a heavy dress like going out on my wedding day.


    I admired myself in the mirror, truly I looked so lovely, so pure, so wonderful, so perfect. That may be the most important part, but time to talk about the next part. Okay, namely about the event.


    The tournament, where people fight each other bla bla bla. In any case, I¡¯m pretty excited about it, time to get all bloody! If you know what I¡¯m saying. Except, there would likely be no death. A shame really. But if someone accidentally dies or something in the match, that would be cool.


    More than the human performers, there would be a monster. Ooooh, I am very curious about them given that I have never seen one before. Finally gonna get a glimpse of one.


    I do hope to be entertained.


    When the preparation was done, I went down to the palace entrance where everyone would be meeting to go to the colosseum. The moment I get outside I will be going into serious mode, but I need to be even more aware and observant when I arrive at the colosseum. I already had a leisurely time yesterday, time to get back to work.


    Dammit, when am I going to have a lazy time?


    On the way, I played around with my bracelets of diamonds, yup, diamonds with silver! I¡¯m such a big-timer. Honestly, they really love covering me with jewelry and treasure¡­ even though I am already a treasure, hehehehe.


    I united with my family and began riding in our carriage. This time there were only two. With me are Estevan and my two parents, while Eleden was with you know who. We got up pretty early, so we shouldn¡¯t be late if we take our time getting there.


    Time passed and we arrived at the colosseum which was around the southeast part of the capital. It was so big, like damn. Could fill like more or less than 50,000 people? Do we even have that many people living here in the city? Don¡¯t know, don¡¯t matter, I guess. Important thing was that it was impressive.


    We were brought to the rear of the building and entered inside. We were first greeted by the supervisor of the festival, Lucious¡¯s uncle, Hevrik Fumine Vekenas. He rubbed his hands together as if relieving himself of anxiety before greeting us. It was a bit lengthy since he had to greet all of us.


    When that was done, he led us to the royal box where we could oversee the arena. I inhaled sharply the moment we entered our box, at the front I could see the countless people. Holy shit, I¡¯m gonna be in front of this amount of people? Fuuuuck. First time this ever happened. This was even more than the first day ¨C or perhaps because I was not able to see everyone.


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    But still¡­


    Fuck it, whatever.


    I turned to look at the back side of the box and saw tables, and then inside my mind, narrowed my eyes at the dishes and desserts placed on them already. Strange, there should have been no food delivered yet. How do I know? That¡¯s because we the royal family should have been the ones to provide with our own servants.


    More than that, I know all proceedings and security procedures. Every single detail. I discussed and reviewed it with my father. And¡­ I precisely said not to let anyone else outside to prepare our food. That was indeed how it normally goes, but I still heavily suggested it. Too dangerous.


    And this was not part of the plan. Nor was this ever proposed. My chest burned in anger at the inconsistency, and my mind raced and became more alert.


    Who the fuck caused this?


    ¡°Oh, we have food, I don¡¯t think our servants have delivered yet?¡± I asked no one in particular.


    ¡°I prepared them, for you the royal family. As a surprise.¡± The one to respond was the Vekenas, the uncle. ¡°I have prepared special dishes, and to show my greatest resolve to his and her majesty, I will be here to serve you. Just call on me if you need anything.¡±


    You motherfucker.


    Unacceptable. Does he have any idea what he just pulled? This piece of shit. I don¡¯t care if he¡¯s related to Lucious, but this? You just made things more dangerous for me.


    One of the most dangerous things was inconsistency. Inconsistencies are signs which could mean anything, but anything could mean everything.


    The Vekenas was smiling, but I see a strain in his smile. The edges kept going down slightly then back, as if he was forcing his smile. He was a little oily despite being morning, he could just be feeling warm. He had been rubbing his thumb to his own hand, I didn¡¯t notice that mannerism when we first met.


    ¡°My household, specifically my wife, prepared them. I hope everyone will like it. Truth be told, she was very nervous about offering the dishes to the royal family. Please feel free to check them later.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s kind of you, Marquis.¡± My father responded. ¡°We¡¯ll be consuming them later then, we have only had our little breakfast. Give my thanks to your wife.¡±


    Hm? Father seemed to not be very bothered by it, in fact, he didn¡¯t seem too surprised. What? This does not ¡®normally¡¯ happen but does it happen often?


    ¡°Of course, I understand. Then, please sit.¡±


    I walked ahead first, faking it with a smile and prancing steps of excitement. But I was intending to look at the chairs first, at every one we are about to sit down. I first checked mine, it was clear. Then while I turned around and slowly taking a seat, I looked at the others.


    ¡­ Nothing weird.


    You¡¯ll never know, you know. There could needles there doused in poison. One prick and you could die. But still, I worry that I missed something, I didn¡¯t take quite a good look at every single one. That being said, I know this was just me being paranoid.


    When everyone sat down, there was no issue whatsoever. My parents, my brothers, and Lillie had no complaints.


    I wonder if my father also found it suspicious in any way, in my impression they were friends, maybe. I¡¯m afraid that might blind him. That being said, I need to think about what I can do myself in the future just in case. If it comes to it, I¡¯ll handle it myself, to make sure everything goes well. Remember the time I relied on others? Yeah, it failed.


    I turned my gaze at the Marquiz walking over to the side of the royals and stood, on standby for any order. It would seem I will need to keep an eye on him. Tch! There goes what was supposed to be my time of tiny leisure. Was intending to enjoy the fights a bit more, but that has gone to smoke.


    And I was pretty interested in how people fight in this world¡­


    Ugh.


    A few minutes of waiting later, a presenter stepped foot unto the arena with a cylinder object in his hand. The same one the high bishop used as some sort of microphone. Technology in this world was fascinating, although inferior, but fascinating, I want to get ahold of some items they have one day, things that look magical.


    I want to tinker around with them.


    The presenter greeted the audience and then proceeded to announce the presence of royalty. All of us in the VIP booth stood up, and my family with Lillie began waving in the deafening and echoing cheers of the people upon thousands.


    This number of people is insane, and I¡¯m one at the center of attention.


    As confident as I am with myself, still to face this number of people was a bit hard. I would have waved, but bear in mind I am the ever so innocent princess. Thus, I only stiffly smiled at everyone and stood.


    This reminded me of the time I first came to the cathedral, the silent treatment. Made me think the people here were not cheering for me at all. Ugh dammit, my self-esteem is taking damage ¡ª stop!


    When the waving was over, time to proceed to the main event. The presenter started with the rules and the reward of being the champion, then the fight with the monster later on.


    Ah yes, the monster. Oooh, very exciting. I never saw what one looks like, apparently there were many kinds. But I¡¯m still pretty excited to see one. I swear if they were just oversized animals, I¡¯ll be damn disappointed. But the knights fight them like they were big deals, so they may not be normal oversized animals.


    Is there an oversized hamster or puppy?


    Okay, ignore that thought.


    Then, it was time for the first duel.


    The knights with us stepped forward to the edge and held out their hands. They cast a spell and a transparent barrier formed to protect us. It was to protect us from misfires. Not only us, but knights deployed around the colosseum conjured barriers to protect the audience, creating a dome that covers the arena.


    I was already aware this would happen, that was why I was feeling a little safe. Not until this damn Marquis did something without telling us! Fuck you, Marquis!


    The presenter announced the participants.


    First was a man around his late twenties, with twin blades on his waist. He looked quite confident. His name was Rikus, and adventurer in the city. He was quite a high-ranking one as mentioned, so he should give a fair challenge, assuming that his enemy would be the same as him.


    He stopped at his side of the arena.


    Then it was time for his opposition.


    The next person that came in was named Taneva.


    He walked almost haughty, smiling widely as he peered around while mildly waving his hand. He was a handsome young man, I could tell from this distance, then he had long smoothly flowing bronze hair. In his hand was a plain simple spear, quality was no way near the weapons of his opposition.


    Even so, he seemed confident, with no sign of nervousness or stiffness at all. Which was a little bit disturbing given his weak weapon.


    But I suppose we should wait.


    The presenter let the two of them speak to each other ¡ª well, not speak but rather taunt each other. I couldn¡¯t hear what they were speaking of course. But the man Rikus seemed to feel confident about his victory, but Taneva gave a smirk of his own.


    When they were done, they stepped away from each other and kept a distance between each other at ten paces. The presenter left the arena, then a moment later, a trumpet roared signaling the start of the fight.


    The adventurer Rikus wasted no time and charged toward Taneva with his swords in hand. He moved faster than any normal human that if this was in my old world I would have screamed bullshit. But now I wasn¡¯t surprised, fighters in this world have skills that are considered normal here but not in my old world.


    Rikus was on the move to make his strike, however, Taneva failed to react. Or rather, perhaps he was too slow to respond? His eyes did seem to follow Rikus¡¯s movement, but perhaps his body was slower than his opponent''s. Taneva held his spear in both hands and placed the pole in front of him as if to block the attack he was anticipating.


    However, Rikus seemed to have expected this, and with swift feet, he slid behind Taneva. Taneva tried to turn around in response, but Rikus had already swung his blade, slashing Taneva¡¯s back. He immediately bled and collapsed to the ground.


    Hm, so much for a safe competition. And¡­ that was disappointing. I was expecting something special from his confidence. In any case, it was still in accordance with the rules, that slash wasn¡¯t fatal. I slightly covered my eyes with a hand, apparently bothered by the blood. But of course I was taking a peek. Hm, I¡¯m acting here but everyone¡¯s attention was on the fight¡­


    Then, to everyone¡¯s surprise, Taneva who collapsed on the ground suddenly stood up, his face lacked any sign of pain.


    He then spoke to Rikus. I can barely make up what they were saying, but Taneva should be saying something like ¡°Is that all?¡±


    Taneva sighed, looking genuinely disappointed. Then I surmised what he said next was ¡°You have nothing special.¡± I might have missed some, but you have to give me credit I could tell from this distance. But my guess consisted of assumptions, mostly, so take it with a grain of salt. I should learn the eye zooming spell thingy from the royal grimoire.


    Taneva appeared to continue speaking and Rikus looked like he was pretty offended and disturbed. He slashed Taneva¡¯s torso, prompting Taneva to step back in the attack but remained standing. The latter shook his head. It all seemed like he deliberately let Rikus strike him.


    ¡°What is going on? What is he thinking? Father?¡± Estevan asked Father, as he was pretty confused himself.


    ¡°I also don¡¯t understand. But any more, the fight must be stopped. Otherwise, he will bleed to death.¡±


    Yeah, he really took that deadly hit. Does he have a death wish or something? No one sane would do that. I wouldn¡¯t let even anyone do me like that.


    Then green light appeared on Taneva¡¯s hand, the light was so bright as he directed it at himself, I had a guess at what it was, but it didn¡¯t seem necessary to directly point the light at his wounds. All his bleeding stopped, and his wounds healed. My eyes widened at that powerful healing spell.


    I leaned forward and observed closely.


    Taneva flourished his spear and pointed the tip at his opponent. He stepped forward and did a strike. Rikus slashed his spear with his swords and tried to cut him, but Taneva trivially blocked his swords with the tip of his spear. He did it so casually that it was almost hilarious, like an adult playing with a child.


    Then as if tired of it, Taneva spun his spear and struck his opponent on the stomach with the bottom of his spear. Rikus¡¯s face distorted in sudden pain, causing a pause in his defense. Taking this opportunity, Taneva pulled back his spear, then with an arcing flourish, he stepped forward and slammed his spear on the back of his enemy.


    That knocked the sense out of his enemy, and Rikus fell to the ground.


    It went pretty easily to Taneva.


    Um¡­ was this normal? Was that what an average battle would look like? I was following Taneva¡¯s attacks, but you¡¯ll never know, you know.


    ¡°Huh, that was an impressive skill set.¡± my father remarked.


    ¡°Indeed, I imagine he would be around the level of an elite knight, at the level of Rogan.¡± Estevan added.


    Those two are so into this. Rogan, as the one mentioned, combed back his hair.


    ¡°Oh please, how could you say he¡¯s at my level with only seeing that, your highness? Don¡¯t you think I¡¯m something more?¡±


    ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s just what I think after seeing his movements and skills in the spear. Technique is still a deciding factor.¡±


    ¡°And magic. He also didn¡¯t use any magic.¡±


    ¡°Yes indeed.¡±


    Seeing that Rikus was out of commission, Taneva was announced to be the winner of the duel. The crowd cheered, with some sad and disappointed. Looks like someone lost some bets. Might be wondering how I could tell¡­ there are some people close to us okay? Enough that I can roughly tell from their faces.


    Taneva bowed deeply at the royal booth and then waved at the crowd with a bright smile.


    What a weird guy. Who the hell takes some hits and then demolishes someone shortly after? You flexing or something? It¡¯s insane and almost stupid that someone just takes attacks as if they believe they were durable enough to take all kinds of attacks.


    I would rather take the first shot. Better safe than sorry.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 54: Colosseum (Part 2)

    This was honestly a battle of endurance, sort of say. You may have finished one battle, but you also have another one in the coming hours. There may be healers available at all times, but it will still be straining to the person in some ways.


    Hard the last battle may be, the next battle may even be harder. Thus, the ideal situation would be to take little damage and use little effort as much as possible in the early battles to save some energy. But that was easier said than done. Everyone in this tournaments works hard and fought hard. Only the bravest would try to join this tournament.


    Heh, I would not even try to join this stuff.


    Anyways, there was some weird one joining in this tournament ¡ª if I say some weird one, I meant one weird one. Namely, the participant named Taneva. Like what the hell¡¯s wrong with him? In this next battle, like before, allowed his opponent to hit him with an almost fatal attack. That guy¡¯s insane.


    Then after feeling some sort of disappointment, I guess, he starts beating his opponent no sweat. Almost like he found this tournament trivial. I don¡¯t want anything to do with that guy. Stay away from crazy to be safe, I say. I wouldn¡¯t even be surprised if he would just randomly ask me to stab him.


    That aside, he wasn¡¯t the only strong one here. There were plenty of contestants that ¡°played¡± around with their opponents. Some with strong martial arts, while some with magic, while some with pure skills.


    I was particularly fascinated by the spells being thrown around. That said, I was already familiar with what the spells they were using, I did read a lot of spells in my books. Still it was fun seeing how magic casters survive enemies that physically attacks and how the casters keep their distance. Was not easy of course, but doable.


    I took grapes from the bowl near me and gracefully ate. No need for concern, these particular grapes that we were currently eating were prepared by our own servants. Besides, I let Rogan eat a few before I ate myself. Hehe, needless to say Rogan was a little bitter about being a food tester, but that was expected of his job, so he had to do it.


    I did my best to comfort him though.


    We have not ate the Marquis¡¯s foods yet. They were still being food tested as they avoided procedures. Don¡¯t think you can just do anything out of the plan pretty easily. That¡¯s right, as I said before ¡ª Fuck you, Marquis!


    Despite that, I¡¯m still being wary about my surroundings here in this booth. Even I was still checking out the food testers if they¡¯re doing their job properly. So far, nothing weird yet. When they were done, the testers left, not ideal to leave the booth crowded.


    Alright boys and girls, looks like I¡¯m living today! Hehehehe.


    In all seriousness, the end of the day was still far ahead.


    Time passed and after many battles in the arena, an hour before noon, Marquis Vekenas approached the king and queen.


    ¡°Given that the servings have been checked, I am excited to show you the finest wine in my collection. Would you be interested to have a taste, your majesties?¡±


    ¡°I assume that your bottle of wine has been checked as well?¡± Father asked.


    ¡°Of course, you majesty. Protocols must be followed after all.¡±


    My father turned to mother, and the latter smiled and nodded her head. Then father returned to face the marquis.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll judge this wine of yours.¡±


    ¡°Shall I prepare a glass to each member of the family and the guests as well?¡±


    ¡°I have no problem with it, give me one.¡±


    ¡°Lillie and I will also accept your offer.¡±


    Estevan and Eleden agreed to have a sip of the wine. Then everyone turned to look at me.


    ¡°Um¡­¡±


    ¡°Dear, you don¡¯t have to drink if you don¡¯t want to.¡± my mother said.


    I looked gently at the marquis, but behind my facade, I glared at him. Fucking casual!


    This game of his I am already too familiar with. Lack of evidence, but I know. Damn you.


    Tch, either way, I need to be certain.


    ¡°N-No¡­ I¡¯ll have a little. The Marquis appears to be very confident about his wine.¡±


    On the contrary, he seemed to be hiding his nervousness. His smile was twitching ever so slightly that no one could easily notice, his gaze seemed to be a little troubled but being suppressed. He held his palms together as he spoke and rubbing them, but I noticed they were a little sweaty.


    This might be the pressure of anticipating what his hosts might think about what he was to offer, but this nervousness might be because of something else.


    The marquis bowed and proceeded to head to the back of the room where the table was set. I reached out for the back of my neck and unhooked my necklace that was given to me by Eleden. I grasped the gem.


    Everyone was busy with the intensifying fight in the arena, wisely timed. I poured mana into the gemstone and gave it the properties and attributes I wanted. The gemstone turned from red to white then silvery. But that was not all, the color was still shifting as I was still finding the right color. Then, I stopped when the gemstone reflected my beautiful face. It only took around three seconds.


    I subtly shifted my right hand to the right and faced the mirror to the back of the room.


    ¡°... Princess¡ª¡± Rogan picked up what I was doing and grew confused and was about to look back. I didn¡¯t see that he was about to look back, but that would be a normal human response to look where I was looking, so I assumed he was about to. I raised my left hand to stop him. He understood and he froze.


    I was giving the Marquis an opening he wanted.


    He took the bottle from the box, and true that was checked earlier. However¡­


    The Marquis prepared several glasses and placed them on top of a steel plate. After arranging the glasses, he opened the bottle and poured them into the empty glasses. When that was done, after placing back the bottle to the table, he paused.


    He turned his head slowly as if looking out of someone, or anyone. Then he turned in our direction. As he did so, I closed my fist for a moment. Afterwards, I looked at the reflection. He seemed to be pulling something out of his coat pocket.


    Shortly, with his back on my direction, I saw his arm motioned as if he was pouring something into the drink. Sneaky fuck. He was using his body as a cover, but I saw through it. Poison wouldn¡¯t work on the royals because we have anti-poison spells.


    However, this reminded me of the time when my chef tried to poison me.


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    I noticed that he seemed to be pouring on different glasses.


    No way¡­


    I closed my fist and stood up from my seat. I cocked my head forward in front of Rogan, and he nodded. As I walked, I locked my necklace back to my neck.


    Then when I got close to the Marquis.


    ¡°Marquis, do you have a moment?¡±


    He froze for a moment before slowly moving his hand to his coat pocket. He turned around and I leaned a little to the side, there was a different color slowly mixing into the red wine. They have already blended too well, but saturation differs to a couple that I presume to still be clean.


    ¡°Princess, how may I serve you?¡±


    ¡°Nothing really, I just want to talk to you.¡±


    I walked over to the side of the table and looked at the covered dishes. I raised a lid and inhaled.


    ¡°You have prepared quite an impressive group of cuisines.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, your highness¡­¡±


    He was restless a little, but he was suppressing it. Despite that, he couldn¡¯t get past my eyes.


    ¡°That aside, I just want to speak with you, and perhaps get to be acquainted.¡±


    ¡°... Oh, that¡¯s a surprise. I didn¡¯t expect this,¡± he said as he stole a glimpse at Rogan.


    ¡°Well¡­ you are Lucious¡¯s uncle. Um,¡± I blushed a little. ¡°I want to hear what you think about him. And knowing that you are related, I think it is best to hear it from you.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ so what do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°Do you think I can rely on him?¡±


    He smiled. ¡°You are quite close, aren¡¯t you? Don¡¯t have an answer yourself?¡±


    ¡°I have strange feelings¡­ I want to hear the thoughts of others.¡±


    ¡°Well, he seemed to be serious about you, if that is what you want to know. Seeing how important you are to him, I¡¯m sure you can rely on him.¡±


    I touched my fingers together. ¡°Does¡­ Does Lucious have other women that¡­¡±


    ¡°You mean, ah, if I remember correctly, yes there are women that have an interest in him in their family¡¯s neighboring domain.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°But don¡¯t worry princess. He hadn¡¯t pursued anyone else, in the past or the present. Honestly, to think he would fall in love with the princess and try to aim for your heart.¡±


    ¡°Is that bad?¡±


    ¡°Not bad, but rather difficult.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­¡±


    ¡°To make things easier for him, he would need to reach a higher rank. But I guess anything is possible, the choice falls to you in the end.¡±


    ¡°I understand¡­ Thank you, Marquis.¡±


    I gazed at the wine of glasses and reached out for what I recall were the clean ones. The suspicious substance had blended with the wine leaving no traces, but I have memorised which one¡¯s which. With a clean wine in my hand, I timidly swirled it.


    ¡°This is a bit hard for me¡­ Oh, as thanks, what about we drink together, Marquis?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    I picked up one of the tainted wine glasses and offered it to him.


    ¡°Come on, take it, please drink with me.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± he hesitantly took the glass.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you take the lead given that you are more experienced in liquors.¡±


    ¡°Um, princess, shouldn¡¯t we drink with¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, everyone else is still busy. Come now.¡±


    I extended my hand and waited for him. He hesitantly clinked with my glass and I stared at his eyes with a friendly smile.


    This was supposed to be the part where he starts drinking. However¡­


    ¡°Marquis, what¡¯s wrong? Come on, drink. Is there a problem?¡±


    He looked at the glass of wine in his hand then at my innocent face.


    ¡°... P-Princess I¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm? You seem troubled, Marquis.¡±


    He held his stomach as if in pain.


    ¡°Pardon me, princess, my stomach doesn¡¯t feel well.¡±


    ¡°Just a little won¡¯t do?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ no I mean that I will need to excuse myself for a moment.¡±


    I deliberated whether to kill him right here and then, or expose him. However, I cannot think of a motive why he would kill the royal family. He didn¡¯t seem to be treated harshly, my family were not cruel. In fact, he was even given the chance to be the supervisor of the festival.


    So why?


    Should I expose him? However, if he was pressured to do so, it would complicate things. I looked around at my surroundings. If he was exposed and captured, he might be killed before we get anything from him. Hard to protect him without knowing where the enemy might strike if all things fail.


    That aside, I have a desire. A desire that has been slowly gnawing me down.


    Besides, I believe a one on one session would be the most ideal and safest. Not only would the hidden opponents that might be there would not expect it, people should be a little more honest when in private. I need to be careful. He might be being blackmailed for all I know, depending on the value, he might be a hard nut to crack. I also don¡¯t want to suddenly lose him.


    The safest route¡­ I wonder¡­ I need to choose one route.


    The best route¡­ to handle this myself.


    Can¡¯t rely on anyone else. Father? Things would need to go through process and protocols, will open a gap and expose the situation to a lot of people. Also too slow. Rogan? What¡¯s he going to do? Estevan? No. Eleden? Useless, too soft to do what¡¯s necessary and occupied with his love life. Mother? Out of the question.


    I¡¯m doing this my way. I believe in myself more than anyone.


    ¡°Oh, is that so? Then, you can go ahead.¡±


    He returned his glass to the steel plate and left the booth in a hurry.


    The marquis¡­ is my prey.


    I looked at the trey of wine. Best to get rid of them before someone accidentally drink them.


    ¡°Princess? What¡¯s up with that?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea, Sir Rogan.¡±


    ¡°Princess¡­ what are you thinking?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± I smiled at him. ¡°Now then, I¡¯ll take these to everyone.¡±


    I picked up the plate and took a step forward. But I made a misstep and almost slipped to the floor, but that in turn cause the entire contents of the plate to fall to the ground, the glasses shattered and the wine scattered to the floor.


    ¡°Princess!¡±


    Everyone turned at me while Rogan assisted me up.


    ¡°Oh no, I made a mess ¡ª I¡­¡±


    My father immediately rushed towards me. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry father, I was intending to bring the drinks to everyone. I, I was only trying to help.¡±


    Father sighed and then patted my head. ¡°Important thing is that you¡¯re alright. Where is the Marquis anyway? I thought he was the one make the serve.¡±


    ¡°He said his stomach was not feeling well.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ Well then, let¡¯s just go back to our seats. Let the servants clean this up, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ And I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be.¡±


    ***


    There was a couple of battle after lunch, then after that was the finals. At lunch though, we left the booth and went to a private room for the royal family right around this colosseum, so basically the food in the booth were a bit wasted ¡ª or completely wasted, can¡¯t really say when we can eat them whenever we want still.


    As for the Marquis though, he came back after lunch, he seemed demotivated. But still, I wouldn¡¯t give him another chance. Thus, after having our lunch, I instructed Rogan to stand by the wall that can oversee the entire booth, this of course counts the back part. There should have been a guard or something that can see the entire booth ¡ª but perhaps the Marquis did some work on that, or that the guards were a little distracted. Could be both to be honest. In any case, the Marquis¡¯s attempts were unexpected to everyone, so that could be understood.


    As for the tournament, the suicidal man Taneva reached the finals and was on his way to battle his final enemy. Taneva was disturbingly strong. Heck I don¡¯t think I even saw him fight someone with a struggling face. Could it be that his enemies were just a bunch of sticks? I have no damn idea.


    But let¡¯s see, there sure was a bit of challenge the more enemies he fight, meaning his enemies were getting stronger. Now in this final duel of his, I assume his opponent would be no easy guy.


    Honestly, we should have mic right near them so we can hear what they¡¯re saying, that would have been interesting.


    They started fighting, but everything went on the same as before. Taneva deliberately received an attack, only to heal himself afterwards then start fighting back. But it would seem this wouldn¡¯t be an easy game for Taneva compared to the others.


    His opponent was actually giving a good fight. They attacked, they blocked. Magic emerged from Taneva¡¯s opponent¡¯s weapon, raw magic from using armament magic. The opponent seemed to be using physical enhancement as well judging from the way the ground cracked and rattled when he leaped back or forward.


    Taneva was handling his opponent very well, dodging them with no problem. That¡¯s the troubling part, Taneva was able to dodge the attacks easily, but he seemed to be having trouble getting through his enemy¡¯s defense. But he appeared to still be pretty chill about about it, can¡¯t tell if he was playing around or just that he had a pretty good poker face.


    As time passed, the battle intensified, Taneva¡¯s opponent seemed to be slowing down. Getting tired most likely. Taking this opportunity, Taneva ramped up his attack and slammed the blunt of his spear, hitting his enemy at multiple spots. His opponent tried counterattacking, but Taneva would evade or parry them.


    Until eventually, after all of those hard and painful hits, Taneva¡¯s opponent kneeled in pain. Taneva pointed his spear at his enemy¡¯s face and spoke ¡ª he must be saying admit defeat or something.


    After that, his opponent dropped his weapon and raised both hands, signifying his surrender.


    The crowd cheered deafeningly loud. Taneva got himself hundreds or perhaps thousands of supporters. The presenter stood beside Taneva and lifted his hand declaring him the victor. Taneva smiled proudly at the audience then looked up at us.


    Father stood up from his seat and received the sound amplifier crystal from the servant.


    ¡°Congratulation, Mr. Taneva. Truly your show of strength and skills baffled yet impressed us all. Your reward awaits! However, before that, another challenge awaits you. Will you accept this challenge? If you do, know that your enemy will be a monster, one of the fiercest in our land. It is the monster hailed as the Steelreaver!¡±


    A great number of the crowd gasped audibly.


    Um, what¡¯s that? Should I be scared and disturbed as well?


    I¡¯m sooorrryyyy for being ignorant ¡ª shut it.


    The presenter gave the amplifier to Taneva. Then, for the first time, I heard his voice.


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll take on the challenge.¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 55: Colosseum (Part 3)

    Taneva was given only two hours to rest and revitalize, which would be like pretty harsh after all the fights he just went to today. But I guess that¡¯s why this place was called the Arena of Perseverance, ¡®cause that¡¯s fucked up. But I guess that¡¯s just that for me.


    If anyone wants to know, the marquis was still pretty behaved, I gave him no opening after all. So everything¡¯s should be safe for now.


    Given that Taneva has some time to rest, I have nothing else to do but sit around, I¡¯m not really in the mood to eat. I did not have the luxury to enjoy. Well at least Estevan was trying to talk to me, it was mainly about the matches though, all that I could give was some ¡®oh yes¡¯, ¡®that¡¯s impressive¡¯, ¡®fascinating¡¯, and so on.


    He¡¯s the sweetest.


    Then, the time came, Taneva entered the Arena, waving casually at the cheering crowd. Dude, hard to tell whether the crowd just wants to see humanity win or they¡¯re just a bunch of bloodthirsty folks that just want someone to die. I mean, it¡¯s a monster ¡ª ugh whatever, I¡¯m not getting paid enough to think deeply about this. He dies, he dies. No loss for me. Besides, no way our people are that kind of people, and I mean that in the most serious way possible.


    The presenter entered and said some introductory stuff and then came the time to bring the beast!


    A giant gate opened up, and several knights emerged from the darkness, rope over their shoulders as they all pulled something into the Arena. Judging from how they struggle it should be quite heavy, meaning it was massive.


    Oh oh oh, I¡¯m so excited!


    Then a cage slowly came out of the gate, slowly revealing what was imprisoned inside. I leaned forward with wide eyes.


    Woah.


    It was a massive beast indeed! It was like five or six times the size of an adult lion. The beast was being tied by chains even from the inside of the sizeable cage, keeping it pinned to the floor.


    Its fur mainly had the color brown and a little black. Its teeth were coming out of its mouth, so sharp and I could already tell the strength of its bite, one that could bite me in half without breaking a sweat. Its four legs feature talon-like razor-sharp claws. It had a tail that was tied down, but I can tell it was long, the point of it had some sort of shell, a sharp one, that reminded me of a scorpion¡¯s. Then the freakiest of all, it had four sharp bloodshot eyes glaring all around.


    Fuck, this was so bizarre but thrilling. Amazing! So that¡¯s what a monster looks like?! Yeah, I¡¯ll keep away from it, fuck that. To be honest, I was a little disappointed, I mean, it¡¯s just like an oversized lion. Hmm, maybe that¡¯s why they also refer to it as a beast. But, this should be one of the many so-called ¡°monsters¡±, there must be truly horrifying ones. I imagined monsters as you know, repulsive or horrifying ones.


    But hey, this was a good start, should help when I see one in the future, I won¡¯t be more shaken or dumbfounded. Maybe the uglier the more dangerous it is.


    The monster called the Steelreaver rattled the chains as it writhed, longing for release.


    The presenter cleared himself out of the arena and Taneva got into position. The gates were closed and were made sure that they were sealed properly. The knights waited for the signal as they positioned themselves right next to a group of chains connected to the cage itself.


    They lifted up the chains, and when the horn sounded, they pulled, unlocking the cage. At the same time, they rushed out of the arena and leaped up to the audience stand where then that part was covered by a barrier.


    The metal bars fell to the ground and the chains pinning the beast loosened, on which the beast slowly stood up and slid off the chains. It glared around frighteningly and then its eyes saw Taneva.


    It seemed to growl, aaaw it¡¯s just a like a cat ¡ª kidding! Yeah, that ain¡¯t no cat.


    Don¡¯t like cats anyway, puppies are better and cuter.


    The beast crouched while glaring at its prey, then it lunged. Taneva swiftly dodged out of the way and stabbed the beast in the side. Huh, he didn¡¯t try receiving its attack. Hm, I guess he would die if he did.


    The beast leaped away the moment it was stabbed by the spear. It really is agile despite its size. It roared and suddenly its body began bulging and squirming. Then suddenly from underneath its fur, heads suddenly grew out.


    Ugh! Oooh, what the fuck is that?! Egh! Yuck!


    Ew! What came out was covered in blood, and not just one, there were four! They had heads like a lizard, and then a body like a snake, they were all rooted in the monster¡¯s body.


    I didn¡¯t expect that at all! Now that¡¯s a monster! Holy shit! Keep that away from me!


    It¡¯s looking less like a giant lion and more like a mix of different oversized animals stitched together. And the way the snake shits slither ugh, I hate reptiles fuuuck.


    The snakes snapped at Taneva, he dodge but he failed against another. It bit his arm. It wouldn¡¯t let go due to its firm jaws, so he thrust his spear into its throat, piercing it through the other side.


    The snake apparently felt the pain seeing that it recoiled and released him, surprising it was still alive. Wait, I imagined that its skin would be hard, if so, how strong was Taneva? He definitely used physical enhancement.


    Taneva then smirked, he waved his hand and a fireball suddenly emerged shooting towards the beast. But the snakes blocked the ball. Either way, he fired a couple more fireballs while running towards it.


    He dodged and stabbed a snake head coming at him directly into its forehead, it staggered and writhed before falling limp. The other heads seemed to be in shock, and he took this chance to fire two fireballs at the main body, hitting it and setting it ablaze.


    The beast ran away to keep its distance from the incoming Taneva. It shook its body to get rid of the flames, but a little remained.


    That was surprising, that thing seemed to be smarter than I thought, it kept its distance and used the snakes to attack at a certain range. Come oooon, a smart monster, you gotta be kidding me. Can¡¯t we just have a stupid thing that just charges? But I guess even normal animals have a level of intelligence. I¡¯m just saying stupid enemies are much easier to deal with.


    Lightning crackled and scattered from Taneva¡¯s hand, striking all of the remaining snakes. The snakes were electrified so hard that they were smoking a little. Using this chance while they were neutralized, Taneva rushed to the beast.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    The beast tried to run away, but then Taneva threw his spear at it so strong that left white streaks as it went. The spear struck the soft neck of the beast, and it cried loudly. Then Taneva fired another lightning strike again, directly at the spear. Damn, the metal tip of the spear really be getting all that electricity.


    The beast grew numb, but before it could react, Taneva was already right next to it and pulled the spear out only to stab it into its eye. Taneva pushed the spear further into its eye. The beast was about to push him away but Taneva electrified it again before pushing the spear even more intensely. Then eventually, the spear got through its head, and the beast froze and instantly collapsed to the ground, the snakes completely stopped writhing as well.


    Seeing that the monster has been slain, the people in the arena erupted into cheers way louder and more powerful than any before.


    Taneva stepped away from the monster and waved at the crowd with a wide smile. The audience was full of energy having to witness a single human take down a monster where a normal human would die upon facing it. I mean, I also can¡¯t tell if I can take one down myself, but I¡¯m not willing to try. Besides, my enemies were not monsters, but technically like humans ¡ª humanoids? While some others can transform into a beast ¡ª ah crap¡­


    My father congratulated Taneva after the crowd¡¯s cheers dwindled. Made a declaration of victory and some speech for him. Then some finishing touches like fireworks ¡ª like one from the start of the festival.


    Then after that, the tournament was over. But Taneva was invited to a private room where his reward would be waiting and where royalty will be speaking with him. I will be included. Besides, I¡¯m curious what he¡¯s like up close.


    We left our booth and made our way to the private room, all of us that were in the booth, including the knights and the Marquis. The private room was adequately spacious and grandly designed, befitting of royals, like me!


    We sat down on our special chairs and waited for the champion to arrive. Several seconds later, a knocking came from the door and one of the knights took a peek and announced to us that it was the one we were waiting for. My father gave permission to let him in.


    The door opened and a knight first entered followed by Taneva. He kneeled in front of us.


    ¡°Greetings, your majesties.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Taneva, I am pleased to finally see you this close.¡± my father said. ¡°Your matches were sublime. Where did you train, if I may ask?¡±


    Taneva smiled. ¡°Anywhere, your majesty.¡±


    That was quite a vague statement, even father was for a moment dazed.


    ¡°I see. I have not become aware of your existence before, where do you hail from?¡±


    ¡°I have no residence anywhere. I am just wandering eternally until my life ends.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you might have encountered a lot of opponents in your travels then, that may explain the level of skills you showed.¡±


    ¡°Yes. I decided to try out your tournament. Although, it was disappointing.¡±


    The knights around gloomed. It took some nerve to say to a king that his tournament was disappointing.


    ¡°Although I have expected it to be as such,¡± he added.


    ¡°I see. What do you find disappointing?¡±


    ¡°I did not find what I was searching for, none of the challengers was able to give it to me.¡±


    ¡°Are you perhaps searching for a challenge?¡±


    That may be it, he was strong after all. Perhaps he was bored to death that no one can match up to him and give him a good fight.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it at all. In any case, your majesty, may I receive my reward?¡±


    ¡°... Of course.¡±


    My father signaled a servant and the latter brought a bag of coins to Taneva, two of them in fact. One for the human fight, and the other for winning against the monster.


    Taneva received them.


    ¡°Is there anything else you wish for? Perhaps we can give it to you.¡± my father said. All of us turned to look at him, a little surprised.


    ¡°Hm.¡± he seemed to ponder, and then his eyes shifted towards me.


    It only took a moment before he remove his gaze from me.


    ¡°No, I have no wish to make.¡±


    He stood up. ¡°I will take my leave.¡±


    Without waiting for anyone¡¯s say, he left the room with a smirk on his face.


    ***


    We returned to the palace, and after retiring to my room for a while, I gathered my servants to the room we always used during lessons. I stood by the window and gazed outside, it was now dark as the sun had just set. I was thinking about the earlier events, my servants seemed to have realized my mood as they remained quiet.


    ¡°Lock the door.¡±


    I said, and Mera quickly locked the door with an audible click.


    ¡°Your highness, what is this about?¡± Vernon daringly asked.


    I stared at him for a moment with a blank expression. ¡°Say, tell me about Marquis Vekenas.¡±


    ¡°Lord Lucious¡¯s uncle? What do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ tell me how close he is with my father.¡±


    Vernon placed his hand on his chin. ¡°I can say they are friends, a bit close, but not very very close. He and his family have been serving loyally to the crown ever since the Marquis went into power.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    Indeed, better I take care of this on my own to speed things up and safer for the intel.


    ¡°Princess, may I ask what this sudden interest with the Marquis is for?¡± Vernon inquired.


    ¡°Nothing. He caught my eye.¡±


    Rogan stepped forward. ¡°This has something to do with what happened earlier in the booth?¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Vernon asked.


    ¡°... Her highness suddenly approached him, and stuff happened, nothing of note. But it was weird¡ª¡±


    ¡°Rogan¡­¡±


    Rogan paused and turned to look at me, he understood what I was trying to say, and he sealed his mouth.


    ¡°Why the secrecy, your highness?¡± Vernon narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°You have nothing to be concerned about. Think nothing and only answer my questions.¡±


    ¡°... Very well.¡± he hesitantly agreed.


    ¡°Now then, tell me about his family.¡±


    ¡°Well, he has two children, still around ten years old, I think. Wife is well, and active in the social circle.¡±


    ¡°Can the Marquis fight?¡±


    ¡°Fight¡­?¡±


    ¡°His magical abilities, physical skills, et cetera.¡±


    ¡°... To my knowledge, he has not honed his overall fighting capabilities. He has a good amount of mana as a noble, but he didn¡¯t train it much. His wife is more skilled in magic than him. He focuses most on office work.¡±


    He¡¯s like Eleden then, and Lucious. Nobles that were not trained for combat. But his wife? Huh, noble ladies have some secrets. But that was good. I am already aware of where the Marquis¡¯s manor was and the routes available, learned that stuff in my lessons, and I already have the map memorized.


    I inhaled sharply.


    ¡°Is there anything else I should know about him?¡±


    ¡°Your highness, I don¡¯t know what it is you truly want to know about him, so I couldn¡¯t tell.¡±


    I turned and faced him. ¡°What makes him dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Dangerous¡­? I don¡¯t know. He¡¯s not very noteworthy in anything that involves danger.¡±


    A weak man, then? If that¡¯s the case, then it could mean he was not only physically weak but emotionally as well. Even so, that was just a hypothesis, so I could be wrong.


    Not that it matters much.


    ¡°Good.¡±


    I sat down on the nearby chair.


    ¡°Are you suspecting him with something, princess? If so, I suggest telling your father.¡±


    ¡°No need. This is only a little doubt, no need to be so concerned.¡±


    My servants looked at each other, puzzled.


    ¡°We are done here. Swear to me that you will not tell anyone about what happened in this room, not what we talked about, not anything. This meeting didn¡¯t happen.¡±


    One by one they swore.


    ***


    The night has deepened, it was late, a little more than an hour before midnight. The moon was covered by the night clouds. I took a breath of tranquility before closing the curtains.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    I turned to look at the daggers and straps placed on the bed. Then I went over to the case where my clothes were and then brought out the special outfit I had the tailor specially made. I caressed the wardrobe and smiled.


    I removed my dress, exposing my beautiful skin and body. I slipped into the torso and the fine shorts, then locked in the belts of those two before wearing the boots that almost reached my knees and tied the laces tightly.


    I straightened my sleeves and stretched my body, the outfit stretched with me, magnificent. I then picked up the leather straps from the bed and tied them on my thighs, one on each. I placed the small and medium daggers into their tight sheathes. Then I tied the belt on my waist, placing medium size on my sides.


    Then lastly, I pulled out the special dagger from its box. There was gold along its hilt and some silver. Then on its guard, there were fine carvings of flower petals. At the center of the blade were lines of gold and shapes of flower petals and vines highlighted by a golden hue. A beautiful dagger.


    I caressed the blade, savoring it, before sheathing it behind my waist.


    I stood in front of the mirror, admiring my cool and stylish outfit of black. One that will allow me to move with more flexibility and mobility, and allow me to blend in with the darkness. It was so beautiful and amazing to the eye.


    I rounded up my hair on the back of my head, like a bun, while leaving some hanging, then used hair sticks to hold them.


    I finally brought out the detachable black hood that was included in the outfit and wore it around my neck, and then drew it in to cover my head before pulling my hair outward.


    I nodded in satisfaction and walked over to the window, set aside the curtains, and opened the glass window before stepping onto the windowsill.


    Time to hunt.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 56: A Devil In Disguise (Part 1)

    A shadowy figure moved in the darkness, a small distortion in the eyes of anyone that would luckily see it, but of course, none would have the chance. Even the castle guards patrolling the grounds and the walls would fail to see it.


    The shadow jumped to the rooftop with the wind on the bottom of its legs, following its bidding. Its movement was swift yet graceful and elegant, its form was perfection itself. It was like a bird ¡ª no, rather, a beautiful hunting beast finally freed from its shackles.


    That beast had found its target after a long time of enduring its hunger.


    After it passed over the roof, it peered unto the battlements where soldiers stood guard, torches, and lamps giving them light to fight the darkness. It waited for an opportunity, and when it came, it flew past the walls with extreme silence and nonchalance.


    None saw it pass by.


    The figure dove into the forest like diving into the water, but before hitting the ground, the wind engulfed it and it shot upward before entering the forest. It went through branches, and small crevices, it did it all without a break of momentum. The leaves on the trees shook as it went passed by.


    The figure, or to be precise, the princess of the kingdom, smiled in delight. She never felt so liberated in a long time. She felt so much joy at finally moving as she wanted, it was as if her heart was about to explode in the warmth of happiness and freedom.


    She could traverse this forest with her wind while going through risky maneuvers for hours, and she would still feel happy about it. She felt more liberated than the freedom ever granted to her in her former life. But she cannot remain in bliss forever, her target cannot remain an annoyance, a risk, a threat. And thus, she was about to do something she once did, a part of her that she would never reject, but rather embrace and welcome. There may be sides she disliked, but the rest she accepted.


    Perhaps that was because she was nurtured that way, or that was all she knew. But it didn¡¯t matter. She was the way she was, and she was honest to herself.


    And one of that honesty was to acknowledge the rage she was feeling inside. A rage bottled up inside her heart, one that was not pleasant to keep, it never was. She wished for many things, envy many things, wanted to experience what she wanted to experience, live the way she wanted. And yet, she was denied that chance in so many ways.


    She was at an edge.


    With wrath raging in her heart and soul, she made her way to her target.


    High above in the air, beyond her gaze, dark fogs that completely blended with the darkness, watched her with shock. Disbelief was also among the other things they felt as they witnessed her movements. They never expected such a thing, too shocking that they began to question who she was for a tiny moment.


    But they, the Cursed Children, were certain it was her.


    Multiple figures of men appeared amidst each dark fog, dumbfounded as they tracked the princess with their eyes. Their entire bodies were covered, even their faces were covered by masks or clothes, not even a tiny amount of skin to be seen.


    ¡°Is she a fool? What is she intending to do?¡±


    ¡°You would call her a fool?¡± one man seemed to be particularly offended. ¡°What about I pull your throat out and feed you to the wolves until you fully regenerate, hm? Respect the goddess¡¯s daughter.¡±


    ¡°You are a fool as well, protecting the blood of who caused our curse!¡±


    ¡°We deserved it.¡±


    ¡°The sin of one is not the sin of all.¡±


    ¡°Oh, but it was.¡±


    Suddenly, another fog approached. ¡°Stop your bickering lest I have you return home.¡±


    One stood down but the other glared at the new arrival. ¡°Heneis, what do you plan to do now?¡±


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°You will stay here, watch over the palace. Stay on guard.¡±


    ¡°You would prevent me from approaching her eminence?!¡±


    Heneis, the leader of the Cursed Children, grab ahold of the man¡¯s throat and tightened his grip. ¡°I allowed you to come here on the condition of following my orders. Do not break our deal.¡±


    ¡°You hold us away from our destiny.¡±


    ¡°I am leading us to our future.¡±


    ¡°Your future is bleak, dimmed in the cowardice of escaping from our ancestors¡¯ sin.¡±


    ¡°What happened is in the past, now be quiet. Stay here with the others, and keep watch of our enemies. You don¡¯t want her ¡°eminence¡± to perish, don¡¯t you? So calm down.¡±


    The man growled before being released. Heneis decided to tolerate him for now, it was understandable since it was night time, everyone was agitated with all the pain they were going through. This curse pushes them to the edge every night.


    Heneis was one strong enough to get a grip of himself and remain calm as much as possible.


    He then proceeded to point at the ones that would come with him in following the princess to wherever she may intend to go. Because of the bizarreness of her actions, Heneis deemed it was best to observe for a while, the unknown when it came to the princess only increased, he needed more leverage if he wished to manipulate the princess into following him.


    ***


    The Marquis, Hevrik Fumine Vekenas, gazed fondly at his two sons on the couch reading a book altogether. He leaned his elbow on the table, enjoying the smiles and the cuteness of his twin children. He was proud of them, they showed promise, and they were particularly smart in their studies. Although their interests were divided, one wanted to be a knight, while the other wanted scholarly duties.


    He envisioned the future, his sons all grown up. One was among the knights of the kingdom, renowned as one of the elites in the order, a dashing, hero-like figure. While the other was a proud diplomat who represented the nation in other countries and successfully made allies and had great contributions to the nation.


    Such a bright vision. But could such a thing come to pass?


    That was the question that snapped Hevrik back from his imagination. His feet began to feel cold as he recalled what he attempted to do earlier today. It was treason, but he was unsuccessful. He didn¡¯t know whether to be happy or upset. He wasn¡¯t certain which one he should fear the most.


    He looked at his children again. If he was ever discovered, things wouldn¡¯t end well for his children, and for his wife as well. So perhaps should he be happy that he failed? But now that he failed, he was afraid of something else as well.


    Perhaps, only if the mysterious princess didn¡¯t intervene, things might have ended differently. He was feeling suspicious at that interaction with her, something felt different, as if he was seen through. But he deemed it was his paranoia that made him think that way, he was too apprehensive at that time. Either way, he did not believe that the princess have seen through him, after all, she only asked about his nephew.


    But even so, it was because of her that things didn¡¯t go the way he expected. But then again, he didn¡¯t know what would be the most terrible outcome, him succeeding or failing. It all came to the hands of those in power.


    But now that he had failed, he wished people would leave him alone. But that was not a possibility unless he convinced them.


    ¡°Something troubling you, dear?¡± suddenly, a voice he so loved spoke from behind him, and a hand gently clasped his shoulders.


    Without looking back, he held the hand softly holding him. Her touch alone brought him great relief. ¡°Nothing particularly troubling. I was just thinking about how I miss your cooking. Having to eat them again was wonderful, thank you.¡±


    He looked up at his beautiful wife, the treasure in his eyes.


    His treasure smiled sweetly at him. ¡°You have been working hard, so I prepared my special dishes for you. I¡¯m glad you like it.¡±


    ¡°You were there with me the entire time, that helped me a lot. Don¡¯t worry, the festival¡¯s about to end, after that, we can go on a short outing. How about it?¡±


    ¡°That would be delightful indeed. Where would we go?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking something along the lines of a simple picnic. Just us family.¡±


    ¡°I like it. Let¡¯s do that.¡±


    Hevrik kissed his wife¡¯s hand and forced a smile. It was getting late, thus they approached their children.


    ¡°Alright you two, time to go to sleep.¡±


    He said to them while confiscating the book from their hands.


    ¡°Aw, it was becoming interesting.¡±


    ¡°...¡± one merely pouted.


    ¡°You can continue reading it tomorrow. Now let¡¯s go up.¡± his wife said to them and the children followed.


    The couple entered the two children¡¯s room, which had two separate beds. Soon, they will need to have separate rooms, but as twins, they preferred to stay together. But once they reach at least twelve years old, they have no choice but to have separate rooms.


    They tucked them in and kissed them on the foreheads before shutting off their lights and closing the door. Subsequently, the couple came to their room.


    Hevrik¡¯s wife raised an eyebrow. ¡°Will you not change to your sleeping attire?¡±


    ¡°I have somewhere to be tonight.¡±


    ¡°... I see¡­ What is it about?¡±


    ¡°Some business partners that have crucial matters that I need to address.¡±


    ¡°Why does it have to be this late in the night?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the festival, it¡¯s hard to make vacant time.¡±


    His wife lowered her head. ¡°... I understand.¡± she appeared to be sad.


    ¡°I love you, Beia.¡± he approached and held her hands. ¡°You are the brightest treasure in our castle, my light in the darkness.¡± he kissed her on the forehead.


    ¡°My light will always remain with you. I love you.¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 57: A Devil In Disguise (Part 2)

    Hevrik lingered in his office while drinking a hot tea by his desk, his heart racing gradually at every second that passed. He already wore a presentable outfit for formal occasions. He could have gone ahead, but he needed time to calm down.


    The one he would be meeting was not to be trifled with, absolutely. They could do anything to him if they wanted, thus he was trying to think of a way for him to survive. He sighed and finished his tea. In the end he could not stay here forever, he needs to face the deadly threat head-on.


    Now his cup empty he turned to his window and took in a deep breath. About less than an hour now before midnight. The meeting spot was not that far, and he had already gone there before, he knew how much time it takes to arrive there, thus he should be able to get there in time.


    He left his office and traversed the empty manor halls, everyone else including the servants have been sent to their rooms to rest for the day. Guards may be designated outside the building, but they will not be coming with him.


    When he exited the front doors, a carriage was already waiting for him. The coachman tipped his head to greet the Marquis.


    ¡°Good evening, Marquis.¡±


    ¡°Evening, Eto. How¡¯s the wife?¡±


    ¡°Ah, she¡¯s pregnant.¡±


    ¡°A second child then, congratulations.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. I hope for it to be a daughter this time.¡±


    ¡°Not a son?¡±


    ¡°For variety. Already have a son who¡¯s totally stubborn, I don¡¯t want another one. A daughter might save me from the stress.¡±


    ¡°Heh, I suppose it would.¡±


    The Marquis opened the door of the carriage. ¡°Same place last time.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    When he got in, the carriage began moving and left through the gates.


    ***


    Eventually they arrived at their destination, it should be around the strike of midnight now. Although the carriage stopped a small distance away from the point of meeting as the coachman had no business hearing nor seeing anything. He was a loyal servant, Hevrik helped him on some occasions and saved his wife when she was sick by giving them medicines.


    That being said, there were things even a loyal servant must not learn about their master. Even now, the servant only knew that this meeting was a meeting with a business partner, and nothing else. Something top secret that it needed to be taken place in a secluded area.


    Never does anyone knew that what was discussed here would harm the kingdom severely.


    ¡°Behave as always, we don¡¯t want to disturb my accomplices.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    The meeting place was surrounded by vegetation and trees, the ground filled with grass, and insects sounded in the area. No one particularly lived here now as people were moved closer to where the people were centered, to enhance traffic, as was said. In particular, to develop the traffic of goods.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Now, what remained here was an old house made up of bricks and wood, the roof had already gone with only the walls remaining. But to Hevrik¡¯s surprise, a lone person was already standing by the door. He appeared to have been waiting.


    They were early.


    The guard in the cloak with a hood covering his head, glared at him before opening the old wooden door. Inside was a man in average clothing sitting on a chair, the hood of his cloak drawn over his head, his hand playing on the table.


    He turned to look at Hevrik with displeasure apparent on his face.


    ¡°Sit.¡± he briefly said.


    Hevrik complied with no hesitation. ¡°My apologies¡ª¡±


    ¡°Yes, you failed. It made a great setback to our plan. For such a simple thing, you are a disappointment.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°If we at least had the king killed, it could have shaken the entire kingdom, just enough for us to grab the opportunity. But now¡­¡±


    Hevrik bit his lip. These people¡¯s target was the head of the kingdom, all in order to continue with their devious plan. A plan that will bring chaos upon Hevrik¡¯s dear homeland. He would have fought against them, but he cannot, they have ahold of his weakness.


    ¡°If you have succeeded, we would have given you an enviable position in the new regime. But, if you fail, remember what we discussed? Come on, say it.¡±


    Hevrik lowered his head. ¡°My head, and my family¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ I¡¯m surprised you even dared to show your face here. Need I tell you this isn¡¯t bravery but rather foolishness?¡±


    ¡°There is still a chance.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    Hevrik clenched his fists. ¡°The festival is yet to be over, I will find an opportunity in the next event.¡±


    ¡°Did you not even think that you are already suspected?¡±


    ¡°If they did, I would not be here now.¡±


    ¡°... I suppose. But you failed the deal, that was a one time opportunity. A clean one. And the poison, that¡¯s all we had.¡±


    ¡°I still have enough for one cup.¡±


    The man scrutinized him. ¡°... Very well. You and your family will be spared for now. But if you fail tomorrow, everything ends for you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I understand.¡±


    ¡°Absolutely do not fail. Kill the king, add the queen as a bonus if you can. Myra¡¯s guard is tightening, and Wisteria is bolstering its army, moving more soldiers to their borders. If it fails tomorrow, we will have to delay. I would be deeply displeased if that happens, you and your family¡¯s fate will not be a swift death.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°Good. Coming here is not a waste, after all. Remember, if you get discovered and apprehended, mark my words, you won¡¯t reach a jail cell.¡±


    Hevrik understood that all too well, he will likely even be taken down on the spot without being able to say anything.


    ¡°We are dismissed.¡± The man stood up with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t disappoint, Marquis.¡±


    Hevrik remained sitting as he watched them go and disappear into the darkness. It was at that moment he let out a heavy sigh, the weight on his back lightened a little. He controlled his breathing.


    I need to finish this.


    He could not handle it any longer. He cannot bear the thought of his family under threat. Thus, he must kill the king tomorrow.


    He stood up and left the ruined building. When he reached his carriage, the coachman curiously looked at him.


    ¡°Something troubling you, sir?¡±


    Hevrik looked up at him and shrugged. ¡°A little, but nothing I can¡¯t handle.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back, I need to rest as much as possible.¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡±


    Hevrik entered the carriage and then sat down on the soft seat with relief. He waited for the shake of the carriage, but after a few seconds, the carriage never moved.


    ¡°Eto? We can go.¡± He said.


    However, there was no response. In that same moment the carriage door opened and a hooded person appeared.


    ¡°What¡ª¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± the person threatened him with an exquisite dagger in hand. The voice was feminine, so soft and sweet, it was familiar.


    ¡°You would threaten a nob¡ª?¡± he said in an attempt to threaten the intruder but stopped immediately when the stranger came into the light.


    That was because he saw a glimpse of her hair as she stepped inside ¡ª white hair. Then a pair of eyes looked at him from underneath the hood, they were as beautiful and mesmerizing as crimson jewels. The stranger sat down on the seat across from him and closed the door. It was then that after the stranger lowered her hood that Hevrik was made certain of who this person was. Skin so pale, and a face so beautiful.


    How could someone not recognize this person at a single glance? She was a girl that would leave a mark on anyone¡¯s mind.


    In shock, Hevrik muttered the person''s name. ¡°P-Princess Estelia¡­?¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 58: A Devil In Disguise (Part 3)

    The princess was the last person he ever expected he would see here ¡ª no, it would be more accurate to say he would never even imagine it. So to see her sitting across from him was too much of a shock that he was unable to squeak a voice out after muttering her name. But what was most baffling of all was the dagger she held in her hand and now laying on her lap.


    She looked at him with a lack of emotion permeating from her face. Her gaze almost felt empty, no joy, no sadness, no life, no light. With those eyes she gazed at him, causing him to feel a slight chill on his spine. When Hevrik regained a little amount of composure, his brain began working again and his heart pumped hard at what this could imply.


    There was no way that the princess came here alone. No, that was not only it, why would the princess be here if he was ever discovered? It didn¡¯t make sense. It would have been more acceptable to his thoughts if one of the princes came, but to be the princess herself? It was absurd.


    He gulped and forced himself to speak.


    ¡°P-Princess, what a surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure?¡±


    ¡°Stop with the pleasantries, marquis,¡± she said in almost monotone. ¡°I am sure you are aware why I am here before you.¡±


    ¡°... What?¡±


    ¡°Traitor.¡±


    He put a palm on his forehead, his sweat sticking to his skin. That made it certain, she knew. There was no escape, if she knew, then the crown definitely does as well.


    ¡°I suppose knights already await me outside.¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    He pursed his lips, she may have answered with a question, but it made him feel certain.


    ¡°What of my coachman?¡±


    She slightly tilted her head. ¡°That? He¡¯s outside.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± he slightly smiled, feeling relieved. But then the princess added¡­


    ¡°... Lying dead.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± In utter shock, he jerked up. His eyes widened so much that it seemed they would almost pop out. However, suddenly, before he could make any other moves, red transparent restraints suddenly formed around his arms and legs, holding him in place, locked down on his seat.


    ¡°Behave yourself if you want to live for a while.¡±


    ¡°Why¡­ Why have him killed? He¡¯s innocent!¡±


    ¡°Really? He doesn¡¯t seem like it. Isn¡¯t he the one that brings you to your meeting place?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, but he knows nothing. Killing him would not have been necessary, he would have surrendered without doing anything.¡± He gritted his teeth. ¡°He has a family¡­¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± she sounded unbothered. ¡°Even so, he is still an accomplice of yours. It¡¯s my choice whether to kill him or not, even if he has a family it does not matter at all.¡±


    ¡°W-What¡­?¡±


    Who is this?


    He could not believe his ears. Her behavior, her ruthless words, it didn¡¯t sound like the innocent and pure princess he met and heard about. It felt as if he was speaking to a different person.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°In any case, let¡¯s chat. If you respond properly I will think about sparing you.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t speak out¡­¡±


    ¡°Those you are afraid of are not here, nor do they have any idea this is happening. You are fine. Either way, if you don¡¯t, you will be punished and lose the chance of safety. Will you cooperate?¡±


    ¡°...¡± he had no other choice, if he wanted to live and save his family from terrible punishment, he needed to comply with her highness. ¡°Yes, princess¡­¡±


    ¡°Now then, you put poison in the wine in the colosseum, yes?¡±


    She realized?!


    ¡°... Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm, you seemed to put them on several glasses.¡±


    ¡°I was ordered to kill the royalties, meaning the entire family.¡±


    There were no changes to her expression and she merely gave another question. ¡°This poison, where is it? Give it to me.¡±


    ¡°I have it in my pocket, may I take it out?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    The transparent restraints on his left arm disappeared, his less dominant hand. He pulled out a vial from his coat pocket containing a small amount of suspicious liquid. He slowly extended his hand towards the princess, the shackles appeared again while the princess reached out to grab the vial. Then his arm was forced back down.


    She scrutinized the poison. ¡°It¡¯s the same¡­¡± she then looked at Hevrik again. ¡°Who are your masters?¡±


    ¡°... I don¡¯t know their name¡­¡±


    She narrowed her eyes slightly.


    ¡°B-But I know where they came from! From the Empire, they¡¯re from the Empire!¡±


    For the first time, there was a slight change of expression on her face as if surprised. ¡°Tornridge?¡± she asked as if to make certain of something she didn¡¯t expect.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Are they seeking to destabilize Wisteria?¡±


    ¡°P-Precisely¡­!¡±


    ¡°... Now then, tell me why they specifically after me.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Hevrik was struck by confusion from that weird question. Didn¡¯t he have technically answered it already?


    ¡°Did they not give you instructions to particularly kill me especially?¡±


    ¡°N-No¡­ my main target is the king.¡±


    ¡°I see... Then you know nothing else? Something that¡¯s of value to me?¡±


    ¡°N-No. They only told me what to do.¡±


    ¡°... You are but a disposable pawn then. But I wonder, why did you betray my father? After everything he has done for you.¡±


    ¡°P-Please forgive me, your highness. I never wanted this! I was threatened. If I do not follow their orders, they¡¯ll kill me and my family!¡±


    ¡°And you did not even try to tell us?¡± her voice was stern as she sharply glared at him.


    ¡°The Empire is strong, I have no choice. They can kill my family before the crown could do anything.¡±


    ¡°Are you the only one they have in the palm of their hands?¡±


    ¡°As far as I¡¯m aware, I¡¯m the only one.¡±


    ¡°You better not be lying to me, Hevrik.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m n-not, princess.¡±


    ¡°Then you have no use to me anymore.¡±


    The restraint tightened, and Hevrik began to wriggle in panic. ¡°What?! P-Princess! You said you would spare me!¡±


    ¡°I said I would think about it, and my I answer is no. I will not spare you.¡±


    His mouth opened in realization. ¡°Y-You¡­ You never intended to spare me.¡±


    ¡°You are more of a liability than an asset.¡± she lifted her dagger. ¡°Besides, you¡­¡± she pursed her lips for a moment. ¡°You tried to kill my family, I will not let you live after all that.¡±


    ¡°No! Please! I beg you! Spare me! Please!¡±


    A tiny smile slowly lifted on the side of her lips. ¡°How I miss this¡­¡± her cheeks slightly turned red as if she expected pleasure from what she was about to do. ¡°Ah, I think I should also pay your family a visit.¡±


    ¡°W-What?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to be with them forever? I can help you with that. Of course, I might do more than a swift death after what you attempted to do.¡±


    Hevrik¡¯s lips trembled, her words shook him to the core. She was not trying to scare him, she appeared to be serious. There was no hint in her eyes that she was bluffing. Her small smile, her chilling eyes, it brought terror to the depths of his heart. He squirmed in hopes to escape, but the restraints wouldn¡¯t budge.


    ¡°Await your family in the afterlife.¡±


    ¡°N-No! Please wait! I beg you please! Spare us! I was only forced to do it!¡±


    She inched closer.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡±


    It was at that moment that Hevrik saw the truth about the princess. She was not an innocent and pure girl, one so fragile, so kind, and generous. Not one so elegant and beautifully gentle that should be protected. No, she was not that at all.


    She deceived the world that she was so precious, so innocent, so pure, one that should be protected and kept safe like the most valuable treasure. No, she was something worse than all evil he have ever encountered.


    A great deceiver. A heartless witch.


    A devil in disguise.


    His muscle stretched and strained, struggling to free himself. He even resorted to using his untrained magic, but the restraints covered his hands and muffled his magic. Before he could shout, another crimson restraint covered his mouth.


    Then, she slowly pushed her blade into his chest, precisely to his heart. She did it so carefully as if she didn¡¯t want to be smeared by his blood ¡ª and perhaps savoring it as well.


    The last thing Hevrik saw was the apathetic eyes that looked at him as his life slowly dwindled.


    There Marquis Hevrik Fumine Vekenas died.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 59: A Devil In Disguise (Part 4)

    Four men in simple clothes watched the palace from a distance. Two wearing hats, while the other two wore their hood, all of them hiding the features that differentiated them from humans. At the moment, deep in the night, they observed the kingdom¡¯s palace, as they usually do so.


    ¡°Dammit, still can¡¯t forget how we left the princess alone when she¡¯s so clear in sight.¡± a particular bulky man wearing a hat begrudgingly said in a rough voice. ¡°We were this close!¡± he showed his fingers an inch away from touching each other.


    One wearing a hood placed a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Lower your voice, Felsurd.¡±


    ¡°Henfred, you should have gone against Arnaut¡¯s decision.¡±


    Henfred shook his head. ¡°I still won¡¯t be able to change his mind, he was given an order to stay low for a while.¡±


    ¡°That was such a wasted opportunity.¡± Felsurd clicked his tongue with an annoyed expression.


    ¡°We cannot go against ambassador Lieren¡¯s orders. Whatever that is, I¡¯m sure it would help in our goal.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Felsurd. We cannot mess up the plan the ambassador has concocted.¡± chimed in the other hooded man, Isen.


    ¡°What even is the new plan? They never said anything.¡± the other man with a hat asked, named Welmut.


    Henfred shrugged. ¡°We weren¡¯t told.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re fine with that?¡± Felsurd scowled as he asked. It didn¡¯t sit right with him.


    ¡°Of course. If this plan is sensitive as I believe, then it should be best if we know nothing. Otherwise, if we get captured, we might spill the beans.¡±


    Welmut shook his head. ¡°Do you really think we would just reveal everything if we get tortured? Don¡¯t underestimate us.¡±


    ¡°Of course you¡¯re not being underestimated.¡± Isen bitterly smiled. ¡°It¡¯s just being more careful. After what happened to the team that was meant to extract Oryn, can¡¯t blame them for being more careful than before.¡±


    Welmut lowered his gaze and sighed. ¡°It¡¯s tragic what happened¡­¡± he was close friends with one of the team that was supposed to get Oryn, and it grieved him the next day that they haven¡¯t returned. ¡°Who would have expected that¡­¡±


    ¡°But still! It sucks knowing nothing.¡± Felsurd crossed his arms with a displeased expression.


    ¡°We just have to be patient. Trust the ambassador.¡±


    ¡°That plan of hers better be worth it. Best if it would burn this kingdom with it.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡± Isen nodded. ¡°Best to get rid of the traces of those deities,¡± he said so with apparent disdain.


    The deities he referred to was the two gods that Wisteria worships. Their entire race carries grudges to the two of them because of their history. But even more so to the goddess who was the most prominent figure in their tragic history. It would please them if the land they treasured was destroyed as revenge. But such a thing would be difficult and require a lot of resources. Realistically speaking, it would be best to just live in their thriving homeland than waste resources in the human lands for a war. But that didn¡¯t stop them from wishing.


    ¡°As for me, I just want to go home.¡± Welmut scratched his cheek. ¡°It¡¯s been too long.¡± he sighed. ¡°If only the Cursed Children stopped interfering, we would have been done with it.¡±


    The cursed children swarmed the palace, making it nigh impossible to assault the palace and go straight for their target. They could try but that would require more men, and the power of the cursed children was not to be underestimated as well.


    Even now, they could see dark fogs surrounding the palace, blending in the darkness. They could be lurking in the trees, the dark corners of the walls, or high above. If even one race of mystic stepped in there, the fog would swarm them in no time.


    The darkness of the night would be an advantage to the mystic race, but the night was even more advantageous to the cursed children. Although, if more men were sent, they would have gotten more options. However, options were even more reduced after the loss of one team.


    Now they had to rely on the plan being set by their superiors.


    Felsurd, while looking at the palace, narrowed his eyes and took a step forward. ¡°Speaking of the cursed children¡­ Welmut, look there.¡± he pointed at the palace.


    Welmut squinted his eyes. As one of the beastmen, both Felsurd and Welmut could see in the darkness to just enough degree to see far to the palace. Welmut curiously tilted his head.


    ¡°The fogs¡­ they are moving away?¡±


    ¡°Moving away? Are you sure?¡± Henfred asked.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°They have never done that before.¡±


    ¡°Do you think something is going on?¡± Isen tried squinting his eyes towards the palace, but no use. He couldn¡¯t see that well in the dark.


    ¡°Dozen of them are moving away from the palace.¡±


    ¡°Dozen? Something¡¯s definitely going on.¡±


    Indeed, a dozen of them moving at once was too interesting to be disregarded. It was strange that they would remove that many when they were supposed to be guarding the person most important to them.


    ¡°Should we tell Arnaut?¡± Welmut asked.


    ¡°Do we really need to?¡± Felsurd looked at them. ¡°He¡¯ll just tell us to step back. I suggest personally taking a look, we will definitely find something.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s risky.¡±


    ¡°Of course, but we¡¯ll just be scouting. I have a feeling it will be valuable to us.¡±


    The others looked at each other, hesitating.


    However, Felsurd merely shook his head. ¡°Fine then, stay here and be cowards.¡±


    ¡°Wait Fel¡ª¡±


    Before they could stop him, Felsurd had already begun sprinting towards the palace with great speed.


    Henfred clicked his tongue. ¡°Let¡¯s catch up to him.¡±


    ***


    There were a group of people casually sitting on a balcony of a building, with one sitting on the railing fearless of falling to the ground. There were four in total, three men, and one woman. They all looked like completely normal humans.


    One man clapped his hand one time and stood up from the chair. ¡°Alright, as always, boring. I¡¯m getting some sleep.¡±


    ¡°Oi, Droz! You slept first last night too. So this time, stay awake and I sleep.¡±


    ¡°Fuck you, Venzus. Chew on a stick or something.¡±


    Without waiting for another word from Venzus, Droz promptly went inside and probably jumped directly unto the bed. Venzus sighed and leaned back.


    ¡°So much for a special operation. I thought we would be getting some action! Not this.¡±


    Venzus upon being assigned to a mission in the human lands felt very excited the first time. He believed it would have been a thrilling experience, but to his disappointment, it was not that at all. Instead, this mission almost felt like a common reconnaissance mission.


    They called their group the ¡°Imp Special Black Ops Company¡± which was unofficial of course, it was a stupid name. It was made as a joke by their leader, which became their pseudo-official group name for some reason. Their leader at the moment was tapping his feet on the wooden floor while staring at the palace of Wisteria, the group was annoyed at first by all the tapping but they got used to it.


    They had to stay up all night watching the palace to wait for an opportunity. They could do that with no trouble, their kind can keep on going for days without sleep. Droz was an exception since he wanted to go to sleep whenever things get boring. Indeed, no rest they could handle, but the boredom was something else.


    ¡°Rytus,¡± Venzus called to their leader. ¡°You should try removing your eyes away from the palace for once.¡±


    Rytus, almost looking like he never blinked, glared at the palace and it was a bit disturbing for Venzus. He was too diligent.


    ¡°I¡¯m alright, not like there¡¯s anything else we could do. It¡¯s more entertaining to gaze at the palace than doing basically nothing.¡±


    ¡°You need to redefine what you mean by doing nothing.¡±


    Him staring at the never changing scene of the palace was akin to not doing anything. He might think he was doing something because he was watching out for anything, but if nothing was happening, then he was doing nothing, basically.


    Rytus shook his head and turned towards Venzus.


    ¡°... I need to watch out for any opportunity, even more so when it¡¯s this nation¡¯s festival. You should remember that the fate of our god rests on our shoulders.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, no pressure.¡±


    Venzus turned his head to look at the woman sitting on the railing, munching relentlessly on the food from the basket on her lap. She was full of smiles and was consuming a large amount of food in one bite. She appeared to be enjoying herself, complete in contrast to the others.


    ¡°Arashia, slow down or else you¡¯ll choke to your death.¡±


    While her mouth was still full, she responded to him. ¡°Hah! As if I would die becau¡ª Gah!¡±


    And indeed, she choked. She slammed her hand on her chest while coughing.


    ¡°Oh no, she¡¯s going to die¡­¡± Venzus sarcastically said.


    ¡°W-Water!¡±


    She fell to the floor right before Venzus as she reached out her hand.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± he placed his hand on his ear.


    ¡°W-Water.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh, and what do we say if we ask for something?¡±


    ¡°P-Please¡­¡±


    ¡°There we go! Now then, where¡¯s the water¡­?¡± he acted as if he was looking hard for water but stayed in his seat.


    ¡°Stop teasing her Venzus, she¡¯s actually suffering, not like it would kill her, but still a painful experience. Spare her.¡± Rytus said.


    Venzus chuckled and grabbed a cup of water. Arashia aggressively chugged in the water.


    ¡°Aaaaah. Much better.¡± she glared at Venzus. ¡°Would you please stop being an asshole for once?¡±


    ¡°What? I help you didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just jealous I¡¯m enjoying myself!¡±


    Venzus bitterly smiled, feeling surprised at how she got to that conclusion. ¡°I am not. Perhaps I just want you to stop eating through our budget as well!¡±


    ¡°We have plenty!¡± she said with a grimace then grabbed another batch of food she bought from who knows where. ¡°Besides, don¡¯t you think we should at least enjoy the festival? The food is great, much greater than what we go back home.¡±


    As much as Venzus hated to admit it, it was true. Humans were certainly skilled in making food that it almost made him feel jealous. Unlike demons, humans carefully season their food, add necessary spices, and so on. The demons just do the minimum and eat ¡ª well, perhaps it was a bit different for the high-ranking demons but the point still stands.


    ¡°Here!¡± Arashia shoved food into Venzus¡¯s hand. ¡°As thanks for the water.¡±


    ¡°Wow, you? Giving food for free? Haha!¡± he laughed.


    ¡°It¡¯s not free, payment for the debt of helping me. Debts should be paid, as dad always says.¡±


    ¡°Alright, whatever you say.¡± Venus took a bite and found it delicious.


    It was then that Rytus suddenly stood up and squinted his eyes. ¡°Hey guys, you seeing what I¡¯m seeing?¡±


    Venzus looked at the palace, the same place that Rytus was looking at ¡ª Arashia on the other hand was busy eating. Venzus took a while but he saw something weird. ¡°The Cursed Children are dispersing? That normal?¡±


    ¡°Not dispersing, dividing. Something¡¯s up.¡±


    ¡°What are we going to do?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get a closer look. But remain vigilant and stealthy. The last thing we want is the two factions becoming aware of our presence.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Oi, Arashia.¡± he snatched the food from her hand and stole her basket. ¡°Focus, we¡¯re gonna be working.¡±


    ¡°Aaaaaw, fine¡­¡± she begrudgingly stood up.


    Venzus entered the room and placed the food on the table then headed to one of the beds where Droz was sleeping. He vigorously kicked him with the bottom of his boot, causing Droz to fall off the bed.


    ¡°Wake up you shit bag!¡±


    ¡°What the fuck¡¯s wrong with you!¡±


    ¡°Shut up, you¡¯re too loud. And be serious, we¡¯re gonna be working.¡±


    Droz got up and glared at Venzus before scratching his head. ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll pay you back later.¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 60: A Devil In Disguise (Part 5)

    The squad of men belonging to the mystic race ran at a speed that normal humans wouldn¡¯t be able to achieve. They avoided the open to avoid the eyes of the guards from the palace or anyone in that matter. They ran towards the direction of where the other fogs were moving, expecting that they would find something.


    However as expected, it wouldn¡¯t go smoothly. A dark fog suddenly crashed into the ground in front of them and was subsequently followed by four others, forcing the four non-human men, Felsurd, Welmut, Henfred, and Isen to stop immediately.


    The two elves, Henfred and Isen, drew their swords.


    Felsurd promptly transformed into his Berserk form, his body enlarged and fur instantly grew all over his body, his head turning into a familiar animal with pointy ears, a form reminiscent of a grey wolf ¡ª he was a Wolf type Beastman. While the other, Welmut, transformed into a Lion type. They firmed up their pair of legs, and pointed the claws on their hands at their enemies, their sharp teeth showing, eyes fierce.


    Each fog gathered and figures began emerging, their bodies completely covered with their clothes. One stepped forward imposingly.


    ¡°Ah, the race favored by the gods revealed themselves,¡± he said from behind his face coverings.


    The mystic race began coating their weapons with magic, the elves¡¯ blades glowed faintly, while it was the claws for the beastmen. Physical attacks would be commonly useless in the face of the monstrosities called the Cursed Children. They might be damaged when they were currently in their physical form, but when they turn to fogs, pure physical attacks would be rendered useless.


    Everyone single one in this thin part of the forest prepared for battle, there was no option for peace or dialogue. They were enemies ever since the beginning, no hope for peace, but only violence. Felsurd and the others couldn¡¯t afford to hold back either, the Cursed Children must not be underestimated, even more so at night. That was why he and Welmut wasted no time to transform. That being said, in spite of taking the Cursed Children as a threat, that didn¡¯t mean they couldn¡¯t defeat them in some other way.


    There was always something that will hold the Cursed Children back in the night. It was the perpetual pain they suffer after every sunset, when the night comes.


    Henfred then whispered to Felsurd. ¡°You are the fastest, when there¡¯s an opening, run through them.¡±


    Felsurd nodded.


    The two sides glared at each other with no words spoken, for there was no need. In the end, they will clash, one side hated the master the other ones served, while the other merely disliked them and goes against their goals. There was no option for a peaceful resolution, only violence.


    The elf Henfred fired the first shot when he waved his hand and thorny vines instantly spurred out of the ground heading towards the monsters of the night. But the cursed children dispersed and avoided the vines. The other elf, Isen, used his magic and wind engulfed his blade, with a swing, a slash of razor-sharp wind shot forward.


    One cursed child turned into a fog to evade in response. However, given that the wind was magic, it slashed his arm. It pushed him out of his fog state for a moment but left no time to stay still and charged forward.


    The cursed child¡¯s right arm pulsated and squirmed, and at an instant, the fabric covering it broke apart. What came out was an oversized hand with half the fingers turning into a bony blade with bones protruding through his knuckles. The skin was deformed and repulsive, twisted and disgusting, rough and hairless.


    The monster of the night swung down his arm, the elf barely parrying it.


    The beastmen on the other hand fought hand to hand with the other cursed children, both their clawed hands clashing against each other. Felsurd sternly watched out for the attacks of his pair of opponents. As he expected, they were slower than he was. However, their strength may surpass him a little.


    He leaped back and swung both his hands in the air, sending an arc of light towards his enemies, to which they blocked but still resulted in cuts. He clicked his tongue and his fight continued on ¡ª he hardened his furs.


    The fight of the two sides with intense magical capabilities shook the earth with their stomps, trees and rocks cut into pieces, blood soiled the soil, lights of magic upon magic lit up the area. However, despite being outnumbered, the mystic race was still able to survive. As expected of the ones favored by the gods, unlike those who were cursed by one.


    That being said, the cursed ones have yet to show who they truly were, nor would they easily do so. Despite the mystic race fighting so well, it would not last long. They will get tired, but the cursed children not. Both sides knew this.


    Then, a trio of cursed children watching from above descended to join the fight.


    At the same time, Henfred gathered his magic and shouted. ¡°It¡¯s time!¡±


    The two elves gathered a vast amount of mana and wind began to gather, a tempest starting to form. The two¡¯s magic synchronized with each other, matching each other¡¯s storm in every way, merging into one. Then the storm began to pull everything around them.


    Isen then turned to the Lion type beastman. ¡°Welmut! Full power!¡±


    Welmut growled and his eyes sharpened, his body hardened and became stronger. His blood boiled and his heart raced, his emotions rising. His sanity slowly slipping away as it was slowly being taken over by his bestial instincts.


    A beastman reaching his full potential as he became a true beast with little sanity left, a beastman truly going Berserk.


    With sharp teeth and lengthened claws, he charged toward his enemies, leaving small craters on the ground, and his speed doubled. He pushed the cursed children into the storm and even pulled those turning into fogs with magic-coated hands. The cursed children attacked him, but he merely shrugged all of it, ignoring the pain and the wounds.


    One by one, the cursed children were sent into the center of the storm. Even so, that will only hold them for several seconds. But that was enough time to give an opening.


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    Henfred turned towards Felsurd while pouring as much magic into the storm. ¡°Go!¡±


    With tremendous speed, Felsurd escaped the battlefield and entered the thick forest while a wind barrier formed behind him which kept everyone else inside the dome of wind. Felsurd headed towards where the other cursed children went.


    ***


    I have never felt so good for a while, if while I meant ever since I arrived in this world. I felt as good as a bird flying in the air while riding the wind. The way I skated and leaped around the forest, it was so wonderful that I wanted to go through it again.


    The air step spell truly made traversing tough terrains easier, felt like I did peak parkour. In any case, I couldn¡¯t keep having fun forever and focused on my mission. I already knew where the Marquis¡¯s house was, it was part of my lessons, thus I shouldn¡¯t get lost.


    It took a while to arrive there. I was intending to sneak into their house and interrogate him there. Would be best if the wife was out of commission. I was pondering whether to kill everyone else outright before talking with the Marquis as it would make things easier.


    However, that would mean I would lose the leverage to make the Marquis talk honestly. Thus, I would need to find a way to speak privately with the Marquis, but if any of the family was around him and I have no other choice, then I just have to neutralize that person. It could be non-lethal, or lethal which would be collateral, but it can¡¯t be helped.


    When I arrived at his manor though, I saw the Marquis leaving the building and entering a carriage. It was suspicious to be going out in the middle of the night. But I had an idea for what purpose it could be, not like I didn¡¯t imagine this could happen ¡ª I left at a certain time for a reason and not just because it¡¯s a safer time to kill.


    I mean, he did just fail.


    And so, I followed his carriage which led me to a run-down building where two guys were waiting. I listened in to their conversations by the wall at a secluded spot. I could jump in there but there was a guard outside, who knows how threatening that guy can be, or perhaps this leader of them might be more powerful, who knows, magic is an ass. They must be strong I guess since they were able to threaten the Marquis.


    When they were finished, I had to make a choice of who to follow. If I follow the Marquis now, I will be able to get the best time and opportunity to ask him questions with no one to bother, and can take my time. But I will lose track of his masters.


    If I follow the masters, I might get the risk of being discovered, despite the chance of happening low, but still a possibility. But I might not get every answer I want and they might be more difficult to deal with than the Marquis.


    Have to give up one side, can¡¯t have everything.


    And thus, I chose the Marquis. Lucky you Marquis! You get to be chosen by none other than the precious me!


    So when the Marquis entered the carriage, I threw a small dagger at the driver in the throat. I then killed the horses as they were more trouble than anything. I pulled the dagger out of the driver and rubbed the blood off with his shirt.


    With all of that done, I entered the carriage and ¡°interviewed¡± the dear Marquis. After some surprising information and disappointing ones, I killed him by stabbing him in the heart, then slashed his throat just to be sure. I shielded myself from the blood with my magic barrier.


    Don¡¯t want some blood splatter on me, not just because I don¡¯t want any evidence on me, but also because eeew. Red is cool, but come on that didn¡¯t mean I just casually dive in blood. Who knows what kind of diseases the marquis have? Imagine if blood splashed on my eyes or mouth, the disease might get into my system. So yeah, be careful around with blood, people!


    Besides that, my precious dagger finally got its first kill! Good for you buddy!


    I heaved a satisfied sigh, I exited the carriage and grabbed the lantern from beside the driver, and threw it at the inside of the carriage, the flammable liquid and fire spreading quickly, crawling on the wooden chairs and burning the clothes of the dead Marquis.


    I stepped back and extended my hand forward to cast my fireball spell, engulfing the carriage. Not yet satisfied, I cast another.


    That should be fine now.


    It should burn nicely. I don¡¯t expect they would get rid of the bodies of course. I just want to get rid of a clear picture and make sure I leave nothing that would give the idea that I came here ¡ª though unlikely that would be. In short, I just want to be safe, and burning everything down helps a lot! Burn any evidence even if there¡¯s no evidence, you know what I¡¯m saying?


    Given that fire is bright as hell in the night, I cast my wind and left the scene quickly and entered the forest while making sure to blow off the tracks I left on the ground.


    I did say I would be paying a visit to the Marquis¡¯s family and snuff their candles, but I changed my mind immediately ¡ª I did scare him though! Hehe!


    Killing the entire family of a household would be more trouble than its worth, the whole resources of the capital might be allocated just to find the perpetrator. Someone capable of killing an entire aristocratic family would cause fears all around, too much trouble. I just have to be satisfied with the Marquis.


    I¡¯m a bit sleepy now anyway, time to go home. Aaaah, such a peaceful forest, cool and silent.


    Yes silent ¡ª but then, there came sounds of shrubs being moved aside. I held my breath and turned towards the direction of the sound, my sleepiness disappeared instantaneously when what seemed like claws were coming at me.


    ¡°!¡±


    I pushed out double the mana and blasted my wind to throw me in the opposite direction, barely dodging the sharp razors passing right in front of my face.


    I roughly landed on the ground and glared at a strange creature.


    It was silver and big, furry and standing on two legs, its ears pointy. Almost looks like I¡¯m looking at a werewolf¡­?


    Thats¡­


    I pulled out my daggers on each hand and formed my stance.


    ¡°I know this smell, I smelled you in the festival¡­¡±


    The beasts slowly turned and gazed at me with sharp eyes. ¡°Princess.¡±


    The fuck, this was too sudden, my face almost got torn apart just a second ago. I never expected they would find me here¡­ Was it alone?


    I looked around and immediately returned my eyes to it. It seemed to be alone, but who knows.


    It continued speaking. ¡°This is perfect, with you here, I can accomplish the mission myself.¡±


    ¡°... Why are you after me?¡±


    It glowered. ¡°You are a threat to us, that is why we must kill you.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s pointless to tell you, you will die here either way. But curious, what are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°... It¡¯s pointless to tell you, it will only be a waste of breath.¡±


    Pieces of crimson barrier formed in the air and positioned themselves on my arms, legs, torso, and on my back that would serve as my armor.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you intend to fight? Hahahaha! I can¡¯t believe my eyes, don¡¯t think a sheltered princess such as you can defeat me.¡±


    I used my physical enhancement to give strength to my body and harden my muscles. Speaking with this guy would be a waste of time, he won¡¯t tell me what I want ¡ª then I¡¯ll make him talk later.


    With both strengthened legs and wind pushing me, I charged at him with incredible speed. When I got closer, he swung his claws at me, but I dodged it and slipped through to his back and thrust my blade.


    ¡°?!¡±


    But something unexpected happened. I ducked when another attack was coming at me and slashed my dagger at him again, but the same thing happened. I can¡¯t pierce him.


    His fist hit my barrier, normally my barrier would have eaten the impact, but he was strong, thus to be safe I let the impact push me away. Taking the brunt of the attack would only serve to damage me.


    After gaining distance, I looked at my daggers¡­ they were chipped on the edges. I clicked my tongue in annoyance. Good thing I didn¡¯t use my precious blade but only the medium-sized ones.


    ¡°Your blades will not get through my fur,¡± he said haughtily.


    His furs were hard and almost seemed like they were steel. That¡¯s just bullshit, how could hairs be hard as steel?! Was it magic again? Fucking magic, shit!


    ¡°It is futile if your weapons won¡¯t work on me, what hope do you have?¡±


    I tilted my head and angrily glared at him. Nothing¡¯s ever easy, is it?


    I sheathed my daggers and formed my stance, with one fist forward, and one right beside me. If blades won¡¯t work, I¡¯ll just have to shatter the steel protecting him.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll beat you to submission.¡±

 Vol. 2 Chapter 61: A Devil In Disguise (Part 6)

    Felsurd couldn¡¯t have felt luckier upon encountering their target right here, nor did he ever expect it. No way in the world could one think that the sheltered princess would leave her fortress in the middle of the night. Imagine his surprise upon smelling her familiar scent.


    Upon seeing her amidst the forest, he intended to kill her in a surprise attack. But to his shock, she dodged his attack ¡ª how she even managed such a feat was a mystery to him. Whatever made the princess leave, Felsurd was not very keen to know. All that was important was killing his target.


    The princess moved surprisingly well at their first exchange of attack, and the shield was a bother as well. But her blades weren¡¯t able to get through his fur. His fur was hard as steel, but his movement wasn¡¯t stiff as they were still bendable. One could imagine each hair on his body was thin steel wire.


    Only the special beastmen have special capabilities, this particular ability of his was from his family bloodline. A way to tell if a beastmen has a special ability is if they possess True Berserk where their bestial instincts take over.


    He tried to taunt the princess, but it didn¡¯t make her give up. She had sheathed her blades and prepared her fists. The princess appeared to be more of a fighter than he had expected.


    More of her crimson barriers appeared and began covering her limbs and the side of her face. More than that, four small shields floated around her, two on each side. Felsurd resisted the urge to chuckle, to think the sheltered princess would think those would protect her for long.


    Felsurd spread his fingers as he waited for the princess¡¯s next move. Then, she took her first step forward, running towards him with baffling swiftness. She folded her arm as she prepared to attack, Felsurd prepared to take her fists.


    But to his surprise, the crimson barriers on her wrists increased, layering on top of each other. When she was a few feet apart from him, the princess swung her arm towards him and at the same time, her layers of barrier moved and extended forward, following the motion of her swing.


    What?


    It extended around three meters and lashed out towards Felsurd like a whip. Felsurd frantically raised his arm beside his face, and the whip barrier clashed with his arm. Given that it was originally the barrier spell, objects that collided with it will bounce away, this caused Felsurd to stagger.


    Preventing Felsurd from recovering in that single second, the princess swung her other arm, sending another whip of crimson, hitting him on the other side of his face. Felsurd readjusted his footing so he could back away and recover, but suddenly the whips broke apart and flew towards his arms.


    ¡°!¡±


    They engulfed his arms and they extended into the ground. His arms were spread apart and being tied down, he was defenseless. The princess took the chance to punch him on the stomach, her fist digging deep into his flesh. The flesh beneath his skin folded and crushed with sheer power, his steel fur unable to protect him.


    Physical enhancement, this much?!


    His eyes widened in shock as he took a few more punches from the princess. Felsurd firmed and strengthened his muscles and pulled his right arm with all his strength. His shackles cracked and broke. The princess noticed and she took a step back, but Felsurd took a step forward and horizontally slashed his hand towards her.


    But the princess jumped with her wind, going over his arm. Then, as the bottom of her foot faced Felsurd, a small ball of flame flashed, and in an instant, a ball of fire erupted, crashing into his face.


    ¡°Gah!¡±


    Felsurd broke his other shackle and his claws glowed, he slashed the air, sending several arcs of light towards the princess that was moving away with her wind. The princess frantically responded, the floating barriers gathered before her and clashed with his magic attacks. But the barrier shattered, and a couple of slashes passed through. The princess braced for impact, and the arcs of light crashed with her magical armor, breaking off some pieces.


    The moment when all the attacks coming at her disappeared, she stomped her feet and ice instantly spread on the ground, moving towards Felsurd with staggering speed. He leaped back, but the ice grew up and caught his leg, and subsequently grew past his waist.


    Before he knew it, the princess had moved right beside him, her shields restored. She cast fireballs from both her hands, sending Felsurd flying away, and he crashed into a pillar of ice. At that moment, the princess leaped up and drop-kicked him on the back, pushing him further into the hard glacier.


    Felsurd groaned and instantly twisted around and kicked the princess away, making her crash into a tree. Without giving her time to regain her footing, Felsurd rushed towards her sending a handful arcs of light. Again, the princess¡¯s annoying floating shields moved to protect her. But when Felsurd got close, he swung down both his hands. In an emergency, other parts of the princess¡¯s armor flew to reinforce her forward shield.


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    The princess promptly used her wind to push herself to the side right before her shield shattered. Then as she turned around, her crimson whips formed again and lashed toward Felsurd. But, as he already knew this attack, he already had an idea of how to counter it. Felsurd shot out arcs of light towards the whips, destroying them.


    The princess furrowed her brows, then several sharp bodies of ice formed around her and shot toward Felsurd with incredible speed. Felsurd launched slashes of light to intercept the ice projectiles, then crouched and pounced towards the princess.


    She cast a blast of wind on her feet to propel herself away, but Felsurd had her in reach and swung down his hand. The princess¡¯s shield cracked terribly and caused her to twist, but as it happened, the barriers on her left leg extended, and with a kick, the barriers moved like a whip and lashed at Felsurd.


    The whip impacted his neck and pushed him sideways, roughly landing on the ground.


    ¡°Grrr!¡± he growled in annoyance. To think she was able to respond to his attacks that quickly, simultaneously while receiving an attack. He never expected the princess to counterattack while receiving an attack, nor did he even imagine she would fight this hard.


    The princess landed on the ground, and she seemed to be breathing heavily from the way her chest and shoulders move. Felsurd narrowed his eyes and understood what was happening ¡ª she was mortal in the end, a human. Humans tire. Perhaps this should be expected, she may be the daughter of gods, but she had no godhood.


    Divinity stored in human flesh.


    But this was for the best.


    Felsurd fixed his posture and placed his hands on the ground before charging toward the princess with startling speed. A black ball appeared in the princess¡¯s hand which she threw at him. Felsurd was clueless, but he planned to evade it. But a couple of steps away from him, the ball suddenly erupted into a white blinding light along blared a deafening shrieking sound.


    ¡°Gaaaah!!¡±


    He promptly stopped as he covered his eyes after that blinding light, and his sensitive ears were ringing. Then, as he suffered from that black ball¡¯s explosion, a hard punch hit his back followed by several more.


    When he suffered the pain of those sudden attacks, he blindly swung his hand to his back, but only hit the air. Then he felt a hit on the side of his body, he waved his hands, but hit nothing again, then came another attack.


    Felsurd gritted his teeth and inhaled deeply, then he followed the familiar smell and opened his hand, and swiftly reached out.


    ¡°Wh¡ª!¡±


    Felsurd caught the princess in his hand, and then he slammed her to the ground.


    ¡°Gh!¡±


    Felsurd could feel her barriers breaking, and her feeling some pain. Before he could slam her again however, pain crawled all over his arms. He retracted his arm and when his vision had partially restored, he saw lightning dissipating on his arm, while the princess retreated with her wind.


    Not letting her get away, he pounced and thrust his fist towards her, causing her to fly away towards a tree upon impact. Before she could slip away, Felsurd clasped her with both his hands and tightened.


    ¡°You¡¯re not getting away this time.¡±


    Her armor slowly began to crack. Felsurd saw the glare she was giving him, full of irritation. White mist emanated on her left hand, then lightning cackled on her right hand. At the same time, she fired frost and lightning magic toward Felsurds arms. The pain was searing, but Felsurd endured it just to crush her.


    But a pillar of ice rose from the ground below his elbows, causing him to let go. The princess slipped away at the same time.


    ¡°Dammit!¡±


    He immediately punched the ice pillar. The moment it happened, he saw another black ball coming at him and he instantly closed his eyes, looked away, and covered his ears with his hands. The ball exploded and he immediately looked at the princess.


    However, white smoke began filling the area around him.


    ¡°What?¡±


    The princess was nowhere to be seen. He searched for her scent, but the smoke had a salty smell that prevented him from doing so. Thus, he used his ears, there was a sound of soil being moved. He charged in that direction and discovered the princess. But she instantly responded by backing away and extending her hand.


    A swarm of blue small birds suddenly emerged from the smoke and all revolved around him as the princess vanished into the smoke. The sound of the flapping wings from the swarm, and how the ones flying below scattered the soil, got in the way of his hearing.


    Suddenly, a black ball fell down from above him, too late he noticed, it exploded, temporarily blinding and deafening him once again. The swarm of bird constructs gathered and pushed him back, then he was hit by a powerful kick on his back, feeling the intense pain in his spine.


    Magic gathered on his claws and blindly swung towards his back, sending arcs of lights, but hit nothing. His mana was almost depleted, and that magical attack costs a fair amount on each claw. Unlike the elves, the common beastmen were less gifted when it comes to mana, but they made up for it through their physical body, their strengths, and durability. They were apex predators.


    Felsurd felt so bitter that he was struggling to hunt a single human.


    Her and her tricks!


    He felt a punch on his belly, and then the crimson shackles just like before wrapped around his arms and legs, pulling him down, causing him to kneel. When his vision returned, shackles wrapped around his neck, and the princess before him slammed her fist into his face.


    ¡°Gh! Damn you!¡±


    The princess smiled. ¡°How many of you are there?¡±


    ¡°As if I will ever tell you.¡±


    She struck him again. ¡°Where is your hideout?¡±


    ¡°Hehehe! You¡¯re wasting your time.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ what should I do with you¡­ Perhaps turning you in might do¡­ but I will be¡­¡± she shook her head gently.


    ¡°I won¡¯t let you take me anywhere. You¡¯ve fought well. But now, I have no other choice.¡±


    His muscles expanded and became firmer, he slowly stood up, going against the force of the shackles. His eyes grew fiercer as he glared at the princess.


    ¡°What the¡­¡± the princess stepped away.


    Felsurd pulled his hand and the shackles cracked. He growled, saliva dripping out of his mouth. His mind losing sense, being taken over by his bestial instincts, going feral. He didn¡¯t want to use his True Berserk as he had no allies around to stop him once it was all over, nor did he even ever expect he had to resort to this.


    When his body fully enhanced, and his mind losing rationality, all shackles shattered into pieces. He growled grimly, the princess promptly flew back, but the beast caught up to her pretty quickly. She controlled her swarm constructs, going around into her back and going forward, crashing into the beast.


    But it merely slowed him down for a moment as he cleaved through with his claws.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 62: A Devil In Disguise (Part 7)

    I was getting tired, my muscles throbbing painfully. I thought I finally had the bastard under control, but to think he had a trump card like this. He basically had lost all reason, would have been less surprising if his trump card was some kind of magic. But to completely become a rabid beast? Didn¡¯t expect it to be something like that.


    I flew through the forest, keeping my distance, but the wolf beast was mowing through everything. I was starting to get worried that this situation was getting too conspicuous. But that was only the second concern, the first was getting through this problem.


    I threw lightning bolts and firebolts at him, I should have done some damage judging from the darkened and damaged fur and skin. But he was ignoring them completely as if he felt no pain whatsoever.


    Fuck! How the hell do I restrain that?


    I turned around, trying to catch it at its openings. But it just grabbed a tree that fit its hand and threw it at me. I frantically evaded, but as I did so, the beast caught up to me and clawed down at me. I barely readjusted the barrier on my limbs, they protected me, but they shattered. I pulled away with my wind pushing me, and at the same time I had my floating shields move towards the beast and they twisted to become shackles, holding it down. At the same time, I restored my body armor.


    I produced additional shackles to hold it down, then cast ice magic to cover its body. Fire gathered on my left hand and lightning on my right, and fired the spells at its face. It didn¡¯t kill him of course, so I fired another volley and held up my hand, a giant ice pillar formed in the air, and shot towards it. The impact was so powerful that the pieces of ice scattered in all directions.


    But it was still moving.


    I gritted my teeth and glared at it. Spamming my spells did some damage, but spamming it further was risky for me. I feel a little dizzy already, reminded me of the time I flew into the sky. Can¡¯t just casually punch it either, very dangerous going against that close.


    I threw a lightning bolt at it, but it broke through the restraints and pounced at me. I evaded, but it responded more quickly and punched me, I crashed into a nearby tree. My shields may have protected me, but that didn¡¯t make things more pleasant.


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    I had no time to rest as it pounced at me again as I was still laying on the ground with my back on the tree, its mouth wide open.


    It plans to ¡ª?


    I shifted my armor, from the torso and the other hand, into my right arm, forming several layers of shields. I intercepted its jaw with my right arm and it bit on it. It did not let go, just kept on biting down as it stood on four limbs like a true animal. I used my left hand to support my right.


    Shit¡¯s gonna kill me!


    I was in a momentary dilemma. I would like to keep it alive to get intelligence. But this monster had gone mad.


    My outmost layer of the shield between its teeth broke.


    Do I risk it by finding a chance to restrain it? No way! My life was more important than some shitty intel!


    Another layer broke.


    I was left with no choice but to kill it. The shields on my legs moved towards the beast and tied around its head and neck to hold it in place. I opened my right hand that was inside the beast¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Die.¡±


    Lightning crackled, and a blast of lightning exploded inside its mouth, going into its throat. The lightning crawled on the flesh of its insides, then spread further by all the liquid in a living being¡¯s body. I kept pouring the lightning in.


    The odor of burned flesh began permeating the air, then smoke began leaking out of its mouth. The force that was biting on my shielded arm weakened until it was no more. I kept the lightning on for a few seconds to make sure.


    When I was done, I pushed the damn thing aside. I panted heavily as I slowly got up while leaning on the tree. I looked at the corpse with a strained expression.


    Shit!


    I¡¯m getting tired of this.


    I walked forward, but my legs were weak, and I fell to my knees. My muscles hurt, likely because of the intense usage of physical enhancement, even though I thought I have practiced it fine, it still had some side effects. Not only that, my head felt heavy and at the same time dizzy, like what happened when I flew into the sky.


    ¡°Haaah, haaah.¡± I audibly panted while my sweat dripped from my chin.


    Fuck it.


    I almost died, again! That¡¯s it, I have enough! I didn¡¯t get any meaningful information, but at least I know now they were still around. I had some doubts that they were still in the city because they didn¡¯t do anything to me while I was at the festival.


    This experience pushed me to the edge, and now I know what I should do. Time to change my primary object from understanding why, to just killing them all outright. Knowing why was now secondary.


    The most important thing is to get rid of them from my life!


    I forced myself to stand up, I was still applying my physical enhancement since I feared that removing them might result in my body completely turning into jelly.


    I used the wind and made my way back to the palace.


    Time to put you to use, Allie.


    Plan A was now almost a failure. Once the festival¡¯s over, time to use plan B.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 63: A Devil In Disguise (Part 8)

    The company of imps hid behind the tree lines as they watched the battle between the mystic race and the cursed children. The mystic race definitely saw the cursed children moving away and decided to investigate.


    But then pushed into a confrontation.


    The imps looked at each other. Their leader, Rytus, signaled for them to back away. He must be intending to speak with them. Given that beastmen have powerful hearings, their whispering might be heard. They may be busy fighting, but they shouldn¡¯t let their guard down. Most of all, they didn¡¯t want to get the attention of the cursed children.


    After moving far away from the battle, Rytus crossed his arms.


    The others waited for his command.


    ¡°... Things have gotten tensed, huh. Which side we helping? Or should we take them all out?¡± Droz flexed his fists.


    Venzus smacked him on the back of his head. ¡°Ow.¡± he reacted but in a small voice then glared at Venzus.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be fucking stupid, we¡¯re siding with no one.¡±


    One side wants to protect the princess, the demons¡¯ target, while the other faction wanted the princess dead, which the demons definitely do not want. There was no side to help, nor could they even handle killing all of them ¡ª much more the cursed children, which would be basically impossible.


    ¡°Alright ¡ª fucking piece of shit.¡±


    ¡°You two love each other so much, reminds me of my siblings.¡± Arashia casually said to them while sitting on a tree branch.


    Venzus grimaced. ¡°How is that damn love of all things? This guy¡¯s an annoyance.¡±


    ¡°What a stupid thing to say.¡± Droz scoffed.


    ¡°It¡¯s not stupid,¡± she pouted. ¡°Dad said the more two guys fight, the more they care for each other. In other words, they love each other.¡±


    ¡°You should really stop listening to your old man¡¯s ramblings. It¡¯s rotting your head.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not ¡ª Dumb Venzus ¡ª jerk¡ª¡± she immediately covered her mouth as she was about to shout, realizing that would be a mistake.


    ¡°Alright, stop it you guys. I have thought of what we can do.¡±


    Everyone quieted down and listened to Rytus.


    ¡°We definitely are not going to fight, it will be a waste of our people.¡± They have other members in other parts of the city, but there was no way he would call them here for a reconnaissance. ¡°We also can¡¯t risk exposing all of us here. We need a safer and more quiet approach.¡±


    Rytus looked up at Arashia. ¡°We will be withdrawing, but you Arashia, with your stealth skills, will be able to navigate this forest with ease. Figure out what¡¯s going on. If going further is going to risk your discovery, you are free to retreat. I don¡¯t want our enemies to know that we are here.¡±


    Arashia nodded her head. ¡°Alriiiight. But I would definitely retreat when it¡¯s very risky. Dad wants me to return home.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Now go.¡±


    Arashia stood up and left the vicinity.


    Rytus faced his remaining allies. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the safe house.¡±


    ***


    The lion-type beastman, Welmut, huffed loudly, wounds all over his body. He growled as his mind succumbed to the bestial instinct while glaring at a pair of cursed children. The wind covered the area, keeping everyone in, still howling.


    Welmut stiffened his body as he endured the fatal wounds he received, but thanks to going into true berserk, he was still able to stand. He lunged at his enemy and swung down his magic-coated claws, missing a few but hitting one, wounding a cursed child. The latter groaned, but after stepping back, the wound gradually closed.


    It was one of the reasons why the mystic race in the human capital refused to fight the cursed children head-on. The cursed children were basically an undying army, no matter how many fatal wounds they receive, they will heal, as such their curse. It would be foolish to fight outright against such creatures.


    Welmut was starting to feel weak. Even a beastmen tires and weaken after suffering a number of powerful attacks. A cursed child charged at him and Welmut received his attack, then another came right behind him and struck with his monstrous hand, piercing through Welmut¡¯s body.


    The moment Welmut paused after taking the attack, the one in front of him took the chance and thrust his hand through Welmut¡¯s neck. Welmut wheezed as he fell to his knees, unable to resist anymore.


    But then all of a sudden, a sharp wind cleaved through Welmut¡¯s body, cutting his body in half, along with him was a cursed child ¡ª but the cursed child promptly began regenerating.


    Needless to say, the one who killed Welmut was one of the elves, Henfred, his ally. He committed such a treasonous act after concluding that Welmut would no longer be helpful, thus he made sure the opposition would find no use for him in the future.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve seen this before¡­¡± a cursed child right next to the regenerating one muttered, recalling the time when the mystics encountered the Church.


    The two elves standing next to each other sent numerous slashes of wind in all directions. Some cursed children dodged, while others merely took it all and immediately began regenerating.


    ¡°Should we retreat?¡± Isen asked.


    Henfred shook his head. ¡°Can¡¯t let them follow us to base.¡±


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Then, what should we do?¡±


    ¡°Buy as much time for Felsurd.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    They clashed once again, burning through their mana. They swung their swords along with magic, but all their efforts would only amount to buying time. Then after a couple of minutes, Isen lost his sword after being grabbed by his enemy.


    With mana almost depleted, he only had one choice, and thus he instantly aimed a slashing wind at his neck, blood spurted as his head went flying.


    ¡°Gah! I hate it when they do that.¡± one cursed child said bitterly.


    Henfred furrowed his brows, the wind barrier slowly disappearing. He gathered his mana, and then a powerful blast of wind exploded around him pushing the cursed children away. With that, he aimed a slashing wind at his neck, killing himself.


    It was silent for a moment.


    The cursed children in the area walked toward the corpses.


    One kicked an elf¡¯s corpse. ¡°They¡¯re crazy, but I¡¯m envious. So easy to their own life.¡±


    ¡°Suicidal acts is not one to be envious about.¡±


    ¡°Really? You¡¯re saying that?¡±


    ¡°Yes. But I suppose we have different mindsets. After all, I have hope that we get to return to what we truly are through her eminence. While you just want to end it all.¡±


    ¡°... Apparently so¡­¡±


    Another cursed child stepped forward. ¡°Is this a waste? We could have used them in some ways.¡±


    Another one joined in. ¡°I don¡¯t think this was a waste, we can just kill them whenever they appear anyways. So I think it¡¯s fine.¡±


    They had utter confidence they can take care of anyone that may go against them, as they never die. Besides that, it was not like they were planning to take one in as a captive.


    ¡°Enough talk,¡± another chimed in. He pointed at three people. ¡°You three, chase down the other one that got away.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m coming with th¡ª¡±


    ¡°Not you Mr. her miss eminence, you¡¯re staying here.¡±


    He paused and glared. ¡°Damn you.¡±


    The three that were pointed to go, immediately left the area as just the tension in the air was rising. They traversed the forest by turning into fogs until eventually, they noticed a battle happening in the forest.


    It was then one of their comrades appeared in front of them. ¡°Stand back and be quiet.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not doing anything?¡± one asked quietly.


    ¡°No, we have a plan. So let this fight unfold for a while.¡±


    ***


    The moment the princess left the scene, the Eternal Wanderer, Taneva, whistled as he stared at the dead beastman. Imagine his surprise upon watching everything unfold, how the princess fought hard and even defeated her adversary while showing impressive skills.


    How did she even manage to do all that? I don¡¯t recall her ever being trained to have that skill set.


    He scratched his head, utterly confused by everything. Not only that, he felt some disbelief when the princess went after some noble and burned his carriage down. She must have killed him, she even casually killed the coachman with no regrets.


    Never did he imagine she was capable of such a deed.


    What the hell is going on¡­?


    He had no idea.


    He looked around.


    ¡°Oi, Heneis! Don¡¯t just hide around!¡± he called out.


    A dark fog emerged from the darkness and a man covered entirely in clothes appeared. ¡°Wanderer, of course, you would be here.¡±


    Taneva chuckled a bit after hearing him speak as if he just discovered he was here, acting all casual.


    ¡°I have a job to do, you know.¡±


    ¡°And what is this job?¡±


    ¡°You have nothing to worry about. That aside, did you just watch your precious princess get attacked by a beastman?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    He didn¡¯t respond, Taneva smiled, he seemed to have hit the mark.


    ¡°Now why would you do that?¡± he began pondering and shortly came up with an answer. ¡°Could you have been planning to save her before death, and that in turn cause her to be in your debt? Since you saved her, she might do what you want as a favor or something.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Again, he was met with silence, but that was basically a confirmation. He shook his head, they basically planned to manipulate her.


    ¡°How underhanded to do that to the daughter of your old mistress.¡± he chuckled.


    ¡°Does not matter.¡±


    ¡°Really? Don¡¯t you even feel bad? You think she would be pleased if she knew what you were trying to do with her daughter?¡±


    ¡°Again, what we do won¡¯t matter.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, yeah whatever. But things didn¡¯t seem to go as planned, huh?¡± Taneva returned to gaze at the beastman''s corpse. ¡°You still think you can manipulate her after what you have seen?¡±


    ¡°... I admit, we didn¡¯t expect this outcome. This will make things difficult.¡±


    ¡°Or this might change your entire plan¡­ To be honest, I myself was taken aback. Did she ever train?¡±


    ¡°To get to that level of fighting skills? No. She had only started learning magic, no way she could do that much and go against a beastman. This is unlike with her spar against her knight.¡±


    ¡°As I guessed. You think it''s her godly instincts at work?¡±


    ¡°You really think that?¡±


    ¡°Nope, just a random thought.¡±


    There was no way that some person was born with a natural skill and knowledge of fighting. Even gods should need experience. But the princess was not moving like an amateur at all, all were expertly done, calculated, and she responded to a situation instantly.


    ¡°... I will need to reflect on today¡¯s event. Farewell, wanderer.¡±


    ¡°Leaving already? Alright, bye.¡±


    Heneis turned into a fog and left for the palace.


    Taneva sighed and began leaving the area. But after several steps, he froze in place, his breathing trembling. He felt something weird, something that gave him the chills despite himself being immortal. But it was a familiar sensation.


    He looked around.


    ¡°So, are you just gonna keep watching like a creepy pervert?¡±


    At that moment, intense power assaulted him, enough that would make a normal man tremble and collapse on their knees. A presence way beyond any mortals slowly appeared. In front of Taneva, a giant eyeball formed, floating in the air, the edges faintly glowing.


    Taneva smiled as he greeted the guest. ¡°Long time no see, Observer. Well not personally since you¡¯re here as an eyeball, but whatever.¡±


    ¡°Taneva.¡± A powerful voice spoke from the eye that shook the air, like thunder after the strike of lightning. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you well.¡±


    ¡°You as well. Especially after I heard that you started fighting against the other gods. You¡¯re one hell of a guy, I tell you.¡±


    In front of Taneva, this powerful presence was a god. He was a god called the ¡°Neverending Observer,¡± the one who watches everything. He can see everything and thus know everything.


    An omniscient being.


    He could see what was happening all over the place, he could see one¡¯s mind, one¡¯s heart, the past, the future, literally everything. But he was not as famous as the other gods, very few mortals or inhabitants in this world knew about him.


    With that knowledge, Taneva decided to have a little fun.


    Damn your eyeball is nasty and disgusting. Looks like a deformed fetus that never got to be born, or a child from someone who slept with their sibling.


    The eyeball narrowed its eyes. ¡°Very funny, never change,¡± it said.


    ¡°I won¡¯t, I¡¯m afraid. So, how¡¯s your war?¡±


    ¡°For now, everything is alright, as you can see, I am here.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. What are you even lurking around here for?¡±


    ¡°Something interesting happened that I wanted to watch... No, not precisely, I have been watching for some time, I just want to take a look at what happened here earlier.¡±


    ¡°Earlier¡­ you mean the princess?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Taneva furrowed his brows. ¡°I take it that you already knew this would happen.¡±


    ¡°Of course. I have watched this unfold from the future, and the present.¡±


    ¡°To think that you have an interest in what¡¯s happening here¡­¡± Taneva then came to realize something. ¡°Hey, do you have something to do with this? With the princess, with the prophecy?¡±


    The eyeball narrowed its eyes. ¡°I have no direct involvement in what is happening here.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Really?¡±


    The eyeball froze for a moment. ¡°I have to go. They¡¯re closing in on me. We will meet again soon.¡±


    ¡° ¡ª Wait! Is she sti¡ª¡±


    Taneva frantically reached out to the Observer, wanting to get an answer to an important question. Something personally important to him. But before he could finish his question, the eyeball vanished, and the surrounding air finally relaxed.


    He closed his hand and shook it, and sighed with sadness.


    ¡°Soon then¡­¡±


    Taneva woefully gazed up at the sky.

 Vol. 2 Chapter 64: Not Meant To Be (Volume Epilogue)

    I awoke from the knocking on the door, but I remained lying down on the ever-soft bed. I quietly groaned as my body ached. I healed my body before going to bed, but it would appear I didn¡¯t get all of it. I was pretty drowsy when I arrived though, I had to remove my work clothes and weapons, then wear my sleeping clothes.


    Then heal my body while I was feeling dizzy. At the first sign of relief, I fell asleep. Even now, I still felt tired. I didn¡¯t even get around six hours of sleep I think.


    ¡°Princess, wake up.¡± came Mera¡¯s voice. ¡°I¡¯m opening the door.¡±


    ¡°Wait, not yet!¡±


    I got up from the bed and cast healing magic on my body. I just want to get rid of as much pain as possible.


    I sighed. I felt drained. After the pain had dissipated, I went over to the door to open it. As usual, Mera and Rogan were here. However, strangely Vernon was nowhere to be seen.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Vernon?¡±


    ¡°... He said he¡¯ll catch up later, and he apologize for it.¡±


    ¡°Why? What happened?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    I shifted my gaze towards Rogan, indirectly asking if he knew something.


    ¡°Must have something to do with an incident somewhere, I heard something from the other knights. For now they¡¯re still investigating, given that I¡¯m here, I didn¡¯t get to you know, to see what it was.¡±


    ¡°And Vernon just left¡­ where? Surely he didn¡¯t leave the palace.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    ¡°... That¡¯s fine¡­I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll come to tell us later.¡±


    I went on and did my normal routine until it was time for breakfast. But upon arriving in the dining room, only Mother, Eleden, and Lillie were there. I curiously looked at the empty seats.


    ¡°Where are Father and Estevan?¡±


    ¡°Good morning dear¡­¡± my mother warmly smiled at me. ¡°There was an emergency, so your father and brother had to handle it. To be precise, they¡¯re at the moment coordinating with the knights.¡±


    With a concerned face, I sat down on my chair. ¡°Did something bad happen?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know yet.¡±


    I looked at Eleden and he shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve sent Lucious to take a look at what¡¯s going on.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t concern yourself, dear. Let¡¯s eat.¡±


    I hesitantly nodded my head and dined.


    A few minutes later, Father and Estevan arrived with troubled faces.


    My mother spoke to Father. ¡°So, any news?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not something to be talked about while eating. But we¡¯re still figuring it out.¡± my father smiled.


    Father and Estevan joined us.


    Several minutes later, after eating and cleaning the table, a knight arrived. ¡°Excuse me, but we have identified the victim.¡±


    My father nodded. ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°Marquis Vekenas, Hevrik Fumine Vekenas.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Mother covered her mouth, and father had a grim look on his face. Of course I also appeared surprised.


    ¡°He has yet to show up for overseeing the festival, and his wife coming forth that her husband has yet to return after leaving last night. Add to that identifying objects at the site, and analyzing the body. We came to the conclusion that it is indeed the Marquis.¡±


    ¡°Is it murder?¡± Estevan asked.


    ¡°Definitely, aside from the charred remains, he also has a stab wound, and a cut to the throat.¡±


    ¡°A marquis¡­ murdered? Or assassinated?¡± Eleden muttered in disbelief.


    This was of course a big deal. Someone just killed a high-ranking aristocrat. Who would have the nerve to kill a man of that standing? That would incur the wrath of the crown.


    ¡°Who could have done this..?¡± my mother asked to no one in particular, horrified.


    I looked at my mother with a melancholic expression, somehow I felt a little prick in my heart looking at her this way.


    ¡°This is an unprecedented incident.¡± my father grimly said. This was unprecedented in his term, and a few rulers before, it was incredibly rare for this to happen, sometimes never at all. ¡°To think this would happen in the capital. Any leads?¡±


    ¡°Not yet, your majesty¡­ Marquis Teristro is still investigating the scene of the crime.¡±


    ¡°Good, he should find something.¡±


    Marquis Meril Helvinia Teristro, my mother¡¯s brother, and my uncle ¡ª and Mizia¡¯s father. I didn¡¯t expect him to be sent to investigate. I wonder what his role in the kingdom is. Father seemed a bit relieved that uncle went to investigate.


    ¡°Keep me posted.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    With that, the knight left.


    ¡°What are we going to do? Should we continue the festival?¡± my mother asked Father.


    ¡°We continue it. For now, I¡¯ll leave the events in your hands, my love.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    ¡° ¡ª Um¡­ isn¡¯t the marquis Lucious¡¯s uncle¡­?¡± I timidly asked with a fearful expression. ¡°Where¡¯s Lucious¡­?¡±


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Eleden bit his lip. ¡°Estelia, come with me, let¡¯s find him.¡±


    ***


    Eleden and I searched for Lucious in his office, expecting he would be there, but he was not. We went to his personal quarters, no one was there as well after calling out from the door. We searched outside the palace but he was nowhere to be found. Then we met the knight from earlier that brought the news and told us that Lucious went out in a hurry.


    It would seem Lucious left to where the incident happened. Feeling a bit disappointed, I decided to stay in my study room while Eleden left to try and help where he can. I wonder how long until Lucious comes back.


    Ever since we arrived in this room, Vernon has been staring weirdly at me. In fact, he started acting weird ever since he returned earlier. Good grief.


    ¡°Vernon, what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    He narrowed his eyes at me. ¡°Whatever do you mean, your highness?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t notice it, it¡¯s a bit uncomfortable how you¡¯ve been staring at me.¡± I looked at him with a strained smile.


    He averted his eyes away and took a deep breath. ¡°I hesitate to speak my mind.¡±


    ¡°What does it entail? My guess it involves me?¡±


    ¡°...Yes.¡±


    My other two servants wrinkled their brows as they stared at Vernon.


    ¡°Given that it has something to do with me, speak your mind.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    I sighed. ¡°After today¡¯s incident, I don¡¯t think I can be patient, Vernon. Please speak.¡±


    ¡°... Very well¡­¡± he turned to Mera. ¡°Please lock the door.¡±


    Mera looked at me with a concerned expression, asking for my permission, to which I nodded.


    After Mera locked the door, Vernon began asking me. ¡°Princess, did you do something?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Princess please don¡¯t pretend. You asked questions about the marquis, then the next thing we discovered is that he is dead.¡±


    My eyes widened in shock. ¡°Are you implying I k-killed him?¡± to think he would think that about me.


    ¡°Hey hey, that¡¯s going too far, Vernon.¡± Rogan came to my side to defend me.


    ¡°T-That¡¯s right sir Vernon, that¡¯s stepping over the line.¡±


    ¡°... But it could not be far from the truth given how things were yesterday.¡±


    I twiddled around with my fingers. ¡°V-Vernon¡­ I only asked about the marquis yesterday because he was acting strange.¡± I then raised my eyes to look at him with a distressed face. ¡°I could never commit such a thing¡­ Please don¡¯t make assumptions like that¡­¡±


    I lowered my eyes. ¡°There are those that are hurt, I¡­ I wouldn¡¯t do such a thing¡­ never¡±


    ¡°Princess¡­ I am only speaking my mind¡­ but¡­ are you truly being honest here?¡±


    ¡°V-Vernon¡­ I didn¡¯t do it, I swear. I swear I didn¡¯t do it.¡± my voice slowly trailing off. ¡°It was a surprise to me as it was for everyone.¡±


    Rogan shook his head in exasperation. ¡°Vernon, that¡¯s a dangerous accusation. If she did it, how could she even get out of the palace without getting caught?¡±


    He averted his eyes as he pondered. ¡°...... I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Besides, you think the princess can just casually kill someone in cold blood?¡±


    Vernon stared at my troubled and fearful face. Of course I¡¯m afraid, he just basically accused me of murdering a high-ranking noble.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. The princess had never killed someone before¡­¡± he slowly kneeled on one knee right before me. ¡°My sincerest apologies, your highness. I made a mistake. Please know that I had no intention of speaking my mind to anyone else. My loyalty lies to you alone.¡±


    ¡°Um, thank you, Vernon¡­ You m-may rise.¡± after he stood up, I continued. ¡°... I know you are confused as to why this happened. So what about we theorize? Theorize about why the marquis was killed.¡±


    ¡°... I could not think besides other nobles giving the order.¡±


    I furrowed my brows. ¡°They can do that? Do they not fear the repercussions?¡±


    ¡°Some nobles are braver than others. I¡¯m sure they think they can get away with it. But I don¡¯t think there¡¯s someone that¡¯s in a feud with him.¡±


    ¡°...Could it be a personal grudge?¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t think of anyone that could have a grudge, but perhaps. Highly unlikely it would be a commoner, but it could be an adventurer besides assassins sent by nobles. But I just couldn¡¯t think why, the marquis doesn¡¯t have a particularly bad reputation.¡±


    ¡°... If it¡¯s not personal, let¡¯s expand the scope further¡­ What if it¡¯s a conspiracy? A conspiracy that runs deep and that everyone is not aware of.¡±


    ¡°Conspired by whom? Would there be a group of powerful people that would want the wrath of the crown?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ it was just a random thought¡­ This is going nowhere is it?¡±


    ¡°... Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was just trying to lighten the mood¡­ that was foolish of me.¡±


    Vernon¡¯s eyes widened for a moment. ¡°Please princess, no need to deprecate yourself. It was my fault, to begin with. I started it.¡±


    I was about to respond, but knocks rang out from the door. Mera went and opened it, she spoke with the person and turned to me. ¡°Milady, the knight said that Mister Lucious has arrived.¡±


    I stood up and took a deep breath. ¡°Where is he?¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t say.¡±


    I left the room in a rush and headed to Eleden¡¯s office. I entered after knocking. I looked around.


    ¡°Lucious is not here?¡±


    ¡°He has arrived?¡± Eleden said. ¡°I expected him to head straight here¡­ Perhaps in his room?¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡ª¡± I paused when a place came to mind.


    He surely would be there. I faced my servants. ¡°Please don¡¯t follow me.¡±


    ¡°But princess it¡¯s¡ª¡±


    ¡°Please.¡± I interrupted Vernon and then left the office.


    I went down the stairs to the ground floor and then went outside until eventually, I arrived at a green place with a tree at the center. A place filled with childhood memories. Then, there Lucious was, sitting by the tree.


    His head was lowered, and I saw tears welling up in his eyes. I bit my lip for a moment before going toward him. He heard my footsteps and the moment he saw it was me, he frantically rubbed his eyes and stood up.


    ¡°H-Hey, Estelia¡­ I, I didn¡¯t expect to see you here.¡±


    With a sad expression, I spoke to him. ¡°Lucious¡­ I¡­ I heard what happened.¡±


    He forced a smile, the corner of his lips shaking. ¡°Y-Yes¡­ it was an¡­ an unexpected news.¡±


    He strained his eyes, holding his tears back¡­ Not good.


    I walked up beside him and sat down on the grass.


    ¡°Sit with me.¡±


    He was hesitant at first but he slowly sat beside me.


    ¡°Estelia, what are¡ª¡±


    ¡°Lucious¡­ I¡­ I spoke with your uncle in the colosseum¡­ you seemed pretty close.¡±


    I looked at him with a faint smile.


    His eyes began to moisten.


    ¡°Y-Yeah¡­ I¡­ I um, used to tell him a lot of what happened in my life. I told him about my achievements, my joyful moments, and even my failures¡­ He always listened to me with a proud smile. I¡­¡± It would seem he could no longer hold it in upon recalling the past, and tears began welling up in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m s-sorry Estelia ¡ª I just¡ª¡±


    I reached out for his hand. ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s okay.¡± I slowly took him into my arms and pulled him close, his head to my chest as I caressed his head. ¡°Let it go.¡±


    His body shook as he began to sob.


    ¡°I-I s-still can¡¯t believe he¡¯s g-gone¡­¡± he paused for a moment as he took a shaky breath. ¡°The w-way he w-was¡­ i-it was too cruel¡­ too cruel¡­¡±


    I gently caressed his head and tightened my embrace.


    Then, he muttered. ¡°W-Who could h-have done such a thing ¡ª to such a thing to a good man¡­?¡±


    I did.


    I took away one of your family, Lucious. I killed him and I savored it. I set his body afire. I took the life of someone very important to you. It caused a tiny pain in my heart to see you like this. But I have no regrets in killing him. Whether he was a good man, I¡¯m sorry but it never mattered to me.


    I killed him. But that fact will forever be hidden. You will never know, no one will.


    I don¡¯t know what will happen if you ever find out. That is why it will never be discovered that it was me.


    Lucious¡­ Oh Lucious¡­ how I wanted to give it a try¡­ I chose you at first, I chose to give the two of us a chance, a chance to grow this strange feeling in my heart.


    But that feeling has now disappeared, and that is regretful.


    I truly wanted to give this a chance. But¡­ it would appear some things, some people¡­ are just not meant to be.


    ***


    The room was dark, it smelled foul, the corners filthy with feces. There was nothing beautiful in this room, a room underneath the ground with no light that can pass through. The room ¡ª this jail cell was not a place where a human being should live. But one human being did.


    This human being was a woman, and her state, from her body and mind, reflected the miserable state of the room she was in. Her clothes were torn, she had not changed any kind of garments ever since she was brought her.


    Her hair was sticky and messy, her skin full of dark muck, her throat dry as she barely drank any water. Her eyes darkened by eyebags were completely lifeless as she stared emptily at the floor.


    The girl that was supposed to have a bright ambition, was now lost in the darkness that devoured both her mind and soul.


    Then, there were sounds of footsteps coming into this usually silent dungeon. The footsteps stopped right at the entrance of her cell. Metal clinked, and the door lock clicked.


    The knight who came spoke to her in a stern tone.


    ¡°Allie Jelimis, her highness, Princess Estelia, wishes to speak with you.¡±


    Allie, who almost seemed like a dreary statue, slowly looked up.

 Estelia Vernisia Wisteria [Character Sheet]

    Author''s Note:


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Character is drawn and designed by Elouise Moon</a>


    Commissioned an artist and finally Estelia has a character design! Thank you everyone for reading this story! And I thank my Patreon supporters for making this possible! :)


    Feel free to enjoy the character sheet and admire the art :)


    Have a good day, everyone!

 Royal Princess of Blood Volume 3 Synopsis

    Volume 3: The Wicked Princess (Part 2)


    I have been learning and practicing my new abilities, and now, after facing that beast, I believe I am ready. Mostly because I have had enough of this crap, this has to end.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    But I will not do it alone, my servants, the church, I will have them help me. Then, Allie, time to bring her out. I will personally oversee this operation.


    Furthermore, all of a sudden, the Tornridge Empire suddenly sent us a message. Two princes are coming to our kingdom as envoys. Now what?! Dammit! Leave me alone!

 Vol. 3 Prologue: Tornridge Empire (Part 1)

    Giggles gently echoed in the wide and luxurious chamber fit for royalty. A pair of chandeliers hung on the ceiling, lights off, with only the lamp by the royal bed giving light to the room. The room was filled with sensual fragrance, an atmosphere growing in carnal desire.


    The doors locked, the windows closed, curtains spread out. None could see what was going on inside. A sweet female voice moaned followed by a giggle, the sheets ruffled, and the bed creaked. The bed was starting to slightly be stained by the sweat of a man and woman.


    The man kissed the woman¡¯s fair-skinned neck and his hand raised to the woman¡¯s bare breasts, holding them in his hand. The moaning continued as they held each other close, embracing their bodies together so tightly as they savored this special moment.


    The pleasure made them ignore the world outside the room. Now it was just the two of them. The outside world did not matter, no matter how they may see what was happening here.


    The heat of their love only intensified with every moment they share.


    The beautiful woman, eighteen years old, kissed the man¡¯s bare chest with extreme passion as her cheeks flushed. Her long straight hair was in the color of red, her eyes sporting the beauty of azure. Her bare body was smooth and without flaw, her breast ample, thighs seemed comfy. Her face was beautiful, one that could be considered among the most beautiful in the empire. She smiled as she made eye contact with the man on top of her.


    The man, twenty years old, looked down at her with intensely passionate azure eyes, his heart warm in absolute love and adoration for the woman before him. He had short light brown hair, smooth and shiny. He had a muscular body as what would be expected of a warrior. He was handsome, one smile was enough to charm any woman he desired. But he only had eyes for one woman.


    Their motion slowed and shortly came to a stop as they caught their breath. The man rolled to the side and looked up at the ceiling. The woman placed her fingers on the man¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Wonderful as ever, the more we do it, the more my love intensifies. How I wish we could do this every night.¡±


    The man gazed back at her and fondly smiled. ¡°I as well.¡± he stroked her cheek. ¡°So beautiful. I swear no one can match you.¡±


    ¡°Really? Sounds like you¡¯re just trying to flatter me.¡±


    ¡°You doubt me now? If I lied, I would have looked at other women. But no, all others are so dreary. You are the brightest.¡±


    The woman covered her mouth. ¡°You¡¯re making me blush, I might let you do me another round.¡±


    ¡°Oh? I wouldn¡¯t mind.¡± he slowly inched his face close to hers and they kissed.


    His hand touched her bare waist and then down to her thighs.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do one more, Zara,¡± he whispered.


    ¡°Oh my, but a lady can only take so much, my prince charming.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a lie.¡±


    He was certain it was a lie, she was more of a beast than he ever thought when they first did it. She was so wild that he was almost ashamed as a man.


    ¡°Oh yes, it¡¯s a lie.¡± she chuckled. ¡°But you can¡¯t stay here any longer, Ali. You need to go while you can still sneak out of my room.¡±


    ¡°But I don¡¯t want to go.¡±


    ¡°Go.¡± she gently pushed him with a joyful smile.


    It was currently around past midnight, and most of the staff should be asleep with only a few guards patrolling inside the castle. It was his chance to go back to his room silently.


    ¡°He-he, alright my love.¡±


    Alistor left the bed and walked over to where his apparels were. Zara watched lecherously as he slipped into his clothes.


    ¡°Will you come here tomorrow?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Things have gotten busier than usual.¡±


    ¡°You boys and your love for politics.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the princess you know. You should try getting into it.¡±


    ¡°I am occupied with winning the adoration of the people, as the job Father told me to do.¡±


    Basically, it was to get on the good side of the people to increase support for the royals. But this was only done mostly in the capital region though. She was putting to use her charm as the princess.


    ¡°Ah right.¡± he closed the buttons of his shirt. ¡°As much as I would love to visit you tomorrow night, I can¡¯t make a promise. I don¡¯t want to make a promise I can¡¯t keep.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, this is why I fell in love with you¡­¡±


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    ¡°And my heart always jumps in happiness every time I think about it. I¡¯m so lucky.¡±


    Alistor walked close to her and kissed her on the lips. ¡°I¡¯ll be going.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    He walked over to the door, and before he turned the knob, he turned to look at Zara. He adored her nude body laying beautifully on the bed. His heart grew warmer at the sight of her.


    ¡°Goodnight, my little sister.¡± said the first prince of the Empire, Alistor Tarquen Celum Tornridge.


    ¡°Goodnight, my beloved big brother. Sleep well.¡± the only princess of the Empire, Zara Marcella Celum Tornridge, saw him off with a lovely smile.


    ***


    Alistor awoke in the morning in a good mood but only to be told to assemble in the throne room after breakfast. He sighed, expecting another order to come from his father the Emperor. But he couldn¡¯t be lax if he were to inherit the throne. Every order from the Emperor, he carried out as best as he could, just so he would win the throne.


    Despite being the eldest child, he was not the crown prince as the inheritance was determined by merits. With the most merits, they will take over the throne, and they have to show it to their father. Alistor wanted the throne, he believed it was his destiny to rule the empire. Aside from that, the power and authority a ruler has could help him with his wishes that involved his younger sister. Wish to make things easier for them both ¡ª in short, safer for them.


    Being a ruler grants many capabilities. He wanted that versatility.


    He took a bath and was afterward helped dressed by the maids who always blush whenever they do so. Alistor was quite amused every time, and they were quite beautiful. But he only has a heart for one. If he did anything to the maids, his sister would hate him. Besides, the maids couldn¡¯t match his sister¡¯s beauty and overall appeal.


    He arrived at the dining room, his younger brother the second prince, Cilas Alvis Celum Tornridge, was already eating at the table without waiting for anyone. He had red hair and azure eyes and was a little muscular and a foot shorter than Alistor. He was sixteen years old.


    ¡°You could have waited for your siblings.¡±


    ¡°There is no rule for that. Why should I? Besides, I¡¯m hungry.¡±


    Alistor shook his head and sat down but he didn¡¯t touch any food. Cilas didn¡¯t bother asking as this was already a normal occurrence, Alistor would wait for their sister. He wanted Cilas to wait for everyone to gather once in a while given that they as siblings only have each other to rely on, that was why he often tells him he could wait. However, he still receives more or less the same reply. He had to annoy him every morning more, then.


    Shortly, their sister, Zara, arrived.


    ¡°Good morning, my dear brothers. Oh, Ali, thank you for waiting as always.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll wait for my sister. Unlike someone here.¡±


    Cilas furrowed his brows and continued to eat, ignoring Alistor.


    Alistor presented a chair and allowed Zara to be seated. His heart warmed just at the sight of her. She was beautiful, elegant, and perfect. He started feeling this kind of emotion years ago, this romantic feeling. But it didn¡¯t always start this way.


    When they were still very young, Alistor saw her as a normal sister. No romantic feelings whatsoever. However, they were always together, helping each other. Then when she reached her teens, she grew even more beautiful and became sweeter.


    Alistor couldn¡¯t help but grow some special feelings. However, despite his conscious and unconscious pursuit, his feelings were not reciprocated. He knew he shouldn¡¯t feel this way to his own sister. But, he couldn¡¯t contain his feelings, his heart would warm up, and his groin would harden just looking at her. He wanted to touch her, be more personal, be more intimate.


    Zara was weirded at first by his actions, but Alistor didn¡¯t stop. He kept courting and seducing his younger sister. Then eventually, they reached beyond the boundary. They became more open to each other, in more ways than one.


    ¡°So, how¡¯s our youngest brother?¡± Zara asked as they began eating.


    ¡°He¡¯s hard in his study,¡± Cilas answered.


    ¡°We should pull him out of his room and force him to join us for once,¡± Alistor suggested.


    Their youngest brother would barely come out to join his siblings as if he didn¡¯t want to get near them. Thus, he always ate in his room and go out to his study without talking with his siblings. Not like he hated them, it was more like, he didn¡¯t want to speak with people. In any case, he was still under ten years old, he must be changed.


    ¡°You do that.¡±


    ¡°Cilas¡­ you should try convincing him, this isn¡¯t healthy.¡±


    Cilas grimaced at Zara¡¯s words. ¡°No way, don¡¯t throw that task on me. Dealing with kids is annoying. You¡¯re good with that kind of thing, aren¡¯t you? You do it.¡±


    ¡°Please¡­? Do it for your dear big sister.¡± she cutely smiled.


    Cilas sighed. ¡°Whatever¡­ I¡¯ll try.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡±


    Cilas put down his spoon and fork, his plate now empty. ¡°I¡¯m going, don¡¯t be late for the assembly.¡±


    Cilas left the room, Alistor and Zara stared at each other, with the former shrugging his shoulders.


    ¡°By the way, you look brilliant this morning,¡± Alistor said to her. ¡°Something good happened?¡±


    Zara pulled her hair to the back of her ear. ¡°Well, there were plenty of things that happened last night.¡±


    Alistor chuckled, he could have touched her hand, but he had to be careful with his actions even in the palace where anyone could see. ¡°Really? I wonder what those could be.¡±


    ¡°What I can tell though is that I had a wonderful dream.¡±


    Alistor took a spoonful of food. ¡°Mind sharing?¡±


    ¡°I was in a beautiful place, where the clouds touch the land, and trees full of color. Cute and fluffy animals all over the place.¡±


    ¡°That sounds adorable.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes it is, I almost didn¡¯t want to wake up.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you did then, would hurt if you left us to live in the dream world.¡±


    ¡°Of course, why would I leave my dear brother, and my other siblings behind?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re as sweet as ever, my sister.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Alistor and Zara continued savoring the food before them but mostly savoring each other¡¯s company.


    ¡°So, what plans do you have today, Zara?¡±


    ¡°None, in particular, studying I suppose. There are plenty of books to read where knights triumph and all heroic.¡±


    ¡°You still haven¡¯t read the entire library?¡±


    ¡°Books are endless in the Empire I guess. In seriousness, there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll read all the books in the library, a lot of boring ones mixed in there as well. Books are just a good way to pass the time.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you should find another hobby then.¡±


    ¡°What other hobbies?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, improve your musical skills maybe?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s tedious. Painting is much better than that.¡±


    Alistor recalled the times she painted, the paintings were beautiful in his opinion. Perhaps he was just being biased, but truly they were beautiful. The servants or her teacher didn¡¯t particularly complain about her art, so it must be objectively good. How she looked so beautiful when she sat before her canvas, waving her paintbrush.


    ¡°Then paint.¡±


    ¡°But I have painted all that I can see here.¡±


    ¡°Well, you could draw me, if you like, eh?¡±


    Zara smiled adorably as she thought about Alistor¡¯s offer. ¡°... I would like that.¡±


    Alistor moved a bit closer and whispered. ¡°You can paint me naked if you want.¡±


    Zara laughed quietly and slapped his shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t even try.¡±


    A short while later, they finished their food. Afterward, they made their way to the throne room.

 Vol. 3 Prologue: Tornridge Empire (Part 2)

    The hallways were tall and wide, gold embedded in the fine columns. From the windows, the buildings of the capital city can be seen, even to the horizon beyond the two protective walls surrounding the city. The walls were divided, there was an inner wall where in the center the castle was situated along with other buildings. Then there was an outer wall, with buildings between the first one.


    Everything within the protective circle of the inner wall was the first part of the city, then beyond it was the expansion. With the long history of the Empire, the city inevitably grew. And thus after the second wall was built, the capital city was divided into two districts ¡ª the first protected by the inner wall, and the second district by the outer.


    Standing at the center of it all was the majestic and high-reaching castle where the royal family resides.


    As Alistor and Zara got closer to the throne room, they began to see painted portraits on the hallway walls, placed on each side. With each painting, there was a different art style. These were the paintings of the Emperors of the past, forever remembered in their portraits.


    Alistor savored the sight with a sharp breath, feeling the pride as royalty of the great empire that had stretched far in the continent. At the edge of the hallways lies a giant set of double doors, right by it was the oldest painting of the first emperor. His younger brother, Cilas, looked up at it with slightly squinted eyes.


    Cilas glanced at Alistor upon hearing his footsteps. ¡°We need to wait for a while.¡± he then returned his gaze to the painting.


    ¡°I see¡­ Why are you staring at that portrait so much?¡±


    Alistor stood beside Cilas and looked up at the painting, trying to figure out what his brother was looking for.


    ¡°The first emperor when our nation ascended from a mere small kingdom. He was the one who led our people to greatness. His feats are a subject of adoration.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes of course.¡±


    ¡°But I noticed something, and have been for a while.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Despite his achievements, in this very portrait where his face be saved, he did not smile.¡±


    Alistor looked at the first king¡¯s face. He had golden hair and azure eyes. Fair skin and a beautiful face overall. And indeed, his lips were not smiling.


    ¡°Maybe he¡¯s just a serious person?¡±


    ¡°Most of the former emperors smiled. I just find it strange that despite being the one with the greatest achievement, he did not express joy.¡±


    ¡°What? Is he supposed to be upset?¡±


    ¡°... I¡¯m not sure. Perhaps he is¡­ sad.¡±


    Alistor shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re overthinking it.¡±


    The empire was once referred to as a mere kingdom, the underdog amidst the other hostile nations. But the young king led the nation to greatness, where they began to conquer the nearby lands, expanding their reach, and enhancing their power. With the guidance of the God of Valor, they attained prosperity and grew into the new Empire. At present, now conquered half the continent.


    As the first emperor who led the nation and brought it great change, there was no way that he was sad or upset. All rulers would be happy when their nation became better than before.


    ¡°I guess.¡±


    The doors to the throne room opened with a loud thud. The royal children quickly straightened themselves up. Alistor stood in the middle, on his right side was Cilas, and on the left was Zara. Once the doors were fully opened, the three began walking inside.


    On the elevated platforms on the left and right sides sat down the people of status ¡ª nobles yet serving directly to the emperor, ambassadors. They help the emperor in making decisions and often represent him on some occasions.


    At the frontmost center of this wide chamber was a throne above a set of stairs. Behind it was the statue of a man in full plate armor with swords on both hands, crossing them on his chest. It depicts the God of Valor, the deity the nation worships.


    Not all didn¡¯t begin worshipping the deity before the first emperor got into power. It was said that the God of Valor himself stood beside the first emperor and guided him to the right path when he was still a young man, and a young king, around two and a half millennia ago. And now, he was all there was to worship.


    On that lone throne sat a middle-aged man, clad in a luxurious formal outfit ¡ª red and gold colored coat and trousers, and leather boots. His hair was red and his eyes were in the beautiful color of azure. Beside him was a sword stand where his precious sheathed sword was kept. An emperor would never be away from his sword.


    Alistor turned his gaze to his right, and with the ambassadors, sat their mother. Her hair was silky brown, pinkish eyes, and she had a fair complexion, clad in a glamorous dress. Despite being the wife of the emperor, she was not an empress as there could only be one ruler. Therefore she only had the rank of a duchess, with no power and authority matching her husband. Although, being the wife of the emperor in and of itself brought pressure on other people.


    When they were close to the stairs leading up to the throne, the siblings stopped and genuflected, their heads bowed.


    ¡°We answer your summons, your imperial majesty,¡± Alistor spoke as their representative.


    ¡°My children, I have orders for you. The situation has shifted greatly, and you will be needed.¡±


    Alistor took a deep breath. An order from the emperor himself. Fulfilling this would certainly bring him great merits and get him closer to the throne.


    ¡°Anything you ask, we will fulfill it.¡±


    ¡°Good. But first, I shall tell you your task, Zara.¡±


    Zara subtly swallowed and suppressed her nervousness ¡ª she always would feel apprehensive whenever their father was acting this seriously and professionally.


    She looked up at her father.


    ¡°There is a disturbance in the distant state of Fetreus, civil unrest. There is a concern for revolt or a formation of a rebel force. Ease their hearts and calm everything down.¡±


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    ¡°Understood. If they do not listen?¡±


    ¡°Do what you must.¡±


    ¡°As you wish.¡±


    ¡°General Berial will be coming with you along with a small army. May you have safe travels in your journey.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, your imperial majesty.¡±


    With that done, the emperor shifted his gaze towards Alistor and then to Cilas.


    ¡°Now with the two of you. Your task will be most important, so do not fail,¡± he paused for a moment as he sternly stared at the two. ¡°Our plan of invasion rests in this plan. Myra has strengthened the security of their borders which will prove difficult to break through. However, we must focus on Wisteria, if we do, we can isolate Myra. However, our plan had unexpected setbacks¡­¡±


    ¡°The plan to assassinate the Wisterian royal family? Did it fail?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately yes, we lost the noble under our control. And then suddenly, Wisteria tightened their grips to their nobles even tighter.¡±


    ¡°Did they realize it?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps. That is why we must delay our assault and coordinate with our agents in Wisteria. But before that, preparation will be needed¡­ You, Alistor, and with you, Cilas, will be going to Wisteria.¡±


    Alistor and Cilas fell into confusion. It was unexpected.


    ¡°D-Do you mean we¡¯ll personally lead an army and attack Wisteria?¡± Cilas asked with shaky lips. As always, he was afraid of his own father.


    ¡°Not exactly. You will go there as official envoys.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°You will be on a visit to a neighboring country, make friends with them. And perhaps, convince them to go to our side. But that is most likely not going to happen¡­ That is why you will act yourselves. Prepare accordingly until your time comes. This is what you will do ¡ª¡±


    Then the emperor gave his order.


    ***


    When the door closed behind them, they were relieved of the heavy weight on their back that they had while inside the throne room.


    After walking a distance away from the throne room, one started to speak first.


    ¡°That was one hell of an order¡­ How are we supposed to do that in the center of their nation?¡± Cilas heaved a frustrated sigh.


    ¡°We just have to figure something out.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a thing we can easily figure out. We would definitely die afterward, like a pair of sacrificial lambs.¡±


    Zara furrowed her brows. ¡°Our father wouldn¡¯t be that heartless to send you to your deaths.¡±


    ¡°I would think of the same for you, Zara. You might encounter some people that are willing to kill royalty.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so pessimistic, Cilas.¡±


    ¡°You need to always expect the worse of things to survive. Remember that.¡± he shifted his gaze to Alistor. ¡°And the worse thing I can think of for our task is our certain death as we are trapped at the core of our enemy.¡±


    ¡°Calm down. It¡¯s still months away, we need only think of a safe way to escape at least.¡±


    Cilas shook his head with annoyance. ¡°I would have preferred to stay here, but I can¡¯t go against Father¡¯s orders. Whatever, I need time to think about what just happened.¡±


    Cilas walked away while wearing a troubled expression. He never was the type to just dive into danger, so the order was hard for him to take in. One may call him somewhat of a coward, or just an overly cautious man that was always concerned for his own safety.


    ¡°Are you going to be alright, brother?¡±


    Alistor turned towards Zara with a fondly smile. ¡°Of course, I can handle myself. I am more concerned about you though. Father has given quite a fairly dangerous job.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, and I am feeling a bit nervous.¡±


    Alistor reached out for her hand and held them tightly. He didn¡¯t hesitate to do this as, in context, anyone who might see this would think it was just a brother comforting his sister after being given a difficult task by the Emperor.


    ¡°I¡¯m certain you can handle this and see through the end. It¡¯s you after all. Just, if you need help don¡¯t hesitate to call anyone.¡±


    Zara smiled. ¡°Thank you, brother.¡±


    Alistor moved his lips close to her ear and whispered. ¡°I love you.¡±


    ¡°I love you too,¡± Zara whispered close.


    After that, they went their separate ways. Zara left to speak with the general she was to be with on her journey and mission. She should be leaving in a few days, Alistor considered having more special time with her before that.


    He stood by the window as a cool gentle wind touched his face. He gazed at the city before him. The houses were brightly colored with red rooftops, not all of them, but most of them. Not exactly a requirement to do but the people just did it in their pride for the nation, to show their support.


    Their citizens looked very fondly to their own empire, prided themselves on its greatness. They were the greatest of all people, one full of might and prosperity. With everything the empire touches, it turns out for the better. They even support the empire¡¯s endeavor to expand even further despite its size already.


    Alistor pondered what to do for today. He was not given a specific task as all the work that involves the empire was divided among the emperor¡¯s direct subordinates. Thus despite being a prince, he had nothing else to do.


    Guess I¡¯ll do some sparring.


    He made his way to the training grounds, and the place was filled with knights in red armor doing their usual routines like sparring and training. He looked to the side and saw Cilas sitting down on a chair reading a book.


    ¡°What are you reading?¡± Alistor asked as he approached him.


    Cilas looked up at him. ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ¡°You know, knowing what we are about to do, you should train up.¡±


    Alistor went and picked up a sword and presented the hilt to Cilas. The latter frowned.


    ¡°Now? Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Not like you have anything important to do.¡±


    ¡°And this is important?¡±


    ¡°Yes of course, it¡¯s to improve your swordsmanship.¡±


    Cilas was trained in swordsmanship of course, so he would give someone a good fight. But he was not exactly that great either as he didn¡¯t take such skill seriously. That was why Alistor wanted to toughen him up more.


    Cilas sighed and put down his book then received the sword. Alistor picked up another one and the two of them stood in an open area.


    Cilas took his stance, it was a basic stance, so he was fine. Alistor did the same.


    A moment later, they stepped forward and started clashing swords.


    It was coming out fine at first, but Cilas began to struggle as he was slowly overwhelmed. Alistor was, truth be told, not taking it so seriously, as one in the same level as an elite knight in the Empire. Cilas on the other hand was fairly below him.


    Alistor strengthened his strikes as he firmly held his sword with both hands. Shortly later, with a deciding strike, he made Cilas drop his sword. Cilas had a somewhat displeased expression as he clicked his tongue.


    Given that the match was over, Alistor sheathed his blade with a smile.


    ¡°You¡¯re much better than before.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re still better than me.¡±


    Alistor shrugged. It was then that a man they knew came and approached them, wearing a formal suit. He had dark hair and sky blue eyes, and a brown complexion.


    ¡°Your highness, I would like to speak with the two of you, privately. Please follow me.¡±


    This man was the personal adviser of the emperor himself. Alistor grew curious as to why this person would want to have a private talk with the two of them. He and Cilas stared at each other and Alistor nodded.


    ¡°Sure, of course. Lead the way.¡±


    The two princes followed the adviser to a private room, at the center placed a group of couches and a table.


    ¡°Shall I prepare liquor?¡± the adviser asked.


    ¡°No thank you.¡± Cilas shook his head.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take a glass,¡± Alistor said as he sat down on the couch, then Cilas followed, sitting opposite him.


    The adviser took a glass of champagne from a cabinet and filled a single glass before offering a filled one to Alistor.


    ¡°So, why are we here, Alred?¡± Alistor asked as he sipped on his wine.


    Alred sat down on a chair. ¡°You have another priority target, on the same level as the enemy¡¯s king.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you are aware that there is a princess in Wisteria.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, what was her name again? El ¡ª Er¡ª¡±


    ¡°Estelia Vernisia Wisteria.¡±


    ¡°Yeah that¡¯s right, thanks Cilas. So, Alred? What about her?¡±


    Alred formed a friendly smile. ¡°You are to kill her personally. Make sure she is utterly dead.¡±


    Alistor furrowed his brows, wondering what was with the task. ¡°Aren¡¯t we just going for everyone anyways?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but she is the greatest of targets. Kill her alongside the rulers if you must, but make sure she is dead. When you do, you will be given the highest merit to obtain the throne in the future. It¡¯s more appropriate to say that no one else will be able to catch up to you.¡±


    Alistor held his breath as he paused drinking his wine. ¡°Father really said that?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Why not say it in the throne room?¡±


    ¡°This mission is specific and must not be heard by anyone else.¡±


    ¡°Why? What¡¯s so important about her anyway?¡±


    ¡°You have no need to ask questions. Make sure it is done and you will have a sure way to the throne.¡±


    Cilas didn¡¯t seem too motivated, but it was different for Alistor. His eyes were practically shining with anticipation.


    Alistor smirked. ¡°Sure sure, I¡¯ll see to it. I¡¯ll take her head here if you want.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 1: Intuition (Part 1)

    A carriage was found burnt by the road this morning. A marquis also has yet to be found, and his wife came forward to the authorities that her husband has yet to come back. It couldn¡¯t have been a coincidence.


    Concerned, the crown sent its own forces to investigate until eventually, it was confirmed that the missing Marquis was the corpse found in the carriage. However, the crown made no public announcement as of yet and kept the identity of the one murdered. Furthermore, that marquis was not the only one that was killed at that place.


    A luxurious carriage arrived at the scene of the crime, and an aristocrat stepped out. He had crimson hair and bluish eyes. The knights guarding the perimeter stopped and greeted the man.


    ¡°We have been expecting you, Marquis Teristro.¡±


    The knight in charge said to the Marquis, the brother of the current queen.


    ¡°I will be taking a look.¡±


    ¡°Of course, please feel free to look around.¡±


    Teristro approached the burnt carriage with watchful eyes. Good thing the crime scene was untouched for the most part. First, he gazed at the horses, stricken down.


    To prevent the carriage from running.


    Then he shifted his gaze to another person burned to the point that he was unrecognizable. Teristro walked over to it and took a closer look. Pierced through the throat, must be a stealthy approach. Whoever the culprit was, they were skilled in their craft.


    Teristro stepped back and walked over to the side of the wreckage and crouched down to see the corpse of Marquis Vekenas inside. He furrowed his brow.


    To think this kind of thing would happen to you.


    Teristro was the Head of Intelligence. He was the one to send and receive crucial information from all around, but most of his attention, for now, was focused on outside the nation, from the reports of their spies. He was also the one who supervises everything when it comes to gathering intelligence, this also includes handling and assigning spies. But as far as everyone was aware, the king was the one handling it.


    It was so that other nobles wouldn¡¯t be so on guard with Teristro.


    As the Head of Intelligence, he knew Vekenas was not exactly a bad noble. They were not particularly close, but it was a shame to lose a decent aristocrat.


    What are you doing here anyway, Marquis?


    Even so, it was suspicious that the Marquis was out here at night. Likely he was meeting someone, and that someone could have killed him. Or it was some third party.


    ¡°Cause of death?¡± he asked the knight.


    ¡°Stab in the heart, a cut to the throat.¡±


    ¡°For a thorough kill, I presume.¡±


    The culprit wanted to make sure he was dead, and for healing magic to fail. A stab in the heart, a healing spell might save him if he survived in time, which would be unlikely, but a small chance. It depends if it¡¯s a clean cut. However, Vekenas was no warrior, so he would not survive. A warrior would have a longer time of surviving and perhaps can cast healing spells to themselves.


    But the culprit cut his throat. With two fatal wounds, healing spells would not be able to save him. However, not only that, the culprit burned the entire carriage, ensuring the marquis¡¯s fate further. But that may not be the only reason for setting this afire.


    They might have wanted to burn any evidence.


    His eyes shifted to a lantern inside the carriage. Must be used to start a fire. But that might not be enough and would take some time to spread.


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    Teristro stood up and faced the knight.


    ¡°Identity of the driver?¡±


    ¡°A servant of the marquis.¡±


    ¡°Does he have a family?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Send a knight to make sure they spread no word of who is the murdered. We can¡¯t let the public know a noble was killed while the festival is still taking place.¡±


    The knight left to send an order to his knights.


    The marquis returned his gaze to the wreckage. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.


    Magic¡­ the fire is caused by magic.


    He could not tell what spell it was specifically, but he could tell what element it was. The magic residue was still thicker than he had expected despite hours having passed.


    Teristro possessed a gift unique to him, he had the power of ¡°Intuition.¡± With that Intuition, he can sense the strangest presence in an area. He could sense sadness, anger, grief, even bloodlust, even the use of magic, and so on. Not only that, he gets a strange feeling when looking at a person and observing their actions, which in turn, results in him having to look deeply into a person.


    To put his power into a single word, the word was ¡°Intuition.¡±


    That was why he was given the position of the Head of Intelligence. The king and his sister only knew this strange ability of his.


    Anyhow, now he knew the culprit can use fire magic.


    He followed his intuition and turned his back.


    The dust scattered, the grass slapped and waved.


    He saw some of the grass was bent down.


    A force, pushing it down. Wind¡­ the wind.


    It was then that particular element piqued his attention.


    Wind¡­


    He recalled there was a situation the king was working on, that he even prevented Teristro from personally being involved. But he did share some information, they were looking for enemies in the kingdom. But that was in the domain of the church and Teristro was prevented from prying for information as he was allocated to foreign matters. So all he knew was the power of the enemies they were searching for.


    Can manipulate wind was one of their abilities.


    Could those people be involved?


    However, the wind used here, is coming down from above as if pushing something upward.


    It was a familiar spell. Yes, he did get a familiar feeling, one from the past. The king, his brother-in-law, used a spell to fly using the wind.


    But if the culprits are not from here, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if they can use something similar.


    He followed the direction the wind was going towards. It was going into the forest.


    He followed the tracks.


    ¡°Marquis! Where are you going?¡± the knight rushed behind him.


    ¡°Follow me.¡±


    ¡°As you wish.¡± he pointed at a few men. ¡°You come with us!¡±


    Teristro traversed the forest with a group of knights following behind him. The forest was normal as ever.


    ¡°Marquis, may I ask what we are doing here?¡±


    ¡°The culprit seemed to have traversed here to escape the scene.¡±


    Upon hearing that, the knights followed quietly, their guards raised. True, there wouldn¡¯t be any monsters here as this was in the middle of the city and this was unlike the Elgion forest, but they still need to be alert.


    They kept walking for several minutes until they stopped and arrived in a clearing. No, it was not precisely a plain clearing.


    ¡°What happened here?¡±


    The trees were cut down, broken apart, branches and wood scattered all around.


    ¡°Did someone have a fight here?¡± one of the knights asked.


    ¡°Let us follow the chaos.¡±


    They followed the trails of the damaged and cut-down trees. The battle seemed to be intense, there were even trees that were neatly cleaved through. One reminiscent of the knights if they used their armament magic.


    Teristro sensed the massive expense of mana, residue of magic being cast over and over.


    Magic similar to the knights, one they used on their swords. Then¡­ fire, the same one. But now, there is ice¡­ ice magic. The air¡­ it¡¯s salty. The wind magic, the same one. The air shaking. The flap of wings, countless flaps, scattering the soil.


    He couldn¡¯t make complete sense of the last one, but it was what he felt.


    Then he stopped when he saw something laying on the ground.


    The knights quickly stood in front of him to protect him from danger. But that thing was no longer moving. It was a beast, perhaps a monster? It was reminiscent of a wolf, but something that felt different.


    A knight slowly approached and poked it with a stick he picked up.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s dead?¡±


    ¡°What is that? Doesn¡¯t look like any monster I¡¯ve seen.¡±


    Teristro stepped forward and approached the beast.


    I sense lightning.


    ¡°It is burned from the inside,¡± Teristro said as he looked at the mouth of the beast.


    ¡°Who could have faced this thing? Do you think it¡¯s what killed Marquis Vekenas?¡±


    Teristro shook his head. ¡°If it did, I don¡¯t think it would kill Vekenas that way. Look at his hands. Claws. I feel it wouldn¡¯t end up the same if it killed the marquis.¡±


    ¡°Then something else killed him¡­? What happened to this thing?¡±


    Teristro stood up and looked around. When he focused, he was assaulted by the emotion of frustration¡­ and anger. It was so strong it almost made him nauseous. This occasionally happens whenever he went to a place with an emotion this strong.


    He followed his intuition and thought back before entering the forest, taking into consideration the direction the culprit was heading towards. He couldn¡¯t sense where they were going, but all he had was a rough direction before entering the forest.


    He looked in that direction.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 2: Intuition (Part 2)

    Teristro returned to the crime scene as the knights rushed to get a big piece of cloth to cover and drag that corpse of some beast and take it somewhere appropriate. Upon returning, he stopped in place when he saw a woman he recognized on her knees.


    She was crying as she faced the side of the wrecked carriage.


    It was the wife of Marquis Vekenas. Teristro heaved a sympathetic sigh. Their children were not around, they might have been left behind in their home. Whether they know or not, it was not of Teristro¡¯s concern.


    He approached the woman.


    ¡°Lady Vekenas, I am sorry for your loss,¡± he said as gently as possible.


    Lady Vekenas wiped off her tears with her handkerchief and slowly stood up to face him. Her eyes were red in tears.


    ¡°Lord Teristro¡­¡±


    ¡°Please, no need for any format greeting. I¡¯m sorry to disturb you, but may I ask for your statements?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes¡­ if it may help find the one who did this.¡±


    Teristro nodded then turned to the leading knight. ¡°Come with me, I will need another pair of ears.¡±


    They led the lady to her carriage where she entered and sat down, followed by both Teristro and the knight sitting opposite of her. Teristro waited for the lady to gain some calm before asking.


    ¡°At what time did your husband leave before he disappeared?¡±


    ¡°W-We last spoke around after dinner time. Then, he said he needed to leave.¡±


    ¡°For what reason?¡±


    ¡°He said he had some matters to address with his business partners.¡±


    Teristro raised an eyebrow. ¡°Business partners? At night?¡±


    ¡°He said it was his only free time.¡±


    Teristro found it strange, of all time, it had to be at night.


    ¡°What time did he leave?¡±


    ¡°I heard from the guards it was around before midnight.¡±


    Suspicious¡­ why wouldn¡¯t they just meet in the Marquis¡¯s house? Also, why does it have to take place at midnight? Something shady was going on here.


    ¡°Lady Vekenas, are you aware of what business he does with these partners of his?¡±


    ¡°N-No, he never mentioned. When I asked, he was quite vague, saying that it was a personal investment.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    There¡¯s something going on here. Something more than just simple assassination¡­ but then again, when is an assassination simple?


    He had a feeling that it involved the entire kingdom. But he best not probe harshly into this matter, in consideration for the grieving wife. He could not just mention that her husband seemed to be involved in some shady matters.


    ¡°Does he have any enemies?¡±


    ¡°No, there shouldn¡¯t be any.¡±


    ¡°Has he been acting strangely at some point?¡±


    She pondered. ¡°... I¡¯m not sure if this is right but, around five months ago, he seemed to be out of himself. He seemed paranoid, nervous, afraid. But he returned to normal soon after.¡±


    ¡°Notice him acting strange recently?¡±


    ¡°N-No, I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    ¡°Did he meet with other nobles?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course.¡±


    ¡°Please tell me the names of the people he interacted with around five months ago. Just those you can remember.¡±


    Teristro listed down the people Marquis Vekenas spoke with, and after that, asked a few more questions.


    ***


    It was only when noon came that Teristro was able to meet with the king in the king¡¯s office in the palace, after lunch of course. Teristro had written down his report to better transmit what he had learned, which the king was currently reading.


    ¡°Those beings are in the area, huh. And more than just one.¡± The king muttered.


    After finding that one beast, Teristro ordered a full sweep of the forest. It was then that they found other corpses left lying on the ground. There was another animal-like beast, but different from the first one they found. Then there was also a pair that appeared to be humans, but with long pointy ears.


    The king sighed and lowered the report.


    ¡°Thank you for this, Meril. We might have no clear idea of who the culprit is, but at least we are aware these creatures were around the area¡­ Let¡¯s see, the culprit can cast, fire, wind, and ice magic. Not exactly unique elements.¡±


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    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    ¡°With those magic in mind, I wouldn¡¯t say these strange beings are not responsible for it after what information we have about them.¡±


    ¡°Leodoule, what are these creatures? They¡¯re the ones the church is tasked with hunting, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°... Yes, strange beings with abilities that match even the church fighters. They can cast wind, transform, even manipulate and grow plants.¡±


    Teristro nodded. If these strange beings are capable of various magic, then it wouldn¡¯t be impossible that they were responsible for what happened to Marquis Vekenas. But that didn¡¯t explain how those beings died.


    ¡°Tell me, Leodoule. Who are they?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    Teristro was in disbelief for a moment, to think that a threat lurks in the capital that even Leodoule didn¡¯t know what they were exactly.


    ¡°In that case, why are they here?¡±


    Leodoule seemed to hesitate as he pressed his fingers on his forehead.


    ¡°Fine¡­ I will tell you their goals. But that¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m all ears.¡±


    ¡°... These strange beings, are aiming for my daughter¡¯s life.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Teristro wrinkled his brows. ¡°Estelia? What sense in the world would they want to do that?¡± He fell into momentary confusion, failing to make sense of it.


    ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯re trying to find out. In fact, they almost succeeded one time, or twice. Heard about our traitorous servant Oryn?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I did hear. He confronted your son and your old butler. So he was after the princess¡¯s life, huh.¡±


    ¡°Then, a poison attempt from my daughter¡¯s own personal chef.¡±


    Teristro heaved an exasperated sigh. ¡°This is absurd¡­¡± he recalled the face of Estelia, one so pure. ¡°Now why would they¡­?¡± strangely, when he recalled the moment Estelia showed herself during the nobles¡¯ meeting, he remembered the strange feeling he had. ¡°... Leodoule, you¡¯re keeping crucial information from me, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes. But this is a secret I cannot allow anyone else to learn.¡±


    ¡°... I understand. Then, what do you want me to do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you will be preoccupied with your other work, but I hope you also help investigate the death of Marquis Vekenas.¡±


    Teristro nodded.


    Now that his business here was done, he left the king¡¯s office and began heading his way out of the palace. But on the way to the stairs, he encountered his niece. Princess Estelia, wearing a beautiful dress that beautifully matches its wearer. She was with her three servants.


    Upon seeing Teristro, Estelia smiled tenderly and bowed her head. ¡°Greetings, uncle.¡±


    ¡°Estelia. Are you doing alright?¡±


    ¡°...Yes, I am.¡±


    Teristro found it doubtful, for he felt different. Strange, he couldn¡¯t tell exactly, but she was not precisely alright. His intuition couldn¡¯t sense it properly. And it surprised him. There were several emotions coming from her, and all of them were vague, like a mixture of different kinds.


    Normally, it was the same for other humans, he could see through their eyes, and with his intuition, what one was feeling. And at least one emotion would be clear. But with her, he could not tell. The fact that his intuition was acting strange right now disturbed him. It felt like something was blocking his gift from working properly, an obstruction¡­


    ¡°How about you, uncle?¡±


    ¡°Well, I am a bit on edge after what happened.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. That¡­¡± as she realized, she looked down, sadness in her eyes.


    And indeed, strangely now, when she did it, he could tell it was genuine sadness.


    What¡­what is this?


    It was the first time something like this happened, where he only felt it was genuine or tell someone¡¯s emotion if they show it themselves.


    ¡°... So, did you learn something about what happened to Lucious¡¯s uncle?¡±


    ¡°Yes. But not much. You should ask your father if you want the details.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    Something was going on with his gift. But he set it aside for now.


    ¡°By the way, my niece, I heard you have been practicing magic. I never thought you would take such study.¡±


    She had always been a well-behaved girl and never seemingly had an interest in most things. That was what his intuition told him when they saw each other in the past. So this was a surprise for him.


    ¡°Ah, yes I did.¡±


    ¡°So, what magic spells did you learn?¡±


    ¡°... It¡¯s a secret, uncle. It is e-embarassing to tell.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    If she was training for magic, then she might definitely start in the basics. Like for instance emanating plain mana, or learning about some elements like fire ¡ª it was then that Teristro caught on to something.


    ¡°Estelia, let¡¯s play a little game.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What game?¡±


    ¡°... Well, not precisely a game. Just a short activity. We need a table.¡±


    ¡°But uncle¡­¡±


    ¡°We have time, don¡¯t we? Come now, just something short. Please, I insist.¡±


    ¡°...Where would we go?¡±


    ¡°Princess,¡± Vernon chimed in. ¡°Your study room should suffice.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I suppose. But why, uncle?¡±


    ¡°What? Can¡¯t I spend time with my niece?¡±


    Estelia slightly tilted her head, and seemingly giving up, she told him to follow. She led him to her study room.


    ¡°Have your servants stand to the side, this will need focus,¡± Teristro said with a smile as he sat down.


    ¡°O-Okay.¡±


    The servants stood by the door but faced the two. Estelia slowly sat down on the opposite side of Teristro. Teristro inserted his hand into his coat pocket and pulled out a deck of cards. There was a total of ten cards, and he shuffled them in his hand, but he kept anyone from seeing what was on them.


    Estelia had a curious expression as she stared at the cards.


    ¡°Now then, Estelia. Tell me what you see, okay?¡±


    ¡°Uncle this is¡­?¡±


    ¡°You will find this very interesting. Okay, I¡¯ll be placing one.¡±


    He pulled out a card and placed it in front of Estelia.


    ¡°What do you see?¡±


    Estelia seemed confused at first, but intensely looked at the dark illustration on the card.


    ¡°......... a butterfly.¡±


    ¡°Okay. How about this?¡±


    He placed another card.


    ¡°... a group of people?¡±


    Another card was placed.


    ¡°... some sort of four-legged animal.¡±


    Then another.


    ¡°A spider.¡±


    Then another.


    ¡°A flower.¡±


    It went on until all ten cards were finished.


    ¡°See? It wasn¡¯t so hard.¡±


    ¡°So, what was that about, uncle? It almost felt like some sort of test.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps it was.¡±


    ¡°Then, what was it all for? Did we learn something?¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I think this test did not work well. I couldn¡¯t learn anything.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ That¡¯s a shame then, but it surely is a unique activity. Did you draw them?¡±


    ¡°Yes. And the process was not easy at all.¡±


    Estelia gently nodded. ¡°... Then, uncle. I must take my leave, I need to leave for my preparation for the final event of the festival. Farewell.¡±


    ¡°Farewell, Estelia.¡±


    Estelia stood up and left the room with her servants. The moment the door closed, Teristro sighed and leaned his back on the chair.


    ¡°Strange¡­¡±


    It was true, the test didn¡¯t work well as he had expected. Which was strange. Some of her answers did not correspond well with some. It always worked out well for other people he did this test with. Even with the king, which his test was proven to a degree accurate.


    But for Estelia, it didn¡¯t match well. It was full of inconsistencies. Almost as if she was answering at random. But there was no way, there was no need to answer at random. Anyone could easily say what they see. Then if that was not the case, then perhaps the test really failed. Or there was another possibility¡­ it was that she lied.


    ¡°Lie¡­¡±


    It then dawned on him.


    ¡°A liar.¡±


    He took in a sharp breath. A liar should not end this way in the test. But, it was a possibility in this scenario.


    Estelia? A liar? There¡¯s no way. She would never.


    It didn¡¯t match her nature.


    He could be mistaken. She couldn¡¯t be a liar.


    Teristro denied that she could be a liar.


    Because of this confusion, this uncertainty, he wanted to look through her nature more. There was a mystery at play here.


    However, why was it? His intuition has not been working properly with his interaction with his niece. So, why was working now?


    His intuition was screaming.


    Screaming not to pry.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 3: Loss of Friends and Allies

    A sigh escaped from his lips, feeling frustrated, very frustrated in fact. Add to it the irritation he felt in the foolishness of what his subordinates did, resulting in their disappearance. No, perhaps it was more accurate to say they were dead already ¡ª worse, they were captured.


    Upon realizing that a group of his team has disappeared, they had to move to another safehouse, although still in the capital city Serene. He looked up at the wooden ceiling while leaning back, his brown dog-like ears drooped down.


    He had lost a lot of men.


    First, there was a time when a team was sent to retrieve Oryn. However, they never returned. Yes, they have indeed considered that it could be a trap. But the voice was Oryn¡¯s, and they wouldn¡¯t believe an elf like Oryn would ever betray them.


    Furthermore, there were those here that was concerned for Oryn and wanted to get him back if he was in danger. Oryn was a brave elf, one who was willing to cut off his ears for the cause. And that garnered the respect of everyone.


    That team was so adamant about saving them, and he as the leader was hesitant at first. However, he couldn¡¯t abandon an ally to his fate. So, he agreed and allowed those who were the most eager to extract Oryn.


    But the next day, that team never returned. Realizing that, the entire force needed to move to another safehouse.


    Needless to say, it was a great loss on their part. They lost a good amount of power, and they lost their friends. And it was heartbreaking.


    And now so recently, they lost another group. All they knew was that they suddenly disappeared from their post. Where could have they gone? No one knows. It broke his heart once more, realizing that they could be captured or dead.


    Furthermore, it was hard to send for reinforcements, most that their homeland had a plan in mind. With their meager forces remaining, how can they hope to even push back the Cursed Children when the time comes?


    No, there should be no need to be so worried. Trust only the plan.


    Even so, for him, it was heartbreaking to lose this many allies.


    He was concerned about one person as well. A girl. A human. She was a human who was sent to cooperate with Oryn. They once discovered her in the middle of nowhere and discovered that she lost her home and family because of monsters.


    The others did not care. However, it was a different case for him. He saw potential, she could be used in some ways. But that was only a small thought. In truth, he took pity on that child.


    The other mystic race doesn¡¯t take kindly to humans, but despite that, he still took care of the girl. And as time passed, a few also began to care for that girl, even for just a little. Although it was hard to see what the elves were feeling.


    That being said, she couldn¡¯t be taken care of without return. With the pressure from other members of the team, he had no choice but to send her into the enemy¡¯s nest. How he missed her cooking when she left.


    Thankfully, she often leaves the palace to give her reports, and he would mostly meet with her. He would always ask how she was. If not given the opportunity, other beastmen would meet with her. The elves, on the other hand, didn¡¯t like the idea of meeting that human girl, so they never did.


    But then, after the failed extraction of Oryn, that human girl no longer came out. Even in the months that passed by, she was never seen again.


    And it concerned him greatly.


    Was she still alive? Or was she dead? Was she imprisoned? Interrogated? And worse of all, tortured?


    She was an ambitious girl, warm and somewhat charming. He dreaded to think if she suffered in the hands of the humans. He wanted to save her, or just know what happened. But there was no information, and he couldn¡¯t infiltrate the palace either.


    He couldn¡¯t jeopardize the mission, and he was the leader. He shouldn¡¯t be selfish.


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    He couldn¡¯t do anything.


    Allie¡­


    Her name echoed in his mind. It upset him greatly that he couldn¡¯t do anything. Perhaps it may have been best that she died, might save her from a much harsher fate. However, it pained his heart to think if she was already dead.


    When the time comes, he would definitely check her fate.


    He was the odd one in the group, as the first to care for that human girl. One would think it was strange for him to be assigned as the leader. But it was because of that kind heart that he was selected as his team should easily like him if he was being kind and thus obey his orders heartily. Not only that, but he was also an experienced high ranking officer in their homeland.


    Not all beastmen had a heart of stone, as others of the beastmen began to care a little for the girl. But it was a different case for the elves. That was why any of them couldn¡¯t be the leader, they wouldn¡¯t coordinate well with the other beastmen. Charming they may seem, they have a much harder heart than the beastmen.


    His ears twitched as he heard footsteps coming up, familiar footsteps. The footsteps stopped at his door.


    ¡°Arnaut, a bird arrived at our old safehouse.¡±


    Their abandonment of the old safehouse was sudden, and a Puppet Courier occasionally comes to give orders or ask for reports, coming from a faraway place. Thus, he had sent someone to scope out the old safehouse to wait for the next bird to arrive.


    They will have to wait until they get the bird. Otherwise, the bird will stay there until someone interacts with it, it wouldn¡¯t do well if the courier ended up in a stranger¡¯s hand. Once they have their hands on the bird, they will reactivate it in the new safe house, thus saving a new point of destination.


    ¡°Come in,¡± Arnaut said.


    An elf entered inside and walked over towards Arnaut, placing the dark bird on the table. There were two small pouches, tied on both its legs. Arnaut removed them and took a look inside. There was glittering blue dust in the pouches.


    Arnaut tapped the bird¡¯s head two times, then a man¡¯s voice spoke.


    ¡°Make the circle somewhere hidden, mix it with the empty dust that you have. Already have prepared and laid out the circle with the same dust on my end, only need yours now. After that, we wait for the opportune time. Spend all the dust.¡±


    Arnaut deeply exhaled.


    ¡°So this is the plan they have come up with¡­¡± the elf said.


    ¡°It appears so¡­ and this amount to mix¡­ it will be one big circle.¡±


    ¡°Your orders?¡±


    ¡°Call everyone, I want to look at all of us. Things have gotten harder.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    If this was the order that was given, given the importance, they must carry this task out immediately. Their numbers were thinning, he couldn¡¯t risk all of this to fail now.


    ***


    In the lobby, Arnaut stood in front of his team. Or what remained of it. There were only merely ten that stood in front of him. Five being elves, and the other five being beastmen. Counting himself as well, there were only eleven of them in total left active in their mission.


    He had asked for additional forces but was rejected. The response was that there would be no need once the plan has begun. However, that was when they only lost one team. But now they lost another. Losing even one team leaves a huge blow in their ranks.


    He had finished reporting the situation and will need to wait for the response for reinforcements. But given that they will spend their Dust, receiving backup from their own people would be doubtful.


    ¡°How our number has been reduced to this, very concerning¡­¡± he muttered but deliberately made his men hear it, which prompted them to frown. ¡°We have received a new instruction. However, before that, there are matters that need to be settled.¡±


    He looked at one of the beastmen.


    ¡°Did you find out something about what happened to Henfred¡¯s group?¡±


    ¡°Remember when a noble was killed, and a huge bag was brought by the human knights?¡±


    ¡°Yes, what of it?¡±


    ¡°Turns out there were several bags pulled out of the forest, away from the eyes of the normal citizens. But a few of course had a glimpse.¡±


    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s them?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s more than three, so yes, I think it is them.¡±


    Arnaut shook his head in exasperation. ¡°What the hell were they thinking¡­? Do you think they killed that noble?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    If they were the ones behind the death of that noble, that was a nonsensical action. There was no reason to do that at all. But they were close proximity to the area where the noble was killed. Even so, it was hard to think that they were the ones who killed that noble.


    There must be something that has happened.


    Even if the mystic race was not behind their murder, the humans would think they did. It would only make things difficult to keep hiding at this rate.


    ¡°This situation is not making sense.¡±


    ¡°Do you think the other team from the empire was behind it?¡±


    ¡°If they did, they would have told us. In any case, let¡¯s set this aside for now. Listen,¡± he paused and stared at his team one by one. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything reckless, don¡¯t just go around places without telling me first. Do you understand?¡±


    The team responded in the affirmative.


    ¡°Our numbers have dwindled, we would no longer stand a chance against the Cursed Children. And a confrontation with the human knights will prove to be more dangerous and more difficult. I want you to be extra careful, and follow the plan.¡±


    He continued after his team understood his words.


    ¡°Now then, for the next instructions,¡± Arnaut pointed at two elves, one being the elf that brought him the bird from earlier. ¡°I will assign this task to you. Come with me in my private quarters.¡±


    Arnaut found a need for utter secrecy, just to be safe. The two elves followed him to his quarters and gave them an order for only their ears to hear.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 4: Farewell and Sleep

    It was mid-morning. Foreign knights from Myra gathered at the front of the palace, them already on their mounts and carriages. At the front and back of the convoy were the Wisterian knights that would be escorting them until they leave the territory. Today was the day that the envoys of Myra be leaving Wisteria.


    The foreign princess, Lillie, dined with the Wisterian royal family before gathering at the palace''s front doors. Now it was time to say their farewells.


    ¡°Thank you for the hospitality, I have enjoyed my stay. I hope to visit once again.¡±


    Lillie bowed her head to the two monarchs.


    The king nodded. ¡°Of course, you are free to visit any time. Although it is saddening that not everything came out peacefully.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ I will be sure to convey to my home palace what happened to one of your nobles. We must prevent this from happening to ours.¡±


    ¡°Please do.¡±


    Lillie shifted her gaze to the beautiful girl with ever so unique physical traits, Estelia. She gazed back at Lillie with her bright and innocent eyes, which alone made her smile. Lillie found her extremely adorable. And the way she was so timid about her actions, and how gentle she was, gave her the urge to squeeze Estelia¡¯s cheeks and tease her ¡ª like how one talks with a baby.


    Indeed, Estelia to her was like a baby. So fragile and so adorable. She almost wanted to keep her as her little sister. But that wouldn¡¯t happen until she marry Estelia¡¯s brother.


    But to think the Wisterian family was hiding such grandeur of a gem. Even in her homeland, there was no useful information about princess Estelia at all. Almost like she was a ghost. Some knights and some officials were not even aware of her existence.


    Lillie had once spoken with the officials and knights that came with her, there she saw how flabbergasted the men were upon seeing such a beautiful young woman. They were unprepared. Even Lillie felt the same, but had only composed herself.


    Eleden has shared things about his sister with Lillie, and he did mention she was beautiful. But even that word was an understatement, it almost made Lillie jealous. She imagined that Estelia would be at least as beautiful as her older sister, but how wrong she was.


    Not only her appearance, her movements, her actions, her voice, her soft manner of speaking, the way she carried herself ¡ª it was almost perfection, so endearing.


    And she had heard Estelia was kind as well that the local knights favored her so much.


    If Estelia were in Myra, and always show herself to the public, numerous ladies would be both envious and jealous of her. But perhaps that was one of the reasons she was hidden like a valued treasure.


    If she were in Myra, Lillie could imagine Estelia being called the ¡°Treasured Saint of the Golden Light.¡±


    ¡°Estelia, it was nice talking with you in the short time we had.¡±


    After the festival, the two of them had opportunities to speak casually, like a pair of friends. Lillie quite enjoyed it, Estelia was pretty accommodating.


    ¡°I too enjoyed it, Lillie. I hope we meet again soon. Take care, and stay safe.¡±


    Estelia smiled, her cheeks slightly raising, giving a little puff. Lillie resisted the urge to squeeze Estelia tight, it would be unsightly. And they were not yet that close to be doing that.


    Lillie shifted her gaze to Estevan.


    He was a light-hearted fellow, and he gave off a casual air that lessens your stiffness. He was very approachable in fact, she might have a higher level of friendly relationship with him than Estelia.


    ¡°Estevan, you were a very enjoyable company. Thank you.¡±


    Estevan brightly smiled. ¡°I¡¯m glad you feel that way. I hope to meet you again soon. Perhaps, I might even try visiting Myra in the future.¡±


    ¡°Oh that will be delightful! Feel free to contact me anytime.¡±


    ¡°Great! So¡­ take care out there. Farewell.¡±


    ¡°Farewell.¡±


    Then lastly, Lillie faced Eleden. Her heart warmed as she walked closer.


    ¡°The days never felt so short when I¡¯m with you, Eleden my love.¡±


    Eleden slowly reached out for her hand and smiled. ¡°It pains me to part. But I know we¡¯ll be reuniting soon.¡±


    She chuckled. ¡°Indeed, but I will need to speak with my family at length. But I am confident they wouldn¡¯t reject our love for each other.¡±


    Eleden¡¯s parents had no problem with their relationship at all. There was this little sense of liberation here in Wisteria, unlike in Myra. Here, they seemed to be more open.


    The men of status in her homeland should have no problem if she and Eleden would marry. There were no drawbacks to it. Although the political side of things might make their plan of marriage longer. But they had expected all that.


    ¡°I¡¯ll miss you, Eleden.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°I will also miss you, Lillie. I will miss you so much.¡±


    Eleden kissed her on the forehead, and she smiled sweetly with a blush. There was just something so special, so warm when the one you love kiss you so gently there. Lillie found it so pleasant and soothing. She resisted the tears that threatened to come out.


    Lillie stepped back and once again said goodbye to everyone.


    She entered inside her personal carriage, then followed by her knight, Jaiden. Incidentally, the carriage they used this time appeared less luxurious than the one they used coming here, the inside was alright though. The royal carriage they first used was positioned at the center of the convoy.


    It was a change suggested by, who would guess, princess Estelia. She brought up the topic during dinner, saying that it would be safer as those who wish Lillie harm would be baited to attack the royal carriage first. If not, they would still need to find out which carriage Lillie was in ¡ª putting the enemy into momentary confusion and deliberation.


    It was a sound reason, so they used her idea, and had to set aside a little pride just to increase safety.


    Lillie looked through the window as her carriage began moving, her gaze directed at Eleden until he was no longer in sight. She felt a little empty.


    She took a deep breath and then looked at Jaiden sitting across her.


    ¡°Did you enjoy your time here?¡±


    Jaiden looked down for a moment as he searched for the words he wanted to say. ¡°It was alright.¡±


    Lillie felt a little disappointed by his response. She wanted him to at least say ¡®it was great¡¯, but she guessed the reason why that was. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, you were stuck to your duty most of the time.¡±


    ¡°It is to be expected of my station, there¡¯s no need to apologize.¡±


    ¡°When we arrive home, I¡¯ll let you have a couple of rest days, do whatever you want.¡±


    ¡°... Very well.¡±


    Lillie smiled, delighted that he took the offer. ¡°So, what do you think of them? Wisteria¡¯s royal family, they¡¯re very kind, right? As expected of my future family.¡±


    There was a little twitch on Jaiden¡¯s brow. ¡°... Yes, I suppose. The monarch couple is actually friendlier than I had expected. Prince Estevan was a decent person. As for the princess, to be honest, she¡¯s an enigma for me.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Are you interested in her?¡± Lillie smiled, her eyes narrowed, as if she was implying something.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that.¡±


    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t start lying now. I get it, she is pretty charming.¡±


    ¡°Yes she is, but that¡¯s not the point. I couldn¡¯t understand her¡­ I wanted to but¡­ we never had the chance to speak again. It¡¯s as if she was avoiding me.¡±


    Lillie recoiled a bit and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. ¡°You spoke? And what did you say?¡±


    ¡°I just relayed my thoughts.¡±


    Lillie palmed her face. ¡°I told you many times, hold your tongue sometimes, learn restraints. Relaying all your honest thoughts will drive people away.¡±


    Lillie could imagine him creeping out Estelia.


    ¡°... M-My apologies.¡±


    He apologized here now, but how would he even recover from that now that Estelia was keeping her distance from him?


    ¡°When there¡¯s an opportunity, I will help you with her.¡±


    ¡°Princess, you¡¯re jumping to conclusions. Stop it.¡±


    Lillie turned her head away. ¡°Nope.¡±


    ***


    I closed the door of the room in time for sleep. I wanted to sleep, but I just don¡¯t want to. You know, like when you are really sleepy, but you¡¯re just not in the mood to close your eyes. Or just can¡¯t sleep.


    Ah, insomnia. Was that it?


    Hello, darkness my old friend. Been a while.


    ¡°Haaaaah¡­¡± I heaved a deep sigh.


    Finally, Lillie has left. Can¡¯t really act with an envoy still present, thus I had to wait for a few days after the festival ended. As for the festival, it ended up being stale in the end ¡ª but that was just me. I was no longer in the mood to enjoy that time.


    Such a fucking waste.


    The more time progressed, the more things I have to worry about. It just felt weird you know, it¡¯s like the whole world was looking at me and finding ways to fuck me up. It¡¯s fucked! Everything¡¯s fucked up, fuck!


    Really ruined a lot of things in the short time I¡¯ve been here in this fucking world. How hard was it to just leave me alone? I didn¡¯t do shit here to deserve this.


    Fucking bullshit.


    I laid down on my bed, looking up at the ceiling. I wanted to sleep. I want to close my eyes with peace of mind. But it¡¯s hard to drift off.


    ¡°Calm down, calm down. Breathe¡­¡±


    I said to myself, closing my eyes and taking in several deep breaths.


    Guess I¡¯ll do my old method of calming down.


    Except there was no phone, no mp3 player, no computer, or anything to listen to music from. That made things more difficult to cope with the stress. In the past, how easily I could listen to music to at least have a peace of mind. I just lay down on my bed and pull out my phone and headphones.


    I could close my eyes and listen to soft and relaxing music, and I¡¯ll drift off to sleep. But here, there was none of that. There wasn¡¯t even a recording of any music. And it¡¯s hard, harder than I thought it would be.


    Furthermore, I have no friends. They¡¯re not here.


    I recalled the time when that friend of mine, the one who killed me, took me to a magic show. That was around after I took down a deserter. I was not feeling very nice that time, and he seemed to take notice and asked me to watch a magic show with him.


    A smile grew on my lips.


    That was such¡­ such an amazing time. Simple yet so comfortable. How nostalgic. And it¡¯s saddening. I could still remember how I clap at the cool magic tricks while eating popcorn. Heh, it was his treat, so everything was nice.


    It was a nice time that removed some unpleasant things from my mind.


    How I miss him.


    How I miss them. My old team.


    I shouldn¡¯t dwell on such thoughts, but it¡¯s hard to hold them back. The moment they¡¯re no longer with you, the harder to deny the feelings.


    I hugged my pillow, so soft. But it was not enough.


    I got up from my bed and walked over to my cabinet, pulling out a wooden case. My liathre.


    I took the stringed instrument out and then sat down on the side of the bed. I placed the instrument on my lap and touched the strings. Holding a musical instrument at least calmed a little of my nerves.


    Let¡¯s see, I guess I¡¯ll go for something fun.


    I began plucking the strings, my head bobbing a little. Nice, giving some energy. Not really in the mood to vocally sing, but this was already fine with me.


    As for the song, the lyrics go a little like this:


    ~But you didn''t have to cut me off.


    Make out like it never happened.


    And that we were nothing.


    And I don''t even need your love.


    But you treat me like a stranger.


    And that feels so rough.~


    Pretty iconic song, I should say.


    The artist made a banger and never came back.


    I guess if someone asked who¡¯s the artist, I¡¯ll just respond, he¡¯s just somebody that I used to know¡­


    That¡¯s corny¡­ I¡¯m sorry for that I just¡­ I¡¯m just trying to lighten things up, I need it. But¡­ haaaah, not working.


    I stopped playing and thought of another song. After picking one, I began plucking the strings. Sounds echoed.


    ¡°~I-I w-walked across an empty land¡­~¡± my plucking froze for a moment when I tried to sing.


    My throat felt dry, and my voice was raspy right there. I cleared my throat and started again.


    ¡°~....I knew the pathway like the back of my hand¡­~¡±


    I sang softly. A rough start, but was getting there. I closed my eyes as I did so, to get lost in the moment, just so I can get a peace of mind.


    ¡°~Oh simple thing, where have you gone¡­? I''m getting old, and I need something to rely on¡­. So, tell me when you''re gonna let me in¡­. I''m getting tired, and I need somewhere to begin¡­~¡±


    I sang, paying no mind to anything else.


    It did bring me peace.


    But what time did I manage to sleep¡­ it will remain a mystery.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 5: Meeting With My Father (Part 1)

    Despite having to sleep late, I still woke up earlier than I wanted. So early that none of my servants have yet to even knock on my door. I heaved a tired sigh and combed back my messy hair. I gently rubbed my eyes before glancing at the mirror and looking at myself.


    Hm, at least I still look pretty beautiful... Yes, I just used two synonymous words.


    The sight of myself gave me a little energy, just a liiitttle. I smiled at myself.


    Right, no time to feel all tired.


    I still had one thing left to finish, one that I have been planning to do after the encounter on that pleasurable and rough night. I know that almost sounded like some sort of innuendo ¡ª which I may have done on purpose ¡ª but I was referring to the night I killed that Marquis and faced that werewolf shit.


    And oh gosh! Imagine my fucking shock when I learned there were others there as well. Like fuuuuck! I should have brought some soldiers to catch those motherfuckers. Or perhaps, if I was aware of where they were, I could have sent a signal or something. At least for a chance to have a showdown.


    Although, perhaps that would be too dangerous to do. I was so weak after my fight to the point that I didn¡¯t know what moment I would faint. Better safe than sorry. Besides I never expected I would face a damn werewolf.


    But, can¡¯t cry on spilled milk, or beans ¡ª whichever you prefer. I prefer beans to milk ¡ª like eeew, milk? Fuck that, it¡¯s disgusting.


    I walked over to my personal desk and placed upon it were sheets of paper pinned down by an ink bottle with a quill. I was writing. Oh my, what could I be writing? Could it be a wonderful, lovely, and peaceful story, a novel? Where an innocent maiden as a protagonist? The most beautiful of all? One with platinum hair, snow-white skin, and dazzling red blood eyes?


    Ahem! Yes, yes that would be great to have. But a shame it¡¯s not.


    I was writing a proposal for my dear father. It concerns the damn foreign nation that¡¯s threatening to destabilize my home kingdom. Hah! As if I would let that happen and give me even more headaches. Fuck them!


    Okay sorry, lot swearing today. I¡¯m just so angry, okay? Swearing helps lose some stress. Try it.


    I sat down on the chair and began writing down. I should finish in several minutes. Just polishing out some details. When this is done, I¡¯m just gonna submit this personally to my father, so I¡¯ll be meeting with him later on in his office. After that, to the main business.


    Wow, there are a lot of things to worry about. My life, my life, and my life.


    A small amount of time passed and I set down my quill back to its container and I leaned my back then started stretching, my arms spread out.


    ¡°Aaaaaah.¡±


    There were cracking sounds in my spine.


    Damn, that felt good.


    It was then knocking came on my door, I sighed the moment they reached my ears. When I open that door, reality will come in ¡ª yes reality, technically it¡¯s already here, but that¡¯s not the point. The point is, I have to do stuff again, serious stuff.


    Fucking hell, it¡¯s like waking up in the morning knowing that you have to go to work you hate, thus suffering continues. Although I didn¡¯t exactly hate my old job, just some things were annoying. So I didn¡¯t particularly go through that, but I just know it¡¯s a thing, okay? I¡¯m a sympathetic, and empathetic girl.


    I did my usual morning routine, and a thought came to mind. I haven¡¯t had a casual time with my servants for a while now. Not exactly a requirement to do that, but it¡¯s boring to be all business all the time.


    I had breakfast with the family, looking at the food reminded me of my old chef. Hmm, I wonder what she looks like now, guess it won¡¯t be a mystery for long.


    ¡°Father, I have something to discuss with you later.¡±


    ¡°How later?¡±


    ¡°Shortly after breakfast. In your office.¡±


    ¡°Why not we just go together?¡±


    ¡°You can go ahead first, father. I still have to grab my papers.¡±


    ¡°Papers?¡±


    ¡°You will see.¡±


    When eating was done, I made my way back to my room while Father went ahead to his office. I rolled the sheets of paper ¡ª oh yeah, I don¡¯t have a pocket. When I came outside my room, I presented the rolled sheets in front of Vernon.


    ¡°This is¡­?¡± he asked with an inquisitive look.


    ¡°Just a plan I intend to give to my father. Keep it in your pocket for the meantime.¡±


    He received the papers, he seemed to be having the desire to take a look at the contents. But he still ended up inserting it inside his coat pocket.


    Rogan on the other hand, didn¡¯t even bother hiding his curiosity. ¡°What¡¯s that about, princess? For what purpose did you make a plan?¡±


    ¡°I can tell you, but I don¡¯t want the risk of it being discovered by other people when it has yet to be carried out.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t trust us?¡±


    ¡°Not like that, I am merely concerned about any eavesdroppers. Besides, you will learn of it when it has been started.¡±


    I know they wouldn¡¯t blab around about the plan, but I rather choose secrecy in the meantime. As we began making our way to my father¡¯s office, Rogan who was walking beside me, kept bothering me about the papers.


    ¡°Come on princess, care to give a little hint?¡±


    I furrowed my brows. ¡°Why are you so keen on learning about the contents of those papers? It is nothing too grand.¡±


    ¡°... Um, well, it¡¯s just...¡± He sighed.


    I stopped in my tracks and narrowed my eyes. ¡°Sir Rogan, your prying can bring suspicions about you.¡±


    His eyes widened and frantically shook both his hands and head. ¡°No no, princess. It¡¯s not like that. It¡¯s just that you have been, um, acting strange¡­¡±


    ¡°Am I? What does that have to do with anything?¡±


    ¡°How do I say this¡­¡± he looked at Mera.


    Mera seemed to panic for a moment as he received the gaze from Rogan, who seemed to be asking her to explain.


    Mera had no choice but to speak. ¡°...Milady, you seemed troubled when not in a formal time or with your family. Your eyes had darkened ever so slightly.¡±


    I touched the skin under my eye.


    Mera what the hell, they¡¯re barely noticeable. How close were you observing me? Damn.


    She continued. ¡°We just want to relieve you of a little burden and help you in whatever way.¡±


    ¡°Aside from that,¡± Rogan said. ¡°You¡¯ve been acting a little too serious when it¡¯s just us around. Are you okay?¡± he asked, a genuine sign of concern in his eyes.


    I shifted my gaze at Vernon with furrowed brows, which he nodded.


    ¡°We three had a little discussion¡­¡±


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    I sighed. ¡°I appreciate the concern, but you will only have to fulfill the roles you have been given. There is nothing you can do to alleviate my troubles, no one can act on it but me¡­ for now¡±


    They didn¡¯t seem to know how to respond to my seemingly final words.


    ¡°You will be ordered upon when needed.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± Rogan responded with a strained smile.


    I continued on.


    My servants often stared at each other with troubled expressions, but I ignored them. Yes, perhaps I am feeling a little irritated, and they sensed that as well. But I can¡¯t help it.


    Eventually we arrived at my father¡¯s office. I knocked on the door. A second later, the door opened. Upon seeing who it was that opened the door, I recoiled a little.


    Him again?!


    Now who was it that was smiling at me by the door? It was my uncle Meril. Mizia¡¯s father, and my mother¡¯s brother.


    I subtly gulped as I stared up at him.


    ¡°Hello, Estelia.¡±


    ¡°H-Hi, uncle. What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°I am giving my report for the investigation of Marquis Vekenas¡¯s assassination.¡±


    I glanced inside and my father waved at me. ¡°Come in Estelia.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I be outside for the moment?¡±


    ¡°Oh no worries I was about done.¡±


    I hesitantly stepped inside while subtly glancing at my uncle. He¡¯s pretty disturbing, he always seemed to look deeply at me as though trying to see through me. Furthermore, he did some psychology shit on me all of a sudden.


    Oh trust me I was familiar with what he damn did. It was something similar to the Rorschach test where they basically try to deduce your personality or something. How effective that is, I don¡¯t know. But I was given that test in the past by my doctors.


    I hated it. So damn annoying. Those sessions were always a study of my psychological state, not only that, they also try to find deterioration of the mind. Not figuring out if I have gotten stupid, but they were searching for changes psychologically, like for instance, dwindling loyalty. In addition to that, yes they also try to figure out if I¡¯m still stable.


    Strangely, I was given more psychologist session more than I ever saw with my colleagues. They were closely monitoring me. Of course, I knew who was behind that¡­ the P-Professor. I don¡¯t want to talk about him.


    Given that I was familiar with the concept of my uncle¡¯s sudden test, I knew what to do. I didn¡¯t want him to see through me, so I answered in the opposite of what I saw in the pictures first. Sometimes I say what the second thing I saw. Basically just jumbled things up. I did what I could.


    But who knows, he might come to a conclusion of his own despite all that. Psychologists, they have a lot of secrets, can¡¯t even see through them¡­ or perhaps that¡¯s just the doctors I encountered. Our doctors were just built differently you know. Heh, some even will shoot you in the head despite being a child if you performed poorly.


    Fuck that lady doctor, she was one of my trauma when I was a kid¡­ But I got over it of course.


    In any case, the point was to confuse my uncle. If that didn¡¯t work, well shit.


    ¡°Um¡­ have you found the killer of Lucious¡¯s uncle?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not yet.¡± my father responded before looking at my uncle. ¡°Investigate the nobles on the list, subtly at first before going in person.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Alright. So Estelia, what is it you want to talk about?¡± father asked as Uncle was just leaving.


    ¡°I have a proposal, a plan that will encompass the kingdom.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    My uncle stopped in place while my father seemed to have lost the words.


    Father after a moment regained his wits. ¡°O-Okay¡­? This is a big deal then, good thing Meril is here, he might be able to share his thoughts on your plan. Close the door.¡±


    Rogan closed the door.


    I stared at my uncle inquisitively. As I thought, he must have a special place in this kingdom given that Father trusted him this much and was assigned to oversee the investigation. Doesn¡¯t matter, everyone will know of this in the end.


    ¡°Uncle? What¡¯s his position in your service?¡± I looked at my father.


    ¡°Something crucial.¡±


    ¡°Crucial? I don¡¯t recall him being a member of military affairs. Or perhaps he is involved in the intelligence department?¡±


    ¡°Uh.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Father let out a sound while uncle remained quiet. Military affairs had soldiers, and uncle didn¡¯t look like a soldier, and he never looked like one judging from all my memories with him. So I just randomly said something that is crucial for me, the intelligence department. Which was our lifeblood in the organization.


    And looks like my random guess hit the bullseye. Wow.


    ¡°I¡¯m right, am I?¡± I asked as I sat down on the chair in front of my father¡¯s desk.


    The two looked at each other reluctantly.


    Father formed a strained smile. ¡°How did you guess?¡±


    ¡°The thought just came to mind.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that is something that just comes to mind, Estelia,¡± Uncle said as he sat down opposite me. ¡°How did you arrive at that guess precisely?¡±


    He¡¯s doing it again, giving me that piercing eye.


    ¡°That¡¯s not important right now. If you uncle, are part of intelligence, then you might contribute greatly to my proposal, if it shall be accepted.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡±


    ¡°Then, daughter, tell us about this proposal of yours.¡±


    ¡°Vernon.¡±


    Vernon pulled out the sheets of paper and gave them to me, which I passed on to my father. ¡°It has all the details I think you will need, so you have no need to question me¡­ on the most part.¡±


    Father, with a curious look, read the contents of the papers. A moment later, he froze with wide eyes. ¡°Estelia, how did you even come to this¡­?¡±


    ¡°Continue reading please.¡±


    ¡°...¡± He returned his gaze to the papers.


    A couple of minutes later, he lowered his hand and sighed.


    ¡°Allow me to read.¡± uncle received the papers and read them whole. ¡°... So princess, are you implying that the Empire has infiltrated our nation¡¯s system without my knowledge, as the head of intelligence?¡±


    I tilted my head. ¡°Head of Intelligence? I see. If that¡¯s how it is, then it is. It should be acknowledged that the Empire¡¯s spies are skilled enough to quietly get through our defenses, we cannot remain to undermine their abilities. As doing so would be our undoing.¡±


    I¡¯m not sure how they got through, but things happened. Perhaps one of the reasons why the Empire managed to do so is because Wisteria is more focused on the outside, rather that within our own system. That focus must be shifted.


    ¡°Princess¡­ alright, I will take this criticism¡­¡±


    ¡°It was not intended to be a criticism, but for us to be aware of different methods on how the enemy might go about things.¡±


    ¡°Like how they will destabilize our nation from the inside, like seizing control of our nobles. And as well as killing the royals, bold as it is.¡±


    ¡°Daughter, how did your thoughts come to this point?¡±


    ¡°I thought about it when Marquis Vekenas was¡­ was killed.¡±


    ¡°If we bear in mind your writing here, it is possible that the Empire was behind the elimination of the Marquis. But what of those strange creatures?¡±


    Ah about that, I think they might have moved out because of me. Even though I did everything perfectly stealthily. How they figured it out, I don¡¯t know. It almost felt like something gave me away. But that also didn¡¯t explain the other guys that were killed at another place.


    ¡°I think that is a different matter entirely.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ But to think you would go to this much detail.¡±


    I didn¡¯t just state that an enemy nation, which at the moment was only the empire, might destabilize our nation from within, but also the methods and steps they might use. You can think I just wrote pages worth of how to destroy a kingdom from within. Even I delved into the market and how the enemies might manipulate the flow of goods and such.


    Food is a crucial aspect of a nation. Hinder it, well a lot of bad things happen. Wisteria after all, both import and export. I even added to keep watch of the Republic which we traded a lot.


    That and some other stuff.


    ¡°Indeed,¡± Father said. ¡°The contents of this paper cannot just fall to anyone¡¯s hand. Daughter, you have written something dangerous.¡± he looked at me with stern eyes.


    Um, oops?


    ¡°I made it for us to use, to fight against it. How can we hope to resist if we do not know how they will attack? Please bear in mind that our enemy is an Empire that has conquered dozens upon dozens of states. We must use as much knowledge as we can.¡±


    The Empire is used to that kind of shit. Who¡¯s to say they wouldn¡¯t do the same to Myra?


    But they might you know, try to take Wisteria out first, then as they do so attack Myra¡¯s border to divide their attention. Once they have taken care of our kingdom, they¡¯ll enclose on Myra.


    There is the Holy Kingdom, but to achieve the Empire¡¯s goal, with the help of efficient and proficient soldiers, they only need to take half of Wisteria at most and lock down Myra. Given how big the Empire is, they have nothing to worry about the number of soldiers.


    In short, the Empire likely had already planned very far ahead.


    But I managed to stop them from their schemes, for a while. And I plan to keep doing so.


    ¡°I understand that daughter but¡­ has anyone else seen the contents of this?¡±


    ¡°Nope. Aside from my servants hearing just a little of what¡¯s inside, nothing else we have to worry about.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s alright then.¡±


    ¡°Estelia¡­¡± Uncle looked at me with a little concern. ¡°This is a conqueror¡¯s plan.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Huh? Excuse me? Fucking hell, uncle¡¯s weird as fuck. Suddenly saying some stupid crap. As if he¡¯s implying something. Even Father was shocked by what he said.


    ¡°... Um, w-well the empire is what I¡¯m worried about, they are conquerors. So, one needs to see from their perspective.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant¡­ The point is that you even came up with all of these. To see from a conqueror¡¯s perspective.¡±


    Ugh, this was irritating me so much. I¡¯m just doing what must be done to get rid of these problems from my life. I don¡¯t even have a conqueror¡¯s mindset! I¡¯m a damn former assassin.


    Uncle looked at my father with concern. But I replied to him.


    ¡°Uncle, what does it matter? What¡¯s important is how we respond to those who might try to attack us.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°It does not matter if I made something, what matters is that we have an idea of what to do. So I recommend doing what I suggest in that paper. Especially one that involves the aristocrats first.¡±


    ¡°...To send an operative, a loyal operative to the houses of nobles¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Indeed, to send an operative of the crown to the houses of every single noble. They would be the ones to report the noble¡¯s every action, of course the nobles would be aware as they will be living under the same roof.


    ¡°The nobles will not like this,¡± he added.


    ¡°That is to be expected. But it is a small price to pay. If they have nothing to hide, then they have no need for concern, do they?¡±


    Father took a deep breath. ¡°Good thing Meril is here. I need to discuss this with him in depth. Give us some time, daughter. This will take some time, go do something you enjoy.¡±


    ¡°I understand. But I have another matter to discuss with you, something very important.¡±


    Father formed an expression of worry. ¡°Another one? Then tell us here now.¡±


    ¡°No, it is a personal matter. I will tell you when you are done and it¡¯s just the two of us.¡±


    I stood up and began leaving the room.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be in my study room.¡±


    Concerning the plan about obstructing the Empire, it must be approved. If not, I will convince my father in some other way. I cannot let it be rejected. Otherwise, I fear my home wouldn¡¯t last for long.


    I left the room with my servants and made my way to my study room.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 6: Meeting With My Father (Part 2)

    The door clicked closed when the princess and her servants left. The two that remained in the room, Leodoule and Meril, stared at each other as they pondered altogether. Leodoule leaned back on his chair and Meril returned his gaze to the sheets of paper in his hand.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Leodoule asked.


    ¡°What I think? Well first things first, I¡¯m baffled by how she even came up with all these.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­¡± he sighed. ¡°The detail she went through it is staggering.¡±


    ¡°This is more than staggering, Leodoule. I stand with my sentiment, this is too dangerous to be seen.¡±


    Just imagining it falling to the wrong hands made Meril shudder. It concerned Leodoule as well. If someone read it, they would definitely be tempted to study it deeply. And if they plan to use the methods written in the treatise, that would cause drastic damage to their targets. And if that was aimed at Wisteria, one could imagine how much a person could accomplish if they¡¯re confident and competent enough.


    Despite being a countermeasure against being conquered, the contents of the papers would be enough for how a person can learn to damage a nation from within. Imagine how it would all end up if it falls to an enemy nation.


    ¡°This is a double-edged sword,¡± Meril warned as he placed the sheets of paper in front of Leodoule.


    The king stared at the contents and read them again. ¡°I never imagined she was even capable of a thing such as this.¡± he couldn¡¯t help but feel anxious at the prospect that Estelia had a mind enough to think from a conqueror¡¯s perspective. Also, he felt even more anxious at how much more she could do with that intellect of hers. ¡°I could never expect¡­¡±


    ¡°She took me by surprise as well.¡±


    ¡°Good thing you¡¯re here. If we are to carry this out, your help will be absolutely needed.¡±


    ¡°The plan she wanted the most, the one concerning the nobles. It will be easier said than done, the nobles will go against this.¡±


    ¡°But what she said makes sense too. If they have nothing to hide, then there is nothing to be afraid of.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Meril heaved a deep sigh. ¡°Those that resist, they will be the ones we have to look closely¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ But the nobles are not the only ones laid out here to watch out for.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. If we are to do this, I will need most of the operatives I have available here in the capital.¡±


    ¡°At least we have a guide written, a very detailed guide¡­¡±


    ¡°Leodoule,¡± Meril said in a low voice. ¡°I know Estelia will be displeased about this but¡­ these papers¡­ they need to be destroyed. Some knowledge must not be known or written.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Leodoule furrowed his brows. ¡°Meril, this is a good study material. With this, we will have an idea of how nations will conquer others. We can prepare and counter. Obviously, I can¡¯t do the studying myself, but we can have trusted scholars work on it.¡±


    ¡°Sensible. But I couldn¡¯t help but feel concerned about this. I admit, I also feel it would be alright for our nation to study it¡­¡± he sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I am in a dilemma. Where did she even learn of such things?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea¡­ That aside, do you think the Empire is behind the assassination?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel that¡¯s the case. But¡­ there seems to be a link.¡±


    ¡°... It looks like we have to do what¡¯s inside my daughter¡¯s treatise. Even if nobles won¡¯t like it, they have no choice if it¡¯s my decree. I will need you to work alongside me for the time being.¡±


    ¡°What about the investigation?¡±


    ¡°Give it to someone else.¡±


    ¡°...Alright.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll hold on to her papers for the meantime while I think of what to do with them after studying them myself. I should admit, she did impress me.¡±


    ¡°... Indeed, she¡­ she is more than she seemed.¡± he nodded. Meril recalled his and the princess¡¯s last meeting before this.


    ¡°My daughter turned out pretty smart, eh?¡± Leodoule smirked with pride. ¡°What was it that you said about her a long time ago? She was no one very remarkable? Hehehe.¡±


    Meril chuckled. ¡°Did I? She is charming ever since I met her, but yes in skills, she was unremarkable.¡±


    ¡°You were wrong I guess.¡±


    ¡°Indeed¡­ But I should say, this is more than her turning out pretty smart. Please guide your daughter before she makes up something that will be too much.¡±


    ¡°... Y-Yes. Now then, I suppose I should call for her, she still has something else to talk about.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me prying, what will she be talking about?¡±


    ¡°As she said, something personal.¡±


    ¡°No intention of sharing your thoughts? Honestly, the crown has a lot of secrets, which I imagine my sister has become aware of.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, yes, she is aware.¡±


    ¡°... I am aware she has been studying old documents and some others, all being sent to her personally. I never thought she would be one be interested in those things nowadays. Although the old relics had stopped coming, I imagine she had run out of materials to take. Does the secret has something to do with those old things?¡±


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    ¡°None can easily get past through you, huh?¡±


    ¡°So I am correct?¡±


    ¡°Heh, who knows? Now then, I should have her called.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll take care of it.¡±


    Meril stood up and went to the princess¡¯s study room.


    ***


    ¡°Now I¡¯m very curious to read what you have written, princess.¡±


    I turned my gaze towards Rogan standing beside me.


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°I mean, you got both the king and the marquis pretty shook. What is it about exactly?¡±


    ¡°Just countermeasures. But if you want to know, I won¡¯t stop you. Just¡­ given how worried my father and uncle were, well, you have to be prepared for the consequences of knowing what is written.¡±


    I was merely scaring him a little, just teasing. Definitely nothing very bad would happen to him if he knew.


    ¡°Is that what you have been busy with, your highness? That written work.¡± Vernon asked.


    ¡°Mm, yes. Well, one of them at least.¡±


    ¡°I see. Ah, given that you might be busy for a while, when are you going to continue your training?¡±


    ¡°Soon. I don¡¯t know. I will be busy for a time, that is certain.¡± I turned to Mera. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Mera, looks like we have to pause our training.¡±


    ¡°Um, I don¡¯t mind, milady.¡±


    ¡°By the way, have you been progressing well?¡±


    Mera hesitated as if she didn¡¯t know how to answer it, and shifted her gaze towards Vernon. I guess that¡¯s understandable, Vernon was the teacher after all. Only he can tell how much progress a student was making.


    ¡°She¡¯s doing well. As what is surmised, she has more affinity towards Physical Enhancement than of magic spells.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s great Mera. Congratulations!¡± I said with a wide and sweet smile.


    ¡°T-Thank you.¡± She lowered her head with a smile, a blush on her cheek.


    She¡¯s blushing with just that much of a compliment? Oh goodness, I really perhaps went over the line somewhere¡­ let¡¯s um¡­ carefully traverse this moving forward. I have to, you know, minimize that feeling of love she has¡­ I kinda feel bad for letting her feel some unrequited love.


    Ah crap, since when have I started worrying about this kind of normal stuff? Been for a while, it would seem. This made me recall Lucious¡­ Haaaah, things always do not go smoothly¡­


    And this was one of the things that made me so pissed off about all this crap.


    A short while later, came knockings on the door. I indicated for Vernon to open. Turned out it was my uncle¡­ dammit¡­


    Anyways, I let him enter of course.


    ¡°Hello Estelia, we have made the decision, come meet your father.¡±


    They made their decision pretty quickly.


    I nodded before standing up and walking beside my uncle to my father¡¯s office. First things first, I was about to either go in front or behind him. But he just moved beside me. Dammit Mizia, your father¡¯s annoying as fuck. Yes, I get annoyed when there¡¯s someone concerning that just popped up that I can¡¯t do anything about.


    ¡°Estelia, are you now fond of reading?¡± he suddenly asked.


    ¡°.... N-No¡­¡± what a weird question.


    ¡°Have you been studying hard?¡±


    ¡°I at least am taking it seriously¡­¡±


    ¡°Mm, that¡¯s good. Did you reference your plans from somewhere?¡±


    ¡°... I don¡¯t know how to answer that¡­¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­?¡± he stared at me with a neutral expression. ¡°I hope to talk with you more, your insights might be needed to carry out your plans in the actual field.¡±


    ¡°All details, precautions, and responses have been laid out, I don¡¯t think I will be needed.¡±


    ¡°Even so, those written cannot always work in the real world. Given that you are the one who made it, your input will be essential when adapting to unexpected situations.¡±


    ¡°So it has been agreed, huh.¡±


    ¡°... Let us talk when I return next time, I¡¯ll even bring Mizia.¡±


    Crap¡­ He¡¯s up to something¡­


    Shortly, we arrived at my father¡¯s office.


    ¡°Leave your servants outside for the time being.¡±


    I agreed to what my uncle said and entered inside without my servants. I sat down on the chair by my father¡¯s desk.


    ¡°Uncle said it has been agreed, father.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes¡­ But your plans here will be only in my hands and a few others.¡±


    ¡°That is fine by me.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll also be studying it.¡±


    ¡°S-Studying it¡­? For what?¡±


    ¡°This will be a good study material for the future, a way to counter any threat to the nation.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­? But if you think it¡¯s that big of a deal, it should only be studied by a handful of people.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Then you will allow it to be read by scholars then?¡±


    That¡¯s¡­ huh¡­


    ¡°Before that, I want you to give me the details of the scholars to be involved. Their background, personal details, personality, just important and deep details.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fair. I can provide you with that.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, uncle. That said, I request that you hold off on studying the material for the time being, until I finish my other matter.¡±


    I don¡¯t want to divide my attention to something else yet.


    ¡°... And what is this matter, daughter?¡±


    ¡°I will only talk about it with you, father.¡±


    ¡°...Hmm, alright¡­ Meril, leave us.¡±


    Meril excused himself out of the room and closed the door.


    ¡°Father, I will need your permission and support to finish those in the city that are hunting me.¡±


    ¡°You mean those strange creatures?¡±


    ¡°Yes. First I will need the soldiers of the church.¡±


    ¡°That can be arranged¡­¡±


    ¡°And some knights.¡±


    Father frowned. ¡°... What exactly are you planning? Are you planning to breach every city door?¡±


    ¡°Nothing so crude. I have my plan, but nothing is certain yet. I only want to make sure I have the support I need when the time comes.¡±


    ¡°What are you planning exactly, my daughter¡­?¡±


    ¡°I expect there will fighting depending on where the enemies are hiding. Which is likely anywhere in the city.¡±


    Father narrowed his eyes, there must be something he disliked. ¡°Estelia, you¡¯re planning to have a battle in the middle of the city? I can¡¯t have that.¡±


    ¡°... Collateral damage will be at a minimum in a controlled environment. That is why I need numbers to also handle the civilians in the area.¡±


    ¡°Estelia, I won¡¯t allow magical battle in the middle of the city.¡±


    ¡°If you fear that there will be sudden breaches on every door and an all-out uncontrolled battle, there will be no such thing, if it goes according to the plan. Chaos will be at the minimum I assure you.¡±


    ¡°Even so¡ª¡±


    ¡°Father, are you just going to allow enemies of the state to roam freely on our streets? The ones you have ordered to hunt down those creatures not only failed the opportunity that I gave them but also never made any kind of progress on finding them. This has gone long enough.¡±


    Father looked away as if pondering. A moment later, he looked at me again.


    ¡°The damages must be minimal.¡±


    ¡°Of course. If we¡¯re even luckier, they might be situated outside the city.¡±


    Which might complicate things.


    ¡°Then, I assume I will be leading this mission?¡±


    ¡°No, I will personally oversee this operation.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± his eyes widened as if in disbelief at what he had just heard. ¡°Estelia, you have no experience in leading a group of soldiers.¡±


    ¡°I will lead this operation, I will take command, full authority. I will not allow any more failure.¡±


    ¡°W-Why?¡±


    ¡°Father¡­¡±


    My father shook his head, disgruntled. ¡°This is too much, Estelia. Ordering a large group of soldiers is not easy, even more so to one who never experienced doing so.¡±


    ¡°I need to do this, father. Rogan and Vernon will be beside me, in case I need help.¡±


    ¡°... Of course¡­¡± he sighed. ¡°Very well. When you need men, you will have it and I will have you in command.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, father. Then one last thing¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­?¡±


    ¡°I want Allie, my treacherous former chef, to be under my jurisdiction. I can do as I please with her. Until I am done with her¡±


    ¡°Why would you want her?¡±


    ¡°She is a crucial part of the plan. I will need her help. If everything goes well with her, expect collateral damage to be at a minimum.¡±


    ¡°... Your plans¡­ Sometimes I find it hard to understand. But fine, she is yours.¡±


    I smiled softly. ¡°Thank you, father. I am grateful. You¡¯re the best.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 7: Salvation

    Sometime after breakfast, I made my way to my father¡¯s office. When I got there I discovered that my eldest brother, Eleden, was with him with the other scribes.


    ¡°Estelia, what brings you here?¡± my brother asked.


    ¡°Just have something to tell Father. Are you here to help him?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Given that Lucious left for the time being, father and I decided to merge our job for now.¡±


    After the death of his uncle, Lucious left to return to his household to grieve with their family. It might take more or less than a month for him to return. As for the funeral, would be sooner than expected given the state of Marquis Vekenas¡¯s corpse, or they would just seal the coffin tight. It¡¯s up to them.


    Nobles would be invited to the funeral. As for the royal family, we all don¡¯t need to go. For example, the monarchs can¡¯t just go out of the city for a funeral, dangerous. The least we could do was send a royal child.


    I don¡¯t think I would be able to attend. I would be busy. Mostly depend on the time of the funeral and my activities.


    ¡°Father also ordered my help in checking the flow of goods¡­ Which is a sudden pile of work,¡± he added as he looked at father with a somewhat annoyed expression.


    Father merely smiled. ¡°It is an important job, my son.¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course...¡±


    ¡°So, daughter?¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, I am here to tell you that I will be visiting Allie.¡±


    ¡°Now? Just visit?¡±


    ¡°Yes, to check on her.¡±


    ¡°...Alright sure. I have already told the knights what you requested yesterday, so you need only speak with the guards.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, father.¡±


    ¡°Just¡­ um, be prepared for what you may see,¡± he said with concern.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    I think I know what he was talking about. My visit was quite sudden, so they must have yet to make her quite ¡®presentable.¡¯ Well, I did say she was to be under my jurisdiction and I didn¡¯t say anything yet about what to do with her. But given Father¡¯s reaction, she must be the way she was.


    ¡°Estelia, you¡¯re visiting your former chef? The one that almost killed you?¡±


    I slowly turned to my brother. ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°I would like to come with you.¡±


    ¡°Eleden, what are you thinking of doing?¡± my father asked, a bit of sternness in his voice.


    ¡°... Father¡­ I just want to see something. I would pretty much like to come with Estelia.¡±


    ¡°Being stubborn now¡­?¡± father lowered his gaze, contemplating. ¡°Fine, see what you want to see. And I hope you get to learn something.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Eleden didn¡¯t respond but merely bowed his head before facing me. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Estelia.¡±


    ¡°Uh, y-yes.¡±


    I left the room and together we walked down the hallway, my servants following behind us. I turned a curious look at Eleden.


    ¡°Brother, why do you want to come with me?¡±


    He looked at me as if hesitating to answer. ¡°... I want to confirm something¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I have been meaning to see this former chef of yours¡­ Mainly to check how she is being treated as a lone prisoner.¡±


    Ah crap. Dammit. I didn¡¯t have the chance to deny him, everything just happened. Father didn¡¯t even try to stop him.


    He continued. ¡°Father has been keeping me from doing so.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Fuck, whatever, do whatever you want brother. Just don¡¯t intervene with my business.


    When we reached the first floor, I stopped and turned to look at Mera.


    ¡°Mera, the cuisine I had the kitchen made, bring it.¡±


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    Mera bowed her head and left for the kitchen. Eleden gave me a curious look.


    ¡°Are you giving it to your former chef?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ I just think that she might appreciate food from the royal chef for once after being in her prison cell for such a long time.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ She certainly wouldn¡¯t have any good food to eat in there.¡±


    It took a while, but Mera returned with a covered tray in her hands. Afterward, we made our way to our destination.


    Moments later, we arrived at the dungeon entrance, a pair of guards stationed at the door. They straightened themselves as they greeted me with a smile, add to that my brother of course.


    ¡°Princess Estelia, Prince Eleden, how may we help you?¡±


    ¡°I am here to see the prisoner,¡± I replied.


    The two knights looked at each other before one responded to me. ¡°Of course, princess. We¡¯ll take you to her.¡±


    They opened the metal door with a loud creak of metal. The smell of air from the inside came to my face, I wrinkled my nose slightly. Dusty and grimy. Like any other unsanitized prison.


    ¡°Please be careful with your steps, princess. And I apologize, but everything is dirty.¡±


    ¡°That is fine. Let us go.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    With the knights taking the lead, I stepped inside.


    ***


    She clasped her shoulders, sitting at a corner, her knees by her muddy and dirty face. Her lips were dry, her hair sticky and grimy. The cell was cold and smelled foul, one she had been enduring for a very long, long time. She slowly breathed as she stared emptily at the dreary floor.


    She heard footsteps echoing across the corridor. They stopped right before the metal bars, there was a click and the door loudly opened with a metallic creak.


    Then, a voice spoke in an ever so familiar stern tone.


    ¡°Allie Jelimis, her highness, Princess Estelia, wishes to speak with you.¡±


    She twitched slightly at the mention of that name. One she remembered so brightly, so pure and wholesome. One that treated her kindly and sweetly. One that she attempted¡­ to kill. She hesitated to gaze at that person, fear crawling into her heart.


    Indeed, she carried regrets.


    Even so, knowing that kind princess was here to meet her, brought a tiny amount of relief. Along with it curiosity.


    Allie slowly looked up when a single footstep stopped close to her. And she saw her, that ever so sweet and kind face¡­ But now looking at Allie with concern. It pained her heart to see the one she attempted to kill still showed concern for her.


    The guilt was eating her, she didn¡¯t want to see her. The princess was like the sun, one she cannot endure gazing, lest she would be blind.


    The princess slowly kneeled down before her, the edge of her dress darkened on the dirty floor. Nobles should have not been willing to do so, but she didn¡¯t seem to mind. There was pain in the princess¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Allie¡­¡± the princess whispered so softly before slowly reaching for her. However, Allie recoiled and turned away her face.


    She was afraid for the guilt to grow. If the princess touches her, she was certain that with the guilt she was now feeling after all that suffering¡­ she would suffer once again. She didn¡¯t want that, never again. How she would give her hands away just to save herself from torment.


    Stay away¡­ please¡­ please.


    She begged within her mind, as she could not bring herself to speak. However, she felt the gentle touch from the princess even still. Her extremely clean fingers were now smeared with her grime. The princess slowly turned Allie¡¯s head until they were looking at each other.


    Allie slightly trembled.


    The princess did not smile, but her gaze remained so tender. Then her gaze shifted away toward her servants. Aside from the knights guarding the dungeon, there was that familiar maid, the personal maid of the princess, one that Allie had made acquaintance with. Then the other was a man Allie did not recognize.


    ¡°Water...¡± the princess said.


    The man picked up a glass of water from Mera¡¯s tray and gave it to the princess. The princess returned her tender gaze toward Allie.


    ¡°Drink.¡±


    The princess slowly extended her hand. Allie hesitated, but in the end opened her mouth and drank the water from the cup in the princess¡¯s hand. Thirsty as she was, she did not pause drinking. The water was so tasteful, extremely tasteful. Delicious.


    Her dry throat now felt a little better, and her tongue felt more energized. Allie savored the taste of plain water. Every last drop she could have.


    When none was left, she couldn¡¯t help but feel dejected.


    ¡°... There is more, but, let¡¯s clean your face first, okay?¡± said the princess.


    The princess was given a wet piece of cloth, which she used to gently wipe the grime off Allie¡¯s cheek. Allie was confused as to why was the princess doing this. But this time, she did not resist. That was because everything felt so pleasant.


    She had not felt this much peace in a long time. The sensation as the princess wipe her face was soothing. Allie gazed at the princess¡¯s face, to her eyes. She was so lost in the moment that she had forgotten the other people that came with her. But in this world with the princess alone, it made her forget all the suffering, the loneliness, the cold¡­ the doubts, and abandonment.


    Which that had been lost in darkness, has found its light.


    The princess¡¯s touch halted when she was done cleaning Allie¡¯s face. After returning the cloth, she rubbed her hands on her dress and received a bowl from Mera. A soup still steaming just a little.


    ¡°I have prepared a soft food, your stomach might not take well to any other kind.¡±


    The princess scooped a spoonful and offered it to Allie.


    ¡°Eat.¡±


    And Allie did. The sensation of decent food filled her with vigor. Never have food tasted more delicious. Tears began welling up in her eyes. She wanted to hold them back but they would not stop. She couldn¡¯t help it.


    But the princess gently wiped her tears with her hand. Allie looked at her, she saw a smile. Small, and yet a beautiful and peace-bringing smile.


    The princess fed her. Then gave her water when she seemed to need it. And continued feeding her until the bowl was empty.


    Allie¡¯s belly was full. The first she had felt after so long.


    The princess gave the empty bowl back to her servants and then returned her gentle gaze to Allie. She raised her hand and slowly patted Allie¡¯s head.


    ¡°I hope that this helped you, at least for a little.¡±


    Allie¡¯s chest grew warm, life growing. The princess¡¯s touch was so soothing, so peaceful as if she was sent by the gods to save her from her torment.


    However, the princess stood up and began stepping away. Allie¡¯s eyes widened as she gazed desperately at the princess, her hand lifted a little as if attempting to reach out to her. But before she knew it, the door of her cell closed and locked again.


    Her only light was now standing on the other side, and Allie was left behind. The princess smiled at her before walking away.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Allie tried calling out, but her light had already vanished.


    And now, she was left here once again in this dreary dark cell. Left alone to suffer in solitude. Tears fell down from her eyes.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 8: Outraged Brother

    ¡°Princess, wipe your hand.¡±


    I received the white clean handkerchief from Vernon.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I rubbed off my dirty hand, but I should say there was still a bit of that grimy sensation, I will need to wash off my hands with water. After rubbing the smears from my hand, I looked at my dress, dirty¡­ Not like I had any other choice.


    I returned the handkerchief to Vernon. By the way, I prevented Vernon from being seen by Allie. You know, Vernon was definitely there during the torture. I don¡¯t want Allie to panic. Don¡¯t want to trigger her PTSD, I wanted her focus to be only on me.


    Besides Vernon, I had my eldest brother stay back.


    When Vernon received the handkerchief, I saw that my brother had a displeased expression ¡ª no wait, perhaps it was disgust. Ugh, this was precisely why I didn¡¯t let him enter the cell.


    ¡°Brother, are you alright?¡±


    ¡°This cannot stand¡­¡± he said in a grim tone. ¡°I must speak with father about this.¡±


    Hm, not only disgusts but anger as well.


    ¡°I will be going ahead, my sister.¡±


    ¡° ¡ª No, wait!¡±


    He ignored my call and rushed towards the palace. I knew it! I knew this was going to happen! I wanted to palm my face but my hand was dirty, don¡¯t want to ruin my beautiful face.


    Brother, how impatient and so soft.


    But as my father said, he needed to learn a thing or two from this if he was to become king in the future. This kind of attitude would not do being king.


    Guess I¡¯m chasing him down, just to make sure he doesn¡¯t make father do anything stupid that tampers with my plan.


    ¡°Sir Rogan you come with me. Vernon and Mera, go take that trey back to the kitchen. I will be going to father¡¯s office.¡±


    ¡°But princess, you need to clean yourself first,¡± Vernon frantically said.


    Oh yes, would not be a good idea to just walk around like this. But Eleden¡¯s already running.


    ¡°I will clean myself shortly.¡±


    With rushed steps, I made my way back to my father¡¯s office with Rogan behind me.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with his highness?¡± asked Rogan.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t like what he saw.¡±


    ¡°Huh, I didn¡¯t imagine he would be that mad. But, you seem to be alright though.¡±


    ¡°I am disturbed myself, but why would I just blatantly show that, hm?¡±


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    ¡°...¡±


    That was a lie, of course, Allie was exactly what I wanted her to be.


    A moment later we arrived at father¡¯s office. I opened the door¡­


    ¡° ¡ª That was cruel, father!¡±


    ¡°Oh really? And yet you didn¡¯t make me show you the dungeon before this.¡±


    ¡°I never imagined it would be to that degree. It¡¯s inhumane!¡±


    ¡°Inhumane, huh.¡±


    Eleden was right before father¡¯s desk, the scribes looking at them with shock.


    I turned towards one of the scribes. ¡°You, can you all please leave us for a moment?¡± I asked with a kind smile.


    ¡°Uh, y-yes, princess.¡±


    The scribes left quickly and closed the door.


    Eleden seemed to have regained a little calm after realizing my presence, and he inhaled deeply.


    He faced father. ¡°I never expected something that terrible from you, father.¡±


    ¡°And now you have seen it. This is how it is, Eleden. I am sure you are aware of this, but you cannot reject anymore how this world works.¡±


    ¡°Cruelty is not always the answer.¡±


    ¡°Cruelty often is the answer. Force is necessary for a lot of scenarios. You cannot expect the world to treat you with kindness, and thus we must be the same. Besides, you cannot expect the kingdom to deeply care for one lone prisoner.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just one prisoner! One! How hard could it be to treat her better than she is?¡±


    ¡°She attempted to poison your sister, even knights want her to suffer for her transgression.¡±


    ¡°Ggh¡­¡± He lowered his head, his face still defiant. ¡°Even so, her treatment was too inhumane. You should have seen her cell, how dirty, the terrible smell, the terrible state she was in.¡±


    ¡°I have seen my share of nasty prison cells, my son. Hers is no different.¡±


    ¡°What else have you done to her before throwing her into a damn cell?¡±


    ¡°Do I need to spell it out loud?¡±


    Eleden curled his fists, his lips pursed.


    ¡°I do not like this¡­ If I become king, I won¡¯t allow such a thing.¡±


    Father raised an eyebrow and leaned his back on the chair. ¡°I see¡­ I had hoped you would learn something from this¡­ But you must contemplate this in the future¡­¡±


    ¡°...Change how she is treated, father. Give the command to your knights.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°But why?!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because that prisoner is no longer under my jurisdiction.¡±


    ¡°W-What? Impossible, who else could have jurisdiction other than the king?¡±


    My father gazed at me. ¡°Estelia.¡±


    ¡°Estelia¡­?¡±


    ¡°The power over that prisoner now lies in the hands of Estelia.¡±


    Eleden slowly turned his head to look at me, confusion all over his face.


    ¡°What, since when?¡±


    ¡°Just yesterday,¡± father answered.


    ¡°I see. Estelia, can you please stop what is being done to her?¡±


    His tone shifted from forceful to a gentle and calm one when he asked me. How sweet.


    ¡°It won¡¯t be easy nor will it be swift, brother. Despite having jurisdiction over her, that does not mean I control the knights guarding her. I can¡¯t just renovate the entire dungeon. But I understand what you want, I will see what I can do, but please be patient.¡±


    ¡°Very well, my sister.¡±


    ¡°Preparation is still needed on my part to change her ordeal. But I must ask you to control your impulses.¡±


    I will have to stop him from causing my heart to jump or cause headaches for sudden things.


    ¡°Alright, Estelia.¡±


    ¡°Sit down and relax for a while, my brother.¡±


    Eleden nodded and slowly sat down on the nearby chair.


    My father shifted his gaze at me. ¡°How is your visit, daughter? You do not seem as disturbed as your brother.¡±


    ¡°Do I? Then I have done well to hide my emotions.¡±


    ¡°Hm, I suppose. Thinking back you never do much, or just don¡¯t show much. I had expected you would be disgusted about what has been done.¡±


    ¡°... That is not important right now. Now that my brother has relaxed, I will be cleaning myself.¡±


    ¡°Right, what did you do? Your dress is dirty.¡±


    I sweetly smiled. ¡°I gave Allie food.¡±


    ¡°F-Food?¡±


    ¡°Yes, delicious food and tasty water.¡±


    Father slowly nodded, as if baffled by my answer. ¡°Alright¡­ Then, you may go, daughter.¡±


    With that, I left the room. At least I got Eleden to stop bothering me for the time being, but who knows how long it will last. That being said, he was manageable. If he was to be an efficient ruler, he needed to learn how cruel that world was, and when you need to be one.


    The world will not always be kind¡­ I mean¡­ look at my situation right now. That was why one needs to play the world at its own game.


    I will need to keep visiting Allie a few more times. The look in her eyes when she looked at me¡­ was fascinating. Those eyes finally seeing hope.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 9: Longing

    Allie, from the far corner of the prison cell, now moved to the metal bars, leaning to her side. The metal bars were rusty and rough, the tiny pieces of rust stuck to her fingers, but she didn¡¯t mind. What little stain would change how dirty¡­ how disgusting she was now.


    But yes, something did change, for the whole time she had been staying at the far corner, she was now closer to the one obstacle that prevented her freedom. The cause of that change, even so little, was a little glimmer of hope.


    But it was far too little to change her heart completely. Even so, she could not take it off her mind¡­ or rather, her¡­ Seeing that light made her recall her past life, one that was basking in a bright day, a colorful life.


    One where she always did what she loved, living a dream.


    She let out a trembling cold breath as she gripped the bar in her hand tighter. The thought of how better her life was before pained her heart. She had dreams, and yet she gave them away for others. She knew it as she decided it.


    Sacrifice her dreams for her friends.


    What was the point of it all to begin with? What was the goal, the dream her friends had that she had to sacrifice her own? One where she had to suffer to this extent.


    She doubted, but at first started only for a little bit. For deep in her heart she had hope. Hope that she would be saved. She believed in her friends, they would save her from her torment. And yet, hours became days, days became weeks, and weeks became months.


    Doubt grew in her heart as time passed.


    Eventually, she reached a certain point, the point of hopelessness. They would never come to get her. There was no sign of them, no warning from the guards, no commotion, just nothing.


    She was abandoned.


    She felt betrayed.


    With those feelings came regret. Indeed she felt regret at what she had done, even though it ended in failure. In the end, she attempted to take someone¡¯s life. The life of the person that had treated her so kindly. But she buried that regret as she could no longer endure all the terrible emotions wreaking havoc inside her.


    However, that regret returned to the surface at the princess¡¯s touch. Despite having attempted to poison her, she still treated her kindly. She gave her water, wiped her face, and fed her. How could someone be so kind? She should have not done something so atrocious to that person. That compassionate girl.


    As she leaned to the prison bars, she felt confused. She didn¡¯t know what to do, nor what she was doing right now. What brought her to this part of the cell? She could not understand herself.


    She had doubts on all sides. One that had abandoned her, and one side that made her suffer. Her friends, and the crown where the princess belongs.


    Allie stayed there by the metal bars all night, even as she fell asleep. Her sleep was a little better than before, perhaps because she had a proper meal for once in this one day. It may be only once, but it was enough.


    Morning came.


    Footsteps resounded in the corridor, so familiar. The guards change every day, but Allie now recognizes the knights that always guard the dungeon at every shift, ones that bring her food ¡ª could anyone even call it that¡­


    The footsteps stopped right before the cell bars. Gentle footsteps stopped beside her, Allie slowly looked up. Her eyes slightly widened.


    It was the princess.


    Why had she returned? Allie could not understand. This dungeon was no place for a princess.


    The princess looked at her with compassion, so saintly. But when Allie¡¯s gaze shifted to the one behind the princess, her breath suddenly got stuck to her throat and her eyes widened with terror.


    How could she not recognize that face, that face that was there in her suffering and despair. She felt all the pain again as she remembered each moment as if she was relieving it all again. The torture, that she could never forget. Despite coming out strong at that time, it still haunted her.


    ¡°Eeeh!¡± she squealed and whimpered in reflex.


    Allie dragged herself backward in panic, crawling away on that dirty floor while trembling. But then she hit the wall, she could no longer get away. Tears flowed out of her eyes, and then she folded herself as though for protection.


    Allie could not bear to look at him, at that old man. She didn¡¯t even want to be near his presence.


    A soft voice spoke. ¡°... Vernon, leave the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°But princess¡­¡±


    ¡°Go.¡±


    Allie heard footsteps echoing away and gradually fading. She had heard what the princess ordered to that person, but Allie couldn¡¯t feel at ease.


    Gentle footsteps entered her cell after the door opened, and stopped in front of her.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I should have been more aware¡­¡±


    Her voice spoke, that sweet and soothing voice that made Allie¡¯s ears flutter. Suddenly, she felt warmth slowly enveloping her. Allie paused as she comprehended what was going on.


    The princess was embracing her.


    Allie¡¯s mind went blank, she never expected such a thing. And it caused cracks to form in her heart, and tears burst out from her eyes even more so.


    The princess gently rubbed Allie¡¯s back.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, everything¡¯s going to be alright.¡±


    The princess whispered into her ear, and it brought comfort. Gradually, Allie regained her calm, and she slowly looked up at the princess¡¯s eyes.


    Then, the princess asked. ¡°Are you feeling a little better¡­?¡±


    Allie moved back and looked at the princess from top to bottom, her dress had already become dirty at that just simple physical contact with her, but the princess paid it no heed. Failing to comprehend everything, Allie asked a question in her mind ¡ª how could she be this kind?


    ¡°...I-I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m s-sorry.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    Allie immediately lowered her head. Was that an apology for smearing her beautiful dress? Or was it for something else? Even she herself could not find the answer.


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    ¡°... Alright then, the important thing is you¡¯re feeling a little better. I have brought you food. I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t visit you always.¡±


    Just like yesterday, the princess made her drink water before feeding her. Once that was done, she left once again. It was then Allie¡¯s feeling of longing grew and made even clearer. She longed for the peace and comfort the princess brought.


    Several minutes after the princess had disappeared, Allie rubbed off the tears on her cheeks. She was weeping. Guilt and regret, as well as confusion. All those things swirled inside her heart.


    She didn¡¯t want to feel this way, it was terrible. She dreaded it, but she couldn¡¯t do anything to mitigate them, for she deserved it. She deserved to wallow in despair after what she had done.


    Was what she did truly a mistake?


    Was doing it for her friends a mistake? The friends that had abandoned her?


    She had no definite answer.


    And as hours passed, she kept dwelling on that thought.


    ***


    Another day came since the princess¡¯s last visit. Allie once again leaned on the metal bars. She was waiting.


    She felt a longing, and it grew ever stronger than before. And thus, she waited and waited. She had felt a bit more energetic than before, only for a little. She remembered the rough time the princess would come from referencing her arrival on the first and second day, despite having no sun to see. Furthermore, she could roughly tell how much time had passed with the help of when the guards came to reignite some torches.


    Add to it counting in her mind. Not specifically counting each number, but roughly with feeling.


    However, time had passed since the rough schedule when the princess would come. Was she wrong about the time? She could be. And thus she patiently waited.


    Waited. And waited.


    Perhaps an hour had passed now, but the princess hadn¡¯t arrived yet. The corridor was still silent.


    Another hour passed. There was nothing.


    She waited another hour. Then another, and another.


    And yet, she did not come.


    ¡°...W-Why¡­?¡± for the first time on this day, she muttered in confusion, shaken.


    She raised her eyes as she looked at the corridor, she perked her ears as well. There was nothing but the same dark and dreadful walls, and piercing silence. Her lips trembled with what could perhaps be fear. Fear rooted from losing something, or something casually breaking into pieces.


    She waited and waited.


    No change.


    But half an hour later, footsteps sounded. Allie jerked her head, as the light shone a little in her eyes. However, it dimmed immediately when he saw a knight she was familiar with, carrying a steel plate.


    ¡°What a surprise, you moved closer. Makes my job easier then. Here. Eat.¡±


    He slipped the steel plate in and walked away without showing any interest. Allie gazed at the food, the same stale food she was always given¡­ before the princess. Her body weakened, and the longing grew.


    But she ate nonetheless. Suffering returned.


    When she was done with the food, she returned to the far corner of the cell. The hope in her heart was crumbling.


    Once again, she wallowed in despair.


    Another day came. While she was at a corner curling, footsteps echoed again. It was a familiar time and came with familiar footsteps. She looked up, and her eyes widened. It was the princess.


    She has returned.


    Allie¡¯s eyes glistened with hope.


    Once the door has opened, the princess approached Allie and gave her water. Allie was once again filled with life.


    The princess gave her food. Then she patted her head.


    Allie almost smiled in joy, in comfort.


    But once the princess left again, she felt longing once more. She wanted the princess to be with her.


    Another day went by.


    She waited for the time. But, the princess didn¡¯t come. Even as hours passed, no one came. A knight later entered and gave her the usual stale and nasty food.


    She ate, and tears welled up in her eyes.


    Once she was done, she remained by the metal bars.


    In this torment, she had come to realize it¡­


    The princess¡­


    Princess Estelia is peace.


    That sentence echoed in her mind for hours and hours until another day came. Then another.


    Afterward, the princess arrived once more, and Allie looked up at her. Hope shone in her heart at the glimpse of the princess¡¯s face. But when she shifted her gaze to the side, her heart jumped as her trauma resurfaced at the face of an old man, the princess¡¯s servant.


    ¡°Egh¡ª¡±


    She was about to recoil and move away, but a hand grabbed her wrist. Confused, she looked towards the hand while trembling, only to trace it back to the princess.


    It was the princess¡¯s hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, he won¡¯t do anything, I¡¯m here.¡±


    Allie frantically shifted her eyes between the princess and the old man.


    ¡°Allie, breathe, no one will harm you here.¡±


    She listened to the princess¡¯s words. The princess held Allie¡¯s hand with both hands.


    ¡°Come closer.¡±


    The princess had a faint smile as if to calm Allie down.


    Allie moved closer while looking at the people with the princess. The old man, the maid, and the young man. The knights that were on guard were not around. Just the princess and her servants, and no one else.


    ¡°I want to talk, Allie¡­ I am in trouble, my life is under threat. But of course, you know about it, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Allie¡¯s heart throbbed as she was made to recall what she had done. She was fully aware that the princess¡¯s life was in danger, she herself was one of those dangers.


    Allie weakly nodded her head.


    ¡°I am frightened, Allie. Not a day goes by that I am not haunted by the fear and nightmare of the danger.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Allie gazed at the princess''s eyes. Fear was indeed evident in her eyes, and Allie sympathized.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to suffer this anymore, Allie¡­¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Your friends, you are close with them, yes?¡±


    Allie hesitated for a moment but then nodded.


    ¡°Were they truly kind to you?¡±


    Allie nodded.


    ¡°Do you think they truly cared about you?¡±


    Allie failed to nod, for she was confused about what was the truth.


    ¡°I see¡­ But, is there someone that you cared the most among them, one that cared about you as well?¡±


    Looking away, Allie tried to recall her moments with her friends. And there was one that stood out from the rest, one that was the softest and the kindest to her. The one with dog ears above his head.


    While recalling his face, she meekly nodded.


    ¡°... Allie, will you help me?¡±


    She returned her gaze to the princess.


    ¡°Help me, Allie. Help me catch them.¡±


    Allie averted his gaze, her eyes restless as her mind swirled. She didn¡¯t know what to do.


    ¡°Allie, if you help me, you will be freed from this place.¡±


    Allie instantly gazed back at the princess.


    ¡°You can return to the kitchen. Cook again, return to your dreams.¡±


    Allie inhaled sharply. But she couldn¡¯t just betray her friends. What would the kingdom do to them?


    ¡°Allie, help me, and I swear¡­ no, we swear¡­¡± the princess turned her gaze to her servants, and Allie followed her gaze. ¡°We swear we won¡¯t kill them.¡± After the princess said that, her servants nodded their heads.


    Allie returned her gaze to the princess, which the latter gazed back with her beautiful crimson eyes.


    ¡°Please Allie, I need you.¡±


    Need me¡­?


    Need.


    The princess needed her. That stuck with her the most. Her light, her hope, her peace, needed her.


    ¡°... I¡­¡±


    With her dry throat, she forced her answer out.


    ¡°... I w-will help¡­¡±


    The princess¡¯s smile widened, so precious of a smile.


    ¡°Thank you, Allie,¡± after saying so with a sweet and gentle tone, she stood up and looked at the old man. ¡°Call the guards, and tell them to open this cell, Allie will be removed from this place.¡±


    With that, he left. A moment later, the old man returned with a pair of guards in tow. Confusion was all over the faces of the latter two.


    ¡°Princess, is it true?¡± one knight asked. ¡°You want this¡­ her to leave this dungeon?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it dangerous? What would you do with her?¡±


    ¡°She will be under my care.¡±


    ¡°But she¡¯s too dangerous to be close to you.¡±


    ¡°She won¡¯t do anything to harm me, right Allie?¡±


    Their eyes met and Allie subsequently nodded her head. Of course, that was certain, she wouldn¡¯t do anything bad to the princess. She regretted what she had done, there was no way she would do such a thing ever again.


    ¡°See?¡±


    ¡°But princess¡­¡±


    ¡°I appreciate your concern, but it will be alright. Open it.¡±


    The two knights looked at each other with hesitation, but in the end, had no choice but to follow her orders. Once the cell doors were opened, the princess entered with no hesitation and approached Allie with a smile.


    She presented her hand towards her.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go?¡±


    Allie slowly raised her hand and accepted the princess¡¯s hand, and the latter helped her stand up.


    ¡°It is settled.¡±


    The princess walked out of the cell and waited for Allie to come out.


    Allie looked at the boundary between her prison and the corridor to the outside. She took a deep breath and stepped forward. Upon taking that single step, she was overwhelmed with relief that she had to hold back her tears once she was out of her cell, that dreadful prison cell.


    ¡°First, you must be cleaned up. Then afterward, we¡¯ll eat together.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Mera,¡± the princess called. ¡°Once we return to the palace, call for your other fellow maids to help you. Clean up Allie.¡±


    The maid, Mera, reacted a bit severely as if she didn¡¯t want to do it, her lips pursed. But of course, as it was ordered by her superior, she had no choice.


    ¡°...Yes, milady.¡± she bowed her head, in an attempt to hide her disdainful gaze at Allie.


    Vernon stepped close to the princess. ¡°You need to at least have a guard to keep her on watch.¡±


    ¡°In that case, Sir Rogan. You are one of my trusted aides, watch over Allie for me.¡±


    ¡°Sure, princess.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go out into the sun.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 10: Sign of Change and Marks of Torment

    Allie resisted the urge to shudder the moment she was separated from the princess, feeling unsafe. Even though it was certain she wouldn¡¯t be harmed, she still couldn¡¯t help it. In front of her was Mera, leading her to the bath, and behind her was the knight named Rogan.


    Allie uneasily glanced at her back, seeing the knight grin at her. He seemed to be quite friendly, but Allie still felt wary, she knew nothing about this man. If she did something weird, she could imagine him striking her down with no problem.


    However, the princess does not want that. That was what Allie knew.


    Allie looked at her surroundings, so clean and neat, and beautiful. With her utterly dirty appearance, she was so out of place, she didn¡¯t even seem worthy to be walking here. Even some of the servants stared at her weirdly.


    Eventually, they arrived right at the door of the bathroom, which Allie was familiar with. The bath for the servants, or to be specific, the bath for the aristocratic children working in the palace. It was no place for a person such as Allie to use, but the princess suggested using this place.


    How kind of the princess to allow a commoner, and trash, as Allie to use a bath fit for nobles. That said, she did feel embarrassed.


    Mera turned towards Allie, and Mera, her expression wasn¡¯t exactly pleased. While gazing at Allie with a slight frown, she spoke.


    ¡°Please wait here, I will call for other maids. Sir Rogan¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll stay here, and I¡¯ll keep watch.¡±


    Mera nodded and left them with graceful steps.


    Allie silently stood by the wall with her head lowered. Rogan casually looked at Allie, as if wanting to talk. And he did, unable to resist. Well, he was quite curious and interested in the fact that this person beside him was a person who actually tried to poison the princess. After seeing what the princess was actually capable of, it was almost hilarious for him.


    ¡°Mera does not seem to like you very much.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Well I suppose that¡¯s obvious enough. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll watch out if she¡¯s about to do something terrible.¡±


    ¡°..¡±


    Allie was feeling a little baffled by the knight, he seemed too casual with her. As if she was just a normal person, despite being the person convicted and tortured after trying to poison the princess loved by all. She expected that he would show displeasure being near her. If that had been the case, she would accept it whole.


    ¡°Mera may look gentle, but I can sense a bit of danger inside those eyes of hers whenever she stares at you. Were you friends before? Almost looked like she was feeling betrayed.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Rogan stared at her face, waiting for an answer. ¡°It¡¯s alright to talk with me, you know.¡±


    Allie slowly raised her head and gazed at the knight.


    Rogan slightly tilted his head. ¡°So¡­? Mind answering my question?¡± he smiled amiably.


    ¡°... We¡­ we talked¡­ maybe we were about to be friends¡­¡±


    Mera was a noble, Allie at first never expected to be treated kindly by her. And surprisingly, she was quite friendly to a commoner such as Allie. There was not much time to talk with Mera given that she was always by the princess¡¯s side, but whenever they had a chance, even small, Mera would talk to her as an equal.


    Would it be called friendship if they treated each other that kindly? It was hard to tell while bearing in mind that Mera was still an aristocrat by birth, and Allie a commoner. However, if given more time, Allie imagined they could be friends, but she threw all the chance away by trying to kill Mera¡¯s superior.


    A question formed in Allie¡¯s head¡­ what if it all went differently? How would all fare?


    ¡°Oh¡­ That would have been interesting to see. But after the sin you committed, would things still change?¡±


    Allie does not expect such a thing would happen, ever. She knew the weight of her sin, and she knew others would not forgive her. But strangely, why does the princess, the subject of her crime, had treated her so graciously? Was that her way of saying that she had forgiven her?


    How compassionate¡­. I am undeserving of such kindness.


    Truly, the princess was the only brightest and most beautiful light in this world¡­ to Allie¡¯s world.


    ¡°But given that the princess has taken you under her wing, something should happen. I will gladly observe, if you need help feel free to ask me.¡±


    He said so with a wide grin. Allie warily looked at him. This knight, Rogan, was certainly a noble. With all the experience she had with knights, she expected he would treat her coldly and harshly. But why was it that he was being friendly here?


    Why was the princess surrounded by friendly people?


    ¡°... W-Why are you treating m-me kindly¡­?¡±


    ¡°Hm? What? You expect me to get all grumpy when interacting with you? I don¡¯t go that way.¡±


    ¡°But I am the one¡­ the one who tried to¡­¡±


    ¡°The one who tried to poison my lady. Of course I wouldn¡¯t forget that fact. But¡­ I can see that you won¡¯t do such a thing again, would you? Will you attempt to take her life away again, Allie Jelimis?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°You look like a delightful girl¡­ well originally I think. I don¡¯t want to strike you down when you have a chance for change.¡±


    ¡°... A chance for change?¡±


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    ¡°The princess had given you such, don¡¯t waste it.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    He was right.


    Allie lowered her head as that notion was engraved into her mind.


    Moments later, Mera returned with a pair of maids following behind her. One hid no emotion and her blue eyes gazed intently at Allie with a raised eyebrow, her curly golden hair bouncing at her every step. The other maid, one with short black hair, gazed at Allie with displeasure, her brown eyes scanning her from top to bottom as if irritated by how dirty Allie was.


    ¡°Ellie, Macey, she is the one who you¡¯ll be cleaning,¡± Mera said.


    ¡°By the gods¡­ she¡¯s extremely dirty, that¡¯s gonna be one hell of a clean-up.¡±


    ¡°Ellie, she¡¯s¡­ she¡¯s the one that tried to poison the princess, isn¡¯t she? Is that alright¡­?¡±


    ¡°Well, as madame Mera said, we have to.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s with the ¡®madame¡¯? Don¡¯t call me that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah well, the way you just dragged us out and gave us an order was pretty bossy of you.¡±


    ¡°...U-Um, I¡¯m sorry. But it¡¯s the order of the princess. Besides, I will be assisting you.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up with the princess ordering us to clean up this complete stranger anyway?¡±


    ¡°And isn¡¯t she a commoner¡­? I¡­ we would be cleaning her?¡±


    The blonde girl, Ellie, fixed Mera with an annoyed face. While Macey seemed to be feeling displeased at the prospect of cleaning a mere commoner.


    ¡°You two have no choice but to join me in this task, as I chose you, and is the command of her highness.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, why you gotta pick me¡­ Macey should have been enough.¡±


    ¡°W-What? Her being a commoner aside, don¡¯t you see how dirty she is? We need your rough and strong hands to rub off all the smear.¡±


    Ellie furrowed her brows. ¡°Seriously? That¡¯s the reason you could think of that I should be included in this thing?¡±


    ¡°W-Whatever, Ellie, you¡¯re with me, and so you can¡¯t just run away! Don¡¯t just leave me alone cleaning a commoner while Mera is being bossy all of a sudden.¡±


    ¡°I said I was sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, no need to be so worked up. Not like I have any other choice. That aside, who¡¯s that good-looking guy right there? A sword on the waist, a knight?¡±


    The knight stepped to the side and waved his hand with a smile. ¡°Hello there, fair lady. Mera failed to mention she has such a pretty friend,¡± he said while looking at Ellie.


    Ellie giggled. ¡°Oh my, Mera never mentioned she¡¯s always with a knight so charming.¡± she pulled her hair to the back of her ear.


    Macey gave Ellie a disturbed look, the way Ellie changed her tone into a soft and lady like was something she didn¡¯t expect. And indeed, it was pretty disturbing for her to see the crude Ellie shift attitude this instantaneously.


    ¡°Allow me to formally introduce myself. You may call me Rogan, fair lady. How may I call you?¡±


    ¡°You may call me Ellie, Sir Rogan.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you.¡±


    Rogan extended his hand for a shake, and Ellie accepted. The two stared at each other with bright eyes, one could imagine butterflies flying around them. But the two other maids, namely Mera and Macey, frowned, bothered by it.


    The two of them knew there was nothing special going on here, no first love at first sight or something similar. The two were just playing with each other. How did they know? First, Mera knew Ellie, and she often gets flirty with men she found eye catching. As for Macey, she knew Rogan as he was friends with her childhood friend Alan. She knew how playful Rogan was.


    Macey pulled Ellie away. ¡°Alright that¡¯s enough! The two of you disturb the depths of my soul,¡± she said as she glared at Rogan.


    Rogan smirked as he looked at her. ¡°Oh Macey, I didn¡¯t realize you were here. Grow a height will you?¡±


    ¡°I so hate you.¡±


    ¡°At least you feel something towards me. Hehe, you should express some feelings to Alan as you have expressed your feelings to me. Hehehe.¡±


    Macey¡¯s face contorted as she glared at Rogan. ¡°... I-It¡¯s none of your business! So shut up!¡±


    ¡°It may be so, but it¡¯s kinda annoying you know, seeing no progress to your castle. Want the help of dear skilled knight Sir Rogan here?¡±


    ¡°Hah?! No way I¡¯m taking any help from you.¡±


    ¡°Really? Well, whatever you want. Don¡¯t come crying to me if things won¡¯t go as you wanted. And oh, your ladylike mannerism just disappeared after all that shouting.¡±


    ¡°Guh.... Right, I shouldn¡¯t have lost my composure¡­¡± Macey took in a deep breath.


    ¡°You two know each other?¡± Mera asked.


    ¡°Yeah, we met when she was having a pleasant time with Alan.¡±


    Macey lowered her head, but a blush shone on her cheek.


    ¡°Oh, I see¡­¡±


    ¡°Alan, huh. Hey, Sir Rogan, mind telling me about him?¡±


    ¡°E-Ellie? What are you planning to do?¡± Macey asked worrily.


    ¡°I¡¯m just curious. I want to know more about who this Alan is that my friend is always so flustered about.¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t do i¡ª¡±


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll tell you!¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    Mera sighed and palmed her face, this was getting out of hand. She noticed Allie merely staring at the spectacle with a blank face, but it was apparent that her full attention was on the whole interaction. She should stop this.


    She clapped her hand loudly.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. No one¡¯s talking about anyone today. Time to work, we don¡¯t have all day.¡±


    ¡°Aaaaw. I was about to have more to tease Macey about.¡±


    ¡°I knew it! It was for that! T-Thank you Mera.¡±


    ¡°It was not my intention but¡­.okay.¡±


    Mera pushed the maids into the bathroom before telling Allie to enter. She didn¡¯t have that soft and warm eyes when she looked at the other maids. It pained Allie¡¯s heart a little upon seeing this cold distance between them, but it was to be expected, and she deserved it.


    On that thought, would that be changed in the future? Would the change that the knight, Rogan, said she had a chance with, ever come?


    Allie upon seeing the friendship between the maids, and how the knight easily made friends, almost blinded her. The way they interacted was so brilliant, and she felt envious. Her crime will forever be engraved in this world, but could she have friends again? Or perhaps restore the past ones?


    She had no idea. She was not sure if there were such hope.


    ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll be staying here.¡±


    Rogan said before leaning his back on the wall. It was common courtesy to do so. To be honest, Allie would be so embarrassed if there was a man watching. There would be a question of danger, but he was just right by the door, one could easily call for help. Besides, not like Allie could do anything dangerous.


    Allie glanced at him for a moment, then he smiled. She on the other hand, couldn¡¯t respond and stepped into the bathroom. As she perceived the chamber, she held down a gasp. The bathroom that was always used by the cooks in the kitchen was already luxurious, but this one here was so much more.


    The decorations on the walls and columns were made with the most expensive of metal, made with so much detail that they must have been made by skillful and expensive craftsmen. The floor was made of fine marble, they began to glisten the moment the maids lit up the chandeliers on the ceilings.


    On the sides there were what appears to be several private rooms, maybe bathrooms when the maids wanted to take a bath privately. In the middle of the chamber was a pool, filled with clear water. Allie was almost overwhelmed by the sheer luxury enjoyed by the maids.


    ¡°We obviously shouldn¡¯t use the pool for this,¡± Ellie said.


    ¡°We¡¯ll do it here then. Commoner, sit down.¡± Macey placed a wooden chair right by the pool.


    Allie meekly followed what she said.


    Ellie suddenly pointed at her. ¡°Ah take off your clothes. Going to throw away those disgusting things.¡±


    Allie slowly removed her clothes while feeling hesitant. She didn¡¯t want them exposed, but she had no choice. She removed her shirt, gradually, her skin was revealed, which caused Ellie and Macey to pause.


    Her shirt fully removed, her skin laden with scars were revealed. Scars from whips, slashes, pierces, torn from punches, such scars were all over her body. Allie fidgeted for a moment, feeling uncomfortable.


    Mera upon seeing those scars slightly looked away. ¡°...Healing spells should have been able to erase them, but it would appear they didn¡¯t properly cast them.¡±


    ¡°Um, should we cast healing spells on her after cleansing? They¡¯re not exactly good to look at.¡± Macey asked, disturbed.


    ¡°...That was not part of the order.¡±


    ¡°Should be fine, right? Macey can cast it pretty easily.¡±


    ¡°...For now, don¡¯t. I¡¯ll talk to the princess later.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°Ugh, whatever.¡± Ellie scratched her head. ¡°Let¡¯s just do our task.¡±


    Ellie left and shortly brought a water filled bucket, while Macey went to grab the soaps, and Mera grabbed a few cloths. Given how extremely dirty she was, after warning her, Ellie dumped the entire bucket.


    ¡°This gonna take a while. Oh yes, remember to brush your teeth after this.¡±


    Macey and Mera rubbed the soaps in their hands on Allie¡¯s body, before using the cloths.


    Allie felt terribly embarrassed and ashamed. But those she must bear. She ended up here due to the princess¡¯s kindness after all.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 11: The Hope to Start Anew

    Allie rubbed her hands together, feeling a bit weird about the new dress she was given. For so long she had worn those rags that wearing a normal dress had felt strange, but they were comfortable nonetheless. But because of that comfortable feeling, she was fidgety.


    Furthermore, she felt especially nice that she had been cleaned, her body felt so refreshing and light. Her skin was smooth, and her face felt softer. Her hair was shiny and pretty. In short, she was now presentable.


    The fragrance of the soap that went on her skin was pleasant to the nose, even to her. It took some time to clean her entire body, how embarrassed she was that even the maids, nobles, had to clean every part of her body. That made her fear their wrath once they were released from the bounds of an order from royalty. Would they treat Allie harshly once they meet again? Allie hoped it wouldn¡¯t.


    At the moment, she was being led by Mera somewhere as they walked down the palace corridor, Rogan following behind them. Incidentally, Allie almost blushed, or perhaps a little, when Rogan complimented her when she left the bath chamber wearing a new dress and all neat.


    She could not understand him at all, why was he so friendly with her? Not just simply friendly, but openly welcoming with her as well, even in front of the other aristocratic maids. It would be unthinkable that a noble would be that kind with no cost. Even Mera was reserved when they spoke with each other in the past.


    However, truth be told, she was feeling nice when someone was friendly with her ¡ª after being alone in that dungeon, and being tortured before that.


    A short while later, they arrived at a place that Allie was familiar with, she took in a sharp breath upon realizing this. It almost made her emotional, and she hardened her eyes to stop the tears from coming out. In front of her was a familiar door, and beyond it should be a place she knew very well.


    A kitchen.


    However, it was no common kitchen. It was the one that she used when she was appointed as the personal chef of the princess. The room where she once had full control.


    Mera opened the set of doors.


    And indeed, it was the same room. The tables, the kitchenware, everything.


    Inside, sitting by the table, was the princess. Before her, laid on the table were steel plates with lids on. She turned towards Allie and smiled.


    ¡°Finally, you¡¯ve arrived. Enter.¡±


    While feeling tense, Allie stepped inside the kitchen, her eyes peered around intensely. A heavy weight formed in her chest.


    She stopped right before the princess¡¯s table.


    ¡°Is something wrong¡­?¡± the princess asked.


    Allie shivered, clasping her hands together, then¡­ tears began welling up in her eyes. She took a breath, but it was stuck in her throat. She rubbed the tears crawling down her cheeks with her wrists, but they never end.


    She couldn¡¯t bear it anymore. This was her world, something so special to her. One that she thought she had lost, one that she never thought she would be able to enter once more.


    Her lips trembled and she covered her eyes.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I¡­¡±


    Was it an apology for crying right in front of the princess, or was it for the crimes she had committed?


    ¡°... It¡¯s alright. Cry your heart out¡­¡± the kind princess said so softly. Looking at Allie with a tender expression.


    And so Allie cried out all her suffering, her sadness, her loneliness, her joy, and her hope.


    ***


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    Once Allie has gained her composure, she sat down with the princess by the table.


    ¡°I know you¡¯re hungry, so I had the best of the menu made.¡±


    She opened everything on the table, and Allie was assaulted by the pleasant smell of warm and steaming food. The dishes before her were so colorful and beautiful.


    The old man, Vernon, poured some juices on a pair of glasses. His presence shook Allie for a moment, but with the princess close to her, she didn¡¯t run away this time. Incidentally, Mera left for a moment to change her clothes after being splashed by some water in the bathroom.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be eating together, Allie. Alright, let¡¯s go, I am quite already hungry.¡±


    Allie, with a small smile, nodded and began placing food on her plate, and the princess on her own. When that was done, Allie scooped a spoonful, and to her mouth the food went. Her eyes widened, the food was so delightful, intensely delicious. Sweet, sour, salty. All balanced.


    She ate again. She ate so fast that she almost choked, thus she drank the fruit juice.


    ¡°Mmmm.¡±


    She almost couldn¡¯t comprehend how pleasant everything was, she almost cried. She was so lost in the moment that she had forgotten proper dining etiquette.


    But the princess didn¡¯t seem to mind.


    At every moment that passed, the amount of food decreased. Before Allie was finished, the princess had already stopped for a while now and drank her juice, her plate empty. Allie noticed this and stopped herself.


    The princess held out her hand. ¡°Please Allie, eat if you still want. I am already full, I can only eat so much.¡± she giggled.


    Allie felt lighter seeing how lighthearted the princess was. And so, she continued. She still had some space left in her stomach, however, the princess warned her.


    ¡°But Allie, I suggest not to eat too much, or you might get a bad case of a stomachache. Even though you have had some proper food days before, it won¡¯t hurt to be careful.¡±


    Allie paused and nodded her head. The princess was right.


    Thus, she took one last spoon before setting it down and drinking a glass of juice.


    ¡°Do you feel a lot better now?¡±


    ¡°Um, y-yes.¡±


    ¡°Great. These dishes were prepared by your former workmates, by the way.¡±


    Lowering her head, Allie recalled her old workmates. She remembered the times they had cooked together, and had some fun, even though Allie was the more conserved one. She wondered how they reacted when they heard what she did. Do they hate her now? Even though they prepared the dishes, the princess certainly ordered them to do so.


    Did they like making food for Allie? One they trusted but was actually an enemy of the crown all along?


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Do you want to meet them?¡±


    Allie frantically looked at the princess. ¡°... N-No¡­ I¡­ I don¡¯t think they would want to see me.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? I won¡¯t force you, it is your choice. You may meet them any time you want.¡±


    ¡°Should¡­ Should I meet them?¡± Allie asked, wanting a piece of advice from the princess.


    ¡°Whatever you think will make you feel better. Will you feel better if you meet them or not?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°...No rush to make up your thoughts. But they did give a lot of effort into cooking all the food. Perhaps that says something.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°In any case, I will be giving you your free time for today. Enjoy this kitchen, do whatever you want. Tomorrow, let¡¯s talk.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    The princess smiled kindly. ¡°I hope you find joy in your free time. That said, I¡¯m afraid there will be a guard stationed outside the kitchen, he must be with you whenever you go out. My family does not want you to roam around without any eyes. I hope you understand.¡±


    ¡°...I understand.¡±


    That was to be expected, Allie was still a criminal only brought out of the dungeon by the princess. No matter how one looks at it, she was still a dangerous criminal and the one who tried to poison the princess. That crime was not so easily forgiven. The princess might have, but the others definitely won¡¯t.


    ¡°And don¡¯t worry, you will not be treated harshly here. I want you to have a pleasant time, Allie.¡±


    Those words from her put Allie at ease.


    ¡°Now then, I will be leaving you for now.¡±


    The princess ordered Vernon to clean out the table and placed the empty plates on a cart. Once that was finished, the princess stood up.


    ¡°See you later, Allie.¡±


    With that, the princess left. Allie was now alone, the kitchen silent as she looked around. She peered closely at her surroundings¡­ she felt nostalgia, the nostalgia of cooking, of the joy she once felt whenever she cooked.


    She remembered how she enjoyed experimenting with a new recipe. The thrill of making something delicious, and the fascination with every failure. It brought a smile to her face.


    She rose from her seat and touched the table before slowly walking around, her fingers sliding on the solid and smooth surfaces, they were neat, as if it was just been cleaned very recently, maybe while she was bathing. Her chest warmed up, and her eyes moistened. Not long when she found herself right by some vegetables and fruits.


    Upon touching the rough ingredients, a soft smile blossomed on her face. How she missed this so much. She was in bliss, her heart full of gratitude, hope was within reach. The hope to start anew.


    She grabbed the nearby cutting board and then picked up a knife. Pressing the blade into the vegetable, she pushed down. The sensation of the cut, the smell of the ingredient, it pleased her, filling her with wholesome joy.


    She cut and cut.


    She had no particular goal in mind, no idea of what to cook. But she was doing what she wanted. There was no need to think, only follow the process.


    The result did not matter, what mattered was that she was once again doing what she loved ¡ª cooking.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 12: Meras Resentment?

    Mera straightened the fresh and clean maid dress after the last one had gotten wet and a bit dirty after bathing Allie. Thinking about it, it irked her whenever she heard or think that name. The worst whenever she utters it.


    She was not exactly pleased when she was ordered to bathe that traitor. In fact, she wanted to refuse the task, but there was no way she would go against the order of the princess. And, it was absurd to disobey because she disliked the person.


    ¡°Want to drink some tea in the meantime, Mera? At least to rid that wrinkle on your brow.¡± One of her friends, Ellie, commented while leaning on the wall.


    Like Mera, they also changed their clothes after bathing the traitor. Even though that they got ahead first, Ellie and Macey were kind enough to wait for her.


    ¡°I still have to return to my work.¡±


    Mera walked towards the mirror, fixing and combing her hair.


    ¡°Oh¡­ I just guessed you would like to cool off. You didn¡¯t seem to particularly like what you were doing earlier, cleaning that girl.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°That was rough,¡± spoke Macey. ¡°Those scars, what sort of treatment did she receive down there? I couldn¡¯t comprehend.¡±


    For young noble ladies such as them, it was hard to imagine how prisoners would be treated, for they never saw the darker sides of society. When they saw that traitor earlier, they caught a glimpse of it, but they still had no idea of to what extent those in power would inflict suffering just to get what they want.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about it, Macey. It will only serve to stress you. If I have to say something, she was only given her due punishment,¡± Ellie shrugged.


    ¡°I suppose. Attempting to assassinate the princess, a royal, is no small crime.¡±


    ¡°But why is the princess even bringing her back to her wing?¡±


    Ellie pointed an inquisitive look toward Mera, followed by Macey. Mera understood their concern, bringing a criminal back to her side would only serve to endanger her once more. More or less, it could be described as a foolish choice. But Mera didn¡¯t want to question the princess¡¯s decision.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. But I will be watching her closely. If she does something stupid, the moment I see it, I will handle her myself.¡±


    The two maids flinched, taken aback by her words, in addition to doubt. It was hard to believe that the Mera they knew would do something so scary. However, it was not far from what Mera was capable of doing, setting aside if she would actually do something dangerous.


    Knowing that Allie had no special abilities, Mera was confident she could take her out pretty easily. Mera has been practicing hard in Physical Enhancement. Even if she was struggling in spellcasting, her physical strength given by Physical Enhancement was something to be feared by a plain commoner.


    If she could not even handle a dangerous normal person, then what was the point of all her training? She worked in obtaining special abilities to help where she could, bearing in mind that her colleagues with the princess were fighters themselves. Rogan was a knight, and Vernon may be a butler, but he was extremely capable himself. Even the princess was skillful. Only Mera was the one stuck at the back of them all.


    She didn¡¯t want to be a burden. She wanted to be useful. She didn¡¯t want to be the one always left behind.


    To be honest, she was not exactly intending to learn magic whatsoever at first. She was just about to be a normal maid. But then she was requested to learn magic as well, and add to it Physical Enhancement, she had no choice but to do so. Well not like she was against it, to begin with, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to learn, especially if she would be training with the princess of the kingdom.


    However, being overshadowed by the talented individuals around the princess made Mera feel inferior. It made her feel useless. Thus, she gained more motivation in improving. She wanted to catch up with her colleagues, to at least not fall behind.


    ¡°Woah, scary. You hate that girl, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Why would you say that?¡±


    ¡°I mean, it¡¯s quite obvious. And you now just threatened her, whatever you may be planning to do with her.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say I resent her¡­ just¡­ I don¡¯t like her. She tried to kill milady after all. I am just wary.¡±


    ¡°Nah, I sense resentment. Don¡¯t you agree with me, Macey?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Mera must be really angry with that commoner girl.¡±


    ¡°... I¡­ let¡¯s not talk about this.¡±


    ¡°Aight, if you say so, madam.¡±


    ¡°And can you please stop calling me that? It¡¯s embarrassing and bothersome.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad after you acted all bossy earlier,¡± Ellie chuckled. ¡°But aren¡¯t you technically our superior, you being the princess¡¯s personal maid and all.¡±


    ¡°... Mm.¡± Ellie was right, her rank was higher than her friends. She could even order them whenever she wanted, and they would have no room to complain. ¡°But¡­ I prefer not to see it that way.¡±


    ¡°Aaaw, look at her, Macey. So sweet.~¡±


    Macey gracefully covered her mouth and giggled.


    ¡°Stop it you two. Anyhow, I¡¯m done here, I¡¯ll be going.¡±


    ¡°Ah, before you go,¡± Macey stopped Mera for a moment. ¡°I know you don¡¯t like that commoner girl. But you should keep your emotions in check. Be professional.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying, Macey? Just as I said, I have no hatred, I just dislike her.¡±


    Macey sighed with a shake of her head. ¡°Whatever you say then¡­¡±


    With a concerned look, Mera continued onward and left the room. She pondered what her friends had just said.


    That¡¯s not¡­ I don¡¯t hate her, don¡¯t I?


    She just didn¡¯t like being near the traitor.


    But perhaps, if that was what her friends were saying, then perhaps it was true. That notion lingered in her mind as she kept contemplating what she truly felt about the situation ¡ª to her, dislike was different from hatred.


    A moment later, she arrived at the princess¡¯s study room, where the group was already. The princess sat on a chair, her hand held out. What surprised Mera was that the princess¡¯s hand was covered in white mist, a mist of cold. She tilted her hand, and the white mist moved with it.


    ¡°This part of the spell is simple, but casting the other parts will prove to be a challenge.¡±


    Mera closed the door, and the princess glanced at her for but a moment when Rogan spoke.


    ¡°Learning another spell again, you sure like to work fast, princess.¡±


    ¡°Just feeling it out, I have yet to even develop the other spells I know. Aside from spells, I am still struggling with physical enhancement it seems. I will need to give more time to practicing it lest I damage myself.¡±


    ¡°Which reminds me,¡± Vernon interjected. ¡°You will have your academics again soon in a few days. Given that you will be busy, what is your plan for that?¡±


    ¡°I will tell Father later to pause my lessons for the meantime. As we are about to speak again after I suddenly had Allie set free, I will bring up the topic.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, your highness, you shouldn¡¯t make such a crucial decision without consulting the king.¡±


    ¡°I have full jurisdiction over Allie, I should have no need to tell that I plan to bring her out. But yes, it should be proper etiquette to tell my father about it. But I don¡¯t want to debate my plan, so I decided to make it a surprise.¡±


    ¡°Still, I never thought you would just give her back her old job, just like that.¡± Vernon sighed.


    ¡°I did not give it back, I just let her have some time of peace.¡±


    ¡°The very thought of giving your assassin a time of peace baffles me so. Am I to take you have forgiven her?¡±


    The princess merely shrugged. ¡°Allie is a sweet girl.¡±


    Mera, upon hearing that, flinched.


    ¡°Is it your kindness the reason behind his action?¡± Vernon asked.


    The princess curiously looked up at him. ¡°Kindness¡­? Yes, perhaps. In the end, I can¡¯t bear to watch someone suffer too much even if I act unbothered¡­ Yes¡­ perhaps that is the reason.¡±


    The princess lowered her gaze with a sad smile. It would appear the pure princess still had the mercy to give to the one who attempted to assassinate her. Thinking about it disturbed Mera. Why would the princess even give that traitor a second chance? The chance even allowed the traitor to face the princess again.


    Vernon observed the princess with slightly narrowed eyes before looking away as if he was pondering something he was puzzled with.


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    ¡°By the way, I talked with that girl,¡± said Rogan. ¡°Yeah, she seemed nice. Although she does¡­ how do I say this¡­ broken? But I guess suffering does break a person. I surely don¡¯t want to experience something like that.¡±


    ¡°Oh really, Sir Rogan?¡± the princess shifted her eyes towards Rogan, an intrigued smile on her face. ¡°Would you not suffer for me when it is necessary?¡± she pouted a little.


    Rogan upon seeing the princess¡¯s face chuckled with a wry smile. ¡°Princess what are you saying? Does that even need to be asked? Of course, if I have to suffer for you, I will do it with no hesitation.¡±


    ¡°But I t-thought you don¡¯t want to experience something like it.¡±


    ¡°That was a different case, princess. If my suffering has meaning, so be it. If its meaning is for you, then I will throw myself into it head first.¡±


    ¡°Rogan¡­¡± the mist on her hand froze. The princess averted her gaze with a tiny smile, her cheeks turning red a little. ¡°Oh my, you do know how to flatter.¡±


    ¡°Flatter? Oh no, I was not intending to flatter, it is the truth.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ it, um, it did put me at ease to know how far you will go¡­ for¡­ for me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to put you at ease.¡±


    Seeing them, Mera grasped her hands together tightly and stiffened her face. She resisted the tinge of pain in her heart.


    ¡°But don¡¯t worry, Sir Rogan. I won¡¯t drag you to a place that will cause you suffering.¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I am quite relieved.¡± Rogan grinned.


    ¡°Although you might get hurt a little.¡±


    ¡°Sure... I can take that.¡±


    The princess, with a smile, fixed her posture as she returned her gaze to the mist in her hand. Amidst the mist then formed tiny pieces of ice. So tiny that they swirled with the swirling mist.


    ¡°It is manageable on a small scale. But, still needs a lot of work.¡± the princess finally shifted her gaze towards Mera. ¡°Good work, Mera. Ah, I forgot to tell you. Convey my thanks to your friends that helped with Allie.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, I will convey your message.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­?¡± The princess looked at Mera, seemingly puzzled upon noticing something. But then merely nodded her head. ¡°Thank you. For now, let¡¯s have a peaceful time. Mera, you should take this opportunity to practice.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­¡±


    Mera gazed at Vernon to which the latter nodded. After walking next to Vernon, Mera controlled her mana. Mera¡¯s strength appeared to be in physical enhancement, thus Vernon had suddenly become her coach. She didn¡¯t know how precisely it happened, but it just ended up this way.


    For her spellcasting, she could cast a couple of basic spells, fireball, palm shield, and healing. Fireball was nothing too powerful but should be enough to damage a normal soldier. Palm shield however, she could only cast about half of her body, and the strength of the shield was not powerful at all. A knight could break her shield pretty easily. For her healing magic, it was below average, but would be usable in emergencies.


    Given that she had a better affinity for Physical Enhancement, she should be focusing her training on that part. This was suggested at first by Vernon, Mera could never make that kind of suggestion, she was just following what she was told. Truth be told, she did find it more pleasant to use Physical Enhancement.


    Hearing this suggestion, the princess had no qualms and let them do as they pleased.


    Although, Mera thought it was weird that she would be casting mana on her body to become physically stronger. As a lady, she found it more elegant and appropriate to be going into spellcasting. She found it a bit comical imagining that she would be punching something in her dress.


    But nothing can be done about it, she just had to use what she could. Not like focusing on Physical Enhancement meant she would stop with spellcasting. When she becomes more proficient in Physical Enhancement, she planned to practice more on spellcasting.


    ¡°M-Milady, I have a matter I should tell you.¡±


    ¡°That is?¡±


    ¡°About¡­ about the traitor¡­ My friends expressed their concerns about the scars on her body.¡±


    ¡°Scars, on Allie¡¯s? How bad?¡±


    ¡°They are quite terrible. I mean to ask if the scars should be healed. Macey is adept in healing magic, she should be able to erase the scars.¡±


    The traitor¡¯s wounds basically had been healed, thus with Mera¡¯s level of healing magic, she wouldn¡¯t be able to properly erase the scars. She would need someone¡¯s help to do it, and someone with Macey¡¯s skill in healing should be enough.


    ¡°...¡± the princess seemed to be pondering. ¡°I will speak to Allie about it.¡±


    Mera bowed her head, not for the sake of the traitor, but only to thank the princess for listening to her words. Indeed, Mera was disturbed by the scars, but only because she was surprised at how much the traitor was made to suffer, not because she pitied her.


    In truth, she didn¡¯t want anything to do with that traitor. She wanted to keep her distance, for she was worried that she may come to realize the hate she was feeling, as what was implied by her friends. However, as the princess¡¯s maid, she would be ordered what she may dislike, so she took what Macey said to heart. To keep it professional.


    ***


    Allie was at the moment rubbing some plates clean with a clean white cloth, ones she had been using. She was feeling a bit tired, even so, there was still excitement. Spending all the time she had for cooking, and eating a dish just enough for one person, for herself.


    Truth be told, she had thought of cooking for the princess for dinner. But she felt like she was still not in that place, nor was she requested to do so. The people of the palace wouldn¡¯t trust her yet as the one who poisoned her cooking in an attempt to kill the princess.


    It saddened her of course, but she was well aware of the threat she possessed.


    In the end, she decided to cook with what ingredients she had, just for herself. It was more or less for her to feel how it was in the past again. She cooked and tasted her own food. Aside from that, she arranged the kitchen, the wares, and stuff to her liking.


    She had her preferred arrangement and she did arrange this kitchen in the past. Of course, given that she was incarcerated, the maids cleaned this place up.


    Rearranging this kitchen to her own design was quite fun, a smile would blossom on her face whenever she did. She was proud and grateful. However, she felt something was lacking, something was missing. And she realized it immediately.


    She was with no purpose.


    A chef¡¯s purpose was to cook for someone. She did cook for herself, but she didn¡¯t feel completely fulfilled, she lacked something much more.


    Her purpose was once to cook for the royal family. And then to the princess herself. But that was in the past. And at present, she was not given a formal position, and who she was to officially serve. Although, she was under the impression that she was serving the princess again, that was not yet official.


    Allie was still ultimately a criminal under a watchful gaze. If she did something suspicious, she feared she would be struck down, or thrown back to that dreadful dungeon. She didn¡¯t want to go back there again. The thought of being inside that prison cell again made her shudder.


    She put down the white cloth and grasped her hands together, to warm them up from the feeling of coldness, and stop the trembling. She took in a sharp shaking breath.


    Stop thinking about it¡­ stop¡­stop.


    She told herself.


    But removing them from her mind was easier said than done. She bit her lip and closed her eyes. Even now, in this small peaceful, and joyful time, the nightmares that haunt her while awake never left her. She touched the scars through the fabric of her clothes, she flinched at a touch as she remembered how those scars were formed, the pain and the blood.


    That hell.


    It was then that knocking sounded on the door. Allie jerked in surprise and frantically rubbed her eyes to remove the tears.


    The door opened just after Allie fixed herself. Entered a familiar face, the maid Mera, wearing a neutral expression. Her eyes gazed around before fixing themselves on Allie.


    ¡°... I will be taking you to your room.¡±


    Allie felt a little surprised that she actually had a room to use, she half expected she would be sleeping here in the kitchen. That she wouldn¡¯t mind. But to be honest, she felt relieved.


    ¡°Finish what you¡¯re doing, I will only give you a moment.¡±


    Mera sounded a bit mean, and Allie slightly nodded and rushed to finish her work. Allie recalled the time when Mera and her first interacted, comparing now, how much it changed.


    Amidst while working, she stole a glance at Mera, but when the latter seemed to have realized it, Allie frantically looked away.


    A moment later, Allie was done with her work, and Mera led her to her personal quarter, which was still on the first floor. A knight was following behind them, Allie¡¯s guard, one she wasn¡¯t familiar with. It wasn¡¯t comfortable to know that if she whenever decides to go out of her room, she would be followed.


    But at least the guard was silent and wasn¡¯t doing anything harsh to her.


    They arrived, and Mera opened the door with a key in hand to unlock it. After the lock clicked open, she pulled out the key and presented it to Allie.


    ¡°Here is the key to your room.¡±


    Allie received it while dumbfounded. Everything was almost as if it was back to normal. Like having a room of her own.


    ¡°The princess said to have a pleasant sleep, you will be having breakfast together tomorrow and a talk.¡±


    ¡°... Y-Yes.¡±


    ¡°Bear in mind that you will be guarded at all times. If you decide to leave your room, you must always have a guard. If you are discovered without one, it will spell trouble for you.¡±


    Allie glanced at her guard before Mera added.


    ¡°The shift will change shortly, so expect a different face.¡±


    Of course a different guard would be assigned at night. Even a knight had to rest.


    ¡°It is advised to lock your room when you sleep.¡±


    She may have said advised, but it was something she must do.


    ¡°There are also clothes for you in the cabinet¡­ And that will be all from me. You may rest.¡±


    Mera began walking away, but Allie called out to her with hesitation.


    ¡°W-Wait, Mera¡ª¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Allie swallowed as she received an exasperated gaze from the maid.


    ¡°... No, f-forgive me. There is nothing.¡±


    Without giving a response, Mera walked away.


    Allie called out to her because she wanted to talk, even for just a little. But seeing that Mera was displeased about it, Allie changed her mind. For her own, and Mera¡¯s sake.


    She pursed her lips and clenched the key in her hand tight before entering her room. Upon closing the door, she took a deep breath, learning the smell of the room. Her eyes scanned around, on the far side was a window, curtains apart, the darkness on the other side.


    There was a small desk in the corner, and a bed big enough for one person. Everything was neat and clean. This room was different from the one she had before, this one seemed to be much better. The bed may be enough for one person, but she could freely roll around on it, one can even perhaps fit another person there.


    She walked towards a drawer right beside her bed and placed the key on top of it. Her gaze then turned to a cabinet, which she opened and confirmed that there were indeed clothes hanging inside it. There was even a chef¡¯s outfit in there.


    She raised her hand and touched the fabric of the outfit. Her chest warmed up, the soft sensation on her skin as it rubbed against the fabric was both pleasant and nostalgic. She closed her hand and forced herself to close the cabinet.


    She heaved a deep sigh before walking and sitting down on the bed. After removing her boots, she lied her back on the soft surface, indeed so soft. Her body sank a little due to the sheer softness of the bed, and the sheets were so pleasant to feel.


    It was almost heavenly.


    She grabbed a pillow and hugged it tightly. A small smile formed on her lips.


    This bed was heaven, worlds apart, compared to the rough, hard, and dirty floor of that dark chamber. In there, there were no sheets to cover herself from the cold but had to use her arms and fold herself. No pillow for her head to lay on but the stone cold floor, and there was no soft cushion for her back to lie upon.


    This moment right now was so wonderful.


    She caressed the pillow with the tips of her fingers, how pleasing it was. So comforting.


    And the root cause of that comfort was the princess.


    She recalled what Mera said about meeting tomorrow with the princess. It must be about something serious.


    It must have something to do with the deal she made with her. One about tracking down her friends. She knew what deal she made, and agreed with her own decision wholeheartedly. Truth be told, she still felt bitter about her friends never even attempting to save her.


    Her trust in them degraded. There was even some thought that they might have only used her. It made her wonder, did Oryn truly love her? Or was he only playing with her heart to have what they wanted?


    Allie did fall in love with Oryn, she loved him so much that she was willing to go far for him, even if he had already died. However, because of all the suffering, she couldn¡¯t feel the warmth of love anymore. Even with all the kisses, the hug, and the intimate touch she had with Oryn. The words, the whispers, the warmth, the joy, all good things with him. It was hard to believe that her love had faded, but it did.


    How could despair erase such wonderful things from her mind and heart? And how doubt can make one distrust people very important to them. How terrifying.


    Even so, she had hoped that Oryn had at least cared about her. She hoped that he valued the time they had together.


    However, now was not the time to think about the past, for it hurt her greatly.


    For now, it was time to think about the future and the present.


    Allie was willing to listen to the princess and will help if it was in her ability.


    Even so, betrayal was not an easy thing to do if some things were genuine.


    She was feeling tired, and thus she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.

 Vernon Escaleo [Character Sheet]

    Author''s Note:


    Illustrator is Elouise Moon</a>


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Here''s a character sheet of Vernon for everyone! :)


    Thank you to my Patreon supporters for making art for Vernon possible! He turned out pretty cool looking XD.


    Also thank you to my readers for reading this far.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 13: The Disposable Pawn

    Allie patted her clothes straight, she had a pleasant air of fragrance about her, and her hair was still a bit wet. Beforehand, she had to leave the room to go to the bathroom, and of course she consulted with the knight guarding her. To her surprise, a bathroom was prepared for her to use, which the knight told her. In fact, there was no one else there but her, which was a relief, to be honest. It would seem they have prepared that bath just for her.


    Still, she didn¡¯t expect she would be treated this well, as she was still technically a dangerous individual, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if she was treated harshly in general. However, it didn¡¯t happen, she was treated hospitably.


    Certainly it was because of the kindness of the princess. That being said, Allie was worried that the royal family might sooner or later shun her requests, annoyed at her. It was absurd enough to let a criminal such as Allie set free without chains tied around her arms.


    Allie combed her hair, making sure she appeared presentable before going to meet the princess. Although she was still waiting for someone to call her. While looking at herself in the mirror, she nodded with a faint smile. She had not seen herself when she was in her terrible state ¡ª but perhaps in the reflections in the water, or glass, or metal surfaces. Indeed, her eyes have perhaps perceived her face at times, but she chose not to see.


    Maybe she was afraid of seeing herself.


    However now, she looked quite better.


    Although, no amount of pretty dress or thorough bath could hide what she went through. It was all on the surface, and inside, she had many doubts and still suffering.


    Loneliness calls upon all kinds of nightmares.


    She touched one of her scars beneath the fabric of her clothes. Her lips pursed.


    She wouldn¡¯t mind if she was always alone in the past, before her crimes. But now, she dreaded it. She wanted a company that would make her forget all the bad things.


    Knockings rang on the door.


    ¡°Coming!¡± she frantically rushed to open the door, then greeted by Mera¡¯s face. She had expected it would be her and still wearing that grumpy face.


    ¡°The princess calls for you. Follow.¡±


    With a small wry smile, Allie nodded and left the room before closing the door, and locking it. She followed Mera, walking down the corridor, then arriving at the stairs.


    Allie glanced at Mera, wanting to have a little talk. But the distance between them was so great, it was impossible. Ultimately in addition to the fact that she was a mere commoner, and Mera a noble, Allie wouldn¡¯t dare talk to her as equals, not anymore. Even though she wanted to, she truly wanted to.


    With sad eyes, she lowered her gaze. Mera on the other hand didn¡¯t even bother to give her a glance.


    Eventually, upstairs, they arrived at a room and entered. The princess was already inside along with her other servants, sitting by a long table. The windows were open, letting the gentle wind inside, and the curtains apart, letting the morning sun light up the room. On the table placed already several steel plates, and dishes covered with lids.


    The princess turned her head to look at Allie with a gentle smile. At her ever-so-kind face, Allie felt elated. Her worries, her sadness, and her memories of suffering seemed to be fading away.


    ¡°Sit with me,¡± the princess said.


    Allie walked towards the chair pointed by the princess, opposite the latter. Mera stood by the wall, and the knight guarding Allie stood on the wall behind her.


    ¡°Yo.¡±


    ¡°Rogan.¡±


    The two knights briefly greeted each other.


    ¡°Let us dine.¡±


    The princess signaled for her attendants to open the covered food, the pleasant smell immediately permeating the air.


    And thus, they began dining. Just the two of them.


    ¡°So, how was yesterday? I hope you had a good time in the kitchen.¡±


    ¡°It¡­ It was wonderful. Being in the kitchen makes me so happy. I had a great time.¡±


    Allie smiled genuinely.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad. Did you try cooking? Is your skill still the same as ever?¡±


    ¡°... Well¡­ to be honest, it was a strange feeling at first. My hands were shaking when I hold the knife to cut the ingredients. It¡­ it has been so long.¡±


    ¡°And the taste? I remember you have particularly delicious food in the past.¡±


    ¡°I think¡­ I think they are good. But I still need some time to practice.¡±


    The princess sweetly smiled. ¡°Wonderful. I do miss your cooking.¡±


    ¡°R-Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ your cooking was different from the others, superior.¡±


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°...¡±


    Embarrassed, Allie averted her gaze. She had tried tasting her own food, which was delicious in her opinion. However, she feared that her imprisonment and the lack of good food had changed her sense of taste. She feared that what she tasted delicious, would be stale to the princess.


    ¡°In any case, please tell me what you tried cooking. I am quite interested.¡±


    Allie returned her gaze to the princess. She was still feeling embarrassed, but she told the princess about her experience in the kitchen. The princess listened with full attention, her eyes shining in anticipation.


    This made Allie recall her interaction in the past with the princess. Those were bizarre moments, but she did feel happy that the princess found her food delicious enough to make her a personal chef.


    As she told the story to the princess, Allie felt elation. Her terrible experience in the dungeon had slipped away from her mind, as she was immersed in conversing with the princess.


    This was the companionship that she was searching for. With the princess, she didn¡¯t feel lonely, no sadness, no pain. It was just peace and happiness.


    Before she knew it, they have eaten all the food on the table.


    ¡°Oh my, looks like a ate a lot more than I intended,¡± said the princess. ¡°But they are delicious. Your former co-workers have improved a lot.¡±


    ¡°... That¡¯s great.¡±


    Indeed it was.


    The princess drank her juice, then ordered for the empty plates to be removed from the table, which was then placed on a small table in the corner. It would seem they were not yet finished.


    ¡°Now then, I would like to talk about something important, Allie.¡±


    The princess raised her eyes to look at the guard looking out for Allie. ¡°Leave the room for a while.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    The knight left and Rogan locked the door.


    ¡°Allie, you said you will help me, yes?¡±


    ¡°...Yes.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Your role will be vital, you could even say you will be the central point in all of this.¡±


    Allie swallowed nervously. ¡°W-What will I be doing?¡±


    ¡°Well, first, you will need to prepare yourself. You will be going into the city. The last base you know is in the city, right?¡±


    ¡°... Yes, it was in the city.¡±


    ¡°Where exactly?¡±


    ¡°It has been years ago. But, it is on the western part of the city.¡±


    Princess turned her gaze towards the old man. ¡°Map.¡±


    The old man unfurled a map and placed it on the table before stepping back.


    ¡°If you would point where it is, please.¡±


    Allie stared at the map and recalled where it was. She couldn¡¯t tell exactly, but she knew roughly where it was by basing on the gate, the roads, and the distance from the park.


    She pointed with her index finger. ¡°I-It should be around here.¡±


    ¡°Hm. I see. So this was years ago, how do you communicate with them?¡±


    ¡°I-I was frequently sent to report to others. But not so much as there was not much to report.¡±


    ¡°What is the report about?¡±


    ¡°Typically about you, princess.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°Your actions, where you go, how you behave, your hobbies, things that Oryn observed. I don¡¯t know why. They seem to be particular about how you move about in the palace.¡±


    ¡°Huh. So they still send you. I was aware that Oryn had other means of communication.¡±


    ¡°Oryn mentioned that the allies in the city only have that means, and he does not, just to be safe, and less risky. And that mean of communication is only made for important matters.¡±


    ¡°Why are they so particular about how I move around the palace?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s alright¡­ How do you meet with your friends normally?¡±


    ¡°...I am to go to a public place, all in sequence. First would meet in the park in the western part of the city, the north, then the east. After that, the market. Then repeat again.¡±


    ¡°Are you the one reaching out to them, or do they just approach you?¡±


    ¡°They reach out to me, then they would go ahead and I would follow behind, leading me to a secluded area or a place without strangers¡¯ ears to listen.¡±


    ¡°Which kind do you meet? Are they the ones who long pointy ears, or those with animal features?¡±


    Allie was surprised that the princess would know their characteristics.


    ¡°I always meet with the beastmen.¡±


    ¡°Beastmen¡­?¡±


    ¡°They are the ones that have animal features. Usually with animal ears and tails.¡±


    The princess shifted her eyes to the side for a moment as if thinking. ¡°Interesting. As for those with pointy ears.¡±


    ¡°They¡­ they are called elves.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± the princess smiled while nodding. ¡°So they must be covering their body always then.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes they cover themselves with cloaks, but they also cover their heads with a hat or just a hood.¡±


    ¡°I see. The one that you believe that cared about you the most¡­ what are they?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s¡­ he¡¯s a beastman.¡±


    ¡°Oh? How kind is he with you?¡±


    ¡°He, he was the first to approach me when I ran away from the monsters that destroyed my home. He looked so kind. He gives me comfort, covers me with sheets when it is cold and gives me food when hungry. Even though the elves were mean to me, he was there to stop them.¡±


    ¡°... what animal features does he have?¡±


    ¡°Like a dog...¡±


    ¡°A dog¡­ huh¡­ Were the other beastmen kind to you.¡±


    ¡°They were kind, they didn¡¯t treat me very harshly. Although, some were keeping their distance from me.¡±


    ¡°I wonder¡­ there is something I realized, Allie. They took you in, but they gave you such a dangerous task¡­ Killing me I mean¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡­ yes¡­¡±


    ¡°They made you do it, they even made you enter the palace.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°They made you do something that absolutely dooms you. If you succeeded, do you know what will happen to you?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Allie¡­? What would have happened to you?¡±


    Allie opened her mouth, but then closed them again. She knew the answer, but she was hesitating to utter it.


    ¡°Allie¡­?¡±


    Allie gazed into the princess¡¯s eyes, her expression was of sadness.


    It pained Allie to see that the princess was still feeling such a thing toward her.


    ¡°I¡­ I would still¡­ still be killed.¡±


    ¡°Yes. The moment I die because of that poison, you will be struck down right there and then. There would be no escape. Even if you are not slain, you would have met a much harsher fate the moment you are apprehended.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°They gave you such a dangerous task, they wanted their ambitions accomplished, at the cost of yours.¡±


    Allie clenched her skirt. That was what Allie had been feeling in that dreadful prison.


    ¡°They were willing to sacrifice you, to cast you away, don¡¯t you think? How cruel can they be¡­¡±


    ¡°...¡± Tears began flowing out of Allie¡¯s eyes. Pain in her heart.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m s-sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to make you cry.¡±


    The princess frantically pulled out a handkerchief and reached out to gently rub the tears off Allie¡¯s face.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have¡­¡±


    ¡°No¡­ No¡­ you have nothing to be sorry about, princess.¡±


    The princess was not at fault, for she had only stated what can be the truth. Doubt now overtook the trust she once have in her friends. Was she disposable from the very beginning? Did they take her in just to have her support Oryn, and then when all things fail, have her sacrifice herself?


    Allie had a goal, a dream, an ambition, things that she wanted to achieve. And she threw it all away, for her friends. Was that being noble, or being a fool? Her heart pained so much whenever the thought that her friends cast her away, thrown her into the lion¡¯s den, and left her as food for the beast, came to mind.


    Did she even ever have value in their eyes?


    ¡°Even so, I still apologize. I should have stopped talking¡­¡±


    ¡°...You have no fault, princess¡­¡±


    ¡°... I-Is that so¡­? Alright¡­¡± the princess directed a concerned look toward Allie. ¡°I still have other questions, but we can stop for today.¡±


    ¡°N-No¡­ I¡¯m okay¡­¡± Allie rubbed her own tears. ¡°Feel free to ask me anything, princess.¡±


    The princess smiled softly. ¡°Very well.¡±


    And then they talked, the princess asked, and Allie answered.


    Eventually, they talked about what to do with Allie¡¯s scars.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 14: Leodoules Thoughts & The Vice-Captain

    It was noon, and the royal family gathered in the dining room to eat their lunch. Leodoule watched his family with a delighted smile on his face. He had always felt proud whenever his family gathered together.


    He glanced at his wife Meliya, just a sneaky glance. He didn¡¯t want her to realize he was looking at her beautiful face. She was perfect, just perfect.


    Just as Meliya was about to turn her gaze at him, he averted his eyes and acted casually while taking a spoonful of his food.


    His gaze ended up on Estevan, who was as normal as ever. Nothing could be said.


    Next he glanced at the eldest son, Eleden. To be honest, Eleden was a decent man, although shaping him up to be the next heir was a bit of a headache. He was too kind, a man who carry good morals. That aside, he was competent in managing the kingdom, which would be a nice skill for a king. The kingdom would definitely benefit from it.


    However, Leodoule worried that because of his goodness, the world might devour him. He worried that in an severe situation, Eleden would make the right decision too late. That being said, he can still be taught. There was no rush.


    Even Leodoule when he was young was like Eleden in some aspects. Anyone can learn. His experience in that dungeon did make Eleden realize some things, and that was progress. Leodoule still needed time to think about what to do.


    His gaze then shifted to his youngest child, the daughter, Estelia. She for some reason appeared to be spacing out as she ate gracefully, although slower than usual. As if she was in deep thought. Leodoule has been noticing it lately, Estelia in a few instances, seemed to be fatigued.


    Estelia sipped her juice, and after placing down the glass, her shoulders drooped a little and subtly sighed. Leodoule felt worried for her, as he knew what she was currently going through. Although currently, she seemed to be busy with the one she suddenly set free from the dungeon.


    In truth, Leodoule didn¡¯t expect she would just order to set that prisoner out. Of course that didn¡¯t mean that prisoner was absolved of her crimes, that crime was to be paid with death, so that girl was still technically a prisoner being watched closely in the palace.


    Leodoule met Meliya¡¯s gaze, and the latter pointed at Estelia with her eyes, subtly. It would appear that she realized that Estelia seemed to be troubled. Truth be told, Meliya has been noticing it lately and has grown concerned about her daughter¡¯s health. But couldn¡¯t get a chance to have a personal talk with her daughter as her daughter was always doing some work like practicing her magic, and her plan that no one else knew just yet.


    Leodoule subtly shrugged his shoulders, to which Meliya quietly sighed.


    A short while later, everyone finished eating. Leodoule left the dining room and made his way to his office. Work had been gradually increasing for the past few days after they complied with the instructions given by Estelia in her writing.


    Leodoule dreaded looking at all the data on countless pieces of paper.


    Just as he was stressing about seeing those papers again, someone called out to him from behind.


    ¡°Father.¡±


    Leodoule turned around. ¡°Daughter?¡±


    She smiled. ¡°I would like to talk, official business.¡±


    He already had an idea what this was about. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s talk in my office.¡±


    A short while later, they arrived at his office. The scribes were standing outside waiting for the king¡¯s arrival, and Leodoule told them to stay here in the meantime.


    Then Estelia faced her servants. ¡°Wait here.¡±


    And only the two of them went inside, the door closed thus no one would be able to eavesdrop.


    Sitting down in his chair, Leodoule spoke. ¡°Before you tell me your business. I want to check how you are. Sit down.¡±


    With a puzzled face, Estelia sat down on the chair in front of the desk. ¡°How I am? I¡¯m quite alright.¡±


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°Have you been sleeping well?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡±


    ¡°Be honest, daughter.¡±


    ¡°... I sleep alright.¡±


    Leodoule sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to rest for a while?¡±


    ¡°... There is no need to rest ¡ª or rather, there is no time for rest. My plan is already halfway done. But thank you for asking, I will be fine.¡±


    ¡°... if you say so. Then, what do you want to talk about?¡±


    ¡°As I mentioned, my plan is halfway done. Please ready the church and the knights.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Are you certain your former chef will cooperate?¡±


    ¡°She will. But if something goes wrong, I have some backup plans. But if it goes wrong in the beginning, then all else fails.¡±


    ¡°And if it fails?¡±


    ¡°The chance of it happening is low. But¡­ if it fails. Then I am stuck. I will have to try another approach ¡ª but I don¡¯t want that.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s be optimistic. But I do get the feeling that your plan¡­ you¡¯re diving extremely deep into it.¡±


    ¡°It is because when things are meticulous and intricate, I feel relief. Besides, my simple method didn¡¯t work last time. Simplicity does not always work it seems.¡±


    Estelia appeared to be genuinely annoyed. Leodoule held back his smile, it was always adorable when she shows some emotion like this. Usually, she was always so behaved that she didn¡¯t seem to feel anything much of this kind of emotion, nor express it. There may be instances of her being annoyed, but that was very rare. That was why he cherished this moment.


    ¡°In any case, father, I want a meeting with the church. And please, allow me to learn of their abilities.¡±


    ¡°...That¡¯s troubling, they wouldn¡¯t just do that.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t make a meticulous plan without knowing what my soldiers are capable of.¡±


    ¡°... I¡¯ll tell them your concerns, perhaps they may consider it.¡±


    ¡°I hope they do.¡±


    ¡°As for the knights? Do you want a detailed report on their capabilities?¡±


    ¡°I am already familiar with their most common abilities. I spoke with Rogan. He gave me quite the information about the Order.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­¡±


    ¡°When can you set up a meeting with them? With the church.¡±


    ¡°We can schedule it for tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then set it mid-afternoon. For the knights¡­ I don¡¯t need all of them to participate, but give me the best please.¡±


    ¡°How many do you need?¡±


    ¡°At least twenty. More will be great. But I¡¯m fine with as much as you can give me. Just bear in mind the strength of the targets.¡±


    ¡°I will choose the best for you. Although, there is the matter of you leading this entire group.¡±


    ¡°... Do you still doubt that I can do it?¡±


    ¡°I am concerned.¡±


    Indeed, concerned, but perhaps that was doubt as well. Even so, Leodoule was worried that Estelia would find it very hard to lead that many troops, she even requested at least twenty knights, add to it the Church.


    ¡°That is why, daughter, I will have Estevan as your vice-captain.¡±


    ¡°Estevan¡­? I¡¯m fine with that.¡±


    Leodoule felt relief that she didn¡¯t argue with it, but that was precisely why she had Estevan assigned to that position. He was sure that Estelia would find great reliance on her own big brother. Of course there were a few knights capable of taking second in command, but he felt Estelia would not be comfortable with them.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell you the rough plan, for preparations on your end, father.¡±


    He was quite looking forward to what his daughter had in mind.


    ¡°Ah, let¡¯s call Estevan over. We need to at least let him hear the plan.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Leodoule walked over to the door and ordered one of the scribes to call for Estevan. It took several minutes, but Estevan entered the office with a bright the moment he saw Estelia.


    ¡°Estel! I wasn¡¯t made aware you were here as well.¡±


    ¡°Hello, my dear brother.¡±


    ¡°Hi!¡± he turned to Leodoule. ¡°So, father, why have you called me here?¡±


    ¡°Your knights will be going on an operation under the command of Estelia.¡±


    Estevan¡¯s eyes widened in shock. ¡°Estel?! What? Wait, what¡¯s going on here?¡±


    ¡°You will be hunting the ones targeting Estelia¡¯s life.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Wait, you just mentioned under the command of Estel¡­? Did I hear that right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What?¡± he scratched his head in utter confusion. ¡°Estel, you¡¯re taking command? But, but you never fought before, nor have taken command.¡±


    ¡°Yes. It is my plan, brother, so I will take the lead.¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡±


    ¡°My dear brother, are you d-doubting me?¡± she looked up at him with wide eyes, pouting adorably. ¡°Please have faith in me, my brother.¡±


    Estevan closed his eyes with a hand on his forehead.


    ¡°... F-Fine.¡±


    Estelia¡¯s face brightened in joy. ¡°Yes! Don¡¯t worry brother, you will be the vice-captain.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that is a relief then. So what is going to happen?¡±


    Estelia began explaining her plan.


    Leodoule was surprised as he listened. To think she could even come up with this.


    She would make a fine ruler with this intellect of hers. Although, Leodoule was hesitant about that notion. He was concerned for Estelia. Estelia had always been like a baby, one they sheltered, and protected so much. She was smart, yes, but Leodoule was concerned if she could take the pressure of being Queen in the far future.


    Furthermore, this would bring conflict if the next heir to the throne suddenly changed from prior expectations. Nobles are already working to have the favor of the first prince, and Myra would definitely want their princess to marry into the potential future king of Wisteria. If all that suddenly changed, Leodoule dreaded to think of the outcome.


    Even so, in the end, the choice would be who was the best candidate. Although, Leodoule was willing to make an exception for Estelia. If she wanted to have the crown placed on her head, then she could be a potential heir to the throne. If not, then, even if she was the best candidate, he was willing to let her go.


    But for now, he should set aside those thoughts and focus on a matter more important. The time for the initiation of Estelia¡¯s operation draws near.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 15: Returning to the Kitchen

    Allie clasped her hands together as she felt anxious, staring at the ceiling while she lay on her bed. The day was pleasant, nothing bad happened, however the princess asked if she wanted to cook for her. Or to be specific, something to be served to the royal family.


    That terrified her, but due to her desire of cooking and wanting to return to the path of her ambition, to the path of change, she blurted yes. The moment she said those words, the nervousness came instantaneously.


    In truth, there was a side of her that was not confident about this. It has been a long time since she had last served the royal family. Not only that, she wasn¡¯t confident anymore if the taste of her food would be on par with the dishes served to the royals.


    In addition, she was still essentially a criminal, she was terrified of them. Add to it the issue that a prisoner would be serving food to the royal family, one that attempted to poison one royalty. Allie did bring up that issue, but the princess assured her that she had brought the matter to her family. Allie once again felt elated at the kind consideration of the princess.


    There were two ways to handle this, the princess suggested.


    The first one was to cook alone, however, the food would be tasted first, and she would be watched while she was cooking.


    The second was to work once again with her old colleagues. This was the one she was reluctant to do. She would cook with them, a guard watching wouldn¡¯t necessarily be needed. However, her former colleagues would definitely taste-test all the food first. It was said that this option was preferred by the royal family.


    The first one was ideal for Allie, but there was a problem. It was her lack of confidence. She might taste the food and think it was good, but in truth, it was actually terrible. And the testers would not even try to point that out, just to perhaps shame her ¡ª but if they do, what Allie cooked might not be served in the end. She didn¡¯t want to waste her cooking and make the princess look bad for even suggesting for Allie to cook again for them.


    Thus, she had to take the second option. It may be hard, but by building up courage, she could. With this, the royal family can be more at ease. And she wanted to make the best dishes she could. For that, she needed her former colleagues.


    Still, would they help her? Surely they would. But, they may not find her presence comfortable. Still, Allie wanted to give it a try, to see if she could rekindle old friendships.


    She wanted to make a new beginning. Thus, she would try to work with her former colleagues. Even if it would be hard, she will still try.


    She closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.


    ***


    Allie being led by Mera, headed to the old kitchen where she once worked with her former colleagues. Her heart pumped hard as they got closer and closer to their destination, subtly taking deep breaths. She imagined how she would first interact with them.


    Should she be casual? Or be stiff about it? Formal?


    She pondered hard and imagined, but even now, she still couldn¡¯t think of the proper way to do this.


    Before she knew it, even if she was yet to be mentally ready, they have arrived at the kitchen. Allie felt nostalgic just seeing the door she was ever so familiar with. Disregarding Allie¡¯s inner turmoil, Mera opened the door.


    Upon stepping inside after a deep shaking breath, Allie pursed her lips the moment he saw two familiar faces. They stiffly stared at Allie, and they stole glances at each other, indirectly asking how they should respond to this. That said, they should have already been told this was happening, so they shouldn¡¯t be that completely clueless about what to do.


    Even so, Allie understood their feelings.


    ¡°She is here to cook with you, for the royal family¡¯s breakfast,¡± said Mera. ¡°Treat her nicely. But as you already know the situation, I suggest you keep watch over her.¡±


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    With only those words, Mera left, leaving the guard knight inside to watch things over.


    Allie glanced at her former colleagues, only to avert her eyes away. It was harder to look them in the eyes than she had expected, feeling shameful.


    ¡°Hello, Allie¡­¡± The first to speak was her former teacher, Ceruos, the head chef.


    Allie frantically shifted her gaze toward him. ¡°Um, hi. Cerous.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time. Are you doing alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°Good, good¡­ We were surprised to hear that you would be working with us today, the announcement was very sudden. Didn¡¯t expect you would come back here though.¡±


    ¡°... I also didn¡¯t expect the princess would ask me to¡­¡±


    ¡°The princess, huh¡­¡± Ceruos lightly scratched his head. ¡°Well, as long as things are alright¡­¡± he then turned to look at the young man, Tenil, who was looking away with furrowed brows. ¡°Hey, greet her.¡±


    Tenil paused for a moment before sighing. ¡°Hi, Allie¡­¡±


    ¡°H-Hi.¡±


    Ceruos looked at the two of them with a wry smile, but Allie had imagined that Tenil would be this way. He was expected to give her the cold shoulder, but Allie wanted to fix it. She wanted to try to remedy the consequences of her mistake. Yes¡­ mistake.


    Still, she didn¡¯t know how to.


    Ceruos began speaking to break the ice. ¡°So let¡¯s start cooking? We can¡¯t waste time.¡±


    Allie nodded, but Tenil merely went straight ahead to his desk and began preparing his ingredients. And so, Allie began working on her own, but working alongside the head chef. Tenil would often glance at her, and mostly at her work, and often begin to frown.


    With her wooden spatula, Allie mixed the dish around on the pan, then added some seasoning. It smelled good. But then, Ceruos came in to inhale the permeating smell.


    ¡°Is it just me or does this smell different than the last ones you made?¡±


    He was referring to the cooking done by Allie a long time ago with this recipe. This one here was one of Allie¡¯s usual dishes, one she commonly serve when she wanted to give something good. Of course, Ceruos was well familiar with this.


    ¡°I-Is it? It smells good to me.¡±


    Ceruos seemed to be puzzled. Then Tenil chimed in.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t put enough seasoning.¡±


    ¡°I-Is that s-so?¡±


    Allie scooped a little with a spoon and tasted it.


    ¡°I-It¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Tenil grabbed a spoon and tasted it himself. ¡°No, the flavor¡¯s not enough.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Let me,¡± Cerous used a spoon of his own to have a taste. ¡°Hm, yes, Tenil is right. Not the flavor you always make.¡±


    Allie pursed her lips, she had nothing to say.


    ¡°Are you just purposely saying it¡¯s enough despite being otherwise?¡± Tenil narrowed his eyes while sternly looking at her.


    ¡°N-No¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh? Are you sure? Or are you trying to sabotage our cooking?!¡±


    Allie recoiled in shock at his loud voice. ¡°N-No! No I¡¯m not!¡±


    ¡°How are we sure you¡¯re telling the truth? You could be lying as you have always done.¡±


    ¡°W-What¡­? No, that¡¯s not¡­¡±


    That¡¯s not how it was. All of their time, their moments together in this kitchen, was genuine to her. She valued those moments in her heart.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, Tenil,¡± intervened Ceruos. ¡°You have said enough.¡±


    ¡°Tch!¡± Tenil clicked his tongue, looking away in annoyance.


    Ceruos returned his gaze to Allie. ¡°Just add a little more seasoning.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes. I¡¯m sorry. It was my mistake.¡±


    Gently, Allie did what the chef said.


    ¡°Allie, have you forgotten how your food tastes like¡­?¡± Ceruos warily asked.


    ¡°... I, no¡­ It¡¯s just¡­ Everything better tastes delicious now¡­¡±


    ¡°Better? What do you mean¡­?¡±


    ¡°I¡ª¡±


    ¡°No, you have no need to answer that question. I now¡­ understand¡­¡±


    Allie faintly nodded, while Tenil glanced at her while working.


    Time passed, and they had done cooking all the dishes. Two of them were Allie¡¯s, which she had to have Ceruos¡¯s guidance to make. After which he had to taste test when done cooking, for the reason of checking the flavor, and most of all, checking for poison.


    But of course Allie couldn¡¯t do anything bad now, she was in the clear. Although she was a bit nervous about how the royal family would take her cooking.


    Mera and the other servants arrived to carry and bring the dishes to the royal family for their breakfast. Allie sighed in relief.


    Ceruos casually patted her on the shoulder. ¡°Good work.¡±


    ¡°...¡± she was speechless for a moment, surprised. ¡°U-Uh, yes¡­ thank you.¡±


    Ceruos glanced at Tenil. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you say something? An apology would be nice.¡±


    Tenil frowned then scratched the back of his head before hesitantly speaking. ¡°... Sorry, I just lost it. I¡¯m just¡­ I just felt irritated. We¡¯ve been through a lot together, it just¡­ it just so bizarre and terrible to hear that you were a traitor.¡±


    Allie lowered her head, ashamed. She couldn¡¯t blame him if he was annoyed and irritated by her presence.


    Then he continued. ¡°In truth, I didn¡¯t want to see you again¡­¡± after saying so, he walked down the back of the room, leaving Ceruos and Allie behind.


    Ceruos sighed while shaking his head. ¡°Give him time. He just didn¡¯t take the news about your betrayal very well.¡±


    ¡°... Why, why are you treating me well?¡±


    Ceruos slightly raised an eyebrow. ¡°You were still my student, it wouldn¡¯t be good if I just shun you. I¡¯m no child like Tenil.¡±


    ¡°... Aren¡¯t you curious about my reason? My reason may cause you to hate me truly.¡±


    ¡°I am curious. But I would rather not poke my nose into it. I got an idea that you are involved with something very dangerous, I don¡¯t want anything to do with it.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Now then, seeing that we have nothing else to do¡­ what about we cook a bit more, you¡¯re losing your edge. We got to eat breakfast anyway.¡±


    Allie slightly smiled as she gazed into Ceruos¡¯s eyes. ¡°Okay.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 16: Meeting With the Princess of Blood

    A carriage, luxurious and gleaming, was heading towards the palace. Despite appearing luxurious, or something a noble or a wealthy man would own, there was no sigil of such kind that can be seen. The ones inside after all, were from the Church, they did not want to specifically announce that an important figure was inside.


    Namely, the most important person in the Wisterian church was the High Bishop, Xenous Grail. He was old, his hair had turned white, but his body was still extremely well-built, and he could still move around freely with no problem.


    He smiled in delight as they get nearer to their destination, feeling excited.


    ¡°High Bishop, are you truly intending to reveal our arts to the princess?¡± A woman, sitting opposite him, suddenly asked


    Xenous casually shifted his gaze at the woman with dark hair and dark eyes.


    ¡°Why not? She asked for it, didn¡¯t she?¡±


    The woman who always tend to hide her emotion, in the High Bishop¡¯s presence, furrowed her brows in a show of annoyance and hesitation.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see the point. She is not exactly a remarkable person.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Why do you say so, Astine?¡±


    Xenous¡¯s smile grew wider, fascinated by the priestess¡¯s comment. Despite his feeling and reverence for the princess, he felt no displeasure. One couldn¡¯t be mad at those ignorant of the truth.


    ¡°She was acting so confident with her plan for the festival, but it didn¡¯t bear any fruit at all.¡±


    ¡°Are you perhaps disappointed?¡±


    ¡°I am disappointed, and was a waste of time.¡±


    Xenous chuckled. ¡°Is that so? I think she would be disappointed with you as well. You have yet to make any progress to your task, and well¡­ the first encounter, the church failed.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Astine averted her gaze. ¡°I admit, it was a failure. But I don¡¯t see the point for you to personally see the princess and share information about our arts.¡±


    ¡°The king asked to tell her.¡±


    ¡°But you could have denied.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, but I don¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°It means a lot to me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°Of course you won¡¯t¡­ But I plan to tell you soon, as you will soon be leading the church when I¡¯m retiring.¡±


    ¡°Me? You want me to succeed you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to be High Bishop?¡±


    ¡°You must be jesting. You know all too well I do not deserve that. I don¡¯t take prayer sessions very seriously, and I don¡¯t like ceremonies much. I don¡¯t want to be High Bishop, it is too much for me.¡±


    Xenous chuckled. ¡°So you are aware of your flaws. You should change then.¡±


    ¡°High Bishop, don¡¯t be ridiculous. Don¡¯t expect me to change now.¡±


    Xenous was intrigued, and indeed, that was ridiculous. Astine was already a mature adult, it would be hard to force her to change now, and everyone in the church knew what personality she had. Everyone would say she wouldn¡¯t fit.


    ¡°Hehehe, I know, I know. I was not talking about making you High Bishop. I intend to make you head of our fighting force, as I focus on normal church duties.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ that I can manage.¡±


    ¡°Good. It has been tiring training the trainees. Getting old¡¯s not so great.¡±


    ¡°Who are you intending to make the next bishop?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Tina maybe, but she¡¯s still young. I can wait though. Do you think she can handle it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but¡­¡± she shook her head. ¡°Her desire to go out with her adventurer friends is getting in the way. She wants to have fun rather than focus on her duties.¡±


    ¡°Hehehehe, as one would expect from youth. Give her time, she¡¯ll grow out of it. It¡¯s normal.¡±


    Astine winced. ¡°Normal? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s normal. This is because you allowed her to become an adventurer. I never even had any desire other than focusing my service on the church¡­ aside from tending to avoid long ceremonies, I offered my life for the cause.¡±


    ¡°You are a different case, you are special. But it is also different for Tina. Not everyone will be the same.¡±


    ¡°... Still, I don¡¯t like it that she¡¯s still wishing to return to her ¡°friends¡± as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Then, try to be patient with your sister.¡±


    ¡°... Not like I have any other choice.¡±


    They arrived at the palace gates and the guard knights allowed them inside. Their carriage stopped at the palace entrance where they were greeted by a servant of the king. Xenous stepped outside followed by Astine.


    The king¡¯s servant bowed. ¡°Good afternoon, High Bishop. I will be guiding you to the reception room.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


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    Both Xenous and Astine followed the servant to a room. Upon entering, they saw that the King was already inside waiting.


    Xenous approached the king and bowed his head. ¡°Greetings, my king.¡±


    ¡°Xenous, I was surprised to hear that you would personally come to speak with my daughter.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I hope things don¡¯t go out of control.¡±


    ¡°Fret not, your majesty. Nothing drastic will happen.¡±


    ¡°Very good. Estelia should be on her way.¡±


    A few seconds later, knocks came on the door, and Astine opened it. The one who entered alone was a beautiful young woman with long hair as white and beautiful as platinum. Her eyes were as deep and thick as blood, they gleam with gentle holiness. Her skin was pale as snow, she was as fragile as a vase.


    Xenous held his breath, feeling a bit nervous in the presence of a god. Indeed, despite a princess here in the physical world, she was still a goddess. It was the same whenever he met her, he both feared and revered, even in the time when he saw her a couple of times when she was small, and recently at the festival.


    No man of god would not feel overjoyed and overwhelmed when faced with the proof of their faith.


    Princess Estelia was that proof, the daughter of the gods he worships. The moment he knew what the princess truly was, his life only became more meaningful.


    ¡°Greetings, High Bishop. It is an honor to meet you again.¡±


    Too late did he realize that he was lost in mesmerization that the princess had stood in front of him. Xenous immediately lowered to his knees, genuflecting before her, one knee on the floor, with his lowered head.


    ¡°The honor is mine, your highness.¡±


    He raised his head to look up at that proof, he saw at the corner of his eyes Astine widening her eyes in shock. But he didn¡¯t care. He must pay proper respect to the gods. All of his life he had given to the church, and his faith. And he was completely willing to lower himself in the face of a goddess, the daughter of the gods worshipped by the nation, and he himself.


    The princess appeared to be dumbstruck herself, no one expected he would do this. That aside, truly the princess¡¯s physical traits were so unique. Her appearance now was almost look like what Xenous has imagined the Goddess of Serenity would be.


    ¡°Ahem.¡±


    The king audibly cleared his throat, Xenous heaved a heavy sigh. But he did not move.


    ¡°Um, thank you, High Bishop. You may rise.¡±


    After the princess said so, Xenous stood up.


    Then the princess continued. ¡°Now then, let¡¯s proceed to our business.¡± the princess sat on a couch and formed a tender smile. ¡°So, do you agree with my request for information, High Bishop?¡±


    Xenous sat down on the couch opposite her. ¡°Firstly, may I ask what you intend to do with the details of our arts?¡±


    ¡°I will need details of what you can do so I can formulate my plan and your role in it. How can a leader lead without knowing their subordinates¡¯ capabilities?¡±


    ¡°And this plan of yours¡­ to eliminate those threatening your life?¡±


    ¡°Capture, not eliminate.¡±


    ¡°Princess, that is easier said than done.¡±


    ¡°Oh I am aware of your last encounter with them. That is why next time will be different. The lessons you learned from your failure will aid you.¡±


    Xenous grinned. ¡°I see. Am I to take that you will be leading this mission?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then I am fine demonstrating the primary holy spell we use.¡±


    The princess would be leading the operation, leading the church members in a fight. Normally, everyone would have qualms about this, even Astine was hesitating but choosing not to speak. The princess had no record of being a leader of a unit, then her leading the church should have been rejected.


    But Xenous didn¡¯t mind. Although, he would prefer he had some assurance.


    ¡°But, will there be someone else leading with you?¡±


    ¡°My brother Estevan will be leading with me.¡±


    ¡°Then I have no problem with this. I will lend you my soldiers, and share with you the details of our primary art.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°First I¡¯ll tell you about our purpose, princess. We are forces prepared in order to fight demons from the south, in case they try to invade our lands. Therefore, our power is meant for exterminating demons. Our powers imbued with holiness.¡±


    ¡°Holiness?¡±


    ¡°Divinity, faith. Just like how a flame¡¯s property is heat or ice is cold, the holy element is special. An element bestowed by the gods to this world to fight the forces of darkness, to fight the creations of the fallen god.¡±


    ¡°Interesting. A fallen god? And this god, what happened to it?¡±


    ¡°Records say the gods have eliminated this fallen god.¡±


    ¡°Which gods?¡±


    ¡°There is nothing specific that we know.¡±


    ¡°I see. Sorry, we¡¯re going off-topic, tell me more about your holy element.¡±


    ¡°The demons have special characteristics that are not commonly known. For instance, the imps have incredibly high resistance to fire, and they can heal their wounds if given a short time, they are also agile and silent. A succubus, made to mislead men and take their life force, their mental capabilities are something to be feared. Attempt to fight them and they will play with your mind. There are many others. But with the power of the holy element, one can resist them.¡±


    Xenous held out his hand and a dagger made up of golden light appeared in his hand. The princess¡¯s eyes widened and leaned forward.


    ¡°If imps are stabbed with this, they will not be able to heal for a long time, making your fight with them easier.¡±


    ¡°Oh? You said make your fight easier? So you mean you can still kill them despite having the ability to heal.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but that is difficult. They know how to stay back. The worse the wound they get, the longer it may heal than smaller ones, but they will heal in a short time nonetheless.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then how would your holy element help against psychological attacks by a succubus?¡±


    ¡°In a presence of a holy weapon, you will get more resistance, but not completely. But it will help in your fight with them. That aside, there is also a spell against mental attacks, but only powerful people can cast them.¡±


    Xenous stood up and his dagger changed into a spear.


    ¡°Empyrean Arsenal, the spell¡¯s name. We can conjure any weapon in the form of pure divine light. This is what we primarily use. There are others such as healing spells, and barriers, all with the holy element.¡±


    ¡°Hm. Your skillset is truly made for facing demons. I think I understand why you failed in the past if your enemies are not demons, they¡¯re not are they?¡±


    ¡°They were not.¡±


    ¡°Then that could be the reason. Or¡­ those elves are more troublesome than one would expect.¡±


    ¡°...¡± he observed as the princess averted her eyes away, deep in thought.


    ¡°You said you can conjure any weapon. But, can you make chains?¡±


    ¡°Chains? We normally don¡¯t¡­ but¡­¡± Xenous conjured chains, and the edge dropped to the ground.


    ¡°Good. May I touch it?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    Xenous presented the end of the chain to the princess, but he kept a hold of the other end. The princess grasped the chain and peered closely at it. She caressed her thumb on it.


    ¡°This will be used. How many can you give me?¡±


    ¡°Princess?¡±


    ¡°How many soldiers can you give me?¡±


    ¡°How many do you need?¡±


    ¡°Hm. I would prefer about twenty. I want more room in case we need more than three people to restrain each one of my enemies.¡±


    ¡°You want that many to chain one?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The enemy can not be underestimated. Still, I am concerned about the magical capabilities of the enemy. If only there is something that can disable their magic¡­¡±


    ¡°... Princess¡­ there are special shackles used to disrupt the magic casting of the one wearing it.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°But, they are designed for demons. It is tested on humans, but they do not work well with them. Also, it only disrupts magic, not completely disable one¡¯s ability to do so.¡±


    ¡°But they do work somewhat on humans?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°That will do. We will need to weaken them enough and keep them watched. Please bring them in time for the operation.¡±


    ¡°I will prepare as many as possible.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Now then, let¡¯s talk about the other details, we have plenty of time, yes?¡±


    ¡°Of course, your highness.¡±


    ¡°And I need some things, I hope you can help provide.¡±


    In the duration of their talk, Xenous only grew more fascinated by this young goddess.


    If only the princess did not need to hide her status as the Princess of Blood, perhaps the world would have been a brighter and better place. More faith would have been offered to the gods. And the princess would finally be able to ascend to true godhood, as the other gods will become aware and perhaps take her to her rightful place in the divine.


    Although, that was what only Xenous believed.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 17: Knights Selected

    ¡°The princess will be leading an operation, what do you think?¡±


    A knight, now wearing his casual clothing, spoke to one of his colleagues. At the moment, it was night time and the knights gathered at the barracks they were designated to sleep.


    ¡°About that, I don¡¯t know what to think. It is sudden.¡±


    ¡°The prince mentioned that more than twenty knights will be selected to join this operation.¡±


    ¡° ¡ª what, really?¡± another chimed in. ¡°I only heard about the operation, but I didn¡¯t know they would need that many.¡± this young man was named Alan Welford.


    Knights were elites compared to normal soldiers, and to require that many knights would be akin to exterminating monsters in Elgion forest. Given that he was not present during the initial announcement, if it was just the princess¡¯s operation, he imagined it would be like guarding her.


    ¡°What do you guess it¡¯s about? I imagine there will be quite a big fight.¡±


    ¡°Or maybe the princess is moving out of the city?¡± said Alan.


    ¡°Well, they say select the knights to take part in the operation, it is no small matter. It definitely won¡¯t be a mere escort mission.¡±


    ¡°You think so? It¡¯s the princess, I can imagine them needing the best of the best to just guard her.¡±


    Alan recalled the fragile princess, of course, she would need the best to guard her. And he definitely won¡¯t be one of those elite forces, it would be more likely his brother would be there.


    ¡°They¡¯ll be announcing the knights tomorrow, right?¡± asked Alan.


    ¡°Yeah. But oh dear, more than twenty. I predict it would be most of us commonly assigned in the palace.¡±


    ¡°Makes you even more curious how big of a deal this would be. Still, would it be alright? For the princess to lead I mean.¡±


    ¡°I get you. I am hesitant about it as well. Do you think it will some kind of publicity? For the princess to become some sort of figurehead?¡±


    ¡°To become a leader of knights? It wouldn¡¯t fit. It would be more fitting if she were to be publicized as some sort of saint by the church.¡±


    The knights, even others who were listening in the barracks, smiled in delight.


    ¡°Yes¡­ a saint, that¡¯s very fitting.¡±


    ¡°Why haven¡¯t they done that yet anyway?¡±


    ¡°Who knows, man.¡±


    Everyone agreed to the prospect of the princess becoming a saint. Alan¡¯s smile grew wider, truly it was fitting. He recalled the times the princess would request a treat for the knights so they can have a pleasant time and rest. Of course Alan was one of those to be graced by her kindness.


    The princess would sometimes visit the knights, with a presence so soothing and saintly. Then of course that would be followed by blessings as if granted by a goddess. Namely a start of a festive kind of event.


    And the more Alan gazed at her, her graceful and gentle movements, her beautiful smile, and listening to her relaxing voice, Alan¡¯s feelings for her would only grow. The princess was the peak of what it meant to be a true lady. So pure and gentle. So kind and caring.


    Because of all that, she gained the respect of the Knights¡¯ Order.


    ¡°Still, I¡¯m curious about what is in this operation.¡±


    ¡°No use debating and guessing about it anyway, let¡¯s just wait for the princess¡¯s personal knight.¡±


    Everyone sighed and began muttering.


    ¡°Lucky bastard.¡±


    ¡°It should have been me...¡±


    ¡°If only we could swap jobs.¡±


    ¡°Dammit, I want that job¡­¡±


    ¡°I should have showed off more¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so jealous¡­¡±


    Alan could only restrain a chuckle as he shook his head. But he sympathize with them, as he too would have wanted that. However, he understood that was not possible. He was weak compared to Rogan, there was no way someone like him could be designated as a guard for the princess.


    A while later, as the knights in the room chattered around, the door opened. Instantaneously everyone turned towards the door, whether it was because they were trained knights, or were they just watching out for the person that just arrived, it was not clear. Perhaps it could be both.


    In any case, they all pointed a variety of gazes toward him, counting envious, and bitter stares. But the man merely grinned haughtily, as if he was already used to it.


    ¡°As warm of a greeting as ever! Really makes me forget all the bad things in the world!¡± he said loudly with a cocky chuckle.


    ¡°You¡¯re awfully late,¡± a knight said.


    ¡°Oh what can I do? I am quite busy with work you know. It¡¯s not easy to be the princess¡¯s personal knight. Need to work hard you know, hehehe.¡± his smirk only grew.


    ¡°Screw you, Rogan! Give me the damn job!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! Go cry. The princess values me, no way she would swap me for just someone else.¡±


    ¡°Dammit!¡±


    ¡°Ha-ha! Too baaaad.¡±


    With a laugh, Rogan casually removed his sword and placed it in the small armory. Then he proceeded to gradually remove his armor.


    ¡°Hey, Rogan. What¡¯s with the operation? Tell us what to expect.¡±


    ¡°Ah, about that. I can¡¯t tell.¡±


    ¡°What? It¡¯s confidential?¡±


    ¡°Well, not exactly. I can¡¯t tell because I don¡¯t exactly know what to expect.¡±


    ¡°Meaning?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen precisely. But know there will be a big fight,¡± he said as he went over to sit on his bed, now wearing plain clothes. ¡°The plan¡¯s pretty hard to explain and has not been yet laid out completely to everyone. We can expect more details soon.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s with the secrecy?¡±


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ¡°... That¡¯s just how it is. Things are still being finalized.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s with the princess leading the operation?¡±


    Rogan nonchalantly smiled as he laid his head on his pillow. ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s weird. It¡¯s hard to take the princess, who never saw combat, to lead. This will cause doubt to the troops, you know.¡±


    ¡°Princes Estevan will be co-captain, I see no problem.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but still. I don¡¯t think the princess would be able to handle being a leader of the knights.¡±


    ¡°Ha-ha¡­¡± Rogan covered his mouth. ¡°Hahahaha! Ah crap, that¡¯s, that¡¯s hilarious...¡±


    Alan was puzzled by Rogan¡¯s reaction.


    Rogan then continued. ¡°You¡¯ll be surprised about the additional group she will be leading.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that mean?¡±


    Rogan sighed. ¡°... I understand your concerns. But really, you shouldn¡¯t doubt the princess¡¯s capabilities like that, it will bite you in the ass. What I¡¯m trying to say is, have faith in our dear princess.¡±


    The knights looked at each other in confusion mostly.


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna get some shut-eye. Need to get as much rest as I can.¡±


    ¡°Straight going to sleep? You must be being worked up hard,¡± commented Alan.


    Rogan usually would go to have a fun chat with the guys, so Alan was quite surprised to see him rightly going to sleep just as he arrived.


    ¡°Oh yes I am, Alan. I am a good boy and follow the suggestion of the princess to rest aptly.¡±


    ¡°Before you sleep, I heard that the knights to participate in the operation will be selected. Will they only select the best?¡±


    Rogan slightly opened his eyes to look at Alan. ¡°Yes, this is no small matter.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°What? Thinking you won¡¯t get selected? You do know it is best if you are spared from danger.¡±


    ¡°Being a knight is not about being spared from danger, it¡¯s to dive into it to keep everyone else safe.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ If you are doubting yourself, then I¡¯ll tell you you have a good chance of being selected. Besides, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to have additional pair of arms.¡±


    ¡°Hey Rogan, who are we fighting anyway?¡± a knight asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ll know soon enough!¡±


    ¡°Oh come on.¡±


    ¡°Ah ah ah! Sleeping here!¡±


    ¡°Whatever, man.¡±


    Rogan smirked and closed his eyes.


    Alan sighed and lay down on his bed. Rogan appeared to be preparing hard for this operation, even to the point that he was going to sleep the moment he arrived. Alan had not seen him taking something like this seriously before. Perhaps he should just follow his example, and sleep early today.


    He was a bit restless about the participating knights, but sleeping now should speed things up. And thus, Alan rested, but it took a while for him to fall asleep due to the noise the other knights were making.


    ***


    Alan panted heavily after a heavy spar with a knight. He walked over to a small shed, his brow beaded with sweat. Using a cloth hanging by the shelf, he rubbed the sweat off his face.


    With his shirt drenched, he intended to change once he had rested a little. He glanced at the other knights, some merely doing nothing in fact, while others were hard at keeping their edge sharp.


    The knights here at the moment were skillful enough, a few may be true elites, but the rest were not to be underestimated. They were better than Alan would ever be, and that was a fact. Alan was working hard to become stronger, but so were the others. In short, the gap between them would not close, it would stay the same as always. And it was demotivating.


    Don¡¯t you just sometimes want to be as impressive as the others? Or perhaps surpass them? Don¡¯t you ever want to be as charming as someone? But no matter how hard you try to be, it was impossible. You can never be as eloquent as them, never as smart with your words.


    Alan wanted to be like everybody else, but he was being held back by himself. He kept pushing and pushing, but he couldn¡¯t make a major step.


    He mentally sighed.


    It was then he noticed his older brother arriving, standing high with pride. Alan couldn¡¯t understand it, they were of the same blood, but why was it that this older brother of his was way stronger than him? He was training hard all the same, and yet, he was still a disappointment.


    His older brother, Alzen, appeared to be looking around until his gaze landed on Alan. The latter froze for a moment, surprised and wary about what his older brother could possibly want. But not like he could just walk away.


    ¡°Alan.¡±


    ¡°Brother¡­?¡± Alan stiffened his body to resist the mere pressure he was feeling in his older brother¡¯s gaze, stern and powerful.


    ¡°I have a message from the household.¡±


    ¡°Message? For me¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you, my little brother will return home. You shall leave your knightly duties behind and focus your effort on the domain.¡±


    Alan¡¯s eyes widened in utter shock and distress, he couldn¡¯t believe what he had just heard. ¡°What?! Why?! They can¡¯t do that!¡±


    ¡°Yes they can. You must follow Father¡¯s orders.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s absurd, I can¡¯t just cast away all the hard work I did here!¡±


    Alzen scoffed. ¡°Shouting at me is pointless.¡±


    Alan clenched his fist and cast his gaze downward. ¡°T-This¡­ this can¡¯t be happening. Why? Why this sudden decision?¡±


    ¡°Need I tell you? It¡¯s because of your lack of progress in your fighting capabilities and potencies.¡±


    ¡°W-What?¡± he raised his gaze towards his brother.


    ¡°They reasoned that as you have made no remarkable feat, you might as well come back to the domain.¡±


    ¡°Why¡­? I¡¯ve been working hard¡­¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°You¡­ you have something to do with this, don¡¯t you? What did you tell them about me?¡±


    ¡°I merely told them the fact, that you are an unremarkable knight. Weak.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ no you said more than that didn¡¯t you¡­?¡±


    ¡°Think what you want¡­ But don¡¯t blame me for your lack of great progress. Refute as you might, it is still a fact. And because of this, you will be coming back home.¡±


    Alan shook his head. He didn¡¯t want to. He was yet to achieve something here. If he comes back, he would just be thrown into doing mundane and boring jobs where he couldn¡¯t do anything fulfilling. He wouldn¡¯t even be able to focus on sharpening his swordsmanship.


    ¡°No¡­ I won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°That is not for you to decide.¡± his brother sharply said. ¡°Do not disobey.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I will show them. If, if I get involved in something big, then there¡¯s a chance that they might reconsider.¡±


    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±


    ¡°ATTENTION!¡±


    It was at that moment when the princes¡¯s voice erupted in the area, prompting the knights to instantaneously drop their activities and face the prince. In Estevan¡¯s hand was a sheet of paper.


    He stared at all the knights gathered. ¡°Not all that is on the list is here.¡±


    ¡°Better call them later.¡± another knight stood beside him, the personal knight of the princess, Rogan Dorien, smiling widely.


    ¡°Everyone, the knights that will be participating in Operation: Sweet Roses, will be called upon today.¡±


    ¡°Operation Sweet Roses?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s named?¡±


    The knights muttered around, anticipating what this operation would entail. But Estevan raised his hand and everyone fell silent.


    ¡°There will be twenty-five participating.¡±


    ¡°Allow me, your highness.¡± Rogan offered to call the names, to which Esteva nodded and gave him the list of names.


    Rogan stepped forward. ¡°When your name is called, please line up at the front.¡±


    Then Rogan read the names, announcing it loudly. Alan listened intently at every name and watched as the bearer of those names step forward, as one would expect, they were the skillful ones in the Order.


    ¡°Ayana Roseneveria,¡± Ayana stepped forward. ¡°Elson Metrial,¡± a middle-aged man joined the line.


    Then after a couple of more names, a familiar one was called. ¡°Alzen Welford.¡±


    Alan, subsequently shifted his gaze toward his older brother. His brother didn¡¯t seem to be surprised at all, and merely confidently joined the line.


    Then eventually, sixteen knights stood at the front.


    ¡°Hm, the rest are on patrol I presume,¡± said Estevan. He then approached Ayana after receiving the list from Rogan and gave the paper to her. ¡°We¡¯ll have a short meeting in two hours, call the rest to the briefing room.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    With that, Ayana left to summon the absents.


    Alan pursed his lips and clenched his fists, as he had expected, he wasn¡¯t called. He was weak compared to them after all. He had to do something, even how shameful it may be. He needed to join this, just so he can stay in the Order. Although it might not help, even so, he wanted to try.


    With a deep breath, he left where he was and walked towards the prince and Rogan. The two instantly noticing him, raised a curious look.


    ¡°What¡¯s up, Alan?¡± asked Rogan.


    ¡°I have a request¡­ please let me join the operation¡­¡±


    Estevan furrowed his brows. ¡°The team is already selected. Plus, this is no small matter, you will be in danger of being struck down easily, given your level of skill set.¡±


    The other knights curiously stared at Alan.


    But Alan forced himself to ignore them. ¡°Please, I need to do this.¡±


    Estevan and Rogan looked at each other, then the latter sighed. ¡°Something¡¯s going on, isn¡¯t it? Let us talk over there.¡±


    Estevan agreed and faced the knights for a moment. ¡°Wait until Ayana returns, so do something else in the meantime.¡±


    After that, the three, Estevan, Rogan, and Alan walked towards a corner.


    ¡°So, why are you adamant about joining?¡± Estevan asked.


    ¡°My¡­ my family wants me to come back.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ but why?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because I don¡¯t make a lot of progress and feats in the Order.¡±


    ¡°Or perhaps because none at all,¡± Rogan remarked.


    It was blatant, and perhaps unnecessary. But it was true, so Alan couldn¡¯t refute it but only nod.


    ¡°So I think that if I participate in this new operation, my family might reconsider.¡±


    ¡°... Hm. I don¡¯t mind if that¡¯s the reason. But¡­¡±


    Rogan shook his head mildly. ¡°... It¡¯s not up to us, Alan. This operation is a big deal for the princess, adding another variable would prove to be a liability. There¡¯s a reason why we called mostly the strong ones.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Alan lowered his head. ¡°Please ask the princess¡­ let me join.¡±


    Estevan and Rogan looked at each other, deliberating, but it only took a moment for Rogan to reply. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll ask the princess. But don¡¯t get your hopes up. The princess is very serious about this, and lately she has been um¡­ how should I say this¡­ moody?¡±


    Alan couldn¡¯t fully understand what he was trying to say about the princess being moody, but he should express his gratitude.


    ¡°...Thank you.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 18: Prelude to the Operation (Part 1)

    Estevan and Rogan arrived at the princess¡¯s study room, of course however, it was not used for that purpose currently. In fact, her lessons were postponed for now with no clear date of when they would resume. At the moment, the princess seemed to be writing something on sheets of paper.


    She covered the sheet with her hand the moment she realized the two men arrived. ¡°Everything went smoothly? No violent reactions?¡± she smiled as if she was being humorous.


    ¡°No, everyone had no problems with being appointed. However, everyone else is still being called for the briefing,¡± Estevan answered.


    ¡°Good, good. I¡¯ll be relying on you for that short briefing. And brother, make sure they keep their swords sharp, okay? Our enemies have plenty of surprises on their side.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I will keep that in mind. To be sure, we¡¯ll begin in three days, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you want to take the field?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly in the center of the field, I¡¯ll be watching and supervising in the rear.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief¡­ but the chance of success for this operation is not a hundred percent, huh. What if it fails?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why it is separated into phases, make sure to emphasize that. But if it fails, that will be shameful, then I¡¯ll take my own life for the shame.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    ¡°Wha¡ª!¡±


    ¡°Estel! What are you saying?!¡±


    The air heated up as everyone in the room erupted in shock at her words. It was inconceivable that it should even happen.


    However, the princess chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m joking¡­ If it fails¡­ then try another way.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make a joke like that again, my sister¡­¡±


    Estelia pouted adorably. ¡°I¡¯m s-sorry.¡±


    Estevan sighed. ¡°...Oh yeah, there is another matter I wish to discuss with you.¡±


    ¡°What could it be?¡± she asked, a trace of concern on her face.


    ¡°Nothing bad. It¡¯s just, a knight asked if he can join the operation.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Who?¡±


    ¡°Alan Welford.¡±


    The princess faintly nodded. ¡°The one not on par with the elites? I refuse.¡±


    An outright refusal, causing Estevan and Rogan to wryly smile.


    ¡°Princess, please listen¡ª¡± pleaded Rogan.


    ¡°If it is for the reason of self-gratification, then I refuse to listen. My operation is no place to garner achievement for one¡¯s notoriety.¡±


    Everyone was a bit surprised at how strict she was.


    ¡°So, is it for that reason as to why he asked to join?¡±


    ¡°Well technically it is¡ª¡± Rogan answered, but Estevan elbowed him, making him stop.


    ¡°It is for a good reason, my sister. His family intended for him to return to their domain due to lack of achievements, or progress in his skills as a knight.¡±


    ¡°A lack of progress in his skills?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    The princess sighed. ¡°And that is why I don¡¯t want anyone not strong enough to join, it is dangerous.¡±


    ¡°The danger he should be able to handle.¡±


    ¡°Oh? With his strength, would he not be a hindrance instead?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°He would be a burden to the other knights as he will be an easy target. And, I don¡¯t want any needless death on my hands.¡±


    ¡°...he can be watched and partnered by someone,¡± Rogan suggested.


    ¡°And who will it be? You, Sir Rogan? You are needed to be by my side. Others? Everyone has their role to play. My soldiers will not be held back.¡±


    ¡°Please my sister, reconsider. There must be some place for him.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Estelia sighed and averted her gaze.


    ¡°Then princess, we just have to leave him to his own,¡± said Rogan, prompting Estelia to return her gaze towards him. ¡°If he is slow, then he will be left behind. If he is in danger, none of the knights will help him. He will not be a priority in any way. Should he need to be abandoned, so be it. His death will not be on your hands, but to his alone, for it is his choice to join despite being warned of the threat.¡±


    ¡°Why are you two so keen on helping him?¡±


    ¡°Why not? He needs the help, and he¡¯s a member of my Order.¡±


    ¡°Well, he¡¯s a friend. Would leave a bad taste on my tongue if I don¡¯t do anything to help him.¡±


    ¡°Nobility¡­¡± she muttered as she placed a hand on her forehead. ¡°Fine¡­ just be sure he is aware that he is on his own. Spare me from carrying the burden of someone¡¯s needless death.¡±


    ¡°Estel¡­¡± worried that he had done something terrible to his sister unknowably, he slowly approached her. But Estelia raised her hand.


    ¡°Go to your knights, my brother. I am alright. Prepare for your briefing.¡±


    Estevan was hesitant at first, but faintly nodded in the end and left the room.


    Rogan, also feeling concerned, approached the princess and asked. ¡°Are you upset, princess?¡±


    ¡°Do you have any idea of the repercussions to me if the knowledge that I sent a weakling to a battle of the strong and died spreads to other noble households?¡±


    Rogan felt a little disturbed at the change of demeanor of the princess, causing him to be speechless.


    ¡°And, you have added another stone on my back for me to carry.¡±


    She¡¯s angry¡­


    Rogan bowed his head. ¡°...I have made a blunder to my lady... But why did you agree?¡±


    ¡°...¡± she glanced at him for a moment. ¡°I did it for the two of you, given that you really want to help your friend.¡±


    ¡°But now I feel bad.¡±


    ¡°...... Don¡¯t be¡­ Alan will be in a place safe from death. But if an enemy comes his way, there is nothing that can be done, I would rather not jeopardize the entire operation for one person.¡±


    ¡°Understood, I¡¯ll make sure he is aware that his fate lies in his hands.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­¡± she sighed then began writing again.


    ¡°What are you writing, if I may ask?¡±


    ¡°Just possible scenarios, anticipating the outcome. Writing it down provides for widened perception.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Princess, what would you do if this fails?¡±


    ¡°If they do not appear, I would either be relieved that they could have possibly been gone from the city, or frustrated that they are still hiding. But desperate times call for desperate measures.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Secret~.¡±


    Rogan furrowed his brows, she did not seem to be willing to share her plan if it fails.


    ¡°But let us think positively, the most terrible part has yet to pass after all. Think of the brighter side.¡±


    ¡°... If you say so, princess.¡±


    ***


    Alan stood by the wall, the same spot where he talked with Estevan and Rogan. He was feeling a bit impatient, and his foot kept tapping on the floor. He stopped when he saw his brother coming in his direction. With wary eyes, he looked at his brother with a bit of hostility.


    ¡°Don¡¯t dare look at me that way, little brother.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re in this mess because of you.¡±


    ¡°You blame me, but you have not even tried looking at yourself. Don¡¯t you think this is your fault?¡±


    ¡°Absurd, I didn¡¯t do anything.¡±


    ¡°You did, you forced yourself to do something you have no talent on. The signs are already here, you are weak, brother. Your destiny is not with the sword.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, brother. I want to hold the sword, and you will not get in my way.¡±


    ¡°Your anger towards me is misplaced. You have no idea. Have you never wondered how you remained in the order for this long?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°It would appear determination is not enough to grow. Better give up before you get devastated any further by the truth.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    With a shake of his head, Alzen walked away. Alan heaved an exasperated sigh.


    He doesn¡¯t understand me. Not my family, no one.


    He waited for some time, until eventually, the prince, Estevan, arrived.


    ¡°Your highness¡­ Where¡¯s Rogan?¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t be needed in the briefing.¡±


    ¡°Oh I see¡­ Then, what is the princess¡¯s answer?¡±


    ¡°You are allowed to join.¡±


    Alan smiled brightly upon hearing that.


    ¡°However,¡± the prince continued. ¡°Know that our opponents are not to be underestimated. With your level, you will not be able to face one head-on.¡±


    ¡°... I will find a way.¡±


    ¡°It is not about finding a way, Alan.¡± He sighed. ¡°But, whatever. Just be warned that you are on your own. No one will help you. Everyone will be focused on their own roles. Bear in mind, your death will be in your own hands.¡±


    ¡°... I will not die.¡±


    ¡°I hope so. For your sake¡­ and for my dear sister.¡±


    ¡°The princess¡­?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t let her carry the weight of your death, Alan. She is already tired enough, I hope you will live to see the end of the operation and spare her heart from pain.¡±


    Alan pursed his lips and clenched his fists. To think the princess would feel pain for his death. He was touched.


    ¡°I promise, your highness. I will not die.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 19: Prelude to the Operation (Part 2)

    Plates faintly clattered as they were gently placed down on top of the table. Allie was with her two former colleagues, although could it be said that that was no longer the case? They were working together currently after all. For how long it will last, it was still unknown.


    She stole a glance towards the young man, Tenil, who has been quite cold towards her ever since she had come back. The reason for it was understandable, but she was saddened by it. It felt terrible that they now had no friendly interactions of any kind.


    Although, she was trying to make amends.


    She took a deep breath, gaining the courage, and spoke to Tenil. ¡°You have improved drastically, Tenil.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    ¡°I enjoy working here again.¡±


    Tenil paused for but a moment to glance at Allie before returning his gaze to his work.


    Allie pursed her lips, even after the long time since she had returned here, she still receives the same treatment, there was no progress with Tenil at all, her past friend and partner in the kitchen.


    ¡°Tenil¡­ I¡­¡±


    She hesitated to speak, deliberating on how she should continue speaking with him.


    ¡°Tenil¡­ I want to fix our friendship¡­¡±


    ¡°Friendship? With you again? Count me out.¡±


    ¡°Tenil¡­¡±


    ¡°You will only deceive us again. Why should I trust you?¡±


    Allie put down the plate in her hands and faced Tenil¡¯s back with sincere eyes.


    ¡°I never deceived you, Tenil. I never faked anything between us, between all of us in the kitchen.¡±


    Tenil stopped and turned his head to look Allie in the eyes, to where his eyes widened slightly upon seeing the deep sincerity her eyes told. He averted his eyes away as if hesitating on how to proceed.


    Allie then continued. ¡°I know my crimes¡­ and I don¡¯t deny them...¡±


    ¡°I just don¡¯t understand you, Allie.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    ¡°You had everything given to you, you were a dozen steps way ahead of me. You were greater than me. It¡¯s almost ridiculous to think that you were a traitor all along. How insulting, and how bitter it is. I was trying to catch up to you, and yet look how it all ended up. I don¡¯t think everything will ever be the same.¡±


    He spewed all those words with a strained expression, as if he just unleashed the feelings he bottled inside regarding his feelings towards her.


    ¡°Tenil¡­¡±


    ¡°But, I¡¯ve always been wondering. What motivated you to do what you did?¡±


    ¡°It was...for my friends¡­¡±


    Tenil nodded with pressed lips. ¡°Then those friends of yours are more important than the ones here then.¡±


    With pleading eyes, she took a step closer to him. ¡°...Tenil, please, give me a chance.¡±


    He did not give her an eye. However, Ceruos audibly cleared his throat, prompting Tenil to look at him. Tenil and Ceruos looked each other in the eye, then the former sighed. The two of them had spoken a little about Allie earlier when she was not around.


    Ceruos had asked for Tenil to at least give an effort to talk with Allie. She was trying to fix what she broke, and a proper response should be given. When he was reminded again of their conversation, he began giving it some thought.


    Incidentally, he noticed the moment Allie returned, she had been acting very differently from the person he knew.


    Almost as if she was already a different person, she was once conserved and uptight sometimes, but now she was meek and almost fragile. What could have been done to her to bring this much change?


    Tenil sighed again. To imagine what she went through was dreadful. His thoughts ended up to the point where he began to pity her. He turned and looked at her eyes again, the same sincere eyes.


    His heart for some reason sank. Looking back, how tragic it was for him when he heard what Allie had done to a royal, and to the princess no less. He could not understand why she did that, but it was where he felt that their friendship had ended. He couldn¡¯t be friends with someone like her after what she had done. However, to be honest, it was a shame, the kitchen felt different when she first left for her own.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Perhaps, he was currently being unnecessarily too bitter here. Thus, in consideration of the head chef¡¯s request, he had to do it, even how little.


    ¡°Allie¡­ you now suck at cooking. But, what do you think of cooking together¡­? Just like old times¡­¡±


    At that, Allie¡¯s smile widened, and her eyes shone with life and hope.


    ¡°That would be great!¡±


    Ceruos watched them with a pleased smile. Proud to see that his students were showing progress of healing.


    ***


    Allie felt heavenly, a wide and beautiful smile shone on her lips as she closed a small wooden box carefully. The sweet smell of the contents slowly vanished in the air as the lid was completely closed. She had to be careful of carrying this, for this was a gift for someone.


    Allie turned towards Tenil. ¡°Thank you, for the help.¡±


    The young man turned his gaze towards her. ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    They discussed what they should do together, at first it was a simple soup. However, Allie remembered that she should take this chance to warm up with someone. It was a daring thing to do, but she truly wanted to mend her relationship with her, even for just a little.


    There was a chance her gift would be rejected, but she hoped not.


    In the end, they settled for a small piece of cake. It was easy to consume, and no need to rush in eating it. Not only that, it was a kind of food noble ladies commonly preferred. Allie couldn¡¯t help but feel nostalgic in the process of baking it, although she was rusty. Fortunately, Tenil was there to help her.


    Every time he corrected or assisted her, a weird warmth would grow in her chest. Not terrible, but a beautiful feeling, it was happiness. In truth, she was as happy whenever she was with the princess. The times here in the kitchen truly were wonderful, so wonderful that she had to hold back her tears.


    Hope grew brighter, for the new beginning she wished deep in her heart was coming true. Indeed, this was a sign. She felt so good, it was as if the gods had granted her a blessing to start anew.


    ¡°Good job, you two,¡± said Ceruos, grinning widely at them. ¡°I hope to see the same delightful scene tomorrow!¡± he gave a loud single clap.


    Allie grew flustered, her cheeks reddened but she still smiled ¡ª feeling embarrassed.


    ¡°And Allie,¡± called Ceruos. ¡°I hope you get to the level you were at from before as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°... Y-Yes¡­ I hope so too.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be helping you of course, so it shouldn¡¯t be that hard. Just need to rekindle some muscle memories. Am I right, Tenil? We¡¯ll be helping, right?¡±


    While frowning, Tenil faced the head chef and said. ¡°...Yeah, we¡¯ll help.¡± then averted his gaze.


    ¡°Stop being so restrained, kid. Like, you seemed to be delighted when you were helping each other a moment ago. You enjoyed it didn¡¯t you? Feeling just like old times indeed.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Come on, stop hiding it. Stop being so grumpy and be honest with yourself.¡±


    ¡°S-Shut u-up, will you?! It¡¯s nothing like t-that at all!¡±


    The head chef laughed. ¡°Hahaha! Is that so? Keep telling yourself that, just ignore the blush you have there.¡±


    ¡°W-Wha¡ª? Tsk!¡± he covered his face and turned his back to everyone.


    Allie gave him a concerned look, however, she did feel delighted to have a friendly atmosphere in the kitchen once again. As she cherished this moment deep into her heart, the door opened, and a particular maid arrived.


    As if as usual, Allie prepared to leave the kitchen, not before taking the wooden box with her.


    ¡°See you tomorrow, everyone.¡± she said to her two colleagues.


    ¡°See you,¡± waved the head chef.


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± nodded Tenil.


    She left with the knight and the maid who was leading the way as usual.


    ¡°The princess wants to know how you are holding up.¡± said the maid, Mera.


    Allie smiled. ¡°It is wonderful, I seem to be regaining my friendship with Tenil again.¡±


    She shared, excitement evident in her voice.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    That was all she said, and that conversation ended there, or could that even be called one. Allie couldn¡¯t help but feel distraught at this, her shoulders drooping a little. Then she glanced at the wooden box in her hand.


    Feeling nervous, she took a deep breath, then shifted her gaze towards Mera in front of her. It was hard to speak, it felt like this was not a good time to give this. But when would be the right time?


    ¡°Are you having trouble with something? Feel free to tell me, and I will relay it to the princess.¡±


    Mera asked, it could be taken as something asked out of concern. However, it lacked the warmth one would expect for such a question, for it was not Mera¡¯s own words. She was merely carrying out the orders of her lady.


    ¡°N-No, there is nothing.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    To hold back her nervousness, Allie subtly swallowed and took deep breaths, growing courage.


    I can do it¡­ just give it¡­


    Although it was not the process of giving that was making her afraid, it was the rejection. How would she be rejected? In what way would her offering be rejected?


    Before she knew it, they had arrived outside of her room.


    ¡°Then, if that is all, I will take my leave.¡±


    ¡°P-Please wait.¡±


    Mera stopped and turned her stern gaze at Allie. The latter almost shrank in fear, but she steeled herself and extended her hand forward.


    ¡°Miss Mera¡­ I¡­ I would like to give this to you.¡±


    ¡°To me¡­?¡± baffled, she stared at the wooden box.


    ¡°A present¡­ a cake¡­ I made this with the help of Tenil, so it is good, I assure you.¡±


    Mera narrowed her eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t see the point of this.¡±


    ¡°It is a gift of goodwill¡­ in hopes to atone for my sins¡­¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I know what I have done¡­ and I wish to make things right, to fix my mistakes. Please, accept my offering,¡± she lowered her head.


    Allie waited, a second, two, three, seven, she started to feel extremely worried. If she, Mera, does not accept, then there was a chance that fixing what was broken with her would never be repaired. Allie does not wish for that, it will haunt her for the rest of her life. And, she truly wanted Mera to forgive her for what she had done.


    Then a second later, a hand grasped the box, and Allie instantly looked up.


    ¡°I will take this then¡­¡± Mera said with a neutral expression.


    And Allie let go, the box now within the maid¡¯s hands. The latter stared at the box for a moment before looking at Allie.


    ¡°You may go to your room.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ thank you, Miss Mera.¡±


    With a small smile, Allie reached out for the doorknob, but as she did so, Mera said to her...


    ¡°Goodnight.¡±


    Allie paused for a moment, unable to process what she had just heard. But when she caught up, she turned her head only to see Mera was now walking and already a distance away.


    ¡°...Goodnight¡­¡± Allie quietly said and entered inside, the corners of her eyes damped.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 20: Prelude to the Operation (Part 3)

    Mera glanced at the wooden box in her hands as she made her way back to the princess. It was a bizarre occurrence, one she wouldn¡¯t expect, nor would she ever.


    To think that traitor¡­ Allie, would give me something just to make amends.


    She had deliberated whether to reject the offering outright. In hindsight, the way she was even thinking of rejecting Allie¡¯s sincerity, made Mera realize that she indeed was carrying resentment towards that girl.


    It somewhat disgusted her, at herself. Hating someone was never pleasant, or good. It saddened her to realize that she was carrying such a negative emotion. But upon seeing the deep sincerity shown by Allie, Mera couldn¡¯t find in herself to reject the offering.


    And thus, she accepted.


    Mera subtly sighed and gently opened the wooden lid.


    Inside was a round cake, covered in white and red icing. Cherries were placed on the sides and center. It was a delightful thing to see, very presentable. Although, given the size of the box, this would only be enough for one person, just for Mera.


    It smelled good and looked delicious, given the quality, it was an appropriate food for a noble.


    Mera closed the box when she arrived closer to her destination.


    With a deep breath, she opened the door and entered inside. The wooden box was covered by her hands hanging low, she did it as if trying to hide the box, but she knew not the reason why. It was almost a subconscious action.


    She closed the door and faced the princess who was by the table, now lowering the quill and placing it back in the bottle.


    ¡°Oh, Mera. So how was she?¡±


    Mera observed the princess as the latter gathered the several sheets of paper together. ¡°She appears to be doing fine. She has been going along fine with her colleagues.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then she¡¯s having a good time. Any more? Anything I should know?¡± the princess glanced at the object within Mera¡¯s hands.


    Mera subtly swallowed. ¡°...S-She¡­ she gave it to me.¡±


    ¡°Oh? For what?¡±


    ¡°A gift of goodwill¡­ wanting to make amends.¡±


    ¡°Huh. I see¡­ It¡¯s food I assume?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good¡­ good. Are you pleased by her gift?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Mera sealed her lips, for she had no definite answer to give. Was she pleased? Or merely accepted it because of pity?


    ¡°Hm¡­ never mind, disregard that question. In any case, we¡¯re done here.¡±


    The papers in her hand were suddenly enclosed in a transparent crimson ball, and suddenly flames erupted inside. Mera flinched slightly at the sudden appearance of violent flames, turning the papers that the princess has been writing on for days into ashes.


    ¡°And there they go~....¡± Rogan expressed his astonishment. ¡°Is that necessary, princess? You could have kept those. Such a waste of plans.¡±


    ¡°A waste? They¡¯re just piles of paper, sometimes you need to let some things go.¡±


    ¡°Wow, princess. That almost sounded from the heart.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh. But in seriousness, I already have the plans in my mind anyway. Don¡¯t need to keep these papers that essentially laid potential scenarios.¡±


    ¡°But one you worked on for days to just be burned away¡­¡±


    ¡°Days? I wouldn¡¯t count I worked on them for days. I was only doing this for like, a couple of hours each day. Rest is also important to me, I¡¯ll have you know.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but that¡¯s not what I was trying to say¡­ never mind. I¡¯ll let this one go.¡±


    The princess smiled slightly and walked to the window, where the ball of crimson opened and the ashes were carried away by the wind into the darkness.


    The princess heaved a tired sigh. ¡°I still have a meeting with the bishop tomorrow¡­ I¡¯m going to bed.¡±


    Mera watched the princess closely. Despite saying wanting to go to bed, the princess didn¡¯t seem to be sleepy yet, just tired. Or perhaps she was just hiding it. But the point was, despite going to her bedroom at the right time, the princess¡¯s eyes have darkened a little, and her eyes appeared to always be drowsy.


    Furthermore, every morning she seemed to be tired still. The princess was not sleeping very well, that much was obvious. However, she was driving away everyone¡¯s concerns. So Mera and her fellow servants of the princess could do nothing.


    They left the study room and brought the princess to her room.


    ¡°Goodnight,¡± said the princess before closing the door.


    With the princess resting, Mera separated from the other two and went straight to the maids¡¯ quarters. Unsurprisingly some maids had already arrived, including two of her closest friends.


    ¡°Hey, Mera.¡± Ellie waved her hand.


    ¡°Good evening.¡±


    Mera greeted back and she shifted her eyes towards Macey who was already lying down on her bed with her eyes closed. She was still wearing her maid¡¯s clothing, as was the same with everyone, she must be very tired after a long day¡¯s work.


    Mera opted not to disturb her.


    Ellie eyed the wooden box in Mera¡¯s hands. ¡°What¡¯s that box?¡±


    ¡°Oh this¡­¡± Mera sat down on the edge of her bed. ¡°A cake.¡±


    ¡°Cake? Where¡¯s it from?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Mera hesitated for a moment. ¡°It¡¯s from¡­ the traitor, Allie.¡±


    ¡°Oh you mean that cook¡­? Wait, you received food from the person who legit tried to poison the princess?¡±


    ¡°Um, yes? What, you think she poisoned the cake?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a possibility.¡±


    Mera averted her eyes, there was no way Allie would poison the cake. She was with the other cooks, they would be watching her every movement. Plus, why would anyone try to poison a mere maid?


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s poisoned.¡±


    Mera opened the box and showed Ellie the content. ¡°She seemed pretty sincere when she gave it to me.¡±


    ¡°Huh, whatever you say. We can call for a healer when you get poisoned. The moment you start choking even for just a little, I¡¯ll wake Macey the hell up.¡±


    Mera smiled slightly at the concern her friend was showing. ¡°Thanks, but I really don¡¯t think this is poisoned, so there is no need to get all worked up.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t hurt to be cautious, Mera. Are you eating that later? Then I guess I should wake Macey before you try to take a bite and you go ¡®eeegh-ugggh¡¯ or something.¡±


    Mera furrowed her brows. ¡°You can¡¯t just wake her up, giver her some time to rest.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to eat dinner later anyways, what difference does it make if I wake her up now?¡±


    ¡°...¡± Technically, there was a difference. The longer one sleeps the better. However, Mera wondered if only a few minutes of difference would be worth it. Either way, she decided to let Ellie be.


    ¡°Oi! Macey, wake the fuck up.¡±


    ¡°E-Ellie! Language, language!¡± Mera frantically warned her, but it fell on deaf ears. The other maids looked at Ellie weirdly.


    Macey groaned softly. ¡°Still¡­ sleepy.¡±


    ¡°Come on, get up. We¡¯re going to take a bath and eat anyway.¡±


    ¡°Leave me alone¡­¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t just sleep dirty and with an empty stomach.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter anymore¡­¡±


    ¡°Seriously? Ugh!¡±


    Ellie walked over to Macey and pulled her up forcefully. Macey¡¯s head limped back while her eyes closed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be a baby!¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    Ellie frowned and moved her face closer to the side of her face. ¡°If you keep this up, I swear I¡¯ll call up Alan,¡± she whispered to Macey¡¯s ear.


    Macey¡¯s eyes snapped open. ¡°Don¡¯t! I¡¯m awake, I¡¯m awake.¡± she looked around a bit confused then shot Ellie an annoyed glance.


    Ellie merely chuckled. ¡°Awesome that worked! Finally I got a weapon!¡±


    ¡°Screw you, Ellie.¡±


    Macey stood up from her bed with a sigh.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Language,¡± Ellie warned with a playful smile.


    ¡°Whatever¡­¡±


    ¡°Heh, in any case, I need you fully awake. Mera was given a cake by that commoner traitor.¡±


    ¡°A c-cake? Traitor? Do you mean the one that tried to poison the princess? Why would Mera even take food from her?¡±


    ¡°Dunno, Mera being a softy I guess.¡±


    ¡°Ugh. Mera¡­¡± she gazed at her. ¡°If it is poisoned, be ready to feel some pain if it happens.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Mera pouted.


    ¡°But why did you even take it?¡±


    ¡°... I can¡¯t just reject it, can I?¡±


    ¡°Of course you can reject it¡­ But ugh, whatever, I¡¯m too tired to argue. You¡¯ll be eating it later during dinner?¡±


    ¡°I suppose yes.¡±


    Of course she would, it would be a waste if she wouldn¡¯t.


    Mera pulled out a drawer and placed the covered wooden box inside and then closed the drawer. ¡°I¡¯ll be back for it later after bathing.¡±


    ***


    The high bishop arrived at the palace at the appointed time to meet the princess again. With him, like last time was Astine, beside her on top of the table was a sizable box that she carried. They were the magic items that the princess had requested.


    The magic items were not easy to make, not because of the process, but because of the materials they have to use. They were rarer than diamonds. Specifically, the small blue gemstones used to store mana, plain or modified. Fortunately, for all the centuries that the church had existed, and with the support of the kingdom, they had plenty in storage.


    The stones were versatile to use, they were even used as sound amplifiers whenever the bishop goes for a mass. However, this was the first time that these many magic items were brought out altogether and stored in a box for just the request of one royal.


    Of course, that was not a big issue, as the gemstones used for it were tiny. And the spells imbued in them were quite simple. Given the simplicity of the princess¡¯s demand, Xenous was surprised as he had expected she would require spells that would be quite destructive.


    Well, given that she didn¡¯t demand a lot when it comes to the spells, then he shouldn¡¯t worry about it this much. Besides, if she requested more, Xenous would be more reluctant to allow her to use the magic items.


    The door opened, and the princess entered inside, but not a smile on her face. Even so, she was still as pure and gentle looking as ever. Shining brightly as the sun.


    Xenous bowed his head deeply with a smile.


    ¡°Princess, we have what you requested.¡±


    The high bishop indicated the box, and the princess approached. Astine opened the box and inside revealed numerous thin cylinders, made with wood and a little steel. At the tip of each cylinder were small blue gemstones.


    ¡°I assume the spells have been imbued?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Very good. And what of my special custom request?¡±


    Xenous pulled out a small box and presented it to the princess. The princess received and opened it. Inside was another cylinder, however, a little different in design.


    ¡°Made with a trigger, even allowing those with no mana to use the spell imbued in the gemstone. And the inside is hollow.¡±


    In addition, besides the cylinder was a lid for the gemstone as well, to hide it. The bottom tip also could be opened.


    ¡°This will work fine. Thank you, high bishop.¡±


    ¡°My pleasure, princess.¡±


    The princess turned to face her knight. ¡°Rogan, take the box of items.¡±


    The knight closed the lid and carried the box in his arms. While the princess closed her own box and kept it.


    The bishop then continued. ¡°The men have been selected, twenty in total. Our number is not as great as the knights I¡¯m afraid, so I can only get this much. However, to compensate, I will be participating.¡±


    ¡°You? Are you strong?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I am the mentor of my soldiers after all.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then I hope you can move fast.¡±


    ¡°I am fully capable on that part, despite my age.¡± he chuckled.


    ¡°Splendid. Then as planned, send your men here for a meeting with the knights, the full details of the plan will be discussed by me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡±


    And they spoke a little more for the finer details.


    ***


    Meliya chewed the food in her mouth, as her eyes subtly glanced at her youngest child, the daughter, beside her. Her eyes drooped in concern upon seeing how lightless Estelia¡¯s eyes were compared to before. Meliya has been observing her dearest daughter for a while now and was beginning to notice the darkening under her daughter¡¯s eyes more.


    She had also noticed that Estelia has been acting strangely these past few days, but she could do nothing about it when her daughter seemed to be pretty busy herself. And also, Meliya didn¡¯t know how to help her daughter, given the plight she was in. She could not find the ones hunting her daughter. Even the past that involves the gods, there was nothing else to find anymore.


    She couldn¡¯t feel more disappointed in herself.


    She had brought her concern to her husband of course, but Estelia has been hiding her difficulties. It pained Meliya¡¯s heart upon seeing her daughter like this.


    When their dinner was done, Meliya went straight for her and her husband¡¯s bedroom. However, she alone arrived first, as Leodoule still had one thing to finish, but he should come back at any moment. Meliya sat down on the nearby desk, with a small mirror standing on top of it. She stared at herself while pondering, twirling her silvery hair around her finger.


    She was worried about what was to come, scared even. Why couldn¡¯t Estelia just stay home where it¡¯s safe? It has always been that way, and everything was peaceful. Estelia would have nothing to worry about. She was safer inside the confines of their home.


    It may be cruel to keep her here like a bird in a cage, but it was the best and safest option. She will have a quiet and pleasant life. She could eat what she want, read what she want, sleep, or rest anytime she want.


    That was times better than being out there, outside, where her life was at stake.


    And, Estelia never complained about being sheltered in the palace.


    Why now of all times?


    She sighed.


    And at that moment, the door opened. She turned to see her husband entering.


    Leodoule wrinkled his brows after closing the door, noticing something strange about Meliya.


    ¡°Is something concerning you, my love?¡± he asked as he approached her.


    He pulled a chair and sat down beside her before grasping her hand with a worried expression.


    ¡°Tell me¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s Estelia¡­¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°Please do not allow her to do something this dangerous¡­¡±


    Leodoule lowered his head. ¡°It is what she wants¡­ I don¡¯t know what she will do if I deny her of this.¡±


    Meliya held back the tears coming out of her eyes. ¡°... Her health¡­ she definitely is not sleeping properly.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°This whole situation is bothering her so much¡­ why do the gods allow their child to suffer like this¡­?¡±


    ¡°...¡± Leodoule could say nothing but only slowly wrap his arms around his wife.


    Meliya closed her eyes, finding small relief in the warm and soft embrace of her love. But that could not rid the fear and concern she had for her dear daughter.


    ¡°... I want to do something for her¡­ before¡­¡±


    She moved back and looked her husband in the eyes. ¡°I wish to visit Estelia¡­ now.¡±


    ¡°Now? But she¡¯s in her room, she might be asleep now.¡±


    ¡°Leodoule¡­¡±


    ¡°... I suppose¡­ she might still be awake. Very well, go to her.¡±


    With a nod, Meliya rose from her seat and left the room, heading to her daughter¡¯s. When she arrived, she grasped her fingers and took a deep breath. It was then she noticed a faint hint of light coming through the small gaps of the door. Meliya closed her eyes, this could mean Estelia was still awake.


    Once she opened them, she knocked gently on the door.


    ¡°Estelia, it¡¯s me your mother.¡±


    It was silent for a short while until the door clicked open, and Meliya was greeted by her daughter¡¯s wide and gentle eyes, curiously looking at her.


    ¡°Mother¡­? Why are you here¡­?¡±


    Meliya tenderly smiled and patted Estelia¡¯s head. ¡°And you are still awake.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t sleep, am I right?¡±


    ¡°... I am alright¡­¡±


    ¡°No you are not. How many nights have you not been sleeping properly?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Come on, tell me, dear.¡±


    ¡°A few nights now¡­¡± she looked away.


    ¡°Oh dear¡­ are you terrified¡­?¡±


    ¡° ¡ª No I¡¯m not.¡±


    Meliya was quite taken aback by how abrupt her answer was.


    ¡°Alright¡­¡± Meliya entered the room, to Estelia¡¯s confusion. Then she sat on Estelia¡¯s bed. ¡°Let¡¯s have an honest talk, share to me your feelings¡­¡±


    Estelia seemed to hesitate, but in the end, closed and locked the door and walked over to the bed.


    Meliya patted the bed. ¡°Lie down.¡±


    And her daughter did. Meliya removed her sandals and lay on the bed beside Estelia.


    ¡°Tell me what¡¯s troubling your mind¡­¡±


    Meliya was well aware of her troubles of course. But she wanted Estelia to share them herself.


    ¡°...¡±


    But there was no answer. Estelia, while her body facing her mother, was looking away.


    ¡°Tell me what has been happening to you all these nights¡­¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Dear,¡± Meliya gently touched her daughter¡¯s cheek and then pushed her hair aside with her finger. ¡°You do not need to hold back your feelings from me. It is not always good to keep your feelings hidden, even more so to your mother.¡±


    Estelia closed her eyes, and a moment later, she spoke gently. ¡°I can¡¯t sleep, mother¡­ It¡¯s hard. So hard. My mind cannot rest.¡±


    ¡°Are you scared¡­?¡±


    ¡°I am not afraid. I am¡­ only irritated.¡±


    Meliya¡¯s eyes widened slightly, and then she wrapped her arm around Estelia. She felt Estelia flinch for but a moment.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    It was silent for a few seconds before her daughter replied. ¡°Because of them¡­ all of them. They¡­ they are getting in my way¡­¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Meliya glanced at Estelia¡¯s face, she was upset.


    Estelia lowered her head. ¡°Why is it so hard to achieve¡­?¡±


    Meliya¡¯s heart pained to hear the sadness in Estelia¡¯s voice.


    ¡°What is it that you want, my lovely daughter¡­?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    There was no immediate answer from her daughter. Could it be because she found it hard to express it in words? Or perhaps because she was hesitating to answer. But Meliya waited.


    And then, Estelia¡¯s answer came in a small voice.


    ¡°... I only want¡­ to live.¡±


    Meliya fell into puzzlement. She could not understand what Estelia meant by it. Was she not living already? Was she not here beside her? She was able to eat and drink, smile, and talk.


    She was alive, and have a good life here. Is that not living?


    Was she such a failure of a parent that she couldn¡¯t even understand what her daughter deeply wanted?


    ¡°Estelia, what do you mean¡­?¡±


    There was no immediate response, and when it came, it was not what Meliya was seeking. ¡°... I want to sleep. Mother I¡­¡±  Estelia looked up at her. ¡°... no¡­ never mind¡­¡±


    Meliya tenderly smiled. ¡°...Shall I sleep beside you tonight?¡±


    Estelia lowered her head, then she meekly nodded her head. Meliya¡¯s heart grew warm.


    ¡°Then I will do so. And to help you sleep, I will tell you a story.¡±


    Meliya caught a glimpse of her daughter¡¯s small smile, and it brought her relief. It reminded her of when Estelia was still so young, how she asked often for stories to tell before going to sleep. Conjuring that image of that small Estelia brought her a good sense of nostalgia. A beautiful memory.


    ¡°Close your eyes then. I will tell you a story about a baby goose¡­¡±


    It was a short story she once read recently. She glanced at Estelia for a moment before continuing.


    ¡°There was a baby goose, a gosling, traveling the land with her family. The family, two brothers, and two sisters counting our little gosling, along with them, their father and mother. There was a tale of a paradise they heard, a paradise for their kind, where it was rich in water and fruits, a world filled with green life, and a place of safety. But the travel will be long, and dangers linger.


    ¡°And yet they braved on and walked through the dangerous terrains. The goslings trailed behind their parents, as the latter led the way. And then, they were met with a challenge beyond their hands to overcome. A beast with fangs for teeth, and razor-sharp claws, appeared in front of them. The father goose stood in front and begged his family to run away.


    ¡°And so they did. But a few seconds later, the beast stood in their way again. And so the mother begged her children to run away. And so they did. But several seconds later, the beast appeared again. Children as they were, they froze in fear, having no idea of what to do. And so, the beast struck down one of the sisters, then one brother. And so, one remaining brother of our baby gosling told her to run away. And so she did, alone.


    ¡°Minutes passed, but the beast did not appear, seemingly its hunger has been sated. The baby gosling cried the loss of her family. However, it remembered the paradise she heard. And so, as if carrying her family with her, she moved forward. No matter how hard the terrain, how beasts roamed around her, she kept moving forward. Even if hunger or thirst strikes, she never gave up.


    ¡°It was unclear how long it took, but before she knew it, she had arrived at her destination, greeted by a rainbow-colored bird. And indeed, it was paradise. She rested, ate full, and drank full. She felt sad still, that her family was not there with her. But in her sadness, she met others of her kind, and she made friends.


    ¡°Her loneliness was rid of because of the presence of her friends. Who was once alone, now has friends she could talk and eat with. The pain of the loss of her family was ever present, but with her friends, she formed another family, and with joy and life filling her heart, the young gosling smiled.¡±


    Meliya quietly stared at her daughter, who, to her relief, was now sleeping. Seeing Estelia¡¯s adorable face resting, Meliya smiled.


    My little baby¡­


    Estelia will always be her dear baby girl, no matter how much she had grown. She gently kissed her daughter on the forehead, while keeping her in her arms.


    I hope you will be as strong as the baby gosling¡­ no matter how painful the journey in this life may be, please do not give up, and keep going for your goals.


    With the hardship her daughter was facing now, Meliya prayed that Estelia would be able to steel herself and get through it all.


    Meliya rested her head on the pillow beside Estelia and closed her eyes. She knew that Estelia would be more at ease if she was beside her, and she would do it just so her daughter could get a pleasant sleep. Her husband might still be waiting in their room, but surely he would have realized by now.


    With a small smile, Meliya slowly drifted off to sleep with Estelia in her arms.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 21: Operation: Sweet Roses (Part 1)

    Rogan observed the knights preparing their arsenals in the courtyard, the sun still barely up, with only its light slightly touching the edges of the horizon. Everyone had serious expressions on their faces, as they have come to acknowledge the severity of their opposition after the meeting with the princess yesterday.


    The details of the plans, however, were not as detailed, but merely the generalization of it ¡ª like their role and the end goals of the operation. In addition, it was the timing of when everyone would be dispatched as there were requirements that the princess didn¡¯t try to share. But in the end, everyone was said to wait for the right moment, no matter how long.


    Rogan still remembered how strict the princess was when she said to follow her orders. Do not disobey. However, do what you think will be of great benefit to the mission, think for yourself.


    One might think that the last sentence was quite odd, but everyone of course understood what she meant by it. They can choose to act on their own. However, if that was a foolish action, then she would take it as disobedience and the person who did it would surely receive some sort of penalty or punishment.


    Rogan had been preparing himself. The princess was the target of those creatures, and he had to be on guard when the confrontation comes. He shifted his gaze to the spear in his hand. Unlike when he was guarding the princess in the palace, he had to discard the sword and use the type of weapon he always used.


    His gaze returned to the knights. He should be with the princess, truth be told, but he was ordered to oversee the knights¡¯ preparations for a while. But there didn¡¯t seem to be any need for him here, except watch.


    His eyes ended up on Alan, the young man desperate to keep his place in the Order. Truly, Alan was to be admired as someone who resists his parents¡¯ wishes. Just like Rogan himself. Well, at least Alan was being demanded by his family to return.


    Unlike Rogan¡¯s, where his family only tried to reconnect with him when word he became the princess¡¯s personal knight came out. Of course, he had no intention to speak with them. They were selfish buggers.


    They do not care about him, they only care about rising up to the ranks. They would just only use the princess to gain some leverage, they likely thought the princess was an easy game. Working under the princess, Rogan learned that she was no fool. Should he fear for the princess who might get played by his family, or should he fear what would happen to his family if the princess came to realize that?


    Although, perhaps he can¡¯t blame them for attempting to. Nobles desire power, to rise. They would take the easy way if such a way exists. And, they had no idea who the princess truly was. There was nothing to barely any information about her. Even Rogan who was always around the palace didn¡¯t know very much about the mysterious princess in the past.


    Although, her being a treasure that must be protected at all costs was no ruse.


    Rogan began walking, his armor faintly clanking, and approached Alan who was tightening his armor.


    ¡°Feeling relieved that you¡¯ll finally get another chance?¡±


    Alan paused and turned to face Rogan. ¡°Yes, and I am grateful for it,¡± he said with a smile.


    ¡°Good, that¡¯s good. However, you are placed right at the rear though.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ But I understand, best to leave the vanguard to the best.¡±


    ¡°You might not get the shine that you want.¡±


    ¡°... Being involved in this is plenty. Still¡­ I can¡¯t be sure if this will help change my family¡¯s decision. But a man can only hope.¡±


    Rogan nodded. ¡°Just don¡¯t die.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Better make sure you do.


    It would hurt for Alan to die out there, although that didn¡¯t matter much to Rogan. He only hoped that Alan wouldn¡¯t die because the princess was troubled if a weakling like Alan would die during a confrontation under her command.


    And Rogan was one of the two that pleaded with the princess to insert Alan somewhere, and she was quite displeased about it, despite making the decision out of kindness. If Alan dies, Rogan didn¡¯t want to be the target of the princess¡¯s resentment, even if little. Heartless it may be to care more about one¡¯s master than one¡¯s friend, but that was how it was supposed to be. No hard feelings. Besides, it was already decided that Alan¡¯s life was in his own hands, and his blood will not stain anyone¡¯s. If he dies, then it is his own fault.


    Rogan then caught in his eyes a woman he knew very well. He smiled as he left Alan to walk towards that woman with a carefree demeanor.


    ¡°Hey, Ayana!¡±


    The woman, Ayana, turned towards him with a neutral expression after pausing her work. ¡°Rogan¡­¡±


    ¡°So¡­. how are you holding up?¡±


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯m fine. You on the other hand, don¡¯t even seem serious about this.¡±


    ¡°Oh come on, really?¡±


    ¡°...Hm, I suppose you are serious about this.¡±


    ¡°Of course I am.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. You should be plenty motivated for your mistress.¡±


    ¡°...Yeah, I¡¯ll get scolded if I slack around.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡±


    Rogan looked around as if thinking of what to say next and audibly cleared his throat.


    ¡°Uh, Ayana¡­ when this operation¡¯s done. Want to hang out?¡±


    ¡°Hang out? And where would we go? I am quite busy.¡±


    ¡°We should get some free time when the job¡¯s done. The princess would certainly let me go on a day off. And surely you would get one as well. So, how about we go get something to eat out there in the city?¡± Rogan formed a strained smile.


    Ayana furrowed her brows slightly. ¡°No, I don¡¯t see the point of going to the city to eat. We have plenty here already.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°And I would like to take a rest if the mission is done. As what every day off should.¡±


    ¡°It will be a restful occasion¡­¡±


    ¡°As I said, no. No eating in the city will happen.¡±


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    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Hm, if you¡¯ll excuse me, I need to check on my squad.¡±


    And with that, Ayana left.


    Rogan could only stare at her speechless before heaving a heavy sigh.


    No use, huh¡­


    Many times he had asked Ayana something similar, and she would always refuse. He has been trying to get some time, some special time, with her ever since they met. However, nothing.


    And I thought we were getting along so well.


    They treated each other as close friends. However, it would seem that closeness cannot grow into special fondness. And it was saddening and heartbreaking for him, his heart pained and legs slightly weakened. He had already been losing hope for some time now, in fact.


    But now¡­


    There¡¯s no hope after all¡­ guess I should just give up.


    He thought there was something special between them, given how they always interacted with each other. But, it would appear that was the limit to their relationship. That was as far as they can get. He tried going past it, but no, he cannot push through anymore.


    Aaaah, dammit. Can¡¯t let this cloud my mind while doing my duty¡­ At least it didn¡¯t hurt as much as I imagined it would.


    Was it because he had expected it or because of something else?


    He only asked now as one last attempt, after many before. And now she refused, it proved there was no chance in this.


    He returned to where he was standing before and waited while the knights were still finishing up their preparations, and then Estevan arrived. After that, he returned to the palace to meet with his superior, the princess.


    He arrived at the princess¡¯s study room, which Vernon allowed him to enter. Vernon was not wearing his usual butler¡¯s outfit, but now apparels fit for combat. A shirt, but on top of them was a chest armor, going to his back. A small shoulder armor, and metal paddings on his forearms. He wore brown boots, and his legs were also lightly protected but still allowed for flexibility.


    Vernon closed the door after Rogan entered inside.


    His eyes met the princess¡¯s. The princess wore a dark blue blouse with a black leather waistband tied with laces. Her blouse was inserted into her fit dark trousers. She also wore brown boots, which along with her other outfit, looked quite expensive. As one would expect from royalty.


    She had no weapons whatsoever.


    In her hand was a wooden cylinder she received from the Church. Rogan had always been curious the moment he saw that being always on her person, but the princess have been pretty secretive about it. Even to her closest aides, she didn¡¯t give the details except that she was giving it to Allie.


    ¡°Rogan? Everyone preparing well?¡±


    ¡°Yes, princess. How about the Church?¡±


    ¡°They should arrive with their representative shortly.¡±


    ¡°I see. I should say, princess, with the army you just gathered under you, almost look like you¡¯re going to raid a city.¡±


    And they were no normal army, all of the men that made up this army were capable of magic. Small cities would be devastated in their wake.


    ¡°That¡¯s because our enemies are capable of wrecking an entire city ¡ª maybe¡­ In any case, our goal is capture, not eliminate, we will need this much to try and restrain them.¡±


    ¡°... Are you sure you won¡¯t need a weapon. Maybe you¡¯ll feel better with a sword¡­ or a dagger?¡±


    ¡°Oh my, how crude that would be of me. Violence is not my place, much less dangerous objects such as swords or daggers. Besides, I don¡¯t even know how to use those. I already feel safe knowing that you two will be keeping me safe.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ alright.¡±


    ¡°Her highness can cast magic either way if the need arises,¡± said Vernon.


    ¡°Indeed I can¡­¡±


    Rogan observed her.


    ¡°...Are you feeling nervous, princess?¡± asked Rogan.


    She smiled. ¡°I am. But that is normal¡­ mostly stems from the danger of my life. But please make sure to keep me safe, okay Rogan?¡± her smile was charming as ever.


    ¡°Of course, princess. It¡¯s my job.¡±


    Then there came knockings on the door. Rogan opened it and standing there was a person in tight dark robes. Judging from the figure, it was apparent that it was a woman, add to it the long dark hair. Her face on the other hand was covered by a dark mask wrapped around her head.


    ¡°Who are you supposed to be?¡± Asked Rogan casually. If she was allowed entry, then she was no danger. He had an inkling where she came from, but he merely needed confirmation.


    The woman removed the masked and revealed a familiar face.


    ¡°Astine, from the church.¡±


    After ensuring her identity, he allowed her inside. Astine approached the princess and bowed.


    ¡°Your highness, we are ready.¡±


    ¡°Astine¡­ I didn¡¯t expect the mask.¡±


    ¡°We will be operating in the middle of the city. We decided to hide our faces so the citizens would not recognize us, considering that we do rituals in the church.¡±


    ¡°I see. Have those assigned to blend with the crowd already been deployed?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Splendid. My brother should be done on his part shortly.¡±


    Another group of knocks sounded on the door again, and Rogan let the person inside, namely Estevan.


    ¡°Sister, I have done my task.¡±


    ¡°Very good! Meet me outside where the knights train. I will need to speak to a collaborator.¡±


    With a nod, Astine and Estevan left the room first.


    ¡°Father and Mother will be seeing me out, yes?¡± she asked Vernon.


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ Vernon, please call Mera. Bring Allie to me.¡±


    The moment Vernon left, the princess opened the bottom of the cylinder-shaped item with a twist. Rogan was a bit surprised, the gap wasn¡¯t even that obvious, so none would even try to assume that it can be opened from the bottom tip.


    Rogan didn¡¯t see what was inside, but the princess was peeking. With a nod, she held out her hand, and mana in the color of red and orange emanated from her fingertips and flowed inside the cylinder. It was a sizable amount in Rogan¡¯s opinion.


    When she was done, the mana stopped, and then she closed it tight.


    ¡°Princess, what is that?¡±


    ¡°A magic item. Without magic, it¡¯s basically pointless, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    No that¡¯s not¡­


    Was that all there was? He was not sure. Was it truly for fueling that magic item or for something else?


    Rogan subtly shook his head and moved on from the questions in his mind. It was then he noticed the princess staring at him intently. She narrowed her eyes as if reading through him.


    ¡°P-Princess, what¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Is something troubling you?¡± she asked, concern tinged in her voice.


    ¡°What? No, no. What could trouble me?¡±


    ¡°Rogan¡­¡±


    ¡°...¡± Rogan frowned before sighing. ¡°It¡¯s um, it¡¯s a personal problem.¡±


    ¡°Not willing to share I see. That¡¯s alright.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°But don¡¯t let it interfere in the mission. If it does, I¡¯ll be mad at you.¡±


    ¡°Sure, princess. I¡¯ll be focused, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    A while later, Vernon returned, and with him were Allie and Mera. Mera was wearing her usual maid uniform as she would not be coming along for the operation, as obviously, she was no combatant. Allie on the other hand was wearing plain clothes.


    The princess stood up and walked toward Allie. ¡°Today is the day, Allie. I assume you remember everything I told you?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Perfect. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re doing this. And here.¡±


    The princess presented the small cylinder and Allie received it.


    ¡°Remember what I instructed you for this one. May the light you bring guide us all.¡±


    ¡°Yes, princess. I will make sure to succeed.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Now then, as planned, we will be leaving in advance. In a couple of hours, it is your turn to leave this palace. Good luck.¡±


    The princess left the room, Vernon and Rogan following behind her. Incidentally, Vernon carrying in his arm was a cloak for the princess to use. Not only was she the enemy¡¯s target, but she was also extremely eye-catching. If she was to go to the city, it was only normal for her to be covered.


    They went down the stairs and left the palace halls, heading for the knights¡¯ training ground. When they arrived, knights and church soldiers have already lined up, wearing cloaks around them. However, not all of the knights and church members were there.


    Sixty percent of the knights and another sixty percent of the church members were already deployed to mix in with the crowds in the city, to act as civilians. They were carrying arms of course except for the church, but it was not odd for civilians to carry swords and wear armor. They just didn¡¯t have anything on them to determine that they were knights.


    The princess stood in front of everyone, a smile blooming on her lips.


    ¡°Know that I am happy to have your help. And I thank you all. In the duration of this operation, we will be hunting our enemies that have been lurking and hiding within our own city for years. They cannot be allowed to remain free for the sake of our home kingdom!¡± her voice was full of confidence and energy, as how a leader would speak to her soldiers. ¡°Let us all be successful under the watchful gaze of the gods. For the peace and unity in our homeland!¡±


    ¡°In the name of the Lord and Lady!¡± The knights placed their fists on their chests. While the church placed their palm on their hearts.


    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s move.¡±


    The knights and the church moved by squad, riding into their own simple-looking carriages, ones that has been brought yesterday in the pretext and in the appearance of bringing in and bringing out supplies.


    One carriage moved out of the palace first, then after several minutes, another went out.


    There were a few more carriages that would leave one by one. They didn¡¯t move out all at once just so they would not attract a lot of attention.


    The princess received and wore her cloak. Upon arrival at the front palace entrance, she met with her parents and eldest brother then waved goodbyes.


    ¡°Be safe,¡± her family said.


    Afterward, she entered a carriage with Vernon and Rogan. Meanwhile, Estevan and Astine each rode in different carriages.


    The princess¡¯s carriage was the last to move out of the palace.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 22: Operation: Sweet Roses (Part 2)

    Allie tightly grasped the wooden cylinder that fit in her palm before putting it inside her pocket. She swallowed, feeling nervous. With her was Mera who alone was tending to her while everyone else was out. Allie held her hands together to stop their shaking.


    A glass of water was then suddenly placed on the table in front of her. Curious, she shifted her gaze towards Mera.


    ¡°It looks like you need a drink,¡± said the maid.


    Allie formed a strained smile and drank the water from the glass. She was intending to drink only a small amount, but to her own surprise, she drank all of it. Perhaps because of her nervousness.


    It should be anytime now that she should be leaving. She was instructed what to do, but how long will her pretending last? Would she be exposed? What will be done to her if she was seen through?


    Calm down, it¡¯s not the first time you tried hiding something.


    She told herself.


    That aside, she had been feeling rather curious about how her friends have been holding up all this time. Were they still truly here in the city? She would like to ask them why they didn¡¯t try to save her. However, that would be hard to do, especially with the current situation.


    They must have a reason, as all things do. However, it was still cruel of them.


    This is going to be a long day.


    A long day of uneasiness and restlessness. Indeed, it was so pressuring. But she had to do this. Although, there was still the matter of if she messed things up. She just had to hope that something bad wouldn¡¯t happen and work hard.


    It had also been a long time since she came to the city. With all the people there and being outside again, it would certainly overwhelm her. But that was not that big of an issue that it would obstruct her task.


    Time passed, and Mera spoke.


    ¡°It is time.¡±


    Allie nodded and stood up with a deep breath. Mera led her out until they reached the palace doors. There, she saw the eldest prince, Eleden, standing by the wall. He didn¡¯t seem to be intending on doing anything. Also, the rest of the royal family was not around.


    It would seem they were wary as ever.


    Mera opened the door and led Allie to the gates where they approached the small door beside it. Allie touched the door as her heart grew heavy.


    Mera stared at her before saying softly with a neutral expression. ¡°Good luck.¡±


    Receiving this different treatment from before, this small kindness, brought Allie a little sense of relief. ¡°Thank you.¡± she said with a smile.


    Instead of a common guard, a knight watched the door and opened it. Allie stepped inside, and after passing through the wall interior, the last door opened. And finally, she was outside. Subsequently, the door behind her closed.


    She was alone now.


    The sun and the scene in front of her were both beautiful and brilliant. The blue sky, the arching bridge, and the rooftops of the city from afar. Her heart raced as if she was relieved of the chains that once wrapped around her, and was finally freed from her prison. But that was merely an illusion, for now.


    She began walking, her eyes peering all around, taking in all that her eyes could see. The river sparkled in translucent blue beneath the bridge, fishes swam merrily. The air was fresh and sweet, so calming as the gentle wind touched her skin.


    She kept walking with a lightened heart. Her steps pranced a little.


    It took a while, but she arrived at the city. People were already crowding the streets. There was too much noise that it disturbed her, but nothing she couldn¡¯t handle. She made her way to her first destination, the market.


    As she walked, she looked around anxiously. She didn¡¯t know whether the princess¡¯s soldiers were watching her, but they should be, although she was not sure. But the princess did say that her people will be around, so there must definitely be some watching her from afar. She just couldn¡¯t notice.


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    There were a variety of fruits on the stalls, street foods, and many nice things that she would like to try. But she had no money in her pockets. Although, this made her feel nostalgic, and she began to imagine what she would do once she was truly free to do whatever she wanted. She knew that she had to succeed in this task to even start touching that future even for just a little.


    She walked towards the middle of the street, it was how she usually did it. She stood there for a while, but no one came for her. The princess mentioned that they would be confused and shocked at first if they ever saw Allie, which may cause a delay in their response. Thus, she must wait and walk around a bit, acting naturally.


    When she began walking again, it felt like her legs had softened, or weakened, probably because of the intense anxiety. The thought of failure crossed her mind, causing her to lose a bit of her remaining confidence. But the princess advised her to breathe calmly and think positively, to channel that anxiety into something that would enhance herself in her endeavors of any kind.


    She stopped by a stall of fruits, then by another, then by a corner of a store. She waited and waited for several minutes. The plan was to wait for about half to one hour and move on to the next place.


    However, suddenly, a hand grasped her wrist. She almost yelped in fear and frantically turned her head to face whoever¡¯s hand it was.


    ¡°Allie? How¡­¡±


    There was a hooded man, covered in his cloak. A man she was familiar with, one of the people that saved her that time, a beastman. Underneath the shade of his cloak were his widened eyes, confused to see her.


    ¡°Evry,¡± Allie muttered his name.


    ¡°What is going on here?¡±


    Allie swallowed in an attempt to rid herself of her anxiety and gather her courage.


    ¡°I-I need to t-talk.¡± she said, her eyes pleading deeply.


    The beastman, Evry, looked around the market before nodding. ¡°Not here.¡±


    He pulled her by the wrist and brought her behind the buildings, through the narrow alleyways. Eventually, they arrived at a place where there was no one around, for now at least. If there was, he would either make them leave or change locations. Either way, they now have a place to speak.


    Evry pushed her into the wall and it hurt her a bit. But not enough to make a bruise at least.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here? We assumed Oryn is dead with the loss of communications.¡±


    ¡°H-He¡­¡± she tried speaking out with a shaking voice. ¡°He is dead¡­¡±


    ¡°What the fuck happened?¡±


    ¡°...He was killed by the people in the palace, he was exposed.¡±


    ¡°Dammit, of course he would. He even failed¡­ And how are you still alright? Where were you all these months?¡± he narrowed his eyes suspiciously.


    Allie subtly gulped in fear. ¡°I-I did what was ordered to do, but it was a failure. I failed.¡±


    ¡°The poison? Shit. Seeing that you¡¯re still here in front of me, why didn¡¯t you try again, hm? You just wasted that much time to do your task?!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I.¡±


    ¡°What? Can¡¯t answer? Or were you perhaps exposed as well?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± she pursed her lips.


    ¡°Hm? No, if you were exposed, then you would have been killed already or imprisoned¡­¡­ Allie, why didn¡¯t you just got out of the palace immediately?¡± he took in a deep breath as if trying to calm himself down.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...You could have received new instructions or at least help us know your situation.¡±


    His gaze was stern. However, Allie felt a little puzzled. There was a trace of concern in his voice and eyes.


    As if regaining his calm, Evry took a step back. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was just agitated and confused after seeing you. I assumed you were dead, so you might have been an illusion.¡±


    Allie remembered how he was as a person. He was a person with a short temper, and when worked up, he exactly wouldn¡¯t hold back his physical strength as a beastman. Given that she was not hurt much after he pushed her, Allie felt thankful that he held back his strength.


    ¡°Evry¡­ I¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°For what?¡±


    ¡°For failing¡­¡±


    ¡°... Nothing can be done about it now¡­ at least you¡¯re still breathing, that¡¯s one less casualty to think about.¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡­ for your concern.¡± Allie thinly smiled.


    ¡°Concern? Mm. Although tell me, Allie, how did you fail?¡±


    ¡°... The princess¡­. Did not eat the poisoned food.¡±


    ¡°... I see. So perhaps you¡¯ve run out then.¡±


    ¡°... Yes, I did run out.¡±


    He gently nodded before continuing. ¡°Oryn¡­ how did he die?¡±


    ¡°The prince fought with him. Only after did I discover what happened to him¡­¡±


    Allie lowered her gaze, and Evry closed his eyes.


    ¡°I see¡­ he will be remembered¡­ He must be remembered in the homeland for his sacrifice.¡±


    Allie rubbed her thumbs together before uttering. ¡°Evry¡­ help me¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡±


    ¡°Get¡­ me¡­ out.¡±


    ¡°What are you¡­?¡± he sensed something was wrong with Allie¡¯s plea, and he stepped back a little.


    ¡°Oryn¡¯s ¡®betrayal¡¯ in the palace did not spare me, Evry.¡±


    Evry wrinkled his brow. ¡°Is that why you were unable to get out of the palace¡­?¡±


    She meekly nodded. ¡°It was¡­ it was painful, Evry. Help me please, I don¡¯t want to stay there anymore¡­¡±


    ¡°... Allie¡­ are the humans¡­ suspicious of you? Then¡­ your presence here is not safe¡­¡± he looked around and shook his head. ¡°No¡­ I sensed that no one followed us here, so there shouldn¡¯t be anyone¡­¡±


    ¡°Evry,¡± Allie reached out for his hand. ¡°I beg you, please, get me out.¡±


    ¡°.... Allie, I can¡¯t just take you to our safehouse, especially after all that happened. It¡¯s too risky for us. And suddenly taking you in, it¡¯s not up to me.¡±


    The corners of her eyes were starting to dampen in tears as if her hope was starting to crack apart. ¡°... T-Then please call Arnaut¡­ I want to talk to him. Please, let me talk to him.¡±


    Evry placed a hand on his forehead, deliberating. ¡°..... Shit¡­ Fine¡­ I¡¯ll bring Arnaut, but stay here. And don¡¯t do anything else. I will be back soon.¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡±


    Just as he was about to begin walking away, Allie continued speaking.


    ¡°Be careful on the way, Evry. Be very careful.¡±


    Evry looked around the area again before nodding in acknowledgment. Allie on the other hand placed a hand on her chest and lowered her gaze. What she was doing must be right¡­ indeed, it should be the right thing to do.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 23: Operation: Sweet Roses (Part 3)

    Evry walked out of the dreary alley and merged himself into the human crowd. He was still coping with Allie suddenly appearing after the long assumption that she would never be seen again. But to think she was still alive, although it seemed as though there was a price to that. She was in complete distress.


    There was both fear and desperation in her eyes, which disturbed Evry a little. He had known her when she was still a young human running from monsters. Of course, he didn¡¯t care about her at that time. Why should he? She was a random human accidentally stumbling on them on their way to this city.


    However, Arnaut, their leader, felt otherwise. Evry couldn¡¯t help but feel extremely irritated when their leader decided to bring her along. Still, Allie was not such a bad human. She was bold, charming, and sweet, and she often gave him snacks; they were quite delicious.


    With that said, seeing how distressed she was, he had an annoying urge to help her. However, that didn¡¯t mean he was going to slack on security. He heeded her warning.


    He listened deeply to his surroundings, heightening his senses, listening to the steps the crowd of humans was making. They were random steps, but he was looking for the ones following his direction. With the same sound and same intervals. Not an easy thing to do at first, but as he kept moving forward, he should be able to notice it.


    He also listened to the sounds in the buildings, for enemies could hide in any of them. But this was extremely hard, so he also used his eyes to look for anything suspicious. Their sharpness would help.


    And then, a few seconds later, he stopped. He looked around. There was someone there. No, not just someone, but multiple. He subtly clicked his tongue, so Allie knew the humans would try to follow him.


    The enemies were all on the ground, keeping their distance. Evry changed his direction and quicked his pace. The footsteps followed, keeping up with him. Amidst all this, he wondered why they didn¡¯t attack there and then when he was with Allie.


    He quickened his speed further, and they were still somewhere behind him. His gaze shifted towards a particular building, a small tavern. It was a place he knew and had always seen with all his time here in the city. He even came there a few times. Thus, he knew there was a way through there.


    He abruptly entered the building, and the people within cautiously turned toward him. But Evry ignored them and went through the exit on the other side of the building. Of course this wouldn¡¯t be enough to rid of the ones following him, so he jumped through the open window of another building nearby.


    A child was there, surprised he intruded, but then again, he merely ignored him and walked through the corridor to come out to the other side. Afterward, he walked through a small alleyway, then blended with the crowd.


    He quickly walked further away, and the footsteps following him slowly faded in the distance. He sighed slightly in relief, he lost them. But that was not certain, and so, he walked through a couple more buildings and walked around in random directions, but keeping his distance from the last location of his trackers.


    He made sure there was no one else following him, and indeed, there was no one left. Now safe, he began making his way to their safe house. That said, he kept checking on the way, and he felt relieved that everything was safe and quiet.


    It would be such a headache if they were hard to lose or if there were new ones he had to worry about.


    He was halfway there, and he pondered on how he should go about telling everyone what happened. How would Arnaut go deal with this? If he does think of doing something, would the elves get in the way? The elves were the ones adamantly against bringing Allie. Their kind just carried that much dislike towards humans, they even did their best to avoid Allie because they didn¡¯t want her to get all friendly with them.


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    Many times they proposed to dispose of her, but Arnaut would always go against it. Of course they have no choice but to follow him. But Allie couldn¡¯t keep on doing this, she had to be used. Pressured by the rest of the team, Arnaut had no choice but to have Allie infiltrate the palace and assist their agent inside.


    Even Evry had conflicting feelings about this, but it was all up to Arnaut.


    Suddenly, he abruptly stopped, his eyes wide in confusion.


    What?


    He noticed something, smell something. It was faint but it was the same smell that was present since earlier when he lost the ones tailing him. He didn¡¯t notice it until now because it was so faint that it blended with the other humans¡¯ smell. However, the scent was following him.


    But strange there were no footsteps, it was perfectly quiet.


    Who could do that¡­?


    He sweated a little, feeling nervous. He almost led that person to their hideout. If he never noticed, everything would have failed.


    Shit. To think someone could evade me this long.


    He peered around his surrounding, but he couldn¡¯t notice anything suspicious. There was nothing but normal people. This made him uneasy. He had no idea where this person precisely was, the scent of other people clouded his nose.


    He took a deep breath and promptly took a quick step forward, sprinting away from this place, and weaving through the crowd. This would call a lot of attention, but he had no other choice. All he could do was minimize the danger as much as possible.


    Besides, if his enemy had to follow him while sprinting, they would give away their position.


    Evry, jumped through windows and ran through doors, going in and out of multiple buildings. However, he couldn¡¯t sense anyone running after him. He felt it was a bit of a waste, they should have chased after him, but it would seem they didn¡¯t. Perhaps because he moved too fast.


    A short while later, Evry stopped and paused, sniffing the air. That smell was nowhere to be found anymore. They have gone.


    He sighed in relief. Truly a troubling kind.


    He walked around some more, taking care not to get more attention. He then came across a small shop selling clothes, his eyes gazing at the bluish robe.


    Just to be sure¡­


    He approached the clerk and asked for the robe. After paying, he entered a small alley and changed his robe swiftly after making sure there was no one around and then discarded the last one. With that done, he made his way to their hideout. Of course he was extra careful on the way, but there was nothing to be on guard now.


    He stood in front of a two-floored building, one that was open for rent by humans. He knocked with a certain rhythm on the door. With him doing it correctly, the door opened for him.


    Evry entered and the door behind him closed. He turned to see a man lowering his hood, his ears were long and pointed.


    ¡°Evry, what¡¯s the reason you¡¯re back here at his hour?¡±


    He could tell the reason, but elves were not exactly open people. Thus he decided it was best to only consult with Arnaut. He feared that if the elf was made aware of Allie at this moment, the next thing he knows she would already be dead.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to talk to the boss. Urgent matter.¡±


    ¡°What could be urgent at this time?¡±


    ¡°I would like to speak with him privately. You¡¯ll find out soon enough.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± he stared at him with narrowed eyes. ¡°Whatever, go.¡±


    ¡°So, in his room then?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Evry climbed up the stairs and went for Arnaut¡¯s room. He knocked on the door.


    ¡°Arnaut, it¡¯s me Evry. There is something important I need to tell you.¡±


    A second later, a man with dog-like ears opened the door, his eyes looking at Evry inquisitively.


    ¡°What? Did something go wrong?¡±


    Evry resisted the urge to smirk. After all that happened, it would seem Arnaut had been expecting an incident among his men eventually. What a negative way to see things.


    ¡°No. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s something that went wrong. In fact, I think you might feel a bit good after hearing it.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Evry moved closer to his ear.


    ¡°Allie is alive.¡±


    Arnaut¡¯s eyes widened after involuntarily taking a deep breath.


    ¡°She¡¯s¡­ W-Where, where is she? Did you take her with you?¡±


    ¡°No, I was worried that it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea for me to just suddenly take her. And, there seems to be something dangerous happening to her.¡±


    ¡°... Meaning?¡±


    ¡°The humans. They¡¯re doing something to her¡­¡± he didn¡¯t know what exactly. But something was definitely going on.


    ¡°Humans¡­¡± he looked down with stern eyes.


    ¡°She wishes to speak with you.¡±


    ¡° ¡ª Take me to her.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 24: Operation: Sweet Roses (Part 4)

    Arnaut quickly grabbed and wore his cloak while rushing down the stairs, with Evry following close behind him. On the way of course, they encountered the elf guarding the door. The elf narrowed his eyes curiously at the two rushing beastmen.


    Arnaut sternly gazed at the elf as he noticed that he appeared to be thinking of blocking their way in an attempt to have his question answered.


    ¡°May I ask where you are going?¡±


    ¡°We need to meet with someone,¡± replied Arnaut. ¡°Keep watch of the hideout.¡±


    The elf mildly shook his head in puzzlement. ¡°In a rush? Surely you can tell me what is going on.¡±


    ¡°I will tell you once I have learned more about the situation.¡±


    ¡°Arnaut, you are apparently agitated. Whatever for, hiding it from everyone wouldn¡¯t do good for us all.¡±


    Arnaut resisted the urge to click his tongue. Ever since the degradation of their situation here in the city, and their shrinking number, the elves have become more watchful and strict. Arnaut may be the leader, but elves were vain still. Could be in their nature, or maybe because their ambassador was directly coordinating and supervising the operation happening here in the realm of humans.


    Or perhaps, they were just losing faith in him. They may follow his orders, but his control over them now had limits. The elves might do something to Allie that wouldn¡¯t be in line with Arnaut¡¯s interest.


    ¡°I will tell you later¡­¡±


    ¡°Take me with you. If it is something that even you intend to hide, then I would like to come with you. As a leader, we can¡¯t let you go with only one guard. At least two will suffice.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t leave the hideout without anyone to watch over it.¡±


    Then came rhythmic knocking on the door.


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s me Yuro, I brought food for lunch.¡±


    The elf grinned. ¡°I have a substitute.¡±


    The elf opened the door and the man entered inside. After the elf closed the door, the newly arrived man lowered his hood, revealing feline-like ears on top of his head. He curiously looked at everyone while carrying a basket in his hand.


    ¡°Boss? Going somewhere?¡±


    Arnaut shifted his gaze from the elf to Yuro, and nodded. ¡°Yes¡­¡± realizing that the elf was so adamant about coming along, he had no choice. ¡°Stay here and watch the hideout.¡±


    ¡°What? Why so sudden¡­?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡ª.¡±


    Arnaut exited the building followed by Evry and the elf ¡ª everyone already had their hoods covering their heads. He stopped and turned to the elf. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything. Do not fight, do not kill. Do not do anything violent without my say-so.¡±


    ¡°... Very well¡­¡±


    ¡°Can I trust you on that?¡±


    ¡°If you are this stern about it, then I will comply with your order.¡±


    Good. He should at least think before doing something dangerous.


    Arnaut, all this time, has been exceedingly concerned about Allie. He completely had no idea what could have happened to her, and now she has shown herself. He wanted to know what happened to her, what she went through. Why was she showing herself now?


    What could have happened?


    He wanted information¡­ and also, he wanted to check if she was alright.


    Arnaut turned towards Evry. ¡°Lead us there.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Yes, but act casual. There are¡­ enemies watching around her.¡±


    With that, the three of them started moving. As they grew distant from their hideout, Arnaut began raising his senses to watch out for something out of the ordinary.


    While doing so, he began to ponder how Allie was still alive, or allowed to make communications with them by letting her go outside. They expected she would be exposed the moment Oryn did. He was happy that Allie was still alive, but that didn¡¯t mean he could set aside his curiosity, or perhaps confusion.


    Although, it would be pointless to keep thinking about it when he would be asking Allie later on.


    But could this perhaps mean that Oryn was still alive somewhere? Perhaps being kept as a prisoner? Arnaut was a bit conflicted on which one would be a better case. It would be upsetting to confirm he was dead, yes. However, wouldn¡¯t it be better if he was dead? Since if he was being held captive, they could have extracted information from him.


    Although, he was an elf.


    He wouldn¡¯t be an easy nut to crack. He was an elf willing to cut off his ears for the cause. A man like that wouldn¡¯t break by tortures and such.


    Hm, Evry spoke with Allie, maybe he knows¡­


    He walked closer and quietly asked Evry. ¡°Did you ask about what happened to Oryn?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ and he¡¯s dead.¡±


    ¡°... I see.¡±


    He glanced at the elf beside him, and they nodded at each other. Every death was something to be sad about, and his sacrifice would not be forgotten. Once this was over, all the lives that were sacrificed here shall be known by the people back in their homeland.


    ¡°What will you say to her?¡± Evry asked.


    Arnaut thought about it, however¡­ ¡°I need to understand the situation first.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    They have walked some distance and they were getting closer as Evry said. Incidentally, the crowd felt like they were becoming dangerous where enemies could pop out at any moment. Arnaut couldn¡¯t hear nor sense anything outright threatening though.


    Evry warned them, so there should be enemies around here hiding. However, for some reason, they weren¡¯t attacking.


    What are they planning?


    Or perhaps they have not realized it was them here. Men in cloaks or robes were not an uncommon sight in the city.


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    A while later, Evry stopped. ¡°Here, right down this alleyway.¡±


    Arnaut took in a deep breath.


    The elf on the other hand began speaking, warning them. ¡°Seriously? Here? Arnaut, you don¡¯t need to go in there. Let me.¡±


    Arnaut instantly glared at the elf. ¡°I¡¯m already here, there¡¯s no need for that.¡±


    ¡°This could be a trap. We can¡¯t risk your life.¡±


    ¡°And what will you do to Allie, hm? I intend to speak with her.¡±


    ¡°She is of no consequence. You do not need to endanger your life for that human.¡±


    ¡°No, I will go see her.¡±


    The elf sternly gazed at him as though looking at a fool. ¡°This is unnecessary, your attachment to this human is clouding your rationality. This is dangerous.¡±


    ¡°That is why there are only three of us here. If something happens to me, another leader will take my place.¡±


    ¡°Tch. When it comes to it, then there¡¯s no choice. Don¡¯t be angry with me.¡±


    The elf shook his head and placed a hand on his sword. What did he mean when there was no choice?


    Could he have meant escaping without anyone else? Or did he intend to kill Allie after all?


    Arnaut wanted to ask, but that was not important right now. They were right in the area where enemies could appear at any second, best to focus on the task at hand.


    Arnaut shifted his eyes to face Evry and gave a nod. With that, they entered the alleyway following behind Evry. It was a small path, apparently barely used by humans to pass through. They only came across a couple of humans on the way.


    Then, several seconds later, Arnaut saw a human, a young woman, sitting down on a stone. He took in a deep breath at the sight of her, he involuntarily remembered that time they had together.


    His times with her, reminded him of home.


    ¡°Allie¡­¡± he muttered her name.


    As though realizing their arrival, the young woman who was sitting down gloomily turned her head towards them, and her eyes widened. She abruptly stood up as the corners of her eyes dampened. She placed a hand on her chest as though feeling an intense emotion in her heart she was trying to suppress.


    Arnaut unconsciously smiled, and there was this pleasant feeling in his heart, energizing his soul. All the worries, the fears, all alleviated the moment he laid eyes on her, alive and well. For months he have been agonizing at the thought of her.


    She was still as adorable as ever.


    He rushed his steps, but the moment he did so, the elf held his shoulder, holding him back.


    ¡°What are you¡ª?¡±


    ¡°Arnaut, don¡¯t. We still can¡¯t be sure.¡±


    It was uncertain whether it was safe or not to approach her, especially Arnaut being the leader. They couldn¡¯t risk it.


    It was hard, he wanted to take her into his arms, but he needed to bear it until the situation was clear.


    When Arnaut returned his gaze to Allie, her once joyful gaze now had a hint of cautiousness in them.


    ¡°Arnaut¡­ what¡¯s wrong¡­?¡± she meekly asked.


    It was the moment he realized that she seemed different. What happened to her? The demeanor was completely different than what he remembered.


    ¡°Hello, Allie¡­ I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re okay.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°You want to talk to me?¡±


    ¡°... Why are you keeping your distance? W-Why?¡± she seemed confused and afraid.


    For a mere moment, Arnaut bit his lip. ¡°Let us talk for the moment. We thought you were dead.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°And Oryn is dead. So Allie, what happened after his death?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I did as was asked¡­ I poured poison on the princess¡¯s food. But, she didn¡¯t eat it.¡±


    ¡°Why? How did you fail?¡±


    ¡°They were already suspicious of me¡­ After what happened to Oryn.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ were your collaboration so obvious there? I thought you were instructed to keep it subtle.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ They noticed¡­¡±


    ¡°How much did they notice that you were subsequently suspected?¡±


    Allie placed a hand on her shoulder. ¡°... I don¡¯t know. Arnaut please, I need your help¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait, Allie. Let me ask you first¡­ I can¡¯t help you without clarifying some things first.¡±


    ¡°...But¡­¡± she lowered her head, sad.


    ¡°Allie, how did Oryn end up dying?¡±


    ¡°He¡­ I heard he attacked the princess.¡±


    He really did it, huh.


    He tried to stop Oryn from doing so, but he was being pressured in there. Still, that was a bold and dangerous move. A shame that he failed. How could the princess have evaded him?


    ¡°Still, how exactly did the humans come to suspect you as well?¡±


    ¡°Maybe because¡­ they discovered¡­ or suspected that Oryn and I were¡­¡± she closed her eyes as if hesitating to continue.


    ¡°Allie? Continue¡­¡±


    ¡°Oryn and I¡­ were¡­ intimate.¡±


    ¡°Intimate¡­?¡± Arnaut echoed, baffled by the statement.


    ¡°Him? Intimate with you? A human? Don¡¯t be absurd.¡± the elf shook his head and waved his hand, dismissing her words.


    Indeed, it was hard to believe that Oryn as an elf would genuinely care for a human.


    ¡°Then¡­ what happened after you failed to poison the princess?¡±


    ¡°T-They, they¡­ they t-took me to a d-dungeon¡­¡± her lips shook, and tears began to come out of her eyes. ¡°A-And then they¡­¡± the tears dropped to the floor. ¡°They hurt me Arnaut¡­ so much...¡± her body trembled. ¡°They asked and asked, but I couldn¡¯t give any answer¡­ so they hurt me more.¡±


    She cast her tear-filled gaze away.


    Arnaut saw despair in her, utter despair. It was clear and certain. They tortured her. He curled his fist, his teeth grinding upon thinking how much the humans made her suffer. How could they do such a horrible thing to this girl?


    She was not strong, she was soft and fragile, like any other human. The thought of her being tormented, it enraged him.


    Arnaut stepped forward, he wanted to stop her weeping. However, the elf grabbed his hand.


    ¡°Stop, Arnaut. There¡¯s still something we need to ask.¡±


    ¡°... What?¡± he wanted to punch the elf¡¯s face, but he was right.


    The elf used his free hand to hold the hilt of his sword. ¡°You were their prisoner for months then. So, how come you are here in front of us now?¡±


    Seeing the elf slowly drawing his sword, Arnaut grabbed the elf¡¯s collar and pulled him close. ¡°Don¡¯t even try it. We have not yet gotten the answer.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s already obvious, and you know it. If you keep this up, I¡¯ll ask the ambassador to remove you as the leader. Your judgment cannot be completely trusted anymore.¡±


    ¡°Be that as it may, I am still your current leader. Stand down.¡±


    The elf glared at Arnaut, then returned his gaze to Allie. With a hesitating nod, he returned the blade to its sheathe, and Arnaut let him go.


    ¡°Allie,¡± Arnaut turned to face her. ¡°Why are you free now?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I have no c-choice, Arnaut. They wanted me to help them¡­ They know you are somewhere in this city. They would kill me if I do not follow their orders. They want to catch you, using me as bait.¡±


    ¡°Then this place here is a trap?¡± the three looked around the area, but they couldn¡¯t sense anything. Still if this was a trap, where were the humans? ¡°Why haven¡¯t they attacked yet?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not here, Arnaut.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°They want you to surrender. Surrender now, and there will be no bloodshed.¡±


    ¡°They should know that we wouldn¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­¡± she lowered her head. ¡°They won¡¯t attack here. They want to catch most of you at least. With only the three of you h-here¡­ it wouldn¡¯t be enough.¡±


    ¡°So they were hoping to catch us if there are more of us that came for you?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°But, what then? With only the three of us here.¡±


    ¡°That is why you need to be careful on going back¡­ They intend to follow you to where you¡¯re hiding¡­¡±


    ¡°They did follow me earlier,¡± Evry added.


    ¡°But here you are, warning us¡­ it would be bad if they realize this.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ that is fine¡­ if it¡¯s for you¡­ I will do it, even if it endangers me.¡±


    ¡°Allie¡­ Is this what you want to talk about?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ I want¡­.¡± she looked him in the eyes, pleading. ¡°...I want to ask you to help me, Arnaut.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go back there. You¡¯re strong, aren¡¯t you? You can take me away from them, here and now. P-Please, Arnaut¡­the pain¡­I can¡¯t bear it anymore. I keep remembering all those times, what they did to me.¡± she covered her eyes with her hands, tears still falling down.


    Then she continued with a faltering voice. ¡°S-Save me, please¡­¡±


    Arnaut¡¯s heart sank. She was in agony, and he knew it. He wanted to save her. If she failed them, to be of use to the humans, who knows what they would do to her again.


    Enemies were not in the area, he could take her easily to safety.


    This was a chance to save her.


    ¡°A¡ª¡± he was about to say that he would, however, the elf pulled his arm again.


    ¡°She is a liability. There is no need to take her.¡±


    ¡°You ¡ª¡±


    ¡°Even if we do try to take this human, you think they wouldn¡¯t chase us? We¡¯ll take this opportunity to get away from here while they think they can follow us. If we take her, they will attack.¡±


    ¡°We should be able to take her with us.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t let your absurd emotion for this human blind you. There are only three of us here, and we don¡¯t know how many humans are stationed all around the city for us.¡±


    Arnaut turned to look at Evry, hoping for something to affirm his decision. However, Evry gave no response, he had nothing to give. Arnaut¡¯s heart raced. What should be done here?


    ¡°Leave her, Arnaut.¡± the elf continued. ¡°She is not worth your life. Our lives.¡±


    Arnaut took in a shaking deep breath. He pondered and pondered as fast as he could.


    Then his eyes caught Allie looking at him with begging eyes, waiting to be saved. His heart ached.


    ¡°Allie I¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Allie¡¯s eyes widened, as if heartbroken.


    ¡°I can¡¯t help you,¡± Arnaut continued. ¡°Too much is at risk.¡±


    ¡°Y-You¡­ you would abandon me? L-Leave me h-here?¡±


    Forcing himself, Arnaut averted his eyes and turned his back to her. He began walking in the opposite direction, the elf following behind him. Evry paused for a moment and glanced at Allie before following the others.


    ¡°Please! Arnaut! Don¡¯t leave me!¡±


    Given his beastman ears, Arnaut could hear the desperation and pain in her voice so clearly. She sobbed, her tears audibly dropping to the floor. He could hear every detail of her cries.


    With a thud on the floor, Allie collapsed to her knees. However, Arnaut didn¡¯t look back.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 25: Operation: Sweet Roses (Part 5)

    When he returned to the street crowded with humans, he looked up, feeling intense heaviness in his chest.


    ¡°You made the right choice.¡± said the elf.


    He didn¡¯t respond but only continued walking away. He just wanted to put some distance between him and Allie, perhaps because he was remorseful of his choice, he felt terrible for betraying her. He didn¡¯t want to, but it must be done.


    How much he wanted to save her¡­ even now, both his mind and heart were conflicting. What would his decision be if it was only him and Evry that faced her?


    Imagining how much he hurt Allie made him recall his own daughter he left behind in his homeland.


    ¡°Arnaut, someone¡¯s following us¡­¡±


    He was brought out of his spiraling thoughts by that warning from Evry. As a beastman, Arnaut should have noticed it at the same time as him. But he was so lost in thought that he disregarded his surrounding which Evry noticed and took it upon himself to warn those with him.


    ¡°Should we kill them?¡± asked the elf.


    Arnaut shook his head. ¡°That would call all of their might unto us. We need to lose them,¡± he looked at Evry. ¡°Let¡¯s split up. I¡¯ll take Elivar with me.¡±


    ¡°Got it. Good luck. And be very careful, there is someone that might evade your senses.¡±


    After seeing Arnaut nod his head, Evry separated from them. Raising his senses, Arnaut listened to his surroundings, two pairs of footsteps seemed to have stopped and shifted their direction towards Evry. Meanwhile, there were other two that remained to follow both him and the elf, Elivar.


    As Allie said, the humans intend to capture as many of them as possible. Once they have the location of their hideout, then the humans would try to wait until Arnaut¡¯s men have all gathered together. When he returns, he should warn his men and order a couple to scout the surrounding area to make sure.


    He and Elivar walked side by side with a quickened pace. Good thing there was only a couple following them, if there were more, it would have been more difficult. The more enemies there were, the harder it would be to prevent them from discovering their hideout. If Arnaut ever realized that they have discovered their hideout, he would have to consider moving immediately.


    Truth be told, it was getting harder to find houses for them to use. There was only a limited number of buildings that humans offer for rent. They also couldn¡¯t return to their last hideout. Inns were also not an option, not a good idea to stay where there were a lot of people going around. It was ideal if they have their own building to use at their own discretion.


    Recently though, they have discovered one and were already paying for it, but the building was smaller than what he preferred. Still, it was better than nothing. Aside from that, their current budget needed to be considered. They have yet to receive financials from their nearby contact. They have been quite busy with something else. The money they had in hand was still enough for now, but Arnaut felt it would be nice if they have extra early on. Unexpected things might happen in the future.


    He and Elivar entered through some buildings. The humans were still following them.


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    ¡°Elivar, we sprint.¡±


    The moment they emerged from the building, they began sprinting. He hoped that the humans would have a delay in realizing that they have begun running with their view being obstructed by the building and walls.


    The two of them ran through narrow pathways and jumped over fences. Arnaut could hear their pursuers¡¯ footsteps slowly fading and becoming disoriented.


    After moving away some more, Arnaut and the elf stopped and paused for a moment. And the former sighed.


    ¡°We lost them. Let¡¯s get back.¡±


    With that, they began making their way back to their hideout. Time passed, and they were about only three blocks away when Arnaut suddenly stopped in his tracks. Elivar gave him a curious look.


    Arnaut took in a deep breath ¡ª no, it was more like sniffing. There was a familiar smell, one that has been there for some while. It was a pleasant smell almost. But that was not the main point.


    He didn¡¯t hear their footstep but the smell was there. How could he have not noticed it sooner? He didn¡¯t even notice their movements with his eyes.


    He looked around, the smell was the only thing familiar. Then that could mean they were alone.


    Where is he?


    He searched for that person. If he was alone, then that one both Arnaut and Elivar can handle. They could interrogate him after capturing him stealthily so the other humans may not realize immediately.


    He followed the direction of the smell with his eyes.


    A moment later, his eyes stopped and strained. There was a hooded figure looking at them, leaning by a wall ever so casually. But Arnaut could tell, the figure was looking at him. It was hard to tell precisely his physique because of his cloak, but his gloved hands were slender. Smaller and thinner than a man¡¯s normally.


    A man¡­ no¡­


    Seeing closely, the chin was thinner than a man¡¯s and smoother. And also pale.


    A woman¡­?


    The woman as if realizing that she was noticed, removed herself from the wall and gazed straightly at Arnaut.


    Who is that?


    Watching her, it was somewhat familiar.


    ¡°Elivar¡­¡± he called to the elf. ¡°Over there,¡± he pointed with his chin.


    The elf followed his gaze and the direction he pointed at. ¡°Following us?¡±


    ¡°Be wary. I want to capture that one.¡±


    ¡°Should be no problem.¡±


    The moment the two of them took a step to approach the hooded woman, white smoke suddenly erupted all around her, catching both Arnaut and Elivar in surprise. The white smoke was as wide as the street, and the crowd yelped in shock at its sudden outburst.


    Elivar clenched his sheathed sword in preparation to draw it at any moment. He rushed through the thick white smokescreen, he couldn¡¯t see anything except things or people right next to him. But he knew how far that target was.


    Weaving through the humans, he arrived a few seconds later and stood at the spot where that stranger was. He looked around, searching, but that person was no longer here. Arnaut a second later caught up to the elf and looked around and sniffed.


    ¡°Which way?¡± the elf asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. The smoke, it¡­.it smells sour.¡±


    He clenched his fist, a bit frustrated. To think that that person prepared countermeasures against a beastman¡¯s nose. Not only that, he could not hear her footsteps at all.


    How did she even get to move away this fast?


    Whoever it was, she was not to be underestimated. That being said, there was something weird about that person, she was almost familiar. He had an image in the corner of his mind, but he decided to keep it to himself. That could be bait.


    There was no way that person would be here, absolutely impossible.


    I will not be fooled by this.


    Besides, they didn¡¯t know anymore where that person went. And there was no need to risk their life here ¡ª as the goal, for now, was to wait patiently for the opportune time. It will all end in one fell swoop once it begins.


    ¡°Ugh, this sour odor is annoying.¡±


    The elf grimaced as he covered his nose. Given that Arnaut was in the middle of it all, it was more painful and obstructing for him than the elf.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go while there¡¯s still disarray.¡±


    The smoke was slowly dissipating, and humans were confused, scattering and a few gathering just outside the smoke, covering their noses. It was a good chance to leave this place undisturbed. The two nonchalantly left the area, while Arnaut made sure they were not followed.


    Eventually, they arrived at their hideout peacefully.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 26: Operation: Sweet Roses (Part 6)

    Her ears rang, her heart in pain and racing, almost like how one feels during heartbreak. She sat down on the cold stone floor, her back leaning on a wall. She could not bear to stand anymore, her legs felt so weak as if they would crumble the moment she gave strength.


    Her throat was dry, her eyes bloodshot, cheeks stained with her tears. She held both her hands as they trembled uncontrollably. How could the world, people, be so cruel? The weight thrown upon her by the world was too heavy for her to carry. Her bones would break, her flesh crushed.


    This was too much.


    How much must the world bring her pain? She may have sinned, but couldn¡¯t the gods spare her with mercy from this suffering?


    She hid her face in her arms. If only she could seal herself from this world, from everything. That would save her from this pain.


    It was hard to breathe, her shoulders going up and down.


    The moment Arnaut turned his back on her kept flashing in her mind. Every time, it pained her heart like a knife piercing through. It was hard to believe. She could not understand why the person she cared for, and the one who cared for her, would leave her like that.


    Were they playing her all along? Was she a mere pawn in their games? A disposable girl?


    Was all a lie? A play of pretend?


    Her mind kept revolving to all kinds of assumptions, scenarios, all possibilities, all answers. And her head was starting to ache. But she could not stop. She wanted to understand how he was capable of abandoning her.


    She did not know how long she had been sitting here, but she had to stay. She had to wait for someone to pick her up. But, perhaps she was waiting for someone to come back.


    No, why was she even hoping for something so truthful?


    Which side did she truly want to stand with?


    She shouldn¡¯t have even felt betrayed. And yet she did.


    Everything¡¯s wrong¡­


    With all of the things that were happening, her mind couldn¡¯t catch up. All was overwhelming. If only there was someone to help her. She needed someone to rely on, to put her faith in.


    A footstep tapped right next to her.


    Then a man¡¯s voice called out to her. ¡°Allie Jelimis, it¡¯s time to go, as ordered by the princess. There¡¯s no need to linger here any longer.¡±


    Allie slowly looked up to see a man in a cloak, a sword hanging on his waist. He was wearing a casual outfit underneath his cloak. In his hand was a spare.


    He could be either from the knights or from the church.


    The man slightly tilted his head, puzzled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Allie shook her head. ¡°N-Nothing¡­ just¡­ take me out of here.¡±


    She stood up, received the cloak from the man and wore it to cover her head, and then began following the man to a particular place, to a safe place to be exact. The matter of what they would do if the situation ended up this way was already planned beforehand, this was something within one of the several expectations. However, it was the outcome they didn¡¯t want.


    The moment earlier was a crucial point in this operation, even though the failure was already thought of, this was still a great setback. This made things more difficult and made the operation last longer. Nevertheless, as this was within expectations of the princess¡¯s plans, there was no need to panic.


    That being said, Allie still failed her part. With that thought, she suppressed the urge to shudder. Will the princess also abandon her because of it? How disappointed will she be?


    ¡°Stay close,¡± the man said, slowing down his pace to walk beside her. On guard of danger.


    While Allie¡¯s mind was going everywhere, uneasy and restless, eventually they arrived at a particular two-story building made of wood. At the front were tables where men and women were casually having conversations. Very normal.


    Although, in truth, they were the men under the princess, pretending to be normal citizens. In fact, this entire building here was under the control of the crown, for the time being, to be used as a headquarters.


    Allie felt their gaze directed at her as they entered the building. Inside were knights in full sets of equipment, armor, weapons and all. With them were people in dark robes. Allie felt like a small insect in their presence, they were after all powerful people.


    The man with her brought her upstairs to a room. The room was neat, with only a large table at the center and all the windows closed.


    Inside were the central figures in the operation ¡ª Astine, Prince Estevan, Rogan, and Vernon. However, there was one missing. Puzzled, Allie searched around. But there was no one else here.


    Rogan approached her. ¡°You look terrible¡­ things didn¡¯t go well, huh. For now, sit and rest.¡±


    He presented a chair, and Allie obliged. ¡°Her highness¡­?¡±


    ¡°Ah, about that, she left.¡±


    Left?


    That was not part of the plan that Allie was aware of. And, all her guards were left here, what was she doing? Where would she go?


    ¡°Is it not dangerous¡­?¡± Allie asked.


    ¡°Of course it is,¡± the one to respond was Astine. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯ve been wondering if your lady has a death wish.¡± she directed her gaze to Vernon.


    ¡°...She never even told us this¡­¡± he replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s because she knows we¡¯ll go against it. Especially her family,¡± said Rogan.


    ¡°We¡¯re so finished if she¡¯s found dead out there somewhere¡­¡± Astine muttered.


    Why would she go out there?


    She was only putting herself in needless danger, Allie understood that very well.


    ¡°What could she even contribute? Are our men not enough for her?¡± Astine had a slightly displeased expression.


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Vernon briefly said.


    Astine shook her head. ¡°Be that as it may, she should have brought an escort. I can do stealth just fine.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s not about what you can do, but how well you can do it.¡±


    She slightly furrowed her brows but tried to keep her composure. ¡°We¡¯re trained for this. My apologies but that princess don¡¯t have skills that are on par with a knight.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Vernon sighed.


    ¡°Nothing we can do about it. Although it hurts a bit that as her personal knight she didn¡¯t bring me with her.¡± It was supposed to be his responsibility to defend her with his life. Leaving the princess alone in danger was unthinkable and a failure on his part. ¡°But she was scary when she said she¡¯s going¡­¡±


    ¡°... All we can do for now is wait,¡± said Vernon. ¡°Seeing that the first attempt is a failure, we have to shift to another plan.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but the princess is still not here. Seriously, I¡¯m getting scared, should I go search for her? She¡¯s taking a while...¡± Rogan glanced at the door, wanting to leave to search for the princess.


    ¡°We¡¯ll wait a bit more.¡±


    At that moment, the door abruptly opened, and everyone instantly turned to look toward the door. The one who entered lowered the hood of her cloak, revealing ravishing platinum hair, and a face so beautiful. Her expression, however, was anything but pleased.


    ¡°Princess!~¡± Rogan exclaimed joyfully.


    The princess went straight ahead to the table at the center of the room. ¡°Their senses are sharper than I like,¡± she said almost in a monotone as she removed her cloak, which Vernon received. ¡°Map.¡±


    ¡°Princess, did you follow them?¡± Astine asked.


    ¡°Map.¡±


    She ignored the question, and so, Astine unfurled a map.


    ¡°Something to write with.¡±


    Vernon gave her a pencil. Then she began drawing arrows on the map, starting from where Allie was brought by the beastman. She scribbled the directions her targets went.


    Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°The men lost them around these areas. It¡¯s ridiculous that the beastmen were able to detect them even in crowds.¡±


    Everyone listened.


    ¡°I suspect not by hearing alone but by smell too. Ridiculous, simply ridiculous.¡± she sounded annoyed. ¡°But thanks to the failure of others, I was able to follow the targets far more than them.¡±


    ¡°Failure?¡±


    The princess paused. ¡°Your men need to be more stealthy, make your footsteps perfectly quiet.¡±


    ¡°Wha¡ª?¡± her eyes widened as if her pride was just struck. However, the princess raised a hand.


    ¡°But it¡¯s not the time for that discussion. As I said, their failure made things fruitful for me at least. I was able to follow them two times, the special part is after our men lost them. The enemy believed no one followed them, so they start making their way to their hideout thinking it was safe.


    ¡°This gave me a chance. However, their senses are something else. Before they could lead me to their hideout, they were able to detect me. They move fast. And their leader even discovered me.¡±


    Allie caught that last sentence.


    The princess continued. ¡°Still, we should be able to narrow down the search area when it comes to it.¡±


    Two arrows, in particular, one coming in from the north, and one from the south. The two converged to one area, where the princess drew a circle. Around three blocks, in the Northeastern part of the city, the circle even hit the wall at the edge.


    ¡°The arrows, the direction, the roads they took after they lost the initial tails...¡±


    ¡°Leads to this area, huh. Should we send some men?¡± Rogan asked.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°No? This could be a chance to get them, your highness.¡± Vernon suggested.


    ¡°I agree. Also, I think we should have taken the chance to capture the ones who met with the girl.¡±


    ¡°I drew this circle as a final resort, and it will be useless to capture just three of them. Others will keep on doing what they have always done. Take out their leader and another one will take his place.¡±


    ¡°Still, this would have done some damage to their ranks,¡± Vernon said.


    ¡°It¡¯s not about making some damage, it¡¯s about capturing most or all of them, or when it comes to it, eliminate some. To wipe the rats, these pests, follow one until you find their nest. Once you have found it, you can take all of them out in one fell swoop, and prevent others from escaping. Do you understand what I¡¯m trying to say? Well, of course you would, it should be common sense. Besides, it is how it¡¯s always been planned, do not change something this crucial halfway.¡±


    ¡°...Understood.¡±


    All of them said.


    ¡°Good. Today¡¯s attempt is a failure, but a success in some ways. Tomorrow will decide it.¡± she turned her head to look at Allie, and she narrowed her eyes slightly. ¡°Hm?¡±


    Allie flinched a little, the way the princess looked at her was scrutinizing as if trying to read through her.


    ¡°Allie, did something bad happen?¡± the princess asked.


    ¡°N-No¡­nothing.¡± she lowered her gaze.


    ¡°What obstructed you earlier from your success?¡±


    ¡°... The elf¡­ Elivar¡­¡±


    ¡°... Is that so¡­? What got you so down?¡±


    Allie hesitated, she didn¡¯t want to tell her the cause. ¡°Nothing too terrible¡­¡±


    ¡°Will you be alright?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°... Alright¡­¡±


    ¡°Princess¡­¡± Astine suddenly called and gazed at the princess intently.


    The princess looked back at her. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± she shrugged her off and furled the map. ¡°We will be returning to the palace. As planned, you Astine and Estevan will remain here. My servants and Allie will be coming with me. Prepare my carriage.¡±


    Rogan left the room to call for the carriage.


    The princess returned her gaze to Astine. ¡°Ah, I will be taking this map, will that be alright?¡±


    ¡°That will be alright, we have spares.¡±


    The princess nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to get the reports from those that were able to track our targets. They may come later on as what is discussed beforehand. Once you have all the reports, have them sent to me. Then prepare for possible new orders.¡±


    A while later, Rogan returned to tell that the carriage had arrived and was waiting outside. Allie after the princess¡¯s beckon came along to go to the carriage while the two of them had their hoods to cover their heads.


    When they arrived at the carriage, the princess, Rogan, and Vernon entered first. When Allie was about to enter, the princess patted the free seat beside her.


    Allie glanced at the two men on the opposite side for a moment before sitting down beside the princess. The princess smiled, and it soothed Allie¡¯s heart a little. After the door closed, the carriage began to shake as it moved.


    ¡°You seem troubled, Allie. Is something bothering you?¡±


    ¡°... Mm¡­¡± she lowered her head, hesitating. It was hard to tell someone else a personal problem that cut this deep, even more so when there were two men in front of her. One even oversaw her torture, thus it was a bit hard in this tiny room, almost claustrophobic.


    Suddenly, she felt a warm touch on her hand. The princess placed her hands on Allie¡¯s.


    ¡°Can you not tell me? Expressing one¡¯s feelings often removes great weight in our hearts.¡±


    She stared into the princess¡¯s eyes, then her gaze shifted to the two men.


    The princess noticed this and said. ¡°You do not need to worry about them,¡± she then turned to the two. ¡°You will not listen, do you understand? Give your attention to the outside.¡±


    The two men stared at each other for a moment before turning their heads to look outside through the window.


    ¡°They won¡¯t tell anyone, nor will they listen intently. Imagine it¡¯s just the two of us. Tell me, what pains your heart?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ I never thought that he¡­ Arnaut would leave me behind¡­ just like that¡­ I thought I was special to him.¡±


    Her lips quivered, and the corners of her eyes dampened as she recalled the moment Arnaut rejected her plead for help. ¡°I still cannot comprehend why¡­¡±


    ¡°I suppose some will throw you into the lion¡¯s den if it saves themselves¡­ even our dearest friends. However, as you mentioned before, someone was intervening, an outside influence. We will see his final decision tomorrow after his deliberation without any interference.¡±


    ¡°Princess¡­?¡± Allie could not understand what she truly meant.


    But the princess merely smiled beautifully.


    Time passed, and eventually, they arrived at the palace. After exiting by the palace doors, the princess spoke to Allie.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll be having the magic item back for now. I¡¯ll give it back tomorrow.¡±


    Allie pulled out a small cylindrical object from her pocket and placed it on the princess¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Be safe in your room, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡±


    ¡°And, given that you essentially still failed today¡­ you already know the cost of that, yes?¡±


    Allie lowered her head.


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Allie.¡±


    ¡°... It is alright¡­¡±


    ***


    Astine and Estevan sat down by the table as snacks like cookies and bread were brought for them to eat. The former merely picked one cookie and took a small bite, her face now stoic and composed. The princess¡¯s sudden decision truly put her a bit on edge earlier.


    And the way the princess basically just said that her men could be better irked her somewhat. She took pride in the soldiers of the church, especially those she trained with. They were above any knight under the crown.


    It was a bit hard to swallow the way that the princess seemed to be dissatisfied with her men¡¯s performance. There were men that were trained for direct combat and those trained for stealth. Given that the mission to tail the enemy required to be undetectable, they used those who were best for stealth missions, where their movements were silent. And those were spread out around the city.


    Although, in hindsight, they could have cast a silent spell on them. However, the church only had very few priestesses, and they couldn¡¯t be everywhere at once to cast spells on every tracker when they start following the enemies ¡ª wherever they may be. They also couldn¡¯t cast it to everyone early on as they would still be dispelled after a certain amount of time. In addition, priestesses might get noticed the moment they cast spells. Perhaps that¡¯s why the princess didn¡¯t order that. Besides, the silence spell was not complete silence but only muffled the sound.


    With that in mind, perhaps also the reason she didn¡¯t need to do that was because she herself was planning to follow the targets. How confident could someone get?


    Bearing in mind the unexpected senses of the targets, it was not certain if even spells would protect them from being detected. Apparently, beastmen can also use their nose. Truly what a troublesome trait. How blessed can one species get?


    And we humans can only cast magic at most, without it we¡¯re basically small kickable puppies.


    It would be hard to beat the ones with natural capabilities, those beings were almost like monsters themselves, except they have intelligence.


    She wondered how the high bishop would fare when it was he that followed the targets. However, guessing from the situation, the spot where the bishop was, was not the place where Allie was brought by the enemy, and not in the place where the enemy came out through. In fact, he was not even assigned around the market.


    Also, given that he was the high bishop, it would be hard for him to walk around. People might easily recognize him. Thus he had to hide more that anyone else.


    Setting that aside, would he be able to hide his presence from the enemies? Astine was not certain. The high bishop was not focused on stealth, but rather on firepower, his abilities were more focused on offense. He may be able to do some stealth, but it should be around the same level as the church members that were sent out around the city to serve as tails. As they were detected, he would likely also be detected.


    If the princess were able to follow the enemies that far, then how much skill does she hide?


    Astine glanced at the prince before her.


    Is he not bewildered by his own sister?


    Estevan did nothing else but bite down on the food.


    Astine resisted the urge to frown. ¡°Your highness, what abilities does Princess Estelia have?¡±


    Estevan paused and shifted his wide gaze at her. ¡°Hm? Last I heard she was only practicing some magic spells.¡±


    Although, magic spells would not be enough to give someone the ability to be adept in stealth. It would require training.


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°Hm, basically yeah.¡±


    ¡°Then she must be capable of powerful spells then?¡±


    He looked up, thinking. ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, she mainly focused on learning basic spells. So I guess not that powerful.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know how strong she is?¡±


    ¡°Why should I know anyway? As she is my sister, I don¡¯t see the point of measuring her capabilities.¡± he shrugged.


    How carefree can someone get with their younger sibling?


    ¡°Are you not¡­ curious?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ not really.¡±


    ¡°Your sister just left our base without any guard and returned. Not only that but she also brought valuable intel by following our targets. Apparently, she had done better than my trained men.¡±


    Estevan slowly nodded. ¡°... I suppose she has been a curious one for a while now. Ever since she began overseeing this operation, in fact. Before this, she was gentle and sweet, but now¡­ she is stern. I never imagined she would ever be like that. But in the end, she is still my lovely sister. I¡¯m sure once this is over she¡¯ll be back to normal!¡±


    The more she thought and heard about it, the more she was weirded out by the princess ¡ª as if she was hiding something. This reminded her of the special fondness the high bishop had for the princess. Could that have something to do with it?


    ¡°... She appeared to be quite confident with her plans. The first I saw her, she did not seem to be the person who could carry and command this much personnel. Has she always been like this?¡±


    ¡°Nope¡­ Listen, my sister has been going through a lot. I guess she just had enough and decided to take care of it personally. There¡¯s no need to think deeply about her. Just let her be.¡±


    It would appear that the prince was well aware of something strange happening to the princess. However, perhaps because she was his sister, he deliberately decided not to think too much about it and leave it as it was. To him, it was not that big of a deal.


    But it was different for Astine, she was bothered, and was thus curious. Perhaps this stemmed from the fact that there may be something special about her that everyone was hiding. She didn¡¯t like it, not knowing anything. The unknown was hard to deal with and extremely annoying. Very much so if she was directly connected or involved in that mystery.


    Nevertheless, the prince was right, for now, there was no need to think about this. But only focus on the mission.


    Tomorrow, huh.


    It would be faster if they just raid every house in the area that the princess encircled. However, what she said wasn¡¯t so bad. Rats scattering would be too annoying to deal with, incredibly troublesome. But the way the princess described her plans, was not something Astine expected she would say.


    To see the enemies as mere pests.


    It was something she never thought a face like hers would say ¡ª a pure princess. But then again, the princess must have been so done with her enemies.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 27: Operation: Sweet Roses (Part 7)

    ¡°Allie¡¯s alive?¡±


    One of the beastman asked in reflex after Arnaut explained to them the events earlier. It was the early night, and the team in the city had all returned to the hideout. At the moment, they assembled in the lobby.


    Usually, a team or two would be allowed to stay out in the city to keep watch. However, after all that had transpired that resulted in their numbers to dwindle, Arnaut had to prohibit it and had everyone return to the hideout at the first sign of darkness.


    This was no longer an issue, of course. The plan now was for them to stay low and wait for the other team in the empire to be ready.


    ¡°And you left her¡­¡± another beastman grabbed a chair and slowly sat down, his hand on the side of his face.


    ¡°Leaving her behind, it¡¯s um¡­ hard to take in.¡± another one muttered.


    ¡°.... Damn, would have been better if she¡¯s already dead¡­¡± perhaps that way they didn¡¯t have to feel conflicted about this.


    ¡°That¡¯s a sensible decision. I may have done the same if I were in his position.¡± another beastman said with his arms crossed.


    ¡°Seriously, man? Who knows what they¡¯ll do to her now?¡±


    ¡°...Yes, they might do something very terrible. Even so, I think that was the best option. Although¡­ hm¡­¡± he lowered his head. ¡°No, I won¡¯t speak further¡­¡±


    A beastman shifted his gaze towards the one that had been quiet all this time, the one who met Allie first.


    ¡°Evry, don¡¯t you have any opinion about this?¡±


    Evry directed his gaze at everyone, hesitating to answer. ¡°... No¡­ I¡¯ll follow what the boss decided. There¡¯s no need for me to express my opinion.¡±


    For Arnaut, it was clear what Evry wanted. Evry was the one who went out on his way to tell Arnaut about her, even avoiding telling the elves. That alone made it obvious what he wanted in his heart. But Arnaut made a decision that conflicted with him. Even so, he had no choice but to follow.


    It was hard, Arnaut knew ¡ª as it was incredibly hard for him as well ¡ª the moment he rejected her call for help, the words of rejection he had to say felt like something he had to force himself to choke out.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to discuss this,¡± an elf chimed in. ¡°What he did was only appropriate. There¡¯s no need to be upset or disappointed. Leave it as it is.¡±


    It did not surprise the beastmen at all that the elves wholeheartedly agreed with Arnaut¡¯s choice. Some could only shake their heads, while a few remained still and static. Arnaut stood up from his chair after a sigh.


    ¡°Time to rest¡­ I¡¯ll retire to my room.¡±


    He made his way up to his room, ignoring the concerned gaze from his fellow beastmen. There was a heavy weight on his chest, and hard it was for him to admit it, he didn¡¯t want to talk with anyone for the time being.


    He arrived in his room, and the moment the door closed, the cold and the silence weighed heavily on his body. The windows were shut, the room dark, no source of light whatsoever. But the dark was no issue for him here. Well, besides that, this darkness only made the atmosphere more gloomy.


    He sighed and slowly made his way to his bed. After lying down, he covered his closed eyes with his arm. He should have turned up a light to remove this heavy air, but he wanted to feel it. For atonement perhaps, to feel this guilt that was looming inside.


    Indeed, guilt.


    His choice was cruel.


    He didn¡¯t want it.


    But it was something that must be done.


    However, that choice was gnawing at him.


    Was it right? Truly right?


    The young Allie he met in the past appeared in his mind. Her presence was a joyful one, always. Despite her being human.


    Arnaut, deeply inside, never saw humans in a terrible light. He could not understand the intense hate others had for them. Humans were weak, but still normal beings. They can smile, laugh, be sad, and be happy. They were fundamentally no different from the mystic race.


    He truly could not understand. Where did this hate truly root from? Was it because it was the humans that drove the mystic race out of the world above? A world that was supposed to be there¡¯s? Or was it because of humanity¡¯s nature? Whatever that would be¡­


    He could not see the reason to keep this hate this long¡­. Even some beastmen had little resentment towards humans, they just saw them as another common species. Although some saw them as inferior.


    But why does inferiority have to equate with hate and oppression?


    The world truly was terrible in some aspects.


    Either way, he had to be indifferent to the humans, at least act like it. That was why he wasn¡¯t ostracized or isolated in their society. Nor did it bother him so much to act. All that mattered was for him to give importance to his own people. The humans altogether didn¡¯t compare.


    Then as fate had it, he met Allie, a young small human girl, distressed. Alone.


    Arnaut had a daughter, and she and Allie had a striking resemblance. It was almost disturbing. No, not exactly the face that was similar. It was more like their size, appearance, or trait. Maybe because Allie was a child that was almost similar to the daughter he left behind, it reminded him of his own daughter, and home.


    Indeed, at that time, how much he missed his home and family already. Perhaps he took Allie to cope with that longing.


    And perhaps add to it the pity.


    In time, Allie grew more important. How she wanted someone beside her when she went to sleep. How she talks joyfully, sharing what happened in her day. The way she tries to learn new things. The way she tried to cook for him, and everyone else in the group. The moments with her were all pleasant, as pleasant as the time he had with his daughter.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Perhaps he had seen Allie as his own daughter at some point.


    Indeed, perhaps that was why he was so hurt by his own decision. How it hurt him so much to hear Allie cry and see her in pain. He didn¡¯t want that. Human as she may be, he did not care. In the end, he took great care of her, she was valuable to him.


    And to see, to imagine, to think of her being abandoned, to cry, it pained him as how would a parent feel for their child.


    He regretted it. Thinking now with a peace of mind, he truly regretted it. If only there was another choice he could take¡­


    Both guilt and regret clouded both his mind and heart. All rooted from emotion, from love.


    He thought of what could have been. A route to something happy. Something good.


    He took in a shaking, deep breath. His mind could not rest, filled with all kinds of things.


    I¡¯m sorry¡­


    That sorry echoed and echoed in his mind. His heart pumped hard and raced intensely. He could not remove Allie from his thoughts, no matter how hard he tried. He wanted to sleep, but he truly could not.


    This mission is starting to take a toll on me¡­


    He wanted to come back home. To his family.


    ***


    Arnaut opened his eyes, still feeling drowsy. Judging from the light peeking through the window, it was still very early in the morning. Since it was difficult, he fell asleep too late in the night, he had hoped that he would wake a little later than this.


    He slowly got up, the weight he carried yesterday still remained. The moment his mind cleared a little from the sleep, his regret immediately returned to flood his thoughts. He heaved a long sigh. He fixed his shirt and began making his way down to the lobby.


    It would appear that everyone was still here, except for one. However, later on, perhaps after breakfast, some would leave and go outside to wherever they wished. Arnaut would accept it if everyone just stayed here, but doing nothing gnawed everyone¡¯s nerves. Thus, he allowed them to go out for the benefit of their mission. Just perhaps noting down the weak spots of the cities or memorizing the layout.


    Although, given they have been here for years, they should have done that a long time ago. Therefore, there was truly nothing left to do anything important. In short, the team here in Wisteria was now only idling, the only thing they could do.


    That was because they had to wait.


    As for the one that had already left, it was Evry. That person always goes out early in the morning. However, he was earlier today than usual. What happened yesterday must have bothered him, and thus decided to take a walk early to clear his mind.


    ¡°Hey leader, want some tea? Coffee?¡± a beastman asked.


    ¡°Coffee¡­¡±


    Arnaut didn¡¯t like tea, it didn¡¯t have that good taste. Generally, beastmen had no need for coffees, it was not a usual thing to take every morning back in their homeland. They would go directly for something like soup or meat. Rarely does a beastman household have any coffee.


    Although elves do take them frequently.


    In any case, coffee didn¡¯t kick a beastman¡¯s head very much. So the effects on them would be mild to none, unless twice the amount of caffeine than a human¡¯s drink was blended into the cup. That was precisely what Arnaut received.


    He took a small sip. The pleasant warmth went down his throat.


    He resisted the urge to groan.


    While trying to get a peace of mind, he took a deep breath.


    ¡°Leader, you doing alright?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Yes, yes I¡¯m alright.¡±


    ¡°Very well¡­ Um, leader, do you know when we¡¯re gonna be done with this?¡±


    ¡°You mean?¡±


    ¡°You know, here, being here.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s all up to the team in the Empire, and they haven¡¯t told me when precisely they¡¯ll begin.¡±


    The beastman that asked, mildly nodded. Arnaut had noticed this for some while, this one wanted to return to the homeland. Even soldiers would miss their home and their family. Although this was for the survival of their race, they still won¡¯t stop wishing to come back home safe.


    Sometimes, you just can''t avoid wishing to rest and be with the ones you love. But, in this case here, home was far, and they could not just casually come back and return here. All they could do was suppress that desire as much and as long as possible.


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll come back home, don¡¯t worry. Just need to hang on and wait for a little while longer. We are almost there.¡± Arnaut smiled softly. ¡°Have faith.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    Suddenly came the rhythmic knockings on the door ¡ª rather than normal knocking, however, it was more like pounding. The elf standing by the door, Elivar, placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.


    ¡°It¡¯s me, Evry. Hurry and open this door.¡±


    Elivar lowered his guard and promptly opened the door. Once it was open, Evry aggressively rushed inside and removed his hood. He moved towards Arnaut.


    ¡°Shit, you need to see this.¡±


    Evry threw a sheet of brown paper on the desk in front of him. Arnaut realized Evry seemed quite tense. Whatever it was, it must be of great matter.


    However, Evry continued. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to show you this, but you have to, for your sake. Make a choice you won¡¯t regret.¡±


    With furrowed brows, Arnaut picked up the paper and read its contents. His breath got stuck in his throat and his eyes widened.


    The paper was a public notice. An announcement of a public execution, death by beheading. It was to be expected that the criminals that committed unforgivable crimes like murder, or heinous crimes like fraud to have a death sentence, and to be held in public where everyone can see. But that was not what Arnaut was surprised about.


    Among the several names written on the notice, there was one in particular that stood out.


    ¡°Allie¡­¡±


    The name Allie Jelimis was among the names on the list. Arnaut resisted the trembling of his hand as he read her name there over and over. Of course, how could he have not thought of this outcome? No, this prospect had indeed come to the corner of his mind, he only rejected this possibility. He didn¡¯t want something like this to happen to her.


    Written next to her name was her crime.


    Treason. Attempted assassination of a royal.


    Now that Allie failed to take Arnaut and his group in, her fate was to die. And in public where she¡¯ll be used as an example. Her face would be shown to all as the face that attempted to kill a royal. Her sin was one of the highest transgressions in this kingdom.


    But Allie was clueless about the true situation of why she was tasked with doing it. She was merely doing what she was told. Was leaving her to her fate truly just?


    Written along the paper was when the execution would occur. It was morning.


    ¡°W-When¡­ when exactly is the execution?¡± he asked for the specific time.


    Evry then replied. ¡°From the verbal announcement, in an hour.¡±


    Arnaut abruptly stood up from his seat in utter shock. ¡°This hour¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    It was hard to believe. Executions were a rare occurrence here in Wisteria, even more so public ones. But for it to happen way early in the morning, no one would expect it.


    Why?


    He couldn¡¯t think straight anymore, his mind was rushing. What should he do? He couldn¡¯t let this happen. No. No way. An hour is too small of a time to deliberate.


    It was as if he was on purpose given less time to think about his actions.


    The image of Allie¡¯s face flashed through his mind.


    ¡°Boss?¡±


    He gulped and closed his eyes.


    He had made his choice.


    ¡°I can¡¯t abandon her, after all.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Stay here. I¡¯ll retrieve her myself.¡±


    ¡°Hey hey, Arnaut, don¡¯t be impulsive!¡± the elf Elivar aggressively rushed towards him.


    ¡°If something happens, at least it will only be me. If I don¡¯t come back in a few hours, leave me behind.¡±


    Elivar froze.


    Then Arnaut continued. ¡°A new leader will then be appointed. Even if I do return, I relinquish my place as the leader. It is up to you who you¡¯ll appoint as my successor.¡±


    ¡°Are you serious?¡± Elivar asked with a glare.


    ¡°Yes, so do not intervene. I suggest preparing to move out though, still I don¡¯t intend to come back until I am certain it¡¯s safe. You¡¯re free to move to our other hideout anytime while I¡¯m out.¡±


    Arnaut grabbed a nearby cloak and wrapped it around himself. Meanwhile, Evry came and stood in front of him.


    ¡°Boss, let me come with you.¡±


    ¡°No. The less the casualty, the better.¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. Besides, I can outrun any humans that will come my way.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Evry fixed him with a stare of concern.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. It will be fine.¡±


    ¡°You might die.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t be that easy¡­ Either way, I¡¯ll save Allie¡­ So, where exactly is the execution taking place?¡±


    After getting the answer, Arnaut drew his hood over his head and went out of the door.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 28: Operation: Sweet Roses (Part 8)

    Arnaut arrived at the area where it was said the execution would take place, actually casually, so as not to attract attention. A crowd had already begun to gather in the area, people were of course expected to watch. At least, the ones who were callous enough to be able to watch multiple deaths.


    At this intersection, at the center, lay a high platform, and upon it was a wooden object where the prisoner¡¯s head would be placed. A couple of guards were already at the base, keeping watch. But the executioner had yet to appear.


    There should be more or around half an hour left before they begin the execution. Arnaut had plenty of time to think about how to do this. The place of the execution was next to the law enforcement¡¯s two story facility, where along with it was a prison. Not that big of a prison, but enough to house dozens of criminals. With that, it should be easy to move the prisoners from there to be executed.


    It was likely that Allie would be inside there somewhere in one of the cells. There was no time to waste.


    Guards were only at the front and side of the building. Sneaking in would not be a problem. With Arnaut¡¯s beastman senses, it was easy to track an enemy¡¯s position.


    He moved away from the crowd and used another pathway with fewer eyes and went around to reach the rear of the building. The rear of the building was in the middle of some small houses, and thus it had lesser eyes Arnaut had to watch out for. Hiding behind a wall, he peered around the area, using his ears and nose to detect enemies.


    As expected, but a better case, there were only two guards patrolling the area. And they were apart from each other. He deliberated whether he should kill them all to be done with it. However, if that body would ever be discovered here, and Arnaut being solo, it would complicate things, especially during an escape.


    It would be better to keep things normal for the humans. Besides, with his physical traits and speed as a beastman, he could easily sneak past through them with a small opportunity. The minor problem was getting through the building.


    For all the years he had been here, Arnaut was familiar with this facility.


    On the first floor where the prisoners were being held, the walls were made up of stone and bricks. He could break through them with ease, but that would instantly alert the entire block, making escape more difficult, although not impossible. However, his intention was to carry this entire mission out silently. It was safer considering that the humans were also hunting for them.


    Therefore, it would seem he needed to go inside through the windows on the upper floor. Jumping there should be no problem. The cause of concern would be the layout of the inside. Arnaut was not familiar with it. But that should not be a big issue. If push comes to shove, he might need to kill some humans inside, and it should be easier to hide bodies there.


    He waited for the guards to turn around, at least until he could move without them seeing him. A few seconds later, an opportunity came, and he made his move. Arnaut swiftly jumped over the wall in silence. He looked up to see a window. It was closed, but it should be easy to open it.


    Given that the sight of the patrols he went past was still away, he jumped up quickly and clung to the edge where his hand could hold. There was no one inside the room, perhaps because of the upcoming execution, everyone was busy doing their own work. He forced open the window with ease and promptly stepped inside silently.


    Now all he had to do was go to the floor below. He walked through the corridor, hiding whenever there was a human about to walk by.


    It was easy.


    It didn¡¯t take long before he reached the pathway that led to the prison cells.


    However, there was one guarding there, a normal guard. Good, should be easy. It would appear that this guard had no intention of moving away. Arnaut pondered, he had no choice.


    The moment the guard lowered his eyes, it was an opening that Arnaut took and leaped towards him. The guard reacted, and was about to shout, but it was too late. Arnaut swiftly covered the guard¡¯s mouth and held his head from the back.


    The guard squirmed, but his strength was not enough to budge the power of a beastman. Then, there was an audible cracking sound, and the guard stopped moving in an instant.


    Arnaut snapped his neck.


    He grabbed the corpse by the collar and dragged him inside the jail room, then cast him aside in the corner. Arnaut looked around. Inside the cells were humans in dirty clothes, perhaps people fated to die. But he didn¡¯t care about them.


    He walked further into the corridor, searching closely every cell. The humans were afraid, as one would expect when faced with an impending death. Some humans ignored him, while others curiously stared at him, perhaps not all of them were here to be executed.


    He kept searching. Then he stopped right before a specific jail cell. He took a deep breath before calling out.


    ¡°Allie.¡±


    ***


    Allie took a deep breath while trembling slightly. This room here, this jail cell, reminded her very clearly of the time she had in that dungeon. It was disturbing. She didn¡¯t want to be stuck here any longer. But this was the cost of her failure. She would be executed later on.


    It terrified her.


    Her clothes were ragged. Her trousers and shirt were dirty, and her hair was starting to mud ever so slightly. She wanted to leave, but she could not. It was almost like she was reliving a nightmare.


    How long am I going to stay here?


    In several minutes, she would be brought out in public, and everyone would see her face and remember her name as the one who tried to kill a royal. She wondered how the public would treat her. How much she didn¡¯t want to end up there ¡ª facing the crowd was the last thing she wanted right now. The prospect of being executed in public was almost making her cry.


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    A sound of faint footsteps suddenly echoed in the room. She raised her head, and when she saw the person on the other side of the bars, her eyes widened.


    ¡°You came for me¡­?¡±


    On the other side, standing there with a smile, was a person she was hoping to see. Happiness grew in her heart, and she unconsciously smiled.


    ¡°Arnaut.¡±


    ¡°Allie¡­ I¡¯m getting you out of here.¡±


    Arnaut grasped the lock and gave it a single push, breaking it with ease. With the way open, he gently approached her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for what I did¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have done that.¡±


    He gently patted her head before pulling her into his embrace. Sudden as it was, Allie was in shock at what he did. But his embrace and warmth were so pleasant and comforting. She was indeed happy. In the end, the most important person in her life came back for her. And she wept with a smile.


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡± she whispered.


    In her happiness, she began to doubt her role in all this.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡±


    He carried her, each of his arms on her back and under her knees. Concerned about falling, Allie wrapped her arm around the back of his neck. Now secured, Arnaut moved out of the cell. On the way out, however, Allie saw something.


    Huh?


    There was a guard, a common guard, lying in a corner, unmoving. Almost as if...


    ¡°I-Is he d-dead¡­?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Yes, I had no choice. I had to be quick.¡±


    But¡­ But¡­ No¡­ This shouldn¡¯t¡­


    It shouldn¡¯t have happened, it shouldn¡¯t have been necessary. How could Arnaut be capable of such a thing? He didn¡¯t even sound genuinely remorseful. He could have at least only knocked him out.


    Allie glanced at his face as he moved to find a way out.


    The princess¡¯s words then came to her mind.


    ¡®It would be best if no one on our side dies. At least that way¡­ no one will be sad.¡¯


    Allie looked away, a bit frightened. She didn¡¯t know how to take this. And another kind of doubt grew.


    Before she knew it, they were already outside. It was quicker than she had expected, but perhaps she failed to notice her surroundings'' progress because she was lost in her own thoughts.


    ¡°It should be safe for now,¡± he put her down. ¡°No one seemed to have followed us. Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll take you to our safe place.¡±


    Allie nodded.


    They began walking, and on the way, Arnaut bought her a hat for the time being. Just to cover her head somewhat. He held her hand as they made their way to their hideout. As they got closer, however, there appeared to be more guards walking around, patrolling.


    Arnaut and Allie stopped as they watched one guard make a person pull down their hood.


    ¡°This is unexpected. This way.¡±


    Allie followed him through a small pathway, circling and avoiding the guards scattered on the streets. But they faced no difficulties as Arnaut was moving as though he knew the surroundings and the people¡¯s movements.


    Eventually, they arrived at an alley where the rear of buildings were facing. They stopped at a particular two story building. In front of them was a door. Arnaut slowly opened it. Surprisingly it wasn¡¯t locked.


    When Arnaut stepped inside, suddenly a sword was pointed at his throat. Allie froze for a moment.


    The bearer of the sword, a beastman, instantly realized who he had just pointed his sword at. ¡°Arnaut. You¡¯re alright!¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t leave?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s easier said than done. Guards are everywhere, making everyone show their face. We decided to stay low for now. Come in.¡±


    Arnaut came in and when the beastman saw Allie, he nodded.


    ¡°Allie, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alright.¡±


    ¡°Evry¡­¡± Allie smiled a little.


    The door closed, and Arnaut asked Evry a question. ¡°Didn¡¯t expect you to hold a sword here and be at the back door.¡±


    ¡°Was supposed to be a misdirection for intruders. And¡­ I was expecting you to pop up here at the back, so I waited.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ thank you.¡±


    ¡°Come, everyone¡¯s inside. We¡¯ve been restless since you left.¡±


    Allie mentally noted what he said, that everyone was here. The three of them then made their way to the lobby. Allie grew nervous as she looked around the place.


    They arrived at the lobby.


    ¡°The leader¡¯s back!¡±


    ¡°Allie too!¡±


    Most of the beastman had smiles on their faces at their return.


    ¡°It¡¯s a great relief that you returned safely.¡±


    Then, the elf Elivar, with hostility, stomped in front of Arnaut. ¡°You¡¯re not followed, are you?¡±


    ¡°No, I made sure of it.¡±


    ¡°You complicated this because of your selfishness! This is unbecoming of a high-ranking officer.¡±


    ¡°... Yes¡­ that is why I¡¯m stepping down as leader, as I said.¡±


    ¡°This is not about you stepping down,¡± Elivar turned his glare at Allie. ¡°It¡¯s all because of this measly human!¡±


    Allie yelped in fear and stepped back frantically.


    ¡°Stop it Elivar! Don¡¯t direct your wrath at her.¡±


    ¡°Such foolishness. To think you would jeopardize our mission for this human!¡±


    ¡°Everything is fine, I was careful.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know that!¡±


    Allie looked at everyone. A few were holding back the elf, in particular the other elves. Some beastman tried to get in between them as they argued. Indeed, everyone was here. Bearing in mind the number that was discovered dead, their number should have been reduced to eleven. And there were a total of eleven in this room, not counting herself.


    She gazed at them, one by one, she could not hear the loud noises anymore. Her mind was racing as she took a step back. It was hard to be here, so hard.


    She inserted her hand in her pocket.


    How many times she had pondered what to do when it came to this situation? It pained her heart to even think this.


    She took another step back.


    But now, she has made her choice.


    She abruptly turned towards the window behind her and quickly opened it. The slam of the wood was so audible that Arnaut and everyone else turned to look at her.


    ¡°Allie¡­?¡± Arnaut called in confusion.


    However, at that moment, Allie had already extended her hands outside, grasping a small wooden cylinder. Its cap had been removed, revealing a small gemstone at the tip.


    Then she pressed the button.


    A burst of golden light emanated from the stone, and then it rose high in the air. A ball of light lit up the day right above the building where she and the rest of the targets stood.


    ¡°What did she do?!¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    Confusion spread throughout the room.


    Arnaut slowly made his way towards her, his eyes wide. ¡°Allie¡­ what have you done?¡±


    Allie turned towards him, tears welling up in her eyes, and she said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    She recalled the last time she was in that dungeon, when she agreed to help the princess, and that the princess would not kill her friends. Further discussion after that, Allie heard of what lengths some of the people here in this room would go. How the elves were willing to kill their own allies.


    That was why Allie understood that elimination of some people would be necessary, as there would be no other choice but to take them out, or it would be more of a problem if nothing was done about them. More death.


    In truth, she couldn¡¯t call the elves as friends, they were never kind to her.


    Not everyone can be saved. That was why she had to save as many of them as possible from being killed. Especially those she considered friends.


    ***


    In the city, people were having their leisurely day. Everything was normal, from their outfits to their actions. People walking around, conversing, eating at the stalls, on dates, and laughing. Some standing by stores, some drinking their coffee and eating breakfast at cafes and restaurants.


    Indeed, everyone appeared to be doing normal things.


    But then, a ball of golden light appeared, rising in the sky, leaving a trail of light that directed its origin. Every person looked up at the bizarre and sudden sight. The light went so high that everyone in the city could see it, and where it rose from.


    Then, some civilians, those that were seemingly normal, dropped their activities. Some lowered their coffee, some left their food on the table, and some began to run towards the light. They grabbed their weapons, whether they were already hanging on their waists, or hiding it somewhere.


    Then there were some that ran into small alleys, from where after a moment later they emerged wearing black robes, and their faces covered with a mask.


    The agents of the princess that were blending within the normalcy of the city were finally on the move to fulfill their mission.


    With the light to guide their way, they begin the hunt.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 29: Capture (Part 1)

    The fresh air was truly refreshing, and the morning sun was warm. A beautiful girl sipped her freshly made hot chocolate, and she wondered why there were barely any like this in the palace. After that beautiful, gentle, elegant, mesmerizing sip, she lowered the cup slowly onto the table.


    At the moment, she was outside of a particular building, along with a few people. To shield the people from her overwhelming and blinding beauty, she covered herself from head to knees with her brown cloak. Indeed, her beauty must be hidden from the people, as at the sight of her would be akin to a goddess gracing this unworthy soil.


    Now guess who this precious girl was?


    Of course it¡¯s fucking me!


    Young goddess Estelia here chilling with the gang, gucci gang! Okay that¡¯s corny, ignore that. Ugh, I¡¯m already cringing here, shit, I shouldn¡¯t have said that. I feel old already, I can already hear people say that thing¡¯s a century ago.


    Not like I had any interest in that thing, I just heard it was a trend, with the nets¡¯ algorithm I heard it a lot after a single search of curiosity. It¡¯s kinda annoying, but for some reason it¡¯s kinda catchy. Fucking hell, my sense of music broke temporarily at that time. It¡¯s a phase! People go through the same thing. Although I heard that pretty late after its trend.


    Moving on, as I mentioned, I¡¯m chilling with Rogan and Vernon on the same table. They were quite pretty stiff, I wonder why. Well maybe because we¡¯re still in the middle of a mission. I should say though, this hot chocolate¡¯s pretty delicious, way better than what we had in the palace.


    We should hire the maker of this or something ¡ª um, no, that¡¯s not important right now.


    Let¡¯s see, ah yes, Estevan and Astine were not around here, by the way. I stationed them near the area where I circled on the map. Therefore, the men that remained here numbered only four, then an addition of Vernon and Rogan.


    Now why am I chilling right now? Well, there¡¯s nothing else to do but wait. The targets could have moved hideout, or they stayed. Either way, we needed to wait for Allie to give the signal.


    ¡°You seem to be enjoying this um¡­ leisurely time, princess. Is the hot chocolate that good?¡±


    Amidst my thoughts, my personal knight suddenly asked me with an awkward smile.


    ¡°Oh yes, it is quite delightful. I never felt so relaxed for some while.¡±


    ¡°Princess, should we even be this relaxed¡­?¡± asked Vernon.


    ¡°We ought to take the time to rest if an opportunity arrives.¡±


    ¡°Are you not worried at all?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am.¡±


    Legit, but I couldn¡¯t just cradle my head because I¡¯m so worried about failure right now. Think of it this way: a person taking an easy time in preparation for a hellish time where everything turns into shit. At least that way, you had a pleasant time before everything fucks up, you know.


    I¡¯ll get mad of course that it all failed. No, not just mad, I¡¯ll be enraged. I might fucking wreck this table in front of me, or stomp my feet on the ground. Then maybe I¡¯ll calm myself and say:


    It is what it is!


    In seriousness, yes, that scenario would be terrible.


    So, I¡¯ll be optimistic.


    But how long was this waiting gonna take anyway? That damn beastman better bring Allie to where everyone was.


    I sipped the hot chocolate again.


    Aaaah, what a beautiful morning. Not as beautiful as me, though.


    Although I would have preferred it to be cloudy, or on the brink of raining. The moment before a rain, as dark clouds loom in the sky above, you have that ominous psychological effect on a person. That could have been a better influence on the mind of our target, to pressure him. But of course the weather wouldn¡¯t follow my bidding.


    Nothing can be done about it.


    Which kinda sucks, I should be a god, you know. What could I even do as a god? Am I just someone useless? Oh well, as long as I can live a chill life even as a god, all¡¯s fine¡­


    A little time passed.


    ¡°Hm¡­ any moment now.¡±


    I looked in the direction of the circle.


    When my servants heard my brief statement, they followed my gaze.


    Come on, Allie, pick your choice.


    It was then a ball of golden light rose into the sky, like a flare.


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    Gotcha motherfuckers!


    I couldn¡¯t help but smile while I spontaneously stood up. My subordinates and other soldiers stood up with me the moment they saw the light.


    Wonderful! Finally we know where you little shits are! I¡¯m coming for you.


    Everything had been prepared, some of my forces had been positioned around the three-block area. While the rest may still be somewhere in the city, they will be there in no time. The setup had been planned and discussed, everyone knew their roles already.


    A shame to leave this delicious hot chocolate, but I have to move.


    ¡°My direct subordinates will stay with me and follow my pace. The rest you go ahead and advance, you have no need to guard me here anymore. Now go to your positions!¡±


    The people in cloaks that were on the other tables immediately made their move, removing their cloaks as they ran, revealing their flashy armor.


    Rogan also removed his cloak. ¡°Finally I can remove this.¡± He was in his usual elite knight gear. After placing the cloak on the table, I allowed him to grab his spear and discard his sword at the entrance door of our headquarters.


    I nodded when I saw that he was done. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go and see how things unfold.¡±


    Our carriage at the same time arrived, one for me to ride in. I and Rogan entered inside.


    Vernon sat in the driver¡¯s seat and spoke to the coachman. ¡°Get down, I¡¯ll be taking this.¡±


    After the coachman got down, the carriage began moving.


    A hard and intense battle would take place in the middle of the city, unless of course the enemies surrender. But that¡¯s impossible. So I¡¯ll be closely watching the confrontation to make sure there¡¯s no fuck up.


    This needs to succeed.


    Hm, love indeed makes fools of people.


    ***


    Arnaut was in utter disbelief, he never could have imagined that she was capable of this. Her tears gave off sadness, and yet, it did not make sense to him as she was the one who caused these complications. It was painful to see what Allie had committed.


    ¡°I told you Arnaut!¡± the elf Elivar shouted and unsheathed his blade, followed by the other elves.


    ¡°W-Wait¡ª¡±


    ¡°Kill her!¡±


    As he was lost in confusion, Arnaut couldn¡¯t respond to it immediately. However, in that moment, debris came flying all around in the air, as golden light cleaved through the wooden walls. One first came, then another, and another.


    One who arrived first clashed with Elivar¡¯s blade using a spear made up of golden light. It was a woman. She had long black hair. Her outfit was a black robe, and a mask covered her face.


    The enemies.


    Arnaut gritted his teeth for a split second and then... ¡°SCATTER!¡± he gave the order.


    All the beastmen in the room except for Arnaut all transformed into their beast forms. The humans wasted no time and began attacking the mystic race with their golden weapons. The room was too small, however, for this kind of conflict, and thus everything around the building crumbled apart as magic flew all around. Some beastmen bashed through the wall to get out of the building.


    Arnaut at the same time watched Allie.


    The human woman facing Elivar kicked him away before shouting an order. ¡°Get her out of here!¡±


    A man in robes grabbed Allie and smashed a hole into the wall with his weapon.


    ¡°Allie wait!¡± Arnaut called.


    Allie heard him, but the human quickly escaped from the area with incredible speed. Arnaut could chase him easily. However, the woman in the dark robe stomped her foot to the ground, and frozen pillars and spears instantly grew from the floor, piercing all the woods in their wake. They blocked his way.


    But for some unknown reason, the woman¡¯s gaze was not focused on him, but on the elves. She fired spears of ice towards them before charging herself with ice and golden spears in each hand. Magic coated the elves¡¯ swords and parried the several ice projectiles coming their way.


    They¡¯re aiming for the elves first?


    Arnaut thought.


    More ice projectiles grew and flew, to the elves¡¯ annoyance. The human woman thrust her spears towards Elivar. Overwhelmed by both projectiles and the spears, he was unable to evade and block a couple of attacks.


    ¡°Tch!¡±


    At the same time, Arnaut sensed a human coming at him. A sword of light was about to descend into him, but he managed to dodge it. A sword was beneath his feet, must be something left behind by one of his allies. He picked it up swiftly to parry the human¡¯s weapon and then kicked him to the side, sending him flying to the rubble.


    And at that moment, he noticed a change in the movement of the air. Following the source of that change, he saw Elivar gathering the wind in his hand as they were getting pinned down by the humans, especially the barrage of magic from the woman.


    The human woman threw both her spears in the hope of stopping Elivar, but it was a second too late. An explosion of wind blew everyone away, including the surrounding buildings. Arnaut was blown away to the next building, the roof and walls destroyed to smithereens. When he got up, thorny vines grew out of the ground violently, snapping at the humans like whips.


    It was then that it became apparent to Arnaut the true scale of the situation. At the front of the building they once used as a hideout, men with swords in hand gathered, clashing with his beastmen. With some men wearing knights¡¯ armor.


    However, there were only three beastmen that remained here. One beastman was being tied by golden chains. That beastman then shouted something while being tied down, which prompted the other beastmen to hesitantly run through the group of humans to get away from this place. The root of those chains seemed to be the one that Arnaut kicked away.


    The elves used their magic to regroup. They appeared to speak for a moment before one separated and ran towards the chained beastman. His sword glowed in magic, his eyes focused on the one in chains. However, the woman from before got in his way and numerous ice projectiles fired from above him.


    With the elf injured, he suddenly pointed his hand towards his face. Then a slash of wind fired out, cutting his own head off.


    Arnaut¡¯s eyes widened, surprised to see an elf take their own life. He searched for the other elves but they appeared to have begun fleeing, using the buildings as cover.


    Then, a ball of trailing light rose to the sky in the color of gold from afar, almost akin to what Allie used. That was not the only one. For a moment later, another one rose through the air in another direction. Arnaut didn¡¯t know what those were for, but if he had to guess, it was for communication.


    His gaze returned to the chained beastman, squirming to be free. But from one caster, another caster arrived to tie chains around him. Arnaut was about to go and help him, but a knight stood in his way, and another person in black robe with a mask.


    They were injured, bleeding and armor damaged, must be because of the initial encounter. But then a ray of golden light bounced around to the humans and then their wounds healed. The source of that was another woman in a mask. Their healer.


    ¡°Surrender.¡± the knight said to him.


    ¡°Two groups, a knight and you¡­¡± Arnaut shifted his gaze to the other person. ¡°I¡¯m not sure though, but I have an idea.¡±


    ¡°... We are from the religious order.¡±


    ¡°The church¡­¡±


    The forces of Wisteria gathered just to hunt them.


    ¡°Again, surrender. There¡¯s no point in resisting.¡±


    Arnaut glared at them. ¡°No.¡±


    And he transformed.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 30: Capture (Part 2)

    One elf used magic to spawn plants to stop the two knights hot on their tails. The thorny vines lashed out into buildings, slowing down and then stopping the two knights. Surprisingly, there were no civilians around anymore.


    But that was not important, the important thing was that they, the four elves, got through the humans. To their surprise and lack of understanding, the knights behind them unleashed a burst of light in the sky.


    Elivar glanced behind him, wondering what they were for. It was not the first one they saw. The group of elves entered a building, as expected, it was empty.


    ¡°Accursed humans!¡± Elivar roared. ¡°And that fool Arnaut!¡±


    They stopped, about to collect their thoughts. It was hard to think of what to do collectively while they were in the middle of a sudden fight.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do the most important thing. There is no escaping this.¡± Elivar said. ¡°You know what we have to do.¡±


    The elves looked at each other and nodded. Elivar then faced two particular elves. ¡°Does Arnaut know what you did with the Dust?¡±


    ¡°No, he didn¡¯t even probe.¡±


    ¡°He trusted us completely with it.¡±


    ¡°Good. Even if we fall today, Wisteria will follow not soon after.¡±


    Even if they interrogate Arnaut and the others, they wouldn¡¯t know what happened to the Dust. Everything was secured. Even Elivar had no idea what these two did with it.


    ¡°You two, do what must be done to keep the humans from learning about it.¡±


    ¡°You need not say. Do it.¡±


    Elivar and one other elf gathered magic in their hands, but at that moment, an oversized spear suddenly crashed into their building, going in between them. At the same time, humans, knights in particular, one with normal civilian outfit, and one with a full set of armor, breached through the building. A slash of light shot towards Elivar, forcing him to take a step back.


    No!


    This paltry interruption must not succeed for the greater good. He shifted his gaze towards the two particular elves, they were engaging a man in a dark robe. The human wrapped a chain around one elf while he fired a bolt of light at the other.


    I will not let you!


    He had to prevent the elf from being taken. As fellow elves, he knew that even if one of them were captured, they would not spill out information that would hinder their mission. However, there was no way of knowing how far the humans would go. Thus, to ensure to keep everything from leaking out, they must take their own, or their comrade¡¯s life.


    It was for the greater good and the survival of their people.


    The knight in armor was going after Elivar, so the latter fired wind magic at him. However, the knight met it with a slash of light, and he got close to Elivar. The elf met the knight¡¯s sword with his own. And the two glared at each other.


    ¡°You intend to capture us? Don¡¯t waste your time.¡±


    ¡°My sister had different orders for you, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Sister?


    ¡°However, I will give you a chance. Surrender.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t insult me.¡±


    They swung their blades, with each swing, magic flew all around, damaging their surroundings. Elivar gathered mana in his hand, however, the knight would use a spell that unleashes a bludgeoning force that would stagger him, disrupting his magic.


    Elivar glanced at the other elves stuck in a fight. He had to at least stop this knight for a moment and he¡¯ll get the opportunity. Elivar fired a small wind which served only to push the knight back a little, thus there was no need to gather a lot of mana, it was almost similar to the spell that the knight was using.


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    At that small moment, he manipulated the wind, engulfing the knight. The wind formed a wall of wind, obstructing the knight¡¯s actions.


    ¡°This is familiar.¡± the knight said.


    Elivar then aimed at the one free elf that was supposed to die, then a second later, just as the knight broke through the wind barrier, a small projectile of wind flew from Elivar¡¯s hand. The knight was unable to stop the wind in time, and thus the wind struck, shattering the head of the elf.


    The knight watched with bewilderment. ¡°You really are insane.¡± he muttered.


    Just then, the one wrapped in chains suddenly had his head cut off by a slash of wind, fired by the other elf while fighting another human. Feeling proud, Elivar grinned, and the human glared angrily at him through his visor.


    ¡°We are not, as you call it, insane¡­¡± said Elivar. ¡°We are noble.¡±


    There was nothing more noble than doing what it takes for the sake of their own people. They will stain their hands with the blood of their own friends and even sacrifice their own life and happiness. No matter how much they miss their families, their friends and their home, if they have to suffer themselves, then so be it.


    These humans could never understand.


    Perhaps they might, but they do not possess the will to achieve what was completely necessary.


    Elivar straightened his posture, poise, his sword in one hand, wind magic on the other. Now that the two elves were now dead, there was no need to divide his focus and attention anymore. Time to slay this human in front of him, and carry out the next phase.


    To slay the beastmen.


    They could not allow them to fall into the humans¡¯ hands. Even if Elivar dies, at least he died trying. In short, this was a suicide, but he would not be going alone.


    The knight held his sword with both hands and intensely glared at Elivar.


    The first to act was the knight, bringing down his sword swiftly, firing an arc of light towards the elf. Elivar quickly swept his magic-filled hand forward, sending a slashing wind to intercept the speeding arc. The moment those two magic clashed, the two were already right next to each other, and both their swords collided violently.


    Slash and thrust, clanging and sparks, the knight fired his armament magic with each swing, making it difficult for the elf to meet his attacks. The elf¡¯s sword would have shattered if not for the magic he coated it with.


    Being pushed back, Elivar while at the same time meeting the knight¡¯s blade with his own, held out his hand to fire multiple slashing winds. Instantly noticing this, the knight let free his one hand and held out his palm. A translucent barrier appeared, shielding him from harm. However, those attacks caused the barrier to crack all over.


    Elivar took this chance and thrust his sword forward, shattering the barrier, piercing through the knight¡¯s defense. The tip of his sword made contact with the knight¡¯s armor, but before he could pierce through, the knight leaped back. All he did was make a scratch.


    Of course, as one could expect, a knight¡¯s armor was not easy to break through. Elivar could have at least reached the human¡¯s flesh easily if not for the armor¡¯s hardness. But at least now, he had a measure of how much strength he should exert.


    Thus, even if the knight stepped away, Elivar charged forward relentlessly and kept unleashing his attacks. He attacked using his sword with impressive swiftness, and often used his other hand to fire magic. The knight was being pressed, but annoyingly was able to defend well.


    It wouldn¡¯t last long, however, as Elivar was getting used to the knight¡¯s attack pattern and manners. He swung his sword coated with magic, slashing through the knight¡¯s armor, rending flesh. Droplets of blood flew, and the knight quickly jumped back. His blood spilled to the floor as he groaned.


    With no relent, Elivar was about to finish it, however, the man in the dark robe that was fighting the other elf jumped between them and met Elivar¡¯s sword with his own made up of golden light. He must have seen that the knight was in a precarious situation and immediately switched targets, leaving the other knight to face the other elf.


    Elivar was, of course, annoyed by this. In the back of the robed man, he saw the knight pointing his hand on the wound, and green light emitting from his palm. Healing magic. However, the light was faint.


    As Elivar was clashing with the robed man, the knight slowly stood up, but was still bleeding a little. He must not be proficient in healing magic.


    Elivar resisted the urge to click his tongue, this was going nowhere. He wanted to kill them, but there was no longer any time to spare. Also in that moment, he saw multiple humans in the far back running towards them, it was the ones chasing them from earlier.


    We need to move.


    Elivar jumped back and swiftly sheathed his sword before holding out both his hands together. Mana began gathering within his palms.


    The knight saw this, and he shouted. ¡°Defend!¡±


    Then, a blast of wind exploded in the area, sending all objects around it flying. The humans had barely managed to use their defensive magic, but were still blown away by the sheer force of the wind from the elf.


    When everything quieted down and the dust settled, the humans looked around, but the elves were nowhere to be found.


    The knight lowered his sword before checking if everyone was alright. With a sigh, he walked towards the street where there were no obstacles above him. He pulled out a small cylinder, a blue gemstone on top of it.


    He pointed it up and poured a little mana. Then a ball of light then emerged, rising into the sky, before being followed by another from beside him.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 31: Capture (Part 3)

    A female knight stood on top of a rooftop, facing the direction where the center of the operation was taking place. She sported a white Wisterian gold and purple armor, so noble and beautiful. In her arm was her helm, which she had removed so she could see more of her surroundings and take in the fresh air.


    The knight, Ayana, narrowed her eyes, watching and waiting. She ought not to be lax in this mission. This was the largest and most important mission that she had experienced to date, nor had she ever heard something like this happen in the middle of the city in her lifetime.


    Plenty of the knights took this as an opportunity to distinguish themselves, while the rest, well they only took this as another job to be done. Ayana was one of the former. As from a family of nobles, she wanted to rise. Although she was often assigned as a leader of a squad, she was not yet a lieutenant or a commander of a whole unit. She wanted more.


    She wanted to be more than her family ever would be.


    And most of all, she disliked stagnancy.


    This made her form some kind of resentment to her current situation, she was stuck. Nothing seemed to change, it was all the same. Same morning, same activities, same problems. There was nothing thrilling, nor different.


    Because of this, in the past she considered leaving the Order. However, being a knight was way more enjoyable than staying home.


    If she were to become special, something great, she knew she would become and wanted to be someone memorable. And thus, she will and must rise. That was why she was willing to go to great lengths just to be better. She even resorted to becoming a torturer, answering only directly to the crown. None of the knights even knew that she was personally performing tortures to others, despite being known to meet sometimes with the official torturer.


    For all they knew, she was just there as someone to manage and a channel to the crown.


    But despite that, she was not satisfied. It was never enough. To her, it was no different to being a foot soldier.


    She had to work harder if she wanted to be treated or be seen like one of the highest elites in the Order. Perhaps, one of the signs that she had really risen to a degree she found satisfying, even for a little, was for her working personally with one of the royals.


    But that has yet to happen to her. It did happen to one of her close friends though. And truth be told, it made her feel a bit bitter, and it stung like a needle. Namely, it was Rogan. Why did it happen to him and not her? Why to him who didn¡¯t even seem to take anything seriously? One so carefree and casual to all things?


    Why not to her, who was so eager and determined to do her job? One who was willing to work hard just to get up there.


    It was unfair.


    She had nothing against Rogan. She was aware he was not the problem, but it was herself. It was her that was feeling this negatively, and it was uncalled for. But she couldn¡¯t help it.


    In any case, despite the fact that there were many knights here, she could at least contribute something big.


    A trail of light suddenly flew up in the air.


    One got through the line¡­


    An enemy got through the forces deployed in that area that were supposed to block and capture running enemies. However, that was within expectations.


    The golden light signals to the rest of the men that an enemy or more have broken through that particular part of the line. That way, the next line can prepare for interception. Their forces were formed into something called the four ring formation.


    The first ring was the point where the enemy were based in, or in other words, from their hideout. The forces of Wisteria would then surround that point in all directions, so they could watch for enemies from a vantage point and intercept them. Once an enemy was found, they would signal the rest with magic that emits white light. They were, in particular, ordered not to use the golden color to avoid confusion.


    In any case, breaches were to be expected as the enemies were not to be trifled with. Furthermore, the farther one was from the central point, the wider the circle would be. This may result in complications or weakening of the line. But that was why there were four circles in total, and the wider the circle, the more men would need to be allocated to that part. However, this meant that they would need to prevent enemies from breaching through as much as possible, and also making the enemies go in different directions, splitting them up.


    It was ideal for the enemies to separate. As a group, they would be too difficult to handle. Capturing them would be nigh impossible.


    If the enemies, however, get through the last ring, that would be problematic. However, the church bishop was assigned to handle that.


    Ayana was on the third ring from the central point, along with seven knights, and six church members. They were spread out of course, but she could see a few standing on other rooftops.


    Another light rose in their direction. With a stern expression, Ayana slid her head into her helm and placed a hand on the hilt of her sword. She looked closely and cautiously. She couldn¡¯t see anyone yet.


    Then, a light lit up from one of the knights on a rooftop. Looking at each other, him and Ayana nodded before making their move. The latter followed the knight, jumping across rooftop to rooftop. Then two masked church members in black robes appeared beside her. All four here were the ones assigned to watch and intercept an enemy if found as a team. One target per team.


    The knight leading them was a muscular man judging from the size of the armor he was wearing, on each side of his waist were swords. He was one of the elites. He jumped to the ground, leaving a small crater under his boots. On the other hand, Ayana landed lightly and with grace, and then the two knights drew their swords.


    The two church members remained on the rooftops, each one on the left and right.


    And at the center, in front of them all, was a beast. Its fur was brown, and its limbs were bulky with muscles, its face seemed so similar to a bull. The beast growled, glaring at the people blocking its way.


    ¡°Humans, you have prepared beautifully for this day, to fight us. But know this, you shall regret facing me today.¡± His glaring eyes shifted to each one of its enemies, then its fists curled. With a powerful voice, it declared. ¡°I will reduce you to a pitiable smear on the stone cold floor.¡±


    It roared deafeningly. Ayana slowly formed her stance and breathed in. The double wielder beside her charged first, swinging down both his blades at it. But the beast met them with its arm, the blades causing it to bleed. Strangely though, the wound was too shallow despite the power behind those swings, might as well call it a scratch.


    The beast pulled back its other arm, about to strike. And thus, Ayana charged forward, lightning engulfed her blade, and she slashed down through the air, sending an arc of lightning at it, hitting its arm. But that attack, as the same as the strikes before it, merely made a scratch.


    Making her way behind it with impressive swiftness, she slashed its back multiple times.


    She flinched a little, surprised at the hardness of its skin, or muscles to be precise. Indeed, it was fleshy, but almost as hard as stone. All she could do was inflict shallow cuts. The beast lashed its thin tail, given the toughness of its body, Ayana decided to dodge it.


    Quick as the tail was, Ayana used physical enhancement to make her body stronger and faster, and dodged by stepping back. However, the beast abruptly thrust its free fist towards her. In immediate response, Ayana cast her barrier, but upon contact, it quickly shattered from the sheer power of that single punch from the beast. She had no choice but to use her arms as cover, and she was sent flying to a wall, dust spread out. The metal plating on her gauntlet dented.


    At the same time, the dual wielder relentlessly swung his blades in quick succession, dodging the fists of the beast when it came. The beast slammed its hands into the ground while roaring in rage, sending debris shooting everywhere.


    The dual wielder leaped back to safety. At the same time, a church priest jumped down, wielding a large golden hammer, and slammed it down to the beast¡¯s head with as much strength as he could muster. It appeared to have done some damage to it as it staggered. Ayana took this chance to send a pair of lightning slashes towards it.


    Annoyed, the beast turned back to attack her. But Ayana was already before him and she jumped up, her body enhanced, and punched the beast in the chin. The beast, stunned, lost its balance for a moment.


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    It was about to counterattack, but golden chains suddenly wrapped around its arm. Then at the same, the dual wielder fired a pair of arcs of light at its back, making it kneel to the ground as wounds formed ¡ª but far from fatal.


    ¡°Damn you!¡±


    Another chain wrapped around its torso as the other priest jumped down from the roof. The two priests began running in circles, wrapping the chain around its body. The beast roared and pulled, struggling, but it couldn¡¯t break free.


    Even so, it was strong, so Ayana needed to weaken it. She sheathed her blade and went at it with her fists. She punched its torso, its back, its face. And she kept hitting while it kept struggling. If it struggles, it still has the strength to fight, and she had no intention of stopping if that was still ever the case.


    The priests stopped when it was enough, and pulled the chains tighter. But the beast kept on writhing. Thus, Ayana punched it some more, causing small booms to mildly echo in the area.


    ¡°Ggghh.¡±


    The beast groaned as blood leaked out of its mouth, both his knees on the ground.


    Everyone and everything quieted down but the heaving breath of the beast.


    We should be able to drag him this way. But¡­


    Ayana approached.


    ¡°Return to your humanoid form.¡± She said with a forceful tone.


    If it remained a beast, the shackles wouldn¡¯t be able to suppress it completely, considering that it fought with its raw strength.


    The tired eyes of the beast lifted to look at her. ¡°Not yet¡­ I¡¯m not done. If I fall or captured today, I will drag you down with me ¡ª even if I am stripped of my sanity.¡±


    Ayana, disturbed, narrowed her eyes. Then with a fearsome growl, the beast¡¯s muscles suddenly expanded. It slowly stood up, slowly dragging the priests with it. While confused, the priests strained their magically enhanced muscles to keep the beast bound in chains, but those very chains began to creak.


    Ayana glanced at the other knight, indirectly asking what to do now. Something more dangerous was going to happen, it was certain. But they were ordered not to kill the beastmen, and because of that, their power was quite restrained.


    But this was no time to be idling, and so Ayana promptly rushed towards the beast while it was still bound. With her enhanced left arm, she slammed her fist to the side of its face.


    ¡°!¡±


    However, the impact she made was not the same as before, it merely pushed its head a little. Furthermore, its face was harder, firmer. She was sure that it should have done some damage, based on the feeling of the punch. But it would seem the beast simply endured it.


    Ayana quickly backed away, just in time for the beast''s jaws to slam shut where she had been standing. If she had moved a little later, she would have been trapped in its jaws.


    She and the beast locked eyes, and she took in a sharp breath. The beast¡¯s eyes were different from before, now they were more fierce, like one would see from rabid beasts, or wild monsters. She quickly drew her sword, but in that same moment, the beast opened its arms. Pieces of the golden chains scattered in the air before subsequently evaporating. With those broken, the beast was now free.


    Then it roared with profound power.


    There was no info about this!


    The princess mentioned preparing for surprises, but no one said anything about this precisely.


    With a violent slam on the ground, the beast charged towards one of the priests with fearsome power and speed. The priest frantically erected a barrier to defend himself, but he was still pushed through the wall. The double wielder immediately slashed his blades against the beast¡¯s arm before it could crush the priest, then followed by a few more slashes in quick succession. Cuts formed all around the beast¡¯s body, and thus it began swinging its fists at the knight, giving the priest a chance to slip away.


    The beast¡¯s fist slammed into the ground, leaving a crater. A direct hit from those fists would certainly cause severe damage. But thankfully, the knight was able to dodge. Annoyed, the beast let out a howl.


    However, it quickly proved to be no normal howl when it blew away the knight and destroyed the houses in front of it, as if a powerful tidal wave had crashed through them. The sheer strength of the howl caused Ayana to cover her ears while glaring at the beast.


    She was able to cover her ears in time before the deafening sound could damage her ears. But it was not the same for one of the priests, who seemed stunned as he leaned against the wall, hands over his ears.


    Ayana returned her gaze to the beast.


    It has lost its mind.


    ¡°You priests!¡± she shouted. ¡°Focus on making it immobile, do whatever you need to! Just make that thing stop swinging its fists!¡±


    The priests sprang into action, with one enduring the pain, and conjured golden chains. They spread out, and one priest successfully wrapped a chain around one of the beast¡¯s arms. However, the second chain failed to connect when the beast stepped back and with the chain wrapped around its arm, swiftly pulled it and swung the priest through the chain and slammed him into the other priest. The chain vanished.


    Its movements were stronger and faster than before.


    The double wielding knight promptly fired several magical slashes at it, which the beast managed to dodge only a couple. But the hits it took seemed to have no effect, despite the wounds. Ayana swiftly slashed the side of its body before twisting and delivering a powerful kick.


    The beast growled and brought down its fists at her, but Ayana was able to dodge. Then for some reason, the beast took a deep breath. It only took a moment for Ayana to realize what it was about to do.


    While facing Ayana, it let out a fearsome howl.


    But it was a predictable move, and so Ayana, just in time, leaped to the side to avoid its howling force. In the process, however, she crashed into a wall, but that was a small price to pay. Even so, her ears were not spared and they rang terribly.


    It was then she noticed, the moment the beast stopped its howl, it coughed and spat out blood from its mouth.


    It can¡¯t do it constantly.


    The beast seemed to have felt that pain indeed as it lowered its head, breathing hard. It was an opportunity.


    Ayana turned to the priests. ¡°Now!¡± she shouted while bearing the pain in her bleeding and ringing ears.


    The priests followed and moved into action. One conjured a large hammer and ran to hit the beast''s head while the other wrapped golden chains around the beast, even restraining one arm. The root of the chain was linked to a spear, which the priest stabbed deeply into the ground.


    Ayana quickly drop-kicked the beast on the back before the other priest conjured and wrapped chains around its other arm. The priest pulled hard, making the beast spread its arm, and it groaned.


    In that moment, a pair of bright slashes shot out in the air and crashed against its torso, spilling blood. The beast fell to both knees, breathing heavily. The double wielder then quickly approached, his blades already sheathed, and large shackles in his hand, which he wrapped around the beast¡¯s wrist.


    The beast writhed, and he punched it in the gut and face. The priest moved the chain, forcing its arm to shift to the back. Its shoulder must have been twisted a little in the process, based on the beast''s pained roar, but the knight merely punched it again.


    Ayana then took the other end of the shackle and locked it on the other wrist. It was made from a rare material called Aterite, one that disrupts magic. Although its disruption potency was not that threatening in small amounts, and if being surrounded by it, it never completely sealed off one¡¯s ability to cast magic or manipulate mana.


    However, that didn¡¯t mean they could control their mana or cast spells properly. Try as one might, if they cannot properly control the shape of their mana, the spell would be broken, or the casting will fail. Unleash their raw mana, and they won¡¯t be able to focus or channel it properly. Still, it was not something to be relied upon, with enough power, one could still break through it, even an average knight might.


    However, the church had been experimenting on such material, to enhance its power. To also focus its disruption on demons. It was an arduous process to imbue holy magic into something that disrupts magic. But with the help of the blue crystal that they used to store magic, called Saerulium, merging it with the black metal, they achieved it. Still, the shackles would need maintenance.


    They used the shackles here to prevent enemies from casting magic, but in this case, this was a beast. It was uncertain whether or not it would help.


    But the beast was already beaten very much, now weakened.


    It took slow breaths. Ayana moved in front of it, but still kept her distance. Its eyes appeared to be going back to normal. And it slowly gazed up at her.


    ¡°...What¡­ what is this?¡± It moved its hand, baffled. It would seem the shackles had some effect. ¡°This metal¡­ I see, you have these... But¡­ but, this metal does not affect us very much¡­ I can still f-fight¡­¡±


    It said so, but it was already weakened, there was no way it could fight like that again. Ayana approached and dug her fist into its belly, causing it to wheeze and cough. She locked eyes with it.


    ¡°You can¡¯t¡­ You lose.¡±


    The beast took in a sharp breath, glaring at her. But it was already so tired, it couldn¡¯t do anything else anymore like break free from the shackles. Gradually, it lost consciousness. At the same time, it slowly shrank. Ayana stepped back, watching it morph into something else.


    The fur slowly retracted before disappearing, and its dark brown animal skin turned into a human¡¯s. It was a strange sight to behold. Then the face of a bull disappeared, and what replaced it was the face of a man, now slowly falling to the ground, the body covered only by the remaining fabric of his clothes.


    Ayana sighed as she watched it bleed. ¡°I¡¯ll heal it ¡ª him before he dies¡ª¡±


    It was then a shadow crawled on the ground, too late did she notice. But the next thing that happened was the explosion of the beastman¡¯s head. What caused it, what killed him, was a ball of wind.


    ¡°No!¡± she involuntarily shouted.


    Seeing the blood splatter in the air and on the floor, Ayana¡¯s heart sank. No, perhaps it was broken.


    She glared up to see a person, a man with long, pointed ears. He looked down at them from atop.


    This bastard!


    Rage flared within her heart.


    ¡°Elf!¡± one of the priests shouted.


    ¡°Get him! We can¡¯t let him reach the others!¡±


    After Ayana gave the order, all of the four chased after the elf. They ran across rooftops, all of them throwing their magic at him.


    The knights sent their magical slashes, while the priests threw their golden spears. Given the number of attacks, it didn¡¯t take long for them to eventually hit his leg, causing him to fall from the roof. They were given an order, when faced with an elf, to prioritize killing them.


    However, if given the chance, capture. But it definitely wouldn¡¯t be easy. One can kill themselves with magic with a single gesture of a finger if they wanted. This was unlike slashing one¡¯s neck or drinking poison. Suicide by magic can be instantaneous.


    While laying down on the ground, the elf fired wind magic at them, but it was futile of course. And thus he began to point his hand at himself, but a priest threw his spear, impaling him on that hand. Then to prevent him further, the other priest threw his spear into the elf¡¯s other hand.


    The elf gritted his teeth in pain, and as the Ayana and the group were only a couple of steps away, a tempest engulfed the elf. Ayana backed away from the strong, raging wind that cuts like knives. It was at that moment there was blood splatter mixed in with the wind. Subsequently, the tempest stopped, revealing a beheaded elf.


    Ayana¡¯s eyes widened.


    Not surprising¡­. But¡­


    She sighed deeply. That beastman was her chance to leave a mark. However, she failed.


    She fell into distress, clenching her fist. She just wanted to prove herself, but why was it so hard to achieve? It was not like her ambition was unreachable and complex.


    She stood before the elf¡¯s corpse, glaring at it with hatred.


    It¡¯s because of this thing.


    Yes, it was because of this thing before her feet. However, it didn¡¯t mean she was free from blame. She should have seen the elf coming.


    She should have done better.


    I¡­ should have been better.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 32: Capture (Part 4)

    The civilians were being led out of the area, the knights guiding their way. About two in total here, including Alan. This was the last ring in the formation, where the civilians were still being brought to safety. And despite the fighting having already begun, there were still civilians that remained in the area.


    They had to rush things, to the people¡¯s distress. Alan felt a bit bad that fighting suddenly sprang out while the people were having their usual day, but that was just how things were. Better have inconvenience than to die. Alan turned his head to see golden lights coming up into the air.


    They were far, given that he was in the rear.


    Indeed, in the rear. There was a low chance that the enemies would even come to where he was, thus all he had to do was lead the civilians out. He wanted to have an achievement, but he had to admit it, bitterly, that if this kept up, he would have nothing to show.


    This led him to wish that something would happen to where he was.


    Although, it was understandable that he couldn¡¯t be placed near the center where the heaviest fighting was taking place. Still, it didn¡¯t feel good, he felt even more inferior to the others. He shook his head to shake off his current thoughts and shifted his focus to the fleeing civilians.


    They all should be out in a couple of minutes. Alan could see the fear and concern in the faces of the people, which he too had to admit, he was feeling a little. This may be the first time for these people to experience a close battle, no less in their home city.


    His gaze shifted upwards towards a person standing and looking out from a rooftop. It was his brother. Alan would have preferred if he was not around him, and in truth, it was surprising that they were assigned together on the same team.


    Perhaps the higher ups decided it would be best if the two brothers were working together. But the thing was, Alan felt a bit uncomfortable around his brother at the moment. Even now his older brother, Alzen, was sternly looking down at him, he was not even helping guide the civilians. But then again, Alzen was one of the upper elites, he must focus on the enemies that may approach.


    Gradually, the number of civilians began to decrease, and Alan let out a sigh of relief. If fighting reached this far, protecting the innocents would have been a nightmare to do. Death would have been unavoidable.


    But then, a light rose from the line next to theirs. Alan upon looking up, gripped the hilt of his sword before facing the fleeing crowd.


    ¡°Hurry! Get away from here quickly! Go!¡±


    The crowd murmured frantically as they hastened their escape. Alan looked up at his brother, waiting for his signal. And a moment later, Alzen raised his hand and a ball of white light shone from his hand, and Alan immediately drew his sword and clenched it tightly.


    While taking deep nervous breaths, he glared at the road beyond, anticipating the enemy that may come in the direction where his older brother pointed his sword at.


    It didn¡¯t take long.


    A beast was running on four limbs towards them, stopping the moment it saw them standing guard on the road.


    It would appear that it had no intention of charging blindly, as it seemed to observe first. And then, as though it had made its mind, with a roar, it charged forward with startling speed. The knight with Alan moved forward, while he himself moved back on the far rear, he was not to face the enemy first hand ¡ª otherwise he¡¯ll surely die without even a show for it, although he would have preferred to land a strike. But that would just be incredibly hard to achieve.


    Alzen leaped off the roof and charged towards the beast fearlessly, his sword clasped tightly by both his hands. With a swing in the air, a bright arc of light emerged, hurling towards the beast. However, the latter jumped to the side, raw power apparent in its movements, leaving small craters on the ground.


    Now that the beast drew closer, Alan finally had a closer look at it. Aside from its light brown fur, it had disturbing sharp claws which could easily cleave a person in half with just one. Its face was fierce, and on its mouth protruded a pair of fangs, majestic and as dangerous as a saber.


    The moment the beast touched the floor, it waved its one hand, multiple arcs of light shot towards Alzen. With Alzen¡¯s eyes wide in surprise, he met those attacks with an arc of his own. However, he was only able to destroy one, but that was enough to keep himself safe as he got in between of the other arcs of light ¡ª through the one he destroyed first.


    But Alan saw just how much mana his brother poured into that attack, it was almost double to what they normally spend, and that was straining for the body to do. He ought not to do it again.


    The other knight came in and engaged the beast in a melee, meeting the claws with his blade. Alzen got in and attacked the beast in the back. At the same time, while on the rooftops, each of the two priests in black robes and masks conjured spears of radiant gold.


    Then they threw, aimed at the beast¡¯s legs. However, the beast seemed to have noticed. Before the tips of their golden spears touched its fur, it jumped up high; the spears hitting the bare floor. The beast was flipping in the air, then in its hand was a handful of stone that it grabbed from the floor as it jumped. While rotating in mid-air, it threw the shards of stone with a flick of its hand at one priest. Then subsequently, used the other hand to send arcs of light towards the other.


    Those projectiles were so fast that the priests failed to respond on time, and they fell with the crumbling buildings they were standing on.


    But that was not where it ended. While still in mid-air, after a full flip, it sent several arcs towards the knights from both its hands and each of its claws. The knights quickly conjured barriers, but they shattered too easily.


    Metals slashed and pierced, blood spilled.


    The moment the beast landed, a small distance between the knights, its hand moved in a crossing motion, and slashes once again stormed the two knights, blasting them back.


    Alan was in disbelief, in shock even. How could something be this powerful? It was hard to see that the elites were unable to respond to its attack properly. Alan¡¯s breathing trembled in anxiety, it was then at that moment the beast turned to gaze at him. The lone knight guarding the path.


    Its path was clear, with only a young knight standing in the way. It could easily pass through. And thus, with what appeared to be a small grin, it ran towards that young and weak knight.


    Alan swallowed nervously, the beast was truly fearsome. But he shouldn¡¯t let fear consume him, he must be brave.


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    Alan glared at the beast, his sword raised.


    ¡°No! Don¡¯t engage!¡±


    He could hear his older brother¡¯s shout from behind the beast. Still¡­


    I can hold it! Even for a moment!


    For just a moment, he was sure within that small moment, he could buy time, just enough, for the knights and priests to regroup.


    I can do it!


    As the beast grew closer, the more it was apparent to Alan just how big it was. It was bigger than he had expected, and it charged towards him like a mindless raging monster he often saw during missions. No, this one was much more than any mere monster.


    It was something to be truly afraid of, more than the few monsters he had faced, but he must be bold and brave in the face of such a creature. Otherwise, what kind of knight would he be? Indeed, this was no time for cowardice.


    He raised his sword high and took in a deep breath, pouring mana into his blade. He must not let this creature pass. And thus, he swung down his blade, firing his armament magic towards the beast.


    The beast met the arc of light with its claws, shrugging it away like a small smear on the side of its fur. It seemed to smile when it realized how pathetically weak that attack was. But Alan had no time to think, the beast arrived before him and it brought down its claws at him.


    Exerting his muscles to the maximum, Alan met the claws with his blade. And the beast chuckled.


    ¡°You¡¯re out of your comfort zone, little flea.¡±


    As if dealing with an insect, it flicked him away with its fingers. Alan gritted his teeth in the pain from the mere force exerted by those very fingers, but he planted his feet to the ground, saving himself from being blown far.


    The beast turned its back.


    ¡°You¡¯re not getting away!¡± he shouted before sending slashes of light at it.


    The beast deflected them before they hit its back, and then glared at Alan, annoyed. ¡°Insignificant.¡± After that remark, its claws shone for a moment before waving both his hands, and arcs of light went straight for Alan.


    Alan froze, not because he was overwhelmed by fear, but rather because of how fast those arcs were moving. Everything in the world seemed to slow down as reality struck like lightning. His body would not be able to move fast enough to dodge those. All he could do was stare at those waves of immense power, to wait for his inevitable death.


    He was weak, too weak for this. And with every split second those arcs moved closer, the larger they appeared to become. Indeed, they were too much for him. It would seem he will not be able to keep his promise, there would be no way for him to survive from the eight slashes all coming at him, each one aimed only at him.


    No, perhaps he was also afraid, deep inside. He just denied it. And perhaps that was why he could not make a decision on how to at least survive this. He was a disappointment.


    The arcs got ever closer, and so will death. However, suddenly a shadow stood in front of him. And then, the arcs of light made contact. Not with him, however, but with someone else entirely.


    Alan¡¯s eyes widened in shock. ¡°B-Brother¡­?¡±


    The one who received all eight slashes was his older brother, Alzen. He used his barrier to shield himself, but those were never enough considering all those slashes, and thus they broke easily. And he took the brunt of it, shielding Alan from death.


    However, that was not as pleasant and heroic to imagine. In front of Alan, Alzen was covered in his own blood. His armor shredded. Then, what fell on the ground, into a small puddle of blood, was his left arm ¡ª or to be exact, from his hand to his elbow.


    His right arm was not safe as well, as his sword fell to the ground with a loud clang, his fingers too weak to hold it. His forearm was cut halfway to the bone.


    Alan could hear his older brother¡¯s rough breathing.


    Through the pain, Alzen forced some words out. ¡°I told you n-not to¡­ engage.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Alan had nothing to say. Still¡­ ¡°H-Healer! We need a healer!¡±


    ¡°N-No time¡­¡± Alzen fell to his knees.


    At the same time, the beast roared in agony. Alan raised his eyes to see the beast pierced through the leg with a spear of golden light. The beast sent waves of magic towards a priest, but the priest quickly moved to dodge them. While the spear was disappearing, another priest came in from behind and conjured chains, wrapping them around the beast¡¯s neck.


    The beast growled as the priest pulled it down. A knight came in and sent arcs of light of his own towards the beast¡¯s torso before kicking it in the belly with his heel. The other priest conjured smaller spears and threw towards each of the beast¡¯s shoulders.


    The beast was about to use its magic, shown by its shining claws, but the knight swung down his blade to its arm, stopping it. Another spear pierced the beast¡¯s other leg, they cannot let it give any breathing room.


    The beast roared loudly. And then the other priest conjured his chains to wrap it around the beast¡¯s arm. But its other arm was still free, and it turned to face the priest that was chaining its arm. It moved back its free hand, as though preparing to attack.


    The knight was about to stop the attempt. However, suddenly, the beast swung its arm towards him, sending a handful of magical slashes. Caught off guard, the knight frantically cast a barrier ¡ª for it was only a small amount, the barrier shattered with just two hits, and the rest got through, one the knight evaded, but one hit him. The knight endured the pain and charged at the beast to prevent it from doing something dangerous again.


    Meanwhile, Alan was crouching near his brother, who was bleeding terribly.


    ¡°Alan, the situation has changed¡­. Dammit. Take the s-shackles.¡±


    Alan shifted his eyes towards the shackles hanging on Alzen¡¯s waist.


    Then Alzen continued. ¡°Its magic must be sealed. Attach these c-chains to it.¡±


    Alan nodded his head and took the chains.


    ¡°But, it will be dangerous for you¡­ That is why¡­ you must only move when I have it distracted.¡±


    ¡°W-What? How do you even hope to move in this state?!¡±


    ¡°Shut up, little brother. The mission takes priority, you f-focus on your task.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Be ready. Don¡¯t attack no matter what¡­ just wrap at least one shackle.¡±


    ¡°... Got it.¡±


    ¡°A-Alright. Go and get into position.¡±


    Alan, with a bit of hesitation, separated himself from his brother. He positioned himself on the blind spot of the beast ¡ª where its back was directed at. With utter concern, he watched his older brother force himself to stand up. His severely injured right hand now gripping the hilt of his sword.


    Pain was all over his face. He groaned at the weight of his sword and body. But that didn¡¯t stop him, and he took a step forward, coming closer to the beast.


    ¡°Little puss!¡± Alzen shouted with pain. The beast turned to glare at him, and Alzen continued. ¡°I will bring you down!¡±


    He raised his sword high with one hand, its blade glowing with mana. The beast realized what he was about to do, and he quickly deflected the attack of the other knight. However, at that moment, Alzen brought down his blade with a strained shout, and from his swing, unleashed a powerful wave of magic.


    It was as tall as the beast, cleaving through the ground¡¯s pavement with ease. The beast, ignoring the pull of the chains, quickly gave its all to its free hand and released multiple slashes to intercept the powerful wave.


    Upon contact, the slashes were able to weaken the knight¡¯s attack. However, it was not enough to stop it completely. And the wounded knight¡¯s magic collided with the beast, its torso slashed from waist to the chest. But it was not deep enough to kill it, only weaken it.


    It growled in the pain. At the same time, Alan suddenly appeared before it and tied a shackle around its free wrist. It fitted quite nicely. Given it was a magic item, a magic user could resize it at will while it was still unlocked. And Alan prepared it so he could instantly lock it around its wrist.


    Alan quickly backed away, turning his head to see his brother completely collapsed on the floor. He ran towards him.


    Meanwhile, the beast was a bit baffled, staring at the shackle disrupting his magic.


    ¡°This¡­ this metal.¡±


    It wanted to try using its other arm to break it, but it was being chained by the humans. A knight charged at it and began hitting it with his fists. The beast tried to hit him with its own fist, but the knight evaded them. It tried using magic, but to no avail, its mana scattered and dispersed without even given form.


    The knight hit, and hit him. It didn¡¯t take long before the beast was unable to give strong enough force to slam the ground.


    It heaved. ¡°Damn humans¡­ You¡­. win.¡±


    With a pained breath, the beast slowly shrank down, its body slowly turning into something similar to a human¡¯s, to a man ¡ª except for its animal ears on top of its head in addition to normal human ears on the sides. The shackle, on the other hand, changed size with him.


    The knight quickly grabbed the other end of the shackle and locked it? on the other wrist. He sighed tiredly. He then turned to one of the priests. ¡°Go to Alzen and save him.¡±


    The priests could cast basic healing spells, not to be used during combat because they were slow to progress. But with the battle done, they could freely heal the wounded.


    ¡°The two of us will watch the prisoner.¡±


    The priest undid the chains and quickly ran over to Alzen.


    Alan promptly moved aside to give room to the priest as he healed his brother.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t die¡­¡± Alan pleaded.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 33: Capture (Part 5)

    Evry, in his beast form, one that resembled a tiger, crashed through the wall of a building after encountering a group of humans. With his sheer size and strength, bashing through wooden walls was trivial. Behind him followed another beastman with brown and black fur, a form resembling a jaguar.


    Everyone else separated from them, it was every man for themselves. Even how much Evry disliked it, he couldn¡¯t blame anyone, especially with the situation, with the humans suddenly appearing to attack them. They weren¡¯t prepared at all for a confrontation today.


    Ultimately, he was not prepared for the person who brought this upon them ¡ª the human, Allie. To think he was the one who allowed Arnaut to think again about his decision and let him retrieve her. And, worse, he wanted to save her too. Did he regret that he felt that way? Yes.


    No matter how anyone looked at it, Evry was also at fault. He shouldn¡¯t have felt sympathy or pity for Allie, he shouldn¡¯t have had the desire to help her. It was a mistake. But even so, seeing her cry after she sent that light to the sky, it made Evry doubt if he truly hated her deep inside despite that.


    Just why? Why did she do that? She was not the person to do such a thing. He truly never imagined she would be capable of such betrayal. The girl who they saved, one that was kind to them, the girl who loved those that saved her.


    He just couldn¡¯t understand it. Who or what could have caused her to commit such an act?


    How much did she go through that it made her capable of betraying those that saved her life?


    Still, he shouldn¡¯t get stuck in those thoughts right now. Now was the time to focus on escaping ¡ª and he hoped that with them split up, at least one could escape. But what if one was captured? It was hard to think of what to do if that were to happen, thus he set it aside in the corner of his mind for now.


    He turned to his one ally.


    ¡°We lost them, right?¡±


    ¡°Feels like it.¡±


    Just then, two balls of light rose into the sky behind them, from the part where they sensed they lost the humans.


    ¡°Notifying their allies, huh.¡± muttered Evry. ¡°We¡¯ll have a rough way ahead of us, Yuro.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah I know. Everything¡¯s messed up. Allie¡­¡± a tinge of disappointment formed on his face.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°What about the leader? Are we just gonna leave him there?¡±


    ¡°What do you want us to do? Go back there and get wrecked by those humans? No! We run!¡±


    ¡°... V-Very well.¡±


    ¡°It will be a lose cause if we go back either way. The least we can do is try to escape from this place, this city.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡± he fell silent for a moment. ¡°I want to go back home, Evry¡­¡±


    ¡°I know¡­ But we came here for our home¡¯s sake. We must fight as long as we have to.¡±


    ¡°... Still, I want to see my home¡­ Even for just a day.¡±


    Evry held back a sigh. Yuro was not alone in that sentiment. Nevertheless, Evry must do what he could in here.


    Just then, his ears perked up the instant he noticed something quickly approaching him. He instantaneously stopped, and a dagger stabbed the ground an inch before his feet, one more step and he would have been struck by it.


    But Evry noticed something. The blade of the dagger was glowing. And then a second later, magic suddenly swirled around it, slashing everything that surrounded it like blades. Its reach was a one-meter radius.


    Caught off guard by it, Evry was unable to jump back in time, and thus he was slashed on his leg. But it was far from fatal.


    In search of the one who threw that dagger, Evry looked up to the rooftops. It didn¡¯t take long for him to find a knight in full plate armor standing on top of a building, daggers dangling on his waist, along with a sword. Daggers were also strapped around his legs.


    He was not the only one, there was another knight on another building, and also a couple of men in dark robes.


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    ¡°Two of them. We need more men here,¡± said the knight with daggers.


    The other knight jumped over right next to him. ¡°Reinforcement won¡¯t be certain. Everyone else within our line is or could be occupied.¡±


    ¡°Hm, we should at least try. We may expect support from the rear. With the vice-commanders deployed, it all depends on what she decides. For now, it seems we¡¯ll have to do what was discussed in such a scenario.¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± the knight raised his hand and a red light began emitting from it.


    Yuro slowly stepped closer to Evry. ¡°Any plan¡­?¡±


    ¡°... They¡¯ll attack us the moment we try to run¡­ But it¡¯s not like we have any other choice. Push through them before their reinforcements arrive.¡±


    ¡°Lead on the push.¡±


    With a growl, Evry charged with tremendous speed and strength, crashing into the building below a knight like it was nothing. Not with the intention of destroying the building, however, but to remove themselves from the enemy¡¯s sights.


    They pushed through another building next to it, but then spears of light breached through the walls. Those golden weapons were not aiming to hit them, but rather to expose them, to destroy their covers. And they were quick with their work, but perhaps with weapon conjuration, it was easy to cast weapon after weapon.


    Evry now exposed, a knight with the sword charged through and promptly swung his sword at him. Using his claws, Evry parried the knight¡¯s blade multiple times before the other beastman, Yuro, suddenly emerged from hiding with silent steps and raised his hand to strike the knight in the back.


    However, before he could touch the knight, a dagger whizzed through the air. Yuro noticed it, and with smooth swiftness, shifted his body to evade it. The dagger hit a wall, then a swirl of magic erupted around it, breaking everything it touched.


    The other knight held a sword in one hand, and his other swiftly grabbed another dagger. He charged towards Yuro and attacked him with both blades, but with Yuro¡¯s agility and reflexes, none of them touched him. Just then, a man in a black robe jumped in, swiftly swinging a golden sword at his back.


    Yuro was only able to dodge just in time for the blade to make a shallow cut. He stepped away, trying to make some distance.


    A second man in robe appeared and attacked Evry along with the knight he was currently facing.


    These two were not hard to deal with. However, the focus here was not to kill the humans but to run away. It was then Evry noticed it.


    He glanced at his ally, Yuro. He was dealing with the humans well, they were struggling compared to him. However, Yuro was getting more distant from him.


    Evry gritted his teeth before shouting.


    ¡°Yuro! Do not let them separate us!¡±


    The humans flinched the moment the beastmen realized their intentions. Evry roared, and his body began to glow in an orange hue, then what started as a thin layer of magic slowly grew into some sort of barrier protecting his body.


    With a wave of his hand, the barrier broke apart, and like blades, shot forward towards the humans. The humans scrambled into defense against the hail of blades that were destroying everything in their path.


    A couple of seconds later, the barrier reformed to protect him again. An arc of light flew towards him, but when it made contact with his barrier, the light vibrated for a second before it was deflected in another direction, surprising the knight who sent that attack.


    The man in black robe swiftly ran towards him and struck down with his blade. However, Evry did not move at all and received the attack calmly. He watched the struggling human as he tried to push his blade against the barrier, fighting against a deflecting force. It didn¡¯t take long, however, and the barrier¡¯s power flung him back.


    ¡°Your weapons are useless on me. Nothing is.¡±


    It was an art of his family bloodline, an absolute defense, and a powerful offense. It was an ability that can withstand all kinds of attacks, not even three beastmen with their offensive magic could break through this. He was as tough and sturdy as a mountain.


    He took in a deep breath, and his barrier split into pieces and was propelled in the direction of the humans once again. This time, they weren¡¯t safe from the shards.


    Meanwhile, Yuro slipped away from the humans attacking him and returned to Evry¡¯s side.


    For only after a moment, Evry¡¯s barrier returned, and he said. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Like a raging beast, or a boulder rolling down a cliff, he bashed through both stone and wooden walls unhindered and with absolute ease. None to slow him down. That being said, now that he had used this ability, they had to get to safety soon.


    ***


    ¡°What the hell was that? That thing¡¯s a damn monster!¡± the knight complained as he endured the painful wound on his chest. Thankfully, his armor took most of the damage.


    The other knight, Elson, glared at the fleeing beasts. ¡°That one¡¯s absolute trouble.¡± He then turned to look at the other priests. ¡°You¡¯re alright, good. Heal him quickly if you can.¡±


    The priests were wounded, but nothing fatal. The knight that got struck on the chest was losing plenty of blood and needed medical attention, and thus one priest disregarded his own wounds and quickly cast healing magic to the knight.


    Elson then spoke to the other priest. ¡°Let us send the signals.¡±


    The two of them pulled out a wooden cylinder with a blue crystal on top.


    Light of gold rose to the sky.


    Then the priest asked. ¡°Will we not go after them? That orange beast will be hard to defeat with just those in the rear. Not to mention there¡¯s two of them.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­ but the plan was not to leave our area without orders or unless things are desperate. An enemy might suddenly come up here, we can stop it from joining the rear and fight it ourselves. But¡­ yes¡­ if they call for reinforcements, we can go to the last line. Go up and watch out for a signal.¡±


    The priest, with a nod, jumped up to the roof.


    Meanwhile, Elson went on to check the condition of the other knight. ¡°How is he?¡±


    ¡°The bleeding stopped, he should be fine for now.¡± Said the priest.


    ¡°Yeah, I can still fight. This is nothing but a scratch.¡±


    Elson smirked from within his helm. ¡°If you say so.¡±


    A moment later.


    ¡° ¡ª A red signal!¡±


    Elson immediately looked up towards the priest on the roof. ¡°Then we go.¡±


    Perhaps it was the best option to do, the rear would be hard-pressed to subdue that orange beastman. And also, the princess should be there where the enemies were heading.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 34: Capture (Part 6)

    What a glorious day for chaos! Although I don¡¯t mean stuff like the city burning or something like that. Chaos for my enemies! Today¡¯s the day they¡¯re going down!


    But I hope everything¡¯s gonna be alright~.


    These non-human enemies were not to be undermined, they¡¯re plenty strong. Which was kinda unfair, but I guess that''s just how things were. Equality is a lie, it is merely a concept held on by those who know how truly inferior they are to others, or those who are in denial. One can be more beautiful than the other.


    For example, am I not more beautiful than any human out there? I am perfection! Imagine if equality was ever true, then what value would I have? That would be boring.


    In any case, fuck equality for now and let us focus on the situation at hand. I am currently situated at the last ring of the formation, the widest and with the most holes if I were to be honest. Well, no, not exactly with most weakness in the line, but it was more along the line of the part where I am most concerned.


    Well, because it was the very last line. If the enemy got through, they would have a pretty good chance of escaping. But that is why I am here! No fucking way I¡¯m letting them run.


    I would prefer to be seen as an innocent and gentle maiden, so let¡¯s hope it won¡¯t go sideways. But when it comes to it, haaaaah¡­


    At least I have the high bishop on the role, which I¡¯m gonna give my hope in. But wew, to think I would get to lead this large of a crew, who would have thought, eh? I was never kinda a leader in the good and bad old days, I lead sometimes here and there. But not an entire unit with this much number, can¡¯t even call it a crew.


    Damn, if my crew were here¡­ I can only imagine¡­ Well, in this world, one of us would have been pretty messed up and useless without any computer, poor guy. Stay home, boy.


    I raised my eyes to glance at one of my soldiers standing on a rooftop. Must be pretty cozy up there with all the wind. For me by the way, I stayed on the ground with Vernon and Rogan.


    Hm? I could climb up there¡­? No way¡­ why would a fragile maiden like myself go up there?


    It¡¯s scary up there, I¡¯m scared of heights, I would faint from the slightest of fright. That would be a great case for concern, right? I returned my eyes in front to see a golden light that lit up the lonely sky so bright.


    Eeeey, would you look at that, they rhyme, causing me to smile preciously in delight. Oh, I did it again, sorry, but what¡¯s so bad about that? Yeah well, guess what, I¡¯m a poet now. Poet Estelia in the scene ¡ª no, um, how do they address poets again? Guess it¡¯s just poet then their name? In any case, I rhyme in everything I speak now. Yes my previous rhymes could do some work, but eeeeeh.


    No, okay nevermind, rhyming is hard, I¡¯m not doing that no more.


    Another light rose to the sky. Huh, at least things were going in acceptable parameters¡­ Yeah¡­ keep this up. Still, the whole situation was unclear. With nothing that¡¯s similar to a radio, communication¡¯s pretty tough. Responding to changes in the field would be hard, even hard to know what was currently happening. Therefore, for the most crucial part of the plan, I have to resort to light signals.


    It sucks to be honest, but I can¡¯t be choosy.


    Time passed, and suddenly a knight from the roof called out to me.


    ¡°Vogue! A red signal has lit up next to our line!¡±


    Vogue, my codename in the field. Now perhaps you¡¯re wondering why I alone have a codename. Well, I am the princess, I couldn¡¯t just have someone publicly announce that I¡¯m here, could I? Calling me by name would be like telling people ¡®Eeeey! Your pretty target Estelia is here, come and get her!¡¯, and getting caught because of that would just be stupid and embarrassing.


    But red, huh¡­


    ¡°Vogue? Should we send backup?¡± Rogan asked from beside me.


    ¡°No, not for now. I would rather keep the line here intact.¡±


    This last ring was pretty thin already, let¡¯s save it for now. If those from the next line survived, we could just call them for backup. Besides, they might be able to catch those who got them this worried. But if they died, now that would just be disappointing.


    I raised my head to gaze up at the knight above the roof and waved my hand, dismissing the call for support.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Vernon asked. ¡°They must be in dire danger if one of the elites calls for reinforcement.¡±


    ¡°We all are in danger, Vernon. Besides, I don¡¯t want to make a hole in the last line of our formation. They wouldn¡¯t likely call for help if it was just one enemy, so there must be two. If it¡¯s just one and they got obliterated so suddenly, they wouldn¡¯t have had the time to go to a rooftop and send a signal.¡±


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    ¡°... I understand. We wait then.¡±


    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s see how things will go for now.¡±


    And wait we did, until a pair of golden lights rose to the sky.


    ¡°So there are two at once¡­.¡± okay¡­ ¡°Call that knight down.¡±


    Vernon whistled loudly and beckoned the knight down from the roof. When he landed before me, I asked him a question. ¡°You should have seen the mess they made, am I right?¡±


    I could have climbed up there, but I¡¯m going on a low profile right now. And, come on, I¡¯m the princess¡­ I shouldn¡¯t even be out here in the field, but here I am. I¡¯ll remain in the confines of the ground, thank you very much.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°It wrecked the building from where I¡¯ve seen it.¡±


    Not particularly noteworthy. ¡°Hm¡­¡±


    None of us here were meant to face two enemies at once. Also, the two enemies were strong enough to punch through the elites, and it didn¡¯t even take long for them to do just that. They must be something that we should be concerned about.


    Just then, a white light shone from one knight on the roof.


    They¡¯re already close¡­? They¡¯re really charging forward.


    Alright, let¡¯s pincer them.


    ¡°Send the red signal. At least we¡¯re sure the men ahead are still alive. We can expect support.¡±


    Plus you need to protect me from danger. You guys take the brunt, I take watch from a safe spot.


    The knight jumped back up to the rooftop before shining a red light.


    ¡°I suppose we¡¯ll be staying right at the back, Vogue?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Who would dive into danger? Not me¡­ There¡¯s no need for me in there, they should be able to do it just fine.


    A moment later, two knights and two priests began moving, I watched them as they jumped over rooftops before they disappeared from my sight, covered by the buildings. There were faint noises of clanging and booms, until the buildings around them suddenly blew apart, pieces flying high in the air. What appeared to be orange translucent shards rose upward before disappearing.


    The buildings, wood to bricks, were shredded to pieces with ease. Rogan from in front of me raised his spear, while Vernon stepped beside me. More chaos ensued before the wave of blasts inched closer and closer towards us.


    Then I saw a priest fly in the air toward another direction, blood trailing with him. I got a glimpse of him attempting to properly land on a roof, so he should be fine. But, suddenly a projectile broke through the building we were facing ¡ª not any normal projectile, but rather it was a man, a knight.


    He crashed violently a couple of meters beside us, ricocheting on the floor.


    What the fuck?!


    This guy just flew from dozens of meters away. What the hell did they just fight? The knight removed his helm and coughed up blood, his armor was battered as he bled. I rushed to his side and crouched beside him. Lifting my hands, light shone on my palms, casting healing magic.


    ¡°V-Vogue?¡± the knight murmured.


    ¡°What did you fight?¡±


    Whatever that was, it was strong. I would need the knight back to his feet immediately to face it again. Would be foolish of me to leave him wounded when I could cast healing magic just fine.


    ¡°It was a b-beastman. But it took all of our attacks. It is covered in barriers.¡±


    What? Some kind of tank?


    A small boom echoed.


    ¡°Vogue! Get behind me!¡± Rogan pulled me by the hand amidst my healing.


    I wasn¡¯t finished yet, Rogan!


    I was planning on complaining, to return to healing the knight, but of course I have to be more cautious now, especially when I saw what our opponent was. It was a tiger standing on two legs, and indeed it was covered in barriers, almost like how I did it with mine. But it would seem those barriers were of a different concept from mine.


    A knight charged against it, shooting armament magic, but the beast merely shrugged it off before sweeping away the knight with intense strength.


    There was another beastman with darker fur, facing the priests. The priests tied chains around it, pulling in each opposite direction.


    ¡°Evry!¡± that beast shouted.


    The orange beast glanced at him at first, then at the priests. And several pieces from its barrier split up and shot towards each of the men in robes. They let go and immediately cast barriers to protect themselves, but they shattered easily, and thus they were blown away. Thankfully they had their blade to take most of the brunt force of that attack.


    The wounded knight close to me forced himself to stand up. ¡°I¡¯m fine like this, I can fight.¡±


    Then he did, running forward to reinforce the others. At the same time, the team from the next line arrived. A knight I was familiar with threw his dagger towards the dark furred beastman. As it was an unexpected interloper, the dagger was able to stab into its calf.


    Then, magical slashes swirled around the dagger. It messed up the beast¡¯s leg so bad that it cried loudly and kneeled down to the ground in pain.


    Cool! Can I do that? How?


    The dagger seemed to gleam a little though while in the air, there must be armament magic mixed into it.


    The reinforcement focused their attacks on the injured beast. They wrapped chains to immobilize it, then the knights ganged up on the beast, hoping to weaken it.


    Meanwhile, the team here got up on their feet and faced the armored beast. However, all of their attacks were futile as they merely bounced back or dissipated.


    The orange beast looked back at his companion.


    ¡°You bastards!¡±


    Then all of the armor around its body split into pieces.


    At the same time, as if he realized what it was about to do, the knight, Elson, shouted for all to hear. ¡°TAKE COVER!¡±


    Then, the beast¡¯s barrier exploded, the orange shards flying off like glass after an explosion. My pair of servants cast Palm Shield in front of me, taking the shards flying towards us head on. But those attacks were strong, and it only took for multiple shards to break them. My servants had no choice but to use their weapons to shield me, Rogan his spear, and Vernon his arms ¡ª but also along with their body.


    Good my little shields! I didn¡¯t even take any damage!


    I returned my gaze to the beast.


    That¡¯s one bullshit power!


    Even my Palm Shield that functions to repel can¡¯t cut!


    My two servants in front of me groaned and grunted quietly after taking damage. Rogan had some scratch on his armor, while Vernon¡¯s plating on his arms had been cut halfway. At least they¡¯re still standing. Those closest, however, were not as well as us.


    Some were lying on the ground, still conscious though. While others were struggling to rise back up on their feet. The orange beast was taking heavy breaths, no armor to protect him anymore. However, the shields were gradually reappearing as he approached his companion.


    ¡°Can you run?¡±


    ¡°The pain is manageable.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡±


    Elson the moment he got on his feet, pulled out a dagger and threw one at the fleeing beastmen, but he missed. He must still be dazed.


    At any rate, the targets were running.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let them escape.¡± I said to my two servants.


    No way I¡¯m letting them through that easily. It seems I must become directly involved.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 35: Capture (Part 7)

    ¡°Buy time for the team to regroup. I trust that you can take on the injured beast? Just make time.¡± I said to Vernon.


    ¡°I can.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Rogan you stay with me.¡±


    No way I¡¯m going on this without a meat shield.


    ¡°I¡¯ll begin¡­¡± I raised my left hand, and crimson translucent plates appeared beside me in great numbers, more than a couple of dozen.


    With a wave of my hand, they flew forward like a flock of birds. Rogan looked at them with shock on his face, perhaps surprised that I was able to do such a thing.


    Piece by piece, they stuck to each other until eventually, which only took a second, made a wall that blocked the entire road. The beasts stopped, confused by the blockade. Then they turned towards us, the orange one in particular stared at me intensely. It tilted its head, narrowing its eyes.


    I then said. ¡°Go, Vernon.¡±


    And there he went to engage his target.


    At the same time, the wall I made scattered, while several pieces vanished. They were not easy to make, and it was quite a struggle to generate that number. And to be honest, those were weak, if the beast had hit them, they would have broken pretty easily. But the purpose was not to hold them, but to make them pause for a moment, just to get their attention.


    My scattered magical plates flew towards the orange beastman and began covering its body.


    ¡°What is this?!¡±


    I slowly curled my fingers in, and as did the barriers began to close. I felt resistance. Normally, I wouldn¡¯t need to do any gestures to manipulate the barriers, but this time I needed concentration. Both different colored barriers vibrated as they got closer and closer to each other, as did the beast itself.


    The two barriers, his and mine, two repelling forces colliding.


    The beast¡¯s face contorted, the two forces causing the vibration must be hurting it. Heh.


    But it was resisting, and it was getting harder to keep my plates compressed.


    ¡°Ggh¡­¡± I groaned as the two of us had an indirect battle. ¡°R-Rogan, wait for my say and s-strike it with your lightning. Aim for its right shoulder.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He clenched his spear tightly as lightning began to crackle.


    The beast groaned before bellowing. ¡°Enough!¡±


    I split off a few barriers, flying their way to a certain someone. Then I subtly waved my other hand and poured in mana. The beast¡¯s armor began to split apart into tiny pieces. I narrowed my eyes and held my breath, my barrier to its right shoulder shifted aside.


    A second later, after the beast¡¯s armor split into pieces, they glimmered a little.


    ¡°Go!¡± I shouted to Rogan.


    With a thrust of his spear, a powerful piercing lightning was unleashed. A magic so powerful that they could demolish a knight right below his level, or perhaps turn a normal human into a pile of ashes. At the same time, the moment that he unleashed the lightning strike, the beast¡¯s armor exploded.


    With it, I dispelled the barriers, and at the same time, the pieces of shields I conjured from my free hand formed a wall in front of my knight, which protected us both.


    The beast¡¯s attack destroyed everything around it, but with it lacking any shields, Rogan¡¯s lightning struck it cleanly and unhindered. I only saw a glimpse of it just before the dust obstructed my sight, but that was still a relief.


    A few seconds later, the dust that filled the air slowly settled, my shields cracked, but still standing. But it was not easy to hold it, the beast¡¯s attack was stronger than I liked.


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    The orange beast kneeled on one knee after Rogan¡¯s painful strike, heaving loudly. It was bleeding, but it was not fatal enough to render its arm immobile.


    On the other hand, the other beast was spared from the explosion, it would seem the orange one can control which direction to direct its attack at. That being said, the dark beast was beaten up quite badly, wounds and bruises all over, its face swelling. Apparently weakened.


    Wew, Vernon¡¯s quite the badass.


    Speaking of Vernon, he was not spared from the enemy¡¯s attack. However, my barrier was currently protecting him in a bubble, to his surprise I imagine. Important thing was that he''s safe.


    All of my barriers vanished as I sighed.


    And then, my men that were down before, charged towards the beastmen. The orange beast¡¯s attack from just now could have reached them, but they were prepared and were able to defend themselves in time after they realized. And given the distance, the damage they would take would have been less compared to being in close proximity.


    Chains wrapped around the dark beastman, restraining it.


    ¡°I¡¯m not yet done!¡± The orange beast roared and threw magical slashes towards those coming for it.


    At the same time, after a little more beating, magic disrupting shackles were locked on both the hands of the dark beastman.


    The elite knight, Elson, after making some distance between him and the orange beast, spoke to it. ¡°Surrender! Otherwise we¡¯ll hurt your friend there, terribly.¡± he pointed his sword towards the other beastman.


    The orange beast paused and turned his head to look at his companion. The latter had swords from the knights pressed to its skin.


    The orange beast growled bitterly, then turned its head to glance at me for a moment. Then it lowered its hands. ¡°Fine, I surrender.¡±


    It was immediately bound in golden chains by a pair of priests and Elson went on to lock the shackles on both its wrists.


    ¡°You made the right choice.¡± said Elson.


    ¡°...¡±


    It was supposed to be over now, where everyone can have a brief time of respite. However, on the far side of me, away from my line of sight, someone used the wind to propel himself from the ruined buildings and shot forward like a speeding projectile towards the dark beast. With a swing of his sword amidst the momentum, he slashed through the dark beast¡¯s throat. The knights guarding the beast were stunned for a moment, processing what had just happened.


    The stranger didn¡¯t stop there, however, and immediately went after the orange one, but Elson clashed with him. Sparks flashed at the impacts of steel. The stranger immediately backed away from all his enemies.


    Aaaw, one died. A shame.


    Needless to say, what suddenly interfered was an elf. Wow, he was waiting for the right moment, a round of applause!


    The orange beast¡¯s eyes were wide in shock. ¡°Yuro!¡± then he turned to the elf. ¡°Elivar! You bastard!¡±


    ¡°I hope you understand, Evry. We can¡¯t let you get in the hands of our enemies.¡±


    ¡°...¡± the beast, Evry, glared at him. However, lowered its eyes a second later. ¡°... Of course¡­ but Yuro¡­¡±


    ¡°Do not be sorry for him. But that¡¯s not important right now. I will also kill you.¡±


    My men went on to attack him, but the elf waved his hand and dozens upon dozens of thorny vines rose from the ground to attack them. Not any normal soft vines, but sharp and robust. Still, that must have cost a sizable amount of mana.


    Then I sensed the gaze of the living beast pointed towards me.


    Hm?


    It returned its eyes to the elf.


    ¡°Not yet Elivar! We can still do something meaningful!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°That one right there!¡± it used its chin to point at me. ¡°She smells funny!¡±


    Hey! That¡¯s rude.


    ¡°I recognize it from the festival. It¡¯s the scent of the Princess!¡±


    Vernon immediately returned to my side.


    Elivar turned his eyes towards me with wide eyes. ¡°The princess? Here? Unbelievable. You were here this whole time?¡± he grinned widely. ¡°Hehehe¡­ Hahahahahaha! Finally! You are here before me!¡±


    ¡°Elivar! We must take her down together!¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha! Very well!¡±


    All the vines shot towards the men guarding the orange beast, mixed with a storm of sharp winds, knocking away all in their wake. The golden chains that bound the beast vanished. It stood up and grasped the shackle in its left hand.


    ¡°Restrain it!¡± Elson shouted.


    But Elivar suddenly appeared right next to the beast and drove away all that was coming.


    The beast pulled the left shackle, his muscles straining. ¡°Aaaaaah!¡± He pulled with as much strength as he could muster, and the shackle broke apart. With the other one free, he went on to pull the right shackle.


    Haaaaaah.


    I internally sighed.


    I sure now wish I had my daggers. But¡­ well¡­


    The shackle broke, and the beast threw them away. Orange barriers appeared to protect it. ¡°We make this quick, Elivar.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­¡±


    ¡°Protect Vogue!¡± Elson shouted, and both the standing knights and priests formed a perimeter to protect me.


    ¡°Vogue¡­¡± Rogan whispered to me. ¡°We should retreat.¡±


    Retreat? Hm¡­ Yes, that is a sensible decision. But, retreat where? These two appeared to be willing to give their all, even their lives, to kill me. With the orange beast as the tank, it would only be tiring. But I guess keeping my distance would be the better option.


    ¡°You two, protect me.¡±


    Then, the vines rattled and formed a perimeter around the two non-humans.


    The elf then loudly declared. ¡°Princess! Today, you will fall!¡±


    Who the fuck are you to tell I¡¯m gonna fall?


    How annoying. Why couldn¡¯t people just shut up and give up, hm? If they did, this would already be over.


    But I guess rats fight back when cornered.


    Still, this pissed me off. I hate it when things get harder.


    ¡°Take care of them.¡± I said to my soldiers.


    Let us pray that I don¡¯t need to face these little cubs myself.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 36: Capture (Part 8)

    I glared at the two annoyances as I exhaled the air in my lungs, then crimson barriers appeared from thin air around my body. They formed and connected to each other like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle into some sort of armor.


    But of course it did not cover my entire body. I still need some space to nimbly move around. Truth be told, I didn¡¯t want to expose my abilities like this, but I needed to be safe myself. These two non-humans were willing to die just to kill me here and now. I cannot take any chances against cornered pests.


    Do not underestimate suicidal maniacs.


    My personal knight stood guard right beside me, he eyed me both in surprise and puzzlement at the ¡®armor¡¯ I was wearing. Pretty cool, huh? So convenient. Fairly costly on mana though, good thing I have an abundance of that.


    Damn, I really want to keep the image of a defenseless, cute, and harmless princess. But it can¡¯t be helped, and this was precisely why I hated these kinds of situations, ones that I have no other choice but to pay some price for doing something that must be done.


    ¡°Vernon, if the beast gets close, you handle it. While you, Rogan, watch out for the elf, you¡¯ll handle him.¡±


    I returned my eyes to the enemies to observe them closely as vines protected them, they were doing nothing for the moment, perhaps still thinking on how to get to me without dying instantly.


    Hm?


    When I looked closely at the beastman, I noticed something different about its barrier. Some pieces were missing, in contrast to the amount of barrier that covered its body earlier. Currently, there were no barriers on a small part of its forearms, no armor on the calves, and the waists were exposed. Also, the barrier seemed to be dimmer than usual, or rather to be more specific, it was more transparent.


    Oh, I see. It¡¯s weakening.


    Of course, the barrier was using mana, but it would seem it couldn¡¯t sustain it for long. And now, that barrier was almost gone. But the question was, how much impact can it still take?


    Hm, that aside, the elf was a problem. He appeared to be using as much mana as he could now just to survive long enough to kill me. From my understanding, the elves were more on spellcasting, telling how much mana they have and how much magic they can cast was still uncertain. But surely like every human, their mana capacity was different to others.


    This one here may have more than the knights. Or not. We could never be sure.


    The elf brandished his sword, and the vines laced with sharp thorns lashed out blindly in all directions. With a wave of his hand, a hail of sharp winds scattered in front of him, aiming at my men. The winds even hit vines in the way.


    Some vines caught and wrapped a few of my men, squeezing them tight. It was shocking to see that even those damn vines were able to dent armor, that¡¯s such bullshit.


    Now that the path to me was somewhat clear, the beast, with stomping steps, charged towards me. My men that were still standing intercepted it, with a few attacks landing. But even if some attacks were aimed at its unarmored parts, the beast would either shift the barrier, or use its arms to block them.


    Then as if the beast was annoyed, its barrier shattered and blasted its shards outward. My men were blown away, injuring those with weak defenses. Even if there were those that endured, the elf would send both his wind and vines to neutralize them as he trailed behind the beast.


    These guys were really going for it.


    Elson threw his dagger towards the elf through the vines, perhaps because he was an easier target than the beast as he was without any barrier. However, in quick reflex, the elf parried the dagger mid air with his sword. The moment the blade touched the dagger, the latter glowed for a moment before a swirl of magical slashes erupted around it.


    However, given the distance, the magic slashes merely made contact with the elf¡¯s sword. It didn¡¯t end there, as a couple of more daggers followed. Surprised, the elf quickly retreated to the side with the help of his wind propelling him, causing the daggers to miss.


    The elf sent vines and wind towards Elson. Elson tried fighting back, but was later on overwhelmed. Vines lashed at him like whips, and wind scarred his armor, and he was later on blown away to a building with a powerful impact.


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    Hm, is it just me or were my men getting um, weaker? Well, they have been fighting for quite a while and were injured in all that. And, the enemies were giving their all now, no intention of minimizing the expenditure of their mana just to get to me. Still, isn¡¯t that quite short sighted? If we survive long enough, their mana will reach zero sooner and then they¡¯ll be dead ¡ª except for the beastman of course, we¡¯re getting it alive.


    But then again, if they managed to kill us before running out, good for them then. But, in the end, it all came down to luck¡­ and skills.


    The two non-humans went on to charge towards me.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    I said to my two servants and we sprinted away together. I heard a thud from behind me, I turned my head slightly and saw the beastman mid-air coming towards me. My boots slid as I forced myself to stop and turn in another direction. At the same time, the beast landed violently, but Vernon made contact with it, his fist planting into its barrier.


    I should have been able to get away, but vines suddenly erupted in front of me, writhing disturbingly, before lashing at me with intense power. Rogan met those with the blade of his spear and in a sweeping motion, lightning shot out in an arc, burning the vines into ashes.


    Footsteps came close, and Rogan thrust his spear backward, the bottom tip of his spear parried a blade coming at me. The elf holding that sword clicked his tongue and stepped back when Rogan started attacking him.


    The two fought intensely, the elf sending both plants and his wind while swinging his sword. Rogan moved with swiftness, and lightning constantly cackled and fired.


    Now was my chance to retreat. As I turned around, however, the elf seemed to have noticed my attempt, and thus he shouted at me.


    ¡°You¡¯re not getting away!¡±


    With a wave of his hand, the air changed, and the area around us darkened. I stopped just in time when I noticed a violent wind formed and appeared in front of me.


    Aw come on.


    I looked around, only to realize that a storm of wind formed all around us like a dome. It was not that big, it only managed to take all the way to where the beast and Vernon were fighting. The elf either intended to stop me just in time or catch me in the wind where I¡¯ll be torn apart. For the latter, even with my shields, I don¡¯t know how I¡¯ll fare.


    A slash of light made its way to the elf. He used his wind to block it and backed away.


    Elson was here, pursuing the elf with his sword, and Rogan with him. He got inside just in time in the dome it seemed.


    The elf¡¯s blade shone, then thorny vines grew from the ground and attacked the two knights. With a grunt, he swung down his sword heavily towards Elson. The knight was about to swing at the elf, but before it happened, vines wrapped around his arms to restrain him. And the elf slashed through his armor.


    Rogan immediately interfered and stopped the Elf, making him back away.


    As my personal knight engaged the elf, Elson groaned in pain as he kneeled to one knee on the floor.


    ¡°Elson,¡± I called to him. ¡°Come to me.¡±


    He glanced at me, hesitation clear on his face.


    ¡°Hurry!¡± I continued.


    He had no choice but to come quickly towards me while limping, his blood dripping to the floor. When he got close, I immediately cast healing magic on him, it would be a waste to let him die here.


    As I healed the dagger kin knight, I looked at the battlefield. I watched Vernon, he was wounded all over and breathing quite heavily, but he should be fine for now. But then, the beast thrust his fist forward, and Vernon used his arms to shield himself.


    My butler was blown away, but it didn¡¯t end there. The beast extended its hand, and a small piece of his barrier shattered and shot towards Vernon. The butler¡¯s face contorted in pain after several shards of the barrier stabbed into his skin. They didn¡¯t cut deep, perhaps because of his physical enhancement, but given the quantity of the shards, it would still be very painful.


    Vernon took a deep breath as he glared at the beast, blood dripping from his numerous wounds.


    ¡°Agh!¡±


    A scream came from the elf, when I shifted my eyes I saw Rogan managed to stab his spear into the elf¡¯s forearm. The elf forcefully pulled his arm away as vines grew and lashed out at the knight. Then, the movement of the wind dome slowed down. The elf was losing his focus.


    The beast then proceeded to run, not towards Vernon, but instead towards me. He was quick.


    Vernon rushed and stood in his way, but the beast seemed to give its all and shoved him aside mixed with some shards. ¡°Agh! ¡ª No!¡±


    My butler was sent flying.


    ¡°Princess!¡± Elson pushed me away and received the claws with his blade, he groaned from the sheer strength of the enemy he had to bear.


    I stepped away.


    They ended up in a contest of strength, however, a moment later, Elson¡¯s blade broke apart, and the beast slammed its fist down on the man. Elson laid flat on the ground, unmoving.


    The beast heaved and raised its eyes towards me. ¡°Y-You need to die.¡±


    There was no one to save me now. Vernon was blown to the edge of the dome, and thus he was severely injured from the raging wind, and barely able to take a step. Rogan was being held by the elf, vines tying him down. Indeed, there was no help.


    Then, as the beast was about to attack, with my thoughts alone, the barrier covering my body promptly moved to engulf the beast¡¯s hands, and a second later, another set went on to protect me.


    This guy is now not too different from the werewolf I fought.


    ¡°This won¡¯t hold me!¡±


    That¡¯s what the wolf said too¡­ or wait, did it? Eh, it doesn''t matter.


    It tried freeing itself from the shackles. Its barrier shattered into pieces, it must be trying to shoot me with those. I conjured more barriers and sent them towards the beast, covering its body. To prevent it from doing what it was intending to do.


    It glared at me.


    I smiled back.


    ¡°What?¡± it muttered, puzzled.


    Now why was I smiling? Easy¡­ it was killable now! So killable! My men did a pretty good job weakening it!


    But, I will not do the killing. I am the pure princess, after all. And well¡­ the plan was not to kill it, but I still have a little intention in the corner of my mind.


    Cold mist emanated from around me before bursting outward in all directions. It took only a moment for it to spread and engulf the entire dome, all sight obstructed.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 37: Capture (Part 9)

    The mist was cold and grayish white, it swirled around with a powerful wind of its own. All in all, almost like a blizzard, or a snow storm. There were even small frosts mixed in with the wind and fog.


    The moment my mists scattered, however, I felt the shackles restraining the beast break.


    I exhaled a white-colored breath, due to the cold. That being said, I didn¡¯t feel the cold too intensely, just bearable. In fact, the mist and the wind were avoiding me somewhat, but not completely ¡ª not an easy thing to do, by the way. That¡¯s why I was not completely safe from my own magic, I still needed more practice.


    Now I just had to wonder how cold everyone else was feeling.


    I took a step and conjured barriers to shoot forward, heading where the beast was as I remembered. With all the storm I caused, it was difficult to see. Visibility was almost zero, all that I could rely on was memory.


    I felt an impact from the barriers I fired and sent a couple more. As I walked forward step by step, I had a faint glimpse of Elson lying on the floor while I tried to push the beast away, even for just a little. Gradually, I was reaching for the knight.


    When he was within arm¡¯s reach, I used physical enhancement and pulled him up by the back collar of his armor and lifted him up from there. Surely he wouldn¡¯t mind being rough on the momentary trip. I moved away from where I was, meanwhile the ground shook for a moment. The beast must be stomping.


    Don''t mind me~.


    It should have a hard time tracking my scent amidst this storm, with the cold and the wind and all.


    I casually walked in a certain direction, but rushed a little of course. It didn¡¯t take long before I found Vernon kneeling on the ground, his hair and beard were colored in the white of snow. He was shaking a little, perhaps due to the cold, mixed with the wounds.


    ¡°Vernon.¡±


    ¡°Princess¡­?¡± he looked up before catching an eye on Elson, whom I was crudely holding. ¡°Did you bring this blizzard?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly a blizzard yet, more like a snowstorm.¡±


    But also not snowstorm enough. Barely any snow around. This magic was from the Grimoire by the way, but way too low level¡­ yet. Not the full spell.


    Now that I have Vernon¡¯s location, the storm began to avoid this spot after I marked it, which was easier than keeping the storm away from me, as I am constantly on the move. I slowly put down Elson beside Vernon and removed the knight¡¯s helmet, so he could breathe a little easier.


    I held out my hand, and light emitted from my palm. Was healing the two of them at once.


    ¡°What about Rogan?¡± Vernon asked.


    ¡°He¡¯ll be fine. The cold should at least weaken the vines that were tying him earlier.¡±


    At least I hoped.


    ¡°I s-see.¡±


    ¡°I wonder why you have not used your Palm Shield to shield yourself.¡±


    ¡°I am not proficient in spellcasting, princess¡­ So I instead decided to focus on enhancement and protect my vitals. But, the beast¡¯s attacks still take a toll on me.¡±


    His barrier would have been broken easily and his body might not be ready to take those powerful attacks. Indeed, with his physical enhancement he almost looked like a tank to me, just taking all those bullets. A knight like Elson would have perished when he took all those attacks. And he was shredded by the wind barrier too after being blown away, sheesh. Tough Vernon.


    ¡°You are surprisingly calm about this, princess¡­¡±


    ¡°Oooh noooo, this is sooo scary~.¡±


    ¡°Was that sarcasm?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    He sighed, as if tired already by my bullshit. Aaaw, and I was just getting started.


    Then, their wounds fully closed up. There was a little bit of trace, but that should be fine for now. I don¡¯t know about their vitality though, but with the wounds healed, they should have less to worry about.


    ¡°Wake him up. I¡¯ll bring Rogan.¡±


    ¡°Wait, it''s dangerous!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡±


    I made my way to where I remembered Rogan was. When I got closer, I heard the clashing of steel. I then faintly saw Rogan clashing with the elf again, guess the vine got bothered by the cold. I imagined the beast would have tried to meet with the elf, but it would seem it was still searching for me.


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    A piece of my barrier crashed against the elf as I waved my hand.


    Rogan looked on with confusion and I appeared beside him.


    ¡°Rogan, regroup.¡±


    ¡°Huh?! Princess? You¡¯re the one behind this?¡±


    I grabbed and pulled his hand to bring him to the others. When we arrived, Elson was already awake.


    Rogan entered the small bubble and sighed in relief. ¡°Great, it¡¯s less cold here.¡±


    ¡°Princess, what should we do now?¡± Vernon asked.


    ¡°I had hoped to weaken the elf in this cold storm, to break his dome. But it would seem it¡¯s easier said than done. Weaken the elf, make him lose focus. When the dome breaks, the others should be able to get inside to help us.¡±


    Elson nodded and then asked. ¡°And the beast? It would be a terrible obstacle.¡±


    ¡°Vernon and I will hold it. Elson and Rogan, you two will be enough to take care of the elf.¡±


    ¡°You, princess?¡± Elson knitted his brows in confusion. ¡°That is too dangerous.¡± he shook his head, concerned with my safety.


    ¡°I will stay back, don¡¯t worry. I can support Vernon just fine. Besides, I was not asking for permission whatsoever.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Elson lowered his head for a moment before nodding. ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°Then, get ready. I will dispel the storm so we can see.¡±


    They got themselves ready, and I extended my hands towards Rogan, casting healing magic.


    ¡°I should be fine, princess. There¡¯s no need to waste your mana on me.¡±


    ¡°Nothing is wasted.¡±


    When I was done healing him, the two knights stood next to each other. Although, Elson had no weapon. Still, it was not a problem for him it seems, I don¡¯t see him complaining, he could use his fists just fine perhaps.


    ¡°Oh, before we go¡­ Promise me one thing¡­¡± I smiled as they all turned their heads to look at me. ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone what I did here.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    ¡°Or, don¡¯t tell anyone what happened here at all. Only I have the discretion to do so. Do you understand?¡±


    It took a moment as they were puzzled by my order, but eventually they all replied in the affirmative.


    Good!


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s do this.¡±


    With a heave of my breath, the storm dissipated in an instant and the cold slowly subsided, all things came into clear view. Our two enemies paused in the sudden change before turning to look at us.


    ¡°Go.¡±


    When I gave the order, everyone sprang into action. I stayed where I was as the two knights went after the elf, and Vernon to the beastman.


    They all began fighting.


    I focused on the beast, the one who was trying to charge towards me, but Vernon stopped and slowed it down. I waved my hand and a few pieces of my barrier appeared and flew towards it. The beast was now prepared, however, and used little pieces of his shield to intercept my projectiles, destroying them. But surprisingly, its armor didn¡¯t recreate in that part, and his barrier seemed like they were about to fade.


    The beast and my butler fought more intensely, the latter breaking and shattering the former¡¯s shields piece by piece.


    It didn¡¯t take long before Vernon was able to punch its flesh. And after a few more hits, the beast staggered back. It was pretty killable now, unfortunately, it was not to be killed.


    Then, the swirling of the wind dome lessened in intensity, and a second later, it dissipated. A more pleasant air instantly rushed into my lungs as I inhaled.


    The beast instantly leaped back away from Vernon and returned to the elf¡¯s side, who was grimacing in irritation. The elf was injured by the shoulder, from Rogan¡¯s spear it would seem.


    Then, the men who were stuck outside immediately surrounded the two.


    ¡°Surrender now, while you still can.¡± Elson said to the two non-humans.


    At the same moment, Rogan promptly returned to my side. There was no need for him to be there anymore.


    The elf scoffed. ¡°Why should we? When our greatest enemy is right there.¡± He pointed his sword at me.


    Greatest enemy?


    What did I do?


    ¡°He¡¯s right¡­¡± added the beastman. ¡°We can¡¯t stop now¡­¡± He growled. ¡°Elivar¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    They prepared to attack once again. But then in that moment, a loud voice suddenly chimed in close by.


    ¡°Evry! Please stop!¡±


    The beastman paused, surprised, and turned towards the source of that voice. I too followed its gaze.


    That voice was Allie¡¯s, beside her was a church member that was supposed to take her to safety. Well, their path should go past us, but not exactly here. I imagine Allie just saw the chaos here and caught a glimpse of this beastman called Evry.


    ¡°Allie? You want me to stop? Who are you to tell me what to do?! You traitor!¡±


    The expression of pain painted Allie¡¯s face, being called a traitor must have struck hard.


    ¡°Please Evry, I don¡¯t want you to die! Stop it, please! They won¡¯t kill you!¡±


    ¡°Why would I believe you?!¡±


    ¡°I did it to spare you, to spare everyone! Please believe me!¡± tears welled up in her eyes, and she moved closer. She was sincere.


    I narrowed my eyes as I looked at her.


    The beast shook its head. ¡°I don¡¯t see the point of stopping just because you said so.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want those who cared for me to die needlessly. Please stand down, I beg you. No one has to die here, especially not you.¡±


    Especially not him¡­?


    I looked away for a moment. Things just got clearer in my eyes and heart.


    Then Allie continued. ¡°Please live.¡±


    The beast lowered its head, hesitating, but deliberating. His eyes went to me before shifting to Allie again. It mildly nodded, as if it had made a decision. ¡°... Alright, Allie¡­ For today, I¡¯ll live¡­¡±


    With a tired sigh, the beast started to shrink. However, the moment it started doing so, a glowing blade suddenly slashed its neck, half deep. The beast stopped shrinking and grasped the slash on its neck to hold back the blood spurting out, its eyes wide as it looked at the elf.


    It didn¡¯t end there as the elf immediately stabbed his blade into the beast¡¯s heart.


    ¡°Ggh¡­¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Allie exclaimed.


    As the humans rushed towards the elf, he said to the beast. ¡°Pathetic, allowing a human to sway you.¡± he twisted his blade. ¡°You¡¯re no different from our failure of a leader.¡± he let go of the hilt and he opened his hand towards the beast, a powerful wind followed, crashing into the beast¡¯s heart, pushing the blade in further, and both crushing and slashing its chest too.


    At the same time, a sword pierced the elf¡¯s chest. But it was too late.


    The two non-humans collapsed to the floor.


    Allie ran towards the beastman, and touched it with trembling hands, cheeks crawled with tears. ¡°N-No, it can¡¯t be. Evry¡­ Please heal him!¡±


    A knight checked on the beastman. ¡°He¡¯s not breathing anymore. He¡¯s dead.¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± Allie pressed her forehead to the beast¡¯s fur, she sobbed while shaking her head as if in disbelief.


    A beastman, dead¡­ As I said, it was killable. And as I mentioned, I won¡¯t be the one to kill it. This was not the first thing I imagined how it would unfold, though.


    But I guess, all¡¯s well that ends well.


    The plan was to capture the beastmen, yes, but in truth, I wanted something else. So, no pretty Princess was hurt in the process of this scene.


    That¡¯s one less beastman to worry about at least.


    I walked towards the weeping Allie with gentle steps, and when I was close, I gently placed a hand on her shoulder.


    A sad expression on my face.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± I said softly. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t have ended this way.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 38: The Prophecy (Part 1)

    I left the tending of Allie to a priest as she cried. She must have cared for that beast indeed, although that thing was too much trouble. Fortunately, we didn¡¯t suffer any losses. It would be a bad look to me if someone died. I value the image, you know. I also don¡¯t want the pressure of thinking about other noble households, their complaints and outrage.


    That aside, this battle here should be coming to an end. However, I have received no news from the two vice-captains, namely Astine and Estevan. They were supposed to report to me when they made sure everything was done. Did a big obstacle come up?


    ¡°Elson.¡±


    I called on the one knight I had grown to favor here in this battle. Immediately, he stood before me on my call.


    ¡°Can you move properly?¡±


    ¡°I can completely manage.¡±


    ¡°Alright then, bring a priest with you and check up on the two vice-captains. Give me a report of the overall situation you learn and discover. In case of urgent emergencies, tell me.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Now go.¡±


    He called a priest to go with him and then proceeded to leave my sight. Would be pretty good to have a wireless radio right now, the downsides of a medieval society. But come on, this world has magic, they should really take advantage of that. But I guess they do, they just didn¡¯t have much imagination? Or perhaps doing it was easier said than done?


    Or was this world too peaceful for the most part? War inspires innovation and progress, if you get what I¡¯m saying. Sure there would certainly be fights here and there, but what I¡¯m saying is a war on a World War level! But, no use griping on things that we don¡¯t have. Besides, no one likes war¡­


    I walked towards where Allie was sitting down, beside the dead beast.


    ¡°Allie, you should leave. It is dangerous here.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°Leave him.¡±


    She lowered her gaze before casting them to the dead beastman. ¡°He¡­ he was the one who gave me a chance to plead with Arnaut¡­ One who cared enough to do that, just for me. Despite how scary he may seem on the surface at first, inside¡­ I know, he was kind.¡±


    I don¡¯t know where this conversation was going, but I listened ¡ª despite not caring much for the beastman.


    Then she continued. ¡°If it is alright, please let me stay beside him for a little while longer.¡±


    I repressed a sigh. I guess if that¡¯s what Allie wants, I will give her this time. Let her grieve the loss of her friend.


    ¡°Alright¡­ I will leave you be.¡±


    In the end, this girl held some love for her friends who used her as a tool. And also, it would seem this beast held some faith in the human girl, as he attempted to stop resisting and decided to believe in her words. But because of that, he died.


    There¡¯s really no point for me to deny her this sad moment beside the beastman, her friend.


    As I left Allie¡¯s side, a knight landed before me and gave me some worrisome news.


    ¡°Vogue, a red signal has been lit by the center point of the circle.¡±


    ¡°Center? You mean where Astine is?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I see. The line closest to them should help. But, let¡¯s wait for Elson to return for a clearer picture of the situation.¡±


    Things were not going according to my optimistic wishes and imaginations. Nothing¡¯s just ever easy. And to be honest, the center was a risky part for my men. I wouldn¡¯t even be surprised if we had some fatalities, but I truly hope not.


    Hm, I haven¡¯t heard news about the whereabouts of the enemy¡¯s leader. But, I guess that¡¯s only natural because of the difficulty of sharing information. Still, I¡¯m curious.


    We waited for several minutes, the fact that we were able to rest for that long suggests that things didn¡¯t turn dire for us. But after that, Elson returned, his face a bit stressed, and he was alone.


    ¡°Elson, report.¡±


    ¡°A dog-like beastman is wreaking havoc in the center, it is out of control. It seems like it has turned into a mindless, raging beast.¡±


    Ah, that.


    ¡°Reinforcements were called upon to help restrain it. But another beastman was also freed because of the dog-like beastman, more support was required. Both Astine and the Prince are currently facing it, but they ask for another squad to help them.¡±


    ¡°The one with you remained behind to help them, I presume.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Very well, bring a squad with you and help them.¡±


    With that, Elson beckoned some men of his choosing and left to aid those in need at the center. I am curious and I deliberated whether I should go there myself as well. But immediately disregarded the idea, I would just be putting myself in needless danger if I go there.


    That situation was still not bad enough to warrant my personal involvement. Trust in your allies is essential to have success.


    Besides, I need to have a little rest after the battle just now. It was nothing severe, or too concerning, but I feel the strain of using an intense amount of mana. Yes, it¡¯s still there, and it won¡¯t be disappearing any time soon, it would seem.


    To this day, I still couldn¡¯t understand the reason why this was. I have been training my body to adapt to the amount of mana I possess, but it was just never enough. There¡¯s something wrong with me, I just couldn¡¯t tell what precisely.


    That was one of the reasons I prefer to avoid direct danger. If I use too much mana, I run the risk of being knocked out while in combat. If not, my effectiveness in the battle would be severely reduced. I would get all dizzy and such. What an annoying thing.


    I just don¡¯t know how to treat this.


    With a tired sigh, I walked and sat down by a wall of a still standing house and laid my back on it.


    ¡°Princess, are you tired?¡± Rogan whispered to me.


    ¡°Somewhat¡­ I¡¯ll be resting for now.¡±


    ¡°Alright, sure.¡± he raised his eyes to look at Vernon and nodded at each other.


    I hugged my knees and lowered my head, then closed my eyes. Just gonna rest my eyes, that¡¯s all. I¡¯m not sleeping.


    Yeah, I should minimize using my magic, and only use it in times of urgency. This could be my death ¡ª I might be exaggerating a bit, but you get the idea.


    ¡­


    Some time passed, about fifteen minutes, I felt a touch on my shoulder.


    ¡°Princess¡­¡± Rogan whispered. ¡°Please wake up, Elson is back.¡±


    With squinted eyes, I slowly raised my gaze to see a more battered Elson kneeling before me. I suppose it would be rude to stand and look down on me while reporting.


    ¡°Vogue, it is done. The operation is finished. We have captured all we could.¡±


    ¡°Casualties on our side?¡±


    ¡°There are no fatalities, but there are quite a number of severely wounded.¡±


    ¡°...I see¡­ and our enemies?¡±


    ¡°We only managed to capture three beastmen alive.¡±


    Only three, huh. I guess that¡¯s one less enemy to think about.


    ¡°My brother? Where is my brother?¡±


    ¡°He is checking up on the wounded. But he should be on his way right about now.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°... Vogue¡­ are you not feeling well?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m alright¡­ Bring the prisoners to me.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°I want to take a look at them.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    As Elson left, I turned to Vernon. ¡°Have Allie return to the palace first.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s still beside the beastman.¡±


    ¡°Force her if you have to.¡±


    I have given her enough time to mourn for now.


    As everything went into motion, I returned to resting for a while. Then a short time later, I heard footsteps coming at me and what followed was a familiar voice.


    ¡°My sister, are you alright?¡± He placed a hand on my shoulder. ¡°Are you hurt?¡±


    I slowly raised my head. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t feel very well.¡± I gave him a sad expression, one that would incite a feeling of utter concern in anyone that would see it.


    ¡°Oh no, something happened, didn¡¯t it? We should return home immediately.¡± He gently placed a hand on the side of my face, checking my condition.


    I mildly shook my head. ¡°I can still manage, there¡¯s nothing to fear, my dear brother¡­ I assume they have arrived?¡±


    ¡°... Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then I will take a look at them.¡±


    I stood up and saw cages pulled by horses coming our way. Inside were men wrapped in black shackles on all limbs. As they got closer, it was becoming more apparent how beaten up they were, with all the bruises, and how weak they appeared.


    They stopped in the middle of the street, the horses neighed and the carts creaked subtly. The knights with spears pointed their weapons into each of the cages as I drew closer. The closest sniffed and slowly raised his head to look at me, his eyes narrowed. But that was all.


    I then walked towards the central cart, where a man with dog ears was being kept. He was beaten up more than the rest, after the rampage he just did.


    Then the third beastman at the rear suddenly began muttering as he pointed at me. ¡°I-It¡¯s you¡­ You¡¯re here? W-Why are you h-here?¡±


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    I shifted my eyes towards him, and he flinched back as if in fear. Hm¡­ I wasn¡¯t intending to scare him.


    ¡°Y-You¡­ A-Arnaut!¡± he continued. ¡°W-We shouldn¡¯t be doing nothing!¡± The cage rattled. ¡°W-We can¡¯t let her¡­ We¡­ Agh!¡± A knight stabbed his spear a bit into his flesh.


    ¡°Shut up.¡±


    The beastman behaved hesitantly.


    I ignored him for now and walked a step closer to their leader, the one called Arnaut.


    ¡°Sister¡­¡± Estevan warned me not to get close.


    Of course I¡¯m not intending to.


    Arnaut slowly raised his eyes towards me. ¡°Princess of Wisteria¡­ Your eyes¡­ as was told in the scriptures¡­ as your Mother¡¯s.¡± He said in a low voice.


    The more I looked at these three, the more I felt a little irritation within me. The part where I just wanna squeeze their throat myself¡­


    ¡°You are the reason for all my troubles¡­¡± I said as I glared at him.


    ¡°Your troubles? I wonder¡­¡± He slowly rose up, the chains clanking. ¡°Fighting now is futile¡­ I know this¡­ But we have hope that one day¡­ someone else will come and destroy you.¡± His eyes were filled with strength and absolution.


    Huh? What? Why is this guy saying it as if I¡¯m the villain of a story?


    A knight thrust his spear a bit through the cage as if to threaten him. ¡°You bastard...¡±


    I raised my hand to stop him, and the knight stood down.


    ¡°Take them away and lock them down.¡±


    And the carts began moving away, towards the palace.


    I gazed at them as they went.


    ¡°After that¡­ I¡¯ll learn why I went through all this¡­¡±


    All this trouble¡­


    ***


    The carriage shook a little before stopping in front of the palace doors. My pair of servants got out first before me. By the door stood my family. My Mother, Father, and eldest brother. I smiled slightly at the sight of them, their faces filled with relieved concern.


    Quite a bit funny to be honest. So sweet.


    The moment they laid their eyes on me, they beamed up with bright smiles. My father in particular went on to run towards me, spreading his arms apart.


    ¡ª No wait!


    ¡°Guh¡ª¡± I accidentally let out that disgraceful sound when he hugged me tightly.


    ¡°Daughter! Oh gods, you made me so worried.¡±


    N-No ¡ª you should get worried now, you¡¯re gonna crush me!


    I tapped on his back to indicate that he should release me. But his hug only tightened a little more. Ugh! He definitely mistook me for hugging him back!


    Calm down, Father!


    He rubbed his face on my cheek.


    ¡°Egh¡ª¡±


    Your beard! Stop it!


    He ignored my silent plea as he continued. ¡°I was so concerned that I almost rushed out there myself to help you!¡±


    ¡°Y-You k-know the risk of t-that¡­¡± I squeezed that out. He was also a potential target. Not only him but also the entire family! I specifically instructed them to stay behind. Violating that plan would have only served to stress me even more. That aside, it¡¯s getting harder to breathe. I turned to the one that could help me. ¡°M-Mother¡­!¡±


    My mother merely chuckled adorably and let me suffer for a few seconds more before pulling my father by the collar. ¡°That¡¯s enough, my dear. Don¡¯t tire our dear daughter any further.¡±


    ¡°Ah, alright¡­¡±


    I fixed my posture and addressed my father about a certain issue. ¡°Father¡­ I would like to apologize for the damages caused by the operation¡­ It was more than I had predicted.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I would need someone to personally check how much is destroyed. I expect capital nobles¡¯ representatives will come in at any moment to demand an explanation for what just happened. But for now, let¡¯s come in.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s go to your office, father. To have a meeting.¡±


    We went inside, while Eleden walked beside me. He patted me on the head gently with a sweet smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alright.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you too, my dear brother.¡±


    ¡°You were not harmed in some way, were you?¡±


    ¡°I was alright for the most part.¡±


    ¡°For the most part?¡±


    My parents heard it and they paused to look back at me. I frantically shook my hands. ¡°It was just a minor inconvenience! Such things are expected to happen.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Father. ¡°I want a full report tonight, if you can.¡±


    Aaaaaw, a report? Where I manually write things with a pen and paper? No, I don¡¯t want that! Writing reports¡¯ the most painful and excruciating part in every mission ending. That should be the part where I be resting, but noooo, the higher ups just demand reports with every tiny detail!


    And mostly I have to do that right after the mission if I¡¯m fully capable of writing, can¡¯t even rest for a day. But this time, there¡¯s no computer to type on. So I have to really use my hands, uuuugh.


    I know I ask for reports from others, but doing it myself is such a pain. Yeah, it¡¯s alright if I¡¯m not doing it. But there¡¯s really no place for complaints as this was what should be done. I just want to let out some irritation in me, okay? I may like writing reports, I may also not like it, depending on my mood. But I mostly don¡¯t like it.


    ¡°Why are you pouting, dear?¡± my mother suddenly pulled my cheek.


    Ouch.


    Was I expressing my face openly? Oh, not good.


    ¡°Nothing, mother. I¡¯ll get to it later.¡±


    Moments later, we arrived at Father¡¯s office. Outside, by the door, I turned to Vernon. ¡°Call for Estevan, he should be able to join us now. Leave matters to Astine if you must.¡±


    As I watched Vernon turn and leave, my eyes caught the sight of a familiar man that I had to resist my face from wincing.


    Geh¡ª what the hell¡¯s he doing here already?


    Namely, it was my uncle, the person I would rather avoid facing. How the hell was he here already anyway? Was he here the whole time? Waiting for my operation to be over and just ambush me from out of nowhere?


    ¡°Brother, I didn¡¯t expect to see you here.¡± My mother said to him.


    So he just arrived?!


    ¡°I came as soon as I heard there was a commotion. That being said, I noticed that information going outside was being suppressed¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Guards were all over the place and prevented people from going out of the city. Good thing my agents possess quite the talent to get through. I imagine my niece has something to do about it? Her instructions?¡± he smiled at me, but that was no plain smile. Not at all.


    It was almost sarcastic or something. As if he was trying to measure my reaction.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see how that is one of your business to know, uncle.¡±


    ¡°Oh? I was made aware that there would be an operation in the city, but I didn¡¯t think it would be to that scale. And to think you were leading it¡­¡± he grinned. ¡°Unexpected.¡±


    ¡°How were you made aware¡­?¡± I turned to my father.


    Father mildly smiled. ¡°I mentioned it to him.¡±


    ¡°And so I guess that¡¯s why I was told not to work this day in the city.¡± Added my uncle.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have something else to work on as well, uncle? Other than in the city.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, your plans. Don¡¯t worry, preparation is going smoothly.¡±


    ¡°I see. And for what purpose are you here?¡±


    ¡°As the head of intelligence, I don¡¯t think I would be denied to be privy to the situation at hand.¡±


    ¡°I suppose.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s not the only reason. With what has transpired in the city, nobles are expected to assemble. To discuss the situation.¡±


    ¡°If I¡¯m correct, they should send a representative first, and not the head of the household themselves.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, they should arrive shortly I imagine. But I work closely with your father, Estelia. My presence should be expected.¡±


    ¡°Daughter,¡± my father placed a hand on my shoulder. ¡°Your uncle will be joining us in our meeting.¡±


    I¡¯m tired, whatever. Let¡¯s just get on with it.


    We all got into my father¡¯s office, from which he ordered the staff inside to leave. I sat down on the chair by the desk with the rest of my family. My uncle remained standing, good for you!


    ¡°Did we capture all of them?¡± asked my father.


    ¡°No, we only have three. The elves managed to execute the rest of the beastmen, and then themselves¡­in some ways.¡±


    ¡°At least we have three we can interrogate.¡¯


    ¡°Indeed. As for casualties, we have no losses.¡±


    ¡°Woah, that is impressive, my daughter. As your first led large scale operation, that is an amazing feat.¡±


    I meekly nodded my head. ¡°Thank you¡­¡± I glanced at my uncle, then averted away. He was observing me very closely, ugh. ¡°But I fear for those that were terribly wounded, or forever scarred and damaged. And I fear the repercussions¡­ the reactions of their family.¡±


    ¡°Specifically?¡±


    ¡°There was an elite that almost died, and he lost an arm. Welford.¡±


    ¡°Welford, huh. But being a knight, something like this would be expected.¡±


    ¡°It would be different if the reason for that is not because of his younger brother, who I, despite him being weak, let him join the operation.¡±


    ¡°... Yes, you did mention the insert.¡±


    I sighed and placed a hand on my forehead. ¡°If their family hears of this, they¡¯ll be outraged.¡±


    What a headache, dammit, I shouldn¡¯t have decided to let him in the group. This is what you get Estelia for being soft on your knight and brother.


    ¡°They might, but they will not blame you, daughter.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll blame us.¡±


    ¡°They also will not. That is expected of their duty. If they carry grudges, they can''t do anything about it. Besides, it would be nonsensical if they blame the royal family when it is their child that stubbornly requested to join despite being warned.¡±


    ¡°I suppose¡­¡± I might be safe from a bad image, but I am concerned for my brother.


    ¡°How is Alzen Welford, by the way?¡±


    ¡°I heard his arm has been healed close so he should live, but of course he is impaired for his entire life now.¡±


    ¡°Important thing is that he is breathing. And your asset, she arrived first, what do you plan on doing to her?¡±


    ¡°Nothing for now, leave her be.¡±


    ¡°Has she been a good contributor? I saw the first light signal, I assume that was her?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ but as I said, leave her be for now. Where is she, by the way?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s with your maid.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Knocks came from the door, and Rogan went on to check who it was before opening it. My brother, Estevan, entered the office still wearing his armor. My mother rose from her chair to hug him.


    ¡°I¡¯m relieved you''re completely fine.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, mother. It¡¯s good to be back.¡±


    My mother lowered her gaze to look at the cut through his armor. ¡°You were struck.¡± Mother¡¯s eyes moistened a little.


    ¡°Nothing a little healing spell can mend. Good thing I practiced it for a little.¡±


    ¡°That is why you should not focus all your learning on offensive knight¡¯s magic. Practice more on your recovery magic, okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course, mother.¡±


    Mother returned to her seat, and Estevan stood behind me.


    ¡°Dear little sister, they¡¯re locked down in the dungeon. Extremely secured, knights and priests are placed in their cells and outside.¡±


    ¡°Good, thank you, brother. Now then, for our topic of discussion, the news of what happened in the city will be spreading out and will reach the ears of other nobles. My brother, Estevan, what we discussed with Father beforehand, do you accept?¡±


    ¡°Y¡ª¡±


    I raised my hand to stop him. ¡°If you agree, you will have all the credits of being the leader of this operation. But that also means you will bear all the aftermath, even the casualties. The public will know you are the leader. Are you really willing to take it?¡±


    ¡°Although I don¡¯t like taking all the credit¡­ I don¡¯t want people to look strangely and negatively at you. I will take it, if that is what you want, Estel.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what? What do you mean by this?¡± Eleden chimed in. ¡°Estevan¡¯s keeping all the credit to this operation of yours, sister?¡±


    ¡°This is a surprise.¡± My uncle joined in. ¡°Why would you give all of it to your brother, just like that? Surely the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. You will have the praise of the people, the nobility, of having gotten rid of the enemies of the state.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, you planned all this, sister.¡±


    ¡°Why would you give it all away? You could have a great influence through this. Fame. Reputation.¡±


    I am looking at it from a more negative side. Praise of the people? Dude, their homes were basically demolished.


    I faintly smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t need those. I do not desire fame, reputation, or to be praised. I am fine where I am now. I don¡¯t need any credits in this operation whatsoever¡­ In fact, my involvement will not be officially recorded.¡±


    ¡°What? You would do that?¡± my uncle seemed to be in disbelief.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°What about the men involved in this?¡±


    ¡°All the knights and the priests have been told that this is classified outside the palace since day one. We should be fine.¡±


    ¡°...¡± he slowly and mildly nodded.


    I returned my gaze to Estevan. ¡°Brother, thank you. This means a lot to me. If you need help in this regard, when they pressure you, I will help you.¡±


    He smiled. ¡°I will be alright, my sister. There¡¯s no need to worry.¡±


    Estevan truly is the best! He¡¯s willing to shoulder all hardships for me.


    ¡°Okay¡­ now with that done, you can proceed to interrogate the prisoners.¡± I turned to my father. ¡°I just need an answer to one question, the most important. Do your best to extract it.¡±


    ¡°And what is it precisely, daughter?¡±


    ¡°A simple question, and the only one I want answered. Why do they want me dead?¡±


    ***


    I stepped into the room where I used to study. Inside was my personal maid and along with her was Allie. With a small and gentle smile, I glanced at the former with a smile, then I greeted the latter.


    ¡°Hello, Allie.¡±


    She stood up. ¡°Princess¡­¡±


    ¡°I would like to thank you for your help. I am thankful for what you have done.¡±


    She meekly nodded, sadness in her eyes. She must have heard how many of the beastmen died at the hands of the elves. But, that was not part of our deal, so no problem for me.


    ¡°Would you like to rest? I suggest you take a bath first and you can sleep in your room if you want. You must be exhausted.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    I raised my hand and gently placed a hand on her cheek, as I faced her with a pleasing smile. ¡°I am so proud of you. Without you, we couldn¡¯t have done it.¡±


    ¡°So I was useful?¡±


    ¡°... You were helpful.¡±


    She smiled a little, trembling at the corners of her lips. Her eyes were moist in tears.


    ¡°Go and rest.¡±


    With a nod, she took a step, but then I remembered something. ¡°Ah, wait. The cylinder, I need to return it.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, here.¡±


    She gave me the cylinder.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Wonderful, because of your splendid choice, Allie, I had less of a problem. This in turn, spared your life somewhat. Did I ever forget to mention? Why was this cylinder here in particular was hollow on the inside? And why I always have it in my hand outside of the operations? Why I was pouring magic into it despite having already a crystal at the tip?


    I made some precautions, in case Allie made a decision not to my liking. But she picked otherwise, and that was why I didn¡¯t need to detonate the thing. Yes, inside, if Allie didn¡¯t press the button, a blaze would have been unleashed with a snap of my finger.


    A bomb you could say. A mix of modified, compressed, fireball spell, with some barrier to contain it. Like what I did with my flashbangs. But this was so compressed, that I was able to shrink it to the size that fit this small cylinder. I could have made it explode whenever I wanted, and thus, would result in an explosion that would definitely kill Allie in the process.


    Others might be hit, but those non-humans would definitely survive the explosion, but killing was not its purpose. Its purpose was to send a signal through a burning house, dark smoke rising to the sky.


    But I guess it¡¯s a good thing we didn¡¯t end up in that scenario, did we?


    It was hard to maintain the spells given the vast distance, and drained a bit of my mana at every moment, just a tiny amount. Furthermore, given that I am linked to the spell, like a string connected to both points, to keep providing it with mana, preventing it from dissipating, I can sort of tell where my magic was going. Of course, the further they were, the fainter the signal you could say. That was why I can¡¯t tell exactly their location. I could try walking there myself like a cute tracker, but it''s too time consuming and risky, and it would be hard to send messages to my people in real time. Thus, I deemed it best to just make things explode. In addition, if it got a little even more faint, I would have had no choice but to snap my fingers ¡ª lest I run the risk of losing Allie permanently.


    ¡°Princess¡­ I¡¯m wondering about my friends¡­ how will they be?¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Oh, they¡¯ll be alright¡­ They¡¯re in good care.¡±


    With a satisfied smile, Allie left the room with Mera.


    Vernon then stood beside me. ¡°Princess¡­ you know what they¡¯ll do to them, right? Doesn¡¯t that violate the deal?¡±


    ¡°What? We¡¯re here, aren¡¯t we? You, Rogan, me, and Mera with Allie. The involved parties are not there with the prisoners.¡±


    ¡°What? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°...All¡¯s well.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 39: The Prophecy (Part 2)

    It was afternoon, and the sun was close to setting, while I was feeling impatient. I was waiting for the answer to my question, an answer that would come from the prisoners. Perhaps someone would think I would let another day pass by to have a little rest for everyone, but no. Why should I slow down when they are within my grasp?


    I stood by the window, staring outside, counting the time that passed. It was taking a while, they wouldn¡¯t even give the answer that easily? Are they trying to mentally torture me? Pieces of shit.


    I sighed in hopes of releasing some of the pent-up stress and impatience.


    I subtly glanced at the two servants in my study room, Mera and Rogan. Vernon was there with the prisoners to hear the answers.


    My presence there would be nice, but a dungeon was no place for someone like me. And also, too dangerous to get near those that were trying to kill me, especially if they were getting hurt there.


    Speaking of trying to kill me, I have been wondering why my first plan in the festival didn¡¯t work. A target walking around in public without a care in the world, I find it baffling that no attempt was even made, no matter how minor, and considering how strong they were.


    What were they doing? Hm¡­ Well, they have tried killing me once through Allie¡­ with poison¡­


    Poison. A special type of poison, and¡­ I found two. One from my former chef and the other¡­ from the Marquis.


    I don¡¯t recall any information or knowledge that there were any non-humans that were coexisting in other nations. But, the non-humans, and the Empire were definitely working together. Same type of poisons. Were they closely coordinating? Don¡¯t seem like it, we didn¡¯t find the ones that met with the Marquis. Allie also never mentioned them.


    Still, am I not their primary target? Why did they ignore me at the festival? Unless¡­ could it be? Me¡­ the attempted poisoning in the arena¡­ Two different prime targets? One was just me, while the other¡­ the royal family, or specifically first my father.


    But now that the first attempt failed¡­ no, the non-humans hadn¡¯t attempted to attack me before that. Then, could it be that they were waiting? Not for an opportunity to smoothly kill me, no I think it¡¯s something else. Reinforcements? After the men that they lost?


    They¡¯re working with or for the empire, the empire that wants to conquer the land, pressuring other nations. One that also desired our land.


    What better way to damage a nation than to kill the king and the royal family? No, there must be something else, something more¡­


    But both the forces of the empire and the non-humans¡­


    Powerful adversaries.


    War¡­ inevitable.


    But¡­ but with this¡­ yes, they should be delayed. That¡¯s right¡­ e-everything should be fine¡­ for now. Nothing to be so worried about yet. No biggy, we just gotta face powerful beasts, elves, and an empire that had half the continent under their control with who knows how many soldiers in their ranks.


    Dammit!


    How do I solve that shit? We have some greedy ass motherfuckers and murdering psychopaths intent on killing me! Fuuuck¡­! Shit shit¡­ Too many to worry about¡­


    ¡°Milady, are you okay?¡±


    When I turned to face Mera, she flinched in the face of me. I immediately regained my composure.


    ¡°Nothing¡­ just nothing. Just a bit tired of waiting, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Princess, you should sit down.¡± Rogan pulled a chair by the table.


    ¡°Yes¡­ I will do that.¡±


    I went and sat down on the chair, and when I did, I felt as if a heavy weight had just been removed from my legs and shoulders.


    I am¡­ surrounded on all fronts.


    I laid my elbow on the table. Suddenly I¡¯m more tired than before.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Why was this happening?


    Then came the knocks on the door. Rogan checked and opened it, from which afterwards, Vernon entered.


    The door closed.


    Vernon was wearing a stiff expression, and he lowered himself before me, genuflecting. That¡¯s weird.


    ¡°Princess... I have returned.¡±


    ¡°... Y-Yes¡­ so¡­ did you get the answer that I wanted?¡±


    ¡°Yes, your highness.¡±


    ¡°Then, why do they hunt me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± he lowered his head, hesitating.


    I leaned a little closer.


    ¡°It¡¯s what?¡±


    ¡°Princess¡­ they hunt you because of a prophecy¡­¡± the moment he said so, the other two servants, Mera and Rogan, jerked in surprise.


    Huh?


    While I alone was confused.


    Prophecy¡­?


    ¡°Did you just say prophecy? Did I hear that¡­ right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s because of a prophecy.¡±


    I resisted gritting my teeth. ¡°And what does this prophecy entail? Tell me exactly.¡±


    He closed his eyes. ¡°The one with hair as white as the winter snow¡­eyes as crimson as blood, and beauty which encompasses all¡­ will cull and spill the blood of the race of mystic. Bringing an end to the golden era, and the genesis of slaughter. The blood of magic that is to be drawn shall purify the river of life of its impurities. And yet, thirty days after the one¡¯s sixteenth year of birth, thy one shall perish.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°The prophecy speaks that you¡­ one with the same appearance as you¡­ will destroy them.¡±


    My lower right eye twitched. ¡°... A prophecy? They¡­ went after me¡­ because of a prophecy?¡±


    Vernon looked up at me, and his eyes widened.


    ¡°A prophecy¡­ prophecy¡­ Ha-ha¡­¡± I placed a hand on my forehead, muttering in disbelief.


    ¡°Princess¡­?¡±


    ¡°Prophecy¡­¡± my hands trembled, not of fear or laughter, but with ¡ª ¡°THAT IS BULLSHIT!¡±


    My fist slammed to the table with uncontrolled strength as I abruptly rose from my seat, it was blown to smithereens, debris flying in all directions.


    ¡°Princess?!¡±


    I heard the calls and cries of my servants, but I ignored them. I kicked the chairs near me, some were blown away without even me touching them. My servants were sent flying to the walls.


    ¡°Princess, please calm down!¡± Vernon yelled.


    ¡°Calm down? You want me to calm down? Ha-ha¡­¡± I walked towards the window and took a brief glance at the view outside, trying to keep it all in. ¡°And how the fuck do I do that, huh, Vernon?¡± I returned my gaze to him. ¡°A prophecy? They want to kill me because of a fucking prophecy? That¡¯s the stupidest shit I have heard my entire life! Who the fuck are they? I don¡¯t know them! I never did shit to them!¡±


    He placed a hand to his chest, as did the others. ¡°P-Princess¡­ p-prophecies are s-special.¡±


    ¡°Who are they to decide my fate? My path in life?!¡±


    Out of my control, I slammed my fist into the wall, blasting a hole through it. Still, it was not enough for my blazing emotions, and I slammed my foot against the same wall, again, and again. All the emotions that I have bottled up inside for months, all burst out after hearing the absurd reason. The reason that I have been wanting to know for a long time.


    ¡°P-Princess¡­ Please stop.¡± the sound of Rogan as if being choked reached my ears. But I ignored it.


    I slammed my foot again.


    ¡°To think¡­¡± to think all of it, all my hardships, hard work, the stress, the irritation, the annoyance, the thinking, the scheming, the sleepless nights, was all because of a prophecy¡­ A prophecy where I am said to destroy people I do not know about?


    ¡°Ridiculous¡­ So stupid!¡±


    I gazed up at the view outside. A bird flew by.


    I could have been out there, having the time of my life. Where I can have peace. Where I can do what I want, where I can have a good time. Nothing to worry about. Just out there, to enjoy the view, to enjoy and experience this new world where I was finally free from the chains that once bound me.


    And yet¡­ all of it¡­ was being slowly taken, being obstructed because of them¡­ Because of a stupid prophecy, I was being robbed of my wish to live¡­


    The more I think about it, the more rage grows within me¡­ but that was not all¡­ for there was also¡­ sadness.


    I rubbed the moisture off my eyes. My breath was shaking.


    I¡¯m tired¡­


    I just want to rest.


    To sleep peacefully.


    To laugh heartily.


    To¡­ have fun.


    Oh¡­ my friends¡­ where are you when I need you¡­?


    I closed my eyes for a moment and opened them again. The castle was shaking, I did not notice it at first.


    ¡°P-Princess, p-please stop!¡± Vernon choked out a shout.


    ¡°M-Mera!¡± Rogan cried.


    I slowly turned to look at them. They were all lying on the floor as if having difficulty breathing and in pain. Rogan was tending to Mera, who was suffering the most.


    My mana was, like me, raging. It was overwhelming and overtaking the air itself.


    I took a deep breath and tiredly lowered my gaze. My mana gradually vanished from the air. And my servants breathed heavily, catching their breath. They will all be alright.


    I looked around the room, all the furniture was obliterated. No chair for me to sit, where I can rest my tired legs.


    I waved my hand. A chair, made up of ice but without the cold, appeared. My magic, my design.


    I slowly sat down and laid my arms on the armrests while I faced them, looking at them emptily as they slowly got up. At that moment, knights appeared from the broken door, followed by my father¡­ no, not just him, but the rest of my family as well.


    ¡°Daughter?! What happened here?¡± Father looked at the chaos in the room.


    ¡°Estelia¡­ are you alright?¡± Mother asked warily as she slowly stepped inside.


    My two brothers looked at me with concern, waiting for an answer.


    I couldn¡¯t smile at the moment, and thus I merely looked at them with a blank expression as I replied. ¡°Better than before¡­ It is really good to release some pent-up feelings sometimes.¡± I lowered my gaze. ¡°Indeed, I feel a bit better.¡±


    For now I know what to do.


    I¡¯ll just do what I¡¯m good at. What I was nurtured for¡­


    They troubled me and thus those prisoners will have to pay the price¡­ the source of my pain.


    For my own sake¡­


    They need to die.


    As I am taught to do¡­ grant death.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 40: The Wicked Princess (Part 1)

    I stood by a far corner of the palace entrance, watching important figures coming in, namely the capital nobles. With what happened to the city yesterday, it was essential for the nobles to assemble and discuss what happened and how they should proceed. Downside, they did not know what exactly just happened and what led to it.


    Father would need to inform them of the context, while also holding some information back. Especially those that had something to do with me.


    Speaking of which, I really did some damage to my study room, haaaah. When I regained my calm, it was even made clearer just how I almost wrecked the room. Was the floor even gonna hold? From what I heard, legit the entire palace shook, much worse than what happened last time ¡ª that time when I first lost control of my mana.


    I may have almost crushed the entire place into dust. But of course that wouldn¡¯t happen, even with the amount of power I have¡­I think¡­maybe.


    Another noble entered.


    As I was hiding somewhat, they didn''t notice me. However, when my uncle Meril arrived, as if sensing me, he turned in my direction. What the hell¡¯s up with this guy dude, almost like he had a sixth sense or something.


    When he arrived before me, he asked. ¡°What are you lurking around for?¡± he glanced at my servants for a moment that were behind me.


    ¡°Nothing, just to watch the people arriving. It¡¯s rare to have this many visitors.¡±


    ¡°A shame we are not here for a casual visit. Will you be joining this time? Just like the last?¡±


    ¡°... I am.¡±


    ¡°Is that right? You have never joined before, nor shown any interest. But now, and like the general assembly before this, you are now willing to take part.¡±


    ¡°This involves me, uncle. I¡¯m sure you know that.¡±


    ¡°I suppose but¡­¡± he narrowed his eyes. ¡°What are you planning, Estelia?¡±


    ¡°Planning?¡± I tilted my head with a puzzled expression.


    ¡°It just doesn¡¯t feel right you are joining for any simple reason.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t always rely on gut feeling, uncle. They will often mislead you.¡±


    ¡°Believe me, niece, my gut feeling is very, very reliable. And my guts tell me you have a hidden agenda this time.¡±


    I smiled slightly. ¡°What¡¯s your progress on your task, uncle?¡±


    He furrowed his brows at the switch of the topic and nodded mildly. ¡°We have collected plenty of intel as you wanted. But after your operation, it will take more time. The city is in disarray for the moment.¡±


    ¡°That is fine. We¡¯ll get there once I am done on my side.¡±


    ¡°Done with your side?¡±


    ¡°We are finished here, uncle. I will need to meet with Father before everyone else arrives.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ Very well. Just don¡¯t be late like last time. Ah, yes, about your rampage yesterday.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°You were keeping quite the feelings, my niece. If you wish to let some out, feel free to speak with me. I may be able to provide you with a couple of pieces of advice.¡±


    Without waiting for my reply, he walked onward. Yes, he was there shortly after my parents and siblings arrived.


    I turned around and faced my servants. They were stiff when they met my gaze. I did kind of hurt them yesterday, especially Mera. But it was not of anger or grudge, it was more along the lines of fear, I think. So in short, they were being wary of their actions, lest they incur my wrath or something like that. It was pretty obvious from how swift and quiet Mera was when serving me earlier.


    But indeed, I am easily irritated today.


    ¡°Tie my hair, Mera¡­¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes! M-Milady¡­¡±


    I made my way to a reception room, which I was free to use. After the door closed, I sat down on a chair and Mera promptly began tying my hair into a braid. I closed my eyes, trying to gain some cool.


    Mera was more gentle and careful than usual.


    I took a subtle, deep breath.


    ¡°I¡­¡± I paused. It was a bit¡­ um, embarrassing. ¡°I apologize for what I did to you three yesterday. I didn¡¯t mean to hurt you.¡±


    Mera paused. ¡°... All is forgiven, milady. Besides, we understand you cannot completely hold your mana sometimes¡­ and we understand that you are enraged after all that you went through. It is hard.¡± And she continued tying my hair.


    ¡°Is that so¡­?¡±


    ¡°That is so.¡±


    I turned my head to look at all of them, and they gave me small smiles. I returned to face forward and nodded. ¡°... Thank you¡­¡±


    Some time passed, and Mera had finished tying my extraordinarily long hair. A few minutes after that, knocks came to the door. Vernon opened it and entered my father.


    ¡°Daughter, you are finished, good. Let¡¯s go, everyone has arrived.¡±


    I followed my father to the assembly chamber entrance, where the rest of the family was waiting. No need to idle, we entered inside the room, the nobles stood in our presence. They only returned sitting once we sat down on our thrones.


    Rogan alone entered with me, and he stood guard by the wall adjacent to me.


    I felt most of the gazes of the nobles directed at me, but I kept my face neutral. They were baffled by my presence here.


    ¡°I thank you all for coming here.¡± My father loudly said to everyone while standing. ¡°Discord ensued in our beloved city yesterday, and I am certain you are keen on learning the circumstances.¡±


    The nobles intently listened.


    ¡°This was a royal related operation headed by the second prince.¡±


    Everyone shifted their gazes to point towards Estevan, with the exception of my uncle, who looked at me first for a moment.


    ¡°We received intel that there are enemies hiding in the capital and ever since have been seeking them. In fact, as you may have perhaps heard of a battle here in the palace months ago, the former assistant of the second prince was a mole planted by the same enemies.¡±


    The nobles looked at each other in surprise.


    Father continued. ¡°The mole was sent to spy in the palace and to carry out tasks sent by those on the outside. This includes the attempted assassination of a royal. And thus after that attempt, we started hunting them down, but we deemed it best to keep it confidential outside of the palace until the matter was resolved.


    ¡°You perhaps have seen the damage in the wake of our confrontation with them, and indeed they were enemies of great threat. In fact, our enemies are not humans.¡±


    ¡°Not humans?¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Demons?¡±


    ¡°Demons are here?¡±


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then what¡¯s the Holy Kingdom been doing?¡±


    Gasps and frantic murmurs spread throughout the nobles in the chamber. Guess demons were really big of a deal. Well, from what I heard from the bishop, these demons were quite powerful themselves ¡ª where we needed the holy element to effectively fight one.


    Good thing there were no demons here, though!


    My father raised his hand to stop the unrest. ¡°They are not demons.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re different, ones we do not know. We encountered two different types. One referred to as an Elf, and the other a Beastman.¡±


    The nobles looked at each other with puzzlement ¡ª they had never heard of them.


    ¡°The elves are potent in magic, and agile. They have long, pointy ears, and a light complexion. The beastmen, on the other hand, have animal ears on their heads, and more than that, they can morph into beasts. All in all, they are dangerous and hard to defeat. It took a squad of elites just to restrain one. At the moment, we have three in the dungeon, secured strictly. We have interrogated them, asked a few essential questions.


    ¡°First, their purpose here. It took a while to obtain the answer, but, in the end, we have it. They threaten the royal family, further supported by their previous actions. Next, if they still have allies in the city, hiding, those that we missed. There are none left, their total number is also supported by an intel from another source.¡±


    A noble raised a hand. ¡°...I¡¯m curious about another source. Who are they? How do they know the enemy?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t tell you that. Their identity is classified.¡±


    ¡°... I see. Thank you, your majesty.¡±


    ¡°Alright, the next important question is, where they came from¡­ This in particular, they are so secretive about¡­ They are not saying anything at all, no matter how much we intensify the¡­ interrogation.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re so eager to keep the location of their homeland a secret? Is it to prevent us from taking revenge?¡±


    ¡°Likely so¡­¡± my father glanced at me with his eyes for a moment before looking forward again.


    Perhaps the reason they wanted to hide it was because it was foretold that I would destroy them. So stupid. Well, now, I don¡¯t care about where they came from anyway. I¡¯m hard-pressed to beat one, what hope have I to destroy their entire race? Like, what the fuck?


    ¡°Are they perhaps from the Empire?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯re speculating, but nothing is certain. We asked who they¡¯re working for amongst the nations in the continent, but surprisingly, one sounded offended that we would imply they work for any humans.¡±


    ¡°... Are they perhaps independent?¡± a noble asked, but there was no answer to it.


    ¡°Are they perhaps behind the death of the late Marquis Vekenas? I imagine they would want to eliminate those that are close to the royal family. This means the capital nobles.¡±


    The nobles looked at each other, realizing the severity of the situation, especially if they might be in danger.


    My father then spoke. ¡°We speculate this as well. Same of their kind was found in the forest close to the area of death of the Marquis. But we have no concrete evidence. Two beastmen we interrogated rejected the notion of them killing the Marquis. But we can¡¯t be sure if that is really true, or if a group in their ranks went rogue or had other purposes.¡±


    ¡°Their leader then? Did you get their leader?¡±


    ¡°We did. But¡­ he is the one that we couldn¡¯t get an answer from at all¡­ no matter how much suffering we inflict upon him. He had not said one word. But at least we have information from the other two.¡±


    ¡°Then what do you plan to do with them?¡±


    ¡°Well, we have exhausted the essentials that we need, aside from those they refuse to answer no matter what.¡±


    ¡°They have to be punished!¡± said a noble.


    ¡°They¡¯re not humans though, and the information¡­ how should we go about this?¡±


    To be honest, I have the information I need already. They have no use for me anymore. And I just reeeeeally want to kiiiill them ¡ª oops no, rather, I want them dead.


    ¡°This is the first time we had something like this¡­ what should be done?¡± muttered a noble.


    ¡°What are you all so confused about?¡± While sitting down, I said out loud, and they all turned towards me in surprise. Everyone in the room. I felt a little pressure from everyone looking at me.


    ¡°Follow our rules, our guidelines, policies. Our laws.¡±


    Or whatever.


    ¡°Daughter? What are you doing¡­?¡±


    ¡°I would like to speak my mind, father.¡±


    He stared at me for a couple of seconds before nodding and placed both his hands on his back to listen to me.


    I straightened my sitting posture and faced the crowd. ¡°We have rules already to help guide us when we do not know what to do. Therefore, we must only use it. Otherwise, those would be useless, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    The nobles looked at each other.


    I continued. ¡°They refuse to cooperate, and we have more or less learned what we need. They are also too dangerous to be kept forever, and imagine how easily they could escape once they are well rested. And what are their crimes? A threat to national security, masterminds of espionage, attempted assassination of royalty, such that I can recall at the top of my head. With those alone, what is the punishment that must be delivered, as is in our law?¡±


    It was silent, until one noble gave an answer, my uncle. ¡°A death sentence.¡±


    I smiled slightly. ¡°And there it is, you now know where to go. So, let us follow the laws we set ourselves.¡±


    ¡°Daughter, are you saying we should execute them?¡± my father asked.


    ¡°Father, I am merely helping everyone recall our laws and punishments for such terrible crimes. The choice of that is in your hands, and yours alone. I have no power over what you want to do.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he put a finger on his chin.


    ¡°In any case, that is all I have to say.¡±


    There was silence as everyone seemed to ponder, while others stared at me in a daze.


    My father audibly cleared his throat. ¡°Then we shall base our decisions on our laws. However, I will need assistance on what should be decided. I call for a vote.¡±


    All the nobles straightened themselves.


    ¡°Raise the hands of those who want to deliver the death sentence to the culprits, those that are guilty of the highest of crimes. While those that are against it, do not.¡±


    The nobles slowly raised their hands, while a few kept them down. One of those that raised his hand is my uncle.


    I resisted the urge to smile in delight.


    More than half raised their hands in agreement to the death sentence for the enemies. A majority vote.


    ¡°Then we have come to a decision. All those that are involved in the crimes, especially those who threatened the lives of royals, shall be sent to death. Let this be an example to our enemies that may be out there, watching.¡±


    Aaaah, what a relief.


    The important matter was done.


    And the meeting continued to discuss the damages to the city and some others.


    ***


    ¡°That was a surprise, my daughter.¡± my father said to me as he sat down on the chair by his desk.


    At the moment, it was me and him in his office, he brought me here the moment the meeting was over. I know my action was a bit odd and out of the blue, but that was it.


    He then continued. ¡°Did they anger you so much that you would be willing to speak in front of the nobles?¡±


    ¡°I was merely bothered why they, and you, were confused or were thinking twice about what to do with the prisoners.¡±


    ¡°But you know the punishment for their crimes is death, right?¡±


    ¡°That much is obvious, isn¡¯t it? Still, in the end, you are still in charge of everything, Father. Your words will determine our enemies¡¯ fate.¡±


    He took in a sharp breath. ¡°Indeed¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you doubt your decision?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t take this the wrong way, daughter. I am merely surprised¡­¡± he lowered his gaze. ¡°... I am furious for what they have done, or what they intend to do. I want everyone that threatened you to pay. I too want them gone¡­ But¡­¡±


    ¡°But what¡­?¡±


    He closed his eyes for a moment while taking a deep breath. Once he opened his eyes, he rose from his seat and walked around his desk to sit down beside me. He placed his hands on both my cheeks and stared into my eyes.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want this, Estelia.¡±


    ¡°To execute them¡­?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ no.¡± he shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t want¡­ I don¡¯t like this change happening to you.¡±


    ¡°C-Change¡­? To me?¡± I don¡¯t understand.


    ¡°You might think I don¡¯t notice, but I saw at that moment in that assembly the change in you. I admire your wits, and that is good¡­ But I realized, I don¡¯t want you to end up like what I imagined you would if this goes on¡­ I want those bright and colorful eyes back¡­ Seeing you this way¡­ makes me think that I, we may lose who you are. And that for me, in truth, is what I am afraid of¡­ Maintain your heart, my daughter.¡±


    ¡°Father¡­ I¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say.


    How did I appear in the assembly? What caused my father to be¡­ afraid?


    He slowly let go. ¡°Once this is over¡­ please, let¡¯s have a good relaxing break. You can go visit your cousin, socialize and make friends with other noble young ladies. Maybe take a walk outside. Isn¡¯t that what you want?¡±


    My eyes widened a little. That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s what I want.


    I mildly nodded.


    ¡°Then, you shall have it. I will talk with your mother about this¡­¡±


    He patted my head gently before going back to his chair. ¡°That¡¯s what I only want to say¡­ But there is another matter¡­¡±


    ¡°...And that is?¡±


    ¡°The other prisoner¡­ your former chef.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    ¡°Estelia, despite what she did for the operation, she is still a prisoner and criminal in the end. What she committed is unforgivable. She is not pardoned whatsoever. And her allegiance is still in question¡­ Remember what I said, daughter? All that threatened royalty will be given death, this of course, includes her.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­¡±


    ¡°You will not defend her?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to influence your decision by defending her, father. It¡¯s up to you. Just bear in mind her crimes, not just trying to kill me, but also things like espionage and treason. And because of her former position, she could have had a great advantage in killing us through the food if she was not exposed.¡±


    Besides, after my fit yesterday, I relinquished my rights over her, and back to my father the king ¡ª as what was discussed beforehand, now that my operation was over.


    ¡°Yes, her crime¡­ is too great for me to tolerate¡­ In truth, I do not want her near our family¡­ But are you sure you don¡¯t want to share your thoughts?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ I would prefer not to influence your decision through my opinions.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ then, what I declared, nothing will change.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I will accept whatever you decide on this matter, father.¡±


    ¡°Alright then¡­¡± he lowered his gaze with a sigh. ¡°As I said, maintain your heart, daughter.¡± After muttering that quietly, he raised his gaze.


    ¡°Father¡­?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°That is all, daughter.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­. Oh, I want to ask permission for something. Please, allow me to visit the enemy leader in his cell.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± he was surprised. ¡°No. That¡¯s too dangerous, I will not allow that.¡±


    ¡°Please, father. I want to talk to him, just briefly.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Before you execute them, I want to ascertain something.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Something of great importance that will determine our future course of action.¡±


    ¡°Can you not just send one of your subordinates?¡±


    ¡°No, I want to look him in the eyes.¡±


    He pondered for a moment before sighing. ¡°Alright, but not too long, and keep your distance. I will notify the guards immediately.¡±


    ¡°When will the execution be?¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow noon. Preparations are still needed to make sure they won¡¯t do anything.¡±


    ¡°Then I will get straight to it.¡± I stood up. ¡°Thank you for the time, father.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 41: The Wicked Princess (Part 2)

    The door to the dungeon heavily creaked open, and I stepped inside. The smell was foul and rusty. The sound of my steps and those of my two male servants echoed faintly across the corridor. The deeper and further we went inside, the smell of blood reached my nose.


    The edges of my skirt immediately darkened to the dirty floor. But nothing I could do about it, I was a bit lazy to change my clothes as I will be changing anyway when I get out of here. Besides, I had to visit the dungeon immediately.


    ¡°This place certainly has gotten more lively than before.¡± Rogan remarked as he mildly shook his head with humor.


    As I passed by, the guarding knights greeted me while surprised by my sudden presence in this dark place. We went another flight of stairs leading down, the prisoners should be on the floor below, reserved for more dangerous individuals.


    Then, I passed by the door where multiple knights and priests stood in the corridor. What they guarded was a cell made up of stone walls, with only a thick metal door leading inside. I took a peek through the barred gaps in the center of that door, seeing knights and priests in there as well.


    However, there was also a man tied down by shackles and chains. He was wounded terribly all over. Weakened so much, he was kneeling on both knees on the floor, his head lowered. One of the beastmen.


    But he was not what I was looking for.


    I faced one of the knights. ¡°Take me to where their leader is being kept.¡±


    The knight led us to the cell on the farther side of the corridor. The door was opened by the knight guarding it, and when I stepped inside, I covered my nose with my finger for a moment. Wow, the smell was even more terrible than outside, the stench of blood and¡­ well, I don¡¯t know, suffering?


    Inside this cell was a tied beastman with dog ears. His state was pretty much the same as the other one I saw.


    The moment I walked inside, he flinched and then slowly lifted his head. His eyes still bore strength within them.


    I stood in front of him, but kept a few feet of distance.


    ¡°Hello, Arnaut¡­ We met again.¡±


    Of course he didn¡¯t greet back.


    ¡°From what I learned, you never answered any questions at all. Despite how much suffering was inflicted upon you¡­ what a remarkable character.¡±


    We looked each other in the eyes.


    ¡°But in the end, I learned why you went after me¡­ a prophecy~. You may be tough enough not to speak, but your allies do not share your integrity and endurance, well in regards to that topic anyway.¡±


    His brow moved a little.


    ¡°It was foretold that I would destroy you all. Honestly, the more I think about it, the more pathetic your people seem to be.¡±


    The chains moved a little.


    I smiled slightly. ¡°You fear me. And yet, I was never aware of your existence, but now I am.¡±


    Strength grew within his eyes.


    ¡°That said, I do not know where you came from¡­ Where are you from?¡±


    His throat moved slightly. ¡°... Even if I tell you, you will not be able to reach it.¡± he spoke for the first time.


    ¡°I see. Well, to be honest, I am not interested in that. If I am fated to get there, I¡¯ll get there eventually, somehow, I suppose. And just as your dull prophecy said, I might arrive there and destroy everything that you love.¡±


    The chains creaked, and the guards immediately pointed their weapons at him.


    ¡°... Y-You won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Of course I won¡¯t, I have no reason as of yet to go there. Nor do I care. Unlike you, I will not listen to some prophecy, I will not let it decide my fate.¡±


    ¡°Prophecies a-are absolutes¡­¡±


    ¡°Keep believing in that and it will indeed become absolute.¡±


    Almost like how one goes to a fortune teller, and that said fortune teller tells your future. And then in time you begin to notice and say ¡®it¡¯s exactly what that woman said!¡¯ You feel like, I don¡¯t know, fulfilled that what she said came true.


    You relied and believed the words of others that you disregard yourself. Don¡¯t you think what you have done was just because of your own? You heard what the fortune teller said and because you liked it, you strived for it. And because it was spelled out to you, you noticed it, among the other things a person commonly ignores or forgets daily. What I¡¯m saying is that in the end, it was through your own power that your future fortune came true.


    ¡°But I digress. I did not come here to talk about some prophecy.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I am curious about something¡­ I set up a trap for you during the festival. I presented myself to you, and yet, there was not a sign of you. Where were you? I was sure you were in the city.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    No answer.


    ¡°Did you perhaps see through our trap?¡±


    No changes in his expression.


    ¡°Or were you searching for an opportunity to attack me, but never found it?¡±


    None. But then again, it would be impossible that there would never be an opportunity during all that time. And with their strength, they can make any opportunity they like in the scenario.


    ¡°Or perhaps you were waiting for something?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    The muscle at the bottom of his mouth twitched ever so slightly.


    ¡°Waiting¡­ What were you waiting for? Backup? No¡­? Hmmm¡­ Still, very strange you didn¡¯t take the chance¡­ Perhaps because, yes, perhaps because you didn¡¯t need to take that chance to kill me there and then.¡±


    His brow moved slightly.


    ¡°You¡¯re not only targeting me, but my family as well.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I see. You are waiting for something to come¡­ something that can take care of us in one fell swoop, perhaps?¡±


    That¡¯s what I may do. Why frantically take one target when a more powerful ally would come that can help you take out the rest of the targets easily? Kill two birds with one stone.


    His facial muscles stiffened, and he lowered his eyes.


    Too late.


    ¡°When¡­ when are you attacking?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Arnaut¡­ when?¡±


    He raised his eyes, glaring at me. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ even if I do, I will never tell you. My suffering here is small compared to what¡¯s at stake.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll just try talking to your friends.¡±


    ¡°Try as you might, they do not know as well.¡±


    ¡°I see. Those above you kept you in the dark.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°But I assume they will attack the capital.¡±


    His face twitched slightly.


    While smiling, I said. ¡°This much is alright for me. We¡¯ll figure out when they¡¯ll attack. As long as we know their target, we¡¯ll make preparations, no matter what way they do it.¡±


    He violently pulled the chains. ¡°This I assure you, princess! Your preparation will not matter in the end! This I promise you!¡±


    He glared at me intensely.


    ¡°We will see, beastman. Thank you for the help.¡±


    I began walking towards the door.


    ¡°The prophecy will be averted!¡±


    He shouted from behind me, followed by an audible thud. A knight must have smacked his face.


    Sheesh, dogs really love to bark so loud. And so dramatic¡­ like a husky.


    The door to the prison cell closed, and I spoke with the knight that came with me in the cell.


    ¡°Ask the others when their backup forces will attack and how. They might know something.¡±


    With that done, I began making my way back to the surface.


    ¡°That was nerve-wracking, princess. That guy really was angry at you.¡± said Rogan.


    ¡°The way you handled it, your highness, it''s impressive. What conclusions have you made based on his answers?¡± Vernon asked.


    ¡°I theorize¡­ the Empire.¡±


    ¡°The Empire?!¡± Rogan exclaimed in shock.


    I said theorized, but I am certain. I just can¡¯t say to them I¡¯m certain because the evidence I have would question my actions behind the scenes.


    ¡°Are you sure, your highness?¡±


    ¡°A few ways to find out¡­ Uncle needs to carry out his task more quickly and meticulously.¡±


    ***


    Allie was lying down on her bed, it was currently early in the morning, just woken up. She was wearing her casual outfit. Her mind wandered as she gazed up at the ceiling, her thoughts leading to her friends.


    She wondered how they were.


    How were they being treated? Now that they were taken into custody, what would happen to them exactly? Surely they would be held in a prison, for the rest of their lives, perhaps. Although, it pained her to think that her friends would be kept there forever in the dark pits of the dungeon.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    She could still remember the agony there, of being trapped, nowhere to go but in the cell, her friends would surely experience the same more or less. Then her mind wandered to the time in the battle, the image of her friend dying flashed before her eyes again. She couldn¡¯t help but think about it, it was almost haunting. It was saddening, too saddening for her to set aside.


    It was not supposed to go that way, that was not how she hoped would happen. She did what she did to save them from dying. But in the end, she failed in some ways.


    At least Arnaut is alive.


    That made her happy. If he was alive, there would be hope for things to get better. Things may change. Someone might give them a second chance, perhaps the kind princess could give that.


    There is always hope, even in the darkest places.


    She rubbed her eyes before leaving her bed, stretching for a bit, and went for the door.


    When she opened it, to her great surprise, there was a group of knights standing in front of her room. Yesterday there were only two, and they even forced her to stay in her room. She could not understand, but she let it be. But now, it was very strange.


    ¡°Stay inside.¡± a knight sternly said.


    ¡°What¡­? But why?¡±


    ¡°Stay inside, now.¡±


    The knight pushed her back and immediately closed the door shut. She could not understand what was going on at all. And she grew anxious.


    She slowly returned to her bed and sat down, holding her hands together. There was only silence as she waited. Where else could she go? What else could she do?


    Something¡¯s wrong.


    She waited for some time until suddenly knights barged into her room.


    ¡°Wha¡ª¡±


    ¡°Allie Jelimis.¡± the knight grabbed her by the arm.


    Allie felt the cold metal shackles clasped into her wrists.


    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± she exclaimed.


    ¡°You are to be brought to the dungeon before your execution for the crimes of treason, espionage, and attempted assassination against royalty.¡±


    With wide eyes in shock and disbelief, she stared into the knight¡¯s eyes. He was serious. Execution. She could not understand.


    ¡°Execution¡­? W-What do you mean¡ª¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± he pushed her forward, to the outside of her room.


    ¡°Wait! Please stop!¡±


    ¡°Silence!¡±


    ¡°There must be a mistake! This can¡¯t be¡ª¡±


    ¡°There is no mistake, now move!¡±


    He pushed her again. She could not believe this was happening. Her limbs trembled in terror, her eyes moist at the corners.


    ¡°T-There must be a mistake. The princess ¡ª please talk to the princess.¡±


    ¡°This is an order from the crown! The princess has no say in this. Now comply or I will strike you down!¡±


    The knight pulled his sword and pointed it at her throat. Allie shrieked at how close and sudden the blade approached her neck.


    ¡°N-No¡­¡± she lowered her head, utterly confused by everything.


    She stared at the shackles around her hands as she was led by the knights to that place¡­ that dark place again. A place of suffering and darkness. She was overwhelmed by terror at the prospect of returning to that place. The closer she got, the heavier her feet felt. And when it was in sight, that door that led back into the pits, she couldn¡¯t help but freeze.


    ¡°N-No ¡ª P-Please, I beg you. Don¡¯t bring me back there¡­ Please.¡±


    She took a step back, her body trembling, her eyes brimming with tears.


    ¡°Move!¡± The knight forcefully pushed her forward.


    ¡°No! I don¡¯t want to go back there! Please!¡±


    The knight dragged her, ignoring the cries of desperation. The door opened, and she was brought below. Familiar walls, dirty and dark, the smell so foul and disgusting. Moments of suffering and the loneliness, all of it, even the torture, flashed before her eyes, as if she was reliving those moments again.


    ¡°N-No¡­¡± she wanted to run away, but the knights dragged her forward.


    All she could do was cry.


    A cell was opened, and she was thrown into the other side of the metal bars. Her eyes landed back to the outside, but the door locked close with an audible click.


    ¡°Please!¡±


    She rushed to the metal bars, grasping them tightly as she fell into despair, eyes full of desperation.


    The knights stood in front of her cell, guarding her.


    ¡°Please talk to the princess! Please let me talk to her.¡±


    ¡°Shut up! You have no right to talk to her.¡±


    ¡°Please¡­ please let me talk to her¡­ there must be some kind of misunderstanding.¡±


    The knights looked away, ignoring her pleas, all of it.


    She wept and sobbed, still begging them. Allie didn¡¯t know how much time had passed, but it reached to the point that one of the knights groaned in annoyance at her unceasing begs.


    ¡°Dammit, what about I just consult with the princess, eh? This is hurting my ears.¡±


    ¡°If you want to. You can try.¡±


    The knight left, and several minutes later, he returned.


    ¡°So, how is it?¡±


    ¡°The princess allowed a meeting.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Allie raised her head, her eyes a little brighter.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be taking her.¡±


    ¡°... Alright.¡±


    The cell opened, and the knights propped her up. As she walked out of the dungeon, she noticed how dirty she had become already.


    When the sunlight touched her skin once again, she felt a great wave of relief.


    The knights brought her inside the palace to a room for guests. The door opened after a couple of knocks, and a familiar knight opened it.


    He allowed them inside.


    Allie immediately saw the princess sitting on a couch, sipping hot chocolate. When she realized Allie had entered, she covered it with a small plate.


    ¡°You may leave Allie for now.¡±


    The knights that brought her here left and closed the door.


    Allie smiled. ¡°Princess¡­¡±


    ¡°Allie¡­ why do you call for me?¡±


    Allie was confused. ¡°Why¡­? They.. they brought me to the dungeon and said they were going to execute me.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, they are going to execute you along with the beastmen.¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡± Allie¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. ¡°But why? I¡­ I did what you asked of me.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you did.¡±


    ¡°So why, why is this happening?¡±


    ¡°It is the order from the king himself. I have no right over the matter.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ you¡¯re the princess.¡±


    ¡°I am the youngest child, Allie. The youngest do not have official power or true authority, even more so in my case. I am essentially a decoration¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. We have a deal¡­ you¡¯re breaking our deal.¡±


    ¡°Am I? I fulfilled my end of the bargain.¡±


    ¡°W-We are heading for execution. You promised you would not kill my friends!¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ I said we will not kill your friends.¡± she pointed her hands at herself, sweeping to her servants, Vernon, Rogan, and Mera. ¡°But what is happening to you now is not of my authority, nor my will.¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± she shook her head, her face expressing pain. ¡°This is not right.¡±


    ¡°Is it? Think back, Allie, who was there when we made that deal?¡±


    Allie looked at every single person in front of her, the only ones that were in the dungeon, the time when they made that deal.


    ¡°Allie¡­ it was only us. There was no representative for the king, nor any monarch. It was only me and them, and you. We are the only parties. As the third child, not even an heir to the throne, I cannot represent the crown in any official business without the king¡¯s declaration or permission. I never even proclaimed myself as one. So what the king decreed is outside my power. In short, I broke nothing.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ no¡­¡± Allie absolutely cannot believe what was happening. This was not right. ¡°Princess¡­ why? You¡­ you could have prevented this.¡±


    ¡°Oh? But that was not a part of our terms.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    ¡°What were our terms again? For you to be freed and return to the kitchen. One that I have fulfilled. Have you not been freed and were able to cook again in your personal kitchen?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Although, I never mentioned how long it would last. But still, I fulfilled it.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Then another condition was for us not to kill any of your friends¡­ Well, we certainly didn¡¯t do anything against that. Defending you, to protect you from things such as this, was not part of our deal.¡±


    Allie began shedding tears, crawling down to her cheeks, dropping to the floor. She was frozen, staring at the princess¡¯s crimson eyes. They were different from before, the soft, kind, and beautiful eyes were gone.


    ¡°Why¡­?¡± she muttered. ¡°... Why are you doing this?¡± Allie was brokenhearted. ¡°Was this what you wanted ever since¡­?¡±


    At that question, the princess merely smiled. Seeing that, Allie almost felt choking from her own breath, the perfect image she had for the princess broke apart, shattered into pieces. How could someone be this heartless?


    ¡°What did I do¡­?¡±


    Why did she have to receive something so cruel?


    ¡°Allie. The moment you pushed that button, to release that beacon of light. What were your thoughts as you did it?¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­?¡±


    ¡°Was it for something along the lines of doing it for me? Or for yourself?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Or your thoughts were on your friends, for you to save them? To protect them?¡±


    Allie lowered her gaze.


    Then the princess continued. ¡°As I thought¡­ you did all that for your friends, despite what they did to you. You never did it for me. How could I ever trust you?¡±


    She was right, her thoughts when she made the decision were for her friends¡¯ sake. Not for the princess, nor was it for her own selfish reasons. It was all for her friends.


    ¡°And that is disappointing.¡±


    ¡°Princess¡­. please¡­¡±


    ¡°You will die with the ones you cared for the most. This time, Allie, there is no hope for you.¡±


    ¡°...¡± she had nothing to say. All that she could do was cry quietly, her chest in pain.


    Wallowing in despair and hopelessness.


    ¡°Goodbye, Allie. This is the last time we¡¯ll see each other. Take her away.¡±


    Rogan had a delayed response to her order, as he himself seemed visibly shaken. He opened the door and had the knights drag Allie away from the room.


    Allie, now feeling lifeless, where everything in her eyes seemed to have turned colorless, could only gaze at the princess, filled with disbelief, sadness, and regret, as the door closed. The last time she¡¯ll ever see the light she believed to be her hope, but in truth, was the one that would burn her and reduce everything she had to ashes.


    ***


    It was in the dungeon when footsteps echoed through the corridor, along with metals clanging. Allie was inside a cell, drained of life and light. Her eyes slowly lifted to see the beastmen being brought out, covered in dark metal shackles.


    But upon seeing their state, her eyes widened. Her heart sank even more when she saw how terrible they looked, they were hurt so much. Almost like what she had experienced. Her heart ached intensely.


    A knight approached her cell. ¡°Take her out.¡±


    They opened her cell to bring her out.


    Then, Arnaut, as he passed by, took notice of her inside the cell. ¡°What? What is the meaning of this? Why is she here?¡±


    ¡°...¡± she looked at him.


    ¡°Allie, no! You shouldn¡¯t be here! Why?! After all that she did for you?!¡± he shouted to the humans.


    ¡°Shut it.¡± a knight hit him on the face with the blunt of his sword.


    ¡°Damn you! Don¡¯t do this to her!¡± he gradually turned aggressive. But then golden chains wrapped around his throat, coming from a priest.


    ¡°Behave.¡±


    The priest tightened the chains, choking him.


    ¡°Arnaut!¡± Allie tried running to him, but a knight pulled her by the shirt.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get disorderly now.¡±


    A moment later, the priest released Arnaut, and he kneeled to the floor, coughing. Then the priest said, ¡°Go on.¡±


    They continued onward. Allie being made to move forward following behind the beastmen. After arriving outside the dungeon, they were led to another place nearby.


    It was in an open area, short grasses filled the ground, the surroundings full of guards, comprising knights and priests. At the center was a small platform, where a man in full dark armor was holding a massive sword, his face hidden in his helm. This was the place where the execution would take place.


    After a certain distance from the platform, they were stopped and made to kneel.


    Allie looked around, fear filling her heart.


    Then, a man in formal clothing began to list out their crimes. However, Allie couldn¡¯t hear him, all she could hear was the ringing in her ears.


    Or perhaps, she just didn¡¯t want to listen to him.


    ¡°Allie¡­ Allie.¡±


    A voice called to her, and she slowly turned her head to the one beside her, Arnaut.


    ¡°Allie¡­ What have they done to you?¡± his face, despite the wounds he had all over, still showed extreme concern. Even though she brought them here¡­ the reason they were here.


    In truth, she didn¡¯t know who to trust anymore, who to put her faith in. Everyone, every single one she trusted played her, used her. They showed their care and love, and yet, behind it all, it was for a purpose at the expense of herself.


    She averted her eyes away.


    She didn¡¯t know what to say to him.


    A beastman was made to walk towards the platform, and Allie watched as he was forced to lay down his head. The dark knight lifted his great sword and then swung it down. The head of the beastman Allie knew fell to the floor. Her heart ached, and tears welled up even more from her eyes. Her gaze stuck to the lifeless head, eyes still open.


    ¡°Allie¡­ I¡¯m sorry this happened to you.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± she slowly cast her gaze towards Arnaut.


    ¡°I¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have involved you in this.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault¡­¡± his eyes were wet with tears. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡±


    Another beastman was forced to walk towards the platform.


    ¡°Allie¡­ please talk to me¡­ I want to hear your voice once again.¡±


    Allie looked into Arnaut¡¯s eyes. ¡°... I¡¯m sorry, Arnaut¡­ I¡¯m the reason you¡¯re here¡­ I-If only I didn¡¯t do anything¡­ you would have been¡­¡± she quietly sobbed.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright¡­¡± he tenderly smiled. ¡°You only did what you thought was best¡­ I understand that.¡±


    ¡°Please forgive me¡­¡±


    ¡°I forgive you.¡± he slowly pressed his forehead into her¡¯s and grasped her hands. ¡°Also¡­ please forgive me for what I did to you¡­¡± he whispered.


    ¡°.... I forgive you¡­¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡­ thank you¡­ that means the world to me¡­¡±


    She felt the warmth of his skin, a small relief. And yet¡­ ¡°I¡¯m scared¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± he took a deep breath. ¡°But¡­ death is not the end. Our soul will be delivered to heaven, where the glory of the gods shines so bright. It will be alright, Allie.¡±


    ¡°Arnaut¡­¡±


    ¡°We will see each other in paradise. I know it. I will find you.¡±


    She regretted fully what she had done. She shouldn¡¯t have done what she did, she shouldn¡¯t have betrayed her friends. She should have believed in them¡­ or, to be exact, believed in Arnaut.


    ¡°Allie¡­ be brave, okay?¡± his grasp tightened. ¡°I love you.¡±


    Before she knew it, he was pulled away from her, and she watched him becoming more distant. But he was still looking at her with a comforting smile on his face. He rested his head on a flat surface.


    The dark knight raised his sword.


    Allie and Arnaut still looked at each other.


    Then, the blade fell down, and as it did, Arnaut closed his eyes, and then¡­ his head fell to the ground, rolling.


    Allie closed her eyes.


    She could not bear to see him this way.


    Without giving her time to grieve, she was tugged up and was pushed towards the platform. She opened her eyes to see the head of the one that cared for her lying on the floor, not even anyone caring for it. When she got close, she suddenly stopped and reached out for him.


    She gently touched his cheek.


    ¡°I love you too¡­¡± she whispered. ¡°You are¡­ the best father I ever had. Thank you for everything.¡±


    A knight pulled her up. She kneeled, and her head was pushed to rest down on a surface.


    A shadow loomed, and the dark knight raised his sword.


    Allie closed her eyes, recalling the best memories she had with those she loved. Their adventure as they made their way to this city, the thrill of failing and succeeding in making a dish, the times she made her friends taste the food she gave them, good or terrible¡­ the smiles, the laughs, her moments with Arnaut. All became clear within her, as if she was reliving those moments again, and she was happy.


    Then¡­ the blade came down.


    And here ends her story.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 42: A Profound Relief

    I removed the plate that covered my delicious hot coffee, still steaming nicely, and smelled so sweet. I wrapped my finger gently around the handle and lifted it up to take an elegant sip. The warm and sweet choco traveled through my tongue into my throat, and it warmed up my stomach. It was not as delicious as the one I tasted in the city, but we¡¯ll get there.


    The room, on the other hand, after Allie was dragged out of the room, formed a strange and cold atmosphere. Everyone was silent, everyone was not moving just to make not even the slightest of sound.


    I peered at each one of my servants, Mera was looking down, no sign of bright emotion, Rogan was looking away, as if trying to avoid my gaze, and Vernon was looking straight with a neutral expression.


    Perhaps it was expected they would react this way, since I never acted like this. What do they see me now as? Ruthless? Heartless? Or perhaps none of those, and they were only processing what they had just witnessed.


    I sighed and put down my cup.


    ¡°What is the matter?¡± I broke the silence.


    They all instantly looked at me. But there was no immediate response.


    ¡°What do you want to say? Go and say it, I will not be displeased.¡±


    My servants looked at each other. Until the eldest spoke first.


    ¡°Princess, I dare not question your¡­ decision¡­ But does it have to end this way?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t like it?¡±


    ¡°...¡± he closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again. ¡°I just expected that you would take her in after what she had done for us.¡±


    ¡°Take her in? Mm¡­ you pity her?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be lying if I say I don¡¯t. This was just a shock to me, to us, is all.¡±


    ¡°You think I should have tried to save her?¡±


    ¡°... Yes¡­ But¡­ I will not go against your decision, regardless of my opinions.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± I shifted my eyes to my knight. ¡°What about you, Sir Rogan? Do you carry the same sentiment as him?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well¡­¡± he scratched his head. ¡°A little. But that is not all for me¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°You just surprised me, that¡¯s all. You know¡­ this.¡± he held out his hand towards me, saying that all that happened in this room surprised him. ¡°As for your decision¡­ I never imagined it would end this way¡­ Well, in truth, I didn¡¯t know what to expect, so yeah¡­¡±


    He wryly smiled.


    ¡°Is that so¡­? Alright then¡­¡± I shifted my eyes to the last one, one who appeared to be the most affected among the three. ¡°Mera.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes?¡±


    ¡°What do you think of this? To Allie¡­ do you think it should have ended otherwise?¡±


    ¡°N-No¡­¡±


    ¡°No?¡± that was a surprise.


    ¡°I merely feel a bit conflicted, and to be honest, I don¡¯t know what to feel.¡± she lowered her gaze. ¡°Allie gave me food to¡­ make amends¡­ her sincerity was nice. Perhaps¡­ I was expecting something more from that.¡±


    She slowly raised her head to look me in the eye.


    ¡°But still, ultimately, she committed a crime, one that is unforgettable. One that calls for punishment. And now, her punishment has arrived. She tried to kill you, this outcome is to be expected. I understand this deeply.¡±


    Her eyes bore strength and conviction in those words that she uttered, I almost shuddered upon hearing it.


    What the hell? Mera¡¯s scary! Bring back the sweet Mera! I don¡¯t want this!


    I didn¡¯t expect this at all. Almost like she¡¯s crazy or something¡­ Oh goodness¡­ At this rate¡­. Ugh, I don¡¯t know where Mera¡¯s heading anymore. Haven¡¯t even teased her since, so why did this still keep up?


    But I admire that loyalty! Good Mera! Good! Just don¡¯t get more scary than this, okay?


    ¡°I understand your thoughts. But, things would certainly have this outcome... Do you know why?¡±


    They listened.


    ¡°She tried to kill me.¡± I leaned back on my couch. ¡°Betray me, and death comes to knock at your doors. Refuse to open it, and he will force himself through. Even if you appear to have redeemed yourself, your mistakes will not be overwritten, never to be forgotten, nothing will change.¡±


    I looked each one of them in the eyes.


    ¡°In short, if you are a traitor, you will die, one way or another.¡±


    There was no place for mercy on traitors. Especially to Allie that held no allegiance to me whatsoever in the end, nor did she grow to have. Also, she was my personal chef, she personally betrayed me.


    She shouldn¡¯t have done that, to one who granted her the dreams she wanted. Why should I give mercy to such a person? Those under me should never betray me, despite the doubts they may feel. Traitors pissed me off the most, more so if we belong to the same allegiance, to the same side, to the same group.


    I hunted traitors in the past. They wanted to be free, they said. To do what they want, they can be happy, they said. What a mistake, they cannot escape from the organization, no one can. But the greatest mistake was their betrayal.


    There was once that tempted me to join them, to escape with them. Funny. Believe me, it was a tempting offer, but it was foolish. I may carry doubts and was displeased at the organization with some things, but I knew where my allegiance lay, to the organization. Loyalty is the most special thing we can have.


    Why should I grant mercy to those who cannot even set aside their doubts for their allegiance? Why should I when I was capable of it, where I pushed through it, where I set aside my desires?


    There was no place for safety to the traitors in the organization, nor should the ones working under me now. They should at least have the decency to stay with the ones they belonged to, despite all the doubts and their desires.


    Thus, those that dared tempted me to join their little runaway, I put a bullet in their skull. I killed all the traitors that I was tasked to eliminate, despite my miniscule doubts. Even if they betrayed for reasons like they found someone they love, they do not want to follow orders anymore, they do not want to suffer anymore, or to achieve their greatest of dreams, I didn¡¯t care. All that mattered was getting the job done, and perhaps, teaching a lesson.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    But, if one desired freedom, the only way was death, or perhaps have everyone believe you¡¯re dead. But it wouldn¡¯t be easy. If you were being marked to die to begin with, might as well try, you are already out of the circle, the organization has let you go, no allegiance left, you no longer belong anywhere. I was about to do just that when I died, where I thought I was brought somewhere. But hello hello, I ended up in another world.


    I smiled slightly. ¡°So don¡¯t try to betray me, okay? Say that you understand.¡±


    ¡°Absolutely, milady!¡±


    ¡°O-Of course I won¡¯t betray you. I would be a failure as a knight if I do that.¡± he awkwardly chuckled.


    ¡°I would never betray you, your highness.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I¡¯m happy then. Truly.¡±


    Indeed, what a relief. Well, they have no reason to betray me, so all¡¯s cool.


    ¡°Now then, all I need is to wait for the news.¡±


    I returned to sipping my chocolate. There would still be some time before the execution, I need to find a way to spend the time. But ugh, nothing.


    Read a book? Not in the mood. Sing perhaps? No, I¡¯m shy.


    ¡­Nothing to do then.


    And so, I could only wait in silence until the news.


    Some time passed, and I was leaning boredly on my couch. In the end, I couldn¡¯t do anything else entertaining because I cannot focus. Only when it¡¯s done can I have fun. I glanced towards my servants, all now sitting on chairs here and there, I ordered them to. Would be cruel to let them stand in this boring game of patience.


    I could order some refreshments, but I¡¯m full from the chocolate. I have a small stomach, there is nothing I can do about that.


    ¡­ It should be at any moment now.


    A few minutes later, someone knocked on the door. I immediately straightened myself and cocked my chin, ordering Rogan to open the door. After checking who it was, he allowed a knight to enter.


    Then the knight announced. ¡°Princess, it is done. They have been executed.¡±


    I held my breath after a sharp inhale. ¡°... Thank you. You may go.¡±


    Then the knight left and Rogan closed the door.


    I leaned my back on the couch, my head facing up to the ceiling.


    ¡°Haaaaaaaaah¡­¡± I heaved a long sigh as I closed my eyes.


    Finally¡­


    It felt like something heavy had been removed from my shoulders. I never felt like this in a while.


    ¡°Princess, are you alright?¡± Vernon asked. He must be concerned by my reaction.


    I opened my eyes, and I smiled beautifully. ¡°I feel good¡­ Vernon, I never felt this relieved¡­¡± I took a deep breath, and I muttered. ¡°Indeed, I am so relieved.¡±


    I have finished a mission, a burden has been removed. A threat close to me has been erased.


    I was so fulfilled.


    Finally, I can have a rest, even for just a little.


    ¡°I will go to my room. I¡¯m going to sleep.¡±


    ¡°This early?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ this early.¡±


    All my appointments are for tomorrow, anyway. I left this day vacant for a purpose¡­ to rest.


    ¡°Ah, yes. Do something for me, okay?¡±


    I gave an order to them, and after hearing it, their eyes widened and they looked at each other in surprise.


    ¡°U-Understood.¡± replied Vernon.


    ¡°Alright then¡­¡±


    I rose from my seat and left the room, while Mera left behind to clean up. I climbed up the stairs and headed to my room. Upon arrival, I turned my head to my two servants.


    ¡°Goodnight.¡±


    I turned the knob and entered my room. After closing the door, I went straight to my bed, and I savored the soothing softness of the pillows¡­ before closing my eyes.


    ***


    I opened my eyes, and the first that greeted me were my pillows. They were quite in disarray, along with the sheets. This hinted that I was sleeping comfily, undisturbed, and deep¡­ and well, fidgety. The best sleep I have had since what felt like forever. I felt so light, so amazing!


    I slowly sat up and glanced towards the curtained window. Huh, it was still very early. Which reminds me, I slept around, what, noon? And I was not disturbed at all, even missed dinner. Magnificent! I slept for more than 8 hours!


    I smiled in profound happiness and delight ¡ª so that¡¯s why I felt soooo good! I have fewer things to worry about! Less urgency! A have thrown away the baggage!


    I got out of the bed and pushed apart the curtains and opened the windows with powerful vigor. The fresh air and chilly wind instantly graced me, so pleasant and peaceful. This was what I have been wanting ever since I knew there were enemies in the city.


    ¡°I love this! Why can¡¯t it be like this every day?¡±


    I know there were still threats out there, but we ought to enjoy the present sometimes, you know.


    Reminds me of a song¡­


    ¡°Hm~Hm~Hm~...¡± I bobbed my head gently as I recalled the tune. ¡°Hm~Hm~Hm~.¡± I slowly made my way to my desk, where I looked at my reflection.


    ¡° ¡ª Will I be pretty? Will I be rich? Here''s what she said to me. ~¡±


    I looked at my own face so beautiful, bright with a smile.


    "~Que sera, sera ~ Whatever will be, will be ~ The future''s not ours to see ~ Que sera, sera ~ What will be, will be~.


    ¡°When I grow up and fall in love ~ I''ll ask my sweetheart ~ What lies ahead ~ Will there be rainbow day after day ~ Here''s what he''ll say to me¡­~¡±


    I combed my hair gently and gracefully while I sang and hummed the beautiful song. As I did, I kept staring at myself ¡ª we only have each other, huh.


    ¡°Hmmm~ Hmm~...¡±


    Sucks not to have modern technology here, would have been nice to listen to some music. Aaaah, I miss those. Sometimes it¡¯s so agonizing to know that I could never listen to music like I used to. Now all I could do was sing them from memory just to hear them again. Tough times.


    Then, someone knocked on the door, just in time.


    I immediately went after the door and opened it, immediately greeted by sweet Mera, who looked at me a bit surprised. Well, I quite responded quickly and my face suggested that I woke up on the good side of the bed.


    ¡°Mera, good morning.¡± I then looked at the other two standing on the back. ¡°Rogan, Vernon. Good morning to you two as well.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re in a good mood, princess.¡± said Rogan.


    ¡°Oh yes I am. Oh, Mera, come in. I apologize that the bed is more messy than usual.¡±


    ¡°That is quite alright, milady. It¡¯s my job.¡±


    Mera entered and began cleaning up my bed, so nice to have a maid, they just do every trivial thing for you. I faced the other two with a smile.


    ¡°So, I assume nothing troubling popped up while I was asleep?¡±


    Vernon was the one to answer. ¡°Yes, your highness, everything was alright. As for your order yesterday, Allie was given a proper burial. With her is the leader of the beastman.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Good¡­ Was there any resistance?¡±


    ¡°No, not really.¡± answered Rogan. ¡°When the king heard it was your request, he promptly agreed.¡±


    ¡°I see. That is good.¡±


    If he didn¡¯t accept, Allie would have been thrown and buried in the middle of nowhere with the others.


    ¡°I should say, your request, I didn¡¯t expect it.¡± Rogan said. ¡°I thought you would leave the matter at that.¡±


    ¡°The dead have no fault¡­ Sometimes, if you condemn someone in life, you do not need to condemn them even in death.¡±


    Besides, I recalled what my father said¡­ Truth be told, I was thinking about what to do with Allie once she was dead, but I think what I decided was alright. Some people just do not deserve the disrespect when dead. And, she was never really quite an asshole towards me, so I didn¡¯t violate my heart to at least give her a proper burial.


    ¡°Woah, of course our dear princess would still be the same generous and kind person we have come to k¡ª¡±


    ¡°Zip it, Rogan.¡±


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll zip it.¡± he immediately straightened his posture.


    Vernon sighed before saying. ¡°Allie is currently buri¡ª¡±


    The moment I raised my hand, he stopped.


    ¡°I do not need to know.¡±


    He was briefly confused before nodding. ¡°... Understood.¡±


    I do not need to know where those that gave me the most trouble were buried. I do not need that in my thoughts. Let¡¯s leave things be now. Be happy that I gave you a burial.


    Once Mera was done, I went straight to the baths. Oh, it was so delightful now that I didn¡¯t have to worry too much. Wew.


    After that refreshing bath, I went straight to the dining room, where my family was already waiting. I must have taken more time than usual in the bath, oh well. With a bright smile, I sat down beside my mother and placed my hands on my lap.


    I¡¯m so hungry, I didn¡¯t get to eat dinner,. which was fine. But still I¡¯m hungry now.


    ¡°You look like you¡¯re in a good mood, my dear.¡±


    I turned to Mother. ¡°Yes, I am.¡± I giggled adorably with a pure smile.


    With an adorable chuckle from herself, Mother patted my head as how one would pet a cute, fluffy animal. My hair was still wet, but she didn¡¯t seem to mind.


    ¡°Did you sleep well?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Good. I did take a look in your room, you looked comfy. I¡¯m happy about that. And I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t wake you up at dinner. I just thought you needed the sleep.¡±


    ¡°No, that is completely fine, mother. I¡¯m actually glad I had a continuous sleep.¡±


    Amidst that, the food arrived, and we immediately began eating. It was delicious! Ah, I never felt so energetic in my life.


    As I ate, I took a glance at my eldest brother, he merely slightly smiled, but it was stiff. What¡¯s up with him now? I¡¯m just gonna ignore him for now and enjoy the food.


    Then I was reminded of something. ¡°Father, has any noble head complained about what happened to their sons or daughters?¡±


    ¡°Hm, those that were wounded, none really complained. But as we expected, the one that took it the hardest is Welford.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­¡±


    ¡°Alzen is their greatest prize, their pride in the Order. But at the state he is in, ineffective, I can only imagine how disappointed and distraught they are. I have a meeting with Count Welford later after this, to discuss what to do going forward. We¡¯ll see what happens.¡±


    ¡°I hope nothing too terrible.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t be. They can¡¯t just outright blame us, the royal family, and hold grudges. Alzen¡¯s job is to be a knight, such an incident is not out of expectations. We¡¯ll be fine, don''t worry, especially your brother Estevan.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± I then shifted my eyes towards Estevan. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s completely fine. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    He really was the most reliable brother. He¡¯s my favorite!


    Oh wait, is it good to have favorites in the family?

 Vol. 3 Chapter 43: A New Associate & Some PR (Part 1)

    Once we were done with our pleasant breakfast, I went ahead to handle some stuff, the little aftermath, you could say, of our operation. Father and Mother would be preparing for the arrival of Count Welford ¡ª yeah no way I¡¯m getting in that.


    Eleden would be leading all the paperwork for now that had something to do with the damages in the city, and some other stuff. I didn¡¯t exactly know what they all would entail, but that¡¯s not my job. ¡®Oh but Estelia, you¡¯re the reason a large part of the city is a wreck.¡¯ pffft, it was not my fault, it was the non-humans! Yes, blame it all on the dead, they can¡¯t argue back.


    As for Estevan, I don''t know what exactly he¡¯ll be busy in the whole day, but he should be collecting all the things we borrowed from the Church. Speaking of the church, I have an appointment with the high bishop, to return the things really, but I will be personally thanking him. One thing I had to handle.


    It was almost time for his arrival, and so I made my way to the palace entrance and waited for a couple of minutes. I was notified that the gates opened and a pair of carriages entered, one was meant for passengers, looking quite fancy, while the other was plain, to be used I believe for the items.


    The carriages stopped in front of me, and one opened, where the high bishop stepped out.


    ¡°Good morning, High Bishop.¡±


    ¡°Your highness, it is a pleasure to see you again.¡±


    ¡°The pleasure is all mine.¡±


    At the same time, Astine got out of the carriage, and I greeted her promptly. ¡°Astine, how are you?¡±


    She froze a bit, taken aback it would seem. ¡°Uh, I¡¯m doing alright, princess. Thank you for asking...¡±


    Was it so weird to greet a person so gloomy looking with a bright smile and an air so radiantly friendly?


    I smiled. ¡°Come, I will lead you to the items, where you can check the inventory. I regret that some were damaged and destroyed during the confrontation.¡±


    We began walking, heading to the yard where the supplies were placed.


    ¡°Such instances are to be expected. They can be repaired and replaced, there is no need for concern.¡±


    I stopped and I faced the two. ¡°Thank you very much for the help. It means a lot to me.¡±


    The high bishop smiled widely. ¡°I¡¯m glad to be of help to you. If you need assistance in the future, feel free to summon me.¡±


    ¡°... Very well. I am relieved to have you on my side.¡±


    I held out my hand for a handshake, and he, with a delighted face, took and shook it. We continued walking after letting go.


    ¡°Although I felt a bit useless in your operation. No enemy got through.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, everyone did their best.¡±


    ¡°Or your leadership brought out the best of everyone. Truly, I am amazed by how you planned all of it.¡±


    I giggled.


    He then continued. ¡°To think that they¡¯ll get exposed from their own ranks. Amazing how it all essentially went according to what you wanted it to end.¡±


    ¡°Although there were some unexpected situations.¡±


    ¡°Even so, your plans, your leadership made it successful, without you the foundation, all things could have crumbled. What you did was so godly.¡±


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    ???


    I looked at him, how peculiar¡­ But he merely grinned. ¡°Oh stop¡­ Please, it is embarrassing. Everyone was instrumental, and I didn¡¯t even do the heavy work. I do not deserve the praise.¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°If you say so, your highness.¡±


    We arrived at our destination, where wooden crates were placed and arranged.


    ¡°Astine,¡± called the high bishop. ¡°Go and check, and bring them to the carriage.¡±


    Astine went on and beckoned the men that came with them that rode on the other carriage to assist.


    I turned to Mera. ¡°The cylinder, please.¡±


    Mera pulled out from her pocket the magic item that Allie once used.


    ¡°Here, high bishop. Thank you very much for this. It was a great help.¡±


    He received it and placed it in his pocket. ¡°I heard the enemies were executed, even the girl.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I see. They were strange creatures, curious how and why they all ended up here.¡± he approached closer and whispered. ¡°I know they¡¯re after you, but I don¡¯t know why.¡±


    ¡°You do not know?¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t told anything.¡±


    Oh right, there were only very few that knew the answer, where Vernon interrogated each one. All that was involved swore to confidentiality.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Did you learn why?¡±


    ¡°... I¡¯m not at liberty to say. Please ask my father for that, I¡¯m certain he¡¯ll tell you.¡±


    ¡°Ah, it would be hard. His majesty is not one to divulge secrets. But I suppose I have been involved deeply in this, he may intend to tell me, eventually.¡±


    I could tell him now, but I have to respect the chain of command sometimes, you know.


    Astine and the others began carrying and packing the crates.


    ¡°The damage to the city was quite extensive,¡± said the high bishop. ¡°To the capital city, no less. Our allies would definitely come to inquire.¡±


    ¡°... Of course they would¡­ not now, but surely in the upcoming days or weeks.¡±


    ¡°Non-humans are involved, they¡¯ll know from the common people, few that are witnesses, the Holy Kingdom might poke their nose into our matter. Deeply than we would ever want.¡±


    ¡°But I thought they only take care of demons.¡±


    ¡°Demons yes¡­ but these so-called beastmens and elves are not humans. They will be interested.¡±


    ¡°Will that spell trouble for us?¡±


    ¡°Not really. Just headaches. Although I¡¯m not sure whether to tell them the truth, or just say some troublemakers caused some trouble and deny the claims of the non-humans¡¯ existence.¡±


    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t believe it that easily with all the damages. And besides, there is no way they would believe our denial of them to begin with.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. But the crown wants to keep this matter a secret. With the Holy Kingdom interested, they will definitely want to learn why those non-humans came here. Creatures not widely known. And it eventually leads up to you.¡±


    Fucking politics, I don¡¯t want that in my plate.


    ¡°What do you think should be done with this, princess?¡±


    Wait, you¡¯re asking me?!


    ¡°... I imagine they would contact my father first about this.¡±


    ¡°They will probably contact the king and me simultaneously.¡±


    ¡°But Father is the head of the nation.¡±


    ¡°And I am the head of the religious order. I am the representative of Wisteria when handling matters with the Holy Kingdom on things religious. They are free to contact me first if they want.¡±


    ¡°Now that is just rude.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ so if they do not contact the king first, the most that they could do is contact us at the same time. Or perhaps they¡¯re brave enough to do otherwise.¡±


    ¡°Then don¡¯t reply, coordinate with my father when they do make contact.¡±


    ¡°I suppose, if they only send a mere messenger.¡±


    ¡°But if they send a diplomat to your office, that would be troublesome...¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then don¡¯t say anything, refuse to answer. But it would be best to consult with my father about this.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    Politics is way above my paygrade. I don¡¯t do politics really, it sucks and so much of a headache to talk to politicians¡­ You know what I do to politicians? I kill them! Well, politicians were more likely targets for any missions as they have a lot of enemies, but you get what I¡¯m saying. It was nothing personal, just business.


    Heh, reminds me of that time I cleaned out an entire government body¡­ and that country fell into chaos soon after.


    Oh well. At least the pay was goooood. Billions! I mean, I too was shocked to read the contract! I mean, who the fuck just orders to kill an entire government? So bizarre.


    Then, they have finished moving all the crates.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave it at that princess. I will be speaking with your father.¡±


    ¡°He should be in his office, but he is currently meeting with someone. I¡¯m afraid you will have to wait.¡±


    ¡°That will be fine.¡±


    ¡°Want me to guide you there?¡±


    ¡°Ah, there¡¯s no need to trouble you, princess. I know my way around the palace.¡±


    ¡°I understand. Then, until next time, high bishop.¡±


    ¡°Certainly, princess.¡±


    With that, he left.


    I looked around the place, so serene. Now then, there was still some work to do, but I was not the one to work on them. The operation just finished, still cannot work on other things. And, we still didn¡¯t have the intel that we needed, and those intel were not easy to get, given the amount that we need, or rather, I ordered to get.


    Right¡­ I need to visit someone. That may be out of commission for the rest of his life because of what happened during my operation. This would do well for my PR.


    I turned to Rogan.


    ¡°I would like to visit Alzen.¡±


    ¡°Alzen? I see¡­ he should be in the barracks.¡±


    ¡°Please lead me to him.¡±


    ¡°Yes, princess.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 44: A New Associate & Some PR (Part 2)

    And thus, we headed to the knights'' barracks. It was just near the training grounds, but I had never actually been inside. I mean, it''s a place for men, so one can only imagine what the inside would be like. As for the women''s part of the barracks, I wonder if it would be nice to have a little tour.


    The men''s and women''s barracks were two different buildings, but they were just next to each other. When we arrived in the area, we were greeted by knights standing guard or doing pretty much nothing at all.


    I smiled at them and gave a gentle wave of my hand, feeling a bit like a celebrity. Wait, I technically am a celebrity, nice!


    Shortly after, we reached the men¡¯s barracks and the knights guarding it froze in shock at my arrival. I sweetly smiled at them.


    ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°P-Princess? H-How may we help you?¡±


    ¡°I heard that Alzen is here. I wish to see him.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes he is here. But¡­¡± The two guarding knights smiled wryly at each other. ¡°Our lodging is not especially presentable at the moment.¡±


    ¡°Please wait here, your highness. We¡¯ll quickly clean things up.¡±


    ¡°Ah, no need. I don¡¯t mind. I just need to check up on him.¡±


    Not like I would go anywhere else. I won¡¯t go searching for any secrets you have in there. Definitely will not be searching for any magazines of you know what ¡ª oh yeah, you don¡¯t have those, that¡¯s sad¡­


    Anyways, he¡¯s an elite knight that got irreversibly injured in my operation, it¡¯s to be expected that I¡¯ll at least check if he¡¯s doing fine. Or just show my appreciation really.


    I stepped inside.


    ¡°W-Wai¡ª¡±


    I ignored the knight and walked through the corridor with my servants tailing behind me. It was then I paused to turn to Rogan.


    ¡°Rogan, I have no idea of the layout of this building, lead the way.¡±


    ¡°Of course, sure.¡±


    He moved ahead of us and as we went, I looked around. Some of the doors were opened and some rooms were a little messy. But it was not that bad. Messy rooms were often to be expected when places consisted of different kinds of people.


    At least no one here seemed to be idling or playing around. There were no games, no one lying on beds or chairs, cheering or laughing in groups. I might have become a bit irritated if that were the case during this time of day. It would only go to show that they didn''t take their responsibilities seriously and lacked discipline or something.


    I might get the urge to kick them out of the building and make them run in circles around the city. But all¡¯s fine. It''s not like I would actually do it. I''m the princess, I wouldn''t be that cruel¡­


    A while later, Rogan stopped by a particular door.


    ¡°Here.¡±


    I entered inside and paused when I saw a familiar young man, namely Alan, sitting on a chair facing his brother. He looked quite sad ¡ª man, the guilt must be gnawing at him, huh? Surprised by my sudden arrival, he jerked up from his chair.


    ¡°Princess?!¡±


    I smiled slightly, but I didn''t feel like giving him a wide smile. He stressed me a little. I had read the reports. Don''t people ever hear the phrase ''don''t be a fucking hero''?


    They normally don¡¯t? Dammit.


    This could have been avoided if Alan hadn''t tried to force himself to fight a foe much more powerful than him. There''s nothing wrong with backing away. Retreat is always an essential aspect of war, and it could potentially bring victory tomorrow.


    Then, I turned to the man lying on the bed, his eyes wide as he beheld me. He wore long sleeves, and his left sleeve was loose.


    ¡°Your highness,¡± he muttered as he quickly removed the sheets and was about to leave the bed. But I raised my hand to stop him.


    "Please, there is no need for that," I said with a gentle smile, and he slowly returned to lying on his bed but remained sitting up.


    "Are you feeling better?" I asked.


    "I am. With healing magic, the pain is nonexistent," he replied with a bit of power in his voice.


    ¡°I am relieved to hear that¡­¡± I blatantly glanced at his missing left arm and looked away sadly. ¡°First¡­ I apologize for the sudden visit.¡±


    I stepped closer.


    ¡°No¡­ I don¡¯t mind¡­¡± he said.


    I gently nodded my head and stared into his eyes with pure intentions, slowly sitting down on his bed with a bit of obvious hesitation. Nervously, I rubbed my hands together.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Um¡­ I would like to apologize¡­ because of my operation, you were hurt terribly¡­ and¡­¡± I glanced at his missing left arm again.


    He seemed to have realized what I was intending to say and shook his head. "You have nothing to apologize for, your highness. What happened was of my choice. I did what I believed was a must in that circumstance," he said, shifting his eyes towards Alan, then back to me, now staring deep into my eyes. "Do not blame yourself, your highness."


    I smiled a little and nodded slightly. Apparently a bit embarrassed, I reached out for his hand and lightly touched it. He seemed to hold his breath as he stared at my adorably shy face.


    Then I said to him, ¡°Thank you so much for the help.¡±


    ¡°I was¡­ I was just doing my job.¡±


    ¡°Alzen, you are an honorable, brave, heroic, and brilliant knight. I pray that the gods may rain you with blessings.¡±


    ¡°If that ever happens, I know just the person to thank for that,¡± he slightly smiled back.


    I giggled. ¡°... Of all my time with the knights¡­ We have never spoken much.¡±


    Or not at all.


    ¡°... I¡­¡± He looked away. ¡°I am not worthy to speak with you, princess, without a good reason.¡±


    Compared to his usual tough and mean look, this time he appeared more vulnerable than ever before. Quite unexpected. I wasn''t planning on giving him much attention due to how much of an asshole he could be. However, this change was a welcome sight. Why did he have to act like an asshole most of the time?


    ¡°I see¡­ I am always embarrassed to talk to people I don¡¯t know. So talking to you now is quite refreshing¡­ So¡­ have some good rest, okay? Have a decent amount of sleep, to heal a bit faster.¡± I slowly stood up. ¡°... I have said my piece, so I will not disturb you any longer. Until next time, Alzen.¡±


    With a saintly smile, I bid him farewell.


    ¡°Next time¡­ princess.¡±


    As I was about to step away, there were a couple of footsteps right by the door coming our way. Then, a middle-aged man came and stood by the door, pausing when he laid his eyes on me first. He must have felt quite surprised, and he didn¡¯t seem to recognize me.


    Who¡¯s this guy?


    Obviously, I would never know who this was. But given the context and place where we were at, I have a little bit of an idea.


    ¡°Father¡­?¡± muttered Alan quite audibly.


    Yup, it¡¯s their father.


    The man glanced towards Alan with blatant disdain before going gentle when he returned to look at me.


    ¡°Mm¡­ Princess?¡± he lowered his head and placed his palm on his chest. ¡°My apologies, your highness. May our hallowed Lord and Lady bless the moment of our delightful meeting.¡±


    ¡°Count Welford. May we receive the resplendent blessing from our illustrious Lord and Lady.¡±


    ¡°I never imagined I would get to meet you here. Forgive me for my rudeness, I have only seen you when you were still a small child¡­ and it was quite brief.¡±


    ¡°That is quite fine, I understand. You¡¯re here for your children, I was just taking my leave. Please excuse me, Count.¡±


    ¡°Yes, princess.¡±


    He moved aside and allowed me and my servants to pass through. As I left, I didn¡¯t get to hear any outrage from behind me, perhaps there was a delay due to my sudden presence. But I didn¡¯t really care about their family issues. Not my business. I could only imagine how fucked Alan gonna be in the eyes of his own father.


    Well, it¡¯s not like I care.


    I didn¡¯t need to know the mess behind me but just look forward. Focus on myself. Prepare for the future. And most of all, enjoy this time of peace!


    Indeed!


    I got out of the barracks, then looked up at the beautiful sky.


    What a wonderful world~.


    Hm, I wonder when I¡¯ll get to return to my lessons.


    ***


    A tall man wearing a long brown cloak walked off the path heading away from the capital city of Wisteria. His sword gently dangled on his waist. The wind blew nicely on this bright sunny day, the sky blue and serene, a day to be lauded and celebrated.


    However, this man was feeling neither joy nor elation. He looked down on his grassy and rocky path, heart filled with sadness and grief. All after looking into the city after a massive news spread all over the region, news about a battle in the middle of the capital city.


    It was unexpected.


    He slowly made his way into a forest. When he entered into the shade, he made sure to look around and sense if there were any humans nearby. There weren¡¯t any. He found a flat rock and approached it before sitting down slowly.


    He sighed and pulled down his hood, revealing a beautiful man with a light complexion, golden hair, emerald-colored eyes, and long pointy ears.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my friends.¡±


    He recalled the group sent into the city - ones that were no longer to be found. The reason for that was obvious: the damages to the city and announced threats to the state could only be referring to the beastmen and elves stationed in the city. More than that, he had also looked into the last hideout he had known and it was destroyed. Going into the city was a bit dangerous when the chaos had just ended; he had to wait for about a week just to see. And it was saddening.


    Arnaut and the others were gone. He could not exactly say what had happened to them, but there was an announcement that all remaining culprits had been executed.


    This elf, Alruwin, was the one financing the group in the city with money that came from a particular source. It was his job to take care of them. But now they were gone and he felt a bit guilty.


    To think the humans found them¡­


    He knew they were careful, thus he could not understand how it ended up that way.


    Oryn too was likely gone.


    He sighed.


    Alruwin was one of the few who came with Oryn to the human realm, they were part of the very first expedition ¡ª one who would investigate and one who would help Oryn infiltrate the palace. Everything went well, even making Oryn¡¯s story believable by making things happen like it in the real world. It was not easy, but they did it.


    Then, the others were sent elsewhere for something else ¡ª to prepare for the future. And those who remained here in Wisteria were Alruwin, and Oryn, the latter who was in the human palace where the daughter of the Ruling Deity of Blood was hiding.


    Arnaut¡¯s group was then sent after.


    But Alruwin was to remain hidden in the shadows as a contingency. And now he, who had been away from home the longest, was all that was left in this wretched nation.


    It would be hard to tell this news back home ¡ª that all of Arnaut¡¯s team had been wiped out. What would he tell their families?


    In any case, even in grief, they had to keep moving forward.


    He pulled out a small object that fit in his palm from his shirt pocket - something that looked like a bird but was not moving.


    A puppet courier.


    He had to send a message as soon as possible to prevent any undesirable incidents.


    He poured a little mana into it, and the puppet twitched before slowly standing on both legs. Then Alruwin spoke to it.


    ¡°Arnaut and his team are gone. Do not try to make contact with them again¡­ Deliver the news to our ambassador. May their sacrifice be forever remembered in the world below.¡± he paused for a moment. ¡°It is becoming more dangerous, contact me less. Do not return this courier, I still have a spare. I will do my part starting tomorrow, Arnaut and his team¡¯s last task for me.¡±


    With that, he let the courier fly into the air. It flapped its wings, looked and moved like a normal bird, heading towards its destination.


    When it disappeared from sight, Alruwin rose and looked around once more before pulling out a pouch from his pocket - one he had received from the two elves. He clenched it tightly.


    I have found the perfect spot to spread out the dust.


    He would need to make a clearing, but that would be easily manageable.


    And once everything was ready¡­


    May this nation burn and fall to ruin.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 45: Death of a God

    It was a boring day, but yet it was peaceful. Boring is good, I tell you. There¡¯s nothing to worry about yet. And indeed, it was a joyful thing to have. To chill and to do nothing.


    Yes, I am doing nothing now but laying down on my bed even in daytime.


    After breakfast, I went straight to bed. You can imagine how surprised everyone was when I said that. It¡¯s lazy Estelia time! All by my lonesome in my room.


    Been here for hours. Unexpectedly, it was more pleasant than I thought. You know, shutting yourself in your room. Magnificent. No one would disturb you, you had nothing to worry about, no need to be concerned with work. Being alone was the best there was.


    Speak with people? Why would I do that? It¡¯s tiresome! It drains so much energy just to speak with strangers, or any person, for this matter.


    ¡°Aaaaaah¡­¡±


    I rubbed my face on my soft pillows. I hadn¡¯t felt so good in a while. I should shut myself in my room sometimes, not talk to people, in fact, maybe I¡¯ll avoid them. Yes! That sounds amazing!


    I giggled.


    ¡°Hehehehe¡­ No, wait¡­¡±


    I paused when a realization dawned on me. I was falling into a pit that I might not be able to climb back up from. Where the darkness would literally consume me and never set me free. One that would bait me with the sweetness of loneliness.


    Am I¡­


    Oh no. This couldn¡¯t be.


    Isn¡¯t this the way of an introvert??


    NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!


    I was never an introvert. Well, technically past Estelia was, but that¡¯s not the point!


    Nooooooo!


    It can¡¯t be¡­ the dark side was calling me, dragging me to join their ranks.


    Dammit, I can already hear their eerie chants of ¡®one of us, one of us, one of us!¡¯


    NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!


    I rolled around on the bed while clutching my head. There was no way I was becoming that ¡ª there was no way I was also going to become a shut-in. It might not be now, but eventually soon. I was sure of it! And I couldn¡¯t have that!


    ¡®One of us - One of us - One of us!¡¯


    I could still hear it!


    I¡¯m gonna become anti-social at this rate! Aaaagh!


    ¡ª No wait¡­ What¡¯s so bad about that? I mean, hehe, with all that¡¯s happening to me, all kinds of people have been giving me endless troubles. Because of strangers¡­


    And, and, if I just avoided people, wouldn¡¯t that mean I would avoid trouble and stress too? Yes! Without people to face, everything¡¯s peaceful!


    Running away from your troubles is not always a bad thing, you know¡­


    Yesss.


    Looks like I¡¯m staying here!


    Shut-in Estelia is back!


    I pulled my sheets and wrapped myself like a caterpillar in its cocoon. Where it would evolve into something greater, where it could finally spread its wings and flaunt its beauty for everyone to see.


    Aaaah this is the life¡­


    I was able to do nothing for a couple more hours. It was a great time, shutting myself off from society. Society is scary. It shouldn¡¯t have existed, anyway. Society degrades. Society should just go fuck itself.


    Everything was going great, but then my body began to go numb¡­


    And when I couldn¡¯t bear it anymore, ¡°Aaaah¡­.¡± I slowly got out of bed.


    Shit, I still need more training. ¡®But Estelia, doing nothing is not training.¡¯ Well, all I could say is: You wouldn¡¯t get it. Being a pure introvert requires conviction! Hard work! Doing nothing requires willpower and a powerful and trained body and mind! Thou shall need commitment and sheer fucking will. And thus the path to the end shall be revealed to thee. Wherein thou shalt be able to revel in a novel and exquisite new way of life.


    Okay no, seriously, I need some stretching. I should get out of here first. Waiting for uncle¡¯s work to progress was more boring than I thought.


    I couldn¡¯t do anything yet without that¡­ well except going on a vacation. But my parents were still working on the plan for that. They were even kind enough to delay my lessons so I could rest.


    I looked at myself in the mirror first and fixed my appearance. After I straightened everything, I smiled and winked at myself before going to the door. Outside, my servants were sitting around doing nothing, poor guys. But hey, at least you also got to do nothing!


    ¡°Milady¡­¡±


    ¡°Hello. I will take a little walk.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    They all stood up, then I added, ¡°I want to take a walk in the garden.¡±


    That should be a good place of peace. Nothing beats a view of flowers and colors.


    All of us headed to the garden, and there were no hindrances in the way. I don¡¯t know, I just had this underlying anxiety that if I went out somewhere, someone would come running my way and scream, ¡®Princess, we have a problem!¡¯ or pop out from a black fog and say, ¡®Princess of Blood. Indeed, you are alive, I doubt it no more now that I see you with my own eyes this closely.¡¯ Yeah, I still remember that crap, the one that started it all!


    I can¡¯t help it, you know, the anxiety just never leaves. That said, when I arrived at the garden entrance, it filled me with relief.


    I beheld the beautiful garden, colored with assorted flowers blooming beautifully under the sun. The wisteria spread all over and almost seemed to shine with great splendor. The air I breathed was fragrant and refreshing, almost bringing the vibe of optimism that nothing terrible was going to happen.


    ¡°The garden has become more vibrant than I remembered,¡± I said to no one in particular.


    ¡°I heard that her majesty the Queen has requested for even better care for the garden,¡± Vernon replied.


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    ¡°I see. It¡¯s good. I should come here more often.¡±


    I stepped forward, ready to be showered in the smoothly sailing petals in the wind. To add beauty to the already beautiful garden.


    However¡­


    ¡°Huh¡­?¡±


    Everything darkened. The surroundings, the once vibrant garden, the world. Like night had suddenly come. And when I said suddenly, I meant instantaneously. As if the sun had just disappeared, like someone had just shut the light switch off.


    ¡°!¡± I was not able to scream when I suddenly felt a volt coursing through my body.


    ¡°Milady!¡±


    ¡°Princess what¡¯s wrong?!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Rogan shouted.


    I was falling, unable to stay on my feet, and Rogan caught me in his arms.


    ¡°W-What¡¯s happening to her?!¡±


    I saw his worried face looking down on me.


    It was a dreadful and agonizing experience, almost as if I were being choked. My body convulsed uncontrollably, leaving me feeling vulnerable like never before. The horror of the experience was almost reminiscent of a past trauma during my education.


    I was having a¡­


    ¡°Is she having a seizure?!¡± Vernon exclaimed as he touched my cheek with a concerned face before raising his head to look towards Mera. ¡°Call for the physician, go!¡±


    Everything was so hazy, so confusing. I never thought I would feel this terrible again. It felt like my body was being torn apart.


    ¡°Agh¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t even utter a word.


    This experience, I didn¡¯t want to go through this again. But why¡­?


    ¡°What should we do, Vernon?!¡±


    ¡° ¡ª Wait for the expert.¡±


    I heard their panicked voices, and through my blurry and foggy eyes, I saw them moving around.


    My muscles felt stiff but also weak. Tired.


    Why is this happening¡­?


    It was then I noticed the sky had changed, my eyes widened in surprise and confusion. It was not only the light that vanished¡­


    The sky was missing.


    The beautiful blue sky, along with the clouds, all had disappeared, and the cosmos was clear in sight. I could see everything with no obstruction, the vast seas of colorful stars, and the ever cloudy and glimmering galaxy. The bare universe.


    Vernon seemed to have noticed the strangeness in my distant gaze and he looked up. ¡°By the gods¡­¡±


    Rogan too was puzzled by his reaction, and he followed his gaze. ¡°What the hell is going on?¡±


    It felt like something was abruptly taken away¡­ yes¡­ I don¡¯t know how I felt this way, it just felt like something was taken away from the world. An important piece. And thus, with the disappearance of that piece, the world fell in shock.


    The sudden disappearance of that important piece, a piece connected to the skies, affected the entire world.


    Rogan looked down at me, and his eyes went wide. ¡°Vernon¡­ look, her eyes.¡±


    Vernon stared at my eyes, and his breath shook. ¡°I d-don¡¯t u-understand.¡±


    I noticed that they were shaken. Almost frightened as they stared into my eyes.


    What? What do you see?


    ¡°What is this feeling¡­?¡± Vernon muttered.


    My consciousness slowly slipped away as I was still convulsing. Then I heard some voices coming my way.


    ¡°She¡¯s here!¡± it was Mera¡¯s voice.


    But it was at that moment that I fell unconscious.


    ***


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± I slowly opened my eyes. At the same time, a sharp headache came to me. Good thing it was bearable.


    The ceiling was familiar, my room.


    ¡°Estelia?¡± said a voice I have not heard in a while. ¡°You¡¯re awake,¡± he appeared in front of me.


    ¡°L-Lucious?¡±


    I certainly didn¡¯t expect to see him here, nor today. There was no announcement of his return whatsoever.


    ¡°Y-Yes, it¡¯s me,¡± he was speaking weirdly, as if perturbed while he stared at me. His eyes shifted away slightly, avoiding my direct gaze.


    I disregarded it for the moment. ¡°Since when were you back¡­?¡±


    ¡°When they rushed you to your room.¡±


    I slowly sat up from my bed, my body felt heavier than usual. Dammit, this always happens, one way or another. Just can¡¯t catch a break with this precious body of mine. After I sat up, it was then I noticed my three servants at a corner watching me. There were chairs behind them, ones that they must have used until I was awake.


    Then where did Lucious sit? Could it be at the edge of my bed?


    ¡°How long was I out of it?¡±


    ¡°About three hours.¡± answered Lucious.


    ¡°I see.¡± I turned towards the windows where the sun¡¯s light was going through. ¡°It¡¯s back? The sun.¡±


    ¡°Everything went back to normal some time after you passed out, princess.¡± Vernon stepped closer. ¡°Are you feeling better?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    That seizure, that was so fucked up. Holy shit, don¡¯t make me go through that again.


    ¡°But that aside, you mean to say that everything went back to normal? As in normal?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes¡­?¡±


    I have been noticing this, but they all seemed wary of me. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is something wrong with me?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    ¡°Tell me now.¡±


    ¡°Y-Your eyes¡­ they have not returned to normal,¡± said Rogan.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    I moved aside the sheets covering me and got out of bed, heading to the nearby mirror. And there it was, my beautiful self reflected in it. But now, my eyes were different, more ethereal. My crimson irises were still there, but now swirling as smooth as a flowing river. And amidst it all were glittering dots, or perhaps, the more precise term would be glittering stars.


    A sea of stars in colors of white, blue, and many more swirled and danced in my eyes, glimmering like what you would see when you look up at a clear starry night, gazing up at the universe in its purity. My pupils were no more but replaced with what appeared like a bright point with swirling gas ¡ª a spiraling galaxy. Almost like the cosmos was stored in my eyes.


    And it was beautiful.


    I think it¡¯s pretty cool.


    ¡°You are cautious.¡± I slowly turned to the other people in the room. ¡°Why? I don¡¯t see it as anything but beautiful.¡±


    They all looked at each other. The one to speak out was Vernon.


    ¡°We¡­ feel different. We¡­ we felt an intense power from your gaze. Almost like you are so far away¡­ so distant. But despite that distance, you are crushing our¡­¡± he paused as if thinking of a word. ¡°... our soul.¡±


    That¡¯s strange. I¡¯m not exactly exuding my mana, am I? No¡­ I¡¯m certainly not.


    ¡°Is that so¡­¡± I turned back to look into the mirror again.


    Whatever this was, one thing I¡¯m sure, it was not something a human could have.


    I closed my eyes to focus. If it¡¯s not mana I¡¯m unleashing, what was? I concentrated deeper. It wasn''t long before I felt something else, and indeed, I was emanating it. A new kind of feeling, some sort of aura perhaps.


    I opened my eyes. I didn¡¯t do this voluntarily. This was reminiscent of the time when I first channeled my mana and everything went haywire. Was it like that time again?


    Well if it¡¯s not human like for this to happen, maybe my godliness had something to do with it? I mean, just a random thought. Oh, but what if it was? Even the stupidest conspiracy theories may be right, you know.


    I sighed, another puzzle.


    Aside from that, I still felt very heavy and I am sweating a little. I touched my forehead, it was warm. Shit, am I having a fever?


    ¡°I¡¯m sick?¡±


    ¡°...Yes,¡± said Lucious. ¡°That¡¯s what the physician mentioned. You will need rest.¡±


    ¡°... Thank you everyone for watching over me. However, I request you to leave me alone for the moment.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Please.¡±


    ¡°... Very well.¡± Lucious nodded and began leaving.


    I then looked towards my servants. ¡°Tell my family I¡¯m awake. They will want to know.¡±


    And with that, they all left. I am all alone now. I slowly sat down in my chair, still facing my reflection. It would be better if there¡¯s no one here while I¡¯m trying to get rid of these weird eyes, for safety reasons.


    Now then, better figure this out before I scare away my family.


    What¡¯s the deal with this, anyway? Just pop up the moment the world fell into a crisis that most of the people here were oblivious to the reason why.


    Ah.


    I went to the windows and peeked out to look at the sky, and indeed, everything was back to normal. Good. I was just relieved that it was over. I¡¯m just concerned because in that moment, I felt a connection to the world itself¡­ except that connection was shock, a painful and terrifying one at that.


    I returned to my seat.


    I placed a hand on my eyes, covering them. I focused on the strange aura I was emanating, and I tried reining them in. It was hard to take a grasp on them, but eventually, after a moment, I managed to pull it back.


    I lowered my hand and opened my eyes to see that, thankfully, they were back to the normal, pretty crimson eyes.


    Filled with relief, I heaved a long sigh. I thought it would be as hard as the first time with mana. I guess I got more used to the magical things in this world.


    Then came knocks from the door.


    ¡°Estelia, we¡¯re coming in, okay?¡± it was my mother¡¯s voice.


    The door opened and all of my family members entered. I looked back at them and they slowly approached me.


    ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re alright, my dear.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± asked my father.


    ¡°... I have no idea.¡±


    ¡°As long as you are alright, my sister, all is good.¡± Estevan smiled.


    ¡°Even so, she still looks terrible,¡± Eleden pressed the back of his hand on my forehead. ¡°You still have a fever, you should lie down.¡±


    ¡°... Understood.¡±


    I slowly made my way to the bed and lay down, my mother drawing the sheets over me.


    Then, my father asked. ¡°Daughter, your eyes. We had a glimpse of them while you were being checked by the physician¡­ Do you know what that was?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°You had a seizure the moment the world darkened¡­ It has a connection to that, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­ maybe.¡±


    ¡°.... I see. At least your eyes are back to normal¡­¡± he slightly smiled and caressed my head. ¡°Is everything going to be alright?¡±


    ¡°... Of course, father.¡±


    ¡°Very well¡­ rest tight until the fever is gone. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°Yes, father.¡±


    I really had no idea why all that happened, but I hope it¡¯s the only time. It¡¯s just never good to tamper with the world, it affects me as well.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 46: Find A Friend

    I was sick for three days, three fucking days. I have never been that sick! Sickness rarely infects me back in my old world, after all the needles they stuck me with. I heard they were vaccines to numerous kinds of diseases, mostly the common ones, even the rare ones.


    More than that, they also injected us with medicines that allow our bodies to fight off fatal viruses, even AIDS. They even have medicines that strengthen our immune systems, modify them to fight off cancer. And thus, we were safer from cancer than any normal humans. True, I may get a little sick, but that would only last for at most a day, and I wouldn¡¯t feel too bad like to the point where I¡¯m trembling in the cold despite being covered with a couple layers of sheets already.


    They also possessed cures if we may need it. We were valuable, but then again, they were willing to dispose of us if we were no longer useful. I guess that just went to say how wealthy the organization was. How willing they were to just throw away any valuables.


    Of course, I didn¡¯t carry the strength of my immune systems here in this new world. However, my fever this time didn¡¯t seem normal given that it suddenly appeared after I fell into a seizure and got knocked out. My body¡¯s weird.


    But hey~ at least I¡¯m alive!


    All¡¯s good!


    By the time I joined my family for breakfast, they couldn¡¯t have felt more relieved. And the food was back to their good old flavor, they didn¡¯t taste well while I was sick. As for who were the ones that helped me and fed me while I was bedridden, well it was my sweet mother.


    I quite enjoyed her company. The way her soothing voice comforted me while I was shaking in the unreasonable coldness, the easy she caressed my head, and the way she fed me. Aaaah, almost felt like the first time someone did something so sweet to me.


    Right now, I was in one of the guest rooms. We couldn¡¯t use my study room after I just wrecked the place ¡ª the repairs were already underway and it would take some time before I could use it again. Second time I destroyed a room¡­ oops. What a cute troublemaker I am!


    That aside, I was with my servants as usual, but there was an addition of Lucious who wished to speak with me. Nothing too serious, just casual stuff.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t get to visit the funeral¡­ or any of the royal family,¡± I said to him.


    ¡°We were baffled as to why the royal family did not come to my uncle¡¯s burial. But then we heard of what happened in the city, and we understood that it would be dangerous for the royals to leave the safety of the palace.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it would be too dangerous for us all, considering the apparent power our enemies could unleash.¡±


    He lowered his gaze. ¡°Do you think they have something to do with the death of my uncle? They killed him, didn¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°... Maybe¡­ But it could be likely.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    I internally sighed. What am I to do with you, Lucious? What I said that time, after our¡­ date¡­ if only I could take it back. But, thinking and imagining it was hard to do. I¡¯m hesitant to say anything¡­ we will never be destined together¡­ never, after what I had done¡­


    What a headache. Since when have I been so troubled by how someone else feels about it? It¡¯s so bothersome. I didn¡¯t know what I should do. I wanted to get out of here¡­ but I couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°Are you faring better, Lucious?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ At least I think so. I will never be able to remove my uncle¡¯s death from my mind anytime soon. But I¡¯m doing better.¡±


    ¡°Good, I¡¯m relieved to hear that.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your concern¡­¡± he smiled. ¡°... How about you, Estelia? I heard about what happened to your study room.¡±


    I wryly smiled. ¡°It was just an accident, there¡¯s no need to think too hard about that.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Very well¡­ What are you planning on doing from now on? I mean, it should be safer now. Any plans?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I think I may be socializing very soon.¡±


    ¡°Woah, that¡¯s amazing! It will be your first time, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯m sure it will be a bit hard, but I¡¯m sure you can handle it.¡±


    ¡°I am a bit nervous,¡± I smiled slightly. ¡°But I¡¯m also a bit excited. I never met many people, so I hope I can acquaint myself with other aristocrats.¡±


    ¡°I assume that you will be socializing first with the ladies?¡±


    ¡°Yes. That may be what my parents are intending first. All in all, I think I may be meeting with people around my age.¡±


    ¡°Mm¡­ Indeed¡­¡± then he murmured. ¡°Also other men¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± he chuckled. ¡°Be careful, okay? Just don¡¯t get overwhelmed.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, of course. I can do that¡­ I think. Besides, I think Mizia will be there with me at all times.¡±


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Mizia, huh. Then I¡¯m sure it¡¯s all going to be alright.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Then there was silence. We looked at each other¡¯s eyes and I first averted. It¡¯s a little awkward. Anyone, help!


    Lucious audibly cleared his throat. ¡°There have been papers piling up in Eleden¡¯s office. Apparently, we are to run an analysis. Do you know what that is for?¡±


    ¡°Oh that¡­ Well, it¡¯s very important. You may need to expect a tremendous amount of work in the coming days.¡±


    I¡¯m sure you will start grinding your head as you read all those records, and some others coming as well.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s a frightening thought. I can only hope there¡¯s no deadline.¡±


    ¡°I imagine you¡¯ll have a week.¡±


    ¡®Cause that¡¯s the maximum I¡¯m gonna give you guys. So good luck! Kidding! I have not made a final decision on that part yet.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Well, depending on the job, I may get some confidence that I can do an excellent job.¡±


    He stared into my eyes, full of smiles, and they gazed brightly with adoration and love.


    ¡°Your help will be greatly appreciated.¡±


    How am I gonna tell him to stop this kind of thing, to tell him to just remove that feeling he had for me? This truly was one of the most difficult things I have to think about, which was quite baffling. He had loved me ever since we were young, and telling him that there will be no hope, that there just can¡¯t be anything between us, because of what I have done, would be devastating for him.


    And¡­ He just lost his uncle, one he appeared to have loved dearly. Breaking his heart, and adding to it the grief, he would fall into depression. I was his bright sun that lit his dark days. In the past, I wouldn¡¯t have minded destroying one¡¯s heart, but to Lucious¡­


    Idiot Estelia¡­


    Knocks rang out from the door¡­ Wew, I was saved from my turmoil. Vernon went and checked who it was.


    ¡°Your highness, it¡¯s Marquis Teristro.¡±


    Just in time. Although it was bitter to think that I was saved by him, I just have to take it.


    ¡°It seems your visitor has arrived, Estelia,¡± said Lucious as he stood up. ¡°I enjoyed our time together. Until next time.¡±


    ¡°See you, Lucious,¡± I gave him a smile as I watched him leave, and when my uncle entered, the corner of my lips drooped.


    ¡°Hello, niece.¡±


    ¡°Uncle.¡±


    He sat down opposite me, smiling, ignorant of my unwelcoming demeanor. Or perhaps he just deliberately ignored it. ¡°I have come to make my report.¡±


    ¡°Yes. And how was it? Let¡¯s start with the market.¡±


    He subtly chuckled. ¡°Your orders on that part is not easy. Three years of transactional and logistic records? Hard to come by. Good thing our main targets, the largest merchant companies, keep tabs on things.¡±


    ¡°Of course, have to prevent sudden loss of inventory. Without it, well, you won¡¯t even realize your business is already dying. In any case, uncle, let¡¯s please get straight to the point.¡±


    If the case would have been otherwise, I might have resorted to other means.


    ¡°The merchants were, of course, reluctant. But as per the decree of the crown, we got to borrow their papers without much resistance. But the amount to obtain and in keeping them protected will prove quite the challenge. Still, we¡¯ll manage.¡±


    ¡°When will you finish with all of it?¡±


    ¡°I expect we¡¯ll have all we need in three days and have it delivered here in the palace.¡±


    ¡°Splendid, and the people that will process all those records?¡±


    ¡°I think the king¡¯s scribes will suffice.¡±


    ¡°I suppose. Make sure to use charts, okay? Don¡¯t give me pure numbers, present it in a good and presentable display. Good visualizations.¡±


    ¡°.... Hmph¡­ Very well. But you ought to tell that to those that will actually be working with those records.¡±


    ¡°Of course. And, the research about the merchants?¡±


    ¡°I think we have enough.¡±


    ¡°Alright, send me the full reports as soon as you can. I would like to read them.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll compile them.¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡­ And oh, we have a slight change of plans.¡±


    ¡°Which part?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t do anything to the merchants until we have checked the records. We won¡¯t be robbing them of their power if we discover something unwanted.¡±


    ¡°What do you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still cooking, but once it¡¯s ready to be served, it will nourish and fill our bellies once we need to eat.¡±


    ¡°Please stop speaking in metaphors, Estelia.¡±


    I shrugged my shoulders. ¡°What about the matter of the nobles, is everything ready?¡±


    ¡°I just finished picking the men we can trust. We¡¯re waiting for your go.¡±


    ¡°Good, good. I suppose that is all for now. Ah, maybe you have found spies of the empire in our soil?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, no. But we¡¯re still trying, the struggle is the number of men we have and can allocate on that task. With the plans you have us do, we¡¯re running thin. Please consider our resources in the future.¡±


    Shit, fucking resources. Don¡¯t you just wish you could have unlimited everything?


    ¡°Alright, I will bear that in mind more in the future. I suppose training agents take a lot of time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you understand.¡±


    ¡°If you need more resources, feel free to ask my father. He¡¯ll be more than willing to provide you with what you need.¡±


    He nodded and stared deeply into my eyes. ¡°... You¡¯re a bit different from before.¡±


    ¡°W-What¡­?¡±


    ¡°Ever since the time you destroyed your study room, it¡¯s almost as if something hidden has unveiled itself ever so slightly.¡±


    ¡°Please stop talking nonsense, uncle.¡±


    I didn¡¯t destroy it, by the way.


    ¡°You fell into a fit of rage¡­ It was a shame that I didn¡¯t get to see you unrestrained. I would have had a glimpse of who you truly are.¡±


    Well fuck you too, uncle!


    ¡°You are overthinking things, uncle. People act differently when they are angry. There is no such thing as who I truly am.¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°Of course¡­ But how were you so enraged to that degree?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°You are bottling your feelings, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°As your uncle, I can give you some advice. I¡¯m pretty good at helping people with mental distress. Or so I would like to believe.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡±


    ¡°You can trust me. You know that, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°You like to keep things to yourself, hiding all your true feelings, sentiments deep inside you. Preventing people to take a glimpse of what is inside your heart.¡±


    What the fuck? Are you my therapist or something?


    He then continued, ¡°You can always express your feelings to your family. Even little things.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡±


    ¡°I know it is embarrassing to be open to one¡¯s parents.¡±


    W-Why would I tell my feelings to my parents? Do I just approach them and say ¡®hey, I have something to share¡¯? Be open? N-No way¡­ no¡­ that thought¡­ It''s too awkward!


    I looked away.


    But my uncle smiled and shook his head. ¡°Heh¡­ If that¡¯s the case¡­ find a friend.¡±


    ¡°A friend¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yes, a friend that you feel comfortable sharing your feelings with. Do you have friends like that?¡±


    ¡°... I have friends¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Mizia¡­¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s your cousin, that does not count.¡±


    What?!


    ¡°... Then¡­ Lucious¡­¡±


    ¡°In the past I would have counted that¡­ but now, are you even friends in the truest sense now? He¡¯s courting you, and would you be open to sharing your sentiments with him?¡±


    No¡­ Now that I think about it¡­ I don¡¯t even consider him as a friend¡­ Just a friend of the past, pure Estelia. I mean, friends?


    Why would I be friends with outsiders?


    ¡°You cannot think of anyone else?¡±


    ¡°...¡± I lowered my gaze.


    ¡°I see¡­ Then, my advice for you, Estelia¡­ find a friend.¡±


    I furrowed my brows. ¡°You are free to leave, uncle.¡±


    He grinned, but not before chuckling. ¡°Hehe. I¡¯ll be taking my leave then. Goodbye, my niece.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 47: Bookworm Estelia & Socializing Plans

    Aaaah, books, lots of books, shelves of books. Objects of knowledge where one can learn about lots of things ¡ª histories, math, science, and also read stories. Stories where someone got transported to a place where animals talk ¡ª okay, I should say, I first expected that would be Earth exclusive type of thing, but it would not! ¡ª or stories of where the power of friendship wins against the face of evil!


    But that¡¯s also a place where bullshits may be learned! Especially the latter example I gave! Power is power! I mean come on, power of friendship? That¡¯s like pulling shit out of your own ass, literally. But I guess fairy tales were fairy tales for a reason.


    Now why am I so stuck up on books at the moment? That¡¯s because I¡¯m in the library. A place of knowledge, something something. As there was no source of entertainment here like a TV, I guess once everything¡¯s over and settled down, as the pure and introverted princess, I¡¯ll be reading books most of the time. Old me wouldn¡¯t have, but I have changed!


    Indeed! I¡¯m gonna be a bookworm! This gonna be the ascendance of the bookworm named Estelia!


    I mean, I think it would be a good hobby to have. I think I¡¯ll be more intrigued by stories than books that have something to do with academics. Imagine me reading a book about quantum physics.


    Stories are good, as long as they don¡¯t suck.


    Oh well, seeing that I¡¯m gonna be a bookworm at the end of life¡¯s arduous journey, might as well slowly start my ascendance!


    Of course I made my way to the fiction section first. Fuck learning.


    I looked at the books, searching for one that may be to my fancy. That said, I really did not know what I was searching for. I read a few stories back in the old world, classic fantasies, sci-fi, supernatural, but that was all. I did it because of curiosity. I was never deeply invested, just had some interest.


    But I digress, I still need to find a book to read. I checked one up and skimmed. Huh, this one¡¯s about enemies turned friends. Oomf, gonna make me vomit. This was like the trope where the bully became friends with the protagonist after the latter saved him. I think that¡¯s superficial and forced.


    I mean, if someone bullies you, don¡¯t you normally have some sort of trauma within you? Or perhaps carry some grudges or hatred, resentment. I would certainly feel that way, and I would never want something to do with my bully. Fuck that.


    Or in this case, in this story, just two enemies of different factions. Come on, just kill the other and save everyone the trouble. Spare me the enemies to best friends bullshit.


    You enemies? Then kill.


    ¡®But Estelia, aren¡¯t you just being callous?¡¯ Me? Noooooo.


    With a slightly disgusted face, I inserted the small book back into the shelf.


    Great, now I just had to look through¡­ um, hundreds of books just to find something interesting. No biggie. If I¡¯m gonna grow another kind of hobby, need to give it my best effort.


    As I was intensely staring at the books, looking for something interesting, I heard footsteps coming towards me. I turned to see a familiar face, a woman.


    ¡°Princess¡­ are you searching for something? How may I help?¡±


    The woman was wearing somewhat thick clothes and barely any skin exposed, like how one would dress during winter. It was not exactly winter yet, but if I recall correctly, it should be soon. Snowy snow! And soon after winter, my birthday! Or maybe winter may hit my birthday, can¡¯t be sure, it happened a few times in the past. I¡¯m ignorant about how seasons work in this world.


    In any case, it¡¯s mostly spring during my birthday. A beautiful flower blooming in its new colorful form comes the new season of rejuvenating nature.


    With that in mind, it should be autumn now. Haven¡¯t really checked, but I think trees were starting to feel it. And the temperature has been dropping slightly for a while now, just a little though, and it might just be me. Once winter comes, I don¡¯t think I can do many activities outside¡­


    ¡°Soliya,¡± I said the woman¡¯s name with a small smile. ¡°Yes¡­ I am searching for something to read.¡±


    I know the both of us started at a rough spot last time, but let¡¯s pretend it never happened.


    ¡°What sort of stories are you looking for?¡±


    I adorably placed my index finger on my cheek as I pondered.


    Hm, what do I want?


    ¡°What about stories of adventure?¡±


    ¡°Adventure?¡±


    ¡°The sort of where they find themselves in different kinds of locations, where every place is different, unique. Where the main characters chat and laugh by the campfire, basically they get along very well. Or any kind of adventure stories where all kinds of places are shown.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ adventures.¡±


    She approached a shelf and briefly searched through the books before pulling one out. After getting a small glimpse of the cover, she presented it to me.


    ¡°You may try this, your highness. A tale of a small group of adventurers that found themselves in an underground city. But of course, there is more to the place than just a mere simple city.¡±


    I received the book with a smile. ¡°Then I will try it.¡±


    With no more words to say, I left her while carrying the book in my arms. Bearing in mind our last encounter, well, it was a bit awkward. Best to keep our meeting short.


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    I arrived at the lobby. By the table that I¡¯ll be using to study, sat my three servants. There¡¯s really no point in bringing them to my browsing for books.


    As I approached to sit down by the table, Rogan asked me with a playful smile. ¡°So, princess? What you got there?¡±


    ¡°Apparently, a story about adventure.¡±


    ¡°Wow, that seems nice.¡±


    ¡°I hope you get to finish it the whole way, your highness¡­ not just stop at page ten.¡±


    I furrowed my brows towards Vernon who just made that rude comment¡­ What''s he trying to say? That I can¡¯t bear to read books at all? I¡¯ll show him!


    Now my legs have relaxed after finally sitting down, I opened the book and began reading the first page.


    It started with basically getting a sense of the character of the¡­ um, characters. There¡¯s a swordsman, a mage, an archer, and¡­ another mage? Huh, the last other mage could cast healing magic, probably to focus more on supporting the crew. In any case, I think they¡¯re nice.


    So bla bla bla happened and suddenly they fell into a hole, like how Alice got into wonderland¡­ They found themselves in a place full of wonders. Wonders not stemming from beauty, but there were a few of that to be seen in where they ended up. It¡¯s the wonder of how a city of this scale gets to exist here.


    A city made of stone hidden miles deep into the ground, standing in a dome that was also for like a mile high. Wait, how the hell did they survive a fall that high?! Fucking fiction stories.


    At any rate, the group went round and round to discover humans being enslaved by monsters. After that, some some happened. I¡¯m like twelve pages in and I was getting some sort of urge to look away and get distracted. I didn¡¯t know why, I didn¡¯t mind reading, but sometimes knowing how long novels were and well, when things were this casual, my attention ends up somewhere. Don¡¯t know why.


    Even so! If I was going to be a bookworm, I¡¯m gonna finish this all the way to the end!!


    And then some time passed, around fifty pages in, now I¡¯m looking through the large windows.


    Oh look, a bird!


    ¡°See, your highness? You¡¯re getting distracted already.¡±


    Don¡¯t give me that snarky comment, Vernon!


    ¡°At least I reached like fifty pages rather than ten as you said, hmph!¡±


    I dramatically looked away from the three of them with an exaggerated pout. Everything takes time! Even trying to become a bookworm that just casually consumes books. Books of hundreds of pages¡­ Aaaaaah.


    Rogan, on the other hand, merely laughed at me. How rude!


    It was then at that moment that someone approached us, the person I have been waiting for.


    I turned towards her with a wide smile. ¡°Mother!¡±


    She was the reason I came here to the library in the first place. We were to discuss the socializing plans that I will be going through, which was apparently essential considering that I will be getting my debut on my next birthday, my transition to adulthood!


    ¡°I see you have a book. The cover is familiar. What is it about again?¡± she asked as she sat down beside me.


    Meanwhile, my servants left to give the both of us some privacy.


    With a bit of excitement talking with my mother about casual stuff like this, I gave her the gist of the book. ¡°It¡¯s about a group of adventurers that fell into a deep hole and ended up in a strange place, almost like another world.¡±


    Hm, yes, it does seem like they fell into another world. That concept sounded almost familiar, I wonder who else suddenly ended up in another world¡­ oh wait¡­


    ¡°Ah, yes. I think I remember that now, a little. It has been a while since I last read it. So, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s alright. I¡¯m still at around a third of the book anyway, so I can¡¯t still make up my mind. And for now, I¡¯m resting.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± when she said that, she suddenly pinched my cheek.


    ¡°Ow¡­¡±


    ¡°Now you¡¯re that far, I would like it if you finish the book in its entirety.¡±


    The entirety?!


    Wait, that aside, was pinching my cheek really necessary?


    ¡°... I, I¡¯ll try¡­¡±


    My mother giggled before changing the topic. ¡°Now then, let¡¯s talk about your socializing.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡±


    ¡°As it would truly be your first time talking with a group of young ladies such as yourself, you will need to start small.¡±


    Indeed, I have never talked to any ladies around my age except for my cousin. In short, I didn¡¯t have a social circle, or friend circle? Now what¡¯s the difference? Politics and legit friendship. Not like I would take the latter to heart. Guess I¡¯m just gonna find some acquaintances.


    ¡°Therefore, you will meet with the daughters of the capital nobles first. You have plenty you can meet, so you will be fine.¡±


    I meekly nodded. ¡°May I know their names before I meet them?¡±


    ¡°Certainly, I will send you a list. Would you like to know their personalities as well?¡±


    ¡°That would be good¡­¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± she observed me while I was looking seemingly nervous. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about, my dear. You are the princess, they will treat you right. If you¡¯re going to be nervous the time you meet them, just take in deep breaths¡­ you may even consult with your cousin, Mizia.¡±


    Guess I¡¯ll be relying on my sweet cousin for most of the time.


    ¡°Speaking of Mizia,¡± my mother continued. ¡°I have yet to speak of this matter to her father, but if he comes back, I¡¯ll be sure to tell him. Mizia I expect should be willing to help you.¡±


    ¡°... I hope she will.¡±


    ¡°Still, where do you want the socializing to take place, Estelia?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a preference¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ Leodoule mentioned that he wants you to take a break. So what about you also going for a little vacation in Mizia¡¯s home? That could be a good way of forgetting all the stressful things in the palace.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°That is a great idea.¡±


    ¡°Then, we¡¯ll have socializing held in your cousin¡¯s home. That way, she¡¯ll always be by your side to assist you.¡±


    Agreed.


    ¡°There will be preparations needed for your departures, as I expect you will not only be there for a day. Not only daily necessities, but you will also need guards.¡±


    ¡°But I already have my servants.¡±


    ¡°For your person, yes. But for the place, we need it. Knights will be deployed for your safety.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Also, we might need to check the guests thoroughly. Especially considering the reason you want to enact the plan for the kingdom¡¯s aristocrats.¡±


    Yes, that. My mother knew about that now. It¡¯s not surprising that she was being wary of the nobles that may come close to me.


    ¡°I understand. Do what you believe is necessary, mother.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­ now then as for when¡­ When will you start with this? Next week?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ I still have other things to finish before taking¡­ a break.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± My mother seemed sad. ¡°Then when exactly do you expect things to be done?¡±


    ¡°Give me a month at most.¡±


    ¡°A¡­ month? That¡¯s unexpectedly a long time, dear. Just¡­ how much do you need to finish?¡±


    ¡°Plenty¡­ but when they are done, I should have time for myself going forward.¡±


    She extended her hand and caressed my cheek softly. ¡°Don¡¯t overwork yourself, okay?¡±


    ¡°Yes, mother.¡±


    ¡°Good. If you do otherwise, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have you read a couple of books a day.¡±


    I pouted. Two books a day, even that would be too much for someone like me.


    Suddenly, Rogan chimed in. ¡°Pardon me, princess. A messenger from Marquis Teristro wants to speak with you.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Rogan beckoned for the messenger to approach.


    ¡°Greetings, my Queen, and Princess. I bear a message from Marquis Teristro for Princess Estelia.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The documents that you requested,¡± he said in a low voice. ¡°The first batch will be arriving in an hour. The Marquis requests preparations for its arrival.¡±


    ¡°Understood. But the first batch?¡±


    ¡°The rest are still being sorted.¡±


    ¡°How many documents are there?¡±


    ¡°Multiple suitcases.¡±


    Well fuck.


    And that¡¯s still the first batch. Good thing I wouldn¡¯t be the one that would be processing those.


    ¡°How many batches will there be?¡±


    ¡°We expect it to be only two or three.¡±


    ¡°Alright, noted. I will let Father know. You may go.¡±


    As the messenger left, I turned to face my mother. ¡°It would appear I need to go, mother. I¡¯ll see you later at lunch.¡±


    ¡°What about you let me help when those documents arrive? I am quite good at those things.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s alright with you. But there will be a ton of them to work through.¡±


    ¡°Surely it will be manageable.¡±


    ¡°... Very well¡­ I¡¯ll call for you when the first batch is set up.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 48: Records & Pausing My Training

    I was sitting down in a chair at a corner by the palace entrance to wait for the arrival of the packages. With me of course were my three servants, but additional were the normal palace servants waiting with us. As lax as I am, I need only do nothing and let other people do the work.


    Letting people do the work for you surely was the best. But I guess that sort of thing would be expected, setting aside the fact that I¡¯m the princess, I was also a delicate lady. Surely you can¡¯t expect someone like me to carry heavy and messy stuff. Oh my¡­


    Let¡¯s leave them to the ones with muscles.


    We waited for a few more minutes until someone from the outside came to announce the arrival of the Marquis and his entourage of circus clowns ¡ª I¡¯m kidding, just my uncle and his men.


    The palace servants got out first followed by me, the sun touched my skin. Ugh, now I prefer to be stuck in my room rather than this, the sun¡¯s too bright for a shut-in like me. Yes, I¡¯m a shut-in now.


    A couple of carriages pulled up in front of the entrance. My uncle emerged from the frontmost carriage wearing an annoying grin on his face. You know, I never really thought anything about my uncle, also counting before I came to this world. However, when he started acting all weird, yeah, sometimes he just ticked me, you know.


    In any case, we¡¯re gonna be working together, so I had to bear with him. I just have to not give him too much attention and brain power.


    ¡°Hello, niece. I have the first batch.¡±


    ¡°Hi, uncle. I am pleased that you finally accomplished that part of the plan.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I pity those that¡¯s going to be working on that pile.¡±


    He faced the palace servants and used his hand to indicate that they¡¯re free to get the suitcases from the carriages. When I saw the big suitcases being pulled out of the carriages, I couldn¡¯t help but widen my eyes.


    Wow, just how many sheets are in those?


    Getting a hold of those must never have been easy.


    ¡°A lot, huh?¡± said my uncle. ¡°Three years, everyday records, you ought to at least give me more credit for getting my hands on them.¡±


    ¡°Hm. How did the market react to your demands?¡±


    ¡°Not well. We have to promise to some of them that we would return the records. So, we have to sort them by company. As for sorting by date, we only had gotten less than halfway, given that you were in such a rush.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll leave that to the scribes.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t overwork them, please.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not cruel, uncle. Of course they would get at least six to eight hours of sleep.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, you do know your presence will be needed during the compilation of information, right?¡±


    He heaved a retired sigh. ¡°I expected a little that this would happen¡­¡±


    ¡°As the head of intelligence, your insight will be helpful.¡±


    ¡°And will you be assisting, Estelia?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to the experts.¡±


    ¡°Guess it can¡¯t be helped. I would hope you at least check up on us.¡±


    ¡°I will occasionally.¡±


    Outside of the occasional, I would be doing nothing much! Except of course improving my abilities. Must always go upwards, no stagnation.


    ¡°Although, thinking about it, it will be hard for me to be always present.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Come now, Estelia. You gave me a lot of tasks, remember?¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ Then I won¡¯t force you. You may visit whenever you have the time.¡±


    ¡°I hope I¡¯ll have plenty of free time¡­¡±


    With the carriages empty, along with my uncle we followed the servants to the room that we would be using to process all of that stuff. Oh, did I say we? I meant them, hehe.


    Considering the volume of documents that they¡¯ll be going through, it was decided beforehand that one of the rooms in the library would be used. Thinking back, it was beside the same room that my mother used to research about the far history of Wisteria.


    Not only was the room sizable enough to contain the documents and the workers, it should also be more secure. At first we thought of using my father¡¯s office, but we expected we would need more space to work more freely. And we wouldn¡¯t want to always bother him.


    It didn¡¯t take long before we reached the room and the servants immediately started placing the documents on the table as ordered.


    ¡°So, what should we do, niece? Wait for the rest to arrive?¡±


    ¡°No, that would be a waste of time. Start sorting everything out first, from oldest records to the newest, differentiated by company.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°My father should be coming shortly with the scribes.¡± I faced Vernon. ¡°Watch them until my father arrives. I¡¯ll be speaking with my uncle for a moment.¡±


    I indicated for my uncle to follow.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± he asked.


    We sat down on the chairs by one of the tables in the library lobby.


    ¡°How¡¯s the progress on the background checks of the nobles of our kingdom?¡±


    ¡°Background checks were easy, but going into their present business, hidden or not, not easy to keep it subtle.¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°We may need more time¡­¡±


    ¡°.... Nothing we can do then.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just send in the agents soon?¡±


    ¡°Do you have enough agents we can trust to do that?¡±


    ¡°... Unfortunately not yet, but it shouldn¡¯t take long. I¡¯m also recalling agents assigned anywhere else in the kingdom, we will have enough numbers in the next couple of weeks.¡±


    ¡°That is good. But ultimately, I want information. I don¡¯t want to go in blind without knowing anything about our nobles, especially in the remote regions. We need to at least know who they are¡­¡±


    ¡°... It¡¯s your plan. But can we really track down who¡¯s working with the enemy this way?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not really the main objective. It¡¯s to find out who will be the most loyal, and also¡­ well, hold them back from doing something damaging to our kingdom.¡±


    ¡°And those we find suspicious?¡±


    ¡°... We¡¯ll cross that bridge when the time comes. Oh, how¡¯s the investigation about Marquis Vekena¡¯s death going? Any news?¡±


    ¡°Nothing much. But from his wife, we knew a few of the times when the Marquis left in the middle of the night. And there have been a couple of witnesses seeing unknown men walking down the road not far from where the Marquis died.¡±


    ¡°And those unknown men happen to appear the same night Marquis Vekenas left?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Have you tracked them down?¡±


    ¡°We only know they appeared a few times, but we have no idea where they went.¡±


    ¡°... I see.¡±


    ¡°We have been thinking that the Marquis is involved in something¡­ unwanted.¡±


    ¡°Such as?¡±


    ¡°Unknown men? Something not good¡­ Could be something that goes against the kingdom¡¯s interests.¡±


    ¡°Mm¡­ keep investigating these strangers. But prioritize nobles that may betray our nation in times of¡­ direness.¡±


    ¡°Right. But, if the Marquis would ever be found as a traitor¡­ what would we do with his family?¡±


    ¡°That is a problem for another day. Still, his family would have nothing to do with it.¡±


    ¡°... We¡¯ll see¡­ Your father has arrived.¡±


    I turned around to see my father with the rest of the scribes, beside him was my mother, smiling so pleasantly. My brother Eleden and his assistant Lucious were also with them. As for Estevan, come on¡­ can¡¯t expect him to show up in a place full of papers.


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    I greeted all of them while standing up, then my father faced my uncle.


    ¡°Meril¡­ Is everything good?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ Well, your daughter just added another job to my pile. Please tell her to take it easy on me.¡±


    I faced him with a frown, but he merely smirked at me. He really gonna start complaining straight to the head boss?


    ¡°I¡¯ll try telling her that. But as she had already given it to you, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do anything about that.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­¡± Uncle Meril turned to look at me again and smiled.


    ¡°... Father, you ought to check the papers that arrived.¡± I said, ignoring my uncle.


    ¡°Yes¡­ I¡¯ll get right on it.¡±


    ¡°Uncle, please assist my father, in case he has any inquiry.¡±


    ¡°Right, right.¡±


    As for me, I¡¯ll hang back and wait until they have started, and I¡¯ll take a closer look at things.


    ¡°I will be outside to practice my magic.¡±


    ***


    It had been a peaceful few days, what a time to be alive. To think I have fewer things to worry about, aside from a potential war with a big empire, but let¡¯s not think about the negative things, shall we? At the moment, I was outside the palace, the usual spot with a tree where I train for more dangerous things.


    A place where I cannot be disturbed, where it was only me and my all reliable servants. This was a nice place where it would be safe if my magic goes wrong. And oh, it often goes wrong.


    Holy shit it¡¯s cold!


    Yup, I kinda fucked up it up already. Dammit!


    Why is it so hard to make small snow that follows my whims? And not unleash a flood of cold whiteness. Like a true blizzard.


    But nooo, all I spawned were piles of condensed snow!


    ¡°Princess! Are you alright?!¡± Rogan shouted from somewhere within this snowy plane.


    Yeah, he was caught up in it, and I sort of accidentally blew him away with my snow. And now, along with this fog, wind, and piles of snow, he lost me and I lost him. I couldn¡¯t control this spell perfectly and I was even caught in the intense cold.


    Looks like winter came in early, hehe.


    What was I trying to do exactly? Basically control the wind, the fog, the snow, and well, mix in some sharp shards of ice within the storm in a specific spot ¡ª and also move them around. But apparently, it was easier said than done.


    Now, for where was I exactly? Buried in snow, with my head only poking out. It was quite comfy to be honest. My dress was not wet either, considering that this was merely my magic ¡ª but I¡¯m planning to make them real snow when I get more used to it.


    The fog disappeared and everything became clear, the wind normalized and what remained was the snow that piled up in the once greeny area.


    ¡°Milady, we¡¯ll remove the snow!¡±


    No Mera, no need for that, it¡¯s actually pretty chill here.


    While Mera was about to start digging through the snow along with Rogan who just pushed himself through it all, Vernon stepped forward and looked around.


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing you are able to manage something like this.¡±


    Everything around us was covered in snow, almost like winter only fell here where I was. It would seem I was too precious for the world that it gave one of its beautiful seasons to grace me first before everywhere and everyone else.


    Then he continued, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be able to remove these snows, your highness?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still working on that!¡±


    I still needed to make myself appropriate, who knows how messed up my dress underneath the snow. Don¡¯t want any indecency~. I cast some wind from my hands and feet to gently push away the snow enclosing me. When I finally got a bit of room, I pulled down my dress and fixed myself up.


    With that done, with the power of the mind, all the snow in my surroundings vanished into thin air, as if they were never there in the first place. Yeah, I prefer real snow. Gonna need a lot of work, and I think I have to cause more colds with magic.


    But patience, we¡¯ll get there, at least I can cause some snow in some way.


    ¡°Wew,¡± Rogan sighed as he looked at me closely. ¡°At least you¡¯re not injured.¡±


    ¡°Still, it¡¯s nothing a little healing magic can heal.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°What happened? I thought everything was going well. And, I have to say, the power right there was impressively strong.¡±


    ¡°What about you Sir Rogan? Are you hurt?¡± I asked him, face filled with concern. He, after all, got the brunt of all of it.


    ¡°Me? No, I¡¯m completely fine. They were just a bunch of snow, anyway.¡±


    ¡°Good, that¡¯s good¡­ Alright then I will need to rest.¡±


    I feel a bit dizzy already.


    Hm, is it just me or it¡¯s getting a little worse?


    Maybe I should minimize using my magic for a while. My tolerance for using magic has been shortening lately, and thinking back, I have been using my magic more frequently and more intensely lately. The magic must be tearing through my body, like a wound, and like it, I may need to rest for a while and let it heal.


    Unless of course it forever stays this way. Fuck.


    I walked towards the tree and slowly sat down on the green grass.


    What would be the best course of action here? Rest and take the chance that I would get better? But that meant pausing my training, resulting in the stagnancy of my skills. But if I kept going, I fear that the amount of mana I can spend at a time would decrease. I may get knocked out more easily.


    Hm, my skills have been decent lately, so I guess it¡¯s fine to take it easy for the time being. And, considering I would be having my vacation, I guess it just fits to pause training too.


    I suppressed the urge to sigh in exasperation. Why was magic making it so hard to progress? Or rather, specifically my body. Wasn¡¯t I supposed to be special or something? Ugh, whatever, I guess that¡¯s just how it is.


    ¡°I¡­ I will be stopping my training for now.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    My servants stared at me in confusion.


    I then continued. ¡°... My body cannot seem to bear using magic as much as before.¡±


    ¡°Why, princess? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Vernon asked as he crouched in front of me. ¡°Should your parents know about this?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need. Besides, no one can do anything about it. And, it has always been this way. Have you forgotten?¡±


    ¡°If you mean your suffering because of mana, that was different. You were not in control. But in this case, you are in control, and your body is still being strained¡­ that is a cause for utter concern.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m working on it and trying to figure it out. But resting is the best answer¡­¡±


    ¡°This is just like in the city, isn¡¯t it? After the fight with the beastman and the elf, you sat down on the street floor and closed your eyes¡­¡±


    ¡°... Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°... I never heard of something like this, where even when mana is controlled, the body still weakens after use, despite having plenty of mana left.¡±


    ¡°I suppose I am built different.¡±


    ¡°... Then you are so different. But if you wish to rest, then I concur with that as well. You need it.¡±


    ¡°Indeed I do.¡±


    But alas, vacation was still weeks away.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be shutting my eyes for the meantime. Vernon, you can continue training Mera.¡±


    Without waiting for his response, I hugged my knees close to my chest and lowered my head, hiding my face. I didn¡¯t really need to rest this urgently, but I just wanted to. Need to be at least in tiptop shape.


    I heard faint sounds of noisy steps and huffs, a bit distant from me. It was Vernon and Mera. Mera had left the path of a mage, leaving me behind to fight a lonely battle of development. But that was to be expected, she was not efficient in magic, compared to physical enhancement that she had been showing promise. And thus, I let her focus on that, no need to force her into something she was not good at when there¡¯s an alternative.


    Sometimes it¡¯s best to focus and work on your own strengths. And it¡¯s good, it¡¯s good for Mera to learn at least of a way to defend herself when pushed to a corner. Considering the situation, mine and the kingdom¡¯s, she might need it¡­ no, she will need it.


    Around half an hour later, I slowly raised my head. My eyes were a bit irritated, I suppose I did manage to sleep. All in all, I¡¯m satisfied, it was meant to be a simple nap, not falling into a deep slumber.


    ¡°Princess¡­ You¡¯re awake.¡±


    Still feeling a bit drowsy, Rogan spoke from beside me, and I slowly turned my head towards him. I noticed that he was courteous enough not to sit too close to me. Hm, imagining why in truth, I think he would say something along the lines of he didn¡¯t sit close to me because he¡¯s scared of me.


    ¡°Mmm¡­ How are they doing?¡±


    ¡°Mera¡¯s still learning how to stabilize the technique while moving excessively. But she seems to be doing well.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    Rogan stared into my eyes, and he grinned a little.


    ¡°... W-What?¡±


    Do I look so cute that you would stare at me like that?


    He pointed his finger at the corner of his eye. ¡°You have morning glory.¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    I glared at him while my face was visibly flustered, and I instantly looked away to quickly rub my eyes clean.


    I could hear him chuckle from beside me.


    That was fucking embarrassing, shit¡­


    I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes. ¡°Forget this happened.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, I¡¯m afraid people cannot just forget something like that pretty easily.¡±


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    ¡°But I won¡¯t be telling anyone, if that¡¯s enough for you.¡±


    With a little pout, I said. ¡°That¡¯s fine¡­¡±


    Else I¡¯ll knock you out!


    ¡°Then I¡¯m safe!¡± he chuckled.


    I shook my head. ¡°A-Anyways, we need to go. I need to go check on how things are going in the records.¡±


    I sighed as I grasped my forehead, yeah still felt a bit drowsy.


    Rogan stood up and presented a hand to me. ¡°Need help standing up?¡±


    I nodded and I grasped his hand, after which he slowly and carefully pulled me up.


    Yeah, that¡¯s better.


    ¡°So¡­ um¡­ please call and tell the two that we¡¯re going.¡±


    I watched him head for the two before closing my eyes as I took a deep breath. All kinds of problems just popped up in my head. That vacation sounds pretty good right now. I¡¯m playing the game of patience, and I hate it. You know, I am a patient girl, but sometimes, impatience just gets me, you know.


    Especially if I knew what was about to come would be pretty good. I mean, come on, it¡¯s a vacation!


    I snapped back my focus the moment my servants came walking towards me. Mera was sweating quite terribly.


    ¡°Mera, you are free to clean up and change your clothes. We¡¯ll meet back in the library.¡±


    ¡°Is that alright?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    We returned to the palace and the moment we entered inside, Mera separated from us to change. Me and the boys went straight to the library, and outside by the entrance assigned were a couple of knights as guards. The library at the moment had tremendous amounts of documents, and thus it was only natural to have guards. Almost like having a server room where data was being stored¡­ hm, was that a good example? Anyways¡­


    The knights greeted me as I entered inside, then we headed straight for the chamber that was being used to sort things out. Another pair of guards stood outside.


    The knights guarding the door opened it for me to enter, and behold, a world of white and papers! Piles of paper sheets were grouped and separated, people picking up one and reading through the letters and a flood of numbers. Then writing them down to save them for later.


    My mother was leading them all, she sat down by the table in the middle. On her desk though, she was spared no mercy from the documents. All these, three years worth of records, each day, and from different companies, big and small. This would have been easy, things easy to track down, if everything were digital. But oh well¡­


    Also, we expect some records, or some days, were gone and never recorded. But that was fine. What I needed was the bigger picture.


    Then by the wall was a wooden board. Lines were made for every month up to three years. None has been drawn yet as things were still being compiled.


    I shifted my eyes to see Eleden and Lucious working together in their own corner. Everyone¡¯s working so hard, how admirable. Surprisingly, my father wasn¡¯t around. He often helps here when matters could be set aside for later. He must have something else to do. I¡¯m fine with that, we have enough manpower here.


    ¡°Hello, my dear. Came to check up on us?¡± my mother asked as her eyes left the documents to look at me with her tender eyes.


    ¡°After a time of practice, I wanted to rest, and I might as well look at how things are going.¡±


    ¡°I see. Where I¡¯m looking, there have been some strange parts.¡±


    I approached her. ¡°Such as?¡±


    ¡°Arms sale¡­ there are records of retailers which they sell them to. However, I found multiple that had no retailers, nor any destination.¡±


    ¡°Have you checked in the transports companies?¡±


    ¡°Arms business usually handles their own transportations. I have low hopes we can find something, but we¡¯ll try.¡±


    Hm, weapons delivery with no destination in writing. Where did they go, I wonder?


    ¡°Thank you. Anything else?¡±


    ¡°Well, I consider dangerous reports strange¡­ but we still need to dig through them. I¡¯ll tell you when we have more information. The weapons are more concerning for me. Swords, armors, bows and arrows¡­ this needs to be looked into out there.¡±


    ¡°Not yet, mother. All pieces are not yet in place. Once you are done here, we¡¯ll take them all.¡±


    ¡°... If you say so. At our pace, I expect we can start drawing some initial information on your line graph the day after tomorrow. By some miracle, perhaps tomorrow afternoon.¡±


    ¡°Great! Graphs make things easier to understand. Oh by the way, mother, is father busy? He¡¯s not here.¡±


    ¡°He was here half an hour ago. But, there is a matter he needs to address.¡±


    ¡°I wonder what that would be¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­ It would seem the Holy Kingdom sent a message.¡±


    Oh no¡­

 Vol. 3 Chapter 49: The Holy Kingdom’s Envoy (Part 1)

    The high bishop, Xenous, placed a hand on his forehead after reading the letter he received. The moment he knew who it came from, the stress already came to strike, even more so when he opened and read it. It was a letter from the Holy Kingdom¡¯s envoy coming to Wisteria.


    He expected something like this, however, the envoy was already on the move before he knew it. There would be no surprise if they were already close to Wisteria¡¯s borders, and they didn¡¯t even wait for a permission from Wisteria. They were allies, yes, but there were etiquettes for a reason. Could it be because they knew Wisteria couldn¡¯t deny an ally from coming through?


    The topic of the discussion was regarding the incident in the capital. They didn¡¯t even try to inquire through letters. Still, that was not the root of the trouble as he had already talked beforehand with the king on how to handle matters like this. The trouble lay with the person that was coming here.


    That man was¡­ not easy to deal with. A stubborn man. Xenous imagined that he wouldn¡¯t take their words for granted, no matter what they would say to that man. Even more so when he sees the damage caused to the city. Even now, a lot of the buildings were still under repair.


    Old as Xenous may be, even he had someone he preferred not to encounter, especially now. The Holy Kingdom should never know that the enemies¡¯ target was Estelia, the child of Wisteria¡¯s gods.


    The Holy Kingdom does not worship the couple gods. Who knows what would happen if they discovered the objects of worship of another nation had a child among royalty. Furthermore, the Wisterian monarchs would like to keep it a secret. For the Princess¡¯s sake.


    He picked up the letter again.


    Is the king even aware of this? Or does the holy kingdom expect me to notify him myself?


    ¡°Tina¡­¡± he called the young priestess, who was reading a book.


    Tina rose from her seat and set aside the book before approaching the high bishop.


    ¡°Get this letter to the palace, have it sent to the king directly. And tell him I need to consult with him as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°... Yes.¡±


    She received the letter, but she didn¡¯t leave right away. Xenous slightly raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°You may go, Tina.¡±


    ¡°Um, high bishop. When you brought me back here¡­ it¡¯s¡­ I was told that I was only back because the kingdom requires it.¡±


    ¡°... Yes¡­?¡±


    ¡°That battle¡­ isn¡¯t the enemy already dealt with? So that means I can come back to being an adventurer, right? I have been doing nothing much here, and I want to go back.¡±


    ¡°Tina¡­¡±


    ¡°Please high bishop.¡±


    ¡°Why do you want to leave again? You can be helpful here.¡±


    ¡°It does not feel that way¡­ but that¡¯s beside the point¡­¡± she lowered her head. ¡°I want to see my friends¡­¡±


    ¡°Your family is here.¡±


    ¡°I-I know¡­ but please, the threat is gone, let me go back.¡±


    Xenous closed his eyes. Was she that lonely here? Doesn''t she have friends here in the church? Why were those adventurers more important for her than the others here? Tina was a difficult one, Xenous was concerned that if he allowed her again, the others might start asking for the same thing. Still, thinking about it, despite knowing about Tina, the others didn¡¯t try to ask to become an adventurer or something. Perhaps Tina was the only deviant here.


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    ¡°And if I refuse to allow you?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll be mad¡­ what¡¯s the big deal if I leave for some time, anyway? I¡¯ll just be with my friends, I won¡¯t go far.¡±


    ¡°Tina¡­¡±


    ¡°You can just call for me again if you need me.¡±


    She sounded more eager and determined. She truly wanted to leave.


    Xenous sighed. ¡°I will think about it. For now, go to the palace.¡±


    ¡°Think about it? Please, high bishop, make up your mind now.¡±


    Impatient are we?


    He resisted the urge to shake his head.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t go now, I won¡¯t even try to deliberate what to do with you. Go.¡±


    Tina hesitated for a moment before leaving the room with a disappointed and frustrated face.


    Xenous shook his head when the door closed and leaned back.


    What will I do¡­


    ***


    Leodoule heaved a tired sigh the moment he read the letter in his office.


    They really messaged the bishop first.


    He knew that those from the Holy Kingdom were a religious bunch, but he still couldn¡¯t deal with the fact that they would first notify the religious leader of a country, like what happened here. And the envoy, the name was a little familiar, but he was not well acquainted with that man.


    In any case, it should be a couple or more days before the envoy arrives in the capital city. They need to prepare as early as possible.


    He faced the priestess that arrived to deliver the letter.


    ¡°Thank you for this. Tell the high bishop that I would like to meet with him this afternoon, if possible.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°You are free to go.¡±


    One of the servants led her out of the room, then the king turned to face one scribe with him. ¡°Call Estevan. Tell him we have an envoy from another nation coming.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    With that, the servant left.


    Now then, when the envoy arrives, we have to hide what is really happening.


    It was hard to keep something from an allied nation, but this was an internal affair. Even more so, it was about his daughter. He couldn¡¯t let outsiders know about this. The secret knowledge and what¡¯s at stake was just too great for Leodoule. The family¡¯s secret must remain a secret.


    I could at least prevent the envoy from meeting Estelia¡­


    That would at least keep him from making an interest. And that was the most important.


    Still, explaining those non-humans would not be easy. It would have been easier to explain if they were demons. But unfortunately, they were not. Or perhaps it was fortunate that they were not demons? Thinking about it, he was no longer certain which one was better.


    ***


    I entered my father¡¯s office three days after hearing that an envoy from the Holy Kingdom was coming. And today was the day I heard that it was happening. I was not too stressed about it. Truth be told, this was just a small hassle, nothing to be so frightened about.


    At least, that¡¯s what I think¡­


    However, taking politics, national or international, into consideration, this could turn into a larger problem. Even more so if I become the center of it all again. I don¡¯t want the spotlight, especially not one that was lighting from the Holy Kingdom¡¯s side.


    My father was wearing his formal outfit in preparation to receive the upcoming guest. I took this small time to have a little chat with him.


    ¡°Father¡­ will you be alright?¡±


    He grinned. ¡°What sort of question is that, my daughter? I can handle an envoy just fine.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­ I wish you luck with at least luring his nose away. Whoever he may be.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, we must prevent the Holy Kingdom from interfering with our own personal matters.¡±


    Now that I think about it, this could potentially be a family matter in its entirety. True that it essentially centers around me, but it''s my family¡¯s business too. Huh.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure everything will go well.¡± It¡¯s nothing compared to what we were just facing recently. ¡°So, what do you suggest I do now?¡±


    ¡°Stay low, daughter.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ That will be difficult.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes. ¡°And why is that?¡±


    ¡°Mother and the others are about to finish compiling all the data. We should have a visual representation this afternoon.¡±


    They have been working very hard. In fact, they have been sleeping late and working early. My poor mother, I even had to convince her to sleep early and not to overdo it. But she would just say something along the lines of it¡¯s still early, or something like that. I mean, that was the entire point ¡ª to sleep early¡­


    I was thinking of stopping work around before sunset or something, but they just kept working until it was time for dinner.


    But oh well¡­


    ¡°So what if they¡¯re about done?¡±


    ¡°If I find something strange, I have to do something about it as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°You have no intention of lying low?¡±


    ¡°I will lie low. However, there might be a need for me to act.¡±


    ¡°Daughter. I told you to rest when everything is done.¡±


    ¡°And so I will. Please, father¡­¡±


    He massaged his forehead before sighing. ¡°I¡¯ll see to it. I¡¯m sure we can manage to hide you while you act.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. When this is done, I¡¯ll go straight for the vacation.¡±


    ¡°And after some time, we prepare for your debut. Because of that, we cannot afford to pause your lessons any longer.¡±


    ¡°... Now you made me nervous.¡± I lowered my head adorably, face so vulnerable.


    He chuckled. ¡°Now then, I need to go. I still need to prepare physically¡­ and mentally.¡±


    ¡°.... Alright¡­ I will go to the library. Good luck, father.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 50: The Holy Kingdom’s Envoy (Part 2)

    Xenous pulled his robe straight in front of the mirror ¡ª the Holy Kingdom¡¯s envoy would be coming shortly. Anticipating the moment that man stepped out of his carriage, caused his brows to subconsciously knit. He was not looking forward to this meeting at all.


    Not only would the stake be the child of the gods he worshiped, he would be meeting a man he was not fond of interacting with. Still, he had no choice. Speaking of the princess, he wondered what she was doing now.


    Ever since the operation ended, he had no idea what she had been up to lately. He heard a little from the king that she had an objective, but Xenous had no idea what it would be. How much he wanted to be involved in whatever she was doing, but a shame there was a line to it.


    Still, he wished for her to seek him out.


    ¡°Do I look fine?¡± Xenous asked one of the priests with him in the room.


    ¡°You look splendid, High Bishop. There is nothing to worry about.¡±


    ¡°That may be so, but the man that is coming has one meticulous eye for appearances.¡±


    ¡°Do you mean he doesn¡¯t like, what? For things to be a little disarray? Unpresentable?¡± asked Astine with a stoic face, almost like she wasn¡¯t bothered by who¡¯s coming at all, or by this situation as a whole.


    Perhaps because she knew she wouldn''t have to confront the problem directly.


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly right. He¡¯s quite a judgemental man. Despite being a priest, and despite the fact that the gods should be the ones to judge, he¡¯ll have an opinion about you the moment he sees you.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± she lowered her head, deliberating. Then, as if making her mind up, she raised it again and asked a question. ¡°High Bishop, I have been meaning to ask¡­ Why did you let her go?¡±


    ¡°Tina?¡±


    ¡°Yes. You keep indulging her every desire.¡­ At this rate, it will only be a matter of time before she leaves the Order and goes to whatever place she ends up in.¡±


    This morning, way early, Tina left for the adventurer¡¯s guild after gaining the bishop¡¯s permission to come back there, to her friends, to adventuring.


    ¡°I am against this decision of yours.¡± Astine continued, sharp in her words, fixing the high bishop with an angry glare. ¡°You are too soft on her.¡±


    Xenous could say nothing but sigh.


    ¡°I cannot understand Tina at all¡­¡± she looked away. ¡°Are we not enough for her? Am I not enough¡­?¡±


    ¡°Astine¡­ why do you want to hold your sister back?¡±


    ¡°Hold her back? No. Out there, it¡¯s too dangerous and full of uncertainty. Away from my eyes. She could die in some backwater, or in a cave no one knows. I will not allow such a thing.¡±


    ¡°And you would keep her from having her wishes?¡±


    ¡°Not all wishes are meant to be had. Some for a good reason. Tina could have just asked to let her visit them, not return to hunt, or whatever job they get and put herself in needless danger.¡±


    Xenous pondered. What was the best? Keep her here where it was safer and be with her family? Or be with her friends, one that she wished, but will be in constant danger?


    ¡°I wonder what the right choice would be¡­¡±


    ¡°Nothing is more right than doing it for the sake of family.¡±


    ¡°... You may be right, child.¡±


    A priest entered the room. ¡°High Bishop, the guests have entered the city.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Time to go and greet them.¡±


    Satisfied with his appearance, the high bishop left the room, tailed by a pair of priests in addition to Astine. They made their way to the church entrance and waited for the guests by the doors.


    A few minutes later, a carriage emerged from the covers of the buildings, followed by a couple more. Each of the three carriages was all equally extravagant. Well, in fact, they did not have a difference in design at all.


    Each of the carriages was hoisting and brandishing the flag of the foreign nation. At the center was the yellow sun shooting its rays outwards, and the background reflected the pure blue sky. Guarding the carriages were the Wisterian knights riding on horses. But along with them were knights, or rather, Paladins from the Holy Kingdom.


    They sported splendid and pure armor of white and gold, red capes on their back swaying in the air with grandeur. They were the image of heroes. The paragon of all that was pure and good. Still, Xenous knew that despite their appearance so grand, strength does not equal it. They were more or less as strong as the knights here in Wisteria, with the only exception that all of them knew how to cast Holy Magic. Still, that didn¡¯t mean none of them were as strong as Xenous¡¯s priests.


    If he were to guess, the strongest within this convoy would be with the most important personnel, inside the carriages. But when it comes to overall military power, the Holy Kingdom definitely outclassed Wisteria.


    The carriages slowly came to a stop in front of the church. Watching from a distance were the crowd of civilians, curious about who had just arrived. A lot of them should recognize a flag from an allied nation.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    After stopping, the central carriage door opened. A paladin in full plate armor first emerged from within, pure and as radiant as the beauty of white and gold. On both sides of his waist hung swords in splendidly and extravagantly designed scabbards, the hilts decorated with intricate patterns.


    The paladin seemed to give off a cautious demeanor as he first looked around the area slowly and closely, before his eyes stopped towards Xenous.


    This man¡­ seems strong.


    Powerful men often emanate this aura of strength, which they often had no intention of hiding. And this was just that, as if he was warning the fools who would even dare think to attack him to not even try. After making sure that it was safe, the paladin spoke to someone inside, and immediately after, another man emerged.


    He was young, somewhere around twenty-four years old, quite young for his position. His shining dark green hair reached above his neck, combed cleanly, his face was refreshing and serene, like a face beautifully sculpted by a fine artist. He wore a religious robe, colored in white and blue of the sky.


    He carried himself with elegance and grandeur. He was utterly presentable.


    With almost a blank and stoic look, he faced forward, with chin up, before walking towards Xenous.


    ¡°Greetings, Cardinal Fernsworth. It has been two years since we last met.¡±


    The cardinal, Zaine Lucian Fernsworth, stared at him as if sizing him up before speaking in a soft, but deep voice. ¡°It is a blessing to meet you again, O High Bishop Xenous Grail. I hope my visit will not be too much of a problem.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, there is not much trouble at all. We do everything we can to receive an envoy from an allied nation.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, ally...¡±


    The Cardinal looked around again until his eyes stopped to gaze at Astine. He peered deeply, as if scrutinizing her. ¡°A beautiful priestess, a warrior.¡±


    Astine lowered her chin to stare back at him. On guard likely, she was not showing that she can fight, but this man saw through her immediately.


    He continued. ¡°Your gaze is powerful. I imagine you will fit in our Order in the Holy Kingdom. Sharpen your skills to your fullest potential, to achieve the highest level of Holy Magic. Will you, fair priestess?¡±


    Xenous smirked and subtly shook his head. To think that he would just ask one of his own priestesses to leave and go to join the Order of another nation right in front of him.


    ¡°I refuse.¡±


    It was an outright and brief refusal.


    ¡°I see, then nothing can be done about it. Although it¡¯s a shame, you could have a chance to rise to the level of Commander Cassius here.¡±


    The paladin commander removed his helm, revealing a middle-aged and bearded face. His eyes were sharp and contained power. He smiled with obvious pride.


    ¡°Yes, I think you have potential, young lady.¡±


    ¡°With all due respect, I worship the Lord and Lady. Moving to another nation for prestige is no different to betrayal and blasphemy. What will I say to my gods when I face them in the afterlife?¡±


    The cardinal nodded, his eyes softer. ¡°I understand. Indeed, that was rude of me to suggest. Please forgive me, priestess.¡±


    ¡°Mm¡­¡± she shifted her eyes towards Xenous, as if asking for help in removing these two gentlemen from her back.


    ¡°Cardinal, I¡¯m sure you are tired from your travels. Allow me to bring you refreshments and food for breakfast. Afterwards, we can go to the palace to meet with the king.¡±


    ¡°Already? I expected we would meet tomorrow at a minimum.¡±


    ¡°Well, his majesty had already prepared for your arrival.¡±


    The cardinal looked around for a moment, looking like he was pondering something. ¡°Very well. Let us enter.¡±


    Xenous led them inside the church, and the cardinal looked around, taking in the sight. ¡°It¡¯s my first time in Wisteria. Seeing other places is always so interesting.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that.¡±


    ¡°Although I saw the damage to your city on my way here. May I ask the cause of that? That is the reason I am here, to know what happened. And¡­ to know why there was news of non-human beings spotted during the commotion.¡±


    ¡°Word certainly travels fast.¡±


    ¡°Is that so surprising? Your capital city was sieged, your nation would feel its wave, even those at the border.¡±


    ¡°I suppose,¡± from that statement alone tells that the Holy Kingdom listens intently to news about their allied nation. Plus, they were too quick to act on that. Myra had yet to even send an inquiry. ¡°In any case, those beings are not of the religious Order¡¯s concern. It is not part of its duty.¡±


    ¡°Why? Are they not demons?¡±


    When they reached the door to the dining room, Xenous stopped and turned towards the cardinal and the leading paladin. ¡°Please, let us enjoy the nice time of dining for now. His majesty will answer your questions when it''s time.¡±


    The cardinal narrowed his eyes. ¡°... Very well. I¡¯ll be patient for the answer.¡±


    Xenous opened the door and entered the room. Placed on the table were a variety of cuisines, still steaming as the priests removed their lids. The delicious smell immediately filled the room. Xenous smiled in delight at the sight, feeling proud that his people could accomplish such a thing.


    The cardinal, on the other hand, his face was unfazed, seemingly unimpressed by the presentation.


    But then again, Cardinals always had fancy dining.


    ¡°High Bishop, before we sit down. I am curious. Why will you not just answer my questions in detail?¡±


    Xenous resisted the urge to frown. ¡°It is not my right to tell, Cardinal.¡±


    ¡°... Is that how it is?¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    The cardinal slowly nodded. ¡°Very well. Then for now, we eat.¡±


    They all sat down on the chairs, Xenous along on one side, while the cardinal on the other side with the head paladin sitting beside him. After placing towels on their clothes and lap, the servants began serving the food.


    They ate.


    Xenous was quite pleased with the food, nodding in satisfaction and smiling towards the priests in the room who cooked them. However, the cardinal showed no expressions whatsoever. No one could tell whether he liked or disliked them.


    Then, a short while later, the cardinal broke the silence.


    ¡°Xenous¡­ do you recall when the world darkened several days ago?¡±


    ¡°How could I forget something like that?¡±


    When it happened, Xenous could not believe what he was seeing. All of it was so sudden, and no explanation. The world lost its light and the sun, and the celestial heavens were on full display. The sky vanished.


    ¡°Such a phenomenon beyond our understanding¡­¡± said the cardinal. ¡°We believe it had something to do with the gods.¡±


    ¡°Hm. I suppose that¡¯s the only explanation.¡±


    ¡°It is no mere guess, Xenous. The oracle said it was a disturbance to the world, and she was certain that the gods were connected to it. Besides, who else could cause something like that to the world?¡±


    ¡°Did she find out the reason?¡±


    ¡°She has not, and she could not.¡± He sighed. ¡°Whatever that was, I hope it does not happen again. Although¡­ I do seek an answer. But if the oracle does not know, then there is no one else that knows.¡±


    ¡°How unfortunate. We can only hope to receive the answer from the gods themselves.¡±


    The gods¡­ Indeed, we may only get the answer from the gods if the reason for that strange occurrence has something to do with them.


    But communicating personally with the gods was basically impossible. What hope could one mortal speak with the divine beings¡­ except¡­


    She¡­


    There was one god that he knew walking in the world of men. And she was so close. Could she perhaps have an answer? Could Xenous perhaps ask the child of the gods what truly happened? He could, but he kept that idea to himself. There was no way he would share as such to anyone else.


    Perhaps I could try asking her when we meet again and have the opportunity to do so.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 51: The Holy Kingdom’s Envoy (Part 3)

    The carriage rattled to a stop. Xenous glanced at the outside towards the palace doors. With a nod, he shifted his gaze towards the Cardinal sitting opposite of him. ¡°Shall we?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Xenous got out of the carriage first, meeting the gaze of the paladin commander who was waiting for them. When he stepped to the ground, the palace servants came to approach, and at the same time, the cardinal exited the carriage. Along with the servants was the first prince, Eleden.


    Xenous quite half expected that his majesty himself would be here to first greet them. But then again, this was an official and formal meeting with a nation they were in alliance with. At least Wisteria was kind enough to send the first prince to meet the guests first.


    ¡°Greetings, High Bishop,¡± said Eleden with a low bow.


    ¡°Greetings, your highness. Let me introduce Cardinal Zaine Lucian Fernsworth from the Holy Kingdom of Valaies.¡±


    Eleden smiled as he held out his hand towards the cardinal for a shake. ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you, Cardinal Fernsworth.¡±


    The cardinal took and shook the prince¡¯s hand. ¡°The pleasure is mine, your highness. I hope I have not inconvenienced you with my visit.¡±


    ¡°Oh not at all. The allies of our nation are always welcome here.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ I¡¯m glad for that.¡±


    ¡°Now then, I will guide you to my father, the king.¡±


    With Eleden taking the lead, Xenous, Zaine, and the paladin commander entered the palace. The servants that had already lined up bowed as they all entered. Afterwards, they made their way to the throne room. The guarding knights, upon seeing the group, promptly opened the doors.


    Inside was a stretching red carpet, leading to a group of extravagant thrones radiating the color of purple and gold. Behind them displayed a giant flag of Wisteria. Looking to the side stood more knights in their beautiful full set of armor. Some had their swords in their sheathes, and others had spears in their hands. Closest to the doors, on each side, were knights holding poles brandishing flags from both nations.


    At the frontmost of this throne room decorated with golden embroidery at the walls, and shining chandeliers at the ceiling, were the aforementioned five thrones, and sitting at the center most was the king of this nation, a golden crown lying on the top of his head.


    The first prince got ahead first and sat down on the king¡¯s right side. Then on the first prince¡¯s right was the second prince, Estevan. There were two empty seats on the king¡¯s left, the closest was supposedly for the Queen, and next to it was for the only princess.


    Both were absent. And Xenous didn¡¯t have an idea why that would be. He wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the princess did not appear, but he expected the Queen wouldn¡¯t miss this.


    When they reached before the steps to the thrones, Xenous kneeled on one knee and bowed his head. Meanwhile, the two guests only bowed deeply before raising their heads.


    The King rose from his seat and spread out his arms. ¡°Distinguished visitors from the Holy Kingdom, Cardinal Zaine Lucian Fernsworth and Paladin Commander Cassius Hanovar Ryker. Wisteria welcomes you! It is of highest pleasure to meet you.¡±


    ¡°The pleasure is all mine, your majesty,¡± the Cardinal said.


    ¡°I am amazed. To think his majesty would know of my name.¡±


    ¡°Commander, your reputation is so renowned that it even reaches my ear. It is always so interesting to hear the feats of another warrior.¡±


    ¡°I am honored, your majesty.¡±


    The king nodded. ¡°Now then, do you wish to dine first, Cardinal? I have prepared food in the room next door.¡±


    With a blank expression, the cardinal answered. ¡°I apologize, but there is no need, your majesty. We have only eaten with High Bishop Xenous. I would like to head straight to business, if that is alright.¡±


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°I suppose as much. Very well. I don¡¯t mind.¡±


    The king returned to sitting down on his throne. At the same time, the Cardinal¡¯s eyes pointed towards the empty thrones as if curious of the other royals¡¯ absence.


    ¡°I apologize for the absence of my wife and daughter. They are quite busy with important matters for the moment.¡±


    The cardinal¡¯s eyes narrowed for a brief moment before looking straight towards the king. ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­ I know you are here regarding the recent commotion in our capital. But what do you precisely wish to know?¡±


    ¡°We heard that the enemies you faced were odd. I witnessed the damage and the reparations on my way here. What manner of creatures are they? The court would like to know.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps you are wondering if they are demons?¡±


    ¡°That is what I am most curious about.¡±


    ¡°They are not demons.¡±


    The cardinal lowered his gaze for a moment. ¡°Is that for certain?¡±


    ¡°Xenous can vouch for it as the high bishop.¡±


    The cardinal turned towards the high bishop.


    Xenous nodded. ¡°It is certain that they are not demons.¡±


    ¡°May I ask where they are?¡±


    The one to answer was the King. ¡°They have been executed.¡±


    ¡°... I see¡­ What are they exactly?¡±


    ¡°This may be a good chance. Perhaps you¡¯ll know something about them. The first kind are called the beastmen. They can have the form of man, but they have ears of animals on top of their heads. And they could completely transform into beasts.¡±


    The cardinal pondered. ¡°... No¡­ I am not familiar with them... Although, there are folktales in our lands where beasts could turn into a human. But that is an ancient folktale, a horror story for children. I will try looking into it. What other kinds are there?¡±


    ¡°Elves. Light-skinned, long pointy ears. They have a high magical aptitude.¡±


    ¡°Pointy ears, you say? Right¡­ elf. I have read about them from one of the oldest books.¡±


    ¡°What do you know?¡±


    ¡°They are said to be extremely beautiful beings, charming and skillful. Bodies so slender and mesmerizing. Wise. And they are also said to live for a very long time. In the far past, people would see them, especially in forests, and sometimes in the lands of men.¡±


    ¡°Do you know where they came from?¡±


    ¡°It was never stated which specific forest¡­ And oh, if I remember correctly, when they are seen, accounts seem to suggest that they are beings to be avoided. I cannot tell if it was out of respect or of fear. Also, I was under the impression they were more fairy tales than real beings.¡±


    ¡°How dangerous are they?¡± the paladin commander chimed in and asked.


    ¡°Each one of both can fight off a squad of knights.¡±


    ¡°Are they not as different from demons, then? This is a matter the Holy Kingdom should get into. Such creatures lurk in our lands, and we cannot let it be.¡±


    ¡°Commander, all manner of creatures lurk our continent. Even powerful monsters. Demons are still ultimately the ones the holy order should be concerned with,¡± the king said. ¡°You may leave the matter with those strange creatures to us.¡±


    ¡°...¡± he didn¡¯t appear to know how to respond, and he shifted his gaze towards the cardinal. ¡°Cardinal¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm. This makes me curious. Why of all places, they come here to your city? To incite chaos. Why, your majesty?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. That is complicated.¡±


    ¡°Please try to explain.¡±


    ¡°... It would appear that they intended to slay the royal family, to ruin the nation.¡±


    ¡°Why? What is it that they want to achieve with that? Just to ruin you or to attain something from you?¡±


    The king heaved a heavy sigh, as if a little annoyed. ¡°They do not want something from us, they want to destroy us, to destabilize Wisteria. At least, that is what we suspect. We do not have any solid answer just yet. But, in short, they intended to pave the way for the Empire.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying those creatures are from the Empire? Are they their secret weapons?¡±


    ¡°Nothing is assured, Cardinal.¡±


    ¡°...... Very well. I shall take your answer to heart. Are you sure they are not here for something else?¡±


    ¡°None that we know of.¡±


    The cardinal glanced towards Xenous briefly. ¡°I understand. If it is alright, I would like to take a closer look at those creatures. I want to make sure they are not a subspecies of demons that we don¡¯t know exists.¡±


    ¡°Their mass graves need to be dug up then. It will take some time.¡±


    ¡°I can wait, your majesty. I just need one of each species. Thus, for now, it would seem I will be touring your beautiful city. I would like to savor this chance of seeing new scenery.¡±


    ¡°Of course, you are free to go wherever you wish, Cardinal.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, your majesty. That is all for me.¡±


    ¡°Then you can go. If you have other questions, feel free to ask me.¡± The king smiled. ¡°Xenous, please take good care of our guests.¡±


    ¡°Of course, your majesty.¡±


    ¡°I will call for you when the corpses are ready. Please do share what you may find.¡±


    And with that, the guests, along with Xenous left the throne room. After a few more steps, the cardinal stopped and turned his head towards the High Bishop.


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re telling me the whole truth?¡±


    Xenous smiled. ¡°His majesty told you what needs to be told. What is there to question?¡±


    ¡°Are you perhaps hiding something?¡±


    ¡°Cardinal Zaine, are you perhaps just unnecessarily being too speculative? Please do not overthink everything.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re supposed to be allies. I do not see the point of hiding anything.¡±


    ¡°Precisely. We are allies. Is there any place for doubt?¡±


    The cardinal¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°At least I will get to have a personal close look at those beings. The utmost priority is ensuring that demons have not set foot on the continent.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 52: Merchants of Wisteria (Part 1)

    <div>


    I heard that the Holy Kingdom¡¯s envoy arrived a short moment ago along with the High Bishop, conveyed to me by a maid. When I think of the holy kingdom, I imagined the envoy would be some sort of holy looking person, or an old man. I mean, weren¡¯t high ranking church officials most of the time old? With the requirements and all¡­ Look at the High Bishop!


    ¡°So, what¡¯s he like? Was he scary or kind?¡±


    I asked the young-looking maid with a little puffy cheeks. I did not know who she was, but I¡¯m sure she was a daughter of a nobleman somewhere.


    Unexpectedly, though, she covered her mouth gently, and a blush colored her white cheeks. She looked down as though lost in wonder, or should I say captivation¡­?


    What the fuck?


    Usually, as far as I know, girls act like this whenever they have an encounter with their idols, like a boy that comes from a boy band of handsome guys. Or when they came across an extremely handsome stranger who just glanced at them and fell in love. Was either case applied here?


    I was waiting for an answer, but it would seem I already lost her in her own fantasies.


    Girl! You¡¯re a noble¡¯s daughter! Stop that!


    ¡°Ahem!¡± I audibly cleared my throat, and that pulled her out into reality.


    ¡°Y-Your highness?¡±


    ¡°... The answer to my question¡­?¡±


    ¡°Ah, oh yes! He,¡± she smiled. ¡°He is a very attractive man. Younger than I expected. He must be in his twenties. And his eyes¡­¡± she sighed out of awe.


    Judging from her reaction, he must be more than the word ¡®attractive¡¯. At least I had an idea of the person I was to avoid for the time being.


    It was a bit of a stress talking to this girl. Have you never been in love? Was she new here? In any case, I was done with her.


    ¡°You may go.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, princess. Thank you.¡±


    Geez, going lovey dovey in front of me¡­


    When she left the library, I heaved a tired sigh, placing a hand on my forehead. There should be nothing to worry about. In truth, that envoy was more of an annoyance than trouble, he was from an ally nation after all. Well, disregarding the political side.


    Just imagine if it was an envoy from an enemy nation. Wew, that would be a cause for depression. Good thing nothing like that happened!


    With that matter done, I lifted the book in front of me that was on the table. What? I was lying low as I said. So, I¡¯m staying here in the library where it was safe, I¡¯m not as stubborn as a horror film character, or any movie character really. I knew how to stay put¡­ Hm, that phrase better not bite me in the ass soon.


    This was a new book, by the way, just a collection of short stories. Perhaps some may be curious as to what happened to the last book I was reading. Yeah¡­ I stopped at around page one hundred twenty, I think?


    Don¡¯t blame me! I just got tired, my head hurts whenever I try to comprehend the sheer number of pages. Besides, I¡¯m intending on reading that again in a few days. I was just curious about this book of short stories. I just thought that I¡¯ll start small when finishing stories, so I¡¯m gonna try shorter ones!


    Makes sense, right?


    And I should deserve some praise, you know. I have finished three stories! Give me a round of applause! This was an enormous achievement in my pursuit of becoming a bookworm princess! Thank you, thank you!


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    The stories were also very good! I¡¯m not really picky on stories. Well, I did not know what I truly wanted. Just some stories that need to be read, so I read it. Also, I have been liking hanging out in the library. There¡¯s nothing to worry that I might end up destroying this place again.


    Nothing like that¡¯s going to happen. I have better control over myself now.


    But the other reason I¡¯m here is because I¡¯m waiting for the result of the work of a bunch of people in the other room. I¡¯m a bit excited really to see what they ended up with. They have been working hard, they deserve some chill times after this. I¡¯m gonna ask my father to give the guys some reward.


    That being said, that didn¡¯t mean they were going to be finished in the next hour. We expect them to finish around the afternoon. If we¡¯re lucky, around noon. So I was both waiting and avoiding the passing storm.


    And thus, some time passed. Just as noon hit.


    The door to one room suddenly slammed open. I promptly averted my eyes away from the page to see Lucious coming my way with a troubled smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s done.¡±


    After he said that, I immediately put down the book and rose from my seat. Without a word to say, I went ahead and entered the room, immediately seeing the papers strewn around. But I focused on the wooden boards on the walls.


    The other boards had mere scribbles, but at the center had more clear details. Lines drawn.


    ¡°Estelia¡­¡±


    My mother approached me with a concerned expression.


    ¡°Mother, explain please.¡±


    ¡°We tallied the amount of delivered goods all around our nation and the overall supply with the passing years.¡±


    She stood on the left side of the board, pointing at the first point of the chart.


    ¡°The first month, three years ago. Food supply was more than the average that our nation would need. However, in the next few months, we begin to notice a slight dip, just small enough that we wouldn¡¯t even notice.¡±


    Of course, with that small decrease, we would just conclude it wouldn¡¯t be a problem at all.


    Then she continued. ¡°But months came in and they slowly fell and fell. It rose a little a few times, but never back to the level we originally had. And this continued on for months.¡±


    Now that it was drawn, the more one would notice the decrease of supply in our storage, and in our reserves. I was growing more concerned at how many rations we were losing, and the decrease was more steady and subtle than I thought.


    ¡°And now here we are in the present.¡± My mother stood on the right side of the board. ¡°F-For now, this is tolerable, but if this goes on.¡±


    Her finger continued to go down further than the present time. And it stopped.


    ¡°We¡¯ll hit the red line.¡± I muttered.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have a shortage in¡­ in a year.¡±


    I lowered my gaze. It was sooner than expected.


    A year? Come on a year?! There¡¯s no way we¡¯re gonna be that ready! No way I¡¯m gonna be that ready! Shit.


    ¡°How did this go unnoticed? How come the decrease of our production and logistics was never discovered?¡±


    ¡°The production of crops didn¡¯t have major troubles.¡± Lucious said.


    ¡°What?¡±


    He approached one of the boards.


    ¡°This is the report of the production of food. They¡¯re balanced. No issues.¡±


    Indeed, the line for the most part was going straight for three years.


    ¡°Then, where did all the food go? Were they not being delivered?¡±


    ¡°Actually, they were.¡± He answered. ¡°They left the farms. But some never arrived at their destination.¡±


    ¡°What happened to them?¡±


    ¡°There were reports of robbery of the convoy. In fact, records of robbery on the roads have gradually risen over the last three years.¡±


    ¡°So what? They¡¯re using bandits?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    What the fuck? They¡¯re mere fucking bandits, how the hell did they manage to rob that many supply convoys?


    ¡°Aren¡¯t the transports supposed to be protected?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but in the end they were still robbed.¡±


    ¡°And the merchants didn¡¯t even bother increasing their security?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    There was no answer.


    And thus I asked another question. ¡°And our authorities, was anything done?¡±


    ¡°There were reports made.¡± My mother answered. ¡°Some were taken care of, but it would seem it was never enough.¡±


    ¡°And our side never noticed this increase in bandit activities?¡±


    ¡°We¡­ We likely marked it as the usual bandit robbery. And so, we thought little about it.¡±


    Okay¡­


    Mother then continued. ¡°But, I don¡¯t think that is all. The merchants definitely hid most of all the incidents.¡±


    I sighed then went for a chair, sitting down tiredly.


    One year¡­ We have one year before they attack. The empire.


    ¡­ We may not win the outright war, but we may be able to win in other parts. To survive.


    ¡°Estel?¡± My mother suddenly grasped my hand. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    I raised my gaze to look her in the eyes. ¡°Yes. This¡­ we can manage.¡± I pulled away from her grasp and stood up. ¡°I want to know more about the actions of the merchants. Anything suspicious, write me a report.¡±


    I walked away, towards the door. But as I did so, my mother called out to me. ¡°E-Estelia.¡± Her voice almost sounded like she was about to cry.


    I stopped and swallowed hard before turning towards her. ¡°I need to think, Mother.¡±


    After giving her a soft smile, I left the room.


    <div>


    <div>


    <div>

 Vol. 3 Chapter 53: Merchants of Wisteria (Part 2)

    Don¡¯t you just hate it when you¡¯re already feeling good and expect things to finally go on better than before, but then it actually hits you in the face and you just start to feel discouraged? You would say along the lines of: I can¡¯t do this anymore. Or maybe: I¡¯m not built for this kind of thing.


    Loss of confidence, in short.


    Nothing sucks more than that.


    I had hoped that I would have more time, but in actuality, I would have way shorter time. I wanted to do a lot of things, and I intend to strive to achieve it.


    After leaving Mother and the others, I hung around my room for a peace of mind. I wanted to go to one of the guest rooms, but the visitor was still around in the palace. So my room did just fine. The silence actually helped a little.


    In any case, after I finished thinking, and the meeting with the envoy should be about done, I sent Vernon to tell father that I would like to talk. However, he would still need to check on the discovery of my mother and the others beforehand.


    Some time after that, my father called for me and we met in his office.


    ¡°I learned from your mother¡­ It¡¯s terrible.¡± My father said as I sat down on the chair in front of his desk. ¡°I should have noticed this way before. What to do¡­?¡±


    ¡°...¡± I watched him place a hand on his forehead. He was agonizing. ¡°... Father, how did it go with the envoy?¡±


    His brow knitted at my question. ¡°You want to know about that now?¡±


    ¡°I want to know if he¡¯s leaving already.¡±


    ¡°No, actually he¡¯ll be staying in Wisteria for a few days.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I was baffled. ¡°Why? Did he want to stay for a vacation?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ not exactly. He wanted to check the corpses of the beastmen and the elves to make sure they¡¯re not truly demons.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t it be just some reason so he could get a clearer picture of our situation?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps. But as long as he doesn¡¯t know about you, I am fine with that. Besides, he would be hard pressed to investigate this, we also have eyes on him. And, I couldn¡¯t just refuse his request.¡±


    I guess. It wouldn¡¯t look good to refuse a request from an ally nation. A request that essentially would not trouble the other party, and that would even help them. Refusing would only make us look more suspicious.


    I sighed. ¡°That¡¯s fine as long as he¡¯s watched. Well, that¡¯s what I want to know.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it? I expected something more from this meeting after what we learned. Still, what can we do about the more important matter? Should we tell our allies about this?¡±


    ¡°And push the empire to act earlier than it already is? I would prefer not, we¡¯re no way ready.¡±


    Or rather, I was not ready yet. Besides, we¡¯re still at a danger level when it comes to food reserves. If war begins, we¡¯ll have no comfortable amount of food. No food, dead. Logistics would be a nightmare.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want us to alert our neighbors about this?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t outright tell them, just do it in a more implicit way, be subtle. I don¡¯t want for the empire to know instantly that we have seen through their plans of starving us out. Let¡¯s take it slow and simple.¡±


    ¡°What are you planning on doing, my daughter? Honestly, how are you this calm and sensible in times like this?¡±


    ¡°The plan as a whole will not change. We only need to act a little quicker.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°And I would like to go out sometime, into the city.¡±


    ¡°For what? It¡¯s too risky with the Cardinal present.¡±


    ¡°The Cardinal does not threaten my life. He is of low concern.¡±


    He mildly shook his head. ¡°What do you intend to do there?¡±


    ¡°I want to speak personally with a group of people. Just one day, father.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­ Then what do you want me to do? We¡¯re following your plan, so I can¡¯t really act on my own on this.¡±


    ¡°Once I have set the foundations, I¡¯m leaving things in our supervision. First, I would like a meeting with Uncle tomorrow.¡± The staff was already working at full power, and they said they should have everything ready tomorrow morning. ¡°And after that, I wish that you take the lead in the operation of putting agents in our nobles¡¯ houses.¡±


    ¡°To search for betrayers.¡±


    ¡°One reason, yes.¡±


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°You¡¯re starting it, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°As I mentioned, we need only act a little quicker. As for the other things that we may need to fight a war, it¡¯s out of my expertise. I will leave such things to you, my father.¡±


    ¡°Mm, alright¡­¡±


    ¡°Then, that is all from me. May I take my leave?¡±


    ¡°Ah wait, Estelia. Your mother¡­ um¡­ when we talked, she was upset. Sad.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°She hurts for you, Estelia. Try to be with your mother when you have a chance.¡± He rose from his seat and patted my head. ¡°Please try to prevent her from shedding tears again, okay?¡±


    Shedding tears? Did she cry¡­?


    I took a deep breath as I lowered my head.


    ¡°Yes¡­ Where is she?¡±


    ***


    I entered the library. Father urged Mother to have a rest for now. She resisted at first, but in the end gave up and followed my father¡¯s request. She should be somewhere around here. It took no time at all before I found her sitting on a couch by the window, reading a book.


    It was the book of short stories I was reading.


    Before all else, I spoke to my servants. ¡°Go outside for now. Leave me be.¡±


    And they did with no complaint. They must have sensed the mood.


    After taking a deep breath, I approached her.


    ¡°... Mother.¡±


    She turned towards me, her eyes faltered for a moment, but her lips lifted into a smile. ¡°Estelia. What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°... Nothing¡­ It¡¯s just¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know how to say it ¡ª that I was here for her.


    While I was thinking, my gaze ended up on the book.


    ¡°Oh, do you want this book? Sorry I took the time reading it.¡±


    My mother said, and she closed the book, then proceeded to give it to me. But before she could, I stopped her.


    ¡°No, mother. I¡¯m not here for that.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Then, do you need something from me?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ I¡­¡± I slowly sat down beside her. ¡°No¡­ I don¡¯t particularly need anything.¡±


    Her smile softened. ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°... Yes¡­¡± I grew silent for a moment. ¡°It¡¯s good that you have taken the time to rest.¡±


    ¡°... Your father is quite an adamant one sometimes.¡±


    ¡°... Thank you, mother¡­ for your help.¡±


    ¡°For what?¡±


    I looked at her eyes before averting away. For some reason, I found it hard to look her in the eyes. ¡°You know¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­¡± She suddenly wrapped her arm around me and pulled me close, then she kissed me on the cheek. ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    It was nice. This moment was so nice that I failed to notice immediately the moisture in my eyes. It was¡­ embarrassing. Good thing she didn¡¯t notice.


    ¡°Have you finished reading all the stories in this book, dear?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Which part are you?¡±


    ¡°... I was about to start the fourth story.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Do you want me to read it to you?¡±


    ¡°...¡± I nodded.


    ¡°Alright. Lie down.¡±


    She gently rested my head on her lap. She turned the pages on the book and began reading. As she did, she gently caressed my head. It was peaceful. I listened and savored her soothing touch and soothing voice. A pleasant warmth grew within my chest.


    I closed my eyes as I listened.


    Then I reached out for her hand and¡­ grasped it tightly, pressing it to my cheek.


    It was paradise.


    ***


    It was morning. I didn¡¯t completely wake up on the good side of the bed, but there were good on some other parts. Despite that, I had to smile when greeting my family. Sometimes showing that you¡¯re stressed just stresses out everyone else. Mother was a special one, truly, her smile was still as bright as ever, despite the thing we discovered.


    That was something I had to admire.


    For now, I was to have a meeting with my uncle as discussed with my father. Surprising that he could be here before noon, despite being called on such a short notice.


    I was in a guest room, waiting for him. Then came knockings on the door. Vernon went on to open it, allowing my uncle to enter.


    ¡°Estelia,¡± he sat in front of me. ¡°What do you need from me all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°I am in need of your immediate assistance. One that will require your expertise.¡±


    He sighed. ¡°Add another one on my plate? Very well, what is it?¡±


    ¡°I want to know about the major players in the market.¡±


    ¡°Whom do you refer to?¡±


    ¡°The merchants. Especially the biggest merchants in our capital city, ones whose reach expands all the way to the edge of our nation, or perhaps beyond.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s surprising. You seemed displeased. What did they do?¡±


    ¡°We discovered an affront to the crown, committed by these central figures in our market. We have determined which companies they are. I will need you to investigate them.¡±


    ¡°Which companies?¡±


    I told him the names of three companies. The first was the one who mainly financed and supported the production of crops, one that also owns large farms all around Wisteria.


    The second was the largest transportation company, one who handled the transportation of the goods, and one that would normally supply the guards.


    Then the third was an arms dealing company. One who had under their wing the most number of smiths that crafts weapons they would sell on the streets. Adventurers, travelers, common people, all kinds of people buying from them. Even the crown was often a customer.


    All in all, these three companies all did suspicious actions. It was pretty easy to discover once you knew where to look. Got to praise the competence of the staff.


    ¡°Those are major companies. Their heads are not to be trifled with, their wealth might even rival nobles outside the capital.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care. I want to learn everything about them. Their daily routines, their hobbies, their families, people they love and they hate.¡±


    ¡°We already have some information about them stored up.¡±


    ¡°Good, then give me updated ones in two days.¡±


    ¡°Two days?¡± His eyes widened in surprise. ¡°That¡¯s unreasonable.¡±


    ¡°Uncle, I do not request you to overwrite what you have on them. Just add on it, even just a little. Well, more precisely, I want you to figure out more about the crimes they have committed. Mera.¡±


    Mera placed a pile of papers on the table in front of him.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°Things that we have discovered about their outrageous actions. They are already summarized, but that should give you an idea.¡±


    ¡°... Aren¡¯t you rushing things a bit?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have much time, the details are in those documents.¡±


    ¡°... Two days¡­ Is that an absolute deadline?¡±


    ¡°If you cannot learn much, then, a disappointment it may be, we¡¯ll just have to do with what we have. But if you think you need an extension, feel free to ask.¡±


    He groaned. ¡°Will you give the extension, though?¡±


    ¡°Depends.¡±


    ¡°That is not reassuring.¡±


    ¡°Send the information you have about them to me today. Depending if it¡¯s enough for me, I will need to ask for you to come with me and¡­ meet them face to face.¡±


    ¡°What? Does this have something to do with that little shift in the plan that you mentioned?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Are we really going on an arduous path now?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s more than arduous.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Then I will act on this as soon as I¡¯m gone.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s more. Prepare to deploy the agents.¡±


    He sighed. ¡°I had the feeling that you would order that today.¡±


    ¡°Your instincts are impressive indeed.¡±


    ¡°Give me a few days.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    ¡°Will that be all, princess?¡±


    ¡°... I think so. I¡¯ll call you when something comes up.¡±


    ¡°You really need to be considerate to your uncle.¡±


    I shrugged with a smile. ¡°You¡¯re free to go, uncle.¡±


    ¡°Hm. Once those agents are out there within their houses, Wisteria will certainly have a slight change in its state of affairs.¡±


    ¡°All for the greater good.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 54: Merchants of Wisteria (Part 3)

    A middle-aged man placed the quill back into its container and reviewed the paper he was just writing on. He had brown hair and an inch length beard. His clothes were neat and made of fabric that no common folk could easily get their hands on, nor could they afford it.


    His hair was combed back, and he had a pleasant lingering fragrance of perfume over him. Fancy rings with gems colored his fingers. A man of wealth, a businessman whose power reached all around the nation of Wisteria.


    ¡°Here.¡± He handed the paper to one of his people.


    This man¡¯s name was Egid Gresnel, the leader of the Gresnel Company, a private enterprise that specialized in crop production and trade. With the consent and cooperation of the local lords, he owned several farms across Wisteria, where he cultivated various crops. Many nobles lacked the interest or expertise in farming, so they often depended on his company to take care of matters involving agriculture. But the core part of their business was to bring crops produced in Wisteria into the market, whether they grew it themselves or not.


    They were not alone in that service, but they were the first who expanded on such a grand scale. This company had been in their family for four generations. With every other company¡¯s decline, their opportunity.


    ¡°Sir,¡± another employee approached him. ¡°This is the report for our total produce for this month in four regions.¡±


    Egid received the paper and read the contents. He repressed the urge to sigh the moment that matter crossed his mind.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Would it even matter if I review this now?


    He set it down for now. In a few moments it would be time for lunch, he would like to take this chance to rest his mind a little. With another sigh, he rose from his seat and stood by the window, watching the busy streets of the beautiful city of Serene. The home of his family ever since the beginning.


    Work has been more tiring these last few years. He longed to be relieved of this, but he just couldn¡¯t.


    Just as he was lost in thought, loud steps suddenly barged through his door.


    ¡°Father!¡± The voice was from a small boy around the age of nine.


    The moment he heard him, Egid instantly turned around with a wide smile and spread out his arms. ¡°Juny!¡±


    The boy practically jumped into his arms, and Egid hugged him tightly. ¡°How¡¯s my boy, eh?¡±


    ¡°Amazing! I finally got to visit you at your work again.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t expect you at all. Who¡¯d you come with?¡±


    ¡°With Edric!¡±


    It was then another person entered the room, a young man around the age of fifteen. He walked with regality, his formal outfit was refined and neat. All in all, he was very well-dressed, making it apparent he was a son of someone extremely wealthy.


    ¡°Hello, father. I hope we didn¡¯t interrupt your work.¡± He placed a hand behind his head, as though feeling awkward, or perhaps shy.


    ¡°No, I was about to go to lunch anyway. We can eat together.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°Why did you come here? Is there something you need to get?¡±


    ¡°Not really. I just think it would be nice to study more of your business. The earlier, the better.¡±


    Egid smiled at his son¡¯s diligence and sense of responsibility. He had mentioned recently that he would be inheriting the business in the coming decade, or perhaps a little less than that. It was not his intention for Edric not to enjoy his young days first, because after all, once adulthood arrives, it would not be easy to find the joys we once had when young.


    But for now, it should be fine for Edric to learn a thing or two of the business, just the surface.


    ¡°I see. Then we¡¯ll start after lunch.¡±


    Egid led them to another room, where there was a long table and a group of chairs. It was a room used for dining in general, it could be for Egid alone, for dining with business partners, or for family.


    They sat down on the chairs, and Egid ordered one of his servants to bring the food. A moment later, several plates were placed on the table. Upon removal of all the lids, various delicious fragrance instantly permeated the air.


    A collection of assorted and expensive food made with the finest ingredients. A type of delight people of wealth could only enjoy.


    Then a particular large plate was placed in front of him, and upon lifting the lid, revealed a dish with ingredients that could never be found here in Wisteria. On the plate were many clams. An ingredient and delicacy that originated from the southern nation. It had only been brought here to Wisteria yesterday.


    They were not easy to bring, and not quite cheap. A luxury and privilege that nobles in this nation usually never even had. Although, in truth, nobles just wouldn¡¯t bother spending money on this kind of delicacy when something more delicious could be found here.


    Egid just wanted the aesthetic and the sense of specialty that came with eating something that originated in another nation. Perhaps he failed to realize he was involuntarily too arrogant for his own good, or perhaps he was aware.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    At any rate, this dish was his most favorite of all. And he was willing to spend dozens of gold coins just to eat this at least once a week.


    There was quite a lot of food on the table, which was a common occurrence. He wanted to taste each one, and he would always give the leftovers to his people after eating ¡ª which was still a lot, although he would always eat the entire clam soup. But for now, he was with his children, maybe there won¡¯t be much leftovers for today.


    They started eating.


    He watched his children with a smile. ¡°You like them?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s delicious!¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    It warmed his heart to see them enjoying the delicacies.


    ¡°Father, can I have some of that?¡± The youngest son pointed at the clams.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    He placed some clam soup onto his plate. This dish was made in their home a few times now, Juny must have found it incredibly delicious judging from how fast he was eating it. At this rate, this soup would end up being his favorite in the near future.


    He also gave some clam soup to his older son, who also quite enjoyed it. But he didn¡¯t have as much enthusiasm as his younger brother. He must have favored others.


    Once they were done eating, the servants began cleaning up, and the three drank their refreshments. Some juice.


    After getting a little more rest, they all rose from their seats and returned to Egid¡¯s office.


    ¡°Right then, I guess it¡¯s time to show how things work in this establishment.¡± He wrapped his arms around his oldest son and roughly rubbed his head. ¡°You better listen closely and remember, alright?¡±


    Edric chuckled with an awkward smile. ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°What about me, father?¡±


    Egid lowered his gaze to look at his youngest. ¡°You can come with us.¡±


    ¡°Aaaw, but I don¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to?¡±


    I guess, it¡¯s not like he¡¯s going to remember or understand everything.


    ¡°Alright, you can play with some toys. I¡¯ll have some brought to you, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay. What about snacks?¡±


    ¡°You just ate.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ I want to eat cookies!¡±


    ¡°Alright, then you¡¯ll have cookies.¡±


    ***


    It was now late in the afternoon, and it was time to close the office.


    ¡°So, did you learn a lot?¡± Egid asked his son as they got down the stairs.


    Edric was finishing his writing on a small notebook tied by a string before responding. ¡°I did, but there are some that I still need to wrap my head around.¡±


    ¡°Well, take it slow, there¡¯s no need to rush things.¡±


    As they went down, they met up with the youngest child brought by one of the staff watching over him. The two siblings talked with each other as Egid spoke to the servant standing by the door.


    ¡°The kids will be riding with me. We¡¯ll be using the carriage they used. Tomorrow morning, use my personal carriage to get me.¡±


    ¡°Understood, sir.¡±


    Together they exited the building, and just as they did, the carriage the children used pulled up in front of them. While the children got in first, Egid paused briefly as he looked around, suddenly feeling nervous. Likely because of the paranoia he felt after being compelled to do something unforgivable to the land he was born in. All of the time, every single day, it was almost like the people that threatened him were always watching.


    With a deep breath, he entered the carriage. After sitting down on the soft couch, he patted the wooden wall by the coachman. When the carriage began to move, they barely felt the shaking.


    He watched the outside quietly as his children chatted and played. The younger one flaunted his new toy from the office and Edric indulged him. Egid couldn¡¯t help but smile, amused at the friendly sight of the two.


    This enjoyable atmosphere kept on until they arrived at their destination. Home.


    The pair of guards on the other side opened the gates quickly. The carriage stopped at the front of a two-story mansion, majestic and grand, completed with a few balconies and wide windows. Although, despite their riches, it couldn¡¯t match the mansions of the capital nobles. Egid was not the one that built this but his ancestors before him, perhaps they showed restraint to not offend the nobles, or perhaps they just wanted to save their coins.


    In any case, the house was enough for now. But he was planning on renovating some parts, or perhaps expand and beautify the front yard even more, or perhaps add a fountain in the middle of the road.


    After getting out, the children rushed inside while Egid briefly glanced at the darkening sky before catching up to the two. They were greeted first most by Egid¡¯s wife. The moment he laid eyes on her, all the problems, and the weight on his shoulders, washed away.


    He hugged her and kissed her on the lips.


    ¡°How¡¯s work?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Fine as always. Nothing too headache inducing.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± She turned towards the two children. ¡°Did you have a good day? What about you Juny, did you have fun in your father¡¯s office?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°I see you have a new toy.¡±


    ¡°Yes! It¡¯s cool, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes. Very cool.¡± She smiled tenderly then turned towards their oldest son. ¡°Edric, how was your study?¡±


    ¡°I learned many things, mother. But I still have a lot to learn.¡±


    ¡°Eager to learn! I like it. You three must be tired. Do you want to eat? After a little rest, the food should be ready.¡±


    Complying with her request, the family assembled in the lobby to rest. Edric shared to her mother what he had learned and then expressed some of the confusion he had. But Egid was there to settle some of it, while the others he would need firsthand experience. The youngest couldn¡¯t understand anything of course, so he was playing in his own world.


    Eventually, the food was ready, and they all immediately assembled in the dining room to eat. Home food definitely was the best, Egid couldn¡¯t help but feel great peace and relief. Even more so when eating with his beloved family. He was happy. Every moment like this, he would treasure every single day.


    After finishing eating and cleaning up, he rested for a while for the food to be digested. Egid and his wife went to bring the children to each of their rooms. Each corridor, and each room was extravagantly decorated, chandeliers lighting up every corner.


    When that was done, he and his wife went straight to their bedroom, all peaceful as usual. Nothing to disturb them.


    ***


    Early in the morning, just as the sun rose up, Egid was notified that his carriage had arrived. He pulled and fixed his collar before going for the front doors.


    ¡°See you later, love,¡± He said to his wife, and they kissed before he went out. The kids were still asleep at this hour, as usual. There was no need to wake them.


    There were two people in the driver¡¯s seat, one was the coachman, and the other was a muscular man ¡ª his long acquainted guard.


    ¡°Good morning to you two.¡±


    He greeted them, and they greeted back with a smile. The moment he was inside, the carriage began to move. He waved one last time to his wife.


    It was the usual routine. However, after several minutes of leaving the mansion, the carriage suddenly stopped. Egid¡¯s brow knitted in confusion. He set aside the curtain of his window, but the moment he did so, someone, a man, forced the door open.


    ¡° ¡ª Who are you?!¡±


    The man was in a brown cloak, his gaze fierce as he stared Egid in the eyes and sat down opposite of him.


    ¡°Greetings, Mr. Gresnel. We have come for you.¡±


    ¡°How? Where are my men?!¡± He glanced outside to see a couple of more strangers.


    ¡°Your guards cannot hope to defeat a royal knight, merchant.¡±


    His eyes widened in surprise.


    Did he hear that right?


    A royal knight?


    What were they doing here?


    ¡°W-What do you want from me?¡±


    ¡°To talk. But not here. Someone important wishes to speak with you personally.¡±


    ¡°Who¡ª¡±


    Before he could ask, the man covered his head with a bag ¡ª his vision completely obstructed. And before he knew it, he was forcefully dragged out of his carriage.


    ¡°Let¡¯s ride in something else to be more discrete, shall we?¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 55: Merchants of Wisteria (Part 4)

    He was being dragged in both arms, his feet sliding on a solid floor. He breathed heavily through the bag covering his head, wondering what in the world was going on. Was he being brought to a prison? What would the royal knights want from him?


    Have they discovered what he had done perhaps? No, impossible, the plan was perfect and undetectable. This could be regarding something else. He wanted to resist, but that may prove to be more damaging and suspicious considering that these were royal knights. It was best to behave for now. Besides, it was not like he was being hurt.


    Although, he didn¡¯t know what these knights had done to the men that were with him.


    Before he knew it, he was carelessly pushed down on what felt like a chair. His bag was removed, he squinted his eyes as it refocused in the new lighting. There was a rectangular table in front of him, on each side were two familiar people.


    On his right was a somewhat muscular man, crossing his arms, his leg was restless. He appeared to be somewhat angry, or perhaps annoyed. But one could imagine he was nervous as well. Egid recognized him. He was the head of an arms production business ¡ª the Bronwen company.


    On his left was a woman with short hair, middle aged. Unlike the other one who was hiding his weakness, this one made no effort to do it. She was tightly pressing her lips together, looking around with blatant nervousness. No, perhaps she was trying to hide it, but just couldn¡¯t. Egid knew her as well, much better than Bronwen, that was because they have worked together on many different occasions. She was the head of a transportation service, the Indira Transports Company. The company that usually transports the goods Egid¡¯s company produces.


    She turned towards him. ¡°Egid, you¡¯re here too. This could only me¡ª¡±


    ¡°Stop, Sina. We did nothing.¡±


    ¡°...¡± she lowered her head, stiff.


    When Egid turned his head to the right, Bronwen was staring at them with narrowed eyes.


    What did he do?


    Curious, why was the head of arms production brought here?


    Egid looked around the building, walls made of wood. Given the large space they were in, this could be some sort of warehouse. Although he was clueless about where this place might be.


    By the corners, there were men standing in the shadows. Despite announcing they were royal knights, they wore no armor nor sigil that would suggest they were. That could be a reason to doubt what they said they were. Perhaps they were lying about being royal knights just to intimidate Egid and the others, or make them hesitant to resist.


    That was his theory at first, but then steps came walking towards them, from the entrance. There were five men in cloak, but in the wave of their steps revealed a glimpse of the Wisterian Royal Knight armor. They positioned themselves by the walls, but they kept their hoods over their heads.


    Afterwards, another person walked in, behind her were four other men.


    That person looked around. ¡°Cozy and quiet, a perfect spot for a pleasant time with our esteemed guests. Good job.¡±


    It was a feminine voice, sweet and soothing.


    She slowly lowered her hood. The moment Egid and the others gazed on her face, their eyes widened, tracing the beautiful platinum colored hair. They seemed to glimmer even in this dim room, a quality much more valuable than any jewels they may possess.


    Her pair of crimson eyes were something that was so special and unique, so mesmerizing. Her skin was as pale as the falling snow in winter, a shade on a person who no one else had seen in their life ¡ª except for one time. Yes, they recognized her, how could they not?


    But of all places, they could never even begin to imagine that they would see her in a place like this.


    She was smiling delightfully as she gently untied her cloak and gave it to a knight. The more Egid stared at her, the more the true meaning of beauty seemed to dismantle. Indeed, hers was a beauty not any commoner could ever hope to behold or comprehend, especially here up close. For her very presence destroyed the meaning of what was beauty, and rewrote it.


    And it could potentially drive any person insane.


    That was a fact.


    Those who were not used to seeing beauty would definitely fall into madness upon beholding her. One could only imagine how a man would become at her slightest touch. One could imagine how her beauty would slowly corrupt the heart and the mind of those who fell in love with her.


    She approached the other end of the table, in the direction Egid was facing.


    ¡°There¡¯s no chair.¡± She looked directly at him. ¡°Mr. Egid Gresnel...¡±


    Egid¡¯s breath caught up on his throat, it was not because this personification of beauty called him by name, but because she knew his name. Him, who seemed insignificant before her. He was not proud, but rather he disturbed. She spoke his name not with warmth, but there was something in her voice.


    She continued. ¡°There¡¯s a chair behind you. Would you be so kind as to bring it to me?¡±


    He looked around. Everyone was staring at him. Feeling tense, and with no other choice but to obey, he rose from his seat and grabbed the chair for her, wary as he did. After properly placing the chair, he slowly stepped back, then the lady smiled at him.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    He didn¡¯t know how to properly respond, so all he could do was bow his head and return to his seat.


    The lady elegantly sat down and quietly stared at each one of them for a moment before asking, ¡°Do you know who I am?¡±


    The three looked at each other, hesitant to even speak.


    ¡°Come now, greatest merchants of Wisteria, can¡¯t even answer such a simple question?¡±


    ¡° ¡ª The princess.¡± The one to answer was Bronwen. ¡°Princess Estelia¡­¡±


    The princess¡¯s smile widened, as if pleased. ¡°Oh, I should express how much of an honor it is to be known by a great blacksmith such as you, Mr. Lobran Bronwen.¡±


    ¡°I mean¡­ who wouldn¡¯t know about you as the sole princess¡­ Although, this is merely the second time I ever saw you.¡±


    She giggled. ¡°It¡¯s nice to make your acquaintance. I suppose business is going well?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, your highness, thank you for asking.¡±


    ¡°I imagine demand must be soaring at these times.¡±


    ¡°...¡± His eyes blinked for a moment, as if pondering. Then he awkwardly smiled. ¡°... I can¡¯t really tell, but you could say that.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t want to tell me the specifics? That¡¯s alright, businesses have to keep their own secrets after all.¡± Her eyes and smile were so kind, all pure. ¡°Say, Mr. Lobran, how are the kids?¡±


    When he heard that question, the smile disappeared from Lobran¡¯s face. ¡°.... They¡­ they¡¯re doing fine, thank you for asking¡­¡±


    ¡°I heard your eldest son has been traveling for a while now, about¡­ how long has it been since he left the city?¡±


    ¡°...... About two weeks ago¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, two weeks ago. One could only wonder how far he had reached. He must be having a thrilling adventure, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°I imagine so.¡±


    ¡°I hope you taught him any precautions in any unexpected danger.¡±


    ¡°... I have taught him all I know, he will be fine.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. As for your eight-year-old daughter, I heard she had a perfect score on her tutor¡¯s monthly exam. Smart kid.¡±


    ¡°... How did you¡­? Princess¡­ W-What¡­?¡±


    ¡°What? I am merely trying to get to know you more. Why? You don¡¯t like it? Don¡¯t you like talking with me?¡±


    ¡°N-No¡­ that¡¯s not ¡ª¡±


    She sighed. ¡°What a disappointment¡­ I was looking forward to talking with other people for a change, but it would seem no one likes me¡­¡± her gaze shifted to another merchant, the woman, and tilted her head in curiosity. ¡°Sina, are you feeling alright? Are you sick?¡±


    She flinched. ¡°N-Not exactly, your highness. Just a little headache.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± she placed a finger on her cheek, thinking. ¡°Can you endure it for a little while longer? We¡¯ll be having a serious discussion in a moment.¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°T-That is completely fine with me, your h-highness.¡±


    ¡°Very good. Once we¡¯re done, we can arrange for, what was his name again¡­? Ah, Garnel.¡±


    At that name, Sina¡¯s eyes widened, her mouth agape as she stared at the princess.


    The princess continued as she turned towards a knight. ¡°Maybe when we¡¯re done, we can bring Garnel to come and pick her¡ª¡±


    ¡°NO!¡±


    Sina screamed, everyone other than the three pointed hostile gazes towards her. Sina froze in fear.


    ¡°What was that, Sina? No?¡± the princess asked in a gentle voice as she waved her hand up and down towards the knights, gesturing for them to settle down.


    Sina forced herself to speak. ¡°... T-There¡¯s no need t-to call him.¡±


    ¡°Why? I thought you two had something special going on. I¡¯m sure he wouldn¡¯t mind picking you up.¡±


    With little tears coming out of the corner of her eyes, she pursed her lips tight before squeezing out a few words. ¡°... I will be alright in a few minutes¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm, if you say so. Then, seeing as Ms. Sina is not feeling well, I think we should get straight to business.¡± Her high and friendly smile dropped, her lips in a straight line. ¡°We have discovered suspicious activities involving the biggest industries in our Kingdom. And these activities are certain to cause irreversible damage. Do you happen to have any idea about those?¡±


    ¡°... I don¡¯t see how my weapons could cause irreversible damage to our nation.¡± Lobran answered confidently.


    ¡°You think so?¡± Her smile appeared again.


    ¡°Yes, your highness¡­ However, there is one here whose business is essential to the whole of Wisteria.¡±


    Lobran¡¯s gaze shifted towards one man.


    ¡°Mr. Egid Gresnel,¡± the princess called out to him, staring directly into his eyes. ¡°You have been awfully quiet. Care to share whatever knowledge you possess?¡±


    Egid subtly swallowed before responding and speaking to the princess for the first time. ¡°Your highness, I see and encounter problems of all kinds every day. If you may be more specific about which you refer?¡±


    ¡°... I think you know precisely what I¡¯m talking about. The part where our food supplies are dwindling at a steady rate, where in one year we will face a high possibility of famine.¡±


    Egid gripped the fabric of his trousers, trying to keep his composure, in an attempt to avoid looking suspicious. He noticed Sina¡¯s terrified gaze pointed towards him.


    After subtly taking a deep breath, he replied to the princess. ¡°I apologize, but I am not aware of such.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the head of your organization and you do not know something so critical? I find that hard to believe,¡± Lobran said with a scoff.


    ¡°He¡¯s right, Mr. Gresnel. Your name appeared on all the papers we reviewed.¡±


    Egid recalled the records the crown ordered to have. He didn¡¯t want to give any to them, but it was a royal order, and refusing to cooperate would only serve to be his undoing. But to think they would go through all of it, they would have to go through thousands of pages to get the whole statistics of Wisteria¡¯s situation. Simply absurd.


    ¡°Princess I¡ª¡±


    ¡°I swear if you lie to my face again, I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯ll have no home to return to.¡±


    Sweat beaded on his back, a cold sensation engulfed him as the princess¡¯s gaze changed into something other than warmth and kindness they possessed just a second ago. ¡°...¡±


    ¡°We surmised that you were not alone in the sabotage. Bandit activity has been on the rise ever since about three years ago, robbing cargos, mostly cargos that your company was managing, Ms. Sina. Barely a report was made to the authorities. What happened, Ms. Sina? I doubt a group of bandits could defeat guards under your employ.¡±


    ¡°I-I d-don¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Choose your next words carefully, Ms. Sina. Our words can have dire consequences.¡±


    Sina lowered her head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, princess. They made me do it.¡± She closed her eyes as tears fell down her cheek.


    ¡°What did they make you do?¡±


    ¡°To lower security of the goods under Gresnel¡¯s company, and report no incidents. To allow the robbery to take place.¡±


    ¡°Why did you participate?¡±


    ¡°They said we will be rewarded when a new order arrives in return of¡­ letting Wisteria suffer.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s treason!¡± Lobran roared, pointing his finger at her. ¡°How could you?!¡±


    ¡°I-I didn¡¯t want to! They would kill me if I refuse! Please understand! I didn¡¯t have a choice!¡±


    ¡°What a fool!¡±


    ¡° ¡ª Mr. Bronwen, I was speaking with her. Don¡¯t you dare interrupt us again.¡±


    Lobran froze with a stiff expression, glaring towards Sina before nodding his head. ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°So, Ms. Sina. You are guilty.¡±


    ¡°B-But¡ª¡±


    ¡°And your accomplice, Mr. Gresnel, seemed to be keen on hiding the truth.¡± She shifted her gaze towards him. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, I know what you have done. At least, enough to convict you of treason. But if you want to confess, I will allow it.¡±


    Egid lowered his head. ¡°I was ordered to gradually reduce Wisteria¡¯s food supply, whether sabotaging the farms, robbery, or letting unprocessed crops rot.¡±


    The princess¡¯s expression turned blank as she asked a question. ¡°Do you know what the punishment for treason is?¡±


    ¡°... Death.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. But your crimes seek to aid the complete downfall of our nation. Under my request, and I will, you will not die on the noose. Death would be too easy for you.¡±


    Egid felt a chill down his spine.


    ¡°You three shall have a fate worse than death, hell in life.¡±


    ¡°Wait, three? Princess, I am not involved in this! I have nothing to do with anything.¡± he abruptly rose from his seat, looking downward towards the princess. ¡°Why should I be punished for their crimes?! This is absurd!¡±


    It was at that moment that the princess¡¯s gaze changed. A blow of wind came out from nowhere, pushing Lobran to the point that he almost lost his balance. It was bewildering. There was no hole big enough around on the walls nor roof to allow a wind this strong to enter, and that wind precisely seemed to target him. But it was only strong enough to disorient him. That wind almost seemed calculated.


    ¡°Ggh!¡±


    For unexplainable reason, Lobran began to choke, placing his hand on his chest as if he was having difficulty breathing. Both Egid and Sina could not understand what was going on.


    Unable to endure it, Lobran dropped back down on his seat, his face red. Intense fear was written all over his face as he raised his eyes towards the other end of the table, towards who had been quietly staring at him. He knew it ¡ª everyone knew who was behind this. And those who were lucky to not taste her wrath felt chills down their spine.


    ¡°Fool, you see yourself as innocent? What do you even think is the reason you¡¯re here, hm?¡±


    Is that a noble¡¯s magic?


    She was doing nothing, not a gesture or anything. Egid had seen plenty of magic spells being cast, but not like this. He had never even heard a magic spell that chokes out a man with a mere gaze.


    Just how powerful is a royal?


    No, perhaps the real question was: Just how powerful was she?


    ¡°Perhaps you need some reminder,¡± the princess continued. ¡°There were weapons that had no destination written in the records. Where they went, who knows? Perhaps you can tell us, Mr. Bronwen. Where did those weapons go?¡±


    As if the pressure had been removed, Lobran coughed out loudly and panting heavily. ¡°Hah, hah¡­ Weapons¡­ Ah¡­¡± Realization dawned on him, but that realization only intensified his fear after the close touch with death. ¡°I¡­ Those¡­ weapons were brought to the forests.¡±


    ¡°Care to elaborate?¡±


    ¡°There, there were anonymous orders for arsenals, and they offered quite a hefty amount.¡± He took a deep breath. ¡°They were to be delivered to various places.¡±


    ¡°What kind of places?¡±


    ¡°... Somewhere within forests. Secluded areas.¡±


    ¡°Who is receiving them? Surely you met at least a representative.¡±


    ¡°We were told to just leave them at the given location and leave.¡±


    ¡°Hm. Do you see the connection here, you traitorous three?¡±


    The three of them bitterly looked at each other. They knew the answer, but it was hard to speak out. It was one crime of the highest degree, they were all connected to a conspiracy aiming to destroy Wisteria.


    Due to their silent guilt, the princess answered for them. ¡°The bandits used the weapons, which I guess one of the purposes is to attack cargos carrying our already dwindling food supply. Made even worse by the loose security and the lack of reports to the authorities. Three whole years of sabotage. We were lucky to discover the plot before it was too late.¡±


    She fell silent, staring at each one of them with her eyes lacking emotion. The color that once filled with warmth, now turned dim and cold. Disappointment, resentment ¡ª no, there was none there at all. It was just indifference. Indifference towards the three of them, whatever their fate may end up, she would not care, nor would anything touch her heart.


    Even if something terrible happened to them, her heart would not be tinged in the slightest.


    Egid felt at that moment that they earned the ire far worse than the people from the empire that he met.


    ¡°Everything you have will be forfeit. Your enterprise, homes, your wealth, all will be taken as your punishment. There will be nothing left for you and your family. Can you imagine how it would be for you? Even that is hard for me, I have to admit.¡±


    She chuckled. ¡°No soft bed to sleep on, searching food in the trash, no beautiful yard with a fountain to be seen every day. What a terrible thing to experience. But I digress, you will be left with nothing, those that you intend your children to inherit,¡± the princess stared directly into Egid¡¯s eyes. ¡°Gone. Hell in life.¡±


    Egid lowered his head, hands and legs trembling at the idea of losing everything. It was unthinkable. Generations of history and hard work to be reduced to nothing, forgotten. What his son was supposed to inherit, what his family was supposed to live on¡­ how could they hope to live?


    How could they hope to survive without a home, without wealth, without anything? How could they live like a beggar on the street, stomach aching due to hunger in most days? His family would suffer a hellish life.


    Egid heard the muffled crying of Sina, while Lobran remained frozen.


    ¡°Is it too scary? I¡¯m sorry, perhaps you would like to calm your nerves.¡±


    Egid slowly raised his eyes to see the princess waving at a knight. She received a bottle of wine.


    ¡°One of the finest in the palace¡¯s collection. I heard it¡¯s very expensive,¡± she smiled before sliding it on the table towards the three. ¡°I¡¯m sure you will enjoy it.¡±


    The three looked at each other, unsure of how to react.


    ¡°Oh, I forgot about the wineglasses. I guess you will have to share.¡±


    A drink, as if what one would have before their formal execution.


    Egid slowly reached out for the bottle before him, his hand sweating and trembling. His chest was heavy, hard to breathe. The sensation of the cold glass bottle was so clear on his fingertips.


    ¡°But before that, I have something to propose.¡±


    Everyone, puzzled while distressed, slowly shifted their eyes towards the princess. She was smiling softly.


    ¡°That was merely one of the options for punishment.¡±


    ¡°...One of the options¡­?¡± Lobran asked.


    ¡°The other option aside from the first, well in this one you can keep all of that you have.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°You will follow the crown¡¯s orders, absolute obedience. You will directly serve the crown, even your descendants, until the end of times. You will protect your homeland.¡±


    At that, everyone''s eyes lit up ever so slightly.


    ¡°However, at the first sign of betrayal and disobedience, the crown may do whatever it wishes to punish you. Either take everything from you, or execution.¡±


    The three of them looked at each other.


    Then the princess continued. ¡°So? Which will you choose?¡±


    Sina rose from her seat and deeply bowed her head. ¡°I-I will serve!¡±


    Then Lobran followed, rising and deeply bowing his head. ¡°I, and my descendants, will serve the crown.¡±


    Egid slowly rose. He pondered for a brief moment, would he really bound himself and his children, and their children¡¯s children to the crown? To be servants, or perhaps, to be slaves? Was it truly the best option? To either suffer, or survive, which one would be the best?


    Those thoughts plagued him. But he must make a choice here and now. If his family would have the best life, then, there would be no other choice but to choose the latter option. They may have to follow the crown¡¯s biddings, but at least, for the most part, they¡¯ll be alright.


    ¡°My bloodline, and our whole enterprise¡­ will be faithfully loyal to the nation of Wisteria, and to the crown.¡±


    He deeply bowed his head.


    ¡°I¡¯m relieved to have this resolution.¡± The princess stood up, smiling brightly. ¡°At least, no one has to suffer, and that makes me happy. For now, enjoy this day, do what you love, or enjoy some clam soup, or whatever.¡±


    Egid clenched his trousers.


    She waved to one of the knights to bring her cloak. ¡°I will send a representative soon to give you your orders.¡±


    Before she picked the cloak, she continued. ¡°Raise your heads and look at me.¡±


    And everyone did, and they stopped breathing as she spoke.


    ¡°Do not disappoint.¡±


    She picked up the cloak and wrapped it around herself.


    ¡°Until next time, lady and gentlemen. May Wisteria prevail. Oh, and keep the wine. Hide it or drink it, it¡¯s up to you.¡±


    With that, the princess walked away, and the knights that were surrounding them marched behind her.


    A moment later, there was silence as no one else remained but the three.


    They looked at each other before Egid picked up the wine bottle.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 56: The Person Behind the Crown (Part 1)

    After leaving the door to the warehouse behind me, upon reaching the carriage, I heaved a long sigh, as if exhausted. Seemingly enduring it, I gave the surrounding men a sweet smile. I did my best~!


    Praise your princess!


    ¡°That certainly ended up as expected, I am relieved no one had to die.¡±


    It would surely break my fragile heart to see someone die, despite being threatened to do treason against Wisteria.


    ¡°Was it really necessary to intimidate them like that, niece?¡±


    I turned towards my uncle behind me. Yeah he was there. I wanted to leave him back in the palace, but nooo, he was just so stubborn and had to follow me. But he was not the only one. There was one unexpected party that came along, who was strangely quiet from behind the group.


    ¡°I thought it was a good way of convincing them of the better option?¡±


    ¡°Given the punishment, I think going straight to the point would have been fine.¡±


    What? But where¡¯s the fun in that? In all seriousness, I think scaring them was definitely a must, not just for my own satisfaction, of course, just so they would be more scared of the crown than the Empire. Make them realize we hold more power to them than some foreigners.


    The closer the object of terror, the better. Now for the subject of fear, however¡­


    ¡°Well, whatever, as long as all things end up well. You have to admit, I did a pretty good job, right?¡±


    My eyes were bright with anticipation of praise, I must have been adorable. So innocent. As if a child finally made her first biggest achievement ever.


    Uncle winced slightly, as if disturbed by something, before looking away with a small smirk. ¡°I suppose. Yes, good job.¡±


    ¡°That was pretty cool, definitely!¡± Rogan praised me. ¡°I never thought you would become that scary.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I didn¡¯t have a choice, so I had to be.¡± I smiled awkwardly.


    Although, I liked that he praised me. Unlike my uncle! He may have praised me, but I didn¡¯t feel pleased at all. In fact, I was not looking for his praise. Fuck him.


    Rogan then continued. ¡°Yeah, remind me not to piss you off next time. Anyways, amazing acting, princess.¡± He gave me a thumbs up.


    Yeaaaah, acting¡­


    I smiled back at him. However, the other person who I wanted even just a little praise from just stood at the back, looking down at the soil. Namely, it was my eldest brother, Eleden.


    Why¡¯s he getting gloomy all of a sudden?


    I noticed this strange air around him whenever he was in my presence. He might try to act like a proper brother, but there¡¯s just something else. Like some sort of conflict. I didn¡¯t know exactly what it was.


    I didn¡¯t even know why he was so adamant about coming with me. There was no need for his presence. And I was quite surprised to hear him requesting to join me. He mentioned he just wanted to watch me work, and I just had to agree in the end. He might learn a thing or two.


    Got to help Father with education here and there, you know.


    I¡¯m a good daughter.


    ¡°What do you wish to do with the merchants?¡± my uncle asked. ¡°Are you seriously letting them relax today?¡±


    ¡°Of course. And I will give you my directives pretty soon. Make sure the plans for the nobles are ready for us to act all at once.¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then I will see you at the palace, uncle.¡±


    ¡°I will not be coming back to the palace. I need to be somewhere else.¡±


    ¡°I see. Alright, then. I will go ahead.¡± I faced the two servants that came with me. ¡°Vernon, Rogan, let¡¯s go.¡±


    The two servants sat in the driver¡¯s seat, to¡­ well, for one of them to drive. I glanced at my uncle, watching him go to his carriage after giving me a brief farewell.


    ¡°Brother? We can go.¡± I called out to my brother, who was spacing out.


    ¡°...Oh, yes. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    After I entered the carriage first, he followed ¡ª still wearing that conflicted face. Honestly, what was wrong with him?


    The carriage rattled as it moved.


    A minute passed.


    I was casually looking out through the windows, trying to enjoy the scenery of the outside. However, this strange atmosphere in this small room was spoiling my enjoyment.


    When I shifted my eyes towards him, I caught him staring into my face.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    I resisted the urge to sigh and asked him a question. ¡°Is something the matter, brother?¡±


    ¡°Nothing¡­¡±


    ¡°I know this can¡¯t be nothing. Please speak to me.¡±


    He lowered his gaze for a moment. ¡°You have been behaving so strangely.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°You are so different that it¡­ scares me.¡±


    I quietly took a deep breath. I never thought he would feel that way. I wasn¡¯t even trying to scare anyone in my family.


    ¡°Brother¡­ There is nothing to be afraid of.¡±


    ¡°... I know¡­ I know. You¡¯re my sister. But, I can¡¯t say I am comfortable with your change.¡±


    I closed my eyes. You know, in the past, it may have been irritating to keep acting like a pure princess. But, as time passed, it felt like I would rather be that, than the other. My family liked me that way, and it was for the best, even for me. It was more peaceful. Tiring it may be, I didn¡¯t want my family to keep their distance from me.


    But¡­ this situation just kept pushing me.


    I had nothing to say to my brother of course, so I stayed silent.


    He continued. ¡°You spared them, the merchants.¡±


    ¡°They may have committed crimes, but they can be helpful in some other parts.¡±


    His brow knitted a little. ¡°Perhaps you mean useful?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°You spared them because they can be useful.¡±


    ¡°... It would be a waste to cast them away. Might as well have them help Wisteria as much as possible.¡±


    ¡°So Allie was discarded because she wasn¡¯t useful anymore?¡±


    Oh, so this is about that.


    Dammit, brother. Still carry some compassion for her? So that¡¯s why he had been acting strange around me ever since Allie was executed. I tried to keep a straight face, but I was resisting the urge to place a hand on my forehead.


    Thinking back on the request of Allie being treated better in the dungeon, indeed he might have been carrying some pity to that girl. But it would seem that having that poor girl executed put him in quite a shock, or conflict of feelings ¡ª perhaps about me.


    ¡°Allie had lived a life of suffering, perhaps what happened to her might have been salvation.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with living through suffering?¡±


    ¡°What happened to her may have been mercy.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not mercy, my sister¡­¡±


    ¡°You think so? Well, in any case, Allie¡¯s allegiance was never to us. The crown decided what it did because she may be a crack in our foundations.¡±


    ¡°Having her killed¡­ even that is too much.¡±


    ¡°... Brother¡­ let me tell you this. That kind of sentiment can sometimes be our undoing.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying we must harden our hearts?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯m saying having a good heart is wonderful, and a lot of people must have it. But our positions are full of peril. We must have heart, we must not lose our hearts, but we must choose a side as well.¡± As what father had said. ¡°The side that is more important to us, and we do what we must and what is the safest.¡±


    He closed his eyes. ¡°You really are something else¡­ What you did to the merchants¡­ truly amazing.¡± He sighed. ¡°And here I am, like this¡­ Even Father is troubled. But you¡­ you are more fitting for the throne.¡±


    What? No, no, no. Don¡¯t give me that inferiority complex thing! I don¡¯t want the throne! Keep it!


    ¡°Brother,¡± I reached out for his hand. ¡°I am not fit for the throne. There¡¯s a reason why you are proclaimed to inherit it, not me.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ I am¡­ weak.¡±


    ¡°No, you have a strong and kind heart. And that is a fine thing to have as a king. You need only learn more.¡±


    ¡°And you do not have what it takes to rule?¡±


    ¡°Brother, I don¡¯t like people. They scare me. I am not good at anything diplomatic, nor do I have any actual work experience. And ultimately, being at the center of attention is very strenuous.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I have more flaws that distances me from the throne. And you, my brother, need only take a few steps to get there.¡±


    I placed a hand on his cheek. ¡°Do not lose hope. You will improve. I have faith in you... I know you will become a brilliant king.¡± I smiled fondly. ¡°Do you understand, my dear brother?¡±


    He sighed, and then gently placed his hand over mine. ¡°I understand. Thank you, Estelia.¡±


    A loss of confidence. What a terrible thing. I have always felt like that, don¡¯t we all? You see someone shine more brightly, and you put yourself in the shadows.


    But people often forget, we have our own light to cast.


    Eventually we arrived at the palace. Through the window, my eyes narrowed when I saw some unfamiliar knights in white armor.


    ¡°Um, are those knights what I think they are?¡± I asked my brother.


    ¡°Paladins. Were they supposed to come at this hour?¡±


    Well shit, I was supposed to avoid them and not show myself to any of them. As the purest of all existence, they might do something that would be too much  ¡ª kidding. I must avoid them to keep me off their radar.


    But paladins, huh¡­ Can they bless me to have more good luck than bad? Can they do a miracle that would make my troubles disappear? Please¡­?


    Okay, aside from wallowing in my troubles, now that we have stopped here, someone had to get out of the carriage. So there was only one.


    ¡°Brother, I apologize, but I think you alone should leave the carriage. I will enter on the other side of the palace.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    ¡°Please tell the plan to the drivers.¡±


    With that, he exited the carriage. After speaking with the drivers, he went on to the palace entrance and greeted the paladins. Meanwhile, our carriage moved away. The carriage parked at the special spot for the royals, and I promptly exited.


    I looked towards Rogan and Vernon as a servant came to take care of the horses. ¡°What an unfortunate timing.¡±


    Vernon nodded. ¡°Indeed.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    We made our way to the other entrance. There was no problem at all, and we reached the door guarded by a pair of knights. They were surprised at first when they saw me, but we continued onward.


    I couldn¡¯t risk going up and accidentally encountering anyone, and thus, I went straight ahead to the guest room I usually use. Father wouldn¡¯t just let anyone else use it, knowing I always hang out there.


    Once we reached the guest room, all was clear, and I stayed here. I sent Vernon to check things out and tell me when all was safe. It took some time before he returned. He then told me that Father would be coming here shortly.


    He must be excited to hear the news of my outing!


    And thus, after a few minutes, father did arrive.


    Father sat down on the seat next to my couch. ¡°The envoy will be leaving tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great! What did he find?¡±


    ¡°Holy magic had no special effects on the flesh, so it was assured they were not demons.¡±


    ¡°What are they planning with that discovery, then?¡±


    ¡°They decided to trust the matter to us, thankfully. That will keep them off our backs for a while. But he did say that he¡¯ll be investigating a little bit within his nation.¡±


    ¡°At least things calmed down.¡±


    ¡°And you arrived just when they were here. Too close for comfort.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± I smiled in relief.


    ¡°So, what resulted in your talks with the merchants?¡±


    My smile grew wider, sweeter than before. ¡°They agreed to help the crown to their full capabilities. Forever.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean forever?¡±


    ¡°They will serve the rulers of Wisteria from here on out, and not just them, their descendants as well. The crown owns them now.¡±


    His eyes widened. ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t think it would go that far¡­¡±


    ¡°It just ended that way.¡± I giggled adorably. I noticed a bit of a puzzled reaction from my two servants, but I ignored them. I continued. ¡°But if their family line, their company, goes against the kingdom again, all will be stripped from them. And when I say all, I mean everything they own.¡±


    ¡°And they agreed to that?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    ¡°... I see. This surpassed my expectations. So they will not be prisoners?¡±


    ¡°No, they will be required to act.¡±


    ¡°And what would you have them do?¡±


    ¡°Help us prepare for war.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 57: The Person Behind the Crown (Part 2)

    A few days had passed since Meril had last met with the princess. It was when she went out of her fortress just to threaten three merchants into becoming slaves to the crown. Although Meril couldn¡¯t take it at face value.


    For the crown? Not entirely, it was not for the rulers. That was what Meril¡¯s intuition told of the deeper meaning behind her actions. She mentioned making those merchants afraid. But considering her presence there, their symbol of fear was not the king nor the queen of their homeland. It was Estelia herself.


    No, not only fear, but their salvation as well.


    If those were not her intention, she wouldn¡¯t have needed to come personally. And yet she did.


    Estelia wanted control in the facade of it being the crown behind it all.


    Her power grows, hiding in the shadows.


    And now, here he was in her presence once more after being summoned. She sat there on the couch with a soft expression, he could sense that she seemed annoyed by his presence. Meril had noticed it for quite a while now, although admittedly he might have intended to annoy her a little for some time. There was something hiding within her, some darkness. And he wanted to have a glimpse.


    But perhaps he already had, during the meeting with the merchants. Maybe she was acting, or not.


    Curiosity kills, one might say. But curiosity, upon being given an answer, grants one with great relief.


    ¡°Estelia, what work might you add to your overworked uncle now?¡±


    For some reason, her sweet smile only widened a little. Did she find his suffering entertaining to some degree?


    ¡°Uncle, you¡¯re working hard.¡±


    ¡°Very.¡±


    ¡°I see. But I trust no one else with this decree for the merchants we have in our service.¡±


    Estelia gestured for her maid, Mera, to give Meril an envelope. Upon receiving it, Meril immediately opened it.


    As he did, he asked a question to the princess. ¡°A top secret file?¡±


    ¡°Best to keep it hidden as possible. I don¡¯t want it leaking somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we already keeping things quiet?¡± He pulled out a sheet of paper from within the envelope.


    ¡°This one is extremely essential. We cannot let our enemies have even the slightest whiff of it.¡±


    ¡°Does your father know about this? Surely you told him, he¡¯s the King.¡±


    ¡°Of course he knows. What use is that plan if the head of the nation is oblivious to it?¡±


    ¡°... And what about your servants?¡±


    ¡°They know nothing.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Meril read the contents of the paper. He sighed after a while.


    ¡°This much, huh. In such a small time frame. But this may save us in times of need.¡±


    Meril couldn¡¯t help but feel astonished by her foresight. How could someone who was basically a useless child among royalty become this helpful and impressive? Where had she been hiding this excellence? Surely she was never acting like an idiot for the hell of it.


    Or maybe she was? But why?


    Was it because she was too lazy about any responsibility that she acted incompetent? What person would even have that determination to do such a ridiculous thing? In any case, judging from what she had been showing lately, she was dangerous.


    What was her truth?


    When he had the urge to get the truth out, his intuition warned him again. Not to pry.


    It was annoying. What was so dangerous about her that even his own innate ability was warning him?


    And thus, unable to resist, he asked a question. ¡°Estelia, who tr¡ª ugh¡­!¡± his question was cut short when a sharp pain rang in his head.


    He was shocked and confused. Nothing happened. Estelia was still on her couch, looking at him with puzzlement. That pain came from within himself. His Intuition.


    My ability invoked pain?


    He never experienced something like this before. The information felt so intense and heavy that he couldn¡¯t process even a fraction of it. And thus his pain.


    ¡°Uncle, are you alright?¡±


    Meril took a deep breath. ¡°Y-Yes, just a sudden headache. Must be a sign of overwork.¡±


    ¡°Then you should take some early sleep. I¡¯m starting to feel bad.¡±


    Meril chuckled. ¡°I guess I will.¡±


    ¡°Good. And what were you about to ask me?¡±


    He was tempted to ask again, but the throbbing in his head made him stop. ¡°Nothing. I came to a conclusion just now.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°When should I start with this?¡±


    ¡°Right now.¡±


    ¡°Mm. Alright.¡±


    ¡°Be discreet. Make sure that the merchants say nothing to those uninvolved.¡±


    ***


    Once he was out of the palace, Meril had to think of a way to give the orders to each of the three merchants that wouldn¡¯t attract too much attention. The Empire must not discover that Wisteria had unveiled their plans and already had control over the merchants they once threatened to obey. At least not yet.


    He couldn¡¯t just summon the merchants and have them commit a mistake that would expose the operation ¡ª as there was a chance an agent of the Empire was watching over them. Sending agents also was not an option. They may be trained, but if they get captured by an enemy somehow, it would run the risk of them running their mouths about the decree by the princess. If that happened, it would all be for naught. Besides, there¡¯s a reason the princess commanded Meril to do this personally, perhaps because she trusted him and not anyone else under his wing.


    It would seem the princess had realized that war was inevitable and Wisteria would be hard pressed to win when the Empire invaded. The Empire had great numbers. However, if the alliance worked together, they may be able to match. Still, raw numbers would not be entirely helpful when considering magic users.


    The Empire was not to be underestimated. They have stealthily clawed their way into Wisteria and slowly crippling it without being discovered for years. If not for the princess, Wisteria would fall into hell. She had become a central part of all of this. An essential core.


    At any rate, the Empire was experienced in conquering, that in turn may mean they have great power prepared on their side. They were intending on conquering both Wisteria and Myra. It¡¯s only up to the two which fall first.


    To keep things subtle, it would seem he needed to visit them personally, one by one. A tedious thing, but it had to be done. They can keep the Empire guessing, but what¡¯s important was that they wouldn¡¯t discover what plan the princess cooked up. If the Empire abandons the merchants, at least they wouldn¡¯t have a complete knowledge of what they were doing.


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    The first one easiest to sneak through would be the transport company head, Sina Indira. She mostly works at her home. She was a lonely soul, one could imagine the joy she felt when she found someone that could be her romantic partner for life. And then the princess came along.


    The joys of life truly are abrupt.


    Such a sarcastic thought came to him.


    Now that he had a plan, he rode in his carriage, making his way to Sina Indira¡¯s home. The carriage was common looking, so it shouldn¡¯t attract much attention. He would need to scout around Sina¡¯s home first to make sure there were no eyes, and find where he could stealthily come in.


    It shouldn¡¯t be that hard. It was not like it would be the first time for him. Even Meril had some other minor skill set that he learned in the course of his job.


    Eventually they arrived near Sina¡¯s home, protected by tall walls.


    After moving around a little, Meril had his carriage stopped a fair distance away and covered himself with his cloak. He headed for the lonely side of the wall, there was no one around. Using the little physical enhancement he knew, he jumped and hung up the wall. By taking a little peek, he made sure there was no one that would catch him on the other side. There was a pair of servants cleaning, but they had their backs turned.


    He lifted himself up and jumped over the wall, landing quietly on the grassy soil. Pretty easily, he sneaked through and reached the backdoor. It would seem because it was daytime, their security was quite lax.


    Inside, he avoided the servants, but thankfully, he didn¡¯t need to get upstairs. Sina Indira was already in her living room, drinking some sweet drink.


    ¡°Ms. Indira.¡±


    She flinched, scared and surprised by his sudden arrival. ¡°Who?! G¡ª¡±


    ¡°I have with me the orders for you, from the matter a few days ago..¡±


    She froze, terror still etched on her face. ¡°T-That¡­?¡± She turned towards the servants. ¡°Give us some privacy.¡±


    Meril watched the servants scramble out, then gave a suggestion. ¡°Best we talk in your office.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes of course. Please follow m-me.¡±


    Meril followed her into her office, and upon arriving, he nonchalantly sat down on a couch and lowered the hood covering his head. Meanwhile, Sina merely stood nearby, extremely nervous.


    ¡°I am Marquis Teristro.¡±


    Her eyes widened. ¡°A M-Marquis¡­? I-It is a p-pleasure to make your acquaintance.¡± Upon realizing what he was, now she only looked more afraid, very pale.


    The sight made Meril pity the woman.


    ¡°How are your days since the meeting a few days ago?¡± he asked, intending to put her at ease.


    ¡°I-It¡¯s great¡­ great.¡±


    ¡°Are you and your friend getting closer?¡±


    She flinched and began trembling. ¡°... We have¡­ we have not met again yet¡­¡±


    Meril realized that instead of making things a bit better, he was making it way worse for her. Almost like she was about to faint.


    He resisted the urge to sigh. ¡°Ms. Indira, you do not have to be this afraid.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°You, and your friend, will not be harmed unnecessarily. You don¡¯t have to live your days in fear.¡±


    She lowered her head.


    Meril continued. ¡°The crown is not cruel. As long as you prove yourself to be a loyal servant for our nation, you will be rewarded for your efforts.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I have committed a great sin against the homeland.¡±


    ¡°And the princess understood the circumstances. Don¡¯t you see that is the reason you are spared and given another chance?¡±


    She raised her gaze, facing towards Meril. There was an understanding glinting in her eyes, just slightly.


    ¡°Her mercy saved you, and now I ask you to repay it.¡± He pulled the paper from his coat pocket and placed it on the table. ¡°You may need to coordinate with the others. But here, read your part.¡±


    He tapped the part of the page where her task was and pushed it towards her. Sina slowly approached and picked up the paper, reading the contents. She gulped and slowly returned it to the table.


    ¡°Do you understand what you need to do?¡± Meril asked.


    Sina nodded. ¡°Yes. If it will help Wisteria, I will certainly finish it before a year.¡±


    Meril smiled. ¡°Good. I will visit on occasions to check things out.¡±


    Sina bowed her head.


    Meril rose from the couch. ¡°Redeem yourself, Sina Indira.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lord.¡±


    ***


    After leaving Indira¡¯s house, it was time to pay the weapon smithing company a visit. The place of operation was a busy place, and a lot of visitors always come and go to make deals with the company''s head. As long as Meril didn¡¯t do anything too high profile and didn''t reveal his identity to the common folk, it should be fine.


    Lobran Bronwen liked to work closely with the actual smiths, and he had an office next to the smithing chambers. There, he would occasionally meet with visitors to discuss business deals, and that was where Meril was intending on meeting the man.


    Although, that did not mean he would wait for others to finish. Deals generally take almost an hour or more, it would be absurd to let a noble wait that long. And thus, before a pair of civilians could enter the office, Meril walked through the door first.


    ¡°Pardon, but I have an appointment.¡±


    ¡°Wha¡ª?¡±


    Meril closed the door without waiting for a response. Inside was Lobran Bronwen, sitting at his desk with an assistant. His brow furrowed at Meril¡¯s sudden entry.


    ¡°Mr. Bronwen, we need to talk. It¡¯s time to give you yours.¡±


    Bronwen looked closely at Meril¡¯s face under his hood, before his eyes widened in surprise. He waved his assistant out of the room. When it was just the two of them left and the door locked, Meril lowered his hood.


    Bronwen stood up from his seat. ¡°May I ask who sent you?¡±


    ¡°The princess.¡±


    He closed his eyes for a moment. ¡°I see. Then please sit down.¡±


    ¡°I am Marquis Teristro, and I am here to deliver you your instructions from the crown.¡±


    ¡°M-Marquis? I didn¡¯t expect a noble of your standing would personally visit me.¡± he bowed his head.


    ¡°Sit down.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lord.¡±


    Meril pulled out the sheet of paper and pointed out the part that was Bronwen¡¯s. The latter read it.


    ¡°I can definitely do that.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    He returned that paper to Meril.


    Meril then asked about another matter. ¡°Since I am here, I will have the information about where you delivered the weapons bought by an anonymous customer.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Yes. I have it right here.¡± He went to a cabinet and pulled out a group of keys from his pocket. He unlocked one of the drawers and pulled out a folded paper, and gave it to Meril.


    Meril skimmed through the list. ¡°Hm. I will deliver this.¡± He went for the door, but before going out, he said to Bronwen. ¡°Do your job properly. Your roles are important.¡±


    He promptly left and returned to his carriage. They then made their way to Gresnel¡¯s office building. Egid Gresnel was a firm man, firm in the purpose given to him, that was what Meril sensed about him.


    In their meeting with the princess, Gresnel was the one most eager to stay quiet about their crimes. Even now, Meril still carried some doubts about Gresnel¡¯s true allegiance. He may be afraid of all his properties being taken away from him, and he might carry love for his home nation, but Meril was concerned about Gresnel switching allegiance depending on the situation he was put in.


    Gresnel was unlike Indira who lacked the confidence to resist, who was more afraid than anything. He was unlike Bronwen who carried some loyalty and patriotism for his home kingdom, no matter how small, and no matter how sly he was when it came to business. Gresnel seemed to be more opportunistic, one that may side with that one that would give him the most benefit, or the most harm.


    That was why he had some eyes watching over Gresnel. Did the princess realize the same thing Meril had? He didn¡¯t know at all. She hardly shares her thoughts with people.


    They arrived at their destination. After leaving the carriage, he ordered his driver to tell Gresnel that someone would like to speak privately with him, regarding the matter a few days ago.


    When the driver left, Gresnel looked around. There was no one suspicious around that may be watching. Did they perhaps just leave the merchants to their own devices? At any rate, if he acted normal, any observers would only cross this meeting as any other business meetings.


    After a while, the driver returned. Gresnel was waiting.


    The two of them entered the building and then Meril alone entered the office.


    Gresnel was there, and he bowed his head. ¡°Marquis Teristro.¡±


    ¡°Oh? You know me?¡±


    ¡°I recognize you, yes.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°To what do I owe the pleasure?¡±


    Meril peered around the room, he felt nothing strange. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit wary towards this man. His Intuition suggested he should, to keep a tighter leash on this merchant. And that he must do it. The princess was too restrained by circumstances and busy with everything else. It would not be wise to make her think about this matter as well.


    As he sat down on the chair, he asked the merchant. ¡°Have the people from the Empire paid you a visit?¡±


    ¡°No, not yet. I suppose as we appear to be still doing our job, they won¡¯t attempt to communicate.¡±


    He was not lying.


    ¡°I see. But be prepared, the situation will drastically change soon.¡±


    ¡°I understand¡­ But what exactly is going to happen?¡±


    Meril raised an eyebrow. ¡°Not for you to learn now. Here.¡± He pulled out the plans and placed it on the table, tapping his finger on the merchant¡¯s part. ¡°Your instructions.¡±


    Gresnel read the contents, and after a while, he lightly scratched the side of his nose. ¡°This is manageable. But I may need some help in easily obtaining warehouses. Mine would be too obvious as targets.¡±


    Meril nodded. ¡°I will convey your concern to my superiors.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Make sure you do everything in your power, merchant. If we find out you¡¯re holding back on purpose, you know the consequence.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I will do everything I can if it will help Wisteria.¡±


    ¡°Good. Do not waste the princess¡¯s kindness.¡± Meril rose from his seat, about to take a step to leave, but then Gresnel asked.


    ¡°Is she truly kind?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The princess.¡±


    He must be conflicted about his opinion about the princess, especially after his first personal encounter with her. Impressive that he gathered up the courage to ask such a question to a Marquis working closely with her. Was the matter disturbing his mind all this time?


    ¡°She left quite an impression on you, I see.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Well, you left her no choice but to act what she is not.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°In our aristocratic circle, we have a title for her ¡ª the Pure Princess. The mysterious lady in the palace. A treasure none have ever seen, but only if you are lucky enough to have a glimpse of her.¡±


    ¡°You mean even nobles don¡¯t get many chances to see her?¡±


    ¡°Of course. She is not for the common eye to see. With her kindness and naivety, she should avoid contact with people, mischievous and opportunistic, people like you.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°The world is a dark place. Someone as innocent as her must be protected.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°Have I settled your curiosity?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Repay her kindness, Egid Gresnel. Otherwise, you will break her heart.¡±


    And she is not someone you should double cross. She may show kindness, but I have witnessed she is capable of the complete opposite.


    Betray her, and you will absolutely die, one way or another. How or how long, it didn¡¯t matter, for death walks by her side.


    ¡°Careful on the path that you tread, merchant.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 58: The Person Behind the Crown (Part 3)

    Meril arrived home, the carriage entering through a massive gate with shiny metals and painting, shaped with beautiful patterns. A circular patch of green lay at the center of the front of the mansion with the paved road going around it. Small hedges and plants were made presentable, to serve as a nice visual greeting upon entry to this home.


    Plants were easier and cheaper to manage than fountains, nobles just couldn¡¯t be bothered by such things. Meril had never even considered placing one anywhere. It was just impractical to have and too expensive. He might as well spend his money on more important things. Like for his family, especially his daughter.


    Although Mizia was not one to spend more than she needed. Meril just found it more important to spend on people than material things.


    His carriage stopped in front of the mansion. It was two stories high, lamps already shining on the outside in the setting sun, by the windows and balconies hung colorful flowers and vines. It was the hobbies of both his wife and daughter. He even had to hold them back on a few occasions so they wouldn''t cover the entire mansion with plants, else it would end up looking abandoned.


    And thus, he had to lead their uncontrollable urges towards the outside. The reason for the numerous, spreading plants of all kinds around the mansion. They were worse than his sister.


    That said, Mizia had a less intensity of love for plants than his wife. She just loved supporting her mother to the fullest, and because of that her mother could easily drag her around to her shenanigans.


    He took a deep breath before going inside his home, passing by the greeting guards. Partway heading to the lobby, just to sit and rest, a crimson haired young lady came in his way.


    ¡°Father!¡± She jumped in and hugged him tightly.


    ¡°Mizia.¡± He lightly patted her head, as not to mess up her hair.


    ¡°I have prepared food for you.¡±


    Meril smiled. As always, she prepared food for him in case he was hungry upon arrival. Although they tend not to be large dishes normally eaten during actual dinner, she still wanted him to join them at that time. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m famished. Can I eat it in the lobby?¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡±


    With a bright and adorable smile, she went away to get the food. Meanwhile Meril continued to the lobby, sitting down on the couch to close his eyes for a moment and ponder about things. His family was still unaware of the stakes the kingdom was under, and he had no intention of telling them yet when things were not ready.


    He would rather not sap away the warmth and joy they had because of the fear of knowing what was coming.


    A minute later, Mizia arrived with a plate in hand. She placed it on the small table in front of Meril and removed the lid. On the plate, still steaming slightly, were sliced vegetables of green and yellow. Pink sauce was on the corner.


    ¡°Vegetables from Mother¡¯s garden. It would be a waste not to eat them.¡±


    Meril smiled. ¡°Thank you, Mizia.¡± He picked up one slice of vegetable, dipping it in sauce, and ate it. ¡°Mm. Delicious as always! Love the sweetness.¡±


    Mizia giggled adorably.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, have you made some plans for Estelia¡¯s visit? She should be coming along in a week or later.¡±


    Mizia¡¯s smile widened with excitement. ¡°Oh yes! I think I will be inviting my friends along to come here for a tea party. Might be all young ladies in the capital, since not inviting one might not look good. As for the food, I have selected many! I¡¯m sure Estelia would like them all. For her room, maybe the room next to me? Or maybe we can share a room? The last one I want the most!¡±


    And she went on and on with the plans she had in mind. Meril couldn¡¯t help but smile in amusement, she was extremely looking forward to her cousin¡¯s visit. Her enthusiasm put him in a good mood.


    Looking at her, she almost resembled Estelia. Like an enthusiastic and extroverted version of her. Her face and eyes, aside from the colors, were almost similar to her cousin. Would Estelia look almost like this if she were more energetic and friendly?


    I suppose they would look similar given that they¡¯re cousins.


    If Estelia was the most beautiful young lady in the whole of Wisteria, then he would dare say Mizia was the second.


    It would seem beauty runs in the family blood. At any rate, perhaps it was good that Mizia and Estelia were the way they were, together they should balance each other out.


    ¡°Oh! Father!¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Dresses!¡±


    ¡°What about them?¡±


    ¡°I have not prepared a fresh batch of outfits to try on Estelia! I can¡¯t have her come into the house without ones for her to wear.¡±


    ¡°Why not use your old dresses?¡±


    They were roughly the same size and body, her clothes should fit Estelia just fine.


    ¡°I have already tried most of my clothes on her.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­¡± an idea formed in his head, causing him to smile. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let you buy as many clothes as you need.¡± That would do nicely. ¡°But make sure to really dress Estelia up, okay?¡±


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    It would serve nicely to annoy the princess. It was Meril¡¯s great idea of having a little revenge on giving him a relentless amount of work. Besides, he wanted to tease and annoy her, just to measure her reaction. If nothing too significant happens, then he would just have to be pleased that he annoyed the Pure Princess.


    ¡°Thank you!¡±


    And she had been so serious at these times, she should cool off once in a while.


    ¡°Alright¡­¡± he continued eating. ¡°Ah, you will hear things get rough once Estelia gets here. I¡¯ll be relying on you to keep a protective watch over her.¡±


    ¡°Why? Does someone want to hurt her?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps. Even if your visitors will be your friends, be careful.¡±


    ¡°.... I understand. I won¡¯t let anyone harm my Estelia! But who would hurt someone so adorable~?¡±


    ¡°A lot of bad people¡­ So, when will you start shopping?¡±


    ¡°... Um, I guess tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Where¡¯s your Mother, by the way?¡±


    ¡°Busy with the reports she had to address, given that you have been busier than usual.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°New letters have also arrived. I brought them to your office.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Mizia. I¡¯ll take a look at them.¡±


    ***


    Using the key he pulled out of his pocket, he unlocked and opened the door to his office. The lights were already on, it must have been Mizia. He made sure to lock the door before going to the table and pick up the letters his daughter brought in.


    He had a little headache at the thought of opening them, so he put them back down before even opening one. With a tired sigh, he sat down in his seat and leaned back. There was still another matter he was personally investigating.


    He unlocked a drawer and pulled out a small string bound notebook from the bottom of other books. He opened it, on the first page wrote ¡®Murder of Marquis Hevrik Fumine Vekenas¡¯, then below it was a name. ¡®Estelia¡¯.


    He had been investigating the princess, but he couldn¡¯t find any solid evidence. But he just knew it, ever since he had trouble reading her.


    When he tracked down the path of the wind magic around the crime scene of Marquis Vekenas, the direction the magic was heading, it was to the palace. Who else was a wind magic user in the palace? That could use it to fly.


    The King could cast it, but he was not one to kill one of his subjects just like that, and torch his corpse. And then, he learned that the princess could use wind magic to fly, the first public display was when she and her father passed by the knights, flying around the palace.


    And fire magic, it was one of the basic magic spells to be learned, and Estelia was practicing the path of a mage.


    Even so, there was still the inconsistency with her nature. Meril would never even think that the princess could do something as murder someone. It was unthinkable. That Pure Princess? That unremarkable girl he had met and knew her as? To even think that she could dirty her hands with blood would be sacrilege.


    But her enigmatic nature grew, and Meril couldn¡¯t cross it out of his mind.


    He read his notes again. Wind Magic, Fire Magic, Ice Magic, and lies. The lies he felt through intuition drove him to this path. But that was not all, the inconsistencies with her personality¡­ Was she hiding her mental prowess all this time?


    What would be the purpose?


    The way she could come up with ways on how to disrupt a nation, it was dangerous. If she could come up with those, then murdering someone in cold blood wouldn¡¯t be far from a possibility. Still, the Pure Princess could never. Murder was different from protecting the nation from the meddlings of others.


    But then there was the matter of how calculative she was, almost too logical way of thinking and method. Her power of manipulation¡­ It was not something a sheltered princess could have. Her power to command. Her power of charm.


    She was too dangerous.


    Could someone like her be really incapable of sneaking out at night and killing a Marquis?


    It was still hard to believe without solid evidence. However, the moment that former personal chef, the moment that girl was executed, he couldn¡¯t deny it any further.


    The princess, that Pure Princess, was capable of anything, and her heart would not waver if it would clean her path.


    He knew it, he was certain that she killed the Marquis. And it made him shiver. All that he knew about her crumbled into pieces.


    How could she? He could still remember the young Estelia, so innocent and fragile. Smile so gentle and peaceful. A saint. A treasure. An adorable little thing that should be protected from the darkness of the world. So precious.


    If she killed a Marquis, that was a terrible crime, and she should be punished for it. He must do everything in his power to undeniably prove it. To make her confess. Someone so dangerous lurking in the palace should be removed.


    Estelia was a criminal. Committed a crime that calls for a death penalty. A crime that took a husband from a crying wife, and a father from two clueless children.


    But he couldn¡¯t. His instincts were crying not to pry, and it constantly did so. Why was Intuition so against it? It was as if it was holding him back from releasing a monster.


    Although, it was not only his Intuition that held him back ¡ª it was also himself. He shouldn¡¯t do anything. When he investigated further, it felt like the Marquis was up to something suspicious. And the princess ordering to send agents into the house of nobles to check for traitors? There was no way it was a coincidence.


    The princess certainly had a reason for killing Marquis Vekenas, the uncle of her childhood friend.


    Was the Marquis a traitor? He might be.


    But that didn¡¯t mean she should go around killing nobles like a vigilante, especially without proof. But what if she had proof? He just couldn¡¯t think of how the princess could have information that Vekenas did something.


    There could be a few times that they saw each other and could have close contact. One that Meril knew was during the meeting for the festival. And the second was during the fights in the arena when the royals were present and Vekenas served the food. Either of those times, she must have discovered something.


    Still, to kill him? Couldn¡¯t she have perhaps turned him in? There was something in her nature Meril was still clueless about.


    But despite that, she should not be trifled with. Estelia was needed in the kingdom. Meril feared to admit it, but Estelia was crucial to the survival of the kingdom. Her leadership, her wits, all of her was essential to everything.


    It made him think Eleden was not the one fit for the throne. Estelia was. She must be the crown princess.


    But that was not what she wanted. She wanted to stay behind on everything, without any attention.


    Despite the youngest and the one with less influence, she had most of the power. Even her father, the king, does everything she wants. And every day, her power grows, more than the elder princes.


    The crown was no longer its own. It was a limb following the strings of someone behind it.


    That person behind the crown was Estelia herself. She commands everything, controls everything, sees everything.


    She even now had control over the three largest industries in the nation.


    Leaving them in the crown''s servitude? No, they were serving her.


    And now she seeks to control the nobles.


    But despite it all, everything she did was utterly needed. She was needed.


    Investigating further about Marquis Vekenas¡¯s death would only prove futile. And exposing Estelia¡¯s true nature was a fool¡¯s errand.


    I must help her everywhere I can.


    What she did no longer matters in the grand scheme of things. Ultimately, she was still the princess, and his precious niece.


    He never wanted to see her harmed, nor punished with anything. In the end, he was only curious.


    And this curiosity, his thoughts, and discoveries in written form would be a hole, a weak link. A crack in the foundation.


    He rose from his seat and lit up the fireplace with magic. He sat down by the nearby chair and waited for the flames to grow.


    And, once it was big enough, he threw his notebook into the flames. He watched as the pages burned into ashes.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 59: To My Cousin’s Home (Part 1)

    It has been a busy several days, and I have been a little stressed ever since. A lot has been moving, all preparing for the operations that were to come. And guess who was to oversee the preparations? Yeah, me. I never had to manage an operation of this scale before, I was only a goon in my past life. Good thing I¡¯m coping nicely¡­ I think.


    But nothing can be done about it. What can I say? It''s just a day in my life. I''m up early in the morning, in bed early at night. To be productive at work, I got to be well rested. Yeah, motherfucker, you heard what I just said.


    I''m just a regular everyday normal motherfucker.


    Ahem, now that¡¯s familiar.


    Now, what am I doing at the moment? Well, it¡¯s about time for me to have my little reward after all the hard work! Not the kind where I would receive like some flowers ¡ª ahem, give me some flowers ¡ª or some teddybear ¡ª give me that too ¡ª it was my vacation! Oh yeah, it was time to chill around!


    Of course during that time, I would not be worrying about the operations taking place at the same time. I will leave it to the reliable people! My mind will be free and clear of all the troubling things. Yesterday, I was working with the family, and of course that includes uncle Meril, to tune out the details.


    So far, nothing was amiss. Although it was a bit tense when they asked me a lot of questions. Take it easy on the fragile little old me.


    But seriously, all things seem to be in order. I¡¯m confident they¡¯ll do well without my personal sightseeing.


    ¡®But Estelia, why don¡¯t you just focus on those instead of going somewhere?¡¯


    Sssssshhhh, shut, shut it! If that thought crossed your mind, don¡¯t even think about it. What? You don¡¯t ever have vacations after some tiring work? No paid leave or something? We all take that, don¡¯t we? Gotta rest sometimes. Otherwise, we¡¯ll die of overwork or something. Sometimes I just wanna crawl under a rock and hide, you know.


    Besides, as I mentioned before, I¡¯m gonna enjoy some parts of life! And that includes taking a break! I have done everything I need to keep things going smoothly in the background while I take some vacation. And when I come back, all should be done. Then go back to stressing again.


    Hm.


    ¡°So how is Mizia?¡± I asked my uncle.


    At the moment, we were walking down the hall. With I heading for Mother while he was leaving the palace. So much that I didn¡¯t want to have a casual conversation with him, I was just curious about my dear cousin. She has been given somewhat a heavy responsibility for my sake. I could at least inquire how she was doing.


    ¡°She has been working very hard for your arrival. I never saw her this enthusiastic in a while.¡±


    ¡°Mm. I have not seen her for some time, and I¡¯m quite excited to see her again.¡±


    ¡°Are you ready to socialize? You have never done that before.¡±


    ¡°I-I think I can manage.¡±


    ¡°... Remember what I said, Estelia. Make true friends.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°You¡¯re still hung up on that? That¡¯s the purpose of socializing, to make friends.¡±


    He mildly shook his head. ¡°No need to pretend you don¡¯t understand what I mean.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°True friends¡­ are not easy to come by.¡± I quietly said that only he could hear.


    Everyone around, the people, how could I be truly friends with them? They were outsiders. How could I fully trust someone that has not shared my torment? We were not equal.


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    At least, that was how it had always been with me. All my friends in the past life, we all have gone through the same hardship. Only them I would care about. Why should I care for outsiders?


    ¡°Not easy, but they can be found. Sometimes¡­they are already around us.¡±


    I looked at him, and he merely smiled before waving his hand.


    ¡°See you, Estelia. I may get a chance to greet you at home tomorrow.¡±


    Hmph.


    He should be somewhere else at the time of my arrival, so no. He would not be greeting me at his home. Can¡¯t say it would be a loss on my side though.


    Now that he was out of the way, I made my way to the lobby on the first floor, where Mother said she would be. When I arrived, she was with a knight, supposedly one of the elites. I expected Estevan would be here with her, but I guess he¡¯s busy with something else.


    ¡°Mother.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Estelia. I¡¯m just finalizing the knights that will be guarding you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, can I see?¡±


    ¡°Certainly.¡±


    I moved beside her, and she gave me a sheet of paper with the list of knights. My eyes widened for a moment when I saw a particular name on the list, I didn¡¯t expect him to be here.


    ¡°Alzen Welford¡­ he¡¯s staying in the Order?¡± I looked towards Mother.


    ¡°I heard he was adamant about staying. He wanted to prove that he would still be effective, so I will give him a chance with this.¡±


    ¡°Will he be alright?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡±


    ¡°And what about Alan, his brother? I don¡¯t see him here.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s in quite a difficult spot.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°His blunder earned him the ire of his Father. And so, the Count asked to keep Alan out of any activities outside the palace while they thought about what to do with him.¡±


    Even now? That¡¯s a long time to think. But damn, Alan really fucked up big time, huh. And Alzen¡­ surprising that his family let him stay. Well, it¡¯s not like they have any choice, I guess. They wanted someone at the palace to serve as knights. They can¡¯t pretty well get rid of Alan now that Alzen was pretty much impaired.


    How¡¯s it gonna be fighting with one hand? That would be hard. Even I wouldn¡¯t want to have one hand all my life, I couldn¡¯t imagine. Okay, so let¡¯s not think about that!


    ¡°Very concerning, please have someone watch Alzen at all times.¡± I said to the elite knight.


    ¡°Yes, your highness.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I skimmed through the list again, nothing wrong, they were fine. Although there was one I was particularly interested in, and it made me smile a little.


    ¡°Mother, I would like to have Elson Metrial to be one of my close protectors in my travels.¡±


    ¡°Him? Why?¡±


    ¡°He helped me quite a lot during the recent operation. I found him reliable.¡±


    She mildly nodded. ¡°Very well.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. And that is all. I have no other concern with this whatsoever.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll send this out.¡± Mother gave the list to the knight. ¡°Give this to Estevan, let him handle it.¡±


    And with that, the knight left the room.


    ¡°Now, shall we figure out your luggage?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°To your room, then. Oh, and the suitcases, we¡¯ll start placing your things in.¡±


    She commanded some nearby servants to bring the suitcases to my room before we headed there. Mother seemed pretty energetic today, was she excited that her daughter could finally go out and have some fun?


    Careful, Mother, you might find your daughter at a party, dancing around, wilding, kissing random guys, drinking ¡ª kidding! I¡¯m kidding. I¡¯m a good girl. I would never do something like that. I would rather be at home, reading books or something, or sleeping. Estelia¡¯s a well-behaved girl.


    When we arrived at my room, my Mother immediately went on to open my wardrobes.


    ¡°I think we¡¯ll pick the dresses that are easy to wear. We might also need the extravagant ones for your tea parties.¡±


    Don¡¯t know how much I would really need. I expect Mizia already got my outfit lined up of her own choosing, outfits that she would definitely like me to wear. However, I¡¯ll let Mother decide on things, she seemed to be enjoying herself, I¡¯m not going to ruin her moment.


    ¡°This looks cute.¡± She pulled out a dark outfit.


    ¡°Mizia gave it to me.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll bring this, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be proud to see you bring her gift.¡±


    Um, do I really need to bring that?


    The dark outfit was the gothic-like outfit. Yeah¡­ can¡¯t believe Mother just said it was cute. I thought you liked my white and pure look, where I was supposed to be the cutest. Was I the weird one here? Was I the one with a different perspective with this?


    ¡°Come here.¡±


    I approached closer and she held up the hanging clothes in front of me. ¡°Truly interesting. Now I want to see you in this.¡±


    ¡°Maybe next time...¡±


    I¡¯m too lazy to dress up right now. So please Mother, focus on the main objective.


    ¡°Alright¡­¡± She smiled and placed the dark outfit on the bed.


    She¡¯s really gonna make me bring that?!


    At that moment, the servants that were ordered to bring the suitcases have finally arrived. They brought a total of three.


    ¡°Perfect,¡± said Mother. ¡°Alright help me fold and place them in, unwrinkled.¡±


    I only watched as Mother and her servants pulled out outfits after outfits. Folding them carefully into the suitcases.


    Even my underwear¡­ It''s embarrassing! Good thing they were all women, and of my servants, Mera was only here.


    It took a while before all the suitcases were full and they closed it. Mother nodded in satisfaction.


    ¡°Alright, most are ready for tomorrow.¡± She approached me and held my hand. ¡°But are you?¡±


    ¡°... Yes. I¡¯m ready.¡±


    She smiled fondly. ¡°You¡¯ll be alright.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 60: To My Cousins Home (Part 2)

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    The knights loaded up my luggage to one of the carriages that will be included in my convoy. I watched by the palace doors, wearing a fancy and extravagant dress. But not one that was too much, just something that allowed me to move just fine, and an ankle-length skirt.


    My heart raced a little at the thought of finally going out on a field trip. I could finally see more of my city with my own two eyes. Just imagining looking through the window of the carriage, taking in the sight peacefully, made me feel excited.


    ¡°Vernon, Mera, you may go ahead first to your carriages.¡±


    As my personal servants, it was only natural that they should come with me to Mizia¡¯s house. Who would take care of the dear princess without them? And my servants were more trustworthy than anyone else, it would be more comfortable to receive assistance from them.


    What if I took a bath and a stranger servant just shoved my head into the water and drowned me? Okay that wouldn¡¯t kill me, but you get the idea.


    I watched them leave before turning to my personal knight. ¡°What an exciting thing, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this what you always wanted, princess?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, yes. But the amount of guards was never part of my dreams.¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°Nothing can be done about it.¡±


    ¡°Have you discussed things with the knights that will be closely guarding me?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I will still be inside the carriage with you. One with the driver, and three on horses on three sides of your carriage.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°I heard you personally requested Elson to be in your protective circle.¡±


    ¡°I did.¡±


    He exaggeratedly gasped. ¡°Princess¡­ are you replacing me already?¡±


    I furrowed my brows and blankly stared at him. Then I smirked and looked away, placing a finger on my cheek as if pondering. ¡°Hmmmm, am I?¡±


    ¡°He-he, okay princess, that wasn¡¯t serious¡­ You¡¯re not seriously considering it, right?¡±


    ¡°Maybe I am¡­?¡±


    His eyes widened.


    Seeing how worried he was, I couldn¡¯t help but laugh at him. ¡°I¡¯m joking, Rogan. I would never replace you.¡± I sweetly smiled at him.


    He gave me a relieved smile. ¡°Wew. I wouldn¡¯t know what to do if you did.¡±


    ¡°Did you really think I would casually replace you? Why would I even do such a thing? You¡­ You have been a great help to me, always staying by my side. There¡¯s no way I would do something so cruel.¡±


    ¡°... Thank you, princess.¡±


    ¡°Mm, you¡¯re welcome.¡±


    We stared at each other¡¯s eyes before a familiar voice spoke from behind me.


    ¡°Are you ready, my daughter?¡±


    I turned around to first see my father, then with him were my other family members. ¡°Yes I am.¡± I smiled.


    My mother approached me and held me by both my shoulders, which caught me off guard a little. ¡°Estelia, be sure to be very careful out there, okay?¡±


    ¡°O-Okay.¡±


    ¡°Do not go and leave your guards behind. Always have someone beside you. Don¡¯t even try to go to secluded places, danger tends to lurk out there. At night, be sure to stay in the mansion, don¡¯t go anywhere. It¡¯s very dangerous. Take care of yourself, eat a lot and drink water. If it¡¯s cold, wear thick clothes or cover yourself properly with your blanket. Behave yourself, okay? Safety is the utmost priority.¡±


    Oh damn. That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s a lot to take in.


    ¡°Say that you understand.¡± Her grip on my shoulders tightened. Pretty scary.


    ¡°I-I understand.¡±


    She smiled adorably, almost reminded me of my adorable self, then nodded and let go of me. ¡°If you¡¯re scared or nervous, just take in deep breaths. Inhale,¡± she inhaled. ¡°Exhale. Come now, do it with me ¡ª inhale.¡±


    Although it was quite unnecessary, I inhaled.


    ¡°Exhale.¡±


    I exhaled.


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    Well to be honest, it was a bit unnerving to go out of the palace like this. Sure I have gone out, but last time it was for business and something serious. This time, it was for a casual reason, to enjoy myself, to forget all the troubling things. And thus, I felt a bit anxious. How would I fare? Would I truly enjoy it? Will I fuck anything up?


    Who knows?


    It¡¯s because the result was so enigmatic that I was nervous.


    ¡°Good, remember to do that.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mother.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re going to be alright?¡±


    Father and my brothers chuckled, and the former gently pulled Mother back. ¡°Estelia is going to be alright, there¡¯s no need to overthink.¡±


    ¡°But..¡±


    ¡°My love, it¡¯s going to be alright. Mizia can take care of her when she needs it, okay?¡±


    Mother sighed. ¡°... Very well. It¡¯s just¡­ it felt like the first time Estelia is going on her adventure.¡±


    Not exactly an adventure, but close to it, I guess. And I¡¯m taking it!


    ¡°Yes. But she¡¯ll do fine.¡±


    A servant came in to convey that we were ready to go. After coming out of the palace, I turned to my family again, and gave them a soft smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be going then.¡±


    My mother approached me, gave me a hug and kissed me on the cheek. ¡°I love you, Estelia. Take care of yourself.¡±


    That¡­ It¡¯s not like I was going abroad or something, I¡¯ll be back for a week. But¡­ I whispered to her. ¡°I love you too, Mother. You too, take very good care of yourself.¡± I hugged her back, closing my eyes for a brief moment.


    After letting go, my father gave me a wide grin and said, ¡°Have fun.¡±


    ¡°Certainly.¡±


    He hugged me.


    My two brothers approached me as Father stepped back, Estevan seemed a bit concerned, evident in his strained smile. Eleden, on the other hand, seemed pretty proud that I finally got to have a relaxing time.


    ¡°Be sure to stay in your guards¡¯ sight, okay Estel?¡±


    ¡°Take in the sights and enjoy, sister. I¡¯m sure the new scenery will be a wonderful memory for you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I will.¡±


    Rogan opened the door of the carriage. I looked back at my family for a moment, feeling a little sense of longing within me already. I have never felt like this before. It was weird. I entered the carriage, without saying anything such as a goodbye. I mean, not really a time to say goodbyes, I think¡­


    How do normal people do it?


    I never truly knew.


    As I sat down on the soft cushion, the door closed after Rogan entered with me. I gazed at my family through the glass window.


    I never felt something like this before¡­ It was a strange thing.


    The carriage rattled and moved, and they disappeared from my line of sight. I subtly sighed.


    I watched through the window as we went past the palace gates, and then to the bridge that my brother and I went to for a brief time. To this day, we still have not gotten our fishing trip. I was looking forward to that one, but I guess I have to be patient.


    After some time, we passed by commoners walking by the dirt road, some simple looking buildings around. Quite fascinating to see a fresh scenery, nothing too striking or wonderful, just a simple place, occupied by simple folks. To enjoy what I see so casually without any formal business to think about, truly a moment to be cherished.


    The people watched curiously as they moved away to the side of the unpaved road, perhaps wondering who was passing by, guarded by this many guards, and by royal knights no less. Little did they know it was the mysterious princess passing by. I didn¡¯t open my curtains all the way, so they shouldn¡¯t completely see me.


    My dear people¡­ okay no, I didn¡¯t really care about them, so they were not really dear. I mean who the fuck were they? Ahem, exactly the reason I should not be an heir to the throne. Which reminds me, Eleden had loosened up a bit to me since our personal conversation. Which was pretty good. I didn¡¯t want to stay awkward with my dear brother for too long.


    ¡°You ever been around these parts, princess?¡±


    That question came from my personal knight. I turned toward him and gave him a sharp look.


    He awkwardly smiled. ¡°He-he, I guess not. But it¡¯s mind boggling sometimes that you never actually left the palace before all the busy events we have gone through.¡±


    ¡°Not something common for a royalty such as myself.¡±


    I am like Rapunzel, trapped in my own tower, oblivious of the world. Right until a gentleman stole me from my home. Oh yeah, there was no gentleman¡­ There was no one to say ¡®Estelia, Estelia, let down your hair¡¯ or something like that.


    Oh well.


    ¡°But after all the times we have been together, I have understood the reason for keeping you hidden. Still, sometimes, just sometimes, I wonder how it would be if you could freely go outside in the past, and was never sealed in the palace.¡±


    ¡°I may have been killed already, or kidnapped, or forced to marry someone, dragged to some unknown regions in the world so far, I think the negatives outweigh the positives.¡±


    Rogan lightly scratched his cheek. ¡°The world would not be so kind to someone like you. But, if I may ask, which do you like the most? To be kept in the palace? Or here outside, where you can go to different places? But I imagine it would be the latter, seeing you smile.¡±


    I touched the corner of my lips. I was indeed smiling from the heart. However¡­ ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t truly know right now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a surprise¡­¡±


    ¡°The inside is peaceful, no one to disturb me and I could do everything that I please. On the outside, there are dangers waiting to pounce on me.¡±


    Which one was the best?


    ¡°Still, what matters is right now. For me to finally experience going on an adventure you could say, short as it may be.¡±


    He smiled widely. ¡°You will even meet new people, some could even be your friends.¡±


    Friends¡­ huh.


    ¡°Who knows¡­¡±


    ¡°You sound disinterested.¡±


    ¡°Trust¡­ is not easy to come by.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    And there that conversation ended. I looked out the window as the room fell completely silent. Perhaps Rogan sensed that I would prefer to enjoy the new scenery in peace. I was grateful for that.


    I subtly took a deep breath. The presence of the human civilization had subsided, now most that I could see was the green, grassy plains, and the thick, dancing healthy forest. One of the purest, untainted things someone could ever see, especially for me. I let go of a long and slow breath. My heart felt lighter and my mind turned less cloudy. I wish my life was as peaceful as the scene I was observing now.


    Sensing some intense gaze directed towards me, I turned my head to look at Rogan, the culprit. ¡°What?¡±


    He mildly shook his head. ¡°Nothing.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes before shrugging him off and returned my gaze to the outside. I wanted to stop and walk around for just a small amount of time. But I haven¡¯t told this to the crew beforehand. Suddenly requesting such a thing would only serve to inconvenience everyone, and most of all, might cause a hole in our protective formation.


    We¡¯ll be coming through this road again when going back to the palace, so I could tell them beforehand about this. At least that way, we could be prepared.


    I placed a hand on my cheek, smiling a little, softly looking at all that my eyes could see.


    It didn¡¯t feel long before we arrived at our destination.


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 Vol. 3 Chapter 61: To My Cousins Home (Part 3)

    The convoy arrived at a road cleaner than the rest of what we went through. Barely any dry leaves all around, and as we passed by, I saw guards posted at the side of the road. They didn¡¯t even try to stop us, given that they were already aware that we¡¯re coming.


    In prior discussions, we decided that we wouldn¡¯t stop for any checkpoints, or to stop for someone by the road. Such a thing was prone to danger, or to be specific, ambush. Especially knowing that I was here as a passenger. I was completely fine with it, and was one of the reasons why I didn¡¯t ask to stop by the forest earlier.


    A short while later, my carriage began slowing down.


    ¡°It seems we¡¯re here.¡± We passed through a fancy gate flanked by guards. My eyebrow raised a little upon seeing the place, my eyes were instantly filled with the sight of green. Plants were thick and everywhere, all kinds were growing. Vines stretching, fruits and vegetables dangling, some assorted and colorful flowers blossoming.


    Which reminded me, I do recall Mizia mentioning how her Mother, basically my aunt, loved planting so much. But to this degree? I never imagined. Even my mother showed restraint. But I guess they were still rich enough to easily manage something such as this. And if an apocalypse happens, at least they would have some food to eat.


    The carriage stopped right in front of their mansion. It was pretty extravagant, I have to say. As one would expect from a noble in the capital. But nothing beats my palace though.


    At the front of the doors were two familiar faces. It would seem my uncle didn¡¯t get a chance after all.


    One was a young woman close to my age, beautiful and bright, face vibrant of life. Her hair was a beautiful shade of crimson that took after her father. Her blue eyes wide in anticipation, looking towards my carriage with a wide smile on her face. It was my cousin, Mizia.


    The other was an older woman, around the same age as Uncle Meril. She had shiny and smooth brown hair. Her eyes in the shade of black, seemingly gentle and caring. I have seen her on a couple of occasions, but I haven¡¯t interacted much with her. She was my aunt, Areida Melandis Teristro. Judging from memory, and what I have been seeing, I liked her better already than my uncle.


    ¡°Ready, princess?¡±


    I nodded as an answer for Rogan¡¯s question. At the same time, knights assigned for my personal safety positioned and lined up in front of my carriage door. With that, Rogan first exited the carriage and extended his hand forward.


    I gracefully placed my hand on top of his and stepped out. The chilly breeze of the starting winter immediately touched my skin, or perhaps it was the cold and fresh air from the garden all around me. Hard to tell things with just the wind, really.


    Once my feet touched the brick floor, I faced forward, chest up, and smiled shyly. I walked forward to approach my two relatives. I stopped when I was close enough and first gave my greeting.


    ¡°It is a pleasure to see you two again, Mizia, Aunt Areida. May our hallowed lord and lady bless the moment of our delightful meeting.¡±


    My aunt stepped forward. ¡°May we receive the resplendent blessing from our illustrious lord and lady. You have changed drastically since the last time we saw each other, Estelia.¡±


    Mizia subtly moaned for a moment, as though frustrated, and suddenly rushed towards me, spreading her arms to hug me tightly. ¡°Missed you so much, Estelia! And to finally visit home, what a day this truly is.¡±


    I appeared to be frozen in shock, eyes wide, at her unexpected action. Wasn¡¯t she being too excited? Her hug was a little too tight.


    Before I got to complain, she let go and faced me with a wide grin. ¡°How was your trip?¡±


    ¡°...It was a little scary, but quite a fascinating experience.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great! But don¡¯t worry, the new experience will not stop there. There¡¯s plenty that I want to show you! And oh, I have a set prepared just for you.¡±


    Set¡­? Does she mean ¡ª uuugh¡­ I knew it.


    ¡°In fact, we should get started fitting them in now¡ª¡±


    ¡°Mizia, patience.¡±


    Her mother said, and Mizia paused for a moment before awkwardly smiling and stepping back.


    ¡°... Yes, mother. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Now then, your highness, please come inside. Would you care for some lunch?¡±


    I have already eaten a little back home, but I guess it wouldn¡¯t be bad to accept her offer. It¡¯s almost lunchtime, anyway.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    We stepped inside while Mizia was beside me, still smiling widely, as if she was containing her excitement. Meanwhile, Rogan was following close behind me, and the rest of the knights were left outside to guard the perimeter. It would be nice to also let them in for my protection, but the house would end up too crowded. Besides, this was a relative¡¯s house, so everything should be safe.


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    ¡°I apologize Meril is not present for your welcome. He has tasks that need to be taken care of.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s completely fine, Aunt Areida. I am aware that he has a lot of work to do at this time.¡±


    And guess who was the one giving all of that work? Hehe. It would seem his family was not aware of that. I guess he¡¯s a good secret keeper. Got to hand it to him.


    I looked around their mansion, truly luxurious and colorful, expensive materials and decorations embedded on all corners. Still, this place should be decades of years old, only renovated on occasions to keep it fresh ¡ª and fresh it definitely was.


    I half expected this place would be full of ivy as well¡­ But that¡¯s just a stupid expectation, heh.


    When we arrived at the dining room, I almost choked a little the moment I saw the number of covered plates and servings on the long table. Several servants in their fancy uniforms stood by the corner, poise and so professional. Wow, they looked more serious than those in the palace.


    Maybe they¡¯re just nervous because the princess came to visit. As lowly as they could be, given that they should all be commoners, to appease the princess, a royal, would be one hell of a pressure. But hey, the pay must be good.


    Mizia glanced behind me and she frowned when he looked at Rogan. She clinged to my arm and spoke to me in a low voice. ¡°You still have him around with you.¡±


    I was a bit confused, what¡¯s her beef with him?


    ¡°He¡¯s my personal knight, he should not be separated from me.¡±


    ¡°Is he even truly trustworthy?¡±


    ¡°Why would you ask that?¡±


    ¡°I mean, he seems too carefree, almost delinquent-like. Remember what I said? Don¡¯t easily trust these kinds of men, they will play you around.¡±


    I repressed the urge to sigh. My poor cousin and her trauma from a failed love experience. Who was the guy¡¯s name again? He¡¯s too insignificant for me to remember all the time.


    I gently held my cousin¡¯s hand and gave her a saddened look.


    ¡°W-What? What¡¯s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?¡±


    A fondly smiled. ¡°There¡¯s always someone for everyone eventually.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± She was utterly confused.


    Oh my poor Mizia, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find a man that will give you the love you deserve.


    ¡°All will end well, just be patient and believe.¡±


    ¡°Estelia¡­ what?¡±


    I patted her hand, and at the same time her mother spoke.


    ¡°We may sit down, your highness. Please sit here.¡±


    I let her go and unexpectedly, Rogan pulled my chair and waited for me to sit. Once I was ready to sit down, he slowly pushed the chair and I sat down. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Wow Rogan! Acting like a true knight in shining armor!


    He stepped back and stood at a corner. Mizia gave him a sharp look before sitting beside me with the help of a servant. Rogan already had beef with someone and he didn¡¯t even know it. Hm, knowing him, he might have sensed it already.


    Good luck to him, not my problem.


    ¡°I hope you¡¯ll find the cuisine to your liking, the recipes mostly came from my garden.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    That¡¯s a pretty big garden.


    The servants all at once lifted the lids, and different kinds of aroma immediately began filling the air. I took a deep breath, it smelled so good. I would expect nothing less from nobles. Now I¡¯m beginning to wonder what food the average commoner gets to have. Well, not like I care anyway.


    I sure hope the day that I need to eat on the streets, and eat crap, never comes. I mean, who would want that? Not me for certain.


    I smiled. ¡°Smells delicious, aunty. May I?¡±


    ¡°Of course, we can start.¡±


    Aunty was the first to pick up food with a fork and eat. After that, I followed, and began placing meat and vegetables on my plate. The vegetables looked incredibly nice, they must have cultivated them very nicely indeed.


    I first ate the vegetables. The taste spread all over my tongue, sweet and soft sensation, the taste brought me a strange wave of relief. I ate some vegetables again. My goodness, since when were vegetables this delicious!


    When people work on their passion, they certainly bring about unbelievable results. Amazing. What sort of sorcery did they cast on these pieces of plants? They''re more delicious than the ones cooked in the palace.


    ¡°I assume you like them?¡± asked my aunt.


    ¡°I love it! I never thought you could make something so delicious, truly amazing. The vegetables are surprisingly the best, makes me wonder how you achieved such a feat.¡±


    ¡°Well, you need only take very good care of them and make sure they grow in the right environment.¡±


    ¡°Is it hard?¡±


    ¡°At first, but you¡¯ll eventually get used to it. Are you interested in cultivating plants?¡±


    I froze for a moment, I¡¯m sensing some sort of apprenticeship about to happen kind of thing. Can¡¯t let this happen. I was not interested in gardening or the same kind at all. Too much hard work for me, I would rather roll around my bed than that. But it would be rude to say that outright.


    ¡°I just thought that perhaps Mother would be interested in learning some techniques used to grow plants to this perfection.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see. Perhaps I can write a letter of tips on growing vegetables.¡±


    ¡°Please, I¡¯m sure Mother will be pleased.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    At that moment, I sensed a strong gaze from the young woman beside me, Mizia. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°...... Nothing¡­. It¡¯s just¡­ you seemed different from usual. More¡­ um, less repressed?¡±


    Oh.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s just you¡¯re family¡­ and that¡¯s why I am currently like this. There is nothing to be¡­ afraid of.¡±


    ¡°Oh, then that¡¯s good.¡±


    I smiled a little, giving it a little tremble. ¡°Am I doing good?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes you are.¡± She smiled like a proud big sister. ¡°With this, I think you¡¯ll do nicely for tomorrow¡¯s tea party.¡±


    I awkwardly chuckled. ¡°... I don¡¯t know about that.¡±


    Tomorrow, huh? She wasted no time.


    ¡°Is that so? Well, I¡¯ll be with you anyway. So there¡¯s nothing to be nervous about. And they¡¯re nice. They¡¯ll be nice to you as the princess.¡±


    ¡°I hope so.¡±


    ¡°Just remember, in the end, you are still above them.¡±


    I nodded. Meaning I should not take what they think about me to heart. Be that as it may, I¡¯m sure the Pure Princess would be to everyone¡¯s liking, no matter what kind of person they may be. I¡¯m innocent, gentle, soft, and kind, I¡¯m sure everyone would treat me nicely.


    We went on with the dining, and I tasted every dish placed on the table. Given that I have a small stomach, I only ate around one or a couple spoonfuls of each one. We were all ladies eating here right now, and the servants, as well as my knight would be eating later, thus there would be plenty of leftovers once we¡¯re full.


    However, with this much, I don¡¯t think plenty would be the right word to describe it.


    Anyhow, when dining was over, Mizia led me to the room that I¡¯ll be using for the duration of my stay.


    ¡°I already had your servants brought to your room.¡±


    And indeed, Mera and Vernon were already outside of what I presume to be my room. With them were my luggage.


    ¡°And oh! This is my room.¡±


    I resisted frowning in puzzlement when she pointed to a specific room. It was right next to mine.


    I¡¯m in danger here!


    ¡°But before that, I¡¯ll leave you to set things up with your luggage and get used to your room. I¡¯ll check up on you in an hour or two.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Mizia.¡±


    She nodded before leaving us.


    I approached my two servants. ¡°Did you two travel well? Any problems?¡±


    ¡°None, milady.¡±


    ¡°Everything went smoothly.¡±


    ¡°Good. I¡¯ll be taking Mera with me to my room to take out my belongings. Please bring the luggages into the room.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 62: To My Cousins Home (Part 4)

    The boys brought my luggage into the room, and once everything was in place, they closed the door and all that remained were me and Mera. She opened the cabinets and drawers to check them for whatever reason.


    ¡°Thankfully they are without dust. Placing your clothes in, milady, will be completely alright.¡±


    I didn¡¯t expect her to check for dust, for her to be meticulous like this. Maybe that¡¯s just how it was with her, the caring maid. Won¡¯t even let dust from another''s home dirty my set of clothes. Such a valuable servant.


    Once she was done checking everything for the little things, she went on to open the luggages and began gently placing them into the cabinets. While I, on the other hand, sat down on my bed, I had nothing else to do but watch her work. Don¡¯t really need to be here, but Mizia apparently wanted me to check out the room. It was pretty nice, as one would expect. Hm, actually, it was more luxurious than my room back in the palace.


    The walls were embedded with lamps made up of gold and silver, with parts of it curling around and touching the walls. The chandeliers were big and bright, its glass illuminating. With all those in mind, they had to make the room bigger than usual. This room was at least twenty-five percent bigger than mine. How come a noble¡¯s room was bigger than mine, a princess?! I want bigger toys!


    Yeah like how a kid cries because another kid has a better and more badass toy than him.


    Of course I was kidding. I¡¯m not that envious, jealous¡­ envious¡­ fucking same shit, right? Okay, no they¡¯re not. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s some sort of deeper meaning to either two.


    On the bed, I plopped down to my side, while still staring at Mera ¡ª her face serious and diligent, not a trace of laziness or complaint. I couldn¡¯t help but smile in amusement. She was kind of adorable to look at. Like a puppy. Almost makes me wanna pet her. But, as I said before, I need to simmer down on the teasing. I have already sensed something off about her since her infatuation for me had intensified for some reason.


    Loving me leads to madness, it seems.


    Hm, sounded like a joke, but¡­ was that the case, I wonder? If that ever turns out true, I¡¯ll freak out.


    I grabbed one pillow from above my head and hugged it tightly into my chest, digging my face deep into it. It smelled good, and very soft.


    ¡°Say, Mera, have you been around this part of the city?¡±


    She stopped for a moment to turn her head towards me. She didn¡¯t reply immediately as she stared, I even saw her subtly gulping. Her gaze went from my feet up to my adorable and beautiful face before she forced her eyes away. ¡°¡ª N-No, it¡¯s my first time.¡±


    As if in an attempt to distract herself, she promptly returned to work and kept her eyes off me.


    It was not even my intention to tease or something¡­


    ¡°Have you been anywhere else?¡±


    ¡°I h-have not.¡±


    ¡°... I see¡­¡±


    She appeared to take a deep breath as she placed folded clothes in the cabinet. ¡°Aside from the palace, I have only been able to travel around my family¡¯s small domain¡­ But even in that place I did not get to venture much, nor learn much.¡±


    ¡°You do not go out very often? Don¡¯t you like it?¡±


    ¡°There were not many reasons for me to go out, and¡­ sometimes, it¡¯s dangerous for a noble¡¯s daughter to go out casually.¡±


    It would seem there were just some people that would perhaps snatch a noble¡¯s daughter, no matter how dangerous it may seem. Or perhaps those people could become brave enough because of how low and how rough it was for Mera¡¯s family in the past. Even being an aristocrat brings about its own hardships.


    ¡°... Well, as a first timer of going out here, how was it?¡±


    She paused for a brief moment. ¡°... Truthfully, it was a little unnerving¡­.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    She pulled another set from the suitcase. ¡°But, that I am with you¡­ it makes me happy.¡± She smiled. A blush blossomed red on her cheek a little before turning away and continued her work.


    Woah wait, did she just try to flirt? Wow, that was adorable. It was so surprising and amusing that I couldn¡¯t help but smile. I didn¡¯t think she had it in her.


    But¡­ that was pointless. I have tried to restrain myself from teasing and trying to hold back her feelings, but nothing seems to be working. It only made things worse.


    Oh Mera, why do you agonize me so? I feel nothing for you but a mere servant. A reliable person.


    Still, it¡¯s gladdening to see someone take a step forward, though. Especially someone on my side.


    Flirting at this moment with the princess, what an unexpected thing to happen.


    Love also makes the best of people, it seems.


    I got up. This was gonna take a while, especially that Mera alone was doing the work. I think I should at least take care of my own underwear. When the other servants along with mother were folding things up, I admit it was pretty embarrassing.


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    ¡°I¡¯ll be assisting you a little, Mera.¡± I left the bed and went on to one of the luggage where my underwear should be.


    ¡°Pardon? Milady, no you shouldn¡¯t.¡± she rushed towards me.


    ¡°I can do it just fine. It¡¯s my things anyway.¡± I pulled one underwear.


    ¡°But it¡¯s my job¡ª!¡± in her frantic steps, she tripped.


    I took a step forward to catch her, holding her by the arms. Both our faces fell close to each other, by a couple of inches. She looked into my eyes, so deeply, as if she was lost in her own mind, and in shock. I could feel the air that she exhaled. She also smelled nice. Gazing into each other¡¯s eyes, the moment felt longer than it truly was.


    She must be experiencing the same thing from me as well.


    I do smell good.


    Her eyes lowered a little, looking into my lips. Slowly, her cheeks brightened red.


    I resisted the urge to frown. ¡°Careful, my dear maid.¡± I whispered.


    ¡°Y-Yes¡­¡±


    Sorry, I couldn¡¯t resist teasing again!


    I slowly let her go as she regained her footing.


    Mera straightened her clothes and lowered her head, face still blatantly flustered. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, milady.¡±


    What the hell even was that? Only made things worse than it already was. I mean, really? She tripped right before me?


    Ugh.


    Her heart must be going crazy right now, I could see she was breathing quite heavily, although she was trying to hide it. While for me¡­ nothing. It was a common accident. At least Mera¡¯s fine. I couldn¡¯t pretty well let her fall. It was helpful to help, especially a servant of mine, and someone as sweet as Mera.


    ¡°Important thing is that you¡¯re alright.¡± I smiled kindly. ¡°But seeing you¡¯re so eager to take care of everything, then I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡±


    I looked at the undergarment already in my hand. Yeah, this was hanging on my finger when I caught her. This was the embarrassing part for me. I slowly slipped it back into the case. Which reminded me¡­ Mera had seen me naked many times¡­ so I guess it was not that big of a deal to leave things even the matter of my underwear to her. Still, I¡¯m a young woman, I should be the one handling that kind of stuff¡­ but I was still an aristocrat and that sort of thing was somehow normal.


    ¡°Yes, m-milady. T-Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± She was acting weird, her legs were trembling slightly. Her hand was placed on her chest. ¡°Are you having difficulty breathing?¡±


    ¡°N-No, milady. I was just so scared there for a moment.¡±


    Uh-huh, really?


    ¡°Then sit down for a few minutes. These cases won¡¯t run away.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°Sit and calm down.¡± I pointed at the chair closest to her.


    Since I said so, she had no choice but to do it and sit down. While I, on the other hand, sat back down on my bed.


    ¡°Starting to calm down now?¡±


    She looked at me. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Good¡­ Then maybe we can talk for a while.¡±


    ¡°Talk¡­?¡±


    ¡°Your birthday is the month before mine, right?¡±


    She nodded.


    ¡°Turning eighteen, your debut has already passed. How was it?¡±


    She recalled for a moment. ¡°My family called me back for a celebration. It was fun. There was a lot of food, and a lot of people.¡±


    ¡°What did you wear?¡±


    She smiled, as if feeling nostalgic. ¡°It was a silver and blue gown. Honestly, it was a bit embarrassing when there were dozens of people.¡± she awkwardly chuckled.


    ¡°Your parents must be very proud to see you that way.¡±


    ¡°I think so¡­ Yes, maybe they were.¡± She cast her gaze downward shyly.


    ¡°A shame, we were not yet acquainted at that time, you might have been able to invite me.¡±


    ¡°My family tried inviting the royal family. But it was too far, and the crown would not go all that way for people of our standing.¡±


    ¡°.... Of course. I suppose that¡¯s to be expected.¡±


    ¡°And¡­ I don¡¯t think at that time you would come if we¡¯re still unacquainted.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that is true.¡±


    She held her hands together. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you would know of my birthday.¡±


    ¡°Of course I know the birthdays of my servants.¡±


    ¡°... Thank you.¡±


    That¡¯s not something to be thanked for¡­


    ¡°Your departure from the palace may be coming soon, Mera.¡±


    Even though she was my personal maid, the crown would not hold her away from her household. Mera was the second oldest, and perhaps the best among her family. They wouldn¡¯t just let her go to waste in the palace for too long, especially if she was turning eighteen.


    Her family might already be searching for a noble of higher standing for her to meet and to take her hand in marriage. Even more so given that she did not have a fling with anyone whatsoever. If her family requests that she be returned, or she herself requests to leave, the crown would find it hard to go against it.


    Mera lowered her head. ¡°I¡­ Yes¡­ I don¡¯t know when but¡­ it may happen anytime.¡±


    ¡°You do not intend to request a leave?¡±


    ¡°Your debut is coming, milady. I would prefer not to miss it.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°And¡­ I should still have plenty of time available. Maybe until I¡¯m nineteen. When my family heard that the princess took me as her personal maid, by letter to me, they said they decided to keep me in the palace a while longer.¡±


    ¡°Would that be alright with you?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± She fixed her intense gaze on me. ¡°I¡­ I¡­I¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡­ what?¡±


    Her gaze faltered, hesitation growing within her. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t want to go.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Mera, despite being my personal maid, you have no obligation to stay with me forever.¡±


    ¡°But there have been maids and servants in the palace that have been working for decades¡ª¡±


    ¡°Their position is different. Mera, you have contributed greatly to your family. They will not let you go, and you¡¯re the second eldest child. They will take you back, and the crown will return you.¡±


    ¡°N-No¡­¡±


    ¡°Mera¡­ don¡¯t let your responsibility as my maid hold you back from your life. You have a lot to live for, to experience. You have to let go of some things in life to have a future better than before.¡±


    ¡°B-But, milady¡­¡± her hands trembled, but she tightened her grip to hold it. Still, her eyes told that she was on the brink of crying.


    ¡°Mera, you should think about yourself sometimes.¡± I smiled softly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, princess.¡±


    Hm?


    She continued. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°Please don¡¯t let me go.¡± Her eyes were moist. But¡­


    Ooooh, crap. ¡°... I¡¯m not letting you go just yet. Besides, it won¡¯t be happening now, so you don¡¯t have to worry just yet.¡±


    ¡°... Oh¡­ yes. There is still a lot of time.¡± Her eyes brightened in relief, and she smiled widely.


    I think I saw some sort of crazy eyes from Mera right there, holy shit. That¡¯s why I said that. The disadvantages of my charm and beauty were too scary sometimes!


    ¡°Still Mera¡­ even if you go back to your house, it doesn¡¯t mean our connection is completely cut off. We can still meet and talk when there¡¯s an occasion.¡±


    ¡°Oh. That is a relief to hear. But¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough with the buts, Mera. Cherish the times you have in the palace, and then you will be ready to return home when the time comes.¡±


    ¡°... Very well¡­¡±


    As much as I would like to keep a loyal servant like her, I will let her go for her own well-being. I am a kind boss. And that will be her reward.


    Although, she was still a bit creepy right now.


    A knock came on the door. ¡°Estelia? Are you done checking your room? Let¡¯s have a tour.¡±


    It was Mizia! She was earlier than expected. Way early. But ¡ª


    Yes! I¡¯m saved! Mizia my cousin, get me out of here! Mera still needs time to chill out.


    ¡°I will be leaving things here to your care, Mera. See you later.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes milady.¡±


    I quickly rose from my seat and quickly reached for the door, greeting a widely smiling Mizia. My sunshine! ¡°Let¡¯s have a tour then.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 63: To My Cousin’s Home (Part 5)

    I managed to escape from Mera. Yes I know I¡¯m still gonna face her later. But at least she would be calmer than just now. I don¡¯t know what happened to her, I definitely had nooothiing to do with it. Yes, I¡¯m innocent here.


    Not like I mentally tore her in the past or anything¡­


    Moving on, I was currently with Mizia on our way to their garden at the back of their house. Behind me followed my personal knight. Mizia was not hiding her little displeasure at it, she must want us to have some personal time. But that was just not possible.


    I imagine such a thing was already explained by her father. But she could never understand the whole picture of the situation without being told of it. But at least she was not so adamant about removing my guard.


    ¡°Woah.¡± I expressed my awe upon seeing the place, this garden of theirs.


    ¡°Pretty amazing, right Estelia?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    This place should not even be called a garden, but rather it should be called a forest. Seriously, this was way too much for a garden, it was a whole ecosystem, made me wonder how much resources were given to make and maintain this place.


    Trees sprouted all around the garden, tall and full grown ¡ª with some growing anew. Different kinds of delicious looking fruits hang on their branches. I almost wanted to try picking one. The ground was filled with maintained grass, so they weren¡¯t too tall, we could definitely sit around like in a picnic.


    Flowers colored every corner, vines crawled and wrapped around the trunks of trees ¡ª some even had vegetables growing out of them. The whole garden was almost filled with shades from the leaves, everything was healthy, not a trace of rot to see.


    The smell was so fresh and clean that it relieves the lungs and nose of any burden. I felt so light and amazing just by inhaling the pure fragrance of nature. The cool air was so relaxing. Such a place would be called a small paradise in my old world, a tourist attraction. This was simply incomparable to the garden at the palace.


    I wonder if Mother had seen this place, she would be thrilled. She might even try to replicate this.


    Just how much stuff was in this place? There might be all kinds of plants here, more than I ever knew existed ¡ª well not like I knew a lot of plants in this world to begin with. But I knew a few¡­ very few, but not the point.


    ¡°How long did it take to make this beautiful place?¡± I asked.


    ¡°A few years, actually. Mother was quite determined to see this through.¡±


    ¡°Amazing.¡±


    Mizia grinned widely and grabbed my hand. ¡°Let me show you around. There¡¯s a lot to see.¡±


    I felt a good amount of delight in my heart seeing my cousin so proud and excited like this. She was a wonderful person to be around. The person who had been taking a very good care of me ever since I was a very small girl.


    I nodded, and she pulled me forward.


    She dragged me first to a group of small tree plants, with what appeared to be dark green berries growing from their branches. The dozens of trees were lined up together, tiny flowers growing along with their fruits.


    ¡°Eriaple Berries.¡± Mizia said its name. ¡°Typically grows in the northern mountains. It took a long time before we got our hands on its seeds.¡±


    She plucked a few eriaple berries and offered me some. I took them, of course.


    ¡°They¡¯re clean, so we can eat them straight.¡± She threw one and immediately began chewing.


    Seeing that she ate it with no hesitation, I immediately put one into my mouth.


    It was not a bad sensation.


    I began chewing. ¡°Geh!¡± My face contorted. The fruit was not sweet as I expected it would be. It was terribly sour. ¡°What, What is this?¡±


    ¡°A sour fruit,¡± she chuckled adorably. And then she finally showed a soured expression.


    She had been holding it back before I got to eat one! Sly girl!


    ¡°But the more you eat, you¡¯ll get used to it. It¡¯s quite delicious once you appreciate the sourness.¡±


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    Yeah no shit. I should at least put some salt before eating it, I think it would be a nice combo.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you some the day it¡¯s time for you to go back home.¡±


    ¡°Um, thank you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s one of my favorites, actually. Come on, eat.¡± She ate one and her face formed a sour expression.


    I smiled seeing how adorable she was, and I immediately ate another one. ¡°Mmm.¡± Yeah, sour as heck.


    I turned around to face my knight from behind me. ¡°Rogan, here have some.¡±


    He stared at my hand offering the fruit, surprised. ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s quite nice, aside from the sourness. Try it.¡±


    Although the sourness might have been the main appeal.


    ¡°Alright.¡± He received the fruit with a smile, and with no hesitation, put it into his mouth. His face contorted immediately the moment he chewed. ¡°Wow, this is the first time I ate something so sour. But there¡¯s something pleasant about it. Can¡¯t exactly tell what.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Right? Some fruits truly are a wonder.¡±


    ¡°Hmmmp,¡± Mizia groaned for some reason and immediately pulled me close to her.


    I looked at her, she was frowning towards my knight. The latter, however, slightly tilted his head and smiled towards her.


    But that seemed to only annoy Mizia. ¡°I still have other things to show you, Estelia.¡±


    She pulled me away, making me remove my eyes towards Rogan. Wow, there¡¯s really some beef between them, and Rogan didn¡¯t even do anything. Poor guy.


    We stepped into a path with stone slabs going deep into the forest ¡ª uh, I mean garden. Seriously, they should consider calling this place a forest. I could hear the faint sounds of insects all around the place, on the trees, to the grasses. Still, I really liked the atmosphere I was feeling here. The nice path, the thick forest, the bundle of flowers on the sides, rays of light coming through the gaps of shades, all gave off a mystical vibe.


    With this much, I expected there would be people around here taking care of things all the time.


    ¡°Are there other people here?¡±


    ¡°Normally there are several, but we have them removed for today.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    I guess because I was visiting.


    On the way, I noticed a small pond. Mizia pulled me towards it and stopped by its side. There were fishes of different colors swimming all around it, leaving small splashes on the water¡¯s surface as they jumped. They were small and quite adorable.


    ¡°This is only one of the three ponds we have. The biggest one is at the edge of the garden.¡±


    ¡°Bigger fishes then?¡±


    ¡°Yes. But those that are only easy to take care of. If their number becomes too great, we catch a few and cook them.¡±


    Just how much do you need to spend to maintain this place?! I mean, there¡¯s got to be a reason that the palace hasn''t made something similar to this. Well, maybe the cost alone made Mother lose interest.


    I glanced at Mizia, my rich ass cousin. I¡¯m the princess, but it almost felt like she was richer than me.


    I dipped my finger into the clean but mossy water, it was cool. I just wanted to play around with the fishes for a moment, you know, scare them or something. However, as I swirled slowly, the small fishes began to gather around my finger.


    I was puzzled.


    I swirled my finger away, but they followed. And then, a few more began to approach my finger, touching it. They seemed awfully friendly. Fishes normally swim away from anything weird and out of place, basically humans like me.


    ¡°Huh, the fishes like you. How come?¡± asked Mizia.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    Fishies, I¡¯m someone you should be scared of ~.


    I could cast a little fireball and cook all of you if I wanted.


    Of course they couldn¡¯t hear my thoughts, and thus they only basically kissed my finger even more.


    Mizia, curious, dipped her finger in as well. But that only served to rattle the fishes, and they all swam away, even away from my finger.


    Huh.


    ¡°Aaaaw, they ran away. I thought I was being gentle.¡±


    ¡°... Let¡¯s move on, Mizia.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Alright¡­¡±


    We walked away from the pond.


    What a very strange thing. Never happened with my previous interaction with fishes. I may be changing in ways I could never notice. Let¡¯s hope that¡¯s the limit. Don¡¯t want to end up like Cinderella and get swarmed by animals of all kinds. Let¡¯s keep it low-key.


    We returned walking up the stone path.


    ¡°Oh yeah, we¡¯ll be coming across the place where we¡¯ll be having our tea party. I¡¯ll show you.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    A while later, we arrived at a clearing filled with groups of colorful brightly blooming flowers. Their sweet fragrance filled the air. Wisteria flowers crawling on the trees. I was almost blown away by the sheer beauty of the place.


    At the center stood a grand and wide building of white pillars and mostly composed of transparent glass. Small trees were growing from within, along with flowers, fruits and vegetables. All of them could be seen through the wide panels of glass.


    It was almost like a big greenhouse.


    ¡°Amazing, isn¡¯t it?¡± Mizia grinned proudly, extending her hands towards the house of glass.


    I nodded, truly in awe.


    She chuckled. ¡°I designed it!¡±


    ¡°Woah.¡± My eyes widened in surprise, I did not expect she would design something of this scale. I expected that her mother hired someone to design it. ¡°You¡¯re incredible, Mizia.¡±


    ¡°Right~?¡± she adorably chuckled.


    I was truly amazed.


    ¡°Let me show you the inside.¡±


    She enthusiastically pulled me into the glasshouse. It was almost two stories tall, with a dome-like roof at the center. All made of glass, so I could see the blue sky and white clouds very clearly.


    The pathway was flanked by flowers, vines, and small trees. The pavement was as white as ivory, thus we had to pat our shoes on the floor before stepping inside. At the center of the building was a wide open space, with a wide round table at the center, chairs placed all around it.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be using this for our tea party tomorrow.¡±


    I approached the table, it was made of marble.


    ¡°The ladies are quite very excited to meet you.¡±


    ¡°This is a calming place to have a little tea party. Thank you, Mizia.¡±


    She softly smiled. ¡°I was sure you would find a place like this calming. I hope it will help you tomorrow.¡±


    My dear cousin has pondered a lot for my sake, even deciding for the tea party to take place in this quiet and relaxing place. It was heartwarming to have someone that cared for you this much. I was lucky to have a cousin this sweet and kind.


    My childhood would have been so different without her.


    ¡°The ladies that I will be meeting, can you tell me about them?¡± I gently sat down on a fancy chair. ¡°I want to at least know about them before meeting.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Mizia sat down next to me, and she told me about the ladies that I would meet tomorrow.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 64: Socializing (Part 1)

    Multiple maids surrounded me, in their hands were kits for makeup. I have just finished my fresh bath, and right next to the bath was this wide and strange, and yet an object of envy on my side. There was a wall height and length mirror in front of me.


    Yes, one that would normally be seen where people practice dancing. But this one¡¯s purpose was not for that, it was used for beautifying ¡ª which I imagine Mizia used a lot, and had mostly a monopoly over it. And now I was the one using it, Mizia should be coming along shortly.


    The maids serving this house sighed in awe, their eyes sparkling, and cheeks blushing as they looked at me. Me, the one with the pale skin, smooth and flawless. Me, with the most valuable jewel-like platinum hair. Me with the eyes of hypnotizing crimson. Me, with the greatest beauty in all of the world.


    ¡°Oh my gods¡­¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s so shiny.¡±


    ¡°So perfect.¡±


    ¡°So this is the mysterious princess¡­¡±


    ¡°... No wonder.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t take my eyes off her¡­¡±


    I acted shy and lowered my head, adorably smiling, as the maids murmured to each other. I caught Mera furrowing her brows and staring at each of the maids. Easy girl, nothing to worry here, I think¡­


    ¡°L-Let¡¯s get started.¡± one of the maids said.


    They approached, but one hesitated. ¡°Are we even worthy of touching her? Her flawless skin¡­¡±


    I was in my bath robes, and yes, they could touch me bare. But it would seem I was so radiant in the eyes of those inferior to me and thus they hesitated. Kidding, they¡¯re just being dramatic¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± I said like an angel that had descended from heaven. ¡°We can proceed. Do what you must.¡±


    The maids looked at each other, awkwardly smiling, before they began working.


    They first helped me dry up, rubbing the wet off my body, my hair mostly. Also I insisted on rubbing some parts of my body myself, ¡®cause with this many people here, it was quite embarrassing. It would have been fine if there was one maid with me, like how it usually is with Mera. But that was not the case here, so yeah¡­ Gotta protect my dignity and my lady-ness in the presence of other ladies.


    After my body more or less dried up, I sat down and they had me slip into a plain white dress. It was a temporary covering before the actual dress as they¡¯ll be fixing me up, styling my hair, applying makeup. Although, I think I would only require light makeup. Very light.


    They all first started with my hair. By the way, it has gotten way longer than before, I may need to cut it eventually. But, seeing how valuable looking my hair was, it kinda violated something in my heart. Still, it had to be done.


    Regardless of the length, the maids seemed to be enjoying themselves by touching my hair.


    ¡°It¡¯s so smooth and silky.¡±


    ¡°Look how it glimmers.¡±


    ¡°Smells so good too.¡±


    Hey~ careful with the sniffing, girls!


    And I just took a bath, of course it would smell nice. It took a brief moment before they stopped being too entranced by my perfection and continued working. A short while later, Mizia entered the room, wearing the same bathrobe as I, fresh from the bath. With her were her own set of maids.


    My maids looked at her with adoration, almost like how it did with me. Mizia was also almost perfect, skin smooth and fair, face so keen and pretty, her eyes sweet and kind, red hair as beautiful as the sunset. Not gonna lie, I felt proud.


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    Don¡¯t know why that guy just broke her heart, hm, what was that guy¡¯s name again? He was my dancing practice partner on a few occasions. Eh, in the end, he was still too insignificant for me to remember. Kidding.


    Just, how dare that guy hurt my precious Mizia?!


    Look at her, sooooo precious. Why would anyone ever want to hurt her? Hm, wait, wasn¡¯t I supposed to be the innocent, fragile, and pure one here?


    ¡°Estelia, are you doing alright?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    ¡°Good, you must be feeling nervous. But it¡¯s going to be fine, just deep breaths.¡± She began drying herself up. ¡°Ah, please only put light makeup on me.¡± She said to the maids.


    ¡°M-Me too, please don¡¯t put too much.¡±


    I was intending on telling them later, but this time it would work too.


    One of the maids spoke up. ¡°Of course, with how beautiful you two already are, placing too much makeup will only ruin your beauty.¡±


    Now she gets it!


    Indeed, naturally beauty wins all! Well realistically natural beauty only wins all when you are naturally beautiful.


    ¡®But Estelia, everyone is beautiful in their own way!¡¯ ¡ª yeah, yeah.


    Anyways, the maids prepared the two of us altogether. Once everything that had to do with our heads was almost finished, they brought us to another nearby room. This had a few wide dressing screens and a few wardrobes. My dress had already been brought here beforehand.


    Of course unexpectedly, or perhaps it should have been expected, Mizia already had one prepared just for me. It fitted nicely even. I have some dresses prepared for this occasion placed in special suitcases, but okay, I guess it¡¯s not that big of a deal. At least what she had for me looked amazing, I shouldn¡¯t even question her sense of fashion anyway.


    I stood on the safe side of the screen and then a maid brought in the dress. It was colored in the purity of white and the gentle touch of azure. A color fitting for a kind girl like me.


    The maids checked the beautiful and expensive dress for creases and handled it with incredible gentleness. Don¡¯t want to damage the princess¡¯s dress in any way. When it appeared to be fine, I began slipping into the dress.


    It took just a little struggle, as I was already used to this kind of thing. I got to say, it really was made of the finest material, so comfortable to wear. And the design was not something to be disregarded, designed by the finest designer in Wisteria. Same person who designed, made and improved my combat outfit. It has been a while since I last saw him. I imagine I¡¯ll be seeing him some time before my debut.


    I straightened the sleeve, then pulled down the ankle-length skirt a little.


    The maids let out small gasps as they looked at my beautiful peak form.


    ¡°So pretty¡­¡±


    I wanted to be smug about it, but I was a humble person, so I had to act all shy. I blushed a little as I stared at my reflection, yeah amazing me. Sometimes I wish I could take a picture of myself and save it, perhaps even set it as my phone¡¯s wallpaper. But alas, there¡¯s no phone around here. Sad.


    ¡°It¡¯s time for the finishing touches, milady,¡± said Mera. There was little sternness or roughness in that voice of hers. Hm, aren¡¯t you proud of how beautiful your superior is now?


    Oh well, I guess she was trying to be serious in the presence of other maids. At least she wasn¡¯t going crazy with jealousy or something, even Mera wouldn¡¯t be like that¡­ right?


    I sat down on the chair with no backrest and they started giving the finishing touches. They first finalized styling my hair, making sure there was no strand that got lost from the group. As they did that, they placed accessories on my hair ¡ª hair pin of jewels, and golden strings all around the braiding. I was basically glittering.


    Next were the earrings, made up of small diamonds and mostly gold. Too much diamond might end up too heavy for me, so this was just alright. After that, they finished up my light makeup and some little things.


    And with that, we were done.


    I stood in front of the large mirror in all of my glory. I was beautiful, maddeningly beautiful. Like a veritable goddess indeed. Through the mirror¡¯s reflection, I saw the wide and satisfied smiles of the maids that fixed me up. Almost like they had just achieved their greatest feat in life. Of course Mera¡¯s was among the smiles.


    I turned around to check up on my cousin, she was finishing up. But she was already shining brilliantly like a chandelier at a party, or the moon and its beautiful illumination during the clear night sky. I couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    The maids taking care of her stepped back, and Mizia turned towards me with an incredibly charming and pretty smile. Her eyes shining like large pieces of jewels reflecting the sun¡¯s light. Her crimson hair was so silky and smooth, as beautiful as the view of nature come spring.


    She was my cousin, indeed. Only my bloodline could possess beauty to this godly level. You sure you¡¯re not a goddess yourself, Mizia? Hehe.


    She walked towards me, taking care not to wrinkle her extravagant gold, black and red dress. The luxurious accessories on her hair kept things together and only made her appear more pleasant to the common eye. She moved so elegantly that I almost thought she was superior to me in that regard.


    But of course I was superior! No freaking way someone could beat me in that.


    My cousin looked at me from top to bottom before nodding energetically.


    ¡°Fantastic! So, are we good to go?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    ¡°Alright then, we¡¯ll each bring a maid to accompany us¡­¡± she paused for a moment. ¡°And your knight¡­¡± she didn¡¯t seem to like it.


    I resisted the urge to chuckle, and thus instead I smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    We made our way to the garden, where we will be greeting our guests ¡ª fellow noble ladies in the capital city. Exciting stuff.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 65: Socializing (Part 2)

    To be honest, the way through their ¡®garden¡¯ then to their house of glass was a bit difficult and a little tedious while wearing this extravagant dress. But at least we got there with no accident. With us were the servants, several of them, and there would be more coming in a moment when the guests arrived. Good thing I didn¡¯t slip or trip, that would have been embarrassing. I would hide myself from everyone if that happens.


    The moment Mizia and I arrived at the house of glass, the servants placed a glass of water on the table for each of us. Just in case we get thirsty, as we would be waiting for the visitors. They should start arriving in a few minutes.


    I acted a little fidgety, showing nervousness. My sweet cousin of course noticed it, and she placed a hand on mine. She gave me a comforting smile. I forced a smile back. Of course, I was not that nervous. They were just some people, anyway. Not going to be my true friends.


    They were just some people that I was just going to meet for some experience and some chill time. Although, the socializing part was causing me to feel a little unnerved. Just a little though! Just a teeny tiny bit. T-These were nothing like jumping into a gunfight.


    But, I never got to experience something like this. You know what they say, we tend to be nervous when it¡¯s the first time. Although, there were a couple of occasions that were nearly similar to this kind of event. Back when meeting with other assassins. Although, my fellow assassins were not commonly kind and too friendly with others not part of their team. Not to mingle or anything.


    But there were a few I remembered that were trying to get close to me. But those guys have ulterior motives, some for pleasure, or for some other reasons. There were just some people in the organization like that, despite the rough training. Perhaps they were the ones that didn¡¯t get as hard training as my batch. Or they were just trying to cope with the terrible experience through pleasure.


    Anyways, I didn¡¯t get too friendly with any of them. They were my kin, but not best friends. We could nurture friendships, but we had little time for it. Still, I would rather trust them than any outsiders. They experienced more or less what we all experienced in the facilities.


    Just then, the first guest arrived.


    ¡°Announcing the arrival of Lady Arenza Senna Natarel.¡±


    My eyes perked up at the mention of that familiar surname, Mizia and I immediately rose from our seats.


    That surname was from someone I respected! Namely, it was the same surname as my esteemed music instructor!


    She was as beautiful as her mother, inheriting her peach hair. She was fair skinned, her eyes in the color of light blue, different from her mother¡¯s. Her movement as she took her steps was gentle. Her smile was even as charming as the first time I met Lanivia. She was a year younger than me.


    The moment our eyes met, I smiled as kindly as I could. Kinder than I have done in a while. Arenza, on the other hand, paused as her widened eyes were stuck on me. She stopped breathing. Was she alright? Even the attendant she had with her was looking all confused.


    As if she had gathered her thoughts, she continued onward until we were face to face.


    Her smile stiffened for a moment as her breath trembled before she managed to utter a greeting. ¡°G-Greetings, esteemed Princess, and Lady Mizia. May our hallowed lord and lady bless the moment of our delightful meeting.¡±


    As the one highest in rank, I replied. ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you, Arenza. May we receive the resplendent blessing from our illustrious lord and lady.¡±


    She awkwardly giggled. ¡°Mother told me many things about you. I just¡­ I just never believed her. For her highness to be this¡­ this beautiful indeed. I am unworthy to even be in your presence.¡±


    ¡°O-Oh no. You are very welcome in my presence. I respect Madame Lanivia greatly, so I am glad to finally meet you.¡±


    ¡°Me too, I-I am glad to finally meet you. I hear little about her highness.¡±


    She was sooo adorable. I wanna squeeze her face!


    I ignored Mizia¡¯s smug look from beside me.


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    I acted shyly, as if I could think of nothing to say. Good thing I had my cousin with me to come and save the day.


    ¡°Lady Arenza, please come and sit down. The others should arrive shortly.¡± She presented her a seat. As Arenza sat down, Mizia offered her something. ¡°Would you like a refreshment? Tea perhaps?¡±


    ¡°... Water will be fine. I¡¯ll have tea when everyone else arrives.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    Just when a servant brought her a glass of water, the announcer announced again.


    ¡°Announcing the arrival of Lady Shena Moira Yveno, and Lady Villeta Chere Jezuri.¡±


    Two arrived at the same time. I was not very familiar with the latter, but the former, I knew of her. That last name alone triggered some cringe and some annoying memories in my mind. Also some struggles mixed with those memories. But this was the first time I met Madame Eleanore¡¯s daughter. Yeah, she was my etiquette instructor¡¯s daughter.


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    Shena was a year older than me. Her elegance, and even the way she dressed and styled, was so pretty. Eleanore must have hammered down the lessons of etiquette into her brain. Her face was almost eerily similar to hers, reminding me of the time when that instructor of mine scolded me. I just hope this Shena was way kinder than her mother. But I already saw some strictness in her eyes, just from how she scrutinized the place.


    Oh boy, like mother, like daughter.


    The other girl, on the other hand, yeah I have no idea about her family. No idea meant that I have never met her family directly. I think her father was at the festival meeting, but that was it. Although she was a couple of years older than me. She carried herself with utter confidence, eyes unfaltering and looking straight at me. Unlike Shena, whose eye twitched when she got closer. Guess I was too beautiful for her.


    The two of them approached and gave their noble greeting, which afterward my cousin and I said our piece.


    ¡°Finally we have met, your highness. As a student of my Mother, I was very excited to see you after being told about you.¡± Shena¡¯s manner of speaking almost reminded me of her mother, so soft spoken, but there was some sort of sting within them. ¡°My brother is particularly enthusiastic every time you are mentioned.¡±


    The sting from her mother often came during scolding times when yours truly gets naughty. But also there was some sort of bitterness from Shena. Oh goodness, her family might have mentioned me way too much in her presence. I need to be the true Pure Princess here and now, as I dislike conflict so much.


    I smiled naively and shyly, and responded in the softest tone. ¡°Oh, we had a pleasant time during practice. In truth, I am starting to miss our lessons.¡±


    ¡°My family has been wondering about the stop. Perhaps you can give an answer to that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ complicated. Unfortunate it may be, we just have to pause everything temporarily. But I am excited when we get to resume our lessons.¡±


    ¡°... I will convey your words to my Mother.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you don¡¯t have to¡­ It¡¯s embarrassing.¡± I blushed adorably.


    The muscles around her cheeks flinched for a moment before her smile grew. ¡°I¡¯m sure Mother will be glad to hear it, so there is no need to feel embarrassed.¡±


    I chuckled quietly. ¡°Alright, if you say so.¡±


    ¡°Yes. If you¡¯ll excuse me, your highness. I¡¯ll give you and Lady Villeta a moment to speak.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    She left and approached to greet the Arenza.


    Villeta extended her hand. ¡°If I may shake your hand, your highness.¡±


    ¡°Oh, certainly.¡±


    And I shook her hand.


    ¡°Goodness, this is the softest and smoothest hand I have ever touched. You truly are the peak of a lady, princess.¡±


    ¡°Um, surely not.¡±


    ¡°And humble too,¡± she smiled. ¡°I have been wanting to meet you. I could have gotten a chance during the festival, but I couldn¡¯t when lower ranked nobles were on the first of the lists. And, it was hard to have the opportunity to see you. You just disappear without me realizing.¡±


    Ah, I may have already left or resting, and I may be sort of busy at that time. And yes, the nobles in the capital were not particularly given top priority in greeting the royals. The lower ranked were given that as they could not always get the chance to meet with us. And, thinking about it, I don¡¯t think I have seen these ladies during the festival, or I just failed to notice, or they were busy greeting other people too. Considering that they are high-ranking nobles as well.


    I met Jalen though, I don''t know how he got to where I was at that time.


    That being said, this woman was the slightest bit familiar, maybe she was there around the festival. Hiding in the background.


    ¡°Then, it¡¯s good that we have finally met Lady Villeta.¡±


    ¡°It is of the greatest pleasure to meet the mysterious princess of the kingdom. I have plenty of stories to tell, specifically about what the nation thinks about you before you were revealed. Are you perhaps interested in hearing?¡±


    ¡°You know what they think?¡±


    ¡°I gossip good, your highness.¡± She chuckled. ¡°In seriousness, I hear many things, and ask a lot.¡±


    I smiled. She seemed like an outright person. Nice. ¡°Alright, I am quite curious myself about what people say about me. I hope nothing terrible¡­¡±


    ¡°There is nothing even too terrible to say about you when people have never seen you.¡±


    ¡°I see. That is a relief. I look forward to our talk later.¡±


    ¡°Likewise, princess.¡±


    She excused herself and went on to sit on a chair, which was right next to mine. Huh, was she perhaps a big fan? Pfft, no way that was the case. She might be a sly one.


    ¡°Wow that¡¯s nice, you¡¯re making friends already, Estelia.¡±


    My dear cousin said to me with a proud smile.


    ¡°Y-You think so¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that is good.¡±


    ¡°Good? It¡¯s great. Much better than what I imagined.¡±


    Hey, how did you even imagine it in the first place? Better not be something crazy or rude! They¡¯re all the same, thinking the worst scenario with me, her, Rogan, even Vernon! Definitely Vernon. Did I never look that reliable? Hmph!


    Then the last guest arrived. ¡°Announcing the arrival of Lady Lyndsey Constance Veinhel.¡±


    I have known that one of the guests was quite the small special case. But I was still quite surprised at how small it was. Um, no, she was not that small, just short, and young, very young. The new arrival, Lyndsey, was the youngest here, thirteen years of age. She walked with blatant nervousness, a maid close by her side.


    Could this perhaps be her first time going to an occasion like this? Don¡¯t worry kid, it¡¯s my first time too, so be nervous! What? Thought I was gonna say don¡¯t be nervous or something? Nah.


    The girl did her best to give a wide and lady-like smile, but I could see tiny signs of her mouth shaking a little. I could certainly imagine her heart beating loudly. At least she had her head and chest up and trying her best to look like a proper noble lady, that deserves a round of applause!


    Her dark green hair was around shoulder length, eyes in the shade of light blue, and her skin was in a very fair complexion. Her dress was elaborate but not too heavy or long to hinder her movement, unlike most of us who were accustomed to such attire.


    Her eyes widened when she saw me, and I saw the muscles around her mouth and neck twitch. Oh, sorry, did I just make you more nervous? But there¡¯s no need to fear me. Surely you have heard of me as the kind and pure princess.


    At the appropriate distance, she stopped and curtsied. ¡°Greetings, Princess E-Estelia, and Lady Mizia. It is the g-greatest honor to make your acquaintance. M-May our hallowed lord and lady bless the moment of our delightful meeting.¡±


    Mizia and I looked at each other and smiled, almost as if indirectly communicating to be tender with the child.


    I spoke first. ¡°Hello, Lady Lyndsey. It is nice to meet you. May we receive the resplendent blessing from our illustrious lord and lady.¡±


    ¡°I deeply apologize for my tardiness¡­ Completely my fault for dressing too long.¡± She was trying to keep herself composed.


    ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s alright,¡± I said. ¡°Besides, you¡¯re just right on schedule. There is nothing to apologize for. There¡¯s nothing to be concerned about.¡±


    ¡°T-Truly?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± I extended my hand with a soft smile. ¡°Again, it¡¯s nice to meet you, Lady Lyndsey.¡±


    She looked at my hand with widened eyes for a moment before she took and shook it. ¡°You too, your highness¡­ You truly are kind.¡± She blushed, shy.


    ¡°I¡­ I am not really. There is just no reason to act otherwise.¡± I acted blatantly embarrassed.


    I heard my cousin giggle from beside me. ¡°Alright, now that everyone has arrived, let us all sit down and let us have a pleasant time and make friends.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 66: Socializing (Part 3)

    I smiled a little, as if restraining myself, as the maids placed delicacies on the table for us noble ladies to enjoy. They were all desserts, to my delight. Diabetes? What¡¯s that? I can cast healing magic anyway, I could just heal the organ if I needed to. Wait, would that actually work? Now that''s food for thought. Get it? Food¡­


    Ahem. Anyways, they all looked delicious, and I expect the tastes would be too. To be fair, the kitchen staff were pretty good, pretty on par with the palace. No¡­ actually, here it was actually better. Was it the fresh ingredients? Got to be.


    I glanced at Mizia, smiling constantly as always, excited. Well, she had been preparing for this occasion for a while now. My eyes shifted towards the brightly colorful assorted desserts, cakes, cupcakes, chocolates, cookies, milk, of all kinds.


    Seeing all of these made me long for ice cream.


    Uuuugh, ice cream.


    Someone please give me ice cream. I miss it so much. Can¡¯t just have ice cream, not invented yet! I assumed that one, but that may be the case. That¡¯s because I¡¯ve never heard of it around here, ever!


    ¡°Now then before we start,¡± said Mizia just as the servants finished placing all the plates. She gave us all a kind and proud smile. ¡°I would like to thank everyone for giving time to attend the tea party. The princess wanted to meet other noble ladies and make friends with you all. So, let us get along well, and I hope you enjoy the food.¡±


    I smiled shyly at everyone and we started tasting the food.


    ¡°Mmm, this is quite delicious. Is this cupcake new, Lady Mizia? Never had quite like it last time we met.¡± Lady Arenza looked at the cupcake in her hand curiously.


    My cousin nodded proudly. ¡°Yes, we tried a different kind of combination from the last cupcake mother and I made.¡±


    ¡°Amazing, must have taken quite a while before you achieved perfection.¡±


    ¡°It was a rough experience. We had to determine the right amount of ingredients, how hot and how long should it be baked. We more or less ended up with more undercooked cupcakes.¡±


    Villeta¡¯s smile widened after swallowing a bite. ¡°But in the end you reached your goal. Given this one¡¯s taste, I say the hardship was worth it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I watched them like a gentle and quiet kitten while having a taste of this cupcake. And indeed, it was, as they say, delicious. Dammit, Allie could have made something better than this. Such a waste of talent.


    ¡°If I may ask, what is a knight doing here?¡± asked my etiquette teacher¡¯s daughter, Shena. Her eyes pointed towards Rogan from far behind me.


    ¡°H-He¡¯s my knight¡­¡± I said, my voice trailing off.


    ¡°Your knight? Do you mean a personal knight?¡± her eyes had a little bit of fierceness in them.


    I nodded.


    ¡°I have heard that you took a personal knight, but I did not expect to see him here.¡±


    ¡°Princess Estelia must not be without a guard in any meeting or outdoor activity.¡± Mizia answered on my behalf.


    ¡°I see¡­ But it should be safe in this place, right? Normally, there should have been no need for that.¡±


    Shena¡­ Really was Eleanore¡¯s daughter. Strict on formal norms.


    ¡°Lady Shena,¡± said Lady Arenza, my dear music instructor¡¯s daughter. ¡°It is her highness¡¯s first time on an occasion like this. So I believe being with her knight guard is understandable and tolerable.¡±


    Shena frowned slightly. ¡°... I suppose.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s his name, if I may ask, princess?¡± Villeta asked.


    ¡°Rogan Dorien.¡±


    ¡°Dorien?¡± Villeta looked towards him as if she was recalling something. ¡°Oh, them. Now I remember him. Wow, I didn''t expect him to reach this high of a status. Good for him.¡±


    ¡°I have heard of him once, but not much,¡± said Arenza.


    ¡°I have not.¡± Shena shrugged.


    ¡°He has quite the reputation.¡± Villeta chuckled.


    Oh wow Rogan, you didn¡¯t tell me you were famous with the ladies. No, wait, it¡¯s not with the ladies, is it?


    Villeta continued. ¡°His family has been quite a bothersome crowd a few months ago. I understand why he would be rebellious against his own family.¡±


    ¡°Rebellious¡­?¡± I knew a bit about Rogan, but he never said much. Just that he didn¡¯t want anything to do with them. Nor did I ever ask.


    ¡°I heard he ran away to the palace to become a knight to go against his family¡¯s wishes,¡± said Villeta. ¡°Although, I never delved deep into it.¡±


    ¡°I knew it. He is not all good news.¡± Mizia pouted.


    Alright, hold back on your beef with him, dear cousin.


    ¡°But Mizia, he has been decent with me. I don¡¯t think there is anything to be worried about.¡±


    ¡°Still¡­¡± her pout only deepened.


    Villeta leaned forward a little. ¡°So, princess, care to share how he became your personal knight?¡±


    I wryly smiled. ¡°Um¡­. It¡¯s¡­¡± I hesitated.


    How was I supposed to explain? Can¡¯t really say that it just somehow ended up that way because I elicited his help for the hunt of the traitor. Aaah, thinking about it made me feel nostalgic. Things were simpler back then, just hunt down one lone traitor ¡ª but now? Got an entire civilization after me. Eh.


    ¡°Princess?¡±


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°Well, it was my father who made him my knight.¡±


    ¡°Truly? Why, though? I don''t understand. With that knight¡¯s background?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps he valued excellence more than one¡¯s history.¡± Yeah let¡¯s leave it at that.


    Villeta clasped her hands together. ¡°Ah! His Majesty truly is wise. Indeed, I agree that one¡¯s history does not always matter when they show promise.¡±


    Shena smiled slightly. ¡°Indeed. The past often does not matter in light of the present and future.¡±


    Wow, I didn''t expect that from Shena. But seeing how they praise my father, I couldn¡¯t help but smile shyly.


    I saw the youngest of us, Lyndsey, nodding with everyone. But she still hasn''t talked. Shy.


    At any rate, at least Rogan would have some hope to be on the bright side of these ladies. But to think his family would have that kind of negative impression with them. Just what have they been doing, exactly?


    Now why don¡¯t I know much about my knight¡¯s family? Tch, why would I even care about them? I care not about his family at all. I mean, even Rogan didn''t seem to care about them, so why should I? He was even trying to avoid them.


    ¡°Of course, Rogan is one of the elite knights,¡± I said. ¡°Despite what his family might be, he has proven himself to be quite reliable.¡±


    Villeta smiled. ¡°Elite knight, huh. Fascinating.¡± she glanced towards Rogan with interest. ¡°He has quite the gaze, looking at us so deeply. As if looking out for something. Are there perhaps you are on guard with, princess?¡±


    ¡°... He is just very careful. Sometimes quite overprotective.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    I ate a piece of a cake. Again, so delicious.


    ¡°Ah, I almost forgot. My mother wishes for me to convey a short message to you, your highness.¡± Shena smiled a little towards me.


    ¡°W-What is that?¡±


    ¡°She said that she hopes you have not forgotten what you have learned, and she hopes to meet you again in preparation for your debut.¡±


    I wryly smiled, obviously nervous. ¡°... What do you think, Shena? Am I carrying myself decently?¡±


    ¡°Hm, you are doing fine. However, you often appear to lose confidence. Keep your chin up, is what my mother would say.¡±


    I giggled. ¡°That is what she would definitely say.¡±


    Shena¡¯s smile widened. ¡°Mother is mostly very strict ¡ª ah no, she is always strict. Very meticulous in every detail. She could easily see through me when I lose confidence.¡±


    Lyndsey looked at her with interest.


    Shena continued. ¡°She then would say, it is alright to be nervous, we all feel that way. But at least show everyone how confident you can be in the face of tribulation, so keep your chin up.¡± Her gaze shifted to Lyndsey and gave her a comforting smile.


    Lyndsey¡¯s eyes widened for a moment before looking away, taking a subtle, deep breath. As if regaining a bit of courage, she straightened herself and¡­ raised her chin. How adorable, like a child doing her best. Oh wait, she was a child.


    ¡°That goes for you too, your highness. I fear that mother would be furious once she sees you like this.¡±


    Shut it, Shena. I am at my purest form when I get all timid.


    But then again, she was right. As Estelia, I would at least try to act confident. After all, I have done it a few times already. And thus, I straightened myself. But of course I still show a timid smile. Can¡¯t get rid of the adorable me that easily.


    After scrutinizing me for a moment, Shena shrugged as if she just accepted it. At least she was not as strict as her mother. ¡°I have been wondering, your highness. Why is it you have only shown yourself to society just recently? We have been curious about your existence ever since we first heard of you.¡±


    Should I say it¡¯s because I was too beautiful? Tempting, but no.


    ¡°Um¡­ That is because I like being inside the palace more.¡±


    Shena paused, as if surprised by my answer. ¡°... I see.¡± She cast her gaze downward for a moment. ¡°Mother holds your form in high regard. And brother has been¡­ ob¡ª he can¡¯t take his mind off you.¡±


    Hey, what was that word you cut off?


    Villeta chuckled. ¡°I am pretty charmed already just by seeing. Makes me wonder what the mysterious princess does in her everyday life. Care to share, your highness?¡±


    I awkwardly smiled. ¡°My¡­ my life is not that interesting... I¡¯m a bit embarrassed¡­ But I started reading books recently.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Those are entertaining in their own ways. Although they are quite time consuming, so I don¡¯t read much.¡± Villeta said.


    ¡°Books are peaceful.¡± I sweetly smiled. ¡°They bring me to worlds beyond my own¡­ beyond what I have seen all my life.¡±


    The power of imagination, one of the most powerful there was in the universe. Brings wonder and joy, and most of all¡­ hope. Heh, look at me, Estelia being poetic. But yes, imaginations were beautiful. Imaginations were my escape in the past when I was young, where there were only nightmares to experience in the real world.


    For some reason, they all looked weirdly at me, as though showing pity. Mizia included.


    Villeta softly smiled. ¡°It¡¯s surprising to see the princess like this¡­¡± she muttered.


    ¡°If you wish so, your highness, I could bring you along a little away from the city.¡± Shena surprisingly offered to me. ¡°I often take in the fresh air of the plains to the south.¡±


    Lyndsey then surprisingly followed. ¡°My family has ponds with colorful fishes. I-If you like, you could come and see it.¡±


    Huh, they were all so kind to me. I thought it would be like one of those ass types of nobles. Granted that I was the princess, but they were showing genuine concern for me.


    ¡°Thank you, everyone¡­ I¡¯ll consider it.¡±


    I might get to take those once everything settles down, but not now. For things will become a bit chaotic in the aristocratic society. With that, I would not be able to go visit noble houses so casually until it was over.


    Who knows, maybe one of these girls¡¯ families will be persecuted for a reason¡­ Except for Mizia , of course, she was by my side. She¡¯s not a friend, she¡¯s family.


    ¡°You truly are more extraordinary than I expected you would be, your highness.¡± Villeta said.


    I merely looked at her without a reply.


    She continued. ¡°The people I talked with had quite the imaginations when you were brought into the topic.¡±


    ¡°... What sort of imaginations?¡±


    ¡°One example is that you never existed. Nothing but a rumor, a story.¡±


    ¡°I am very real.¡±


    ¡°And as such was finally debunked when you appeared during the festival, for the first time in all of history.¡±


    ¡°Why would they ever think I never existed? I believed that my parents announced that I do exist.¡±


    ¡°Even I have thought one time that you were merely a lie.¡±


    ¡°That is rude, Villeta.¡± Mizia said with a smile.


    ¡°Indeed, almost an insult.¡± Shena added.


    Villeta awkwardly smiled. ¡°I deeply apologize,¡±  she bowed her head to me. ¡°But I never met the princess, nor has my family had any prior personal encounters with her. Well, except after my father attended the meeting for the festival preparations. And that was pretty recent.¡±


    ¡°I see. What else are the gossips about my dear cousin?¡±


    ¡°Well, one of the good things? The princess was just too valuable to be seen by the common eye. Common eye also refers to the nobles themselves.¡±


    At least that was true.


    ¡°That is not too bad,¡± said Mizia. ¡°But allow me to tell you the reason why she was kept from the public, nor anyone.¡±


    All the guests leaned a bit closer.


    ¡°It¡¯s because Estelia is too good for the world. Her heart is fragile, and the outside is dangerous. She is not to be played into the nobles¡¯ game of politics. In short, she was being kept safe inside the palace. The treasure of Wisteria.¡±


    ¡°... The Pure Princess, I have heard what other aristocrats call her.¡±


    ¡°You mean those that have the fortune to have a glimpse of her. My Mother and brother called her that a few times.¡±


    ¡°I-I think I have h-heard that once¡­?¡±


    Heeey, I¡¯m right here! Stop embarrassing me.


    ¡°And now that treasure herself is out and about.¡± Villeta remarked. ¡°Things must have become too boring in the palace, I assume?¡±


    ¡°I am merely curious about how it is outside.¡± I smiled innocently.


    My gaze shifted towards Rogan when a knight of mine came to approach and whisper something to him. He nodded to the knight and immediately walked towards me.


    ¡°Pardon me, ladies.¡±


    The ladies silently stared at him. Villeta merely smiled, as if in kindness. However, both Mizia and Shena gave him stern gazes. Lyndsey on the other hand, well nothing much from her, she¡¯s still pretty stiff.


    Rogan approached closer and whispered to my ear. ¡°They have begun moving out to hunt.¡±


    I kept a plain and soft face and nodded at Rogan. I was expecting this, I gave the instructions to notify me when the new operation had begun. One operation out of two.


    This one I dubbed as Operation: Hunter¡¯s Playground. Like hunters hunting for animals to hunt in the forest.


    He left and returned to his post.


    ¡°What was that about?¡± Mizia asked a bit bitterly.


    ¡°Nothing too important. Just some personal matters. Lady Villeta, if you would please tell me more what others think of me. I am more curious now.¡±


    ¡°Certainly, but others may not be very polite.¡±


    ¡°I will not take offense.¡±


    ¡°Very well¡­¡±


    Let¡¯s hope this one ends well. Ah, what was I saying? Of course everything would be good. An extermination always ends well.


    I wonder how the other operation is holding up.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 67: Hunters Playground (Part 1)

    Meril glanced outside through the window of the building he was using as some sort of temporary headquarters. In fact, it was the same one that the Princess used during her execution of the operation she called Sweet Roses, information that Meril was only recently made aware of. Despite knowing about that operation, he only had the surface information. The specific details were still being kept from him.


    That was fine as it would not hinder the mission he was given. But he was still bothered by the fact that he was left out.


    At the moment, it was still early in the morning. With him were a pair of knights guarding the room as he sat at the table at the center. Just then, came knockings on the door. A knight checked it out and once confirming the new arrival¡¯s identity, he allowed him inside.


    It was another knight, but was wearing a formal outfit.


    ¡°Lord Teristro,¡± he said. ¡°The guild has sent a list of adventurers that have accepted our special quest.¡±


    The crown sent a commission for the adventurer¡¯s guild with a hefty price to each adventurer that would take part in the hunt. And the total budget was nothing to scoff at. Even Meril was surprised for a moment that the king would spend this much on something like this. It was Estelia¡¯s plan, as one would expect.


    But to think she would want to elicit the help of adventurers. Her reason for doing so was because we didn¡¯t have enough manpower to take out all the bandits'' camp all at once. Yes, she wanted to eliminate the bandits at the same time. Not even letting them give them the chance to send messages to anyone else.


    But that was not all, she was concerned that there might still be enemies out there that might be a match or too powerful for knights, and she wanted to keep the knights alive. Meril surmised she didn¡¯t want to lose a large number of knights when the war began. And thus she resorted to those that were less valuable ¡ª the adventurers. Ones that were disposable.


    Knights were normally more powerful than adventurers. However, there were incredibly strong ones in the guild, with some even able to cast magic spells ¡ª not as powerful as nobles could have, but magic casters nonetheless. The adventurers were valuable in their own way. People that trained their bodies to fight monsters, whether they completely have no mana, or just a little.


    However, it would seem the princess values the knights more than them. Or perhaps she just didn¡¯t know adventurers very well. Or maybe she knew just enough to realize that adventurers may fit better when traversing forests.


    Still, despite that adventurers would be present, the knights would come along with them as well.


    ¡°Very good. With the reward we offer, I doubt they would ignore and miss out. We will be ready to move out tomorrow.¡±


    After handing Meril the list, the knight left the room.


    He stared out at the window again. Hunter¡¯s Playground was now at play. As for the other one, Rat¡¯s Tail, all has been set. They were to begin the same day the princess meets with other noble ladies in their social party. As for why the princess chose that time ¡ª tomorrow ¡ª at the same time with the expected start of Hunter¡¯s Playground, Meril did not exactly know.


    Perhaps she did it on a whim. No, perhaps she was in a rush. Truth be told, Meril had the impression that they were moving quickly. Almost as if the princess wanted to settle things before a deadline.


    Even his Intuition was not much of a help. But his guesses should be close to the answer.


    Knocks came from the door again, and the knight allowed a woman in light armor to enter.


    ¡°Yes, Ayana?¡±


    ¡°I received word that the princess has left the palace.¡±


    And my niece¡¯s short vacation begins.


    She was on her way to Meril¡¯s home.


    Hope she at least has to enjoy herself.


    ¡°Thank you for informing me. Have you finished selecting who you want to be the squad leaders?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Good. Make sure they¡¯re ready to take the reins tomorrow and make the operation a success.¡±


    ¡°Exterminating bandits, hardly a difficult thing to do. I don¡¯t think we would even need adventurers.¡±


    ¡°We need to cover as much ground, and the princess¡¯s orders.¡±


    ¡°... I will succeed on my part.¡±


    Ayana was quite an incredibly motivated person, the right person for the job. Meril knew very well what kind of person she was, it was easy to read her through his Intuition. A woman with great ambition, and competent to boot. But one bestowed with bad luck.


    Terrible.


    ¡°I¡¯m certain you will. You may go and rest your mind for today.¡±


    ***


    Tina stood outside the inn her party was staying in, looking at her surroundings with a small smile. She was alone, for the rest of her friends were still inside, preparing to move out. For Tina, she didn¡¯t have to do much, she was a healer anyways. Not much equipment to prepare.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Anita was more or less the same case as her. However, the mage was helping Derin with his equipment. To Tina¡¯s surprise when she returned to her friends after months, Anita and Derin¡¯s relationship had changed, one could say they had stepped up. They became closer to each other.


    In truth, the man didn¡¯t need help, and Derin even tried to convince Anita that he could do it by himself. But she was insistent, and thus Derin couldn¡¯t do anything else but receive her assistance, all while flustered in front of the group. Tina never expected that Anita would be that way.


    There was one man she wanted to help, but he said he would be alright. And Tina was in no position to be adamant, and thus she left to have some fresh air. But that was not all the reason, she needed some peace to gather her thoughts.


    The commission they accepted, along with a large number of adventurers, was an object of curiosity. It was from the crown, and strangest of all, the details of the mission were a mystery. Despite that, the adventurers took it considering the large rewards for the participants. Five gold coins for each party.


    Also that this was from the crown, low ranked adventurers couldn¡¯t let the merit of this pass. Tina¡¯s party counted among those. However, she was restless. She just didn¡¯t understand the necessity of the secrecy of the mission.


    She wondered if the High Bishop and her sister knew what this was exactly about. When her party accepted the commission, she wanted to ask them, but she was reluctant to come back to the church. Especially that her sister severely disliked her going back to becoming an adventurer.


    In any case, something big must be going on in Wisteria. And given that she was not forced to return to the church, it must not need their aid, or she was just not needed. That said, for some reason, she felt that given the scale of the situation, it was almost like this was formulated by her.


    If she¡¯s involved in this, then¡­


    It might be something that can largely affect Wisteria, just like how her plans caused the destruction of a large part of the city.


    Why am I thinking so much about this?


    Not like she was needed, anyway. Everyone can handle whatever problem Wisteria was facing.


    My obligation¡­ It''s fine.


    She took in a deep breath, when at the same time, the door of the inn behind her opened. Turning around, it was Dune. Tina tensed up a little.


    ¡°What¡¯s up? You look troubled.¡±


    ¡°Nothing. Just thinking. The others?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re just about done. Well, Iruyu precisely. The two sweet birds¡­ in a short moment they¡¯ll be done.¡±


    ¡°Iruyu is keeping an eye on them, I presume?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Derin pleaded.¡±


    Tina chuckled. ¡°Of course¡­¡± Tina looked away. ¡°I have been wondering¡­ who initiated it?¡±


    ¡°Heh, Anita. She got more impatient sometime after you left.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Good for them. I didn¡¯t imagine it would happen while I was gone.¡±


    ¡°It would seem love comes in unexpected times.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± she glanced at his eyes for a moment, and before their eyes met, Tina looked away. ¡°... So¡­ how about you?¡±


    ¡°What about me?¡±


    Tina subtly gulped. ¡°During the time that I was gone¡­. Did you find someone, perhaps? One that you were interested in?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Not exactly¡­¡±


    ¡°Not exactly¡­?¡± Tina couldn¡¯t understand why he said it that way.


    ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t know. There¡¯s this girl from another party I met.¡±


    What¡­?


    Her heart sank upon hearing it.


    Dune continued. ¡°But it was a month before you returned. Nothing much happened.¡±


    That happened while I was gone?


    No one had mentioned it at all ever since she came back.


    Why?


    ¡°I-I¡­ Y-You h-have not talked since?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Who is she?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know her, you never met.¡±


    I just want to know the name¡­


    ¡°... I see¡­¡± that was all that she could mutter.


    Her heart felt painful and heavy, her legs weakened. Her hands trembled slightly. To think there was someone while she was gone.


    What about me¡­?


    Just then the door of the inn opened. The three that they were waiting for emerged. Dune looked towards them with a smile, while Tina looked away in an attempt to hide the tense expression on her face. Despite being trained to hide her emotions, the pain in the heart was just too hard to hide for her.


    ¡°Finally,¡± Dune said as he watched Anita and Derin following behind the muscular man Iruyu. Anita clung tightly to her lover¡¯s arm. ¡°I hope we can proceed to the guild with no problem at all. Specifically asking you, Anita.¡±


    The mage, Anita, frowned. ¡°What are you trying to say? There¡¯s not going to be a problem.¡±


    She let go of Derin¡¯s arm and went towards Tina. ¡°Tina, let¡¯s go.¡±


    As usual, Tina and Anita were to walk together. Normally it would be expected for romantic couples to constantly walk side by side. However, surprisingly, Anita was quite considerate with the boys and the group, allowing Derin to be with the other male party members, while she would be with Tina.


    Before Anita could pull her in, Tina forced herself to gain composure and lifted a small smile.


    The group began making their way to the guild building, with Tina and Anita ahead of the rest.


    On their way there, they encountered a couple of buildings under repair, but were almost over. These were among the buildings obliterated during the palace¡¯s operation in the middle of the city, where an intense battle took place.


    ¡°Wew, how much did it cost to repair all the damages to the city?¡± Derin asked.


    Dune turned towards him. ¡°Enough to leave us fed for a year.¡±


    ¡°And to let us stay in a high-class inn for months.¡± Added Anita.


    Indeed, it was incredibly costly to repair everything. Thankfully, the crown was the one to finance it.


    ¡°Should have let us fight along with the knights,¡± said Iruyu.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t they, anyway? Not like this wasn¡¯t our city or anything.¡±


    ¡°And they say the enemies were monsters, would have been easy work for us,¡± remarked Derin with blatant confidence.


    Tina glanced towards them, wanting to frown. They were wrong. It was more complicated than that, and the enemies were powerful. In fact, she was thankful that they weren¡¯t involved at all. Even the church members struggled to face one non-human.


    ¡°... You can¡¯t be sure of that.¡± Tina couldn¡¯t help but say.


    ¡°You know something, Tina?¡± Anita asked, curious.


    ¡°... Not really.¡± She had to lie. She was sworn to secrecy about the matter, as was the order of the princess and the crown. It was not something the common folk should even know. ¡°Just that even the knights struggled, I don¡¯t think it would be easy for us ¡ª for you.¡±


    ¡°I guess¡­¡± muttered Anita. ¡°But the crown has evaded being too specific about it. Being from the church, you must have heard something.¡±


    ¡°The church is not privy to the crown''s secrets. Especially to a simple priestess like me.¡±


    They seemed to have understood, and they stopped asking about the battle. Tina didn¡¯t want to lie to her dear friends, but it was for the best and absolute. Even though she left the church to go adventuring again, she still had responsibilities, obligations to carry out. And that included keeping secrets.


    Obligations¡­


    There was that word again.


    Eventually, they arrived at the adventurer¡¯s guild. And to no one¡¯s surprise, the lobby was crowded with adventurers.


    Tina took a deep breath. She looked around, but her gaze stopped. At a corner, there were knights from the palace. A familiar woman was in the middle of them. She recognized these knights, they were among the elites.


    It was here that Tina was finally convinced that this mission concerned the entirety of Wisteria.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 68: Hunter’s Playground (Part 2)

    Tina felt a bit on guard upon seeing the presence of the knights, and she hid a little behind Anita so as not to be seen by any of them. There was no strong reason to do this, but it was an involuntary action. Perhaps because she was wary, or just felt it was awkward to be seen with the adventurers. She was still in the end, a member of the Church.


    ¡°Damn, all tables are taken already.¡± Derin scratched his head.


    Almost every corner of the lobby was filled with fully armed adventurers. They had no choice but to stand and wait for something to happen, positioning themselves away from the building entrance.


    Tina tried to move as little as possible. Unlike in the past, she opted to wear a less white outfit that signified she was a person of religion. This time, she was wearing a robe almost similar to Anita¡¯s, blue and brown.


    However, it was proven pointless when the lady knight shifted her gaze and stopped at Tina. The lady knight narrowed her eyes, as if in confusion or she was being suspicious. Tina averted her eyes away.


    Are my brothers and sisters also taking part in this mission?


    She could not see any church members around, so she was uncertain.


    They waited for about several minutes before the guild staff sealed the door. Tina felt a bit unnerved, she had never encountered a situation like this before.


    ¡°Has something like this happened in the past?¡± she asked her party.


    ¡°I have never,¡± replied Iruyu, one with the most experience among the party. He shrugged. ¡°Never even taken a request this big from the palace.¡±


    The lady knight on the second floor stepped into the balcony and looked down, at the same time the adventurers fell silent. The lady knight had a strict expression on her face.


    ¡°The crown conveys its gratitude to the willing participants of this mission,¡± the lady knight loudly said. ¡°I am an elite royal knight, belonging to the Roseneveria noble household. I am entrusted with the success of the entire operation.


    ¡°Your number is quite as we expect. You will be divided into three groups, where each will be led by an elite knight, and you will follow their orders. Of course you will not be left on your own, royal knights will accompany you as well. The staff has divided you, follow their guidance.¡±


    The guild staff had papers in their hands and they began calling out the leaders of adventurer parties. Dune¡¯s name was called out, Tina and the others followed where the guild staff pointed, and stood there along with other adventurer parties.


    ¡°You are group one,¡± said the female guild staff member.


    Tina looked at the other parties. She recognized them. Some were quite reliable, and some were novices. She frowned, however, when she saw one man in particular, Bertos, an infamous man. Skillful as he may be, his personality was not exactly kind, causing him to be alone. He stood there with a smug face.


    Tina subtly shook her head and returned to face forward.


    The knight, Roseneveria, spoke again. ¡°These are the knights that will lead the other groups, while I will be taking group number one.¡±


    Tina resisted the urge to frown. Was that merely a coincidence? Or perhaps that knight chose number one on purpose?


    Roseneveria then continued. ¡°Prepare to move out.¡±


    ¡°Hold up!¡± shouted one adventurer. ¡°You didn¡¯t even get to tell us what exactly we¡¯re doing!¡±


    The knight shifted her eyes towards him. ¡°Once you arrive at your destination, you will receive the details of the operation.¡±


    Without waiting for a reaction or any question, Roseneveria left the balcony, went down the stairs and arrived at the first group¡¯s side of the lobby.


    ¡°I expect full cooperation.¡± she said before glancing towards Tina.


    Tina looked away, trying to act natural.


    The guild doors opened again, and group one was the first to move out. A group consisting of adventurer four parties. To Tina¡¯s surprise, there were already carriages at the front waiting for them.


    Roseneveria urged her group to ride inside them and behave until they arrived.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Tina hoped that she would not be riding along with the knight, and Bertos as well. Thankfully, her wish was granted, and they got out of the city with no incident.


    ***


    Tina and the others got out of the carriages.


    ¡°A long way from the city,¡± said Bertos. ¡°Care to tell us why we are here, missy?¡± he asked the lady knight.


    With little annoyance, Roseneveria glanced towards him, then to the others. ¡°To exterminate bandits.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡±


    Tina looked around, feeling a bit tired already from the carriage ride. Before her was a vast group of forest, a couple of miles away from the capital city. Surprisingly, they didn¡¯t even pass through any small civilian settlements, they must be looking out for something or didn¡¯t want anyone to see them coming in this direction.


    She shifted her gaze towards a new set of knights numbering seven, Roseneveria having a talk with them. They were the knights that were already here, waiting for the adventurers to arrive. With eight knights, and sixteen adventurers, this force totalled twenty-four. Would that be enough to take care of a settlement of bandits?


    Tina felt it would be alright. Adventurers were no pushovers, and bandits typically consisted of ordinary men, with many of them unable to use any armament magic or spells, some even had no mana. That was why they ended up being bandits. If they were otherwise, they could have signed up to become an adventurer, or a soldier.


    They were the unfortunate and misbegotten.


    Scums who slay innocents for temporary riches in life.


    That was her opinion of them. Tina had heard plenty of their savagery to carry some sort of resentment against any bandits. Still, she wondered why the palace would allocate this much resources just to slay them. Why didn¡¯t they do it before?


    ¡°Attention!¡± shouted the royal knight, Roseneveria. ¡°Now that we have arrived, I will tell you the details of the operation.¡±


    The adventurers behaved and listened.


    ¡°As I said just now, we will exterminate bandits. You will help us fight the enemies in the forest. We will rely on your support and your abilities. Your experience in rough environments may prove useful.¡±


    The adventurers looked at each other.


    She continued, ¡°We will attack at midnight, when the moon is at its highest. It is a coordinated attack with the other groups.¡±


    ¡°You want to attack the bandit camps at the same time? This is surprisingly very careful,¡± Dune said. ¡°Why though? Not like bandits communicate just like that.¡±


    ¡°Hell, they aren¡¯t even connected with each other. Each of their own.¡± Derin added.


    ¡°These bandits are not.¡± Roseneveria answered.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Anita asked.


    ¡°Does not matter. You will do as you are paid, no more questions asked.¡±


    Tina frowned.


    ¡°The crown wants the bandits gone. We must succeed. For now, I will give you a half an hour''s rest. Take the chance to think of a plan with each other.¡±


    ¡°Do we know the layout of their camp? And do we know where they precisely are?¡± Dune asked.


    ¡°Yes. We sent scouts a few days ago.¡± She ordered a knight to give a scroll to the adventurers. ¡°Study it first, then we¡¯ll talk.¡±


    Dune received the scroll, and the adventurers gathered. Tina followed along and looked at the content of the scroll after Dune unrolled it. It was a detailed map, even with measurements and some notes of the number of bandits seen. Even the rough position they were in.


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not that big. We can easily take that shit,¡± Bertos said with an arrogant smile.


    ¡°Careful. We need to coordinate with the knights on this. Properly plan.¡±


    ¡°You sound like a coward.¡±


    ¡°Shut the fuck up, there¡¯s no time for your rambling.¡± Derin glared at him.


    ¡°What¡¯s this? Wanna fight?¡±


    They stared at each other with strong hostility, but then Iruyu placed a hand on Bertos¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°This is no time to fight. However, think carefully about what you¡¯re going to do.¡±


    It was another threat. And the two men glared at each other down, as if the other was waiting for one to grab their weapon.


    Tina stared at them, tired already. Then her eyes shifted towards Dune. She was feeling a bit discouraged. There were a lot of things to worry, and think about.


    Strange, when it was a burden of the heart, it was more difficult to carry than anything else.


    She quietly sighed before saying, ¡°Settle your disputes.¡± Not like she had anything to contribute in the planning anyway. ¡°I¡¯ll be by the carriages.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m coming with you.¡± Anita said with a smile.


    She must be feeling a bit annoyed herself.


    Tina nodded towards her and together, headed for the carriages.


    ¡°Got to have that bastard Bertos with us.¡± Anita shook her head bitterly.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ But despite his attitude, he will be reliable in battle.¡±


    ¡°He takes fights head on, alone. I don¡¯t see him being a team player.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll only need to send him in his own battle.¡±


    ¡°... I suppose.¡±


    Tina leaned her back on a carriage and glanced towards the group of coach drivers.


    I wonder where they¡¯ll be once we move out.


    Likely to wait or go somewhere.


    ¡°Are you alright, Tina?¡±


    ¡°... Why would you ask that? I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°You look. How should I say this¡­? Unenthusiastic.¡±


    Tina straightened her face. ¡°Nothing. I just have a lot on my mind.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Mind sharing some?¡±


    Tina cast her gaze downward, pondering. ¡°... No. Not for now. I don¡¯t want to talk about it.¡±


    ¡°... Okay¡­¡± her voice trailed off, disappointed. ¡°I¡¯ll listen anytime you¡¯re ready,¡± she said as she formed a smile.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Anita gave Tina a concerned look. But no matter how much she shows her feelings, Tina decided to keep her thoughts in. She just didn¡¯t want to tell anyone about it. It was just too personal, and might honestly ruin some things for the party.


    The gathered adventurers appeared to have settled a little, judging from how a little quieter they became. They placed the map on the ground and began studying it. Tina felt relieved, they could finally get going.


    Her gaze shifted towards the knights when she sensed someone looking towards her. Needless to say, it was Roseneveria. It almost seemed like she wanted to speak, but was hesitant. Must be because Tina was with someone. Roseneveria¡¯s gaze was a bit hostile, however.


    She was indeed very suspicious of Tina¡¯s involvement. Knowing this, Tina couldn¡¯t let this go on for too long. Her friends might get suspicious later on.


    I need to find an opportunity to speak with her.


    ¡°Tina, I think we can go back to the guys now.¡±


    ¡°... Right. Okay.¡±


    Given that the adventurers have completely settled down, Tina and Anita returned and joined in their discussion.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 69: Hunter’s Playground (Part 3)

    Sometime after they discussed their plan with the knights, the group entered the forest. The carriages were sent back to the city so as to not leave a sign nearby that something was going on. They were to meet again in the morning, the time the operation should be done.


    Tina looked through the gap of the tree leaves, the world was slightly darkening. It was late in the afternoon. She sighed, walking through forests was not exactly a smooth and easy endeavor. Thankfully, it was not that big of an issue for her, as an adventurer, and a battle priestess. But she would still prefer a proper path above all paths.


    Moments passed, and they arrived at a small clearing. The group stopped and looked around.


    The knight, Roseneveria, stepped forward and peered at the surroundings. ¡°This is the place. Rest and make sure you have your full strength for later tonight.¡±


    Without waiting for anyone else, the royal knights, in their full armor, removed and lowered their helms and weapons, sitting down to rest. Tina, so eager to relax, immediately walked towards a tree and sat down on one of its protruding roots.


    Finally¡­


    With her training, she shouldn¡¯t be too tired. But to rest her legs was something to be relieved about. She patted her trousers to remove the dirt, when at the same time, Anita stood next to her.


    ¡°Ugh, long walks.¡± She frowned in frustration. As a mage, one could say Anita was not used to too many physical activities. And she hated walking long distances. She may not collapse walking so far, but she still hates getting so tired and sweating a lot.


    Tina didn¡¯t mind it much. But the smell of sweat was troubling.


    ¡°Rest, Anita.¡± Tina suggested.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Heaving a sigh, Anita slowly rested on the grass.


    Tina then looked at the rest of her party coming along to join.


    ¡°Hey babe, tired? Want some water?¡± Derin offered with a wide smile on her face.


    Anita pouted. ¡°I want biscuits and water.¡±


    ¡°Alright, sure.¡± Derin quickly handed out what she requested.


    Iruyu folded his arms. ¡°Do not eat too much, Anita. You need to exercise even more so and improve your stamina.¡±


    Anita stuck out her tongue. ¡°Bleeeh, bite me.¡±


    Iruyu snorted. ¡°Get lazy, and you¡¯ll get a belly.¡±


    ¡°No I¡¯m not gonna!¡±


    Iruyu continued. ¡°Look, Tina is managing way better than you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Tina surprisingly performs quite well physically.¡± Dune remarked, looking at Tina.


    Tina awkwardly chuckled. ¡°N-Not really.¡±


    ¡°Thinking back, I don¡¯t think I have seen her struggle so much.¡± Derin added, looking up, pondering.


    Before they read too deeply into it, Tina quickly shook her hands and refuted. ¡°I just don¡¯t like to complain and show it, t-that¡¯s all!¡±


    ¡°Huh. Guess so.¡±


    Iruyu glanced towards the other adventurers. ¡°Dune, shouldn¡¯t we try to get along better with them before the mission actually starts?¡±


    ¡°Well, a couple of them are friendly¡­ But you¡¯re right.¡±


    They were about to work together, and adventurers were not exactly as coordinated with strangers like trained men as the knights. And others¡¯ attitude would not always be reassuring, basically skilled but undisciplined in some aspects.


    Tina had heard cases where quests fail because another group wanted all the heat and wanted to finish it themselves, or others were impatient, unable to wait for the others, or actually follow the plan. One might think that adventurers understood this quest was from the palace that they would do their job better, but sometimes they just won¡¯t.


    One of the things that they could do was get to know these new teammates a little and earn their trust.


    ¡°Bertos is another story, though.¡± Tina said.


    The troublemaker.


    ¡°Yeah, but we have no choice but to let him in.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know about you, but if he starts being an asshole, I¡¯ll punch him in the face.¡± Derin slammed his fist into his palm.


    Dune shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t do that. We don¡¯t want any conflict within the group. And the knights won¡¯t let that stand. That Roseneveria woman looks pretty mean already.¡±


    Tina glanced at Roseneveria, and indeed, she looked pretty strict. Even the knights were careful with their every action.


    Dune continued, ¡°Let¡¯s keep it civil.¡±


    ¡°Whatever, man. For the sake of the mission.¡±


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    Dune left and one by one called the other parties to gather with them. Unsurprisingly, no one objected and went along ¡ª well, except for one. Bertos scoffed at the idea. But Dune was insistent, and in the end, Bertos agreed and joined everyone else.


    ¡°Hmph.¡± Bertos crossed his arms with a severe look on his face. Unlike the others who were already sitting down on the grass, he remained standing. Towering over everyone.


    Anita looked like she wanted to chide the stubborn man, but immediately looked away, going against the thought. Might end up getting more trouble than it''s worth.


    Once everyone settled in, Dune started properly introducing himself and everyone. ¡°So I am Dune, I¡¯m the leader of my party, right here. That one there is Derin,¡± he pointed at each one he introduced. ¡°Anita, Iruyu, and Tina.¡±


    Tina lifted a wide and friendly smile toward the adventurers. Thankfully, they all smiled back at her.


    ¡°You guys have a priestess, awesome! I heard it''s good luck to have a holy person in the party.¡± This one was a man in his early twenties. In his arsenal were bow and arrows. ¡°But it¡¯s not easy to find a priest of any kind to join. Would have taken you in when we met in the past.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Tina¡¯s smile widened. Well, they never met, so this person must not have been there when she was searching for teammates.


    I wouldn¡¯t have struggled begging people to let me join.


    But in the end it all went well ¡ª she met her current friends with that struggle after all. Otherwise, she would have ended up with a totally different story. And she loved her current friends deeply, she was satisfied.


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    ¡°How come we never met?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not originally from here. Name¡¯s Wiscal, by the way.¡± Then he proceeded to introduce the rest of his party. One knight, a dual wielder, and two mages. Wiscal explained that the other mage mainly supports the group by healing and distracting the enemy if necessary. ¡°I¡¯m actually from the small city of Selova, to the east.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯d you move?¡± Dune asked.


    ¡°Just wanna check out the big city. Then I met them,¡± he glanced at his party with a happy smile. ¡°I¡¯ll say things ended up great for me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard the empire has been pretty rough on the border.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard too. But it¡¯s been a very long time since I heard some news about my home city. Don¡¯t really have anything left there.¡±


    ¡°Family¡¯s gone?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, killed while being robbed.¡± he forced a smile. ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought something like that would happen?¡± he shrugged while others gave him a sympathetic look. ¡°But it¡¯s been years, it ain¡¯t that painful anymore. Enough about me, let¡¯s hear from these guys.¡±


    Tina felt puzzled by how casual this man was with talking about his family. Could people really be relieved from the pain of loss after a long time? Tina could not be truly sure, for she had lost fellow priests just recently.


    And it was so painful and heavy. Her heart burned and throbbed just thinking about it. Indeed, they were her family. And they died in battle.


    And here she was, outside, doing everything she leisured, while others carried their duty to heart and remained in the church to serve. To carry their oath, to do their purpose. To protect. No matter what desire they may have.


    My sister, Astine¡­


    Like Astine, she remained loyal to the place that took care of them ever since they were young. When they had no parents to speak of. Tina resisted the urge to sigh.


    Was it right to indulge herself like this? Why was she having doubts now?


    What¡¯s so bad about this?


    Was it because of guilt? After what happened to her fellow priests? After seeing how hard they work and take their job seriously? After seeing how much danger Wisteria could be in?


    But she also wanted to be with her friends, to do something other than the church. Something different. Something more special. With that thought in mind, Tina recalled her sister¡¯s face when she left to become an adventure once again. Astine was both disappointed¡­ and upset.


    The next party¡¯s leader was in his late twenties. ¡°Oh yes, hello. So, my name¡¯s Hew.¡± He was without a weapon except for the dagger hanging from his waist, and he wore a brown robe-like outfit. He then introduced his team. There was an archer, one carrying a greatsword, one with a shield and sword, and another with a spear. ¡°I mainly supervise and shout commands at the rear, as I could have a clear sight of the battlefield. Although it would be rough if an enemy got close to me.¡±


    There was one thing Tina noticed. Everyone here was young ¡ª not young in the sense that they were below twenties. It was just that no one else in anyone¡¯s team was in the mid thirties or further that. Iruyu may be a bit older than everyone in the party, but he just hit thirty.


    ¡°Support?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Still, I know plenty of attack spells. But everyone needs my support the most.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s eyes then shifted to the last one, hesitant.


    The man immediately responded. ¡°Heh, you already know me, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we do.¡± Dune said.


    ¡°Good. Then my introduction would be pointless. But, I remember you. When was the last time we met face to face? Ah, the weapons shop.¡±


    ¡°Wow, I¡¯m surprised a simpleton like you remembered that,¡± Anita said with no hesitation.


    ¡°You damn bitch.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± Derin got up and was about to grab his weapon.


    However, Anita and the others held him down.


    Anita gripped his arm tightly. ¡°Stop it! There¡¯s no need!¡±


    ¡°But ¡ª¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s alright.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s be civil,¡± said Iruyu. ¡°Although I dislike it, no fighting right now.¡±


    Bertos chuckled. ¡°You guys really are something, huh? You don¡¯t scare me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you.¡± Derin glared.


    ¡°Can you? Can you even put a scratch on me?¡±


    No one responded immediately, but a few seconds later, Dune answered. ¡°Your arrogance really is so unnerving.¡±


    ¡°And you can¡¯t do anything about it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think you¡¯re invincible.¡±


    Bertos narrowed his eyes. ¡°... I know that. Even I could bleed, only not by the likes of you. But, there is someone that almost got me.... How could I forget her?¡±


    ¡°Woah, who could threaten the life of the famous Bertos?¡± Wiscal asked with a grin, leaning forward with interest.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know her. But we met at the weapons shop.¡±


    ¡°You mean that cloaked woman?¡± Dune asked.


    Tina remembered it, too. It was a surprising occurrence, to think even Bertos backed down.


    ¡°Yeah. Whoever she is, I wanna meet her again. Then beat her to a pulp.¡±


    ¡°Dude, she almost killed you,¡± Derin mockingly said. ¡°Consider yourself lucky she spared you.¡±


    Berto stomped his foot into the ground, leaving a small crater after impact. ¡°Lucky?! Me?¡± his hands curled into fists. ¡°No, she got lucky, that¡¯s all. Next time, I won¡¯t be so unguarded.¡±


    Irritation and anger were evident on Bertos¡¯s face. He continued. ¡°I¡¯ll win when we have a proper fight. Do you know where she is?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know. Why did you even ask us that?¡± Dune said. ¡°We don¡¯t even know her.¡±


    ¡°She could be a traveler.¡± Iruyu added.


    ¡°Hmmm.¡±


    Bertos closed his eyes, as if thinking.


    Tina looked up, it was getting darker. Her eyes then shifted towards the knights, Roseneveria was looking at her again. She had been doing so most of the time. Even Anita had also been beginning to notice.


    Tina returned her gaze to her group, and everyone began mingling with each other. Talking, chuckling, leaving Bertos to his own world. Perhaps that was for the best.


    Tina stood up. ¡°Excuse me, I need to get to the trees.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Anita asked.


    ¡°D-Do I really need to say it in front of everybody?¡± Tina quietly said, looking a little embarrassed.


    ¡°... Ooooh, okay. I get it. I¡¯ll come alo¡ª¡±


    ¡°Please no. It¡¯s embarrassing already. I can do it alone.¡±


    ¡°.... Oh, alright.¡±


    Tina walked into the forest. She glanced back and saw Roseneveria also walking in her direction.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 70: Hunter’s Playground (Part 4)

    Tina walked some distance away from the clearing and made sure that none of her friends tried to follow her. It would be troubling if one of them witnessed something they shouldn¡¯t have.


    Unlike how she walked when she was with her friends, her steps now were more nimble and light ¡ª like a trained motion. She was holding back at how she usually moved when she was with her party. Just to hide the truth about her, and to make her look a little weak. Something that wouldn¡¯t make her friends look at her differently, and to hide the secrets of the church. True that she was nowhere close and skilled as her dear sister, Astine, but it was better than what she let others see.


    There was nothing to worry about monsters here as well. There should be nothing as such. If there was, they wouldn¡¯t be too powerful, and Tina believed she could handle them with the offensive spell she knew. Quite expensive in mana, but using it against weak monsters shouldn''t be an issue.


    After several seconds, she stopped. This should be far enough.


    Leaves and sticks being moved and trampled sounded from behind her.


    She closed her eyes for a moment and slowly inhaled before speaking. ¡°Stop looking at me all the time.¡±


    ¡°Priestess, it surprised me to see you. We¡¯ve met.¡±


    Tina turned around with a neutral expression. ¡°Yes, Lady Ayana. We¡¯ve worked together.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, but not in this operation. You shouldn¡¯t be here.¡±


    Tina cast her gaze downward. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Is the church intending on interfering and poking their fingers in?¡±


    She raised her wide eyes quickly. ¡°No, they have nothing to do with me here.¡± She didn¡¯t want there to be any complications because of her. ¡°Look, I am here for personal reasons. Nothing to do with the church.¡±


    Ayana narrowed her eyes. ¡°Personal reasons¡­? I don¡¯t think the church normally allows their battle priests to join the adventurers'' guild.¡±


    ¡°... No, they don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Are they aware? The church.¡±


    ¡°They know I¡¯m here.¡± It almost felt like she was being interrogated.


    ¡°What about your party? Do they know about your position in the church?¡±


    ¡°No, they do not.¡±


    ¡°I see. That is good. But you seem to care dearly about them.¡±


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°... I do. They¡¯re my friends.¡± Tina saw no issue caring about people.


    ¡°Friends, huh¡­¡± Ayana nodded and looked away for a moment as if thinking.


    ¡°Why are we doing this, Lady Ayana? Why hunt bandits?¡±


    Ayana returned her gaze towards her. ¡°As I said, the church is out of this. They shouldn¡¯t even know or get involved. But seeing that you are here, they will know now. You are aware how meticulous she is with her plans. And a member of the church here,¡± she shook her head. ¡°Nothing at all.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t tell the church.¡±


    ¡°Oh really? Don¡¯t take me for a fool, priestess. I have not removed the possibility of you spying just yet.¡±


    ¡°I am not! I told you, I am here for personal reasons!¡±


    ¡°All our operations are top secret, that is one of the highest orders she gave us. And here you are, cozying with adventurers, outsiders. How should we know you wouldn¡¯t leak sensitive information?¡±


    ¡°I will never tell them anything.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s sometimes difficult to hide something from dear friends, priestess. Eventually, one makes a slight mistake. And we are currently in no position for any leakage of information. Absolutely in no position.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Tina sensed Ayana seemed afraid of something. As if the situation was so dire and left no room for failure.


    ¡°You will know as soon as she deems it for you to know. I must report this. You are putting everything at risk.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not doing anything! Please, you don¡¯t need to tell her.¡±


    ¡°I have ascertained what I needed. She will know of you, and she will not be pleased.¡±


    Tina clenched her hands. ¡°The palace wouldn¡¯t care about me¡­¡± her voice trailed off. She was but one person, an insignificant member of the church. Surely they wouldn¡¯t bother with a person like her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so sure. You better don''t make a foolish mistake, Priestess Tina.¡± Ayana turned and walked away, back to everyone else.


    Tina lowered her head, placing her hand on her mouth. What if the palace does bother? This was the princess¡¯s plan, certainly, and Tina¡¯s presence here was not welcome. But the princess was kind and understanding. Maybe she¡¯ll let her off. Maybe if she asked, the princess would allow her to be with her friends.


    Tina prayed to the gods that all would end well.


    She slowly sat down on the nearby stone as she took a deep breath, feeling incredibly anxious. Despite her hopeful thoughts, what if it all ended otherwise?


    No, I should put these negative thoughts aside.


    Everything will go well.


    Must focus on the mission at hand.


    She couldn¡¯t let this hinder her performance. As what she had been trained for, she must support her team, heal them. Don¡¯t let them be harmed. Don¡¯t let them perish.


    She rose and closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath before slowly letting the air out of her lungs.


    ¡°Right. Don¡¯t let them see you sad.¡±


    After saying that to herself, she waited for several minutes before making her way back to her party. Along with the other adventurers, they were full of smiles, enjoying each other¡¯s company. Well, except for Bertos, who has stayed away from the group to be alone. Sometimes Tina wondered how he even survived being alone all the time.


    Tina stole a glance at Ayana for a moment. This time, she wasn¡¯t looking at her. Feeling a bit relieved that Ayana seemed to have taken her request, Tina continued walking towards her party and forced a smile.


    ¡°You took a while, Tina.¡± Anita said the moment she arrived.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a struggle in these clothes.¡±


    ¡°I can imagine.¡± Anita furrowed her brows and for some reason scrutinized her. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah, it¡¯s getting dark, and I¡¯m feeling a little nervous about the mission.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then here, eat some biscuits. We got plenty. Make sure you have the strength for later. Going to be a tough fight.¡±


    With a soft smile, Tina received the food her dear friend offered. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    And they waited for a few hours before it was time.


    Ayana called out to the group. ¡°Let¡¯s review the plan.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 71: Hunters Playground (Part 5)

    The moon had reached its peak, its gentle light sprawled all over the silent, peaceful forest. Indeed, it was too peaceful, not even a threatening monster to find. Now that Tina realized how free of dangerous monsters this area of the forest was, it was already a sign that some people were living here.


    Tina and her party stealthily traversed the area, the bandit base was only ahead. With them were Ayana ¡ª positioned ahead of the group ¡ª and the rest of the knights, and also Bertos. The other adventurers were somewhere else, tasked to target bandits that would try to run away.


    After Ayana and her team gets inside, one adventurer party would start enclosing the base.


    Ayana¡¯s knights, Dune¡¯s party, and Bertos were basically the advance group that would assault the base.


    Tina¡¯s steps were silent, not of any spell, but of skill. Considering that the enemies were mere bandits, there was no need to use her silent spell. Besides, everyone was managing well. She had not also mentioned she could cast such a spell. It was for the church.


    A moment later, they saw traces of light coming from the distance. Tina moved slower and the team began spreading out. Faint voices sounded, coming towards them. Everyone hid behind cover.


    Tina hid behind a tree and took a peek, there were two bandits coming. They only carried swords, but not a gear to protect their flesh.


    ¡°Been boring,¡± said one bandit.


    ¡°Yeah. Don¡¯t know what¡¯s up with the boss. Still, we have plenty of supplies and treasures left.¡±


    ¡°Guess so. But I miss the action, you know. And the women, especially the women. I miss the touch.¡±


    ¡°Heh, same. You remember the carriage we robbed a few months ago? One with the father and two daughters.¡±


    ¡°... I think so, yeh.¡±


    ¡°Damn, that oldest daughter was the best hit I had!¡± he grinned widely. ¡°So fucking delicious, I tell you. Left her crying afterwards.¡±


    ¡°Lucky bastard, I was stuck collecting the loot. What about the other girl?¡±


    ¡°Dunno, someone else took care of her.¡±


    ¡°Oh. The boss better let us go out and get some action again. Don¡¯t know how the other lots will hold on.¡±


    ¡°At least let me go to a whorehouse.¡±


    ¡°Kinda hard to find a decent one these days.¡±


    ¡°Fucking Wisteria and all its decency.¡±


    Tina furrowed her brows, her fists clenched as she listened to the bandits¡¯ conversation. How could they talk about something horrid so casually?


    They were evil. Nothing different to demons.


    Anger grew in Tina¡¯s heart. She couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine the torment their victims suffered in their filthy hands.


    The two bandits each approached a tree and were about to lower their pants, but then two knights swiftly rushed towards them. When hands suddenly covered and gripped their mouths, the bandits¡¯ eyes widened in shock and they squirmed for release, but the knights pulled out their knives and stabbed them into their throats.


    The moment the bandits stopped moving, the knights dropped their lifeless corpses to the ground without a care of them.


    Tina left her tree and stepped forward.


    Ayana quickly spoke to the team. ¡°Two minutes. Get into position.¡±


    The knights moved out.


    Tina joined in with her party. She glanced at the corpses for a moment. ¡°You think those daughters lived on?¡± she asked no one in particular.


    Dune was the one to answer. ¡°Maybe¡­ maybe not. Let¡¯s go, Tina.¡±


    ¡°... Yes.¡±


    Tina followed onward until the bandit base was plain in sight. They all hid themselves behind the objects of the forest. There were small wooden sheds and cabins, tents, and campfires. Bandits filled the area, casually talking, laughing, while others were already dozing off.


    At the edge of the base was a cave.


    It was a decently sized cave that could let a dozen bandits enter at once. The reports didn¡¯t say anything about what¡¯s inside the cave, so once they were inside, it would all be surprises. The bandits could have renovated and expanded the inside. Who knows how long they¡¯ve been here.


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    At any rate, everyone was in their positions, only waiting for Ayana¡¯s signal. Once it begins, the knights, Dune¡¯s party, and Bertos will launch the assault. Tina would stick to her role as a support, that was why her party was included in the main assault team. Her healing abilities were top-notch. Ayana knew that well.


    Tina controlled her breathing, anticipating the start of the assault. She was nervous, as how it would be for every mission. Although not entirely for herself, but mostly for her friends. Thinking about it, that¡¯s how she always felt.


    With her being present, however, and should be the best healer around, they will be fine. Many times their lives would have ended if not for Tina¡¯s abilities.


    It was then at that moment a bright light of white flashed and lit up the entire forest around them. That light signal shone from Ayana¡¯s palm, and all saw the sheer intensity of it. The bandits fell into confusion, scrambling and looking around to figure out what¡¯s going on. But before they could process everything, several slashes of light sliced through the air, cutting through wood, fabrics, and people.


    Screams echoed throughout the base as the mystical blades cut through their flesh, dismembering them.


    ¡°WE¡¯RE UNDER ATTACK!¡±


    ¡°SOUND THE ALARM!¡±


    ¡°AAAAH!¡±


    ¡°MY FUCKING LEG!¡±


    The knights charged forward with no relent. Cutting down anyone who would stand in their way.


    Another man charged forward, bashing through people, and slashed a defenseless bandit without mercy. The man, Bertos, fired a wave of light with the swing of his sword.


    Tina and her party didn¡¯t stay behind.


    Anita sent balls of fire at a group of bandits trying to flee, unable to even try to defend themselves without weapons in hand.


    Tina stayed a couple of meters away from her, watching everyone from the rear.


    Dune took the foremost position, pointing and relaying his command. He clashed with a bandit, blade by blade. However, Dune was faster and stronger with the help of physical enhancement, and he sliced through the bandit¡¯s guts with ease. His sword techniques were nothing to be trifled with as well, he had trained hellishly just to reach what he was now.


    Derin, on the other hand, moved swiftly and elegantly with his spear. Almost as if he was dancing. A white mist engulfed the sharp tip of his weapon, and with every thrust, the touch of frost emerged. Being touched by his frost covered spear would be ill advised, a proper hit could cause immediate frostbite. He pierced through the bandits with not a sweat on his brow.


    Iruyu heavily swung down his axe, unleashing a large wave of mana, cutting through dirt, wood, and men. He punched a bandit up close, sending him flying far away with broken bones. The strongest man in the party. Capable of both armament magic and physical enhancement technique.


    From what Tina could see, with the element of surprise, they were having the advantage. However, it didn¡¯t take long. More bandits emerged from the buildings, geared with weapons and armor. And they began their counterattack.


    To Tina¡¯s dislike, some bandits could cast magic. A bandit with out of the normal strength and lightning engulfed sword ran and slammed his blade at Bertos, not a hint of fear after witnessing Bertos easily slaying several bandits.


    ¡°Bastard!¡± shouted the bandit, eyes full of anger.


    Bertos merely smirked and swung back. They exchanged powerful attacks. However, Bertos didn¡¯t look worried at all, almost like he was playing with his opponent.


    Tina¡¯s friends fought with more skillful ones, too. They have expected this level of resistance. Dune faced two opponents at once, he was managing surprisingly well, and as always, Tina was impressed. Suddenly, a third one jumped in and was about to stab him from behind.


    Derin saw this, and he instantly threw his spear towards the bandit, successfully piercing through his chest. But that left him without a weapon, giving a bandit a clean chance to attack, swinging against him with a sword.


    Derin was dodging well, but the bandit unexpectedly pulled out a small dagger.


    As the bandit attacked with his sword, he searched for an opening to Derin¡¯s defense. And when he did, he threw the dagger. It did not miss. The blade dug into the unprotected part of Derin¡¯s shoulder. He grimaced and grunted in pain.


    ¡°No!¡± Anita saw what happened, and she fired lightning magic at the bandit, sending a single strand of lightning, blasting the enemy away with a burnt chest.


    Anita was about to rush over to Derin, however Tina called out to her. ¡°Don¡¯t Anita!¡±


    Anita abruptly turned towards her, and Tina saw the utter concern on her face. Tina was a bit surprised, she had not seen her this worked up over a minor injury. It would seem their relationship has changed, or rather, progressed this much. Still, with only that small inconvenience, she shouldn¡¯t break formation. Tina was here, an injury like that was nothing to panic about.


    ¡°Let me handle it!¡± Without waiting for her reply, Tina rushed towards the injured spearman. About two meters away, she extended her hand forward and a green stream of light emerged from her palm, flowing into Derin. ¡°You need to pull the blade out.¡±


    With a wince, Derin hesitantly ¡ª because of the pain ¡ª pulled out the blade. He exhaled deeply the moment it was out, and the wound closed up, then the bleeding completely stopped. Not a sign of the wound left, but a tear on his clothes.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Derin smiled.


    ¡°Derin, here!¡± from the distance, Iruyu threw back the spear to Derin, its point landing and sticking into the ground.


    Derin waved at Iruyu. ¡°Thanks!¡±


    As he pulled out the spear, Tina returned to her post.


    Slowly, they advanced forward. Facing challenges on the way, but nothing they couldn¡¯t handle. A couple of knights received minor wounds. But Tina was immediately there to mend them all.


    Tina looked at the surroundings, filled with blood and torn flesh, the ground littered with corpses. Human corpses from the scums of the world. Normal people would have felt at least disturbed, if not repulsed, by seeing this scenery. Even Anita¡¯s face twitched at the gory sight.


    But Tina was not really affected, saddened, or disgusted. Part of their training as battle priests was to kill humans. Humans that threaten Wisteria. And this scenery was not the first of its kind that she had seen. However, she instead almost pitied the men ¡ª not because they died a gruesome death, but because the battle was basically one sided.


    Indeed, it was an extermination. Was it because they were weak? No, it was likely because of how powerful the knights were, add to it the adventurers. All people with abilities of their own. Still, the knights were on an entirely different level. If Tina¡¯s brother¡¯s and sisters were the ones here instead, the outcome would not be too different.


    The field turned silent, with little groans coming from somewhere. They would let the others take care of them.


    And now, Tina and the others stood before the entrance of the cave.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 72: Hunters Playground (Part 6)

    Entering the cave were six knights, and the rest were Dune¡¯s party, and Bertos. The other knights were left outside to help secure the area.


    The cave from the entrance went downward, going underground. Not one in the team knew what exactly was in there. But they would find out soon enough, there must be only more bandits. Still, how big was the place?


    Given the size of the passageway, the assault team would find it difficult to stay in a widespread formation. The adventurers, however, have been to caves many times in their lifetime, to hunt monsters or to rest. And thus, Tina and her friends were made to take point, with the knights following behind them.


    Tina specifically was at the center of it all, where she could easily come to aid and reach everyone in this cave, where an ambush was highly likely.


    Tina felt a bit anxious, no other bandits had attempted to run out of the cave. They were definitely setting up a defensive line or an ambush further within. But Tina was ready.


    The path was surprisingly decent, you won¡¯t even easily trip in anything. The bandits seemed to have been pretty cozy for years in this base of theirs. With that thought in mind, Tina felt a bit bitter that only now did they manage to hunt these lows of humanity.


    If the palace willed it, the Church would have been willing to exterminate them. It would not have been difficult.


    They walked further in, and it was still unusually quiet, disturbingly so.


    Just then, the lighting in the passageway grew brighter. Dune at the head of the formation stopped to look at the stonewall filled with blazing torches, a surprised expression on his face. Strings were hung on the wall, dozens of them, and more further in. All of them were pierced and tied into parts of ears.


    A curtain of butchery.


    Half of ears on strings. Human ears. Some seemed recent, while some were rotting. It smelled bad, making Tina winced in disgust.


    Dune looked at his surroundings and came to a realization. ¡°Are they the bandits that cut off the ears of their victims?¡±


    ¡°Shit, I didn¡¯t expect they would be here,¡± said Derin.


    Tina knew about those notorious bandits. The cruelest of them all. With every civilian group they attack, they at least let one man go, but half of their ears would be cut off. And seeing the number of ears here, it only further proved they take not only the ears of the free man.


    There have been quests that hunt these bandits. They were successful of course. But it would appear they haven¡¯t rooted them out completely.


    ¡°Creepy¡­¡± Anita remarked.


    Seeing that these bandits proudly show their cruelty made Tina feel more repulsed than ever. It almost made her want to vomit.


    ¡°Continue.¡± Ayana said, as if unbothered by the gruesome sight.


    Dune faintly nodded and they went further down. Gradually, both the sight and the foul smell of the ears fell behind. Tina breathed in the better air with relief.


    Just then, Dune stopped and the group instantly followed suit. Bandits were waiting ahead, swords, bows, and magic at the ready, using furniture and other wooden objects as shields and barriers.


    ¡°Open fire!¡± one bandit shouted.


    Arrows and spells immediately shot towards the group. As it happened, the knights swiftly moved forward and held out their hands. Translucent magical barriers immediately appeared, protecting the entire group.


    With the number of knights casting their barrier, it was trivial to block all those incoming attacks, even the magic spells. They walked forward. Once they were close enough, the knights made a small gap in their magical barriers and allowed the adventurers to charge through.


    Iruyu bashed through the enemies¡¯ wooden barrier, sending debris all over the place, and he attacked the enemy head on relentlessly. Bertos likewise didn¡¯t miss a beat and charged forward with an amused smile on his face. Dune and the rest of the party followed behind him, aiming to take out the range attackers as soon as possible.


    From then thereafter, the knights removed their magic shields and engaged the enemies.


    Amidst the battle, while Dune was fighting a bandit, an arrow struck the gap between his armor by the shoulders. ¡°Ugh!¡± his face contorted. As he bore through the pain, the bandit, with a sword in hand, charged at him.


    Their blades clashed, but the bandit gained the upper hand and slashed half an inch into Dune¡¯s throat.


    ¡°Dune!¡± Tina exclaimed. She watched as blood spurted out of his throat, his hand pressing into the wound. Tina took a step forward, but she stopped. The way through was filled with enemies, and a chaotic battle was still taking place. She shouldn¡¯t break formation just yet. If she goes in without support, she might only endanger herself, making it harder for everyone else.


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    Dune kneeled to the ground, choking out of his own blood. The bandit walked closer, preparing to deliver the finishing blow. The thought of using her main healing spell came to mind. Should she reveal here and now that she actually possessed powerful abilities than she had shown them all this time? With just a few of her steps, Dune would be in range.


    The bandit raised his sword. Tina gritted her teeth. Many times something like this had happened during their adventurers. And many times she deliberated to use her main abilities. However, in all those times, she didn¡¯t have to, for good things happen in the end.


    A wide slash of light suddenly struck the bandit, causing his torn up body to blast away. Tina turned towards the woman who saved her friend.


    ¡°Quickly, priestess! I¡¯ll cover you!¡± Ayana shouted.


    Tina sprinted towards Dune, and the moment he was in front of her, she cast her healing magic right next to his bleeding throat. ¡°Just a moment, Dune. You¡¯ll be alright.¡±


    She looked into his eyes, they showed signs of panic, utter fear. It must be a very painful experience. But as the moment passed, and the healing magic took effect, he closed his eyes in relief. Tina was thankful to the gods he wasn¡¯t struck by a fatal blow, or healing magic would have been useless.


    The slit on Dune¡¯s throat completely closed. And he huffed. ¡°Hah, Hah¡­¡± he lifted his eyes and smiled. ¡°Thanks, Tina¡­¡±


    Tina smiled back with great relief. ¡°You¡¯re welcome, as long as you¡¯re fine.¡±


    He forced a chuckle. ¡°Honestly, we couldn¡¯t have survived this far without you.¡±


    Tina blushed a little. ¡°Enough, you still need to fight. Get up.¡± she extended her hand.


    ¡°R-Right.¡± he held her hand and Tina pulled him up. They looked at each other, and Tina nodded. She stepped away and returned to the rear, while Dune went back to fight.


    A minute later, all the enemies were felled. Tina quickly healed everyone that was hurt, bad or not.


    She subtly sighed in relief, that battle was a bit worrying. She looked at the surrounding area. There were three diverging paths ¡ª to the left, right, then to the middle.


    Ayana stepped forward. ¡°There may be escape paths on every single one. We¡¯ll waste too much time if we go in one first before the other. Let¡¯s split up.¡±


    Dune nodded. ¡°Agreed. I would like to take my party with me, and Bertos. With a healer, there¡¯s nothing to be concerned about.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡± She glanced at the knights. ¡°Knights, three members each.¡± She pointed towards two. ¡°Let¡¯s take the middle path. The rest, you take the right. Adventurers, the left.¡±


    And with that, the knights left and entered the other paths. They were more powerful than the party, so they should do just fine without Tina being present. The adventurer¡¯s party, on the other hand, even with Bertos, they would need her.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, team,¡± Dune said with a grin.


    ¡°Don¡¯t order me around.¡± Bertos growled and walked ahead of everyone.


    Dune shook his head and followed with the rest of the team.


    ¡°Dude, you almost died,¡± Derin teased.


    Dune sighed. ¡°Yeah, it was terrible.¡± He caressed his throat. ¡°Hope I don¡¯t experience that again.¡±


    ¡°You scared me out there. You were going ¡®ogh-gah-gg¡¯,¡± as he said that, Derin placed a hand on his throat, his face all goofy, as if replicating what happened to Dune.


    Dune with a chuckle, punched him on the shoulder. ¡°Stop that!¡±


    ¡°Heh, gotta be careful next time. Can¡¯t believe that guy got you in the throat.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I really thought I was gonna die.¡±


    ¡°As if. As long as we¡¯re together,¡± he extended his arms outwards. ¡°Nothing can really threaten us.¡±


    ¡°Sure, sure.¡±


    Tina smiled as she watched them. She felt a hand placed on her back, it was Anita¡¯s.


    ¡°Great job,¡± she said.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    I could have done better.


    But at least it all ended well, as always.


    They walked further into the passageway until ahead they saw a couple of bandits guarding a door behind them. The two quickly raised their swords. But without waiting for his allies, Bertos charged ahead and quickly dealt with the enemy. They put up a good fight, but not good enough.


    He scoffed. ¡°Hmph, pathetic. And I was expecting more.¡± he turned to look at the door. ¡°Someone seems to be inside. I sense movement.¡±


    ¡°Go inside first, you always want that.¡± Dune said.


    With a smirk, Bertos kicked the door open and rushed inside. The rest of the team quickly followed, moving into formation. The room was wide, cabinets and drawers placed by the walls, and a long table at the center. Still, the chamber had plenty of space to walk around. As if they used this room as a meeting place.


    And there were two people here. One was clearly a bandit, and the other covered himself in a cloak from head to feet. They dropped sheets of paper into a small hole of fire.


    ¡°Boss.¡±


    ¡°Yes, just in time.¡±


    ¡°No papers left, I think.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± In what seemed like a flash, the cloaked man pulled out his beautiful blade, and the bandit¡¯s head flew. His eyes were still wide open.


    Tina gasped in surprise. Why did that man just kill his friend?


    ¡°Dude, you¡¯re fucked up,¡± said Derin as the head dropped to the ground with an audible thud.


    The cloaked man slowly turned towards them. ¡°Nothing but a pest with no other purpose left.¡± His voice was deep and calm. Not even a tiny shiver. Nor sign of regret.


    Tina narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°You must be the bandit leader, then?¡± asked Dune, his sword at the ready.


    ¡°Yes. Well, I was.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll be killing you!¡±


    Bertos charged forward and swung his sword down, but the bandit leader nonchalantly dodged him. The latter gripped his sword tightly and was about to strike down, but Derin fired his frost sword magic at him, forcing the bandit leader to retract and jump back.


    But as he did so, Anita sent a ball of fire towards him. Still, even that, the man dodged it. Bertos fired his armament magic, sending a slash of light heading for him, but again the man dodged it quickly ¡ª the slash moving past him by an inch. However, the moment he dodged and landed, his hood was pushed by the passing wind from the attack.


    What revealed was a beautiful man with a light complexion. His hair was of gold, and eyes were a pretty pair of emeralds. An appearance so unexpected as a man involved in banditry. Still, the moment Tina saw him unveiled, nervousness struck in her heart, her eyes widened in horror. Her lips immediately trembled. She felt cold.


    ¡°Woah, guy has pointy ears.¡± Derin casually commented. It was meant to be humorous.


    However, it was absolutely not humorous to Tina at all.


    Why was someone like that here?


    When she had processed a little of what she had seen, she panicked. ¡°GET AWAY!¡±


    Everyone turned towards her in confusion.


    Anita asked with concern. ¡°W-What¡¯s wrong ¡ª¡±


    ¡°Get away from him! Now!¡±


    ¡°What are you so panicked about, little girl?¡± Bertos shook his head.


    ¡°Damn fool!¡± Tina shouted in anger. ¡°Do as I say!¡±


    Suddenly, sharp winds ripped through the air. No one saw it, they were not prepared. And thus, Bertos, Dune, Derin, Anita, bled at their torso.


    But Tina cast a personal barrier on herself the moment she saw that wind coming towards her. She was safe. Only, she was unable to shield the others.


    ¡°Oh? You are unscathed.¡±


    Tina looked at her friends. They were dumbstruck by the wound they abruptly received, and they slowly kneeled and collapsed to the floor, still oblivious to what exactly happened.


    Tina, with a shaking breath, looked at the stranger. ¡°W-Why are you h-here, elf?¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 73: Hunters Playground (Part 7)

    Tina breathed heavily as her shield evaporated after that single attack. Her friends, and Bertos, kneeled on the ground, blood dripping to the soil.


    The enemy, the elf, narrowed his eyes. ¡°You know of our kind?¡±


    Tina, still nervous and afraid, glared at the elf with anger. She deliberated, but only for a moment. There was no other choice, her friends were dying, and her high level healing spell was the only one that could save them. She thrust her hand forward, and a bright golden stream of light emerged, immediately hitting the closest ¡ª Anita. But after that, the light bounced from her towards Derin, and it bounced one by one to everyone.


    Every person it touched was healed, but in every one it consumed mana. The spell also had maximum distance, but thankfully everyone was in range.


    ¡°Healer!¡± the elf shouted, outraged. He didn¡¯t expect someone could heal their allies like that. He prepared his sword.


    He rushed forward, but before he could reach halfway to her, Tina cast her powerful offensive spell. With both hands extended forward, from her palm raged a violent beam of light. A more focused attack than what she would normally use this as, and this one cost about forty percent of her total mana. But it was powerful enough to catch the elf off guard, blasting him into the cave wall.


    In that window of opportunity, Tina quickly cast protective magic on all her friends and Bertos. It took a moment. Her friends looked surprised at the faint golden shield covering their body.


    ¡°Tina, what is this?¡± Anita asked, looking at Tina as if she was something strange.


    Tina disregarded their confusion and quickly, also desperately, shouted at them. ¡°Retreat now!¡±


    Setting aside their confusion, everyone quickly rose to their feet and assembled around Tina, as she cast a protective spell on herself. She was burning up her mana more than she liked. But there was still plenty to spare.


    Tina glanced at Dune, he looked like he wanted to ask a question. But there was no time for that. ¡°Let¡¯s run.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean run?!¡± Bertos exclaimed, repulsed by the word.


    But she ignored him. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± She quickly moved ahead through the exit door. And everyone else followed, Bertos in particular, begrudgingly so.


    They ran. They ran as fast as they could as a commotion roared behind them.


    Dune ran beside Tina, and he looked at her from up to down. No, he was scrutinizing her. ¡°You move differently.¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯ll explain later. Just don¡¯t fight!¡± Fear was evident on her face.


    She just never imagined that an elf would be here in all places. Why now? Her friends almost died. They shouldn¡¯t fight that elf, they wouldn¡¯t survive. She must bring them to safety.


    They must run away.


    Tina sensed rumbling on the stone wall. She took in a sharp breath, realizing what was coming. She gathered a ton of mana in her hand, and just as the walls split open, shot out a streaking ball of light, moving forward through the passageway. The same kind of light they used during that operation.


    And then thick, thorny vines came out through the cracks on the walls. Tina cast a wall of faint, golden barrier in front of her just as the vines whipped, stopping her and her team in their tracks. She held on as she received the powerful force of the deadly vines.


    And they stepped back.


    The vines obstructed their way.


    ¡°Dammit.¡± she looked around. Then turned to Anita. ¡°Burn it all!¡±


    Anita flinched at her shouting order. But she did as she was told and sent fireballs at it.


    But the elf had caught up. ¡°I would prefer there be no witnesses to my presence.¡±


    The vines from the passageway writhed and moved in towards them again. Tina immediately cast a barrier spell that took up most of the passageway, blocking the vines. It was a quick thinking decision, she had to focus on this side to hold the vines¡¯ assault. However, it left her rear without a shield.


    ¡°We have to fight!¡± Bertos shouted and prepared his weapon.


    ¡°Yeah, we have no other choice,¡± said Dune.


    ¡°We¡¯ll beat the guy.¡± Derin readied his spear.


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    Tina didn¡¯t know what to do. Do they have to fight? But it was too dangerous. Still, all they needed was to buy time until the knights arrived. They shouldn¡¯t take long, or so she hoped.


    The elf looked displeased. He charged forward with tremendous speed, brandishing his sword.


    The men attacked. But vines grew out of the ground they stood upon.


    ¡°What?!¡± Dune exclaimed. He resisted with his weapon for a brief moment, but the vines whipped him a couple of times, breaking his protective shield. Another one lashed at him with fearsome power, throwing him hard into the wall. He was embedded in the wall, making him cough up blood.


    Anita fired flames at the vines. But her fire was not enough, not even close, and they still stood. ¡°What are they?!¡±


    The elf and Bertos confronted each other, and the latter managed to deflect the former¡¯s sword. But Bertos was apparently struggling to keep up, while the other had a calm and unbothered face.


    Iruyu joined in to help, but the elf after parrying Bertos¡¯s blade, punched Iruyu in the stomach. He waved his hand, and a blast of wind sent him flying to the wall, dust spread in the air. Vines awaited the man and tied themselves around his body, pinning him to the wall.


    Bertos continued to attack the elf.


    Derin was about to interject, but vines grew out of the ground and wrapped around his legs, then his body. The shield of gold snapped and broke as the vines gripped tightly.


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    The thorny vines clung to his skin.


    The same fate fell on Anita as she was about to cast a spell. Vines wrapped around her. ¡°No!¡± Her shield broke into pieces. And she was lightly armored. The thorns dug into her skin, what hurt the most were the ones that clung and slowly pierced her face. The vines tightened, digging deeper. And she screamed. ¡°Aaaaah!¡± A scream of pain, of agony. Slow, intensifying pain.


    Tina was horrified to see what was being done to her. She wanted to heal them, but she couldn''t. Not with the vines bashing against her barrier. The moment she looks away and uses magic, it would weaken the barrier, and that would be enough for the vines to break through.


    Berto¡¯s and the elf¡¯s fight continued on for a moment, but when he saw an opening, he gracefully swung down his blade. He proceeded to slash Berto¡¯s body multiple times.


    ¡°Ggh!¡± Bertos grunted.


    But the elf didn¡¯t end there, he easily avoided the swing of the weakening Bertos, swiftly moving behind him, and plunged his sword into his chest. Bertos froze, his eyes wide looking at the blade poking out of his body, he dropped his sword as his life dwindled away. When the elf pulled back his blade, Bertos collapsed to the ground and not a hint of strength to show.


    ¡°N-No way.¡± Derin¡¯s eyes widened in shock. The strongest among them, defeated. He writhed even more so, he tried using his frost from his weapon, but they were not strong enough to freeze all the vines around him. He couldn¡¯t even move around properly in an attempt to cut them.


    The elf, with an indifferent expression, approached, and brandished his blade.


    ¡°Derin!¡± Anita screamed.


    The spearman attempted to thrust his weapon at the elf. But the elf easily sliced off his hand. A thud as it fell, and blood spilled.


    ¡°No!¡± Anita cried.


    Derin struggled in the grips of the thorny plants, but it was useless. And he knew it. There was nothing he could do.


    He forced his head to turn around, to look at Anita from the corner of his eyes, and he said¡­ ¡°I lov¡ª¡±


    The elf cut off his head clean.


    Tina¡¯s world seemed to grow cold and slow as she watched Derin¡¯s head touch the ground. Her lips trembled. Her gaze slowly drifted off to Anita, whom the thorns had dug into her body and her face completely as she cried with tremendous tears.


    Tina¡¯s gaze shifted to Dune, blood stained his mouth as he crawled to his party. Iruyu, on the other hand, was bleeding all over after forcing himself free, he charged towards the elf with apparent rage. The elf swung his blade in the air multiple times, and wide slashes of wind crashed into Iruyu, fatally wounding him from the body to the face. He fell to the ground, and he stayed lying there.


    Everyone was dying.


    Tina didn¡¯t know what to do.


    They shouldn¡¯t have come here.


    They shouldn¡¯t have participated.


    If Tina wasn¡¯t here, if she hadn¡¯t returned, would they have taken the quest? Likely not. After all, she was a key reason why her party had reached as far as they did. Without her, things would have been too different.


    It was her fault.


    She shouldn¡¯t have come back.


    Why did there have to be an elf?


    It was her fault.


    What if she had not hidden her talents?


    What if she never held back?


    It was all her fault.


    In her emotional distress, the shield she maintained was broken. The vines of despair and demise inched closer.


    But at that moment, several slashes of light cut them all like paper. Three knights arrived and stepped forward. The elf flinched in surprise and leaped back. The three knights, that included Ayana, stood right next to the injured, and freed Anita.


    The other three knights then next arrived.


    Ayana looked at the casualties, then at the enemy. ¡°Elf¡­ Who are you supposed to be?¡±


    ¡°Does not matter.¡±


    ¡°... Indeed. We¡¯ll be taking you in.¡±


    ¡°Take me alive, I presume?¡±


    ¡°What? Going to kill yourself like your friends do?¡±


    The elf¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°You were behind it.¡±


    ¡°Who else?¡±


    ¡°... I cannot die just yet. And I am not like who you faced in the city. ¡±


    ¡°Knights! Arrest that elf, without limbs if we have to!¡±


    The elf¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°I have things to do.¡±


    The knights charged forward.


    With a wave of his hand, the elf sent dust into the air, and a barrier of wind blocked the way.


    The knights attacked the wind barrier, but they were only deflected back.


    Ayana slammed her weapon hard. But it was futile. ¡°Damn elf!¡±


    And a moment later, the wind dissipated. Ayana and the knights charged forward as the dust gradually cleared from the air.


    However¡­


    ¡°He¡¯s gone,¡± said a knight.


    ¡°There¡¯s only one place he could go.¡± she pointed forward. ¡°Find him! All of you!¡±


    The knights rushed forward, hoping to chase down their target.


    Ayana turned to look at Tina, who was frozen in shock, staring at her friends. At Dune forcing himself to stand up. At Iruyu barely flinching. And at Anita, all bloody, but brimming with tears. Her sobbing and cries clear to the ears as she touched Derin¡¯s head, and she lowered herself. Her sounds of grief echoing in the cave.


    Tina at last, let go of her tears.


    Before she realized it, Ayana approached and pulled her by the shirt.


    ¡°Snap out of it! Your purpose is to heal, then heal them. All that survived.¡±


    Tina slowly shifted her eyes to Ayana¡¯s. While trembling, she meekly nodded.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 74: Hunter’s Playground (Part 8)

    Tina quickly attended to Dune, who was bloody all over, limping as he walked, heading towards their beheaded friend. ¡°D-Dune, hold still.¡±


    A ray of golden light emerged from her hand, rapidly healing all his wounds, external or internal. Dune looked at Tina with wide baffled eyes, then to his entire body. She had never done this powerful healing spell before.


    ¡°You can do that, all this time¡­?¡±


    Tina hesitated to answer, he almost sounded disappointed. But she forced herself to respond. ¡°Y-Yes¡­¡±


    Dune lowered his head. ¡°Oh¡­¡± His eyes shifted away. ¡°Please quickly go to Iruyu, he¡¯s still moving. I¡¯ll¡­ tend to Anita.¡±


    ¡°Under¡­¡± Without waiting for her to finish, Dune walked away. ¡°...stood.¡±


    Her heart grew heavier. Still, she hurried to her other friend. ¡°Iruyu, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯m here.¡± She checked the wound inflicted upon him. Wide slashes all over his body, even his face didn¡¯t come out unscathed. His left cheek was cut through, and his left eye was severely damaged. Seeing that, Tina almost burst into tears, but she held it in.


    Iruyu eyed Tina through his slightly open eyes. The latter held out her hands, and a gentle stream of golden light engulfed the large man, and his wounds slowly closed. His recovery was slower compared with Dune¡¯s case. Iruyu¡¯s injuries were much more severe, it was amazing that he managed to survive.


    A moment later, his bleeding stopped, and wounds closed completely. But there was a slight scar that remained on his cheeks. And his left eye, unfortunately, couldn¡¯t be restored. Both a grim reminder of what happened here today.


    ¡°T-Tina,¡± he gently grabbed her hand. ¡°The others?¡± He was still weak.


    ¡°They¡¯re okay¡­ But Derin¡­¡± Tina mildly shook her head.


    Iruyu closed his eyes. ¡°So it is¡­¡± Tears streamed down his face.


    As much as Tina didn¡¯t want to leave his side, she left to check up on Bertos. He was not moving at all. She pressed a pair of fingers to his throat, no pulse. To make sure, she checked the wrist. No pulse either.


    ¡°Dead¡­¡±


    Two losses in the encounter with the elf. If Ayana and the others arrived a moment later, perhaps none would have survived. Her gaze lingered on Ayana, who was keeping watch. Tina felt grateful.


    With a deep breath, Tina continued on to approach Anita, who had Derin¡¯s head and body in her arms. Dune sitting behind her. Both of them were crying.


    ¡°Anita,¡± Tina softly called out. ¡°I¡¯m going to heal you¡ª¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Tina was baffled. ¡°But¡ª¡±


    ¡°Leave me alone.¡±


    ¡°Your wounds needs to be¡ª¡±


    ¡°I said leave me alone.¡± She didn¡¯t even look at Tina.


    Tina stepped back, sadness written all over her face. ¡°Okay¡­¡± Anita was still dripping blood, and must be in great pain. Tina could not understand why she would deny her healing magic. Why didn¡¯t she want to be relieved of more pain?


    Tina resisted the burning in her eyes.


    Almost a minute later, two knights returned and immediately gave their report to Ayana.


    ¡°Our apologies, Lady Ayana, but the elf is gone. He escaped.¡±


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°What?¡± Ayana¡¯s eyes turned fierce. ¡°Where else could he have gone?¡±


    ¡°There was a passageway hidden behind the shelves. We wanted to follow him through, but he blocked the way by collapsing the passage. Currently, we¡¯re still digging through.¡±


    ¡° ¡ª Go outside this instant and tell everyone to watch out for that elf, find and capture him.¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡±


    ¡°And call for people to come here to help carry the bodies.¡±


    And with that, the two knights rushed to the outside.


    Tina approached the lady knight and quietly spoke to her. ¡°You expected an elf here, didn¡¯t you? A special operation. Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± her voice was tense with a small hint of anger.


    But the knight merely furrowed her brows. ¡°We don¡¯t know everything that is going to happen, priestess.¡±


    Tina glanced back at her friends. How could things end like this?


    It didn¡¯t take long before help arrived. Wiscal was among the firsts, and he looked on at the miserable sight with pity.


    ¡°Damn¡­¡±


    He and Tina met each other¡¯s eyes. Must be because Tina was keeping it together better than everyone else, and she was more friendly compared to the nearby knight Ayana, he approached her and asked a question.


    ¡°How did this happen?¡±


    Indeed, how could something like this happen? Especially considering that Tina was present.


    I can¡¯t save everyone.


    Just like how she lost her fellow priests despite her healing magic, she could not save her friends. She could never save everyone. What a disappointment she was.


    ¡°We faced a powerful enemy¡­¡±


    Tina, despite the mess of emotion within her heart, opted to keep out what specific person they faced. Wiscal was not a person to know about it. Her friends heard what that person was, but they were currently not in the state to talk about specifics. About something they were clueless about.


    Just then, Ayana called out to Wiscal.


    ¡°Hold off the questions. Focus on what¡¯s more important.¡±


    ¡°... Yes, ma¡¯am.¡±


    He ordered his party to assist those that needed it. In the end, they only had to help Iruyu walk. While the rest that were available had to help take care of the bodies of the dead and bring them out.


    Derin was a sensitive case. They had to take a nearby cloth and cover his body. While Anita carried his head in her embrace. She didn¡¯t even want anyone to touch her but Dune and Iruyu. Not Tina.


    Tina could not understand why, and she followed everyone from the rear.


    They arrived outside. Everything was in ruin, but it was silent and peaceful, the moon shining magnificently, and yet it gave off a sorrowful atmosphere. Tina looked up, the countless stars glimmering endlessly. And a single tear dropped down her cheek.


    She quickly rubbed it off.


    They carefully set down the corpses in a comfortable spot. Her friends gathered around Derin. Tina slowly walked closer as Anita gently placed Derin¡¯s head where it should be. The mage was still bleeding from her wounds.


    Iruyu kneeled on both knees. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I wasn¡¯t strong enough.¡±


    To whom did he say that? Tina wondered. Was it to Derin? Or to everyone?


    ¡°Me too. I¡¯m a failure,¡± Dune said under his breath.


    No, it wasn¡¯t anyone¡¯s fault. They shouldn¡¯t even blame themselves or anyone. The enemy they faced was a force to be reckoned with. At least, that was what Tina thought.


    She noticed Anita¡¯s eyes were becoming droopy. ¡°A-Anita, you need healing.¡±


    There was no response from her. The two men looked at the two of them, and Dune called out to Anita as well. ¡°Anita.¡±


    No response.


    Tina was growing more concerned, and thus she placed a hand on Anita¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Anit¡ª¡±


    Anita swept off Tina¡¯s hand and abruptly rose to face her. There was intense anger and frustration at the way she looked at the priestess.


    ¡°Anita¡ª¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up with you?!¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡±


    ¡°You can do that all this time?!¡± she cried as tears filled her loathing eyes. ¡°How long have you been lying to me?!¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Tina didn¡¯t know how to answer.


    ¡°And you knew that bastard?! What¡¯s up with that, huh?! You liar! This could¡¯ve been avoided!¡±


    Tina could only stand and do nothing but listen.


    ¡°D-Derin would have lived¡­¡± she used her wrists to cover her eyes and face. Dune gently wrapped his arms around her. The grieving mage looked at Tina once again. ¡°Who are you really?¡±


    Tina lowered her head. She couldn¡¯t endure it any longer, and tears welled up in her eyes.


    Everything was her fault. If she hadn¡¯t returned¡­ If she had been honest, perhaps everything would have ended differently. Indeed, there was someone to blame ¡ª it was herself.


    Iruyu stood next to her. ¡°Tina¡­¡± he gently smiled. ¡°Can you please give Anita some space for now?¡±


    Tina mildly nodded, and she walked away with slouched shoulders. She sat down on some broken logs from destroyed buildings, and watched her friends from a distance.


    Anita hates me¡­


    That cannot be denied.


    She heard footsteps coming towards her. Upon raising her eyes, she saw it was Ayana.


    ¡°She blames you,¡± the knight briefly said.


    ¡°As it should be.¡± Tina closed her eyes as she took in a deep breath. ¡°What will happen now, Lady Ayana?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. But once the palace hears of another elf, I expect things will become tighter.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ You know healing magic, don¡¯t you, Lady Ayana?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°If I may make a request.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±


    ¡°Please make the time to heal Anita. She¡­ needs it.¡±


    ¡°... Alright.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 75: A True Friend (Part 1)

    Rogan stood from the distance with firm feet, watching the princess mingle with other noble ladies. To be honest, he was both disturbed and relieved to see her smile. The princess was strict and uptight when things got serious or when it was with her usual circle of servants, so this scene looked pleasantly weird.


    He saw through her eyes that she was indeed enjoying the company. She looked better this way. Way better than she was being all scary and full of rage and wrath. Particularly that time she magically choked everyone in the room without even realizing it. Were royals always that powerful? The king was pretty strong himself, but not as much as the princess had shown.


    Rogan could hear what the ladies were talking about, and now they were talking about love life.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been most curious about, princess.¡± Villeta smiled slyly. ¡°Is there any man you like?¡±


    Princess¡¯s Estelia¡¯s entire face loosened, her eyes wide. ¡°L-Like, you mean¡­?¡±


    ¡°I mean, like, like. One that makes your heart beat faster. Turn your cheeks red and warm.¡±


    The princess lowered her head, falling silent. Rogan took this as her in deep thought, but she did not smile. Almost as if she was put off. From the looks of it, she disliked the topic.


    ¡°No one in particular¡­¡± that was all she said.


    ¡°No one piqued the interest of the beautiful princess?¡± Arenza asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you find even a few knights attractive?¡± Shena added.


    The princess shook her head as she avoided everyone¡¯s eyes. ¡°... No one.¡±


    The noble ladies looked at each other, pretty baffled by the princess¡¯s reaction to the question.


    But then Mizia asked something she seemed curious about. ¡°What about Lucious?¡±


    The princess jerked her head up at the mention of that name. ¡°What about him¡­?¡±


    ¡°Huh, I quite expected he had made a significant move by now.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, Mizia?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been friends since childhood, does he not have a special place in your heart?¡±


    The princess did not immediately respond.


    Rogan was well aware what was going on with those two¡¯s relationship, sort of say. Lucious was quite so in love with the princess, and he admitted it. However, Rogan¡¯s been noticing that the princess had been trying to keep some distance between them sometime after their date in the city. He thought they were getting along well. But then the changes to Princess Estelia.


    He could not understand, and he was too scared to ask her.


    Honestly, women¡­ full of mysteries¡­ I can¡¯t even begin to truly comprehend them.


    Almost reminded him of his feelings with Ayana, but he had been trying to forget about it. Years of memories and moments would be discarded, but nothing he could do. He couldn¡¯t suffer the pain any much longer.


    ¡°... I¡­ don¡¯t know.¡±


    Mizia blinked in confusion, perhaps she just didn¡¯t understand it as well. ¡°Uh-huh. I won¡¯t interfere in any way. I¡¯m just an observer.¡±


    ¡°The princess¡¯s heart cannot be easily won, I see,¡± Villeta said with an amused smile. ¡°If someone ever wins her heart, the heavens will sound their trumpets and sing their choirs.¡±


    ¡°Do not be so dramatic,¡± said Shena. ¡°Perhaps he¡¯s not her type.¡±


    ¡°Oh? What about you, Lady Shena? Any man in your heart?¡±


    Lady Shena sipped her drink and answered after setting it down. ¡°None. Mother is quite picky. And I have not talked with a man to my liking. Well, no, actually, I have talked with one once.¡±


    ¡°Oh, who is it?¡±


    ¡°... It¡¯s¡­¡± she hesitated and glanced towards Princess Estelia for a brief moment. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I should say it¡­¡±


    ¡°Come now, we can keep secrets here.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    Princess Estelia unexpectedly chimed in. ¡°Is it a brother of mine?¡±


    Shena¡¯s face froze for a moment.


    ¡°It is? Which one? Eleden is set to marry. It couldn¡¯t be him?¡± For some reason, the princess was suddenly quite proactive.


    Shena forced a smile and mildly shook her head.


    ¡°So it¡¯s Estevan¡­¡± the princess cast her eyes away as if pondering. She faintly nodded. ¡°Good to know.¡±


    ¡°Are you not displeased, your highness?¡± Shena warily asked.


    ¡°Why would I be?¡± the princess smiled kindly.


    ¡°W-Well¡­¡±


    ¡°There is nothing to worry about. I have no intention of becoming involved in anyone''s love story.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    ¡°What about you, Villeta?¡± Lady Arenza asked abruptly.


    ¡°Me?¡± she grinned, proud. ¡°I am promised to someone. Just recently, in fact.¡±


    ¡°Arranged?¡± Mizia asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t protest?¡±


    ¡°Nope. I like him. Well, I grew to like him. Gave him a chance. He¡¯s quite charming.¡±


    Shena looked down at Villeta¡¯s hands. ¡°I don¡¯t see a ring?¡±


    ¡°He has not given me yet. We¡¯re arranging a small party for the two households. He will give it to me at that time.¡±


    ¡°Love grows¡­? People really learn to love another with no fateful encounter. Or maybe, that was the fateful encounter itself.¡±


    ¡°You like that sort of thing, princess?¡± asked Villeta.


    ¡°I¡¯m just curious¡­ And fascinated.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure there is no one that holds an important place in your heart?¡±


    The princess¡¯s gaze shifted skyward. There was longing within them.


    Strange.


    ¡°There¡­ I don¡¯t think it was of romance¡­ but¡­¡± she sighed. ¡°It¡¯s in the past, nothing but a dream I could never return to. I hold many close within my heart.¡±


    ¡°Who are they? If I may ask?¡±


    ¡°... Firstly my family, of course¡­ and some people.¡±


    ¡°Oh, of course.¡± Villeta¡¯s eyes toured around until her eyes ended up at the youngest at the table. ¡°What about you, young precious? Any boy you like.¡±


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    ¡°Eh? Me?¡± the young girl blushed. ¡°N-No one really.¡±


    ¡°Your face says otherwise.¡±


    The young girl, Lyndsey, lowered her head. ¡°... He does not like me. He likes another girl.¡±


    ¡°Aaaaw, look at that, so adorable~.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s appropriate right now to call her that,¡± Mizia curtly said.


    Villeta giggled. ¡°Reminds me of my childhood. Don¡¯t worry, young one. Puppy love doesn''t last long.¡±


    ¡°P-Puppy love¡­?¡± Lyndsey seemed clueless.


    Villeta chuckled in amusement. ¡°You¡¯ll understand when you get older.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± she had no idea what it was truly about, but she ?accepted her words, anyhow.


    ¡°I¡¯m full. What does everyone say we have a walk around the garden? We have made a few improvements I would like to show.¡±


    And of course, no one disagreed.


    ***


    Rogan followed behind the group of ladies strolling in the forest-like garden, walking on the paved path. Given their extravagant dresses, they moved a little more carefully and slower than they usually did. It would be embarrassing if they slipped and tripped.


    Lady Mizia showed the new flowers they had planted, they were brightly colored and full of life. A clear hint they were greatly taken care of. Still, Rogan found it both baffling and shocking that they would maintain a place such as this. Something to be in awe of.


    As usual, Rogan¡¯s eyes were glued to his charge, who was softly smiling as she stood at the center of the crowd. He closely watched the noble young ladies, their hands, their steps. Despite being on guard, he still didn¡¯t think they would pose any threat, nor do they even have any motivation to do so. Even politically speaking.


    They touched the flower petals.


    ¡°They are beautiful and healthy.¡± Arenza said, fascinated and impressed the most. ¡°Maybe later we can talk and give me a few tips. I had a few of these right here, but sadly, they withered.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Princess Estelia gently touched a red-colored flower. There was a serene feeling in her eyes. From what Rogan has been observing, red must be her favorite color. She seemed to like hot chocolates too. Truth be told, he thought that her favorite color would be white. As a color that would fit her personality, pure. Well, if one ignores her strict side.


    Later, after the flower sightseeing, they proceeded onward.


    ¡°The newly improved pond is close.¡±


    It only took a couple of minutes before they arrived at the new scenery. There was a large pond at the center of the clearing, filled with fishes, big and small, swimming all around. Arching over the clear pond was a white-colored metal bridge, crafted with beautiful patterns. One could look down at the center of the pond at their delight.


    ¡°Wow,¡± the youngest among them, Lyndsey, sighed in awe. She rushed towards the edge of the pond and watched the swimming fishes with wide eyes. ¡°There are so many of them there. You seem to feed them very well.¡±


    The other noble young ladies caught up to her, and then Lady Mizia spoke. ¡°They came from over the regions, others from other nations. Although we have to be picky, they must be able to co-exist.¡±


    Lady Lyndsey nodded. ¡°I can tell.¡±


    Lady Villeta crouched down and dipped her finger into the water. ¡°Is it safe to do this?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes.¡±


    The fishes kept their distance, but observed.


    The rest of the ladies tried beckoning the fishes, but to no avail. Strangely, Princess Estelia remained behind everyone, keeping away from the water. Rogan quite had an idea as to why. Even the reason why fishes seemed to love her was beyond him to understand.


    The other ladies noticed Princess Estelia¡¯s wariness. And Lady Arenza asked. ¡°Is something wrong, your highness? There¡¯s nothing to be scared about.¡±


    The princess wryly smiled. ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. I want to go to the bridge.¡±


    As she said, she made her way to the center of the bridge, walking in the gentlest manner. Rogan just stayed right by the edge of the bridge. It would be weird and quite invade her space if he stands behind her in that small pathway.


    While she placed her hand on the white railing, the princess had this soft look on her face. As if she was at peace, taking in the view from where she stood. And she was immeasurably beautiful. More beautiful than the glimmering clear waters on a sunny day. More than the view of falling stars in the darkest night.


    Indeed, she was better and less scary this way. Completely unlike how she was in the palace where she might suddenly get displeased or annoyed, or just wreck the place in her rage.


    Her expression of peace was cut short, however, when her brows furrowed. Fishes suddenly gathered on the water below her. All of them. To think even at that place they would still go to her. She didn¡¯t even touch the water.


    The noble ladies watched the sight with awe-filled eyes.


    ¡°Princess¡­¡±


    ¡°By the gods.¡±


    ¡°How is this possible?¡±


    ¡°So pretty.¡±


    Such were their words, falling into captivation of the princess¡¯s divinity ¡ª as it gave off an air of that feeling.


    The princess didn¡¯t even seem happy about it. For a moment, Rogan almost felt like she glared at the fishes in displeasure. But that may have been his imagination, or just misunderstood it.


    She walked away, heading to where Rogan was and she muttered. ¡°I didn¡¯t even do anything¡­¡±


    ¡°I think we should avoid ponds in the meantime.¡±


    ¡°I suppose.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s good, princess. Anytime we need food, we could just make you stand around water and the fishes come.¡±


    Her frown deepened, but she still looked very cute. ¡°Hmph.¡±


    The noble ladies quickly approached her.


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± Villeta asked, intrigued.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ They just like me, I think.¡±


    Lady Mizia interjected. ¡°The fishes might just have been expecting food from over the bridge. That is where we usually pour their food from.¡±


    The nobles nodded at each, that might have been the case.


    ¡°It must be expensive to feed all the fishes in your garden?¡± asked Arenza.


    ¡°Well, it is manageable.¡± Mizia approached the edge of the pond and dipped her fingers in, pouting when the fishes still kept their distance from her. ¡°We save a hefty amount when we buy in bulk from the merchants we always buy from, so it¡¯s not that heavy in the pockets.¡±


    Bet that¡¯s dozens of gold coins in a month.


    Which was still a lot. Even Rogan could never spend that much, even with a knight¡¯s salary.


    The ladies walked on through the bridge and stood at the center. To Rogan¡¯s surprise, the princess came with them, and she stood at the center of the group. To be expected, it would be blatantly rude when they gathered and left the princess behind everyone.


    Like before, the fishes gathered below them. Rogan realized that despite hating on standing there earlier, the princess did so again in hopes of covering that she was herself the cause of fishes gathering below them, supporting what her cousin just said as the reason.


    ¡°C-Can we feed them, Lady Mizia?¡±


    Mizia smiled at the adorably asking Lady Lyndsey. ¡°Of course, wait a moment.¡± She called out to a nearby manservant to bring a pack of fish food. A moment later, a servant returned with a filled pouch in hand.


    Mizia received and opened it, revealing some sort of ground or crushed substances of different colors, but mostly dark brown.


    ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s what they eat?¡± Estelia asked, intrigued. ¡°Almost powder-like¡­¡±


    ¡°How else could they eat it otherwise?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ yes.¡±


    Lady Mizia pulled out a wooden scoop from the same pouch and scooped fish food. ¡°I suggest we use the scoop if we don¡¯t want our hands to smell. I often use my hands though during personal times. Feels better.¡±


    She dropped the food into the water. The fishes immediately swam amidst the food, but apparently not enough for all of them.


    ¡°Interesting, let me try.¡± Shena received the scoop. After filling it, she slowly cast down the fish food, a delighted smile shining on her face. ¡°Entertaining¡­¡±


    The next to try was Arenza, likewise pleased. ¡°They¡¯re adorable.¡±


    Then it was Villeta¡¯s turn. She was less gradual than the others. ¡°There, there, lovely fishes. Eat more. Is this not enough?¡±


    ¡°Nope, we need more.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Next was Lyndsey, and surprisingly, she didn¡¯t ask for the scoop. Rather, she used her hand to grab a handful. The other noble ladies looked at her in shock. Lyndsey didn¡¯t seem to notice it.


    She gently waved her hand forward, spreading out the fish food, reaching to the fishes unable to join in on the others. The amount of fish food she threw was plenty on each multiple swings, but she seemed incredibly pleased and enthusiastic.


    Mizia stepped right beside her. ¡°You look quite used to this, Lady Lyndsey.¡±


    Lyndsey giggled. ¡°We have ponds back home. I¡­ It¡¯s always nicer to feed the fishes by hand. It¡¯s more satisfying and the food will be distributed better.¡±


    ¡°Your hand will smell.¡± Shena said.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that terrible. Besides, I can just wash it off in this pond later.¡± And the fish food in her hand were all spent. ¡°Ah.¡±


    Everyone then turned towards the last one, the princess.


    ¡°Estelia?¡± Mizia extended the pouch towards her.


    The princess glanced at the pouch, but she didn¡¯t reach out. With a stiff smile, she gently shook her head. ¡°I-I¡­ No need.¡±


    ¡°You can use the scoop.¡± Villeta presented the wooden scoop.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± she glanced at the scoop, then to the pouch, then to the water.


    Considering what happened when she was just standing, who knows what the fishes would do if she even attempted to feed them. Curious as Rogan was, perhaps it would be less stressful for his charge to not do it.


    Mizia seemed to understand, and she retracted. ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°Your highness,¡± said Shena. ¡°It is a pleasant experience.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, it would be a shame to miss it.¡± Villeta added.


    ¡°N-No, it¡¯s okay.¡±


    She was being pushed into a corner, the social pressure of being the only one left out. It was just so strange for the princess to refuse something so simple to do.


    Alright¡­ I could at least help her.


    Just to get it over with.


    Rogan stepped onto the bridge. ¡°Pardon me, ladies. The princess is tired. Perhaps we could have her sit down somewhere and rest?¡±


    Came in the judgemental looks from Shena and Villeta, it hurt him a bit to receive those gazes, and it was quite embarrassing. But there was just no way to escape from them now.


    Aristocratic ladies really are scary sometimes.


    They were different from knight ladies, but at least those he could get along well with. Ladies immersed in the aristocracy of things were just something else.


    In contrast to the others, Princess Estelia smiled in relief towards him, and that was all that mattered.


    Mizia showed her displeasure at Rogan, likely not for the reason like the others, but still she agreed with him. ¡°Of course. I have a rest spot nearby. Follow me.¡± She gave the pouch back to the manservant.


    ¡°Please give me a moment to wash my hands.¡±


    Once Lady Lyndsey was done, Mizia proceeded to lead everyone to the place she mentioned.


    The princess walked behind the others for a moment and walked close to Rogan. She gave him an adorable and happy expression. ¡°Thanks.¡± And with that, she rushed her steps and caught up with the others.


    ¡°Hm.¡±


    Her thanks was more casual than he had expected.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 76: A True Friend (Part 2)

    The noble young ladies said their goodbyes as they headed for their carriages waiting in front of the mansion. They waved their hands with wide, friendly smiles before they stepped inside. The beautiful princess Estelia waved back at them with a longing smile.


    From what Rogan gathered by observing her, she quite enjoyed the company of her fellows. After all, this might be the first time she socialized with a group of women she could potentially be friends with. He was happy for her that she could experience something like this. But then he was reminded of her other, scarier side. And he doubted whether or not she truly enjoyed it.


    Still, he had the feeling that she was indeed happy about the experience. Regardless of her dark side. She just restrains herself sometimes. Or was that merely wishful thinking from him?


    Once the guests had all left, the princess sighed tiredly.


    Mizia gently held her hand. ¡°Exhausting, huh?¡±


    Princess Estelia gently nodded. ¡°Talking with people is nerve-wracking.¡±


    ¡°You did good. So, what do you think of them?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re nice¡­ A different range of characters, I must say. But friendly nonetheless. I look forward to meeting them again in the future.¡±


    ¡°You certainly will. If you invite them, they will certainly come to meet.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡±


    ¡°I will need to check how things are going inside, in case they need my supervision. Coming along?¡±


    ¡°Can I take a look around this front garden of yours? I¡¯ve been meaning to since I arrived.¡±


    ¡°Sure, then I¡¯ll go inside¡­ Unless you want me to accompany you?¡±


    Rogan didn¡¯t think that it would be necessary for Lady Mizia to oversee the cleanup. But perhaps she¡¯s just someone that likes to look at things personally and make sure things go well. A good quality perhaps for being a leader. She took after her father, it seems.


    ¡°No need, I¡¯m going to be alright.¡±


    Mizia eyed Rogan for a moment before slowly nodding. ¡°Very well. See you later.¡±


    With a small smile, the princess saw her cousin off. Rogan then followed her to the garden filled with colorful flowers, which he had no idea what even their names were. Nor did he care, to be honest. However, the princess seemed to be fond of them. She always hung around the garden in the palace whenever she wanted to have a peace of mind.


    ¡°You¡¯re tired, aren¡¯t you, princess?¡±


    She paused and gave him a small smile. ¡°A bit.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°But this is actually better compared back home.¡±


    ¡°Things are stressful there, huh?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°I also got to meet new people here.¡± She touched a flower petal.


    ¡°Indeed, they¡¯re pretty charming, in some aspects, considering they don¡¯t seem to like me that much.¡±


    Princess Estelia chuckled adorably. ¡°Villeta seems interested in you, though.¡±


    ¡°Lady Villeta seems like a sly woman. I would not take that at face value.¡±


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    ¡°That¡¯s quite frank of you.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t tell her I said that¡­¡±


    With a smile, she said, ¡°Alright, it¡¯s our secret.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± he awkwardly chuckled. ¡°But it¡¯s good you finally made some friends.¡±


    The princess lowered her head. ¡°Friends¡­ I¡¯m¡­ not so sure. It¡¯s hard to say, we just met¡­ It would be hard to share my honest thoughts with people like them.¡±


    Rogan stepped close beside her. She looked conflicted. ¡°Your thoughts¡­? I suppose. Those women are deep into politics, can¡¯t trust them so easily.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s part of the reason.¡±


    From what Rogan could see, she might indeed be trying to find a friend to share her thoughts with. After all what she had experienced, someone to express her feelings would be nice to have.


    ¡°This reminds me of the time you went wild,¡± he said humorously.


    The princess looked at him with a frown. ¡°Went wild¡­?¡±


    ¡°You know, the time you learned why the enemies are hunting you. Despite you choking the life out of me, I heard what you said.¡±


    ¡°.... Oh¡­ I¡¯m sorry about that.¡± her expression softened.


    Rogan smiled. ¡°You were quite scary.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to¡­¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s not the point. You exploded in rage. I took it you have been bottling up your feelings, frustrations, and that¡¯s not healthy.¡±


    Rogan knew that was the case, he had been by her side for some time now. She may express a few, but not most, not the ones that mattered. She was too repressed.


    The princess remained silent, but she listened.


    ¡°Princess, if you have things you want to share, feelings to express, your frustrations, irritations, things you want to do, anything, you can share it with me. I will listen.¡±


    So she wouldn¡¯t hold back, for her to be more open. And opening up to those who you can, can remove some weight off of one¡¯s heart.


    With wide eyes, Princess Estelia stared at him. ¡°You would listen¡­?¡±


    ¡°Of course, what are friends for?¡±


    ¡°Friends?¡±


    ¡°W-Well, after all our time together, despite our difference in status, I have always thought we have become friends somewhat. That¡¯s how it normally goes, right? Of course if you thought otherwise, that would be awkward¡­¡± he chuckled with a stiff smile.


    The princess lowered her head once again, in thought, rubbing her hands together as if nervous. And she looked him in the eyes. ¡°Are you a true friend of mine, Rogan?¡±


    Rogan felt something different from her, there was a different type of gaze in her eyes. As if a different person were looking through them. But he pushed that thought aside quickly.


    ¡°Of course, princess. Throughout the end of time.¡±


    The princess¡¯s cheek trembled for a moment, like how one would resist a smile. As she lowered her head once again, Rogan¡¯s eyes widened, for he saw a glimpse of a different kind of smile, so different from what she usually showed. It was so genuine, full of happiness. How could he have seen this smile from her just now?


    But that was only for a mere brief moment, so brief, as she covered her mouth swiftly. Why was she hiding that smile? Rogan could not understand. He noticed her face had reddened slightly.


    Rogan smiled, softly looking at her. The princess was happy, and that was all that mattered.


    A few seconds later, as if she had regained her composure, the princess removed her hand from her mouth and looked up at Rogan with a small delighted smile. ¡°Thank you, Rogan. From the bottom of my heart, I¡¯m glad to have you on my side.¡±


    Rogan felt a pleasant warmth within his heart.


    ***


    There was someone listening and watching, hiding behind one of the shrubs of green. She had just returned from helping the servants and was allowed by Lady Mizia to return to her lady¡¯s side. This young woman in a maid uniform was Mera.


    She had her hand on her chest, there was great pain in her heart. Was it jealousy? Or her heart cracking apart?


    She saw them, Rogan and her lady, Princess Estelia, speaking softly at each other¡­ No, it was sweetly. The way the princess looked at him, the way the princess talked to him, it was nowhere close to how she had once done with Mera.


    True friends¡­?


    That intensified the pain in her heart, like a sword digging through it, and twisting. She had never felt pain like this her entire life.


    Why can¡¯t the princess look at her the way she looked at the knight? What can¡¯t she speak the way she spoke to the knight with Mera? Why did the princess look so happy with him?


    Unable to endure the burning in her eyes, tears began welling up, flowing down her cheeks. It was hard to breathe. She wanted to be where Rogan was. She should be there in his place. To receive the princess¡¯s words, her gaze, her heart.


    But no, she was here, hiding in the shadows.


    This place was suffocating her, and thus she ran away. She had no destination in mind, just anywhere. And as she fled, she kept rubbing her eyes with the sleeves of her dress, but there was no end to the tears.


    Before she knew it, she was under the shade of a tree, and no one else was around. She sat down by the tree trunk and folded her knees, hugging them tight. She sobbed uncontrollably. The pain gnawed all over her entire heart and soul.


    The moment of those two kept swirling in her thoughts, never leaving, and it only inflicted even more pain.


    There, all alone, the maid in love wept.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 77: Operation Rat’s Tail

    Shena of the Yveno household felt relief when she finally saw the familiar sight close to home. Going outside was a strenuous endeavor. She enjoyed the company of others, but she liked it more being at home, it was more peaceful that way. However, her mother would never allow that.


    And thus, she had to bear playing politics when the time called for it. Although she liked speaking with noble ladies around her age, they could relate to each other easier. Less politics to think about, one could say. Just like what happened today.


    She feared she might have come off a little fiercer or stricter than she actually intended. Being completely like her mother was not something she wanted, even she herself found it hard how strict she was most of the time. Fortunately, everything ended well.


    The princess was the star of the occasion, and she was as mystical as what she had heard from others. Her beauty was what every woman would desire. It actually made her jealous of it. But that was a pointless sentiment, she could never attain it for herself.


    That aside, even though she had conversed with the royal princess, there was not much she had learned about her. There was still so much mystery about the princess.


    They arrived at the gates of her home. Once the guard cleared them and opened the gates, her carriage went straight in front of the mansion. She exited the carriage, there was no one else there but a single manservant watching over the door, waiting for her arrival. As no one knew what exact time she would be arriving, she didn¡¯t expect her parents would be there to greet her return.


    But she noticed a tense expression on the servant¡¯s face, he was troubled about something.


    Shena approached. ¡°Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°... There is a guest, my lady.¡±


    ¡°Guest?¡±


    They were not expecting a guest today. At least, not one she was aware of. She had the servant open the door, and she entered.


    She looked in the lobby first, and there she was, her mother, Eleanore. She sat on the couch, her fingers on her forehead, visibly irritated.


    ¡°Shena, you¡¯re home,¡± she eased up her expression. ¡°How did it go?¡±


    ¡°Everything went well, mother. I met the princess.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a sweet child, isn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Mm. Sit here for a moment, we have a problem.¡±


    Shena warily sat down beside her mother. ¡°I heard there is a guest.¡±


    ¡°That is precisely the problem. He is no normal guest.¡±


    ¡°What do you me¡ª¡±


    ¡°This is absurd!¡± a young man came barging in. It was Shena¡¯s brother, Jalen. ¡°That nobody is going to stay with us?!¡± he angrily asked Eleanore.


    Shena was confused.


    ¡°Yes, my son. And stop shouting, it¡¯s unbecoming of a noble.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about that! I refuse to allow a complete stranger to live with us!¡±


    ¡°Stranger? What is going on?¡± Shena asked no one in particular, just anyone.


    ¡°Someone will be staying in this house for some time, although we don¡¯t know until when,¡± her mother answered.


    A stranger was staying in their house, in Shena¡¯s peaceful sanctuary? There was no way she could accept that. If it was another noble, it would be no problem. But seeing how everyone was acting, it was no common situation. It meant trouble.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Eleanore was about to answer, but a strange man stepped into the room, Shena¡¯s father following behind him. That stranger smiled. He was neat looking, wearing formal clothes as one would a noble. But his face was not up to par with the beauty a noble has.


    ¡°A decree made by his majesty,¡± answered the stranger.


    Shena felt uneasy about him. He was giving off a mischievous demeanor.


    ¡°I refuse. Who are you to demand our hospitality?¡± Jalen glared at the man.


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    But the stranger merely shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m afraid, my lord, you have no choice. I am to observe you all. But if it gives you relief, I will not be joining your dinners.¡±


    ¡°Tch. Father, do something about this!¡± Jalen called out to his father.


    The father sighed. ¡°We have prepared his room. For now, we cannot do anything about it.¡±


    ¡°If anyone has any problem with my presence here, please feel free to send a complaint to my commanding officer, Marquis Teristro.¡±


    Eleanore rose from her seat, not an effort to hide her displeasure. ¡°Still, this is unnecessary. We have done nothing to warrant observation.¡±


    ¡°That is not for me to decide nor to give reason to. I am only here as I was commanded, to observe the Yveno household. Also, I may mention that you are not alone in this.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Every noble in the kingdom has a designated observer.¡±


    ¡°The entire kingdom?¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± the stranger¡¯s grin grew wider. ¡°This is a nationwide scale of operation.¡±


    ¡°And you wouldn¡¯t tell us exactly why?¡±


    ¡°As I said, I don¡¯t know. I am merely observing you. Take it up to my boss if you are ever so curious.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll send a message to Meril then.¡±


    ¡°Very well, Lady Eleanore. Now then, I am quite hungry. If you would please allow a servant to guide me to where they eat, I am fine with that. I do not intend to intrude into your valuable family moments.¡±


    Shena¡¯s father called out to a servant to guide the stranger.


    Once he left, Shena worriedly looked at her father. ¡°We cannot be completely safe in our home anymore?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my daughter. I¡¯ll sort this out and have that person removed as soon as possible.¡±


    Shena nodded. Now her once peaceful sanctuary, where she didn¡¯t have to think about the real world, was soiled. Now it had watchful and intrusive eyes she had to think about. How could she ever have a peace of mind now?


    ***


    Two days later. The situation has been tense in the Yveno household as the eyes of the royal family loomed within the confines of their home. The adults couldn¡¯t help but feel irritated, and the mansion servants felt so cautious and afraid. Even Shena could not completely be at ease now. And as one might expect, Jalen griped a lot.


    That observer was going all around their home at his own leisure. As if he was studying the place. Almost like they were some sort of betrayers, or prisoners. Such an invasion of privacy, they all despised it. They even had to be extremely conscious just by walking through the hallways of their home so as not to give off some misunderstood suspicions.


    Thankfully, today they were to have a visitor. The mentioned commanding officer of the spy. The Marquis Teristro, the brother of the Queen.


    All members of the Yveno family greeted him at the mansion''s front door, Eleanore taking the lead. ¡°Greetings, Lord Meril. May our hallowed Lord and Lady bless the moment of our delightful meeting.¡±


    ¡°And to all of you as well. May we receive the resplendent blessing from our illustrious Lord and Lady.¡±


    Shena had met this person a few times, Mizia¡¯s father. And he was a kind man. At least, he never treated Shena coldly nor was she ever treated strictly. His presence eased her for a little.


    They guided him inside their home and straight to one of the guests¡¯ rooms. Only Eleanore and her husband entered the room to talk.


    ¡°Would you like refreshments, Lord Meril?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need. I would like to go straight to business.¡± he sat down on the couch and waited for everyone else to do so. He continued, ¡°Now then, this is about the agent in your home, yes?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, this is an invasion of our privacy. We would like to ask for our home to be spared of this.¡±


    ¡°Lady Eleanore, no one is exempted from this. Despite how close we may be to the crown, you will still be observed.¡±


    Eleanore narrowed her eyes. ¡°We? Considering that you are the lead of this farce, I imagine you have no one to watch over you.¡±


    Meril smiled. ¡°Yes, I suppose, there is no agent for me. Because there is no need for me. I have proven myself. And please, it is no farce.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need because you are a direct relative of royalty, am I right?¡±


    With a shrug, he said, ¡°Partly right.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite unfair, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°Indeed... But believe me, Lady Eleanore, I am being watched by someone more dangerous than you have here.¡±


    ¡°The King?¡±


    He didn¡¯t respond, but merely slightly tilted his head.


    ¡°Why are you doing this? A threat?¡±


    ¡°I am allowed to share with you a small detail as to why. We have reasons to believe there may be nobles working with an enemy, betraying our kingdom.¡±


    The two couples looked at each other, confused and anxious. Eleanore then asked, ¡°And you think we could be one of them?¡±


    ¡°As I said, all of you are under suspicion. We must ascertain which noble families are betrayers, and those that are not.¡±


    ¡°We are absolutely loyal to the crown.¡±


    ¡°Then you have nothing to hide and be afraid of.¡±


    ¡°Still¡­¡±


    ¡°Listen, you are not the only one that demanded an audience with me or the king. We made contact with you because you are close with the royal family, and at Marquis peerage. Although, the Natarel family were less defiant.¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t complain much, huh? Of course they would be.¡±


    ¡°I would like you to be cooperative, for the safety of our kingdom.¡±


    ¡°And your plan is to insert agents into our homes? That is quite extreme, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°What can we do? Nothing.¡±


    ¡°Did you come up with that plan?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s the King? If that¡¯s the case, I find it doubtful. King Leodoule is not one to make a plan like this, or outright order.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°I know him well.¡±


    ¡°The crown is not entirely one person, Eleanore, but a family.¡±


    ¡°So one of them came up with it? His highness, Eleden? There¡¯s no one else I can think of.¡±


    For some reason, Meril chuckled, amused. ¡°Why would it matter who?¡±


    ¡°For anticipation. Heirs to the throne.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter who formulated the plan. All the crown requests is you to bear with it and cooperate. We trust your family, in fact. Even I do. That is also why we met with you. But the crown is very careful and quite strict, if I might add.¡±


    ¡°The crown¡­ Do you mean collectively this time?¡±


    ¡° ¡ª It would be best to keep this conversation between us. And part of the reason we met with you is for you to put other capital nobles at ease. Tell them it¡¯s for the sake of our home kingdom.¡±


    ¡°You spent quite a tremendous amount of resources.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Now, is that all that you want from me?¡±


    ¡°One more thing. How long will this last?¡±


    ¡°... As long as it needs to be.¡±


    ¡°Even a few months will be ridiculous, Lord Meril.¡±


    ¡°If it will take years, then so be it. Ultimately, it¡¯s not up to me to decide.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Is that all?¡±


    ¡°... Yes, that is all.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 78: The Bird’s Taste of Flight

    It was time to go back home. Mizia looked at me with teary-eyes, holding my hand as if she didn¡¯t want to let go.


    ¡°I still have a few more dresses for you to try out.¡±


    Stop it! I have already tried more than a dozen!


    I bet those few more dresses were just dresses she found locked up somewhere and just thought it would look good on me. When I considered the circumstances, if she pulled me into her room to play dressing dolls on me, I attempted to postpone it as much as possible.


    We go there, let¡¯s play around there, let¡¯s talk about something, let¡¯s try planting, feeding fishes. I managed to save some time. But those things, those distractions, could only take me so far. Therefore we inevitably ended up where I became the dress-up darling. Although the dresses were nice, but come on, taking off and slipping into complicated clothes every five minutes was just tedious.


    I was beautiful too in my old life, but even that time fashion shows, photoshoots, didn¡¯t tempt me that much ¡ª ignoring that part where I would not be allowed to, anyway. Okay, they may have tempted me for a while, just a little¡­ okay not just a little, maybe average¡­ Ahem. But even I knew how tedious wearing dozens of clothes in a day.


    Hm, Mizia¡¯s fashion gallery might be more intense than that. Who knows¡­


    ¡°I am satisfied with the amount you have given me, cousin. Please, don¡¯t overspend on me.¡±


    She gently rubbed her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m going to miss you, Estelia.¡±


    She¡¯s so dramatic, so adorable.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going far away. I¡¯ll be in the palace as always.¡±


    ¡°I enjoyed our time together. Visit us again, okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I had a very fun week because of you. See you soon, Mizia.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Prepare aptly for your debut, alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    She gave me a tight hug, and I involuntarily smiled. My ever sweet cousin. I hugged back. Once she slowly let go, I turned to face her mother.


    ¡°Thank you for your hospitality, aunt. Until next time.¡± I bowed my head.


    ¡°Of course, Estelia. Take care.¡± she bowed her head.


    ¡°Goodbye, you two.¡±


    After I said that, I headed for my carriage waiting for me. I glanced at the knights in position. Alzen was there. Of course with his one hand. Oof. I wonder how his combat potency was now. Which reminds me, was he right or left-handed? I mean, if he lost the hand he used all of the time, it would be a struggle to ja¡ª ahem, ignore that.


    What? Sometimes you just wonder about that kind of thing!


    Moving on, I caught in my little pretty eye the person I had some interest in, Elson. The dagger wielder, one who throws daggers and puts some magic in them, causing a pseudo explosion in a small area. So fascinating, imagine what I could do with that. Not only will a person be stabbed, but he would be so fucked up a moment later, flesh all shredded beyond repair. And the pain he would suffer. Makes me feel all fluffy inside.


    Rogan now stood before me, keeping the door open for me.


    I entered and he followed. Once the door was closed and everyone ready, the carriage shook a little as it moved. I leaned on the window, looking at the outside view as usual.


    ¡°Did you tell the men where we¡¯ll be stopping?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± replied my knight. ¡°But of course they expressed their concerns about safety risks.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll only be sightseeing for a short amount of time. If I am well guarded, there will be no harm.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­ You really want to do this, huh?¡±


    ¡°... I want to experience more in life¡­ I want to feel the sensation of grass from another place, to breathe in their air. Just something new. My life has been surrounded by four walls, I will take whatever chance I get to step away from it.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you exaggerating?¡±


    I closed my eyes. ¡°I suppose. But I¡¯ll do what I wish, even with the smallest amount of freedom. I don¡¯t care if enemies are threatening me now.¡±


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    ¡°... I see.¡±


    ¡°I just want to do something joyful.¡±


    ¡°No worries, I¡¯ll be there for you. You¡¯ll be safe.¡±


    I nodded. At least I know if an enemy suddenly pops up out of nowhere, Rogan would go head first to protect me.


    ¡°Always thinking of bad things is tiring me out. I apologize if I¡¯m being too demanding at the moment.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no trouble, princess. But now that your vacation has ended, do you feel better now?¡±


    ¡°Hm, at least forgot about work most of the time. So yes, I feel better than before.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Don¡¯t want you exploding your magic on everyone so suddenly.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re still hung up on that? It¡¯s getting old.¡±


    ¡°Heh, it¡¯s a reminder to chill sometimes.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. Maybe next time I¡¯ll direct my magic only at you.¡± I smirked.


    ¡°He-he, please no.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Your loss. I have plenty to throw at you.¡±


    ¡°I would rather accept that loss. By the way, just how much mana do you have, princess? I¡¯ve been curious.¡±


    ¡°A lot, I guess?¡±


    ¡°A lot is not exactly an¡­ exact measurement. And to be honest, you might have more mana than your father. As one might expect from royalty.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Do we have more mana because we¡¯re royalty? But wasn¡¯t royalty still from the line of nobles? Then all nobles have the potential to be as powerful as royals. So it might all just fall down to one¡¯s access to magical knowledge and special training. The king has the grimoire. Imagine if anyone just had access to it¡­ perhaps that¡¯s precisely why it¡¯s only accessible only to monarchs, so they¡¯ll have an edge.


    I¡¯m special because I was a goddess. Heh. ¡°My mana pool¡­ is a secret.¡±


    ¡°Aaaw.¡±


    ¡°Keep guessing, Rogan.¡±


    ¡°Fine. But using your mana has some terrible drawbacks, right? You get tired easily.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. So regardless of the amount of mana I have, I¡¯ll still get beaten in a drawn out fight.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you fear any long-term effects? It shouldn¡¯t even happen like that.¡±


    ¡°... I¡­ I think the more I use a substantial amount of mana, the more I easily get weaker.¡±


    ¡°The more mana you use, the less mana it takes for you to get tired?¡±


    ¡°Tiredness, sleepiness, weakening¡­¡±


    ¡°Strange.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why you stopped your magical training.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s for the best. Don¡¯t want you dying out suddenly on us.¡±


    ¡°Will you cry if you die?¡± I smiled teasingly.


    ¡°I think I would. I¡¯ll be doomed by your family. Scary to think what would happen to me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll prepare a letter saying not to condemn you.¡± I giggled.


    ¡°Just don¡¯t die and I¡¯ll be alright.¡±


    I¡¯m not going to die.


    I¡¯m going to live forever, nothing beats that. ¡®But Estelia living forever is a curse, you will live a life of pain, seeing everyone you know and love age and die.¡¯ What the fuck? Tell me that and you¡¯re a fucking pussy.


    Some time passed, and we came across a familiar sight that I had been interested in the first we passed by. It was a grassy landscape, with a few trees sprouting about. The mountains and the blue sky merged finely in the far distance ¡ª a glimpse of a never-ending discovery, as anyone would say.


    Our carriage slowly stopped. Rogan, my knight, exited the carriage and presented his hand. I received it gracefully and stepped out. The pleasing sensation of the gentle heat and fresh air touched my skin.


    I took in a deep breath as I looked at the mostly green expanse before me. The view, the freedom surging within me, it almost made me shed a tear. I looked down, the green grass blades touched my boots. Oh no, I¡¯m getting emotional. I just didn¡¯t expect it would feel this good.


    I stepped forward, letting go of Rogan¡¯s hand, smiling so widely. My protective detail spread out. But I disregarded them. They were not in my interest right now.


    I walked forward, slowly, still looking at the endless view in front of me. The grasses danced, the varied numbers of small flowers bloomed beautifully. Birds flying above me. All things were giving me their greetings. I closed my eyes.


    This is it.


    So beautiful. When was the last time I experienced something like this? Now that I think about it, there was a similar experience in my past life, but merely a brief moment, so short it was forgettable. Where the thought of me running away crossed my mind. But I disregarded that thought, of course, it was impossible. The thoughts of running away always come, like a temptation from a devil, to commit a sin. And like a sin, I acted against it.


    Using my sleeve, I rubbed my eyes. I was wearing a blue, white blouse, dark pants, and a short skirt reaching at the knees, and dark boots. A product of Mizia¡¯s shenanigans. So stylish, though. Ultimately, it was a fitting outfit on the current occasion.


    There was a bug on the grass. Some sort of ladybug? But it¡¯s red and white, red was still the dominant color. I crouched down. Surprisingly, it crawled to my finger. Animals do like me, huh.


    I blew it away. It flew.


    ¡°Princess, like the view?¡± Rogan approached and asked me.


    ¡°Yes¡­ I want more time.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Take your time. I will send someone in advance to keep your parents from worrying.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Thank you.¡±


    Wind shifted around me. Rogan curiously stared. ¡°Uh, princess, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t be out of your sight.¡±


    ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s happening again¡ª.¡±


    I propelled myself up in the air with my winds, going into the landscape. I flew above the grass, they swung and snapped in my wake. I moved at a fast speed all around the plain, going up and down. My guards panicked. This part was never mentioned. I didn¡¯t plan it either, it was just out of impulse.


    But who cares about them? All that mattered was me. And I freely flew in the beautiful field. With wind at my feet propelling me forward, I lowered my hand and touched the grasses in my way.


    I giggled in utter genuine happiness, all kinds of positive intense emotions swirled in my heart. If only life could be like this forever.


    I landed far away from everyone. Just me in this beautiful place.


    ¡°What a wonderful world indeed!¡±


    Because of my emotions, I forgot to keep my mana in check. It leaked out from all over my body. I immediately put a stop to it. Still, even though it was for a moment, it was a bit of a lot. I frantically looked around, no effects whatsoever. Well, that was only plain mana.


    Oooooh, I could splash around colorful magic!


    I have so much mana I could practically throw them away! Let¡¯s goooooo!


    Wind swirled around me, a stream of blue, red, and white colors followed my motion. I danced. Almost like the one I showed my father and mother once. The mana sprinkled all over the place, landing on the soil and plants. I could imagine myself looking like fireworks.


    But I don¡¯t care!


    I¡¯m going to enjoy this moment! Don¡¯t disturb me! I¡¯ll blast anyone who does!

 Vol. 3 Chapter 79: The Young Goddess’s Blessing

    I got tired. Who would have thought? I have been spewing mana and flying around for some time now, so of course I would be tired at the end of it, and feel a bit dizzy. Yeeaah, I have been holding off using mana, but that is a small price to pay for salvation.


    No regrets! Don¡¯t live your life full of regrets, people! Otherwise you¡¯ll regret it in ten years or so. Maybe as early as five, depending on how you fucked up your life. But heeeey, never back down!


    ¡°See? Now you feel sick.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t want to hear that right now, personal knight!¡±


    Currently, I was sitting down on the grass, like having a picnic. In fact, I even have some sandwiches in a basket. Mizia gave it to me. I opened the basket and pulled out a sandwich. This should be the one with the berry jam, something something. Anyways, it looked delicious.


    So I took a bite.


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Yeah, as what you would expect from my dear cousin, it¡¯s delicious. She would make a great wife!


    ¡°... Would you like water, milady? I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s what we only have.¡±


    Oh yes, Mera and Vernon were along with me. I lowered the sandwich for a moment. Mera sounded strange. Her voice was a bit deeper, sounds like someone tired¡­ She has been like this lately, I told her to cheer up, but nothing has changed. Don¡¯t know what¡¯s up with her.


    Now that I have a closer look at her, she¡¯s forming a little bit of eye bags.


    ¡°Let Vernon bring it.¡± I glanced at him and he nodded before leaving to grab a pouch of water. ¡°As for you Mera, is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°... Nothing is wrong¡­ milady.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t been sleeping right, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    She lowered her head. ¡°... I¡¯m not used to sleeping under a different roof, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Nah, she lying.


    Someone broke your heart or something?


    I stared at her while biting on my sandwich, then shifted my eyes to Rogan. I felt some weird atmosphere oozing out. The knight had no problem at all, it was Mera mostly, almost like she was keeping her distance.


    Damn, even Mera¡¯s starting to dislike Rogan. Hey man, you have anti-ladies repelling thing or something? Don¡¯t even remember you doing anything mean to the maid.


    He¡¯s supposed to be a good-looking man too, but why does it seem like ladies always have something against him? He¡¯s also a good guy¡­


    What a mystery.


    Vernon returned, and I immediately asked for the water to relieve my drying throat. I drank from the pouch before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s have another hour before moving out.¡±


    Once I had consumed the entire sandwich and drank some more water, I asked no one in particular. ¡°So, how is Sir Alzen holding up?¡± I asked about the one handed knight.


    Vernon was the one to answer. ¡°He¡¯s doing quite well, surprisingly. Although, his battle potential I have yet to see.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± As long as he could stand, he will be useful somewhat. But that¡¯s where he would only be for now, guarding duties along with many others. Can¡¯t have him join in on the operation against the bandits, he might become a burden. ¡°Please call Sir Elson here.¡±


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    ¡°Elson? That guy? Why?¡± Rogan asked.


    ¡°I have something to discuss.¡±


    ¡°He has piqued your interest ever since we fought along with him.¡±


    ¡°You could say I was impressed by his abilities.¡±


    ¡°Huh... I¡¯ll bring him.¡±


    He left momentarily to bring Elson to me. The knights looked on with curiosity, and they listened in. Heh, how cute. Elson looked pretty surprised, and he looked a bit wary as he walked towards me with Rogan beside him.


    ¡°Princess, you need me?¡±


    ¡°Sir Elson, how are you?¡±


    ¡°... I¡¯m alright.¡±


    ¡°Good. You use daggers, right? I like the part where slashes go around once it stabs something.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    ¡°How do you do it?¡±


    Even Rogan mentioned he couldn¡¯t do what Elson could do. A different kind of training and discipline, one could say.


    ¡°... Armament Magic, princess, why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s different from how that magic is usually done, yes?¡±


    ¡°In other aspects, yes.¡±


    ¡°I want you to teach me.¡±


    He shook his head, as if he was uncertain he heard me right. ¡°Teach you?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Princess, you can already cast powerful magic spells. I don¡¯t see how my dagger techniques could help any further.¡±


    ¡°I just want to learn how you do it.¡±


    ¡°Why daggers? Why me?¡±


    ¡°Firstly, I don¡¯t like swords or spears.¡±


    ¡°Ouch.¡±


    I ignored Rogan. ¡°Daggers are easier and better fit for me. And your technique is amazing.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°Do I have a choice?¡±


    ¡°Of course, we always have a choice.¡± I adorably smiled. ¡°But I would be happy if you agreed to help me.¡±


    He looked away for a moment to ponder ¡°... Very well¡­ I can teach you, but I¡¯m afraid you will have to get permission from his majesty.¡±


    ¡°I can do that, no problem.¡±


    ¡°And I don¡¯t think blade training is the same as spellcasting. You will have to understand the way of the swords and blades. There will be struggles, physical ones.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s only daggers, I will be fine, I think?¡± I giggled.


    ¡°Alright. Once you receive permission, then I will begin teaching you Armament Magic. And when you have learned the basics, my dagger techniques.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Sir Elson. Looking forward to your teachings.¡±


    And with that, our business was done, for now at least. Convincing my father and mother shouldn¡¯t be an issue at all¡­ Oh no, I¡¯m getting spoiled. Oh my¡­


    ¡°You have yet to complete your Physical Enhancement training, and you¡¯re learning another technique?¡± Vernon asked.


    ¡°I can do them simultaneously. Besides, time is short. I have to load my own armaments.¡±


    Get it? ¡®Armaments.¡¯ Haha!


    Rogan asked as well. ¡°And here I thought you were resting your mana?¡±


    ¡°The time for rest is over. Time to work again when I go back home.¡±


    ***


    The next day after the princess left the field of green, at night, something changed. No, to be precise, a lot began to change. The once small flowers that bloomed just yesterday grew taller, and its color brightened even more. As though it was filled with life.


    The grass grew taller and thicker. Trees grew a little faster than usual, their trunks became bigger and their branches and leaves multiplied overnight. Fruits had begun to sprout, along with them were young saplings from the scattered seeds from the wind to the soil.


    The waking of the goddess blessed the land. The River of Life giveth nourishment, a fraction of her essence turned the landscape lustrous, more than it had ever been. And this was just one day. What will it become after two? Or three?


    It was a day of celebration, for after so many long years, nature has once again felt the touch of the Deity of Blood. One who begins life. And nature cheered. The trees sang, and the grasses danced.


    But none could hear them but themselves, and its beings.


    One such being appeared amidst the blessed ground, green light shining as stem ascended from the soil. It quickly grew into a person, a woman. She was beautiful, with beautiful green skin, eyes of gold glowing softly, green hair twice as long as she was, her completely naked body showed her inhuman perfection.


    Insects like fireflies flew around her, greeting her presence. The animals nearby, small or big, emerged from where they hid to see and gather around her.


    The woman smiled softly, caressing the animals and touching the blades of grass. The land that was starting to die was given life.


    ¡°My goddess, we thank you for the blessing you bestowed upon us.¡± She kneeled on both knees and clasped her hands together, looking up at the sky in prayer. ¡°On behalf of all my sisters and all living beings, I thank you with all my heart.¡±


    This woman was among the myths in many nations. A myth yet true. A dryad. Keepers of the world. But whose powers had been dwindling, as was nature losing its strength and beauty.


    ¡°I beg of you, O goddess. Please return to us as you have before. For even the Ruler of Mystic cannot take your place.¡±


    All have their roles, as did the River of Life once had. And all must adhere to their roles, for the world requires it.


    ¡°Hear my prayer. I, Irdisia, call for your blessing to touch the entire world once again. Do you hear me, my goddess?¡±


    Her prayer echoed in the air and carried by the wind. But who shall receive it? Will its intended recipient hear her prayer? No one truly knows. But one may have an idea, for Irdisia received no answer.


    She lowered her hands with a heavy heart.


    Her goddess did not hear.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 80: The Lying Priestess

    Local goddess here reporting for duty! A day had passed since I returned home to the palace. When I came back, every member of my family greeted me with wide smiles and bright, shining eyes. They were concerned at first about why I didn¡¯t follow the schedule, but they didn¡¯t panic thanks to the messenger we sent in advance to notify them.


    They were pretty sweet on my arrival, asking me all sorts of questions during dining. Mother was the best. So sweet. I love her¡­ Huh, I didn¡¯t expect to blurt that out. Ahem, anyways, I told them the stories. I of course shared what I did in that greenery field. Although I might have lowered the details a little bit¡­ Not that big of a deal anyway!


    I asked the family for permission to learn Armament Magic, specifically my parents. Unlike the first time I asked to learn magic, they were less hesitant in this one. Mostly because they could not hold me back in something like this anymore. And they have no other decent choice. If they deny me this, I would get all pouty and won¡¯t talk to them for a week.


    However, the moment they agreed, they added the condition that I should get back to my normal education. Boooooooh, gonna learn etiquette lessons and maps, and music ¡ª okay that last one¡¯s not too bad. But the reason for that was because my debut was getting closer. Now I have to practice, especially my dancing performance and the music performance. W-What the fuck, have pity on the pure princess.


    Gonna be hell for me soon.


    Anyways let¡¯s forget that for the while, and my armament magic will need to be set aside for today. I have other meetings to get into. First agenda, report from Ayana!


    She had them in writing, but would be nice to hear it from herself. And thus I had her speak while I skimmed through her written report.


    ¡°The operation is a success, no severe casualties on the palace¡¯s side. However, as expected, there are a few losses on the adventurers.¡±


    Well, as long as it was the adventurers. Mere mercenaries. Whether they have underlying loyalty for the nation, I was not sure. As long as none of my knights died, I¡¯m fine with that. I am a bit wary of mercenaries I have to say, they work for the highest bidder. Normally they don''t care which side wins as long as they financially benefit.


    ¡°Then there is the matter of the elf.¡±


    I leaned back on my couch. ¡°So an elf remains. And you failed to capture him.¡±


    ¡°... Yes, your highness.¡±


    ¡°And he¡¯s the leader of the bandits. I wonder how long he¡¯s been there¡­¡±


    From the notes, these were bandits that cut off the ears of their victims. Reminded me of Oryn, they were connected. They really made Oryn¡¯s backstory solid enough by forming a bandit group. I admire the determination. And they did it just for me, how fucking sweet. Makes me wanna choke the life out of them.


    ¡°What do you think of this elf?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°He seems different from those we faced. This one is not keen on killing himself. And he¡¯s stronger.¡±


    ¡°Hm, do you think he¡¯s of a higher rank than the ones we faced in the city?¡±


    ¡°Could be. It¡¯s the feeling I got from him.¡±


    ¡°A more dangerous opposition, huh. And where could he have gone¡­¡± I closed my eyes for a moment, thinking. ¡°Well, at least we got rid of his army. Continue tracking down the bandits, even the smaller groups. I want them erased from around the capital.¡±


    We¡¯re cleaning house, people!


    ¡°As for the elf, your highness?¡±


    ¡°For now focus on the bandits, we might find a trace of him. I¡¯ll call for you when there are changes.¡±


    ¡°Understood¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright. Now, what is this priestess added in the report? Joined in our operation.¡± Ayana mentioned in the report that this priestess should not have been in the operation. ¡°I want to ascertain, is she from our church?¡±


    ¡°... Yes, she participated in Operation Sweet Roses. Turned out she became an adventurer, joining a party, and her party was among the participants of our operation against the bandits.¡±


    ¡°Wait, was she an adventurer recently, or has she been for some time?¡±


    ¡°For some time now, your highness.¡±


    Involuntarily, I placed a hand on my forehead. ¡°We only learned about this now?!¡± Is that priestess an idiot?! What if she was captured by the enemy or something?! Forced her to blurt out some sensitive information? What if she leaked it to her party?


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    A fucking hole in our security?! You know how something that small could be our fucking undoing? Some people get fucked up by something smaller. Even I took advantage of those small holes! Shit.


    ¡°I have conveyed the matter to his Majesty.¡±


    Father did mention something like a worrying situation back when we were eating. Wow, way to keep the suspense, father!


    ¡°So, what did my father do?¡±


    ¡°He summoned the High Bishop, but I am unaware of the details of their discussion.¡±


    ¡°Where is this priestess? And why did she even join the adventurers? I-Is that even allowed?¡±


    ¡°I am not particular about the church¡¯s rules. But the priestess mentioned they don¡¯t.¡±


    I heaved a long sigh.


    ¡°Princess, I requested for the priestess¡¯s presence here, she is waiting outside. If you wish to know more, you may speak to her.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Then bring her in.¡±


    ¡°Yes, please wait a moment.¡±


    Ayana left the room, and when she returned, a familiar priestess followed behind her. I knew her well.


    ¡°Tina.¡±


    One of the representatives that the High Bishop sent to me. Now I understood why she was able to get out of the church without much trouble and even join the adventurer¡¯s guild.


    The priestess looked nervous.


    I glanced at Ayana. ¡°Leave us for the moment.¡±


    Once she left, I directed a stern gaze at the priestess. ¡°So, Tina, I heard what you did. I have to say, I am quite disappointed in you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, your highness. I deeply apologize.¡± She bowed her head where she stood.


    ¡°Since when have you been an adventurer?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s more than a year now, I think.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve made good friends, then?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, yes I did.¡± she lowered her head, sadness evident on her face.


    I didn¡¯t expect to see that kind of face with that question.


    ¡°So, why did you become an adventurer, Tina?¡±


    ¡°... I¡­ I was curious, I wanted to experience something new. Meet new people outside of the church. And¡­ adventuring sounded and looked like a nice thing to do.¡±


    ¡°Was it?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she mildly smiled. ¡°It was a wonderful experience.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Tell me more, I¡¯m curious.¡±


    ¡°... I get to go to places unknown. Face creatures I have never seen before. And fun, have fun with friends. Together, we were having fun. Despite all the danger.¡±


    ¡°Was it the new that you were yearning for?¡±


    ¡°... I believe so, yes.¡±


    ¡°Was your family inside the church never enough for you?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ It¡¯s not like that.¡±


    ¡°Really? Admit it, priestess. You were never pleased with the company of your family. The old man that took care of you, or the person you acknowledged as your dear sister. You yearned for something more.¡±


    ¡°... No¡­¡±


    ¡°How do you think those dear people feel when those friends from the adventurer¡¯s guild are more important than them, your own family?¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t mean to¡­¡±


    ¡°But I guess we grow up, do we? In time, we grow to love someone more than our family. Am I wrong?¡±


    The priestess had no answer.


    ¡°Of course, I have yet to reach that point. I have other problems to think about. Like, I don¡¯t know, a priestess privy to the secrets of the kingdom frolicking around with some adventurers?!¡±


    She flinched. ¡°P-Princess, please I would never reveal anything¡ª¡±


    ¡°You could never be sure. Even a multi-headed monster cries when suffering. What if you were captured? I assume that elf almost had you, hm? And what if your friends learned sensitive information, like Operation Sweet Roses?¡±


    ¡°They would never share that knowledge with anyone even if they did.¡±


    ¡°You believe in them?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°And is that enough reason for me to believe in them as well? Is that how it is supposed to be, priestess?¡±


    She had no answer.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even tell me to believe in them, Tina. With the right price, the right pain, the right grudges, can change the situation for the worse. No less to adventurers.¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°But at least they discovered nothing, that is good. And you spilled nothing, yes?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, princess.¡±


    ¡°Tina, the situation is extremely volatile right now. I don¡¯t wish for everything to crumble before we could even begin the foundations.¡±


    ¡°... Yes, princess. Thus, I wish to mention that we encountered the elf. My friends met him face to face.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, the elf. Along with your party¡­ What will we do with them¡­?¡±


    ¡°Princess, they are still grieving the loss of a dear friend.¡±


    ¡°Slain by the elf?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Please, give them a peaceful time for the burial.¡±


    I could have them killed. That would make things simple. But that would be difficult. Such a deed would be unacceptable somewhat in the palace. Even Tina would hold hatred. The church I don¡¯t know how would react exactly.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you grieving as well?¡±


    ¡°... I suppose I am.¡±


    ¡°Who died?¡±


    ¡°Derin was his name.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then you should be there with them. I will allow you to be there, make time with your friends to say goodbye.¡±


    ¡°... T-There¡¯s no need.¡±


    That took me by surprise. ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°After I revealed who I truly am, my true abilities, they don¡¯t know how to treat me anymore. They¡¯re not that angry, but it doesn¡¯t feel right. Although, Anita dislikes me now.¡± She forced a smile.


    ¡°Anita?¡±


    ¡°Our mage, and Derin¡¯s lover.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so you hid your true powers. And now they hate you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it is hate¡­ It¡¯s just, it¡¯s hard to deal with someone that lied to you the entire time.¡±


    ¡°Is that why you don¡¯t want to see them?¡±


    ¡°... I will leave being an adventurer behind. To fulfill my role in the Church.¡±


    Oh okay, makes things easier then.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I have no place there anymore. I deceived them. And ultimately, I am weak. That elf fought everyone without a sweat. I was mostly useless. I must become stronger.¡±


    ¡°Is that what you truly wish? If you don¡¯t talk to your friends one last time, you may come to regret it.¡±


    She was hesitant to reply.


    ¡°At least say your goodbye, even if they look at you differently now. Plus make sure they don¡¯t blab around what they fought. The consequences might become dire if they do otherwise, do you have an idea?¡±


    ¡°... They will have to die.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. I don¡¯t want that to happen to your friends, Tina. Such a terrible thing.¡±


    Especially this Anita, disliking Tina because her lover died. A sign of emotional blindness and foolishness. Will be hard to predict what she¡¯ll suddenly do next.


    ¡°If even one of them did something undesirable, Tina, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll have to make you take care of it.¡±


    She paused for a moment, lowering her head, shaken by the thought of what she may do. ¡°Y-Yes, princess.¡±


    ¡°Them I don¡¯t trust. However, I can put my trust in you. Can I do that, Tina? Can I rely on you?¡±


    ¡°Yes you can¡­ princess.¡±


    ¡°Excellent. You may go to your friends. Afterward, go back to the church. Remember, say your goodbye and go.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 81: The Parting

    I heaved a long sigh once the priestess left the room. Can¡¯t be too cruel, can¡¯t be too kind. There¡¯s nothing we can do. Better keep those adventurers watched. But do we even have resources remaining to do just that?


    We don¡¯t have agents to spare. Would have been better for me if they all just died when they fought the damn elf. Less headache. I can¡¯t believe that the church would allow her to become an adventurer, the high bishop certainly has a soft side for that girl. Maybe I should speak with him¡­ or not, depending on the mood. I could just send a representative or something.


    Seriously, I¡¯m already having just a tiny amount of headache.


    ¡°Give me some hot chocolate.¡±


    They already have the sweet drink ready in the room, and Mera poured it into a small cup. Meanwhile, I asked Vernon for the other papers. More reports. Fucking paperworks, I¡¯m not getting paid enough for this shit! Okay, technically, this was my operation, but that¡¯s not the point.


    Ugh.


    I received the cup and gently blew on it to cool it down. Will take a while before it¡¯s drinkable, so I put it down on the table in front of me. I read the reports from the operation Rat¡¯s Tail.


    As expected, complaints from the nobles. Thinking about it, it would be pretty awkward to meet with one of the young ladies I met when just after they returned home, they were greeted by a stranger sent by the Crown to stay in their houses. Oh well¡­


    I was the innocent princess anyway, they won¡¯t think it¡¯s me behind it.


    Hm, nothing much going on yet. Can¡¯t wait to discover anyone being an ass here.


    ¡°Princess, the schedule of your activities has to be decided.¡± Vernon reminded me.


    There was that matter. I have a lot of things going on, so I have to make up a schedule, especially considering that my academic lessons would come back. Damn, I have to see Eleanore again. Dammit. Don¡¯t know how she would treat me after that agent. I just know that she would be enraged about it.


    Let¡¯s set aside that concern for now. Looking forward to seeing Lanivia though. Anyways, I¡¯ll only be seeing them once a week, one day for each. There¡¯s plenty of days for me to use at my leisure. I¡¯ll use those for my training and whatever matter I am needed.


    But I have to pick the days and which sequence. Let¡¯s have academics first, don¡¯t want to face Eleanore on the first day. Next is Lanivia, of course. Then finally¡­ Eleanore. Talk about delaying the inevitable.


    As for the rest of the days, the day after Eleanore will be my training with Elson. The next will depend on me. Then the last day of the week is rest day ¡ª I say that but of course I¡¯ll be kept busy. Anyhow, this will do. Just have to keep things flexible.


    I extended the paper to Vernon. ¡°Here, give it to my father. That will be alright for now.¡±


    ¡°Certainly.¡±


    ¡°Ah, any news from Uncle Meril?¡±


    ¡°Aside from the reports? None.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s quite busy. Hope he won¡¯t start neglecting Mizia. Tell my father to convey it to Uncle.¡±


    ¡°Yes, princess.¡±


    With that, Vernon left.


    ¡°Now then,¡± I sipped a little from the hot chocolate. ¡°Are you still not feeling well, Mera?¡±


    ¡°H-Huh?¡±


    She still seemed a little out of it. A bit better, but really just a bit. ¡°Still not sleeping right?¡±


    ¡°I am doing fine, milady. It¡¯s merely personal troubles of mine.¡±


    ¡°... Did I do you wrong?¡±


    ¡°Huh?! No! Milady, i-it¡¯s not like that. It¡¯s not you, it¡¯s me!¡±


    Huh?


    ¡°Sharing is good.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I have shared it with my¡­ friends¡­ somewhat.¡±


    ¡°You have two close friends, right? Macey and Ellie.¡±


    ¡°You remember their name?¡±


    ¡°Of course, they¡¯re your friends. How could I forget them?¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± she lowered her head.


    ¡°... What about the other maids? Aren¡¯t you friends?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re friends. Macey and Ellie just are the closest to me. They are very kind.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Share with them your troubles you can¡¯t share with anyone else. Having someone you trust is a nice and comforting thing.¡±


    Mera glanced at me, then to Rogan for a very brief moment before nodding. ¡°Yes, milady.¡±


    Geez, what¡¯s wrong with this girl? Jealous much?


    She¡¯s troubling me.


    She needs time to cool off or something. Go on a vacation like I did or something. Meet some more people, mingle. Okay, maybe she don¡¯t want those kinds of things. Ugh, whatever.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Already have too much shit to think about. Let¡¯s not add another.


    ***


    It was noon, there was a building that the royal palace rented out for the dead. Those that died during the bandit operation. There were only a few, as one would expect when fighting bandits. Their coffin has also been prepared, and burial services were taken care of by the crown. The crown took care of everything.


    It was one of the promises in the quest if there were casualties. And it was in front of this building where Tina stood. She looked back. There was no one following her or watching. The meeting with the princess was tense, she looked furious at Tina¡¯s actions. But in the end, she showed kindness. Didn¡¯t even send her men to accompany her.


    That said, today, she had to return to the Church. Never to go back to becoming an adventurer again. Her adventures had come to an end, it was fun while it lasted. It was one of the best things she had experienced. A joyful memory.


    She hesitated going inside the building, her friends were there. Things have not been going well with Anita. It never got any worse with Dune and Iruyu, they still treated her like part of the team. Although there was a bit of a different attitude from Dune, unlike before. Tina was relieved that Iruyu didn¡¯t change much upon learning her truth. But then again, they didn¡¯t know the full truth, but only what they have seen. Nor should they.


    Any more than she had revealed, the palace will be compelled to use extreme measures. In fact, what she did was riskier than she had imagined at first. With her revealing her abilities, risks the exposure of the other secretive side of the Church. And the crown never wanted for the public to even get a whiff of it.


    She took a deep breath, she had to say her goodbyes. And thus, she took a step forward, approaching the front door, and going over the threshold. This room was the lobby, only a few people sitting down on chairs and standing by the wall. Some of them spacing out, while others visibly grieving. There were fewer people here than before.


    There were a few more rooms here. With some where the coffins were placed. In Wisteria, it was tradition to wait for up to ten days before the burial. It was to give time for the family to grieve and for anyone that knew the dead to visit him or her the last time. However, in the end, it was up to the family. As for Derin¡¯s case, they chose to wait ten days. Part of the reason was Anita.


    Tina entered the room where Derin¡¯s coffin was. Her party was there as well. Derin was hidden in the wooden coffin, completely covered. Anita sat close to him. Iruyu was preparing some sort of tea. And Dune cleaning his sword.


    All of them momentarily stopped their activities to look at Tina.


    Dune sheathed his blade. ¡°Tina, how¡¯d it go?¡±


    ¡°B-Better than expected. The crown seemed to have granted me small mercy.¡±


    Tina kept that it was the princess she met. Again, she hid the truth from her friends. She truly was the worst.


    ¡°That¡¯s good then. As long as you¡¯re alright.¡±


    There was genuine concern in Dune¡¯s voice. Still, Tina felt sad and disappointed. Before, Dune would have rushed in front of her to say that. Iruyu she didn¡¯t mind much, he only watched to listen, he does that. Anita had no other reaction whatsoever but her usual depressed expression, eye bags under her eyes.


    ¡°But, I have something to tell you.¡± Everyone listened. ¡°Today will be my last day with you.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Surprised as well, Iruyu put down the cups. ¡°What do you mean, Tina?¡±


    ¡°I am here now to say goodbye.¡±


    ¡°Right now? You¡¯re going now?¡± Dune rose from his seat and approached Tina with rushed steps.


    ¡°Y-Yes, Dune.¡±


    ¡°But Tina¡­¡± he hesitated.


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious?!¡± Anita marched up to her face, anger in her eyes. ¡°We haven¡¯t even buried Derin yet! And now you¡¯re going?! Isn¡¯t he your friend too?!¡±


    How much Tina wanted to be there for her precious friend¡¯s burial. And it felt like a beast¡¯s fangs digging into her chest to realize that she wouldn¡¯t be there in the end. And thus, two words were all she could mutter.


    ¡°... I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Anita¡¯s face contorted, not of rage, but of sadness. On the brink of tears. But she was holding them back.


    Dune placed a hand on his mouth. ¡°There must be another way, Tina.¡±


    ¡°... There is no other way.¡±


    Once the palace heard of this ¡ª no, once she had realized what Tina has been doing, this outcome was absolute.


    ¡°A-At least stay h-here until tomorrow.¡± Anita continued.


    ¡°I can¡¯t¡­¡± Ignoring the chance the princess gave her, she must go while she still had the strength of heart to go.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go and talk to everyone in the palace! I¡¯ll have the king reconsider his decision!¡± Anita blurted out. She began marching for the door, stomping her feet.


    Tina panicked for a moment. Anita shouldn¡¯t, she should never even try doing such a thing. It would only make things worse. Even worse if she meets with her. And thus, she frantically reached out for Anita¡¯s arm and tightly held her back.


    ¡°Stop it, Anita. Please.¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡±


    ¡°It ends here for us. At least, my end to be with you. Say goodbye back to me, please.¡±


    ¡°T-Tina ¡ª I¡­ I don¡¯t want you to go.¡±


    ¡°Anita, please.¡±


    Anita, unable to endure it anymore, began crying. ¡°W-Will I see you again?¡±


    ¡°... Of course.¡±


    But she wouldn¡¯t be able to be with them anymore. They could only look at each other from a distance. Perhaps during a mass, or a ceremony. A little talk here and there, but not long.


    Anita lowered her gaze for a moment before raising them again. ¡°... Goodbye, Tina. See you next time¡­¡±


    ¡°Same to you, Anita...¡± Tina let go of her hand. She turned towards Dune. ¡°Goodbye, leader.¡±


    I love you.


    Dune smiled slightly, but his eyes were moist. ¡°Goodbye, Tina.¡±


    Tina smiled back and nodded. She reached out for his hand, and they touched. She¡¯ll remember this sensation. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Once she let go, she approached Iruyu. Before she could speak, he spoke first.


    With a grin, he said. ¡°I¡¯ll miss you, Tina.¡± he patted her head.


    ¡°I¡¯ll miss you too, big guy.¡±


    And lastly, she walked towards the coffin. Gently placing her hand on it. ¡°Derin. Thank you for everything. For the fun things you caused. The kindness. The annoying things. Everything.¡±


    Tina sniffled and she rubbed her eyes, but the tears never ceased.


    ¡°I¡¯ll miss you, Derin. May the Lord and Lady have guided you to paradise filled with flowers¡­ and love.¡±


    She gradually retracted her hand and stepped back. With one last look at his coffin, she turned her back and headed for the door. By the threshold, she glanced back at her friends and smiled. An old scene of her friends overlapped in her eyes.


    It only made her heart ache more, but still¡­ It was a pleasant memory. And she found joy in the sea of sadness.


    She stepped forward and made her way outside. While on the street, she recalled the early days. The moment she met Anita. The moment she shook Dune¡¯s hands. Their first quest together. Their first overnight camp. The fun. The fear. The relief.


    All kinds of things she experienced in their adventurer together. Because of this very adventure she had experienced and seen more than she could imagine. And she was grateful.


    The beautiful moments they had together. Every hour spent with them, she carried them deep into her heart, holding it close.


    She rubbed her eyes and face. Before she knew it, she had arrived in front of the church. She stepped inside. On one of the seats for the masses, a familiar face seemed to wait for her. This woman rose with almost a monotone expression.


    However, the moment she laid eyes on Tina, she formed a small smile.


    Tina approached her. ¡°Astine¡­ I¡¯m home.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Welcome back. Let¡¯s go see the bishop.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°But perhaps let¡¯s change your clothes before that.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± She was wearing her adventurer¡¯s outfit.


    They walked together.


    Astine glanced at Tina¡¯s face. ¡°You look terrible. Parting has been difficult, I see. Do you wish to rest first?¡±


    Tina shook her head. ¡°No, there are a lot of things I have to do.¡±


    ¡°... If you say so.¡± Astine placed a gentle hand on Tina¡¯s head.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 82: Countermove

    Days of silence and peace, on my side at least. I let others take care of matters now. The extension of bandit hunting was still underway, no sign of the elf. Unfortunate, but the main plan was to reduce or better wipe out the bad elements around the capital. A good side was that the people were praising the palace¡¯s actions.


    The roads were safer, the merchants could deliver goods better. Civilians were more relaxed to travel if they can''t afford protection or anything. Approval ratings were up! Congresswoman Estelia¡¯s at it again! On my way to presidency! Gather up people! Vote for me! Safety is the best policy!


    But judging from the report, we¡¯re running out of bandits, or they¡¯re going into hiding. Guess we¡¯re almost successful in thwarting the Empire¡¯s plans in crippling Wisteria. And that makes me happy. As for Rat¡¯s Tail, everything¡¯s still turning. Communication¡¯s not easy.


    Now that I was only waiting for results, I have some time to give in learning. Academics were easy, mostly what we did were reviews and refreshments of knowledge. Boring mostly, though. Next day, it was Lanivia¡¯s day to teach. And I couldn¡¯t be more excited.


    And here I was playing the liathre, plucking the strings gracefully, releasing a soft tune.


    ¡°Your skills have not degraded since we last saw each other, good. I don¡¯t have to worry about anything.¡±


    ¡°I have a very good teacher.¡± I blushed and hid myself behind the bridge of my instrument.


    ¡°Flattering, princess.¡± She giggled. ¡°I believe the main thing we have to worry about now is your debut.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Do I really have to play? It¡¯s, it¡¯s embarrassing.¡±


    ¡°Of course, it is a must to play as a high-ranking aristocrat. You must dance as well.¡±


    ¡°That will be hard, why do I have to do both? Can¡¯t it just be one?¡±


    ¡°You are royalty, Princess Estelia. As your brothers played and danced before you, it is mandatory for you to do both. Royalty is above all others, and you must show it.¡±


    Ugh, this sucks. And dancing? Fuck. Playing instruments I can do, but dancing? Fuuuck.


    ¡°If only there is another way.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, there is none. You could perform only one, but that would reflect badly on your image. Remember, nobles from all over the kingdom will be attending.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid princess, with practice I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to pull everything off perfectly.¡±


    Yeah, the priority was to practice and master one performance, so I don¡¯t have to master the skill and art itself. Fear the man who honed a single skill to perfection, as they say. Not exactly the line, but it¡¯s that.


    ¡°Yes, madame.¡±


    ¡°Excellent. Now then I suppose we¡¯ll discuss what you¡¯ll be playing at your debut. Anything in particular that you want to play?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm, we could choose from what you already know, the ones we practiced. But they are pretty common.¡±


    ¡°I suppose.¡±


    ¡°I have compiled a list. Here.¡±


    I read a small sheet of paper she gave me. ¡°I don¡¯t recognize any of these songs.¡±


    ¡°I will play them, you might like one. Although, why don¡¯t you play an original song of yours?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t compose.¡±


    ¡°What? You certainly made a melody in our past sessions.¡±


    ¡°Those were from¡­ dreams.¡±


    Oh shit, yeah, I did those. They were not originals at all! Fucking copyright is going to kill us all.


    Lanivia adorably chuckled. ¡°Oh your highness, you jest. Gaining inspiration from dreams is a sign of promising talent.¡±


    Oh no, I made it worse!


    I awkwardly laughed. ¡°I think we should hear the songs in your list first, madame.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    And thus, I listened while my teacher played the songs. Not the entire thing of course, just the main parts of it, ones that would really stick in your head. They were not bad, but I guess I have to pick the most amazing song of all. Even the rarely played.


    Once it was over, we began discussing which songs would do good. At the end of the day, I decided about what to do and what to play. I will be practicing it when I have the free time. If I don¡¯t have the free time, then I will have to find the time. Otherwise I¡¯ll embarrass myself.


    ***


    The day I have attempted to postpone as much as possible has come. It was Eleanore¡¯s day to teach. When she arrived, she had that fierce look on her face. As what I would expect. Although, it had more intensity this time. Likely because of what I did. You know, the agents in their home and stuff.


    Of course they didn¡¯t know it was me. But apparently, it put her in a pretty bad mood. Oh yeah, Jalen was also here.


    We used the first half of the day to see if I still had it, and didn¡¯t get all rusty, I meant the etiquette skills. But that of course I had perfected. And surprise surprise, this includes dancing. Jalen was a bit disturbing, made me uncomfortable by how he always made eye contact. Stop it!


    I¡¯m, I¡¯m just not gonna talk about it. Makes me feel exhausted already. If he had been a decent man, I would have been more tolerant. But no, he¡¯s a womanizer. So fucking obvious. And oooooh, I can¡¯t forget what he did to Mizia. Mizia has a trauma because of you! You fucking piece of shit!


    I wanna choke his life out, this little fuck! Drag his beat down body in front Mizia and have her torture the hell out of him. But of course my dearest Mizia would never do something like that, she would be horrified. So it all falls down to the imagination.


    You got away this time, Jalen.


    ¡°Everything appears to be in order,¡± said Eleanore. ¡°We¡¯ll discuss your dance for your debut. You have two options. One you do the Fluttering Petal. This one you will perform with others, but with a partner of course.¡±


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Then I would have to find a partner. If I were to do that, hmmmm. Estevan? No rule says I can¡¯t dance with my brother. But then again, the dance is quite, you could say, romantic, intimate¡­? Rogan? Hmmm. Lucious¡­? Yeah, no way.


    Yeah, I¡¯m running out of guy acquaintances. I glanced at Jalen. Oh yeah, that guy exists. Well, do you always recall the presence of trash where you last saw them?


    At this rate, I¡¯ll dance with a random guy.


    Eleanore continued. ¡°And the other is Graceful Gale. There is no need for a partner. However, you¡¯ve not practiced this yet, and thus will be more difficult than the other. Furthermore, you will have to practice with other noble ladies.¡±


    Ooooooooh! I remember that dance! The traditional dance where you dance with other noble ladies. A show of grace and beauty! Where we dress as beautifully as possible, and dance in the softest tune. But it¡¯s a group performance. Then there¡¯s the part where I have not practiced that at all. I was supposed to in the near future.


    ¡°So which will you choose, princess?¡±


    Hmmm, learning something I have not yet learned would require more effort and time. While the other I only have a conflict of partners. Still, I am purity incarnate. So I know what to choose.


    I glanced at Jalen, he smiled as if he was anticipating something good. What? You think I would pick you as a partner? Don¡¯t be absurd.


    ¡°I think performing Graceful Gale will be beautiful.¡±


    Yeah, fuck you Jalen. I just wanna spite the little shit. That¡¯s why I chose that one! Haha!


    ¡°... I see. You will need a lot of practice.¡±


    ¡°That is fine. Learning is a great experience. Besides, I¡¯ll be learning it in the future, anyway. Might as well take this chance.¡±


    Jalen looked disappointed. But I don¡¯t care.


    ¡°Very well. I will need to find you a team.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I think I have a few that I can ask. We¡¯ll have enough members.¡±


    ¡°Ah, could it be that my daughter is one of them?¡±


    ¡°Yes, definitely.¡±


    ¡°If you invite the others, then it will be quite fitting to have daughters of capital nobles to perform by your side.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, I will send them an invite immediately.¡±


    ¡°Once I am done for the day, you may. But for now, as you have made your decision, we¡¯ll start practicing after lunch. We¡¯ll use all the time we have available.¡±


    Dammit starting already.


    And thus, come afternoon, we began practicing the new dance. While Jalen had nothing to do but watch. Gonna be a tiring day.


    Hm, they haven¡¯t got into the agents. They never mentioned anything. Even Lanivia. Did something happen that I was unaware of? Huh.


    ***


    It was night. In a small neighborhood in the capital city of Wisteria, lies a group of three men gathered by the table, preparing to eat food already placed on top of it. They were in a common civilian house, one they bought from the previous owner for a good price. They had a good living, decent bed, lodgings, and a decent place to have a comfortable discussion.


    ¡°The food doesn¡¯t particularly look tasty tonight.¡± Their leader tapped his fingers on the table¡¯s surface.


    ¡°Now now, sir. I assure you it¡¯s the same as usual,¡± the bearded, thin man said with an awkward smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s not the food. He¡¯s just too stressed about the situation.¡± A muscular man placed both his hands behind his head.


    ¡°Guess so. Been losing my appetite lately.¡±


    ¡°Either way, sir, you have to eat.¡±


    ¡°No, no. I want to think about what to do from here on out. Damn Wisteria.¡±


    ¡°Who would have expected that Wisteria could even do something like this?¡±


    Recently, Wisteria had done something way beyond their expectation. Something that basically hinders the entirety of their plans, this group¡¯s purpose in the first place. And because of what this damn country¡¯s palace decreed, communication with their contacts has become hard, nigh impossible even.


    ¡°How do we communicate with those foolish nobles now? With those agents in their homes, I doubt they would initiate contact.¡±


    ¡°They really got us, huh boss?¡±


    ¡°Yes. How do I even tell this to the Emperor¡­?¡±


    ¡°Such bad news, he will not take it well.¡± The bearded man served his own plate, hungry.


    It would be like basically telling the Emperor that they have wasted all the resources and the time given to them. Now they couldn¡¯t control the nobles at their disposal. Even if they attempt to, the crown would get a whiff of their presence and track them down like hunting dogs.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t even think Wisteria was capable of such an act. This I expect from the Empire!¡± the leader clicked his tongue, crossing his arms.


    ¡°Something got them stressed.¡±


    ¡°You think it could have something to do with that Vekenas fellow, boss?¡±


    ¡°His death may have put Wisteria on high alert. However, no, it doesn¡¯t connect with their current actions. If that alone is the reason, there¡¯s no way they would think about doing this.¡±


    ¡°You think they realized our presence?¡±


    ¡°We were careful.¡±


    To make it worse, they had no clue as to who killed the Marquis. He was the only Marquis they had in control of, the weakest among them. Imagine their shock upon hearing the news of the Marquis¡¯s death after they just spoke with him. Such a great waste of human resources. Would have been a useful tool.


    ¡°Maybe we were not careful enough.¡±


    ¡°... Perhaps. They may have discovered our presence somehow.¡±


    Who killed the Marquis? They have no idea. It was certainly not done by someone on their side. It was doubtful, but there¡¯s a chance that the crown did it. But given how sudden the death was, it''s hard to conclude it was the palace¡¯s doing. And they didn¡¯t announce the Marquis¡¯s betrayal or anything. Normally they would have at least a small proceeding then an execution.


    But the way the Marquis died almost looked like it was done by an assassin. Granted it could also be ordered by the palace. But it was just hard to imagine they would.


    ¡°There¡¯s too many things I cannot understand. There¡¯s even that battle in the city. Not even from our side. At least, not that I know of.¡± the leader scratched his head.


    ¡°You think we can salvage the resources and contacts we lost?¡±


    ¡°It will be difficult. Oh yeah, there¡¯s the matter of the bandits.¡±


    ¡°That too¡­¡±


    ¡°Our plans are being thwarted, one by one. Still, that doesn¡¯t mean all the damage we did has been undone. Wisteria will need a long time to recover.¡±


    After eating from his food, he said. ¡°How did they even see through our plans? We were too subtle for that.¡±


    ¡°I have no idea.¡±


    A rhythmic knock rang out from the door. The leader jerked his chin, ordering the muscular man to check the door. After confirming who it was, he opened it. A cloaked man, covered from head to foot, entered the room. The muscular man stood behind him, on guard.


    The leader glanced at the new arrival. ¡°Alruwin, is it?¡±


    The cloaked man turned his head to the man behind him. ¡°Do not stand behind me.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Unrightfully arrogant, as expected of you.¡± There was disgust and disdain in his voice.


    The leader interjected. ¡°Do what he says and sit back down.¡±


    With a glare at Alruwin, the man returned to his seat.


    The leader continued, ¡°So Alruwin, how¡¯s your bandit side coming along?¡±


    ¡°The humans have grown clever, and more annoying. There is nothing left.¡±


    ¡°Bad, huh. Our side¡¯s the same, all¡¯s in turmoil.¡±


    ¡°All of us are failing then.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sadly. But we¡¯ll find a way to come up from this.¡±


    ¡°You will not.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Your job here is done. Return to your Empire.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious! You don¡¯t have the authority to command me that!¡±


    ¡°Your place here is too risky. I will not allow you to fall into the hands of the enemy.¡±


    ¡°We can still do this.¡±


    ¡°Have you forgotten the men questioning people close to this area? Asking questions about you.¡±


    ¡°... Of course I didn¡¯t forget. We¡¯re about to move safehouse.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re closing in on you. Return to your country. I have sent the request, your superiors will agree.¡±


    The three looked at each other.


    ¡°And what if we don¡¯t do that?¡± the muscular man asked.


    ¡°Then I will have to slay you. It will be easier and safer.¡± he pulled his cloak back and showed the hilt of his sword.


    ¡°Calm down everyone¡­ We will leave and return to the homeland.¡±


    The other two didn¡¯t resist his decision.


    ¡°The day after tomorrow, that¡¯s when we leave. I still need to tell the others.¡±


    ¡°No need, I will handle it. I am much faster. Just tell me where they are, and you will leave come morning.¡±


    ¡°... Very well,¡± he sighed. ¡°Conquering is never easy, huh?¡± He grabbed some papers and wrote the locations of their other colleagues.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, boss. We¡¯ll get Wisteria, where our ancestors failed.¡±


    ¡°You humans are so full of yourselves, obsessed with conquering. Never knowing your place in the world.¡±


    ¡°Oh shut up!¡±


    ¡°Almost like savages. You could have united your entire continent peacefully, and yet you chose this path.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, Alruwin. You do not understand. We bring peace and security. With everyone under one flag will we be truly united.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡±


    A while later, Alruwin received the list and skimmed through it. Satisfied, he turned away ¡°... I will leave you be.¡± He left through the front door.


    The leader sighed. ¡°That guy¡­ He¡¯s certainly anything but human.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, judging from how he refers to us.¡±


    ¡°How did the homeland find that guy?¡±


    The leader shrugged. ¡°Who knows. Anyhow, prepare our things for the morning.¡±


    Gonna taste terrible in the mouth when we come back home.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 83: Start of Sword Training

    I tightened the laces of my boots, getting myself ready and make sure nothing fucks it up. For I will be going into physical practice. Swordplay!


    I wore brown trousers, quite a stretchable fabric, so it didn¡¯t restrain my movements. Then a gray shirt with a leather waistband. My hair was tied into a ponytail. Although still lengthy. I have not cut my hair ever since I arrived here in this world. Gonna be Rapunzel but white-haired and more beautiful.


    I stretched my body, getting ready for the action! Conquer the sword and you conquer hearts! Does that make sense? Maybe.


    Currently, we¡¯re in a large room of a building, one sometimes used to train beginners. Like some sort of dojo, but not exactly a dojo¡­? Anyways, this building was cleared for me to use. Well, not like we have enough trainees to fill up every training building, anyway.


    My servants stood in the corner. Meanwhile, Elson waited at the center in his casual clothes, a sword in his hand. Once I finished stretching, I picked up a nearby sheathed sword. I felt its weight. My muscles have grown, but still a little heavy for my liking. I drew it out, my pretty face faintly reflected on its blade.


    I cast away the scabbard. I tried swinging the sword with both hands. In the end, I used just a little amount of Physical Enhancement. Ready, I stood in front of Elson.


    He spoke. ¡°To use Armament Magic, you need to learn the basics of using a weapon. Especially a sword. To use my technique, learn the basics of applying Armament Magic to a sword. That¡¯s how we all start.¡±


    Rogan uses a spear, but he uses a sword whenever we¡¯re inside the palace and guarding me. And he was quite proficient with it. Must be because they all begin with a sword, and he just switched to spears when he learned the basics of Armament Magic.


    ¡°But as you already know the basics of magic casting, I will prepare you for daggers while training with a sword. It is quicker that way, if you can keep up, your highness.¡±


    ¡°A trivial thing.¡±


    ¡°Trivial? Where does that confidence stem from?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Just some words.¡±


    ¡°... Raise your sword as if I am your enemy.¡±


    I held my sword with both hands, making a stance I saw people do.


    ¡°You observe well, I see.¡± He approached beside me. ¡°Although with tiny flaws.¡±


    He lowered my arms a tiny bit, pointing out mistakes in my leg positions and my overall posture.


    ¡°Keep that posture for a minute.¡±


    Oooh, that would be straining. But this was nothing compared to my training in the past. Now I was feeling reminiscent. Remembering the time where they beat us to a pulp at the early stages just for us to experience pain, to get familiar with it. I cried and cried. No one to save me.


    Don¡¯t even try to mention the electric chair.


    ¡°No using of any kind of magic, please, your highness. You don¡¯t even tremble.¡±


    I awkwardly chuckled. ¡°Sorry.¡± I turned off my physical enhancement. My arms and legs started shaking. Dammit, so much for making it easier.


    A minute passed. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough.¡±


    I sighed and broke my stance, breathing just a little heavily. Maintaining a posture was sometimes more tiring and numbing than frequent movements.


    ¡°We¡¯ll take a couple minutes for a breathing rest.¡±


    He¡¯s being soft on me, I being the princess and all.


    ¡°No, let¡¯s be continuous. Next part, now.¡±


    His eyes blinked in surprise. ¡°... If you say so.¡±


    We practiced swinging the sword. Needed a bit of learning, but I got it pretty quick, to Elson¡¯s surprise. Learning physical weapons was something I¡¯m used to anyway. Unlike magic, though. It was just a simple up and down swing and a step forward.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    A while later, we proceed to different kinds of swings and thrusting while stepping forward and back. Basically leg work mostly. I pretended to struggle but got an average score at the end. Would maybe fool Elson, but likely confuse Rogan and Vernon.


    ¡°Huh, you learn surprisingly quickly, princess. Are you sure you only practice magic casting?¡±


    ¡°Well, I have been learning physical enhancements from Vernon. You learn a thing or two about moving your own body around.¡±


    ¡°Then it makes things easier. That said, there are some needs for improvement. We will focus on this training for today.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°Still, you¡¯re learning way too quickly than I have imagined.¡±


    ¡°I suppose I am a fast learner. Besides, I easily get tired. I can¡¯t do everything smoothly all the time.¡±


    Getting stripped of my magic sucks! I know, I know, I have grown reliant on my magic and all. But it just makes everything so convenient. And besides! I need magic to survive. Sadly, this time, I must go full physical despite this beautiful weak body. Work out? Barely work anymore, don¡¯t know why. But I think it had something to do with my magic use. But then again, this could mean to work out a little harder. But as I said, barely works. I easily get tired no matter what.


    Don¡¯t want to suddenly collapse out of nowhere because of overwork or over fatigue or something. But hey, nothing bad about relying on magic if it works. But if it doesn¡¯t, then fuck¡­


    Anyways, we continued training in how to properly handle and do swordsmanship. I sweated hard in the training''s course, my body strained and tired, even more so without the use of magic to give me strength. We¡¯ll see if this kind of training improves my overall physical performance. If barely, then something¡¯s going on that I should be worried about.


    Once noon came, we took a lunch break, Elson and I going our separate ways for now. I returned to the palace to change my clothes before eating. Not taking a shower yet, gonna do that in the afternoon.


    I sighed as I drank a glass of water. My lips and throat still craved for more. Still so tired despite finally sitting down.


    ¡°Your body aching already, your highness?¡± Vernon asked.


    ¡°Guess so.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps you have grown too reliant on Physical Enhancement when doing strenuous activities.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll drop in minutes if I don¡¯t use it.¡± A little bit dramatic¡­ But it delivers the idea.


    ¡°Then this will be a good opportunity to learn moving without the help of the technique.¡±


    ¡°As much as I dislike it, that is precisely what I will do.¡±


    Rogan was also eating at a small table nearby. He drank some water. ¡°The princess is learning pretty fast, she¡¯ll master the sword in a month, I know it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re exaggerating,¡± replied Vernon. ¡°It takes years to master swordsmanship.¡±


    ¡°I am exaggerating. At least she¡¯ll be proficient enough to fight a knight sword by sword. Princess, please stop your discrimination against spears and also learn how to use them. It¡¯s pretty good, you know.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°I barely have time for myself, no way. I¡¯ll do just fine.¡±


    Besides, a weapon¡¯s a weapon. I can use them well without allocating too much time to them. I may suck at first, but after taking it in hand and swinging it a few times, I¡¯ll get the sense of it.


    ¡°... Your loss.¡±


    ¡°Besides, the primary goal here is for me to learn how Elson uses his technique. I¡¯m not losing my focus on that.¡±


    ¡°Why do you like his technique that much, anyway? You¡¯ll still need to learn how to use daggers properly in a proper combat.¡±


    ¡°I will do just fine, Sir Rogan. Focus on eating your food!¡±


    ¡°... Alright.¡±


    With a pout, I looked away dramatically.


    ***


    I collapsed on the nearby chair in the training room, breathing heavily. My hair stuck on my sweat beaded forehead. I felt disgusting! All the sweat, ugh, terrible terrible. More than that, I¡¯m beat!


    I leaned on my back, trying to get in as much air as I could and rest my body. Elson¡¯s training really pushed me too far this time. I didn¡¯t expect he would suddenly intensify the training in the afternoon session. Did he get some sort of enlightenment while he was having lunch? Or did I do something wrong to warrant this?


    ¡°Princess, here.¡±


    Vernon handed me a towel and I immediately rubbed my face.


    The sword swinging, the sparrings, the prancing, just holding the sword in the air, all wore me out. If it was my old body, I would be barely sweating. This would have been nothing. But right now, not in the luxury of extreme and continuous physical activities.


    As tough as I am, despite my body basically screaming at me to stop, I kept going. What can I do? I am competitive¡­ But I shot myself in the foot with this. I¡¯m gonna die! I have never been like this since I was a kid.


    ¡°Did I overdo it?¡± Elson approached, expressing his concern.


    I¡¯m d-dying¡­


    I wanna say that as a joke, but that may be too much for a knight I ordered to train me. Could give the wrong impression and them taking it seriously. ¡°N-No, just need to rest for a while¡­ for a long while. Water.¡±


    Vernon quickly gave me a glass of water. I drank it all in one go.


    ¡°More.¡±


    One was simply not enough. When I had my fill of the second glass of water, I heaved a long sigh.


    Thinking about it, it felt like my body just worsened. I sort of exercised this body when I first arrived in this world. Sure it was not as intense just now, but it just felt I got tired more easily. This confirms it, my body was deteriorating. What gives?!


    Dammit, if my body just had a reduction in performance, then I just have to push myself some more. Did that sound contradicting? Hm. I think magic did some permanent damage to my body due to excessive use. I may need rest and some exercise, as exercises improve the body. It should work. You know, keep it balanced.


    If I deteriorate, just have a good exercise and improve a little.


    But then again, I¡¯ll just use my training as an experiment if it works. Gonna be learning Armament Magic soon too, I guess I have to make sure I don¡¯t use a lot of mana that would strain my Mystic Medium.


    ¡°At this rate, I fear that you cannot continue your training for tomorrow, princess.¡± said Elson. ¡°You¡¯ll be sore all over.¡±


    ¡°N-No problem, I¡¯ll use my healing magic.¡±


    ¡°Hm, if you say so.¡±


    ¡°By the way, Sir Elson, what do you think of becoming my direct subordinate?¡±


    ¡°... Pardon?¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 84: The Search for Rats

    Completely taken by surprise, Elson¡¯s eyes widened. My servants likewise stared at me with dumbfounded expressions. However, Rogan in particular was the most concerning, he looked like he just witnessed something terrifying, or perhaps heartbreaking.


    ¡°I asked you what you think of becoming a subordinate of mine.¡± I replied to Elson.


    As if he had composed his thoughts, he answered. ¡°I just didn¡¯t expect such an offer.¡±


    ¡°Opportunities come at unexpected times, I suppose.¡±


    ¡°I take it you want to take me as your second personal knight?¡±


    ¡°A personal knight I believe is only for one. Different responsibilities. That is already Rogan¡¯s place.¡±


    ¡°Then what do you want from me?¡±


    ¡°As a direct subordinate of mine, you¡¯ll be second to Rogan. You¡¯ll answer directly to me, not to anyone else, not even to my father, the King.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± he looked away, thinking.


    ¡°Elson, I need someone like you in my team. With your skills and abilities, you will be a reliable member.¡±


    Elson scratched his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, princess. Will I have to answer immediately?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°No, I¡¯ll give you time to think.¡±


    ¡°Why me though?¡±


    ¡°As I mentioned, you are reliable. You impressed me during our fight together.¡±


    And I would have a dagger loving kin. That¡¯s a rare thing! You have no idea how lonely things can be if it was only you that loved a certain thing. Back in my days, I wasn¡¯t that lonely, I have a few assassins that love daggers too. Not as much as me, but it was something.


    ¡°I am flattered. When will you need my answer?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really have a deadline in mind. Perhaps whenever you already have an answer. I¡¯ll maybe just ask you sometime.¡±


    ¡°Understood, princess.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ We are dismissed for today. See you tomorrow afternoon.¡±


    ¡°Afternoon?¡±


    ¡°I have an appointment in the morning.¡±


    With that, we¡¯re done for the day. My skin was sticky and my body was sweaty, and thus while heading for the palace, I kept rubbing my face. My legs were so sore I almost wanted someone to carry me to the bath. But what can I do? I¡¯m shy.


    I headed straight for the bath, or to be precise, the pool. In my isolation, after removing my clothes, I dipped quickly into the cool and pleasant water. Relief filled all over my body and soul. When I sat down, the water just above my shoulders, I heaved a long relaxed sigh.


    Finally, refreshing.


    I held out my hand. A curious idea came to mind. I used my Physical Enhancement. Immediately, I felt my body strengthened, and I felt a bit better. Considering that my body has been weakening, the constant use of enhancement could be the remedy to improve my performance. Still, I fear that constantly using it this way, down the line I might end up having to rely on it just to move my leg.


    What to do¡­ This has been bothering me for some time now, and it¡¯s agonizing. My body is my temple. Frustrated, I decided to forget this stuff for now, and I dove my entire body into the water.


    ***


    I squirmed on the couch, my body sore from yesterday¡¯s training. I tried using healing magic, but I didn¡¯t get them all. Looks like I would need to be more thorough. But then again, healing cannot completely rid of soreness, happened before.


    At least it wasn¡¯t too bad. Thank goodness for magic! Love this world!


    I took a deep breath and straightened my posture, facing my visitor.


    ¡°Uncle, how¡¯s Mizia?¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t try asking about me first?¡±


    ¡°Why should I? You¡¯re surely doing completely fine. I am more concerned about Mizia.¡±


    He wryly smiled. ¡°I may not though.¡±


    ¡°I hope you¡¯re not neglecting her.¡±


    ¡°... I¡¯m trying not to. But I can¡¯t give all of my attention with all the work piled up.¡±


    ¡°Time management, uncle.¡±


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    ¡°As if mere time management is the solution. Sometimes there is just too much work to do.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± I smiled, just a plain one, not a sign of sympathy. He sensed it, of course, as I wanted. ¡°So, is she doing fine?¡±


    He sighed. ¡°Yes, she is. In fact, she¡¯s already planning what outfits she would have you try. I, on the other hand, suggested a few. I hope you will find them to your liking.¡±


    With narrowed eyes, I slowly nodded. ¡°... We¡¯ll¡­ see.¡±


    ¡°Hm. That aside, I heard you asked her to join your group performance for your debut. She¡¯s been practicing since. You?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just starting. It will take a while before we assemble.¡±


    ¡°I see. She was overjoyed by your invite. She¡¯ll shine brightly in the party, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    Yes she will, certainly. But I will shine the brightest, uncle. And there¡¯s nothing you can do about it. I am the most beautiful of all.


    ¡°Now then uncle, let¡¯s get straight down to business. About the adventurers I sent a message to you about.¡±


    ¡°The priestess¡¯s former party, yes, I have warned them personally after their friend¡¯s burial. Emphasizing what would happen if they told anyone about it. Still, that won¡¯t guarantee much.¡±


    ¡°A noble¡¯s power holds weight.¡±


    ¡°Why won¡¯t you personally go meet them? Surely they will fear you more.¡±


    I scoffed. ¡°Why would anyone fear me?¡± I gave him a soft look.


    He frowned. ¡°You still baffle me.¡±


    I tilted my head. ¡°Anyhow, how did they react? Your report didn¡¯t describe the entire picture.¡±


    He basically just said ¡®done¡¯. Put some details!


    ¡°You didn¡¯t request all the details. I didn¡¯t bother. They¡¯re just a bunch of adventures, and are still citizens of Wisteria. I assumed as long as the job was done and that¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°I would at least want to know if there¡¯s any violent reactions.¡±


    ¡°Well that woman mage didn¡¯t take it too kindly. She¡¯s an energetic one. She even asked to return the priestess, although I don¡¯t know if I should even take that as asking.¡±


    ¡°That woman, huh? Anita?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Was that woman always prone to emotional outburst? With her lover dead, she may be more unstable now that Tina left them, forbidden to return. Should I kill her? A person driven purely by unstable emotion tends to make uncontrollable and stupid mistakes.


    ¡°How about the others?¡±


    ¡°They were submissive and reasonable. Almost felt like we could rely on them.¡±


    ¡°Can we spare men to watch over them?¡±


    ¡°We could. But I believe it¡¯s better to use that manpower elsewhere.¡±


    ¡°I suppose. Can we have the church do that instead?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps you can. Demand it as making up for their blunder.¡±


    ¡°Which reminds me, how come you the head of intelligence never discovered that Tina joined the adventurers?¡±


    ¡°The church is essentially a different area, and we don¡¯t typically look and spy at ourselves, especially the church. Besides, the case with Tina was supposedly minor. That matter only grew because of the current predicament, and well, also because of you.¡±


    Huh, thinking about it, yes, he made sense. Damn. Situation just changed for Tina, sheesh. How unlucky. Imagine if all went as normal, things would have ended differently for her. Home wrecker Estelia¡­


    ¡°How sad. But, we have to do what we have to. Situations suddenly change, and thus is life.¡±


    ¡°Quite harsh words, niece.¡±


    ¡°If people are hurt by the truth, then obliterate them.¡±


    He smirked briefly. ¡°Nice quote.¡±


    Thanks, I heard it from somewhere. Not the exact phrase, but it gives the idea.


    ¡°Alright, that matter aside. Any news from the agents?¡±


    ¡°Oh plenty. You might find them interesting.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±


    ¡°We learned a few, but nothing definite yet. A few agents asked servants, guards, civilians all around the nobles. We flagged a few suspicious.¡±


    ¡°How did you find them suspicious?¡±


    ¡°There are those that complained that the local lords are not doing anything against the bandits raiding their farms. While there are other cases of food in the reserves left to rot in their warehouses. The common townsfolk could have used them, but they were put to waste.¡±


    There¡¯s quite a pattern emerging here.


    ¡°How many lords?¡±


    ¡°These cases happened in four territories.¡±


    ¡°Those are the obvious ones, I suppose. There may be others that are keeping it inconspicuous.¡±


    ¡°Likely.¡±


    ¡°Is there anyone we have a strong grasp on? Something a little solid.¡±


    ¡°There is one.¡± He pulled out a scroll from his coat pocket. ¡°We¡¯re still investigating, but this is his information.¡±


    I received and opened the paper, reading the contents. ¡°A Count, seriously? I expected much more for someone of this rank.¡± I sighed.


    ¡°He¡¯s among the territories I mentioned. Not only that, the agent discovered him secretly sneaking a message out of his mansion.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the message?¡±


    ¡°Something about meeting up. It was a brief message. Likely because they already have a plan for something like this beforehand. Like a usual time and meeting place.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s the message carrier?¡±


    ¡°The agent tied him up and brought him to our local base. Turns out, he knew nothing useful. He was just indeed a mere messenger.¡±


    ¡°I see. When did this happen?¡±


    ¡°A couple of days ago.¡±


    ¡°Hm, the Count must be growing anxious if his messenger isn¡¯t back yet. And his territory is awfully close to our city. What about the intended recipient?¡±


    ¡°The letter was supposed to be dropped off in the middle of a village.¡±


    ¡°Then perhaps they should have waited and followed the man before capturing him.¡±


    ¡°The drop point is in a busy street. It will be hard to figure out who takes the message in a crowded area. Besides, the agent didn¡¯t have a lot of flexible options, there¡¯s the risk of losing the messenger or the letter.¡±


    ¡°Whatever¡­¡± I sighed. ¡°The recipient certainly is an agent from the Empire.¡±


    ¡°About that, we had a lead about them. One connected with the late Marquis Vekenas¡­ and it¡¯s not in his favor.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°There are witnesses of two men who frequently come through the road not far from the Marquis¡¯s place of death. They walk at night, cover themselves, and are overall suspicious.¡±


    ¡°Oh! So you have a lead!¡±


    ¡°Had¡­ We found the house they were using, sold to them by the former owner. But, it¡¯s empty.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re gone?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°They escaped before you could get to them¡­¡±


    Dammit.


    ¡°They must have felt threatened about what we did.¡±


    ¡°That is supposed to be one of its purposes.¡±


    ¡°Should we call it a success, then?¡±


    ¡°Yes. But there is the matter of the traitorous nobles. Especially that Count.¡±


    ¡°What are we going to do?¡±


    ¡°An example, and a warning to everyone.¡±


    Something that resonates across the lands, that shakes the hearts of the aristocrats.


    I looked through the window. ¡°It¡¯s getting cold outside.¡±


    ¡°The snow is starting to fall.¡±


    ¡°Time to wear thick clothes.¡± A stylish one for a changing season. ¡°Speak with this Count and bring him here. Formally.¡±


    ¡°You wish to speak with him? I advise not. If he is a traitor, he¡¯ll be dangerous. As a warrior, he can fight his way and go for you.¡±


    ¡°Is he more powerful than the beasts and elf I fought?¡±


    ¡°... No.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s alright. With Sir Rogan and Vernon by my side, I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°Why do you want to see him?¡±


    ¡°For him to know and carry out his own punishment.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 85: Spar with Elson

    I¡¯m pumped! Another day of training! Our half-day session yesterday was quite productive. And now, Elson was going to let me try handling a dagger! Indeed, what an exciting day. It would just be a taste though.


    But before that, I have to get the answer to my offer the other day. I didn¡¯t broach the topic yesterday to give him additional time. And now, I would like to have his answer.


    ¡°Sir Elson, before we start. Have you decided about my offer to you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, princess. I¡¯m sorry, but I won¡¯t take it.¡±


    He¡­ rejected me. Honestly, I was surprised he would let this opportunity go. Being under the direct service of a royal was basically a promotion to a knight, and that¡¯s what many of them wanted.


    ¡°May I ask why?¡±


    He sighed. ¡°Princess, I¡¯m getting old.¡±


    ¡°Certainly age would not get in your way. I mean, you¡¯re doing way better than me.¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s not that, your highness. I just think someone my age would not fit to become your direct knight. That opportunity befits a younger one, like Rogan for example.¡±


    ¡°... I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°A few years down the line, I¡¯m sure I would get tired. And pretty soon, I was thinking of retiring ¡ª in a few years. I can easily leave the palace behind if I¡¯m not tied to anything significant.¡±


    He¡¯s rejecting me because I¡¯m just too much trouble?! That¡¯s bull¡ª oh no wait, I am too much trouble.


    ¡°... I see. A shame, I quite liked you.¡±


    ¡°It is an honor to be liked by you.¡±


    Damn, he¡¯s not even that old. But I guess he just has other plans in mind with his remaining decades in this world.


    ¡°If you change your mind, I can always take you in whenever.¡± It¡¯s rare enough to find fellow dagger lovers in this world of swords and magic.


    He nodded. ¡°Now then, princess. Shall we proceed with trying a dagger?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes.¡±


    He handed me one of his daggers. It was on a smaller side, opted for throwing and allowed him to carry more with him. I gripped the dagger tightly.


    Elson observed me. ¡°This reminds me, I saw you handle a dagger before. You took me by surprise.¡±


    ¡°... I¡¯m just an excellent observer. So what will we be doing?¡±


    ¡°... Swing it around, try to feel it out first. Perhaps apply some of what you have learned in the sword training.¡±


    And so I did, doing the stances. A thrust and swung the small dagger around. But acting like a damn amateur was actually hurting my heart. This actually tempted me to use the daggers I have hidden in my room. Especially that most beautiful and expensive one.


    ¡°Are you comfortable with it, princess? Unlike the sword, you have to get closer to your enemy to hurt them. If you are facing a knight, it will be difficult to scratch them.¡±


    ¡°Target their vulnerable points, then.¡± I stopped.


    ¡°Easier said than done. Skilled fighters always have their guards up.¡±


    ¡°Not if you¡¯re more skilled.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps. But are you?¡±


    I paused for a moment at his question. ¡°... Still, I would not normally use a dagger in a direct confrontation. They should be used when the enemy is unguarded. In short, surprise them.¡±


    ¡°Oh? But what if you are forced into a direct confrontation?¡±


    ¡°Use other tools at your disposal. But if there are none, then do what you can to escape and catch them in some other way.¡±


    ¡°Such as?¡±


    ¡°Play tricks.¡±


    Rogan for some reason audibly coughed. Yeah, I pulled plenty of tricks when I sparred with him.


    ¡°Knights normally don¡¯t use tricks.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m no knight.¡±


    ¡°... Of course.¡±


    ¡°What about we skip some steps, Sir Elson? I¡¯m already used to the sword and the dagger. We¡¯ll go straight to using the magic technique.¡±


    That¡¯s where I¡¯ll take more time, anyway.


    ¡°Princess, please do not joke. It has merely been days since you began. I won¡¯t skip some steps.¡±


    ¡°No, let¡¯s skip.¡±


    ¡°Princess, there is a process to this.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a lot of time, Sir Elson. I need the magic more.¡±


    ¡°Armament Magic is unlike spellcasting. One needs to get used to a weapon.¡±


    ¡°Princess, why don¡¯t you just demonstrate?¡± Rogan chimed in. ¡°You seem impatient, so just show him you mean it. You suck at the sword, but there are other tools you can use.¡±


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    First off, fuck you for saying I suck at a weapon. Second, that¡¯s a good idea.


    ¡°... I suppose you¡¯re right, Sir Rogan.¡± I faced my teacher. ¡°Sir Elson, if I show you that I can handle the dagger, a weapon, we¡¯ll proceed to teaching mainly Armament Magic.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes. ¡°Not the dagger, the sword.¡±


    I blinked ¡°... The sword¡­?¡±


    ¡°If you are to learn Armament Magic, wouldn¡¯t it make sense to prove your skill in the sword first? That¡¯s where we all begin.¡±


    I subtly groaned. ¡°... Very well, we¡¯ll do that.¡±


    ¡°No kind of magic is allowed, I want raw skill. So you will not use Physical Enhancement.¡±


    Damn, that will be difficult. But, I won¡¯t back down to something like that. ¡°Sure. I will show you.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll begin when you¡¯re ready.¡±


    He walked away and waited by the center of the room with a sword in hand. It was a blunted sword, so there won¡¯t be any fatalities here today. I went for the swords, casting away the dagger and grabbed one of the blunt swords.


    I don¡¯t like using swords at all. But, if I were to make things move quickly, then I must pass this test. I have to at least prove to him that I¡¯m good at this.


    Holding the sword with both hands, I approached the center of the room.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±


    ¡°Then we may begin.¡±


    He and I moved a few steps away from each other. As I turned around, I readied the sword in my hands and immediately pondered how to defeat him. No, I didn¡¯t need to defeat him, just show I can fight just fine with the sword.


    Still, it violates my nature not to strive for victory in a match like this. I must win, no matter what. Victory was all that mattered. To be satisfied with something beneath it, how repulsive. A fire raged within my heart.


    I have had a glimpse of how he fought. With that, I can have an idea what kind of opponent I¡¯ll be fighting. Still, this was someone who had more experience with the sword than I was. And he was with more experience than even my old life combined, considering his age. I must have faith in my training.


    Rogan raised his hand. ¡°Ready.¡±


    I put a foot forward.


    And Rogan brought down his hand. ¡°Fight!¡±


    I charged forward. We met at the center of the battle floor, and I swung my sword swiftly. The pressure of the clash vibrated through my arms. With our blades touched, and him pushing down, I lowered my force and made his blade slide down mine to the side.


    He flinched in surprise, but before he could respond, I turned my sword, breaking away from him and swung downward. My blade came at his shoulder. However, he immediately dodged to the side, my attack missed. I slowed the momentum of my sword as I leaped back as well.


    To my surprise, there was no attack incoming, he didn¡¯t take that chance to strike me. No, it was more like he was processing his surprise.


    ¡°That was ¡ª¡±


    I gave him no breathing time, and I attacked again, thrusting my blade forward. He deflected my sword. I swung again sideways, aiming for his waist, but he defended. He swung back at me, but I deflected and defended.


    We clashed blades multiple times without either touching our skin. Metals clanged loudly, blades grinding. Footsteps quickly shifting and changing. With each passing time, the more adrenaline flowed around my body. My senses sharpened. My strength grew. My body ignored the pain in my muscles.


    My eyes fixed on my target. Yes, my target.


    Our battle intensified in my relentless advances. I saw his emotions faltering. My blade struck the floor, and I immediately stepped away to evade his attack. Using one hand, I instantly swung back. I almost had him by the chest, but he evaded by an inch.


    He stepped away.


    No escape.


    There¡¯s no escape. Not one must escape.


    I charged again, giving him no breathing room. My waves of attack fell upon him. But he protected himself from all. This was why I hated this kind of battle. It¡¯s too long. Too much to do just in an attempt to hurt the opposition. If only I had a gun, this would be over. If only I could use magic, I could have won already.


    But no matter, I¡¯ll kill him.


    Our blades ground, both swords swaying side by side, trying to hit the other. Sword fight was boring. I find no satisfaction in this.


    As our swords were binding, I instantly shoved upward sideways and let go with my left hand, my right holding the sword while still contacting the enemy. I swiftly carried and twisted my body in the air. My boot aimed at his face.


    ¡° ¡ª What?¡±


    He quickly used his arms to block my kick. At the same time, when my other foot landed, I swiftly turned around, my sword turning with me in quick speed, coming towards my target. It was coming for his neck.


    He quickly turned his sword around to meet my blade. A couple of inches away from his neck, he successfully parried my sword, repelling it back.


    That pissed me off, I almost had him.


    The impact from the parry was powerful, and my sword threatened to slip away from my grasp. And thus I leaped back in the same direction as the force to keep it in my hand. I gripped the sword with both hands again and regained my footing.


    My target¡¯s eyes were both wide while looking at me. I took a step forward.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Elson suddenly said, raising his palm.


    I froze, the blood still rushing to my head. ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°Princess, that¡¯s enough.¡±


    ¡°B-But we¡¯re just getting started!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± He was confused.


    ¡°There¡¯s no winner yet.¡± My heart was racing so intensely.


    ¡°Then you win, princess.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°You almost struck me down.¡±


    ¡°B-But¡­¡±


    No, he survived. He drove away my attack. That was not a defining moment. Close calls always happen in fights, but that doesn¡¯t bring conclusions.


    ¡°You have proven yourself to me. That¡¯s enough.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Rogan suddenly stepped in front of me, with him was his ever so casual smile. Still, he looked concerned. ¡°P-Princess Estelia, it¡¯s done. There¡¯s no need to actually win, remember?¡±


    I blinked as he slowly grasped my sword. ¡°... That¡¯s¡­ right¡­¡±


    Oh yeah, I didn¡¯t need to defeat him. I forgot. I got caught in the moment.


    ¡°Yes, so calm down and give me your sword, okay?¡±


    ¡°... Okay.¡±


    I gave him the sword.


    ¡°You really don¡¯t hold back in a spar.¡± Rogan remarked.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I was so focused.¡±


    It¡¯s been a while since I personally killed someone. It¡¯s frustrating. And yes, in things where someone wins and loses, especially in something like this, I just couldn¡¯t help but do the extreme.


    My heart gradually relaxed.


    ¡°Want to drink some water?¡± Rogan asked me.


    ¡°Yes, please¡­¡±


    Rogan gestured for Vernon to bring me water, and I drank it all in one go. I closed my eyes, breathing slowly, attempting to lessen the stimulation within me. They led me to sit down on the nearby bench.


    Elson approached. ¡°You have quite the fierce will, your highness. I didn¡¯t expect you to actually try to throw a fatal blow.¡±


    ¡°... Blunt swords aren¡¯t fatal.¡±


    ¡°Still, it would hurt.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°As long as you¡¯re alright. But as discussed, we will proceed to learning Armament Magic.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°... Have you always been skilled with the sword, princess? Were you perhaps only hiding your true abilities?¡±


    I smiled. ¡°What is there to even hide? I only just started practicing swords.¡±


    ¡°Your talents surprise me. Although, was that even mere talent¡­?¡±


    I may have almost landed hits on him, but I knew he was holding back. Not giving his all in the fight. Somehow, when that happens during spars, it¡¯s quite insulting. Maybe what I actually wanted was both parties to use everything they got so I could get a measure of my own abilities. And I just find winning ecstatic.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone what happened. Not even my family. Only I must do that.¡±


    ¡°Again, you wish to hide what you could do, just like before. Why the secrecy?¡±


    ¡°... Just don¡¯t tell anyone.¡±


    ¡°... Very well, princess.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. So, when should we start with the magic?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still all red. Perhaps later when you¡¯ve calmed down some more.¡±


    ¡°... Fine.¡±


    And so, I rested. It was then later that the adrenaline had faded that my body began to sore. My legs and arms were all painful. In the end, as usual, I used healing magic to relieve the pain. But that happened a little later, for I was still terribly exhausted. Can¡¯t even cast magic properly.


    I really pushed myself there. Can I have adrenaline 24/7?

 Vol. 3 Chapter 86: Count Saerus Farrimond

    There was a fairly large territory in the east of Wisteria¡¯s capital city. Ruling it on behalf of the crown was a Count named Saerus Farrimond. He was a warrior, but gifted with a fine mind as well. He was a good leader to his territory, able to create level headed decisions, patient, and often wise.


    In the past, he often hunted monsters himself when one came across the nearby villages and towns in his domain. His skill of the sword could allow him in the position of an elite knight. He was a promising man in a high standing he and his family deserved.


    But despite it all, he was still a man of ambition. His current position was never enough for him. And with this gnawing desire, came an endearment to temptations.


    Count Saerus was inside his office, standing at the window. His room was neat and arranged. An empty armor displayed at the corner, with aesthetically designed swords hanging on the wall.


    While looking at the scenery outside, he restlessly tapped his foot on the floor. He had a frustrated frown on his face. It has been days since he last sent the messenger, and he has not returned, nor his intended recipients have responded.


    Something definitely happened.


    There were many possibilities, and all were bad for him.


    Knocks rang out on the door. ¡°Father, it¡¯s time for breakfast.¡± It was a young female voice.


    Saerus grabbed the sword from his desk and promptly went for the door. Greeting him was his daughter in her mid teens. She timidly smiled at him, and she was adorable.


    ¡°Father.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s for breakfast, Aeli?¡±


    ¡°We have fried steaks and eggs.¡±


    He smiled softly at her. ¡°Excellent.¡±


    He patted her head before they headed for the dining room.


    ¡°Oh yes, father, I¡¯m planning to have a casual outing with Adin and Mom on our farm. If you would please give your permission.¡±


    ¡°... Hm, you might get sick, early winter is here.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we would also like to take the opportunity to make sure things are well-prepared for winter.¡±


    He deliberated whether he should allow them or just send a representative. Despite their farm being not far, there may still be danger out there. However, there were ways to remedy that concern. Besides, it may be good to let them have some joyful time.


    ¡°Very well. Just bring my elite guards with you.¡±


    Aeli beamed. ¡°Thank you, father!¡± But she recalled something. ¡°Aren¡¯t you coming with us?¡±


    ¡°I regret not. I have things I have to take care of.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ By the way, will that stranger have to come with us? I mean, he¡¯s clearly here to observe us.¡±


    ¡°I will not let him disturb your peace there.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡±


    They arrived in the dining room, two of his other family members were already here. The son, a year older than Aeli, Adin. And his wife Emilyn. The foods were already placed on the table.


    Saerus approached his wife and kissed her on the cheek before sitting down at the head of the table, leaning his sword behind his chair. He nodded at his son. ¡°Are you doing well? How¡¯s sword training?¡±


    ¡°Doing well father, they said I¡¯ve improved a lot since a month ago.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°Pretty soon, I can finally join the knight''s order. If that Welford son can get in, so can I.¡±


    Saerus paused for a moment at the thought of his son wanting to join the knights who serve the crown. ¡°... Is that what you truly want to do?¡±


    ¡°Yes. At least, until you need me to start ruling the domain.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    I¡¯m afraid that will be complicated.


    He was not even sure if his son could even achieve that, considering what he was involved with. It will be a broken dream. But perhaps he could still be a knight, only under a different umbrella.


    ¡°Anyhow,¡± Saerus picked up a spoon as he continued. ¡°Let¡¯s eat.¡±


    His two children and wife began putting some food on their plate along with him. However, at that same moment, a man entered the room.


    ¡°What? Starting without me? I¡¯m hurt, my lord.¡±


    Everyone lowered their utensils as they all stared annoyingly at the man, the stranger. That stranger, without a mind of the nobles, sat down on the vacant chair. Although a bit distant from the rest, but at the same table, nonetheless.


    The stranger, that agent of the palace, casually grabbed a plate and placed some food on it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see the point of notifying you,¡± Saerus said in a displeased tone, glaring at him.


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    ¡°Come now, Count. I¡¯m a guest¡­ But I suppose I am intruding in some way.¡±


    ¡°As I always say, you¡¯re not supposed to be here. This is our family moment.¡±


    He had been doing this ever since he first came here. And it was aggravating.


    ¡°What? You want me to eat with the servants? Their food isn¡¯t as delicious as yours. I prefer it here.¡± he smiled.


    But that served to only annoy Saerus more. How he wanted to draw his sword and cut the bastard down into several pieces. Considering his purpose, him being here was a great risk, and a great annoyance.


    But obviously he couldn¡¯t do such a thing. Otherwise, the crown will persecute him, and all his secrets may become exposed. Communication with his contact also had become too difficult because of him.


    ¡°You have no respect to the lord of the house, and to a noble family.¡±


    ¡°Am I? I¡¯ve been trying to be polite, my lord. And as you may recall, I am here to observe you. Thus, it is expected that I should be here, right?¡±


    Saerus mildly growled. ¡°Just don¡¯t talk.¡±


    ¡°Sure, sure!¡±


    And with that, they all began eating. But the good and fondly mood was already out the window the moment the stranger entered the room. The family barely spoke with one another.


    When breakfast was over, Saerus was intending on returning to his office. There was plenty of paperworks he had to do, from then afterwards, he would visit his son amidst his training. But as they were about to leave the dining room, a servant suddenly came to convey a message.


    ¡°My lord, we received a message from a messenger, a very important guest is set to arrive around noon. It¡¯s Marquis Teristro.¡±


    ¡°What?! Today?¡±


    ¡°Yes, lord.¡±


    ¡°Without a prior announcement?¡±


    He never expected a Marquis was coming to visit, but for what purpose? And it was Teristro, no less. The Queen¡¯s brother? Why would a person of such standing come personally to meet him? Without even making an appointment.


    Could it be¡­?


    Saerus turned his head to look at the stranger. The latter merely shrugged with a smile, as if saying he had no idea about this.


    Saerus subtly gulped, feeling a little nervous. There was something weird here.


    ¡°Did they mention for what reason?¡±


    ¡°No, they have not.¡±


    Saerus furrowed his brow. ¡°... Fine. Arrange for the servants to prepare for the Marquis¡¯s arrival. Prepare for everything necessary!¡±


    The servants scrambled to prepare for the unexpected guest¡¯s arrival. They made sure the guest room was ready, even prepared the bedroom for the guest just to be sure. They also prepared snacks, and made sure every decoration and furniture in the house were in order.


    Saerus quickly changed to a much more formal clothes in his own wardrobe. His family members should be doing the same. Amidst the process of fixing himself, his mind spiraled, constantly trying to think why a Marquis was specifically coming for his house?


    Him just passing by was the best scenario. But if it were something else, then¡­


    After combing his hair, he checked himself once more to make sure he was completely neat. Of course, a sword hung on his waist. He rarely goes anywhere without a weapon by his side. Once finished, he proceeded down to the main hallways, then to the front door.


    His son was the first to be there, and a while later, his wife and daughter arrived. They all dressed well and were presentable.


    The nearby servant opened the door, there was the messenger standing at the side.


    ¡°Greetings, my lord.¡±


    It was a knight from the palace, wearing full plate armor. Saerus¡¯s son, Adin, looked at the knight with awe, eyes wide and mouth ajar.


    ¡°Greetings,¡± Saerus responded. ¡°When will Lord Teristro be arriving?¡±


    ¡°He should be arriving in a few minutes.¡±


    ¡°May I ask the reason for your sudden visit?¡±


    ¡°That is not my right to answer, Lord Count. Please ask the Marquis himself.¡±


    ¡°I see. Very well.¡±


    They were surprisingly secretive.


    They waited for several minutes until the gates at the front opened. A convoy of carriages entered the estate grounds, and knights rode on horses. The central carriage stopped right in front of the mansion doors.


    Saerus and his family promptly stepped forward. The carriage door opened, and a man came out. Saerus knew the man, and it was indeed the Marquis Teristro. He wore a formal outfit, and he regarded Saerus with a friendly smile.


    ¡°Marquis Teristro, it¡¯s been a while since the last time we saw each other. May our hallowed lord and lady bless the moment of our delightful meeting.¡±


    They briefly met recently.


    ¡°Indeed, at the festival. May we receive the resplendent blessing from our illustrious lord and lady.¡±


    They shook hands. The rest of the family proceeded to give their brief greetings. With the Marquis kindly greeting them back.


    ¡°I hope my visit will not inconvenience you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, not at all,¡± Saerus replied. ¡°Although, it is quite surprising. I never expected a visit from a man of your standing. How about we get inside? My servants will guide your entourage.¡±


    ¡°Very well. I will have one knight with me, if that¡¯s alright.¡±


    ¡°Not a problem.¡±


    Marquis Teristro called out one knight to come with him before they all entered the house.


    ¡°As for my being here, the palace has a special request for you.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± He never imagined it at all. ¡°Would you like to eat? We have prepared food for you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take snacks. Let us all talk at your table, then.¡±


    On the way to the dining room, the palace agent was standing on the side of the hallway. He bowed as the Marquis walked past him. The Marquis merely nodded.


    The stranger did mention that Teristro was his commanding officer. But Saerus opted not to talk about this matter for the time being. Not like he could change the decree of the king. And he didn¡¯t want to resist about this too much, that might bring only unwanted suspicions.


    Arriving at the dining table, all of them sat down. Snacks immediately placed at the center of the table in front of the Marquis. He quickly grabbed a cookie and bit down.


    ¡°Hm, this is quite delicious.¡±


    ¡°I imagine the travel must have been quite tiring.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it was. But I¡¯m quite used to going around places, so it¡¯s no issue. How are things in your demesne, Count Farrimond?¡±


    ¡°More or less alright. But of course there are always issues.¡±


    ¡°For instance?¡±


    ¡°For instance, there are a few food issues. I¡¯m already working on it, hoping to ask for crops from the nearby territories.¡±


    ¡°I see. A few, huh. If that¡¯s the case, I hope the crown doesn¡¯t get a headache from this.¡±


    ¡°Definitely not. I¡¯ll solve this problem as best as I can.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief.¡± He had consumed the whole cookie, and patted his hands together. ¡°Now then, for business.¡±


    He pulled out something from his coat pocket. ¡°The palace wishes to meet with you.¡± It was a letter. ¡°The crown has something special to discuss with you and your domain.¡± He slid the letter on the table towards the Count. ¡°Here is your formal invitation.¡±


    Saerus picked up the letter. ¡°Why? Me and my domain?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps considering what you have been doing caught the crown¡¯s interest.¡±


    Saerus opened the letter and read what was written. And indeed, it was a formal invitation to the palace. It mentioned it was indeed about him and the territory he ruled. However, it was only for him, and him alone. His family was not invited at all.


    ¡°Only me? Can¡¯t I have a family member join me?¡± He would like to bring his son to the palace at least.


    ¡°If the letter mentions only you, then it¡¯s only you.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Interesting isn¡¯t it? Rarely something like this happens.¡±


    ¡°Indeed¡­ That aside, I¡¯m wondering why they sent you to bring this letter?¡± It was strange a Marquis would deliver this letter himself where a knight could do the job well.


    ¡°I am to accompany you to the palace. It¡¯s quite dangerous out there. The crown wants someone they trust to ensure your safe travels.¡±


    ¡°Me? Surely the king knows I am a warrior myself. I live in danger.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m sure you do. But safety is important, especially to a Count.¡±


    ¡°... If you say so.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be departing tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Very well. May I bring my sword to the palace? I don¡¯t leave this behind.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s alright.¡± He smiled.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 87: Confess

    The carriage rattled slightly as they entered the capital city gates. Saerus, with his sword on his lap, looked through the window. With him was Marquis Teristro, sitting on the opposite side.


    As the carriage made its way to the palace, the common folk looked at them with curiosity. The city was a bit surreal for Saerus, he usually only comes here during an event or a festival. Thus, the streets were greatly decorated. But now, it was so normal.


    The thought of casually visiting the capital rarely crossed his mind. However, there was just no good reason to go. He was, after all, a busy man.


    Now that he recalled it, there was an attack that occurred here. But he has not seen a sign of damage. Perhaps it didn¡¯t occur here in this area or they have more or less finished the repairs and reconstruction.


    The palace was incredibly secretive about that matter. Even the nature of the threats was never explicitly described. Although, in Saerus¡¯s current position, he had an inkling of what they could be. But he was just not sure.


    Some time passed, and they entered the palace. At the palace front, there were only knights there. No sign of royalty.


    ¡°We will go straight to the meeting.¡± Marquis Teristro exited the carriage.


    Saerus followed. Without much going on in their passage, they entered the palace and went straight to one room. A guest room. There were a couple of servants standing outside by the door.


    ¡°Pardon me, Count Farrimond,¡± said one servant. ¡°Please leave your weapon with us.¡±


    ¡°My weapon?¡± He looked around. ¡°Before that, I expected we¡¯ll head straight to the throne room.¡±


    That was the normal process when meeting the king.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for something so extravagant, Count,¡± answered the Marquis. ¡°This is a discussion.¡±


    ¡°I see. But I am quite reluctant without my weapon.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s up to the servant.¡±


    The servant responded. ¡°Any weapons are not allowed in her presence.¡±


    ¡°Her? Who? The Queen?¡±


    ¡°No. Please, your weapon. It will be safe with me.¡± the servant extended his hand.


    With no other choice, he gave away his sword. He felt quite naked without it. It made him uncomfortable.


    Saerus asked the Marquis. ¡°I¡¯m not meeting with the monarchs?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re meeting with a royal.¡±


    If that was the case, then it was reassuring. He was still to speak with someone important. He guessed aside from the monarchs, then he would meet with either prince Estevan, or the crown prince Eleden.


    A servant opened the door, and both the Marquis and the Count stepped inside. The former closed and locked the door. The Count paused when he saw someone unexpected.


    There was who appeared to be a servant, or a butler, standing in a corner. The other looked like a knight, with a sword by his waist. This knight stood beside someone that surprised Saerus. The young lady sat on a plain chair by the window. On the small table in front of her lay a book she was reading.


    It was a beautiful girl, so beautiful that she challenged the very meaning of the word. More beautiful than his own daughter would ever be. She had a flawless snow white skin, a captivating pair of bright, crimson eyes, softly looking down on the book. Her hair was of platinum, flowing straight, whereas while she sat, the edges touched the clean floor.


    She wears a fancy gray blouse, dark trousers, and dark boots. Her hair was decorated with gold and silver. On her ears hung small diamonds.


    He recognized her. The princess. She was the last person he imagined he would see here.


    She lifted her gaze from the book to the Count. ¡°How¡¯s the snow in your hometown, Count?¡±


    ¡°P-Princess,¡± he bowed his head before answering. ¡°It¡¯s still snowing lightly. But I expect it will change in a few days.¡±


    ¡°So we still have plenty of time to go out to enjoy, then?¡±


    ¡°I suppose, yes.¡±


    The princess looked at him from bottom to top, as if sizing him up. Yet, she still had that innocent look on her face. Thus, it was more like she was curious. ¡°It feels like we¡¯ve met once.¡±


    ¡°During the festival, princess. It was a brief greeting.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes.¡± She grabbed her bookmark and placed it on a page before closing her book.


    She rose and turned towards him. ¡°We have plenty to talk about.¡± She smiled.


    ¡°From what I know, it¡¯s about my land?¡±


    ¡°Partly, but yes.¡±


    ¡°Then, what do you want to talk about, your highness? Ah, but before that, I thought I¡¯ll be speaking with the crown. Where is his majesty?¡±


    ¡°You will not speak to my father. Your business is with me.¡±


    He frowned. ¡°I never took you to move politically, your highness.¡±


    ¡°This is not about politics.¡± She walked towards a shelf of books.


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    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± As he stood, his legs tensed ever so slightly.


    ¡°This room has been my usual business place. And thus, I have it renovated to suit my needs. This shelf was just put here recently, complete with a variety of books.¡±


    ¡°... I see.¡±


    She placed a finger on a book. ¡°There is one that particularly stood out to me. Considering how shocking its contents are.¡± She retracted her hand and turned to look at Saerus again. ¡°Punishment techniques.¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    ¡°Count Saerus Farrimond, do you know of a tribe in the far northern mountains?¡±


    He could not understand the relevance of the question. ¡°I am not aware of a tribe there.¡±


    Her smile grew, and she grew more beautiful. ¡°There is a tribe called the Cra¡¯toji. Judging from their descriptions, they are quite a fearsome folk. Better be kind to them.¡±


    ¡°I see. That is good to know.¡±


    ¡°What shook me is their punishment techniques, especially the one for traitors.¡±


    ¡°... Traitors?¡±


    She turned around to pull a book out of the shelf. ¡°Here it is.¡± It was a brown-colored book. She returned to her table and put it down. ¡°Do you want to know what they do to traitors, Count?¡± She waited for an answer.


    ¡°... Tell me, princess.¡±


    ¡°They strip you naked in front of the tribesmen, along with your family. On the first day, they tie you all to a horse to drag and grind you around the mountain, they won¡¯t stop until the day is over. In the second, they slice open your forearms, and they drag you and your family again down the mountain. The third, they cut your stomach, hoping your guts spill as you go. On the last day, if any survive, they dissect you, ensuring a slow but certain death.¡±


    Everyone looked at her, aghast.


    ¡°They do this to your family, even the children. Quite extreme, I should say. But it''s interesting.¡±


    ¡°... If I may suggest you stay away from such books, your highness. They aren¡¯t appropriate.¡±


    ¡°You think so? I was quite thinking of trying that punishment on you.¡±


    Saerus froze, her words were incomprehensible for but a moment. ¡°... Pardon?¡±


    ¡°I know what you have been doing, Count. But I will allow you to confess now.¡±


    Saerus forced a smile. ¡°I don¡¯t understand, princess. Are you accusing me of something?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m accusing you of treason.¡±


    He scoffed. ¡°Princess, why would I?¡±


    ¡°Why would you?¡±


    ¡°Making an accusation like this to a Count is no small matter, your highness. Quite foolish, I might say.¡±


    ¡°Foolish¡­?¡±


    ¡°You must be mistaken. I came here to discuss about my land. If I may speak with the king now¡­¡±


    ¡°I see. You think I¡¯m insignificant.¡± She turned towards her servants. ¡°He thinks I¡¯m insignificant.¡± then to the Marquis. ¡°Uncle, he thinks I¡¯m someone foolish.¡±


    ¡°Ooooh, how very wrong he is.¡± the Marquis responded, as if dotting to his niece.


    Saerus looked at the Marquis with a tense gaze. ¡°What is going on here, Lord Teristro?¡±


    ¡°Count, please, answer to the princess.¡±


    Thus, he returned to face her.


    The princess tilted her head slightly. ¡°I¡¯m offended, Count. But it compares nothing to my disappointment in you.¡±


    ¡°Princess, I committed no treason.¡±


    ¡°A lie. Do I have to snatch your family to make you confess?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps I¡¯ll prepare some horses. What color would your daughter and son prefer?¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± he glared at her.


    She smiled softly. ¡°Confess.¡±


    It surprised him that the princess, that pure princess, stood there straight without a hint of fear. Saerus looked at each person present in the room.


    The princess continued. ¡°You can¡¯t escape here, Count. Not until I say so.¡±


    ¡°What do you want from me?¡±


    ¡°The truth.¡±


    Still, even if he said the truth to them, he would still face punishment for what he had done. For siding with the enemy. For causing slow damage to the kingdom. All for a reward. He thought hard about what to do.


    ¡°You¡¯re taking too long, Count. Guess your family is the key t¡ª¡±


    Using physical enhancement, he charged for the princess, making an enormous step. He had made a decision, he¡¯ll take the princess. Use her as a hostage to escape. But perhaps also hurt her in the process, especially after she threatened his family.


    Saerus extended his hand, intending on grabbing her by the throat. Perhaps after he escapes, he could kill her. The Empire will reward him greatly once they take over Wisteria. Doing this was a gamble, but there was no other choice here if he wanted to keep his freedom.


    However, the moment he made a move, two of the princess¡¯s servants moved in to defend her. The butler surprised him. The knight stepped in front of the princess as fast as Saerus, and he pointed the tip of his sword forward. The butler moved right beside him, raising his hand.


    Aside from that, he noticed something.


    Concerned for his life, Saerus instantly stopped and paused. A wave of air erupted around all of them as they suddenly stopped. Saerus took in a sharp breath. The knight¡¯s sword was at his chest, while the butler¡¯s hand was atop his throat, ready to chop his head off with a mere hand.


    ¡°Can¡¯t have her that easily,¡± said the knight.


    Saerus could fight and beat him, but with the butler, it would prove difficult. However, what really stopped him in his tracks were the sharp ice spikes that grew from the floor. The tips were so thin and sharp you could barely see them. They extended to his legs and to his throat.


    Who could have cast this? And at that speed. It was unbelievable.


    ¡°Now it''s more certain you really are a traitor, Count.¡± That bright voice came from the princess. She poked her head behind the knight and smiled. ¡°My ice surrounds you. Move a muscle, and you¡¯ll be hurt.¡±


    It was her?!


    ¡°What were you planning to do with me? Hold me hostage or something?¡± she chuckled. ¡°Nice try. Attempted murder against the princess. You¡¯ll have a field day with your family in this one.¡±


    Saerus was shaken. ¡°W-Wait, princess! They have nothing to do with this!¡±


    ¡°Oh? Do I look like I care?¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡±


    ¡°I told you to confess, and you didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Please spare my family! I¡¯ll do anything.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    She waved her hand, gesturing for his servants to step back, and they did. The ice spikes vanished as well. Saerus lowered his arms.


    He looked the princess in the eyes, and he took a sharp breath. There was a different gaze in those eyes. Indifferent.


    Her smile was gone.


    ¡°If you want to change my mind, then¡­ prostrate yourself.¡±


    Saerus was in disbelief, shocked. For a royalty of this nation to demand such a thing.


    ¡°Prostrate, confess, and beg.¡±


    Her voice grew heavy in his ears. She was utterly serious about her demand.


    Saerus slowly got down on both knees and lowered his head. A noble placing himself on the floor. The princess looked down at him as if he was dirt beneath her boots.


    The Count confessed. ¡°I have betrayed Wisteria, it¡¯s true. I made allegiance with the Empire, the nation intending on invading our kingdom. I sabotaged essential parts of my domain, the food, the bandits, placing important common persons under my paycheck, to follow my bidding. All to prepare for the invasion. From after on, I will be rewarded with the position of Marquis.¡±


    ¡°Why did you fall for their promises? Is Wisteria never enough?¡±


    Saerus paused for a moment. ¡°... My current standing is not enough. I am excellent, a warrior and a leader. And yet, I am a mere Count. I deserve higher than this.¡±


    ¡°This makes your crime worse.¡±


    ¡°Please, your highness. Spare my family. My crime is my own. They are clueless about my sins. I beg you.¡±


    ¡°The weight of your sin is too great for a simple punishment. I am still not convinced of sparing your family. However¡­ if you do something for me, they will live.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do anything.¡±


    ¡°Vernon, give it to me.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Raise your head, Saerus Farrimond.¡±


    Saerus raised his head. The princess crouched in front of him, a small vial in her hand. Inside was green liquid.


    ¡°To pay for your sins, I give you this punishment. At the right time, drink this poison willingly. If you do, your family will be spared, and they will keep their status and properties. Your life, for theirs.¡±


    Saerus stared at the poison. The princess was essentially making him take his own life. It was an unbelievable thing. So terrible.


    ¡°If you refuse, my retribution will be swift, as how gods strike their foes.¡±


    He gulped. If he could save his family from execution, then his life was a small price to pay.


    ¡°I will do it.¡± He received the poison.


    ¡°Good.¡± With a smile, she rose. ¡°Pray to the gods while you still have time.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 88: Repercussion

    ¡°What did you do, daughter?¡±


    My father spoke in a grim and stern tone as he sat down on his desk, his one hand tapping on it.


    ¡°Which do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Count Farrimond, you gave him something. It has come to my attention that a poison has been requested. Is it what you gave him?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me about it?¡±


    ¡°... Because I knew you would hesitate giving me one.¡±


    He sighed. ¡°Of course I would. For what purpose would a poison have, and you even gave it to him? Why?¡±


    ¡°He must pay for his sins. He confessed in front of uncle Meril if you need another witness.¡±


    ¡°I am still baffled why he would betray us. He was a promising subject.¡±


    ¡°A man¡¯s ambition can be corrupting.¡±


    ¡°So his ambition became his downfall. But for what purpose is the poison? I fear asking, and I don¡¯t want to imagine you commanding this. Do you want him to kill someone?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°If you mean assassination, no. Why would I do that?¡±


    ¡°Then¡­?¡±


    ¡°I gave the poison so he can make a choice and commit his own punishment.¡±


    Father looked away, his brow furrowed, pondering about what I meant. His eyes widened when he realized. ¡°... To take his own life¡­?¡±


    I smiled slightly.


    ¡°Why¡­? What would we benefit from this? This is not how we do things, daughter. He¡¯s a noble, he should be processed and formally given a verdict.¡±


    ¡°He had decided his path.¡±


    Father stared at me in silence, as if he was in disbelief. ¡°... Estelia, what is this for?¡±


    ¡°... Father, Saerus Farrimond will announce his sin, his treason, to the aristocratic circle. And in front of all, he would express his guilt and regret. To make up for his mistakes, he willingly takes his own life. His act will shake the hearts of the nobles. And then, the kingdom shall know of his crimes, and his act of courage.¡±


    ¡°Courage?¡±


    ¡°It is never easy to punish oneself. It is an act of restoring honor, to himself and to his family.¡±


    ¡°I do not agree with this.¡±


    ¡°I hope to show the lingering traitors what will happen if they are discovered and continue to sabotage us. I want them to hesitate. Give them a chance to turn back. Or better yet, admit their betrayals.¡±


    ¡°This is too extreme, daughter. What has happened to you? Have you forgotten my words?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    He looked like he experienced some sort of pain in his heart. Looking away, he closed his eyes and placed a hand on his face. I did not know how to respond.


    Father lowered his hand. ¡°How will the Count¡¯s situation proceed?¡±


    ¡°... Next week, he will invite nobles to a party at his estate. There, the event occurs.¡±


    ¡°... I see. Estelia,¡± he looked me in the eye. ¡°I will allow this. However, this is the last.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes, puzzled. ¡°... T-The last?¡±


    ¡°I remove your authority. I will take the helm, while you stand to the side, a mere observer.¡±


    ¡°W-What?¡± My eyes widened. ¡°You¡¯re relieving me of my command?¡±


    ¡°Yes, daughter. This is getting out of hand.¡±


    ¡°W-What do you mean getting out of hand? It¡¯s all under control.¡±


    ¡°This has become too extreme.¡±


    I stepped forward. ¡°You can¡¯t do this to me.¡±


    ¡°I can. You are dismissed. It is time for you to rest and live normally, as have you done before. I will continue your work.¡±


    I gritted my teeth in displeasure. ¡°Is this your final decision, father?¡±


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    ¡°Yes.¡±


    I stepped back, lowering my head. ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll leave things in your hand. But, before I leave. I suggest after Saerus dies, assign someone to take temporary command over his domain. Someone that is loyal to you. That is all.¡±


    Dammit! If I knew this was going to happen, I wouldn¡¯t have made Saerus kill himself!


    I turned my back on my father and left the room. My three servants were waiting outside.


    ¡°Woah, you look angry. What happened in there?¡± my knight asked.


    ¡°Father removed my authority. I am no longer in command.¡±


    ¡°What? You mean everything? All that you¡¯ve done and managing?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°What? Why?¡±


    ¡°Could it be because of what you did to the Count, your highness?¡±


    I began walking, heading for the library. What can I do to reverse this? Go to Mother and tell her what happened? Maybe have her convince father to change his mind? No, Father¡¯s serious this time, there¡¯s no way that would work.


    Then there¡¯s nothing I can do. Well, once the matter with the Count is finished, at least things would go smoothly onward. It should be safer. What mattered was lessening the damage Wisteria would incur. But that didn¡¯t mean not ensuring everything went as expected.


    In any case, I still have the merchants under my thumbs. If I need something, they will do.


    I wonder if uncle Meril would still listen to me. His spies are important pieces. Would I still be updated about everything going on? I forgot to ask about that. Shit.


    Am I really back to being the normal, normal princess this suddenly? Ugh.


    Guess I¡¯ll return my focus to my training. That will keep me occupied.


    But I look forward to the end of the Saerus situation. It¡¯s quite anxiety inducing knowing that I¡¯m no longer the supervisor to things.


    Fuck it.


    Let¡¯s pray to myself that everything will go well.


    May goddess Estelia¡¯s light shine upon all.


    ¡°Your highness, what will you do now?¡±


    ¡°Observe.¡±


    ¡°Will everything go well without you keeping an eye on things?¡± Rogan asked.


    ¡°Everything is designed to turn even if I''m not there. Father can keep things in order if required.¡±


    ¡°At least you¡¯ll get to rest.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    I¡¯m sleeping early tonight.


    ***


    The next day, early in the morning, I met with my uncle in an emergency meeting. With permission from my father of course. I couldn¡¯t do anything freely now that involves important business. This meeting was so he could catch up.


    When I told him that I was stripped of my command and the reason, he looked shocked at first, but then he chuckled. Both chuckle and smile almost seemed like he had heard something truly hilarious. ¡°You went too far.¡±


    I pouted. ¡°It was within my parameters.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°Even I was surprised by what you made the Count do.¡±


    ¡°At least it would effectively get the result I want.¡±


    He leaned back on his couch. ¡°Is the result all that matters to you?¡±


    With narrow eyes, I answered. ¡°What? Are you going to tell me the end doesn''t justify the means?¡±


    ¡°Does it not?¡±


    ¡°It depends on the people involved.¡±


    ¡°And if it¡¯s someone you don¡¯t care about, the means won¡¯t matter?¡±


    ¡°Uncle~.¡± I said sweetly. ¡°I am not heartless. I care about everyone. Just as how I gave the Count a way to redeem himself.¡±


    His face twisted, looking away as if reflecting on recent events. ¡°... Yes¡­ But you are quite dramatic about it.¡±


    ¡°People love drama, especially one that displays in public. Drama and theatrics stick in everyone¡¯s head.¡±


    Theatrical presentation is quite an effective thing if you want something that gains the attention of others. Otherwise, it would be too boring. And boredom means a failure of an event and the show. You think psychologically, executing the Count through beheading in the palace or in the city would be extremely impactful? Where¡¯s the drama?! As I said, we need something that really sticks, you know.


    ¡°So that¡¯s why it happens at a party?¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    ¡°His family will be there.¡±


    I fell silent for a moment. ¡°... It will be up to him whether he wants them to watch.¡±


    He lightly scratched the back of his head. ¡°... Alright. Then, what will I do now that you¡¯re not in command? Because I can¡¯t report to you anymore.¡±


    ¡°I would like you to support my father to the best you can.¡±


    ¡°Of course I will. But you don¡¯t want me to sneak reports to you?¡±


    ¡°... Father will become furious if he finds it out.¡±


    ¡°I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Once the Count has paid for his crimes, I wish you to oversee the change of command in his domain.¡±


    ¡°I imagine the steward would be another noble. Or do you want someone else?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know other nobles. But, I would like it if it¡¯s someone you can easily con ¡ª get along with. Someone that will listen to the crown without question.¡±


    ¡°Count Farrimond¡¯s family will not take power then after his passing.¡±


    Normally, if the family head, or the father dies, the wife would take over his authority. Or if the wife chooses to give control of the domain to the son. Which reminds me, Saerus¡¯s son was at an age where he could take over the seat. However, he may need more experience. Still, he won¡¯t be taking over for the time being.


    ¡°No they won¡¯t. Their loyalty remains in question. Keep them on standby in their homes until they prove their loyalty.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°You think about that.¡±


    At first, I was thinking of throwing them into a dangerous forest with only their plain clothes after the Count¡¯s death. I won¡¯t sentence them to death, especially like the tribe I mentioned. I could strip them of everything and throw them into exile or some shit.


    And then, surprise surprise, they are dumped into the farthest forest where monsters lurk. Luck will only be their salvation. They could get out of the forest, or they could get devoured. If it¡¯s the latter, then they would still need to figure out how to live without riches. If it¡¯s the latter, hey, I didn¡¯t kill them¡­


    But of course if I did that, it would never pass with father. And¡­ I am not that heartless, hehehe.


    ¡®Estelia, are you really that mad that you would throw an entire defenseless family in a forest to die?¡¯ Whaaat? I¡¯m not maaad. Wait, which definition of mad would that be?


    ¡°... Very well. About other matters aside from the Count?¡±


    ¡°Keep close coordination with the merchants still. That¡¯s our priority. How are things going, by the way?¡±


    ¡°I heard it¡¯s going well.¡±


    ¡°Good. Keep at it. Help them as much as you can, we need their work finished for the preparation.¡±


    ¡°Preparing for the inevitable, huh?¡±


    ¡°And watch out for the traitorous nobles and keep a close eye after the Count¡¯s event. Might have others make some mistakes on the way.¡±


    ¡°Certainly. Things would be different without you at the helm.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I suppose it would be easier for you now?¡± I giggled. ¡°You don¡¯t get to listen to my demands anymore.¡±


    ¡°Heh, I don¡¯t know about that. So, what will you be doing from now on?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m learning as usual. Training.¡±


    ¡°Oh? What are you training for?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well, I¡¯ll figure it out eventually anyway.¡±


    ¡°Of course you would. I know how you love a good gossip.¡±


    Get it? ¡®Cause he¡¯s a spy!


    ¡°Ha-ha, very funny, niece.¡± He said sarcastically.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 89: Mercy

    Count Saerus was sitting down on a chair, in front of him was a mirror. He was ready for the party about to take place later, his hair was combed neatly, and he was in his finest formal clothes. It was a gathering, and as any event, it should be a time for celebration, and joy. However, such positive feelings were not evident on his face at all.


    He looked at himself, his heart beating heavily. His knees felt weak. The apprehension taking all over his body. In order to relieve himself of such a terrible feeling, he took a shaking, deep breath. But that eased nothing.


    He placed a hand on his chest, or to be precise, over his chest pocket. He felt the small vial. The temptation of running away crossed his mind. Perhaps he didn¡¯t have to do this. Perhaps he could just disobey. Save his life.


    However, what about his family? Should he run with them? To where? His contacts were unreachable. And with the palace looking his way, it would be impossible. The knights will all be sent to hunt them down. And this time, they won¡¯t be as merciful.


    If he turned back now, the princess might conduct what she mentioned. Saerus could not imagine such a fate to befall his family. Still, to think the princess could be that cruel. No one could have imagined such an innocent face to have a will to command something horrendous.


    His hand trembled. There was still time if he was to change his mind. Until he stands in front of everyone.


    The door to the room opened. ¡°Saer, are you alright, my love?¡±


    He faked his composure and turned around to face his wife. She wore a magnificent blue and yellow gown, her hair decorated with small gemstones. Her hair was tied beautifully. She was gorgeous. ¡°I¡¯m alright. Although honestly, I do feel a bit nervous.¡±


    ¡°... I understand. It¡¯s quite the pressure to host a gathering like this.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°Anyhow, it¡¯s time to go down. The guests are about to arrive.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He faked a smile.


    He rose from his seat and, with his wife, they headed for the ballroom entrance. His two children were already there.


    His daughter, Aeli, was wearing a beautiful and fitting blue and white gown. Her hair was decorated with gold and small colorful flowers, expressing intense youth. His son, Adin, wore a formal but gallant looking suit, his hair combed back, and he smiled with handsome charm.


    ¡°You two look great,¡± Saerus said. ¡°Are you ready to greet the guests?¡±


    ¡°Yes, father,¡± his daughter replied.


    ¡°By the way, father, what is this party for? Care to tell us now what the announcement is exactly?¡±


    What Saerus told his family, as well as in the invitations, that he had something mysterious and important to announce. That was true, because he was indeed announcing something important. He just never explicitly told what, he didn¡¯t know how to tell them. Or rather, he should never tell them something like that.


    ¡°Just wait.¡± That was all he said, and he prompted them to be formal and present themselves well to the guests.


    A moment later, the first guests arrived. Saerus at the front greeted them first, the lord and lady of the nearby domain. The noble household that Saerus has a close relationship with. That said, he wondered if they had been converted to betray Wisteria like he had. However, that was doubtful. They were loyal to the kingdom, so possibly not.


    After some traditional greeting and handshaking, the pair of guests headed inside.


    Another came, this time he was alone. Not every member of the family could attend after all. But that was fine. There was no requirement of a minimum family member. What¡¯s important was there¡¯s a representative.


    A new guest arrived, this one Saerus heard that many things were going on in his territory. Pretty much the same as Saerus¡¯s. So he suspected that this noble was colluding with the Empire. But he was uncertain. Although, the palace definitely had this noble¡¯s name on the list.


    In the end, he was not Saerus¡¯s concern now.


    The next one that arrived was another Count, from the Welford household. Their relationship was not exactly too close, just neutral. Although, he had to admit, there may be a tiny amount of tension when they sometimes meet. All may be because they were of the same rank, and both had the goal of rising. However, Count Welford¡¯s ambition was not as great as Saerus¡¯s.


    Like the rest, their interaction was brief, as Saerus would have to greet other upcoming guests. The time for talks will come later during the party where everyone could freely mingle. The princess said to save his announcement for last. Almost like she wanted everyone to have some enjoyable time before he ruins everything.


    And then, another guest arrived, and Saerus stiffened slightly. It was Marquis Teristro.


    With an inevident begrudge, Saerus greeted him and the Marquis greeted back.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been looking forward to this party ever since your invitation.¡± He looked at Saerus¡¯s wife and his children. ¡°Good evening to you.¡±


    ¡°Lord Teristro,¡± Emilyn said. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you again.¡±


    ¡°Likewise. Are you all faring alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Although we do not know my husband¡¯s announcement, I¡¯m certain it is something good. So I¡¯m excited.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± He faced Saerus. ¡°I too am excited to see and hear your announcement. Then, if you¡¯ll excuse me.¡± With that, he continued onward inside.


    Saerus subtly gulped. He was basically saying to do what was expected of him. He was here to make sure things go smoothly, and for Saerus to commit. Saerus had to wonder if they already have men prepared in case he refuses.


    Time passed, and more guests arrived. There were a couple more Marquis that came. He invited all of the Marquis, as he was instructed. However, it would seem he did not interest the most of them.


    That said, the Maquis that arrived were the lords, and them alone. One was Marquis Natarel, and the other was Marquis Veinhel.


    Eventually, no further guests arrived. Saerus looked at the ballroom, the guests almost filled the room. And it was starting to become noisy. This was enough. Enough witnesses. If there were any other guests to arrive, the servants would greet and guide them inside, so there was nothing to worry about. The door will also remain open.


    He urged his family to enter, the guests gradually turned silent as the hosts stood at the center of the room. All their attention directed at Saerus as the head of the family.


    He smiled. ¡°Thank you everyone for coming. I am sincerely honored and glad to have you tonight. From the invitation, you know that there will be an announcement that I will give. But,¡± he chuckled. ¡°Let¡¯s leave that for last.¡±


    Everyone chuckled with him.


    ¡°Even my family doesn¡¯t know what it¡¯s about. That tells you something, I suppose.¡±


    Everyone looked at each other, nodding and whispering. All in all, they were highly anticipating the announcement. Even his family was ever so curious and excited. Because, after all, with how magnificent the party was, surely the announcement was the same. However, that only made him more apprehensive.


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    ¡°So please, until it¡¯s time, experience and enjoy the party at your leisure. Fill your bellies and catch up with friends we have not met for a long time. I had with me the finest musicians to play us melodies, dance on the floor if you so wished.¡±


    A servant came to him and offered a glass of wine. Saerus raised the glass. ¡°Cheers for a pleasant night!¡±


    ¡°Cheers!¡± Everyone said in chorus and sipped their wines.


    Saerus involuntarily glanced at Teristro, the latter slightly raised his glass at him and smirked. Trying to keep himself composed, Saerus looked away to face his family. ¡°Aeli, how about you talk with the aristocratic daughters that came? Make friends or connections.¡±


    ¡°Yes, father. I¡¯ve been meaning to.¡± With that, she left to join the other young ladies.


    ¡°As for me,¡± Adin said. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Lord Teristro.¡±


    That alarmed Saerus. ¡°For what?¡±


    ¡°About joining the palace knights. Maybe he could give me tips and pointers. And maybe he could help me join.¡±


    ¡°... Very well.¡±


    Saerus felt a little prick in his heart, his son dreamt of becoming a noble knight. However, with what his father had done, it would be impossible. The crown would not allow the son of a traitor to go near them. Unless they prove themselves. But that would only happen if they were allowed.


    The exact future of his beloved family was a mystery to him, but at least they would live.


    With his father¡¯s permission, Adin walked over to the Marquis.


    ***


    Fancy and pleasant melodies played and echoed all over the ballroom. Couples danced, young and old, on the center floor. Everyone was pleased.


    Saerus, along with his wife, was talking with a couple of lords from the nearby domains.


    ¡°Bandits have been scrambling all over the place,¡± said one. ¡°But I noticed that their numbers have dwindled.¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± added another. ¡°They are scattered, it seems, they split up into smaller groups.¡±


    ¡°They must be going somewhere, right?¡±


    ¡°Who knows, they¡¯re vagabonds, they go anywhere.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t care. As long as they¡¯re causing no problems, there¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡±


    ¡°The common people have also been hearing of what¡¯s going on. With the palace sending their knights to clear the scums out.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re singing praises.¡±


    One noble turned to Saerus. ¡°Have things turned better here as well, Count?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Things seemed to have calmed down, but I still can¡¯t say for certain.¡±


    ¡°Nothing is for certain, yet,¡± added Saerus¡¯s wife. ¡°It¡¯s winter, bandits could also be preparing for the season.¡±


    ¡°I see. Wouldn¡¯t that also mean they should ramp up their attacks?¡±


    ¡°I guess so. But, it¡¯s best not to lower our guard just yet. The palace is mainly eradicating bandits close to the capital. That could make the surviving bandits come to us instead.¡±


    ¡°That could also happen¡­¡±


    ¡°We just have to be ready then,¡± said the other lord. ¡°But may we shift topic? I¡¯ve been meaning to talk to you about this, Count Farrimond.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°As you are aware, I have a son a year older than your daughter. For a better prospect of both our family¡¯s future, would it be possible for them to meet?¡±


    Saerus lowered his gaze to ponder. ¡°The kindling of flame is not always certain.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. But, I want to help my son. He¡¯s been too focused on his skills and gaining experience, I fear that he may experience what a life is too late. Also, he¡¯s shy, so that makes things difficult for him to meet with complete strangers.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re hoping with our family¡¯s connection it will be easier for him to talk to strangers?¡±


    ¡°A little easier, yes.¡±


    ¡°Quite young but already diligent and extremely responsible.¡±


    The noble proudly smiled. ¡°But even those have drawbacks, apparently.¡±


    ¡°... Very well, if you want to, they can meet next time.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Saerus looked at the nearby clock. ¡°I have to go in the meantime.¡± He gestured for a servant to come and he said. ¡°Please call my children to gather at our table.¡±


    ¡°Is it time, my love?¡± his wife asked.


    ¡°Not exactly, I have something to tell you.¡±


    The two excused themselves and moved over to their family table, where shortly after, both their children arrived.


    ¡°Did you two have a productive time?¡± he asked them.


    ¡°Yes, father. Our conversations were fun.¡±


    ¡°I learned a lot from Lord Teristro.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. I called for you here because I have something I want you to do.¡±


    ¡°For the two of us?¡± asked Aelin.


    ¡°No, for the three of you.¡±


    ¡°Me included?¡± The wife looked surprised.


    Saerus nodded. ¡°Please go to the garden in the back, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find something pleasant. After that, come back here.¡±


    ¡°Why, what is it?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll find out once you get there. So, please?¡±


    ¡°An elaborate surprise, I see.¡±


    ¡°I suppose¡­¡± He forced a smile.


    And with that, they left the ballroom, expecting to find something, but in truth there was nothing. Saerus just didn¡¯t want his family to witness what he was about to commit. Once his family was out of sight, and he deemed it safe, Saerus rose from his seat and stood at the center of the room.


    He gestured for the musicians to stop, and when the busy nobles realized this, they stepped to the side and gradually quieted down.


    Saerus took a deep breath before speaking out. ¡°Firstly, again thank you everyone for coming. And thank you for your patience. I hope everyone had a great time.¡±


    The people nodded and murmured positively.


    Saerus continued. ¡°And now, I will tell you what this gathering is for. What I will say to everyone present, and hopefully spread throughout Wisteria.¡±


    He paused, his chest tight and heart thumping painfully. ¡°There is no announcement. This is my confession.¡±


    The people looked at each other in confusion.


    ¡°I have betrayed Wisteria.¡±


    The aristocrats looked on with wide eyes, but still could not comprehend what was going on exactly.


    ¡°I sabotaged our beloved home kingdom. I crippled my domain¡¯s food supply, allowing the bandits¡¯ rampage to go mostly unpunished. I cast away my allegiance to Wisteria for another. All for myself and my ambitions. I have fallen into temptation, bit on the fruit our enemies dangled in front of me.¡±


    A noble stepped forward. ¡° ¡ª Count, what are you talk¡ª¡±


    He held out his hand. ¡°Please, allow me to finish.¡± he closed his eyes for a moment. ¡°Still, despite how much I tried to hide it, the palace discovered my treachery. And I realized, no one can hide their secrets from the palace, especially those who strive to threaten our homes. It was utter foolishness to go against the palace and the kingdom.¡±


    He was reminded of the princess that so bravely stood in front of him. One whose powers went beyond his expectations. The current king could not commit and ask something like this, nor could they have discovered what was happening behind the scenes. Only she could see it, only she could do what was necessary for the kingdom.


    That young lady was one cruel enough to threaten his family. And that was to be feared. Those with the greatest wills could commit the greatest atrocities. Trying to hide one¡¯s evil acts in her eyes was utter foolishness indeed.


    ¡°And now, I warn you who betrays Wisteria. You cannot hide. They know. Change your path now before it¡¯s too late. Before you become like me. To show my commitment to my home once more, I must carry out my own punishment.¡±


    Saerus pulled out a small vial from his coat pocket, inside was a green liquid. But he hid it inside his palm, hiding it from everyone.


    ¡°I have been granted this mercy. To reclaim my honor as a citizen of Wisteria.¡± He took a deep breath, hesitating for a moment. He glanced at Teristro, he was merely staring at him with anticipation. ¡°Mercy comes to those who regret. Those who do not shall feel the wrath of the gods.¡±


    He flicked the cork off the vial. ¡°Long live Wisteria!¡±


    ¡°What are you!?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡±


    Too late, before they could even stop him, Saerus gulped down the green poison. Instantly, he felt the burn in his mouth, coming down his throat, then to his stomach. He tasted blood, and foam rose from his throat. Everything turned blurry as he slowly collapsed.


    The pain was excruciating, spreading all over his body. A quick acting lethal poison. A fitting end for a traitor. Where he will suffer first before death. Even how brief it may be, for the person it felt like it lasted for hours.


    The nobles turned frantic, the ladies that witnessed such an atrocious act yelped and screamed in horror. The sounds echoed in his ears, growing distant.


    At least his family didn¡¯t see this.


    And with that, he was satisfied. His short suffering was nothing compared to that.


    This was what she wanted. He has fulfilled his script in the show. And now, like an actor who has finished his role, he must disappear and go.


    Here, Count Saerus Farrimond died by his own hands.


    ***


    Emilyn, Adin and Aeli arrived in the back garden. A place full of flowers, lit up only by the nearby lamps and the faint light of the moon in the early winter.


    ¡°Where did father want us exactly?¡± Aeli asked.


    ¡°There must be something around here.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s search for it, children. It could be a box or anything.¡±


    They expected it to be some sort of gift. Still Emilyn found it strange, Saerus was never this elaborate with this kind of thing.


    They searched the area, but there was nothing to find here but flowers and benches. Definitely, there was nothing.


    ¡°Did he bury it?¡± said Adin.


    ¡°Did we miss it somehow?¡± Aeli sighed in frustration.


    ¡°What do we even mean to find?¡±


    Moments later, a servant along with a couple of guards suddenly came sprinting in the garden. ¡°Milady! Milady! Countess!¡± the servant shouted, panic evident in his voice.


    ¡°What is it!? What¡¯s going on?¡± Emilyn frantically responded.


    The servant and the guards were completely shaken.


    ¡°Is there trouble?¡±


    ¡°Thank the gods I found you! It¡¯s the Count. He¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°W-What happened?¡±


    ¡°The Count¡­ took his own life.¡±


    ¡°What¡­? That can¡¯t be true¡­¡±


    ¡°Please come to the ballroom.¡±


    ¡°But why?¡±


    Emilyn hesitated, there was no way something ridiculous could happen. He would never do something so terrible. She froze where she stood, fearing what she may find in the ballroom could destroy her denial.


    ¡°Mother! We have to go.¡± Aeli tried pulling her hand.


    Adin was already running away inside.


    With Aeli forcing her to walk, they eventually arrived at the ballroom. The people gathered.


    And on the floor was her husband, completely dead. His eyes emptily opened as they stared at her.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 90: Attempts at Armament Magic

    I kinda woke up on the right side of the bed today, as I have been for a few days. Huh, looks like being relieved of my duties brought some ease within me. Despite how displeased I may be, being removed from a job made my mental health better. So let¡¯s all quit our jobs!


    Joking~.


    I have been pretty much clueless about what¡¯s been going on with things lately. I guess observing means to stay on the sidelines and mind my own business. Nothing should go wrong with this little matter, so everything¡¯s fine. Saerus should have done his role by now.


    Anyhow, let¡¯s set aside that thought for now and focus on the present. The snow has been accumulating lately. Just outside my training building, the white scenery filled my vision. I wore a simple white coat for the cold season. Given that my family¡¯s rich ¡ª not me ¡ª the word simple was putting it lightly.


    I felt so majestic.


    My first winter in this world! The world was turning as white as me, as beautiful as me, as cold as me. Literally me, for real. I scooped up a handful of snow. Hm, yeah really was snow, can I eat it? Ooookay, kidding. I mean, you gotta be tempted like this once in your life. Except if you¡¯re living in a place that doesn¡¯t snow ¡ª that¡¯s just¡­ sad.


    ¡°Princess? Are you going to your training or not?¡±


    My knight asked me while slightly quivering. He was wearing a jacket of course, but apparently that¡¯s just not enough.


    ¡°I am,¡± I replied. ¡°You need a thicker coat or something?¡±


    ¡°How are you not shivering in this cold?¡±


    I smirked. ¡°Maybe because of my high-quality, finely made warm coat.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t need to hear those kinds of details. Seriously though, aren¡¯t we going inside?¡±


    As I was a merciful girl, time to get inside for the poor knight¡¯s sake. Inside waiting, was Elson, as always.


    ¡°How is your progress, princess?¡±


    He had taught me the starting steps to do Armament Magic. Apparently, we can¡¯t just skip to dagger techniques because that would be difficult. So I¡¯ve been starting with the sword.


    ¡°I think I made decent progress. I¡¯ve been practicing in my spare time.¡±


    Of course now that I am out of the job, I have plenty of spare time. Along with my reading time. I mean, you gotta chill sometime. During my own practice, I used some spare swords, while hanging out in my new guest room converted to an office.


    Sometimes I had to ask Rogan for some tips and have me teach me a couple of things. But given it was magic, there were struggles here and there. Broke a few swords along the way. I poured a little too much mana, turns out steel swords were fragile.


    If only diamond swords existed¡­ Hm, but how heavy would it be though? Now that¡¯s an interesting thought.


    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s see how far you got.¡±


    After removing my jacket and giving it to Mera, I grabbed a sword and stood at the center of the room. I held it with both hands and closed my eyes to focus. I didn¡¯t need to, but got to have all the focus I could get, lest I shatter this dull blade.


    Just like in normal spellcasting, it starts somewhat the same. Pour out mana and give it properties, substance. However, unlike where you have more freedom to fill it, in Armament Magic, you need it to blend with the weapon in hand.


    I gently have my plain mana touch the steel handle, then slowly spread it upwards. Had to do it slowly since I just started casting this. It had some difficulties for me. Like a thread through a needle. Had to make sure the coating was mostly exact.


    A moment later, I fully coated it up to the tip. I gave it a little substance, plain mana that could hurt, and it glowed in crimson. I opened my eyes and I smiled.


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    It was difficult when I heard the explanation. I have to make the mana to really blend with the metal, make it compatible and make it as though they were one. Make sure to shape mana almost physically as the blade. Like molding clay or some shit but not as easy, and not exactly.


    But as I basked in joy, a second later, there was a snap and crack.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    Before my smile could fade, the blade shattered, the steel pieces clanging on the floor. My¡­ my sword.


    Goddammit!!!


    I did a good job! Why the fuck¡ª shit! I wanted to slam the hilt to the floor, but I resisted as I was the adorable princess. Fuck this shit! My intense power has been a bane to my existence on multiple different occasions. Bullshit.


    My face as I looked at the broken sword was on the verge of crying.


    ¡°You broke it,¡± Elson curtly said.


    Obviously!


    He continued, ¡°Perhaps you did it wrong.¡±


    ¡°I did it right! I just have too much mana and it¡¯s hard to optimize them.¡±


    ¡°... I broke a dagger once, just like what happened to you. You are forcing them to condense and shape.¡±


    ¡°Well, of course I have to do that.¡±


    ¡°And if you lose focus, that will happen.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°If your sword was stronger, you don¡¯t need to worry about it. But normal swords are steel. You need to find a way to keep them from being broken.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m working on it.¡± I frowned.


    ¡°If you find it hard to condense and keep them in proper shape with the blade, it is fine to discard the excess.¡±


    Hm, wait. ¡°You mean?¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s too much, let them leak away into the air.¡±


    Ah!


    I can do that? Of course! I just pour in mana and if it¡¯s too much, let some of it go. That process could work. However, in that case, I¡¯ll have to keep discarding the excess mana, and I mean constantly. And mana won¡¯t just disappear in an instant. I¡¯ll be emanating mana on my sword like smoke from a torch. And that could cause some bother or trouble.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°But, I may dispose of mana away too much with the amount I tend to release.¡±


    ¡°Then practice to keep the flow stable and figure out how much mana you can tolerate letting go in the air.¡±


    ¡°I guess that way I don¡¯t need to worry much about keeping mana static.¡± Which would cause my sword to break.


    If I keep input and output in a stable flow, I don''t need to worry about some sort of overheating, you could say. Keep things cool. Like a computer, cool air in, hot air out ¡ª okay I¡¯m not exactly sure if that analogy fits, but I think it gives the idea! Hehe.


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna try it.¡±


    I gestured for Rogan to bring me another sword. I firmly held it with both hands and stared at it. This time I''m gonna change my way of focus and make sure to look the subject in the eye. I poured out my mana, carefully engulfing the blade.


    The amount continuously increased and accumulated, so I let out the excess into the air. However, I miscalculated just a little. But, when I say a little, well, I have a different measure of little in my magic.


    ¡°Eeh!¡± I exclaimed.


    The blade emanated a bright red light of mana spreading out into the air.


    It was way brighter than I wanted, and it moved the air and made my hair flutter. I grew frantic, but before I could cut off the supply of mana, the blade shattered and the pieces scattered. The light dissipated from the pieces as they fell to the floor.


    Thankfully, my beautiful face was unharmed.


    Once again, what remained in my hand was the hilt.


    ¡°Ooooh, want to go again?¡± Rogan casually stepped beside me, staring at the hilt.


    ¡°... Yes.¡±


    ¡°Yeeeaaah, we¡¯re gonna need several more spares.¡±


    ¡°... Yes.¡±


    Fuck. So, who¡¯s going to clean all this mess up? Surely not me~.


    And so, I practiced with other swords. And more, and more and more. Let¡¯s just say I wasted like¡­ more than a dozen swords before Elson placed a hand on his forehead.


    Swords¡­ were not dirt cheap¡­


    I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m so sorry!


    Please forgive your dear princess!


    But sacrifices have to be made for my sake!


    ***


    The word of the late Count¡¯s crime spread out all over the capital, and in the passing days, further out. A betrayer, and yet redeemed himself by taking his own life. To express his utter regret for his actions.


    This caused a stir among the populace. How could a noble commit treason in their beautiful nation? How could they, who have wealth beyond what the common could hope to achieve in their entire life? How could they betray the monarchs who took care of them?


    And thus, there were many that cursed the Count¡¯s name. However, there were those that respected the Count¡¯s attempt of redemption. There was always a place for forgiveness, especially if they committed an act to make up for their mistakes. But the common folk would likely set this matter aside in a few months, for it would not terribly affect them.


    Although, it would be different for the people within the late Count¡¯s domain. It was shocking news. They became anxious of what would become of the land they lived in. How would they fare without support from a high-ranking aristocrat?


    Such questions, such concerns, were settled immediately by the king. A wide announcement was made that someone will be appointed as a steward of the domain, and will be in control until further notice.


    Sometime after the steward¡¯s arrival, several operations were initiated across the Count¡¯s domain. Mainly targeting the individuals that were under the Count¡¯s paycheck or under his command. Their fate varied, some were taken away, others were only warned ¡ª but they will be under constant watch.


    As for the Count¡¯s family, they will be taken care of in their home. But at the moment, they possess no power whatsoever. For how long? Until they have proven their loyalty.


    The nobles¡¯ reaction to this occurrence was erratic. The most affected were the ones to personally witness the Count¡¯s horrible act. Many requested further and deep investigation in the matter, while others made inquiries. But the king ignored them except for those from the capital nobles.


    The entire aristocratic society of Wisteria was shaken by the news. They were restless. This was the first time something like this happened in their lifetime. And the Count, revealing he was a traitor, unveiled that there could be potential traitors in other households as well. And whosoever those traitors could be, they were now aware of the potential repercussions of their actions.


    Treason to their nation, and betrayal to the Lord and Lady.


    Such were the news that the king of Wisteria learned. In his office, he was reading reports that mentioned the same. He put down a sheet of paper and massaged his temple.


    ¡°Should I request coffee, father?¡± Eleden, who was sitting beside his desk, working on his own pack of sheets, asked.


    ¡°No, there¡¯s no need. I just need to think clearly about how to proceed.¡±


    ¡°Of course. But I¡¯m afraid that with Uncle here, there will be more news you have to hear.¡±


    Meril was also in the room, sitting on a distant chair, checking on a couple of reports himself. He had just arrived, but gave the king a little more time to finish his work. But it would seem it won¡¯t be ending anytime soon.


    ¡°I know¡­ How are things on your side, son?¡±


    ¡°Well, they¡¯re all menial issues. I can handle these pretty easily.¡±


    The king divided his work with Eleden. While he handles the more dangerous and urgent matters, Eleden would take care of the more normal things. Things that were less important compared to the others.


    ¡°Good. This will be good practice.¡±


    ¡°... I could handle more delicate matters, ?though.¡±


    ¡°If there are then. Perhaps you could ask Estevan for help.¡±


    He awkwardly chuckled. ¡°No need. I have Lucious. Besides, he would be complaining all the time if I had him do this.¡±


    ¡°Heh, definitely.¡± He gathered and piled up the papers scattered on his table and moved them aside. ¡°Alright, Meril, what news do you bring?¡±


    Meril put away the papers and rose from his seat to stand in front of the king. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s bad.¡±


    ¡°Tell me.¡±


    ¡°With the nobles restless after that dramatic event, potential traitors are more pressured than the rest. A few agents noticed their subject¡¯s change of behavior. In short, they became suspicious.¡±


    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean they are traitors.¡±


    ¡°Of course, but at least we have some names on the list that we can watch more closely.¡± He handed out a list to the king. ¡°Merely a few, but in the coming weeks we may receive news from farther places.¡±


    ¡°Low ranking nobles, I see.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°They are more easily tempted than others, I suppose¡­ Speaking of others, I assume everyone is becoming wary of other aristocrats.¡±


    ¡°It appears they initiated less communication with their neighboring households. So yes, they are.¡±


    ¡°... You think someone will surrender themselves and confess to us their treason?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope so. But, if they do, what will you do with them?¡±


    ¡°Stand trial as a start.¡±


    ¡°... Estelia would have done differently. It consumes needless time.¡±


    ¡°Still, we are nobles and royals. There must be a process if we are to maintain our grand image.¡±


    Eleden chimed in. ¡°What would my sister do in this case?¡±


    The king did not answer, and so Meril did.


    ¡°Either instantly throw them to jail. Or maybe have them executed on the spot.¡±


    ¡°My sister is not that cruel¡­¡±


    The king lowered his gaze, he agreed. Estelia may be forced to make the hard decisions, but she was not cruel. She wasn¡¯t taught that way, nor was she exposed to that kind of upbringing. However, the current predicament was changing her. That was something Leodoule was trying to prevent.


    Indifference was the last thing he wanted for his daughter. And if that happens, how will others see her? How will her subjects see her? What will become of her?


    Those were from concerns for the future.


    What if people, the nobles, discover that she was behind all these sudden occurrences in the kingdom? They will fear her. Fear was often needed, but not this kind. Not to Estelia. That soft and fragile Estelia.


    Meril smiled. ¡°Of course that¡¯s the last draw. Another way is to use them to support her cause, but that would be unlikely. Nobles differ from merchants. Nobles are harder to handle. Speaking of merchants, they have a couple of requests.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°They require a few more warehouses if there are still available. And also, they want to make a secret route to a new location and prepare the depot. They need your authorizations and assurance that they can freely work there in secrecy.¡±


    The king took a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯ll prepare the necessary documents.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re the merchants in your command, right? You never told me what exactly they¡¯re doing,¡± Eleden said.


    ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± Meril shrugged.


    ¡°Is that what Estel instructed? To keep it a secret to everyone, even to me?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± He sighed. ¡°As the crown prince, I expected that I¡¯ll be privy to this sort of matter.¡±


    ¡°Son, there are other matters you also must handle. Leave this to us. But, when Estelia was in charge, only a select few knew of her orders to the merchants.¡±


    ¡°Your sister is not exactly the sharing type.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± the king continued. ¡°I am now in charge, maybe I can tell you what¡¯s going on. Perhaps you can help.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Leodoule, that¡¯s nice and all. But there¡¯s a reason she only made a few aware. You need to be careful.¡±


    ¡°Eleden is the crown prince, Meril. I see no harm in telling him what the merchants are doing.¡±


    ¡°... Your choice.¡± he turned his eyes to Eleden. ¡°But let me caution you, nephew. Be watchful of what you¡¯ll do and command once you know. The princess keeps most things a secret so we¡¯ll have more leverage and options. She is paranoid, but no issue in that.¡±


    ¡°Paranoid?¡±


    ¡°She knows war is inevitable. What the merchants do is so we can last longer and survive. To recover what we lost during the Empire¡¯s sabotage.¡±


    ¡°Then I believe I can help in that, there is no cause for concern.¡±


    ¡°... Will you not consult Estelia about this?¡± Meril asked Leodoule.


    ¡°Estelia is having a peaceful time already. I can¡¯t have her disturbed.¡±


    ¡°... Very well.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 91: Dance Practice and Estevan’s Treats (Part 1)

    I sat by the palace entrance, waiting for a couple of guests that were coming. My hair was meticulously tied in order to shorten it, yeah it has gone extremely long. Although, I have no intention of cutting it.


    It¡¯s been several days since I was relieved of my duties ¡ª since I was fired from my job. And I have to say, things have been pretty peaceful indeed! Part of why I got to feel this way was because I have faith in the people taking the lead in the operations. Surely they wouldn¡¯t do anything drastic or out of my old instructions now that I¡¯m gone.


    Well, considering that no one has spoken with me yet about any business, so everything must be going well.


    Anyhow, today was more practice for dancing, for my debut. Sometimes it¡¯s tiring, but I¡¯m still quite excited thinking about the event. I never got a big time party during my birthdays, especially at debuts.


    Who was I waiting for here? Well, it was time for me to practice with a couple of friends ¡ª with one being Mizia. While the other was Madame Eleanore¡¯s daughter, Shena. I was to practice with the two for now. The rest will be for later.


    Apparently, Arenza was just starting to practice the same as I, so Madame Lanivia opted to teach her first before coming to the palace. Villeta, on the other hand, was busy for today. Lyndsey unfortunately cannot join that dance, she was still too young.


    They should arrive at any moment. Although, I expect Mizia would be earlier than the other. Considering that I will be heavily practicing today, I opted for a decent dress with a skirt reaching below my knees. And a pair of simple boots. I also wore a jacket, it¡¯s cold out here.


    As I waited, unexpectedly came my dear brother Estevan. He was wearing a winter coat.


    ¡°Hello, dear sister.¡±


    ¡°Brother, how may I help you?¡±


    ¡°Nothing much. I just want to ask you out for lunch with your friends. I¡¯ll be cooking.¡±


    I slightly tilted my head. ¡°That is wonderful. But why?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just glad to know you¡¯ve been making friends.¡±


    ¡°The other is Mizia though.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I last met her, this will also be a good opportunity. Besides, I want to cook for you again. And I heard you¡¯ve been working hard on your training.¡±


    ¡°... I suppose yes.¡±


    He lowered himself and patted me on the head. ¡°And you were removed from your post, it must be hard. So, let me cook for you today, okay?¡±


    I meekly nodded. ¡°Okay, dear brother. I have missed your cooking anyways.¡±


    He smiled. ¡°That¡¯s great to hear.¡±


    ¡°Just don¡¯t mess up my hair, please.¡±


    With a chuckle, he let go. ¡°Sorry. You look majestic with your lengthy hair, but are you not planning on cutting it?¡±


    ¡°No. I like it.¡±


    ¡°Close to your debut, mother might try to shorten it.¡±


    My eyes widened. ¡°W-Why would she do that?!¡±


    ¡°Normally people don¡¯t let hair grow that long.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t let anyone cut my hair¡­¡± I pouted.


    I¡¯ll get mad if they cut even a centimeter. I never got to grow my hair like this in my old life. Let me enjoy this one¡¯s majesty.


    ¡°I will tell her that before she asks you.¡±


    A carriage rattled and stopped in front of the entrance. I rose from my seat to greet the new arrival. Who came out as expected was Mizia.


    Once she was inside, I greeted her. ¡°Hello, Mizi¡ª¡±


    She suddenly leaped at me and hugged me. ¡°My Estelia!¡±


    She held me so tightly. I gently patted her back. ¡°N-Nice to see you too, Mizia.¡±


    She let go and promptly turned towards my brother. ¡°Hello, Estevan¡±


    ¡°Hi, Mizia. It¡¯s been a while.¡±


    They shook hands.


    That¡¯s boring. No hugs?


    ¡°Indeed. How are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m doing well.¡±


    ¡°Where is Eleden?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s busy with paperwork.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Are you here to greet the guests with Estelia?¡±


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°Actually, no. I was just telling Estelia to join me at lunch, along with the guests.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re asking, then I assume you¡¯ll be the one cooking.¡±


    ¡°Of course. You better be there.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t miss it. Not like I have any other choice. Besides, I have missed your cooking.¡±


    Hey, I said that!


    ¡°Really?¡± he awkwardly chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s great! I¡¯ll be including a new recipe I just made, by the way.¡±


    What? He didn¡¯t mention that to me¡­


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep it a secret.¡±


    ¡°Now that¡¯s just unnecessary¡­¡± she pouted.


    I looked at them with narrowed eyes.


    ¡°It is necessary. It¡¯s supposed to be a surprise.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯m looking forward to it. Is it mostly vegetables?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes. You¡¯ll certainly like it.¡±


    ¡°Now I¡¯m excited for what it could be.¡±


    Estevan chuckled. ¡°Who else is coming?¡±


    ¡°You should ask Estelia.¡±


    Estevan turned to me. ¡°Estel?¡±


    ¡°Uh ¡ª I-It¡¯s just Shena and her mother.¡±


    ¡°What about the others?¡± Mizia asked.


    I explained their circumstances to the two.


    ¡°I see, that is unfortunate. Let us hope they can come in the next practice session.¡±


    ¡°The three of you should be enough for the initial practice, I think.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. You should personally invite Shena and Lady Yveno as well. More formal and a good show of courtesy, especially to the Marchioness.¡±


    ¡°You think so? But¡­ Lady Eleanore, I quite admit, makes me a little anxious.¡±


    ¡°Come now, you¡¯re inviting her out, is all. It will be easy.¡±


    After a second of thinking, Estevan sighed. ¡°Alright. I¡¯m still going to face her during lunch, anyway.¡±


    A moment later, a new carriage arrived. Emerging from within were Madame Eleanore, and her daughter, Shena. Both of their strides were eerily similar, so graceful, like they were the same person. The difference was that Eleanore had that strict face ¡ª I mean, since when was that ever gone? ¡ª while Shena had a straight but softer expression. The latter smiled as we greeted each other.


    Eleanore gave Estevan a curious look. ¡°Prince Estevan, I didn¡¯t expect to see you here.¡±


    ¡°Good morning, Lady Eleanore. I will go in a moment, but I would like to extend an offer to the two of you, you and your daughter.¡±


    ¡°Oh? What is it?¡±


    With narrow eyes, I observed Shena. She was looking a bit uneasy, but she was trying her best to hide it in front of Estevan. I almost wanna chuckle.


    ¡°I am preparing a lunch with my personal cooking, would you like to join? My sister, and Mizia, will be there. If you agree, it will be just us.¡±


    ¡°What about your parents?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have our own dining room to use.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright with me. But for what purpose is this reception of yours?¡±


    ¡°I just want to cook for my sister, just a small celebration of her newfound friendship.¡±


    ¡°I see. We¡¯ll be there.¡±


    ¡°Excellent! I¡¯ll personally guide you, come noon. Now then, I will not get in your way any longer, I¡¯ll excuse myself. Until later, everyone.¡±


    And with that, Estevan left. I was actually a little surprised that he was that formal in Eleanore¡¯s presence. He did way better than I imagined. Good for you, brother! But you barely noticed Shena at all! Poor girl.


    ¡°What a polite and generous boy.¡± Eleanore slightly smiled for a brief moment. ¡°Is this everyone?¡±


    She was definitely asking me. ¡°Y-Yes, Madame. Unfortunately, the rest c-cannot come for today.¡±


    ¡°That is unfortunate, but we¡¯ll make do with what we have. Mizia?¡±


    ¡°Madame?¡± she cooly responded.


    ¡°Do I have to teach you in depth?¡±


    ¡°In depth? I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now then, let us go.¡±


    ***


    ¡°More coordination!¡±


    I stepped behind Mizia with dancing feet and waving hands. We¡¯re now late into the practice and noon was coming close. And thus, Madame was more strict than previously.


    ¡°Princess Estelia! Don¡¯t lose your grace!¡±


    H-How dare you?! I-I did not lose my grace¡­


    I loathed dancing. Dancing in a group, I have to admit, was a little struggle. I have to mind the counting and the other team members while I make the dance moves ¡ª where I have to be elegant as fuck. And it was a dance move that I have not mastered quite well yet ¡ª because I was most focused on my Armament Magic training.


    So yeah, Eleanore¡¯s pretty mad at me.


    ¡°Princess Estelia! Don¡¯t take your eyes away from the audience for too long!¡±


    Shit.


    I was sweating, while the two with me were mostly unbothered. In fact, they were doing so well compared to me. They have already memorized this shit, how?!


    ¡®Estelia you should strive to become like them. They¡¯re the personification of elegance.¡¯ Fuck you.


    Mizia was smiling while dancing with pure grace, there was enthusiasm in them, like she was having fun. Almost like she was a friendly fairy, having fun flying around her pond. Shena was dancing just right, nothing too boring, nothing too prancy, just the right amount. And her smile was just right, too. But still, she had a pretty presence.


    While yours truly here looks like a frog compare¡ª Ah-hah! No way I would truly describe myself like that. I¡¯m the adorable, and innocent, clumsy princess. Can¡¯t you imagine how cute and amazing I look as someone who was trying her best to catch up to everyone? The underdog.


    The beautiful and gentle princess doing her very best to become appreciated. I soften the hearts of those who see me. Only Eleanore doesn¡¯t understand that part!


    A little time passed, and the dance practice was over.


    Eleanore approached me. ¡°We are making apt progress, but you have much to catch up to.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, Madame.¡±


    ¡°Everyone change into a fresh set of clothes, it¡¯s about lunch.¡±


    After Eleanore walked away, Shena spoke to me. ¡°Good work, your highness.¡±


    ¡°T-Thank you.¡±


    With a nod, she caught up with her mother.


    Mizia produced a handkerchief from who knows where and gently rubbed the sweat off my face. ¡°Let¡¯s call your maid and have her help. Estevan should arrive shortly.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Mizia called Mera. In another private room, my cousin and I changed into a fresh set of clothes. It was a relief. After combing my hair and fixing myself up, we exited the private room.


    Shena and Eleanore were already back to the practice room, with the former already in a fresh dress. Furthermore, my brother was already at the door. When he laid eyes on me, he smiled widely and promptly walked towards me. In his hand was a bundle of flowers.


    ¡°For you, my sister.¡±


    I resisted the urge to blush, but considering my pale skin, might as well be in vain. I received the flowers. ¡°B-Brother, y-you didn¡¯t have to¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s basically a tradition now.¡±


    Last time you wronged me, so there was definitely a need for flowers! But now, noooo. And not in front of Eleanore and Shena!


    ¡°T-Thank you.¡± That was all that I could say.


    ¡°How was your practice?¡±


    ¡°It went well. We still have to practice this afternoon.¡±


    ¡°Perfect then, you need to eat to your heart¡¯s content before that. Let¡¯s go.¡± He glanced at Mizia. ¡°Ready?¡±


    I turned my eyes towards my cousin, she was smiling so sweetly, like she was about to melt.


    ¡°Of course~,¡± she replied.


    Estevan turned towards the other two guests. ¡°Lady Shena and Lady Eleanore?¡±


    Shena glanced at the flowers in my hand a couple of times before her mother responded.


    ¡°We can go.¡±


    And with that we made our way to one dining room, Estevan leading all of us.


    ¡°Estevan is still the ever sweet poppy to you,¡± Mizia chuckled.


    I awkwardly smiled. ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    Suddenly, Shena stepped beside me. ¡°Does he always give you flowers?¡±


    ¡°Ah-huh, only on special occasions.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°D-Does your brother not give you flowers? For like maybe on your birthdays?¡±


    ¡°Him?¡± she scoffed. ¡°As if.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°... Your brother is a sweet one. You''re lucky.¡±


    I shyly smiled.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 92: Dance Practice and Estevan’s Treats (Part 2)

    We arrived at the dining room, servants were already on standby in case we needed anything. On the long table already placed the covered dishes, waiting to be unveiled. As we approached the seats, servants stepped in to pull back the chairs.


    Mine was the exception however, as I was unexpectedly placed at the head of the table.


    Estevan pulled out my chair like a gentleman. ¡°Sister.¡±


    I positioned myself on the table and he gently pushed the chair as I sat down along with the others.


    ¡°Now then,¡± Estevan clapped his hands. ¡°Remove the lids!¡±


    The servants altogether removed the lids that covered the dishes. In an instant, the pleasant smell of freshly cooked delicious food permeated the air, filling the lungs of all present. The moment the smell touched my nose, I felt my stomach screaming to eat. Hey, calm down.


    There was one large plate on the table that wasn¡¯t opened. That must be Estevan¡¯s new recipe.


    ¡°Ladies, allow me to present to you. My new dish: White Flower Vegetable Sauced Steak!¡± He removed the lid.


    Wow, that¡¯s a long name!


    Setting the name aside, the dish actually had a presentable appearance. It had an assorted fill of sliced vegetables, all cooked nicely. Mixed with them were slices of meat cut thinly, but the meat was well cooked that calls out to you to eat it. Made it more so with the delicious-looking maroon colored sauce spread all over. Presentation was revamped with the white flowers that decorated the edges of the plate.


    ¡°Ingredients include a variety of best vegetables, and slices from a healthy pig¡¯s legs. Of course, dipped in a top secret sauce I experimented myself.¡± He smirked proudly.


    Seeing how happy he was to get to show his work, I clapped my hands loudly with a wide and proud smile. About the white flowers though, it¡¯s included in the name but they¡¯re not even in the recipe. Oh well, guess it adds to the appearance.


    Awesome job, brother!


    ¡°It¡¯s beautifully done, dear brother! I love it.¡±


    As I clapped, only then did the others follow my example.


    ¡°Thank you. Now then, let¡¯s not wait any longer and eat. I¡¯m excited about what you all think.¡±


    And thus my brother sat down on the chair next to me, and right beside Mizia.


    ***


    ¡°Can you all please go ahead? I¡¯ll immediately catch up,¡± I said to the guests as we were leaving the room.


    Fortunately, no one hesitated and they all went ahead, back to the training room. Disregarding the servants cleaning up the table, only I and my brother remained. I turned towards him with a smile. The flower he gave me in my hand.


    ¡°Truly, the dishes were delicious, brother. As always.¡±


    He smiled, proudly. ¡°And my new recipe? Tell me personally what you really think.¡±


    ¡°It was perfect!¡±


    ¡°Cool!¡± He suddenly patted my head. ¡°You have been looking brighter lately.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You were looking so stressed and troubled. But now, way better.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Guess being removed from your job relieved you of some weight off your chest. I¡¯ll say this is a good result.¡±


    I meekly nodded, his hand still on top of my head. He¡¯s really messing up my hair ¡ª but that¡¯s alright¡­


    ¡°How is father holding up? Eleden is helping him, right?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re doing fine.¡±


    ¡°Nothing has gone wrong?¡±


    ¡°None that I know of. It will be fine. Last I heard, Eleden has been allowed to help with the jobs you used to do.¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t use to?¡±


    ¡°Apparently not.¡±


    Huh, he must have been tasked with doing the chores and menial stuff. As one would expect.


    ¡°Last I heard, he¡¯s working with some merchants. I don¡¯t know the specifics.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what?¡± I raised my head with wide eyes. ¡°Eleden is?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Hold up, if he¡¯s working with the merchants, then does that mean he¡¯s been made aware of what they were doing? Why didn¡¯t they tell me? Come on!


    But¡­ let¡¯s set that aside for now. It¡¯s Estevan¡¯s day.


    ¡°I see. How about you, did they have you help?¡±


    ¡°Nothing really. What they do is mostly paperwork, so¡­¡± he awkwardly smiled.


    I giggled. ¡°Oh dear brother~.¡± I spread out my arms and quickly wrapped them around him.


    ¡°Estelia¡­?¡±


    ¡°Thank you, my lovely brother.¡± I closed my eyes as I said those words, my head on his chest.


    I felt his arms on my back, his hand gently patting the back of my head. ¡°Anytime. In fact, if you¡¯re hungry, you can request food from me anytime you want.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll prepare you the best food in the world.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s a relief then...¡±


    We let go of each other and I glanced at my flowers. ¡°You have to excuse me now brother, I still need to vase the flowers like the last bundle you gave me.¡±


    ¡°Last bundle¡­? You mean those? You still have them?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have them in my room.¡±


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    He looked dumbfounded. ¡°You didn¡¯t throw them away?¡±


    I tilted my head, puzzled. ¡°Why would I do that?¡±


    That¡¯s just stupid. I wouldn¡¯t throw something that special away. I mean, who even does that? Throw away something that someone special gave to you because the day ended? It¡¯s absurd. And the flowers still lived! Somehow. Don¡¯t know how, but that¡¯s good.


    Estevan¡¯s smile widened and trembled. The corners of his eyes were suddenly damp. He quickly rubbed them off.


    ¡°Brother?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, just the onions.¡±


    But there¡¯s no onion around.


    I could only smile and give him a kiss on the cheek. ¡°Later, brother.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, l-later.¡± He rubbed his eyes again.


    And thus I left the room to meet my servants.


    I showed the flower to my personal maid. ¡°Mera, would you please help me put these in a vase? I want to put them in my room.¡±


    ¡°Of course, milady.¡±


    ***


    It was late in the morning, the fading sun losing in the cold winter shone gloriously at the ever so lustrous empire. In the grand castle, there lies a large war room crowded by all kinds of people. But no normal people like the fools and stupid you see everyday on the street.


    These were the great minds of the empire. Leaders, politicians, engineers, generals, captains, inventors, and scholars. People under the direct command and service of the Emperor, and he himself acknowledged. People he himself made to serve in the grand castle to quickly aid the empire and himself.


    For he believed in an important thing: Strength does not lie on the body alone, but on the sharpness of the mind.


    Such is how the largest empire of the continent became and remained as it was. The greatest nation in all of the land. Gifted with mind and raw power. Such is the blessing of the God of Valor.


    The war room was both luxurious and unruly, walls embedded with gold and red tapestries. Tables, long and short, placed all over, papers scattered and piling. The people were noisy as they went into the documents and discussed with their workmates.


    The emperor, Gawn Ancelin Celum Tornridge, was at the head of the room. He merely sits looking through a page. Despite the discord in his presence, there was no consequence. This room was where to make decisions, not for formalities and flatteries. It was to be expected for everything to be like this. A room for words and voices.


    Beside the emperor was his adviser, Alred. ¡°Your imperial majesty, we have a report of a small group showing signs of rebellious behavior in the state of Fetreus. What should be done?¡±


    The emperor lowered the page and turned his sharp and powerful eyes at Alred. ¡°The quickest path, purge them.¡±


    ¡°But your majesty, that might feed the flame. The people there will see this negatively.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Is it not best to remove the decaying root before it spreads?¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, but in this one, we need a more apparent justification. And it would be best if we settle this peacefully for now. Especially that it¡¯s winter. It is difficult to move things around.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then I say we let their rebel spirit grow for a little. Once we have proper justification, then we can erase them completely.¡±


    ¡°Wise choice, your imperial majesty.¡±


    ¡°But, ensure it looks good. Perhaps we can send my daughter to help with this in time.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    The emperor slowly returned the page to the pile and organized everything on his table. Once that was done, he rose from his seat and raised a hand. At that instant, the entire crowd in the entire room fell silent and turned towards their ruler with straight postures and firm feet.


    After lowering his hand, he spoke. ¡°I trust that you have collected your thoughts in the matter of Wisteria. Therefore, I want us to discuss it now.¡±


    He looked around at everyone and continued. ¡°Our attempts to cripple Wisteria, years of work, have been undone. Our bandits dismantled, our merchants cut off from our line of communications. Why is that? How were we exposed?¡±


    The emperor waited for someone to answer, but a long moment passed, no one did. ¡°No one is going to answer? Any answer will do. Discuss.¡±


    ¡°... Could it be that they realized their declining supplies?¡± one finally found the courage to answer.


    Another one, however, refuted it. ¡°Impossible. Wisteria has yet to reach a critical level. The decline is so subtle they shouldn¡¯t even feel it.¡±


    ¡°But what if they indeed discovered it?¡±


    ¡°How would they even do that? They shouldn¡¯t even begin to imagine something like it.¡±


    ¡°I agree. How do they even get evidence? Records are not centralized. Not like they actually counted all the records all over their capital.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, such a thing is just absurd.¡±


    ¡°But what if they actually did?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not being helpful!¡±


    Another chimed in. ¡°What if the merchants blabbed?¡±


    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t, they love themselves and their family too much to do that. Especially not with the reward we offered as well.¡±


    ¡°Besides, our men there could have realized it if the merchants ever did.¡±


    ¡°Then just how¡­? Could there actually be someone smart enough to see through our schemes?¡±


    ¡°Now that is just absurd. This method has worked for decades, and to different nations, with their own bright minds. And yet we won.¡±


    ¡°We also have no information of anyone too exceptional in Wisteria.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    ¡°What if it was just all a coincidence that the palace decided to clean out the bandits, roughly sometime after we lost our communication with the merchants? Besides, as far as we¡¯re aware, Wisteria has yet to replenish the supplies they lost. They might not have even realized what we did to their overall food supply.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. That could be the case. And with winter here, I doubt they could work to restore their supplies soon. They might even eat through it more.¡±


    ¡°Likely.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    The emperor raised his hand again, and everyone fell silent. ¡°I asked how they could have realized our actions. You say it may be all a coincidence?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly, your imperial majesty. We just have no exact idea.¡±


    The emperor frowned for the first time. It was rare for these bright men to have no precise and more solid conjecture.


    ¡°Could it be the driving force for it was the attack on the capital?¡± another asked.


    ¡°It was not even ours. But that could be the driving force.¡±


    ¡°We even have no idea who they belong to. Wisteria never announced their opponents¡¯ identities. I can¡¯t think of how exactly that can be a driving force without knowing who they are.¡±


    Everyone fell silent, nothing to speak of anymore.


    The emperor spoke. ¡°If they did not realize our schemes, and our connection to the bandits and merchants, then what of the Marquis that was suddenly killed?¡±


    One marquis of Wisteria under their control was suddenly found dead. Likely assassinated.


    ¡°Definitely not done by Wisteria.¡±


    ¡°Such a waste, he failed to at least take the Wisterian king with him.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, what a waste of time and resources.¡±


    ¡°Could it be that his attempts to kill the monarchs were discovered? Perhaps the monarchs had him assassinated.¡±


    ¡°I doubt it. I don¡¯t take Wisteria to be that kind.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve hit another impasse.¡±


    ¡°Have we considered a third-party?¡±


    ¡°Such as? Wisteria has no enemy country.¡±


    ¡°Could be the demons.¡±


    ¡°Highly unlikely.¡±


    ¡°Aside from the unlikely demons, Wisteria has put agents in the homes of their nobles, rendering all our efforts pointless again. Could that not be a sign that they know something is going on?¡±


    ¡°Do you think they know it is us, or they think it can be anyone?¡±


    ¡°What a severe yet clever decision, now we can¡¯t make a new tool.¡±


    ¡°Chances are they just know someone is tampering with their nation.¡±


    ¡°Who else could they suspect? Most of their surrounding countries are their allies.¡±


    ¡°They see us as enemies.¡±


    ¡°How can we even salvage our Wisterian noble connections? It took a lot of work to accomplish those.¡±


    ¡°Not until they remove those agents.¡±


    ¡°And when would that be?¡±


    There was no answer to that question.


    ¡°Really made things difficult for us.¡±


    ¡°Everyone, we still have not answered the question, could they have realized our schemes? If so, how?¡±


    They need to know how, for it is a hole in their plans. A problem. They have to first know of the problem before they could fix it and improve on top of it.


    However, everyone was silent. There could not be a definitive answer. Not with the limited information they have. But there was just nothing more to learn, not at the moment, anyway.


    The emperor, frustrated, sat back down on his seat. ¡°So we know nothing.¡± He looked at his subjects for a moment. ¡°Wisteria has countered our moves, undoing our progress. It is time we make a more effective move. Our next move shall start everything.¡±


    ¡°What do you have in mind?¡± asked Alred.


    ¡°Your special contact is ready, yes?¡±


    ¡°Yes, he is. Merely waiting for our word.¡±


    ¡°Then we shall do one thing first to make Wisteria shake in their cores. I will send my sons. Time to make use of them.¡±


    ¡°Your sons? You will send them to assault first?¡±


    ¡°Assault? No. I¡¯m not wasting our clean chance for that. We need to find a way to let them in at the center without a fight.¡± He glanced at his subjects as they began to think.


    One man stepped forward and spoke. ¡°You imperial majesty, what about we just send them in for diplomatic reasons to Wisteria? Even Wisteria could not refuse if it was the two princes. An opportunity to talk about peace and cooperation.¡±


    ¡°And they¡¯ll think we are serious, considering it will be royals that are envoys. We can do what we want once we¡¯re inside,¡± another added.


    The emperor smiled slightly. ¡°Perfect, that will indeed be good.¡±


    ¡°Emperor, your sons will be in danger at the belly of our enemy.¡±


    ¡°They are useless and rotting here. They can take this chance to prove their worth and prove who is my worthy successor.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    ¡°Once winter ends, we can all begin what must be done.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 93: Mr. Snowman

    The world was painted white in the seas of snow ¡ª okay, nevermind with the flowery words. The snow has thickened in the weeks that passed. And everyone in the palace was scrambling to remove the piling snow that was obstructing everyday life.


    Some guys even have to climb up the palace roof lest we want to make things unsafe. Fucking snow man, beautiful but it has its downsides. Guess we¡¯re not the same on that part, I¡¯m beautiful in everything, no downsides. Ahem, anyways, it was time for a change of scenery in my sword training.


    Therefore, we were here outside, in the snow! Back in the yard that I usually use as my personal training grounds. The fresh, but cold air was a nice thing. Although, the grounds were buried in snow. We¡¯ll have to clean things up.


    It was just me and my servants. No Elson. My instructions, actually. He didn¡¯t have to bother himself with me when I¡¯m still practicing to correctly cast Armament Magic. He had taught me what I needed to know already, it was just up to getting used to. There¡¯s really no point in him being here if all he would do was watch me struggle.


    Best to spend his time helping the palace clean up.


    I have gotten way better in the weeks of practice, mind you. I have gotten better at blending my magic around the sword. Believe me, the process was stressing as fuck. But I still tend to fuck up a little here and there.


    Elson said if I could use Armament Magic on a sword while sparring, he would teach me the way of the dagger. That was why it¡¯s the main goal for today! Practice Armament Magic in combat! Without breaking my own sword, of course. Truly a struggle to keep them maintained in times of stress.


    How would I fare when it comes to the smaller daggers?


    But alas! Let¡¯s set that aside for now.


    I noticed my servants shivering in the cold, despite them wearing thick clothes. While I, on the other hand, was doing fine. Temperature¡¯s just right.


    ¡°Why outside again?¡± Rogan asked while clinging to his own coat.


    ¡°Because it¡¯s a better view,¡± I answered.


    ¡°It¡¯s freezing out here.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad.¡±


    My servants looked at each other, confused. Huh, guess the cold never bothered me, anyway.


    ¡°Are you using a spell against feeling cold?¡± Rogan asked.


    ¡°None whatsoever. I guess it¡¯s my coat.¡±


    ¡°Definitely not that.¡±


    ¡°Okay if you¡¯re feeling cold, you can set up fire once the snow is cleared up.¡±


    Vernon stepped forward. ¡°Your highness, it¡¯s going to take a lot of time to clean this place. Why don¡¯t we request help?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just snow.¡±


    It wouldn¡¯t take a lot of mana just to melt these. Hmm, looking at the white snow ¡ª woah, if I lay in there I¡¯ll camouflaged without the need for any clothes, hehehe. Now that¡¯s a thought.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it.¡±


    I held out both hands and cast low powered fireballs, crashing on and melting the snow in an instant. Flamethrower Estelia in the house, bitches! Burn! Steam gradually filled the yard as more snow melted, while some leftover water evaporated every time my fire passed through them.


    Once, let¡¯s say, fifty percent of the snow at the center of the yard has been rid of, I stopped. I still have other purposes for the rest of the snow. And I say, it¡¯s pretty important.


    ¡°And now it¡¯s damp.¡± Rogan commented.


    ¡°Snow is damp.¡± I frowned. ¡°Now then, the next phase.¡± I giggled.


    I began gathering some snow and rolled them down. Gradually I made some big snow spheres and laid them on top of each other. I found some sticks and stuck them into the body and head of the snowman. Yes, a snowman!


    I couldn¡¯t find some carrot, so we¡¯ll improvise by using some sticks and stones. But despite that, it¡¯s so adorable! I smiled proudly and adorably as I stared at my finished product. Okay, I have to admit, it¡¯s a little horrifying, but it¡¯s cute, nonetheless.


    ¡°Are we training or playing, your highness?¡± Vernon asked.


    With furrowed brows, I answered. ¡°Both.¡±


    Leave me alone, okay? I never got to do something like this. Making snowmen, or just enjoying snow overall. People in the organization would look weirdly at me if I did something fun with snow¡­ make fun of me. Worse, they¡¯ll think I¡¯m defective or something.


    ¡°Does this serve some sort of purpose?¡±


    ¡°Ugh, all of you, just stay away from me, leave me alone.¡±


    Confusion struck my servants as they looked at each other. Okay, that was kinda surprising coming from me. It just annoyed me, okay?! They don¡¯t understand.


    I ignored them and began making another snowman.


    This was going to take a while, but let us enjoy the process!


    Amidst my work, all three of my servants suddenly began gathering and making balls of snow themselves. W-What are they doing? I didn¡¯t command them to do anything. I could only stare as they step by step formed a snowman.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you need some help, princess?¡± Rogan asked with a casual grin.


    I gave them a small smile. ¡°Do whatever you want.¡±


    With their help, everything proceeded much faster than when I was alone. At least they didn¡¯t just watch and judge me in the middle of all this. More and more snowmen filled the yard, all varying in quality. Must be the materials we used. We didn¡¯t have any carrots or buttons to use.


    But this was fine, these snowmen won¡¯t live for long, anyway. But hey, they¡¯re adorable in their own way. I¡¯m glad they helped me with this. It was a fun moment. I thought I was going to do it all alone. It¡¯s fun when there¡¯s someone you can do something with.


    ¡°Good job, everyone!¡± I said. ¡°We made plenty of Mr. Snowman!¡±


    ¡°What is Mr. Snowman going to do now?¡± Rogan asked.


    I patted one Mr. Snowman on the head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid they will be sacrifices for the greater good.¡±


    ¡°Uh, what?¡±


    ¡°They are going to help me with my combat training.¡±


    Snowmen made for an easier and softer target! Plus they¡¯re cute and fun to make. Snowmen were precious, you could only make them during one season. Nothing could get rarer than that. And nothing else could be better to kill. Right, Mr. Snowman? Now, to destroy you!


    ¡°Oh, poor Mr. Snowman,¡± Rogan remarked.


    Don¡¯t pity Mr. Snowman!


    Their purpose and fate has been sealed the moment they were born. Yes, to help things get better. For me. I¡¯m sure Mr. Snowman wouldn¡¯t mind if it''s for pretty ol¡¯ me.


    ~Don¡¯t cry snowman, not in front of me~.


    ¡°Bring, bring me my sword.¡± I asked Rogan with a sad expression, showing my feeling for what was to come.


    I received the sword and urged my servants to step back. I have prepared for combat today, didn¡¯t even wear a dress underneath this coat. I held out the sword with both hands, this one¡¯s blunt as there¡¯s no hazard here whatsoever. That¡¯s bullshit of course, magic was a hazard itself. Also, I wasn¡¯t given a sharp sword yet, poor me.


    I poured mana into the sword. Now I have more precise control, lesser mana going into the blade. However, with the amount of mana I have, little means more than the blade could handle, and I let the excess power waste into the air.


    The blade faintly glowed crimson, as the excess mana dissipated. I slowly swayed the sword side to side. And it did not break! Alright! Things were going well. I stepped closer to a Mr. Snowman.


    Sorry Mr. Snowman, but you¡¯re gonna die. May you become one with the snow once more.


    Titling the blade to the side, I swung sideways, cutting Mr. Snowman¡¯s head off. With the excess mana emanating, snow scattered all around ¡ª Mr. Snowman¡¯s guts. I smirked the moment my blade got through the snow smoothly. Armament Magic was a wonder, making your weapon more powerful.


    However, my joy was short-lived, as after cutting down Mr. Snowman, the blade shattered.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Fuck!


    Mr. Snowman took instant vengeance! That little shit.


    But hey, at least I managed to destroy one. I threw away the broken sword and asked for another.


    I targeted another snowman and cast Armament Magic. This time I wasn¡¯t going melee, but going for that range swing thing. My sword glowed, and I swung down in the air. The arc of light shot forward and struck a Mr. Snowman, cutting him in half.


    But given that the target was just mere snow, the arc kept going. It crashed against a tree, cutting it down, but one tree was not enough to stop it. It cleaved through two more trees before it dried up.


    ¡°Oops.¡±


    Oooh, mama¡¯s gonna be angry. I glanced at Vernon clutching his head, aghast out of his life. Mera was just standing there in shock. Rogan¡­ was just chuckling.


    I bring destruction in my wake¡­ kidding! Looks like I just underestimated how much mana was in that.


    ¡°T-Trees grow back, so there is nothing to worry about. Let¡¯s keep practicing. Trial and error reach perfection.¡±


    And so I did practice and practice for the duration of the day. The range attacks have the lesser risk of being shattered, but they still break. For the actual physical swinging, the more I struck down Mr. Snowman, the better I actually got.


    Progress starts from the blade breaking in just two snowmen to four. Once I run out of snowmen though, we have to make another batch. You could imagine the gore and the amount of Mr. Snowman corpse that littered the yard.


    What a horrifying scene indeed. I truly am a murderer of snowmen kind.


    Anyways, I grew frustrated with all the failings, and all the destruction I caused all around. Yeah, did I forget to mention that? Just like the trees, the same thing happened here and there. I wrecked the nearby s-shed¡­.


    And now, the final round for today!


    With a mana filled sword, I swung down on a snowman, slicing it in half. Sword didn¡¯t break. I cut down another one again, and the next I fired an arc of light. Multiple snowmen died so easily. And my blade was still whole.


    Before I knew it, there was no target left. I lowered my stance and glanced at my sword. It was whole. My smile beamed.


    I did it!


    It didn¡¯t break!


    ¡°Congratulations, princess!¡±


    I heard the cheers of my servants, clapping their hands in celebration. I gave them a triumphant smile and stabbed my sword into the ground. The battle has been won!


    ***


    After I passed the practice session, I plopped onto the plain snow, my back laying on the cold, and I stared up at the white sky. Once I proved to Elson I could fight with Armament Magic, I could finally proceed to his dagger technique. Hehehehehe.


    In my excitement, I moved my legs and arms around. I formed a snow angel.


    ¡°Princess, what¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Nothing. I just like the sensation of snow.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ I¡¯m just gonna stand.¡±


    ¡°You do that.¡±


    You¡¯re missing out on the snow pillow, Rogan. A shame.


    ¡°Vernon, what¡¯s the news on the merchants?¡±


    I sent Rogan to check up on the merchants I have under my command. Not my father, nor Eleden. I didn¡¯t get into the details yet because I want to focus on my training, no distractions in the mind. But now everything ended up well, time to switch up to business.


    ¡°Your brother has been indeed supervising them.¡±


    ¡°Really? Supervising? That¡¯s concerning.¡±


    ¡°Do you doubt the crown prince? Your brother?¡±


    I stopped moving and paused. ¡°... Not doubt¡­ Just worried about what he might do. What¡¯s he been making them do?¡±


    ¡°Nothing much. For now, helping them in whatever they need.¡±


    ¡°Oh, good.¡±


    ¡°However, Gresnel mentioned that they might be collaborating with merchants from another nation.¡±


    I abruptly got up. ¡°What? Are we in such a pinch that we need that?¡±


    ¡°Apparently not. It was more like helping each other.¡±


    ¡°What, what does that mean?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s uncertain.¡±


    ¡°We can reach our goal just enough, why would we want to involve outsiders?¡±


    There was no response but silence.


    Dammit.


    ¡°Did you tell the merchants to report to me any major decisions and not carry it out until I say so?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they are willing, we only need to think of how to do it before we can proceed. But is this alright?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°They might realize there¡¯s a split in power happening.¡±


    ¡°But who are they willing to follow?¡±


    ¡°You, they fear you more than your brother.¡±


    ¡°Good. Keep a close look on things.¡±


    ¡°What will we do if they do something against your wishes?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll cross that bridge when it comes. I want to know more about this collaboration. If we can do it ourselves anyway, there¡¯s no point risking ourselves with outsiders.¡±


    What the hell are they trying to do here? If I want to collaborate with outsiders, I could have done it a long time ago. There¡¯s just no point now.


    The most important thing here was subtlety. And getting others involved was not exactly subtle. The kingdom¡¯s survivability hangs on the merchants¡¯ actions. The empire has crippled us plenty enough. War is a long one, too draining. Also medieval warfare sucks, I tell you. More tedious.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just confront his highness?¡± Rogan asked.


    ¡°Big brother Eleden? No¡­ If I can, I don¡¯t want to get in his way too much.¡±


    He¡¯s a sensitive one. I had more power than him recently, he loves me but, not really a good look. There¡¯s always bitterness hidden beneath. I don¡¯t want him to hate me¡­


    ¡°Let¡¯s keep a watch on things for now.¡±


    ¡°Understood, princess. But I suggest we keep my exit from the palace in moderation. They might begin to wonder what I¡¯m doing.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Now I¡¯m just tired.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 94: Clingy Estelia

    It was a rest day. Yes, rest day, where I got to rest my entire being, whether it be my physical body or my mind. A day to spend at my leisure. A moment of peace. I mean, sometimes you just gotta rest lest you find yourself in an endless loop of insanity.


    I wanted to confront my father about his decision regarding Eleden, and the latter¡¯s intended actions. But as I decided initially, I''m gonna watch how things unfold first and wait. Plus, if I tackle the topic, they¡¯ll question me how I even knew about it. And they might realize the merchants were still under my control.


    Let¡¯s leave exposing that part for last. I¡¯m sure there were other ways to start talking about that topic. But let¡¯s focus on resting for now. As for why resting was important, constantly casting magic strains me out.


    So these kinds of days were my soothing respite, for my body and my mystic medium to chill. Turns out, it was quite effective, my body gets a little better when I have a day where I don¡¯t use magic. Add to it my academic lessons and such, so I have multiple days where I didn¡¯t have to cast magic.


    Can¡¯t believe my etiquette lessons actually had a handsome benefit.


    Now then, what would be the goal for today? Find some new books to read. So we¡¯re going to the library. Sure I have my own office with its own cabinet of books, but options were still pretty limited. And I tell you, the view of winter was beautiful! My office didn¡¯t exactly have a big window where I could enjoy the view.


    And what place has a gigantic window? The library! And thus, sometime after breakfast, I headed for the library. I heard Mother¡¯s going to be there as well. Guess I¡¯ll be speaking with her. I wonder what she¡¯s doing.


    With a beautiful outfit appropriate for winter, I arrived at the library. The lights, lamps, and so on were active. Faint light coming in through the large window, the side which I remember wrecking. All in all, the book place was aptly lit.


    Glancing at the window, the scene was filled with the whiteness of snow. But pleasing, nonetheless. Walking inside, I saw the library lady I often saw hanging out here. Now she really looked like she dressed for the occasion. But let¡¯s leave her to her business. I ain¡¯t talking to her.


    I saw a beautiful woman sitting by the large windows, her hair was almost similar to mine. On the desk in front of her was a steaming hot drink, I couldn¡¯t tell what it was from here. She was reading a book.


    It would seem it was her rest day as well. Although, she was not exactly busy these days. Not with the boys doing most of the urgent and important work. Guess she was mostly handling stuff involving inside the palace. Trivial stuff.


    With a pure and nice smile, I stood behind her. ¡°Mother.¡±


    She looked away from her book to turn towards me with gentle eyes. ¡°Estelia. What brings you here? Come and sit.¡± She patted the free space beside her.


    I gracefully sat down beside her. ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ¡°Nothing?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°What are you reading?¡±


    ¡°A sea tale.¡± She picked up her cup and took a sip of her hot chocolate.


    Mother has been drinking the more delicious version of the hot chocolate, which was my favorite too. I¡¯m glad to know we loved the same thing.


    She continued. ¡°Though a tale, it is quite lengthy, so one could say this is mostly fictional, but inspired by rumors and stories around the area.¡±


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    ¡°What is the story about?¡±


    ¡°There was a ship that crossed the southern sea every five years or so. People say it¡¯s some sort of ghost ship, while others believe it was merely an abandoned ship floating in the endless sea. Sailors, in curiosity, often seek it out. But the moment they get closer, it disappears in a fog.¡±


    Woah, what was it? The flying dutchman?


    ¡°The story follows a young woman who finds the marooned ghost ship on their island. There she meets the most beautiful being. A beautiful man, like the whole beauty of the sea concentrated unto him.¡±


    Huh, so it¡¯s gonna be a love story. Typical of Wisteria to get a copy of it.


    ¡°Is the man the captain of the ship?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, he is. At first sight, the young woman falls in love. After becoming acquainted, the man brings her to sea, just for the night. Where they go to the most beautiful places under the sea.¡±


    ¡°Under the sea?¡± I asked as I slowly leaned onto her shoulder.


    ¡°Amazing, isn¡¯t it? The ship goes under the sea.¡± She wrapped her arm around me.


    ¡°Indeed, amazing¡­¡±


    ¡°When the night was about to end, together they watched the sunrise on the horizon. As the first light of the day came, they looked fondly into each other¡¯s eyes, as if it would be the last time they''d see each other. It is described the man had the most unique of eyes, within them were the like reflection of the stars swirling on the surface of water. He is definitely an extraordinary being.¡±


    Wow, a magical man with stars for eyes¡­ Stars for eyes? Hm? Woah, wait. Could that man be a¡­? Huh. Curious. Looks like that part of me was not as unique as I thought. Dammit.


    ¡°... What happens after?¡±


    ¡°That is where I¡¯m at yet.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to read it with me?¡±


    ¡°... Sure.¡±


    My mother gently smiled. ¡°Is something the matter, Estelia? You are awfully clingy today.¡±


    ¡°Am I?¡±


    I don¡¯t think so.


    ¡°... Have nothing else to do after your father removed you?¡±


    I groaned and looked away.


    ¡°Dear, are you still mad about it?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°You are¡­¡± she caressed my head. ¡°It¡¯s fine, don¡¯t you think? Your father has the best of intentions. Although, he has been so busy lately. I didn¡¯t expect it would be that much work.¡±


    Well, they removed me, so the manpower has been reduced. Even more so that I was an integral part of making decisions. Now everything was up to my father. And Eleden, who by the way, was not in at first, and shouldn¡¯t be. I guess it won¡¯t be the same as it was with mine, even with Eleden joining in to basically take my place.


    ¡°They still have a lot of things to do today?¡±


    ¡°Yes, more documents to take care of, and a few meetings. One including your father begins to dread ¡ª meeting with my brother.¡±


    ¡°Uncle Meril? He¡¯s coming today?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Your father becomes concerned whenever he asks for a meeting. It could mean more trouble.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­ Uncle tends to be the bringer of headaches.¡±


    ¡°Now, now, Meril is just doing his job.¡± She chuckled.


    ¡°What time is he coming?¡±


    ¡°In an hour, I suppose?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ We can start with the story now, mother. Ah, wait.¡± I looked at Mera for a moment. ¡°Can you please prepare me hot chocolate? I would like to drink while hearing the story.¡±


    ¡°Yes, milady.¡±


    After Mera left, my mother read the story to me. And I must say, I liked this moment with her. I didn¡¯t care for the story, to be honest. I just wanted to hear her voice telling me a story. Reminds me of the younger days when she read me to sleep.


    ***


    I left the library, and as I walked down the corridor, I coincidentally came across my uncle. On his way to a meeting with my father.


    He grinned as he greeted me. ¡°Princess, long time no see.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°Indeed, uncle. How are things on your end?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t think I should share such information with you,¡± he chuckled.


    Dammit, I hate it when he gets like this!


    I didn¡¯t smile and gave him a stern look. ¡°I heard some things, uncle.¡±


    ¡°Such as?¡±


    ¡°I would like to talk with you after your meeting with my father, in secret.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we can keep that a secret inside the palace.¡±


    ¡°Does not matter. I want to talk. I want to know what is going on and what you have been doing. I have been kept in the dark for too long.¡±


    ¡°Now you''re dipping your toes again, after saying everything would end up alright without you.¡±


    ¡°I realized an unforeseen circumstance.¡±


    ¡°Hm, I had a feeling this would happen pretty soon. Looks like I¡¯m right again.¡±


    ¡°A mere feeling, nothing more. Meet me at my office right after your meeting.¡±


    ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t disregard my instincts, niece. But, I¡¯ll be there.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    With that, he continued on his way. I sighed. As I thought, he would be cooperative with me despite the loss of my position. And, I don¡¯t take him to be the kind that snitches on me. If he does, I¡¯ll just hate him.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 95: Catching Up

    I headed for my office and waited. I sat on my usual spot, by my desk reading a book, while often looking through the window, at the winter view. Yeah, I have become a true bookworm! That¡¯s right, that checks all the boxes, right?


    I¡¯m reading a lot of books, and reading is all I can do when I do nothing. And I¡¯m starting to enjoy it. I think that¡¯s being a bookworm already. Surely being a bookworm was not being too obsessive in books where I go insane if I could not even hold one for days?


    I mean, I¡¯m not at the degree yet. No, wait, am I not a true bookworm yet? Dammit!


    But, it¡¯s good that I¡¯m not that obsessive, right? So let¡¯s not go too far. Yeah, I¡¯m not gonna.


    Time passed, and there came knocks on the door. I inserted a bookmark into my book and closed it. I gestured for Vernon to open the door. Waiting on the other side was, as expected, uncle Meril.


    ¡°Uncle, was the news you delivered to my father good or bad?¡±


    He casually sat down on the nearby couch, and after the door closed, he responded. ¡°Mostly, good. Although, it would entirely be up to him if he sees it as either. That aside, why do you hope to learn of the kingdom¡¯s affairs now?¡±


    ¡°Curiosity. I was completely pushed aside from the matters that¡­ matter. It was fine at first, but as this is my home kingdom, I ought to know.¡±


    Being an observer, hah! They didn¡¯t let me in shit.


    ¡°And because you heard some things.¡±


    ¡°Mainly. Because of that, I need to know. Will you tell me the current news?¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± He placed a hand on his chin, as if deliberating. ¡°I suppose I can share some details.¡±


    I almost feel like he was just messing around, pretending to think about it and acting uncertain. He was the one that asked first, almost like offering, if I would want him to sneak some info to me. He really knew how to get on my nerves.


    I nodded. ¡°How is the matter with the nobles?¡±


    ¡°If you wish to know the results of the late Count Farrimond¡¯s spectacle, it went well. As you may have wanted in the first place.¡±


    ¡°Please be a bit more specific.¡±


    ¡°Nobles are shaken, wary of each other. At least we can rely on whoever is loyal to the kingdom to report whoever is suspicious. And the best result, a couple of traitors have turned themselves in.¡±


    ¡°Really? Was it guilt or fear?¡±


    ¡°I guess both.¡±


    ¡°Are they Counts as well?¡±


    ¡°No, they are outer nobles. Near the edge of the kingdom.¡±


    ¡°I see. What about those written as suspicious?¡±


    ¡°We have solid evidence on a few of them, such as my report today to your father.¡±


    ¡°What are you planning on doing to them?¡±


    ¡°For the ones that turned themselves in, they were stripped of their rank and taken to prison. But their families remain and are still under watch and judgment. The rest we have yet to capture, but I imagine it will be the same.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite a light punishment.¡±


    ¡°Light? That¡¯s surprising. It¡¯s a show of mercy, like how you allowed Count Farrimond¡¯s family to live.¡±


    ¡°Is that what you think?¡±


    He groaned. ¡°... Mm, thinking about it, comparing right now they are light punishments. It¡¯s never about pure mercy, isn¡¯t it? You would have them executed?¡±


    ¡°Depends on how much help they can be. Count Farrimond gets to protect his family¡¯s status because of his act of commitment. What did the others do to protect their family? Surrender?¡± I scoffed. ¡°And now you would only put them in prison?¡±


    His eyes widened slightly as though he came to an understanding. ¡°I see. Fascinating. But, sadly, Estelia, you are not in command.¡±


    ¡°Yes. And everything is fine. What you¡¯re doing is acceptable.¡±


    ¡°Acceptable¡­?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re quelling enemies on the inside. That is enough.¡±


    The minimum.


    ¡°That is good, then.¡±


    ¡°However, I heard Eleden has been working closely on the matter.¡±


    ¡°Heh, of course you would hear about it sooner or later. Yes, as the crown prince, he¡¯s been given authority to essential activities.¡±


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    ¡°Such as?¡±


    ¡°... Sometimes what to do with the nobles.¡±


    ¡°What operation is he the lead of?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I feel you¡¯ll be displeased.¡±


    ¡°Uncle, only a few knew of the deeper operations. But you let my brother in. Without my advice, at that.¡±


    ¡°I tried stopping it. But your father has decided¡­ Wait, is that the reason you¡¯re talking with me now? It is.¡± He leaned forward.


    ¡°What operation is he leading, uncle?¡±


    ¡°I get the feeling you already know. I don¡¯t know how, though¡­¡±


    ¡°I know nothing. That is why I want to know.¡±


    With narrow eyes, he answered. ¡°He is supervising the three merchants.¡±


    I rose from my seat and walked a few steps towards him. ¡°Why that, of all things?¡±


    ¡°He wanted to do something meaningful.¡±


    ¡°And what direction is he heading?¡± I asked with a stern gaze.


    ¡°You are indeed displeased. No, not only that. You are angry.¡±


    ¡°I am not angry, uncle.¡±


    ¡°... Is that so?¡± He shrugged. ¡°He has no clear direction as of yet.¡±


    ¡°But he has an idea, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. He seeks to cooperate with a government, or merchants from other nations, to help.¡±


    I sat down on the couch opposite him. ¡°What made him come to that idea?¡±


    ¡°... I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    ¡°Are we in a tight situation where we need help from others?¡±


    ¡°No, we¡¯re not. Everything is going smoothly. The merchants have tons of resources at their disposal.¡±


    ¡°Then there is no need to receive help, yes?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°What country is he thinking of getting help?¡±


    ¡°Myra.¡±


    ¡°Myra?¡± I leaned back. ¡°I see now. Of course, it has to be Myra.¡± His beloved princess lives there. ¡°This is not about us receiving help, no not only that. Cooperation between our nations... He wants to help Myra.¡±


    ¡°Likely, Myra is also a target of the Empire, and might have fallen to the same schemes as us.¡±


    ¡°With cooperation, he will share the situation we¡¯re in, and our secret operations.¡± I gritted my teeth before slamming my hand on the armrest. ¡°He can¡¯t do that!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, niece?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t share anything with anyone. We must not. There will be agents of the Empire everywhere. Our secrets will be nowhere safe. If Myra acts on the Empire¡¯s schemes, Tornridge will be forced to act differently, and they could discover our plans. Especially if our plans get imitated in Myra.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s nice to help our allied nation? It would be selfish to keep everything to ourselves.¡±


    ¡°The entire kingdom is at stake and you care about selfishness?!¡±


    Meril sighed. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re also right.¡±


    ¡°Secrets are our only advantage, surprises. Can you imagine what Tornridge would do if they discovered what we¡¯re doing? The first dawn of war, they will destroy all our preparations first. We¡¯ll lose.¡±


    I don¡¯t give a single fuck about other nations. Not even Myra. Fuck Myra.


    If other nations have to die for mine to live, so be it. I¡¯ll gladly cast the inferno of hell if that¡¯s what it takes. I will not have all my work undone because of compassion. Nations, even allied ones, keep secrets to each other. It¡¯s so stupid to share everything.


    ¡°Our enemy is the largest nation on the continent. It will be hard to survive them. We have to keep all the advantages we can.¡±


    ¡°Why not just tell Myra what to do to prepare?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know their political landscape. How information flows. What traitors lurk. I don¡¯t trust them, nor should we. We may trust individuals like maybe princess Lillie, but we can¡¯t be sure with people around her.¡±


    Besides, they were not the first target of Tornridge. Wisteria was. We have much more at stake. Myra has a better chance and more time to prepare while we fight Tornridge. Ask support from allied nations? I¡¯m sure the Empire was prepared for that, they can hold everyone off. Tornridge has the size to back it up.


    The Empire will be quick in striking with us if they are to succeed. That is to be a cause of concern. I have to make sure Wisteria can survive longer, to draw out the battle. We have to prepare.


    Fuck other countries, they have a better chance than us. Was I just selfish? Of course I am. Tornridge almost brought us to the red line, we need to recover that.


    I don¡¯t trust other countries for now. Not yet. We¡¯re not ready. I have to keep Tornridge in the dark.


    ¡°We are at more risk than them. Wisteria is unstable, we don¡¯t have a lot of options.¡±


    ¡°Or are you just too wary and paranoid, niece?¡±


    ¡°Better paranoid than dying.¡±


    He sighed. ¡°Then what do you want to do about this? You can¡¯t really do anything.¡±


    ¡°You must convince them not to do this.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t think that would work. I may be a Marquis, but with how much Eleden cares about Myra, I don¡¯t think I can change his mind. If he does nothing, it would be like betraying his beloved.¡±


    FUCK!


    I cradled my head in frustration. Dammit, this is so much of a headache than it should be! Should I just have the merchants completely go against the crown? No, that¡¯s impossible. They would never rebel against the entire kingdom just like that.


    I have no power here.


    Convince my brother? How? Love was in the fucking way. Dammit. I need my authority back. But how the hell do I do that? If I knew it would be like this, I wouldn¡¯t have had Farrimond killed. I could have had the backing of a Count. Shit, I never thought I''d be pushed in the corner like this.


    I need to put a stop to this.


    If I just go and outright tell them to stop, they¡¯ll know I was snooping around. And Eleden would be too adamant about helping Myra. I was proud at first that he found some love, but now I hate it! I fucking despise it.


    ¡°Wow, niece. I never saw you so stressed.¡±


    Was there no way to sneak around this problem? Wait, has Eleden been waiting for this moment? He knew the damage that was done to Wisteria, so he could have figured that other countries might be in the same predicament without them knowing. He¡¯s been looking for a way to help them¡­


    Shit!


    ¡°What do I do, uncle¡­?¡±


    ¡°... Why are you asking me?¡±


    ¡°... I don¡¯t know what to do.¡±


    He gently smiled. ¡°I¡¯m glad you want to rely on me this time. But¡­ even I¡¯m not sure how to proceed. That said, what is holding you back, Estelia?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You may have an idea of what to do, but something is making you hesitate. Is it family?¡±


    Family¡­? I¡­ I couldn¡¯t answer his question.


    ¡°Perhaps you¡¯re worried that they¡¯ll take you differently. Perhaps you don¡¯t like to be hated by, let¡¯s say, your brother, Eleden.¡±


    My hand twitched, and I lowered my gaze.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want your brother to hate you?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± I paused, mulling over his words. And then I answered. ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t want him to hate me.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I just don¡¯t want conflict with my family.¡±


    Eleden cared so greatly about me. All of them.


    ¡°And because of that, you want to go the roundabout way of solving this problem.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°But sometimes, Estelia, we have to keep a family member from making a mistake. Even if they get mad at us.¡±


    ¡°Is that how it is?¡±


    ¡°Families sometimes have disagreements and arguments.¡±


    ¡°... Really?¡±


    ¡°Really.¡±


    ¡°But I don¡¯t want a rift between us.¡±


    ¡°For our family, we sometimes do what we must.¡±


    ¡°I have hoped my brother had learned from the past events. But I suppose it¡¯s a different case if his lover is in jeopardy.¡±


    ¡°And he can¡¯t choose both.¡±


    ¡°Yes. He doesn¡¯t realize that he¡¯s putting others at risk. Us.¡± I closed my eyes, heaving a deep sigh. ¡°Families often have fights¡­¡±


    I don¡¯t want that. I don¡¯t know what to do if that happens.


    ¡°Will you do something?¡±


    But¡­


    ¡°... I have to stop this.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 96: Preventing a Mistake

    I strolled through the palace hallway with uneasy steps. Probably because I was feeling a bit anxious. I was heading to my father¡¯s office with my servants. Uncle Meril had left, there was no need for him to be there. Incidentally, he didn¡¯t want to get a negative impression that he was conspiring with me or something on everyone¡¯s back.


    Although that was true, he just didn¡¯t want to make it obvious.


    It was all up to me now. I¡¯m just gonna try to lessen the damage as much as I can. Yes, maybe I can do that. Maybe, I can make it have no damage at all, emotionally speaking. This was just wishful thinking, but it could be manageable.


    So, I¡¯m just gonna calm down and take things slow.


    Dammit! Why do I have to go through this kind of shit?


    I arrived at the office. ¡°Stay here,¡± I said to my servants.


    Taking a deep breath, I knocked a couple of times on the door. In a few seconds, the door opened, it was Eleden who opened it. It would seem they were still working on something pretty sensitive not to allow servants to work here yet.


    ¡°Sister, what brings you here?¡±


    ¡°Business talks, brother.¡±


    ¡°Business?¡±


    ¡°May I come in?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    I entered the room. From the corner of my eyes, I glanced at Eleden as he closed the door. I¡¯m still thinking of how to properly proceed with this. Feelings will be hurt.


    ¡°Daughter, how are you?¡± my father asked with a smile from his desk.


    ¡°Father, are things going well?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Before that, take a seat first.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°No. I¡¯ll remain standing.¡±


    He furrowed his brows inquisitively. ¡°Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°You have been keeping me out of the loop, father.¡±


    He sighed. ¡°So it¡¯s about that.¡±


    ¡°I have been growing concerned about our state of affairs. I want to know what is going on.¡±


    ¡°Precisely what do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°I surmise everything is going well with the nobles. Is it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is. We already have a couple under arrest, while others are about to be.¡±


    ¡°I see. That is good. Why did you not share this information with me, father?¡±


    Would have been nice to hear some good news about it.


    ¡°There is no need to tell you, especially that it¡¯s going as planned.¡±


    Really now? You just want me out. To not involve myself. Really, not telling the one who came up with the plan about how it¡¯s going was just dangerous. The planner always had the full picture inside their mind, and telling them the situation is a wise way to keep things steering in the right direction and not go astray.


    I was the planner. And when I was gone, they had gone off the path. Doing whatever they think is right. And that, to be honest, enraged me a little.


    I dispensed with the soft facial expression. ¡°A mistake.¡±


    ¡°Daughter, we are doing everything we can. And it¡¯s going well. There is no need for you to get involved anymore.¡±


    ¡°It was my plan. But that is not what¡¯s currently important. There is something else I would like an answer to.¡±


    Father leaned back in his chair. ¡°Certainly, what is it?¡±


    ¡°Is big brother Eleden aware of the entire plan?¡± I glanced at my brother as he stared at me with a small smile.


    With a momentary pause, my father answered. ¡°Yes, he is. I let him in.¡±


    ¡°As I thought. Considering that you two have been spending more time here together, even when Uncle Meril gives his report.¡±


    ¡°He has been a great help, Estelia. We should have let him help in the first place.¡±


    ¡°Sister, I¡¯m doing everything I can to get the best result.¡±


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    ¡°I¡¯m sure you do. But this goes against my instructions.¡±


    Father nodded. ¡°Yes, it is. But I¡¯ve made my decision. Despite it against your past instructions.¡±


    ¡°Hm. Is Eleden doing something important that I should know about?¡±


    My father appeared to hesitate, looking down at his desk. He sighed before responding. ¡°Daughter, Eleden has been heading the merchants you pulled into our ranks.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± I turned to face my dear brother. ¡°And how was it, brother? Did you find it challenging?¡±


    ¡°... It was surprisingly easy. The merchants are quite cooperative.¡±


    ¡°Of course they would. They know the consequences of disobeying. Have you forgotten what we did to them?¡±


    With narrow eyes, he answered. ¡°... Of course not.¡±


    ¡°No matter what we order them, they will carry it out. Even if they have doubts. And that is why we have to be careful and responsible for what we say and order them.¡±


    Our orders were absolute. One mistake could fuck up everything. We can¡¯t just stupidly tell them what to do without considering short and long-term consequences.


    ¡°Therefore, I would like to know, what plan do you have for them?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean¡­?¡±


    ¡°A vision, an idea of what you¡¯ll have them do. Intentions.¡±


    ¡°... Sister, I don¡¯t think I should be telling you that. It¡¯s a secret.¡±


    ¡°Not telling me? You think that¡¯s alright? I am the root of this plan. I am the one who started all this, I countered every move the enemy has made against us. No one gets to tell me I have no right to know what they¡¯ve been doing with my plans.¡±


    This pissed me off. I swear if they do shit too much, I¡¯ll take control, forcefully if I have to. I¡¯m not dying because of anyone else¡¯s mistake. I have died two times already. I like this life, I¡¯m not fucking it up.


    My stern response earned shocked and baffled expressions from the two. Didn¡¯t expect your Estelia to talk like this?


    ¡°You have already gone against it once. I suggest you won¡¯t do it again. Now, tell me, brother. What do you intend for the merchants?¡±


    Eleden glanced at father, hesitant. Father, after a sigh, nodded.


    Eleden turned his eyes back to me. ¡°I have a plan of asking for cooperation with another nation, to help each other in this time of crisis.¡±


    I frowned, apparently displeased. ¡°Which?¡±


    ¡°Myra.¡±


    Of course I already knew that¡­


    ¡°I won¡¯t allow that.¡±


    ¡°What? Why?¡±


    ¡°It goes against the very purpose of this plan.¡±


    ¡°You doubt Myra?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I can¡¯t allow a leak. They can¡¯t be trusted. There could be traitors among them, working for the empire.¡±


    Eleden¡¯s face turned stern. ¡°They are people of honor and chivalry¡ª¡±


    ¡°And we are supposed to be people of mercy and love. Yet despite that, here we are! With traitors in our ranks.¡±


    Eleden had nothing to answer that. Because even we have traitors from high places. Anyone can become a traitor, no matter what image the country shows to everyone else.


    ¡°So we¡¯ll just leave them be when we know they could be falling to the same schemes as us?¡±


    ¡°Yes, leave them be. I¡¯d prefer not to make the empire do more drastic measures.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s selfishness.¡±


    ¡°Selfishness?!¡± That again? Fuck!


    ¡°We can help them and save more lives.¡±


    ¡°Wisteria will fall before Myra ever will. We are the first of targets. Don¡¯t you understand that, brother? Tornridge will send their primary force to eradicate us as fast as possible. Myra will fare better than us.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know that.¡±


    ¡°Millions will die, that is the worst-case scenario. If we make a mistake, Wisteria will fall. And once we die, they¡¯ll go after the isolated Myra.¡± Although I expect millions of deaths, no matter the scenario. ¡°This is one of our chances of surviving this. And perhaps we can even drive the empire back.¡±


    Best-case scenario was for the empire to retreat and cancel their plans of invasion for maybe several years. But I¡¯ll just topple them before that. Won¡¯t be the first I get to destroy a government.


    ¡°We can help them prepare for the worse.¡±


    Dammit, brother!


    I took a deep breath, trying to keep myself calm before speaking to my brother in a softer tone. ¡°Brother, you know how many I have to be concerned with? We had the beastmen and elves that tried to kill me. We¡¯ve taken care of them, but there is still an elf on the loose out there. And we have invaders to prepare against.¡±


    All enemies were so powerful. That weighs a lot, and sometimes I just wanna pull my hair in frustration. Knowing they exist, threats to me, makes me mad.


    ¡°I know why you¡¯re trying to do this, brother. It¡¯s for Lillie, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Once I asked that, he clenched his trousers and avoided my eyes. However, he didn¡¯t reply. But the way he was, it was for certain it was all for Lillie.


    ¡°I understand you, brother. Truly. But I¡¯m sorry, in our current position, we can¡¯t take any more risks. Not yet, at least.¡±


    ¡°I still want to help where I can.¡±


    ¡°Lillie is safer in Myra compared to us. We need to put ourselves, our people, our home first.¡± I took a few steps towards Eleden, attempting to reach out for his hand. ¡°I hope you can understand, brother.¡±


    However, before I got close, he stepped back away from me. I paused and slowly retracted my hands. He still avoided my eyes.


    With furrowed brows, I shifted my gaze towards my father. ¡°Father, you are the leader of the entire operation. Make your decision now on this matter.¡±


    ¡°To allow the plan of collaborating with other nations or not?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°This will need some thinking.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°What is there to think about? Stick to the plan, as what it has originally been.¡±


    Father looked at me, then to Eleden. If he made a choice here, he¡¯ll be picking which side he¡¯ll take. The crown prince, or me.


    ¡°As much as I dislike not helping our allies, I am more convinced of Estelia.¡±


    ¡°Father!¡± Eleden¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief.


    ¡°For now, we can¡¯t do anything for our allies. Isn¡¯t that right, Estelia?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then does that mean once we are ready, only then can we help our allies?¡±


    ¡°Of course, once we have made sure we can survive an outright confrontation with the empire.¡±


    That¡¯s a lie, of course. The moment we are ready will probably be the time the empire attacks us.


    ¡°Then,¡± he shifted his eyes to Eleden. ¡°My son, we¡¯ll assist Myra once we are in a more stable state. Be patient. As Estelia said, the empire is more aggressive with us. We are the first target. Myra will have more time to prepare themselves.¡±


    Once the empire attacks us, Myra will definitely reinforce their own defenses. As allies, they may try to help us, and send some forces. But how much? Likely won¡¯t be a lot, they have their own lands to defend. And the empire knows this, so they¡¯ll likely prepare a force to hold Myra back, while their main force wrecks Wisteria.


    Eleden averted his eyes, and for a brief moment glanced towards me. ¡°I understand, father.¡±


    ¡°We need to talk after this.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°As for you, Estelia. Is this all that you came here for?¡±


    ¡°Yes, father.¡± I glanced at Eleden. Looking at him saddened me. ¡°Brother¡ª¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re done, sister, you may leave. Father and I still have something to discuss.¡±


    I bit my lip before stepping back. ¡°Thank you for the time, father. And I apologize.¡±


    And with that, I left the room.

 Chapter 0: Vigil (Special Chapter)

    The silence of the night mirrored the emptiness that grew within him the moment she closed her eyes. No, his heart held not only emptiness but also pain. He didn¡¯t expect he would feel this way about committing the execution of an ally¡­ of a friend.


    He didn¡¯t want to do it, but there was nothing he could do. An order was absolute, especially in disposing of someone within the ranks. Still, he couldn¡¯t bear to see her lifeless. Thus, he looked away for a moment and pulled out his smartphone, calling someone.


    It didn¡¯t take long before someone answered the call.


    ¡°It¡¯s done. Rena, otherwise known as Subject 218, is dead.¡±


    ¡°Good. Dispose of the corpse.¡± It was a deep and cold voice, not a show of emotion to once a favored agent.


    ¡°Understood, sir.¡±


    The other end promptly hung up the call. Putting the phone back in his pocket, he let out a sigh. He forced himself to approach her body lying on the floor and crouched down. He looked at her beautiful face with longing and sadness. Memories of her resurfaced in his mind.


    She was a cold and distant woman. But there was some warmth within her actions as well, even though how much she denied it. She could have become something more. But, perhaps, because of that, it became her downfall. But he wondered. Wouldn¡¯t that be fine? At least, before she perished, something good changed within her, even for just a little. Maybe it was better than dying like a machine.


    Still, even he wasn¡¯t sure what was truly right or better. They were raised in the same organization, it was hard to tell which would be better for a person. But at least the two of them parted on good terms. There was nothing he could ask for more.


    He gently touched her cheek. No, there was one thing he could ask ¡ª perhaps more time being with her. But that was impossible now.


    As he was about to gently carry her, a car suddenly pulled out nearby. He immediately reached out for his pistol. Considering the situation Rena was just in, it was possible it could be the people chasing her. However, one person alone came out of the car.


    It was a girl with short, dark hair and brown eyes. She wore a dark combat outfit. He knew who she was. She had a different role to Rena in the same mission. But to think she tracked them out here. He had expected her to have escaped somewhere else.


    ¡°What, what have you done?¡± she said with a hint of disbelief.


    She stepped forward a little. Her eyes were wide in shock, staring at Rena¡¯s lifeless body.


    ¡°Y-You killed her?¡±


    ¡°Aria, calm down.¡± He slowly stood up, holstering his weapon and holding out both hands.


    However, enraged, Aria pulled out her pistol and aimed it at him. ¡°YOU PIECE OF SHIT!¡±


    ¡°Hold it, Aria! It¡¯ll be bad for you if you shoot me.¡±


    ¡°Fuck you!¡±


    ¡°You know it has to be done! She failed! Once an order is given, there¡¯s nothing we can do.¡±


    Aria¡¯s hand trembled as tears welled up in her eyes. Her glaring gaze was full of anger, she wanted to shoot, but was held back by her remaining rationality. ¡°I-It was not that bad¡­¡±


    ¡°It was, Aria. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°I could kill you as revenge.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll be killed. She wouldn¡¯t want that.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡±


    Aria was the youngest among the group and a novice. It has only been more than a year since she graduated. Rena was basically her senior. And Aria loved Rena so much as a mentor, and a friend. Although Rena was most of the time conserved around people, Aria was very open when it came to her. Quite clingy, in fact. To Rena¡¯s annoyance.


    ¡°Aria¡­¡±


    She tightened her grip around her weapon, but she paused as she turned her head to the side a little. ¡°Don¡¯t try to stop me, Quill.¡± She was talking with someone through her earpiece.


    Quill, the other member of the crew.


    She retracted her weapon a little. ¡°H-How can I let this go?¡± She listened to her friend¡¯s words. ¡°Quill¡­¡± Her expression softened as she put down her gun.


    Suddenly, the man¡¯s phone rang. He pulled it out, the call was from Quill himself. He pressed the button. ¡°Quill.¡±


    ¡°Liam¡­ Did that head scientist order it?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ I think you should give Aria some space for a while before she kills you out of impulse.¡± Liam glanced at Aria, who was glaring daggers at him.


    Aria, despite being an assassin, was an emotional one. It had something to do with the kind of upbringing she had within the organization. As among the newer generation at a particular division. The division that Liam, Quill, and Rena were transferred into.


    Where unlike a few division attempts to rid the humanity of their agents, in this one, they experimented on giving agents a little bit of humanity. To make a bond with the organization, to the people within. And thus, they¡¯ll be more sincere and work harder on their missions given to them by the organization.


    That said, Quill also had a little more lenient upbringing compared to Liam. Although, not completely the same as Aria. Rena on the other hand, had the most severe among them. She was a fang that was specially sharpened. A masterpiece.


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    ¡°... Very well¡­ But I still have to take care of Rena¡¯s body.¡±


    ¡°Can you leave her to us instead?¡±


    ¡°... I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    ¡°Please, Liam. Do this for Aria¡­ and Rena.¡±


    ¡°What will you do?¡±


    ¡°... A proper burial.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Perhaps it would be better if he leaves her body to them. Besides, Liam was not thinking about casually throwing away her body, anyway.


    ¡°... Very well. Where will you bury her?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still looking for a place. You should go.¡±


    ¡°Are you coming with Aria?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    Liam ended the call. He stared at Rena¡¯s face one last time, trying to remember as much detail of her face as possible. And as he stepped away, Aria approached Rena with a tearful expression. She delicately lifted her up and made her way to her car.


    ***


    Liam needed time for some breather to process the turmoil inside him. He was at some beach not far from one of the organization¡¯s secret headquarters. The chilly wind was great, the splash of the water was distracting, but good. The peaceful beach with barely any people around was just the environment he needed.


    As he reflected on what he had done, there was something he realized. The professor that he, Rena, and the others were under had not communicated with him after Rena¡¯s order of execution. Liam expected he would at least text or call. He pondered, there was a chance that the professor didn¡¯t know. There was some sort of conflict that involved Rena, after all.


    He pulled out his phone and called the professor. The phone rang, but it took a short while before the other end answered.


    ¡°Liam? Why did you call?¡± His voice sounded like he just woke up.


    And that confirmed it.


    ¡°Professor Blake, you didn¡¯t know about the organization¡¯s order about Rena, did you?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You were surpassed, professor. Rena is dead.¡±


    There was silence for a moment before the professor asked a question. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°The moment Rena¡¯s mission failed, an order was given. Her disposal.¡±


    ¡°That quickly?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Dammit! Meet me at HQ, now.¡±


    And the professor hung up. Liam sighed and immediately went back to his car for HQ. It didn¡¯t take long for him to arrive. Inside headquarters, there were normal people working, people in suits. Merely a front of the establishment. Services included accounting, investment brokerage, risk management solutions, and so on. Like any big corporate building.


    Liam used an elevator and pressed in the secret number sequence on the panel. After accepting the code, the elevator descended into the secret basement. Shortly, the elevator door opened. Waiting on the pathway ahead was the professor, leaning his back on the wall.


    He wears a simple outfit, not even his lab coat.


    Liam approached. ¡°Professor Blake.¡±


    The professor raised his eyes. He was a man in his mid-thirties. He had a light brown complexion, short dark hair, and dark eyes. He seemed to be angry, and like Liam, grieving. Not a tear in the eyes, but still painful in the heart.


    ¡°Where are the others?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re¡­ burying her.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± He sighed. ¡°I just heard, you were promoted.¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll get to oversee multiple groups now.¡±


    ¡°Who promoted you? Is it the one who ordered the hit?¡±


    ¡°... Yes. Professor Maxwell.¡±


    Blake slammed his fist on the wall. ¡°That bastard! Rena was under my supervision. What gave him the authority to order her disposal?!¡± With angry steps, he walked further into the hallway.


    Liam followed behind him. ¡°What are you planning on doing?¡±


    ¡°Confront him.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s late in the evening.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way that old man¡¯s asleep right now.¡±


    They entered the mini control room. The staff working greeted the professor, but he was not in the mood.


    ¡°Leave the room. I have an important matter to discuss.¡±


    The staff looked at each other in puzzlement, but they complied nonetheless. Once it was just the two of them that remained, Blake used a computer to initiate a communication. A few seconds later, the other end answered, a live video displayed on the large screen up front.


    ¡°What a surprise,¡± the man on the screen spoke in a low and calm voice. ¡°For what reason is your call, Professor Ryder Blake?¡±


    He was an old man, whitening hair and beard. He had wrinkly pale skin. His deep blue eyes showed no emotion whatsoever. Pure indifference. Almost reminding Liam when he first met Rena. But perhaps that was to be expected. Of course she would take after the one who raised her.


    The professor seemed to be working on something, as he was wearing his lab coat and in his control room.


    ¡°Maxwell, it has come to my attention that Rena is dead. And you gave the order.¡±


    Professor Maxwell narrowed his eyes. ¡°Indeed, I ordered for 218¡¯s execution.¡±


    ¡°You dare?! On whose authority? She was mine!¡±


    ¡°On my authority. With permission from the board, I have been granted authority over multiple divisions. That includes yours.¡±


    Blake¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What? The board did? How?¡±


    Even that came as a surprise to Liam. He didn¡¯t expect that Professor Maxwell would be given control over multiple divisions, where he normally would have one, and under one program, as always.


    ¡°I was intending on telling you the news tomorrow. However, as you are here, I might as well tell you. My program is expanding across the divisions under me.¡±


    Blake grimaced. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡±


    ¡°My program has shown promising results, and the board was impressed. Therefore, for the development of the organization and its agents, the new young recruits will be trained under my program. Yours is discontinued, Professor Blake.¡±


    ¡°What?! All the work, you can¡¯t just throw it all away?!¡±


    In contrast to the agitated Blake, Maxwell remained indifferent. ¡°Your experiments are deemed counterproductive to the organization¡¯s endeavor. And a disappointment. Less efficient, and less effective.¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t even have enough data yet.¡±


    ¡°You have used too much time, and spent too much money with no promising results. The board does not wish to support your experiments any longer. You already failed more than once.¡±


    ¡°And they want yours?¡±


    Liam shivered a little. The same program that crafted Rena.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then why was Rena executed at the moment of her failure?¡±


    ¡°218 has outlived her usefulness. After you stole her from me, she had become less effective.¡±


    ¡°Is this what it¡¯s about? Me taking her away from you?¡±


    ¡°You dulled my finest tool. Further showing the negative results of your program. She was my greatest work. The finest executioner. But she has been deteriorating. Such a disappointment I no longer need.¡±


    ¡°For that petty reason you would dispose of our best agent?¡±


    ¡°Subject 218 is no longer anyone special. My program has made subjects that matched her performance and skills. And they will graduate soon. There will be more agents that are as or more effective than 218. Her loss has no negative impact on us whatsoever.¡±


    ¡°You created more of her¡­? A bunch of emotionless machines¡­¡±


    ¡°All that mattered is the result. Unlike what you have done, weakening my property. And now she failed, to an important mission, no less. There is no point in keeping an old unkeen blade when there are new and better ones. As like how she failed tonight, she will fail in the future, especially with those that matter the most. Such a failure I cannot bear to see.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 97: Dagger Technique & Family Issue (Part 1)

    <div>


    ¡°Here, princess.¡±


    Elson handed me a plain dagger, which I gently received. Like I was someone scared of holding something sharp. I mean, I wouldn¡¯t want to nick myself, knives were scary~. They were dangerous.


    I stared at the dagger with wide and intrigued eyes. Finally, I¡¯ve come this far. My precious daggers would finally get the upgrade they deserved!


    ¡°Careful not to hurt yourself with it, princess.¡±


    ¡°O-Okay.¡±


    ¡°By the way, are you not going to wear your jacket? Despite being indoors, it¡¯s still cold here.¡±


    We were back in our training hall. Elson didn¡¯t want to practice outside, as I would have liked it. You know, in my own practice yard where snow was prevalent. The cold was just too much apparently to practice there the whole day. I recalled Rogan shivering all the time when we were out there last.


    ¡°It¡¯s best to prevent frostbite,¡± he added.


    I removed my coat when I entered the room in preparation for practice. Can¡¯t be too restrained in this important learning session. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I don¡¯t feel too cold.¡± That was the truth. It was cold, yes, but just a little. Like the cold in the morning.


    It was different for the others. There was a fireplace, but it was small and not enough for everyone and the size. Well, looks like that¡¯s a flaw in this building¡¯s design now, is it?


    Elson winced as he stared at me with concern. ¡°I¡¯ll put more wood in the fire, just in case.¡±


    ¡°... Okay.¡±


    He grabbed more logs and threw them into the fire. Maybe if I felt so cold, I could just conjure a ball of fire close to me and warm myself up. Meaning, I should be safe if I were ever stranded in a cold and freezing place, but not like that would ever happen. Pfft.


    ¡°Let us begin. Coat the dagger with magic, as you would with a sword,¡± he instructed the moment he came back. ¡°Remember, daggers are not the same size as a sword, so there will be differences in their applications.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    I poured a tiny amount of mana into the dagger, from which it gently shone with a faint crimson glow. It was a little struggle to adjust accordingly. Thankfully, once I was done, it didn¡¯t break. But I have to let go of the excess mana into the air, just like with the sword.


    ¡°Good. Now prepare to shape the magical slashes. Instead of the entire blade, design it to be placed in different parts. Let¡¯s start with one slash. Look.¡±


    He demonstrated with a dagger of his own, and the blade glowed. He pointed at a part of the blade. ¡°Notice the little contrast in color?¡±


    Oh yeah, there was. It was faint, but there was a line that differed in shade from the rest.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the slash. Normally I blend it completely, but I want you to see it so you can visualize it on your side.¡± He added another hint of slash. ¡°These are compressed, which you unleash at your will. Can you imagine the logic?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I can.¡±


    ¡°Then give it a try and make one.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    I shifted the existing mana on my dagger. I imagined it like forming a partition on the magic coating. Just a single partition. My mana moved like swirling water. I compressed it at the flat of my dagger. It required extreme focus, but things were going well.


    ¡°Don¡¯t use much mana for now, priority is for you to prepare the slash.¡±


    A white line appeared on the blade amidst the crimson coating. Immediately, I stopped all mana movements. However, I still needed to hold it in place.


    ¡°Very good. Are you restraining it alright?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Because of my hard practice with Armament Magic, you could say my precision in controlling mana has developed significantly. But this was one slash, so who knows how I¡¯ll do when there¡¯s more?


    ¡°Aim your blade away.¡± He moved beside me. ¡°And try unleashing it. Don¡¯t aim the slash at us. It goes straight where the line is facing.¡±


    That much was obvious¡­


    I twisted the blade to the side. After making sure it was safe, I released the restraint. From a small line from my blade, it instantaneously enlarged at the appropriate length that I desired. The slash shot outward in tremendous speed, dissipating before it hit the wall ¡ª how fortunate, wouldn¡¯t want to pay for that. Not like I have money to pay for it, anyway.


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    ¡°That¡¯s good, your highness.¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t swirl.¡±


    ¡°You will need to configure its direction and turn.¡±


    ¡°A straight line is still a good way of attacking, right? Why not we just fill the entire blade with slashes and shoot it in all directions in a wide range?¡±


    ¡°That will need a lot of mana. If you bring numerous slashes, you could prevent enemies from evading them. But won¡¯t be good in a drawn out fight if you consider the amount of mana a person has.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°I swirl it so it covers more space and makes it harder for enemies to evade if they make a mistake. Will also cause fatal damage from multiple slashes, and not just one that goes straight. That said, it could be different in your case.¡±


    ¡°I suppose, with the amount of mana I possess.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. You could add as many slashes as you want and fire it in all directions. Wide range with no gap. That would be terrifying in a battle.¡±


    ¡°But as you have said, it will cost plenty of mana. I will need to think about it.¡±


    ¡°Before thinking about it, I suggest practicing the technique first.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s try adding another slash. See how you¡¯ll fare.¡±


    I poured mana into my dagger again, and after preparing one slash, I strived to add another one on the other side of the blade. It was a little more work, that I actually grew a little anxious that I would fail to restrain it. However, everything worked out well.


    From here, I twisted the blade again for the lines to face the safe direction. I released the restraint, and two slashes of light fired outwards. The first one dissipated before it hit the wall. However, the second had a little miscalculation, and it crashed against the wall.


    ¡°Ssshhhh,¡± I winced.


    I¡¯m actually a hazard myself¡­ Thankfully, from the looks of it, the damage was only an inch deep.


    ¡°Result is good,¡± Elson said. ¡°You only need to find balance. But for now, we can proceed with our training. I¡¯ll be teaching you knife throwing.¡±


    Ah¡­.


    ¡°It is a crucial part of utilizing my technique. It¡¯s like how you learn to handle a sword.¡± He held out his dagger. ¡°First, hold the dagger like this.¡±


    ¡°Wait, Sir Elson. We can skip this part to save time.¡±


    ¡°... We can¡¯t skip this step. Knife throwing requires practice. And it will take weeks or even months to be proficient.¡±


    I awkwardly smiled with a chuckle. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Sir Elson. There¡¯s no need to worry about it. Just tell me how you do the thing.¡±


    With confused squinted eyes, he faintly nodded. ¡°Then we¡¯ll need to go outside.¡±


    Huh, he was less resistant this time. Maybe because he was reminded of the time we first sparred where I had to prove that I can do sword fights. When I was just learning it. Oh well, all¡¯s well.


    I may have to show a glimpse of my dagger skills, but if it means saving time, then it¡¯s fine. I just have to pretend I fucked up here and there. It¡¯s just novice Estelia here!


    I slipped into my coat and followed Elson, who walked through the back door. At the back of the building was a small and open yard. A suitable spot to practice magic knife throwing. I have to admit, I am feeling excited!


    Finally, going up with my dagger skills! It¡¯s every girl¡¯s dream to mix daggers with magic!


    Hm? It¡¯s not? That sucks.


    Elson was deploying some wooden boards for targeting. I took a deep breath and gazed skyward. Winter was always a beautiful season. It was a sign of holidays, especially Christmas.


    Christmas¡­ a time for families to gather and celebrate. To gather around the table, eat together and have fun in each other¡¯s company. A reunion. A good time. Give gifts. It was a curious thing to think about.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re ready.¡±


    Elson brought me out of my thoughts, walking back to me and holding out his dagger.


    He began explaining. ¡°You must keep a connection with your dagger even after you throw it away.¡± Elson turned towards a target. The blade of his dagger glowed, from which after, he threw it against a target. The dagger stabbed through the wood.


    Elson continued. ¡°Look.¡± He held out his hand in front of me. Gradually, a thin stream of mana became apparent. It was as thin as hair. ¡°A connection to my dagger. Through this, the magic imbued on it won¡¯t dissipate and I can control it. With my will, I trigger the magic.¡±


    At that moment, the mana contained on the blade was unleashed. Slashes swirled around, dismantling the wooden target easily like cutting through paper.


    ¡°Can you visualize it, princess?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes.¡± I grinned.


    The link and thread thing, I have already done it. It involved a certain young cute chef which will not be mentioned here. Where there was a bomb on her person that I prepared. Which I could have triggered anytime I wanted if she went astray.


    This part was easier than I thought. And making the link invisible was easy, too. It¡¯s like giving it mostly to no attribute. Like plain and straight up air.


    I stepped forward, facing towards the other target board. I filled my dagger with mana and added a single slash. After restraining it properly, I initiated a link with the dagger. Thinking it was secured, I readied the throw.


    I pretended to be nervous and hesitant. After winding up my arm, I threw the dagger forward. It flew, piercing through the air, and struck the edge of the wooden board. Yes, the edge, not the center.


    Oh nooo, how could that be? That¡¯s embarrassing~. I¡¯m such a noob.


    Anyways! The link was still on. Good. I activated the magic. The slash shot out, cutting through one side. The link disconnected. Disconnecting was necessary to save mana, especially if we have no other use for the dagger. However, perhaps there¡¯s a way to make use of this.


    ¡°Did I do good?¡± I asked as I turned towards Elson.


    With wide eyes, he answered me. ¡°You learned way too fast. Beyond normal.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that far from spellcasting, so it¡¯s not so hard.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± He glanced at my servants, as if he was looking for an answer lingering in his mind. ¡°I have seen your brother, prince Estevan train. Even he needs weeks to be proficient in one thing. Months to years to master.¡± He returned his eyes to me. ¡°But you, you know how to fight with a sword despite just learning it. Almost as if you are already a trained fighter.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°I am merely a fast learner, Sir Elson.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not just being a fast learner. There¡¯s no way you are a fighter, you never trained whatsoever before.¡±


    ¡°Then what?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s a gift.¡±


    ¡°A gift?¡±


    ¡°There are just people gifted in certain things.¡±


    ¡°I see. Anyways, can we continue with the training? I still have not made more than two slashes.¡±


    He sighed. ¡°Of course, princess.¡±


    <div>

 Vol. 3 Chapter 98: Dagger Technique & Family Issue (Part 2)

    It was dinnertime. Today was a tiring day, and I limply plopped down on my seat on the table along with a long sigh. Adding more slashes was harder and more tiring than I thought. Oh wait no, I think I have expected it. But it doesn''t change the fact that I want to sleep right now.


    But a girl has to eat.


    Although, there was this little feeling that I didn¡¯t want to be here. Like trying to avoid something. And that frustrated me. I don¡¯t typically desire to run away from something, something I was scared of.


    At the moment, it was only me, my mother, and Estevan. Despite the dishes covered and placed on the table already, we haven¡¯t started yet. Waiting for the remaining two family members. It would seem they were busier today.


    ¡°Estelia, dear. Are you alright?¡± My mother asked in concern.


    I gave her a relieving smile. ¡°I¡¯m just tired from the training. Today was a little more challenging.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± She caressed my cheek. ¡°Make sure to sleep early today, okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course, mother. I don¡¯t want to overexert myself.¡± Lest I want to go weaker. ¡°How about you, Mother?¡±


    ¡°Well, trivial affairs in the capital are not too difficult. In fact, by some miracle, Estevan helped me with paperwork.¡±


    Huh, looks like they gave some normal issues within the capital to my mother. To lessen father¡¯s workload. But what surprised me was Estevan helping with papers? Whaaaat? I imagined he would not even try getting close to something like that.


    Processing the unexpected, I stared at my dear brother with weirded eyes. He stared back at me with an idiotic face.


    ¡°What? I can be a good son sometimes.¡±


    ¡°I imagine you complaining all the while.¡±


    Mother chuckled. ¡°That he did.¡±


    ¡°Mother¡­¡± Estevan frowned in embarrassment.


    I couldn¡¯t help but smile in amusement. Hey, at least he¡¯s trying. That is something to be proud of! Good job, brother!


    At that moment, the two that we¡¯re waiting for have arrived. I glanced at my eldest brother, but he didn¡¯t look at me. An air of awkwardness filled the vibe ¡ª or perhaps it was just me. Yeah, likely just me.


    Eleden sat down beside Estevan, on the opposite side of the table. While father sat at the head.


    Eleden was still brooding over what happened, who knows how long it would last. It annoyed me this was even happening. I resisted the urge to sigh in frustration.


    Mother smiled, missing the awkward air between us. ¡°Now then, let¡¯s eat already. I¡¯m sure everyone¡¯s hungry.¡±


    Without a moment¡¯s waste, everyone started eating. As we did, mother spoke with father ever so casually, discussing what happened today, mainly about Estevan. However, I was silent while I ate, savoring my food.


    Meanwhile, Eleden was doing the same as me. So obvious he was avoiding me, but I kept staring. To be honest, I don¡¯t know how to mend things with him, nor even how to start talking. So stressing¡­


    This saddened me.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    A couple of minutes passed, and the voices began to quiet down. When I was about finished with my meal ¡ª because I was eating it faster than I usually would ¡ª Mother slowly put down her fork and spoon before audibly sighing. I have a bad feeling.


    ¡°Alright, what is going on at this table?¡±


    Father placed a hand on his forehead, while Estevan looked on with confusion. I paused my eating and drank some juice. But of course, I didn¡¯t answer her. I mean, what would I even say?


    ¡°Is no one going to answer me?¡± She looked at Father. ¡°Did something happen to these two without telling me?¡± She pointed at me and Eleden.


    Dammit! Of course she¡¯ll know that.


    ¡°You two?¡± Estevan asked in response to his realization.


    Father hesitated for a moment on how to answer Mother. ¡°... Well, it¡¯s a bit complicated. It¡¯s quite a sensitive matter.¡±


    Mother glared at him. ¡°If it¡¯s causing this problem within the family, I could at least learn the root of it.¡±


    ¡°My love, please.¡±


    ¡°Ugh,¡± Mother turned towards Eleden. ¡°Mind telling me what happened?¡±


    Eleden merely gave her a hesitant look, but remained silent. Annoyed, my mother shifted her fierce eyes towards me. Why?! Don¡¯t look at me like that!


    ¡°Estelia, what happened?¡±


    ¡°Uh,¡± I clenched the cloth on my lap. ¡°I-It¡¯s¡­ Just an argument we had¡­¡± my voice trailed off, but they heard it.


    ¡°What kind of argument?¡±


    ¡°C-Can¡¯t say.¡± I lowered my head, as if trying to shrink myself.


    ¡°Estelia, I don¡¯t like what is happening here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± that was all I said. Sounding like a small whimpering adorable puppy.


    ¡°You two,¡± he said to me and Eleden before pointing at Father. ¡°You as well. Settle this.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ is easier said than done.¡±


    ¡°Nothing is too difficult to settle. We¡¯re a family! We can¡¯t stay like this for too long.¡±


    W-What am I gonna do here? Shit, I never saw Mother this angry. I¡¯m also embarrassed talking to Eleden. What if what I say makes him truly hate me? I¡¯m quite an asshole sometimes. Never really a genuine, soft and nice person.


    If I get angry, I might end up saying to Eleden ¡®who¡¯s more important to you? That woman Lillie, or us, your family?¡¯


    I wanna leave¡­ Okay this was just me running away from my problems. But what¡¯s wrong with running away for a day or two?


    Ugh! Fuck it! ¡°E-Eleden¡­ Can we at least talk¡­?¡±


    He drank water from his cup before speaking. ¡°I need time with my thoughts. Please excuse me, Mother, Father, I¡¯m going back to my room.¡±


    Without waiting for actual permission, he rose from his seat and left the room. Looking all sad.


    ¡°I never saw him like that,¡± said Estevan, still confused.


    Mother sighed in frustration before looking at her husband. ¡°We need a talk after this dinner.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    Switching to a gentler look, Mother reached out for my hand. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you of all people would have a fight with your brother.¡±


    I lowered my gaze.


    She continued. ¡°Is it something so serious?¡±


    ¡°... Yes, it is. He is not taking things too well.¡±


    Mother sighed with a saddened look. ¡°Let¡¯s give him some space.¡±


    ***


    I have returned to my room. The silent and dim room. Once the isolation settled in, I sighed, thinking about the problem with my brother. I walked over to my small cabinet. Placed on top of it was a small wooden box with fine quality and carving.


    Opening it, inside revealed a necklace with a crimson colored jewel in the shape of a flower. I picked it up and held it in my open palm, staring at it. The gift Eleden gave me from his visit to Myra. It was a beautiful gift.


    I had to remove it when doing excessive physical activity. I didn¡¯t want to remove it on my person, but I just have to. Could also risk damaging it. Especially during fights. Hm, in fact, I had barely worn this lately.


    Oh, brother¡­


    This sucks. Conflict sucks. Especially with family. I didn¡¯t expect it would bother me this much. How am I going to settle a problem if he didn¡¯t want to take the opportunity to fix it? Fuck¡­


    Thinking about the problem at hand, I was reminded of the time how Estevan tried to reconcile with me. He brought me flowers, and prepared food. He was so sweet. The memory made me smile.


    However, in the case with Eleden, I wasn¡¯t at fault. The issue was not one-sided. Just two people disagreeing with something. Why should I do something for him when it was not my fault?


    What needed here was for Eleden to get over it and have some sense in his head. What kind of king would he be if he¡¯s acting like that when he can¡¯t do something he wants? He should prioritize his own side before others.


    That is something he must learn if he were to be an effective ruler in the future. No one foolish, no one na?ve. No one would mindlessly do something at the expense of the place he was supposed to protect.


    Haaaah, I hate this.


    I returned the necklace to its box.


    I need some thinking about this family issue. And thus I promptly lied down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling to think.


    It was harder than thinking about how to kill or torture someone.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 99: Dress for the Debut

    I hummed a song, a lullaby. I like lullabies, they¡¯re peaceful songs. Not because my mother often sang to me when I was a kid. In fact, I liked lullaby-like songs in my past life too. I just love the slow and soft melody and the lyrics were beautiful also.


    Anyway, I was humming comfortably on my chair, staring at the outside view ¡ª here in my office. Waiting for the guests to arrive. And who were those guests? Nothing too serious, but also important. Remember, it¡¯s almost my debut!


    You know what that means. I have to look good. And to look good, I have to wear the most amazing and beautiful dress in the world! Yes, it¡¯s my measuring day! I still grow, you know. And as far as I know, the great clothes maker, Mervizo, already had some sketches prepared for me. He already knew that my debut was coming, so of course he already had some idea of what I could wear.


    Actually, I¡¯m feeling quite excited. Also nice to know how I have grown. I think I had a little increase in height. But we¡¯ll see. I also didn¡¯t get fat or anything, so nothing to worry about that part. Except for the muscles though, I grew a little.


    The guests should come in shortly. I could have read a book, but not in the mood. The winter view was beautiful, anyway. I wonder if the winter¡¯s gonna stop on my birthday. It¡¯s usually spring during my birthday. But there¡¯s just a shift in the world. I could feel the crawl on my skin. Weird, ain¡¯t it? My godly senses were tingling.


    Came knocking from the door. With a happy smile, I gestured for Vernon to check it out. Once confirming it was the guests, he allowed them inside.


    Mervizo, with a smile, approached and bowed. ¡°Your highness, it is the greatest pleasure to see you again.¡± He wore an extravagant and eccentric outfit, as always.


    His companion, the girl Kali, bowed beside him and stayed silent.


    ¡°Mervizo,¡± I gave him a soft smile. ¡°How are you?¡±


    ¡°Incredibly fine, princess. Life is good.¡±


    I glanced at Vernon. ¡°Call Mother.¡±


    After he left, I rose from my seat and spoke to the guests. ¡°You may rise. You can start preparing your things and take my measurements.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Kali.¡±


    Kali moved to the table by the couches and opened up a suitcase with their equipment inside. As she did, Mervizo leaned close to me, placing his hand on his chin, scrutinizing me. That made me feel a bit concerned.


    ¡°You certainly have grown, your highness. In fact, your shoulders have broadened ever so slightly.¡±


    ¡°Really? I didn¡¯t think it would be noticeable.¡±


    ¡°I see little details, is all. In any case, you have grown even more beautiful!¡± He stepped behind me. He touched and lifted a handful of my hair. ¡°Your hair has grown more lustrous and white since I last saw it.¡±


    ¡°T-Thank you?¡±


    ¡°That said, they¡¯re awfully long. Are you not concerned? I can arrange for an excellent professional to cut them.¡±


    ¡°No. I would like to keep them.¡±


    He frowned in puzzlement. ¡°Princess, you will still be pretty if you lose some of your hair.¡±


    ¡°No, I like them this way.¡±


    ¡°... Hm, very well.¡± He leaned close to my ear. ¡°By the way, princess. What happened to the secret outfit I made for you?¡±


    I furrowed and looked at him from the corner of my eyes. ¡°I would appreciate it if it is never ever mentioned.¡±


    He grinned. ¡°Of course, of course. I do hope you have tried it, though. It was one of my finest.¡±


    Kali brought her measuring tape, and she began measuring me.


    Mervizo went for their suitcase and pulled out a notebook. ¡°I have ten outfits sketches ready for you to see, princess. Once your measuring is done, you may choose. Or if her majesty arrives.¡±


    ¡°I would like it if I have the final say.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    As Kali measured my waist, the door opened. Vernon and my mother have arrived.


    Mervizo bowed. ¡°Your majesty.¡±


    ¡°Oh my, Mervizo, it¡¯s been a while. Still as pretty, I see.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, not as pretty as you, my queen.¡±


    Mother chuckled bashfully. ¡°... So, shall we discuss my daughter¡¯s clothes?¡±


    ¡°Certainly. What theme do you have in mind?¡±


    They sat down on the couches.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Estelia is a treasure, as further proven by her wonderful and unique appearance. So I¡¯m thinking that it suggests treasure.¡±


    ¡°Hair as fine as platinum, and a form as bright as gold. Eyes glimmering like jewels. Indeed, I have plenty of ideas already.¡±


    ¡°Excellent.¡±


    ¡°But first, look at these rough gown designs.¡±


    While they went on to talk, Kali moved to measure my arms. Yes, I indeed have grown on my torso, waist and above. But not too much, just a little, apparently. Wew.


    From behind me, I could hear Kali breathing, quite strangely heavy. Hm? I think she was like this last time as well. Am I really that hot?


    I heard a tiny groan. I sensed that something was coming close to my neck. Like there was some sort of danger coming. I was more confused. I abruptly shifted to the side and turned my head towards Kali. At the moment, I think I saw her close her mouth.


    She lowered her gaze and slowly wrote in her notebook.


    ¡°Are you alright, Kali?¡±


    ¡°Uh? Y-Yes, I¡¯m alright¡­¡±


    Huh, was she sick or something?


    ¡°... How much did my body change?¡±


    ¡°N-Not much, princess.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    What a weird girl.


    She was sweating though, like she was restless or scared or something. Still, I disregarded her and let her finish my measurements. Once that was done, and after writing all the notes, she gave the notebook to Mervizo.


    Mervizo read through the numbers and grinned. ¡°Perfect figure, princess!¡±


    Hearing that and his enthusiastic announcement, I couldn¡¯t help but blush.


    ¡°You also got an inch taller.¡±


    Oh wow!


    Alright! Ladies and gentlemen, I got taller! That¡¯s an achievement! Give the Pure Princess a round of applause!


    ¡°But as I always say, princess, don¡¯t become bigger¡­ or wider.¡±


    I pouted. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll add a little extra in the measurements, of course. Your debut is still some time away. Anyhow, please have a look at my concepts.¡±


    Hmph. It hurt a bit that he would put extra numbers in, but I guess that¡¯s to be expected. Whatever¡­


    I sat down beside my mother and looked through the sketches. From the sketches alone they were quite detailed and extravagant. The designs were top notch, truly one of the best designers out here. In fact as I flip through them, I kinda want them all to be made so I can wear them all.


    These dresses, I want them all. Sadly, I could only choose one. I must choose something that fits me and to my liking.


    I paused flipping on one drawing in particular. Hm¡­


    ¡°Look at this one, Estelia.¡± Mother flipped back to one specific gown. ¡°The sleeves are a little fluffy, but the flowery shapes are endearing. The skirt patterns are pretty too. Overall, extravagant.¡±


    Given that there was no color, it would be pretty hard to judge if it would be great on me. But if it¡¯s Mervizo, we can be confident that he¡¯ll do well.


    ¡°I think this would look good on you.¡±


    Indeed. However, I realized something when I saw another dress. It almost had that simplicity, yet there was grandeur. I came to realize what I wanted to show everyone. What I truly was.


    I had no need for the largest and most extravagant dress or gowns. I want the slender of simple yet glimmering. Mine was a form beyond the common. I was someone like no other.


    That despite my simple-shaped dress, I was utterly beautiful. A peerless beauty. Where even if the inferiors wear the most sophisticated and extravagant dresses, they still couldn¡¯t hope to match me, me who need not to wear such outfits to surpass the lesser.


    I am the most beautiful woman in the world. And I shall glow and glimmer like a thousand treasures, filled with golds, silvers, and diamonds. I shall shine like the stars in the darkest night, and as magnificent as the illuminating moon. I shall be more mesmerizing than the setting sun at sea. More overwhelming than the hundreds of falling stars in the sky.


    Hm, thinking about it, it didn¡¯t sound simple. Anyways, I liked this one dress. Even I knew if one dress was too much and unnecessary, when I could bring a better message with another one.


    I flipped through the pages, back to the one I chose. I pointed at it. ¡°I want this.¡±


    ¡°That?¡± said Mother. ¡°Not as sophisticated as what I suggested. But it¡¯s good.¡±


    Mervizo smiled excitedly. ¡°If that is what you choose, princess. I shall make it. You shall walk with elegance and dance with grace. And I assure you, the final product will be much better.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Improve the design until I am the most valuable treasure in all the world.¡±


    ¡°Hehehehe. It shall be done. Quite exciting. This will be my finest masterpiece. Wearing it is the most wonderful subject I have ever seen.¡±


    Mother patted my head and said to him, ¡°We¡¯ll be relying on you, Mervizo.¡±


    ¡°I promise you, you are in good hands.¡±


    Wonderful!


    ***


    Sometime after the guests left the palace, I left my office for the meantime and went straight for the knights¡¯ training grounds. It was for business, it was for family affairs. Of course, I caught the eyes of the knights, but I was not here for them.


    I called for my brother, Estevan. And with no moment¡¯s delay he answered and rushed over to me.


    ¡°Brother, I see that you¡¯re not with Mother.¡±


    ¡°Mother said she could handle the work for today.¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°You need help with something, sister?¡±


    ¡°As a matter of fact, yes.¡±


    ¡°Oh! What is it?¡±


    I glanced at the knights. ¡°Can we walk while we talk?¡±


    ¡°... Sure.¡±


    We walked together, with me leading the way. I had no destination in mind, but I was going to the quiet side of the palace. It just had nothing to do with strangers¡¯ ears.


    Once there were no people around, I spoke. ¡°I need your advice, brother.¡±


    ¡°Mm, is it about Eleden?¡±


    ¡°How did you guess?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s the most recent problem you¡¯re facing.¡±


    ¡°I see. Indeed.¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    I touched my hands together. ¡°Eleden wouldn¡¯t talk to me. I don¡¯t know what to do.¡±


    ¡°What is the problem between the two of you? I should know that first before I can help, shouldn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t tell it.¡±


    ¡°... I see, then I wouldn¡¯t know what to advise you Estel but to solve and settle your problem.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°The problem cannot be solved, it is too¡­ complicated. Hard to do. It is something that must proceed.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you start by apologizing? I mean, truly apologize. Do something for him. Just like I did for you.¡±


    I grimaced. ¡°That isn¡¯t fair! I did nothing wrong. It¡¯s not my fault.¡±


    And he dares going broody about it? Absurd.


    ¡°Why should I apologize?¡±


    Estevan scratched the back of his head. ¡°Is it anyone¡¯s fault?¡±


    ¡°... No¡­ No one¡¯s at fault. There¡¯s just a difference in goals.¡±


    ¡°And Eleden is deeply hurt by the decisions made, I take it?¡±


    ¡°Yes. What we¡¯re going to do, will be akin to doing nothing to protect someone he valued so much.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± He paused for a moment, as if thinking. ¡°Sounds to me Eleden needs time to himself.¡±


    ¡°So you mean I do nothing?¡±


    ¡°For now.¡±


    ¡°But how long? I have given him enough time.¡±


    ¡°Sister, be patient. He¡¯ll come around.¡± He patted my head. ¡°Although, I suggest showing him you¡¯re giving the effort of talking to him. Effort is what¡¯s important.¡±


    ¡°Would that work? I¡­ I don¡¯t want us fighting even in my debut¡­¡±


    ¡°It will. Because in the end, you are our dear sister. We siblings can¡¯t sulk with each other for too long. We¡¯ve been together most of our lives. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    I smiled and leaned my head on his shoulder. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You two will be alright.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, brother.¡±


    ¡°Anytime. If you need help with this, feel free to ask me.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 100: Mending

    I glanced at the thickening snow outside the window of the library. Things have been peaceful, disregarding some family issues. Aaah, look how peaceful it is outside, just snow falling at their own content. I wonder how the birds are doing.


    ¡°Estelia, pay attention.¡±


    My mother pulled me out of my envious trance of the beautiful outside. We were here in the library for an important meeting. With us were other common staff that served my mother. As for what business this was about, mainly about my approaching debut.


    We¡¯re planning things out basically. As the debutante, I had to be here. Truthfully, I would rather leave this kind of stuff to others while I just check their proposal and I suggest things here and there. But oh well¡­ Gonna endure the boredom ¡ª I mainly got bored ¡®cause I mostly just listen to other guys talking so¡­


    ¡°We¡¯ll be using the Royal Grand Hall for the event. Thus, the day before your birthday, we must already be there.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    The Royal Grand Hall, a large and fancy building whose main purpose was to be a place of celebration such as mine. Dozens upon dozens of personal rooms on multiple floors, several lobbies, several kitchens, you could think of it as a vamped up estate.


    Last I was there was when I was still a pretty small girl. I skipped a lot of events, even the important and family connected ones. Even at that time I was a shy girl, always hiding behind my parents. Aaaaw, I was cuter back then. Now I¡¯m less cute, but prettier.


    ¡°Your clothes will be ready, and in there you will change.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I want you to be familiar with the layout, it¡¯s quite a big place. Here, look.¡± She pushed a large sheet of scroll to me.


    It was a drawing of the building¡¯s layout. Wow, the hallways were a lot. Just how expensive exactly did they make this? Mind you, this royal hall was not made during my parents¡¯ generation. Still, it was being maintained by some staff. Making sure the place wouldn¡¯t break or get dirty. In short, to keep it in a pristine state.


    ¡°Your room will be here.¡± She pointed at the northern side of the building, to my specific room. ¡°Us will be in the rooms next to yours.¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°The main event will take place in the grand chamber.¡± She pointed at the wide area at the center of the building. ¡°It¡¯s big enough for families of all Marquis and Counts to attend, along with a few others that we¡¯ll invite.¡±


    ¡°What about the outer nobles?¡±


    ¡°They will need to be carefully reviewed. Most likely we¡¯ll only invite those we personally trust. Your safety is of great concern, especially with what is happening now.¡±


    ¡°I think you shouldn¡¯t put all your concern on me, mother. You all will also be there.¡±


    Mother smiled. ¡°Of course. That¡¯s why we¡¯ll be careful. In fact, I¡¯m expecting we¡¯ll have fewer people that will attend than usual.¡±


    They could have not invited people from outside the capital, but it was my debut. And a princess¡¯s debut should always be grand, second only to coronation or something. Mine was a grand celebration, and thus a grand event was a must have.


    Therefore, we just have to be stricter with security this time. Although, there¡¯s a low chance anyone would try something dangerous. Not only knights would be there, nobles with fighting capabilities also would be. They have to be sneaky if they were to do something to me or to us.


    But being sneaky would be hard as the crown will supervise and oversee everything.


    ¡°I will give you a list of nobles that will be attending. Make sure to remember all their names.¡±


    Whaaat? That''s gonna be a lot of people.


    I visibly pouted.


    ¡°No complaining.¡±


    I shifted to a sad look. But my dearest mother ignored me. My innocent and adorable charm has weakened in the flow of time! Noooo!


    ¡°Now then everyone, let us discuss the proceedings of this event.¡± She turned towards me. ¡°And you dear, must listen. You¡¯re about to become an adult, you may need to get involved in important matters like this in the future.¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Fuck being an adult, man! It sucks.


    It¡¯s full of sadness and torment. I''d rather be a kid, hmph!


    I want to be young forever! As beautiful as I shouldn¡¯t get old and rot. Alright, let¡¯s research how to gain immortality!


    Oh no wait, I¡¯m a goddess. So I should be immortal, right? Never getting old¡­ Wait, did my body age¡­?


    As my heart skipped a beat, I involuntarily checked my arms. I touched and felt my face.


    ¡°Estelia, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Uh, n-nothing.¡±


    I don¡¯t feel old, I¡¯m still too young to notice. But then I was reminded that I grew the last time my body was measured. And growing means¡­


    Noooooooooooo!


    Useless godliness! Brings me nothing but trouble. Give me my righteous eternal youth!


    ***


    I sighed when it was finally time for a break. Good thing we got the important things done, so I didn¡¯t have to join in later. Meaning, time to chill! And thus, I was walking down the hallway from the library down to wherever my legs take me. As usual, with my crew.


    Overjoyed by finally being free from that boring ass discussion, I was smiling happily as I walked. Mother was reliable, so I¡¯ll go with whatever she plans. There¡¯s no need for me to stress about it.


    But then, I paused on my happy steps when I encountered my eldest brother, coming in my direction. He stared at me for a moment before stepping to the side to avoid me, but I stepped to the side he¡¯s going too. He stopped, looking at me in puzzlement.


    ¡°Brother,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s talk.¡±


    ¡°... Estelia, I¡¯m busy.¡±


    I frowned as he stepped to another side, but I got in his way again. ¡°I insist.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Ugh! Brother! I have grown tired of this. Let¡¯s talk!¡± I glanced at my servants. ¡°Leave us.¡±


    The three servants looked at each other for a moment before walking back to where we came from.


    Eleden frowned in annoyance. ¡°Estelia, stop it.¡±


    I spread out my arms to block his way. ¡°No, talk to me.¡±


    ¡°This is not the place for this.¡±


    ¡°Then we find the right place.¡±


    With a bothered face, he averted his eyes away without a reply to me.


    I continued. ¡°Brother. Let¡¯s not fight anymore.¡±


    He closed his eyes for a moment before giving a tired sigh. ¡°Then, let¡¯s talk later. Once I¡¯m done talking with Mother.¡±


    ¡°What are you even going to talk about?¡±


    He hesitated. ¡°... Coordinate on the plans for your debut party.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± If that¡¯s the case, then that¡¯s fine. ¡°Okay. Once you''re done, come to my office. I¡¯ll be waiting for you there.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    With that, he continued on his way. I watched him go.


    ***


    I sat down on the couch in my office, alone in the room. I had my servants leave me here and stay outside. Considering that I would be talking with my brother, I needed time with my own thoughts. Mainly thinking about what and how to talk to him in this situation.


    Yeah, I sort of just winged it. I gave some thought beforehand, but not a lot. So now¡­ I¡¯m here, scrambling on how to proceed. Look, I¡¯m just tired of all the fighting okay? This has gone far long enough. We¡¯re already deep into winter, fuck¡¯s sake.


    I have to settle this before it drives me insane.


    I sighed and leaned back further. At that moment, knocks rang out from the door. I abruptly stood up and went to open it. I couldn¡¯t contain my small smile when I saw it was Eleden.


    ¡°B-Brother, come in.¡±


    After letting him in and closing the door, I urged him to sit down. I sat down opposite of him.


    There was a moment of silence before I first spoke. ¡°... So, how are you, brother?¡±


    ¡°... I¡¯m alright.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± He seemed to feel awkward about this. ¡°Do you hate me?¡±


    He winced. ¡° ¡ª No. I don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Are you angry at me?¡±


    He opened his mouth, about to answer, but he stopped.


    I held my fingers together. ¡°Brother, let¡¯s stop this, please. Understand the situation.¡±


    ¡°I understand the situation.¡±


    ¡°Then, why?¡± I looked at him with pitiful eyes.


    ¡°I¡­ You know I love Lillie. It hurts me not to do anything about this.¡±


    ¡°... Brother, I understand that you love her. But you are aware of what pressure we are under.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°Then why do you still hate me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t hate you, Estelia.¡±


    ¡°You do. Anger is not far from hate. It might as well be. All this time, have you still not made your thoughts? I prioritize our family, our home. Our home that will be the first to fall if we don¡¯t prepare accordingly.¡±


    He lowered his gaze. ¡°I don¡¯t hate you, Estelia. I just¡­¡± He closed his eyes, thinking of the proper words. ¡°I just don¡¯t know my place anymore¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I am to be king in the future. And yet here I am, couldn¡¯t even make the choice that is right for the kingdom. Am I even worthy of such a duty?¡±


    ¡°It takes time to learn.¡±


    ¡°I always hear that.¡± He looked displeased. ¡°Always need to learn¡­ But it¡¯s hard¡­ It¡¯s never enough. I thought I fixed one flaw, another one appears.¡±


    ¡°We all have our own flaws. We just have to live with it and change it if we have to.¡±


    ¡°Do you think I must?¡±


    ¡°Yes. You are destined for something greater. The path to greatness is paved with thorns, as they say.¡±


    He sighed. ¡°I am not worthy, Estelia. Of this responsibility. I cannot change for what is required of me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    ¡°Look at you, sister. You are perfect.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°You are not crafted to be a leader, and yet you are an excellent one. Smart, effective. One who inspires the hearts of those under you. You have led the entire kingdom, and I, who was supposedly destined to be king, cannot even put its needs first.¡±


    You and I just have a different upbringing, brother. That was why I was so different. I was crafted not to be a leader, but I was carved in hell. Where every agony sharpened our fangs. Where every loss hardened our hearts. Where crucial lessons we have to learn for ourselves.


    You cannot compare to me.


    However¡­ that doesn''t mean you have to give up.


    ¡°You know your flaws, brother. Is that not the first step to change?¡±


    ¡°Is it?¡±


    ¡°The question is, are you truly willing to change?¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­¡±


    ¡°Then that is progress itself. Knowing your flaws, you¡¯re already changing yourself for the better. I have faith in you. I always will. Remember that.¡±


    I rose from my seat and leaned forward towards him with a smile. ¡°Change is hard, and you must harden yourself as well.¡± I tapped my fist into his chest. ¡°It¡¯s not impossible.¡±


    A tiny amount of tears leaked out from the corner of his eyes, and he quickly rubbed them off. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my sister. For the trouble I gave you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry too.¡±


    He smiled and walked towards me, spreading his arms to give me a tight hug. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I hugged back.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 101: Estelia’s Debut (Part 1)

    Big day! Uh, wait, no, tomorrow¡¯s the big day. But today we¡¯re moving out to the royal grand hall! My golden hour was about to arrive, people! And the heavens will cry my name in praise.


    The palace was busy, as some maids and servants prepared to move out themselves. We¡¯ll be bringing out a lot of them to help in the grand hall. After taking a bath and having breakfast, I coordinated with my mother with the extra clothes that I will take with me.


    By the way, I have received the dress that Mervizo and Kali designed. It¡¯s in a wooden box to be stored and moved around safely. I have to say, it was amazing as fuck! It was the most beautiful dress I have ever seen in both my lives.


    Not even those corny dresses in fashion shows or in Miss Universe can beat it. Shit, I¡¯m so excited to wear it. But I have to resist the temptation. I¡¯ll get there. I get to wear it once the dancing section is finished.


    I also have a special dress they made for the dance, but it was nothing too special. There was already a template for such a design. You could think of it as some sort of traditional dance. But there was some liberty in expanding its design. And my dancing dress was not too far themed to my main dress.


    I saw it, it was beautiful too. But nothing beats my main one!


    Mother had filled up a case with my extra clothes. You know, to be honest, I could have done that. It frightens me a little when she scours the cabinet, considering that my daggers were hidden somewhere there. True, she wouldn¡¯t just find it that easily, but it worries me still.


    Ah, I have to leave my weapons behind. I didn¡¯t have a place to hide them anywhere.


    Plus, the palace would be mostly empty when we leave.


    ¡°Mother, what will the security of the palace be?¡±


    ¡°Will be tighter than usual. We can¡¯t have anyone sneaking in to steal something important.¡±


    ¡°Oh, then we¡¯ll have nothing to worry about.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    With us done here, I went down the stairs before to the palace entrance as servants carried my luggage. Winter was thawing. Outside were dozens of carriages all lined up. Servants were preparing to ride, while others were putting in their equipment. Others placed luggages of all kinds.


    I saw two of my dresses¡¯ boxes being placed on a special carriage. Wow, this was going to be a long convoy. Not to mention the security. Church fighters will also be included and should arrive shortly. Yeah, the high bishop will be attending and coming with us.


    ¡°Princess.¡± Rogan came up to me. He was carrying his own baggage.


    I looked at him from up and down. He was wearing a more fancy suit. Merely a sword hanging on his waist.


    ¡°Sir Rogan. I see you¡¯re dressed for the occasion.¡±


    ¡°Hey, what do you mean by that? I¡¯m always properly dressed.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡±


    ¡°But I have prepared my new finest suit for tomorrow. I¡¯m gonna look pretty good, believe me.¡± He tapped on his case.


    ¡°You¡¯re giving it your all, huh?¡±


    ¡°As your knight, why wouldn¡¯t I? It¡¯s your birthday, and I must look so good that other ladies would swoon all over me.¡±


    I winced and slapped him on the arm.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°What?!¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Just put in your belongings among the baggage.¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine.¡±


    ¡°And oh, to not raise your expectations. As my knight, you¡¯ll be staying beside me. So you won¡¯t be able to talk to other ladies much.¡±


    His face turned into shock before slouching in disappointment as he went and handled his luggage. Aaaw, pity.


    Shifting my sight, I saw Vernon and Mera putting in their luggage for transport, too. Instead of their uniform, they wore a more civilian and formal clothes. They may look like off duty, but they''ll still be assisting me.


    Once they were done, they made their way towards me.


    ¡°You two look good,¡± I said to them with a smile.


    Mera blushed, and Vernon slightly bowed his head.


    ¡°Are you ready, your highness?¡± Vernon asked.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m only waiting for everyone to move out.¡±


    ¡°This will be the biggest event in a while.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± I was a bit pressured, honestly. But oh well, I¡¯ll get through it.


    Just then, a couple of carriages from the church arrived. The high bishop emerged from one, along with him were Astine and Tina. The rest of the church members exited their carriages, numbering four.


    The high bishop and the two young women approached me and bowed.


    ¡°Greetings, your esteemed highness,¡± said the bishop. ¡°The world is blessed today, and more tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m glad to see you came, high bishop. You all may raise your heads.¡±


    I glanced at Astine, she was the same as ever. Tina, on the other hand, cut her hair to neck¡¯s length. What¡¯s up with her? Did she undergo some sort of life-changing moment and got a change of character? Huh, I wonder who caused that.


    ¡°I have brought my finest warriors to guard you, your highness. You have nothing to worry about.¡±


    ¡°Great! I¡¯m relieved to hear that.¡±


    Now my convoy was fully loaded! Elite knights, and church fighters. We could take on an entire city with this shit.


    ¡°Is everything ready?¡± I heard my father speak out from behind me.


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± a servant replied.


    ¡°Good.¡± He was then joined in by the rest of my family.


    Noticing the high bishop, they approached and greeted him. I looked at Eleden, and we smiled at each other.


    ¡°Finally, you¡¯re here, Xenous.¡±


    ¡°I was not late, am I, your majesty?¡±


    ¡°Just on schedule. We¡¯ll run final checks and we can move out.¡±


    Mother patted my head. ¡°You can go in your carriage now, dear.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    I nodded at Vernon and Mera before heading out for my carriage. It was luxurious looking, like the others. So mine didn¡¯t particularly stand out.


    Rogan opened the door for me, and the two of us entered inside. Not long before the convoy moved out.


    ***


    I stepped out of my carriage and looked up at the building before me with wide and awed eyes. The Royal Grand Hall. It stood all alone in this vast open area, and reached up very high, it was taller than the palace. The building had three stories, numerous windows on each floor, and along with the walls were crafted and drawn with beautiful sculptures and carvings. Metals bend to create shapes like leaves and flowers.


    It was very, very big in my last memory of this place. But then again, I was small at that time.


    ¡°Wow, cool place,¡± Rogan remarked with a whistle.


    ¡°A historical building¡­¡± Almost reminded of the old ancient buildings back in my old world. Those that came from different eras of history. It was just this one here, had a unique style.


    I heard a carriage door open and saw my parents coming out. I shouted at them. ¡°Can I go in?!¡±


    The two looked at each other with an amused smile.


    Father answered me. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    I giggled excitedly and strolled onward with my knight as Vernon and Mera joined in on us. There were already people watching the door, and they opened it for me.


    I gasped a little when I saw the hallway. Holy shit, everything was basically sparkling. Everything was so clean, everything was so expensive. Walls were so detailed, and the way was aptly lit by lamps and small chandeliers.


    I also heard Mera gasping next to me, looking at everything with wide eyes. Pretty awesome, right?


    We walked straight up the corridor, straight to the center. It took some time before we reached the door to the main chamber, considering how big this place was. When the double doors were dramatically opened, I let out an audible gasp.


    I stepped further inside the main chamber, at the center of the wide open floor.


    ¡°Incredible,¡± Mera muttered as she was mesmerized at the place.


    Just how expensive was this place? If it¡¯s with a currency back in my old world, this place would cost maybe a billion, or more.


    The floor was so clean and shiny, bearing a large illustration of wisteria flowers going up to the sides. A large chandelier hung at the center, along with many smaller ones. Glass windows on the roof as well, letting in the light and air from the outside world. The pillars and walls were embedded with gold and silver, along with sculptures and carvings. Drawings and colors of purple, truly expressing royalty and the kingdom of Wisteria. At the front, on the chamber wall, was the giant flag of the home kingdom.


    This was the place where my birthday party would take place. The most beautiful place in place in the kingdom. A place of grandeur.


    I smiled widely, extremely pleased.


    It was every girl¡¯s dream.


    Tomorrow will be my biggest day.


    I¡¯m so looking forward to it.


    Advance happy birthday to me.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 102: Estelia’s Debut (Part 2)

    It was an auspicious day, where nobles from all over the kingdom came to the capital city once more. Almost similar to the time of the festival. Although, with a lesser number of aristocrats coming, only those with invitations in hand.


    Guards fully equipped were all over the city, from the walls to the streets. Even before entry, the common needed to be strictly checked. Everyone in the city was aware of the occasion as white strings and fabrics decorated the streets, almost like a festival.


    It was the birthday of the mysterious princess of white, and her debut event. And the city was beautified as though trying to catch up with her peerless beauty.


    The event was centered around the Royal Grand Hall. Way early in the morning, just as the sun had shown its first light, several carriages had already pulled up to the entrance. The nobles headed straight for the rooms indicated on their invitations.


    The event was to start just after sunset, just enough time for the rest of the nobles to arrive from various parts of the kingdom. The thawing snow had made travel easy, so there was no excuse to miss this important celebration.


    The Royal Grand Hall was littered with guards, not a section was unwatched. It was severely more secure than the events that took place here before. Some nobles were even a little frustrated and surprised by this. But they could do nothing about it.


    As the day passed, and the sun had almost disappeared from the horizon, the guests gathered inside the main chamber. They sat down on fancy chairs by the dozens of tables, speaking with acquaintances, or kindling new friendships. Especially the younger ones.


    Handsome young men trying to charm young ladies, the others making new connections to be used in politics. The older ones discuss casual topics, while others discuss business opportunities.


    There were only snacks prepared for the time being, no dishes or even liquor. For during the princess¡¯s entrance and performance, there shall be no distractions. All eyes must be on her.


    The most skillful band, even the winner of the singing competition in the last festival, was present in the room, singing and playing melodies for everyone to enjoy and to fill the silence. Another group of musicians were also present, but they were under the royal family to play for later.


    The windows on the ceiling showed the darkening sky, and the chandeliers and other lights shone brighter in the room. It was time to start.


    The royal family, the two princes, the king and the queen, stepped into the open front. A servant announced. ¡°Presenting the royal family!¡±


    All the guests quieted down, and the music came to a stop.


    The royal family wore the most beautiful and luxurious of all outfits, outshining those beneath them. The king and queen wore the color of white and jade. While the other two princes flourished the color of white and the bluish of sapphire.


    The king took the lead. ¡°I thank everyone for coming to this very special occasion. The birthday of my dearest daughter, Princess Estelia. This has been the biggest celebration we have had in a long while, and we are so excited.


    ¡°Today marks the day that our sole princess has reached the age of seventeen, her first step into adulthood. Her debut into a new door of life and society!¡±


    Everyone, as if on cue, gave a loud round of applause.


    The king waited for it to quiet down before continuing. ¡°My daughter is the sweetest there is. And I¡¯m proud to have her as my child. This could be the day that some of you will first see and meet the princess, and I¡¯m excited for everyone to see her today. Please, treat her with kindness, tenderness, and respect, for she is as precious as gold, and a heart as fragile as glass.¡± He smiled softly.


    He continued, ¡°For today¡¯s event, we will begin with the traditional dance, Graceful Gale. Which will be performed by her highness the princess, along with her friends from the Teristro, Natarel, Yveno, and Jezuri households.¡±


    The musicians of the royals got into position and readied to play their instruments.


    ¡°Let¡¯s give them a round of applause!¡± the king said lastly and the royal family moved away from the front floor.


    Soft music began to play and echo across the room, going high and low. From behind the wall, young ladies came out with rhythmic steps, following the tune. Four young ladies of capital nobles took their steps with grace and waved their arms slowly as they lined up. Short golden strips of fabric were tied on each of their wrists, around seven inches in length, and they waved in the air with every motion.


    Their faces were calm and sweet, their makeup enhanced their overall beauty. Their dresses were of varied color but remained the dominant white, and the designs were fundamentally the same, with small differences. The skirts reached above their ankles that allowed for more mobility. Their heels were all new and shiny. Their hair was decorated with fancy accessories made up of different jewels.


    Once they had made a line, an open space was left at the center, and they all paused for elegant poses. The music slowly changed, something that suggested soft anticipation.


    And at that moment, the last young lady emerged.


    Everyone held their breath at the first sight of her. She stepped onto the floor with soft steps, with a gentle smile that beat the flowers blooming in the morning. The wave of her hands, and the wave of the fabrics attached to her wrists, were the most graceful. As there was a shift in the music, she did the most elegant twirl as she joined the line of ladies.


    She had the most calm, the sweetest, and the most peaceful face of them all. Hers was the lightest of makeup, perhaps because she wouldn¡¯t need them in the first place. For she was already the most beautiful in the room.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Her skin was as white as snow, not a flaw to it. Her hair was as white as platinum, tied and fashioned beautifully, glimmering under the light. A pair of soft crimson eyes peered around. She wore a dress more beautiful than the rest, colored in white and gold, and white heels most unique.


    Everyone who watched, regardless of gender and age, looked at her with extreme awe and captivation.


    The music shifted, and the group began to dance as one. Perfectly synchronized with each other, they swayed their hands gracefully as their legs moved. They twirled and the strips of fabric danced in the air.


    Normally, people¡¯s eyes would be pointed to the different dancers on the floor. However, their gazes were mostly stuck to the princess alone. The way she performed was perfect. The way she moved her legs and feet, her arms, her twirls, and most of all, her facial expressions and the way she looked at the audience, all was superb.


    All that watched lost awareness of the passage of time. For time mattered little.


    The dancers moved and switched places, but none could defeat her elegance. Indeed, it almost felt like the world was moving altogether for once. All at peace, all in harmony. The young men around the same age as her easily fell in love.


    No, they were already in love the moment they laid eyes on her.


    There came a part of the dance where the others kneeled in the form of a circle as the princess stood at the center. She twirled and danced all alone as the music grew in intensity.


    The princess smiled a little, and both young men and women blushed.


    All watched in complete silence, for they must not miss a second of this performance. To do so would be blasphemy.


    Before they knew it, the music slowed down, and the princess, along with her entourage, bowed.


    The audience felt quite empty and saddened that it was over. Even so, they applauded. They applauded so loudly that it was almost deafening.


    As the performers made their exit to the back, the princess took a glance to the side with a small smile. The group of young few that received her gaze froze, while one young man and woman fainted, prompting their friends to catch them.


    Only when the performers left did the servants and knights get to tend on the two.


    With an awkward smile, the king stepped into the front once more. ¡°And that was Princess Estelia and her friends. It¡¯s been a while since that dance was ever performed. And I am in awe of their performance myself. Now then, for now, before the debutante¡¯s return, let us enjoy some intermissions from our talented musicians. More food will be served. Until it¡¯s time for her to have her entrance once again.¡±


    Once the music played, the king went straight to check on the two that fainted, who were sitting down on chairs.


    ¡°Are you two alright?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Y-Your majesty¡ª¡±


    ¡° ¡ª There¡¯s no need to stand.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m fine, my king.¡±


    ¡°And so am I.¡±


    ¡°My king, I have never seen anyone so¡­ so¡­¡± the man stammered. ¡°... I do not have the words to describe it.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I could not endure it¡­ She is all girls that dreamed of becoming.¡±


    The king wryly smiled. ¡°Is that so? If you wish to talk with her, there will be a time for it later.¡±


    With that, the king returned to the table of the royal family.


    ¡°Are they going to be fine?¡± the queen asked.


    ¡°Oh yes. They¡¯re just, you could say, overwhelmed.¡±


    ¡°By Estel?¡± the younger prince inquired.


    ¡°Yes. Her performance was amazing, after all.¡±


    ¡°Looks like we underestimated her impact,¡± the elder prince remarked.


    ¡°I suppose you could say that.¡±


    The queen chuckled. ¡°I do look forward to her formal gown entrance.¡±


    ***


    Villeta gave off a long and heavy sigh as we walked down the corridor at the back. ¡°I¡¯ve never been so nervous and pressured in a while.¡±


    I followed everyone from behind and listened with a small and calm smile.


    Mizia nodded vigorously. ¡°I was so scared I''d make a mistake¡­ But it was a fun experience!¡±


    ¡°I too was feeling a little nervous, but I practiced hard. So I was quite confident I¡¯ll do fine.¡± Shena shrugged with a proud smile.


    Huh, of course she would be. Considering her mother was Eleanore, I imagine even in their home, Shena was still working hard until they achieved perfection.


    Arenza suddenly clung to my arm. ¡°Overall I think we did a pretty great job! Especially her highness. Did you notice how everyone looked at her?¡±


    ¡°Eh? Me?¡± I shyly looked away.


    ¡°She¡¯s right,¡± said Mizia. ¡°You were so different, I almost thought you were a different person.¡±


    ¡°Surely not. I think we all equally did a great job. The performance wouldn¡¯t have worked without each and every one of us.¡±


    ¡°Oh come now, stop being so humble. It¡¯s okay to take praise often,¡± said Arenza.


    I blushed. ¡°But it¡¯s true. That is what I think. In any case, it¡¯s over, that is a cause for celebration.¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± Shena nodded. And she smiled shyly. ¡°To be honest, I will miss our practice sessions together.¡±


    Mizia held Shena¡¯s hand. ¡°We can still meet up, you know. We can meet at my house at least once a month.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°That is a good idea,¡± Villeta agreed. ¡°But I might get busy at times, so don¡¯t expect I¡¯ll be present all the time.¡±


    ¡°But Lady Villeta, we¡¯ll be looking forward to your stories about the happenings in the kingdom.¡±


    Villeta chuckled. ¡°Even I will need to gather new stories every now and then.¡±


    Stories meant gossip, of course. I mean, wow, during our practice sessions, Villeta truly knew a lot of drama around the kingdom. From heartbreaks, quarrels, kindling love stories, even family disputes or any kind of rumors in different places. How does she do that? Don¡¯t know, but I just know she had a lot of friends.


    ¡°I¡¯m a go with that,¡± Arenza beamed. ¡°What about you, princess?¡±


    ¡°... Y-Yes¡­ I think I can do that.¡±


    Once a month? I guess I can do that? That would be fun.


    Mizia clapped. ¡°It¡¯s settled then, perhaps we can start next month?¡±


    Everyone concurred. Hm, what were my plans for next month? Nothing important, I think.


    We arrived at the rooms we were using as changing rooms. Servants for each of us ladies were awaiting our arrival.


    ¡°Ladies, we saw your performance. It was splendid.¡± The current head servant said. And we ladies felt satisfied and overjoyed. ¡°However, we will need to be quick and switch you to your formal gowns.¡±


    Servants quickly guided us to each of our rooms. Right outside the door of my room, my three servants were standing. They all put on their beautiful outfits for the occasion.


    I stopped and asked Rogan as the closest. ¡°Did you watch?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± he replied. ¡°It was the most beautiful dancing performance I have ever seen.¡±


    When he said it, my smile grew. It meant something coming from him.


    ¡°Indeed, princess, you were excellent,¡± said Vernon.


    Mera, on the other hand, was blushing and merely nodded. By how she looked, I already knew what she thought of my performance.


    With a proud smile, I entered my room along with them.


    Inside were other servants, all female. My formal gown was still inside the box placed in the corner. With it were Mervizo and Kali. The former smiled widely the moment I entered.


    ¡°Your highness! I saw your performance. You were ethereal!¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°However, with this outfit, you will become divine! Now then everyone, prepare the princess and prepare to move this precious gown.¡±


    A woman in her middle age chimed in. She was so neat and stylish. ¡°I¡¯m the lead here, Mervizo. Stop giving orders.¡±


    ¡°Oh right. Go ahead, lady.¡±


    This woman was my fashionista.


    She gave orders. ¡°Help the princess remove her dancing dress. For the men, just to be sure, face the door!¡± Of course the men complied, including Mervizo with a pout. ¡°Bring the dressing screen!¡±


    They placed the dressing screen at the center of the room, and the ladies immediately helped remove my current clothes. We didn¡¯t have all the time in the world here, so no slowing down. Yeah, everything was so busy.


    Once I was left in my underwear, they prepared my main outfit. I felt a little embarrassed when I¡¯m not wearing proper clothes in front of a lot of people. The ladies working on me couldn¡¯t help but sigh in awe at my sight.


    My fashionista stood in front of me with a stern look. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s begin. And be extra careful!¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 103: Estelias Debut (Part 3)

    Everyone watched and listened to the singing performer. While others were entertained and distracted by the company of others, there were some that couldn¡¯t forget the previous dance performance. How could they forget it?


    A group of young nobles gathered, young men and women. A few of them had already met, while some were meeting for the first time. But they were brought together by one thing. Their admiration for the princess.


    ¡°When is she going to come out again?¡± A young man asked, growing impatient.


    ¡°It should be at any moment now,¡± another man answered.


    They wanted to see her again. This desire was so hard to resist.


    A young lady frowned. ¡°Give her all the time she needs. It¡¯s not easy to change outfits on an occasion like this.¡±


    The other ladies agreed vocally.


    One man slapped a hand on his brow. ¡°To think I missed her during the festival¡­ I should have attended.¡±


    ¡°Seeing her for the first time was a great blessing. But the second time, this time, was even more than that.¡±


    One of the ladies added, ¡°I want to be friends with her.¡±


    ¡°I want to talk to her.¡±


    Princess Estelia made waves into the young aristocratic circle. But the awe and mesmerization was nothing compared to what was to come.


    A servant whispered to the king, and once a song was finished, he held out his hand. Raising from his chair and walking to the center floor.


    ¡°The time has come, ladies and gentleman,¡± he said in a loud and grand voice. ¡°I present to you our esteemed debutante ¡ª the sole princess of the kingdom, Princess Estelia of Wisteria!¡±


    The king promptly left the floor and went back to his seat as the soft music grew louder. Everyone held their breath in anticipation. There was pure silence but the music to greet her entrance. Everyone¡¯s heart thumped in excitement.


    A white and golden high heel stepped out into the open. Everyone held their gasps as the princess emerged in her blinding radiance. Everyone who was there to witness this very scenery had their breath taken, while others almost cried.


    They had a glimpse of divinity.


    It felt like the world was shining, compensating for the presence before it. The night moon became unveiled by the clouds and shot its rays of light through the glass windows on the roof. Every jewel, every gold, everything that once was valuable in this very room, had lost its worth.


    For she was the most valuable treasure herself.


    Time slowed down, as if giving everyone the time needed to fully comprehend and behold the most beautiful thing in the universe. Her dress was simple yet grand, flourishing the purity of white and the allure of glistening gold.


    A pair of roses knitted in white and gold expressed their bloom on her waist. Actual gold served as her waistband, and more strips of the same precious metal spread from her chest to her bare shoulders, shaped in vines and tiny leaves. Golden cuff earrings adorned her ears.


    Her¡¯s was the palest of skin, as beautiful as winter snow. Her extraordinarily long hair brandished the rarity of platinum as it glimmered amidst all light. Atop her gentle head were tiny Wisteria flowers made of gold, almost forming a crown. Her eyes were the softest, they were as deep as blood, and more beautiful than the crimson of ruby.


    She walked with the highest of elegance. Her gown swayed smoother than a gently flowing river in spring.


    The people wanted to shout their praise and others to scream out their affections. But making even a single noise felt like the greatest transgression one could ever commit.


    Divinity has graced them with her presence. The one they often heard as the Pure Princess was truly the most beautiful. That was an undeniable fact.


    When the princess reached the center, a pair came in. One was an old man, who some recognized as the king¡¯s butler, well he was once. While the other was a young one, the princess¡¯s personal knight. The old man was carrying a seat, and he placed it behind the princess. Once the princess sat down, her personal knight gave her a musical instrument, a liathre.


    After placing it on her lap, and the bridge by her shoulder, she placed her fingers on the strings. The two servants quickly left and returned to the crowd.


    It was the time for her musical performance.


    She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, as if to alleviate her nervousness. Once she opened them, she formed a chord and plucked a string. From then on, the tune continued flowing like an uninterruptible stream of water.


    Her instrumental song was soothing, slow, and beautiful. Almost sounded like it appreciates everything in this world. It calls out to the beauty of nature. The evergreen trees that brighten the world. The colorful flowers blooming that serve to enrich our day. The endless expanse of the sky that blessed us with its never ending mystery, from its blue to its stars filled night. Even appreciating all things that lived, and the sounds they make to bring tune in our lands. Where people laugh, or they cry, or merely speak.


    Appreciating all things wonderful. For this was indeed a wonderful world.


    Before everyone knew it, the song came to an end.


    The princess formed a pleased smile. Being overwhelmed by her beautiful performance, there was a delay in the audience¡¯s applause.


    First it was her parents that applauded before the wave followed.


    Her knight promptly came and received her instrument before leaving the floor. The princess rose from her seat and curtsied gracefully.


    ¡°Thank you everyone,¡± the princess spoke for the first time. ¡°I hope you enjoyed my performance. I appreciate you coming to celebrate my seventeenth birthday. To see this many people for my sake, deep in my heart, I am overjoyed.¡± Her voice was the sweetest and most endearing. ¡°Let us not take too long and enjoy the night. Let the feast begin.¡±


    ***


    The servants placed different kinds of dishes on the tables, while at the corners there were other tables as well where anyone can get food from. And as everyone ate, gentle music played. The guests enjoyed the food of course, they were looking forward to it ever since they arrived. But they have something else in mind now, someone they want to try speaking to.


    It was me!


    Hey, it¡¯s your girl, ol pretty Estelia at her birthday party! Anyone love my performances? Of course everyone did. I worked hard for that shit! And the dancing oooooh I¡¯m not doing anything like that again. But the music part, yeah I love that. Got to play one of my classic favorites.


    Anyways, I did a lot of preparations for this day. It was worth it, love their reactions! And this gown was amazing! Oh my, this was the best thing I have ever worn in my entire life. I¡¯m literally shining.


    Anyways, there were a lot of people around. I mean that¡¯s to be expected, but it¡¯s the first time to have this many people for me. All the food looked so delicious too. But at the moment, the royalties were mildly eating ¡ª except for me, I was not eating yet at all. You know why? Because I still have to meet and greet everyone, especially receiving gifts.


    I was sitting on my fancy chair next to my family¡¯s table as the first guest approached me. Unsurprisingly, it was Uncle Meril, with his wife, and Mizia who was wearing her fancy crimson gown. If I was the most beautiful here, my dear cousin would be second ¡ª if we only look at young ladies. ¡®Cause if we include adults, mommy dear would be the second.


    ¡°Happy birthday, niece.¡±


    Uncle greeted me first, followed by the other two.


    ¡°You look so beautiful, Estelia.¡± Mizia squirmed around and squealed, smiling adorably with a blush on her cheeks.


    In her hands was a box.


    ¡°T-Thank you, Mizia.¡±


    ¡°Here is the gift from our family.¡± She handed me her gift.


    After receiving it, I gave the three of them a sweet smile. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Talk to you later, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Considering that there will still be many that were giving me gifts, the guests would not take long in speaking with me.


    I had their gift placed at a more special spot than the rest that were to come.


    Next were the other capital noble families. So I got to see my tea party friends in their beautiful gowns. The young Lyndsey was even here. She looked like she was doing fine. Although she expressed her disappointment that she wasn¡¯t able to join my performance. But I consoled her that it¡¯s alright, and told her our monthly tea party plan.


    Next to arrive was the high bishop and his two usual entourage. The three deeply bowed as the bishop spoke. ¡°Happiest birthday to you, your highness. May the heavens bless your days that are to come. And may the Lord and Lady watch over you.¡±


    I nodded.


    He received a fancy box from Tina and gave it to me. ¡°Here is our present to you, princess.¡±


    I received it with a heartfelt smile. ¡°You have my sincere thanks, high bishop. May the gods bless you.¡±


    He froze for a moment before cackling. It was weird as fuck.


    ¡°I am grateful, your highness.¡±


    With that, he left and another came in. And this process went on. There were some amusing ones.


    Like here, one with some noble family. I have no connection with them whatsoever, but I knew their name. Mother made me memorize their family. All my mother or Vernon had to whisper to me was their family name and I already know which one¡¯s which.


    Anyways, they have a son around my age.


    ¡°This is my son¡ª¡± bla bla introducing him to me.


    The young man smiled with charm. ¡°Greetings, your highness. Your performance was the best thing I have ever seen in my life.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°I hope we can be friends when this party is over.¡±


    I could only smile.


    You¡¯re no one impressive.


    Next!


    Yeah, there were some guys trying to charm me or something. But the ladies were not so different. Like this one, for example.


    ¡°Your highness, I¡¯m so happy that we can finally talk.¡±


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m¡ª¡± bla bla introducing herself. ¡°You¡¯re so pretty.¡± Her eyes were practically sparkling. ¡°I hope we can be friends before the party is over.¡±


    Again, I could only smile.


    She continued. ¡°E-Even though I¡¯m unworthy, may I please touch your hand?¡±


    See? Although that request was a bit surprising. Anyways, I let her touch my hand, and she was flustered all the while.


    Oh well. Time to move on. Eventually someone I knew arrived, bringing his family in tow.


    It was Lucious with his parents. He smiled with genuine joy and looked at me as if falling in love all over again. ¡°Hello, Princess Estelia.¡± He greeted me in a formal manner. We¡¯re in a public setting, after all.


    ¡°Hello, Lucious.¡± I kindly smiled back.


    ¡°You look wonderful, as always.¡±


    ¡°You look well yourself.¡±


    His smile grew wider, and he pulled his suit. ¡°Meet my parents. I know it¡¯s been a long time since you last saw each other.¡±


    ¡°Hello, your highness. Last time I saw you, you were still a small child,¡± his mother said, extending her hand.


    I shook it without hesitation.


    ¡°I hope my son has not been too much of a trouble to you.¡± His father extended his hand with a humorous smile.


    ¡°No, he¡¯s quite helpful.¡± I shook his hand, too.


    ¡°Please, if he does something terrible, feel free to tell me.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°Sure.¡±


    Lucious placed a hand on the back of his head, feeling embarrassed. ¡°A-Anyway, here¡¯s my, our, gift to you, E¡ª Princess Estelia.¡±


    He handed me a box.


    He continued once I received it. ¡°I noticed you¡¯ve been into a new hobby. I hope this will be a good addition.¡±


    Unlike the others, I opened it on the spot. Inside was a thick book, while beside it was a small flower made of gold. Seeing it, I couldn¡¯t help but smile softly. I opened the book to take a peek.


    Lucious then spoke. ¡°Um, it¡¯s a book from the Holy Kingdom. From my knowledge, there shouldn¡¯t be any copy of it in the palace library, so I chose that. It¡¯s a collection of tales in that nation.¡±


    A new book for my collection! I¡¯ve been deliberating and running out of interesting things to read. So this was good timing.


    I closed the book and touched the golden flower. It was beautiful.


    I faced Lucious with a tender smile. ¡°I love your gifts, Lucious. Thank you. I¡¯ll start reading your book later tonight, before going to sleep.¡±


    Lucious, while apparently overjoyed, bowed his head. ¡°Later then, princess.¡±


    With that, he left. I separated his gift from the others, joining in with Mizia¡¯s.


    And the greeting process continued on.


    Eventually, Mera¡¯s parents arrived. Like wow, this was the first time I met her parents.


    ¡°It is a great honor to finally meet you face to face, your highness,¡± her father said as both her parents bowed deeply.


    Mera was standing beside me by the way, smiling, happy to see her parents.


    ¡°We are so thankful that you took our dear Mera as an attendant. It is the greatest achievement of the family.¡±


    I smiled with a nod. ¡°You have a wonderful daughter, she is a reliable person. I¡¯m glad to have her by my side.¡±


    ¡°We are overjoyed to hear that,¡± her father said. ¡°We didn¡¯t expect someone of our status could catch your attention.¡±


    ¡°If someone is excellent enough, they tend to catch the attention of those above them. Is everything doing better on your side?¡±


    ¡°Yes, princess. All thanks to you and the royal family.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°Here is our gift for your precious day.¡±


    I received the box. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t take too long of your time. Please excuse us.¡±


    They left to let the next one step forward. But before that, I turned towards my maid. ¡°Mera, go to your family. I¡¯m sure you miss them.¡±


    ¡°But milady, I am to serve you here¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. Go. Be with your family tonight.¡±


    She glanced towards her family walking to their table. After a bit of hesitation, she nodded with a small smile. ¡°I will do so. Thank you, milady.¡±


    And there she went, sauntering towards her family. Considering that it was Mera¡¯s family, I placed their gift with Lucious¡¯s gift.


    And the process went on.


    I was getting a little hungry, and tired. Thankfully, it didn¡¯t take too long to be over, and I finally started truly eating with the family. Of course, I had my two servants eat too.


    The food? So fucking delicious! I could eat dozens of plates just for tonight. However, I¡¯m in a gown, so I shouldn¡¯t do something like that. Besides, I think I could only eat a max of two plates before getting full. Such is the limitation of a small stomach.


    When I felt I was almost full, I stopped. I looked at my surroundings. It was noisy, everyone chattering, laughing. Everyone appeared to be having a good time. On the other hand, ballroom dancing would be starting soon.


    Considering that I was just done eating, it wouldn¡¯t be good if I started dancing with a full stomach. I needed to stand, but I really didn¡¯t want to talk with strangers just yet. Huh, my socializing energy was depleting fast.


    I needed some fresh air. There was a small garden somewhere for that very purpose. Yeah, a garden inside a building, pretty nice. A little silence would be pleasant after all what¡¯s happening. To be honest, given that my birthday was celebrated this much, I felt quite overwhelmed.


    I glanced at Rogan, he was done eating as well. Vernon, meanwhile, was still enjoying it, he¡¯s eating a lot!


    ¡°I¡¯ll go get some fresh air,¡± I said to my family. ¡°I¡¯ll be in the garden.¡±


    ¡°Careful, okay?¡± Mother said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll bring Rogan with me.¡± I drank juice one last time. ¡°I¡¯ll return when my stomach feels a bit lighter.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t miss the dance,¡± said my father.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    I rose from my seat and was heading for Rogan. Midway, Mera suddenly came to me.


    ¡°Milady.¡±


    ¡°Mera, I thought I told you to be with your family tonight.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but, I want to give my present.¡±


    ¡°Hm? But your family has already given one to me.¡±


    ¡°This is from me.¡± She smiled and presented a small box. ¡°Here.¡±


    I received the box and immediately opened it. Inside was a simple red bracelet. It was a bunch of loops, like a group of infinity symbols linked to each other.


    ¡°I knitted it myself.¡±


    I smiled and slipped it into my right hand. ¡°This is beautiful, Mera. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°... Uh, y-yes¡­ Milady, I¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    She cast down her gaze, looking nervous. ¡°I hope we can be friends, milady.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we already friends?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that¡­ I mean true friends.¡±


    Oh. Thinking about it, I never saw Mera as a true friend of mine. She was more like a good servant that I have a good relationship with. However¡­ She has been loyal ever since I first arrived in this world, a trustworthy person. Perhaps¡­ yes. Why not?


    I reached out for her hand, while the other patted her on the head. She was adorable.


    She froze, unable to process what was happening.


    I said to her, ¡°Of course we can. You¡¯re a true friend of mine, Mera.¡±


    She was so happy that her smile might as well reach both her ears. Small tears came out of the corner of her eyes.


    ¡°Now, go to your family and enjoy this night.¡±


    She nodded and went straight back to her parents. I placed her empty box in my more important and personal pile.


    Vernon first noticed me going and he was about to stand up, but I raised my hand.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need, you can keep enjoying the food.¡±


    ¡°If you say so, princess. But before all else, let me give my gift to you.¡±


    Gift? I didn¡¯t expect such a thing even from him.


    Oh, I did see a box on his table. Standing up, he gave me his present. Opening it revealed a fancy mug, but taller than I usually use.


    ¡°I was thinking that you might need a bigger mug for your hot chocolates.¡±


    Hearing that, I couldn¡¯t help but giggle. How thoughtful of him. ¡°Thank you, this is a big help, Vernon.¡±


    I closed the box and placed it in the special pile. As Vernon returned to his dining, I nodded towards Rogan and got ahead of slipping away from this room. He caught up not long after.


    On the way to the garden, he asked me quite a casual question. ¡°Just curious. Is it hard to walk in that outfit?¡±


    I frowned a little, I didn¡¯t expect that. ¡°No, it¡¯s not.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Nice to know.¡±


    ¡°You like it?¡± I smirked.


    ¡°Come on, do you really need to ask?¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°So you like it. Want to try wearing it later?¡± I teased.


    He frowned. ¡°Ha-ha, very funny princess.¡±


    Indeed, so hilarious.


    We arrived in the garden. Faint lamp light and moonlight filled the room. Flowers and fruits were planted all over. I took in a deep breath with closed eyes. The silence, the peace here, was rejuvenating.


    ¡°Tired?¡± Rogan asked from behind me.


    ¡°No, not really.¡± I opened my eyes and took in the scenery. ¡°You see Rogan, this is the biggest occasion I had that was for me. Everyone was celebrating for me. I never felt more valued, more¡­ special. And that¡­ overwhelms me a little.¡±


    ¡°I see. It is good to have a breather at a party for once in a while.¡±


    ¡°Yes. This is definitely¡­ one of my best days.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re happy.¡±


    ¡°This was one of the things I wanted to experience...¡±


    I have seen plenty of people in my old life that had experiences like this, even in shows or movies. Where families gather and greet them during birthdays. It was a curious thing. I never knew my true birthday. How could I? None of us knew. Technically, the birthday I had was when I was freed from the facility. For being released was akin to being born into the outside world.


    But even that wasn¡¯t celebrated like this. When I saw how it was to other people, I felt¡­ envy, and curiosity. Perhaps that was why I wanted to be in a quiet place for the moment. To cherish this emotion within me, to process everything. This beautiful thing.


    ¡°Princess? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll have an opportunity later, but I have something for you.¡±


    I turned towards him. ¡°A gift?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He pulled out a small box from his coat pocket. ¡°I didn¡¯t really know what you would like, but this is what I thought of giving you.¡±


    ¡°Show it to me.¡±


    He opened the small box, inside was a small hair clip. Colored in shining white, blended with gold. A white flower on top of it. And the material other than gold, it didn¡¯t look like it was silver or anything.


    ¡°It¡¯s um, made of platinum and gold.¡±


    My eyes widened in surprise. ¡°Platinum? That¡¯s a rare material. Where did you even find it?¡±


    ¡°I have plenty of connections I made when I ran away from home. Although,¡± he awkwardly laughed. ¡°I really have to push them to find some.¡±


    ¡°And the crafting, it¡¯s smooth and neat.¡±


    ¡°I, I made it myself. With some help from friends, of course. I¡¯m not skilled enough in stuff like this.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Really¡­ I insisted on platinum. As I thought your accessory should match the rarity of your hair. And the flower, well, nothing could physically express you otherwise. The gold was a little contrast, and yet precious.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what to think. I looked at the hair clip and to Rogan¡¯s eyes with genuine happiness.


    ¡°Thank you so much.¡± I slowly picked up the clip and caressed my thumb on it. ¡°It¡¯s so beautiful, really.¡±


    To think Rogan, as a knight, would find actual platinum. And how expensive could this even be? Even the palace doesn''t have a lot of this. And even that they don¡¯t use much at all. Knowing he gave this to me and went all through the trouble of making this, I couldn¡¯t control myself from smiling.


    ¡°Rogan, please put it on me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to wear it now?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    I handed him the hair clip, and he gently, with a bit of hesitation, placed it on my head. On my beautiful platinum hair.


    I touched the side of my head where the hair clip was. Excited to check it out, I rushed to the nearby glass pane and faintly saw my reflection. It looked good.


    I turned towards Rogan excitedly. ¡°Does it look good on me?¡±


    He grinned. ¡°It looks great.¡±


    I was satisfied.


    This will be one of my cherished treasures.


    We heard the faint music from the main chamber change and grew louder. Ballroom dancing had begun. It was earlier than I wanted.


    ¡°Rogan, want to dance?¡±


    ¡°Dance? Sure, but I don¡¯t think the music is loud enough here for that.¡±


    ¡°I know the song. I can hum it,¡± I hummed the song. ¡°Hmm~ Hmm~ Hmmmm~.¡±


    Rogan chuckled. ¡°Alright. It will be my pleasure to dance with you, O princess of Wisteria.¡±


    He stepped close as I hummed, but he looked shy and awkward. It was adorable. He placed his hand on mine, while I put my other hand on his shoulder, and his other hand on my back.


    ¡°Hmmm~ Hmm~.¡±


    We stared into each other¡¯s eyes with an amused smile, and we took our first steps into the slow dance.


    ***


    The night continued on with the celebration. The ballroom dancing was particularly interesting. Most of the guys were scared of asking me out for a dance. I wonder why. Anyway, Lucious was daring enough to ask me quickly. I took him on his request. He was one of my friends, after all.


    The slow dance was pleasant, it was relaxing.


    After some time, I switched to dancing with my brothers. First it was Estevan, ¡®cause he was so adamant and excited about dancing with me ¡ª almost like he was a kid. Reminds me of when we were young. It was fun dancing with him. He was quite chatty, actually.


    It was more silent with Eleden, more focused on dancing. But it was great. I¡¯m glad we were able to reconcile. I have noticed that he has also been working hard to change his character. In fact, he was more motivated now to work, and he adhered more to the overall plan. Good for you, brother.


    And the final of the most important ones was my father. It was relaxing dancing with him, so safe. Although, he was teasing me a little here and there. I acted all annoyed, and he was amused. Still, I value this moment deep in my heart.


    Eventually, late into the night, the party came to an end. Servants cleaned things up, while the nobles returned to their rooms where they¡¯ll rest and sleep, returning home tomorrow. There were a lot of drunk ones, but there were no incidents whatsoever.


    As for me, well, it was a bit of a struggle to remove my gown. Can I just wear it forever? Hehe, joking.


    Once I switched to my sleeping dress, I wasn¡¯t feeling sleepy yet. And so, as I said, I started reading the book Lucious gave me. Of course, amidst all that, I just dropped asleep.


    Only around mid-morning were we able to move out back to the palace.


    When we arrived, upon entering the palace, my family suddenly all came to me.


    ¡°We have something for you, Estelia.¡± Mother said.


    ¡°You think we wouldn¡¯t have a gift for you, would we?¡±


    I was feeling flustered. But they brought me to my room. My eyes widened at what was on my bed.


    It was a big plushie! Yes! A big ass plushie as tall as me! It wasn¡¯t a teddy bear, but it reminded me of a koala, not exactly, but close to it.


    I walked towards it with a shocked and awed face. I held its head¡­ Oh my goodness, it¡¯s soft as fuuuuck!


    ¡°You¡¯ve been stressed these past few months,¡± said my father. ¡°So we thought of this, so every time you go to bed, you have a soft companion to lie and hold on to.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so cute!¡± I said with enthusiasm. ¡°Thank you!¡± I want to dive into it already.


    They seemed to notice my temptation, and so Mother said, ¡°Then we¡¯ll leave you to it. Rest. I¡¯m sure you need some more sleep.¡±


    With that, they left my room.


    I took in a deep breath before diving into the bed and hugging the plushie, giggling while I¡¯m at it.


    ***


    A few days have passed since my birthday, and everything was peaceful. The snow was almost gone, winter was coming to a close. It was a bit delayed, but oh well.


    Anyway, things are pretty fine right now. And at the moment I and the family were having a pleasant breakfast, I was smiling delightfully.


    I gotta love these days, you know. I have nothing to worry about, at least for this hour, or for today.


    Unexpectedly, a knight entered and immediately whispered something to my father. In the knight¡¯s hand was a scroll, perhaps a letter.


    Once hearing what the knight whispered, father frowned. He received the scroll and opened it up. As he read them, his expression turned for the worse. He was worried, aghast. He placed a hand on his chin.


    ¡°What is it, dear?¡± Mother asked.


    Father put down the paper. ¡°It¡¯s from the Empire. They are sending envoys for the purpose of¡­ peace.¡±


    Huh? Peace?


    ¡°The envoys are the two princes of their empire.¡±


    I froze. Peace, that¡¯s bullshit. But Princes¡­? That¡¯s¡­


    ¡°Their two royals are coming here?¡± Eleden asked warily, as if trying to confirm what he had heard.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    My eyes twitched.


    Letter from the empire¡­?


    ¡°When?¡± Estevan asked.


    ¡°In a few weeks.¡±


    That early?


    My heart sank.


    I dropped my fork and spoon, slowly cradling my head. My thoughts were spiraling into chaos. I didn¡¯t expect something like this. How¡­? Why¡­?


    WHAT THE FUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!

 Vol. 3 Chapter 104: Envoys of Peace (Part 1)

    The chilly wind blew at the grand balcony of the imperial castle. Either a product of the night, or a remnant of the fading winter. Even so, it was a night of the usual celebration of when spring was about to come.


    It was a time when nature regained its vitality, and thus a chance for the Empire to grow a new boon for everyone. Tonight, at any moment, their expression of gratitude and joy shall flash brightly in the dark.


    On this balcony were the two princes. The older, Alistor, was sitting on the railing with a glass of wine in hand. His smooth light brown hair waved calmly in the breeze, and his azure eyes looked over the city. Despite the supposed special occasion, he was not smiling.


    Sitting down by the table, eating a slice of cake, was a younger man with red hair and likewise azure eyes ¡ª the second prince, Cilas. It was only the two of them here. In normal cases, they wouldn¡¯t hang around in the same room for no reason. Each had their own thing to do.


    However, they were companions on the same mission given to them by the Emperor. And, there was to be a brief meeting here, in preparation for their journey to Wisteria. Alistor decided for it to take place here. At least it would have an entertaining view.


    Cilas glanced at his older brother, noticing he appeared to be upset. ¡°You¡¯re affecting my appetite, brother. What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Alistor sipped a little from his glass. ¡°I¡¯m just thinking of our sister.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯ll be safe. Those rebels won¡¯t be able to get near her, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Alistor sighed. ¡°We can¡¯t be sure. It¡¯s been weeks since the fight started.¡±


    ¡°And the rebels are being pushed to the brink. It is stupid anyway to try to fight us.¡±


    ¡°Indeed¡­ What¡¯s wrong with our rule and guiding them to prosperity?¡±


    ¡°Guess the people of Fetreus are different from others. Either they become heroes of their land, or fools. But I suppose there are others that value the freedom they once had.¡±


    ¡°Freedom? They have freedom under our rule.¡±


    Cilas looked in the distant city. ¡°We have our own definition of freedom.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter how they want their freedom, I don¡¯t care about that now. Why has not Father even called Zara back? Things have broken down anyway.¡±


    The sole princess of the Empire, Zara, was sent to the state of Fetreus to settle the civil unrest and douse the kindling of rebellion. However, days later after her arrival, things went sideways. A rebel group came public and fought the forces of the Empire. Zara was left protected in a fort in the region.


    However, the Emperor has not issued an order for her return to the imperial capital. Even the General taking care of her did not request as such.


    ¡°Zara is the jewel of the Empire, she will need to be present to take care of the aftermath. To ease the hearts of the remaining people.¡±


    ¡°Still, it¡¯s dangerous.¡±


    ¡°I doubt the rebels would try to outright kill her. They could use her as a leverage for anything they think of.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡±


    Cilas shrugged. ¡°There¡¯s a high chance it would be the case. In the end, nothing is for certain. Just have faith in our army.¡±


    ¡°They better take care of this before we finish with Wisteria.¡±


    ¡°I think the purging won¡¯t last long. Our sister will be back home when we return.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡±


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    ¡°I¡¯m more worried about us.¡±


    ¡°Since when are you not?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ extremely dangerous out there, at the center of our enemy.¡±


    ¡°If we succeed, we¡¯ll live. And we will. We have strength on our side. Wisteria is weak.¡±


    ¡°... I suppose. Our forces are the most powerful in the continent.¡±


    Footsteps sounded from inside the room. Three men arrived, one was the adviser of the Emperor, Alred. The other was a man the Alistor had seen, but never got acquainted with. The last was a muscular man, Alistor knew him as an excellent knight.


    ¡°Your highness,¡± Alred said as the two of them bowed.


    ¡°Make it quick, Alred. The light show is about to start.¡± Alistor sipped the entire wine.


    He poured another one from the bottle in front of him as Alred spoke.


    ¡°Yes, I would like you to meet Delray. He was the leader of the spying and sabotaging operation in Wisteria.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pleased to meet your highnesses, Prince Alistor, and Prince Cilas.¡±


    Cilas nodded, while Alistor merely kept drinking his wine.


    Alred then continued. ¡°This is ¡ª¡±


    ¡°I know him,¡± Alistor interrupted. ¡°Orven, an elite knight.¡±


    The knight smirked. ¡°It¡¯s an honor to be recognized by you, prince.¡±


    ¡°I wonder, if we fight, will I win?¡±


    Orven paused for a moment. ¡°... A tough question.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying there is a chance you¡¯ll win?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a chance I¡¯ll lose. But I haven¡¯t seen your full capabilities, your highness. So, I wouldn¡¯t really know.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± He switched his eyes back to Alred, urging him to continue.


    ¡°Anyway, the two of them will be coming and cooperating with you in Wisteria. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find them reliable.¡±


    Alistor held out his hand. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the ones that messed up the operations in Wisteria? So why should we trust you?¡±


    There was a brief moment of silence before Delray was the one to answer. ¡°Yes, we failed in Wisteria. However, I won¡¯t let it happen again. I will support you and the mission with all of my being. I will not fail again.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± Alistor squinted his eyes, as if sizing him up.


    ¡°Brother, he did put out some amazing results before it failed. I believe he¡¯s not someone we should disregard so casually. Besides, he is the one most familiar with Wisteria.¡±


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. Do you even have any resources left in Wisteria?¡±


    ¡°I have a few agents there left, with most already retreated back to the homeland, as per order.¡±


    ¡°I see. What will be your role exactly?¡±


    ¡°I will be your contact outside the Wisterian palace. I will prepare every resource you need.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Heh. Very well. We¡¯ll discuss further details next time. Before our departure, make sure everything is ready.¡±


    ¡°Understood, your highness.¡±


    ¡°My prince,¡± Alred called. ¡°I was hoping we¡¯d have a discussion here.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t that be postponed for later?¡±


    ¡°... Well, the most important thing is you meeting these two.¡±


    ¡°Then that¡¯s it. You¡¯re free to leave.¡±


    The three looked at each, and Alred nodded. Delray and Orven both promptly left the room, but Alred remained.


    ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± Alistor asked, a bit annoyed.


    ¡°You are quite in a bad mood, your highness.¡±


    ¡°A family member is currently in a dangerous position.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, Princess Zara. If it brings you comfort, know that the rebels are almost purged. We expect the fight to be over in several days. Although, you¡¯ll be gone to Wisteria by then.¡±


    Alistor, after hearing that good news, put down the wineglass on the railing. ¡°Is that true?¡±


    ¡°Yes. They couldn¡¯t even reach the princess¡¯s fort.¡±


    ¡°Why has my father not called her back when there is fighting?¡±


    ¡°Truth be told, it was disappointing that she failed to mitigate the problem.¡±


    Alistor frowned, displeased.


    But Alred continued. ¡°That is why she must put the people¡¯s faith back to the Empire.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s just as Cilas said¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you satisfied?¡±


    ¡°I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Then, may I remind you of what I mentioned in the past?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Slaying the princess of Wisteria.¡±


    ¡°Oh that. Yeah, I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯ll bring you definite evidence.¡±


    ¡°Excellent.¡± He smiled. ¡°Remember, she is the number one priority.¡±


    ¡°Everyone is equally a priority. I¡¯ll take care of it entirely so we¡¯ll be done with it.¡±


    Alred furrowed his brows. ¡°... Very well.¡±


    ¡°Although Cilas is not as passionate as me.¡±


    Cilas groaned. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best, alright?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you will.¡±


    Alred saw a dot of light streaking up in the air, flying to the sky. ¡°It¡¯s started.¡±


    Alistor quickly turned towards the city, just in time for the streaking light to reach its peak. And at that moment, a bright flash of light brightened the night, followed by a loud booming sound. He smiled, admiring the colors spreading apart.


    Several more light streaks flew up into the sky, exploding into an assorted number of colors. They formed different patterns, spreading in various sizes. Their booms disturbed the land, but the beautiful view made all of it worth it.


    It was beautiful. It was like the sky was an empty canvas being painted with the most beautiful combination of shapes and colors. This was the finest and most important creation of the Empire. One loved by its people, and feared by others.


    No one made a sound, but only watched the numerous works of fire flash and shine.


    It was the signal of a changing season. Where the Empire could grow and prosper once more. Where it will outshine those before it.


    Indeed, for Tornridge was the greatest of all nations.


    A couple of days later, the two princes and their entourage made way for the nearby nation, one the Empire failed to conquer a very long time ago ¡ª the kingdom of Wisteria.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 105: Envoys of Peace (Part 2)

    Dammit all! This is all fucked!


    Just leave me the fuck alone!


    This world had its good and bright sides, but its certainty has its own fuckity fucked pain in the ass bad side. Grrrrr! As mad as I was, it was also a time for panic. Yeah, fucking panic time, panic time!


    Those motherfuckers got me! Despicable little shits! Fucking ruined my mood ever since that damn letter. Envoys for peace, my ass. Like oooooh, things were getting good in life, but then life throws you a damn rotten lemon right at your face!


    Rambling aside, this was an absolutely fatal problem. This was the last thing I imagined them doing. Fucking ridiculous.


    Panic time!


    Other nations will come to discover what the Empire was going to do here. And Wisteria had no good justification to just refuse and reject Tornridge. Who wouldn¡¯t want peace? Everyone wants peace, and they¡¯ll do what must be done to achieve it. And this visit from the princes of that empire was one opportunity. To show their deepest sincerity, they made two of their royalty travel to far lands as envoys.


    Why don¡¯t we just kill them on the way here? Ha-ha, that would be great. But Wisteria will become the aggressor if not executed wisely. Plus, we¡¯re not really ready for war yet. Far from it.


    What could Tornridge be really planning by sending two princes here? Was it truly for peace? Yeah right¡­ Was it to scout out Wisteria, to know their inner workings and get some crucial information? Could be, but really no point in using royalties for that when they already had plenty of spies.


    If not for Wisteria in general, then what about for something specific? Something they have failed before. It¡¯s¡­ dammit. They¡¯re really going for this? But this was¡­ this was the worse case scenario. Too risky, too extreme. Was that really what they¡¯re planning? Fuck, then in both endings, they¡¯ll get what they seek from the beginning. No matter how it ends, it begins.


    Fuck, despite the turmoil within their own nation, they¡¯re still going for us? Fuckers really got me. They¡¯ll get what they want.


    How do I handle this? I was not prepared. Still, was their emperor fucking insane? Who sends their children to hostile territory, especially if what they¡¯re planning is what I think it is?


    Too fucking ridiculous. It¡¯s almost unbelievable. Were they confident they¡¯ll succeed? Or their emperor doesn¡¯t give a single fuck how it ends as long as he gets what he wants? Damn, he¡¯s almost as half as ruthless as me. When I get my hands on you, you little shit ooooh, you¡¯ll damn wish you could poke out your own eyes.


    Eventually, I¡¯ll get you.


    But for the crucial matter at hand, things have changed.


    The family gathered at my father''s office as I paced around, thinking hard. While the others sat, stressed themselves.


    I was utterly restless.


    Which reminded me, with the enemies here, we have to be more careful of hiding what we¡¯re doing. Although, if they¡¯re gonna be in the palace, we have nothing to worry about. But still, not completely safe. Especially if things still go through the palace.


    We can keep it subtle and they wouldn¡¯t poke into the king¡¯s business, but we¡¯ll never know. Anyone can sneak in, anyway. I have to keep sensitive information away, away from this place. Not only that, with how things are going, everything had to speed up.


    ¡°We¡¯ll listen to what they have to say,¡± Father said.


    ¡°Of course, at least, there¡¯s a little, tiny chance they are being genuine,¡± said Eleden. ¡°But I¡¯ll keep my hopes low.¡±


    ¡°Well, not like they gave room for refusal of reception,¡± Estevan commented.


    Indeed.


    ¡°We will need a heavy amount of preparation and discussion with this,¡± Mother said before sighing tiredly. ¡°Estelia, are you done?¡±


    I paused. ¡°Uh, yes. I think¡­ This changes everything. We need to change things up. Father, brother¡­¡± I looked at my father and Eleden. ¡°Let me take over for the meantime.¡±


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    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s that much of a change, sister?¡±


    ¡°We only have a couple weeks at least. I must send my new orders out.¡±


    Father groaned. ¡°What do you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°Our preparation for war is still a number one priority. We need to keep going, but pick up the pace a lot.¡±


    ¡°Their time of invasion drew closer than expected then.¡±


    ¡°They made a bold decision, so we can take it as such. It¡¯s like a response to what we did against them.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Let me take command.¡±


    I didn¡¯t have time to jump my orders between relays and relays. Let¡¯s get straight to the point and get things moving. Best if we move out now. Every day that passed was important. Father and Eleden in command were for when we were on schedule. It would be fine if that were still the case. However, this was, as I said, panic time. And thus, responses must be quick to keep up with the panic!


    Father and Eleden looked at each, and the latter nodded.


    ¡°Alright, daughter. You¡¯ll take the lead on this, and we¡¯ll cooperate.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Now then. Please quickly send a message to Uncle Meril. Tell him to come here today, it¡¯s an emergency.¡±


    ***


    Later in the day, when Uncle Meril finally arrived, I, Father, and Eleden gathered in the king¡¯s office.


    ¡°Uncle, the two princes from the Tornridge Empire are coming for a visit,¡± I said, remaining standing while looking at him.


    Uncle Meril was sitting down on a chair as he answered. ¡°I know. I only got to know about it today too. The consequence of reducing our agents in the field has shown itself, niece.¡±


    ¡°All things come at a cost. In any case, you will be way busier starting from now on.¡±


    ¡°Working already, huh.¡± He glanced at my father and then at my brother for a moment before returning to me. ¡°Alright, what¡¯s your plan?¡±


    ¡°We need to prioritize Wisteria¡¯s ability to withstand and effectively fight back in an invasion. Therefore, more focus and resources will be allocated to the preparations we have been working on. With those princes coming to the palace, a change in command is crucial.¡±


    Uncle Meril¡¯s brow knitted, puzzled. ¡°I don¡¯t get what you mean.¡±


    ¡°The people in the palace won¡¯t take the lead in the operation. I don¡¯t want critical information flowing inside the palace with enemies present within it. And you, Uncle, I assign you as supervisor.¡±


    He leaned back. ¡°So you mean to say I won¡¯t need to keep reporting and wait for your decision, is that it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you will be independent. All will depend on your decisions.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the only one I can trust with this. I trust your judgment.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°You will make sure the pace of the process is doubled.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what do you mean doubled?¡±


    ¡°Double the men, double the speed, whatever, just make it quick, best if tripled. Get as much progress as you can. Stack up the logistics, quickly finish the routes, establish as many channels as you can, and teach the ciphers now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that will need a lot of work. But if we rush this, information leaking will be difficult to hold back.¡±


    ¡°Do what you can. Let¡¯s hope the empire agents will be too busy focusing on the capital and the palace with their royals here.¡±


    With a stressed look, he sighed, placing a hand on his head. ¡°... Alright. You can rely on me.¡±


    ¡°Excellent. Remember, all is up to you. Never go to us while the enemies are here. Who knows what they have to steal information from us.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll make as much progress as I can.¡±


    ¡°Now then, for the documents we have. We will remove documents that have information about our secret operation from the palace. Uncle, find a new place to become your base of operations.¡±


    ¡°Hm, I have plenty of ideas in mind.¡±


    ¡°We have already gathered all the documents. You need only get them. Needless to say, any future documents go straight to you.¡±


    ¡°I really am going to be completely independent.¡±


    Call me paranoid, but no way I¡¯m letting the enemy take any chance. If something can be done to reduce risks, then I¡¯ll take it. Especially if Uncle can do just fine without us. You know what everyone says, and very important: Safety first.


    For all I know they may have sneaky spies, ninjas, and shit that can sneak in at night and get the information they need. I fucking hate those guys, so annoying. We have had plenty of those motherfuckers going to some of our bases in the past.


    ¡°Yes, so do your best, Uncle. It¡¯s best if you start arranging everything tomorrow. We don¡¯t have time to waste. We¡¯ll give you all the resources we can before the time comes.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes. I¡¯ll go prepare our base today.¡±


    ¡°Alright. While the enemies aren¡¯t here yet, expect messages or summons from us, and respond immediately.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°That is all. You¡¯re free to go.¡±


    He rose from this seat, and paused, looking at me with a concerned gaze. ¡°What are your plans with the imperial princes coming here?¡±


    ¡°The plan is to formally receive them as envoys, nothing more. There is nothing to do but see and listen to them.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll do my part then. You do yours.¡±


    ***


    It was a tedious process and preparation. But with everyone¡¯s help, and my somewhat strict supervision, we were able to get everything ready a couple of days before we got news that the Empire¡¯s convoy had entered Wisteria¡¯s territory.


    After hearing that, we cut our connection basically with Uncle Meril. We¡¯re doing our own shits now.


    And eventually, the Empire¡¯s convoy arrived in the royal capital. Knights scattered all over the place, even the city was filled with security.


    I went down the stairs, now wearing a formal and beautiful dress that screams out youth. Fancy hanging earrings, and golden hair accessories, along with Rogan¡¯s hair clip, and Mera¡¯s gift on my right wrist. I also showed Eleden¡¯s somewhat magical necklace gift, its gem colored red.


    Everyone in my family gathered at the front entrance. As my personal knight, Rogan didn''t stray far from me, but still lined up among the knights.


    Then¡­ the front gates opened, and the imperial convoy entered.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 106: Envoys of Peace (Part 3)

    Alistor sighed a little as he beheld the capital city of Wisteria. He was not impressed. Compared to the grandeur of the city back home, this one here was boring and lackluster. Its size didn¡¯t even match. But that alone displays the difference in each nation¡¯s degree of prosperity.


    In contrast to Alistor, however, Cilas on the opposite side of the carriage, looked through the glass window with intrigued eyes. His little younger brother had been like this ever since they left the capital city and traveled into the far reaches of home. Cilas was not exactly one interested in going around places, but it would seem all he needed was to actually try going far out.


    ¡°What do you think of Wisteria, Cilas?¡±


    ¡°... It¡¯s nice to see how different the landscape is. Wisteria has a lot of forests and grass fields, and flatlands, while ours are more mountainous.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Would be nice to actually go out here to this city later.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that. I, too, would like to see what this city has to offer.¡± Mostly to compare it to his home city.


    ¡°... There appear to be people carrying weapons. They must be adventurers.¡±


    Alistor glanced outside again, and indeed, as their carriage passed by, they came across groups of armed personnel. They weren¡¯t wearing any uniform, so they could only be adventurers.


    ¡°So they allow their presence here, huh,¡± Alistor said.


    Adventurer services were nonexistent in the imperial capital. If there was anything that needed slaying, or monsters present, the empire¡¯s soldiers or knights would take care of them. There was a division of armed forces for that very purpose.


    Outside the imperial capital, though, in other states, there were Adventurers. The Emperor just didn¡¯t allow such service in the capital because they were people of promising strength, but not under the service of the crown. It posed a significant risk. The crown wanted powerful individuals to be under their control.


    That was why Alistor felt a little surprised that Wisteria would allow such mercenaries in their capital, so close to the monarchs¡¯ palace.


    ¡°You think they¡¯re under heavy watch?¡± Cilas inquired. ¡°Such dangerous people can¡¯t just let be.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know. Shouldn¡¯t that be your department?¡±


    ¡°I didn''t quite look into the adventurers of this nation and how they¡¯re being regulated. There wasn¡¯t much significance to it.¡±


    ¡°Then there¡¯s no need to ask, is it?¡±


    Cilas frowned. ¡°It¡¯s good to ask questions sometimes. And I was just feeling curious.¡±


    ¡°Then you should figure it out and tell me what you learn.¡±


    ¡°Mm. We could use mercenaries to our advantage, you know. When the time comes.¡±


    Alistor pondered about it for the moment. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right. But some may be loyal to Wisteria no matter what.¡±


    ¡°Yes. So we have to pick wisely. Others do anything for a good price. Still, this is just a thought.¡±


    ¡°... Our forces are powerful already anyway. So it¡¯s not like we really need some mercenaries to do some of our jobs.¡±


    ¡°I guess. But we also don¡¯t want them to resist us and bolster their forces. Any additional hands will be good. They could be good double agents.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. We¡¯ll think about it later.¡±


    Cilas sighed. ¡°... Fine.¡±


    Shortly after, they arrived at Wisteria¡¯s royal palace. With Wisteria¡¯s horsemen taking the lead of the convoy ever since they entered the nation¡¯s territory, they got to immediately enter through the gates. The carriage slowed down, and when they came to a stop, what Alistor saw through the window caused him to freeze.


    His mind went blank as he stared with unblinking eyes. His breath stuck to his throat.


    ¡°Alistor? Hey.¡±


    Cilas¡¯s call snapped him back, and he blinked continuously for a moment as he answered. ¡°Ah, yes. Sorry, just something crossed my eyes.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Just get serious about this.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    A pair of imperial knights stood by the carriage door before opening it. Alistor stepped out of the carriage, his graceful movements fitting an imperial prince. His back straight and shoulders broad, his gold, black, and red formal outfit neat and opulent. He radiated charm with his smile.


    His brother followed thereafter, carrying himself to the same level as Alistor.


    This kind of presenting himself was all natural for Alistor, however, for some reason, he was struggling a little. Or, to be precise, it felt like he was more conscious of himself, of how he appeared.


    ¡°Wha¡ª¡± Cilas let out a stifled sound.


    Indeed, who wouldn¡¯t react like that?


    Alistor subtly gulped before continuing onward with both confident steps and a smile. He walked towards the group of Wisterian royals. He had reviewed the details about them, so he knew which one was which.


    ¡°Greetings, envoys from the Tornridge Empire. I am the King of Wisteria.¡±


    ¡°It is an honor to meet you for the first time, your majesty, King Leodoule,¡± he bowed his head. ¡°I am the first prince of the Empire, Alistor Tarquen Celum Tornridge. Serving as an envoy for my home nation.¡±


    Alistor couldn¡¯t help but glance at one specific person among them. She was standing behind everyone, as if she was trying to hide herself. The way she stood, holding her hands together, felt as if she was an extremely gentle person. Fragile. Her face was the softest and kindest, so pure and innocent.


    She had white hair, white complexion, both were as white as winter snow that had only passed. Her eyes were bright red, such a unique color. The opposite of what he has. His heart thumped. Even Alistor himself was surprised that he could even feel this way. How? How was he able to feel this when his heart already belonged to another?


    His younger brother stepped forward before bowing. ¡°And I am the second prince, Cilas Alvis Celum Tornridge. Serving as an envoy for my home nation.¡±


    ¡°Raise your heads, royals from our neighbor. I hope your travel has not been too difficult.¡±


    Alistor raised his head and plastered on a kind smile. ¡°Oh, it has not. It was interesting to see places aside from home. Although, I didn¡¯t expect to see His Majesty here to greet us.¡±


    Back in the homeland, the envoys, royals or not, would have been sent straight to the throne room for the greeting. The Emperor would never greet anyone outside the castle or anything.


    ¡°Here in Wisteria, it is only customary to greet esteemed guests on our doors.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Too humble¡­


    To not attempt to show their absolute power¡­ was a sign of weakness.


    The Wisterian King continued. ¡°Anyhow, meet the rest of my family.¡±


    The king''s wife graciously nodded. ¡°Greetings, princes of Tornridge. I am the Queen of Wisteria.¡±


    Alistor bowed. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Queen Meliya.¡±


    The next, who stepped forward, was a man a little older than Alistor. ¡°I am the first and crown prince of Wisteria, Eleden Venzura Wisteria.¡± He gave Alistor a friendly smile and extended a hand. ¡°Pleased to meet you.¡±


    There was one thing that stuck to Alistor¡¯s ear. Crown prince. Apparently, Wisteria already had a definite candidate to take over the throne. Alistor didn¡¯t introduce himself as such, for he was not one. Knowing that, it annoyed him.


    Alistor shook his hand. ¡°Likewise, Prince Eleden.¡±


    And then Cilas was the next to shake his hand.


    Another man, around the same age as Alistor, introduced himself. ¡°I am the second prince of Wisteria, Estevan Verziniel Wisteria. Nice meeting you.¡± He said with a neutral expression and voice. It was in between welcoming and not.


    Nevertheless, Alistor surmised that this second prince was wary of them. That was to be expected however. Even so, they shook hands, and Alistor forced a friendly smile despite not receiving one himself.


    And finally, it was the last member of the Wisterian family. She was timid as she stepped forward. ¡°... Um, I-I¡¯m Princess Estelia Vernisia Wisteria. Nice t-to meet you.¡± Her voice was so soothing.


    Instead of extending a hand for a shake, she bowed her head. Which surprised everyone who saw what she did, for she alone bowed her head to foreign royals. She seemed flustered.


    But to think this was the princess of Wisteria. Alistor couldn¡¯t have ever imagined she would be like this. So soft, so pure. So meek.


    I¡¯m supposed to kill her¡­?


    Beholding her, he couldn¡¯t understand why they would want her dead. This utterly beautiful young lady. So beautiful. So innocent. Someone seemingly couldn¡¯t even hurt a fly. How could a lady like her even exist? It boggles and blows the mind to even realize someone like her walks this world.


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    ¡°... Uh, y-yes. I-It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess Estelia.¡± Alistor stammered around. Him, who was usually confident in the face of women with his powerful charm.


    Cilas followed up. ¡°Nice to m-meet you too, princess¡­¡± his voice trailed off, overwhelmed at the sight of her.


    The Princess of Wisteria was blinding. She was glimmering. Who wouldn¡¯t lose their composure in the presence of such?


    The princess, in her shyness, smiled with trembling lips, and she lowered her gaze before stepping back. Alistor scrutinized the entirety of her face. Her long white hair, her sweet eyes, her cheeks, and her lustrous, enticing lips. He involuntarily gulped. But all of this lasted for a very brief moment as she hid behind her brother, the second prince.


    He found how the way she acted quite adorable.


    ¡°Pardon, my dear daughter. She gets shy in front of people she just met,¡± said the king.


    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t mind.¡±


    The king nodded. ¡°Now then, let us all come in. Would you like to rest first or eat? We have prepared a feast for your arrival.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll take the feast, please. I¡¯m famished. How about you, brother?¡±


    ¡°Certainly, let¡¯s eat.¡±


    With everyone in agreement, they all entered the palace. The king and the queen walked side by side with the two princes. The rest of the Wisterian royalty followed behind. Alistor couldn¡¯t help but glance a little behind him, to the princess. It was then he noticed a knight following behind her.


    Must be her personal guard.


    ¡°So, what do you think of Wisteria on the way here?¡± asked the king. ¡°I¡¯m curious what you have to say.¡±


    As he asked, Alistor instantly turned his gaze at him. ¡°It is a pleasant place, so lustrous and full of life. Surprising, considering that winter had only just passed.¡±


    Compared back to the homeland as spring hit, the green was thicker and healthier here. Almost like the plants grew earlier in Wisteria than in Tornridge.


    The king chuckled. ¡°Someone from the Holy Kingdom mentioned that once. Although, I couldn¡¯t really understand why. Perhaps that¡¯s just the way it is. Or the blessing of the Lord and Lady.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You worship two gods, right?¡± Cilas showed a hint of interest.


    ¡°Oh yes. The Lord of Compassion, and the Lady of Serenity.¡±


    ¡°I learned about your gods. They are a couple, yes?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they are.¡±


    ¡°I see. Why do you call them that exactly? If you don¡¯t mind telling me.¡±


    The king chuckled. ¡°I don¡¯t mind. We¡¯ll talk on the table,¡± he said as they arrived at the dining hall.


    Several servants and knights had already positioned themselves beforehand, standing at their stations. Foods were already placed on top of the long table, covered with steel lids. Alistor was quite looking forward to what dishes they had prepared for the two of them.


    If Wisteria didn¡¯t seem better than the Empire, he hoped that their food would be on par. Otherwise, then this place was truly a disappointing one.


    ¡°Please, take a seat here.¡±


    The two princes sat on one side of the table. On the opposite side was the royal family, with the king sitting at the head of the table. But because of this, Alistor got to have an obstructed view of the princess, who was at the furthest away from the head, could be because she was the youngest.


    The servants came and removed the lids off the food. Delicious aroma immediately permeated the air. The colorful and assorted set of dishes on the table all looked so presentable, Alistor was quite impressed. At least it was promising.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat.¡±


    Once the king said so, everyone started eating. Alistor grabbed the table cloth and hung it on his neck, to avoid any smears on his clothes. He grabbed some food and immediately gave it a taste.


    ¡°Hm.¡± It was delicious enough. Not better than in the homeland, but at least a match. And that was alright.


    ¡°As for your inquiry, Prince Cilas,¡± said the king. ¡°As to why our gods are called as they are?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°The Lord of Compassion is called as such because of his compassion to our people. He is often said to spend time with the people themselves and help them with their problems. A wise god, who guides people for the better in a tough life.¡±


    ¡°I see. A god who closely walks beside his people. What about the Lady?¡±


    ¡°She brings and maintains peace and order. If the Lord is mainly for the people, the Lady of Serenity is for the land. For the people to have a safe and happy life. She acts for the future of the entire people.¡±


    ¡°... Protecting the land from chaos?¡±


    ¡°You could say that.¡±


    ¡°I understand. Thank you for explaining to me, your majesty. I appreciate literature, so I was curious about your gods.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? I¡¯m glad to hear that.¡± He smiled.


    They appeared so friendly, however, considering the current situation of both countries, this friendliness was mere surface level.


    The king continued. ¡°Then my turn, tell me about your god. You call your god the God of Valor, am I right?¡±


    Cilas nodded. ¡°Yes. He is the god that guided our nation to prosperity. One who blessed us with strength in times of conflict, to overcome our adversaries. The great lord who aided our people of the past in the path of greatness.¡±


    ¡°Do I take it that he himself once walked with your people?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes. I surmised the gods were personally active in the far past. And learning about your gods further supports my conjecture.¡±


    ¡°... Your god must have really given his precious time to your nation¡¯s growth.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. We are forever grateful to him.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Being grateful to our gods is what we must really do.¡±


    Alistor smirked. Indeed, one must be grateful. Wisteria must truly had gratitude, for because of their gods that the Empire failed to conquer Wisteria in the past. There were records of war, where Tornridge came into conflict with Wisteria during its infancy. Wisteria was an easy target.


    However, the gods between the two nations fought. And Tornridge was driven back. One could guess who won that fight.


    Lady of Serenity, huh.


    The goddess who protects her nation from chaos. This part of history was not commonly known in the Empire at the current time. But those high up knew the rough story. It¡¯s a wonder whether the king of Wisteria knew about this.


    In any case, the Empire has long desired Wisteria. With the gods no longer personally present, they can succeed. Centuries of preparation to conquer the entire continent, none will stand in their way.


    As Alistor focused on his food, he sensed a gaze pointed his way. He glanced back, it was from the princess. And as if to avoid eye contact, or not making it obvious she was staring, she instantly looked away.


    Alistor couldn¡¯t help but subtly grin. She was cute.


    Maybe she likes me already.


    Stemmed from his own self-esteem, he could say that with confidence. But there were different kinds of how someone likes some stranger. In the end, she was still royalty, unlike the maids that go head over heels for him back in the imperial castle.


    Once they had finished eating, the king spoke. ¡°We have a banquet prepared for you tomorrow. A number of our nobles will be attending. I¡¯m sure they¡¯re looking forward to meeting royals from another nation.¡±


    Alistor nodded. ¡°I also would like to meet your trusted people, your majesty. We will prepare accordingly for the party.¡±


    ¡°Alright. As for the main matter at hand, the purpose of your visit. Would you like to talk about it now or after tomorrow? I don¡¯t mind getting serious after the party.¡±


    ¡°Our mission is to make peace. But I would like to show first that we are to be trusted. I believe serious discussions will best take place after the party.¡±


    ¡°I see. Indeed, I would like to get to know the royals of the Empire before getting into it. Although, to be honest, we were quite surprised that you would propose peace.¡±


    ¡°Your majesty, peace is of highest priority to us. For peace and harmony brings prosperity to us all.¡±


    The king paused for a brief moment. ¡°... Is that so? I would like to believe that. However¡­¡± his smile vanished. ¡°Your army has shown an unsettling amount of activity at our borders.¡±


    Alistor¡¯s smile grew. ¡°That was not for Wisteria, your majesty. I apologize for any problem that we may have caused. It is for Myra, we are bolstering the defense of our borders.¡±


    ¡°Myra?¡±


    ¡°Tornridge and Myra do not particularly have a good relationship. We just want to ensure that we are guarded.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­?¡±


    That was a lie of course. Just a false surface reason to prevent conflict. However, none has addressed the elephant of the room. That was the conflict with the agents of the Empire in Wisteria. Alistor knew very well that Wisteria was aware of the Empire¡¯s actions within their borders. But neither broached the topic yet.


    Likely because they want to avoid provoking either party, to not fuel the fire. If the Empire admits such actions, or Wisteria accuses it, there would be no easy room for peace. They cannot publicly announce any transgression with each other. However, such an issue will likely be tackled in a more serious discussion.


    Still, Alistor wondered, what was Wisteria waiting for? What the Empire did, other nations would have lost patience. Was Wisteria really just avoiding an outright war with the Empire? And willing to forget what was done to them? Perhaps Wisteria was hopeful about this prospect of peace.


    Alistor turned his gaze and saw the princess staring at him again. And she frantically turned away.


    ¡°Very well, envoys of the Empire. I want our nations to like each other¡¯s company before our discussion of peace. I¡¯m expecting to hear fair terms when the time comes.¡±


    ¡°I think it will be of your best interest, your majesty.¡±


    ***


    At night, before going to sleep, the two princes were about to have a brief meeting. On the palace second floor, each was given a room of their own, right beside each other. But at the moment, the two were in Alistor¡¯s bedroom.


    Alistor was by the closed window, looking through the glass. Cilas sat down on the chair by a small desk.


    ¡°What do you think, Cilas?¡±


    ¡°They are really trying to act friendly with us. But underneath it all, they harbor hostility.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, they¡¯re wary. Likely, they suspect us with all the mess their kingdom is in.¡±


    ¡°But they still received us gracefully. Are they perhaps interested in peace?¡±


    ¡°Could be. But that doesn¡¯t matter. As long as everything is formal and political, we¡¯ll be fine. For the matter at hand, our plan.¡±


    Cilas sighed and pondered for a moment. ¡°Security is tight. Even the outside walls are heavily guarded.¡±


    ¡°Wisterian knights patrol the palace halls. And with our presence, they are more alert.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t do anything yet, it¡¯s too risky.¡±


    ¡°I agree. We need to study this place first before we act. Besides, I don¡¯t think our forces are fully ready yet.¡±


    ¡°We need time. You think the day after tomorrow will be enough? Because I don¡¯t think it is.¡±


    ¡°Of course. But we¡¯re envoys from the Empire, it¡¯s not right to drive us away just after arriving. You have been wanting to have a tour, right?¡±


    ¡°I guess we can have a reason like that.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll give them and us time.¡±


    ¡°But I imagine we can only have a week at most.¡±


    ¡°A week is enough. We just need to be wary of powerful foes here. From what I heard, their king is a warrior, is that right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It is best to assume he could be as strong as our father.¡±


    Alistor placed a hand on his chin. To make things easier and less risky, they had to avoid fighting the king directly in the early stages, while there were other fighters around. But if they were only fighting the king on his lonesome, then there¡¯s a chance they¡¯ll succeed. If there was no other choice though, then disregard the casualties and just send all men to the king.


    ¡°Perhaps there is a way to lower the guards here¡­ Maybe a distraction.¡±


    ¡°If we¡¯re in a tight spot, we can always use the dust Delray has in possession. Send in something to start chaos and distract them.¡±


    ¡°At most we can reduce the number of knights at the palace in half with it. We have the most elite at our disposal, there¡¯s no need to overthink this.¡±


    Cilas sighed. ¡°I¡¯m just worried. I would rather lower the risk as much as possible.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine. Besides, I¡¯m here. I¡¯m strong and reliable. We can manage.¡±


    ¡°Alistor, I warn you, do not be overconfident.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah, just send the Puppet Courier and get some updates.¡±


    Cilas opened a wooden box, where inside was a puppet bird that almost looked like a genuine one. After tapping on the bird, he whispered something. Once he was done, Alistor opened the window and they released the bird, it flapped its wings and flew into the darkness.


    After closing the window, Cilas then broached another matter. ¡°As for the matter of the princess.¡±


    Alistor paused for a moment and conjured Princess¡¯s Estelia¡¯s face in his mind. ¡°She¡¯ll be easy target.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­¡± Cilas lowered his gaze. ¡°She¡­ is quite unique¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, just my observation. In any case, as we have discussed, you take care of her.¡±


    ¡°Sure. For now, we¡¯ll observe things and adjust our plans accordingly.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­ Then I¡¯ll be leaving.¡±


    Once Cilas left, Alistor locked the door. He sat down on the side of his bed, taking a deep breath. He couldn¡¯t take her off his mind.


    How could a girl be that beautiful?


    She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. And his heart throbbed just thinking about her. To think there was someone more beautiful than his beloved sister Zara. And her features, Estelia¡¯s features, were so unique.


    Her manners, the way she moved, were so endearing. She looked so soft, so fragile. He was almost tempted to try breaking her just a tiny bit, just to try. He laid his back on the bed. With closed eyes, he recalled the princess¡¯s beautiful form.


    Her dress so fitting, her hair, her eyes, her face, her cheeks, her¡­ lips. His chest warmed up. He kept recalling her pretty and adorable face. He imagined touching her cheek, whispering to her ear. Curling his arm around her waist. To hear her soft voice. To sniff her scent. To hold tightly something so frail.


    Her entire appeal was perfect. So full of purity. He swallowed his saliva and licked his lips. His heart beat faster in excitement.


    ¡°Estelia¡­¡± he muttered.


    Her perfect being was burned into his mind. But then, there was an overlap. One that was carved into his heart ¡ª his sister, Zara. He rose from his bed and sighed. Conflict grew within him.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 107: Trying to Attain the Pure Princess’s Heart

    It was the afternoon, and in one of the wide halls of the royal palace, a banquet was taking place. A welcome to the guests from the Empire. Nobles from all over the nearby domains have been called to join in and greet the guests. Gentle music echoed throughout the room as people murmured and chatted.


    Alistor was drinking a small glass of wine as a noble greeted him. Normally he would have more than this, but he was in a formal setting, so he had to hold back. Besides, he was planning on doing something later that required his proper mind.


    ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you, Count.¡± Alistor said to one Wisterian noble. He wondered whether there were nobles under the Empire¡¯s paycheck around here. But considering what had occurred recently with them, he doubted any would try to connect. The Empire had basically discontinued that part of the plan, anyway.


    A wasteful thing, but it couldn¡¯t be helped.


    Alistor glanced towards his brother, who was busy eating at a corner. However, a couple of young ladies approached and talked with him. Cilas appeared to be shy, he was not exactly the type to mingle. And, just like his younger brother, a couple of young ladies approached Alistor with their beautiful and endearing smiles.


    ¡°Greetings, imperial prince.¡±


    ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you, your imperial highness.¡±


    Alistor smiled. ¡°Hello, ladies. What are your names?¡± he said softly.


    As the ladies introduced their names and their family household, Alistor couldn¡¯t help but look behind them, towards a distant table. For his interest laid somewhere. It was the princess of Wisteria. She was sitting by a table along with a few noble ladies, who must be her friends.


    Although from observing, she seemed to be mostly quiet. Only responding when being asked or talked to. Anyhow, she looked so tender and timid, but she was absolutely gorgeous. As Alistor kept staring, he caught the princess glance towards him, but instantly looked away when realizing that he was staring back.


    He smirked. Urging the ladies in front of him to stop, he held out his hand. ¡°Would you mind if I ask you about something?¡±


    The two young ladies looked at each other before one responded. ¡°We don¡¯t mind. Feel free to ask what you want, your highness.¡±


    ¡°What kind of person is your princess?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Her highness? She is an amazingly kind person.¡±


    ¡°I heard she is almost like a saint to us. My brother, a knight, always praises her. Holds her in high regard.¡±


    ¡°She is the treasure of the kingdom.¡±


    Alistor sensed some excitement from the ladies.


    ¡°Although¡­ She is very gentle, so we must also treat the same.¡±


    ¡°Gentle?¡±


    ¡°She has a soft heart and must be handled with care.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t know much about her at first. She was a mystery in the kingdom. I only got to see her first during her birthday party.¡±


    ¡°Right? She was so pretty~. Well, even now. She truly is blessed by the gods.¡±


    The ladies blushed as they recalled the princess during her birthday party. That intrigued Alistor. ¡°Any advice on how to talk with her? I want to be careful. As you said, she is gentle.¡±


    The two hesitated until one answered. ¡°... We, um, don¡¯t know what to advise exactly.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°We never get to talk at length with her. Mostly just greetings.¡±


    ¡°Why is that? Isn¡¯t she your princess?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, but¡­ she is beyond us.¡±


    Alistor blinked in confusion. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°She is above us.¡±


    ¡°We cannot walk the same level as her.¡±


    ¡°To talk so casually with the Pure Princess, persons as us, are unworthy.¡±


    ¡°We cannot hope to be close to her.¡±


    Alistor awkwardly smiled. ¡°Aren¡¯t you just exaggerating? Isn¡¯t there a chance? She is kind, isn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°But even so, doesn¡¯t mean because she is so kind we¡¯ll take advantage of it.¡±


    ¡°We¡­ know our place.¡±


    ¡°H-Huh¡­¡±


    ¡°But, prince, I know you could not understand our feelings. But when we saw her during her debut¡­¡± The lady clasped her hands together and looked skyward. ¡°We witnessed the true form of someone at the pinnacle of beauty.¡±


    The other pressed a hand on her cheek and blushed. ¡°I, we, saw true purity¡­ and divine being.¡±


    ¡°Truly graced by the gods.¡±


    ¡°To be so kind, and to be so beautiful¡­ We can only dream of becoming her.¡±


    ¡°But if you wish to learn how to talk to her, I think you should ask one of her friends for advice.¡±


    ¡°Or you could directly talk to her. I don¡¯t think she would mind if it¡¯s you.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± He nodded. After pondering for a moment, it would be better to just directly speak with her. At least, he now had an idea of what kind of person she was or how the people saw her.


    As if on cue, Princess Estelia rose from her seat and walked towards a table where the sweets were. It was a chance.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Thank you, ladies. But if you would excuse me.¡± With a charming smile, he left the two ladies and headed straight for the princess who was filling her plate with some cookies.


    As he got closer, he widened his smile to be more amiable. ¡°Hello.¡±


    The princess adorably flinched and slowly turned her head. Her wide captivating crimson eyes pointed at him. She seemed to hesitate. ¡°I-Imperial Prince Alistor¡­ G-Greetings.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be formal. You could call me by my name alone.¡±


    She lowered her gaze. ¡°N-No, that would be rude.¡±


    So polite.


    ¡°We¡¯re both royals of our own respective nations, you can afford to be less formal.¡±


    ¡°... I¡¯ll just call you Prince Alistor¡­¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡± He stepped close to the table. ¡°Which sweets do you recommend, princess?¡±


    ¡°Um, well.¡± She pointed at a plate of small, round bread. ¡°These.¡±


    ¡°Oh, why?¡±


    ¡°They have delicious chocolate fillings. It¡¯s best while it''s still warm.¡±


    ¡°Really? Then I¡¯m giving it a taste.¡± He grabbed one chocolate filled bread and threw it into his mouth. ¡°Hm. You¡¯re right, it is delicious. Is this your favorite?¡±


    She shook her head, her hair waving. ¡°I¡­ My favorite is hot chocolate.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that. I think I have heard that before.¡±


    ¡°You have that in your empire?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, my sis¡­ I think my sister drinks that often.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too much sweet. But I wonder, though, is it delicious?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of hot chocolate you have, but here I find it delightful.¡± For the first time, the princess formed a smile as if she was enjoying the talk.


    That made Alistor feel happy. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind me having one some time in the near future?¡±


    ¡°I can have it prepared for you.¡±


    ¡°Nice. You love sweets, huh?¡±


    She adorably nodded. ¡°Yes. I love eating them. Especially chocolates. Although, I tend to control myself from eating too much. It isn¡¯t healthy.¡±


    ¡°I realized that. That¡¯s one reason I rarely eat very sweet foods.¡±


    ¡°What kind of food do you like, Prince Alistor?¡±


    ¡°Mostly any kind of meat. But I like this one particular dish with lamb meat.¡±


    ¡°Is it a dish only found in your empire?¡±


    ¡°I think so¡­? I never heard about it anywhere. I believe it¡¯s originally created in the castle.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± She glanced towards her table.


    ¡°Oh, if you want to go back to your friends, go ahead. Don¡¯t let me hold you back.¡±


    Her eyes shifted back to him, and immediately lowered them, as though she was being bashful. ¡°N-No, it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    He expected she would go ahead and back to her friends, that would be a sign she wasn¡¯t interested. However, she didn¡¯t, and that was good. Also, she didn¡¯t even seem particularly burdened or anything. In fact, judging from how shy she was acting, she found Alistor¡¯s company enjoyable. That put a pleased smile on his face.


    ¡°In that case, let us maybe grab some food and find a table?¡±


    She smiled a little. ¡°Okay.¡±


    After putting food on their plates, which were all snacks, they went on to find a table. It was only the two of them, and they spoke a range of things, likes, dislikes, hobbies. During this conversation, Alistor noticed that Princess Estelia still seemed a little restrained. Just how everyone would act around a stranger or people they just met. But that was to be expected. Considering her personality, it will take some time before she opens herself up more.


    In the end, this was good progress.


    Alistor wanted to complement her outright, but he feared that might drive her away. So instead, he had to take the slow steps and be more subtle. It won¡¯t be exactly like how he won the heart of his sister, but almost like that. Although, the closer he was with Princess Estelia, he couldn¡¯t help but get lost staring at her. Especially when she talks so sweetly and softly.


    How could he have not known a girl like her ever existed?


    The music changed tune, and both ladies and gentlemen slowly gathered at the center floor. Starting to dance. Alistor observed their dancing, it was basically the same thing they did back in the Empire. Then that meant¡­


    ¡°Would you do me the honor of joining me for a dance, Princess Estelia?¡±


    The princess flinched and became flustered. ¡°B-But¡­ I¡¯m not a good dancer.¡±


    Alistor raised from his seat and moved right next to her. With a charming smile, he extended his hand. ¡°We can take it slow.¡±


    She looked up at him with her wide red eyes. ¡°... Okay.¡± She accepted his hand.


    Alistor gently led her to the center floor. On the way, he noticed his younger brother, Cilas, looking at him with a frown, as though he was displeased by it. Alistor smirked back. He shifted his eyes towards the royal monarchs, and they wore neutral expressions while staring at him and the princess. At least they didn¡¯t seem to disapprove of taking their dear fragile daughter for a dance.


    Upon reaching the dance floor, Alistor intertwined his fingers with the princess¡¯s. Her hand was so smooth and soft that it almost blew him away. He placed a hand on her waist and they stepped closer to each other. Their faces were so close. She smelled so pleasant that it almost hypnotized him. He couldn¡¯t help but feel nervous, to his own surprise.


    But he shoved it down and softly looked at her, as the princess herself smiled bashfully. And thus they danced.


    ***


    Alistor brought the princess back to her table, to her friends. The group of ladies, which were apparently children of capital nobles, people of high status. And thus, Alistor greeted them all one by one and as respectful as he could. Ultimately, because they were friends of the princess, he had to be more careful. Her friends were quite sweet.


    The princess appeared to have enjoyed their moment together, and thus, Alistor left her and them with a pleased smile and proud heart. With nothing else important to do, he approached the two monarchs.


    ¡°This is a fun party, your royal majesty. I am grateful.¡±


    ¡°Prince, I¡¯m glad you enjoyed it. Have a drink of this wine I¡¯m having, it¡¯s delicious.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind if I do.¡±


    One servant poured him a glass of red wine. Alistor promptly took a sip and nodded. ¡°Hm! This truly is delightful.¡±


    ¡°We pride ourselves with our high value wines.¡±


    ¡°Incredible. Is this only accessible to royals?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s accessible to anyone who can afford it.¡±


    ¡°I never had something like this back home.¡±


    The king smiled and suddenly shifted to another topic. ¡°You danced with my daughter.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Alistor slowly put down his wineglass. ¡°Yes. Your daughter is an extraordinary one.¡±


    ¡°That we all are well aware.¡±


    ¡°Everyone respects her.¡±


    ¡°Respect, with some others I noticed almost worship.¡±


    ¡°Huh. Are you displeased, your majesty? That I danced with your daughter? Is it not a normal occurrence to dance with a lady at a party?¡±


    ¡°Our culture is not too different, so it is fine to ask a lady to a dance.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that is a relief.¡±


    The king still wore a neutral expression, showing neither delight nor displeasure. That made Alistor wonder what he truly felt when he approached his daughter.


    ¡°Prince Alistor, we love Estelia to a great degree. And so does the kingdom. However, you and I, and she, live in different spheres.¡±


    Alistor furrowed his brow in confusion. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°What do you see around my daughter, prince?¡±


    Alistor looked towards the princess. ¡°... Uh, just her friends?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, her friends. And no one else. Do you know why?¡±


    ¡°Why¡­?¡±


    ¡°Normally in a party is where you make connections. To play the political game. However, my daughter does not play the same game.¡±


    Alistor peered around again. People old enough, late teens to middle ages, all were trying to talk to other people. Even to the two princes of Wisteria. Trying to make connections and allies. However, there was no one as such trying with the princess. It was just her casually talking with her circle of friends.


    ¡°Do you see it, prince? Estelia has never been involved in politics.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, it¡¯s not a choice.¡± If you were royalty, the moment you were born, you¡¯re already playing the game. There was no way around it.


    ¡°It is here, for her. She had no need to. She had the rest of the family to take care of everything.¡±


    Alistor was at a loss for words. It was so strange of a system, for a royal to be able to not be involved in politics. To rely on family to keep the gears of a nation moving, and settling any kind of conflicts. To not worry about ascending and keeping up with the ranks. He almost couldn¡¯t believe such a thing.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± That was all he could say.


    ¡°That is her wish, and everyone is aware.¡±


    ¡°Everyone?¡±


    In the kingdom?


    ¡°After talking with her, you now know her nature, yes?¡±


    He glanced towards the princess. ¡°Yes, I do.¡±


    ¡°She cannot bear the weight. She will not be dragged into anything that compromises her life. She will not be compelled by anything. Do you understand what I¡¯m trying to say, prince?¡±


    Alistor stared into the king¡¯s eyes. ¡°I understand.¡±


    And the king smiled. ¡°Great.¡±


    They protect her that much? But I guess I understand why.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 108: Defiling Thoughts

    Later that night, after the welcoming banquet at the king¡¯s office, the king himself, the eldest prince Eleden, and the sole Princess Estelia, gathered. As usual, the king sat in his seat, the prince in front of him, while the princess sat on the distant couch.


    ¡°So, what do you think?¡± the king asked the two.


    ¡°At least they conducted themselves in a good manner,¡± said Eleden. ¡°Still, I can¡¯t trust them.¡±


    ¡°Hm. If they¡¯re genuine about peace, then that will be the first in their recent history.¡±


    ¡°Their terms will likely entail that we become a vassal state to their empire.¡±


    That was how the Empire usually did it to the countries that they subjugated, turning them into vassal states. Although, they hardly give one complete autonomy. While others they reduced to mere states, removing their titles as a kingdom.


    ¡°I will refuse it outright. Our kingdom is given to us by the Lord and Lady. Our people, our identity, we absolutely cannot let it go.¡±


    Wisteria was a nation rich in history, being reduced to a mere vassal state was unthinkable. It will go against the very idea of the Lord and Lady.


    ¡°What are the Holy Kingdom¡¯s thoughts on this matter?¡± Eleden asked.


    ¡°As we would expect, to listen.¡±


    ¡°And Myra?¡±


    ¡°No response yet.¡±


    ¡°I see. And tomorrow we¡¯ll get to hear their proposal of peace.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    ¡°Are we really not going to mention their sabotage to our kingdom?¡±


    ¡°As what your sister said, there¡¯s no point. Speaking of which¡­¡±


    The two of them turned towards Estelia, who had not given her thoughts at all, still closing her eyes as if in deep thought.


    ¡°Daughter? You¡¯re awfully quiet.¡±


    Her eyes snapped open and looked at them with wide eyes. ¡°Huh? Oh, yes?¡±


    The king and Eleden looked at each with furrowed brows.


    ¡°Sister, are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am.¡±


    ¡°So¡­? What do you think of the situation?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°Okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    There was silence for a moment before the king asked another question. ¡°What do you think about the envoys?¡±


    She placed her clenched hands on her chin. And she was so adorable. ¡°You mean Prince Alistor? He¡¯s quite handsome, isn¡¯t he?¡± She giggled like a little girl, her cheeks bright red.


    ¡°Wha¡ª!¡±


    ¡°Huh?!¡±


    Her father and her brother fell in utter shock upon hearing her words ¡ª and they weren¡¯t even talking about Alistor alone. Their eyes went so wide that they seemed to almost pop out of their sockets. They were freaking out.


    The king grew nervous, and thus, nervously, he asked. ¡°E-Estelia, are you o-okay?¡±


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    She tilted her head inquisitively. ¡°I said I was okay¡­¡±


    Eleden frantically pointed at her. ¡°T-Then why are you blushing?!¡±


    ¡°A-Am I?¡± She gently pressed her hands on both her cheeks. ¡°Oh, my¡­¡±


    ¡°Estelia! Are you joking with us?¡± Leodoule asked in a panic.


    ¡°Joking? Why would you think that?¡± She looked away. ¡°He was so sweet¡­ and he dances with me very well¡­¡±


    Leodoule and Eleden looked at each other in horror.


    The princess continued. ¡°He was also so funny¡­¡± she giggled adorably.


    So disturbed in the depths of his heart, Leodoule rose from his seat and rushed towards Estelia. To feel this way to an enemy prince was just unthinkable. He normally would just let her love any man she wants, but a prince from the Empire, that man? No, just no.


    He placed a hand on both her shoulders.


    ¡°Estelia, are you really alright?¡±


    Estelia looked up at him with surprise. ¡°I am¡­ But, I am feeling some warmth here¡­¡± she placed her hands on her chest. ¡°... Whenever I think about earlier¡­¡±


    ¡°Were you magically charmed? Does that kind of magic even exist?¡±


    The princess frowned. ¡°Magically charmed? Why would I be? No one can cloud my mind. My mind is very clear.¡±


    Leodoule groaned. ¡°Estelia, tomorrow is their peace proposal.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and we¡¯ll listen. And I hope they don¡¯t leave immediately after.¡±


    Leodoule and Eleden gasped in terror. Estelia has never acted like this before, especially for someone.


    As the two men were going through a turmoil, the princess continued. ¡°I¡¯m sleepy, can I go now?¡±


    ¡°Huh? But¡ª¡±


    ¡°Father¡­ please? Besides, we have nothing important to talk about right now.¡±


    With hesitation, Leodoule stepped back. ¡°Alright, you can go, daughter. Just don¡¯t keep thinking about what happened today. In fact, forget about everything.¡±


    Estelia frowned in confusion as she got up and left the room.


    The two men took in deep breaths.


    ***


    ¡°What were you doing, brother?¡± Cilas asked in a stern tone.


    Just like the night before, they were in Alistor¡¯s room to have a brief meeting. However, the moment they entered, Cilas expressed his displeasure. Which Alistor was expecting a little.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°The princess. Trying to flirt with her? Are you serious?¡±


    Alistor sighed. ¡°What¡¯s the big issue with that?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re trying to get close to her, that is a problem. Did you forget? You are to kill her.¡±


    Alistor scoffed. ¡°I see no problem with getting close to her, despite the mission.¡± What¡¯s wrong with trying to get close to her? It won¡¯t matter in the end anyway if she were still to die. At least enjoy the company before things happen.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that. That is prone to attachment. That in turn causes hesitation.¡±


    ¡°You really like to overthink, you know that?¡±


    ¡°Stop it, brother. Stay focused.¡±


    ¡°I am focused. I¡¯m just spending my time in delight.¡±


    ¡°Not like this.¡±


    ¡°Why are you so worked up, anyway?¡± He squinted his eyes and stepped forward towards Cilas. ¡°Little brother, don¡¯t think I don¡¯t notice your gaze towards her.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t notice how you look at her.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    Alistor stepped closer, looking down at Cilas. ¡°You are interested in her.¡±


    ¡°N-Nonsense.¡±


    ¡°Are you jealous?¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡±


    Alistor towered over him. ¡°Look at that, you are.¡±


    Cilas pursed his lips.


    Alistor continued. ¡°If you weren¡¯t so shy, you could have taken the chance to speak with her. But you didn¡¯t. Isn¡¯t that right, little brother?¡±


    Cilas looked away with a scowl. ¡°Careful with your words, Alistor.¡±


    With a smirk, Alistor said in a low tone. ¡°You know, I¡¯ve been thinking of a new plan. A new path for us to take. But I¡¯m still hesitant about it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it wouldn''t change the entire thing. Just the ending, you could say. A little change.¡±


    ¡°Whatever it is, it better get us both alive out here after accomplishing our mission.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡±


    Cilas stepped back with a click of his tongue.


    ¡°You know, Cilas. She is quite a sweet girl. Although, you really have to be very careful with her. She breaks easily.¡±


    ¡°I, I don¡¯t care about that. Just focus on the mission.¡±


    ¡°Heh, it¡¯s all on me then.¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow¡¯s your proposal, make sure we can get enough time.¡±


    ¡°Right, right.¡± Alistor led him out of the room, and once his brother was out, he locked the door.


    With a light heart and warming chest, he laid his back on the bed. He closed his eyes as he recalled the moments earlier. Specifically the sensations with the princess. Her touch, her soft hands, her faint breaths, her soothing voice, her clothes, her curvy body.


    He recalled her beautiful and adorable face. A face so full of purity. Her smile of innocence. Her lips so bright and endearing. He couldn¡¯t help but think ¡ª imagine ¡ª touching those lips with his fingers. Her pleased face. Her clean and naked pale neck, his lips kissing and sucking them until they mark red.


    His arms wrapped around her slender and perfect body, slowly removing her clothes. He imagined the little moans of her sweet voice as she felt the pleasing sensation on her kissed neck. Both of them heavily breathing.


    Just as her flawless and white shoulders laid bare, his kisses ascended to her cheeks, then to her lips. They passionately kissed while he savored the sensation of her naked body. He imagined her face of pleasure and satisfaction, her joy in his arms. He imagined her warmth, her cute moans, her sweats, her entire naked body in his grasp. And as he did, something hardened within his pants.


    His imaginations ran wild, he held no restraints. His imaginations that defiled the purity of the purest existence in the world. But that idea in mind only made it the more pleasing.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 109: Peace Proposal

    Late in the morning, the two envoys gathered in the throne room. Alistor looked around, he was a little impressed. Perhaps he just expected less ever since coming here and seeing what he saw. He faced forward, the royals sat on their thrones at the front. While the two princes stood at the center of the room.


    ¡°Envoys of the Tornridge Empire, tell us what this peace proposal of yours entails. I and the rest of the royal family will hear you out.¡±


    Alistor alone stepped forward. ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty.¡± He took a deep breath. ¡°You have shown kindness to us on our arrival. For that, I am truly grateful, and thus, I hope you will find our offer of peace agreeable.


    ¡°The Tornridge Empire formally requests the kingdom of Wisteria to join our alliance. Where in summary, we will promote free trading with each other, military, and political cooperation, among others. All for the growth of both our nations.¡±


    The king leaned back. ¡°An alliance, huh? But Wisteria is already in an alliance.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, that is why we request you to shift your allegiance with us. The Empire that is more advanced and powerful than any other flags on the continent.¡±


    ¡°And, who will be the head of this alliance? Or will it be all equal?¡±


    ¡°Wisteria and Tornridge will both be on equal standing. Major decisions involving the alliance shall be made by both nations before being carried out.¡±


    The king narrowed his eyes. ¡°Tornridge? The Empire that has been a total behemoth of a nation, wishes to be an equal of Wisteria?¡±


    ¡°Yes, all that matters is peace.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Then, why haven¡¯t you approached the other nations with this proposal?¡±


    ¡°And for that, we have a condition.¡±


    He furrowed his brow. ¡°What?¡±


    Alistor smiled. ¡°In order to join our alliance, and accept a great opportunity, you will give all your support in engaging our enemy ¡ª the kingdom of Myra.¡±


    The royal family looked at him in shock.


    Alistor continued. ¡°You will aid us in attacking the enemy. Myra has been a thorn in our side. Harassing the Empire whenever they can. The Emperor cannot allow such transgressions. And with your support, and debut of this alliance, Myra must be incorporated. The Empire is willing to share the spoils of war with Wisteria if you agree. This includes lands, of course.¡±


    The crown prince, sitting beside the king, slammed his fist on the armrest of his throne. ¡°Don¡¯t be absurd! You think we¡¯ll betray Myra?¡± He glared at Alistor.


    ¡°As leaders of a nation, should we not do everything we can for our homeland? To achieve prosperity? An ally with us, and an expansion, our cooperation, Wisteria will develop faster than in the last decades. Together, we will grow.¡±


    ¡°And sacrifice Myra?!¡±


    Alistor opened up his arms. ¡°Is that not a necessary price to pay for a better future? To take over that aggressive of a kingdom, and help guide its people on a better path.¡±


    The king placed a hand on Eleden¡¯s shoulder, to calm him down. And thus, the crown prince stood down with a scowl. The king looked at Alistor with a composed expression. ¡°Prince Alistor, Myra is our ally. We cannot just discard them.¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, Myra is an ally that offers little benefits compared to us.¡±


    ¡°Even if we do agree, the Holy Kingdom of Valaies, will not stand idly by.¡±


    ¡°In due time, the Holy Kingdom will be asked not to intervene. However, if they do not, as an ally of the Empire, Wisteria will be asked to assist us in dealing with them.¡±


    The king raised an eyebrow. ¡°You are basically asking us to betray all our allies.¡±


    The queen on the king¡¯s other side spoke out her thoughts. ¡°That is asking a lot of us. And quite despicable.¡±


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    ¡°We do what we must for the ones we love, especially to our homelands. There is no good or evil.¡±


    ¡°And if we refuse?¡±


    ¡°Then there is nothing I can do but hope you change your mind. Otherwise, we will respect your choice.¡±


    ¡°I disagree with this. I refuse to accept your conditions,¡± the crown prince said in an angered tone.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid your monarch has the final say in this.¡±


    The king leaned sideways, thinking about it. ¡°Prince Alistor, this is a heavy choice. The cooperation between the Empire and Wisteria is enticing. But betrayal of our allies¡­ This is a decision that cannot be made lightly.¡±


    Of course it is.


    That was its purpose. It was meant to be a tough choice to make. One that cannot be made in an hour, or a day.


    ¡°Yes. That is why we are willing to give Wisteria time to deliberate on this.¡±


    ¡°Father. Is there even something to think about?¡± Eleden said to the king.


    The king looked at his son in understanding. ¡°Hm. You¡¯re willing to wait, yes?¡± He asked the imperial prince.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°We do not want to betray our allies. But I cannot make impulsive decisions. I must think about this. Still, what you¡¯re asking is just too extreme. Hm.¡± He placed a hand on his chin, pondering.


    ¡°I think we really should give it some thought,¡± joined in a sweet voice.


    Everyone instantly turned towards that unexpected input from someone. Alistor smiled softly as he looked the princess in the eyes.


    She continued as she gave Alistor a tender smile. ¡°You made a fascinating offer. That is why I think we should take things slow. Don¡¯t you think so, father?¡± She turned towards the king.


    ¡°... Is that what you think, daughter?¡±


    ¡°Yes. If his imperial prince would give us apt time before he hears our answer.¡± She returned her eyes to Alistor. ¡°We still need to consider the consequences of both options, what steps we may need if we do decide.¡±


    ¡°Of course, take your time.¡±


    ¡°Would a week be fine, Prince Alistor?¡±


    ¡°That is fine, princess. In fact, take as much time as you want. I still want to take a look around your beautiful city, anyway. There is a lot to see, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure you will find many things interesting and beautiful.¡±


    Alistor nodded at her. He didn¡¯t expect the princess would share her thoughts here.


    She likes me that much already?


    He had a feeling that the princess did it for him. And that filled him with pride. If the king had made a decision here, Alistor would have still offered the king time to reconsider, as the Empire truly wanted to ally with Wisteria. And add to it the reason that he wanted to go sightseeing.


    But this outcome was better.


    The king spoke. ¡°Very well. We will deliberate this at length. You may leave now, princes of the Tornridge.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, your majesty.¡±


    With a satisfied smile, Alistor, along with his brother, made their way out. But not before he gave a subtle wink at the princess. At which the latter flinched and blushed.


    Once outside, Alistor said, ¡°Then, Cilas? That went well, didn¡¯t it?¡±


    Cilas frowned. ¡°Indeed...¡±


    ***


    The king glanced at the lead knight. ¡°Leave us, all of you.¡±


    With a bow, the lead knight led his kins that served as guards out of the throne room. Now, all that was left is the royal family. The queen, Meliya, right next to the princess, frowned in confusion at her daughter. The princess was all red.


    ¡°Dear, are you alright?¡±


    ¡°H-Huh? Yes, I¡¯m alright.¡± She straightened her posture.


    Meliya gave her a suspicious look while the king leaned forward and asked his daughter.


    ¡°So? We really are going to talk about this, Estelia?¡±


    Eleden chimed in. ¡°There¡¯s no way we¡¯re agreeing with them, right? No way.¡±


    Estevan added his thoughts. ¡°We can¡¯t trust them at all.¡±


    Estelia placed a hand on her cheek. ¡°We truly need the time to think about what Prince Alistor said. I must say, they made quite the terms.¡± She chuckled adorably, but she still had that enamored look.


    The king worriedly stared at her. ¡°Daughter, clear your mind¡­¡±


    ¡°My mind is clear, father~.¡±


    Seeing how her daughter was acting, the queen came to a realization, and she asked to confirm. ¡°Dear, are you infatuated with that prince?¡±


    The king palmed his face, Eleden heaved a tired sigh, while Estevan rose from his seat in shock as he screamed, ¡°Huh?!¡±


    Estelia froze and stared at her mother¡¯s eyes in confusion. ¡°Uh, well. No¡­?¡±


    For Meliya, it was bizarre to see Estelia feel and act this way. People act differently when it comes to someone they like or love. But it would seem because of that, Estelia¡¯s sharp mind was clouded. And now she was acting like this.


    Meliya was open to any men around Estelia for her to start liking. Even a noble or prince from other nations would be fine. However, if it¡¯s from that Empire, then that was something she cannot allow. Even how much it would pain Meliya¡¯s heart to do this, she must not let Estelia fall even further.


    ¡°You have been staring at him so differently.¡±


    Estelia blinked as the red on her face gradually disappeared. ¡°Is this because I suggested that we think about the peace proposal?¡±


    ¡°Part of it, yes.¡±


    ¡°Uh, ha-ha.¡± She awkwardly chuckled. ¡°N-No. In the end, we still need time. We cannot break their offer this early with all the preparations we need to finish up.¡±


    Are you just making excuses, dear?


    Meliya couldn¡¯t bring herself to say it.


    ¡°Estel! You can¡¯t be, right? Right?¡± Estevan rushed at her, with an expression on the brink of crying. ¡°Anyone, just not that guy!¡±


    ¡°W-What are you on about? You seem to misunderstand, we already know that we¡¯re going to reject their proposal. We just need to delay giving it as much as possible.¡±


    ¡°That I understand, dear. But¡­¡± Meliya grasped Estelia¡¯s hand. ¡°I cannot allow you to love a royal from that Empire.¡±


    Estelia¡¯s eye twitched. ¡°W-What¡­? Why? Why would you ¡ª¡±


    ¡°Dear, I¡¯m sorry. But please don¡¯t.¡±


    Estelia looked away, confusion plastered all over her face. ¡°I think you¡¯re overthinking things, everyone. But you don¡¯t have to worry about me. So calm down.¡±


    ¡°It will pass, dear. We all experience heartbreaks.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 110: Playing the Fools

    Damn I missed this! I have had no fun like this for ages! You know the source of my entertained feelings right now. Yeeaaah, the first prince of the Empire. It¡¯s really fascinating how much he tries to impress and take my heart. So adorable. I wanna play around some more.


    But of course, I was not just playing around with no ulterior motives whatsoever. These two princes were targets. Know thy enemy, said by some guy. So that¡¯s what I¡¯m doing. Not only that, I wanted them to know, and carved into their heart, that I was a fragile and innocent princess that couldn¡¯t even harm an ant.


    However, progress right now was only on the older brother. Which was too fucking easy, by the way. But I got to say, he¡¯s quite a bit¡­ um, direct. He had no shame at all. Even in front of my parents! Like, wow.


    That guy aside, there¡¯s the matter of the younger brother. He seemed to be the more conserved and wary guy. But I knew I charmed him good through looks alone, he¡¯s just too shy to try talking to me. I think especially considering that Alistor guy¡¯s making the moves on me. But we¡¯ll see how this goes.


    Anyhow, let¡¯s have some more fun. At the moment, in the morning, we were walking around the interior of the palace. I offered to be their guide, but I mainly talked to Alistor. Nevertheless, the younger prince, Cilas, was still coming, he¡¯s just in the back seat. The third wheel. The¡­ yeah I forgot what other words there were.


    I just have some goals right now..


    As I meekly walked beside Alistor, I asked him. ¡°Would you like to meet the knights, Prince Alistor? Will you be interested?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± He smiled softly.


    ¡°I hope you will meet with everyone in the Knights¡¯ Order. They are nice people.¡±


    ¡°Are they your friends?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be interested in meeting a prince from another nation.¡±


    ¡°It would be interesting to meet the Wisterian knights. Maybe I can stretch a little.¡±


    ¡°Stretch¡­?¡±


    He smirked. ¡°To swing a sword around.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± I smiled shyly. ¡°I look forward to it¡­¡±


    Heh. That¡¯s it.


    And thus we made our way to the knights¡¯ training grounds. On the way, I occasionally glanced behind us, towards Cilas, who silently followed us. I looked him in the eye, giving a suggestion that I maybe wanted to talk, but couldn¡¯t do so easily. Poor me¡­


    Oh yeah, Rogan was following all the way to the back. I wouldn¡¯t go anywhere without my personal guard. My other two servants, however, didn¡¯t come with me. I just didn¡¯t want us to be too crowded.


    Eventually, we arrived at the training grounds. Aside from the Wisterian knights, some of the Imperial knights were here too. However, there was a divide between the two. Wisterian knights had their own world, Tornridge had their own. I saw a few knights glaring at each other, signs of animosity. However, they couldn¡¯t just fight, after all. So all they could do was glare and taunt, and just piss off the other side. Father mentioned this. Really treading on thin lines there folks.


    If there were no rules and technicality holding them back, I imagine we gonna have a rumble. Who''s gonna win?! Wisteria or Tornridge?! Everyone place your bets! Of course I¡¯m gonna bet in favor of my knights. Traitors are those that bet on the other side!


    The knights of both factions immediately stopped what they¡¯re doing and faced us, acknowledging their respective royals. I acted shy. Alistor merely glanced at his men, but I stepped forward to my knights with a saintly smile. They bowed as I got closer.


    ¡°Hello, everyone. There is no need to be formal. We are only here for a casual visit.¡±


    The knights rose their heads and Elson stepped forward. ¡°How may we help you, Your Highness?¡±


    ¡°I brought our guests here to meet our Order.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh¡­¡± He looked concerned.


    I acted clueless. ¡°I see that you¡¯re together with the knights from Tornridge.¡± I glanced at the imperial knights with a smile. ¡°Are you getting along just fine?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Elson wasn¡¯t sure how to answer. ¡°Not exactly¡­¡±


    ¡°Is that so...? Then why don¡¯t we start with shaking hands?¡±


    ¡°Princess¡­?¡±


    ¡°Every friendship starts with handshakes.¡± I turned towards Alistor. ¡°Don¡¯t you think so, Prince Alistor? Everyone should try getting along here.¡±


    He grinned. ¡°Of course, Princess.¡± He looked at his men. ¡°Why don¡¯t we do what she asks? Start shaking hands and introduce yourselves.¡±


    The Empire goons looked at each other, hesitating. As they did, I glanced towards my knights and gave them a pleading smile.


    They bowed their heads. ¡°If it¡¯s what you wish, Princess. So be it.¡±


    My knights complied and were the first to approach the imperial goons. Some had kind and friendly faces, while the other knights gave the other a tough look. Hehe.


    ¡°Oh I know, wouldn¡¯t it be nice for everyone to train together?¡± I said to Alistor.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind the idea.¡±


    Nice.


    ***


    A while later, following my suggestion, the knights from both sides began training together. Well, rather than training, it was more like measuring each other and looking for who had the upper hand. Love the competition! Come on boys, show them what you fucking got!


    Alistor and I watched on with pleased expressions. Some knights sparred and swung their swords in the air. While there were others showing off their Armament Magic power.


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    ¡°Your knights are impressive, Princess.¡±


    ¡°Um, thank you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m quite itching to join in for spar,¡± he said as he grabbed a sword.


    Aaaaw, look at that. He wants to show off.


    I smiled sweetly. ¡°You¡¯re free to go and join them. Although, as a prince, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be challenged. Is that not what a warrior seeks?¡±


    ¡°Hm, I suppose. Then, any recommendations?¡±


    ¡°I would say my brother Estevan. But since he¡¯s not here, I recommend his match. My personal knight, Sir Rogan.¡±


    ¡°Really? If you say so, I¡¯m game.¡±


    I beckoned for Rogan to come and conveyed to him what I just suggested.


    With a smirk, he turned to Alistor. ¡°Will that be alright? To fight with an imperial prince.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°I mean, it would just be a spar, but I don¡¯t want to hurt you in any way. That would be bad.¡±


    Alistor chuckled. ¡°A little scratch is something I can manage. Well, not like one can easily hit me. But, if you want assurance. Brother.¡± He turned towards his younger brother. ¡°You¡¯ll be witness that I invited Princess Estelia¡¯s personal knight to a spar. Any damage taken is fine, with no repercussions.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Now then, relieved?¡± he asked Rogan.


    ¡°Alright. No holding back then? But no attacks that are too deadly.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Then let us both prepare.¡±


    Rogan and I stared at each other as he passed by to grab a spear. Time to get to work, my knight. Give me what I need. Rogan conveyed to Elson what¡¯s up and the latter announced the event. Alistor removed his coat, going to the center of the yard after the knights cleared out. Rogan followed the moment he had a quality spear in hand.


    To my surprise, a couple of knights approached me with wide, welcoming smiles. ¡°Princess, please have a seat.¡± They kindly offered me a chair.


    ¡°Oh, thank you.¡± I sat down. They¡¯re so sweet. I glanced behind me before turning to the two knights. ¡°If you would please give a seat for Prince Cilas beside me. This is a good view to watch the fight.¡±


    ¡°Certainly, Your Highness.¡±


    They promptly urged the second prince to sit down on the chair placed beside me. But it would seem my knights were quite wary and put a foot gap in between. Cilas seemed to hesitate, so I looked at him with concern.


    ¡°P-Prince Cilas? You will tire if you keep standing. Please sit.¡±


    ¡°... Very well.¡± He awkwardly sat down.


    I resisted the urge to smile in amusement.


    The match was about to start. Alistor glanced at me with a confident smile, while Rogan flexed his weapon. As each was several feet apart, they switched to a combat stance, waiting for the signal to start.


    And a moment later, Elson gave the signal to begin.


    The two instantly charged at each other at tremendous speed. Their weapons clashed, sparks flew. Grinds and clunks. They were fighting equally. When one strikes, the other either dashes or parries. Even so, it would appear that neither of them were particularly stressed. Almost like they were just warming up.


    And as they fought, I turned a glance towards Cilas. I awkwardly shifted. ¡°... Y-You¡¯re brother is quite impressive.¡±


    He slowly glanced at me. ¡°... You¡¯re impressed¡­?¡±


    I nodded, and he lowered his gaze.


    ¡°You must be as strong, Prince Cilas.¡±


    ¡°... No, I¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°Really¡­?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like fighting¡­¡±


    ¡°I-Is that so?¡±


    He seemed to be losing confidence in himself. As if saying there¡¯s no way he could match up to his brother. What hope does he have with me when he has his brother already making the move? There was no point. Something like that. Hehe.


    ¡°Then what is it you commonly do, Prince Cilas?¡± I asked as the match continued on. Rogan was being pushed back a little. Come now, my knight, don¡¯t restrain yourself.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Literature?¡±


    ¡°Books, then? You like books?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    I giggled adorably. ¡°Me too. I like books.¡±


    He looked at me, his eyes shining a little, metaphorically speaking.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°I mainly like stories, although I also like reading about what things are out there in the world.¡± I leaned a little towards him and occasionally glanced at the match.


    He faintly nodded. ¡°That¡¯s what I mainly like. Facts and history.¡±


    I giggled. ¡°I recently read a story about the different tribes on the continent. It was written by an adventurer, apparently.¡±


    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s interesting.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, although some tribes are quite scary. I can show it to you when we have the chance.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± He hesitated and glanced towards his brother.


    I waited for his answer, and after a few seconds, I spoke. ¡°Prince? You don¡¯t want me showing my books?¡± I said with a sad expression. My wide, pitiful eyes looking at him.


    He became a little frantic upon seeing me. ¡°N-No, it¡¯s just¡­ Would that be alright? I mean, we just met and we¡¯re royals from different nations.¡±


    Quite a wary one, huh?


    I slightly tilted my head. ¡°I don¡¯t see what¡¯s wrong with that. I¡­ I just thought I could show what I love to one who can relate with me¡­¡±


    ¡°Relate with you¡­?¡±


    I sighed, looking away in sad disappointment. ¡°If you¡­ don¡¯t want to. I-I understand.¡±


    ¡°N-No wait. If there¡¯s no issue, I don¡¯t see why not. Perhaps you could also show me a book that tells about histories or tales of Wisteria.¡±


    My expression brightened, and I nodded. ¡°Okay!¡±


    My cuteness is too powerful!


    Uuugh, I love myself. My beauty has not failed me yet! Damn, if I had such a cute and innocent face back in my old world, I could have done a much better and easier job. I was already beautiful then, but this face was just so much more.


    The two men fighting stepped away from each other in an intensifying fight.


    Rogan shifted his spear slightly backward. ¡°You¡¯re strong, Imperial Highness. Guess it¡¯s time to level things up. Will that be alright?¡± Lightning shone and crackled at the tip of his spear.


    ¡°Oh? Lightning? Very well, I¡¯ll play your game.¡± With a confident grin, he cast his magic, and the same as his opponent, the element of lightning engulfed his blade.


    That was surprising. He¡¯s stealing your lightning filled spotlight, Rogan! That¡¯s his main thing, so he shouldn¡¯t get beaten around in his own game.


    Once ready, they charged at each other, and the moment their weapons touched, the electricity raged. And the more their weapons made contact, the intensity only amplified, trying to overwhelm one another. Gusts of winds followed every strike.


    A couple of Wisterian knights stood close to me.


    ¡°Be careful, Princess. We don¡¯t want stray attacks coming this way.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Rogan saw an opportunity and thrust his blade. However, in quick response, Alistor parried his attack. In the same momentum, the prince triggered his lightning, blasting forward. Rogan grimaced and stepped back while simultaneously casting his shield that blocked the incoming attack.


    Giving no time for Rogan to recover, Alistor switched to another kind of attack. His blade magic coating turned from lightning into flames, and he stabbed his weapon into the soil. A wave of fire crawled and melted the ground.


    The flames touched Rogan¡¯s boots and he began sinking. Mana gathered in his hand and he urgently fired a ball of light into the ground. It unleashed a pushing force, scattering the molten remains all over the place. But that gave him a chance to leap out as a slash of fire passed from where he was.


    Mid-air, Rogan thrust his spear forward, firing a piercing lightning strike towards Alistor. The latter held out his hand, conjuring a wide barrier. But he did not keep it stationary, he pushed it forward, and the barrier moved in fast speed, heading for Rogan as it clashed with the lightning strike.


    Rogan was rattled, the barrier was already getting close. He quickly thrust his lightning engulfed spear against the barrier, shattering it. But Alistor already grabbed the opening and got in close to Rogan, he swung his sword at the defenseless knight, a decisive strike. However, his blade stopped right before touching the neck.


    Rogan froze.


    Alistor smirked as he combed his hair with his bare hand. ¡°I win.¡±


    Rogan sighed. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    The magical element engulfing their weapons dissipated, and they shook hands as everyone clapped and cheered. The imperial side looked particularly boastful. I, of course, also clapped so cutely.


    I rose from my seat as they walked back to me.


    ¡°That was an incredible match.¡±


    ¡°Sorry that I lost thought.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Sir Rogan.¡± I then turned towards Alistor with slowly blushing cheeks. ¡°Congratulations.¡±


    Ain¡¯t this the part where the leading lady gives the man a kiss on the cheeks or something? Not here, though. I would rather kill this bitch here and now than later.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I placed a hand on my cheek. ¡°Amazing, so you¡¯re that strong, Prince Alistor.¡±


    Now I know.


    He chuckled softly, flattered. ¡°Thanks. Knowing that you were watching, I have to give it my all to win.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± I lowered my eyes, blushing as he smiled charmingly.


    You really are a funny man.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 111: Teristro’s Headache

    Somewhere in the city, a top secret operation was taking place, and being managed by Marquis Meril. He was using a building he rented to be used as temporary headquarters. He had a couple of buildings he owned, but he didn¡¯t want any clever enemies looking into them.


    Better to use something out of his records. Although it was unlikely to be looked into by any opposition, it was better to be safe. Even Estelia agreed.


    At the moment, he was having a meeting with one merchant that Estelia forced into submission. Sina Indira, head of a transports company. She was stiff as she sat on her chair.


    ¡°I see. Very well, I¡¯ll allow you to search for more men.¡±


    There was an issue of needing more labor to create the other paths. They were rushing things up, and had to scout and prepare the logistic paths simultaneously if they were to reach the target goal.


    ¡°Just be careful of the ones you choose.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll make sure there will be no leaks. Also, my lord, the need for more carts and carriages. With my resources alone, I cannot prepare the number needed in such a short time. In addition to requiring additional means for transporting the items essential for our current needs.¡±


    Meril leaned back in his chair. ¡°Everything¡¯s too heavy right now, huh? Can¡¯t we get outside suppliers of the carts and horses?¡±


    ¡°We can, but I would like your permission for it. And, it will be quite expensive.¡±


    He sighed. ¡°Finance is not an issue. We don¡¯t want you to dry up as well. I will give you the budget. Make sure you buy what we need from all over, not just at a single supplier or anything.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    ¡°Anyways, how¡¯s your map doing?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s being updated with the newly made paths. But, from what I can see, it¡¯s not halfway done, and we have to consider the new paths we just made or are about to.¡±


    ¡°... Of course. Keep updating as much as you can until the crown says they need it.¡±


    ¡°Certainly.¡±


    ¡°As for the food to store? How is it?¡±


    ¡°A few warehouses and storage facilities are done, but we have more to fill.¡±


    ¡°Are we moving too fast?¡±


    ¡°... I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll hit a shortage of food to store at this rate. Resulting in more empty warehouses we prepared.¡±


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Meril massaged his temple. Of course the task Estelia gave him was never easy. If only she handled this, then she would be the one having the headache.


    ¡°Outsource if needed.¡±


    ¡°Yes. I think rations will be our primary concern in this. The weapons, on the other hand, are going smoothly. They have plenty of reserves we can use.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh. But we still need the weapons we give to the draftees.¡±


    ¡°Draftees¡­ Of course.¡±


    They pretty much can¡¯t give them sticks to fight with.


    ¡°My lord, is there no way to slow down? It¡¯s taking a toll on the men and our resources.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, we can¡¯t. The prospect of war has been pushed closer. We need to make as much progress as we can. To lessen the burden and crisis we may face.¡±


    ¡°... Understood.¡±


    ¡°Have the Empire not contacted you lately?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No, they have not.¡±


    ¡°I see. They really are willing to just throw away their hard work. But this is good, we have less things to worry about.¡±


    Then they had some more discussion before Sina left the building.


    The next to step forward was the other person in the room, the knight Ayana.


    ¡°Ayana, so, what news? Do we have any troublemakers?¡±


    ¡°None. Nothing seemed to have leaked yet or anything. The knights made sure the new workers knew the punishment if they violated confidentiality.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope to keep it that way. There¡¯s already much to adjust in our new pace, I don¡¯t want another foolish idiot making foolish decisions. What about your hunt for the elf?¡±


    Ayana lowered her gaze. ¡°Nothing¡­ We have exterminated the signs of bandits around the capital and nearby villages, but no sign of the elf.¡±


    ¡°Do you think he had fled the country?¡±


    ¡°... I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Hm. So the remaining hiding bandits are erased?¡±


    ¡°We got rid of what we can find.¡±


    ¡°Then I hope that¡¯s enough to convince whoever''s hiding to change career paths.¡± Maybe they have completely wiped out all the bandits nearby, which was also a good outcome. A much safer Wisteria for the people. ¡°Progress on teaching the Princess¡¯s ciphers?¡±


    ¡°The other elite knights are still practicing it.¡±


    ¡°You got the hang of it already?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± She appeared confident. ¡°I¡¯m sure we can expect good results in the coming week, or the next. But I worry about those remaining in the palace. More than half of our knights are still there, and many that do not know how to do the ciphers.¡±


    With the Empire present in the palace, they also didn¡¯t want the knights learning it there. They didn¡¯t want the Empire to learn of their ciphers or a leakage. Ciphers were state secret. Still, Meril was flabbergasted that Estelia could make those kinds of ciphers. With those, they could communicate with their forces with less worry about the Empire intercepting and reading through their letters, spoiling their plans.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do about it while those envoys are still there.¡±


    Ayana frowned. ¡°Does Tornridge want to torment us before invading?¡±


    ¡°Hm, perhaps. But they¡¯re planning something. Still, we have nothing to worry about. Estelia is there, she can take care of it, I can feel it.¡±


    ¡°... I see¡­ The war with the Empire will be chaotic. Do you think we¡¯ll win, Lord Teristro? Against a nation of that size.¡±


    Meril closed his eyes. That¡¯s what he wanted to know, and what he sought his Intuition to answer. He wanted a bright answer. However, it only had one response¡­


    ¡°It will exact a heavy price.¡±


    ¡°... Of course it would. Many will die.¡±


    ¡°... Yes.¡±


    But it felt like his Intuition was not referring to the number of people alone. He was involved in his own Intuition, so he wondered, if someone among those close to him will perish? Was it a heavy price for him? A heavy price for the nation? Or for someone else more important? It was not clear. Nothing was ever clear with his Intuition these days.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 112: Book Reading & Lingering Jealousy

    Cilas was walking down the Wisterian palace corridor, all alone. His brother left early to attend the Wisterian knights with their joint training with the Empire. He didn¡¯t imagine that Alistor would be one willing to do such a thing. But considering that he wanted to get into the Wisterian Princess¡¯s heart, there¡¯s no limit to what he would do.


    To think he could be that motivated.


    Thinking about it, there was this little prick in his chest. The princess seemed pretty charmed already. Still, he wasn¡¯t so sure, perhaps she was just easy to fluster. Whenever he observed the princess though, there was this itching feeling about her. Something out of the ordinary. Was it her perfection?


    It was just unnatural for a person to be that perfect. No one was perfect. Cilas just felt something in her presence. He felt on guard and tense. More self-conscious. He was feeling something weird about her.


    It was so strange.


    Setting that aside, what was his goal today? Pretty much nothing. Perhaps adore the architecture and the pieces of art displayed all around. Scrutinize them. And that was his plan for the morning. For the afternoon, though, he¡¯ll cross that path.


    However, on the way to nowhere, he crossed paths with someone he didn¡¯t expect. It was the most beautiful young lady he had ever seen in his life. He froze and grew tense. The lady, Princess Estelia, tilted her head when she found Cilas, her eyes wide in curiosity. With her were three servants, one was her knight, the other was an old man, and the last was a maid.


    ¡°Prince Cilas? I didn¡¯t expect to see you here.¡±


    ¡°... Likewise. I thought you would be with Alistor.¡±


    ¡°Uh, well, not. There is no need for me there.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    Princess Estelia fiddled with her fingers as a faint hint of red formed on her face. ¡°But¡­ I suppose this is a good opportunity. Do you remember what I said?¡±


    ¡°Which one¡­?¡±


    ¡°My books¡­¡± She lowered her gaze, visibly upset. ¡°I see you forgot.¡±


    It was then that Cilas finally remembered. And he frantically shook his hands. ¡°No! I definitely did not forget.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± She slowly raised her eyes adorably.


    ¡°Yeah, well, I just didn¡¯t think you would go through with it.¡±


    ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    ¡°I said so, so I should fulfill it. I don¡¯t make a promise I can¡¯t keep.¡± She shyly giggled.


    Cilas let out a sigh of awe, amazed at how noble she was. To think she was this genuine. Indeed, she was genuine. He had never met someone truly like it. He had never encountered someone so wholesome. One that the darkness of this world did not defile.


    ¡°I-I see.¡±


    ¡°So, Prince Cilas, would you like to see my books?¡±


    Cilas placed a hand behind his head and awkwardly smiled. ¡°I would love to.¡±


    Princess Estelia beamed with joy. ¡°Then please, this way!¡±


    Against his expectations, the princess suddenly pulled him by the wrist. Her touch was so smooth and soft. And the way she excitedly walked, her long hair swaying in the motion, was so mesmerizing.


    When thinking about how she acted with Alistor, with Cilas it was different. She was more initiative. He didn¡¯t expect it at all. Why, though? Was it because she wanted to share her hobbies with someone that could relate? Could that mean she liked him more than his older brother?


    He had no idea of what could be true, but he felt more self-conscious and guarded.


    They arrived at a particular room. Without a moment¡¯s delay, the princess entered, dragging Cilas along with her towards the bookshelves. She let go of him and presented her collection with a proud, adorable smile.


    ¡°This is my personal collection. We have a library, but here I placed my favorites and books I want to read.¡±


    Her bookshelf covered an entire side of the wall. Cilas was a bit astonished that she was this much of a reader. ¡°Amazing, Princess. How much have you read among them?¡±


    She shyly replied, ¡°Well, not many. About a dozen. Most of them are newly placed, so there are still many that I have yet to read.¡±


    ¡°I guess that they¡¯re mostly fiction?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Incredible collection, Princess.¡±


    ¡°Really? Mind telling me about yours?¡±


    ¡°... Well, I have a pair of bookshelves in my room back home. So we have roughly the same amount of collection. Although, I have read most of them.¡±


    ¡°So you have been reading and collecting for a long time now?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I see. I have only started collecting recently. Thankfully, my parents let me use this guest room.¡±


    So that was why she still had many left to read. Cilas was more interested now. ¡°So you usually read in the library?¡±


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    ¡°Yes. The view is quite a spectacle. I¡¯ll show you eventually. But for now, check this.¡± She pulled out a couple of books and showed them to him. ¡°This one is the book about the tribes I mentioned before.¡±


    ¡°Ooh.¡±


    ¡°And this one here is my recent favorite read.¡± She handed him the book. ¡°It¡¯s about a man searching for a holy object that would heal the woman he loves.¡±


    ¡°Why? What happened to the woman?¡±


    ¡°She got sick because of a curse. It was terrible, she cannot even walk or see.¡±


    ¡°Even blindness? That¡¯s a frightening curse.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh, it¡¯s all because she just bumped into some evil man. So cruel, and so heartbreaking. I would never wish something like this to anyone.¡±


    ¡°The main character must be devastated.¡±


    ¡°Yes, he was. So some shaman actually told him what to do, and so he went¡­¡±


    And she continued to tell him about the beginning of the story. Her high enthusiasm was contagious, Cilas had never met someone so happy talking about books. She was so genuine indeed. Watching her, listening to her, made him forget all the other things. It was just him and her, and her voice.


    It felt like the world didn¡¯t matter. In his eyes, it was just her and her bright smile and joyful eyes. His chest warmed up and tightened. He had never felt like this before. It was then that he realized why he was so conscious and tense around her.


    Yes, it was not for any devious reason or feeling. Not because the prospect of a perfect being was supposed to be nonexistent and impossible. It was something else.


    He was just truly interested in her.


    Cilas took in a sharp, deep breath. It was an unexpected feeling.


    ¡°P-Princess, perhaps we should avoid too many spoilers?¡±


    Princess Estelia froze. ¡°... Oh yes, my apologies.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m interested in reading it. Is it alright if I borrow it? To read tonight?¡±


    She vigorously nodded. ¡°Of course!¡±


    ¡°Thanks. What about we talk about this book of various tribes? I¡¯m curious about its contents.¡±


    ¡°Definitely. We should sit down.¡±


    They sat on the couch, side by side. The princess opened the book and read about the first tribe that she liked the most. As Cilas would imagine, she liked the most peaceful one. She talked about their way of living, traditions, and so on.


    As she spoke, Cilas couldn¡¯t help but get lost staring at her face. The way she smiled and brightened. And when she spoke about the tribe that she feared the most, she would form this most adorable frightened and concerned expression.


    To see she could express this so many emotions was so fascinating. Each one was so enchanting. So genuine. And because of this moment, Cilas smiled from the bottom of his heart.


    He was so lost in the moment that he briefly forgot that she was to be eliminated, executed. Why? Why kill such a sweet, kind, and genuine girl? He could not even begin to imagine a reason. Thinking she was to be killed, it saddened him. So cruel.


    Amidst their talk, interrupting them were a few knocks on the door. They paused their fun discussion and the Princess gestured for his manservant to take a look.


    ¡°Your Highness, it is the Imperial Prince Alistor.¡±


    ¡°Oh, let him in.¡±


    Upon realizing it was his brother, Cilas leaned back. It would seem he lost track of time.


    Stepping into the room, Alistor¡¯s gaze lingered on Cilas for a moment, then to the Princess. ¡°I was searching for my brother, I didn¡¯t think he would be in your company, Princess.¡±


    The Princess smiled. ¡°How did you find us?¡±


    ¡°I asked around. People saw the two of you coming here.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Please sit down, Prince Alistor.¡± She pointed at the couch on the opposite side of the two.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said in a friendly tone. Upon sitting down, he gave Cilas a subtle, firm look.


    Cilas looked away to avoid his eyes. He didn¡¯t expect that Alistor would even intrude like this. He was enjoying the moment, but now it was spoiled.


    Alistor glanced at the books at their person. ¡°So, what were you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Oh, about the contents of this book. It¡¯s about the tribes found in some places on the continent.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Do you like to read, Prince Alistor?¡±


    ¡°... Not really.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Prince Cilas is quite a fun company. I¡¯m glad I met someone I can talk about books with.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re glad, huh¡­¡± Alistor muttered.


    He shifted his eyes towards Cilas again. The latter could feel the sheer pressure from this gaze alone. Truthfully, it was a bit annoying. He had no right to be displeased. Besides, he got here first, and the Princess invited him. Not his fault that she wanted to talk about books with someone that was interested in books too.


    ¡°Would you like to hear some facts, Prince Alistor?¡±


    His smile widened. ¡°I would love to hear it.¡±


    The Princess nodded enthusiastically and flipped the page. ¡°There is this one that lives in a particularly interesting place¡­ Oh, you¡¯re too far, it would be better if you move over here.¡± She shifted a little and patted on her other free side. ¡°If you want to read it with me, of course.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind if I do.¡± He promptly moved beside her.


    With a delighted smile, the Princess pointed at a specific part of the page. ¡°Here it says¡­¡±


    As he listened, Alistor leaned closer to the princess as they shared the book. Their faces were getting closer. Cilas stared at them with subtle displeasure, or to be precise, displeasure at his own brother.


    The two murmured.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    ¡°As amazing as you.¡±


    ¡°W-What?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so eager to learn and absorb this knowledge. That is amazing.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that is s-something to be amazed about.¡±


    ¡°Oh it is. You really love reading?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Wow, I couldn''t even bear reading one. Indeed, you¡¯re amazing.¡±


    ¡°P-Prince¡­¡±


    The Princess was blushing all around as Alistor got more comfortable, placing his hand on the backrest behind her.


    Cilas looked away and took a deep breath.


    ¡°Ahem.¡± But then the maid audibly cleared her throat next to the two. ¡°Milady, you have been reading for quite a while. Perhaps you would like a glass of water.¡±


    The Princess leaned back a little, staring awkwardly at the blue-haired maid. ¡°Water¡­? Oh yes, water. My throat is becoming dry.¡±


    Cilas noticed that the maid appeared to be displeased as she went and poured some water into a glass. And when her gaze ended up at Alistor, it almost looked like her eyes were sending daggers or something close. But that was likely Cilas¡¯s own imagination. There was no way a mere maid would do something like that towards an envoy from another nation.


    The Princess drank a small amount of water and thanked the maid.


    ¡°By the way, Princess. Will you be free tomorrow?¡± Alistor asked.


    ¡°... Yes.¡±


    ¡°I was thinking of going out of the palace. It would be a pleasure if you come with me. I was hoping you would show me around.¡±


    The Princess paused for a moment before shaking her head. ¡°It would have been a pleasure. But, I apologize, I have to refuse.¡±


    ¡°... Is that so¡­? May I ask why?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to. I like it here.¡±


    ¡°... I see. It would be nice to have you accompany me.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you go with your brother Prince Cilas? So it should be alright without me present.¡±


    Alistor and Cilas glanced at each other for a moment before Alistor replied. ¡°Yes, but I was kind of hoping you¡¯ll be there.¡±


    ¡°If you want, I can ask for a tour guide to come with you.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    Cilas sighed. ¡°Alistor, we¡¯ll be alright on our own. There¡¯s no need to inconvenience the Princess.¡±


    Alistor seemed to resist the urge to frown. ¡°I suppose.¡±


    Cilas felt it was necessary to put a stop to Alistor¡¯s insistence. There was definitely a good reason that the Princess of Wisteria didn¡¯t want to come out of the palace. Forcing her to do so wouldn¡¯t just be right.


    ¡°Perhaps to make up for it,¡± said the Princess. ¡°I can show you the garden afterwards.¡±


    ¡°The garden?¡± asked Alistor.


    ¡°Have you seen it yet?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then, there we can have tea or anything. It is particularly beautiful, especially the wisteria flowers.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡±


    Cilas couldn¡¯t help but feel disappointed, he could have had a whole day with Princess Estelia. However, his brother stole away that opportunity. He wanted to spend a little more time with her.


    As discussed, before leaving the room, the Princess gave to him the book he said he would read at night. And so he did. It was a good story.


    If only he could enjoy it with her.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 113: Tour & Princess Meetings

    In the king¡¯s office, the usual trio of him, the Crown Prince, and the Princess has assembled once again before dinner.


    ¡°So, the envoys told me they¡¯re planning on touring the city tomorrow. Of course we¡¯ll need guards for them.¡±


    Eleden sighed. ¡°Security detail must not be lacking. But we have plenty of knights we can rely on.¡±


    ¡°They requested to keep it to a minimum. Half will have to be imperial knights, and the rest are ours.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll give them the most elites to avoid any incident. Won¡¯t we need someone to lead them on a tour?¡±


    ¡°I was thinking it would be you.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Eleden winced. ¡°No. You know how much I dislike them. Let Estevan handle it.¡±


    The king thought about it for a moment. ¡°I suppose he¡¯ll do alright. Still, I¡¯ll be more at ease if someone else looks after him. I¡¯m up if you two go along.¡±


    Eleden groaned. ¡°Do I really have to?¡±


    ¡°Look after each other.¡±


    ¡°... If there¡¯s no other choice...¡±


    The two of them then turned towards Princess Estelia, who was quietly sitting on her chair, looking up at the ceiling as if in deep thought.


    ¡°D-Daughter? What are your thoughts on this?¡±


    She slowly turned her head towards them. ¡°That will do.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re actually listening.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°... Good.¡±


    ¡°Alistor first asked me to accompany him on going outside.¡±


    Eleden frowned with a hint of displeasure. ¡°He did?¡±


    ¡°But I refused.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s surprising. I expected you would agree after all that happened.¡±


    ¡°... It¡¯s dangerous for me. I will not endanger myself for them.¡±


    Leodoule noticed a shift in his daughter¡¯s mood compared to last time. Right now, she was more serious than ecstatic. He couldn¡¯t understand what led to this change. Perhaps her enamor had dissipated. Or perhaps she found something she disliked about them.


    That¡¯s a relief.


    Indeed, at least he could have a peace of mind now. He was freaking out all this time about his daughter falling in love with an imperial prince. Even worse of a stress if she accepted giving those princes a tour of the city, considering what danger Estelia was still in.


    ¡°Has your heart calmed down finally, daughter?¡± He chuckled.


    She grimaced slightly. ¡°W-What? I¡¯m telling you, I¡¯m not coming out of the palace. Let them have their fun. I¡¯ll have mine.¡±


    ¡°Right, right.¡±


    ¡°And please stop it with the misunderstanding.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember any misunderstanding.¡±


    She closed her eyes with an exasperated sigh. ¡°Nevermind. Just¡­ make sure they come back alive, and keep a close watch over them. If Eleden and Estevan will be there, the better.¡±


    ¡°You think they¡¯re planning something?¡±


    ¡°On the tour? I don¡¯t think so. I just want you to tell me how they behave during your fun little tour.¡±


    ¡°What do you want to know, sister?¡±


    ¡°Anything.¡±


    ¡°... Okay.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s time to call big brother Estevan to let him know what he needs to do tomorrow.¡±


    Agreeing with her words, Eleden left to bring Estevan quickly to the office. While waiting, Leodoule glanced at his daughter, back to her thinking pose. It made him curious.


    ¡°What are you thinking, daughter?¡±


    ¡°Nothing¡­¡±


    ¡°Come now, feel free to share your thoughts with papa.¡± He smiled like talking to a baby Estelia.


    ¡°... Just, personal thoughts, Father.¡±


    ¡°Such as?¡±


    ¡°... Nothing.¡±


    Leodoule sighed and gave up asking. He kind of hoped she would at least share a bit of what she was thinking about. But, considering she didn¡¯t, then it must not be something so important or others should hear. They were indeed something personal.


    But it would be nice to share her personal thoughts with her father. It made Leodoule wonder if Estelia would mind sharing it with her mother. Mother and daughter typically have a different kind of bond, something more open.


    Oh well¡­


    A short while later, Eleden returned with Estevan.


    ¡°So, what do you need from me?¡±


    Leodoule answered him. ¡°You¡¯ll be coming with Eleden tomorrow to give the two imperial princes a tour of the city.¡±


    Estevan frowned. ¡°Me? Are you sure? I mean, we¡¯re particularly not on friendly terms.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve noticed. That is why I need you to be less hostile and more amiable.¡±


    ¡°... I¡¯ll try. But¡­¡±


    Estelia leaned forward and chimed in. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine, dear brother. Prince Alistor won¡¯t do anything to provoke you, nor Prince Cilas. They won¡¯t be a problem. Prince Cilas, in particular, is not one to seek conflict, and you can be friends with him. We talked, so I¡¯m sure.¡±


    Estevan slightly tilted his head. ¡°You talked?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh. In my office, I showed him my book collection.¡±


    Everyone looked at her with widened eyes.


    ¡°Why did you do that, daughter?¡±


    ¡°I discovered we both liked books. He even borrowed one of my recent favorites.¡±


    Leodoule¡¯s mouth dropped open. Both liked books? And borrowing? That meant that¡­ They can relate with each other. Then that could mean a way into her¡­ heart. Was that why she was acting differently now? She found Prince Cilas more to her liking?


    Is that how it is?!


    ¡°H-How long did you talk?¡±


    ¡°It started around morning up to noon, until Prince Alistor arrived to join in.¡±


    ¡°E-Estel, you should be careful around them,¡± said Estevan. ¡°Don¡¯t just invite them to your rooms.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, sister. Especially alone.¡±


    ¡°I was not alone. I was with my servants.¡±


    ¡°Even so¡­¡±


    ¡°D-Daughter, forget what happened today, okay? Don¡¯t think about it.¡±


    ¡°W-What? I-I was just being friendly. I enjoyed talking with Prince Cilas. It¡¯s not always that I could talk with anyone with the same hobbies.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to introduce you to more Wisterian noble children, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    Estelia looked away and pouted, her arm leaning on the armrest with a hand on her cheek. ¡°... Think of it however you like¡­¡± she muttered.


    ***


    A small convoy of three carriages lined up at the front of the palace. Knights in their full gear from both factions stood by their own carriage, with Wisterians at the front to take the lead in their own city.


    The two princes of Tornridge met with the two Wisterian princes. They all wore their fancy outfits, beaming with manly beauty.


    Eleden spoke first. ¡°The carriages are waiting. Are you two ready?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Alistor replied with a grin.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Cilas nodded.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be sharing a carriage so we can properly show and introduce what you see, or what you ask.¡±


    Everyone had no complaints, but that didn''t mean they liked it either. Especially Estevan, who was doing his best to show his friendly face. He dreaded thinking of being stuck in a small claustrophobic carriage with a pair of men from an enemy nation. As a knight, and a warrior, he just wants to give them a jab or anything. An enemy was an enemy, and what to do with an enemy was to fight and defeat them.


    That was why he left most of the talking to Eleden. Which Eleden heartily obliged to do. Still, it was reassuring to have a knight like Estevan beside the Crown Prince, in case the enemy tried to do anything shady or threatening.


    The four royals entered the carriage and after a knight closed the door, the convoy went on the move. Silence fell but the cluttering of the wheels outside. Estevan was not interested in initiating a conversation. He often glanced at the two imperials and then to the outside. As they passed by the bridge, he saw the river, reminding him of the time he and Estelia went out.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    That¡¯s right, we¡¯re supposed to go fishing sometime.


    He had never really forgotten about it, it just didn¡¯t usually come out of his mind. Everyone has been too busy, especially his dear sister. He didn¡¯t want to get in her way.


    Perhaps someday. Once this is all over, they can have all the time in the world.


    Estevan glanced back at the two imperials. Both were looking away from each other, and a space between them. He felt a strange sense from the two. Especially the younger one, Cilas, who leaned close to the window. Different to Alistor, who was grinning as he watched over the scenery.


    When they were closing into the city, Alistor broke the silence. ¡°Is there any particular place we¡¯ll go first?¡±


    ¡°We stop at the northern plaza,¡± Eleden replied.


    ¡°I see. I hope we get to walk around freely once we get there. An aimless walk is more liberating and fun.¡±


    ¡°That is fine with us.¡±


    ¡°Perfect. Brother, is that alright with you?¡±


    Cilas looked at him from the corner of his eyes. ¡°Yes. Whatever you say.¡±


    ¡°Excellent.¡±


    Estevan and Eleden glanced at each other for a moment, both puzzled and intrigued.


    ***


    Alistor and Cilas stepped into the plaza, a beautiful water filled fountain at the center. Alistor nodded with a grin as he looked around. The people of Wisteria curiously glanced at them while keeping their distance.


    At the front were the two princes of Wisteria, and surrounding them were the knights from both nations, keeping a tight security.


    ¡°This is nice,¡± Alistor casually remarked.


    Eleden turned back towards them. ¡°We¡¯ll head to one of the best food spots in the city. How else is a new nation first enjoyed but their food?¡±


    ¡°On that, we agree.¡±


    And thus they continued onward. Alistor often waved at the people with a charming smile. They were pretty receptive. From what he was seeing, Wisteria quite had a clean surrounding that he appreciated. He glanced at his brother Cilas, looking at the scenery with a small smile.


    Alistor stepped closer to him. ¡°You like the scenery?¡±


    Cilas frowned. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve been interested in taking a close look at the city.¡±


    ¡°Of course you are. You must be enjoying the new culture and setting you¡¯re getting into.¡±


    ¡°... Yes, I do. What? You¡¯re not enjoying it?¡±


    ¡°Heh. There are things to enjoy and not. What I enjoyed the most is left back in the Wisterian palace.¡±


    Indeed, she was the most interesting thing in the whole Wisteria. Not the food, not the land, not the city, not anything. And how much Alistor regretted that she wasn¡¯t here. He was quite hoping to develop their friendly relationship here. As the two of them have a pleasing tour, just the two, meaning without Cilas or anyone else important. The knights would be present, but that was just par for the course.


    He could have done so much more. And perhaps he could have kissed her. That said, there was some little thing that was concerning. Alistor was worried that the Princess¡¯s heart was easily swayed. Especially if she found someone with the same hobby as her. Still, not everyone falls for someone that has similar hobbies to them. Despite that, there was still a chance of it happening.


    Cilas, after hearing what he had just said, paused as he spoke in a low tone. ¡°Careful, Alistor.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°What do you mean be careful?¡±


    ¡°I mean be careful with your words,¡± he whispered.


    ¡°What? You don¡¯t like it? I was only being honest. She is a good company.¡±


    Cilas glared at him. ¡°Careful. I don¡¯t want her brothers hearing the way you speak about her.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Them? Or you?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Say, how was the book you borrowed from her? Was it good?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see how that¡¯s your business.¡±


    ¡°Really now? Bet it¡¯s going to be a good topic to talk about with her, huh? When you get to return it.¡±


    ¡°... Oh, I see. I know what this is about. Look, Alistor, she approached me first.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that something?¡± he said in a sarcastic tone. ¡°But admit it, you liked her company. I can see through you.¡±


    Cilas didn¡¯t know how to answer at first. ¡°... So? You got nothing to do with it.¡±


    ¡°I got in first, now you¡¯re trying to join. How underhanded.¡±


    ¡°Dammit, Alistor. This is not the place for this.¡±


    Alistor glared down at Cilas. In truth, he didn¡¯t like competition, especially to something like this, which he started. No one should just ruin his game like this, particularly in something he wanted to win.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do anything you¡¯ll regret, little brother.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not the boss of me.¡±


    ¡°Is everything alright?¡± Suddenly, Eleden asked, interrupting the two.


    Alistor smiled and straightened himself. ¡°Yes. We¡¯re just having a little talk about the surroundings.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± he glanced at Cilas who took a step away from his own brother. ¡°If you have any questions, feel free to ask.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ***


    I put down the hot chocolate as I stared through the window. I was currently in my office along with my servants. It was finally peaceful, now that the two princes were out of the palace. It was also time to collect my thoughts and discuss a bit with my servants.


    I shifted my eyes towards Rogan. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about your fight with that prince.¡±


    With a casual smile as always, he replied, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°In an all out fight, would you have won?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, it will be difficult. I already lost in that spar, I might lose in a serious all out fight.¡±


    That was a bit hard to swallow. My knight, to lose against that prince? Shit. Oh well, guess I have to take it up in his words.


    ¡°Can my brother Estevan win?¡±


    ¡°A close and risky fight, I couldn¡¯t tell. Who knows what kind of secret techniques the prince could have learned back in their own country. And he¡¯s royalty, that complicates things. You didn¡¯t get enough information?¡±


    ¡°... Magic¡¯s existence makes things¡­ doubtful.¡±


    Yeah, fucking magic. Always makes things hard to accept at surface levels. You never know how many trump cards or hidden shit they have. I mean, look at me! I could have a spell that automatically shoves a finger up your ass, you¡¯ll never know.


    ¡°Should I have urged him into a more intense fight? Well, I was already struggling, so¡­ Especially that shield, it reminds me of your levitating shields and stuff. I hate moving shields.¡± He frowned.


    Well, that¡¯s hilarious.


    ¡°That annoys you, I see.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Shields are supposed to be shields. Use it as it should be. But I guess it¡¯s never always fair in fights.¡±


    ¡°Nothing beats surprises, it got you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    ¡°That Imperial Prince is no one to shrug about then,¡± Vernon chimed in. ¡°We might need the combined forces of two elite knights to bring him down.¡±


    ¡°Woah hey, we¡¯re not talking about defeating or killing him, right? We¡¯re in the palace, it¡¯s not that we have to seriously fight him here.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Of course, Sir Rogan. It¡¯s bad to slay a royal from another nation here.¡±


    Yeah, that would be terrible. To spill the blood of something very important here in Wisteria, would just be terrible. We leave that kind of thing for last or something, or if they did something bad to me ¡ª I mean us.


    ¡°R-Right?¡±


    ¡°But you may or may not face him when the invasion starts, so it¡¯s best to be prepared.¡±


    ¡°... Alright.¡±


    I took a sip of my yummy sweet drink. ¡°In any case, he¡¯s powerful. Still, I am curious. Do you think I can beat him?¡±


    The three of my servants froze upon hearing that unexpected question. Not really a fitting question for me to ask. But hey, we gotta ask what we gotta ask.


    Rogan placed a hand on his chin. ¡°With your spells, I say you have a pretty good chance.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°But you will get hurt. I mean, really hurt. If he hits you, you might get fatally wounded, or just die outright.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying as if I¡¯m more powerful than you.¡±


    He bitterly smiled. ¡°Well, you already are.¡±


    ¡°Am I really?¡±


    ¡°Come now, Princess. After seeing you during the fight with the beastman and elf, there¡¯s no way you can be underestimated. Right, Vernon?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Even I will find it difficult to win against you with your spells.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pleased to hear that. At least I have a chance to beat him.¡±


    ¡°Again, Princess, you will definitely get hurt.¡±


    Then I just get him where he''ll be unable to attack me. Not even a chance of drawing his sword or something. Besides, not like a direct confrontation would ever be my first option. I¡¯m a ninja! Okay, assassin. You know what assassins do, do it in ways a target wouldn¡¯t expect or see coming. By the way, can assassins be considered ninjas? Huh, now that¡¯s something to think about on my boring days.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll refrain from fighting anyone.¡± I giggled.


    ¡°... Hey Princess, I¡¯ve noticed, which I¡¯m sure everyone noticed. But¡­ um, from the way you were acting with that prince, almost like you have some romantic feelings for him?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°But seeing you here like this, I don¡¯t get that vibe at all. Were you perhaps pretending? Or are you pretending now?¡±


    Oh shiiit, I got my servants all confused. Mera in particular looked pretty interested, but more troubled.


    I placed a hand and made a soft and maiden-like expression. ¡°I wonder. Am I? I can¡¯t understand my feelings.¡±


    Rogan looked like he choked for a moment. ¡°What do you even like about that guy? He¡¯s like every woman player ever.¡±


    ¡°Even your family is worried about you, Your Highness,¡± Vernon added.


    I chuckled. ¡°Everything¡¯s fine, okay? There¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t actually answer the question.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re my enemy. Does that satisfy you?¡±


    I didn¡¯t want to tell them my entire intention or confirm that I was acting. I¡¯m a bit concerned that they¡¯ll have a solid understanding that I¡¯m a liar, and a good liar, or good at deceit. I¡¯m the Pure Princess. Better leave everyone confused.


    The three servants looked at each, not knowing how to take my answer. But at least they didn¡¯t push it any further.


    ¡°Anyhow, they¡¯re pretty behaved at the moment,¡± I said.


    ¡°You think their offer of peace is genuine?¡±


    ¡°Once they have taken care of both Myra and Valaies, what¡¯s stopping them from disregarding our deal and assimilating Wisteria? Don¡¯t expect any other nation like Eventon to do anything.¡±


    ¡°Tornridge would do that, huh?¡±


    ¡°They intend on conquering the continent, so they¡¯ll do what is necessary for their ambitions.¡±


    ¡°Then why do they go through all this trouble?¡±


    I glanced at the outside view. ¡°They''re planning something devious.¡±


    ¡°Really? They haven¡¯t done anything yet.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re waiting. Observing. Studying. Like our security, our strength. And how they should go about executing their objective.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not going to do something about it?¡±


    ¡°Our security measures are already in place. It¡¯s hard for them to act.¡±


    ¡°So, we hope they¡¯ll just give up?¡±


    ¡°Hm-mm. Actually, I will have something to ask eventually, soon.¡±


    ¡°What about?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll see. Besides, I have something else to do with Prince Alistor first.¡±


    ¡°You showing that guy the garden?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ***


    The day passed, and the night came. Before having dinner, me, Father, and Eleden gathered in the King¡¯s office again, but with the addition of Estevan. This has been the usual routine, huh?


    ¡°Did you have a good time, my sons?¡±


    ¡°How can I even have a good time in that?¡± Estevan said.


    ¡°Yes, it was nothing enjoyable, but everything went well.¡±


    ¡°Did they do anything suspicious?¡±


    ¡°None that I could see. They were focused on the tour.¡±


    ¡°I see. At least there¡¯s no incident whatsoever.¡±


    Yeeaaah, even I wouldn¡¯t take and lead those guys on a tour of the city. I wouldn¡¯t risk myself going out just for those fucks. And, you know how a hassle it would be to hide myself? Look at me, I standout. If I were to go out, I would want a whole dozen guys guarding me. My two brothers were fine going. I was the one in danger ever since arriving in this world.


    ¡°My dear brothers, did the two princes have fun?¡± I asked as I sat on my usual distant couch.


    ¡°... I think so?¡± Estevan answered.


    ¡°They had a decent experience. However, I did notice them acting strangely. More precisely, acting strangely with each other.¡±


    I smirked inside. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re keeping a bit of distance between them. Like they had an argument. Cilas often shows his displeasure at Alistor and keeps a step away.¡±


    ¡°Oh my, why could that be?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask. But I did hear them mention you when they had a hush conversation.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°Could it be you¡¯re the center of their quarrel?¡±


    My eyes widened in confusion. ¡°How could that be? I didn¡¯t do anything to offend them, right? I did my best to be polite.¡±


    Father placed a hand on his forehead. ¡°It¡¯s not a matter of being polite, it seems. But I think I have an idea.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± I innocently asked.


    ¡°You spoke with Prince Cilas, correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°And your time together was delightful, I take it? And you have another one that¡¯s trying to get close to you. Do you understand where I¡¯m getting at?¡±


    My two brothers conveyed they understood. However, I was tilting my head in my cluelessness. Of course I was just bullshitting. But Father was thinking hard on how to convey what he meant.


    ¡°You see, Estelia¡­ Well. How do I explain it¡­? Let¡¯s just say that both of them really like the same person, so they¡¯re having a conflict because they like that same person.¡±


    ¡°Really? Who do they both like?¡±


    Eleden and my father glanced at each other for the moment before my father continued.


    ¡°Well¡­ Not really something we can share because¡­ we are not completely sure. And it¡¯s a very personal thing.¡±


    ¡°... I see.¡±


    Aaaaaw, look at that, them trying to hide the truth from me. Who else could they like but me? Hehehe. Father just didn¡¯t want to tell me that because well, some of our realization in life just makes us do something we didn¡¯t expect, you know. If they tell me that those two like me, I might go all flustered and blushing all over the place. And I might come to realize something.


    They were already preventing me from falling in love. So it was best not to make it worse.


    ¡°In any case,¡± I said. ¡°The important thing is things went smoothly.¡±


    ¡°By the way, daughter. I¡¯ve been meaning to ask. You suggested that knights of both Wisteria and Tornridge train together, yes?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes I did.¡±


    ¡°Is there any particular reason for that? Aside from getting along and perhaps learning from one another.¡±


    ¡°... That is basically it.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Well, there may be a chance that we learn a secret technique that Tornridge could do. Any information we can get is helpful. Our knights can also learn how Tornridge fights, even for just a little.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t Tornridge also not learn something about and from us?¡±


    ¡°True. But we do what we can.¡± Well, they can¡¯t learn anything if they all die here before getting back to their homeland. ¡°Besides, maybe this way, both our nations can really become friends.¡± Of course not.


    ¡°Y-Yeah¡­ I don¡¯t think that is possible.¡±


    ¡°It was just wishful thinking on my part, Father.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 114: Defiling Touch (Part 1)

    Alistor was invited by the Princess of Wisteria for some tea party, as she had mentioned before. He was a bit excited, and he had a triumphant smile as he went to meet her.


    When he arrived on the ground floor, Princess Estelia was already waiting. As always she was so pristine and pure, her hair beautifully braided, and her white dress was so decent. Alistor prepared himself and smiled softly as he greeted her.


    ¡°Good morning, Princess Estelia. I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m late.¡±


    She kindly smiled. ¡°Good morning. There is no need to worry. I only just arrived.¡±


    Alistor briefly glanced at the personal knight that always accompanied her. Sometimes Alistor had hoped that this knight would stop tailing and watching over his charge. With that, perhaps he would be less restrained in what he could do.


    ¡°Prince Cilas is not coming?¡±


    ¡°It would seem he didn¡¯t want to come along.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± She looked a bit disappointed. ¡°That is fine. Shall we go?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    And with that, the two of them, side by side, headed for the garden. Estelia taking charge, of course. It didn¡¯t take long, and they arrived at a large place filled with countless flowers and different colors. It was a beautiful and colorful sight indeed, which would stun a common man if they could witness this.


    For Alistor, however, the flowers in the garden did not strike him as much. But what caught his attention that made him let out a breath of awe were the wisteria flowers sprawled all over the garden. They filled most of the place, filling the eyes and the view with the shade of purple.


    True to the Princess¡¯s own words, the wisterias were truly a sight to see. They didn''t have wisteria flowers in the Empire, even in their own imperial garden that was twice as big as this. His beloved sister, Zara, would be overjoyed if she got to see this view.


    ¡°W-What do you think, Prince Alistor?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful, Princess. So beautiful. And you¡¯re right, the wisteria flowers are special to behold.¡±


    ¡°Really? They¡¯re my favorite.¡±


    ¡°I can understand why.¡±


    She quietly chuckled before going onward, and Alistor followed behind her. The way she strides, her hair waving, her smile, her entire being as she walks amongst the flowers, was a breathtaking view. If he could have her, he could have the world. The highest price of them all.


    ¡°I prepared our snacks and refreshments at the gazebo. My servants should already have it all ready.¡±


    As they walked under the shades of the brightly colored wisterias, the gazebo she was referring to came into view. Waiting by the building were the princess¡¯s two servants, one butler, and one maid. When they got close, the two servants bowed.


    ¡°Thank you for the preparations, you two,¡± the Princess said before beckoning Alistor inside. ¡°Come in and take a seat.¡±


    By the small table, Alistor took a seat opposite of Estelia. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± She had a tight smile. From the looks of it, she seemed to be nervous.


    Alistor was amused.


    ¡°Um, I was reminded of our first talk at the banquet,¡± she said. ¡°I know I said it would be a tea party, but I prepared hot chocolate for us. As I said I would give you. I want you to try it.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Alistor¡¯s smile widened. To be honest, he had forgotten about that. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking forward to this ever since that banquet.¡±


    Estelia gestured to her maid to pour the two of them a cup. Alistor watched the liquid chocolate fall down to his cup, the smell was endearing. As it swirled, he had to admit, it looked delicious, and it made him truly excited to give it a taste.


    Once the cups were filled, the princess blew the steaming drink. A moment later, she sipped the chocolate, a pleased smile curled on her lips. Alistor held his cup and blew as well before taking a sip. He paused as the flavor touched his tongue, and the chocolate went down his throat.


    ¡°... It truly is delicious.¡±


    Proud, the Princess¡¯s smile grew wider. ¡°I-I¡¯m glad you like it.¡±


    Alistor took another sip. ¡°I have never tasted something like this. It¡¯s amazing.¡±


    The princess lowered her head as faint signs of red appeared on her cheeks. With her pale skin, it would indeed be difficult for her to hide her fluster. And that actually made it easy to tell what she was thinking or feeling.


    She took a deep breath to calm herself down. ¡°P-Please have some snacks as well.¡±


    Following her suggestion, Alistor grabbed some cookies, they were delicious too.


    ¡°You have an excellent chef, I see.¡±


    ¡°Two, actually¡­ One was promoted just recently. I admire his determination to improve.¡±


    ¡°Incredible. It sounds like you met him.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I did. I visited the kitchen a long while back. You don¡¯t visit yours?¡±


    ¡°The Empire has many chefs serving the imperial castle. So no, there was no point in visiting kitchens.¡±


    ¡°I see. You must have a great deal of delicious dishes.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we do. I wonder, you only have two chefs? I thought you would have at least a dozen.¡±


    ¡°Two is sufficient.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡±


    Alistor could not understand why they would take two chefs as sufficient to serve the royals. Surely it was not an issue of money, it wouldn¡¯t be that expensive for Wisteria to pay a dozen. And with a large number of chefs available, they could have more options of food to pick from. But Alistor decided not to dwell into the matter, it didn¡¯t have much significance, anyway.


    ¡°Speaking of food,¡± said the Princess. ¡°I heard my brothers took you and Prince Cilas to several places with a diverse range of culinary choices. What did you think?¡±


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Alistor recalled his tour. ¡°I have to say, I was quite surprised. I didn¡¯t think that commoners could make delicious food on par with what could be served to men with high status.¡±


    ¡°Right?¡± She smiled proudly for her people. ¡°There are amazingly talented people out there. Just waiting to be discovered. Do you have any city dishes you were quite fond of?¡±


    Alistor took a sip of his sweet drink as he pondered. ¡°I think it was the soup. It was orange in color. I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s called, unfortunately.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I wonder what it was. I¡¯m quite curious, considering that you liked it.¡±


    ¡°Have you been outside, there in the city, Princess?¡±


    She seemed to hesitate. Alistor was curious if she ever in her life got out of the palace, or came out often. Especially thinking when she rejected his offer of giving a tour in the city. Still, if she never comes out, he would understand, someone like her out there, it could be dangerous. And perhaps because of her being always stuck here in their palace was why not much information about her could be gathered in the Empire.


    ¡°I went out with my brother Estevan once, and during the festival.¡±


    ¡°You hardly leave the palace?¡±


    She meekly nodded with an embarrassed smile.


    That meant she barely interacted with a variety of people. And that could mean fewer men to talk with and try to woo her, less romantic experience. That further explained why she was easy to fluster, easy to win over. Yes, just a little push was what it would take. To take a little further of the line she drew upon herself. Once she experiences someone going over the boundary, she¡¯ll remember it deeply in her heart.


    And that was to be Alistor¡¯s place.


    ¡°I see. I understand. The outside can be a scary place.¡±


    ¡°... Y-Yes. It¡¯s fine, anyway. I have my books, my family, and other people like the servants and knights, to keep me company.¡±


    ¡°You highly value them.¡±


    ¡°Of course. They¡¯re what I have.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°... Are you going along well with the knights? Wisterian knights, I mean¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, I think so. We¡¯ve been training together with my knights. And so far, there¡¯s not much animosity between them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief. It''s good that you¡¯re learning from each other.¡±


    ¡°... Yeah.¡±


    Alistor was not exactly doing it from the bottom of his heart. Partly it was because he wanted to measure the Wisterian knights¡¯ strength. And the other part was because the Princess suggested it and held her knights in high regard. And he was sure that imperial knights would love a spar with the enemy.


    ¡°I hope my knights grow stronger with your help, Prince Alistor. That way, perhaps when a strong monster appears, my father wouldn¡¯t need to go out and face it himself.¡±


    That perked Alistor¡¯s ears. ¡°Your father? Goes out to face monsters?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    It was a surprising thing. Monarchs normally wouldn¡¯t put themselves in danger like that unless necessary. Could there actually be monsters strong enough that it would need the help of a nation¡¯s ruler?


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that too risky?¡±


    ¡°We always tell him that¡­¡± She lowered her head in sadness. ¡°But sometimes it is just needed. He also sort of likes hunting monsters¡­ We hold him off and only let him go when there are signs of a powerful monster around the Elgion forest.¡±


    ¡°Knights couldn¡¯t just handle it?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°Elgion has powerful monsters. Sometimes, Father is just truly needed to come along with the knights for the hunt.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    That was interesting to know. And ideas formed in Alistor¡¯s thoughts, making him grin inside.


    ¡°Then, I hope your knights grow even stronger in time.¡±


    ¡°T-Thank you.¡±


    Alistor didn¡¯t think that sort of opportunity would just hint itself like this.


    Oh, my dear lovely princess. You¡¯ve helped me.


    And she was completely clueless about what she had done.


    Time passed, and they had finished the snacks, and their stomachs were filled. They had a pleasant talk all the while, talking about ever so casual things. It was then that Alistor gave a suggestion.


    ¡°Mind we take a walk around and show me the garden, Princess? I would love to take in this beautiful scenery.¡±


    She faintly smiled. ¡°I have been meaning to.¡± She rose from her seat and turned to her servants. ¡°There¡¯s no need to follow me, you three. The garden is safe, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    The three servants looked at each other, hesitating. But they didn¡¯t refuse.


    ¡°Now then, shall we go, Prince Alistor?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    And thus, they left confines of the gazebo and immersed into the color filled garden, walking further within. Just the two of them. Alistor glanced at the ever smiling Estelia as she looked at the flowers as if she had seen them only for the first time. A faint hint of red shone on her cheeks.


    He was quite surprised that she didn¡¯t need a guard to follow her now. But then again, this was their garden, so there shouldn¡¯t be any danger. Furthermore, perhaps she was starting to feel safe in Alistor¡¯s presence. It was a good sign.


    ¡°This truly is a beautiful place, Princess. And maintained well.¡±


    ¡°Mother does her best.¡±


    ¡°Mm. But, if I am to be honest, you are a much more beautiful sight to behold.¡±


    Estelia paused in her tracks. ¡°W-What are you saying? P-Please don¡¯t joke¡­¡± She was flustered.


    ¡°Not a joke.¡± Alistor chuckled.


    She adorably pouted as she continued onward. ¡°Please stop teasing me¡­¡±


    ¡°Right, right.¡±


    She twiddled around with her fingers as she kept glancing at Alistor from the corner of her eyes. ¡°Um, Prince Alistor¡­ Do you like someone?¡±


    Alistor grinned and acted clueless. ¡°Like? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I mean like, like¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ I don¡¯t know. Do I like someone?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Do you like someone, Princess?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know. No one, I think.¡±


    ¡°Really? No one.¡±


    She meekly nodded.


    That¡¯s surprising¡­


    Perhaps she just had not realized it yet.


    A petal of wisteria flower slowly fell in front of her, and she carefully caught it in her hands. She smiled slightly, emanating a sense of purity and a wholesome scenery. Alistor had decided.


    ¡°Estelia¡­¡± he called her without her title and reached out for her hand. The flower petal fell to the ground. ¡°There¡¯s someone I like.¡±


    Estelia looked at his touching hand and met his eyes. She didn¡¯t respond, but only waited for him to continue.


    ¡°I like you, Estelia.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Her eyes widened.


    Alistor caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. ¡°I have liked you ever since I first saw you.¡±


    ¡°R-Really?¡± she said in a quiet voice, as if she were forcing out a sound.


    ¡°Yes.¡± He softly held the side of her face. ¡°You are the most wonderful person I have ever met.¡±


    ¡°I-I am¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ Do you not like me back, Estelia?¡±


    ¡°W-Well¡­¡± She looked away. ¡°It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t like you¡­¡±


    ¡°Then, you do.¡± He stepped close until he could faintly smell her fragrance. His hand moved from her face to the back of her waist. And he pulled her closer.


    ¡°W-What are you¡ª¡±


    ¡°Have you felt the wonders of romance, Estelia?¡± Once again, he felt the shape of her body. But he was unsatisfied, the true sensation was obstructed by her clothes.


    ¡°N-No¡­¡± She became more flustered.


    Alistor pulled her closer, until they were touching each other. He leaned closer to her face. He felt her hand on his chest. Both his hands wrapped around her pristine and pure body.


    ¡°We¡¯re alone here, aren¡¯t we?¡± he whispered in her ear.


    His heart was warming up to an intense degree. Her smell, her body, her voice, all were ecstatic. Just a little more, and he could have it all. He gazed at her ever so close bare neck and came in the desire to kiss it and sniff her scent. He pulled her even closer, to the point they were pressing into each other. He took a deep breath, taking in her pleasant sweet smell. Her breasts felt even more so heavenly touching his body.


    Her hand on his chest stiffened.


    He continued. ¡°Do you not love me, Estelia?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    ¡°I can show you a whole new world and experience.¡±


    ¡°P-Please s-stop.¡±


    Her trembling voice reached his ears.


    ¡°It will be wonderful, Estelia.¡±


    ¡°P-Please d-don¡¯t. L-Let m-me g-go.¡± Her voice showed a hint of fear.


    Alistor retracted his head to look at her face. What he saw made him lose his words and temptations.


    She was crying.


    Her eyes were averted away as tears welled up in her eyes. The hand on his chest was not a sign of invitation, but of resistance. And not only that, she was trembling.


    Alistor had never seen her this distressed, nor anyone.


    ¡°P-Please s-stop. Let m-me go,¡± she begged in a shrinking voice.


    Perhaps what he failed to realize, it was the first moment in the Princess¡¯s life that someone had touched her in this defiling way, with the intention of truly defiling her. Where in her world, she was worshiped and deeply respected. Her touch was a blessing, and touching her was a privilege. Men usually around her who came this close, none intended to take advantage of her ever so innocent self.


    What he failed to realize ¡ª he has committed a grave sin. One of the most repulsive to be committed against her. Where he ought to be condemned unto death. But if anyone ever learns of this, perhaps death would not be so easily attainable.


    The wind rustled the trees and flowers, as if responding to her tears.


    He failed to realize the righteous way to treat the Pure Princess because of his putrid desires. He failed to realize the turmoil in her heart. He failed to realize the value of her tears. To make her cry was to make the world cry. The clouds passed to cover the sun, darkening the surroundings, as if the world showed its pity and sadness for her.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 115: Defiling Touch (Part 2)

    Alistor weakened his hold as he slowly let go, perhaps also shocked by what he was seeing. ¡°Sorry¡­¡±


    That was all he could say. At the same time, the princess moved back away, slipping from his grasp. When she was multiple steps away, with a tear brimmed face, she turned her back on him. She meekly rubbed her eyes with audible sniffing.


    Alistor didn¡¯t know what to say. He didn¡¯t expect she would react this way. He was too rash.


    ¡°Princess, I¡­ I sincerely apologize for my actions. I didn¡¯t mean to be so rude.¡±


    She turned her head and looked at Alistor from the corner of her eyes. They were anything but receiving. She looked away and rubbed the tears still coming out.


    Alistor was growing increasingly concerned of what he had done. It would have been different if she accepted his advances and didn¡¯t resist. But she was distraught. If anyone else heard of this, everything would be over. The consequences for him here would be dire. If this was the Empire, perhaps it would be easier to handle the aftermath.


    Then the Princess finally spoke.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t do that¡­ ever again.¡±


    ¡°... Yes.¡±


    She lowered her head, placing a hand on her chest, her back still facing him. ¡°Everything happened so fast¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ It¡¯s my fault.¡± Perhaps that was his mistake, he moved too fast.


    ¡°You overstepped your bounds, Prince Alistor¡­¡±


    Alistor couldn¡¯t see her face. ¡°Yes, I did. That is why I ask for forgiveness.¡±


    ¡°... I will not tell anyone what happened here today.¡±


    Surprising. Alistor had expected she would tell her parents of the terrible thing he did. And that would have spelled the end. However, to keep his affront a secret to everyone? She was just being too kind.


    ¡°Thank you, Princess.¡±


    ¡°... We should end the tour for today. I¡¯ll be going ahead. Perhaps you should take a rest, Prince Alistor.¡±


    Without waiting for his response, the Princess walked away with rushed steps.


    Alistor clicked his tongue as he placed a hand on the back of his head, feeling frustrated. He looked at the view, for there was nothing else to see and do.


    I¡¯ve really done it now.


    But that didn¡¯t mean it was over. The princess was still being considerate. There was still light at the end of the tunnel. He had to win her over, he had to have her. He¡¯ll have her, eventually. That was a promise.


    ***


    Rogan was leaning his back on one column of the gazebo. In front of him were his fellow servants of the Princess. He was waiting for his charge to return as she walked around the garden with that prince.


    ¡°Will she be alright?¡± asked Mera in concern. ¡°I don¡¯t like that man.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think any of us even like him,¡± Rogan replied. ¡°But, she ordered it. So there¡¯s nothing we can do.¡±


    ¡°We just have to have faith she¡¯ll be alright,¡± Vernon said. ¡°She is not one to underestimate.¡±


    Mera placed a hand on her arm. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ I don¡¯t like the feeling I get from him.¡±


    Mera has been quite protective of her lady lately. She would even often glare at Prince Alistor from a distance. Either Rogan and Vernon had to tell her off. She even pleaded to her lady once to keep her distance from the man, but the princess merely said it would be alright.


    If Rogan had to be honest, he felt the same way. He didn¡¯t want her anywhere close to that prince. But the princess wanted to. So there was nothing he could do about it. Right now, she was alone with that man, and no one else was anywhere in the garden. Rogan wanted to catch up and watch from a hidden place, but she would be displeased.


    ¡°You should sit down, Mera. It¡¯s getting through your nerves.¡±


    She frowned. ¡°I hate him.¡±


    Rogan smirked. ¡°You have not even talked with the guy.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t hate someone we don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°Uuh¡­ Maybe¡­? Ask the old man what he thinks.¡±


    Vernon sighed. ¡°I think it¡¯s not kind to hate someone without getting to know them first.¡±


    ¡°See Mera?¡±


    Mera crossed her arms, showing her displeasure. ¡°You don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°What? Is it something only women can sense or something?¡±


    ¡°... Maybe.¡±


    ¡°Alright... As I said, sit down and calm down. You¡¯re only agitating yourself.¡±


    ¡°... I would have been more at ease if you¡¯re with her.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the trust.¡±


    Mera pouted as she followed his suggestion and sat down.


    ¡°Any opinions on the matter?¡± Rogan asked Vernon.


    ¡°Nothing much. I just don¡¯t understand why she puts herself through all this. I expected she would avoid contact with the envoys as much as possible.¡±


    ¡°... I get what you mean.¡±


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    ¡°It is especially dangerous meeting men from other lands. You understand, don¡¯t you? It won¡¯t be surprising if someone from the outside demands her hand for marriage.¡±


    ¡°Their majesties wouldn¡¯t like that.¡±


    ¡°Of course. It¡¯s part of the reason they didn''t show her off in the past. In normal cases, the princess wouldn¡¯t even show herself during greetings or in the throne room.¡±


    ¡°She wouldn¡¯t usually show at any aristocratic assembly in the palace.¡± At least, she was nowhere to be seen on such occasions when Rogan was present.


    ¡°Her parents never wanted to, nor did she.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­ But I guess situations bring a change in all of us, eh?¡±


    ¡°... Yes.¡±


    Oh, this is a good time for some backward story time.


    With a smile, Rogan faced Mera. ¡°What about you, Mera? Any early time Princess Estelia stories you can share?¡±


    She slightly tilted her head. ¡°Do you want to know the time before I became her personal maid?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure.¡±


    ¡°... Well, I was merely one of her rotational maids.¡±


    ¡°What did she usually do?¡±


    ¡°Nothing much. Mainly looking outside, or doing nothing.¡±


    ¡°Wow.¡±


    Mera smiled, reminiscent. ¡°She was not too hard to serve. And she is so soft-spoken when she requests something. Although, she was¡­ distant.¡±


    ¡°And now, look at you.¡± Rogan chuckled.


    ¡°Yes¡­ To be honest, I never imagined someone like you would become her personal knight, Sir Rogan.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡±


    ¡°I thought it would be Sir Alan, or Sir Elson. They were the knights she interacted with first with interest. At least, to what I know.¡±


    ¡°Alan? Wait, doesn¡¯t that mean I got in his way?!¡±


    Rogan thought back.


    Dang, sorry Alan.


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Mera added, which served only to add a tiny more guilt inside Rogan.


    ¡°I doubt it would be allowed. The young knight Alan is not strong enough to be found reliable,¡± said Vernon.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t help with the guilt, Vernon.¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t even feel bad.¡±


    ¡°Well, I do!¡±


    The kid wanted to serve the Princess directly, you know.


    Just then, they heard sounds of steps coming for them. Rogan and the two turned towards the sound to see the Princess rushing towards them with lowered head, her hair covering her face. Instantly, Rogan sensed something was wrong.


    When she got close, she briefly said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The three servants looked at each other in utter concern and confusion.


    Before she could walk away, Rogan asked her. ¡°Are you alright, Princess?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just go.¡±


    Her voice was weaker than usual. Rogan narrowed his eyes, trying to guess what could have happened.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Rogan asked again.


    ¡°Stop it.¡± She kept her head lowered, preventing everyone from looking at her face.


    She took a step forward. But Rogan grabbed her by the shoulders. Rude it may be, he needed to know if something bad happened. And thus, he overstepped his bounds, and forced the Princess to turn towards him.


    And then he saw her face, her eyes. The other two saw as well.


    Her face was distressed. Both of her eyes were bloodshot. And there were faint signs of tears on her cheeks.


    ¡°What¡­? What did he do?¡± Rogan asked in a low and grim tone, frowning in anger.


    He realized she cried. The Princess cried.


    ¡°Y-You don¡¯t have to know.¡±


    ¡°Princess, what did he do?¡±


    ¡°Let go of me.¡±


    The moment she said so, Rogan let her go. She lowered her head again.


    He observed the Princess in her entirety. Still, he couldn¡¯t tell what happened exactly. But when she placed a hand on her dress as if to prevent them from going off, he had an idea.


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill him.¡±


    Rage fired in his heart. With clenched teeth, he gripped his sword. His hands trembled in his intense emotion, his vision was darkening.


    ¡°Don¡¯t, my knight,¡± she softly said.


    ¡°This is unforgivable.¡±


    ¡°W-What happened?¡± Mera stepped forward, looking worriedly at the Princess, and waited for a confirmation.


    ¡°Is it?¡± Vernon narrowed his eyes in suspicion.


    ¡°You will do nothing. All of you.¡±


    ¡°Why not?!¡± Rogan couldn¡¯t help but raise his voice.


    ¡°Just don¡¯t do anything. L-Let¡¯s just leave.¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡±


    ¡°Speak no more. Do nothing.¡± She raised her eyes, moist at the corners. ¡°That is an order.¡±


    While his face was still twitching in anger, Rogan removed his hand from his sword. ¡°... Understood.¡±


    ¡°All of you, do not speak to anyone about what happened today.¡±


    ¡°... Yes, Your Highness.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, milady¡­¡±


    Rogan and Vernon¡¯s eyes met, both fierce in their raging emotion. But they couldn¡¯t do anything about it.


    Vernon placed a hand on Mera¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Tend to the Princess. I¡¯ll carry the plates.¡±


    ¡°Uh? Y-Yes.¡±


    Mera quickly approached the Princess and slowly placed a hand on her back. ¡°Milady, let¡¯s go.¡±


    As they went, Rogan followed behind them. He turned his head towards the garden with a powerful glare. That prince was there somewhere. What he did was utterly criminal, unforgivable, blasphemous, deplorable.


    If the Princess didn¡¯t try to stop him, Rogan would have cut off his head with no hesitation. This fight he would never lose.


    ***


    The night later, Cilas entered his older brother¡¯s room at the latter¡¯s beckon. With a frowning face, he approached Alistor who moved a chair by the window, staring intently at the dark view. He seemed to be in deep thought.


    ¡°Brother, what is it?¡±


    ¡°I discovered an opportunity for us to strike.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°The king of Wisteria leaves the safe confines of his palace when powerful monsters attack the city or show its presence in the surroundings.¡±


    Cilas nodded. ¡°I see. Where did you learn of this?¡±


    ¡°... From the princess herself.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    It must be from during their time together in the garden earlier.


    The Princess offered a little tea party in the garden to make up for not coming with the tour. However, she invited them both. Only that Cilas didn¡¯t get to join in, or rather, he couldn¡¯t. His brother warned him not to come. That was fine, he didn¡¯t want to force himself in there, anyway.


    ¡°So, your plan is to draw out the king and kill him outside?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly. We drive him out of the palace and while he¡¯s gone, we clean out the palace. Once he returns to find out all that he values are gone, we kill him.¡±


    ¡°... And how exactly are we going to get the monster we need?¡±


    ¡°We have the means. We¡¯ll let our men outside take care of it.¡±


    ¡°And what about the plan here? How should we execute it?¡±


    ¡°Just send our forces here and begin extermination.¡±


    Cilas frowned at the sheer simplicity and straightforwardness of his brother¡¯s plan.


    ¡°Brother, we should have a fully laid out plan. Make our methods clear.¡±


    Alistor turned his head to look at Cilas from the corner of his eyes. He seemed displeased.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need. We will overpower them.¡±


    Cilas shook his head. ¡°A clear and laid out plan is essential. We need to do this carefully. The palace is full of guards, of knights.¡±


    ¡°The number of knights will be reduced once they go hunt the monster. With our existing knights, along with the others that are to join, we can win this easily.¡±


    Again with his confidence.


    That kind of thinking, to overpower the enemy, without considering other possibilities, could be their undoing. It was annoying whenever Alistor gets this simple-minded. He was smart in his own way, but he just wouldn¡¯t take the time to use it and be patient.


    ¡°I¡¯m against this. Again, we need to think of this carefully. We can¡¯t just send our men here and tell them to go wild.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what we¡¯re going to do. There¡¯s no need to complicate everything if we can win either way. The fastest and most efficient way.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like it.¡±


    Alistor rose from his seat and stepped closer to Cilas, he towered over his little brother. ¡°You have always liked to overthink everything.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t question me, little brother.¡±


    Cilas clenched his teeth as he glared up at him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m finishing our objective.¡±


    ¡°Fine. Do whatever the hell you want. I don¡¯t care anymore. But you better make sure we succeed.¡±


    There was no reasoning with him, it was pointless. So Cilas just gave up. All just to get the hell out of the same room as him and be spared seeing his face and being treated this way.


    ¡°Of course, little brother.¡±


    ¡°You send the bird and contact the agents then. This is your magnificent plan, after all.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me. All you have to do is stay put and get ready. Let me handle this. We are running out of time.¡±


    ¡°Whatever. Just don¡¯t drag us to our deaths. And your plan for the princess? Let her die amidst the chaos?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about her. Leave her to me.¡±


    Cilas clicked his tongue in irritation and left the room without waiting for a word. His older brother has never been more condescending. But he had to bear it until the mission was over and so he could come back home.


    But then he was reminded of another person. One of the victims in all of this.


    What am I gonna do?


    Cilas was hesitating. He didn¡¯t want her to die.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 116: Big News! Big Opportunity!

    There was a young lady casually sitting down on the tree branch, a bag of food beside her. Although she was not truly human, she was a lady nonetheless. If one would ignore her gluttony. She wore an athletic outfit that covered her entire body, dark pants, and a shirt covered in leather.


    With a self-entertained smile, she grabbed a piece of bread from her bag as she watched over the Wisterian palace. She has been doing this for weeks now. Which she was glad of doing, it was boring in their lodging.


    With her sharp eyes that pierced through the darkness, she gawked at the dark fogs floating above, blending in the dark night. Reason for her being here was because she was looking for a weak spot. A spot where they could perhaps sneak inside and also easily sneak out.


    But the Cursed Children were making it practically impossible. Not only that, there were the human guards. Which were not exactly going to be hard to deal with, but still troublesome. They had to kidnap the princess flawlessly, at least close to that.


    Often if the princess goes out though, she is guarded by many knights, all elites. Plus the tailing Cursed Children. Add to it the most terrible thing, the Church. The imps didn¡¯t want to face the Church fighters that wield the holy element. Something that could harm them.


    Personally, she had never been hit by any holy element. But she heard it was truly terrible for demons to be struck by it. It easily pierces through their skin, and it burns, and it stops their natural healing. They were weak to it, thus they had to absolutely avoid it.


    It has been some time since they observed all the occurrences in Wisteria. And they were being patient with their hunt. They didn¡¯t mind the wait, at least the patient ones, which were the majority. Arashia didn¡¯t mind it though, she loved the food.


    In any case, things have been escalating in Wisteria, with that, there may come an opportunity. Which was why Arashia was here, with her sharp ranger and tracking skills, with her top tier stealth ability, she was the perfect woman demon for the job. But all she could do was eat most of the time.


    How do we even drive those fogs away¡­?


    They needed something to disperse them or anything.


    She munched her food.


    What would Dad do?


    She pondered. But stopped shortly after when she remembered it wasn¡¯t her job to think of strategies or anything. She¡¯ll leave it to the other guys.


    As she continued on with her food, she paused when she saw a small dot flying up from the palace. It was a bird.


    A lone bird flying away late in the night from the palace.


    It wasn¡¯t the first time the same thing happened recently. It made her feel suspicious. Thinking about it, there were some humans from another nation there. Which she heard from the leader that they were Wisteria¡¯s enemy.


    She quickly swallowed the remaining food in her hand. As for the rest, she made sure the bag wouldn¡¯t fall before standing up and stretched.


    Okay, guess I¡¯ll follow that bird.


    With incredible dexterity, she jumped down from the tree branch and landed on the ground with complete silence. She tracked the flying bird and sprinted with tremendous speed. When she reached some buildings, she promptly jumped up to the rooftop and seamlessly jumped from one to another.


    She had to be careful with the guards patrolling. But she didn¡¯t have to be so stressed about it. She could avoid them with ease, and not like the humans would just look up at the rooftops. That said, she still had to stick to the shadows and occasionally drop into the small crevices.


    She was closing in on the city walls, she easily scaled it up and stealthily avoided the guards. She went by so fast that if there were any that saw her, she would be but a passing shadow.


    With excellence, she gracefully landed on the ground, and she immediately continued tracking the bird.


    I hope it doesn¡¯t go to the next town.


    It would be too much and too far if that were the case. She would then perhaps need to give up. It flew across the Elgion forest, but thankfully not deep into it. Still, it shouldn¡¯t be that dangerous for her. She could perhaps handle a few Elgion forest monsters, or better, she could sneak by them.


    As she got into the forest, she lost sight of the bird under the tree shrouds. She pouted in frustration, but the bird was going in a straight line, so there was a chance she could manage if she just went straight.


    She sensed the gazes of lurking monsters in the darkness, with some she could spot. But she ignored them. As long as there weren¡¯t any strong monsters that leapt out in her way, or she kept avoiding them, she should be fine. Otherwise, she would have a hard time explaining the situation to the leader. And explaining while in trouble was a bother.


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    A moment later, she was reaching the edge of the forest, where beyond should be a main paved road.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    Roughly at the edge, she stopped, and crouched on a tree branch. There were two human men standing by the trees. One was thinner, while the other was muscular. In the former¡¯s hand was the bird. And the bird was speaking in a man¡¯s voice.


    ¡°... Once he¡¯s out, preferably night time, then we begin operation.¡±


    It would seem that she only got to hear the end of the message.


    ¡°You heard it,¡± said the thin man.


    ¡°Well, there are plenty of monsters to choose from in this forest.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll need one powerful enough to warrant the king¡¯s power.¡±


    The muscular man leaned his back on a tree. ¡°It will be difficult to capture a monster of that scale. All we can do is lure it into the open.¡±


    ¡°Hm. We¡¯ll discuss this back at base.¡±


    ¡°Is this going to work?¡±


    ¡°Hope so.¡±


    ¡°Luring the king out is one thing. Wreaking chaos in the Wisterian palace, that really is something.¡±


    ¡°Well, it is the Emperor¡¯s order.¡±


    Emperor? Could they be from the nearby human empire?


    The current visitors in Wisteria were from the nearby empire. It would seem they have a devious plan to do.


    ¡°It will be a good opportunity to execute the mission. But, what if it fails though?¡± The muscular man crossed his arms. ¡°That would be an astounding failure.¡±


    ¡°From what I was told, it won¡¯t matter much. The two princes are only there to increase our chance of success by taking out the heads and utterly destabilizing Wisteria.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean it won¡¯t matter? I don¡¯t get how.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°Well, you never told me.¡±


    ¡°You never asked. I assumed they could have told you.¡±


    The muscular man shrugged. ¡°Then, I¡¯m asking you now.¡±


    ¡°... Whether they succeed in their mission or not, the Empire will still attack the royal capital soon after.¡±


    ¡°The capital? Not starting the invasion?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, straight to the capital.¡±


    ¡°How soon?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know. After a month maybe.¡±


    ¡°How are they gonna do that? We can¡¯t just sneak an army needed to assault the city and win.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re using the Dust.¡±


    Arashia¡¯s ears perked up.


    ¡°Oh, do we have that on hand?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°Then who got it?¡±


    ¡°Who knows. It¡¯s not our job to do it, anyway.¡±


    ¡°... Huh, very well.¡±


    ¡°Anyhow, we¡¯re done here.¡± He tapped on the bird¡¯s head and whispered to it. ¡°Understood. It will be done.¡±


    And then he released the bird, and it flew back into the city.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    And with that, the two humans went on their way.


    Arashia narrowed her eyes as she watched them go and contemplated what they just said.


    Dust. This is big news!!!!!


    Her heart almost leaped out in excitement. And she quickly ran back to the royal capital, intending to see her accomplices. But not before she retrieved her bag of food.


    ***


    Three demon imps were lingering around a balcony of the building. Basically doing what they normally do.


    Their leader Rytus was sitting down while occasionally watching the palace. He was more lax than before though, mainly because Arashia was there to take a closer look. The other imp demon, Venzus, was leaning on the balcony with a book in his hand. He normally never read books, but there was nothing else to fiddle around with.


    The last demon, Droz, just got out from the inner room, coming in to join in on the balcony. In his hand was a cup with a steaming drink inside, it was coffee. Although such a human drink would barely affect a demon like him, there was still a mild effect. He had to drink it, as he was prohibited from sleeping tonight. Could that be punishment or just make him suffer? No one would know but the leader.


    But he had been tasting such a drink for some time now. And it was actually decent to the tongue. He was currently looking forward to drinking it again tonight.


    But then, someone came swishing down from above.


    Too late did Droz realize it as he looked up. ¡°Hah?!¡±


    He was slammed down into the floor, his cup hurling the air, the coffee spilling out. Pain throbbed from his back as he was pressed onto the floor, someone landed directly on him.


    ¡°Big news!¡± Arashia shouted in excitement.


    Droz groaned. ¡°W-What the fuck?!¡±


    Arashia cluelessly looked down. ¡°Oh, oops. Sorry, didn¡¯t see you there.¡±


    She slowly stepped away, but Droz scoffed. ¡°Screw you! You definitely saw me.¡± He slowly got up.


    ¡°He-he-he. Okay, yes I did see you.¡± Arashia wanted to act clueless so she would be spared any harsh scolding. ¡°But you walked into it, so it was too late to change my trajectory.¡±


    ¡°And my coffee! You spilled my coffee!¡±


    Arashia awkwardly looked away. ¡°Not my fault, you let go.¡±


    ¡°The hell?!¡±


    She rummaged through her bag, and with a pitiful face, she handed him a piece of bread. ¡°Then have this in place for your coffee.¡±


    With a frown, Droz received the bread. ¡°Whatever.¡± Not like he could do anything about it anyway. His coffee won¡¯t come back.


    ¡°You forgive me?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, whatever.¡±


    Arashia pouted.


    ¡°What news do you bring, Arashia?¡± Rytus asked.


    That snapped her back. ¡°Big news! Big opportunity!¡±


    And thus she conveyed what she had heard from those two humans.


    ¡°The Empire is attacking?¡± Venzus put down his book, and placed a hand on his chin.


    ¡°After the princes¡¯s mission¡­? Then they¡¯re planning something in there.¡± Rytus glanced at the palace.


    ¡°You know, I¡¯ve been thinking about when they assault the city, maybe we can take the chance!¡±


    Rytus leaned back. ¡°Yes. Amidst the chaos, the city is under attack. Human forces will scatter, plenty of distractions. Even the Cursed Children will disperse, where there could be a window for us. And the church will be too busy.¡±


    ¡°Definitely a good chance. Less forces to get in our way,¡± Droz added.


    ¡°And they¡¯re using the Dust,¡± said Rytus.


    ¡°Like the one you have?¡±


    Rytus pulled out a pouch, filled with dust. ¡°Yes.¡± It was only one of the pouches he had in his person.


    ¡°But, just how much do they even have? Considering what they¡¯re planning on doing,¡± Venzus asked.


    ¡°Enough for their mission, I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Where did they even get it? They¡¯re hard to find.¡±


    ¡°Hm. I can only think of the mystic race having something to do with it. I¡¯m not aware of humans knowing how to use it.¡±


    ¡°Then they will need a wide place to make the circle.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ In any case, we can prepare for it. So once we heard that something happened in the palace, we can get ready for their assault.¡±


    ¡°What if the two princes succeed?¡±


    ¡°Our main target won¡¯t be harmed, the Cursed Children will protect her. Hell, best case they might personally take out the enemy, resulting in the Empire to lose.¡±


    ¡°Then, our option is to wait for their assault?¡± Droz asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in on that.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡±


    Arashia nodded.


    ¡°Good job, Arashia.¡±


    ¡°T-Thank you.¡± She giggled.


    ¡°Keep closely monitoring the palace.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 117: Giving Orders

    <div>


    <div>


    <div>


    What¡¯s up? Estelia here. I had a terrible day yesterday. Very terrible. Poor me. Couldn¡¯t believe he could do something as stupidly daring as that. Who the fuck does that to a princess? Fucking piece of shit, fucking scumbag, limp dick asshole. He seriously gonna jeopardize their entire political reason for being here?


    He¡¯s fucking dead! I¡¯ll kill him. I¡¯ll fucking kill him.


    I didn¡¯t even want to look at him right now. So I¡¯m just going to avoid him. Him and his stupid little brother. Keep the fuck away from me.


    I didn¡¯t tell anyone what happened, and I¡¯m not planning to. That would ruin everything.


    In any case, I have something else to do. My own preparations. And thus, after having a casual breakfast with my family, I made my way back to my office. While making sure I didn¡¯t see anyone from the empire.


    Okay, I can face them, I just didn¡¯t want to¡­ Not yet. I still have this little repulsed feeling in my heart. Ugh.


    On the way to my office, though, I came across someone I didn¡¯t quite expect to see here. It was Lucious. I have not talked to him for a while. He kindly smiled as he greeted me.


    ¡°Good morning, Estelia.¡±


    ¡°Good morning, Lucious. What were you doing?¡±


    ¡°Just checking essential supplies. I need to update the logistics.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re quite busy.¡±


    ¡°Not that too busy.¡± He chuckled. ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°A bit.¡±


    ¡°I see. I hope you¡¯re not working yourself too hard.¡±


    ¡°I should be the one saying that to you.¡±


    He wryly smiled. ¡°I guess¡­ So, um, Estelia, I heard you¡¯ve been friends with the two envoys.¡±


    I blinked. ¡°... Who told you?¡±


    ¡°Words travel around, you know. And I also asked Eleden. You¡¯re close, I heard.¡±


    ¡°... I suppose we often talk.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ I also heard that you and ¡ª no, never mind.¡±


    Wow, everyone has been gossiping? I was not intending for that to happen. But I guess in the palace rumors or gossip that involves me still happen, huh? But why haven¡¯t my servants mentioned anything? Nor anyone? Well, I don¡¯t really care much about that gossip, but still¡­ would be nice to know¡­?


    ¡°What do you want to say, Lucious?¡± I asked with wide, curious eyes.


    He looked away, hesitating. ¡°... There¡¯s saying that you are, in a word, enamored with the eldest imperial prince.¡±


    Okay¡­ Um, well. That sucks.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t trust rumors and gossip too easily, Lucious.¡±


    ¡°So it isn¡¯t true?¡±


    With a pursed smile, I answered. ¡°... There may be instances. But nothing really happened that was too serious.¡±


    He looked like he choked when he heard my answer. ¡°I-Instances? So it¡¯s true¡­¡±


    ¡°Brief instances. So that really shouldn¡¯t be taken to heart. Word of mouth tends to exaggerate.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s not true?¡±


    He was more confused than before. Looks like I didn¡¯t make myself clear. No wait, I did act all lovey dovey. So that¡¯s not exactly wrong either? Hmmm. Okay, sorry Lucious. Guess you gonna have to be hurt by this one.


    ¡°... Sort of¡­?¡±


    He lowered his eyes, visibly sad. ¡°I see¡­ But, Estelia,¡± he raised his eyes back at me. ¡°Don¡¯t take this badly. But be careful around them. They cannot be trusted. They could be playing you for all we know.¡±


    ¡°R-Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said with serious eyes.


    ¡°... Okay¡­¡± I faintly nodded.


    ¡°... Good¡­ Uh, so, I¡¯m going then. I don¡¯t want to hold you in your way.¡±


    ¡°... Later then, Lucious.¡±


    ¡°Later.¡±


    With that, he continued on his way.


    As I made my way to my office, I glanced at my servants.


    ¡°Have you heard of these gossips?¡±


    The three of them looked at each other.


    ¡°I heard about it,¡± Vernon admitted first.


    Rogan awkwardly smiled. ¡°Yeah, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, I did.¡± Mera lowered her head.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    I sighed.


    I entered the office upon arrival. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me about it?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think it would be necessary to tell when it¡¯s apparently what you want,¡± said Vernon.


    ¡°I just heard it from the guys. Well, yeah, it was pretty obvious.¡±


    ¡°Everyone in the maid quarters talked about it. But I didn¡¯t think you would want to hear it.¡±


    Huh, can¡¯t argue with that. ¡°Oh, okay.¡± But hey Mera, I don¡¯t think that reason¡¯s true. You just didn¡¯t want to hear it yourself, did you? Whatever. It¡¯s not that important, anyway.


    I sat down on my couch. ¡°Lock the door.¡± Once it was locked, I continued. ¡°There¡¯s something I have to ask of you two, Vernon and Rogan.¡±


    The two looked at each other, staying silent and waiting for my words.


    ¡°Soon, in a couple of days perhaps, there may come an incident here in the palace.¡±


    ¡°Incident? What do you mean, Your Highness?¡± Vernon asked.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say precisely. But, likely when my father leaves to fight a powerful monster. Once that happens, I want you to be prepared, especially at night.¡±


    ¡°What is exactly going to happen?¡± Rogan warily asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ll know. So firstly, Rogan, the night my father is absent, I want you to stay here in the palace.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­?¡±


    ¡°Once you have heard of any trouble, big trouble, go to my brother Eleden. Protect him.¡±


    ¡°Wait?¡± He shook his head. ¡°Not you? I¡¯m your knight, shouldn¡¯t I protect you if something happens?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. Once you have secured Eleden, try reaching for Estevan. He should be able to hold enemies out. But retrieve him, just in case.¡±


    ¡°But Princess¡­¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry about me in the early phases of the event.¡± I shifted towards my butler. ¡°Vernon, I will need you to protect my mother. Go directly to her room and secure her.¡±


    ¡°Her Majesty?¡±


    ¡°Protect her with your life. Do not let her be harmed.¡±


    ¡°... Understood.¡±


    ¡°Once your VIPs are secured, rendezvous with the knights outside. The inside of the palace will be more dangerous than the outside. We will meet at the side palace entryways.¡±


    They nodded in affirmation.


    ¡°As for you Mera, at night you will be with your fellow maids¡­ there will be knights on patrol, rely on them. Or you come to me.¡±


    ¡°M-Milady¡­ it sounds like it''s something dangerous¡­ Will¡­ Will my friends be harmed?¡±


    ¡°Better think about yourself first.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    Vernon chimed in. ¡°If it comes to it, I am aware of a few maids capable of using magic. I imagine they¡¯ll be able to fight back when needed.¡±


    Wow. I expected no less from daughters of nobles. Huh, thinking about it, we may have more firepower in the palace than I initially thought. They could help somewhat.


    I nodded. ¡°Mera, if you decide to come with me, come alone. It will be hard for me to protect others.¡±


    Me? Protecting a bunch? No way. You should protect me in the first place. Plus, Mera would be a good¡­ um, what¡¯s the word? Canary? To lead the enemies coming at me in the open. Besides, Mera was capable of Physical Enhancement technique, she should be fine.


    ¡°Now then you two, make sure to act quickly at the first sign of any danger or trouble. Protect the family member you are assigned to protect.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still worried about you, though.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, my knight. A group of nobodies can¡¯t do me in.¡±


    He frowned deeply, apparently hesitant. But not like he had a choice. ¡°... Very well. Don¡¯t die, alright? Your family¡¯s going to kill me if I abandoned you in times of danger.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°You exaggerate.¡±


    ¡°Princess, if something is going to happen, shouldn¡¯t you suggest more security in the palace?¡± asked Vernon.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to give the suggestion that we know something. I want to keep it normal.¡±


    ¡°When you mentioned the King going to a monster hunt,¡± said Rogan. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that mean he would take some knights from the palace?¡±


    ¡°If we get reduced to half of what we currently have, it should be fine. But Father wouldn¡¯t likely take all of it. We have other places to get knights from.¡±


    He wouldn¡¯t strip all of our security when the Empire¡¯s people were here. There should be other knights all over the city, not just sent to the secret operation. He could get more arms from them.


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    I sighed and leaned back in my chair. ¡°There¡¯s another I would like you to do for today, Sir Rogan.¡±


    ¡°Sure. What?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s something I want you to tell Sir Elson tonight. He will likely also be coming to the hunt, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ Likely.¡±


    ¡°Just in case, make sure he joins. Then, tell him to protect my father, the King¡­¡±


    ¡°... I see. Of course, I¡¯ll tell him.¡±


    ¡°Make sure he¡ª¡± the knocks on the door interrupted me.


    No one should be able to hear us on the other side, we weren¡¯t talking loudly or anything. Plus, rooms like mine were not easy to eavesdrop. So we should be fine.


    I gestured for Vernon to open it. Turned out, it was the younger Imperial Prince, Cilas. In his hand was my book that I let him borrow.


    ¡°Good morning, Princess. I hope I didn¡¯t disturb you.¡±


    I forced a smile. ¡°Not at all, Prince Cilas. Have you come to return the book? Oh, please come in.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± He stepped inside. ¡°Yes, I came to return it.¡±


    Ugh, I¡¯m not really not in the mood to work on these guys right now. But he¡¯s already here, so there¡¯s no avoiding this. Stop your procrastinations everybody! It ain¡¯t gonna get the job done. Yeah, I¡¯m mainly saying that to myself. Dammit.


    I rose from my seat and walked towards him to receive my book. With a happy nod, I asked him a question.


    ¡°Did you like it?¡±


    ¡°I loved it. I can see why it¡¯s one of your favorites.¡±


    It was true, it was one of my recent favorites. I couldn¡¯t just make some bullshit that I loved one thing. Some truth is fine in a deception. It makes it more genuine. Ironic.


    ¡°See? It is amazing. What do you think of the main protagonist?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s amazing. And very heroic. His struggles during his journey were so meaningful.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. It¡¯s so emotional. And every time he meets new people and goes, it makes me so emotional.¡±


    That¡¯s bullshit on my side, of course. I didn¡¯t really cry, just found it fascinating. But it¡¯s still a good story. Oh, so not entirely bullshit, but hyperbolic.


    ¡°Indeed, it is. I liked the archer he met halfway. She¡¯s so kind.¡±


    ¡°Really? I suppose she was a great character.¡± I urged him to sit down with me, and we sat down on the same couch. Heh, Aliscuck would be steaming right now if he saw this. ¡°What do you think of the ending?¡±


    ¡°At least it was a good ending. I would dread an ending where he dies.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡± Fuck them bad and sad, and heroic sacrifice endings.


    ¡°I like these kinds of stories.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡±


    Would also be nice to read a story where a girl gets suddenly transferred into the body of an incredibly beautiful princess. Where she needs to act to be all innocent and pure. Yeah, that would be cool. Hehehehe.


    Oh! And where she gets to be a goddess! Where she becomes the strongest in the whole world. Where she destroys everything in her way! Yeah! Awesome.


    Alright, that¡¯s enough jokes for now¡­


    In the passing moments, we talked about parts of the book we liked. Until, eventually, when the topic died down, I asked him something I was curious about.


    ¡°Say, where is Prince Alistor right now?¡±


    He paused for a moment. ¡°... Why do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just curious.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t really know. But I heard he¡¯s going around the place.¡±


    ¡°I see. So I guess the best option is for me to stay here for the time being¡­¡± I smiled slightly, but subtly indicating that there was something else going on.


    ¡°Stay here? Why? What happened?¡±


    ¡°... Nothing¡­¡± I placed a hand on my arm, while the other on my knee. ¡°J-Just avoiding him, that¡¯s all.¡±


    He closely observed my subtle actions.


    ¡°Why? Did he do something?¡±


    I forced a smile. ¡°Nothing you have to be troubled about, Prince Cilas.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes a little. ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°... If you say so.¡±


    ¡°... How about I show you more books? I have a couple more I can recommend.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    The power of suggestion is often a frightening thing.


    <div>

 Vol. 3 Chapter 118: Designs Forming

    It was currently nighttime, after the royal family¡¯s dinner and the Princess went to sleep. That said, Rogan often wonders if she even sleeps immediately after getting in. She must have a lot of things in her mind. Perhaps reading her books to get her mind off things stressful? That was an eternal mystery to him.


    He paused and looked up at the dark starry sky and took a deep breath. He recalled when the Princess cried in that garden. It was a terrible thing, so terrible. Not even facing the monsters that hunted her made her shed tears. He never imagined she would ever cry that day, nor did he even ever try to imagine it.


    Of all people to make her cry, it was a prince from another nation. No, making her cry like that alone made Rogan feel enraged. He wouldn¡¯t hesitate to hit or cut him down if he was allowed to. However, the Princess prohibited them from saying anything about what happened. He couldn¡¯t properly comprehend why.


    She was sullied, tarnished, by the hands of a man who intended no good. How could someone just stand by and let it go on without any response? Any consequences for the culprit? How could she just take it?


    He truly could not understand.


    Other women would be screaming, would be telling her parents, to tell anyone about the terrible thing done to them. Was it because she was a princess? Was it because it could be a political incident? But there was no point in keeping it. The Empire was the enemy, anyway. Wisteria will reject their proposal for peace in the end. What difference does it make if everything breaks down? She shouldn¡¯t let such a transgression remain hidden.


    She¡¯s making it more difficult for herself.


    But he should set aside those thoughts for now. There was no point.


    He headed straight for the knights¡¯ barracks. Considering that there were basically enemy knights around, he couldn¡¯t help but keep his guard up. Imagine if he just got stabbed in the back. That would be an embarrassing way to go.


    When he arrived at the barracks, he went to search for Elson. He found him in one of the quarters, talking with a small group of knights. Rogan casually knocked to interrupt their talk and smiled.


    ¡°Hey, Elson. Got something to talk to you about.¡±


    Elson, with a curious look, approached Rogan. ¡°Certainly. What is it?¡±


    ¡°In private.¡±


    ¡°... I understand.¡±


    Rogan led Elson to a secluded part of the barracks, where no one else was present. He looked around to make sure and whispered to Elson.


    ¡°I have an order from the Princess.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect an order from her in this circumstance¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, she tends to be sudden. Anyways, you will keep this a secret to anyone. Not even to the other royal family members.¡±


    Elson frowned in puzzlement. ¡°Why? Even the King?¡±


    ¡°Yes, even the King.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not involved in this order?¡±


    He could understand his confusion. But in the times working under the Princess, he better just listen to her and not think too much about it. There¡¯s a reason she alone made this order and did not tell anyone else. Not even the royal family.


    ¡°It¡¯s the Princess¡¯s alone. Listen, this is your personal mission.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m listening.¡±


    ¡°Pretty soon, the knights may be called to mobilize. To hunt a powerful monster spotted outside the forest or anywhere.¡±


    His eyes widened. ¡°What? Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°I said may. So it may, or may not. She just wants you to know what you should do if it really does happen.¡±


    ¡°How did she even come to think of that happening?¡±


    ¡°Dunno. But she wants you to come with the hunt.¡±


    Rogan genuinely had no idea what led to this. Maybe she did something, or did she see through the enemy? He had no idea at all. No one knows what goes through her mind.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s going to be a problem.¡±


    ¡°Of course. So your main objective is to project His Majesty.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be a monster powerful enough to warrant his help?¡±


    ¡°Not sure. But if he does go, protect him with all your might.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a given, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, still, he must be prioritized. Don¡¯t focus completely on the monster. There could be a chance it won¡¯t be your only problem. So, protect the King. Flee if you must.¡±


    Elson nodded. ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Be on the lookout always. And remember, absolutely don¡¯t tell anyone about this.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Got it.¡± He sighed. ¡°Now this got me worried. Especially that when the empire knights are here.¡±


    ¡°Me too. Even the Princess thinks they¡¯re planning something. We just don¡¯t know what exactly.¡±


    ¡°Could it be that they truly want peace?¡±


    ¡°Nice joke.¡± Rogan chuckled.


    Elson frowned. ¡°... And what will you be doing while I do my task? If it¡¯s going to be dangerous, if something bad is going to happen, I assume you¡¯ll be with the Princess?¡±


    ¡°... She has other orders for me.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Right? I talked against it, but she¡¯s adamant. Saying she could handle it, there¡¯s no need to worry.¡± Rogan scratched the back of his head in frustration. ¡°How am I not going to worry¡­?¡±


    Elson crossed his arms. ¡°... She can fight, she can hold out for a time.¡±


    ¡°Still¡­¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s as strong as an elite knight, if not stronger. She may hide it, but I know. She¡¯ll be fine. But I still hope she gets protection immediately when in danger.¡±


    ¡°I just keep thinking that the two imperial princes are planning something special for her. I mean, you know how she is. She¡¯s, you know, basically a diamond.¡±


    ¡°Then, all we can do is fulfill our roles as knights of the kingdom.¡±


    Rogan sighed. ¡°... Yes¡­¡±


    ***


    Cilas paced through his room, growing impatient, waiting for the usual time for him and his brother to have a meeting in the latter¡¯s room again. This time it was different, though. Cilas was curious and agitated, stemming from his interaction with the Princess earlier.


    He could sense the unease from her. Her restrained smile, her eyes darting around. But she still tried her best to be friendly. He had no idea what happened, but it could be from when Alistor and the Princess went to the garden. There was nothing else, it was the last time they interacted.


    What did Alistor even do to cause that from her?


    He better not haven¡¯t done anything that jeopardized everything.


    What if he did something to her displeasure? Or if it was even worse? She was awfully quiet about it. She didn¡¯t seem to have said anything to the royal family. Then was it not too terrible then? But why was she acting so strangely?


    From the looks of it, she didn¡¯t want to talk about it. More than that, wanting to avoid Alistor when they just appeared to be having a good development in their relationship? Yes, something that shouldn¡¯t happen, happened.


    He must have an explanation for this.


    Thus, when it was time, he quickly headed for his brother¡¯s room and barged the door open with glaring eyes. After closing the door, he stomped towards Alistor who was casually looking out through the window.


    ¡°Why are you being noisy, little brother?¡±


    ¡°The hell with your condescending tone. What happened to you and the Princess yesterday?¡±


    Alistor slowly turned to face him and raised an eyebrow. ¡°What? We ate together.¡±


    ¡°Stop with the crap.¡±


    ¡°Why are you so worked up?¡±


    The way he acted all clueless only served to make Cilas feel more annoyed. He just felt he was hiding something.


    ¡°What did you do?¡±


    ¡°Nothing important happened.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t notice how the Princess has been acting.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°I returned the book I borrowed, we talked. She was acting strange.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°I know you did something that you shouldn¡¯t have.¡±


    Alistor crossed his arms with an exasperated sigh. ¡°As I said, everything¡¯s fine. Nothing happened, right? Then there¡¯s nothing to be concerned about.¡±


    Cilas¡¯s glare intensified, and he took a step forward. ¡°You could have done something to ruin everything we are trying to achieve. You better tell me what it is.¡±


    If Cilas knew what it was, then he could at least prepare himself for it. Or perhaps do something about it, to remedy whatever damage his brother had caused. He shouldn¡¯t even hide something crucial to his ally in this mission. They should be aware of each other¡¯s actions, especially the critical ones. Especially mistakes.


    ¡°What I did, what we did, is none of your business, little brother.¡±


    ¡°Dammit, Alistor.¡± He grabbed his brother''s shirt collar in his anger. ¡°I hope you didn¡¯t do something stupid.¡±


    Alistor¡¯s face grimaced in displeasure and forcefully shoved Cilas¡¯s hand away. ¡°Don¡¯t you fucking dare, you don¡¯t stand a chance against me. As I said, everything¡¯s fine. Did she complain? Did she report anything? Nothing.¡±


    Cilas clicked his tongue. ¡°You¡¯re not telling me the whole truth.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you getting all protective? Yes, protective of her. Ridiculous. Dipping into my sauce.¡±


    ¡°Dipping into your s-sauce?¡± He couldn¡¯t believe he just said that. ¡°Be more respectful, Alistor. She at least deserves that.¡±


    What a repulsive thing to say about her. Cilas was so disgusted that he wanted to punch Alistor in the face. But he just couldn¡¯t. They were in a foreign place. And ultimately, they were allies. Best not to escalate this.


    ¡°Hm. I suppose you¡¯re right. But she¡¯s mine, nonetheless.¡±


    ¡°She isn¡¯t yours.¡±


    ¡°Whatever, little brother. If that¡¯s all you came here for, you can go.¡±


    Cilas clenched his fists as he glared at Alistor, as the latter returned to face the window. They were supposed to be working together on this mission. But he found it hard to coordinate with him. No, it was basically impossible now. Even Alistor didn¡¯t want to work with him anymore.


    Fine then, do whatever you want.


    Alistor was the leader of this mission anyway, he should just let him handle this.


    ¡°Oh right,¡± said Alistor. ¡°They are starting on their side. Better get ready yourself, we could be starting soon.¡±


    ¡°... Right. Just don¡¯t do anything foolish in the meantime.¡±


    ¡°Foolish? Or something that makes you feel jealous.¡±


    Cilas silently fumed. ¡°Don¡¯t make shit up, Alistor.¡±


    With that, not an effort to hide his displeasure, Cilas left the room.


    ***


    I awoke early in the morning, earlier than usual. Which was actually the usual, but then I got into this world where that stopped being the usual. But now I gotta get back to that old usual. So gotta get used to the usual again. Or not, who knows, as usual.


    I felt the time of the thrill was nigh. Very soon, I¡¯ll find out if everything will unfold as I designed it.


    I! The grand architect! I! Who um¡­. The great designer! The player of idiots! And uh¡­ Yeah, I got nothing¡­ Forget it. Anyways, considering that I awoke early, all I could do was sit by the window. To feel the fresh cold breeze, the beautiful view, the beautiful me ¡ª oops, didn¡¯t mean to include myself there. Hehehe.


    A bird landed on the windowsill. I frowned. Birdie, you¡¯re blocking my view. Get the fuck out of the way or I¡¯ll kill you~. As though sensing my killing intent, it flew away. I couldn¡¯t help but smile. Do not disturb me, because, you could say, this was my meditation before it goes. Huh, guess meditations aren¡¯t bullshit, all to their own, I guess.


    Nah, I¡¯m bullshitting.


    Before I knew it, it was time for breakfast, and so I did that with my family. I just have to say, it¡¯s pretty good that we¡¯re eating together and without the guests. That would leave a nasty taste on my tongue. Would be too tiring to try to keep smiling.


    As we got to eat, I was waiting for the sort of news I was looking forward to hearing. But when breakfast came to an end, nothing. Quite disappointing, it¡¯s worrying the grand architect that her designs would fall apart. Get torn apart by the foreman, or the engineer, or whatever¡­ But I guess they need time to start working.


    Hm.


    Sometime after breakfast, I didn''t want to do anything stressful, so I headed for the library. The silent library. My sanctuary. Gonna read some more books. Yeah I have a few in my other room that I haven¡¯t read yet¡­ A few¡¯s putting it mildly, but won¡¯t hurt to get a few more¡­


    On my way there, I stumbled upon the person I didn¡¯t really want to meet right now. But it was inevitable, so I have been expecting this would happen sooner or later. Namely, Alistor, the prick. The fuck that touched me in a way I hated. I, with the most sacred body of all, and he dared touch me.


    Despite my feelings, I hid it all in my soft and innocent face.


    ¡°Princess Estelia,¡± he said with a serious expression.


    ¡°... Prince Alistor.¡±


    Taking a glance at my servants, I sensed their growing tension. Rogan especially had his hand close to his sword, like he was preparing to strike whenever. I wanted to chide them, but now was not the time to do so.


    ¡°Princess¡­ I¡¯ve been meaning to talk to you.¡±


    ¡°I-Is that so? If it is about the incident, I already told you. I have forgiven you.¡±


    Which was bullshit, of course. Forgiveness? For someone as unworthy as him to touch me in such a manner? As if. I am not one to easily forgive, nor did I even ever have the intention of forgiving him.


    ¡°I-I see. Of course. But I still feel bad about it¡­¡± He looked at my servants. So they won¡¯t get the whole idea of what happened, it would appear he was being careful with his words. ¡°I was hoping to do something to make up to you. To make up for my mistake.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Please, there¡¯s no need for you to do such. Bearing in mind your status, you do not have to worry about such things. Please, worry about something that matters more than me.¡±


    He took a step forward. ¡°Don¡¯t say that. You greatly matter to me. You matter, Princess.¡±


    Oh wow, that¡¯s so sweet. That¡¯s a good one, it¡¯s gonna make me blush like a young teen.


    Not.


    Actually, it made me wonder how sincere those words were. I got the feeling that he was just saying those so he could go back to my good sides. No, that¡¯s definitely it. The way he interacted with me, it¡¯s something so off. He was unlike Lucious who had loved me since childhood. The way he interacted with me was different. Unlike Mera who was infatuated with me, which I didn¡¯t mean, but it was also my fault! And then Alistor¡¯s younger brother, Cilas, who was clearly sincere.


    No, perhaps Alistor was sincere in his feelings, somewhat. But he had malevolent intentions. Oh my, how could someone have such evil intentions on me? That¡¯s just bad.


    ¡°I-I¡­¡± I lowered my gaze. ¡°Prince Alistor, t-there are others that matter more.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ But right now, for me, you matter the most.¡±


    I glanced away. He¡¯s just gonna be stubborn about this. What to do, what to do. I didn¡¯t really want him to come to the library. That¡¯s my sanctuary. I didn¡¯t want him to ruin it. Hm. But first, I should keep my servants away, don¡¯t want them to get too passionate about this.


    I turned my head towards them. ¡°If you would please give the two of us a moment of privacy?¡±


    My servants frowned as they looked at each other, hesitant. But it was my order, so they moved away, but still kept watch from afar. Quite a protective bunch, oh well¡­


    I faced Alistor while clasping my hands, giving off a nervous impression. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about what happened¡­ Is it the truth that¡­ that you like, like me?¡±


    He smiled softly. ¡°It¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Like as a friend?¡±


    He chuckled with a shake of his head. ¡°It¡¯s more than a friend.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ I¡­ I don¡¯t know how I should respond.¡±


    ¡°... Perhaps start with being honest about what you feel?¡±


    Really? Then can I start stabbing you in the throat?


    If he offers, I¡¯ll do it, why not? But stabbing would be quite a bit boring, wouldn¡¯t it?


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t know my feelings about this.¡±


    ¡°You have plenty of time to think and process.¡±


    I looked away. I have plenty of time to think and process how to kill you.


    ¡°Yes¡­ That aside, you don¡¯t have to do anything, Prince Alistor. To make up for your mistake. I insist.¡±


    ¡°... Very well¡­ If you say so. I¡¯ve been thinking, would you consider a vacation in the Empire?¡±


    Oh wow, I didn¡¯t expect he would ask such a question. But seriously? You¡¯re planning to invade my kingdom, what¡¯s the point of doing that? Why would I even do that? Fucking prick.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I¡¯ve always been at home. Your empire is so far away.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± He nodded. ¡°You¡¯ll like it there. There are so many things to see, things I want to show you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. But it¡¯s too early to think about such a thing.¡±


    ¡°Really? Hm. Very well. But, if you want to, feel free to tell me.¡±


    I meekly nodded.


    ¡°Then, Princess, where are you going?¡±


    ¡°... Oh, just for personal matters.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°Still thinking about it.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Then, I suppose this is when I¡¯ll excuse myself, Prince Alistor.¡±


    ¡°Uh.¡± He seemed surprised. ¡°Mm, okay. See you then.¡±


    I stepped to the side and gestured for my servants to come. And with that, I left the prince behind and headed straight for my destination. Glad that was over, wew. I don¡¯t like him at all. Don¡¯t want him getting in my way of shopp¡ª browsing¡­ Book browsing.


    Upon arriving at the library, a genuine smile curled on my face. The place was silent, so peaceful. Best place for a serene time, truly. Walking around, Mother didn¡¯t seem to be around. Oh well¡­


    Time to go browsing, to add to my book collection where I¡¯ll only read half.


    ***


    Night came, and the family gathered to have our dinner. The dishes prepared were quite nice, with most I was already familiar with. I¡¯m not one to be choosy though. As long as it''s delicious, I¡¯m fine with it.


    As we ate, Father spoke.


    ¡°I was informed of trouble just outside the capital.¡±


    Mother paused. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s been sightings of a powerful monster running rampant by the road.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s by the forest again?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Are you going?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still being verified, we¡¯ll see sometime tomorrow if I¡¯m leaving. But from what we know, it¡¯s a stonehide.¡±


    ¡°Woah.¡± Estevan lowered his spoon. ¡°One awakened? That is a difficult monster to deal with.¡±


    Stonehide, huh¡­ Sounds strong. From the name, I sort of can tell what it could be. But I never heard of such a monster. Didn¡¯t get mentioned in the books I read. Well, not like I read plenty of books that mention monsters.


    ¡°Stonehide? Isn¡¯t that the monster that mostly sleeps? That hibernates?¡± Eleden asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Father answered. ¡°But it¡¯s not unusual for one to awaken at some point.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, monsters sometimes accidentally stumble on one and end up disturbing them,¡± Estevan added.


    With my growing curiosity, I couldn¡¯t help but ask about it. ¡°What exactly is a stonehide?¡±


    Father smiled. ¡°A stonehide is a four-legged monster, with stones embedded on its body like armor. It¡¯s a fairly big creature, almost as big as the one you saw in the arena.¡±


    Oh damn, rocks for body armor? That¡¯s a difficult opponent.


    ¡°It¡¯s not easy to damage it with its armor. Not only that, despite its size, it¡¯s quite agile. Normally lurks in the Elgion forest, like the rest of the more dangerous monsters.¡±


    ¡°It hibernates?¡±


    ¡°Yes. After a certain amount of time, it awakes and hunts other monsters to eat. After one or a couple, it goes back to sleep. It¡¯s a harmless monster when it isn¡¯t disturbed.¡±


    ¡°Then why shouldn¡¯t we just wait for it to go back to sleep?¡±


    I mean, if it wasn¡¯t included in my plan, and it was just any normal day, it would be safer to just let it be. Considering that it loves to sleep, like me.


    ¡°It normally stays in the forest. And currently it¡¯s wreaking havoc. That¡¯s not a good sign, and it means that it was disturbed.¡±


    ¡°So what if it''s disturbed?¡±


    ¡°If its hibernation is interrupted, it goes crazy. It gets, in simple words, a bad temper. In some cases, it stays in the forest for days as it goes on a rampage. But in rare cases, it ends up outside.¡±


    ¡°Days before it calms down?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Talk about waking up on the bad side of the bed. I mean, kinda understandable. We people often get pissed when we get woken up so suddenly.


    ¡°So if it continues on its rampage¡­¡±


    ¡°We have to deal with it.¡±


    I faintly nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s a powerful monster, Father,¡± said Estevan. ¡°Should I come with? When you go hunting.¡±


    ¡°If I do go, I want you here. We have guests to think about.¡±


    ¡°... Very well.¡±


    ¡°I need you here. Like the hunt before, it will likely take more than a day.¡±


    Estevan nodded.


    ¡°Speaking of guests, isn¡¯t it tomorrow we¡¯re planning on telling the guests our decision?¡± asked Mother.


    ¡°Oh yes¡­¡± answered Father. ¡°So I shouldn¡¯t go, after all?¡±


    ¡°You should go, Father,¡± I said. ¡°If you¡¯re there, we can expect fewer casualties than necessary.¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll tell them we¡¯re delaying our response. They¡¯ll understand you have to take care of a monster.¡±


    ¡°... I suppose.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­ I do hope I don¡¯t need to go and the monster goes back to the forest.¡±


    It going back to the forest would be unlikely. But this was going according to plan. And I couldn¡¯t help but smile inside. The grand architect¡¯s design is coming to light!


    Once dinner was done, I went back to my room. Time to sleep, you know. But I¡¯m still not going to sleep. After saying goodnight to my servants, I made sure to lock my door. I also locked the window and closed the curtains.


    I approached one of the drawers and crouched down. On the lowest one, I pulled the drawer all the way out and carefully placed it down on the floor. Sticking my hand into the empty drawer opening on the cabinet, I pulled out the bag hidden underneath.


    My secret stash.


    I walked to my bed and removed the bag¡¯s contents. My daggers. Hm, I wouldn¡¯t be using my full set of gear. I¡¯m going to be less conspicuous.


    I grabbed one.


    Now then, which of you beauties are coming with me?


    Are you sharp enough? Surely I have not neglected you much?


    Oh, thinking about it, I might finally get to use my Armament Magic on you.


    Ooooh, so excited.


    And thus, I made my preparations and some practice.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 119: Assassination Mission Begins

    Updates on the monster didn¡¯t arrive before noon. Apparently, the monster was rampaging again at the nearest settlement. From what I heard, it was around a kilometer away from the city. Still, it was quite surprising the monster got that far already.


    They will still need to track it down, though. Hunting it would definitely take some time. Hm. Oh well, gotta do what we gotta do.


    In light of this monster situation, an emergency meeting was made with the two imperial princes. We gathered in the king¡¯s office with my family, and the two princes. My father explained the situation to them.


    ¡°Considering the situation, I¡¯m afraid I will have to postpone giving our final answer. We can¡¯t just rush things, to give our answer and go for the hunt.¡±


    The two princes looked at each other.


    ¡°It is completely fine, Your Majesty,¡± said Alistor. ¡°The matter is grave, we understand.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°We wish you good hunting, Your Majesty,¡± said Cilas.


    ¡°Let us meet again soon, and by then, we¡¯ll hear your decision.¡±


    ¡°Any expected time of your return, Your Majesty?¡± Cilas asked.


    ¡°Can¡¯t be sure, tomorrow, or the next.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    With that, my father began preparing for the hunt. I promptly left everyone and walked around the palace until I reached the outside, where the knights were also making preparations. I watched them from afar while taking note of those that weren¡¯t moving out.


    After a little more scouting, as I thought, Father was only taking less than half of the knights, and only a few elite knights at that. I assume he¡¯s planning on taking some knights assigned wherever in the city. That was fine.


    Knowing this, it actually made me feel relieved. My work would have been doubled in exterminating the pests that come out later. As for my preparations? I¡¯m ready. Quite excited, actually. Been a while. But I¡¯m hoping this will be a work in the park type of thing.


    Otherwise, I¡¯ll be fucked. Don¡¯t want that.


    My magic has been resting for some time now, so my body was feeling way better. I have more leeway now, sort of say. Just in case things go south.


    I heard footsteps coming at me, I turned to see it was Alistor.


    ¡°Worried about your knights?¡± he casually asked.


    I meekly nodded. ¡°Worried about the knights and my father¡­¡±


    ¡°You really are very compassionate.¡±


    I furrowed my brows. ¡°Is that something to really be lauded about? Is it not normal?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s special to meet someone compassionate.¡±


    ¡°If being compassionate is special¡­ then something is wrong with the world.¡±


    He looked at me with widened eyes. ¡°Yes¡­ Perhaps there is something wrong with it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about the world¡­ but I hope there is kindness everywhere, and in all things.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ may be too hopeful.¡±


    ¡°Even so, it can''t hurt to hope.¡±


    If everyone was just so kind and a bunch of good people, maybe I wouldn''t have to be stressed right now. But, it wasn¡¯t the case, so gotta live in it.


    And yes, can¡¯t hurt to have hope. I always have hope, you know. Hope to kill this bastard beside me!


    ¡°If you would excuse me, Prince Alistor. I have to wish my father good luck.¡±


    ¡°... Of course.¡±


    I made my way to the front doors of the palace. When I arrived, he wasn¡¯t still here, so I waited a few minutes by the door. And when Father did arrive, I approached him with a smile. He was wearing his full set of armor, a sword hung on his waist.


    ¡°Father¡­ Be careful out there. Please keep your safety a top priority.¡±


    He chuckled and gently patted my head. ¡°Of course, daughter. You take care while I¡¯m gone.¡±


    I nodded and stepped back, watching the rest of my family wish my father safety and good luck. Once that was done, the knights gathered to their carriages. I glanced at Mother, and as always, every time Father went, she always had that worried face, like she was holding herself from crying.


    I resisted the urge to sigh.


    As the knights moved out, I caught sight of Elson joining his crew. He looked back at me. I smiled at him, and he faintly nodded back. Do your task well, Elson. For all we know, they might try to attack Father in the back.


    A moment later, they all left.


    ***


    I was back in my own office ¡ª yeah I¡¯m gonna call this my office ¡ª with me were my servants, as always.


    ¡°So, it¡¯s really happening, huh?¡± Rogan remarked.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready for what is to come.¡±


    Mera just silently stood, clearly nervous. Made me wonder if I should have kept it from her. But, she¡¯ll do fine.


    ¡°How about you, Your Highness?¡± asked Vernon.


    ¡°Fine. But I¡¯m so nervous and scared that I almost want to cry~.¡±


    Rogan frowned, yeah, looked like they didn¡¯t believe me at all. Oh well¡­ I don¡¯t like what¡¯s going to happen, a dangerous situation where people could die. But it can¡¯t be avoided. Whether they initiated their plans under their own terms, or mine, I would rather have the latter. At least it¡¯s in a controlled environment. Yes, all that mattered was it was all controlled.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Otherwise, it would have been distasteful.


    I sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t overthink it. Just do your job, and everything should be fine.¡±


    Let¡¯s not get pessimistic or anything.


    ¡°Oh yes, Sir Rogan, during my dinner, you¡¯re free to retrieve your spear.¡±


    Now, all we have to do is wait for the time.


    Good luck my dear servants. Don¡¯t fail.


    ***


    Night has fallen, and darkness has engulfed the world. The palace servants have gone back to their quarters to rest for the night. Among them was Mera who nervously sat down on her bed, now in her sleepwear. With her were her fellow maids, preparing to go to sleep.


    She was feeling cold, not because of the temperature, but because of knowing what was to come. And she clasped her hands together, to keep her hands warm, and to pray to the gods.


    ¡°You alright, Mera?¡± asked her friend, Macey. ¡°You¡¯ve been out of it since earlier.¡±


    Mera forced a smile. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, just thinking about something. No big deal.¡±


    ¡°You got overworked or something?¡± Ellie grinned teasingly.


    ¡°Maybe.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s why you need to sleep. So let¡¯s get some sleep.¡±


    Following Ellie¡¯s suggestion, Mera laid her back on her bed. The others turned off their lamps, Mera was the last.


    Meanwhile, the princess¡¯s personal knight was patrolling the palace corridors. The floor where the royals sleep. Or to be precise, nearby the person he was supposed to protect. In his hand was his favored weapon, the spear.


    And as he walked, he came across one knight assigned to patrol the palace.


    ¡°Hey, Rogan,¡± the knight called. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°Why? Can¡¯t I be here?¡± He casually grinned.


    ¡°Well, it isn¡¯t your job to patrol, right?¡±


    ¡°Oh well, you know how it is. The King is out, and with him some of our knights. So I¡¯ve been thinking of keeping guard for a while.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see. Yes, I think it would be nice. But you have to be up early tomorrow, you know.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s alright.¡±


    In another section of the building was the butler of the princess. He walked around the corridor next to the king and queen¡¯s room. He checked the decorations, making sure they were clean. But of course, his main task was to guard his VIP.


    Being one of the most trusted men in the palace, the passing knight didn¡¯t question his presence. But he still spoke with the knight.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, I will help keep watch of the palace.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    Vernon kept a close watch of the monarchs¡¯ room, waiting for the moment it begins.


    All the Princess¡¯s servants were in place.


    But it took some time before the enemy forces acted. In the first imperial prince¡¯s room, Alistor, a man in a dark outfit entered his room through the window, just before midnight struck. His face and body was covered all over, except for the gap in the eyes. A couple of daggers hung behind his waist.


    He genuflected before the prince and lowered his head. ¡°Your Imperial Highness, we are ready and await your command.¡±


    Alistor sheathed his sword by his waist, and patted his leather armor, making sure his clothes were secure. ¡°Begin.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lord.¡±


    The man in black exited through the window with agile movements.


    Some time later, the imperial army around the palace began to move out. They spread out and engaged the soldiers on guard. Shouts erupted as battle ensued. At the same time, enemy forces scaled up the wall as the guards within were distracted.


    Some stabbed swords into the walls to climb up. A few mages used ice magic to lift their forces. While the others waited for the gates to open, and it did.


    ¡°We¡¯re under attack!¡±


    ¡°Kill them!¡±


    ¡°Die Wisterian fucks!


    Such screams of disdain were heard all over.


    As for the Wisterian knights, they were not all terribly prepared. In fact, some were still on guard. As part of the plans in anticipation of the foreign envoys¡¯ arrival, not all knights were to be asleep. Half of them will stay awake after a certain amount of time, and be replaced by the next group.


    That¡¯s why, just as they realized they were under attack, they haven¡¯t yet suffered any casualty. And they immediately woken up the rest of the knights.


    One elite awake was a knight with one hand, holding a sword at the enemy before him.


    ¡°Alzen!¡± shouted a knight. ¡°Behind you!¡±


    The one handed elite swiftly stepped back and swung his mana filled sword, shooting an arc of light at the enemy knight. But the attack was blocked by a barrier. Another enemy came at him, but his allied knight intercepted the opponent.


    At that moment, more Wisterian knights joined in to help.


    Alzen faced an enemy knight with a strong glare. ¡°You disappoint me. Attacking us at night. Looks like you imperial knights have no honor.¡±


    ¡°Heh, it doesn''t matter. As long as we succeed.¡±


    ¡°Hm. Either way, fine with me. I¡¯ve been itching to kill one of you.¡±


    They clashed blades. But Alzen has grown used to his new disposition and regained most of his prowess. And after several exchanges of attacks, he slashed through the enemy¡¯s chest. With the enemy still standing, he promptly stabbed him in the throat, without a hint of mercy.


    Just as he was searching for a new target, his younger brother, Alan, shouted at him.


    ¡°Brother! The palace!¡±


    He swiftly turned to him. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The palace needs security. The royals are in there!¡±


    Alzen clicked his tongue.


    Of course, holding us here as they go raid the palace.


    He must stop them before it was too late. With the king absent, the palace residence was in incredible danger. ¡°All knights! Charge through them! Go to the palace quickly! Secure the palace!¡±


    The Wisterian knights responded with loud shouts.


    Now, as for the case of the beloved princess.


    Just as the attack was starting, she had already worn quite a stylish outfit. Expensively made dark trousers, long white and black long-sleeved blouse, and dark boots. She didn¡¯t appear like she was going on a battle at all. All casual. Her outfit was, in fact, one of the gifts given to her by her lovely cousin, Mizia.


    Indeed, she wasn¡¯t wearing her combat outfit. It was not the place and time for such.


    She hummed a melody as she tied her hair around, serving only a single hair stick to hold them. She faintly heard the ruckus from the outside. But she didn¡¯t mind it for the time being, and picked up her glove, slipping it into her left hand. This pair of gloves were part of her combat outfit.


    Just as she was about to wear the right side, she paused and looked at the closed window. There were faint sounds of tapping on the wall, so faint that the common ears wouldn''t even notice it. She narrowed her eyes. She was safe. Windows in the palace were secure and would be hard to break into, given the metal parts that go along the glass. Especially more secure when it was for the royal family. None should be able to enter through the window if closed.


    She slipped her right glove in. After which she pulled a plain dagger strapped behind her waist.


    Nonchalantly, she drew the curtains open. She glanced upward before unlocking and completely opening the window. She stepped on the windowsill and faced up. Swiftly, she stabbed her blade into flesh.


    Someone was scaling the wall above her window, hiding in the shadows. Perhaps watching over her or keeping watch at the surroundings. But now that man had a dagger stuck to his throat. He never expected it. He couldn¡¯t even let out a sound in response.


    The moment that dagger struck, the Princess grabbed and pulled him by the collar as she stepped back into her room floor. With her Physical Enhancement technique, she easily dangled the man covered in a dark outfit at the edge. He squirmed, but he was weak.


    His eyes wide as he looked at the person that struck him.


    ¡°Fucking ninja¡­¡± she muttered.


    The ninja tried to scream, but he couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°That was rude of you.¡±


    Her crimson eyes were pools of empty emotion. Her gaze regarded him with insignificance. The man could not believe it. He was trained with the hardest training in his art. Deadly and silent. To be found like this was beyond absurd.


    ¡°No peeking.¡±


    She switched holding him to her left hand. Her right hand reached out for the dagger stuck to his throat.


    ¡°Oh my, are you embarrassed? Don¡¯t be. You were just never good.¡±


    She twisted her blade, and the man¡¯s eyes shifted upward as more blood left his body, and suffered tremendous pain as his flesh was being shredded. His life was slowly, but surely, fading away. A little push, and he was done. She pulled out the dagger and rubbed the blade on the man¡¯s clothes clean.


    ¡°Begone.¡± Just as her left hand let go, a blast of wind emerged from it, sending the body hurling away to who knows in the darkness.


    ¡°Look at him go~¡­¡±


    Satisfied, she locked the window close and drew the curtains in.


    ¡°Alright.¡± She sheathed her clean blade back in.


    Begin Operation, uh¡­ fuck it. Just execute the targets¡­

 Vol. 3 Chapter 120: A Night of Execution (Part 1)

    Rogan heard a commotion coming from afar. With furrowed brows, he held his spear with both hands. At the moment, he wore only leather armor beneath his formal clothes. So he had to be careful in the upcoming fight.


    Crap, it really happened, huh¡­?


    As much as he disliked a battle happening in the palace, there was no avoiding it. Still, fighting in a confined space as this was too dangerous. There was a chance they could be outnumbered and get cornered. More dangerous, especially for the royal family.


    He met eyes with the nearby patrolling knight, who was confused about what¡¯s happening.


    ¡°Keep guard here, secure the hallway.¡±


    ¡°Rogan, enemies?¡±


    ¡°Definitely.¡±


    Just then, they heard shouting. ¡°We¡¯re under attack! The Empire is attacking!¡± It was one of their allies, trying to alert everyone.


    The knight with him drew his sword. ¡°Dammit, I should have expected they would do something so devious. Rogan, you should go to the Princess.¡±


    ¡°Later, I have an order I should follow.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°Stay on guard.¡± A few of the knights patrolling in the area rushed towards them. ¡°I¡¯ll be going to Prince Eleden. You come with me.¡± He pointed to one, then to another one. ¡°You go and secure Prince Estevan. Make sure he¡¯s good. Tell him to meetup by the stairs. The rest, keep guard of the corridors and kill as many attackers as you can!¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡±


    As the knights moved out, Rogan rushed to Eleden¡¯s room and loudly knocked on the door. ¡°Prince! This is Rogan! Open the door, we¡¯re under attack!¡± Rogan could hear clashing nearby.


    They¡¯re moving fast.


    The door opened, Eleden emerged still in his sleepwear. His eyes were wide in agitation. ¡°Who¡¯s attacking?¡±


    ¡°The Empire.¡±


    ¡°What? They would attack us like this?¡±


    ¡°Apparently. Let¡¯s go, we need to join in with the others.¡±


    ¡°Wait! You shouldn¡¯t even be here! You should be with Estelia.¡±


    ¡°I know. But she wants me here.¡±


    As much as Rogan wanted to be by her side at this moment to fulfill his role, he had to do what he was commanded to do. And he had to admit, it felt terrible not doing his duty in times of crisis.


    Eleden¡¯s eyes widened in surprise and confusion. ¡°What? No, that can¡¯t be.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll rendezvous on the ground. Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll protect you.¡± Rogan nodded at the knight with him.


    Just as they were about to go. A couple of strangers charged through the corridor. One was wearing an imperial knight¡¯s armor, while the other was wearing leather armor. The former had a sword, while the latter held a curved blade in each hand.


    They got through, crap.


    ¡°There¡¯s one prince,¡± said the enemy knight.


    The one in leather armor sheathed his one weapon and pulled out a dagger, swiftly throwing it towards Eleden. Rogan gritted his teeth and he tracked the blade piercing through the air. As it was about to go past him, he spun his spear. The bottom tip parried the dagger away.


    ¡°Not on my watch.¡± Rogan seamlessly switched to his battle stance.


    ¡°Woah, aren¡¯t you the princess¡¯s personal knight?¡± the enemy knight asked.


    ¡°He is?¡± asked the other.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s he doing here?¡±


    Rogan grinned. ¡°I¡¯m here to shove this spear up your ass.¡±


    The pair of enemies grimaced.


    Rogan stepped back a little and whispered to the prince. ¡°Get ready to run with me.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Rogan and his fellow knight readied themselves. Rogan used his magic, lightning cackled at the tip of his spear, and he instantly thrust forward, firing a bolt of lightning at his enemies. At the same time, he shouted.


    ¡°Go!¡±


    And they began fleeing.


    The enemy knight cast his barrier spell to protect the two of them from the lightning. Once cleared, the light armored enemy sprinted towards the prince with agile steps, he threw another dagger at his target.


    Rogan blocked the incoming dagger easily, but the dual wielder swung his blades at him. The elite knight swung his spear to deflect the attacks. But the man immediately regained his momentum and started swinging against Rogan, attacks imbued with Armament Magic, causing a splash of mana with every contact.


    At the same time, Rogan¡¯s ally engaged with the hostile knight.


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    The prince paused. ¡°Rogan!¡±


    ¡°Hold!¡± Rogan leaped back. ¡°Don¡¯t go without protection!¡± He waved his spear sideways, and an arc of lightning shot out towards his opponent.


    The dual wielder leaped up, avoiding the magical attack by the hair before landing and again charging towards Rogan. He flipped his curved weapon and as Rogan engaged, he hooked the knight''s spear and pulled sideward. Simultaneously, he raised his other weapon to bring down upon the spearman.


    Rogan set his other hand free from his weapon and accumulated mana into it. Before the enemy¡¯s weapon could reach him, he thrust his hand forward, and a white blast erupted, pushing the enemy into the wall. Rogan gripped his spear tightly and quickly pierced his lightning coated spear into the enemy¡¯s chest. The smell of burnt flesh permeated the air.


    He pulled back his spear, and the enemy¡¯s corpse dropped to the floor.


    ¡° ¡ª No!¡±


    Rogan instantly turned the moment he heard his comrade shout. He was blown away, and the enemy knight rushed and was coming closer to the prince, his weapon at the ready the moment he was in range. Rogan swiftly raised his spear. As he did, he charged it up with lightning, and after drawing it back enough, he threw the spear towards the enemy.


    ***


    The door of the queen¡¯s room opened. ¡°Vernon, what is going on?¡± she asked the butler standing in her doorway.


    ¡°My queen, I have come to protect you. The palace is currently under attack.¡±


    Her eyes widened in shock. ¡°Who would do that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the Empire.¡±


    She nervously placed a hand on her chest. ¡°They could commit such an act in our home?¡±


    Vernon heard clashing nearby. ¡°Apologies, Your Majesty, but it is dangerous here in the palace. We need to reunite with the knights outside.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± She nodded. ¡°But my Estelia, is Rogan protecting her?¡±


    Vernon debated whether he should tell that Rogan was somewhere other than with the Princess. Her knowing and getting worried might complicate things. He wasn¡¯t instructed what to answer to her, nor did the Princess even bring it up. Did she not think that her family would be concerned about her first?


    ¡°Follow me, Your Majesty. Do not leave my side.¡±


    Vernon moved out as the queen followed closely beside him. But she kept staring at Vernon as if waiting for an answer.


    ¡°Vernon. My daughter. You didn¡¯t even answer that you don¡¯t know.¡±


    Vernon subtly sighed. He had hoped not to answer that. Lying was an option, but he didn¡¯t want to lie to the Queen. So he had no other choice but to honestly answer.


    ¡°Sir Rogan has his own task to take care of.¡±


    ¡°What? W-What do you mean his own task? His task is to protect my daughter.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. But it is Her Highness¡¯s command. As I am here now.¡±


    ¡°What? No! Go to my daughter, the knights here will protect me.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do that.¡± Vernon nodded at the two knights that were with him, and together they escorted the Queen.


    ¡°Vernon!¡± she shouted in a strained voice, her eyes were full of absolute worry and fear. ¡°Leave me and go protect my daughter. That is an order!¡±


    He felt pity seeing her this distraught. It must be terrible knowing that your own daughter had no one to protect her. That even her own servants were somewhere else, and not by her side. Vernon wanted to join the Princess¡¯s side, however, she trusted him in protecting her mother. He cannot abandon his mission.


    ¡°With all due respect, Your Majesty, I am Princess Estelia¡¯s direct servant. Her orders take priority.¡±


    ¡°Why?! W-Why is she doing this?!¡± She sounded like she was about to break into tears. ¡°If only Leodoule was here¡­¡±


    Vernon glanced at her with a soft gaze. ¡°The Princess is not incapable, Your Majesty. She¡¯ll be alright. We¡¯ll meet her on the ground.¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡ª Watch out.¡± Vernon promptly cast a palm shield in front, protecting them from an incoming magical arc.


    A group of imperial forces have arrived. A couple of knights, and one that had no weapons whatsoever. Vernon was especially wary of that latter one. Having no weapons in sight could only mean that he was a mage.


    ¡°You knight, target the mage,¡± said Vernon. ¡°The two of us stay close with the Queen. Clear the path.¡±


    Two enemy knights advanced forward. One Wisterian knight slipped through and engaged the mage. The mage fired a lightning bolt, but the knight shielded himself and fired an arc of light. The mage also shielded himself, and stepped back, before continuing sending magic, flames, lightning, and plain magical attacks.


    Vernon faced the knight coming at the Queen. The enemy shot his slash of light, which Vernon momentarily blocked with his shield before taking a step forward, getting a little closer to the enemy. The enemy swung down his blade, but the butler shifted his body to the side, evading the attack.


    Using the full power of his Physical Enhancement technique, he swiftly grabbed the knight¡¯s wrist, crumpling his armor. Instantly, he drew back his other hand and punched the knight, sending him flying away into the wall. The knight groaned in pain.


    It was at that moment that Vernon sensed another strike coming from somewhere. With his enhanced body, he moved almost instantaneously behind the Queen and extended his hand. He caught the object flying mid-air by the hilt, it was a dagger.


    The Queen gasped as the tip of the blade was only a couple of inches away from her face. Not only that, there appeared to be liquid on the blade. Green liquid.


    ¡°Doused in poison,¡± Vernon murmured. He shifted his eyes towards the other end of the hallway, where they just came through.


    There was a man in a dark outfit, their faces covered, leaving only a gap for their eyes. One Vernon could easily handle, but then another arrived. Vernon swiftly threw back the dagger, but his target evaded. Spreading apart, the two assassins each threw a pair of daggers.


    Vernon cast a palm shield, blocking them. But one got past the very edge of his shield, so he quickly grabbed it by the hilt as it passed by. He swiftly threw it back, taking one assassin by surprise, and thus hitting him in the chest. As the blade was poisoned, he could consider that assassin taken care of.


    Annoyed, the other assassin decided to change his method of attack and drew two daggers. He swiftly charged towards the Queen, but of course Vernon was in his way. As the assassin lashed out, Vernon skillfully avoided his attacks.


    When there was finally an opening, he flicked the assassin¡¯s wrist with the side of his hand. With the strength he had, he easily crushed the bone. The assassin suppressed a scream, and Vernon tightly gripped the enemy¡¯s hand holding the other dagger, and he struck him in the chest. His fist dug deep, he could feel the bones crack and crumbling. The assassin wheezed.


    ¡°Die!¡± suddenly an enemy knight shouted from behind.


    Vernon turned towards the sound to see the knight he faced earlier coming in closer to the Queen.


    No!


    Vernon quickly moved to stop the knight. But the sword, he didn¡¯t know if he could stop it before it reached the Queen. He must go faster. He must not let her die. Even if the price was to be his life, so be it.


    He was resolved to do what he must. But then a sizable bird made of bluish light emerged and crashed into the incoming knight, blowing him away. Vernon immediately stood in front of the Queen, who had her hand extended forward.


    ¡°I-I can help you watch your back,¡± said the Queen.


    Vernon was aware that she was capable of magic, but he feared that she wasn¡¯t trained for fighting.


    The Queen continued, ¡°I can also deploy a shield for myself, but I wouldn¡¯t be able to support you.¡±


    Vernon looked at the surroundings. The enemy mage was finally slain, and the Wisterian knight immediately went after the knight that got hit by the Queen¡¯s magic, and plunged his sword into the enemy knight¡¯s heart. Then he proceeded to help the other Wisterian knight, who was already wounded, slashed on his torso.


    ¡°If we¡¯re in a fight, please protect yourself first and foremost, Your Majesty. Don¡¯t mind us. Your life is more important.¡±


    If she were to lower her shield to attack, Vernon doubted if she could react quickly enough to an incoming attack to cast her barrier. It was better if she were constantly protected while her warriors were fighting.


    She cast her gaze downward. ¡°Very well¡­¡±


    And the enemy knight was defeated. The smell of blood filled the air, the floor stained crimson.


    ¡°We should go onward before the enemies find us again.¡±

 Vol. 3 Chapter 121: A Night of Execution (Part 2)

    The second prince, Estevan, cut down a light armored enemy. He felt a little less protected in his sleepwear. There was just no time to change into something decent. With him were a couple of knights defending him.


    He was trying to break through the line of enemies to continue ahead. But he surmised he must be one of the priority targets considering the sheer number of enemies coming his way to kill him. One knight came to him to convey Rogan¡¯s words, to meet by the stairs. He guessed that would be where he¡¯ll meet the rest of his family.


    ¡°Die, prince!¡± An enemy knight came charging towards him.


    Estevan parried the incoming blade, and simultaneously extended his hand to cast Palm Shield, violently pushing the enemy knight back. While the enemy staggered, Estevan filled his blade with mana and shot a subsequent pair of magical arcs against the knight. The slashing attack easily cut through the armor, and lashed his flesh.


    Estevan panted as he watched his enemy collapse to the blood-stained floor. He looked around at the battles, his knights fighting, more enemies coming to kill him, and a few more knights coming to defend him, but his thoughts still ended up to his family. He believed that Eleden could more or less handle himself, especially with the knights, but what about his mother and his young dear sister?


    Estevan used his Armament Magic again, and fired multiple arcs of light towards the incoming enemies. Some got injured, while some evaded. He charged forward and joined in to help one allied knight, slashing the sides of an enemy, giving the friendly knight a chance to land a killing blow.


    A mage stepped in and fired a ball of fire at Estevan. The prince cast a wide barrier to protect himself from the spell. As the flames clashed with his barrier, two dark outfitted enemies emerged from the rear and threw daggers at him.


    ¡°Look out!¡± A Wisterian knight stepped in behind Estevan and cast a shield of his own, blocking the incoming daggers. He noticed the blades were dipped in liquid. ¡°Careful, it¡¯s poisoned.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Estevan thought hard about how he should proceed. He looked at his surroundings, and he saw a Wisterian knight get cut down. It upset him. He knew that knight. But there was no time to grieve just yet. ¡°We¡¯re getting surrounded.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Highness. I just hope we¡¯ll get help soon.¡±


    ¡°I doubt it, everyone has their hands full.¡± He took a deep breath. ¡°We need to reach the stairs, the palace is becoming a hot zone. We need to reunite with our forces. So, let¡¯s push forward.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    There was one thing he realized facing these people from the empire. They weren¡¯t as strong as the elf he faced in the city. Facing that elf, he realized how much he was lacking compared to the enemies that threatened his sister¡¯s life. And that was why he has trained twice harder than he had before every time he had an opportunity to do so. And he had plenty of opportunities.


    As he maintained his shield, he poured mana into his sword. ¡°On my go, move aside.¡±


    The knight glanced at Estevan¡¯s sword and nodded. ¡°Understood.¡±


    Estevan took in a deep breath while watching the other knights in combat. The moment they were having an advantage over their enemy, even slightly, the prince gave his signal. ¡°GO!¡±


    The knight behind him promptly moved aside, while Estevan simultaneously waved his sword sideways. The emerging arc was blindingly bright, and so wide that it reached the edges of the hallway, even cleaving a bit through the wall. Blinded and surprised by the fast approaching light, the enemies at the rear, including the assassins, were unable to respond immediately, and were torn in half while others didn¡¯t come out unscathed.


    That momentary distraction gave the prince and his group a chance to charge through.


    ¡°Move! Break through! Slay everyone that stands in your way!¡± the prince shouted as he ran forward.


    He cut through one light armored enemy on the way. The other knights that were out of the loop, or otherwise blinded by the same light, started following the prince.


    On the way, Estevan either had to cut down an enemy, and often didn''t kill them, or defend himself with his shield. He had developed at a fair degree ever since he fought an enemy out of his league. Perhaps even almost catching up to his father. And that was one thing the enemy, the empire, failed to anticipate. One of the many things, in fact.


    And Estevan can never be prouder of what he had achieved. However, despite this, he had a feeling that he was not still a match for the elf. No, that was the truth.


    Humanity will be hard-pressed in matching up to the abilities, to the power, to the potential, the mystic race possesses. Even if a knight like Estevan would improve, so thus will the race of mystic. Humanity could never hope to match the potential of the mystic race, the magical people blessed by the gods.


    Eventually, they reached the proximity of the staircase. At the same time, one group arrived. It was Eleden and Rogan¡¯s group. Estevan¡¯s eyes widened seeing the princess¡¯s personal knight with the first prince.


    He was about to ask, but more enemies popped up. The allied knights engaged with them first as Estevan reunited with Eleden and Rogan.


    ¡°Rogan! What are you doing here?!¡± Estevan couldn¡¯t help but raise his voice, agitated.


    ¡°Y-Your Highness, to protect the Crown Prince.¡±


    Estevan couldn¡¯t believe his ears. ¡°But you¡¯re her knight!¡±


    ¡°She gave me an order. To protect Prince Eleden.¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡± Estevan glanced at Eleden. The latter looked pretty troubled himself, conflicted about this.


    Just then, another group arrived. It was the Queen. Smiling in happiness, their mother rushed to her sons as her guards protected her. Among them was Vernon, Estelia¡¯s butler.


    Estevan fell into shock and distress. He could not understand why even the butler was not with her lady.


    ¡°Mother,¡± called Eleden. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alright.¡±


    ¡°Thanks to Vernon and the knights.¡±


    Estevan shook his head. ¡°If you¡¯re both here, then who is guarding my sister?!¡±


    ¡°There is no time, we must leave the building,¡± said Vernon.


    Estevan tightened his grip on his sword. ¡°I¡¯m going to Estelia.¡±


    Estevan was about to make a run for it, but Rogan grabbed him on the arm. ¡°Your Highness, we have a plan. We¡¯ll meet with the Princess on the ground.¡±


    ¡°What plan? Who¡¯s plan?¡±


    ¡°Hers.¡±


    Estevan deeply frowned. ¡°Where exactly are we supposed to be meeting her?¡±


    ¡°She said to meet on the entryways. We must act accordingly. Believe us.¡±


    Estevan clenched his fist. He promised to himself that he would protect Estelia no matter the cost. He won¡¯t make the same mistake the last time he hesitated. He won¡¯t hold back in using his sword to protect her.


    But if she planned for this, should he act as what she wanted? Or do what he wanted?


    ¡°We must go,¡± said Vernon as he cast a shield to protect the Queen from an incoming dagger.


    ¡°Prince!¡± exclaimed Rogan.


    ¡° ¡ª Alright, we¡¯ll go.¡± Estevan has made his choice.


    ***


    Mera was with her fellow maids when they realized the commotion from outside. On the other side of the door.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Macey nervously asked.


    The palace floor trembled slightly.


    ¡°I think we¡¯re under attack¡­¡± said Mera.


    ¡°I swear if it¡¯s that accursed empire!¡± Ellie made no effort to hide her disdain.


    ¡°Are we going to d-die?¡± another maid asked in a frightened tone.


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    ¡°How could they attack us like this?¡± said another.


    ¡°They¡¯re going to come for us,¡± one whimpered.


    Mera worriedly glanced at her coworkers. They all were of noble birth, the empire definitely wouldn¡¯t mind wiping them out here and now. There were some trying to keep it all together, while others were either trembling, or were on the brink of tears. Never did Mera ever imagine something like this could ever happen. To this palace at the center of the kingdom.


    ¡°Are we just going to stay here?¡± Ellie warily asked.


    ¡°W-Where are we s-supposed to go? E-Enemies are outside!¡±


    ¡°Alright, Macey. Calm down.¡±


    Macey tried taking a deep breath. ¡°I-I can¡¯t.¡± She closed her eyes.


    ¡°Panicking won¡¯t do anything good.¡±


    ¡°I know that¡­¡±


    Mera worriedly looked at her friends. She wasn¡¯t as frantic like the others, for she was expecting something like this would happen. No, she knew something like this would happen when the Princess said it would when the king leaves the palace. Hiding the truth made her feel a bit guilty.


    That being said, she was still feeling nervous.


    Just then, there was a big loud bang on the door. Everyone silently stared at the door, concerned about who would be on the other side. Another bang again. Judging from how violent it was, no one friendly. Another bang, and the maids yelped.


    And finally the door blasted open.


    ¡°Oh? Would you look at that? We got a lot of beauties here,¡± said an imperial knight as he stepped inside. A sword in his hand.


    ¡°Some kind of servants¡¯ or maids¡¯ quarters, huh?¡± Another in light armor entered.


    ¡°Are we killing them?¡±


    ¡°Guess so. Let¡¯s leave the main targets to the others.¡±


    ¡°Such a waste of goods.¡±


    ¡°Not the place for that.¡±


    ¡°Really? I beg to differ.¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    As the two imperials conversed, Ellie slowly approached Macey.


    ¡°Use your magic, beat them up,¡± she whispered.


    ¡°W-What? But I¡¯m not that strong.¡±


    ¡°Just do it. Not like we have any other choice. But wait for the others.¡±


    Ellie then stealthily signaled the other maids, waving her hands like casting a spell gesture. The ones who could cast shook their heads, hesitating and afraid. But Ellie bit her lip and cocked her head to the enemies, giving the maids a tough look, as if saying just fucking do it.


    Apparently with no other choice, the maids decided to comply.


    Ellie counted down with her fingers. When it reached zero, she pointed her hand at the enemy.


    Various kinds of spells fired out from the maids capable of casting.


    ¡°What the¡ª!¡± the knight exclaimed.


    Macey¡¯s attack of plain mana formed into a bolt of magic. Caught off guard by the sudden resistance from measly maids, the enemy in light armor failed to protect himself, and he was blown off the room back through the door.


    The enemy knight, however, protected himself with a barrier. Regardless, the barrage of magical attacks, along with a couple of fire spells, kept on coming.


    ¡°You bitch!¡±


    They didn¡¯t expect this. Even maids in the Empire were not capable of magic. Part of the reason was because they could pose danger, and mixed with them were commoners. The imperial castle does not fully trust their servants. And never would.


    The enemy knight couldn¡¯t casually lower his barrier, otherwise he¡¯ll get hit. He could probably take it, but he would be wounded. As if he would let such a humiliating thing happen because of some maids.


    The other imperial behind him slowly got up, gritting his teeth in anger and glaring at Macey.


    ¡°I¡¯ll fucking kill you ¡ª¡± A blade pierced through his chest.


    A Wisterian knight violently pulled out his sword before pointing it at the enemy knight.


    ¡°Stay away from them.¡±


    The imperial knight clicked his tongue, and he readied his sword. He was still being bombarded by spells, while an enemy knight had appeared from the rear. He deliberated on what to do to escape the predicament. He poured mana into his sword, but maintained his shield. The moment the Wisterian knight stepped into the room, he swung his sword with one hand, unleashing a magical slash. An attack that the Wisterian evaded, and as he did, he sent an arc of his own. Without any much time to properly respond, the imperial knight blocked the slash with his sword, nicking his blade a bit.


    With the imperial in reach, the Wisterian knight swung his sword and cut off the enemy¡¯s arm through the elbow.


    At the same time, Ellie shouted. ¡°Hold fire!¡±


    The maids¡¯ barrage stopped. The imperial shut off his shield to swing his arm at the Wisterian. But the latter shifted to the side, swiftly avoiding the pathetic attempt. Mana swirled in his sword and he took a swing mid-air, firing an arc a foot away.


    The imperial¡¯s armor shattered as he staggered back. The Wisterian took the chance and stabbed him through the chest.


    ¡°B-Bastard.¡±


    ¡°Prick.¡± He aggressively pulled out his sword and watched the enemy fall to the ground. With a nod, he turned towards the maids. ¡°You ladies, alright? You look alright, good.¡±


    ¡°T-Thank you,¡± said one maid.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± He walked over to the door and looked left and right. ¡°Everyone¡¯s fighting. You have no one to protect you, so I¡¯ll be staying here.¡±


    A couple of the ladies blushed at his valiance.


    Mera looked at her friends, seeing that they were going to be fine now, she¡¯ll be more at ease. She quickly approached the knight.


    ¡°Mera?¡±


    ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    Both her friends asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    The knight curiously looked at the approaching Mera. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°The Princess, what about the Princess?¡±


    ¡°There are already a couple of knights who went to protect her.¡±


    ¡°Did you see them get to her?¡±


    ¡°No, we just separated.¡±


    ¡°I need to go to her.¡±


    Princess Estelia never mentioned what she would be doing at this time. And the danger she could be in, without knowing what was going on with the Princess, it was gnawing at her mind. Mera was utterly worried that it was agonizing without making sure she was fine. It was true that the Princess could cast magic, but so could the enemy too. And they were storming the palace.


    She must join the Princess. With that at least, if her life was to be required, then she would willingly give it just for the Princess to be safe.


    When Mera was about to run, the knight grabbed her by the hand. ¡°Are you crazy? You¡¯ll die out there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the Princess¡¯s attendant. I can¡¯t just leave her to be all alone.¡±


    The knight¡¯s face shifted into understanding. ¡°Fine, do what you want. Just don¡¯t get killed.¡±


    ¡°Mera, wait. Don¡¯t do this.¡±


    Mera turned towards the begging Macey. ¡°No.¡± She glanced at Ellie, and she just stared at Mera with a strong gaze.


    Gathering her resolve, Mera rushed out of the room and headed for the Princess. On the way, she witnessed first hand the chaos ensuing in the palace corridor. Knights fighting enemies, walls torn, blood splatters on the floor and walls.


    And worse of all, the thing that made Mera sick, to almost vomiting, was the dead. Their bodies laid on the floor. There were enemies torn on the throat, face bashed and slashed, limbs missing. Their bellies open, guts leaking out. Mera held in the vomit rising in her throat.


    The most upsetting of all were the Wisterians that died. The palace that was supposed to be one of the safest havens in the kingdom, was reduced to a bloodbath. But she must go on.


    There was still some fighting. When she encountered one battle in her way, she paused for a moment, waiting for an opportunity to slip through. If she makes a mistake here, she¡¯ll get hurt, or perish. A moment later, when it came, she quickly ran through the side.


    The enemy noticed her, but didn¡¯t do anything. Likely because she didn¡¯t look like a fighter, posing no threat whatsoever.


    A moment later, she was closing in on the Princess¡¯s room. She went past a Wisterian knight¡¯s corpse, and an enemy¡¯s. Further into the corridor, an intense battle was still occurring. But then, a couple of enemies got through.


    A Wisterian knight tried to stop them. ¡°No!¡± But then he was blown into the wall by the opponent he was fighting.


    The two that got through were coming for Mera ¡ª no, they must be going for the Princess. Judging from how the knight was trying to stop them, then they have yet to secure her.


    Mera touched the knob, but was surprised and confused to see the door was already slightly open. But there was no time to think, Mera entered the room and immediately locked the door close. She breathed heavily, terrified.


    ¡°Princess¡­? I came.¡±


    She stepped away from the door and looked around. The room was dark, with only the source of light was the faint moonlight on the curtain covered window. She searched, but¡­ there was no one here.


    The Princess was not here.


    Where is she? Did she leave already?


    Suddenly, the doorknob was blown open. Mera gasped in shock and backed away, facing the door as the two enemies entered.


    ¡°Retrieve the princess.¡±


    ¡°This one? She doesn¡¯t look like her description.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not her.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no one else. She already left?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. I don¡¯t think she has gone past us yet.¡±


    The two hostiles approached Mera, and she kept stepping back.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the princess?¡± one asked.


    Mera didn¡¯t answer, despite trembling in fear. She had no intention of answering them. If she knew or not, she wouldn''t say anything.


    One at the front walked closer, as the other observed from behind.


    ¡°If you won¡¯t answer, I¡¯ll kill you.¡± He brandished his sword as he inched closer.


    Mera heavily breathed, she didn¡¯t know what to do. But then she noticed a shadow moved from behind the enemies. It was moving with completely silent steps. Slowly, it became clearer. It had red eyes.


    Red eyes¡­?


    She placed her index finger on her lips, looking directly at Mera.


    Mera noticed a dagger in her hand. And then, she grabbed one enemy from behind, covering his mouth and slit his throat. Mera held back a gasp. She couldn¡¯t believe what she just saw. She couldn¡¯t believe what the Princess had just done.


    The Princess casually let the man go, as he placed a hand on his slashed throat while blood spurted out. He was still alive. And he fell on one knee, eyes showing suffering, like he was choking in his own blood. He wanted to scream, but he couldn¡¯t. He kept himself up, resisting his inevitable demise.


    While he was suffering a slow and painful death, the Princess casually walked forward, coming for the other enemy. The one coming closer to Mera. Given the distance, Mera had a closer look at the Princess¡¯s face.


    There was nothing but an empty face. Emotionless. Not a sign of disgust, shame, or joy. Just blank. Despite what she had done.


    Mera even doubted who she was.


    The Princess tapped on the man¡¯s armor.


    ¡°Hah?¡± The man cluelessly turned around.


    There was a faint chime of metal moving at a swift speed. And blood spilled out of the man¡¯s throat. The man took a moment to process what happened, before collapsing on both knees. The Princess nonchalantly crouched on his level, and she just stared at him, making eye contact. Just staring at his suffering, as if waiting for him to die.


    A moment later, the man completely collapsed on the floor.


    ¡°How dangerous,¡± said a sweet, familiar voice. ¡°Good thing they weren¡¯t too strong.¡±


    She stood up and faced Mera, and then she smiled. Still, despite that welcoming and friendly face, Mera could still clearly see the cold and ruthless eyes she saw.


    ¡°Mera, it¡¯s good you¡¯re alright.¡±


    That caring voice.


    Mera took in a deep, trembling breath. When the Princess walked closer, Mera involuntarily flinched. And the Princess paused, tilting her head.


    ¡°Are you afraid?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Who are you afraid of?¡±


    Who was she exactly afraid of? Mera didn¡¯t know. Only that her body was responding naturally.


    ¡°Are you afraid of me?¡± said the Princess. ¡°I had no choice, Mera. They were intending on harming us. Harming you.¡±


    The Princess slowly reached out and gently placed her soft hand on Mera¡¯s cheek.


    ¡°You have nothing to fear. It¡¯s just me.¡± Back were her ever so soft and caring eyes.


    ¡°M-Milady?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    With the Princess¡¯s spreading touch, Mera gradually calmed down as she carefully held the Princess¡¯s hand on her cheek. Perhaps she wanted to make sure it was real. Or perhaps, she wanted to exploit the moment and savor the pleasing sensation. If it was the latter, then how devious she was to do this in this kind of circumstance. Where people were dying.


    But why was it that she felt like she didn¡¯t care? For this was more important.


    Indeed. It was.


    In the end, no matter what the Princess did, it was still her.


    How shameful for her body to act repulsed and terrified. Fortunately, both her mind and heart did otherwise. And she closed her eyes with a smile.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 122: A Night of Execution (Part 3)

    <div>


    <div>


    <div>


    W-What the hell? Why is she smiling like that?


    Seriously? In this situation? I was just trying to calm her down, but I didn¡¯t expect her to go all blushing and smiling. To go on an ecstatic trip. I know what I did, I think that was the quickest way. But can¡¯t you react a bit more normally, Mera?


    Whatever, let¡¯s just get on with it.


    ¡°Mera, don¡¯t tell anyone what happened here tonight, okay? Especially what I am doing.¡±


    While keeping her eyes joyfully closed, she answered. ¡°Yes, of course, milady.¡±


    Ignoring what kind of a nutcase she was, I retracted my hand. That snapped her back to reality, and she blinked several times at me.


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s wait a bit.¡±


    ¡°Wait? Why?¡±


    I walked to the window. ¡°Everyone is still heavily battling it out. We¡¯ll wait for a couple of minutes for things to cool down.¡±


    There could be two outcomes with that, either my allies defeat most of the enemies that we would face, or the opposite happens. I¡¯m betting on the former, of course. Best-case scenario, no matter the outcome, it reduces the enemy¡¯s overall forces in the palace.


    ¡°... Are we going out through the window?¡±


    ¡°No. Not from here.¡± I slightly drew the curtains apart. ¡°Enemies are outside.¡± There weren¡¯t even allies. The empire had the palace surrounded. Just below my window, a group of enemies were standing by. Not only that, there were enemies atop, moving around the roof. Can¡¯t tell how many exactly.


    If we go through here, the area¡¯s too open and risky for me to fight. Not enough cover. I don¡¯t want to face down a whole gang of them at once, not when I¡¯m wasn¡¯t alone. Compared to that, the interior hallways should be easier. And more fun.


    I stepped back. ¡°By the way, Mera, you could have tried taking care of those two. Why didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°... W-What do you mean?¡±


    I slightly tilted my head. ¡°Can¡¯t you use Physical Enhancement? Vernon lauded your capabilities and potential.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± She lowered her head. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­¡±


    From what I can see, she was afraid. Guess it can¡¯t be helped. Mera had never been in a fight. She could perhaps overpower them, but experience was still an issue. I don¡¯t even know if she was willing enough to kill.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± I grabbed my cloak on the chair and slipped into it.


    ¡°What about you, milady? H-How are you capable of¡­¡± She glanced at the corpses. ¡°Of this?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no other choice.¡±


    ¡°... I see¡­¡±


    I drew the hood of my brown cloak, covering my head. I stand out too much, and I was a primary target, better cover myself, you know.


    ¡°Mera, a little tip¡­ Use your power when necessary. Don¡¯t forget what you can do.¡±


    She pursed her lips, clenching her own trembling hands. ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    I mean, she was even better than me with the technique. If she utilized it well, she¡¯ll be a tank!


    Shortly after, it was time. I peeked at the window, and they were still there. I need to move out so I can check how the others are doing. I wanted to go straight for the targets, but I¡¯ll put that for later.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    By the door, I looked left and right. Oh, shit. A lot of my knights were dead. Damn. Further back into the corridor, a fight was still happening, but on the way to the stairs, there were only enemies left. Only just killed my knights. In any case, at least I can move without my allies seeing me.


    ¡°Stay close behind me.¡±


    We began moving, going for the staircase beyond. There was really nowhere to hide in this corridor, so a pair of enemies ahead instantly found us.


    ¡°Hold it right there!¡± a knight shouted.


    ¡°Just kill them,¡± added another.


    I drew out daggers for each of my hands. Provoked by my show of weapons, the knight charged against me. He raised his sword and brought it down. I shifted to the side with a swift turn and threw my glowing dagger in the momentum towards the enemy at the rear. Surprised, he frantically covered his face with his arm. It stabbed his flesh through the armor, but the damage was far from fatal.


    And I was using a part of my Physical Enhancement too. Damn metal plates. But whatever, it wasn¡¯t over yet. A second later, magic burst out, and several small slashes emerged.


    ¡°Aagh!¡±


    The slashes cut through metal and flesh, shredding all in their path. Meaning, it messed up and severed his hand. Both his sword and hand fell to the floor. Geneva convention? More like Geneva suggestion.


    ¡°What?¡± The knight before me eyed his friend in shock.


    I swung down my dagger to the enemy¡¯s side, and fired an arc of crimson light. With the power into that attack, it cut through his armor, reaching his flesh, and pushing him into the wall. He groaned, his severe wound spilling out blood.


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    ¡°Ggh, h-how¡­?¡±


    I heard running footsteps, I turned to see the one-handed enemy coming at me. His sword was held with his other hand. He swung in the air, hurling towards me a magical arc. I quickly dodged, and he hit his own ally, accidentally finishing the job. Pouring more mana into my body, I promptly threw my dagger into the enemy¡¯s unguarded throat. My weapon struck him, and he limped with wide eyes before collapsing to the floor. Huh. I canceled the Armament Magic imbued in the dagger.


    Ah, this is amazing.


    I felt a sense of elation within me.


    ¡°Let¡¯s continue onward.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡± Mera looked at the corpses with a small wince.


    I pulled out my dagger out of the man¡¯s throat and picked up the other one. With my enhanced strength, I easily flicked off the blood clean. As we continued on further, we heard voices at the next turn.


    ¡°The queen and the two princes have escaped.¡±


    ¡°Should we chase them?¡±


    ¡°Nah, already have people on it. Our job is to secure this floor.¡±


    Sticking to the wall, I took a quiet look at the hostiles.


    Ooooh.


    There were four of them, with one being a particularly big guy. And they didn¡¯t seem to plan on moving. Can¡¯t just outright fight them head on. Unless I really use my magic. But, I''m not really keen on doing that yet. Dagger killing was more fun.


    I turned to my maid. ¡°Mera, I need your assistance.¡±


    Time to be useful, little loyal maid.


    ¡°Y-Yes?¡± She looked frightened.


    ¡°I need you to get their attention.¡±


    ¡°Really? H-How?¡±


    ¡°Just try showing yourself and go a little ahead. They should try to investigate and follow you.¡±


    ¡°I-I see.¡±


    ¡°If that doesn''t work, throw some insults or anything.¡±


    ¡°I-Insults? But I don¡¯t know how to insult.¡±


    Sweet Mera. Look at you, too kind to know how to insult.


    ¡°You¡¯ll do fine. I¡¯ll take care of them before they can do anything. Now go.¡±


    Her face full of hesitation, she stepped forward. She was clearly in such distress.


    You can do it! I¡¯m cheering for you!


    ¡°Hey, who¡¯s that?¡±


    The enemy noticed her.


    ¡°Hold it right there!¡±


    Mera slowly stepped back. From the sounds of it, they were moving towards her. My maid, despite trembling, kept stepping back into the corridor. Eventually, all four enemies were in sight, coming for Mera with their weapons.


    ¡°Is she a kind of servant?¡±


    ¡°No matter, interrogate her, just in case.¡±


    I stuck close to the wall, and once all their backs faced me, I stepped forward with completely silent steps. Targeting the two by the rear, I slipped in between them.


    ¡°Wha¡ª?¡±


    I plunged each of my daggers into their throat. With a twist, I pulled them out as one enemy at my front turned around. I leaped forward with my dagger extended forward to strike him, only to be blocked by a barrier.


    Dammit.


    The bigger guy ahead noticed, and he turned around. I immediately sent an arc of light at him, which he blocked with a barrier.


    I fucking hate magic.


    Just as the guy in front of me swung his sword, I leaped back. As his shield was still out, I threw my dagger to the floor beside him. He glanced at my dagger and grinned, believing I had missed. But then he realized it was still glowing. Before he could respond, I triggered the magic, and slashes swirled around it.


    ¡°Agh!¡±


    Multiple slashes lashed his leg, and he fell on one knee, his shield disappeared. His face contorted in pain as his leg palpitated blood. I was intending on finishing off right there, but the bigger guy came running at me. He swung down, and I dodged. He attacked again, but I parried it off. Pouring more mana into my free hand, I punched him in the gut, but that only made him back off a couple of meters.


    I charged towards him and thrust my blade forward. And again, he used his shield. Our eyes met, and we glared at each other. Before he could strike at me again, I swiftly backed away to safety. The downed enemy, while kneeling, swung his sword to fire an arc of light towards me. I spun around as the slash went past me by an inch. Simultaneously, I threw my dagger, and it stabbed through the guy¡¯s head.


    I sighed. Now, one left.


    The enemy knight stared at his downed allies. ¡°You¡¯re fast, I''ll give you that.¡±


    I slowly picked up one of my blades on the floor.


    He continued, ¡°But you can¡¯t beat me.¡±


    ¡°You overestimate yourself. Don¡¯t even need to go all out on you.¡±


    Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, I rushed at him. He fired an arc, but it was useless. After I dodged his magic, he continued with swinging his sword at me. I evaded the physical attack and proceeded to slash the back of his right elbow. As his arm limped, he quickly used his one other hand to strike me. But I easily evaded and moved behind him, lacerating the back of his left knee.


    Before he collapsed on one knee, he turned around and swung an attack. I deflected his sword and followed up with a punch to his face, resounding a small boom. That stunned him for a brief moment, but that was enough for me to stab an electric filled blade into his throat. The smell of roasted flesh filled the air as he dropped to the floor.


    I stepped back and took heavy breaths.


    That was thrilling and worrying. But oh well¡­


    I grabbed and cleaned both my daggers before sheathing them back in under my cloak.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± I said to Mera.


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    We continued onward, and a moment later, we arrived by the staircase. I heard loud sounds of clashing. We hid by the ledge and peeked at the area. The stairs, even the floors upon them, were littered with corpses, both from friendlies and enemies.


    There were still a lot of people fighting. Light arcs were fired left and right, crashing into walls, and one damaged the stairs. Not only that, more enemies kept coming in. I expect friendlies will get overwhelmed shortly.


    There was a loud rumbling as a Wisterian knight was blown away up to our floor. Thankfully, he was further away. An enemy knight came after him and they continued their fighting in the hallways ahead, sending debris all over the place. Sheesh, felt like I¡¯m watching some superheroes fighting and some shit.


    I lowered and hid back on the ledge. ¡°Alright, there are more enemies than I hoped.¡±


    ¡°W-We¡¯re going down there?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s check another path.¡±


    We moved to one side of the floor near the staircase. We arrived at one of the few windows around here. Lying on the ground was a knight that was supposed to guard this area. Mera whimpered quietly as she looked at him.


    I unlocked and slowly opened the door, looking below. There were no enemies there. I fully opened it to see more of the area outside. They should be here somewhere. And I did find what I was looking for.


    It was my servants and my family, fighting at the side of the palace, a bit further from the entryway. Even Lucious was there. Huh, they must have met on the way or something. He was holding a sword, but he didn¡¯t appear to be going in direct combat. Better to have a weapon than none, I guess.


    At any rate, with their presence, it resulted in lesser guard on the outside by this window, or rather, none at all. With the enemies distracted, we can safely get out through here. Wew.


    ¡°This is the window where we¡¯ll be going down.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s three stories high.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. If you use your Physical Enhancement especially on your legs, you should be able to land fine¡­¡±


    Her eyes looked very pitiful.


    ¡°But it may hurt,¡± I added.


    She lowered her head.


    Anyways, if we do that, the landing won¡¯t be pretty quiet. I like a quiet approach so¡­


    ¡°Fine.¡±


    I wrapped my arm around her waist.


    ¡°Eh ¡ª m-milady? W-What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Hefting you.¡±


    I carried her to my side with one arm.


    ¡°This i-is e-embarrassing¡­¡± Her face was red all over while pouting.


    I casually shrugged and jumped down from the window. Wind swirled beneath my feet and we slowly landed on the ground. To spare Mera from further embarrassment, I quickly put her down.


    ¡°T-Thank you,¡± she said.


    A loud rumble resounded close by from the fighting.


    ¡°Let¡¯s join them,¡± I said.


    <div>

 Vol. 3 Chapter 123: A Night of Execution (Part 4)

    Estevan met the sword aiming for his mother ¡ª as if he would let such a thing happen. He poured mana into his blade and lightning engulfed around it. With every swing at the enemy came a small blast of electricity, pressuring his opponent. When an opening appeared, he wasted no time to exploit it. At close range, he unleashed a powerful wave of lightning, ultimately killing his enemy.


    Once that was done, he promptly stepped back to protect his mother. He momentarily glanced at his allies. Rogan was protecting Eleden, and next to them was Lucious, who was willing to face down anyone who gets close.


    The butler, Vernon, charged directly at his enemy, his punches crushing armor and breaking bones. But his priority was protecting the one he was assigned to. The other Wisterian knights were keeping the perimeter.


    They should be moving to meet with their main forces, but they were waiting for someone, for the other royal.


    Vernon, after snapping the neck of an enemy, moved back to the inner circle.


    ¡°Vernon, where is she? Aren¡¯t we supposed to meet here?¡±


    It has been a few minutes since they have been here. Just to wait for her arrival. Estevan was willing to wait as long needed, but with the current circumstances, they wouldn¡¯t be able to hold out for long.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    That was all the answer he got. Estevan couldn¡¯t particularly blame him, he only received orders from her mistress. Even so, it was infuriating that they didn¡¯t know where Estelia was.


    ¡°... I should have gone and grabbed her.¡±


    ¡°I know, Your Highness. But I doubt she would appreciate that.¡±


    Estevan clenched his sword tighter. The number of enemies was increasing by the moment. He could use his larger scale magic, but if he constantly does it, he would run out of mana before it ends. If that happened, he would be completely useless. It was too risky to do something drastic.


    One knight approached Estevan, panting heavily. ¡°Your H-Highness. We can¡¯t keep this up. We need to join with the rest of the knights.¡±


    ¡°No! We wait for Estelia!¡±


    The knight pursed his lips, even he didn¡¯t want to abandon the Princess. No, they would never even dream of it. No one would. But the situation was just becoming dire.


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    And they held on for several seconds. Two Wisterian knights perished. And then, Rogan noticed a pair sneaking by the enemy rear, going for the least number of enemies. One was familiar, and the other was cloaked. The former was Mera, and considering her, then the other one must be the Princess.


    ¡°There they are!¡± he shouted.


    Estevan immediately turned towards where he pointed. He gestured to a knight to aid him, and they immediately rushed towards the two, piercing through the enemy. Estevan grabbed the cloaked one by the hand, and pulled her into the protective circle while keeping enemies off. With some assistance from the other knights, the four of them reached safety.


    Estevan frantically grabbed her by the shoulder, and when she looked up, it was the face of his sister.


    ¡°Estelia!¡±


    ¡°B-Brother, don¡¯t just shout my name.¡±


    He smiled. ¡°Great, you¡¯re here.¡± He faced his forces. ¡°Time to move out! Go!¡± He turned back to Estelia. ¡°Stay close with everyone, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


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    As Estevan moved to guard, their mother, Meliya, rushed to Estelia and hugged her tight.


    ¡°My Estelia, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alright.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m relieved to see you safe, sister,¡± said Eleden.


    ¡°Yeah, great relief you¡¯re here.¡± Lucious sighed.


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    They began their slow march to reunite with the knights of Wisteria. It was not easy, but with their progress, more and more friendly knights arrived to help them. Some from the direction of the palace, but mostly from the barracks.


    It was increasingly difficult and tiring to hold out that Estevan was breathing more heavily. More and more, he had to rely on his magic. But still, he had to be mindful. With every ally that arrives though, the more weight was lifted off his shoulders.


    And with everyone¡¯s efforts, they have become a bit distant from the palace. Halfway, they¡¯ll arrive at the barracks. But then, a single knight suddenly came charging at Estevan, holding a greatsword.


    ¡°Wisterian Prince!¡± His sword raised, he violently and swiftly brought it down.


    Even Estevan was surprised by his sheer speed. And all he could do was cast his barrier to block it. Flames erupted on the other side, and his shield cracked. ¡°Wha¡ª?!¡± He immediately jumped back just as his shield shattered, the enemy¡¯s sword hitting the ground.


    Estevan fired a pair of arcs, but the enemy fought them off with his magic coated sword. He recognized him, he heard he was one of the elites among the empire ranks that came along in Wisteria. He never saw him fight before, not even during the spars.


    The enemy knight came at him, and their blades met. Sparks flew, with each of their swings spewing magic all around. Estevan found it hard to believe, but it was almost like they were on par.


    He let one hand go and gathered mana into it. Afterward, he unleashed a bludgeoning force, hoping the enemy would lose his balance. But the enemy knight released the same thing. So both their magic crashed and canceled each other out.


    Estevan gritted his teeth.


    ¡°How disappointing. Is this all you can do, Prince?¡±


    Estevan didn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°More of our elites are coming. But I¡¯ll be killing you.¡±


    ¡°Not if I kill you first.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahaha! You can try.¡±


    And they traded blows again. Estevan was managing fine, but then the enemy flicked his sword against Estevan¡¯s. And then, the enemy thrust his fist into Estevan¡¯s stomach. The prince gasped as he was blown away.


    Giving no time for him to recover, the enemy promptly swung his strike. It was sure to hit Estevan, and it would certainly be fatal. At the same time, Estevan noticed multiple balls of fire about to come down on the inner circle ¡ª coming down on the rest of the family. Rogan, Vernon, and a few others quickly cast their shields. He was worried. Despite the blade coming at him, all he could think of was his family.


    But then, someone deflected the enemy¡¯s sword. The confused Estevan quickly rose to his feet and saw a Wisterian elite.


    ¡°Alzen!¡±


    The one-handed knight.


    ¡°Your Highness. Your reinforcement has arrived.¡±


    Estevan couldn¡¯t help but grin widely. ¡°Yeah! Glad to have you here. Finally!¡±


    ¡°Let me help you with this guy.¡±


    ¡°Of course, sure. I need it.¡±


    The enemy knight grunted. ¡°Come at me then.¡±


    Together, Estevan and Alzen engaged the enemy. Alzen sprinted to the side, while Estevan charged straight ahead. His and the enemy¡¯s sword met, the impact was so powerful that it caused the wind to blow around them.


    Alzen promptly attacked from the side. The enemy noticed it instantly, and he cast a barrier with his other hand. Seeing that chance, Estevan quickly gathered mana in his left hand and blasted a bludgeoning force at the enemy. Of course, unguarded from such an attack, the enemy staggered.


    With that opening, Estevan swung a slash of light right next to him.


    ¡°Ggh!¡± The enemy¡¯s armor was cut through.


    Alzen took the chance to land a heavy swing on the enemy¡¯s back, cutting all the way to the flesh. The enemy shouted in pain and he spun around, sending an arc of light in all directions. Both Estevan and Alzen backed away while deploying a barrier for themselves. Estevan was surprised by the sheer force of the attack that he was pushed away as his barrier cracked. Fortunately, the attack dissipated before it completely broke it.


    Immediately, both Estevan and Alzen sent multiple magical slashes at their enemy. The enemy tried blocking them, but a couple got through his defenses.


    ¡°Gah!¡± He got wounded all over. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you all!¡± He began limping as he went after Estevan.


    Alzen engaged from behind, while Estevan attacked head on. They exchanged attacks, defending when necessary. But eventually, the enemy tired out. And both Estevan and Alzen plunged their swords into the enemy.


    Estevan panted, relieved that his opponent had finally been defeated. He pulled back his sword and watched the surroundings. More Wisterian knights have gathered to fight off the enemies. However, dust flew around the center of the defense as magic spells bombarded upon them.


    ¡°Put additional defenses!¡± Estevan shouted as he rushed back to his family.


    Multiple knights joined in to defend them. But then¡­


    ¡°Where¡¯s Estelia?¡±


    That shivering question came from the Queen.


    Everyone looked at where she was supposed to be. They couldn¡¯t believe it. She was gone.


    ¡°W-Where did she go? Since when¡­?¡± Rogan muttered, dumbfounded.


    ¡°Impossible!¡± shouted Eleden. ¡°There¡¯s no way anyone could have taken her.¡±


    Estevan took in a sharp, nervous breath. ¡°Where is she¡­? How?¡±


    Everyone searched around the battlefield. But the Princess was nowhere to be found.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 124: A Night of Execution (Part 5)

    In the throne room of the Wisterian palace, a place that symbolizes the power of the king. Where great people of old ruled and uttered their words for the betterment of the kingdom, of the land blessed by the Lord and Lady. In this grand room were two men who didn¡¯t belong here. Both royalties of the nearby empire.


    The younger prince, Cilas, was standing in the center of the room. A sword hung on his waist. He wore light leather armor, just something to protect himself, just in case. Although, he would prefer not to fight anyone. He did not favor violence that much.


    The older prince, Alistor, was standing by the throne, looking at it with interest. His men were fighting outside, doing their job. And all that both these princes had to do was wait for everything to finish. He was certain of their victory. Because, after all, the enemy, Wisteria, was not prepared. And without their king, it made it absolute. He was confident.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting tired,¡± said Alistor. ¡°I¡¯m sure no one would mind if I sat down right here¡­¡± He sat down on the Wisterian throne. He placed his arms on the rests and leaned back, adjusting his posture, like he was practicing. He proudly smiled. ¡°Very good.¡±


    Cilas watched him with a frown and walked a bit closer. ¡°Can¡¯t pay a little respect, I see.¡±


    ¡°Respect? Why should I? These will be ours pretty soon either way.¡±


    Cilas didn¡¯t know what to say, so he just sighed. ¡°About the matter with the Princess.¡±


    ¡°I told you, I have a plan in mind.¡±


    ¡°Tell me what exactly.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m bringing her to the Empire.¡±


    Cilas¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Are you being serious? You can¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not up to you.¡±


    ¡°Once this mission is a success, I¡¯ll be declared as the heir of the imperial throne. With that, I will have authority¡­ I must have authority.¡± He lowered his head with a stern gaze. ¡°There is a lot to be done.¡±


    Cilas narrowed his eyes. ¡°The order is to kill her, you¡¯ll be disobeying it. Father will not be pleased.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the difference between bringing her there and killing her now? Nothing.¡±


    That¡¯s not all there was to it, Cilas thought of it. A princess in a foreign land? Dragged there against her will? Into a hostile nation? He could imagine what would happen to her, and how she could be treated. Not exactly good.


    ¡°How are you planning to treat her when we get there? She is a princess of an enemy nation.¡±


    ¡°Treat her nicely.¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t sure. She could be thrown into a cell for all we know.¡±


    ¡°She is mine. She could be among my women if the time comes.¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡± Cilas was dumbfounded. ¡°Is that what you¡¯re planning? She¡¯ll resent you.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯ll love me. I know how soft she is on the inside.¡±


    You¡¯re insane.


    ¡°If she does resent me,¡± Alistor continued. ¡°I¡¯ll change how she feels.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t be sure of that.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you see, little brother? She is the greatest prize out there. Or are you just jealous?¡±


    Cilas glared at him. ¡°Shut up.¡±


    Alistor smirked. ¡°Too bad, she likes me more.¡±


    Cilas grimaced in anger, but immediately gathered his composure. ¡°So you plan on bringing her here before you?¡±


    ¡°She won¡¯t be sharing her family¡¯s fate.¡±


    Her fate would be so much worse. Is that it?


    ¡°Is that so? Retrieving her has been taking a while.¡±


    They have been here for some time now since the attack started. If it was as simple as retrieving that fragile princess, it wouldn¡¯t be too hard.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just wait, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s on her way.¡±


    ¡°... I see.¡±


    Cilas turned towards the throne entrance and closed his eyes. He conjured the Princess¡¯s face in his mind. That pure smile, that beautiful and kind face. The most beautiful in all existence indeed. Cilas has realized his feelings after a hard contemplation. And to imagine what her fate would be, he felt pain for her.


    And thus, he came to a decision.


    I¡¯ll help her.


    He could not save her family or anything. All he could do was save her, and her alone. He¡¯ll bring her to safety, out of this palace. Somewhere, anywhere. Where she¡¯ll be safe and alive. It was disobeying the orders of the Empire. However, what difference would it make if she just disappears? Not like she had any significant influence over this kingdom. And, not like she had the disposition to become a leader.


    I hope I¡¯m not too late.


    ¡°I¡¯m going, brother.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Where?¡±


    ¡°To the Princess, it is taking a while.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re that impatient?¡±


    ¡°The men might get too reckless. I want to make sure she isn¡¯t harmed.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Then do what you want.¡±


    Cilas began walking outside.


    ¡°Don¡¯t take the main route,¡± said Alistor. ¡°It¡¯s safer that way.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    There were a few small entryways, stairs, that lead to the upper floor. Cilas was planning on using those. He was sure that the group that would retrieve the Princess would use those. If they get her, he¡¯ll come across them. He intends to go to the Princess¡¯s room and ask the men on the way if he needed to make sure.


    He left the throne room and went through the grand corridor where members of the Shadow Order were hiding in the darkness. Protecting the way to the throne room. One appeared in front of him to offer him protection. But he rejected them.


    ***


    Wow, everyone¡¯s working hard. But amidst the chaos, I slipped away. The mage from the distance has been giving my buddies some trouble, so I grabbed an enemy knife on the way out and hid. Pouring mana into my muscles, I threw the dagger to the mage. She shoots, she scores! Right in the head! Bullseye¡ªb-bullshead! Okay, yeah, that doesn¡¯t work.


    Now that I¡¯ve helped them, I ran away, my cloak covering me entirely. As I was getting close to the palace, enemies were coming to join in attacking my allies out back. I drew out both my daggers and waited in the shadows. With a clean opportunity, I emerged and began cutting down my enemies.


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    ¡°Who¡ª¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°Who are you¡ª¡±


    Such as their pathetic cries.


    I have to at least take out as many enemies as I can to lessen the burden of my guys. As more enemies were coming in, I quickly returned to hide. They stopped, looking confused at the corpses on the way.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°Shit, this is Bren, one of the elites.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°What the hell? I just saw him go past us.¡±


    Ooooh, Bren was one of the elite knights of theirs? Sorry Bren. Didn¡¯t know that.


    I mean, kinda embarrassing to die like that. So much for being elite, huh? Elite in properly dying, I guess.


    I leaped out of the darkness again and slit the throat of one.


    ¡°What the?¡±


    One turned around noticing me, so I quickly threw one dagger at his face. While the other was about to strike with his sword, I grabbed his hand and stabbed my blade into his throat, pushing him to the ground.


    But then another pair of armored enemies arrived and saw me.


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    ¡°Kill that guy!¡±


    I poured mana into my blade as I pulled it out of the guy¡¯s throat.


    ¡°Hm?¡± But there was something weird about my weapon.


    Blood was stuck on my blade. Not the normal stuck, but the blood was shifting. The enemy was coming close, so I cast a barrier between us.


    Time out.


    The enemy swung his sword the same time my barrier appeared. I waved my hand and a powerful force of wind blasted the enemy away, crashing into the one behind him. I turned my attention back to my weapon. I tilted it around. The blood shifted to the edge of the blade, and they formed like some sort of vein on the flat.


    What the heck?


    I can¡¯t do that. I don¡¯t do that. I don¡¯t know any spell that controls blood like this. And, why was it sticking to my dagger? I was supposed to cast Armament Magic. Huh. That said, I was sensing something different about my weapon.


    Let me try it.


    The pair of enemies came charging again. I aimed at the enemy in front and threw my dagger. The blade pierced through the armored enemy with ease. But against my expectations, it went through the body, and also hit the one behind him.


    Holy shit!


    I didn¡¯t expect that, even with my Physical Enhancement active.


    There was another enemy way back, watching in shock. He didn¡¯t have any weapons whatsoever and had light armor, so he must be some mage.


    ¡°W-What the hell?¡± He gathered his composure and grimaced at me, extending his hand.


    I casually waved my hand and almost instantly, ice crawled from me to the enemy. It rose into several spikes and impaled the man in the vulnerable parts, killing him. I sighed and grabbed the dagger stuck to someone¡¯s face. It was a plain dagger.


    I touched the tip of the blade on the corpse¡¯s open wound, touching blood. Thinking back on that moment, I replicated how I did it, not that too different from using my Armament Magic. It took a moment for me to realize the little difference in feeling, but blood began moving. I watched with widened eyes.


    Just like the other one, the blood spread all over the blade, forming veins, and sticking to the edges.


    Okay¡­ I can use blood to enhance my weapon? Blood¡­ isn¡¯t this kind of, um, dark? Black magic or some shit.


    But, strange, it almost felt natural. Whatever, guess I have to give it a try.


    I went on to grab my other dagger from another corpse. This one was dug deeply into the flesh. Surprisingly, the magic voodoo blood was still there. I wonder how long before it disappears. But it isn¡¯t time to test something like that.


    By the way¡­ I¡¯m no witch, okay? Don¡¯t know what¡¯s up with this, okay? I¡¯m innocent, okay? Maybe gotta do with my godliness or something. Being the Princess of Blood and all. Okay?


    A moment later, I was back before the palace side entryway. Enemies came popping out, of course.


    Alright, time to see what you blood upgraded blades can do!


    Two armored enemies charged towards me. One swung down his blade at me, and I met it with my dagger. At the moment of contact, I felt my blade cutting through steel. I gave it a little more force and I successfully cut the sword in half. Dumbfounded by what happened, the enemy formed an opening. I took the chance to slice through his wrist, easily cutting through his gauntlet.


    ¡°Agh!¡± he cried.


    Before I could finish with him, the other attacked to stop me. I stepped to the side aided by the wind on my feet, and quickly got behind him. I lacerated his back. He promptly backed away, looking at my weapons in shock.


    Holy shit, my weapons got a hell of an upgrade.


    I was cutting through their armor almost like butter, or a pile of paper¡­? There was still some resistance in the solid material, but it was definitely way easier and more possible than with just plain blades, or elementally coated blades.


    I sensed an attack coming at me from nearby. I stepped sideways, evading the arc of light, but then another one came flying. In my annoyance, I threw a dagger at the culprit. My dagger and his slash of magic met in the air. But my attack cut through his magic and dissipated it. Surprised, he quickly cast a barrier, but it was futile. I threw that one with a lot of force, and it successfully pierced through his barrier, plunging into his skull.


    The enemy from before continued attacking me, his weapon shining in red flames. I avoided a few of his swings, but he got the ups on me and he swept his weapon sideways. Raising my dagger to the side, I blocked his sword. I wanted for my enhanced dagger to cut through it, but all I could do was a nick. It''s the resistance from his magic. More push should do it, but his flames were intensifying.


    I quickly used my shielding magic, and pieces of protective barrier appeared on my hands and to my upper torso. I used my other hand to point at him, and pieces of my barrier extended, violently pushing him into the wall.


    As he took a hit, I went for the killing blow, piercing him in the heart. But I wasn¡¯t satisfied, I instantly pushed downward, rending through his armor and flesh all the way to his stomach. Certain he was dead, I pulled my weapon, and I noticed the other enemy crawling, trying to grab his sword using his still intact hand.


    I went to retrieve my other dagger, and I waved my hand. A thin line of ice ran on the floor and grew into a sharp spike, piercing through his exposed throat. I pulled out my dagger as I dispelled both my ice magic and shielding.


    I looked up at the palace roof, someone was watching, he saw. Using my wind magic, I propelled myself upward, reaching right before the gawking enemy. His eyes widened in shock through the gaps of his face cover.


    ¡°Got you.¡±


    A fucking ninja.


    I grabbed him on his shirt and threw him all the way to the ground, leaving a small crater. But he was alive, as I thought. I dropped down beside him as he groaned in pain, blood coming out of his mouth.


    I crouched beside him. ¡°Where are your royals?¡±


    He merely looked at me. So I pushed the tip of my dagger into his arm. Frost coated the blade and slowly, the cold injected into his veins. He groaned and shouted in pain. He was trying to get up, but my newly conjured crimson barriers kept him pinned.


    ¡°Answer me.¡±


    ¡°As if!¡±


    ¡°Hm. I haven¡¯t been able to experiment with a few torture methods with my magic. Would you like to be experimental subject number one?¡±


    My frost in his arm spread out some more and he writhed in agony.


    ¡°Just tell me, that¡¯s all. And I¡¯ll let you live.¡±


    ¡°Never!¡±


    ¡°Hm. Let¡¯s see.¡±


    I waved my hand, and an arc shaped construct formed going over his head, a few inches above his eyes. Spikes grew out of the construct, slowly growing closer to his eyes and skin.


    ¡°Considering the skull, reaching the brain will be difficult. But I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll figure something out. Maybe through the eyes will do, but of course we¡¯ll try on other sides of your head.¡±


    He gasped as the thin spikes inched closer. The spikes first touched the skin beside the eyes, and my cold was injected into him, his eyes went wide in pain. A few of my spikes paused a couple of centimeters right before his eyes. A tiny bit more and it will touch the cornea.


    ¡°Aa¡ª!¡±


    I covered his mouth with ice, he was getting louder than I wanted.


    ¡°If you wish to finally answer, blink three times.¡±


    And he blinked thrice. I retracted the spikes and removed the mouth cover. He gasped for breath.


    ¡°Answer me, now.¡±


    ¡°¡ª The throne r-room! They¡¯re there.¡±


    ¡°I see. I appreciate it.¡±


    I stood up and my spikes started moving again.


    ¡°W-Wait! You said you¡¯ll let me live!¡±


    ¡°I let you live a few more seconds, is that not enough?¡±


    ¡°No¡ª¡± Ice covered his mouth.


    And my spikes instantly pierced deep into his eyes.


    Huh, guess the skull really did protect his brain.


    He was no longer moving, but I stabbed his heart just to be sure before going inside the palace. There hadn¡¯t been much activity from here compared to before, they must be assembling to fight my knights, while the others were trying to obtain full control of the palace.


    The main lobby was still in chaos, though. A few of my knights were still holding it, but there were more enemies here as expected. The palace staff could truly be in trouble soon. Can¡¯t do anything about this right now, have to take out the leaders first.


    I stealthily went past everyone and made my way to the throne room. Was pretty easy when everyone was distracted. I walked through the grand hallway, and it was quiet out here, and dark, with only a couple of lamps to light up the place. No enemies around.


    Halfway to the throne room, I stopped. My eyes darted to my front, in the dark hallway before me.


    ¡°You think you can hide in the shadows?¡± I said.


    Yes, I know you¡¯re there.


    It was then that someone stepped onto the center floor. It was a fucking ninja. Screw these guys.


    ¡°You noticed we¡¯re here?¡± he warily asked, standing confidently.


    ¡°Like little children trying their hardest.¡±


    ¡°What? Who are you?¡±


    I lowered my hood, revealing my beautiful face.


    His eyes widened in surprise. ¡°You. The Wisterian Princess. You dare mock us?¡±


    I smiled. I don¡¯t like ninjas. Not hate, more like annoyed. Perhaps you¡¯re saying something like ¡®But Estelia ninjas and assassins are basically the same¡¯ or something. Well, there is one crucial difference.


    ¡°I am merely being honest.¡±


    ¡°We are the Shadow Order, we have mastered the dark. I don¡¯t want to be insulted by the likes of you.¡±


    ¡°By the likes of me¡­?¡±


    ¡°One who walks in the light and admired by all. Being given everything.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± They wanna be poetic? Fine. ¡°You mastered the dark? Ludicrous. You merely walked into it.¡±


    He frowned. ¡°Better be quiet now, Princess. We are ordered to keep you alive. Don¡¯t make us hurt you.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Really now? You think you can hurt me?¡± I resisted my urge to laugh. ¡°Let me tell you something, kid.¡± I pulled out my blades. ¡°Ever since my birth, I have known only the abyss.¡±


    He glanced at my weapons. ¡°Careful.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s even the playground, shall we?¡±


    There was one crucial difference between ninjas and assassins.


    I pointed an index finger outward.


    The difference is that: We assassins are just more badass.


    Wind burst forth from my finger and went in their respective directions. To the lamps that remained alight. And they all snuffed out. The entire place was engulfed in utter darkness. As though we fell into the abyss.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 125: A Night of Execution (Part 6)

    Alistor let out a long calm breath, waiting for their operation to finish. He sat comfily on the Wisterian throne, his handy sword on his lap. It has been very quiet, the Wisterian forces seemed to be having it hard. And that was good.


    He leaned his head all the way back, savoring the sensation of sitting on the throne, the symbol of those who sat above all others. If he succeeds here, and he will, the imperial throne will be his. And with that, he could do whatever he wanted. His relationship with his sister will be safer, no threats. They will have the freedom they so desire.


    True that they will have to still hide it, but Alistor will have more options. That was one of the reasons he wanted to be emperor so badly. He truly loves his sister, and he wanted to spend all the nights this world will ever have with her.


    But, there was also another one now. He wouldn¡¯t set aside his sister, never, but he¡¯ll add another. It wouldn¡¯t be strange for an emperor to have more than one lover. With his victory, he was certain, even before he would be crowned emperor, he expected that Wisteria would be given to him.


    Perhaps, after bringing that Pure Princess in the Empire, once everything settled down, he could bring her back here. And he could perhaps visit. But no, he wouldn¡¯t be able to eat the fruit every now and then. In any case, he should think about this later.


    He closed his eyes, and he could see her perfect, beautiful form in the darkness. He was excited for this night to be over. And once it was done, she would be his. He could do what he wanted, and none could stop him.


    He opened his eyes, and he heard faint footsteps coming from the dark hallway. He put a hand on his sword, anticipating the one approaching from the darkness. And a moment later, she appeared. His eyes widened.


    ¡°Estelia.¡±


    She was cloaked, her hand meekly grasping it. Her platinum hair was tied neatly. And her eyes looked around pitifully, she was clearly frightened. So fragile. She looked up at Alistor with wide yet gentle eyes.


    ¡°P-Prince A-Alistor?¡±


    Alistor smiled widely and rose from his seat. ¡°Estelia, you have come. Finally, come closer.¡±


    Warily, she walked forward with meek steps. ¡°What are you doing on my father¡¯s throne?¡±


    ¡°Just trying it out, that''s all.¡±


    She looked at him, baffled, and she paused. ¡°You¡¯re s-scaring me, Prince Alistor.¡±


    ¡°You do not need to be afraid. I don¡¯t want to hurt you, Estelia. Come closer.¡±


    With moist eyes, she reached before the throne steps and stared at Alistor. And Alistor slowly stepped down.


    ¡°I learned that the Empire i-is a-attacking us.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we are.¡±


    Her eyes widened in disbelief. ¡°W-Why? Why would you do this?¡±


    Alistor stopped a step higher from her. ¡°For our goals. To unite the continent under a single banner.¡±


    She was speechless, staring at Alistor with grief-stricken eyes, and tears started coming out of her eyes. ¡°M-Many of my people¡­ are gone.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°I-I trusted y-you.¡± She fell on both knees and lowered her head. Her hands rubbing off her tears.


    Alistor took a step down. ¡°Yes. But you can still trust me, Estelia. You know, I was ordered to kill you.¡±


    ¡°W-What?¡± She slowly looked up.


    ¡°You were singled out.¡±


    ¡°W-Why?¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t know. But I don¡¯t intend to do that. Not anymore.¡±


    The way she looked up at him, she looked so pitiful. Somehow, Alistor enjoyed seeing her like this. Her pleading eyes were so endearing. He wanted all of her. No, he craved her.


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    ¡°I¡¯m saving you, Estelia.¡±


    ¡°S-Saving me?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He stepped closer. ¡°I¡¯m disobeying the command to kill you, and instead, I¡¯m bringing you to my home.¡±


    ¡°To your empire¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°B-But that is so far away.¡±


    ¡°I know. I will be with you, so you will be fine.¡±


    She lowered her gaze, trembling. ¡°But Wisteria is your enemy. I am your enemy¡­ So you¡¯ll t-take me as a p-prisoner?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly. You will be treated right. I will make sure of it. You will have a comfortable bed, plenty of food, and freedom to tour around.¡±


    ¡°... I don¡¯t understand¡­¡±


    ¡°To put it simply. You are important to me, Estelia. I won¡¯t let any harm come to you.¡±


    She slowly looked up at him. ¡°Really?¡±


    Alistor¡¯s smile widened, and he crouched right before her, looking into her eyes. ¡°Really. I promise.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± She lowered her head. ¡°Alistor¡­ You shouldn¡¯t make a promise you can¡¯t keep.¡±


    Before he could react, Alistor saw a metallic glint pass by as a loud clang sounded out. He instinctively went to grab his sword, but it wasn¡¯t there anymore but the empty sheath.


    ¡°Ggh.¡± He tried speaking, but he couldn¡¯t.


    He felt pain, and he quickly placed a hand on his throat, where blood was spilling out. His eyes were wide in confusion, while trying to keep a pressure on his wound. He applied Physical Enhancement to his body so he could persist. But the critical wound was already done.


    Green light shone on his hand holding the wound. Healing magic.


    His eyes shifted to the side, and there, in the distance, was his sword on the floor. He wanted to reach out for it, but with this fatal wound, it would threaten his life. He must focus on healing.


    ¡°Unbelievable, you¡¯re still alive and upright.¡±


    As Alistor was getting frantic, he heard a cold, apathetic voice. He faced forward to see the same princess, now standing a few feet away from him. In her hand was a dagger, so meticulously made and designed. With golden and silver embroidery.


    ¡°I even cut halfway to your throat. People in this world really make my job harder.¡±


    Alistor did all he could to breathe as he looked up at her. And he was baffled. The Princess was different. Her eyes weren''t the usual kind and tender, but now they were cold. As if it was a different person.


    ¡°Oh well. At least you¡¯ll get to suffer a little.¡± She waved her other hand.


    Thin ice spikes grew out of the floor and stabbed into Alistor¡¯s unguarded parts of the body. But they were not fatal, like they were only there to make him feel pain and bleed. As he winced, he poured all he could in his healing magic, but the damage in his throat was too severe, it will take some time.


    ¡°You really are a fool, Alistor.¡± She slowly walked to the sword and picked it up. ¡°But I guess even fools can cause a large share of trouble.¡±


    She checked out the sword, and she nodded, impressed.


    ¡°First those non-human men, and now you, the Empire.¡± She turned her gaze to him. ¡°It never ends.¡±


    She approached Alistor with a stride full of confidence, complete contrast to what she was. To what she should be. Alistor could not understand what was going on. Why was she acting so differently? The way she regarded him with such insignificance was too bizarre.


    He wanted to speak, but he just couldn¡¯t. He wanted to ask what was going on.


    ¡°Do you know what you have done? With what you did tonight, you have made early conflict between two countries unavoidable. Whether you kill us, or we kill you, in the end you¡¯ll get what you want. War.¡±


    She crouched a couple of feet away, glaring at Alistor with her cold empty eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know if I should applaud how clever you are, or how bold. But I have to hand it to you, you got me. You really got me.¡± And the expression in her eyes changed. It turned to anger. And her ice slowly pierced even further, Alistor grimaced in pain.


    ¡°If we¡¯re getting into a war anyway¡­ Then I would rather have you die here and now. You two imperial royals. And I don¡¯t care about taking you prisoners just because you are someone special. I don¡¯t want you out there during the war. And especially¡­¡± She smiled. ¡°I want to kill you myself.¡±


    Showing him his sword for a moment, she casually threw it away. The sword clanged loudly as it ended up so far that Alistor couldn¡¯t hope to reach it.


    ¡°It saddens me, Alistor.¡± A blush formed on her cheeks. ¡°It saddens me that we don''t have all the time in the world. Guess I¡¯ll have to get pleasure with what I have¡­ You hear that, Alistor?¡± She tilted her head with an almost ecstatic face. ¡°You get to give me pleasure. And believe me, I am getting satisfied.¡± She giggled adorably.


    Alistor felt cold, not with the air, not with the ice piercing his body, nor the loss of blood. It was because of fear. What he was beholding terrified him.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that something you should be happy about, Alistor?¡±


    She was no pure princess. She was a deceitful monster. She entraps you with her feeble actions, and sweet words. She plays with your urge to protect her, to only consume you later on. Where she finds pleasure in your pain, and your realization of her lies.


    ¡°I learned a new trick tonight. Would you like to see it?¡±


    She tapped her dagger into Alistor¡¯s blood on the floor. The blood began to move and crawled to her blade. Alistor couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. He has never heard or seen magic of that kind. To control something as blood, was it something even possible?


    ¡°This blade can easily penetrate your armor now.¡±


    Just a little longer, and his bleeding should more or less stop.


    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s start with the pleasure, shall we? O Prince.¡±


    But she didn¡¯t give him more time, and she easily stabbed her blade into his chest, the tip touching his heart. Alistor groaned in pain, but it didn¡¯t end there. She slowly twisted the blade as her ice began to move again. Alistor screamed, but all he could do was a gargled cry.


    He could feel his heart being slowly shredded. His flesh and internal organs being wormed and pierced by the cold. He had never felt so much pain in his life. His Physical Enhancement was failing, losing his focus. His healing magic flickered.


    Alistor met eyes with the Princess¡¯s. And there was not even a sign of pity or relent. Indeed, for there was no point. For this was a moment of pleasure. And she was indeed pleased.


    It would take some time later before he could no longer endure, and Prince Alistor Tarquen Celum Tornridge was finally terminated.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 126: A Night of Execution (Part 7)

    Holding his sword, Cilas quietly walked through the corridor, approaching closer to the Princess¡¯s room. As one would expect, on the way was littered with corpses. When he arrived, he warily stepped inside the room. It was dark, but he noticed a pair of imperial men on the floor, drenched in their own puddles of blood.


    He winced slightly as he took a closer look at the two corpses. They were among the two that were sent to retrieve the Princess. And they were slitted in the throat. It was a surprising way of dying, he expected them to die like any other in a sword fight or anything else. And there were no signs of struggles. Like they were struck so unexpectedly.


    Guess Wisterian forces have a variety of skills.


    In any case, the Princess wasn¡¯t here. Considering that these two were dead, there was a chance that they failed to get her.


    I must find her.


    He hoped he would reach her in time. He didn¡¯t want her harmed, or brought before his older brother.


    He left the room and walked further out into the corridor. On the way, he saw a couple more of the men that were supposed to retrieve the Princess but were slain on the way. As he went on, he saw his men had their hands severed, stabbed in the head, and then he paused.


    There was a large man dead, and Cilas recognized him. He was one of the imperial elites.


    Perhaps we underestimated Wisteria a bit¡­


    He surmised that a Wisterian elite knight could have killed him. No one else could have defeated this powerful man. With a quiet sigh, Cilas continued onward until he reached the staircase. Everyone was still fighting.


    One imperial knight who had just slain a Wisterian knight noticed Cilas, and he immediately rushed before him.


    ¡°Prince Cilas. I didn¡¯t expect you here. Where are your guards?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t need it. Are you done with the royals?¡±


    ¡°... N-No. We heard that they have escaped outside and have joined with the Wisterian knights.¡±


    Cilas mildly shook his head, disappointed and surprised. ¡°They got through you? All of you?¡± It was unbelievable. How did the Wisterian royals survive with all the imperial forces here? They should have even been taken by surprise.


    ¡°Y-Yes. But our forces are already on their way there.¡±


    ¡°Is the Wisterian Princess with them?¡±


    ¡°Princess? I¡¯m not sure¡­¡±


    Cilas felt a little annoyed, but he hid it. ¡°I¡¯m going outside.¡±


    ¡°Your Highness! Please wait until we have more guards for you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need guards. Finish your task here. That is an order.¡±


    ¡°... Y-Yes, my lord.¡±


    With the cover provided by the imperial forces, Cilas easily passed through the battles and reached outside. When he got by the entryways, he saw more bodies all over the place. And then he noticed a Shadow Order member lying on the floor, dead. His eye sockets were empty¡­ Or rather, it looked like something was pushed into them.


    He disregarded it and moved on. But he couldn¡¯t help but feel shocked that a Shadow got killed like that. On the way, he noticed that there haven¡¯t been allies coming this way. Did most of the men already go to face the Wisterian knights? Likely. They didn¡¯t have an unlimited amount of men here, after all. And the others were left in the Wisterian palace to secure it.


    Eventually, he arrived at the field of combat. It was chaotic indeed. Watching from a distance, he searched for the Princess. At the center of the Wisterian defense, Cilas saw the royals. One prince, Estevan, was fighting directly, though. But strangely, the Princess didn¡¯t appear to be there.


    Are they hiding her?


    He walked further and closer, trying to get a clearer look. Again, he couldn¡¯t find her. One imperial knight noticed him.


    ¡°Prince Cilas, what are you doing here? It¡¯s dangerous!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fi¡ª¡±


    ¡°YOU!¡±


    Wisterian Prince Estevan suddenly charged towards Cilas upon seeing him, but an imperial knight got in the way. Cilas wouldn¡¯t have been able to react in time. He was never that strong or impressive in fighting.


    Prince Estevan glared at him with anger. ¡°You did this! I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    ¡°Prince Estevan,¡± Cilas said as more knights moved in to protect him. ¡°Where is Princess Estelia?¡±


    ¡°Hah? Don¡¯t even try to pretend. You took her, didn''t you?!¡±


    Cilas¡¯s eyes widened.


    So she truly isn¡¯t here anymore.


    He got what he needed.


    ¡°Prince Estevan, you don¡¯t need to worry about your sister. She will be well.¡±


    He meant it to calm and put him to ease, but the prince¡¯s emotion had not changed at all.


    ¡°Screw you! I¡¯ll get her back.¡±


    ¡°No, you won¡¯t. But I promise you, she¡¯ll be alright.¡± He looked at him with sincere eyes.


    It baffled Estevan, but only for a brief moment. ¡°No way I¡¯ll trust you.¡± His sword glowed and he waved it sideways, unleashing a powerful and wide arc of magic towards the imperial knights.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    The sheer strength of it made Cilas back away, but suddenly, Estevan leaped towards him. Cilas frantically poured magic into his sword and body and parried the incoming blade. They exchanged a couple attacks, but then Estevan easily broke through Cilas¡¯s defenses.


    Cilas gritted his teeth as he watched the incoming blade. Estevan was just too strong for him. Alistor could have matched him, but not Cilas.


    Cilas cast a barrier that took the brunt of the attack, but it shattered immediately. Estevan quickly went in for another strike, but an imperial knight got in between them and blew Estevan away.


    ¡°Defend the Prince!¡±


    Imperial knights gathered in front of Cilas. Estevan, his sword clenched tightly, watched the enemy before him. Cilas stepped away and turned around.


    ¡°Don¡¯t run away, Cilas!¡±


    Cilas ignored him and began walking back to the palace.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get you!¡±


    Again, Cilas ignored him and kept going. He understood his disdain. But it didn¡¯t matter.


    He reached the palace and saw that the main lobby was clear of Wisterian knights.


    ¡°Are you done securing the place?¡± Cilas asked an imperial knight.


    ¡°Not yet, Your Highness. There are still others protecting the palace servants.¡±


    ¡°Very well, take care of it. Victory is almost at hand.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Go.¡±


    With that out of the way, Cilas headed for the throne room. When he got to the grand hallway, he paused when it was so dark, not a light to shine the way. It wasn¡¯t like this last time he got here.


    The Shadows must have snuffed the light.


    With that in mind, he continued onward in the darkness, but there was a weird smell. All of sudden, when he took a step, there was a faint plop sound. He stopped and looked down, he stepped on something fluid. He coated his sword with flames to shine his foot.


    He fell into confusion when he saw a pool of blood. His boot was smeared red.


    ¡°What¡­?¡±


    He brightened his sword a little more and moved his sword further, seeing a bloodied hand. Going further up, he realized it was one of the Shadows, dead.


    ¡°What?¡± His eyes widened.


    He waved his sword, and there was another. While the first one was stabbed to the throat, the second had his whole head gone. It was not decapitated, no, it was shredded to pieces. Cilas resisted the churning in his stomach as he watched with even more confusion.


    W-What happened here?


    He walked a little further, and the blood here was so thick that he couldn¡¯t avoid them anymore. He took in a shaky breath, and he accidentally stepped on a severed hand. He frantically stepped back.


    ¡°What h-happened to you¡­?¡±


    No longer able to contain his swirling and trembling thoughts, he raised his sword and brightened the flames on his blade further. The place grew brighter, and the surroundings became clearer. The walls were smeared with blood. And what he witnessed made him step back in horror, holding back a vomit rising up his throat.


    ¡°W-What i-is this?¡±


    How could something like this happen?


    More than a dozen of Shadows stationed here, all of them, were killed. No, butchered. One man had his head sliced in two, brain matter scattered all over him. Another had his torso cut open, from the throat all the way to the lower abdomen, his guts spilled out. The third had his face melted, completely unrecognizable.


    The more merciful ones merely had their heads severed, or stabbed through the head or throat. However, the others, Cilas even couldn¡¯t bring himself to describe. It was as if a monster had passed through here. Cilas¡¯s heart throbbed in complete anxiety and fear.


    And this pathway led to¡­


    ¡°Brother¡­¡±


    With rushed steps, Cilas headed straight to the throne room. As he ran, blood splashed all over the place, even to his clothes. Brain matter and some pieces of human organs were perhaps stuck to his boots. He still couldn¡¯t believe what happened, what he saw. Who could do that to the Shadow Order? Soldiers specially trained to follow the Empire¡¯s bidding. Where in the darkness they should be nigh unstoppable, even more so when they were a group.


    Then, Cilas arrived at the throne room. As he came to a stop, he narrowed his eyes, seeing a familiar girl. The Princess. She was cloaked, kneeling on both knees, her head lowered as if in sadness. In front of her was Alistor, soaked in blood. His own blood.


    How? Who could have¡­?


    Estelia heard his steps coming closer, she flinched and slowly turned towards him. Her eyes were moist, and she had a sad expression.


    ¡°C-Cilas?¡±


    ¡°Estelia, you¡¯re here¡­¡±


    Estelia nodded and turned to look at Alistor again. ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡±


    Cilas clenched his fists when he heard that. And he was, truth be told, saddened. In the end, Alistor was his brother.


    ¡°Estelia, who did it? Where did they go?¡±


    ¡°Oh, she¡¯s here. I did it.¡±


    Cilas¡¯s mind went blank for a moment. ¡°W-What?¡±


    ¡°I killed him¡­ slowly, in fact.¡±


    ¡°You¡­?¡± He couldn¡¯t believe it.


    ¡°With my former profession, I should have killed him outright¡­ There is no place for indulgence. But¡­ I just couldn¡¯t help it, you know. But never mind that.¡±


    She stood up and turned towards him with a blank expression. ¡°Hello, Cilas.¡±


    ¡°... You killed him¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yes. And you¡¯re next, I¡¯m afraid.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. How c-could you?¡±


    ¡°It was so easy.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± As if he would believe that. There was no way Estelia could do something like that.


    ¡°No lies. Not anymore.¡± She pulled out a fancy dagger from the covers of her cloak.


    As Estelia began stepping back, Cilas backed away. Still trying to process everything what she just said and what happened. He wanted to deny it, he wanted to take it as a lie, but what if it was true? What if that innocent princess was indeed capable of doing what she did?


    ¡°You can¡¯t escape, Cilas.¡±


    She waved her hand, and appeared from thin air were crimson constructs that flew towards the entrance and altogether created a wall. The ability, and the way she covered the entire door, shocked him. And he was even more confused.


    She can cast magic¡­?


    There were never any signs that she could. All she was, all that she was supposed to be, was a harmless, meek princess.


    Suddenly, a few constructs clasped around his hands, stopping him from even using his weapon, or go anywhere.


    ¡°What?¡± He looked at his hands before turning to the Princess, fear growing in his heart. ¡°Estelia! Stop this!¡±


    ¡°Why should I? You¡¯re my enemy.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re this powerful?!¡±


    ¡°Mere humans, it would appear, are easy to deal with.¡±


    ¡°Mere humans¡­?¡± He could not understand what she meant. ¡°... The Shadows, back in the hallway, you¡¯re the one that killed them?¡±


    She tilted her head. ¡°Oh, you mean them? Yes.¡± She paused and smiled. ¡°I have to say, you are way kinder than your brother.¡±


    ¡°And you¡­ You were tricking us this whole t-time?¡±


    ¡°Inciting conflict between the two of you was one of my objectives. And it was surprisingly not that hard.¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡± The way she talked, her face, was too different from what Cilas saw her as. He still couldn''t believe it was that same Estelia.


    ¡°Conflict inspires division. And it did. Didn¡¯t you notice? Your operation tonight was quite sloppy. Almost like you just sent your men to do the hell they want.¡± She chuckled. ¡°You didn¡¯t think it through. I doubt you and your brother even discussed it seriously.¡±


    Cilas grimaced.


    ¡°Breaking your harmony, your unity. The key to your failure.¡±


    Cilas lowered his head. She was right. While in the palace, both Cilas and Alistor couldn¡¯t stand each other in the same room. Even Cilas hated talking with his brother, and just wanted it to be over. And Alistor was starting to think more of his own self-interest.


    And the reason for it all was the person in front of him.


    ¡°You lacked careful and extensive planning. You failed to garner as much essential information about us. You even left your brother all alone here, made things easier. Oh well, at least things turned out my way.¡±


    ¡°Estelia¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm. The idea of the two of you killing each other came to mind. But, I guess that was too much to ask. I doubt you empire royals could commit such action. In the end, you are brothers.¡±


    Cilas bit his lip, he had nothing to say.


    ¡°Ah, before you go. Alistor mentioned killing me specifically. Who gave the order? At least tell me that.¡±


    Cilas remained silent for a moment. ¡°... It¡¯s from the Emperor.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°... I didn¡¯t want to do it, Estelia.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t care.¡± She stepped closer.


    ¡°I wanted to save you. I wanted to keep you safe and alive. To be free.¡± Cilas looked into Estelia¡¯s emotionless eyes. It was the truth, he truly cared for her. And he had never felt like this to anyone before.


    Estelia paused and tilted her head, as if puzzled. And she spoke in an uncaring tone. ¡°A shame. I never needed your help.¡±


    Estelia raised her dagger.


    Cilas Alvis Celum Tornridge, a prince of the Tornridge Empire, was finally terminated. Granted a quick and clean death.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 127: A Night of Execution (Part 8)

    Primary objectives are complete!


    Alright! Awesome. Looking around, though, the throne room had become bloody. Not to my liking, as I liked this place as it was, oh well. Anyways, now that the leaders, royals no less, of the Empire have gone adieu sayonara to life, things should get a bit easier for everyone here.


    I heard faint rushed footsteps from the corridor, coming towards here. So I immediately hid at the corners, blending into the shadows. A pair of imperial knights ran into the room.


    ¡°Your Highness ¡ª Huh?¡±


    The two stared at the two corpses on the floor, their eyes wide in shock.


    ¡°T-They¡¯re dead.¡±


    ¡°Shit.¡±


    ¡°What do we do now? Who¡¯s in command now?¡±


    ¡°One of the elite that¡¯s been leading us, of course. But¡­¡±


    ¡°This is bad.¡±


    ¡°Very bad¡­ What do we even say to the homeland?¡±


    ¡°Fuck. Let¡¯s tell the new leader or whoever.¡±


    ¡°Right. But what about the bodies?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t just carry them right now.¡±


    The man sighed. ¡°... Very well. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    And with that, the two knights quickly left the throne room. I emerged from the darkness and into the center, right before the dead Cilas. I was planning on cutting their heads to throw at the enemy their dead princes, but oh well. Guess that¡¯s less work for me.


    I sighed, to be honest, I was getting a bit tired. Time to clean up the rest of the pests in the palace. I walked for the exit, but paused for a moment and looked back with narrowed eyes, looking around. There was nothing there.


    Hm.


    I must be getting too alert or something. With a casual shrug, I continued onward into the corridor. Back to the bloody scenery made by yours truly. Ah, before I forget. Drawing out a simple dagger, I touched the tip into one of the many blood puddles and the blood attached to my blade.


    Huh, I wonder¡­


    I can manipulate blood, so maybe I can control all of these or something. I held out my hand and tried to control the blood on the floor.


    ¡°Mm.¡± But nothing was working.


    I tried again, but the same result. Tch. Guess my blood magic was limited to weapons. With a disappointed sigh, I moved on. Controlling blood would have been cool. As I reached the end of the corridor, a group of enemies were coming. Perhaps because they saw me, or they were coming to check on the princes.


    My hand crackled with lightning, and thrusting it forward emerged a powerful bolt of lightning hurling through their center. In the bolt¡¯s passing, it brought with it a wave of electricity, and all within range, all the way to the sides, were electrocuted. They shook as powerful electric shock coursed through their armor and flesh. Their eyes fried, and blood exited through whichever hole available. And they fell lifelessly without even a chance to fight back. I poured a lot of mana on that one. As I thought, my magic was way stronger than them.


    When I took a step forward, the world suddenly turned and distorted.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± I placed a hand on my head and I leaned on the wall.


    What the fuck! Already?!


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    I was already having a headache and feeling dizzy. With that one spell? This is bullshit! I didn¡¯t even use that much mana yet! Blinking my eyes, I took several deep breaths. I thought I had gotten better, but apparently not. This was starting to get annoying.


    Good thing I didn¡¯t use much powerful magic earlier¡­ I¡¯ll hold back on using spells for now.


    Once I was feeling a bit better, I pulled out another blade.


    Ugh, back to the traditional ways.


    Clean house time.


    And thus, I started hunting some bad guys. Mainly in places without any allies. Just to reduce the enemy forces and stop them from reinforcing the others. It will help greatly. It didn¡¯t take long before the word of the death of their royals began to spread.


    Their morale plummeted. That disturbance gave the Wisterian forces a chance to counterattack. Being discouraged is a dangerous thing.


    And, as for me, well, hunting is always fun.


    ***


    A black fog from the outside entered through the windows into the throne room just as the Princess of Wisteria left. The fog gradually turned into a man covered completely in dark fabric, not a skin to be seen.


    ¡°Hm. What is this? What is she?¡± He stood before the corpses of the imperial royals. Curious, confused, and stressed. It didn¡¯t end as he wanted. Again.


    The Princess was a beast. A predator, a dangerous hunter. The man placed a hand on his head. He had been waiting for an opportunity to put the Princess in his debt, but from how everything had been turning up lately, it would seem it was dreadfully impossible. Considering how savage she has been against several humans.


    ¡°Giving up already?¡± Suddenly, a man spoke from behind him.


    The cloaked man turned around to see a bronze haired man. ¡°Eternal Wanderer. Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Hello, Heneis. Let¡¯s just say I¡¯m quite impressed by her, you know. Killing a beastman was one thing. But to kill every imperials in her way. Heh, she¡¯s surprisingly ruthless.¡±


    Heneis groaned. He had nothing to say. ¡°You¡¯ve come only to gloat?¡±


    The Wanderer grinned and shrugged. ¡°Basically, yeah. I just find it hilarious, honestly. Committing another transgression after your goddess cursed you to live a life of eternal suffering.¡±


    ¡°Transgression, you say?¡± Heneis glared at him.


    ¡°Mad? It¡¯s the truth, isn¡¯t it?¡± The Wanderer chuckled.


    And then, another fog entered. ¡°He is right, Heneis.¡± The fog turned into a draped man, like Heneis. ¡°Stop trying to take advantage of her young Eminence.¡±


    Heneis turned towards him. ¡°You just won''t stop, won''t you?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯m trying to make you stop this foolishness.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the fool here. Trying to kneel at her feet.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? She is the descendant of our gods.¡±


    ¡°No, I will not stop.¡±


    The man stepped closer to Heneis. ¡°You must stop. You cannot hope to trick her. Don¡¯t be stupid. You saw what she can do.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m being stupid?¡± Suddenly, in irritation, Heneis grabbed the man by the throat and lifted him up.


    ¡°Ggh!¡± The man tried to escape from his grasp, but couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°I have grown tired of you, Aurel.¡±


    ¡°H-Haven¡¯t we c-committed enough sins? Was killing her young Eminence not enough?!¡±


    Heneis tightened his grip as Aurel flailed. ¡°Shut up.¡±


    Aurel growled. ¡°K-Killing her as a b-baby is too cruel. Our p-punishment is o-only f-fitting.¡±


    ¡°No longer must we serve,¡± he said in a powerful and angered tone.


    ¡°Has our goddess never been kind t-to us? For you to d-despise her so?¡±


    Heneis tightened his grip even more so.


    But Aurel just kept on going. ¡°Who is the c-cruel one h-here, Heneis?!¡±


    Heneis broke Aurel¡¯s throat with an audible crack and cast him aside. The Wanderer winced from behind. But it took no time at all for Aurel to groan and stand up as his body healeded.


    ¡°I am only doing what the generation before us started. Doing what is right.¡±


    Aurel massaged his throat. ¡°Utter fools, they are. You must stop before it¡¯s too late. Change your ways.¡±


    Heneis gritted his teeth in irritation. ¡°Why are you so stubborn?¡±


    Aurel sighed. ¡°I¡¯m trying to save you.¡±


    Heneis scoffed. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to save me. Don¡¯t let me see you again, lest I¡¯ll make you suffer more pain.¡±


    And with that, Heneis turned into a fog and left. Once he was gone, Aurel shook his head in disappointment. He glanced at the Wanderer who had been quietly observing.


    The Wanderer smacked his lips and shrugged. ¡°Heneis believes being free from your goddess is better. But you want to come back?¡±


    Aurel lowered his gaze. ¡°I heard the stories from my father before me.¡±


    ¡°What? Before he turned into a palpitating bag of meat?¡±


    Aurel frowned behind his face cover. ¡°... Yes. They were happy¡­ Blessed with power, and gifted with a wonderful home. Here in Wisteria¡­¡±


    The Blessed Children, they were often referred to as.


    ¡°But then one of you stabbed a baby. Of course your goddess will be enraged.¡±


    Aurel lowered his head in shame. ¡°That innocent baby was supposed to be a beacon of a good future. Our princess.¡±


    ¡°I see. A shame how everything went.¡± The Wanderer walked towards the window and paused for a moment. ¡°But it¡¯s good you¡¯re doing what you believe in.¡±


    And then, he left.


    Aurel sighed and glanced back to the corridor where the Princess went through. He wanted to talk with her, even for just a brief moment. But he mustn¡¯t, he couldn¡¯t. Despite expressing his wish to talk, when he was a step closer, he found himself hesitating. Whether because he wanted to prove himself before meeting her, or perhaps he was just ashamed.


    He closed his eyes before turning into a fog and leaving the place.

 Vol. 3 Chapter 128: Wisterias Twilight (Volume Epilogue)

    The attack on the royal palace has been averted. The imperial enemy forces had their number diminished to the point that they could no longer hope to win, along with it the news of the two princes¡¯ death. Only a few, less than a dozen imperial knights, have been left alive, either they surrendered, or captured. What their exact fate will be was still being deliberated.


    Wisteria has suffered severe losses too, however. It was unfortunate it had to happen, but they died as heroes.


    When the king of Wisteria returned to his home around late morning, he fell in utter and indescribable shock upon hearing what happened. And to his great relief, his family was alright. He was pretty angry though, so¡­ What¡¯s important was that everyone in his family, we, was safe.


    Still, it was troubling him so greatly that what happened here today would be the catalyst for the start of the war. It won¡¯t be long before the Empire learns of what happened.


    The most mysterious thing about the assault, though, was the death of the two princes. None of the Wisterian knights took credit. When they investigated, they couldn¡¯t determine who, but only how they were killed. Both were killed by a blade, but the eldest prince had a more messed up body, holes all over it. Yeah¡­ Well, he deserved it.


    And he was using healing magic! Motherfucker still lived despite getting a cut to the throat.


    Anyways, what people can only assume is that the holes were caused by some sort of piercing weapon. And who killed them? No one can say for sure. Could be some Wisterian knights, but only died before they could tell the tale of their heroic deed.


    No need to tell anyone what I did, hehe. I¡¯m so humble, what can I say?


    Oh yeah, once I was done with cleaning the house, I returned to the family that time, and they were still fighting. For the explanation of my sudden disappearance? I just said that the enemy snatched me, but eventually I got away once the enemy was distracted and got the opportunity. Hiding here and there to be safe until I could come back. There were questions about how they didn¡¯t kill me immediately, but I just said I don¡¯t know and I heard someone mention they have special plans for me. Hearing that, no one else probed into my matter ¡®cause that could mean darker things.


    There was a lot of damage that needed to be fixed. Families of the allied dead to be notified. Servants that were traumatized. And everyone was still busy dealing with the aftermath. Father even began considering further improving the defense and security of the palace.


    A couple of days later, when everything had settled down, it was time for a meeting. Particularly with Uncle Meril, Father, Eleden, and I. As usual, we were in my father¡¯s office.


    ¡°Curious, those two hostile princes won¡¯t just drop dead.¡± He drank his sweet drink.


    He¡¯s quite in a hilarious state ¡ª hilarious for me. He looked so tired, eyebags and all, and he appeared to be a bit thinner. One might pity him, but he¡¯ll be fine!


    ¡°Indeed,¡± answered Father. ¡°Whoever they were, can¡¯t say I¡¯m not thankful. Still, we would have perhaps gotten more options if at least we have them as prisoners.¡±


    Uncle Meril sighed. ¡°Yes. I wonder who could have done such a thing. Skillful as they are, considering they got through to the opposition.¡±


    For some reason, Uncle glanced at me as he said that. I frowned inside, but kept a straight face outside.


    ¡°And the way to the throne room,¡± said Eleden. ¡°It was hard to clean up all¡­¡± He covered his mouth. ¡°All the mess.¡±


    ¡°He or she doesn''t seem pretty merciful.¡± Uncle shrugged as he took a sip of his drink, and he wore a pleased smile.


    Yeah, it must be nice to drink something so nice, huh?


    ¡°Well, we have no other options for now but to keep quiet.¡± Father placed a hand on his brow.


    ¡°Father,¡± I said. ¡°There will be no point if we have the two imperial princes. Tornridge will attack either way. I don¡¯t think their emperor would care about the two.¡±


    ¡°But they¡¯re his sons.¡±


    ¡°Considering that they sent them here for that, where they could just use any other diplomat, I say he doesn¡¯t care if they live or die.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­?¡± The idea seemed pretty alien to him.


    I lowered my head. ¡°I suppose not all families care about their children.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    I raised my gaze towards Uncle. ¡°In any case, how¡¯s your side, Uncle?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you tell?¡± He frowned. ¡°It¡¯s terrible. Rushing things¡­ not great. But we¡¯re making progress at least.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    ¡°How long before we announce what happened?¡±


    I leaned back in my chair. ¡°I would have preferred to keep it hidden as long as we could, but¡­ We have to announce first before the Empire. Whosoever speaks first shall become the truth.¡±


    ¡°But our words are the truth, sister.¡±


    ¡°Estelia is right,¡± said Father. ¡°If Tornridge gets to speak first, theirs will have a greater impact. And they could twist it to favor themselves. Like for instance, say we killed their royals in our palace as they slept.¡±


    Eleden mildly nodded. ¡°I can imagine them doing that. So announce it to our allies?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    "We will also need to send a letter to the Empire," Uncle Meril added.


    ¡°So we declare it¡¯s an act of war?¡± asked Eleden.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Father sighed. ¡°There¡¯s no other way to take it.¡±


    ¡°Just say it¡¯s an act of war,¡± I chimed in. ¡°But add that Wisteria is willing to turn a blind eye to the incident and hold back a declaration of war, and suggest a dialogue for peace. Wisteria¡¯s utmost wish and priority is peace.¡±


    ¡°What? There¡¯s no way they would do that, right? Dialogue for peace, again?¡± Eleden winced.


    ¡°Of course not. But we will come across as genuine and cast a good light towards us.¡±


    If by some miracle the Empire goes for real peace this time, then good ending! But yeah right, as if that would happen. So let¡¯s just go the ¡®Wisteria are the good guys¡¯ route. I just don¡¯t want the Empire a chance to twist what happened.


    Eleden nodded, while Uncle and Father looked at each other.


    ¡°Also,¡± I smiled. ¡°Notify not only the government of our allies. Spread the word, spread the truth to the masses, to the common people, that the Tornridge Empire tried to kill us.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s additional work, daughter. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s worth it at the moment. The word will spread eventually.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want it eventually, I want it as soon as possible. Let stories be told and shared. All over the continent, from here, to the seas in the south, and everywhere else.¡±


    Wisteria shall be the good that faced against the evil that is the Tornridge Empire.


    Everyone loves a good versus evil story.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Perception. It¡¯s important. And the people must, in their perception, see us as good. And the stories we share shall become as hard as stone. It will be history. One that the Empire cannot play and twist around.¡±


    Fuck them. Even I would change the truth if I were on their side. So, just have to counter it.


    ¡°Spread the truth of what happened.¡±


    Tornridge is the piece of shit, and Wisteria is the victim.


    Yeah, sounds good. We¡¯ll win the hearts of people, and our truth shall be known. Even if the Empire tries to bury it in the future.


    ¡°Okay. So, when should we start?¡± Father looked at everyone.


    ¡°Today.¡±


    ¡°Estelia,¡± called Uncle. ¡°Aren¡¯t you forgetting the part we¡¯re still preparing?¡±


    ¡°History is also important, Uncle. Besides, the Empire will still need to prepare their forces. And they will still need to go through the borders. I think we have a few months of leeway.¡±


    And they wouldn¡¯t be able to reach the capital anytime soon. Don¡¯t have to worry too much.


    ¡°Hm, I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then it¡¯s decided?¡± Father looked at everyone, and everyone nodded.


    ***


    Three weeks later after the failed attack on the Wisterian palace.


    It was late in the night, and the full light of the moon gleamed in one forest nearby the Wisterian capital city. A forest much more free of monsters, where animals freely prance around, and insects sounded loudly.


    However, in the middle, where once a dense patch of trees stood, was a clearing. Trees, bushes, and all plants were cleared out, quite easily, in fact. The clearing was so wide that it could have been easily noticed by any man who comes by. It could be surmised that a monster ran rampant here, but it wasn¡¯t the case at all.


    The one behind it all was walking around the clearing. His left hand held a pouch, and the other scooped a handful of faintly glowing blue dust from the inside. He gradually poured the blue dust to the ground as he kept moving.


    Observing the man from the edge of the clearing were two men, and behind them were a dozen more.


    ¡°Hey, you think this will work?¡± asked a full armored knight, one of the elites, Orven. In his hand was a lance, and on his back was a sword.


    When they heard of their two princes¡¯ demise, they quickly reported it to the Empire through a puppet bird. And some time later, they received new instructions. It was to meet with this man named Alruwin.


    ¡°Of course it would be no use doubting now,¡± answered Delray, leader of spy operations in Wisteria. He had a sword hanging on his waist.


    ¡°Well, I never knew this kind of magic spell. It¡¯s hard to believe such an overpowered and handy spell has been existing all this time.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    Once they meet, they would follow Alruwin¡¯s instructions. And they were given a specific day and time to use a special spell, apparently. It required a special ingredient, a strange blue dust. Judging from how it looked, it was magical in origin.


    ¡°Magic of this scale, heh, really is something.¡±


    ¡°Makes me wonder who that guy really is.¡± Delray closely observed the cloaked man.


    Alruwin was drawing something with the dust, a wide circle. It had some weird patterns, magic normally wasn¡¯t cast with a magical circle, so this was a bizarre spell for the two men.


    ¡°Where do we even get that kind of dust?¡± Orven asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know. But I know Myra has some special glowing stones. Maybe they¡¯re similar to that? Just ground to dust? But they¡¯re not only blue, though.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s not the same then. We gonna ask him or not? It could be useful for the Empire.¡±


    ¡°Well, he works for the Empire, so there¡¯s no point interrogating him about that. Especially not now.¡±


    ¡°Just saying¡­¡±


    ¡°But, it would be nice to get a sample.¡±


    Alruwin stopped when he had connected the last line of the circle. He stepped back near Orven and Delray. But nothing was happening.


    ¡°What¡¯s next?¡± asked Delray.


    ¡°We wait for the other side to finish their circle.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ How exactly does this work? If the spell were so simple, we could have been capable of this a long time ago.¡±


    Alruwin glanced at them from the corner of his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s annoying to talk to you measly humans.¡±


    With a confused frown, Orven and Delray looked at each other.


    Alruwin then continued. ¡°But I will grant you a bit of knowledge to ease your pathetic ignorance.¡±


    ¡°What the hell¡­?¡± Orven quietly muttered.


    ¡°The world is filled with magic within. And within, mana constantly flows through the countless channels called Leylines. It is said to keep the world together. Like the veins of the world. And with this dust, you can tap into the Leylines and use it to go from one point to another.¡±


    Delray nodded. ¡°So what¡¯s this dust?¡±


    ¡°There is no point in learning about it. It is incredibly rare in your lands.¡±


    ¡°... Rare doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t find it.¡±


    All of a sudden, the circle made of dust began to glow brighter.


    ¡°The link is established. We are ready.¡±


    Alruwin approached the circle and lowered his hood, both Orven and Delray¡¯s eyes widened to see a pair of long pointy ears.


    ¡°He¡¯s really not human,¡± Delray quietly said.


    ¡°What the hell?¡±


    After a few minutes, there was a blinding bright light as the entire magic circle shone in a blue hue. Everyone around could feel the shifting and swirling of mana. As everyone covered their eyes, silhouettes momentarily appeared on the circle.


    And a second later, the light vanished instantly, like it was nothing. The dust gradually lost its glow and its color. Everyone let out gasps of awe as a large group of people had appeared on top of the circle. No, a large group would be putting it lightly.


    Bundled up together that appeared from the circle were soldiers of the Empire, all ready for war. They numbered five hundred. Four hundred were elites, the rest were normal knights, but they were not to be underestimated, either. With them were contraptions of war with wheels. Catapults and ballistas, eight on each.


    A knight in full plate armor stepped forward and approached Alruwin.


    ¡°You must be one of the contractors that the Emperor¡¯s adviser told me about.¡±


    ¡°... Yes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s one hell of a spell.¡± He glanced at Alruwin¡¯s ears. ¡°I am Commander Ladron Galla Karner, and I will lead the assault. Thank you for your help. I hope the Empire is paying you generously for this.¡±


    ¡°Hm. Let¡¯s just start.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± He turned to his army. ¡°Men! Tonight we assault the Wisterian capital city of Serene! Burn and destroy. Kill the Wisterian monarchs!¡±


    And they began their march to the nearby Wisterian capital city. They easily cut through the forest or any obstacle in their path. It didn¡¯t take long before they reached the outskirts of Serene, a bit distant from its gates. The imperial knights lined up in front, while their contraptions positioned at a vantage point.


    A lone long eared man carried a magnificent bow and positioned himself in front. He nocked an arrow he grabbed from his quiver, he aimed his bow at the gates and slowly drew back the string. Light slowly brightened at the tip of his arrow, and was growing in intensity.


    Once everything was ready, the commander at the head of the army raised his sword. ¡°Attack!¡±


    The arrow was let loose. Their weapons of war hurled flaming projectiles that illuminated the night sky as they soared towards the city.


    And the capital city of Wisteria started to burn.

 Royal Princess of Blood Volume 4 Synopsis

    Royal Princess of Blood: The Lost Princess (Vol. 4) Synopsis


    My home city is burning. Against my expectations, the Tornridge Empire attacked too early, launching a direct assault on Wisteria''s capital city. I don¡¯t even know how they suddenly got here. At any rate, war has begun. The battle in the city will not be easy, and Tornridge is not the only one I have to worry about. The elves have reappeared, the Cursed Children, and there are¡­ demons.


    In this new chapter of my life, everything changes, to my great dismay. I meet new people, see new places. Go farther than any distance I have reached before, my home far behind me.


    Stolen story; please report.


    ***


    Here¡¯s the synopsis of the new volume! As mentioned in the synopsis, this volume marks the significant shift of Estelia¡¯s life, and other characters as well. I¡¯ve been excited to start writing this volume for a long time! And now we¡¯re finally here! Please look forward to it. And thank you for reading this far and tagging along Estelia¡¯s journey in life!


    New volume''s prologue starts this Saturday!


    Volume 4 also has already started on my Patreon</a>.


    Thank you everyone and see you this Saturday for the Vol. 4 Prologue: Fountain of Life.

 Vol. 4 Prologue: Fountain of Life

    Far to the south of the continent, beyond the shores of the Eventon Republic, is the Shinoroa archipelago. A place forsaken by the blessings of the gods, where the soil was dark and longed for the touch of gentle nature. Hardly healthy and beautiful plants grow in the four islands, with the exception of those that could live without needing much nourishments. Or perhaps, life just adapted after millennia of being left in this state.


    Despite that, humans lived on the islands, but divided. One could think of abandoning and leaving this dead land, but not easily one could leave the land of their roots. Whether out of love, or fear of the land beyond. Still, they adapted to the hardships this environment provides. A land of savages, a land of tyrants, a land of a decent heart, a land of warriors. This archipelago was many things, with each island having their own values. Some may be in cooperation, and some may be in conflict. But they survived nonetheless, with their own livelihoods, jobs, and economy. Even a dead land cannot destroy humanity¡¯s persistence.


    However, somewhere in this archipelago of bleak and barren wilderness was a particular land, lush with green and healthy food. Fruits, vegetables, even meat. If people of the islands were to discover it, either they would wage an all out war for its milk and honey, or share it to inspire unity. But the latter would just be too ideal.


    In any case, even this rich and nourished land was not without its inhabitants. And one of them was a girl in her mid teens, walking amidst the woods filled with bushes and kinds of plants that bear fruits. She wore a plain green cloak, covering her fair skin. Her hair was in the shade of pink, and eyes were colored in the beauty of emeralds.


    She plucked several violet grapes from one plant and put them in her nature made basket. Apparent from her delighted smile, she was enjoying the chore.


    Once there were no fruits left on one plant, she moved to another nearby. She wouldn¡¯t need to worry about depleting all sources around here. These fruits would completely grow again in just about a week. In fact, it would be even more of a waste not to harvest them. Anyone else would be surprised to know the rapid growth of the fruits, for this was indeed not natural. And their tribe has too much supply of food than they could consume.


    A while later, the basket was half-filled. She heard rustling nearby, so she paused and looked in the direction of the sound. There was a small fluffy orange creature running towards her, making small cute sounds, almost resembling a laugh. Its pair of fluffy tails wagged as it got closer to her.


    The girl smiled widely at it. ¡°Pip!¡±


    The fox¡¯s sound grew louder as she jumped up to her shoulder and rubbed his tails on the girl¡¯s head. The girl chuckled.


    ¡°Stop, that tickles.¡± She put down her basket and grabbed the cute fox, rubbing the small creature¡¯s head. She found holding him, especially with his fur, so pleasant. ¡°Did you have a good stretch?¡±


    The fox responded with a loud, short and adorable sound.


    The girl giggled. ¡°Good! I¡¯m almost done with collecting the grapes. Behave for now, okay?¡±


    With a ¡®hih¡¯ sound, the fox slipped from her hands and jumped back up to her shoulder.


    ¡°Alright, just don¡¯t move around too much, okay?¡±


    When the fox gave a seemingly positive response, the girl picked up her basket and continued plucking some more grapes. Gradually, her basket began to fill. As the fox, Pip, made some sounds, pointing at the grapes, the girl delightfully handed him a piece. The fox chewed on the fruit happily with a purr.


    As the girl continued on collecting, the sounds of bushes shifting made her pause, and she casually looked in that direction. Typically, one would be wary in a forest like this, especially in this scenario, but she wasn¡¯t. For there wasn¡¯t typically anything threatening here in their land.


    A moment later, the creature from within the bushes emerged.


    ¡°Oh, hello,¡± the girl greeted.


    It was a floating creature with a transparent body, with lines of light inside them pulsing and forming like veins. All over its body had countless dots twinkling like the stars at night. It had multiple tendrils, shifting softly. It was akin to a jellyfish in the seas, but this one at the top of its head, was shaped like flower petals. It was completely harmless.


    The girl approached it, putting her basket down, and gently grabbed the creature. It was soft and smooth, like a pillow. One could indeed hug it in delight, but it might not like it.


    ¡°Where are the rest of you?¡±


    The creature, called a Feeroo, typically travels in groups. One could often see them in the drape of night from afar, lighting up brightly. Although, they mostly number in a dozen in every group. Rarely, though, one gets lost and gets separated from their group. If they can''t reunite with their friends, they die. Solitude was terrible for these creatures.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see. Are you here for the fountain, I wonder? To feel its grace?¡±


    That was often the case for the creatures in this land. And feeroos often travels by their village, as if attracted by the fountain. And with that consideration, the girl recalled the usual path the feeroos take.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s take you back to your friends.¡±


    She picked and hung her basket on her arm and gently held the feeroo, then she walked into the forest. Pip, the cute fox, jumped down and followed beside her. The girl was a bit worried that she wouldn¡¯t be able to find the feeroo¡¯s group, she wouldn¡¯t want such a harmless and adorable creature to die.


    But she had good faith things will go well.


    A few minutes passed, going through the thick forest, with paths constantly obstructed by small plants, Pip moved in front of the girl and glanced up at her. He made a short sound and pointed in a particular direction.


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    ¡°That way? Good job, Pip!¡±


    The girl followed Pip at a quicker pace. And a moment later, they had found more of the feeroos. The girl smiled widely in joy, as the feeroo in her hand glowed brighter, as if happy itself. She promptly released it and the feeroo quickly floated to join the group. The girl watched with contentment as the feeroos went on their way.


    Pip jumped back on her shoulder, and the girl patted his head.


    She let out a long exhale of relief before nodding. ¡°Alright, guess it¡¯s time to go back.¡±


    Satisfied for the day, and helped a creature in need, the girl and the fox returned to the village. It took several minutes, but she sighed in relief when the village was finally in sight, not being late for the weekly prayer. As it would appear that everyone was still doing their chores.


    But it should begin shortly.


    The girl headed for their home. On the way, one villager waved towards the girl.


    ¡°Good morning, Fleta. You were out early.¡±


    The girl, Fleta, smiled at her. ¡°Good thing I was, otherwise I would have been late.¡±


    Pip ran before the villager, and the latter promptly patted his head.


    ¡°There, there.¡±


    ¡°Anyways, I should get going. See you later,¡± said Fleta.


    ¡°Alright!¡±


    When they arrived back at their home, the moment Fleta opened the door, Pip the fox quickly ran inside.


    ¡°Mom, Dad! I¡¯m back!¡±


    Fleta placed the basket on the table as her father arrived with a fond smile.


    ¡°Fleta, how are the grapes?¡±


    ¡°They look good.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­ Are there still more?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we should leave it to the others.¡±


    Her father grabbed a couple of grapes and threw them into his mouth. ¡°Mm, delicious.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s Mom?¡±


    ¡°Changing. You should also go and get ready.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± She turned to Pip. ¡°Stay here, Pip.¡±


    Fleta headed straight to her room to change. She removed her cloak and drew out a white and red robe from her wooden closet. After making sure there was no noticeable wrinkle, she slipped into it, pulling and straightening it. She grabbed a nearby clean cloth to rub her face before using a wooden comb to fix her hair.


    She took a deep breath and nodded, satisfied. As gently as possible, to avoid dirtying or wrinkling her robe, she returned to the living room.


    ¡°Done already?¡± her father asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already bathed earlier, so I just have to wear my robe.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Then I¡¯ll be going to change, too.¡±


    ¡°Can I go to grandpa¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Best to check on him, just to be safe. Take Pip with you.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Pip.¡±


    With a happy sound, Pip followed Fleta outside. They headed to the house nearby, the home of her grandfather. Upon arrival, Fleta knocked a few times on the door.


    ¡°Grandpa? It¡¯s me, Fleta.¡±


    A moment later came a response from a worn out voice. ¡°Come in.¡±


    With a smile, Fleta opened the door. Sitting on a chair was an old man with gray hair, eye color similar to hers. He was already wearing his robe of white and red.


    Fleta¡¯s grandfather, Garven, was the tribe chief. Although, he was not one to make the final decisions on how to run the village. He was to lead important events, or in particular, religious events. Also, he was one to give advice to the people in the village, help them in going the right path.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re already dressed.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still strong enough to dress myself, you know.¡± He smiled gently.


    Fleta approached him. ¡°I suppose¡­¡± She was relieved that he was still decently strong enough to handle himself. Otherwise, it would have hurt to see him struggle. The hurdle of old age. ¡°Should we go?¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡± He stood up.


    Seeing that he was struggling a bit, Fleta intended on helping him, but he raised his hand.


    ¡°I will be alright for now, Fleta. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    He stared at him for a moment before mildly nodding. ¡°... Okay.¡±


    He was always like this, refusing help when he thought he could do it. Truth be told, she noticed this kind of behavior from some other old people in the tribe. Almost like they didn¡¯t want to show weakness or anything. In any case, it was good that he was still kicking.


    Pip walked beside him.


    Garven smiled. ¡°Hello, Pip. You¡¯re as bright as ever. You should come and check on Temi.¡±


    Once they were outside, Garven placed his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly.


    Next moment, a brown eagle came flying in and let out a fierce and powerful cry. Garven pulled back his sleeve, and the eagle landed on his bare arm.


    ¡°Hello, Temi.¡±


    Pip the fox looked up at the eagle and let out a ¡®hih¡¯ sound, as if in greeting. And the eagle squawked back.


    ¡°Fleta. Can you please carry Temi with you? I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s too heavy for me now.¡±


    Fleta giggled. ¡°Of course, grandpa.¡± Fleta drew back her sleeve and whistled lightly. And Temi the eagle transferred to her arm.


    With that done, they began making their way to one edge of the village. Fleta used her finger to pat Temi in the head.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a bit bigger, Temi. You¡¯ve been hunting more lately, I see.¡±


    ¡°Fleta, once I¡¯m gone. Will you please take him in? He¡¯ll outlast me.¡±


    Fleta turned to Garven with a sad look. ¡°Grandpa¡­¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. Everything ends, eventually. At least, I¡¯ll go in the goddess''s grace.¡±


    ¡°Still¡­¡± That was still a very sad thing.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get to reunite with your grandmother. And that is a cause to be happy. If I¡¯m worthy enough, I may get to have a glimpse of our goddess.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get to see her!¡±


    The old man smiled. ¡°All my life I have prayed to have even a glimpse of her. Even just her hair of white, that is enough for me.¡±


    The goddess was said to have beautiful white hair, white skin, and crimson eyes. No one has personally seen her, as one would expect of gods. However, there was solid proof to her existence, or that she once walked the earth. Its influence can be seen all around at a single glance. With how healthy nature was.


    When they reached the particular path, the villagers had arrived and gathered. There were more than a hundred of them. Garven along with Fleta stood at the front.


    Garven held out his hand. ¡°Settle. I see that everyone has gathered. Then let¡¯s go to the fountain.¡±


    Together, they marched up a stone-paved path leading to the fountain, the object of their worship. They all lined up neatly together, and they were all silent in respect. As they got closer to their destination, Fleta looked at the animals on her person.


    ¡°We¡¯re approaching. You need to go, okay?¡±


    Fleta raised her hand, and the eagle flew upward, while the fox went on his own way, into the trees. Both of them were going to the fountain as well.


    A short while later, the villagers arrived at a wide clearing with the greenest grasses. Around it stood the healthiest trees. Animals of all kinds gathered, deers, birds, small critters, and they dispersed at the humans¡¯ arrival.


    In the center of the clearing was a fountain of stone. But it was no normal fountain. For what flowed within was not clear water, but it was a liquid of crimson. The color of what flows within all living creatures, one that keeps them alive.


    It was a fountain of blood.


    This fountain was proof that their goddess was real.


    The villagers circled the fountain neatly. The one closest to it was the tribe chief. Fleta, beside her parents, watched the magnificent divine fountain with a radiant smile.


    The Fountain of Life, they call it. With its presence, the Goddess of Life shares her grace to its surroundings. Nature was nourished, where every life benefited from its blessings. No hunger, no suffering. Fleta adored it so much, it was beautiful.


    There were a couple of sayings about it shared throughout their tribe¡¯s history. One was that it was a blessing left behind by the Goddess for her people. A gift for humanity. While there was a grim one. It was also said to be Her grave. And in her last moments here in the world, she left that final gift.


    No one was sure of the particular truth. Perhaps both were true. However, there was one certain saying that was passed down since the tribe¡¯s foundation. No, it was a promise.


    The Goddess shall return to grace the lands once more.


    Everyone in the tribe has been waiting and looking forward to the time. No one knows when that would happen or whether they could witness it in their lifetime. However, they have faith that it will come.


    And that will be a time for celebration.


    The villagers clasped their hands together by their chest, and lowered their heads, starting their prayers.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 1: Fireworks

    Local goddess here, stressing out. Even though I have left the administering to my father and Eleden like in the past, in this current time, things were not as lax as I was before. You know, the time when I was chilling most of the time while practicing my magic skills. But now it was different. I have decided to closely coordinate with the team.


    A lot of preparation for the upcoming invasion. Needless to say, Uncle was pretty drained. And we¡¯re done extracting information from the imperial goons we took as prisoners. They were pretty fucked up now, I must say. Of course a pure princess like me wouldn¡¯t know what exactly was done to them.


    In any case, despite weeks having passed, there were still a lot of things to be done. We¡¯re far from ready in facing a full scale invasion. But if things go well, we¡¯ll be ready when the time comes.


    I have also been reducing my time of training magic, not only because of the time needed for other endeavors but also because considering last time, I felt dizzy already just by using a powerful lightning bolt. That¡¯s not good, you know. Don¡¯t want it to get worse.


    At any rate, things have been pretty peaceful, so yeah.


    I was on my way to the dining room for dinner along with my two servants, Rogan and Vernon. Yes, there¡¯s someone missing, our ever sweet Mera. Where¡¯s she¡¯s gone, you might ask? She¡¯s been taken! Kidnapped! And now she¡¯s nowhere to be found. Oh my goodness, is she alright?! She must be suffering or something. Oh, what a tragedy!


    Just kidding!


    She¡¯s actually on leave. After what happened here at the palace, the Wisterian nobles heard of what happened, and her parents requested for her to return to her home. Of course, we didn¡¯t refuse the request, it would be a good time for Mera to chill, you know. After all the deaths she saw, well, to put it simply, she was disturbed, and a bit traumatized.


    She was not the only one though, several households requested for their daughters to temporarily come back. I mean, we already told everyone that no aristocratic maids died, but parents always want to make sure everything is alright. We sent a few, we didn¡¯t send them all since we still need the servants. Once the first batch returns, it would be the second batch¡¯s turn.


    On the way, I came across Mother. I smiled happily and rushed to her side.


    ¡°Estelia, how are you?¡± she softly said, patting me on the head.


    ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡±


    ¡°Really? You¡¯ve been working more recently.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Others took care of it, mostly.¡±


    She paused and looked closely at my face. She pouted a bit, quite adorable at that. My dear Mom just gets her cute and beautiful moments when she gets expressive. Like daughter, like mother! Oh wait, it¡¯s supposed to be the other way around.


    ¡°You look pretty tired to me, Estelia.¡±


    ¡°Am I? Maybe I just need more sleep.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± She wrapped her arm around my head and pulled me into her. ¡°You need to take very good care of yourself, okay?¡±


    I felt her soft and warm embrace as we walked. As I found delight in her arms, I meekly nodded. I didn¡¯t expect this, but it was good. I couldn¡¯t help but smile from the bottom of my heart. Nothing was more peaceful than being in my mother¡¯s arms.


    ¡°What about you, Mother? Are you taking good care of yourself?¡±


    She giggled. ¡°Of course, I am. I always sleep on time, I¡¯ll have you know.¡±


    ¡°... What about work?¡±


    ¡°It is not as hard as yours. So I¡¯m completely fine.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°You need to think more of yourself, my precious baby.¡±


    She rubbed my head, messing up my hair.


    ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m not a baby.¡±


    She chuckled, amused. ¡°You¡¯re always my little baby girl.¡±


    I blushed, and I lowered my head to hide it. It¡¯s embarrassing when she teases me like this. And it¡¯s so awkward when my servants are behind me! Dammit! Makes me wanna cry.


    We arrived in the dining room. But it was only me and Mother that came first. The rest should follow soon. The servants had already placed the food on the table, covered in their respective lids. I yawned as I covered my mouth.


    Yeah, I¡¯m a bit sleepy right now.


    Mother, who sat beside me, gave me a concerned look.


    ¡°Sleepy already? They should arrive in a moment.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m not too sleepy.¡±


    She nodded. And a moment later, Estevan arrived.


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    ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°Hello, brother,¡± I said. ¡°How are you?¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± He sat down on the chair opposite me. ¡°Things are the same as yesterday.¡±


    ¡°There must be something noteworthy,¡± Mother said.


    ¡°Hm, well, everyone¡¯s training hard. And that¡¯s it, there¡¯s not much going on with me.¡±


    ¡°Brother, you should consider going out sometimes. Perhaps meet other young ladies.¡±


    You¡¯re getting older, brother. You should find a fling or something. I know a friend that will be happy to keep your company. Heh, although I doubt she would contribute much considering that she might get all shy and flustered.


    As one of my ladies¡¯ group, I recommend her as a potential partner to my brother!


    ¡°Huh? Why would I do that now?¡± He looked at me with an utterly confused expression.


    Of course, idiot brother! Find other girls instead of me! I mean, has he interacted with other ladies? Except for the servants and knights, they don¡¯t count! Some casual stuff, you know, casual! Speaking of which, I kinda expected he had already found some spark, at least from the lady knights, but nope!


    None that I¡¯m aware of, at least! If there ever was, Rogan should¡¯ve told me already. The lady knights are all cute, brother! At least try picking one¡­


    ¡°Why? To socialize, dear brother.¡±


    He placed a hand on his cheek with a pout. ¡°Don¡¯t want to.¡±


    I smiled, a bit amused. Oh well, I know in time even you will change, my dear brother.


    ¡°How about your own training, brother?¡±


    He grinned widely. ¡°I pushed myself even harder today! My body almost gave up earlier.¡±


    I heard Estevan has been training harder. Definitely in preparation for the war that was to come. Although I don¡¯t have much information about his development, I¡¯m sure he was doing well.


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing. But you shouldn¡¯t overdo it.¡±


    He paused for a moment and shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll try. I should be saying that to you, you already look drowsy.¡±


    I adorably frowned. ¡°It¡¯s night, of course I¡¯ll be.¡±


    ¡°You need more sleep,¡± Mother said. ¡°Want me to sing you a lullaby while you sleep?¡±


    The both of them grinned.


    They were teasing me.


    ¡°I-I¡¯ll be f-fine.¡±


    ¡°If you say so.¡± She chuckled.


    It was then that the last two had finally arrived, my father and eldest brother.


    ¡°Is something the matter?¡± Father asked while glancing at the blushing me.


    ¡°Oh nothing, just making sure Estelia takes better care of herself,¡± Mother said as she caressed the top of my head.


    Father thought for a moment as he sat down. ¡°Want me to sing you a song to sleep?¡±


    I deeply frowned.


    Why are you suggesting the same thing?!


    Am I so obviously sleep deprived or something?! I¡¯m certainly not! I¡¯m just sleepy right now¡­


    ¡°I-I¡¯m fine!¡±


    ¡°Want your dear eldest brother to tuck you to bed?¡± Eleden said with a wide grin.


    ¡°N-No!¡±


    So embarrassing, and they all just laughed at me! Especially you Estevan, you traitor! You¡¯re laughing so loud! Just you, you¡¯ll regret making fun of me. I¡¯ll set up something embarrassing for you!


    Amidst their laughter, however, I couldn¡¯t help but closely look at them. This joyful and casual atmosphere, this time of family, it was nice. These kinds of moments¡­ It just makes me forget the bad things. I never thought I would get to experience something like this in my life, and here I am. And I was glad.


    Every dinner, every lunch, and breakfast was a valuable memory. Wonderful memories.


    Father, after taking a breath from his laughter, cleared his throat. ¡°O-Okay, let¡¯s eat.¡±


    As they chuckled a bit, we began eating. As always, the dishes were colorful and smelled so pleasant. Needless to say, they taste delicious! I¡¯m satisfied with this. Along with a nice and familial environment, nothing could make dining more awesome.


    As the dining proceeded, the family made talks, fun, and interesting ones. Casual, serious, plenty of things that would fit with the time we had for tonight. And I watched it all with a smile, and listened to their words and voices.


    And before I knew it, I was full.


    Sometime later, dinner was done.


    ¡°Alright,¡± said Mother. ¡°It¡¯s time for everyone to rest up.¡± She looked at me.


    I meekly nodded as we rose from our seats. Mother caressed my cheek, and she moved close to tenderly kiss me on the forehead.


    ¡°Especially you.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I mildly smiled.


    She¡¯s too caring.


    We all left the dining room, and I headed straight for my room. After saying goodnights to my two servants, I closed the door and leaped into my bed. I grabbed my pillows and gave them a tight hug. Keeping one in my embrace, I heaved a long sigh.


    So tired.


    I inhaled and smelled the fragrance of my pillow. It smelled good. Either be the fragrance from the washing, or mine¡­ been using this for a while now so¡­ Anyways, I looked up at the ceiling.


    Yeah, guess I should seriously sleep a bit more early.


    I shut off the lights and closed my eyes. In order to sleep, I forced myself to clear my mind and put myself at peace. It took an hour before I fell asleep.


    Suddenly, in my deep slumber, I jumped awake when I heard a loud sound. I was a bit confused, but then I heard another sound. It was distant, echoing, but it was a booming sound¡­ Explosive.


    Another, then another.


    What the hell?


    I pushed my sheets aside and immediately headed for the door. A few of the knights on guard were rushing to the front of the palace. I grabbed one knight¡¯s arm.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Princess, we still don¡¯t know.¡±


    I let him go and there he went running.


    Another explosion in the distance. Shit, I felt like we¡¯re getting bombarded or barraged by bombs. But it can¡¯t be, who would attack us now? The Empire? That¡¯s impossible, how could they even do that? This early, and without us noticing? Impossible.


    Impatient, I ran to the front of the palace. It took no time for me to arrive at the staircase, but then a bright white light broke through the roof.


    ¡°Wha¡ª¡± I sensed a fast object incoming, and I immediately used my wind to move aside instantly. A wave of light tore and crumbled the roof, before an object broke through the multiple floors and stopped to the ground, leaving a large crater and destruction in its wake. Debris scattered all over the place.


    I went on to check what it was, standing at the edge of the broken third floor.


    The thing that broke and pierced through the floors and walls, destroying a chunk of the palace and injuring the few knights caught within it, was an arrow. A normal arrow made of metal.


    ¡°How could that¡­?¡± I was shocked to see the damage it caused.


    Multiple explosions then erupted from the distance, endlessly echoing in the night. I used my wind to lift myself up and hover at the roof. I looked at the city. My eyes widened at what I was seeing.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­¡±


    The city, the capital city¡­ was on fire. My city¡­ was burning. A sphere of fire launched into the air, free falling into the buildings. And it exploded and sparked into different colors upon impact, destroying all caught up in the explosion, and setting the rest on fire.


    Several more hurled in the air and again exploded into multiple colors. Almost like fireworks. No¡­ they were fireworks, made more lethal. I have learned information about the Empire, and there was detail about them possessing something like it. But I didn¡¯t expect something like this! These fireworks were too lethal.


    More buildings were set afire, and I saw magic being fired in certain places. People fighting.


    It can¡¯t be¡­ How did they do it? How? Now? They¡¯re attacking now? And with their weapons of war? How was that even possible? How did they get through without being discovered? And directly here in the capital¡­


    I took a deep breath. I didn¡¯t expect this¡­


    War¡­ has begun.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 2: Desolation

    The embers of flames ascended into the air, filling the sky of the once peaceful city like stars. Burning buildings crackled as they broke apart from all the damaging fire spreading like tides. A streak of red hurled from above, exploding on a building upon impact. Sparkled and splashed all over the place were multiple colors along with additional smaller explosions, debris blew in all directions.


    People screamed and cried. Others ran to wherever their feet may take them, just anywhere that was safe. Those that were unlucky couldn¡¯t go anywhere. There were others that were pinned down under the debris of their home, their family members trying to set them free.


    There were those that were crawling on the ground, leaving a trail of blood as they moved. Limbs smashed, faces burned, major parts of their body torn off being caught in the explosions. Others tried to lift their friends and family, only to be caught up in another explosion themselves. Body parts and blood scattered all over the place, while some were blinded by either debris or from the sparks of the explosions.


    ¡°Help!¡±


    A child called for help, her face brimming with tears. The little girl kneed by their ruined home and shop, colorful flowers scattered around her. Her hand was reaching out to a pair of legs right in the rubble, but it was not moving.


    ¡°Mama! Help my mama, please!¡±


    She cried and cried. But what would be the point? Her mother was already dead, pinned down by the heavy debris, with only her feet out of it. But how could a little girl like her realize such a thing? Could she even grasp the concept of death? Perhaps she could, but only denied it, or she was only holding on to hope.


    A civilian who came across her stopped and glanced painfully at the little girl.


    ¡°You can¡¯t stay here!¡±


    ¡°But my mama!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    The man quickly picked her up and ran away.


    ¡°No! Wait! Don¡¯t leave Mama behind! Please!¡± She tried reaching out for her beloved parent. But she only grew more distant.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry. She¡¯s gone.¡±


    In another part of the city, there was a young man and woman running through a small alleyway along with other people. The young man held his beloved¡¯s hand tightly as they went.


    ¡°What about my mom and dad?¡± said the young woman in a panicked voice.


    ¡°W-We¡¯ll go check on them, don¡¯t worry!¡±


    ¡°O-Okay!¡±


    ¡°What the hell even is going on? Who¡¯s attacking us?¡±


    The people truly do not know, and how even the enemy got here. Everything was so sudden. They were just sleeping so peacefully, like always, and the next thing they heard were explosions, buildings crumbling, and people dying.


    Suddenly, an explosion erupted above them.


    ¡°Wha¡ª!¡±


    The two lovers stopped instantly in shock. It was so bright and powerful, like a vicious gale hit them. The explosion severely damaged the surrounding buildings, and they crumbled apart in front of them, blocking their way. Flames began to spread.


    The second tiny explosion blew up in a wider area, and pieces of it fell upon the two.


    ¡°Agh!¡±


    ¡°It burns!¡±


    Some sort of white substance that came along with the explosions stuck to their arms and faces. They were so hot that they melted parts of the young woman¡¯s face, and burned the man¡¯s arms.


    ¡°G-Get it off! Please!¡± The young woman fell into utter panic. ¡°H-Help me¡­¡± Her voice trailed off as she suffered through the intense pain, tears streaming down her eyes, only to evaporate the moment the white substance touched them.


    ¡°H-Hang on! I-I¡¯ll get them off!¡± The man caught her as she fell, drowning in agony. He grabbed the white substance, bearing the pain in his arms, and on his fingers as he removed the things hurting the woman he loved. ¡°Hang on, hang on! Everything¡¯s going to be alright.¡±


    As he tried to save her, flames spread around them, even to the other nearby buildings. It won¡¯t be long before they will be surrounded. But he was focused on saving the one he loved the most.


    No one was prepared for this attack, resulting in severe human casualties and immense damage to the beautiful city. Shops that were popular with the citizens and tourists alike, like the store that sells worm barbecue, or the shops that sell souvenirs, all were either already destroyed, or about to. Men, women, and children, none were safe in the wake of these dangerous works of fire.


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    Parents lying bloodied on roads holding their children, children holding their siblings, families trying to save families, perhaps the most unlucky were flattened by the debris on their beds. It was too terrible. Even the hardened soldiers whose duty was to protect, were shaken by the view of death and destruction in this night colored by the hue of the burning tides.


    As the city fell into chaos, its soldiers and knights committed themselves in fighting off the enemies. The city wall was struck by giant metal javelins from the enemy ballistas, embedding into the walls. Despite the gate being broken for entry, the enemy knights still scaled up the wall, using the javelins to climb and jump up.


    But it was not only mere plain javelins they used. Aiming at the places where there were no imperial knights, they fired a few javelins with explosives attached to them. Light streaked through the air before the javelins pierced through the wall, and a moment later, an explosion boomed, shaking and breaking parts of the wall.


    But destroying the wall was not the primary goal of these attacks. Despite their explosives, the sturdiness of the wall prevented significant damage. The main objective was to shake the hearts of the Wisterian soldiers, and burn a few if they could. In short, psychological attack.


    A sudden assault, strange loud booming sounds erupting all over the city, everything on fire, walls shaking and slowly being broken. Nothing more could rattle the mind of the defenders. How fearsome indeed.


    Imperial knights stormed the top of the wall, elites easily cutting through the enemy Wisterians. Strong Wisterian knights were present on the wall as well. And they were faring way better than the normal soldiers. However, the imperials would form a small group to face a Wisterian knight to quickly dispose of them. So, before a Wisterian knight could kill an enemy, he would already be struck from anywhere but the front.


    The several Wisterian elite knights assigned to the wall quickly realized the enemy¡¯s plan.


    ¡°Regroup!¡± said a Wisterian knight.


    The elite knights regrouped and formed a defensive line. Imperial knights engaged them, both sides exchanged strikes and magic attacks. Wisteria managed to execute multiple of their enemies, but then a hooded figure joined in the fight, holding a thin-bladed sword of his own. With a brandish of his sword, several wind whirls ¡ª about 10 meters wide, and 30 meters high ¡ª formed from out of nowhere, dismantling the Wisterian¡¯s formation. It didn¡¯t end there as flames engulfed the stranger¡¯s blade, and he swung towards a whirl, launching a wave of fire. And the fire merged with the wind whirl.


    The Wisterian knights quickly backed away, while one promptly engaged with the enemy, sending a number of magical slashes. Quickly evading, the man¡¯s hood was removed. The knight¡¯s eyes widened when he saw the man¡¯s ears.


    ¡°An elf!¡± The knight knew of them. They hunted them before.


    Aware of the danger they possess, the knight quickly withdrew to join with his allies. The elf frowned, ignoring the knight. With his flame engulfed blade, he struck one of his wind whirls, creating more whirls of fire. His fierce winds moved throughout the walls, devouring and killing everything in their path. Commoner soldiers screamed and tried to flee, but these forces of nature were relentless.


    The surviving Wisterian knights watched on in anger.


    ¡°It¡¯s not just the Empire.¡±


    ¡°Go and alert the palace. Let them know of the enemy we¡¯re facing!¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡±


    One Wisterian knight quickly jumped down the wall, plunging his sword into it to slow his descent. When he reached the surface, he made a run for it, using as much Physical Enhancement he could use. As he went further in the city, he felt pain and grief at the sight of what had become of his home city. And worst of all, the number of dead.


    Enemy forces had already started to swarm the place. Common soldiers and knights of Wisteria fighting them off. Along with them were what appeared to be the adventurers. But the knight kept on moving, without even thinking of helping anyone in a fight.


    But then, someone suddenly jumped in beside him. A glint of a weapon passed by and bludgeoned him on his side, launching him into a nearby building. With an annoyed groan, he quickly gained his footing as a lance was coming down at him.


    He used his sword to deflect the incoming weapon as he stepped to the side. But suddenly, wind blew up from the lance, pushing him away. As he was recovering from his stagger, a piercing light came at him, striking and damaging his dominant right hand. His sword dropped to the ground.


    And the next moment, without giving him a second to react or recover, his enemy extended his lance forward, but failed to reach him. The tip glowed for a moment before being followed by an incredibly powerful wind, and it pierced through the Wisterian knight¡¯s chest, blasting a hole through it.


    The knight tried taking a breath, but he couldn¡¯t.


    With a grin, the enemy lancer grabbed him at his torso, and they glared at each other.


    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± He chuckled, as if mocking him.


    The lancer was the imperial elite Orven, with his main weapon as a lance. He had a particular way of killing, it was blasting a hole through the enemy¡¯s chest. It was a quick and sure way of killing an opponent, not even healing spells can save them. All by using his wind through his weapon. But not wind alone, he also included his Armament Magic. The latter to break through the metal, and the wind to support the magic forward or cut through flesh.


    But this feat was easier said than done. One would need to focus most of their power on a single point, and not to mention a large amount of mana at their disposal. Orven was a special case, as if he was gifted or blessed by the gods. His abilities were stronger than anyone else, his magic more powerful than anyone. And to merge both his Armament Magic, and his family¡¯s specialty of offensive wind magic, was a special achievement.


    He was certain death.


    His piercing blow was so powerful that it could entirely go through an armored man like this Wisterian knight. With his high affinity with magic, and his skills as a warrior, landed him in the position of an elite knight. He was one of the best.


    The Wisterian knight could only glare as his life slipped away. He saw a few streaks of light flying high up in the sky. Orven looked up as well.


    ¡°Would you look at that? Your palace will have one hell of a headache once those hit. Those long eared guys sure are something.¡±


    And the Wisterian knight closed his eyes while feeling fear for his home nation. Orven casually dropped him.


    ¡°Oh well, gotta keep going.¡±

 Vol. 4 Chapter 3: Reunion (Part 1)

    Enemy forces have spread out all over the capital city. Enemies filled mostly with elites, and not so average knights. None of them could be undermined at all. Only the Wisterian knights were a decent match against these imperials. But all kinds of properties were getting destroyed in their battles.


    However, there were also other forces that were more or less on a par with the Wisterian knights. Or at least, those were at a higher rank. Namely, the adventurers. There were several adventurers hanging out in their headquarters when the Empire began their attack. Some, of course, were drunk. But despite being intoxicated, they immediately made their move to find out what¡¯s going on, and defend the city. There were also others that were sleeping in their lodgings, and had to snap awake once they heard the commotion and go into battle after seeing that the city was under attack.


    Some had Serene, or Wisteria itself, as their home, while the others defended because either there was no choice, or because it was the right thing to do.


    Adventurers spread throughout the city, helping the citizens, and fighting off the enemy. There was no particular safe place to bring the citizens to, considering that buildings were being destroyed and set on fire one after another. But there were plenty of safe spaces they could bring them. Large clearings, the grasslands between the city and the palace, or some distant warehouses. Each group of those helping the evacuation had to pick their own destinations. If only they could have evacuated the city beforehand. But it was pointless to dread something they could never control.


    One particular party was trying to find civilians to evacuate or rescue. Facing the enemy directly was not their primary mission in mind, but if they do face one, they¡¯ll have to fight.


    Dune, the swordsman of the party, led the group up front, his sword held in both his hands, ready for any enemy that may appear. The large muscular man, Iruyu, sternly looked around, gripping his ax tightly. And the last member, the mage, Anita, warily walked behind the two, looking at the ruined surroundings with apparent concern and sorrow.


    She held her breath and placed a hand on her lips at the sight of several dead. Normal people, crushed beneath the heavy rubble, burned to the point that they were unrecognizable, while others died by normal means, or to be precise, murdered.


    A few more people were running away, and they had to point them in the right direction.


    ¡°Go that way!¡± Dune pointed.


    ¡°You¡¯re gonna be alright, just keep heading to safety,¡± Anita said to one running civilian.


    It would be safer to escort them, but there were still others out there that needed help. They¡¯ll be safe as the enemy were facing the Wisterian forces. Although, even that was not completely for certain. In any case, they have to save as many people as they can.


    And then, Anita spotted a man slightly moving while pinned down by wooden debris.


    ¡°Dune! Right there!¡± She pointed.


    The party rushed to the man, and the latter slowly looked up.


    ¡°H-Help.¡±


    Dune sheathed his sword and removed the debris pinning the man. ¡°Hang on.¡±


    Anita also helped removing more debris, but there was a larger wooden block. ¡°Iruyu, if you would.¡±


    ¡°Right. Stand aside.¡±


    Iruyu easily lifted the heavy wooden block as both Dune and Anita pulled out the civilian. The man groaned in pain as they carefully helped him up. They looked at his legs, he was wounded as expected, but not too terrible.


    ¡°Can you walk?¡± asked Dune.


    ¡°I-I think I can.¡±


    ¡°Alright, you need to get to safety. Meaning you must walk or run. Can you do that?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    Anita turned towards a man running away and called for him. ¡°Hey you! Bring this man with you!¡±


    The fleeing man paused and seemed to hesitate. But in the end approached the injured man, putting his arm on his shoulder. The adventurers and the man nodded at each other before both the civilians started fleeing together.


    Dune smiled while Anita sighed in relief.


    ¡°Good man,¡± said Iruyu with a proud grin.


    As they were about to continue onward, there was a lone civilian running away, but then suddenly was struck by a sword from behind. The adventurer party instantly switched and readied for combat, spreading apart and drawing their weapons.


    ¡°Oh, what¡¯s this? Adventurers, I presume?¡±


    It was a fully armored knight of the Empire, the invaders.


    ¡°I would prefer you stay out of this.¡± He casually brandished his sword.


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    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid,¡± said Dune. ¡°You¡¯re killing civilians.¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°Bastard.¡± Dune was flabbergasted. To think there could be a formal knight who wouldn¡¯t feel any kind of regret after killing a defenseless and innocent civilian. Unlike mere bandits or criminals, to be honest, he expected more from any knight.


    Dune pointed his sword at him, and both Iruyu and Anita also got ready to attack.


    ¡°Really?¡± The knight arrogantly chuckled. ¡°You don¡¯t look so strong.¡±


    Anita gritted her teeth in irritation. ¡°Judging by appearance is stupid!¡±


    ¡°That so? Heh.¡± He held his sword with both hands and shifted his foot forward. ¡°Your funeral.¡±


    After a moment of stillness, the imperial knight charged towards them with a confident grin on his face. Anita used the spell Thunderclap, clapping her hands together. A large wave of lightning emerged from her hand, vertically hurling towards the imperial knight with tremendous speed. However, the knight was able to react quickly, and he swung his sword in the air, sending a slash of magic to intercept the lightning.


    The two spells clashed, causing a shockwave to shake the air, dust scattering away. But the knight¡¯s magic overpowered Anita¡¯s, surprising the mage, and it kept on moving. As the slash got closer, Iruyu cast Armament Magic on his ax and struck the incoming magical wave, dissipating it.


    At the same time, Dune and the enemy knight made contact. Dune swung his blade sideways, and the knight flicked the sword with his own. With that opening, the knight swiftly moved his hand forward from the bottom and swung upwards.


    Realizing the incoming fatal strike, Dune simultaneously held out his one hand and cast his barrier spell. The sword instead struck the barrier first, protecting Dune. However, it instantly broke upon impact. Dune frantically stepped back feeling surprised at the sheer power the knight possessed. The knight himself was pretty irritated.


    He quickly stepped forward for a subsequent strike against the adventurer, but the ax wielder, Iruyu, stepped in beside him and already had his ax drawn back to strike. The knight took a step to the side as the ax swung down from where he was. It should have struck the floor, but then unexpectedly, it immediately moved sideways. The knight didn¡¯t expect the man could do such a thing, and he resorted to using his own barrier, successfully blocking it. He thrust his hand shield forward, to push the ax back, and he extended his blade towards Iruyu.


    Iruyu leaped back, and thus Dune came in to attack from the enemy¡¯s flank. He went in for a strike, but the enemy knight received the attack with his sword. And then, they exchanged attacks, with Dune struggling, and the knight grinning, not even finding it difficult.


    ¡°Oh?¡± He swung to the side, but Dune parried it. ¡°You¡¯re somewhat good. I underestimated you a bit.¡±


    Iruyu attacked from behind him, and the knight casually turned to the side and extended his left hand to cast a barrier, receiving Iruyu¡¯s attack. While at the same time, he kept swinging his sword at Dune. He was attacking and defending on both sides. And they couldn¡¯t believe it.


    ¡°But you¡¯re not strong enough.¡±


    A stream of mana filled and revolved around his blade and after parrying Dune¡¯s attack, he triggered his magic pointed at the swordsman, firing a beam of magic.


    ¡°Agh!¡±


    The swift and momentary beam hit Dune¡¯s chest, burning through his armor, and reached his flesh. Dune bled and he fell to one knee, groaning in pain.


    Anita, who has been searching for a clean opportunity to attack without hitting her own allies, fired a pair of firebolts at the enemy. The knight grinned as he widely swung his sword sideways, sending a wave of flames of his own, serving to counter the incoming bolts. The wave swallowed the bolts of fire and headed straight for Anita.


    Quickly, Anita used as much mana as she could to use her ice magic, sending a large wave of frost to create a wall and clash with the wave of flames. The burning wave cut and melted the thick ice wall, and reached Anita, violently blasting her away, making her ricocheting on the floor a couple of times.


    She moaned as she slowly got up with trembling legs, her clothes burned and letting off smoke. Thankfully, the flames was weakened, otherwise she could have died. But she did not come out completely unharmed, as she had terrible burns on her stomach. She heavily breathed through the intense pain.


    Meanwhile, the knight switched his target to Iruyu. Iruyu swung his ax down at him with one hand, and the knight deflected his weapon. However, at the same time, Iruyu swung his fist at the knight, his arm powered with Physical Enhancement. Getting hit by such an attack would shatter the bones of any normal man.


    However, the knight used his one hand to block the incoming attack, their wrist hitting each other.


    ¡°What?¡± Iruyu was surprised to see it.


    ¡°Apparently, I use Physical Enhancement better than you.¡±


    He head-butted Iruyu, and as the man staggered, the knight dug his fist into Iruyu¡¯s belly. Afterwards, he stabbed his blade through Iruyu¡¯s right leg, causing the man to fall on one knee. But he wasn¡¯t done yet, he pulled out the blade and extended his hand at him, and a ball of flame emerged, exploding on the adventurer and violently blowing him away.


    Iruyu¡¯s entire chest was terribly burned, but nothing fatal. Almost like killing him was not the knight¡¯s intention.


    ¡°See?¡± The knight smirked. ¡°You guys are pathetic!¡±


    The party looked at each other, thinking about how to defeat the knight. He was way stronger than they had anticipated. He was likely to be on par with a Wisterian elite knight.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see, who should I kill first?¡±


    The party readied their weapons.


    Then the knight¡¯s eyes stopped at Anita. ¡°Guess we¡¯ll start with the mage. Casters from afar¡­ are annoying.¡±


    The party forced themselves to stand up as the knight slowly made his way to Anita.


    But then a shining golden arrow came flying towards the knight.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    That arrow came suddenly, and was moving so fast that the knight was unable to defend himself properly. As he turned around, the arrow struck him on his side, and he was pushed away a couple of meters. But he kept himself standing as his feet slid to the ground.


    The knight looked at the golden arrow that struck him through the armor before it faded away.


    With a glare, he raised his eyes towards the one who fired that arrow. The adventurer¡¯s party curiously stared as well.


    There was someone standing on the rooftop of a damaged building, wearing a dark robe and a dark mask. From the looks of it, it was a woman. Short dark hair reached above her shoulders. In her hand was a magnificent divine bow made of golden light.


    She drew back the string of her bow, and an arrow appeared within it. The arrow¡¯s glow grew in intensity, and when she let go, the arrow soared forth, carrying a bright light so holy. It flew so fast that the knight had to fill his sword with magic and block the arrow. He slid back as he resisted its power.


    At the same time, the archer jumped down and moved in closer. The moment the arrow faded, she extended her hand and fired a deadly beam of light at the knight, hurling him away into a building. Debris flew all over, and dust filled the air around him.


    The archer pointed her hand at Iruyu, and a stream of golden light engulfed the man.


    ¡°Healing magic?¡±


    Then she proceeded to the swordsman, completely healing him. And finally, to the mage. Once Anita was healed, she double checked the burns and recalled the golden light. She glanced at the archer, she was familiar.


    ¡°... Tina?¡±


    The archer removed her dark mask, and it was indeed Tina, the priestess they know of. Their healer.


    ¡°Hi,¡± Tina said with an awkward smile.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 4: Reunion (Part 2)

    Anita, no, all three of them were surprised to see her here.


    ¡°New haircut?¡± Anita casually said.


    Tina shyly chuckled. ¡°Y-Yeah.¡±


    Iruyu and Dune gathered around them, Dune gawking at Tina with a happy smile.


    ¡°You look good.¡±


    Tina mildly nodded and looked at the three of them one by one with a wide smile, she missed them.


    ¡°What are you guys doing out here? It¡¯s dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Helping people, of course,¡± said Dune. ¡°And what are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s with the getup?¡± Anita asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± She seemed to hesitate. ¡°Wisteria is under siege¡­ that¡¯s why.¡±


    Iruyu glanced at her bow of golden light. ¡°Incredible weapon, it¡¯s made of magic?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t know you could do that.¡± Dune poked the weapon with his finger, and it was solid indeed.


    ¡°I just learned it¡­¡±


    Suddenly, there was a booming sound as debris was blown away. Everyone turned towards the building, and emerging from the rubbles was the knight. His front armor was damaged and flesh wounded, but nothing severe. However, he was enraged.


    ¡°I can¡¯t fight him directly, I¡¯ll leave it to you. I¡¯ll support you.¡±


    The two warriors, Dune and Iruyu, stepped in at the front of the group. Anita moved in front of Tina, as the latter stayed at the utmost rear of the party.


    Dune flourished his sword. ¡°Just like old times, eh?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Anita couldn¡¯t help but form a fondly smile. Although, it was saddening to realize that one of them was no longer here.


    As the knight got closer, his sword crackled in flames. He glared directly at Tina. ¡°You actually hurt me, you bastards. Fine, no more playing around.¡±


    The knight ran towards them and swung his sword subsequently multiple times, sending a number of fiery arcs at the party. Judging from their speed, the knight was truly serious now. Tina quickly cast translucent shields to her friends, protecting them like armor. It will protect them from at least a couple of direct strikes.


    Iruyu charged forward and did a wide swing with his ax, unleashing a large slash of magic, intercepting the flames. But a couple survived, and thus he engulfed his weapon with magic and personally attacked the slashes. After successfully doing so, Iruyu and the imperial knight met.


    They swung their weapons at each other, but the sword wielding knight was faster and stronger. And the knight was able to land a powerful hit, but the barrier got in the way. He clicked his tongue.


    ¡°So annoying!¡±


    He stepped back, pointing the tip of his blade at Iruyu, and shifted back his arm as he focused his fiery magic. He was intending on unleashing a powerful stream of fire, but as he thrust his sword forward, another sword struck from below. His magic was released upwards, completely away from his target.


    ¡°Damn you!¡±


    He glared at Dune who stopped his magic. After swiftly retracting his sword, he struck Dune to the chest, but again, the shield protected the man. At the same time, Iruyu took the chance to swing an attack. The knight quickly cast a shield with his one hand, blocking the incoming ax.


    And suddenly, a thunderclap spell came and hit him from behind him.


    ¡°Agh!¡±


    The electricity crawled all over his armor, and he breathed heavily from the shocking pain. He took a step back and swung his sword at Iruyu, and as he did so, he moved his position to behind the large man, obstructing the mage¡¯s view of him.


    Iruyu took a swing at him, and the knight, with all his strength, parried the ax. With the ax pushed back, the knight turned his attention to Dune, who was about to attack him. The knight met Dune¡¯s sword, and as their weapons locked, he revolved his weapon, bringing Dune¡¯s sword with it. While the adventurer was caught off guard, the knight thrust his weapon a little and blasted flames. Both damaging his barrier and obstructing his sight.


    With that chance, the knight stepped forward as Iruyu¡¯s ax went behind him, successfully evading it. And the knight delivered a powerful blow at Dune from the side, and upon contact, he unleashed another blast of flames.


    With those, Dune¡¯s barrier shattered. The knight grinned.


    Iruyu attacked, and the knight kept deflecting his weapon. When Dune took a swing, the knight dodged and stepped forward, punching the adventurer in the face. Dune was blown away a few feet, and he spat out blood. The knight rushed towards him to finally slay him, but a light arrow struck his back, piercing through his armor.


    He grunted in pain, stopping and blocking Iruyu¡¯s another attack. At the same time, a stream of golden light healed Dune¡¯s minor wounds.


    The knight gritted his teeth. ¡°Like fucking cockroaches!¡±


    The adventurer mage used her frost magic directed at one of the knight¡¯s feet. Surprised by the unexpected spell, he cast a barrier to block Iruyu¡¯s incoming attack and swung his sword towards Anita, sending a wide wave of fire. Anita, however, took it all completely unscathed because of her golden shielding.


    Another arrow pierced his back. The knight glared at the priestess. Tina drew back her golden string, spawning another arrow. She aimed and fired again. The knight deflected the arrow with his blade, and at the same time, he was struck by another thunderclap spell. His skin underneath the armor was getting burnt, and his joints were numb. Pain radiating all over his body.


    With all Dune¡¯s strength, he stabbed the knight from behind, piercing through his armor and his flesh.


    ¡°Agh!¡±


    With a trembling body and bloodshot eyes, he looked at Dune from the corner of his eyes. His gaze filled with resentment.


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    ¡°D-Damn adventurers¡­¡± He took a deep, trembling breath. As he gathered his final strength, he broke the ice holding his foot and turned towards Dune. He raised his sword bursting with flames, intending on cutting him down. But then Iruyu¡¯s ax struck the knight in the chest. Tina fired an arrow and stabbed through his neck.


    The knight paused as he choked. Iruyu retracted his ax, and the knight started stumbling forward, but he was still trying to keep his footing. Despite that, he still fell to one knee, his blood dripping to the floor.


    ¡°Defeating m-me here¡­ w-won¡¯t change a t-thing.¡± He took a wheezing breath, trying to keep himself alive.


    The party gathered together and watched him struggle. They were quite astonished to see that he was still alive despite all the damage he took. Even so, in the end, even a tough knight like him, completely dropped to the floor, and he breathed his last.


    The party sighed in relief.


    ¡°Good job, everyone!¡± said Dune with a wide smile. ¡°I missed this so much.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Iruyu nodded. ¡°It feels great to be working as a team again.¡±


    Anita chuckled. ¡°Yes¡­ Even if we are missing one member, it¡¯s a great feeling.¡± She glanced at Tina. ¡°Um, Tina¡­ I¡¯ve been wanting to apologize for what I did to you and how I treated you.¡±


    Tina¡¯s eyes widened in confusion. ¡°Huh? I thought we already had that behind us¡­¡±


    ¡°N-Not completely¡­ Last time¡­ I was not in a good place. And I was too mean.¡±


    Ever since Tina¡¯s departure from their party, Anita has always been thinking and reflecting on how she treated Tina that time. And she felt terrible. She had longed for her to see Tina again, to at least apologize.


    Tine mildly smiled. It warmed her heart to hear her friend¡¯s words. ¡°Anita, everything is already fine, ever since I left. You have nothing to worry about anymore.¡±


    In truth, Tina didn¡¯t hold any grudges or anything bad. She understood her, and them. She lied and kept what she truly was, and worse of all, one of their friends perished. Anyone would be mentally unstable in that kind of scenario, anyone would act and say something they didn¡¯t truly mean.


    ¡°I see¡­ I¡¯m glad.¡± Anita smiled in relief. ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering, will you come back? To us?¡±


    Tina lowered her gaze. ¡°No¡­ I don¡¯t think so¡­¡±


    Anita¡¯s smile disappeared. ¡°Why¡­?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t. Being an adventurer¡­ is not my place anymore.¡±


    ¡°I thought you loved adventuring. You¡¯re giving that up?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Returning to the Church Order, training, working hard to develop further, Tina had time to reflect. To consider what was more important. She had her fun¡­ And now that fun had to end. To return to what she truly should be, her purpose. Being a priestess, and to focus on protecting the homeland. She shouldn¡¯t satisfy her own selfish desire anymore.


    Anita was speechless. Tina often expressed how much she enjoyed going out there with her friends. And for her to stop all that, both shocked and saddened her. No, not her alone, but the other two party members as well.


    ¡°Tina, you can¡¯t just give up on what you want,¡± said Dune.


    Tina gave Dune a sad smile. ¡°We all have our roles and purposes. I have returned to mine.¡±


    Dune scowled. ¡°Stop it with roles and purpose. Does what you want don''t matter anymore? You¡¯re free to do what you want.¡±


    Tina shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s just not how the world works, Dune. We can¡¯t always do what we want.¡±


    ¡°So you want it?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Tina paused and closed her eyes for a moment. ¡°I want to, but as I said, I can¡¯t come back. I also want to give my full service to the church and to the homeland.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not fair.¡±


    Tina bit her lip. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t expect any of you to understand.¡±


    ¡°Then make us understand.¡±


    ¡°Dune¡­ Our wants, wishes, are not always the most important thing. And in the end, we have to make a choice. I have made mine.¡±


    Anita took a step closer. ¡°Is this how you truly want it? You¡¯re not being compelled?¡±


    ¡°This is out of my own will. Please do not argue with me. Let me¡­ Let me enjoy this reunion.¡± Tina forced a smile.


    Dune and Anita looked at each other, hesitating. But there was nothing else they could do, it was what Tina decided. And thus, all they could do was mildly nod.


    ¡°If you need help, we¡¯ll always be there to help you,¡± Iruyu said.


    ¡°I know¡­¡±


    It was then that Dune saw an enemy knight leaping into the air, holding a spear. A blue hue of mana engulfing the tip of his weapon.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Dune warned his group.


    But before he could act, the enemy knight thrust his spear forward. A powerful and wide bolt of destructive mana shot forth, coming at the group at incredible speed. Tina, as the strongest within her group, had enough reflex to respond and cast a wide shield of gold against the attack.


    The magic crashed against her shield, and the magic exploded and expanded. Her shield cracked, to Tina¡¯s dismay. However, thankfully, the magic completely dissipated.


    The new enemy landed on the ground, and Tina, as she dispelled her shield, she cast another shield on Dune and after that she held out her one hand and fired a beam of golden light. The spell was supposed to be fast, but the enemy was faster. He swiftly avoided her most powerful offensive spell.


    The enemy spun his spear, leaving white streaks in the air, and with it, he unleashed numerous slashes of light. Tina, feeling nervous and in more danger, frantically cast a barrier to block all the slashes. However, the enemy moved fast, and as all the slashes were blocked, he was now right next to her shield.


    The knight thrust his magic filled spear into Tina¡¯s already cracked barrier. With a boom, the entire protection shattered. Tina cast her thunderclap spell, but the enemy adeptly evaded it. This guy was even worse than the knight before.


    Tina quickly fired a beam of light, and again the enemy evaded as he got closer. Both Tina and Anita fired their spells, and now Iruyu joined using his Armament Magic, but all of it was evaded by the spearman.


    ¡°What the hell?!¡± Anita exclaimed.


    And the enemy was closer than ever. If he extended his spear, he''d be able to reach them. Tina panicked. Perhaps she could survive an initial direct attack from him. However, her friends were a different matter. True that they have shields, but she doubted if they could survive long against an enemy this fast and relentless.


    In the shortest time, she racked her brains to come up with a way to fight. And then, suddenly, as the enemy was running closer, a spear of ice came flying at the knight at tremendous speed. Unexpected and quick as it was, the spear hit the knight, violently pushing him away to the side and crashing into the nearby building.


    Tina recognized that magic, and she smiled brightly. ¡°Sister!¡±


    Leaping in the air was a dark outfitted and masked woman holding a spear of golden light. She headed straight for the knight, and the latter quickly got up. They attacked each other, and their spears collided. Each one of them trying to gain the upper hand, to strike at the enemy¡¯s opening.


    Tina¡¯s sister, Astine, parried the enemy¡¯s spear, and she instantly thrust her spear forward with one hand. However, the enemy recovered too quickly. He stepped back and used the pole of his weapon to block Astine. The knight retracted his spear and as he swung emerged a slash of light. But Astine managed to barely evade.


    Astine stomped her foot and a pillar of ice instantly arose from the ground, crashing against the knight¡¯s chest, throwing him upwards. The priestess took the chance and lunged forward to strike. Seeing the incoming attack, the knight heavily swung his spear sideways, successfully deflecting the attack, and at the same time, his footing returned to the ground. However, suddenly, another spear appeared in her other hand, and she thrust her spear at him, while the other disappeared.


    He quickly used his spear¡¯s pole to block it, and he did. But then in her other hand spawned another spear, and she sent her strike into his abdomen. The knight¡¯s eyes widened as the golden weapon pierced through him. Blood stuck to the beautiful holy spear.


    The knight slowly raised his eyes to look, no, to glare at the woman through her mask. But she glared back.


    She flicked off his spear and swung her spear sideways, beheading the man. The head dropped bloodied to the floor, the eyes still open. She dispelled the spear stuck to the enemy, and the corpse dropped like a loose puppet.


    She stared at it for a moment before approaching Tina. She frowned when she saw her face.


    ¡°You removed your mask.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry, sister. It¡¯s just¡­ I wanted to meet my friends¡­¡± She expected a scolding, because after all, she was not exactly allowed to do such a thing.


    But surprisingly, none of the sort happened.


    ¡°I see. Don¡¯t loiter around too long, we still have work to do.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, sister.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    A voice suddenly came from behind them, and they instantly turned around, their weapons at the ready.


    There was a man in a cloak standing there, but his face was bare.


    ¡°Church warrior. Fascinating. You killed that elite knight, but I guess that¡¯s just how much we¡¯d expect from measly humans.¡±


    Tina took in a shaky breath. The man stood confidently with a grin on his face.


    ¡°Still, you are quite a danger yourself, spearwoman. To the humans at least. Allow me to smoothen this assault.¡± He pulled a pair of thin swords from underneath the drapes of his cloak. ¡°I must head to the palace, but I have plenty of time.¡±


    The mage, Anita, trembled as he stared at the man, no, specifically to his ears. ¡°Isn¡¯t t-that an elf¡­?¡±


    The same kind that killed Derin. One they were powerless against.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 5: Reunion (Part 3)

    ¡°Tina,¡± Astine quietly said. ¡°I¡¯ll handle this.¡±


    That was the best option, Tina shouldn¡¯t directly involve herself in fighting an elf. Between the two of them, only Astine could keep up with one, based on past experiences. With that in mind, Tina helped in where she could, she cast a personal barrier on her sister.


    Astine slowly stepped forward as another golden spear appeared in her other hand. She took subtle deep breaths. Truth be told, she was feeling a bit tense. The elves were somewhat unpredictable, with their strength and the magic they possessed. And worse than that, they weren¡¯t complete idiots. They were one of the most dangerous opponents that Astine could ever face.


    The elf¡¯s blades glinted, from what it appeared, he cast some sort of magic. Must be some kind of Armament Magic.


    As the tension grew between the two, Tina urged her friends to move away so as to not get in her sister¡¯s way.


    ¡°We¡¯re just going to watch?¡± Dune said, a bit displeased.


    ¡°We can¡¯t do anything.¡± Tina glanced at them. ¡°Don¡¯t you have to save people? Then continue on with it. I¡¯ll help wherever I can.¡±


    Astine and the elf began their attack. Astine used the most of her Physical Enhancement to move at great speed and for better control of her body. While the elf seemed to be naturally swift himself, Astine wasn¡¯t sure if he was even using some type of body enhancement. At any rate, their weapons clashed, Astine¡¯s spears on each hand ground with the enemy¡¯s sword, sparks spewing at every slide.


    She suddenly retracted one to swing another, but the elf quickly blocked the attack with ease. Astine stepped back and did a wide swing attack before thrusting with her other spear. But then again, she failed to reach his skin.


    She continued her attack with no relent, doing all she could to damage the enemy. Her successive attacks caused some tension to the elf, her speed and strength were surprising. He parried one spear, then the other, and slid a stab to Astine¡¯s head. But the latter shifted her head to the side, evading the blade.


    Astine waved her spear, and a wave of ice emerged from the floor, coming at the enemy. The enemy promptly leaped back, and Astine lunged at him. The elf stepped to the side to evade, and afterwards caught an opening to her defense, he swung his sword at her. Upon the successful hit, Astine¡¯s shield instantly shattered, and she quickly leaped back to a safe distance.


    ¡°What a feeble protection,¡± said the elf.


    But then Tina quickly cast another protection spell on Astine. Seeing that, the elf frowned. What he did was basically rendered pointless. And now with restored protection, Astine charged at the elf, continuing her attacks.


    Tina and the others could only watch in awe at the intensifying combat between the two. They leaped and moved all around the area at incredible speed, sending dust and blows of wind with their strikes. Astine¡¯s attacks were both savage and graceful. While the elf was smooth and regal. Despite all that, they seemed to be fighting equally.


    Not even the two warriors, Dune and Iruyu, could clearly follow the attacks they threw at each other. How they evade, block, and respond to attacks, were all awe-inspiring. And the way Tina¡¯s sister, Astine, used her physical attacks and ice magic together, was incredible. Even Dune felt like an idiot thinking he could fight her in the past. If he did, he¡¯ll be kicked around like a puppy.


    Astine parried the enemy¡¯s sword, and she conjured an ice spear from the floor, hurling it at the enemy, hitting and throwing him into a burning building. Before the dust and smoke even got to settle, the elf swung his blade, cutting the smoke apart. With a glare, he ran towards Astine and he swung both his swords, sending a pair of swirling sharp winds.


    Astine quickly blocked the swift winds with her magic spears. But at the same time, the elf moved the tip of his sword right before her, pointing upward. Wind had already gathered, swirling around it. Before Astine could shift both her spears and body, a powerful blast of wind crashed against her chest. That attack sent her away, blasting her upward for several meters in the air.


    ¡°Astine!¡± Tina shouted.


    The elf leaped up and cast a wave of wind against her, blowing her into the distance.


    The elf chased after her, running and jumping on rooftops. As Astine descended, the elf leaped towards her, swinging both his weapons. Astine defended herself, only to get blown away in another direction, further away. She quickly landed on an upcoming rooftop, and the elf jumped on another. He sent a wide and powerful slash of wind.


    Astine raised her hand as the spears dissipated. Once the wind got closer, a greatsword of golden light formed in her hands, and she swung heavily down with great strength, cleaving through the deadly sharp wind. Her hair and outfit waved and whipped in the split wind¡¯s passing.


    As the air came to rest, she glared at the enemy, expecting another attack. But the elf just stared at her. And he spoke.


    ¡°You¡¯re a rare human.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re strong. I fought a few humans at your level in the world below.¡±


    Astine frowned behind the mask. ¡°World below?¡± He was talking nonsense.


    ¡°But in the end, I¡¯ve killed the humans who opposed me.¡± His blades glinted. ¡°Not even you can defeat me.¡±


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    Astine dispelled her greatsword and returned to using dual spears. Truth be told, he was indeed strong, Astine acknowledged that. At her current strength, perhaps she could have fought toe to toe with the elves she faced before. However, this one was different, he was definitely stronger. Was she just that unlucky?


    If she were to win this battle, she had to be extra careful. There was no backup, the rest of the church fighters were busy fighting their own battles. She was saved earlier by Tina¡¯s shield, but now Tina was not here. Certainly the elf wanted it this way. Still, considering Tina, she should be coming. Perhaps, if Astine holds out long enough, she¡¯ll meet Tina pretty soon.


    How irritating.


    How much she disliked struggling in a fight. Things just couldn¡¯t get easy.


    Astine charged towards the elf. The latter sent a wide slash of wind, and Astine promptly leaped above it, landing on the next building the elf was standing on. Their weapons met.


    What?


    But then Astine noticed that the elf¡¯s blade was cutting through her holy weapon. She was shocked, never in her entire life did something like this happen. It was absolutely absurd, hard to believe. She couldn¡¯t tell how he was doing it. Astine stepped back and stomped her foot, erecting a group of ice spears intending on piercing the elf. However, he jumped away and thrust his sword towards her. A blast of wind obliterated the rooftop, but not before Astine could jump to another.


    The elf charged at her, and his every strike was more powerful and faster than before. The most worrisome of all, he was damaging her very weapon.


    And eventually, he cut through one of her spears.


    ¡°!¡±


    The elf took the chance to swing directly at her torso, successfully hitting her. Instantly, her shield shattered. She conjured a short blade, replacing her broken spear, and slashed the elf¡¯s arm. And the two of them immediately backed away.


    Astine glanced at the cut in the elf¡¯s arm, it was far from fatal. The elf groaned in annoyance and swiftly resumed his attack. Astine used both her spear and sword to fight back. But she was being forced into a defense.


    And then, the elf swung upward. Astine moved her head to dodge, but the enemy¡¯s blade cut through her mask, splitting it in half. Both pieces dropped to the floor, her face laid bare.


    ¡°Now I see your face.¡± The elf grinned.


    He cast his wind, violently propelling her backwards, removing her off the roof. And the elf jumped above her. He thrust his sword downward, unleashing the wind wrapped around his blade. Astine used her weapons to protect herself, and she was plunged into the ground. Pain radiated all over her body. The elf was coming down at her to land the finishing blow, and thus she touched the crater she caused. Instantly, numerous ice spears sprang out of the ground to protect her.


    To avoid getting hurt, the elf immediately used his slashing winds to destroy the sharp spears below him. Ice fragments scattered in all directions, and he safely landed his feet on the ground. But the Astine had already moved away. She spawned several spears, and as the elf came charging towards her, the spears propelled forward, aimed for the elf.


    The elf dodged a few and broke the rest. And he reached her. They exchanged attacks again. However, the elf got the upper-hand, and he cut through her sword, and then swiftly cut through her arm, cleanly severing it.


    Astine¡¯s eyes widened, and she gritted her teeth, swinging her spear at him. However, the elf broke her spear, and again, severed her other hand. And without a moment wasted, the elf plunged his blade into her heart.


    And everything stood still.


    ¡°Huh¡­¡±


    Astine looked down at the blade that pierced through her heart. She took in a wheezing breath. Blood spilled out of her severed limbs, her body was weakening. She never thought this would be the day.


    The elf twisted his blade in a full circle, making sure to shred her heart.


    ¡°No healing spell for you.¡±


    Astine¡¯s face softened. She took in a shaky breath, but she could feel her strength slipping away.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough playing around.¡± Another elf arrived and stood on a rooftop, looking down at them.


    ¡°Oh, Alruwin.¡± The elf looked up. ¡°I was just about done.¡±


    ¡°Waste no more time, we¡¯re about to assault the palace.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    The elf pulled out his bloodied blade. Astine limped as she stepped back. No, it was more like she was only forcing herself to stand upright.


    ¡°Here ends for you, little human.¡±


    And with that, the elf left her and disappeared into the distance.


    Astine collapsed on one knee, hanging on whatever life she remained. Her blood dripped to the floor. She watched it spread, there was no escaping this reality. At the end of her fading life, one face, only one, came to mind.


    ¡°Tina¡­¡±


    Her little sister. Not by blood, but her dear little sister, nonetheless. Her precious little sister. A single tear crawled down her cheek. She couldn''t help but recall the first moments they met. Tina was not keen on fighting, during training, she was scared, and so small. Of course, Astine was annoyed about it. She couldn¡¯t bear to see her being so feeble.


    She tried helping her in the end. From then on, everything just happened. Tina just suddenly called her big sister. Her smile as she said so was so beautiful and adorable. And Astine couldn¡¯t bring herself to refute.


    Thinking back to such a wonderful memory made her smile with loving tenderness. Her usual cold demeanor was nowhere to be found. Not anymore.


    ¡°Sister!¡±


    She heard her little sister¡¯s scared shout from behind, and Astine looked back. Tina was running towards her. Astine looked closely at her face, trying to engrave into her mind her little sister¡¯s face. And as Astine fell, Tina caught her in her arms.


    ¡°No no no no. I-I¡¯ll heal you, don¡¯t worry!¡±


    Tina, with tears welling up in her eyes, cast her healing magic. Golden light bathed the warrior priestess.


    ¡°Tina¡­¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t s-say anything! Save your e-energy!¡±


    Tina used as much mana as she could. She focused on the wound in her older sister¡¯s heart. However¡­


    ¡°W-Why?! Why isn¡¯t it working?!¡±


    ¡°Tina¡­ Listen¡­¡± Astine had a loving smile on her face, as tears came out of her eyes.


    ¡°S-Sister, please¡­ Don¡¯t leave me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to be okay, even without me.¡±


    Tina sobbed as she shook her head. ¡°D-Don¡¯t say that! Don¡¯t leave me, please!¡± She placed a hand on Astine¡¯s cheek.


    ¡°I¡¯m s-sorry, little sister. But¡­ your big sister h-has got to go.¡±


    ¡°I-I can still heal you! Just hang in there!¡± Tina was trembling.


    Astine didn¡¯t want to see her this way. To be so sad. It pained her heart. She was strict, she wanted to keep Tina in the church. But all of that was rooted in her love for her. It was dangerous out there, with Astine she was safer. But, perhaps, there was a more selfish reason.


    Astine just wanted her little sister beside her.


    ¡°Tina, you becoming my little sister¡­ is the best thing that ever happened¡­ in my life.¡±


    ¡°Big sister, please don¡¯t go.¡±


    Astine took a deep breath. ¡°Come closer¡­¡±


    Tina pursed her lips, and she moved closer. Astine gave her a soft kiss on the forehead, and she whispered¡­


    ¡°Goodbye, little sister.¡±


    Tina¡¯s lips trembled.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to be okay without me, right?¡± Astine asked softly. ¡°Please t-tell me¡­¡±


    ¡°... Y-Yes¡­ I¡¯m going to be okay¡­¡±


    Astine smiled in relief. ¡°Good¡­¡±


    And Astine closed her eyes.


    ¡°S-Sister¡­? No¡­ Please¡­¡± More tears streamed down her cheeks. Tina felt an intense pain in her heart, more painful than any loss she had experienced before. Perhaps it was because, despite it all, her big sister was the most valuable person in her life.


    Tina slowly hugged her big sister close.


    There the priestess wept, her dear sister tightly in her embrace.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 6: Siege (Part 1)

    When the Empire had begun their attack, in a particular part of the city lies the hidden headquarters of the war preparation division headed by Marquis Teristro. After the imperial princes were slain in the palace and order was briefly reestablished, it was decided it would be better to keep things as they were. And thus, Meril stayed here and did as he had done when he was appointed as supervisor.


    And when they heard the explosions all over the city, they couldn¡¯t be more shocked and confused. They never expected such a thing to happen, even more so to Meril, who was supposed to be the head of intelligence. If the Empire would ever begin their attack, he should be one of the first people to know or discover this.


    He had been having some foreboding feeling through his intuition, but he assumed it was just because of the upcoming war. But he never foresaw that they would attack tonight, and this suddenly. His ability has proven to be ineffective in large-scale situations such as this. He cannot foresee the future.


    He didn¡¯t imagine something ridiculous as this would happen. But there was no point to wallow in his confused mind, and do what he should in a situation like this.


    ¡°Hey you!¡± he shouted at a Wisterian knight. ¡°Get that shelf!¡±


    Meril, the knights, along with Ayana, were grabbing pages upon pages of documents from the shelves, drawers, and tables and throwing them into the center of the room. The papers made fluttering sounds as they were flung into the air.


    ¡°We need to make sure we burn everything ourselves!¡±


    True that the Empire was already burning everything, but who¡¯s to say that this building itself will be obliterated, or the important documents inside will burn completely? They couldn¡¯t let the Empire get their hands on them. They would rather destroy them to make sure. Leave not a trace of their actions for their war preparation.


    Meril scoured his own drawers, he might have left something here. And indeed there were. He quickly grabbed them and threw them into the pile. There was now a mountain of letter and number filled papers on the floor, consisting of reports, statistics, transactions, and activity logs.


    ¡°Is that everything?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lord,¡± Ayana answered.


    Meril held out his hand and used his magic to set the documents ablaze, and the flames gradually grew. An explosion boomed from nearby, the shockwave from the blast caused their building to shake. He watched for a moment as the papers turned to ash before facing the knights.


    ¡°Set the building on fire.¡±


    As he headed for the door, the knights used fire magic to set the cabinets, drawers, and shelves on fire. The overwhelming flames quickly began to spread all throughout the room, crawling on the floor and walls, and up to the ceiling.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get out of here, quickly!¡±


    He and the knights ran out of the building. And once they were outside, they watched the fire spread out and started consuming the building. They looked up and saw balls of fire falling from the sky, and exploding upon impact, scattering into multiple bright colors.


    They couldn¡¯t help but feel intense pain in their heart to see their beloved city being destroyed.


    ¡°This is too early, Lord Teristro,¡± said Ayana as she watched the fires with wide eyes.


    ¡°... Indeed.¡±


    ¡°How did they even get here?¡± asked one knight.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    And then, several blue streaks of light soared high up in the sky like falling stars. From the looks of it, they were heading for the palace.


    They have weapons like that?


    He was shocked, almost speechless, to see them.


    To have a weapon that reached that far to the palace was simply absurd. To think the Empire possessed such terrifying weapons. As he watched them closing in on the palace, suddenly he had a weird sensation. And he took a deep breath, placing a hand on his chest. He felt pain.


    ¡°No¡­¡± he muttered.


    ¡°My lord?¡±


    ¡°You need to join the others,¡± Meril said to the few knights with him. Every number will count.


    ¡°Not before we take you to safety,¡± Ayana said.


    ¡°Fine, Ayana, you take me. The rest of you, help defend the palace.¡±


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    After a moment of hesitation, the rest of the knights quickly dispersed and rushed to the palace.


    ¡°I will take you as far away as possible from this assault.¡±


    ¡°Where even is safe right now?¡±


    He glanced towards the palace. That grim feeling he felt in his heart still lingered. He wanted to go there. However, he would only get in the way. All he could do was hope and pray.


    ***


    Once the wall¡¯s defenses were heavily diminished, half of the catapults, and all the ballistas, began to move and enter the city. Dozens of imperial elites surrounded the convoy. Along with them were, out of the total twelve elves, six came along with them to defend the contraptions of war. Following behind the convoy were two hundred more soldiers, all lined up to march. At the head lies the commander with his most reliable aides.


    The knights marched on foot carrying an intimidating air around them. As they moved through the main highway, some of the more fidgety men who stood as guards wrecked buildings using their magic, destroying homes, shops, or any kind. There was a family hiding in one of the buildings that was still intact. But when one of them took a peek, one imperial knight took notice. He gestured to his allies and pointed at the building. And a moment later, they barraged the building with magic, destroying and making it collapse.


    As for the family that hid there, perhaps that goes without saying, as none moved amidst its rubbles.


    On the way, there were a few stragglers. A few were civilians, some were adventurers, others were common soldiers and knights. All of them were given a chance to flee or fight back, and all of them were slain, one by one.


    Given the conspicuous movement of the armed convoy through the city, it of course didn¡¯t go unnoticed. A small group of church fighters and Wisterian knights gathered to work together. The mission was to destroy as many of those contraptions as possible. Even damaging to stop them from moving was enough.


    It was essential to do this, because considering their trajectory, they were heading straight to the royal palace. It was clear that they were intending to use those weapons on the palace. If that happens, there will be chaos, seeing the building of their rulers being destroyed would cause significant emotional damage for the people of Wisteria. It was more than a mere building, it was a symbol. And thus, those that found each other, decided to work together to stop the enemy from what they intended to do.


    The Wisterian forces began their surprise attack. The Wisterian knights fought ahead, engaging the enemy guards head on, causing them to disperse to fight. Afterwards, the church members moved through the small gaps in the enemy¡¯s defenses at swift speed.


    Golden weapons of light immediately appeared in their hands, spears, greatswords, bows and arrows. The others held out their hands forward to cast a powerful offensive spell. The weapon wielders threw their weapons and shot their bows, spellcasters used beams of golden light, each aimed at the different contraptions of war. They either aimed at the thing itself, or at its wheels.


    ¡°No!¡±


    The imperial forces sprang into action, moving in to shield their siege weapons. Wisteria should have been able to at least damage a couple, that was what they expected. However, a burst of wind suddenly came between them, blocking and destroying the divine spells and weapons. The church fighters looked on with surprise, they didn¡¯t expect a wide and powerful wind to protect the entire convoy.


    They saw a cloaked man standing atop a catapult, with his arms spread apart. Clearly it was the caster. He held out his hand forward, and suddenly, winds circled and gathered at each imperial siege weapon. Domes of wind formed around the weapons, protecting them like barriers.


    With that chance, imperial knights quickly fought off the church fighters that got through. But one priest went directly for the cloaked man, in hopes of dispelling the wind barriers. He unleashed a powerful golden beam at him, but to his surprise, the barrier that already encompassed the man, was unscathed. It was hard to believe that someone could sustain these many barriers and keep them this strong. Producing quantity should have affected its quality.


    The hooded stranger glanced at the priest and casually waved his finger. Thorny vines instantly sprouted from the ground, and the priest quickly tried to evade, but there were too many. They caught his arm first, then his leg, and they started wrapping around his throat. Thorns pierced his skin, blood seeping out. And then, a sharp vine sprouted behind him, and it stabbed all through his chest, ultimately killing the priest.


    Disregarding the insignificant human priest, the cloaked man waved his arm, and countless more vines sprouted all over the battlefield. They swiftly weaved through the men, aiming for the Wisterian forces. They lashed at them, tied them, overwhelmed them. The large number of vines were so thick they were almost reminiscent of a forest, and some of them were as high as a two-storey building.


    One priest was getting outnumbered. Watching his friends get killed off one by one, he quickly attempted to retreat, leaping into the air to avoid the enemy soldiers on the ground. However, the tallest vines moved towards him at a frightening speed, and fatally stabbed him in the stomach. The priest gritted his teeth in pain, the thorns on the vine piercing his internal organs. With his golden sword, he quickly sliced off the vine. But then another wrapped around his leg and violently slammed him into the ground.


    The priest spat out blood, his face grimacing in pain. He was about to try getting up, but vines had begun swarming him. And then, the thorny vines began stabbing all over his body, twisting and revolving inside, blood splattered all over the place. His body was gruesomely shredded.


    Many more Wisterian fighters here went through the same demise. Priests and knights. Even the imperial forces looked on with shock at the gory way of how they were killed.


    At any rate, a moment later, all the attackers of the convoy were terminated. The streets were littered with torn corpses and painted with the crimson of blood.


    The wind protecting the siege weapons dissipated, and the bloodstained vines returned to the soil.


    An elf jumped beside the hooded caster.


    ¡°That was unnecessary. Conserve your mana, we still have a long fight ahead of us.¡±


    ¡°My apologies. But I didn¡¯t want to waste too much time.¡±


    It was mana well spent.


    The elf sighed. ¡°Whatever you want. Just don¡¯t overdo it. Last we need is you running out of power before everything is close from over.¡± He just didn¡¯t want him to spend a lot of mana against a bunch of measly humans when others could handle it pretty easily.


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    The imperial knights checked their war contraptions for any damage. But as one would expect, they were completely fine. With that, the convoy continued on to the palace, for the most part without significant hindrances. There were a few Wisterian defenders that tried to get in the way, but it was all futile.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 7: Siege (Part 2)

    The convoy traversed the green landscape to the palace. There was surprisingly pretty much no resistance in the area. It could be because they were gathering and revamping their defenses in the Wisterian palace. But it was fine for the Empire, Wisteria¡¯s effort was pointless either way.


    The elf, Alruwin, had joined back in with the imperial main assault team after running rampant in the city. He had to thin out the Wisterian forces to smoothen their movement through the city, lessen the resistance. And it was easy, humans were in general not particularly strong. Perhaps the most troublesome were those from the Wisterian church. But in the end, even they fall.


    At any rate, now, the Empire should certainly be able to take complete control over the city.


    When the palace was finally in range, the siege weapons started lining up. Just far away that the palace¡¯s weapons shouldn¡¯t be able to reach them. While the rest of the army stood and lined up far back.


    The imperials loaded their siege machines. The ballistas aimed at the protective wall, while the catapults aimed within the wall.


    ¡°Fire!¡± the commander gave the order.


    And the weapons opened fire. The giant metallic javelins hit the wall, while the balls of fire streaked through the air. But then, golden barriers formed above the palace, covering half of it. But it was enough to protect themselves and hold off the projectiles. The fireworks exploded, but of course did no damage to its intended targets.


    They loaded and fired the catapults again, but the explosives failed to shatter the barrier.


    ¡°It must be the church casting it,¡± said the commander.


    He glanced at the elf archer and cocked his head. The elf nodded and raised his loaded bow and aimed at the barrier. After pouring magic into the arrow, he fired. The arrow streaked through the air and crashed against the shield. Two tides of magic clashed, the arrow bursting with power, trying to push through the barrier. A moment later, the barrier started to crack, and as the arrow was losing its fuel, the protection completely shattered.


    Immediately, the catapults opened fire, and fireworks exploded and rattled within the walls, destroying their surroundings. But at the same time, more than a dozen priests rushed towards the imperials with tremendous speed, they must be intending on destroying the siege weapons. One of them was an old man holding a pair of golden spears, and as a few imperial knights advanced and attacked him, the old man easily cut through and eliminated them. And he successfully destroyed one catapult.


    Alruwin frowned and turned towards one of his allies. ¡°It¡¯s the high bishop. You take care of him.¡±


    The dual wielding elf grinned. ¡°Another church member, very well!¡±


    And Alruwin glanced at the hooded elf. ¡°Support him, the high bishop will be a tricky opponent.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± And the elf caster moved to attack the high bishop.


    ¡°At most, drive him away from here,¡± Alruwin added. He would prefer if there was no big inconvenience during their assault. The high bishop had the potential to be a significant inconvenience.


    The dual wielding elf charged at the high bishop, and their weapons met. They glared at each other.


    ¡°Elf.¡±


    ¡°Human. I killed a golden spear wielder, too. She was skilled, but that didn¡¯t save her.¡± The elf grinned.


    The high bishop¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What?¡±


    Thorny vines sprouted from behind him, and the high bishop quickly leaped away just as they whipped at where he stood. The sword elf lunged at him with his blade, giving the bishop no time to breathe. But the latter defended and immediately extended his weapon to strike back. Wind slashes shot out towards him from afar, and he quickly parried and blocked them.


    Their fight encompassed a large part of the open field. Their battle was so intense and so fast that even the elite knights of the empire had a hard time following their movements. And most surprising, the high bishop was able to keep up with the attacks coming from two different directions. He would parry an incoming sword, and move out of the way as a magical slash of wind and thorny vines lash out at him.


    At any rate, despite all that, the elves were becoming successful in pushing and driving the bishop away from the siege weapons. And the high bishop was, of course, irritated by it. But he couldn¡¯t do anything to get back. These two were just incredibly strong. One mistake and he¡¯ll perish.


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    He cut through a pile of vines coming at him and fired a beam of light at the elf caster. But a wind barrier blocked the spell. The bishop clicked his tongue.


    Alruwin watched and nodded, turning his gaze at the other priests, the imperial knights facing them, holding them off while closely defending the siege weapons. They shouldn¡¯t be a problem at the moment. He returned his gaze to the palace, as the siege weapons continued to open fire.


    Explosives attached to the javelins, exploding on the walls. The catapults fired again, the others aiming for the wall protecting the different sides of the palace, one could see glimpses of knights trying to shield, but damages were hard to avoid. Surprisingly, the Wisterian knights have yet to leave the palace to directly attack. They must be anticipating for the imperial forces to attack the palace, and considering that they have sent the church fighters, they couldn¡¯t strip more of their security and defenses.


    And they were right, the imperial forces will send their men soon, at least until their siege ammunitions have run out. But, it will take a while. Alruwin imagined that the palace will be mostly obliterated before that happens.


    The catapults fire again, heading for the severely damaged palace. But then as they got closer, crimson hexagonal shaped constructs appeared, assembling together in groups. Each group then moved to intercept the trajectory of the incoming blazing projectile. And they exploded before even reaching their targets.


    Alruwin narrowed his eyes.


    The catapults opened fire again in different directions. But the barriers moved again to intercept, and was once again successful in not letting any through.


    ¡°Do something about those shields!¡± shouted the human commander.


    With an annoyed groan, the elven archer aimed at one of the barriers and promptly let his magic filled arrow loose. Immediately it made contact, and magical energy burst out. Unable to sustain any longer, the barrier shattered.


    But another group immediately appeared to fill its place.


    ¡°That¡¯s annoying,¡± the commander remarked.


    And then strangely, all the barriers spread away to the side.


    ¡°What?¡±


    A moment later, their eyes widened to see something quite unexpected. On the other side of the wall, numerous magic spells came rising to the sky, propelled like catapults, and they appeared to be heading towards the imperial forces. They consisted of balls of flames, sharp bodies of ice big and small, and plain magic. It was as if the Wisterians themselves have siege weapons prepared.


    ¡°Look out!¡±


    ¡°Take cover!¡±


    ¡°Protect the catapults!¡±


    ¡°Shield!¡±


    Alruwin cast a barrier of wind around himself.


    And the barrage of spells fell upon them. The ball of flames erupted and burst in a wide area, setting the grasses on fire. There were even those that got through the knights¡¯ defenses, searing their unprotected body parts, even turning their armor incandescent, and the knights frantically tried to get them off. The burning grasses filled the area with flames, producing smoke making it hard to breathe, and temperature rising. The flames reached out for the siege weapons.


    The bodies of ice, on the other hand, mostly fell upon the position of the siege weapons, shattering some barriers protecting them. Some of the knights were crushed under their tremendous weights.


    The plain damaging magic with no attributes stormed the field like hail. Crashing and falling unto the enemies surrounding the siege weapons. As if they were meant to cause as much damage and chaos as possible. They even reached the frontal parts of the lined up army from behind, forcing them to disperse from their positions.


    Alruwin watched his surroundings as magic hit his barrier. It was surprisingly powerful.


    And then, amidst the bursting and spreading flames, the ammunition of their siege weapons was suddenly ignited.


    ¡°Agh!¡±


    ¡°Keep your distance!¡±


    Fireworks exploded around them. Wounding and injuring those caught up in the initial explosions. There were knights that had their legs shredded, arms ripped, others got gravely burned. Subsequently, the entire field was lit up with all kinds of bright colors that caused all kinds of chaos and demise. Knights were deafened, others blinded, others severely wounded.


    Shortly thereafter, the barrage stopped, and Alruwin looked around to check the casualties. The area was clouded with smoke as men crawled miserably on the ground. Others limped as their blood dripped. The most unlucky perished, their body ripped apart by the explosions. Humans groaned and moaned in pain and agony.


    Even so, most hands were still accounted for. The casualties they sustained were mostly from those that were operating and guarding the siege weapons. Still, it was surprising what the Wisterians did.


    They used our weapons against us.


    The spells themselves didn¡¯t cause significant damage, their own explosives did. And it achieved what could be Wisteria¡¯s main goal.


    ¡°The wheels broke! We can¡¯t properly aim with this.¡±


    ¡°Catapult¡¯s busted!¡±


    ¡°Here too!¡±


    ¡°Weapon¡¯s shredded!¡±


    ¡°My ballista is wrecked!¡±


    ¡°H-Help me!¡±


    ¡°Shit! It burns! Get these off me!¡±


    As the surviving operators reported their weapons¡¯ condition, some other imperial men quickly moved to recover the wounded. There were also others trying to salvage their weapons. But, perhaps, that would just be a waste of time.


    All weapons were incapacitated.


    The human commander looked with an angry scowl on his face. Alruwin dispelled his wind barrier and approached the commander.


    ¡°Send in your soldiers.¡±


    ¡°Tch! Guess there¡¯s no other choice.¡±


    ¡°But first¡­¡± Alruwin turned towards the archer. ¡°Fire several arrows, overwhelm them. Even if you have to deplete your mana.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    The archer nocked two arrows and aimed his bow upward. The magic filled arrows flew through the air and eventually came descending to the palace. He nocked another two, aiming for the walls, then another two to the palace, then another to the walls further away. He fired a pair, and another, and another, and another. Just quick and numerous attacks.


    The crimson barriers tried protecting the palace, but they failed to move and shield the protective walls, causing heavy damage. As more arrows descended to strike, the barriers were getting overwhelmed, unable to keep up, letting one and two slip through. And eventually, an arrow shattered a barrier, and another barrier after that. More and more arrows hit the palace, gradually damaging it further.


    And at the same time, the imperial forces charged towards the palace as the surviving members of the Wisterian church quickly retreated.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 8: Protect (Part 1)

    Shit shit shit. Fucking fireworks, those were pretty once! Now it¡¯s not. Fuck fireworks! They¡¯re shitty and loud, anyway. Currently back in my room, I quickly slipped into my true combat outfit.


    I grabbed my secret stash and pulled out all my daggers. I locked them tight in my straps, my thighs and waist now had daggers around them. My favorite beautiful dagger sheathed behind my waist. I sat down on the bed and tightened my boots.


    Crap, I¡¯ve never been in an outright war, or an assault, or fought against an army. I¡¯m an assassin for fuck¡¯s sake. Killing individual targets was way easier than this crap. But here I am, can¡¯t do anything about it but face it. Where I could basically die. Too dangerous.


    ¡®Estelia, you''re in a war, stop complaining already.¡¯


    S-Shut up a-already, okay?! Let me rant, fuck. I-I mean, never did I imagine something like this. Wisteria wasn¡¯t ready, I¡¯m not ready yet. Now that stupid and dick sucking empire just threw the damn bombs on us. So let me rant!


    I tied my extraordinarily long hair quickly, rounding it up and putting hair sticks to keep them in place. I checked myself in the mirror to make sure my outfit was set up correctly. My dark, fit clothes looked fine. Satisfied, I grabbed and wore the detachable hood included for my outfit, but kept it down. I tightened my gloves and heaved a sigh.


    As I was about to go out, I stopped. My brown cloak came to mind. I looked down on my getup, I was fully geared, sharp knives tied all over me. I would look completely different, deadly, very strange. How would my family react if they saw me like this?


    My plans didn¡¯t mainly include exposing myself like this. The Wisterian army was supposed to be the main people to deal with the war, while I stay back most of the time. I glanced at the locked door. If I go out like this¡­ I dread to think how my family would react¡­ and how they would look at me¡­


    Feeling hesitant, I rubbed my fingers. And after some brief thinking, I heaved a sigh.


    I grabbed out my cloak and wrapped it around me. Making sure my body was completely covered and hidden.


    Guess it¡¯s better like this.


    After a tug on my cloak, I walked towards the door. Outside, I was greeted by two of my servants. Vernon in his combat gear, a piece of chest armor going all the way to his back, shoulder armor, metal paddings on his forearms, and protection on his legs. Rogan, who had just arrived, was already in his full set of armor, helm, and all. Even had his favored spear in hand.


    How lucky of Mera to not be here. She must be having a good night¡¯s sleep out there in the far regions of the kingdom. Lucky, lucky.


    ¡°Princess, you should go to safety,¡± Vernon said.


    I scowled at him. ¡°There¡¯s no safety here, they could even hit the palace from a vast distance.¡±


    ¡°At least let¡¯s go to the first floor.¡±


    Yeah well, still have to think about the floors above you, could also collapse. But well, at least we have plenty of time to respond with that, I can shield myself. As long as no arrow like before hits me, we should be fine.


    ¡°Have you seen my family on the way here? Where are they?¡±


    ¡°Not sure, but we can expect them in the lobby.¡±


    After hearing that, we immediately rushed to the main lobby. By the stairs, we came across Eleden who was wearing light leather armor, better to have something than nothing. With him was Lucious in his casual outfit.


    ¡°Estelia, you should get to safety,¡± my brother said.


    ¡°I will not.¡±


    He frowned. ¡°Well, you should.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine! Never mind me, where¡¯s Father?¡±


    ¡°Still changing to his armor.¡±


    ¡°And Estevan?¡±


    ¡°Already outside, setting up defenses.¡±


    That¡¯s good. I imagine we have an hour at least before the enemy gets here. If they don¡¯t move fast. Considering what they¡¯ve been after these past few months, they¡¯ll be going for the palace as soon as possible to kill the ruling monarchs. Or going after me¡­


    ¡°Where''s Mother?¡±


    ¡°With our father.¡±


    ¡°I see. You should get to safety with our mother.¡±


    ¡°What? No, I can help wherever.¡±


    ¡°Brother,¡± I stepped closer to him. ¡°You¡¯re the Crown Prince. Your safety is important.¡±


    His face contorted into utter refusal. ¡°And what about you, huh? You¡¯re my little sister.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right, Estelia, you need to stay safe,¡± Lucious added.


    How much I would like to just stay back, but there¡¯s no luxury for that. If I don¡¯t fight and everyone else fails, then, it would be pointless keeping myself safe.


    ¡°Evacuate the staff, use the wall¡¯s small side pathway. You need to get as far away from here as possible. Bring Mother with you.¡±


    The enemy will surely assault the palace to kill everyone inside. With the weapons they have shown us, it will be more dangerous to stay here, they¡¯ll try to strike and smash this place like glass. Sneaking outside, there should be a better chance of survival, even more if people get to move before the enemy gets here. There were dozens of staff in the palace, it will take some time, but we should have plenty for that. And I know my family well enough that they won¡¯t leave them behind so easily.


    ¡°You¡¯re coming with us.¡±


    I took a deep breath. I should really be running away in this kind of dangerous situation. But why was it that I wanted to stay here and defend? I guess I just didn¡¯t want to do nothing. I have power, I have to use it. I have the power to contribute. I value this place, I want to protect it, I suppose¡­


    ¡°My answer is final, brother.¡±


    It was then my father and mother arrived together. The former was already in his full gear, while the latter was already in an outfit easy to move around.


    Mother, in particular, looked so worried.


    ¡°You two,¡± Father called. ¡°You need to get to safety.¡±


    ¡°Estelia doesn''t want to.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± He narrowed his eyes, puzzled. ¡°Estelia, go with your mother and brother, get to safety.¡±


    ¡°I said I won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Dear,¡± my mother approached and grasped my hand, looking at me with tender eyes. ¡°You don¡¯t have to fight.¡±


    I pulled back my hand and took a step back, shaking my head. ¡°I can fight.¡±


    Father placed a tight hand on my shoulders. ¡°You must go. Help everyone evacuate, go with them. Protect them if you must.¡±


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡°But¡ª¡±


    ¡°That is an order!¡±


    My eyes widened. My father shouted at me¡­?


    ¡°O-Order¡­?¡±


    An o-order?


    I lowered my eyes with trembling lips. That word echoing in my mind, it somewhat felt familiar.


    ¡°U-Understood.¡±


    In the end, that was all I could answer.


    ¡°Good.¡± He released me from his hold. ¡°Now go, daughter.¡±


    I clenched my fists. ¡°Yes.¡±


    With that, my father left us to join his knights, leaving me with Eleden and my mother. I glanced at them with a visible frown, I don¡¯t like this. I don¡¯t like this at all.


    ¡°Estelia, let¡¯s do the job given to us,¡± Eleden said.


    I meekly nodded.


    He then faced the nearby knights that were left to us. ¡°Help us evacuate everyone.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the third floor,¡± I said first.


    Mother nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the second floor.¡±


    ¡°Very well then, the first floor¡¯s on me. I¡¯ll coordinate with the knights we have available. See you in the main lobby.¡±


    Along with a small group of knights, my mother descended the stairs, while Eleden followed thereafter with Lucious. I watched them until they were out of my sight. I was left with my own few knights.


    ¡°Vernon,¡± I said. ¡°Accompany my mother.¡±


    Vernon¡¯s brow wrinkled. ¡°Your Highness, this is the second time. I¡¯m your servant, let me¡ª¡±


    I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes. ¡°Do as I command you.¡±


    Vernon paused for a moment and let out a subtle sigh. ¡°... Very well, Princess.¡±


    And there he went to catch up with my mother. At least I¡¯ll be relieved to know that Vernon was with her, he¡¯s a reliable old man. I can trust him with her safety. I shifted my gaze to Rogan, and he flinched slightly.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to send me to Prince Eleden again, Princess?¡± He looked pretty concerned. ¡°Please don¡¯t, it¡¯s more dangerous now. Remember that I¡¯m your knight, so I must stay by your side to protect you. Even if you send me away, I¡¯m afraid I will have to disobey that¡ª¡±


    I held out my hand with a frown. ¡°What are you rambling about? You¡¯re coming with me.¡±


    Both his eyebrows lifted, and he nodded vigorously. ¡°Perfect! That¡¯s a relief.¡±


    Sheesh, I knew he felt terrible that he didn¡¯t get to defend me during the attack on the palace last time. But it¡¯s surprising he¡¯s this worked up at the idea of me sending him away like before. Considering that I was basically a primary target as well, it would be best there would be a guard for me to rely on at this time of invasion. This was unlike what those two dumb imperial princes did. Currently, I am not in control of the situation.


    I turned towards the few knights that remained with me.


    ¡°Spread out and guide the servants that stay on this floor. Send them to the lobby on the first floor. But leave a couple of knights as protection for me.¡±


    Most here should be from noble households, so they were of higher value than others. Especially the noble ladies serving as maids that stay in a couple of rooms on this floor. They should be pretty scared right now, and it¡¯s up to a royal like myself to calm them down and give them some assurance that they¡¯ll be fine, just to avoid absolute panic.


    Fucking hell, I hate saving people.


    We began making our way to the maids¡¯ quarter which I was well acquainted, while other knights to some other parts of the floor. We ran towards there as fast as possible. But then we heard sounds and echoes of rumbling. Looking at the window, we saw a streak of blue hit the palace wall in the distance, sending debris flying far in the air. They were like the ones from before.


    What the hell is up with those arrows?!


    They¡¯re simply ridiculous. How the heck do they even reach this far? Such magical bullshit.


    And then, an explosion erupted nearby, and the palace intensely shook. We all paused as we tried to keep our footing. The palace was hit. I can¡¯t tell where precisely. And then, another explosion came, closer than before. I clicked my tongue.


    A couple more explosions followed, all hitting the palace directly somewhere. Not good.


    ¡°Let¡¯s keep going.¡±


    As we continued on, suddenly an explosion boomed close to our location. I can imagine the entire palace slowly being decimated. The palace was large, so it would take some time before they completely obliterate it. However, the casualties will be terrible.


    Just then, a flash of light shined ahead of us. We stopped just as the wave of violent magic crashed against the ceiling. After breaking through the roof and upon hitting the floor, it unleashed a powerful magical shockwave. The knights in front of me cast their shields to protect me. Dust clouded our view, while debris was flung and sent our way, hitting the shield.


    This was different from the initial piercing arrow I first encountered. Looks like they intend to cause as much damage as possible. A good way to discourage and break our morale. A hint of hopelessness as we watch our palace being gradually destroyed.


    Once the dust settled, only the third floor was destroyed from its impact, making a hole to the second floor. But there was something more concerning at the moment, it was awfully close to the maids¡¯ quarters.


    ¡°Crap,¡± muttered Rogan. ¡°We need to check on them quickly.¡±


    More explosions erupted around us, and the palace kept shaking. And then, as we were about to move again, we sensed the roof above us being pierced as blue light leaked through the forming cracks. In less than a second, we¡¯ll be obliterated.


    I was about to shield myself, but in that split second, Rogan took me in his arms and cast a shield for the both of us. Then the arrow broke through and exploded, unleashing a powerful wave of magic and shockwave. My eyesight was filled with a blinding blue light. I couldn¡¯t see anything else. But I just realized a violent and powerful pressure crushing in on us.


    The floor and walls around us crumbled, gravity pulled us in. The deafening boom in the air¡¯s aggressive movement made my ears ring.


    It took a moment before the light disappeared, and the dangerous wave of magic with it. Blinking a few times, my eyes gradually adjusted. I looked around at my ruined surroundings. Stones of debris were all over me, dust filled and colored the air. I heard a pained groan, it was Rogan. He was still holding me.


    ¡°Rogan¡­¡±


    His armor was damaged all over, and he was bleeding. Debris, big and small, pinned us down, but he took all the major weight.


    ¡°P-Princess, you alright?¡± He breathed roughly.


    ¡°Hang on.¡±


    Idiot, you¡¯re the most hurt here.


    I cast my ice magic to move all the debris surrounding us, even those pinning on Rogan. Once they were all removed, Rogan slowly shifted aside, panting and groaning in pain as he laid on the rough floor.


    I kneeled beside him and removed his helmet. Once he had better air, I held out my hand, a green light shone upon him. He was in a bad state, scratches, scrapes, cuts, he was bleeding all over the place. But nothing too terrible that he would die. A healing spell will do alright to save him.


    ¡°Idiot,¡± I said with a stern gaze. ¡°I could have taken it fine.¡±


    He briefly chuckled. ¡°A-A thank you w-will be fine, Princess.¡±


    I pursed my lips and glanced away. ¡°Thanks¡­¡±


    ¡°Hehe. There we go,¡± he said teasingly with a wide grin before wincing in the pain. ¡°Ow.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°Oh stop acting like a baby. This is nothing you can¡¯t take. It¡¯s just some minor injuries.¡±


    He wryly smiled. ¡°N-No I¡¯m, I¡¯m really in pain here, Princess. I might have a few broken bones.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, how¡¯d you know?¡±


    ¡°... I feel it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, right.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re quite cruel, Princess.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m healing you, aren¡¯t I?¡±


    He chuckled.


    A few seconds later, Rogan raised his hand.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s enough, Princess.¡±


    I stopped my healing spell, and he slowly got up. At least the bleeding had stopped, and he was standing alright. There¡¯s nothing to be concerned about now. Hell, if that got him, he wouldn¡¯t be an elite to begin with.


    He looked around, as though searching for something. And then, he glanced back at me with a hesitant look.


    ¡°By the way, Princess. Um, you¡¯re quite loaded, huh?¡±


    After standing up, I slightly tilted my head. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I never knew you would be one to equip things so deadly,¡± he said in a low voice.


    Ah, of course.


    ¡°So, what about it?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. Just a little bit confused, is all.¡±


    ¡°A lady can¡¯t have her sharp objects?¡± I slightly grinned.


    ¡°Eh.¡± He shrugged.


    ¡°Just keep quiet about it, okay?¡± I kindly smiled at him.


    He seemed to shiver before wryly smiling. ¡°... Of course, anything you say.¡±


    ¡°Excellent.¡±


    He casually turned away and looked around the surroundings again. He squinted his eyes and raised his hand to point at something.


    ¡°Look, right there.¡±


    I turned my gaze towards the direction he pointed at. It was one of my knight escorts. We carefully approached the knight. He looked too terrible, his wounds were deep and fatal. Rogan checked for a pulse, but he shook his head.


    ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡±


    ¡°The other one?¡± I looked around.


    ¡°Must be somewhere in this rubble. Considering that he¡¯s not showing any movement or saying anything¡­¡±


    ¡°He must be dead, too.¡±


    ¡°Right. Princess, we must continue on to the maids. I don¡¯t know if they made it or not.¡±


    If the knight were alive, he could handle himself better than the defenseless maids. He can push himself out of the rubbles just fine.


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll help wherever I can.¡±


    We continued on, jumping back up to the third floor. A moment later, as we got closer, we heard sobbings and whimpers. When we arrived, we discovered that half of their quarters was destroyed, a couple of maids torn apart, while there were a couple of others pinned under the rubble. The rest were wounded.


    ¡°H-Help!¡±


    ¡°Mother¡­ Father¡­¡±


    The maids looked so miserable.


    ¡°She¡¯s stuck! Help me out here.¡± A familiar maid was trying to remove a large piece of debris, it was Ellie.


    ¡°It h-hurts,¡± said the one pinned down as tears were brimming down her face.


    ¡°Hang on, Macey! I¡¯m on it.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s bleeding! Anyone with healing magic?!¡± another maid cried as she tended to another maid.


    I looked at Rogan. ¡°Help those under the rubble. I handle the wounded.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Rogan quickly went on the move as I rushed to the wounded.


    ¡°P-Princess?¡±


    They looked at me with surprise.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine, don¡¯t worry,¡± I said softly as I used healing magic.


    The maid¡¯s tears intensified, but she wore a wide smile as she felt relief in the touches of healing magic.


    ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡±


    She looked at me with hope in her eyes.


    ¡°Save your energy. We still have a long way to get out of this.¡±


    I looked around. The chaos here. There must be a lot of other servants trapped out there, anywhere in the palace. If we were to save and evacuate the people, then¡­ this will take a while before we can retrieve them. The time we would need¡­


    Dammit.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 9: Protect (Part 2)

    When the queen reached the second floor, she looked back curiously upon seeing Vernon catching up to her. She deeply frowned, feeling displeased by his presence.


    ¡°Vernon, I don¡¯t need you to guard me. I have knights with me.¡±


    ¡°My apologies, Your Majesty. But Princess Estelia ordered me to accompany you. To keep you safe.¡±


    ¡°Again? Why wouldn¡¯t that girl think about her own wellbeing first?¡±


    She found that part of Estelia very frustrating. Meliya was the parent, and it should be her to worry this greatly about her daughter, not the other way around. Estelia shouldn¡¯t reduce her personal guards, just like that. Her safety was also a priority. Meliya understood that Estelia was just worried about her own mother, but even Meliya worried greatly about her own daughter. Even more so when she sends out her own butler away.


    ¡°Return to Estelia please, Vernon.¡±


    Vernon lowered his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t. The way she ordered me, she seemed angry.¡±


    My Estelia, angry?


    She found it so surprising to hear that. But why, though? Could it be perhaps she was forced to help with the evacuation? Meliya did notice Estelia reacting strangely to that.


    ¡°... Very well. You can come along.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty.¡±


    They stood near the staircase of the second floor as Meliya gave an order to the knights to spread out to find and guide the servants. She was to wait here for everyone to arrive, there was no need for her to personally find people since others could move faster than her.


    The knights she had at her disposal quickly dispersed, leaving only Vernon and one knight to stay and guard her. Meliya rubbed her fingers nervously. As they waited, explosions suddenly began to ring out from all over the place.


    Meliya flinched at every loud boom, the palace shook at every single one. Most of the explosions they were hearing were from the third floor. Perhaps it was to be expected that the third floor would be hit first and the most. However, she let out a frightened gasp when she thought of her daughter.


    ¡°Estelia i-is on the third floor¡­¡± she said in a shaky voice.


    ¡°... Sir Rogan is with her. I¡¯m sure the Princess will be fine.¡±


    ¡°I suppose¡­¡±


    Despite what Vernon said, she still wanted to make sure that Estelia was safe personally. However, she must have faith in the people that surrounded her daughter.


    ¡°She picked that floor¡­¡± Meliya muttered.


    She picked the most dangerous one. Was that her intention all along? To protect everyone? To protect her mother?


    Meliya lowered her gaze in sadness.


    It isn¡¯t right¡­


    Parents should be the one to prioritize their children¡¯s safety. Even more so to the sweet and youngest child, especially to a kind girl like Estelia. It pained her heart so greatly to think that Estelia would put herself in danger.


    An explosion erupted above them, the blast causing the floor above them to collapse. Meliya gasped in shock as the shockwave threw debris in all directions, big and small. This included a great amount coming towards them. Any normal person would be critically injured if hit in the head or anywhere else. However, both Vernon and the knight quickly cast their shields to protect the queen.


    A moment later, as the debris stopped falling, and the dust had mostly dispersed, they disabled their magic and warily looked around as more explosions echoed around them.


    Meliya looked around with wide eyes. ¡°They¡¯re destroying the palace. The casualties we¡¯ll suffer will be severe.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, who knows how many will be pinned underneath the rubbles.¡±


    And then, they heard voices coming in from the nearby corridor.


    ¡°Hurry!¡±


    ¡°Keep running.¡±


    Meliya moved to check it out, seeing servants running towards them. There were no knights, only them. The knights must have stayed back to find or help some more people.


    But then suddenly, there was an explosion that triggered above them. Meliya watched in horror as the shockwave and dangerous debris violently crashed and fell upon the servants. Blood flying in the air, people crushed underneath the large and heavy debris. Face flattened, legs, arms. While there were a few lucky enough to be only injured in the blast, but some quite severe.


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    ¡°L-Let¡¯s help them quickly!¡±


    They quickly moved to help. She imagined that there could be others out there that fell into the same situation.


    ¡°We must help whoever we can,¡± she said. ¡°Retrieve all that still breathes.¡±


    It pained her heart to see her people get hurt, and it would be even more so if she even thinks of abandoning them. They must save as many as they can.


    ***


    Eleden nervously looked up as explosions echoed all around them. He couldn¡¯t understand what was completely going on and how the Empire was even doing such a thing despite that they basically have only just started their attack. For their attacks to reach this far from the city was just absurd.


    Regardless, their bombardment of the palace had less effect on the first floor. So Eleden was able to safely carry out his task of gathering the servants in the lobby. Still, he was exceedingly concerned about the damage and casualties occurring in other places. After bringing some more people and returning to the lobby, a knight he sent to prepare their route returned, looking agitated.


    ¡°There¡¯s a problem, my lord.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°The path to the outside on both the east and southern wall was struck by an exploding arrow. The pathways collapsed.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± To think they hit those. ¡°Did they target them specifically?¡±


    Could it be that the Empire knew of the pathways and thus targeted them to hold back people from escaping? It was a possibility. Still, it was pointless to think about the likelihood, it wouldn¡¯t change anything.


    ¡°Can we scale the wall?¡±


    ¡°It will be difficult for normal people.¡±


    ¡°What about cleaning up the way?¡±


    ¡°We still have to consider not completely damaging our defensive wall, Your Highness.¡±


    Eleden bit his lip. They couldn¡¯t go out through the front gates as well, it was being barricaded and reinforced. They couldn¡¯t just undo all of that and lower the integrity of the palace¡¯s defenses. Carrying or lowering a great number of people from over the wall would be exhaustive for the knights. They still need to fight pretty soon. Plus, it will take too long, considering the number of servants they have.


    ¡°What now?¡± asked Lucious from behind him.


    ¡°Which side can we safely remove the debris from? Even if it will take a while.¡±


    ¡°... I think the south side. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll face too many enemies from there. But that is still up to chance.¡±


    ¡°... We have no choice. Clean up the way, at least only until normal people can cross through. In the meantime, we¡¯ll save as many as we can from here.¡±


    ¡°Understood!¡±


    With that, the knight rushed outside.


    Lucious stepped closer to Eleden. ¡°Considering the damage we are experiencing, I don¡¯t think we can save all the servants. Or even heal the rest. It will take some time.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s just hope we¡¯ll be just in time before the enemy arrives.¡±


    Lucious watched more than a dozen servants they had brought out, like for instance, those from the kitchen, the gardeners, and some other manservants. They all looked utterly nervous and scared. Eleden heaved a long sigh. Even he was not too different from what they were feeling.


    And then, a moment later, surprisingly, the explosive barrage stopped. Curious of the damage inflicted upon them, Eleden stepped outside of the palace, Lucious following behind him. When he beheld the palace, his eyes went wide, the view so clear under the moon¡¯s shine.


    ¡°By the gods,¡± he couldn¡¯t help but mutter.


    The palace was heavily wrecked. The third floor chipped and was breaking apart, big chunks of the roof was rendered nonexistent. Even the second floor was not spared from harm. Pieces of the ruined walls falling to the ground. Almost like a terrible and deadly disaster went past them, both a storm and an earthquake. Or it was almost like a ruin of a building abandoned and crumbled in the long passage of time.


    And this was just the front part of the palace. He could only imagine how much destruction the other parts have sustained. And he imagined it well, it was anything but good. The casualties will be staggering. He couldn¡¯t even bear to ponder how much work will be required to fix it all. It will be like completely rebuilding the palace from the second floor and up from scratch.


    ¡°Throw more barricades on the gate!¡±


    He heard his father¡¯s shout, and he turned towards them. On the gate, blocking the main pathway, were obstacles, wooden boxes, carriages, embedded spears pointing outwards. All just to slow down the enemy. Behind those barricades were common soldiers holding swords and spears, and with them were the knights. Atop the walls were archers and more knights using range weapons, or those capable of using range magic.


    Estevan, in his full set of armor, arrived running and approached his father.


    ¡°Father, I have ensured the security on the western wall. We tried defending ourselves from the magic arrows, but the wall still suffered heavy damage.¡±


    ¡°As long as it¡¯s standing, it¡¯s alright.¡±


    After seeing all of that, Eleden walked back in the palace to save as many as he could. He brought some knights with him to check both the second and third floor. He also had to make sure his family and sister were fine.


    In contrast, as the Wisterian forces were reinforcing their defenses, around two dozen masked men in black robes jumped up the wall. The soldiers that were already on edge made a commotion at their sudden arrival. However, the knights that recognized the men in black robes calmed everyone down.


    One robed man in particular approached the king and removed his mask.


    ¡°Your Majesty, we have arrived to defend you.¡±


    ¡°Xenous,¡± said the king. ¡°It¡¯s good you¡¯re here. Is that all the warriors you have available?¡±


    ¡°The rest are in the city to help fight off the invaders.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then let¡¯s hope the forces in the city can fight off most of the enemy.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Xenous looked at the ruined and heavily wrecked palace. ¡°Your Majesty, where is the Princess?¡±


    The king frowned. ¡°She¡¯s in there, helping with the evacuation.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°I know you want to defend her. But you must defend the kingdom as a whole as well.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ If we are successful in defending the kingdom, then the Princess will be safe.¡±


    The king nodded. ¡°By the way, do you know why their magical bombardment stopped?¡±


    ¡°... I can¡¯t tell. But if I am to guess, they are on the move.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re going fast then.¡±


    ¡°I suppose what matters for them is they push through and reach the palace.¡±


    ¡°I will be needed here for the time being, the people will need to see their king lead. However, once the enemy is breaking through our defenses and the situation is dire, I¡¯m using it,¡± he whispered.


    ¡°... The initiation process will take time, but we¡¯ll try to hold out.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Can you handle it? No Wisterian king has used them for a very long time.¡±


    ¡°Once they gather here, I¡¯ll have a greater chance of succeeding. Even if it is hard, I will have to handle it until my body gives out.¡±


    ¡°If that happens, may divine fortune shine on you. But, don¡¯t overdo it, we don¡¯t want you gone just yet.¡±


    ¡°Mm¡­¡±

 Vol. 4 Chapter 10: Protect (Part 3)

    This place was utterly, and chaotically a mess. With me were the few knights we can hope to spare in helping those that were stuck under the debris. We were currently on the third floor, but might as well call it also the second, considering that everywhere was pretty wrecked already.


    I heard a groan from nearby, and I rushed towards it, traversing the rough landscape this palace has become. At least the second floor was, for the most part, intact. With my Physical Enhancement technique, I removed the large heavy debris from the servant. Once he was free, he looked at me with widened eyes as relief washed all over him.


    ¡°P-Princess?! Thank you for saving me!¡±


    He tried to get up, but he flinched in pain. He was terribly wounded, his leg in a bad condition. He wouldn¡¯t be able to walk. Hey, at least we don¡¯t have to cut it off or anything. I cast healing magic on his leg, the goal was only to heal it to the point that he could properly walk and run again. Don¡¯t have to heal it intensively.


    As I did that, Rogan rejoined me after saving another servant.


    ¡°Princess, don¡¯t overdo it,¡± he said.


    ¡°I know. A healing spell is a minor thing to cast.¡±


    We have been searching and helping people for a while now. It¡¯s a bit hard to find people in this mess. Plus, I heard that the small path we were supposed to use to sneak out of the palace grounds was destroyed, or rather, collapsed. The knights were currently working on it, but I haven¡¯t heard news about it. It shouldn¡¯t even take that long to remove debris, so perhaps they¡¯re already done, and I just didn¡¯t know it.


    The biggest time consumer here was the searching and helping. We should just get out of here already. But my family members want to help people first. Dammit. Let other people do the helping. But I suppose that would reduce the manpower, have to defend the place and got to give guards for the royal family¡¯s escape after all. Truth be told, I only care about my family and my home. So it was a bit annoying that we¡¯re getting delayed because of people. Father¡¯s not letting me fight anyway¡­


    It would have been better for me to fight. I would feel a bit better. I can give a lot. True, it would cost me a bit of vitality, sort of say, but that doesn''t matter.


    I stopped the healing magic and told the man to stand up. He was able to, and I pointed in the direction of where he should go.


    Rogan looked around. ¡°We counted, but can¡¯t tell whether the ones missing are dead or still alive.¡±


    ¡°We have already saved plenty. I think it¡¯s time to just leave.¡±


    ¡°... I guess. But there could still be people buried out here.¡±


    I groaned in annoyance. ¡°Let¡¯s get back to everyone. It¡¯s time to get moving.¡±


    Rogan seemed to hesitate for a moment before faintly nodding. ¡°Alright, you¡¯re my utmost responsibility anyway.¡±


    Yeah, and no one else, so you should care about my safety more.


    We made our move back to the main lobby. However, I paused when I saw balls of fire streaking to the air.


    What the fuck?!


    Those balls of fire were coming for us, and they were fired not far from the palace. I was shocked, they got here already? Did those guys just march through the city without a regard for anyone that might get in their way? Dammit, I knew we shouldn¡¯t have wasted so much time on saving people.


    ¡°Princess.¡± Rogan stepped in front of me, anticipating the incoming firework bombs.


    But then, a wide golden barrier appeared above the palace, covering the parts necessary. They must be from the church members. To have a shield over our heads was a bit of a relief.


    The fireworks exploded upon making contact with the shield. After the initial explosions, several smaller explosions came and lit up the surroundings in various colors, loud booming sounds echoed throughout the night. Given that they were exploding on the other side of the barrier, they were a sight to behold, if not for the fact that they were meant to kill. I have a dislike for fireworks now.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go onward.¡±


    Considering that it was practically safe, we continued towards the lobby. In the lobby, a little more than a couple of dozen people have gathered, with a lot of them injured, but should survive well enough. They consisted of maids, manservants, the kitchen staff, and some others with miscellaneous jobs. I glanced at the maids in particular, the two close friends of Mera were fine, they¡¯ll live unless they get killed. The group was scared, of course, flinching and yelping at the explosions, utter fear written in their eyes.


    Macey in particular was such a case, clinging to Ellie with tears crawling on her cheeks. Ellie, on the other hand, looked scared, but she was handling it braver than anyone. They were daughters of nobility, I imagine none of them were even ever in this kind of conflict or danger. First it was the surprise attack on the palace, and now a siege. We have had it hard these past weeks.


    My eldest brother and mother were tending to the servants. As I approached Mother, I glanced outside. At the front of the palace were guys in dark robes, masks attached to their faces ¡ª the church. From what I can see, there seemed to be almost two dozen out there, with half of that casting the shield, their hands raised.


    ¡°Mother, we should get moving before we lose any chance of escaping.¡±


    Mother turned back at me with a soft, hesitating look. ¡°... Estelia¡­ Ver¡ª¡±


    ¡°Hold it!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too strong!¡±


    I immediately turned towards the shouting and frantic priests outside. They looked like they were struggling. To figure out what¡¯s going on, I quickly rushed outside. Looking up, there was an arrow bursting with mana clashing against the barrier. From the looks of it, it didn¡¯t look good, and as expected, the barrier completely shattered.


    An arrow dropped to the ground.


    And then, immediately, another round of projectiles was fired at us.


    ¡°Take cover!¡± I shouted towards the lobby.


    And fire rained upon us. The people cried and whimpered as explosions erupted above us, shaking the very palace on each impact. An explosion shredded the ceiling above the lobby, and the knights present quickly cast their shields for the crowd as violent lights spread out all over. Releasing shockwaves and flames, and debris falling.


    Rogan rushed to my side and cast his shield to protect us both from the scattering crackers. I covered my eyes from the bright lights. During all that, I heard the old high bishop shouting at his men.


    ¡°The lot of you! Follow me and engage the enemy directly! Destroy their siege weapons!¡±


    I glanced at them from the corner of my eyes and saw them jump over the wall. That¡¯s one bold and risky move, might as well call it a suicide charge. But I guess their main goal was just to destroy the siege weapons, not a direct combat with the enemy army. But that was still an incredibly risky move.


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    When the attacks had ceased, must be because they were under attack by the church, the knights checked on the servants and the royal family. My family was completely alright, Vernon tending to my mother in particular. As for the normal people, they were pretty shaken, traumatized even. But they were for the most part unharmed by the firework barrage. They¡¯ll live.


    However, the building, on the other hand, was even more of a wreck. The hallways around us have mostly collapsed, there¡¯s a risk that the ceiling would even fall. Fire was spreading, white smoldering substances scattered all around. Reminds me of white phosphorus or some shit, nasty stuff. I¡¯m shocked they got something like that, that damn empire was more advanced than I hoped.


    I approached my brother and mother. ¡°We need to get going, now.¡±


    We don¡¯t know how long the church can distract the enemy. We¡¯ll be lucky if they manage to destroy all of whatever siege weapons the Empire had. Mother glanced at the people with us for a moment before nodding.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    She must be concerned for whoever was left behind in the rubble, especially those that may still be alive. However, we have no luxury to worry about them now.


    ¡°Eleden,¡± I called my brother. ¡°Lead everyone.¡±


    With a strong gaze, he nodded. ¡°Right.¡±


    With that, Eleden stood at the head of the crowd and called out to them. With the knight¡¯s guidance, everyone began heading out of the door. It was risky to use the damaged hallways in the palace, they could collapse, not to mention the obstacles we could face. It was faster to just run around the palace then to the rear.


    I watched everyone from the side as they began their move. I turned towards the front wall, and then, I saw my father looking at me from the top.


    ¡°Princess? We should move,¡± said Rogan.


    I was a bit hesitant. ¡°... You know, I think I could strike the enemy from here.¡±


    ¡°Do that and you won¡¯t get far, considering your condition.¡±


    Indeed, depending on how I strain myself, I might start getting dizzy if I do it too much. However, I can help reduce the enemy forces. Or I could at least go for their weapons.


    ¡°Princess.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s move.¡±


    Just as when I made the move to follow the fleeing crowd, explosions roared from the wall. I paused as small debris was thrown in the air and the floor shook. But the wall was still intact, they were sturdy and reliable. However, that was not all, as more catapult projectiles came raining down again, some aiming for the other parts of the walls, and the knights tried defending themselves. A couple fell upon the palace.


    Sparks spread all over, the fleeing crowd cried as fireworks lit up close to them. But they were safe with the knights. However, the damage we¡¯ll suffer here¡­ At this rate, we¡¯ll lose our defenses before even the direct confrontation.


    I paused and clenched my fists.


    Payback.


    You punch me, I punch you back.


    I stopped, and Rogan curiously looked at me.


    ¡°Princess? What are you doing?¡±


    Projectiles streaked through the sky again, coming towards us. I raised my hand, and dozens upon dozens of barriers emerged from thin air, and they ascended as they assembled into different groups. With only a single glance at the moving projectiles, I have determined their exact trajectory, and I moved my barriers to intercept each one of them. As long as they explode high up in the air, we¡¯ll be mostly safe.


    My barriers collided with the explosive projectiles, and they blew up in the air. Their fireworks lit up the night almost like how a normal firework should. Embers and white substances fell to the ground like raindrops.


    ¡°Princess?! Are you sure about this?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Rogan.¡±


    I¡¯ll get the damn bastards.


    That said, their explosives really pack a punch, huh? So how about a little gamble?


    Another round of attack was thrown at us. Suddenly, my father jumped down the wall and ran towards me.


    ¡°Estelia! What are you doing? I told you to get out of here.¡±


    I casually waved my hand, and my shields made their move, intercepting the incoming attacks. I looked at my father, who was clearly so worried.


    ¡°Stop it, you¡¯ll only hurt yourself!¡±


    ¡°I can take a few beatings.¡± I smirked.


    And then, after successfully blocking the second round of barrage, an arrow suddenly struck one of my barriers.


    ¡°!¡±


    I grimaced as I poured more power into the shield. However, the arrow was so strong, and my shield shattered. I groaned in annoyance, and I immediately conjured a new group to fill its place. As if breaking one of my lovelies can stop me.


    ¡°Princess, you¡¯re straining yourself.¡±


    ¡°Shut it.¡±


    I clasped my hands together and closed my eyes, my concentration at its highest.


    ¡°Daughter, what are you doing?¡±


    Around me, numerous magic spells appeared. Twenty-five super powerful fireballs, twenty-five super dangerous ice, and fifty just plain destructive mana. They all filled the entire front yard. I felt a sharp pain within me, conjuring this many magic spells at once and charging them up felt like lifting a large boulder.


    I opened my eyes.


    ¡°E-Estelia¡­¡± Father strongly gazed into my eyes. He was urging me to stop.


    He noticed I was in pain. But I won¡¯t stop.


    I poured more power into the spells. I have roughly measured the distance of the enemy artillery. Going that much distance, and to keep them powerful, they need to be stronger. And so I added more power into them as I added five more of each spell.


    I noticed the knights and soldiers looking at me in awe, and the number of spells I was making. Not anyone could do something like this.


    ¡°Incredible,¡± Rogan said as he looked at his surroundings with wide eyes.


    And my own artillery was ready. I raised my hand, and all of my spells propelled upward with great power and speed. The sheer strength of their launch caused airbursts in the surroundings, making my hair and cloak flutter, and dust scattering. Looking up, my spells filled the night sky. I grinned, feeling proud.


    It¡¯s my big fuck you to those little shits.


    I couldn¡¯t see the result of my attack as I suddenly felt dizzy, my vision blurred. I became unsteady, and my father quickly caught me on the shoulders. My body was stinging all over. I breathed a bit heavily.


    ¡°I told you to stop it.¡±


    I took a few deep breaths before shoving his hands away as I stepped back with a wincing face.


    ¡°I-I am fine! I can fight, Father.¡±


    ¡°If you keep doing this, your body clearly won¡¯t be able to handle it.¡±


    I pointed an angry look at him. ¡°I can bear it.¡±


    ¡°No! Keep doing this, and you might die.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t!¡±


    So annoying! I know he was just concerned, but I want to fight. It makes me so mad they¡¯re holding me back.


    ¡°Let me protect you!¡± I froze when I said that.


    It boggled me that I uttered such a thing. I never imagined the day would come that I get to shout those words so strongly and with genuine sincerity, with such strong conviction. I never used to care about people much. Even I won¡¯t mind much if my allies in the past would die. I wouldn¡¯t go this far to protect anyone. I would usually worry about my own life. In other scenarios, if the situation was this dire, I would have fled.


    I looked at my own hands.


    For what felt like the first time, I felt horrified. Horrified of myself, of my own change.


    How I have fallen¡­


    No¡­ this wasn¡¯t the first time¡­ I have been working to protect my family. But to risk my very own life¡­? To go this far?


    How terrifying¡­


    I killed people who did what I was doing now. They were pathetic¡­


    How pathetic I have become.


    ¡°Estelia¡­¡± Father grabbed me on the shoulders again. ¡°Look, I can take care of myself. You don¡¯t have to worry about me, okay?¡±


    I slowly looked up at him, staring into his eyes. The soldiers were shouting and cheering in the background. But I disregarded them.


    ¡°I¡¯m your father, it¡¯s my job to protect you.¡± He gently patted my head. ¡°So, please get to safety.¡±


    ¡°B-But Father¡­¡±


    He removed his helm and softly kissed me on the forehead.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my sweet daughter. Have you forgotten what I told you in the past? Wisteria has a secret we can use. So I¡¯ll be fine. Once everything is set up here, I¡¯ll go there, and I¡¯ll also be safe.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Really.¡±


    I do remember him mentioning about a gift or something.


    I meekly nodded. And then I noticed a pair of blue streaks coming at us. I stepped back away from my father and quickly moved my barriers, blocking the incoming two. However, more and more arrows came flying at us, at the palace. A drop of sweat crawled down my forehead as I swiftly moved my barriers.


    I even expanded them. However, there were too many, and they were exploding all over the place. They hit the palace in great numbers, their shockwave larger and more powerful than before. I watched with grief as the arrows gradually destroyed my palace even more, piece by piece. I can¡¯t keep up with an attack at this volume.


    And then, being distracted by the amount of arrows, I failed to block one that was falling close to us. And it exploded a few meters away from me. The shockwave blew me away, my spells disappeared, and my father quickly caught me in his arms. We roughly landed on the ground, but my father took all the hits. He was wearing his armor, so he should be fine.


    ¡°Daughter, you alright?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    As he stepped back to rise, he paused, looking at me with wide eyes.


    ¡°Estelia, what are you¡­ Why do you have those?¡±


    I looked down to see my cloak shifted away, exposing my combat outfit, and the daggers attached to them. My mind went blank.


    ¡°Princess! We need to get out of here n¡ª uh.¡± Rogan looked at me in surprise and glanced worriedly at my father.


    I quickly stood up and pulled in my cloak. I didn¡¯t want my father to see that.


    ¡°I-It¡¯s for p-protection.¡±


    ¡°Protection?¡± His face contorted a bit, surprised or disturbed. ¡°Where did you even get those?¡±


    I looked away. I gave no answer.


    Suddenly, we noticed a blue light coming at us. Directly at us. I quickly waved my hand to create barriers, however, something moved in the arrow¡¯s way. A dark fog. When the arrow hit it, the fog turned into a humanoid silhouette. He was thrown into the ground a couple of meters away from us. He was completely covered all over, not a skin to be seen. He slowly got up, clutching the bleeding in his belly while groaning in pain.


    ¡°You¡¯ve gone too far¡­ We must protect Her Eminence. No longer must she be put in danger. Do you hear me?!¡±


    It was a stranger shouting in space.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 11: Protect (Part 4)

    Just as the man was sitting up, clutching his healing wound, the palace walls were in disarray. While more arrows rained down upon the palace.


    ¡°Enemies attacking!¡±


    ¡°Defend!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t let them get through!¡±


    The palace gates banged loudly as the enemy tried to blast it open. Meanwhile, there were also enemies that were scaling up the wall. Our men tried driving them back, but there were others that got through. Our knights and the church members engaged with the enemies atop the walls. Magic spells were thrown all over the place.


    The number of enemies here in the main gate, on this north side, were quickly increasing. And this was just one side. I could only wonder how it was on the other sides. The enemies were likely attacking on the north, east, and west. They could also attack the south, but do they have enough manpower for that? Flanking us on both sides should do fine than thinning out more of their forces. Unless they have other ideas.


    More and more enemies climbed up, and some even began jumping down the wall, only to fight the enemy in front of them. The area was filled with loud voices, taunting and shouting, and along with it were blades and magic clashing violently.


    We have more than half a hundred men on this side. Counting the normal soldiers as well. We were not prepared for this kind of assault, especially at this time. The rest of our knights were sent to help with the war preparation. I imagine they were fighting in the city somewhere too.


    They breached the gate with a flash of magic. With that broken down, they tried breaking through the barricade. It wouldn¡¯t hold out long. From the looks of it, however, the enemies here were roughly the same number of forces we have. But the imperial knights looked strong. They easily cut through the normal soldiers. Our knights and church fighters were fighting well, but how long would that last?


    ¡°Heneis!¡±


    The dark clothed man suddenly shouted towards the sky. I glanced at him suspiciously as I grabbed a dagger in each hand under my cloak. The enemy was fast approaching.


    ¡°Stop hiding and fight! My people! Protect the Goddess! Enough with the games!¡±


    An enemy knight came rushing towards us, his sword shining with magic.


    ¡°Daughter, behind me.¡±


    My father stepped in front, his sword raised forward, while Rogan stood beside me, holding his spear firmly. But then, before the enemy got to use his magic, a dark fog suddenly slammed into him. He halted and looked at the fog in utter confusion. As the fog engulfed him, a hand formed from behind with bony blades as fingers. And the claws stabbed the knight from the back.


    The fog turned into a man completely covered in cloth. With his claws embedded into the knight, the stranger lifted him up as blood crawled down the repulsive-looking hand. The knight yelled and writhed in pain, but the stranger slammed him into the ground.


    ¡°Blood, thirsty!¡± it was a weird growly voice, and it chuckled sadistically.


    He forcefully removed the knight¡¯s helmet. The knight¡¯s expression of confusion was laid bare. The stranger pulled down the lower cover of his face. I couldn¡¯t properly see in this darkness, but I think I just saw a disturbingly great amount of teeth, sharp monstrous teeth.


    And the stranger bit into the knight¡¯s neck. The latter¡¯s face contorted into horror while blood spurted out of him like a fountain.


    ¡°Aaaah! Wha¡ª Get the fuck off me!¡±


    The knight squirmed to be free. However, the claw embedded into his flesh kept him in place.


    What the fuck?


    Where the hell did these monsters come from?


    It was not only him. Looking up, there were more fogs moving around. Several landing here in the area, while others moved in to stop and intercept the incoming arrows nearby, using themselves as shields. I was quite confused, but thinking about the first guy, they might be alright. The other fogs, on the other hand, flew in other directions.


    But, what the fuck? Are they enemies or not?


    Fogs slammed into the spreading enemies swarming the front yard, and they feasted. Like we¡¯re in a banquet or some shit, except the guests strictly drink blood. Like fucking vampires.


    ¡°What the hell are they?¡± Rogan muttered as he looked on with wide eyes.


    Before we knew it, the arrow bombardment had stopped. It was then that a particular fog landed beside the first stranger that shielded me from an arrow.


    ¡°Go and kill some humans.¡± The newcomer grabbed the man and threw him far away into the enemy crowd.


    ¡°Damn you, Heneis!¡± he shouted before disappearing into the group of knights.


    And the new stranger continued on towards us.


    ¡°We are on your side. Our goal is to protect the princess.¡±


    Father pointed his sword at him. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    He ignored him and only looked at me. ¡°Do you remember me, Princess? We¡¯ve met.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°I warned you some time ago, in the city.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    So that¡¯s why his rough voice sounded a bit familiar. He was covered all over, so I was incredibly wary. Just how ugly are they behind the covers? Somehow, I don¡¯t wanna know. You know what they say, ignorance is bliss. And how blissful it truly is sometimes.


    He seemed to glance at the king for a moment before turning back to me.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ¡°My forces are spread thin and utterly distracted, the number of enemies are overwhelming. You need to flee from here, Princess. I can¡¯t tell if we can completely hold the enemy off for very long.¡±


    Distracted? Did he mean how those guys seemed to enjoy drinking all the blood of their victims? Even from here, I could see a lot of them sitting on the floor and drinking blood. One knight tried stabbing a draped one, but the latter merely ignored the sword in his chest and kept on sucking the river of all lives. Freaky.


    ¡°I don¡¯t trust them,¡± said my father as he looked at me. ¡°But you need to go. Rogan, protect her with your life.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°What about you, Father?¡± I asked with concern.


    ¡°I need to go back to the throne room. Now that the enemy has gathered here, it¡¯s a chance.¡±


    ¡°What chance?¡±


    My father merely smiled. ¡°Go. Protect your mother, okay?¡± He pulled up my cloak¡¯s hood to cover my head.


    I pursed my lips before nodding. ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    With a pat on my head, he quickly stepped back, pointing at a couple of knights to come with him to the palace. The fog man, meanwhile, disappeared into the darkness.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Rogan.¡±


    We made a run for it, going for the paths on the side of the palace. Enemies and allies were spreading all over the place, their battles chaotic. Unlike what I would see in a battle in the world I was from. Here, magic was thrown everywhere, people with superhuman strength smashing everything around them. While others kill inhumanely.


    As Rogan and I ran side by side, an enemy pointed his sight at us. He sprinted and fired slashes of light in our direction. I conjured my crimson shields to block the slashes, while Rogan followed in to shoot a powerful wave of lightning. Electricity engulfed the enemy, and Rogan immediately tried swinging towards his neck as we went our way.


    However, the enemy blocked his lightning coated spear. So I swiftly moved beside the enemy knight and stabbed him in the armpit.


    ¡°Agh!¡±


    Rogan took the chance to land the killing blow, casting a blast of lightning at point zero. The knight was blown away while smoke emitted from all over his body. Upon landing back on the ground, he no longer moved.


    With that guy done, we continued on our way.


    And then I saw something that broke my heart. In the ember filled surroundings, flames stretched and spread to the beautiful flowers which were once glowing with a beautiful purple hue. A sea of fire danced and cackled at the colorful flowers that bloomed brightly at the grace of day. That special place was being devoured by the flames. The garden.


    Damn those bastards, I¡¯ll make them fucking pay!


    They¡¯re destroying what I valued. I¡¯ll fucking kill them!


    Looking around, the enemy had more or less breached the palace grounds from all sides. Our knights were being slain, soldiers, all dying. The enemy knights sent here were strong. Even the Wisterian knights that I knew were elites were struggling.


    An enemy got in our way, and Rogan promptly engaged. At the same time, another came running for his flank. I threw a magic filled dagger at the latter enemy. However, the knight used his blade to instantly deflect it, and my dagger was flung away before my swirling slashes triggered, hitting nothing.


    I frowned, displeased. I was preparing to use my magic when a black fog moved in and pushed the enemy knight away. The knight swung his magic coated sword at the fog and it made contact. A humanoid figure formed, and was cut on the torso.


    ¡°What the hell are you?!¡± The knight slashed the stranger in the torso again, causing a fatal wound.


    However, the stranger grabbed the knight in the arm.


    ¡°I am the monster you fear in the night! HAHAHAHAHA!¡± The monster gripped the knight¡¯s head and slammed him into the ground. ¡°So many blood bags to drink from tonight!¡±


    The monster overpowered the knight pretty easily, and he feasted.


    Meanwhile, Rogan parried his opponent¡¯s weapon, and he quickly flipped his blade to readjust it. But the enemy cast a shield to block the incoming attack. Rogan clicked his tongue. To save time, from the enemy¡¯s flank, I shot out a firebolt, successfully hitting the knight. Rogan quickly struck the man through the chest as the latter was staggering, and the crackling of electricity followed.


    Rogan pulled out his spear and turned towards me.


    ¡°I could have taken him. Princess, refrain from using your magic. We still need you in a good condition.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°I will use it when necessary.¡±


    He sighed. ¡°... Very well. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    We continued on. But then a moment later, a man suddenly landed in front of us.


    Fucking knew it these guys are here.


    It was an elf.


    ¡°You¡¯re two are strange. You must be important, hooded one.¡± The elf tilted his body to the side and grinned. ¡°Red eyes. Princess. Found you, at last.¡±


    Shit, now we got the enemy''s big gun here. And this was just one! There could certainly be more out there. And I was trying to keep a low profile too. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t try to fly and took my chance here on the ground where everyone was busy, not only because I was minimizing my use of magic.


    Elves were big trouble, it will be extremely difficult to get past him.


    The elf brandished his own spear.


    Rogan then whispered to me. ¡°Princess. I¡¯ll hold him off. You get out of here.¡±


    ¡°... Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the only way.¡±


    I stared at him for a moment and nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t die, Rogan.¡±


    He grinned widely. ¡°Who do you think you¡¯re talking to? I don¡¯t die that easily.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m serious.¡±


    ¡°... I won¡¯t die,¡± he softly said, voice full of sincerity.


    I faintly nodded. ¡°Alright.¡±


    I stepped back. And as Rogan moved in to charge at the enemy. I made my move, rushing to the side.


    ¡°I won¡¯t let you get away!¡±


    I propelled myself with my wind, and before the elf¡¯s spear could reach me, Rogan parried his weapon away.


    ¡°No!¡± the elf shouted.


    I successfully went past him. I glanced back, and as the elf was about to chase me, Rogan kicked him sideways, slamming him into the palace wall.


    I continued onward, avoiding every enemy knight that was in my way. But then, I sensed danger coming my way. And thus, I cast my shield, just in time to block a blade coming at my face. It was from another elf. While feeling so annoyed and frustrated, I quickly leaped away.


    He was holding a pair of long daggers in each hand, and he glared curiously at me.


    ¡°So that¡¯s why he tried to stop you. You¡¯re Her.¡±


    Goddammit, these elves don¡¯t let up!


    He charged towards me with the full intention of killing me. I fired a lightning bolt, but he skillfully evaded it. Halfway to me, a dark fog suddenly came in between us. As a figure formed, it tackled the elf and was about to stab him in the chest. But the elf slashed through the stranger and got free.


    When he continued towards me, the stranger grabbed the back of the elf¡¯s clothes and threw him far away. The strength these monstrous people possessed was worrying.


    The stranger chased after the elf.


    And then another foggy figure appeared in front of me.


    ¡°Princess.¡±


    ¡°You.¡±


    ¡°Please, call me Heneis.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± I was wary.


    ¡°You are not safe here, Princess. Come with me, with us. We¡¯ll bring you to safety.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°We want to keep you safe.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it? No way. I don¡¯t even know who you are.¡±


    ¡°Please, Princess of Blood, we don¡¯t have much time.¡± He extended his hand forward, presenting his palm. ¡°We will protect you. You will be safe with us, I promise you.¡±


    ¡°Absolutely not. I don¡¯t trust you.¡±


    There¡¯s something shady about this guy. Just want to keep me safe? No damn way that¡¯s the only reason. They want something from me, I feel it. Everyone, every stranger, wants something from me. Especially my life. They cannot be trusted. Only I can trust myself.


    ¡°Stay away from me.¡± I moved to continue onward.


    ¡°... Princess. I will take you away from here, even if I have to force you to.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I paused and turned around, only to see him covered in fog coming at me. ¡°Bastard!¡±


    He grabbed me and we flew upwards. In my annoyance and anger, I stabbed him with both my weapons. But he was fine, he took it like it was nothing.


    ¡°Unhand me!¡±


    ¡°No, Princess.¡±


    Quickly, we ascended and were moving away from the palace. The chaos was more apparent from up high. And every second, we were getting higher.


    ¡°Damn you!¡±


    I will not let him! I have someone to protect. I can¡¯t let him take me away.


    I discarded my daggers in his flesh and gathered a ton of mana in my hands. And then, a thunderous lightning erupted, blasting him away with a fiery streak. With the sheer power of my magic, he was sent hurling so far away he immediately disappeared from sight. Not only that, I noticed his body being extremely decimated. But considering what I have seen, he¡¯ll recover soon enough.


    I cast my wind and propelled myself back to the palace quickly. I stand out too much here.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 12: Estevan Fight

    The second prince, Estevan, was sent to the eastern wall to check on the damages and ensure things were secured despite the mess. Their walls were not in complete good condition after the magical bombardments. That said, it was hard to trust the integrity of the wall alone. Magic powered knights could easily scale such walls.


    The most the walls could help was to give defenders a good vantage point to attack the enemy and keep them from getting close. If they were normal soldiers with no magic capabilities, it would have been a different case and be easier, but considering that it was the Empire, their enemy, and bold enough to attack their capital city, it was appropriate to assume that they use magic-able knights.


    That was Estevan¡¯s thoughts. But when they indeed began their assault on the palace, his thoughts and expectations were met.


    He positioned himself at the northeastern part of the wall, and he saw how the enemy knights were going and spreading on the east side. To attack this side as well.


    ¡°Men! Get ready!¡± Estevan shouted. ¡°Knights! Once they¡¯re in range, fire your spells at will!¡±


    The knights readied to cast their spells. And once the enemy was in range, various kinds of magic spells rained down upon them. Bolts of flames, lightning strikes, plain magic splitting up into different streaks, while some unleashed streams of violent mana. The common soldiers shot their arrows as well.


    Imperial knights ran towards the wall like a swarm of pests. And like pests which shared their nature, a lot of them were struck by countless spells. Knights that failed to shield themselves in their excitement to reach the wall were burned, electrified, blasted. While others tried to defend themselves with their magic shields, but to a few, their protection was shattered, causing them to either perish, or be severely injured. But at least that stopped them from coming.


    Still, like pests, a lot of them managed to slip and slither through the curtain of spells. No, it was most of them. To Estevan¡¯s surprise, they moved faster and defended stronger. From the looks of it alone, they were elites. With that in mind, he grew apprehensive. Just how many elites did they send?


    ¡°Get ready for a direct engagement!¡±


    It didn¡¯t take long for the enemy to reach the palace¡¯s protective wall and begin climbing up. Some knights leaped up high and stabbed their blades into the surface before jumping up again. Others cast ice spells to lift their allies, which was the most common method among them.


    Wisterian knights destroyed the quickly ascending ice with knights on top of them, it was not easy as the ice were of magical origin, and they were made more durable. The ice may have been eventually destroyed, with some knights falling back to the ground, but there were many that jumped before the ice platform they stood upon was destroyed and collapsed.


    With the enemy now stepping foot on the top of the wall, the Wisterian knights quickly moved in to attack and strike them down.


    ¡°Kill them all!¡±


    ¡°Stop them!¡±


    Noise instantly filled the area, from people shouting, swords clashing, and parts of the walls being wrecked, where knights were thrown back onto the surface. Normal soldiers, on the other hand, didn¡¯t have a good chance of facing the enemy knights.


    One common soldier in particular swung at an imperial, only to be easily evaded and casually cut down. Those who couldn¡¯t even cast magic stood no chance. But there were others merely supporting the Wisterian knights, perhaps to either help form an opening, or strike at where the enemy was vulnerable while an allied knight engaged with them.


    A common soldier was doing as such. The Wisterian knight swung at the imperial, and while the two of them were immersed in their battle, a common soldier charged the imperial from his flank. He thrust his spear at the enemy, successfully stabbing him into his vulnerable side. Of course it was not enough to kill the target, but that gave the Wisterian knight the chance to land a killing blow.


    Estevan glared at his surroundings, clenching his sword tightly. An enemy jumped in front of him and quickly struck at him. The prince blocked the blade and quickly took a step back. It was a bit difficult to move around, considering how tight the space was. Even more so when everyone was fighting.


    Estevan coated his blade with magic. The enemy charged at him again, so Estevan met the enemy¡¯s sword and let both blades grind. At the same time, Estevan removed his one hand from the sword and held it out towards the enemy. A blast of electricity crashed against the prince¡¯s opponent. It was not strong enough to kill, but was enough to stagger. And with that chance, Estevan swung at the enemy.


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    His blade touched the enemy¡¯s armor while he unleashed a magical slash. It cut through the metal, lacerating through flesh, and blowing the imperial knight away.


    Estevan sighed, although he was quite glad that his training paid off. He was stronger than before.


    A bigger knight landed close to him. Before Estevan was about to strike, the enemy knight rammed himself against him. The prince was able to shield himself in time, but he was thrown off the wall, falling to the ground. Thankfully, it was on the friendly side. He adeptly landed, but the enemy knight, with his long sword, was coming down at him.


    Estevan quickly dashed to the side, evading just in time before the enemy crashed down. The impact was so powerful that it caused a large crater to form, and dust was thrown all around him. Estevan quickly fired a pair of light slashes at the enemy, and they moved at tremendous speed. The target was able to block one, but failed in the other, and it damaged his armor on the right side of his chest. The speed and strength of the prince¡¯s attack surprised him, and he grew more wary.


    The imperial knight rushed at him, his legs heavily slamming on the soil, and their swords collided. They swung their weapon at each other, magical energy bursting at every hit. Estevan had to admit, his opponent¡¯s hit was heavier and more powerful. But he noticed that he was relying on his strength more than speed and technique. The prince saw that as his enemy¡¯s weakness.


    I just have to be faster.


    If he was the same a couple of months ago, then perhaps he wouldn¡¯t be able to be more confident in defeating this opponent. He might have struggled more, and be more at risk of being defeated. But this time, it was different.


    Estevan swiftly stepped to the side and pointed a hand at the flat of his enemy¡¯s sword, casting a bludgeoning force. The sword was pushed back, and Estevan took the chance to send a fatal blow. Pouring a large amount of mana into his sword, he swung down at the enemy, unleashing a bright slash of light, brighter than anything he had made before.


    It collided against the enemy, sending chunks of his armor in the air, as he was pushed far back into the wall. Estevan glared, making sure that he was dead. The imperial knight was bloodied all over, the slash cut in deep, and he didn¡¯t move, not even a twitch.


    Estevan looked around. The enemy was overwhelming his forces. One Wisterian knight was struck from behind, another was pierced through the chest, some were struck by Armament Magic. The common soldiers on the other hand, couldn¡¯t do much but take fatal hits. They screamed in pain, while others didn¡¯t even get the chance to do so.


    Estevan clenched his sword tightier, a heavy feeling in his chest. He might be able to defeat his own opponents, but what about the others? It would be pointless if Wisteria as a whole couldn¡¯t win in its entirety.


    He sensed an enemy coming from behind him. But as he turned around, a one handed Wisterian knight engaged the enemy before he could reach the prince. It didn¡¯t take long before the one handed hand knight blew the enemy away with his magic. But it was doubtful that such an attack would kill the enemy.


    ¡°You should be more careful, Your Highness.¡±


    ¡°Alzen, thanks. It¡¯s just¡­ the situation is bad.¡±


    Alzen looked around. ¡°Yes. But we still need to fight.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Suddenly, they noticed slashes of wind lashing at the knights nearby. Estevan frantically turned towards the source of that magic, that kind of magic was just too familiar. The caster of those winds jumped down, one with a pair of long, pointed ears.


    ¡°Elf¡­¡±


    The elf glanced at them. It was a beautiful female elf. Smooth light brown skin, long blonde hair, and emerald colored eyes.


    ¡°You look important,¡± she said in a monotone.


    Estevan raised his sword as Alzen moved in front of him.


    ¡°Stay behind me, Your Highness.¡±


    Estevan frowned. ¡°You can¡¯t beat that alone.¡±


    ¡°... Perhaps.¡±


    The elf gave them a blank look and pointed her weapons at them. On her right hand was a beautiful and slender rapier, on her left was a short sword. The two blades glowed slightly.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, you¡¯re dying anyway. I just want this over with.¡± She sounded tired.


    Wind bursts suddenly shot forth from her weapons.


    ¡°Disperse!¡±


    Estevan and Alzen quickly spread apart and headed straight for the elf woman. But the elf moved towards Estevan, taking only a brief moment to reach him. Her sheer speed shook the prince, he couldn¡¯t have imagined she could move that fast.


    Estevan swung his sword at her, and she met it with her rapier. But then instantly, at a speed that Estevan failed to react fast enough, she extended her short blade at his belly. The blade touched his armor, and started cutting through it. With that little resistance from his armor, it gave him a window to cast bludgeoning magic, pushing the elf back. While Estevan quickly backed away.


    Alzen subsequently swung his sword at her. But the elf blocked his attacks.


    Estevan glanced at where her dagger reached. He was a bit surprised that her blade could cut through metal just like that. Could be her strength, or the magic cast on the blade. At least she didn¡¯t reach his skin.


    Estevan charged again, striking from the elf woman¡¯s flank. But she parried off the sword and directly extended her long blade towards Alzen, aiming for his chest. The rapier pierced through his armor, and he quickly stepped back the moment Estevan continued his attacks.


    When she pulled her rapier, blood was stuck on the blade. Estevan fired a couple slashes of light, prompting the elf to evade and back away.


    ¡°Alzen! You alive?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing fatal.¡± He raised his sword again.


    Estevan retreated beside him. He could heal him, but there was no time.


    ¡°That bitch is tough,¡± Alzen said bitterly.


    ¡°Yeah. But there¡¯s two of us. We have a chance.¡±


    The elf sighed. ¡°I won¡¯t die to the two of you. I still have to go back home.¡±


    Alzen¡¯s face contorted in annoyance. ¡°Oh yeah? Then you¡¯re free to leave!¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t¡­¡±


    She took a step forward and swiftly ran towards them. Both Alzen and Estevan split up to attack her on both sides.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 13: Dire

    With a pair of guards, the Wisterian king, Leodoule, ran back to the palace, heading for the throne room. But when they reached the hallway directly to it, the path was mostly blocked by the collapsed ceiling. He was a bit annoyed, but there was no time to wallow in it.


    They climbed over the rubble and they used their Armament Magic to blow a hole through the path when they couldn¡¯t go through. It didn¡¯t take long before they got through and reached the throne room.


    One knight with him grew curious. ¡°Why are we here, Your Majesty?¡±


    The other knight was similarly puzzled. They would understand if the king decided to flee. However, coming back here to the palace throne room, they couldn¡¯t understand why the king would put himself at risk like this.


    ¡°Here we¡¯ll find what can help us in this predicament.¡±


    Leodoule walked towards his throne and moved it aside. He looked down on the floor where it was once placed. He crouched down and reached out to the cold and smooth floor. Pouring a small amount of mana into it, he pushed down. A small part of the floor was indeed shifted, and after that, there was a faint sound of some mechanism moving.


    He stepped back and watched a part of the floor move aside with a heavy sound, gradually forming a hole in the floor. The two knights curiously glanced at it. Once the mechanism stopped moving, in the thin rectangular hole was a dark staircase going down. The way beyond was coated in utter darkness.


    Leodoule turned towards the two.


    ¡°Only the ruling monarch may enter from here on out. Defend the pathway.¡±


    The two knights looked at each other before nodding.


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    They wanted to ask what could be under there. But they decided not to pry. The royal family have their secrets, and knights such as them, even of noble birth, even more so of commoner descent, have no right to know what it could be, or the right to inquire.


    As the two knights stood on guard, the king proceeded down the narrow staircase. His every step echoed, and the longer it lasted the deeper he went down. When it became truly dark, he held out his hand and a ball of light lit up in his palm. Despite going down more than a couple of dozen steps, he has yet to reach the end of it.


    It had been a long time since he was here. In fact, he has been here only a few times. The first being introduced to him by this father. He couldn¡¯t truly comprehend what this place was at that time. He was told that this place was made by the Lord of Compassion. Who was rarely and otherwise known as the Ruling Deity of Beasts.


    What kind of god the Lord was, it was hinted in the name. He controls beasts, or perhaps that could mean monsters. There were theories that because of his influence Wisteria was burdened with a forest filled with powerful monsters. Perhaps they were allies once. Perhaps before Wisteria became what it currently was, it coexisted with beasts. There have been few accounts mentioning different manners of creatures roaming publicly in the Wisterian lands in the old era.


    The other times he visited was to practice the magic in this place. Truth be told, he would prefer not to use it. It was just dangerous for him to use, and too difficult. Even though he didn¡¯t use it completely, just getting familiar with the feeling of its magic was hard enough. It was why it must be used in a desperate time such as this.


    He took a deep breath. And he arrived at the end of the staircase. Before him was an extending dark corridor. The pathway was of simplistic design, different from how one would usually expect from a holy setting. But it didn¡¯t have a sign of aging. Aside from the usual dust from years of no cleaning, the place had no cracks, molds, or signs of decay.


    He continued through the corridor, until moments later, he arrived at a decently sized circular chamber. He approached one of the torches and cast fire to light them. The room became clearer as more torches were lit.


    The walls were embedded with blue colored veins made of some sort of crystal. There were numerous of them going up to the ceiling, but if one were to trace them, they were all connected. Their root was the floor at the center of the room, where a magic circle was drawn with the same crystal. On the top, bottom, and both sides of the very center of the magic circle were chunks of blue crystal.


    Leodoule removed the scabbard hanging from his waist and put his weapon on the side. He took a deep breath. He prayed to his gods that everything would go well. He slowly stepped inside the magic circle as he stared at the wall up front, where there were writings carved into it.


    ¡®Whosoever prayeth and offereth their wishes within the circle shalt be granted a glimpse of divine power. Thou shalt be the master of the beasts the Lord hath given.¡¯


    The king stopped and kneeled on both knees at the center of the circle and closed his eyes. He released his mana, and gradually, the circular crystals at the innermost circle began to shine, and the light gradually spread out through the crystal lines.


    The moving light first reached the crystal chunks, and they too began to glow. But they first glowed in blue before turning into bright violet. And with that, all light changed to that same noble hue. Gradually, the entire magic circle began to glow before spreading to the walls.


    All the while, the king winced. The light flickered. He was having difficulties proceeding. It was painful. His body inside was in pain, or to be precise, it was not physically, but rather his Mystic Medium. He was pushing his mana harder than usual, and there seemed to be another force clashing with it. Like merging or taking over. He couldn¡¯t exactly tell, but it was straining him terribly.


    But he pushed on.


    His progress was slow, but it was to be expected. There was a process to this divine spell. And it will take some time. That was, if he wouldn¡¯t pass out. But this was merely the first step, the next step, the true initiation and actually using the working spell, was a different matter. It would be a new challenge entirely.


    That said, he had to be faster. He must. Otherwise, it would be too late.


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    Without his realization, an observer watched from behind him, intrigued.


    ***


    Alruwin watched the humans begin storming the palace walls. They quickly scaled over it, and they moved like the bugs that they were. He turned towards the elves left with him.


    ¡°Go and assist the humans in their assault. If you find the targets, you know what to do. I will attack from their western wall and focus on searching for our primary targets.¡±


    But of course, he was intending on slaying the humans in his way. The mission here was to help the Empire win this battle. If they overwhelm the palace, the elves will achieve what they want either way.


    And with that, the elves began their move, except for the archer that remained, for he had mostly exhausted his mana. Alruwin ran to the palace¡¯s western wall with incredible speed, along with an elf who ran further ahead of him. Upon arrival, he swiftly climbed up all the way to the top pretty easily, where he was surrounded by violence and death.


    He nonchalantly drew out his beautiful and graceful sword. It was made of a precious metal called Arihaltium, making one of the most durable weapons in the world below. And quite possible, one of the deadliest, but that part he was reluctant to think about. There were plenty of dangerous weapons the mystic race possessed. The world below was richer in resources with magical traits compared to this land where he stood upon. Here, they hardly have the crystals used to make teleportation dust, and they had to use their own for the mission. Even the other type of crystal used to store magic was rare here.


    Alruwin took a deep breath and observed the human enemies before him. He took a step forward, and almost in an instant, he cut through two human soldiers. A huge amount of blood splattered into the air. It was so easy to land his blade when his enemies were distracted.


    He moved forward again, cutting through more soldiers. The imperial knights in his way looked at him with wide eyes, shocked at how ruthlessly he just cut through groups of people, and too easily at that. Even easily cutting through the metal armor. But Alruwin was completely unfazed by what he was doing. For there was no point in feeling anything for these bugs, these imbeciles.


    As he moved to kill some more, a dual wielding knight suddenly charged towards him. The two blades bursting with magic of fire and frost. The human was swinging his swords at Alruwin with a deadly swiftness and heavy weight. Any other would have struggled or even died quickly upon receiving such attacks. However, Alruwin blocked all of it.


    He parried one blade and casually dodged the other. Just as he was about to land an attack, another human knight came from behind him, the long sword raised, about to swing it down. Alruwin sighed and stepped sideways, and the human¡¯s sword merely hit the air.


    ¡°You¡¯re going down here and now, elf,¡± the dual wielding human said with certainty.


    Alruwin couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at the sheer absurdity that this insignificant insect had just declared. It was just such a stupid thing to utter. And thus, he didn¡¯t even bother giving a brief response.


    The two enemies held their stance, glaring at Alruwin, waiting for him to move. Alruwin shifted his sword, and he took a step forward. At the same time, he cast magic into his sword. The knight swung both his blades at him, and Alruwin swung forward.


    His precious blade cut through the two swords at once. The knight was shocked to witness both his blades get cut in half. And Alruwin, without a moment wasted, slashed at his enemy¡¯s chest. Again, easily cutting through the elite¡¯s armor, and cleaving through flesh. Like cutting through paper.


    The knight gritted his teeth through the pain. However, against Alruwin¡¯s expectations, the knight kept standing and suddenly charged towards him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate me!¡±


    The knight tackled the elf, keeping him in place. And at the same time, the other knight moved in to thrust his sword at his enemy.


    Damn human!


    Before the knight¡¯s sword could reach him, Alruwin used all of his might and kneed the knight holding him. The latter was sent hurling upwards into the air. Alruwin quickly deflected the enemy blade and he raised his other hand, pointing at the muscular knight above. Multiple small wind bursts were shot at the knight, denting and breached through his armor, as he was kept being pushed upward.


    At the same time, Alruwin cut the hand of the enemy before him then swiftly slashing sideways. The knight staggered back as blood spilled out from his hand and at the side of his body. As fatal as it was, he immediately dropped to the floor.


    Alruwin looked up and saw the enemy knight falling. He pointed his sword to the sky, and the knight fell directly to his blade, piercing through the chest. The knight glared at the elf as blood leaked out of his mouth. But it only took a moment before his life completely faded away.


    Alruwin casually dropped the corpse and pulled out his sword.


    These humans were not too different from those in the world below. They pointlessly struggle. They held onto life despite their body being ripped apart. They struggled and kept fighting, despite there being no hope. They hide when eventually they will be found.


    In the end, they all ultimately fail.


    They die, they get captured, they get sent to the mines or wherever their labor may be needed. They were no one special, and thus their fate was as it should be. To serve the needs of those above them. Even how much they cry to the divine, no help would come. No matter how many heroes they may have, the mystic race, blessed by the gods, triumphs.


    With that matter done, he continued on slaying more enemies before him. While at the same time, he searched for the valuable targets. But he found none. So he kept moving further south as he slain more humans. On the way, he encountered another elf who was killing his own share of humans with a pair of curved blades.


    ¡°Found anyone?¡± Alruwin asked.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then we keep reducing the enemy¡¯s number.¡±


    Eventually, they will be so few that they¡¯ll be able to find them. But there was also another possible place that they may find one at least.


    They reached the southwestern part of the wall. Alruwin stood at the edge and looked at the south, or to be precise, by the broken part of the southern wall. Looking further away, there were a few imperial forces out there, facing Wisterian knights. But then he noticed one in particular that stood out in the bright moonlight, running in the fields with a large group of humans.


    It was a faintly glistening platinum, no, it was not as white as that. It was silver. There was only one person with that shade. And judging from her physique, he was certain who it was. And with her was what seemed to be the first prince.


    However, Alruwin¡¯s eyes were focused on the silver-haired woman. She was among the main targets, but not number one. Still, looking at that shade of her hair, it irked him. So similar to their ultimate target.


    ¡°Alruwin, are we going for it?¡±


    ¡°... Yes.¡±


    And they swiftly began their move, running towards the fleeing large group of humans as they traversed the green landscape. Alruwin cut through the enemy that got in his way, until eventually, they too touched the green grasses.


    The two elves chased after their target.


    ¡°Enemy from the rear!¡±


    ¡°Stop them!¡±


    The knights tried to hold them off. But the two elves got through them without much time spent.


    ¡°They¡¯re going for the Queen!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t let them through!¡±


    Alruwin spawned a swarm of vines to take care of the knights, either attacking or obstructing them.


    ¡°Mother!¡± the first prince cried.


    ¡°Go, Your Majesty! Don¡¯t look back!¡±


    As they got closer, an old man and a knight got in their way. The other elf faced the old man, swinging his curved swords at him. But the old man merely used his arms to block and attack. The elf was a bit surprised by how strong he was. But still, a human couldn¡¯t keep up with an elf for long. The elf slashed the old man¡¯s hard forearm.


    Now, with that old man distracted, the queen lost one of her guards.


    Alruwin sent a pair of wind slashes at the knight in front of him before spawning a group of thorny vines to wrap around the knight.


    With that, Alruwin was given an opening. And he used his wind to propel himself forward.


    ¡°NO!¡± the old man shouted, trying to run towards the one he should protect. But his opponent moved to stop him, slashing the old man¡¯s back.


    Alruwin immediately reached beside the target. The silver-haired woman looked at him with wide eyes. And the elf extended his sword forward.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 14: A Knight’s Duty & Loyalty

    Rogan and the elf¡¯s spears clashed, the sheer power of the impact sent sparks in the air, and magic bursting out. The knight swung his weapon diagonally, and the elf blocked it. The latter thrust his spear forward, but Rogan skillfully blocked it as well. One stepped back, while the other stepped forward, but as such, would change a moment later.


    The speed for each of their attacks was so swift that not even any average knights could easily keep up. Even the elf was quite surprised that the human knight was keeping up with him. And indeed, Rogan was not holding back at all. He used as much Physical Enhancement as he could to strengthen his legs and arms, and poured the most magical power into his weapon. His focus was the sharpest he had even been since what felt like forever.


    They ran around the area while sending their strikes at their opponent, all trying to get the upper hand. Rogan waved his spear, sending an arc of lightning, and the elf sent a slash of wind to intercept it. At the same time, the knight leaped forward in an instant, his spear pointed outward. The elf grimaced and instantly flipped his spear, using the pole to push Rogan¡¯s spear slightly away. Enough for the elf to take a side step for evasion, while at the same time twisting his body all the round and using the momentum to swing his magic coated spear.


    Rogan pointed a finger towards the elf, casting a bludgeoning spell to stagger the enemy back. The enemy¡¯s spear failed to reach him. Rogan took a swing at him. But the elf kept his momentum, putting a hand on the ground and flipped backward, missing Rogan¡¯s spear by an inch. He used his arm to push himself in the air, to make a distance between them.


    Rogan spun his spear several times, sending several electrical slashes towards the elf. The latter forcefully moved his body mid air while using his spear to block off other attacks. The moment he landed back on the ground, Rogan charged towards him.


    Their weapons clashed, swinging at each other while shooting magic slashes of their own element ¡ª one lightning, the other the wind. Seeking to overpower the other. With every deflection or parry, the magical slashes were thrown everywhere else.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    ¡°What the hell!¡±


    ¡°Watch out!¡±


    The knights around them, whether from Wisteria or the Empire, scrambled away from the stray magic attacks.


    The elf swung down his spear, and Rogan blocked it with the pole of his weapon.


    ¡°How are you this strong?¡± the elf asked with a powerful and annoyed glare.


    ¡°I practice a lot.¡±


    Rogan felt quite pleased to see an elf shocked by his strength. Although he had to admit, he was becoming quite tired. He could feel his mana quickly burning away. If it gets worse, he might have to reduce his use of magic and opt for raw skills to catch up. But how long could he hold up with that alone? Elves were naturally stronger in other, or rather, most aspects.


    Rogan jumped back and took a few deep breaths. He tried thinking about how to really proceed with this.


    He charged at his opponent again. Their weapons clashed a few times before Rogan gave a lot of strength into parrying the enemy¡¯s spear. Instantly, Rogan flipped his weapon to keep the momentum, and then using the bottom tip of his spear, he vigorously jabbed it into the elf¡¯s stomach.


    The elf briefly wheezed, and Rogan kicked him in the stomach again with the bottom of his boot, sending him flying and crashing into the palace wall. Rogan quickly lunged at the enemy, thrusting the spear forward. But the elf moved aside in time, where simultaneously, he landed a punch on the side of Rogan¡¯s head.


    Rogan quickly stepped back as he felt dizzy after that powerful and booming hit. The world wobbled around him. He noticed the enemy about to swing down at him, and he held his spear on both ends, raising it to block the blow. His spear clanged loudly as it bended at the sheer weight of the attack.


    ¡°Just die already, human. I have a job to do.¡±


    ¡°Screw you! You¡¯re not getting her.¡±


    There was no way he''d let this elf go to try to kill the princess. He would rather die trying than let that happen.


    Rogan slid off the enemy¡¯s spear with a push. He rapidly swung and thrust his spear, and the elf moved to keep up with the attacks. Rogan managed to make a wide cut to the elf¡¯s chest. But it was shallow, far from fatal. The elf, seemingly irritated, clicked his tongue and forcefully parried Rogan¡¯s spear before moving back.


    ¡°How dare you?¡± the elf muttered with a hateful glare.


    Rogan grinned. ¡°You¡¯re surprisingly not that strong as an elf. I expected more, to be honest.¡±


    The elf¡¯s face contorted. He was about to lunge at the knight, however a large armored figure suddenly came in and charged towards Rogan.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind if I join in!¡±


    It was an imperial knight wielding a lance, and a sword hung on his back.


    ¡°What?!¡± Rogan frantically retreated and deflected the incoming lance from the sudden interloper.


    Rogan did a brief spear thrust to release a blast of lightning at the enemy. Electricity engulfed the enemy knight and he paused as Rogan made some distance between them. The imperial knight grinned at him as the crackling electricity around his body dissipated.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Rogan asked, pointing his spear at the enemy.


    ¡°You can call me Orven.¡±


    ¡°Are you such a prick that you¡¯d just jump into a fight that isn¡¯t yours?¡±


    ¡°Is that such a problem? Hehe. We can always help an ally.¡±


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    Rogan glanced at the elf slowly moving into position.


    ¡°Ganging up on me, huh? That¡¯s just not fair.¡±


    ¡°War is never fair, is it?¡±


    What a bunch of assholes.


    Rogan took a deep breath. He watched his two opponents closely, and he glanced at a corpse nearby.


    Crap. Guess I¡¯m doing this.


    He had no idea who this Orvern was or how strong he was. And that made it more difficult than it already was. Always better to be aware of another¡¯s strength than to be ignorant. In the end, he had to assume he was as strong as that elf.


    The three glared at each other for a moment, and then, the first to move was Rogan. Where at the same time, both Orven and the elf stepped in to attack. Rogan, as he rushed to the nearby corpse, moved his spear in a sweeping motion towards the elf, hurling a powerful wave of electricity. The elf quickly moved to block the incoming attack.


    At the same time, Rogan blocked the incoming lance with the bottom part of his spear, pushing it upwards. But the lance was suddenly pulled down as it came swinging down at him. Rogan used his gauntlet to block the blunt attack, and he gritted his teeth as the shockwave of the impact crawled up his arm.


    ¡°Impressive, kid. You have potential!¡±


    Rogan stepped back to retreat, where at the same time, a spear came at him. He tilted his body backwards, evading the deadly weapon from hitting his face. As he rushed backward, he grabbed the sword beside the corpse, holding it in his left hand.


    Both enemies came at both sides, and Rogan spread out his arms to parry both enemies using each weapon. His spear against the elf, his sword against the imperial knight¡¯s lance. He felt his arms strain at the weight he had to take, but Rogan endured it.


    He poured magic into his weapons, and they crackled with lightning. With a spin, he leaped forward. His attack cut the elf at the side of the body, and the knight¡¯s armor was crawling with electricity. But the latter turned around, enduring the pain as if it was nothing.


    ¡°So persistent. You really love your country, huh?¡± Orven said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not only fighting for the country.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Unlike you, I honor and fulfill my duty with a full heart.¡±


    ¡°Your duty?¡±


    Rogan readied his weapons. ¡°I am the Pure Princess¡¯s knight. And I will defeat her enemies, even if it costs me my life.¡±


    Orven grinned. ¡°I see. So that¡¯s what you are. But you¡¯re wrong about something. I also fulfill my duty with a full heart.¡± Magic coated his lance. ¡°To exterminate the Empire¡¯s enemies and take what it desires.¡±


    The elf groaned beside him, but he still raised his spear.


    Rogan glanced at the swirling magic at the tip of Orven¡¯s lance. He had a bad feeling about it. He guessed it would be best to avoid it.


    The enemies rushed towards him. Rogan met both their weapons, parrying and deflecting them. He moved around with fast steps, evading any attacks that may seem dangerous. Especially Orven¡¯s lance, Rogan was doing everything to keep it from being pointed at him at a certain distance. He even had to deflect it with his spear just so he wouldn¡¯t need to get closer.


    Rogan diagonally waved both his weapons, releasing two large waves of lightning. The elf spawned a wind barrier, while the imperial knight cast a shield. Once the lightning crashed against them, their protective spells weakened, and Rogan took the chance to lunge at the elf. He swung both his weapons, breaking what remained of the wind barrier. He pushed off the enemy spear, and was about to hit the elf with his other weapon. However, Rogan had to retreat a bit as Orven jumped in.


    As they attacked him at the same time, he continued driving off both their attacks, and finding the chance to strike again. His heart throbbed so quickly and heavily. His mana was almost depleted. His body ached so much. He was becoming so tired.


    This sucks!


    Two enemies at once was just absurd, even more so if they were this powerful. But he had to win this battle.


    The enemies were relentless. Rogan¡¯s entire body and mind were working at their fullest. He vigorously parried the lance in hopes of getting more time and space. At the same time, the elf swung his spear to send a slash of wind while moving in to swing his very spear.


    Rogan frantically moved to block them. And he did. However, he failed to respond to another attack. The imperial knight extended his lance forward.


    ¡°Got you.¡±


    Rogan was baffled that the lancer was able to recover so quickly. No, perhaps he was just slow¡­ The imperial knight had his lance now pointed near Rogan¡¯s stomach. And before he could move to deflect it away, there was a loud boom.


    And everything went still.


    Blood leaked out of Rogan¡¯s mouth while he slowly shifted back with failing steps. He wheezed as he glanced down. His stomach had a large hole in it. He felt his strength leaving him, and he dropped his sword before falling on one knee. But he kept hold of his favored spear.


    He took in a deep, fading breath.


    ¡°You¡¯re done,¡± said the imperial knight before him.


    Guess so¡­


    He closed his eyes, he couldn¡¯t help but think of recent events. To be precise, the peaceful ones, peaceful and good memories. Was this how it was truly like when dying? For somehow, he felt reminiscent. He couldn¡¯t help but think of the faces of his friends.


    Ayana¡­ that beautiful and uptight, strict Ayana¡­ Elson, that old man who always tries to keep them in check. Alan, that amusing little guy. Prince Estevan, he was a fun person to be with, despite his royal standing. Rogan kept thinking of the peaceful time, just training, lying around. Even talking with the common soldiers at whatever corner of the palace grounds he had available.


    And come to think of it, in such a time did he truly meet her. She was charming ever since the beginning. Although, a bit too mysterious to be felt safe with. Indeed, she was a bit scary. But she was¡­ a wonderful person. Their banters, their teasings, not to mention the scary training. The way her face turns when she¡¯s angry, and how adorable she was when happy. How beautiful she was when being sincere.


    And through her, he met Vernon and Mera, both were very good friends and colleagues.


    Thinking back, he couldn¡¯t help but smile in his dying moment.


    Sorry, Princess¡­ So much for not dying¡­ But, it was a good ride to be with you, to be in your service¡­


    If only he could see her one last time. Still, just thinking about her brought him peace¡­ and clarity.


    The elf began to walk away.


    ¡°I¡¯m going.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± Orven asked.


    ¡°To the princess.¡±


    Rogan clenched his spear and glared at the moving elf. As the latter was about to run, Rogan poured a ton of mana into his spear, lightning cackled. He instantly rose, lifting his spear.


    ¡°I won¡¯t let you!¡± he shouted.


    He threw his spear with intense strength, and it pierced through the elf¡¯s chest from behind.


    If I¡¯m going out, I¡¯m going out like a badass!


    Perhaps, once she hears of his exploits, she¡¯ll have something to brag about her beloved personal knight. And that will indeed be something.


    The elf dropped to the ground, squirming. Rogan picked up the sword. Despite the hole in his body, he stayed on his feet. He glared at Orven, around him were a group of imperial knights. It would seem they have mostly taken control over this area.


    Orven frowned. ¡°I have already killed you. Men, you take care of him.¡±


    Orven merely stood at the back, watching as the imperial knights surrounded the princess¡¯s personal knight.


    Rogan smirked as he held out his sword firmly. For this was his final stand, and he shall be glorious.


    A couple of knights charged at him. Rogan evaded and parried before swinging a slash of light at an enemy. He killed one. Next, he plunged his sword into another. A second group joined and attacked him, he parried and evaded the enemies¡¯ blades. He slit the throat of one, but then he was slashed in the back.


    Rogan gritted his teeth to endure the pain, and he continued to slay more of her lady¡¯s enemies. But with every kill, he was struck ¡ª the leg, the waist, the shoulder, the stomach. He was bleeding all over. And yet, he remained standing. Even stunning those attempting to kill him.


    But despite all his strong willpower, someone as brave and loyal as him wouldn¡¯t last for long. Until, eventually, an enemy knight pierced a blade through his back, then another through his chest. And he paused.


    The elite Wisterian knight, and the Personal Knight of Princess Estelia, Rogan Dorien, dropped his sword at last.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 15: I Love You

    I flew through the air, moving above the chaotic fighting below. My hair whipped and rattled as my wind propelled me at tremendous speed. Considering that the elves were on the ground, and I was alone anyway, no one to hold me back, I opted to fly straight to the southern wall. But not too high. Just palace level.


    As I expended my mana, I felt terribly dizzy. My body had begun to ache from all over the place. But I endured it. Can¡¯t let pain win over me. My intense magic casting from earlier, and now, had taken a terrible toll on me. I fear that if I let go of the grips I have on my consciousness, I¡¯ll pass out. That shouldn¡¯t happen.


    But as I went on, the southern side became clearer. A large group of people were running in the grassy field, knights defending and imperials attacking them. But then I saw a particular someone. A silver-haired woman, a man right in front of her.


    ¡°Mother¡­?¡±


    My eyes widened when I saw a sword plunged into her heart, followed by several sharp vines piercing through her body. As I witnessed that, I¡­ My mind went blank. It burned itself into my eyes, I felt something heavy pouring on my shoulders. I felt something I barely felt before.


    No, no no no no no¡­


    My thoughts spiraled into chaos, pure incoherence.


    I poured more mana into my winds as I watched the enemy pull out his blade and the vines withdrew, blood came out with them. I felt a sense of pain and burning in my chest. All that filled my mind was my own mother.


    I reached them.


    ¡°WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!¡±


    The enemy turned at me with widened eyes, utterly shocked by my sudden appearance. He had pointy ears. The burning in my heart grew even more intensely. What he had done, just to see him, and that pointy ear, it caused my very soul to flare.


    ¡°Wha¡ª¡±


    The moment I touched the ground, I lifted one leg and kicked him away. My leg was filled to the brink with Physical Enhancement, and the impact made a loud boom, blasting him away far into the distance.


    ¡°White hair!¡±


    I turned towards the one who shouted that, another elf. I held out my hand, and a wide beam of magic roared out of my palm. Magic so intense that it left its wide mark on the ground, the bright light went on to reach more than forty meters, vaporizing everything within it that couldn¡¯t endure its power. My magic was indiscriminate. Both enemies and allies were hit in the blast. But I don¡¯t give a fuck about them, whoever they may be.


    All that mattered was my mother.


    I frantically rushed towards her, kneeling and lifting her up into my arms. She looked up at me with weak eyes, life fading, but there was joy in them. I couldn¡¯t understand why she would look at me like that, considering how she was.


    ¡°E-Estelia¡ª¡±


    ¡°Mother. H-Hang on, I-I¡¯ll heal you.¡±


    I poured as much healing magic on her. She was already losing a lot of blood, and the several wounds¡­ and her heart¡­ her heart was hit. I-I don¡¯t think I could heal her. But that couldn¡¯t be true. It couldn¡¯t be. It can¡¯t be¡­


    ¡°Estelia¡­ listen.¡±


    She reached out for my hand, and I gently grasped it. I looked at her dearly, and I realized I was trembling, a warm sensation streaming down my cheeks.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t talk. Save y-your strength, o-okay?¡±


    She merely smiled, so tender as she usually would. So full of love.


    ¡°I¡¯m s-sorry, your mother is so slow.¡±


    ¡°D-Don¡¯t say that.¡±


    I glanced at her wounds, they were barely healing.


    She¡¯ll heal¡­ She¡¯ll heal. I¡¯m strong, powerful. The best there is. I can achieve everything I want. I can¡­ save whoever I want.


    I don¡¯t want to lose her. What have I been fighting all this time?


    ¡°R-Remember what I said, okay?¡± She slowly took a deep breath. ¡°Take very good care of yourself.¡±


    ¡°P-Please, d-don¡¯t. Y-You¡¯re gonna be alright.¡±


    Still with her so loving smile, she raised her hand and placed a hand on my cheek. Her thumb gently caressed my face. ¡°Oh my baby girl, my little Estelia¡­ Mommy won¡¯t be with you anymore¡­ So please, take care, promise me.¡±


    I touched her hand on my cheek, holding it tightly and pressing it onto me. I savored her pleasing and warm touch.


    ¡°I-I can¡¯t live without you¡­¡±


    ¡°You have grown more than I have ever hoped. My daughter so pretty¡­¡± she chuckled. ¡°So reliable now.¡± She rubbed my tears with her thumb.


    ¡°Mother¡­¡±


    ¡°Promise me, Estelia.¡±


    I didn¡¯t want to say it. For it meant¡­ It meant goodbye. Forever. But¡­


    ¡°... I promise.¡±


    Her smile grew. ¡°... I love you, my dear lovely daughter.¡±


    She raised herself up, and tenderly kissed my forehead.


    I pursed my lips, closing my eyes. To proceed¡­was so painful. But I forced them open and said the words.


    ¡°I love you too, Mother. I love you so much¡­¡± I gave her a soft, loving smile.


    After hearing my words, it seemed like it gave her a great amount of relief, and she slowly closed her eyes¡­


    ¡°... Mother?¡±


    Her hand on my cheek was dropping, but I held it up. And I realized my healing magic had stopped working.


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    Realizing what it meant¡­ I pulled her closer and embraced her tight.


    My mother was gone¡­ I closed my eyes as I felt what remained of her warmth, my eyes brimming with tears. I couldn¡¯t stop them, I couldn¡¯t control them, I couldn¡¯t keep them from falling. Just like how I couldn¡¯t keep my family safe.


    I failed¡­ I failed in what mattered the most. I was a failure.


    I failed, Father.


    I couldn¡¯t protect what I should protect.


    The weight and pain in my chest were drowning me.


    ¡°... Hah¡­ Hah¡­¡±


    I was breathing heavily¡­ Hyperventilating. I couldn¡¯t comprehend it completely. I didn¡¯t want to move.


    My mother, she showed me the purest form of love. She showed me what it was like to have a family. It was here, it was because of her, that I have had a home. It was because of her¡­ that this second chance at life¡­ was so good. So full of happiness. Full of wonder. Granting what I longed for deep inside.


    Now¡­ she is gone.


    No longer will I be able to hear her sweet and loving voice. To see her beautiful, tender smile. No longer will I again hear her stories before sleeping. Her warm and soft touch. Her gentle embrace. Her love¡­


    Already, I felt an intense sense of longing.


    I didn¡¯t know what to think¡­


    I felt empty¡­


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    I¡­


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    ¡­


    ***


    Vernon endured the wound he sustained and ran towards the princess who had the queen in her arms. Princess Estelia¡¯s head was lowered, hiding from everyone¡¯s view. Vernon clenched his fists, feeling terribly disappointed in himself, upset, and utterly sad.


    It was supposed to be my responsibility to¡­


    He was supposed to protect the queen, as such what was ordered to him. He was absolutely disappointed in himself. And it pained his heart greatly to see the princess crying in front of him. He failed his task. There was no greater failure.


    But there was no time to wallow in grief, there will be time for that later. He slowly approached closer.


    ¡°Princess¡­¡±


    She flinched ever so slightly.


    ¡°Vernon¡­¡± she uttered softly.


    ¡°We should get out of here and go for the trees.¡±


    ¡°Vernon, get her out of here. Bring¡­ bring her body to safety.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡±


    She slowly raised her head to look up at him. Upon receiving her gaze, Vernon couldn¡¯t help but involuntarily take a step back.


    ¡°I feel like I¡¯m about to explode,¡± she said.


    Her tear-stained eyes didn''t look normal, it was just like before. Her eyes became the stars you would see above in the night sky. But this time, each star, and the spiraling stream on her pupils, were brighter than ever before. The red that replaced the darkness of a starry night shone and swirled like clouds. There was chaos erupting within them.


    Being directly looked at by those strange and powerful eyes, as if they were divine, disturbed the depths of his soul. The sheer pressure they emit seemed to force you to kneel. Whatever they were, they were more than magical in origin.


    ¡°Now,¡± she continued with a blank expression, so in contrast to what she was a moment before. ¡°Take her.¡±


    Vernon steeled himself and moved opposite of her, and carefully lifted the late queen with both arms. Suddenly, Vernon felt a faint pressure emanating from the princess. It seemed the same as last time. She was breathing heavily, wheezing in and out. Like she was holding something within.


    Realizing what was about to come, Vernon quickly stepped away and shouted at everyone.


    ¡°Everyone! Flee! Withdraw! NOW!¡±


    Hearing him, the Wisterian forces quickly withdrew away, running straight to the nearby treeline. The enemies were confused, glancing at the princess who was left behind. Many of the imperial knights approached her.


    She slowly stood up.


    The enemies were only a couple of meters away from her when suddenly a burst of energy exploded outward in all directions. The wave of energy moved nearly at the speed of sound, scarring the land in its wake. The closest imperial knights were obliterated. In what only took a moment, their armor was torn off, their skin next, then the muscles, before they were crushed and crumpled like paper while being blown away.


    A constant area of violent mana remained raging around the princess, reaching a radius of thirty meters.


    The imperial knights in the distance didn¡¯t know what to do, and they could only watch, flabbergasted by what¡¯s happening. But those standing in the field caught the princess¡¯s eye. Estelia slowly held out her hand, and a moment later, a wide blast of mana erupted from her palm. Wind bursts rattled as it moved across the field. Almost twenty meters wide, and reaching as far as a hundred.


    The knights were unprepared, but not like they could do anything about it, and they were erased from existence. They hadn¡¯t even had the chance to scream.


    Those that were away from the blast were shaken upon witnessing the sheer destruction she caused.


    ¡°R-Run, RUN!¡±


    They attempted to flee out of absolute fear.


    The princess began to walk. Her steps sounded like thunder in a raging storm. She slightly waved her hand. And what emerged was an arc of red inferno that grew wider the more distance it traversed. The very soil in its path melted, and the human knights caught up in the flames were charred in mere seconds.


    ¡°W-What is she?!¡±


    ¡°Who cares! I¡¯m getting out of here!¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t even get near her!¡±


    ¡°Are you stupid?! Thinking of fighting?!¡±


    The princess waved her hand again, and a thin magical slash cut the enemy knights in half.


    But then blood ran down Estelia¡¯s nose. Tears of blood came out of her eyes.


    Alruwin watched from a distance as he healed his own wounds. He was able to conjure a small wind barrier on his chest, otherwise he would have been dead by the princess¡¯s all powerful kick. But he grimaced at the pain all over his body, and the mere outrageous sight before him.


    A young god rampaging.


    It would be too risky and deadly to try and attack her now. No, it will be nigh impossible, not without anything divine to fight against her, too. Still, as one would expect of a god, able to unleash this much power. And against humans too, like playing around straw puppets.


    Alruwin could risk it all and pierce through the curtain of violent mana protecting her, but there was a better option. In the end, the princess was still a god in mortal flesh. A mortal vessel cannot sustain the power of the divine. If this goes on, she¡¯ll be in great pain as her divine being breaks the body. If she doesn''t stop, she¡¯ll die.


    And just as he predicted, the princess suddenly came to a stop, and she fell on both knees. She coughed terribly and she spat a large amount of blood to the ground. She coughed and coughed, and she placed a hand on her chest. She panted heavily, her body trembling.


    The mana emanating from her gradually wavered. She was becoming weaker. Alruwin stopped his healing and readied his sword. Her magic¡¯s area of effect was shrinking.


    The princess choked for air, her shoulders shifting at every breath. The pain was gnawing at her insides. Her Mystic Medium was definitely a wreck. It was surprising that her skin didn¡¯t get a tear from the sheer power she was releasing. However, it did seem she had realized the danger she was in, and was pulling her mana back.


    She struggled for a moment, until eventually, the mana field had disappeared. Alruwin ran towards her, his sword ready to take off her head. He saw a couple of black fogs coming towards her as well. The Cursed Children. It was troubling, but he focused his sights on the priority target.


    And they got close, a few meters left. Alruwin shifted his sword, ready to swing. The Cursed Children turning into solid matter to defend the princess. When the princess was within reach, Alruwin swung his sword. The princess was too weak to move in time to defend herself. It was certain, with this fatal strike, she would die.


    But then, there was a spark as Alruwin¡¯s sword hit something other than flesh.


    ¡°What?¡±


    It was a man. No, not exactly. He had long claws for fingers, and he had dark bat-like wings on his back. Suddenly, the claws ignited in flames. Alruwin quickly stepped back and saw more of them, all at a total of eight. Five of them in total have wings, while the rest have none. They moved in to fend off the two Cursed Children, while the others suddenly charged at Alruwin.


    The elf cast his wind and spawned thorny vines to drive them off. He wanted to go straight for the princess, but they were in the way. Alruwin was confused by the unknown party for a moment before he came to a realization.


    ¡°What are demons doing here?¡±


    ¡°Would you look at this, boys?¡± said a winged demon named Droz, wearing a wide grin. ¡°A little wingless fae got lost.¡±


    Alruwin grimaced. ¡°I¡¯m an elf.¡±


    To face demons made Alruwin feel utterly disgusted.


    ¡°Elves, faes, all the same. Except, you have no wings.¡±


    ¡°I am no fairy.¡±


    ¡°Really? Our dark faes look kinda like you. Guess you¡¯re just inferior, huh?¡±


    Hearing that, Alruwin clenched his fists. ¡°Mutants!¡± In his boiling anger, Alruwin charged against the three demons. ¡°They¡¯re nothing but mutants. Defiled their nature!¡±


    The mere mention of them caused his anger to flare. Faes, or also referred to as fairies, were close with the elves. It wouldn¡¯t be strange to say their species were closely related, as both were creatures of nature. In fact, faes and elves lived together or close to each other, perfectly in harmony. Nurturing the forests.


    However, there were many faes that were tempted by an evil god. For they longed for something more. What they had was never enough for them, not enough power, not enough life. For there were differences between elves and faes. Faes lived shorter compared to the long lifespan of elves. And they were weaker, for their purpose was to tend to the forests. Not for conflict of any kind. Perhaps many of them felt inferior, or were jealous.


    Whatever the true reason may be, in the end, they drank the evil god¡¯s blood. And those who drank that corrupted blood were changed. Such a betrayal against their people was unforgivable. To abandon the forests, to betray the gods. To betray their own kind. To corrupt themselves.


    Nothing more than mutants.


    They were not natural, not at all. They were freaks of nature.


    ¡°That¡¯s it, wingless fairy! Fight!¡±


    Meanwhile, as the elf and the demons clashed, and the other demons holding off the two Cursed Children, the leader of the Imp Company warily approached the kneeling princess. She looked so sickly, even more pale than she originally was. She almost looked like a corpse.


    ¡°Now we are certain. It¡¯s you.¡±


    The imp, Rytus, reached out for her. But before he could grab her, the princess suddenly rose and pushed off his hand.


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me.¡±


    At the same time, she extended her fingers on her other hand to his face. Rytus instantly shifted his head to the side as lightning shot out from her fingers. It grazed his cheek. But it quickly healed and closed off.


    The princess¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. She considered the situation and decided to release her mana again. However, Rytus had already anticipated such a thing, and he grabbed the faintly glowing white dust from the pouch in his pocket, throwing a handful at the princess¡¯s face.


    ¡°What? W-What did you¡­?¡±


    The princess faltered on her legs as her eyes trembled. They were becoming heavier. As one would feel when needing to sleep.


    ¡°Sleep, princess. We have a long sail ahead of us.¡±


    ¡°S-Screw you¡­¡±


    Unable to bear her sleepy eyes, she slowly fell to the ground. She resisted the closing of her eyes, but, a moment later, they closed in the end.


    Rytus quickly picked up the frail princess and put her on his shoulder.


    ¡°No! Don¡¯t let her be taken away!¡± shouted the cursed child, Heneis. But he was being held off by the demons in front of him.


    ¡°Imp Company! Time to run away!¡±


    ¡°Eh? We running, not flying?¡±


    Rytus frowned in annoyance. ¡°It means flying away, Arashia! Now let¡¯s go!¡±


    Those with wings grabbed those without and quickly ascended into the air. Venzus, the one who grabbed the wingless Arashia, smacked the back of her head.


    ¡°Ow!¡±


    ¡°Moron, be serious. And get on pulling out your wings already!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s painful! I¡¯ve been trying, but they won''t!¡± Arashia had a sad look on her face.


    Not all imps have wings, but all could potentially have them. Wings were not naturally there like the dark faes or birds. The imps have to grow them out of their backs, they have the organ for it. However, they have to force them out every time they need it.


    Doing it the first time was not easy at all. It was a painful process ¡ª although, not like it wasn¡¯t painful in a normal process too. It¡¯s like forcefully growing out another limb. Furthermore, keeping them out was painful as well. And Arashia was among the unfortunate of having difficulties growing them out, despite having the requirement of being strong enough. She couldn¡¯t do it no matter how much she put in the effort.


    ¡°Do it harder!¡±


    ¡°You know what, screw you Venzus! Put me down, I can run faster than you can fly anyway!¡±


    ¡°This bitch. Stop squirming!¡±


    ¡°You big meanie!¡±


    ¡°Hey, stop it you two,¡± one demon scolded them. ¡°We¡¯re not safe yet.¡±


    They looked back and they saw their opposition moving to chase them.


    Venzus sighed. ¡°Dammit.¡±


    ¡°Sacrifice yourself, Venzus. Throw yourself into them, you¡¯ll be missed,¡± Arashia blankly said.


    He smacked her in the head again. ¡°Shut up before I throw you to them.¡±


    Rytus turned to one of the winged demons. ¡°The elf archer, hold him off.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± And the demon separated.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 16: Monster Spawns

    The Wisterian forces at the palace were significantly dwindling in number. Common soldiers and knights dying at every moment. While the imperials, on the other hand, suffered plenty of casualties, but considering the strength they have, and their total number, it would only be a matter of time before they dominate the place. This was even more reinforced by the few elves assisting them. The soldiers and knights hardly have a chance of fending them off.


    At this rate, there was no way to overturn the situation. Eventually, Wisteria will keep on dwindling until they have no other choice but to surrender, or just accept being exterminated. Either way, once the head of the kingdom, and the capital city falls, it would negatively affect the nation. And it too will fall not long after.


    To survive this initial phase of invasion, and the next after that, Wisteria must win this one. And this was what the king, Leodoule, was trying to achieve within the holy site the people of the far past had left behind for this kind of situation. For the nation to deliver a deciding fight against the invading forces that had reached the heart of the kingdom. That was supposed to be used in a final stand, to defend one last time.


    But of course, none, even more so the king, wanted this to be the last one. Perhaps that was why this gift was given, not for a final struggle, but for one last hope.


    The divine spell had reached the end of its initiation. The magic circle pulsed, while the palace ground all the way to the wall also gave a moment of pulsating violet light. This made the people pause, puzzled by what had just happened.


    The king then felt something different, something so heavy, he felt many things linked to his mind.


    The next moment, something appeared on the soil on the surface. The knights, both from the Empire and Wisteria, warily watched it. It started like a tree sprout, harmless and feeble. A simple step was all it would take to crush it. But then it instantly grew bigger, reaching seven feet high. Matter and substance multiplied, forming into a texture somewhere between a tree bark and flesh. Glowing violet haze filled its insides as four limbs rapidly grew out like a tree growing branches.


    It stood on two legs, and it spread out its pair of long arms. Its body was twisted like a vine wrapped around something. The ominous, glowing violet haze radiated a dreadful and deadly aura. Its violet points of light that served as eyes glared at the humans in front of them as if it was waiting to consume. There was a sense of power within. Like predators.


    ¡°W-What the hell is that?!¡±


    It was not only one. Several dozen more had also spawned all around the palace grounds, whatever they may be. But perhaps there was a general consensus among both sides.


    What appeared before them were monsters.


    Suddenly, as these creatures stood like statues, their heads instantly turned around towards their surroundings. The imperial knight that received one¡¯s gaze flinched. And out of the blue, the monsters shrieked all at once. Everyone in the area covered their ears at the painful screeching sound. It was like a thousand screams compressed into each other.


    Immediately, a monster lunged at an imperial knight. Grabbing his arm and easily crushing it in its hand like a tomato. The knight screamed in the agonizing and intense pain. He threw a punch at the monster.


    ¡°What¡ª?¡±


    But it was like punching a rock. It merely budged a little, but done no damage whatsoever. The monster plunged its hand into the knight¡¯s chest, trivially digging through the metal armor. But it wasn¡¯t done yet. Like any savage monster, it grabbed the man¡¯s arm and pulled on it.


    ¡°Aaagh! Fucking help me!¡± he shouted at his nearby ally.


    Another imperial knight tried to help him, swinging his magic coated sword at the monster¡¯s back. However, upon impact, he was left shocked to see that his sword only dug about one centimeter. He unleashed a burst of magic, causing slightly more damage, but the monster was ultimately unfazed. Like it felt no pain at all.


    The monster pulled and ripped off his victim¡¯s arm and subsequently slammed it against the knight behind it. The force was so strong that the arm exploded into pieces and blew the knight away. And the monster finished off the enemy knight stuck in his grips by crushing his head with its bare hands. With a brief shriek, it continued on to rush against other imperial soldiers.


    More and more imperial forces were being slain by the myriad amount of strange, never before seen monsters swarming the palace. The Wisterian side could only stand, dumbfounded at the fact that they were unharmed, the monsters never tried to touch them. It was truly bizarre, and how strange it was to witness monsters fighting on their side, exterminating the imperial knights like they were nothing but pests.


    Perhaps fearing to intervene, or there was just nothing to do, the Wisterians could only watch the bloodbath before them. The monster ravaging the defenseless imperials. Easily running up the wall to kill even more. Indeed like beasts whose purpose was to exterminate. And truly, it was full of gore.


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    Imperial knights worked together to destroy one monster. Throwing all kinds of magic at it. They were successful in knocking it down, but that was all. It immediately stood up like nothing. It was terrifying, even normal monsters feel pain.


    The monster, despite being heavily damaged, rushed towards them. And crushing them.


    One monster bashed a knight¡¯s head on the floor, another to the wall. One grabbed a knight by the leg and began swinging him around against other knights like a blunt weapon. Blood splattered all over the place. The stench of death permeated the air.


    ¡°What the hell are they?!¡±


    ¡°Kill them!¡±


    ¡°They can¡¯t be killed!¡±


    ¡°Run!¡±


    The monsters were relentless, no show of hesitation. Innards pulled out, limbs ripped off, heads trampled, the fleeing ones chased down and in the end they too met the same fate. The creatures were just so fast. It was as if there was not a thought in their actions, just to fulfill their purpose ¡ª to kill their enemies.


    However, these creatures were not entirely mindless and guideless. Beneath the palace was the brain of all these monsters, connected like a hivemind. Namely, it was the king. He was seeing everything that these creatures were seeing, all at once. The images sent straight to his mind. And he had to give them orders all the while.


    His head kept shaking, and sweat beaded his forehead. All that information all at once was overwhelming. And his mana was kept being drained to maintain them and keep control. But that part was not the biggest issue.


    His head hurt, his body trying to catch up with all the information he had to receive and send. This was why he couldn¡¯t use it early on. He couldn¡¯t keep using this forever. He had to make sure the enemy had gathered here so he could take them all out in one fell swoop and not search around, wasting more time. Here, all enemies were exposed. However, if he were to help the city, he had to quickly finish up the enemy here at the palace, if given he would still be conscious. Making the monsters travel far and wide would be a struggle, but he had to do what he could.


    That said, he shouldn¡¯t overdo it. Otherwise, he¡¯ll die.


    Blood ran down his nose.


    Thirty minutes. At the very least he could get thirty minutes, that would be a great help.


    On the other hand, while the monsters ran rampant, the princess was just taken by demons. The Cursed Children leader, along with an ally, flew through the palace area as they chased after the demons.


    ¡°Kali,¡± he said to his ally. ¡°Gather as many reinforcements as you can, force them to stop their feast if you have to. Retrieve the princess before the demons escape.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Move quickly.¡±


    She separated while Heneis headed straight while intending to bring along allies that came his way. He watched the strange monsters rampaging below him, but they were nothing to be worried about right now. Spotting one cursed child feasting on one human, Heneis dived down and grabbed him by the cloth, pulling and throwing him up.


    ¡°The princess has been taken! Get her back!¡± He pointed in the sky, towards the direction of the princess.


    The cursed child was shocked for a moment, being disrupted from his moment. But then quickly did as ordered, flying in the air and moving in the direction of where it was pointed. As they left the palace area, more and more black fogs rose up to the sky. They should be able to catch up and retrieve the princess. However, were the demons even planning to fly all the way?


    That can¡¯t be it.


    From the looks of it, they were heading to the outside of the city.


    Could it be¡­ the forests?


    What could be in the forests? To lose their enemy? They couldn¡¯t be that foolish to think they could escape both the Cursed Children and the elves.


    Then he came to a realization.


    Teleportation?!


    He increased his speed. They shouldn¡¯t be allowed to reach wherever their teleportation circle may be.


    Meanwhile, back in the palace grounds, the second prince of Wisteria was holding out a hand on the wound on the side of his body, casting a healing spell. With him was the more wounded Alzen. He had cuts all over his body, his armor more of a wreck than Estevan¡¯s. But, he was still standing, he¡¯ll live.


    Truth be told, the female elf was truly hard to beat, almost impossible. They were only able to land surface attacks and scratches on her. And as time went on, both Estevan and Alzen were becoming more tired, making it even worse trying to catch up with how fast she was. If Estevan was alone, he would have died already.


    In fact, she was about to land a fatal hit on him. But then, suddenly, these monsters popped out of nowhere. Estevan had no idea what they were and where they came from. But these monsters just attacked the imperial forces, and even the elf woman they were fighting.


    At the moment, she was clashing with one. Unlike the humans, she was dealing with it way better. She dodged the beast¡¯s hands and swung down her blade at its arm, cutting halfway. Still, the monster kept on moving. Seemingly annoyed, she sent several quick and subsequent stabs at its upper body. Ultimately demolishing it.


    The monster fell to the ground before turning to dust and vanishing.


    But then, to her surprise, another spawned anew.


    ¡°How annoying.¡±


    She fought it off, and then another elf came in, easily slicing the monster in half.


    The elf woman looked at the new arrival in surprise, then to another that came with him.


    ¡°Alruwin?¡±


    ¡°Withdraw from this place now. Mission has changed. Follow me quickly.¡±


    ¡°R-Right!¡±


    As if in a hurry, the elf named Alruwin swiftly jumped over the wall, the two elves closely followed behind him.


    ¡°Hey! You¡¯re running away?!¡± Estevan shouted at his opponent from before.


    But the elf woman merely glanced at him from the corner of her eyes before jumping down.


    ¡°Running away after these monsters appeared? Heh,¡± said Alzen with a bitter smile.


    Truth be told, they wanted to defeat the female elf, kill her, to be exact. That could have been less of a problem to worry about. So it felt quite disappointing for her to just escape, especially now that apparently Wisteria had the advantage.


    ¡°I wonder. They easily dealt with them.¡±


    ¡°They must have seen how pointless it would be to keep fighting. What do we do now?¡±


    ¡°Let me heal you before you bleed out. After that, clean out the remaining enemies.¡±


    Then they faintly saw several dark fogs rising and flying in the air.


    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± Alzen muttered in puzzlement.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. At any rate, let¡¯s get this over with so I can check with my family.¡±

 Vol. 4 Chapter 17: Demonic Strength & Weakness

    In the grassy plains, watching over the attack on the palace, was the elf archer all alone. The rest of the humans have gone. Being an archer, he was best if he was positioned far away to give his support. But considering how condensed his allies were at the palace, it would be troubling for him to attack. There will be a lot of collateral. Furthermore, his mana was terribly low. He couldn¡¯t cast any powerful magic like before.


    The bow in his hand was a magnificent one, quite valuable back in the world below, like Alruwin¡¯s sword. Made of the same Arihaltium, but designed to be fitted with magic casting. It was indeed a powerful bow in the hands of the right person. And it was his.


    Suddenly, he noticed figures soaring the sky high above the human palace. He narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what they were. And amidst the showering moonlight, he noticed a glistening platinum hair.


    ¡°What?¡±


    He knew of her, but not the group that was taking her away. They weren¡¯t elves. He couldn¡¯t understand what was happening, but he knew he should kill the offspring of that goddess. He pulled out an arrow and raised his bow, aiming for the princess in the hands of a man. He poured magic into the bow and arrow, and gradually, the arrow began to shine. He further advanced his aim ahead of the enemy, just the right distance to hit the target in time.


    He was about to shoot when suddenly somebody kicked his hand in mid-air. It pushed the aim of the bow away to anywhere but the target, and the arrow flung off into the far distance. Feeling utterly annoyed, the elf quickly stepped back and glared at the perpetrator.


    A dark winged man with long thin claws at his fingers.


    Without a word given, the man charged at the elf with sheer swiftness. The elf instantly leaped back and immediately shot an arrow at him. It hit him in the chest, but surprisingly, he kept on going. So instead, the elf archer spawned thorny vines to attack and hold his opponent.


    Flames coated the strange man¡¯s claws and easily sliced off the vines. After being cleared of them, he casually pulled out the arrow in his chest. A brief moment later, the wound immediately closed and healed.


    The elf¡¯s eyes widened in surprise.


    Flaming claws, rapid regeneration. Not a cursed child. Demon? Imp?


    This was troubling. He had no holy magic of any kind to fight an imp. There were hardly any demons in where they¡¯re from. Without the power of the divine, these imps were practically unkillable. Although, if one were powerful enough, perhaps they could vaporize them, but not this archer.


    The best he could do was to restrain the savage imp. But even that he would be terribly hard-pressed to achieve. He was a range fighter, to send long range strikes. Directly fighting an opponent was not his job.


    With a confident smirk, the demon lunged at him, his blazing sharp claws held out. The elf used his bow to block the claws and quickly grabbed the dagger strapped to his waist, swinging at the demon. The moment the latter took a step back, the elf drew back his bow before bashing it at the demon. He hit him on the side of the neck. The skin and muscle crumpled.


    The elf was a bit surprised he actually reached him. Either because he was lucky, or that the demon didn¡¯t even bother dodging, considering that he would just heal in a moment. At any rate, the elf was well aware not to underestimate the demon, it might be bait for all he knew.


    Spawning thorny vines to lash out at his enemy, the elf swiftly dashed back to create a gap between them. He nocked a pair of arrows to his bow. After a quick draw of the string, the two glowing arrows pierced through the air, hitting the demon on both sides of his chest. And that was not all, magic burst out of the arrows, ripping out skin and flesh.


    ¡°AAAAHAHAHAHAHA!¡± What first sounded like a scream shifted to a hysterical laugh. ¡°Fucking hilarious.¡±


    The elf fired another arrow, hitting the demon¡¯s leg, magic raging inside. However, the demon suddenly lashed out at the elf, swinging down his claw. Blood drew out of the elf¡¯s chest, along with the smell of burnt flesh. He gritted his teeth in pain.


    Just how strong is this demon?!


    To be able to stand despite the state of his leg, this was no common demon.


    The demon smirked at him.


    ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to kill an elf. I¡¯ve been hearing a lot about you, you know. Talks about being blessed by the gods.¡±


    Like a beast, the demon attacked the elf. Relentlessly swinging his burning razor-sharp claws. The elf was doing all he could to block and drive him off. But no matter how many vines he sent, how much he bash his bow, the demon wouldn¡¯t settle down.


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    The demon slashed at the elf¡¯s shoulder. ¡°What really makes you so special, huh?¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± He fired a burst of wind at him, blowing the demon away.


    The demon chuckled as he got up, the elf fired a pair of arrows at him again. His opponent didn¡¯t bother to evade.


    The elf glared at him. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare undermine me, you spawn of that dreaded corrupted god!¡±


    ¡°He made us despite already having you. You know what that means, right?¡± A more violent blaze engulfed his hands. ¡°You¡¯re so inferior that he made us. The better creations.¡±


    The elf flared with anger. To imply that their god was so unsatisfied with the mystic race that he made his own. To imply that these disgusting creatures called demons were better was simply the heights of absurdity and blasphemy. The mystic race was better, significantly better than the humans that once dominated the world. And no way in all the world where the creations of an evil god were better than those designed by all the gods.


    With a short laugh, the demon pounced on the agitated elf. They exchanged attacks, but gradually, the demon was wounding the elf more and more. The more blood the elf lost, the weaker he became. Unlike the energetic demon that was full of vitality despite how many wounds he sustained, or blood he lost ¡ª both don¡¯t matter to such a creature.


    And then, eventually, the demon pierced his claws into the elf¡¯s heart. The latter groaned as he glared at the smirking demon in human form. He pierced his other hand into the elf¡¯s stomach.


    ¡°See? You¡¯re weaker.¡±


    With that mockery, the elf became limp, dead. The demon pulled out his claws and watched the elf drop bloodied to the ground. He looked around, seeing numerous figures chasing his crew.


    And then he looked at the dead elf¡¯s extravagant weapon.


    ¡°Nice bow.¡± He smiled as his hands morphed, the claws gone and turned into normal human hands. After removing the projectiles that were still stuck in his body, he promptly grabbed the magnificent bow, checking it out. Impressed by the quality of the weapon, he nodded.


    ¡°I could use this. Or give it to Arashia.¡±


    Perhaps it would be better to be given to her, not like he was ever trained for the bow.


    ¡°Can you please leave the loot?¡±


    All of a sudden, someone appeared from behind him. The demon rattled and turned towards the voice. He didn¡¯t even sense him coming.


    ¡°I would like to have that bow.¡±


    It was a tall man with long bronze hair wearing casual clothing. He appeared to be human, and facing the demon with a nonchalant smile.


    The demon morphed his one hand into claws.


    ¡°Who are you? Don¡¯t you know who you¡¯re dealing with?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just a simple wanderer who also likes to collect the good stuff. And I want that pretty bow.¡±


    The demon chuckled. ¡°Are you serious? No.¡±


    ¡°Really? If you really won¡¯t, I might have to kill you.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t kill me, you fool.¡±


    ¡°Please, I insist. Give me the bow, or you¡¯re going nowhere.¡±


    The demon¡¯s claws were engulfed in flames. ¡°You¡¯re not doing anything.¡±


    In what felt like an instant, the demon reached the man and deeply slashed his neck. Blood spurted out like a fountain.


    ¡°Heh, can¡¯t even defend yourself.¡±


    The human was bleeding dead, and it was certain that he should have died with that, or writhing. However, the man¡¯s mouth moved.


    ¡°You can¡¯t kill me, you fool.¡±


    The demon¡¯s eyes widened in shock to see the wound on the man rapidly closing. Alerted, the demon quickly backed away.


    ¡°You! You¡¯re an imp?!¡±


    The man casually massaged his neck. ¡°Nope. Just someone cursed to never die.¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡±


    ¡°Now then, it¡¯s time to kill you.¡± He cracked his completely healed neck, like it was never wounded at all.


    ¡°H-Heh.¡± The demon forced a smirk. ¡°We¡¯re basically the same. You can¡¯t kill me, I¡¯ll regenerate.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re absolutely not the same.¡± The man gave him a cold gaze. ¡°You can die.¡±


    A small dark hole appeared from thin air beside the man. With his right hand, he reached out inside it, pulling a beautiful green spear of jade. The green pole was shiny and slender, like a perfectly polished jewel of jade. The blade at the top was not only made with function, but also with form. It curved smoothly to a sharp tip, the center was carved with intricate patterns and triangular shapes. It was a masterpiece.


    The imp¡¯s eyes widened in both surprise and confusion. He didn¡¯t know what was going on and how a weapon just appeared in empty space.


    The demon gritted his teeth, glaring at the man. ¡°Without the right element, you can¡¯t make me die.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    Drawing his jade spear in, he touched the upper pole with his left hand. He slid his fingers all the way to the tip, and with the motion, a golden glow was left imbued on the surface of the weapon. Once he reached the end of the blade, it shone in the color of the golden holiness.


    ¡°What¡­?¡± The demon gulped.


    ¡°Holy element, right?¡±


    ¡°N-No w-wait!¡±


    Utterly terrified, the demon frantically turned his back to run away. However, in an instant, the wanderer reached the demon and gracefully swung his spear upward. The blade tore through the demon¡¯s skin with ease before a burst of golden light engulfed him.


    ¡°AAAAGH!¡±


    He let out a final scream before he disintegrated. His fading echoing voice and dust was all that remained, blowing and lost in the wind. The wanderer glanced at where the demon stood as he playfully flipped his spear.


    ¡°Hm, sucks to be that strong only to have a fatal weakness tenfold.¡±


    A black circular hole appeared beside him again, and he pushed the spear into it. After that, he casually grabbed the bow from the ground.


    ¡°Nice. In my inventory you go.¡±


    He casually threw the bow into the same dark hole before it disappeared like smoke. Feeling a bit elated by a new weapon he finally acquired, he glanced at the fleeing people in the distance with a smile.


    ¡°Guess I¡¯m following.¡±


    Although he had no intention of intervening. He would merely watch. That was what he was instructed to do, after all. With that said, he still had no idea what his side wanted to do. Things have pretty much gone south.


    Could it be¡­?


    He had an inkling, but there was no point in dwelling on it at the moment. He was deliberating whether to intervene if the elves were to ever get their hands on her. Truth be told, it would be in his best interest to keep her alive and keep the prophecy going.


    What are the dryads even trying to do right now?


    They had not made contact with him or the princess at all.


    What the hell are they planning?


    He felt a presence, not in a specific direction, but it was anywhere, and it was familiar. Someone was observing, and he was making his presence known to him.


    ¡°You¡¯re here¡­ Meaning this is something crucial, huh? What do you have in mind, really?¡±


    He asked, but there was no answer that arrived.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 18: Faint Whisper

    As the group of demonic imps soar through the sky of the royal capital, the factions that sought what they had began to chase them down. One of the imps, Venzus, looked back and his eyes widened at the sight.


    ¡°Fucking shit!¡±


    The most obvious of the ones chasing them were the Cursed Children. Several of them had ascended to the sky and went after them, and they were moving fast, slowly catching up to them.


    ¡°Why the hell are they so fast?!¡±


    ¡°Uh oh, they¡¯re gaining,¡± Arashia casually said.


    It was not just them. Running on the ground were three elves, and they appeared to be running at full speed. One group sought to retrieve the princess, while the other sought to execute. At any rate, they must not slow the demons down. But that was easier said than done, they were outnumbered. With the elves¡¯ only goal was to kill the princess, and would be willing to give their life for their mission, it would be difficult to guarantee the princess¡¯s safety. One mistake, and all will be over for the demons.


    While the other, the Cursed Children, they¡¯ll outnumber them in time. True that both could heal even the most extreme of wounds. But the Cursed Children were essentially monsters, and worst of all, they absolutely cannot die, even if the demons could ever manage to disintegrate them. Even the smallest of dust of theirs could restore them to full life. Such was their curse.


    As the demons were closing in on the city wall, Rytus turned his head towards the female demon ranger.


    ¡°Arashia, slow them down.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± She looked up at Venzus. ¡°Hey, face them.¡±


    Venzus turned towards the direction of the chasing enemies, but he kept on moving, of course, still flapping his wings quickly. Arashia clasped her hands together, and when she moved them apart, thin orange and glowing threads extended within her fingers.


    ¡°Infernal Entanglement!¡±


    She extended her hands forward and what shot out in an instant was a wide burning net. It was more than fifty meters wide on all sides. And as it moved in the air, buildings that were hit in its way were blown through, setting small fires at everything it touched.


    Caught off guard by the magic and deadly net, many of the Cursed Children were caught in it. For the net was made of magic, even their fog form cannot save them from it. The elves were also caught in the chaos.


    That being said, how long it would keep their enemies back remained to be seen.


    ¡°Why the hell would you shout your spell¡¯s name?¡± Venzus asked with a disgusted wince.


    ¡°It¡¯s my ultimate spell. Of course I¡¯ll announce it.¡±


    ¡°Stop it, it¡¯s stupid!¡±


    Arashia deeply frowned. ¡°No, it¡¯s not! It¡¯s cool.¡±


    ¡°Yelling out spells is definitely not cool.¡±


    ¡°Your opinion is crap.¡±


    ¡°The fuck?¡±


    Sometimes Venzus just couldn¡¯t believe her frequent idiocy. To him, yelling out a spell¡¯s name was not only cringeworthy, but also would give away your next action. It¡¯s like revealing your next move to an enemy, giving them an idea of how to respond. In battle, even a split second was crucial. It was always best to keep your actions a secret until it was time. He wanted to explain that to her, but decided not to, not at the current moment where they were still being chased.


    At any rate, her powerful net did manage to slow the enemy down. However, a moment later, there was a giant rip at one side, and the elves emerged, quickly jumping between rooftops, glaring up at the demons.


    ¡°My net!¡± Her eyes went wide open, shocked to see how easily they cut through it. Not only that, the other Cursed Children forcefully clawed through the net, while the others flew around it. It pained her heart to see how trivial they made her ultimate spell be, it was her pride and joy, well, among others.


    ¡°Rytus! Should we fight them off?¡± Droz asked with a grimace.


    Rytus pondered for a moment, glancing at the sleeping princess on his shoulder. He shook his head.


    ¡°We¡¯re crossing the Elgion forest, anyway. We¡¯ll take cover under the trees, while you slow them down.¡±


    And with that, hope that the monsters would also slow down their tail.


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    They flew over the wall and were closing in on the monster filled forest. Below them, the knights from both sides were still having their chaotic fight, both on the wall and on the city streets. It was hard to tell, but it would seem that the Wisterian forces were getting outnumbered. Unless there¡¯s a miracle, the city will fall under the Empire¡¯s control.


    Once they arrived at the Elgion forest, the demons quickly descended into the trees, using them as cover and to lose the sights of their enemies. Their wings shrunk and returned to their backs.


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    Rytus turned towards his men.


    ¡°Arashia, Venzus, with me. The rest of you, slow them down.¡±


    The three ran into the dark forest. Sounds of insects and beasts filled the surrounding area, high-pitched sounds, growls, shrieks, roars. They could feel the numerous gazes directed at them amidst the darkness.


    A large black furred monster jumped in front of them, its eyes were of fierce red, glaring towards them. Its four feet had razor-sharp claws, and its teeth were protruding in great numbers. It appeared to be intending on devouring them.


    ¡°Arashia.¡±


    The female demon cast her magic, and a whip made of flames extended from her hand. Without stopping, she drew back her hand and brought down the infernal whip upon the beast in a flash. There was a whipping sound as her magical weapon cleaved and burned through the monster¡¯s neck with ease, ultimately killing it.


    With the enemy monster eliminated, Arashia¡¯s whip disappeared a moment later.


    ¡°Watch out for any monsters,¡± Rytus said. ¡°Make sure none of them gets to me.¡±


    Rytus could easily take care of the monsters here, but with the princess with him, they couldn¡¯t risk it. They wanted her in a pristine condition considering that they have a long way to go before reaching the demon lands.


    Another monster appeared in front of them, blocking their path. It was a tall and dark monster, it had furless, abysmal dark skin. A pair of long arms with elongated clawed hands. Four fierce red eyes, and needle-like teeth in its mouth.


    It let out a loud shriek, and Venzus quickly struck it with his burning claws.


    ¡°Woah.¡±


    Its skin was harder than he had expected. He dodged its claws as it swung to attack. Thankfully, it was way slower than him. Venzus quickly lashed his burning claws at its body several times, shredding its body into pieces. With that monster taken care of, he quickly rejoined Arashia and Rytus.


    Considering that they faced such a monster, they were getting deeper into the forest. They should arrive at their destination soon. Fortunately, none of the enemies have caught up yet. If this goes on, they should finish this part of their mission without much trouble.


    However, the princess¡¯s face twitched without them noticing. And a short moment later, she slowly opened her eyes, although they still felt incredibly heavy, she merely forced it. For she sensed how rough they have been moving, which roused her from her supposedly deep slumber.


    With narrow and sleepy eyes, she looked around with her blurry vision. In a moment, she instantly came to a realization she was away from home. She started squirming, pushing herself away, and Rytus turned his head at her with wide eyes of utter shock.


    ¡°She¡¯s awake?!¡±


    It shouldn¡¯t have happened, she should not be awake right now. He almost couldn¡¯t believe it. That sleeping dust did not have such a weak effect for her to be awake mere minutes after breathing it in, or even just touching her face.


    Suddenly, there was a blue glow in her hands.


    ¡°Let me go.¡±


    A powerful lightning shot out from her hands, blowing Rytus away into the trees. His clothes and skin on the chest were charred.


    ¡°Shit, hold her!¡± Venzus shouted as he charged at the princess with Arashia.


    Estelia cast lightning from both her hands, sending them towards the two. The attack flashed brightly and struck like a true lightning strike. They were ready for such an attack, but they weren¡¯t ready for the sheer strength within it. And they were blown away several meters. But she wasn¡¯t done yet.


    She raised her hands and conjured large pillars of ice and threw them at the two. Crushing and pinning them down on the ground.


    ¡°Ugh! Dammit!¡±


    ¡°Too heavy.¡±


    ¡°Melt it off!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s barely melting!¡±


    Estelia looked around in confusion, she had no idea where she was. And thus, she quickly ascended into the air, the magic wind propelling her was faltering as she went. She reached above the trees and looked around, it was dark. But she saw a faint sight of the city, the glowing fires, the wall, and all.


    She began flying back to the city, but a short moment later, her magic wind disappeared as she felt an intense sharp pain all over her body. And she fell from the air, hitting branches on her fall until she crashed back to the ground.


    She panted with squinted eyes. And as she tried to stand, her legs trembled, and when she tried to walk, her steps faltered. She felt incredibly sleepy.


    Need to go back¡­ home.


    That was the only thought in her mind. That was what she only wanted right now.


    Wishing to go back home, she forced her legs to move. And she ran, clueless of which forest she was in. But she did realize the dangerous gazes directed at her. She forced her winds out, helping her move quickly on the ground. Just merely pushing her.


    But she fell again, her arms and face dirty from the soil. Her body was so weak, and wanting to sleep. The inside of her chest was so tight, like she hadn¡¯t slept properly in days. Body felt so heavy. But she forced herself awake with all her might, standing up again.


    She continued on. But then¡­


    ¡°Sister?¡±


    She paused and looked around. It was a distant, faint, and echoing voice. A feminine voice.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re there, my sister?¡±


    She had no idea who that was, but it felt like it was talking to her. But it didn¡¯t make any sense. She had no sister, only brothers.


    ¡°Sister¡­ I¡¯m here¡­¡±


    It was a pained and longing voice, as though it was desperately reaching out to her.


    It was then Estelia noticed several silhouettes walking out of the cover of the trees. They approached her slowly, they were tall with abysmal dark skin, claws for hand. And four glowing violet eyes. Seeing how intimidating and dangerous they appeared, Estelia warily stepped back.


    Monsters¡­?


    She didn¡¯t know what to expect of these monsters, except that they were dangerous. They could attack her at any moment. However, they merely stood there, not a sign of aggressiveness or anything. It was bizarre.


    But she had no time for this. She had to get back home.


    The hell with this!


    She was about to move on when Rytus found her.


    ¡°Princess!¡±


    With gritted teeth, she conjured ice spikes at him, rising from the ground. However, it was either because his skin was so robust, or her magic was weakened, that her spikes broke upon touching him. At any rate, Rytus immediately got close.


    Estelia threw hands, but with her miserable state, Rytus quickly drew them off and threw another handful of white dust at her face.


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    Almost immediately, she faltered, her eyes opening and closing, but in the end sleep overwhelmed her. And Rytus caught her as she fell. The effect of the first dust was still there, it just wasn¡¯t enough.


    Venzus and Arashia arrived, facing the monsters to make sure they didn¡¯t try getting closer.


    ¡°Holy shit, a handful is already enough to knock out a giant beast. And she just woke up from that¡­¡±


    ¡°Maybe she is bigger than a big beast.¡±


    Rytus made sure she was deeply sleeping before securing her on his shoulder. They also couldn¡¯t give her more sleeping dust, they don¡¯t know what kind of effect that would do. Best not to overdo it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. They¡¯ll catch up at any second.¡±


    The monsters suddenly shrieked, a large group of them aggressively advancing at the group. Their faces leaned forward as if hunting for prey, and their legs stomped heavily as they ran.


    ¡°Shit! Alright let¡¯s go!¡± Venzus frantically fired a wave of flames at the crowding monsters before they quickly made a run for it.


    As they were faster than the monsters and with the magic fire hitting them, they easily got away. That said, the enemies they were originally running from were now catching up behind them.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 19: Frantic Escape (Part 1)

    Droz, along with the rest of the demons, stayed guard at the edge of the Elgion forest. They watched with great tension as their enemies, both the Cursed Children and the elves, were getting closer. Seeing both factions coming at them, Droz couldn¡¯t help but grin at the sheer absurdity of it all. Each faction had their own intention for the princess. It was as though she was the most important person in the world. To which whoever had their hands on her would have a chance to control their fate.


    And that most important person in the world right now was at the hands of the demons. And as one would expect, having her in their possession brought all kinds of big trouble. Personally, Droz had nothing to fear against their enemies, as long as they couldn¡¯t cast holy magic ¡ª which what seemed to be that these groups lacked.


    But there was still the part where they could feel pain. And not to mention potential torture if they were ever captured. Where the most sadistic ones could have all the leisure. But they¡¯ll cross that bridge when they cross it. For now, they have to complete their mission. To let Rytus and the princess escape so they can make their way back to the demon lands.


    The couple of demons that stayed in the air moved to cast their magic. They waved their hands, unleashing a wide and deadly wave of violent infernal flames at the dark fogs. Upon making contact with the magical flames, they reverted back to solid matter, with some of them falling back to the ground. The rest did their best to maintain flying.


    Droz turned towards one ally with him on the ground.


    ¡°There are too many Cursed Children. Let me handle the elves, there¡¯s only three of them.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    He watched his fellow imp leave to face the Cursed Children before turning towards the running elves and hiding behind the trees. While hiding in the shadows, his hands turned to claws, and he waited for the elves to arrive.


    The moment the elves stepped into the forest, Droz instantly came out of hiding. He moved and swirled with great swiftness, his blazing infernal claws left several bright trails through the area. Cutting through the trees with ease, leaving them with flaming embers, and with that, slashing at the three elves as well.


    He slashed a male and a female elf on the chest. The leading elf, however, managed to deflect the claws with his sword. The latter elf glared at Droz.


    ¡°You.¡±


    ¡°Hey, we met again.¡± Droz grinned before immediately swinging a sharp hand at him.


    The elf, Alruwin, blocked the attack with gritted teeth. His eyes narrowing at the heat the blaze was emitting.


    ¡°I have no time for you!¡± Alruwin shouted with blatant irritation.


    ¡°Too bad,¡± Droz flashed him with a mocking smirk, which served to only irritate the elf even more.


    The female elf slashed the imp¡¯s back, cutting deep into his flesh. The latter instantly turned around and swung a wave of inferno at her as his wound immediately healed. Burns were made all over the elf¡¯s body, mostly on the arms which she used to cover her face.


    The other elf spawned vines from the ground, lashing violently at the imp. But with his flames again, he easily cut and burned off the plants. Such things would be useless against him.


    With the demon¡¯s back directed at him, Alruwin fired several wind slashes at the imp before physically cutting him as well. Droz swung his claws at Alruwin a few times while blocking the rest of the attacks coming at him. At the same time, the female elf, with her speed, was able to land a few hits. But Droz was basically unfazed, he kept on moving, and rapidly healing in a mere moment.


    Alruwin swung his sword down heavily at him and at the same time spawned several sharp and thorny vines right at the enemy¡¯s feet. They quickly wrapped around his legs and body tightly. With him tied, the elves altogether stabbed their blades and unleashed a burst of wind into his flesh.


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    ¡°Gah!¡± Droz shouted in pain.


    Blood exploded out of the demon¡¯s body. However, he was still standing strong. Flames gathered on his claws, and before the elves could step back, his flames exploded in all directions. The elves pulled out their swords as wind barriers protected them.


    Droz grinned as he coughed out blood, his wounds rapidly healing again.


    ¡°Heh, guess I really have to cleave you up, huh?¡± he said.


    Alruwin narrowed his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m wasting too much time. Hold him back.¡±


    Alruwin began running, but the demon quickly caught up to him. Grabbing his shoulder.


    ¡°You ain¡¯t running, pal!¡±


    ¡°Tch!¡± Alruwin held out his hand at him, firing a blast of wind. But not before the demon could grab on his hand as well.


    Droz ignored the wounds he was sustaining.


    The female elf pierced her sword into Droz¡¯s chest from the back, while the other attacked from the front, intending on pushing him away. But Droz kept a firm grip on Alruwin¡¯s hand, no intention of letting him go. Enraged, Alruwin spawned a dozen vines to wrap around the demon, the thorns digging in deep. And he swung his sword down at the demon¡¯s arm. He wasn¡¯t able to cut it off, but it was enough for the demon to loosen his grip and allow Alruwin to escape from his grasp. At that moment, Alruwin fired another powerful blast of wind. This time, blowing Droz away from him.


    ¡°No!¡± Holding out a hand, Droz unleashed a large bolt of fire at Alruwin.


    The elf conjured a shield wind just as the flames hit him. It exploded into a ball of violent flames, completely covering his vision and burning his surroundings, setting the grasses and trees on fire. He swung his sword in the air, cutting through the curtain of fire.


    He saw his fellow elves holding the imp demon back. With that, Alruwin continued on, sending his winds to clear out the fire in his way. He had no idea where exactly the princess was in this dense and dark forest. But there should be signs of the demons¡¯ path, like monster deaths or footprints. As someone used to the forests, there were plenty of ways to tell.


    While Alruwin got through the demon blocking his way, the Cursed Children above the forest overwhelmed the few demons with their great number. The demons were able to obstruct several, but a few managed to reach them and thus ravaged the demons.


    A cursed child grabbed a demon and dragged him to the ground, landing violently. They raised their claws against each other. One brightly blazing, the other repulsive and monster-like. They swung at each other, digging into each other¡¯s skin. Blood spilled. Wounds were made, fatal and savage. However, in merely a moment, the both of them healed completely.


    Despite the pointlessness of it all, they were relentless in landing damages on the other. They attack, they heal. They didn¡¯t even bother defending at all. Indeed, they were fighting like beasts, monsters, but one that may never die no matter how many wounds were inflicted upon them. Perhaps this could be an endless battle.


    However, the imps were unlike the Cursed Children. For these children cursed by the goddess, were truly, and absolutely immortal, unkillable. They have endured pain all of their lives. Every night, they felt the most intense of pain, of torture, and have driven them close to madness. Perhaps some already were. And with this maddened mind, pain caused by physical things, like burning claws, was trivial compared to the pain they were currently and ever experiencing. Where their flesh was forcefully morphed and shifted like a constant growing cancer. Outside and inside.


    The cursed child bit on the demon¡¯s neck, the numerous sharp teeth digging deep into flesh before sucking in his blood.


    ¡°Agh! Let me go!¡±


    The demon could clearly feel his blood being drained, and it was not a pleasant feeling at all. He forced himself free and cleaved through the monster¡¯s chest. But not before he received a slash himself. The demon cried in pain, and then the monster swung down both his claws. Again, again, and again. He was being torn apart. The demon¡¯s body was being horribly mutilated.


    ¡°F-Fuck, stay away from me!¡±


    Unlike the Cursed Children, the imps have a limit on how much physical trauma they can endure. Unlike these monsters, they cannot bear a week¡¯s constant torture, a thousand swords, or a million arrows. Although it may vary from each demon, everyone has their limits. They can regenerate, yes, but their mind could only take too much agony. And thus, like any other creature, they attempt to flee. To escape the despair and the constant pain. No one likes pain, not even them.


    But the relentless monster would not let him get away.


    ¡°Unlimited supply of blood!¡±


    ¡°D-Dammit!¡±


    He bit through the demon again, plunging his claws into his heart, preventing the imp from getting away.


    And like what happened here, the other demons, despite not dying, were disposed of. The Cursed Children¡¯s path was clear. Their leader flew at the head with several Cursed Children behind him. The demons that took the princess have hidden themselves under the trees. It would be hard to track them down, perhaps it was best to descend.


    As he was about to do just that, there was a bright blue flash in the distance amidst the forest. He pointed.


    ¡°There.¡±

 Vol. 4 Chapter 20: Frantic Escape (Part 2)

    ¡°Oh shit! They¡¯re here!¡± Venzus exclaimed as the Cursed Children descended upon them.


    But the three demons didn¡¯t stop, using the trees as cover from their attacks. Thankfully, they were not aggressively going for Rytus who had the princess with him, for they feared hitting her. Venzus, on the other hand, was sending waves of flames at the fogs. The dark monsters that hit in them were pulled out of their foggy state, but there were also others still coming at them.


    As they frantically ran while fending the enemy off, Venzus turned towards Arashia.


    ¡°Arashia! Use your net!¡±


    ¡°B-But my mana!¡±


    ¡°Do it! Do it wide and strong!¡±


    ¡°Do it, Arashia,¡± Rytus said.


    She was reluctant to do it, of course. She was not one to rely on her physical weapons, like her claws. She preferred her magical attacks. And running out of mana would be detrimental to her potency. That said, it came to her own preference ¡ª to spend as little as mana as possible but giving the best result. Perhaps she was just wary.


    Although, considering the situation, she had no choice, it would seem. And thus, she jumped and turned towards the Cursed Children, holding out her hand. Strings appeared between her fingers before they shot onward. A wide blazing inferno of a net caught up a great number of the enemies.


    ¡°Eh?!¡± But there were still a few that evaded and were still coming at them.


    ¡°Less is better!¡± Venzus swung both his hands wide, shooting wide arcs of flames from each of his sharp fingers towards the enemies.


    And at that moment, Arashia¡¯s ears perked, sensing someone else coming. And they were coming fast. Upon realizing that, she instantly leaped right beside Rytus and held out her hand. She caught a blade that was only a few inches away from the princess¡¯s sleeping face. Arashia¡¯s hand bled.


    The elven wielder of the sword clicked his tongue in annoyance. Arashia subsequently kicked the elf with exquisite strength and agility before conjuring a flaming whip striking at the elf. The latter cast a wind to block the lashing lengthy whip and once it passed, he ran to catch up to the demons.


    He swung his sword in the air, hurling multiple slashes of wind at them. But Arashia deflected them off with her whip of fire.


    ¡°Dammit! Boss!¡± Venzus shouted. ¡°It¡¯s hard to fight while running. We hold them off, you keep going!¡±


    Rytus deliberated for a moment, glancing at the increasing number of Cursed Children. They were starting to swarm them. He hesitated to let them go. He was planning on bringing them along with him. It would be hard to travel without a companion while carrying the dangerous princess around. However, he should be able to garner more demon allies once he reaches Shinoroa.


    ¡°Very well. Fight off as many as you can.¡±


    Venzus nodded. ¡°Arashia! You heard that?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a t-terrible plan!¡± she exclaimed while driving off the elf. Her face was frantic.


    ¡°Stop complaining and do your job!¡±


    She moaned. ¡°Fine!¡±


    The two of them stopped. Venzus planted his hands into the ground, and then a tall wall of fire erupted like a geyser. They burned and blocked off a major number of Cursed Children. But even that wouldn¡¯t last long. Several of them got through, and thus Venzus jumped up and grabbed them with his flaming claws.


    Arashia, meanwhile, tackled the elf, as she considered that it was the only way to really stop him. She then quickly pushed him off to a tree before he could hit her with a sword. The moment he crashed on the tree, Arashia swung her whip, wrapping itself around the bark and the elf with it. His skin sizzled in the burning heat. The female imp pulled, and the whip tightened before the tree was rooted out of the ground, hurling it away along with the elf.


    Before he could hit the ground, a burst of wind broke the tree and the flaming whip into pieces. The elf, Alruwin¡¯s face, contorted into pure anger. The simple task of killing the princess, after all that they had done to achieve this, was becoming harder than they had ever wanted, or imagined. He couldn¡¯t let this absurdity go on. It was utterly frustrating. It all should have been simple, just to follow the plan.


    As he charged towards Arashia, several thorny vines sprang out of the ground, launching towards her. The demon fended off the vines as the elf came and attacked. He rapidly swung his sword, gradually making cuts on her skin. He was more relentless.


    Arashia had a whimpering face, but was still trying her best to fight him. But Alruwin attained the upper hand and pierced his sword through her neck. She choked, about to move back. But Alruwin kicked her far away with the help of a wind burst, towards the Cursed Children to be precise.


    His path now clear, he rushed onward to chase down the princess. On the way, he glanced to the side to see the leader of the Cursed Children weaving through the trees, and along with him were a few of his own repulsive kind. Usually they would have attacked each other, but they have something more important to do.


    Rytus realized the enemies were getting close to him. But he was right by his destination already. The magic circle for teleportation was now in sight. Glowing brightly like a beacon in the darkness. They had to place the circle in a safe place, where any major enemies wouldn¡¯t easily notice. He considered anywhere in the capital to be risky. They also needed a place where the enemy couldn¡¯t swarm them. Thus, he chose the forest filled with powerful monsters and numerous seas of trees.


    ¡°Rytus?!¡±


    There were two imp demons standing guard on the magic circle. Monster corpses littered the area.


    ¡°Is it ready?!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Hold them off!¡±


    The two demons saw the enemies behind his tail and thus quickly moved in to intercept. One demon faced the elf, blocking his way. The other waved his hand at the Cursed Children, sending numerous small dots of flames at them, and they exploded into a small blazing explosions, prompting the monsters to halt.


    Heneis, the Cursed Children¡¯s leader, was momentarily pushed away by an explosion, but he immediately pushed through. At the same time, he had realized that the demon carrying the princess was already standing in the circle, now shining brighter than before. Magic began to swirl around it.


    The elf saw the same, and he vigorously punched the demon in the stomach while at the same time spawning vines to hold the demon¡¯s feet.


    With strained faces, both Heneis and Alruwin quickly charged towards Rytus. The latter ready to swing his blade, the former extending his hand to reach out for the princess.


    ¡°I won¡¯t let you escape!¡± Heneis shouted.


    As the two of them were only a few meters away, Rytus gritted his teeth, growing incredibly nervous as they got closer. It felt like his soul was going to leave his body. He cannot let them either get the princess or step into the circle. But then, the teleportation magic activated. Rytus¡¯s vision was filled with blinding light.


    ¡°NO!¡± The elf, Alruwin, reached the circle. But not before it was over. He looked down at the glowing fade of the dust. He took a few deep breaths. Rage filled his heart, gripping this sword tightly. He almost had her. He almost had the person who threatened his people and civilization. And yet for just her to get away? He couldn¡¯t be more outraged. He glared at the two demons standing, staring at them with a smile. ¡°DEMONS!¡±


    Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°Uh oh.¡±


    ¡°Time to go.¡±


    And with those words, the two demons quickly ran into the forest. Disappearing into the darkness.


    ¡°YOU!¡± Alruwin was about to chase them down, but then he realized the increasing number of Cursed Children coming. He clicked his tongue and decided not to chase the demons. Instead, before anything else, he too quickly escaped from the area.


    Heneis on the other hand, fell on both knees beside the fading magic circle. No one knows what kind of face he had right now. But, one could imagine, he must be distraught.


    A cursed child approached. ¡°The demon escaped?¡±


    But Heneis didn¡¯t respond, only keeping his head down, his fists clenched tightly.


    Another cursed child approached. ¡°Shit! They could be anywhere.¡±


    ¡°They must be going for the demon lands.¡±


    ¡°Still, that is several days to the shores alone.¡±


    Another cursed child joined in. ¡°They¡¯ll be in the middle of the sea by then. Or wherever they deem to stop.¡±


    ¡°This is a great failure, Heneis.¡±


    ¡°We have followed your plan, and where did that get us?¡±


    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have followed your plan!¡±


    ¡°Who knows what they¡¯re planning to do with her!¡±


    The cursed children began murmuring to each other.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t his fault, no one could have expected this.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°We were in this together, you agreed to do what he says!¡±


    Some were against them, while the others were questioning his leadership.


    ¡°What will you do to fix this, Heneis?!¡± One aggressively stepped in. It was Aurel. He stood beside Heneis, looking down at him. ¡°Her Eminence could be killed at this rate!¡±


    Heneis slowly looked up at him. There was a moment of silence before he stood up.


    ¡°I will fix this.¡±


    ¡°Huh? And how are you going to do that?¡±


    He stepped back and peered at his surroundings, at his people.


    ¡°Catch the demons. They should still be here somewhere.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if the others are still feasting on the ones they captured, if they have not escaped already.¡±


    ¡°The male and female demon from before had already escaped as well.¡±


    ¡°If we do manage to capture them, I doubt they¡¯ll talk that easily,¡± said one.


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll make them talk. Now go! Catch a demon! The more the better!¡±


    The cursed children looked at each other for a moment. Perhaps hesitant to follow his words, or doubt in Heneis¡¯s plan altogether. But still, in the end, one by one, they began to leave.


    Two cursed children remained with him, Galik and Aurel. The latter glaring at Heneis.


    ¡°If she dies,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll throw you into a volcano, where you will spend an eternity.¡±


    With that threat, Aurel turned into a fog and left. Heneis sighed.


    ¡°This is bad for you,¡± Galik said. ¡°If this goes on, they¡¯ll remove you as leader.¡±


    ¡°Yeah? And who will they appoint?¡±


    Galik had no answer.


    ¡°We have always been people that had no direction. What makes you think a lot of them can lead?¡±


    Many of them had already given up to the curse. Only a few individuals like Heneis urged them to do what must be done. The one to lead them, who dictated the path they should take. They were sheep, hardly a shepherd. Lacking great ambition, and the initiative to achieve it.


    ¡°... I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Wow, you failed. That sucks.¡± Another voice joined in, it was the Eternal Wanderer.


    ¡°Taneva.¡± Heneis glared at him. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°To watch the show mainly.¡±


    ¡°I mean, why are you truly here? You did nothing, nothing at all.¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Your side should have saved the princess. Don¡¯t you have a stake here as well?¡±


    ¡°You say that as if my side thinks as one. Personally, I don¡¯t have much stake. But for them, I guess. But well, they didn¡¯t do anything at all. So I guess that¡¯s that.¡±


    ¡°You could have stopped the demons so easily.¡±


    Taneva grinned. ¡°I could have, but it¡¯s not my place to intervene.¡±


    ¡°I truly cannot understand you.¡±


    The two cursed children turned into a fog and ascended into the air before disappearing into the darkness.


    ***


    It was a place of commerce, mainly through the sea. Where merchants, traders, or sailors, hailing from the various countries in the world, with some even coming from other continents, come to trade, or merely to sightsee, or perhaps find a new place to call home. Mainly that mattered in this republic was the smooth sailing of their economy and trade. And they prefer not to involve themselves with the politics of their neighboring nations.


    This was the Eventon Republic. It was a nation led by ten councilors, with one of them being the head of them all. But every choice was not determined by him alone. Crucial decisions were made through majority votes. It was a fairly democratic nation. A big and prosperous nation, where most of the people had jobs and could obtain the money to feed their family. Where the ambitions of a successful business were not far from reality. It was the land of the free, where the citizens could always have that Eventonian dream.


    Although, one must not underestimate their greed, especially those in the nation¡¯s higher society. No matter how great the city may appear, the people within it would not always be as good or great.


    And within the docks of this wealthy nation lies quite a little shoddy warehouse. Which was under control by a shadow organization that exists in this nation. One that deals in illegal transactions, but primarily in human trafficking. One that transports human beings they could obtain, whether through kidnapping them from remote villages, travelers, or those that were sold to them. Apparently, there were plenty of customers for humans.


    Inside this secluded warehouse was a magic circle. It shone brightly for a moment before a silhouette appeared inside it. The moment the light faded, the silhouette became clearer. It was a man, on his shoulder was a white-haired princess, deep in her slumber.


    ¡°Thankfully, they truly held their end of the bargain.¡±


    The man, or rather, the imp, sighed in relief. Rytus was quite concerned that the humans they paid would just become negligent, and somehow cause the circle to be erased even just slightly. After glancing at the princess for some assurance, he quickly left the warehouse and headed for one of the small wooden buildings.


    It would have been ideal to teleport straight to the demon lands, but that was impossible. For their lands, and even the surrounding sea, was a forsaken region. Their leylines have been disconnected from the rest of the world, and thus teleportation was impossible. The closest they could afford was only this place. The reason for the disconnection was because, of course, their demon god. The enemy of the other gods, and thus they cut off the leylines on the region which he took as his own.


    On the way, he looked at the numerous sailing ships of various sizes docked on the shore. Considering that it was nighttime, the place was extremely quiet, except for the distant laughter and shouts. Humans having a drunken night, it would seem.


    The moment he arrived at the building, he was about to knock but stopped halfway upon considering that the princess might wake up. He feared that sudden noises would disturb her, that was the last thing he needed right now.


    And thus he quietly pushed the door, forcefully opening it. It was irrelevant whether it was locked or not. Inside, there was a plump man sleeping on the chair, his head leaning back. Rytus quietly approached and covered the human¡¯s mouth. That, of course, woke him up.


    ¡°Mmm-mmm!¡± He looked up at Rytus with wide eyes. He recognized him.


    ¡°Lower your voice, do you understand?¡±


    The man faintly nodded his head while glancing at Rytus¡¯s package placed on his shoulder. Once the man acknowledged, Rytus removed his hand from his mouth.


    ¡°Sir Rytus, you¡¯re finally here.¡±


    ¡°Ready the ship. We¡¯re moving out now.¡±


    ¡°What? Now? We can¡¯t do that.¡± The man was raising his voice in a hush tone.


    Rytus frowned. ¡°We are moving, now.¡±


    ¡°This is too sudden, sir. We have yet to fill the currently available ship.¡±


    Growing impatient, Rytus grabbed the man¡¯s shirt on the collar and glared down at him.


    ¡°Listen here, human. We paid you a tremendous amount for this moment. For a ship to move once we return.¡±


    The man quietly squealed, fear in his eyes.


    Rytus continued, ¡°Get ready to sail, dockmaster, or I¡¯ll consider our contract void. You know what that means.¡±


    ¡°... A-Alright sir. I¡¯ll, I¡¯ll get things ready. But please, give me a couple of hours.¡±


    Rytus pondered for a moment, a couple of hours shouldn¡¯t be an issue. It was impossible for the opposition to catch up to them anyway. Especially that they have no idea where exactly Rytus and the princess could be.


    ¡°Very well, but no more.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, thank you.¡±


    Rytus let him go. ¡°The magic sealing shackles, where are they?¡±


    ¡°H-Here.¡±


    The dockmaster walked over to a wooden box and pulled out shackles made of dark metal, the chains quietly clanging.


    ¡°Bring it with you and lead me to your ship.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    Anxiously, the human led Rytus to the ship. It was a galleon, large enough to carry dozens of people inside it. And it was docked somewhat at a secluded section of the docking area. Once they stepped on the ship¡¯s deck, the human urged the few men that were guarding the ship to quiet down.


    Rytus could hear faint sobbing under the floor, but he paid it no mind and turned towards the dockmaster.


    ¡°Let¡¯s put her to the brig and have your men help me set her up.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡± He beckoned the men.


    When they approached, they gawked at the young woman with beautiful white hair. Their eyes went so wide, as if they were popping out of their eye sockets.


    ¡°Wow, she¡¯s beautiful. So fucking beautiful.¡±


    ¡°Never seen anything like her.¡±


    ¡°What is she supposed to be?¡±


    They began muttering.


    ¡°She looks delicious.¡±


    ¡°She looks like a great fuck.¡±


    ¡°She supposed to be for sale? Must cost a hell of a fortune.¡±


    ¡°I wanna touch her.¡±


    Rytus glared at the humans.


    ¡°You will not do anything harmful to her. That is absolute, do you understand, humans?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    The men squinted their eyes at him.


    But before anything else, the dockmaster chimed in.


    ¡°Do as he says. He¡¯s one of them, demons.¡±


    Hearing that, the men quickly stepped back, shaken by the revelation.


    ¡°R-Right, sorry.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we won¡¯t hurt her or anything.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s plenty of pussies here anyway.¡±


    ¡°Enough, let¡¯s go and attach the shackles before she wakes up,¡± Rytus said in a stern tone.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 21: Distraught (Part 1)

    The enemy forces at the Wisterian palace were mostly decimated. Even their army¡¯s commander had fallen amidst the chaos. Witnessing their losing situation, the few elves that still remained at the palace quickly fled the place. There was no point in continuing to fight now. And Alruwin was nowhere to be found to give them orders on what to do in this unexpected situation. Thus, with the overwhelming monster making it impossible to achieve victory, the best thing to do was retreat and disappear before they themselves die pointlessly or get captured. Best to fight another day than die today with no result to give for it.


    Once the Wisterians had retaken control of their own palace, the king, the mind of the hive, decided to push on. He immediately ordered the monsters to go to the city. They quickly ran up the palace wall and jumped down with agile legs. With loud growls, they began running towards the city. They traversed the green fields with speed that even the most powerful of knights would be hard-pressed to do.


    In the monsters¡¯ steps, the sheer strength and speed of their legs left small craters on the ground. They indeed appeared to be unstoppable monsters. It only took them less than a minute to reach the city. Truth be told, the king had made them move faster, for he himself was running out of time. Leodoule could feel his body breaking apart, his mind being stretched to the very edge, where it could snap at any given moment.


    He had to reduce the enemy¡¯s number as much as possible. Thus, to achieve that, he had to hold on for a few more minutes.


    The monsters quickly searched for enemies to eliminate, moving quicker in the ticking clock. They spread out and scattered, covering as much of the city as they could. The adventurers that were helping fight off the invaders were flabbergasted to see monsters suddenly popping out of nowhere.


    Being as used to hunting monsters, they were all wary of them. Many of them even pointed their weapons at the strange creatures, ready to fight. However, they were utterly surprised and confused upon seeing the monsters attack the imperial forces and them alone. It was so bizarre and strange.


    They watched as the monsters easily ravaged the powerful knights. Tearing them limb from limb without a hint of mercy and relent. Among these confused adventurers was the party who was trying their best to find and save as many people as they could.


    ¡°What the hell are they?¡± the swordsman, Dune, asked with a wince as he held out his sword forward.


    ¡°I have never seen monsters like them before,¡± the ax wielder, Iruyu, said.


    ¡°Neither do I,¡± Anita added. ¡°At least they¡¯re friendly.¡±


    Dune lowered his sword. ¡°Yeah? And how do they differentiate?¡±


    Monsters were typically unlike humans, they were not as intelligent. They couldn¡¯t differentiate other species so they regard them as foes, except their own ¡ª at least for most of the time. Monsters of the same kind also often fight with each other. But that was beside the point, it was too strange that the monsters here were only attacking the imperials, which meant they could tell what they were. They also didn¡¯t appear to be intelligent beings, as they do not speak or anything.


    Anita hesitantly turned towards Tina. ¡°Any idea, Tina?¡±


    Tina had a depressed look in her eyes, like all life has been drained out of her.


    ¡°Who knows.¡±


    That was all she said before she raised her bow of golden light again and aimed it at an enemy knight making a run for it. She drew back the golden string as a magical holy arrow appeared. After ensuring her aim, she let the arrow loose and hit the enemy knight on the side of his body. He tumbled to the ground, and it was then that a monster jumped at him.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter what they are,¡± Tina continued. ¡°I¡¯m still killing the enemy.¡±


    Tina watched the imperial knight being mauled by the strange monster, she neither looked away nor winced at the sight. It was like she only wanted to make sure he was dead, and nothing more. Seeing her this way disturbed her friends a little, and they all looked at her with eyes of concern. But for the meantime, they couldn¡¯t do anything about it, nor did they even know exactly how to.


    ¡°R-Right.¡± Dune heaved a quiet sigh.


    ¡°I¡¯m going hunting,¡± she said in a grim tone. ¡°You coming? Right now, it¡¯s best to just eliminate all enemies that we can.¡±


    With the monsters seemingly to be on their side, at this rate, pretty soon Wisteria will have the advantage. Thus, instead of searching for more potential survivors, she thought it would be best to just hunt the remaining enemies all over the city. Although her friends were quite hesitant about it, they looked at each other, thinking if they should proceed with this. For all they knew, this could only be Tina¡¯s way of coping with her grief, or her desire to get revenge. It may not be healthy.


    Anita stepped closer to her. ¡°Tina, don¡¯t you think we should take it a little slower?¡±


    Tina narrowed her eyes at her for a moment as Dune also spoke.


    ¡°She¡¯s right. We should take a breather, we¡¯re tired.¡±


    ¡°We can afford to have a moment of rest, Tina,¡± Iruyu added.


    ¡°Tina, I¡¯ve been through the same. And I learned that we shouldn¡¯t get dragged around by our emotions. We need to slow down and process things. So, please¡­?¡±


    Tina closed her eyes before facing away, and she gripped her golden bow tightly, her hands shaking.


    ¡°If, if you don¡¯t want to, then I¡¯ll go alone.¡±


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    ¡°W-Wait Tina¡ª¡±


    They tried to make her stop, but she had already run away, jumping to a rooftop. Her eyes were sharp, looking, searching for anyone to hunt. For anyone to kill. Perhaps to sate the rage boiling in her heart, or to settle the hatred burning in her soul. She found an imperial knight. She shot an arrow with no hesitation, killing him. But nothing changed within her. And thus she hunted even more.


    While the grieving young priestess sought to process her grief, in another part of the city was the high bishop of the church. He rapidly moved around the streets, buildings, roofs, as he swung the golden spears in each of his hands, fending off the attacks coming from the two elves. The other used swords, while the other hurled magic at him. They have been doing this for some time now, but despite the two elves working together, they only managed to make a cut on the old man¡¯s cheek.


    That being said, even Xenous was becoming tired over this lengthy fight. A fight where he had not even a second to rest. One mistake would spell his death. The swords wielding elf swung his one sword, while the other he thrust towards the old man¡¯s face. The latter blocked the first sword, and he parried off the second.


    At the next building, the magic casting elf was waiting, and conjured a strike of lightning at the high bishop. The old man pointed his spear at the lightning, shooting out a powerful beam of light to intercept it. He was hoping for it to get through towards the elf, but considering how powerful the elf¡¯s magic was, it would seem that was only wishful thinking.


    Xenous threw himself back and swung his spears in a cross shape, sending a similarly shaped golden slash towards the sword wielder. The elf quickly blocked it with his blades, gritting his teeth at the strength it emitted, and he forcefully deflected it. The elf sighed as he glared at the human with a grin.


    ¡°You¡¯re tough, human,¡± the elf said as he watched the human evade another magic spell. ¡°It¡¯s so rare to find someone like you. But that makes you all the more dangerous.¡±


    The elf charged at him again, their weapons collided.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be called a hero. Petty.¡±


    They swung their weapons at each other, releasing a blast of wind at every contact.


    ¡°Humans loooove looking up to a powerful figure!¡± He strongly kicked Xenous in the stomach, throwing him off.


    Xenous grunted as he instantly returned to his proper footing. He cast several beams of light towards the caster in the distance, they crashed against the buildings as the elf dodged and switched to another roof.


    ¡°But you know,¡± the elf dual wielder continued as Xenous returned to glare at him. ¡°It¡¯s always so exhilarating to see their faces as they watch their heroes die.¡±


    ¡°I have no idea what you''re babbling about.¡±


    ¡°Of course you don¡¯t. But pretty soon, you might.¡±


    ¡°Evil forces like you cannot win. Humanity perseveres even in our darkest days. With the will of the gods, goodness prevails.¡±


    ¡°The gods do not favor you.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡±


    It was then at that moment that they heard loud shrieks nearby, and by the second, they increased in number. All of them paused for a moment in confusion, seeing the strange monsters moving around the area attacking the imperial knights.


    ¡°What, what are they?¡± the elf muttered.


    There was a loud rumble, both Xenous and the elf turned to see the elf magic caster being attacked by one of the monsters. He conjured a powerful lightning, heavily damaging it, and it was barely moving after that.


    One of the monsters came to suddenly jump at the swords wielding elf. The latter quickly evaded and swung down a blade on it. He jerked briefly when he realized that after slashing its torso, it was still moving like it was nothing. And thus, he gave more effort into it, and cut off all the monster¡¯s limbs.


    ¡°Never saw these kinds of monsters before, where did they come from?¡±


    Another pair of monsters came and attacked him. The high bishop of Wisteria, however, was completely ignored.


    So he did it.


    But Xenous was quite concerned at how long the king had been using the divine spell. He hoped he better not have himself die because of maintaining it for too long. Xenous was aware that these monsters were strong, evident from how the imperial knights were losing. However, it would seem that even they struggled to kill these elves.


    After killing off the monsters going after them, the magic caster joined up with the swordsman.


    ¡°They are all over the city.¡±


    ¡°What?! We never knew anything about this. Where did they even come from?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure yet.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re from the palace,¡± Xenous chimed in, and the elves glared at him as he continued. ¡°If they¡¯re here, it means they have cleaned up the enemies at the palace.¡±


    ¡°What are they?¡± the magic caster warily asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see the point of telling you.¡±


    ¡°Hm,¡± the elf grunted in irritation.


    ¡°With the monsters, it will be only a matter of time before we finish cleaning up the city as well. They can¡¯t defeat you, but they will exterminate your army.¡±


    The two elves looked at each other.


    ¡°What are we going to do now?¡± the dual wielder asked.


    ¡°... If the army is wiped out, then there¡¯s no point.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t even know if we have accomplished our main mission.¡±


    ¡°... Indeed.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re right, there¡¯s no point. I don¡¯t want to get captured. I say we flee.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Xenous frowned. ¡°Flee? You¡¯re not going to at least sacrifice yourselves? Not attempt to kill me with your life?¡±


    The dual wielder glared at the high bishop. ¡°We die with purpose. There is no point wasting our lives for someone as puny as you.¡±


    ¡°Really now? And I thought you found me strong.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re strong, but you are no one too special. Do not get too arrogant.¡±


    ¡°You surprise me. Looks like I misjudged you a little. You do value your own lives.¡±


    The two elves looked at the increasing presence of the monsters. After considering it finally, they began to flee while fighting off the monsters coming at them. Xenous only watched them as they went, he had no intention of chasing them down. Not only was he tired, but he couldn''t manage to kill one of them either way. Best to let them be and get them next time.


    But then, he was surprised to see a golden arrow of light flying towards the elves. Or to be specific, to the sword wielder. The elf sensed the arrow, and he easily deflected it. He glanced at the source of that arrow for a moment. Xenous turned towards it as well.


    ¡°I found you!¡±


    That angered shout came from one of the church¡¯s priestesses, standing on top of a roof.


    ¡°Tina?¡±


    Her eyes were full of rage and hate.


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    She was about to draw the string, but Xenous immediately rushed towards her and grabbed her hand. Her eyes widened, looking up at him in confusion.


    ¡°High Bishop! What are you doing?! They¡¯re getting away!¡±


    ¡°Tina¡­¡± He looked at her with pained eyes.


    ¡°L-Look, they¡¯re running! We can¡¯t let them escape!¡±


    ¡°Stop it,¡± he said softly.


    He was saddened to see her like this. So full of wrath and hate.


    ¡°No! I must kill him! I¡¯ll kill him!¡±


    To shout such words, it didn¡¯t fit her.


    ¡°It¡¯s over, Tina.¡±


    She vigorously shook her head and tried to pull herself away, but the high bishop¡¯s hand wouldn¡¯t budge.


    ¡°No! No no no! He killed her! T-The e-elf¡­¡± Her words began to falter as tears gradually started coming out of her eyes.


    ¡°... I see¡­¡±


    ¡°I-I must a-avenge my sister!¡±


    ¡°No, you can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Why?!¡± She glared at him with irritation and frustration.


    ¡°Tina¡­ Stop. Your elder sister¡­ would not be happy throwing your life away like this.¡±


    ¡°But¡­!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s rest, okay?¡±


    ¡°N-No¡­ I¡­ But¡­ my sister¡­ my sister¡­ is gone. How can I rest¡­?¡±


    Xenous gently pulled her into his arms and gave her a comforting embrace. She trembled as he felt her tears touch his chest. Xenous tenderly patted her back as she sobbed uncontrollably.


    ¡°There, there¡­ It is truly a sad thing to lose her...¡±


    It was like losing a daughter. Hitting upon that realization, he too, shed a tear.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 22: Distraught (Part 2)

    Leodoule felt the strain in his connection with the numerous monsters spreading farther into the city. It was like a rope at its last thread, where one last pull could snap it off completely. His head felt so painful and heavy, like knives being pushed into his skull. He didn¡¯t anticipate it would be five times harder to control them from afar.


    One would think the spell that was made for this kind of situation would allow a smooth vast distance control. But apparently not. Perhaps he was doing something wrong, or perhaps, he just wasn¡¯t strong enough. Which he found confusing. He was among the strongest in the kingdom, if he wasn¡¯t strong enough, how strong would he need to be?


    Despite the waning control, he saw imperial knights being demolished. And when he saw the elves, he sent his monsters after them. But, surprisingly, they dealt with the monsters too easily despite the increasing number attacking them. And then, perhaps after considering the situation, they began to retreat. Thus, the king had the monsters focus more on thinning out the remaining imperial forces scattered all over the city.


    They were able to slay many, and he could see that the Wisterian forces had begun their counter attack.


    But as time went on, Leodoule started to breathe heavily. His sweating was intense, blood running down his nose. He could no longer bear it. It was too much, he felt his life being drained away. And thus, he abruptly stopped the spell. He snapped his bloodshot eyes open. However, what he saw when his sight returned was a pair of deep and large violet eyes staring back at him.


    They were not normal eyes, they were almost similar to what Estelia once had. But this one was more extreme. This one had several swirling clouds of stars surrounding its bright points at the center that served as pupils. Countless more stars twinkled all around it. Like the stars in the night became clearer, and its truth more comprehensible. It was a gaze that contained immense power and authority beyond Leodoule¡¯s comprehension.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    It was a man¡¯s voice, deep and powerful. And it echoed loudly that it was almost deafening. Like thunder after lightning. Leodoule wanted to respond, but somehow he couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°You used my power. Why? My land is in danger?¡±


    Lord?


    ¡°Why now? What is happening? I cannot see in here.¡±


    Leodoule tried speaking, but no matter what, he could not speak.


    ¡°Who is attacking my kingdom? Why? No¡­ Could it be¡­?¡±


    It was at that moment that Leodoule¡¯s eyes were forcefully opened, as if their connection was suddenly cut off. This time, he was back to where he was supposed to be. Back to the dark chamber below the palace. He placed his hands on the floor as he coughed out blood. Sharp pain was radiating all over his body. His skin was turning pale in the sickness he was under. The world in his vision was distorting, blurry.


    ¡°Haah¡­ Haah¡­¡± He breathed heavily, catching up his breath.


    What, what was that?


    That never happened before when he practiced with the spell. No less have his god talk to him.


    He pushed himself to a wall and leaned his back on it. His eyes were half open.


    I hope what I did was enough for a fighting chance¡­


    He could feel his consciousness fading away. But he was certain that he was not dying. He would be more than vomiting blood if that was the case. He was just drained of mana and vitality. Even so, he should get out of here and return to the surface. He wouldn¡¯t want to worry everyone, especially that he wouldn¡¯t know how long he would remain passed out.


    He rubbed the blood off the side of his mouth and forced himself to stand up. For a moment, he leaned his shoulder on the wall before he began walking to the stairs. Physical Enhancement would have made things easier, but even that he couldn¡¯t do. Regardless, he stepped on to the stairs and climbed up.


    His slow footsteps and his heaving breath resonated in the long and dark corridor. His body felt like it was about to give out, but he must return to the surface. He couldn¡¯t let his family worry. He wanted to see them. And as he climbed up, he did not know how much time was passing, but it must have been a little longer than he wanted.


    Eventually, he arrived at the end.


    ¡°Your Majesty!¡±


    There were already several knights waiting in the throne room. As Leodoule was about to collapse, the closest knight caught him.


    ¡°Healer!¡±


    ¡°I can heal!¡±


    The knight ran to the king as he was being carefully put down on the floor. The knight cast healing magic, but he did not know what to heal exactly. From the looks of it, the damage that the king suffered must be internal.


    ¡°W-What¡¯s the situation?¡± the king forced himself to ask, fighting against the pain.


    ¡°The palace is safe now, Your Majesty. Strange monsters appeared and took care of the enemies.¡±


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s good. Then what about the city?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, we have yet to receive any solid news about the city¡¯s situation.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°... Uh, Your Majesty, the monsters that suddenly appeared. Was it you?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


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    ¡°As we thought. What were they?¡±


    ¡°Something that is made to help us. That aside, what news about my family?¡±


    ¡°... It¡¯s, we¡¯re still trying to make things clear.¡±


    ¡°... What do you mean?¡±


    ***


    ¡°Ensure the surviving imperials are restrained properly. No, bring them to the dungeon.¡±


    Estevan was giving orders to the surviving knights at the palace, urging everyone to move quickly. He pointed at a group of knights.


    ¡°Make sure everything around the area is secured and there¡¯s no enemy unaccounted for.¡±


    He then faced another knight.


    ¡°Gather those that are still capable. I will bring them with me to the city.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lord. How many do you need?¡±


    ¡°A dozen should do. I don¡¯t want to take more of the remaining knights for the palace.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    As the knight left, Estevan glanced up at the heavily ruined palace. The third and second floor were now basically nonexistent. And it pained him to see the way it was. There were many memories made in that building. Memories with his family, and especially with his dear little sister.


    He let out a long and sad sigh. It was then that a knight came running at him.


    ¡°Your Highness!¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± He was quite curious to see the knight all agitated. ¡°Have you found my family?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly. We have determined they ran for the tree not far from here. But there¡¯s¡­ um, the landscape on the south side has been¡­ disfigured.¡±


    ¡°Disfigured¡­?¡± He didn¡¯t quite understand what that meant, exactly. ¡°I¡¯ll take a look.¡±


    Estevan made his way to the southern wall, over the broken part of it. It was dark, so it was a bit hard to see the entire state of the grassy plane. However, with the few knights walking around the area with torches in hand and with the moon¡¯s illumination, he saw plenty.


    The land was carved on a large scale, torn and ripped through, and melted. And the size and length of the damages was mind-boggling.


    ¡°What could have caused this?¡± He asked with wide eyes. The damage was just too great, not even his father could cause something like this.


    ¡°We¡¯re still investigating, gathering statements from our knights that could have witnessed what happened.¡±


    ¡°... I see. Tell me when I return. For now, I will be helping clean up the city.¡±


    As long as he could still fight, there was no point in idling here in the palace. There was no time to rest yet, he couldn¡¯t risk giving the enemy the chance. Wisteria must decisively win this round.


    ¡°Oh yes, tell father what I¡¯m planning to do.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    With that, Estevan walked back to the front of the palace, where there were already around a dozen knights waiting for him. They looked tired, but not so exhausted that they couldn¡¯t fight.


    ¡°Help me retake full control of the city. I know we already had a terrible fight here, but this fight is not yet over! Ride with me to the city and let us take back our royal capital!¡±


    The knights shouted in unison, expressing their willingness to fight no matter what. Expressing their conviction to save the city and bring victory to Wisteria. And together, they rode their horses to the city. The monsters have disappeared, but the remaining Wisterian forces were still fighting strong.


    Estevan led his forces, and with his presence brought a new shining inspiration and encouragement for the people. Because of their numbers being dwindled by the prior monsters, the imperials were outnumbered by the Wisterians. Many of their knights being attacked by multiple people at once, with many of them not even given the chance to properly fight back. Some were either smart or foolish enough to surrender, and were thus apprehended.


    Estevan was not mostly wary of the imperial forces, but rather of the elves. However, they were nowhere to be seen, which was strange. They could have already fled. Did they get what they wanted? Didn¡¯t seem to be. Was it because of the monsters wiping out most of their allies? It could be, more plausible.


    At any rate, that could only mean that their most dangerous enemies were still out there.


    Clean up was done before sunrise, but Estevan decided to stay in the city for the meantime. There were still plenty of important things to do, like what to do with the prisoners, check the damages on the walls, consider the casualties, and give assurance to the fighters and especially to the people that had begun returning to their homes.


    As he walked through the city streets, his eyes wavered at the terrible and painful scenery. Civilian corpses lying on the floor, drenched in their own blood. While others were burned that they were unrecognizable. People returned to what were their homes, but now were in pieces, or ashes. Where they wept right at their doorstep. Meanwhile, there were still people trying to put out the fires that remained.


    At least there was relief that it was over, at least for now. Estevan was well aware that this was only temporary, but at least they could enjoy where they could. Pretty soon, he surmised the Empire would attack. They might have already started their move on the border and Wisteria had yet to hear of it.


    Amidst his walk, a knight riding horse ran up to him, his face tense. The knight frantically jumped down from his horse and bowed his head to Estevan.


    ¡°Your Highness¡­ you need to return to the palace.¡±


    ¡°Right now?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°... And why is that?¡±


    The knight uncomfortably looked around for a moment.


    ¡°It¡¯s about the queen, your mother.¡±


    ¡°... What¡­? What happened?¡± He grew anxious, coldness wrapped around him.


    ¡°I¡¯m deeply sorry, Your Highness¡­¡±


    Estevan took a sharp breath and quickly climbed up the horse, riding it at a gallop towards the palace. He didn¡¯t slow down at all, his mind was in a mess. Upon reaching the front yard, he quickly jumped down and grabbed a knight by the collar.


    ¡°My mother, where is she?!¡±


    The knight was startled for a moment before he pointed in a particular direction. Without a moment¡¯s delay, Estevan ran towards where his mother should be. He went across numerous corpses lined up on the side of the pathway, their faces covered with cloth. And then he arrived at a courtyard, where a few knights stood, their heads lowered.


    His older brother, Eleden, was sitting down on a chair, cradling his head. And then there was their father, sitting down beside a table. Lying on that table was a familiar face, one whose hand that his father was holding.


    ¡°Mother¡­?¡± Estevan blinked his eyes, unable to believe it. Moist started coming out of the corner of his eyes.


    He slowly approached, perhaps because refusing to accept reality. But then, when he finally stood right beside her, he had no choice but to accept it, no matter how painful it was.


    ¡°No¡­ Mother¡­¡± Estevan fell on both knees, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to stand on weak legs. He leaned his head forward as tears streamed down his cheeks.


    It was the very last thing he wanted. Of all people, why his mother? She was a sweet and kind existence. She had not harmed anyone.


    She didn¡¯t deserve this¡­


    It should have been him.


    It should have been me.


    It never should have been his mother. For it didn¡¯t make sense for her to just die like this. She deserved to live. The sweetest and kindest mother in the world. One who loved all of her children so dearly. One so gentle and caring.


    Why? Why oh gods?


    Why did she have to die? It wasn¡¯t fair.


    His father gently placed a hand on his shoulder.


    Estevan took a deep breath and rubbed his face with his hand before standing up with swollen eyes.


    ¡°Estelia¡­ Where is Estelia?¡±


    Estelia was not here. Estevan faced a nearby knight.


    ¡°Where is she?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s, she¡¯s missing.¡±


    Estevan¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°M-Missing? What do you mean missing?!¡± he shouted, unable to contain his emotion.


    The knight lowered his head. ¡°We¡¯re still figuring it out.¡±


    ¡°Find her! Start searching for her now!¡±


    I will not lose another family member! I can¡¯t¡­ There¡¯s no way Estelia is also dead. Missing, meaning they haven¡¯t found a body, so there¡¯s hope she¡¯s alive. I can¡¯t lose her too¡­ I can¡¯t.


    He was deeply hoping that nothing bad had happened to her. She shouldn¡¯t have gone far, she should still be in the region.


    ¡°W-We have already sent search parties, my lord.¡±


    ¡°Then send more! Send all our men! FIND HER!¡±


    ¡°Estevan.¡± His father called out. ¡°Settle down. That won¡¯t solve anything¡­¡±


    Estevan paused and slowly lowered his head.


    ¡°... Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll find her.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    Estevan clenched his fist tightly.


    Where are you, Estel¡­?

 Vol. 4 Chapter 23: Distraught (Part 3)

    Before the sun had even risen, the Cursed Children had already captured some demons for interrogation. They were brought a distance away from the royal capital, in the middle of a forest. To be specific, three demons have been captured, the rest unfortunately could no longer be found. But that should be plenty enough of them to extract answers from.


    They were dragged into a cave, where they were tied, and tortured. One demon was named Droz. He was covered all around with his own blood, his clothes were heavily torn. A pool of blood formed on the soil to where he was kneeling. The chains tightly wrapped around his arms and legs that he could hardly properly move.


    The two demons with him were in a similar state.


    Since it was already somewhere around the middle of the day, or a little later than that, the five Cursed Children with them were already in their human form. Their hair was black and their eyes were the color of amber. Droz was a bit intrigued by how normal they appeared right now. Well, except for the part that currently their hands were as monstrous as last night. A cursed child grabbed Droz by the chest by digging in his claws deep into his flesh and lifted the demon up.


    ¡°Aagh!¡± The cursed child bashed him violently into the cave wall. Droz took in heavy breaths as his wounds healed in mere moments. But that, of course, didn¡¯t mean he was spared from the pain.


    ¡°Talk!¡± the cursed child shouted. He used his other hand to cut through Droz¡¯s stomach and pulled out his intestines, and, along with it, a good amount of blood.


    ¡°Gah! You fuck!¡±


    The cursed child dropped him to the floor and stepped on his chest.


    ¡°Where did they teleport to?!¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have guessed that already?¡±


    ¡°There are many spots they could have gone. We need something specific!¡± He pushed his foot into his chest, and there was an audible cracking sound.


    ¡°Fuck you! Never telling you!¡±


    ¡°Where is the teleport¡¯s destination and where are they heading after that?! Answer me!¡±


    ¡°To your mum¡¯s pussy hole!¡±


    The cursed child dug his foot into his chest, blood splattered. Droz screamed and writhed in pain as his heart was crushed like a fruit and one lung damaged along with it. He chuckled as he began to heal, glaring at the cursed child looking down at him.


    ¡°I-I ain¡¯t s-saying anything.¡±


    ¡°You demons are most of the time selfish, it will only be a matter of time before one of you talks.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t matter anyway, they¡¯ll be long gone. Not like you ever had a chance of catching up to begin with, he-he-he.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah? If it¡¯s so pointless, why not tell us already, hm?¡±


    Droz grinned. ¡°Why should I? I enjoy seeing you guys all worried and scared for your dear princess.¡± It was an enjoyable thing sometimes to witness one¡¯s torment.


    In his displeasure, the cursed child crushed his throat without hesitation with his foot.


    ¡°You wretched demon.¡±


    Meanwhile, the two other demons were not spared a moment¡¯s relief. Not ever since they were captured. Droz glanced towards his two colleagues being torn apart. Their inner organs being ripped and pulled out, skinning their faces, cleaving them almost in half, waiting for them to heal and starting again. They ripped out their eyes, tore their throat, pulled out their tongue, draining out their blood like cattle. They have not even asked a question, just inflicting intense and perpetual pain and agony.


    Droz hadn¡¯t experienced as much suffering as they did. His torturer was more lax compared to the others.


    One of the demons tried to crawl away, only for their leg to be stomped and crushed.


    ¡°If you talk, you will be relieved of this suffering, demon.¡± The cursed child grabbed the demon¡¯s face. ¡°Tell me now.¡±


    The demon turned his eyes to look at Droz.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell them anything!¡± Droz shouted.


    ¡°Easy for him to say,¡± the cursed child said. ¡°He isn¡¯t suffering like you do. Now that isn¡¯t fair, huh?¡±


    The demon in his hand shifted his eyes towards his torturer.


    ¡°Don¡¯t expect you¡¯ll get any time of relief from me like your friend there. He¡¯s in the hands of another. I can do anything I want with you.¡±


    The cursed child dug his hand into the demon¡¯s chest and pulled out his heart. He flourished it and stuck out his tongue to lick the blood off it.


    ¡°What I want, I can do to you. And unlike your friend over there, you will not even have a moment of freedom from agony.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t fall for their words!¡±


    The demon turned his eyes again towards Droz, and the latter shook his head.


    ¡°A-Alright¡­ I¡¯ll tell you.¡±


    However, it appeared to be pointless.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be dick, you moron!¡±


    ¡°Fuck you, Droz!¡± bitterly shouted the demon. ¡°You ain¡¯t the one getting the heavy beating here! Pain sucks!¡±


    ¡°Dammit!¡±


    Can¡¯t say he was too surprised, this was bound to happen sooner or later. Demons were just like that, some were just too petty. At the very least, Droz hoped they would hold on for at least the entire day, but that may be expecting too much of his fellow imps.


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    ¡°Then, where are they?¡± asked the cursed child. ¡°And don¡¯t lie to me, I¡¯ll know if you do.¡±


    The demon took a deep breath before answering. ¡°They teleported to the harbor in the Eventon Republic.¡±


    ¡°The harbor? They have a ship prepared? I doubt they can sail immediately.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, they can. We paid the humans big time, you know. To sail out the moment we arrive.¡±


    The cursed child narrowed his eyes. ¡°And where is the ship heading? Straight to the demon lands?¡±


    ¡°Yeah right, no humans would go straight there. Especially if they also have packages to deliver.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have your own ships?¡±


    ¡°You expect demons to have ships of their own? Well, we do, but they¡¯re shit. One bump from the sea monsters and down they go.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, demonic sea monsters are no joke. They¡¯re fucking jerks, I tell you,¡± the other demon sudden added.


    The seas surrounding the demon lands were incredibly dangerous. Had to watch out for small creatures and the big ones. The latter ones were the most dangerous. They were as frightening as dragons that ruled the sky. If they were as strong as them, however, was debatable. Thus, cluelessly going straight for the demon lands wasn''t advisable; and humans would never dare to do that. Although there was a particular route that was safe to use.


    The land demons and sea demons were not on good terms for the most part. The most problematic were those in the sea, they were extremely territorial. And they were quite unforgiving of whoever sailed their waters, whether they were humans or demons. As one might expect from the demon race, violent even against their own.


    There could be a chance that a ship could get through, but that would be a dangerous and fatal gamble. Humans would rather use the route that was guaranteed safe than risk losing their packages and their own lives. And with them transporting the princess, even the demons had to be more careful about where they sailed through. The sea demons would eat her without care.


    ¡°So, where is the ship heading?¡±


    ¡°... To the Shinoroa archipelago.¡±


    ¡°Where specifically?¡±


    ¡°To the northern island ¡ª what¡¯s it called again? Ah, Hokunoa.¡±


    ¡°Which port?¡±


    ¡°To the port town of Enikada.¡±


    ¡°I see. Tell me more of the details.¡±


    ¡°Shit¡­¡±


    And thus, to comply with the cursed child¡¯s request, the demon spouted out details like the sequence of their plans in transporting the princess. Once that was done, the Cursed Children looked at each other, and one of them nodded. The cursed child stepped away from the snitch of a demon and began walking out of the cave.


    ¡°So, we¡¯re free to go?¡± the snitching demon asked daringly.


    The cursed child paused and glanced at him from the corner of his eyes.


    ¡°As if.¡±


    The demon frowned. ¡°Of course you won¡¯t, you freak.¡±


    The cursed child frowned. ¡°Pull out his windpipe for me, would you?¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    Hearing that and seeing a cursed child coming at him, the demon aggressively rattled around.


    ¡°No no no wait, I w-was just kidding!¡±


    But of course, his windpipe was ripped out.


    ***


    At the Wisterian palace, the corpses of the Wisterian soldiers and knights had been completely sorted out. One by one their names were listed out, from thereafter their families would be notified of what happened. Of how they died as heroes protecting the kingdom. The number of deaths right here at the capital, none of the people here have experienced such a thing in their lifetime.


    Among these people was a female knight, Ayana. She was at the side of where the deceased elite knights were placed, kneeling right beside a corpse whose body was covered. Ayana had a sad expression on her face, her eyes red from her recent cry. The one before her was a close friend.


    ¡°Rogan¡­¡±


    She clenched her fists placed on her lap.


    The discovery that he perished when she returned to the palace shocked her. And from which after, grief struck like lightning. She refused to believe it, as one would usually be when knowing someone close to them was gone. However, reality was ruthless.


    She had never imagined that a man like Rogan would fall. In truth, she had a great faith in him. He was a reliable man after all. Although he was quite annoying sometimes, he was still a good man. One of the most important persons in her life. And for him to die, it was just too painful.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of your funeral¡­¡±


    It will be up to the knight¡¯s family how to handle their funeral, whether they want to be buried in their family¡¯s land, or by the capital. Most of them would choose to bury their loved ones in their own lands. However, it would be a different case for Rogan.


    Rogan despised his family. Nor did his family even ever truly cared for him. He wouldn¡¯t want his body to be given to them. All that Rogan had were his friends.


    Ayana grasped Rogan¡¯s hand.


    I won¡¯t give you to them¡­ You will be buried where you deserve.


    That was the least she could do. As an elite knight, and the princess¡¯s personal knight, he must be buried with the greatest of honor and respect.


    Holding his hand, she failed once again to hold back her tears.


    I¡¯ll miss you¡­


    Thinking that she could never talk to him again brought her great pain inside.


    It was then that two men walked up behind her. She let go of Rogan¡¯s hand and she quickly rubbed the tears off her face. She turned around to see both Alan and Elson. Both had a sad expression on their faces. Alan in particular pursed his lips.


    ¡°Dammit¡­¡± He looked away.


    Ayana was aware that both Rogan and Alan were quite close friends as well. Rogan would frequently tease Alan, but he would often look out for him. In fact, now that she thought about it, Rogan had a lot of friends. He was always conversing with all kinds of people. He was even so casual with the commoners, which Ayana found quite weird. Even she becomes reserved whenever speaking with them.


    Elson placed a hand on Ayana¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°He was a good man, and an impressive knight.¡±


    ¡°... Indeed he was.¡±


    He sighed. ¡°I imagine he passed the way he would have preferred. Slaying as many as he could in his dying moment.¡±


    Ayana faintly nodded.


    ¡°I will surely miss the young lad,¡± Elson added. ¡°Also, I should let you know. He was dearly fond of you.¡±


    Hearing that, Ayana lowered her head.


    I know¡­


    She was aware of that, Rogan didn¡¯t exactly make it less obvious. The way he always looked at her, and often asking her out for a casual stroll or some lunch outside. But Ayana mostly didn¡¯t take him up on his offer. She liked him, he was nice, but she just couldn¡¯t help keeping him from getting closer.


    She wanted for them to stay friends.


    That was because she was too focused on her career, to climb up the ranks. That was all that mattered to her. And thus, she stayed away from making closer relationships, especially romantic ones. She wasn¡¯t ready for it yet.


    And that was now her greatest regret with Rogan.


    When exactly would she have been ready?


    Perhaps if she had truly tried, she might likely have changed her mind. Perhaps, things would have been different. If she could change something, she would have accepted all of his offers. Perhaps she could have felt something filled with happiness.


    But now, it was too late.


    She blamed her drive to achieve her ambitions, to achieve the future she wanted. And she failed to appreciate and value more of the present.


    Nothing could ever remove that regret.


    She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She couldn¡¯t help but imagine for a moment what could have been.


    ¡°Excuse me,¡± someone stepped in. It was an old man that Ayana was familiar with. The princess¡¯s butler. He gave the three of them a small smile. ¡°My condolences to you. You must have been close.¡±


    Elson nodded. ¡°And you work together.¡±


    ¡°... Yes. It was truly shocking to hear about his death. He was a valued coworker, and a friend.¡±


    The old man, Vernon, crouched beside Rogan¡¯s corpse and gently placed his hand on Rogan¡¯s chest.


    ¡°May the gods bring your soul to paradise, my friend.¡± He closed his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the princess, I¡¯ll do what I can. And I have faith she will be alright.¡± He retracted his hand. ¡°Mera will be wretched once she learns of everything that happened¡­¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t found the princess yet?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Not yet.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°I will be notifying Rogan¡¯s family of his death,¡± Vernon said. ¡°I imagine they will want to possess his body.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t give it to them,¡± Ayana abruptly said, looking at Vernon with pleading eyes. ¡°They won¡¯t respect him.¡±


    ¡°... Where would you like him to be buried?¡±


    ¡°I was thinking of where the bravest knights are buried, as is fitting of his station as a princess¡¯s personal knight. Where the past royals are buried with their most honorable and loyal subjects.¡±


    Vernon smiled. ¡°As I hoped. I will convey your request to the king¡­ I¡¯m sure the princess would have wanted the same thing as well¡­¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Ayana¡¯s lips formed into a relieved smile.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 24: Distraught (Part 4)

    A small group of Cursed Children in human form gathered not far from the cave they kept the demons in. Among this group was Heneis, Galik, and the one who inserted himself was Aurel, wearing a scowl on his face. The torturer informed them of the details about where the princess was going.


    ¡°As we thought, he couldn¡¯t teleport straight to the demon lands,¡± Galik said, leaning his back on the tree with a sigh. ¡°Still, that¡¯s a long way to Eventon.¡±


    Even if they were to fly to the edge of the continent, it would take days. Princess Estelia would be far gone into the ocean by then. Not to mention they had to traverse the vast ocean itself. By that time, the demon and the princess would be halfway to the demon lands, or worse, already there.


    They wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up.


    ¡°This is all your fault, Heneis. Now it¡¯s impossible to retrieve her,¡± Aurel bitterly said. Truth be told, he was becoming impatient. Every moment he was growing more concerned about the princess¡¯s wellbeing. However¡­ should he be truly concerned?


    ¡°Shut up, Aurel, your presence is not welcome here,¡± Galik glared at him.


    Aurel shook his head and looked away.


    ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Heneis chimed in. ¡°It will be impossible to retrieve her.¡±


    Galik frowned, taken aback that he would be able to say such a thing, especially in this situation. ¡°... Then what are we going to do? Give up?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. There is still another way to do this.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°We use teleportation ourselves.¡±


    Everyone that gathered was surprised to hear that.


    ¡°Heneis, we don¡¯t even have the magic dust, nor have ever set up a single point.¡±


    Setting up a teleportation circle needed two points to be made for it to work. Thus, to do what Heneis suggested, they would need to have at least a magic circle made somewhere at Eventon already. And with that, they would only need to set the second one here. However, they have not made one at all, nor did they ever possess the dust required in the first place.


    ¡°There is a way¡­¡± Heneis looked around and heaved a long sigh, as if he didn¡¯t want to do it, but had no choice. ¡°Taneva.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The Eternal Wanderer suddenly appeared from behind a tree, wearing a wide grin on his face.


    The rest of the cursed children were caught off guard by his presence. Since when had he been there?


    Heneis faced him. ¡°You must have plenty of teleportation circles all over the continent.¡±


    He frowned. ¡°And you want to use mine?¡±


    ¡°... Yes.¡±


    Taneva lightly scratched his cheek. ¡°Yeaaah, no. The dust is hard enough to find here. You¡¯ll have better luck encountering a dragon. I don¡¯t have an unlimited supply, you know. Quite very few, in fact.¡± He didn¡¯t want to spend it so casually when it took years just to find even a small source of it. And small typically meant a mere handful.


    ¡°But do you have one that goes to Eventon?¡±


    ¡°... I have one close to it. But that¡¯s the only one I have in the region. I won¡¯t just spend it because of something like this.¡±


    Heneis closed his eyes for a moment. ¡°What do you want, Taneva?¡±


    He tilted his head. ¡°You have nothing to give me.¡±


    ¡°... Is there nothing I can give to convince you?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. You have neither the treasure to give me nor the power to remove my curse.¡±


    Heneis let out a sigh. ¡°... I see¡­ But please, this is the only time I will ask for your help, Taneva. Help me retrieve the princess.¡±


    Heneis bowed his head at him, surprising the Cursed Children. Even Taneva was quite disturbed by Heneis¡¯s desperation. However, despite it all, Taneva shook his head.


    ¡°There¡¯s not enough benefit for me here.¡± They were not even friends for him to help these guys. Plus, they were quite hostile towards him. He wouldn¡¯t help them that easily.


    But then, there was a shining green light next to Taneva. He covered his eyes from the blinding light and he saw a glimpse of a silhouette appearing. Once that light had vanished, what appeared was a naked and alluring woman. She had beautiful green skin, glowing golden eyes, and extraordinarily long green hair. A soft smile played on her lips.


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    ¡°A dryad?¡± Heneis muttered with wide eyes. It was not common to see one of them.


    ¡°You should help them, Taneva,¡± the dryad said.


    Taneva frowned at her. ¡°Which one are you?¡±


    ¡°My name is Irdisia.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Why suddenly help? You didn¡¯t help when the princess was taken.¡±


    The dryad lowered her head with a sad expression.


    ¡°We are not made for combat, we are but caretakers. That is why we have someone like you, Wanderer. But that is not the only reason.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    She looked up. ¡°The Observer has given us advice.¡±


    Taneva raised an eyebrow, intrigued. ¡°He talked to you?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°The princess must reach the fountain of blood, he said.¡±


    The Cursed Children looked at each other and began to quietly mutter. It was the same place Heneis was intending on bringing the princess to.


    Irdisia continued. ¡°Therefore, she must be taken. For nature to be restored, the prophecy must be fulfilled. The Princess of Blood must inherit her mother¡¯s divinity to be whole.¡±


    ¡°Nature to be restored?¡± Taneva was a bit puzzled. ¡°Isn¡¯t nature doing fine?¡±


    The dryad lifted her hair and presented it to Taneva. It was a healthy green, but there were small strands of brown that were mixed with it.


    ¡°We are a reflection of nature, and we are having signs of decay. In a few centuries or decades, I fear nature will truly start to die out. By that time, there will be nothing we can do.¡±


    Taneva pursed his lips for a moment as he gave a nod. ¡°I thought the God of Mystic is taking care of that part, has he abandoned the role he took?¡±


    If that were the case, he wouldn¡¯t be surprised if that asshole did.


    ¡°Caring nature is not his role. He cannot sustain forever what isn¡¯t his domain.¡±


    ¡°Gods are that important, huh?¡±


    ¡°Even I cannot completely comprehend their roles and the consequences it has to the world if not carried out properly. But, I suppose their importance varies. All I know is that the goddess¡¯s role is important. And her long disappearance has begun to show its effects.¡±


    ¡°And the Observer is killing the gods. How is that gonna help?¡±


    Wouldn¡¯t that just make everything worse for the world? If a god was lost, then the domain he oversaw would be without supervision. Just like how the sky was lost for a moment recently.


    She lowered her head. ¡°... I do not know. If the Princess of Blood is required to become a god, then so be it.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± He looked away, contemplating. He was not against the idea of going. If it would help nature and the dryad, then there was no problem.


    ¡°The Observer also mentioned that it will be in your best interest to help this time.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°You want to hurt the God of Mystic, what better way to do it but to fulfill the prophecy and destroy his chosen people?¡±


    Taneva grinned. ¡°Ah. Okay! That¡¯s all what you have to say to convince me!¡± Now he really had to do it.


    ¡°Thank you, Wanderer.¡± She bowed her head. ¡°Please, bring the princess to the fountain.¡±


    ¡°Sure, should be easy enough.¡±


    And with a flash of green light, the dryad completely vanished. Taneva casually turned towards Heneis with a wider grin.


    ¡°Count yourself lucky, Heneis! Guess we¡¯re teleporting.¡±


    Heneis was speechless for a moment, astonished by what had just happened. A dryad just suddenly appeared after all, and all the talk about gods. He was having a hard time to process everything, but the important thing was that Taneva agreed to help.


    ¡°Thank you, Taneva.¡±


    ¡°However, the circle was drawn with me in mind, so I can¡¯t bring a large group. I suppose a total of three people can go. So pick a companion if you want.¡±


    Heneis turned toward Galik, but then Aurel stepped in.


    ¡°Bring me with you.¡±


    ¡°Absolutely not. I don¡¯t trust you. I¡¯m bringing Galik with me.¡±


    Aurel glared at him as Galik stepped in between them. Being shown hostility, Aurel took a deep breath and begrudgingly stepped back.


    ¡°Fine.¡±


    Seeing that they have settled the issue, Taneva nodded. ¡°Alright.¡±


    A black hole appeared beside him, and Taneva stuck his hand inside it.


    ¡°Where is it¡­? Hm, I really have no extra dust left¡­ Guess I¡¯ll be walking back here in the future.¡± He sighed. ¡°Alright, I guess this is it.¡±


    He pulled out a small pouch with a label written on it.


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    He began drawing a magic circle on the ground with the blue glowing dust from inside the pouch. Once it was done, and the circle glowing fine, he threw the empty pouch back into the dark hole.


    ¡°You owe me big time with this,¡± Taneva said. ¡°Step inside.¡±


    ¡°Keep a low profile for now,¡± Heneis said to the Cursed Children. ¡°Rieger will be in charge while I¡¯m gone.¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± answered the Cursed Children.


    The three of them stepped inside, and their number was just exactly to the circle¡¯s size.


    And then, a moment later, there was a bright flash of blue light, and the three of them disappeared. The next thing the three saw was a dark cave.


    Taneva casually moved onward.


    ¡°We¡¯re in the nearby forest of Eventon. We¡¯ll need to continue on foot.¡±


    ¡°We need to move fast, Taneva.¡±


    ¡°Right. Guess we¡¯ll move a little quicker then.¡±


    ***


    Aurel frowned when the three teleported just as the other Cursed Children began to walk away. He looked around and his eyes eventually stopped towards a young woman. It was Kali. She began walking away as well into the forest, a frustrated expression obvious on her face.


    Aurel followed her until they were away from the others.


    ¡°Kali,¡± he called her. ¡°About my offer last time.¡±


    Kali paused and turned towards him with a troubled expression.


    ¡°Yes¡­ I¡­ I¡¯ve been thinking of what you said.¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ If we do this, our people will be divided. Others will still support Heneis.¡±


    ¡°So be it. What¡¯s important is that there are those that will side with us.¡±


    ¡°... With Heneis¡¯s failure here, there will also be more willing to turn against him.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    There have been doubts about Heneis¡¯s leadership, and his failure today was the most critical. Many cannot easily forgive that. This was beneficial to Aurel¡¯s endeavor.


    ¡°If the princess is to become a goddess. Perhaps, yes, it is foolish to play her around. If she is angered, we¡¯ll be punished even further.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Or she¡¯ll abandon us for our second betrayal.¡±


    ¡°Leaving us to our fate of eternal suffering.¡±


    Kali closed her eyes with a pained expression, her hand clinging on her own arms. She was obviously terrified of that thought. Nights of suffering were already unbearable. An eternity would drag her to true insanity.


    No one would want that.


    ¡°... I will join you, Aurel.¡±


    Aurel widely smiled, grateful. ¡°Thank you, Kali. I¡¯m happy to hear that. My hope for us to return to the goddess¡¯s side has grown ever brighter.¡± He extended a hand, which Kali shook.


    ¡°I thought you would be adamant about joining Heneis to retrieve the princess.¡±


    ¡°I have a role here.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not worried about the young goddess?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯ll survive, as what is prophesied. I have faith she will be fine. Therefore, I must do my job here and prepare for her return.¡±

 Vol. 4 Chapter 25: A Godkin’s Might (Part 1)

    Taneva, Galik, and Heneis arrived at the docks of the Eventon Republic. As one would expect, the place was so busy and noisy. People shouting, giving orders, scolding, or just out loud cackling. Men lifting heavy packages to put on the big sailing ships and others unloading them to land.


    During the day, everything seemed pretty normal. People doing their legit businesses. But at night, there would be different kinds of business at work. The three headed to where the demon said they had made a deal with. It was a dockmaster at its particular side of the bay.


    ¡°You think it¡¯s that building right there?¡± Taneva pointed at a small building.


    ¡°Let¡¯s ask,¡± Heneis said before unhesitantly barging into the building.


    There were a few people inside talking to each other. However, the three walked in with extreme confidence and glared at the people staring back at them.


    ¡°Who are you?!¡± one man aggressively shouted.


    ¡°Which of you is the dockmaster?¡± Heneis asked.


    ¡°Whoever you are, you¡¯re not supposed to be here!¡± One approached them in an intimidating manner. ¡°Leave now!¡±


    Heneis grabbed him by the throat and casually lifted him up. The man squirmed and choked.


    ¡°Are you the dockmaster or not? Answer or you¡¯re dead.¡±


    ¡°Oi! What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare, man.¡± Taneva grinned, holding up his hand where a ball of flame appeared. ¡°You¡¯ll get hurt real bad.¡±


    Seeing him cast magic prompted the people to step back, looking at him with a hint of fear.


    ¡°Now then,¡± Taneva continued. ¡°Where is the dockmaster? Lest you aspire to be turned to barbeque.¡±


    The group looked hesitantly at each other. However, in the end, they pointed at a plump man.


    ¡°You damn idiots!¡± shouted that plump man.


    Heneis casually dropped the man in his hand. ¡°All of you leave now.¡±


    Without hesitation, the humans quickly left the building, heartlessly abandoning the dockmaster to these strangers.


    ¡°W-What do you want?! I don¡¯t know anything.¡±


    The dockmaster walked back with trembling legs until he hit the wall. He was sweating bullets, looking at the three of them with wide, frightened eyes. Heneis walked up in front of him with a stern face.


    ¡°Did you transport a man carrying a white-haired young woman?¡±


    ¡°W-White haired w-woman?¡± The man¡¯s eyes anxiously darted around. ¡°I, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    In his annoyance and impatience, Heneis grabbed the man¡¯s collar and held out his other hand before his eyes. Gradually, the flesh of his hand shifted and morphed into repulsive claws. Seeing that, the man¡¯s eyes widened in terror.


    ¡°Lie again and I¡¯ll carve your face.¡±


    ¡°Eeh-eh, I, I¡­!¡±


    ¡°White-haired young woman. Where is she?¡±


    The man closed his eyes as his body trembled. ¡°She and the demon have already gone!¡±


    ¡°Gone?¡±


    ¡°Their ship had already sailed!¡±


    ¡°Since when?¡±


    ¡°B-Before dawn!¡±


    Heneis frowned. ¡°Where are they heading?¡±


    ¡°Enikada!¡±


    The demon they interrogated mentioned the same place. That at least confirmed the two of them were not lying about the destination.


    ¡°What kind of ship is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a yellow and brown-colored galleon! It''s called The Fortunate Lady!¡±


    ¡°What is its route?¡±


    ¡°R-Route? What ships always use. T-There¡¯s really no special route or anything, it¡¯s an open sea.¡±


    ¡°Considering your organization, you must have a predetermined route. Show me.¡±


    Heneis threw him to the floor and waited for him to move.


    ¡°U-Uh, r-right.¡± The man scrambled to his table and grabbed the nearest map he could get. ¡°I-If it goes as planned, t-they should be taking this route.¡± The dockmaster used his finger to trace a path on the map, going all the way to an archipelago with four main islands.


    The one he stopped was the northern island named Hokunoa.


    ¡°Hm, it would take days before they reach it,¡± Galik muttered.


    ¡°Seven to ten days perhaps,¡± Taneva added.


    ¡°We can still catch up.¡± Heneis quickly left the building.


    Taneva and Galik quickly followed him until eventually they arrived at a wooden bridge built on top of the sea water. There were smaller boats tied around it, with a load of people minding their own business. The three unnatural men stood at the edge.


    ¡°What are you planning?¡± Galik asked Heneis.


    ¡°We fly.¡±


    Galik furrowed his brow for a moment and shifted his eyes towards the sea. ¡°... We can, but depending on the ship¡¯s speed, I doubt we can really catch up.¡±


    ¡°We can try. But if we don¡¯t make it, at least we¡¯ll already be on our way to its destination.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡±


    Taneva popped his head to the side with widened eyes. ¡°Eh, excuse me. You¡¯re flying? Do I look like I can become smoke?¡±


    Heneis turned towards him. ¡°As teleportation is not possible, the only choice is for us to fly. You, Wanderer, will have to find another way.¡±


    Taneva sighed and looked away, looking into the horizon.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be going,¡± Heneis said.


    The two cursed children turned into black fogs as they ascended into the sky. The people all around looked at them in confusion, staring as they flew into the air and headed into the ocean. They began to murmur as Taneva placed a hand on his forehead in exasperation.


    ¡°Aaaah, they just left me. Those pricks.¡±


    If he had to be honest, it was a bit embarrassing.


    ¡°And here I thought we were in this together. Guess not.¡±


    He glanced towards a small sailing boat, a dinghy. He considered it. It was a better option, he supposed. Easier to handle alone than a bigger ship. And with such a boat, an owner would be more willing to sell.


    Taneva approached the owner with a smile.


    ¡°Hey there, what¡¯s up?¡±


    The owner looked up at him with wary eyes. ¡°... Hey. You were friends with them? Those strange men.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Ah no, we¡¯re not friends. As you can see, they left me.¡±


    ¡°Ah. Guess not. Friends won¡¯t just leave each other like that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. So, I see your little boat there. How much?¡±


    The owner frowned. ¡°It¡¯s not for sale.¡±


    ¡°Really now?¡± Taneva snuck his hand into his pocket. A small circular black hole was conjured inside, and he grabbed a gold coin. He pulled out his hand and showed the coin to the boat owner. ¡°Will this be enough?¡±


    ***


    The deep night has fallen, a galleon sailed across the vast waters, gently rocking at the faint ocean tide. The ship was moving at a moderate speed, with only half of the sails raised. For half of the crew had gone on to rest and took it easy, leaving the other half to remain on watch on the top deck and man the helm. The surrounding of the ship was dark, leaving only the faint moonlight to light the surroundings, or torches to shine a light on the deck.


    Inside this specialized ship were many more people, chained and tied altogether, as was what it was designed to carry. And among the brigs contained the princess from a kingdom far away. She was taken from her home. She was a valued treasure in her kingdom, and the most beautiful jewel in all of the world. And she was sleeping on the dirty floor that smeared her pristine form. Parts of her beautiful platinum hair were now stained with black mud.


    Because of the constant rocking of the ship, she was roused from her induced slumber. Her face twitched as her eyes slowly opened. With narrow eyes, she looked around. She immediately realized where she was, from her surroundings, to the rocking of the floor.


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    I see¡­ The ocean¡­


    She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. One should have felt frustrated or frantic upon realizing such a thing, but instead, the princess, Estelia, remained at rest. The heavy chains on her wrists clanged faintly as she moved her hand close to her face. Her body laid sideways. She took a deep breath¡­ No, it was not merely that.


    Her body, from her shoulders to her head, trembled as she placed her hands on her face. She was stifling involuntary sounds coming out of her mouth, it was her sobbings. Her tears wet her hands, and even many dropped to the floor. The princess wallowed in sorrow.


    Mother¡­


    What filled her mind was only that. And she could not hold back her tears at all. The pain in her heart was so intense. She had never experienced something like this in her life. The never-ending tears, the pain in her chest as if her heart was being pulled out, and her swirling, messy thoughts.


    Never did she ever imagine she would end up like this. Never had she imagined that she would experience this much sorrow. Not even the deaths of her past colleagues made her feel like this. And thus, as someone like her, all the emotion, the loss, was just too overwhelming. It was too hard to process. And thus, she felt all kinds of things ¡ª longing, sadness, agony, confusion, and most of all, anger. But perhaps her sorrow was holding it back. Indeed, despite the anger, most that filled her was her sadness.


    She touched a necklace hidden under her clothes.


    She took a deep breath, but it was hard to breathe. She was tired. She didn¡¯t want to do anything. She lacked any motivation.


    The images of her mother kept appearing in her mind. She didn¡¯t want to forget her mother¡¯s face. Not a detail. But the human mind was just too cruel. One would always forget the tiniest detail. She stifled her heavy breathing.


    It hurts so much¡­


    She placed a hand on her chest.


    It¡¯s cold¡­ Mother¡­


    So lonely. And yet, there was nothing to lift away such feelings. And she realized it a long moment later.


    They will pay.


    All of them must pay. She would kill them, all that wronged her, all that took away one of that she loved, that she truly loved. It was her chance of a different and better life. A place full of pleasant things. And they took it all from her. No, it was not a chance that she could have gotten. She already had it. And it was all destroyed.


    There was no room for forgiveness. Absolutely none. No matter if people begged for mercy, cry for forgiveness, they would never have it.


    She took a deep breath.


    I must return home.


    Wherever they may be taking her, she must get away before they arrive at their destination. Otherwise, it might be too late. She was somewhere in the ocean, that could have been a cause for hesitation, but no. She would only need to commandeer the ship. To take control, she should kill the captain, and then brutally slay those that still tried to fight. Incite fear. However, she still had to figure out more about the setting.


    She rubbed the tears on her face and slowly sat up. Pain stabbed her head and around her body, still strained from before. But she endured the pain. She checked her body, and as expected, her weapons were gone.


    She glanced at the black shackles tied around her wrists, linked together by a chain. Both were heavy and thick. Her ankles were also tied by the same thing, but the chain was locked to the floor, leaving her a small room to walk around. However, there was something strange about these shackles.


    She cast her mana.


    It¡¯s disrupting my magic?


    The shackles were affecting the flow of mana in her entire body. As the mana coursed through her Mystic Medium, control got loose and the flow was ruined. She pushed through it, but when she got some out, they immediately got disrupted and the mana dispersed, fading into the air like wasted energy. She frowned, feeling frustrated and irritated by it.


    Is this the same as what the church has?


    She guessed that this was made of the same metal as what they used to restrain the beastmen in the past. The metal that disrupts magic. She tried a different kind of magic, her Physical Enhancement Technique, and tried spreading out her arms. It was being disrupted as well, the mana going all over the place, no sense of order. However¡­


    ¡°Don¡¯t even try, girlie. That thing¡¯s pretty effective.¡±


    She turned a scared look towards the outside of the cell. There was someone sitting on a chair, a bottle in his hand. He was dirty and rough looking. But he was someone she had never seen before. He drank from his bottle, which Estelia assumed to be alcohol.


    ¡°W-What is going on? Who a-are you? W-Where am I?¡± she asked in a terrified tone.


    The man grinned with intoxicated eyes. ¡°I¡¯m your precious guardian, looking after ya.¡±


    ¡°W-What?¡± Estelia innocently recoiled at how fearsome the man appeared.


    She looked so fragile, and the man kept staring at her in a lecherous manner. Estelia stared back at him with a scared look and she noticed keys on a metal keychain hanging on his waist.


    ¡°A-Are you going to h-hurt me?¡± She laid her back on the wall, her arms folded in to show wariness but with obvious vulnerability.


    ¡°Not at all~. Why would I?¡±


    ¡°... Mm.¡± She lowered her gaze and shifted her foot to show more of her legs. ¡°W-Where is the one that brought me here?¡±


    The man looked into her eyes, he seemed to be endeared by her helpless look. His gaze gradually shifted down at her flawless white legs.


    ¡°That demon? He¡¯s with the captain in his quarters. Must be eating something fancy, lucky bastard.¡±


    ¡®That demon,¡¯ huh¡­


    At least she had a little confirmation. She didn¡¯t expect that she would meet a demon, of all things. And to be the one to capture her, what did they want with her? She didn¡¯t know what to expect when facing one.


    ¡°D-Demon? I¡­ I didn¡¯t think they were real.¡± She then looked at him with terror. ¡°T-Then you¡¯re a-also a d-demon?¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°Gods no. You don¡¯t need to be scared of me.¡±


    ¡°... Really?¡± She pulled her arms in until she slightly pressed on her chest.


    The man¡¯s eye twitched as he stared in more intently.


    ¡°I h-heard demons are monsters,¡± the princess continued. ¡°Are there more of them here? I¡¯m scared¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, no one else. Hehe. And that¡¯s good. Demons are a creepy bunch.¡±


    She let out a sigh. ¡°... That¡¯s a relief. Thank you for being honest, mister. You¡¯re nice.¡±


    His smile grew wide. ¡°Yeah yeah, I really am nice, ain¡¯t I?¡±


    Estelia smiled sweetly a little. ¡°Yes¡­ The thing is, I don¡¯t get why you want me. Is it because I¡¯m a princess and want a ransom?¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re a legit princess, eh?¡± His gaze changed, like he found something very valuable. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know what your deal is.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    There was silence for a moment before Estelia spoke again.


    ¡°You¡¯re alone? Don¡¯t you have friends to share a drink with?¡±


    He paused for a moment, thinking. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m stuck with you¡­ alone. Others are busy having their own fun, or sleeping.¡±


    ¡°... That¡¯s sad.¡±


    ¡°Is it?¡±


    ¡°A nice person like you should have company.¡±


    ¡°Really now?¡± He looked up in contemplation before nodding. ¡°Guess I do. Oh well, but I¡¯m still going to do my job.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­ Jobs are important¡­¡±


    Estelia fell silent for some time, often changing her posture as if she was uncomfortable. And she often glanced shyly at the guard, and she even smiled at him. And she was so charming and¡­ inviting. She closed her eyes, and moments later, she spoke again.


    ¡°I can¡¯t sleep¡­¡± she said. ¡°Can I keep you company, mister? It¡¯s boring like this.¡±


    ¡°Well, you can keep me company from there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m referring to that drink of yours.¡±


    ¡°My drink?¡±


    ¡°Liquor is an effective way to fall asleep quickly.¡±


    ¡°... True. But you drink? Really?¡±


    Estelia smiled enticingly, but still with a touch of pure innocence. ¡°Of course I do. Even a princess like me does naughty stuff, you know.¡±


    The man¡¯s eyes widened, his cheeks a little red. ¡°O-Oh, I-I guess that happens, huh?¡± He grinned. ¡°Princesses do that, huh? Never met princesses before.¡±


    ¡°Even a girl wants to do something fun.¡± She shifted her leg in. ¡°And aren¡¯t you bored, mister? Let¡¯s just share a drink. A few sips is enough to fill me up.¡± Her gaze turned inviting.


    The man flushed red even more, and he placed a hand on his mouth as he pondered deeply. He seemed to hesitate. However, as he gazed at her, that beautiful and sexy young woman, the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen in his life, a ripe fruit, he was unable to hold back the heat in his body.


    ¡°Agh, guess it¡¯s no harm.¡± He scratched his head before walking towards the cell door.


    He grabbed the group of keys and used one key to open the cell and walked towards Estelia. He crouched in front of her, and her leg touched him a little, he felt a little of her flesh through his boot. He had a closer look at her. He was dazzled for a moment until Estelia called him.


    ¡°Um, mister, may I?¡±


    ¡°Ah, y-yeah.¡±


    He extended the bottle towards her lips. Her lips touched the tip of the bottle. And as the guard lifted the bottle, she began drinking slowly. A little liquid crawled down her slender white chin and dripped down.


    ¡°Ah,¡± she smiled a little when she stopped drinking. ¡°Thank you so much. That¡­ That was delicious.¡±


    ¡°R-Right.¡± He stared at her entire body. She was so close, and tied up. Defenseless.


    She tilted her head adorably. ¡°Mister?¡±


    He put down the bottle to the side.


    ¡°They said not to harm you¡­ But damn, you¡¯re so fuckable.¡±


    ¡°W-What¡­?¡±


    ¡°What I¡¯m gonna do ain¡¯t gonna hurt you anyway. Unless you¡¯re a virgin.¡±


    ¡°What? I am a virgin¡­¡±


    His eyes widened. ¡°A virgin princess. Much better.¡± He grinned. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t be completely hurt. It¡¯ll be a little fun.¡±


    He inched closer.


    The princess pulled herself away.


    ¡°W-What are you doing? What f-fun?¡±


    ¡°You know, fucking.¡±


    ¡°T-That?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a good experience, you¡¯ll see.¡±


    Estelia seemed to be clueless. ¡°W-Well I did hear it¡¯s great. But I-I never went that far.¡±


    ¡°So you are familiar. So, what about we stay quiet for now?¡± He cackled.


    He got closer, the back of his finger touching and sliding on her leg, from the ankle and gradually rising upwards to her knee. The smoothness and softness were so maddening. A touch of perfection.


    ¡°Will it hurt¡­?¡± she softly asked.


    ¡°A little, but pleasure will be a lot more in there.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± She pulled her leg in a little. ¡°Curious.¡±


    ¡°Curious, eh? Then let¡¯s go at it.¡±


    Estelia smiled. ¡°Okay.¡± A vast amount of mana coursed through her body, and she pushed her hand into the man¡¯s throat.


    ¡°Guh!¡± The man choked, unable to let out a sound.


    At the same time, Estelia moved to the side in the direction of where the chain on her legs was tied on, and jumped over the chain. Afterwards, she instantly threw the chain of her wrist shackles under the guard¡¯s neck. And from his back, she crossed her hands, and the chain tightened around the guard¡¯s throat, choking the life out of him.


    The sheer strength she had confused the man, even to the point that she was lifting him up a little, her forearm and elbow digging into his back as she did. And the chain kept on tightening.


    ¡°First off, you¡¯re ugly as fuck,¡± she said in a monotone.


    She realized something about the chains. They disrupt mana, especially in forming spells. They even affect the mana inside the body. However, what if she just poured an extreme amount of her mana into her body to forcefully use Physical Enhancement? The mana was being disrupted, but the amount flowing into the body was so great that it was basically ineffective.


    Like even if the water in a container was in chaos, if it was filled to the brink, whether the water was moving all over the place or not would be irrelevant. In the end, it was full and had little room to move around. Or even if there was a leak, the amount of water being poured to fill it was still greater, thus it could never be empty. And this overloading amount of mana in her body was fueling her Physical Enhancement. Because of her vast amount of mana, she was capable of such a feat.


    The guard tried to grab her, but he was struggling to reach her. Her chain on his neck only served to tighten even more. He panicked. He tried to pull out the chain, but no matter how strong he was, he couldn¡¯t budge it.


    ¡°Second, your drink was nasty.¡±


    There was a faint cracking sound.


    ¡°And lastly. I am pure, and I¡¯ll remain as one forever. You think I¡¯ll let someone like you touch me without consequences? You little shit.¡±


    And the man¡¯s neck was broken, his neck was basically crushed. His face stayed frozen with wide eyes. The princess slowly let the corpse loose, and it dropped to the floor with a quiet thud.


    ¡°Simpleton.¡±


    She quickly grabbed the keys and tried them on the shackles.


    Damn, which one is it?


    She tried each key on her shackles, but after trying all of them, none of them worked.


    What the hell, then what are all of these for?


    She felt annoyed, and she checked the keyholes of her shackle.


    Fuck it.


    She straightened the metallic keychain and sandwiched the end point of it between two keys. With her fingers, she pressed them together, flattening the upper part of the metal. With her super strength, it was too easy to press the metal, even she was a bit surprised. She removed the keys and checked the flattened section. Unsatisfied, she used her thumb and index finger to flatten it more slightly.


    She tested if it would fit into the keyhole, and it did. She pulled it back, and she slightly bent the tip upwards, making a hook, and she made sure it was still as flat as before. With that done, she flattened the other end and bent it sideways. Afterward, she snapped the metal in half.


    She inserted the second pin she made into the keyhole of her left shackle. Then she inserted the hook-shaped pin, and held it with her right hand¡¯s thumb and index finger, moving it around inside the keyhole. Meanwhile, the rest of her right hand¡¯s fingers kept a downward pressure on the second pin.


    Medieval locks are typically shit.


    But it wouldn¡¯t really matter if they were poorly made or not. For she heard a snap and her shackle unlocked.


    Whew, it worked. Good thing they didn¡¯t break.


    Feeling a bit relieved, she picked the lock on her other arm and then the two on her ankles. And a short time later, she was free. She sighed in relief as she stretched her joints.


    Now then, where are my daggers?

 Vol. 4 Chapter 26: A Godkins Might (Part 2)

    Estelia grabbed the keys and kept them in her pocket, just in case. She stepped out of the cell with silent steps. She looked around to make sure the way was clear. She wanted to sneak outside, but there was no window in this part of the ship, nor would it be quiet enough for her to make a way for herself. Furthermore, if she wanted this to be successful, it would be best to reduce the number of enemies from here and investigate the ship at the same time.


    And it was nighttime, the people inside should be resting or best at sleep compared to those above. Additionally, most important, she had to find her daggers. She hoped they would be around here somewhere.


    The closest weapon was the sword of the man she had only killed, placed beside the chair he was sitting on. With a displeased frown, she picked up the short sword.


    Not even a knife, shit.


    She was not so keen on using a sword to silently kill a person in this tight space. But she had no other choice. Besides, her magic was now usable, using Physical Enhancement should be smooth sailing from now on. That being said, she must search for where her daggers were put in.


    She moved on through the corridor silently. She heard snoring from the next room. Taking a look, she found three men sleeping. One on a hammock, while the other two slept on the floor with sheets to soften the surface.


    Hmm.


    She pondered on how to kill them without causing any loud noise. After making up the plan, she quietly stepped inside the room and approached the closest one first. She covered his mouth and instantly plunged her sword into the man¡¯s throat, easily cutting through it, the blade¡¯s tip touching the wooden floor. And thus with that, the man couldn¡¯t even make any sound as he was basically decapitated instantly.


    As blood poured to the floor, she continued on to another one sleeping on the floor and did the same. Swiftly killing her enemy. And then she proceeded to the one sleeping on the hammock, faintly swaying with the ship¡¯s motion.


    Moving down behind him, she pressed her hand into his mouth, pointing her sword right next to his neck. This woke up the man, of course, and his voice was muffled as he tried to either speak or shout.


    ¡°Quiet,¡± she said in a grim tone. ¡°Behave or you¡¯ll end up the same as your friends there.¡±


    The man looked at the gruesome death of his colleagues from the corner of his eyes. And he was shaken. With that, he stopped trying to resist.


    ¡°I was the pretty girl you imprisoned at the back. Tell me, where are my daggers?¡±


    ¡°Hmm-mm!¡±


    Estelia pressed the blade slightly into his neck, a tiny amount of blood came out.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk. Point me in the direction.¡±


    The man lifted his hand and pointed away with his index finger.


    ¡°You better not be lying to me.¡±


    He frantically shook his head. And with that, Estelia slit his throat deep. She kept a firm hold of him as he writhed in his fading life. Once he had finally stopped moving, she let go, leaving the corpse dripping blood to the floor. However, before leaving, she pulled up the sheets of all the corpses covering up to the head. If anyone were to pass by, she only had to hope that it was too dark for them to notice something was off, especially the blood part. At the very least, it could buy her a few seconds.


    She continued on and walked down the corridor and headed for the direction the man pointed towards. There were a few men sleeping on the way, but she decided to leave them be for now and continued on quietly sneaking through. She didn¡¯t want to risk it with her current short sword.


    A moment later, she noticed a small room with several better looking weapons inside, better made than the sword in her hand.


    That must be it.


    She stepped inside and began looking around, with only the faint lamp light from outside. It was a bit hard to see, so she cast a small flame at her fingertip.


    Imagine if there were gunpowder, I would have blown up. That would have been embarrassing. But there isn¡¯t, so¡­


    It was then she began to wonder if they had gunpowder. Because from what she saw, there were no cannons whatsoever. Could it be because they didn¡¯t incorporate any ship cannons, or because ship cannons were not a thing? She found it surprising, especially that the Empire had fireworks. Perhaps only they had it.


    They haven¡¯t invented guns. Guess that¡¯s good. Magic beats guns anyway.


    It was blasphemous and a controversial statement. She might have scoffed at such an idea in the past. But knowing what magic could do, it was better if you were capable of it.


    It was then she found some familiar hilts. Estelia quietly put down her sword and quickly grabbed the three daggers, shutting off her small flame.


    Finally! Found you guys. Did they intend to add you to their collection? Those fucks.


    As she held the three of them as if they were her babies, she looked around with a concerned face.


    Where are the others?


    She realized that the rest of her daggers weren¡¯t here.


    Bastards. They have them, don¡¯t they?


    She was pissed, of course. All that were left was these three medium-sized daggers, and these were the only ones usable to her here. There were only swords and spears.


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    And my special dagger! Those fucks, it was expensive. And I have killed plenty of targets with that.


    She was concerned about where her precious special dagger could be. But considering how expensive looking that was, they must have it stored somewhere else. She stared at the daggers.


    Fine, these will be enough.


    She sheathed one dagger on her thigh before she left the room and continued on. There was one walking towards her, his eyes droopy as he patrolled. Estelia crouched in the corner and waited for the man to pass by. She sheathed one dagger on her back waist. When the man was finally in front of her, she promptly covered his mouth and stabbed her magically coated dagger into his throat. After a twist of her blade, she quietly dragged the man into the room and pulled out her dagger.


    Taking out the enemy one by one would take plenty of time. She could do it, but once the bodies were discovered, it would all be over. Eliminating as many enemies below deck would save her a lot of trouble, better if she gets to kill all the ones below. She wasn¡¯t planning on killing all the enemies, as she would still need a crew for the ship afterwards. But she could hear footsteps from above, so there should still be plenty for her to remain.


    And thus, she began cleaning the house.


    As an assassin that had been honed to perfection, the sharpest of her generation, she was able to weave through the various rooms and open spaces, quietly kill the enemies in their sleep. Even if they were sleeping right next to each other, it was no issue. She was completely silent and swift in her kill. She killed two, then a three, then another was a five. None could even make a noise as they die, some may have not even realized they were killed. Even the few that patrolled the tight corridors were not safe from her.


    Estelia rubbed the blood off her blades with her victim¡¯s shirt and continued onward after hiding or covering the corpses with their sheets. Although, her experience was not exactly smooth. The strain she sustained from the excessive casting of magic was still plaguing her. Her head hurt, and she was slightly dizzy, her body ached with every movement. But she endured it.


    It was then she heard sobbings and whimpers. She paused.


    What¡¯s this?


    She moved towards the sound. There was a guard sitting on a chair, but as one would expect from lax security, he was sleeping. Estelia quickly disposed of the man, leaving him in his chair, and headed for the wooden grating on the floor. She looked down at it.


    People?


    There were many of them. She couldn¡¯t tell how many exactly, but there could be more than a couple of dozen.


    I see. Human trafficking.


    Someone looked up at her, but he didn¡¯t speak.


    ¡°Listen to me and answer quietly.¡± Estelia leaned in closer. ¡°Are you prisoners?¡±


    ¡°... You are not one of them?¡± a man asked.


    ¡°Answer my question.¡±


    There was a pause for a moment. ¡°... Yes. Or to be exact, products to be sold.¡±


    Of course, something like this is in this world.


    Human trafficking was also pretty common in her former world. Sometimes the organization completed some tasks for the syndicates. Either hunting their competition, or some annoying authorities close on their tail. There were even a couple of daring syndicates that foolishly declared war against the organization because of its actions, but of course, their fate ended up being dead.


    What humans do to themselves. Pretty hilarious.


    It never ended up good for the victims of these human trafficking, men and women, old and young. But of course, Estelia never cared. They were never significant to her in any form.


    ¡°That¡¯s terrible.¡± She faked her compassion.


    ¡°Help us, please,¡± a woman pleaded, her voice seeming to be on the younger side.


    ¡°Please, set us free,¡± another man begged.


    ¡°Sshh, be quiet or I¡¯ll leave you.¡±


    And with that, they stopped talking. Estelia looked away for a moment to make sure no one was nearby, and gave the situation a little thought.


    ¡°Tell me,¡± she continued. ¡°Is there anyone with you that can sail this ship?¡±


    Estelia would not know how to sail a ship like this. She had only seen these kinds of things during movies or video games. Best to leave things like this to the professionals. She would not want to mess it all up because of her own ignorance.


    ¡°Hey, anyone?¡± one asked their fellow captives.


    ¡°She asks if there¡¯s anyone that can sail this ship.¡±


    They whispered to each other.


    ¡°I can, I¡¯m a sailor,¡± one said.


    ¡°Me too. I can navigate the sea¡­¡±


    ¡°Can you sail the ship even if the crew is not trained?¡± Estelia asked.


    ¡°Of course, guidance is still the most important piece,¡± the first sailor said.


    ¡°Good.¡±


    This changes things.


    She could just have all enemies die. It would be easier to control the crew if they were fully on her side. These people here would want to come back to where this ship sailed from.


    ¡°The men will fight with me. Can you do that?¡±


    There was silence.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t fight, then you will be sold.¡±


    ¡°... I can fight. I¡¯m a soldier.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I can also use swords~.¡±


    Estelia narrowed her eyes. ¡°The rest, even if you aren¡¯t fighters, you will have to fight. Do you understand me? There will be a little revolt.¡±


    If they don¡¯t even want to fight for their freedom, then they don¡¯t deserve to have freedom.


    ¡°We will fight,¡± the soldier answered for the others.


    ¡°Good.¡±


    Estelia checked the metal padlock and checked the dead guard¡¯s person. With him were multiple keys. She tried each on the padlock until eventually one unlocked it. She quietly opened the wooden grating.


    ¡°Be absolutely quiet as you step out.¡±


    A couple first stepped out. One was a tall and muscular man, thick chains wrapped around his arms. He was almost seven feet tall. They were trying to hold the man hard. Estelia tried one of the keys into his shackles until one unlocked it.


    The second man was on the thinner side, but he had that wide and casual smile on his face. As if he was trying to be both friendly and charming at the first impression. Estelia removed his shackles, and he bowed his head deeply, there was a trace of flamboyance in it.


    ¡°Thank you ever so much, milady. I must say, you are quite the beauty.¡± The way he spoke was eloquent.


    But Estelia couldn¡¯t help but frown and gave him the keys.


    ¡°Prioritize the men that are to fight. However, keep the sailors here. I don¡¯t want them to die once we are finished.¡± She also gave them the other set of keys she had. ¡°Also try these keys. I no longer have any need for them.¡±


    ¡°You seem confident we would win,¡± the muscular man said.


    ¡°What choice do we have?¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± He went and grabbed the sword from the dead guard. And the blade glowed for a moment.


    Armament Magic?


    Estelia was a bit relieved to see that he was capable of sword magic. It increased the chance of victory ever so slightly.


    ¡°There are more weapons there.¡± She pointed to where she found the weapons earlier.


    ¡°Hm? Where are the other guards?¡± the thin man asked.


    ¡°I killed a lot of them, but there might be others still around here. So be careful.¡±


    The thin and smiley man¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment. ¡°Amazing. Then I will go and grab some swords.¡±


    As more men were released, suddenly there was a lone guard that came. His eyes widened in confusion, his sleepiness disappeared in an instant.


    ¡°Hey¡ª¡±


    Estelia¡¯s dagger struck into his throat. And he collapsed to the floor as blood spurted out. Estelia walked over to him and retrieved her dagger.


    ¡°Move quickly. This is an all out fight. Kill all the enemies. Though leave at least a couple alive.¡±


    ¡°And what will you do, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡± the soldier asked.


    ¡°I will aid you, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Estelia walked towards one weapon port and quietly opened it. It was big enough for her to fit through.


    They use ballistas, huh?


    Instead of cannons, they had medium-sized ballistas. She imagined they might set the arrows on fire before shooting them at an enemy. Or there might be explosives she didn¡¯t know about, but unlikely.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be going out through here.¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± replied the soldier. ¡°Once we are ready, we¡¯ll begin our attack.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t take too long.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll set a plan quickly. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Estelia nodded. She was a bit relieved to know there was someone at least reliable among them.


    And with that, Estelia sheathed her weapons and slipped out through the window.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 27: A Godkin’s Might (Part 3)

    Estelia was latching on the side of the ship, quietly moving upwards. She jumped to reach the protrudes and lurked in the shadows, as how an assassin would hide from the light. Her hand gripped tightly and feet stood firmly. She glanced down at the ocean water below her, dark and deep.


    Scary stuff.


    It would be utterly embarrassing for her to fall now. To fall from something like this would be a disgrace to her very being and she should be ashamed and hide under a rock, at least that was what she thought to which she was just being hyperbolic.


    Before going all the way to the top, she stopped and waited for the captives to start the revolt. She must act quickly and reach the mast as she planned to monitor and figure out what the enemies were made of. And to do that, she should still have a small window to climb up while the enemies were distracted and folks from the captain¡¯s cabin to check and see what was going on. If that happened before she arrived high up, her climbing would be too obvious.


    The reason she wanted to check the area first, and the opponents, was because she didn¡¯t know what kind of opponents she was up against. They could either be weak or too strong. True that she killed a few below deck, but she took them by surprise and they were sleeping. But most of all, there could be surprises around here. She wanted those surprises to come out before all else. Thus, the captives were the canary basically. But she had no intention of letting them all die, for she still needed them. But if some of them were to die, that would be fine too.


    Then Estelia heard metals clanging and men shouting.


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°Hey! What are you idiots doing?!¡±


    ¡°Stop them!¡±


    The wooden floor thumped as the people began running.


    Estelia quickly climbed up and took a second to look. Enemies were fighting and distracted, and thus she quickly climbed up the rope connected to the mainmast. She used a burst of wind to propel herself upwards, immediately reaching the yard below the topsail without anyone noticing. Upon stepping on the wood, she frowned a little.


    Goddamn, it¡¯s a bit hard to balance when it¡¯s all wobbly.


    It was more bothersome than she had initially imagined. While crouching, she kept a firm hand on the wooden yard she was stepping on. She observed the fight. The number of captives was slightly more than the traffickers. But the number mattered little if what you had were mere civilians, hesitant to kill, or had never killed before. Not to mention incapable of competently fighting.


    ¡°The captives are free! Get them in line!¡±


    The captives were struggling to fight the enemy off, and some had to rely on outnumbering one. The enemies, on the other hand, were more aggressive. There were around thirteen traffickers currently fighting. The captives numbered around eighteen. From the looks of it, it turned out there were many more captives than Estelia thought. She imagined there must be more women, as they tend to be more profitable.


    Estelia saw the bulky warrior she spoke to earlier. He was fighting another man, both their swords shining as they clashed against each other. From the looks of it, they were using Armament Magic, but they seemed to be holding back. Likely because they didn¡¯t want to heavily damage the ship. Indeed, using their magic could destroy the ship, they could even take down the mast.


    Unlike the other captives, the bulky man was fighting way better. The way he moved his legs, the way he swung his sword and watched his opponent, showed experience. It made Estelia wonder how they even caught the man. But, with him, he should be able to turn the tides.


    Aside from that man, there was another that stood out. The eloquent and thin man from before was also fighting better than everyone else. He was cocky in the way he faced his opponent. His attack was light but quick. And he was pushing his opponent hard, until he thrust his sword forward, Armament Magic shot out like a straight projectile and struck the enemy, injuring him. At least despite how he behaved, he was competent.


    Observing the other men, it was concerning. The traffickers were less hesitant about killing. One captive died, and another. At this rate, this revolt would fail. Looking ahead, there were archers on the quarterdeck, near the ship helm, preparing to attack.


    Meanwhile, a man came out of the captain¡¯s cabin. He was a well-built man wearing a simple shirt, his hair was long and wasn¡¯t combed. Estelia presumed he must be the captain. And then, a moment later, another person came up beside him. Estelia narrowed her eyes. It was the one who took her.


    ¡°Dammit, men!¡± shouted the captain. ¡°Don¡¯t kill them! They¡¯re worth a lot!¡±


    ¡°I am carrying a valuable package,¡± said the demon with a stern gaze. ¡°Get things under control.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    The demon didn¡¯t seem to be intending to help.


    I¡¯ll take care of him later.


    She still remembered the way that guy healed. And most of all, he was a demon, and she was not too familiar with their kind. Best to focus more on increasing the chance of victory. However, the window to do that would be small.


    All in all, from her observation, no one particularly stood out. But, she should still aim for the enemies that were a bit stronger and skillful.


    She pulled out one of her daggers. She cast Armament Magic into it, coating it with magic. There was a link made to it.


    It would be a bother to always reach out for the dagger, especially when I only have these three.


    Thus, she referenced the way she made a link to her dagger when she imbued slashes into it. And she strengthened that link, giving it tangible matter.


    Let¡¯s see if it works.


    Five seconds. She would only have at least five seconds to support her side when she starts. After that, the demon might go after her. She looked at the deck below, memorizing the position of her allies and enemies she wanted to kill. After doing so, she shifted her legs, preparing to move.


    She glared at the two archers on the quarterdeck. And, swiftly, she jumped forward, taking a step off the gaff before using a little bit of wind on her feet. Mid-air, she pulled out her other dagger and used the same magic she cast on another. The two archers noticed her in the air, and they watched her with widened eyes.


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    As Estelia fell in the air, she twisted her body and threw both daggers at each of the archers. As the blades left her hands, there was a crimson thread extending, faintly glowing, wrapped around her wrists, and attached to the daggers¡¯ hilt. The daggers stabbed through the men¡¯s neck.


    The moment Estelia landed on the floor with a loud thud, she began retracting the threads of her blades, while at the same time she ran forward towards the main deck. She jumped high over the ledge and propelled herself with the wind as the daggers returned to her hands.


    The demon below her in her passing looked up at her in shock.


    Estelia threw both her daggers at two different enemies fighting her allies, ultimately killing her targets. She landed back on the floor and retracted the threads somewhat before grabbing it, and manually swinging them down towards her enemies. The crimson thread arced through the air until the daggers at the end slashed down at two enemies away from her. She had taken down the most competent enemies.


    ¡°Princess?!¡± the demon shouted. ¡°No!¡±


    Estelia quickly retracted her daggers as the demon lunged at her. She held out her dagger at him while shields formed around her head. The demon¡¯s claws clashed against her dagger, leaving sparks shining upon contact. At the same time, the demon threw a handful of glimmering white dust at her face.


    ¡°What?¡±


    But he was shocked to see what the princess did.


    Red barrier wrapped around her head like a helm, protecting her from making contact with or inhaling the dust. Subsequently, she waved her hand to release a blast of flames to burn off the dust in the air as she backed away. She also didn¡¯t want to risk getting exposed to a single dust that would somehow get through her protection and take effect. A touch to the skin might make her sleep again. Plus, she tried the flames to see if it was effective against the dust, and from the looks of it, it was.


    As the demon moved away from the flames, he furrowed his brows, and he seemed nervous.


    ¡°How are you even awake already?¡±


    ¡°... Who are you?¡±


    The demon frowned for a moment before replying. ¡°Ah, yes, how rude of me. My name is Rytus. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Princess. I am a demon. An imp, to be precise.¡±


    The princess¡¯s eyes widened for a moment.


    Imp¡­? Fuck.


    She remembered the church mentioning their kind.


    ¡°Why did you take me?¡±


    ¡°We need you.¡±


    ¡°For what?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to know, except that I¡¯ll be bringing you to the demon lands.¡±


    Fuck that.


    ¡°You will die here.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t kill me, princess.¡±


    Estelia gripped her daggers firmly as the crimson thread wrapped to her wrist glowed a bit brighter as he made sure the new method of magic was more stable. Estelia charged at the demon, and as she did, she let out a bright white flash of light at him.


    ¡°Ah!¡± The demon covered his eyes.


    Estelia snuck up behind him and stabbed both her daggers into him. Several magical slashes then followed, slicing and shredding his flesh. Estelia quickly backed away to see the fatal damage she caused to him. His body was torn apart. But her eyes widened to see the demon still standing and glaring back at her.


    His wounds rapidly began to regenerate.


    ¡°As I said, you can¡¯t kill me. Best to surrender now before I am forced to really hurt you.¡±


    ¡°Bold of you to assume you can even touch me.¡±


    ¡°Stop being so cocky, princess. Wait¡­¡± he frowned, puzzled. ¡°Why is it that you seem¡­ different? The look in your eyes¡­ has no fear at all.¡± He squinted his eyes. ¡°Not what I expected.¡±


    How do I defeat this demon?


    As the demon was talking, Estelia was pondering on how to kill him. She could try inflicting as much damage as she could, he would be so overwhelmed that he wouldn¡¯t be able to regenerate. She didn¡¯t have much information about facing an imp. Thus, she decided to experiment.


    But first, I have to lower the risk.


    Estelia threw her dagger towards his face as she ran towards him. The demon flicked off the incoming blade with his claws and blocked Estelia¡¯s melee attack. Suddenly, there was a burst of slashes from her blade, shredding his hand. Estelia noticed his other hand coming, and thus she stepped back and dodged it. Simultaneously, a burst of frost crawled from her foot and rose to wrap around the demon¡¯s arm, reaching to his shoulder.


    ¡°Dammit.¡±


    Estelia took the chance to stab him in the eye and unleashed a burst of slashes, shredding his face, eyes and all.


    ¡°Gah!¡± the demon yelped in pain.


    Estelia moved beside him and grabbed something from his pocket. She quickly leaped towards the ledge of the ship. The demon forcefully broke the ice and turned towards the princess as his eyes healed. He was shocked to see what she had in hand.


    In her hand, where her dagger hung from her wrist with a thread, was the pouch of sleeping dust.


    She held out her hand towards the sea, and a burst of flames fired off the pouch into the dark waters.


    ¡°No! Dammit!¡± the demon exclaimed in anger. ¡°You¡¯ve really done it, princess. That was the only way to transport you without any pain. You have quick hands, but it won¡¯t save you this time.¡±


    Estelia dispelled the barrier around her face and gripped both her daggers tightly as the demon held out his claws.


    ¡°I¡¯ll stitch you up after this, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    The both of them charged at each other. The demon swung down his hand, and Estelia dodged to the side and subsequently slashed below his armpit. The demon turned around and waved his claws sideways with swiftness, but Estelia responded instantly and parried his hand off. At the same time, she sent frost crawling on the floor towards him.


    Noticing the ice coming, the demon stomped his foot and let out flames to intercept it. And he quickly pounced at the princess, but then again, the princess evaded his claws by an inch. The princess spun with her momentum and stabbed him in the back, and a burst of magic roared inside his body.


    Despite the heavy damage on his body, he quickly swung back towards her. But the princess leaned back and evaded his attack. In the middle of flipping backwards, she used her hand on the floor to throw herself upward. While in the air, she threw a dagger aiming at his thigh. The moment it hit, slashes burst out, almost severing his limb.


    The demon fell on one knee. Estelia landed back on the ground and threw her other dagger at his neck. He failed to block it, and magical slashes exploded. He could not even shout in pain due to his destroyed throat. His blood spilled to the floor as he took deep breaths.


    Estelia quickly retracted her blades while the demon was healing. Once they were back in her hand, she threw them up sideways as the thread extended. She gripped the threads and swung them sideways. Both daggers came lashing and slashed at the demon. Estelia spun with the momentum to deliver another round of attack at her enemy.


    ¡°That¡¯s annoying!¡±


    He charged towards her, and her daggers had not yet returned. She backed up to the ship¡¯s ledge and used it to jump over the demon as his claws went below her. While she was above his head, Estelia grasped it for a moment and an explosion of plain magic engulfed the head.


    He leaned on the ledge as his head healed. Breathing heavily, he turned towards the princess.


    ¡°No matter what you do, I won¡¯t die.¡±


    Tch, I¡¯m starting to believe that, myself.


    And she didn¡¯t have the holy element that the church mentioned she needed to face demons.


    The demon charged at her again with blazing claws. They exchanged attacks, blades. There were sparks, small explosions of magic. Even though flames had coated the demon¡¯s claws, he still couldn¡¯t land a hit on the princess.


    ¡°How?! How is this possible?! You¡¯re supposed to be currently a mere human princess!¡±


    Estelia blocked his attack with a small crimson barrier.


    ¡°This can¡¯t be!¡±


    The two of them made a distance between them.


    ¡°Can¡¯t believe you¡¯re able to respond to my attacks.¡± Rytus was frustrated. ¡°Getting injured is tiring. Fuck it.¡±


    The demon took a deep breath as his skin shifted.


    Hm?


    He began to groan as though in pain, and his body slouched. And a little more muscle seemed to have grown all over his body, and his skin color began to change. From a normal human complexion, his skin turned dark red. From the perfect teeth turned to imperfect, with some of them turning sharp like fangs.


    His claws turned slightly more hideous as the flesh wrapped further into them. His eyes bled and morphed, turning into black, and his pupils turning into the orange of fire.


    What the hell?


    The remaining fabric on his back was being ripped through. A second later, a pair of wings sprouted out. Wings made of flesh, similar to a bat. His boots were also cut open by his enlarging feet and sharp, inhuman nails.


    ¡°I will be restrained by human form no longer.¡± His voice turned growly and fierce.


    What the hell?!


    ¡°Start behaving, little princess. Else you will be in a hell of a pain!¡±


    Before the princess was a red-skinned demon. Beings made by the evil god of despair. They were made to be an unkillable army that would overwhelm humanity and charge forward with no regard for injuries or death. They were the meat to be sacrificed as shields or the steps for the god of despair¡¯s boots. The relentless creatures, the imperfect and monstrous, the walkers in the infernal flames of despair.


    A winged demon, agile and a tricky shapeshifter, the Imp.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 28: A Godkin’s Might (Part 4)

    The demonic imp, Rytus, glared at the princess before him. She was unbelievable. To think that she could escape from her chains, it was absurd. He did not know how she would even be capable of doing as such. Two black shackles would have been enough to seal a demon¡¯s power, or any magical being. But he opted to put four, each for her hands and legs.


    That should have been more than enough to seal a greater being¡¯s magic.


    And not only that, she was supposed to be asleep. The sleeping dust he used was of the most potent, a handful amount would be enough to knock a behemoth out cold. Even the dread lords, among the highest ranks in the demon race, would not be immune to its effects. And the princess was cast with sleeping dust two times.


    Furthermore, concerned about her waking up sooner, when it was sunset, Rytus sprinkled a small amount of dust on her while she slept. Only a small amount because he was concerned about overdosing her, he didn¡¯t know what effect it would take. It might kill her for all he knew. She, in the end, had a human body. A human body was fragile and had short limitations.


    The ship¡¯s captain offered him food for dinner. Rytus wanted to rest and enjoy a bit of delicious food. Thus, considering that she had four magic sealing shackles attached to her, and had just been sprinkled with sleeping dust, Rytus thought that it was fine to leave the princess for the time being. But to think that choice of his came back to bite him.


    It was his mistake, a big mistake. Perhaps he became too complacent.


    The princess was just beyond normal reason.


    I must restrain her.


    That was what he must do. The princess should be weak, and yet she seemed not. However, she should be in constant pain. She wouldn¡¯t hold out for long. But, why was he doubting it? The princess was not normal. There was something different about her. Something eerie. There was more to her than met the eye.


    Be that as it may, he must still get her back in control.


    As Rytus took a step forward, small flames were produced on the wooden floor. He flapped his wings, and it sent out a powerful gust of wind that even made the humans to halt for a moment. To witness what horror he had become.


    ¡°Careful, demon,¡± the princess said. ¡°You might destroy the ship.¡±


    ¡°If it means stopping you from escaping, so be it.¡±


    With no more words, the princess rushed towards Rytus. As she got closer, he swung his claws at her. He didn¡¯t want to fatally wound her, thus he didn¡¯t set his claws ablaze. And his movements were faster than before. But he couldn¡¯t help but be surprised to see the princess evade his attacks.


    From the princess¡¯s foot, a more powerful ice compared to before rose to engulf Rytus. While he was restrained for a moment, the princess struck him to the neck with her magic coated blade. However, her eyes widened upon making contact. Her blade didn¡¯t pierce through Rytus¡¯s red skin, except for a tiny nick. But that, of course, instantly healed.


    The princess quickly made a gap between them.


    Rytus chuckled. ¡°Your daggers are worthless now, Princess. Surrender.¡±


    Without listening, the princess held out her hand, and a couple bolts of fire shot out, hitting Rytus. However, he was unscathed.


    ¡°Flames? Seriously? I can walk through hellfire.¡±


    She glanced at the ship as though she was thinking. As she did that, Rytus charged at her and he swung down his claws. The princess conjured small barriers to block his attacks before quickly fleeing. But Rytus kept on attacking.


    And then the princess managed to strike him to the stomach with her bare hands. And that one punch blew him up and away from the ship. However, that strike was essentially ineffective, and he flapped his wings as he healed.


    The princess used her wind to make herself fly into the air and cast multiple lightning strikes towards Rytus. He dodged a couple but failed on the rest. The sheer strength of her magic hurt him.


    She had me move away from the ship.


    It would seem she was preventing the ship from being destroyed or damaged. Well, it didn''t matter to the demon. That could only mean he could be less restrained in using his abilities. But perhaps the same applied to the princess as well.


    He charged at her, and she abruptly turned with a burst of wind to push herself away. He kept on swinging down at her, but even in the air, he still could not land a hit on her. It was incredibly infuriating. The princess thrust her hand forward, and a burst of wind blew him away from her.


    Rytus¡¯s claws were engulfed in infernal flames. As he was moved in the air, he swung both his hands, sending several slashes of fire towards the princess. They grew wider the farther they got. The princess shielded herself with her barriers, and then several bolts of plain magic spawned beside her. She waved her hand, and they shot out at incredible speed.


    Rytus flapped his wings and dodged them quickly. As they missed, the magical projectiles fell to the ocean water far below. At the same time, the princess extended her daggers with her magical threads. She held the threads and began swinging them in the air, sending wide crimson arcs of light at the demon, lighting up the dark night sky. Her swings were swift and powerful, like a whip fiercely lashing out.


    The slashes hit the demon, lashing his skin. But despite that, they were shallow at best, not even enough to be considered as wounds, thanks to his hardened skin. But still despite his rapid regeneration and hard skin, he was still annoyed.


    He flapped his wings vigorously and quickly caught up to the princess. With a burst of wind under her feet, she moved away and evaded his claws, and then threw one of her daggers sideways, and its thread wrapped around the demon¡¯s neck. A burst of slashes erupted from the blade, but as expected, they barely wounded him.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    While the thread loosened, the princess retracted her dagger. But Rytus caught up to her, and he slammed both his fists down on her. Her freshly conjured barriers protected her from direct impact, but that still blew her descending to the water.


    She regained flight quickly, but the demon, with blazing wings, grabbed her head ¡ª or rather, it should have been if she hadn¡¯t conjured another barrier to protect it. Rytus was baffled by how her reflexes were even that fast. However, that wouldn¡¯t save her.


    He gripped the barrier around her head tightly and increased the intensity of his hand¡¯s blaze. He descended to the sea, and she crashed into the water. Rytus flew just above the water, while the princess in his hand was grinding on the water surface unprotected. Water splashed all over as her trail was briefly made to the ocean as they moved.


    ¡°You bastard!¡± The princess glared at him with a scowl.


    The demon grinned. ¡°That¡¯s it! You¡¯re finally stressed!¡±


    It was so exhilarating to finally see her break from her calm and stoic face. That meant he was doing damage.


    Lightning crackled, and then a powerful blast of lightning blew Rytus upwards, causing him to let go of her. At the same time, the princess propelled herself upwards with a blast of wind, causing a wave on the water''s surface, and she punched the demon on the chin with an audible boom. She punched and punched him in the face, and blasted him with magic at point blank.


    They flew high up all over the air, one attacking, the other evading or defending. The demon had his regeneration to keep him healthy, while the princess had her magical shields to protect her from direct damage. Their speed left powerful wind bursts to scatter, and their battlefield was both the ocean and the sky.


    They went above the ship, and it rattled at their passing. The sounds of their attack boomed, echoing in the once peaceful ocean, their magic spells¡¯ flashes lit up the night.


    ¡°Not your blades, not even the different kinds of magic you use can kill me, Princess!¡±


    Hearing that, the princess frowned, displeased.


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    The princess cast a condensed ball of magic and hammered it down to the demon. He was sent plummeting close to the ocean surface before he quickly regained his wings. The damage was intense, but nothing his regeneration couldn¡¯t handle. He looked up to see the princess ascending a little further, and Rytus moved to catch up, his flaming wings leaving lines in the air.


    But then, the princess raised both her hands, her daggers hanging by the threads. A ball of bright blue and white formed above her, increasing in intensity that it disturbed the very air around her. And then, Rytus noticed a change in her eyes. The pair was different from just now. They were glowing like the starry night.


    And the princess lowered her hand, and what followed was a pillar of cold magic flowing downwards. Because of its sheer width and speed, Rytus was caught up in it.


    ¡°NO!¡± He was plunged into the sea, as the ice began to form and spread.


    The seawater was freezing so quickly. The princess¡¯s magic froze the water, reaching two hundred meters deep, and from the magic¡¯s epicenter, the ice spread out up to five hundred meters. And it was not soft or anything, the water was frozen solid. All manner of sea creatures that swam within it were not spared. The sheer cold killed them in an instant.


    Rytus¡¯s body blazed with infernal flames, and he pushed himself up, back to the surface. It took great effort to break and melt through the ice. He broke through the surface a moment after and once he reached air, he breathed heavily, his wings flapping intensely. He was feeling intensely cold, only gradually being warmed by his own flames. He looked around to see the ship stranded, stuck in the middle of the ice floor.


    What the hell? What is this?


    The depth, the distance it covered, he couldn¡¯t have imagined she was capable of such a thing. However, it didn''t stop him. He found the princess standing on the ice floor. Rytus grinned.


    ¡°You think that can hold me?!¡±


    But the princess ignored him, and he noticed that she had her left sleeve pulled back.


    What is she doing?


    She lifted her dagger on the right hand and made a cut on her left forearm. Blood started coming out. But then, the blood shifted and began crawling all over the blade¡¯s flat. Afterwards, she touched the blade with the other, and some of the blood spread to it. Her own blood shifted and formed into what appeared like veins and coated the blades¡¯ edges.


    Manipulating blood?


    She held out her hand to heal the cut and gazed up at him with her inhuman eyes. Rytus glared back as she flourished her blades. The princess cast her wind and propelled herself towards him. When she reached him, she swung her blade at him. He dodged her attacks, but then the princess cast a powerful blast of wind at him, sending him plummeting and crashing into the ice floor.


    ¡°Agh¡­¡± The impact was more powerful than she had used from before.


    The princess landed right in front of him and began attacking him with her daggers. He dodged and counterattacked, but the princess evaded. In their exchange of attacks, the princess suddenly got faster, to Rytus¡¯s confusion.


    ¡°None of your weapons can hurt me, princess¡ª¡±


    And then, when the princess evaded to the side, she extended her dagger forward, and managed to make a cut to his shoulder. At that, Rytus gasped in shock. His eyes were utterly wide. The cut on his flesh sizzled, and steam began to rise. He panicked and vigorously parried her weapons before quickly moving away from her.


    He glanced at the cut, it felt like it burned him. It was healing, however, a little slower than before. With wide eyes, he returned his sight to the princess, who seemed to be surprised as well. She glanced at her daggers for a moment and raised her eyes back towards him.


    Rytus thought of how it was possible. She seemed incapable of using holy magic. Then, what could it be?


    The blood on her blade?


    And the blood she used.


    Her blood?!


    Her blood was the one that was holy. It was the one that was divine. Rytus placed a trembling hand on the cut on his shoulder. The wound had healed, but he could still feel the burning sensation.


    The princess now possessed something he was weak to. Something that would gradually nullify his regeneration capabilities.


    The princess charged towards him. Wary, Rytus flapped his wings and propelled himself into the sky. The princess threw her dagger, and it stabbed into his leg.


    ¡°Gah!¡±


    He pulled it out of his leg and sent slashes of infernal flames at the princess. She dodged it all, and she threw her dagger sideways, connected to her hand by its thread. He defended himself by holding out his claws to intercept it. Upon contact, the dagger nicked his claws. Seeing that, the flames around his claws burst out, throwing off the dagger.


    But another dagger stabbed through his forearm and he was pulled in. Before he got to escape, the princess had already positioned herself behind him, and he swung down her dagger at his back, aiming for the root of his wing. Blood spurted out along with a sizzling white steam.


    ¡°Stay away!¡± he shouted.


    Rytus forcefully pulled in his hand, freeing himself from the dagger. But the princess slammed down her boot into his head, kicking him down back to the frozen floor. He crashed again, he quickly looked up at her as the wound on his forehead was healing, but slower than before.


    At that moment, the princess conjured a giant pillar of ice above him. It was more than fifty meters tall, and thirty meters thick. It quickly fell down towards him. Rytus ran away to safety, and he stumbled to the floor as he did. The giant ice pillar crashed into the ice floor with a loud rumble, shards of ice flying into the air.


    Rytus gritted his teeth as he glared up at her.


    The princess calmly landed atop the pillar and looked down at him with her inhuman eyes. One that reflected the appearance of the stars above. As she held her blood coated daggers, she swept her one hand to the side. Magic spells began to appear around her. They consisted of many things, balls of plain magic, spears of ice, bolts of fire, and concentrated lightning. And altogether, they filled the space all around her atop the ice pillar.


    At that moment, Rytus felt like he had a glimpse of divinity.


    The princess, Estelia, waved her hand forward.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 29: A Godkin’s Might (Part 5)

    Rytus took in a sharp breath as the myriad number of spells shot forward, bombarding his location. His wings were still healing, and he had no choice but to dodge while backing away. However, the princess was shifting her spells to aim for him.


    Magic exploded beside him, and he was thrown off sideways.


    ¡°Agh!¡±


    A firebolt hit his back, and he stumbled forward. Even the flames to which his body was supposed to be invulnerable to now had a small effect on him, in addition to the force of the impact. The holy element was weakening his disposition, and that was what all imps feared. Imps being stripped of their restoration capability was horrifying. Like any other imp, once they feel the fear of death, it has a crippling effect on their very soul. For they typically laugh at the face of death.


    He saw a few more spells coming at him, and he quickly slid away to evade them.


    Damn this princess! I will not die here!


    His emotions flared. He didn¡¯t want to fatally hurt her, but now it was different. The situation had already gotten worse. He gritted his teeth in frustration.


    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate me!¡±


    Magic gathered around his hands and he pressed his palm into the ice floor. A wall of infernal fire sprang upward like a geyser, burning off the rest of the incoming magic spells. As the wall was erupting, he shifted his arm backward and vigorously thrust it forward. A powerful wave of inferno shot out, heading and crashing into the princess¡¯s pillar of ice from which she stood in her grandeur.


    She gracefully landed on the ground as the pillar collapsed behind her. She seemed to have had a sense of confidence.


    The two of them glared at each other for a moment before Rytus¡¯s wings burst in flames. He flew upwards and flames gathered in his hand. With a wide swing, he unleashed a wide blazing arc towards the princess. She waited for the arc to get closer before skillfully jumping over it. It was then followed by a boom from her feet. She immediately arrived right in front of the demon. And with the momentum, she swung her dagger at him. The demon blocked with his claws.


    He retracted his hand and attempted to send multiple swift swings at her. And the princess intercepted all of them. But then, Rytus noticed an opening, and thus he did a wide swing of his claws. However, a burst of wind suddenly shifted and flipped his target. Turns out, it was a feint. The princess went over his shoulder, and as she spun, she had her blades held forward, coming at his neck.


    Rytus shifted his neck away, but her blade reached his skin, making a decent cut to his flesh. He could feel the burn and hear the sizzling.


    No!


    Infernal fire suddenly erupted from his wings and hands, releasing an outward shockwave, pushing the princess away. The flames raged all around him. But shields protected the princess, so she was unharmed by the deadly flames. The princess threw and swung her daggers at the demon with her weapons¡¯ threads.


    Rytus used his claws to fend them off and flew after the princess. As he got closer, small crimson barriers assembled right beside him and clasped around his hand. It held him off, and he roared in annoyance. Burst of flames around his hand broke the barrier into pieces.


    But the moment that happened, the princess had already gathered frost magic in her hand, and shot it towards him. He took the entire magic spell, and his body instantly cooled down. The intense melting heat that engulfed his arms and wings, which served to protect his body overall from close attacks, was doused by the intense cold frost. In a panic, he quickly gathered magic in his hands and held them out towards the princess.


    A powerful wave of magic crashed against her barrier, pushing her away into the distance.


    The two of them were reaching higher and higher in the air, and it was tiring them both. However, none of them wavered and slowed down. The princess conjured a gigantic pillar of ice and threw it horizontally towards the demon. Before it got away, she attached herself to the pillar of ice with her dagger, and she was pulled along with it. She stepped on the ice pillar, using her dagger as an anchor, gripping its thread.


    The pillar of ice soared fiercely, piercing through the air. Rytus waited and swiftly dodged at its point, landing and running on the ice pillar towards the princess. As he sprinted towards her, he swung his claws in the air, sending multiple infernal arcs towards the princess. They cleaved through the frozen surface like cutting through butter.


    The princess erected a wide barrier, completely blocking the infernal slashes. But they heavily cracked her defenses. At that moment, Rytus arrived and slammed down his sharp hands into the shield, completely shattering it.


    With the force of the impact, she was detached from the ice, and she flung into the air. The demon chased after her, and she cast several giant ice boulders at him. Rytus gritted his teeth in annoyance and destroyed them with his flames, the debris scattering all over.


    After reaching a higher height, the princess spread out her hands, conjuring a wide box of ice below her. It measured a hundred meters in width and half the thickness. It descended on the demon, crashing into him. As his claws dug into the ice, he poured a vast amount of mana into his hands and unleashed a powerful wave of fire, breaking the ice in half.


    While he was still falling attached to the ice, he saw the princess hovering close. She was about to cast another spell. Rytus launched himself towards her, reaching her almost in an instant. He swung hands at her, and yet she evaded.


    She swung her blade, and Rytus shifted to the side of her extended hand and rose a little bit above her. He closed his hand and slammed his fist into her. His fist impacted against her shield, and she was violently pushed downwards. With slowing momentum, she safely landed on the surface of a falling ice box.


    Before she got to move, Rytus had reached her and slammed down his claws. She successfully dodged it. But Rytus quickly followed up with another attack. The both of them exchanged several strikes. And every time Rytus met the princess¡¯s blades with his claws, it nicked them.


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    Rytus, at some point, thrust his hand forward with tremendous strength at her face. And the princess quickly moved back her barrier-covered hand, intercepting the blazing claws.


    Feeling annoyed, his hand burst into flames. The princess leaped back unscathed and instantly threw her daggers at him. Rytus parried them off, but the princess swiftly spun and swung the daggers through their strings. The speed of their sweeping motion was so great that the blades left red arcs in their movement. They managed to slash the side of his body and his arm.


    As his wound steamed and sizzled, Rytus dodged the continuous attacks of the princess. And then, he ducked his head, dodging one dagger, and he subsequently grabbed a string, forcefully pulling it, bringing the princess with it.


    The princess frowned and dispelled the thread on that particular dagger. But it was too late, for she was already within the demon¡¯s reach. He swung down his claws at her.


    The princess instantly pulled out the dagger strapped on her thigh and barely blocked the claws in time. Rytus was in disbelief to see she was able to respond that quickly. He also swung down his other hand at her, and the princess intercepted it with her other dagger held in a reversed grip.


    Suddenly, that third dagger, unenchanted by blood, burst out small slashes. They pushed away his claws, and the princess quickly stepped forward, stabbing the blade into the demon¡¯s belly. Lightning blew up inside his body.


    Rytus screamed in pain and quickly jumped away from the blades. He groaned. His wound was healing, but even more slowly. Furthermore, normal attacks had become effective because of his weakening body. That said, his body shouldn¡¯t be that soft just yet. It was just that the princess had tremendous strength to push through his skin with a blade with no holy enchantment. He would need time to recover from the holy element¡¯s effects. But, there was no time at all. And with every scratch he took from the blood enchanted blade, the more his body weakened.


    The princess was not hoping to land the finishing blow. That would still be pretty risky. She was gradually weakening him, chipping away his strength. And when the holy element had completely stripped him of the power to be restored, only then will she truly try to kill him.


    The princess was about to attack again. But before she could reach him, Rytus gathered magic into his hand and slammed it into the floor. A powerful blast of flames erupted, shattering the gigantic ice platform into pieces. The two of them lost their footing, and they started falling through the air.


    They initiated their flight capabilities, but the princess got to attack first, throwing her blood enchanted blade and striking his hand. Before he got to grab it, the princess pulled it back. He glanced up at her. Truth be told, he was starting to feel a bit dizzy.


    The princess conjured a giant boulder of ice above him. And she kicked it down with an audible boom sound. It crashed against Rytus, and he crashed to the frozen floor. He roared and destroyed the boulder pinning him down with a pillar of flames.


    The princess cast several lightning bolts down at him. Rytus quickly moved away to evade them, but one struck his back, damaging his wings. The magical bombardment stopped, and the princess landed behind him. He turned around and swung his hand. The princess intercepted it with her blooded dagger and she thrust the other magically coated one and unleashed a piercing magical attack. It hit the demon in the shoulder.


    Rytus swept his arm, shooting out a wide wave of infernal flames. The princess had to leap far away. Rytus fired wave upon wave of fire at the princess. The latter ran around while jumping over each burning attack. She used her wind to float and dodge one fiery slash as she got close.


    At that moment, she straightened her legs, the bottom of her foot facing Rytus. The demon held out his arms and received the brunt of the attack. He could feel his arms break. But it didn¡¯t end there, for the attack was followed by an intensely powerful burst of wind, blowing Rytus away.


    He couldn¡¯t bring himself to regain his footing but only be carried along by the momentum as he was sent hurling and crashing back to the ice. He ricocheted a few times before he dug his claws into the ice to stop his movement.


    But the princess had arrived, and she kicked him in the face. He was thrown away again. And the moment he touched the ground, the princess grabbed his right hand and used her blood coated dagger to cut it off. Flesh sizzled and steamed as his claw-filled hand was dropped to the floor.


    ¡°AAAAH!¡± He swung down his other hand, but the princess evaded. ¡°STAY AWAY FROM ME!¡±


    He caught a glance of the princess¡¯s gaze. And when he did, he finally felt the genuine fear of dying. Something that imps were mostly unfamiliar to.


    The princess grabbed his other arm and cut off his hand. Afterward, she kept a firm grip on his arm and began flailing him like a stick, slamming him multiple times to the floor. Blood splattered all over the ice.


    She then threw him high in the air. Rytus could feel the cold sensation of the wind as he helplessly flew. And as it happened, the princess arrived above him and used her heel to drop kick him to the ground, releasing a booming sound as she hit him.


    When he crashed to the hard, frozen ground, Rytus tried to crawl away. He wasn¡¯t healing anymore. He was beaten up all over, from his face to his body. The princess landed in front of him. He looked up, seeing the princess sheathing her daggers.


    She walked up behind him and stepped down on his back.


    ¡°W-What a-are y-you d-doing?!¡±


    She grabbed the root of his right wing and began pulling it out. Rytus felt intense pain and agony as his wing was slowly being ripped away.


    ¡°S-Stop!¡± He rattled around, but he couldn¡¯t budge the princess.


    And a moment later, there was a ripping sound as his flesh was torn apart ¡ª his wing was removed. But the princess was not yet done, and she began pulling out his left wing. Rytus had never been subjected to such a horrendous and painful thing. She was defiling his form. But she didn¡¯t care. For there seemed to be a feeling of rage in her actions, despite the straight and stoic face she was wearing now.


    The moment the last wing was completely pulled out and removed from his body, the princess casually threw the wing aside as she did to the other.


    Rytus breathed heavily. He could feel his life fading away. His eyes felt heavy, body too weak to move.


    And then the princess stepped even more firmly on his back. She sandwiched his head between her hands. Rytus was confused about what she was doing.


    The princess began pulling up his head. Rytus¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°S-STOP!¡±


    It was so agonizing as she ripped his head off his body. His skin being stretched and slowly torn. His spine slowly cracked and broke apart. He lost his voice and the ability to breathe the air. There was nothing he could do to survive this. He was about to die in this brutal method.


    He was just doing his job. He just wanted to return the hope of all demonkind. The demons were miserable without their god. No direction to take. He just wanted to free their god that was sealed so the demons could finally fulfill their purpose.


    He didn¡¯t want to die.


    But the princess had completely ripped out his head from his body. The body dropped to the frozen floor while the princess held his head. Blood dripped from his neck, there was also a piece of his spine that came along with it.


    The princess turned his head to face her. Rytus could still see and hear.


    ¡°Still alive? But not for long, I guess. Just to be sure¡­¡±


    She grasped the head from above as she pulled out her blood coated dagger. Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, she plunged the blade into his head. The demon stopped moving entirely, despite the open eyes.


    The imp was dead at last.


    Princess Estelia casually dropped his head and sheathed her blade. She was breathing heavily and began walking back to the ship. It wasn¡¯t far from where she was. But her vision became blurry, her legs weakened, and her body trembled. Her chest felt so tight.


    She fell on both knees, and she began coughing terribly. Blood splattered on the ice. Her skin had turned paler, almost like one would see in the dead. She tried keeping her eyes open. However, she pushed herself too far. Therefore, despite her endurance, despite how much she forced herself to remain awake, it was impossible. Her eyes closed, and she lost consciousness.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 30: A Godkins Might (Part 6)

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    <div>


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    The soldier was facing a challenging opponent capable of abilities like him. No, perhaps challenging was an overstatement. His enemy was mighty with the sword, but he was no one to be so concerned about. The enemy apparently lacked the necessary patience. Unlike the soldier who was observing his enemy, learning how the enemy approached and struck.


    The soldier just wanted to be careful. Impatience was a warrior¡¯s greatest bane. Perhaps, add to it the greed. The greed to strike and kill, to not lose a chance to land a blow.


    The enemy before him was likely a kind of elite among their ranks. Such a man could have served the wealthy businessmen within the Eventon Republic. He could have even become a Sentinel, working directly with the councilors of the republic. It was disappointing to see such a skillful man working amongst vile criminals.


    However, perhaps the soldier himself wasn¡¯t one to judge. Every person wants to become what they want.


    The soldier had worked up how his opponent fought. And thus, he stepped forward and used the bottom hilt of his sword to flick off the enemy¡¯s blade. The latter¡¯s eyes widened, caught off guard. And before he could react against it, the soldier swung his sword upward, making a deep slash into the trafficker¡¯s torso. Blood spurted out and smeared the wooden floor.


    The soldier watched as the enemy dropped to the ground, making sure he was truly dead. He could have used his Armament Magic to end the fight a little earlier. However, he was concerned about overdoing it, and causing irreparable damage to the ship. They still needed the ship to return.


    However, a question popped into the soldier¡¯s mind.


    Can I even return? Should I even?


    Should one be happy, excited to return to a place where you have nothing to return to? He was conflicted, and he felt lost. However, he should stop thinking about this. For now, he should finish the job here and take over control of the ship.


    After regaining his thoughts, he rushed towards a group of captives struggling to fight off an enemy. As the trafficker was distracted, he swiftly stabbed him in the back. The enemy groaned for a moment as he looked behind him at the soldier. The enemy stiffened for a moment as though intending to fight back as blood leaked out of his mouth. But a moment later, he limped, and the soldier pulled out his sword. The dead enemy dropped to the ground with a thud.


    The captives sighed in relief.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°No time to rest, the fight is not over yet,¡± said the soldier.


    ¡°Can we even win this?¡±


    The captive asked, he was sweating profusely, fright evident in his eyes. It was obvious that he had never been in this kind of fight where his life was on the line. The rest with him was not so different. But, despite that, they still pushed themselves to fight the superior opponent. And that was something to be admired.


    The soldier looked around, there were fewer enemies than it first started. The white-haired girl from before, she took down several enemies, and it greatly helped their chance to win. If she hadn¡¯t done that, the captives could have gotten more trouble in winning any fight.


    ¡°Of course we can.¡± And with those words, the soldier urged them to go and continue fighting.


    He watched them for a moment before the soldier rushed towards one enemy and disposed of him a short while later. The enemies that were not capable of magic were the easiest to face.


    Looking around, he discovered one trafficker who was giving the most trouble to his allies. He extended his sword forward to meet the enemy¡¯s blade coming at one ally, ultimately saving him.


    The trafficker frowned and stepped back, glaring at the soldier.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of him,¡± the soldier said to his allies.


    They nodded their heads in acknowledgement and left him to help the others. After that, the soldier and the trafficker clashed. This enemy was weaker than the one from before. He could use Armament Magic, but it was weak. Too weak to be even considered a threat.


    The soldier released a weaker slash of light and it shattered the trafficker¡¯s blade. The latter glanced at his broken sword and quickly backed away, frightened. He couldn¡¯t even cast proper magic to coat his blade. The soldier stepped forward and cut him down without hesitation.


    Bright flashes of light and booms of magic erupted above them. The soldier looked up to see an intense fight. It was the monster and the white-haired young lady. Several magic spells were flying all over, and they fought directly. Each of their attacks was deadly. And even the soldier couldn¡¯t help but watch with wide eyes, him who had seen his fair share of battles. This one was different, he had never seen such a dangerous and intense battle.


    ¡°Look out, big guy.¡±


    There was an enemy struck down behind him. He turned a casual look at the one that killed the enemy. It was a thin man with a confident grin on his face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get too distracted now,¡± the thin man added.


    ¡°I knew someone was coming.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°But, their battle above. I didn¡¯t think I would get to witness something like that.¡±


    The thin man looked up in the air, seeing two figures speedily soaring in the sky.


    ¡°Indeed. What a fearsome battle. One flies with the grace of beauty, while the other with the blaze of hell. But I humbly suggest we finish our job here so that we can finally rest well.¡±


    ¡°Are you supposed to be some kind of poet?¡±


    ¡°Heh. I am many things, a storyteller, a poet, a bard. But all are me, giving joy and curiosity to everyone¡¯s hearts.¡±


    The poet was quite young. He may be twenty years old. He had neck length brown hair, light brown complexion, and dark blue eyes. And he was around six feet of height. He was a looker. Thin he may appeared, the way he carried himself, he must have plenty of muscles built up. It wouldn¡¯t be strange that he would be considered a charming performer.


    ¡°What¡¯s the difference between the three?¡± the soldier couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Hm? What do you mean?¡±


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    Aren¡¯t they basically the same?


    The soldier shook his head. ¡°Never mind.¡± He then noticed the ship''s captain fighting off a group. ¡°I¡¯ll go take care of the captain. You help the rest.¡±


    ¡°Yes. But remember what the white-haired lady said. I think it¡¯s better to capture the captain alive.¡±


    ¡°... Very well.¡±


    After saying so, the soldier rushed to the ship¡¯s captain who was fighting one of the captives. He quickly stood between the two and pointed his sword at the enemy captain.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of him,¡± the soldier said to his allies. ¡°Help the others.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    With that, the captives left him. This way, if they keep supporting the others that couldn¡¯t really fight, they would have a better chance of winning. There was no need for them to support the soldier. He was plenty strong enough.


    The soldier faced the captain. ¡°Give up. We¡¯re winning anyway.¡±


    ¡°Screw you! This is my ship. You are my cargo!¡± The captain flexed the swords in each of his hands.


    The soldier was trying to demotivate him, but as expected, it wouldn¡¯t work so easily. If this was to end early, the fewer casualties they would have to endure when this was all over. And that was the outcome the soldier preferred.


    ¡°I¡¯m not planning on killing you. The best choice is for you to surrender.¡±


    Without giving a response, the captain charged towards the soldier, his swords coated with magic. He swung one sword, which the soldier evaded, then the latter blocked the other incoming sword with his. The soldier took a step to the side and thrust his sword forward, but the captain parried him and subsequently swung down both his swords.


    The soldier took a step back, deflecting the subsequent attacks the captain was swinging. He studied the captain¡¯s movements. The way he swung his swords, the way he took a step forward and back, the way he watched. The captain was quick to use his two swords. Skillful in his swordplay as well.


    The captain swung down his swords in the air, sending two arcs of light at the soldier. The latter held out his hand, erecting a Palm Shield spell, blocking the two arcs. At the same time, the soldier stepped forward, pouring mana into his flesh, using Physical Enhancement to strengthen his arms. He was not too proficient in that aspect, but it was enough to help him in various situations.


    With a heavy swing, he slammed down his sword at the captain. The latter blocked with his two blades. However, the power of the soldier¡¯s swing was too strong, and his arms were pushed back as he staggered, the vibration crawling up his arms. Subsequently, the soldier thrust the tip of his blade into the captain¡¯s left hand, his less dominant hand.


    The blade didn¡¯t go all the way through the left wrist, but it was enough for the captain to react to the pain, involuntarily letting go of his sword. He stepped back with a displeased face, glancing at the sword, and glaring at the soldier.


    The soldier kicked the sword away and pointed his blade at the captain again.


    ¡°Give up before I am forced to hurt you even further.¡±


    ¡°No fucking way! If I don¡¯t deliver you, I¡¯m fucked!¡±


    He sounded desperate. If he were to guess, the captain¡¯s superior would severely punish him, that was for certain. Messing up in one criminal organization¡¯s activities or business, you would basically be doomed. Unless the superior was patient. But the soldier didn¡¯t care about that, nor did he care for his enemy¡¯s fate. The two of them glared at each other, waiting for one to attack first.


    Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind went above them. The ship rattled violently as everyone looked at the two figures fighting in the air. Their attacks caused loud booms to echo throughout the dark ocean.


    The captain looked stressed. ¡°Dammit, what the hell is going on?!¡±


    ¡°Who is the man that was with you?¡± the soldier asked him.


    The captain clicked his tongue as he glanced at the mighty battle and watched out for the soldier.


    ¡°A damn demon.¡±


    ¡°Demon¡­¡±


    He didn¡¯t imagine he would see such a monster. And for it to be that powerful, it was a bit unbelievable. Truly monsters to be feared. But he was curious how one ended up here.


    And then there was a bright pillar of light. It was a pillar of magic. It was obvious which one was the demon, for he had flames. Therefore, there could only be one person that could have cast such a conspicuous and large spell high in the air.


    The spell crashed down on the ocean.


    Immediately, cold air could be felt on the ship. Everyone paused their fighting to watch that great magic spell take effect. They were mesmerized by it, and also feared it. Ice immediately spread throughout the ocean water. The ship shook as ice formed around it, forcing it to stop moving.


    ¡°W-What the hell happened?¡± the captain muttered, his forehead beaded with sweat.


    The soldier looked around, the same case with the others. And they could not believe what they were seeing.


    ¡°The, the ocean¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s f-frozen.¡±


    It was indeed frozen. And it covered a mind-boggling distance. None of them could have thought something like this was possible. No one should be capable of such a thing. Even the soldier was so surprised to witness it all. Even to the magic casters that he knew, this would be impossible.


    Just who is that girl?


    If that demon was fearsome, then that young lady was something else entirely.


    And then, particles of snow began to fall onto them. The captain stared at the falling snowflakes. He watched one land on his blade.


    ¡°H-How is this possible?¡±


    ¡°That girl is on our side. Do you really want to face her before we¡¯re done?¡±


    The soldier tried intimidating him. What the girl had achieved beat common sense. Someone that could freeze this much water was not someone to be fought against. The captain gritted his teeth, he was hesitating. But it was pretty apparent that he was thinking so hard about it.


    The soldier could guess what he was thinking. It would be foolish to try fighting against someone that could achieve such a monstrous and godlike feat. And thus, a moment later, he dropped his sword, and raised his hand.


    ¡°I, I surrender.¡±


    The soldier approached and kicked away the sword on the floor.


    ¡°Kneel down.¡±


    The captain slowly knelt on the floor. The soldier placed his blade right next to the captain¡¯s neck. He took a deep breath.


    ¡°Hear me!¡±


    The people on the deck turned towards him.


    ¡°Your captain has surrendered! If you wish to be spared, drop your swords and follow his choice!¡±


    The few enemies that remained looked at each other. At first with hesitation, but of course there was no other choice. They knew they had lost. So instead of losing their lives pointlessly, they dropped their swords and knelt on the floor.


    ¡°Separate and tie them all up,¡± the soldier ordered his allies.


    They looked for ropes and quickly tied the traffickers. Meanwhile, the soldier was the one to tie the captain to the stairs. As everyone was doing so, they paused and witnessed as the white-haired girl conjured a great number of spells at her opponent.


    And as the battle grew in intensity, they watched with agape mouths. Powerful spells that could obliterate a group of knights at once, even destroy a small town. No, it could potentially destroy an entire city.


    Even they could not comprehend how the girl was able to conjure giant pillars of ice.


    The poet approached the edge of the ship, next to the soldier. He watched with wide eyes, a wide smile on his face, as if he was astonished to witness such a sight. He barely blinked, as if he didn¡¯t want to miss a single second of it.


    Their eyes followed the two as they moved across the sky.


    ¡°It¡¯s like a battle of gods,¡± the poet said.


    The soldier glanced at him for a moment before returning his eyes to the mighty battle.


    ¡°Gods, huh¡­ But one is a demon¡­¡± the soldier said.


    Perhaps he was right, it was akin to a battle of gods. No normal person, even elites, could reach the level of this battle. Where the sky flashes and cries, where even the seas stop and freeze over.


    Just what kind of circumstance brought these beings here? They didn¡¯t belong here, in this realm of weak humanity.


    Eventually, they returned fighting to the ice floor. No, could it even be called fighting? The demon was thrown into the air, and he violently landed around forty meters away from the ship. The people on the deck moved and watched everything unfold.


    The girl was brutal.


    She pulled out the demon¡¯s wings, and shortly after, decapitated him. And not by a blade, but by a cruder method. With her bare hands, she pulled his head out of his body. To possess such physical strength to achieve that, the soldier could not even imagine how much power she possessed.


    ¡°A white-haired maiden whose beauty surpasses all,¡± the poet began muttering. ¡°Slain a monstrous demon. That¡­ that would make for a wonderful tale.¡±


    However, once everything was over, they noticed she seemed to be weakened. And then, a moment later, she suddenly collapsed to the frozen floor.


    ¡°Ah. Is she dead?¡± the poet asked.


    ¡°No, she doesn¡¯t seem to be wounded. She merely passed out.¡±


    Perhaps the strenuous fighting finally got to her. The soldier turned to the poet.


    ¡°I¡¯ll watch over the ship. Go and retrieve her.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ She won¡¯t kill me, right?¡± he awkwardly chuckled.


    ¡°... Why would she? Just handle her with care. Bring a couple of men with you.¡±


    ¡°... Alright.¡±


    The poet was likely scared of her.


    Who wouldn¡¯t be?


    Even the soldier felt a bit wary of her.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 31: Surviving Invaders

    It was nighttime, deep in a forest a long distance away from the Wisterian capital city. Thick clouds loomed on the night sky, as if to reflect the current gloom of the nation of flowers and romance. For it had just faced a great tragedy that resulted in tremendous damage, and tragic losses. Burned houses littered its streets, heartbreaks shown in the countless tears of its people.


    It was a dark mark in the nation¡¯s history.


    And within this forest lay the culprits behind its terrible event. Or at least a few of what remained of their forces. Among them was the man from the Empire named Delray, the leader of intelligence gathering in Wisteria. And he was currently the leader of this small group.


    It was a small camp, not for soldiers, but for the men that would be required for different needs. They were not soldiers, but that didn¡¯t mean they lacked the capability to fight. In fact, a few of them belonged to the Empire¡¯s shadow order, assassins for the emperor. They were fitting for tasks that would require stealth.


    Delray sat by the small campfire, gazing at it with a distant gaze. He didn¡¯t join in and enter the assault on the Wisterian royal capital, for it was not his role. He only watched from outside the city at a safe distance.


    At first, everything was going well. However, suddenly, he realized something went wrong. And in the end, he noticed that the fighting had stopped. The Wisterians had begun to fill the spots on the walls. And the empire¡¯s side had not yet returned to him to report that they had succeeded. That could only mean one thing.


    They lost¡­ somehow.


    With that realization, he returned to this camp. But even after all that, he still couldn¡¯t believe that they lost. How could they even lose? Did they even succeed in at least taking out the nation¡¯s head? He wanted to confirm it, thus he planned on sending a few men again to the city once everything had settled down a little to get more information.


    It was not sure how far the empire had reached in their mission. The most important mission was to kill the king. He sent a couple of men earlier, but the city prevented entry. Furthermore, the Wisterians didn¡¯t seem to be in too much turmoil. If the king had died, Delray imagined that their enemies would have been in a mess. However, from his men¡¯s report, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case.


    He sighed.


    ¡°Hey boss, want to eat?¡± one of his men asked.


    He shook his head. ¡°No. I don¡¯t have the appetite.¡±


    He was not in the mood to do some leisure activities like eating, for he worried how to continue from here on out if they indeed failed. How should he even report this to the Emperor? A lot was at stake in this operation.


    The plan was to destabilize Wisteria by laying waste to their royal capital, kill their king, and best if the whole royal family. Without a king to lead their nation, the Empire will be free to enter Wisteria¡¯s territory and take over the country gradually. Even the Holy Kingdom wouldn¡¯t be able to respond in time to help their allies with no head.


    He scratched his head in frustration. Every time he was in Wisteria, he always lost his appetite when everything didn''t go his way. Most of it stemmed from how the Emperor would react to his failure. Although technically it wasn¡¯t his fault this time, still, he was not exactly uninvolved in this operation. This was a crucial point in the empire¡¯s overall ambition. And failure was not an option.


    He heaved a long, exasperated sigh.


    Suddenly, the couple of men in front of him jerked up and glared towards the dark trees, their daggers at the ready. Seeing how alert they were, Delray stood up and warily asked.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Something is coming.¡±


    As expected of these people, they could sense something was coming. Delray couldn¡¯t hope to reach how sharp their senses were. He grabbed the nearby sword and glared at the direction of where his allies were looking at.


    And then Delray heard footsteps coming. There was a chance that it could be a monster. But judging from the sound, it sounded human. He doubted that it would be the Wisterians. This place was far away from the city, and they were mostly focused on that region. Plus, this was in the middle of the forest, even if they lit up a fire, you couldn¡¯t easily see the light from the road.


    Therefore, he hoped it was their ally coming. Only an ally would know this place. Delray took a deep breath, anticipating the person that was about to come out of the shadows.


    ¡°Lower your weapons, it¡¯s only me.¡±


    It was a muscular and familiar man. Upon seeing him, Delray lowered his weapon and sighed in relief.


    ¡°Finally, you¡¯re back, Orven. What took you so long?¡± Delray said.


    The knight, although he was not in his armor but in simple clothing, grinned. In his hand was what Delray assumed to be his lance covered in cloth.


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    ¡°Oh? Didn¡¯t think I died, huh?¡±


    ¡°Like anything can easily kill you.¡±


    ¡°Heh. Of course. But forget that for now, I¡¯m starving. Got any food?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Great.¡± With a wide smile, Orven approached the campfire.


    Delray was truthfully relieved to see his friend alive. And it was true that he doubted anything could kill him in that place. He trusted the strength of his ally. In fact, he had been waiting for him to arrive. He could confirm what had happened in the city from him.


    Orven grabbed a roasted meat and sat down on the log before beginning eating. Delray sat down and asked a question.


    ¡°What happened to your armor?¡±


    ¡°I had to remove them. Catches too much attention.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Delray also grabbed a roasted meat and took a bite. ¡°So, what happened there, Orven?¡±


    Orven paused and lowered his food. He had a serious look on his face.


    ¡°We were winning¡­ However, monsters suddenly appeared.¡±


    ¡°Monsters?¡± Delray was puzzled about what that could mean.


    ¡°Monsters I have never seen before suddenly appeared all over the palace.¡± He looked Delray in the eyes. ¡°They were so strong, and so many. They swarmed the men, ravaged them like the beasts that they are.¡±


    Even Delray was shocked to hear him acknowledge they were strong. Orven was always confident about hunting monsters. With his strength, he could quickly deal with one. He even enjoyed monster hunting back in the Empire.


    ¡°Where did they even come from?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea¡­ But I guess Wisteria summoned them.¡±


    ¡°Can anyone even do that? I never heard something like that before. And even so, that¡¯s an absurd ability to have.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Been seeing new things lately. Even that teleportation thing.¡±


    Delray heaved a long sigh. ¡°How did you escape?¡±


    ¡°I ran like hell.¡± He bit on his food with a frown on his face. ¡°I ran for whatever treeline I could see. I realized the moment the monsters overwhelmed our men that we¡¯ve lost.¡±


    Delray grew silent for a moment, imagining what could have happened. ¡°¡­ What happened to the commander?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know about the guy.¡±


    ¡°You left him, huh?¡±


    He turned a strong gaze at Delray. ¡°You expect me to find him in that mess?¡±


    Delray formed a wry smile and shrugged. ¡°You could have tried, you know.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, right.¡± He scoffed. ¡°I¡¯m loyal to the Empire, but I ain¡¯t risking my life for one commander.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­¡±


    ¡°We have plenty of them back home to replace him.¡±


    ¡°What if he was captured?¡±


    ¡°Then he¡¯s captured.¡±


    ¡°You really need to show some compassion for your higher-ups.¡±


    ¡°My higher-up is the Emperor.¡±


    Delray bit on his food. ¡°... So, did we accomplish the main mission?¡±


    ¡°... You mean killing the king?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°... I don¡¯t know. Likely not. I couldn¡¯t even find him.¡±


    ¡°Then we failed¡­¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say for certain. Best to gather more information.¡±


    ¡°I suppose¡­ I guess with you confirming that we have definitely failed in our mission of decimating the city, we can inform the Emperor. But¡­¡± Delray aggressively scratched the back of his head. ¡°We¡¯ve screwed up more than once.¡± It was frustrating and scary.


    ¡°So you have yet to notify them?¡±


    ¡°I wanted confirmation.¡±


    ¡°Just say you¡¯re scared of reporting we failed and you¡¯ll incur the Emperor¡¯s wrath.¡±


    ¡°Damn, yes, that too. Even his patience has limits. Failing here would harden the situation for those attacking the border.¡±


    ¡°Now that you have mentioned it, they should have begun attacking Wisteria¡¯s border, right?¡±


    Delray sighed. ¡°Yes.¡±


    The plan was the moment Wisteria¡¯s capital city was engaged, the army prepared at the border would begin their march. Gradually take over the territory. With this sudden assault, Wisteria would defend, and at the same time send a report to the king. Now imagine if there was no response from the capital.


    Without a proper entity to coordinate with, Wisteria¡¯s army would be disorganized. There were generals, indeed, but how far could they reach once they realized that their king was dead? Even the entire royal family. And the capital was destroyed. There would be chaos. Wisteria would gradually fall apart from the inside.


    With those conditions, the empire¡¯s victory would be assured. Their invasion would be swift, and they would take over the territory in no time.


    However, now it was a different situation, an undesirable one. At this time, the empire¡¯s forces should have begun their attack. But not in an ideal condition, making the invasion more challenging.


    ¡°Command will be furious once they hear our assault failed.¡± Orven groaned. ¡°Best to report it so they¡¯ll know.¡±


    It was always best to inform your peers of the situation, dire or not. Ignorance can be a crime and a bane.


    ¡°Guess I just have to say we still have yet to confirm whether any of the royal family was eliminated.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°... Two of our imperial princes died. Hundreds of our elites are gone. This sucks. Where did we go wrong?¡± Delray cradled his head in frustration.


    It took a heavy toll. An incredibly heavy cost just to bring the ideal condition for the Empire to achieve victory. Delray didn¡¯t even want to face the Emperor considering that both his sons died, even worse now that all efforts have been rendered useless.


    Orven remained silent and ate his food.


    ¡°By the way¡­¡± Delray continued. ¡°What happened to those long eared guys?¡±


    ¡°Well, I saw one get killed. The rest, well, I don¡¯t know. Oh yeah, can you believe it, Delray? Some Wisterian knight survived my killing blow.¡±


    ¡°Survive?¡±


    ¡°Oh, not survive, I mean he didn¡¯t instantly die.¡±


    ¡°Woah, really? How¡¯s that possible?¡±


    ¡°Dunno. But, hey, he died in the end. A bit annoying, but impressive.¡±


    ¡°Was the knight among the best in their ranks?¡±


    ¡°Maybe. But good thing I got to kill him. Less thing to worry about.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡±


    ¡°That aside, tell me the plan going forward.¡±


    ¡°... Hm, you think there could be survivors on our side?¡±


    ¡°Not sure. But we shouldn¡¯t think about them at the moment. If they survived and escaped, great. We can¡¯t exactly have the time to go search for them.¡±


    ¡°Mm. Then for now we¡¯ll gather information. Make confirmations. After that, we¡¯ll go back, maybe. Depends on their order.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s getting too dangerous here for us. Getting permission to retreat would take some time.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. But, at least we have a little window to do our job. Well, until the Wisterian capital gets news of the attack at the border.¡±


    ¡°That little window is only like, I don¡¯t know, a few days? That¡¯s too short.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. But if we act, you stay here.¡±


    Orven frowned. ¡°What? Why?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t risk anyone recognizing you.¡±


    ¡°... Very well. Honestly, I would prefer we get called back. I want to fight in the frontlines.¡±


    ¡°Of course you do. And you¡¯ll be an effective asset, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll consider it.¡±


    ¡°Hm. Guess the war really starts now, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Delray looked up at the dark, cloudy sky. ¡°I hope all the preparation we¡¯ve done all these years is effective.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope so, to make things easier. And then, once it is all over, the Empire will finally reign supreme on the continent.¡±


    ¡°And all will be good.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Both of them smiled.


    Delray stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll send a bird.¡±

 Vol. 4 Chapter 32: Demonic Compassion (Part 1)

    The demon imp in human form, simple yet adorable, was standing on top of a branch of a tree. She squinted her eyes as she looked at the sky, or, to be precise, at the black fog moving in the air. She had been trying to track their movements for a while now. To her great relief, she finally saw one, and they began following it. With that success, she couldn¡¯t help but smile proudly.


    ¡°Venzus, he seems to be slowing down!¡± she excitedly said, but in a hushed tone.


    The other imp leaning his back on the tree below her shrugged. ¡°Great¡­¡± He sounded less enthusiastic, and he wore a frown on his face.


    ¡°Hang on, he¡¯s descending.¡±


    The demon girl, Arashia, leaned upwards a bit more to have a clearer view of where the fog was coming down on. It was a bit hard to see as they blended into the darkness of the night, with only the faint moonlight to light the sky. It would have been better during the day, but their luck only struck during the night. From the way Arashia took it, these Cursed Children lie low during the day.


    A moment later, the fog was now lost in the trees. But she had made a mental mark on the spot.


    ¡°Got it. I know where they are now.¡± With a happy nod, she casually jumped down to the ground. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go check it out!¡± She was about to rush there when suddenly a hand grabbed her shoulder.


    ¡°Hold it right there!¡±


    ¡°W-What?¡±


    ¡°I still haven¡¯t agreed to this shit of yours.¡±


    Hearing that, Arashia¡¯s eyes widened. She assumed he was okay with this already.


    ¡°Why are you even hesitating?¡±


    ¡°Are we even sure that it is indeed where they¡¯re keeping them?¡±


    ¡°... That¡¯s why we¡¯re taking a look.¡±


    ¡°And if they¡¯re not there, we''re putting ourselves at risk for nothing.¡±


    Arashia pouted with a moan. ¡°We can¡¯t win a gamble without throwing the ¡ª um, the thing¡­¡±


    ¡°Dice¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Dice! You have to bet on it.¡±


    Venzus vigorously shook his head. ¡°Are you listening to yourself? No way I¡¯m risking my life for this.¡±


    ¡°Come on, Venzus. Not like we can die from them.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh, uh-huh. What if we get captured, you fucking idiot?¡±


    ¡°Simple. Just don¡¯t get captured.¡±


    Suddenly, Venzus smacked her on the back of the head.


    ¡°Ow! What gives?!¡± Arashia cradled her head and moved away from him.


    ¡°Hoping a smack would fix your head.¡±


    ¡°Why are you so reluctant to save them?¡± Arashia truly wanted to save her allies that were captured by the Cursed Children. She could not understand why Venzus was not as motivated as her.


    ¡°Why are you so eager to save them?! It¡¯s just the two of us here. The rest already ran away. We should have already left this damn country.¡±


    During their escape after teleporting both Rytus and the princess, as the both of them were running away, they saw one of the demons get captured by the Cursed Children. Ever since then, Arashia had been wanting to retrieve them.


    ¡°Papa said we should value our allies¡­¡± she said with a pout.


    His face turned into an exaggerated wince. ¡°Yeah? Well, your old man is fucking senile. Fuck them, okay?¡±


    Hearing that, Arashia finally formed a deep frown. She gave Venzus a stern look.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you care about them?¡±


    ¡°Why should I care about them?¡±


    ¡°... We should come back home together.¡±


    ¡°Huh? You wanted to sacrifice me during the escape, and now you want everyone to return home?¡±


    ¡°... I wasn¡¯t being serious that time.¡± She looked away.


    Venzus paused for a moment and sighed. ¡°Still, I ain¡¯t doing it.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you imagine how many Cursed Children could be in there? If our colleagues are there, they¡¯ll have them guarded. Especially considering they¡¯re definitely being served as blood bags by now.¡±


    ¡°Blood bags¡­?¡±


    ¡°Our body restores when we get hurt. The Cursed Children feast on blood. Can you imagine what they¡¯ll do with the captured imps?¡±


    Arashia looked down for a moment as she pondered. And her eyes widened.


    ¡°They¡¯re being used as blood bags¡­¡± The Cursed Children would be constantly sucking the blood out of the imps just to fill themselves. And it would be essentially an unlimited supply. ¡°That¡¯s terrible.¡±


    She was horrified at the thought of it. To suffer like that, mutilated, to be used as livestocks. Although demons also committed similar things, it was different for Arashia. She never engaged in such terrible actions. For she mainly lived with her father, hunting beasts and such.


    That said, she would not care much if it was any other race. She only cared because it was happening to her own fellow demons, and colleagues at that. And the thought of such a cruel thing happening to them greatly worried her. She only grew more motivated to help them.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s why you should stop caring and be more concerned about yourself,¡± Venzus said.


    ¡°No, we must help them.¡±


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    Venzus scratched his head. ¡°You¡¯re so stubborn. Sorry, Arashia, but I¡¯m not risking my life for those bastards.¡±


    ¡°... Venzus, please, I can¡¯t do this alone.¡±


    ¡°No! If you wanna save them, do it alone. I¡¯m leaving.¡±


    With a brief wave, he turned his back to her and began walking away. Arashia lowered her gaze for a moment before making a serious face, clenching her fists. In truth, she was disappointed.


    ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll do it alone then. I¡¯ll break them out!¡±


    Arashia turned around and began walking away in the opposite direction. If he didn¡¯t want to help, then she had to do it all by herself. No matter how hard it would be, she¡¯d do everything she can.


    Venzus looked back and stopped, watching her walking away. He gritted his teeth in annoyance.


    ¡°Wait,¡± he said.


    Arashia paused and turned to look at him. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Do you even have a plan?¡±


    Arashia stayed silent, for she had no clear plan in mind. Seeing this, Venzus couldn¡¯t help but sigh.


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll help you.¡±


    ¡°Really?!¡± Arashia beamed up.


    ¡°You¡¯re really stubborn. Let¡¯s think up a plan before going.¡±


    Arashia rushed to his side with a giggle. ¡°Sure, sure!¡± A great feeling of relief washed all over her. That was because she wouldn¡¯t be alone in this. Having a comrade by one¡¯s side was the best feeling.


    ¡°However, I think it¡¯s best to scout the area first before making up a plan. Agree?¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s make our way there.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    Together, they began walking towards where Arashia saw the fog descend.


    ¡°How far?¡± Venzus.


    ¡°A bit far, but it shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    ¡°Mm. By the way, you¡¯re doing the scouting.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°If you get captured, I¡¯m leaving you behind.¡±


    ¡°Then I just don¡¯t have to get captured.¡±


    ¡°... Sometimes I envy that simple head of yours.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me simple¡­¡±


    ***


    Arashia cast a silence spell on herself, in addition to a magic that lessened the chance of being smelled, her usual anti-detection spells. Both spells were crucial when hunting the beasts that roamed the demon lands, some were pretty sensitive to their surroundings. Lacking the ability to cast such spells would be a failure of her as a hunter and ranger.


    Normally, she wouldn¡¯t need to use magic for things other than beasts. She was already skilled as she was. However, she decided to be safe rather than sorry. It was currently night, and those Cursed Children were not to be underestimated. She didn¡¯t have much knowledge about them, but she only assumed them to be like beasts, sensitive to their surroundings. Even more so in their monstrous forms.


    They thirst for blood. Their sense of smell might become more sensitive.


    Once she was ready, she moved out alone. Venzus remained far behind in a safe area. He lacked the skill necessary to accomplish the scouting task.


    Arashia moved and navigated through the trees in complete silence. Jumping over small branches on the ground, avoiding hitting any bushes, her movements disturbed nothing. The way she moved displayed utter excellence in her craft. Even the small critters in the forest failed to sense her presence.


    Before she got close to the area, she stopped and hid behind a tree. She looked around her surroundings, making sure there was no stray cursed child of any kind. It was possible for someone to walk or hang around outside one¡¯s camp. She had to be careful. One minor mistake would be her undoing.


    She didn¡¯t want to fail this one. Venzus was pretty serious about leaving everyone if this mission failed.


    As someone who had honed her body to work in the shadow, her eyes adapted pretty well to the darkness. Thus, she could behold her surroundings better than anyone in her group. Her training with her father was not easy, though.


    After looking around, she nodded. There was no one around. She continued onward until she arrived close to the Cursed Children¡¯s camp. She hid behind one of the thick bushes. In the dark camp, with not even a torch to light the place, there were indeed several Cursed Children roaming around.


    There was also a cave entrance.


    Could that be where they¡¯re keeping them?


    There was no way to be certain just yet. She had to be sure that her allies were there, since there was also a chance that these monsters were only using this place as shelter. For now, she had to observe.


    She squinted her eyes, counting the enemy. Outside, there were seven of them.


    I can¡¯t see anything inside the cave from here.


    She quietly moved from her position. She was more careful than before. Fortunately, none of the Cursed Children seemed to notice her movements. She found a new position and angle to observe from, but still, she couldn¡¯t see what was inside the cave. Furthermore, it would seem she counted the number of enemies right, no enemies hiding somewhere else. However, she guessed there were more enemies inside. Way more, considering that they could be feasting inside the cave.


    Feasting on her allies¡­


    She opted on waiting, she might discover more.


    The Cursed Children were walking around slowly, their body slouching. While others were sitting down on the ground. Arashia was a bit weirded out by them. They looked miserable. They were groaning and moaning as if in pain. They were covered entirely by their clothes, so she couldn¡¯t completely tell what was happening with them. But she could tell they were in torment.


    The faint crying, the twitching, the scratching, the trembling, every part of their action displayed suffering.


    Why are they like this?


    She was a bit curious about how they became like this. What did they do to deserve such punishment? The demons, even though they were imperfect, were never subjected to such intense and constant pain.


    A short time later, one cursed child emerged from the cave. He approached one of them.


    ¡°I¡¯m satisfied. Anyone else can go inside.¡±


    ¡°Me.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    One cursed child impatiently rushed inside the cave.


    ¡°Finally, we have a decent source of blood,¡± the one who emerged said. ¡°And unlimited at that.¡±


    Source of blood? Could it be¡­?


    ¡°Indeed. We should have gotten a demon a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°Well, imps, to be exact. They¡¯re the ones I know can regenerate this fast. Not sure about the other kinds of demons though¡­¡±


    Arashia furrowed her brows.


    They¡¯re really here.


    She had finally confirmed it. With that crucial information now at hand, she quietly left the scene. With a sense of urgency, once she was a bit far away from the enemy camp, she quickly made her way back to Venzus.


    ¡°You¡¯re back,¡± Venzus said.


    ¡°They¡¯re there.¡±


    Venzus nodded with a sigh. ¡°Alright. What else?¡±


    ¡°I counted eight enemies total. But I¡¯m not sure how many more are inside.¡±


    ¡°... That¡¯s too many. There¡¯s just the two of us.¡±


    Arashia lowered her gaze. It would be too difficult to face that many.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s think about how to do this,¡± Venzus said. ¡°... Should we attack at night or during the day?¡±


    ¡°... Will there be a difference?¡±


    ¡°Well, for us, at night, it could be easier to hide. For the enemies, they¡¯ll be monsters.¡± He sat down on the tree root. ¡°They¡¯ll be in constant pain. That could mean they¡¯ll be less focused on their surroundings.¡±


    ¡°... But they will also be more fierce.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s also an issue. They¡¯ll be more relentless, being mad and all.¡±


    ¡°They might be more dangerous at night¡­¡±


    ¡°For daytime¡­ Escape for us will be a bit more difficult. No darkness to hide in.¡±


    ¡°We could just run as fast as we could.¡±


    ¡°Yeah right¡­ Easier said than done¡­ But let¡¯s set aside that part for now. What advantage do we get when we engage them during the day?¡±


    Arashia looked up, putting a finger under her chin as she pondered hard.


    ¡°... They¡¯ll be less fierce?¡±


    ¡°Probably. They¡¯ll at least be more sane.¡±


    ¡°Are the crazy ones really harder to fight?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Fuck, you have any idea how hard it is to hold down a crazed bastard? You would even doubt they even feel any pain. And the strength they¡¯ll exude. Believe me, they¡¯ll exert more force than what their body should. The mind is a tricky thing.¡±


    ¡°Wow, are you actually very smart, Venzus?¡±


    Venzus grinned. ¡°I¡¯m actually a genius.¡±


    ¡°Wow! Amazing.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fucking kidding, you idiot. What I said is common sense.¡±


    ¡°... Really?¡± She tilted her head.


    ¡°Ugh, whatever¡­ Let¡¯s just focus on the main topic¡­ Which reminds me, you tracked down one coming back to their camp during the night. And we had a hard time searching for them during the day.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°They lie low during the day?¡±


    ¡°... I guess?¡±


    ¡°Does that mean they leave their camp? I mean, when you get free from suffering during the day, what would you do when that happens?¡±


    ¡°Uummm¡­ Enjoy good food? I would like to enjoy great food after a tiring day¡¯s work.¡±


    ¡°That could be it. They lower their guard during the day. Enjoy their time of relief.¡±


    ¡°... Is that so? Are we sure about this?¡±


    ¡°Not really. But that¡¯s a good thought.¡±


    ¡°Alright then! We¡¯ll attack tomorrow morning.¡±


    Venzus smacked her on the top of her head.


    ¡°Ow!¡±


    ¡°Patience, you idiot. Let¡¯s observe it for now. Figure out if our guess is true.¡±


    Arashia pouted. ¡°... But our friends are suffering there.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll live. Better we be more careful.¡±


    ¡°... Mm, fine¡­¡±


    ¡°Once we confirm the state of things, we¡¯ll think of a plan on how to rescue them.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±

 Vol. 4 Chapter 33: Demonic Compassion (Part 2)

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    Morning had come. Arashia was standing atop a tree, just as the sun had shown its first light. Currently, she was hiding herself well within the covers of the tree leaves. She looked towards the Cursed Children¡¯s camp a distance away.


    A moment later, she saw several fog rising and flying just above the trees. They were moving away from their camp.


    So they do leave¡­


    As they thought, they would go and enjoy their time when relieved of the perpetual pain. Once the fogs had left, shrinking into the distance, Arashia jumped back down to the ground. She turned towards Venzus, who was leaning back on a tree, sleeping.


    Arashia frowned. He was just awake a moment ago. She approached him and tapped on his forehead.


    ¡°Hey, hey, Venzus. Wake up.¡±


    He groaned, his eyes still closed. ¡°Ugh, yeah?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, they left.¡±


    Venzus slowly opened his eyes and placed a hand on his forehead. ¡°Right¡­ Okay, as we discussed, return to the camp and count how many of them remained.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    ¡°Good, good. Now, I¡¯m going back to sleep.¡± He slowly leaned back against the tree.


    ¡°Stop sleeping!¡± Arashia complained. ¡°It¡¯s unfair!¡±


    ¡°Hey, this is all your idea. You do all the work.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re an asshole.¡±


    He nonchalantly waved his hand. ¡°Yeah, yeah. Now go. Shooo.¡±


    Arashia pouted and began walking again. She sort of wanted to kick him in the stomach right there, but decided not to indulge her demonic urges. She began running towards the camp of the enemy. Just like last time, she was perfectly undetectable. Upon arrival, she hid among the shades and bushes.


    Every one of her enemies outside of the cave was so clear from view. They now appeared completely human, with black hair and amber eyes. What remained numbered in three, lesser than what Arashia first imagined.


    But I suppose they all want to enjoy their free time.


    That said, it was still hard to determine how many of the enemy could still be inside the cave. But judging from how many left, there shouldn¡¯t be many. Arashia took a deep breath before leaving the area and returning to Venzus.


    He was still dozing off. Arashia grabbed his shoulders and shook him vigorously.


    ¡°Hey, hey. Wake up.¡±


    His face twitched with visible irritation. ¡°W-What? Y-You done already?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Ugh.¡± He groaned before standing up and placing a hand on his forehead. ¡°Give me a second.¡±


    Arashia sat down on the tree root with a visible pout, waiting for him. A moment later, Venzus gave a nod.


    ¡°Alright, tell me.¡±


    ¡°Their number is greatly reduced. I saw three guards outside.¡±


    ¡°Mm. That¡¯s great.¡±


    ¡°But I can¡¯t tell how many there are inside the cave.¡±


    Venzus placed a hand under his chin. ¡°If they¡¯re merely guarding, I think it¡¯s safe to assume there are at least one or two guards to watch over them.¡±


    ¡°Is that a lot?¡±


    ¡°Mm, it is.¡±


    ¡°... So, should we attack them during the day or night?¡±


    ¡°Obviously during the day. At least they¡¯re lesser beasts than man, and their numbers are fewer.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Do we do it now?¡±


    ¡°Hey now, slow down. We still have to plan this. We still have to lead away those guarding outside, otherwise we get overwhelmed.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°It would be nice to provoke them and have them leave the area. But I think we can do that. One issue is who will distract them?¡±


    Arashia tilted her head slightly. ¡°... So we need someone faster or something?¡±


    Venzus grinned. ¡°Definitely. It will be you.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Then that means you¡¯ll be the one to free them.¡±


    ¡°Yes, as much as I don¡¯t like that¡­ But it¡¯s way better than getting chased by a lot of them.¡±


    Arashia frowned. ¡°Am I gonna get sacrificed?¡±


    ¡°Hey now, this is all your idea.¡±


    ¡°...¡± She felt a bit annoyed. He always said that to win a case. And Arashia couldn¡¯t give a response to go against it. She was at a disadvantage whenever it was mentioned.


    ¡°Besides, you¡¯re better at moving around several obstacles, especially navigating in forests. And you¡¯re faster on the ground.¡±


    ¡°But how am I going to escape? You do know I can¡¯t fly.¡±


    ¡°Then don¡¯t fly. Besides, you¡¯ll be easily discovered if you do. Considering that those guys can also fly.¡±


    ¡°Then how do I escape?¡±


    ¡°...¡± He was silent for a moment. ¡°We¡¯ll figure it out, hehehe.¡±


    Arashia could only whimper.


    ¡°But considering that we¡¯ll be separated, we¡¯ll first set up a place to meet up.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ But at least make a plan that will keep me alive!¡±


    ¡°Of course I would. Not like you would die, right?¡± He chuckled with a sinister grin on his face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do that, Venzus! You think I don¡¯t get it?!¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± He cackled.


    ¡°Don¡¯t act clueless!¡±


    ***


    The next day, the two imps have formulated and implemented the plans they had in mind. It took the entire day to make plans and preparations, but they were now ready. Well, most of the risks were in Arashia. It was early morning, and the two of them got ready.


    ¡°Your traps? How are they?¡±


    A few minutes before this, Arashia had set up traps for the enemies. She could feel her link with them. That said, she would only have a little more than half an hour to maintain them. And the more strain it would be for her the farther she was from them.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. But we better move now.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Don¡¯t hold back.¡±


    After saying so, the two of them started to change physically. Their faces changed and their skin turned red. Arashia changed into a red-skinned demon, she was a bit taller, where her demonic figure was slender and more accentuated, despite the muscles in her body. Her hair was in a fiery crimson, her eyes glowing in the orange of fire. But she had no wings growing out of her back.


    Venzus was a bit more muscular, with the same characteristics as any imp in their true form. He had wings on his back, but they were closed and unlit by flames. He held out his normal demon hand and nodded.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The two of them separated. Arashia headed straight to the enemy encampment. She smoothly and swiftly weaved through the forest trees. A moment later, she arrived at the enemy camp, and she stood in the open.


    The three Cursed Children looked at her with widened eyes, surprised at the sudden appearance of a demon. Arashia looked at their faces, they were different from the ones yesterday. They were changing shifts, it would seem.


    A cursed child stepped forward. ¡°You! What are you doing here?¡±


    Arashia held out her hand, and as she flicked them to the side, fiery whips appeared in each of her hands.


    ¡°For payback.¡±


    The Cursed Children¡¯s hands morphed into claws. Arashia swung out her whip and lashed out at one enemy. It hit, burning off a part of their clothes and flesh. But as expected, they began to regenerate.


    The other two got close, and thus she quickly, although a bit frantically, backed away. At the same time, she swung both her hands towards each opponent. The whips wrapped around the two enemies tightly. The smell of burning fabric and flesh emanated into the air.


    ¡°What are you¡ª!¡±


    Immediately, Arashia began running into the forest, maintaining the whip tightly, and dragged the two with her into the trees.


    The third cursed child was confused. ¡°Release them!¡±


    The cursed child chased after them. Arashia looked back for a moment and formed a small smile. Their plan was working now that they had left the camp. She kept on running in the forest, intending on getting farther away from the enemy camp.


    The two Cursed Children were trying their best to be free, trying to break the whip that was holding and hurting them. As they moved, they often crashed into some trees, their backs and heads getting hit. However, it didn¡¯t take long before they broke the whips.


    Arashia stopped and turned to face them.


    ¡°Damn demon,¡± one said. ¡°You will be a good source of blood.¡±


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    Arashia frowned. ¡°Nuh-uh. You¡¯re the ones gonna die here.¡±


    ¡°What a fool. You can¡¯t take us all alone.¡±


    ¡°So what?¡±


    Her hand blazed and as she swept them sideways, she shot out several fire arrow-like projectiles in a wide arc. The three enemies dodged, but a couple was hit, but that didn¡¯t stop them from rushing towards her. They even turned into black fog.


    Seeing that, she frantically began running away. She must not get reached, otherwise it would be all over for her. And she had made preparations for this moment. She had reached a particular point.


    A trap was nearby.


    She snapped her fingers. At that moment, a fiery magical net sprouted and expanded right below them. The three of them were caught up in it, where even in their fog form, they could not escape. Before they could attempt to cut through it, Arashia came to a halt and gathered her magic.


    ¡°Infernal Surge.¡±


    She cast a spell, unleashing a tide of melting fire in front of her. It engulfed all those within the net. Considering that her net was of the same caliber, made of inferno, it shouldn¡¯t damage her own net much. However, it would be a different case for the ones it captured.


    ¡°Aaagh!¡±


    ¡°It hurts!¡±


    ¡°Stop!¡±


    They cried in agony. Arashia couldn¡¯t see what was happening to them, but their screams echoed in the surroundings. Even the critters in the forest either grew curious or ran away. Once the fire had settled, the view of them became clearer. Their skin was seared terribly, flesh sizzling, and they groaned in the intense fading pain. They seemed to breathe heavily amidst the agony as they all turned their eyes towards Arashia. She could feel the sheer rage and hostility in those eyes.


    While their body was regenerating, their claws began tearing through the net, and it also started burning their blades, but of course they couldn¡¯t be melted. Arashia was about to cast another spell, but she canceled it the moment one of the opposition got through a small tear in his fog form.


    The female demon quickly backed away and began running. Looking back, they were now more determined to chase her down. Although, she did notice that they were less fierce compared at night. In another situation, they would have probably been more relentless.


    As they ran, she set off another trap, and this time, it came from two trees on both sides of the path. It successfully caught them. Arashia conjured another surge of inferno to ravage the Cursed Children. However, this time, as the flames rampaged, they clawed through the net.


    ¡°Eh?¡± Arashia couldn¡¯t help but feel dumbfounded. Even though she could regenerate, she imagined that even she couldn¡¯t think clearly in a situation like that, nor do anything really.


    She conjured a pair of fiery whips in each hand and waited for the enemy to come out of the net. The objective was not to hurt them intensely or kill them ¡ª which would be impossible ¡ª but rather to make as much time as possible. But given how things were going, she wasn¡¯t sure she could buy a lot of time for Venzus to free their friends.


    One cursed child emerged from the net, and thus, Arashia quickly swung her hand. The fiery whip extended and lashed at the foggy opponent. Given that it was a magical attack, the whip made contact and hit the cursed child. He was thrown into a tree as he incurred heavy damage and intense burn. He groaned on the ground as he waited for his wound to heal.


    Another one came out, and Arashia attacked him as well. She succeeded. However, in the third one, the cursed child evaded, and Arashia quickly swung her other whip, merely slowing the enemy down. Still, there was no time to stay still, as the other enemies began to move.


    She rushed away, making sure to keep her distance.


    Better hurry, Venzus.


    ***


    Venzus was hiding behind the trees as he watched Cursed Children that were guarding the area leave to chase down Arashia. No, not exactly chase, but rather, Arashia forced two of them out and the third was forced to follow his allies. They figured that some of the opposition might decide to stay behind and not foolishly leave their post. Venzus was proud that she would even be capable of pulling a pair of them.


    Considering that her whip was magical in origin, not even in their fog form could the Cursed Children escape from her grasp unless they break it.


    Here¡¯s hoping there¡¯s only one enemy inside the cave.


    Now that the coast was clear, Venzus rushed towards the cave. He stopped on the rock wall at the entrance as he heard faint footsteps coming. Must be an enemy that wanted to see what was going on. Venzus readied his claws as the footsteps got closer.


    When the enemy was in reach, his claws blazed with inferno, and he stepped into the open. At the same time, he stabbed the enemy into the throat with one hand. The cursed child was shocked to experience a sudden brutal attack, his wide eyes looking at the red-skinned demon.


    The flames grew in intensity, burning the enemy¡¯s throat and bone. He tried to turn into fog, but he was being hit by a magical attack, and thus he couldn¡¯t. Venzus lifted the cursed child upwards, and the latter¡¯s newly morphed claws stabbed into Venzus.


    The demon stabbed his other claw into the enemy¡¯s knee and a burst of flames followed, severing it. He then held out his hand on the enemy¡¯s belly, unleashing a powerful blast of fire. It threw the enemy away, the blazing claws slipping away from the neck, with mostly the spine remaining to keep the head and body together. The cursed child flew into the forest with smoke and ravaged body.


    Thirty seconds.


    That should be at most the time he had before that enemy came back. Thus, without a moment wasted, he continued into the cave. It was not a deep cave or anything. It didn¡¯t take long before he reached the end and found three familiar faces tied in thick chains, wrapped tightly around their limbs. They were leaning against the wall and lying on the floor. Altogether, they looked terrible, exhausted.


    They all looked up at him with surprise.


    ¡°Venzus?!¡± the tied demon, Droz, exclaimed in genuine surprise.


    But there was no time to pay attention to them, for there was still another cursed child watching over them. Venzus clicked his tongue. The cursed child lunged at him, and their claws met.


    Shit! I need to free them fast.


    Venzus stepped back and swung a wave of fire at the enemy. But the latter took it all and continued on charging at the demon. He shouldn¡¯t take several seconds from this, the other enemy would catch up at any second. With a strained face, he turned his eyes towards Droz. He noticed the demons had begun melting the chains, taking the chance now that the enemy had averted their attention. However, that would take some time, and Venzus didn¡¯t have time.


    ¡°Chains!¡± Venzus shouted.


    Droz realized what he was trying to convey, and thus he shifted his body up and held out his hands upward. Venzus aimed at Droz¡¯s hands, he was stabbed into the chest, but he successfully sent an arc of flames towards his target.


    The fiery slash hit the chains, but also damaged Droz¡¯s hands. But that was alright. Droz quickly slammed his blazing hand into the chains wrapped around his legs, shattering them. Now that he was free, Droz quickly rushed to his two colleagues and broke the chains holding them.


    Droz quickly ran to assist Venzus, stabbing the enemy in the back and throwing him into the wall. Venzus felt relieved that they were finally free.


    ¡°We need to get¡ª¡± Venzus¡¯s word were cut short when the enemy from before returned.


    The cursed child attacked the other two weak demons. ¡°Stay down, demons!¡±


    Venzus grew anxious. They must lose these enemies before they could truly escape. They could chase them to the ends of the world. Venzus and Droz faced the opponent they were just fighting, and they began exchanging attacks. Amidst the battle, Venzus looked around, thinking ¡ª no, this idea crossed his mind earlier.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of this cave!¡±


    The three other demons looked at Venzus for a moment.


    Venzus began to retreat slowly, along with the others. Considering that the demons were fighting each of the two Cursed Children by pair, they were at an advantage. But it wouldn¡¯t last long, and they still needed to stop the enemy from chasing them down as they escape.


    Venzus then continued, ¡°Keep them inside!¡± He gathered a great amount of magic and let out a torrent of infernal flames at the enemy. The cave was filled with fire, and the enemies were pushed back from the pressure of the magic. He turned towards his allies. ¡°Keep the pressure!¡±


    The other demons unleashed flames of their own, but they were, of course, weaker than Venzus¡¯s. But altogether, they were pinning down the Cursed Children. The enemy cried out in despair at the fires of hell tearing up their bodies.


    The demons kept unleashing flames as they slowly made their way out. Venzus looked around and he sent powerful fiery slashes at the cave walls and ceiling. The place began to rumble and crumble. The demons stopped their magic as debris began falling.


    ¡°Run!¡± Venzus shouted.


    And they ran outside while the cave collapsed, pinning down those left inside under the debris.


    ¡°Let¡¯s fly now,¡± Venzus said the moment they were outside. There was no time to dally around.


    The demons sprouted their wings, except one was unable to. He must not have the strength to do it. Thus, Venzus grabbed his hand and carried him as he flew.


    ¡°Let¡¯s cover as much distance as possible.¡±


    They flew right above the trees, flying as quickly as they could.


    ¡°Hey Venzus,¡± Droz called. ¡°You¡¯re crazy! I thought you left us already.¡±


    Venzus deeply furrowed his brow. ¡°It wasn¡¯t my idea. Thank the girl.¡±


    ¡°Girl? You mean Arashia?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°... Oh. What¡¯s up with that? Why?¡±


    ¡°Ask her.¡±


    ¡°Where is she?¡±


    ¡°She has her own job to do.¡±


    They flew for about a minute before Venzus began to descend. ¡°Let¡¯s land and walk from here. Can¡¯t risk us being discovered.¡±


    They landed on the ground, hiding under the shade of the trees. Droz panted, leaning on a tree bark.


    ¡°No time to rest, you fool. Let¡¯s keep going,¡± Venzus said.


    ¡°Where are we heading?¡± Droz asked.


    ¡°We have a meetup point. It¡¯s far from here, but we¡¯ll be meeting Arashia there.¡±


    ¡°A-Alright.¡±


    ***


    Arashia set off her fifth trap, and it utterly failed to catch them. They have already read through her plans after all that had happened. And they were getting close to her. She grew even more anxious. This had already become more dangerous for her.


    And thus, as a last resort, she had to use her ultimate restraining spell. Unlike last time where she had to expand it, which in turn lessened its strength, restraining three in a smaller area would be much better. Her magic would be more powerful.


    A cursed child swung down at her. She stepped to the side, and she could feel the passing of the wind as she dodged a mere inch off. She noticed one coming to her side, and she swept her hand, sending a wave of fire. But it only served to slow down the enemy for but a second. Arashia turned to the right, heading in a particular direction. She also had to make sure the enemies are at least close to each other.


    She looked ahead, her destination was close. She stopped and faced the three oppositions, holding out her hand. In her palm formed fiery strings.


    ¡°Infernal Entanglement.¡±


    She shot out a thick and blazing net. It moved swiftly, immediately capturing the three Cursed Children. The net then shone brighter, emanating a more intense heat. At the same time, Arashia cast her infernal and deadly surge at the enemy. They tried clawing out of the net, but the string couldn¡¯t be scratched. Even the flesh that touched it was beginning to burn.


    As the enemies were shrouded in flames, with nothing but the inferno to fill their sight, the demon lady had already left. Gone.


    It took some time before the flames dissipated, and the net was torn. The Cursed Children moaned in pain as their charred flesh was regenerating. They looked around in confusion, searching for the demon. They looked at each other before moving forward.


    One of them found something.


    ¡°Here!¡±


    The other two quickly moved in to see a large hole on the ground. It was big enough to fit at most two people.


    ¡°She definitely escaped through here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get that fucking demon.¡± This cursed child turned into black fog and flew into the hole.


    The other two then followed.


    The tunnel went a fair bit of distance. Wherever this may lead, that would surely be where that demon went. However, eventually, and unexpectedly, they reached a dead end. They were surprised. Indeed, it was a dead end. There was no small passageway or any collapsed part. It was as if the dig ended here.


    They lost her.


    In truth, Arashia did not jump and escape through the hole. While the enemies were engulfed in flames, she cast her anti-detection spells and ran into the forest. Indeed, the hole was meant to mislead them, while she ran away into the forest in an entirely different direction. So while the Cursed Children wasted time under the ground, she was already far gone.


    Hehe, they got duped!


    Arashia, as she traversed the forest in a sprint, grinned happily when she saw that no one was chasing her. With this, she hoped it was enough time for Venzus to retrieve and escape with the others.


    Can¡¯t believe Venzus¡¯s hole plan worked. He really used a lot of his brain juice.


    She then started making her way to the meetup point.


    ***


    Arashia had reverted to her human form to be less conspicuous. She was walking down a dirt path. She looked up at the sky, it was late in the afternoon. So far, everything was peaceful.


    She was getting close to a crossroad; it was their meetup point. And looking ahead, there were four humans standing, waiting. They were all familiar. Venzus was alive, and Droz and the others were there. A great feeling of relief washed over her.


    With an excited and happy expression, she jogged over to them.


    ¡°You¡¯re okay!¡± she said, genuinely joyful to see them.


    Droz grinned and placed a hand on her shoulder. ¡°We heard it was your idea.¡±


    Arashia lowered her eyes shyly, placing a hand on her cheek. ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°That was dangerous.¡±


    ¡°... I know. But I must do it.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    She looked at them with fond eyes. ¡°You¡¯re my friends.¡±


    The demons looked at each other, surprised and baffled. It was so strange for them, it was childish. They found it hard to believe that was her reason for doing all that. It was just so alien to hear it from a demon.


    Droz sighed. ¡°Thank you, Arashia. Really.¡±


    Arashia giggled. But Droz continued.


    ¡°Still, don¡¯t ever do that again. It is unnecessary. Even if you see us as friends, it¡¯s not worth it to put yourself in danger.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ I don¡¯t want to.¡±


    Droz shook his head. ¡°That is my advice. But we are thankful to you.¡±


    ¡°... Venzus helped as well.¡±


    ¡°Of course he did.¡± He chuckled. ¡°And he got all teary eyed when we got out safely.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°I did fucking not! For the record, I don¡¯t care about you. I was just looking out for her.¡±


    Droz smirked. ¡°Ooooh, look at you, so compassionate.¡±


    ¡°Wanna get beat up, you shit?¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, still doesn¡¯t change the fact you risk your life for little old us.¡±


    ¡°Tch!¡± Venzus crossed his arms, displeased.


    Arashia looked at them with a wide smile. She liked the happy and casual atmosphere. And it made her feel everything was worth it.


    ¡°Anyway,¡± Venzus continued. ¡°Let¡¯s get going. Let¡¯s get as far away from here as possible.¡±


    They all agreed. And they began walking down the path towards the south.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Arashia asked.


    ¡°Need to be asked? Back home,¡± Venzus said.


    Arashia energetically nodded. ¡°Can we get some food on the way?¡±


    ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll buy you a lot. We owe you.¡± Droz patted her back vigorously.


    Venzus frowned. ¡°We don¡¯t have the coins, you know.¡±


    ¡°Eh, plenty of humans to rob from.¡± Droz shrugged.


    And they did rob some humans that came their way.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 34: A Decision (Part 1)

    A young lady slept on a bed, and she was wrapped in a smooth sheet. She looked like a princess. For she was indeed a princess. A princess from a faraway nation, a princess who last witnessed her home kingdom on fire. A princess who carried a heavy feeling of loss inside her heart.


    As one lost in intense grief, she shouldn¡¯t be able to wake up. For others, they lacked the motivation to be awakened back to the real world. Maybe the dreams they were having brought them ecstatic fantasy. However, it was different for this princess. For she did not dream.


    The Lost Princess, who was regarded as the Pure Princess in her homeland, slowly opened her eyes. Her vision still in a blur, she looked around. It was a room made of wood, and it was plainer than what she was used to in a bedroom. As she slightly shifted, she realized she was lying on a soft bed.


    She slowly sat up, but she halted and groaned in pain, placing a hand on her head. Taking a deep breath, she took in more of her surroundings. The room had plain furniture, with a wooden desk and chairs. There were also bottles of wine on a shelf along with fancy wine glasses.


    Judging from the room, this must be somewhere in the ship. And for being in a ship, despite being plain, it was so decent, must be for someone important. Princess Estelia slowly moved out of the bed, her entire body throbbed in pain. She strained her body too much and overused Physical Enhancement.


    I should cast healing magic on my body later¡­


    She surmised it wouldn¡¯t completely restore her body, but it should lessen the pain she was feeling. But for now, she should check her surroundings and situation. She didn¡¯t want to be completely clueless.


    When she tried standing up, she had a realization of how terrible her state was. Her body felt so heavy and painful, she felt exhausted and so weak. She could collapse at any moment if she lost her grip on herself.


    I want to sleep¡­


    But she had no time for it. She noticed she was not wearing her combat outfit anymore. She was wearing dark trousers, a white shirt, and a dark bluish coat. She had the impression it was almost similar to a pirate¡¯s outfit, but it was also similar to what sailors wear.


    She looked around, and she noticed a particular object on top of a drawer. It was familiar, a dagger.


    There you are.


    It was her most expensive dagger. The traffickers really did take it away to keep it. She quickly walked over to it barefooted, but then she paused when she came across a mirror. Upon seeing herself, she narrowed her eyes and looked at her entire appearance. She looked terrible.


    Her skin was deathly pale, and she had faint dark circles under her eyes as if she had not slept properly for days. She had never seen herself like this before, something this bad. For the moment, she didn¡¯t know what to do to remedy her health, so she set aside the problem for now.


    With a sigh, she continued on to her dagger. She grabbed it and pulled it out of its sheath. Indeed, it was her special dagger. She felt significantly relieved to see it okay. At least something she was deeply familiar with was safe and was with her. No, it was not the only one.


    She pulled out the necklace hidden under her shirt, which was thankfully still there. It had a crimson gemstone, which also had the ability to change color with a bit of mana. It was a gift from her elder brother. A souvenir from home. The princess had a sad look on her face, longing for the feeling of home. And she was reminded of her dear mother.


    She held back her tears. She didn¡¯t want to cry.


    She looked at the window, and she was a bit curious at what she was seeing. The ship had not been moving or anything since she woke up, and now she knew why. While holding the dagger, she walked to the window to have a closer look on the outside. It was daytime, and the view was so clear, the water surface was ice.


    ¡­ Huh, I remember doing that¡­


    She didn¡¯t expect that it would still be here after she fainted. And she was curious if it was even melting. It didn¡¯t appear to be, perhaps as what would be expected. She remembered she didn¡¯t hold back during the fight, despite the incredible pain she was under. She was pressed for time, and had to end the battle as soon as possible. And of course, that turned out to be easier said than done.


    She was lucky she was able to win before she passed out. And from how things looked, the way she was in a fine room, woken up on a fine bed, she could guess that the team on the ship won. However, the ship was still stranded because of her ice magic.


    Mm, at least they have the decency to bring me back here.


    And the fact that they brought her to a nice place to rest, perhaps they really had some gratitude in them. She was the one who freed them, after all. And the one who took out the most powerful enemy. She was the one who contributed the most to this victory.


    Her head began to hurt, ears ringing, and thus Estelia made her way back to the bed, sitting down at the edge. Suddenly, the door opened up. Estelia sprang up from the bed and pointed her dagger at the one who was about to enter. It was a young woman, wearing a ragged dress. She was a bit dirty, but from the looks of it, she tried her best to look decent.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move,¡± Estelia warned.


    The young woman froze with a scared expression, looking at her with widened eyes.


    ¡°Y-Young Miss, you¡¯re awake.¡±


    ¡°Were you one of the captives?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, I was.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    Estelia lowered her weapon and sat back down on the bed. She was just making sure this woman was not a threat.


    ¡°Um, Young Miss¡­¡± She slowly stepped in. ¡°You don¡¯t look alright, do you need help?¡±


    The way the woman spoke was careful, but she sounded less refined and less formal than Estelia was used to in the palace. So, as one might imagine, she was likely a peasant, among the easiest to traffic.


    ¡°No. I don''t need your help.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°What time is it?¡±


    ¡°Judging from the sun, it''s just past noon.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    The commoner woman seemed to be restless, as there was a brief silence. She was thinking about what to say.


    ¡°Oh yes, maybe you would like some soup, Young Miss? We still have plenty left.¡±


    Estelia pondered it for a moment. She was feeling hungry. She had eaten nothing for a long while now. She should eat to at least feel better.


    ¡°Very well, please bring me some.¡±


    With an awkward nod, the young woman left the room, making sure to close the door while doing it. Now that she was alone, Estelia laid her back on the bed and heaved a long sigh. She wanted sleep, she needed it, but for some reason, her eyes wanted to remain open.


    She had never felt like this before. This crushing feeling that sucked out all the motivation you had. She just wanted to sleep for a very, very long time.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    She didn¡¯t know how much time had passed as she kept staring at the ceiling, but knocks came on the door.


    ¡°I¡¯ve brought you your food.¡±


    Estelia frowned. It was a man¡¯s voice. Not what she expected. She rose from the bed with wary eyes.


    ¡°Come in.¡±


    The door opened, and a tall, muscular man entered. He was a full-fledged adult, must be in his early thirties. He was around seven feet tall and he was struggling a bit to move around the room. Furthermore, Estelia recognized him, he was the soldier she met first when she released the captives. Seeing that it was a familiar man, she lowered her guard.


    In the man¡¯s hands was a wooden bowl of soup, faintly steaming, and a pouch of water.


    ¡°Where is the woman?¡±


    ¡°You scared her, so here I am.¡± He scrutinized her for a second. ¡°You don¡¯t look so good,¡± he said as he walked towards the table. ¡°You best eat while it''s still warm.¡± He placed the bowl and water pouch on the table.


    Estelia walked over to the table, but not without her dagger. She sat down on the chair and stared at the soup for a moment. It didn¡¯t look too presentable, but at least it was food. She slowly placed her dagger beside the bowl, where she could easily reach it when needed.


    ¡°Still wary, I see.¡±


    Estelia looked up at him for a moment before picking up the wooden spoon. ¡°I don¡¯t know you.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­ But we fought on the same side, so I don¡¯t think we should be hostile toward each other.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Estelia scooped the soup with her spoon. They may have fought on the same side, but they were strangers in the end. She had no reason to be too friendly with them at the moment. They could still be dangerous for all she knew. Yes, she was not safe, not anywhere.


    ¡°Perhaps I should start introducing myself. I am Velar Telerosen. A former soldier.¡±


    Former, huh¡­


    Estelia ate a couple spoonfuls of the soup before responding. ¡°Estelia.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Lady Estelia.¡±


    She disregarded him and focused on her food. It was plain, not as delicious back in the palace. But she couldn¡¯t exactly be picky in this case.


    ¡°When we retrieved you, we almost thought you were dead. Despite not having any dangerous wounds whatsoever.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°And you were drenched, so we have to change your clothes.¡±


    Estelia paused and glanced at her sleeves and glared at the man fiercely. ¡°You¡¯re the one who removed my clothes?¡±


    The man stiffened as he received that powerful gaze, and he forced himself to form a small smile. ¡°Of course not. We had the women do it. Privately.¡±


    Her hostility disappeared, and she returned her eyes to the soup. Suddenly, she started coughing. She didn¡¯t choke because of the food or anything, it was just a real sudden cough.


    ¡°Lady, do you have a fever?¡±


    She raised her hand, indicating that he shouldn¡¯t get near.


    ¡°I¡¯m f-fine.¡± She grabbed the pouch of water and drank from it. After that, she placed a hand on her forehead. ¡°I don¡¯t have a fever.¡± It was at a normal warmth.


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    Estelia took a deep breath for a moment before asking a question. ¡°We have full control of the ship?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We captured three of the enemy, and they¡¯re in the brig. One being the captain.¡±


    The captain¡­


    Estelia pondered on what she should do with them. She had a few questions she wanted to ask.


    ¡°And the demon?¡± she asked.


    ¡°... Well, his corpse is still on the ice. So I guess he¡¯s dead.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    ¡°... We¡¯re ready to move, but we¡¯re still stuck because of the frozen water.¡±


    Estelia glanced up at the soldier. The way he interacted and spoke was typical of a soldier, it reminded her of how the soldiers and knights spoke to her. They were formal and gave reports appropriately.


    Well, at least he speaks way better than Rogan.


    She wondered how things were going on back home. She was worried that they had lost. But she hoped that wasn¡¯t the case. No, she had faith that everything went well in the capital city. But, even if they did win there, there would still be a much bigger problem for them to face.


    ¡°The ice is not melting?¡± Estelia asked.


    ¡°No. But, magic seemed to be¡­ how do I say this¡­ Evaporating away.¡±


    ¡°Hm. And it¡¯s still here¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s evaporating slowly, it would seem.¡±


    ¡°... I see. I¡¯ll figure it out later. Maybe I can do something about it.¡±


    ¡°That is a relief¡­ You¡¯re an incredibly strong mage, Lady Estelia. Or should I address you as Your Highness?¡±


    Estelia narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°You know?¡±


    ¡°I heard the demon calling you a princess.¡±


    ¡°... Hm.¡± She continued on her food.


    ¡°A strong mage and a princess, but I have no idea where you¡¯re from. From which kingdom. Someone like you should be famous, at least.¡±


    ¡°You are not familiar with my appearance? Not a word?¡±


    ¡°Not at all.¡±


    Estelia wondered that considering her unique appearance, rumors of her existence would have been heard. But it would seem that was too much of an expectation for her reputation. Especially considering that her family minimized as much information about her as possible. Not even her own people knew much about her. Indeed, she was a sheltered and protected princess.


    ¡°Where are you from, Velar?¡±


    ¡°The Eventon Republic.¡±


    Estelia paused and glanced outside. She mentally conjured the map she learned during her studies. The Eventon Republic was at the south of the continent, at the edge.


    ¡°Eventon¡­ Did I¡­? Did this ship depart from Eventon?¡± It was too far. It couldn¡¯t be that she was asleep for several days.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Then I was already on my way to where the demons live?


    She recalled Vernon mentioning that the demons were in the south, beyond the southern shores of the continent. To be this far already from her home kingdom¡­ It was extremely concerning and confusing. It was just too far, and too sudden.


    ¡°You can¡¯t be from the Eventon,¡± the soldier said. ¡°Maybe among the smaller countries?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m from Wisteria.¡±


    ¡°W-Wisteria?¡± He was surprised. ¡°You¡¯re that important? To be from that powerful nation, it¡¯s unthinkable you got taken. And to not be retrieved by your soldiers immediately, just how did your captor do it?¡±


    ¡°... The Empire attacked us, and he caught me amidst all that.¡±


    ¡°The Empire? You mean the Tornridge Empire? I didn¡¯t think it had escalated already.¡±


    Estelia lowered her spoon, she had lost her appetite.


    ¡°Your nation has no dealings with the Empire?¡± she asked.


    ¡°None from what I know. We are neutral, and are safe from any state conflict.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s stupid. Thinking you¡¯re safe.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Is that not the case?¡±


    ¡°I know a fair bit about your Republic¡­ A nation of commerce, where money is king, right?¡±


    Estelia stared at the soldier, and he did not respond. What she said was true.


    ¡°And where money reigns, it is the easiest to sway.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°What makes you think your wealthy nation is not already in the Empire¡¯s pocket?¡±


    The soldier looked away, thinking deeply of what she had said. Estelia smiled a little.


    The ignorant masses. Thinking their nation was as it was told. The greediest is the easiest to control. Dangle money, and they will come swimming towards it.


    ¡°That can¡¯t be¡­¡± he muttered.


    ¡°You might not realize it, but your nation might already be under their control.¡±


    Wisteria had been trying to bring the Eventon Republic to their side, to join the alliance. If they had them on their side, they would have a powerful navy that can be used against the Empire. However, no matter how hard they did it, Eventon remained neutral. Which, truth be told, Estelia found baffling.


    The biggest nations had joined hands, and all knew the threat the Empire possessed. Everyone knew the Empire¡¯s history of conquering. Surely the Eventon Republic knew they shouldn¡¯t expect to be safe from the Empire. They should be aware of the danger.


    Did they really expect the Empire would just let a port nation roam free? Get control of it, and you get control of among the biggest sea trading ports on the continent. It was too valuable to be left alone. Surely the Eventon Republic wasn¡¯t too stupid to not think of this? True that they might be indeed just foolish, or just truly believed their neutral stance would keep them safe, as that was how it had always been to them. However, their leaders should consider all possibilities. And as businessmen, they should be aware of all risks.


    However, what if they already had no risk to speak of? What if they already made a deal with the devil?


    Senators, even in the old world where she was from, greedy politicians were among the easiest to control.


    Now, how greedy could their top brass be if their nation centered on money? Around commerce?


    Besides, there was already an example of this happening in Wisteria.


    ¡°Back in Wisteria, we apprehended and punished nobles who sided with the Empire. Endeared by bright promises. Do you think your government is not safe from such?¡±


    ¡°... I¡­ Well¡­¡± His gaze lingered outside, distant. ¡°From experience, governors are not the best people¡­¡± He lowered his eyes, there was sadness in them. ¡°But, if it is what my country has decided¡­ Then it is what it is. Someone like me can¡¯t do anything about it.¡±


    Estelia was a bit surprised. ¡°I expected more compassion from you regarding your own home country.¡±


    He seemed to force a small smile. ¡°I don¡¯t feel passionate currently.¡±


    Estelia tilted her head slightly before looking back outside. ¡°I see¡­¡±


    People have their own bad experiences, I guess.


    ¡°By the way, where are my clothes?¡±


    ¡°We are drying it out outside.¡±


    ¡°... I¡¯m going out.¡±


    ¡°Ah, by the way, there are guests.¡±


    Estelia was confused. ¡°Guests?¡±


    Why would there be guests on a ship in the middle of the sea?


    ¡°Three of them. They want to talk to you.¡±


    ¡°Who are they?¡±


    ¡°One is named Heneis.¡±


    Estelia quickly held her dagger in her hand. She was on alert. However, thinking about it, those creatures were never really hostile to her. It was just that they have an interest in her. Whatever or whoever they were, she didn¡¯t want anything to do with them. It would just make things more complicated than it already was.


    ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll talk to them.¡± But she couldn¡¯t exactly run away from them here.


    She rose up and followed the soldier to the door. Estelia glanced at her other daggers placed on top of a drawer.


    ¡°Ah, hold up.¡±


    She quickly wrapped one strap to her thigh and sheathed the two daggers. While she kept holding on to her fancy one.


    After that, they exited the room. Estelia was immediately met with bright sunlight and cold air, caused by the frozen water surface. Then, she noticed a handsome man leaning on the wall. He had long bronze hair, and he was smiling widely, giving Estelia a casual wave.


    ¡°Hey, long time no see, little princess.¡±


    What the fuck?


    She was confused on why this person was even here. And it truthfully shocked her. ¡°I know you.¡±


    ¡°Heh, of course you do.¡±

 Vol. 4 Chapter 35: A Decision (Part 2)

    Estelia recognized him, this man was at the festival last time. He participated in the arena fighting monsters. She had never thought that she would see him in a place like this. And why was he even here? It didn¡¯t make sense. She sensed there was something strange and suspicious going on here.


    This man, whoever he was, was not some mere guy who enjoyed getting demolished by some monster. And with those thoughts in mind, Estelia kept her distance and gave him a sharp look. She gripped the hilt of her dagger tightly.


    The man shifted his eyes to glance at her dagger and formed a small grin.


    ¡°What¡¯s this? Scared of me?¡±


    Estelia studied him. ¡°Did you get lost?¡± she said that with a hint of sarcasm.


    ¡°Oh not at all, little princess. I was looking for you.¡±


    ¡°Who are you really?¡±


    He looked up, as though he was thinking. But Estelia knew he was just being dramatic.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say I¡¯ve been watching you for some time now.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a creepy stalker, then.¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°Hah, funny. Then I guess you have a lot of stalkers.¡±


    ¡°... What can I say? I¡¯m very pretty.¡±


    ¡°Factually, you are.¡±


    ¡°How did you even find this ship?¡±


    ¡°Your magic was pretty bright, you know. And it¡¯s hard not to notice the frozen seawater.¡±


    He would search this far for me?


    Now it was just getting stranger, he was just too motivated to search for her. That indicated he desperately needed her for something.


    ¡°... Who are you and what do you want from me?¡±


    ¡°Name¡¯s Taneva, of course you might have known that already. We want to talk.¡±


    ¡°Princess.¡±


    When Estelia heard that familiar voice from behind, she quickly stepped away and glared at him. There were two of them, both had the same black hair and amber eyes. One she didn¡¯t recognize, but the other she knew.


    ¡°You.¡± She pointed her finger at the man, preparing her magic. And she felt a faint sharp pain. ¡°What the hell are you doing here?¡± She then glanced at the bronze haired man. ¡°You¡¯re with them?¡±


    Taneva walked a little closer. ¡°I¡¯m with them, but not really with them.¡±


    Estelia didn¡¯t fully understand what he meant by that. But if he was with them, then she couldn¡¯t trust him. Just as she couldn¡¯t trust the strange man who tried to snatch her away. Well, not like she should completely trust a person she just met.


    ¡°Then I can¡¯t trust you.¡±


    ¡°Woah, come on, Princess. At least get to know me first.¡±


    The soldier, Velar, placed a hand on his hilt. As Estelia was on guard against them, he found he should be as well.


    ¡°Are they enemies?¡±


    Estelia didn¡¯t respond. She was still deciding on what to do with them. She knew nothing of them, she had no idea how strong they could be. Her health was not at its best, she doubted she could even fight properly in her current state. Still, it would be dangerous to lower her guard.


    ¡°Princess,¡± said the amber-eyed older man. ¡°We mean you no harm, I swear.¡±


    The other people on the deck noticed the rising tension, and they grew concerned.


    ¡°Explain yourself,¡± Estelia demanded.


    ¡°Let me formally introduce myself. I am Heneis of the Cursed Children. My colleague here is named Galik, also a cursed child.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not human, I take it.¡± Estelia glanced back at Taneva. ¡°You?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not like them. I¡¯m human.¡±


    It was a bit of a relief to know he was human. It was way better than being a monster like these two who wore the skin of a human. But then again, a lot of humans were pretty scummy, too.


    ¡°Princess, we only want to help you,¡± Heneis continued. ¡°We don¡¯t mean to antagonize you.¡±


    ¡°Shut it, what do you want from me?¡±


    ¡°We know that you are intending to turn this ship back to the continent. But you shouldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Why? Is it because it¡¯s dangerous or something? No.¡±


    ¡°Princess, please, it is very dangerous. You need to proceed to Shinoroa.¡±


    ¡°Shinoroa?¡±


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    ¡°The place where this ship is supposedly heading to.¡±


    ¡°Why in the world would I do that?¡±


    ¡°It is where you will find a way to restore your full potential. It is where your mother¡¯s grave lies.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Her glare grew in intensity.


    ¡°I meant the goddess, your original mother.¡±


    ¡°I only have one mother¡­ had one mother.¡±


    ¡°... Yes. But you will find the Goddess¡¯s grave in Shinoroa, where she died. It is where you will ascend to what you really should be.¡±


    ¡°Why should I even trust you? You tried kidnapping me. And now you¡¯re spouting some nonsense. I don¡¯t trust you. This ship will return to the continent, and I will come back home.¡±


    They want something from me. They¡¯re doing this for me? Bullshit. Everyone always has an ulterior motive. Whatever they want from me, no more. I¡¯m done with all this shit.


    Because of how special she was, everything had fallen apart. Everyone wanted her, everyone wanted her dead. Everyone needed her for something. And Estelia could no longer stand it. The cost was already so high, and so painful. No more.


    She would come back to Wisteria and fix everything. She would personally end this stupid war. She would burn the entire Empire and the continent if she had to.


    ¡°Princess, be reasonable.¡±


    ¡°Quiet, and get lost.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡ª¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care what you have to say.¡±


    Suddenly, Taneva leaned forward. ¡°You really want to come back, huh? And what will you do when you get back?¡±


    ¡°What I have to.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, of course. With your power, you can turn the tides. But can you even get far?¡± His eyes narrowed.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, I expected you would be smarter than this, Princess. Have you taken a look at yourself? You look like crap.¡±


    Estelia bit her lip.


    ¡°Are you even alive? You look like you would collapse with a simple push. And why do you think this is all happening, huh?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Really? You¡¯re getting too emotional here, it¡¯s clouding your thoughts. Can you imagine if you get back? I can guess that after one battle, you¡¯ll be useless. You¡¯ll start dying. Hell, you¡¯re basically dying already.¡±


    Estelia¡¯s cheek twitched.


    Taneva continued. ¡°Face it, you won¡¯t survive if you come back now to Wisteria. No matter how strong your will is, your body can only take so much. Your mortal body. You are a god, and a god¡¯s power cannot be sustained by mortal flesh. Your divinity is wreaking havoc on your body. Answer me, Princess, do you want to live?¡±


    ¡°... Of course.¡±


    ¡°Then you have two choices. Return to Wisteria, where you¡¯ll die a slow death. Or sail on ahead, transform into a true divine being, where you¡¯ll be completely restored, no longer constrained by your mortal body, and you¡¯ll get to live for all eternity.¡±


    ¡°For eternity¡­?¡±


    That was stuck in her mind. She would not only get to live, but to also obtain eternal life. However, if she sailed ahead, she didn¡¯t know how long it would be before she would have it. To achieve true divinity. And during all that time, her home would be under a war. She would have no idea how they were doing. Their preparations for war were far from over. They would struggle so hard.


    But if she returns, her body would continue to deteriorate. Taneva was right, she would be useless, and worse, she would die. She didn¡¯t want to die. She didn¡¯t want to be useless.


    ¡°Be a god, and you will have power beyond your wildest dreams. You¡¯ll help more than you could have... Or stay as you are, where you slowly dwindle and wither away. More of a burden than help.¡±


    Estelia lowered her head.


    ¡°What say you, O Royal Princess of Blood?¡± Taneva asked at last, a wide grin on his face.


    ¡°... Why are you doing this? What¡¯s in it for you?¡±


    ¡°Me? I just need you to become a god. I need you to survive. There¡¯s nothing bad about becoming a god, you know.¡±


    ¡°And them?¡± She indicated the Cursed Children.


    ¡°Same as what I said.¡±


    ¡°... How should I know you¡¯re not lying? If this divine power is even real?¡±


    ¡°You only have my word. But I assure you, it¡¯s real. Besides, what better alternatives do you have?¡±


    She furrowed her brows before turning around. ¡°... Let¡­ Let me think...¡±


    With no other words, and without regard for anyone else, she returned to her room and closed the door. Once there was silence, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Estelia kept thinking of home. She had never been away like this, something this far. Her family, her brothers, her father, and her mother, she kept thinking about them.


    She wanted to go home. She wanted it so much.


    She stood in front of the mirror, and she took a close look at herself. Indeed, she looked so terrible, eye bags, tired face, deathly pale skin. She looked like she was dying. In the reflection, instead of the stern, tough eyes she would usually see, it was a soft gaze. No, it was an exhausted and sad gaze.


    She lowered her head, she didn¡¯t want to look at it.


    Mother, what should I do¡­?


    In her thoughts, she asked someone that she would never get to hear from again. She didn¡¯t know what to do, what was right. She couldn¡¯t think straight.


    Suddenly, a drop of tear fell. She was holding it back, she didn¡¯t want it to fall. But she failed.


    I can¡¯t do this¡­ I can¡¯t¡­


    She was tired.


    She just wanted to lie down. She just wanted to lie down on the bed and hear stories. She just wanted to hang out at the library and read books. To sit by the window and watch the scenery outside. To eat with her brothers. Go outside with her father. To talk with her mother. She had enough of this, of everything. All she wanted¡­ was peace.


    Everything was simpler back then. And more fun. If only she could bring herself back to those times.


    I want to go back home.


    She rubbed her eyes, and gazed at her own reflection once again.


    I must¡­ I must decide¡­


    She sat down on the floor and leaned her back on the drawer. She hugged her knees. And she wallowed in her thoughts, swirling with intense sadness and longing. Her face hid in her arms and legs.


    I am all alone in this.


    She only had herself.


    No allies, no friends.


    She only had herself to survive all these hardships.


    I can¡¯t rely on anyone.


    Only herself.


    I must do what is necessary.


    All to win all of this. She must do what gives the best result.


    Even if I have to leave my home behind¡­


    How far behind her home may become, she must do everything to save it. She must have the power to save it all.


    She had made her decision.


    Her thoughts took some time before she decided and exited the room. Although, her deliberation wasn¡¯t a short time at all. The men from before were waiting in front.


    ¡°Have you decided?¡± Taneva asked.


    ¡°We¡¯re going onward¡­ To obtain this power you speak of.¡±


    Taneva grinned. ¡°You have made a wise choice.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re lying about this, I¡¯ll kill you. All of you.¡±


    Taneva only smiled.


    Estelia waved her hand, and in an instant, the ice that covered hundreds of meters vanished like smoke. The normal people fell in shock as the thick ice disappeared, as if it had never been there at all. The ship rocked as the moving water was restored.


    Velar glanced at the water for a moment before turning to Estelia. ¡°Are you sure? Many here want to return to Eventon.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can do about it.¡±


    Estelia stepped forward, and she looked down at the people below standing at the deck. And they looked up at her.


    ¡°Listen, we are going to Shinoroa.¡±


    The once captives began murmuring, looking at each other in confusion and worry. But Estelia ignored them.


    ¡°Those that want to go home will have to wait until I say so. Disagree as you might, you will not change my course. Rebel against me as you did your captors before, and you will come to regret your impatience. I say this: eventually, you will return home.¡±


    Estelia turned towards Velar.


    ¡°Do you go against my decision, soldier?¡±


    He looked at the people surrounding him before shaking his head. ¡°... No.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now, set a course for Shinoroa.¡±

 Vol. 4 Chapter 36: A Decision (Part 3)

    The ship that was now under the control of the white princess had set sail for the archipelago in the south, named Shinoroa. The white princess made a brief discussion with the soldier, and the man named Taneva, on where they should make port. They couldn¡¯t just go to the original destination of these traffickers. There would be enemies waiting for them there.


    Thus, Taneva suggested heading for the port city of Mahana, that was on the western part of the northern main island named Hokunoa, in contrast to the original destination of Enikada, which was on the eastern part.


    Velar was the one to approach the two men at the helm, ones who knew how to operate a ship like this, who were just guiding the men on the sails. He carried a map over to them and pointed out the destination.


    The older man frowned. ¡°That¡¯s a big shift. If I recall correctly, we might hit a region with pirate activity. It will be dangerous if we get unlucky and encounter a pirate ship.¡±


    ¡°Is that really a concern for us?¡±


    Velar glanced at the lady of white sitting at the railing at the side of the ship. She seemed enigmatic, but obviously sad about something. Then he glanced towards the bronze haired man casually looking at the horizon. While the other two strangers in black were talking to each other.


    Velar continued. ¡°Don¡¯t you see what kind of monsters we have here?¡±


    The man awkwardly glanced at the new people. ¡°Really? I mean, they look dangerous and strange, but monsters?¡±


    They had seen what the lady of white was capable of doing. But it would seem his curiosity lay on the three guests. Considering that the man was not a warrior or anything, he must not have sensed how dangerous they were. But Velar, as an experienced soldier, sensed it, and it gave him goosebumps the first he met them.


    ¡°Turning from fog to man is not a normal ability. And the other just ran here on the ice. I assure you, they¡¯re anything but weak. We don¡¯t have to worry about any pirates.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re strong?¡± a young man in his mid to late teens asked worriedly. He was holding on to the helm.


    ¡°I have the feeling they¡¯re too strong. Even I wouldn¡¯t hold a candle against them.¡±


    The young man glanced at the young lady. Velar noticed he frequently stared at her. But he understood why. No one, not even him, had ever seen someone so beautiful. It was expected that her beauty would have a tremendous effect on someone her age.


    ¡°What are they?¡± the older man asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. But, we have no need to worry about anything dangerous. They¡¯re on our side for now.¡±


    ¡°Velar, are we really going to do this? Sailing straight to Shinoroa. Everyone here wants to turn back. That was the reason we fought against our captors.¡±


    Everyone had qualms about not immediately going back to Eventon. They were scared, even more so to the men and women who have never gone this far in their lives. Even more so to the ones who missed their home.


    ¡°What do you want me to do?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± He looked away. ¡°Everyone is restless.¡±


    ¡°She said that we¡¯ll be going back, anyway. Besides, we have plenty of rations here to help us survive a long trip.¡±


    There were a lot, actually. This ship was loaded with supplies. One could guess they were intended for trading and long travels.


    ¡°Is that even true? That we¡¯ll go back.¡±


    ¡°... She doesn¡¯t seem to be a bad person. Even she was taken from her home. She¡¯s not too different from us.¡±


    That was how Velar felt about the lady. Despite how cold she may be, she didn¡¯t seem to be outright evil like the ones that took them. As long as they don¡¯t fight against her, everything should be alright.


    ¡°If that¡¯s what you think, then you better ease the others. Before they do something stupid.¡±


    Velar sighed and glanced at the people on the deck. They were looking up at the sails, looking up at the ocean, and talking to each other. But he could sense brooding in their faces and movements.


    ¡°Just change the course. I¡¯ll handle it.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡±


    Velar left the map to them and he stepped down the stairs, heading to the princess.


    ¡°Your Highness.¡±


    She slowly raised her crimson eyes towards him.


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    ¡°The people here don''t take your plans well. They are concerned.¡±


    ¡°That is to be expected, no?¡±


    Oh, she¡¯s not clueless.


    Truth be told, considering that she was a princess, he expected her to be clueless about the thoughts and needs of the common people. Daughters of rich men were, most of the time, spoiled and haughty. They never cared much about anyone else, thus didn¡¯t give the time to think about anyone else but themselves. Others may try to, try to be kind and all, but still end up clueless.


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk and ease them about the situation. That they¡¯ll go home eventually.¡±


    She stared at Velar¡¯s eyes for a moment. ¡°I wonder¡­ do all of them even want to go back?¡±


    ¡°Pardon?¡±


    She glanced at the people on the deck. ¡°Some of them are merely afraid of the unknown.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°How do you think they ended up here?¡±


    When they were chained within the darkness of the ship, Velar and the other captives spoke to each other. Some told their stories.


    ¡°Some of them were kidnapped, while the others were sold¡­¡±


    The latter one was especially the saddest. He found it incomprehensible that someone would just sell a family to slavery. But desperation brings out the worst in people.


    ¡°And these others¡­ Do you think they have a place to go back to?¡±


    Velar lowered his eyes. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    ¡°It must be heartbreaking to know you were sold by those dearest to you. How can you come back from that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no home to go back to, they have nothing. Even if they go back to land, what will they do?¡±


    ¡°Live, I guess.¡±


    ¡°If life were ever that easy. How would they even live?¡±


    The princess stared deeply into his eyes again, as though she were reading through him. And she smiled a little.


    ¡°Once convinced, some wouldn¡¯t mind going on an adventure for a while. Am I right?¡±


    Velar looked over at the vast horizon. Some didn¡¯t have a home to go to. They were directionless. Betrayed by their family. And venturing to an unknown place wouldn¡¯t be too bad for people like them. Especially in this world full of the unknown, a lot of new things to see. Velar had met plenty of people while on duty that expressed their desire to go around places they have never been to before.


    Is it because they want to? Or they just didn¡¯t have a decent home to stay in?


    Whatever the reason may be, he had started to understand them, even for just a little.


    Velar formed a small smile. ¡°I guess.¡±


    ¡°They only need to be relieved of the lingering fear. Can you do that, Velar? Assure them that it will be alright.¡±


    ¡°Those that want to go home?¡±


    ¡°Tell them to be patient. They might even get home before I do.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to try talking to them? You¡¯re basically their captain now.¡±


    ¡°... I¡­¡± She looked down. ¡°I¡¯ll get to it when I¡¯m feeling a bit better.¡±


    Velar had no idea what exactly she went through to be this distraught. But it must have been terrible. He could imagine, though. Her home being under attack, and the people she might have lost, it must have been so hard and heartbreaking. Seeing her like this, it made him think she was just a normal girl with a heart in the end.


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll talk to them. But even my words wouldn¡¯t be enough if they do not know you at all.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­¡± She looked away.


    Velar faintly nodded. ¡°Then I¡¯ll go talk to them.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going back inside the captain¡¯s room. I need to heal.¡±


    ¡°Heal? You mean sleep?¡±


    She got up from the railing and shook her head. ¡°I meant heal.¡±


    ¡°... Huh, I think I understand.¡±


    Sounds like she could cast healing magic.


    With that, the princess returned to the captain¡¯s cabin with slow and tired steps. It was either because of her sadness or because of her weakened body, but it could be both. Velar was about to go onward, but someone suddenly came up beside him.


    ¡°I heard they called her a princess.¡±


    Velar raised an eyebrow and glanced at the nosy poet. ¡°You were listening?¡±


    ¡°Well, not like you were whispering or anything. Those guys were quite noisy. I¡¯m certain some heard it as well.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m curious. Did they call her a princess metaphorically, or is she just really a princess?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°Oh come one, at least tell me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not really in a place to casually share it.¡±


    The poet grinned. ¡°See, saying it that way pretty much confirms it.¡±


    The soldier could only sigh. ¡°Why are you so interested, anyway? Not like it¡¯s any significant whether she¡¯s an actual princess or not.¡±


    The poet placed a hand under his chin. ¡°I never met a princess before. And judging from her incredible, extreme beauty, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising that she¡¯s someone very important like a royal. Are princesses all that beautiful?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say. Not like there are princesses in Eventon.¡±


    ¡°She is fascinating. A princess far away from her home. One who possessed incredible power. I want to learn more about her.¡±


    ¡°Why would you even want that?¡±


    The poet placed a hand on both hips. ¡°I am a storyteller. I gather stories. I study all things interesting. And someone like her, I have never seen something more interesting. Guess I should start talking to her.¡±


    ¡°Careful, she doesn¡¯t look like she''s in a talking mood.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Really.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ Guess next time then.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem bothered that we¡¯re going straight to Shinoroa.¡±


    ¡°Why should I be?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to go back to the continent?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve always been traveling, so I don¡¯t mind going to another place. It¡¯s also interesting to see this Shinoroa archipelago. I heard it¡¯s a pretty dangerous place.¡±


    ¡°... I wouldn¡¯t know, really.¡±


    ¡°I heard rumors. Savage people they are, always fighting and stuff. A dark and dead place.¡±


    ¡°For a pretty dead place, there sure seemed to be plenty of cities and people.¡±


    ¡°... I suppose. Maybe these stories are just exaggerations.¡±


    ¡°Seeing that you are onboard with this journey, how about you help me settle people down about this?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, some are against this. Especially the women. A couple of them were already crying about it.¡±


    ¡°... They already had a terrible experience away from home, and now they¡¯re going further.¡±


    ¡°Some even want to throw the bad guys overboard. How wrathful, indeed. Terrible experiences inspire sadness and vengeance. But I am inclined to agree that our heartless captors must be thrown to their demise. If it shall remedy our dear friends¡¯ vengeful and pained cries. How about you, friend?¡±


    ¡°Me? I don¡¯t mind killing them.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re used to killing, I see. No hesitation.¡±


    ¡°My job was to kill.¡±


    ¡°You look like you carry out your duty dearly. I wonder how you ended up here.¡±


    ¡°... Hm.¡± He seemed to be avoiding the topic. ¡°Help me talk to the people. You¡¯re pretty good with words.¡±


    ¡°My, my. If you wish to use my talent, then I shall assist you.¡±


    ¡°Just don¡¯t get too carried away.¡±


    ¡°I would never. But I think we should start only when they¡¯re done with their work.¡±

 Vol. 4 Chapter 37: Meras Return

    A carriage entered the gates to the Wisterian capital city of Serene. It was not a plain carriage commonly found traveling around the place. It even had a group of soldiers escorting it. This carriage was transporting a daughter of a noble, a beautiful young lady wearing a graceful dress. She was the personal maid of the princess.


    From inside the carriage, the lone passenger, Mera, looked at the ruined city with a horrified expression. She placed a hand on her chest as she took in a heavy breath. The buildings were heavily damaged, wrecked or burned. People had already started the repair, but considering the scale, it would take a tremendous amount of time to fix everything. Soldiers were also patrolling the streets, with a few also helping with the reconstructions.


    What happened here?


    She had just returned from her break. The time with her family was enjoyable. The affairs in their territory were going smoothly, so she had nothing to worry about. But to come back to this? It pained her heart to see all the destruction.


    As they went through the street, Mera felt pity for the people. They all looked so sad and exhausted. She even saw a lone child sitting at the front door of a broken building. Was that perhaps the child¡¯s home?


    Mera took in a shaky breath.


    The city was attacked? What about the palace? The princess?


    Thinking about the potential danger the princess could have faced, Mera had grown restless and impatient.


    I hope she¡¯s alright¡­


    Her thoughts were mostly centered on the safety of the princess. There was no way she was harmed, at least, that was she was hoping so deeply. Mera glanced back outside. People were staring at her carriage and looking at her. She didn¡¯t want to see those struggling expressions of theirs, it was hard, and thus she looked away, avoiding anyone¡¯s eye.


    If only this carriage would hurry.


    With every passing second and moment, the more she grew restless for the princess¡¯s wellbeing. The time to reach the palace felt longer than what it was supposed to be. As she got closer to the palace, she saw wreckage on the green plains. They must be some sort of contraptions. There were also a few knights there.


    A short while later, she arrived at the gates. The carriage was stopped. Several knights were posted outside. One of the people guarding her got off his steed and went to talk with one of the knights. A moment later, the knights approached Mera¡¯s carriage.


    ¡°Pardon me, milady. But will you please exit the carriage?¡±


    They¡¯re stricter with security.


    But such a thing was to be expected. Mera didn¡¯t complain and complied with the request. She exited the carriage nervously. She then noticed the main gate was damaged, and people were currently working to repair it.


    ¡°Um, I¡¯m the princess¡¯s personal maid, Mera Sylvares.¡±


    The knights looked at each other and nodded, confirming her identity. Mera wasn¡¯t too worried about it though, the knights knew her and her position.


    ¡°I apologize, but we do not allow carriages to go inside for the time being. You will have to enter alone.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°Please, follow me.¡±


    The knight began walking to the side entrance. But before she followed, she faced one of her guards that spoke with the knights. It was a middle-aged muscular man with short hair and a beard. He was one of the trusted men serving Mera¡¯s family.


    Mera smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll be going then.¡±


    ¡°Take care, milady.¡± He smiled back and bowed his head.


    ¡°You too. Be careful on the way back.¡±


    ¡°Yes. But should we leave so soon? Things don''t look so good.¡±


    ¡°... I think I will be fine.¡±


    ¡°How about we stay in the city for a couple of days? If we don¡¯t hear from you, we¡¯ll head straight back.¡±


    ¡°Alright. But please send someone to tell my family. They might get concerned if your arrival is delayed.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± He turned towards a knight. ¡°Can we ask what happened here?¡±


    ¡°You are a noble¡¯s soldier, yes? If so, it is best to wait until the palace gives an official announcement.¡±


    The soldier frowned and turned towards Mera. ¡°We¡¯ll be going then, milady. Perhaps we¡¯ll also try getting information to tell your father.¡±


    With a nod, Mera walked towards the side entrance. Inside, she was feeling a bit nervous about the tense atmosphere the knights were exuding. But she gathered up the courage to ask a question that had been bugging her mind.


    ¡°Um, excuse me,¡± she called out to the knight in front of her. ¡°What happened?¡±


    The knight paused. ¡°We were attacked by the Empire.¡±


    The knight told her, despite denying the soldier from earlier. Likely because Mera herself was from the palace, so he deemed it was safe to tell.


    ¡°The Empire¡­? Um, is the princess I serve alright? She was not harmed, right?¡±


    Suddenly, the room dropped silent, giving off a strange feeling. Mera was confused on why they were acting this way.


    The knight placed a hand behind his head. ¡°Um, I think you should ask the higher-ups about it. We can¡¯t just divulge that information.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t divulge? Why? W-What happened? Tell me.¡±


    ¡°Please, proceed.¡±


    The knight opened the door and held out his hand towards the outside, indicating for Mera to proceed. Mera was hesitant for a second because of her confusion. But she realized these knights were not intending on answering her, so she gave a brief nod and continued on.


    When she felt the fresh breeze again, and under the light of the sun, she froze when she saw what had become of the palace. Her eyes widened in shock, placing a hand on her lips. She couldn¡¯t believe what she was seeing. It was in ruins. The top floor was basically nonexistent. The people had already started rebuilding, but she could imagine it would take a long, long time to restore it to its former glory.


    Seeing all the destruction, Mera only grew more anxious. The floor that was destroyed, it was where the princess''s room was located. She shook her head, to shake away all the negative thoughts building up inside her mind. Surely the dear princess was not harmed.


    Mera walked to the palace entrance with a quickened pace. She wanted the answer of what happened now. When she arrived at the entrance, no one was getting in her way, so it must be safe to get inside the building.


    When she stepped inside the main lobby, she looked around, looking for someone she knew. Her first thoughts may have been the princess, but she also didn¡¯t forget the other maids, which were also her roommates, on the same floor.


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    There were knights and other servants in the lobby, but it would seem the hard part of the cleaning was already mostly done. At least in this part of the palace. She didn¡¯t know where to start searching.


    I should search for the princess first.


    She was about to do such, but then she noticed two maids coming out of the hallway.


    ¡°Ellie! Macey!¡± Mera called out to them with a joyful smile.


    The two maids turned to Mera with a surprised expression.


    ¡°Mera!¡± Ellie shouted.


    ¡°You¡¯re here!¡± Macey smiled with teary eyes.


    The three maids ran at each other and hugged together tightly.


    ¡°Thank the gods you two are fine!¡± Mera said.


    ¡°You too,¡± answered Ellie. ¡°But it¡¯s good you were not here when it happened.¡±


    Macey sniffed. ¡°It was so scary¡­! I thought we were going to die.¡±


    Mera stared at Macey for a moment, seeing how scared she was recalling what happened.


    ¡°It, it was that bad?¡±


    ¡°It was too terrible¡­¡± Macey rubbed the tear rolling down her cheek.


    Mera lowered her head, there must have been so many that died.


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re here,¡± Mera said. ¡°Now I¡¯m relieved to see you¡¯re alive. Have you messaged your families yet?¡±


    Macey nodded. ¡°Yes, but the palace still needs servants to clean things up.¡±


    ¡°It will be some time before we get to return home to rest. At least until the funeral.¡±


    ¡°... Funeral¡­ whose funeral¡­?¡± She was scared to ask that question.


    Macey had a sad expression on her face. ¡°The queen is dead.¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡± Mera took a step back with a heavy heart. She was shocked to hear it. A royal was dead. The queen. She had never imagined something like this would happen. For something like this to happen in the capital city. Mera placed a hand on her mouth. ¡°Oh no¡­¡±


    For their queen to die, it was too terrible. She was a gentle and kind ruler. She was an extremely respected person. It was too terrible of a feeling to realize that her queen had died. But, it would be even worse for the princess.


    ¡°H-How did this happen?¡±


    ¡°... I heard one of the Empire¡¯s soldiers killed her,¡± Macey answered.


    ¡°Those fucking bastards,¡± Ellie remarked.


    The princess loved her own mother so much. It must be heartbreaking to see her die. The princess must be crying so much.


    ¡°The princess,¡± Mera said. ¡°How is the princess doing?¡±


    Strangely, Macey and Ellie looked at each other, hesitation evident in her eyes. Mera was puzzled on why they were acting that way.


    ¡°Mera¡­¡± Ellie pursed her lips for a moment. ¡°... Princess Estelia is missing.¡±


    Mera blinked a few times and shook her head. ¡°Missing? Missing how?¡±


    ¡°... We don¡¯t know much¡­¡± Macey answered.


    ¡°No, no. How can she be missing? What kind of missing? Is she just missing? Is she alive? She¡¯s alive, right? Since when is she missing? How is she not found yet? How¡­?¡± Mera¡¯s heart throbbed, and she took in rapid deep breaths. Her thoughts were swirling in chaos.


    ¡°Calm down, Mera!¡± Ellie held Mera¡¯s shoulders, trying to snap Mera out of her panic. But her efforts didn¡¯t seem effective.


    ¡°W-Where is she? I-Is she okay? Is she alone? S-She must be alone. Who, who took her?!¡± she asked Ellie who was directly at her face.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°What kind of people took her¡­? What if they¡¯re doing something terrible to her? No, no, no! This can¡¯t be happening!¡±


    Mera couldn¡¯t help but imagine things happening to the princess. Without anyone to watch over her, to guard over her, without Mera by her side, she could be in a terrible and scary place. Given the terrible situation, it felt like a terrible nightmare. Something like this had never happened before. The princess never left far from her home.


    ¡°Slow and deep breaths, Mera. Calm down. The knights are searching for her, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°B-But, how long has she been missing? Can they still even find her? What if she is not in the city anymore? What if she¡¯s already far from here?¡±


    Suddenly someone stepped in beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder.


    ¡°Mera.¡±


    The princess¡¯s personal maid turned towards the source of that familiar voice.


    ¡°Sir Vernon¡­¡±


    ¡°Panicking will not do you any good.¡±


    ¡°B-But¡ª¡±


    ¡°Can you two ladies please excuse us for the moment? I want to talk with Mera.¡±


    The two maids nodded at each other.


    ¡°Understood,¡± Ellie answered before turning back to Mera. ¡°We¡¯ll be around. Find us if you want.¡±


    With that, Mera¡¯s friends left. Once they were left alone, Vernon gave Mera a sad look.


    ¡°Mera, the princess was lost during the assault, likely taken. We are still gathering more information about the situation.¡±


    She stayed silent for a moment, as though she was processing what she had heard. ¡°... Please tell me she¡¯s still alive.¡±


    Vernon sighed. ¡°Considering that there¡¯s no corpse or anything, it is safe to assume she¡¯s still alive.¡±


    ¡°Safe to assume¡­? So all we have are assumptions?¡±


    Knowing that, Mera couldn¡¯t help but feel frustrated about it. It wasn¡¯t confirmed she was alive, nor was she dead. She started to regret that she even came home. If she was here, perhaps Mera could have done something. Perhaps she could have prevented the princess from being taken. She could have helped, even if she were to sacrifice her own life for the princess.


    Tears began welling up in her eyes.


    Mera took a deep breath. ¡°... Where is the queen¡­?¡±


    ¡°... She¡¯s currently in the throne room.¡±


    ¡°I wish to pay my respects.¡±


    ¡°... Very well. I¡¯ll bring you there.¡±


    Mera rubbed her tears off as they began making their way to the throne room. Her steps were heavy, almost felt like she was about to collapse. However, she pushed on.


    She arrived at the throne room. In the hall were chairs lined up together. Mera saw some capital nobles sitting down wearing their formal outfits. A heavy and depressing air filled the chamber. At the front of the hall, instead of the thrones, was a single coffin.


    It was a coffin made of the highest quality. Emblazoned with gold and silver, made with the finest and polished wood. The upper part of the coffin was open, allowing one to behold the queen¡¯s face once more. The coffin was surrounded by wisteria, and some other colorful and beautiful flowers.


    ¡°Do¡­ Do the people in the city know about this¡­?¡± Mera asked in curiosity.


    ¡°Not yet¡­¡±


    Mera nodded. And she began walking towards the coffin. On the way, she noticed that the queen¡¯s brother was absent. She expected he would be here. But he might be just so busy right now, especially the chaos the country was currently under.


    Mera arrived right beside the coffin. And there she saw the silver haired queen¡¯s face. It was almost like she was peacefully sleeping. She was completely clean and beautiful, like her daughter.


    ¡°My queen¡­ may you find peace and paradise in our Lord and Lady¡¯s embrace.¡± Mera placed a hand on the coffin¡¯s wooden surface. Tears slowly flowed down her face.


    I¡¯m sorry about your daughter¡­ Please, wherever she may be, watch over her.


    After a moment, Mera turned her back, about to leave. But then she encountered the king.


    Mera grew stiff and curtsied.


    ¡°Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Mera. I¡¯m glad to see you safe.¡±


    ¡°Y-You too, Your Majesty. And, I am deeply sorry for your loss.¡±


    The king faintly nodded and formed a small smile. ¡°Are you doing alright?¡±


    ¡°... Um¡­¡± She didn¡¯t know how to respond.


    ¡°I take it you have heard about what happened to Estelia?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re doing everything we can to find her.¡±


    ¡°Yes, thank you, Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°Have you told her about him?¡± the king asked Vernon.


    ¡°... Not yet. But I was about to.¡±


    Mera was puzzled. ¡°Him?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps we should talk outside the room. If you¡¯ll excuse us, Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Mera anxiously followed Vernon until they were in the hallway going to the main lobby. Then, Vernon stopped.


    ¡°It¡¯s about Rogan.¡±


    ¡°... W-What about Sir Rogan?¡±


    ¡°During the battle, he fought bravely. Unfortunately, he did not survive.¡±


    ¡°W-What?¡± It felt like her ears rang. ¡°You¡¯re saying he, he¡¯s dead?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    Mera leaned on the wall.


    ¡°How¡­? Why is this happening?¡±


    She took several deep breaths. There was just too much. The princess was lost, the queen perished, and now Rogan too. Her coworker and friend. The princess¡¯s personal knight. The growing weight of the pile, she couldn¡¯t carry them all anymore.


    ¡°H-Has Sir Rogan¡¯s family taken his body?¡±


    ¡°No, we will prevent that. He¡¯s in another room, along with the other elite knights that died.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Can I please see him?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Vernon led her to a large room. Inside were several coffins lined up. These coffins were by no means cheap, they were so luxurious as well. Vernon stood at a particular coffin, one that Mera assumed to be Rogan¡¯s. Vernon slowly opened the upper lid.


    Mera approached and saw Rogan¡¯s face. Mera couldn¡¯t help but lean on the coffin. Her eyes blinked rapidly. Her heart throbbed in pain. It was too much. She couldn¡¯t endure the shock anymore. Seeing him lifeless, his eyes closed, was different from hearing it.


    ¡°Mera¡­¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe this¡­¡±


    ¡°... He fought to his last breath. I heard he took out a lot of the enemies. He died fulfilling his duty. He kept the enemies off the princess.¡±


    Mera took a deep breath. ¡°Of course¡­ He may be annoying sometimes, but he is reliable. With him beside her, I can be relieved to know that he too would protect her with his life.¡±


    And he did.


    ¡°May you find peace and paradise in the Lord and Lady¡¯s embrace, my dear friend¡­¡± She touched the coffin with respect as she did the queen¡¯s. A moment later, she nodded at Vernon.


    Vernon closed the lid.


    Mera lowered her head, sobbing, tears falling down on the floor. ¡°Too much is happening¡­ This is too much, Sir Vernon¡­ I can¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t¡­¡± She kept wiping her tears, but another would take their place.


    And her knees weakened, she was about to fall but Vernon caught her.


    ¡°T-This is too much. Why, why does this have to happen?¡±


    Vernon gave her a gentle embrace and patted her back.


    Mera leaned her head on Vernon¡¯s chest, and his cloth was starting to wet in tears.


    ¡°I-It¡¯s only the two of u-us left. Sir Rogan is gone. The princess i-is missing¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll figure it out, Mera.¡±


    ¡°I-I¡­¡±


    It was then Vernon noticed that she limped.


    ¡°Mera?¡±


    He tried calling out to her, but her eyes remained closed. It would appear she passed out. Vernon heaved a long, heavy sigh and carried her to a room. She should take a rest. The shock and grief were too much for her to handle.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mera. But you¡¯ll get through this¡­¡±

 Vol. 4 Chapter 38: Report from the Border

    Vernon brought Mera to a room and gently laid her down on the bed. She was still unconscious. Truth be told, he never expected she would end up like this, to be so overwhelmed with emotion that she would faint. He pitied her. Mera had never been through something this terrible.


    Vernon left the room and was intending on heading back to the throne room. But then he decided to search for the two maid friends of Mera¡¯s. Mera would need friends to be with her in this time of sorrow. Vernon could be there for her, but would be way better if it was her closest friends.


    It took a while before he found them.


    ¡°You two.¡±


    The two maids were surprised to be suddenly called by him, and they quickly bowed their heads. Despite him being a commoner, he was still supposed to be of a higher ranking here in the palace. Being the princess¡¯s butler, and a senior servant.


    ¡°With the revelation of what happened,¡± he said to them. ¡°Mera fainted. Please be by her side when she wakes up.¡±


    The two maids looked at each other, worried about Mera¡¯s wellbeing. Vernon was glad that these two were still alive. If they had died during the assault, and Mera heard it along with the other terrible news, he feared to imagine what would happen to Mera.


    The two maids expressed they understood, and Vernon told them which room to find her. He watched them go before continuing on. When he reached the hallway to the throne room, he came across a royal knight going to the throne room with hastened steps. Vernon didn¡¯t think much of it and continued on. There he saw the knight whisper something to the king. The latter looked concerned and began leaving the throne room after telling the knight an order.


    Vernon followed the king, and he could sense the tension he was feeling. Thus, Vernon had to ask.


    ¡°What is going on, Your Majesty?¡±


    As they walked, the king answered. ¡°Messengers from the border arrived to deliver urgent news.¡±


    Urgent¡­? Could it be¡­?


    They arrived at the reception room. It would seem the king didn¡¯t want anyone else to hear whatever news this could be. The king waited in the room for a moment with a couple of high-ranking knights, and Vernon was allowed to be with them.


    A pair of rough looking soldiers entered the room. They were sweaty and dirty. They looked like he had been continuously traveling for days. Despite how tired they looked, they kneeled before the king.


    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± one said. ¡°We deliver news of the border adjacent to the Tornridge Empire. In the middle of the night, they suddenly sent their army to attack.¡±


    ¡°We are doing everything we can to hold them off. However, the last time we were there, we were concerned that we wouldn''t be able to hold them off for long.¡±


    ¡°We expect they will breach through some of our defensive lines.¡±


    ¡°We were caught off guard by the strength of the soldiers they sent. Many of them are capable of magic.¡±


    ¡°What actions did you take to remedy the situation?¡± asked the king.


    ¡°For now, last I know, the brass is seeking draftees from the nearby cities and towns to be sent to fight. As what was planned beforehand.¡±


    ¡°Still, we were surprised by this attack. We thought it was best to notify you immediately of this attack and follow you up to the situation.¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± answered the king. That was what was supposed to be done. ¡°They attacked ahead of our predictions. Have you heard from Myra at the border?¡±


    ¡°¡­ No, we heard none.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± The king seemed to be pondering.


    ¡°Um¡­ Your Majesty, we saw the state of the city¡­ Did the Empire do this?¡±


    ¡°... Yes.¡±


    The two knights stared at each other, an utterly concerned expression on their faces. They must be confused about how the Empire got here. It shouldn¡¯t even be possible. They had been guarding the border, no army capable of damaging the city this much shouldn¡¯t be able to get through without getting noticed. Not to mention the distance between the border and the capital city, someone would definitely notice an enemy army moving through. Vernon couldn¡¯t imagine how they even got here and that large of an army. No one knew how ¡ª until they interrogated the enemy soldiers they captured.


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    But despite that, they still couldn¡¯t fully understand what happened. How that was even possible.


    The king rose from his seat. ¡°We are now at war. And we must fight back.¡± He turned his head towards the knights. ¡°We¡¯re having a meeting. Assemble the capital nobles and the generals. And make sure to summon Teristro. Make sure they¡¯re here before sunset.¡±


    The knights acknowledged his command, and they immediately left.


    The king returned to face the two soldiers from the border. ¡°Rest up. You¡¯ll be joining the meeting. Tell us everything that you know, that you saw.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°You may go.¡±


    Once everyone had left, the king heaved a long sigh. Vernon took a step closer.


    ¡°My king, may I join your meeting?¡±


    ¡°... Of course. You¡¯re the princess¡¯s personal servant. Listen in her place.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ***


    Mera¡¯s body shifted slightly as she was roused from her sleep. Her face wrinkled for a second as she felt the soft sensation of the bed and sheets.


    ¡°Mera¡¯s waking up.¡±


    Mera heard a familiar voice, it was Macey¡¯s. Realizing her presence, Mera felt a bit surprised, and thus she immediately opened her eyes. The first person she got to see was another one of her friends, Ellie, sitting on the chair beside the bed right in front of Mera¡¯s face. Mera furrowed her brows a little, but she didn¡¯t get up. She lacked the motivation to do so.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± she asked her friends, glancing at Macey, who just moved in her peripheral vision.


    ¡°We were asked to keep you company,¡± Macey answered.


    Mera had an idea who could have requested it. But she didn¡¯t think it would have been necessary. Truth be told, she was a bit embarrassed.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to¡­¡±


    Ellie waved her hand. ¡°Nuh uh, you passed out. Someone¡¯s got to look after you.¡±


    Mera had nothing to answer, and thus she could only pull the sheet covering her body.


    Ellie observed her a bit. ¡°You feeling a bit better?¡±


    ¡°... No¡­ How long was I out¡­?¡±


    ¡°Just a few hours.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    ¡°Mera¡­¡± Macey touched Mera¡¯s hand, as if trying to console her.


    Mera forced a small smile. ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­ It¡¯s just¡­ I never imagined that I would return here like this. For everything to end up like this.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± replied Macey. ¡°Everything was so sudden. It was terrible to see our friends hurt.¡±


    ¡°Some of our friends died¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    Mera pulled her sheet even further until it covered her face. She was scared to know which of her accomplices had perished during the attack. She imagined it must have been a terrifying experience to those that survived. To see their friends hurt and die. Mera knew she wouldn¡¯t be able to handle all the pressure. Maybe she could have lost consciousness as what happened just now.


    Ellie leaned forward a little. ¡°We would have died if the princess hadn¡¯t come.¡±


    Hearing the princess being mentioned, Mera peeked out of the sheet. ¡°The princess?¡±


    Ellie smiled at her a little. ¡°Yes. She healed the wounded and also helped those stuck under the rubbles. She was so heroic.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± added Macey. ¡°Even though it was dangerous, she still tried to save anyone she could. No one could have imagined that she, of all people, would risk her life just for us.¡±


    Mera¡¯s eyes widened, a small tear came out of the corner of her eyes. ¡°I see¡­ She is indeed wonderful.¡±


    ¡°With her will and bravery,¡± Ellie said. ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be alright. Wherever she may be.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°We heard she showed her power during the fight, and she took out many of the enemies while protecting the palace. Us.¡±


    ¡°She did¡­?¡±


    ¡°She was mesmerizing, they said. Her magic filled the air above. I didn¡¯t get to personally witness everything, but I know it helped a lot.¡±


    ¡°... She has always been strong. But¡­ we want her to hold back. It¡¯s bad for her.¡±


    Mera was aware, all the princess¡¯s servants were, that the princess would have repercussions on using her magic too much. It could be a risk to her life. If the princess used a tremendous amount of magic, then she must have felt a lot of pain.


    ¡°Is that so? But still, that showed she is quite reliable, no? I know you¡¯re worried, but, as her servant, you should have faith in her.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I, I suppose. But, she¡¯s very important to me¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why right now all we can do is have faith, isn¡¯t that right? Faith is still important, you know.¡±


    Mera took in her words to heart and faintly nodded. ¡°Okay¡­ I didn¡¯t think I would hear such words from you, Ellie.¡± Mera smiled.


    Ellie giggled. ¡°I may be what I am, but I am still a faithful person.¡±


    Macey nodded energetically. ¡°And we¡¯ll always be here when you need us. We¡¯re friends, after all.¡±


    Mera slowly sat up. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re safe. I truly am.¡±


    It would be unthinkable if they had died, and left Mera all alone. Her lady and coworker gone, add to it her closest friends, if they were all gone when she returned, Mera didn¡¯t think she would survive from the revelation alone. She might die from a broken heart. Mera had never experienced such a deep feeling of loss, after all. And she was thankful that not everything was taken from her.


    Still¡­


    ¡°Um¡­ Can I rest for a while? I¡¯ll be fine on my own.¡±


    Ellie seemed to ponder for a moment before giving a faint nod. ¡°Okay. Just rest. We¡¯ll meet up again later.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Rest well, okay?¡± Macey patted Mera¡¯s hand.


    And with that, the two maids left the room. All that was left with Mera was the silence. She lowered her head and clasped her hands together on her lap. And then her body began to shudder and tears began to flow down her cheeks.


    Her friends may have survived, but that didn¡¯t mean that she was free of grief. That didn¡¯t mean that her sadness had disappeared, the sadness of losing the knight who she had worked with, the most of all, the disappearance of the person she loved. The princess she loved so dearly.


    She placed a hand on her chest as a sharp pain radiated in her heart. Her sobbings echoed throughout the room.


    Despite having faith, as what her friends said, she still had the tears she must let out. And it may never end until she is reunited with the person she loved, the cause of her breaking heart. She prayed and hoped that the princess was alive and well¡­ Otherwise¡­ she would never have the will to live any longer in this world. Without her, without the blinding and beautiful light of the princess, this world would be dull and dark. Not a place worth living.


    And thus here, the lone maid, one whose master had disappeared, wept. Her heart intensely longing for the one it sought.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 39: Palace Meeting

    Vernon was among the first to arrive at a particularly large room in the palace, situated on the ground floor. It was a fine room, fixed and cleaned, a long table placed at the center floor, chairs along with it. Gold and silver embedded on the wall, wooden furniture and crafts all around, and chandeliers to light up the place.


    The first that arrived here were the servants and the knights. The king had yet to arrive. As it was closing in on the schedule, capital city aristocratic lords began entering the room. A few of them were already here in the palace when they visited the late queen in the throne room. Also, among the new arrivals were a few generals, one of them being of commoner origin.


    Not long after, the king himself arrived and sat at the head of the table. He was wearing a formal outfit, and also wearing a tense and serious expression. Vernon remained standing at the wall with the knights on guard. If he was still the king¡¯s butler, he would have been positioned somewhere close to him. However, that was no longer the case.


    Vernon glanced at the two soldiers that arrived from the border. They were cleaner and more presentable than before, but one could see they were obviously tense. Could be because of the number of high-ranking nobles that were present.


    Vernon then glanced at Marquis Teristro, brother of the late queen, sitting next to the king. He looked a bit haggard, likely because of the passing of his sister and the amount of work he had to handle and supervise.


    The crown prince was also present, sitting beside the king. The other prince, however, was nowhere to be seen. Estevan was still out there, searching for his dear little sister. He had been searching around the city region for some time now, but to no avail.


    ¡°Lords of Wisteria,¡± the king rose from his seat and looked at his subjects. ¡°We have urgent news to discuss.¡±


    The nobles all fell silent and listened closely as the king continued.


    ¡°As you may know, the Tornridge Empire assaulted our city, which resulted in tremendous destruction, and terrible losses¡­¡± The nobles lowered their heads. ¡°But, that is not where it ends. The same time they attacked the capital city, they sent out their armies to begin attacking our border.¡±


    The nobles glanced at each other, their eyes wide in shock. If this was the case, all of them knew what this meant. It was something they¡¯ve been wanting to avoid as much as possible. Something that would incur heavy costs.


    The king took a deep breath. ¡°We are now at war.¡±


    A heavy air hung in the room. The nobles leaned back in their chairs, others placing a hand on their heads. The king sat back down.


    ¡°Will the soldiers from the border tell us about the situation from the last time you''ve seen.¡±


    One of the two soldiers stepped forward. ¡°The, the Empire attacked us during the night. They used strange contraptions which shot out balls of fire, and burst upon making an impact. They set off hordes of flames. We tried protecting ourselves from such attacks to a helpful degree.


    ¡°However, the Empire also had powerful knights and soldiers. And many of them were capable of magic. From our part of the defensive line, we were doing well last we¡¯ve been there. But we don¡¯t know how long the fortress would last. Furthermore, we don¡¯t know the state of the other outposts and fortresses, and whether enemies had slipped through the mountainous regions or forests.¡±


    Wisteria had a lot of forests and mountains. The kingdom tried covering as much of the border as possible. Placing fortresses and outposts to watch and guard the border. However, there were also parts of the border that would be hard to guard and pass through, which were also unlikely paths enemy armies would take. For they were filled with tough terrains, mountains, and monster filled forests. Still, they couldn¡¯t guarantee no one would dare go through it. They only had to hope the outposts positioned further in the territory would meet and hold them off.


    The soldier then continued. ¡°The fortress commander had sent men to request more soldiers from the nearby towns and cities to help with the defense. Still, we are not sure how long our defenses would last, considering the intensity of the Empire¡¯s attack¡­ That, that is my report of the situation.¡±


    The king nodded at him, and the soldier stepped back.


    ¡°As you heard, our situation is dire,¡± the king said. ¡°We¡¯ve made preparations for this moment. But I have to admit, they started their invasion way earlier than our predictions. But at least we have made progress. My son, if you would.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Father.¡± Eleden rose from his seat. ¡°After we realized that Tornridge had been subtly sabotaging our kingdom, we started a top secret operation that would help us tremendously in the coming war.


    ¡°Firstly, stacking rations and optimizing logistics. This comprised buying a vast amount of grains and nonperishable goods. And these goods will then be stored in warehouses in different parts of the kingdom. This way, we can quickly obtain rations when needed.


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    ¡°Next are the supply routes. Aside from the main roads, we have also established smaller and secret routes connected to different crucial regions of the kingdom. This will help tremendously in transporting the goods. We have also acquired the full support of a large transport company.


    ¡°Next are weapons. We were concerned about a shortage of high quality weapons when drafting men. That is why we obtained the support of a weapons production company, which will also put to use the aforementioned warehouses to store weapons, and the routes to transport such weapons.


    ¡°Next is about the coordination of our army. The routes we prepared will also be used to quickly and safely deliver messages from one point to another. In addition, the knights have been taught special ciphers to be used in our messages to prevent the enemy from reading information in case a letter falls into their hands. Our generals have also been oriented on this matter.¡± Eleden nodded at the generals.


    ¡°Indeed. It is way more sophisticated than the coded messages we often use,¡± said one general.


    ¡°I doubt the Empire could easily crack it. Truth be told, I am astonished you were able to come up with such things,¡± added another.


    Eleden smiled a little. ¡°It was proposed and designed by my missing little sister, the princess.¡±


    The generals let out sighs of astonishment. They didn¡¯t expect that Princess Estelia would even come up with something that would heavily contribute to military matters.


    ¡°My dear little sister¡­ is extremely smart. Without her¡­ we wouldn¡¯t be able to start our preparations.¡±


    Vernon lowered his head, looking at the floor. That statement was true. Without the princess, none of this would have been possible. It was because of her they even discovered the sabotages the Empire had been doing all this time. It was all her plans that started these operations. It was an enormous loss to lose her in this crucial time.


    ¡°At any rate, everything was going well,¡± Eleden continued. ¡°But with their full scale attack starting now, I regret to inform everyone that our preparations are far from over. It was supposed to take months more. Lord Teristro, supervisor of this preparation, if you would inform us of the progress.¡±


    Eleden sat down and Teristro stood up.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t made progress to the amount we¡¯re comfortable with. As was originally planned, the minimum acceptable coverage we should get is seventy-five percent of the territory to the east of the capital. By my rough estimation, we have only covered around forty percent of the eastern region. With the supply of food we currently have in store is of great concern.¡±


    From what Vernon had heard, there were obstructions with the operation. The biggest problem was obtaining supplies for the rations. Food was not unlimited after all. One of the causes of the problem was because they hastened things when the two imperial princes arrived. Their supply couldn¡¯t keep up with the demand. They resorted to buying from merchants from other nations, but even that wouldn¡¯t be completely enough.


    ¡°With the Empire now starting their attack, I fear we have to stop or slow down the expansion and focus more of our resources on the battles. We¡¯ll make do with what we currently have. I have also prepared an intelligence network for us to use.¡±


    A noble raised his hand. ¡°May I ask a question?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± Teristro answered.


    ¡°How many spies do we currently have in the Empire?¡±


    ¡°Plenty.¡±


    Another noble raised his hand. ¡°We have recent news of outer nobles actually switching to the Empire¡¯s side. Are there any more of them we should be worried about?¡±


    ¡°For now, we believe we have minimized the risk of outer nobles betraying us. Any other questions?¡±


    A noble raised a hand. ¡°About the secret preparation for war, why did you not tell us about it? We could have helped.¡±


    ¡°We deemed it unnecessary to let you know when we already had the support of the three biggest merchants in the kingdom. Furthermore, we couldn¡¯t risk the Empire finding out our plans. We couldn¡¯t risk anyone finding out, even if they were capital nobles. Because, as you may know, some of our nobles had already fallen to our enemy. Please do not take it personally.¡±


    The nobles glanced at each other. They seemed both surprised and had understood the reason behind the palace¡¯s actions. Surprised that they were doubted to begin with, and considering that others have betrayed Wisteria for the enemy, they understood that the crown had to keep it a secret.


    Although, the crown itself didn¡¯t completely want to keep the capital nobles in the dark. Only the princess wanted to keep it from them. She only wanted to involve those that could contribute greatly, and those she selected. But sometimes, Princess Estelia was too skeptical and distrusting, too paranoid. That was what Vernon thought to be one of her issues. True that it may be a good thing to do, to keep it a secret, but having too much paranoia, what did that tell her as a person? She would even be willing to keep her own family in the dark. That just wasn¡¯t healthy.


    It was something, truthfully, Vernon didn¡¯t expect from her. At least, in the earlier times. Has she always been like that? Or did she change?


    ¡°At any rate, agents will be prepared for you to coordinate with. Whether to request for resources, or ask them to send and decipher messages, and some others. If there are no other questions, then we can return to His Majesty.¡±


    No one raised a question. Thus, Teristro sat down. The king cleared his throat and remained seated.


    ¡°Capital noble lords will be assigned to different regions, you will be the bridge between there and the palace. Coordinate with the local lords, and the knights and generals.¡± The king received a map of the kingdom from a servant and unfurled it on the table. ¡°As capital nobles, you are expected to oversee and lead those below you. Now is the time to fulfill the responsibilities of your rank. Do everything you can to help win this war. Do you understand?¡± He said those last words in a regal and stern tone.


    Tension was obvious on the faces of the lords. None of them had ever experienced a fight of this scale, not to mention to lead. Although some of them seemed to be brave enough. Originally, the capital nobles were meant to just assist the crown here in the capital, often going out when ordered.


    However, a certain princess wanted to put them to work. And work meant sending them out there. She reasoned it would be best for those outside of the capital region to feel the presence of the palace. To put it simply, these capital nobles would be the representatives of the crown. To ensure that the local lords would follow every command and fulfill what was needed of them. She figured that some of the local lords might become too cowardly, or just laze out.


    This was almost reminiscent of the time she sent out agents to all noble households. She really wanted to keep a tight control and ensure certainty. And also perhaps she really just wanted to put these nobles to work.


    The king read the map for a moment before returning his eyes to the nobles. ¡°I will now start assigning you.¡±

 Vol. 4 Chapter 40: Damaging Concern (Part 1)

    Meeting didn¡¯t end until late in the evening. The visitors had already left to return to their homes, and perhaps have a close talk with their family. It was a time of war, after all. It could be the last time they would ever see their family. There were still preparations to be done, so the nobles that were to be sent out could use that time to be with their loved ones.


    There was one exception who would certainly stay, of course, as being the head of intelligence and the supervisor of logistics. Namely Meril.


    Given it was nighttime, in the lobby, there had been no one else except for the king, the first prince, Meril, and Vernon.


    Vernon, in particular, was requested to join them, for there was to be a meeting later. But they were waiting for someone that should arrive shortly. At least, that was their expectation after he was told to return.


    Meril sighed as he sat on a chair. He was obviously tired. ¡°We have not faced danger of this scale in our time. It is a volatile situation. That is why, Leodoule,¡± he stared at the king. ¡°You sit tight here in the palace.¡±


    The king frowned. ¡°Why are you telling me that?¡±


    ¡°Because I know you. You seek the thrill of battle. And I¡¯m telling you beforehand, even if the enemy got halfway through the territory, don¡¯t even try fighting them off.¡±


    ¡°... If it helps us win, I will fight if I have to. My power alone can help turn the tide.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t risk losing the king, even more so now.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t intend to die.¡± He crossed his arms with a displeased expression. ¡°Have a little faith in my ability. Besides, we have a crown prince to take my place just in case.¡±


    Eleden¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Father! Don¡¯t say that. I¡¯m not losing you too.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Meril added. ¡°Even if we have an heir prepared, the word of the king dying would send shockwaves all over the nation. It will give the impression that we¡¯re losing. So don¡¯t be foolish. Strength may be great, but we still need someone to lead the entire nation. And Eleden, admittedly, is not ready yet to take all of that burden, especially in this time of war.¡± He turned towards Eleden. ¡°Nothing personal.¡±


    ¡°No, Uncle¡­ You¡¯re right. I know my flaws¡­ I¡¯m not ready yet, and I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be for some time¡­¡±


    Meril faintly nodded and returned to look at Leodoule. ¡°Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°... Fine. I understand.¡±


    Eleden lowered his head. ¡°If my sister was here¡­ Perhaps¡­¡±


    Meril sighed again. ¡°She¡¯s not here. That¡¯s why we¡¯ll put to use the plans she had made, and make decisions we think are right. We can¡¯t let her absence affect our confidence and judgments.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    Perhaps they have grown too reliant on the specific plans and instructions she laid out. Now that she wasn¡¯t here, they must do everything on their own. Think for themselves. Not doing so would be an absolute failure on their part. Estelia had already made the tools, they only had to use them at their disposal.


    In fact, whether they knew it or not, that was Estelia¡¯s intention. She never wanted everyone to be too dependent on her. It would be prone to failure. Everyone must be able to decide and think for themselves, one that could help the kingdom. She never had the intention of personally leading the war or anything. Imagine if she was absent one day, and they had to wait for her to allow one action, then it would be inefficient.


    She had no use for stupid and useless sheep. She wanted smart and reliable sheep.


    For what she was intending on doing while everyone else was busy, well, only she would know.


    That being said, she was not too worried about this matter. She knew her father and everyone else would do what was needed. She would only need to give them the tools they might require. They weren¡¯t idiots.


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    But there might be others outside her family that were idiots. An ally¡¯s stupidity is the greatest bane one could have. Thus, she must minimize it as much as possible. She would prefer to completely remove it, but stupidity would always persist.


    A group of horses arrived and stopped in front of the open doors of the palace. As they had expected, the second prince had finally returned, the one they had been waiting for. The king directed a tired look towards Estevan, going down his steed and leaving it to a knight.


    The second prince was wearing his armor, and he removed his helm, revealing a haggard face. His hair was a mess. He immediately went and entered the palace, from where the faint dark circles under his eyes became obvious. He paused and stared curiously at the four waiting in the lobby.


    Leodoule walked a little closer to Estevan and gave him a displeased expression.


    ¡°I requested your presence. Did the herald not find you?¡±


    With an annoyed face, Estevan averted his eyes away. ¡°He found me.¡±


    ¡°Then you knew we had an urgent meeting. Why didn¡¯t you follow the request?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t I here now? Besides, you already know why.¡±


    Leodoule mildly shook his head in exasperation. ¡°Our meeting was incredibly important. Your presence as a prince is mandatory. Are you even aware of what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°... No.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why you should have come!¡±


    Estevan¡¯s face contorted. ¡°Will you get off my back about this?!¡± He raised his voice, like thunder incurring silence. ¡°I don¡¯t have time for anything else. All of you know that I¡¯m searching for Estel!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t raise your voice at me, boy,¡± Leodoule warned.


    ¡°Am I the only one worried to death about Estelia?! We know nothing of where she could be, not even a trace. We don¡¯t know what kind of danger my poor little sister could be in!¡±


    ¡°Of course we¡¯re worried about her. But you have your responsibility as a prince!¡± He pointed a finger at him with a glare. ¡°Leave the task of searching for her to the knights.¡±


    ¡°No no no no. You focus on the little things. I¡¯ll find my sister.¡±


    Leodoule¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment. ¡°Little things?! Our entire kingdom is in jeopardy, and you make trivialities of it?¡± He was furious to hear those words from his own son.


    ¡°You can handle it without me just fine.¡±


    ¡°Stubborn boy. You¡¯re barely present with cleaning up the palace. You¡¯re barely home. And clearly you hadn¡¯t properly slept. You¡¯re rarely beside your late mother.¡±


    Estevan clenched his fists. ¡°... Right now¡­ I think looking for my sister is more important. The more time wasted, the more in danger she can be.¡±


    This was how Estevan had been ever since the princess¡¯s disappearance. He barely rested, always worried. It was almost like he was so obsessed with searching for his little sister. Instead of grieving for his mother, he was doing all that.


    ¡°Listen, my son. Despite how much you want to find your sister, you still have a responsibility to this kingdom. Don¡¯t be like this,¡± Leodoule tried saying as softly as possible. ¡°Rest, leave the rest to our men.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll rest when I have found Estelia.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll release an order forbidding you from leaving the palace grounds.¡±


    His eyes widened. ¡°What?! You can¡¯t do that!¡± His face turned into anger, glaring intensely at his own father.


    ¡°I can and I will.¡±


    Estevan gritted his teeth for a moment as he fell into deep thought. ¡°... Fine, then I¡¯m leaving. I would rather sleep outside and set out to search immediately.¡±


    He turned around, and he began walking to the outside. But Leodoule raised his hand and urgently shouted at the knights outside.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let Estevan out of the palace!¡±


    The knights were confused for a second, but considering that it was from the king himself, they immediately lined up to block Estevan¡¯s path.


    ¡°Get out of my way,¡± Estevan said, but the knights didn¡¯t move.


    Eleden quickly rushed to Estevan¡¯s side and placed a hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°Brother, calm down. You don¡¯t look well right now. You¡¯re not what you¡¯re used to.¡±


    ¡°Unhand me, brother.¡±


    He tried pulling away, but Eleden kept a tight grip on the metal of Estevan¡¯s armor.


    ¡°No, I won¡¯t let you go¡­¡± They glared into each other¡¯s eyes before Eleden continued. ¡°Look at you¡­ You think Estelia would be happy to see you like this?¡±


    At that, Estevan¡¯s eyes softened slightly.


    ¡°... She would want you to rest. Please, go to your room. We¡¯ll talk later.¡±


    Estevan took in a deep breath and lowered his gaze with a hesitant face.


    ¡°I beg you, little brother.¡±


    Estevan closed his eyes for a brief moment. ¡°... Alright.¡±


    Eleden let go of Estevan¡¯s shoulder and he watched as the prince began walking away. They all silently stared at him until he disappeared from sight.


    Meril heaved a long sigh. ¡°I never imagined he would end up that way.¡±


    Eleden lowered his eyes. ¡°He loves Estelia so much. He had cared for her closely ever since she came to this world.¡±


    ¡°... Of course. Guess only the four of us will be discussing the matter.¡± Meril shrugged. Estevan was not in a state to undergo a rational discussion at the moment.


    Leodoule approached the knights. ¡°Don¡¯t let Estevan leave the palace. If he tries, force him back in. Make sure the other knights know about this order.¡±


    The knights glanced at each other for a moment, conflicted about the order. It was not exactly an easy thing to do, Estevan was a powerful knight, and no less a prince. Was it even right to be violent against him? The king sensed their hesitation and gave them assurance.


    ¡°I know it will be tough if that happens, but do your best. Do what you have to do.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, Your Majesty.¡±


    With a nod, Leodoule returned to Meril. ¡°Shall we go?¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°Uh, Father,¡± called Eleden. ¡°Can you give me a moment? I would like to talk to Estevan first.¡±


    Leodoule paused for a moment and glanced in the direction of where Estevan went. ¡°... Very well. But don¡¯t take too long.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    With that, Eleden made his way to Estevan¡¯s room.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 41: Damaging Concern (Part 2)

    Eleden knocked on the door of Estevan¡¯s designated room.


    ¡°Estevan, let¡¯s talk.¡±


    There was a moment¡¯s delay before the door opened up. Greeting him was a tired and irritated-looking Estevan. Estevan left the door open and walked back to sit on the chair by the window without waiting for his elder brother to step inside. Eleden entered the room and closed the door. He narrowed his eyes at Estevan, who had not even yet removed a single part of his armor, as if he had no intention of resting just yet.


    ¡°You were pretty rude to our father,¡± Eleden said as he leaned his back on the door.


    ¡°Hm.¡±


    ¡°... That¡¯s all you have to say?¡±


    He turned his eyes to glance at Eleden. ¡°What do you want me to say?¡±


    ¡°At least show a little regret.¡±


    Estevan sighed. ¡°... I, I do regret it.¡±


    ¡°Good. That means you have calmed down a little.¡±


    Estevan shifted his eyes back to the outside scenery.


    ¡°Estevan¡­ You¡¯re only hurting yourself doing all this.¡±


    ¡°... I just want to find our little sister.¡±


    ¡°And we have found nothing. To be honest, I don¡¯t think she¡¯s in Wisteria anymore.¡±


    Estevan lowered his head.


    ¡°You have not mourned the death of our mother. It¡¯s time to let this go and leave the search to the others.¡±


    Estevan gritted his teeth, his fists clenched tightly. ¡°How could I do that to Estelia?¡±


    ¡°Spend time beside our mother. It will be the last time we¡¯ll ever see her face. Would you like to depart from Mother like this?¡±


    ¡°... No. But¡­ Estelia could be in danger while I do nothing.¡± He bit his lip.


    Eleden stared at him for a moment and let out a long breath. ¡°It¡¯s not bad to be so worried about our dear sister. But do you think she would want you to disregard everything else? Our kingdom, and our mother¡¯s passing?¡±


    ¡°...¡± Estevan only lowered his head and said nothing.


    Eleden walked closer to him. ¡°I am also worried about her. But I have faith in her. Our little sister is now more reliable than in the past, if you have forgotten. She has grown tremendously.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°Estelia wouldn¡¯t like seeing you like this. She would want you to take more care of yourself. So please, rest for now. Mourn our mother, and help the kingdom¡­¡±


    Estevan closed his eyes and took in a deep breath as he fell into thought. ¡°... Very well.¡±


    Eleden patted Estevan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the situation tomorrow. I¡¯m having a meeting with our father and Uncle Meril shortly.¡±


    ¡°What is it about?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s about our little sister.¡±


    Estevan raised his eyes at him. ¡°Then shouldn¡¯t I join you?¡±


    Eleden smiled. ¡°You¡¯re not well right now. Leave it to us for tonight.¡±


    ¡°... Alright. Tell me about it first thing in the morning.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Estevan returned his eyes to the outside. ¡°I miss Mother¡­ I miss Estel. Everything feels so empty without them.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­¡±


    ¡°... I should have stayed with them. I should have closely guarded them.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Eleden couldn¡¯t find any words in response. Everyone in the family had regrets. What ifs, I should have, and many kinds of thoughts had already crossed their minds. But no matter how much they think, no matter how much they imagine things would change, reality remains. He also couldn¡¯t say he shouldn¡¯t blame himself, for Eleden, in truth, felt the same.


    ¡°... I still remember when Estel first called me brother. She was so small and adorable.¡±


    Eleden smiled. ¡°Yeah, she called you that before me. Very unfair, I¡¯m the oldest.¡±


    The corners of Estevan¡¯s lips lifted up as well as he recalled the pleasant memories. ¡°I was young back then, but I still remember that moment so clearly.¡± He could still clearly see that moment in his mind. The way the little Estelia looked up at him and struggled to pronounce the word. Estevan lowered his head and rubbed the tears coming out of his eyes. ¡°Seeing her gradually grow was the best thing I could ever see. She¡¯s the most wonderful and adorable little sister I could ever ask for.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    ¡°... I hope she¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure she is. I know she¡¯ll come back home.¡±


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    Estevan faintly nodded. ¡°I think I¡¯ll start resting now.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Eleden began walking back to the door, but before opening it, he turned back. ¡°Oh yeah, make sure to apologize to Father tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°... Okay.¡±


    Eleden exited the room. Once he was outside, and the silence filled the dark air, he heaved out a long and tired sigh before continuing onward to the meeting room. He was thinking. Like Estevan, he missed his lost family members.


    He missed his mother¡¯s gentle voice and beautiful smile. The most caring mother of all. And it angered him so that she was caught up in all of this absurdity. It shouldn¡¯t have happened. Of all people, it had to be her to die. Eleden thought it would have been better if it was him that lost his life, not his mother. The world needed a gentle person like her more than him.


    And his little sister. She didn¡¯t deserve to be the center of all this chaos, she was an innocent soul. She didn¡¯t deserve to be treated so harshly by this world. He was worried about her, so worried that in the silence it could drive him insane just thinking about her safety and wherever she could be. But he had to keep his composure. Losing so would only contribute nothing.


    A moment later, he arrived at the meeting room. Inside, waiting for him, were his father, Meril, and Vernon. The room was a spacious one, couches and a fancy table at the center. It was one of the reception rooms. Eleden made sure to lock the door.


    ¡°How is he?¡± Leodoule asked with a worried expression.


    ¡°I managed to convince him, so he¡¯ll be fine from now on. At least, I hope so.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Leodoule heaved a long and tired sigh. ¡°I understand him. We don¡¯t know what is happening to Estelia¡­ We don¡¯t know what the ones that took her are doing to her right now¡­ Even if she is still alive.¡± He leaned his back on the couch. ¡°But I prefer not to think that.¡±


    ¡°I think we don¡¯t have to worry much if she¡¯s alive or not. She was taken for a reason. That could mean they need her alive,¡± Meril said.


    Leodoule leaned a little to the side. ¡°... At least until they get what they want.¡±


    ¡°Be that as it may, there¡¯s no point in rushing when we are directionless.¡±


    Leodoule nodded faintly.


    ¡°Princess Estelia is not to be underestimated¡­¡± Vernon added. ¡°She is not weak. When it comes to it, I know she can handle herself in any situation.¡±


    ¡°All we have is faith, then.¡±


    Vernon nodded at the king. ¡°Yes. But I also know it for a fact.¡±


    ¡°... That is a relief to hear.¡±


    Eleden felt the same as his father. Vernon had been working for Estelia for some time now. Perhaps he had seen something in her that made him feel confident that she would be alright.


    ¡°I guess my daughter is no pushover. I hope she gives the enemy a good pummeling.¡± Leodoule grinned.


    There could be other things that could happen. There was bad and good. However, it would be better to be optimistic. Way better. Thinking negatively would only do no good for one¡¯s mind and heart.


    ¡°Speaking of enemies,¡± said Meril. ¡°Should we fully take it now that those winged creatures really took the princess? We have not found her in this region at all. If they are winged, they¡¯ll be long gone by now.¡±


    They spoke with the knights that said to have witnessed winged creatures flying the night sky. But given that it was night and everyone was fighting with their lives, no one had a clear picture of it. Some were not sure if they saw the princess or not, they seemed to have seen her but weren''t sure. Thus, they didn¡¯t fully take it that those unknown winged beings took the princess. They had to look from different angles and other possibilities.


    ¡°We should. Could they be part of the Empire¡¯s army?¡± Leodoule placed a hand under his chin.


    Vernon shook his head. ¡°I doubt they¡¯re completely part of them. They might be from the inhumans¡­ the mystic race. However, they want the princess dead. So why would they take her away?¡±


    They could have executed the princess during the fight and not kidnap her.


    ¡°Does this race of mystic even have winged creatures with them?¡± Eleden asked.


    ¡°They have men that can turn into beasts,¡± said Meril. ¡°It won¡¯t be surprising if they have someone that can turn to birds or anything.¡±


    ¡°But then again, they wanted my daughter dead from the very start. Why take her now? It¡¯s unlikely they changed their mind.¡±


    ¡°The fog monsters¡­ Could it be them? The Cursed Children.¡±


    During one of their prior r briefings, the king told them about those monstrous creatures. And the king said he first heard about them from the High Bishop Xenous.


    ¡°They didn¡¯t appear to have wings,¡± Leodoule answered Vernon. ¡°What other creatures we know here even have wings and are in groups?¡±


    ¡°Based on the ones we encountered before, I can only think that the mystic race is more plausible,¡± Eleden said.


    ¡°Any smart monsters we know of?¡± Meril asked.


    Everyone pondered silently for a moment.


    ¡°What about demons?¡± Vernon suggested.


    Everyone looked at him, a bit taken aback by that suggestion.


    Leodoule shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no way. Demons have not been here on the continent for centuries. Or rather, have not made a mess or anything. Besides, why would they come here? Why would they even take Estelia? Demons were never involved in this matter.¡±


    It was just so unlikely for demons to be involved with Estelia. They just couldn¡¯t think of any reason why now, of all times, they would just suddenly insert themselves.


    ¡°Do demons have wings?¡± Eleden asked.


    ¡°From what I know, there are some of them,¡± Vernon answered. ¡°But I¡¯m not too knowledgeable about this topic.¡±


    ¡°In any case, we can¡¯t just send men to anywhere, even more so to the south, to find Estelia because of this guess. Which is also unlikely. We have to have proof,¡± Leodoule said.


    ¡°It could be demons, though.¡± Meril shrugged. ¡°But there is no way we can be sure. There are other possibilities. As mentioned earlier, the mystic race could have some wings with them. It would be nice if we had someone to ask. But alas, we captured no elf.¡±


    After the fight, they had also been searching hard for any signs of elves. However, they found no trace of them at all. The imperial knights they captured were also no help, they knew nothing of the elves. All they knew was that they helped them teleport to the capital city.


    ¡°We should try asking the Cursed Children, they might know,¡± Vernon suggested.


    ¡°We have not met them again ever since that night, right?¡± Eleden replied. ¡°And how do we even find them?¡±


    ¡°We have to be certain of what we surmised,¡± said the king. ¡°I will consult with Xenous about demons. As for the Cursed Children¡­ we¡¯ll think about how to find and ask one.¡±


    Everyone agreed.


    ¡°By the way, Father. Now that we are at war¡­ About Mother¡¯s funeral¡­¡±


    ¡°It will all proceed as it should be. I don¡¯t want to rush.¡±


    Eleden nodded with a satisfied smile. ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear it.¡±


    Leodoule turned towards Vernon. ¡°Vernon, first thing in the morning, send a request for the High Bishop to come here. I want him here before noon.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    The king nodded. ¡°Alright, rest up, everyone. But Vernon, stay for the meantime. We still have something to talk about.¡±


    Vernon was puzzled as to what the one-on-one talk would be for. Eleden was also a bit curious, but left it be, and both him, and Meril left the room. Once the door was closed, the king spoke to Vernon.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to talk to you about this¡­ During the assault on the palace, I saw Estelia was geared, fully equipped.¡±


    ¡°Fully equipped? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°She had several daggers strapped all over her, hidden underneath her cloak.¡±


    Vernon¡¯s eyes widened a little.


    The king continued. ¡°It confuses me how she obtained those dangerous weapons. Do you know anything about it?¡±


    ¡°She did learn how to use daggers with Sir Elson, but I didn¡¯t know she had possession of many daggers. I didn¡¯t see her grab several.¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t look to be from the knights.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­? I, I do not know anything about it.¡±


    The king seemed to be disappointed. ¡°I see¡­ I was hoping you would know. You might have noticed how she got them.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°It would seem my precious daughter is hiding something from me... From all of us.¡±

 Vol. 4 Chapter 42: The Poets Dialogue

    It was nighttime, and the ship slowly and peacefully sailed the dark ocean. The lamps on the ship lit up its surroundings, driving off the heavy and endless darkness. The dark clouds covering the moon only made it harder to see what was at the distance. Overall, there was no problem whatsoever, and everyone on the ship could sleep safely and soundly.


    However, they couldn¡¯t, for there was another problem they were concerned about. At least, it was a problem for a lot of them. While the others seemed to be undecided about how to take the situation. That was what the poet had observed. He had been studying their actions ever since the white lady, or should he say the princess, gave her announcement.


    A way to sway a group of people was to first study them. Speaking in complete ignorance would be his undoing, and you would look like a fool. Furthermore, having something to know about the people you intend to sway would help you in figuring out the right steps to take. That said, this was not rousing a crowd, which would have been easier. This was to ease them into going along with something that could be dangerous. With many of the people here were victims of abuse, and most of all, normal people, who were easily scared.


    And the poet had to admit it would prove quite a challenge. That said, if the intention was to merely calm them, and make them look on the bright side, to prevent them from doing something stupid, he could definitely do something about it. He couldn¡¯t remove their desire to go home, but only give them a degree of assurance. And with that assurance, it would give them patience.


    Besides, we wouldn¡¯t want them to be constantly depressed.


    His primary goal to bring them ease was so they wouldn¡¯t be constantly sad and tense.


    Those were what he noticed in them. And he wanted to alleviate that, even for just a little. Velar was the most trusted among them, but he wasn¡¯t too confident about settling everyone¡¯s grievances. The poet was the second option, he had been acting kindly to everyone, and he was one who also contributed a lot during the revolt, so the people here had plenty of trust in him.


    At the moment, the former captives were below deck ¡ª except for the two on the helm ¡ª and they have been gathered to talk. They crowded the room. There were more women than men, as one might expect. They were more in demand, aside from the men that would be mainly used for manual labor.


    As the people gathered, some sitting down while the others remained standing, the poet stood beside Velar. The lamp flames flickered as they began their discussion.


    Velar cleared his throat. ¡°Good evening, everyone. I hope you had a good day.¡±


    The poet frowned a little at hearing that. It was a strange and awkward thing to say.


    They definitely didn¡¯t have a good day¡­


    ¡°I gathered everyone here to discuss the circumstances we are currently in.¡±


    ¡°You mean the part where we¡¯re going in the opposite direction of the continent?¡± a woman asked.


    Velar nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°So, are we not going to do anything about it?¡± a man asked, too.


    ¡°Well, um¡­¡± He didn¡¯t know how to answer properly.


    ¡°So?¡± Everyone was waiting for him to continue.


    Velar paused for a moment and glanced at the poet. The latter raised his hand and placed a hand on Velar¡¯s shoulder before stepping forward.


    ¡°Hello, everyone,¡± the poet said with a wide and friendly smile. ¡°Before we get to that, let me ask first what your feelings are about this decision. Let out what you want to say.¡±


    Everyone looked at each other. From the looks of it, they were hesitant to speak. Could it be because they were afraid of the consequences?


    ¡°Come on, feel free to express your thoughts.¡± The poet approached one of the women who was sitting down on a wooden box. She had a sad look on her face, and she didn¡¯t seem to have gotten a decent amount of sleep. She was also young and attractive, around her mid-teens. The poet stepped in front of her and lowered himself to eye level with a relaxing smile. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be afraid.¡±


    Fear lurked above their heads, fearing to misspoke. The poet wanted to reduce that fear by giving them the freedom to speak their minds. That should reduce the tension, and give them the assurance that they didn¡¯t have to worry about repercussions. If that princess was truly kind, then they would have nothing to worry about. He didn¡¯t really know her, but that was what he was hoping.


    The young woman glanced at the people surrounding her before gathering the courage to speak. ¡°... We shouldn¡¯t do this¡­ It, it is dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Is that all?¡±


    ¡°¡­ I just want to go back home¡­ They suddenly grabbed me while I was walking on the road¡­ My parents must be so worried. I want to see them¡­¡±


    The poet nodded with a comforting smile and stepped back. ¡°Anyone else want to speak their mind?¡±


    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t get dragged into this,¡± said another woman. ¡°Whatever this is, it¡¯s got nothing to do with us.¡±


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    The poet smiled and nodded again. He peered around, waiting for another to join in.


    ¡°This is stupid,¡± a man said. ¡°It¡¯s dangerous where we¡¯re going. We could die.¡±


    ¡°We should do something about this,¡± said another.


    ¡°We should convince her to turn back.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Just let us go back home!¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t we suffered enough already?!¡±


    The poet then turned towards a few who had not attempted to speak at all. ¡°What about you guys? Have nothing to say?¡±


    They looked at each other until a young man spoke out. ¡°... It¡¯s just¡­ We don¡¯t know what we think.¡±


    ¡°We were sold,¡± added a young woman. ¡°It¡¯s not like we have anywhere to go back to.¡±


    ¡°I hate my family for what they did to me,¡± said another young woman. ¡°All for coins¡­ I don¡¯t even want to see their faces again.¡±


    ¡°What are we even going to do when we get back?¡± a young man sighed.


    ¡°My parents knew I would be sold as a sex slave¡­¡± The young woman in her late teens lowered her head. ¡°They just didn¡¯t care as long as they got the money¡­ They have never liked me to begin with. I was merely an accident.¡±


    ¡°As for me¡­ it¡¯s the same. I don¡¯t know what I would do if I get back,¡± said another girl in her mid-teens. ¡°Still, I¡¯m worried about where we¡¯re going.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really mind,¡± said a man in his early twenties. ¡°My family practically hates me, so¡­ I don¡¯t mind getting dragged wherever. Well, as long as I don¡¯t die.¡±


    This bunch were persons that weren¡¯t being searched by anyone. Back on the continent were homes that drove them away. No one cared about them. Considering that this could just be recent, they had no clear direction of where they were going in life just yet. Some would just get dragged along wherever the tide would bring them.


    On the other hand, there were those that were kidnapped. Their family could still be looking for them, concerned about their wellbeing. They had a place to go back to. These were the ones that they had to particularly give assurance to. They were the ones that were likely to cause trouble. The ones that would feel distressed and frustrated the most.


    ¡°What about us, huh?¡± a woman in her mid-twenties suddenly chimed in. ¡°You think we¡¯ll just be fine getting dragged away further from our homes?¡±


    No one had an answer to that.


    ¡°We can¡¯t just do nothing about this.¡±


    The poet clapped his hands one time before the tension rose and everyone turned towards him. ¡°Wonderful. We got to hear everyone¡¯s thoughts. I know that we are all afraid. And yes, wherever we¡¯re heading could be dangerous. And for some of us, becoming farther away from home is a terrifying thing. We have suffered enough. We deserve rest.¡±


    He looked at everyone¡¯s eyes, moving his hands around subtly as he spoke with eloquence.


    ¡°And I realize that there is no way I can convince a lot of you to completely go along with what our lady of white is planning. But let me tell you the truth¡­¡± he paused for a moment. ¡°There is nothing we can do.¡±


    The people glanced at each other with a concerned expression.


    ¡°We have seen what she can do, right?¡± the poet continued. ¡°She is a being we cannot hope to overcome. Resist? We¡¯ll lose.¡± Everyone fell completely silent. ¡°This is an absolute truth that we have to face. However, there is also another absolute truth we have to remember.¡±


    He paused again and formed a wide smile.


    ¡°Like us, she was also a captive. She, too, would like to go back home. But it would seem she has something she must do. And I noticed how much she wanted to return home, but had made the resolve to do what was necessary. She is not too different from us. And most of all, she is our savior.¡±


    Those that lowered their heads raised them to look at the poet.


    ¡°She saved us from the abyss. From the abuse. From our fate, where we are certain to suffer more than we could imagine.¡± He glanced at the women as he said those words. ¡°She opened the cages, and gave us the chance of freedom. She aided us in removing our captors. She¡¯s the reason we¡¯re still alive, and why we¡¯re saved from a grim fate. And she fought to near death for this. Didn¡¯t you see?¡±


    They did see how she looked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t we owe her? Shouldn¡¯t we repay her? She didn¡¯t ask for us to fight. To sacrifice our lives. She only wanted to reach somewhere that she should. She didn¡¯t ask a lot from us. It would only take longer for us to go back home, but eventually, we will go back home.¡±


    The way he spoke was both soft and smooth, a delivery so refined, excellent, and persuasive. So full of emotions and sincerity that he resonated with the crowd.


    ¡°True that it is dangerous, but have we forgotten how much power she has? Her magic lights and cracks the sky. Where the ocean completely freezes at the wave of her hand. There¡¯s nowhere else safer than to be with her. Not only that, is it not interesting to see new places? To see and experience something new? To go on a journey. Where we might discover a new direction for us to take.¡± He looked at the people that had nowhere to go back to.


    He paused for a moment and let the crowd process his words.


    ¡°We only have to have patience and courage.¡±


    The crowd looked at each other again, with some murmuring quietly.


    The poet waited for a moment before speaking again. ¡°What do you say?¡±


    There was a long moment of silence before one of those who wanted to go home spoke out.


    ¡°... Very well¡­ We¡¯ll be patient and wait.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re right¡­ we owe our freedom to her.¡±


    No one seemed to disagree.


    The poet nodded energetically. ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear it.¡±


    Inside, the poet was feeling so relieved that his words worked. He was a bit worried that he would fail, but good thing he didn¡¯t. He wanted to jump around and drink alcohol as a celebration, but he restrained the urge to do so.


    Once the meeting was done, the poet noticed that the people seemed to be in a lighter mood, unlike compared to before. And he was satisfied with that. As everyone moved out to begin sleeping for the night, the poet returned to the top, where Velar met up with him.


    ¡°Nicely done,¡± the soldier said.


    ¡°Heh, I¡¯m pretty good. Better pay me back.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Velar furrowed his brows.


    ¡°I¡¯m kidding.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ We saw a lute below, maybe that was yours?¡±


    The poet¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°My lute! They brought it with them?! Whew¡­ I was worried I won¡¯t get to see it again. We go way back.¡±


    Velar grinned. ¡°Then I¡¯ve paid you with finding your beloved instrument.¡±


    The poet playfully shrugged. ¡°Fine, fine¡­¡± He glanced at the captain¡¯s quarters. ¡°I did a pretty good job, right? You think she would acknowledge that?¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to gain favors?¡±


    ¡°I just want to look good in her eyes.¡±


    ¡°... Hm. I¡¯ll mention you to her.¡±


    ¡°Awesome! I¡¯m looking forward to actually talking to her.¡±


    ***


    Meanwhile, the princess was sitting down at the corner of her bed. This time, she had no tears, for she was trying to repress them. She didn¡¯t want to cry. It was unbecoming, sort of say. In addition, she wanted to sleep, but it was a bit hard. Her body was still aching, just a little.


    And suddenly, she started coughing. It was a terrible cough. She placed her hand on her mouth.


    And after a few rounds of coughs, she began breathing rapidly. It felt like she was being choked. And then she looked at her palm. A concerned expression formed on her face.


    She had already used healing magic. However, it would seem it wasn¡¯t enough to fully heal her, aside from the achings.


    On her palm was blood that she coughed out.


    She took a shaking deep breath as she closed her trembling hand.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 43: Punishment (Part 1)

    Morning came, and Estelia could feel the sway of the ship. Truth be told, she didn¡¯t really have a good sleep, not only because of the rockings. She stretched her body and headed for the window to draw open the curtain. The sun was still barely up. There was the issue of time zones, but considering that they were only going south, she shouldn¡¯t really overthink it.


    But she did know she didn¡¯t have a long time of sleep. She heaved a long sigh, indeed she was still feeling out of it. Fatigued and a bit weak. Rubbing her eyes, she made her way outside the room. The morning breeze on the ocean should be a good thing to experience. And when she stepped out, the splashes of the water on the boat became more audible, and with it was a refreshing and cool air.


    Estelia slowly walked to the side and leaned at the edge. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again to watch the sea. Small fishes swam beneath the water. Aside from those, it was silent and peaceful. And Estelia appreciated it.


    There were a couple of people on the deck, but she ignored them as they didn¡¯t disturb her as well. At least, that was until a bronze haired man walked up to her with a wide grin.


    ¡°Hey! Looking slightly better.¡±


    Estelia frowned deeply, feeling displeased. She shifted her eyes towards him. And she felt a bit annoyed to see that he didn¡¯t even seem to realize he disturbed her ¡ª no, it was more like he didn¡¯t care.


    ¡°And now I feel worse.¡±


    He casually leaned his back on the railing. ¡°Getting annoyed already?¡±


    ¡°And why are you talking to me first thing in the morning?¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°How are we going to become friends if we don¡¯t talk?¡±


    ¡°... Why would you want to become friends? Do you want something from me?¡±


    ¡°So skeptical. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if you think the fish swimming in the water is just gonna jump and try to kill you.¡± He chuckled in amusement.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know you. Would you really trust someone you just met?¡±


    ¡°Nope. But I don¡¯t want anything from you, don¡¯t worry. Rather, it¡¯s what I can get from you.¡±


    Estelia narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re quite famous, you know. Being a goddess and all.¡±


    Estelia sighed. ¡°How famous?¡±


    ¡°Famous enough that everyone wants a piece of you.¡±


    ¡°... Do you know why?¡±


    ¡°Anyone divine is a big deal. But you are a bigger deal. You are a daughter of Rulers.¡±


    ¡°Rulers?¡±


    ¡°Eh, basically among the highest ranks of gods. Embodiments of different important aspects of this world. By which you originate from the title of blood, apparent from your appearance. The River of Life.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s annoying.¡±


    ¡°Really? Don¡¯t you find it exhilarating to know that you are not just some normal girl in this world?¡±


    Estelia had always thought she was special. She was the most beautiful, the most precious. But she would have preferred it if it didn¡¯t bring all these troubles.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really care about gods and prophecies. I just want them to leave me alone.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, prophecies. That is my main reason I want to be friends with you.¡±


    ¡°Are you one of the inhumans? That¡¯s why you want to be friends, so I would spare you?¡±


    ¡°Inhumans¡­? You mean the mystic race? I¡¯m not one of them at all. As you can clearly see.¡± He held out his hand to present his body. ¡°And inhumans? Not gonna use their proper term?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s easier to mouth Inhumans. Besides, they¡¯re enemies, and they are not humans,¡± she said with a hint of disdain in her voice.


    ¡°Hmmm. You¡¯re pretty angry, I see. Anyway, the reason I want to be friends is because we¡¯ll be together for a long time.¡±


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    ¡°What is it you want?¡±


    ¡°To just come with you. I want the prophecy to happen.¡±


    Estelia looked away in annoyance. She disliked the mention of the prophecy, even more so if people wanted it to happen. Because of that stupid prophecy that she ended up in this situation. ¡°I will not let some prophecy dictate my fate.¡±


    ¡°Be that as it may, you cannot run from it. In the end, it will happen.¡±


    ¡°What makes you so sure?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just how it is. Prophecies are absolute.¡±


    ¡°You people of this world really are a bunch of sheep, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t just the inhumans that believed the prophecies were absolute, even the people in the palace were worried about it. Like they believed it. Rogan, Vernon, and Mera didn¡¯t seem to deny the prophecy. It was like they believed it was not something to be shrugged aside and felt that such a thing would happen if it was foretold. And the mystic race¡¯s fanaticism to it only made them believe it more.


    ¡°You hear it¡¯s all absolute and you throw away your free will. Only you give absolution to the absolute.¡±


    Taneva was surprised for a moment before forming a wide grin.


    ¡°You really deny it. Sheltered princess, that is the truth. Fate is real in this world.¡±


    Lightning crackled in Estelia¡¯s hand, and she waved her hand to the sea, towards the fishes swimming in the water. The lightning struck, the ones hit were killed. ¡°Did fate dictate that I would use my magic to slay those fish? No, it was my own will. They died because I wanted them to die.¡±


    And then Estelia winced as she placed a hand on her head. Afterward, she returned to glare at Taneva again.


    ¡°You really risk that just to give an example?¡± Taneva said.


    ¡°Because you are so persistent in believing something so foolish.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but a little magic is not equal to the designs of fate.¡±


    ¡°Fine, if you believe it. But even if it is designed by fate, that doesn¡¯t mean you have to follow it. Do not insult yourselves by following its whims.¡±


    ¡°Color me intrigued. You really want to defy fate. And you don¡¯t seem to realize that you are already a victim of it.¡±


    ¡°And you don¡¯t seem to realize that if you make a victim of me, I¡¯ll make sure to strike back tenfold.¡± She lowered her head, and she gripped the wooden railing tight, showing her anger. ¡°There will be no forgiveness for what they have done.¡±


    ¡°You are already traversing the path fate has laid out to you.¡±


    ¡°No, this is my own will.¡±


    Taneva chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll be looking forward to our future together.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not friends yet.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! We already are.¡± He was about to casually pat her back, but Estelia quickly held out her hand to stop him. Taneva smiled. ¡°I have to say, you¡¯re so different from my observations.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I have been observing you for a long time. You are supposed to be the innocent princess. And now¡­ I see none of that. A single bad day wouldn¡¯t change someone that quickly. Everything about you is just different. No, you have been different on some occasions. It¡¯s just¡­ you are not consistent.¡±


    Estelia turned a sharp gaze at him. ¡°It¡¯s pointless thinking about it. So I suggest you set that thought aside.¡±


    He paused for a moment before faintly nodding. ¡°... Of course. I¡¯m just curious. Perhaps you have always been this way¡­¡±


    ¡°How much have you seen about me?¡±


    ¡°If you want to know if I¡¯ve seen how you kill people, yes, I have seen it.¡±


    Estelia was a bit surprised and baffled to know that he had been watching her without her noticing. He truly was someone not to be underestimated. And indeed, there was no point in patronizing or making an enemy of this man. But that didn¡¯t mean she should fully trust him. But, from what she noticed, he seemed to be quite honest and straightforward, almost like he just didn¡¯t care about how the other would respond. He didn¡¯t fear Estelia.


    ¡°So you are a stalker.¡±


    Taneva merely shrugged.


    ¡°Why were you even watching me?¡±


    ¡°I told you, you¡¯re famous. I¡¯ve been told to watch over you. Considering the prophecy and all, and how you returned to life where you should be dead. We got worried.¡±


    ¡°... I heard about that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the confusing part of the prophecy. Perhaps it just fails to mention that you¡¯re supposed to die first and return to life.¡±


    ¡°Or maybe I¡¯m just that good at beating fate.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, if you say so.¡±


    It was then they heard footsteps coming their way. Estelia turned around to see that it was Velar coming to them.


    ¡°Your Highness, good morning,¡± he said with a small smile and he gave a nod to Taneva.


    ¡°Velar, you¡¯re up early.¡±


    ¡°I could say the same to you. You look a bit better.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°... I would like to tell you what happened last night.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s not best to speak about it here.¡±


    ¡°Hm, let¡¯s talk about it in the captain¡¯s quarters, then.¡±


    Estelia gave Taneva a mere glance before going back inside her room. Velar followed in, and Taneva remained outside.


    Estelia sat down in the chair. ¡°So what happened?¡±


    ¡°I mentioned about the unrest of the crew. And managed to persuade them to cooperate with you.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± She was surprised. ¡°How?¡±


    Velar then went on to describe what happened and how they did it. Upon hearing the end of it, Estelia was quite intrigued.


    ¡°This poet is quite talented, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°And so it would appear.¡±


    ¡°And my strength gave them something to rely on in a possible time of danger¡­¡±


    It was a good way to persuade them. They had seen what she could do. However, there was an issue. She was not at her full potential right now, and she wouldn¡¯t be in days. The more she used her magic, the closer she was to death ¡ª small magics were fine, but something strong would be dangerous. If they knew that, it could spell trouble. But there were also Taneva and the two Cursed Children. However, the crew¡¯s faith was in Estelia.


    That being the case, then she shouldn¡¯t show weakness. If they were to face just mere pirates though, or any humans, those she could handle just fine. But if they face a demon again, it would be troubling for her to face alone.


    ¡°Very well. Good job. But¡­ I think it¡¯s not enough for them to trust me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not? You could make an appearance, interact with them.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but that¡¯s not enough. Action and result would be better.¡±


    Velar pondered for a moment. ¡°Then what should we do?¡±


    Estelia narrowed her eyes at him, studying him.


    We, huh¡­


    ¡°Are the traffickers we captured still alive?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they are.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯m paying them a visit.¡±

 Vol. 4 Chapter 44: Punishment (Part 2)

    Once that sun was now in view, Estelia changed into her combat outfit. It was her most comfortable outfit, especially that she would be walking in public. In front of the mirror, she straightened her hair with her fingers. There was a comb in the room available, but considering whose room this was, she would rather not use it. It would have to be cleaned first. She didn¡¯t want any disgusting thing from that man¡¯s scalp unto her.


    Although it was a bit strange, considering that she had already laid on the bed. But a scalp was different to some sheets. Perhaps she was just being petty. But she just didn¡¯t want to, that was all. She straightened her clothes and looked at herself and admired how beautiful she was, and she smiled. But that smile immediately drooped.


    With a sigh, she grabbed her one precious dagger. It would do for what she was planning on doing. She sheathed her dagger to the back of her waist as she exited the room. Waiting outside was the soldier, Velar, and for some reason, Taneva, too.


    She turned towards Velar. ¡°Come with me.¡±


    With that, Estelia stepped down the stairs, Velar following behind her. But again, for some reason, Taneva as well.


    ¡°You¡¯re coming with?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind me. Just curious.¡±


    ¡°... Whatever. Do what you want, just don¡¯t intervene.¡±


    As she went, the people on the deck stared at her, and others kept their distance. Estelia glanced at them, and it would seem they were interested in why she got out and what she was planning on doing. She also noticed the two Cursed Children at the bow. She still couldn¡¯t trust them completely. No, it was more like she had no intention of trusting them at all. They may have saved her in some way, but they seemed to want her for something, so she was wary of the shady two.


    Estelia stepped down the stairs to the inside of the ship. Her sudden arrival and presence startled the people inside, and they quickly moved out of her way. Estelia noticed someone holding a stringed instrument sitting in the corner. It took a moment for her to recognize the instrument, but it seemed to be a lute. Not common to see one. She didn¡¯t even know how to play one. Although, that instrument might be quite common here in this world.


    And then, they arrived at the cell where they kept their prisoners. There were a couple of men guarding them. They flinched when Estelia turned to look at them. Truth be told, Estelia had been contemplating on how to act in front of people. Should she stick with the innocent behavior? But, to be honest, she was not in the mood to do that. And, acting that way would only slow things down. Thus, she decided not to and let go of the pure princess act.


    ¡°Unlock the cage.¡±


    The two guards blinked.


    ¡°Really? But¡­¡±


    ¡°I want to talk to them.¡±


    They turned a look at Velar, and he nodded. With that, one of the guards quickly went to unlock the cell. It would seem they truly had a lot of trust in the soldier. Was it because he was more approachable? Definitely. Unlike Estelia who was just too different from the rest of the common people.


    ¡°You two can leave us. We can take it from here,¡± she said to the two guards.


    The two hesitated for a moment, but then left after giving Velar the keys.


    Estelia grabbed a chair and began dragging it inside.


    ¡°What are you planning, exactly?¡± Taneva asked.


    ¡°Just talk.¡±


    She let go of the chair and elegantly sat on it, crossing her legs as she stared at the three men in the cell. One was leaning on the wall, the other sitting on the floor, and lastly the captain was standing in front of Estelia. The three of them pointed a sharp look at her.


    ¡°Do you remember me?¡± she asked, but her gaze was stuck on the captain.


    The captain looked at the other two men with her before responding. ¡°Of course. You¡¯re the special package.¡±


    ¡°And you made a deal with a demon. You¡¯re pretty prepared for my arrival. How much did he pay, I wonder?¡±


    ¡°Not sure. I was not the one who took the deal. I¡¯m only following orders.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Estelia nodded. ¡°Tell me about the details of my transport.¡±


    ¡°... Why would I tell you?¡±


    ¡°Because I said so.¡±


    He paused for a moment with a clenched jaw. ¡°... Why are you asking now? Is there even any point?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because I want to.¡±


    The captain chuckled. ¡°And if I don¡¯t want to?¡±


    Estelia raised an eyebrow and glanced at the other two prisoners. ¡°Do you really have a choice?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re here in the cell with us. You¡¯re so close.¡±


    She leaned back in her chair, showing her nonchalance. ¡°You appear to be under the delusion that you hold the upper hand. No, Mr. Captain, you¡¯re in the cell with me. And you will do as I want¡­ To put simply, you¡¯re my bitch.¡±


    The captain frowned and let out a quiet groan. ¡°... You¡¯re right. I was just testing you.¡±


    ¡°There are reasons why people say not to test God.¡±


    ¡°Are you God now?¡±


    ¡°At the moment, yes. I am your God.¡±


    The two of them glared at each other, but in the end, the captain nodded. ¡°I saw your power. You¡¯re scary enough.¡±


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    ¡°Good. Now answer my previous demand.¡±


    ¡°... I heard about the deal months ago. Said to prepare the moment the demons arrive with a package. To set out immediately to Shinoroa.¡±


    Estelia was a bit surprised to hear that the demons had been preparing for this day months ago. For them to kidnap her. Estelia and the others never in a moment ever expected the demons to just come in.


    These demons did a pretty good job of hiding until the opportune moment.


    And she found it incredibly annoying and frustrating that she lost to them.


    ¡°How did the demon get from Wisteria to Eventon so quickly?¡±


    She found it strange that they got here on a ship while she was asleep. She doubted it took days because she would have woken up. Or was she wrong?


    The captain seemed to be confused. ¡°Wisteria? Why? What¡¯s with Wisteria?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°Hey, all I know is to transport you and the demon to the port town of Enikada.¡±


    ¡°I may have an answer to that,¡± Taneva chimed in. Estelia looked at him from the corner of her eyes. ¡°The demon used a teleportation magic circle.¡±


    Estelia¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°That exist?¡±


    ¡°Of course. But it¡¯s pretty complicated.¡±


    I should have known something like that was in here. It was never mentioned in the magic books.


    Concepts of teleportation magic were prominent in her old world. Fantasy stories have that in various ways. She just didn¡¯t think someone would ever use it when the palace was unaware of such a thing. Although, it might be a rare magic, and the cost may not be easy to pay.


    Did the Empire use it to bring their army to the kingdom?


    If they did, it would explain all the confusion she had about how the enemy got through the defenses. With the enemy having teleportation magic, Wisteria was already at a disadvantage. But if they had such a thing, why did the Empire take their time to slowly cripple Wisteria? With teleportation magic, you could easily transport armies in different vulnerable spots in Wisteria. And Wisteria would never, ever be ready for such attacks. They could easily win any invasion or cause heavy damage.


    Even Estelia would abuse such magic if she could. Then that could mean the Empire couldn¡¯t abuse it.


    ¡°The inhumans were with the Empire. Were they the ones to cast the teleportation magic?¡± she asked Taneva.


    ¡°Oh yes. Humans don¡¯t know about such a spell, so definitely.¡±


    ¡°You were there during the assault.¡±


    ¡°Of course. I told you, I was watching you.¡±


    ¡°From our first conversation, I had the impression that Wisteria won against the assault.¡±


    ¡°Yes, they won.¡±


    ¡°... Then¡­¡± She looked away for a moment with a pause before turning back to Taneva. ¡°What about the rest of my family? Are they¡­ alive?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re only asking that now.¡±


    Estelia had only realized it just now. Perhaps¡­she was just afraid of hearing what happened. She might have lost more than her mother. If her father died, or any of her brothers, she didn¡¯t know how her heart would take it.


    ¡°Answer me.¡±


    ¡°Your father and both your brothers are alive.¡±


    ¡°Are you not lying to me?¡±


    ¡°Why would I lie?¡± He smiled. ¡°Ask the two Cursed Children if you don¡¯t trust me.¡±


    ¡°Hm. That¡¯s great.¡± Estelia nodded with a great feeling of relief. She turned towards the prisoners again. ¡°Let me tell you who you kidnapped. I am the Princess of Wisteria.¡±


    The three prisoner¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. It would seem the demons truly didn¡¯t tell them about who they were transporting. And that was for the best. They did not need to know about it.


    ¡°And currently, I¡¯m not in a good mood. One reason being you.¡± She pointed her finger at them. ¡°You¡¯re one of the reasons I¡¯m away from my kingdom.¡±


    ¡°P-Princess¡­? Hey, we were just doing our job, you know,¡± said the captain with a wry smile.


    ¡°That is not only among your sins. You transport slaves ¡ª men and women. You mistreat your own kind, abuse them.¡±


    Although Estelia didn¡¯t really care about that part, she just wanted to mention it.


    ¡°One of your men tried to force himself on me. Which I imagine also happened to the other slaves here.¡±


    ¡°H-Hey that wasn¡¯t me.¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t me either. I didn¡¯t do anything bad.¡±


    ¡°I was up there on the deck the entire time! And I didn¡¯t touch anyone!¡±


    Estelia raised her hand to silence them. ¡°We¡¯ll set that aside for now. I have another matter I¡¯m interested in.¡± Estelia smiled a little. ¡°I want to know about this organization of yours, which offended me greatly.¡±


    The three of them looked at each other and then the captain spoke. ¡°It¡¯s, it¡¯s a pretty big organization. I wouldn¡¯t know much.¡±


    ¡°Then tell me what you know. The history, how you operate. The different branches. Your leaders. Everything that you know.¡±


    ¡°T-They¡¯ll kill me.¡±


    ¡°Huh. So you fear them more than me.¡±


    ¡°No no no! It¡¯s just that¡ª¡±


    Estelia raised her hand again. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I understand. Criminal organizations are pretty dangerous and ruthless. They¡¯ll either kill you or your family.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    Estelia exaggeratedly nodded. ¡°I see.¡± She pulled out a beautiful dagger from her back. ¡°I saw this in your room, Captain.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ that¡­¡±


    ¡°Did you know that it¡¯s mine?¡±


    ¡°...¡± He didn¡¯t reply. He was feeling utterly nervous.


    ¡°I wonder, what were you planning to do with it? Be honest.¡±


    He hesitated, but the princess¡¯s sharp gaze compelled him to speak. ¡°... It looks expensive¡­ Either keep it or sell it.¡±


    ¡°That makes me mad. Do you have any idea how special this is to me?¡± Estelia slowly stood up. ¡°Let¡¯s do an experiment.¡±


    ¡°Experiment?¡±


    ¡°Experiment slash game, to be precise.¡± She moved the chair to the side. ¡°I have a special ability, you see. I can use blood to enhance my dagger. And it¡¯s what I used to defeat an ever regenerating demon imp. With my blood, to be exact.¡±


    She stood in front of them with a small smile.


    ¡°And I have to say, because of you, I missed using this dagger to kill my target.¡±


    The captain gulped.


    ¡°Anyhow,¡± she fiddled with her dagger. ¡°Slashing the imp with the blood enhanced daggers to slow his healing was tedious. That¡¯s why I want to try another approach. What if I just inject my holy blood into the demon? Wouldn¡¯t that be akin to a poison to them?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s smart,¡± Taneva casually said, but Estelia ignored him.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t tried it, so I want to do it now. If I can inject blood into a person with my dagger. You three will help me.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± the captain stepped back. ¡°You can¡¯t do this. We¡¯ll fight back.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you will. But have you considered the opponents you¡¯ll be facing?¡±


    The captain gritted his teeth.


    Estelia shook her hand. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry. I have no intention of killing you in the experiment. I mean, it¡¯s just blood being injected. It¡¯s not like it¡¯s poison. And I don¡¯t have to kill to get blood.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡±


    Estelia formed a kind smile. ¡°Velar. Will you assist me, please?¡±


    Velar entered the cell and stood beside the princess.


    ¡°Good. I will need you to hold them in case necessary. Otherwise, help me wherever.¡±


    ¡°... Understood¡­¡±


    Estelia looked at one of the prisoners. ¡°You, come forward.¡±


    The man had a scared look on his face. He was hesitant as he stepped forward.


    ¡°Hold out your hand.¡±


    The man extended his hand.


    ¡°There will be a little pinch.¡±


    As what a doctor would say before inserting a big ass needle.


    Estelia slashed his palm, and it started to bleed. She touched the tip of her blade on the blood, the red liquid began spreading on the blade. The man she was getting blood from looked disturbed.


    Once she was done, Estelia retracted the blade.


    ¡°See? That¡¯s all I need to do to get blood.¡± She turned towards the captain. ¡°As for the game. As I inject blood into you, you will tell me what you know about your organization. Savvy?¡±


    ¡°Y-You¡¯re insane!¡±


    ¡°Trust me, I am very sane right now.¡±


    The captain clenched his fists and glared at her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Captain. It¡¯s just blood after a small stab, right? Is there anything you need to be afraid of?¡± she said.


    Well, except if you don¡¯t have the same blood type. And if this blood has some diseases like STDs. Hm, are there even STDs in this world? Huh. I have heard nothing about that.


    With that in mind, perhaps blood was a kind of poison, after all.


    ¡°Now then, shall we get started?¡±


    The captain began stepping back. ¡°S-Stay away from me!¡±


    Estelia sighed. ¡°Velar. Please hold him.¡±


    Velar grabbed the captain and restrained him from the back.


    ¡°N-No! You two! Help me!¡± He asked for help from his two allies. But they did nothing but watch.


    Estelia inched closer, a smile radiating on her face, as if trying to comfort her victim.


    ¡°Just the tip.¡± And she stabbed the dagger into the captain¡¯s shoulder.

 RPoB Official Book Coming Out! Release Date Announcement!

    Royal Princess of Blood: The Pure Princess (Volume 1) is coming out on Amazon.


    Finally, after all the efforts. The late nights, the rechecking, editing, the tiring days and nights, and the back pains (??), the book version of Royal Princess of Blood can finally be released??. It certainly took about a year for me to finish it, and it was quite challenging, but I finally felt the relief wash over me that it''s finally over!


    The book is the Volume 1 of the series titled "The Pure Princess", and it is quite lengthy indeed. The book also features a new illustration from the JP artist Wawon! Estelia is so cute! I''m so excited for this to be officially out.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    The release date is on October 23, 2024 (GMT), and will be available on Amazon</a>. The book will be available for purchase as a Kindle/Ebook, Paperback, and Hardcover.


    The Ebook version is currently available for pre-order. Paperback and Hardcover will be available for purchase on October 23.


    You can check the book in the link: HERE</a>.


    Below is the mockup of the book:


    I got my hands on the physical copies. You can check them out here on my Patreon Post</a>. It is a thick book, I was a bit suprised to see it -- it''s around 500 pages.


    Please support the book once it''s out. Thank you!


    (The book will not be in Kindle Unlimited. Therefore, the Volume 1 of the web novel version will still be available to read here on this platform once the book releases on Amazon. ??)

 Vol. 4 Chapter 45: Punishment (Part 3)

    The captain writhed and struggled to be free, but was unable to escape at all. While the tip of the dagger was still embedded into his flesh, Estelia contemplated the technique she was intending on practicing. Imagining and planning its process.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see. How should I¡­?¡± She manipulated the blood to flow into the tip of the blade. Their movement was utterly slow, but at least they were moving. And then she forced the blood into the man¡¯s body. Her eyes widened when the blood entered the small wound.


    ¡°Would you look at that, it worked.¡±


    The man was slightly bleeding still with the wound open, but the blood she injected into him should now be flowing into his bloodstream.


    ¡°See? Wasn¡¯t so bad. You can let him go now.¡±


    Velar let go of the captain, and he dropped to the floor, gasping for breath. He must be a bit shaken by what happened. Estelia felt he was just overreacting.


    Estelia crouched in front of him and stared at him with emotionless eyes. It was completely different from just a moment ago.


    ¡°This is merely the beginning. Do not think I am such a compassionate girl that I wouldn¡¯t go far for what I want.¡± She turned towards the other prisoner. ¡°It¡¯s your turn to offer your blood to me.¡±


    The man was hesitant, but he had no choice. And he slowly stepped forward and extended his hand towards her. He kept glancing at the dagger in her hand, or rather, to the hilt she was holding. Estelia realized what he was thinking.


    ¡°You want it? You want to fight?¡± she said. ¡°Go ahead. Give it a try.¡±


    He paused for a moment, and his face crumpled in conflicted thoughts. But in the end, he looked away. And presented his hand towards her. Suddenly, Estelia grabbed his wrist and stabbed her blade through his palm.


    ¡°AAAAGH!¡± the man screamed in pain.


    ¡°Ssssh. Keep your voice down.¡±


    ¡°Mmmm¡ªgghmm¡­!¡± He bit on his lips until they bled.


    ¡°This is why you don¡¯t even think of stealing my dagger.¡± She pulled out her dagger, blood was already attached onto it.


    Once she released the man from her grasp, he collapsed on the floor as he held the wound in his hand. His hand was bleeding to the floor as he silently cried in pain.


    Estelia returned to face the captain. ¡°Hm? You still haven¡¯t started talking.¡± She shallowly stabbed the blade into his leg.


    ¡°S-Stop! Please!¡±


    Blood began to be injected into the wound.


    Hm. I need to really have plenty of practice in doing this. If I face a demon again, I won¡¯t have time to slowly move the blood. Injecting must be instantaneous.


    ¡°Huh. I sort of imagined you¡¯d be convulsing right now,¡± she said with a slightly raised eyebrow.


    ¡°W-What?¡±


    ¡°Never mind. Guess you¡¯ll have a different reaction.¡± Or the amount of blood was not yet enough. ¡°Now talk.¡±


    And with that, the captain immediately started talking about his organization. But of course, as he did, Estelia kept injecting him with blood through non-fatal wounds. But he was not the only one subjected to this, she too later turned her attention to the other two.


    As she listened to the captain¡¯s explanation, she grabbed some blood from him. Then she started lightly stabbing the other prisoner. She was still far from proficient in using this technique. There were limitations. The moment the blood lost physical contact with her blade, she would completely lose control over it.


    That was why she opted to give more force into the blood¡¯s movements. Like propelling them. She first had to get used to the routes she designed for the blood. If she made a mistake, the blood would end up splashing around its front. Like what happened with one just now as she exerted more force into the blood.


    This wasn¡¯t easy by any means, but it wasn¡¯t too hard either. It was just a matter of getting used to it. As she tested it on the other man, whom she stabbed into the hand, she inflicted a bigger wound. Piercing her blade a little bit deeper. And injecting blood into his flesh was easier. When it was just the tip, the blood had a small entry point and path to move through. But when it was a little deeper, she didn¡¯t need to focus the blood¡¯s movement on the tip. In conclusion, she shouldn¡¯t try injecting blood with just the tip of the blade. Better to really dig her blade into the flesh.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    But in a usual fight, she would usually dig her blade deep into the enemy when stabbing. So perhaps she didn¡¯t need to stress on that part too much. Piercing the entire blade was the best option she could do.


    And I was hoping all would be good with just the tip in case I¡¯m in a tight spot. Oh well¡­


    But what about slashing? Slashing was quick. So she doubted she could inject some blood. But for now, she should get used to this current method of stabbing and injecting before anything else. Better to master one technique than none at all.


    It took a long time before the captain was done sharing his knowledge, and at the same time, Estelia stopped. The prisoners had several stabbing wounds in their bodies. And all of them being cauterized by Estelia already. She didn¡¯t want them to die of blood loss. And cauterizing them didn¡¯t take a toll on her, as she only had to use a small ball of flame.


    Estelia observed them. They had started to breathe heavily, intense sweating, shortness of breath, and so weak. It totally wasn¡¯t because of the stabbings, but was because of the blood she injected.


    It would seem I injected some incompatible blood into them.


    As she had expected, of course, but she didn¡¯t care about that. To her surprise though, none of them had a seizure. But they could be dying already, considering how much foreign blood she injected them with. If they were tough, though, they could perhaps survive.


    Velar placed a hand on one man¡¯s forehead. ¡°He¡¯s basically boiling. Did the wounds cause this?¡± he asked Estelia.


    ¡°This is why, Velar, you don¡¯t inject blood into your body that isn¡¯t yours.¡±


    Best don¡¯t get in contact with blood at all. On the skin was fine, but to the eyes, mouth, and such. No way. People have plenty of diseases that could kill you, you know.


    ¡°Is that how it is? Why?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just how it is. Which is quite apparent.¡±


    ¡°Are you actually sadistic?¡± Taneva suddenly asked.


    Estelia frowned. ¡°I am anything but sadistic.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just giving them their punishment, that is all.¡±


    I¡¯m not sadistic. I actually enjoy killing rather than inflicting suffering.


    And that was without a doubt.


    Seriously.


    ¡°And it¡¯s necessary for my experiment, in preparation for facing another demon.¡±


    ¡°... Hm. Remind me not to piss you off.¡±


    ¡°Are they going to die now?¡± Velar asked.


    ¡°Fifty-fifty chance they¡¯re going to die to what I did to them. It depends on how tough they are.¡±


    ¡°Y-You¡¯re a monster¡­¡± the captain forced those words out.


    ¡°I¡¯m the monster now?¡± The princess crouched in front of him. ¡°Haven¡¯t taken a look at yourself?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the b-bigger monster.¡±


    ¡°That is just insulting. What I did was not for an evil cause. What I did was just.¡±


    ¡°... This is just¡­?¡±


    ¡°Let me tell you a story.¡± Estelia stood up and walked over to grab a piece of cloth. ¡°There was a father who was a good working member of society, living decently, they could buy what they needed, and buy what they wanted. It was just him, and his young daughter. And despite the challenges in life, they were happy.¡±


    She slowly rubbed her dagger clean.


    ¡°But one day, someone broke into their home. The father was working that time, and you know what he saw when he returned home?¡± She paused and turned towards the captain. ¡°He found his own daughter dead, drenched in her own pool of blood. And she was without clothes.¡±


    She returned to cleaning her dagger.


    ¡°Can you imagine what that father could have felt? I can. Disgust, hatred, and fury¡­ The authorities were sent to find the culprits. But what would the authorities do once they captured them? To throw them into prison? Just that? No, it just wasn¡¯t enough for the father. And thus, he called for an angel of death.¡±


    Estelia put down the cloth and caressed the dagger.


    ¡°He offered everything he had to the angel. To find the sinners, all of them, and make them suffer the most intense of suffering. But the angel said: My job is not to inflict pain, but to take life. And yet, the father did everything to persuade the angel, and in the end, the angel accepted.¡±


    Estelia sheathed her dagger and stared into the captain¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Shortly after that, the angel found the sinners. And thus, it did as requested. It cast unto them what could have been the burning fury of its contractor. The sinners screamed, begged, and cried. And eventually, the voices all died out. None of the sinners remained, every single one was gone. And once the angel brought the news, and described what it did, the father¡¯s eyes lit up, and he was pleased.¡±


    Estelia smiled.


    ¡°Do you understand what I¡¯m trying to say, Captain?¡±


    The captain didn¡¯t respond, and only lowered his head.


    ¡°Is that a true story?¡± Velar asked, he seemed to be interested.


    ¡°It¡¯s true for some, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Hm. What a dark and cruel tale.¡±


    There¡¯s a lot of fucked up things in the world.


    ¡°At any rate, now that you guys have listened to the story¡­ Do you know where we¡¯re heading next?¡± She looked at her own allies, then at the three prisoners.


    It took a while for them to realize, but when they did, the eyes of the captain and his friends widened.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Estelia said. ¡°In the end, those culprits died after their suffering.¡±


    ¡°N-No wait!¡±


    Estelia ignored them and turned towards Velar. ¡°Tie them individually, and prepare to tie them up to something heavy. Ask help from the others if you must.¡±


    ¡°... Wait, are we¡­?¡± He seemed to have realized what she was intending on doing.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°... I see. Very well. Give me some time.¡±


    Estelia and Velar left the cell and locked it. The three prisoners tried to crawl and ran towards them, but they were slower and weaker, being sick and all. They clasped the metal bars and reached out to the princess.


    ¡°Please! Have mercy!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for everything!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve regretted everything! Please forgive me.¡±


    They shouted and cried. But the princess ignored them.


    ¡°Bring them up when you¡¯re done. I¡¯ll be waiting there,¡± she said to Velar. ¡°What about you, Taneva, care to help him?¡±


    ¡°Want me to?¡±


    ¡°You want to?¡±


    He frowned. ¡°... Fine. I¡¯ll help Velar.¡±


    Estelia nodded.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 46: Punishment (Part 4)

    The ship came to a stop, floating still in the middle of the deep blue sea. The sun shone brilliantly in the sky, and the sky itself barely had clouds to block its azure beauty. Inside the ship, however, a particular kind of darkness loomed as the people inside watched the three prisoners slowly move through the corridor.


    The prisoners seemed to be weak, or rather, sick. They were sweating profusely, and their skin appeared a bit paler. A rope was wrapped around their ankles connected to a tightly sealed bag, only allowing them to move their legs a little to walk. Their hands were tied up as well, but they carried the bag on their arms. Their arms were shaking, the bags must be pretty heavy.


    The once captives looked at them curiously. They wondered what they were doing outside their cells. A woman looked at one of the prisoners and flinched when their eyes met for a brief moment. Fear and trauma evident in the woman¡¯s eyes. And one of her friends tended to her, caressing her back.


    One of the crew approached the soldier leading the prisoners.


    ¡°What is this? What¡¯s going on?¡±


    The soldier, Velar, paused for a moment, thinking on how to respond.


    ¡°Their judgment and penance, I suppose.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you would do something like this.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t. It was the white lady¡¯s order.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Everyone should go on top.¡± Velar nodded and continued on.


    As they climbed up the stairs, the captain glared at the soldier and Taneva. ¡°T-This is cruel!¡±


    Velar glanced back at him. ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me about being cruel.¡±


    The captain fell silent as they reached the top deck. The lady of white was sitting down on the wooden railing. With a neutral expression, she turned towards the new arrival. She hopped off and walked a bit closer to them.


    ¡°Line them up.¡±


    Velar urged the three prisoners to line up next to the port side.


    ¡°I was expecting you to have a plank,¡± the princess said to the prisoners. ¡°I guess you had no need for such.¡±


    Which she would have been amused by using. There were plenty of pirates in movies and shows that do just that. It would have been fun, and she was quite disappointed to see there was none of that here.


    ¡°P-Please don¡¯t do this.¡±


    She slightly tilted her head, showing a bit of innocence in her eyes, which disturbed the captain.


    ¡°If there would be salvation for you¡­¡± She lifted her finger to point. ¡°It would be in their hands.¡±


    The people, their former captives, began to gather on the deck. Others glaring at the three, some were timid, and others curious of what was about to happen. Estelia could see the intense nervousness in the prisoners¡¯ eyes as they looked at their former products.


    The lady of white stood in front of the people.


    ¡°Greetings, everyone. I have yet to formally introduce myself. I am Estelia, the Princess of Wisteria.¡± A soft smile radiated on her beautiful face.


    Upon hearing that, the people began muttering to each other, expressing their shock upon that revelation. They never expected that they would be in the presence of a princess. They could tell she was someone very important, but still, her being a princess from the distant kingdom was still a shock to discover.


    Estelia decided to formally introduce herself. It was better to declare who she really was than let others slowly discover it, as others could have already surmised it. Honesty was the best policy for a reason. And honesty leads to trust. And trust was what she needed right now. Being an outright tyrant here was not an option. It would lead to resistance and treachery. Imagine what they would say to the people outside the ship once they make land? Being seen as a villain was more troublesome.


    Thus, there was no better way than to be honest. Carry yourself as a fellow victim of evil. Express that you relate to the other¡¯s situation. It was how Velar and that poet made it out to be. And that was how Estelia wanted it to be.


    ¡°Like you, I was taken from my home by force. And nothing was more heartbreaking. Being away from home is a terrible thing.¡± Her gaze and face were soft and sad. ¡°And, of course, I am angered by what happened. I am angry at the ones who did this to me.¡±


    She stepped to the side and held out her hand towards the prisoners.


    ¡°Here are the culprits to our troubles. Slavers, abusers, heartless scoundrels. Among them is the former captain of this ship. One who had transported countless slaves before us. And his men who did not care for any of their victims. Where they take advantage of their position, and abuse those below them.¡± She glanced at the women. ¡°They are monsters.¡±


    Estelia noticed one of the women crying, hiding behind her friends. And she gave them a pitiful look.


    ¡°Even one of them tried to take advantage of my vulnerability. But thankfully, I managed to escape before it happened.¡± Estelia closed her eyes, as if remembering it brought terrible memories.


    She slowly opened her eyes again.


    ¡°I have given these three my punishment to them. But, given the weight of their transgressions, I cannot let it end there. I¡¯m giving you, the people, a choice.¡±


    She paused as the crew processed her words.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Let them be prisoners, where they have a chance to live. Or¡­ throw them into the sea, where they will die.¡±


    The crew looked at each other as Estelia continued.


    ¡°Whatever you choose, I will not intervene. You are their victims. Their fate is in your hands. What punishment do you think fits them the most? What does your heart tell you?¡± she said as she stepped closer to the people. Her beautiful crimson eyes looked deeply into them.


    ¡°Spare them, or lead them unto death?¡± She then turned towards the most timid and most traumatized individuals. ¡°What will please you? What will rid you of the nightmares? What will bring you peace?¡±


    Estelia stepped back with a sad smile. ¡°Make your choice, now.¡±


    There was silence for a moment when a man¡¯s voice shouted.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? Throw them into the sea!¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Execute them!¡± one followed.


    Then a young woman stepped forward, tears flowing down her cheeks. ¡°Drown them to death!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to see them again!¡± a girl shouted in a strained voice.


    ¡°They will pay for what they did to me!¡± another woman added.


    Seeing them, Estelia resisted the urge to form quite a devious grin. As she had expected, the fury of humanity was not so easily extinguished. Given the chance, they would strike back at their persecutors. True that there may be others so compassionate inside, but they would be all drowned out by the call of retribution.


    ¡°Let them suffer as they die!¡±


    ¡°Kill them all!¡±


    ¡°No mercy!¡±


    Indeed, no mercy.


    ¡°I hear you, everyone!¡± said Estelia. ¡°And thus, you!¡± She turned towards the prisoners. ¡°I sentence you all to death. You shall be cast unto the sea.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious?!¡± the captain exclaimed as he took a step forward towards her. But Velar punched him in the gut, putting him in his place.


    The other two, however, tried to beg.


    ¡°Please s-spare us!¡±


    ¡°I-I won¡¯t do it again, I swear!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll redeem myself. Please just let me live!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do everything you want, please!¡±


    They were speaking to both the princess and to the crew. But all their pleadings and cries fell on deaf ears.


    ¡°Velar, start with him.¡± Estelia pointed at the one who thought of stealing her dagger.


    Velar nodded and began pushing him to the edge.


    ¡°N-No! Please! I beg you.¡±


    He dropped his heavy bag, causing a heavy thud on the wooden floor. Velar quickly picked it up and shoved it into the man¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Hold this.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t do this,¡± he continued on begging as he stood at the edge, terror evident in his eyes. However, the people on the ship merely cheered, excited for him to be thrown into the sea.


    Velar didn¡¯t give any response to the prisoner despite his begging, and coldly pushed him towards the water. A big splash scattered and sounded as he hit the water''s surface. Due to his weight, tied hands, and heavy bag, he quickly plummeted into the water''s depths. His screams were cut off by the water, bubbles rising to the top.


    Estelia observed his drowning, as did the other people. But it wasn¡¯t over yet.


    Estelia pointed to the other. ¡°Next is you.¡±


    Velar pushed the other prisoner. This one seemed to have given up already. He was silently carrying his bag to the edge. He didn¡¯t resist at all. He had accepted his fate. Velar pushed him into the water. The execution of this one was more peaceful and silent.


    Estelia subtly shrugged and pointed at the last prisoner.


    ¡°It¡¯s your turn, Captain.¡±


    The captain gritted his teeth and glared at Estelia. ¡°You fucking despicable witch! You won¡¯t get away with this!¡±


    ¡°... Witch¡­?¡± Estelia formed a pained look. Visibly upset that she was called that terrible word. That inspired the crew to feel for her.


    ¡°Shut up!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the evil bastard here!¡±


    One of the men suddenly punched him in the face. But that didn¡¯t stop there. Another came in and kicked the captain in the stomach.


    ¡°Yeah! Beat him up!¡±


    ¡°Beat that piece of shit!¡±


    ¡°Make him pay!¡±


    ¡°Make him suffer before he fucking dies!¡±


    The captain dropped to the floor as he received the beatings.


    Not only men stepped forward to begin beating the captain, but a few of the women as well violently sent their kicks. Given the uncontrollable aggression of the crew, Velar was forced to step back. To watch as the people began beating the captain relentlessly.


    Estelia was a bit fascinated.


    Holy shit.


    There were those that didn¡¯t join in. But even a few would be enough to beat someone defenseless to death.


    In a way, this was worrying. Indeed, she was not fascinated because she was amused. She was fascinated to see how wrathful people could get. Although she knew this was a possibility, seeing it first hand was something else entirely. To be precise ¡ª she was fascinated as they were normal civilians, beating some defenseless fellow to death. And that was on death row. It was a pretty rare sight to see.


    She didn¡¯t mean for it to go this way. She wouldn¡¯t want normal civilians to come to this degree. To become a bunch of savages. Was this good, though? They were unlike Estelia. These were normal human beings that lived normal lives. No, she shouldn¡¯t let this go on.


    It would be fine in another situation. She wouldn¡¯t really care. But they would be stuck in the same ship. Estelia didn¡¯t want anyone to get too carried away by their emotions and reduce themselves to this. Letting some of her crew fall into their dark impulses was not healthy. They could do that when she was away. But not in her watch. Not in her ship.


    I don¡¯t want wild animals.


    She wanted decent men.


    ¡®But Estelia, he''s a captain of very bad men. He deserves that.¡¯ Gah! I don¡¯t give a fuck. Do that anywhere else, but not near me! My ship, my rules! No falling to the dark side or whatever.


    True that she basically let them make the choice of sparing or killing them. But this was different. They were doing things on their own, driven by their violent and hateful impulses. They were basically out of control. Estelia was originally in control, that was why she supervised the sentencing. But this? This was basically her losing control, that was the main problem. And she disliked that.


    Time to set the culture in this ship.


    She stepped forward.


    ¡°S-Stop it everyone. Please!¡±


    She tried pulling them away.


    ¡°Stop! I said stop it!¡± she shouted more forcefully.


    Hearing her, the violent crowd came to a stop and turned towards her.


    ¡°His fate has been decided! His sentence is decided! There is no need to do this. There¡¯s no need to be so barbaric!¡±


    ¡°But he deserves it!¡± one said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you despise them because they are abusers? Evil men? Abusing the most vulnerable. Then why are you acting like they are? Beating a defenseless man about to be sent to his death. We have already decided how he dies, haven''t we? His punishment. Then there¡¯s no need to do this¡­¡±


    The crowd glanced at the heavily beaten up former captain.


    ¡°Do not stoop to their level. We must do as civilized men do. Do not let our fury get the best of us. We must be better than them!¡±


    Hesitation became more apparent on the crowd¡¯s face, and they began stepping away.


    Oh wow, that worked. Oh well, at least I also got to make the image that I¡¯m a good girl.


    What was important was that the crowd was under control again. Estelia glanced down at the captain. He was bruised, bleeding, and swelling all over. He looked terrible.


    Whatever, let¡¯s just get this over with.


    ¡°Velar, let us be done with this.¡±


    ¡°... Understood.¡±


    Velar forced the captain on his feet and pushed him forward towards the edge. The captain turned his head to look at Estelia from the corner of his eyes. Was it gratitude or resentment in his eyes? No, whatever he felt held no significance. Estelia didn¡¯t care. For he was a man about to die, anyway. Who knows what kind of emotions he was having.


    The captain faced the sea, and a second later, Velar pushed him into the water.


    Estelia moved to the edge and watched the captain drown. Her indifference hidden in her neutral expression. She watched as the captain descended, bubbles rising to the water surface. And then, some time later, the bubbles stopped.


    No signs of life from any of the three remained. Estelia glanced at the people, the former captives. Most of them were relieved, and others were satisfied. Overall, everyone was pleased. Estelia, however, felt differently. She was not fulfilled. She felt nothing¡­


    And she could not understand why.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 47: A Lake of Tears

    The night after the prisoners¡¯ execution, Estelia once again sealed herself in her room. She sat down on the bed and glanced at the open window, letting the faint cold air inside. A heavy feeling lingered in her heart as everything was peaceful again. Truth be told, she was feeling a bit better when she was working on the prisoners. Perhaps because she was mostly distracted from the true state of things. She had something to focus on aside from the bad things.


    But once it was over, once she had executed those she wanted dead, for some reason she didn¡¯t feel anything special. It had no flavor whatsoever, tasteless. Like how you wouldn¡¯t sense any flavor to any food you eat. Just nothing. She felt no elation, just empty. She imagined she would feel great upon killing, just like it had always been. But to be like this? It was utterly confusing.


    But at least the journey to the ending gave her a good amount of distraction. That she enjoyed.


    She heaved a long and heavy sigh as she glanced at the ocean beyond her window. The light of the moon illuminating a fair distance allowed her to enjoy the twinkling of the water. It would be a good time to sleep, but she was not in the mood at all.


    Then she heard a distant loud laugh from outside, on the top deck. No, it was laughter from a few sources, in fact. Estelia grew curious. There wasn¡¯t anything like it before. Then, it was followed by music from some kind of instrument. She listened for a bit. She could barely hear it, but it was a decent tune.


    She got off the bed and left the room. On the deck, she saw six men and one woman sitting down on the floor in a circle. At the center were a couple of bottles of what could be assumed to be alcohol, adding to it the few glasses around the bottles. This was a transport ship with plenty of products in it, so they definitely grabbed some from the inventory.


    Among the group was Velar, taking a gulp of the liquor. The other was holding and strumming on the lute ¡ª he must be the one Velar mentioned to be the poet. All in all, they seemed to be having a good time ¡ª no, more like they were celebrating.


    Estelia slowly approached them. The first to notice her was Velar. With widened eyes, he abruptly stood up.


    ¡°You seem to be having fun,¡± Estelia casually said, with a small smile.


    ¡°Um, did we wake you?¡± Velar warily asked.


    Estelia shook her head. ¡°No. I wasn¡¯t asleep yet. I just heard you and got curious, is all.¡±


    Everyone was looking at Estelia with hesitation, obviously unsure of how to interact with her. Although, she noticed the poet was smiling quite widely, as though anticipating something.


    ¡°Well, we were just in the mood to celebrate after we found some liquor,¡± Velar said.


    ¡°Just you guys?¡±


    ¡°Guess so. Others wanted to rest, I guess. Or they¡¯re celebrating on their own below.¡±


    Estelia nodded. ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°What about you join us, Your Highness?¡± Velar suddenly offered.


    ¡°... Will that be alright?¡± she slightly tilted her head.


    ¡°Of course. Isn¡¯t that right, everyone?¡± he asked the group.


    ¡°... Sure, no problem.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not.¡±


    ¡°She helped a lot, so why not?¡±


    ¡°She basically saved us.¡±


    Velar nodded and turned his head back towards the princess. ¡°See? Come on.¡±


    With a small smile, Estelia nodded back. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Estelia slowly approached Velar. The latter urged the guy beside him to scoot over to give space for her. Estelia sat down with a pursed smile. When Velar sat down, he poured liquor in a glass.


    ¡°It¡¯s high quality wine,¡± he said. ¡°Want a drink?¡± He presented the liquor filled glass to Estelia.


    The princess stared at it for a moment in hesitation. But in the end, she received it.


    ¡°... Guess it won¡¯t hurt to drink a little¡­¡± But she merely stared at it for a moment.


    Then the poet casually asked. ¡°You don¡¯t drink much, Your Highness?¡±


    Estelia glanced at him. He was so casual and so brave in directly addressing her, just like that. But she realized he must only be trying to break the ice here. Considering she was a princess, things were still a bit awkward. It was not easy to talk to a person with a higher social standing, even more so to a royal from another country.


    For a second, Estelia couldn¡¯t help but glance at the lute in the poet¡¯s hand. ¡°I don¡¯t drink. I never really get offered.¡±


    ¡°Oh, then this occasion will be good to get a little sip.¡±


    ¡°Oi,¡± the woman beside him elbowed him lightly. ¡°You really encouraging a princess to drink beer? Drinking ain¡¯t really a good habit.¡±


    The poet chuckled awkwardly. ¡°Why not? Besides, it¡¯s wine. Not some cheap street side beer.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do it if you don¡¯t want to ¡ª um, uh, Y-Your Highness.¡± The woman stammered. It would seem she was struggling to formally address her.


    Estelia gave her a reassuring smile. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be formal. We¡¯re not exactly in a place for that.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± She faintly nodded with a small smile.


    Estelia glanced down at the wine. Then she lifted the glass and took a little sip of the wine. The bitter and spicy sensation touched her tongue, going down her throat and heating up her stomach.


    Ugh, it¡¯s not even quite sweet¡­ Just how much alcohol content is in this?


    There was a little sweetness, but it was just not enough. She lowered the glass of wine, drinking only a little of it.


    ¡°Too much for you, I see,¡± the poet commented.


    ¡°Of course it would be,¡± said a young man among them. ¡°I heard rich people drink the sweeter kind.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, I tried some, but not a lot. I certainly got to try more of that.¡± The poet nodded. ¡°But it¡¯s pretty weak, though.¡±


    ¡°Maybe flavor is more important for them? It¡¯s more fancy.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to force yourself to drink it all, Princess,¡± Velar said.


    ¡°No¡­ I¡¯ll just slowly get to it.¡±


    Not like she didn¡¯t drink plenty of liquor in her past life. She tried some, but not much. Back then, she didn¡¯t find the flavor of beers or alcohol very pleasing. It was just decent. Except for the wines with some sweetness in them, she liked them. Currently, though, this body wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the liquor. She feared that a single glass would already affect her with a drink this strong.


    Good thing Velar didn¡¯t fill the entire glass with the wine.


    ¡°If you say so¡­ Anyways, Hartwin was just playing a song he just learned from Eventon.¡±


    When Estelia glanced at the poet, he grinned.


    ¡°Hartwin¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s me. Hartwin Leishen. Poet, storyteller, bard. One who seeks to travel around the continent.¡±


    ¡°Oh, some kind of wandering minstrel?¡±


    ¡°Minstrel? Hmm, I should include that.¡±


    No, I don¡¯t think you should. They¡¯re pretty much synonymous, you know.


    ¡°Anyway, I was wandering before I got here. Ah, shouldn¡¯t we introduce ourselves to the princess?¡±


    ¡°Good idea!¡± said the woman. ¡°I¡¯m Shayla Bofel. Was looking for a job before I got sold.¡± She was quite a looker, but she must be around in her early twenties.


    After her, the other men in the group gave their introductions. They gave their names and how they got here. One got kidnapped, while the others were sold just like Shayla. They were also young, around their early twenties, with one being in his late teens.


    The group drank a round of liquor, while Estelia drank only a little before they continued their conversation.


    ¡°You¡¯re all from Eventon?¡± Estelia asked.


    ¡°Yup,¡± said Shayla.


    ¡°It would seem their operations are indeed mostly in that country.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have that kind of thing in Wisteria?¡± she asked.


    Estelia shook her head. ¡°None from what I know¡­ Besides, if such a thing is happening, we would know and would have stopped it already.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Shayla lowered her head. ¡°That seems nice¡­ If I lived there, perhaps I wouldn¡¯t have been sold.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t comprehend someone could sell their daughter like that,¡± said one man who was kidnapped instead of being sold like her. ¡°That¡¯s too cruel.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s mostly my bitch ass mother. She hates me for some reason.¡±


    ¡°Why does she even hate you?¡±


    She shrugged her shoulders. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe she just doesn¡¯t like my existence.¡±


    ¡°Your father didn¡¯t stop it?¡± Velar asked.


    ¡°No¡­¡± She lowered her head. ¡°Felt like he didn''t even care as long as he got money.¡±


    Some parents were just indifferent towards their children, it could be because of their selfishness. Estelia was aware of such situations, which happened plenty in her past life. Parents selling their baby. Could be because having a child was an accident, or their situation was just too hard. Or they just didn¡¯t care. Still, parents that love their children outnumbered the others.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Just like her parents here in this world. They loved her so much. Estelia lowered her head as the memories of her family arose. She missed them.


    ¡°Damn. They didn¡¯t even think that things would be more terrible if a woman became a slave,¡± said one.


    ¡°I was lucky¡­¡± Shayla said.


    ¡°Lucky?¡±


    ¡°No one got to touch me¡­ Guess I was perfectly hidden¡­¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°But the others¡­ I saw it happen to them. That terrible thing¡­¡± She gulped down a glass of wine. ¡°... I heard their cries. There was one girl¡­ so pretty¡­ and they just¡­ they didn¡¯t care when she begged and cried¡­ I don¡¯t know where she is right now¡­¡±


    Everyone fell silent.


    ¡°That¡¯s why¡­ that¡¯s why I¡¯m glad that I¡¯m alright¡­ And I¡¯m free.¡± She rubbed the tears coming out of her eyes. ¡°Those pieces of shits deserved to drown.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± The poet poured wine into Shayla¡¯s cup before raising his own. ¡°Justice has been served.¡±


    Shayla smiled a little. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Everyone raised their glasses, and Estelia had no choice but to do the same thing as she had a cup in her hand. And they clinked the glasses before drinking. Estelia merely took a little sip.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I got emotional, guys.¡± Shayla forced a smile.


    ¡°Do not worry, it¡¯s alright. But I have to say, traveling really makes you discover the dark things in the world.¡±


    ¡°Why do you even travel, Hartwin?¡± one man asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think it would be pretty easy.¡±


    ¡°Right? I mean, you might get lost, or get killed by a bandit or monster.¡±


    ¡°And not to mention the money problem!¡±


    Hartwin chuckled. ¡°Simple, my friends. I am merely curious about the world. I want to see everything! I want to collect the stories places have, see how people live. I want to engrave the wonders of the world into my mind. I want to see and follow the most interesting things!¡±


    Everyone was dumbfounded for a moment at his enthusiasm.


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°Do I need any other reasons? I am a poet, and I love stories. And you get many stories in your travels. Besides, it¡¯s always fun seeing new places.¡±


    ¡°So? How did you even get here?¡± Velar asked. ¡°You didn¡¯t just stumble onto the ship, did you?¡±


    The poet let out a short laugh as he drank the entire liquor from this cup. ¡°O brave soldier, I may love drinking, but I ain¡¯t that stupid when drunk¡­ Well, sometimes¡­ But how did I get here¡­ Funny story, actually!¡±


    He poured liquor into his cup again.


    ¡°I slept with a rich man¡¯s daughter! Hehe¡­¡±


    Everyone¡¯s eyes widened, while Shayla winced towards him.


    ¡°Bullshit,¡± said one man, not believing his words.


    ¡°Really, I¡¯m not lying.¡±


    ¡°A rich girl, with you? I doubt it, they¡¯re like noblewomen in kingdoms. No way one would just give you their attention.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to tell you, friend. But I am quite charming and good looking.¡± He chuckled. ¡°I spoke to her, sang her gentle songs. And a couple of days later, another victory in life!¡±


    A couple of guys frowned and pouted. Estelia glanced at them innocently.


    ¡°Let me guess,¡± said Velar. ¡°You got caught.¡±


    ¡°... Yeah. Her father caught us before even the sun came up. Which, if it did, I would be long gone already. He brought a lot of guards, pulled me out of the bed naked! And dammit, I was hoping to enjoy more of the moment, cuddling, behold that feminine gorgeous body¡ª¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to get in detail about that.¡± Shayla stopped him from talking any further as it was just becoming unnecessary. And it was just weird for her.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Anyway, I tried everything I could to calm her father down. But it was impossible. And to my surprise, he actually has a connection with the criminal organization, and he gave me to them to be sold as a slave. Looking back, I suppose my luck ran out.¡± He shrugged.


    Shayla crossed her arms. ¡°That¡¯s what you get for sleeping with women when you¡¯re not even being serious about the relationship.¡±


    The poet chuckled, amused. ¡°Don¡¯t like that? Hehe, my apologies. But hey, at least she enjoyed it!¡± He flashed everyone with a wide and proud grin.


    ¡°Oh my god...¡± Shayla palmed her face.


    The other ones in the group couldn¡¯t help but laugh out loud, their grins wide and eyes so bright.


    ¡°Oh yeeeaaaah!¡±


    One of them even gave him Hartwin a high five. The slap of their hands echoed throughout the deck of the ship followed by further loud laughters. Shayla and Estelia glanced at each, and the latter formed a wry smile. It was a bit uncomfortable for Shayla, but for Estelia, she merely feigned awkwardness.


    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate the power of my words! Hehe!¡±


    Shayla slapped his arm. ¡°Alright that¡¯s enough, you have proven how manly you are.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, not exactly the point, but alright.¡±


    ¡°What, you just sleep around with women and leave them by tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Hey, even I¡¯m not that heartless. In fact, I am quite passionate. But of course, as I¡¯m a wanderer, I have to leave sooner or later.¡±


    ¡°Men, always with their reasons and excuses.¡± She crossed her arms before turning towards Estelia. ¡°That¡¯s why, Princess, you have to be careful with the flowery words they might give you.¡±


    ¡°I-Is that so?¡± Estelia let out an awkward and shy chuckle.


    ¡°Just so you know, I don¡¯t go around pursuing friends or colleagues. So don¡¯t worry about me.¡±


    ¡°You better! Or I¡¯ll kick you in the balls!¡±


    ¡°Miss Shayla, please, have mercy on my descendants.¡±


    ¡°No need. Types like you end up alone!¡±


    ¡°Wha¡ª that''s just harsh!¡±


    Everyone laughed at their comical exchange of conversation. Hartwin seemed particularly pleased that everyone enjoyed his story. Indeed, Estelia found it a bit funny.


    Once they settled down a bit, they drank another round of liquor. Estelia only sipped a little, almost looking like a child, truth be told. Completely unlike the fierce girl everyone saw from earlier. Perhaps that was just how she was in a casual setting.


    ¡°Anyway,¡± said Hartwin. ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering about you, Velar.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a soldier, and a mighty one at that. So how did you end up here? About to be traded as a slave. You¡¯re not exactly the type that should be traded, at least I think so.¡±


    Velar lowered his head. ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± He took a deep breath, as if hesitating.


    Hartwin noticed it. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to talk about it, it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ Well, it¡¯s not a good story. But I guess I should share as well.¡± He drank his liquor before continuing. ¡°It¡¯s because of a wealthy man.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Like me then.¡±


    ¡°A very rich man, but also my boss¡­ I was a loyal soldier serving him.¡±


    ¡°... What happened?¡± asked Shayla.


    ¡°I was a married man, you see. And I loved my wife so much, the one I loved the most in this world. However¡­ it would seem I was the only one that¡¯s deeply devoted to our marriage.¡±


    He drank a little from this cup, as if trying to gather up the courage to recall what happened.


    ¡°I was out hunting monsters with my team. However, when I came back to my boss¡¯s manor, my wife was there. And she had jewels all over her, she looked so proud¡­ I was shocked about what I saw. My boss demanded my wife. For me to leave her, so he would have her. And she didn¡¯t even try to stand with our marriage.¡±


    He clenched his fists.


    ¡°I learned my wife has been having an affair with my boss for some time. And I never even realized. She betrayed me. My boss never even cared about me. So much for my loyalty to both of them¡­ In my rage, I punched my boss in the face. And it, of course, ended up with me fighting against the other soldiers. Until eventually¡­ I gave up.¡±


    There was intense sadness in his eyes.


    ¡°The heartbreak was too much¡­ I lost the will to fight at that moment¡­ It was hard to believe my own wife betrayed me just like that. We have only been married for five months.¡±


    Hearing how recent they just had their marriage, everyone¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Indeed, it was so ridiculous to know. For a woman to just betray his husband for a promise of riches by another man. It was ruthless.


    ¡°Damn¡­¡± Hartwin couldn¡¯t help but mutter.


    ¡°... In the end, my boss gave me to the organization he had a connection with. And with a damn price at that.¡±


    Estelia was a bit flabbergasted hearing that story. To think someone would just betray a powerful and devoted man. Or specifically, his wife. From how Estelia saw it, he would be a decent husband. But it would seem that was just not enough for the wife. There were just people out there willing to abandon someone for themselves, especially when it came to riches.


    That sucks¡­


    To think someone would just waste his loyalty like that. Both as a husband and a servant. At any rate, from both the stories of Hartwin and Velar, it would be safe to assume that most wealthy men in that Eventon Republic were in cahoots with the organization. If they were that scummy, it wouldn¡¯t be strange to think that they would be in the pockets of the Empire already.


    How annoying, I should demolish them on my way back.


    She wouldn¡¯t want Eventon to suddenly declare themselves as allies of the Empire, then send their armies towards Wisteria. Better to erase a potential enemy than let them bloom into absolute enemies.


    Hartwin raised his glass. ¡°Hey.¡± He smiled as he extended his glass forward.


    Velar saw that and smiled back, clinking his glass onto his. ¡°Sorry, I got a bit emotional. Obviously mine wasn¡¯t any worse than everyone else¡¯s.¡±


    Shayla shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not a competition. When something is messed up, it¡¯s messed up.¡± She raised her glass too.


    Altogether, they drank another round


    ¡°What about you, Princess?¡± Hartwin asked. ¡°Royals are supposed to be tightly guarded, right? So how did you end up all the way here?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Estelia lowered her head. ¡°It¡¯s a long story¡­¡±


    ¡°We have the time, don¡¯t we?¡±


    Estelia fell silent for a moment. ¡°... Just a story of pointless and stupid wars. Where my home city was attacked and burned¡­ M-My home wrecked. And¡­¡± She pursed her lips for a moment.


    Her mother came into her mind once again. The way her mother was hurt. The way she forced herself to speak despite all the pain. The way her life faded away in Estelia¡¯s very own arms. Holding in the emotions surfacing inside her heart, she subtly clenched her fists.


    ¡°Princess¡­?¡± Shayla tilted her head and leaned forward slightly.


    Estelia slowly began to stand up. ¡°Excuse me¡­ I need some air.¡±


    I don¡¯t want to talk about it. Especially to strangers¡­


    Estelia slowly made her way to the bow of the ship, where there was no one else around. The group could only glance with a worried expression as she went. At the tip of the ship, Estelia placed a hand on the wooden railing.


    Mother¡­


    She closed her eyes, trying to harden herself and her heart.


    As she did, she heard footsteps coming her way. She promptly opened her eyes and turned to see it was the poet, Hartwin, with his lute.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I made you think of something terrible.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ No it¡¯s nothing.¡± She turned towards the sea.


    Hartwin leaned his back on the railing a couple of steps away from Estelia.


    ¡°You¡¯re in pain, Princess Estelia.¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡±


    ¡°You do know pain can be relieved a little by letting out a shout or any sound at all.¡±


    ¡°I am not wounded.¡±


    ¡°Oh but you are, gentle maiden. A wound so great, not even stitches can stop the bleeding.¡± He began to slowly pluck the strings of his lute, playing a gentle yet quiet tune.


    ¡°What makes you say that?¡±


    ¡°I can see it in your eyes.¡±


    ¡°...¡± Estelia looked away from him.


    ¡°When we have pain in our hearts, we ought to cry if we need to.¡±


    Estelia remained silent. She didn¡¯t want to cry. She needed strength right now, not weakness.


    ¡°You must have lost someone so dear. What¡¯s so bad about letting out the tears?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business¡­¡±


    The poet smiled a little, the gentlest of smiles. ¡°This reminds me of a story about a lake. It follows a girl loved by her mother, abused by her father. The mother would cuddle her, tell her stories while on the bed, kiss her on the forehead, show her all the love in the world.


    ¡°The father was a drunkard and tyrannical. Often physically abusing the girl. He was a terrible father. The girl could only find the greatest of joy in her mother¡¯s embrace. And one day, a monster attacked their home, and her mother hid her in the small crevices. As a result of the attack, both her parents died.


    ¡°Once the monster left, she ran to see what happened. She saw her parents¡¯ dead corpse. And yet, she ignored her own father, and rushed to her now dead mother. She held her in her arms, heartbroken at the loss of the person she loved so dear. Her cries echoed throughout the night and throughout the land, her tears overflowing.


    ¡°Her mother was the only person that loved her. The most important person in her life. The only person she loved. And she was gone. And thus, nothing could be more painful. She cried and cried, and her tears never ended. Night and day passed multiple times. Her own tears started from a puddle, and in time, her tears formed into a lake so wide that all manner of beautiful creatures began to live in its waters. A lake so beautiful that it glimmers under the moon¡¯s gentle light. Eventually, her sobbings and tears finally came to an end.¡±


    The poet ended his tune.


    ¡°That was the origin of a particular lake I came across.¡±


    ¡°... Tears could never make a lake.¡±


    ¡°No, but that¡¯s not the lesson here. The girl gave all her tears to the person she loved. Her family. She let out all she can until her grief subsided, even for just a little. That just goes to show how much she loved her mother that she would cry that much until a lake was made.¡±


    ¡°... Does that have something to do with me?¡±


    ¡°You are in grief, just like the girl in the story.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°People say crying makes someone weak. But what¡¯s wrong with being weak once in a while? Is it not right to be weak for the ones we love?¡±


    The poet looked up at the sky, watching the ever distant twinkling stars.


    ¡°The lake represents the amount of love she has for her mother¡­ If we are not even willing to allow ourselves to shed all our tears for the ones we lost, have we ever truly loved them at all?¡±


    Estelia turned towards him, but this time, with softer eyes. His words resonated within her.


    Estelia looked away, grasping her own hands tightly.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been warned not to fall for your sweet words¡­¡±


    Hartwin chuckled gently. ¡°... I am merely trying to help someone. Nothing more.¡±


    Estelia closed her eyes for a moment. ¡°Thank you¡­¡±


    The poet nodded faintly. Estelia stepped back and began to turn her back on him.


    ¡°I¡¯m retiring to my room.¡±


    ¡°Sure¡­¡±


    Estelia made her way back to her room, her head remained lowered. She was now alone. She sat down on the edge of her bed, and then her shoulders began to shudder. Tears began welling up in her eyes, and they flowed down her cheeks, dropping to her lap.


    All the bottled up tears that she had been holding all this time burst out like a dam. She let out all of her tears, and no longer did she try to stop it. The flowing stream coming out of her eyes tonight would be enough to form a lake made of tears. In her chest was a pained and sorrowful heart that would make even the world and all creatures lived within it to cry with her.

 ROYAL PRINCESS OF BLOOD VOL. 1 IS OUT ON AMAZON

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    Again, thank you so much everyone! And let''s hope for the story''s success and further growth!

 Vol. 4 Chapter 48: Burial

    Mera was wearing a plain, yet formal, white and black dress instead of the usual maid outfit for today. For today was the royal burial for the queen. And along to be buried with her were a few of the elite knights, including Rogan. It was a sad day for the kingdom, even more so to know about the war they were currently under.


    Even Mera was worried about how it would go on from here. However, for now, she should focus on the current event. The burial of the queen and Rogan was an extremely important event. Mera looked around the surroundings, the front yard of the palace was filled with people, nobles. All wearing the same color scheme as Mera¡¯s.


    On top of an extravagant carriage was the beautiful coffin of the queen of Wisteria. And behind it were multiple fancy coffins on their own carriages, one being Rogan¡¯s. There was to be a procession, where they would pass the city streets, then to the green landscapes where the Sanctum of Noble Tranquility lay. The burial ground of the royals, and their most honorable and loyal subjects. Where they were surrounded by the beauty of nature and Wisteria itself.


    Everyone in the palace was to join the burial procession, except for a few guards. But most would be coming. Even all the maids. Mera heaved a long and tired sigh. Things had been so depressing lately, and it had been so hard.


    As Mera stood at the corner, two of her maid friends saw her and joined up with her. The two of them were wearing their formal white and black dress.


    ¡°How are you doing, Mera?¡± Macey asked with a concerned expression.


    ¡°... I told you already, I am fine.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh, you say that, but it doesn''t look like it.¡± Ellie placed her hands on her hips.


    ¡°... I¡¯m just processing things, okay?¡±


    Ever since Mera was grief stricken, every day, her friends would constantly ask how she was. Mera would always say that she was doing fine, which her friends didn¡¯t seem to believe. Did she not look fine at all? She was trying to look the part. But it would seem her efforts were futile. Truth be told, she was not feeling completely fine. There were a lot of thoughts in her mind, countless swirling thoughts. But she didn¡¯t tell them, she didn¡¯t want them to worry.


    ¡°... Mm.¡± Ellie narrowed her eyes. ¡°Alright¡­¡±


    The three of them stared at the gathering crowd in the front yard.


    ¡°It¡¯s finally the burial, huh?¡± Macey muttered. ¡°After this¡­ All our focus will be on the war.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. So fucked up¡­¡± Macey scoffed. ¡°Why can¡¯t the Empire just leave things be?¡±


    ¡°... You think we¡¯ll survive¡­?¡± Macey placed a hand on her arm, a worried expression on her face.


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°I mean¡­ the Empire is a big nation¡­¡±


    Ellie sighed. ¡°Have faith in your own kingdom. There¡¯s no point in being pessimistic.¡±


    Macey meekly nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll fight to the very end¡­¡±


    Be that as it may, Mera was also afraid of the upcoming war. No, it was happening already. They just weren''t experiencing it yet, as it was still occurring at the border. Mera feared what the future would hold. What if they lose and Wisteria was destroyed? What would it mean to the people? To the people in the palace? To the royals? To the princess?


    ¡°... By the way, Mera, will you ride the carriage with us?¡± Ellie asked.


    Mera shook her head. ¡°No. As the princess¡¯s maid and a colleague of Sir Rogan, I will ride with Sir Vernon in one carriage at the front.¡±


    ¡°I thought so.¡± She turned towards the other maids already gathering in the front yard. ¡°Everyone¡¯s getting ready. Macey and I will be going ahead.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Macey gave Mera a smile before going along with Ellie. Mera was watching them go just as Vernon arrived, standing beside her.


    ¡°Mera.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Sir Vernon.¡± She bowed her head.


    Vernon nodded back and pointed his eyes towards the two maids walking away. ¡°... You have good friends, Mera. They¡¯re always so worried about you.¡±


    Mera lowered her head and formed a strained smile. ¡°Yes. But¡­ sometimes I think it¡¯s just unnecessary to be so worried.¡±


    ¡°No one could help it when they care about you. That is something that must be valued.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°At any rate, it¡¯s time for us to go. Our carriage is ready.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    Together, they began heading for their carriage. On the way, Mera saw the two princes walking together. Both of them had sorrowful expressions. However, the younger brother, Estevan, appeared to be distraught the most. From what Mera knew, he had been working himself to the bone in searching for his sister, the princess. Mera appreciated his efforts. However, it would seem the princess was never found.


    Mera glanced at the king, who was waiting for his sons to enter the carriage. He seemed more composed than his children. Perhaps as one might expect from a ruler, trying to show composure as much as possible. They climbed up their carriage; it was an open carriage, neither a door nor roof.


    Knights on horses had also begun to line up and set a protective perimeter. The coffins at the very front of the procession seemed to be ready to go as well. The royals behind the late queen¡¯s carriage, and behind them were the rest of the late knights to be buried along with her. And behind that was Mera and Vernon¡¯s carriage. The two of them entered the enclosed carriage.


    Vernon closed the door as he sat on the chair opposite of Mera. Mera leaned to the window. A short while later, the carriage began to move, shaking a little as it went. They went past the broken gate. Mera only stared through the window as they moved through the bridge going over the river. She glanced at the knight riding his steed close to their carriage. They were keeping an extremely tight security, considering that there were numerous important personnel here. Not just aristocrats from the capital, but from other territories as well.


    There was no noise but the sounds of horse hooves stomping and carriage wheels rattling and moving. Eventually, they arrived in the city. As they went through the streets, the people had already gathered at the sides of the path, a lot of them. The street corners were filled to the brim, as if the entire city people came to participate and see the procession.


    Even as they reached somewhere at the center of the city, there were no fewer people than the place before. Every one of them had sad and grief-stricken expressions on their faces.


    ¡°My queen!¡±


    ¡°No¡­!¡±


    Some expressed their pain and sadness through their words. Some showed and expressed their sympathies to the king and the two princes. Many more cried at seeing the coffin of their queen, confirming that they had indeed lost a monarch they loved. Indeed, the people loved the monarchs. They were compassionate. Never abusive, always doing whatever they could for the nation and its people. Thus, they were sincerely hurt to see that their queen had passed away. And considering how she died only made it more tragic.


    Seeing the people this way made Mera emotional as she quickly rubbed the tears coming out of her eyes.


    ¡°The princess really is missing.¡±


    ¡°Where could she be?¡±


    ¡°I hope she¡¯s safe.¡±


    Mera faintly heard some people talk as they only saw the king and the princes. The beautiful princess was nowhere in sight. When they officially announced the queen¡¯s death, they also included the disappearance of the princess. It hit the populace hard. Wisteria was indeed going through a hard time. Add to it the announcement about the encroaching war.


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    ¡°Sir Vernon¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°... What¡­ Once this day ends, what are we going to do from then on?¡±


    Vernon looked outside as if contemplating. ¡°We¡¯ll do our job, I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Our job? But¡­ we do not have our lady.¡±


    Vernon stared at her and let out a brief sigh. ¡°The palace still needs cleaning.¡±


    ¡°... And after that¡­?¡± Mera lowered her head.


    ¡°... What is it you want, Mera?¡±


    ¡°... It¡¯s just¡­ Would cleaning be all that we¡¯ll be doing? Is that all?¡±


    It just didn¡¯t feel right to her. It felt like it wouldn¡¯t be enough to do just that, especially after all that had been happening. She felt terrible just thinking about doing all the normal chores, as if nothing terrible was happening.


    ¡°What else would we be doing?¡±


    ¡°...¡± She didn¡¯t know what to answer. She hadn''t thought of what to do.


    ¡°There is nothing we can do to help, Mera. You want to search and save the princess? Let others that are much better than us do it.¡±


    Mera lowered her head. She had nothing to say. Even so, she wanted to do more. For her lady. There must be something else she could do. So that she wouldn¡¯t be completely useless in this time of crisis. Something truly meaningful.


    She shifted her eyes back to the crowd outside.


    ***


    The Sanctum of Noble Tranquility was among the most important places in the Wisteria Kingdom. It was a wide, almost circular area surrounded by the healthy green planes of the capital region. It had its own space, away from both the capital city and the palace. It was supposed to be a place for absolute peace.


    A place where the people buried here would no longer be burdened by the troubles in the world. That was why they were placed away in a quiet and serene place.


    The sanctum was absolutely beautiful, thick and healthy trees stood on several spots, giving shade from the sun above. Assorted types of bright and colorful flowers decorated the garden in multiple straight lines, curving all over. Different kinds of small insects jumped from one petal to the other. Healthy, short green blades of grasses filled the ground. And most of all, along the several paths of the sanctum, were trees of Wisteria blooming with their ever beautiful purple hue.


    The paths exuded an air of elegance as the fragrant and gorgeous wisteria flowers cascaded from the pergolas. Imagine how truly beautiful it would be during the night, where these purple flowers would shine in a gentle glow under the moonlight. Truly a place where peace can be attained. A place of those buried here deserved.


    And at the more open area, where the sun¡¯s light showered over them, were the tombstones of the ones buried here. There were many of them, men and women who had served their masters to the end with shining and unbreakable love and loyalty. Dating back centuries. Indeed, it wouldn¡¯t be strange for this sanctum to be expanded when needed. Each area was organized to each era of monarchs where they would be buried nearby with their most honorable and loyal subjects, ones who did the heavy sacrifices.


    And in a particular area of the sanctum was where Mera and the others gathered. The maids, aristocratic families, knights, all gathered around the coffins. Mera and Vernon stood beside each other. In front of them was the remaining royal family, and with them was Marquis Teristro, his wife and his daughter. His red-haired daughter, Mizia, was crying subtly.


    Standing by the queen¡¯s coffin was an old man wearing a religious robe of white, gold, and purple. The high bishop. Currently, he was giving a prayer for those that had passed. He faced the queen¡¯s coffin.


    ¡°Her Majesty, the Queen, Meliya Helvinia Wisteria, was a kind ruler, loved by all her subjects. But above all else, she was a loving and caring mother of three, and a dear wife to one. We are saddened by her departure, and yet we shall be happy, for she, along with these loyal servants of the kingdom, shall unite with the Lord and Lady.¡±


    The bishop closed his eyes and clasped his hands together on his chest. Mera and the rest of the crowd followed suit.


    ¡°We pray to the Lord and Lady, guide their souls to the afterlife, where they shall have the greatest of peace. From which they will find their way to you, may your golden light shine upon their path.¡±


    ¡°¡°¡°Amen.¡±¡±¡± The crowd said in unison.


    ¡°In your hands, O Lord and Lady, we commend the souls of your faithful servants ¡ª the Queen, Meliya Helvinia Wisteria, the Princess¡¯s Personal Knight, Rogan Dorien, the elite knights, Sebert Anderol, Calder Hollert, Warton Sawyer, and Sinan Kiroz. In your sight, may the queen and her knights pass into everlasting life. May the Lord¡¯s guiding voice, and the Lady¡¯s gentle embrace, lead them into Paradise, and have an eternity of peace and rest.¡±


    ¡°¡°¡°Amen.¡±¡±¡±


    Everyone opened their eyes. Mera then watched as the high bishop held out his hand. A golden light shone on his palm, and a second later, they sprouted out into multiple golden droplets. The droplets fell on the coffins like in a calm and beautiful rain. The final blessing, the holy light.


    Once the light had settled down, the high bishop lowered his hand.


    ¡°It is time,¡± he said.


    The knights began moving the coffins into the holes that had already been dug for them. They placed ropes underneath the coffins, and with coordinated movements, they carefully positioned and slowly lowered them. Once all the coffins had settled in the bottom of the hole, they pulled and retrieved the ropes and the knights stepped away.


    Baskets of flowers carried by maids were placed beside the hole of each grave. The king and his children were the first to move. They first walked over to one of the knights¡¯ basket and picked up a flower. They then dropped it into the hole, landing atop the coffin. They then did the same to the others, one by one. Once they were done dropping a flower on Rogan¡¯s coffin, they proceeded to stand in front of the queen¡¯s grave.


    They each slowly picked up a flower. The king closed his eyes as he began to shed tears, rubbing them with his sleeve. The composed king from earlier was gone.


    ¡°I will miss you so much, Meliya, my love. You''re the best person I have ever met. I was the happiest when I was with you¡­ Meeting you was the greatest moment of my life. And marrying you was the best decision I have ever made. I love you.¡± He dropped the flower, and it landed softly on the coffin.


    ¡°Mother,¡± Eleden said as he used his handkerchief to wipe his eyes. ¡°I swear I will become a stronger person than I am now. I will make you proud. I love you.¡± He let go of the flower.


    Estevan, meanwhile, didn¡¯t make an attempt to wipe the tears coming out of his eyes. He had that firm look on his face, yet the sorrow was clear. ¡°I love you, Mother. And I will miss you. How I wish things would have been different¡­¡± He lowered his head. ¡°... I promise you¡­ I¡¯ll do everything I can to make things better. So you don¡¯t have to worry about anything. Watch as we succeed.¡± With a solemn look, he held out his hand and dropped the flower into the grave.


    Next to step beside the queen¡¯s grave as the royals left was Meril and his family.


    ¡°Sister,¡± Meril said as he slowly picked up a flower. ¡°I will surely miss you.¡± He forced a smile. ¡°You¡¯re the best and sweetest sister I could ask for. Have a peaceful rest, my dear sister.¡± A small tear came out of the corner of his eyes as he dropped the flower into the grave.


    Next was Meril¡¯s wife. ¡°Your Majesty, my sister-in-law, I never really got to thank you for warning me about Meril.¡± She briefly chuckled. ¡°Still, because of you, I am with him. I wished we could have spent more time together. I could have shown you more of my garden¡­ Thank you for everything.¡± She dropped the flower.


    Next was Mizia, who was crying and kept placing her handkerchief on her tearful eyes. She sniffed. ¡°A-Aunt Meliya¡­ You were so kind and caring to me. Thank you!¡± She lowered her head, as she could no longer hold out her tears. Both her father and mother gently patted her back. ¡°... I never imagined this would happen¡­ My time in the palace has always been so enjoyable, to be with your children, my cousins. I-I will miss you greatly¡­ G-Goodbye¡­¡± With a trembling hand, she dropped the flower.


    With that, the rest of the people that had personal connections with the departed approached their particular graves. Mera and Vernon approached Rogan¡¯s.


    Mera picked up a flower, taking a deep breath. As she briefly closed her eyes, its corners moistened. ¡°Sir Rogan¡­ I¡­ Your presence was a joyful one¡­ And when you¡¯re with us, things become less boring. You were a good colleague and a dear friend. Thank you for everything. Thank you for fulfilling your duty until the very end.¡± She dropped the flower.


    Vernon formed a small smile. ¡°Indeed, you were a reliable colleague, a reliable knight. I felt confident when we fought together with the princess. You were a brave knight. And now, you can leave the rest to us. Once the princess returns, we will take good care of her and I will defend her with my life, as did you.¡± He held out his hand and let go of the floor. He watched closely as the flower touched the coffin.


    When everyone was done, it was then that the graves started being covered. The knights gradually filled the holes with dirt, and eventually the coffins could no longer be seen. They placed the tombstones, with the queen¡¯s being the most beautiful.


    Mera then saw Mizia approach the king. They hugged tight as she cried.


    ¡°I¡­ I am worried about Estelia, Uncle¡­¡± Mizia said. ¡°Is there any news?¡±


    The king had a sad look on his face. ¡°I¡¯m afraid there is none. But we¡¯ll find her, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°I hope so¡­ I truly hope so. It¡¯s a dangerous world out there¡­¡±


    ¡°Indeed, it is¡­¡±


    Mera lowered her head as she contemplated again.


    An hour later, everyone began to leave, returning to their carriages. Like last time, Mera and Vernon headed to their carriage together. When they were about to enter, Mera suddenly stopped in place. Vernon stared at her curiously.


    ¡°Mera? Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°I finally know what I want to do.¡±


    ¡°Hm? What?¡±


    ¡°Your words to Sir Rogan¡­ You fought together with the princess¡­ And last time that happened, I was left in the palace.¡± She raised her head and looked Vernon in the eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t want that to happen anymore. I don¡¯t want to be useless.¡±


    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± Vernon raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Sir Vernon, you said that I have a high affinity for Physical Enhancement.¡±


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°Then please train me!¡±


    Vernon blinked as he processed her words. ¡°Are you serious about that?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am. Train me, help me become strong. So that one day I can fight beside you and protect the princess. To fight for her.¡±


    Vernon was silent for a second. ¡°... Training is not easy, Mera. Not only will you practice the technique, but learn how to actually fight.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I¡¯ll learn everything that I have to!¡±


    ¡°If you want to fight for your mistress¡­ You need not only to fight. Her enemies are great. We need to have a firm will. There will be times that we must do what is necessary. Do you understand what I¡¯m trying to say?¡±


    Mera didn¡¯t answer, for she didn¡¯t know what it was.


    Vernon pointed a stern gaze at her. ¡°You must be willing to kill.¡±


    Mera¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°I am aware it is not in your nature to commit such an act. If you want to fight, you must do it. You must take a life, no matter how many.¡±


    Mera clenched her fists, returning a powerful gaze at Vernon filled with clear conviction.


    ¡°If I must do it, then I will. For the princess that I serve, I will stain my hands with blood.¡±


    Indeed, she would do everything. If she must suffer in training to get stronger, she would willingly go through it. Learn everything that she must. If she needed to kill one day, then she would. If it was for the princess, she would do everything. Even if her hands and soul were to be tainted with the blood of her enemies, then so be it. She didn¡¯t care. As long as she gets to serve the princess, as long as she gets to protect her, as long as she wouldn¡¯t be useless, she would do anything.


    Vernon let out a short and subtle sigh. ¡°Very well, Mera. I will train you.¡±

 Vol. 4 Chapter 49: Resolute Priestess

    Under the cathedral in the city of Serene, among the multiple sections, was the catacombs. It was here that the priests and priestesses that died in the line of duty were entombed. Unlike how one would imagine a catacomb to be, a dirty and dusty place, occupied by rats, webs all over the place, this particular tomb was clean and pure.


    The floors and walls were in the beautiful color of ivory emblazoned with gold linings, stretching to the ceilings. Chandeliers hung on top, constantly made sure to be lit. The floor was shiny and smooth as marble. The place was completely clean and extravagant.


    The rows upon rows of tombs on the walls themselves were as beautiful as their surroundings. They were shiny, neat, and clean. They were as beautiful as ivory and valuable as gold. Taken care of like ever polished jewelry. It was no small feat to create this place, and the cost was staggering. But this place was made a long time ago. And even now, its beauty was maintained.


    And amongst the several sections of tombs, a particular girl stood in front of a particular tomb. It was a priestess wearing a sorrowful look on her face.


    ¡°Sister¡­ I miss you,¡± muttered the priestess, Tina.


    Her older sister, who had passed away during the assault in the city, was in the tomb in front of her. And only recently was her sister entombed here. Even so, Tina couldn¡¯t help but keep coming back. She placed a single red rose on the tomb, and it would be there until it withers away.


    ¡°I¡¯m doing fine, if you¡¯re wondering. Been a couple days since you and the queen were buried. Things are a bit hectic in the kingdom right now. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve been doing whatever I need. Been training hard.¡± Tina forced a small self-deprecating smile. ¡°I have to say, wielding the spear is hard. There are a lot of things I need to improve on.¡±


    As a healer, Tina didn¡¯t have much experience or training in close combat. She would just send her heals from a safe distance, as long as her target was in range. Fighting in close combat was never her role. That was why, when she needed to learn to attack on an offensive, she opted on using a bow.


    The bow was easier and way safer for her. She didn¡¯t need to get close and be pressured by an enemy¡¯s close attack. She would only need to aim and fire once an opportunity arrives. She had not mastered the bow yet, but she was satisfied with her skills in that department, more or less. But recently, she decided to learn something else.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how you do it, sister. To think you¡¯re already so skilled at it when we¡¯re both young.¡±


    Her older sister had always been so talented in direct combat. She had the potential to truly catch up to the high bishop in terms of skills. She would have only needed time. If she had it, she could have been someone great.


    ¡°But I won¡¯t give up. I¡¯ll get stronger, so I¡¯ll be more effective in battle.¡± She nodded and let out an audible sigh. ¡°Anyway, I need to go. Erminie must be waiting for me in the training room already.¡±


    She turned around and walked away from the tomb, walking down the long hallway. This was a place where the servants of the church were entombed, so there were hundreds of tombs here. So walking and navigating around this place would take some time and wouldn¡¯t be easy if you were unfamiliar with it. You could get lost in the halls like in a maze.


    Eventually, she reached the exit. She closed the door to the catacombs before turning into another hallway. At the end was another room with a large door, and she entered through it. It was a large rectangular room with mostly white walls. It was plain compared to the catacombs before, more functional. This was a training room.


    They had a training room atop, inside the cathedral, but this one was meant for a more intense training. Training that could actually cause damage to the surroundings. Today, though, there were no other people but two.


    One was a pretty woman, a priestess, in her mid twenties. She had smooth looking and glimmering golden hair that reached just above her shoulders. Her eyes were of the shade of azure, and she had a fit and alluring body. Her supposedly fair skin on her face was covered by makeup, making her more attractive. Priestesses didn¡¯t typically always put makeup on, they mostly did it in a business setting, or when needed to be more presentable. This one though was different, she always puts makeup on when she goes out. She valued her beauty so much that she wanted to always be extremely presentable all the time. Although she was already naturally beautiful.


    The woman noticed Tina, and she raised her hand, beckoning Tina to approach quickly. Tina quickened her steps.


    ¡°Where were you?¡±


    ¡°Sorry I¡¯m late, Erminie.¡±


    ¡°Let me guess, you went into the catacombs.¡±


    Tina faintly nodded.


    Erminie let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°I can understand that you¡¯re still hurt about Astine''s death, but you mustn¡¯t forget your schedules. Being punctual is a sign of discipline. If I am to train you, you have to have that.¡±


    Tina lowered her head. ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    ¡°To get stronger, discipline is of utmost requirement.¡±


    Despite how much of a lady she may appear, she was quite a strict person. Or rather, if you don¡¯t keep with what was planned, if you lacked discipline, she would get frustrated with you. In other parts, she was a kind teacher.


    ¡°So next time, be more mindful of the time and people.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    The other person, a man in his early twenties stepped beside Tina and patted her on the back casually. He disregarded her silent protest.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a little stern, Erminie? It¡¯s just a few minutes.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, don¡¯t question my teachings! She isn¡¯t your student. She won¡¯t be a lazy bum like you.¡±


    The man shrugged with a smile. ¡°What ever could you be talking about? I¡¯m not lazy.¡±


    The man had short black hair, shaven to the sides of his head. His eyes had the color of darkish yellow. And he had a light brown complexion. He was on a thinner physique, but his fighting style was mostly focused on his agility.


    Erminie scowled at him. ¡°If you weren¡¯t, you wouldn¡¯t be here.¡±


    ¡°I told you, I have no pressing matters to do. So it¡¯s fine for me to be here.¡±


    ¡°Why are you here of all places, Siward?¡± Tina asked.


    ¡°I heard Erminie was personally training someone, so I wanted to see.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    Siward looked up and nodded. ¡°Pretty much. You¡¯re learning the spear, right? What¡¯s up with that?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You had already chosen a role. And you had already learned to use a bow. Now the spear? That¡¯s too much field, Tina.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s bad with that?¡±


    ¡°Have you ever heard of the phrase jack of all trades, master of none? You could end up like that.¡±


    The priests chose roles they think they fit at. Tina was a healer and a supporter. She was supposed to focus on that so in the end, she would be a master in that field. Mastering such a thing would take years, and often, most of your life. Like how a knight would master Armament Magic and prioritize practicing it. Or a mage mastering magic casting instead of learning the way of the sword.


    But Tina had added the bow to it. That was a fine addition. But a spear was an entirely different case. It was direct combat. Way different from her previous experiences. Not only would she practice using the spear, she had to practice actually physically fighting and now further develop her skill in Physical Enhancement.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, Siward.¡±


    Siward scratched the back of his head. ¡°Are you trying to fill Astine¡¯s shoes?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°That will only hurt even more, you know. How will you move on with that?¡±


    Tina lowered her head.


    Erminie smacked the back of Siward''s head with an audible thud. ¡°You¡¯re asking too many unnecessary questions.¡±


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    ¡°Ow. It¡¯s just, I think she¡¯s doing way too much.¡±


    ¡°Who cares why she¡¯s doing it. It¡¯s her choice, and that, of course, includes the consequences to it.¡±


    ¡°Erminie, it¡¯s okay,¡± Tina said. ¡°I just want to be stronger than I am now. Without strength, I can¡¯t fulfill what I want to achieve. And I want to learn the way Astine did it. Not filling her shoes.¡±


    Siward narrowed his eyes. ¡°... I sense you seek revenge.¡±


    Tina didn¡¯t respond, but it was already obvious it was her motivation in all this. Siward could only let out a brief sigh.


    ¡°Do you really intend to hunt them down?¡±


    Tina nodded. ¡°The elf that killed my sister¡­ He will pay. To do that, I have to get stronger.¡±


    When Tina faced any elf, she could not contribute much. And one attack from an elf could even kill her. The way she was currently, there was no way she could face an elf and win.


    ¡°I understand,¡± Siward said. ¡°But facing them might be closer than you think. War is already here, there is a chance you might meet them again.¡±


    ¡°Then good.¡±


    Siward turned towards Erminie. ¡°Any word what our role in this war would be?¡±


    ¡°Nothing yet. But I guess we¡¯ll be some sort of special task force. That is where we are specialized, not on a battlefield.¡±


    ¡°No one¡¯s been assigned to anything?¡±


    ¡°Last I heard, there are some assigned to find the Cursed Children?¡±


    ¡°Cursed Children?¡± Siward tilted his head.


    ¡°From what I heard, they are monstrous creatures. They could turn into fog, they feast on blood. And they can even turn into a human.¡±


    ¡°What the hell? Are they some sort of demons?¡±


    ¡°Nope. But like imps, they cannot seem to die. No matter how much damage you inflict on them.¡±


    Siward¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Then how do we even kill one? Would our holy element work?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not sure.¡±


    ¡°Then why are we looking for them?¡±


    ¡°Ask for clues about the princess¡¯s whereabouts.¡±


    Tina¡¯s ears perked at hearing that.


    ¡°Are we like grasping at straws here?¡± Siward casually remarked. ¡°Resorting to asking monsters.¡±


    ¡°It would seem the palace is desperate about finding her. Which reminds me, Tina worked for her in the past.¡±


    ¡°Really? Was it the one where chaos ensued in the city?¡±


    The two looked at her, as if urging her to talk about that event. ¡°... Not the only one, but yes. I worked under her for a while.¡±


    ¡°Must be hard to hear your old boss is missing, huh?¡± Siward said.


    ¡°... I guess.¡±


    Tina didn''t know how to feel about that. Should she feel sad the princess was missing? But she wasn¡¯t feeling sad about that at all. Was it because she had other priorities in mind? She was so focused on getting revenge? Perhaps. But she hadn¡¯t exactly had a good result in working for the princess. Because of her, she had to leave her adventurers¡¯ party.


    The princess was a strange person. So confusing. In most aspects, she seemed like a soft and kind person. One who was pure and with a fragile heart. But sometimes she was something else. An enigmatic and strange side of her. Tina didn¡¯t really think much of it, but that was what she felt once. And considering past experiences, she would rather avoid the princess, and more so avoid thinking about her.


    ¡°Hm. Anyway, I¡¯m glad I wasn¡¯t stuck with any of those important jobs.¡± He placed his hands behind his head casually.


    ¡°I think I should suggest to the high bishop to give you a job.¡±


    Siward suddenly grabbed her arm. ¡°Erminie! Don¡¯t do that, pleeaasse!¡±


    ¡°Ggh!¡± Erminie tried pulling her arm away with a disgusted wince. ¡°G-Get off me!¡± Once she was free, she promptly stepped away a few feet from him. ¡°Stop being an indolent scum and do some work!¡±


    ¡°I am doing all my priestly jobs, okay?!¡±


    ¡°Ugh, honestly¡­ What¡¯s wrong with doing your job?¡±


    Siward frowned. ¡°Hey now, don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know your preferred job. I know you would rather be thrown into a battlefield than get sent to do desk work.¡±


    Erminie, strangely, grinned widely. ¡°And what¡¯s wrong with that? At least I get to exterminate the enemy of the kingdom and the Lord and Lady.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡ª¡±


    ¡°On the battlefield, I can kill any enemies, no matter how many.¡± She lowered her head, an ominous smile formed on her lips. ¡°A hundred blood would stain my spear, and no one will bat an eye! I¡¯ll get to hear the cries and the pain of my enemies as I slaughter them however I want.¡± She closed her fists, her eyes carried a wicked darkness. ¡°With my efforts, the Lord and Lady will surely commend me. Yes, how wonderful it is to kill for the gods! Is that not a thing to be happy about?¡±


    When Erminie glanced at Siward, the latter couldn¡¯t help but flinch.


    ¡°U-Uh yeah, I guess you¡¯re right. Don¡¯t you agree, Tina?¡±


    Tina was feeling a bit frustrated that he had to involve her in their conversation. She had to force a wry smile as she frantically nodded.


    ¡°Y-Yes, of course. Nothing is more honorable than fighting for the gods.¡±


    Erminie¡¯s smile turned into a friendly and happy one. ¡°I¡¯m glad you two understand.¡±


    Hearing that, Siward furrowed his brows. ¡°Am I the only sane person here¡­?¡± he muttered to himself. Perhaps that was true, he was the only one completely sane among the three of them.


    Yes, Erminie, despite how normal she might look, how beautiful she was, she holds a monster inside her. Her bloodlust. She was, one could say, among the most fanatic in the Order. She wouldn¡¯t mind killing. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if she would kill an innocent bystander just for her faith. No one knew how she ended up this way. Perhaps she had always been like this since she was a child.


    At any rate, she was helpful in most scenarios. And perhaps it was her faith in the gods keeping her restrained. And that was good. Tina didn¡¯t really sympathize with her views, with her desires. She was not seeking to exterminate just about anyone, Tina only wanted to execute the elves. She only wanted to avenge her sister. And she would not stop until she was done.


    ¡°I have to admit,¡± Erminie continued. ¡°I would be thrilled to be sent to the frontlines.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh. I imagine so,¡± Siward murmured.


    Erminie placed a hand on her cheek, as if imagining how it would go if that happened. But a second later she returned from her thoughts and looked at Tina. ¡°Let¡¯s start.¡±


    Tina was taken aback for a moment at how she quickly shifted gears. ¡°Uh, okay.¡±


    Siward shrugged and moved to the wall. ¡°I¡¯ll stay here and watch, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    Tina and Erminie stood at the middle of the floor and a few feet apart from each other. Tina conjured a spear of golden light just as Erminie did the same.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see if you still remember your recent lessons, and how you have improved your Physical Enhancement,¡± Erminie said. ¡°Come at me.¡±


    Tina gripped her spear with two hands as she started using Physical Enhancement. She could feel the mana flowing through her veins as they strengthened her flesh. Once she was ready, she leaped at Erminie and thrust her spear forward. Erminie casually stepped to the side and parried Tina¡¯s weapon.


    Tina kept a tight grip of her weapon and took a step back. Tilting the sharp blade at the tip of her spear, she lifted her foot to move her body forward, increasing her reach, and swung her spear diagonally at her opponent.


    Erminie blocked it with the pole of her golden weapon.


    ¡°Hm. You made an opening with that attack. Patience, Tina. You¡¯ll get your chance at landing a killing blow. But this attempt is foolish.¡± She shoved the spear away violently, causing Tina to stagger back. ¡°Again.¡±


    ¡°Ugh.¡± Tina groaned and quickly returned to her fighting stance.


    ¡°Keep your footing in mind. Do not easily lose balance with just that. Anticipate the possible consequences of your attacks. Anticipate how your enemy could respond.¡±


    Tina took a deep breath and charged at Erminie again. She checked on where her opponent¡¯s weapon was positioned before thrusting her spear towards Erminie¡¯s chest. Then, Tina saw Erminie¡¯s spear coming at her¡¯s, and thus she pulled it back just as Erminie lifted her spear in an attempt to parry it. At that moment, Tina quickly thrust her spear in another direction.


    Erminie tilted her body to evade it. Immediately, Tina pulled back her spear and gave out another strike. Erminie casually shifted her body back to dodge it. Seeing that she missed, Tina pushed herself forward as she pulled back her spear, and then abruptly thrust it forward swiftly.


    Erminie followed Tina¡¯s spear closely and parried it. It pushed the spear backward, making Tina¡¯s arms move back from the sheer power behind the parry. Unlike last time, she quickly moved her legs to keep herself balanced, preventing her from losing her footing. And she quickly returned to her firm stance.


    ¡°Good,¡± Erminie said. ¡°Keep going at me. Give it everything you got.¡±


    Tina engaged her opponent once more. She kept thrusting and swinging her spear. But Erminie would easily dodge or block her attacks. One time when she did a heavy swing, Erminie took the brunt of it like it was nothing. Tina poured all her strength in that.


    Tina wanted to fight with two spears, just like how her sister did it. But she should start with the basics. Skipping it would only hamper her progress.


    As their mock battle went on, Tina was becoming tired. Her sweat dripped to the floor. Her breathing labored. It was way different from what she was used to. Moving around was fine, running, jumping and such with swiftness. However, add to it directly sending attacks at the enemy, and thinking how you engage, it was both physically and mentally taxing. Unlike when she would only just heal her allies.


    And then, after some time, Erminie swung her spear at Tina¡¯s weapon with one hand. When their spears made contact, Tina could feel the intense vibration coming from the golden weapon to her arms. And at that, Tina¡¯s spear shattered into pieces.


    ¡°Huh?¡± She watched in shock as her golden weapon faded into nothing.


    Erminie lowered her weapon and it disappeared like smoke. ¡°We¡¯re done. You did well, you¡¯re within my expectations.¡±


    ¡°Really¡­?¡± Tina panted.


    ¡°Aside from your spear fighting experience and techniques that need further development, your Physical Enhancement needs more power.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Your swings are weak. Too weak, considering the powerful enemies you intend to defeat. I didn¡¯t need to exert a lot of force in blocking your attacks.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    Tina should have expected that. She mainly used Physical Enhancement when navigating the surroundings. She never needed to use it in an actual direct fight. Her level of Physical Enhancement was enough for quickly moving around the place or jumping up and down from a long height. But in direct combat, it would seem she needed more.


    ¡°Practice it when we are not in session. Because when you meet me, I will mainly focus on training you with the spear.¡±


    ¡°U-Understood. How strong do you need my Physical Enhancement to be?¡±


    Erminie placed a hand under her chin. ¡°For now, aim for fifty percent more power. I don¡¯t think you actually need to master Physical Enhancement, as you use the holy arsenal. You just need it at the level that your weapon would be more effective than you are now.¡±


    ¡°I suppose mastering Physical Enhancement would take years.¡±


    ¡°Those that focus solely on Physical Enhancements are another kind of beasts. They do not need any other weapon but their fists. They could punch a hole through you if you¡¯re not prepared. And they can harden their skin, preventing even blades from easily digging into it. One example that I know of is the king¡¯s butler, he¡¯s a master of Physical Enhancement technique.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°Imagine how threatening they will be if they also use a sword¡­ Anyhow, aside from that, also strengthen your holy arsenal. It¡¯s risky if they¡¯re that fragile.¡±


    Fragile¡­?


    ¡°Your opponent will be exerting a force equal or greater than yours. Prevent your weapon from shattering as much as possible. Otherwise, you will be in great danger. Strengthen your weapons until I am satisfied with it.¡±


    ¡°U-Understood.¡±


    Tina was quite surprised to hear that her weapon conjuration magic was not yet strong enough for Erminie. She was quite confident about that part, too.


    ¡°Alright, shall we continue, or do you wish to take a rest for a moment?¡±


    ¡°Please, let¡¯s continue. I¡¯m not too tired yet.¡±


    ¡°Hm. If you say so.¡±


    Tina conjured another golden spear. She shouldn¡¯t slack around. If she could still move her body, she must use it to push herself, to train. She could not waste time. If she were to kill an elf, she would need to practice as much as possible, until her body could no longer bear to move.


    One day, I¡¯ll kill an elf with my own power alone.


    She promised herself.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 50: Estelias Sea Days (Part 1)

    Captain¡¯s Log.


    Things were as always been, the sea dancing, the boat roving, the fishes leaping like desirable food. The ship mateys had been doing pretty much nothing. Perhaps that was just how it was when trapped in this moving prison. The heat during a bright day was somewhat bearable, but no one knew how long before the scorching heat would go into everyone¡¯s head.


    Strange occurrence was afoot. During the night, ominous growls could be heard from the surfaces of the sea. Stand on the deck in solitude and you would hear distant whispers, and yet so close. Look into the water, and you could feel like something was gazing back at you. Slowly, at every second, something was encroaching into a man¡¯s mind. It twisted your brain. Ghosts? No one knew what could be the causes of all these. No one could even verify if it was even ever true. Indeed, no one could ever verify it. Was it because it was a total mystery? Or you could just never find it because it could never be found?


    No. It cannot be true.


    Why?


    Because I made it the fuck up!


    Ahoy mateys! Captain Estelia here, writing her captain¡¯s log of insanity. Mentally of course. What? Curious about that story just now? Weird creepy stuff happening? Yeah, no. Nothing like that ever happened. This wasn''t some Lovecraftian or eldritch story where you would slowly be driven into insanity, where incomprehensible horror was running about.


    Nope, this was Captain Estelia¡¯s venture into the sea! Where we would sail into the distant horizon in search of a booty! Arrrrr. Grab me my eyepatch you scallywag!


    Um, how else do pirates talk again?


    Although we were not exactly a bunch of pirates here. But hey, let me cherish this. Ships in my old world were boring! People and their machines, metal devils. Throw the accursed metal devils into the sea! Arrr! Okay, gotta stop that.


    Anyway! Been a while, huh? I was feeling a bit better now. Things were a bit rough recently, but hey, at least I¡¯m back! Estelia¡¯s sea sailing arc! Where I was the captain of a ship, plundering whatever ship that goes their way ¡ª just kidding. And, I guess my seafaring arc would only be days long. Boohoooh. But hey, maybe next time.


    Now, what was Captain Estelia up to now? Well, the ultimate goal of the journey was to reach the booty, as I have mentioned. This booty was mainly the grave of my goddess mother. It was where I would evolve into a true divine being, which would ultimately save me from dying, and also win a lot of merits. Power and eternal life. Cool. Very cool. And to reach that would be a long journey.


    After the sea, we would need to travel around the Shinoroa archipelago. I couldn¡¯t tell how long this journey would be exactly.


    I hope I¡¯ll get back to the kingdom in time.


    I was dying. I could feel it in my body. I felt weak sometimes, cold, and in pain. If I strained myself even further, I feared that I would end up in a critical condition. So, no same level of fighting as that demon. Otherwise, I should be fine in low-level combat. Medium use of Physical Enhancement was also fine. Highly powerful magic spells, on the other hand, were risky. Must only use them during crucial times.


    I cannot die. I mustn¡¯t die.


    I had died once already, never again.


    At any rate, time to get out of my room. I changed into one of the sailing outfits available in the captain¡¯s quarters. I had to choose the smaller size, which the former captain surprisingly had. But I still had to tighten them, as they were a bit loose. But hey, I still looked pretty in baggy clothes.


    I fixed the sleeve as I stood in front of the mirror. As for the boots, yeah I had to use my own boots. As for the combat outfit, I had to let it free for now when there was no fighting whatsoever. Otherwise it would get dirty.


    I had fixed my clothes. But dammit, I didn¡¯t have a coat! The coats were too big. There must be one somewhere on this ship. That aside, there was still one missing piece. A crucial piece. And that was the pirate hat!


    I grabbed the tricorn hat placed atop the drawer and gently placed it on top of my head.


    ¡°Hehe.¡±


    Captain Ja ¡ª Captain Estelia in the house, yo!


    Yeaaah, now I was looking the part, a pirate! Although we were not exactly a pirate crew. This ship didn¡¯t even have a plank, can you believe it?! Absurd. Damn, I could only imagine how it would be in a pirate crew. Ordering around a bunch of scumbags, raiding and plundering. Would have been fun. But alas, here I was.


    Hm, maybe I can rob you¡­? Hand over yer gold now, ye scurvy dogs! Else the plank with ya!


    Ahem! Hehe. Anyway, time to get out and get some fresh air. Witness my grand ship ye blasted sea dog!


    I¡¯m running out of pirate vocabulary here.


    I got out of the room.


    And the raw saltiness of the air immediately assaulted my face. The water splashed loudly on the ship ¡ª my ship, by the way, did I already mention that? I just like mentioning that part. The sun above was barely covered by the white clouds. There were a lot of people on the deck, and compared to before, the mood was lighter now.


    It was like they were relieved of a heavy weight on their chests. Looks like my actions did really help them. That was good. Very good. Didn¡¯t want to keep things depressing all the way to the end of the voyage.


    I noticed the two Cursed Children at the corner, but ignored them for now.


    Just as I was about to savor the view of the vast ocean before me, a bothersome fellow suddenly got into my peripheral vision. I couldn¡¯t help but furrow my brow.


    ¡°Sup?¡± the mangy bilge rat casually said to me.


    ¡°Taneva¡­ Honestly, I don¡¯t mind talking to you sometimes. But, please, you got to read the room.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I would like to enjoy the morning alone.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, I forgot you¡¯re anti-social.¡±


    Hey now, that¡¯s just rude.


    But he wasn¡¯t wrong. Sometimes I just want people to leave me alone, you know.


    ¡°You could have talked to someone else,¡± I said.


    ¡°I already did. I just ran out. In any case, I¡¯ll be leaving you alone then. Enjoy your¡­ moment of solitary solitude.¡±


    ¡°Never mind, the moment¡¯s gone.¡±


    ¡°Oh, my bad. It just gets boring on ships.¡±


    ¡°So you talk to me the moment I get out of my room?¡±


    He casually shrugged with a smile. This fucking asshole, this wasn¡¯t him getting bored or just wanted to get friendly. Somehow, I felt he was just trying to annoy me. The guy had no fear of irritating me at all.


    ¡°If you¡¯re so bored, you could perhaps try cleaning the floor. It¡¯s getting dirty.¡±


    ¡°He-he, you may be the captain, but no way I¡¯m doing that.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a lazy one?¡±


    ¡°Eh.¡± He shrugged.


    ¡°Then get drunk or something. Isn¡¯t that what sailors do?¡±


    ¡°During the day, in this heat? Seriously, Estelia? Who drinks at this time?¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    What was wrong with that? Do people truly have a preferred time to drink? True that most people at least drink during the night, but really? Being choosy about the time, place, and temperature? That''s a thing? I would not know. I ain¡¯t a drinker.


    ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t drink much. I¡¯m all over that phase of my life.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ That¡¯s a lie.¡±


    ¡°Uh, it¡¯s not. Not like I go around places and try drinking their local liquor.¡±


    Yeah, that¡¯s definitely what¡¯s going on.


    ¡°Why do you even lie about that?¡±


    ¡°... Alright, I was just playing around. Hehe.¡±


    This guy¡­


    ¡°But I¡¯m not really a heavy drinker.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± I narrowed my eyes at him for a moment before walking away. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m going to talk to the others.¡±


    ¡°Guess I¡¯m coming with you!¡±


    I resisted the urge to sigh. If only he would stop annoying me, it would have been fine. What was he trying to do, anyway? To provoke me or something? Should I annoy him back? Honestly, I didn¡¯t have the energy to do that right now. So I was just going to enjoy the weather and the piratey stuff.


    There was a group of young women gathered, standing at the edge, watching the view and talking with leisure. I carefully approached them with a small but friendly smile.


    ¡°Hello.¡±


    Caught off guard by my presence, they stiffly turned towards me. They seemed rattled, looking at each other as if asking for help. Surely I wasn¡¯t that scary? I was trying to be so friendly here.


    ¡°P-Princess, how may we help you?¡± one of them nervously asked.


    I looked at them with kind eyes. ¡°I just wanted to check on you. How are things?¡±


    ¡°What¡­do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I meant how you are doing. Are you feeling good lately? Are things more peaceful?¡±


    They looked at each other.


    ¡°Things are going well, Princess¡­¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing much to be scared of anymore.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t get nightmares last night, so everything¡¯s alright.¡±


    I nodded with a happy smile. ¡°That is great to hear. It¡¯s important nothing is troubling you now.¡±


    Then they took a better look at me, going up and down. They were looking at my outfit, they must be a bit surprised or puzzled.


    ¡°P-Princess, is it alright for me to, um, mention something?¡± one girl asked, struggling to speak formally.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°There are clothes below deck. I suspect they were meant to be sold. I think there will be clothes fitting you there.¡±


    She was basically saying, what the hell are you wearing as a princess? Change your clothes!


    Yeah, my maids would chide me for this. But wasn¡¯t this fine, though? Pirates were meant to be rough and stuff. Especially the clothes. Rough, but still cool. Wasn¡¯t I cool? But I guess it was a bit strange for a princess to look like this. I mean, my clothes were way better looking than before.


    ¡°As a trading ship, I suppose it¡¯s expected that they have clothes to sell,¡± I said. ¡°They must be of a pretty good quality.¡±


    These girls were neat looking, and their clothes were decent. They must have gotten them from the supplies.


    ¡°Yes, they seemed expensive.¡±


    ¡°And they feel good to the skin.¡± One touched her own sleeve.


    These clothes I was currently in were of good quality, too. They were the captain¡¯s, after all. Except, it was a bit baggy on me.


    ¡°I see,¡± I nodded. ¡°Are there coats?¡±


    They appeared baffled by my strange question.


    ¡°Coats?¡±


    ¡°Yes, coats,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Yes, there are¡­¡±


    ¡°Splendid! I¡¯ll go check it out immediately. Thanks for the help.¡±


    ¡°Eh ¡ª Um, of course. I¡¯m glad to be of help.¡±


    I waved at them as I walked away. There was a bit of awkward air there. They were stiff and all. They were reluctant to freely talk to me. I supposed they were feeling wary and scared of me a bit. Not because of negative fear or anything. It was more like they were wary of disrespecting and offending me. Like how one would talk to their strict boss. But I wasn¡¯t strict at all.


    I internally sighed. It would seem letting go of the pure princess act had some drawbacks. If I remained acting all innocent, they maybe would have been less restrained in front of me. Oh well¡­


    ¡°That went well,¡± Taneva commented from behind me.


    ¡°I was trying to be friends.¡±


    ¡°And I said it went well. You¡¯re in a higher position, so they¡¯ll be less casual with you.¡±


    ¡°I know that. Still, I¡¯m younger than them. It¡¯s strange to be treated like this.¡±


    I was still, like, in my mid-teens. I should be treated like a junior or something. But I guess my show of power last time really made things hard to be more casual. And it wasn¡¯t like they always faced a royal, so¡­ Guess we¡¯re stuck like this.


    But as long as they saw me as a good person, all would be well.


    ¡°If you would have interacted with more of the common people, you would see how common this reaction would be.¡±


    I frowned. Never had any intention of immersing myself with them. And I have no regrets whatsoever!


    I¡¯m a busy person, hmph!


    Then I came across Velar, who was just coming up the stairs. With him was Hartwin, the poet. These two appeared to be getting along so well, ever since we met. I supposed they were best friends now. The soldier, and the poet. Bizarre.


    ¡°Princess?¡± Velar curiously looked at me. Perhaps it was surprising where I was heading.


    ¡°Oh hi,¡± I greeted. ¡°Are you guys doing well?¡±


    The two of them stared at each other, seemingly surprised.


    ¡°Of course,¡± said Hartwin with a grin. ¡°Everything¡¯s great.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I see. I heard you found clothes from the supplies.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes,¡± Velar answered. ¡°Do you need clothes? We can take you there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for coats.¡±


    ¡°Coats? As far as I can recall, there should be a few that fit you.¡±


    ¡°Good. Can you please lead me there? I¡¯m quite unfamiliar with the layout of this ship.¡±


    I didn¡¯t really venture around this place, did I? And I¡¯m a shy person.


    They agreed and led me down below deck. There were a lot of people here. But unlike before, the dark and negative atmosphere had completely disappeared. Now, they were casually talking to each other, smiling, and laughing. Things were chill now.


    Once I went past them, they greeted me respectfully.


    I¡¯ll give them an A for their efforts!


    Once we got further into the corridor, I casually spoke out.


    ¡°Everyone looks better.¡±


    ¡°Yup,¡± Hartwin nodded, pleased. ¡°Turns out it is easier to be friends when you went through the same kind of hardships. And the removal of the culprits also greatly helped them.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ So, what do they think of me¡­?¡± I wanted to get an idea of what impression they had of me. I already had an idea, but I needed confirmation. Do they see me as a tyrant? A dangerous person? Unfriendly? As the captain of this ship, I must get along well with the crew!


    Must inspire loyalty!


    At least, I hoped to achieve that. But was that even really important? I mean, I would only be here on this ship for like several days, then I would be running around Shinoroa. From there, this ship would have nothing to do. And they could just sail right back to their Eventon Republic from there. And we would never see each other again.


    ¡°They think nothing ill of you, Princess,¡± Hartwin said. ¡°They¡¯re just¡­ in a word, shy to speak with you.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Guess I just had to be satisfied with that.


    When we went down another deck, on the way, we came across wooden crates filled to the brim. I stopped and looked at their contents.


    Wow!


    There were a lot of fruits here, and vegetables too. There was also a lot of dried meat. In this era, I had thought this sort of importation of goods wouldn¡¯t be to this amount. Wisteria, for example, was, for the most part, self-sustaining ¡ª ignoring the Empire¡¯s sabotages. We had our own farms of vegetables, fruits, and animals. From what I knew, other neighboring countries were the same. True, there were imports, but not really a lot. Except for stuff that could only be obtained locally. I guess spices, too, were very important and common in trading, and there were a lot of them here as well. But in the boxes here were common fruits and vegetables. Not ones you would typically import.


    Did Shinoroa have their own unique vegetation and thus were interested in things from other nations? Or was there something else going on?


    I turned to my allies. ¡°Say, what really is Shinoroa?¡±


    Hartwin shrugged. ¡°I just heard it¡¯s a pretty messed up place. Pretty dangerous.¡±


    ¡°I heard the same,¡± Velar added.


    I turned a glance at Taneva.


    ¡°That pretty much summarizes that place.¡±


    ¡°Expand on it, at least.¡± I frowned.


    ¡°Do you want the short or the long version?¡±


    Seriously, we¡¯re doing this?


    ¡°Fine, the short version.¡± Not like we had a lot of time. I still had to search up some clothes.


    ¡°It¡¯s a barren wasteland, basically a dead archipelago. The landscape is dark and empty. Vegetation could barely grow there except for some special types of plants.¡±


    That perhaps explained the amount of food here.


    ¡°Aside from a few edible animals running around the place, there are monsters. Mostly monsters, actually. And they¡¯re pretty strong too. Humans are struggling there, but I guess they¡¯re too stubborn to die and adjusted to the state of things. They have plenty of towns and cities despite the dangerous islands. But they also have to rely on imports in a lot of parts, in exchange for raw materials.¡±


    ¡°What happened to that place?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but ask because of my curiosity. He didn¡¯t mention it was like a desert kind of place. So he literally meant a basically dead archipelago.


    ¡°A lot of stuff. Let¡¯s just say that place was forsaken because of some events in the past.¡±


    ¡°Forsaken?¡±


    ¡°Forsaken by the world and the gods. It¡¯s next to the demon lands, after all.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    Dammit, sounds like I¡¯m really going to a dangerous place.


    A place full of monsters at that. I recalled the previous monsters I saw. Not good. Not good at all.


    I nodded and continued on. We arrived at a particular room full of boxes of clothes. Jackpot!


    Velar approached a particular box. ¡°There are coats here.¡±


    Wasting no time, I rushed to the box and rummaged through the different clothes. Many were too big for me, and the designs were not quite to my taste. The color too.


    ¡°Why do you want a coat specifically?¡± Velar asked. ¡°There are other clothes you can pick here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get to it later. But for now, the coat is first.¡±


    ¡°... Hm.¡±


    He seemed puzzled about my actions, but I disregarded him. Then I grabbed a predominantly maroon colored coat. It wasn¡¯t too big either. And the design of it really looked like what a badass pirate would wear. I grinned excitedly.


    ¡°This will fit!¡±


    I quickly slipped into it and tied a belt around the waist. The edge of the coat reached my knees, but overall, I think it looked fine. It was big and long enough for my height of 5''7". Hear that? I¡¯m quite tall, am I? I have grown around a couple of inches since I arrived here in this world. No, maybe I was almost 5''8" really, I think¡­?


    There weren''t any mirrors around to make sure my clothes were good. Still, I thought I looked fine.


    ¡°You¡¯re taking that?¡± Velar asked. ¡°It looks decent, but are you sure? There are plenty of clothes to pick from.¡±


    ¡°Aye, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    ¡°Aye¡­?¡± The three of them looked at each other, looking pretty confused.


    Shit, I slipped. I accidentally let out my pirate stuff.


    ¡°Ahem. Yes, I¡¯m sure. I think I look well at it. Don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    They merely nodded.


    ¡°Splendid.¡±


    I fixed my hat and straightened the coat.


    Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate¡¯s life for me.


    Except I was not on a pirate ship. Dammit!


    Anyway! I started leaving the room immediately.


    Bring me that horizon!


    Oh crap. Saying that inside the ship is criminal! It should have been said outside. Silly me.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 51: Estelias Sea Days (Part 2)

    I was on the deck, where a small table was placed. Yeah, they found a table, using it to drink liquors at night. And by the way, I was still wearing a piratey outfit. Coat and all. I checked myself in the mirror, and indeed, I looked nice. Anyway, placed on the table were what remained of my daggers.


    Two medium-sized daggers, and my special one. Considering that there was nothing else to do, I decided to check my available ammunition. I was surprisingly low on that front.


    ¡°Princess, I think I found the daggers you were looking for.¡± Velar approached me with daggers covered in cloth.


    I told him to check and find my daggers that the former occupants of this ship could have taken. Considering the fundamental designs my daggers had, he should be able to tell if they were mine. And as he placed the daggers on the table, he did find them. I couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    I used three back at the palace, so I was missing some slots. One small dagger I threw at an enemy back at the palace, which he parried away, then a small and a medium blade, which I stabbed into that fog monster, Heneis. Then I lost one medium when I fought the demon. I bought ten small daggers and five mediums from the smith, so I had a couple of spare small daggers and one medium back home. Fuck, someone might have already found it if they weren¡¯t obliterated into pieces when a firework exploded into my room.


    I grabbed a small dagger.


    ¡°Where did you find them?¡± I asked.


    ¡°From one of their armories.¡±


    ¡°I see. Thanks for finding them.¡±


    I pulled in my straps on the table. On the left thigh strap, I sheathed three small daggers around it, then one medium dagger to the side. Then on the right strap, another three small daggers, and one medium.


    ¡°You carry a lot of daggers, Your Highness,¡± Velar said, kind of surprised.


    ¡°Can¡¯t be too careful¡­¡±


    How I wanted to slot in all my daggers, but there were only so many that I could equip. And this was after I did some modifications to my thigh straps and belt just to fit all these.


    ¡°I imagine you throw the small ones.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°And the bigger ones you use in the melee. Are princesses trained to fight with these?¡±


    I glanced at him for a second. He seemed truly baffled. This was something you wouldn¡¯t expect a princess to have, after all. But they had no royalty whatsoever, so I imagined they might have some image of what a royal was in their mind. Should I scare him a bit? Nah, like that would work.


    I shrugged. ¡°Nope. I¡¯m self taught.¡±


    ¡°... I see¡­¡±


    ¡°Although I can¡¯t say the same about the kingdom of Myra.¡±


    ¡°Myra?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a nation of knights and chivalry. Being a warrior is part of their culture. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if their princesses were officially trained. I know a princess of theirs that can fight.¡±


    Remember Lillie? I could still remember how frustrating it was when she could fight and I couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°I have heard of that nation. Are their warriors strong?¡±


    ¡°I guess so. Their princess was quite competent herself.¡±


    ¡°Hm. I wonder if I am on par with their average knights.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I never saw you fight all out. You held back when you fought previously.¡±


    ¡°You noticed that? Just from watching me?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    He blinked, surprised. ¡°I suppose it is to be expected you can assess me just like that.¡±


    What do you mean to be expected?


    ¡°Are you not one of the elites in where you came from?¡±


    ¡°I am considered an elite. In fact, I have not lost to anyone in a duel from recent memories.¡±


    I could tell this guy was strong. He was so confident, and the way he moved all over the place. His observing eyes. In a direct flight, he might be more or less stronger than Rogan. Of course, that was just a guess. I would need to spar with him to confirm. But this place was not exactly a good place to do that. And I was sick.


    ¡°Awesome. You trained hard, I suppose?¡±


    ¡°I did. But people tell me I develop all too fast.¡±


    I tilted my head. This reminded me of how Mera could progress faster when practicing Physical Enhancement. She could beat me on that if she kept training. But still, it would seem with my vast mana, I could overpower her. But she would also grow faster.


    ¡°Then you must have a high affinity in your current field.¡±


    ¡°Affinity?¡±


    ¡°Some can grow and develop faster in magic, others in Physical Enhancement. Meaning that they have a high affinity for that aspect.¡±


    ¡°I am somewhere average in Physical Enhancement. But¡­ My Armament Magic and swordsmanship skills are my best assets.¡±


    ¡°Then perhaps that is where your strength truly lies. You are meant to be a warrior.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± He smiled proudly. ¡°Somehow I¡¯m happy to hear that.¡±


    I grabbed my fancy special dagger and caressed the blade. Barely any damage or anything, considering that I only used this to deliver the killing blow. Keep being special, my blade, by being used on special occasions!


    ¡°What about you, Princess? I guess you have a high affinity for magic?¡±


    ¡°You heard what we were talking about, Velar? I, being divinity.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this about divinity?¡± Suddenly, the poet chimed in. Poking his head in the conversation.


    ¡°Hartwin, you were listening?¡± I said with a displeased frown.


    ¡°Yes. I heard a little bit when you were talking to the three guests when they first arrived. But I really couldn¡¯t understand it all. So, you are a god or something?¡±


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk to anyone about this.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°... Yes, I am technically a god.¡±


    ¡°Wow!¡± Hartwin¡¯s eyes widened, glimmering with excitement. ¡°Should we kneel and pray in front of you or something?¡±


    Hm, they took that truth very well.


    ¡°Yes, you must also confess all your sins before me.¡±


    Hartwin awkwardly chuckled. ¡°Well then, better find a chair, goddess. We¡¯ll be here the whole day!¡± He laughed.


    I smiled and let out a brief chuckle. ¡°Never mind, then. I don¡¯t want to hear all about your adulteries.¡±


    ¡°Hey now. Hehehe. Is it okay telling us about that?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t tell anyone.¡±


    I was a bit certain of that. These two were a pair of strange characters. Velar was a pretty subservient man. Almost like he was serving people his entire life. That was why he easily adjusted when talking to me, one with the highest authority.


    Hartwin, on the other hand, was strange. He seemed interested in me, but not in a romantic way or anything. He was interested in something else entirely. He indirectly helped me. Almost like he wanted favors from me, or just for me to acknowledge him.


    All in all, they weren¡¯t men that would spill important information just like that. Velar, the soldier without a master. Hartwin, inhibited and easygoing poet, who was interested in me. Although, Hartwin would be the one we can imagine that would blab. But he would likely express it in a story.


    Besides, he already heard a bit of this and that, which he only needed to put the puzzle pieces together to realize what I was. That curiosity had to be sated or it would lead to more annoying situations. In short, the stakes of telling them were pretty low and tolerable.


    ¡°Although, if you babble to just anyone, I can easily kill you.¡±


    Hartwin wryly smiled. ¡°I keep a lot of secrets, Princess. So there¡¯s nothing to worry about me.¡±


    I imagined so.


    ¡°I don¡¯t intend on telling anyone,¡± Velar said.


    ¡°Good.¡±


    I turned towards the bow of the ship. The two Cursed Children were there, standing. During the night, they seemed to just disappear. I couldn¡¯t track where they could have gone. But considering the encounter in the palace, maybe they really turn into some kind of monsters.


    I had been trying to avoid them ¡®cause I didn¡¯t want to talk to potential enemies. And I was in a terrible mood. However, now that I had a clearer mind, I couldn¡¯t avoid them for long. We would be venturing around the archipelago once we arrived there. However, I still didn¡¯t trust them at all. But I needed to know their true motives in all this.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Suddenly, someone stepped beside me. Does it need to be asked who it was?


    ¡°Taneva¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, what¡¯s this?¡± He suddenly grabbed my fancy dagger, tilting it around. ¡°So these are the weapons you went shopping for in the city.¡±


    My eyes widened in shock. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you have been watching me for that long.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I was.¡±


    I recoiled away as if showing I was crept out. Goddammit, how did I never notice his presence? Was he truly that more powerful than me? And I was supposed to be the very stealthy one.


    ¡°Creep. And don¡¯t touch that.¡± I retrieved my dagger from him. ¡°You don¡¯t know how valuable this is.¡±


    It¡¯s basically my signature weapon.


    ¡°Fine blade, I have to say.¡±


    ¡°Of course it is.¡±


    ¡°Good for you.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°By the way, your friends over there.¡± I cocked my chin towards the two Cursed Children.


    ¡°They¡¯re not my friends.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I can sense that. Should I be worried about them trying to kill me?¡±


    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s surprising. You¡¯re asking for my opinion. You trust me already?¡±


    I narrowed my eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t be mistaken, in the entire people on this ship, you¡¯re the only one that¡¯s close to them, at the very least. You know them.¡±


    He smirked. ¡°My opinion. You don¡¯t have to worry about them too much. They need you alive.¡±


    ¡°What do they want from me?¡±


    He looked away. ¡°Hmmm. Shouldn¡¯t you ask them? It¡¯s kinda personal to them.¡±


    ¡°And you can¡¯t just answer me that?¡±


    ¡°I can, but it would be more sincere if you heard it from them.¡±


    ¡°You think I will be touched and grow sympathy or something?¡±


    ¡°We suffer in our own ways, Princess. But sometimes, our suffering overlaps, and we tend to sympathize.¡±


    ¡°You sympathize with them.¡±


    ¡°A little. But it¡¯s up to you if you want to trust them or not. Even I don''t. We have our own interests in mind.¡±


    ¡°I doubt I will ever sympathize or empathize with them.¡±


    ¡°If you insist on me talking about it, I might talk. But eventually, you will have to confront them.¡±


    I sighed, a little exasperated. ¡°... Fine.¡± He was right. Sooner or later, I would still have to directly talk with those two.


    ¡°You¡¯re so wary.¡±


    ¡°I have a bad feeling about them.¡±


    Taneva faintly nodded. ¡°... Perhaps, in some ways, your feelings are right.¡±


    I stepped back from the table and looked at Velar. ¡°Please look after my weapons for the moment.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    I then made my way to the two Cursed Children. They turned towards me wearing curious expressions.


    ¡°It¡¯s about time we have a talk,¡± I said as I sat down on the railing, a stern expression on my face.


    ¡°Princess¡­¡± The man named Heneis nodded.


    ¡°When we first met, you warned me about the dangers in my midst. And ever since that day, I have been wondering about who you are. Who are you and what do you really want from me, Heneis?¡±


    The two of them looked at each other. They seemed hesitant.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? I don¡¯t see the point of keeping anything. Unless there¡¯s a good reason for it.¡± I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at them.


    Heneis heaved a long sigh. ¡°We are cursed, Princess. The most heinous of curses. And we only want to be free from this and the reason for this curse.¡±


    ¡°The curse is that you turn into monsters? Is it only during the night?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°We are in agony all the time. And we cannot be relieved from it no matter what we do. We cannot die.¡±


    Hm. Immortality was a good thing. But I guess turning into a monster was not exactly a good way to live forever. Even I wouldn¡¯t like that. Just remove the monster part and let me become immortal, you know.


    ¡°And what do I have to do with it?¡±


    ¡°You can free us.¡±


    ¡°Free you?¡±


    He stepped forward. ¡°Only you, Princess, can free us. That is what we ask of you when you inherit true divinity.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°What a daring request, considering how you tried to kidnap me.¡±


    ¡°... It was to save you.¡±


    ¡°I did not need you to save me.¡± I clenched my fists. ¡°Because of your interference I¡­¡± I cast my gaze downward. ¡°I was too late.¡± If only I wasn¡¯t delayed, even for a second, perhaps I could have changed what happened. I raised my eyes. ¡°Your curse¡­ who cast it on you?¡±


    He fell silent, as if avoiding the question. Neither of them seemed to be comfortable answering it.


    Then¡­


    ¡°You need me to free you. The Goddess of Serenity, it was her, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    Heneis paused for a moment before nodding weakly. ¡°... Yes.¡±


    Not that was suspicious. Why would my goddess mother curse them? Weren''t curses done to someone when they did something they shouldn¡¯t have?


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked. ¡°Why were you cursed? What did you do?¡±


    He looked into my eyes. ¡°... We sought freedom. And therefore, a choice was made.¡±


    His colleague looked at him, surprised.


    Now that was just a vague answer, wasn¡¯t it? Almost like he didn¡¯t want to answer with specific details.


    ¡°It was a choice made for our people a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°Does it still stand now?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We still want freedom. That is why I implore you, Princess, free us. Only you can do it. We will help you achieve true divinity, and in exchange, free my people.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure that I can do it? I am not the goddess.¡±


    ¡°As you inherit her power, you will inherit the power to rid us of the curse.¡±


    Why didn¡¯t they approach me from the start? It was strange. They could have told me all about this before, and could have reduced all the trouble. The power, the curse, divinity. And yet, slowly, they only did the bare minimum. Warn me. To save me. They didn¡¯t show themselves until the most critical point.


    Critical point¡­?


    They wanted something from me. And only I could give them what they wanted. Could it be¡­? They were trying for me to look at them in a good light? The people that warned me of danger, the people that saved me from danger. They have been observing me; I was sure of that. There was no way they wouldn¡¯t watch over me, considering how important I was to them.


    Then why didn''t they try to help me in the other times I was in outright danger? Where my life was threatened.


    They wanted to act on the most critical point.


    Motherfuckers. If what I was thinking was true, then they were clever little shits.


    I jumped down from the railing. ¡°We will see.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°We will see if I can free you from your curse.¡±


    But would I?


    ¡°But don¡¯t get your hopes up.¡±


    Without waiting for anything else, I left them and headed back to the table.


    Taneva grinned. ¡°The talk went well?¡±


    I merely glanced at him as I collected my equipment. Afterward, I began walking back to the captain¡¯s quarters. Taneva trailed beside me.


    ¡°You learned what you needed?¡±


    I stopped in place. ¡°You know why they are cursed, right?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Yes.¡±


    ¡°Answer this one, please, Taneva. What did they do?¡±


    Taneva turned away at the ocean for a moment before leaning a bit closer to me. He formed a small smile as he whispered.


    ¡°The murder of a particular baby.¡±


    My eyes widened, and I froze. A memory flashed into my eyes. A blade coming down at me in the darkness. And I was powerless to do anything. For I was still a small infant. My body stiffened. A memory of death.


    Taneva tilted his head as he gazed at me with puzzlement. ¡°Estelia? Are you alright?¡±


    I took a deep breath, regaining a bit of calm. ¡°... Yes.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Taneva. Now I understand. I understand completely¡­¡±


    ¡°... Oh?¡±


    There are consequences in making choices for what we seek. And some are severe, while others are just well-deserved.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 52: Estelias Sea Days (Part 3)

    The sea had been silent for a while now. However, something was brewing ahead of us. It was supposed to be sunny, but something basically spawned out of nowhere. And I could feel it in the howls of the wind. Captain Estelia, yes me, felt danger coming towards us, or we coming at it.


    Wind¡¯s howling.


    The cold strange air revolving around the sea, the clear skies slowly switching to something grim. As I stood at the crow¡¯s nest, at the very top of the ship¡¯s mast, I narrowed my eyes as I felt the brooding atmosphere. My piratey coat flapped in the wind, and my long platinum hair waved violently. A flash of light lit up from the far distance, then was afterward followed by a faint thundering sound echoing throughout the sea. Darkness colored our way.


    A storm.


    Of course, I should have expected something like this. There couldn¡¯t be a sea adventure without the ship facing and venturing through a powerful storm. But I would pretty much want to avoid it, how exciting it may be. Why? The crew didn¡¯t have much experience manning a ship. With basically two men only guiding them.


    I put out a finger and felt the wind.


    Inevitable. It¡¯s coming our way.


    I may be the captain, but it would seem you couldn¡¯t rely on me on this one. What? I knew nothing about seafaring stuff, even more so to sail ships. I adjusted my hat that was threatening to be blown away. We would hit the storm in a couple of hours, at the very least. Even that I wasn¡¯t sure. Could be less than that.


    Storms were always annoying, especially at the sea. These things just casually spawn all over the place. Ugh. Guess we had to face this hurdle. The first storm Captain Estelia would be going through! Her, and her precious ship called¡­ Um, dammit, I had to give it a new name. No way I was going to use its original name. Let¡¯s call this Boat #1. What? It¡¯s disrespectful to call it a boat? Fuck, Ship #1 it is then.


    I quickly descended off the crow¡¯s nest, climbing down the ropes. I was quite agile with it, so everyone that saw it might be quite impressed, one you wouldn¡¯t expect from an adorable princess. I glanced at a group of men holding and swinging their swords in the air, with Velar training them.


    Given that they had nothing better to do, they decided to train on how to fight. They were pretty eager, too. Perhaps how they ended up in the hands of evil guys motivated them hard to learn. In this dangerous world, learning to fight was important, especially guys in their position and experiences.


    Some of them were progressing quite well. A couple of them, the lucky ones with magic, were already learning to use Armament Magic. Weak and faltering, but at least it was progress. Oh well, maybe they could become adventurers or something if they wanted. Velar was quite hard with his training, too. Never gentle. Like in a bootcamp or some shit.


    Perhaps it was a good choice to start learning to fight. Once we arrive at Shinoroa, I, Taneva, and the two Cursed Children, the most powerful on this ship, will be departing.


    Anyway, their training would need to be stopped shortly. I approached the helm of the ship, where the two helmsmen were stationed.


    ¡°You know what¡¯s coming?¡± I asked them.


    The older man turned towards me with a concerned expression. ¡°Yes. A storm is coming. A strong one at that.¡±


    Hartwin joined up as well. ¡°Can we avoid the storm?¡±


    Some of the crew seemed to have heard that, and they looked up at us. They must have realized it as well.


    The older man shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s coming this way, we can¡¯t outrun it. If we try to go around it, we¡¯ll likely won¡¯t make it in time.¡±


    ¡°So we have no other choice?¡± Hartwin asked.


    ¡°No.¡±


    I looked at the crew, they had stopped their training as Velar approached us. ¡°Can you navigate through it?¡± I asked the helmsman.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°... I have gone through a fair share of storms. But I¡¯m worried about the crew. They have never done this before, and we need them.¡±


    The younger helmsman lowered his head, seemingly nervous. ¡°My dad always avoids storms.¡±


    ¡°If we are to go through the storm, I will need your help, boy,¡± said the older helmsman. ¡°I might need you to supervise the crew if I can¡¯t, or you take the wheel.¡±


    ¡°... Crap¡­¡± He appeared scared.


    I let out a small and comforting smile and placed a hand on the young man¡¯s shoulder. He looked at me with wide eyes and blushing cheeks.


    ¡°Be calm. Do not be afraid, being so is pointless. Have faith in yourself.¡±


    ¡°P-Princess¡­¡±


    ¡°Gather all the courage you could muster. Do not give into your fear and doubt.¡±


    His voice was stuck to his throat before he nodded. ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    ¡°Now tell me, can you do it?¡±


    He clenched his fists. ¡°... I can.¡±


    I formed a wide smile and turned towards the crew.


    ¡°What about you guys? Can you do it?¡±


    They looked at each other, hesitation, fear and doubt evident on their faces.


    ¡°A powerful storm is fast approaching. It is a fearsome thing, I know. But we need to gather all our courage and face this danger, do not let fear rule over you. We shall conquer this new hurdle, as how you conquered the one before. Have you forgotten already?¡±


    They looked up at me, listening intently.


    ¡°You have already proven your bravery. You fought off the enemies that enslaved you! You conquered your adversaries, the object of your fears!¡±


    A new light began to shine over all who stood on the ship.


    ¡°Do not let this measly storm debase who you have become! Together, we shall conquer this new tribulation! Together, we shall face the danger and pummel down our fears!¡±


    From the hesitant and fearful face that they once had turned into determined expressions. Their eyes held strength.


    ¡°Shall we be abused in the face of adversity again?¡±


    ¡°¡°¡°NO!¡±¡±¡± they all said in unison.


    ¡°Shall we cower in fear?!¡±


    ¡°¡°¡°NO!¡±¡±¡±


    ¡°Shall we face the storm as free men blazing with resolute will and valor?!¡±


    ¡°¡°¡°YES!!¡±¡±¡±


    ¡°Very good! Then prove to yourselves and to your comrades the strength of your hearts, and fires of your souls, and together, run through the storm!¡±


    They all cheered and shouted loudly that the air trembled, their faces full of determination. They shook hands with their friends and expressed their conviction. All of them were ready to face their fears. My eloquence, my beauty, all worked together for this. Mostly the beauty. It was great to see everyone riled up, all thanks to Captain Estelia.


    ¡°Now then, we must prepare!¡± I announced. ¡°Learn what needs to be learned. And when we face this new challenge, we will be ready.¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Screw that storm!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll beat it!¡±


    I smiled widely and turned towards the older helmsman. ¡°Lower the sails. It¡¯s best we slow down as you teach the crew what they need to know when going into the belly of the beast.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±


    Damn, at least call me Captain, geez.


    The older man left the wheel to the younger one and joined the crew on the deck.


    I glanced at the young helmsman. He seemed nervous, but he was strengthening himself, forcing himself to push away the fear.


    ¡°I will be relying on you, Morel,¡± I said gently to him.


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    Aaaw, how adorable. He reminds me of that cook guy in the kitchen.


    Anyway, let¡¯s get things ready.


    I watched as the older helmsman began teaching the crew about what to expect and what to be done. He also gave some guidance in other preparations on how to reduce the damages and casualties. The most to be concerned as well were the ladies, but we already had a plan for them, it would seem.


    I, of course, also listened. What kind of captain would I be if I didn¡¯t learn from an expert? Would there come a day where I would be the one to lead these men through a storm? Eh, maybe never.


    Everyone was tense, the storm inching closer at every moment. And thus, they all listened to the knowledge that would save them, as if their lives depended on it. Well, yeah, our lives depended on it.


    I glanced at the storm once more. Honestly, I was quite looking forward to it, despite how annoying it would be.


    I turned towards Taneva, who was just chilling at a corner. I frowned.


    ¡°Not even gonna listen to them?¡± I asked him.


    He casually shrugged. ¡°I know a thing or two about sailing through a storm.¡±


    ¡°You sailed before?¡±


    ¡°Life tends to get boring and you get to try many things.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re facing a storm, you know. You¡¯re not worried about drowning?¡±


    ¡°What? It¡¯s just drowning.¡±


    ¡°Drowning is terrible. Water going into your lungs is not a good experience. And imagine getting stuck beneath the ocean.¡±


    He looked away as if pondering. ¡°Hm, on second thought. You¡¯re right, it¡¯s not a good experience. But I can swim.¡±


    ¡°Nothing gets through you, huh?¡±


    He smirked. ¡°What about you, Princess? You don¡¯t seem particularly scared.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I am scared. That¡¯s why I¡¯m listening to them closely and observing.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­? Isn¡¯t this your first time going on a ship? To be in the middle of the sea. Frankly, I imagined you would have shaky legs since you came here, if you catch what I mean.¡±


    Huh, he was right. This was my first time being at sea. In this world, that is.


    ¡°Now you are to ride through a violent storm where we could get lost at sea,¡± he added. ¡°And you¡¯re not even scared.¡±


    ¡°Oh noooo. I am shaking so terribly~. I should just run around in panic doing nothing~.¡± I squirmed around, a sarcastic expression on my face. I placed a hand on my cheeks, dramatically showing I was scared.


    He chuckled. ¡°Alright, alright. I get it.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now quiet down, I¡¯m learning.¡±

 Vol. 4 Chapter 53: Estelias Sea Days (Part 4)

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    The storm was getting so close, we could feel the pressure of the winds more. The movement of the water was unstable, making the ship rock harder as it moved.


    I walked down the deck.


    ¡°Close all the windows, hatches! Make sure the water can¡¯t get into the ship!¡± I shouted at the stairs leading down. It would spell trouble if water gets inside. There were windows at the sides of the ship, so it must be certain they were sealed tight.


    ¡°All the windows are closed tight!¡± the woman, Shayla, shouted from inside.


    ¡°Good. We¡¯ll close the hatch leading to the lower deck. You¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    Shayla looked at the people with her before nodding at me. ¡°We¡¯ll brave through the storm. We have faith you¡¯ll get us through.¡±


    I smiled, that should at least give them comfort. Guess I was acting all kind again. Like a pseudo pure princess.


    I stepped back and nodded at the couple of guys. ¡°Close it.¡±


    They quickly closed the hatch and made sure it was firmly covered and closed. I looked around, everyone really tried to prepare as much as possible. Some were already standing at their stations, ropes tied around their waists secured to the ship so they wouldn¡¯t get thrown overboard when things get really rough. The sails had also been shortened.


    Just as I was walking to the bridge, raindrops had begun to fall on our heads. The wind was picking up. There was a bright flash of light, which was followed by thunder a second later. The men flinched.


    I observed them, they were extremely anxious. Some of them lowered their heads, mumbling in prayer.


    Hey now, you have a goddess here. My divine providence shall shield you from evil. Kidding.


    The wind was cold and ominous. The tension grew at every second that passed. Those that were holding ropes gripped them tight involuntarily. The splashes of the waves echoed as they crashed against the ship. The sound of raindrops had slowly begun to fill our ears.


    ¡°Steady men!¡± I shouted as I calmly stood by the stairs to the bridge. They turned their heads to look at me. ¡°Look forward! Face the monster ahead of us!¡±


    They all looked forward.


    ¡°Today will be the day that you dare through a storm, and today will be the day that you emerge victorious against it! Nothing more is worth experiencing! Say aye if you agree!¡±


    ¡°¡°¡°Aye!¡±¡±¡±


    ¡°Good!¡± I formed a wide grin, oozing with bright confidence and optimism.


    The rain had grown in intensity, clouding a good amount of our view. Thunders roar, the wind so violent. The waves were aggressive and countless. I climbed up the bridge and stood at the front, beside the helm. Taneva stood at the side of the bridge, not a trace of worry on his face. The two Cursed Children stood at the bow of the ship, they didn¡¯t seem scared at all.


    At any rate, we have reached the storm. And we now sailed within the belly of the beast.


    I was already drenched by the rain, as were the others. Everyone tried to keep their balance as the ship slightly tilted from various directions. The wind assaulted the sails, but nothing our current sails couldn¡¯t handle.


    Given how rough the ship was going, I had to grip tightly on the rail in front of me. I glanced at the helmsman, the older one, he had an extremely focused face. Then, a moment later, he noticed the change in the wind.


    ¡°Boy! The wind changed!¡±


    ¡°I know!¡± shouted the boy on the deck. He then began instructing the men to adjust the sheets in accordance with the wind¡¯s direction.


    The men working were incredibly terrified. The unstable floor, the rustling rain, the seemingly endless thunder. All served to shake their hearts. But they did not falter and carried out their tasks.


    The ship shook violently as it came down from a tall tide. As more waves crashed against our ship, the water ended up on the deck. Some of the men were directly hit by the water, and they were thrown onto the floor.


    ¡°Shit! You guys okay?!¡± one of the crew shouted.


    ¡°Y-Yeah. Not wounded!¡±


    ¡°I can still stand.¡±


    ¡°Good, now get back to your stations!¡±


    ¡°Aye!¡±


    Oh would you look at that, they said aye! That¡¯s it.


    I rubbed the water coming down my eyes from the raindrops. I much prefer to stay inside my cabin, but that would be bad for my image as captain.


    ¡°Incoming!¡±


    ¡°Everyone brace!¡±


    A large wave crashed against the front of the ship, the crew held tight. The ship violently shook as it broke through the water. The helmsman lost his balance. And so I quickly put him to his feet.


    ¡°Careful!¡± I said to him.


    ¡°T-Thanks!¡± He glanced at me for a moment, he must be a bit surprised how I was so calm about this.


    But I was just gonna ignore it.


    I looked around, the large restless waves truly were a bit frightening. This storm was way too strong for my liking. Too strong for my desire to feel like a pirate for once. I rubbed my face again. The storm was becoming intense, most that I could hear were the sound of the extreme wind, and the powerful rain droplets hitting the wooden floor. I was feeling cold.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Suddenly, a giant wave crashed against the ship, sending one of the crew flying. But his rope was loose, not secured properly to the ship.


    Dammit, why didn¡¯t you tie your rope properly?


    ¡°No!¡± one shouted in an attempt to reach out to his friend. However, he failed.


    ¡°Help!¡±


    He was coming to my side, and he was about to reach the edge. Ugh, fine. I used a bit of my Physical Enhancement and jumped towards the grid of ropes, clinging on to them. It was roughly where the man was flying towards, and so I caught him by the back collar of his shirt.


    ¡°Aaah! Aaaah!¡±


    He screamed as he watched the violent waves below him. Given the unstable rocking of the ship, I quickly moved down to the deck. The man collapsed on both knees, his hands and legs shaking in terror. He was breathing rapidly.


    I placed a hand on his shoulder and forced him to look at me.


    ¡°It¡¯s not over yet, sailor!¡±


    His eyes widened.


    ¡°You are still needed!¡± I grabbed the rope still tied to this waist. ¡°Next time, tie this properly! Now go back to your station!¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes!¡±


    He ran back to his station and frantically secured his rope to the ship. He shouldn¡¯t make the same mistake now. I quickly returned to my post as the ship shook more violently. The water from a tide splashed on my face. I frowned.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±


    Fuck.


    Not graceful at all.


    Resisting a sigh, I continued moving back to my post.


    ¡°How are we, helmsman?!¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s getting worse!¡± He turned the wheel.


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll become more daring! Push on!¡±


    ¡°Right!¡±


    As we ventured more into the storm, the wind grew more erratic.


    ¡°Slack the sheets!¡± shouted the helmsman.


    ¡°Slack the sheets!¡± echoed the young helmsman.


    The crew immediately began to move.


    I was the captain. I should be the one giving out the orders, you know. But alas, I knew nothing about this. So best to leave it to the professionals. For now, I was everyone¡¯s guardian angel. Or guardian goddess¡­?


    ¡°Incoming!¡±


    ¡°Hold fast!¡±


    ¡°Brace for impact!¡±


    The ship received an impact. But it was alright. This ship was tough, I¡¯ll give it that. Hm, which made me wonder how the ladies below were holding up. Nothing seems to be wrong with the controls of the ship, so no ship integrity was compromised.


    As we got deeper into the storm, things grew more dangerous. We didn¡¯t know how long exactly we had been riding through the storm, but it was significantly longer than what we all wished. I could see the exhaustion on their faces. But still, they were determined.


    This is fun.


    Indeed, it was. A little bit. Hey, I was not being an asshole here. This would be good for the crew as well, you know that. They would become better men. They would evolve. Nothing changes a man more than experiencing the throes of death. Except, no one would be dying. Just close to it.


    After further struggle, everything seemed to have settled down. Yes, the rain grew weaker, the waves a little quieter, the wind a bit calmer. And in the sky was a ray of light coming down through a hole in the clouds.


    ¡°Woah.¡±


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    Considering that it was peaceful, everyone settled down and looked up at the beautiful view. A view too different from just a moment ago. They looked with wide eyes full of mesmerization.


    I smiled. ¡°Congratulations, everyone!¡± They looked at me. ¡°You have reached the eye of the storm!¡±


    Their mouths fell in awe. From the looks of it, they have never seen something like this before. But the helmsman before me didn¡¯t seem that excited. He must have seen one already. As for me, I looked up at the hole in the sky with awe as well. A satisfied smile on my face.


    I never saw something like it before as well.


    What a splendid view.


    It was a kind of view I could have never seen when I was in the old world. As I thought, there were a lot of beautiful things to see outside the palace walls. Although, my intention was just going around the land, not in the sea. But this was good too. It warmed my heart to see the blue sky, a large ray of light shining against the dark, stormy midst.


    And then suddenly, as we went under the eye, there was a large splash coming out of the ocean as a large creature jumped over the water''s surface.


    ¡°What the hell is that?!¡± a crew member shouted in shock.


    My eyes widened in astonishment as I saw what it was. It was a large whale, and it let out a loud sound echoing throughout the area. A soft sound. It was not any normal whale. Even I was surprised to see it. Its skin was the color of the night sky. Stars twinkling and shining all over its body. It was almost magical. No, could it be some sort of magical creature?


    The helmsman loosened his grip on the wheel as he stared at the whale in mesmerization.


    ¡°Could it be¡­?¡±


    ¡°You know about it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I only heard stories. I never even thought it was real. A star whale.¡±


    Woah, that¡¯s awesome. A star whale, huh? Certainly something unique in this world.


    I directed my gaze at the star whale again. ¡°... Is it rare?¡±


    He scoffed. ¡°Rare? No. It¡¯s one of a kind. It is said that whosoever saw it will be blessed in the sea for the rest of their life.¡±


    ¡°What kind of blessing would it be?¡±


    ¡°You get lucky, you become successful.¡±


    Now that was just vague, wasn¡¯t it?


    Taneva whistled. ¡°Wow. Today¡¯s our lucky day, it would seem. A good sign. Looks like we¡¯ll be surviving this one, after all. But what a coincidence, isn¡¯t it?¡± He glanced at me.


    The helmsman nodded. ¡°To think we would find it here, in the storm.¡±


    ¡°The rarest of creatures, right here before us,¡± Taneva casually said.


    After the whale dove back into the sea, we could see the wave on the water coming towards us. I winced.


    ¡°Hold up, is it coming towards us?¡± I warily asked.


    ¡°Apparently,¡± Taneva answered.


    Woah, woah, hey! Isn¡¯t that bad?


    Why the hell would it be coming towards us? Was it dangerous, after all?


    It was moving too fast. Our ship wouldn¡¯t be able to get out of its trajectory on time. I was ready to fight it off when it jumped out of the water. The crewmen gasped in shock as the massive creature jumped above and over the ship. I was quite caught off guard by how high it jumped. It didn¡¯t even hit the mast of the ship. But as it moved, I grew anxious. What if it hits the damn ship?!


    And how did it even do that?! It was massive as fuck! How was this even possible?!


    The star whale landed back on the water, and we had to hold on to the railing as the ship rocked with the waves.


    I walked over the edge of the ship and saw it swimming around and below us. This already felt like a shark circling around its prey. Still, what it was doing was pretty dangerous. I didn¡¯t like it.


    One of the crewmen then asked a question. ¡°Is it planning to eat us?¡±


    ¡°Surely not.¡±


    ¡°I hope not!¡±


    Taneva approached me. ¡°It looks friendly. It shouldn¡¯t harm us.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°Oh yeah? The way it moves around us, it¡¯s only a matter of time before there¡¯s an accident.¡± It could accidentally hit a part of the ship. It was so big, it might not realize it hit us. One smack and it could punch a hole into the hull. I looked at it with an annoyed expression. ¡°Friendly or not, with it swimming around us this close is dangerous. I would rather it stop doing that.¡±


    After I said that, it let out a cry from underneath the water. And immediately it began to swim away.


    Hm?


    Our eyes followed it as it swam away, jumping above the water and slowly shrinking in the distance, disappearing into the darkness of the storm. Taneva slowly turned towards me with narrowed eyes.


    I gave him a confused look. ¡°What? Why are you looking at me like that?¡±


    He exaggeratedly tilted his head to the side. ¡°Wow, Estelia. I think you just drove it away.¡±


    ¡°What? I didn¡¯t even do anything!¡±


    No shit, I had not even fired a single fireball yet. Yeah, I was planning on doing that if it didn¡¯t stop. ¡®Estelia, you''re really going to hurt a whale?¡¯ Yeah, I would if it¡¯s going to hurt me! ¡®But they¡¯re precious creatures!¡¯ Okay, I was not intending on directly hitting it first, okay? Hurting it was like the second or third option. I was planning to only hit the water first, okay? Nothing happened, okay? It was alright, okay? Safe and sound. Don¡¯t need to get all PETA on me. Hmph!


    ¡°It was a rare sight, too.¡± Taneva seemed to pout, crossing his arms and turning his head away from me.


    ¡°Wait, are you blaming me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do.¡±


    I groaned with visible frustration. ¡°Stop joking around already. The safety of the eye won¡¯t be with us for long.¡± I turned towards the helmsman. ¡°At least we got to see the star whale. But we¡¯re not safe yet. Have everyone rest for a while. Afterward, we continue on.¡±

 Vol. 4 Chapter 54: Estelias Sea Days (Part 5)

    The surrounding weather had changed, the wind was more gentle, the sea more silent.


    ¡°We¡¯re out?¡± one of the crew asked no one in particular.


    Everyone, with labored breath, slowly stepped back from their stations as they looked up at the sky. The blue above was now a little more clear, the faint rumblings of lightning now only roared far behind us. The raindrops had slowed down to mere trickles. The storm had passed. We had pushed through it. We overcame the storm.


    ¡°W-We did it,¡± said a crew member.


    ¡°We did it!¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    ¡°We did it!¡±


    ¡°We survived!¡±


    The crewmen jumped up in complete joy, their faces full of smiles. They slapped their hands together, others hugged tightly in groups and jumped as they did so. Many of them cried, not of anything bad, but because of relief and happiness after overcoming an extreme hurdle. Their cheers and energetic cries echoed throughout the sea around us.


    The people below definitely heard it.


    Velar looked up at me. ¡°Your Highness.¡±


    I looked back at him and rubbed my face clean of water before smiling widely.


    ¡°We are triumphant against the force of nature!¡± I raised my fist. ¡°Shout and cheer to your heart¡¯s content, for all of you have overcome where not many could persevere!¡±


    ¡°AAAAH!¡±


    ¡°YEAAAAH!¡±


    ¡°You have truly become men of valor!¡± I enthusiastically added.


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±


    ¡°Wooooooh!¡±


    They raised their hands in the air, and they shouted until they strained their throats. Their voices were so loud that I was considering covering my ears, but of course I didn''t. The ship mildly shook at their jumps and steps. They all looked like they had achieved something so significant in their life, one that they had never felt before.


    Indeed, for they have conquered their fears and pushed through a place where death could come upon them. How liberating and significant it would be truly for people to feel such a thing. It was an achievement of a lifetime. One that they would remember for the rest of their lives.


    And not one was lost.


    ¡°Open the hatch!¡± I said. ¡°Bring them out and let them see the clear sky!¡±


    ¡°HAAAAAH!¡±


    They quickly opened the hatch to the deck below. A couple of men quickly went down and announced the good news.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay now everyone! It¡¯s over!¡±


    ¡°We did it!¡±


    With their incredibly loud and excited voices, I could practically hear them from here. I heard a tired and relieved sigh from beside me, the helmsman. He leaned on the wheel with an exhausted expression. I couldn¡¯t imagine how hard it would be to pilot this ship in the middle of a storm.


    I lightly patted him on the back.


    ¡°Good work. Wouldn¡¯t have survived without you.¡±


    He tiredly nodded with a grin. ¡°Of course¡­ But I hope I won¡¯t go through that again.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°I hope so too.¡±


    I wouldn¡¯t want to go through a storm, never. Fuck that shit.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t seem particularly scared,¡± said the helmsman. ¡°You were calm the whole time.¡±


    I wryly smiled. ¡°Believe me, I was pretty scared. But there was no point showing it.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ Of course.¡±


    Well, I was a bit nervous, if that counts. Imagine if the ship just capsized. Whew, that would spell the ultimate trouble. I would rather not swim all the way to the archipelago, that would be crap. And I had grown quite attached to this ship. I mean I worked hard to obtain this, you know.


    ¡°Well, can you really be surprised if I don¡¯t look scared considering this one right here didn¡¯t show any fear at all?¡± I pointed at Taneva casually grinning behind me.


    The helmsman glanced at him with a small nod. ¡°I guess so. Not afraid of drowning?¡± he asked Taneva.


    ¡°I can swim just fine.¡± He casually shrugged.


    I heard murmurs as footsteps came out to the top deck. The women from below had started to come up. They looked up at the sky with relief. Despite the fearsome events here on top, it must have been quite frightening below as well.


    The men started telling the story about what had happened earlier with visible excitement.


    ¡°It was scary! I thought I was gonna die!¡±


    ¡°I almost fell off the ship. Thankfully, I was saved by the princess!¡±


    ¡°I thought you were tied up?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t tie the rope properly.¡±


    At the same time, as the crew talked to each other, the younger helmsman came up to us. He looked exhausted, but he forced a smile.


    ¡°Good job, boy. You guided the men very well,¡± said the older guy.


    ¡°Y-Yeah.¡±


    He glanced at me, so I had to form a smile. ¡°You were splendid. Thank you for your efforts.¡±


    He nodded excitedly. ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°You should rest now,¡± I added. ¡°The two of you.¡±


    ¡°But who will take the wheel?¡± asked the old guy.


    ¡°We can afford to lie low for now, right?¡±


    ¡°I guess.¡±


    ¡°Then go and rest. If need be, Taneva will take over the wheel.¡±


    ¡°What? Me?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh, you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t I have a say in this?¡±


    ¡°What? Don¡¯t know how to steer a ship?¡±


    ¡°I can¡­¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯re good.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Taneva pouted and just gave up resisting. I nodded with satisfaction. Just call it my little revenge for annoying me.


    ¡°Also, we saw a star whale!¡±


    I glanced at the crew that had gathered.


    ¡°A star whale? What¡¯s that?¡± one woman asked.


    ¡°A gigantic whale with the skin for stars! Really, it¡¯s like the night sky.¡±


    ¡°Seriously? Something like that is real?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    ¡°We saw it with our own eyes! It even jumped over the ship!¡±


    ¡°It was incredible!¡±


    ¡°It was so magical!¡±


    ¡°A once in a lifetime experience!¡±


    Shayla¡¯s eyes widened, and her shoulders shuddered. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call us out?!¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s so mean! I want to see it too!¡± Shayla crossed her arms.


    ¡°W-Well, we weren¡¯t exactly out of danger that time.¡±


    ¡°Still!¡± She let out a sulking whimper. ¡°I just missed the experience of a lifetime¡­¡±


    ¡°... Maybe next time, yeah?¡± the guy gave her a grin.


    Shayla smacked that guy on the shoulder. ¡°Not helping.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, sorry.¡±


    I recalled the star whale. It was a mesmerizing sight indeed. And to think it was a magical creature or something, with the star skin and all. I would never see something like that on Earth. In some ways, I have to admit, compared to this, that old world was boring. I guess magic stuff made things a bit more interesting.


    In truth, I wanted to see more of that. Beautiful stuff. Sadly, that star whale sight was short. But we were in the middle of the storm. And I had no trust in animals. Who knows, it could have crashed accidentally on the ship, and we would be swimming right now. It should have stayed a bit distant from us to be safe.


    Such a waste. I would have enjoyed watching it leisurely from afar.


    I guess I won¡¯t be seeing that thing again.


    I stepped down onto the deck.


    I audibly cleared my throat, and they turned towards me. I formed a smile full of gratitude.


    ¡°Great job and thank you, everyone, for what you have done. For now, let¡¯s keep things slow and rest up ¡ª you deserve it. Maybe let¡¯s start with changing into dry clothes, shall we?¡± I said humorously.


    The guys chuckled.


    ¡°And looks like there will be drinking tonight,¡± I continued. ¡°Surely you haven¡¯t drunk all the liquor yet?¡± I giggled.


    ¡°Haha, plenty of drinks in storage!¡±


    ¡°Weeks worth!¡±


    ¡°But let¡¯s not overdo it though.¡±


    ¡°Hell no, we¡¯ll overdo it! It¡¯s a celebration!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we survived where many sailors could have died.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Indeed, tonight will be a celebration. So rest up so you¡¯ll have plenty of energy to spend later.¡±


    They laughed. With that, I left them and returned to my room. I had to change. Aaaaw, and I liked these piratey clothes too. Oh well, good thing I have some spares! That¡¯s right, you think I only had this set? Nuh-uh.


    Pirate outfit wearing Estelia is still far from over!


    ***


    When the crew had a little party last night, I was only there for like half an hour. It was way past my bedtime, so the young princess had to sleep early, you know. I was still growing, not sleeping early would stunt my growth. On a serious note, I had to legit rest. I was tired. I was sick, and still basically healing. I needed to rest as much as possible before we arrived at our destination.


    Needless to say, everyone quite had a blast. I could hear their noises from my room. But nothing too troubling that I wouldn¡¯t have a decent sleep. As long as they had a good time, that was alright. What? Was I being too kind here? Eh. Well, guess what, I was a good and kind ship captain.


    Anyway, when I got out of my room early in the morning, wearing another set of piratey outfit, can you guess what I saw? That¡¯s right, everyone was still pretty knocked out! They were gonna be hungover for sure. Damn, and I warned them to keep it in moderation.


    A lot of the men were sprawled on the floor, others leaning on the railing. The few women, eh, let¡¯s just say they were not too different. Somewhere leaning together on chairs, while others leaning on their back to the mast, and a couple leaning on some guy. Huh, guess there were some sparks of love that I missed while sleeping.


    I spotted Shayla lying on the floor, fast asleep. I didn¡¯t know if some women had formed some trust with their crewmates that they let something like this happen, or perhaps the others most traumatized were back below. But maybe this was progress to their wellbeing.


    Hartwin was also sprawled on the floor, and unlike the others, he still had a bottle in hand. There was still some liquor left inside it.


    Velar, on the other hand, was already awake when I was. I glanced at him and smiled kindly.


    ¡°It was an enjoyable party, it would seem,¡± I said.


    He nodded. ¡°Yes, it was.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t drink as much?¡±


    ¡°I can hold my liquor more than anyone here.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Did you have a good night¡¯s rest, Princess? I hope we didn¡¯t disturb you.¡±


    ¡°Everything was fine.¡±


    I walked over to him. ¡°The other crew members that had the worst experiences, did they have a good time?¡±


    ¡°You mean¡­?¡± He realized what I was talking about. ¡°Yes. They joined the celebration. They looked way better than before.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    He stared at me for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re compassionate for the crew.¡±


    I furrowed my brow slightly. ¡°Was I ever heartless?¡±


    ¡°... Once¡­ But, that was for those who deserved it.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­¡± I looked up at the sky. ¡°We can¡¯t be compassionate all the time. Sometimes, being heartless is necessary.¡±


    ¡°That is a heavy thing to commit.¡±


    ¡°I imagine you would know.¡±


    Velar nodded and lowered his head. ¡°I have killed those that begged for mercy. But¡­ removing them from this world was necessary so everyone can live safely. But mostly, I am not proud of it.¡±


    ¡°You regret killing them?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s just¡­ for what I do, many that I committed, there is no pride to hold from it. It is a dark deed.¡±


    ¡°... I see¡­¡±


    ¡°What about you, Princess? Are you ever proud of those that you kill?¡±


    Now that was the question, wasn¡¯t it? Of course I was proud! I found pleasure in it! At least, until recently. But that¡¯s beside the point.


    ¡°... Who knows.¡± Of course I wouldn¡¯t say that I liked it. ¡°As I said, we must be heartless sometimes. And that meant doing whatever we must, even taking many lives.¡±


    ¡°Then you are already walking a dark path¡­ Someone like you shouldn¡¯t go through something like this.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­? Perhaps you¡¯re right¡­ Before any of this, my life was peaceful. No danger, nothing to be afraid of. Just me in the palace, doing whatever I wanted. Read books, look at the scenery, and spend time with my family¡­ If none of this had happened, right now I might have been in the library, reading.¡±


    I would have continued my endeavor to become a true bookworm.


    ¡°But things had changed¡­¡± I continued. ¡°And there is no choice but to stain my hands with blood for what I¡¯m fighting for.¡±


    Although they were already stained with buck loads of blood.


    ¡°What a sad thing it truly is,¡± Velar muttered.


    ¡°I appreciate that you care, Velar. But you do not need to worry about my mental wellbeing. I will be fine.¡±


    ¡°... If you say so. But you¡¯re still young, Princess¡­¡±


    ¡°... Yes, I am. But there are no paths for me to take but this.¡±


    Velar looked into my eyes. ¡°Considering your situation¡­ I imagine your path might be a hellish one.¡±


    That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. It will be my enemy¡¯s path that will be hellish for crossing over mine.


    ¡°Be that as it may, I will still push forward.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± He lowered his head.


    ¡°I must say, you should not always think about what you consider as a dark deed.¡± He shifted his eyes towards me. ¡°You should focus on the good deeds as well. The good outcomes you brought.¡±


    ¡°The good outcomes, huh¡­¡±


    ¡°Personally, we should focus more on the good that we gave. For what you have done in your life, Velar, perhaps one, or many of those you came across, had considered you a hero.¡±


    His eyes widened. ¡°I see¡­ I hope so.¡±


    ¡°Hope so? Still unsure?¡± I formed a small smile with a brief chuckle. ¡°Maybe you can start by looking at what¡¯s in front of you.¡± I extended my hand towards the crew lying on the floor without a care for the world.


    I could not understand his lack of pride at being a soldier. To kill your enemies. His actions brought upon goodness, an outcome so decent. One where everyone could be happy. Some may consider killing as a dark deed, but he really shouldn¡¯t disregard the good outcomes. And the good outcomes are always the most important.


    He stared at the people in front of him, and he formed a small smile. ¡°... You¡¯re right, Princess.¡±


    ¡°So I say to you, Velar. Take pride.¡±


    He nodded with a wider and satisfied smile. Then, shortly after, he glanced at the sun. ¡°It¡¯s about time. Should we wake them up?¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± I pondered about it. ¡°Give them another hour. Forcing awake someone that¡¯s heavily hungover might be more troublesome.¡±


    They definitely slept quite late, best to give them some more time to sleep. Wasn¡¯t I a good captain? Praise me for my generosity!


    And thus, after an hour had passed. We started waking them up. Pretty much all of them groaned as they were shaken awake. Some were holding their heads in their headaches. Some still couldn¡¯t help but lean on anything. Yup, rough night.


    I also helped wake everyone up.


    I stood right next to Hartwin and crouched down.


    I poked his cheek. ¡°Wakey wakey.¡±


    It¡¯s time for school.


    His face wrinkled, and he turned sideways away from me. ¡°Mm, mm. A few minutes¡­¡±


    Hey what the hell? I¡¯m not your mother.


    ¡°Hartwin, there¡¯s plenty of work that needs to be done. Wake up already.¡±


    ¡°Mmmm.¡±


    I frowned. I was slowly losing respect for him. It was like trying to wake up a child.


    ¡°Better wake up before Velar kicks you awake.¡±


    He flinched, that he seemed to have really heard. With a loud groan, he slowly got up and gently rubbed his eyes.


    ¡°Wake Shayla up for me,¡± I said to him. I could have done it, but I just wanted him to do that so his sleepiness would subside.


    He groaned as he slowly crawled towards Shayla. Yeah, it would appear he couldn¡¯t stand properly yet. Just how much did he drink?


    ¡°Hey Shayla¡­ Wake up.¡±


    Shayla flinched and shifted away from him.


    ¡°Let me sleep, Hartwin¡­¡±


    ¡°Seriously, time to get up.¡±


    ¡°Leave¡­ me alone, you perverted¡­ fish mouth.¡±


    Woah.


    Hearing that, it snapped Hartwin off a little bit from his drowsiness and formed a confused frown. He was more confused than offended.


    ¡°Where the heck did that come from?¡± he muttered. As if to annoy Shayla, he started shaking her by the shoulders. ¡°Hey, wake up already. We¡¯re about to start sailing again.¡±


    I let out a subtle sigh and stood up, looking around. Everyone was still feeling like shit. It would seem it would take a while before we continue on our way. The liquor really hit them hard.


    Well¡­ It¡¯s a pirate''s life for me.


    Guess something like this would happen once in a while.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 55: Estelias Sea Days (Part 6)

    We were making good progress to our destination, it wouldn¡¯t be long before my venture on the sea would come to an end. I didn¡¯t know what I was expecting when arriving there, but oh well. That was what adventures were for, to venture into the unknown. And to see what I would get to see was something I was looking forward to.


    Perhaps¡­ that would fill something good in me¡­


    Things had been dim lately¡­


    Amidst my swirling thoughts as I stood in front of my cabin, one of the crew suddenly shouted.


    ¡°Ships!¡±


    That snapped me back to reality, and I turned towards the source of the voice, he was pointing towards the right side of the ship. I shifted my gaze towards that direction and squinted my eyes. I walked towards the edge, trying to get a good look. There were indeed ships close to each other.


    I couldn¡¯t tell what was going on, but each of the ships raised different flags. I rushed to the bridge.


    ¡°Where are we right now?¡± I asked the older helmsman.


    ¡°We should be entering the regions where the pirates are active. But judging from what we are seeing, maybe we¡¯re here already.¡± He pulled out a spyglass. I found it in the captain¡¯s quarter and gave it to him. He was the driver, so best to just give it to the one that would find it most useful.


    He looked towards the two boats.


    ¡°One ship has a black flag, and the other appears to be a more formal one. I am not familiar with the flags, so I am not sure which one we should worry about. But¡­ They appear to be fighting.¡±


    ¡°Fighting? Let me see.¡±


    I received the spyglass and looked at the ships myself. Hm, one ship indeed had a black flag, with a sword emblazoned on it. The other ship waved a flag of dark orange and white, with drawings I didn¡¯t quite understand. Seeds? Pellets? Never mind, it didn''t matter. But I mean, come on, I already had a feeling who the bad guys were.


    I shifted towards the ship decks. The ship with the black flag seemed peaceful, but the other ship, on the other hand, was in chaos. They were fighting, their swords clashing.


    I see. A plundering scenario, is it?


    Indeed, the black flag were pirates. You could easily tell through how one was being invaded. One was the defender, the other the attacker. I resisted the urge to smile.


    People were in trouble, and they didn¡¯t seem to be doing well. I was not sure if that was truly the case, but there were still a few men on the pirate deck. It was clear who had the advantage.


    Tsk tsk tsk, someone needs help.


    I lowered the spyglass and handed it back to the helmsman.


    ¡°Turn this ship around and head towards them.¡±


    Everyone looked at me in shock, even the helmsman stood there frozen in confusion.


    ¡°Judging from what I saw, it would seem pirates are attacking another ship. It is a bloody fight. And you know what this means?¡± I faced the crew, looking up at me. ¡°Someone needs help.¡±


    ¡°You want us to help them?¡± one crewman asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°To risk our lives for people we don¡¯t know, that is too much,¡± another said.


    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous. We are not even yet good at fighting.¡±


    ¡°We could die for people we don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to risk ourselves.¡±


    Hearing that, I narrowed my eyes and formed an expression of disappointment.


    ¡°I thought you had developed for the better¡­ I thought you have become better people.¡±


    They were dumbstruck to hear my words.


    ¡°You have proven yourselves courageous enough to conquer a storm, to conquer your persecutors. But you¡¯re not willing to save other people. Are you really that cowardly and heartless?¡±


    Their eyes widened, they had nothing to reply.


    ¡°You are men of valor, yes. But only for yourselves, is that right?¡± I let out an exaggerated sigh, placing a hand on the side of my face. ¡°Is it not a good virtue to help those in need? People could die, or they could be taken as slaves. Do you lack any compassion?¡±


    Some of the crew lowered their heads.


    ¡°We could do something for those in need, and you want to look away. Ignore their unheard pleas. Not good at fighting yet? You did pretty well when you were not trained at all, you fought against your captors. Ultimately, how would you know how strong you are now without trying?¡±


    Some of them placed a hand on the swords hanging around their waists. They seemed to be feeling regret.


    ¡°I am disappointed.¡± I sighed again and glanced towards the ships. ¡°I want to help them. I feel both pity and mercy for the victims.¡± When I turned back towards the crew again, I saw Hartwin vigorously taking notes in his small notebook.


    What the hell is doing?


    Resisting the urge to frown in confusion, I shrugged that aside for now and continued my heartfelt speech.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you? Don¡¯t you have a small voice in your heart, any desire at all to help them? To save lives?¡±


    They all looked at each other, hesitation evident in their eyes. Velar then suddenly stepped forward.


    ¡°If you wish to help, then I will come with you.¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Hartwin raised his hands for a moment. ¡°I don¡¯t mind saving some people.¡± Then he quickly continued writing. Again, what the hell was he writing in this situation?


    I nodded with a small, grateful smile. ¡°No one else? If none, then with this, I¡¯m willing to go out there and save those in need of saving.¡±


    I was adamant about this, showing an aura of heroism. Wasn¡¯t I heroic?


    Slowly, one of the crew raised his hand. ¡°... I will help.¡±


    Then another slowly raised his hand. ¡°Me too.¡±


    More and more hands followed, raising into the air. Until eventually, everyone raised their hands.


    I nodded with a pleased smile. ¡°Great! Then those that can fight, or those that have trained, get ready. Bear arms, and prepare your body and mind!¡±


    With a loud shout of acknowledgement, they began to move and ready themselves. Slipping into protective gears and such.


    ¡°Turn the ship,¡± I said to the helmsman with a determined expression.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    And he started turning the wheel.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be changing gears as well.¡±


    I quickly got down to enter the captain¡¯s cabin. Taneva was standing nearby, grinning with crossed arms.


    ¡°Are you actually quite kind, Princess?¡± he asked.


    I paused and turned my head to him. ¡°You¡¯ve been observing me and you don¡¯t know that? I know compassion.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Hm, I see. Your people always praise you for that. Want me to help?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re strong, right? I want you to oversee the crew. They need experience in battle to be good. Look after them and make sure nothing goes wrong. That means no one dies. Bring the Cursed Children with you.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°I have my own private role.¡±


    He stared at me for a moment. ¡°... Very well. Let¡¯s save some people.¡±


    I smiled.


    Saving people is not my intention though.


    I couldn¡¯t give a single speck of care to some people I didn¡¯t know. Why should I? They may think this was for saving people, but no, it was not for that at all. The true reason I really wanted to go there was¡­


    I just want to kill somebody.


    And I wanted nothing more. I desperately wanted and needed it.


    So, no, this was not for other people. But all for me.


    ***


    My ship moved towards the two ships.


    ¡°Bring us alongside the non-pirate ship,¡± I said to the driver.


    I turned to the crew, they appeared to be ready. They now knew their roles, as I already told them. They would be focusing more on the hostiles on what was assumed as a friendly ship. We were judging based on appearance. Now you know everyone judges on appearance. It ain¡¯t good? Well, reality is not always so kind. That¡¯s why first impressions are important.


    As we got closer, I drew my hood over my head. I was wearing my combat outfit. My hair had grown extraordinarily long so they were coming out of my cover, but there was no need to hide them. From the bridge, I moved down the stairs and approached Velar.


    ¡°Remember, Velar. Verify our enemies.¡±


    ¡°I understand. Are you sure you want to infiltrate the enemy ship alone?¡±


    ¡°If they took a long time to take a single ship, there shouldn¡¯t be anyone too strong for me to handle. Otherwise, I¡¯ll retreat instantly.¡±


    He furrowed his brows, he seemed to be puzzled about something. ¡°Why do you have to take care of them alone?¡±


    ¡°Oversee the crew. This will be their chance to put themselves to the test. I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    He faintly nodded. ¡°... Very well.¡±


    The sails of our ship were adjusted and began to slow down, anchor lowered. Until, eventually, we pulled up beside the ship we assumed to be friendly. I walked over to the edge of my ship and observed the scene before me.


    Now that I had a closer look, some of the people on the ship were wearing the same outfits of white and brown. A uniform, I assumed. The rest were entirely different, and some of them looked a bit raggedy. They were still dangerously clashing, their swords clanged and ground as they struck at each other.


    ¡°Haaaaah!¡±


    ¡°Baaahahahaha!¡±


    ¡°Die!¡±


    The ones I assumed to be pirates were taunting the men in uniform. The pirates were overwhelming and outnumbering the latter. Almost a couple of dozen pirates were on the ship, and less than that were the men in uniform. It was only a matter of time before the men in uniform would be defeated in their dwindling number.


    Judging from how there were still many more casually standing on the pirate ship, I guessed there must be more inside it. Three of our ships were the same sizes, so I could imagine how many people there would be. But the men in uniform had lost a lot of men in their battle, and thus their lesser number.


    ¡°Look out!¡± one man in uniform warned his friend. But it was too late, his friend was cut down from behind. ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha! Pointless to fight, yeah? Give up now!¡±


    ¡°Damn you!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡±


    One of the pirates noticed us. Well, they already noticed us way before we pulled up.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± They paused their fighting, standing with clear confidence. They already had the upper hand, so they no longer had anything to worry about. ¡°Look at here, boys. Lost sailors?¡± He approached closer and grinned at us, extending his sword forward.


    I turned towards Velar and nodded.


    Velar nodded back and casually jumped towards the other ship, disregarding the gap between.


    ¡°Huh?¡± The pirates grew a bit wary.


    A couple of men in uniform looked at Velar in confusion.


    Velar pointed his sword forward. ¡°Which one are the pirates?¡± He then looked at the two men in uniform closest to him.


    ¡°I¡¯m the captain of this ship! Captain Suda Nuraki of the Hokunoan Navy! Are you here to help?¡±


    Velar turned towards the captain. ¡°I see. As I thought, you are soldiers. Yes, we came to help.¡±


    One large, muscular pirate stomped his feet. ¡°Are you serious? Throwing your lives away for these guys? I¡¯ve seen smarter dolphins than you idiots.¡±


    ¡°You underestimate us,¡± Velar replied.


    I turned towards my crew and gave a gesture for them to move. Immediately, they lifted the wooden platform, making a bridge between this ship and the next. Once the platform was secured, my crew rushed to the other side, their weapons at the ready.


    The pirate grinned as he watched my crew move in. ¡°Boys! Give these wee shrimps some good pummeling!¡±


    ¡°Oaaaah!¡±


    Velar was the first to engage the enemy before the rest of my crew followed suit. They swung their swords at the enemy, and evaded attacks that were coming down towards them. Their faces were bright with determination and will. I saw my men that could use Armament Magic use it, and they seemed to be doing well against those without magical capabilities. That said, it was apparent that many of my men were struggling to keep up.


    A couple of fog landed near me, and Taneva as well.


    I turned towards them. ¡°Only intervene when a crewmember is in grave danger. Let them practice.¡±


    ¡°And the navy guys?¡± Taneva asked.


    ¡°Keep them safe. Most important is the captain.¡±


    ¡°What an easy job.¡±


    Taneva casually jumped to the other ship and flipped his bronze hair when he landed. A pirate came up to him. He grinned at the ridiculous and hilarious attempt. ¡°Really?¡±


    I, on the other hand, began to move to the other end of my ship.


    ¡°Princess. We would prefer not to put you in danger. One of us should keep watch over your safety.¡±


    I paused as I turned towards Heneis. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it. Focus on the role you are given, and leave me on my own. I will be fine. If you think about doing anything sneaky, I¡¯ll know.¡±


    Heneis let out a resigning sigh. ¡°I understand. Let¡¯s go, Galik.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    They jumped on the other ship. I continued onward. Then I saw Shayla¡¯s head pop up from the deck below.


    ¡°Keep hidden, Shayla,¡± I said to her.


    She seemed to pout. ¡°You keep safe.¡±


    I faintly nodded and swiftly climbed up the mast of my ship. Upon reaching the top, I ran down the yard and jumped to the wooden yard of the other ship. With a little help from Physical Enhancement, it was pretty easy.


    I glanced down at the fighting below. My crew was doing decent, considering their current skill level. But the pirates were still more skilled and ruthless than them, fighting like absolute savages without a regard to their own wellbeing. Like they didn¡¯t care about being injured, or they just didn¡¯t feel threatened by my men. I saw Taneva casually evading one foolish enough to attack him, despite him not doing anything. The two Cursed Children were also standing in a corner. Wow, nice to be strong, eh?


    I guess I have nothing to worry about.


    I continued on and leaped to the mast of the enemy pirate ship. On the way, I noticed that they threw hooks to attach themselves to the side of the friendly ship. That must be how they caught up to this boat. Considering that it was daytime, my shadow went past the pirates below. They looked up at me with wide and threatening eyes.


    ¡°Oi! Who the hell are you?!¡±


    ¡°Get down from there!¡±


    I swiftly pulled out three small daggers in each of my hands, one between my fingers. I cast a magical string on them connected to my hand. I had been meaning to test this technique out, and this was the chance. This way, I wouldn¡¯t need to lose my daggers when throwing them at close range.


    Aight, time to kill some motherfuckers.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 56: Estelias Sea Days (Part 7)

    First primary goal was to figure out which of them were strong, and at the same time, possibly reduce their number. I held out my daggers and threw them down at the enemy. The daggers moved swiftly as the string extended with it. All my targets were unable to defend or evade, and thus, the daggers successfully stabbed into their vulnerable parts.


    Surprisingly, they couldn¡¯t react to my attack. Perhaps I overestimated them. Or I was just a bit stronger and faster. I also used a bit of enhanced physical strength on those attacks, after all. A couple of men ran below me, carrying what appeared to be crossbows. Huh, they had those, huh? They fired at me as I retracted my daggers. I conjured small barriers to block the incoming arrows. They bounced off the barriers without even damaging them, as I expected. Without magic imbued attacks, those arrows might as well be a breeze to my shields.


    It was boring taking them the enemy out from a distance, and considering that there didn¡¯t seem to be anyone strong among them, I¡¯d directly kill them. Standing up, I sheathed my small daggers as another round of arrows were fired at me. I pulled out my medium daggers and counted the several enemies on the deck.


    I moved my foot forward, and I smoothly landed to the floor. Imbuing magic on my daggers, I easily dodged a sword coming at me. After which, I stabbed the man in the throat. That would have been enough, but I found myself stabbing the man in the guts again and again. A few more times. Blood gushed out of his body, painting the floor.


    A pair of men swung their blades at me, I parried one blade and engaged the other opponent. I stabbed him in the chest. That should have been enough, but I pushed my blade downward, cleaving a slice into his flesh from the chest to the waist.


    ¡°W-What the hell?!¡± One pirate was disturbed.


    I killed the other one by stabbing a dagger through his neck, then stabbed my other blade into his head, twisting it inside his brain. His expression froze as I dropped him to the floor.


    ¡°What is she?!¡±


    A slash of light flew towards me, and thus I cast a barrier to protect me. The slash of light scattered apart and dissipated after making contact with my defenses.


    ¡°Move aside.¡± An important-looking man stepped forward, glaring at me. ¡°You¡¯re on my ship, lassy. Big mistake in¡ª¡±


    His words were cut off as a spike of ice suddenly grew at his feet that pierced through his neck. He was still alive, eyes wide in shock, still faintly groaning. Seeing that terrible state their captain got himself in, the enemy crew gasped in horror. The captain tried to break off the ice. But would that even be necessary? There was a hole in his throat, no one could survive that. Not even healing magic could save him. His death was already inevitable. But perhaps that was just the final struggle of a living being. Pointless it may be.


    I continued to attack the other enemies. I cut off the hand of one before carving a large laceration on his torso. I split the head of another into two. The way I was doing things, it felt like there was something strange, something different to these weaklings.


    I saw a couple run back below deck, trying to run away from me.


    But I was already done here on top, all enemies eliminated. I dispelled the ice piercing the now dead captain, and he dropped to the floor with a loud thud. I flicked off the blood on my blades before continuing down the stairs to the deck below.


    The moment I reached the floor, an enemy suddenly charged towards me, but I easily killed him. Then suddenly there was someone that attacked me from the back, sending a magical slash at me. I broke it apart by swinging my dagger down at it.


    ¡°What?¡± He was shocked to see what I did.


    I threw my dagger at him, piercing his head, but I wasn¡¯t done. Magical slashes exploded and his head was obliterated into smithereens. I spawned my barriers to protect myself from the pieces of flesh and brain matter coming my way. Once that was done, I retracted my dagger and continued on until I came across some prison cells. Inside a cell were six men. They looked at me with wariness.


    Huh, I don¡¯t mind having additional crew members. I¡¯m hiring, I guess.


    I faced them with a neutral expression.


    ¡°How did you end up here?¡± I asked. I just wanted to know more about them before letting them out.


    ¡°... We were sailors, or to be exact, traders,¡± said one. ¡°But the pirates attacked us.¡±


    ¡°Why keep you prisoners?¡±


    ¡°They said they intend to sell us off.¡±


    This part of the world, does everyone just sell people?


    Compared to this shithole, the region around the center of the continent seemed considerably better for the people.


    ¡°My crew¡¯s story is the same¡­¡± I said. ¡°Do you wish to be free?¡±


    They all looked at each other until the one from before spoke to me with a nod. ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°If you are not evil, and if you join my crew, I will free you.¡± I removed my hood, revealing my beautiful face. Their eyes widened. ¡°What do you say?¡±


    ¡°L-Lady, we are not evil. And if it gets us out of here, then we¡¯ll join your crew.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± I broke the lock with my dagger and I opened the cage. ¡°Go over to the other ship, introduce yourselves, and my crew will know what to do with you. Although, be careful, they might still be fighting there.¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    They slowly stepped out of the cage.


    ¡°What about the pirates?¡±


    ¡°The deck above is clear. You''re safe to get out. I still have to finish here.¡±


    They nodded and continued on running out above. I continued on further into this trash of a ship. Everything was dirty here, not even an attempt to arrange anything or clean up the moss and stuff. Whatever, I was cleaning the house, anyway.


    I paused when I saw a couple of barrels and recognized a particular smell. Curious, I stabbed a blade into the barrel. When I pulled it out, liquor began spilling out of the hole. Or to be precise, I guessed this would be rum. The liquor smell packed a punch.


    Hm.


    I stabbed the other barrel and let the rum spill out to the floor. I continued on, moving down the stairs. A pirate suddenly leaped at me from the corner, but I easily dodged him and cut off his arm. He screamed in intense pain, but I stabbed him in the jaw before lacerating his chest. As he dropped down lifelessly to the floor, I continued on.


    He should not be the only one left here. They were hiding. These people were not unlike rodents. As I went further in, I discovered a storage room full of barrels and that smell of rum again. I smiled. I figured out what to do now.


    I stabbed the barrels, poking holes into them and letting the rum spill to the floor. There were dozens of rum barrels here, I had to wonder where they got them. Likely from plundering. More and more barrels spilled as I casually stabbed my blade into them.


    What a good waste of rum.


    ¡°Hm~hm~hm~.¡± I hummed as more pools of rum scattered to the floor. Faint splashes occurred as I walked.


    ¡°W-What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡±


    I turned around to see a lone pirate holding out his sword towards me. He seemed particularly aghast at the waste of rum. I smiled and casually sat down atop a barrel.


    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m sorry if I had to do this. Anyway, I¡¯ve been wanting to talk to someone.¡±


    It was true. Perhaps this was a chance to let out some of my thoughts.


    ¡°W-What? You think I have time to talk to you, bitch?!¡±


    I tilted my head adorably. ¡°Do I look like a bitch to you? Look at me. That¡¯s just rude, you know. And are you sure you should be insulting me right now?¡±


    ¡°...¡± He glared at me.


    ¡°Perhaps you are unaware, but I wiped out your people here.¡±


    He grew stiff, but still pointed his sword at me. At least he finally behaved a little.


    ¡°Pirates, huh¡­ Is it fun?¡± I asked.


    ¡°F-Fun?¡±


    ¡°Robbing, plundering, living the savage ways. I¡¯ve always wondered¡­ You know, lately I¡¯ve been looking for a way to have fun, even for just a little bit.¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡±


    ¡°Just something to distract me from the terrible things¡­ It¡¯s a bit effective, but¡­¡± I lowered my head. ¡°Not for long, it would seem.¡± I let out a frustrated sigh.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t really tell if I¡¯m angry, or just so sad. Maybe it¡¯s both, but¡­ I don¡¯t know how I should process this.¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°Honestly, how do people deal with grief?¡± I asked the pirate.


    ¡°The fuck¡­?¡± He looked utterly confused.


    ¡°I never felt like this before¡­¡±


    I had lost plenty of fellow members of the organization. And yet I never felt anything like this. This grief. This pain in my heart. I really didn¡¯t know how to handle this feeling.


    ¡°This is such an alien feeling¡­ So painful and heavy. Never in my life did I imagine I would end up like this.¡± I looked up at the ceiling, recalling a particular past. ¡°Back in the old world, I lost someone I could consider close. She was a team leader. Just someone who cusses out a lot. She was quite caring.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about¡­?¡±


    ¡°Be quiet.¡± I threatened him before continuing. ¡°I was a kid back then. Maybe I really learned a lot from her¡­ But when she died¡­ I didn¡¯t feel much, not like this. Can¡¯t even compare to this. I just thought it was disappointing that she was gone. A shame¡­¡±


    ¡°Lady, you¡¯re weird.¡±


    I tilted my head towards him. ¡°I have problems. A psychiatrist told me that I should share my grievances or thoughts when I have an intense mental and emotional problem.¡±


    ¡°Psychia¡ª what?¡±


    ¡°Sharing is a good way to get relief¡­ I didn¡¯t really understand it, I just thought it was a good thing to learn. And I learned sharing is pretty effective when in grief. But¡­¡± I lowered my head. ¡°Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t feel any better.¡±


    I let out a sigh again.


    ¡°Maybe if I share it with friends¡­ But I don¡¯t have friends here.¡±


    I was so far away from home. Maybe if I had my brothers to talk to, perhaps I could find a way to properly process these emotions inside me.


    ¡°...¡± The pirate stayed silent.


    ¡°Grief is a strange and hard thing. I fully realize it now. Sometimes I just hope I don¡¯t have to feel this. No amount of escapism frees me from this forever.¡± I tried, and it didn¡¯t last for long. It was still there, this dreadful feeling. For a moment it may disappear, but it was always there, lurking in the dark corners of my heart and mind. No matter how far I escaped, it was always close behind. I pursed my lips in frustration.


    I stabbed the barrel below me and let the rum leak out. I jumped down.


    ¡°Oh well, guess I¡¯m done.¡±


    He looked around. ¡°What are you trying to do here? Wasting our fucking rum?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m destroying this ship.¡± I walked over toward the stairs leading up and sheathed one dagger. I turned back to the pirate now that I was off the pool of rum. ¡°Now that you heard my ramblings, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t let you live any further.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    A ball of fire formed in my hand. With a wave, a large burst of flames spread out in front of me. Fire and heat filled the room, burning all the wood and moss, and the rum was lit afire. I wasn¡¯t sure how much flames were enough to light things up, but I used a good amount of magic in that.


    The flames immediately spread.


    ¡°AAAAAHHHH!¡±


    The pirate I was talking to was set on fire amidst the sea of burning alcohol. I watched him as he ran and rattled around. He stumbled onto the floor, into the pool of fire, which only intensified his agony. He screamed and screamed as his flesh burned into his muscles.


    Strange, this was not how I normally do things. To watch someone in agony like this. Even so, it was strange that despite this, I felt nothing. I caused him suffering before dying and yet I felt nothing. Not warmth, not even a race in my heart. Not a hint of satisfaction. I gulped.


    I walked up as the flames slowly spread out behind me. I was thinking. Why? Why was I doing this? I didn¡¯t need to be involved in this. Why did I seek to kill so much? Why did I assault this ship all alone and kill everyone in it?


    As I went up, I heard the cracking and crackling of the woods and flames. The heat intensified and slowly consumed the ship. And before I knew it, I had reached the top deck. Then I saw what I had done. A number of corpses, all killed brutally. I didn¡¯t need to do it. I didn¡¯t voluntarily do it. I just went with the moment. And that was bizarre. Why did I directly assault them? I could have done this how I would. Stealthily and safely¡­ Cast a smokescreen and quickly wipe them out. Anything, just not like what I did today.


    And the way I killed them¡­


    All of this, it was all unnecessary.


    Why? Why did I do all this?


    I looked at my trembling hand.


    I just want to feel something again.


    Just like how it was.


    I just wanted to feel anything. Excitement, satisfaction. I loved killing, taking one¡¯s life. To spill blood. That was how it had always been for me. It was an ecstatic feeling. But despite killing this many, I still felt nothing, not any satisfaction or happiness.


    W-Why?


    Why was this happening?


    I was afraid¡­ Truly¡­


    W-Why can¡¯t I feel anything¡­?


    No matter how brutally I killed, nothing changed within me. I didn¡¯t like it.


    I had lost all pleasure in where I found it most.


    A tear crawled down my cheek.


    Make it stop¡­


    I rubbed off the tear with my sleeve.


    Make this¡­ despair stop.


    Losing a crucial part of myself was truly despair¡­


    To feel so empty¡­ It was terrifying.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 57: Debt to Pay

    When I regained a little amount of composure, I took a deep breath before jumping to the next ship. I waved my hand, sending a bolt of magic to cut off the ropes hooked to the ship. The pirate ship was shattering apart in the flames behind me. Whosoever that was left inside should be dying by now. Otherwise, they would be floating on the sea without their precious ship.


    I turned around to see the fire grow taller. I could feel the heat even from here. As I stood on the navy guys¡¯ ship, I observed their fight. They paused when they saw the ship behind me crumble apart.


    The pirates that remained looked at their burning ship with wide eyes full of shock. One of them glared at me.


    ¡°Damn bitch! You did this?!¡±


    I have no motivation to speak with trash right now.


    I sat down on the rail of the ship and stared at my crew. ¡°Be done with this.¡±


    As I was just chilling here at the side, a pirate seemed to be irritated and started charging towards me, his sword raised.


    ¡°What the hell are you sitting around for?!¡±


    I pointed an annoyed look at the imbecile. I was about to obliterate him amidst my internal frustrations when Galik, the cursed child, grabbed the pirate¡¯s throat and started choking him. But it didn¡¯t seem he had the patience to choke him out and so instead instantly snapped his neck. He casually threw the corpse aside.


    I glanced at the panicking pirates as a burst of flames exploded on the ship behind me ¡ª must be more of the flammables. Who wouldn¡¯t panic at seeing their only way to escape, and their own ship, which was basically their home too, get destroyed right in front of their eyes? It would be demoralizing. And that was the point, aside from me just wanting to see destruction.


    After hearing my order, Velar finally didn¡¯t hold back and began easily cutting down the pirates. Whether or not they had magic, Velar didn¡¯t find any trouble taking care of them. Hartwin was also there, casually beating the opponent in front of him. As a wanderer, I suppose he already possessed an excellent skill that helped him survive the dangerous environments wherever he might end up in.


    There were still several navy personnel that survived, but of course many of them were also sprawled bloody on the floor. I glanced at the one next to me, his eyes still open but absolutely dead.


    Sucks to die, right?


    I returned my attention to the fighting as I twiddled around with my hair. It reminded me that the pirate just called me a bitch. How could people call me that? It hurts to be called that. I sighed internally.


    I covered my mouth as I stifled a yawn.


    I¡¯m sleepy already?


    I was feeling tired. Looks like I was not yet fully healed. But would I ever be? And that was just the minimum utilization of my abilities.


    I guess I should sleep as soon as possible. This sucks.


    At least I didn¡¯t spew out blood.


    A short while later, what remained of the pirates was only four.


    ¡°Surrender while you still can,¡± this ship¡¯s captain warned the four.


    Of course, considering the dire situation they were in, the pirates immediately dropped their weapons. Better be in confinement than dead. The navy guys quickly tied them up.


    ¡°Take them to the brig.¡±


    The navy guys aggressively brought them below deck. The captain sighed and looked at his surroundings, grief in his eyes as he saw the corpses of his comrades. He turned towards his remaining men.


    ¡°Tidy our perished friends. Treat them with care.¡±


    As his men gathered the corpses of their friends, I saw my crew talking to each other. Relief washed all over their faces. Taneva was healing those that were wounded. He was quite proficient in that spell.


    The ship''s captain, Suda, faced Velar with a friendly and grateful smile.


    ¡°Thank you for your help, um¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Velar.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Velar. You can call me Suda. Thank you so much for your help. We¡¯re in your debt. Without your help, we would have been dead.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Captain Suda.¡±


    ¡°You have a brave crew. You¡¯re their captain, right?¡±


    Velar shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not? Then who is it?¡± He looked at the other strong looking guys among my crew.


    Velar pointed at me. ¡°She¡¯s our leader.¡±


    Suda turned towards me with a confused frown. ¡°That girl?¡±


    Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m very young.


    Velar approached me. ¡°Captain, it is safe now. I think you might want to speak with Captain Suda.¡±


    Before any of this, I instructed my crew not to address me with my royalty in mind. It might spell trouble if people knew I was a royal. With a nod, I stood up and began approaching Suda, and he too slowly approached me.


    ¡°Greetings, I¡¯m Captain Suda.¡±


    ¡°I am Estelia. Nice to meet you, Captain Suda.¡±


    We shook hands, and he seemed to be taken aback by my soft hands, wondering how I even became captain. Then he glanced at the burning ship behind me. He seemed to subtly gulp while hiding a nervous look. Oh? Did I scare him a little?


    ¡°I am grateful to you for saving us. We are in your debt.¡±


    I glanced at my crew. ¡°I hope you won¡¯t forget about it so soon.¡±


    He formed a stiff smile. ¡°... Of course I wouldn¡¯t.¡±


    I retracted my hand. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the comrades that you lost today. It is tragic.¡±


    ¡°... Indeed. It would be hard to deliver the news to their families.¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    ¡°Hard, but it is necessary.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right.¡±


    I looked around at their ship. It was a pretty good ship.


    ¡°How did you end up in this situation? I had imagined that pirates would rather avoid the authorities than outright attack them.¡±


    ¡°There are many kinds of pirates, Miss Estelia. Some would rather avoid, while others are brave enough to attack us. They are a savage, spiteful bunch.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re a lone ship. Didn¡¯t think of bringing allies before sailing through a pirate controlled region?¡±


    He smiled a little. ¡°Looks like you haven¡¯t been to Hokunoa yet. The government has started taking action against the pirates.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Finally annoyed by them?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s bad for business. We¡¯re here as scouts. We just got unlucky, we were discovered by pirates daring enough to attack us.¡±


    I placed my hands behind me and looked up. ¡°I see. How unlucky indeed.¡±


    Well, judging from what they said, they provoked the pirates. I imagined they would be more aggressive now. The sounds of crumbling wood resonated again, I turned towards the slowly sinking pirate ship.


    ¡°Captain Suda, I advise that you send some men to look after that. There might be pirates that survived.¡±


    He stared at the sinking ship and saw glimpses of the corpses on it. ¡°H-How did you even manage all that? Did you do that alone?¡±


    ¡°As you said, they are savages. They are unlike trained warriors. Well, most of them at least.¡±


    He furrowed his brows. ¡°Savages, but not bad fighters.¡±


    ¡°Then I guess I was just the better fighter.¡±


    His face twitched. He seemed to be a bit disturbed by what I said.


    ¡°Miss Estelia, would you mind having a recess? I have plenty of sweets at my disposal.¡±


    Oooh sweets.


    ¡°Sure, if you offer it.¡±


    ¡°We can eat in my cabin, if it¡¯s no trouble. You can bring your men if it brings you comfort.¡±


    ¡°Hm. Velar alone will be fine.¡±


    ¡°I-I see.¡± He turned towards one of his men. ¡°Send some guys to check the enemy ship for any survivors. If there are, try apprehending them, otherwise, kill them.¡±


    With that, tagging Velar along, Suda brought us to his cabin. It was a decent room. Not as fancy as mine on my ship. But I guess this was to be expected if it were a ship of the navy. More standardized, sort of say. I sat down by the table as Velar stood behind me.


    Suda poured cookies on a couple of plates from a wooden box.


    ¡°Luckily, my wife managed to grab some decent ingredients and made these for my travels.¡±


    Grabbed some ingredients, huh? It sounded like there were some difficulties in getting the ingredients for just some cookies. Were they poor? No, that couldn¡¯t be. This guy was a captain of a ship. No way his salary would be so low that they would struggle.


    This reminded me how weird of a place the archipelago was. Where everyone had to get some fruits, which I imagined some ingredients as well, from sailing traders. So ingredients for cookies might not be so common there.


    ¡°Please, eat as much as you want. Think of it as my thanks for saving us.¡± He sat down in front of me.


    I nodded and grabbed a piece of cookie. With a little bit of anticipation, I began eating in the most refined way, as how a lady should be.


    Hm.


    It was okay. It was cold. Unlike in the palace where it would be at least a bit warm when served to me. And this was also a bit less sweet. Saving on some sugar, I suppose. But oh well, not like I was complaining. I actually appreciate that I could eat cookies again.


    I formed a little smile as I ate. I glanced at Suda. ¡°Why are you not eating? You should eat with me. Is this not prepared for you by your wife?¡±


    He faintly nodded. ¡°Ah, if it¡¯s alright, then excuse me.¡± He grabbed a cookie and began eating. As he chewed, he had a smile on his face, seemingly satisfied with it.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering, Miss Estelia, where are you heading?¡±


    I paused. ¡°Did you bring me here for an interrogation, Mister Suda?¡±


    He shook his hands with a wry smile. ¡°I would never do that to our saviors. It was not my intention. I am truly just curious.¡±


    ¡°Hm. To a city called Mahana.¡±


    His eyes widened. ¡°Are you perhaps traders?¡±


    ¡°Nope. My ship and crew have a particularly strange story.¡±


    Hm, perhaps I should make a good connection with this man. Maybe it could help in the long run. So I should speak a little. I deliberated for a moment to just say we were traders, but I decided to be honest. I imagined that making ourselves as traders might be troublesome, there might be things such as verifications, requirements, papers that they may request when we arrive there. If I were to garner this man¡¯s trust, honesty was the best policy.


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°It was originally a slave ship.¡±


    ¡°A slave ship¡­?¡±


    ¡°Me and my current crew were captives on that ship. But we managed to successfully revolt, and here we are.¡±


    ¡°... Wow. That must have been hard. What happened to your captors?¡±


    ¡°Dead, of course.¡±


    ¡°Huh. I never heard slaves successfully overthrowing their slave traders before.¡±


    He didn¡¯t seem to be particularly bothered that there were people being transported to be sold as slaves. Was it so common that they were indifferent to such a thing? Now I couldn¡¯t help but feel wary of him.


    ¡°I heard slave trading is pretty common in this region.¡±


    ¡°It is. From what it appears, slaves have been pretty helpful in our nation.¡±


    I lowered my cookie. ¡°Captain Suda, it would seem your country is not against having slavery. So different from the continent.¡±


    ¡°Is it?¡± He smiled a little. ¡°Slaves are commonly treated well by their masters. So there is no issue.¡±


    ¡°I doubt it.¡± Treated well? That was hilarious. ¡°Not all masters are kind. In fact, I think kind masters are extremely rare.¡±


    He forced a smile. ¡°... I sense that we have a conflict of culture, Miss Estelia. Now I¡¯m wondering where you came from.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t care about your culture of slavery. It wouldn¡¯t be right for me to impose my values and culture on you and your nation. I¡¯m just concerned about perception.¡±


    He was puzzled. ¡°Perception?¡±


    I took a bite of the cookie, and after swallowing, I continued. ¡°Now that you know my crew are supposed to be sold as slaves to your lands. How do you see us? Are you prejudiced?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite an outright inquiry. I expected you would beat around the bush.¡±


    ¡°I dislike being discriminated against.¡± I looked him in the eyes with a neutral expression.


    ¡°Is that so? Worry not. You were about to be sold as slaves, and you managed to free yourselves. So you were never officially slaves. Again, we are not prejudiced against slaves. Doesn¡¯t mean that you are slaves, that we would throw rocks at you.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°That said, you¡¯re free. But you¡¯re still heading to Mahana. You could have changed your course back. Why are you still going forward?¡±


    ¡°I will depart in Mahana.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Why?¡±


    ¡°For personal reasons.¡±


    He paused for a moment before faintly nodding. ¡°I understand. Well, the waters are quite restrictive right now around the city. Considering what happened, we¡¯ll be returning to Mahana as well. How about we sail together?¡±


    ¡°... I don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°With us with you, you will not have trouble with the coastguards.¡±


    ¡°That is good to hear. Thanks.¡±


    He smiled and nodded.


    I took a bite of a cookie. ¡°Hm¡­¡± I just had an idea. ¡°You owe us, right? Captain Suda? I have something to ask of you.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Ask away.¡±


    ¡°When I leave with my strongest, I fear that if my crew sails back to Eventon, they might face trouble. I would like to ask you to escort them until they return to Eventon. Provide them with a good amount of security that ensures their safety.¡±


    ¡°The Eventon Republic?¡± He pondered for a moment. ¡°I can do that. Maybe I can ask another ship to come with us.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s decided. Thank you for the help, Captain Suda.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the least I can do to repay a debt.¡± He let out a short chuckle. ¡°So you¡¯re from the Eventon Republic?¡±


    I merely smiled.


    ¡°I never ever saw someone like you, Miss Estelia. You¡¯re too unique.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­?¡±


    ¡°I fear you will stand out too much when you make land. Be careful.¡±


    He sounded sincere.


    ¡°I appreciate the concern.¡±


    ¡°Seriously, if you heard about our archipelago, it is a dangerous place. We tried to keep the peace and safety, but there are still holes all around. A dangerous party might get interested in you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be very careful. Thank you.¡±


    Then suddenly, I yawned again. I covered my mouth. My eyes were getting heavier and moist. I gently rubbed my eyes with my sleeves.


    Suda curiously looked at me with a concerned look. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    I let out an exaggerated sigh. ¡°Apologies, Captain Suda. But I must go. I didn''t get a good amount of sleep last night.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± He looked a bit baffled by the reason I gave.


    I stood up. ¡°Thank you for the cookies. They were delicious. Almost reminds me of home.¡±


    He stood up, and we shook hands.


    ¡°Please discuss matters with Velar from here. I will be returning to my ship.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    As I walked to the door, I turned my head to Velar. ¡°I¡¯ll leave things to you.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    When I arrived outside, I faced my crew. They all looked at me.


    ¡°Good job, everyone! Your performance was splendid! There are still many things you need to work with, but it is good progress, nonetheless. If there are still wounded, no matter how minor, and those that are so exhausted, get treated and rest. Those that can still move very well, please assist Velar with anything he might need.¡±


    With that done, some of my crew returned to our ship. While the others remained to help the navy guys. For a short while, I checked up on my crew to show how compassionate I am. After that, I returned to my room and jumped on the bed. The tension all over my body evaporated away. I must have a decent amount of rest before arriving at my destination. Hugging my pillow, I immediately fell asleep.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 58: My New Companions

    We have been sailing peacefully for some time now. Suda from Shinoroa, sailed along with us. With us following behind them. From what Velar said, it was best for them to be first to lessen any trouble that we may encounter when facing the other naval forces. I had no problem with that, so I let them do whatever they wanted.


    At any rate, we were closing in on our destination. At the moment, I was at the rear of the bridge, leaning on the wooden railing while staring at the sea behind us. I was now further away from home. Bearing that realization, I let out a short sigh as I adjusted my pirate hat. It made me wonder what everyone was doing now. My servants¡­ Rogan, Vernon, and Mera maybe had nothing to do because I was absent.


    Rogan was unlikely to be sent to the frontlines, as he was my knight. Vernon can fight, but he was also my butler, he would likely be back to doing menial chores in my absence. Mera was a maid, so she would be doing the normal maid duties. Considering she was infatuated with me to a scary degree, she might be missing me already. My absence could be driving her crazy for all I know.


    I didn¡¯t know how long I would be gone. But thinking about how things would be when I return, it made me a bit anxious.


    If I return, I must have that absolute power.


    I would never return empty-handed. I had reached this far, no turning back now.


    Hang in there until I come back¡­


    I turned around and made my way to the main deck, thinking of what could await me ahead. Just a time when you¡¯re imagining what you would see at your arrival and set your expectations. You could be disappointed or content. But there was a more important matter I had to think about. In my adventure, I would need people I could trust to travel with. Taneva? Couldn¡¯t trust him completely, but he was fine. No way on the Cursed Children. I would rather not be constantly right next to them. So I only had Taneva? Ugh, no way. He would drive me mad. Nothing could be more annoying. Motherfucker would keep on teasing me on the way.


    As I stood at the short stairs, I saw the prisoners we saved from the pirate ship standing and talking. Suda was made aware of them already and he let them stay with us. There was no point for him in getting them. The new crew members seemed decent people, so I had nothing to worry about. From what we learned from them, they were from the continent. They were a group of sailors looking for opportunities.


    They were traders, just starting. But their ship was raided by the pirates. Many of their crew died. Their ship was destroyed, and they were kept as prisoners to be sold later on in Shinoroa. How unlucky. Half of them were warriors, so they were plenty useful. They hadn¡¯t done any misdemeanors, so they were not some delinquents, there was no need to worry about them.


    It was then that Hartwin approached me.


    ¡°Princess, we are close to your destination, right?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    He then smiled. ¡°Then, I would like to come with you on your journey.¡±


    Not surprising, I have had the feeling that he wanted to come along.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. But it is dangerous.¡±


    ¡°I can handle any danger, do not worry.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°I have faced countless dangers in my travels. Monsters, beasts, evil men and rebels. And I lived through it all with stories to tell,¡± he said so as he extended his hands dramatically.


    ¡°Huh. I see.¡±


    ¡°Why not let him join in with the party?¡± Taneva suddenly interjected, placing a hand on Hartwin¡¯s shoulders. ¡°If he dies, oh well, he dies.¡± He grinned.


    ¡°I am quite excellent at running away. So death eludes me.¡±


    I slightly tilted my head. ¡°Why do you want to risk yourself for this?¡±


    Hartwin smiled at me. ¡°I want to follow your story.¡±


    I frowned in confusion. ¡°My story¡­?¡±


    ¡°I want to witness your adventure, your struggles, your actions. I want to know your story, and tell it in the future.¡±


    ¡°Why me?¡±


    ¡°Are you seriously asking me that?! I never met someone like you. Someone so intriguing, someone so special. Someone who possessed so much power, a goddess.¡± He whispered. ¡°Where else could you even meet a goddess?¡±


    I was a bit flabbergasted by his enthusiasm. I really couldn¡¯t fully understand the way his mind works, but I supposed that was just how poets were. Go to where stories are.


    ¡°I want to see the end of your journey. Maybe I can write an epic, a song, telling your tales.¡±


    Taneva chuckled and patted Hartwin¡¯s back. ¡°That¡¯s awesome. Really could use that. It could become a religious scripture in the far future. Make the Gospel of Estelia or something, I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Hartwin placed a hand on his chin. ¡°I was thinking of the Chronicles of the Royal Princess of Blood.¡±


    Hey! No! That sucks! At least remove the Chronicles part!


    My eyes twitched in cringe. ¡°Hartwin, you¡¯re free to come along. But on one condition.¡±


    ¡°Anything.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ever use that title.¡±


    ¡°Pardon¡­?¡± His eyes blinked a few times. ¡°You mean the Chronicles of the¡ª¡±


    ¡°Aaaah! Yes! That one. Don¡¯t ever, ever use that! Do you not seriously see an issue with that? First off, that¡¯s too long!¡±Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Where did he even learn of that? Oh yeah, he might have overheard about it last time when I was talking with Taneva and the others.


    His eyes widened. ¡°Oh yeah, you¡¯re right. Well, I¡¯ll think of something. I¡¯d still write the records, anyway.¡±


    ¡°As long as it¡¯s not that¡­¡± That would haunt me for the rest of eternity.


    ¡°Then thank you for letting me come along. I finally have the most interesting story I can follow.¡±


    ¡°... Just remember, depending on the circumstance, you might get abandoned. So no hard feelings.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that is fine. I¡¯m sure I can manage through any danger.¡±


    I have to give it to him, he looked confident. I was serious about saying he might get abandoned. If he gave us more trouble than it''s worth, I¡¯d cast him aside. But he didn¡¯t seem to mind it, he must have understood I was just being practical. That said, I didn¡¯t think I had to worry much.


    Hartwin was a lone traveler, and to have survived this long being alone, you must possess a certain amount of skill. Given that he was still alive and kicking to this day, you could trust he had good survival skills. I had never really seen him go all out, but from all the fights that I had seen him, he never seemed scared or anything. He really had that confidence in him. Perhaps all this time he was hiding his true abilities. Still, thinking back on how he got here on this ship, he must not be too powerful. I imagined he must be around below Velar.


    Which reminded me, I¡¯ve been wanting to talk to Velar about something.


    With Hartwin¡¯s business with me done, he went on with his day with a grin on his face. I guess some people carry great importance to working up a story, huh? I really didn¡¯t mind if he wrote my story. It was nice. My glory being told for generations to come! Awesome. That aside, it was nice to have another ally to come with me. One that can be at least more trustworthy than the Cursed Children and Taneva. It was easier to trust average humans than overpowered beings. At least with average humans you could easily kill them, you know.


    I had no idea if I could even kill the Cursed Children. I mean, I already blasted Heneis to oblivion, but the motherfucker was still alive and kicking. Taneva, on the other hand, was an enigma. From what I recalled, he had powerful healing magic. Not to mention he easily defeated the monster in the arena. Yeah, I still had to be wary of them. But who did I consider closer to an enemy but not yet entirely an enemy? The Cursed Children, definitely.


    They also killed the baby me, after all.


    Night time came. The ship was silent once more. As I stood in front of my cabin, I stared at Velar, who was oiling his sword. I thought normally you would do that during the day, but I guess he was just too busy training the men. I made my way over to him.


    ¡°Hello, Velar. Do you have time to talk?¡±


    He paused and looked up at me. ¡°Certainly, Your Highness.¡±


    I nodded and pulled up the nearby chair and sat down on it. ¡°How are the men¡¯s training?¡±


    He continued cleaning his blade as he answered. ¡°Their progress is good. They can be considered more or less strong as an average soldier. Although lacking in experience.¡±


    Average soldier likely meant as strong as street guards. They only knew the basics of combat, they wouldn¡¯t fit fighting an outright battle or fighting monsters, but they were enough to guard a city.


    ¡°Then it means they can take care of themselves when it comes to it.¡±


    ¡°I suppose so.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± I leaned back in my chair and glanced at the starry sky. ¡°When you get back, what are you gonna do from then on?¡±


    He halted his work and stared at me. ¡°... Back to Eventon¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­¡± He lowered his head, and I observed him deeply. He seemed to be really thinking about it, imagining scenarios. But he was obviously conflicted. ¡°... Honestly, I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Not planning on becoming a soldier again?¡±


    He let out a brief chuckle before giving a troubled smile. ¡°With my history, I doubt I¡¯ll have a good career. If I even manage to get it.¡±


    Perhaps he was right. He fought against a group of soldiers, soldiers of a rich man. His story would have already spread out among everyone. And his history and actions would not look good on the resume. But couldn¡¯t he just go to some other place a bit farther from where he was originally from? Hm, from the looks of it, he wasn¡¯t too motivated.


    ¡°There are other jobs you can do¡­¡±


    He shook his head mildly. ¡°... That is true. But I don¡¯t think I would like it that much.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    Velar had been a soldier his entire life. He gave everything to the sword. He served. And he loved becoming a warrior. It wouldn¡¯t be easy to switch to another career entirely. Would you easily let go of the thing you love doing the most?


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I would get a normal life that easily when I get back.¡±


    ¡°Adventurers are a thing. How about that?¡±


    ¡°Adventurer, huh? That can be an option¡­¡± He sighed. ¡°A last resort. Being an adventurer is still a struggle. Income is not stable. There¡¯s a reason I became a soldier.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    I guess being an adventurer really was like a mercenary. You only get money when you have a job. Not to mention the competition.


    ¡°Being a soldier is just more sustainable. Especially if you plan to have a family.¡±


    Ah, well, that sucks. Considering how his family ended up.


    ¡°But¡­ I guess being an adventurer is a good option now,¡± he continued. ¡°I have no family. But it doesn¡¯t feel right yet.¡±


    ¡°I see. It¡¯s hard to choose a new path just after losing the last one.¡± I stared at the dark ocean. ¡°You are directionless.¡±


    He stared at the dark ocean as well. ¡°Guess I am. And you¡¯re not, Princess? After the sudden shift in your path?¡±


    ¡°I am not directionless, Velar.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°I will save my kingdom and destroy all my enemies. Make them pay for what they have done to me.¡±


    ¡°... I understand. A perilous path is a path, nonetheless.¡±


    I understood more of Velar¡¯s situation now. I knew what to say to have what I want.


    ¡°I have an offer, Velar.¡±


    ¡°Offer?¡±


    I stared straight into his eyes. ¡°Come with me.¡±


    His eyes widened.


    ¡°Join me in my path. Share my direction. Walk together with me.¡±


    ¡°You mean¡­?¡±


    ¡°Become my blade. Every princess needs a knight. And currently I am without. I need someone like you.¡±


    ¡°... I was but a soldier. I had never served royalty or anyone of the same level¡­¡±


    ¡°Leave that past behind. It is time for you to focus on the present and future. Become something new.¡±


    He seemed to still be in disbelief. ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°You may have once been a soldier, but you deserve to be a knight. You have every aspect to be one. Do not belittle yourself.¡±


    I rose from my seat and extended my hand towards him.


    ¡°Join me, Velar. Become my knight, loyally serve and protect me. And you shall have a new path you currently are missing.¡±


    He glanced at my hand. ¡°... Am I really¡­ worthy?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you are.¡±


    He was hesitating. But I saw in his eyes a new kind of light. Like how you would see from someone who finally knew what to do. A plan, an endeavor in life. A purpose. Velar had always been a soldier serving a master, that was why he wasn¡¯t fond of the idea of becoming an adventurer or anything else. His nature had already engraved itself into his very being.


    I reminded him how directionless he was. How he was without a purpose. For others, being without a purpose is agonizing. He had to realize that agony, the horror of being without a path in life. And after that, I offered him mine. I was sure he would agree. He had been following my bidding since the beginning, me with the highest authority. So I knew there was a good chance that I could convince him.


    Velar was the kind of person I needed. Someone trustworthy. The very image of a soldier ¡ª no, a knight.


    There was the part where he would be concerned about the crew when he leaves with me to Shinoroa. Becoming my knight, that meant staying by my side. But I already dealt with that matter. I already asked Suda to escort this ship to Eventon. Plus, the crew had been training. They should do fine. There was no need to worry anymore. They were already better individuals than the first we met them.


    And Velar, of course, realized that.


    After a short moment of thinking, he got off his seat and kneeled before me on one knee. His sword in one hand, and the other touched my palm.


    He lowered his head with closed eyes.


    ¡°I will accept your offer, Princess. I swear to you, I will be your loyal servant and your sword. I will protect you with my life and slay your enemies. No matter where your path may lead, I will follow.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Thank you, Velar. I am glad to have you by my side.¡±


    To become a knight of a princess, nothing was more honorable and a greater purpose in life. Especially for a soldier, or rather, a knight.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 59: Arrival at Shinoroa

    As we trailed Suda¡¯s ship, we started to see a glimpse of a coast from a distance. Currently, I was at the bow of the ship along with a few of my guys, staring at the land far ahead.


    ¡°Is that it? Shinoroa?¡± one of the crew asked no one in particular. His eyes were wide with anticipation. He was one of the kidnapped ones, so I was quite surprised he seemed to be looking forward to arriving in another land.


    ¡°Yes,¡± answered Taneva. ¡°Or to be precise, that¡¯s one of its main islands, Hokunoa.¡±


    ¡°Woah.¡±


    Hm, pretty nice to be arriving at a new place, wasn¡¯t it?


    I saw the ship ahead of us reducing their speed, must be because we were closing in. Not to mention the ships floating ahead, they must be guarding the waters in this part. There were a lot of big and small ships scattered about. Although smaller ones I assumed to be fishermen. The rest were the navy of the city in front of us.


    I had imagined something like this, for them to currently have tight security, considering what Suda mentioned. Perhaps they were wary of any enemy that might get through, especially now that they had provoked the pirates. Who¡¯s to say the pirates won¡¯t try to secretly sneak and wreak havoc inside the city or something? Or they just suddenly launch an attack. Considering their criminal nature, I won¡¯t be surprised if they attacked just to harass the opposition.


    Good thing we had a backer, hehe. Go on Suda, make our sailing smooth!


    Suda went by a naval ship. With him carrying their own flag and a familiar ship, verification shouldn¡¯t be that difficult. They seemed to be communicating with each other, shouting. I could faintly hear them. They mentioned something about them being attacked. And then there came about letting us through without trouble as we were with them.


    Since there didn¡¯t appear to be any resistance, there should be no problem now. Suda continued on as we followed behind them. A moment later, we passed by the same ship they spoke with. There were men in uniform standing on the deck, staring sternly at us. They were bearing weapons, their crossbows and ballistas aiming at us.


    My men stared back at them, looking closely at the weapons pointed at us.


    ¡°Steady and be calm,¡± I said to my men, who were growing tense. ¡°Behave. They¡¯re just keeping a watch on us, nothing alarming. And don¡¯t glare back at them.¡±


    Just don¡¯t piss anyone off.


    At any rate, we got through the first set of guards, no problem. And eventually, we arrived closer to the harbor. There were numerous ships, big and small, docked in the harbor. While there were also others just floating on the water away from the coast. They carried no flag whatsoever, so likely they were just civilian ships.


    We continued following Suda until we had to split off and find a spot to dock our ship. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t take long for us to find one. Suda went farther away, which must be where their ship should be docked, being from the navy. As we slowly moved into the dock, I noticed my men were a bit nervous. I mean, it was just like how one would be nervous when parking a car for the first time, especially in a tight space.


    The rest, particularly the ladies in our company, scattered around the deck to look at the surroundings. Their eyes shining with intrigue. As we were now close, we could see more of the city of Mahana. And if I have to say, their buildings were less refined than my home city. The buildings were made of wood, even those with second floors. Others were made of rocks and looked shabby. They had a particular style from their architecture. They seemed more practical than giving mind to appearances.


    Although, they weren¡¯t particularly lacking in design either. Aside from the straightforward walls of wood, some buildings were painted color, but not as colorful as what I would see from my home. Some of the triangular shaped roofs were made of wood, while others were made of tiles. The latter must be a little bit of a show of wealth. Although the colors again were on the darker side. Even most of the tiles were darkly colored. It reminded me that Taneva described this archipelago as a dead land. I could certainly feel a bit of a grim feeling from the lack of color variety.


    The people on my ship observing the place also felt that dark vibe.


    ¡°This place looks a bit more terrible than the city,¡± a woman commented.


    ¡°Not a bit, can¡¯t even be compared,¡± added another.


    They must be comparing it with Eventon. But for me, this place looked piss poor when compared to my clean and presentable home city, where everything was more decorated and organized. This one here looked like they just built buildings wherever they could.


    Once the ship had stopped, and after tying it to the dock, everyone gathered. I stepped forward to address them.


    ¡°This is a foreign city in a foreign land. I suggest everyone behave as much as they can and be very careful. If you wish to go out and see the place, don¡¯t go out alone. At least go out in fives. Additionally, don¡¯t leave the ship unattended. Always have people watch over it.¡±


    I turned my head around the harbor. I sensed several gazes pointed at us. Was it even necessary to stare? Hm, now that I thought about it, this place wasn¡¯t too busy. There were a lot of activities, but not many that would fill the harbor. Likely we arrived at a less busy time. There were men loading wooden crates into a ship, while others were unloading from other ships.


    ¡°What are we going to do now?¡± asked one of my crew.


    ¡°For now, we wait for Suda.¡± Velar told me that he was intending on helping us get started here, being tourists and all. So we ought to wait for someone who knows the place.


    Suddenly, a man stepped up from the wharf to the platform leading to our ship. He casually and haughtily stepped on our deck and looked at us with a sharp gaze. I lowered my pirate hat to cover my face. He checked the ship.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    The man was wearing somewhat formal clothing: a coat, boots, and a hat. But they were far from fancy. His clothes were a bit ragged and old looking. As he observed around, he twirled his mustache. Was he some kind of official or something?


    A large man stood behind the man. He must be his guard.


    ¡°Hm, a lot of passengers. Young men and beautiful women.¡± The man walked around the ship as if he owned the place. ¡°A galleon class ship.¡±


    I gestured to Velar to talk with the guy as I hid amongst the crowd. I mean, I was literally too beautiful. Seeing what I am might be troublesome. Yeah, I said it, my beauty could cause all kinds of trouble.


    Velar approached the man, and he was towering over him. ¡°May I ask who you are?¡±


    The stranger scrutinized Velar without fear. ¡°I¡¯m the harbormaster of this area. And I¡¯m here to assess your ship and collect the necessary fee.¡±


    A fee? That''s a thing?


    Hm, dunno. I mean, maybe it was expected to have a toll or fee. But I had a bad feeling about this.


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Have you been here before?¡± the harbormaster arrogantly asked.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s our first time here.¡±


    ¡°I see, I see.¡± He stared at the women and grinned a little. ¡°Is this a slave ship? You just let your women out here on the deck without chains?¡±


    Surprising, he just outright assumed they were slaves. But then again, thinking about it, you would never expect to see this many women on a sailing ship. This ain¡¯t normal for sailors.


    Velar forced a smile. ¡°... You are mistaken. This is not a slave ship.¡±


    The man raised an eyebrow. ¡°It¡¯s not? Then what¡¯s the point of them?¡± He pointed at the crowd before shaking his head. ¡°If you¡¯re hiding the fact that you¡¯re slave traders, it is fine to tell us here.¡±


    ¡°We are truly not slave traders.¡±


    The harbormaster narrowed his eyes. ¡°... Is that so? A shame. You have a lot of good products.¡±


    I could hear some of my crew members groan in anger.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid,¡± I quietly said to them. ¡°Let this pass.¡±


    The harbormaster shrugged. ¡°At any rate, how long will you be docked?¡±


    ¡°... Um. We have not yet made a specific plan. But we expect it to be at least a week.¡±


    ¡°I see, I see.¡± He placed a hand on his chin. ¡°Then I will need to collect fifty silver coins. Whatever currency, as long as they¡¯re silver coins.¡±


    Is that a lot?


    Velar seemed troubled. ¡°Is that truly the price?¡±


    ¡°Of course. You''re questioning me? I¡¯ve been doing this for years, so don¡¯t dare question me.¡± The man glared at Velar, pointing a finger at his face.


    Hartwin stepped in from the side. ¡°Isn¡¯t that quite a lot? I expected it would be around five to fifteen silver at the most expensive, like other docks on the continent.¡±


    ¡°Well, this is Hokunoa, and my dock. I say whatever the price is.¡±


    Damn this little shit is ripping us off?!


    What a good fucking impression this place had! Already getting scammed the first moment of arrival. We had the budget, of course. There was a lot of money on this ship. But fifty silver coins? Quite expensive shit for docking to this shithole.


    ¡°Perhaps you could reassess?¡± Velar asked.


    ¡°I just told you. Now pay up.¡± The harbormaster held out his palm, as if waiting for Velar to drop the money.


    The guard with the harbormaster stepped up in front of Velar. Velar stared at the guard in the eyes.


    Hartwin casually shook his head. ¡°No need for violence. Maybe we can come to an agreement.¡±


    The harbormaster raised an eyebrow. ¡°Agreement? Hah! From the looks of it, you can¡¯t pay. But, hmm, yes, we can come to an agreement.¡± He smirked before pointing a look at the crew. ¡°Let me borrow a woman for the night, and I¡¯ll give you a fifty percent discount.¡±


    I got a glimpse of Velar¡¯s face twitching amidst his smiles. There was a growing tension in the crowd I was hiding in as well.


    ¡°Bastard¡­¡±


    ¡°What a scum.¡±


    There were such whispers.


    Yeah, what an asshole, to demand such an outrageous thing. And half a discount for that heavy sacrifice? Are you really that scummy, you little shit?


    Hartwin just stared at the harbormaster with squinted eyes.


    ¡°We can¡¯t do that,¡± Velar answered.


    ¡°Then scrounge up some silver or leave this shore. Otherwise, I will have to call the authorities to have you detained and confiscate some of your belongings.¡±


    Now that just wasn¡¯t good. This place didn¡¯t seem like a good place to be imprisoned. Especially for a pretty girl like me.


    Should I just kill him?


    Nah, would just make more trouble. Although, I was a bit annoyed.


    I was considering stepping in when a familiar face arrived.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± It was a man in uniform, the man of the hour, our savior, Captain Suda!


    The harbormaster looked surprised to see a navy member onboard. ¡°W-What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°I am Captain Suda Nuraki of the Hokunoan Navy. What is the problem here?¡±


    The harbormaster forced a smile. ¡°I am only doing my duty. Collecting the fees in docking here.¡±


    Suda suspiciously stared at him before turning to Velar. ¡°How much did he ask?¡±


    ¡°Fifty silver coins,¡± Velar answered.


    Suda directed a stern look at the harbormaster. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit too much?¡±


    ¡°I think that is f-fair. With this many people, and this big ship, that price is j-just right. Of course, if they¡¯re your friends, we can give them a discount!¡±


    Suda frowned. ¡°They¡¯re my guests, and the garrison commander has been notified of their presence.¡± Suda leaned forward, closer to the man, glaring into his eyes. ¡°So there is no need for fees.¡±


    ¡°W-What?!¡±


    ¡°You heard me. They¡¯re exempted from the docking fees. Do you understand?¡±


    The harbormaster clenched his fists and scoffed. ¡°Grrrr... Alright. I understand.¡±


    ¡°Good, then you may leave.¡±


    The harbormaster left with stomping feet, this face fuming in anger. When he and his guard were gone, Suda turned towards Velar with a sigh.


    ¡°I apologize for that. There are just some harbormasters that take advantage of you if it¡¯s your first time here. In the future, you can try saying it¡¯s your third time.¡±


    ¡°I see. It was a mistake to be honest then.¡±


    ¡°Honesty is not always the best option on rare occasions. But good thing I arrived before you gave him any money.¡±


    I stepped out of the crowd and approached Suda with a smile. ¡°Thank you for the help, Mr. Suda. I don¡¯t know what would have happened if it went on.¡±


    For some reason, he wryly smiled at me. ¡°Well, I can imagine some¡­ Anyway, he shouldn¡¯t bother you any longer knowing you¡¯re connected to us.¡±


    ¡°... Oh yeah, about that. Did you just mention you notified the garrison commander of us?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± he casually said with a proud nod. ¡°Technically, it was one of his lieutenants. I gave a brief report of what happened when they saw the bodies. But the commander should be notified soon. I had an idea of what could happen when you arrive, so I headed straight here.¡±


    Well, it was good you arrived. However¡­


    You couldn¡¯t have just reported to someone of lower position?! We were supposed to be lowkey!! What a fucking blunder this was. Seriously? I knew they would report it to their superiors. But to a lieutenant of the garrison commander? That would certainly head straight to the garrison commander himself. That¡¯s like to a general. Couldn¡¯t it just be someone in a lower position?! Someone less important and influential? Like a local department captain? And I would be long gone before the matter arrived to the head of the navy. Ugh, whatever, what did I expect anyway? Well, I was hoping it wouldn¡¯t be that big of a deal since they were only a scout ship.


    ¡°I-I see¡­¡± That was all I could say.


    ¡°I imagine they would like to thank you later, so expect that. Maybe the commander himself would personally come to thank you.¡± He chuckled.


    No way. I don¡¯t want that. And nothing¡¯s funny!


    ¡°Anyway, I still have to give my full report. See you later.¡± With that, he left.


    I rather not get the attention of someone that high up the food chain the first moment I arrive¡­ Ugh, can¡¯t believe my reckless decision would drag this headache to my doorstep.


    Whatever, let¡¯s just get over it. I must minimize any potential trouble this may bring.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 60: Meeting with the Garrison Commander

    Ugh, I had to deal with a headache. Considering the meeting, which hopefully would be brief, I changed into my combat outfit. I was more comfortable with it, anyway. And it was very clean and fresh, by the way. Washed nicely. So I was pretty excited about wearing it cleanly again.


    I didn¡¯t know what to expect in this place, but best to wear the most comfortable outfit, fully geared at that. Plus, I was supposedly meeting with the garrison commander. I was not fond of the idea. Given that had no idea what his character could be. I mean, look how beautiful I am! My beauty tends to attract all kinds of evil elements. That¡¯s why we must keep them away and expel them! The power of Estelia compels you, evil. I cast you away!


    Evil should stay away from the good girl that I am.


    What? I¡¯m evil? No, I¡¯m not. Since when am I evil¡­? I¡¯ve been a good girl since the beginning.


    At any rate, I just had to expect that people here were a bunch of kinda evil guys. I mean, we almost got extorted the moment we arrived here. What kind of bullshit was that, huh? So you can¡¯t blame me for expecting the worst. The higher the position a person is, the bigger the baddie they could be .


    While standing around on the deck, I asked Hartwin a question. ¡°So, what does everyone plan on doing while we¡¯re here?¡±


    ¡°Well, some of them want to check the place out. But we should make plans before going. By the way, when are we setting out?¡±


    ¡°I asked Suda to escort this ship to Eventon. We¡¯ll go whenever is best, ideally when they sail out.¡±


    He nodded and stared at the crew. ¡°That¡¯s for the best. Really have to make sure they fulfill their end of the deal.¡±


    True, there was a chance that they would abandon my request, or rather, their debt payment. Some people refuse to pay their debt after all. This was my ship, it should be taken care of. If they don¡¯t decide to pay their debt, then we have ourselves in a bit of trouble, won¡¯t we? It would be tempting to undo saving their lives, you know.


    Yeah, well, to be honest, that would be easier said than done. But there¡¯s always a solution to a problem! Hehe¡­


    ¡°Indeed. If they have security, this ship will certainly reach its destination.¡±


    ¡°Well, I do feel the Suda fellow is honorable. So maybe we shouldn¡¯t have to worry.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not only Suda we have to be worried about. He¡¯s still a mere captain under the command of someone.¡±


    His mouth was agape when he came to the realization. ¡°Ah, of course. Crap. Well, let¡¯s just hope they can spare a ship or two for us. But what if they don¡¯t do it?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Then there¡¯s nothing we can do. But let¡¯s be optimistic.¡±


    He nodded.


    Eventually, I joined in the crew¡¯s discussion on what to do while here. As I expected, there were some that wanted to stay here because of fear. They had heard bad things about this archipelago, after all. But hey, at least plenty of my crew were curious enough to check out the new sight. It would be fine as long as we¡¯re careful!


    What? People die even being careful? Eh, 50-50. 50-50 they die, 50-50 they don¡¯t. So there was a chance of not getting stabbed by casually walking down the street.


    While our talk was coming to an end, Taneva suddenly walked up to me.


    ¡°Estelia, your guests are coming.¡±


    Shit.


    I headed to the boarding side of the ship, from there I caught sight of three people. One was Suda, while the other two, one woman and one man, were walking with him. The people they encountered their way were particularly careful facing them, quickly getting out of their way. The taller, well built man in particular seemed someone important, judging from his strides and formal clothes. My guess, he was the garrison commander.


    Shit, someone important shouldn¡¯t really go and meet some strangers. We were just a bunch of nobodies ¡ª well, not like I¡¯m saying I was a nobody. I¡¯m definitely not that.


    ¡°Careful, Estelia,¡± Taneva said in a low voice. I curiously glanced at him. ¡°Those two are strong.¡±


    ¡°... Oh.¡± He must be referring to the two individuals walking with Suda.


    ¡°I was a bit baffled to see how weak the soldiers we met were. But I guess, being as scouts, we shouldn¡¯t expect great strength from them.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying as if people on this land should be stronger.¡±


    Taneva nodded. ¡°Of course. This land is filled with monsters. As soldiers or just about any warrior, you can¡¯t be weak here, else you die.¡±


    Huh, of course. But I wondered how strong they were exactly.


    ¡°The sailors we met must not have faced the monsters inland,¡± he added.


    ¡°How strong are they? The warriors here.¡±


    ¡°... I can¡¯t say in this current time and generation. But I surmise you can expect a lot of the fighters here are at the level of your elite knights.¡±


    Holy shit! Nah, no way that was true. I call bullshit!


    No, wait. What did he mean by ¡®the current time and generation¡¯¡­?


    There was something shady in that part of his sentence.


    I was about to ask what he meant by that, but the guests were coming close.


    ¡°Can you beat them?¡± I asked Taneva.


    ¡°Easily.¡±


    Whew, that¡¯s a relief.


    ¡°Good. Then stay with me when I talk to them.¡±


    Taneva smirked. ¡°What? Can¡¯t talk to strangers without your papa?¡±


    I winced in disgust. ¡°Ew. Don¡¯t ever say that again.¡± I beckoned Velar over. ¡°You also stay beside me. Guard me. Apparently, these guys are dangerous.¡±


    ¡°... I understand.¡±


    If I were to face individuals at the same level as my elite knights back home, then no way I was facing them without any trustee guards. I must have confidence that I could survive in any scenario, even in just a casual or formal talk.


    And then they arrived before us. I looked down at them from my ship.


    ¡°Miss Estelia, I apologize for the wait,¡± Suda said. ¡°But please, allow me to give introductions.¡±


    The man in the middle looked up at me with wide, astonished eyes. Oh yeah, I was not veiled or anything, as it would be pointless anyway to keep hiding it when talking up close. But he was captivated to see my beautiful appearance. He seemed frozen, just staring at me.


    ¡°This is Commander Katsuo Takauji, the garrison commander of this region.¡±


    Katsuo was a tall and lean man with long, dark hair. He had a lighter brown skin, dark eyes, and an attractive face. He looked quite young, he must be around his mid to late twenties. His outfit, unlike Suda, was more clean and refined, really oozing that aura as a leader. Quite young to be a commander. Perhaps that just shows a hint of his power.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°And this is his first lieutenant, Minori Nishi.¡±


    Minori was a young woman, around early twenties. She was pretty, had long green, bright hair, light brown skin, and was a couple of inches shorter than her commander. Her formal outfit was also a bit different from Suda, but not as extravagant as Katsuo.


    She also looked at me with surprise, but I sensed sharpness in them. As if she was a bit on guard.


    I got down to the platform, and as I got closer, Katsuo straightened himself and bowed, then followed by Minori and Suda. Their bow was straight, hands to the side. Huh, I didn¡¯t expect that. Not like how it was in my kingdom. Even I was a bit baffled on what to do next. Should I bow or something? I deliberated for a moment but decided not to. Ahem, Princess Estelia is the title, you know.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Commander Katsuo Takauji.¡± I extended my hand towards him. ¡°I am Estelia.¡±


    ¡°A pleasure to meet you, Miss Estelia. And please, call me Katsuo.¡± He shook my hand. I made my grasp as tender as possible, showing my fragility. Amidst that, he glanced at Taneva and Velar as they stood behind me.


    Once we were done shaking hands, I switched to the woman. ¡°Lieutenant Minori Nishi.¡±


    She glanced at my hand for a second before shaking it. ¡°A pleasure to meet you, Miss Estelia.¡±


    Our hands let go. I lowered my gaze to look at the weapons hanging on their waists. I¡¯d been wondering about them. Katsuo only had one weapon on his waist, while Minori had two on both waist sides. Their weapons were different from the rest of us, a one edged curved sword.


    Katana?


    They were definitely katanas. Hm, I didn¡¯t see any katana on Suda¡¯s ship. Were they only used by high-ranking officials or something?


    ¡°We heard that you saved sailors of mine,¡± Katsuo said. ¡°I would like to personally extend my thanks. Without you, I would have lost good men.¡±


    I forced a gentle smile, just like how you would see during my princess era. ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Commander. But you didn¡¯t need to go out of your way to meet me. I¡¯m sure you must have a busy schedule.¡±


    ¡°Please, Miss Estelia. It is essential to give the most respect to the saviors of my soldiers. It would be insulting not doing so.¡±


    No, really, you didn¡¯t have to do this.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Also, I had made sure that any collectors wouldn''t be bothering you for docking your ship. So your ship can stay as long as you like.¡±


    I clasped my hands together. ¡°Ah, that is very helpful. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°I must say, you have an impressive ship.¡± He peered at my ship. ¡°That will stand the rough seas for a long time¡­¡± His gaze stopped. From the corner of my eyes, I discovered that he was staring at the two Cursed Children.


    ¡°Indeed,¡± I said briefly.


    ¡°Captain Suda had informed me of your story. That you were supposed to be sold as slaves, and that you won your takeover. That is excellent. You demonstrated strength.¡±


    ¡°Well, it was certainly not easy. The traffickers were no pushovers.¡±


    ¡°Traffickers?¡±


    ¡°I am aware that you allow slavery here, Commander. But where we¡¯re from, it is illegal.¡± I maintained my friendly smile.


    ¡°... Yes, I am aware of such matters. Slavers grabbing people from other continents. The government is looking into the matter. However, solving it is easier said than done.¡±


    The government, huh? Yeah, bullshit.


    ¡°Is that so? You allow slaves but your government is looking into it?¡±


    ¡°Our culture was not supposed to include people from other continents. Becoming a slave or servant was supposed to be a way to pay for your debts, or when you lose a fight with your freedom at stake. For those that had nothing, their servitude is all they can offer.¡±


    I faintly nodded. ¡°I see. I suppose things do get out of control¡­¡±


    ¡°I apologize if our ways disturb you.¡±


    I gracefully shook my hands. ¡°Oh no, you don¡¯t need to apologize. Besides, you have nothing to do with how we got here.¡±


    ¡°I understand. Anyhow, I was informed of your request for escorts.¡±


    ¡°Yes. An escort for my crew here to ensure their safe arrival back to Eventon.¡±


    His brow wrinkled slightly. ¡°Their? Do I take it that you¡¯re not coming with them?¡±


    ¡°Yes, only them.¡±


    I noticed Minori turn a glance at Katsuo, but the latter remained facing me.


    He nodded. ¡°I understand. As thanks, I will make sure your ship will have escorts. Although, I¡¯m afraid that you must give me a few days to prepare them. As you may know, we are worried about safety and security at the moment.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. We can wait for a few days. My crew is quite eager to tour around your city.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ I¡¯m curious. Why are you staying here and your crew going back? Weren¡¯t you also trafficked?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I have my reasons for staying here.¡±


    He was silent for a brief moment before nodding. ¡°... Is that so? Then be careful. Our lands are dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the concern, but I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll manage.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s alright, I would like to ask you to join a small banquet back in my fort. As thanks for saving Suda and his crew. Of course, Suda and his crew will be the only ones there to share the celebration. You can bring your guards.¡±


    I shook my hands with a wry smile. ¡°Please, I wouldn¡¯t dare trouble you.¡±


    Yeah, no way I was going in the middle of potential enemies.


    ¡°It¡¯s no trouble at all, Miss Estelia. Please, I insist.¡±


    I awkwardly chuckled. ¡°No need. What you have done so far, and the escorts, those are enough as thanks.¡±


    He seemed disappointed as he gave a nod. ¡°... Very well. Suda will inform you when everything is ready. And please, don¡¯t hesitate to tour the city. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll have something that will catch your interest.¡±


    ¡°C-Certainly. I¡¯ve been planning to.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then we shall be going. Again, thank you, and take care, Miss Estelia.¡±


    With that, they bowed and left.


    Once they were far away, I let out a sigh.


    ¡°You could have accepted the offer. It would be nice to have something to eat that is actually well made and fancy,¡± Taneva casually said to me.


    ¡°I¡¯m not stupid. It could be a trap for all we know.¡±


    ¡°Why would they trap us? There¡¯s no reason to.¡±


    ¡°Be that as it may, they are strangers. Didn¡¯t anyone ever tell you not to go inside a stranger¡¯s home?¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°We could easily take care of a garrison, you know. Me and the cursed Children are incredibly strong, and you, well there are some concerns but you¡¯ll manage.¡±


    Hey, what are you trying to say?!


    I snubbed. ¡°Whatever. Let¡¯s just keep it safe.¡±


    He slouched in disappointment. ¡°If you say so¡­ But nothing is really completely safe here¡­¡±


    ¡°With that thought! I¡¯m gonna take a look around!¡± I said with a smile. ¡°Velar, you¡¯re definitely coming with me! Taneva, stay here and defend the place.¡±


    ¡°Nuh uh, I¡¯m coming with you. I love wandering. Leave the guarding to the Cursed Children.¡±


    Heneis seemed to have heard that and shouted in a displeased tone. ¡°Taneva, we¡¯re supposed to ensure her safety!¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me!¡± He gave a thumbs up to them, but that only irritated the two cursed men.


    I sighed. ¡°Fine then. You guard the boat,¡± I said to the Cursed Children. ¡°If you¡¯re concerned about my safety, Velar and Taneva will be with me, so it¡¯s alright.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m coming with you!¡± Hartwin came running down the steps. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to be one of your companions. I can¡¯t miss you looking at a new place.¡±


    What¡­?


    He was being weird again.


    ¡°Whatever, we¡¯re going. Keep the ship safe, gang! Okay?¡±


    My crew responded in affirmative. My crew was great!


    And thus, I began walking into the city. But while I was still at the docks, I was already met with unpleasant scenes.


    ¡°Bastard, what did you call me?!¡±


    I frowned as I watched the two men go into a brawl, throwing their fists at each other.


    ¡°Yeah! Go for the upper cut!¡±


    ¡°In the balls, punch him in the balls!¡±


    And there were people cheering them on. Okay¡­ I mean, you get fights here and there, right?


    ¡°Oi! Stand up!¡±


    I saw a guy kick a man while the latter was on the floor. At his head was a box.


    ¡°I paid good money for ya! Now do your fucking job.¡± He kicked the man in the stomach.


    ¡°Y-Yes, sir!¡±


    Okay, slavery. It was an expected sight, so nothing too worrying. And then, as I was about to get out of the docks, there was a guy shivering at the side of the path. He was muttering something. He was ragged, clothes torn, hair sticky and messy, and his face was entirely grimy.


    ¡°N-Need¡­ the¡­ good stuff.¡±


    He had those crazy eyes¡­ No, he might actually be crazy! Suddenly, his eyes ended up on me.


    ¡°Woman, pretty woman! Hehehe. Wanna suck, w-wanna lick. Wanna touch, wanna h-hold.¡±


    Hey! What the hell is this little shit saying?!


    He suddenly started crawling towards me like how you see a ghost coming at someone in a horror movie!


    Eeeegh, keep that guy away from me! Someone please kick that guy so hard he turns sane!


    Before he got close, Velar kicked him in the head, instantly knocking the crazy guy out. I sighed in relief inside. Guessing that it was a mistake not to cover myself, I drew in my hood.


    ¡°Woah, I wonder what the hell happened to this guy?¡± Hartwin asked.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious? He lost his mind.¡± Velar glared at the crazy guy.


    Taneva placed a hand on his chin. ¡°Looks like he¡¯s an addict to something. Narcotics likely. Both insane and an addict.¡±


    What the hell, they have narcotics here?


    ¡°Eugh,¡± Hartwin winced. ¡°That would really fuck up the brain.¡±


    ¡°Ignore him already and let¡¯s keep going,¡± I said to them. I didn¡¯t wanna see the guy one second more!


    We continued on until we reached a street. And the fuckiness didn¡¯t end.


    ¡°The world is flat!¡± one guy kept shouting as he scurried away.


    Nuh uh, there is certainly a curvature in this world.


    Looking in another direction, there was fighting again.


    ¡°Die you little shit!¡±


    ¡°You bitch!¡±


    Looking in another direction, there was a drunkard, but he was only wearing his underwear, wobbling around the place with a bottle in hand. And his thin body, but plump belly, didn¡¯t help with the sight.


    I shifted my gaze, and what I saw made me feel a bit disgusted. At a small alley, not even that far away from the street, there was a man and woman. And they were, um, really got it going there. The guy standing up, while the woman kneeling right in front of the man¡¯s¡­ um¡­ Basically the woman was giving the man a¡ª Ugh, whatever you get it.


    I just ignored that sight. I mean, why on the street?! In broad daylight?! What? Too broke to afford a fucking room?! Get the fuck out of my sight!


    I walked away and continued walking down the street.


    More fighting. But this one was most intense.


    ¡°Oraaaah!¡±


    ¡°Weak ass!¡±


    There were guys with weapons fighting each other. Magical slashes flew in different directions. Magic spells as well ¡ª plain magic, fire, ice, lightning. They wrecked all things around them, even damaging buildings.


    And suddenly, in the distance, I noticed some rooftop pieces getting flung off into the air. Smoke and fire started rising. I couldn¡¯t help but be shocked and confused. I was dumbstruck. I expected at least a relatively tolerable place of fuckery. But not this fuckery! With people literally fucking! And buildings were even on fire! I just got here, and this city was already in chaos!


    Goddammit! No one told me I¡¯m in Ohio!


    Hey, I had to do it¡­

 Vol. 4 Chapter 61: A Ship of Monsters

    Katsuo, the garrison commander, arrived at the gates of the fort not far from the center of the city. It lay beside the sea, and several naval ships were stationed all around. It was a large fort, secured with tall, thick, and durable walls, which had stood for centuries. If someone would even dare to attack this place, it would be the most foolish thing they could have done. Not only did they have to destroy the sturdy walls, but also face the hundreds of soldiers inside, not to mention the ships stationed around the perimeter.


    The commander turned towards Captain Suda. Suda was one of the many, not someone particularly notable nor strong. Merely someone who was meant to be a scout. He was a person that Katsuo would not normally personally interact with but whose name he would only see in the reports. However, this time, he and his crew got unlucky.


    As many as his soldiers may be, and he might be unable to know every single one personally, Katsuo still valued those under him. It was tragic that the scouts suffered losses. Their purpose was only meant to monitor the current sea activities and perhaps spot pirate routes. Nothing that was supposed to be dangerous. But perhaps they had riled up the pirates enough after declaring them enemies and eliminating them on sight.


    ¡°Captain Suda, are you done bringing out all your crew members that died?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. They should be at one of our stations in the city by now.¡±


    Katsuo nodded. ¡°Then it¡¯s time to let their families know.¡±


    There was a hint of hesitation in Suda¡¯s eyes. ¡°... Yes, sir.¡±


    Katsuo understood his hesitation. It was never easy to deliver the bad news, even more so about the loss of a family member.


    With that, Suda left and headed back into the city.


    The gates into the fort opened. Katsuo, along with Minori following beside him, entered. Inside were soldiers of the city. Although, at the moment, the area was not filled with soldiers. Many of them were deployed to the ocean, while the others were sent out on patrol outside the city to exterminate monsters that got close to the city region.


    The soldiers saluted as they went by. On the way to the main building, Katsuo encountered one of his personal lieutenants.


    ¡°Greetings, Lord Katsuo.¡± The grinning young man casually greeted with a short salute. ¡°Did you meet those guys?¡±


    ¡°Jin, you¡¯re here.¡±


    The young man was Jin Rei, nineteen years old. He had short black hair and black eyes. On his back was a single short katana, and tied along his belt and leg were small blades. He wore dark, and fit clothes that promoted mobility and dark leather armor to serve as protection. He was among Katsuo¡¯s most trusted aides. Unlike Minori, who trained in direct confrontation as a warrior, Jin Rei was a ninja.


    Despite his young age, he had surpassed his peers as someone who was trained ever since he was a small child. He had slain countless monsters and people, which only served to enhance his abilities as time went on. He was among the best when it came to assassinations, or covert operations. When Katsuo went out to fight monsters, Jin¡¯s role was most often striking the monster¡¯s weakness or delivering a critical blow. Other than that, he would also keep watch of the surroundings for any surprising elements.


    He was also the one Suda first reported to upon arriving and then delivered the news to Katsuo.


    Katsuo nodded. ¡°Yes, I did.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± He casually placed both arms behind his head. ¡°You should have brought me along. I was quite curious myself, you know.¡±


    Minori frowned. ¡°How many times do I have to keep teaching you? Use formal speech when talking to the commander! And fix your posture!¡±


    ¡°Ek.¡± Jin quickly took a step back. ¡°Come on, Minori. I told you it¡¯s pointless.¡±


    ¡°What kind of ninja doesn¡¯t even show a bit of respect to their master?¡± Minori glared at him.


    ¡°Hey now, I do respect Lord Katsuo.¡±


    ¡°Well, you need to show it.¡±


    ¡°Nuh uh, I¡¯m never doing that superficial talk.¡±


    She placed a hand on one of her katanas. ¡°Superficial?¡± In an instant, there was a flash of steel, cleaving smoothly through the air.


    Jin froze as he watched a strand of his hair fall from his head, a wry smile trembled on his face.


    ¡°Ooooh! What the heck?!¡± He quickly stepped back with raised hands.


    ¡°That was a warning,¡± Minori said curtly as she sheathed back her katana.


    ¡°A warning for what?!¡±


    ¡°For insulting speech and language. Our words are among the first shows of respect. It is how people measure us. Your neglect of using formal language to the commander damages his image.¡±


    ¡°Hey now¡­ You¡¯re being too dramatic.¡±


    Katsuo sighed. They were often like this, but he allowed them to quarrel. They would even outright fight. But Katsuo just let them fight depending on the setting, for it would develop their skills. But considering it was mostly direct battles, Minori would always win. But Jin just never learned his lessons.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Katsuo said to them. ¡°I would like to collect our thoughts. Let¡¯s go to my office.¡±


    They reached a large building with multiple stories. Staff were inside, working on different reports and documents. Although they were not exactly flooded with paperwork. Not too few, not too many. Even as Katsuo went past them, the staff continued their work.


    One female office worker approached Katsuo as he was about to climb up the stairs.


    ¡°Excuse me, commander.¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°We received a message from the city governor. He wishes to speak with you.¡±


    ¡°I see. We¡¯ll continue about the matter later. For now, I have an important matter to discuss with my lieutenants.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    With that, he continued on upstairs.


    ¡°I wonder what the governor wants now,¡± Jin said.


    ¡°Likely guard his caravan again,¡± Minori answered.


    A moment later, they arrived at Katsuo¡¯s office. It was a plain and standard office. Not a sign of any personal decorations or objects. Katsuo just wasn¡¯t the kind of person to personalize a workspace. But perhaps he was not too different when it came to his home in the capital city.


    He removed his sheathed katana from his waist and carefully placed it on its stand on a pedestal. Afterward, he sat down on the chair behind his desk, and his two aides stood in front of him. He clasped his hands together as he rested his elbows on the desk.


    ¡°I want to talk about the new people that arrived.¡±


    ¡°Oh, them.¡± Jin placed his hands behind his head. ¡°Why did you go out of your way to meet them, anyway?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, you did not need to waste your time.¡± Minori nodded.


    ¡°The reason I gave is true. I wish to thank them for saving my men.¡±


    Katsuo, in his honorable way, would always want to give thanks when warranted. And saving his men was a significant thing, even more so when the saviors were complete strangers from different lands.


    ¡°We could have suffered the loss of an entire ship¡¯s crew. But such was averted, thank goodness. Although¡­¡± He leaned his back on the chair. ¡°There is another reason¡­ the report intrigued me.¡±


    Minori tilted her head. ¡°Intrigued you?¡±


    ¡°Civilians saved a naval ship. They could have ignored it but they helped¡­¡± Katsuo lowered his head with narrow eyes, thinking. ¡°And they obliterated the pirate ship. Such a strange thing to do.¡±


    Anyone with sense would rather avoid trouble than risk dying or sinking. Any other than that would either be foolish or just plain heroic. Indeed, heroic, but there seemed to be more to it than meets the eye. Heroic people are incredibly rare. In contrast, self gratification could also be a reason one acts on something.


    ¡°Is it?¡± Jin asked in a low tone.


    Katsuo looked Minori in the eye, a serious expression on his face. ¡°Did you sense it, Minori?¡± It was something that caused him to tense up, as if he was in the fields of beasts. ¡°The danger in there.¡±


    Minori placed a hand on her katana. ¡°... Yes. That crew is dangerous.¡±


    Jin looked at the two of them in confusion. ¡°Woah, what could scare you?¡±


    Minori frowned at him. ¡°It¡¯s not fear, but rather¡­ my sense of danger kicked in.¡±


    Katsuo nodded. ¡°There are powerful beings on that ship.¡±


    Minori had fought countless monsters in her life. She was too familiar with danger, and she had sharpened her instincts that allowed her to sense how dangerous a place could be. Being watched by monsters all the time as you venture the land, you would grow the senses necessary to survive.


    Katsuo was the same. His survival instincts were warning him as he got near that ship. There were monsters among them, too powerful even for him.


    ¡°There were two men that stood on the ship,¡± Katsuo continued. ¡°They may look like normal humans, but I sense the presence of monsters. Not too different from the ones we encounter outside the city.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Minori nodded. ¡°I didn¡¯t like the way they looked at us. It¡¯s like a beast¡¯s ready to pounce at the slightest provocation.¡±


    ¡°Hey now, you¡¯re worrying me here.¡± Jin lowered his hands.


    Katsuo understood why he felt worried. Both Katsuo and Minori were among the best warriors. To make them this wary meant something serious was going on. And indeed, those two that remained on the ship were strange and dangerous. The first time he laid eyes on them, he almost wanted to reach out for his blade, but he kept his composure.


    ¡°Not only them,¡± Katsuo said. ¡°The two men that met us, one was obviously a warrior, a strong one at that. The bronze haired man, however, I felt uneasy.¡±


    ¡°Yes. He looked deceitfully weak at a glance. But I can sense power from him. I felt like I wouldn¡¯t even stand a chance fighting him.¡±


    ¡°He might as well be a monster, too. His eyes held no wariness or fear whatsoever. It almost felt like he was ready for anything.¡±


    ¡°And then there¡¯s the girl, their leader.¡± Minori¡¯s face stiffened.


    ¡°Yes, her.¡± Katsuo recalled that divine visage. A face that would leave an enormous mark on one¡¯s mind, one that would find its way into your heart when you¡¯re not on guard.


    ¡°Girl?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s the strangest of them all,¡± Minori said. ¡°In a phrase, the brightest light among them. I¡¯ve never seen someone so¡­¡±


    ¡°So beautiful, almost godly.¡± Katsuo clasped his hands together.


    Jin¡¯s face turned to shock the moment he heard those words from his commander. Katsuo was never one to openly compliment a woman''s beauty this much. He was an attractive man, and many women had come to approach him. He had seen all kinds of beauty there was for a woman. But for him to describe a girl with godly beauty, it was too shocking.


    ¡°Surely she can¡¯t be that beautiful¡­?¡± Jin asked with a hesitation.


    Minori shook her head. ¡°She is beautiful, utterly beautiful. It puts all women to shame.¡±


    ¡°... Like you¡­?¡± It was a risky statement that he prepared himself for a hit. However, it never came when Minori nodded her head.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­¡±


    ¡°Long and white majestic hair, completely in contrast to our dark lands. Eyes as deep and red as blood. Skin so pale. Such traits I have never seen before,¡± Katsuo described. ¡°But that¡¯s not all. There is something off with that young lady.¡±


    ¡°That she seems completely weak?¡± Minori responded.


    ¡°Is that all you sensed, Minori?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    Katsuo formed a small smile. ¡°She seemed weak at first, but I sensed something else. It felt like she was both weak and not. Like there¡¯s something more about her.¡±


    Truth be told, it baffled him. His sense of danger was confused. He was able to measure up the others, but when it came to her, it was different. There was certainly something off with that girl.


    ¡°She is more enigmatic to me than the rest of her crew.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t people always show their strength? How come such a girl can become their leader?¡± Jin asked. ¡°Could it be that she wasn¡¯t the leader at all and we¡¯ve been misled?¡±


    One must always show strength. That was how it was to maintain a good position as a leader of a group. If you were weak, then you would have no respect. At least, that was how it commonly worked in their lands.


    ¡°I doubt it,¡± Katsuo answered. ¡°There¡¯s no point hiding it. And I noticed the faith in the eyes of their other crew members. Faith in her.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    And Katsuo continued. ¡°And there is not much point in showing strength to strangers when you have already shown it to your allies. You¡¯d already have their admiration.¡±


    ¡°... Has something like this happened before? A ship of powerful people arriving?¡±


    ¡°Nothing that we know of,¡± Minori answered.


    ¡°There¡¯s no point thinking about whether this had happened before. But it is strange for those kinds of powerful people to come here all at once.¡±


    ¡°Then what purpose do they have here?¡± Jin asked.


    ¡°The girl, Estelia, wasn¡¯t keen on sharing any specific details about that. I invited her for a banquet to probe more about it, but she rejected my invitation.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s also wary of us?¡±


    ¡°I suppose.¡±


    Jin placed a hand on his chin. ¡°Maybe we don¡¯t have to worry much about them. They¡¯re likely good people. I mean, they saved a ship of ours.¡±


    ¡°... Maybe.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t be too sure,¡± Katsuo said. ¡°Remember the report? What happened to the pirate ship?¡±


    ¡°The pirate ship was destroyed,¡± Jin answered.


    ¡°Destroyed by whom?¡±


    Jin¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°By the leader of the crew that saved our men.¡±


    ¡°Yes. I have doubts whether they are truly a peaceful and heroic group. To obliterate a pirate ship all alone, not giving the pirates a chance to surrender. Is that not a trait of someone who wants to inflict destruction?¡±


    In this land, there were many kinds of dangerous monsters, and people as well. And a lot of them just wanted to cause as much destruction as possible. And most of the time, these people would spare not a scrap of mercy. Some just want to see the world burn.


    The two aides fell silent.


    Katsuo let out a short sigh. ¡°All in all, they¡¯re dangerous elements. And while they¡¯re here in the city, we must be wary of them.¡±


    ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Minori asked.


    ¡°I want them watched, observed.¡± Katsuo turned towards Jin. ¡°You¡¯re the most skilled and stealthiest man I know. I trust that you¡¯ll carry out this task perfectly.¡±


    Jin smiled confidently. ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll keep my strict eyes on them.¡±


    Jin was the finest and most skillful ninja in his forces. Even Katsuo would struggle to detect him when he decides to tail or watch him. He believed that he would be the best fit for this kind of mission.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 62: In the City of Mahana

    In a remote location, a distance away from the nearest city was a base. A base of dangerous bandits, savage and crude, ones who would hold not a shred of mercy to their victims, nor their slaves. It was a base in rough terrain, scattered around it were dead trees without leaves. Indeed, dead but somehow still growing, as if they were nourished by the foulness of the land. Trees that provided nothing but blight, not a contribution to the world, not even fresh air.


    The surface was plain black dirt, with some grayish short grasses that somehow managed to grow. But, one ought to expect for them to wither away any day. Nature may persevere and find a way to grow, but not for long. As what it should be as a land forsaken by the grace of the gods.


    The bandit base consisted of small buildings made of stone and wood from the trees that still grew on this barren land. But there was a main building made of wood, some sort of warehouse. The bandit boss¡¯s home, in other words. And his personal storage room.


    No one was to enter it without his permission.


    Currently, it was day. And inside this warehouse was a special cage. The metal bars were made of black metal that disrupted anything magical it touches. Inside of that cage was a young girl, who appeared to be around ten years old. She was wearing ragged clothes. But calling them clothes was putting it generously. It would be more accurate to consider it as a single piece of cloth put on her. Her skin was of a light brown complexion. She was dirty and grimy. Her long, dark hair was messy and dusty. Her lifeless, empty amber eyes stared into space.


    In the same room, she could hear groans, sobbing, and moaning of despair. The bandit boss chuckled with pleased and satisfied breathing.


    ¡°Hah-hah¡­ You¡¯re performing a bit better, aren¡¯t ya?¡± He caressed the face of a naked woman before moving away.


    He stepped backward as he beheld the scene before him with a proud smirk. There was a large floor bed. On them were several naked women in rough states. Some of them were tied, the more resistant ones. While the rest were untied, could freely move, but had already given up on life and had accepted their fate. The fate of being sex slaves. They were a variety of flavors ¡ª there were those in their late teens, early twenties, or in their mid teens. Some of them were sold, some were kidnapped. But they all shared the same fate, and they would never go back home. Here they were to remain as joy toys until their host grew tired of them.


    The young girl in the cage shifted her eyes towards the bandit boss. The bandit approached a girl and grasped her cheeks.


    ¡°You rested enough yet?¡± He suddenly forced his lips into hers. The girl writhed, but to no avail. ¡°Haha! That¡¯s the spirit. But too bad, I¡¯m a bit tired.¡± He groped the butt of another. ¡°I need some time to recharge, so wait up, aight?¡±


    He caressed the bodies of the girls nearest him and fondled their chests before stepping back. The slaves did nothing but remained laying on the floor bed. There was no point in doing anything else.


    The bandit boss casually stretched.


    ¡°Uh, yeah. Never gonna get sick doing this.¡± He moved around still naked.


    A moment later, his gaze ended up on the cage. The girl inside flinched. Slowly approaching her, the bandit smirked and grabbed a metal stick with a sharp point.


    ¡°Hey there little monster. Everything good?¡±


    The girl didn¡¯t answer.


    ¡°Oh? Is it getting boring already?¡± He approached closer. ¡°Well, I need time to cool off anyway.¡±


    He slammed the metal stick on the cage, and the girl flinched with evident fear in the loud sudden sound. The bandit slammed the metal again, an amused smile curled on his face, entertained by the girl¡¯s reaction. The girl trembled.


    ¡°Aaaw, you¡¯re scared? Haha!¡± He suddenly stabbed the metal stick into the cage, the sharp edge piercing the girl¡¯s skin.


    ¡°Ah!¡± The girl yelped as she retracted her wounded shoulder.


    ¡°Oh come on, it¡¯s nothing.¡± He stabbed the stick again, hitting the girl in the chest.


    ¡°Mm!¡±


    He stabbed and stabbed, more and more blood spilled to the cage¡¯s floor. She wanted to move further away, but this was a small cage just fitting for a small person like her. There was nowhere else she could go.


    More and more holes were pierced into her flesh. And then, the bandit stopped with a grin, watching her closely.


    The girl¡¯s wounds began to close and heal, as if they were never there before.


    ¡°Amazing! Really amazing. I can really do anything with you and you''ll recover! Just what kind of monster are you?!¡±


    He pierced the metal into her body once again several times. But each time, her wounds would rapidly heal. The girl, unable to endure the pain, her body involuntarily turned to black fog. The fog moved around inside, and when her fog touched the metal of the cage, her fog trembled. She couldn¡¯t get past the metal cage.


    The bandit slammed the metal stick on the cage. ¡°Hey! Return to normal, now!¡± he shouted in anger and irritation.


    But the girl didn¡¯t comply. Electricity cackled in his hand. He poked a finger through the cage and cast the magic. Electricity shone and engulfed the fog.


    ¡°AAAAHHH!¡±


    The girl cried in agony as she returned to her tangible form. Her body smoked, flesh burned. She took in labored breaths, her shoulders going up and down. Her tears streamed down her cheeks as she did her all to bear the pain.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ever do that again! You fucking understand you little shit?!¡±


    The bandit stabbed the girl again dozens more times.


    But, no matter how many deadly wounds were inflicted upon her, she would regenerate without limit. Such as her nature as an undying monster of the night.


    ***


    Yup, this place is not safe for the crew at all.


    I had never seen such a rowdy, tumultuous, debaucherous place since Vegas! That place might as well be called saintly compared to this place ¡ª or not¡­? Imagine me calling that city saintly, where are my manners. Every place has its charm, I guess.


    Anyway, this place was not safe at all. It felt like someone would just pop up and stab me from out of nowhere. As we were walking down the street, we had to keep our guard up. I was aware it was dangerous, but we were out here to sightsee. So, of course, we would be walking around to check out the place. Even I was curious. Learn to enjoy the things around you, enjoy the process, enjoy the journey. Otherwise, it would be so empty.


    I glanced at the soil. First I saw them, I was in disbelief for a moment to see that the soil was indeed black. Like all luster was just taken off the land. I thought that Taneva was exaggerating a bit, but yeah, the soil was literally black. Not just any metaphor that the land was dead or something.


    As we continued on walking down the street like tourists, I could feel the multiple stares coming from different directions. There were some through the windows of the buildings, and some were outright staring at us from the corner of the street. It didn¡¯t feel like we were welcome. Well, considering how lawless this city appeared to be, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if people were a bit territorial or cautious of strangers.


    But we did stick out like a sore thumb.


    ¡°Hello there.¡± A seductively looking woman waved at us with an inviting smile. My guess, she was a prostitute. ¡°Want to have a good time?¡± Yup, see that?


    Velar and Taneva ignored her for the most part, but it was an entirely different case for the fucking bard who came along with us. Hartwin waved back with a grin. I pointed a sharp, narrowed eye at him.


    Hey, no time for that shit.


    Hartwin seemed to have sensed my gaze. He flinched and immediately straightened himself. Looking at me, he mildly scratched the back of his head with a wry smile.


    ¡°I-I have to say,¡± Hartwin tried to shift the focus away from him. ¡°This place is quite¡­ um, unique.¡±


    Velar glanced at a group of armed men looking at us. ¡°I can¡¯t lower my guard here. I feel like we would get attacked at any moment.¡±


    I felt the same. And there were a lot of armed men here. Could it be that a lot of people could fight here? In this city? Or worse, the entire country?


    ¡°I have never been to a place like this before,¡± Hartwin said. ¡°Even the slums back on the continent are way better than here.¡±


    ¡°Hey now, lower your voice when degrading them,¡± Taneva warned. ¡°They might take offense.¡±


    I quietly scoffed. ¡°Take offense? Of the truth? How stupid. At least they should realize how crappy it is to live like this.¡± There was no way I would live in a place like this shithole. If I was, I¡¯d leave.


    ¡°It¡¯s just the way it is for them. Life is hard in these lands,¡± Taneva said. ¡°Live in a savage land, you live savagely, as one might say.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°I wonder how they even survived this long.¡±


    If this was such a crappy place, I would have expected that all humans had died out centuries ago. Or at least, they could have left for other lands across the sea in search of a better life. But I guess there are just some people that don¡¯t wanna leave the place of their birth. And not like moving to another land would make it instantly and easily easier for you.


    Taneva smiled. ¡°That¡¯s human nature for you. Perseverance is among our best aspects.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s perseverance without effort to make things better than before?¡±


    If you loved a place too much, you should have made things better. And this was just plain crappy. Don¡¯t judge a place where you¡¯re not from? Fuck that, I¡¯m judging shit if there¡¯s something to be judged. I mean, look at this place, and you expect me not to judge? If it¡¯s truly crap, I¡¯ll think it¡¯s crap.


    ¡°If it counts, things seem to be a bit better compared to the last time I was here. Around a century ago, trading wasn¡¯t as big as this. So that¡¯s progress, no matter how little.¡±


    Wait, what did he just say?


    Velar, Hartwin, and I paused, noticing the same strange thing from his sentence. We all stared at Taneva.


    ¡°What?¡± He looked at us with a confused look.


    I directed a sharp look directly into his eyes and asked a question. ¡°Did you just say a century ago?¡±


    ¡°... Yes, I did.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been here a century ago?¡±


    I scrutinized him from up and down. There was no way, he looked too young.


    ¡°Oh! He-he¡­¡± He awkwardly laughed. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you yet? I¡¯m immortal.¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡±


    I was in disbelief.


    ¡°You¡¯re not human?¡± I warily asked.


    ¡°Oh I¡¯m human, just cursed to live for eternity.¡±


    He was so casual about it.


    ¡°Wait, how old are you?¡± Hartwin asked.


    ¡°Honestly, I¡¯ve lost count. But more than a couple of millennia.¡±


    My eyes widened. A couple of millennia?! That¡¯s ridiculous. That¡¯s ridiculously long ago. How was that even possible? I was in shock. And he never even mentioned it. Dammit, no wonder he seemed powerful. He was thousands of years old.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t think of ever mentioning that part?¡± I asked him in a displeased tone.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± He shrugged awkwardly. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t take me kindly if I told you that from the beginning.¡±


    I groaned. ¡°What else are you hiding?¡±


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not that big of a deal, you know.¡±


    ¡°It is a big deal.¡± I tried not to shout in this place. ¡°You¡¯ll have to explain more about that immortality stuff later.¡±


    ¡°Eh, sure. But really, you have nothing to worry about from me.¡±


    I looked away and continued on. Considering that he hid that crucial information about himself from me was displeasing. I threatened to kill him, you know. If he was immortal, then it was an entirely pointless threat. Taneva just became a force that I would be completely incapable of defeating. And that was what I was always worried about.


    But fuck, whatever. At least for now, he¡¯s on my side.


    Suddenly, a door from a particular building burst open, and someone was thrown out to the ground.


    ¡°Get lost, pig snot!¡± The man at the front door shouted before walking back inside. Loud laughter could be heard from the inside.


    The man on the ground slowly got up, wobbling around, obviously drunk. ¡°Ah, what a bunch of pricks.¡± The dirty man began walking away.


    I returned my eyes to the building, and there was a wooden sign. Carved on it was a pint of bear, well, a rough drawing, that is.


    ¡°Ooh, a bar?¡± Hartwin seemed particularly interested. ¡°Anyone got some coins? I have a few, but I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s enough.¡±


    ¡°Are you seriously planning on drinking right now?¡± Velar asked with a frown.


    ¡°We can¡¯t?¡±


    Taneva clapped his hands. ¡°Oh, I wonder if they had made a new brew of liquor. Let¡¯s check it out.¡±


    Huh?


    ¡°Certainly not,¡± I said.


    ¡°Oh come on, Estelia. Have a little fun. You¡¯re gonna be immortal soon as well. A little tip, enjoy the little sights.¡±


    I know that¡­ But I have standards and interests.


    I looked at him with a sour expression, but he disregarded me and began walking to the bar.


    ¡°So, let¡¯s go!¡± Taneva waved inward.


    Hartwin then directed a pleading gaze at me. The bastard almost looked like a puppy that was waiting to be fed.


    I let out a resigning sigh. ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s just not get into any trouble.¡±


    Although considering how fucked up this place was, I doubt we could avoid that for long.


    A bar¡­ At least I know we should avoid a brawl.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go!¡± Hartwin immediately made his way inside the bar.


    Velar and I followed behind.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 63: Brief Bar Drinking

    Moving forward I opened the doors, it was similar to the swinging doors you would see at saloons in those cowboy movies. Of course, as you would expect, the people inside instantly directed their sharp gazes at us. The room had a dangerous vibe around it.


    The people sitting down on their seats by their tables were all dangerous looking as well. They had weapons, swords big and small. All rough looking, some with scars on their faces. Dammit, it couldn¡¯t have been a normal bar. This place was definitely a place where warriors hang around. I blame both Taneva and Hartwin for this. I saw them already sitting down at the counter.


    Hartwin seemed to have noticed the subtle tension and was a bit on guard from the numerous stare. Taneva, on the other hand, was obviously disregarding everything, like he didn¡¯t care at all. Shit, that could explain his casual vibe, being immortal makes any threat puny.


    Velar subtly groaned beside me, it would seem he disliked the danger this place posed. The struggles of a bodyguard. I continued on as smoke blew past me. There was one guy holding a lit pipe, and the smoke didn¡¯t smell like any tobacco I knew. Was it even tobacco? Huh, likely it was not. But it was annoying, it was obstructing my air.


    I let out a breath and subtly controlled the air to clean what was in front of me. I noticed one warrior staring at me and was the closest flinch.


    What? He noticed it?


    I didn¡¯t expect that someone would notice I used magic. My casting should have been excellent. Hmmm¡­ I had been curious about the standard strength in this place. Perhaps Taneva was right that a lot of people here were as strong as my elite knights back home. How troublesome.


    ¡°Beer, please. For the two of us,¡± Taneva casually said to the barkeeper.


    Hartwin patted his pockets. ¡°Oh yeah, what currency do you accept here?¡±


    The barkeeper, a well-built man, beardy, and with a sharp glare, grabbed a pair of dark brown wooden mugs. ¡°As long as it''s a copper coin, we take it.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Hartwin nodded. ¡°Looks like the material of the coin is what matters here.¡±


    On the continent, each major nation had their own currency, but everyone would just accept it, nonetheless. Besides, all the coins should have more or less the same amount of copper, silver, or gold. Made things simpler. And they were on the same continent, so it was quite expected we would accept each other¡¯s currency. From what I heard, though, Tornridge does not accept any other currency but their own, but they¡¯re pieces of shit. How bothersome it would be to convert it first.


    Anyway, as this was separate from the continent of where we were from, we expected a bit that they would prefer to use their own currency. But adding to it the demand of the harbormaster, it would seem as long as it was made of genuine material, it was fine.


    I sat down on the chair next to the two. ¡°It feels like we¡¯re not welcome here,¡± I whispered to Taneva beside me. ¡°Don¡¯t take too long.¡±


    Taneva smirked. ¡°Now, now, let¡¯s take it slow and savor what we consume. Especially in a new place.¡±


    I let out a sigh.


    Taneva turned towards Velar, who was standing behind me. ¡°Want a drink, big guy?¡±


    Velar shook his head. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°I see. Have a job to do, I understand.¡±


    I smiled proudly. ¡°Don¡¯t tempt my guard, Taneva. It won¡¯t work.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, oh well.¡±


    The barkeeper put down beer filled mugs in front of Taneva and Hartwin. The latter grabbed the mug and sniffed.


    ¡°That¡¯s a weird smell. Almost herbal.¡± He looked caught off guard, it was not what he was expecting.


    Taneva took a sip. ¡°... Hm. It¡¯s the same liquor as last time.¡± He sounded a bit disappointed.


    Hartwin drank a little from this mug. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s not that bad, aside from the strange smell. But it¡¯s just not what I¡¯m used to.¡±


    Taneva drank a little as well. ¡°It¡¯s not that bad, but I was expecting something else.¡±


    ¡°So you have a preference,¡± I casually said to Taneva.


    He shrugged with a smile. ¡°Not really. When I travel around, I like to taste what liquors they can offer. Local liquors. Where you¡¯re from, I love the variety of wine you make up. Nice job on that.¡±


    I blinked my eyes. ¡°... Thanks¡­¡± I didn¡¯t really have a role in that. It had been part of the Wisterian ways to make a lot of wines. But still, I was the princess, so why not take the praise?


    ¡°Where does this come from anyway?¡± Hartwin asked the barkeeper.


    ¡°... From the local cactus.¡±


    ¡°Cactus?¡±


    ¡°Smash and squeeze it, you get the alcohol.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± Hartwin nodded. ¡°I guess that explains the herbal smell.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Taneva turned to the barkeeper. ¡°Hey barkeep, don¡¯t you have anything else aside from this? I already tasted this one.¡±


    That seemed to irritate the barkeeper. ¡°You guys are not from these parts, are you?¡± He gave us a stern gaze.


    ¡°Why?¡± Taneva asked. ¡°Does it matter? I was just wondering if you have anything else other than this.¡±


    ¡°Any other kind of alcohol is hard to come by. That is not easily provided to a bunch of strangers.¡±


    Huh. It would seem their other special kinds of liquors were only for their usual and familiar customers. Or for the locals. It was already uncommon for them to have one, it wouldn¡¯t be pleasant to give it to a bunch of strangers or travelers. They valued themselves more.


    ¡°Now that is just disappointing,¡± Taneva said. ¡°And here I thought as long as we pay, you provide.¡±


    ¡°Our locals will pay in the end, not just you.¡±


    Taneva sipped from his mug. ¡°... You must have liquor from other continents. Is that right?¡±


    The barkeeper didn¡¯t answer, but that silence made it obvious. Considering that traders come and go here, there must be ones that came from a continent aside from ours.


    ¡°Can¡¯t share even just a little?¡± Taneva added.


    ¡°Oi, can¡¯t you bastards stop pestering already?!¡± One guy from behind us suddenly stood up and began stomping towards us. Judging from the way he dressed and the weapon on his back, he was a warrior. ¡°Even we want the taste of different kinds of drink. So shut the fuck up!¡±


    Goddammit Taneva, we¡¯re already starting a fight?


    This was the one thing I wanted to avoid! And somehow, I wasn¡¯t that too surprised.


    Taneva lowered his mug. ¡°No need to be so rude, little man.¡± Uh oh, that man was not little at all. ¡°Stop shouting, it¡¯s unnecessary. It grates my ears.¡±


    ¡°You foreign bastard¡­¡±


    The barkeeper audibly cleared his throat. ¡°That¡¯s enough. We don¡¯t serve our special alcohol to tourists.¡±


    Taneva heaved out a sigh. ¡°Again, that¡¯s disappointing. I imagine they might be expensive. Can these guys even afford it?¡±


    ¡°You mocking us, you shit?!¡±


    A couple more warriors stood up to approach us, they must be that guy¡¯s friends. They glared at Taneva.


    ¡°Not at all. Just asking. It¡¯s just not always I get here, you know.¡±


    ¡°Where are you bunch of pig shits from, anyway?¡±


    I turned a glance at the guy. Motherfucker just called me pig shit? Me?


    ¡°That is none of your business, shit-eating rat.¡±


    ¡°What did you just say?!¡±


    The barkeeper slammed a wooden mug, stopping the tension and hostility from growing any further. The warrior guy clenched his fists, glaring at Taneva. The latter merely smirked mockingly. What a fucking troublemaker.


    ¡°Taneva¡­¡± I whispered. ¡°Hold yourself. I would prefer things not to get violent.¡±


    Taneva shrugged and drank from his mug.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± The warrior guy directed his eyes towards me. ¡°You¡¯re listening to this woman here? Obeying like a little puppy?¡±


    Taneva merely chuckled and ignored him, but that only served to rile the man up further. The man moved over to the side and scrutinized me with narrow and suspicious eyes.


    ¡°Quite slender, pretty hair, and nice skin. Like a true lady. You don¡¯t belong to a place like this¡­¡±


    I sighed internally, pulling my hood further and looking away. I ain¡¯t gonna be the cause of any trouble here.


    Taneva lowered his mug. ¡°Oh, I wouldn¡¯t want to mess with her.¡±


    ¡°Haha! Oh yeah? I¡¯ll mess her up alright. Wassup, little lady?¡±


    I¡¯m not little, you fuck.


    He held out his hand, about to try to grab me. But before he could reach me, Velar grasped his wrist in an instant. The warrior¡¯s allies swiftly pointed their blades at Velar from behind. Velar paused, looking at the blades from the corner of his eyes, but kept a firm grasp on the warrior.


    ¡°Oi! Let go of me!¡± The man¡¯s vein bulged on his neck and forehead as he angrily glared at Velar.


    Velar glared at the warrior. ¡°Do not touch the mistress with your filthy hands.¡±


    He forcefully shoved the man away, and he was sent tumbling to the floor.


    The man quickly straightened himself. ¡°You bastard!¡± With visible anger, the man was about to charge at Velar.


    However, Hartwin suddenly got in the way.


    ¡°Woah, woah!¡± He waved his arms between them. ¡°What about let¡¯s all calm down? You¡¯re giving trouble to the owner, you know.¡± Hartwin formed a wide and nervous smile. ¡°So let¡¯s take a deep breath and let¡¯s be more friendly.¡±


    The warrior directed a frown at Hartwin, but at least it interrupted the fight that was about to unfold.


    ¡°Causing conflict would ruin the flavor of our beers and food. So let¡¯s be peaceful and enjoy the nourishments on our tables.¡±


    As expected of our poet! He knew how to calm the crowd down.


    ¡°Let¡¯s lower our weapons, shall we?¡± He turned towards the men who were pointing their weapons at Velar. ¡°There¡¯s no need to escalate. Let¡¯s just forget what happened and start over. Or best, just ignore each other.¡±


    The annoying warrior snorted and scoffed before nodding his head at his allies. They lowered their weapons.


    ¡°I won¡¯t forget this. And I won¡¯t forget you, little lady,¡± the warrior said before returning to his table, along with his friends.


    Hartwin sighed before returning to his seat. ¡°We almost got in trouble on our first day.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s amusing how unnecessarily aggressive people are,¡± Taneva quietly said to us with an amused chuckle. ¡°And sometimes I just want to aggravate them.¡±


    ¡°Just drink up your beer,¡± I said to him before turning to the barkeeper. ¡°I apologize for the trouble.¡±


    The barkeeper nodded. ¡°Good thing things didn¡¯t end up in a fight.¡±


    I faintly nodded. ¡°Indeed, I feared the damage that it might have caused to your bar.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a soft-spoken lady. This place is not fit for a girl like you.¡±


    I smiled ever so slightly. ¡°We all sometimes end up in the most unexpected places in our lives.¡±


    ¡°Wise words.¡±


    I looked around, and my gaze ended up on a board with a sheet of paper pinned on it. A face was drawn on it, the writing however, I couldn¡¯t understand. But there were numbers. They used the same writing for numbers as on the continent, huh?


    But the paper overall almost looked familiar.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I asked the barkeeper, pointing at the paper on the board.


    ¡°That? A bounty.¡±


    As I thought, a bounty.


    I stood up and approached the board. I took a closer look at the sketch.


    ¡°What does it say? Is it to kill or capture?¡±


    ¡°To kill the target.¡±


    Kill the target¡­ Assassinate?


    ¡°Who is the target?¡±


    ¡°A bandit leader that¡¯s been giving a lot of trouble lately. A dangerous fellow.¡±


    Interesting.


    ¡°You manage this bounty?¡±


    ¡°What? Interested? It¡¯s only here to notify any interested party. But to turn the bounty in, you have to get to the Bureau.¡±


    ¡°How to prove you killed the target? Turn in the head?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the surest way, I guess.¡±


    ¡°And what Bureau?¡±


    ¡°The National Security Bureau.¡±


    A government given bounty. They couldn¡¯t even bother using their own guys for that?


    ¡°Can you tell me more about this bounty?¡±


    ¡°You need to go to the Bureau for that.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    I wonder¡­


    I turned towards Taneva and Hartwin, and they appeared to be finished.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go?¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m done here,¡± Taneva pulled out some money from his pocket and paid the barkeeper for both of them before standing up.


    Hartwin also followed. ¡°Yeah. I might come back, or find other bars. Ones with women.¡±


    What the hell, Hartwin?


    Velar approached me. ¡°You¡¯re interested in the bounty?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say. Let¡¯s move on and walk around some more.¡±


    On second thought, I might be a bit interested. However, I was still hesitant. There were still some things that needed to be done before other personal stuff.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 64: A Promise

    After a little bit of walking around while keeping a tight pants ¡ª meaning high on guard ¡ª we returned to the ship. Yeah, this city was a little messy, and that¡¯s putting it lightly. Every corner felt like shady shit. Now it just made me wonder how this place would be during the night. Evil comes during the night, after all. Guess as a creature of light myself, I should avoid going out at night.


    It was almost sunset when we returned to the ship. The crew was anticipating our return. One guy walked up to us.


    ¡°So, how was the place?¡±


    I sat down on the wooden rail, I was feeling tired after the long walk. It certainly had its own charm, this city. I wondered if it was the same as the other cities in this misbegotten shithole of an archipelago. Hm, was I exaggerating my phrasing, perhaps? Eh.


    ¡°It is a unique place,¡± I said to them with a wry smile. ¡°But it''s incredibly risky to walk around without security.¡± I lowered my hood as they formed troubled expressions. ¡°This place is violent, aggressive, and¡­ hm, what¡¯s the word to put it lightly¡­?¡± I tried thinking of the less straightforward word, but a moment later, I gave up. ¡°Quite disgusting in other parts.¡±


    They seemed a bit baffled about what I was talking about. But I would rather not talk about such a thing in public, here. I mean come on, really? You expect such things to come out of my delicate and precious lips? No. Way.


    ¡°I won¡¯t stop you from going into the city yourselves, if you¡¯re interested and curious. But I strongly suggest doing so with someone that can fight.¡±


    My crew might get harassed out there if someone sees them as weak. That would be troublesome and a hit to their morale. And it would reflect badly on my image as their captain. Image is important, people!


    ¡°Please talk with the crew before going out. All in all, if you plan it carefully, you should be fine.¡±


    The crew looked at each other.


    ¡°Is it really that bad?¡± one asked, as if for confirmation.


    ¡°Yeah. But hey, don¡¯t let some worry stop you. Enjoy the new place, the new scenery.¡± I gave them a reassuring smile. ¡°You don¡¯t get this far in your lives every day.¡±


    Many live and die in the place of where they are born. They remain in one place. Although, there¡¯s nothing bad about that. There are just others that want to stay, and they are satisfied and happy. However, there are those that are more adventurous that get stuck for whatever reasons. Maybe because of fear, or doubt, or you know, just the issue of money. Most are on the latter.


    Haaaaah, if people have a lot of money, they could have traveled all around the world. Although, in this world, the situation might be a bit different. Less capitalism¡­? Hehehehe. Less money needed to travel, and the climate was just right for adventuring. Oh, and less restrictive country borders, unless you go into major cities, you should be fine walking in. I mean, look at us, we got to dock here without any ¡®papers please¡¯ scenario. True we almost got scammed and we had some help ¡ª but what I¡¯m trying to say is that things are more open here. No visas, passports, looking into your phones and shits. Getting barred from entering because of what you said on social media¡­


    But hey, what do I know? I¡¯m just a sheltered princess.


    ¡°Enjoy what you can enjoy. Regret always comes last, you know.¡± I stood up. ¡°Anyway, think about it. No matter how bad a place could be, maybe you¡¯ll find it intriguing. I¡¯m going back to my room for now.¡± I turned to Taneva and the others that I came along with. ¡°We need to talk about you.¡± I pointed at Taneva.


    ¡°Me? Hehe, alright.¡±


    Taneva, Velar, and Hartwin followed me into my cabin. Velar locked the door, and I headed straight to sitting down by the table.


    I turned a sharp look at Taneva. ¡°So, Taneva, I told you we would talk about it.¡±


    He smiled and casually sat down opposite of me. ¡°About me being immortal?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Define your immortality.¡±


    When referencing my old world, there would be different kinds of immortality. There was immortality that you could just not die no matter what, like the biblical story with Cain, if I were to assume that he supposedly could never be killed¡­ Another was eternal youth, you would never age, but you could still die upon taking fatal damage.


    There was this another that I wasn¡¯t quite sure if I should regard it as immortality. The one where you steal the life force of another or something like that. You know, steal the years they have. Or there was immortality like vampires, where they could not die from any conventional weapons. But with the use of silver, or under the light of the sun, they would perish. Could the Cursed Children be in a similar situation? Hm, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case, considering their story. People, or rather, monsters, that could not die.


    The term immortality was never clear which one would have¡­


    ¡°What do you mean define?¡±


    ¡°What kind of immortality do you have?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ I am immortal in the truest of sense. I do not age, I cannot die no matter what.¡±


    I resisted a frown. ¡°No matter what?¡±


    ¡°Swords, spears, drowning, lava. None could kill me. Believe me, I tried.¡±


    I tried¡­?


    ¡°I regenerate naturally, no matter how fatal. Just like the Cursed Children. But I guess their immortality is a bit different, since they turn into monsters during the night, not to mention their intense thirst for blood.¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°Woah wait, thirst for blood?¡± Hartwin frantically asked. ¡°Aren¡¯t the pair of guys outside Cursed Children?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes. Their nourishment is blood. You didn¡¯t notice they never join us to eat?¡±


    ¡°... I just assumed they ate somewhere.¡±


    ¡°They are extremely dangerous during the night. That¡¯s why they keep their distance from the ship at nightfall.¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­ Interesting.¡± Hartwin placed a hand under his chin.


    I let out a short sigh. ¡°You say you naturally regenerate. Back at the arena, you had a glowing light after you were struck. Was the healing magic a fake out?¡±


    ¡°Of course. It¡¯s strange for someone to just heal without any kind of magic being cast.¡±


    True. They might think you¡¯re a monster or something. Worse, a demon. I mean, imps heal without any apparent magic spell.


    ¡°So what¡¯s your drawback? The Cursed Children turn to monsters and thirst for blood. How about you? Any certain weaknesses? Like a demon to the holy element?¡±


    His casual smile dropped. ¡°I cannot die, Princess. I have no weaknesses, no drawbacks. Just outright immortal, cursed to wander the world for all of eternity.¡±


    ¡°Cursed¡­ by whom?¡±


    He leaned back in his chair and stared through the window. He clenched his jaw for a moment before facing me again.


    ¡°The king of all gods. The ruler of magic.¡±


    I, and both Hartwin and Velar, were surprised to hear that. I was not too familiar with the other gods, but hearing the titles, I knew that guy was a pretty big deal.


    ¡°The divine cursed me.¡± There was a hint of bitterness in his voice.


    I leaned a bit to the side, processing what he just said. ¡°The divine¡­ You offended the king of all the gods?¡±


    His fist clenched, his face now lacked the nonchalance he always had. ¡°They¡¯re the scum. Not me.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes. This was the most vulnerable I had ever seen him. His emotions were so clear.


    ¡°You hate them.¡±


    ¡°Damn right I do. I¡¯ll kill the bastard who did this to me when I get the chance!¡± His eyes blared in hate and anger.


    I decided to push him a bit.


    ¡°Is immortality such a bad thing? Eternal life is the wish of many. Nothing is greater than being unable to face death.¡±


    He pursed his lips, his brow furrowed. ¡°I never asked for this. Eternal life is not always a good thing. This is not what I want. Because of this damned curse I could never reunite with¡ª¡± He looked away, stopping himself from a subject that he didn¡¯t seem to want to tackle. ¡°... My immortality is not a pleasant one. Not dying is a nightmare when you want something else.¡±


    Want something else, huh? Reunite with whom I wonder.


    He continued, ¡°There is an immortality that can be considered good. Eternal life where you get to live forever, but you can still die. By others¡¯ hands, or by your own. If you are to turn into a god, that is the kind of immortality you will have.¡±


    ¡°... Gods die¡­¡± I muttered.


    Shit, then I still have to be careful with my life? Ugh, fine, I¡¯ll take that then. What matters is that I can still live forever.


    I mean, the goddess of blood did die, so it wasn¡¯t that surprising.


    ¡°What can kill you then? Do you have any idea?¡±


    He lowered his head. ¡°Like how the Cursed Children need you to relieve them of their curse, I may require the one who cast me mine. However, I don¡¯t know if it had to be done willingly.¡±


    ¡°I assume the king of gods would never do that.¡±


    ¡°That bastard would never¡­ Another option would be to kill him. However¡­ I¡¯m not so sure about it. The goddess of blood died, but the curse to the Cursed Children still persists.¡±


    Oh damn, he really is in a tight spot.


    ¡°I see. It sounds like a difficult position¡­ Is that why you want to follow me? To piss off the gods?¡±


    He smiled a little. ¡°I want to hurt them however I can. What better way but to destroy the race they loved so much? Heh.¡±


    ¡°You absolutely hate the gods, huh?¡±


    ¡°Of course I do.¡±


    I tilted my head slightly. ¡°I am a god, Taneva. Does that mean you also hold resentment against me?¡±


    That would be troubling. I could never win against him. How do you expect me to beat someone who had lived for hundreds, or thousands, of years? The best I could do would be to restrain him. Maybe tie and throw him into the sea, keep him at the bottom forevermore. But executing it would be extremely difficult.


    ¡°Why would I? You¡¯re not involved. So no, I hold no hatred against you. I told you, I want us to work together and be friends.¡±


    He seemed sincere about that part.


    ¡°I see¡­ But I realize it now. You seek death.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Is that why you tried receiving the attacks of the monster in the arena without defending yourself?¡±


    ¡°... You¡¯ll never know. There might actually be a special enchantment in the monster¡¯s attacks that would work against my curse. Most of the time, I try to at least take an attack.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ Have you tried receiving divine attacks?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve faced a couple of godkins like you, but nope. Nothing worked.¡±


    Huh, guess I¡¯m regarded as a godkin.


    ¡°You mentioned Rulers. Have you tried receiving their attack?¡±


    ¡°Never met one again since my last encounter. So I never got to try.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, that reminds me.¡± He grinned for some reason. ¡°Why don¡¯t you try striking me?¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡± I was dumbfounded by the sudden suggestion.


    ¡°Yeah, maybe your attack would work. Come on, give it a try.¡± He pointed at his neck. ¡°Strike here.¡±


    ¡°W-What in the world are you saying?¡±


    ¡°Come on, I¡¯m immortal. Go on, pull out your beautiful dagger.¡±


    With hesitation, I pulled out my precious, fancy dagger.


    ¡°Make sure to imbue some magic in that. Plain steel would be nothing special.¡±


    I looked at my dagger and then to the eager looking Taneva. Velar and Hartwin looked equally disturbed by the idea of striking an ally.


    I held out my dagger, but then hesitated. ¡°Wait, what if it actually works?¡± I was a bit anxious about that.


    ¡°Then it¡¯s great!¡± He was all smiles as he said that.


    ¡°What if you actually die? Then I have no guide. You¡¯re supposed to bring me to my immortality.¡±


    ¡°You still have the Cursed Children.¡±


    ¡°Seriously? No way.¡±


    ¡°Oh, come on. What are the chances of it working? Like less than one percent?¡±


    I frowned. ¡°But not zero percent.¡±


    ¡°Give it a try, Estelia. You¡¯ll be fine.¡± He presented his neck.


    I hesitantly moved my blade closer, but I had yet to cast any kind of magic on it. What if it would actually work? ¡®You really think you¡¯re so special that a strike from you would kill the immortal?¡¯ Um, yeeeaaah. Just so you know, I am special.


    I can¡¯t lose Taneva yet.


    No fucking way was I trusting the Cursed Children entirely with leading me to my prize. There was a chance that it wouldn¡¯t work on Taneva. But then again, what if it works? What ifs are important, for they present possibilities. And possibilities could happen. Would you casually throw away the possibility of winning a lottery?


    Yeah, fuck this.


    I retracted my hand and returned my dagger to its sheath.


    Taneva¡¯s eyes blinked in confusion. ¡°Why did you stop?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not taking any chances.¡±


    ¡°Whaaaat?! Come on, Estelia. You can¡¯t just stop there after all the buildup!¡±


    I sat back down and crossed my arms. ¡°I¡¯ll give it a try once I have my power. Got it?¡±


    ¡°B-But we can try now.¡±


    ¡°True. But I don¡¯t want to take any chances. Besides, wouldn¡¯t it be best when I finally have my true divinity?¡±


    Taneva scratched the back of his head. ¡°... True¡­¡±


    ¡°So once I have what I need. I will try striking you down.¡±


    Taneva smiled widely. ¡°Alright. You said it.¡±


    At least with divine power, I shouldn¡¯t need a powerhouse like Taneva anymore. No guide needed anymore.


    ¡°Promise me, Estelia.¡±


    ¡°... I promise.¡±


    Damn, everyone here just has curses, don¡¯t they? Immortality at that. And I threatened to kill them¡­ So pointless¡­ So embarrassing¡­


    Thinking about that, I just wanna hide under my pillows¡­

 Vol. 4 Chapter 65: Slaves Auction

    ¡°You go and guard them,¡± I said to Taneva.


    He only pouted.


    It was a new day, and the crew had a meeting about going out there. Yup, there were still a lot of them that were quite curious and looking forward to going into the city. They discussed it seriously, and I listened, of course.


    I had no problem with what they were planning. However, we were quite concerned about who would keep them safe. First thought was Velar. But we would also be shopping today. What would we be shopping for? Supplies for the travels, of course.


    Considering that we would be waiting for Suda, we might as well shop for what we need in the meantime. Taneva would not need it, but we normal humans definitely would. We needed cooking stuff, tents, sheets or sleeping bags, water pouches, some additional clothes if we could find good ones aside from the ones on this ship, and so on. Furthermore, we couldn¡¯t just take all we need from this ship, the crew would need it later on.


    Velar would be coming with me, and I imagined Hartwin as well. That was good for me, let the boys carry the heavy stuff. No, let them carry all the stuff! Hehehe.


    ¡°Estelia¡­ are you driving me away?¡± he asked, looking all miserable.


    ¡°I need Velar with me. You¡¯re too difficult to ask help from. We¡¯re going shopping, you know.¡± And not to mention he almost started a fight because it was amusing. Best to avoid that while shopping to reduce headaches. ¡°Besides, if you¡¯re with them, we won¡¯t have to worry about anything.¡±


    He let out a sigh. ¡°Fine¡­¡±


    ¡°Great. Keep them safe, alright?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Body guarding, what an easy job.¡±


    Immortals really take things easy, don¡¯t they? I really had no idea how to kill them. Really, how  embarrassing it was. Immortals were almost like my antithesis. I was having a bit of a crisis faced with something I could actually never kill. Sucks so bad.


    He faced the crew. ¡°Alright! Everyone who¡¯s going out, prepare yourselves. I will be your humble guard and tour guide. You¡¯ll be in safe hands.¡± He grinned.


    Some time later, Taneva left the ship with his group. There were only several of them since too many would be too attention grabbing. The rest would need to wait for their turn, either later or tomorrow. But me and Velar would likely be back this afternoon, maybe he could take a group to the city while I stay here.


    Furthermore, the Cursed Children as guards were not an option. I would rather they stay here on this ship.


    ¡°You have the funds?¡± I asked Velar.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    I was referring to the money that we would spend on shopping. We should have plenty enough for everything we need. There was a lot of money here on this ship, so there was no need to worry about running out. As for me, I had money of my own! That¡¯s right, I ain¡¯t broke. The captain¡¯s cabin had a lot of silver and gold. Motherfucker¡¯s rich. So, given that he didn¡¯t need it anymore, it was mine for the taking.


    I grabbed the cloak I found and wore it. I tied the lace and ensured I was enclosed before drawing on the hood to cover my head. That¡¯s right, I had two hoods, but of course I had the one for my combat outfit lowered. What am I, a weirdo?


    Red riding hood Estelia going out again! Well, technically maroon, but still a shade of red¡­


    I turned towards Hartwin. ¡°You coming with or not?¡±


    He chuckled with a cocky smile. ¡°I thought you would never ask.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not going inside any bar, just so you know.¡±


    ¡°Uuuuuh¡­ T-That¡¯s fine with me.¡±


    ¡°And no flirting with any woman that we may encounter.¡±


    His face contorted. ¡°I-I can definitely d-do that.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    With that, we left for the city. We saw some shops when we went around yesterday. We assumed it must be some shop district or something. It was a bit far, so we would be encountering some dangerous shit.


    At any rate, we avoided all the trouble. There was some fighting on the street, so we had to reroute a bit. Wouldn¡¯t want to get involved in anything.


    ¡°Useless swine!¡±


    I turned towards that noise only to see some guy get beaten to the ground. He was messy and dirty all over, he curled as he received powerful kicks to the stomach.


    ¡°You can¡¯t even do the simplest things! You know how pricey you were?!¡±


    Wow, yeah, he must be the master of that slave. Slaves being treated fine, what a load of horseshit. Hey, it¡¯s not like I felt any empathy or compassion for the slaves. I was just pointing out the lie told to me. Or perhaps it was the thing the people try to tell themselves? Likely. Basically, I was just calling people on their bullshit.


    The three of us could only stare as we passed by. It was not our place to intervene. I wasn¡¯t some paragon or heroic person that would begin lecturing people of what is righteous. Besides, it does not benefit me in any way to change the ways of this place. If it does, I might have done something, but nope.


    Nothing is completely good in reality. People help for their own motives, and most of them for personal gains. Look good to the press, pretend you¡¯re good so the public would see you in a good light. Posting and saying something righteous as if you¡¯re a saint, but in truth you¡¯re just trying to get attention and likes, all for fame and acknowledgement, present themselves like they¡¯re superior. Every action taken has ulterior motives.


    Okay maybe there are just outright saints. But that¡¯s like one in a million.


    When too many righteous people gather, yeah don¡¯t take things at face value. For likely, what you perceive is only superficial.


    ¡®Oh Estelia, you¡¯re just being extremely pessimistic.¡¯ I¡¯m not.


    Just saying you gotta watch out for those that lecture too much.


    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± The slave¡¯s master glared at us.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    We disregarded him and continued on. A short while later, we encountered some vendors selling fruit. I stopped in my tracks to look at what was for sale. After having a look at the fruits for sale, I restrained a wince.


    What the heck are these?


    There were small fruits like grapes. But they were all wrinkly and darkly colored. They didn¡¯t seem appetizing to eat. Although, I was a bit amazed that despite this place being called a dead land, plants still bear fruits. Well, I guessed there were still plants here, so it was expected for at least one to grow fruits.


    Hartwin leaned in and scrutinized the wrinkly grape. ¡°Is this edible?¡±


    ¡°Hah?! Of course it¡¯s edible!¡± The vendor was clearly furious at the foolish question.


    ¡°Oh. In that case, I¡¯m curious. I¡¯m buying.¡±


    I was curious as well. ¡°Buy some for the two of us as well.¡± I referred to both me and Velar. My knight should, of course, have a taste of this fruit from the abyss.


    Hartwin paid the vendor with a handful of bronze coins. Apparently, it was more expensive than how it would be back on the continent. I received multiple weird grapes. Looking at it up close, I hesitated for a moment.


    Man, if I get sick from this¡­


    Hey, you only live once ¡ª or rather for me, twice¡­ or thrice¡­? I pushed the grape into my mouth. The moment I started chewing, my face contorted into a sour expression. That was because the fruit was indeed sour, too fucking sour. I lowered my head as I quickly tried to chew it, but it only made the flavor more intense. I just wanted to end it as fast as possible.


    But despite the tough flavor, I managed to swallow it.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Aside from the sour part, it was totally edible. If I keep eating more, I might get used to it.


    ¡°Oh wow, I d-didn¡¯t expect that,¡± Hartwin said amidst the sourness in his mouth, his face contorting and voice strained.


    ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯s alright.¡± Velar appeared to be handling it better than us.


    ¡°Hahahahaha! What¡¯s this? You never had something so sour before? That¡¯s hilarious.¡± The vendor merely laughed at us. ¡°Now I¡¯m sure you ain¡¯t from around these lands.¡±


    ¡°This is what you eat all the time?¡± Hartwin asked, seemingly a bit repulsed.


    ¡°Yeah. You don¡¯t get a lot of options. Unless you get the imported fruits. But those are hard to come by.¡±


    Hartwin shook his head with pursed lips. ¡°... And more expensive, I imagine.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    And we have a lot of those on the ship. And we had no intention of even selling them. Too bad.


    ¡°There are a lot of fruits here, want to give them all a try?¡± Hartwin pointed at the other fruits.


    There were cucumber looking monstrosities, apples, and melons. Like the grape before, they were all wrinkly and darkly colored. It didn¡¯t spark any appetite in me at all, but rather only gave me some curiosity.


    ¡°I¡¯m interested,¡± I said. ¡°But we should hold off buying food until after we¡¯re done shopping for our necessities.¡±


    It would be annoying to carry food all around.


    ¡°Right.¡±


    With that decided, we continued on into the market. But then I noticed some people gathering around an elevated wooden platform.


    ¡°Hang on.¡± I walked towards the platform, my companions followed close..


    There were people standing on top of it. They were messy and their clothes couldn¡¯t be called clothes at all, more like rags having been put on them. There were four of them. Two men and two women. The men were well built as they were stripped of their shirts to show their body. One was around late twenties, while the other seemed to be in his early twenties.


    The two women looked attractive, setting aside how dirty they were. But I guess you have to be attractive to be displayed here. One woman was in her early twenties, tall and slender. The other looked quite young, in her mid teens likely.


    All of them looked depressed, as they had their heads lowered.


    ¡°Alright everyone, gather up!¡± said one man climbing and standing on top of the platform wearing formal and decent clothing. ¡°We have a fresh batch of slaves from the eastern island!¡±


    Yup, this was a slave auction.


    ¡°Gather up if you¡¯re interested in buying an aide!¡±


    More and more people gathered, which I guess that some only wanted to watch like us.


    ¡°Alright, alright! Let me show you number one!¡± He enthusiastically pointed at the man in his late twenties. ¡°This guy right here is foolish enough not to pay his debts! As you can see he has well formed muscles. I assure you, he can handle all the heavy work you can give him.¡±


    He urged the man to flex his muscles. With hesitation, the slave did as he was told. True, he could definitely handle hard labor. Anything abusive though, well, everyone has their limits.


    ¡°But for any ladies out there that might be interested, I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t find him lacking underneath.¡± The man grinned with a nasty chuckle.


    ¡°Oh yeah? What¡¯s his size?!¡± one female asked.


    ¡°Eight inches. And I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t be dissatisfied with the thickness.¡±


    ¡°Oooooh.¡± the ladies in the crowd breathed out their astonishments.


    What the fuck they point that out? It¡¯s like showing specs of a phone.


    Never thought I would get to see women here intending to sexually take advantage of their slaves. But hey, not like it does not happen.


    ¡°Price starts at four silver!¡±


    ¡°Four silver!¡±


    The auctioneer pointed at the man who shouted that price. ¡°We got four!¡±


    ¡°Five!¡±


    ¡°Five silver from the lady!¡±


    ¡°Six silver!¡±


    ¡°Six from another beautiful lady, quite an energetic bunch we have right now, eh? Anyone else?¡± He looked around the crowd, waiting for one to offer a higher price. ¡°Going once. Going twice¡­ Sold to the beautiful lady!¡±


    A henchman brought down the slave from the platform.


    ¡°Have fun.¡± The auctioneer waved at the paying customer before facing the crowd again and approaching the next slave.


    The next slave was the young woman in her mid teens. She looked miserable, slightly trembling on the stage, and avoiding eye contact with anyone.


    ¡°For the next one is this pretty young lady. To be honest, where she came from is unclear to us. But I¡¯m glad to have her in hand. A young fruit, petite, slender.¡± The auctioneer moved behind the girl and grasped the side of her body, pressing his hands into her waist.


    The girl flinched. The auctioneer slowly raised his hands until he reached her breasts, it would seem the purpose was to show her figure. The girl closed her eyes in fear, moist at the corner of her eyes.


    ¡°And a face so pretty and cute.¡± The auctioneer placed his hands on her cheeks for a moment before letting go.


    ¡°One of our finest. And you know what they say, the younger, the better!¡±


    ¡°Is she a virgin?!¡± a man in the crowd asked.


    The auctioneer shook his head. ¡°Unfortunately, the fruit has been bitten. But despite that, the fruit is still quite flavorful. Thus, the price starts at five silver coins!¡±


    ¡°Five silvers!¡±


    ¡°Five silvers from the gentleman at the back.¡±


    ¡°Five silver and fifty coppers!¡±


    ¡°Five and a half silver from the man at the front! Anyone else?¡±


    Damn. That sucks. At that point, many would have given up on life.


    ¡°This is disgusting¡­¡± Velar muttered.


    ¡°Yeah. So cruel¡­¡± Hartwin shook his head.


    ¡°I never imagined I would get to see a society like this,¡± Velar added. ¡°Something like this is just too repulsive and terrible.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we do anything to save them¡­?¡±


    I directed a sharp look at Hartwin. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about doing anything.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°This is normal in their society. Our values and ways do not align. Do not try to change something when it does not want to change.¡±


    ¡°How pitiful.¡±


    ¡°We do nothing because there is nothing we can do.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we save these ones?¡±


    ¡°If we save one, then why shouldn¡¯t we help the next? That way, it would be fair. Then what about we save the next one after that? Not doing so would be unfair.¡±


    ¡°... I¡­¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t save everyone, Hartwin, Velar.¡±


    Hartwin lowered his head. ¡°... It¡¯s hard just watching like this.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Velar let out an exasperated sigh.


    ¡°Terrible as it is, the most we can do is pray that their life would turn out for the better somehow, and someday.¡±


    ¡°That will need a miracle,¡± Hartwin said in a low voice.


    ¡°Then pray for a miracle.¡±


    ¡°How ironic, asking for a miracle when a goddess is beside us.¡±


    ¡°I am not a full-fledged goddess yet. Nor would I be a wish granter. At the moment, I am still human, like you. And humans have risks to consider, and limits to acknowledge.¡±


    ¡°... I guess you¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°Eight silver coins!¡± one man shouted.


    ¡°Eight silver coins to the fancy-looking man! Anyone willing to up the bid?¡± The auctioneer looked around. ¡°Going once. Going twice?¡± He waited for a moment, but it would seem no one else was willing to throw more money. ¡°Sold! I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll have a delightful night later on, good sir.¡±


    The slave girl glanced at the person she was sold to. And as she was moved out of the platform, tears began welling up in her eyes.


    ¡°We¡¯re going,¡± I said.


    Without looking back, we continued on. We encountered plenty of hardware for sale on the street. And of course we were looking for those that had the best prices, so we ended up walking around for the meantime. But then I noticed a particular building.


    ¡°A weapons store?¡± Seemed like it. ¡°Hey guys, would you mind if we stop there for the moment? I¡¯d like to check out their weapons.¡±


    Velar nodded. ¡°Certainly. I¡¯ve been wanting to buy a proper sword for myself.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with my sword, so I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be buying one. But sure, let''s go in,¡± Hartwin said.


    Well, I had some empty weapon slots I needed to fill.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 66: Weapon Upgrades!

    We entered the shop. It was a decent-looking shop, almost as big as the weapons shop I got in last time. Weapons were displayed all over, ranging from swords, greatswords, spears, as well as shields and different kinds of armors. Looking around, I didn¡¯t see any katana. It would seem they were specially made for high-ranking people. Oh well, not like I was too interested in those.


    There was no one at the counter, but there was a passage frame behind it. The owner must be inside.


    Hartwin whistled. ¡°Nice.¡± He grabbed a sword, looking closely at it. ¡°Looks decent for being made in a land like this. Oh, wait, could these be imported as well?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t know. But I heard from Taneva that Shinoroa has a lot of minerals they exchange for foreign goods. So we shouldn¡¯t underestimate their blacksmiths.¡±


    If you¡¯re rich in metal and such, you would definitely find use to it. Plus, this was a land full of monsters, it would be pathetic if they couldn¡¯t craft excellently made weapons. I doubt even this shithole of a city would be that incompetent.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. But this is impressive, though. The way the hilt curves, the blade is so neat. Whoever made this is an impressive craftsman.¡±


    I looked around for things that were just for me. While doing so, I saw Velar looking closely at a greatsword. Could it be that he used a huge sword when he was still working as a soldier? Well, given his physique¡¯s size, a greatsword would certainly fit him as a weapon.


    I continued looking around until I found a table where some daggers were placed. With slightly narrowed eyes, I picked up a small dagger. These were finely made, a bit better than the ones I currently had. The switch from the hilt to the blade was smooth. The central broad of the blade had a nice transition coming to the side. I was quite impressed that someone could make very fine daggers in this size.


    I could see a hint of talent and high skill. But I wondered about durability. Some products look good, but actually shit and quite easy to break. All appearances, as they say.


    And then, suddenly, an adult man walked in at the opening behind the counter. The three of us turned to look towards him. The man stared at us for a moment before turning in another direction.


    ¡°Esagi! We have customers. Talk to them, will ya?!¡±


    Then there was a shout from within the room ahead. ¡°Dammit pops! I¡¯m working here!¡± It was a young female voice.


    ¡°Get out here, now!¡±


    A moment later, an irritated girl came out, frowning at her father. She was surprisingly young, around mid-teens. A bit thin, but her appearance must be likely because of her age. She was also a bit short, a foot shorter than me. She was wearing a somewhat baggy shirt and pants, and they had some dirty and black spots ¡ª must be from working on their forgery. She had dark orange hair, a bit of light brown skin, and sharp dark green eyes.


    She patted her hands before scowling at her father. ¡°Why can¡¯t you just talk to them? You¡¯re already here!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a better talker. Now then, I¡¯m going to the forge.¡± The older guy began walking away.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tamper with my work, okay?!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡±


    ¡°Dammit it, pops! I¡¯m serious!¡±


    Okay¡­ Quite a straightforward father and daughter.


    The girl sighed for a moment before approaching the counter and facing us.


    ¡°Sup?¡± she curtly said. ¡°I¡¯m Esagi. The second best blacksmith in the city of Mahana. What¡¯cha you wanna buy?¡± She formed a small but proud smile.


    ¡°Second?¡± Hartwin asked. ¡°Then who¡¯s the first?¡±


    She frowned. ¡°That be my pops. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m already better than him. He¡¯s just the senior.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡±


    She seemed to take great pride in her skills. I mean, if you¡¯re actually good, then you should be proud. It inspires the confidence that you need in life. But damn, to be honest, I found it a little doubtful she was better than her father. I mean, she was young. So young.


    ¡°You¡¯re not from around here, are you? Never saw you here before.¡±


    ¡°Does it matter?¡± I asked as I returned the dagger.


    It would be annoying if it would be like in the bar again. The part where we were refused service to have fancy liquors.


    The girl puckered her lips with a nod. ¡°It doesn''t matter, really. I was just curious. Are you anywhere from Shinoroa? Don¡¯t look like it.¡±


    ¡°No, we¡¯re not.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well, as long as you¡¯re decent customers, there¡¯ll be no trouble. People always make a fuss when buying here.¡±


    ¡°A fuss?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen how people are here. Barbaric and savages. Now imagine if they go shopping for weapons.¡± She crossed her arms with an annoyed expression. ¡°Looking for the best, but can¡¯t even fucking pay for it.¡±


    There would surely be a rowdy bunch. But I wondered how they even go about handling that? Barbarians and savages would be difficult to reason with words. Only by force. This girl, Esagi, didn¡¯t seem to be a fighter. Her father, though, seemed to be the fighter.


    ¡°I understand. Don¡¯t worry,¡± I said. ¡°We don¡¯t intend to cause trouble, just looking around.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now then, anything you want? I made most of the displays, so you can ask me anything.¡± Esagi scrutinized me before glancing at the daggers I was next to. ¡°Let me guess, you want daggers?¡± She got out of the counter and approached me.


    There was no reason for being so on guard in this enclosed establishment. I lowered my hood. Upon seeing me, the girl froze in place with eyes wide in astonishment. There was a slight hint of blush on her cheeks.


    ¡°W-Woah. You¡¯re definitely not from around these lands. Good choice covering yourself when out there.¡±


    Yeah, I knew how bad people can be.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°Ahem, anyway, you want daggers?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°These daggers look well made.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I made those.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    She picked up one of the smaller daggers. ¡°Aside from the function, I also wanted to add a bit of form factor. Meaning to at least look good. But it doesn¡¯t sacrifice the balance.¡±


    ¡°How durable is this?¡±


    ¡°These are the cheaper ones. Should easily take care of bandits or smaller monsters. It¡¯s just steel with no special techniques put into it, so you might find it difficult to use against monsters with harder skins.¡±


    ¡°Monsters with harder skins¡­?¡± I was a bit surprised to hear that.


    ¡°... You don¡¯t know? Oh yeah, you¡¯re tourists. If you¡¯re not going inland, I don¡¯t think you have to worry about that.¡±


    My crew and I stared at each other before I faced Esagi again. ¡°We are going inland.¡±


    ¡°Oh. How far?¡±


    I slightly tilted my head. ¡°Deep into it, I suppose.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Then you¡¯ll likely face powerful monsters the further you go within the lands. These daggers could do well if you add magic into it. But, you might face harder enemies. And inland, you need to preserve mana as much as possible. Constantly using magic to coat your blade could become a problem.¡±


    True, if the inlands were filled with monsters, you cannot afford to run out of mana. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be in a tight spot. If I could avoid using too much mana for my weapons, that would be nice.


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Just so you know, monsters could be lurking anywhere. So you can¡¯t lower your guard. Conserve as much mana as possible until you¡¯re absolutely safe. By the way, what daggers do you use? Can you show me?¡±


    I had no problem showing an excellent blacksmith my gear, so I nodded and walked over to the desk. I pulled out a couple of small daggers, my medium daggers, and finally my fancy, special dagger.


    ¡°Woah!¡± Esagi¡¯s eyes widened and promptly grabbed the fancy dagger. ¡°Cool, ornamental dagger.¡± She seemed to like it very much. ¡°So fine!¡± She caressed the dagger from the hilt to the blade. ¡°So smooth and flawless. Where did you get this?¡±


    ¡°From a smith in my homeland.¡±


    ¡°Ooooh. What a fine smith then. Impressive. Any special attributes to this?¡±


    ¡°Special attributes¡­? I don¡¯t think so. It¡¯s just a plain dagger.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ You don¡¯t have to worry about any powerful monsters where you came from?¡±


    ¡°... There are, but they¡¯re not that big of a deal.¡± We had the knights or adventurers to take care of those. And not like the monsters swarmed the land.


    ¡°I see, I see.¡± She looked closely at the blade. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s just a normal blade. Steel, gold and silver, and maybe some other special materials. Fit for decorative display, but would work as a weapon too. Not much sign of wear and tear. You only use this to stab into soft spots?¡±


    Woah, she realized that? Impressive.


    I rarely used it, and it was for killing my targets. So I guess that dagger of mine didn¡¯t encounter a tough surface except for flesh.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re taking good care of this indeed. However, it would be difficult to use this against monsters. If you fail to apply enough magic and strike at a monster with hard skin, it¡¯ll get nicked or snapped in half.¡±


    Now that would be incredibly bad.


    ¡°The same applies to the rest here.¡± She picked up the other daggers. ¡°You might have to spend more mana than necessary. Efficiency is key to survival in these lands.¡±


    ¡°So my weapons wouldn¡¯t do then¡­¡± I sighed.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± She put the weapons down. ¡°Here, let me show you a good, proper dagger.¡±


    She excitedly grabbed the daggers placed in the nearby corner. I saw them before, but I just approached the closest. She picked up three daggers and placed them in front of me. I noticed something in the daggers. The blade had faintly glittering dots on it, like dust. Move it around under a direct light and you would see the countless dust glitter ever so slightly. Otherwise, in an ambient light, they were not, or mostly not noticeable.


    It was almost like someone sprinkled glitter dust on the blade, but of course not as colorful as those.


    ¡°These are blades made not only with steel, but with other minerals as well.¡± She presented one dagger. ¡°This is half more durable than any steel weapon. And the weight is not more than normally expected from a normal dagger.¡±


    I received the dagger she gave me. And she was right, the weight of the dagger was just right. I caressed the blade, they were smooth. The glittering dust was embedded into the metal.


    ¡°And the best feature about these daggers?¡± she continued. ¡°Its efficiency in magic.¡±


    ¡°Efficiency?¡±


    ¡°Have you heard of Nulecerite?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    She pointed at the blade. ¡°See these shining dust?¡± She tilted the dagger around, showing the shining dust. ¡°It¡¯s Nulecerite, sprinkled all over the blade. It makes the mana cast on the blade efficient. In short, it reduces the mana you would have normally spent.¡±


    That really caught my attention. ¡°How does it work?¡±


    ¡°To put it simply, if you imbue your mana into the blade, your mana touches the dust. The mana goes through the dust and it does not change your magic, more like redistributes and emanates it by itself. You don¡¯t need to distribute the mana yourself, and so you use less effort and reduce the wasted mana.¡±


    Could it be like reducing the leakage and wasted energy like in electricity? And since it''s automated, I don¡¯t need to sweat more to control my magic. The dust does all the work in distributing my power across the blade.


    ¡°Give it a try,¡± she said. ¡°Do it like how you would coat your blade with Armament Magic. But this time, cast it closer to the metal and let the dust take the magic in.¡±


    I stared at the dagger in my hands as Velar and Hartwin approached closer in curiosity. Taking a breath in, I cast my Armament Magic. The mana moved from my hand, to the handle, to the hilt, then to the blade. It was there that I felt a different sensation.


    It felt lighter and more relaxed. My mana was being absorbed, but I didn¡¯t resist it. Instantly, I could feel my mana being spread all over the blade, before I knew it the blade was glowing.


    Woah.


    The blade was successfully coated with magic. I was astonished. How come we didn¡¯t have these back home?


    ¡°Oh nice, you did it! So, what¡¯cha think?¡±


    I nodded with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s wonderful. It¡¯s so easy. I didn¡¯t need to cast a whole lot to spread it all over the blade.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, as the dust is sprinkled all around it, you don¡¯t need to coat the entire thing. The dust already distributes and emanates the magic you cast.¡±


    I didn¡¯t apply my whole mana to the metal, but to the dust ¡ª as they automatically absorbed and distributed the mana, I didn¡¯t have to do much. And given that the dust was pretty much all over the blade, and emanating my magic, my magic still touched the metal and molded around it. Almost the same principle as the normal magical coating to enhance the weapon. Although in fact, the way it coated the blade felt a bit better and fit.


    I imagined the way it works was like my mana was being distributed among the other countless dust like a network of veins. Their channels and flow were more concentrated, thus it reduced the cost of mana when casting or maintaining the magic. And it felt like the amount of mana on the blade was more equal across it. In other words, it felt like the flow of mana was more optimized and stable.


    ¡°I like this,¡± I said.


    ¡°Of course you would. It saves like a quarter of mana.¡±


    Nice. Putting it in numbers, if the magic costs 10 points, with this I would need to only spend 7.5 points. Efficient indeed.


    ¡°But, well, not everyone wants to buy these kinds of weapons,¡± Esagi said. ¡°It¡¯s pricey, and others would rather save money and work together with others. Or others are just strong enough to be so confident. Still, I would advise using these. Even high-ranking soldiers use these kinds of weapons.¡±


    You just can¡¯t miss on the benefits after all.


    ¡°I see. Can you apply it to my daggers?¡±


    ¡°... For increasing durability, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t. It would need to be remade, so technically I can but it¡¯s like starting from scratch. For increasing efficiency, I can apply it, but I think it would be best to just get a new set so you¡¯ll also have the increased durability.¡±


    Of course.


    Not to mention the cost. Better to buy new ones then. However, there was one I couldn¡¯t let go. No, one I would never let go.


    ¡°What about this one?¡± I pointed at my fancy dagger. ¡°What can you do to improve it?¡±


    ¡°Like the rest, I can only apply the efficiency materials. But this is a very ornamental dagger. I would need to be extremely careful not to ruin it. It is risky, there¡¯s a chance of damaging the designs on the blade.¡± She was clearly hesitant.


    ¡°What? I thought you¡¯re so supposed to be the best? Surely you can do it.¡±


    Her eye twitched. ¡°... O-Of course I can do it. But durability I can¡¯t change without tampering with the blade as a whole. You¡¯ll pretty much lose all the pretty designs.¡±


    ¡°Then just add the efficiency.¡±


    I¡¯m sure my magic can pretty much protect the blade. I just need efficiency. Besides, I only use the fancy blade to execute my targets.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°Good! Thank you very much, Miss Esagi!¡± I shook her hand with a wide grin. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll also be buying a new set from you.¡±


    Alright people! Looks like my main dagger is getting an upgrade! No, I¡¯m getting an upgrade to all my weapons. Upgrades, people, upgrades! It¡¯s important! It¡¯s like how you must get a new set of higher-level weapons when going to a higher stage. And I¡¯d be putting in an investment now.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 67: Info on Bounty (Part 1)

    I told her what I would be buying, meaning I was to fill all the slots I had on my gears. Of course I had to ask the price for the entire thing before actually buying. I might get short on money, that would be embarrassing you know. The new daggers aside, I would also have to pay on my fancy dagger¡¯s upgrade cost.


    In any case, she tallied the entire thing. And as it turned out, I could afford it! Hah! Good. Phew. And this was my personal money, by the way. And by personal money, I got it from the captain¡¯s room. Yeah, motherfucker really kept a lot of money to himself.


    The cost of the daggers was a bit more expensive compared back home though. I guess it was to be expected in this land and economy¡­? Anyway, it cost me some gold, but I still have plenty left along with the change, so all? was good.


    Once I received the group of small and medium-sized daggers, I quickly slotted them into my sheaths. Yup, they were perfectly made. This girl was actually quite talented. I was truly impressed. I tried out one medium dagger and poured magic into it. The flow of mana truly felt lighter and better.


    With a nod of apparent satisfaction, I sheathed the dagger and turned to look at my team. I also gave my leather wrapped old weapon set to Velar, he¡¯d carry it for me in his bag.


    ¡°So, have you picked anything yet?¡± I asked them.


    ¡°I can¡¯t afford them, I¡¯m short,¡± Hartwin said. He seemed pretty interested though after hearing how specially made the weapons were.


    ¡°The money on me is for shopping, so sadly I can¡¯t buy anything,¡± said Velar.


    Aaaaw, poor guys.


    I let out a sigh. No choice then. As I said, I still have plenty of gold coins left.


    ¡°Just pick a weapon you like, leave the payment to me.¡±


    Hartwin¡¯s eyes widened and glistened in excitement. ¡°Really?!¡±


    ¡°Yes. Now go and pick something.¡± I turned to Velar. ¡°You too. Pick a good one that you¡¯re most comfortable with.¡±


    Buy anything you want! Estelia, the sugar mama will pay for it all! I¡¯m rich!


    Besides, I¡¯d need them at their best. Them lacking in good quality equipment would hold us back and might bring more trouble that could have been avoided. Thus, best to just give them the best weapons.


    ¡°As for the armors. We can buy them later or when we come back for my dagger.¡±


    No rush. I was not feeling comfortable spending a lot of my money way before we set out. I might buy something I wanted, you know. Or for emergencies. Yeah, I get it, armors are important. However, I wanted to make sure everything fit the budget. Besides, as I said, we could just come back later and buy them. No harm. Don¡¯t buy in bulk if resources are limited.


    Hartwin quickly picked up a thin sword with a faintly glimmering blade, or, to be precise, a rapier. A smooth and slender blade, and a smooth curving knuckle guard, reaching and looping to the base of the blade. A straight metal crossguard that curved at the tips. It was a graceful-looking weapon.


    That better not be too expensive, Hartwin. Even sugar mamas have limited budgets.


    ¡®Booooh Estelia, you¡¯re a fake sugar mama. Can¡¯t even freely spend money!¡¯ Shut up!


    He tried swinging it in the air, his swings left white arcs in the sword¡¯s motion. After several swings, he nodded with a satisfied smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ve always used a rapier. But I lost mine when I got taken. Nice to be using one again. But it was not as good as this one, though.¡±


    ¡°I thought you were already decent with the normal sword,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yeah, but I wasn¡¯t really feeling it. The rapier is for me. I trained under a master in the Holy Kingdom for a short time.¡±


    Huh, so that¡¯s why the way he used his sword from before seemed just a bit off.


    ¡°Oh? Did you manage to beat him?¡±


    ¡°Nope, but almost. But I left the capital city not long after.¡±


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t have trained any longer?¡±


    ¡°It was never really my intention to master the weapon. Just enough to help me survive. And staying too long in a single place for training goes against my traveling poet thing. Staying too long and I might get too old to travel without back pain.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± I nodded. ¡°Is that what you really want?¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    I asked for the price, and it was within my budget. Next, it was Velar¡¯s turn to pick up a weapon. As I expected, he grabbed a greatsword, but given his large physique and strength, he easily held the big sword with one hand. Damn, there was no way without Physical Enhancement that I would be able to hold that with one hand, never mind two.


    The sword¡¯s design was far from plain, the hilt to the guard had some impressive shapes and curves. The blade had faintly glimmering dust as he turned it around. He seemed to have tried casting Armament Magic into the sword, apparent from its momentary glow.


    ¡°Indeed, it feels different and better. I never thought there was such technology here.¡±


    I approached him. ¡°Is that what you want?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    I returned to Esagi and asked for the total prices. I promptly paid for it all. Buying from this shop was quite heavy in the pocket, but oh well¡­ At least we had new good weapons. I was quite excited to try them later.


    She also gave the two guys the sheathes for their weapons. Velar strapped his greatsword on his back, while Hartwin smoothly sheathed his rapier to his waist with a proud grin. As for the previous swords they had, we¡¯d be bringing them back to the ship. Someone else may use them.


    ¡°When will my dagger be finished?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It should be done in three days from now. I¡¯ll start working on this immediately.¡±


    ¡°Understood. We¡¯ll be back in three days then. Good luck.¡±


    ¡°You too, stay safe. And thanks for your purchases.¡±


    And with our business done here, we left the shop after I covered my head again. I let out a satisfied sigh and touched the hilts of my new fresh daggers.


    I want to try them so bad.


    Damn, our only purpose for today was to only go shopping for necessities for travel. And we ended up buying expensive weapons. That¡¯s why we shouldn¡¯t go to a mall with a lot of good things while carrying a shitload of money. We always end up spending big.


    I¡¯m almost broke¡­


    I sighed internally. Guess it was time to scour the captain¡¯s cabin again. There might be more money under a cabinet or something.


    ¡°Alright, time to get back to our real purpose of going out!¡±


    We continued walking on. But then, a moment later, I stopped in place. With sharp, wary eyes, I looked around. A frown formed on my beautiful brow. I put a hand on my dagger. I have had this feeling since earlier, I assumed it was nothing since we just got out in a public place.


    However, this was different. I had a feeling we were being watched and followed, and had been since we left the ship. I couldn¡¯t tell where exactly, but it was what my instincts were telling me. I looked around, through the crowd, to the rooftops, but I couldn¡¯t find any signs of them. They were good.


    Who the fuck would tail us?


    We hadn¡¯t done anything bad. Hm. At least they were only watching us. But who would tail us? And they were doing quite well in blending in with the environment. Not anyone normal could have done it. But I had a candidate in mind.


    And quite honestly, I had imagined that they would do something like this. They seemed wary of us since our meeting. Namely, the garrison commander and his goons. Of course they would be wary, we were not exactly normal people here. I could tell that he could sense how dangerous we were. I just hoped he would leave it be, but it would seem he decided to be unnecessarily cautious.


    And to be honest, it was a bit annoying.


    ¡°Is something the matter?¡± Velar asked.


    I shook my head. ¡°Nothing important, I¡¯ll tell you later.¡±


    I¡¯d worry about it later. For the meantime, at least they were still watching only. As long as they don¡¯t do anything drastic, I¡¯d leave them alone for now.


    And thus, we continued shopping.


    We walked all over the place, looking for the best deals and the best quality. As for how we determine the best quality? Well, guessing mostly. But hey, we had Hartwin, being a traveler and all, he had some knowledge on camping equipment. Still, what else should we judge, anyway? They were just standard things, nothing too complicated. There was no way there would be such shitty equipment.


    Oh no wait, there were things to be considered. Things to be slept on!


    At any rate, we found some tents for sale. We bought a few of those and an extra ¡ª our tent could get damaged by monsters. And sleeping sheets and bags. Here we had to be careful of the quality. I wanted something smooth and soft. But perhaps I was expecting too much from this place. The things they had didn¡¯t have the same quality of sheets back at the palace.


    Some of the products displayed were imported, and they were of decent quality, so we bought those.


    Now to buy others, water pouches, cooking equipment, plates, and so on. Furthermore, we also bought some jackets, in case it gets cold. As for the other traveling outfits, we only bought a few clothes that looked decent. We¡¯ll be going back to the weapons shop, they had some protective clothes there that we might find useful.


    And thus, after some more shopping, we were done! A lot of time was spent on shopping, but it was entertaining. Yeah, shopping was fun. I never got to go out on a lot of shopping back in my old life. Not to mention going on a shopping spree. We always had what we needed. And even if we bought a lot from the malls, what would we do with them? And why would we even need them?


    Phones? Phones were nice to buy. But the organization was quite strict on that. Had to use the tech given by the organization as it was more secure. Phones could be used to track and spying after all, or just less secure. But hey, at least we could use those proprietary phones for casual browsing of the internet.


    Clothes, though, we could buy a few. But not too much, since I¡¯d be moving out after a mission, anyway. I always go to different places. So yeah, there was not much reason or merit to go on a casual shopping trip. But going to the cinema was fun.


    So this small shopping spree right now was fun for me. I just wished it was more for casual things, but maybe next time once it¡¯s all over. And it would have been more fun if the one trailing us just got lost! Dammit.


    Anyhow, our shopping led us to lots of places, so it was also a good outing out in the city. Velar was the one to carry most of the things, with the bag hanging on his shoulder. Hartwin was also carrying some. Me? Well, I¡¯m a lady, so I carried nothing.


    As we began making our way back, I noticed a particular building. It was more well made than the ones next to it. More neat. More governmental. Then I noticed a board with papers pinned on them. Then I noticed a particular paper with a sketch drawn on it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look over there.¡±


    I made my way to the wooden board, my two companions following behind me. I snuck through some of the people that were also standing there and stepped close to the paper I saw.


    It¡¯s the same one.


    The bounty.


    ¡°You looked at it back in the bar too,¡± Velar said. ¡°Are you interested in taking it?¡±


    ¡­ To be honest, I was tempted. So tempted. Assassination mission. It has always been my nature to do those jobs¡­


    ¡°We can go inside and ask more about it,¡± Hartwin said.


    I let out a sigh and contemplated. ¡°... It wouldn¡¯t hurt to ask for some information about it.¡± I had yet to decide whether or not I would do it anyway. ¡°Let¡¯s get inside.¡±

 Vol. 4 Chapter 68: Info on Bounty (Part 2)

    We stepped into the building, which I assumed to be the Bureau that the barkeeper mentioned previously. It was a decent-looking place, as the impression given looking at it from the outside. Guess the government had some money. I sort of expected it to be a bit shitty, like how some government stuff was usually. But this place was actually a bit neat, even more so compared to its surroundings.


    Numerous gazes were instantly directed at us, and they were not any neutral or indifferent types of gazes. They were cautious, their eyes narrowed, but some seemed curious. And who were these stares from? Well, they were all from armed people. Yeah, the lobby was filled with armed personnel, sitting down by tables, and others standing at the corners. But they were not in uniform or anything, just people in their own sets of clothes. It reminded me of how I saw adventurers back home.


    And here I was expecting some government goons filling the place.


    To think run in the mill warriors were hanging around here.


    I noticed a board with pinned papers. There were more sketches of faces there, I assumed they were other bounties. I walked towards the board to look more into it. But then, suddenly, a couple of guys came in my way. I looked at them in surprise.


    ¡°Hey, hey, what do we have here? You¡¯re not from around here, are you?¡± one guy said, grinning from ear to ear.


    Velar quickly stepped beside me. ¡°Careful.¡± He warned the two men in a stern voice.


    ¡°Yeah? What¡¯re you gonna do, huh? I¡¯m talking to the lassy here!¡± He suddenly leaned in close to my face. His eyes widened upon beholding what laid within the cover of the shadow. ¡°W-What?¡± He froze for a moment as though his mind needed time to process what he had seen. ¡°Ain¡¯t you a beauty!¡±


    Velar moved and stepped in front of me. ¡°Keep away. We don¡¯t want any trouble.¡±


    ¡°Huh?! What¡¯ya came here for then?¡±


    Velar frowned. Was there even any point in talking to some nobody about our purpose here? Especially to this unreasonable stranger. I placed a hand on Velar¡¯s arm.


    I then addressed the annoying simpleton. ¡°What¡¯s in it for you?¡±


    ¡°Eee! What a cute voice.¡±


    I resisted the urge to sigh. ¡°... Leave us alone, and we¡¯ll leave you alone. Is looking at the board prohibited?¡±


    The man and his friend glanced at each other before the former turned back to me. ¡°If you wanna look at it, you have to go through me first. So tell me, who are you, little girl?¡±


    Now that was just some load of bullshit. He was in no way an official of this establishment ¡ª and I was far from a little girl, have I mentioned how tall I was?! I was expecting someone would have stopped this farce, but everyone was just watching. Even the formal-looking people that seemed to work here were doing nothing to stop this.


    Could they be testing us or no one just cared?


    Fuck this.


    I continued forward, disregarding the annoying guy.


    The annoying warrior scoffed. ¡°What? A puss being a pussy, huh?¡±


    I paused for a moment and glanced at the man from the corner of my eyes, taking in a deep breath. I¡¯m not easy to anger, but I do get annoyed, and at the moment, I get so easily annoyed than before. But he was just a nobody, so I didn¡¯t have to get so worked up. I disregarded him again and continued to the board.


    I noticed a young woman pinning more papers on the board. With a friendly face, she turned towards me.


    ¡°This is a place of strength. And showing strength is the shortest way to get respect.¡±


    Was that some sort of advice? Did she mean I should show strength? But I had no intention of making trouble. That would be a headache. Plus, it wasn¡¯t clear what kind of trouble I¡¯d be in if I did anything violent. We were tourists, after all.


    ¡°If you can, you should show a bit of might. Otherwise, you shouldn¡¯t be here.¡±


    After saying that, she walked away, carrying some papers she pulled off the board. I was about to call her for assistance, given that I couldn¡¯t read shit! However, the annoying warrior from before suddenly got into my face.


    ¡°What got your interest here, little puss?¡±


    Goddamn this bastard! I was not in a patient mood. Annoying a depressed and grieving individual ¡ª of course I¡¯d get easily irritated by this shit. Velar was about to step in, but I held out my hand, stopping him. I thought of what the girl said.


    To show strength. I also remembered what Taneva said ¡ª live in a savage land, you live savagely.


    I glared at the annoying warrior. ¡°I¡¯m warning you. Leave me alone.¡±


    ¡°Ooooh, are ya mad?¡± He turned to his friend. ¡°The little puss is mad. Hahahaha!¡± The two of them began laughing.


    ¡°You¡¯re an annoying fly¡­¡±


    ¡°Hah?! What did you just say, little puss?¡±


    Might makes it right.


    It would seem I was expecting a more civilized place, like in my home city, or back in the old world. But this place was not that at all. Power and savagery was the way. Might was what gives you respect. Pacifism wouldn¡¯t get me far here.


    I had been studying the warrior. He didn¡¯t seem strong. But still, he could be. However, people of true strength exude a different air about them, and deliver themselves differently. Still, if he was strong, there was always a good way to handle strong people.


    That was to take them by surprise. This has worked many times since I was here in this world. It was tested and proven. Like how I defeated many imperial soldiers, or that imperial prince who was supposedly strong.


    That said, killing was not an option here. Murdering someone in a public place would only bring absolute trouble.


    ¡°What? Got nothing to say?¡±


    Shit, I was avoiding trouble as much as possible. And to think I would be the one to start it.


    Guess I¡¯d have a little fun.


    I glanced at Velar, and he furrowed his brow ever so slightly. I moved myself a bit while glaring at the warrior in front of me.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°Turn back, now.¡±


    He only grinned. ¡°You¡¯re actually so cute when you threaten me. Hey, what about we hangout, huh? It¡¯d be fun. Come on.¡±


    His hand came out to reach me. In an instant, I kicked him with the bottom of my foot. With that kick enhanced with little Physical Enhancement, I added a bit of wind just in case he could resist it. These people were actual warriors, I couldn¡¯t afford to underestimate them.


    Of course, my kick was sudden and swift, and the warrior failed to react and was sent flying through the air, and through the exit of the building. His friend was about to pull out his weapon. However, both Velar and Hartwin instantly moved in and pointed their blades at the man¡¯s throat. The warrior froze, he couldn¡¯t even pull his sword out.


    A dangerous tension rose in the air. I lowered my foot and looked around. The other warriors only looked on with intrigue and surprise. Until one of them started laughing out loud.


    ¡°Hahahahaha! Did you see that kick?¡±


    ¡°That was beautiful! Haha!¡±


    ¡°Awesome job, missy!¡±


    Some of them laughed intensely, while others were giving each other high fives. I didn¡¯t quite expect they would react with glee.


    ¡°Wow, she¡¯s strong!¡±


    ¡°One kick, holy shit.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s that girl?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not from ¡®round here, that¡¯s for sure.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, still a pretty awesome job!¡±


    ¡°Yup, never seen such a good kick in a while.¡±


    They were really taking this well. So that guy must not be their friend. At any rate, it was a relief. At least they liked what I did. They complimented me too~...


    Stooop, you¡¯re flattering me.


    I tried my best not to let the praising words get to my head and approached the warrior still at the center of my companions¡¯ blades. I faced him with a neutral expression.


    ¡°Do you still intend to fight? Or do you want to help your friend?¡±


    The warrior gritted his teeth, he was seething. ¡°I¡¯m not fighting you.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± I cocked my head to gesture to my allies to let him go.


    They lowered their swords but still remained cautious, he might launch a surprise attack. However, thankfully, he stepped back. While glaring at me, at that.


    Once he was a bit away from us, he suddenly shouted, ¡°Just wait till the rest of our party arrives! You¡¯ll regret this!¡±


    Of course he would say that. Predictable.


    He then ran outside the building, presumably to check on his friend.


    ¡°Was that wise?¡± Velar asked as he put away his greatsword.


    Hartwin sheathed back his rapier. ¡°Hey, they were basically asking for it.¡±


    I let out a sigh. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t have left us alone. This place is not like our continent¡­¡± I said to them. ¡°They have their own ways of doing things. And this was a shortcut, I guess.¡±


    Suddenly, someone began clapping as she approached us. I turned towards her and realized it was the staff girl from before. She clapped with a wide smile on her face.


    ¡°Impressive. That should keep them away for a while.¡±


    ¡°... Would there be consequences for doing that?¡± I asked while hinting that I was feeling a bit troubled.


    ¡°Well, they¡¯ll be pretty angry. And he¡¯s alive, so everything¡¯s alright on our part.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Although, I didn¡¯t expect you would send the first blow. Was expecting they will do so on your behalf.¡± She pointed at my allies.


    ¡°I thought it would be better if I did it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty strong, aren¡¯t you?¡± She giggled. ¡°Well, at least things went well. I¡¯m Machi, a receptionist of this establishment.¡± She bowed.


    Seemed like bowing was common courtesy here.


    ¡°I¡¯m Estelia,¡± I slightly bowed my head.


    She smiled. ¡°So, for what purpose did you come here? It¡¯s not common for tourists to come and enter.¡±


    I walked over to the board and pointed at the specific paper I was interested in.


    ¡°Can you tell me about that? My apologies, but I cannot read your writing.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, the bounty of the bandit leader Yachi Miyagawa. Dead or alive.¡±


    ¡°Is he a priority target?¡±


    ¡°Sure he is. He¡¯s been a menace for months in the region. His bounty reward was elevated only recently, four gold coins. Are you interested?¡± Her smile widened in anticipation.


    ¡°I was only curious.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± She sounded disappointed.


    ¡°If he¡¯s such a menace, and a high value bounty, why hasn¡¯t anyone hunted him yet?¡±


    Machi held her hands together. ¡°There have been a few groups that have tried. But none of them returned from the hunt.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re dead?¡±


    ¡°We assumed so. Yachi Miyagawa is not the only person you have to worry about. He also has a small army of his own. They¡¯re among the most dangerous bandit groups in the region. Their power and strength are not to be underestimated.¡±


    Guess if you were living out there outside the city where monsters were common, you¡¯d have to be pretty strong. And bandits seemed to be pretty strong themselves.


    ¡°And Yachi?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s among the strongest people we know. Among the most dangerous. A group of warriors would not do well attempting to kill him. They once robbed a caravan guarded by skilled soldiers, and they succeeded. The lone surviving soldier described Yachi as incredibly strong and ruthless.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why no one has succeeded yet.¡±


    ¡°Yes. And now, no one has been willing to take the mission.¡±


    ¡°Despite the increase in the reward?¡±


    ¡°Yes. So far, none had declared they would take the mission.¡±


    Looks like even the barbaric warriors knew their limits. I mean, money would be pointless if you¡¯d die in the end. But there was something I was curious about.


    ¡°If this Yachi is so dangerous, why hasn''t your government sent soldiers to hunt him?¡±


    ¡°To find Yachi, you might need to find their base if he does not come out in the open. And to attack their base, to kill Yachi, you will need an army. The bandits could likely discover the army¡¯s movement and they¡¯ll be long gone before the army arrives.¡±


    Yeah, if they would face a group of bandits, they¡¯d need to have a group of soldiers as well. When they move out that many, there was a chance the bandits would realize they were mobilizing a force to eliminate them.


    ¡°Furthermore, it is still not clear where the bandit base is. We still need more information before considering mobilizing the soldiers. And those are not the only reason, independent warriors are just more flexible.¡±


    That was a strange phrasing. ¡°Flexible?¡±


    She smiled. ¡°It won¡¯t cost the government anything if independent bounty hunters go or perish.¡±


    Wow. Talk about being cheap.


    I mean, yeah, that was good. The government wouldn¡¯t have to put up with losing some of their men. In short, bounty hunters were disposable.


    ¡°Besides,¡± she continued. ¡°It¡¯s good to give jobs to the people.¡±


    Yeah, jobs that could actually kill you.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it getting worse? The government still doesn''t plan to do anything?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the reason for the increase in reward. Incidentally, powerful soldiers are not easy to have and dispatch. Many powerful individuals that could match with the bandit leader are either not here or busy with their own jobs. If we don¡¯t pick the soldiers carefully, we¡¯ll end up with unnecessary losses.¡±


    The number of soldiers doesn¡¯t matter much in this world if one individual was overpowered. If all you sent were weaker men against a single powerful man, everything would have been pointless. Quality absolutely matters.


    ¡°Where are even these powerful individuals you¡¯re talking about?¡±


    ¡°... Locally that is publicly known is the garrison commander at the fort nearby, and his aides. But they have other matters to be concerned about.¡±


    ¡°And they couldn¡¯t spare a day to be done with the bandit?¡±


    Machi shrugged. ¡°I guess so. That said, in the next month, maybe they¡¯ll start taking it more seriously and actually send someone strong to end it.¡±


    Wow, your bureaucracy here sucks.


    ¡°I see. I understand. Any information where the enemy bandits and their leader could be located?¡±


    ¡°Their recent activities have been to the southwest of the city.¡± She pointed at the map on the wall, around the area of where the bandit activities were located. ¡°Around here.¡±


    I memorized the map, which also showed the city. As for the location of bandit activity, it was not very far, maybe a couple hours of walking¡­?


    ¡°Could it be that their base is near there?¡±


    ¡°Hard to tell. The nearby region is rough terrain, mountainous, and forests. Not to mention the monsters that could be crawling out there.¡±


    Hm, if they were based out there, would there actually be a lot of monsters?


    If it¡¯s your base, wouldn¡¯t you want to exterminate any threats nearby?


    ¡°Have there been a lot of sightings of monsters in that area?¡±


    She looked upwards, as if trying to recall. ¡°Hm, thinking about it, according to the reports it¡¯s a lot lower compared to the nearby regions.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°... Anyway, are you interested in taking the job? You can officially declare here you¡¯re doing the bounty.¡±


    ¡°The job is just killing the bandit leader, right?¡±


    ¡°Aside from taking him alive, yes. Well, considering the difficulty, it¡¯s better to just kill him in my opinion.¡±


    ¡°How do I prove I killed him? Bring his head?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s definite proof.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± I nodded. ¡°An interesting job.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re taking it?¡± She asked, all smiley.


    I let out a sigh. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± She sounded disappointed. ¡°If you make up your mind, come here anytime. Or you could just go straight to hunting him down. As long as you bring proof, it¡¯s okay.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I understand. Thank you for the help.¡±


    I turned around and slowly made my way to the door. I was honestly considering it. But I was hesitant. Why should I go about my way of doing that? And the biggest question of all, why was I even so interested?


    When we got out of the building, I noticed that the one I kicked out was no longer here.


    ¡°Your Highness,¡± Velar called to me. ¡°Are you planning on taking that bounty?¡±


    ¡°... Dunno.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re actually considering it? Why?¡±


    I lowered my head. ¡°... Now that¡¯s the question¡­¡±


    Why indeed¡­

 Vol. 4 Chapter 69: Info on Bounty (Part 3)

    We returned to the ship, no problem. I was expecting a little that the guys we beat up earlier would just pull up in our way. But guess not. Maybe I did some terrible damage to the guy. I mean, it felt like I broke a rib with that kick. So yeah¡­ Well, a little healing magic should fix him right up.


    Upon arrival, we realized that the other group had yet to return. I supposed they were enjoying their outing. Well, there was not much fun to do here, anyway. I had Velar and Hartwin place our shopped items into my room. We would need to organize them later and put them on the newly bought bags as well.


    There was still a lot more preparation to do. But, again, we¡¯d do that later. For now, there was another thing we had to work on. And it was something we were quite excited for. Can you guess?


    That¡¯s right! The brand new weapons we bought! Ones with some badass specs at that, specs you wouldn¡¯t find back home! I too was quite excited to try it out and practice how to implement it into my combat style.


    We returned to the deck, and I pulled out a new dagger. Velar and Hartwin also pulled out their weapons. One of the crewmembers that remained on the ship approached us with widened eyes, staring at the weapons.


    ¡°New swords?¡± the crewman asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Hartwin answered with visible excitement. ¡°Pretty cool, huh?¡± He caressed the blade of his rapier.


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    I watched Velar pour his magic into the sword, and it began to glow.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to give it a try.¡±


    We acknowledged what he was thinking of doing and we moved away to give him more space. He faced outward of the ship, to a free space where he¡¯d hit no one. He grasped his greatsword with both hands tightly.


    ¡°How does he even lift that with ease? Magic?¡± one crewman asked.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t seem like he used Physical Enhancement,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s just his raw strength.¡±


    ¡°Woah.¡±


    Imagine if he used Physical Enhancement with it, that sword would be way lighter. And quick swings from that big of a sword, whew, that would be painful. I wouldn¡¯t want to be on the receiving end of that.


    Velar did a downward swing, and a small gust of wind erupted beneath his sword. He did a few more swings as he took steps forward. He nodded. But then, I noticed his muscle seemed to stiffen ¡ª could it be that he was using Physical Enhancement now?


    He did a few swings again as his sword glowed in magic. This time, his swings were faster but still powerful. As I thought, he would be a worrying opponent with that style of fighting. However, if that was his speed, I¡¯d still be faster. I¡¯d still be able to outrun him if needed. Your girl¡¯s pretty fast, you know. Light feet, legs like Hermes¡­ or something.


    And then, with more force than before, he swung his sword downward, sending an arc of light shooting into the air. The slash rose upward, and after some distance, it dissipated. Velar stared at his sword.


    ¡°This is truly an impressive sword. I never felt so good using a weapon before,¡± he said with obvious exhilaration.


    ¡°It truly is. So magnificent.¡± Hartwin swung his rapier in the air.


    His swings and attacks were swift, from slashing to stabbing. His footing was graceful and body movement performative. His sword glowed, leaving traces of white arcs in the air as it moved. And then, instantly, he stabbed his sword in the air, sending a piercing Armament Magic forward.


    I had seen him use such a technique before, and it was quite interesting. Everyone back home used swords and magical slashes. That piercing attack of his was so fast and sharp, too. Dodging it would be difficult. Shielding myself could save me. However, piercing attacks were meant to breach through shields. Surviving it would depend on how hard I make my shields. Fortunately, I had a lot of mana. Still, I would prefer dodging those attacks if I could.


    ¡°This is so perfect. I¡¯ll value this until the end of its life!¡± Hartwin exclaimed.


    ¡°You never saw such weapons back on the continent?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Velar said.


    ¡°Nope, not even during my travels.¡± Hartwin shook his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible they never tried to trade their weapons,¡± I said. ¡°Is it perhaps just rare in our lands?¡±


    ¡°Could be. And expensive,¡± Hartwin answered.


    Such rare weapons being imported, it would be exceedingly expensive. I mean, it was already extremely expensive when I bought them.


    ¡°Could it be that they also limit their trade to such weapons?¡± I added. ¡°I remember Taneva mentioning these lands trade in minerals. Basically, they¡¯re gatekeeping their technology, especially on weapons?¡±


    ¡°That could be it.¡±


    That girl sold the weapons to us, must be because we didn¡¯t intend to sell them or didn¡¯t buy them in bulk. Besides, aside from the expensive price, using these on the continent won''t be too necessary. Our weapons do just fine out there. And our blacksmiths should have their own techniques. It was just different here.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Plus, the materials they used to enhance the blades, my guess was that they could only be found here. If they were back on the continent, we would have already made something like these weapons. Despite being a dead land, there sure were some valuable raw materials here. It made me wonder how come no one invaded this place yet ¡ª oh yeah, this place was fucked up.


    Who would be stupid enough to invade a land filled with powerful monsters and powerful warriors?


    You¡¯d certainly lose miserably.


    As for their raw materials, I wondered which they sell. I doubt they would sell to just anyone, or for cheap, their unique resources. Not only that, there didn¡¯t seem to be a lot of legitimate business going out of their way coming here, except for the illegal ones.


    Hm, are they hunting down pirates because they want more business to come here?


    Yeah, that could be one of the reasons.


    This was a medieval type era, anyway. No such thing as globalization yet. Trading between continents is hard.


    Well, whatever it would be, it would require a lot of work. Years of work to change things up here. Not my business.


    ¡°Hm.¡± I stared at my new glittering dagger. ¡°I¡¯m giving it a try.¡± I poured magic into it, and it was the same sensation I felt last time I tried the weapon of the same kind.


    I swung the dagger into the air, sending an arc of light into the air.


    ¡°Awesome,¡± Hartwin remarked.


    I wanted to try out some more, but I remembered that someone was watching. I was a bit disappointed, but I didn¡¯t want to show my cards that easily. Thus, I returned my dagger to its sheath.


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Hartwin asked with visible disappointment.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to practice your new weapons?¡± Velar asked.


    I shook my head. ¡°Not for now.¡± Maybe in my room later, alone.


    ¡°Why? What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Nothing¡­ Well, it¡¯s about what I want to talk about later,¡± I answered Velar.


    Some time later, as my two companions practiced their new weapons, the other group had returned. I must say, the way they twiddled around with their new weapons was almost like how boys are when they got a new toy. Adorable.


    Taneva was ahead of the group, and he didn¡¯t even look tired at all. Unlike the rest of his group, they were obviously tired, must be from all the walking. And, I imagine, also because of what they had seen. I approached them with a sweet smile.


    ¡°So? How was it?¡±


    A few of them looked at each other before giving me a wry smile.


    ¡°I-It¡¯s interesting, to say the least,¡± said one guy.


    ¡°But it is a bit scary,¡± added one woman.


    ¡°Honestly, why is everyone here so shady and dangerous looking?¡± Shayla commented, agitated a little. ¡°People were glaring at us.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah, I thought we were gonna get attacked.¡±


    ¡°Well, me being there, you didn¡¯t have to be scared about that,¡± Taneva casually remarked.


    ¡°All in all, it was interesting to see what kind of place this is,¡± said one guy. ¡°Especially the food they have. So bizarre.¡±


    ¡°We brought some fruit. Try it everyone!¡±


    I looked at the fruit they presented to me. ¡°Ah yes, we tasted that earlier. Quite sour, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they are.¡±


    More of my crew gathered, and they grimaced a little upon seeing the nasty-looking fruit. It took some persuasion, but finally they tried it. And, as expected, their faces contorted as they munched on them.


    ¡°We also got some dried meat. Apparently, it was from a big wolf-like monster.¡±


    The crew gasped upon hearing that.


    I leaned forward, frowning while looking at the meat they presented. ¡°These? From monsters?¡±


    ¡°Yes! So weird. I never even considered eating monster meat. Didn¡¯t even think they were edible.¡±


    Huh, I guess when you¡¯re in a tough place you have to eat what you can.


    ¡°Some monsters are actually edible,¡± Taneva interjected. ¡°But others, well, the least you¡¯ll get is a stomachache.¡±


    ¡°And the worst?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Slow and painful death,¡± he chuckled with an amused grin. ¡°But these ones should be fine. The people here eat it. Give it a try.¡±


    I received the dried meat given to me. I couldn¡¯t help but wince, thinking it was from a monster. I mean, monsters weren¡¯t animals, right? Monsters are monsters. And to eat them? Ugh, this reminded me of the worms that my dear brother had me eat. It was somewhat delicious, but worms? Not really appetizing.


    Fuck it.


    I took a bite of the dried meat. ¡°Uh¡­¡± It had flavor, a little bit more flavorful than dried fish. And I suppose it was also like steak, but dry and hard. And some saltiness. In short, it was alright. Not bad, not so good either, enough to eat daily, but not at every moment of the day.


    ¡°So what do you think?¡± a crewman asked me.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Edible. Should try dipping it in vinegar next time.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I wonder how¡¯d that taste.¡±


    Once I ate all the dried meat in my hands, I turned towards Taneva.


    ¡°Did you face any problem?¡±


    ¡°Not at all.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± I began contemplating.


    ¡°Why? Something up?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk to my cabin. Velar, Hartwin, with me.¡±


    They followed me into my cabin. With closed doors and windows, I addressed them in a serious expression.


    ¡°We have a small problem,¡± I said to them. ¡°Someone is tailing us.¡±


    Velar and Hartwin both looked surprised. ¡°Are you sure?¡± the former asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve sensed them since we left the ship and stepped into the city.¡± I turned to Taneva. ¡°You didn¡¯t notice anyone following you?¡±


    ¡°None at all. If someone did, I would have known.¡±


    ¡°Then this means they¡¯re after me.¡± Of course they¡¯d observe me, their leader.


    ¡°Who would send someone to follow us?¡± Hartwin warily asked.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? It¡¯s that garrison commander,¡± I said with audible annoyance. ¡°They¡¯re cautious of us. They definitely noticed the oddity of our crew.¡±


    Taneva nonchalantly nodded. ¡°Yeah, that commander is indeed sharp. But to think he¡¯d go his way to have you followed. For what purpose, I wonder?¡±


    I let out a sigh. ¡°Likely to learn more about us, and about me. But we¡¯re not hostile, so we shouldn¡¯t have anything to worry about. They¡¯re merely observing, that¡¯s all.¡±


    There was no other reason they would treat us as enemies. We saved their men, and we were not connected to any of their enemies. But they were likely curious about our motives for coming here. The commander seemed to be interested in that.


    ¡°So, what should we do about it?¡± Taneva asked. ¡°Kill the tail?¡±


    I deeply frowned. ¡°Absolutely not. Killing is not an option unless you want to make an enemy out of them.¡± Intimidating them to stop might be more tolerable, but killing was absolutely a no-no. ¡°For now, let them watch.¡± And I wasn¡¯t particularly fond of someone following me. ¡°Let them do what they do. Especially you Taneva, aside from me you might be the only one that can catch them.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, you flatter me.¡±


    ¡°Tell the Cursed Children about this, will you? Before they do something unnecessary.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, they might go after the guy if they realize they¡¯re following you.¡± He turned his head and stared at Velar and Hartwin¡¯s weapons. ¡°By the way, did you buy new gears? Looks nice.¡±


    ***


    It was nighttime, and I was in my cabin. I was practicing my new daggers, getting used to them. With strings attached, I threw the dagger forward as I sat down on my bed. My daggers burst into small slashes. There was a little difference in feeling and application, but I got the hang of it. The magic was still linked together, despite being automatically distributed. So the magic didn¡¯t get disrupted and broke apart.


    I stopped and retracted my dagger. I let out a sigh. There was something on my mind. The bounty. I kept thinking about it. I was so interested in doing it. Honestly, I was starting to understand why.


    I want to do it.


    I missed it. But that was not the only reason for it¡­


    Should I indulge myself with completing that bounty?


    I laid down on the bed, staring at the ceiling as I pondered deeply.


    ¡°... Guess I¡¯ll give it a try.¡±

 Vol. 4 Chapter 70: Looking for a Ride

    Early in the morning, I left with Velar for my personal mission. He was my knight, so it was his responsibility to follow me anywhere. Plus, he didn¡¯t seem to have any problem with it. We set out on our way fully geared, with Velar wearing leather armor and some metal paddings. There were some spares on the ship. The equipment was subpar, but they¡¯d do. Besides, Velar had a new powerful weapon, so it was fine.


    Also, there was the part about the monsters that we might meet. But judging from what I learned from the staff girl, there were fewer monsters in where we were going, so there shouldn''t be much to be worried about. Additionally, I also asked Taneva about the power of monsters here and inquired if we could handle it. And he said we would do fine. I had to put trust in that, as he had been here before ¡ª and likely he threw himself in every monster he could find just to try dying so¡­


    If there were powerful enemies, though, we could always run away. And if push comes to shove, I could just use some of my true power ¡ª I beat a demon, you know. That counts for something¡­ True that I¡¯d get sick after that, but at least I¡¯d survive. But well¡­ I would rather avoid that scenario. Getting intensely sick would be bad at the moment. Furthermore, I had a meat shield in the form of Velar, so that was another option!


    Hartwin asked if he could come, but I vigorously rejected him. It was faster to set out if it was just me and Velar, just two people. Less load, you could say. With just the two of us, perhaps people would be more willing to take us for a ride. Well, at least I hoped there would be carriages riding out. If not, guess we¡¯d be renting some horses.


    The Cursed Children also requested to join me. So I let them for today. Surprising, right? Well, we were going into unknown territory, so better to have a backup plan. Indeed, it would seem I had multiple backup plans to save myself, and my life was indeed very important. Although I had a condition, they¡¯d follow and protect me from a distance. Hidden from any sight. Just like they had always done with me back in Wisteria. Of course they agreed. So, it was like they were never here at all!


    As for Taneva, I didn¡¯t let him come along. That troublemaker. The problem was, I was concerned that I wouldn¡¯t be able to completely control him. For now, he was listening to what I was saying. However, what if he felt so motivated and stubborn? That would be a problem. This is why I hate people that are more powerful than me. It¡¯s so difficult to have leverage.


    Besides, they should still have other things to do in the meantime, like guarding the ship, or helping the crew tour more of the city.


    Anyway, we were on our way to the southwestern gate. When we arrived at the gates, there were guards on the perimeter. Carriages were also there, but only a few. There was only one that seemed to be about to enter, while a couple that appeared to be leaving the city ¡ª one had three guys with it carrying weapons and wearing shabby armor. They must be security?


    The city had tall sturdy walls made of wood, bricks and stone, definitely for protection against monsters. I always worry when I see a city make walls like these. These walls limit the extension of the city, limit the growth. What if the population grows? You¡¯d get less and less space to use as time passes. The worse when the entire city is surrounded by walls. What if you run out of space? It would suck if the city got denser and shittier.


    That was why Serene only had walls only in the direction where monsters were common. The rest had plenty of space to expand. That was why, aside from the main city, there were also other small settlements surrounding the palace region. That was also why Serene looked pretty neat, we didn¡¯t stuff in where space was scarce.


    Here, though, the other side was the sea. True that they had to do it for defense, but still have to worry about other stuff for the coming decades, you know. But I guess they could make more settlements outside or something.


    As we approached the carriages, one of the guards turned towards us and moved closer.


    ¡°Are you intending to leave?¡± His tone was neither friendly nor strict. Just a neutral inquiry. That was a good sign.


    Velar was the one to talk to him. ¡°Yes. But we should be back later in the day.¡±


    The guard looked at the two of us closely. ¡°Alright. Careful out there.¡±


    Huh, more lenient than I expected.


    Almost like they just didn¡¯t care. Anyway, such a thing works for me, so we just continued on. We approached one of the carriage owners, particularly the kindest looking one. He had an open carriage enough for a few people to ride. But there was one thing that weirded me the hell out. Even Velar was a bit on guard.


    Instead of a horse at the rein, it was not a horse¡­ Yeah, that phrasing was a bit weird. This place really was a bit odd. What was tied to the head of the carriage was a beast. In fact, all the carriages here were being pulled by the same kind of beast.


    It was a four-legged creature, scaly skin, a long tail and quite an elongated and bulky body, which was slightly larger than a horse. Its head had a pair of horns on them, and the creature¡¯s shape reminded me of something between a dragon and a lizard. Its scale was in the color of dark crimson and black. Eyes were like a serpent¡¯s.


    ¡°What is that?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but ask my companion.


    ¡°I never saw anything like it before¡­¡±


    This place really was something else, using beasts like these to pull carts. Couldn¡¯t they use horses or something? No wait, were there even horses here? At any rate, considering that they were using that to pull the carriages, they must be docile and not a threat.


    I approached my target carriage, and near that were the other three warriors. I was to be the one to speak with the owner of the carriage. I mean, look how massive Velar was. He could intimidate anyone just by standing.


    I approached a middle-aged man. ¡°Excuse me.¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    The moment I called the man, he turned towards me with a curious expression. The other three warriors turned towards us with a wary look.


    ¡°My name is Estelia,¡± I introduced myself. ¡°I was wondering if you¡¯re taking the main road.¡±


    The man nodded. ¡°I am. Why?¡±


    I smiled a little. ¡°I¡¯m wondering if it¡¯s okay if we ride along with you in your carriage on the way? We¡¯ll get off not far from here.¡±


    The man narrowed his eyes and scrutinized me then to the Velar. He groaned with a hesitant expression. ¡°I don¡¯t know you. How do I know you won¡¯t rob me?¡±


    Damn, even my soft way of speaking didn¡¯t work much. My charm ain¡¯t working no more? If I could just remove my cloak, but I couldn¡¯t casually do that. But it was a fair hesitation. Gotta be careful, after all.


    ¡°We¡¯re not robbers or bandits. In fact, we intend to hunt some bandits somewhere in our destination.¡±


    ¡°Look, savages use women as bait all the time. This ain¡¯t new.¡±


    ¡°B-But¡­¡± I glanced at Velar.


    If this guy wouldn¡¯t agree, then the same could apply to the others. And this one even had guards with him.


    ¡°I-I understand¡­¡± I said meekly. That seemed to invite a change of expression to the man, a bit softer. ¡°I-It is a dangerous place, after all.¡±


    One of the warriors suddenly walked closer with squinted eyes. I stepped back a bit, caught off guard.


    And then his eyes widened. ¡°I knew that voice sounded familiar, and the height and outfit. You¡¯re that girl from yesterday.¡±


    Eeek! He was there?!


    Noooo, my innocent acting!


    Another warrior approached closer with widened eyes. ¡°Oh yeah! The one that kicked that idiot in one attack!¡±


    ¡°The tourists, right? And I saw the guy, he got a really fucked up chest after that kick.¡±


    Stoooop, now the carriage owner looked more conflicted! Don¡¯t go on mentioning my violent exploits! And stop that grinning, Velar! Now everyone¡¯s gonna think I was dangerous.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty strong, aren¡¯t you?¡± the first warrior said to me with a grin. ¡°Awesome work! Hahaha!¡±


    I could only wryly smile while remaining frozen in place.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know who you are, but you¡¯re good. We respect that,¡± he added.


    ¡°How did you do that kick with that small body anyway?¡± one asked, looking closely at me.


    I stepped back a little, he was looking way too closely.


    ¡°Could she be like one of those loaded with mana?¡± the third guy said. ¡°Where are you from, anyway?¡±


    ¡°... Eh, uh, from the continent to the north¡­¡± I had to answer, but I decided not to be specific. Better to give an answer than denying a smooth conversation. First step to getting even a small degree of trust is to reciprocate!


    ¡°Oh wow, that¡¯s far. Are people there as strong as you?¡±


    ¡°... Um, there are fairly strong people there.¡±


    ¡°Ooooh.¡±


    ¡°This guy right here doesn''t look like a pushover either.¡± The second warrior approached Velar and patted him on the arm. Velar just let him. Besides, they seemed to be treating us amiably. ¡°Wanna go for a spar?¡±


    Velar formed a troubled look. ¡°... I don¡¯t know about that¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh. Oh well, guess you¡¯re right. We¡¯re still currently on the job.¡±


    The first guy turned towards me. ¡°You¡¯re going down the main road? I remember you talking with Machi. It¡¯s about the bandit leader¡¯s bounty, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    I was trying not to mention that part, but they had guessed it, so there was no point in hiding it. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Seriously? You¡¯re interested in that? You one kicked a guy, but that bandit leader is no joke. Even his crew is pretty dangerous.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Thank you for your concern. But for now, we only intend to investigate and track him down.¡±


    ¡°Even if you say that, you¡¯re still going after him in the end¡­ But if that¡¯s what you want to do, I won¡¯t stop you.¡± He turned towards the carriage owner. ¡°Hey boss, why don¡¯t we let these guys ride along, huh?¡±


    The owner frowned. ¡°Can we trust these guys?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re fine. Besides, we can use them as additional guards until they get off. Wouldn¡¯t that make you even more safe?¡±


    ¡°I ain¡¯t paying for their services.¡±


    I immediately interjected. ¡°There¡¯s no need to pay. We¡¯ll help with the guarding duty. Us getting to ride with you is enough.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± The owner placed a hand on his chin as he contemplated. ¡°Alright. I lose nothing anyway.¡±


    I smiled and bowed my head. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Wow, I didn¡¯t expect my actions back at that bureau would help me here. Respect really was a helpful thing. Maybe I should start beating more people? Hehe, I was joking. Still, it was a relief that my violent actions helped. Otherwise, it would have been tiring to walk all the way there. I might collapse on the way, considering that I¡¯m a delicate and fragile young lady.


    And so, with all things settled down, we got to ride with them. We jumped into the carriage, and Velar and I sat next to each other on one side. The three warriors all sat down on the other side. I watched as the carriage owner held the reins and snapped it. Instead of a neigh, there was a shrilling growl from the strange creature before it began moving and exiting the gate. It was mesmerizing to see such a fierce-looking creature being treated like a normal cart horse.


    ¡°Never seen like it before?¡± the warrior leader asked me, noticing my intrigue.


    I turned towards him. ¡°No. What is it?¡±


    ¡°A drakolisk.¡±


    ¡°Is that not dangerous and aggressive?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a bit challenging to tame one. But the boss right here managed to do it.¡±


    The driver glanced back at us. ¡°They¡¯re aggressive at first, being monsters and all. But after some trial and error, you can make them docile.¡±


    ¡°I see. There¡¯s no worry that it would suddenly lash out?¡±


    ¡°As long as you tie it well, it won¡¯t do anything like that. Or just don¡¯t actually hurt it. Normally, it won¡¯t hurt its master. Unless you let another person control it, you won¡¯t have a problem.¡±


    ¡°Another person? It doesn¡¯t like another person controlling it?¡±


    ¡°Of course. You tamed it, it won¡¯t let others have hold over it so easily.¡±


    So it wasn¡¯t like horses at all. Given that this one was basically a monster, I could imagine how they would react letting a stranger drag them along. And it wouldn¡¯t look good. Doing anything else with these creatures would be difficult, like letting other people use it or borrow it, or sell it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have horses?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but ask. I mean, using a monster seemed pretty dangerous compared to horses.


    ¡°Horses?¡± The warrior leader seemed to try recalling a bit. ¡°Oh yeah, I think I saw one in the past.¡±


    My brow furrowed at hearing his words. It sounded like he was not very familiar with horses, which I found a bit weird, honestly.


    The carriage driver nodded. ¡°I saw a few before. A ship from the sea once brought a group of them.¡±


    ¡°... A ship¡­? You don¡¯t have horses here?¡±


    The driver chuckled. ¡°Those animals won¡¯t survive here, lassy. Look around you.¡±


    I looked around. Along the side of the road there were numerous groups of trees, with most of them having no leaves, while others did have, but they didn¡¯t look healthy and green at all. Growing on a few branches, they were thin, dark and husky. Like how a balding person only has a few strands of hair left¡­


    The grasses and the bushes on the ground were anything but green and healthy. They were gray, some black, and some were already wilting away. Vines wrapping around tree trunks were thin and darkish. Before me was nothing but a blight scenery. Almost like every living thing here was dying at every moment. And the shrubbery was not as thick as you would see in a normal forest.


    ¡°Those animals eat plants, right?¡± the driver asked. ¡°You think they¡¯d survive eating the plants here?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I see. I asked a stupid question then.¡±


    Horses wouldn¡¯t like the plants growing here, they looked nasty. I could imagine a horse dying after a few hours of eating these grasses. Poor horsie. It would be like a human eating poison. Now I began to wonder how those horses from the ship ended up. They must be dead already.


    But still, I was a bit surprised to see plants were still trying to grow despite how hard it appeared to sustain themselves. For a dead land, life sure was persisting in one form or another.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 71: Guarding & Testing New Daggers

    ¡°Where are you heading, if I may ask?¡± Velar asked them.


    ¡°The boss wants to collect some roots,¡± said one of the warriors.


    ¡°Roots?¡± Velar was puzzled. ¡°For what?¡±


    ¡°Hey, boss, what¡¯s the roots for?¡±


    ¡°Spices,¡± answered the driver.


    ¡°Spices for food?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°A lot of people must be buying from you then.¡± Thinking about the food here, I could imagine people going crazy for some spices. I mean, looking back on the history of Earth, people went far and wide just for those.


    ¡°Oh that they are. When I started, I was sold out for like more than a day. From then on, well, I had to pump up the price, demand was piling up.¡±


    ¡°Not many sell spices?¡±


    ¡°There are plenty. But the demand is just so much.¡±


    Damn, if demand was incredibly high, the price for it might be more than I could ever afford ¡ª kidding. I¡¯m rich! Kind of¡­ I sort of took my wealth from someone that didn¡¯t need it anymore.. Was that theft? Not exactly¡­? Especially if that was from the guy that did bad to me so¡­ And he¡¯s dead!


    Anyway, this guy must be getting the big bucks, he was rich, I tell you.


    ¡°I take it that where you¡¯re going is dangerous?¡± Velar asked, looking at the three warriors.


    ¡°Some just take it themselves,¡± said a warrior. ¡°But the boss isn¡¯t especially strong when it comes to fighting. So he sets up a job to guard him.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said the driver. ¡°One time I went out on my own, I got robbed by bandits! Those fucking scums. And some other time, I almost died from a monster. Good thing I got away.¡±


    ¡°This is our third job from him,¡± said the warrior leader. ¡°So far, everything¡¯s gone smoothly.¡±


    Velar nodded. ¡°Is it easy?¡±


    ¡°So far, nothing too dangerous has popped up. But if there¡¯s gonna be a monster way stronger than the three of us, well, we better run away. But with three of us, we can handle most of the monsters we come across.¡±


    ¡°Do monsters just walk down the road around here?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Of course. They¡¯re everywhere. You¡¯ll never know when one would pop out of nowhere. Best to be on guard. If your luck is good, it¡¯ll be small fries. Else, well, you have to handle it somehow.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the strongest you¡¯ve faced?¡± Velar asked.


    The warrior leader had an uncomfortable smile on his face. ¡°It was a very bad one. A Striding Husk. A foul incarnation of monstrosity. If you ever face it, don¡¯t bother trying to fight.¡±


    Velar and I looked at each other.


    ¡°You know of it?¡± I asked my knight.


    He shook his head. ¡°Never heard of it. It would seem there are monsters unique here.¡±


    Which I¡¯d imagine was way too monstrous. This land was already giving off some grim, horror vibe. I hated it! Why can¡¯t we have rainbows and butterflies vibes?! Where I¡¯d get to play dress-up and play with cute animals ¡ª the latter I wouldn¡¯t really like much, but it beats the alternative!


    ¡°What kind of monster is it?¡± I asked the warrior.


    ¡°If you ever hear a ¡®tik, tik, tik¡¯ sound, it means that thing is somewhere nearby. And even if you hear it, it is difficult to tell where it¡¯s coming from¡­ It¡¯s like you¡¯re hearing it in both ears.¡±


    ¡°Fucking creepy stuff,¡± one warrior commented.


    ¡°Since it¡¯s pretty confusing, you could end up encountering the shitty thing. That¡¯s exactly what happened to us in the past.¡±


    ¡°Really? How¡¯d it go?¡± Velar asked as he leaned forward with clear intrigue.


    I also, of course, listened closely. I was a bit curious about it as well. What kind of monstrosity did this land possess?


    The warrior leader also leaned forward, forming a stern expression as he recalled the terrible experience.


    ¡°We were just walking into the forest, about to come back to town after a hunting trip¡­ But then, we heard it ¡ª tik, tik, tik¡­ We were familiar with it, of course. So, we started running the hell out. But¡­¡± He let out a sigh. ¡°We just have to run into it.¡± He shook his head.


    ¡°It was a humanoid monster,¡± he continued. ¡°Almost like a thin, tall man weakly and mindlessly wandering.¡± He stared at us with a sharp gaze. ¡°Gray skin, skin clung too close to the bones. Its face was like a human¡¯s, but its eyes were a glowing black abyss. Long fingers, no nails. It was the most eerie shit I¡¯ve seen in my life. Of course, as we were in its presence, it instantly noticed us. It immediately began its attack. Terrifying monster, savage, relentless. We stood no chance. It was so fast and so strong.¡±


    ¡°... How did you escape?¡± Velar asked.


    ¡°There were four of us. Two of my friends sacrificed themselves just for us to get away.¡± He looked at the warrior beside him. The latter nodded with a grim expression.


    He must be the one with him at the time.


    ¡°We lost good friends that day,¡± said the leader in a low voice. ¡°It was an absolutely bad and unlucky day.¡±


    Yeah, an extremely unlucky day.


    ¡°Is it a rare monster?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s among the rarest. It was a one in a thousand chance. Fucked up, isn¡¯t it?¡± He shook his head as he caressed his chin.


    ¡°But it can be killed, right?¡± I wanted to know if it was even possible to kill such a strange creature. You know, just in case we encounter one. I had to know if running was the only option.


    ¡°Dunno. I only heard rumors of some people killing one. But it¡¯s only rumors. If you run into one, better run away like critters.¡±


    I leaned back and nodded. Better listen to the advice of an experienced warrior.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Well, just know that thing¡¯s the least of your problems,¡± the leader said with a short sigh. ¡°Here on the road, you have bandits. If you can¡¯t even fight back, it¡¯ll be better not to resist and just give up.¡±


    ¡°I see. Do they attack even if you¡¯re with an armed party like this?¡±


    ¡°Normally no. A benefit of having armed guards is to prevent bandits from attacking you. Like us, for example. The bandits could be watching in the woods.¡± He pointed at the forest. ¡°If they see an armed group, they¡¯d rather avoid it.¡±


    It was less costly to just target less guarded carriages or anything. Especially if it was just one guarded carriage, not worth the trouble and end up losing some members. If they were to dare attack those with armed personnel, it would be better to attack those that certainly give better rewards.


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying the way to invite the bandits from attacking you is to look vulnerable?¡± I asked.


    The warrior leader raised an eyebrow. ¡°Hey, hey, you¡¯re serious about going after them? I don¡¯t know how it is in where you¡¯re from, but bandits here are as strong as the warriors back in the city. Some of them could only go into small groups, but some go big.¡±


    ¡°I need to find their base.¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t spill it that easily.¡±


    ¡°... I have my ways.¡±


    He groaned. ¡°It¡¯d especially be bad for a girl like you. You know what they do to women they capture?¡±


    ¡°I can imagine. Sold as slaves, or turned into their playthings.¡±


    ¡°So you know it¡¯s incredibly risky.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll measure the risks, and turn back if it¡¯s too much.¡±


    Don¡¯t worry, I have the Cursed Children with me! Undying monsters, baby!


    The warrior leader let out a resigning sigh. ¡°Do what you want. But yeah, if you look vulnerable, and it¡¯s just the two of you, and you¡¯re a woman, your chances of attracting bandits are good.¡±


    ¡°Splendid.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really determined to get that money?¡±


    I smiled. ¡°It¡¯s not always about the money.¡± It¡¯s about sending a message ¡ª kidding! It¡¯s not that.


    ¡°Oh?¡± He grinned. ¡°You¡¯re something else, lady. Keep it up.¡±


    Our trip was peaceful for some time. However, suddenly, we heard multiple howlings coming nearby. The warriors in front of us immediately got up on alert, putting a hand on their weapons. The warrior sharply looked towards the woods where the howls came from.


    I turned to look in the same direction, when at the same time a couple of dozen creatures emerged from the woods. They were wolf-like creatures, but a little bit bigger than normal wolves ¡ª so they were still too big for my liking. Their fur was in the shade of pure black onyx, eyes gleamed in crimson. Fangs protruded out of their mouths, sharp claws on their feet.


    ¡°Black Hounds!¡± shouted the warrior leader.


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of them.¡±


    The carriage suddenly came to a stop when a couple of black hounds came up front. The drakolisk hissed at the monster before it.


    The warrior leader turned to their third member. ¡°Keep close with the boss.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    He then turned toward us. ¡°Alright you two, time to see what you¡¯re made of.¡± He jumped off the carriage with his ally, drawing their swords.


    I turned to Velar and nodded my head. He jumped down and unsheathed his greatsword. The warrior leader whistled as he glanced at his enormous, glimmering weapon.


    ¡°An expensive sword you got there.¡±


    I noticed their blades were normal weapons, unlike Velar¡¯s. It would seem weapons like those were too expensive for even the warriors here.


    ¡°Are these powerful monsters?¡± Velar asked.


    ¡°Average. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do alright. But this number is something we can handle pretty easily.¡±


    I stood up on the carriage and lightly jumped to the wooden edge, overlooking the battlefield. I looked around, studying the area, the corners, the size, the number of hostiles, the type of enemies.


    Type of hostiles: Beasts.


    Behavior, almost unpredictable. Abilities unknown. Had to assume they move like any canine creature. Level of danger: high. Considering their number and unknown capabilities, they must be considered high-level threats.


    I glanced at the driver, he should be fine with that warrior beside him.


    The warriors charged towards the growling and gnashing black hounds. Their blades shone as they attacked. Velar remained where he stood, and he swung his blade in the air, sending a large slash of magic. He hit one, but the other wolves in the way swiftly evaded. It would seem these creatures were smart enough to evade.


    ¡°Velar,¡± I called. ¡°Go charge in. I¡¯ll call for you if I need you.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    He charged towards the beasts. His sword clashed with a wolf¡¯s claw as another wolf came up from his side. He moved aside and subsequently swung down his sword on the hound¡¯s body. Blood spurted out as the monster let out a small, pained cry.


    A second after that, a wolf opened its mouth and a ball of fire shot out from it, swiftly moving towards Velar. My knight was particularly surprised as he conjured a Palm Shield to protect himself. The ball of fire crashed against his shield, causing a small burst of wind scattering dust from the ground. Still, Velar was completely fine.


    The fuck? Was that magic? Or just a natural thing for them?


    I didn¡¯t expect that wolf would just cast magic like that. And it wasn¡¯t weak either.


    I observed the others, some of the wolves were sending fireballs at everyone as well. However, the warriors were handling them pretty well. Almost like they were used to facing them, unlike Velar who needed a moment to adjust, but he was still studying his opponents.


    I noticed a couple of wolves approaching the carriage. The warrior with the driver grew wary, watching the wolves closely.


    ¡°I¡¯ll handle them,¡± I said to the two before moving to the side facing the wolves.


    I have to conserve energy when fighting.


    So I shouldn¡¯t overdo it. I pulled out a dagger in each hand. I poured magic into them as I used a bit of Physical Enhancement. The moment the wolves rushed towards us, I instantly threw my dagger at each of them, a magical thread connected them to my hand. Given the strength I poured into the throw, and the close distance of the wolves, my daggers swiftly pierced through the air and struck each of the monsters deeply.


    I triggered the magic cast unto them, and small magical slashes erupted around the blade, shredding the wolves¡¯ flesh, killing them instantly.


    ¡°Woah.¡± The warrior near me muttered.


    I retracted the thread, immediately returning the small daggers into my hands.


    Hm, this will work.


    ¡°Let¡¯s finish this quickly,¡± I said.


    As long as the wolves were distracted, I should be able to kill them pretty easily.


    This will be a good practice session for my new set of daggers.


    I pulled out another set of daggers, three in each hand pinched between fingers. Jumping off the carriage, I took a deep breath as I observed and familiarized the position of my allies and enemies. My eyes then focused on Velar¡¯s position.


    There were multiple wolves coming at him. Once I got the clear shot, I threw three of my daggers in a sweeping motion, letting them go at precise timing. Each dagger swiftly struck the wolves and exploded into numerous magical slashes. Velar looked at me in surprise as he struck down one monster.


    I noticed a couple of wolves coming at me. Retracting the extended daggers, I twirled around as the daggers I held in my other hand extended just multiple meters, and sent wide slashes of light in their motion. The slashes swiftly hit the wolves. They didn¡¯t dig deep into the flesh as I was conserving both mana and stamina, but it was enough to kill. The new daggers truly helped with conserving my mana.


    I moved to the other side, to the warriors. I mildly ran to an area where I could cleanly strike from. Once it was clear, I threw my daggers at the enemies, the moment they hit, I triggered the magical slashes. Blood spurted out like fountains. Following that, I swung the threads towards the other wolves, cutting them from a distance. As the daggers were coated with magic, they easily cut through their skin.


    ¡°The heck?¡± the warrior leader watched in astonishment as I shredded the monsters. Not a sweat on my brow.


    The area was filled with the hounds¡¯ whimpers and cries. One limped and crawled, but I swiftly struck it down. And a moment later, once all monsters had been dealt with, the place was silent once more. Pools of red monster blood colored the ground.


    I let out a sigh. I managed to conserve stamina and spent a negligible amount of mana. I shouldn¡¯t get sleepy any time soon. I retracted my daggers, which were stained by blood. So before I touched them, I forcefully flicked them off by the thread to remove the blood. And once they were clean, I completely retracted them back into my hands.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t hurt anywhere, are you, Lady Estelia?¡± Velar asked as he approached.


    ¡°Nope. They didn¡¯t get to touch me,¡± I said with a smile.


    The warrior leader whistled as he stared at the daggers. ¡°That was awesome. Great job. You made it look easy.¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t have done it without you distracting them.¡±


    ¡°Heh, still you surprised me. You¡¯re pretty good with those.¡±


    I nodded and returned my daggers to their sheaths. ¡°Are those all the wolves?¡±


    ¡°Yup,¡± said the warrior leader. ¡°They normally flee when they sustain heavy casualties. But you killed them all before they could.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Hehehe, oops. Sorry doggies. I didn¡¯t mean to kill you all¡­ Okay, I did mean it. ¡°Now that¡¯s done, let¡¯s resume our travel?¡±


    ¡°Hold up,¡± the warrior held out his hand. ¡°We can¡¯t waste the good meat, can we?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    He pointed at the dead wolves.


    Oh, don¡¯t tell me¡­


    I couldn¡¯t help but wince when I realized what they were planning on doing. It was just something too much for the Pure Princess¡­ Oh yeah, I had not acted like that in a while¡­ To be honest, I missed doing that¡­ I missed home¡­

 Vol. 4 Chapter 72: The Power of Absolute Beauty

    The warriors approached the wolves and began cutting into their flesh. They removed some skin and began cutting off pieces of meat. However, it would seem they were only getting the most meaty parts. Taking the entire meat of those oversized dogs would be too heavy and too much of a hassle to carry for their trip. So they mainly got the meat from the thighs and belly.


    I walked over to them with a slightly wincing face. ¡°I learned the city sells meat from monsters. I assume it was the same meat from these wolves?¡±


    The warrior nodded. ¡°Yeah, these wolves are pretty common monsters.¡±


    ¡°Back where I¡¯m from, I never heard of people eating monster meat.¡±


    ¡°Really? Huh. You must have a lot of options, then?¡±


    ¡°... You could say that.¡± Well, compared to this place, we certainly have a great load of options. I could eat as many sweets as I could to the point I could get diabetes in a single night! But that¡¯s bad, so I ain¡¯t doing that.


    ¡°Sounds nice. Still, monster meat is delicious, some of them at least. And meat is meat, we can¡¯t be picky. But you gotta be careful which monster you eat. You might eat one that has acidic blood or poisonous flesh. Plenty of people died because of those.¡±


    Ugh, I would rather not eat any monster meat if I had any choice. But I quite understood why they would eat monster meat. I mean, from looking around, there was not any normal animal to be seen. So, their only choice to eat good meat was from monsters. How did this land even get bad to this degree? I should ask Taneva about this at some point.


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    They put the meat into some cloth and threw them into the cart. The warrior looked back at me.


    ¡°By the way, we¡¯re now in a less safe area. You might encounter more monsters, but you guys should be able to beat them. Aside from that, you can expect to encounter bandits from here on out.¡±


    Velar and I looked at each other. If that was the case, then it would be better to walk from here. As what was discussed earlier, moving with an armed group would only repel the bandits. So, this was a good chance to split up with these guys.


    ¡°In that case, we¡¯ll split off from here.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s what you want. Should I wish you good luck that you¡¯ll face bandits or not?¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°The former please.¡±


    ¡°Heh. What a weird thing to wish for.¡±


    The warriors jumped up to the carriage. I approached the driver with a friendly and grateful smile.


    ¡°Thank you for bringing us this far.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks for helping out, too. Stay safe out here.¡±


    ¡°You too.¡±


    With that, with a whip to the drakolisk, they began moving.


    ¡°Don¡¯t die out here, you two!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be embarrassing if you did.¡±


    ¡°Take care.¡±


    They casually raised their hands as goodbyes, and I waved at them as they went. I turned to Velar with a smile.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start walking.¡±


    And we began walking, watching as the carriage in front of us grew farther and farther. Of course, they were faster than us, and we were walking a bit slowly.


    ¡°What¡¯s your plan from here?¡± Velar asked.


    ¡°For now, we walk, while hoping to catch the bandits¡¯ attention.¡±


    ¡°Wait for them to find us? What if they don¡¯t come?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll get their attention somehow.¡± Like sending a flare to the sky. To do something chaotic, just anything to catch everyone¡¯s attention. It may call in monsters, but we¡¯d cross that bridge when it comes. But let¡¯s just hope they pop up without doing those. Besides, I had a secret ultimate weapon. And that weapon was something everyone was all so familiar with.


    And thus, some time passed, we continued on walking the road in peace. Surprisingly, we hadn¡¯t encountered any monsters yet. Looks like what that staff girl said that monster activity had lessened here was right.


    Anyway, the guys we rode along with had completely disappeared from view, and there was no one else around. And by rough estimation, we should be now around the location of where there were recorded bandit activities.


    I suddenly lowered my hood, revealing in the open my utter and blinding beauty. My appearance basically radiated like a holy light in this blight and corrupted misbegotten soil. I was literally a godly presence that blessed the unworthy land. My white and beautiful hair stood out like a watch tower amidst the darkest oceans. My absolute beauty shone and blossomed like a single white flower in a lonely desert. My purity illuminated the space like the brightest sky on a starry night. I was like a beacon! Indeed, this was my ultimate weapon!


    Velar eyes widened at my action.


    ¡°Princess, are you¡­?¡± He realized what I was doing. ¡°Are you sure about this? To use yourself as bait.¡±


    ¡°Of course. With this, even if a single eye would see us, more will follow.¡±


    ¡°... To be honest, I am not in favor of this. I don¡¯t like letting some strangers see your entire appearance. It is too dangerous.¡±


    Aaaaw, you hear that? So sweet and caring.


    ¡°I understand what you¡¯re saying. But being in a dangerous spot is the point to achieve what we want.¡±


    He let out a resigning sigh. ¡°I understand.¡±


    Sorry, I was giving trouble to my guard. What a stubborn princess I was. Anyway, we continued walking as I fully exposed my beauty. It would be really disappointing if no bandit ever comes for us, my beauty would really disappoint me.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    But some time after, nothing new happened yet, and we were now somewhere at the center of where the staff pointed out the bandit activities were. And this place should be a good spot to start robbing people. Far enough from the city, and deep enough into the main road, and no people around yet.


    I let out a sigh and stopped, walking towards a boulder on the ground.


    ¡°Princess?¡±


    ¡°We should rest and wait.¡±


    I was feeling just a bit tired anyway. And I didn¡¯t want to get too far off from where bandits usually carry out their activities. Besides, if I wait here long enough, some shady eyes could see me, and that was the goal.


    ¡°Can you hand me the grapes?¡± I said to Velar.


    He pulled out a small pouch of grapes. Yeah, they were the same nasty grapes we got previously. My crew bought quite a good amount, and guess what, they couldn¡¯t eat them all. I understood why, they were nasty after all. And why choose them when we had a lot of supplies on the ship, leagues more delicious at that.


    But at the moment, I just wanted some snacks. Couldn¡¯t be choosy. I pulled out a grape from the pouch in my hand and threw one into my mouth. My face contorted the moment I bit into it.


    Ugh¡­ This place sucks.


    Really needed fixing¡­ Fucking irritating how hard everything was.


    Moments passed, and we remained waiting as I slowly ate my grapes. There was a cart pulled by a drakolisk that passed through the road. The couple of guys on it looked at me with wide eyes, faces so full of shock and captivation that I thought their souls would get plucked out of their bodies. They almost looked like they wanted to approach me, but it would seem Velar intimated them. And so, they just continued on.


    Bye bye.


    Intimidated, huh? Yeah, even bandits might get wary of seeing Velar. But I was an invaluable reward, and many would take the risk of getting their hands on me if they had a chance. By the way, those two guys on the carriage were definitely going to die out there, no guards and all. It would seem not everyone could afford guards. Anyway, it was just a feeling, there might be a miracle. Or I was just being unnecessarily pessimistic about some strangers.


    Moments passed, and the place was still quiet. We¡¯d been here a while. Velar was just quietly looking around with sharp eyes. As for me, I frequently paused eating the grapes. It was just too much for me to eat right after the other. The flavor was certainly not helping. Suddenly, I sensed something in the woods. Eyes watching us.


    I smiled and handed the fruit pouch to Velar. ¡°They may come very soon. Be prepared.¡±


    He seemed surprised as he received the pouch. ¡°Really? I didn¡¯t even sense them.¡±


    ¡°Just an instinct of mine.¡±


    And thus we waited, I looked around as I did. Then, a long moment after, several figures began emerging from the woods and the shades. They were all shabby looking, but dangerous. They had swords in hands, wearing shabby armors, grinning as they approached us.


    ¡°Look what we got here?¡± one said with a brief, sinister chuckle.


    Velar stepped forward and drew his greatsword, glaring at the approaching enemy.


    ¡°Got a pretty doll.¡±


    ¡°Woah, that¡¯s the prettiest girl I¡¯ve ever seen.¡±


    I can imagine.


    I glanced to the side and spotted another bandit coming. He waved his hand at me with a creepy smile.


    ¡°Hey there, girly. Would you like some fun?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll give you the best day of your life.¡±


    ¡°Let me go first, aight?¡±


    ¡°Ain¡¯t no fucking way, I¡¯m going first.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s me!¡±


    ¡°Bastard!¡±


    They suddenly began quarreling. To be honest, I was quite surprised how volatile they were. I already surmised they were quite simple-minded.


    Ooooh, I have an idea.


    I resisted quite a sinister grin myself.


    Velar stepped in front of me. ¡°You people are revolting.¡±


    ¡°Whaaat? Shut up, sword guy!¡±


    ¡°Hand over that girl, and we¡¯ll let you two live.¡±


    Velar gripped his sword tight with both hands. But before anything else, I placed a hand on his arm to lower his weapon and stop him. With an innocent expression directed at the bandits, I stepped forward.


    ¡°E-Excuse me, may I ask who you are?¡± I said with the most precious voice you could ever hear.


    ¡°Oh, just some guys that want to have some fun, is all,¡± one bandit said with a cackle.


    ¡°Is that so? What kind of fun would that be?¡± I tilted my head preciously, as if I was entirely clueless.


    ¡°Hehehehe, what do you think?¡±


    I clasped my hands together. ¡°Are you bandits, perchance? Are you going to rob me?¡±


    ¡°Weeell, right now, robbing¡¯s not exactly the priority.¡± One sneered and laughed.


    I turned towards one that seemed to be pretty eager and worked up. ¡°Really? Having fun is more important, I take it?¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± he replied.


    I flashed them a smile for a moment, but I mainly focused on that one person. ¡°I understand. But there are a lot of you. Is it something that can be done with this many?¡± My sparkling, beautiful, attractive gaze directed at him, and him alone.


    ¡°S-Sure, hehehe. Taking turns works.¡±


    I smiled seductively, but with a heavy trace of fragility. ¡°Ooooh, then, who¡¯ll be the first one?¡±


    ¡°Me, of course!¡±


    ¡°You?¡± I sweetly said to him before turning to the others, placing a hand on my cheek. ¡°Is it right he should be first? There¡¯s a saying: the first always gets the best of taste.¡± I made that up, by the way.


    ¡°I said I¡¯ll be the first!¡± shouted one.


    ¡°Shut up! I already said it¡¯s me!¡± the first one said.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you see how gorgeous that girl is?! There¡¯s no way I¡¯m letting you eat her up first!¡±


    ¡°Yeah? What¡¯cha gonna do, huh?!¡±


    ¡°You bastard!¡± He pulled on his collar.


    ¡°Get your hands off me!¡± The man suddenly punched the man in the face.


    The man tumbled to the ground, but then turned towards his ally with a resentful and angry expression. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    He swung his sword at him.


    ¡°Well, if you two are gonna fight, I¡¯m going ahead,¡± one promptly started approaching me.


    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± another placed a hand on his shoulder. ¡°We¡¯re making a proper decision on this.¡±


    ¡°Yeah? And who do you think is the proper pick? You? Cheeky bastard.¡±


    ¡°Heh, well it can be me.¡±


    The bandit scoffed. ¡°Let me go.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re second.¡±


    ¡°You shit!¡± He punched him in the face.


    And they began fighting. One tried to evade, but the attacker almost hit an uninvolved man with his weapon. That pissed the latter off, of course.


    ¡°You¡¯re trying to kill me?!¡±


    One tried sneaking in and approached me without saying anything. But one bandit noticed him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you fucking dare!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m your senior here!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t fucking care. I¡¯m getting it fresh!¡±


    Those two also started fighting.


    One particular bandit looked around in shock, watching as his allies began fighting each other. ¡°H-Hey, what the hell are you doing?! Dammit! Why are you even fighting? I¡¯ve been leading you bunch. I should hit it first!¡±


    I tilted my head with a beautiful, small pout. ¡°Aren¡¯t you just taking advantage of your authority just to get what you want? Quite selfish of you.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Why the hell should we let you go first?!¡±


    ¡°What did you say, you shit?! I¡¯m your fucking leader!¡±


    ¡°Fuck you! I¡¯ve only been following you for a couple of days, anyway! And you¡¯re a shit leader!¡±


    ¡°You!¡±


    The two glared at each other.


    I formed the purest smile. ¡°Oh my, you¡¯re fighting. That is fine. Prove to each other and to yourselves who are the most worthy. Do whatever you must to take the first bite of the most delicious fruit! And you shall have a glimpse of true heaven.¡±


    And disorder ensued. The bandits started fighting against each other. Magic flew all over the place, dust and debris scattered in the air. Men getting injured, beating each other with their mightiest of strikes. One against one, two against two. All just to prove who was better, all to prove who should be worthy to the forefront. Junior, or senior, it didn¡¯t matter in achieving the highest of prizes. Me.


    Oh, my goodness. I didn¡¯t expect it would work this well. Bunch of savages, all right. The simplest minds were the easiest to influence.


    I couldn¡¯t believe how effective it was. However, it was exciting to witness this. My beauty caused chaos among my enemies. I never thought it would be so easy. It was just a mere simple, throwaway idea. Where if it failed, I would just shrug it off. Never did I expect for it to work to this degree. They were fucking killing each other. How fearsome. How great! How exhilarating what I could do with just my presence!


    One stabbed the other in the chest. One beat another to the ground, pounding his fist into one¡¯s face. To think I could achieve such a thing without raising a blade. With my beauty alone, with my existence alone, I could achieve such a magnificent result!


    This chaos. It made my heart race.


    ¡°Princess¡­¡± Even Velar was awestruck by what he was seeing.


    I resisted the urge to laugh in my excitement.


    How fun!


    How fun indeed!

 Vol. 4 Chapter 73: The Princess Tortures

    I took a deep breath to contain the growing excitement within me. I should not lose myself in this extreme emotion, it would be my undoing, especially in this risky situation. And getting too excited might become problematic. The bandits were slowly killing themselves, but I shouldn¡¯t let this go on lest their heads turn back to normal. At least they were all distracted at the moment.


    I had determined high value targets, ones that I¡¯d spare. Therefore, I knew which ones I should kill to dwindle their numbers. I subtly pulled out small daggers, pressing them between my fingers. Thinking about the strength of the people in this land, I shouldn¡¯t underestimate these bandits. Therefore, I must be swift in killing them, a surprise attack.


    I poured a good amount of mana into the fibers of my flesh as I stepped forward.


    ¡°Let me start, Velar.¡± I whispered.


    I halted and firmed my body. With my eyes, I began aiming at different targets. Once I was ready, in an instant, my cloak flapped open as I swiftly spun around, followed by six small daggers piercing through the air at staggering speed. The intense speed of my daggers didn¡¯t allow for anyone to see them, nor block them in time.


    The daggers hit flesh, and in the next moment, magical slashes exploded, shredding bodies apart.


    ¡°W-What the hell?!¡± one bandit exclaimed as he witnessed his own opponent explode into a shower of red guts.


    I extended a hand aimed at the bandit and a strike of lightning emerged from my palm. To my surprise, he used his magic coated sword to block my spell. To think he could react to that attack. Instantly, ice crawled from the soil before me towards him, and a spike grew out of the ground and pierced the back of his knee.


    ¡°Gggh! How¡ª¡± another ice spike stabbed his arm.


    I took the chance to pounce on him and cut off his hand. He cried in pain, blood spurting out of his cut off wrist, his sword falling to the ground. I punched him on the cheek, stunning him for a moment. But still, he was sturdier than I had hoped. I quite felt that slightly hard sensation in my fist. But of course, I was pretty loaded with Physical Enhancement so it wasn¡¯t that big of an issue.


    As he tilted to the side, I severed his right leg. He tumbled to the ground.


    ¡°W-What the h-hell?!¡± He writhed on the soil as he slowly bled out.


    I noticed another running towards me. I didn¡¯t need that guy. I was curious how much power I needed to execute a single bandit with a single magic. A ball of flame formed in my hand as I held it out towards the enemy. I condensed a good amount of magic, guessing how much I would need to obliterate him. But not to the extent that it would be too mana expensive.


    The bolt of flame shot out, leaving a small burst of air as it went. The bandit cast a magic shield to protect himself. However, it immediately broke into pieces, and he instantly burst into flames after the fire bolt broke through. Once the fire dissipated, what was left was a smoldering corpse dropping.


    I glanced at the last bandit, looking at me with wide eyes. But Velar was already beside the man, and had pointed a sword at his neck.


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill him,¡± I said.


    Velar nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t try to resist,¡± Velar warned.


    ¡°Shit!¡± The bandit quickly dropped his weapon and raised both hands. ¡°I give up!¡±


    Now that the last guy was taken care of, I turned towards the amputated bandit crawling on the ground. He was the bandit leader.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move,¡± I said.


    He froze, gritting his teeth. I approached him and cast a ball of flame at his bleeding arm.


    ¡°AAAAH!¡± His flesh and blood sizzled for a moment as I cauterized it. I did the same to his leg, and he cried even more in his agony. He squirmed all over, he wanted to stand, but he couldn¡¯t. ¡°Fuck you! Magic can¡¯t grow fucking limbs!¡± He glared at me. ¡°I¡¯m forever a cripple!¡±


    I narrowed my eyes on him. ¡°Stop squirming.¡± I waved my hand and ice immediately wrapped around his limbs and body to restrain him. Crouching beside him, I said, ¡°I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re a cripple. You have something I want.¡±


    ¡°W-What the fuck do you want?!¡±


    ¡°Do you know of a person named Yachi Miyagawa?¡±


    His eyes widened, and he looked away with a firm expression. ¡°I don¡¯t know that guy.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Really?¡±


    I gestured for Velar to bring the other one. With a smile, I asked the other bandit the same question.


    ¡°Do you know Yachi Miyagawa? If you don¡¯t answer, well, I¡¯ll cut off your penis.¡±


    The bandit froze in horror. ¡°That¡¯s cruel!¡±


    ¡°Cruel? Says the one who wanted to violate me. Answer me now. I¡¯m losing my patience.¡±


    The bandit pursed his lips. ¡°... I know him.¡±


    ¡°You idiot! Don¡¯t say anything. He¡¯ll kill us!¡±


    ¡°Screw that!¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°They¡¯re bounty hunters!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care! The boss will kill them, anyway.¡±


    ¡°And we¡¯re fucking next for snitching, you fucking idiot!¡±


    The bandit who confessed clicked his tongue.


    ¡°Hm. Good man right there.¡± I pointed at the snitch. And suddenly, I kicked the bandit group leader on the head, knocking him out. His head turned to the side, eyes closed.


    I approached the other bandit and leaned in close. ¡°As for you, I need you to tell me where this Yachi is. Where is your base?¡±


    The man hesitated for a moment before pointing in a particular direction. ¡°The base is on the hills to the west. A couple hours of walking from here through the forest.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± I turned towards the unconscious bandit. ¡°Keep a good watch on him,¡± I said to my knight. ¡°I have something I need to do. But before that.¡±


    I retrieved all my daggers that were scattered around the area. I didn¡¯t conjure the threads this time as they would only slow me down, I had no time to retract them. The goal was to eliminate the enemies as soon as possible. And it was doable if I just threw my weapons.


    Once I was done retrieving all my daggers, I approached and grasped the unconscious bandit¡¯s shirt and began dragging him into the forest.


    ¡°What are you planning on doing?¡± Velar asked, curious.


    ¡°Verification.¡±


    ¡°I really shouldn¡¯t leave you alone in there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    I walked into the forest, and honestly, it was a bit creepy. I approached a particular tree, and I easily lifted the man up and pressed him to the tree upside down. Ice magic wrapped around his body and secured him to the tree trunk. I left his other hand exposed for later.


    Hm, I just knocked him up. Would he wake up?


    I slapped him multiple times and his cheeks started turning red. It took a while, but his eyes started fluttering and looking around.


    ¡°W-What? W-Where am I?¡± His eyes widened upon seeing me. ¡°I¡¯m upside down?!¡± He tried squirming, but it wouldn¡¯t budge. He stared at the ice that enclosed him. ¡°What the hell is this? Why¡¯s this so hard?!¡±


    ¡°Calm down, will you? I just want to ask some questions.¡±


    ¡°Ggh! What?!¡±


    I gave him a condescending look. ¡°I don¡¯t like the way you talk to me. Be more respectful.¡±


    ¡°Fuck you!¡±


    ¡°You do know you¡¯re wasting too much time lashing out at me like this. By every passing moment, the closer you are to dying.¡±


    ¡°W-What¡­?¡±


    I conjured an ice chair and sat down on it, glaring at him at eye level. ¡°Why so confused? I¡¯m certain you know about it.¡± I smiled. ¡°You¡¯re flipped over, blood rushing to your head.¡±


    He gasped in horror when he finally realized the danger he was in, aside from the other dangerous things¡­


    ¡°Blood is essential to the body,¡± I continued. ¡°But too much blood to the head, now that is deadly.¡±


    He groaned. ¡°What the fuck do you want from me?!¡±


    ¡°Where is your base? The base where I can find the bandit big boss named Yachi.¡±


    He gritted his teeth. ¡°No fucking way I¡¯m telling you!¡±


    ¡°Are you really that loyal?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s helped us many times. Gave us good livelihoods! I ain¡¯t giving him away just like that.¡±


    Hearing the absurd words that came out of his mouth, I couldn¡¯t help but snicker. ¡°You consider banditry a good livelihood? I¡¯ve never heard something so stupid in a while.¡±


    ¡°Screw you!¡±


    ¡°But I would rather you answer my question.¡±


    ¡°No fucking way I¡¯m talkin¡ª¡±


    A flash of a blade swept through the air. And the next that could be heard was the bandit¡¯s cry of agony, as his other hand was severed.


    ¡°Ggggh! Fuck you! You¡¯re an evil bitch!¡± He shouted, tears coming out of his eyes, and saliva drooling down his mouth.


    I slapped him in the face. ¡°You kiss your mother with that mouth?¡± I picked up his hand with my fingers as if I was picking up something disgusting. ¡°A shame, you have no hands left.¡± I casually threw his hand away into the wilderness.


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking shit!¡±


    I conjured a ball of flame and cauterized his bleeding arm. His wound sizzled loudly.


    ¡°AAAAAGH! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!¡±


    ¡°I was never really a torturer. It was never my role. But I learned a thing or two. You see a lot of torture in my line of business.¡±


    The bandit gasped for breath as he bore the intense pain. Looking at him, he looked like shit, no arms, missing a leg.


    ¡°Y-You took everything!¡± He shouted at me with evident scorn and hatred.


    ¡°Yes, I guess I did. Without your limbs, you can¡¯t do anything anymore. How miserable.¡± I sat back down in my frozen chair. ¡°I can remove your last leg if you refuse to talk.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ You already took it all. It¡¯s pointless. Just kill me.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes, falling silent for a brief moment. ¡°Those who seek death will not find it. They will long to die, but death will elude them.¡±


    ¡°W-What are you¡­?¡±


    ¡°Just a quote you ought to remember. It refers to a time of great suffering, where people desire death due to their torment. But death will not come. And suffering will continue.¡±


    ¡°Continue¡­ For me?¡±


    ¡°Your suffering will continue until the reaper has what it wants. In this case, I am your reaper.¡± I rose from my seat and I placed a hand on the ice. ¡°Speak the truth, and you shall be free from suffering.¡±


    ¡°...¡± He kept his mouth shut.


    ¡°A deathless torment it is, then.¡±


    I poured my mana into the ice. The ice inside the encasing shifted, and slowly they turned into countless small needles, they grew and gradually pierced into his skin. The bandit started screaming in agony, but that was only the beginning of this hellish torment.


    The countless needles inside his body began branching. They slowly dug through his muscles and fibers, and the sheer coldness penetrated his body. More and more of the needles branched all over his body, his chest, his shoulder, his groins, his legs, his neck, and from there, to the head.


    The man screamed and cried. His voice echoing throughout the woods. His scream was so intense that the sound may as well have reached the skies.


    ¡°I will demand no answer just yet.¡±


    I removed one hand from the ice and held it out on his head. After casting ice to cover his mouth, green light began emanating from my palm ¡ª healing magic.


    ¡°I want you to feel this. Focus on it. I want you to think of nothing but the pain.¡±


    Magic truly was a splendid thing. Torture had never been simpler and easier.


    ***


    I emerged from the woods as I stretched my neck. Precisely controlling the ice was a bit more challenging than I had hoped. But at least I got to practice it well, truly effective in developing my precision in mana manipulation. That guy was a good practice dummy.


    And by the way, despite how tough he may try to carry himself, eventually he cracked. And I had to say, he had a bit of a hard time speaking after that experience. Might have broken him a bit. And so, when I was done with him, I put an end to his misery, and left his corpse to be eaten by nature, or any creature that might be in this scary place.


    ¡°Lady Estelia, I heard a scream,¡± Velar said.


    ¡°Yeah, I had to do something to make him talk.¡±


    He nodded. He didn¡¯t seem bothered by what I did. That was good.


    ¡°Did you get what you needed?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I stared at the bandit, who was tied around the body. ¡°Turns out, what he said was true. They both said the same thing.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°The hell? You didn¡¯t trust me?!¡±


    I glared down at the bandit scum. ¡°You expect me to take your word for it? I¡¯m no fool.¡±


    He curled down a little and lowered his head.


    ¡°And the bandit,¡± Velar said. ¡°Where is he?¡±


    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s dead.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well, we no longer need him, anyway. But what about this one?¡±


    The bandit formed a worried expression. He still had a role to play.


    ¡°I need you to lead us to your base, where our target is located.¡±


    ¡°Wha¡ª You can¡¯t be serious!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m serious. Unless you want me to cut off your limbs one by one until you do as demanded?¡±


    The man pursed his lips before nodding meekly. ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°Good. Then start moving.¡±


    I pushed the man forward, and he started walking. We followed close behind.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 74: Monster Vines

    We had walked deep into the dead forest, and the bandit was walking ahead of us. The forest again had dark trees, mostly lacking leaves. To my surprise, the dark grasses, bushes, and vines were a bit more prominent within, plenty of them got in our way. But still, they were not as thick as what you¡¯d find in a normal forest. Many other unhealthy plants around us were already wilting away.


    So far, the bandit was leading us in the right direction. And so far, he hadn¡¯t attempted to escape. Perhaps he realized it would be pointless to do so. And I warned him that I¡¯d cut off his dick if he attempted to run away, so¡­ likely that helped! There was nothing more frightening than that notion. I mean, no guy would want to lose their dick¡­ Except for eunuchs I guess, but that¡¯s an entirely different topic.


    ¡°How fortunate we''ve yet to encounter any monster,¡± Velar said as he looked around.


    ¡°I guess you guys have something to do with it?¡± I asked the bandit.


    The bandit glanced back at us. ¡°W-We frequently clean out any monster we find. We always come through here.¡±


    ¡°I see. Any monster we should look out for?¡±


    ¡°... There are monsters that blend in with the forest. And there are also smaller ones. Normally, they don¡¯t pounce at us unless intentionally.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± I looked around. We were getting proper lighting here, considering that the trees barely had any shade to give. So, there shouldn¡¯t be anything to avoid our gaze.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know the creatures here?¡± The bandit glanced back at us again. ¡°You¡¯re not from this land?¡±


    I glared at him. ¡°You don¡¯t get to ask questions. Now keep moving.¡±


    Things were peaceful for some time. But then suddenly, I noticed a particularly dark green vine on the soil. It was sort of out of place, the thickness, and the vibrance of it. It was not as unhealthy as the surrounding plants. And the bandit was about to walk over it.


    ¡°Sto¡ª¡± I tried to stop him, but it was too late.


    A vine suddenly wrapped around the bandit¡¯s ankle, and he was lifted upwards. Velar And I quickly pulled out our weapons. I held medium daggers in each hand.


    ¡°What the hell?!¡± the bandit screamed as he was dangled in the air. ¡°Fuck fuck fuck! I know this! Guzzler! Fuck! Help me!¡±


    Guzzler?


    It was then I noticed some vines on the trees and on the ground began squirming and moving. In an instant, a vine thrust towards me with such incredible speed that it caught me off guard. Velar¡¯s sword came in front of me, blocking the incoming vine to protect me. But things didn¡¯t end there.


    A vine from behind us lashed towards me. I filled my blades with magic and sent magical arcs at the vine, cutting it into pieces. But another suddenly snapped from behind me.


    Shit!


    I conjured a barrier just in time as it slammed into me. However, the power within those vines was stronger than I expected, and I was sent flying and crashing into a nearby tree ¡ª so much for being thrifty with magic. Before crashing into the tree, though, I had conjured another barrier to take the brunt of the impact.


    ¡°Lady Estelia!¡±


    I groaned in annoyance as I regained my feet. The force was stronger than I liked, the tree behind me was smashed.


    Plants that are alive. What sort of bullshit is this?!


    And I take it it was a monster? Shit. I looked around as I watched the vines begin moving at both me and Velar. My knight was fighting them off as he made his way towards me. Still, were the monsters these vines itself? No fucking way.


    Velar used his magic to slash the upcoming vines, but another came to take its place. I had a hard time believing they were the actual monsters. There must be more to this. I attached magical threads to my two daggers and threw them forward towards the vines, and I grasped the threads and swung at them. I sliced off several vines, but still more came at us.


    ¡°Hey! Save me! Let¡¯s run!¡±


    I saw the bandit was still hanging in the air, his body was now wrapped with multiple vines, restraining his movements.


    ¡°Velar! Do you know what these are?!¡±


    ¡°No! Never encountered something like this before.¡±


    Now that was just fucking great. It¡¯s difficult to operate without information. Suddenly, a vine snapped and clasped on my leg. Holding a gasp of surprise, I used ice magic on the ground to conjure a blade to cut it off. However, another sneaked behind me, striking at me like a snake. I instantly conjured a small shield to block it. However, what it did surprised me.


    What the fuck?!


    It curved to the side of the shield, avoiding it, and headed straight towards me. I quickly stepped back and conjured another barrier to protect my face, and at the same time retracted my blades to cut off the vine. That was a fucking close one, it almost damaged my pretty face.


    What the heck was even up with these vines? Almost like they had eyes of their own.


    ¡°Dammit! Don¡¯t focus on the vines!¡± the bandit shouted with a straining voice. ¡°It¡¯s pointless cutting those down! Just get me out of this and let¡¯s run!¡±


    Pointless? Did that mean they would just keep on spawning?


    What¡¯s up with this absurd place? No, what¡¯s up with this fucked up world?!


    Still, there were too many vines lashing at us. There was no way to easily slip through these. That left me with no choice. I let go of my daggers and let them hang on the threads as I spread out my hands.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    ¡°Velar! Deploy your shield!¡±


    Velar realized what I was about to do and he conjured a powerful Palm Shield to shield himself. At the same moment, I cast the lesser version of the spell ¡°Ice Crown¡± from the grimoire. White mist instantly scattered in all directions, along with a gust of wind revolving around. And then, mixed along the ice storm, were hails of ice moving along with the swirling wind. The sheer coldness touched my skin.


    The surrounding vines stopped moving as frost coated their body before being demolished by the scattering pellets of ice. I didn¡¯t use icicles as they were more deadly and harder to control. I had yet to fully master this technique, I couldn¡¯t risk it yet. But it was enough to slow down the vines.


    It was a bit hard to see in this mist, but I marked where Velar was and made a small exclusion zone around him. That should keep the intense cold and mist from hitting that zone. The pellets, however, were nigh impossible to guide. It was the drawback of this spell, it was best to use it when I was alone. The best I could do was change the flow of wind in the exclusion zone, which should divert some of the pellets. I also did the same roughly as where the bandit was.


    But considering that I was the epicenter of this spell, when I reunite with Velar, everything would be fine. And thus I ran towards him and quickly found him protecting himself with his barrier.


    ¡°Velar, stick close to me. Retrieve the bandit, we still need him.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    Velar followed me forward, and it didn¡¯t take long before we found the bandit. He was already on the ground, unwrapping himself from the lifeless vines. It would seem my cold was effective against the plants. No wait, judging from what I¡¯d seen, this land may never have experienced a cold blizzard. I doubt they had seen and touched snow.


    The bandit pulled off the vines off his body with labored breaths, white mist coming out of his mouth.


    ¡°W-What the hell is going on? What is this?¡± He stared and grasped the snow before him. As I thought, he was confused and surprised to see it.


    He noticed us, but then suddenly, he abruptly stood up and started running away. Before he could take another step, I caught up to him and slammed my hand into his back, throwing him to the ground.


    ¡°Seriously? Running away? In case you haven¡¯t noticed, this is my storm. You¡¯ll die if you run away.¡±


    ¡°What? Y-You did this?¡± He asked with a pained groan.


    ¡°Velar,¡± I turned towards Velar. ¡°Pick him up. We need to get out o¡ª¡± Before I got to finish my sentence, the ground beneath our feet suddenly began shaking.


    However, it was unlike how an earthquake would be, it was more like something was moving underneath the soil. Then the ground before us started to rise. We quickly stepped back as Velar grabbed the bandit by the shirt.


    I watched with widened eyes as a creature rose from beneath the ground. The motherfucker had been under us all this time. It was a big creature standing at around fifteen feet tall. It had a dark green body, all made of the same material and texture as a vine. It stood with two legs, and it had two hands with three fingers. Connected on its back were more squirming vines. It had a jaw-like big head that could snap and trap all it catches, it was similar to a flytrap plant. However, in its mouths were countless teeth, meaning you¡¯d instantly die getting eaten by that monster.


    It slammed its long hands to the ground, as if enraged. It let out a loud and piercing shriek, blasting dust and winds off. The vines on its back began growing thorns.


    I hate this world.


    I mean, what was up with this monster?! Why does this have to exist, huh?! It¡¯s ridiculous! Why did we have to face a monster¡­? Honestly, they gotta chill with these abominations. Fighting people? Yeeeaaah, no issue, I can deal with that. But monsters?! What the fuck!


    The bandit yelped as he stepped back, tumbling down. ¡°That guzzler is gigantic.¡±


    The vines seemed to be slowly freezing. The main body, however, was barely affected by my magic. And judging from its physique, it could move quite fast. Running away would be a bit difficult.


    ¡°Can we beat that?¡± I asked the bandit.


    ¡°Last time we fought one, we needed a team!¡±


    ¡°Like the team we faced earlier?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah!¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Then killing this thing would be manageable. There was an issue. ¡°Velar, can you take it down?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I am not familiar with that thing.¡±


    ¡°I am maintaining the storm. I can¡¯t fight it directly in full power.¡± Well, technically, I was far from using my full power right now. But I must preserve energy. ¡°I¡¯ll be relying on you when it comes to it.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not running?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll chase us down, it¡¯ll be hard with those vines all over the place, even with the cold.¡± Taking damage was more likely to happen. ¡°Besides, we have backup.¡±


    Just as several thorny vines came flying towards us, a couple of black fogs descended from above. Figures formed and cut down the vines. The two Cursed Children quickly joined us, making a defensive line.


    ¡°Princess,¡± Heneis said. ¡°Let us help.¡±


    ¡°Very well. You two and Velar take care of it. I¡¯m sure it will be easy for you.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve seen such a creature in the long past. But they were smaller,¡± Heneis observed the creature. ¡°But it was not on this land. Is it different here or have they evolved?¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. Finish this. Velar, go. I¡¯ll maintain my snowstorm to slow it down.¡±


    And with that, the three charged at the monster. I subtly groaned as I maintained the storm and made small adjustments. This magic was on a bigger scale, covering a wide area, so there was a bit of repercussion on me.


    With his greatsword, Velar cut through the several vines that were getting in his way. The Cursed Children, with their claw hands, swung down at the monster¡¯s body, cleaving through the plant-like fibers. The monster shrieked and slammed its arms down at them. But Velar snuck through from the side and swung his greatsword in the air, sending a wide and condensed slash of light.


    The slash crashed and caused tremendous damage to the monster, almost cutting it in half. However, the monster immediately began regenerating.


    ¡°Hit the head to kill it faster!¡± the bandit shouted.


    Velar sent multiple slashes at the head. One the monster blocked, but a couple hit the head. The head appeared to be a bit more durable than the rest of the body. However, the impact of the slash seemed to be healing way slower. The monster cried in anger, and more vines grew out of its body to lash out at his opponents.


    The cursed child, Galik, leaped at the monster and clawed its neck, but the monster grabbed him and threw him away. He turned into a fog before he flew further. Heneis dodged the vines and pounced at the monster¡¯s head, clawing at it violently.


    The monster slammed its head into the ground to remove Heneis. However, that was a mistake, and Velar stepped in right next to it and brought down his sword, landing critical damage. Galik followed and stabbed his claws into the head. The monster squirmed.


    The two inflicted more and more damage on it. Until a moment later, the monster uttered a faint cry before it completely stopped moving. The three slowly stepped aside and warily stared at the monster.


    I disabled my snowstorm. The wind grew silent and calmed down. The temperature gradually returned to normal. The ice pellets that were made of magic gradually started to evaporate as I cut off my magic source.


    ¡°You k-killed it?¡± The bandit muttered. ¡°And who are those guys?¡±


    ¡°No one you have to worry about. Stand.¡±


    I urged the man to stand up, and we approached the monster. In my curiosity, I put my hand on it. It was bizarre.


    ¡°I thought you¡¯d cleaned out this region,¡± I said to the bandit.


    ¡°Of course we couldn¡¯t find everything. And these types of monsters we prefer to avoid.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± I turned towards the Cursed Children. ¡°Good job. I appreciate the help. You may return to your post.¡±


    With that, the Cursed Children morph into fogs and vanish into the skies.


    The bandit looked on with wide eyes. ¡°Those two are not fucking human. Who the fuck are you people?!¡±


    ¡°Is that so surprising?¡± I said to him, ¡°I expected you¡¯d be less freaked considering you always encounter monsters.¡±


    ¡°Monsters are different from you. You people are working with beings that appear human, but not human at all! And your magic, what was that?¡±


    ¡°Enough with the questions. Let¡¯s go on. You¡¯re lucky you¡¯re still alive.¡±


    As I walked forward, I paused and placed a hand on my head. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± I felt a headache. Casting that wide scale magic really put a strain on me. How annoying.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Velar checked up on me.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Just¡­ I¡¯ll explain next time.¡±


    Velar was confused as to what I was talking about. But he just nodded.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 75: Willingness of the Soldier

    ¡°How far are we?¡± I asked the bandit.


    ¡°Not far. Once we get past this thick part of the forest, we should be able to see the base.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    The heavy magic casting took a bit of toll on me. I was still mostly fine though. I could still afford to walk for hours. However, I should avoid casting more intensive spells for today if I wanted to get back to town without feeling like shit.


    The bandit glanced back at me. He seemed to hesitate for a moment. ¡°... So, you¡¯re a princess, huh?¡±


    I frowned at him, but he disregarded my displeased expression and continued running his mouth.


    ¡°That¡¯s your actual title, isn¡¯t it? We don¡¯t have literal princesses here. So you¡¯re definitely from another nation. You being a princess explains your¡­¡± He pointed his hands at me, implicitly indicating that it explained my beautiful appearance. Flattering, but I never liked captives being unnecessarily chatty.


    ¡°I don¡¯t recall allowing you to babble.¡±


    ¡°A shame though, you¡¯re quite an asshole.¡±


    The fuck?


    ¡°Want to lose a limb?¡±


    He flinched away before awkwardly smiling. ¡°Sorry, sorry, I was only kidding.¡±


    This motherfucker. I was definitely not an asshole. Was I an asshole? Definitely not!


    I try to be kind as much as possible. Did that make me an asshole?


    I was always kind to my allies, and to strangers.


    If you¡¯re my enemy, that¡¯s when I get a bit rough ¡ª I think that¡¯s justified, right? But I was never an outright asshole. Fucking pisses me off when someone describes me that way.


    No, no, calm down. Why was I so agitated all of a sudden? Shit. I was losing my cool. Sorry, I haven''t been in a pretty good mental state lately. Adding to my weak and deteriorating body to my other problems shortened my patience. Despite what I had been doing, I was still having difficulties with processing everything that had happened.


    And that¡¯s precisely why I¡¯m here doing this.


    This, hunting a target, was something I needed.


    At least I think so.


    Eventually, we arrived at the edge of the thick part of the forest. And some time later, the bandit paused. He let out a tired sigh and lifted his hand to point towards the distance.


    ¡°There, at the base of the hill. Don¡¯t tell me you intend to approach.¡±


    In front of us was a large area with lesser vegetation and fewer trees. Must be because they cut them all off and used some of the trees as lumber. At any rate, I could see some of the buildings from here.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell the layout of their base from here,¡± I said.


    ¡°Moving closer would be risky,¡± Velar suggested. ¡°If we add us all together, four of us attacking the base would be difficult without information.¡±


    ¡°I never said we¡¯d attack today. I said we only find and check out the place. Reconnaissance.¡±


    ¡°... Of course.¡±


    ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t intend to outright assault the enemy.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I have another plan in mind. Anyway, the priority is to gather info and scout the enemy¡¯s base.¡± This would be a bit easier if there was satellite imagery. Would have been pretty easy to see the base¡¯s layout. But alas, stuck in a medieval-magic era. But perhaps that was already enough. Honestly, I think it would be a nightmare if it was a modern age with magic. Each era has its advantages.


    I looked around and spotted quite a tall tree. It should be enough to see the base from here. I had no intention of moving closer. Enemies could be patrolling around the area. And considering the current time, it would be best to be careful.


    Damn, I should have borrowed that spyglass.


    Anyway, I should be able to see fine from here. I grabbed the bandit from the back of his shirt.


    ¡°H-Huh? Hey, what are you doing?¡± He was frantic.


    ¡°Chill.¡±


    With Physical Enhancement, and wind beneath my feet, I jumped into the air while carrying the bandit with one hand. We landed on the highest and toughest looking tree branch. The tree shook for a moment as I stepped foot and put down the bandit. He frantically pressed himself on the tree trunk, caught off guard by the place he suddenly found himself in.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Shit¡­¡± He glanced down.


    Looking ahead, the bandit base was clearer here. Their base actually looked well made, with several wooden buildings and fences. Looked like a comfy place to live in, and quite safe. I placed a hand on the bandit¡¯s shoulder, gripping it tight.


    ¡°Tell me about your base. The number of people, position of guards. And most of all, where I can find your leader.¡±


    ***


    We took our time getting the information I needed. And once we were done, we walked back to the main road, bringing along the bandit, of course. Couldn¡¯t just leave him behind. He might spoil the surprise.


    The way back wasn¡¯t smooth sailing, mind you. We faced a couple of critters slash monsters. They were almost like big lizards that skittered in our way and annoyed us. They were quite violent. But in the end, we killed those little shits.


    Now, we were back on the main road, and we returned to where we were before. The bodies of the bandits were still here. It would seem the monsters had yet to feed on them or something. Maybe if they start smelling they would come.


    ¡°Hey, now that you got what you need,¡± said the bandit. ¡°I¡¯m free to go, right? I swear I won¡¯t tell a soul.¡±


    I turned towards him with a blank expression. ¡°Are you?¡± I cast my ice magic, and it instantly engulfed his body to restrain him.


    ¡°H-Hey, what are you doing?!¡±


    ¡°What are your sins, bandit?¡±


    ¡°Sins? What are you talking about?!¡±


    ¡°Can you count the number of innocent people you¡¯ve killed?¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°Can you give the amount of costs that you stole? Can you make peace with the people you wronged? You abused, and the people you sold.¡±


    ¡°I d-did none of that!¡±


    I looked at him with indifferent eyes.


    ¡°You are among the most utter scums in this world. Tell me, is someone like you worthy of being set free in the wild?¡±


    ¡°Of course! I did you a favor!¡± He glared at me.


    ¡°A favor? You call that a favor?¡± I chuckled at the absurdity. ¡°No, that¡¯s no favor, bandit. Nor would that be enough reason to set you free.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not that bad of a guy, you know!¡±


    I almost choked upon hearing that bullshit from his mouth. Can anyone be more shameless?


    ¡°Judging from the moment we met, I doubt that.¡± My ice slowly rose.


    ¡°S-Still, it¡¯s kind to give people a chance and mercy!¡±


    ¡°A chance is given to those willing to change. I don¡¯t believe you¡¯ll change. And you deserve none of my mercy. Good men deserve compassion.¡± Well, not like I easily give mercy to just anyone. In the end, it all boils down to what benefit they¡¯d give me. If they were of use to me, I might be inclined to grant them mercy and show my compassion. But not this one. ¡°And you, bandit, are not a good man.¡± He did me wrong. And there was no room for mercy.


    ¡°Y-You gotta be kidding me! After all I did for you!¡±


    ¡°Think of this as a penance for all your sins. For all your victims. And for trying to do terrible things to me.¡± I turned towards Velar. ¡°Kill him, my knight.¡±


    Velar paused and stared at the bandit. The latter turned towards him with wide eyes, then back to me, his eyes full of intense panic. His breath was shaking.


    ¡°You really gonna kill a defenseless man?!¡± the bandit screamed.


    ¡°This is an execution. Velar, are you willing to kill him for me?¡±


    Velar slowly placed a hand on his sword, there was a hint of hesitation. ¡°Are you sure about this? Is this necessary?¡±


    ¡°Does he not deserve to die?¡±


    ¡°Yes, he does. But, like this¡­?¡± To kill an absolutely defenseless man that helped us somewhat.


    ¡°We walk a dark and thorny path, Velar. A path that we share. Do what is required.¡±


    Velar nodded, and he unsheathed his sword. But, judging from his eyes, he still lacked the conviction that I wanted him to have in carrying out such an order from me.


    ¡°W-Wait! Please! Have mercy!¡± the bandit begged with a strained voice.


    I turned towards Velar. ¡°I remember what you said to me. You had killed those that begged for mercy, but you had to remove them so everyone can be safe. Don¡¯t only think about the negatives. Think what good will result from your choice today.¡±


    ¡°The result¡­¡±


    ¡°What can the good result be?¡±


    Velar closed his eyes for a moment. ¡°One less wicked man, and saving his future victims.¡± And he opened his eyes carrying a new substance within them.


    Hearing him say that, and seeing the new conviction and resoluteness in his eyes, it made me feel proud. I resisted a sneer to form on my face. I needed Velar to have less hesitation in my orders, no matter how cruel or how hard, or how dark it may be. He must do whatever is required of him. Even killing a defenseless man, our prisoner.


    He had always seen such actions as a dark deed. I would not like my knight to have that kind of internal conflict. Therefore, I wanted him to shift his perception, one step at a time. And with that, reduce his hesitations and internal conflicts with himself. So, in a way, I was also helping him¡­


    Velar was unlike Rogan. Rogan was a fine knight, he would carry out my hard orders without an answer to his questions. Bedies, Rogan would just be more nosy rather than questioning my intentions. I imagine he might even be willing to wipe out an entire village promptly, even if it pained him so. What I¡¯m trying to say is that Velar was not a knight, but originally a mere soldier. He had a different kind of character and upbringing. I was wary of that. Situation and relationship with him might change.


    Velar might be a person that would instinctively follow orders or seek a master, but he still had a different kind of character compared to knights. And I intended to mold him to my liking. My words on the ship could not really change him completely. It needed to be carried out in action.


    As what I had wanted from the knights back home, I want my protectors to protect me with their entire being, with all their hearts. And I was wary that in my future choices, Velar¡¯s perception of me might change compared to before. And thus, lose some eagerness to protect me. I would like to prevent that.


    Velar raised his sword.


    ¡°N-No wait! Please don¡¯t do this¡ª¡±


    Gripping his sword tightly, Velar swung down his sword, severing the bandit¡¯s head from his body in one quick and clean swing. I dispelled my ice magic and the bandit¡¯s corpse plopped down to the ground. Hm, Velar, once he had found a good reason, he didn¡¯t hesitate at all. His action in slaying the defenseless bandit was absolutely decisive. Maybe changing him to my liking might be a bit easier than I imagined. His deep-rooted nature as a good soldier might be helping me instead.


    Interesting.


    He might be more willing to change than I thought. Was he perhaps someone that could easily change for the master that he serves?


    He sheathed back his greatsword. I directed a proud smile towards him.


    ¡°Good job, Velar.¡±


    ¡°I remembered your words back on the ship.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t be compassionate all the time. Sometimes, being heartless is necessary.¡±


    Oh yeah, I said that.


    ¡°I promised to be your sword, and walk your path with you. And therefore, I must share your burdens and the values you carry on this journey.¡±


    I admit, I didn¡¯t expect this.


    ¡°I must do what is necessary to follow you.¡±


    Hearing that, a genuine smile curled on my lips. I was truly glad. For once, in this journey, I felt I had someone to truly rely on. It would seem I didn¡¯t need to mold him to my liking. He already did it himself. No, it would seem I underestimated him. His loyalty, willingness and all.


    I placed my hands on my chest, a pure and genuine smile radiating on my face.


    ¡°Thank you, Velar. I am glad to have you as my knight.¡±


    He was perfect as a servant, as an ally.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 76: Assassination Bounty (Part 1)

    We walked back to the city, and on the way there, it was relatively peaceful! Very nice. Killing that bandit surely helped make things easy. Imagine if that bandit was still walking along with us, that would be so annoying always keeping watch of him. Yeah, one of the reasons I wanted him gone was so I didn¡¯t have to make him my problem coming back to the city. Things would go smoothly without him.


    Was that being too heartless? Eh, don¡¯t care. He wanted to do terrible, unspeakable, voracious, repulsive, unthinkable, horrifying, unimaginable things to me. His pathetic way of death was justified. Besides, he was being unnecessarily nosy upon hearing I was a princess. Who knows what kind of problem that may cause.


    It took some time before we reached the city. At least now I had an idea how long the walk was. I could finally set my schedule tomorrow before going back here around the afternoon. Afternoon because I intended to launch my mission at night. Always do stealth missions at night. Yeah, gonna go full agent Estelia tomorrow night!


    Going back inside the city went smoothly, they didn¡¯t even check what we had or anything. Maybe because the guards recognized us from before, or they just didn¡¯t care much. We promptly headed straight to our ship.


    ¡°How¡¯d it go?¡± As we stepped onto the deck, Taneva asked with a hint of displeasure. I did leave him behind so¡­


    ¡°It went pretty nicely,¡± I said. I looked around, the deck of the ship was filled with people as the sky was about to darken. ¡°Did you and the others go out into the city again?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, I had some annoying guys going after the ladies. But we took care of it.¡±


    ¡°See? Your help is needed.¡± I smiled.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Did you fight any monsters?¡±


    ¡°Of course. It didn¡¯t go as well as I hoped.¡± I was hoping that it would be easy, so that¡¯s that¡­


    ¡°Haha. Well, they''re not too different from the mystic race you faced.¡±


    ¡°At least at that time, I had my knights. Plus, they actually have intellect. The monsters here are¡­ animals.¡± Beasts were more unpredictable, sort of say. And savage.


    ¡°Heh. That¡¯s how it is. But trust me, those are the better sides. Savage monsters that can actually think or strategize are the most annoying. Well, if you don¡¯t hold back, you should survive most of it.¡±


    Yeah, well, that was the issue. I had to hold back if I wanted to prevent my painful death as long as possible.


    ¡°The region around the city should be a bit safer, so I don¡¯t think I should worry about that.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. But still, it all comes down to luck. These lands and their environments tend to be quite unpredictable.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°Hm. At any rate, did you find what you needed?¡±


    ¡°We found the bandit base.¡±


    ¡°Good. But it sounds like you haven''t caught the guy you¡¯re after yet. Can I come along if you go?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I curtly said in an instant. It was my personal time to process myself. Anyone else had no room in it.


    Taneva formed a pouty face, but I disregarded him.


    ¡°Heya, Princess.¡± Hartwin walked towards us with a casual wave. ¡°You¡¯re still alive. Done with the job yet?¡±


    What the hell was up with the ¡®You¡¯re still alive¡¯ part?


    ¡°Not yet.¡±


    ¡°When are you finishing it?¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow night.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Can I come along?¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°No.¡± I crossed my arms.


    ¡°Dang. Alright then, guess I¡¯m hanging out at the bar tomorrow night.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°Bar?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, found a bar that¡¯s willing to serve me the good stuff.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Then do whatever you want.¡± I turned to Velar. ¡°We''ll be moving out around tomorrow afternoon. I still have to get my dagger at the smith.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°I might be sleeping until noon tomorrow as well. Don¡¯t disturb me.¡±


    Velar was a bit puzzled. ¡°That¡¯s a long time of sleep.¡±


    ¡°I need a decent amount of rest before doing my mission.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Okay. I¡¯m going back to my room to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Wait, this early? Light hasn¡¯t even completely gone out yet,¡± Hartwin said.


    But I disregarded him and headed straight back to my cabin with a wave directed at them. I was so tired, after all the walking and the heavy spellcasting. The spellcasting was what especially strained me. If I were to face a powerful monster on the way tomorrow, I should consider letting Velar and the Cursed Children take care of it completely.


    After changing into sleeping clothes, with a heavy sigh, I jumped to bed and fell asleep.


    ***


    It was around early afternoon. Velar and I made our way to the smith. The man on the counter was Esagi¡¯s father, he had a slight frown on his face. He must not like watching over the counter that much. Which made me wonder how this place lasted this long. Maybe Esagi, his daughter, carried the customer service, or the wife.


    ¡°Hi,¡± I said as I approached him. ¡°We¡¯re here for my dagger that Esagi was working on.¡±


    The man grunted and went into the back. I could faintly hear his voice through the walls.


    ¡°Esagi! It¡¯s the girl with the daggers!¡±


    A moment later, Esagi came out to meet us. She was all smiles, full of excitement, as she carried something wrapped in cloth.


    ¡°You¡¯re here. Just in time.¡± She promptly placed the object on the desk in front of us. ¡°I have to say, it wasn¡¯t easy. Really had to stay up late at night.¡±


    I smiled a little. ¡°And from the looks of it, you still did it.¡±


    ¡°Of course! Who do ya think you¡¯re talking to?¡± She placed a hand on the cloth. ¡°Behold! Your newly upgraded dagger!¡±


    Oooooooh!


    My eyes widened as she slowly unwrapped the dagger. My eyes were practically twinkling with excitement. My heart started racing a little in anticipation and impatience to try out my target killing weapon. Yeah, it was exclusive for that purpose. The finest blades should be used for the finest purpose and opportunity. This blade had a special place in my heart.


    And then, the dagger was fully unwrapped. My fancy and favored blade was still whole, but I noticed it was just a bit shinier than before. Like it had been cleaned and more polished. I slowly picked it up, holding it in a way as though I was holding a holy object. I tilted it around under direct light, and the blade glittered like a thousand shining stars.


    I let out a breath of captivation. The glittering dust went even to the gold and silver decorations. And the dagger did not even change in form whatsoever. How she managed to preserve it, it was awesome.


    ¡°Amazing, Miss Esagi!¡± She had my utter respect. ¡°You truly are the most exceptional craftsman that I have ever met!¡±


    She grinned haughtily. ¡°Of course, of course. You¡¯re welcome to praise my talents!¡±


    I cast magic into the blade. I could feel the smoothness of the mana¡¯s flow. The dagger began to glow. This was perfect, perfect for tonight. I had been waiting for this to be complete. The weapon I would use to eliminate the target. I dispelled the magic from the blade.


    Extending my hand towards Esagi, I gave her my genuine thanks. ¡°Thank you so much. I am incredibly pleased with the result.¡±


    She shook my hand. ¡°It was a fun weapon to work on. It gave me a lot of necessary and interesting experiences.¡±


    Our hands let go, and I sheathed my dagger behind my waist.


    ¡°Remember,¡± Esagi said. ¡°Careful to use it on hard monsters. It doesn¡¯t have the increased durability.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll remember. Besides, I don¡¯t plan on using this on some random monster.¡±


    She nodded with a wide grin. ¡°By the way, it¡¯s your most favored weapon, right? Like a signature weapon.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the name?¡±


    ¡°Name?¡±


    She slightly tilted her head. ¡°You don¡¯t have a name for it? People here usually name their most favorite weapon. It''s what makes it special.¡±


    ¡°... I see.¡± It was just a dagger, I wasn¡¯t really into the idea of naming it. Nothing but a tool. Besides, it wouldn¡¯t be easy thinking of a badass name. And there was not really any significance in naming it but adding more sentimentality to the thing. However¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±


    What should I even name it? Flesh cutter? Okay, I wasn¡¯t being serious about that one. Stabby stab? Rendering Golden Blade? Rendering blade? Or something, something.


    Eh, whatever, I¡¯ll think of something. Eventually.


    Or maybe never, you¡¯d never know. I mean, I had not even thought of a new name for my ship! Naming stuff just wasn¡¯t on my priority list.


    ¡°Better think of a good name for it. If you won¡¯t, the horrible name might end up in history.¡±


    I dryly laughed. ¡°I¡¯ll try thinking of something good.¡±


    ¡°Nice. So, you¡¯re leaving town anytime soon?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know when exactly, but it won¡¯t be tomorrow yet. We might need to shop for some more equipment.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Well, if you need something pretty good, we¡¯re always here.¡±


    ¡°Of course. See you then.¡± I turned around and started walking back to the door.


    ¡°See you. Take care and enjoy your newly revamped dagger!¡±


    I waved at her.


    Ooooh, I fully intend to enjoy this.


    Velar and I left the building and headed straight out of the city. My hand occasionally touched my dagger¡¯s hilt behind me. I was just so excited. But because of that, in the middle of the road, I pulled out my newly upgraded dagger and played around with it. And for some reason, Velar just stared at me with an amused face, as though he were looking at a kid.


    I¡¯m not a kid who just got a new toy¡­

 Vol. 4 Chapter 77: Assassination Bounty (Part 2)

    It was nighttime when we had reached the outskirts of the bandit base. At any rate, it was still too early to do anything. Looking at the moon, it would still be a few hours before midnight. I brought the Cursed Children along just like before, but I warned everyone not to intervene with my mission.


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re doing this alone?¡± Velar asked me in concern.


    ¡°No one can do this but me. This is a stealth mission.¡±


    He subtly shook his head and glanced towards the direction of the enemy. ¡°Where did you even get the confidence for such skills?¡±


    ¡°I am more than meets the eye.¡±


    I jumped up to the tallest tree I could find and pulled out the spyglass. It was a bit hard to see in the darkness, but the faint moonlight was a little help. I frequently observed all the observable enemy movements while waiting until almost midnight came. I had observed what I could, and learned what I could from the bandit yesterday. The information I had was decent.


    I jumped down back to the ground and handed the spyglass to Velar. ¡°Wait for me here.¡±


    ¡°In case of emergencies, you know what to do.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    With that, I drew my hood in and sprinted towards the bandit base. As I was still further away from the base, my movements were still less restrained and a bit more noisy. However, as I got closer, my steps got more silent and movement became stealthier. My mind was sharper and more focused, and truth be told, I was a bit excited to do this mission.


    Why did I even decide to go through all this trouble to do this? I could have done nothing and rest. However, that might drive me insane. My mind was unstable, my emotions were a mess. I was a mess. Everything was wrong, the situation was wrong, something was wrong with me. I was like a broken machine that cannot work properly, prone to failure.


    My identity, what made me me, was broken. Everything was dull. Tasteless. I had no appetite. I wanted to get out of this spiral of despair. I had to do something. To get my mind off things, to start fixing things. This mission was part of fixing myself.


    I was going back to my roots. An assassin. To kill, to assassinate. To eliminate the target. I just thought perhaps it would return the spark in me, to return to what it was. Maybe I could feel it again. The satisfaction, the thrill, the pleasure, the fun. Not this emptiness. If I were to be stuck like this, I¡¯d rather be back to the ways of my past.


    Thus, here I was. To return to my roots. Or at least, trying to.


    I reached the western side of the base¡¯s wooden wall, away from the main entrance. There was a watchtower, with a lone guard standing. However, he was sitting down and half asleep. The moments of peace made them quite lacking. And from what the bandit I captured yesterday said, everyone else didn¡¯t seem to mind. In short, everyone was lacking.


    Perhaps that was to be expected from mere bandits. Don¡¯t expect proper discipline.


    I moved a bit further, putting a bit of distance from the watchtower. There were a bit of gaps on the logs they used on the walls, and so I took a peek for a moment. Seeing that the other side was clear, with some wind I jumped over to the other side. Upon landing, I swiftly moved to hide on the wall of the nearest building.


    Looking from the side of the wall, I saw a couple of guards talking to each other.


    ¡°That damn Okuma isn¡¯t back yet,¡± said one. ¡°That guy owes me some money.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t they go to get money?¡± asked the other.


    I listened closely to their voices.


    ¡°Yeah, but where the heck are they?¡±


    ¡°You should calm down. Not easy to find people to rob, you know.¡±


    ¡°Yeah? But motherfucker hasn¡¯t paid me for a week!¡±


    ¡°Hehe. What did he buy it for, anyway?¡±


    ¡°It ain¡¯t for buying anything. It was for gambling.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! Then the coins aren''t coming back to you, man.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll fucking kill him if he doesn¡¯t pay me!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, good luck getting your money. Shouldn¡¯t have let the shit borrow from you.¡±


    ¡°He said he¡¯d pay it with interest.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha! And you believed him?! You¡¯re more of an idiot.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡±


    I quietly pulled up my medium daggers as I looked around the area, making sure there was no one else around. There should be some people inside the buildings, but I should set them aside for now. They were likely to be sleeping already. I ought to focus on the people outside, as they were more likely to discover me. Once I have wiped out the enemies outside, target the insides.


    Yes, I was intending on wiping this entire base out.


    I dub this mission ¡ª Operation: Clean House.


    ¡°Hahahaha! Fucking idiot. Anyway, I gotta leak.¡±


    The bandit began walking in this direction to take a piss. Nice timing. I hid in the shadows and I saw the guy walk past and stop a little bit ahead at the secluded area. He started peeing. With one dagger in hand, I calmly approached the man.


    These people, or rather, the people in this world, had powers. The conventional way of killing like in my old world would hardly work properly here. That was why I had to be more decisive in killing a bandit who was fully awake. I might not be able to kill them instantly if they were strong. And I was especially wary of people in this land. Even mere bandits were stronger than average compared to the homeland.


    With Physical Enhancement, and magic imbued into my blade, I snuck up right behind the bandit and covered his mouth, and swiftly stabbed my blade into his throat. At the same time, a small burst of magic shredded his throat inside before he could even struggle. He immediately limped lifelessly.


    I dragged his corpse to the darkness and hid him there ¡ª just in the dark corner of a building. I planned to wipe out the entire base within thirty minutes. Could I manage that? Well, wouldn¡¯t that be a challenge for me?The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    From the closest darker corner to the other bandit, I focused the muscle enhancing technique on my throat.


    In a whisper, I said, ¡°Hm, this voice, hey, hey.¡± My voice turned deeper and changed completely, turning into the voice of the bandit I killed. Yeah, with Physical Enhancement, I got better control of the vocal muscles and stuff, so I could change my voice easily than before.


    Once I was ready, I took a deep breath and let out a somewhat quiet call to the other bandit.


    ¡°Hey! Hey, man! Check this out,¡± I said to the other bandit while hiding in the shadows.


    I heard faint footsteps coming closer. ¡°What? What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°You need to see this, it¡¯s pretty cool and funny!¡±


    ¡°Fuck man, what is it?¡±


    ¡°Come.¡±


    His footsteps became closer. I readied myself. And then the moment he was within sight, I stealthily eliminated him, piercing and shredding his throat. His wide eyes stared at me before his life snuffed out.


    I quickly dragged him into the shadows.


    Now then, I took care of a couple. I proceeded to the nearby watchtower, but I encountered a bandit casually walking while yawning. I took care of him quietly and hid his body inside a small room, must be the shitter or something, didn¡¯t exactly look deeply, but it did smell a little.


    Anyway, when I was done with that, I headed straight to the tower where a guard was sleeping. I made sure first if there was anyone nearby, but it was clear. With my powers, I instantly reached the top and quietly stepped beside the sleeping man in his chair. How defenseless. People that sleep were the easiest to kill.


    I slit his throat, and it only took a brief moment for him to limp. I kept him sitting down on the chair to pretend he was still asleep. Towers were most noticeable, gotta keep up the appearance that everything was still normal.


    I jumped off the tower and jumped over to the roof of a building. I heard voices on the other side of the structure. They were turned away from me and were standing next to each other. I held daggers in each hand and leaped right into them. Amidst my descent, I stabbed my blade on the back of their necks, while pushing them onto the ground. They rattled for a moment before I cast magic on my blades. I pulled them into the shadows before quietly moving quickly around the area again.


    I was merely a passing shadow that blended perfectly in the darkness. My steps light as a feather, my movement as swift as an eagle, as silent as a cat. I eliminated every person outside with swiftness and cleanliness. Unlike last time at the pirate ship, I had a better control of myself. Well, this time I didn¡¯t have the time to do whatever I wanted with the enemy I killed¡­


    I took out another enemy on a watchtower. And as I landed, an enemy suddenly came out from the corner.


    ¡°Wha¡ª¡±


    I swiftly held his hands, keeping him from pulling out his weapon, and at the same time stabbing into his vocal cords. After that one, I swiftly searched the area for any enemies, and it was clear. Good. Now to proceed to the other buildings. There were multiple buildings, not counting the biggest building at the center ¡ª that was for the enemy boss.


    I approached one of the shabby buildings. The door was not even locked or anything. In fact, they were flimsy or simple. They were not made for security at all. This was already described by the bandit yesterday. At any rate, it made things easier for me.


    I quietly entered inside. There were only a few bandits here sleeping on their beds. I stepped into the middle of them, pulling out my small daggers, pressing them between my fingers. After conjuring the strings, I threw my daggers in a sweeping motion, and the daggers stabbed into their necks. They flinched, apparently about to go into fight mode. I had to give it to them, they were quick to react, so quick. Too bad, I was quicker.


    I triggered the magical slashes, and the next moment, blood splattered all over the place like a fountain. Flesh and bone flung into the air. I conjured barriers to shield myself from the dirty stuff. The room was stained with blood. I didn¡¯t hold back much on that, I wanted to be certain they were dead in an instant, all six of them.


    I retracted my blades. Once they returned to my fingers, I flicked off the blood before returning them to their sheathes.


    I proceeded to the next building. I killed them all roughly the same way. In the third building, while I was walking in, someone woke up. What bad timing. I quickly blended into the shadow. But he seemed to have noticed my presence. He walked around the room suspiciously.


    He walked closer to me. Catching him off guard, I pierced my blade into his throat and slowly and quietly put him down to the floor. With that guy done, I eliminated the rest. I left the building and jumped on top of a roof, checking the surroundings. That should be all of them.


    I turned my gaze towards the big building, almost like some sort of warehouse. There were some gaps on the roof, I may be able to get through there. Before moving in, I approached one of the nearby corpses and poke my special blade into their blood. Their blood crawled to my blade and spread out like veins. With the added efficiency materials, it didn¡¯t feel like there was anything different. Hm.


    I sheathed the blade back and started quietly climbing to the warehouse roof. There was a small hole in the upper top side of the wooden wall, and I entered through it. I clung and jumped onto one of the wooden beams. Looking down, I saw a spacious room. It was well lit with lamps. And then I saw quite a surprising scene. There were naked women laying on some sheets on the floor.


    And then there was a man. He was muscular and big, he was naked as well. A fearsome looking guy, had scars on his body. Truly looked like some sort of veteran in combat. I wouldn¡¯t want to fight that guy head on.


    ¡°Hehehe,¡± he lecherously chuckled while grasping one of the women. ¡°Don¡¯t get all weak on me now. The night is ripe.¡±


    The night is ripe? What the fuck?


    I looked around, there was no one else, no other bandits but him. I heard one of the women faintly whimper. Could they be captives and slaves? There were young women, mid teens, late, and some older. What a nasty situation. But not entirely a strange scene to me.


    I quietly jumped onto the next wooden beam, trying to get closer to the enemy. Or rather, on top of him. My steps were completely quiet and light while I held my breath.


    ¡°Why are you moving away, love?¡± He lightly slapped a girl¡¯s cheeks. ¡°Where would you even go? You¡¯re my little sweet, tight toy.¡±


    I jumped into another wooden beam, blending into the shadows of the ceiling. Enemy target seemed intoxicated, emotional state ¡ª perverse. Thoughts should be clouded, unlikely to expect any attack. Enemy height: 6¡¯5¡±, Weight: around 92 kilograms, Weapons: Unclear, Threat level: High. Assassination success rate: High.


    My mind was sharp, turned up to a hundred in focus. All I could see was the target moving around. It was just the two of us in this world. And I was the one who would remain after this.


    I slowly and quietly pulled out my special blade enchanted by blood. I waited for the most opportune moment, like a predator waiting for the best moment to pounce at its prey. I observed as the target forced himself onto the defenseless women. As I watched, my hands involuntarily tightened, my brow frowning slightly. But I quickly regained my composure.


    ¡°Aaaah! That¡¯s so good, nice tits. So tight!¡±


    Once he had hit the climax, he laughed and slowly stepped back, panting and sweating. He grinned as he observed the women with a satisfied, sadistic expression.


    He took a step back. And I stepped forward, making myself fall from the air. At that moment, he noticed my presence. He abruptly turned towards me with a stern and sharp glare.


    ¡°Wha¡ª!¡± He stepped away. But it was too late.


    I pushed the blade into his chest. I was aiming for his neck, but he evaded it. Still, this was enough. The blade dug into his chest, and I triggered the magic slashes. His chest was shredded. He dropped to the ground as I remained on top of him, my blade still in his flesh.


    He looked up at me with wide eyes. ¡°H-How?! T-This c-can¡¯t be. H-How could I n-not sense you¡­?¡±


    ¡°... Maybe I was better than you.¡±


    Blood came out of his mouth. ¡°... N-No. This can¡¯t be h-how I¡­¡± His voice faded away. His life had been taken.


    My target was dead, what remained was silence. I took a deep breath as I withdrew my blade. I stared at the corpse, then at my blade. This should be the moment where my emotions rise, where warm feelings form in my chest. Where a smile would radiate on my face. Where I felt satisfaction and pleasure by accomplishing a mission. My successful elimination of the assassination target.


    Why¡­?


    So why did I still feel empty?


    It was just done. The mission was done. And that was it. Nothing more.


    I took in a shaky breath.


    None of this makes sense. Nothing. None. This can¡¯t be¡­ I can¡¯t¡­ Why?


    My mind went blank. I couldn¡¯t understand. What I thought to be the solution¡­ only made me feel worse about myself. I gripped my dagger more tightly that my hand began to tremble.


    This isn¡¯t how it¡¯s supposed to go¡­


    I did everything. Cleaning out the entire base. Stealthily killed everyone. It was the finest job well done. Perfect. And yet, nothing. Nothing but an empty dark abyss in my heart. I was starting to fear the abyss.


    My lips trembled.


    How terrifying it was to face the abyss.


    I heard metal rattling nearby.


    ¡°Goddess?¡±


    That returned me to reality. I turned towards the source of the voice. It was a little cage. And inside was a monster. It seemed to be reaching out to me.


    ¡°Goddess¡­¡±


    It knows me¡­?

 Vol. 4 Chapter 78: Assassination Bounty (Part 3)

    I slowly, and warily, approached the small cage. A horrendous and repulsive dark arm slowly extended towards me. Narrowing my eyes, I took a closer look at the creature inside. It was a dark-colored creature, like obsidian or a raven black. The fingers were thin and feeble, sharp short nails.


    The face, it was utterly disgusting, it made me wanna look away. I had never seen something so ugly in my life. The face was wrinkly, wide bulging eyes. It had hair, but that wouldn¡¯t save its appearance at all. And those teeth reminded me of shark¡¯s teeth with their number. Just a bunch of teeth stuffed into the little mouth. I noticed its dark skin squirm and pulsed, and the creature flinched as though in pain.


    I stopped, the cage blocked its hand from going further. As though in desperation, it turned into a fog, but the fog trembled at making contact with the black metal. The fog turned into a monster again. It crawled away and hugged its knees, and it started sobbing¡­?


    A monster¡­ crying? I never imagined seeing such a thing. The voice was so small, and the physique so little and feeble. It was like a small child. It seemed intelligent, at least. What even was it? I was not sure. But it certainly did look familiar.


    Like the Cursed Children.


    Turning into black fog, the form of a humanoid. And the way they cover their body during the night, I could imagine they become ugly after sunset. This thing here was likely like them.


    I didn¡¯t expect to encounter one of them here.


    I thought the Cursed Children belonged on the continent. Did this thing get lost or something? It knew me, called me Goddess¡­ How? Was it just some instinct or something? Or did this one see me once before ¡ª but I doubted it.


    Interesting.


    I slowly approached it further. ¡°You know me?¡± I asked in a low, gentle voice.


    It slowly lifted its head towards me. ¡°Bright presence. Even more thirsty, hungry¡­¡±


    Bright presence¡­?


    ¡°Must¡­ Must not harm¡­ Goddess¡­ Must stay away.¡±


    Oh wow¡­ I¡¯m impressed.


    ¡°You¡¯re far away from home, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    It froze and lowered its head. It seemed young¡­ Maybe it really was a child. I looked around, and I saw a metal pole stained with blood. I could imagine what had happened here. Cursed Children could never die, that might have provided a good amount of entertainment for a sadistic person.


    Still, how did this cursed child even end up here? No matter, I should bring this along, the others might know what to do with it. It had a connection to me, I couldn¡¯t pretty well leave it be. But I should keep it in the cage for the time being. Pretty dangerous to let them out at night.


    I stepped back and checked up on the women. I scratched the back of my head, I didn¡¯t really expect these women to be here. But they were pretty messed up. They looked up at me, desperate, and with pitiful eyes. They all looked pretty meek.


    I lightly kicked the bandit leader¡¯s corpse. ¡°He¡¯s dead. You¡¯ve nothing to be scared about anymore. Meaning you¡¯re free to go.¡±


    They all looked at each other. Then one finally spoke out in a strained voice.


    ¡°... W-Where would we go¡­?¡±


    I guess they were not really in a situation to do much. And they didn¡¯t know where to start. Well, they were already here, guess I¡¯d bring them along back to the city. It wouldn¡¯t cost me much, really.


    ¡°Then follow me back to the city. I¡¯ll have the authorities take care of you. But for now¡­ find some clothes.¡±


    From the looks of it, and the size of this man here, there wouldn¡¯t be any clothes for them here.


    ¡°But wait, I have something to do first.¡±


    I approached the corpse and pulled out my medium dagger. I grabbed the bandit leader¡¯s head by the hair. Coating the blade with fire, I began slicing through the corpse¡¯s neck. Blood and flesh sizzled in the heat. It took a moment, but I managed to sever the head cleanly. I grabbed a nearby rope and tied the head to my belt, leaving it hanging on my waist.


    What I did freaked out the women, judging from the little squeals. Maybe I added another traumatizing experience to them, in addition to the utterly traumatizing and terrible things they had already experienced.


    ¡°By the way, what do you know about the thing over there?¡± I pointed at the cage.


    ¡°... I-I d-don¡¯t know¡­ H-He¡­ He just abuses her whenever he wants¡­¡±


    Her? So it¡¯s a girl.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    I walked to the cage, used a little amount of Physical Enhancement and picked up the cage on the loop above it. Must be used to tie it up or something. Man, that bandit was wicked. Even I was never that evil, you know. I mean, not like I was ever evil¡­


    Eh. Morality is a tricky thing¡­


    The monster girl was startled as I picked up her cage.


    ¡°I¡¯m bringing you along.¡±


    She remained silent. That was fine.


    I headed for the building doors and kicked it open. I turned towards the women with a small smile. At least to calm them a bit and show my friendliness. See? I¡¯m not evil.


    ¡°Follow me. We¡¯ll find you some clothes.¡± They seemed hesitant about moving, fear evident in their eyes. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to fear. I¡¯ve killed all the bandits in the base. Come.¡±


    They looked at each other in hesitation, but altogether, they started standing up and heading for the exit. But they still stuck close to each other. I guess that was supposed to be expected. They found strength in each other as fellow victims. Like comrades.


    I sort of wanted to talk about how they got here and the kind of situation they went through. But I didn¡¯t think I would get proper responses, and so I decided not to ask. Not because it was insensitive or anything, I wouldn¡¯t care about that, it was just pointless. And quite unnecessary. Their life was not my business.


    I led them to one of the houses. I put down the cage and gave it a little tap.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Stay here for the moment.¡±


    I beckoned the women to enter the house. ¡°Careful though, there are many gory deaths here.¡± I awkwardly laughed, trying to make light of the situation. But it didn¡¯t have any good effect whatsoever. When they entered, they were pretty disturbed by the bloody scene. I showed them the cabinet where the clothes were. ¡°Pick whatever fits you. And make it quick. We have to get out of here as soon as possible.¡±


    It took some time for them to finish up, considering how slow and weak they were. Hey, if you were abused that long, and I doubt they were well fed, your body wouldn¡¯t exactly be in a good state. Even worse when considering their psychological states. I just hope they wouldn¡¯t be a bother much when traveling to the city. But I thought I could just leave them to Velar. He was a good man, he¡¯d do fine.


    Once they were done, as I carried the cage with the monster in it, I led the group to the spot where Velar was. By the way, I also put a sheet to cover the cage and hide the monster girl. You know, for when we reach the city. I would prefer not causing any more complications.


    When we arrived, Velar was understandably shocked to see the several women I brought along like a parade. I introduced them briefly to each other, and said that Velar would be protecting them. That should settle their restless thoughts a bit. Disregarding the part where Velar was a towering man¡­


    Velar glanced at the head hanging on my hip, and he nodded. ¡°Looks like you have him.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°How hard is it?¡±


    ¡°Challenging, but I persevered.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like you fought head on.¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t. I killed him stealthily.¡±


    He looked surprised. ¡°I thought he was strong. You managed to hide from him?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Guess so.¡±


    ¡°Is the training in your homeland that intense and high level?¡±


    I actually didn¡¯t know how to answer that. ¡°... Let¡¯s just say I¡¯m pretty good with the sneaky stuff.¡±


    ¡°Sneaky stuff¡­?¡±


    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s get moving. We have a long way ahead of us.¡±


    ***


    The walk there was not exactly easy. We had to briefly rest a couple of times. Reason being were the women. As mentioned earlier, they were not in a good state. I tried to cast my healing magic on them just to end this faster. It helped somewhat. But there was not really much to heal¡­


    Well, it was not only them that was tired ¡ª me too. But I could still walk far ahead and do more. I imagined in the past I wouldn¡¯t be this tired, but oh well¡­ At least I wasn¡¯t vomiting blood or something.


    Anyway, we reached the city. We asked the guards by the gate for help. Thankfully, despite it being still dark out. The guards were pretty shocked to see the group. And then they were even more shocked to see the head hanging on my hip.


    ¡°Hey, is that¡­?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s the bandit leader Yachi.¡±


    ¡°How¡­?¡± They looked at me with wide eyes, as if they had realized I was actually someone powerful.


    ¡°Does it matter how?¡± I asked.


    ¡°... Um¡­ No.¡±


    ¡°By the way, is the Bureau open at this time? I was hoping to drop this off immediately.¡± I was not particularly fond of carrying a head all around. It was disgusting, to be honest.


    ¡°Yes. The Bureau is open all day and night.¡±


    ¡°Oh wow, that¡¯s convenient. Alright, can you please take care and help these women? They¡¯re the victims of this guy here,¡± I casually said as I patted the decapitated head. ¡°I¡¯ll also report them to the Bureau.¡±


    ¡°Of course. We¡¯ll look after them for the time being. They look starving.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I turned towards the women. ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving you to them. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re safe now.¡±


    The guards brought them into their own building for shelter. But I grabbed one of the guards on the arm, and gripped it tightly. He was caught off guard, and he slowly turned towards me with an unnerved expression.


    ¡°I went on my way to save them. Make sure you treat them nicely. Otherwise, it would displease me.¡± I would not like to waste my efforts.


    The guard nervously smiled. ¡°O-Of course. We¡¯ll treat them nicely, and find a way to help them return to their families.¡±


    ¡°Good. Be sure to do that.¡± I let go of the guard¡¯s arm and watched them go.


    Once that matter was done, we continued on into the city. And then I handed out the cage to Velar.


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°Velar, go ahead to the ship. Bring this with you. Show this to Taneva.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m dropping the head off.¡±


    ¡°Alone?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°... I understand.¡± He received the cage. ¡°Keep safe.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    And then he went on carrying the cage. Surprisingly, that monster kid was pretty well behaved. I quite expected the Cursed Children would come and check her out. But they didn¡¯t. Perhaps they were being careful, especially that they were currently in monster forms and thirsting for blood. They might visit come day.


    I headed straight to the Bureau. The streets were surprisingly peaceful, save for the people drinking in groups. But I didn¡¯t give them any thought and looked straight ahead. I sensed someone following me. They just never give up. Even following me all the way to the bandit base. Whoever it was, they were pretty skilled.


    I entered the Bureau, and there I saw the staff girl from before, Machi. And she was not the only one. There were also other people, the warriors. Drinking and sleeping. Guess that was one of the reasons why this place never closes.


    As I walked in, she noticed me.


    ¡°It¡¯s you. What are you doing here at this¡­? Huh?¡± She noticed the head dangling on my hip.


    I pulled the head out and presented it to her face. ¡°I¡¯ve brought the head of the bandit leader, Yachi Miyagawa.¡±


    ¡°Eeeh?!¡± She recoiled backwards away from the head. ¡°W-What?! Really? Uh, it does look like him. But really?!¡± She stared at me with a dumbfounded face.


    ¡°Really.¡±


    The other warriors heard our conversation.


    ¡°Miyagawa?!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s him!¡±


    ¡°She killed him?¡±


    ¡°How is that possible?¡±


    ¡°Who is she?¡±


    ¡°No way. Is this a trick?¡±


    ¡°Impossible. Look at the neck, it¡¯s real.¡±


    More and more warriors came to gather to see the head and me. Machi quickly spread out her arms to control them.


    ¡°Everyone! Keep away! Return to your business. Leave the matter to us!¡± She pushed them away. But it was more difficult than she had expected, these warriors were naturally stubborn after all. She turned towards me. ¡°L-Let¡¯s get inside the reception room.¡±


    She quickly dragged me to the reception room. Once we arrived and she closed the door, she let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Please sit down and let me see the¡­ head.¡±


    I placed the head on the table and sat down on the nearby seat. She grabbed the nearby bounty sketch and compared the head.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see you at this time,¡± I said. ¡°You don¡¯t go home?¡±


    ¡°I had to take overtime. One of my colleagues got sick, and I had to cover her shift.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± That must be hard.


    ¡°... That¡¯s certainly him. This is amazing!¡±


    Not really. I didn¡¯t even feel pleased, not in the slightest. And that irritated me intensely. And also saddened me greatly.


    ¡°The chief should have been here to see what happened. But he¡¯s not here¡­¡±


    Lucky me then. Don¡¯t have to meet with someone important.


    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ll give you your reward. But before that, can you please share the events leading up to this?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I found their base by interrogating some bandits. After that, one of them led me to their base. And then the next night, I cleaned up the entire base, and then finally, killed the bandit leader. Didn¡¯t need a direct confrontation. Just killed him through a surprise attack.¡±


    Her eyes widened in disbelief. ¡°There¡¯s no way it was that easy! You¡¯re even so casual about it!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the summary of it. Do I really need to get into detail about how I killed everyone?¡±


    ¡°Mm¡­ No¡­¡±


    ¡°Excellent. I should mention, the bandit leader had several women captives, or slaves. They¡¯re in a terrible state, you can imagine what they¡¯ve gone through.¡±


    Machi pursed her lips and nodded. ¡°Yes¡­ It must have been terrible.¡±


    ¡°We gave them in the care of the gate guards. Please look after the women as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll send some people immediately once we¡¯re done.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Anyway, are we done? It¡¯s late. I¡¯d like to take the reward and go.¡±


    ¡°O-Of course. Please wait a moment!¡±


    She left, and a short while later, she returned with a bag of coins.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the reward money.¡±


    I received the money. ¡°Thank you. Now then, I shall go.¡±


    I stood up and headed for the exit.


    ¡°Please wait. What name should we credit this achievement to?¡±


    I paused and thought for a bit. ¡°... Just write Vogue.¡±


    ¡°Vogue?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    I quickly left the building, ignoring the barrage of questions the warriors were giving me. Thankfully, Machi and the other staff stopped them.


    I walked down the street and let out a sigh. That was a boring mission. It was boring because I didn¡¯t feel anything good afterwards. Every mission, there should be that feeling of satisfaction. But now, it was just too empty.


    This is fucked¡­


    I sensed the observer again. I paused, gripping my fists. This guy was starting to annoy me. I was not in a good mood, and they dared to watch over me? So fucking irritating. Why couldn¡¯t people just leave me the fuck alone?!


    How hard was it to just leave me be? It was always like this. Ever since I came to this world. No one would just leave me the fuck alone! After everything that happened today, I was standing at the edge of my patience.


    I groaned angrily. Fuck this guy. Gotta end this bullshit.


    After taking a deep breath, I quickly disappeared into the darkness.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 79: Mildly Wrathful Estelia

    The elite ninja, Jin, who was among the best of the island, was tasked to follow a particular, mysterious girl. He had only heard from his boss and colleague how dangerous the crew from that specific crew was. He couldn¡¯t tell exactly how strong they were when he was far away, but he did feel they were dangerous and not to be underestimated.


    He started following the white-haired girl the next day after his mission was given. And he had to admit, that girl was incredibly beautiful, he had not seen a beauty of that kind before. There was a sense of purity in her appearance, something wholesome, that urged the kindest of people to protect her. Still, her movements and mannerism somewhat betrayed that expectation of purity. She had that strictness in her eyes, and added to it her enigmatic nature. Jin had yet to understand her, that was why he must observe.


    He was following her in the shadows, on the rooftops, amongst the crowds. With his quick movement, as fast as the wind, he was able to blend and move into everywhere he needed. And with his top-notch stealthy abilities, that not even the most skilled warriors could sense his presence, he was among the very best in this kind of mission. He should be able to carry out this task flawlessly.


    However, there was a moment after the girl and her allies left a weapons shop. It almost looked like the girl sensed someone was following her, and Jin had to be careful and withdrew a little. He was in disbelief and refused the idea that she sensed him. There was just no way, but it only took a moment for the girl to return to her normal behavior. Jin sighed in relief. At any rate, he had to be more careful just to be sure.


    The girl and the others entered the Bureau for whatever reason. Considering the place, Jin couldn¡¯t follow inside and learn what they were doing ¡ª but he could only have a glimpse by peeking through windows. But, keep peeking through the window would attract attention, hers, or from the other warriors. Thus, he had to keep his distance a short moment later.


    The significant thing that happened was a man sent flying from the inside to the outside. Which was particularly not too strange. Fighting and people being thrown out in the air was not special. Happens all the time.


    At any rate, Jin ought to figure out what she did there. At the strike of night, it was the end of shift for day time staff. While a staff girl was walking down, Jin suddenly stepped in front of her, startling the woman.


    ¡°Hello,¡± he greeted her with a friendly smile.


    ¡°Uh, hi¡­? Who are you?¡± the woman warily asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m one of the garrison commander¡¯s soldiers.¡±


    ¡°... Oh. And how can I help you?¡±


    ¡°You spoke with the girl. You know, the one with the cloak, and with two bodyguards.¡±


    ¡°Oh her. Yes, I did speak with her.¡±


    ¡°What did she walk into the Bureau for?¡±


    The girl was hesitant to answer. ¡°Why do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°Official business. If you¡¯d please answer my question, it will be a great help.¡±


    The woman silently groaned. ¡°... She just asked about a bounty.¡±


    ¡°Hm? What bounty?¡±


    ¡°About the bandit leader Yachi Miyagawa.¡±


    ¡°Oh. She took the bounty?¡±


    The woman shook her head. ¡°She didn¡¯t officially declare taking it.¡±


    ¡°Huh. So she just asked? Did she do something else?¡±


    ¡°Aside from kicking someone out, nothing else.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that was her.¡± He recalled the guy sent flying away. ¡°I understand. Thank you for the help. And please promise me to keep this moment confidential. It¡¯s official government business, after all.¡±


    ¡°O-Okay.¡±


    With a nod, Jin left.


    He found it interesting and puzzling as to why that girl would be interested in a bounty. Perhaps they needed money? Although, he didn¡¯t think it would be a good enough reason. They did spend a lot of money on their weapons. Still, perhaps they really needed money. But a bounty, indeed, it was a good way to make quick money for warriors. Still, that bandit was a high level target. Perhaps hearing more about it discouraged the girl from taking it.


    At any rate, he couldn¡¯t understand her motive in inquiring about it. And it would be pointless making more guesses that could be completely inaccurate.


    The day after that, the girl went out with a lone guard. They were going outside the city, definitely for the bounty. Considering where they were going, Jin deliberated whether to follow along, as it was outside the city. More difficult and more dangerous in tailing. However, it was not like he had any choice but to do this job.


    And thus he followed them. Eventually, bandits came along. Jin had already figured that she was trying to bait the bandits to track down the bounty target. And then, the most bizarre occurrence happened. He didn¡¯t think something like it was even possible. The girl, from where Jin could see, spoke to the bandits, bravely displaying her beauty to them. She gave them the most bewitching expressions and hypnotic gaze, but in a more innocent way.


    And a moment later, the bandits started fighting each other. It was insane. He acknowledged she was incredibly beautiful, but to drive a group to fight amongst themselves was just plain insanity. If she had that effect on people, then he would rather never face her directly. It was frightening to see it all happen, for her to have that hypnotic effect¡­


    And not only that, she quickly disposed of most of the bandits with ease. And there was the screaming of one bandit in the forest. Jin watched as she tortured the man. He couldn¡¯t tell what or how she was doing it, but judging from the agonized scream, it must be horrid.


    They faced a monster, and a type of magic was cast. He had never seen such magic before, and what it produced was baffling and new. And he found it shocking that she could cast such powerful magic that obstructed all views, wide at that. She was athletic, with direct combat skills, and now spellcasting? Normally, a person would focus all or most of their efforts in one field, like being a warrior. Adding another would be difficult and could result in slow growth in one discipline. That was why here in Shinoroa, most were warriors, others archers, and a few were ninjas. Spellcasters, on the other hand, were rare to none. Such specialization would be difficult in helping one survive in the lands filled with monsters, as it relied solely on mana. Relying entirely on magic which can be depleted would greatly affect your fighting potential. And not many had the mana capacity to effectively fight powerful beasts present here. Using enhanced weapons with magical techniques was way more effective.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    At any rate, it was a good thing he was learning more about her, bit by bit. There was also the part about the two heavily clothed men. They were anything but normal humans. Jin could only see once the fight was over and the white storm had vanished, so he didn¡¯t have many ideas about those two men.


    By following the girl, he discovered the bandit base as well. He didn¡¯t know much about it since it was never his mission to carry out that involved the bandits, but he was a bit in disbelief that she found it so easily in a day.


    And sometime after that, when they returned to the road, they heartlessly killed the bandit they captured. Not like the man deserved compassion. But to kill him in that fashion was something else. Once they had returned to the city, later that night, Jin reported his findings to his commander. The latter decided to keep watch and not do anything about the bandits just yet.


    Then came the night that the girl attacked the bandit base, alone. Jin never thought that she would do that. It was too dangerous. But when he witnessed the way the girl killed everyone, he couldn¡¯t be more dumbfounded. To wipe out the entire base was too much work, and yet she carried it out as if it was nothing.


    Jin could probably do the same, but he would be stressing all the while. Still, he wouldn¡¯t say he would succeed. To think of even wiping the entire bandit base was just absurd in the first place. That kind of thing should be done with a group, not completely alone.


    Still, that was not the main issue here. Jin couldn¡¯t tell what happened inside the warehouse, but there was no noise, no struggle, no violence, no fighting. That was definitely where that bandit leader was. But for it all to be this silent was not normal. And the next thing that happened was her coming out of the warehouse with the bandit leader¡¯s head.


    You¡¯re telling me she killed him silently?! Impossible! He¡¯s supposed to be incredibly strong!


    No one should be able to sneak around him. And yet, she had done it. She was more competent and dangerous than he had ever imagined. Her fragile appearance betrayed who she really was. He underestimated her.


    They returned to the city with several women slaves. The girl¡¯s guard returned to their ship, and the girl went to the Bureau. Jin followed her, of course. She must have turned in the head. After a while, she got out of the building. She walked around, and as Jin followed, when he moved, a small obstacle got in his view. It should only be for less than a second. However, as he looked down from the top of the building, she was nowhere to be found.


    He was absolutely confused. There was just no way he lost sight of her with only just that. He looked around frantically. Still, he couldn¡¯t find her.


    He switched to another building. And at that moment, a dagger was suddenly pointed right beside his face from behind. He froze in place, holding his breath.


    Who¡­?


    How could someone just sneak up on him without him even ever realizing it? He was supposed to be the best in stealth. As one who specialized in that discipline, and among the best, no one should be able to sneak up on him. In his curiosity, he slowly turned his head. But the blade got nearer, followed by a grim warning.


    ¡°Move and I¡¯ll cut through your face.¡±


    Jin froze with a wry smile. ¡°... H-How can I help you?¡±


    ¡°You think I would never notice you?¡±


    ¡°...¡± He had realized who it was. ¡°Notice what¡­?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m aware you¡¯ve been following me. I¡¯ve known ever since the beginning.¡±


    ¡°Whatever could you be talking about?¡±


    The blade suddenly began to glow with magic. ¡°Don¡¯t irritate me further.¡±


    Jin¡¯s cheek twitched.


    She continued, ¡°You¡¯re good. But not as good as me. Your presence has never eluded me, from the city, to the forests. I only let you be.¡±


    Shit. So she knows I¡¯ve been following her from the very beginning? That¡¯s absurd.


    It hurt his pride as an elite ninja. If she had truly known, that meant that she let him watch everything from afar. Nothing was more insulting.


    ¡°I assumed you¡¯re sent by the garrison commander. That¡¯s why I decided not to confront you.¡±


    Jin was shocked to hear her make that assumption, and it was true. It would seem there was no point in lying.


    ¡°But I¡¯ve grown tired of people watching me from the shadows. And I heavily suggest that you stop.¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯ll stop if you want to¡­ Hehe¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t take me for a joke,¡± she said in a low and irritated voice. ¡°I have no intention of becoming your enemy. I don¡¯t intend to bring any harm to your city or your people.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Relay those words to your master, ninja.¡± There was a hint of scorn as she uttered that last word. ¡°If you attempt to tail me again, I¡¯ll kill you. Don¡¯t think you people can threaten me with your power.¡±


    ¡°... I got it.¡±


    Those words of hers were frightening. It was almost implying that she could take them all on. Which would just be ridiculous and impossible. However, he had the feeling that he should take that warning seriously. She had already surprised him. She may have many more under her sleeves.


    ¡°I wonder¡­ You must be among their very best, are you?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I am considered one of the best.¡±


    ¡°Hm. Good.¡±


    ¡°Good?¡± He couldn¡¯t understand why she would say that.


    ¡°That means I¡¯m better than your best.¡±


    That was just mockery. But Jin took it.


    ¡°And oh. Your commander is really taking his time with my request for my ship¡¯s escort. Tell him not to take long. The quicker we are done with each other, the better. The longer you stretch this matter, the more troubling it would be for the both of us.¡±


    ¡°Got it. I understand.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    The blade from his face was retracted. The presence behind him disappeared, and he quickly turned around. And indeed, there was nothing there but the air.


    ¡°The hell. She moved too fast.¡±


    She was right, maybe she was way better than him. It was a frustrating realization. After all the hellish training, only to be surpassed by some girl from another land. Jin let out a sigh and abruptly sat down on the roof. He felt more self-conscious.


    ¡°... Yeah, guess I won¡¯t be following her anymore.¡±


    ***


    I let out a sigh as I walked down the street. It would seem he wasn¡¯t following me anymore. He¡¯d definitely go straight to his boss. To be honest, I might have lost my cool there. A lot of frustrations lately. I almost killed him just for the hell of it. Good thing I didn¡¯t fall to my emotions just yet. Doing so would be my undoing. If that happens, that means I might have already lost it. Lost a good amount of rationality.


    Humans were emotional beings. No matter how much they insist on being driven by logic and reason, eventually they succumb to emotions. I wasn¡¯t too different now. It was a frightening thing. It felt like I was on a descent, still finding a way to slow my fall. But my wings were chipped away.


    As I wallowed in my grim and depressing spiral of thoughts, I noticed someone walking on the street. I stopped in my tracks and observed the wobbling, familiar man. It was the harbormaster we met when we first arrived here. The person that tried to scam us. He was walking with unstable steps, a bottle in his hand. That fatso was drunk, apparently.


    The streets were still empty, people were either asleep still, or dead drunk. At any rate, there was no one else here but him before me. Meaning there were no witnesses now. I remembered how annoyed I was when this man just sauntered into my ship, demanding an absurd amount of payment. Even now, remembering it frustrated and annoyed me to the bone. He tried to wrong me.


    Look at the bastard, so clueless of his surroundings. A fool. So vulnerable. At the moment, I was not in a particularly good mood. And seeing him right now didn¡¯t do good for my heart. I looked around, it was clear. Well, not like I had to get close. In fact, there was no need to get close. Him being this stupid drunk didn¡¯t help him at all.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 80: The Little Monster Girl

    I returned to my ship, and I noticed Velar standing at the door of my cabin. I approached him.


    ¡°Velar.¡±


    ¡°Taneva is inside, with the monster girl.¡±


    I nodded and promptly stepped inside. Inside, Taneva was sitting on a chair while facing the small cage. The horrendous monster inside was squirming and quietly groaning. Taneva casually looked at me as Velar closed the door.


    Taneva snorted. ¡°You¡¯ve brought quite a guest, Your Highness.¡±


    I stood beside him as I observed the creature. ¡°Is it one of the Cursed Children?¡± I asked for confirmation.


    ¡°Yeah. A young one at that. Well, not that I¡¯d call her young exactly. But young in their standard.¡±


    ¡°Are the Cursed Children not only from the continent?¡±


    ¡°Oh they should all be on the continent. It¡¯s their home. But this one is a stray. Don¡¯t know how she got here, she won¡¯t talk to me.¡±


    ¡°That I understand. Judging from what happened at the bandit base, the leader definitely abused this girl to the most intense degree.¡±


    ¡°The ever healing monster, there¡¯s no limit to what you could do to it. A sadist¡¯s dream subject,¡± Taneva remarked.


    ¡°It¡¯s my first time seeing one bare like this,¡± I said. I mostly saw them completely covered in cloth.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how they look during the night,¡± Velar said.


    Taneva nodded with a smile. ¡°Incredibly ugly, aren¡¯t they? Absolutely horrendous.¡± He leaned forward with a slight smile, close to the cage. ¡°They¡¯re even cursed in appearance, not just immortality. And notice that slow pulsing on her flesh.¡± He pointed. ¡°That¡¯s the ever shifting and changing flesh inside the body. By force. Imagine your body being twisted. A constant suffering.¡±


    That would indeed be the most miserable way to live. Being that ugly, being in pain all the time, it would drive anyone insane. Even children were not spared.


    ¡°A very terrible curse,¡± Taneva added before glancing towards me. ¡°Your godly mother really was so pissed that she cast this curse on them.¡±


    ¡°A mother¡¯s wrath. It¡¯s something that should not be undermined,¡± I said. ¡°The grief, the rage, to see your child killed, it would be beyond words. It¡¯s something none of us can understand.¡± We were not mothers.


    ¡°True.¡± Taneva leaned back in his chair. ¡°So, why did you bring her here?¡±


    ¡°... Um, well, she¡¯s a cursed child. She had somewhat of a connection to me, right? And I can¡¯t just leave her. Maybe the Heneis could look after her.¡±


    ¡°You think those two would gladly take care of her? It¡¯s a kid.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    Taneva narrowed his eyes towards me. He smiled and shook his head, as if he came to a realization. ¡°This is not about her being connected to you.¡±


    ¡°What¡­?¡±


    He stood up and leaned close to me. ¡°You pity her.¡±


    My brow deeply furrowed upon hearing those words. ¡°Oh please, I am not.¡±


    ¡°Something is different about you. What happened out there?¡±


    I stepped back away from him. ¡°Back off, Taneva.¡±


    ¡°Is that compassion I see?¡±


    ¡°Why would I feel compassion?¡±


    ¡°Are you not compassionate?¡± Velar suddenly interjected. ¡°You were quite gentle to the women slaves you saved.¡±


    Shut up, Velar!


    ¡°You really are a softie!¡± Taneva started laughing hysterically, as though it was the most amusing thing.


    I clenched my fists. I was not being compassionate. It was bullshit. I was just in an emotionally vulnerable moment, but I was certainly not being compassionate. I didn¡¯t care about them. Never.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    But¡­ I was reminded of the time in the far past. My younger days. The suffering. My meekness. My lack of confidence. The abuse. And the sexually abused women, some of them were young. Ended up in that miserable situation.


    During training, we had to be indifferent to various situations, to different actions, different endeavors. And to form indifference, one ought to experience it. But, since we were young during education, options were quite limited. You had to be indifferent to killing, in suffering, in pain, and no form of compassion. No matter what you had to do to finish the mission, you had to do it.


    Seeing those women being treated like that¡­ It reminded me of a particular experience. The first time¡­ The time to form a particular kind of indifference. It was just before my graduation¡­ There was a man they introduced to me that I had¡­ had to¡­ To graduate, it had to be done¡­ I was so young, clueless. Nothing but a machine to do what was required. Still, what I was didn¡¯t matter¡­ I must form indifference to such carnal actions, no matter how young or small I was. And I remembered¡­ It was not comfortable¡­


    That was why, whenever I was vulnerable, or unaware, I didn¡¯t want to be touched in that way¡­


    ¡°Shut up, Taneva.¡± I glared at him, fists clenched tightly. ¡°Before I fucking blow you to smithereens.¡± Intense emotion suddenly flared within me.


    Taneva froze, and he slowly stepped back, holding out his hands. ¡°You¡¯re mad. I didn¡¯t expect that. I apologize. I¡¯ll stop.¡±


    It took a moment for me to realize I was emanating a good amount of mana, just after Velar began stepping away, being choked by my mana. I lost my composure. I took deep breaths to calm myself down, retracting my mana.


    Taneva was right, my decisions today¡­ I was not thinking straight¡­ No¡­ Thinking about it, there was another benefit to my decision. This monster girl. A monster that never dies. Despite being a kid, she should still be plenty useful. If she becomes indebted to me, she¡¯d be more trustworthy than those two Cursed Children. A follower. A shield, a weapon. The potential to have someone like that to serve me. Loyal to me.


    ¡°Can we bring her out?¡± I asked Taneva as I stared at the monster child.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be dangerous. When they¡¯re in this state, they¡¯re brought to the edge. She might attack you.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± I slowly approached the girl. ¡°She restrained herself when we first met. Saying not to harm me.¡±


    ¡°Your blood is precious to them. They can sense it. Don¡¯t just trust her words. A feral beast cannot control their instincts. Not to mention she¡¯s a child.¡±


    ¡°Really? Is there a way to stop that?¡±


    ¡°We can sate her hunger. But how much blood depends on how hungry she is. Or you could try giving her your blood.¡±


    ¡°My blood?¡±


    ¡°As I said, your blood is precious to them. Despite you being incompletely divine, your blood still has effects.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°Temporary relief. You can free her from her curse for the night.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± I crouched right before the girl in the cage. ¡°Hello.¡± She stared at me. ¡°You know what I am?¡± The monster meekly nodded before moving away to the edge. ¡°Are you hungry?¡±


    The girl groaned in a monstrous tone. Despite being so small, I could sense akin to a giant, hungry beast. And from the looks of it, me being in front of her only made it more difficult for her to hold herself back. And that was the point.


    ¡°Will you try to eat me?¡±


    The girl vigorously shook her head. ¡°No! I should not hurt the goddess!¡±


    I smiled softly. ¡°Very good.¡± I pulled out a dagger and broke the lock. And I slowly opened the cage, extending my hand forward. ¡°Reach out to me, be free from this cage.¡±


    ¡°N-No. I can¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Touch my hand and resist your hunger. Be a strong girl.¡±


    ¡°A strong¡­ girl?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± I further extended my hand. ¡°Come to me.¡±


    The girl was full of hesitation. However, I looked her directly in the eyes, urging her to step forward. The girl slowly moved towards me, her body trembling as she did. I could see the intense control she put on herself. She panted heavily as she got closer.


    She lifted up her hand slowly. With fear and doubt, she closed her hand and retracted it a little. However, that hesitation only lasted for a moment, and she reached out for my hand. Our hands touched. Her hand had a nasty and rough sensation on them. But that was fine. I slowly pulled her out of the cage until her feet finally touched the wooden floor.


    She looked at the floor with labored breaths, our hands still touching. I crouched right in front of her, and her sharp, monstrous eyes shook.


    ¡°Do you want to feed on me?¡±


    ¡°N-No¡­ I don¡¯t want t-to¡­ It¡¯s bad¡­¡±


    I waited for a moment for her to move differently. And yet, she only stood there firmly, even though our hands were still touching. The strength this girl had was incredible. The power to resist the temptation. A rare gift for someone this young.


    I caressed the side of her face with my finger. ¡°You are a strong girl.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ am?¡±


    I smiled tenderly, like how a mother would smile to their daughter. ¡°Yes.¡±


    She lowered her head.


    ¡°How did you get here?¡±


    ¡°... I ran away from home¡­¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Mother, Father, have lost their minds. They hurt me. Everyone was cold. And so I ran away, as far as I could¡­ But I was captured by humans, and was brought here in this land.¡±


    ¡°I see. It must be hard.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Do you want to come back home?¡±


    She shook her head.


    ¡°I see. How about you follow me, for the meantime?¡±


    ¡°F-Follow?¡±


    ¡°I have to go on a journey. Will you help me?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t hurt you.¡±


    ¡°B-But¡­ I¡­ I don¡¯t know if¡­ I might hurt the goddess.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you have the strength to resist that. Will you show me more of the power of your will?¡±


    She paused for a moment, merely staring at me. And she nodded. ¡°I¡­ I will try.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you will not disappoint.¡±


    And thus we waited until the sun rose. She displayed an incredible will to resist her extreme thirst for my blood. When the sun had risen, showing its first ever light to the world, the monster turned into a normal, young, little girl. A small and pitiful little girl with black hair and amber eyes.


    And she started crying as she stared outside through the window. Relief washed all over her. She still kept a tight hold on my hand.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± I asked her.


    She rubbed her eyes. ¡°Nira¡­¡±


    I gently patted her head. ¡°Hello, Nira. I am Estelia. Nice to meet you.¡±

 Vol. 4 Chapter 81: The Little Girl Goes Outside

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    When we got out to the ship¡¯s deck, some of the crewmen had already woken up and were standing around the area. They, of course, immediately noticed the new kid with us.


    ¡°What¡¯s this? The princess adopted a kid?¡±


    I frowned upon hearing that ridiculous assumption. To think that would be someone¡¯s first thought upon seeing a kid with me.


    Shayla approached the kid and looked at her closely, before looking at me with a weird face. ¡°You taking in strays again?¡±


    Excuse me?


    My frown deepened. What do you mean again? I never took strays¡­ Except for the prisoners from the pirate ship, if you even count those as strays¡­ Well, this kid was technically a stray¡­? But she would be a useful stray.


    ¡°Her name¡¯s Nira,¡± I said to everyone. ¡°I found her as a prisoner from the bandit leader I killed earlier.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, you went out to take a bounty.¡± Shayla nodded.


    ¡°Yes. And considering that she has no place to go, I decided to bring her along with me on my journey.¡±


    The crew quietly began murmuring amongst each other, they seemed to be doubting something about my decision. And Shayla was the one to voice that out.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t where you¡¯re going dangerous? And you¡¯re bringing a kid with you?¡±


    I patted Nira on the top of her head. ¡°She may look like this, but she¡¯s special.¡±


    Nira looked up at me with her wide eyes after hearing my words. The word ¡®special¡¯ might have stuck with her. And she seemed astonished for a moment before turning into a conflicted expression. I understood why¡­ Her situation, for her, there was nothing special about it. Nothing at all. It was nothing more but suffering.


    And that was true. But even that had its perks, you know. Never dying, that in itself was something special. A little more amendments, and it would be perfect. And I just wanted the girl to feel something different, to hear something pleasant from me.


    ¡°Really?¡± Shayla crouched down on the girl¡¯s level with an amiable smile. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Shayla.¡±


    The girl placed both hands on her chest. ¡°Mmm¡­¡± She lowered her head and averted her eyes.


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t like talking to people, huh?¡± Shayla scratched the back of her head as she looked up at me.


    ¡°Oh she¡¯s just shy. And she doesn¡¯t particularly have a good experience with people.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± She faced the girl again. ¡°Hey, you don¡¯t have to be scared of me. I¡¯m a good person. Are you hungry? We have a lot of food you can pick from. Want me to show you?¡± She extended her hand.


    Nira took a step back, looking sharply at the hand. And I noticed she gulped.


    ¡°Not¡­ hungry. I¡¯m thirsty,¡± the girl said in a small voice.


    ¡°We have water.¡±


    Nira took in a deep breath before looking up at me as if asking for help. Yeah, she sort of had a different meaning for thirst. Best to lessen her contact with normal people while she¡¯s not in a pretty good shape.


    ¡°Um, Shayla. Let me take care of her for now. You¡¯re still a stranger to her.¡±


    ¡°... I understand.¡± She nodded.


    I noticed the two Cursed Children approaching us.


    ¡°Oh, here they come.¡± Taneva chuckled lightly.


    Those two definitely have known since last night. They just couldn¡¯t approach us, since it was dark out. Heneis stared at the kid sharply. Nira took a moment before she realized who they were, and she frantically hid behind me. Which was surprising.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°That girl looks familiar,¡± Galik said from beside Heneis.


    ¡°Indeed,¡± Heneis said. ¡°Princess, do you really intend to bring her along with you?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk privately on the bridge.¡±


    I, Nira, Taneva, and the two Cursed Children moved to the bridge where it was only us.


    ¡°You know this girl?¡± I asked the two.


    ¡°I think I saw her years ago,¡± Galik said.


    ¡°Me as well,¡± Heneis added.


    I stepped aside to face the little girl. ¡°Do you know them?¡±


    She meekly nodded. ¡°I remember him.¡± She pointed at Heneis. ¡°He speaks to everyone often.¡± She faced them with pursed lips. ¡°A-Are you b-bringing me back home?¡±


    Heneis tilted his head in confusion. ¡°You don¡¯t want to go back?¡±


    Nira vigorously shook her head. ¡°No! I don¡¯t want to¡­¡±


    Heneis was particularly surprised to hear her outright stern refusal. ¡°Why? That place is better than here.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to see mama and papa! They¡¯ll only hurt me.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± Heneis and Galik looked at each other for a moment. ¡°They¡¯re reaching their limit, I take it,¡± the former said.


    ¡°Limit?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We suffer agony every night, Your Highness. Some just couldn¡¯t handle it and slowly lost control of their wits.¡±


    ¡°You mean they slowly go insane?¡±


    Heneis nodded. ¡°Yes. Because of that, some do unpleasant things, even to their own family.¡±


    ¡°And Nira¡¯s parents abused her because they lost their sanity. And therefore, she ran away,¡± I said with a nod of understanding. Hearing that, I was quite impressed that these guys managed to stay sane. Even this girl here. It would seem some people were just naturally mentally strong.


    ¡°Nira¡¯s her name? How long have you been away? No one told me about one leaving without notice.¡±


    ¡°... Um¡­ I don¡¯t know. There have been many days and nights¡­ I, I didn¡¯t count.¡±


    ¡°... You shouldn¡¯t have left. We can¡¯t just let any of us go stray.¡±


    Nira held her own hands. ¡°Everyone is scary back home¡­¡±


    Heneis let out a tired sigh. ¡°Your Highness, what do you intend to do with her? It will be difficult for us to handle a child. They are more likely to lose control when they thirst.¡±


    ¡°And you would prefer her to return to her home?¡±


    ¡°That is the best option.¡±


    ¡°No. She¡¯s with me now.¡±


    ¡°With you¡­?¡± He was surprised.


    ¡°As I said before, I¡¯ll be bringing her along on my journey.¡±


    ¡°... Will she be moving with you or with us¡­?¡±


    ¡°With me.¡±


    ¡°I would advise against that. I¡¯m sure you have realized by now that your blood is precious to us, and therefore more attractive in our eyes. This girl will likely attack you in your sleep.¡±


    ¡°That will be fine because she won¡¯t. She can control herself.¡±


    ¡°She is but a mere child.¡±


    ¡°My decision is final. You cannot say anything that will change my mind.¡±


    His brows furrowed. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve noticed, but right now she is thirsty. And that already poses a threat to you.¡±


    ¡°And yet she has done nothing to me yet.¡±


    ¡°... Why are you so compassionate about the girl?¡±


    ¡°Why ask that question? Haven¡¯t I always been compassionate?¡±


    He was struck silent. For indeed, during my time back home, I was compassionate¡­. Most of the time, anyway. But still a kind princess!


    Heneis nodded mildly. ¡°Very well. It¡¯s your choice. But the moment she goes berserk, we will hurt her as much as needed to make her stop.¡±


    ¡°Do what you will¡­ I know you doubt her. But, I''ll tell you this¡­ Even children have strength within them. They can endure the worst things. Give her a chance.¡±


    Even children could achieve the wildest things when pushed to the brink. How do you think I survived to the end back in the old world? I endured. Even children had the power to endure. If trained and forced, of course.


    Heneis glanced at Nira before giving a nod. ¡°I understand.¡±


    With that, they left us alone. Once they were out of sight, Nira let out a relieved sigh. She really didn¡¯t want to come back home, huh? And to think she was that wary of her fellow kind. It made me wonder how hard she had it back at their home. What would even their home look like?


    But there was something that made me curious ¡ª or rather, I needed clarity.


    ¡°Taneva.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re supposed to be immortal, right? We have a cursed kid here. Does this mean she¡¯s stuck being a child?¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t have eternal youth like me. They age very slowly. And in the end, as they never die, they turn into something else.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°A bag of meat, basically.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°More than a millennium of existence, they grow ¡®old¡¯. And they grow so old that their body becomes disfigured, and they get reduced to a literal pile of meat. That is their ultimate destiny.¡±


    Wow, that was a bit disturbing. ¡°Are they aware while being a bag of meat?¡±


    ¡°Of course. They¡¯re still technically alive. Just turned into a pretty repulsive form.¡±


    Holy shit, the goddess was surely ruthless. Compared to that, Taneva got the better immortality.


    ¡°Are some of their kind already like that?¡±


    ¡°Of course, those that lived while the goddess still walked the earth. Condemned in perpetuating agony.¡±


    I glanced at Nira. So in like around a thousand years, this girl would end up the same way. Wow. Talk about hellish punishment.


    Nira nodded. ¡°I saw several of them in the cave¡­ The sight, the smell¡­ I couldn¡¯t take it¡­¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    They really pissed off the goddess so much. Well, that¡¯s why you should fear a mother¡¯s wrath. I mean, killing a baby would be very cruel. That would really shatter the parents¡¯ hearts. I mean, I already lost my mother, and those who did it¡­ Well, they¡¯d get what was coming for them. And their lands shall be painted red with their blood. Perhaps I indeed understood the goddess¡¯s anger and wrath.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 82: Im not a Sadist

    Damn, I still needed to feed this monster girl here with me. She was doing well holding the monstrosity within, but there were limits to how much one could endure. I didn¡¯t want to give her my blood, at least not yet. My blood was special and a reward, it was not something I should easily give her, or to anyone in this matter. And I couldn¡¯t just ask one of the crew. Velar¡­? Would that be right to do, I wondered.


    As we were coming down from the bridge, we stumbled upon Hartwin. He was wobbling around until he leaned on the wooden railing, groaning quietly. He was obviously heavily hungover, judging by his expression. His clothes were also sandy. With a pained expression, he placed a hand on his head.


    Which reminded me, he wanted to go to a bar the night I got out for my mission.


    ¡°Rough night?¡± I asked.


    He groaned again as he looked at me from the corner of his eyes. ¡°The night was good, the morning¡­ not so good.¡±


    ¡°I can see that.¡±


    ¡°No, no. It¡¯s um, more complicated than that¡­¡± He wryly smiled.


    ¡°What could be more complicated than a simple hungover?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± he awkwardly laughed. ¡°... I don¡¯t remember much last night. But I woke up on the beach.¡±


    Holy shit. Just how much did he drink?


    ¡°And¡­ Uuugh. I could have sworn I still had a lot of coins left.¡±


    ¡°You spent them all.¡±


    He vigorously shook his head. ¡°I still had plenty of coins in my pouch when I was¡­ I was with those women.¡±


    Of course¡­


    ¡°But when I woke up. My pouch was gone¡­¡±


    Seeing his miserable state, and misfortunate event, I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.


    ¡°I had a couple of jewelry I found on the ship too¡­ But they¡¯re gone.¡±


    I frowned, directing a pitiful look at him. ¡°You got robbed while dead drunk.¡±


    ¡°I-It can¡¯t be¡­¡±


    ¡°And the sword I gave you?!¡±


    ¡°I-I, uh¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you lost it.¡± I¡¯d be so pissed.


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t¡­¡± He grinned. ¡°I left it here. It would be a bit risky to¡­ to bring such a fancy weapon alone in a bar. You know how many people get mugged around bars?¡±


    ¡°Not sure. But it would seem I just witnessed one. Can¡¯t believe you¡¯re that foolish to let yourself get robbed like that.¡± But at least the rapier I gave him wasn¡¯t taken. I¡¯ll give him credit for thinking that. However, a competent person like him still got robbed. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me those women you mentioned took it all.¡±


    His eyes widened as if in realization. ¡°That¡¯s! That¡¯s it! Those damn vixens! They made me extremely drunk and robbed me afterwards! And threw me to the beach all alone!¡± He clutched his head in utter shock. He must still be slightly intoxicated. ¡°I had never experienced such humiliation!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I tilted my head. ¡°I quite imagine you¡¯ve already experienced plenty.¡±


    ¡°But not like this!¡±


    Oh, so he did experience plenty of humiliation. ¡°What? You plan on getting them back? You really think you can get your hands on the money again?¡±


    He moaned as he leaned on the railing. ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡± He placed a hand on his face. ¡°The people here are sharper than I expected. But the women were extremely sexy, though.¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± I snubbed. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what got you in this trouble.¡±


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    Remind me not to let him go to a bar alone again.


    Hartwin then paused and noticed the girl beside me. His eyes narrowed. ¡°You adopted a child or something?¡±


    Why does everyone think I adopted this kid?!


    Can¡¯t anyone just bring along a child they found on the street? I certainly ain¡¯t gonna be this kid¡¯s parent or something.


    ¡°No adoption, just found her while on the mission. She¡¯s coming along with our journey.¡±


    ¡°Huh. That¡¯s something. Why though?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°You¡¯ll find out soon enough.¡±


    ¡°... I see. The compassionate goddess saved a child with a grim, uncertain destiny. And now she took her into her divine grace, bringing her along on her lengthy journey.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Still poetic despite it all I see. And you¡¯re exaggerating things.¡±


    ¡°Hehe. You did save her, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Hehehe. Would that even be an exaggeration? Besides, exaggerations are good. Otherwise, people will forget so easily. But it¡¯s not a lie, is it?¡±


    Would exaggerations be lies? Or would it become an exaggeration because of the delivery? Or because of a reaction? Still, if it was based on truth, should it still be regarded as a lie? When there was no lie at all. Or would the exaggeration be the lie itself? Huh. Deep stuff.


    ¡°Whatever. Just rest and wash yourself or something. You reek of booze.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah¡­ Where¡¯s Velar, by the way? He died or something?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s pretty much alive. Just resting.¡±


    ¡°Huh. Your target didn¡¯t give much trouble then? I expected as much. There must be a lot of magic spells flying around, huh?¡±


    ¡°There are no spells that flew around.¡±


    He blinked. ¡°No? Then how did it go?¡±


    ¡°Smoothly and quietly.¡±


    ¡°Quietly?¡±


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    ¡°How do you mean quietly?¡±


    ¡°I meant there was no commotion whatsoever.¡±


    ¡°What?! I thought the guy was supposed to be incredibly strong.¡±


    ¡°Guy¡¯s overrated.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no. You gotta tell me what happened. I am to document your story, after all!¡±


    ¡°Would like to hear how it went too,¡± Taneva casually commented from beside me. ¡°But I already knew you¡¯d be fine. If you could beat a beastman solo, you¡¯re pretty set.¡±


    ¡°Are you referring to that wolf in the forest? You seriously just watched and didn¡¯t help me?¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°Hey, if you died there, then the prophecy only corrected itself.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°I hate that¡­ Prophecy.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Well, I figured it was a bit weird in the beginning, anyway.¡±


    ¡°What prophecy?¡± Hartwin curiously asked.


    ¡°Just some prophecy that said I was supposed to die or something. And some others,¡± I said.


    ¡°Woah woah, tell me about that!¡±


    ¡°No way. Look at you. Get fixed and I might feel telling you. But you should ask Taneva about that. Apparently, he knows more than me.¡±


    ¡°Wait, did you actually die? Aren¡¯t prophecies quite serious?¡±


    ¡°Just go and clean yourself, Hartwin.¡±


    He let out a sigh and began walking away. As that happened, I suddenly yawned. I have not slept since yesterday.


    I turned towards Taneva. ¡°Can you feed your blood to Nira?¡± I whispered.


    ¡°Mine? I don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t have any special effects on them, right?¡±


    ¡°I may be immortal, but my blood isn¡¯t anything special.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Then it¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°Just get me a cup.¡±


    ¡°Grab one in my room.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    I glanced down at Nira. ¡°Go with Taneva.¡± She was hesitant, looking worried. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    With a moment of thought, she meekly nodded.


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to scare her.¡±


    As they went, Taneva¡¯s face contorted. ¡°How do I even scare her?¡±


    I shrugged and watched them as they entered my cabin. Letting out a sigh, I placed a hand on my stomach. I was hungry, I had not eaten yet. I should get something to eat before going to sleep. Therefore, I went down the deck and immediately found a box of fruits. After filling up my arms, I returned to the topside and sat down on the wooden railing, facing outwards. I just wanted to see a good view while eating.


    After some time, while I was savoring my food, Taneva and Nira got out of the cabin. Glancing behind me, I noticed that Nira was looking significantly better than before. Nira promptly approached me.


    ¡°No longer thirsty?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± I chomped down on my last fruit. ¡°I will be going to sleep. You can hang out with Taneva or Hartwin for the meantime.¡±


    ¡°Hey now, being a deadbeat already?¡± Taneva remarked.


    ¡°What the heck do you mean by that¡­? Anyway, I need sleep.¡±


    I got off the railing and patted the kid on the head. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine. If they get annoying, just tear off this guy¡¯s face. He wouldn¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°I would prefer not to get hurt needlessly.¡±


    ¡°I thought you liked that?¡±


    ¡°What am I? A masochist?¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re not?¡±


    He grinned. ¡°So that¡¯s how you wanna play it? You sadistic princess.¡±


    I scoffed. ¡°When was I ever sadistic? Ridiculous.¡± I was absolutely not a sadist. You agree, right? I never liked inflicting suffering. I¡¯m serious. Inflicting suffering was not something I truly favored. It was just that inflicting pain was a quick way to get what you want.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that.¡± He waved his hand, as if dismissing what I said.


    My frown deepened. ¡°I would rather be called a killer than that.¡±


    ¡°What if just both?¡±


    ¡°Okay. I take back calling you a masochist.¡±


    ¡°You dislike being called a sadist that much?!¡±


    Growing tired of this exchange, I ignored him and headed straight to my cabin. I made sure to lock the door so I wouldn¡¯t be disturbed. I wanted a straight, smooth sailing sleep. I changed into a casual outfit to feel more comfy before jumping on to my bed. Truth be told, I might miss this smooth bed once I go on my journey. There wouldn¡¯t be any smooth and soft bed anywhere. Nothing but the sheets between me and the hard ground. Sucks to be honest. But that¡¯s just how it is.


    It didn¡¯t take long for me to fall asleep, being tired and all.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 83: The Better One

    Early in the morning, at the fortress, in front of the door of the commander¡¯s office, the ninja, Jin Rei, was sitting down on a chair. His hands on his lap. He had been waiting here for the commander to arrive and give his report about what had happened. And truth be told, he was in a rush. That girl threatened him after all. At any rate, she was trouble and dangerous. And one he would rather not face again anytime soon.


    He had been waiting here, on this chair, for some time now. There was even barely any staff except for some night overs when he arrived. Not like he had anywhere to go but straight here. Besides, his commander would typically arrive early.


    But the one who arrived first was not the one he was looking forward to. It was the commander¡¯s other aide, Minori. She raised an eyebrow, pointing a sharp gaze towards him.


    ¡°You look like you¡¯ve been here a while.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because I am.¡±


    ¡°I thought you were on observation duty.¡±


    ¡°Well, I left that duty. And I ain¡¯t coming back.¡±


    She frowned, clearly displeased. ¡°What did you say? The commander gave you the mission. You can¡¯t just back out from such a simple mission.¡±


    ¡°The situation¡¯s changed, and I¡¯m telling you, it ain¡¯t a simple mission! Not at all.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not just being lazy?¡±


    ¡°You know how I love doing these kinds of missions.¡±


    ¡°Hm. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re having difficulties. You?¡±


    She seemed to be having a hard time believing that Jin would find a simple trailing mission difficult. And Jin understood it quite well. This kind of mission was quite common for him. Following and stalking people the commander told him to, enemies and such. Even if they had the most excellent guards or ninjas, they couldn¡¯t beat Jin in every stealthy aspect. He was among the very best. However¡­


    ¡°Yes. I never thought I would get beat like this.¡± He crossed his arms with a visible pout.


    ¡°No way. Are you sure it¡¯s not because you¡¯re just slacking off?¡±


    ¡°Trust me, Minori. If you¡¯ve seen what I''ve seen, even at my most diligent, it won¡¯t change a thing.¡±


    ¡°What did you see?¡±


    ¡°Something that makes me quite insecure.¡±


    ¡°... Seriously?¡±


    ¡°Seriously.¡±


    ¡°What are you two talking about?¡± Suddenly came a third voice.


    ¡°Commander, you¡¯re here,¡± Minori said.


    Jin promptly rose from his seat and saluted stiffly. The commander, of course, immediately noticed this change in his behavior. Well, Jin was not in the mood to take things casually. His pride was just damaged, after all.


    ¡°Did something happen?¡± The commander asked. ¡°Did she complete the bounty?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah. But I think we should talk in a more proper setting.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    They got inside the commander¡¯s office. The commander sat down as Minori stood beside the desk, facing Jin with a stern expression. She must be feeling a bit disappointed that he seemed to fail his simple mission. However, Jin understood that she just didn¡¯t understand the situation.


    ¡°So, what happened?¡± the commander asked.


    ¡°She got me.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°She has known that I¡¯ve been following her since the beginning.¡± Both Katsuo¡¯s and Minori¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°She has only been letting me watch,¡± Jin added.


    ¡°And she decided to confront you now?¡±


    Jin nodded. ¡°... I don¡¯t know why exactly. But she didn¡¯t seem to be in a good mood. Even after completing that bounty.¡±


    ¡°Several warriors had gone to hunt that bandit, none of them succeeded. She must have an excellent team.¡±


    Jin shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s the thing, she did it all by herself.¡±


    The two people in front of Jin looked utterly shocked.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way that¡¯s possible,¡± Minori said in disbelief.


    ¡°Well, she did,¡± Jin remarked. ¡°Add to it the entire base. She wiped everyone out, every single bandit.¡±


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    ¡°That¡¯s insane.¡± Minori placed a hand on her sword.


    ¡°Her movement, her methods, it¡¯s like mine. The way of a ninja.¡± He described her style ¡ª which would certainly upset and offend a particular girl if she ever hears it. ¡°She wiped the entire base in complete stealth. However, even I would be hard pressed in achieving the same feat. Not to mention killing the boss.¡±


    ¡°Let me guess,¡± Katsuo said. ¡°She also silently killed the bandit leader.¡±


    ¡°Yes. There was no commotion whatsoever. She just came out of the building carrying the guy¡¯s head.¡±


    ¡°Is she really that strong?¡± Minori asked in a strained voice.


    ¡°She confronted me in the city after coming out of the Bureau. I was following her closely, but then she just disappeared from my sight.¡± Jin lowered his head. He still couldn¡¯t understand how he lost her at that moment. Was it just because she was more skillful and faster than him? ¡°... And then she snuck up behind me, a blade pointed at my face. I couldn¡¯t even sense her coming.¡±


    Katsuo nodded. ¡°I see. And what did she say?¡±


    ¡°She said she doesn''t intend to bring harm to the city and our people. That precisely she wants me to convey to you.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± Katsuo leaned back in his chair. ¡°What else?¡±


    ¡°And that to be quick with their request of a ship escort. Otherwise, it would be trouble for the both of us. Meaning her and you.¡±


    ¡°Is she threatening the commander?!¡± Minori formed a stern expression. It was not good to hear someone threaten their leader just like that. That was a great offense to commit against a high-ranking officer.


    ¡°Guess so. She did say we can¡¯t threaten her with our power.¡±


    ¡°The arrogance.¡± Minori clenched her fists.


    ¡°Calm down,¡± Katsuo said, holding out his hand. ¡°Following someone would not exactly bring a favorable impression. So I understand that she¡¯s irritated with us. Still, if she¡¯s that arrogant, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she can back it up.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way she can handle you and the city, right, commander?¡± Jin asked with a wry smile.


    ¡°If she could defeat that bandit with ease, then I¡¯m sure facing her would indeed be troublesome. And as I said, those people on her ship, they¡¯re dangerous. We don¡¯t know what they are fully capable of.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ So I guess I should really stop following them now?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s not provoke her any further.¡± He placed a hand on his chin. ¡°Powerful physical strength, a powerful magic caster, and a skillful ninja that beats even mine. That girl is brimming with abilities. So that may be why she¡¯s their leader.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s really not flashing her abilities around,¡± Jin commented.


    ¡°Can there really be someone so overpowered?¡± Minori asked with an uncomfortable expression. For someone to have all of those abilities, it was simply absurd. Even she had to focus all of her efforts on becoming a warrior to be this skilled. And to have all those different aspects was just absurd.


    ¡°It would appear so. We even have no idea where she came from. Their ways might be different from ours. And well, there are just some people that are special.¡± He sighed. ¡°Whatever their purpose may be in coming here, we can¡¯t stop them from going further into our island without earning their ire. Let¡¯s hope they don¡¯t do something too damaging.¡±


    ¡°What are you planning on doing now?¡± Minori asked the commander.


    ¡°Firstly, I take her word for it. That they don¡¯t intend to harm us. And then stop delaying the ship escort.¡±


    Jin¡¯s mouth fell open. ¡°So you were delaying it?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Best to get rid of them as quickly as possible¡­ A shame, we couldn¡¯t learn more about them.¡±


    ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll go to the capital city?¡± Jin asked.


    ¡°... Most travelers do. But if something ever happens, it won¡¯t be under our jurisdiction.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Jin faintly nodded. ¡°I hope I won¡¯t face her again soon¡­¡± he muttered.


    The commander turned towards Minori. ¡°Summon Captain Suda. Maybe I¡¯ll add another ship as well¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, commander.¡±


    After their meeting, Jin headed straight to the courtyard for some fresh air. He watched the soldiers run around, exercising and training. For now, he had nothing to do, he was supposed to rest. But his encounter from earlier was still fresh in his mind.


    It really bothered him, basically demolishing his confidence. And thus he spent plenty of time spacing out. Then a moment later, Minori noticed him and came up beside him.


    ¡°What the heck is wrong with you?¡±


    He jerked and frantically turned towards her. ¡°N-Nothing.¡±


    ¡°Yeah right, with all that pout and oozing sadness. Don¡¯t think I wouldn¡¯t notice.¡±


    Jin let out a long sigh. ¡°Just some personal issue.¡±


    ¡°Is this about that girl surpassing you or something?¡±


    He frowned. ¡°Can I even call that surpassing¡­?¡±


    ¡°... You¡¯re taking this too personally, Jin. Someone will tend to be stronger than you. It¡¯s not that big of a deal.¡±


    He turned a sharp gaze towards her, he was a bit displeased hearing that last sentence. ¡°It¡¯s a big damn deal, Minori. You wouldn¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I don¡¯t understand why it bothers you so much!¡±


    Jin clicked his tongue. ¡°I was among the very best in my department. My fellows, we were either equals or have tiny bits of difference. And I admit, I lose to you ¡ª but that¡¯s a different scenario.¡± Him fighting directly with a warrior was a completely different situation. No one would expect him to easily win that.


    ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°But I stood no chance, none at all. An overwhelming defeat. You know how hard it is?¡± He groaned with irritation. ¡°I gave my whole life for the skills I have now. And some random girl just appeared out of nowhere and basically showed how inferior I am. She even mocked me! Can you believe that? Like I was just some mundane man.¡±


    ¡°Again, you¡¯re taking this too personally.¡±


    ¡°... You know the only person I couldn¡¯t beat at all? My master. And I was fine with that, I respect him.¡±


    ¡°What? Now you¡¯re feeling some inferiority complex over some one-time encounter? That isn¡¯t healthy.¡±


    ¡°How would you feel if you faced someone that is just toying you around?¡±


    ¡°... I wouldn¡¯t know.¡± She had never faced someone like that before.


    ¡°So you wouldn¡¯t understand.¡±


    Minori sighed tiredly. ¡°And so, what are you thinking of doing?¡±


    He tapped his hands on his lap. ¡°... Guess consulting with my master.¡±


    ¡°What for?¡±


    ¡°Ask him to train me harder, harder than before. Or at least teach me something special.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just overdoing it.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s needed. I need it. I¡¯m an aide to our commander, if I can¡¯t overcome someone with the same skill set as me, then I¡¯m a disgrace.¡±


    ¡°... Very well. If that¡¯s what you want. I don¡¯t know when we¡¯ll be coming back to the capital city, but I¡¯m sure the commander will visit once everything has settled here.¡±


    ¡°Yes, when that time comes, I will meet with the master again.¡±


    ¡°... You think your master is a match for that girl?¡±


    ¡°What kind of question is that? There¡¯s no way even that girl is a match for the old man. He may be old, but he¡¯s not that weak. It¡¯s like age doesn¡¯t even matter to him.¡±


    ¡°Huh. I suppose. Age and experience have great merits in one¡¯s abilities. But you think he¡¯ll take it well, your request to train again?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. But I¡¯ll try.¡±


    ¡°You should tell the commander about your plan.¡±


    ¡°... Yeah.¡±


    ¡°And you should try to get some sleep. Like, now.¡±


    Jin faintly nodded. ¡°... Alright.¡±

 Vol. 4 Chapter 84: Gonna Have a Party

    It was nighttime when I woke up from my slumber. It was a decent sleep, but I was still a bit sleepy. I had to get up though, forcing myself to sleep further was causing a bit of headache. So, gonna go let my sleep cooldown for a bit. Weird, right? Pfft, imagine sleep on a cooldown. But it was true, though!


    After gently rubbing my face, I got out of my room. Immediately, I felt the pleasant cold sensation of the sea breeze. I took a deep breath and noticed Velar standing on the deck, chatting with the crew. The moment he noticed me, he promptly walked over towards me.


    ¡°Did you have a decent rest?¡± he asked.


    I nodded. ¡°Yes, I did. But I might be dropping back again shortly.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re that tired, I see. But I guess you should have as much rest as possible right now.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°Captain Suda arrived earlier. He wanted to talk to you, but as I believed you didn¡¯t want to be disturbed, I¡¯ll just convey his message to you.¡±


    ¡°I see, and what did he say?¡± I leaned on the wooden railing.


    ¡°We can leave with them the day after tomorrow, in the morning. For the continent.¡±


    And by ¡®we¡¯ meant this ship and its crew. About time. It would seem my threat to that ninja did its work.


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°Additionally, they¡¯ll have another ship with them.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°That¡¯s great to hear¡­¡± I looked over to the crew chatting and laughing on the deck. They were getting along fine. They¡¯d been together for not that long, but they¡¯d been through hard times together. That had more weight and value than anything else in their lives. ¡°Do they already know?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°They must be quite excited.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Well, some of them are still conflicted.¡±


    ¡°I suppose. Some of them have nowhere to go once they return to Eventon.¡±


    ¡°Some even mentioned they have no intention of seeing their family again.¡±


    Of course, betrayal was one of the worst things that could happen to someone. Even more if it¡¯s betrayal from your own family. Imagine seeing the parents that sold your ass. That would be a bit fucked up in the heart.


    ¡°Mm¡­¡± As I stared at the deck, a thought came to mind. ¡°Velar, can you bring the helmsman to me? I have something to tell him.¡±


    ¡°The old man? Sure.¡±


    Velar left for a moment and called for the helmsman. While waiting, my elbow leaning on the wooden railing, I placed a hand on my cheek as I stared up at the dark sky. The stars twinkled beautifully. The world was full of color, but had never been so dull. It has been hard to appreciate things lately. But I shouldn¡¯t let this get to me. It would be one miserable experience. I didn¡¯t want to feel more miserable than I already was.


    You know, wallowing in these thoughts, it reminded me of the time I first arrived in this world. It was a simpler time. And more fun. Sure there were some bad parts, but a lot of it was good. And now¡­now it was just mostly bad¡­


    Velar returned with the old man with him.


    ¡°Your Highness¡­ You called for me?¡±


    I turned towards him with a small smile. ¡°Who¡¯s ship is this?¡±


    His brow furrowed, confused by my strange question. ¡°... Um¡­ I don¡¯t know what that question is for, but as the captain, it¡¯s yours.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Once you go back to Eventon, you can use the ship however you want.¡±


    ¡°Sorry?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s yours to do as you please. And yours, I mean, everyone. You just take the lead.¡±


    ¡°Really? Why?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°It won¡¯t have any other use, anyway. If everyone leaves, it¡¯ll just be an empty ship. It would be a waste if you don¡¯t do anything with it. You might find some use for it.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°And, well¡­ There are others that have nowhere to go. They might need this ship until they find a new direction in life. So until then, they can use this ship as their home.¡±


    The old man¡¯s eyes widened, and they slightly started to moisten. ¡°You really are a good person, Princess.¡±


    I¡¯m not.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    It just would be a waste. I worked hard for this ship, you know. I would not like it tossed away like some trash.


    And stop getting teary eyes, old man. It¡¯s weirding me out.


    Always found it weird when someone suddenly cries for a small reason, even more so if they were seniors.


    ¡°You¡¯d still care for us even away¡­¡±


    I casually waved my hand to dismiss him. ¡°Yeah yeah, just go ahead and tell them about this when you¡¯re already sailing.¡±


    The old man chuckled. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be shy about it. We can just tell them now.¡±


    ¡°Just¡­ don¡¯t.¡± I let out a sigh. I dread to think what kind of reaction I would get. Would rather not face it. ¡°And oh, please rename the ship. I don¡¯t like the old one.¡± And I was just lazy to mull over a name for a ship I¡¯d discard in the end.


    ¡°Of course! We¡¯ll surely think of a new one!¡±


    With that done, I drove him away, urging him to get back to his work or whatever he was doing. Once he was gone, Velar faintly chuckled.


    ¡°Are you always like this, even back in your kingdom?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You show a fierce and tough exterior, but inside you are quite different.¡±


    I fell silent for a moment. ¡°... They always say I am kind¡­ But I always say I¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± He glanced at the crew. ¡°You treat them with fondness.¡±


    You know, it¡¯s kinda hard being misunderstood. But then again, that¡¯s what I led them to believe.


    So it was still kinda my fault.


    I grinned. ¡°Well, they do call me the Pure Princess. So I guess that counts to something.¡±


    ¡°Heh. So it would seem.¡±


    ¡°But, Velar, you shouldn¡¯t always expect kindness from me.¡±


    ¡°I am aware.¡±


    ¡°... Okay.¡± I looked around. ¡°By the way, have you seen Nira?¡±


    ¡°Nira¡­? The monster girl? Last I saw was Taneva giving her some thick clothing and bringing her somewhere. Before nightfall.¡±


    ¡°Huh. Did he say where they went?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    I wondered what he was trying to do. Given that it was night, she had turned into a monster already. Could he be helping her or something? Anyway, not like anything could harm those immortal two.


    ¡°Anyway. We should have a proper goodbye to each other, with the crew,¡± I said.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I just had the idea, and I think it¡¯s warranted. Can you please have everyone gather on the deck? I have something to tell them.¡±


    With that, Velar left and called everyone. It took some time, but a crowd had assembled on the deck below me. There were faint chatters, and I raised my hand, causing them to fall silent immediately. They all looked at me as I began to speak.


    ¡°Good evening, everyone. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard the news. The day after tomorrow, you¡¯ll be able to leave these shores and return to the continent. We have been through multiple challenges together, and it will be a significant memory and experience in our lives. I¡¯m sure none of you could ever forget it.¡±


    They all looked at each other with a smile.


    ¡°We were trapped in darkness, but we found light in each other. In dangers, in hardships, we formed deep friendships that would last for a lifetime.¡± I smiled. ¡°Sadly, in time, we have to go our separate ways. Even I, along with a few, would not be going with you back to our continent. However, that doesn¡¯t mean we should forget our fondness for each other. Even if we are far away, we must still carry our friends in our hearts.¡±


    I had never said something more cliche in my life. And yet, it was pleasant to hear. That was why it was a cliche in the first place.


    ¡°Before the departure, tomorrow night I would like for us to have a farewell party.¡±


    My crew let out ¡®wow¡¯ and ¡®ooohs¡¯ the moment I said the word party.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have food, drinks, and whatever. Just enjoy our moments together, sing, dance. What do you say?¡± My smile grew wider.


    And then came the instantaneous cheers and joyful shouts.


    ¡°ALRIGHT!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s goooo!¡±


    ¡°Party!¡±


    ¡°YES!¡±


    It was then that I noticed Taneva arriving and quickly approached me. With him was a fully covered small figure.


    ¡°What¡¯s the cheers for?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Party for tomorrow. Where did you two go?¡±


    ¡°Well, she was turning. And I wanted to make sure of her state the moment it happened. Children might have a different reaction, or just her. Have to be careful with this many people around. You were sleeping in your room, so we couldn¡¯t hide there.¡±


    Was that even necessary? Whatever, he might just be concerned about a monster kid in our midst. ¡°And? How is she?¡±


    ¡°So far, very well. No signs of going berserk at the moment of transformation. Smaller body must mean a small stomach to fill or something. All¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°We can just use your blood whenever we need it, right?¡±


    He wryly chuckled. ¡°You can say that. But the kid does not seem comfortable doing it.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Why?¡±


    ¡°She said she doesn¡¯t like hurting those that helped her.¡±


    ¡°... I see.¡± What a kind girl. ¡°Anyway, we need food for tomorrow. And I want something good. Got any idea where we can get some?¡±


    ¡°If you want something normal, fishes are the most feasible. But they¡¯re expensive here.¡±


    ¡°There is a lot of water around us.¡±


    ¡°This region near the lands doesn¡¯t have a lot of fishes. The dead zone is not only on the islands, you know.¡±


    ¡°So we have to get fishes from a bit farther away?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll get some. We should be able to get back before sunset, yes?¡±


    ¡°I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡± I turned to the crew. ¡°Everyone! Wake up early in the morning, before first light. We¡¯ll be going fishing! We¡¯ll use the fish for the party.¡±


    ¡°Finally! Normal food!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like the monster meat they have here.¡±


    Sounded like they liked the idea of getting normal fish.


    ¡°Alright then, everyone,¡± I said. ¡°Don¡¯t sleep late so you can wake up early tomorrow. We¡¯ll get as much fish as we can!¡±


    ¡°YES!¡±


    I nodded, pleased to see their reaction. I turned towards Taneva and Nira.


    ¡°Do you think you''ll feel hungry later tonight?¡± I asked the little girl. Just wanted to make sure. Wouldn¡¯t want her going wild while everyone¡¯s deep asleep.


    ¡°No. I¡­ I have already fed.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Taneva failed to mention that.¡± I frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you hunted some people nearby?¡± That would be troublesome. Wouldn¡¯t want bodies being left all over the place and people discover them without a shed of blood left in their body. Or their body shredded inside the city, which would be a sign of a monster.


    ¡°I intend to mention it. We hunted some monsters on the way after my observations,¡± Taneva answered. ¡°At least she¡¯s not a choosy eater.¡±


    ¡°Wow, you walked far.¡±


    ¡°There are smaller creatures just outside the city, you know.¡±


    ¡°Ah right.¡±


    ¡°I just also taught her to hunt on her own whenever she feels the thirst for blood, without our supervision. Wouldn¡¯t want her to hold herself back.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes at Taneva. ¡°Woah. Is that you caring about her? How adorable.¡± I formed a teasing smile.


    Taneva laughed dryly. ¡°I¡¯m only trying to help a companion and a kid.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good that you¡¯re getting along well now.¡±


    ¡°... I sort of forced her, by the way. To come with me.¡±


    ¡°Do you even need to mention that¡­?¡± I muttered. ¡°At any rate, that¡¯s good. Since she¡¯s still a kid, might need to guide her in some other things.¡± I doubted her parents taught her a lot.


    ¡°Hey now, don¡¯t throw the responsibilities at anyone,¡± Taneva said. ¡°You brought her here.¡±


    I groaned.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 85: Fall Into Temptation (Part 1)

    Way early in the morning, we sailed our ship to the deep sea to grab some fish. We needed to go a bit farther than first intended, as there were more fish to catch further away, lest we¡¯d be stuck scratching our heads waiting to get a lot if we didn¡¯t. The closer we were to the island, the fewer good fish there were. Incidentally, we left some guys back at the port. You know, just in case some questions were asked. They were capable, so there was no need to worry about them being left behind.


    I was among the ones looking into the fishing, and with all my time on the sea, I was starting to get familiar with the activity. And what was my contribution? If the fish were hard to catch, I shock them, and they would come floating back up! Nothing a little lightning power couldn¡¯t handle. Of course I had to be careful not to fry them outright. Just low power enough to neutralize them. And after that, we throw the nets! Of course, my power was not always needed, just the conventional way was enough most of the time.


    It didn¡¯t take long for us to finish fishing, since we were basically catching a load of them with our big net. It took half a day before we returned to port. But preparation was not yet done with that. Everyone started taking out the fish and cutting through them, taking out the guts and such. But of course fish were not the only ones we¡¯d be eating. I mean, that would just be plain boring. There should be an assortment of food!


    Not to mention alcohol! Lots of liquor! Even though I wouldn¡¯t drink any of it because I¡¯m a very good girl, we¡¯d still need a lot of them. Everyone would wake up with headaches in the morning, but who the fuck cares? You know I was never a party girl, never liked it, never disliked it either. But a farewell party was just warranted, you know.


    Me and me crew, about to embark on a separate journey. And I¡¯d be breaking up with me precious ship. Make the goodbyes worthwhile.


    ¡°What are we shopping for?¡± Hartwin asked.


    ¡°How is their local liquor, by the way?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Eh, they¡¯re fine. Want me to buy some?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, maybe some of the crew would want to have a taste. Oh, if you can find liquor from different continents aside from ours, get some.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re quite expensive, though.¡±


    ¡°Just something we can afford.¡±


    Maybe I could also have a taste, you know. Different parts of the world should have a variety when it comes to flavors. ¡®But Estelia you just said you don¡¯t drink¡¯ ¡ª drinking and tasting are different!


    ¡°As for meat¡­¡± I placed a finger on my chin. ¡°They mostly have monster meat, right? Guess we¡¯ll be fine tasting more of the local produce.¡±


    ¡°So also buy some monster meat?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Ah, I learned that they have spices here as well. Although quite pricey, please do your best to find some. They might be nice to add to our food.¡±


    ¡°Spices, huh? Got it.¡±


    People go crazy for spices, so they are pretty good. Maybe I could get a flavor good enough and comparable to the food back home. I don¡¯t mean the flavor, of course, just the level of deliciousness. You have no idea how dull the food I had been eating since I was away from home, it was honestly a bit depressing.


    As a fancy princess, of course I would want something truly good. Perhaps these spices might provide a good experience.


    ¡°How much budget do we even have?¡± Hartwin asked.


    ¡°Hold up.¡± I retrieved a pouch from my cabin and threw them into Hartwin¡¯s hands. ¡°Found more gold in my room. The old captain was a greedy guy, it would seem.¡±


    Hartwin peeked into the pouch. ¡°Woah, okay. Hopefully we still have money left for our travels, though.¡±


    ¡°I still have my reward money from the bounty. That should be plenty.¡±


    At least I hope so.


    I mean, whew, it would be pretty bad if we ran out of money. Being broke sucks! You would never catch me broke. Even I was never really broke back in my old world. Except the fact that I couldn¡¯t freely spend, but that¡¯s already a given¡­


    ¡°So I can spend all of these?¡±


    ¡°Just don¡¯t overspend, and get the best deals. Nothing beats being thrifty.¡± For some reason, I grew anxious about giving away that much money. My paranoia was worried about going broke. But, there should be no problem¡­ no problem at all. ¡°Bring Velar with you and some others to carry the stuff. I imagine you¡¯d need a few hands.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    With that, he left with a few guys. Now all that was left was for me to wait around and check what everyone was doing. I didn¡¯t have to do anything, everyone else was doing the work. Being a freeloader was I now? Nope. Just comes with the station, you know.


    Observing from the bridge, I noticed the little girl, Nira, helping out. She was mainly beside Shayla. It would seem she finally opened up to someone. During the day, if she was well fed, we should have nothing to worry about. Nira was slightly smiling as she did some work, preparing the knives, handing out the fish, and being taught how to cut fish.


    Guess you wouldn¡¯t need to know how to properly cut fish if you could just bite into them. They even let Nira cut some herself. And people say you shouldn¡¯t let children near sharp objects ¡ª what a bunch of pussies. I¡¯m kidding, I¡¯m kidding! No need to call the police.


    Anyway, it was good that she was having a good time at least.


    Considering that this was the city harbor, there were plenty of strangers around us. And some weird ones as well. Some of them noticed what we were doing, of course. Some were even curious enough to approach, sniffing the fish that we were cooking, and the ruckus we were making.


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    They were a bit annoying, they weren¡¯t part of the party. Some were big guys as well, so they were a bit difficult to drive away. But I just let Taneva handle them, he was intimidating enough. I supposed that it was rare for someone to hold a party on a ship, a big one at that. Too bad, I imagine we¡¯d be pretty noisy later tonight. And we¡¯d beat anyone who tries to get in the way.


    Come on, we were a ship of monsters basically. I imagine even the entire garrison wouldn¡¯t be able to win against creatures that literally cannot die. And if I wanna gamble my life, I could just freeze this entire city. Huh, strange, why was I thinking about destruction again? Forget that.


    While I was doing nothing anyway, I should prepare for the start of the journey tomorrow. So I proceeded to sort out what I should need to sort out for our departure, wouldn''t want to leave something behind on this ship.


    It took roughly a couple of hours for Hartwin and the others to come back. They carried a few bags, and inside were the things they bought.


    ¡°Took a while to find the spices,¡± Hartwin said. ¡°But my goodness, they¡¯re quite expensive.¡±


    ¡°Did you buy plenty, though?¡±


    ¡°Of course. It should be enough for all the food. We asked how much people typically use for each dish.¡±


    The spices were placed in small pouches, three of them. I opened each one, curious about what they look like. We had a dark green powder, another was dark red, and the other brown.


    ¡°You know how to use these?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Well, we asked the vendor, and he gave us some tips. This green one is good for soups, the red is good for fried food, and the brown is additional flavoring for either. Still need to try, though.¡±


    ¡°I sure hope we don¡¯t mess up the food.¡±


    ¡°We also bought a lot of local fruits! We thought it might be a good try adding them to our food.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but wince. ¡°We¡¯re really experimenting?¡±


    ¡°Come now, Princess. Let¡¯s be adventurous.¡±


    ¡°Just make sure it¡¯s the minority. We wouldn¡¯t want all our food to suck.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°And the meat? What did you get?¡±


    Hartwin sighed. ¡°Well, as you¡¯d expect. Monster meat.¡±


    ¡°Not only dried ones, I hope. If you want to get adventurous, we could try cooking them ourselves conventionally.¡± Although I would prefer normal meat, not like we had other options. And eating fish entirely was just too dull for me when it comes to parties.


    ¡°Yeah, we have a few varieties of meat.¡±


    ¡°And the liquor?¡±


    ¡°Mostly local. Got a couple from a continent in the southwest.¡±


    ¡°Are they good?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the question.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Well, whatever. We¡¯ll figure it out later, anyway.¡± I looked at the sky. ¡°It¡¯s late in the afternoon. Best start cooking.¡±


    ***


    ¡°CHEERS!¡±


    Everyone raised their glasses filled with beer under the bright rays of the moon, me included. We placed tables at the center of the deck filled with wooden plates full of food. Everyone was standing as they grabbed some food for their personal plates.


    I already had food on my plate, and they were a variety! Got some barbecued fish, fried monster meat, soup in a bowl. No matter what, I¡¯d be eating all of these. We also figured out how to put in the spices, turns out it wasn¡¯t that complicated. Not too different from the spices we put on the continent, at least to those that have encountered spices. We also got people from a poor origin here after all, and didn¡¯t have quite a lot of options. And well, not like it¡¯s too different from the other world too.


    I watched everyone eat their food with delight. They chattered with loud conversations and spread laughter. Some talked about their life stories or memorable moments in their life.


    ¡°Me and a couple of friends once entered a place said to be haunted,¡± I heard one guy. ¡°Was a middle of the night, with nothing but a torch.¡±


    ¡°Why would you even do that?¡±


    ¡°Hey, we were curious. I mean, haunted, really? It¡¯s just bullshit.¡±


    ¡°So, did you find anything?¡±


    ¡°Thing is, we heard some tapping sounds, like footsteps or something. Kinda a big abandoned place, and the sound just echoed creepily. We wanted to check it out, but one of my friends just started running like a rat!¡± He laughed loudly, rubbing his eyes. ¡°We didn¡¯t even see what it was yet!¡±


    ¡°Yeah I bet you ran along with him.¡± Upon hearing that, the group laughed.


    ¡°N-No, I didn¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°Yeeaah? You liar.¡±


    ¡°So did you see what it was?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± The guy awkwardly looked away.


    ¡°Aha! You really did run away!¡±


    Everyone laughed at him.


    The guy frowned. ¡°W-What¡¯s the problem with that?! It could be a dangerous monster or something.¡±


    ¡°Or could be a small critter! Hahahaha!¡±


    I chuckled lightly as I listened to them. I have to hand it to him, quite brave of him to put himself in a possible precarious situation. I leaned back in my chair as I forked a piece of sliced meat, one that had spices on them. Upon eating it, I nodded in satisfaction. I understood why people would go crazy for spices. This thing was almost on a par with the simplest food back at the palace.


    ¡°Or could be a ghost, you know!¡± the storytelling guy added.


    ¡°Oh really now?¡± But they still laughed at him.


    Ghosts, huh.


    I think I barely heard ghost stories here in this world. Taneva suddenly quietly chuckled.


    ¡°If there were actual ghosts, we¡¯d be in a hell of a trouble.¡±


    I glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Are you a skeptic?¡±


    ¡°Skeptic of what? Ghosts? Lost souls that get stuck in this world, that kind of stuff?¡±


    I merely shrugged.


    ¡°Ghosts are impossible,¡± Taneva said. ¡°Rules are strict, the dead go straight to the underworld to be sent away, no exception. No one can come back from the dead.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Really.¡±


    ¡°Then what would that make me?¡±


    He fell silent, having no answer. ¡°... You, Princess, are a mystery. You didn¡¯t actually die, did you?¡±


    ¡°I thought that¡¯s what the prophecy said.¡±


    ¡°As I said, no one should come back from the dead. Maybe the prophecy is wrong, and you didn¡¯t die at all. The fall from the stairs didn¡¯t kill you.¡±


    ¡°... Well, I did die.¡± And certainly Estelia did.


    ¡°Then it¡¯s a mystery¡­ Although I don¡¯t quite understand it. You truly have no idea how?¡±


    ¡°Why are you asking me? I¡¯m just the victim in all this.¡±


    ¡°Oh, then we really have no answers to the mystery and the prophecy¡¯s¡­ weirdness.¡±


    Well, I was technically a lost soul, right? Being from another world and all. But that shall never be mentioned. But I should not really be thinking about something that didn¡¯t matter. Yeah, how I got here didn¡¯t matter to me right now. There were more important things and more worrying than that.


    I focused on eating my food, the atmosphere was quite festive in a way. However, I couldn¡¯t completely enjoy it. Something was weighing on my mind¡­ I let out a tired sigh. I just wanted to really enjoy something for once in a while. It sucks, fucking sucks¡­


    I was quite jealous of how everyone was enjoying this to their hearts¡¯ content, so I couldn¡¯t help but glance at the nearby bottles of liquor. It was a thing people used to loosen up. But I found myself hesitating. I was not really fond of such a vice.


    I took some of my food, but seeing how everyone was enjoying the occasion, it tinged a little. Only made me feel more depressed. I clenched my fists, various thoughts swirled in my mind amidst my deliberation ¡ª or rather, as I fell into temptation.


    It shouldn¡¯t be that bad, right? Just this once is fine, right? I mean, it¡¯s just drinking¡­ Nothing bad about getting drunk to drown the depressive feelings.


    Maybe just this once¡­


    I grabbed a bottle of strong wine and a cup of glass, and poured the liquor into it. I swirled the wine glass, staring at its contents for a moment. There was quite a lot of liquor in the glass¡­ I drank plenty of liquor in my past life, so even the strong flavor shouldn¡¯t be a problem. The problem was this body¡­


    Ah, fuck it.


    I chugged the entire glass content, the strong liquor flavor stung my tongue and throat. Once the glass was empty, I could feel my belly warm up inside. My face wincing, I lowered the glass. It was fine. This was a classy wine bottle we got in the ship¡¯s storage. So it had a more fancy flavor than the rest. But that didn¡¯t mean it had low alcohol content, judging from the strong flavor.


    All in all, it was okay.


    And thus, I poured more into my glass and drank more liquor. After that, I drank another one. And another one. And another. And another¡­


    ¡­ And I was feeling a bit better.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 86: Fall Into Temptation (Part 2)

    I have to admit; the liquor brought a bigger effect than I anticipated. I was only like a few glasses in, and several minutes later, I was already quite drunk. When was the last time I was like this? Been a long while. Everything seemed cloudy, perhaps I had forgotten what it was like to be really drunk. Various thoughts, lacking clarity, formed in my mind. I watched one of my guys slip and fall, and I couldn¡¯t help but laugh.


    I laughed at the smallest things.


    This body was too vulnerable to the effects of alcohol.


    Weeell, it couldn¡¯t be helped. I AM the Princess. The Purest in the kingdom. The most generous, the kindest, the most beautiful and gentle¡­ I am the best!


    Oh goodness, good thing I didn¡¯t blabber that out externally¡­ That would have been weird.


    I¡¯m already drunk, but that doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s enough!


    ¡°My bottle¡¯s about to run out!¡± I said with an obvious slurring. ¡°Prepare me another bottle, please!¡±


    Taneva looked at me with wide and flabbergasted eyes. ¡°Woah, you soloed that bottle, and you want another? And it¡¯s far from empty!¡±


    I pointed a finger at him. ¡°S-Shut up, Taneva. Don¡¯t, don¡¯t question me. Just bring me a fresh bottle, anyone. Not the crappy ones!¡±


    No one was stopping me in my time of leisure. I was finally free from the burden of bad memories and emotions. And if more bottles of alcohol would bring me more of this pleasantness, then bring me more of it.


    I poured another fill to my glass and quickly chugged it in.


    ¡°Aaaah!¡± I nodded with an ecstatic expression.


    Hartwin noticed me and approached me. ¡°Someone¡¯s enjoying the party. Are you gonna be alright though?¡±


    I frowned and directed a sharp gaze towards him. ¡°Who do you think I am? You think I¡¯m so mentally weak?¡±


    Hartwin laughed wryly. ¡°First time drinkers should keep it in moderation.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    Not like it was really my first time drinking. If we count my previous life of course. That fucked up life ¡ª not like I wished for a life like that. I was just there from the beginning. Like, maybe, I was disposed of by my parents or something. I never even knew them. Not like I cared. They didn¡¯t give a shit about me, so why would I give a shit about them? Everything¡¯s bullshit anyway ¡ª aaah, fuck, I¡¯m rambling. Shit¡­


    Even my mind was running out of filters. And, honestly, it felt good.


    I drank another round.


    ¡°Velar,¡± Hartwin called my knight. ¡°The Princess is gonna kick the bucket at this rate.¡±


    Velar let out a sigh as he watched me. ¡°I never took you for a heavy drinker. You were hesitant last time.¡±


    With a brief hic, I pointed a finger at them. ¡°That was a d-different situation. This one¡­ is a party!¡± I laughed like an airhead. ¡°Yeah, nothing to worry about. Just let loose¡­¡± I mumbled to myself.


    Hartwin, Velar, and Taneva looked at each other. They seemed to be indirectly deliberating on how to respond to my actions. But come on, they didn¡¯t have anything to worry about.


    ¡°You know, it¡¯s quite funny how some people die,¡± the moment I said that, my companions looked at me with both confused and surprised expressions. ¡°Some just pee themselves¡­¡± That was quite true. ¡°Especially if you slit their throat¡­¡± I let out a sigh. ¡°A slow but sure death. Oh, and sometimes it feels so satisfying to kill some cocky motherfuckers.¡±


    ¡°Hey now¡­¡± Hartwin murmured, surprised by my words. But I ignored him.


    ¡°When I killed that eldest imperial prince¡­¡± I chuckled, recalling the memory. ¡°What was his name again¡­? Ugh, whatever. Prick was confident as hell. How pleasant and satisfying it was to kill him. You should have seen his face¡­¡± I chuckled as I leaned on the table. ¡°I miss that feeling¡­ that warmth in my chest.¡±


    ¡°Um, what do you mean by that?¡± Hartwin asked.


    I shook my hand. ¡°Never mind, that¡¯s not important.¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡±


    ¡°Good kills¡­ really are good kills. The younger prince was okay, but quite a fool, that guy. But a good kill is a good kill. And those ninjas¡­ that was the best. So fucking easy to kill them. I hate ninjas¡­ we hate ninjas. If you ever see a ninja, please kill them!¡±


    ¡°Why would we kill a ninja without a good reason?¡± Taneva asked as he took a sip of his wine.


    ¡°That¡¯s because they¡¯re my enemies.¡±


    ¡°How did that happen?¡±


    ¡°Ugh, it¡¯s complicated.¡± I took a sip of my liquor. ¡°By the way, Hartwin, why aren¡¯t you drinking lots?¡±


    ¡°I drank plenty, Princess. But I still have to perform, remember?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, you¡¯re going to do that. Using the lute, huh?¡±


    ¡°Some of the guys are going to use barrels as drums.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good¡­¡± I chuckled foolishly. ¡°Make sure it lasts the entire night.¡±


    ¡°I doubt you¡¯d last till midnight.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ underestimate me. I plan to enjoy this occasion.¡± I looked around. ¡°By the way, Taneva, where¡¯s the little girl?¡±


    ¡°Seriously? You¡¯re that drunk already? You forgot you let her wait in your cabin?¡±


    I looked up at the sky with an open mouth, recalling the memory in my clouded mind. ¡°Oh yeah, I did.¡± I really forgot about that. Which reminded me why she couldn¡¯t join the party.


    That¡¯s not good. Everyone should have a good time! Especially a kid! Not always you could experience something like this. Children should be able to act as children! And I mean on this particular occasion of course, where we forget the bad stuff.


    With that in my mind, I stood up. I wobbled for a moment, leaning on the table.


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Hold on, where are you going?¡± Taneva placed a hand on my shoulder, stopping me from falling.


    Ugh, everything¡¯s moving¡­. Hazy.


    I closed my eyes, trying to refocus my mind, taking in a slow, deep breath. Doing that, I felt a bit better.


    ¡°Pulling out the kid out here.¡±


    I headed straight for my cabin with a more stable step. Having confidence in myself, I refused the help they offered to me. Come now, this was nothing. I was not that drunk¡­


    I managed to reach ¡ª ah, no, not that word ¡ª I reached my cabin. Upon entering, I closed the door and squinted my eyes, scanning the dark room. Yeah, I didn¡¯t light this place up. Cursed Children were fine with the darkness, anyway.


    I approached one lamp and used magic to light it afire. Good thing I wasn¡¯t too drunk to set the place on fire. The room now lit for a bit, I noticed Nira, who was covered completely, sitting down on a chair by the table.


    ¡°You alright?¡± I asked as I approached her.


    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ here?¡± Her face was covered in cloth.


    I chuckled and dropped to the chair on her opposite side. ¡°Yeah. Quite boring here¡­ It would have been fine for you to light up the lamps instead of lurking in the darkness.¡±


    ¡°... I am fine with the dark¡­¡± Her eyes seemingly squinted as she stared at me. ¡°Are you drunk, goddess?¡±


    ¡°... That¡¯s not important¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you wish to rest? If so, I can leave¡ª¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°It¡¯s too early to rest.¡± I leaned on the table, it was a bit difficult to remain upright to be honest. ¡°I¡¯m here for you.¡±


    ¡°For me?¡±


    I smiled a little. ¡°Have you ever been to a party?¡±


    She paused for a moment. ¡°... Party? We don¡¯t¡­ party.¡±


    ¡°Huh. I can imagine that. That sucks. A party is an event where you enjoy the moment with your friends, to forget the troubles. You live in the moment.¡± Of course there were parties that just sucked, but that¡¯s basically the meaning of it¡­ ¡°Do you want to experience it?¡±


    ¡°Um.¡± She lowered her head. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask if you can or can¡¯t experience it. I asked if you want to.¡±


    ¡°... I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know if I will enjoy it like this.¡± She referred to her current state.


    ¡°Of course. Again, if you are given the chance, would you like to have a normal happy moment and take part in this occasion?¡±


    She raised her gaze, looking up at me. ¡°... I¡­¡±


    ¡°Just yes or no.¡±


    ¡°... Yes.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Good. Good. Out there is better than here. That is why¡­¡± I stood up, but had to immediately lean on the table to avoid falling over. I regained my footing and held out my hand, and conjured a sharp shard of ice. ¡°For tonight, I shall grant you peace from your curse.¡±


    Her eyes widened in disbelief. ¡°Goddess¡­ But¡­¡±


    ¡°Immerse yourself in this party. Talk to people, enjoy the food, have fun with a wide genuine smile on your face.¡± I made a cut on my palm, sharp pain radiated, but nothing I couldn¡¯t handle. I held out my hand towards her, as crimson fluid slowly crawled on my palm. ¡°Drink my blood.¡±


    I noticed her tense up, her eyes seemed to glare at the blood. It must indeed be pretty attractive to the Cursed Children. But she seemed to still resist herself.


    ¡°A-Are y-you sure¡­?¡± she asked in a faltering voice. Resisting must have been agonizing.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    She lowered the cover of her face, unveiling the hideous monster hiding beneath. And she leaned forward, putting her mouth on my palm and began drinking my blood. A short moment later, she suddenly jerked backwards, accidentally kicking down her chair.


    She stumbled and started to groan as if in pain. As she kneeled on the floor, I could hear her heavy breaths. And then her body appeared to change, her figure started to become smaller. It was hard to tell what exactly was happening to her flesh underneath all that garment. A couple of seconds later, she became quiet, and she looked at her hands. They were normal human hands, small, like a true child.


    She quickly lowered the cloth covering her head. She touched her cheeks, they were normal. Indeed, she had turned back to her human form during the night.


    A smile slowly formed on the little girl¡¯s face, followed by faint joyful chuckles. ¡°It w-worked.¡± She turned towards me and prostrated herself before me. ¡°Thank you, goddess!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get too happy. It¡¯s only temporary.¡± At least that was what Taneva said. ¡°Anyway, stand up.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± She sprang up excitedly with the widest grin I had ever seen she made.


    I led her outside, and her smile was still wide as ever, her eyes brightly glimmering. The moment she stepped outside, she was dumbfounded for a moment seeing the festive atmosphere. I led her to the table and urged her to grab whatever food she wanted to eat. While she did so, I sat back down on my chair and poured another drink on my glass.


    ¡°That¡¯s surprising,¡± Taneva said from beside me. ¡°You gave her your blood. I thought you didn¡¯t want to do that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Just this once.¡±


    ¡°... Your intoxication is affecting your ability to think and decide, it would seem.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°No, it¡¯s not.¡±


    ¡°Yeah right.¡±


    I drank a glass of liquor as Nira returned with a plate full of a variety of food. From the looks of it, she was not holding back. I urged her to sit down nearby me, and she started gnawing at her food. She seemed pretty excited and happy. Shayla then approached the little girl and placed a cup of water beside her plate.


    ¡°Careful, kid. You¡¯ll choke.¡±


    Nira flinched slightly and slowly looked up at Shayla. ¡°T-Thank you.¡±


    And with that, the little girl continued eating after drinking a bit of water.


    ¡°Good thing she came out,¡± Shayla said, indicating the little girl. ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering where she was.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s just shy,¡± I answered. Good thing we were leaving tomorrow in our separate ways. No need to keep hiding what Nira truly was. Hiding the truth would have been a pain.


    It was then we noticed, at the bow of the ship, a small group began to gather. Among them was Hartwin with his lute.


    ¡°Now that everyone is getting more into the mood, it¡¯s time to level up the party!¡± Hartwin announced. ¡°We did a little practice beforehand, but I¡¯m sure we won¡¯t mess up. Don¡¯t forget to cheer and don¡¯t be shy to dance to the tune!¡±


    Everyone cheered loudly that we may have disturbed the other ships and people around us. But, who gives a shit.


    The music started with a jolly tune. It sounded pretty good actually, and they rushed the practice for it? I gotta hand it to them. Of course, the most skillful was Hartwin, and he made no mistakes whatsoever with playing his lute, the way he plucked and strummed the strings was perfect. And when he started singing, you could really see how impressive of a bard he was. There was no sign of shaking in his voice and no missing a note.


    I heard one of the crew mention they knew this song, so I surmised it must be a song from Eventon. It had that dancing tune in it. And my guess was right, when they reached, which I guessed was the chorus of the song, some of the crew started dancing in front. The dance emphasized the feet and arms. Unlike what¡¯s common back in my homeland, which was more romantic and usually with a partner, theirs was with a group dancing altogether, with an individuality in the dance. And they were having fun.


    It was catchy music.


    Once they finished one song, they followed up with another. Others urged others to dance. So of course, they had to join in.


    Taneva, who seemed to be fairly drunk already, began stepping forward. Taneva drank an entire bottle way faster than me by the way, and he didn¡¯t even grab a cup, just straight out of the bottle. Fucking alcoholic immortal.


    ¡°Come on, Estelia. Join the dance!¡± he said.


    I vigorously shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to dance.¡±


    ¡°Oh come on, what a killjoy.¡± He turned to Nira. ¡°Hey kid, join in on the dance. Just follow along, or just do random stuff.¡±


    ¡°... Okay.¡±


    To my shock, Nira agreed.


    What the hell?


    ¡°Good for you! Unlike some other here.¡±


    I frowned at Taneva¡¯s words. And there they went, dancing. Taneva seemed to be familiar with their dance, and was teaching the little kid. I hated dancing, so I was just gonna stay here. I wasn¡¯t drunk enough to dance shit.


    But then Shayla suddenly pulled up on me and grabbed my hand.


    ¡°Come on, Princess! You¡¯re missing out! Look, everyone¡¯s dancing.¡±


    I pouted. Even Velar joined in. Ugh.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be shy, Princess!¡± another crewmember suddenly said.


    ¡°We won¡¯t make fun of you. Hahaha!¡± another said.


    You¡¯re already doing it!


    I was feeling pressured. Indeed, I was the only one not doing anything. Come on, I¡¯m an antisocial princess, I shouldn¡¯t be doing something like this. Fuck, did this mean Nira was braver than me? Even that girl was willing to dance. Shayla started pulling me.


    I groaned, deliberating.


    Ah, fuck it.


    If I wasn¡¯t drunk enough to do this, then I should get more drunk!


    ¡°Hold up!¡± I said as I grabbed a bottle and chugged as much alcohol as I could. ¡°Aah!¡± Fuck, my throat was burning.


    It was then I was pulled into the dance floor, it was a bit embarrassing trying to dance. But everything has been hazy at that moment. There were chuckling, laughing. But, admittedly, it was quite fun. Truly. And during that time, we opened up the wines from another continent. I got to drink plenty, and I was quite pleased.


    But, my memory pretty much blacked out sometime after that.


    When I woke up, a sharp pain radiated in my head. And when my eyes cleared, I saw a familiar ceiling, my cabin. Then I realized I was lying on the floor, by the foot of my bed. With a groan, I looked around.


    ¡°Uuugh¡­ What the fuck happened?¡±


    Yeah, things were pretty blurry recalling stuff. From the looks of it, I passed out just before reaching my bed.


    Shit.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 87: Departure

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    I glanced at the window, and judging from the light, it was still early in the morning. Maybe around seven. How did I even wake up this early despite being drunk last night? Must be the uncomfortable surface I slept on.


    I slowly stood up as a sharp pain radiated in my head.


    Goddammit, how much did I drink?


    I really couldn¡¯t remember. In fact, I barely remembered anything. The last slightly clear memory was me pulling out Nira from the cabin after turning her back to a human.


    What the hell happened? What did I do during that black out?


    This was the moment I realized the weight of what I had committed, what I had done to myself, and regret immediately came rushing into me. This was bad, so bad. I had never indulged myself to this degree. I mean, to the point of blacking out and losing memories? I lost control of myself.


    I sat down on the edge of my bed and let out a long, tired sigh. I shouldn¡¯t have done something so stupid. This was a bad sign, a gaping hint to my current state of mind. I was indeed starting to go that route, I didn¡¯t want that. Never.


    When one¡¯s mind is in turmoil, one often indulges in whatever gives them pleasures, in whatever helps them forget all their problems. And they disregard everything else. One of the most common things they do for that is intoxicating themselves, drinking alcohol. It all starts small, but as time passes, the more and more they consume.


    I don¡¯t want to be an alcoholic.


    Others couldn¡¯t turn back that easily, it was too late, they were already in too deep. Addicted to the ecstasy escape brings. And I stepped into it. Indeed, it felt like all problems vanished, where every action was inconsequential. One of those bad choices was giving Nira my blood. I never thought about doing it before getting drunk. It was a mistake.


    I still remembered the pleasant feelings as the alcohol started to cloud my mind. If I didn''t stop it from here, I feared I''d go down a terrible road. Falling to my vices. Even back in the old world, I never had any of that. I drink whenever necessary. And I never drank that heavily voluntarily.


    Clenching the sheets of my bed, I was afraid of what I was becoming. I must avoid such temptations. Never again. I was in a volatile state. I might be pretty aware of myself, but even I get lost sometimes, losing my rationality and indulging my emotions. Disregarding everything just for a brief moment of respite, but in a not so good way.


    After taking several slow breaths, gaining a bit of composure, I stood up and headed for the door.


    I sure hope I didn¡¯t do anything too drastic.


    The moment I opened the door, I had to close my eyes against the brightness. After a few blinks, my eyes refocused. I discovered that people on the deck were already preparing for the departure. Although there were still a few sprawled on the floor, heavily asleep. I then noticed Velar putting down a large bag, they were our things for the journey.


    As a small headache still radiated in my head, I got down to the deck. Plus, I was still a bit sensitive to the brightness.


    ¡°Hey, Princess,¡± one of the crewmen greeted, which I nodded back.


    ¡°Look who¡¯s awake.¡± Shayla approached with a small laugh. ¡°Really enjoyed the party last night, huh?¡±


    I winced. ¡°I don¡¯t even remember most of it.¡±


    ¡°Told you to slow down on the wine,¡± Hartwin said as he came up behind me. He was already wearing something akin to a travel outfit.


    ¡°You prepared early,¡± I said. ¡°Surprised you¡¯re not still all over on the floor.¡±


    He dryly chuckled. ¡°Velar woke me up. You have no idea how agonizing it was to pull myself up.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ So, um,¡± I awkwardly placed a hand behind my head. ¡°Anything I should know that happened last night?¡±


    Velar, Shayla, and Hartwin looked at each other before they started laughing. I frowned deeply, whatever it may be, it must be humiliating. I mean, if it got them to laugh this much, it must be embarrassing as fuck!


    ¡°First off, you vomited at some point,¡± Shayla casually said.


    Fuck! I fucking knew it. How undignifying!


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you let them all out onto the sea,¡± Shayla added with a loud laugh.


    That at least made it slightly better. But still not good, not good at all!


    ¡°The dances though,¡± Hartwin said. ¡°Never saw you quite loosen up. Although some dances are quite weird.¡±


    Stop! I don¡¯t wanna hear that! I don¡¯t even want to hear what kind of dances I did!


    ¡°You even started dancing on top of the table,¡± said Velar. ¡°Started shouting, mostly unintelligible, but I could hear some swear words.¡±


    I covered my face with my hands. On top of the table? Like, are you fucking serious? So embarrassing. I think I might have lost a good chunk of my dignity there. Getting incredibly drunk just removes all your shame, doesn¡¯t it? Fuuuuck¡­


    ¡°And you keep demanding more songs,¡± said Hartwin. ¡°The moment one song ends, you demand for another immediately. Although, I do appreciate you wanting more of my performance.¡± He chuckled.


    ¡°Still¡­¡± I lowered my head, my face still covered. ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing¡­¡± My face must be beet red right now.


    ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry.¡± Shayla patted my back gently. ¡°Everyone was so supportive. Don¡¯t have to feel that way. Is that right, guys?!¡± she suddenly shouted to the crew, to my utter horror.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! We¡¯re just glad you were having fun!¡± said someone nearby.


    ¡°You were pretty funny, but it was great!¡± one gave a thumbs up.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t tell anyone about it!¡±


    That was not really comforting.


    Dammit! You¡¯re not helping!


    It just got even more embarrassing! I buried my face into my hands even more to the point I could feel the warmth of my embarrassment. I really shouldn¡¯t have done all of that. So disappointed with myself.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Velar chuckled. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough teasing. You should get ready for our departure, Princess.¡±


    I meekly nodded. But before all else, I needed to drink some water, I was parched. As I grabbed some water to drink, I could feel some pressure amidst the embarrassment I was feeling. I just wanna crawl under the sheets of my bed and hide. But then I was reminded I wouldn¡¯t be getting a proper bed in a long time! DAMMIT!


    Anyway, after washing my face and my hair, I returned to my room. Speaking of which, I should get a proper bath ¡ª there was no time to do such as the ship was leaving. Perhaps we should find an inn with a proper bath or something. A good time to relax before going on our journey. Yeah, I really needed a bath. I was not feeling very good.


    Considering that I had already prepared a lot yesterday, there was not much else for me to take care of. Got some extra clothes, sheets, fabrics. Mine was more on a personal side. Even had my old daggers here. For the other essentials, Velar and the others were to carry them.


    After changing into my combat outfit, I slipped into my cloak. Carrying my bag to my back, I joined up with my other companions and lowered my bag along with the others. It was then I noticed Suda walking towards the ship.


    I met up with him.


    ¡°Captain Suda.¡±


    ¡°Miss Estelia, just wanted to check if your ship is about ready to go.¡±


    ¡°They should be ready shortly.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Okay. We¡¯ll be ready to move out in a couple of hours. You¡¯ll see us on the waters.¡±


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll relay it to the crew.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°By the way, are you okay? You look a bit haggard.¡±


    I touched my hair and wryly smiled. ¡°Well, we sort of had a farewell party last night.¡±


    He chuckled. ¡°I see. I¡¯ll be going then. And oh, good luck here in our lands. Stay safe.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°And a piece of advice. When you¡¯re at the barren lands further on the island, don¡¯t trust anyone. Trust only yourself and your allies. No matter how pitiful people may look, or how friendly, don¡¯t put them first before yourselves.¡±


    Huh, it was more like a warning. But if a native was saying that, then I¡¯d take it to heart.


    ¡°I¡¯ll remember your words. Thank you.¡±


    And with that, he went on his way, and I quickly relayed the information to my crew.


    Afterward, Shayla approached me, looking intently at my hair. ¡°You¡¯re really gonna go looking like that?¡±


    I mildly groaned. I was rushing to be honest, and I was not really in the mood to be meticulous about my look.


    ¡°Let¡¯s sit down for a moment, shall we?¡± she said as she grabbed a couple of chairs. ¡°Let me braid your hair. Come on, we still have time.¡±


    ¡°... Um, okay.¡±


    I sat down on the chair, and Shayla sat down behind me. She gently pulled my hair.


    ¡°What beautiful hair you have. You shouldn¡¯t leave them in shambles.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    She started combing them with her fingers. ¡°You must have a lot of hair stylists in your palace.¡±


    ¡°... No. My personal maid does my hair.¡±


    ¡°I see. So you have a close servant.¡±


    ¡°... I suppose¡­ We are quite close¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best to braid your hair. Don¡¯t expect it¡¯ll be as good as your maid though.¡±


    ¡°That is fine.¡±


    She started tying up my hair. ¡°Your hair is pretty long, isn¡¯t it? Never thought about cutting it?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ I like my hair this way.¡±


    ¡°I see. I¡¯ll try to shorten it as much as possible. So it won¡¯t get in your way.¡±


    This reminded me, I was planning on going for a bath later. Braiding it now might¡­ Perhaps I could leave it be as I bathe. It would be a bit weird, but it should be fine.


    Shayla was braiding my hair in a way that would shorten its length.


    ¡°You are going to a dangerous place, Princess. I pray that you will overcome any obstacle that may come your way.¡±


    ¡°... Thank you. You too, but I¡¯m certain you¡¯ll return to Eventon with no problem.¡±


    ¡°Of course. We¡¯ll beat any challenges that may come. Although I wonder, Princess, your kingdom is under siege¡­ Will war spread to the entire continent? Will it¡­¡±


    ¡°Will it reach Eventon?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°It will spread on the continent if the Empire isn¡¯t stopped. But for Eventon, it will depend. Either you become the underlings of the Empire willingly, or uphold your freedom as a nation and fight.¡±


    ¡°... Fighting would cause a lot of losses and suffering.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Don¡¯t resist, and you will lose your independence, directly or indirectly. It¡¯s up to your people what you choose to be. Although, I doubt it will come to you very soon.¡±


    ¡°I fear the future¡­ To be honest, I love sailing the sea. It¡¯s so simple.¡±


    ¡°Simple?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fun. It gives that peace of mind. Freedom. You just see the expansive horizon and think ¡®I bet I can go there¡¯, and you could. Limited only by courage. That is basically all you need to think about¡­¡±


    ¡°I see. Indeed, it is. You have a choice, Shayla, unlike me, to sail the seas freely.¡±


    ¡°Unlike you¡­? That¡¯s¡­ sad.¡±


    ¡°... No matter. I have a home to save.¡±


    Some time later, Shayla was done braiding my hair. I held out my hair on my palm and nodded with a smile. It was finely done.


    ¡°Thank you, Shayla.¡±


    She formed a wide grin. ¡°Heh. You have pretty smooth hair. Take care of it.¡±


    As we waited, we hung out with the crew together for a while. Nira had also joined in sometime after, it would seem she was mingling with the other crew members under the deck. Making friends already, she was moving fast in life. But then again, it was easier to get along with the allies of your allies, if you get what I mean.


    Taneva also joined in a moment later, he mentioned he was at the beach to get some fresh air. And the motherfucker of course didn¡¯t forget to make fun of me about last night.


    Little shit¡¯s gonna keep at it for a while.


    I could just imagine him suddenly bringing up that moment at any point in the near future. Ugh, whatever. At any rate, every one of the crew gathered on the top deck, mainly to talk with us ¡ª ones staying here ¡ª one last time. We would never know if we would ever meet again. Likely never.


    While we were busy having a good chat, one guy suddenly came up on our boat, politely smiling. He was a thin and beardy man.


    ¡°Hello. I heard this ship is due to depart.¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± one of our crewmen warily asked.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m the harbormaster assigned to this area.¡±


    ¡°What happened to the other guy? The fat one?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes, him. He was found dead, his head hit by a rock.¡±


    ¡°Really? How?¡± Everyone was surprised to hear that, although mostly pleased about it. Well, everyone must have thought he deserved it or something.


    ¡°Not sure. But I heard he was incredibly drunk that night. So he might have gotten into an accident. Anyway, I¡¯m here to take his place.¡±


    Oh noooo, how sad. How tragic. He must have had a terrible slip to have killed him like that.


    It was like maybe he stepped into something slippery, like a surface of ice, right next to a stone that could potentially hit his head and kill him. And it might have been a lonely night too, and no one could have helped him, so he just bled to death from his head. But of course the force of the impact might not be strong enough, so there might be some wind that helped with that.


    Ahem¡­


    ¡°Anyway, just want to confirm if your departure is permanent and won¡¯t be coming back anytime soon?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯re leaving,¡± Shayla answered.


    ¡°Got it, just please make sure you don¡¯t leave any trash and keep it clean before you leave.¡±


    Hm, we were pretty clean, so there¡¯s no need to worry about that.


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s about my reason for being here. Good luck with your journey. And uh, right, if you ever return, when you temporarily leave, please ensure to notify the harbor master so we can reserve your spot. You left without warning yesterday and came back, thankfully no new ship arrived.¡±


    ¡°... I see. Thanks for the heads up,¡± Shayla answered.


    Well, I doubt they will be coming back anyway.


    Once his business was finished, the new harbor master left. And we returned to our casual chatter. Well, at least the new one was a decent person compared to the last one.


    Some time later, one of the crew saw Suda¡¯s ship on the water. That was the sign for them to depart. And this was the time to say our goodbyes.


    ¡°Well then, crew, this is goodbye. If one day we meet again, any one of us, then it is a day to be celebrated.¡± I formed a soft smile. ¡°Farewell, my crew. Our time together was wonderful.¡±


    ¡°You too, Princess, take care out here.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, keep safe.¡±


    ¡°And thank you for everything you have done for us.¡±


    ¡°We are grateful.¡±


    ¡°We pray for your success and safety, Princess.¡±


    I nodded. That was nice of them to say.


    With our things in hand, I, Velar, Hartwin, Taneva and Nira got off the ship and down on the wharf carrying all our belongings. We watched and waited as my ship, that which had no official new name yet, started to depart. And then a short while later, it started to move away, its sails loose.


    The crew waved at us as they slowly floated away. Of course I waved back, Nira was quite energetic doing it too. All in all, it was a nice departure. Once the ship was quite a distance away, I turned around.


    ¡°... Let¡¯s find an inn. I¡¯d like to take a bath. Let¡¯s set out tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Will we go by the weapons¡¯ shop for additional equipment?¡±


    ¡°We will. By the way, do they even have decent baths here?¡±


    Taneva shrugged. ¡°Guess we¡¯ll find out!¡±


    Ugh¡­


    There better be. I would like to feel refreshed before setting out there in the chaotic unknown.

 Vol. 4 Chapter 88: Losing Self Control (Volume Epilogue)

    Before going to search for an inn to stay for the night, we headed straight for the weapons store. We met with Esagi, yup this pretty much confirmed she was indeed the customer service or something. Talk about being multi-talented!


    She glanced at the bags we were carrying. By the way, I let Velar carry mine.


    ¡°From the looks of it, you¡¯re about to set out?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Tomorrow actually,¡± I answered. ¡°We¡¯re here to buy things for more protection on our journey.¡±


    ¡°I can see that. Your clothes look like you¡¯re going for a picnic. Don¡¯t know how it is back where you¡¯re from, but that ain¡¯t it.¡±


    I was pretty fine with mine, though. This was pretty expensive, you know! And it was perfect for everything.


    ¡°I would suggest you put metal padding on your forearm, it might give you a chance to hold off a bite from a monster. Could give you one more second to respond. For all of you.¡±


    Hm, for that I already have my shields.


    She approached Hartwin. ¡°Judging from your physique, and the sword you chose, I take it ya ain¡¯t the type to engage head on and overwhelm the enemy with strength.¡±


    Hartwin grinned. ¡°I fight either to survive or flee, whichever favors me.¡±


    ¡°You lack proper protection. Fighting men, you¡¯ll do fine. But beasts are more unpredictable. They can attack you from whichever direction. And their strikes carry heavy weights.¡±


    ¡°Oh come now, I fight monsters frequently. I encounter them during my travels.¡±


    Esagi smiled. ¡°Oh? Either you¡¯re pretty strong, or they¡¯re pretty weak. But take my word for it as a native of this land, if you want to increase your chance of survival, get proper protection.¡±


    She then approached Velar. ¡°Big guy. You¡¯ll definitely be the guy to fight the monster right in the face. Gonna need to have some chest armor, on the shoulders too. I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t mind some weight on you?¡±


    ¡°Depends on the weight. But not too heavy, else it¡¯ll restrict my movements.¡±


    She nodded and turned towards Taneva. ¡°We haven¡¯t met. And you don¡¯t look like you¡¯re ready to fight at all.¡± Indeed, Taneva was wearing very casual clothing. Nothing but pants, shirt with coat, and plain old boots. Not any form of protection whatsoever.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. I¡¯ve no need for armor or anything.¡±


    She scrutinized him from top to bottom. ¡°Whatever you say, your funeral.¡± Trust me, that¡¯s just what he wants. Her eyes then shifted to the little kid. ¡°You seriously bringing a kid with ya?¡±


    Taneva nodded. ¡°She¡¯ll also be fine, no need to worry about her.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a weird bunch.¡± She then turned towards me. ¡°What about you? I can¡¯t judge you if your cloak¡¯s covering your gear.¡±


    I opened my cloak. ¡°I¡¯m fine as it is. I can¡¯t afford to carry additional weight.¡± I was already feeling weak, and putting more load on me while traveling long distances would put quite a burden on me. So no metal armor or any shit on me.


    She hesitantly nodded. ¡°If you say so.¡±


    And with that, she showed some armor for Hartwin. She mentioned that these light armor plates were slightly lighter than normal steel, but also a bit harder. Of course they were expensive. But at least they were not as expensive as the swords.


    Hartwin was given a pair of forearm guards, and he quickly wore them. He nodded, seemingly pleased by it. Then, he was given light armor, but it was covered in dark leather. Patting on the leather, you could hear and feel the metal pads, divided into different sections ¡ª like it had a right and left side with a small metal gap in between, and the chest also had its own metal pads, but all in all connected with leather. Likely so that the armor wouldn¡¯t restrict movement much, but still giving apt protection. He was also given armor of the same kind on his legs ¡ª straps with light metal pads on his upper leg, and armor for his lower leg that covers both front and back. Esagi mentioned that there were monsters that could crawl and bite you on the leg, with a venom that could kill you in minutes. Upon hearing that, Hartwin was more than willing to put it on.


    Good thing my boots almost reach my knees. So I had a cover on that part.


    Maybe if I had restored my strength, I could use some upgrades on my outfit. Add some metal on me.


    Velar, on the other hand, was given heavier and thicker armor. His protection was more emphasized around the chest. It was made of the same metal that Hartwin had. He had more protection on the arms, shoulders, and legs. Indeed, he was our frontline, our tank. But of course, the overall weight was nothing for him. I did notice that the armor was dark colored, all the protection given to us were dark, ones that would not stand out. Staying lowkey really was the best way lest we want to get noticed by monsters.


    Seeing that we already got what we needed, I handed out the payment.


    ¡°Good luck out there. May I ask where you¡¯re going?¡±


    ¡°... Can¡¯t say exactly, but we¡¯ll need to reach the next island to the west,¡± I said.


    Esagi winced. ¡°You mean to Nishinoa? Oh, well, whatever you do, take care. Both our islands have not been on good terms for a long time, and things have only gotten more tense lately. You might find some difficulties crossing the waters.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t like each other, I see.¡±


    ¡°Not like we hate each other. It¡¯s more on the Lords of the islands. Ours, well, you could say, is pretty keen on becoming the one who¡¯ll unite the islands once again.¡±


    Taneva casually picked up and checked out a dagger. ¡°Even after all these centuries, you still haven¡¯t figured out who¡¯ll become the Shogun? Well¡­ That¡¯s the reason you got split up in the first place.¡±


    Esagi wryly smiled. ¡°That is something we normal people could do nothing about¡­ Personally, I don¡¯t get the point of fighting too hard for these desolate islands. At any rate, we just do whatever to survive.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Of course. Thank you, Miss Esagi, for the help. Farewell.¡±


    ¡°You too.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, can you suggest an inn with a decent bath?¡±


    After getting the answer, we left the shop and headed straight for the inn that Esagi pointed out. On the way, I turned my head in a particular direction. My gaze pierced through the crowd. I internally sighed.


    What now¡­?


    Whatever, I¡¯d just gonna ignore it as long as it was not directly bothering me. Taneva glanced at me and raised an eyebrow, he definitely noticed the same thing. I only formed a small pout. I was tired of dealing with unnecessary shit that unnecessarily bothers my way. So I intended to just ignore everything unnecessary for the time being.


    We arrived at the inn, it was a sizable place. Of course, the price was quite hefty.


    ¡°Taneva, maybe you can help with the fees?¡± I asked. Being an immortal, I expected he would have a lot of money. I was operating on limited resources, so maybe others were willing to pay up. I mean, if you¡¯re not rich despite living for hundreds of years or so, that¡¯s a you problem.


    Taneva casually shrugged and pulled out some silver coins to pay the inn. Each one of us had our own room, of course.


    ¡°Oh yeah, please prepare the bath for me this afternoon. You too, Nira, you should also take a bath.¡± She¡¯s a girl, she should clean up. I was sure she couldn¡¯t stand being dirty. ¡°Oh yeah no¡­¡± I realized she might just get dirty again during the night. ¡°You can bathe tomorrow morning, I think that¡¯s the best option for you.¡±


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    Nira meekly nodded.


    ¡°Okay, then please prepare a bath for the kid early tomorrow morning,¡± I said to the receptionist then turned to the other three. ¡°What about you guys?¡±


    Taneva and Velar said they¡¯d bathe tomorrow morning. While Hartwin was later too. Apparently, this place had several bathrooms, so we shouldn¡¯t have to worry about conflicts or anything. With that matter done, we headed straight to our rooms, which were just next to each other. After setting up my stuff and resting on my bed ¡ª which was comfy enough, but not too great ¡ª until afternoon, I headed straight to the bath with extra clothes. Yeah I grabbed some extra clothes from the ship, aside from the few that we also bought last time, but the clothes from the ship were just better. As for my combat outfit, I¡¯d be washing it as well. Didn¡¯t have to worry about it drying for tomorrow, I learned a small but convenient technique.


    Inside the bathroom, it had a big bucket full of water. Seeing how simple it was, I couldn¡¯t help but sigh in dismay. I missed the palace¡¯s bath pool. The soapy water, the sweet smell, the luxurious chamber ¡ª everything was so nice. I looked around suspiciously, I was not fond of bathing in this shady place. Considering how fucked up this island was, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if something truly creepy was happening.


    Thus, I cast my barriers and colored them white, spreading them on all sides and top. That should block all eyes. And so, I stripped and took a bath. And it was so refreshing! Particularly the water. This water must be from a well, as it wasn¡¯t salty or anything. I also made sure to wash my hair without ruining the braids. A bit weird to do, but eh¡­ bite me.


    Unfortunately, they had no soap. This place sucks. Quite frustrating that I had to end up like this.


    After properly cleaning myself, I washed my combat clothes with the water. After that, I switched to my casual clothes and headed back to my room. Opening my window, I hung my combat clothes close to it and cast my wind magic, blowing the air into the clothes. If I keep at it, it should dry out tomorrow.


    As the constant wind hit my clothes, I laid down on my bed and played around by making shapes with my ice magic. Later that night, I had dinner with the crew. Except for Nira, of course. She was stuck in her room. My blood¡¯s effects on her were truly temporary.


    After eating, we returned to our room to sleep. But given that I was still full, it took a while for me to start attempting to fall asleep. That gave me some time to dry off my clothes as well. Furthermore, I had to conjure some fire next to it to speed up the drying process.


    Come morning, I quickly changed into my combat outfit and completely covered myself with my cloak. Imagine my great relief that I could finally move in a clean body and clean clothes. It was heavenly! One of the things I missed from the old world was the convenient baths. There were just a lot of things to appreciate in the modern world.


    As we started to leave, I handed my bag to Velar and we set off. Velar and Hartwin were wearing the armor we bought, Taneva was wearing a new set of clothes, and Nira was also wearing her made up traveler¡¯s outfit. There was plenty of kid¡¯s clothing back at the ship.


    ¡°Finally, we¡¯re leaving,¡± Hartwin said with visible excitement. ¡°I¡¯m curious what sort of land we¡¯ll be going into. Something I wouldn¡¯t get to see on the continent!¡±


    I have to admit, even I was curious. I had been wanting to take a little adventurer when I was at the palace. Still, I didn¡¯t imagine it would be in this monster filled place. Beggars can¡¯t be choosers, I suppose.


    We got out of the gates no problem. But after several steps outside the city grounds, I heard footsteps rushing at us from behind.


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    I paused and closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath, feeling irritated already. That voice was all too familiar.


    I turned around to see a familiar, no, two familiar faces. The two I recognized from the Bureau, one was the man I kicked out of the building. But now, there were five of them in total, all armed and in armor. Their weapons were already drawn. They must be the ones following us yesterday.


    ¡°Where do ya think you bitch is going?¡± said the guy I kicked. ¡°Don¡¯t think we¡¯ll let you go without settling the score.¡±


    Taneva turned towards me with a confused look. ¡°Who are these guys?¡±


    I let out a tired sigh. ¡°I kicked one of them.¡±


    He briefly whistled. ¡°And here I thought I was the troublemaker.¡±


    I frowned then addressed the annoying bunch. ¡°Gentlemen, to what do I owe the pleasure?¡±


    The one I kicked pointed his sword at me. ¡°You hurt me good. But this time I¡¯ll hurt you ten times over.¡± He grinned. ¡°And I¡¯ll kill you after I have my fun.¡±


    I saw a few guards come out of the wall and watched us with an amused smile.


    Looking at one of the guards, I asked, ¡°You¡¯re not gonna stop them?¡±


    The guard shrugged. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re outside the city. You guys can kill each other for all we care.¡± The guards laughed altogether. It would seem they were looking forward to the show that was about to unfold.


    That means we can do whatever we want?


    How annoying. I was not in the mood for this. But¡­ here we were.


    I turned towards the five warriors. ¡°I advise you to let this go. Or you¡¯ll regret it.¡±


    ¡°Fuck that! Can¡¯t let a bitch like you have a step on me!¡±


    I clenched my fists. ¡°I hate when people refer to me that way¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°... I am not¡­ that.¡±


    I am a princess¡­


    It should have been smooth sailing from here. Set out on the journey in a good mood. All clean and stuff. But this annoyance just had to happen.


    I hate it, I fucking hate it. Why can¡¯t people just leave me alone?


    That was all I wanted¡­


    ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s end this quickly. Just kill them. Have one for yourselves,¡± I said to my crew. Then I turned to Nira. ¡°Can you execute one of them?¡± She gave a simple nod. ¡°Good. Now, pick your targets. I¡¯ll pick him, of course.¡± I pointed at the one I kicked.


    Everyone dropped their bags.


    ¡°I¡¯ll fight their biggest man,¡± Velar said.


    ¡°Guess I¡¯ll fight the one in front of me. He looks like someone I can manage.¡± Hartwin drew his rapier.


    Taneva placed his hands on his hips. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter which one.¡±


    Nira meekly pointed at one guy. ¡°Him.¡±


    ¡°Alright then,¡± I said, holding out my hand at the enemy. ¡°Come and fight.¡±


    The opposition charged towards us.


    Velar engaged with the big guy, clashing swords. Hartwin swiftly struck at his enemy. Taneva casually evaded his enemy¡¯s attacks with an amused expression, like how a predator plays with his prey.


    Nira rushed to the one she had set on and looked up at the guy.


    ¡°What¡¯s this little kid doing? Move, or I¡¯ll kill ya.¡±


    Her wide eyes stared up at him. ¡°Why won¡¯t you attack me?¡±


    The guy¡¯s face contorted. ¡°What the hell is wrong with you?¡±


    ¡°If you won¡¯t attack, then I¡¯ll easily kill you.¡±


    He didn¡¯t take that mockery lightly. ¡°You think you can fight me, you shitty brat? Fine, I¡¯ll fucking cut you to pieces!¡± He swung down his blade at her.


    Nira dodged the blade, but the guy was quick to respond and swung his blade sideways. Reacting to the attack, Nira used her hand to block the sword. It cut through her flesh, and she bled. However, the warrior noticed something strange. His blade didn¡¯t get to cut in deep, and then the girl was still standing like she was not severely wounded at all.


    Nira locked the sword in her grasp, and her other hand turned into a grotesque hand with claws.


    ¡°What?!¡± The man¡¯s eyes widened in utter shock.


    Before the guy could back away, Nira brought down her claws into the man¡¯s arm. The man screamed as blood spurted out of his severed limb, his hand and sword fell to the ground.


    ¡°W-What are you?!¡± He was aghast. He had never expected the little girl could do something like this. Never could he have imagined.


    Without hesitation, Nira pierced her claws into the man¡¯s chest.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s okay to feed¡­?¡± she asked herself. And thus she bit into the man¡¯s neck.


    ¡°M-Monster¡­¡± the man whimpered.


    Meanwhile, as I observed Nira¡¯s actions, which was quite impressive, I was facing my enemy. I didn¡¯t move, I was a bit annoyed. So instead, I conjured several pieces of barrier to block the guy¡¯s attacks. He was a joke.


    ¡°What the hell is this? Fight me seriously!¡± he spat at me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to spend my stamina on you.¡±


    I waved my hand, and a few more barriers wrapped around his arm which was mainly holding his sword. Considering that it was still technically the Palm Shield spell that was meant to protect from attacks, once I pressed my barriers together into his arm, his arm began to bounce at every corner ¡ª as the barrier was in all directions, his arm was basically vibrating to an intense degree.


    He screamed in pain. I added more barriers on his one leg, wrapping around it and began closing tightly. Must be a terrible experience for his flesh and bones. I magically conjured ice, crawling from me towards the man. They erected upwards with sharp edges and sliced through the elbow of the arm my barrier was holding. Next to get cut off was his restrained leg from behind the knee. He lost balance and fell to the ground. I dispelled the rest of the barriers, letting the severed limbs drop, but I kept the barriers on his bleeding wounds to avoid blood from staining my clothes.


    ¡°Aagh! Fuck! G-Goddamn spellcaster!¡±


    I came up on top of him and grasped his collar.


    ¡°You ruined the mood.¡± I punched him in the face, my body enhanced. ¡°Annoying.¡± I punched him again. ¡°Why can¡¯t you people just leave me alone?¡± I hit him again. ¡°How hard is it to do?¡± And again.


    ¡°S-Stop! Please!¡±


    I glared down at him as I kept punching him in the face. His blood had stuck to my fist. But I didn¡¯t stop. I kept punching him again, again, and again. It was not voluntary ¡ª no, not exactly. It felt like I was spacing out, but my body just kept on punching. More blood touched my fist and dripped to the ground. I could feel the face I was hitting gradually soften.


    But I kept punching. The sound of my fist hitting even changed. The face was slowly caving in. But, again, I didn¡¯t stop. I couldn¡¯t understand why, but I just wanted to keep going. I was tired of all these¡­


    I kept punching and punching.


    ¡°Estelia! That¡¯s enough!¡± Taneva shook my shoulders, which snapped me back to reality. ¡°How many times do we have to tell you to stop?¡±


    I looked up at him with widened eyes. My surroundings became clearer to me. Looking down, I had seen the result of my behavior. The man¡¯s face was mush. I looked at my hand and I could see pieces of flesh stuck to my knuckles. This man was dead. No, he might have been dead already for a short while. I was not even completely aware of everything¡­


    I looked at the city guards watching and noticed their disturbed expressions. They just stood there silently, speechless from what they had seen.


    I took a deep breath before slowly rising.


    ¡°Estelia,¡± Taneva called again. ¡°Got your head back?¡±


    I silently nodded.


    ¡°Good¡­ Is something wrong with you?¡±


    I merely glanced at him before looking back down at the corpse with the smashed face before me. ¡°It¡¯s f-fine now.¡± I grabbed a pouch from the corpse. It was water.


    I opened it and washed the gore stuck to my hand. Once it was clean, I turned towards my crew.


    ¡°Sorry¡­ I was¡­ Nothing.¡± From the looks of it, they were done fighting their fights for some time now. Velar and Hartwin cut down their enemy, while Taneva snapped his opponent¡¯s neck. ¡°Good thing no one got hurt. Let¡¯s leave.¡±


    Taneva frowned. ¡°You know, you need to calm down sometimes.¡±


    ¡°... Traveling will be a good opportunity to calm down.¡±


    Taneva sighed. ¡°Whatever you say. Let¡¯s go on then.¡±


    And thus, we continued on our journey, leaving the corpses behind.

 Royal Princess of Blood: The Divine Princess (Volume 5) Synopsis

    Royal Princess of Blood: The Divine Princess (Volume 5)


    The lands we venture into felt like a good reflection of my current state. Desolate, barren, tumultuous. How do I even fix myself? There is no way. Therefore, I must focus on my objectives. Constantly wallowing in my emotional turmoil would be a miserable experience. Still, not like I could completely avoid that¡­ I am vulnerable. There are times where I just couldn¡¯t give a crap when I get annoyed.


    I¡¯m weakening, dying, and I must reach the place where I can obtain my divinity. I must push on, no matter how weak I may become in this journey. I must endure and reach the end. Along with my companions, a soldier turned knight, a bard, an immortal, and a monster girl, we walk the dangerous lands of Shinoroa. To go from one island to the next, facing savage monsters and humans. But going to our destination is easier said than done ¡ª islands being hostile to each other, and I should have expected to face demons again, having a hand to the criminal underworld in this pitiful misbegotten archipelago.


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    But how hard it is matters little. I will obtain this divinity to be restored. To save myself and my home, I must become a god.

 Vol. 5 Prologue: All Hail the Empire

    It was an auspicious day for the great, and dominating Tornridge Empire. It was almost a festival, but not quite. For today, the Emperor was to make an appearance in regards to the war that was about to start, or perhaps to be precise, had begun already. Ropes with red cloths were linked from one rooftop to another. Soldiers in their full armor marched the streets and gathered at the Grand Plaza.


    They brought with them their large contraptions, catapults, and ballistas. The soldiers were separated from the elites to the lowest. The closest to the royal platform lined up the high ranking knights. As the largest nation on the continent, consisting of numerous states, which many were once their own kingdoms, they housed millions upon millions of people ¡ª and there was never a shortage of elites to be found.


    And thus, here alone, in this Grand Plaza, gathered a couple hundreds of elite knights emblazoned with the finest full plate armor. Armor that no piss poor peasants could ever afford in their lifetime. Each of them was equipped with the sharpest blades, made by the most skillful craftsmen in the whole of the Empire. And these were only the personnel currently in the capital city.


    Behind the knights were a hundred mages, trained with the most valuable and powerful magical spells available. With many having learned spells exclusive only for those favored by the nation. They were prodigies, geniuses from various parts of the Empire, who had pledged their utmost loyalty to the nation and to the Emperor.


    And at the rearmost of the assembly, ones with the most number, were the common soldiers. But, common as they may be, without impressive magical capabilities, or mostly none at all, they were trained to be deadly. The Empire would never allow weaklings to join in their goal of conquest and growth. No one could bring order and security without power.


    And surrounding these powerful warriors were the citizens, men, women, young children. They were all excited to see the Emperor, the great ruler of the Empire. All of them revered him. Despite the clear skies and the morning heat, they all lined up, waiting for the Emperor¡¯s arrival and to hear his words.


    Additionally, they couldn¡¯t help but admire the show of force displayed in front of them. The young boys looked on in adoration, wishing they could become like them one day. Become the soldiers of the Empire and fight for the Empire.


    Some time later, a convoy of extravagant and beautiful carriages rode down the clear paved road that was reserved for today. The people cheered as the convoy went past them, most of their eyes focused on the most beautiful carriage adorned with gold and silver, waving the nation¡¯s flag. The convoy stopped behind the platform.


    The High Guard emerged from the carriages and lined up on the platform in a protective formation. They were then followed by the high-ranking officials of the castle, wearing their formal wear of red.


    The soldiers on the central ground drew their weapons, pointing it upwards and placed them close to their chest. And then, the cheers of the crowd grew louder as the Emperor himself emerged from his carriage and walked the platform. He was wearing a beautiful royal garb of red and gold. His hair comb beautifully, his royal sword hung on his left waist. He was the very image of a peak warrior, a muscular physique, tall and lean.


    He stopped at the podium and listened to the people¡¯s cheers of adoration. He firmly placed his hands on the sides of the podium and the crowd immediately fell silent. The soldiers pointed their swords downward and the tips of the blades touched the floor. They all looked up at the Emperor with firm legs.


    ¡°My faithful and loyal subjects, people of the Empire,¡± his deep, and powerful voice was heard by all and echoed throughout the air via a magic item that boosted his voice. ¡°We are at a turning point, our actions today and henceforth shall decide our future.


    ¡°This continent is rife with chaos, this world lacks order. Once, our esteemed empire was but a small, humble kingdom, surrounded by conquering titans. In conflict, in war, we were all victims. Many of our people perished in the flames of our own burning towns and cities.


    ¡°Many conquerors, violent nations, desecrated our lands, staining our soil with countless amounts of blood. We were persecuted. We were victims of chaos. But through the power of the first emperor, and the blessings of our God, we persevered, destroyed our conquerors, and saved our people. Through his rule, we grew, and everything came to order and security.


    ¡°But he has seen the chaos further off our own lands. Lands filled with savages and barbarians. If nothing is done, chaos will find its way back to us, and our safety will once again be threatened. And therefore he marched, and took villages, towns, cities, and even nations as our own. From there, the Tornridge Empire was born.¡± He closed his fist firmly.


    ¡°And now, our nation stands as the bright beacon that shall bring absolute safety and absolute order to the continent. A nation to our far east was once a place full of murderers, thieves, abusers, corrupt officials, and territories constantly in conflict with one another. Their people were poor, nothing but scrap for clothes. A never ending chaos. But we came and changed this vile nation into a proper and respectable state.


    ¡°We bring peace, security, and prosperity to all those under our flag! For many centuries, it has been so. And we have maintained order to half the continent, the testament to our power and our resolve for our noble cause. Even our mightiest enemies, one by one, fell under our might. But our work is far from over.¡±


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    All men and women listened intently, eyes filled with patriotism for their beloved nation.


    ¡°The rest of the continent shall bow before us, and will be integrated into our great empire. We will not stop until everything in these lands has absolute peace and order. We will give everything for the good of all. Even my beloved sons, Alistor and Cilas, have sacrificed their lives for their nation and their people. They died in foreign lands. But their sacrifices shall not be in vain!


    ¡°Our soldiers in the front lines are already fighting against the kingdom of Wisteria, the ones who slain my children. A kingdom of corruption, selfish dullards, thieves, and murderers. Once that kingdom is ours, no one will be able to stop us. Only through us will everyone, every nation, attain true peace and safety. And once the continent is under our rule, we shall have an absolute order for a thousand years, and thousands more! All hail the Empire!¡± He raised his fist.


    ¡°ALL HAIL EMPIRE!¡±


    ¡°HAIL!¡±


    ¡°HAIL!¡±


    ¡°ALL HAIL THE EMPIRE! HAIL THE EMPEROR!¡±


    ¡°HAIL!¡±


    The crowd boomed, their voices, their shouts were relentless and deafening, that the very air shook in the intensity. The people¡¯s fists rose high in the air, cheering their emperor, cheering their empire, cheering their noble cause. Even the children celebrated, for they too understood their purpose, the purpose of their nation.


    Every single one in this nation believed that there should be order in all. To avoid chaos. Nothing was more important than peace, after all. And they believed only their nation was the only thing that could bring it. They trust nothing else.


    One common soldier was clapping and cheering intensely, looking at the Emperor with utmost admiration. Then he noticed a small droplet fall on his hand. He looked up, but the sky was mostly clear, it was a sunny day. But there were more smaller droplets that fell from the sky.


    ¡°Rain¡­?¡± he muttered. But this raindrop meant nothing, not like it was strange. Although it was a bit annoying that there seemed to be a mild rain shower at a time like this. Still, not like something like this could stop everything. And thus he, and everyone else, continued on with the revelry.


    ***


    At the region bordering the Tornridge Empire and the Wisteria Kingdom. One of Wisteria¡¯s border fortresses was breached, unable to hold off the number of imperial knights and the sheer scale of their soldiers. Not to mention their contraptions of war that made the siege much easier. Ones that could crack walls and light up buildings within the walls aflame.


    The moment there was a breach, the imperial forces immediately swarmed the fortress. The Wisterian soldiers fought and defended with all their might, but in the end, they all failed and perished. Once the Wisterian forces had been wiped out, the advancing force settled for the night to rest. However, there was a second, smaller force waiting for their turn.


    The Empire had been planning this invasion for years, and prepared carefully. Their plan for now was to pierce through the defensive line of the border as fast as possible. Pierce through the defenses like a spear. This second battalion¡¯s role was to scout what was ahead, and quite possibly destroy every outpost they could handle. This way, once their larger forces march through, they would face less resistance. This second unit was composed of elite knights, mages, and outstanding common soldiers. So they were men that could handle most challenges they might face.


    They had to carry out their plan as fast as possible. Wisteria was taken by surprise, and they must increase the amount of territory they have control over before Wisteria organizes their forces and sends a counterattack. With their vast number, the Empire was capable of such.


    The unit galloped through the fresh, bountiful lands of Wisteria. They encountered a small outpost, and after a short time of surveying the area, they proceeded to attack them.


    ¡°Damn you imperial dogs!¡±


    ¡°You dare invade us!¡±


    The Wisterian force spat in anger as they defended their base, and most of all, their homeland. However, they were not prepared to fight off such a powerful elite group. An imperial knight grinned and adeptly parried off the sword of a Wisterian soldier and then plunged his sword into the soldier¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Your land will be ours.¡±


    The soldier gritted his teeth, glaring at the knight. ¡°Y-You will never¡­¡±


    The knight twisted his blade before pulling it out of the flesh. He scoffed. ¡°I heard you also killed our two princes here, it¡¯s good payback.¡±


    More and more brave Wisterian soldiers resisted, but in the end they all died, their bloody corpses scattered all over their own base. Some of them still had their eyes open, as if showing they still held a powerful resolve to fight off the invaders even at their dying moments.


    ¡°This will be a good outpost for us to take,¡± said the imperial knight. ¡°Best leave a dozen soldiers here to keep this place until the rest of our forces arrive.¡±


    And that they did.


    After appointing some men to maintain the outpost, the rest continued on. A few hours passed, and they arrived at a small village. Their arrival was loud and confrontational, prompting the villagers to come and check the commotion. The imperials quickly spread out all over the village to take control.


    ¡°Listen, citizens of Wisteria! We are soldiers from the Tornridge Empire!¡±


    The villagers murmured in confusion and worry.


    ¡°And we have come to take you over. Do not try to resist. Let us be peaceful.¡±


    But considering that they were essentially invading their lands, the men of the village flared in anger.


    ¡°No way we can accept this! You shouldn¡¯t be here! These are our lands¡ª¡± the imperial knight swiftly struck the defenseless man. Slashing the civilian on the chest, causing a deep, fatal wound. And he dropped to the ground lifelessly, his blood seeping to the soil.


    ¡°I told you not to resist,¡± the knight said with a tone of indifference.


    The villagers gasped, yelped, and cried in horror to see the man they knew, their neighbor, swiftly die. Ruthlessly murdered in front of them.


    ¡°Papa!¡± a child rushed to the dead villager.


    Then a woman followed thereafter to check the body. ¡°No¡­¡± Her hands trembled as tears started welling up in her eyes. Her husband was dead. ¡°Why?! Why did you do this?!¡±


    ¡°To set a fucking example. For all of you!¡± The knight pointed his blade at everyone around him. ¡°Submit, or face our swords!¡±


    The villagers could only look and do nothing. How could they? There was just no way they could defeat these many skilled warriors. It was simply impossible for them. They would only put themselves, and especially their families, at risk. They had no choice but to submit.


    ¡°Oh Lord and Lady, please help us.¡±


    One of the knights heard a villager pray. He snorted. ¡°Your gods are not here.¡±


    Indeed, that was true, their gods were not here. No, their goddess was not here.


    ¡°But don¡¯t worry,¡± continued the knight. ¡°Once we succeed, you will have a new and proper god!¡±


    Blasphemy. Indeed, an affront to their divine deity.

 Vol. 5 Chapter 1: Mera Training

    Mera, wearing a shirt, pants and boots, moaned in pain, wheezing terribly as she kneeled on the dusty floor. Sweat beaded her brow, her shoulders going up and down. Her entire body ached. But her pain was worse and more focused on her stomach after getting punched.


    Currently, she was in a training building. Some of these buildings had been vacant as the knights were sent out to defend the kingdom from the Empire¡¯s invasion or assigned to different posts. Only a few among the soldiers left here were the ones often using them. That was why Mera, and with Vernon, was able to freely use the training hall as they pleased. And they have been frequenting here, almost daily.


    And Mera¡¯s spar with Vernon was just paused. As one would expect, it was her utter loss. Vernon did not hold himself from hitting the young lady.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t enhance your stomach,¡± Vernon curtly said.


    ¡°I¡­ I was too late.¡± Mera was sending her fist against Vernon, and thus she had poured her Physical Enhancements on her legs and arms. Only a little to the overall body. However, when Vernon¡¯s attack came, she failed to enhance her vulnerable spot.


    ¡°You need to grow your reflexes. Still, if a common man strikes you like that, I doubt you¡¯d be hurt.¡±


    Indeed, Vernon also used Physical Enhancement, so his attacks were far from common. As talented as Mera was in this department, even she had limitations, for now at least. She had to concentrate her mana at specific body parts just to send tremendous damage, not doing so would weaken her strikes. And she needed powerful strikes to hurt Vernon.


    ¡°However, you won¡¯t be fighting a common man.¡± The old man pulled her up by the back of her shirt, forcing her to stand up. ¡°The beasts, the imperial knights, they are far from common.¡±


    ¡°I-I know.¡±


    ¡°Keep pushing through. Pour mana into your hurt area to reduce the pain and continue fighting.¡±


    Mera nodded and did what he said. Pouring more mana into it, her stomach tensed up, and she could actually feel the pain subside a little. She held out her fists and took a step forward, thrusting her hand forward. Vernon blocked with his arm, and Mera felt like she was punching wood with how hard it was.


    The goal for today was not to defeat Vernon. No, it was to apply the basic combat techniques she had learned. Like how to punch, how to move her legs, and how to respond to incoming enemy attacks, with the best result of getting to land a direct hit on him. But that, of course, didn¡¯t mean that Mera wouldn¡¯t get hurt.


    Physical Enhancement as her main ability meant that she would take most of the brunt. One who gets dazed with a single strike would not be a fit to the role. As Mera resolved to train Vernon¡¯s path, she must do whatever was required of her. Even if there was pain. To become someone who shields the princess, this was necessary.


    ¡°Duck,¡± Vernon said.


    And Mera immediately ducked, at the same time, the old man¡¯s fist went over her head. Once that passed, Mera struck her fist again at Vernon.


    ¡°Mera, don¡¯t just mindlessly attack. Visualize and strategize.¡±


    Mera struck low, and when Vernon lowered his one hand to guard, she struck from the side.


    ¡°Big mistake.¡± With Mera¡¯s guard open, Vernon head-butted her.


    ¡°Ggh!¡± Mera staggered back, shocked and confused by what Vernon did. Her vision twisted around as sharp pain radiated from her forehead.


    He can do that?!


    She never expected that he would use his head. Wincing in pain, she placed a hand on her forehead. Good thing she had a small amount of mana applied on it, otherwise her skull might have split apart.


    ¡°You left yourself open. Did you not think a melee combatant would not use every part of their body?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not fair, sir Vernon¡­¡±


    Vernon could only sigh. ¡°That¡¯s a lesson learned. At least you tried to strategize, me being generous. But your hand was too low, and you overestimated your reach, causing your defenses to split open. Don¡¯t just think of sending your strikes, consider your limits.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? If I consider my limit, then I could never beat you.¡±


    ¡°Your goal was not to beat me, but to land a direct hit. Remember your goals, consider your limits, and be patient. A clean opportunity will arrive eventually as you make them.¡±


    But that¡¯s impossible!


    Mera pouted as she rubbed her forehead. It was just basically impossible for her to do that. Vernon was too skilled for her to ever land a hit. But then again, she understood what he was trying to say. Perhaps failing here would prompt her to remember the lessons. Indeed, perhaps she was never meant to win.


    Still, it was demotivating to lose.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go again, now.¡± Vernon said. ¡°This time, observe your enemy first. Their physique, their stance, their composure.¡±


    Mera groaned and raised her fists, despite the pain burning in her forehead.


    Okay, okay. Melee combatants may use every part of their body.


    Mera scrutinized her opponent and recalled what she knew about Vernon. He was a master martial artist, so he could definitely and proficiently use all his limbs to attack. Meaning he could strike with his arms, legs, and she didn¡¯t forget to add the head. She had to watch out for attacks from those.


    However, main strikes came from Vernon¡¯s fists, which were his primary weapons. Those were the highest priority to be on guard against. The legs he would likely use in limited situations or as responses. The same for his head. Mera visualized how she¡¯d attack, and how the opponent could possibly respond.


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    After a moment of thinking, Mera engaged and lunged towards Vernon. The latter blocked her fist, and at the same time Mera punched low, coming at his chest. Her strike was swift, not even a common lowly soldier could hope to evade that. However, Vernon shifted his body sideways, evading the strike by an inch. At that moment, Mera had an intuition about how Vernon would strike back.


    She was too slow to move yet, slow to follow his attacks. Her reflexes and body wouldn¡¯t allow for that. However, anticipating where he would attack was different. And there was a faster way for her to defend herself.


    She shifted her mana towards her stomach, just as a fist from the old man slammed against it.


    ¡°Hm?¡± He seemed impressed.


    Mera couldn¡¯t help but smile, feeling pleased with herself. However, that was a mistake.


    ¡°Don¡¯t feel pleased just yet.¡± Vernon swiftly spun and kicked Mera in the back.


    Mera rolled down the floor, and she was left squirming and groaning in pain. Vernon walked up beside her.


    ¡°Good, you¡¯re learning. But you let a good outcome get to your head. The fight doesn¡¯t end until one is down.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    Mera couldn¡¯t help it. She was just beat up so much that a good result of her anticipation got to her head too easily.


    ¡°But a good job is a good job. This is good. I bet you can give a low end knight a good spar.¡±


    Mera was quite glad to hear that, knights were skilled fighters. If she could give one of them a good fight, it was a sign of progress on her part. Mera poured mana onto her back to reduce the pain. She slowly got up, and Vernon helped her.


    ¡°Am I progressing so slow, sir Vernon¡­?¡±


    ¡°No, this is fine. Your combat experience will need work, but your raw prowess, your magic, is very promising. You have a lot of potential.¡±


    Mera did hear many times that she had a good affinity for Physical Enhancement. She was not good at spellcasting, but at least she had something else she was good at.


    ¡°But do I still have a long way to go?¡±


    ¡°Of course. You don¡¯t learn proper combat in just weeks.¡±


    ¡°... Is that so? Then¡­ how did the princess learn to fight skillfully so fast?¡±


    Mera remembered how Princess Estelia was able to spar with an elite knight like Rogan. She was so amazing, to think she could match a high level knight. And, how she was able to defeat those imperial knights, it was both amazing, and quite puzzling. Mera never saw the fragile princess train before.


    Vernon was silent for a moment, as though he was having a hard time answering. ¡°... She is a strange one, I suppose. She isn¡¯t normal. Even the king himself was suspicious about how she became that way.¡±


    ¡°He was?¡±


    ¡°He asked if I trained her, which I didn¡¯t, of course. And I never use weapons such as daggers.¡±


    ¡°Daggers¡­ What happened to the daggers found in her room?¡± During the cleanup, amidst the rubbles, they found daggers in where her room should be. They were shattered, but other parts were intact.


    ¡°The king has them. Apparently, he found her wearing a full geared outfit during the battle at the palace.¡±


    ¡°... Why didn¡¯t she tell us about it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ You never knew anything about it?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ No, I knew nothing.¡± Mera didn¡¯t mention when the imperial soldiers swarmed the palace. Where the princess was killing everyone that got in their way.


    ¡°I see. Well, the king kept it a secret for now.¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t tell the two princes?¡±


    Vernon shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no point doing so.¡±


    ¡°I see... I wonder if milady is safe.¡±


    Even now, there was no news about her. Nothing at all.


    ¡°I believe she is,¡± Vernon said. ¡°Anyway, time to rest up. Go to a healer. We¡¯ll continue shortly after lunch.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±


    Mera grabbed her towel and rubbed her sweat and cleaned her dirty face. Being still in pain, she had to maintain her mana on her body, lest she go squirming. Vernon was a kind old man, but he just doesn¡¯t hesitate to inflict pain when training. Mera let out a tired sigh before following Vernon outside.


    They made their way back to the palace''s front entrance. When they arrived, the area was quite busy, filled with civilians working on the repair of the palace. To put it simply, the top floor was being rebuilt. And it was far from being over. Incidentally, the walls surrounding the palace were being repaired and reinforced as well.


    Knights were also posted all over the perimeter to keep watch over things.


    ¡°Oh, Miss Mera.¡± One of the young knights called out. ¡°Rough training, I see!¡±


    ¡°You should really try to be a little forgiving, old sir,¡± said a middle-aged knight. ¡°She¡¯s a young lady.¡±


    Vernon shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m doing what I can.¡±


    Mera smiled. ¡°Everything¡¯s fine. If it helps me become helpful in the future, then I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    ¡°Well, did you at least get to land a painful hit on him?¡± asked the young knight.


    Mera shyly shook her head. ¡°No, I did not.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Damn. Well, you¡¯ll get him next time.¡±


    ¡°Alright, can you please heal her?¡± Vernon said. ¡°As you might notice, she is wounded and in pain.¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± said the middle-aged knight. ¡°Better sit down, young lady.¡±


    Mera walked over to a grassy area and nimbly sat down. Ever since she started training, she had noticed she had been moving way better than before, like slightly more nimble. And it was quite nice to realize that. The knight crouched beside her and held out his hand, green light emitting from his palm. Mera felt the pleasant and comforting warmth of the healing magic.


    ¡°Right, I¡¯ll be going ahead, Mera,¡± Vernon said.


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    Vernon went on ahead inside the palace.


    ¡°I take it you¡¯re gonna train again later in the afternoon?¡± asked the old knight.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Been training pretty hard,¡± said the young knight. ¡°May I ask a direct and personal question?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a maid. You don¡¯t need to fight. I don¡¯t get why you have to work this hard. So why?¡±


    Mera lowered her head. ¡°Simple. I am the princess¡¯s maid. I want to be useful to her. That is all. And now, to achieve that, I must become strong. No normal maid can stand beside her.¡± With how things were, with people always going after the princess, and now a war, being a mere simple maid was not enough.


    She must be useful in the most crucial things. Being a human shield was not enough. And it displeased her so that she only got to think of this now. She should have done this ever since she knew that people were after the princess¡¯s life. Perhaps things would have been different. If only she had started earlier, Mera wouldn¡¯t have felt she needed to catch up.


    Indeed, maybe one of the reasons why she was doing everything she could to become stronger was to catch up. Afraid of being left behind. No, that would definitely happen if she ever remained the same.


    The knights smiled.


    ¡°I admire your loyalty, Miss Mera,¡± said the young knight. ¡°I imagine the princess would have been glad to hear your words.¡±


    Mera smiled. ¡°... Is there any news about her?¡±


    The two knights reluctantly looked at each other.


    ¡°Nothing new,¡± said the older knight. ¡°Situation has changed, and so have some¡­ operations.¡±


    Mera slightly tilted her head. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know much, we¡¯re stationed here after all.¡± The young knight scratched the back of his head. ¡°But as far as we know, manpower¡¯s shifted, and there¡¯s no news on the princess.¡±


    ¡°... Oh, I understand. It is wartime. How¡¯s the war progressing?¡±


    The older knight stopped his magic once Mera was fully healed. ¡°Not very good. The Empire has taken control over a good chunk of the territory at the border. But nothing too grim yet.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m afraid that all the preparations we did might not be enough. We were caught off guard,¡± added the young knight.


    Mera heard about something like that from Vernon. That the princess¡¯s plans were far from finished, and it could cost the kingdom dearly.


    ¡°But I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll hear good news eventually,¡± said the older knight as if to comfort.


    Mera nodded and placed a hand on her chest. Hearing about the state of her home kingdom made her feel anxious. Maybe if she became a bit stronger, she could assist in some way.


    Mera stood up. ¡°Thank you for the healing.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. We¡¯ll be here in the afternoon. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll need healing again.¡±


    Mera smiled wryly.

 Vol. 5 Chapter 2: Survive Until She Returns

    The king was in his office writing on a sheet of paper. He also had another paper beside it as a guide sheet for his cipher. After a meeting with his officers, he had to send this new set of orders to his forces in the region where the imperial army was closing in. Or to be particular, to a city. Judging from the enemy¡¯s advances, they¡¯d likely move in to assault that city. The letter entailed that reinforcements would be coming, with an additional special task force that would help weaken the opposition however possible.


    That thing was, no government official there could read this encrypted letter, but only the personnel appointed by the crown. The Intelligence Department already had a loyal agent stationed in that city, and only that agent would be able to decrypt this letter and convey the message. Only those agents were trained to use this cipher. Additionally, they couldn¡¯t trust anyone else to know about this method, especially people so far away from the capital. Unlike others, these agents were trained hard to defy and prevent spilling out crucial information during torture.


    The one to propose this was Estelia herself.


    That girl has severe trust issues.


    Sometimes he wondered where she got that from or what caused that nature of hers. It was fair that sometimes you just couldn¡¯t fully trust people, but Estelia often takes it to an extreme degree. Anyway, Estelia was also the one who proposed this cipher, which she dubbed as the V Cipher. Where did she get that V? No one had an idea, but that was what she called it.


    This cipher was the kind that substitutes the alphabet, to put it simply. However, this one needed a keyword. Without the keyword, there was no way to decrypt the writing. The most favorable encryption they once used was the one where they shift the letters based on the alphabet. The king could still remember the way Estelia frowned when he described it to her. That being said, they usually just use their voices with the Puppet Courier ¡ª no paper trails and it was straightforward. But of course, that was absolutely not enough for the princess.


    The V Cipher was not that hard to learn. Estelia drew a table with equal grids numbering the same as the alphabets. She said it was the simple way of learning it. The king had a copy of the table beside him, not because he hadn¡¯t learned it yet, but because he wanted to do his job faster. But of course outside the palace, there was not such a copy. Estelia never allowed it. In fact, she taught a different method outside.


    Instead of the grid, she had taught the outside using a little math, with letters and numbers. The alphabets were numbered or indexed starting with the value 0. For instance, if a keyword¡¯s first letter was the third letter in the alphabet, its value would be 2. Then, if the plaintext¡¯s first letter was the fifth letter of the alphabet, the value would be 4. Then you would add the two numbers, equaling 6. Then the ciphertext will be the 6th letter starting from the index number of 0. If the sum surpasses the total number of alphabets, then continue counting from the beginning of the index.


    Estelia basically had everyone familiarize or memorize the index and their corresponding letter. Sometimes it made Leodoule think Estelia went easy on her family.


    It may sound easy on concept, but cracking it would be impossible without the keyword, unless the keyword got leaked. Estelia proposed that there should be different keywords depending on the day the letter was made. Which of course meant that there should be a readable date on the letter. But she mumbled in complaint that it was so hard to communicate with people. Whatever she may have meant with that. At any rate, she designated keywords on each day of the month, in addition to putting a single digit number above the page. Which would shift the keyword from where it was based on.


    For instance, if the letter was written on the 3rd day of the month and the keyword that day was supposedly ¡°Roses¡±, and there was a number 2 above the page, then the decoder would use the keyword of the 5th day of the month ¡ª as 3 plus 2 equals 5 ¡ª which would be ¡°Beauty¡± to decrypt the code because the encoder used that keyword for the letter. Of course the decoder can use a negative, meaning to deduct from the date on the letter.


    Leodoule had to admit, he was pretty impressed that Estelia came up with a system like this. Even he doubted the enemy could ever crack something like this without the keyword. It even astonished the commanders of the army, and they praised the princess¡¯s revolutionary idea for warfare. She had basically invented an unbreakable code. Although Estelia did acknowledge a flaw, it was the keyword for each day. If the enemy got to learn the keywords, and learn the method, it would be over.


    She mentioned that she would at least prefer to change the designated keyword each week. However, communicating the new keywords to everyone in the kingdom would be nigh impossible and would only make things more difficult. And it could potentially make encrypted communication impossible if one was not updated. It was one of the reasons she only let the special agents and other high-ranking personnel learn the method and convey the message to other involved parties.


    Anyway, they went with what they could.


    Although, Estelia did show the king another cipher ¡ª no, she didn¡¯t call it a cipher. It was another way to represent letters and numbers by using dashes and dots. But she abandoned the idea as she said that it might blow everyone¡¯s mind, ally or enemy. And because it was not exactly a cipher.


    The king sighed and continued writing the encrypted letter. Incidentally, it had no spaces between the encrypted word as it makes it more secure, preventing anyone from guessing which word it could be judging from the number of letters. As he was about finished, knocks rang from the door.


    ¡°Father, it¡¯s me, Estevan.¡±


    ¡°Come in.¡±


    Estevan entered inside, wearing his formal wear. He looked quite better, better rested than before.


    ¡°Estevan, are you here for your report?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Training the draftees in the city has given promising results.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Good job.¡±


    Estevan was leading in preparing the city by helping the men train for when the time to fight comes. Although, if the citizens from the capital city had to fight, then the situation would have been pretty dire already. That being said, some of the men would certainly be sent out there to fight.


    ¡°We have also increased the number of soldiers from around the nearby region. Many were willing to fight for the kingdom. Considering the fight is still far away, as planned, they are to be trained here in the capital to save resources and time, and we¡¯re prepared to take them now.¡±


    ¡°Good. And how¡¯s the security in the nobles¡¯ district?¡±


    The nobles¡¯ district where the highest ranking nobles were staying had no walls around them, and was also a vulnerable side of the capital city. If the enemy breached through there after eliminating the nobles¡¯ forces, they¡¯d have a freeway to the palace. But perhaps that was a good thing, the enemy would certainly go after the palace to kill the royals, the citizens in the city could get the chance to escape.


    ¡°All¡¯s well, the outposts and line of defense are done. Although, we may need more men to actually make it more secure.¡±


    ¡°Tell the household heads to provide more men. I¡¯m sure they have plenty under their wings to spare.¡±


    ¡°Understood. You¡¯re writing a message?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He wrote down the date and a number on the page. Leodoule set aside the quill and rolled the paper.


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    ¡°New orders?¡±


    ¡°Losing the city of Shirandence will be an enormous blow to our kingdom. Losing the ruling city of the border region is something we must prevent.¡±


    ¡°Send me, Father.¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s too early for you to go yet.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? I¡¯m only training people here.¡±


    ¡°You will not go to the border. More imperial forces will still come flooding in. Sending you out there will be more dangerous. You are a prince.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°I will hear no more. You will go when necessary.¡±


    The king rose from his seat, carrying the scroll. From the top of a nearby table, he grabbed an artificial bird. He inserted the letter inside a small wooden case on its back, and he walked to the window. He tapped the bird¡¯s head while pouring a little mana, awakening it. After that, he threw it into the air, and it flew toward its destination.


    ¡°By the way,¡± Leodoule said. ¡°Are you more proficient in the V Cipher now?¡±


    ¡°Well, I am a bit faster at decoding than before.¡±


    ¡°Good. I¡¯m already pretty good with it, but using the graph just makes it way easier.¡± He didn¡¯t have to think a lot.


    ¡°That is exactly why my sister didn¡¯t want to use it outside¡­ Speaking of which, are we really not sending out people to find her?¡± His face softened with concern.


    ¡°Going to the lands crawling with demons and monsters? No.¡±


    ¡°Can we really believe what that strange man said? That she¡¯d be fine?¡±


    ¡°If what he said was true, then bringing her back now would only hurt her even more. Even risk her life. I cannot allow that.¡±


    Normally, it would be unthinkable that they would not do anything to retrieve the princess. But they had learned of what happened, and realized the situation was more complex than it seemed.


    ***


    It was around the time when the palace sent people to search for the beings called the Cursed Children. They surmised they could have known where the princess was after considering what happened during the battle at the palace. Furthermore, the king also consulted with the High Bishop about the reports from witnesses.


    The bishop suggested that the winged creatures could potentially be demons. There were demons of such nature. However, considering that they also had other enemies that could turn into beasts or into something else that wasn¡¯t human, they couldn¡¯t be completely certain. That was why they had to confirm with the other highly involved party, the monsters that aided them in the battle against the Empire.


    They even dispatched some members of the church as they were more effective in such a task. However, even with days of searching, they never found a single cursed child. This, in turn, caused Estevan to lose his patience.


    While the king was in his office, along with the eldest son, Eleden, Estevan barged into the room with stomping feet.


    ¡°Father! When are we going to expand our search?¡±


    ¡°Brother, stay calm.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t stay calm. We have been searching for these monsters and got nothing!¡±


    Leodoule sighed. ¡°Indeed. However, we have to consider our resources wisely. We are at war.¡±


    ¡°We need to start searching even in other countries! They could have taken her there somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Estevan, be realistic. How do you hope to search every corner of the continent without a lead, hm?¡± It would be basically impossible. They¡¯d just be wasting their time.


    Estevan pursed his lips, clenching his fists. ¡°... We have made no progress whatsoever in retrieving Estel¡­ I can¡¯t stand this.¡±


    ¡°We feel the same, brother. But we can¡¯t go about this blindly,¡± Eleden said. ¡°We need leads so we¡¯ll know where we should search.¡±


    ¡°And we¡¯re searching for creatures we can¡¯t even find? Are they even on our side?¡±


    Leodoule recalled when Estelia first mentioned how she met one of them. ¡°The Cursed Children warned Estelia about the dangers in the palace. And judging from their actions, they intend to protect her. It is safe to assume that it is in their best interest to keep her safe.¡±


    ¡°Still we can¡¯t trust monsters.¡±


    That was a fair remark. Even they still didn¡¯t know what they truly wanted with the princess. It could be something they couldn¡¯t agree with, or something that would put her in danger. And ultimately, they were not human. Anything that wasn¡¯t human could not be trusted that easily.


    Demons were certainly not their allies, even they have faced new types of enemies called the Mystic Race, which were all not humans. All their conflicts had non-humans as their opponents. They had to be cautious of non-humans that had their own agenda in mind.


    ¡°Yes, but they can be our only lead.¡±


    It was then that suddenly, black fog entered through the window. Leodoule quickly grabbed and drew his sword, Estevan had also pointed his sword at the trespasser. Leodoule glared at the fog as it touched the floor, and he found it familiar. Still, he couldn¡¯t let his guard down.


    The fog then turned into a lone man in dark clothing, smiling towards them as though showing friendliness. He had dark hair and amber colored eyes.


    ¡°Settle down, royals. I come in peace.¡± He bowed his head dramatically. ¡°You¡¯ve been making a lot of noise, looking for us.¡±


    ¡°Looking for you?¡± Leodoule asked while keeping a close eye on the strange man¡¯s movements.


    ¡°Perhaps you might not have noticed, I am one of the Cursed Children. I am Aurel.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re one of them?¡± It was surprising to see one of them not in a monster form. Perhaps they could turn into humans just like the beastmen.


    ¡°Can you please withdraw your weapons? I am not here to fight, but to talk.¡±


    Well, if he wanted a fight, he could have done it already. These creatures were powerful, after all. They didn¡¯t need to be sly in a moment like this. Leodoule lowered his weapon.


    ¡°Estevan, it''s fine, lower your weapon.¡±


    Estevan hesitated for a moment and lowered his weapon, but he still kept a tight grip on it.


    ¡°I am aware of your reason for searching us,¡± the strange man said as he casually strolled around with a wide grin on his face. ¡°A lead for the princess¡¯s whereabouts.¡±


    ¡°You know where she is?¡± Estevan asked with no hesitation.


    Aurel suddenly turned his head towards him. ¡°I understand that you all love her. But in this one, family has no role in it.¡±


    ¡°You dare¡­¡±


    ¡°Estevan.¡± Eleden placed a hand on Estevan¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Exactly where she is, we can¡¯t say. But we know where she is going.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± Leodoule asked.


    ¡°If I tell you, I would prefer you not to involve yourselves. It would be pointless, and you will only get in the way. A burden to her journey.¡±


    ¡°Journey?¡±


    ¡°To set your minds at ease, I shall tell you. The goddess heads to the forsaken lands in the south, a place abandoned by the gods. However, at this time, she is likely already walking on its soil.¡±


    ¡°What forsaken lands? Do you mean that place¡­?¡± Leodoule¡¯s eyes widened in apprehension.


    ¡°Yes, the lands neighboring the demons. The lands of monsters and savages.¡±


    ¡°Then it is the demons that took her,¡± Estevan muttered. ¡°We must go and save her!¡±


    Aurel stomped his foot loudly. ¡°I told you, little prince, you will only be a burden. Her Eminence, Princess Estelia, is a god. She has her own journey to complete. And your involvement will only trouble her so, a bunch of weaklings.¡±


    ¡°Weaklings?!¡± Estevan glared at the man.


    ¡°Yes. It is the truth. Even if you attempt to send the church, I doubt they¡¯ll be able to join up with them. And again, they are unnecessary for the goddess¡¯s path. Hers is a destiny that concerns the world.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about any of that!¡±


    ¡°Do you not care about her life? Perhaps you failed to notice that her health was deteriorating.¡±


    Leodoule frowned. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°The Princess carries the power of the divine, and one that her mortal vessel cannot endure. That is why she becomes sick, weakens, when she uses her powers.¡±


    Leodoule was aware of that latter part. Where Estelia seemed to sicken when she uses her mana.


    ¡°But even rest will not fix it. Slowly, her divinity will ruin her body. Using her powers will only accelerate the process. Keeping her here will not save her.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Furthermore, you are at war with the Empire, and the Mystic Race moving to take her life. Sooner or later, she will have to resort to using her powers. And what do you think will happen?¡±


    Leodoule lowered his head. ¡°She might die.¡±


    ¡°In the end, even she will have to leave the comforts of your home.¡±


    ¡°Then where she¡¯s heading is something that will fix her?¡±


    Aurel¡¯s smile widened. ¡°Yes. And she will become something more than she ever was.¡±


    ¡°But still, that place is dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Oh you have nothing to worry about. Two of the Cursed Children will be with her, and believe me, we want her safe and alive at all costs. Our fate is on the line. In addition to a powerful man that needs her to complete her journey. No amount of disaster can take her life. It is all determined by fate.¡±


    ¡°So she is the daughter of the Lord and Lady¡­¡± Leodoule sat down in his seat, everything was bigger than he had ever imagined.


    ¡°You should be more focused on the war you¡¯re in. Defend and fight. Survive until she returns. That, I believe, is what she would want you to do.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°And please, halt your search for us now that I have given you the answers¡­ It is bothersome.¡±


    After saying so, the man turned into a fog and left through the window.


    ***


    Personally, Leodoule already believed that Estelia¡¯s health was at risk. The signs were there. So that man was likely speaking the truth.


    ¡°I do not want to send the church members in a dangerous land needlessly when Estelia is already protected. They will be much more helpful here. A fighter from church is equal to dozens of normal foot soldiers. That is valuable.¡±


    ¡°... Very well, Father. Any word of reinforcements from our allies?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. But if we are to guess, for Myra, they¡¯re being blocked by the Empire. As for the Holy Kingdom¡­ We¡¯re still waiting for a response.¡±


    Estevan frowned. ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. At any rate, we¡¯ll do what we can. Pray for Estelia¡¯s safe return. She is more than she seems, Estevan.¡±


    ¡°... Yes.¡±


    With that, Estevan left the room. Once the silence settled, Leodoule opened a drawer.


    I know it for a fact.


    He pulled out a broken dagger. One of the few they retrieved from Estelia¡¯s room.


    ¡°Why did you hide this, daughter?¡±

 Vol. 5 Chapter 3: A Crappy Place (Part 1)

    I fucking hate this place.


    This place was truly depressing as hell. I really couldn¡¯t say it was boring. The monsters were already making us busy. We were now miles away from the city whence we came, and things were a bit different here in our path. There were less dark trees and more rough landscape. Dark slopes and hills here and there, and it gave off an empty yet dangerous feeling. There were small fissures and cracks on the rocky walls, and I could sense something looking through it, as if observing us as we passed by. There was definitely something there, it wouldn¡¯t be strange to say that smaller monsters occupied such a place.


    The wind was cold and gloomy, as if making you realize this place was truly abandoned by all grace. The sun did nothing to improve the view, but only emphasized the desolation of this infertile land. There was not even a smell of something pleasant, it lacked the smell from a grassy plane, the forests, hell not even a smell of a decent civilization like how I¡¯d get from home. The scent was dull.


    How could people live in a place like this? I wouldn¡¯t know.


    There was nothing beautiful about this place at all. ¡®But Estelia, there¡¯s beauty in all things inside and outside¡¯, so if it¡¯s not beautiful on the outside it could be on the inside¡­? Pfft. Even this place was terrible inside. Even there are people that¡¯s ugly outside and inside, and that¡¯s the fucking truth! No telling me otherwise! ¡®But beauty is in the eye of the beholder¡¯, whatever, keep telling yourself that.


    But I digress. Together with my companions, we were heading for the capital city of this island. Everyone thought it would be a good place to stop and resupply, and check out the situation of the island. And it would be a nice opportunity to see a new place. I mean, remembering how shitty the last city we were in, I couldn¡¯t wait to see how shittier the capital city would be. But typically, capital cities were better than others, but we¡¯ll see.


    Oh yeah, the Cursed Children were still with us, just not moving along with us. Just like usual, they watched from afar. Floating wherever in the darkness.


    At any rate, the journey was not as straightforward as you¡¯d expect. The reason was because of me. As we walked, I was panting, sweating more profusely than others. Damn, even Nira was not sweating much.


    ¡°Can, can we rest for now?¡± I asked with a strained breath, near exhaustion.


    Everyone looked at each other and promptly nodded their heads. I sat down on the nearby boulder and let out a relieved sigh. Finally, my body could rest.


    ¡°Princess, a couple of days we¡¯ve set out and you¡¯ve been like this,¡± Hartwin said. ¡°Are you sick or something? In fact, you look a bit more terrible compared to recently.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a princess, you think she¡¯d have the stamina of a working man?¡± Velar said.


    ¡°Guess so, noble ladies don¡¯t walk far distances.¡±


    I glanced at Taneva, he merely raised an eyebrow. It¡¯s like he was saying to do what you want.


    ¡°It¡¯s my weakening body¡­¡± I said. ¡°Perhaps you have heard when Taneva and I first spoke on the ship.¡±


    Hartwin shrugged. ¡°I heard some of it, but not like I understood what it all meant. There¡¯s the part where if you return to your home, you¡¯d be in danger or something.¡±


    ¡°I surmised that you¡¯re sick because of your powers. And that¡¯s why you were resting a lot on the ship. Are you still sick?¡± Velar was there when Taneva and I talked. And perhaps he noticed it when we went out to hunt the bandit leader. But perhaps he assumed that it was something that would subside with rest.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t get to really explain it, huh? Hm, yes, I get weak when using my powers, only if too much. My body gets wrecked, basically.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we need you to become a full fledged god, right?¡± Hartwin said.


    ¡°Yes, so I can sustain my power and return home to help. However, the damage has become worse. Using my abilities speeds up the process, and otherwise, my body still ever so slowly deteriorates. Even if I rest, it only returns some strength, but does not restore me completely.¡±


    ¡°So the damage is permanent, I see.¡± Velar crossed his arms. ¡°Then your fight with that demon must have done tremendous damage.¡±


    ¡°My energy has been terrible ever since that day.¡± At least compared to what it was before.


    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s this bad already,¡± Hartwin said. ¡°Should we hurry?¡±


    Even if I hurry, I wouldn¡¯t be able to or even keep up. Rushing my movements would only tire me quicker.


    Currently, I could only walk continuously for like around two to three hours before needing a decent time of rest. Even continuing, I¡¯d already be straining myself. I might pass out if I force myself further. I would not want that. Would be nice to have a mount, but the fact that we had to find those drakolisk creatures and tame them for each of us would be easier said than done.


    ¡°No need.¡± I shook my head. ¡°We¡¯ll keep at a pace that we can. No need to make it harder for ourselves. Besides, I still have plenty of time. If I don¡¯t unnecessarily strain myself, I¡¯ll be alright.¡± I wouldn¡¯t die so soon.


    ¡°Healing magic wouldn¡¯t help?¡± Velar asked.


    ¡°It merely relieves some of the pain.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then we¡¯ll rest whenever you need it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    And thus, we all rested. I noticed Nira was staring at me as though in deep thought about me.


    ¡°Something wrong, Nira?¡±


    She flinched and shook her head, her hair waving from side to side. ¡°N-Nothing. It¡¯s just¡­ it¡¯s terrible something like that is happening to you.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­¡± I was a bit surprised to hear that from her.


    ¡°What if¡­ What if you never knew about it? The way to fix you. Would you just slowly die¡­?¡±


    Huh, guess that would be it.


    If I never knew about it, and never got taken and stayed at the palace, perhaps a few months or years down the line, I might be dead. Without even knowing that there was a solution all along.


    ¡°I guess so. But there¡¯s no point in thinking deeply about that. You¡¯ll only be wasting your energy. What matters is now I know the solution.¡±


    She mildly nodded before walking away and sitting down on a small rock. What a strange girl, didn¡¯t think she would be that worried about it and just expressed it directly to me. Good people sometimes creep me out. No, maybe kind should how Nira be described rather than good? I mean, she wouldn¡¯t hesitate in killing people so¡­


    A girl so young, so callous in taking a life. But I wondered what her limits were. Everyone had a type of people they wouldn¡¯t want to kill. Still¡­


    She has a bright future ahead of her!


    Pretty good.


    I¡¯ll watch your career with great interest, Nira.


    Amidst our rest, Taneva suddenly slowly stood up.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Hartwin asked.


    ¡°We have little monsters coming at us.¡±


    Ugh, there is just never a peaceful moment in this fucking place.


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    Feeling tired of dealing with this shit, I let out a long sigh. I heard faint guttural grunts as the creatures came moving towards us. Their sounds were rough and throaty. I stood up as more and more creatures started to gather around us. Indeed, there were dozens of them, and surprisingly, they didn¡¯t attack outright.


    They were small creatures, midgets, with dark greenish rough skin, sharp nails at the tips of their fingers. Weird shaped head with sharp noses. And they were naked. It was quite disturbing seeing the genitals of many of them dangling around ¡ª fucking hell. They were also holding wooden clubs. Their eyes were rabid red.


    Fuck, I never could have expected¡­


    I never thought I would see fucking goblins, things that were fictional creatures back in my old world. They were goblins, right? No way they were anything else. How many times have I seen these ugly little shits in shows and games and such. And some of them¡­ Well, their concepts were pretty nasty. As a beautiful, gentle, young lady, I would prefer not to talk about that part.


    Considering their number here, I assumed these things move in large groups.


    Hartwin and Velar drew their weapons. Taneva, meanwhile, scratched the back of his head.


    ¡°Too annoying to fight with fists like this.¡±


    ¡°Never fought things like these before,¡± Velar said.


    Yeah, a lot of monsters here were pretty brand new for us. Especially for me as I never went out much.


    ¡°Goblins,¡± Taneva said. ¡°Vile, and quite stupid creatures. Don¡¯t let them gang up on you. That¡¯s how they fight, overwhelm you with numbers.¡±


    Cool, same name¡­


    ¡°So I guess they¡¯re weak individually?¡± Hartwin asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Taneva held out his hand and suddenly there was a dark hole that appeared from thin air. He put his hands inside it and he pulled out a jade colored spear from out of nowhere.


    My eyes blinked, dumbly staring at him and his spear.


    Woah, woah, woah, what the hell was that?!


    How did he even do that? Did he just conjure a weapon or something? Didn¡¯t look like it was magically made. Whatever it was, it was something I never knew was possible. I was not alone in my surprise, the others felt the same as well, staring at the spear he pulled out of nowhere.


    Taneva glanced at everyone with a grin. ¡°Surprised by my trick? Pretty nice, eh?¡±


    ¡°Can you later explain what it was?¡± I said with a casual look.


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°... Can I leave the fight to you guys?¡± I asked everyone. Considering my current state, it was best to leave everything to them and preserve my strength. Well, they have been handling most of the monsters from the start, anyway.


    They responded in an affirmative. I drew a blade just in case a goblin got close to me.


    I looked at Velar. ¡°Velar, work with Hartwin as a duo. Guard each other¡¯s flanks.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    These were enemies that overwhelm you with numbers. Fighting your own battle would be pretty risky. Thus, for them, it was best to work together and guard each other¡¯s vulnerabilities. Furthermore, these were unknown enemies, we had to be cautious and keep it tight. Couldn¡¯t afford to be careless right now. As for Taneva and Nira, they were fine without any backup, as they could not die.


    I slightly winced as I glanced at a goblin who I guessed to be grinning¡­? Weird little shits. They might actually be sadistic, ugly monsters.


    The goblins charged all at once while my companions guarded my perimeter, trying to prevent any goblins from getting through to me. Velar swung his greatsword, cutting down a couple of goblins at once, but the rest jumped away to evade his blade. Damn, they just didn¡¯t have to be stupid¡­


    Multiple goblins jumped at Velar altogether from various directions. He attacked some of them, but one little shit got in his flank, about to swing down his wooden club. However, a blade suddenly pierced the goblin¡¯s throat, it was Hartwin. He promptly pulled out his sword and quickly dodged a strike coming at him. Still, I doubted that wooden club could have made some damage at a single strike on Velar¡¯s armor. For Hartwin, though, it might be more risky.


    More goblins continued to engage them, and they kept on killing them.


    ¡°My goodness, there¡¯s a lot of them,¡± Hartwin complained.


    Velar kicked a goblin creeping up behind Hartwin, blowing the monster away bloodied. ¡°Relentless too. They don¡¯t seem to care if their ally gets killed.¡±


    These motherfuckers were weak, but they could potentially strike you from an unexpected direction with the help of their great number. And being struck from your vulnerable side could be fatal. One mistake and you¡¯re finished, one strike could daze you and that¡¯s when these goblins could gang up on you like a bunch of ants.


    Velar could probably take several hits himself, but it would be incredibly dangerous for Hartwin to get hit once. Good thing they were fighting together, otherwise they would be sweating shits right now.


    Meanwhile, Nira was decimating the goblins with her grotesque claws. She cut through them like a beast. She dodged an attack, but she failed to respond to another, thus it struck her from the side. She winced in pain for a moment before cutting down the goblin that hurt her. Another goblin grabbed and clawed her face, but she killed it not soon after. At any rate, there was no risk for her aside from feeling the pain, which she would definitely not like. Still, she wasn¡¯t that good at fighting, it seemed, mostly relying on her undying existence. That could use some work if she were to become a skilled follower of mine.


    Taneva, on the other hand, was keeping it chill. Goblins charged at him in groups, but he nonchalantly swept his spear, smoothly cleaving through the goblins coming at him in waves, blood and bodies cut in half flew and scattered in the air. Like he was cutting through cheese or something. Motherfucker¡¯s overpowered. Still, I was exceedingly curious how he just pulled out that weapon out of thin air. I was truly interested¡­


    I heard a small cry close by, and I noticed a goblin that got through the defensive line and was charging towards me. I readied my weapon. But when it got close to me, a claw suddenly pierced through the little monster¡¯s chest. After throwing away the monster''s corpse, the one who saved me, Nira, let out a relieved sigh.


    ¡°Good work, Nira.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ Yes.¡± And she continued on with the slaughter.


    A moment later, I noticed a goblin picking up stones. It would seem it was aiming for either Hartwin or Velar. Likely Hartwin because he was smaller and more vulnerable compared to the vanguard Velar.


    ¡°Hartwin, watch out for the goblin with the rock!¡± I pointed towards the goblin that was preparing to throw the stone.


    Hartwin drew back his sword, the tip aimed at the direction of the goblin holding a stone. His blade glowed before he vigorously thrust it forward. Magic flew and pierced through the air like an arrow, and struck the target goblin in the head. Of course, that was not the only goblin that attempted to throw stones, and they had to be dealt with. Hartwin shot his magic from a distance, and even Velar sent magical slashes that cut through a range of goblins.


    Time passed, more and more goblins were slaughtered. The smell of blood and torn flesh had begun to fill the air, and it was starting to annoy me a little. They smell more terrible than killing a room full of humans.


    Once they realized that they absolutely had no chance of winning after suffering heavy losses, the goblins began shouting monster sounds and started retreating. That was a good thing, and quite a relief.


    Taneva lowered his spear. ¡°Should we go after them?¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why should we? They¡¯re already running.¡±


    ¡°Goblins are petty. They¡¯d remember our faces and might go for revenge.¡±


    ¡°... Does it matter? We¡¯re leaving this area soon, anyway.¡±


    Taneva shrugged. ¡°Guess not. They shouldn''t chase us further away from their territory.¡±


    Hartwin took in deep breaths, tired from the numerous enemies he had to fight and kill. ¡°They¡¯re much more annoying than the monsters we faced recently.¡±


    Yeah, at least those monsters were solo most of the time. And if not, we have something like the wolves, but these goblins were much more annoying, and a bit clever in their own way. Not to mention their numbers and their ugliness. Who the fuck likes looking at their genitalia dangling at your face?!


    Velar stabbed his sword to the ground, breathing steadily. ¡°Good thing they fled. They¡¯re smarter than I thought. Despite how they look.¡±


    I then noticed Nira holding a live goblin by the neck. She was staring at it, as if she was pondering something. As she did, she was frowning and obviously hesitant. I quite had an idea what she was having trouble with.


    I approached her with a smile.


    ¡°You¡¯re thinking of feeding on it?¡± I asked.


    She slowly looked up at me with her wide eyes. ¡°Um¡­ Yes.¡±


    ¡°You look hesitant.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Are you thirsty?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No really¡­ But I thought it might be good to feed whenever I could¡­¡±


    ¡°Let me guess, you don¡¯t want to feed on it.¡± I crouched before her, glancing at the goblin glaring at me. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do it if you don¡¯t want to. It is quite a disgusting creature.¡±


    ¡°... But it¡¯s such a waste.¡±


    ¡°Well, not like you¡¯re currently desperate, right? At times like these, we can choose not to eat something or not. You don¡¯t have to force yourself to feed from something you don¡¯t like.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°In fact, it is good to hold a standard.¡±


    ¡°A¡­ standard?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We ought to have standards, it helps set up how much we can accept. To keep our dignity.¡±


    ¡°Dignity?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s important to have dignity. It is how to get respect from others, and more especially, respect to ourselves. If there are more choices to go about, then do not stoop so low, to something that makes you feel revolted. If feeding on this thing disgusts you, dispose of it.¡±


    She glanced at the goblin, scrutinizing it as if she was deliberating on the route she should take. After taking a deep breath, she said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to feed on a goblin.¡± She pierced her claws into the goblin¡¯s chest and she cast it aside.


    ¡°Excellent.¡± I patted her head before turning to everyone. ¡°I think we should move on before they call for backup.¡± If these critters were this many here, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they had more back where they came from.


    Of course, everyone agreed. And so we went on, leaving the dozens of goblin corpses behind. I was sure some beasts would eat them all up pretty soon.


    On the way, Taneva returned his spear into the dark hole.


    ¡°So, mind telling me how that works?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s like a personal space of mine where I can store all kinds of things.¡±


    ¡°Is that safe?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Been using it for a long time now.¡± He grinned. ¡°Made things convenient for carrying stuff.¡±


    Wow, it really sounds convenient.


    ¡°How many can you put in there?¡±


    ¡°Well, I already put in a lot.¡±


    ¡°Wow. Can I also use something like that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you certainly could.¡±


    ¡°Nice.¡±


    I¡¯ll certainly learn how to do that. Like my own inventory? Pretty cool.


    Eventually, we encountered a village, a ruin of it at least. Seemed pretty abandoned for years now. Considering that it could be a good place to stay for the night, we entered the village.


    ¡°Empty,¡± I said. ¡°Better check the place first. If it¡¯s good, we¡¯ll sleep here for the night.¡±

 Vol. 5 Chapter 4: A Crappy Place (Part 2)

    We spread out to check every wrecked and ruined stone and wooden house. Many of what remained of the buildings were the four walls, while a few still had half a roof, but I imagined one jump and it could perhaps collapse. I stepped into a broken house, the place was quite dusty, the short dark grass had taken on the gaps of the floor.


    Now that I had a closer look, if I were to guess, this place had been abandoned for a very long time. Several years, maybe more or less a decade. Normally, at that amount of time, vegetation should have covered the ruins here, but obviously, no plants survive to become that long and thick.


    If we find a decent building, we can use that as shelter.


    But considering the roof of this one was halfway destroyed, this wouldn¡¯t be an option. I saw one earlier that looked fine, but had to check if it was alright. I walked around this ruined building for a while to make sure there were no hostile elements. You know, there could be some crawling creatures that may be hiding in the crevices.


    Like, goddamn, this place. The other day while I was laying down on my sheets, motherfucker there was a fucking snake like thing! It almost got close to me! How creepy was that?! One ugly motherfucker too. Ugh, I hated this place so much. Still gave me the shiver thinking about the possibility of what could have happened. I accidentally blasted it to smithereens by the way, no mercy for snakes! They¡¯re rare species? Fuck do I care? Kill ¡®em all. What if it had beautiful albino skin? Don¡¯t care! Burn ¡®em all!


    Ahem, anyway, this place was clear, so I headed out to the next building that looked like it was in good condition. Velar was the one to check up the place. I looked around, there were like around a couple dozen houses here. As I walked, I noticed a skull on the ground at a corner of a house. Guessing from the shape, it must be from a female, young too, around early twenties ¡ª my quick guess anyway. The rest of the body, though, I couldn¡¯t find it.


    Unfortunate stuff. Surprisingly, this place was not filled with skeletons or any more signs of corpses. Oh, no, if it had been here for several years, I guess the bones could have been taken by whatever monstrosities this place had. At any rate, this place was pretty gloomy. The coldness of the air felt like it gave off a haunting vibe, like the ghosts of the dead roamed this place.


    But of course ghosts were not real here. It was just the empty vibe this place was exuding. It always happens whenever in an abandoned settlement or something, add to it this land full of death. Well, it didn''t matter anyway, I could still sleep in a place like this. As long as there was no creepy creature that would crawl up on me, I¡¯d be completely fine.


    When I reached the door, Velar was already moving out of the building.


    ¡°So, how is it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s clear. The house is mostly intact. It shouldn¡¯t collapse anytime soon.¡±


    ¡°So we can use this to sleep in.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Ugh, finally. At least I got to sleep on something with a proper roof¡­ Okay, not exactly proper, but it¡¯s a roof.


    We checked up more of the area to ensure there was no monster hiding somewhere. Thankfully, all was clear. Some time later, everyone else had gathered.


    ¡°Got a building there that looks livable at the very least,¡± Hartwin said.


    ¡°We also got one here.¡± I pointed at the one Velar checked.


    Hartwin nodded. ¡°That looks better. Guess we can use that.¡±


    It was still daytime, midafternoon, so not like we needed it right now. Except, I wanted to lie down. I was tired as fuck. We approached the building.


    ¡°Dusty,¡± Hartwin said. ¡°Can you do something about it?¡±


    I could have done it with my wind magic, but I would rather not use any kind of magic for things so minor. Would be a waste of my vitality. So I turned towards someone that could definitely do something about it. Namely, Taneva.


    ¡°Can you use wind magic to blow the dust off in the room?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    We stepped back, away from Taneva. Gonna be a dusty air when all dust gets blown away.


    ¡°Just don¡¯t overdo it, okay?¡± I said. ¡°You might destroy the house with a strong wind.¡± And I was quite certain it wouldn¡¯t need much firepower to destroy it all.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡±


    It¡¯s a really good spot. I would not like it if the place I wanted to rest gets blown up.


    ¡°Uh, how strong do you think the wind should be?¡± Taneva asked hesitantly as he turned his head at us.


    ¡°How should we know?!¡± I answered. ¡°Just, just start weak and gradually increase the intensity until the dust gets blown off!¡±


    ¡°Good idea!¡±


    He did just that, holding out his hands and gradually exuded wind, gradually making it stronger until the dust started flying off into the air. He seemed to widen the magic spell and the dust from the inside began coming out through the windows, or any hole at all in the house. I covered my nose as the dust managed to reach where we were.


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    His eyes squinting, Taneva wrinkled his nose as he took the wave of dust head on. From the looks of it, he was holding his breath.


    A moment later, most of the dust was finally rid of. Of course, there were some that remained stuck on the surfaces that would need rubbing off, but these were negligible. Once every dust that floated in the air had settled, we immediately set up our stuff inside the house. I grabbed my soft sheets from Velar and spread them out on the floor at my special corner. Not quite right next to the window though, I didn¡¯t want any monstrosity coming in straight towards me. Fuck that.


    I laid down on my ¡®bed¡¯ and let out a long sigh of relief. I was very tired. The weight on my shoulders had finally lightened, in a sense. The pseudo pillow on my head was alright.


    Haaaah, I miss my bed.


    I dreaded the situation I was in right now, so fucking frustrating.


    ¡°You think this place was attacked by monsters?¡± Hartwin said as he stood by the door frame, looking at the scene before him. ¡°I¡¯m just wondering, every place has a story.¡±


    ¡°Dying by monsters, humans, all the same in this place,¡± Taneva answered as he leaned on the window. ¡°How you die doesn¡¯t matter much.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Must be a village, huh?¡±


    ¡°Could be, or could be a settlement for bandits or anything.¡±


    If this was once a bandit base, then the female skull I saw could be from a slave. There were a lot of houses here, but whether this was a mere civilian village, or a base of savages, we would never know.


    ¡°Taneva,¡± I called as I got up and leaned my back on the wall. ¡°How did this archipelago end up this way, exactly? Being desolate.¡±


    He turned to everyone, who also seemed interested in hearing about the same thing. ¡°I only heard the story from a friend. You know demons are prevalent here, their lands are just right next to this archipelago.¡±


    That I was aware.


    ¡°The God of Despair, as he is commonly called now, once ruled over that land, and from where the demons were shaped and made. It all started fine. The gods created the Mystic Race, so why not him? In fact, demons were free from going all over the place. But that only lasted for a short time.¡±


    ¡°Let me guess, they turned out to be evil?¡± I said.


    ¡°Heh. The God of Despair, turned out, had other plans. Eventually, fighting began. The other gods condemned the Demon God for ruining the balance and peace. As punishment, the gods cut off their blessings in his territory. And this archipelago was included. All manner of plants began to die, and the leylines were cut off.¡±


    ¡°Leylines?¡± Hartwin asked.


    ¡°Think of it as a vein of the world, one that gives nourishments with magical properties that help sustain this world. It nourishes the soil, enriches the grounds, causes the formation of beasts, and protects from whatever dark presence could be in the world.¡±


    That¡¯s the first I heard about it.


    I nodded. ¡°And then what happened? Continue.¡±


    ¡°Both the demon lands and Shinoroa were affected by the punishment. And can you guess who had an active role in achieving this?¡± Taneva looked at me.


    My eyes squinted. ¡°... Feels like I know.¡±


    He grinned. ¡°The Ruling Deity of Blood. That goddess is an essential piece in the world, and so thus her authority. Once the last remnants of blessings had disappeared, and the healthy plants rotted off, dangerous monsters suddenly began appearing all over the lands. More violent, more deadly than normal.¡±


    I tilted my head. ¡°I assumed leylines are needed for that.¡±


    ¡°Not exactly. The birth of beasts is natural in the world, the leylines just make them more healthy, and normal. Haven¡¯t you noticed? The monsters in Wisteria behave almost like normal animals. Territorial, and will fight back when attacked or go on a rampage when disturbed. Of course there are some exceptions, but that¡¯s mostly the case. But here, they¡¯re more savage, grotesque and ugly, and without balance, chaotic. They are basically defects.¡±


    Well, I couldn¡¯t know exactly. I was never too deep into the monster stuff. But I guess it was the case, if it was like here in Shinoroa, the monsters back home would be on a constant rampage, always attacking the nearby villages. But that was not the case, from what I knew. We didn''t exactly get daily reports about some place getting attacked by monsters. And there weren¡¯t constant reports of monsters from the Elgion forest attacking the wall.


    Sure, sometimes knights had to be sent to hunt monsters. But that was mostly for reducing the number of monsters. The Elgion forest was a special case compared to the nearby forests. For some reason, the monsters there were just more dangerous. Thinking about that place reminded me of that voice I heard while I was there. But whatever, I must be hallucinating or something. Or maybe it was real. Or it could be a monster trying to trick me, there were a lot of monsters there.


    ¡°Anyway, with the demons spreading, slaying humans in their wake, the Goddess of Blood personally came to face the Demon God. And eventually, she won the battle and then sealed him.¡±


    ¡°Sealed? You mean locked up?¡± Hartwin asked. ¡°So he¡¯s still here somewhere? Why not just kill him?¡±


    Taneva chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s not always a good idea to kill a god, you know. Evil as he may be, the God of Despair is still part of the world¡¯s origin. Who knows what the repercussions may be. I¡¯m sure you guys remember, it just happened, the death of a god.¡±


    The four of us looked at each other. They seemed clueless. However, there was one moment that stuck out to me.


    ¡°Estelia? You know it, don¡¯t you?¡±


    I frowned. ¡°... It was the moment the sky disappeared.¡±


    ¡°Correct!¡±


    ¡°Woah, that was because a god died?!¡± Hartwin was shocked.


    ¡°I never thought that was ever the case,¡± Velar muttered.


    ¡°...¡± Nira tilted her head.


    I still remembered the terrible sudden wave of pain when that happened.


    ¡°So, Estelia, how did your body react when that happened?¡±


    ¡°... Basically, I had a seizure.¡±


    ¡°All the gods must have felt the wave of a god¡¯s sudden death. The death of the Ruling Deity of the Sky. Thankfully, somehow, it fixed itself, the sky. Although I have no idea how, let¡¯s just count ourselves lucky.¡±


    How did that guy even die in the first place? Gods fighting? But then, all that mattered was that everything was fine¡­


    ¡°So, if the Demon God dies, what would happen?¡± Hartwin asked, intrigued.


    Taneva shrugged. ¡°Who knows. The Demon God was also the God of Order.¡±


    ¡°So, if he dies, order just gets thrown out of the window?¡± I said sarcastically.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say, it hasn''t happened yet. Perhaps that¡¯s why your godly mother didn¡¯t kill him.¡±


    How twisted though, someone that was supposed to be a god of order just caused chaos.


    ¡°So that¡¯s why the demons want me. They want me to release their god.¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    ¡°How exactly? Not like I was the one that sealed him. Somehow I feel it¡¯s nothing good.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll drain your blood at the most.¡±


    Fuck that.


    ¡°Is that really necessary? To drain my blood.¡±


    ¡°Hey, they¡¯ve grown impatient. It¡¯s been millennia, you know.¡±


    How annoying.


    ¡°Why does my godly mother have to be involved in everything¡­?¡± It caused me all kinds of trouble.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know. But I heard she loved humans.¡±


    Well, the feeling is not mutual! I don¡¯t give a shit about humanity.


    But perhaps the love part was true. It was pretty much what was always said about our two deities back home. Them being so compassionate and caring and stuff.


    ¡°Speaking of which, we need to think about how to fight off the demons,¡± Taneva said. ¡°We might end up fighting some on our trip here. The deeper we get, the more chance we encounter one.¡±


    This is gonna be rough for me.


    Thinking about how difficult it was for me to kill the demon I faced recently, it made me feel annoyed and frustrated. Nothing was just going to be easy. I would prefer not to have that level of battle again.