《In Another World I Become a Healer With Purple Hair》


 Chapter 1

    Chapter 1: A Whole New World (Part 1)


    The library, a ce where so much knowledge is in one ce, a quiet ce for many people gathered to get a bit of the knowledge inside, a ce where Anne worked as the librarian. A cheerful forty years old, with no family, Anne loves to read, since elementary, she develops her skill of reading. She could read at the mere age of three years old, she was fond of every fairytale story, from Hans Christian Andersen, The Grimm, and also folklores from every country.


    Anne lived alone, day by day. She was living a stagnant existence. When is her time to leave the world? Was the only thought she had. She thought she is already given her part of the world, and one sce and peaceful non-existence.


    ¡°Anne, someone called you earlier from thendline.¡±


    Anne turns her head to the source of the voice. It was her co-worker, a man with thick sses, named Bernard.


    ¡°Really? Who¡¯s calling me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It was the voice of a man. He asked if you¡¯re arriving safely at the premise.¡±


    She snorted by the way Bernard had spoken. ¡°Safely to the premise? What?¡±


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not my word, it¡¯s his word. Don¡¯t me me.¡±


    .....


    ¡°What did you say, then?¡±


    Bernard shrugged, and said, ¡°That you have arrived safely. What else?¡±


    ¡°I see, thank you, Bernard.¡±


    She felt there was something odd about the mysterious call. People nowadays rarely use andline anymore. She let out a sigh and decide to forget about the call altogether. It wasn¡¯t a busy day for her and Bernard. There¡¯s only a handful of people inside the library. Though it is not a strange urrence. Young people love to use their phones, rather than visited the library. The digital age makes every hard print copy a hard time surviving.


    Anne, on the other hand, loves to read the hard print book. She likes the feel of the cover, especially the leather-bound book, and the smell thates from the old book. She has a weird addiction. Every night before she locks the ce, she will go down to the basement, and try to find a fresh smell thates from the old books. Today is not an exception. She will wait for Bernard to clock out, and go downstairs, to the basement, where there are tons of old works of literature lying around, begging to be read.


    This is her moment, especially if she could find a hidden treasure, a fairytale book she had never read. She looks at the old piles under a broken shelf. The books were musty, and she feared some of it already sustained some damage. She was heartbroken. If only her employer could maintain the ce a bit better. She tried asking for more funding, no response.


    Before she begins into the other shelves, she looks at her watch and squeaks.


    ¡°Oh my God, I¡¯m going to bete!¡±


    Her steps are lighter. Anne took her bag and rushed to lock the library. She called for a taxi to go somewhere in mid-town. There she met with her friends, more than a colleague, best friends, with whom she shared her love for anything quirky or unusual for some people.


    ¡°Anne! Finally!¡± Cheers to one man, with a unique mustache.


    ¡°Hey, Albert, yes, I¡¯m here.¡±


    ¡°Finally, someone that can calm the f*cked of Jeremy, he is whining endlessly about the new season of that new hot anime.¡±


    Anne squinted her eyes, confused at Albert¡¯s words. ¡°Which one? I recalled, he has so many ongoing animes at the moment,¡± Anne said, while her head turn into one of the big men wearing a id shirt.


    ¡°You knew, the one about a spy and a secret agent with a child genius.¡±


    ¡°Oh... that one. It¡¯s a good one. I¡¯m sure he just wanted to search for something to have a good debate with everyone.¡±


    Albert rolled his eyes. ¡°Well, duh! You know Jeremy, full of drama, all the time.¡±


    ¡°Careful, Albert, Anime Expo ising soon, he got a good tent for us.¡± Anne giggled and tried to tease his friend.


    She is always had a good time with all of her friends, or as Anne recalled her hobby friends, they have the same interest, and she feels safe being around her, even as a forty-year-old woman. She took time to be with her friends once in a while, but for her, the daily routine was already bing mundane. In her mind, an adventure, some new excitement in life.


    Anne knows, her wishes have a slight chance toe true. She has no family, no fortune, and no partner. As usual, the rm woke her up, and she begin her daily routine altogether, eating her breakfast, taking a morning shower, go to work, thus the endless cycle of life for Anne. Today, however, there¡¯s arge shipment of books from the supplier, which will make her busy all day, even with Bernard assisting her.


    Collecting data and matching the books on the inventory turns out to be a taxing job. She does half of it and promises herself to finish it tomorrow. Bernard is already long gone, as midnight creeps in. Anne took the time to check on the basement before she locks the library. This time, she turns her attention to one corner of the room with a little light. She felt something was calling her to go into the dark corner.


    She got seduced by a lull of melody in her mind. Intrigued by it, her hands reaching out to a wooden box, she could feel it, it was the box that lured her, no; it wasn¡¯t the box, thought Anne. It was what was inside the box. The big wall clock chimes in. It was the sign that midnight is here. Anne was in a hurry to open the wooden box, and what was inside mesmerized her even more.


    Inside the wooden box is a book, a beautifully drawn cover book a leather-bound. There¡¯s no word in front of the book, only a picture of a beautiful pce with trees and flowers surrounding it. Anne touched the book and feel a longing.


    ¡°Let me read you at home, beautiful.¡± Said Anne, smiling while admiring the book.


    With the book on her arm, she locked the library and take a walk to her home. A chilly night, with just a coat and a shirt. She took a sigh and thought how stupid she was for not considering the weather channel this morning.


    The night is quiet but also shining with a beautiful fall moon. She walks on the side of the riverbanks. The moon reflected on theke. The book on her feels warm, and she cuddles it to make use of the warmness. Anne goes to the bridge, thinking to take a shortcut and take a full view of the moonlight and theke.


    She is humming a beautiful melody while her hand clings to the book. She closes her eyes, thinking about the story inside this mysterious book, the characters, and the magnificent new world for her to read. Sadly, she failed to notice a speeding truck that came her way.


    Her body got thrown into theke, her body sunk deeper and deeper, while the book, it¡¯s open on its own, and a shining light engulfed Anne, pulling her into the book, while her consciousness slipped away. Her body then drifted into a shallow river with colorful water, lush vegetation with weird-looking animals is in the river¡¯s side, drinking the water.


    Two people, an elderly couple, saw the poor Anne¡¯s body. The man then swam and grab her body. The woman looked at her and said to her husband.


    ¡°The poor girl is almost freezing. We need to warm her up.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I think her head got bumped from one of the crystal stones below the river.¡±


    ¡°Poor child,e on, Ed, let¡¯s take her home.¡± The woman asked her husband. She was concerned for Anne¡¯s life.


    The couple took Anne to their home and then nursed her to health for almost a week before she finally regained consciousness. The woman, named Martha, was so happy to see her finally open her eyes.


    ¡°Oh, dearie, you¡¯re finally awake. Ed is going to be ecstatic. How are you feeling?¡±


    Anne, feeling confused, tried to jump from the bed, before Martha asked her toy on the bed.


    ¡°No, no, you were not fully recovered yet. You need to stay in bed.¡±


    ¡°Who... who are you? Where am I?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Martha, and this is Viora vige. We found you on the river a week ago.¡±


    ¡°A week ago? Oh my God! I¡¯m going to be fired! Please, where exactly is Viora vige?¡±


    Martha looks at her with a disbelief face. ¡°Viora vige, in the kingdom of Valorian? You don¡¯t know where it is?¡±


    ¡°I... What? Valorian kingdom? I... I never heard, of such a kingdom before,¡± Her eyes widening, her breathing are fast, she look around and notice a mirror on the wall, she just couldn¡¯t believe what she just saw, slowly get out of the bed, Anne stared at her reflection from afar, and mumbled coherent words, ¡°No... Impossible!¡±


    She reaches out to the mirror, while her reflection gets clearer, in front of her, staring back at a young girl, a much younger girl with purple hair and rosy lips, and with white porcin skin. Anne bes young again.

 Chapter 2

    Chapter 2: A Whole New World (Part 2)


    Anne looks at her reflection. She just couldn¡¯t believe what she saw in the mirror. A younger version of herself, staring at her. With the more colorful palette, her purple hair dye stayed on her hair, while her lip had a tint of rosy color, her skin was smoother, and even her old scars from the appendix operation ten years ago were gone. She touch her face, still couldn¡¯t believe what she saw.


    ¡°What happened to me?¡± Anne tried to ask Martha.


    ¡°Well, you fell on the river, and you got a concussion. That¡¯s why we nursed you to health in our house. Although I must admit, we couldn¡¯t figure out how you¡¯ve been unconscious for a week.¡±


    ¡°I mean, why... Why my face... My...¡±


    Martha looked at her warily. ¡°Yes, dearie? Something wrong?¡±


    ¡°I am...¡±


    .....


    Anne couldn¡¯t continue, she was hyperventting, making Martha need to step up, and brought her back to bed. She gave Anne a ss of water while checking on her condition.


    ¡°Are you alright, dearie? What¡¯s the matter?¡± Asked Martha. She was truly sorry for Anne.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, mam, you maybe think of how weird I was.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay, dearie. Do you have a headache? Maybe a slight difort?¡±


    Shaking her head, she smiled at the amiabledy, and said, ¡°No, it was nothing like that.¡±


    Brushing the purple hair of Anne, Martha pinched Anne¡¯s cheek and offer her some food, she gratefully took the offer, though she feels a bit weird about her kind gesture at her, that¡¯s when she remembered, her body is a young girl again. What¡¯s happened to her? She couldn¡¯t even figure it out for now.


    Martha gave her a bowl of soup. She slurp it so fast because of how delicious and how hungry she was. The olddy looks so happy about how Anne looks more healthy than she was before.


    ¡°Good, you have improved, you have some color on your face, and your temperature is already normal. Ed would be so happy to see you.¡±


    ¡°Ed?¡±


    ¡°My husband, he was the one who swims into the rainbow river and carries you to the ground.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see. I owe my life to both of you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, such a polite girl, you know, if only I never saw you, I would think that you¡¯re a grown woman already.¡±


    There¡¯s only a burst of awkwardughter that came from Anne¡¯s mouth. How could Anne exin to Martha that she was a grown woman, in a new body, once again? Before she can have a conversation with Martha, the front door opens, and a man with a half-balding head, but with the bluest eyes that Anne ever saw, enters the house.


    The man looked at Anne and Martha, a smile came to his face.


    ¡°Oh, thank God, you¡¯re awake. How are you feeling?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine... Thank you so much, sir.¡±


    Ed chuckles and turns to his wife. ¡°Martha, the kid was so polite, it shocked me.¡±


    ¡°I know, Ed, it surprised me, too.¡±


    Ed took a leather bag from a corner, and sit in front of Anne. ¡°Let me check you up, just to make sure, alright?¡±


    ¡°Oh, are you a doctor?¡±


    Ed and Martha looked at each other. ¡°Doctor? What is that? Well, I¡¯m a healer, sweety.¡±


    Anne gets another fact about this mysterious world. They don¡¯t have a doctor, but a healer. She also notices their clothes. It is an article of clothing from the Victorian era,bined with a twist. Like the length of Martha¡¯s dress, or the color of Ed¡¯s pants.


    All of it is different, the interior of the house, and some items around Anne. She was confused about how she could end up in this vige, still wondering where exactly is she, right now. Not to mention, her body is in a child¡¯s body.


    An old couple is a kind person. She could feel the warmth inside the small house. They nursed her to health and even asked her about any family that Anne has so they could inform her about Anne¡¯s whereabouts. Anne, feel lost, thinking that the only way to survive is to lie.


    ¡°My name is Anne. I... I don¡¯t have any family.¡±


    The couple looked at each other, once more, Martha then sp Anne¡¯s hand and asked her, ¡± Dearie, what happened to your family?¡±


    ¡°They... they all died, when we... we were trying to go away from... uhm... robber! Yes, the robbers killed my family.¡±


    Anne needs to fake her tears. Though she wasn¡¯t a talented actress from the start, she just needs to convince the couple about her fake misfortune. Thankfully it worked. Martha hugged her and wipe her tears.


    ¡°Oh, you poor child, you must be so scared.¡± Said Martha, she turn around to see her husband, ¡°Ed, we need to do something about this.¡±


    Ed, stand up from his chair and look straight into Anne, ¡°Little girl, we might be poor, but we have a roof over our head, and food to eat. How about if you stay here and be our daughter?¡±


    Couldn¡¯t believe what she just heard from the man. Anne tried to ask him, one more time, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, did I hear it correctly? Do you want me to stay and be your daughter?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes, adoptive daughter, we are going to register your name, officially as our daughter,¡± Ed said to Anne with a warm smile on his face.


    ¡°Why? You know nothing about me? Aren¡¯t you afraid of a stranger?¡± Asked Anne.


    Martha¡¯s giggled and pinched Anne¡¯s cheek. ¡°You are a child. What kind of harm you can do to us, besides we have nothing here.¡±


    ¡°But, why? Why do you trust me?¡±


    Martha let out a sigh and smiled at Anne, ¡°Look here, it is true, we shouldn¡¯t give our trust so easily to people, but, how do you know if a person is trustworthy if you never open your heart, to begin with?¡±


    Her words go deeply into Anne¡¯s mind. There¡¯s a wisdom that Anne could never achieve in her life. Ed and Martha truly wish for Anne to be their daughter, the couple, though famous for her loving and care in the vige, they never blessed with any children. Ed and Martha never consider it a misfortune. They handle everything together until the day they have met Anne.


    Martha saw that there was something special about Anne, and somehow, her motherly instinct wasing into her. The frailty of Anne, and her sympathy for her misfortune, made her wish for Anne to be her daughter.


    Anne looks at the two of them, a kind husband and wife. She knew from her experience that the couple doesn¡¯t have children of their own. Anne remembered her parents, a frail but kind mother, and a strict but loving father, Ed, and Martha reminded Anne of them so much. She nodded her head, a sign of agreement with their proposal. Although for Anne is not just about having a loving parent, she was stranded in some unknown world; she need protection, and the couple could provide it for her.


    They are so happy to hear Anne¡¯s decision, that she felt guilty, but know in her heart, that she also means well to the couple. She will be a devoted daughter to them, loving them and also caring for them. They build a room for Anne, not a beautiful room, but a cozy one for a young girl.


    A weekter, Edward and Martha then go to the administrative office, they include Anne into their family register and gave her a new name, River Anne. She loves her new name, and also her newfound life. Going to school and learning something new, meeting new people, and having friends of the same age. She could also see her adopted parents and day-to-day activities. Edward has to search for every herb avable in the mountain and valley, while Martha operates the clinic attached to their house.


    Anne sees through her own eyes how dedicated her parents are to the vige. As the only healer clinic in the surrounding area, Ed and Martha often gette-night patients from other viges. Stomachache, work injury-rted, or even a grizzly ident. The healer duo was always ready to help. Day by day, Anne grew fond of her adopted parents¡¯ job. She helps them after the school day, doing some menial jobs, getting the patients morefortable, or making lunch and dinner for her busy parents.


    One day, when Martha and Ed were in the middle of enjoying afternoon tea, they saw Anne making notes on the herbs in the medicine cab. Ed chuckled and asked his daughter.


    ¡°Sweety, what are you doing, writing notes about the herbs?¡±


    While her attention was still on the herbs, Anne tried to answer her father¡¯s question, ¡°Because I wanted to know more about the smelled, the taste, and how to feel about all of this medicine.¡±


    Martha giggles at her daughter¡¯s fascination. ¡°Why, dearie?¡±


    This time, Anne turn around to see her parents, and said, ¡°Because I want to be a healer.¡±

 Chapter 3

    Chapter 3: Four Mysterious Man (Part 1)


    Martha and Ed look at their adopted daughter with a tense look. Half a year went by when they found Anne on the rainbow river. Every day, they could see there was something odd about her. It is in the way of her manner. She was awfully polite, and calm, for a ten-year-old, not to mention, she loves to ponder.


    Anne loves to question everything. When they went to a pic in the valley, she asked about any flowers and critters in the valley. Her questions were endless. Although they neverined about it, they were curious about how deep the knowledge Anne has. When their daughter asked them about bing a healer, both were excited but concerned at the same time.


    The two of them are unregistered healers. The entire vige knew about it but never mind it. They needed a talented healer, and only a handful of healers were avable throughout the kingdom. Their desire to help beats everything else. They don¡¯t want to be sessful, which is a straightforward thing to do. Martha has a high level of magic, and Ed¡¯s knowledge of herbology is outstanding, on a par with the level of a master of the capital¡¯s herbologist.


    Ed let out a sigh, and goes to his daughter, ¡°Sweety, are you sure about this? It will be hard for you to be a healer. You need to go to the capital, and take a civil exam, not to mention...¡±


    ¡°Please, father, let me be a healer.¡± Pleaded Anne to her father, Edward.


    Martha couldn¡¯t stay quiet anymore. She tried to talk about this to Anne. ¡°Dearie, it will be hard work to be a healer. Why not give it more time? Maybe another type of job would be on your liking?¡±


    ¡°No, mother, I am determined to be a healer. Please, support me on this.¡±


    .....


    Her eyes glinted with hope. As for Anne, bing a healer is a new passion that she wanted to achieve in this world. In her own world, Anne always bes the NPC of everyone¡¯s life. She purposely shapes her image as the supporting character. She loves to be living in a shadow, being a pir for everyone around her, but without the need to be visible.


    Feeling that this is a second chance at life, she decided it be something more than just an NPC. She wanted to be a heroine in her story. Anne is ready to work hard for it.


    ¡°Anne dearie, are you sure?¡± Asked Martha, once again.


    Anne nodded her head. Her face is determined. Ed and Martha could see it. With a heavy heart, they agreed to her request, with some requirements.


    ¡°Alright, you can be a healer, if you want, however, you need to study extra hard.¡± Said Ed to his daughter.


    As her purple hair grew, she smiled and gave her father a warm hug. At first, Ed is taken aback, but he smiled back and embraces his daughter. Truly, they feel like a genuine family now. Martha gave her a simple task for her, tending to a minor cut, or helping them take care of the overnight patients. Ed and Martha got truer on their words. They give Anne a discipline of learning and never stop learning. After school, Anne will have to begin her herbology lesson and will need to help them in the clinic.


    As strict as they can be, they still worry about their only daughter. In the afternoon, they let Anne y with the other vige kids; they wanted her to enjoy her childhood as much as she could. After dinner, she read the herbology book and basic medicine and took a rest at ten o¡¯clock. Anne enjoyed her routine. She acts more like her age, however; it was because she doesn¡¯t want the vigers to notice something is wrong with her. She is already an odd child to her parents, and that¡¯s already troubling enough for her.


    Time passes by, and Anne is now a seventeen-year-old girl, a sweet girl, with purple short hair. She was known to be a friendly and devoted daughter to her parents, not to mention her hair color, a color that is so rare that no other people have it. Tomorrow, she will join her father in searching for medicinal herbs. As for now, she was in her bed, reading a thick book about how to treat animals. Martha saw her and smiled.


    ¡°Seriously, Anne, you don¡¯t need to know about tending to animals. We have the anime healer for that.¡±


    Anne¡¯s eyes go to her mother. ¡°Mother, we have the responsibility to take care of the animals in this region. Animal healers only work for the city or even in the capitals.¡±


    ¡°But they alwayse when we need them, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    Rolling her eyes, Anne handed her mother a note from her drawer. ¡°Look, mother, in just a few months, mister Dennison lost three of his Sheeples just because the animal healer waste.¡±


    Martha stared at her teen daughter. After seven years, she knows how passionate Anne is. Besides helping them at the clinic, she also loves to take care of the farm animals, the turkeys, and the chicks in their backyard. Even on their neighbor¡¯s farm.


    ¡°Dearie, remember to be focused on one subject only. Our capacity to gain knowledge is limited. God gave us a mind to be focusing on one skill only.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous, mother, surely you couldn¡¯t believe that.¡±


    ¡°Weren¡¯t they teach you about this in school? Our God, gave us magic but at the expense of limited knowledge, magic makes our daily life easier, but to gain a skill, you need to choose, what kind of job you want, and thus, it will be your duty for your whole life.¡±


    For her, the limited knowledge at the expense of gaining magic is unthinkable. In Anne¡¯s old world, there was no magic, but people lives their life ording to what they wanted. Not to mention, what you were dreaming of in your childhood sometimes isn¡¯t meant to be what you want in your adulthood.


    ¡°Yes, I ask my teacher back then, a simple question that sheughed about it.¡±


    ¡°Really? What kind of question that you asked her?¡±


    ¡°What if you¡¯re changing your mind after you choose your job?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s ridiculous!¡± Said Martha, while sheughed at Anne¡¯s words.


    ¡°See, that was the same answer that Miss Jemimah gave me.¡±


    Martha took a deep breath and embrace her daughter. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, dear, I shouldn¡¯tugh. Look, you need to prepare your bag for the medicinal herbs. Tomorrow, I believe you still hang it to dry in the backyard.¡±


    The mischievous Anne immediately jumped from her bed, giving her mother a shock. After seven years, she is already ustomed to her life in the Viora vige. Her parents taught her so many things about medicine and healing attributes. She is ready to take the civil exams, but to have the exams, she needs a rmendation from the administrator of her area.


    It will be hard to get the pass. After all, her parents still register as the healer, and she is also a girl with a mysterious past. How could she exin she was hit by a vehicle that wasn¡¯t invented in this world and got teleported to this world to the administrator?


    The next day, Anne and her father were ready to go into the valley through the woods, she wear her straw hat, and put her sickles and her lunch box in the bag.


    ¡°Remember to remind your father to eat his lunch, he always forgets to eat.¡± Whispered Martha at Anne.


    She nodded and kiss her mother on her cheek. Anne and Ed walk through the forest to go to the valley and pick the medicinal herbs. They saw vigers on their way to the field. Most people in Viora vige are farmers and cattle breeders. That¡¯s why Anne feels it is important to have a nearby animal healer.


    The two of them are inside the forest, walking through vegetation and stopping once in a while for edible mushrooms. Until her father stops her to walk further.


    ¡°Stop, Anne!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a colossal monster up ahead.¡± Said her father, pointing at the destruction in front of them.


    All the trees in the surrounding area were in shambles, and there was blood, fresh blood, visible to the naked eyes, but not enough to be smelled from their direction.


    ¡°Father... something happened...¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m afraid so... Sweety, you need to stay here. I¡¯m going to check up ahead.¡±


    Anne feared for her father¡¯s life, she cling to his arm and said, ¡°No! I¡¯m going with you, and that¡¯s final!¡±


    Knowing how stubborn his daughter is sometimes, he rustles his hair and smiles, ¡°Alright then, but if something happened, I want you to run back to the vige and seek help.¡±


    Nodded her head to her father, she carefully followed him from behind. They crouched and enter the deep of the woods, where the monster was gone. After a while, they heard a fight. They rushed themselves to see the action hiding in the thick bushes. Anne saw three men fiercely fight a Minotaur, one of them using magic, protecting the body of two others. No, there¡¯s another man,ying on the ground, bleeding heavily. Anne and her father look at each other, and immediately run into the injured man, while the others are busy fighting the Minotaur.


    ¡°Halt! Who are you?!¡±


    Anne turn around to see one of them running away from the fight. A sword was being drawn, and the tip of it was pointing at Anne, her eyes widening, while the man in front of them frowned. A man with long ming hair and ruby red eyes, a beautiful man with pale white skin.


    ¡°I asked you once again, who are you?!¡± shouted the red hair man to Anne and her father.

 Chapter 4

    Chapter 4: Four Mysterious Man (Part 2)


    His eyes are fierce, and anger is visible on his face. Anne took a nce at her father and was so surprised to see how calm her father is. He reaches his hand to the red-headed man, trying to calm him down.


    ¡°Son, please put your sword down, I wanted to check on your friends, I¡¯m a healer.¡± Said Ed to the angry red-headed man.


    The red-headed man doesn¡¯t want to withdraw his weapon, ¡°No! there are no registered healers in this area, you liar! You want to rob Henry, right?!¡±


    Fuming by his usation, Anne shouted to the arrogant man, ¡°Hey! Watch your mouth, we aren¡¯t lying. My father truly is a healer, and the best one in the surrounding area!¡±


    ¡°No! I know for sure, because...¡±


    ¡°Justice!¡± shouted another man from behind.


    The man is wearing a ck robe, covering his head, he shouted at the arrogant redhead, while his hand grabbed the sword. ¡°Are you crazy?! What are you doing pointing a sword at the civilians!¡±


    .....


    ¡°But, Vale, they wanted to rob Henry! I just wanted to protect him!¡±


    ¡°No, they are not! Because of you misjudging the situation, Xavier and I almost died from that bloody Minotaur!¡±


    All of them look at the carcass of once a mighty Minotaur when Anne saw a tall man in the middle of hacking the Minotaur¡¯s horn with his ax. He was so tall and has a built-up body.


    ¡°See, even without me, the two of you could handle the Minotaur, it¡¯s already sustained a fatal injury from Henry¡¯s sword.¡± Said Justice, the arrogant red-headed to his friend.


    The man named Vale takes a deep breath and looks at Anne and her father. Anne is mesmerized by the beautiful green eyes on Vale. A deep lush green, almost emerald-like. The owner of the green eyes smiled at the two of them.


    ¡°I am so sorry for this guy¡¯s attitude. Please take a look at my friend¡¯s condition.¡±


    Ed goes to the injured man, immediately, while Anne still staring at the two-man in front of her.


    ¡°Justice, you need to be more observant. Next time, if you see their clothes, you know they¡¯re healers.¡± Said Vale to his friend.


    The arrogant man named Justice then stared at Anne from head to toe. He finally noticed arge bag full of herbs and the small sickles in her belt. The tools for healer and herbologist. Justice just scoffed and walk towards the injured Henry. Anne¡¯s mouth is gaping, just couldn¡¯t believe Justice¡¯s attitude.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about Justice. He was... uhm stressed about Henry¡¯s condition.¡± Said Vale, the green eyes man, to Anne.


    ¡°Yeah, if that was how Justice was in his stress mode, I sure don¡¯t want to see him in his angry mode.¡± Said Anne, full of sarcasm.


    Vale chuckles at Anne. But not for long,es the big guy who¡¯s already carried the Minotaur¡¯s horn in his arms. This time, it was a man with golden eyes and a warm smile that could make you melt just by looking at his innocent face.


    ¡°Hey, Vale, finally got the f*cking horn. Oh, who¡¯s this pretty youngdy?¡±


    Vale looks at the big guy with a disbelief face. ¡°Xavier, you saw her and the man, going to Henry, earlier. That¡¯s why the idiot Justice came running from the fight.¡±


    ¡°I know, I just wanted to admire the prettydy.¡± Said Xavier, with a thousand-watt smile on his face.


    Anne¡¯s face blushed a bit. She thought this was the first time someone flirted with her.


    ¡°I... Err... thank you, let me... let me check on your friend.¡±


    She walked so fast toward the injured Henry, while the two-man stared at her from behind. Ed already gave him first aid, and also a bit of healing magic.


    ¡°So, how was it?¡± Asked Justice to Ed.


    ¡°He is stable, but not yet out of the woods yet. Can you carry him to my clinic in the vige?¡±


    ¡°Was it so bad?¡± This time, it was Vale. He was already beside Justice, with Xavier behind them.


    Ed looks at the three of them, while Anne is busy wiping all the sweat and blood from Henry.


    ¡°Look, your friend got a stab wound from the Minotaur¡¯s horn. The horn had some enzymes that are full of bacteria. The bacteria enter the wound and will make the torn flesh decay faster.¡±


    ¡°F*ck!¡± cursed the three of them at the same time.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get the horses!¡± Shouted Vale.


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯ll help you!¡± Said Xavier, when he saw Vale already running towards the bushes.


    Justice stayed behind, sitting beside Henry, on the opposite side of Anne. They work so fast when they finally knew how severe Henry¡¯s wound was. Anne is actually so impressed by how worried they are about their friend.


    ¡°I will search for more medicinal herbs for this young man, Anne. You stayed here with them.¡± Said Ed, in a hurry to go find the herbs.


    Anne feels so awkward. With Justice, the only thing that she can do is wipe Henry¡¯s face with a fresh towel from her bag. Justice looked at her with a very curious look.


    ¡°What? are you going to yell at me, again?¡± Asked Anne.


    ¡°No, I was curious, though. Your father and you, were the two of you unregistered healers?¡±


    ¡°Your friend is still in danger, but the only thing that you could think about is my father¡¯s status?!¡± Anne berated Justice, whom thetter still looking at her with his ruby red eyes.


    ¡°I know Henry will pull through. He was tough. Besides, I can see that your father is a skilled healer.¡±


    Scoffed at Justice¡¯s word, she just turn her attention to Henry, who actually open his eyes and stared at Anne.


    ¡°Who... are you? Wha... What happened?¡± Asked Henry to Anne.


    Anne looks at the injured Henry, a pair of blue eyes, staring at her, blue eyes with tinum blonde hair, like a prince in the fairytale book. She smiles at Henry to calm him down.


    ¡°Hello Henry, my name is Anne. You were stabbed by a Minotaur. We are going to take care of your wound at my father¡¯s clinic.¡±


    ¡°Anne? What a beautiful name,¡± said Henry, smiling.


    Not long after he passed out, making Justice gruntled some coherent words. ¡°B*stard just flirting and passes out again, typical.¡±


    Anne giggled at his antics, making Justice re at her. Thankfully, Vale and Xavier arrived with their horses, and what beautiful creatures the horses were. Anne gasped when she saw their horses.


    ¡°So beautiful...¡± Mumbled Anne.


    ¡°Well, thank you.¡± Said Xavier, joking at Anne, making Vale and Justice rolled their eyes.


    The three of them carry Henry to Xavier¡¯s horse. Vale goes to Anne and asked her.


    ¡°Can you ride a horse?¡±


    Justice scoffed at Vale¡¯s question to Anne. ¡°She¡¯s a viger, maybe even her first time looking at a pure breed horse.¡±


    Anne red at Justice. She proved him wrong by climbing into Henry¡¯s horse, gracefully. Vale and Xavier, were impressed, while Justice just ride his own horse, pretty much ashamed that Anne actually knew how to ride a horse.


    Valeughed at Justice. ¡°Well, it seems the girl just proves you wrong, Justice.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± shouted justice at Vale. He then turns his attention to Anne. ¡°Your father¡¯ste. We need to go, now!¡±


    ¡°Do you ever learn a word called patience?¡± Said Anne to the arrogant redhead.


    Before Justice could say something to Anne, Ed run in the opposite direction with a bag full of herbs.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. Let¡¯s head back. I got all the herbs that I need.¡±


    Vale reached out to Anne¡¯s father. ¡°Sir, you could ride with me.¡±


    Ed nodded his head and jump to Vale¡¯s horse. He asked Anne to lead them to the vige.


    Justice was immediately full of concern. ¡°Wait, you let your daughter will lead us to the vige?¡±


    ¡°I can assure you, my daughter can handle any type of horse. I trust her.¡± Answered Ed to Justice.


    Anne gave Justice a smirk while she gallop her horse away, the others followed her behind, and she ride the horse and kept pace. Riding from the valley, and into the vige.

 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5: Simple Life No More (Part 1)


    They have arrived at the clinic, where Martha, with Ed, is working hard to save Henry¡¯s life. Anne is helping her parents, making the concoction of medicine, and also tending to other patients. The other three-man were waiting at their house, eager to hear about their friend¡¯s condition.


    ¡°Anne, are you done giving Jacob his medicine?¡± Asked Martha, while her magic kept Henry¡¯s wound cleaned.


    ¡°Yes, mother, do you need anything else?¡±


    ¡°Please stay by his side. His critical condition is finally over. Now, he just needs to rest and heal his wound.¡±


    ¡°Praise the God. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be here, you should get something to eat with father.¡±


    Ed and Martha gratefully take their daughter¡¯s offer. They went back to the house, and Anne took her mother¡¯s ce, keeping a close eye on Henry. While looking at him, he noticed something on his neck, a mark, like a tattoo, with an intricate design.


    ¡°Hmm... I could swear that I saw this mark before. But where?¡± Mumbled Anne, pondering.


    .....


    ¡°I see that you have a hobby to stare at something beautiful?¡± Said Henry, suddenly opening his eyes.


    Anne squeaked and almost fall from the chair, ¡°By God, you almost make me fall.¡±


    Chuckles at her, Henry apologizes immediately, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯m fine. What about you?¡±


    ¡°I feel sore all over the ce, but I don¡¯t feel any pain.¡± Said Henry, smiling at Anne.


    ¡°The Rosemaryberry and Aloeroots seem to work. That is good. Now, you need to rest.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a bit parched. Could you help me with some water?¡±


    Anne handed Henry a ss of fresh water. The blue eyes only stared at Anne and whined. ¡°I¡¯m a patient. What about tending to this helpless patient?¡±


    Anne rolled her eyes. She reluctantly holds Henry¡¯s face and helps him drink the water. All the time, Henry¡¯s eyes never waved from Anne¡¯s face.


    ¡°Do you always stare creepily at a girl, like this?¡± Asked Anne, squinted her eyes towards Henry.


    ¡°Only to the pretty one.¡±


    Her face immediately goes red. Anne goes away holding a tray of empty medicine sses, while muttering some words to Henry, ¡°Anyway! Let me bring you some porridge... err... you must be hungry.¡±


    ¡°Hey, are you running away?¡± Teased Henry to Anne, who¡¯s running through the door.


    At the door, Anne collided with a hard body of a man. It was Xavier. The tray¡¯s on her hand was on the floor with the medicine ss shattered, shards of ss scattered around the floor. Henry jumped from the bed. Xavier, on the other hand, carry Anne in his arms, while a panic engulfed his face.


    ¡°Oh, my God! I am so sorry. I don¡¯t see you at all.¡± Said Xavier, at Anne¡¯s who¡¯s shocked by how fast Xavier is.


    ¡°Uhm... yes, I¡¯m alright, please put me down.¡± Said Anne, nervously.


    Xavier¡¯s face is so close to her that she can even feel his breath, and with abination of his golden eyes, Anne¡¯s heart beating faster than before. From behind, a pair of hands sp at her face. It was Henry.


    ¡°Hey, are you alright, do you have any injured? Let me see.¡± Henry is so concerned about Anne¡¯s well-being.


    Anne, who saw Henry the injured one, pull his hand away from her face and scolded him.


    ¡°What are you doing here? You¡¯re still wounded! Get back to your bed, now!¡±


    ¡°But what about you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, don¡¯t worry about me,¡± Said Anne, she then turn her face to Xavier, ¡°Please put me down, I have my slipper on, so it will be fine to walk on those sses.¡±


    Xavier abided by her request and put her down immediately. She shifted her attention to Henry and helped him to lie on his bed once more. While ring at Henry, her hands are on her hips, lecturing him about his health.


    ¡°Remember, I am the healer here, and you¡¯re the patient.¡±


    Henry smiled while leaning on his pillow. His blue eyes stared at Anne. ¡°I was worried, that¡¯s all.¡±


    Anne took a deep breath, her hand busy tuck in Henry¡¯s nket, ¡°And, as I said, I am fine. Now, you need to take a rest while I cleaned this mess and bring you some porridge.¡±


    ¡°Alright, be careful with the ss.¡±


    She smiled at Henry, while she sweep the shattered ss on the floor. Xavier is using his hand to pick up all the sizeable pieces of the broken ss. He keeps picking the ss, even though some of it is already cut into his fingers. Anne saw it and was in a hurry to give some salve to his fingers.


    ¡°All of you are so stubborn. Just look at your hand. You don¡¯t have to help me, but you insisted.¡±


    Xavier smiled at her. ¡°Because I wanted to.¡±


    She took a deep breath once more. Anne then tended to Xavier¡¯s fingers with no wordsing from her mouth. Afterward, she dismissed Xavier away from the room and cleanse the shattered ss. In her mind, Anne just couldn¡¯t believe how her day be moreplicated. From picking the medicine herbs to meeting four mysterious men.


    ¡°What a day.¡± Said Anne, speaking to herself. Her face turned to the moon, shining between the cloud in colorful stars.


    In the kitchen, she cooks some porridge for Henry and other overnight patients. A shadow came and engulfed her from behind, she pick thedle and attack the person behind her. The stranger holds her arm.


    ¡°Do you need to be so aggressive, even in your own kitchen?¡±


    The moon shines into a familiar face, a red ming hair, paired with red ruby eyes. It was Justice, still holding into Anne¡¯s hand. She tried to pull her hand from Justice, but the arrogant man never let her go.


    ¡°Hey, let me go!¡± Anne struggled, while Justice seems to enjoy every moment.


    ¡°Why? Are you trying to hurt me with adle, if I let you go?¡± Teased Justice.


    ¡°Ugh, you¡¯re infuriating! Just let me go, the porridge will burn!¡±


    ¡°Fine, but promised you will not hit me with adle, alright?¡± Justice smirked at Anne and let her go.


    Anne red at him, and stir the porridge again, ¡°So, what are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry. I want you to cook something for me.¡±


    Gasping at Justice¡¯s request, Anne turns her attention to Justice once more. ¡°I am not a maid! I thought the three of you were staying at the inn? They have food for you!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want their food. I want yours.¡± Said Justice, smiling at her.


    This is the first time Anne saw a smile on Justice¡¯s face. His face, though screaming danger all over, but it¡¯s a kind of danger that will lure you in, a dangerous beauty. Without her noticing it, her body walks closer to Justice, trying to capture his smile, to be forever embedded in her mind.


    ¡°Uhm... Did you hear what I have just said?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Anne woke up from her trance, she squeaked and backed off from Justice, ¡°I... uhm... right... Well, we have porridge, would you like some?¡±


    Justice peaked at therge pot and humming for a while, he took thedle from Anne and taste the porridge.


    ¡°Right, I¡¯ll take some, bring the porridge to your... uhm...¡± He looks around the kitchen, and sees with his own eyes that the kitchen is too small, he proposes something else to Anne, ¡°Just bring it to the infirmary, I¡¯ll be waiting with Henry.¡±


    When he walked away from the kitchen, the only thing that Anne can do is a grunt. He is a beautiful fellow, but the arrogance and demeaning attitude were too much for Anne, although her desire to touch the arrogant fellow never diminished.


    The porridge was almost done. Anne arranges the bowls for the patients, and also for Justice.


    ¡°I must admit, you¡¯re a talented girl, indeed.¡±


    A voice came from the door, surprising Anne. She once again grab thedle and pointed it to the voice. Turns out to be Vale, who is now chuckling at her.


    ¡°Why thedle?¡±


    ¡°Err... oh, nothing.¡± Said Anne, trying to hide her embarrassment.


    ¡°Can I help you carry the tray to the clinic?¡± Vale politely offered to Anne.


    Anne smiled at him, Anne nodded her head, and they walked together to the clinic, through the hallway. The man finally lifted his hood. Anne saw wavy short brown hair, it is really befitting with his mesmerizing green eyes.


    ¡°Oh, you finally put off your hoodie.¡± Said Anne, just being spontaneous.


    ¡°Well, to tell you the truth, wearing the hoodie makes me sweat sometimes.¡±


    ¡°Really? So am I, I mean, wearing a hat, not a hoodie, though. Uhm... so, why do you still wearing the hoodie? Do you like to sweat?¡±


    Vale chuckles at Anne¡¯s question, ¡°Not really, but if you like to sweat, I could give you another activity that will make you sweat a lot.¡± Vale abruptly stops, and apologizes to Anne, ¡°I am so sorry, forgive what I have just said, earlier.¡±


    He walks away from Anne and seems to avoid her, suddenly. As a forty-year-old, back then, Anne knew the answer to that statement. Her face got all shades of red, but she tried to hide it. She feels a bit embarrassed to admit that these four men awaken something inside of her, something that was already long gone from her life.


    For Anne, her simple life will be much moreplicated from now on.

 Chapter 6

    Chapter 6: Simple Life No More (part 2)


    The four men were together, inside the clinic, eating the porridge together. if only that¡¯s the only thing that they are doing, they also having a conversation, while the other patients want to take their much-needed rest. Anne begins to feel a headache ising, thinking that she needs to take care of overnight patients, and now, a bunch of unknown men were bothering the patients.


    Anne took a deep breath, walked toward them, and made sure to use her rxed face. Dealing with this kind of level of ignorant, she needs to use gentleness rather than strictness.


    ¡°Uhm... It¡¯s time for the three of you to get out of here, you¡¯re bothering the other patients.¡± Said Anne with a very sweet smile.


    Henry nces at Anne, and feels so guilty for his behavior, ¡°She¡¯s right, you should go back to the inn, and I need to take some rest, as well.¡±


    ¡°Oh, we are so sorry, Anne, that¡¯s what happened when the four of us met.¡± Said Xavier, while he put all the chairs in the corner, the guy is so strong, Anne remembered when he carried the Minotaur¡¯s horn in just one arm.


    Vale seems trying to avoid Anne, while Justice just walks away without even saying goodbye. She didn¡¯t care, as long as she could do her duty, the patients are her priority, more than some arrogant men, who don¡¯t have manners. She had her fair share of that kind of men in her previous life, and one thing she learned from it, was just to ignore it, and never give them power over her.


    She check on every patient, including Henry, who then holds his hand and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m, sorry, I should let them go before they bothered the other patients. I forgot that I¡¯m here with other patients.¡±


    .....


    ¡°I can see that you never got treated in a small clinic, before?¡±


    ¡°I do, but the clinic has private rooms, so...¡±


    Anne, knew exactly what he means, even though she already figured as much. The fact that four of these mysterious men are nobles, by their hidden silk shirts, or the manner, only nobles are the answered of what exactly they are. Doesn¡¯t want to get involved with them any further, so she chooses to be gullible.


    ¡°Ah, yes, my apology we couldn¡¯t offer a private room, the only private rooms around are my parents and my room.¡± Anne jokingly said to Henry.


    ¡°Oh, would you let me use your room, then?¡±


    ¡°What?! Uhm... I mean.¡± Anne gasped at Henry¡¯s request.


    Henry, on the other hand, chuckles, and smiles at Anne, ¡°I was joking, you need to beid back once in a while, miss healer.¡±


    She smiled was bitter, ¡°I¡¯m not a healer, as you can see.¡±


    ¡°You are to me, you¡¯re skillful and caring, a trait of a skillful healer.¡±


    Henry smiled at her, and his eyes begin to close. Sleep came to him, Anne tuck his nket, and she also goes to her room to get some much-needed rest. She imagined what kind of headache that will be presented by the four men tomorrow.


    Just like Anne predicted, the sun rises not too long ago, but in front of her, there¡¯s Justice, with his arrogant face, looking at her.


    ¡°You, I want you to apany me to the administration office. I need to see someone.¡± Justice points at Anne, and seems doesn¡¯t take no for an answer.


    Anne will prove him wrong, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m busy in the clinic, you should just ask vigers around to give you a direction to the administration office.¡±


    ¡°Your parents are here, surely you can lend, some of your time?¡±


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t.¡± and of course, Anne doesn¡¯t want to.


    She got fed up with him, and just wanted some peaceful time, away from Justice and possibly the others. She asked one of her school friends to visit the clinic today, she wanted to make some excuse to go away from the clinic until the noones.


    Having Justice here will surely be blown her excuse. She nces at the clock on the wall, her friends will be here, soon. She needs to do something to drawn Justice away.


    ¡°Hey, are you even listening?¡±


    She focused her attention back on Justice. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sorry, like I said, I was so busy.¡±


    ¡°Busy? You have already given them their breakfast, tending to their wound, what else that you need to do?¡± Asked Justice, impatiently to Anne.


    ¡°Look here, sir! My job doesn¡¯t end when they were full and their wound is being taken care of. You never know when someone is in the need of an emergency, and those medicines, they aren¡¯t going to be made by themselves!¡± Anne said it to Justice, with a face that challenged his authority.


    Justice got taken aback by how brave Anne was in his demand. Somehow, it makes him get more excited. He is a person that never hears a no as an answer, every demand, every wish, he got it all. Not in front of this girl, somehow.


    ¡°You... You rejected my request?¡±


    Anne squinted her eyes and stare at Justice, ¡°Yes, do you need me to say it, for the third time?¡±


    ¡°Uhm... well... I don¡¯t know why, but I do... So, yes please.¡± Said Justice, but this time a smile came to his face, a smile full of adoration.


    ¡°Wha... what?! why are you smiling?¡±


    ¡°Well, why not? So, where¡¯s the rejection from before? Like I said, I wanted to hear it, once more.¡±


    Anne tilted her head, she feel amused at Justice¡¯s reaction, ¡°It seems to me that you never got any rejection, whatsoever.¡±


    Justice stare at her, with his beautiful ruby red eyes, and said, ¡°You got it right.¡±


    ¡°What? that¡¯s impossible...¡±


    ¡°Anne!¡±


    Before she could finish her words, a youngdy came in from the outside, it is rice, her friend from the school day. She is a cute, petite girl, with exquisite blonde hair. They hug each other in front of Justice.


    ¡°Oh, rice, so nice to see you.¡± Anne cheerfully said to her friend.


    ¡°Anne, you¡¯re bing prettier, oh wow, we had our graduation three months ago. Look at you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re just graduating from school? So... Seventeen?¡± Asked Justice, seems like he listened to their conversation.


    rice noticed Justice and her eyes widen, she was smitten by the handsome red hair man, in an instant.


    ¡°Oh, wow, Anne, who is this fellow?¡±


    ¡°Err... this is Justice. He is visiting his friend, who got treated at the clinic.¡±


    Anne introduced Justice to rice, even though the young man never turned his face to rice.


    ¡°You¡¯re young, but your knowledge is remarkable.¡± Said Justice, with a face of admiration towards Anne.


    Her heart skipped a bit, Justice tantly praised her, in front of rice. The room felt a bit warm, and she almost fanning herself, instead, she tried to put a smile at Justice.


    ¡°Uhm... thanks,¡± Anne said to him, she then pulled her friend away from Justice, ¡°Come on rice, we are going to bete.¡±


    Justice grabs her arm, ¡°Hey, where are you going?¡±


    ¡°I have a prior engagement with my school friends.¡±


    ¡°So, you couldn¡¯t apany me to the administrator¡¯s office?¡±


    rice sp her hands, enthusiastically, ¡°Oh, you wanted to go to the administrator¡¯s office of the vige? Why don¡¯t you say so, let us take you there, I have my carriage, outside.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Anne and Justice said it at the same time.


    She wanted to go away from the man, but It seems, fate likes to y with Anne, and there¡¯s nothing she can do to avoid it.

 Chapter 7

    Chapter 7: The Identity (Part 1)


    Anne gruntled at her friend, she pulls her into the corner and whispered at rice.


    ¡°Are you insane?! Why do you offer him help?¡±


    ¡°Why not? It will be a one-hour drive, with a handsome man by our side, we are going to be bored less.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, for you, maybe, not for me!¡±


    rice rolled her eyes, ¡°Oh,e on Anne! Lighten up a bit, will you?!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t! he was one of the selfish b*stard that I have ever seen.¡±


    ¡°You mean, a handsome selfish b*stard, because that is different, in my opinion,¡± rice told Anne, with a naughty wink.


    .....


    Anne knew her friend, rice, is a high-born, she came from a distinguished vige noble, although as the vige noble, they have a lower stratum from the town noble. rice however, never mind about her background, she ys with every child in the vige, even Anne. They weren¡¯t a best friend, mostly because Anne always keep everyone at the arm¡¯s length. But for rice, it is enough, she admires Anne, for her vast knowledge, and also her dedication to her work at the clinic.


    Inside the carriage, Justice sittingfortably, opposite Anne. He looks like one of the people that belong, while Anne, herself, feelsfortable driving a horse, rather than sitting inside an expensive carriage.


    rice is so excited to have a conversation with Justice, ¡°Sir Justice, may I call you, sir?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you can call me Justice.¡±


    ¡°Oh great, we could be a close friends, then!¡± rice is so happy about the prospect to know about Justice a little more, that she took Justice¡¯s hand and holds it close to her chest.


    Surprisingly, Justice never prevented rice, and just smiled so sweet at her. Anne got disgusted by the whole scene, she took matters into her own. first, she pulls rice holding Justice¡¯s hand and begins to lecture her friend.


    ¡°rice, Justice is not from our vige! He doesn¡¯t know that you have a fianc¨¦! Oh, I¡¯m sorry, fianc¨¦s!¡±


    This is another difference between Anne¡¯s old world and the new one, in this new world, the percentage of a woman is less than their counterpart, for every woman, there are five men. The low birth of women genes in the world, and also the dark history of the Valorian kingdom, made the woman need to have more than one husband.


    Martha and Ed were the rare examples of the older generation when the ratio of women and men was one woman for two men. Anne¡¯s mother told her, that there¡¯s always like that in this world, that¡¯s why some of the family treasure their daughter so much, just like rice¡¯s family. rice has three brothers, and all of them including their parents are so infatuated with her.


    Her fianc¨¦s are the youngest sons of lords in the neighboring town. Anne already heard from the vigers, that the sons are so capable and handsome. Those are the quality that rice want for her husband.


    Justice looks at Anne, with a disbelief look, he feels a bit silly seeing Anne scold her friend, but doesn¡¯t want to express it in front of Anne. Instead, he folds his hand, and stares at her, like a creep.


    ¡°What?! Why are you looking at me like that?¡± Asked Anne, nervously.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think highly of yourself, I just wanted to ask, about her fianc¨¦.¡± Said Justice, pointing his finger at rice, while his eyes never waived away from Anne.


    ¡°Fianc¨¦s! How about you asked her yourself.¡±


    Justice smirked at her, and said, ¡°Well, I wanted to hear it from you, not her.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, you¡¯re unbelievable.¡± Gruntled Anne.


    He loves seeing her getting angry, for Justice, he just gained another entertainment in this mundane vige. He never know, why he feel so attracted to the girl. Something about her make him want to be close to her. He looks at her brushing her hair with her hands, a beautiful soft purple color, that he has never seen before.


    ¡°Your hair. Do you born with it?¡± Asked Justice, regarding the purple hair.


    Anne is a bit surprised by his question. ¡°That came out of nowhere. Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°Because the color is unusual. My red hair is rare, but yours... I have never seen a purple color hair, before.¡±


    These facts were also known by Anne, the vigers mostly called her Anne the purple hair, rather than the given named River Anne, her parents told her, the color is never seen before on someone¡¯s hair. Back then, she assured her parents that the color was temporary, and when her hair got longer and longer, the purple color never faded.


    ¡°I... I don¡¯t know...¡± Anne nervously answered Justice¡¯s curious question.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know? What kind of answer was that?¡±


    rice then quietly defended Anne, ¡°Anne, has amnesia, she never gained her memory after she was found, drowning on the rainbow river.¡±


    Anne, red at rice, ¡°rice!¡± it wasn¡¯t a secret, of course, but it wasn¡¯t for everyone, especially for people who stayed temporarily at Viora vige.


    ¡°So, you don¡¯t know where are you from?¡± Asked Justice, now fully invested in her story.


    ¡°Yes... technically...¡± Said Anne, meekly.


    ¡°Technically? Look, girl, there¡¯s only yes or no, it was that simple.¡±


    Not for Anne, of course. She knows perfectly about her life before. The only problem was, that the memory that she had was from another world. How could she exin it? That she was a forty-year-old, from another world? Not to mention her body, that reverted to her childhood,


    ¡°Then the answer is no.¡±


    ¡°No, as if I do know where I came from? Or, No, I don¡¯t know?¡±


    Thankfully the carriage arrived at the right time. Justice goes out of the carriage and enters the administration office, but not before staring at Anne, he was still unsatisfied with her answer. The carriage went away, to the next destination of rice and Anne.


    ¡°Wow, just looks at how rude he was, he doesn¡¯t even say thank you,¡± Anne grumbled and took Justice¡¯s seat, the cushion still warm, making Anne feels a bit ufortable.


    rice giggled, and flicked at her friend¡¯s nose, ¡°Oh, shush Anne, why do you have to antagonize the man, so much?¡±


    ¡°Because, rice, just looks at how arrogant he was, and towards ady like you!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind it, though, in fact, I feel honored.¡±


    ¡°Feel honored? Are you insane? Why?¡±


    Dumbfounded by Anne, rice justughed and shook her head. ¡°Oh, dear... you¡¯re so gullible, are you?¡±


    ¡°Ugh, just tell me, rice. What exactly you¡¯re going to say?¡±


    ¡°Well... I know who the gentleman is.¡±


    ¡°Who? Justice?¡±


    ¡°Who else?¡±


    ¡°So... Tell me! Who is he? Or you¡¯re just messing with me, rice?!¡±


    rice smiled at Anne, a wicked smile. rice wasn¡¯t lying about it, she knew about Justice. She noticed his ming red hair, paired with his red ruby eyes, a rarebination, and also his three friends, the four gentlemen in high society. A crown prince, a Knight, a Huntsman, and a Powerful Magi.

 Chapter 8

    Chapter 8: The Identity (Part 2)


    ¡°So? Who is he?¡±


    Anne stared at her friend, her curiosity peaked, she had her doubts, about whether rice really knows about Justice¡¯s identity. What she wants is a clue, the four men¡¯s reason to be in the forest was to hunt, the forest in Viora vige isn¡¯t a massive one, and it doesn¡¯t have dangerous animals. the Minotaur that they killed, as an example of there¡¯s something wrong. The dangerous monster is not from the region.


    rice giggled and hummed for the rest of the journey, the only thing that she said to her friend, was, ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡±


    ¡°Oh my God, really, rice! Really?! Ugh...¡± Anne is angry but also feels silly because how everything about the four men piques her interest.


    Her old life was full of heartbreak and disappointment. Reasons why she turned celibate at a forty-year-old. Her heart pang a bit. Remembering her old life tend to make her depressed.


    They finally arrived at the grasnd, there¡¯s a meet-up for every graduate from the vige and the town nearby, her school is located between Viora vige and Versemus Town, that¡¯s because the poption of the two areas isn¡¯t dense, that¡¯s why the vige children go to school with the towners.


    Two men wearing a silk robes, weing Anne and rice with their condescending look. ¡°Well, look who¡¯s here, two dirty hillbillies and their shabby carriage.¡±


    .....


    rice gasped, and isn¡¯t going to hear any of it, she just walks ahead and stomps on their feet. The two-man screamed in agony, while She go back to Anne, and pull her away, not before smiling at the two of them, and said, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, gentleman, these dirty hillbilly shoes just trampled on the snobbish townie shoes.¡±


    Most of the townies always look down upon the viger¡¯s kids, even the countryside nobles like rice. Anne feels a bit sad, thinking in every world, there¡¯s always a ss different for people. Here, the townie¡¯s children already gathered and make their own group, while the vige children are scattered around.


    rice red at Anne, ¡°Why for the love of God, you asked me to go to this gathering?¡±


    ¡°Why for the love of God, you agreed toe?¡± Said Anne, meekly at rice, who knows very well, she¡¯s going to let out wrath after seeing the arrangement of the gathering.


    ¡°Ugh, Anne, just looks at it, they gave us a sh*tty ce, while they dance around in a perfect ce!¡±


    ¡°Sorry...¡±


    Rolling her eyes, she took Anne¡¯s hand and pulled her to one of the tables, ¡°Just, forget it, let¡¯s eat something, and go home. I¡¯m going to eat until I got all of my share money for this sh*tty gathering.¡±


    Admiring her bravery and brashness, Anne saw her friend and feel amused, just like in their school days, rice always defended the weak and the bullied, for Anne, rice always shined and mesmerizing, a heroine material, rather than her, who¡¯s weird, and disconnected.


    A highborn girl with a sense of purpose in life, the kind of like, Justice. Not the arrogant boy, but the meaning of the word itself. She always knew, there¡¯s a reason for everyone to circle around rice, Anne never resented nor was jealous. The sense of wanting to be like her is the one that she had.


    They sat at one of the tables, while the others around the table looked at disbelief. One of them scolded Anne and rice.


    ¡°Excuse me, it seems you¡¯re at the wrong table.¡±


    Both of them stared at him, they recognize the man as their ssmate, a townie named Hans.


    rice is ready to sink her fangs into Hans, she smiles so sweetly at him, and said, ¡°Hans, so you¡¯re here as well, I don¡¯t think you¡¯re going toe after the graduation incident. You know, those loose pants on the stage.¡±


    Anne has never seen a man that was so angry, all of his face be as red as the cherrytomato fruits. Hans jumps from his chair and tried to grab rice¡¯s arm, thankfully there¡¯s a capable hand, preventing Hans to get closer to rice. The man is Xavier, along with Vale, behind him.


    ¡°Whoa... What¡¯s the matter with you, jumped into ady.¡±


    ¡°Sir Xavier, I... I¡¯m sorry my hand just slipped.¡± Said Hans, nervously to Xavier.


    Vale scoffed, and his eyes sent a dagger to Hans, ¡°Slipped? More like you were ready to choke the girl?¡±


    ¡°No... Please, I was just...¡±


    ¡°Just go!¡± Warned Xavier.


    Hans, the townie, run as fast as he could away from the table. rice and Anne said their thankful to Xavier and Vale.


    ¡°No worries, we actually spotted Anne from afar, and wanted to say hello to her,¡± Xavier said to rice, while a very bright smile, adorned his face.


    The gasping for air, could be hearding from rice, she noticed, the other two from the famous quartet from every high-born party, are here, with them.


    ¡°Thank you so much, Sirs, we were so grateful for your helped,¡± Said rice to the two of them.


    ¡°You¡¯re wee, miss.¡± This time it was Vale, who was talking to her.


    Anne looked at the two of them, a question thene to her, ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I can see that you¡¯re already friends with these two gentlemen, something that you want to share with me?¡± Said rice to her friend, with a threatening smile on her face.


    ¡°Err... yes, their friend¡¯s, Henry, got into an ident, he¡¯s in the clinic, right now.¡±


    rice is in disbelief, she pulls Anne away from Vale and Xavier, and asked her so many questions.


    ¡°Are you kidding me?! The famous quartet is in our vige, right now?! Why don¡¯t you say anything?!¡±


    ¡°Quartet? Why do you call them a quartet? To my defense, the ident¡¯s happened, yesterday, so...¡±


    ¡°Yesterday? God have mercy! Anne, I must meet with Henry.¡±


    Anne chuckles at her friend¡¯s reaction, ¡°Alright, but, he¡¯s injured, so maybe a short visit.¡±


    Squealing at Anne, rice hugged her friend, ¡°Oh thank you, Anne, now I can brag to those townie nobles!¡± She smiled at her and goes away, ¡°My fianc¨¦s are here, I¡¯ll be inside the entertainment tent if you need me!¡±


    ¡°What?! you¡¯re going to leave me with them?!¡± Shouted Anne, frustrated at rice.


    A voiceing from behind her. ¡°Whoa, she just abandoned you? What a friend.¡±


    Anne turns around, to see Xavier¡¯s face, so close to hers. His warm smile still lingered, while Anne back off, a bit.


    ¡°She... well, her fianc¨¦s were inside the tent, she need to apany them, for a while.¡±


    ¡°I see, well, won¡¯t you join us, then?¡± offered Xavier.


    At this point, she doesn¡¯t have much of a choice, Anne then takes a deep breath, following Xavier to the table, where the aloof Vale was sitting with a ss of drink in his hand. Xavier pulled a chair for her, she is now sitting beside Vale and Xavier, making her more nervous than before.


    ¡°You must be surprised to see us here, right?¡± Asked Xavier.


    Anne took a nce at Vale, he still tried to avoid her.


    ¡°I was, but then after rice told me about your poprity...¡±


    Suddenly, the atmosphere was heavier, and Anne felt a tension on her left and right.


    Vale, unexpectedly turned to face Anne, and asked her, ¡°Wait, what did she tell you about us?¡±


    ¡°Oh, err... something about a quartet?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that...¡± Mumbled Xavier.


    The atmosphere was getting lighter, after she answered rice¡¯s information about them, Anne felt there was something odd about their behavior. Anne looks at her left and right, between Vale and Xavier.


    ¡°What were you doing here?¡± Asked Anne, not in any particr of the two.


    Xavier¡¯s the one who answered her question, ¡°Well, one of the nobles saw us at the market, and then...¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t asking about this gathering.¡± Said Anne, standing up from her chair, she walk and goes to opposite Vale and Xavier, and stared at them, ¡°What I¡¯m asking, is, what in the hell were four famous nobles doing in the middle of nowhere?¡±

 Chapter 9

    Chapter 9: Hello and Goodbye (Part 1)


    Vale and Xavier, looking at Anne, and the tense atmosphere ising back. Both of them weren¡¯t even tried to answer Anne¡¯s question. Instead, they handed Anne a ss of Aggrus, a fermented grape kind fruit, a delicacy drink in this world.


    ¡°Oh, so, we are going to y it like that, huh?! Alright, I¡¯ll y along, for now.¡± Anne said it with a bit of a warning to Xavier and Vale.


    ¡°Look, Anne, it wasn¡¯t like that.¡± Answered Xavier, his eyes shifted to Vale, ¡°Hey, say something, will you!¡±


    Vale let out a sigh and tried to reason with Anne, ¡°We were hunting, already told your parents and I believe you were present at the time?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the reason that you gave to us.¡±


    ¡°Then, what else do you need to hear from the four of us?¡± He drank his Aggrus, and put the empty ss on the table, ¡°Look, we are telling you the truth, and please for the love of God, stop.¡±


    Anne could see there was something different on them, they were nervous. She couldn¡¯t figure out, what exactly make the two of them so nervous over a simple question. She took a deep breath and tried to smile.


    .....


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I may pry into something that wasn¡¯t my problem, my sincere apology to both of you.¡±


    Vale and Xavier stared at Anne in disbelief. Her manner is something that you rarely see in a teenager, especially in a low-born.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Anne, of course, you have the right to ask us all of those questions, we are strangers in your vige after all.¡± Xavier took Anne¡¯s hand and gleefully smiled at her.


    The smile that Xavier gave to Anne, warm her heart immediately, and she reciprocate the kind gesture. Vale tried to lighten up the mood by asking many questions about the area¡¯s local customs. She was happy to answer every question, it will take her mind from her the excessive curiosity that she had.


    ¡°Oh, we also have a festival in four days from now, the Viora vige festival.¡±


    ¡°Awesome, oh I do hope Henry will be sick for more than a week.¡± Said Xavier, yfully.


    Vale and Anne thenughed at him.


    Vale bitterly smiled at Anne, ¡°Sadly we were going away in three days from now.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so soon? Henry¡¯s wound is a bit severe, I don¡¯t think it will be ideal for him to ride a horse.¡± Anne asked Vale, a bit disappointed.


    ¡°Justice was already messaging Henry¡¯s household, the carriage will be here in three days.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see, yes, if it¡¯s inside a carriage, Henry will be able to rest.¡±


    Awkwardly, Anne gulping the aggrus a little bit too much, the two men shouted to warn her, she felt a burn on her throat. Coughed and searched for water, her eyes tearing up, and the burned sensation couldn¡¯t disappear in an instant. Vale goes to her side, his left hand tried to ease her body, while his right hand gave her a ss of water. Anne drink the water in a hurry.


    ¡°For the love of God, are you okay?¡± Asked Vale.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m alright, actually this is the first time I drink aggrus.¡± Answered Anne, with an embarrassingughing from her mouth.


    Xavier tilted his head, ¡°Why? Aggrus is avable everywhere?¡±


    Anne turns at Xavier and smiles at him, ¡°Well, I never knew that wine is not considered a forbidden drink for a teenager, in this world.¡±


    Vale¡¯s eyes go to Anne, immediately, ¡°In this world?¡±


    ¡°Oh... I mean, err... well, I have amnesia when I was a ten-year-old, always thought everything in this world as a new world, for me.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry to hear that, Anne, it must be devastated for your parents.¡± Xavier, with her golden puppy eyes, looks into Anne, feeling pity for her.


    She hides the fact about Martha and Ed as her adopted parents, and just thankfully smiled at Xavier. She can sense how Vale¡¯s instinct already felt that was something odd about her. for Anne, hiding the truth about her arrival into this world, is better for her. But then, in the back of her mind, she felt a force, a powerful force that grabs her into this world.


    The reason for her to be in this new world, Anne needs to figure out, what¡¯s the purpose of her presence, and maybe, an anomaly caused by her presence in this world. For her, anything happened for a reason.


    Before she go home with rice, Vale hold her hand and asked her to have a private conversation, they settled on one of the chairs, below the lush tree on the grasnd. Admiring the beautiful noon sun, with a wispy long golden grass, Vale begins to talk.


    ¡°Look, I owe you an apology.¡±


    Anne tilted her head, looking confused at Vale, ¡°Why do you owe me an apology?¡±


    ¡°Last night... I... I said something inappropriate to a young girl, I was ashamed, that¡¯s why I somehow... well, you know...¡±


    ¡°Avoiding me? Yes, I¡¯ve noticed.¡±


    Vale¡¯s rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassed by his action. Anne knew, perfectly well, about the words that he tantly said to her. She agreed, that the words, were inappropriate for a teenage girl, at least in her old world it was. Anne never knew how old Vale was, but he is definitely older than her in this world.


    ¡°I really am sorry, Anne. Maybe you don¡¯t know the meaning of the words. Hell, you even already forget about it, but I do feel the need to apologize, no matter what.¡±


    Anne chuckles at how valiant Vale sound right now, just like a knight, she took his hand and shakes it several times, ¡°Apology epted!¡±


    They awkwardly stare at each other and burst intoughter. Finally, they could have afortable conversation together. On the way back to the clinic, Anne saw Vale and Xavier, riding close to their carriage. They guarded the carriage all the way back to the clinic. They arrived at the clinic exactly after lunchtime.


    Vale and Xavier excused themselves. They wanted to take some rest and said her thanks, and in a hurry to put on her medical apron, she told Martha and Ed to take some rest. There was no emergency patient, for now, so the only thing that she need to do is to take a look at the overnight patients, including Henry, who seems preupied with a book in his hand.


    He takes a peaked from the side of the book, and smiles at Anne, ¡°Hello miss healer, where are you? I was looking for you this whole morning?¡±


    ¡°Hello, it seems you feel better, that was fast, seems like magic,¡± Anne said to Henry while checking on his condition.


    It was true, she was impressed to see how healthy Henry is, yesterday he was in a critical condition. Although their medicine helps tremendously, for this rapid and fast pace healing, the only answer was magic. They have a simr case, a few years ago, a magic knight was brought after he fought with a Hobboar, the same critical condition, and after three days, the magic knight was ready to go home, and took a rest at his own home.


    Henry put his book in the patient¡¯s drawer beside him, he then pokes at Anne¡¯s arm, ¡°Hey, what are you doing, daydreaming in front of the patient?¡±


    ¡°Oh, my apology, do you need anything else?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I need you.¡± Said Henry, smiling at her.


    Anne rolled her eyes, ¡°Oh please, all of you already teased me so much, I will not be fooled by it, anymore.¡±


    Henry got a chuckle after hearing herin, ¡°Guess, you¡¯re already getting used to it, make me sad though.¡±


    ¡°See, ugh, the four of you are incorrigible.¡± Gruntled Anne, before she excused herself to Henry.


    But then a hand grabbed Anne¡¯s arm, it was Henry, this time, there was no smile on his face, ¡°Actually, I do need to talk to you.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Asked Anne, full of concern.


    What happened to Henry?

 Chapter 10

    Chapter 10: Hello and Goodbye (Part 2)


    ¡°Henry!¡±


    A man¡¯s voice could be heard from the clinic¡¯s door. It was Justice. He came inside and rushed to Henry¡¯s side.


    ¡°Good to see you already better.¡± Said Justice, with a smile on his face.


    Anne sensed there was something wrong with Justice and Henry, although Justice gave him a smile, Henry¡¯s face never changed, and they stare at each other until Anne cleared her throat.


    ¡°Oh, girl, you¡¯re here,¡± Justice said to Anne with an arrogant smirk.


    ¡°Haha... Just pretend you didn¡¯t see me, earlier, my life would be better.¡±


    Rolling her eyes, she excuses herself from the two of them, the two of them thought she disappeared from the clinic, while she was actually on the desk, reading the patient¡¯s record. That¡¯s when a conversation between Justice and Henry, begins.


    .....


    ¡°Are you crazy? What are you going to tell her!?¡± Justice whispered at Henry, and it seems he scolded Henry over something.


    ¡°None of your business!¡±


    ¡°It is my business if you tell her about our intention toe into such a remote vige like this one.¡±


    Anne hear one of them let out a sigh, and said, ¡°We need to tell her. She is a clever girl. Don¡¯t you think she will figure it out, on her own?¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯re a fool! We are going to get out here in three days, no need to involve her with our problem!¡±


    ¡°Who said I¡¯m going to get her involved? The girl was curious. At least I could ease her mind, by giving her a vague answer.¡±


    ¡°Henry... what happened to you? Why do you want Anne to be involved? Why do you want her to know about our witch hunt?¡±


    Anne gasped, her eyes widening, while she navigate herself out of the clinic. Somehow, when Justice said the word, witch, her heart begin to beat faster. She look around and decide to take a break at the house, inside the house, her parents saw her with a pale face.


    ¡°Oh dear child, what happened to you?¡± Asked Martha, her arms already there to support her daughter.


    Ed, check her temperature, and mumbled, ¡°Hmm... you have a slight fever, better to take a rest.¡±


    He carried his daughter to her room, and tuck her in, while Martha gave her medicine with a ss of water. She brushed her daughter¡¯s hair, while warmly smiling at her.


    ¡°You take some rest, alright? We will handle the clinic.¡±


    Staring at her parents, Anne realized how lucky she was, that Martha and Ed found her at the river. Imagining how harsh a world it could be if she had to survive on her own, without guidance from anyone. She owes them tremendously, and she even promised to tell them the truth someday.


    Anne fell asleep after her parents left her, she couldn¡¯t figure out, what was happened to her body, and her reaction to Justice and Henry¡¯s conversation about the witch hunt. The mentioning of the witch hunt, makes her tremble. She decided to take a rest and empty her mind, for now.


    The next day, Anne feel much better than before, her mother brought her porridge for breakfast, and after, she read medical and herbology books to kill time. All day, sleeping in the bed, makes Anne feel sore all over her body. She asked her mother to go to the bathhouse, they have a bathroom. But it doesn¡¯t have a bathtub.


    Her mother gave her permission, but, not before asking her a favor.


    ¡°You want me to what?!¡±


    ¡°Took Henry to the bathhouse, heined about his body odor so much, that it bes such a nuisance for us in the clinic. Your father and I couldn¡¯t take him there, there was an ident at theke.¡±


    ¡°Oh, my God? What happened, mother?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, it was chaos all morning. Thankfully there were no fatalities.¡±


    Anne feels sorry that she took some time alone in her room, she looks at her mother and apologizes to her.


    ¡°If only I was there to help you and father, I¡¯m sorry, mother.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re sick, dearie, not that you don¡¯t want to be in the clinic.¡± Said Martha smiling at her, she then gave Anne, another bag of spare clothing, ¡°Here, give this to Henry, your father and I already have ringing ears because of himining. What a high-maintenance noble.¡±


    Chuckles at her mother¡¯sining about Henry, she took the bag, from her mother, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take him to the bathhouse, where are his friends, anyway?¡±


    ¡°They are at theke, helping the others, your father was there from noon, I hope he ate something.¡±


    ¡°How about after I take my bath, I¡¯ll go there and bring some food. I wanted to help, as well.¡±


    Martha smiled at her daughter, ¡°Of course, dearie, now, go take your bath.¡±


    Anne walks to the clinic and asked Henry to follow her to the bathhouse. He lit up immediately and even fussed about using his boots.


    ¡°No! you need to use the sandal for now, and take those crutches, you need them for a long walk.¡±


    Henry¡¯s let out a sigh, ¡°Listen here, Anne, I got injured on my stomach and chest, not on my legs, I don¡¯t need to wear sandals and used the crutch.¡±


    ¡°Listen here, Henry, the wound is in the abdomen and chest area, yes, but what you don¡¯t know, whenever you took a long walk, the wound gets affected by your movement, sandal, and crutch, helped.¡±


    Scratching his head, Henry feels embarrassed that Anne needs to scold him, ¡°Sorry, I get the crutch and wear sandals.¡±


    She smiled at him, and after ten minutes, they were on the way to the bathhouse. The night is still young; the sky is filled with the stars on the symphony of a mixed reddish and purple night sky. The night bird begins to sing, filling the almost empty street.


    ¡°Guess everyone¡¯s helping at theke.¡± Mumbled Anne.


    ¡°Oh, yes, it was so hectic in the morning. There were so many injured people, thankfully there were no fatal injured.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve heard from my mother, I¡¯ll go there after getting a bath, I need to soak, my body felt sore, all over the ce.¡±


    Henry face shifted, suddenly he was so concerned about Anne, ¡°What happened? Did you fall?¡±


    Anne smiled at him, ¡°No, silly! I wasn¡¯t, to tell you the truth, I don¡¯t even know, why I feel sick all of a sudden.¡±


    ¡°How about now?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, don¡¯t worry... Look there¡¯s the bathhouse, I¡¯ll go to the left, it¡¯s for thedies and yours on the right.¡±


    ¡°Can I go with you?¡± Teased Henry.


    ¡°Only if you want a bunch of aunties chasing you with a bucket of hot water.¡±


    Theyughed together, making people around them stare. Anne smiled and apologize to them.


    Henry saw her, and asked, ¡°What are you apologizing for?¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Asked Anne, turning her attention to Henry.


    ¡°Why do you need to apologize? We weren¡¯t bothering them that much?¡±


    ¡°But... it¡¯s inconvenient...¡±


    Henry took a deep breath and suddenly rustled her hair. She red at him.


    ¡°Hey. What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Rx, you¡¯re going to take a bath, anyway,¡± He winked at her, and walk into his side of the bathhouse, but before he entered, Henry turned around at Anne, ¡°Anne, sometimes, what you need to do is focusing on yourself, not everyone around you.¡±


    He goes inside, leaving Anne, surprised by Henry¡¯s words. She knows every word was the truth, her habitual of bing the NPC, she feel her heartbeat getting faster again, but this time, only a good feeling that came to her. Sometimes what you need is encouragement, and that¡¯s what Anne got from Henry today.


    Smiling at the night sky, Anne walks to the bathhouse. After an hour, they go back to the clinic, and she is ready to go into theke. Sadly, she isn¡¯t prepared for what she is going to see at theke, or more than that, whom she will encounter at theke.

 Chapter 11

    Chapter 11: Hello and Goodbye (Part 3)


    ¡°Mother! I¡¯m home!¡±


    Anne shouted when she entered her house. Her mother, Martha walks to her and flicks her nose.


    ¡°Naughty girl, don¡¯t be so loud, we have patients in our clinic.¡± Said Martha, smiling at her daughter.


    ¡°Hehe... Sorry, mother. Let me put my bag, I¡¯ll go bring Father the food, immediately.¡±


    After she throw her bag into her room, Martha handed her arge bag full of food. Anne looks at therge bag in disbelief.


    ¡°Mother, this is too much, for father alone?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, you silly girl, this is for everyone, who¡¯s helping at theke.¡±


    .....


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Anne embarrassingly smiled at her mother while sticking her tongue out.


    Her mother, giggles at her, and once again flicked her nose, ¡°See, you¡¯re doing it again, that bad habit of yours,¡±


    Brushing her nose, sheughed at her mother and gave her a warm hug. Martha looks at her daughter at the front door, while Anne waved her goodbye. She borrowed her neighbor¡¯s bicycle and ride to theke, they have a bicycle as well, but Ed uses it to go to theke. She could go to theke on foot, but with a tremendous amount of food that she need to carry, Anne prefer a bicycle, after all.


    The new world that she lives in, already engineered some of the modern vehicles besides carriage. Bicycle is a cheaper option for peasants, horse although faster, were expensive to keep. Although, Anne¡¯s parents considered buying a horse and a carriage for such a long time, now. For a middle-ie household like Martha and Ed, keeping one horse and a carriage is reasonable, sadly, they need to build a stable for the horse to live in.


    She was humming for the entire journey to theke, a ce for recreational activity, theke or in Viora vige, known aske crystallium, a beautifulke with lush vegetation and a variety of fish. Anne and her parents love to have a pic there, the ce is popr for family. now she begins to worry, there must be lots of children when something happened at theke.


    She arrived at theke and felt devastated by the view in front of her. theke is almost drained, and there¡¯s only murky water inside it, also, the vegetation around theke was dried up, like someone just torch the whole section of theke.


    ¡°What in the God?¡±


    ¡°Anne!¡±


    Someone called her from behind, she turn around and saw Ed with Vale, both of them were standing beside a dead tree, their clothes were dirty, in her father¡¯s clothes, there was blood. She hurries into her father.


    ¡°Father, what happened to you?!¡± Asked Anne with a concerned look.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, sweety, it wasn¡¯t mine.¡±


    ¡°It was mine.¡± Said, Vale.


    Anne turned her attention to Vale, she finally saw an open wound on his palm. She took a medicine bag from the bicycle as fast as she could, and begin to bandage his wound.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Asked Anne while she treated Vale¡¯s wound.


    ¡°Arge tree fell, I need to do my magic to disperse the tree before it falls into people, but I was a bitte, one of the branches cut my palm,¡± Vale answered while sighing.


    ¡°Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t severe, but it will be hurting like hell, for a while.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Anne, you¡¯re so good, I couldn¡¯t even feel the... Oh wow! That¡¯s hurt like hell!¡±


    Anne smirked at him, ¡°I told you. Now, have you eaten something?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even remember thest time I ate, today.¡±


    Sighed at his pitiful look, she took his hands and have him sit with her father, she goes to the bicycle and opened all of the food boxes. Her father gratefully ate, while Vale is still a bit hesitant.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Come on, eat.¡±


    He looks at the arrays of food, and then looks at Anne, ¡°You... you don¡¯t bring any utensils with you?¡±


    ¡°Utensils? As in fork and spoon? But these are fingers food?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t like to eat with a dirty hand.¡±


    Ed and Anne share nces and begin to chuckle. This time, she could see how different Vale truly is. For a country girl like her, table manner is not very important, apparently, not for Vale. Anne looked around the boxes and saw dozens of spoons and forks, she gave a pair to Vale, who epted them gratefully.


    Ed, patted Anne¡¯s shoulder, and then said, ¡°Anne, could you help Vale? Justice and Xavier are in the inner area of theke, please search for them.¡±


    ¡°Of course, please asked everyone to join you, they must be hungry.¡±


    ¡°I will, but be careful, there was debris everywhere.¡±


    Nodded her head to Ed, she left them, and begin to walk into the inner area of theke. People worked very hard to clean up the area, some even dared to swim in the murky water of theke, saving the fish. One of the rescuers inside theke, was a tall and lean person, helping the vigers carry a humongous fish into a makeshift pond.


    ¡°Xavier!¡± Shouted Anne, to the tall person.


    Xavier looks up at the source of the voice, his eyes lit up when he saw Anne, who waved at him. he excused himself to go to Anne. He was shirtless, Anne feast with her eyes, Xavier, have an ideal body in her mind, tall and with abs and broad shoulders. She even cleared her throat.


    ¡°Anne?¡±


    She throw her mind out of the gutter, and forced a smile on his face, ¡°Ah sorry, Vale is looking for you.¡±


    There are sweats all over Xavier¡¯s body, Anne feels a bit ufortable to see his almost naked body in front of her face. Her eyes begin to shift around. Xavier senses her nervousness, he deliberately closed the gap between them. Anne¡¯s eyes grew wider, and she instinctively retreated. Xavier smirked at her, while his hand took his shirt from one of the branches behind Anne.


    ¡°Oh, your shirt.¡±


    ¡°What? You thought about something else?¡± Tease Xavier at her.


    ¡°Huh! You¡¯re so full of yourself!¡± Said Anne, trying to save a bit of her dignity, her hand then pointed at the outer area of theke, ¡°Vale was there, with my father. You haven¡¯t eaten anything yet? There¡¯s also food.¡±


    ¡°What?! you should tell me about the food, first!¡± He put his shirt in a hurry and run into the outer area, not before he told Anne, that Justice goes inside the forest, inside the innerke area.


    She took a long sigh and begin to walk, into the forest. The devastation to the forest was sadly much more severe than theke. The charred trees and some of the dead animals, make her ufortable. She prayed that she will meet Justice, sooner. Until the sound of footsteps almost made her run away.


    ¡°Who... Who¡¯s there?!¡± Shouted Anne.


    A shadow from one of the dead trees, bing much clearer, Anne screamed as loud as she could. Hoping help wille or even the arrogant Justice, toe and save her.

 Chapter 12

    Chapter 12: Hello and Goodbye (part 4)


    A woman appeared from the shadows, a pale but beautiful woman nheless. Her long ck hair, almost touching the ground, her oval face, red pucker lips, with a pair of mesmerizing rainbow-colored eyes. She smiled at Anne, while her hands embraced a dead tree.


    ¡°My, my... What a pretty girl you are.¡± Said thedy.


    Nervously, Anne smiled at thedy, ¡°Thank you... err... who are you? Do you need help?¡±


    ¡°Help? Why? Do you think I need help?¡±


    Thedy glided from one tree to another. She was dancing around Anne, while her eyes were solely focused on Anne.


    ¡°Uhm... I... I need to go now, take care...¡±


    ¡°Wait, why in a hurry?¡±


    .....


    ¡°Uhm... My friend... I need to find him.¡±


    ¡°Your friend?¡± asked thedy, while giggling, ¡°Is he handsome? Your friend?¡±


    ¡°Uhm... Probably.¡±


    Thedy looks at her in an instant, ¡°Probably?! Is he not handsome enough for you?!¡±


    ¡°What? what kind of question... Lookdy, I really need to go!¡±


    This time, Anne had enough of thedy¡¯s antic, she strode along, trying to ignore thedy. But somehow, whenever she tried to walk far away from thedy, the closer thedy is. the eerie feelings suddenly engulfed the surrounding area. She knew something wasn¡¯t right about her. a ghost? a ghoul? She knows in this new world, they have a monster called the apparition, an entity that came from the lost soul of a dead person.


    ¡°Where are you going, pretty girl?¡±


    ¡°Nowhere... please... my... my friend, he will be worried.¡±


    Her heartbeat is getting faster, she bites her lips and begins to tremble. Anne was terrified, thedy with long ck hair, keep staring at her, while she pace herself, beside Anne.


    ¡°Where are going, pretty girl?¡±


    ¡°I have told you! To meet my friend!¡± Shouted Anne at thedy.


    Anne was scared, but she was already so annoyed by her presence, ghost or not. Strangely, thedy smirked at her, and her face distorted into a very menacing smile. Anne sweats all over the ce, she fears for her life, and when she wanted to scream, there¡¯s no sounding from her mouth. Her hands desperately tried to rub her throat, something prevented her from screaming.


    ¡°Oh wow... It seems I have got a good choice this time.¡± Said thedy to Anne, she walks in front of Anne, her hands caressing her hair. ¡°Oh, a purple hair? That¡¯s new. But then, who cares, as long as you do your purpose.¡±


    So many questions came into Anne, about the crazydy, about the purpose. Who is she? She wanted to ask, but her voice got blocked by something invisible. Her tears came running down, while her eyes locked onto thedy¡¯s eyes. She felt her consciousness slipping in when a man¡¯s voice could be heard from a distance.


    ¡°Anne!!¡±


    Both Anne and thedy turn around, and there he was, Justice, holding a sword in his hand. He screamed and charged at thedy, and within a second, thedy vanishes into a thin air. Anne was free. She coughed uncontrobly and dropped to the ground. Justice holds her in his arms while chanting a word to make the sword disappear.


    ¡°Hey, are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes... Yes... Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Come, let¡¯s get you into safety.¡±


    Justice carried her in his arms, easily, she never knew that behind his lean body, there was a power.


    ¡°Thank you for saving my life.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee, save your breath. You¡¯re so pale right now, you could faint in a second.¡± Said Justice, softly at her.


    ¡°Oh, you could be a gentleman, for once.¡± Chuckled Anne.


    ¡°I said, save your breath.¡± Grunted Justice.


    ¡°Hey, do you know that scarydy? Was she a ghost? Or, an apparition?¡±


    ¡°Psst... conserve your strength, get some rest, no need to think about her, it was over now.¡±


    There are so many questions in Anne¡¯s head, and it seems Justice knew the answer. She gives up, for now, her body has already lost all of its strength. They reached the inner area of theke in no time, where her father already waiting for her. All of them go back to the clinic, where Anne is resting for two days straight. When she opens her eyes, Martha is beside her.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re finally awake, thank God!¡±


    Martha was crying. Her eyes were swollen and there was a dark circle below her eyes. It seems she has gotten no sleep.


    ¡°Mother? What happened?¡± Asked Anne, while trying to get up from her bed.


    ¡°No, no, rest for a while, you are still weak.¡±


    Anne gives in to her mother¡¯s request, but still questions her, ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°You pass out at theke while searching for justice. Good thing he found you in time.¡±


    She remembers the scarydy once again, her eyes filled with terror, whenever she remembers her beautiful yet terrifying face.


    ¡°Do Justice say something?¡±


    ¡°No, dearie, the only thing he said was that he found you on the ground.¡±


    Justice covers up their meeting with the mysteriousdy. Anne doesn¡¯t know the reason behind it, but she for sure will demand an answer from him.


    ¡°How long was I unconscious?¡±


    ¡°Two days, we never knew the reason, not a concussion, and you don¡¯t even have any fever?¡±


    ¡°Two days?! Dear God! Did you check my pulse as well? How about any bruises?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we have checked. Everything is normal.¡±


    She taps her fingers while thinking hard. Anne needs to know what kind of illness that she got from the mysteriousdy.


    ¡°Did she poison me?¡± Mumbled Anne.


    ¡°Who?¡± Asked Martha.


    Anne faking a smile at her mother, ¡°Oh, nothing, mother, I guess, I was just exhausted. I need to speak with Justice. Could you perhaps call him, for me?¡±


    ¡°Dearie, they have already gone.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, gone?¡±


    ¡°This morning, a carriage came, for Henry. All of them have already left our vige.¡±


    They have gone back and said no word of goodbye to Anne, she feels hurt. Knowing their encounter was such a brief one, but at least for her, it was a meaningful encounter. She almost cried in front of her mother, until her mother gave her a sealed envelope.


    ¡°Sir Justice asked me to give this to you.¡±


    Anne took the sealed envelope from her mother, she brushed the golden seal with her hand, such a beautiful seal. It was a crest of nobles, though she doesn¡¯t know from which noble the crest belongs. She broke the sealed, inside was a silver pass, with her name on it.


    ¡°Oh, Anne, this is a silver pass, especially for you!¡± Martha squealed when she recognize the pass. ¡°You know what is this, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it means I can now enter the civil exams to be a certified healer.¡± Answered Anne with a smile on her face.

 Chapter 13

    Chapter 13: A Dangerous Journey (Part 1)


    Edward the healer is in the middle of arranging the equipment and medicine in the cab. He feels so relieved to see his daughter already in a good health, not only that she is healthy, a silver pass has been given to her.


    There are three kinds of passes to be a civil servant, the first one, is the golden pass, which has been given to nobles and royalty, and there¡¯s a bronze pass, for civilians or peasants. The silver pass is a bit different than the bronze pass, the silver pass is bestowed by high-ranked nobles or royalty to a civilian with a great aplishment to the kingdom.


    There are so many benefits to a golden and silver pass, as for Ed, for her daughter who can¡¯t even qualify to get a bronze pass, having a silver pass is a blessing for them.


    ¡°Father, would you like some help?¡±


    He turn his head, to see Anne peeking from the window, it reminds him of when she was just a little girl, he smile and nodded. Anne rushed inside the clinic, she took some of the wooden boxes in the upper cab.


    ¡°Careful, sweety.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m alright, father, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    .....


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not about you, it was precious smander tears and lelefish mucus, rare ingredients, hard to get.¡±


    She looks in disbelief at her father, while Ed smiles at her, ¡°Ugh you¡¯re teasing me, right?¡±


    ¡°Uhm... half joking, half serious, just be careful, okay?¡±


    ¡°I will don¡¯t worry.¡±


    They worked together, arranging the medicine, and even treated an emergency injury that came into the clinic. The father and daughter duo. Anne looks up to her parent so much, for thest seven years, she learn everything from them, not just the knowledge of the medical ability in this new world, but also, how to care about patients¡¯ welfare.


    In the new world, there are no nurses, there is only a healer, who has to do all the work by themselves. Lack of references is the main problem also, Anne knew, as the uncertified healer, her parents don¡¯t have an array of books about medicine and herbology. The only way for her to learn more is to be a civil servant and get a license as a healer.


    The sun already set, and she could hear all of the people outside getting ready for the solstice moon festival, tomorrow. The solstice moon festival is when the moon came out for one day and never lets the sun rises. The festival then being held to appease the Moon God, to let the Sun God, appear once more.


    ¡°Come on, you two, let us eat dinner and then we go outside to help.¡± Said her mother.


    ¡°Good idea, I was so hungry, but our daughter doesn¡¯t even let me take a short break.¡±


    Anne gasped and look at her father, ¡°I did not, you even go out, buying a charred panfish!¡±


    ¡°Hey, I bought one for you, and told you not to tell your mother.¡±


    ¡°Toote, I¡¯m already aware, no rice for the two of you, tonight.¡± Giggled Martha to Anne and Ed.


    The three of them have a warm and hearty dinner, full ofughter. Afterward, Anne and her mother, are busy helping with the decoration for the big table while Ed, staying at the clinic, in case of an emergency. One of the vige aunties pokes at Anne¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Anne, I¡¯ve heard from your mother, you got a pass for the civil exam, isn¡¯t right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, aunty, I¡¯ll be leaving for the kingdom¡¯s capital, tomorrow after the festivities.¡±


    ¡°Oh, congrattion, Anne, it wasn¡¯t easy to obtain the pass, let alone the silver pass.¡± Said the aunty to Anne.


    The other vigers heard their conversation and the ce abrupted with excitement, everyone is so happy for Martha and Ed, the vigers know, how hard Martha and Ed worked for them all of these years. They always took pity on them, two kind people, who never get a blessing from the birth Goddess. Until Anne came into their lives, a ten-year-old orphan, that sadly lost her memory.


    Martha and Ed, made up some stories for the vigers, they don¡¯t want the little River Anne to be taken away, just because she doesn¡¯t want to reveal her identity to everyone. They maintained the amnesia story for the sake of Anne.


    ¡°It seems, tomorrow, we have another thing to celebrate!¡± Said one of the vigers.


    ¡°I¡¯ll bake you the tastiest cakes, so you will miss us here.¡± Said the vige baker.


    The craftsman of the vige then holds Anne¡¯s arm. ¡°Come to my shop, tomorrow morning, I have a perfect travel bag, for you.¡±


    Tears came running down Anne¡¯s eyes, she loves everyone in Viora vige, they are the nicest and the most caringmunity, evenpared to Anne¡¯s old world. The vige elder wipes her tears and begins to sing for her, the others followed her, and together they sing about the story of their vige, while they work together to adorn the vige center with flowers andnterns.


    The next morning, the moon stayed, the sign of the moon solstice, Anne goes to the bathroom in a hurry, while Martha instructed her to wear the new dress that she prepared. Every moon solstice, they need to wear new clothes, for the moon soul to be at ease.


    ¡°Remind me again, why do we need to wear a new dress at moon soultice?¡± Asked Anne at her mother, she felt a tad ufortable with the new cotton on her new dress.


    ¡°The moon solstice is when the Moon God, wanted to be the superior God because people close their eyes whenever the Moon God appears, the Moon God makes a promise to prevent the Sun God rises. That way, people need to be in their slumber for eternity.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the legend, but, the new dress?¡±


    ¡°Well, we need to appease the Moon God by looking at our best, right?¡±


    ¡°Right, shall we go, now?¡±


    Martha put her hands on her hips, ¡°Did you forget about something?¡±


    ¡°Uhm... what?¡±


    ¡°Janice, is waiting for you to pick up the travel bag, and also do not forget about the cake from the bakery, you need to go there, helping.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, I won¡¯t forget.¡±


    Anne smiling at her mother and in a hurry to go to the market, she waves at her mother, who looks at her from the front door. She tried to hide her sadness, at dusk, Anne will be leaving for the capital, and she will never know when her daughter wille back to the vige.


    Unbeknown to her, there¡¯s more danger lurking in a shadow, waiting for Anne.

 Chapter 14

    Chapter 14: A Dangerous Journey (Part 2)


    Everyone was still in the festive mood, most of the men stayed up until dusk settled in, and they finally see the sun rise again. Ed and Martha are sitting at their dining table, with a cup of Rose tea in their hands, waiting for their daughter. Anne is getting ready to leave Viora vige, a carriage will take them as far as the next town, and from there, she needs to ride another carriage. The journey will be exhausting, but Anne feels so excited.


    She packed everything that she need just in one travel bag, and when she goes outside her room, her parents already waiting for her, with a forlorn expression on their faces.


    ¡°Oh... please, could you send me with a much more gleeful expression?¡±


    ¡°Oh, just let us be sad, for once, dearie, you¡¯re going away, and we never know when you will be visiting us.¡± Said Martha, sniffling and wiping her tears with a handkerchief.


    Anne smiled at her mother, she wipe her tears and embrace her, ¡°Oh, mother, I¡¯ll be back, after all, Viora vige is my home, now. You and father, both of you are my home, now.¡±


    Both Ed and Martha shed their tears and together they gave a warm embrace to their daughter. For seven years, they have raised her, and also loved her, like a parent to their children. They apany her to the carriage station, when her carriage arrived, Martha handed Anne a pouch with flowers embroidered.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    .....


    ¡°It¡¯s for... protection, do not open it, until you have arrived at your dorm, alright?¡±


    Anne tried to feel the pouch, but just nodded to her mother, she put the pouch in her pocket and go inside the carriage. Ed and Martha see her from the road until the carriage that brought Anne, was gone from their view. Both of them cried, but prayed for the best results, for their daughter, the one that gives color to their life.


    Anne sniffled inside the carriage, there was only her and the old man, who was sleepingfortably on the seat. This is her first trip in this new world, for seven years, the only ces that she had gone to, were vacationing ces, near her vige, or gathering herbs in the valley and the forest. She feels scared but excited at the same time.


    The trip to the next stop is thirty hours, which means they will be stopping at an inn to get a rest. Anne is so d when she knows that the time stayed the same as in the old world. The only differences are some of the irregrities like the moon solstice. Hours passed by, and it was almost midnight when the carriage finally reached the inn. The ce is small but clean, the driver gave her the key to the room.


    ¡°When are we going, tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°At eight o¡¯clock, miss, please do not bete, breakfast will be served from six o¡¯clock.¡± Said the carriage driver, politely at her.


    Anne said her thanks to the driver and go inside her room. she jumped directly to her bed for tonight, and regret her decision, the bed is a bit hard. But still, better than a hard rock seater at the carriage. After she refreshes herself, she begins to apply the mentolitus cream to her aching hips. The cream that she mixed herself, worked so much for her aging parents. Now, it¡¯s time to take a rest, she drops into the bed and lets out a sigh.


    ¡°Good night, father, mother.¡± Said Anne, while her eyes were getting heavier.


    At seven o¡¯clock in the morning, she was already on the benches of the dining table at the inn, eating her breakfast, not long after, someone took a seat in front of her. it was the old man, the other passenger in the carriage.


    ¡°Good morning, young miss.¡± The old man kindly greeted her.


    ¡°Good morning, sir.¡± Said Anne, smiling.


    ¡°What a lovely morning, so, are you going to the Ventopi town?¡±


    ¡°Oh no, actually I¡¯m going to Valorian, Ventopi is just for transit.¡±


    The old man unexpectedlyughed, ¡°You¡¯re kidding, what are the chances, I¡¯m going to the capital as well.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so, we are going to ride the same carriage, again.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not, my grandson already sending me his carriage.¡±


    Anne is a bit surprised, the old man is high-born, but looking through at his outfit, it¡¯s just a simple everyday suit for amoner. Anne thinks, there are two scenarios, he is a noble or a wealthy merchant.


    ¡°Your grandson loves you so much, then.¡±


    ¡°Huh... That unfilial grandson! Listen here young miss, even though he is a knight captain already, all he does is y with his friends, hunt, or do more training. He doesn¡¯t even have time for his family.¡±


    The old man snorted and look displeased, but the only thing that she could see is how the old man¡¯s eyes glinted with excitement when he talks about his grandson. He loves his grandson, so much.


    After breakfast, the two of them took their bag and sit inside the carriage, once more. This time, Anne finally has a friend to talk to. She asked the old man¡¯s name, while they shared some cookies.


    ¡°Horden, my dear, my name is Horden. What about yours?¡±


    ¡°Anne, my name is Anne, Nice to meet you, Sir Horden.¡± Said Anne to Horden.


    ¡°Nice to meet you too, Miss Anne. So what brings you to our kingdom capital?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take an exam to be a civil servant,¡± Anne answered Horden a little bit enthusiastic that she intended to.


    ¡°Oh, wow, you must be so eager to be one. ¡± Laughed Horden, looking at her over-the-top reaction.


    Afterward, the journey became harder because of the terrain, the hill was steep and the dark looming sky are waiting for them.


    ¡°It¡¯s a dangerous road, up ahead, Anne, stay put on your seat, alright?¡±


    Anne nodded her head, while Horden took something from his pocket, it was a pin with a de engraved on it. The carriage suddenly stopped, Horden put his finger on his mouth, preventing Anne to scream.


    ¡°Look, I¡¯m going to check on our driver, you stay inside, alright?¡± Whispered Horden to her.


    ¡°But, Sir, are you going to be alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes, don¡¯t worry about me, this is a dark mischievous road, there are so many vicious monsters around.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay put, don¡¯t worry about me.¡±


    Horden then carefully open the carriage door, he sneaked to the front of the carriage, hoping to see their driver, safe and sound. He curses when all he can see is a pool of red blood on the driver¡¯s seat, with whimpering horses. Something already took the driver, possibly feasting on his body.

 Chapter 15

    Chapter 15: Familiar of Mine (part 1)


    ¡°D*mn it! I should have known!¡±


    Cursed Horden, he untied the restless horses and tried to calm their nerves. He looked around to find a ce to hide them. Horden settled the horses behind the bushes while chanting a protection spell around the area.


    ¡°Horden?¡± Said Anne from behind him.


    The old man turns his head immediately. ¡°Anne, what are you doing? Go back inside!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t, there was... something was wiggling my feet.¡±


    ¡°What?! don¡¯t tell me you run?¡±


    ¡°No, of course not, I was screaming just a bit, and then crawling as fast as I could to find you!¡±


    .....


    He looks at her terrified face and understands the terror that she had been through. His hand goes to her shoulder, and a smile adorned Horden¡¯s face.


    ¡°You did an excellent job,ing here, without making any noises.¡±


    ¡°Uhm... yes, so what can I do?¡± Asked Anne towards Horden.


    ¡°How about staying here with the horses, I cast a protection spell, so you will be safe.¡±


    ¡°Alright, but what about you?¡±


    ¡°I need to find whatever monster that... uhm... took our carriage driver.¡±


    Anne¡¯s eyes get wide, ¡°Oh my God, the driver...¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s gone. There¡¯s nothing we can do about him. Now, remember to stay inside, alright?¡±


    ¡°Horden, please be careful.¡±


    He smiled at her, trying to convince her that everything is going to be alright, although, he wasn¡¯t sure about it. Horden put the de pin on his palm, and in an instance, a beautiful crystal de appeared. Horden holds the de, with his eyes looking around the ce.


    ¡°If only I wasn¡¯t giving my beautiful sword to that unfilial grandson of mine.¡± Grunted Horden.


    After looking around for a while, finally he saw a trail of blood, fresh blood. He followed the trail until he found a huge cave. A sound of tearing flesh, and broken bone, can be heard from inside the cave. Horden prayed that the driver is already dead, and nobody could withstand the torture from a monster.


    As a formermander of the magic knight, Horden knows how deathly the monster thates into this mischievous dark road, they have been called such, from the moment the dark road begins to invade every path in the kingdom. At first, it was just small darkness that loom, but then it bes bigger, and it gets worse, monsters crawling out from the dark, invading people all around.


    ¡°Panthera, are you here?¡±


    A pair of eyes,e from the inside of Horden¡¯s shadow.


    ¡®I¡¯m here, what do you need?¡¯


    ¡°Go check out, what kind of feral that we are going to fight, here.¡±


    ¡®On it,mander.¡¯ Said the pair of eyes, that disappeared on an instance.


    ¡°You should stop calling me that.¡± Gruntled Horden.


    In a mere second, the pair of eyes now be a silhouette of a big red fur panther that looks directly at Horden, and said, ¡®It was a demon cat, the victim already gone, down to her stomach, although she kept big pieces of his body on the corner.¡¯


    ¡°She kept some of the meat?¡±


    ¡®Yes, and she ising into us, right now!¡¯


    Horden turns around to see a ck fur with red eyes, a colossal cat shape creature, looking and growling at him. He run as fast as he could, with Panthera jumping back into his shadow.


    ¡°Really? You¡¯re going to hide? Some familiar are you!¡±


    ¡®No, you need to give me an order, so I canunch at her, you see her size? She is a demon cat!¡¯


    He could feel the breath of the monster, closer to his nape, when he sees an opening, he jump and scream as loud as he could.


    ¡°Now, Panthera, now!¡±


    The red panther lunges herself to the demon cat, while Horden, stabs the demon cat from below. Horden struggled, all he got was a de, his long sword, already been given to his grandson, and now, the de couldn¡¯t prate well to the skin of a demon cat. All he could do is to injure the feral monster and try another way to defeat the demon cat.


    The demon cat almost lost consciousness, Horden and Panthera, tried to go away as fast as they could, but it was toote to go away, the demon cat throw Panthera to the ground, and with her massive paw, she locked Horden as her next target. Thankfully, before the demon cat slice into Horden¡¯s body, ck dust is thrown into the eyes of the demon cat.


    ¡°What the?¡±


    Horden saw Anne, frantically throwing the ck dust into the demon cat.


    ¡°Anne! Anne! What are you doing!¡± Horden shouted at Anne, trying to calm her down.


    She turns around to see Horden, ¡°Oh, thank God, you¡¯re alive, I... I¡¯ve heard the screaming and the...¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, go away from the feral, right now!¡±


    He pulls Anne away, right before the demon cat begins to stand, but strangely, it just fell to the ground, while her paws scratched around her face.


    ¡°Nettleroot ashes, it stings and itchy, but, good for a cut wound if you mix it with water.¡± Said Anne, smiling.


    ¡°Bloody hell, girl, you¡¯re genius, now stay back, let me end her suffering,¡± Said Horden, he called into his familiar, ¡°Panthera, lock into her neck!¡±


    Horden¡¯s familiar jumped into the demon cat, and bite into the back of her neck when she got distracted, Horden then stabs into her neck, and then cast a wind spell, making the wound getrger, tearing the demon cat¡¯s neck. It dies not long after.


    ¡°Poor creature.¡± Muttered Anne.


    He couldn¡¯t say anything to her, Anne doesn¡¯t know what a feral monster could do, if they let loose on the resident area. For Anne, it is the loss of an amazing creature, for Horden, it is the them or us, situation. He took a nce into a small shadow beside Anne, Horden is ready to attack the creature, but then, Panthera stops him.


    ¡®Horden, don¡¯t!¡¯


    The small shadow appeared in the light, it was a small cat, a kitten, with fluffy white fur, and red eyes.


    ¡°Oh my God, the meat, she kept the meat for this, her kitten.¡±


    ¡®He is a hybrid, I can sense it, a powerful one, nheless.¡¯ Said Panthera.


    ¡°What should we do?¡± Asked Horden.


    What appeared in front of them is like a magical thing, the demon kitten, meowing in front of Anne, she turn to the demon kitten, and kept it in her arms, both of them glowing into a harmonized rainbow light. It was an imprint.


    Panthera¡¯s turn to Horden, ¡®I guess, we don¡¯t have to do anything.¡¯ She jumps back to Horden¡¯s shadow.


    ¡°Yes, the demon kitten has chosen his master.¡± Said Horden, looking at the astonishing scene in front of him.

 Chapter 16

    Chapter 16: Familiar of Mine (Part 2)


    Anne is staring at the kitten, who¡¯s busy rubbing his white and fluffy fur to her feet. She believed this was the thing that kept touching her feet on the carriage. She lowers her body and rubs the demon kitten¡¯s neck.


    ¡°So, it was you? You tried to get my attention.¡± Said Anne to the demon kitten.


    The kitten gives her a soft meow and begins licking her nose. Anne got tickled, while Horden look at the scene from beside her.


    ¡°Kiddo, you need to help me bury the mother of your kitten.¡±


    Anne turns her head to Horden. ¡°You call me kiddo? Hmm... I like it. So, what can I do?¡±


    ¡°Do you have anything that could dissolve a body, you know, like a strong liquid?¡±


    Horrified by Horden¡¯s question, Anne even tried to close the demon kitten¡¯s ears. ¡°What? that is horrible! You know he can hear us!¡±


    .....


    Horden rolled his eyes. ¡°He is a kitten. He couldn¡¯t even speak ournguage at his age right now. So, did you have the liquid or not?¡±


    ¡°I have, but in tiny doses, even though I have it, I will not use it on her.¡±


    ¡°Kiddo, the demon cat killed the driver.¡±


    ¡°I know... but at least we can do something, rather than just let her decay.¡±


    Horden let out a sigh, and smile at Anne, ¡°You¡¯re right, then how about this? We could dig the ground near the body, and together we can roll her to the hole.¡±


    Before he digs the ground, Anne was still looking around the bushes and examining the surrounding area.


    ¡°Anne, need help, here.¡±


    ¡°Wait, Sir, stop, you don¡¯t need to dig the ground!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Anne then pull his hand and took him to the bushes behind the demon cat¡¯s dead body. She pointed to the vegetation that spread all over the bushes. The leaves have the distinctive color of red with green speckles.


    ¡°The Redonian nts, it¡¯s a type of nt that spread around. This one could spread into anything as colossal as the demon cat within forty-eight hours.¡±


    ¡°So... you want the nt to spread all over the demon cat¡¯s dead body? Theposing dead body as big as this will take weeks to dissolve, the other monsters will smell the odor,¡± Horden looks distressed, while he looks at the redonian nt, ¡°No, it will be more dangerous to take this road.¡±


    ¡°Well, it will be fine. Redonian nt is a nt that we used to eliminate a dead tissue on a major wound. The nt is carrion, their main diet is a carcass.¡± Said Anne, while grinning ear to ear.


    ¡°Wow! You learn something new every day.¡±


    ¡°Help me put some vines into the demon cat, and let nature take its course.¡±


    They work hard to put the redonian on top of the demon cat¡¯s dead body. Afterward, Panthera came back with a set of soldiers, ready to escort Horden and Anne to the Ventopi town.


    ¡°You could ride a horse, kiddo?¡± Asked Horden to Anne.


    ¡°Oh yes, there was a farm near my house. The neighbor let me ride their horse, sometimes.¡±


    ¡°Good, you could ride one of the carriage horses. These two soldiers will escort you to Ventopi town.¡±


    Anne look surprised at him. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re not going with me?¡±


    ¡°I need to stay, need to report to the captain. Besides, you don¡¯t want them to destroy the grave of your kitten¡¯s mother.¡±


    Horden could see a sad expression on her face. He rustled Anne¡¯s hair and smile at her. ¡°This isn¡¯t a goodbye forever, kiddo. You will see me in the capital.¡±


    ¡°Promise?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Horden take one of Anne¡¯s hands and handed her the pin with a miniature crystal de, Horden¡¯s weapon, ¡°I want to give you this. You¡¯ve earned it, for your bravery today.¡±


    She caressed the pin with her finger. ¡°So beautiful, I can¡¯t take this. It¡¯s your precious weapon.¡±


    ¡°I have so many weapons. Besides, you can use this crystal de as protection next time.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, I will treasure it.¡± Anne smiled at Horden, while the old man gave her a warm embrace.


    She took off with the demon kitten sleeping inside a basket, with two soldiers beside her. She continued the journey to Ventopi town to take another carriage to the capital.


    Arriving safely at the Ventopi town, the soldiers suggest she take a rest. Dawn wille soon, the moon already peeks beyond the sky. She agreed to take a rest in one of the inns.


    ¡°Sir Horden told us you¡¯re the civilian who is going to take the civil exams, right?¡± One soldier asked Anne before he handed her belongings.


    ¡°Err... yes, the exams are in three weeks, but I need to settle fast at my dorm.¡±


    ¡°Dorm? Oh wow, you got a silver pass?!¡±


    Anne smiling awkwardly at the soldier, ¡°Yes... uhm... I do.¡±


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you say so? The silver pass recipient have their privilege, including a carriage ride and also a free pass to all the inn.¡±


    Gasped at the soldier, Anne screamed as her reply, ¡°Wait, what?! I can do that?!¡±


    ¡°Yes, let me take you to the inn, and then we are going to arrange your transportation for tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much, officers, but it might be a hassle for you two.¡±


    ¡°No, it will be my honor, miss. Retiredmander Horden is our hero, and he told us directly to take excellent care of you.¡±


    Another information for Anne, she never realized that Horden was a retiredmander of the Valorian soldier. She knew he was a gentleman, but never thought that he was a leader of a massive army.


    The soldiers took Anne to one of the most luxurious inns that she has ever seen. She was so grateful to the kind soldiers, she even gave them the anti-inmmatory cream for any slight wound. Anne wave them goodbye, while the two of them ride back to their post. She got a good night¡¯s sleep that night, while the kitten purring on her chest.


    The next day, her personal carriage has arrived to take her to the kingdom¡¯s capital. Another two-day trip, with a hybrid demon kitten beside her, makes the journey less tiring than it should be. Thankfully, this time, there is no mischievous dark road and fewer hurdles than before. Anne arrived at the capital, a bit tired, but safe and sound. She said her thanks to her carriage driver, and walk inside the capital.


    Looking around the marketce, a shopping district, and far inside, she finally sees the pce where the empress and her confidants lived. She took a long paused when the pce view fully in front of her, her mind got back at seven years ago. A forty-year-old woman took a fairytale book from the library with a picture of a pce. The pce that look exactly the same as the Valorian kingdom pce.

 Chapter 17

    Chapter 17: The Storybook Mystery


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible!¡± Mumbled Anne.


    What¡¯s in front of her is the beautiful pce of the Valorian kingdom. The picture that she saw seven years ago, on the front cover of a mysterious fairytale book. She was confused. The only thought on her mind was, was it real? The new world. Was it just her illusion?


    ¡°What is happening?¡± Anne asked herself. Her mind just went numb.


    ¡°Miss! What are you doing, standing in the middle of the road?!¡±


    Anne jumped behind when she nces at the man who scolded her earlier.


    ¡°I am sorry, sir.¡± Said Anne, while smiling awkwardly.


    ¡°Hmph... You seem not from the capital. Where are you going, anyway?¡±


    .....


    ¡°Oh.¡± Said Anne, while in a hurry, searching for her documents in her travel bag, ¡°I need... to go... to... Oh, Icarus Dorm!¡±


    Suddenly, the man¡¯s face lit up. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re the people that will take the civil exam, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir, I will stay in the Icarus Dorm for the duration of the civil exam.¡±


    ¡°Oh, good for you, miss, look, there¡¯s a carriage central station there, asked the driver that you need to go to the tenth street. There¡¯s the location of the Icarus Dorm.¡±


    ¡°Uhm... could I just walk from here?¡±


    The man scratched his head, ¡°Miss, this is the O street, the alphabet¡¯s street. It will take hours to walk to your dorm.¡±


    Anne nervouslyughed at him. She knew that the capital is a vast city, but never imagined it will be this colossal. She finally give up and took the man¡¯s suggestion. One hourter, the Icarus Dorm is in front of her. Anne takes a deep breath and step inside the dorm. An elderly man greets her in the front lobby.


    ¡°Hello miss, may I help you with something?¡±


    ¡°Uhm... Yes, sir, my name is River Anne. I¡¯m one of the civilians that got the silver pass, and will live here for the civil exam...¡±


    ¡°Oh my God, one of the silver pass recipients! Wee, but I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t have a room ready for you.¡±


    Dropping her bag to the floor, she looks in disbelief at the inn patron. ¡°What? you¡¯re kidding me?!¡±


    ¡°I need another document from you, a registration document from the administration office. After you give me the document, I will set up the room for you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you should just say that in the first ce, make me a bit scared.¡±


    The man chuckled at Anne while giving her the direction to the administration office, which is located on Q street. She asked permission to entrust her belongings to the inn patron, however, the demon kitten, refuse to leave her side. The demon kitten settles in nicely on her shoulder. Anne was just thankful that she wears her high cor dress for today. She doesn¡¯t know if the demon cat hybrid has some kind of poison on its w.


    Anne, once again walked into the carriage central station, she need to wait for half an hour for the carriage that was on route to Q street. Her mind is still full of the revtion of the new world. She is inside the book. That¡¯s the only thing that she concludes about for now. In her head she knew, there was a purpose for her to be here, still a blurred reason, but there¡¯s definitely something.


    ¡°Q Street! Q Street!¡±


    The conductor of the carriage shouted at everyone inside. She jumped from her seat and ran towards the pavement. Her feet trip on one of the bricks, and she almost falls, thankfully a sturdy pair of arms hold into her body. She looks up to see Henry smiling at her.


    ¡°Anne, are you okay?¡±


    ¡°He... Henry?!¡±


    ¡°The one and the only.¡± Said Henry, while helping her to one bench on Q street.


    ¡°Oh, I was so d to see you are already in full health.¡±


    ¡°Not yet. I don¡¯t want topromise the stitches, but, yeah, d that I am not confined on my bed anymore.¡±


    ¡°Good, then I can do this.¡± Said Anne.


    She flicks Henry¡¯s nose, making the blue eyes gentleman scream.


    ¡°Ouch! What is that for?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still angry that all of you have gone away without even saying anything to me.¡±


    Henry¡¯s face is a bit odd. He then asked Anne another question, ¡°What do you mean that we never said goodbye to you?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°Of course not!¡± Said Henry, with a slightly angry intonation.


    ¡°Okay, calm down. I believe you.¡±


    ¡°He just said that you¡¯re going away and all of them already wrote a letter of goodbye to you.¡±


    She is already imagined, as the one who lied to Henry, but then, Justice also has a good reason to cover my injured from Henry. He was a patient, the only thing he needs is to recuperate. Having him worried about her will affect his health.


    ¡°Well, at least I¡¯m here now, ready to take the civil exams.¡± Said Anne, grinning at Henry.


    ¡°and I think I knew why you¡¯re in Q street right now. You need the registration document, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I couldn¡¯t enter my dorm without the registration document.¡±


    Henry took Anne¡¯s hand and brought her to the administration office. One employee greeted the pair.


    ¡°Oh, captain Henry, it¡¯s so nice to see you, again.¡±


    Her mouth gaped open, while her eyes stared directly at Henry. Anne finally saw the suit that Henry wears, a soldier¡¯s uniform. She was suspecting it, but she never suspected that Henry was already a knight captain.


    ¡°Moses, my friend here needs her registration document. Could you give it to her right away?¡±


    Moses looks at Anne and said, ¡°I need your pass and your full name.¡±


    ¡°It is Anne, River Anne.¡± Said Anne, while handing the employee her silver pass.


    Moses was so excited to see her silver pass. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re the River Anne, thete entry for the civil exam. What a lucky girl, did you know that...¡±


    ¡°Wait, Moses, we are kind of in a hurry.¡± Said Henry, Interrupted Moses¡¯ excitement with a pat on his back.


    ¡°Oh, yes, yes... So sorry, let me bring your necessary documents, and then you can go back to your dorm immediately.¡±


    Moses walks away as soon as possible, and within a minute, he is already back with a signed registration document for Anne. Anne gratefully take the document, and together with Henry, they went back to the carriage central station.


    ¡°You could go back on your own, from here, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and besides, I need to learn it. Thank you, Henry.¡±


    ¡°No problem, and we¡¯ll talk soon, alright?¡±


    Anne nodded her head and then parted ways at the central carriage station. She goes back to her dorm, while Henry rides his horse into the O street and enters the pce. He took a step at the magnificent entryway and goes upstairs to the third floor, where there is a private study room.


    The butler announced henry¡¯s arrival to the crown prince inside the study. Henry immediately enters the room, without giving a chance to the crown prince to reply.


    ¡°Hey, guess who I met at the Q street?¡± Said Henry, while his hands are on his chest, looking at the man behind the desk.


    The man nces at Henry and smirks, his red ming hair shining like fire, while his red ruby eyes got amused. ¡°So, she is here, already? Good, then.¡± Said Justice with a smirk on his face.

 Chapter 18

    Chapter 18: The Rivalry (Part 1)


    The Dorm patron checked Anne¡¯s register documents while humming. Makes Anne more nervous than she should.


    ¡°I must admit it, miss, you got the registered document so fast than the others, even from the golden pass recipient.¡±


    ¡°Really? I thought I wasn¡¯t that fast, though.¡±


    ¡°Miss, you got back here in less than three hours. Even the golden pass recipient who forgot to register needs to wait for half a day.¡± Said the dorm patron while handing Anne her room key. ¡°Your room is on the third floor. That¡¯s the floor for the silver pass recipient, there are five silver pass recipients this time, so good luck making friends.¡±


    ¡°Thank you... uhm... sir?¡±


    ¡°Jeffry, but call me Jeff.¡±


    Anne put her travel bag on her shoulder, while the demon kitten yawned on his basket, ¡°Alright, so, room one on the third floor, thank you Jeff, and nice to meet you.¡±


    .....


    ¡°The same, miss.¡± Jeff is smiling and begins to sweep the floor in the lobby once again.


    She was so happy that Anne even skipped down the stairs. She never minds that her room is on the third floor. Anne likes to take a view from above, having the room on the third floor is already an advantage. When she reached the second floor when her body collided with someone else.


    Almost falling from the crash, Anne thankfully grips the wooden railing.


    ¡°Oh, for the love of God! Careful!¡±


    Her head looks up and sees a beautiful girl with golden hair and blue eyes staring at Anne with an angry expression. The demon kitten hissing at the girl, Anne needs to calm him down while she checks on herself. She felt a paining from her back, possibly from the impact, and her knee got a cut.


    ¡°Hey, you, girl! Were you listening to me?¡±


    After taking a deep breath, Anne looks up once again and smiles.


    ¡°Yes, I hear you.¡±


    ¡°Good, now do something about this!¡± yelled the girl with her hand pointed at her cufflink that almost bust out from the seams.


    ¡°Look, I¡¯m sorry about this. Just give me your dress and I will stitch it back for you.¡±


    She can feel her back aching like crazy, she really needs to drink a tonic and put some salves in it. The girl still berated her, even after Anne apologizes to her. Anne takes her travel bag and all of her belongings, when she tried to pass the girl when a hand then hold her arm.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name? silver pass girl.¡±


    Anne pulls her arm away from the hold and says it loud and clear to the girl, ¡°River Anne, my name is River Anne. Nice to meet you, golden pass girl.¡± She left the snobbish girl on the stairs and climb to her floor on the third.


    The only thing that she wants right now is to check on her injury and take some much-needed rest. When she opened the door to her room, all of her problems earlier dissipated immediately. The room isfy, with a canopy single bed, and a desk with a window with a view. The room also has its own bathroom, which is a bonus for her.


    ¡°We are going to love here, right... err... kitten?¡±


    Anne looks at her kitten and thinks, this is a good time to name her kitten. She put the demon kitten on her bed, and arrange all the bottles of medicines on the table. Anne needs it to address her wound first but also trying to look for a good name for her soon to be familiar.


    ¡°Hmm... Randolf?¡± Asked Anne, with a tonic in her hand.


    The demon kitten did not even look her way. She takes a sigh and thinks of another name.


    ¡°Ifrit? Wow... No!¡± Anne doesn¡¯t even want to use the name, and then she remembers something, an energy drink in her old world, she liked the taste and also the name of the energy drink, enthusiastically, she turn to the kitten and said, ¡°Chikara?¡±


    The demon kitten looks in her way and meowing. Anne smiles right away. She holds Chikara in her arms and kisses her soft fur. Afterward, she drink her tonic and took her salve into the bathroom. It is time to treat her wound carefully.


    The night is still young, but all Anne wants right now is to take a rest with the demon kitten beside her. She opens her window a bit, to take the breeze from the outside. She then realizes she can see the pce from here, smiling while looking at the pce, her eyes feeling heavier and heavier. Anne got a good night¡¯s sleep that night.


    The next morning, our purple hair girl is having a headache.


    ¡°Oh God, is it because of the tonic?¡± Grunted Anne.


    She tried to ease the pain by taking a shower; it helps a bit, but it wasn¡¯t much. Anne decided it must be because she goes to sleep without eating. The dorm has amodated a free breakfast and lunch. The only thing that she needs to take care of is her dinner and food for her kitten.


    After she put on her clothes and descends to the ground floor, she looks at a woman, serving breakfast in the breakfast room, there are four people inside the breakfast room, all of them are nobles, and they look at Anne with a condescending look. She used to it, having graduated with the townie nobles in her school. For her right now, all she wants is a tea to ease her headache and a portion of good food.


    ¡°Oh, good morning miss, what a lovely morning, my aren¡¯t you a pretty one with your rare color of hair.¡±


    Again, Anne is already used to someone noticing her irregr color hair.


    ¡°Good morning, Missus? Miss?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it is Missus. My husband and I have been running the Icarus dorm for ten years. My name is Delh, you can call me missus Del.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you. Missus Del, can I have two slices of butter bread and bacon?¡±


    ¡°Of course, miss,ing right up, what¡¯s your name, pretty miss?¡±


    ¡°Anne, my name is Anne.¡± Said Anne, smiling at Delh.


    ¡°Oh, just as pretty as the owner, so, need anything else?¡±


    Anne looks around the table and shakes her head. ¡°But I have a question. Where can I shop for my groceries and also pet food?¡±


    ¡°We have it near the dorm, but if you want to find anything on your list, you need to take the central carriage and go to B Street. they have thergest marketce in the capital.¡±


    Said her thanks to Delh. Anne eats her breakfast and immediately goes to B street. Just like Delh said, it is a very huge marketce, with shops, stalls, and even caf¨¦s and restaurant. She is so impressed her headache is mostly gone. After the grocery shopping, Anne needs to find a stall that sells some Catnip flowers, the principal food for every kitten. She presumes that the demon kitten, being a hybrid, a catnip flower will do him fine until he grow up.


    ¡°Heirim, would you stop talking so much?!¡±


    Anne recognize the voice, it was Henry. She immediately pokes at the man.


    ¡°Henry!¡± Anne calls his name with a very wide smile.


    Henry turns around to see her, the expression on Anne changing drastically. There¡¯s a girl beside Henry, the girl that she met yesterday, the girl that snobbishly asked for her name after shing with her at the stairs. The golden hair girl with blue eyes, who¡¯s staring at her with stinky eyes.

 Chapter 19

    Chapter 19: The Rivalry (Part 2)


    Anne bes nervous. She tried to calm down by slurping her berry-berry juice, while two pairs of blue eyes looking at her. She cleared her throat and open a conversation.


    ¡°So, you have a sister, Henry?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yesterday I was going to tell you about her. This is Heirim. Sorry I don¡¯t have time to exin back then.¡± Said Henry to Anne.


    Heirim looks directly at Henry, ¡°So, the two of you really know each other, how? And when? Care to exin, brother?¡±


    Henry rolled his eyes. ¡°None of your business, Heirim.¡±


    ¡°Oh, why the secrecy? Just like when you came home, and your friends were the ones who informed us about your wound!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Heirim!¡±


    .....


    ¡°Then, tell me, how do you know this peasant girl?¡±


    ¡°Heirim! Quit your condescending manner. It was infuriating!¡±


    Henry red at his sister while apologizing to Anne. She couldn¡¯t agree more, not because she was the subject of Heirim¡¯s toxic tongue, but because she hate every kind of discrimination. She knew, deep down there were always people like Heirim, but also, there were people like Henry. He is nothing like his sister.


    Henry always smiles at every civilian, noble or not. Even the server at this caf¨¦ was already familiar with him. He greeted everyone politely and respectfully. Unlike his dear sister, who looks like someone drags a very stinky poo in front of her all the time. Too bad, thoughts Anne, she is actually an exquisite girl, if she could manage a smile.


    ¡°Fine, but whatever this... friendship means to you, I don¡¯t like it. She is not one of us.¡±


    Anne almost choke on her tea, not because she felt insulted, she just wanted tough. A girl like Heirim always felt that her status means anything. The higher her status, the more content her life can be.


    ¡°One of us? Oh, Heirim... This is why our father doesn¡¯t want you totch on to your former governess. She truly poisoned your mind.¡±


    ¡°Miss udine taught me everything that is essential as a noble. You and father just couldn¡¯t see eye to eye with her.¡±


    Henry took a deep sigh, and unexpectedly asked Anne to go away from the caf¨¦, ¡°I know an excellent ce to buy catnip flowers for you,e on.¡± Said Henry while he gave arge tip to the server.


    While she actually feels it is rude to leave right away and leave Heirim, Anne also feels d that Henry tried to keep her away from his sister. Heirim looks like she was ready to ssh her with her berry-berry juice anytime Henry scolded her. The two of them are back in the middle of the marketce. Henry grinned at her, and feel apologetic.


    ¡°Sorry about my sister, she is a bit...¡±


    Anne scoffed at him. ¡°A bit? Henry, she looks like she could stab me anytime you mentioned how wrong she was.¡±


    ¡°I know, ugh... if only my mother was around her, she was a very kinddy who knew a value of humble than pride.¡±


    ¡°What happened to your mother?¡±


    ¡°She died not long after she gave birth to my sister.¡±


    Anne felt his heartbreak, she held his hand and murmur at him, ¡°I am so sorry, it was rude of me to...¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. She¡¯s in a good ce already. The problem lies when my father hired her governess, one sneaky snake she is,¡± Henry talks about Heirim¡¯s former governess, with a very bitter taste in his mouth, he then tried to hide it from Anne, and pulls her to another corner of the marketce, ¡°Enough about me, let us find my favorite ce to buy familiar¡¯s treat.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you have a pe... I mean a familiar?¡±


    ¡°Of course, most of us have them. They are not visible at all times like when they were babies.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so they will not hang on my shoulder like this one?¡± Asked Anne while pointing at Chikara, who¡¯s in the middle of purring at her nape.


    Henry smiles and then shakes his head, ¡°No, don¡¯t worry, though I must admit, yours is clingy. Sabrina wasn¡¯t that clingy as yours.¡±


    ¡°Sabrina? What a cute name.¡±


    ¡°Yes, her attitude needed some change, though. I¡¯ll introduce you to her. Another time, she¡¯s going around to do some mischief right now.¡±


    ¡°Promise?¡±


    Chuckles at her teased, he nodded his head, ¡°I promise, now, that¡¯s the stall. Let¡¯s go buy your kitten some catnip flower.¡±


    After two hours, Anne is back in her dorm with two potted nts of catnip flowers. She puts them on her window and squishes some of the liquid that came from the nt. She gave a bowl of the liquid to Chikara, who was drinking it happily, although she felt there was something missing.


    ¡°Hmm... it seems there¡¯s something more on your diet. Looks like I forgot about it.¡± Anne mumbles while Chikara meowed at her.


    Sometimester, Chikara is sleeping in the corner inside his basket, while Anne writes a letter to her parents. She knows how worried they are and she promised to always write them a letter once a week. Not long after, a sudden knock on her door made her jumpy. She fell asleep when she was in the middle of writing the letter.


    Fixing her looks in a hurry, Anne opens her door and sees missus Del in front of her.


    ¡°Good afternoon. Dinner will be ready in an hour.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s so kind of you, missus Del, but you don¡¯t have toe all this way to remind me about dinner.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I insisted miss, I¡¯ve heard from my husband that you were missing dinnerst night. No, that¡¯s not good. You need nutrients.¡± Said missus Del, with a warm smile.


    Anne feels the wonderful atmosphere around missus Del. She knows she could feel at home, here, ¡°I¡¯m sorry aboutst night, fell asleep, and thank you so much, missus Del.¡± Said Anne to her.


    Missus Del excuses herself, but not before she tells her about two other silver pass recipients that came today. Anne was so curious to see them, but feel it would be rude or impolite to go to their room immediately. She decided to introduce herself at dinner time. Closing her door, Anne looked around the room trying to find Chikara.


    ¡°Chikara? Where are you, my boy?¡±


    She heard nothing, feel there was something wrong. Anne tried to look around her room, but to no avail. Feels desperate already, Anne took her coat and go outside, in a hurry to look for her cat. She failed to hear a person call her until a hand patted her shoulder.


    Screaming, she turned around to see a man wearing sses smiling at her. ¡°Hello, neighbor, nice to meet... Hey, what happened?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Nice to meet you, but I¡¯m in a hurry. My kitten is missing.¡±


    The man looked at her pale face, and feel sorry for her, ¡°Let me grab my coat, I¡¯ll help you search for your kitten.¡±


    She feels grateful to the stranger, and together they go down to the lobby and go outside of Icarus Dorm. Outside the fences of the dorm, there¡¯s a girl, suddenly following the two of them from behind, and the two of them failed to notice.


    Dawn ising. Anne and the new silver pass recipient might be in danger, with a mysterious girl on their tail, watching them closely.

 Chapter 20

    Chapter 20: The New Sensation in the Capital Library


    ¡°Chikara! Where are you?!¡±


    Anne shouts Chikara¡¯s name as loud as she can, and the stranger boy does the same. Together they reach every alleyway and every corner of the tenth street. There¡¯s no sign of Chikara, she feels lost and afraid, although they have met for a short time, Anne already feels attached to the hybrid demon kitten.


    ¡°Hey, may I ask you something?¡± Asked the stranger at Anne.


    ¡°Does it really necessary?¡±


    ¡°Yes, does your kitten have any distinction? Maybe the color of the fur?¡±


    ¡°He... Uhm... He t a fluffy white fith a grey, paw a and pink nose.¡±


    ¡°Does he got a pair of red eyes?¡±


    .....


    Anne turn around to him, ¡°How do you know?


    ¡°Because that girl has him in her arms.¡± Said the stranger pointing at a girl in one of the dark corners.


    The eyes of Chikara are now zing like a me, while Anne sees the girl, she got a chubby but cute face, with long curly ck hair.


    ¡°So, this is your kitten?¡± Asked the girl, smiling at the two of them.


    ¡°Yes, his name is Chikara.¡±


    The girl handed Anne her kitten who¡¯s now meowing and sleeping in her hand, it seems Chikara now had a full tummy. Anne feels so delighted to see her demon kitten in her arms once again, she says thank you to the girl, and also to the boy.


    ¡°Both of you, thank you so much, really appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± Said the boy.


    The girl smile and nodded at her, ¡°You¡¯re wee. When I saw the two of you go outside of the dorm, there was a small cat shadow following you from behind, that¡¯s why I wanted to protect the two of you. Turns out it was this little boy.¡±


    ¡°Yes, he is a hybrid, his mother was a demon cat.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I can see it with my own eyes, that¡¯s why I gave him a piece of raw steak.¡±


    Anne gasped at the two of them, ¡°That was the piece of information that I have forgotten, so stupid of me! Demon kittens already begin to eat meat from the moment they were born!¡±


    ¡°Yes... d you finally knew about it, and because yours is a hybrid, you need to provide him with the catnip milk and the raw meat one time for two days.¡± Said the girl to Anne.


    ¡°Thank you for the information, you seem to know everything about my kitten than I do.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m going to be a register Huntsman, my name¡¯s Da.¡±


    Anne smiles at Da, and also introduces herself, ¡°My name¡¯s Anne,¡± Anne then turns to the boy, ¡°How about you? What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m David.¡± Said the boy, awkwardly waving his hand with a grin on his face.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, David and Da, I¡¯m assuming both of you are the silver pass recipients like myself?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you got that right, so, how about a good hearty dinner, neighbors?¡± Da gives them a hand sign to follow her.


    The otherplies and the three of them walk back together to Icarus Dorm. Anne took Chikara back to her room and she join her new friends in the dining room. The room is a bit different than the breakfast room, there¡¯s a buffet table and also a gramophone, and the dorm patron tune in some instrumental music. The mood bes so much brighter, with music, and for Anne, now she gets two people to talk to.


    ¡°So, where are the two of youe from?¡± Asked Da while enjoying her steak.


    ¡°I came from a fisherman town, Merlinni town.¡± Said, David.


    ¡°I¡¯m from Viora vige.¡± Said Anne to her new friends.


    ¡°Wow, I¡¯ve heard about your vige, Anne, it needs almost four days¡¯ trip and also the terrains are quite dangerous.¡± Da talks to Anne while her eyes glinted with excitement.


    David¡¯s chuckled when he saw Da¡¯s enthusiastic remarks, ¡°Wow, you have an adventurous tendency, Da, where are youe from?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I came from a mountainous area, a vige calls Marlbooro vige.¡±


    David gasped and ps his hand, making almost all of the nobles stare daggers at them.


    ¡°Wow, we have a winner here! That vige is a bad*ss vige.¡±


    Anne peaked with curiosity, she put her spoon, and asked David about Da¡¯s vige, ¡°Why do you seem so excited about Da¡¯s vige?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because of what happened two years ago, Anne, ignore him.¡± Said Da, rolling her eyes.


    ¡°What? what happened two years ago?¡±


    ¡°Hey, silver pass people! Could you be quiet and let us eat in peace?¡±


    Da and David red at the person who was yelling at their table, Anne prefer to ignore it, and just enjoy her dinner. From her experience, the noble just wanted to provoke them and make them get a penalty point, it¡¯s best to be silent about it. However, Da and David are not as patient as Anne, they couldn¡¯t stop ring at the noble.


    ¡°The two of you, stop! he doesn¡¯t worth our time.¡± Anne scolded David and Da, even though she knew it was going to be less effective.


    ¡°You heard him, his tone was so condescending!¡±


    ¡°I know, David, but just ignores him,¡± Anne then got closer to them and whispered, ¡°Remember, they have a penalty system, you don¡¯t want our grade being reduced, right?¡±


    ¡°Oh shut! You¡¯re right, forgot about it.¡±


    ¡°They all going to call us anything that they want to, it¡¯s us who decide to ignore it, let them shout any bad word, but, we will never stoop so low, right?¡± Said Anne, giving some encouragement to David and Da.


    ¡°Anne, you¡¯re now my favorite person in the capital.¡± Said Da.


    David raised his ss of Aggrus ¡°Hey, me too, so to the silver pass recipients!¡±


    Da and Anne giggled at David¡¯s antics, and they also followed suits. They have a great time eating dinner. In the morning, the three of them are getting ready to go to the library, David told them about the invention inside the capital¡¯s library, the Wismushroom, a colossal mushroom that could increase a person¡¯s focus by almost the maximum level.


    ¡°So, if we sit below it, we could get smarter?¡± Asked Da to David.


    David¡¯s immediately rolled his eyes, ¡°No, silly, you could get almost a maximum capacity of your focus, so you can study well.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s it, ugh... boooring.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not!¡±


    While observing her new friends, Anne just giggled thinking about the two of them as such a dynamic duo in just a short amount of time. The central carriage finally arrived at Z street, the location of the main library of the capital. In a hurry to see the Wismushroom, they walk faster, mostly because of how curious they were about thistest sensation in the main library, the Wismushroom. The library staffs grow three Wismushrooms, and they are hoping to get a seat at one of the Wismushrooms.


    When they arrived at the room, they are so heartbreaking to see the ce is packed with people. It seems the people that took the civil exams are here to use the Wismushroom.


    ¡°What can we do? the first exam is a written exam?¡± Said Da, panicking.


    David still looks around the room, and then suddenly squeals, making almost everyone res at the boy.


    ¡°David, this is the library, be quiet.¡± Warned Anne, with her pointing finger at her lips.


    ¡°Oh, I was just so excited, look, I got a n for us.¡±


    Da and Anne share a look, while still a bit hesitant about David¡¯s n.

 Chapter 21

    Chapter 21: The West Forest Incident (Part 1)


    David is smiling wickedly and pulls Anne and Da outside to the street.


    ¡°David, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°What is our main purpose for going here?¡± Asked David.


    ¡°To study?¡± Said Anne and Da at the same time.


    ¡°Yes! But why here? That¡¯s because of Wismushroom, right?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes, but as you can see, we aren¡¯t even able to even touch the bloody thing. Did you see the crowd in there?!¡± Said Da.


    ¡°Alright, what if tell you that we can use Wismushroom without going inside the capital¡¯s main library?¡±


    .....


    Anne and Da share a nce. While they are both intrigued by David¡¯s word, they also feel something¡¯s wrong with it. Although both of them just hesitate to tell David.


    Da squinted her eyes and asked the boy, ¡°David, what are you thinking?¡±


    ¡°Wismushroom is a cultivated nt. In the capital, there is only three sessful cultivation of Wismushroom, but there are other ces where Wismushroom is abundant.¡±


    Anne is getting nervous. She knows what exactly David¡¯s n is. ¡°David, do not tell me. You¡¯re thinking of going to the forest and using the wild Wismushroom.¡±


    ¡°Yes! That is exactly what I thought! Good one, Anne!¡±


    ¡°No! David, there¡¯s a reason we need to cultivate the nt. The reason is that of how dangerous to go to the forest, alone.¡±


    ¡°But we are not alone, right? There are three of us, a huntsman, magi, and a healer.¡± Said David enthusiastically.


    ¡°David, we are not a certified civil service right now! Are you crazy?!¡±


    ¡°Yes, maybe a little bit, but Da, we need this. The written exams will be held for six hours with just a one-hour break. We are going to be mentally exhausted!¡±


    Anne and Da ponder at David¡¯s excuse, both of the girls could see the value of using the Wismushroom, but does the value of learning below the Wismushroom will be more beneficial than the harm that can be done to them by going to a dangerous forest?


    Anne massaged her forehead, trying her best to think about every possibility to avoid the three of them going to the forest. She couldn¡¯t see a way out. ¡°David, let me think about this for a day.¡±


    Da raised her hand. ¡°Yeah, me too.¡±


    David holds his breath and blows it in an instant, ¡°Alright, I need to set provision for us, anyway. Please think about the benefits, alright?¡±


    Anne and Da nodded their head. To ease the tension, Anne invites them to have some fun time at the marketce on B street. They have some ice cream in the marketce, and for Anne, it is very delicious ice cream, reminded her of the old world ice cream.


    They have a light conversation about how they are passionate about bing a civil servant, and how lucky they are as the recipient of the silver pass. The silver pass recipient is the individual who is being rewarded for their merits. Unlike the bronze pass recipient, where every civilian could get the pass after theyplete the necessary documents.


    Anne feels so blessed to have the silver pass because, without it, she could never take the civil exams.


    ¡°My mother and fathers were over the moon!¡± Da reminisces about the day she got the silver pass. ¡°Theo, my second father, cried like a baby. It was hrious.¡±


    Anne chuckles, hearing Da¡¯s story. ¡°Really?! Oh wow, I would love to see your family, Da.¡±


    ¡°The important question, however, is what merit you have done to get that silver pass.¡± Asked David, with a wicked smile on his face.


    Da then leans back in her chair and smiles at David, ¡°I save a horse from a monster.¡±


    ¡°What? that¡¯s it?! You save one freaking horse and you got the silver pass?!¡±


    ¡°Yes, because I save The GoldenSpire.¡±


    ¡°The majesty¡¯s favorite horse?!¡± Shouted David and Anne at the same time.


    Everyone knows about The GoldenSpire, a rare golden horse that apanies the emperor to vanquish the evil forces, twenty-five years ago, the same year when the first prince, now the crown prince, has born. Animals and people in the new world have more age span than animals and people in the old world, The GoldenSpire is going to have his thirty-five birthday in a month, and there will be a festivity in the capital.


    ¡°Then, how about you, Anne, what is your merit?¡± Asked Da, while scooping her Chockyberry ice cream.


    Anne cleared her throat, and bashfully smile at them, ¡°I... Safe a noble, and tending his wound.¡±


    Her friends were squealing. Da put her ice cream cup, and shouted at Anne, ¡°Tell me, was he handsome?¡±


    ¡°Uhm... Probably... Yes... Yes, he is.¡±


    The two of them cheer so loudly that even the server needs to calm them down, Anne feels a bit shy to admit about Henry¡¯s look, and to be fair, the other three are just as handsome as he is.


    After a while, Anne and Da know looking at David, trying to ask about his merit, while thetter just avoided them by saying they will know about it, after the first exam. Although Anne feels something is odd about David, she tried to ignore her intuition, for now. After two hours, they went back to the dorm, and that night, Anne saw the beautiful moon from her room window, with Chikara¡¯s hanging out beside her. When she gets ready to go to bed, Anne already has her decision.


    At dusk, David, Da, and Anne are sitting in the lobby, discussing the best path to go to the possible ce of the Wismushroom. Jeff, the dorm patron, is shaking his head.


    ¡°The three of you shouldn¡¯t go into the forest. It is a full moon tonight, magica will be everywhere, including in the forest.¡±


    David smiles at Jeff, trying hard to convince their dorm patron, ¡°It will be fine. I got my non-magica tent to protect us from the element.¡±


    ¡°Well, just be careful, okay?¡±


    ¡°We will Jeff, don¡¯t worry.¡± Anne warmly smiles at Jeff, and how she appreciates his concern over the three of them.


    After much consideration, and a belly full of food, they begin their adventure into the forest, in the capital¡¯s west. It takes two hours to go to the entrance of the forest, and another two hours to reach the probable location of the Wismushroom. With a bag full of provisions and camping gear, they thought there will be no danger that wille their way.

 Chapter 22

    Chapter 22: The West Forest Incident (Part 2)


    ¡°Anne,e on, we need to walk faster before the night falls.¡±


    Anne sees the enthusiastic David, who waves his hand towards her. Sharing a nce with Da, theyugh at how David seems like a little boy all of a sudden. She remembers her days when she had the same kind of enthusiastic tendency as David, Anne think that although she could never gain the same feeling again.


    It all changes when she looks upon the vast valley before the forest. The beautiful flowers surrounding the pathway, colorful birds chirping on the branches, butterflies, and bees dancing around the flowers. She feels she could prance around the area and begin to sing with a melody of a guitar.


    ¡°Anne?¡±


    She felt a hand touches her shoulder and turned around to see her friend, Da, ¡°Are you okay? You pace out, I called you several times.¡±


    ¡°What? Really? I... I didn¡¯t notice.¡±


    ¡°Careful, okay? We don¡¯t know what¡¯s inside this forest, even though it is near the capital.¡± Said Da to Anne.


    .....


    She nodded her head, and together they follow David, who was already walking further than they expected. However, the three of them don¡¯t notice a sweet fragrance thates from a certain nt. A sweet and intoxicating aroma that could make you hallucinate and fill the mind with euphoria. Anne and her two friends, step into andmine, without them even realize.


    Behind them, three other people enter the valley, people wearing a cloak, wary of their surroundings.


    ¡°It seems the effect is not as severe as we thought.¡± Said one of them, while detecting the aura of the valley with his hand.


    ¡°Yes, if the person has enough level of magic, but if they were a low level...¡±


    ¡°The effect will be severe.¡± Mumbled the one who scan the area, he turn to his colleague, ¡°Vale, what should we do?¡±


    Vale, the magi with wavy brown hair and emerald eyes, looked at the other two, ¡°Come on, let us search the area, the gatekeepers told us, he saw three youngsters walk in the direction of the valley of a dream. I¡¯m afraid, they¡¯re are going to be in danger.¡±


    The Magi then steps further inside of the forest, and Vale at this moment doesn¡¯t realize, that the one that he tried to search and rescue is none other than Anne, the purple hair healer from Viora vige. The one girl that keeps presenting herself in some of his dreams.


    Deep down in the forest, after two hours of walking, Anne and her two friends are sitting on a dead branch, trying to catch a breath. The look on their faces is full of desperation. They had been walking for two hours, and there was no sign of any Wismushroom.


    ¡°David... How much farther to this supposed to be Wismushroom?¡± Comined Da to David, ¡°I¡¯m starving!¡±


    ¡°For the love of Moon Goddess! Da, you were eating so much food, like two hours ago!¡± Scold David, he looks agitated and tired.


    ¡°But, I¡¯m hungry again!¡±


    Da is whining so much, Anne looking at how tense David is, immediately gives Da another eggle sandwich. Thest thing she wants right now is two people fighting in the middle of a dense forest. She looks around the forest, and her instinct kicks in, the forest feels dark, even though the sun still shining brightly.


    The fog has be thicker, she tried to convince her friends to go back to the capital and forget about the Wismushroom. David and Da, sadly don¡¯t budge, their ambition to found the wild Wismushroom, makes the two of them oblivious to the danger that wille.


    ¡°Look, Anne, it will be fine, we are going to study in the Wismushroom, put our tent near the Wismushroom and have a st studying.¡± Said, David.


    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s right, Anne, I need the knowledge, I¡¯m not the brightest kid in my vige.¡±


    Anne then holds Da¡¯s hands, ¡°I¡¯ll help you, Da, we can do it, together.¡±


    ¡°No, sorry Anne, you may be confident with your knowledge, but not mine, I really need this.¡±


    David let out a sigh, and begin to pick up his bag, ¡°Come on, let us waste another time, I¡¯m positive we are going to find this Wishmushroom before dark.¡±


    ¡°Hope the Wismushroom has some kind of light source, cause it will be too d*mn dark to study at night!¡± Said Anne with a very good dose of sarcasm.


    They continue the journey, through the rough patches of the thorny flower field, the three of them almost give up, until Anne sees a glowing green light from afar. It is the wild Wismushroom, glowing from the light thates through its see-through body.


    They run as fast as they could towards the Wismushroom, David and Da arrive before Anne, and they hug the Wild Wismushroom while cheering loudly. Anne, who¡¯s not very good at sport is the one who notices a colossal shadow creeping into her friends.


    ¡°David! Da! Run! There¡¯s something behind you guys!¡± Screamed Anne.


    Da and David take a nce at what¡¯sing from behind them and scream as loud as they could. It is a monster called Snaillog, with a body full of mucus, and a shell house that resembles a log. The two of them run as fast as they could, tailing by the Snaillog from behind. Anne feels hopeless for the first time, she looks around hoping to see something that could help them.


    Finally, a nt that is as tall as the tree with a thorny skinny branch is getting noticed by Anne, she pulls one of the nts ignoring the thorns, and runs to the Snaillog. She arrived in time before David and Da are getting smashed by the Snaillog, despite David already cast a protection shield.


    Anne swished around the nt, miraculously a powder-like substance appear from the leaves of the nt. The Snaillog retreated and seems scared by the powder. Anne and her friends yell for their win over the Snaillog, which sadly doesn¡¯tst that long. The nt begins to run out of powder, and as soon as the powder ispletely gone, the Snaillog makes a really loud noise and charges into Anne and her friends. David tried to cast another protection spell, but it was toote. The three of them got thrown by the Snaillog.


    Whimpered and with a thumping head, Anne tried to avoid the Snaillog who was now going to her. She drag her body, while her friends screamed at her. The Snaillog now getting closer to her, and with one giant leap, she could see the body of the Snaillog ready to mushed her, she closed her eyes, praying that it was not going to be hurt. Miraculously, nothing happens, no impact, not even pain.


    ¡°Anne, are you okay?¡± A man¡¯s voice called her name.


    She opens her eyes and sees Vale crouching beside her, while his hand lets out a powerful Magica to the Snaillog.

 Chapter 23

    23 A Peculiar Scent of Magica


    One hour ago, while Vale steps inside the forest, he feels a certain kind of danger. His instinct never failed him even once, that was one of the reasons he is a high-rank Magi at such a young age. People around him suggest the thought that he got the promotion because of his best friend, the crown prince. It doesn¡¯t matter to him, the malicious talking behind his back is the driving force for Vale to work much harder than everyone.


    ¡°Vale, should we go back? The mist will be thicker now.¡± Said one of the Magi.


    ¡°No, remember our job is to find the people who entered the forest on this full moon. It will be dangerous for a non-Magi on such a day.¡±


    Another Magi, with wild eyes and a constant smirk, is walking around sniffing everything. Vale obliged to scold the Magi as his subordinate.


    ¡°Brom! What are you doing?¡±


    Brom turns around to Vale and smiles at him, ¡°I smell something un-usual, the aroma that I have never smelled before.¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on Brom, there you go again, could you stop being so creepy all the time?¡± Said the other Magi.


    Brom turns his attention to the Magi, ¡°I¡¯m sorry then, but unlike you Martin, I do have the rare ability to smell magica, why do you think I got the three stars ahead of you?¡±


    .....


    The other Magi named Martin suddenly got flustered, ¡°Why you fr*ak!¡±


    ¡°Martin! That¡¯s enough!¡± Scolded Vale to his sub-ordinate, his eyes turn to Brom, ¡°Brom, that¡¯s extended to you as well! Both of you need to learn to work together, this is not the time for bickering!¡±


    The two of them went silent and apologize to Val. He already has a headache when the office sends the two of them as his new subordinates, Martin is noble, which means he has a constant superior attitude, while Brom is one of the strange Magi officers. Vale asked Brom to use his ability once again.


    ¡°You said before, that you smell something unusual, right? I want you to find the source of the aroma for me.¡±


    Confused by the request of his captain, Brom tries to find his reason by his request, ¡°Yes, I could easily whiff the scent everywhere, it is so distinct, just like your scent.¡±


    ¡°My scent?¡±


    ¡°You have almost a hundred percentpatibility to magica, of course, your scent is unique.¡± Said, Brom.


    Martin whistled towards his captain, ¡°Wow, captain Vale, I have never heard someone has that highpatibility to magica before.¡±


    Vale, ignoring Martin¡¯spliment, asks another question to Brom, ¡°So, the person also has a highpatibility with magica?¡±


    Brom, who¡¯s in the middle sniffing around the area, only sends him a vague answer, ¡°No, I never said that the person is simr to you, the smell is unique just like you.¡±


    Before Vale could ask for more details, Brom¡¯s finger pointed in a direction into one of the farthest pathways of the forest.


    ¡°Sir, I sense her scent, it goes farther away inside the forest.¡±


    ¡°A she? The unique scent ising from a female?¡± Screamed Martin.


    Brom tilted his head and smirked, ¡°Oh, didn¡¯t I mention about her gender, before?¡±


    Vale cast a spell to light their way against the fog, ¡°Never mind that we need to hurry, we don¡¯t know if the woman could defend herself or not.¡±


    The three of them walk further inside, knowing about the danger of this forest under the full moon. The fog makes it harder to see in a far distance, although Vale already cast a light for them to walk into. He isn¡¯t afraid, for him, forest on the full moon is one of the most beautiful times for a person with a high magica like him. He is indeed worried about anyone who enters the forest without any knowledge of the forest.


    The forest of the lost is the official name of the west forest. Not so many people know the official name, because of how dark and depressing the name is, that¡¯s why the citizen just call it the west forest. Vale disagrees about their decision, for Vale, the name serves the purpose, for everyone to be alert all the time when they enter the forest. Deep inside the forest, they have be more nervous, their magica sense a peculiarity of something enormous. Training as Magi means they gain the ability to read magica to some extent.


    After the long walk, a blood-curdling scream can be heard by the three of them, Vale, Brom, and Martin, who release their spell and are ready for battle, they run as quickly as they could towards the scream and they hope it will be not toote for a rescue.


    Vale¡¯s eyes begin to glow, a sign that his magica is on high alert and will be ready for him. They finally saw the source of the cmity, a Snaillog, a monster that nesting near the Wismushroom habitat. There are three people near the monster, two people inside a protection spell, and one trying to fight the monster, a person with distinct purple hair color.


    ¡°Anne!¡± Vale shouted her name, and without any hesitation, he run directly to the monster.


    Brom and Martin couldn¡¯t do anything besides shouting their captain¡¯s name, they tried to keep their pace trying to follow Vale, but their captain is too fast to be followed.


    ¡°Sh*t! he fastens his movement using the time magic!¡± Shouted Martin desperately.


    ¡°Rx, we just need to catch up, besides our captain is strong, a mere Snaillog can do no harm to him.¡± Said Brom to Martin.


    It is indeed the truth, Vale is a talented Magi, many people said his talent only appear in a hundred year or more. Gaining three stars rank when he passes the test at twelve years old and bes a high-rank officer at the age of twenty, that¡¯s how talented Vale is. Although this is the first time he lose his calm demeanor.


    He saw Anne fight bravely with a small stick in her hand, but it doesn¡¯t take long for the Snaillog to fight back, she falls to the ground, but before the Snaillog can do damage to the girl, Vale cast powerful protection magic and protect her body with his.


    A sigh of relief adorns his face when he sees there is no harm done to Anne. He smiled at her, and asked, ¡°Anne, are you okay?¡±

 Chapter 24

    24 The one who got it bad


    ¡°Vale? What are you doing here?¡±


    Anne was so surprised, the man that he knew back in the Viora vige is here, wearing a cloak like usual, although this time the color is not ck, but grey with arge insignia on the back.


    ¡°There¡¯s not time to exin, I want you to stay here, inside this bubble, let me and my friends handle the monster.¡± Said, Vale.


    Before Vale takes a step outside the protection ward, Anne grabs his hand, ¡°Wait, what about my friends?¡±


    He could see her concerned face, Vale then tried to calm her down. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they will be safe.¡±


    Vale steps out from the protection ward, while Anne observes the fight from inside the protection ward. Brom the wild Magi is taking care of David and Da, Vale and Martin fighting the Snaillog, he cast wind magic to prevent the Snaillog charge its humongous body at them, Martin then cast a simr protection ward, but in a slightly different variant, a firewall.


    ¡°Wait, Martin, be careful this is Wismushroom habitat, do not cast a fire spell.¡±


    ¡°Calm down, it will be fine, it¡¯s just a firewall, not a firestorm!¡± Martin says to Vale with a scoff in his voice.


    ¡°That¡¯s a bit risky, I¡¯m using the wind spell right now, what if the fire spread out and got caught into my wind spell?!¡±


    .....


    Martin grumbled in his breath, he knows about Vale the gifted Magi, and everyone considers it as an honor to work with him, but not for Martin. He doesn¡¯t like how everyone praises him, adores him, and also be the crown prince¡¯s inner circle.


    Anne looks at the two of them seem to argue behind the firewall, and when he saw the Snaillog breaking free from the wind spell. To make matter worse, the fire on the firewall is gettingrger with the wind blowing from the wind spell.


    She screamed as loud as she can, warning Vale about the Snaillog, ¡°Vale! Watch out!¡±


    Thankfully, Vale saw everything on time, he cast another spell, a binding spell to trap the Snaillog, and then a water spell to ease the fire. His quick minded makes the destruction minimal. After the fire was subsidized, Anne, run as fast as she could to her friends, while Vale instructed his subordinate to cast an earth spell.


    ¡°What for?¡± Asked Brom, tilting his head, confused by his captain¡¯s request.


    ¡°The Snaillog Habitat is actually deep inside the earth, they go out often just to seek a ce toid their eggs.¡± Said, Vale while his finger pointed on a dug-up ground, beside one of the WisMushrooms.


    ¡°Cap, you sounded like a Huntsman.¡±


    Vale answered Brom¡¯s question while drinking a sparkling liquid from a small vial, ¡°One of my best friends is a Huntsman, we go hunting together sometimes.¡±


    Anne, who¡¯s in the middle of treating her friend¡¯s injury, got distracted by the look of the liquid on the small vial. She has never seen that kind of liquid before.


    Martin and Brom are casting the earth spell together, they make a big hole for the Snaillog to go under, and when the Snaillog has finally gone, they close the hole once more. Martin never said any words to Vale, he only take his order and afterward retreated into one spot. The tension between Vale and his subordinate is giving Anne an ufortable feeling.


    To ease the tension she asked them if they sustained any injury. Martin and Vale got a slight burn injury on their hand, probably from the fire and wind spell.


    ¡°Please sit down, I¡¯ll go and take my bag.¡±


    Martin, who¡¯s trying to be stubborn, pull his hand away from Anne and said, ¡°Thank you, miss, but it will be just...¡±


    Before he could finish the sentence, Anne red at him and talked back to the arrogant Magi.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you try to be a stubborn *ss, Magi! You¡¯re hurt and need to be treated, I have the means to heal, so just freaking sit down and wait!¡±


    The looks on Martin and Vale are so priceless, they were dumbfounded by how the petite girl with purple hair, dared to defy an adult, her senior, plus with some cursing on it. Vale is chuckling, for him, this is the new side of Anne that he never saw.


    ¡°Captain, you seem to know this young girl. As I recall, you call her name before.¡±


    Vale turns his attention to Martin, his subordinate is so curious about Anne and Vale, that he forgotpletely about his anger towards his own captain.


    Vale let out a sigh and tried to answer the question as vague as possible, ¡°Yeah, I know her, I met her when I go hunting, not long ago.¡±


    ¡°Hunting? With your best friends, I presume.¡±


    He massaged his forehead and said yes to Martin. Vale loves to work with his new subordinate, if only Martin could stop questioning Vale¡¯s private life. Vale can endure his arrogancy about his birthright as a pure noble, but not about his certain hostility knowing that Henry and Justice prefer to befriend him and Xavier, rather than mingle with other nobles.


    Avoiding Martin, Vale tried to converse with Anne, who was in the middle of treating his hand.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    Her eyes go to Vale, deep onyx eyes, a contrast to Vale¡¯s emerald green eyes, ¡°Actually we are going to spend the night under the Wismushroom.¡±


    Martin and Brom, gasped, they couldn¡¯t believe their ears, ¡°You¡¯re going to spend the night inside The forest of the lost?!¡± Shouted the two of them.


    Anne is dumbfounded, ¡°Yes, is there something wrong?¡±


    ¡°Anne, the forest, although it¡¯s not forbidden to enter has some dangerous elements on it, not to mention tonight will be a full moon.¡±


    Da and David step into the conversation.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir, but we have prepared everything so that we could be protected.¡± Said Da, David is behind her, and nods his head.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, miss, but this is different, when the full moon is rise to the fullest, there will be chaos inside the forest,¡± Vale is trying to reason with the three of them, he looks at them, with a frown on his face, ¡°We have a cultivated Wismushroom inside the library now, why do you have to risk your life to be here?¡±


    The question, although sounded for the three of them, it was intended more for Anne, he looks at her, and in every being on his body just wanted to go to her and protect her, forever.


    Of course, their meeting in Viora vige was brief, but for him, itst for a long time. He remembered her smile when they have a conversation, her smirk when she won a bickered with Justice, or when her shiny purple hair reflected the sun in its own magical light. Vale is smitten, and he got it so bad, to this girl with purple hair.

 Chapter 25

    25 The Unresolved Feelings


    Anne is looking at Vale, she is never aware that he is a captain, a high-rank officer at such a young age. Hemands his subordinate with the right precision. Anne saw a man with talent from those emerald eyes, She must admit it impress her. She had her suspicion about the four of them, but not about how they were actually in charge of whatever their job is.


    ¡°Some day just to be under a Wismushroom, right?¡± Said Vale while smiling at Anne.


    ¡°I know, I¡¯m so sorry Vale, but I need to be with them, they insist oning here.¡±


    ¡°You should ask Henry about it, he may be able to give you the seat number for the Wismushroom in the library.¡±


    ¡°I... I never thought of that.¡± Anne sighed while smacking her forehead.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will keep my promise, I¡¯ll safe you some seats for tomorrow at the library.¡±


    Smiling at the green eye Magi, Anne says her thanks to him, ¡°Thank you so much, Vale, I appreciate all of your help, I mean, everything.¡±


    He chuckled, his eyes goes to the branch that is now on the ground, ¡°Gaaram, how do you know that Gaaram nts will be able to ward off Snaillog?¡±


    ¡°Gaaram is a nt that we use to purify bacterial infection inside wound or body, bacterial that came from the mucus of Snaillog, and I know Gaaram nts is not an indigenous nt of this area,¡± Anne continue her exnation, ¡°So, someone nted the Gaaram in the area to prevent something to go out from the forest, I put two and two together.¡±


    .....


    ¡°Makes you believe that Snaillog¡¯s weaknesses are Gaaram nt,¡± Muttered Vale, he let out a sigh before he speaks again, ¡°That¡¯s brave of you, Anne, but please never make an assumption next time, okay?¡±


    ¡°I know... I just...¡±


    ¡°Please... If it wasn¡¯t for you, for your parents then, for Martha and Ed.¡± Vale pleaded at Anne.


    Although she feels reluctant, Anne nods her head at Vale, ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Smiled Vale, he stare at the girl, even chuckled, ¡°You know whenst night Henry told me about you in the capital, this is not the way that I had imagined about meeting you again.¡±


    They have a lovely conversation for the rest of the journey, even Brom is having a good time with Da, and theyughed and joke around until the front gate of the capital is now in front of them. The Magi carriage brings them back to their dorm on the tenth street.


    ¡°Thank you for driving us with your carriage, appreciate everything.¡± Said Anne to the three Magi.


    Da pulls her away afterward, and waves to the Magi, but before Anne follows her friends a hand grabs her arm, it is Vale.


    ¡°I... do you want to go on a date with me?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    His request took Anne by surprise, the green eye Magi gave her a bashful smile. He is sincere, but for Anne, the time is too crucial to be used for another thing, she wants to concentrate on her study.


    ¡°Vale... Now is not a good time.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I don¡¯t mean it for now, after the first exam, there¡¯s a festival, and I want you to join me as my date.¡±


    ¡°Oh... well...¡±


    Anne awkwardly looked around, she then smiled and say yes to Vale¡¯s request. His face is beaming after hearing the answer. Anne waves goodbye to Vale and goes back to her room to freshen up. Her de mon kitten, Chikara is sleeping on his basket.


    ¡°Good thing you¡¯re not with us, my fur baby.¡±


    She strokes Chikara¡¯s fur and goes to take her shower. Anne feels so refreshed and decides to go to bed immediately, after all, tomorrow they finally get a chance to use the Wismushroom.


    Meanwhile, in a faraway street, in the dark corner of the capital.


    Henry gives Vale his annoyance, ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right?¡±


    Tonight, Vale, Henry, Xavier, and Justice have their monthly drinking in their favorite bar. Justice iste for their routine engagement, but the other three are already filling in their beer mug.


    In the middle of the conversation, Vale asks a favor from Henry to use his seats in the Wismushroom. Every major donor of the main library has their own set of seatings for them to use whenever they want to.


    Although they need to message the librarian a day before to save their seats.


    ¡°No, I am not, I need your help to get three seats on Wismushroom, for tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know that it was so hard to get on a seat on that d*mn humongous mushroom, and you need three?!¡±


    ¡°I know you have special seats there, and don¡¯t you dare lie to me, your family is the major donor of the main library.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask Justice? He never uses those seats anyway, he is too d*mn proud to use his seats anyway.¡±


    In the corner, Xavier chuckles when Henry mentioned Justice, ¡°Oh I will throw my gold coins just to see him studying under that big mushroom.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, in your dream, or have a death wish.¡± Muttered Henry at Xavier¡¯s remark, ¡°Anyway, Vale, I can¡¯t give you my seats, Heirim is using it, you have better luck with Justice.¡±


    ¡°What better luck? and what happened to that pompous sister of yours?¡±


    The three of them turn around to see Justice, a bit weary but still looking fine on his ck suits, ¡°Sorry, the admiral and his wives took their d*mn time to speak at the dinner.¡±


    ¡°Something happened at the sea border?¡± Asked Henry, looking wary all of a sudden.


    ¡°I guess so, but don¡¯t worry, your grandfather will be sure to let you know, after all, the east seaside is your childhood home.¡± Justice chug his mug of Aggrus, and asked for more details about Vale and Henry¡¯s conversation, earlier, ¡°So, enlightened me, what do you need from me?¡±


    Vale doesn¡¯t know why he doesn¡¯t want to ask this favor from Justice, or he actually knows. From the day that Justice carry Anne after being attacked, how gentle he was, and when Justice gave her the silver pass, even though he never mentioned his name. Vale doesn¡¯t want Justice to have any contact with Anne, he wanted her for himself, although that might be just his wishful thinking from his end.


    ¡°I need three of your seats in the Wismushroom for a week.¡±


    ¡°Why in your right d*mn mine do you want to sit on a humongous and silly-looking mushroom?¡± Justice red eyes, looking at Vale, trying to find his reason.


    Vale holds his breath and exhaled abruptly, ¡°Because I offer Anne and her friends some seats on the Wismushroom, tomorrow.¡±


    Henry put his mug on the table and looked agape at Vale, ¡°Wait, River Anne from Viora vige? You¡¯ve met her already?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have met her,¡± Answered Vale, shortly. He turns his attention then back to Justice, ¡°So, will you give me your seats?¡±


    Justice¡¯s hands sp together, his mind is not there with his best friends, until he said, ¡°Yes, you can give my seats to Anne and her friends, they can use them for as long as they want.¡±


    Vale nods at Justice, although he felt insecure about it, he knows what is happening to Justice, the looks on his eyes, and the tiny smile on his face whenever they mentioned Anne in their conversation. Vale knew, that whatever feelings that he has for Anne, Justice is feeling the same.

 Chapter 26

    26 Friend in High ces


    A fuzzy hairball licked Anne¡¯s face when the sunlight begin to peek at her window. She wakes up to see her demon kitten¡¯s face so close to hers. She squeak and almost fell from her bed.


    ¡°Oh, Chikara, you gave me a jump scare.¡±


    The demon kitten doesn¡¯t care, he demands something from the master, and he wants it now. Grumbling at the sight of an empty bowl, Anne rushed into the preserve small box that she bought for Chikara. Inside the preserve box is a small piece of raw meat, one of Chikara¡¯s diets besides the catnip flower¡¯s milk.


    She put two pieces of meat in his bowl, and then she looks at her clock on the wall.


    ¡°Oh dear, I¡¯m going to bete for breakfast.¡±


    Anne petted her demon kitten several times before she took her towel and rushed inside her bathroom, in less than an hour, Vale will be here to give her the seat number for the Wismushroom. Da and David were so excited about the prospect of having to sit on the Wismushroom, that they squealed when Anne told them about Vale¡¯s propositionst night.


    ¡°So, your boyfriend is going to acquire seats for us?!¡± Da enthusiastically embraces Anne and jumps around in the lobby.


    Anne got flustered by Da¡¯s words, ¡°He is not my boyfriend, he is just a friend.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right, he is a man, not even a boy anymore, still you get us an advantage.¡± Said Da with a smile.


    .....


    ¡°Indeed, now let us get some rest, for tomorrow we finally get a taste of the knowledge overflow on Wismushroom.¡±


    Remembering their conversationst night, giving Anne has a smile on her face, Although the written exam will be held for two weeks, her two new friends are so anxious to study. Unlike them, she never thought to exert herself in her study, it¡¯s not because of her confidence, it¡¯s because she doesn¡¯t want to exhaust her brain.


    She will be studying for a normal amount of time, this is the strategy that she had done in her old world, the strategy that gained her a double degree in English literature and Pharmacy, also a master of Art. Her wish to sit under the Wismushroom is because of how eager her new friends have a taste of the new sensation in the capital.


    She hurries herself to the breakfast room, where Missus Del is in the middle of cleaning the room.


    ¡°Oh, Miss, I¡¯m sorry, you¡¯re a bitte for the breakfast.¡±


    She put on a forced smile, Anne is indeedte for breakfast, and now she has to go to the main library with an empty stomach.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright Missus Del, I¡¯m going to buy some food on the way to the library.¡±


    She lied, she need to be in the main library in less than an hour, she¡¯s alreadyte as she is, and Anne hates to bete for an appointment. Da and David already waiting in the lobby, they rushed to the Central Carriage Station and go to the main library. When they arrived at the main library, there was no Vale on the sight, instead, there was another man, waiting while leaning on the pir of the main library. A tall man, with ck hair and golden eyes with a constant smile on his face.


    Anne recognizes the fellow everywhere, ¡°Xavier? What are you doing here?¡±


    Xavier turns around, and when he sees Anne, his face lit like a sun that shines above them. He unexpectedly grabs Anne¡¯s body and twirls her in front of people around the area. She screamed while hiding her embarrassment.


    Xavier isughing like a child with Anne who¡¯s flustered in his arms, ¡°Oh, Anne, so nice to see you again! Are you well? All of us are so excited for you to be in the capital.¡±


    ¡°Yes! But please Xavier, put me down please.¡± Whispered Anne, wiggling in Xavier¡¯s arms.


    Realizing how he makes a scene in front of the main library, he put her down and apologizes immediately. The man is full of joy and sunshine, that¡¯s how Anne likes to describe Xavier.


    ¡°I... I¡¯m sorry Anne.¡± Xavier rustled his hair and gave her a bashful smile.


    Anne gave him a gracious smile, Anne always appreciates how expressive Xavier is, ¡°It¡¯s fine Xavier, did you happen to see Vale?¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s why I am here, today, he couldn¡¯t make it because there¡¯s an emergency on the port at Merlinni town.¡±


    Anne remembers Merlinni town, ¡°Merlinni town? Wait, David, isn¡¯t that your hometown?¡±


    David, surprisingly acting calm and shrug it off ¡°Oh yes, it must be one of the sea Kraken, they can handle it.¡±


    Xavier¡¯s frowned when he heard David¡¯s words, ¡°That¡¯s not what I heard, Kraken infestation is already making major damage everywhere, are you sure you can be this calm, young man?¡±


    This is the first time Anne saw a serious expression on Xavier, she tried to interfere before it escted into an argument.


    ¡°Uhm... I hope he is going to be okay, should I worry?¡± Asked Anne, trying to distract him from David.


    It is working, his smile is back and he turns his attention to Anne, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, although it will be hard, Vale is one of the strongest Magi.¡± Xavier then handed three wooden tes into Anne¡¯s hand, ¡°Here, this is the seat number, you can use the Wismushroom for as long as you need it.¡±


    Da and David are having the time of their life when they heard David¡¯s exnation for the seat number. Anne could see how Xavier is still a bit distracted by how David is so ignorant about his hometown, he is even more furious when David is more invested in the Wismushroom rather than worrying about what happened in Merlinni town.


    Anne gave the two of them their seat number and let them go inside before her.


    ¡°I saw many people in my lifetime, but I have never met a man like that friend of yours. He seems simr to those people... You know the heartless.¡± Muttered Xavier to Anne.


    He excused himself and let Anne go inside the library. While Anne begins to step inside the library, with the seat number te in his hand. She open the door to the special room for the reserved seat and handed her te to the on-duty librarian.


    ¡°Oh, wow, this is a very special seat, your friends already sat inside.¡±


    The librarian seems impressed by Anne¡¯s te, he even escorted her to her seat, while the other nobles around already gossiping and murmuring. Their seat is indeed a special one, located on the main atrium, with the Wismushroom perfect cement, it is closer to a vast window, and with a luxurious desk and chair with an insignia embroidered at the headrest of the chair. The insignia seems familiar to her.


    ¡°Silver pass? What are you doing here?¡±


    Anne turn around to the source of the voice, there was Heirim, with a surprised look staring at her.


    The librarian then exined the situation at Heirim, ¡°Lady Heirim, the missus and mister here are granted the seat number by the owner.¡±


    The look on Heirim¡¯s face is filled with anger, Anne could see a flicker of anger in her eyes, but she cover it quickly with a smile.


    ¡°Oh, I never know that you befriended the royal family.¡±


    Anne is in for a surprise, ¡°What did you just say? The royal family?¡±

 Chapter 27

    27 The Last Time With The Crown Prince


    The Library fill with the voices of people around the room, the murmuring, the insinuation, all of them from the nobles. Of course, Anne and her friends are seating in the reserved seats, and the most shocking thing of all, the seats that reserve for the royalty.


    Heirim¡¯s face is something that you can describe as disgust and disbelief, she felt that her rights as a noble are diminishing when there are silver pass recipients in the room where only high nobles can gain ess. For Heirim, her privilege as the high noble is everything.


    ¡°So, tell me, who¡¯s the one that giving you the reserved seat?¡± Asked Heirim with a fake smile on her face.


    The Librarian then walk in front of Anne, and defended her from Heirim, ¡°My Lady, the missus, and the mister are truly gain the ess to the reserved seat, as for the identity of the one that gave them the ess, it will remain as a secret.¡±


    ¡°What? you can¡¯t even tell me who¡¯s the one that gave them the reserve seat? What kind of civil servants are you?!¡±


    The nobledy Heirim is truly in rage, the foundation that she built during her childhood is crumbling in front of her eyes. She mes the girl with her unique purple hair, a peasant nheless.


    ¡°I am sorry mydy, but it¡¯s per their request, there¡¯s nothing I can do.¡±


    ¡°They?¡±


    The librarian doesn¡¯t budge, he just stands still in his ce, while Anne calmly sat on her reserve seat. One of the nobles named stor patted Heirim¡¯s back, ¡°Heirim, that¡¯s enough, just go back to your seat, we are trying to gain knowledge here, no need to make a scene,¡± He knows it is an oddity to see silver pass recipients at the reserve seat room, but as much as he hates it, he respected the seat number giver.


    .....


    ¡°stor... But...¡±


    stor whispered to Heirim, ¡°Don¡¯t tarnish your family¡¯s name just because of some peasants who got to taste the reserved seat.¡±


    Heirim¡¯s nce at Anne and Anne feels her hot and zing fury, she ignores herpletely, and pretend to discuss something with David.


    ¡°Is she gone?¡± Whispered Anne at her friend.


    ¡°Yes, the b*tch already go back to her se... Oh, my bad, she took her bag and go out of the room.¡± Whispered David back at Anne, he be her eyes, looking at all of the nobles around.


    Da is hissing at Anne and David, ¡°Just shut up you two, the coast is clear, now¡¯s the time to study.¡±


    The two of them go back to their study time, like everyone was saying, the Wismushroom do give them knowledge. Anne can feel her memory is improving significantly, she can memorize better, and seems almost fifty percent of the research material that she¡¯s been read is locked inside her brain.


    ¡°Wow, no wonder schr loves this Wismushroom, I could feel the improvement already, and we were here for like, two hours?¡± Whsipered David at Anne and Da.


    Anne giggled when she saw a glimpse of happiness on David¡¯s face, he was so happy about having to use the Wismushroom, even more than Da and herself. Not long after however, she feels a slight diforting from her head. she excuses herself to go to a restroom.


    She asked the librarian, about the way to a restroom.


    ¡°Oh, you can go to our rest area for the reserved seat, it¡¯s located on the same floor, you can¡¯t miss it.¡± Said the librarian to Anne, he saw her face and begin to be concerned, ¡°Miss, are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes, just feel light-headed, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Should I apany you to the rest area?¡±


    She doesn¡¯t want to be a bother and politely refused his offer. Anne walks into the hallway, there are a few people around since the level is used for reserved seats only. Her head begins to pound, and her sight is blurry, she leans on the wall and decides to go downstairs where she remembers the restroom location.


    Step by step, Anne carefully descended to the lower floor, but right in the middle of the stairs, she feel hazy and the world around her is spinning, she fainted, just in time for a man catches her before she fall down the stairs. Another man came from behind.


    ¡°Your majesty, do you need our help?¡±


    Justice turns his head and smiled, ¡°There¡¯s no need Bernard, but could you help me fetch the healer instead.¡±


    ¡°But I couldn¡¯t leave you alone here.¡±


    Justice just gave him a sigh and begin to walk carefully to the upper-level room, ¡°Just bring me the f*cking healer! I could handle schrs and bookworms if they decide to assassinate me!¡±


    Bernard scratches his head, other guards just shrug at him.


    ¡°What can you do captain, should we run the errand for you?¡±


    Bernard red at his subordinate, ¡°Just wait and guard the entrance, I¡¯ll be back soon!¡±


    Meanwhile, Justice carries Anne to the rest area, there¡¯s a day bed inside one of the small rooms, and the nobles use it to take a nap in the library, Justice put the upied sign and carefully put Anne in the day bed. He brushes her hair from her face and stares at her for a while.


    ¡°Why are you keep on appearing in my dream? Is it because you have met her?¡± Or is it because of my infatuation with you? Said the inner thoughts of the crown prince.


    Five minutester, Anne open her eyes, she look so confused while her head turned around the room. that¡¯s when her eyes look into a man with ming hair, standing on the window with his folded arms on his chest, his red ruby eyes intensely looking at Anne.


    ¡°Justice?¡±


    Justice took a step to her side, and without any hesitation, his palm goes to Anne¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°Hey, how are you feeling? Hmm... I don¡¯t think you have a fever.¡±


    Anne flustered by his sudden touch, she then pulls her head away from Justice¡¯s hand. A slight smirk came into his face, even though Anne doesn¡¯t aware of it.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine... Don¡¯t you worry.¡±


    ¡°A healer will be here at any minute, just take a rest.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need a healer, and all I need is to eat some food, not to take a rest.¡±


    Justice is frowning at her, ¡°I know you don¡¯t want to hurt your pride, as you¡¯re already a healer without a license, but at least try to be considerate?¡±


    ¡°Ugh, it¡¯s not because I refuse treatment, it¡¯s because I know what¡¯s happening to me.¡± Anne rolled her eyes at Justice¡¯s stubbornness.


    ¡°And what is that?¡±


    ¡°I have gastritis, I don¡¯t eat any breakfast, that¡¯s why.¡±


    ¡°So... you¡¯re just feeling peckish? Is that why you were passed out earlier?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Now, would you please ask the healer away, I¡¯m going to eat some food and I¡¯ll be better already.¡± Said Anne a bit frustrated.


    Justice mumbling incoherent words while he steps into the door, Bernard was already outside the door with a healer ready to get into the room.


    ¡°We don¡¯t need a healer, just buy me some food from the nearest restaurant.¡± Said Justice to Bernard and then he closed the door once more, ignoring their confused face.


    Anne is ready to walk outside, when he saw what she was going to do, he lifted her body and carry her to the bed.


    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± She tried to pry herself from Justice¡¯s strong arms.


    ¡°Just wait here, someone will bring you some food.¡±


    She could see how determined he is to confine her in the bed, all she could do is re at him and say, ¡°Ugh, fine! I¡¯ll wait here. Happy?¡±


    ¡°Ecstatic.¡± Muttered Justice with gritted teeth.


    Neither of them talks for a while, Anne is looking so angry and also hungry at the moment, while Justice ignores her and begins to read a pocket book. She took a nce at him, and somehow remember theirst time together at Viora vige, the moment that casually be her nightmare once in a while.


    ¡°Justice, could I ask you some questions?¡±


    Justice replied at her request without pulling his eyes away from the pocketbook, ¡°Yes, how can I help you?¡±


    ¡°Thest time... you know thest time we have met,¡± She look warily at Justice, while the crown prince pretended to be infested with his pocketbook, ¡°You know, the forest... Do you remember about the beautifuldy that we met, at the forest?¡±


    Justice¡¯s eyes shifted, he put the pocketbook down and stare at Anne. ¡°You remember everything?¡±

 Chapter 28

    28 The Witch Hunt Incident


    Anne felt threatened, she never expected Justice will be so apprehensive about her asking him about the incident in the forest, let alone, look so surprised that Anne remembered everything.


    ¡°You... you really do remember everything?¡± Asked Justice again, there¡¯s tension on his face, ¡°Please answer... my question...¡±


    ¡°Yes... I remember everything, what do you mean that I wasn¡¯t supposed to remember everything about that woman in the forest.¡±


    Justice curses as soon as Anne confirmed what he had feared, he couldn¡¯t rx even one bit. Pacing through the room, thinking hard on his mind. He nces at Anne, the girl was so gullible about the whole thing.


    She doesn¡¯t know what Justice, Xavier, Henry, and Vale had done to her. As soon as he was brought unconscious outside of the forest, the other three were already there, waiting for him. Justice doesn¡¯t want her to remember about their encounter with that mysterious woman. He asked Vale to do something unthinkable, erasing her memory of the encounter.


    However, Anne is unique, she is not from this world. The forgotten spell somehow failed to erase the memory, Justice doesn¡¯t aware of her origin. The girl in front of him is full of questions in her head.


    ¡°Justice... What is happening? Why are you panicking?¡±


    Flustered by her question, he denied everything by staring at the door and scoffing, ¡°Silly, I¡¯m not panicking.¡±


    ¡°Scared then? I mean what¡¯s the big deal about thatdy anyway?¡±


    .....


    A sudden knock on the door gave Justice a sigh of relief, he open the door to see one of the guards carrying two boxes of food.


    ¡°Ah, your food is here!¡± He said with an exaggeration in his voice, ¡°Let me arrange it for you on the table, and oh look at the time, I... I need to go now, get well soon, okay.¡±


    ¡°But... Justi...¡±


    Before Anne could evenplete her sentence, Justice is already gone, leaving her alone inside the room. Bernard and the guards were dumbfounded by their crown prince¡¯s action.


    ¡°Your majesty, you¡¯re just going to leave her?¡± Asked Bernard, with aical face.


    Justice red at him, and whispered, ¡°Yes, Bernard, I am! She was fine, and one thing... Don¡¯t call me your majesty in front of her.¡±


    They go outside and back to the carriage, Justice has a lot on his mind right now, while Bernard still looks at him with a permanent shock on his face.


    ¡°She... she doesn¡¯t know that you¡¯re the crown prince of this kingdom?¡± Bernard is genuinely curious and keeps trying to pry some questions from his crown prince.


    An annoyance came to Justice¡¯s face, with his red eyes and thebination of a frown on his face, he berated his chief of guard. He doesn¡¯t need a distraction right now, what he needs is to meet with Henry, Vale, and Xavier.


    Suddenly, Justice called a name while he stare into the window of his carriage, ¡°Kirara.¡±


    A pair of eyes appears from his shadow, ¡®Yes, master.¡¯


    ¡°You know what I want, and remember the usual ce.¡± Said Justice without even turning his head.


    ¡®Affirmative master.¡¯


    Then a huge white wolf jumps from Justice¡¯s shadow, Bernard is already used to seeing Justice¡¯s Familiar by now. The white wolf tribe gave to him, from his childhood. He knows by now, that Justice is going to go away tonight, without him by his side.


    ¡°I¡¯m assuming that I need to loosen the schedule of our guard, tonight?¡±


    Justice snickers at Bernard, he is aware of him doing a run from the pce once in a while, but Bernard never actually says it verbally about it, he just gives him a hint and Justice will give him some instructions.


    ¡°East gate this time, about ten at night.¡±


    ¡°Right, your majesty.¡±


    The carriage arrives at the pce, Justice, and Bernard enter the hall when the Empress saw him from the second floor.


    ¡°Justice!¡±


    He looks up, to his mother who¡¯s now descended from the hall grand stairs.


    ¡°Hello mother, fancy seeing you here?¡±


    A woman with red ming hair and a pair of leaf green eyes were staring at Justice with her hands on her hips. The empress of the kingdom, the ruler of the Valorian kingdom, The empress Liberty.


    ¡°Where were you? Your fathers was looking for you?¡±


    ¡°I have a prior engagement at the capital, what happened?¡±


    She looks at him with a re, but Justice doesn¡¯t even care about it, he is already used to his mother nagging at him.


    ¡°Ascend wanted to teach you the new trading strategy, and Edward needs a sparring partner.¡±


    ¡°Oh, let me go to them and apologize, I forgot about my schedule for today.¡±


    Empress Liberty is in shock and her eyes now staring at Bernard, ¡°Bernard! What are you doing as his chief of the guards for the crown prince?!¡±


    Bernard is sweating bullets, he is always afraid of the empress, not because she s the ruler, but the fact that she is the former magic knight with tremendous power on her hands. She is a veteran knight with enough experience fighting the hoards.


    ¡°I... I¡¯m sorry her majesty, he... I mean your majesty insists to go to the library, even though he knows about his schedule with the kings.¡±


    Now, Justice is the one that ring at Bernard, he just wanted to peek at Anne studying using his reserved seat, but instead, he had to carry her once again, and know the truth about their failure to erase her memory of the forest incident.


    Empress Liberty let out a sigh and warned her son, ¡°Look, just go to Ascend, for now, I¡¯ll tell Andrew to spar with another guard.¡±


    She walks away, leaving Justice, who¡¯s now folding his arms on his chest, ready to chew on Bernard.


    ¡°Next time, Bernard, just said that you have already told me!¡±


    ¡°My apology.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, let¡¯s just go to father Ascend now, I really need to get this thing to be done with.¡±


    Justice has met his father, king Ascend the counselor, and learn some knowledge about thew of trading. At ten o¡¯clock, he already running to the east gate, using his ck leather jacket, Kirara, his familiar already back in his shadow. He ride his horse from his secret stable and dashed through the night.


    Entering a bar on the dark side of Z street, where his best friends are already sitting in their favorite seating. Xavier pour a drink to Justice, he drank it in one gulp. Vale and Henry share a nce, for them, to see Justice like this, means some trouble ising for them.


    Thest time he was panic like this, was when he asked them to hunt for a powerful witch that was spected as the mother of the dark monster, the creator of the dark mischievous road. They call it, Witch of The Mountain.


    ¡°Finally, you sent Kirara for a meeting, that¡¯s uncanny of you, so what happened?¡± Asked Xavier to justice.


    Justice¡¯s eyes wandered into all of his friends, and stayed at Vale, ¡°It was Anne.¡±


    ¡°River Anne? What happened to her?¡±


    ¡°The spell failed, she remembers everything.¡±


    Vale was stunned, he knows what he was capable of, and doing magica is his talent, and his talent never failed him before. ¡°No... are you sure?¡±


    Justice nodded his head, ¡°Yes, and the worst part is, she was curious about her, about the Witch of The Mountain.¡±

 Chapter 29

    29 The Unresolve Feelings


    Tension is brewing inside the bar after Justice revealed to the others about the failed forgotten spell. Vale, the one who performed the spell, is astonished by Justice¡¯s confirmation. He was confident about his magica and his ability, now, he couldn¡¯t even be sure of his own capability in magica.


    ¡°Gods! Why?! I was so sure that she will forget about the forest incident. Howe...¡± Vale was panicking. This urrence never happened to him.


    For Vale, who has ny percent adaptability, having a failed spell is out of the question for him. Justice saw everything. For him, Vale is an open book. He may be the gifted Magi that happened every hundred years in the kingdom, but for Justice, he is a friend first, and right now, Vale is doubting himself.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t be so hard on yourself. I don¡¯t think your spell is at fault here.¡± Said Justice.


    Henry scoffed at Justice, ¡°Then the fault came from Anne?¡±


    ¡°I believe so.¡±


    Henry, the one person that is always calmer than the others, can¡¯t even keep his cool, ¡°What? how do you even say that, Justice? Do you have the proof?!¡±


    Justice red at all of them. ¡°Calm down! All of you! Anyway, we need to find a way to check her properly.¡± He nces at Vale. ¡°Do you have a way?¡±


    While his hands sp together, Vale¡¯s eyes were staring at the table. He was focusing; he was thinking so hard. Until he asked another question to Henry, ¡°What¡¯s the three exam process this time? I know that they¡¯re always different every year.¡±


    .....


    ¡°The exams? The first is written exams, the second is aptitude exams, and the third is field training. Why do you asking such a question?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it, the second exam, that¡¯s the answer, Justice.¡± Vale pped the table, making the aggrus jug tumbling down.


    ¡°Seriously, Vale, calm down!¡± Xavier is gruntling while asking for another jug of aggrus.


    Henry now smiles at Vale, the smile full of disbelief and astonishment. ¡°So, you want us to observe Anne¡¯s results on the second exam, right? Wow Vale, never seen this side of yours.¡±


    Xavier then blurted out one of Henry¡¯s secrets, ¡°You¡¯re one to talk, Henry. Aren¡¯t you asking one of the civil administrators to hasten Anne¡¯s registration documents?¡±


    Justice and Vale suddenly grew quieter. Henry never told them about a favor that he gave to Anne.


    ¡°You never told us about this, Henry?¡± Asked Justice with his eyes focusing on his drink.


    ¡°I have told you that I¡¯ve met her on Q street!¡±


    ¡°That was the only thing that you have told me!¡±


    ¡°You never asked me anything after!¡±


    Vale massaged his temple and shouted, ¡°Would the two of you just shut up?¡±


    Although the bicker finally end, Vale could feel the animosity between the two of them. Only one person could warm the situation. Xavier, is a mild manner of the other three, for him, enjoying life is his philosophy, and he hates confrontation. Although he will do anything for the one that he holds dearly to his heart.


    ¡°Come on guys, do we have to fight over something so trivial?¡± Said Xavier with a smirk on his face.


    Henry looked at Xavier with a frown on his face. ¡°Trivial? Xavier, we were talking about the witch...¡±


    ¡°I am not talking about that, Henry. I am talking about how all of us seem enamored with one person.¡±


    ¡°Xavier, you...¡±


    Xavier smile, he seems bitter but still has a smile blooming on his face, ¡°I will admit it, the moment I saw her, I feel something that I have never felt from another girl, and I know all of you feel the same as me.¡±


    All of them grew quieter once again, as much as they hate the fact that they were feeling the same about Anne, Vale, and Justice kept dreaming about the girl. Henry and Xavier sometimes met her coincidentally everywhere.


    ¡°She is something else, that girl,¡± Justice said while imagining Anne in his mind.


    The others just smile at Justice¡¯s remark, and after they resolved to look into Anne¡¯s aptitude test for the second exam, the night bes pleasant again. Midnight bes their sign to leave. When all of them were ready to leave by their horses, Vale rustled his hair awkwardly, nervously looking at his best friends.


    ¡°Before we leave, I need to tell you all something.¡± Said Vale suddenly.


    The other three looked at him with confusion on their face.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Asked Justice.


    ¡°I¡¯ve asked Anne to join me on a date after the first exam. I intend to take her as my partner at the dance party at the pce.¡±


    While the other two be quiet, Xavier on the other hand isughing and shaking his head.


    ¡°Oh Vale, typical you, always wanted to be the first.¡± Said Xavier teasing Vale.


    ¡°Shut up, at least I make the move. What about all of you?¡±


    Justice, on the other hand, gave them a salute and leave the bar. Vale looked at him with a question mark on his mind.


    ¡°Why he doesn¡¯t say anything?¡± Muttered Vale to the other two.


    Henry feel Vale was being ridiculous. ¡°I mean, should he say something? Or be mad? I know I¡¯m jealous right now.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t mad?¡± Vale is trying to ask Henry carefully about his advance toward Anne.


    ¡°Why should I? You¡¯re taking your chances and you got a good result if only I have done it myself.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, buddy.¡±


    ¡°Although, for your information, I¡¯m going with Heirim to the pce ball.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Vale and Xavier couldn¡¯t hide their horrified face at Henry.


    The four of them finally talk about their feelings, while our heroine is sleeping soundly in her room, for a few weeks, that¡¯s the only thing that Anne does, studying, and getting a good rest, while asionally strolling the marketce, she even met Henry and Xavier on the marketce or even on the road. While her daily life bes her routine, the day of the first exam is finally here.


    Chikara¡¯s purring on her chest, trying to wake her up, she awakens in a very good mood and refreshed, She is ready to take the first exam.

 Chapter 30

    30 The First Exam Mishap


    A girl is standing in front of her window, she leans and smiles at the world. A girl with purple hair, and determination in her eyes. Anne is up and ready, she was taking her shower, with all of her stationaries on her bag, and with Chikara begging her for food. She refill his bowl and saw something from under her door.


    A small note, from David.


    ¡®Anne, Da, and I have already gone to our exam room, turns out yours is not in the same building as us. So sorry love, catch you after the exam.¡¯


    Anne giggled while reading the small note, at least they will meet her after the exam. She looks at the time and thought that she has some time to eat breakfast. Missus Del gave her a sandwich and send her away to the front door.


    ¡°Thest thing you want is to bete on your exam, dear, better go now alright?¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Missus Del, wish me luck?¡±


    She rustled Anne¡¯s hair and smiled, ¡°Of course youngdy, now off you go.¡±


    Anne feels overwhelmed by Missus Del¡¯s affection towards her, the only one who gave her the same treatment is her adopted parents. Anne never had those from her birth parents, even from her friends or past lovers. Alexithymia is a silent but frightening disease when diagnosed at the tender age of three in the old world.


    Fighting was all she wanted to do, sadly not for her parents. They give up, as soon as they saw that there¡¯s not even anyugh or smileing on her face, her mother describes her as a cold face, her father calls her a little zombie, and both of them call her their misfortune. When her mother fall from the stairs, it was her fault, when her father lost his job, it was her fault. Because she never made them happy and content.


    .....


    Somehow, when she got pulled into this new world, her disease is no longer a problem. She could express her love towards Ed and Martha, feels anger, smile anytime she wanted to, and all of the freedom that she couldn¡¯t give to her birth parents. Because for Anne, the terrifying thought as the child of misfortune is still there, embedded in her mind.


    Anne took the carriage to P Street to the ce where she need to take her first exam. She look around at the almost empty hall and got confused by her exam ce. She took a second nce at her note and scratches her head.


    ¡°How am I going to go to this Magi building five and one? I don¡¯t even know where is this Magi building!¡± Anne shouted her frustration thinking about the time.


    It was almost time for the exam, she tried to look around any information board but found nothing. Until a hand patted her back, Anne turn her head and saw a man smiling at her.


    ¡°Hey, you seem lost.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, I am, thank you for noticing, I need to go to the Magi building?¡±


    The man paused at first, looks like he was thinking about something, and then he pointed at one building the farthest away from the hall, ¡°Right there, miss, the south building, you can¡¯t miss it.¡±


    Anne then run as fast as she could to the building, but not before she said her thanks to the stranger. The man waves at her and walks to one of the corners, there¡¯s Heirim, waiting with her hands folded.


    ¡°So, she believes you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I lead her to Magic Knight practice building.¡±


    Heirim got a smile on her beautiful face, she knows the result for anyone who iste for the exam, immediate dismissal. She got this whole n out, in the early morning, when she informed her friends that Anne went away to her exam ce. the next step in her n is to put the written note under Anne¡¯s door, and also to make sure she got overslept by the luby herbs from her open window.


    She wanted Anne to be gone forever from the capital, and it¡¯s all because of what happened a few weeks earlier. When she saw Anne being carried by the one that she wanted to be for her entire life, the man with red eyes and ming red hair, the crown prince of the Valorian kingdom.


    Meanwhile, Anne without knowing how she has been cheated by Heirim, was entered the wrong building and immediately got escorted outside by one of the exammittees.


    ¡°But, I don¡¯t get it, this is my exam building, right? Magi building?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re wrong, miss, the Magi building is in the other adjacent building, it would take ten minutes to walk.¡±


    Her desperation is at its peak when the clock tower chimes several times. The exam finally begins, she knows about the rules and the immediate dismissal. But Anne is not going to give up easily, she toughens herself and rushes into the Magi Building. Little that she knows there¡¯s a man, following her from behind, the man was practicing archery outside, near the Magic Knight building. He recognizes Anne from afar just by her hair color.


    Purple hair, shining brightly from the way he saw it, he was mesmerized and immediately followed her. He notice how panicked she was when she reached the Magi building. Themittees are doing their job properly. Poor Anne gets the consequences, he saw how heartbroken her face was when she walks. He doesn¡¯t want her to be defeated just for some mishap. The man goes to the exammittees and does what he has never done before.


    Anne walk into the hallway, thinking defeated already, and then a voice called her name from behind. It was the exammittee, chasing her all the way to the hall.


    ¡°Miss Anne, you may now join the others to take the written exam.¡±


    Her eyes widen with sudden surprise, ¡°Wait? I thought?¡±


    ¡°Please, no need to question about what happened, you just need to enter your designated exam room, but no additional time will be given to you. Is that okay?¡±


    ¡°Yes... Yes! Of course, oh, thank you so much!¡±


    ¡°No need to thank me miss, just be d that someone in the higher-ups is noticing.¡±


    Puzzled by his remarks, but happy at the same time, Anne doesn¡¯t want to get into any more trouble. She choose to be quiet the whole way back to her designated room. Finally, she took the exam like the others and was thankful to whoever the higher up, who¡¯s been looking after her.


    Justice saw Anne from one of the windows, looking so serious and fully concentrated on taking the exam. He is so happy to see her able to take the exam. Now he can go back to his archery practice, knowing that she is still here, fighting to be what she wanted to be.

 Chapter 31

    31 The Rumor (Part 1)


    ¡°So? How¡¯s your exam?¡±


    Anne blinked her eyes several times, she looks at Da and David with a confused face, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on Anne, I don¡¯t think you¡¯re going away with just a what. We know that you were messed up, you got sote you almost got a dismissal!¡± Said David looking at his friend with a re on his face.


    The three of them are sitting inside a caf¨¦ near the Practice building, almost all of the exam participants are there, winding up after six hours cooped inside the room. She can hear whispers all over the caf¨¦, her being granted permission to take the exam after beingte is something uncalled for.


    She took a deep breath and enjoy her berry-berry tea, ¡°I don¡¯t know what else I could say, I waste and even attempted to go back to the dorm, but then one of the exammittees was chasing me and let me go enter the exam room.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it? You never ask them about how you can enter the exam room after viting one of the rules?!¡±


    Da pinched David and red intensely at him, ¡°David, keep it quiet will you, everyone is watching us!¡±


    ¡°Oh? You can re and be paranoid, but I couldn¡¯t?¡±


    Both of them are bickering when something came to Anne¡¯s mind.


    .....


    ¡°Hey, David, did you put a note under my door this morning?¡±


    David¡¯s frowned at Anne, he seems confused by her question, ¡°A note? What for?¡±


    ¡°Wait, both of you never gave me a note?¡±


    David and Da looked at each other, both of them befuddled by Anne¡¯s question.


    ¡°Of course not, why do we need to write you a note, if we could talk to you directly?¡± Said Da.


    Something clicked on Anne¡¯s mind, something, or if she could say, someone. She carefully collected clues in her mind, and then ask her friends one more question.


    ¡°Both of you said that someone told you to go ahead without me, who was it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, someone... a girl... Well, she lives with us at the Icarus dorm.¡± David informed Anne, and his eyes averted to a group of nobles outside, ¡°Wait, that¡¯s the girl, the blonde one.¡±


    Anne and Da look at the nobles, and Anne knew exactly who she is.


    ¡°You know her, Anne?¡± Asked Da, she noticed a flicker of anger in Anne¡¯s eyes.


    However, Anne just smile at Da and said, ¡°Oh, just a little, I knew her brother.¡±


    ¡°Shut up! You befriended a noble?¡±


    Da and David seem excited about Anne¡¯s acquaintances all of a sudden. She just smiled and shrugged it off, she doesn¡¯t want any attention about who¡¯s her friends, not after the whole situation about how she can manage to do the exam without any consequences. She looks at Heirim¡¯s group once more, she knows her back is now a target, and she needs to do something about it.


    Meanwhile, at the pce, Justice is being apprehended by his fathers, one of the high-ranking civil servants got the information about him and defended a silver pass recipient from getting an immediate dismissal. They were furious, especially king Leon.


    ¡°Son, what you were done today was the example of abusing your authority as the crown prince, and it never set well with me.¡±


    ¡°Father, I wasn¡¯t trying to...¡±


    Leon hit the table, his red ruby eyes locking into his son. For him, the crown prince position is sacred in the Valorian kingdom, a position where they need to find a suitable empress for the kingdom, where they will guide the woman of their choice to be a wise and respectable ruler.


    ¡°Leon... don¡¯t be that harsh.¡± Ascend, the wiser one tried to calm hispanion, he always has a soft spot for Justice, even more than his own son.


    ¡°No, Ascend, he is the crown prince, he needs to know, what he had done today is not something that will sit in the eyes of the ministers.¡±


    Edward¡¯s hand folded in front of his chest, and he let Leon and Ascend spoke, for him, observing is the key, he is never much of a talker. For him, protecting his family and the kingdom is his purpose, Leon and Ascend are enough for Justice to handle for now.


    Ascend looks down at the floor and sighed, ¡°Just tell me one thing, was the person is someone you hold dear to your heart, or you¡¯re doing it out of pity?¡±


    Justice¡¯s eyes are looking around the room, to the aloof Edward, the furious Leon, and then back to Ascend, ¡°It was both.¡±


    His three fathers don¡¯t have anything to say anymore, they dismissed Justice, and begin to have a discussion without him inside the room. Justice doesn¡¯t even bother to stay behind, he calls Bernard to his study and begins his daily duty. As a crown prince, he needs to learn the government and begin to seek a potential suitor. As his father¡¯s duty before him.


    Something knocking on the window of his study room, and a big bird with silver and white feathers is perching on the tree branches at the terrace.


    ¡°Your majesty, it¡¯s...¡±


    Justice raises his hand to Bernard, ¡°Silver Hawk, it¡¯s Vale Familiar, I saw him.¡±


    He open the window to speak to Vale¡¯s familiar, the bird saw him and begin to speak.


    ¡®Your majesty, Sir Vale needs to meet you at the usual ce, tonight.¡¯


    ¡°No, tell him to meet me at the pce, tonight, Henry will be here to help me organize the pce ball, anyway.¡±


    Silver Hawk looks directly at Justice, ¡®Of course, your majesty.¡¯


    He flies away with Justice looking at him from the terrace.


    ¡°Sometimes, I¡¯m still terrified with the size of that bird.¡± Said Justice to Bernard.


    ¡°Not just you, your majesty.¡± Chuckles Bernard.


    He resumes his work for a while, and when the night falls, Henry is already inside his study looking at him critically.


    ¡°What are you thinking, Justice?¡±


    ¡°Saving the girl, what else?¡± Justice replied to Henry with a challenging look on his face.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what we should have done it!¡±


    ¡°You wanted to see her leaving the capital immediately because of the immediate dismissal?¡±


    ¡°No one is going to evict her immediately, and there¡¯s always a way to let her do the exam afterward!¡±


    Justice then gave him another answer to rebuke Henry¡¯s reason, ¡°But she will get a huge penalty by then, her grade will be among the lowest because of the penalty!¡±


    ¡°You never know that!¡±


    ¡°Oh, and you knew?!¡±


    Before Henry could say anything, someone knocks on the door, and announce two new arrivals.


    ¡°Sir Vale and Sir Xavier, your majesty.¡±


    Enter Vale and Xavier, who almost have the same expression as Henry. Vale even walk to Justice and poked at his chest.


    ¡°You have some nerves, really?! Do you think helping her in front of people will help her?!¡±


    ¡°Yes, and look at her now, she was able to do the exam without any penalty.¡±


    ¡°That was cool and all, Justice, but would you even consider the after effect?¡± This time, it was Xavier, although he had done it calmer than the rest of them.


    Justice took a long sigh, while he sat on his desk, ¡°I¡¯ve never thought about that.¡±


    ¡°People around already whispering, even though they don¡¯t know who was her savior¡¯s identity.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the pce intercepted immediately... How is she?¡±


    The three of them don¡¯t know, but Vale informed the others that he has already made an appointment with her, for tomorrow.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try to ask her about it.¡±


    ¡°Why do you need to meet her tomorrow?¡± Xavier asked him while he poured a drink into his ss.


    ¡°For the ball, I want to buy her a dress.¡±


    ¡°Sh*t, I forgot you¡¯re going to ask her to the ball.¡± Cursed Justice.


    ¡°Why do you even worry?¡±


    ¡°Because...¡±


    Another knock came from the door.


    ¡°Your majesty, her majesty the empress is here.¡±


    Justice groaned at his desk, while the door suddenly open widely, empress Liberty walked in with a fit of anger on her face.

 Chapter 32

    32 The Rumor (Part 2)


    The moment when the servants announced her majesty the empress¡¯s arrival, Justice knew he was going to get into trouble. The door opened, entered a beautiful woman with red ming hair, ring at the crown prince.


    ¡°Justice Hargreaves Valorian... Who... Is in his right mind... HELPING A CERTAIN GIRL TO AVOID A PENALTY THAT SHE DESERVED IN FRONT OF GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS?!¡±


    The four young men that were in the room now stood up straight while looking at the furious empress in front of them. Justice was nervous. For him, it is easier to face his three fathers than to face his mother when she is in a rage. The empress¡¯s fiery temper is a significant trait of her red hair, and that¡¯s why she was an amazing Magic Knight in her time. Her temper was also the reason why King Leon, the former crown prince, chose her as the empress.


    Justice tried to hide his fear from her and smiled, ¡°Mother, it is good to see you, how are you...¡±


    ¡°SHUT YOUR D*MN MOUTH!¡±


    The other three knew that was the cue for them to go out of the room. They said goodbye as quickly as they could and left Justice alone with his mother.


    ¡°Is it wise to leave him alone?¡± Muttered Henry, outside the crown prince¡¯s study.


    ¡°Oh yeah, absolutely!¡± Xavier and Vale answered him at the same time.


    Henry, Xavier, and Vale decide to wait for Justice in the ss house, knowing very well they have dodged the bullet. Justice, on the other hand, is inside the study being berated by his mother.


    .....


    ¡°That was a huge mistake, son! Now everyone will know you have a favorite, and everyone knows you would do anything to save one girl, even bend the rules!¡±


    ¡°Not everyone, mother, you¡¯re exaggerating.¡± Said Justice while massaging his temple.


    ¡°No... Son, it is...¡± Her majesty the empress no longer has the high tone on her voice, the sound now calmer yet trembles, ¡°When you¡¯re the crown prince in one of the powerful kingdoms, every act, every move that you take will be scrutinized! What you¡¯ve done today, will possibly do more harm to the girl than you.¡±


    Justice heard her, her words ran deep. He knows that was a mistake, but somehow it was a mistake that he would dly repeat if it meant helping the girl. He looked at his mother and tried to ask for help, his eyes locked on hers, but his mouth never spoke the words.


    Her Majesty, the empress Liberty, baffled by her son¡¯s act, had sensed something, a glimpse of magica seeping out from her son. It wasn¡¯t his son magica, it was someone else.


    ¡°Justice, I wanted to ask you, when you were on your hunting trip almost two months ago, did you meet her?¡±


    ¡°Meet whom, mother?¡± Asked Justice, still pretending to y coy with his mother.


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t you dare to lie to me, son! I know that you¡¯re hunting...¡±


    Before empress, Libertypleted her words, Justice was already in front of her and grab her shoulder. She was shocked, not because of the sudden movement of her son, but by the fear in his eyes.


    ¡°Mother... Refrain yourself... Do... Not... Say her name.¡± The tone of his voice, and the re in his eyes, made the atmosphere heavier and grim.


    Liberty tried to calm her son, ¡°Alright, Justice, Don¡¯t worry son, I¡¯m not going to say her name, alright?¡±


    The persuasion is working. He began to release his firm grasp on his mother¡¯s shoulder, Liberty warmly smiled at him. She had bore five sons for Valorian, even though the officials expected her to give birth to an heiress. She is always proud of all of her sons, especially Justice, the son with many achievements and the only true son of Leon.


    Justice looks disarray, his eyes wandering around, ¡°I... I need to go, I have a duty right now.¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course, I think your friends were outside, in the pce sshouse. I¡¯ll send the maid to bring you some refreshments.¡±


    Justice nodded to his mother, he stepped outside from his study, while Liberty¡¯s eyes followed him from behind.


    ¡°You know there¡¯s something happened to my brother, right?¡±


    A voice came from the hall. Liberty turns to the source of the voice, to see a man with red hair and green eyes.


    ¡°Javier, I thought you had your duty in the south?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ming for the ball, mother. Also, I have yet to announce my engagement.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, you intend to announce it at the ball? That¡¯s ridiculous!¡± asked Liberty. She knew there was more than met the eye when it involved her second son, Javier.


    Javier grinned, then on a theatrical act of grabbing his chest and pulled a sad face, ¡°Must you hurt me like that, mother?¡±


    ¡°I must if that involved you and that woman!¡±


    For a second, there was rageing from Javier¡¯s eyes, but he immediately subsided, and thus another smile came to his face, ¡°Only you would think Amelia as such a woman.¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m the only one who sees her as what she is! a woman with big ambition.¡±


    ¡°What of it? You know that is a fine quality in a woman, you also have the trait.¡±


    Liberty takes a sigh, she walks through the door, and stops beside her son, ¡°That¡¯s why I know, she is a dangerous woman.¡± She was gone from Javier¡¯s side afterward.


    While Liberty tried to avoid her son, Justice met with his friends again inside the sshouse. He red at the three of them with his hands on his hips.


    ¡°Unbelievable! You left me alone with her when the only thing she wanted to do was to fry me and grill my *ss!¡±


    ¡°Well, you deserve it.¡± Said Xavier with a bemused on his face.


    ¡°So, what did she tell you about Anne?¡± Asked Vale, he was in the middle of admiring a rare orchid inside the sshouse.


    Justice flopped himself on one of the lounge sofas, he stared at the sky above, while scoffing at his friends, ¡°Fine! You guys were right, it was too hasty for me to act as the hero for her, happy?¡±


    Xavier, Henry, and Vale looking at each other, hearing the way he has spoken about it, and also how the royalties and officials scolded him, makes the three of them feel a bit sorry for justice.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with admitting your false judgment, although we knew the reason behind your rash decision.¡± Said Henry, he flicked Justice¡¯s forehead and smiled, ¡°Is it worth it?¡±


    Smiling while his eyes still admiring the stars above, ¡°For her? yes, it is.¡±


    Justice is sincere, he meant it, like how he meant to begin nning something for her. Vale could see it, the passion that emitted inside of him. He recognized it because he had the same passion for her as well. Only the passion of Henry and Xavier reminds a mystery. Taking a sigh, Vale sat down on the sofa and addressed the problem because of Justice¡¯s actions.


    ¡°Although we need to do something about the rumor, I can assure you she¡¯s being scrutinized by her fellow applicants now.¡± Said Henry to the other three.


    Somehow, instead of being worried, Justice calmly said, ¡°No, I believe in her.¡±


    He has a feeling for Anne, but he doesn¡¯t want to be coveted by his feeling. Besides, he had already made a mess by helping her. Now, it will depend on how strong she is able to face the rumors. The night began to drift away. Anne, the girl who¡¯s the hot topic of the day, is in the middle of cleaning her room. But it was just one of her reasons for her friends to be able to avoid another celebratory party. The applicants throw a small party at the end of the first exam in the restaurant nearby.


    She didn¡¯t want to hear the murmuring of people, it was hard enough for her to get stingy eyes and some indecent word from another applicant, she just wanted peace and quiet for now. Anne was wondering who had the high authority to let her take the exam. Was it Henry? He is a high noble, and also a knight, or Vale? Respected magi.


    Chikara suddenly appeared. He had just gotten back from his hunting days. The demon kitten rubbed his body on Anne¡¯s cheek while purring excitingly.


    ¡°Wee back, did you have a good hunt?¡± Anne asked her demon kitten, her smile blooming just by looking at her familiar.


    Chikara meowed at her and gave her another rub before he went to his bed and closed his eyes. She took a deep breath and resumed her work. Not long after, a knock came on her door.


    ¡°Anne, it¡¯s me, Da.¡±


    Anne opened her door immediately, but not before she ruffled her hair as a sign of unkemptness from cleaning the room. Da nces at her friend and scratches her head.


    ¡°You know, you ought to make more effort if you wanted us to believe that you were cleaning the room?¡±


    Bashful by Da¡¯s blunt reason, Anne gave her friend a smile while her hand tried to fix her hair.


    ¡°Sorry, guess the cat is out of the bag now... hmm... I thought you were at the party with David?¡±


    Da squinted her eyes at Anne, ¡°Let me tell you something, not even the slightest we believed that you were noting to the party because you wanted to do some cleaning, and there¡¯s someone looking for you in the lobby.¡±


    Anne tilted her head, trying to remember about any appointment ahead of time, ¡°There¡¯s someone? Who?¡± Asked Anne, confused about a sudden visitor.

 Chapter 33

    33 The Rumor (Part 3)


    ¡°Who is it?¡±


    Anne still trying to figure out who¡¯s the person that came at night just to have a meeting with her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, an older gentleman. He is waiting. You should hurry.¡±


    Puzzled by it, she went and take a look at the older gentleman, when Anne took a step into the lobby. How surprised she was when the person turn out to be her father, Edward.


    ¡°Father?¡±


    Ed¡¯s face immediately lit when he saw his daughter in front of him. He gave her a warm embrace, and a smile bloomed on Anne¡¯s face.


    ¡°How are you, sweety?¡± Edward asked his daughter with a fond remark in his voice.


    They were inside a small caf¨¦ near Icarus Dorm. It is a perfect ce for Anne right now since almost all the applicants for the exam were partying in another area. The two of them enjoy some Metee tea, a type of herbal drink that has the effect of calming the nerves and also prevents insomnia.


    Taking a sip of her tea. Anne feels energized and much calmer. ¡°I can feel it already. I will have a good night¡¯s sleep tonight.¡±


    .....


    Ed could feel something was wrong with his daughter. She was aloof, and her smile felt forced. He needs to know what is happening to her. Martha will definitely have a fit if he failed to ease their daughter¡¯s mind.


    ¡°Something was bothering you, Anne? Would you like to talk about it?¡± Asked Ed to Anne. His tone was firm but without any pressure.


    Anne, sensing that her father already smells the trouble, tries to ease the tension by smiling widely, ¡°Nothing, I... I was tired, you know, today was so...¡±


    Suddenly, Ed grabs his daughter¡¯s hand and holds it, giving her the support that she needs. ¡°Child, I¡¯m your father. I do know if something is wrong. Please tell me what¡¯s happened to you?¡±


    A warm feeling came to her, a feeling of love and care, as she had never had that kind of parental love in her old world. She promised herself that she will never cry because of the trouble. Instead, Anne decided to tell her father everything about her case.


    Ed almost choked on his tea, he could never imagine the trouble that his daughter faced at the first exam, ¡°So... you werete for the first exam, and when they gave you a dismissal, five minutes after, they change their mind and let you participate instead?!¡±


    ¡°Yes, I haven¡¯t even pursued them. When I left the building, they instead chased after me and gave me permission to join the others.¡±


    ¡°Oh daughter, you do not know what it meant, do you?¡±


    A frown came to Anne¡¯s face. ¡°Truthfully, I have no idea. Now almost all the applicants are having a field day talking about me.¡±


    ¡°Although I condone such an act, but they have reasons to make a rumor out of it.¡± Said Anne¡¯s father with a long sigh.


    Ed indeed was being reminded of the day when he was a young man with a bright future ahead of him. Ed had a dream of bing the best healer in the kingdom. The day when he received his silver pass back then was one of the best moments for him. His vige even throws an enormous party for the boy who got a silver pass, a reward that he got after sessfully treating the illness of the former crown prince.


    He was such a na?ve young man, the thought of having the silver pass was already a guarantee for him to be a certified healer. Of course, that was so far from the truth. Nobles got a rumor about a peasant that had been rewarded with a silver pass. It will never set well with most of the nobles when a peasant is rewarded with a silver pass. Ed faced every hurdle that hade from the nobles who bullied him, from smudging his notes to letting him starve all day by locking him in his room. He took it like a champion and never even mentioned anything to his parents.


    Sadly, it¡¯s all changing into a nightmare when the third exam begins. Someone changed Ed¡¯s note, which contained information about the location of the third exam. He got lost and when he finally arrived at the third exam location; he was alreadyte. Immediate dismissal happened to him. Thus the story of Ed, who had failed to obtain his dream to be a certified healer.


    ¡°Father, I think you know something more about my case than I was.¡± Said Anne, she was suspicious about how well-informed her father is.


    Trying so hard to hide the truth from his beloved daughter, he just smiled at her and shakes his head. Anne couldn¡¯t do anything besides let out a sigh and let it slide. Her father, although the gentle one, was also the most hardheaded in their family. They have such a good time together, and before the night deepens, they said goodbye in front of the Icarus dorm.


    ¡°Oh, I almost forgot, this is from your mother.¡± Ed handed a big box of crates to Anne, the box already inside the lobby before they went to the caf¨¦.


    ¡°Oh, you shouldn¡¯t have. Please say thank you to mother from me.¡±


    ¡°I will, sweety.¡±


    They hug each other once again, but before Anne goes back to her room, Ed suddenly calls for her.


    ¡°Yes? Is there something wrong?¡± Anne looked confused by his sudden call.


    ¡°I just wanted to tell you that everything is going to be alright. People will judge you, mock you, even do something beyond your limit, but daughter...¡± He took another pause and then hold Anne¡¯s hand, ¡°You are one of the strongest young girls that we have known, you survived the raging river, scrutiny by everyone because you have a mysterious background. Yet here you are.¡±


    A smile bloomed on Anne¡¯s face, her tears welled up on her face.


    ¡°Oh, father! I...¡±


    ¡°Look, whatever happens, your mother and I will always be proud of you, River Anne.¡±


    They parted ways afterward. Anne saw her father take a road to the nearest central carriage station. She felt content after the encouragement from Edward. The other applicants have flooded the street, which means the party was finally over. Some of them recognize Anne as the girl who got lucky, and some of them refer to her as a cheater of the day.


    ¡°Well, well, look who¡¯s standing in front of us right now, Heirim.¡±


    Anne turned her head to see Heirim and her group of nobles. They were standing at the gate staring at her. Heirim¡¯s eyes were full of rage, Anne could see it, and then another thing came into her mind.


    ¡°Good evening,dy Heirim.¡±


    ¡°Hey cheater, don¡¯t you even dare to speak tody Heirim, know your ce!¡± One of Heirim¡¯s entourage was trying to berate Anne.


    Anne just gave him a nce and ignore the menpletely, ¡°I just wanted to say thank you for your kind gestured to my friends this morning.¡±


    Heirim nervously looked at Anne. ¡°Kind gestured? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you know, when you gave them false information about how I wanted to go alone to the exam, funny, I think I have never asked you for such a favor.¡±


    ¡°Do you have proof? Or is this just your way to justify yourself?¡± Said Heirim. She saunters toward Anne, challenging her or trying to intimidate her.


    A smile came to Anne¡¯s face, ¡°No, not at all. Well, I just wanted to say that... two can y this game.¡±


    Heirim abruptly stopped. She realized she got caught by Anne, how far she knew about her n, only time will tell. She looked at the peasant girl with her purple hair for thest time before he go inside with her friends. From the looks of it, the peasant¡¯s girl means she will fight until herst breath, and she is determined to crush that futile dream of her, in any way possible.

 Chapter 34

    34 Crystal de and The Lunch Date


    ¡°What exactly just happened? You seem to know far more about her?¡±


    Da confronted Anne when Heirim had already gone to her room, and disappear from their view.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you everything after I sessfully carry this humongous box into my room.¡±


    Said, Anne, who was busy carrying her box. Finally, Da took it upon herself to help her friend. They carry the box together to Anne¡¯s room, and some nobles almost knock on the box. Thankfully, Da has already given them a death stare, and most people will definitely be scared of her.


    Da is intimidating, with her muscr body and chubby cheeks. Most men were terrified of her. Although for Anne, she is one of the sweetest girls that she has ever met.


    ¡°So, now, can you tell me what happened between you and that noble b*tch?¡±


    The sweetest here, not exactly, meant that she also has a golden tongue.


    ¡°As I told you, she is the sister of... An acquaintance of mine. Safe to say, she doesn¡¯t like it that I have known her brother.¡±


    ¡°Ah... So, you get chummy with her brother. The noble-born don¡¯t want it, I see.¡±


    .....


    A frown appears on Anne¡¯s face. ¡°Chummy? Da, he is not my-¡±


    ¡°Yeah... yeah... I get it, too early, or maybe because of that magi captain? Oh! Or that tall, and dark handsome fellow that gave us the Wismushroom seat number?!¡± Said Da with a bit of enthusiasm.


    Rolling her eyes, Anne tried so hard to calm her friend by enticing Da with the content of her box. She handed her a jar of Agave Cucumber pickles and a tin box of freshly baked biscuits. In her letter, Anne told her parents about how she got new friends and it makes her days in the capital more colorful and fun. Her mother sent her three boxes of tin with biscuits and also her famous pickles.


    Da took her presents with a leaping heart. She was gone to her room with a word of thank you to Anne. She looks at her friend, who happily skips into her room, Anne¡¯s smile blooming when she saw how happy Da was. Anne takes a sigh of relief and takes out all the items inside the box.


    Suddenly, Chikara awakens from his sleep. He climbed the window and stared into the sky. Curious about her demon kitten behavior, Anne approached him and peek at whatever the thing that he saw outside. It turns out there¡¯s a bird, an enormous bird with silver feathers, flying closer to her window.


    The bird then perches on her window frame, its enormous size closing the view from the windowpletely. The bird was overwhelmed and almost fall because the window was notrge enough for it. Anne chuckles and helps it go inside her room. It finally settled on her bed frame. She folds her hand on her chest and stares at the bird. Anne let the bird inside because she recognizes the owner of this familiar.


    ¡°You¡¯re Vale¡¯s familiar, right?¡±


    ¡®You know me, miss?¡¯ The bird tilted his head with a bitical move.


    Anne chuckled. She even remembered the bird¡¯s name. ¡°Silver Hawk?¡±


    ¡®Yes, I am Silver Hawk. My master is Vale, and I came here to deliver an invitation from my master.¡¯


    ¡°Invitation from Vale?¡± Asked Anne to Silver Hawk.


    ¡®He will wait at Peony Restaurant in the north of B street, tomorrow at lunchtime. He also apologized because he can deliver the invitation himself.¡¯


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll ept the invitation. I¡¯ll be there at lunchtime. Thank you so much, Silver Hawk.¡±


    ¡®You¡¯re wee, miss.¡¯


    Anne smiled at the bird, she then waited for Silver Hawk to fly away from her room. Instead, the bird just calmly perched at the bedroom frame a little longer than he should.


    ¡°... .... .... Silver Hawk?¡±


    ¡®Miss... I¡¯m sorry, but you need to carry me back to your window. I couldn¡¯t fly because the window is too small for me.¡¯


    Flustered after the confession thates from the bird familiar, Anne goes to Silver Hawk immediately, and offers the bird her hand, ¡°Oh my God! Yes, I will carry you to my window.¡±


    She stared at the silver feather bird flying away into the night sky. Chikara is beside her, purring, asking for her attention.


    ¡°What a handsome bird he is, right, baby?¡± Said Anne, muttering while her fingers brushed the furs of Chikara.


    Chikara¡¯s meowing at her, and rubbing himself on Anne, probably jealous of all the attention that Anne gave to Silver Hawk. She chuckles and embraces her familiar. She goes to sleep with Chikara on the bed with her.


    Meanwhile, Vale was waiting for Silver Hawk outside the garden, while Justice and Xavier were inside. Henry stepped outside, wanting to apany Vale.


    ¡°So, did you send her the invite?¡±


    Vale turned his head to see Henry walking toward him. ¡°Invitation to have lunch actually, I need to invite her formally. Best to tell her myself.¡±


    ¡°Good luck. Hope she will ept your invitation.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not... I don¡¯t know, jealous?¡±


    Laughing is the response Henry gave to Vale for his question. ¡°Vale, why should I be jealous? In fact, I was so happy that you have the initiative to bring her to the pce ball. Now, all I need to do is to ask her to dance well after you, of course.¡±


    Vale snorted at Henry¡¯s light approach in everything. ¡°Sometimes, I couldn¡¯t believe that you¡¯re the grandson of Horden the Great.¡±


    ¡°Oh, shut up.¡± Said Henry to Vale while throwing some aggrus seeds towards him.


    ¡°Where is he now? Heirim told me that he prefers to go around the kingdom to check on the dark, mischievous road.¡±


    Sighing, he chug his drink in one gulp andin excessively, ¡°Yeah, my father was almost livid when he realized he was gone again and just left us with a note. Did you know he gave away his crystal de to a girl? Such an immature act from him.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re betrothed now, congrattions!¡± Teased Vale at his friend.


    ¡°What?! you jester, I will not marry some random girl just because my grandfather gave her the crystal de.¡±


    ¡°But your crystal sword came from the same stone with the de. Your destiny will bring you to her. I believe in it.¡±


    Henry winces and res at Vale. ¡°Would you stop?!¡±


    ¡°Nope, I¡¯m not going to. I even going to tell Justice and Xavier about this,¡± said Vale to Henry. He was enjoying this moment a little too much.


    ¡°Ugh, that was actually my grandfather, making his own opinion about the sword and the de. That¡¯s why he never gave Heirim the crystal de in the first ce.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, because he told you that whoever is worthy of bing your bride will be the owner of the de.¡±


    Not long after the conversation, there¡¯s a silver lighting from the night sky above. It was Silver Hawk with the news about Anne. Vale breathed out a sigh of relief when Silver Hawk told him that Anne epted his invitation for lunch.


    ¡°Congrattions buddy! Now, the hardest part ising, asking her to go to the pce ball with you.¡± Said Henry, winking at Vale while he raised his ss.


    They go inside to help Justice arrange the pce ball. The night disappears and the light of the morning came by to say hello once more. Vale took his time to have breakfast. He lives in the same barrack with Henry and Xavier. Captain Barrack is more like a small apartment. There¡¯s a kitchen, two bedrooms and one bathroom. There¡¯s also a living room for their guests.


    Vale is living on the second floor, while Henry and Xavier¡¯s apartment is on the third floor. They also have a cleaningdy that keeps their apartment spick and span every day. Henry and Xavier came to have breakfast with Vale. He already knows the two of them were here to tease him endlessly.


    ¡°So... big day today,¡± Xavier said to Vale, while his right eye winked at Henry.


    ¡°Yes, if you could put it that way.¡± Said Vale as calmly as he can be.


    Henry chuckled after looking at his friend tried so hard to be as calm as he can be, ¡°You know, finally we can give you a big boy badge after a long time with no interest in pursuing a romance.¡±


    Both Henry and Xavierughed so loud while Vale remained calm on his seat, not until he grab his empty te and pointed at Henry.


    ¡°Henry just got himself a fianc¨¦.¡±


    Xavier¡¯s mouth gape open, while Henry chases down Vale with a mouth full of curses. The morning passes by, and it was finally time for Vale to meet with Anne. He arrived at the peony restaurant fifteen minutes earlier. He patiently waited for her with a book in his hand. Vale is in his own little world whenever there¡¯s a book to read.


    ¡°Hey, what kind of book that you read?¡±


    Vale turned his head, expecting to see Anne, but there was Heirim standing with a smile on her face.

 Chapter 35

    35 Five Clover


    Vale doesn¡¯t like this, he doesn¡¯t like to see her here. Heirim is in front of him, smiling sweetly and innocently at Vale.


    ¡°May I sit with you?¡± She asked Vale with the hope for Vale to say yes.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry Heirim, I¡¯m expecting someone.¡± Said Vale with a smile on his face.


    ¡°Oh...¡± An obvious disappointment came into Heirim¡¯s face, but she was able to maintain herposure and look at Vale once again, ¡°At least let me be in yourpany for a while, until they arrived.¡±


    Vale reluctantly agreed to her request, he never had any ill feelings towards Heirim, as the little sister of Henry. Although she was spoiled and conceited, the young girl never revealed her true nature in front of Vale. She sat on the chair while Vale smiled warily at her.


    ¡°So, who are you waiting, anyway?¡±


    None of your business is the one that Vale wanted to say to Heirim, instead he said, ¡°A friend of mine, I like to catch up with my friend, sometimes.¡±


    ¡°A friend? So, you¡¯re not going to say who is he... or who she is?¡± Heirim tried to pry more information from Vale, but he never cave in.


    In Vale¡¯s mind right now is how to avoid Heirim and lead Anne away from the restaurant. He knew about the quarrel between Heirim and Anne, sadly, Vale had no reason to despise Heirim. She is always sweet to him, you can even call it kind and loving towards Vale.


    .....


    Heirim does indeed has reason to be so sweet and lovely at Vale, she wants him, and desired him as her second husband. Even though Vale¡¯s positioned as a custom noble, the bottom low ranking in the noble hierarchy. What she saw in Vale is potential, he is the most celebrated Magi with ny-pluspatibility with magica.


    ¡°So, should I be jealous of this mysterious person?¡± Said Heirim with a very coquettish manner towards Vale.


    ¡°Why do you think that you need to be jealous?¡±


    A female voice came out from behind Heirim, she turned around to see Anne looking at her with a frown on her face.


    ¡°I believe you¡¯re sitting in my chair, Lady Heirim.¡±


    Heirim tried to hide her shock, she smile at Anne but never stood up from the chair.


    ¡°Oh, you... I never thought you know Vale as an acquaintance.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know him, and you¡¯re still sitting in my chair,¡± Said Anne sweetly, ¡°So... would you be so kind to stand up,dy Heirim.¡±


    Vale looked at the two of them with a fascination in his eyes. Clearly, in his mind, there was some bad blood happening between the two of them. He doesn¡¯t want to barge in nor does he feels the need to interrupt their sassy arguments.


    Heirim still doesn¡¯t budge from the chair and she even makes herselffortable and called for the waiter toe and take her order.


    ¡°Well, miss silver pass, I don¡¯t think you¡¯re allowed to sit in this posh restaurant in the first ce, you know, a peasant will always be a peasant.¡±


    The atmosphere between them is just getting thicker, Anne¡¯s hands were trembling, and she was furious and on the brink of throwing something at Heirim. But then, Vale put his teacup on the table and then smiled at Heirim.


    ¡°I was a silver pass recipient as well, Heirim, did you forget about that?¡±


    A gasp came into Heirim¡¯s mouth, she looked nervously at Vale, ¡°Oh, no, Vale... That¡¯s not what I meant.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, I don¡¯t think this is a good restaurant for us, Anne,¡± Said Vale while he push his chair away and stands up, ¡°Come on, I know a good ce to eat.¡± He extended his hand to Anne, and the two of them leave the restaurant and the flustered Heirim behind.


    Both of them were walking in B street in silence, not until they have reached the end of the block that they stop andughed so hard.


    ¡°Oh my God, did you see her face after you pull me away and leave the restaurant?¡± Said Anne while wiping tears from her eyes, tears of theingughter that she had shared with Vale.


    Vale was shaken his head with a grin on his face, ¡°No and I don¡¯t want to know.¡±


    They settled in one of the smaller restaurants with an amazing view of a herbs garden, the five clover restaurant. Anne were actually love this restaurant more than the first one. After they order their lunch, Vale leans forward to Anne.


    ¡°I must admit, I owe you an apology and a thank you.¡±


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s uncalled for?¡± Said Anne, a smirk appearing on her face.


    Vale is smitten by the expressive faces that Anne made, He cleared his throat to hide how mesmerized he was, and then he begins to give his reason to her. ¡°I tried to avoid Heirim for a while now, although I don¡¯t know how to do it in the first ce.¡±


    ¡°Well, maybe just excused yourself from her, and walk away.¡±


    He snorted by her sass remark, ¡°No, as shocking as it may be, she never done anything wrong to me, and she is Henry¡¯s little sister...¡±


    ¡°Yes, and should I be honest, they are nothing alike,¡± Anne immediately added, ¡°Not on the terms of a look, but more into their manner, Heirim is arrogant, conceited, and...¡±


    ¡°While Henry is the opposite, yes, I am aware of that. I am his best friend, after all.¡±


    Their conversation got interrupted by the arrival of the food, the array of delicious cuisine, Cami herb and small chunked wismushroom soup with bread for Anne, and Vale, he asked for The Moobull steak with Motato fries. They ate the food excitingly, for Anne, this is the first time she was inside this establishment, a small corner restaurant. The owners are a young couple, where the wife is the chef and the two husbands be the helper and the cashier. Anne loved it, she can feel the love that the chef gave to all of the food that she prepared.


    ¡°So, did you like it?¡± Asked Vale a bit wary.


    Anne¡¯s eyes were lit, ¡°Like it? I love it!¡±


    ¡°Oh, thank goodness, you know, the reason I asked you to Peony, was purely because I wanted to impress you on a fancy restaurant.¡±


    ¡°Then you don¡¯t know me, at all.¡±


    Vale drank his water, with his eyes staring at Anne, ¡°Then, I will try to know you better.¡±


    A shade of red came to Anne¡¯s face, her mouth gaped open, while her eyes widen at Vale¡¯s word. Vale was panicking, he never thought Anne¡¯s reaction would be so frontal with just harmless flirtatious words.


    ¡°My... My apology, I think I offended you in some way.¡±


    ¡°What?! Oh... No, No. I... I was ttered, actually.¡±


    His eyes begin to flicker with enjoyment, ¡°Oh, good, very good.¡±


    As time passes by, it is finally time for them to go. Before Anne said her goodbye, Vale handed her a red envelope with a beautiful gold engraver. She open the red envelope and inside of it is an invitation to the pce ball.


    ¡°Vale, what is this?¡±


    ¡°An invitation to the pce ball.¡± Answered Vale with a smile on his face, ¡°Would you like to be my partner for the pce ball?¡±


    Anne was flustered by his sudden invite, ¡°What? Are you being serious, Vale? I thought the pce ball was only for the nobles?¡±


    ¡°No... well, not really, we can ask anyone to be our partner for the pce ball.¡±


    ¡°Oh... Why do you choose me, then?¡±


    ¡°Because I wanted you to be my date, remember?¡±


    Her eyes squinted, she looks at Vale and whispered, ¡°I thought this was the date?¡±


    ¡°Oh, did I say that to you?¡±


    ¡°Uhm... No, but I assuming...¡±


    ¡°Good, so... Do you ept it?¡±


    Suddenly, Anne scratched her hair, confused about how she could reject Vale¡¯s invitation. Not that she hated to go to a gathering, but a very bad memory of gathering with towny nobles in her vige came to her mind, not to mention Heirim will be there. Anne took a deep breath and smile bitterly at Vale.


    ¡°Vale... I...¡±


    ¡°Your friend will be there.¡±


    ¡°rice? Yes... Uhm I knew, she sent me a letter about it.¡±


    ¡°So... please... Say yes, for me.¡± Pleaded Vale to her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really like nobles, except you four, and my best friend of course. Well, sometimes Justice as well.¡± Anne tried to remind Vale, about her distaste towards noble in general.


    ¡°Justice? He is not... Well, anyway, please I know about how you don¡¯t like most of them, but this is your chance to tell them, especially to Heirim,¡± Vale practically begged her, and tried to convince her excessively, ¡°You have bravely challenged her at the restaurant, what makes you so afraid now?¡±


    Looking at Vale¡¯s eyes, she can feel a sincere gesture inside those green eyes. She smiled and nodded.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll be your date at the pce ball.¡±

 Chapter 36

    36 Henry¡¯s Confession (Part 1)


    It is a very rxing Saturday morning for Anne; she is inside the main library, using the Wismushroom with David on her side. Da is nowhere to be seen, she instead goes to have physical training with other Huntsman candidates. While Anne still focusing on reading the theory of medical knowledge, David¡¯s red at her and closed the half-read book on his table.


    ¡°Seriously, Anne, it¡¯s Saturday morning, and you were here instead of having fun outside? Gosh, you¡¯re such a bookworm.¡±


    Smiling at her friend¡¯s remark, Anne turn at him and whispered to David, ¡°Why are you even here then? If you¡¯re going to be such a miserablepany.¡±


    David hiss at Anne while he pointed at Anne¡¯s bandaged left hand. ¡°Because of that, my dear friend.¡±


    She instantly rubbed the left hand with a bitter smile on her face. ¡°I¡¯m fine, it¡¯s just a minor burn.¡±


    ¡°Small burned my *ss! It was definitely intentional. I mean, who in the right mind brought a piping hot buttered moomilk with no protection?!¡± Said David with a scoff.


    The only response that Anne could give to David was a pat on his shoulder, just to calm his nerves down. It happened two days ago, when the three of them were in the middle of enjoying their after-dinner snacks in the lounge room, Da and David were talking about their childhood story. They have so much fun,ughing and teasing each other until one noble pours a hot buttered moomilk into Anne¡¯s left hand on the sofa¡¯s armrest.


    Screaming in pain, Anne goes directly to the faucet and lets the burned hand settle on the clean and cold water. She will never forget the face of the nobles around the room. Some of them were just standing, while the others whispered and snickered at her. Da then helped her to go back to her room, while David informed the matron, although there was nothing they could have done.


    The usation will be forgotten. He said that it was an ident and of course, all the nobles that were present will take his side. She soldiers on and pretends it wasn¡¯t a big deal. It was a big deal, the buttered moomilk was piping hot, and the noble pour it as soon as he took it from the kettle in the lounge-room. Good thing Anne has the remedies. Dried Aloeroot mixed with dried Calugold was the best healing remedy for burnt. She mixes the two and, by using the crystal water as the agent; she avoided a major scar on her left hand. Although the left hand will hurt like crazy for a week.


    .....


    Anne couldn¡¯t even use her left hand temporarily, a small price to pay, said Anne on her mind. David still ranting about the ident, Anne was trying to calm him when a hand tapped on her shoulder. She turned around to see Henry.


    ¡°Hey, fancy seeing you here on Saturday.¡± Henry greeted her with a bright smile on his face.


    ¡°Henry? what are you doing here?¡± Asked Anne to Henry.


    ¡°Even a knight captain needs to learn something new, right? Besides, I really want to try this fresh sensation in the capital.¡±


    David, looking at their interaction and decided that it was his time to go away.


    ¡°Wait, where are you going?¡± Anne asked him with confusion on her face.


    ¡°I have... Uhm... Da! Da needs me to handle some... Okay, gotta go, bye.¡±


    He was gone before Anne could even say anything. Henry, on the other hand, wanted to shake David¡¯s hand for his cooperation. He was nning the asked her to go away from the dorm. He saw David and recognized him as one of Anne¡¯s friends. Thanks to David, Henry knows she was nning to study in the Wismushroom.


    Now, there he was, staring at the girl with purple hair, although the bandaged left hand surprised him.


    ¡°What happened to your hand?¡± Henry tried to ask her without giving her any pressure to answer.


    Anne, feel a bit overwhelmed by Henry¡¯s sudden curiosity, ¡°Oh, this... some ident happened, yesterday, it will be fine.¡± She said to him, trying for a simple answer, rather than a long and exhausting exnation.


    Henry was looking at her, the curiosity now changed into a concern. ¡°I see... I mean, it doesn¡¯t hurt, right? Well, no! I know it must be hurt, but...¡±


    ¡°Yes, Henry, I get your point, rx, it still hurt a little, but it was a more annoying thing because of the bandaged that makes my left hand unusable right now.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    Smiling at Henry, Anne nodded her head and said, ¡°Yes, I was not lying, okay?¡± She looked around and even though the room was almost deserted, there were several nobles around. Anne feels ufortable being seen with Henry inside the room. ¡°All this talk, kind of making me hungry. Do you want to go to eat something?¡± She asked him to go outside, feels better for her to have a conversation without the prying eyes of the nobles around.


    ¡°Yes, of course, I kind of wanted to ask you, anyway.¡±


    Henry took her bag and helped her stand up from the chair, even though her left hand wasn¡¯t her dominant hand, Anne appreciated his kind gesture. They took a step outside the main library. People were walking around casually, it is Saturday, a rest day for most civil servants.


    ¡°So, where do you want to go?¡± Anne looked around Q street, she didn¡¯t know any good restaurants in the area.


    ¡°Actually, I already have a reservation in the restaurant, is that alright with you?¡±


    ¡°Of course, as long as it is not a fancy one, I¡¯m not a fan.¡±


    Henry extended his arm for her to hold onto, while he was muttering, ¡°Right, After Vale¡¯s mistake, not again.¡±


    Pretending not to hear Henry¡¯s mutters, Anne hold herughter. They arrived at the small park near the main library. She looks around, wondering where¡¯s the restaurant that Henry was mentioned.


    ¡°Henry, where¡¯s the restaurant?¡±


    Henry, in a theatrical act, extended his arms and said, ¡°Well, mydy, this is the restaurant.¡±


    ¡°What? we are going to eat in the park?¡± Anne just couldn¡¯t believe him, while Henry already pulls her to walk into one of the deeper sides of the park, she tried to protest to him, ¡°Henry, is it okay for us to eat lunch, here?¡±


    As soon as she finished her sentences, Anne saw a beautiful pond with family and couples around it, having a pic in the grass and under the trees.


    ¡°The park has a pic area. I thought you had never gone here, because of your tendency to read and study, or wandering in the B street.¡± Said Henry to her.


    She was amazed. The ce is beautiful, with a group of swan swimming around, a beautiful small bridge, and colorful trees around it. Henry already reserved a ce, which raised Anne¡¯s eyebrows.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no nobles privileged here. Everyone could reserve a ce here.¡±


    ¡°Good to know then,¡± Chuckles Anne, she sat on the pic mat, while Henry opens the pic basket. ¡°Oh wow, you¡¯vee prepared.¡± Anne looks into the array of foods with excitement, she is hungry after all.


    ¡°Yes, I do. Thank goodness you epted my invitation. I mean, I brought so much food.¡±


    ¡°Yes, thank goodness, and you have brought so many foods.¡±


    Henry indeed brought so much food, it is enough for three people. They eat the food with the views of the pond in front of them, while they feel refreshed, sitting under a tree. When they ate the dessert, Anne let out a sigh and looks into Henry¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Alright, now I¡¯m full. You need to tell me, why are you here, Henry?¡±


    Instead surprised by Anne¡¯s sudden question, Henry begin tough and stared at the blue sky, he then said, ¡°You got me.¡±

 Chapter 37

    37 Henry¡¯s Confession (Part 2)


    Henry was looking at the sky when Anne¡¯s voice came to his ears.


    ¡°I know what are you doing, Henry. You must be needing something from me, right?¡± She asked Henry while her eyes tried so hard to observe the knight captain.


    Henry felt her, she stared that need to know, the curiosity. He took a step forward towards her until his face is getting closer to Anne. Our heroine squeaks and pushes him away, but it backfired and it makes her fall to the ground instead. Henry catches her before he fallspletely. The scene feels like a romantic movie in the making, but instead of Anne watching it on her television, she¡¯s the one in the romantic scene.


    Something tickles on Henry¡¯s nose, a sweet aroma, a fruity but sweet aroma. He held his breath and carefully put Anne¡¯s on the pic mat.


    ¡°Are you... Are you alright? Apology for my foolish action earlier.¡± Said Henry to Anne, he does feel apologetic for his rash behavior.


    For Henry, fooling around with a woman was his forte before. He never had a problem wooing any woman, peasants or nobles, as the pure noble with a very beautiful face he knows how to work his way to the woman¡¯s heart. Not having the responsibility to the Valorian kingdom like Justice, having to maintain a good image as a genius like Vale, or even just enjoying thepany of friends and animals like Xavier. Henry is the epitome of a nobleman that wanted to have fun without any consequences. Although everything changed after he met the countryside peasants with purple hair.


    The enjoyment of a woman was never the same after he goes back to the capital. Henry doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s happening to him, until the day that Anne crosses her path with him in the capital. He knew by then, that it was because of her. Right now, the object of his affection wasughing on the pic mat.


    ¡°Henry, I don¡¯t know you can be nervous at this kind of time.¡± Said Anne while she held onto her stomach, Henry¡¯s getting nervous after he held onto her body was something that she never expected.


    Henry chuckles at her, he sat on the pic mat once again and gave her a bottle of cold berryberry juice. They enjoy the cold juice while looking at the people in the pond. Couples are using a small boat to go around the pond, and kids y in the shallow area under the parent¡¯s supervision. Truly a good day to have a pic in the park.


    .....


    ¡°Actually, I wanted to apologize.¡± Henry spoke so suddenly making Anne turn her attention immediately to Henry, thetter just as before, was staring around rather than looking straight at the girl, ¡°Heirim, she is my only sibling, I have a sense of obligation towards her, but... just to let you know, I hate the way she treated people who she always thought as lesser to her.¡±


    Anne definitely feels bad for him, her feud with Heirim, making Henry in a difficult position.


    ¡°Henry, you don¡¯t need to apologize, there¡¯s nothing happened between Heirim and me.¡± Said Anne, she was trying to cover the recent incident involving his sister.


    Henry scoffed, ¡°Anne, I know about the feud, her schemed made you almost lose your chance to be a civil servant.¡±


    ¡°What, how did you?¡±


    Smiling at her, he remembered the day when he heard the rumor. Justice wasn¡¯t alone in the training building, Henry was present at that time. He saw someone talking to her and lead her to her exam building, which turned out to be the wrong building for her. He saw the man talking to Heirim afterward and the look on Heirim¡¯s face, a look of determination.


    Heirim, is the woman with one goal on her mind, bing the empress of the Valorian kingdom. Henry knew about this obsession when he saw Heirim staring at Justice at every prom, how she tried so hard to gain his attention and even plotted to lure Vale in. Justice was never interested in her, of course, the same as Vale.


    ¡°Look, all I wanted to tell you, is that Heirim will do anything in her power to get what she wants,¡± Said Henry to Anne, he took a long sigh and continued, ¡°I wanted to let you know, I never supported her in any way, she is my sister, yes. But our life is...¡±


    Anne smiled warmly at Henry, she even hold his hand to reassure him, ¡°Henry, you don¡¯t have to say it, I know what you meant about having your separate life with your sister, and don¡¯t worry I will never me you, or anyone else for something that you don¡¯t evenmit.¡±


    ¡°I know that you won¡¯t Anne, you¡¯re too kind to hold a grudge.¡±


    The purple hair girl just smiled at henry, but deep down in her deepest heart, it wasn¡¯t the case. She can smile, be angry, and also hold a grudge. Henry just doesn¡¯t know her that well, yet. Anne tried to ease the tension by telling him a story about her school day in Viora vige, Henry also tell her about his day in the military school.


    Most of the nobles send their children to military school, it will be easier ess,ter on, to be in the military service. Justice and Henry be best friends since they were inside the same ssroom in the first grade. The cool and quiet crown prince with the bubbly and cheerful son of a Duke gets through everything together, and their band of brothers besrger when Henry met with Vale and Xavier on his civil servant entrance exam.


    They have a good time talking to each other until the afternoones. Henry took Anne back to her dormitory safely. He looks at Icarus¡¯s gate with a grin on his face.


    ¡°Did you know that Xavier broke this gate at one time?¡±


    Anne a bit shaken by Henry¡¯sical confession, ¡°What? Xavier broke this gate? Why did he do that?¡±


    ¡°Well, I will let the main culprit do the talking, after all, you are going to see all of us there.¡± Said Henry, still a bit preupied with the memory.


    ¡°There? do you mean the pce ball next week?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course, you stilling, right?¡±


    She smiled and nodded her head, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m going dress shopping this Tuesday with my friend, rice.¡±


    ¡°Oh dress shopping, how very chic anddylike, would you need some rmendation for the store?¡±


    Henry offered her a suggestion, as they walked to the front door. Anne appreciates the suggestion with such enthusiasm.


    ¡°Really? That would be nice, thank you.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll send you the note for the dress shop tomorrow, my familiar will send it to you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I would love to see your familiar.¡±


    ¡°Just open your window at noon, Sabrina wille to you.¡±


    ¡°Sabrina? Oh yeah, you¡¯ve already told me about her¡±


    Henry just smile at Anne, and suddenly took her left hand by surprise, he stared at the bandaged hand for a while.


    ¡°You will be okay, right?¡± Asked Henry, his eyes were staring at the wound, he was worried about her.


    Anne just nodded at him, and pull her hand from Henry. He knows that she will never be going to tell him about the wound.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you at the pce ball, and you owe me two dances.¡±


    ¡°What? I never said that I will dance with you?¡± Anne tried to remind the knight captain with a pinch on his shoulder.


    Henryughs it up and runs away from Anne, they waved goodbye to each other, and while Anne enters her dormitory, Henry took his horse and gallops through the streets, it is almost nighttime when he arrived at the east forest. There are tents and soldiers everywhere, tomorrow is the field training day.


    Knights, Magic Knights, Huntsman, even Magi and Healer, all of them are there. Henry goes to one of the small private tents, the most luxurious tent reserved for the royal family. Inside the tent he saw Justice, Vale, and Xavier, already waiting for him.


    ¡°So, how is it?¡± Asked Xavier while he handed Henry a ss of drink.


    Henry gratefully took it and empty the ss in a second, he wipe his mouth and look into Justice, ¡°I saw her, and it is worse than we imagined.¡±


    Justice, who looks at him in silence, suddenly took a deep breath and sighed, ¡°So, it begins.¡±

 Chapter 38

    38 Henry¡¯s Confession (part 3)


    ¡°I should tell you, I really hate that we need to do this.¡± Said Xavier to Justice and Vale.


    Vale, who¡¯s in the middle of reviewing documents, nced at Xavier, ¡°We have already agreed on this, hence why Henry is now taking her to lunch.¡±


    ¡°Oh, the lunch date, yeah I know, But that¡¯s not what I¡¯mining about.¡±


    Justice throw his own document into the desk and red at Xavier. ¡°It¡¯s not a date! Henry is going to ask her to have lunch, that¡¯s all.¡±


    Xavier shrugged, ¡°Seems like a date to me, why do you even care so much Justice?¡± He then pointed at Vale, ¡°Vale here already got a lunch date and also a partner for the freaking pce ball.¡±


    The red hair crown prince just scoffed at him and mumbled something incoherent. Vale on the other hand smiled widely at Xavier making the golden eyes huntsman wanted to smack the head of the green eyes magi.


    ¡°Look, I know that you hate our way to check on Anne¡¯s safety and not even telling her, but it is for the best, We don¡¯t need to alert everyone about our involvement.¡±


    He was pacing left and right, Xavier doesn¡¯t go to give in to their reason, ¡°By how? She is already on every radar of those bully nobles because of Justice¡¯s action, and now Henry needs to be there as well to make her more visible to those bullies.¡±


    Justice saw a glimpse of worried on Xavier¡¯s face, a very peculiar expression for Xavier. He was a countryside peasant, who thought animals are better than people. Bing a huntsman is his passion, knowing that he could be closer to animals all the time, all of that He learned about at the orphanage.


    .....


    ¡°Look, I have my own reason to ask Henry, and as for now, you just need to shut your d*mn mouth!¡± Justice was infuriated, his eyes were ring at Xavier.


    Sensing the hostility between his two friends, Vale tried to speak to Justice about Xavier¡¯s objection, ¡°Justice, you need to cool down, Xavier was...¡±


    ¡°No need to, I¡¯ll see you all at the encampment.¡±


    As soon as Justice said those words, he was out of Vale¡¯s room ignoring the twopletely. Vale just take a sigh while Xavier scoffed at the door that Justice just went through seconds ago.


    ¡°Xavier, that was too strong my friend, no need to be so aggressive.¡± Said Vale to Xavier.


    Xavier turned his head for a minute to Vale and shrugged, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll say my sorryter.¡±


    ¡°What happened to you? Never see you like this before.¡±


    ¡°What? trying to pick a fight with that pompous *ss crown prince? I¡¯ve done it more than once already.¡±


    ¡°No! I mean... caring so much for someone who is not originally in your circle,¡± Vale looks at Xavier, the way he never looks at him before, something is different about Anne in Xavier¡¯s eyes, ¡°We know that we have the same feeling for Anne, but I guess, I never thought that you¡¯re...¡±


    Xavier drops himself to the sofa, his mind goes wandering to a girl, a young girl with purple hair, her smile, and how she moves around, it was like he¡¯s being... ¡°I don¡¯t know, I think I was mesmerized by her so much.¡±


    This is more than that, though Vale is inside his own mind, he doesn¡¯t want to make a dubious assumption, for now, he needs proof. To get the proof, Anne and all of them have to be in the same ce at the same time, the pce ball is perfect for it. He already gathered the materials and will set everything in the hall before the pce ball.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get something to eat before we go to the camp, I wanted to see my troops before the field training begins.¡± He asked Xavier who was still lounging on the sofa.


    Xavierplied with Vale¡¯s request, they head outside to get something to eat. Afterward, they go straight to the field training camp, where Vale and Xavier have their own set of troops to evaluate. Xavier as the Huntsman captain will be evaluating his troops¡¯ capability to detect and differentiate animals and monsters and their level of danger.


    The field training has always been done twice a year, to polish their skills and also to enhance their power. In the Valorian kingdom, there are two problems that urred on a random basis, the dark and mischievous road came and go into every mountainous area and valley, where one or two monsters will appear and y every passerby. But as dangerous as the dark and mischievous road can be, there¡¯s only one thing that is more dangerous and threatening than the dark and mischievous road.


    The Hoard, where the danger came from every direction, the sky, the sea, the underground. Unlike the dark and mischievous road, the hoardes in a fixed ce, but at a random time. The monster in the hoard is more dangerous and cam in numbers, That¡¯s why the Valorian kingdom has the strongest military power, they need to defend the citizens from the hoard.


    ¡°I guess Justice willeter, let us meet before dinner at his tent.¡± Said Vale to Xavier.


    A frown came into Xavier¡¯s face, ¡°Are you sure? Cause I can see that our crown prince was busy being friends with the high management.¡±


    Vale just grinned at Xavier, while patting his friend¡¯s back. They are in the middle of instructing the officers, it was in the afternoon when Justice was inside of his tent having a meeting with the generals. Henry is on the way to the camp, his familiar, Sabrina, came a while back to inform them about his arrival.


    When the night came rolling down, the three of them were already inside Justice¡¯s tent, waiting for Henry toe. Xavier is in the middle of giving Sabrina some snacks. He always takes care of every animal, even his friends familiar. Both Justice and Xavier still not talking to each other, and Vale was trapped between the two of them.


    ¡°Should the two of you just said something?!¡± Gruntled Vale, he was so tired of seeing them in silence.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask that crown prince over there? or he was just too proud to even speak to this lowly friend of his now?¡±


    Justice put his documents calmly, his hands sped together while his eyes focused on Xavier. ¡°What do you want from me? Do you want me to admit that I was wrong?¡±


    Xavier jumped from his chair, ¡°What? No, I want you to be more active in helping her.¡±


    ¡°I am trying to actively help her, why do you think I was sending Henry to go have lunch with her? I wanted to know what happened to her.¡± Said Justice with his right hand massaging his temple.


    ¡°Xavier, Justice send Henry because he needs to apologize personally to Anne, you know Heirim was the one who caused all of this, right? Well, Henry feels guilty and needs to voice his opinion about his sister¡¯s selfish behavior.¡± Vale gave the answer to Xavier, getting tired of waiting for Justice to speak.


    ¡°Oh, I see, I thought you just doesn¡¯t care so much about her, sorry Just.¡±


    Justice let out a sigh, ¡°Why do you think I didn¡¯t care about Anne, I was the one who broke protocol for her.¡±


    ¡°Well, because...¡±


    Suddenly the tent opened and Henry walked inside, Sabrina chirping happily and perched on her master¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Wee back, did you gallop to get here?¡± Asked Vale after he saw how drenched Henry was.


    ¡°Yes, we kind of forgot the time.¡± Said Henry with a grin on his face, he dropped his body to the sofa and asked for a drink.


    ¡°So, how is it?¡± Asked Xavier while he handed Henry a ss of drink.


    Henry gratefully took it and empty the ss in a second, he wipe his mouth and look into Justice, ¡°I saw her, and it is worse than we imagined.¡±


    Justice, who looks at him in silence, suddenly took a deep breath and sighed, ¡°So, it begins.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is, someone burned her left hand, she told me it was an ident, But I know it wasn¡¯t,¡± Henry tells his friends morosely, still concerned about the bandaged left hand, ¡°After I drop her at the dormitory, I go and meet with her friend on the practice building, they told me everything.¡±


    ¡°So, what happened to her?¡± It was Xavier, he was curious to know about the whole story.


    ¡°Apparently, one of the noble kids drop a hot buttered moomilk into her hand, it happened on the loungeroom, good thing she knew what to do, Anne was doing all of the first aid herself.¡±


    The three of them were aghast at Henry¡¯s story, Justice¡¯s eyes burning, his voice growing hoarse, ¡°She doesn¡¯t even have a healer came to her aid?¡±


    Henry shook his head, ¡°No, the matron wanted to take her to the medic bay, she refused to do so, and stated it is just a mild injury.¡±


    Leaning on his chair, an image came into Justice¡¯s mind. Anne smiled while riding Henry¡¯s horse, the winning smile that she gave to him when she gave her statement that she doesn¡¯t need help to ride a horse. ¡°You wanted to solve this problem alone, I see...¡± Whispered Justice with a smile on his face.


    ¡°What? what are you saying, Justice?¡± Asked Vale to Justice.


    ¡°Nothing, I was just thinking, about how brave she was, handling those snobs like a trooper.¡±


    All of them stay silent for a while, thinking about the young girl with purple hair and the smile that makes them smitten. Vale then opened the tent once again.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do for now, but rest assured I have something that could help her in a long run.¡±


    Xavier walks out from the tent, his hand patted on Vale¡¯s shoulder, ¡°I¡¯ll take your bet on it.¡±


    With the sound of people getting ready outside the tent, and the orbmps floating around to give a clear view of the encampment, Four of them go outside the tent and get ready for the field training day.

 Chapter 39

    39 Dress for Sess


    A girl was leaning in the windows of a bedroom while sighing at the sky, her long and silky brown hair still damp from the shower. Da, the name of the girl, is in the middle of drying her hair while she tried to talk some sense into her friend. She was indeed inside Anne¡¯s room, apanying her as she refused to go outside.


    ¡°Anne, I know you¡¯re being cautious, but this is ridiculous, you¡¯re not going out of your room for almost three days!¡±


    Anne shook her head and looks into Da, ¡°I¡¯m fine, I was just... The study, you know the second exam is in two weeks.¡±


    ¡°It is just some aptitude and magica capability test, a simple test that doesn¡¯t require us to study...¡± Da stared at her friend, she know Anne was hiding something, ¡°Anne, what happened? You¡¯ve kept something from us, right?¡±


    ¡°No... No! I am not.¡± She tried to deflect Da¡¯s suspicion.


    Da squinted her eyes and walk toward Anne. ¡°Liar, I knew you were lying. Now tell me, what the hell happened?¡±


    Anne was, in fact, hiding something from Da and David after her lunch and pleasant afternoon conversation with Henry. Something was happened to her, something that she doesn¡¯t want Da and David to be aware of it for now.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, trust me. Besides, I¡¯ll be going out tomorrow with rice, so no need to worry about me.¡±


    While Anne was arranging her books on the shelf, Da took one of them and read the title.


    .....


    ¡°How to get more magica within you,¡± she frowned and handed the book to Anne, ¡°Why do you read a crappy book like this?! You know it was bogus.¡±


    Putting her hands on her hip, she pouted her mouth and muttered some words, ¡°It was just for... uhm fun, let it go, Da.¡±


    Da checked all the books on the shelves, and her mouth went open. ¡°Well, apparently not! What¡¯s all this?¡± She reads the title of the books one by one, ¡°Magica One on One, Girl, Your Magica is Strong In You, and Strengthen Your Magica by Meditation, what in the pegasus *rse?!¡±


    ¡°Ugh, give it back. I need to read some of it.¡± Anne feels a little ufortable when Da snoops around trying to guess her problem.


    ¡°Anne, do you have a problem with your magica? Is it too low? I mean, there¡¯s never a standard of how low a person¡¯s magica could be withheld to get a passing grade.¡±


    She looks at Da with a heavy heart. The only thing she can do was smile at her and said, ¡°No, I just wanted to know how to increase my magica, even just for a little.¡±


    Da wasn¡¯t convinced, but there was nothing she can do if Anne didn¡¯t want to be honest with her. She just hope someday this new friend of hers could be more open and trusting.


    ¡°Okay then, whatever you say, look, I am worried about you. Could we just go outside the dormitory? For a cup of buttered kakao and biscuits?¡± Da practically pleaded for her friend to be getting out of her small room.


    ¡°Fine, let me change my clothes first. I need to buy some fertilizer for my catnip nt, anyway.¡±


    Da gave her a warm embrace and after she change her clothes, the two of them along with Chikara goes outside the Icarus dorm. They headed to B street, bought the fertilizer, and go to a small kakao stall in the middle of the busy market. They enjoyed a cold buttered kakao while Chikara was sleeping in Anne¡¯sp.


    ¡°That familiar of yours, I¡¯ve heard some stories about how ferocious they could be. Is it okay with you?¡±


    Peeking at her familiar, Anne just smiled while her hand brushed into the white fluffy fur of Chikara, ¡°I guess I am, I mean he is mine now, for better or for worse, hopefully, it¡¯s more into better than the worse.¡±


    The way Anne talked about her familiar made Da amused by it. She can feel her love for the definitive dangerous little hybrid monster in herp. The two of them had a great time at the market until nighttime wasing. Da goes to the practice building again. The huntsman job required the candidate to have more stamina at night, and she was building up her strength for now. Anne goes back to the dorm alone, and this time with more books to read than before.


    Chikara¡¯s meowing and putting one of his paws into Anne¡¯s, she smiled at her familiar, ¡°I know, I will not get a definite answer in here, but at least I¡¯m trying, right?¡±


    The only answer that came from Chikara is a loud meowed and purred. Anne read the entire book until dawn came and the sun begin to rise. She took a rest for a moment before rice ising. At ten o¡¯clock, rice is already waiting for her in the lobby. With her beauty and demure, all eyes are on her, the brazen nobledy from a remote vige.


    rice saw her best friend descending the stairs. She squealed and gave Anne the tightest embrace ever.


    ¡°Oh, my darling Anne, I so miss you, my dear friend.¡±


    Still feeling awkward around rice, Anne smiled at her and apologize, ¡°rice, sorry I¡¯m a littlete.¡±


    Shaking her head, she smiled so brightly at Anne, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, oh look at you, howe you be much thinner than before?¡± Her smile though, dissipated when Anne left hand became visible to her, ¡°Oh no! what happened to your left hand?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, rice. Come on, I know the perfect store to buy our dress.¡±


    Although sleepy and discouraged, she feels a bit of happiness in the presence of rice. The boutique that Anne mentioned is on N street, near the pce of the Valorian kingdom. The boutique is inside a small alley, a peculiar ce to have a store. Anne knew sometimes the best store is not something that can be seen easily, and this is the perfect store for her.


    On Sunday noon, Henry¡¯s familiar came at the perfect time. Like he told Anne, a red cardinal came directly from her window. She introduced herself as Sabrina, Henry¡¯s familiar, and gave her a small note that was attached to her leg.


    ¡®Dear Anne, here is the name of the boutique that is perfect for you.


    Seven star Boutique, at N street. Block left near the Merry General store.


    Have a lovely day and don¡¯t forget your promise of a dance at the pce ball.


    Love, Henry.¡¯


    When she read the note for the first time, she had a good giggled at it. The love that Henry wrote on his note made her heart flutter. A bit embarrassed when she remembered the calction of her own age, but then, this is her second chance in life, the new Anne.


    Back at the boutique, an old couple with a young man is weing Anne and rice into their store. Anne was already mesmerized by the array of beautiful gowns inside the boutique.


    ¡°Hello, wee to our store, Miss Anne.¡± The olddy immediately goes to Anne.


    ¡°Do you know about me, mam?¡± Asked Anne. She never expected the store owner to know about her.


    ¡°Actually, captain Henry already told us about you.¡±


    ¡°Really? Henry did that?¡±


    The olddy smiled and nodded her head, ¡°Saturday night, he came here and told us all about a girl with purple hair that wille here buying a dress for the pce ball.¡±


    She feels all kinds of warm feelings right now. Anne will make sure to reward him with one dance at the pce ball. rice pulls her away into one section of the store.


    ¡°What do you think about this one, Anne? It will be perfect with your purple hair, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    rice showed her a silver palette dress. It is beautiful, but something iscking in her mind.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know rice, I just can¡¯t feel it. How about if we look for your dress first?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, looking for my dress? Oh, honey, I have my dress already.¡± Said rice while smiling so sweetly at Anne.


    Anne looks at her friend with amazement on her face. ¡°What? then why are you here then?¡±


    ¡°To find your perfect dress, darling, what else?¡± Answered rice with a naughty wink, she took the olddy¡¯s hand and asked her nicely, ¡°Now, mam, you¡¯re the expert here, what do you think about my friend? Do you have a perfect gown based on her personality and that unique hair of hers?¡±


    The olddy assess everything at Anne, and a smile came to her face, ¡°I got a perfect dress for her, I¡¯m sure she will be the star at the pce ball,¡± Thedy asked the two of them to be followed her into the back of the store, ¡°The dress is an unfinished product, but I can assure you we will be able to finish it before the pce ball.¡±


    When she presented the dress to the two of them, Anne knew immediately that was the dress for her, a softvender dress with a tulle skirt, an ent of beautiful silverce with a bow at the back. The first time Anne saw the dress, she had a few words and only look amazed by the dress. rice looked at her friend and decided for her.


    ¡°Yes, this is the dress, mam.¡± rice embraced her friend, feeling happy for her, ¡°Can¡¯t wait to see you in that dress! Pce ball, here wee!¡±

 Chapter 40

    40 The Pce Ball (Part 1)


    A knock came into a bedroom. An older man with a broad shoulder cleared his throat and open the bedroom door. He looks around the room when he notices someone looking at him from the tall window of the terrace, a man with red color as the hair.


    ¡°It¡¯s four in the afternoon, Bernard! It¡¯s early.¡± Justice was mildly annoyed by the presence of his chief of guard.


    Bernard looked at Justice and noticed the weird behavior of the crown prince. ¡°Your majesty, is everything alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Bernard, I¡¯m fine, and just enjoying this new vor of Aggrus, until you came though.¡±


    ¡°Right, my apology your majesty, her majesty the empress was looking for you, something about the maze.¡±


    When Bernard mentioned the maze, he immediately put his ss of aggrus at the table. Justice put on his formal suit and walk away from his room. ¡°Tell me what happened to the maze.¡±


    At the barrack, Vale, Henry and Xavier are waiting for the carriage to pick them up. Henry will be the escort for his sister, while Xavier is going to ride his horse. They are looking so handsome in their military uniform.


    ¡°Ready for the big night?¡± Xavier said to his friends a bit enthusiastically.


    Vale and Henry nced at each other andughed at Xavier¡¯s enthusiasm.


    .....


    ¡°Vale is the one that got lucky, but why you¡¯re the one that got nervous? What the F, Xavier?¡± Said Henry to Xavier, he still chuckled endlessly.


    ¡°Oh, shut up, Henry! Look, your snooty sister is here to pick you up. Better go fast. I hate her to walk inside our barrack and bat her eyshes to Vale.¡±


    Henry looked into the window, and there she was, standing impatiently outside the barrack front door.


    ¡°Sh*t! I must go. Folks, let¡¯s meet at the ball, alright?¡±


    He dashed through the front door, leaving Vale and Xavier behind.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to pick up Anne now? Since the troublemaker already left the dorm.¡± Asked Xavier pointing at the window where they can see Henry arguing with his sister.


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right, I¡¯ll get going then,¡± Listening to Xavier, Vale tried to fix his uniform before he was leaving the room. He stopped for a moment to check on Xavier, ¡°Wait, what about you?¡±


    ¡°I ride a horse. I have time to drink for a moment and still going to beat you to the pce. Just go! Don¡¯t let her wait for you.¡±


    Smiling at Xavier, he descended the stairs and get into his carriage. He was so nervous even Silver Hawk could sense it.


    ¡®Master, you¡¯re looking dapper today. No need to be nervous. I¡¯m sure the young miss will be mesmerized by you.¡¯ Said Silver Hawk from inside Vale¡¯s shadow.


    ¡°Gosh, thank you, Silver Hawk. So, could you give me a stamp of approval from her?¡±


    ¡®I can sense the sarcasm. Regardless, master, please have some fun today.¡¯


    ¡°I will, thank you, Silver Hawk.¡± Said Vale to Silver Hawk. He smiled while staring at the crescent moon above.


    He arrived at the Icarus dorm and asked for permission from the dorm matron. Even though it was almost seven o¡¯clock at night, there were still some nobles who were waiting for their carriage in the lobby. They begin to whisper, curious about a handsome, noble captain in their lobby, waiting for someone. They wonder, who¡¯s the lucky girl? Until they saw Anne descending the stairs with her softvender gown and the intricate silverce around the tulle skirt.


    Vale looks at her with an awestruck on his face. Her long purple hair is braided with a wildflower scattered perfectly on her hair, her face with a soft red rogue and pink blushes. When Vale took her hand, the aroma of metee flowers spread around him. A very fresh and soft fragrance.


    ¡°You... Wow... you look stunning!¡± Said Vale while his eyes never look away from Anne¡¯s face.


    ¡°Thank you. You look handsome, by the way. This is the first time I saw you in your military uniform.¡±


    In his light blue Magi military uniform, Vale was indeed looking ssy and handsome. Everyone around them was insanely loud. They were gossiping and murmuring came from every direction. The silver pass cheater is attending the pce ball with a very famous magi captain. That was pretty much the whole conversation inside the Icarus dorm. Even when the two of them were long gone, the rest of the nobles still talks about her and Vale.


    At the pce, the music was already starting; the attendees were floating at the entrance; the servants had a hard time announcing the arrivals of the nobles. Henry and Heirim were getting announced together.


    ¡°Lord Henry Spencer anddy Heirim Spencer!¡±


    They finally get inside the pce, where Henry is ready to leave Heirim.


    ¡°No! Don¡¯t you dare to leave me here, Henry!¡± Heirim¡¯s hands were holding tight to her brother.


    Henry¡¯s a bit annoyed by her clingy sister, he looks at her and tried to let go of his hand from Heirim. ¡°Heirim, your friends are scattered around the pce. I need to go and meet with Justice.¡±


    ¡°Then take me with you. I wanted to meet with Justice.¡±


    ¡°No! Justice doesn¡¯t want to meet with everyone but us three, so go away.¡±


    His sister¡¯s hand never lets go of his, and Heirim is determined to meet with Justice. She bought one of the expensive dresses with wless hair and make-up from one of the best beauty care shops in the capital. She is ready to present herself to Justice. Henry gives in to his sister¡¯s selfish request, hoping that after she met with Justice, Heirim will be gone afterward.


    The two of them go to the royal balcony, where all royalty stay seated to see the ball from the higher ces. Every royal has a private balcony. Justice was in the middle of discussing something with Bernard. Their faces were tense or anxious. Henry knew something was going on and it wasn¡¯t a piece of good news.


    ¡°Lord Henry Spencer and Lady Heirim Spencer, your majesty.¡± A servant announced the siblings to Justice.


    Justice nces at the two of them and gets annoyed right away. ¡°Henry, why were you brought your sister here?¡±


    Heirim face begins to beam, she then walks forward to Justice, trying to hug him.


    ¡°Justice, so good to see you.¡±


    Justice rolled his eyes and push Heirim away from him. A disgust came to his expression, ¡°Henry, please take her away from this balcony. I need to talk to you, alone.¡±


    ¡°Hey, you don¡¯t have to be so rude. I just wanted to see you and catch up.¡±


    Justice let out a sigh. His eyes go to Heirim¡¯s face. ¡°Do you ever be willing to get out of my balcony?¡±


    Heirim pouted and gave Justice a sweet voice of her, ¡°Oh,e on, you can push me away so easily. I¡¯m not going anywhere.¡±


    Suddenly, a smile came into Justice¡¯s face, ¡°Fine, if you don¡¯t want to leave my freaking balcony, let me go away with your brother,¡± He pull Henry away from Heirim, and before he goes outside the balcony, turned his face once again to Heirim, ¡°Oh, you can enjoy the refreshments in here, just... don¡¯t wait for us.¡±


    Henry and Justice left the balcony, not even bothered to see Heirim, who was fuming. Her hand was shaken, and she bites her lips and tried to hide this humiliation.


    Henry let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Save me from the catastrophe named Heirim, thanks, brother.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m saving myself, actually. You were lucky that I¡¯m willing to let you into my escape n.¡± Said Justice, trying to tease Henry.


    ¡°Oh, shut up! So, what happened?¡±


    He looked around the hall and then pointed at his study. ¡°Let¡¯s talk inside. I¡¯ve already told Bernard to call for Vale and Xavier to my study.¡±


    They took a seat on the sofa, while Justice pour the two of them a drink. ¡°My mother told me there was something wrong inside the maze.¡±


    ¡°What? That¡¯s absurd. Vale and other magi captains already sealed ck magic for the rest of the day, including the maze.¡±


    ¡°I know, but one servant saw something that... well, he saw a shadow.¡±


    Henry looked at Justice with a frown, ¡°A shadow, that¡¯s it? Justice that was...¡±


    The study door suddenly opens ajar, and there¡¯s Xavier and also Justice¡¯s brother, Jason.


    ¡°Justice, someone is missing inside the maze.¡± Said Jason with a concerned face.


    Justice cursed and jump from his seat, ¡°F*ck! I thought we¡¯ve already put the sign?¡±


    The four of them go to the maze immediately. There¡¯s a distressed person outside the maze entrance. It was a female servant, crying at the entrance. The maze is a part of the pce garden. There are two entrances with one exit. Inside the maze, you will find a beautiful water fountain with a small garden and benches. The favorite ce for the young nobles to have a romantic encounter is inside the maze.


    ¡°Your majesties, sir, and my lord thank you foring as fast as you can.¡± said the female servant.


    ¡°Tell me what happened. What are you doing here?¡± Asked Justice to the servant, while Henry and Xavier look around the entrance.


    ¡°I... I have an arranged meeting with my uhm... lover inside the maze. I know you asked us to close it down, but we just wanted to have some fun...¡± The servant was practically wailing.


    ¡°Sh*t! Jason, tell Vale to go here as soon as possible. The three of us will try to save the servant.¡±


    Prince Jason, the older brother of Justice, immediately nodded his head and ran back to the pce. Justice walked inside the maze, leaving the other two in the shadow outside. Xavier and Henry tried to follow Justice, but a ward threw the two of them back to the entrance of the maze.


    ¡°What the f*ck?! The maze repels us?!¡± Henry feels so confused.


    Xavier cursed and screamed, ¡°Oh my Gods! Justice, He was inside!¡±

 Chapter 41

    41 The Pce Ball (Part 2)


    While Justice and the others were rushing into the maze, Vale and Anne finally arrived at the pce and waited for their name to be announced. Anne is nervous, although not for Vale. He was smiling from ear to ear, so happy that he could go to the ball with Anne.


    ¡°Gosh, I am so nervous, so what kind of introduction they are going to do?¡± Asked Anne. She looked around the room nervously..


    Granted, this is her first ball, and with nobles and royalty around. Vale holds her hand and smiles to calm her down.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they are just going to yell our name into the whole people at this ball.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, so funny, Vale! So funny.¡±


    Vale snorted when Anne punch him on his shoulder. The queue wasn¡¯t long, but it was the heat that bothered her, Anne fanning herself constantly. Vale looks at her and offers her something in return. A small box and inside of it is a beautiful wood engraving bangle.


    ¡°Oh Vale, it¡¯s so pretty, but you don¡¯t have to.¡± Said Anne, feel so impressed by the engraved bangle.


    ¡°Wear the bangle. It has some magica in it. It should be enough to make you feel cool.¡±


    ¡°Really? Uhm... okay.¡±


    .....


    She wore the bangle and, feeling refreshed; the bangle has wind magic imbued in it, only high-level magi that could produce an imbued magic item. Anne felt so grateful towards Vale. Not only the bangle is so beautiful, but the imbued magic also helpful for her.


    ¡°Thank you so much, Vale, I... I can¡¯t thank you enough.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± Answered Vale, with a grin on his face. He then looks at her nervously. ¡°Uhm... could you promise me something, though? Could you wear the bangle all the time?¡±


    The wood bangle is small and does not even stand out. Anne thought it will be safe to wear it regrly. She nodded her head to Vale. She gave the magi captain a sigh of relief. The pce attendant asked for their name, and finally, it is their time to be announced.


    ¡°Sir Vale of Gendry town and Miss River Anne of Viora vige.¡±


    For regr citizens and custom nobles, they are still carrying the name of their birthce as their surname, unlike the pure nobles and royalty that kept their family name as their surname. The two of them walked into the hall. Anne couldn¡¯t keep her eyes in one ce. She was in awe of everything inside the pce.


    ¡°Oh wow, the pce. This is the first time I see the inside. It¡¯s just as beautiful as the outside of that book cover.¡± Muttered Anne inadvertently.


    Vale turns his face to Anne, thinking that he must hear it wrong. ¡°I beg you a pardon?¡±


    ¡°Oh, nothing! I was thinking about a book that has a picture simr to the pce.¡± Anne immediately deflected his question.


    ¡°Oh, alright,e on, what do you need right now?¡± Said Vale, leading her to the dining room, where the attendees could feast with an array of delicacies.


    ¡°Oh wait, Vale, I want to dance. Come on! Let¡¯s dance!¡±


    Anne was excited when the music begin to y and people around took their partners on the dance floor. Vale is loving her enthusiasm. He then leads her to the dance floor.


    ¡°Apology, but I must ask, should I lead you?¡± Asked Vale to Anne.


    Anne looked around the dance floor and noticed they were dancing the waltz, she knows how to waltz from her old world. ¡°Not to be worried. I know how to dance the waltz.¡±


    ¡°So, I don¡¯t have to worry about my foot getting crushed?¡± Teased Vale.


    Laughing and rolling her eyes, Anne then said to Vale, ¡°No, you¡¯re going to be safe. Now let¡¯s dance, magi captain!¡±


    They were dancing gracefully with the melodious tune from the orchestra, his eyes never looking away from Anne. They were smiling and having fun, not even realizing they were already danced for a while. Anne panted her breath, but thrilled, same as Vale, who finally could enjoy the formal pce ball. This type of event was never his forte, just like Xavier that prefer to go into the forest and have a quiet evening with the animals.


    ¡°Anne! There you are.¡±


    Turning around from the source of the voice, Anne and Vale saw rice with her beautiful red gown, walking towards them. She embraced her best friend and feel so proud looking at her.


    ¡°rice, you may remember Vale?¡± Said Anne, who was trying to introduce Vale to rice.


    rice¡¯s eyes glinted with excitement. ¡°I knew it! You choose the cute magi as your partner.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so lucky of me to be the chosen one.¡± Vale teases rice back.


    ¡°Oh, shut up, you¡¯re teasing me sir Vale... I¡¯m sorry though, but where¡¯s the rest of the amazing quartet?¡±


    Vale looked up into the second floor, where the royalty balcony was located. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Did you see the crown prince, or maybe Henry and Xavier?¡±


    ¡°I saw sir Xaviering inside and headed to the second floor, but afterward one of my fianc¨¦¡¯s pulls me into the dining room.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s weird. There¡¯s only Heirim and her friends on Justice¡¯s balcony.¡± Muttered Vale.


    He was getting worried until a hand grabbed onto his shoulder. He turned around to see prince Jason.


    ¡°Finally, look, we need you. There¡¯s something happened at... please, just follow me for now.¡± Jason said it to Vale while trying to hide the rest of the problem from their surroundings.


    ¡°Yes, but... my partner...¡± Said Vale, ncing at Anne on his right side.


    The way prince Jason looks at Vale, she can sense the urgency of the problem. She took his hand and smiled. ¡°Vale, you need to go. Your friends need it you, don¡¯t worry about me.¡±


    ¡°But, Anne...¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry sir Vale, I¡¯ll be taking her to the dining room. She will not be alone.¡± Said rice, trying to convince the concerned magi.


    ¡°Go, Vale, they need you.¡± Anne push him to go with Jason, and she also reassured him with a smile.


    He finally gave in and nodded at Anne. ¡°I¡¯ll go back as soon as possible, alright?¡±


    While the magi captain goes away with prince Jason, the only thing that Anne could do was to follow rice to the dining room.


    ¡°I¡¯m already eaten some of the food, but having one or two desserts is fine, right?¡± Asked rice to Anne, although thetter mostly ignored her. Annoyed by her ignorance, rice flicked Anne¡¯s nose and red at her, ¡°Gosh, really?! You were the one who said that it will be fine if he was gone away, and now look at you?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, rice... Just, let¡¯s get something to eat. I¡¯m starving.¡± Anne doesn¡¯t want rice to feel how disappointed she was, although she couldn¡¯t figure out why she feels disappointed in the first ce.


    The two of them took a corner table. rice started a conversation, mostly about how life in Viora vige after she has been gone to take the civil servant exam. rice told her about the restoration of theke, the new shop, and about Ed and Martha.


    ¡°I feel relieved to know both of them were healthy.¡±


    rice smiled at Anne, the smile that you gave to your friend for good news. ¡°They said that they will go to the capital for your graduation.¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on, my graduation as a civil servant isn¡¯t certain yet.¡± Anne huffed a breath, feeling the pressure to make the two of them happy.


    ¡°They just wanted to see you, Anne. They missed you so much.¡±


    Anne looks into rice¡¯s eyes. Truthfully, Anne missed everything in Viora vige, her parents, and the people. Somehow, she felt warm in her chest. The nostalgia came and memories of her childhood were flooding into her mind.


    ¡°Oh, no, you¡¯re not!¡±


    Suddenly, rice jumped from her seat.


    ¡°rice, what happened?¡± Asked Anne, her head turning into the way rice looked.


    A group of nobles is circling around a beautifuldy. Anne knew immediately that it was Heirim. She also recognized one of the nobles that vied for Heirim.


    ¡°Luxor! How dare you sniff around anotherdy!¡± Shouted rice. She stomped her legs and march forward toward her fianc¨¦.


    rice and Heirim begin to bicker in front of all the nobles, Luxor. rice¡¯s fianc¨¦ was trying to stop rice. He ends up getting a ck eye from rice¡¯s elbow. Anne let out a sigh and walk into her friend. She tried to ease the fight.


    ¡°Anne, my girl...¡±


    A voice came from out of nowhere, she look around the room searching for the source, and that was when her eyes met with a pair of rainbow eyes. The woman from the forest of theke, the woman still beautiful like the first time she met her.


    ¡°Come, child, I want you to meet with someone.¡± Said the woman.


    ¡°Who... who are you?¡± Asked Anne towards the woman.


    The woman just smiles at her and walks away. Anne didn¡¯t want her to be going away before she answered her question. Anne tried to chase the woman, her steps were light, but the woman keep getting further and further. She screamed her frustration while her hand tried to reach the woman, instead an unknown force pull her into another space.


    She fell hard onto the hard ground, groaning she look around the area before she notices a pair of hands capture her from behind. She turned her head to see Justice.


    ¡°River Anne, what are you doing here?!¡±

 Chapter 42

    42 The Pce Ball (Part 3)


    The red hair crown prince was calling for his friends, he check the entrance of the maze to no avail.


    ¡°F*ck! I¡¯m trapped.¡± Muttered Justice.


    There¡¯s nothing he can do besides waiting for Vale, with this high level of magica. Although he has a good amount, sadly, this is not his specialty. Justice look around the maze and decided to take a look inside it. The maze is imbued with magica, every hour the route to the exit will change into another pattern.


    He curses a lot because of the imbue magica, he was raised at the pce, and he knows about the route inside the maze even if he wears a blindfold. Not for tonight, every corner and turn is changing, he got lost easily and still needs to be alert.


    ¡°Vale, you b*stard! Now, look what you have done, you prissy magi.¡±


    Justice just couldn¡¯t help himself to curse Vale, the fact that it was Vale¡¯s idea to make the maze more interesting this year had backfired. Not only that he was trapped inside the maze, but he got lost and was also sure there was an evil entity inside the maze.


    Justice needs to be careful, when he is getting further inside the maze, he also worried for the staff who was trapped inside the maze. Let out a sigh, he begins to walk while summoning his sword and his familiar.


    ¡°Kirara are you there?¡±


    There¡¯s no answer from his familiar.


    .....


    ¡°Kirara?¡±


    Another silence from his shadow, he was worried, Kirara always answered Justice¡¯s calling. This is the first time she wasn¡¯t answering his master¡¯s call. Justice is giving up calling for Kirara, he couldn¡¯t risk being exposed to whoever thing that was lurking inside the maze.


    Slowly and carefully with his sword gripped tightly in his hand he walk further inside, hoping to see the servant before the monster.


    ¡°Help! Anyone?! I need to get out!¡±


    It was the servant, the voice was a bit far than Justice anticipated, he begin to run while yelling at the voice.


    ¡°Hey! It¡¯s Justice, where are you?!¡±


    ¡°Your majesty? Is that you?¡± Asked the servant.


    ¡°Yes! Where are you?! Quick give me your location.¡±


    Justice yelled at him, he can feel something ominous getting closer to their ce, he need to save the servant before the monster got him before he did.


    ¡°Your majesty... I... I don¡¯t know, it was dark in here.¡± Answered the servant nervously.


    Justice can feel his distress, he stop for a moment, and asked one more question, ¡°Tried to see something, maybe feel something unfamiliar.¡±


    ¡°Uhm... I feel a stone, a wet stone, and... uhm... Oh, I hear something, your majesty.¡±


    Justice gets tensed, and his grip on his weapon is getting tighter, ¡°What did you hear?¡±


    ¡°A sound of running water, it was faint, but... wait... Your majesty, something is growling in here!¡±


    ¡°F*ck! It got him!¡± Cursed Justice, ¡°Ugh, I hate to do this, but here I go.¡±


    He called for Fire, and his sword transformed into a me sword, his magica is strong in the fire element. With a seventy percent magica was twenty-five percent solely for fire element. With his me sword and lit amber eyes, he cut every part of the maze and gets in time before the servant got attacked by a mysterious shadow.


    Justice shes the shadow, and with a wail, the shadow disperses in front of Justice and the servant. The orbs in the surrounding area finally lit again, Justice then turn his head to see the servant.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    The servant burst out in tears, he even embraced Justice¡¯s feet, ¡°Your majesty! Oh, it¡¯s so good to see you...¡±


    ¡°Oh, my Gods! Alright, calm down... Uhm... you.¡± Justice awkwardly tried to release the servant¡¯s grip on his feet.


    ¡°Ooooh, Gods! Thank you, thank you, your majesty, you saved me!¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, please just stand up, for now, we need to get out of here as well!¡±


    The servant wipe his tears and smiled bashfully at Justice, ¡°Oh where is my manner, apology, your majesty.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, what¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Harry, your majesty, my name is Harry.¡±


    ¡°Fine, then Harry, because of some *ss magi, we need to be careful walking inside the maze.¡±


    Harry tilted his head, ¡°*ss magi, your majesty?¡± He knows about Justice¡¯s bad habit of cursing from the other servants.


    ¡°Yes, he was an *ss, now, are you okay to walk and run?¡±


    ¡°Yes? Walk and run, your majesty?¡± Asked Harry once more.


    Justice red at the young servant, ¡°Are you going to ask a lot of questions? Or you could just follow me carefully from behind?¡±


    Flustered by his remark, Harry just gave him a nod and said that he could walk or run. Justice begins to step away from the corner where Harry was, he looks into every side and corner and skillfully maps everything inside his head, although he wasn¡¯t aware of the time limit before the maze changed its shape.


    ¡°Harry, let us walk carefully for now, but when I shouted run, you run as fast as you could, do you hear me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, your majesty.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now, did you see the pathway on the left? We are going to run passing the shrubs and the fountain, and after, we are going to wait in the corner.¡±


    Justice gave him a rough exnation for their escape n, Harry just sat in silence and nodded his head. Satisfied by the obedient servant, he tightly holds to his sword once again, and begins to walk through the shrubs and the fountain. He nced at the fountain and notice something is different about the fountain but he doesn¡¯t know what is wrong with it.


    ¡°Hey, Harry, do you see something is wrong with the fountain?¡± Justice tried to ask Harry about the irregrity.


    ¡°The fountain? It¡¯s just a regr fountain, your majesty.¡±


    He abruptly stops and looks behind, ¡°Regr fountain? Why do you...¡± Before Justice couldplete his sentence, a tremor begin and shakes the inside of the maze, ¡°F*ck! It¡¯s changing shapes, Harry run!¡±


    The two of them tried as fast as they can to reach the other end of the maze, Justice jumped and reach out to Harry before the shrubs closed the road, and they are inside another room of the maze. Justice stands up immediately, not because of the strangeness or unfamiliarity of the random maze. It was because there was a girl, a beautiful girl wearing a dress, her purple long hair is braided, adorned with a wildflower.


    ¡°Anne? What is she doing here?¡± Muttered Justice.


    She looked lost and nervous, Justice then grab her shoulder to announce his presence. She turned around, her eyes widen, surprised by him.


    ¡°River Anne, what are you doing here?¡± Asked Justice, with a frown on his face, he couldn¡¯t figure out how Anne could be inside the maze.


    ¡°Just... I mean your majesty, where am I?¡± Anne asked him back, she was totally confused about her surrounding.


    ¡°Wait, do you know about my identity?¡±


    Anne red at the crown prince, ¡°That is not important right now? Where am I, and what are you doing here alone?!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean alone?! I was with Harry.¡±


    Justice turned around to see there was no one around, the fact that he was actually alone with Anne right now. He was petrified, his head begin to throb.


    ¡°Impossible! Harry was with me for a while.¡±


    ¡°Harry? A man? But Justice, you¡¯re alone the whole time I saw you.¡±


    ¡°F*ck! What is happening here?!¡± Cursed the crown prince.


    Not only Harry wasn¡¯t around, but there was also Anne in front of him, although he was happy to see her, the young girl doesn¡¯t have power. Now, he needs to find Harry again, while protecting Anne, and also find the way out. Justice was lost, however, when he looks at how desperate Anne was right now, the crown prince took her hand and smiled.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m here with you.¡± he tried to calm her.


    The warm words from Justice make her feel safe all of a sudden, ¡°Thank you, your majesty.¡±


    Somehow, Justice hates the way Anne calls him the way he is, although he doesn¡¯t know how to express his objection towards Anne. Instead, while her hand was still being held by his hand and got pulled into the corner.


    ¡°Your majesty, why are you taking me here?¡±


    ¡°I need to ask you, howe you were able to enter the maze?¡±


    There¡¯s a doubt in her eyes, rather she doesn¡¯t know how to exin the whole charade to Justice, ¡°I¡¯ll make it a simple one, I was chasing someone, and somehow ended up in here.¡±


    ¡°A portal, most likely a setup, I don¡¯t know if the person intended to trap you or someone else though.¡±


    Anne stared into him and asked him questions that he never answered properly. ¡°Your majesty, may I ask you again about the person that...¡±


    Suddenly, Justice put his hand into Anne¡¯s mouth, his face was closer to her, and she could even feel his warm breath.


    ¡°Psst... There¡¯s someone here!¡±


    Her heart beat faster, their eyes met and she can feel his bated breath. He was nervous, not because of a potential threat, he can feel her lips on his palm. Justice got hypnotized, they were getting closer and closer. Until a gust of wind tore them away.


    Anne wasying on the opposite side of Justice, she blinked rapidly while trying to see who was behind the wind earlier.


    ¡°Anne, take cover!¡±


    Justice screamed at Anne, while he was shing into the shrubbery in front of Anne, it wasn¡¯t a shrubbery but a Dryad, arge tree monster with the power of ten strong men on their branches. She looks into Justice who¡¯s trying so hard to fight the Dryad.


    With his me sword in his hand, Justice sessfully split the tree monster into halves, but one of the roots pierced into the arm of the crown prince. He shouted in agony and fell. Anne catches his body before he dropped to the ground. He was unconscious while our heroine called his name with a backdrop of a ming Dryad behind them

 Chapter 43

    43 The Pce Ball (Part 4)


    Vale was running as fast as he could to the maze, ¡°What happened? I¡¯ve heard that there¡¯s a monster outside the maze?¡± Asked Vale to his friends.


    Henry and Xavier look at each other, and both of them kept on silent. Jason came and look around them.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Justice?¡± Jason was asking Henry and Xavier.


    Finally, it was Henry, who answered Jason¡¯s question, ¡°He was inside the maze.¡±


    ¡°If he was inside, why were the two of you...¡±


    Before Jason could finish his question, Xavier pointed at the entrance of the maze, ¡°Because that freaking thing couldn¡¯t let us.¡±


    Vale and Jason turn around and see a peculiar reflected material at the two entrances of the maze.


    ¡°F*ck! What¡¯s that?¡± Said Jason, he turned to Vale for an exnation.


    ¡°Time bubble, someone cast a time bubble for the whole maze.¡± Answered Vale, he look closely at the material and was amazed by it, ¡°This is a high-level magica, only a handful of people could conjure it, especially at this size.¡±


    .....


    ¡°Do you know all the magi who can conjure the time bubble?¡± Asked Henry to Vale.


    ¡°Yes, all of them were dead.¡±


    Jason, Xavier, and Henry were so surprised, their head turned around so fast at Vale, ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°Time bubble is an ancient magica, ancient and forbidden, there¡¯s a reason why the academy never let us learn this magica.¡±


    Henry stared at the time bubble on the maze, his hard-on thinking for a way to go inside, ¡°Well, can you... destroy it?¡± He asked Vale, once again.


    A looked in Vale¡¯s eyes was discouraging, he neither answered Henry nor even spoke any word. Instead, he called Silver Hawk, and the huge bird appeared from his shadow, looking all mighty with his glimmering silver feather.


    ¡®You called for me, master?¡¯


    ¡°I need you to fly up into the sky and gave me a view of the maze.¡± Valemended his familiar.


    ¡®Do you mean, synchronize with me, master?¡¯


    Xavier grabs into Vale¡¯s arm, ¡°Are you crazy? You know the risk of synchronization!¡±


    ¡°I know the risk, just calm down Xavier.¡±


    He looked into his friend¡¯s eyes, Vale was determined, and there was nothing Xavier can do about it, he knows how stubborn his friend is. Vale closes his eyes, focusing solely on his familiar, strange aura appearing on his body, and when he opens his eyes, what he sees is the view of himself standing circling by a strange aura.


    Vale sessfully synchronizes with Silver Hawk. The bird familiar flies above and looks directly at the maze below him. What he sees is something beyond hisprehension. a man with red hair is visible inside the clear bubble, it was Justice. Something is wrong with Justice, or rather he bes awfully fast.


    Releasing the synchronize, Vale was fallen to the ground, Xavier and Henry catch him on time. His breathing is fast while his eyes blinked rapidly.


    ¡°Vale, are you alright buddy?¡± Xavier asked his friend, he knew so well about the consequences of using synchronization with the familiar.


    Trying to smile, Vale patted Xavier¡¯s hand, just to calm him down, ¡°Yeah... Yeah... Don¡¯t worry, my head hurts a bit, but I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°So, what did you see?¡± Asked Henry, as usual, he was the one who is mentally focusing on a mission.


    ¡°I have my suspicion, but it seems I was right. time bubble makes everything inside the maze faster than it should be.¡±


    Henry asked him again, ¡°How fast?¡±


    ¡°In theory, ten minutes in here equal one hour inside the time bubble.¡±


    ¡°F*ck! it¡¯s almost twenty minutes since Justice was inside that cursed time bubble.¡± Cursed Henry.


    Jason paced around the area, feeling desperate, ¡°What should we do? We can¡¯t let Justice alone with Gods knows what inside that maze.¡±


    ¡°Rx Jason, I¡¯m sure Vale already figured something out,¡± Said Henry to the prince, he then turned his attention back to Vale and whispered, ¡°You do figure something out, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know what I need to do, Henry, thank you for the boost of confidence,¡± Said Vale with a bit of sarcasm, he then added, ¡°Oh, and by the way, all of you need to help me.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, I was hoping you never said that. What do you need?¡±


    Standing up, his hand pointed at the far end of the maze, ¡°There¡¯s only one exit, right? it is at the north side of the maze.¡±


    Jason nodded and answered his question, ¡°Yes, of course, two entrances, one exit.¡±


    ¡°Good, now we just need to break the time bubble by force.¡± Said Vale with a grin on his face.


    Anne was panicking, Justice still unconscious after his fight with the Dryad. She hides beyond the shrubbery after pulling Justice with her remaining strength. She feels desperate, at a time like this how she wanted to have even just a bit of magica just to give Justice a first aid healing.


    This is her secret, the one that she wanted to keep away for a while, she doesn¡¯t have any magica.


    ¡°Oh my God, what should I do...e on,e on Anne, think of something, remember your training!¡±


    While Anne muttered and tried to focus, Justice regained his consciousness.


    ¡°Ugh... What happened?¡± Said the red hair crown prince to our heroine.


    A sigh of relief came to her immediately after seeing him, ¡°Ju... Justice? Oh, thank God! How are you feeling?¡±


    ¡°Feeling a lot of pain, I could use some first aid healing right now.¡±


    The blood disappeared from Anne¡¯s face. ¡°I... I can¡¯t give you first aid healing.¡±


    A frown came into Justice¡¯s face. ¡°What do you mean, you can¡¯t give me a first aid healing? That is basic knowledge for a healer.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know that is basic knowledge for us, healer, It¡¯s just that I...¡± Anne let out a sigh and looks at Justice with a bittered smile on her face, ¡°I can¡¯t do it... I don¡¯t have magica in me.¡±


    Instead of being astonished, Justice asked her another question instead, ¡°When did you aware that you don¡¯t have any magica?¡±


    ¡°When I was ten years old, they tested me and were aware that I don¡¯t have any magica inside of me.¡±


    Justice looks very carefully at the purple-hair girl in front of him. Her dress was torn, even the wildflowers on her hair wilt and her make-up was a mess. She was an anomaly in Justice¡¯s life. He went crazy when he couldn¡¯t see her face, but also got irritated when Anne was beside him.


    ¡°Gods, what is happening to me?¡± Muttered Justice.


    ¡°You¡¯re injured. The Dryad stabbed you. Thankfully, it¡¯s not fatal.¡± Anne, who doesn¡¯t know that Justice was talking to himself, provided the crown prince with an answer.


    ¡°... Right, so what can you do about this situation? You don¡¯t even have any magica.¡±


    Anne was fuming and red at the crown prince. She was thinking about all the children that love to tease her because of herck of magica. She will prove to this arrogant crown prince that she could survive without any magica.


    She looks around the area, trying to find something to help treated Justice¡¯s wound, and what she had seen made a grin on her face. She goes away for Justice after she put him in afortable position.


    ¡°Hey, where are you going?¡± Yelled Justice at Anne. Although his voice was harsh, deep inside he was worried for her.


    Anne turned around and red, ¡°I am searching the nts to treat your wound, your highness!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t go far! And it is your majesty!¡± Shouted Justice at the girl who was walking away with a grumble on her voice.


    Justice, on the other hand, has a slight smirk on his face. This is the River Anne that he knew, fiery and challenging Anne. He tried to be asfortable as he can be while Anne looking for medicinal nts.


    Ten minutes had passed, and the young girl was finally back with two nts in her hand. She crushed the nt together and mix it into a curve small stone and put some water on it.


    ¡°Your majesty, please open your uniform for me.¡±


    ¡°What?! absolutely not!¡±


    Annoyed by his objection, she grind her teeth and fake a smile, ¡°Oh,e on, your majesty, I just wanted to address your wound!¡±


    Justice¡¯s eyes stared deeply into Anne¡¯s. ¡°Call me Justice.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°Call me Justice and I will open my clothes for you.¡± Said Justice with his red eyes still locked on Anne¡¯s face.


    Surprised by Justice¡¯s approach, Anne prefers to look innocent instead. ¡°Right, Justice, please open your clothes.¡±


    The crown prince just chuckled and with a swift opened her royalty uniform in ck color, there¡¯s anotheryer of shirt with three buttons open on his chest, his lean and muscr chest. Anne need to clear her throat and hide her blush when she addressed the wound on his arm.


    ¡°Thankfully, the wound wasn¡¯t severe, but you still need to get a full check, we don¡¯t know what kind of disease the Dryad has.¡± Said Anne while she put the herbs on Justice¡¯s arm.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Redonian andtleroot, redonian for the major cut, but good to eliminate dead tissue, whiletleroot is good for a small cut.¡± She exined to him, little by little, ¡°I¡¯llbine them to stop the bleeding and treated the torn tissue, dly your architect of this maze has some sense of humor putting redonian inside.¡±


    ¡°They were not...¡± Muttered Justice to Anne.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°I said the architect never put redonian inside the maze.¡±


    As soon as he said the words, a growl wasing from behind them. Justice saw it first, he grab Anne¡¯s body and avoided the swift attack from another monster. Arge shadow now appeared. Justice called for his sword while he shielded Anne with his own body. They are once again in danger.

 Chapter 44

    44 Without a Magica (part 1)


    The monster roared, with three white eyes and a wide mouth. All the body is covered with ck fur, seven feet tall in size, it looks intimidating to Justice and Anne.


    ¡°F*ck, it¡¯s a Bog Yeti! Hey, you need to stay behind me, okay?¡± Justice whispered towards the girl with purple hair behind him.


    Anne looking at him with a slight gasped, ¡°What? what are you going to do? You¡¯re still injured!¡±


    ¡°Do you think the monster cared if I was injured or not?!¡±


    ¡°Fair point.¡± Whispered Anne meekly.


    The Bog Yeti clenched its left hand and punched in the direction of Justice and Anne. Justice blocks the attack by holding into his scabbard. The punch was rough. He almost got thrown by the hard punch, but sessfully block the attack and even tried to counter it by swinging his sword directly to the Bog Yeti.


    ¡°Anne, go hide somewhere. Let me fight this monster first!¡± Said Justice to Anne.


    Our heroine then put her hand on Justice¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Be careful, Justice.¡±


    A smilees upon his face. While Anne goes to hide, Justice attacks the Bog Yeti. She looks with amazement at the shrubberies and how the crown prince can keep up with a huge monster. The Bog Yeti roared once again andunched his two hands directly at Justice. As a skilled fighter, Justice avoided the attack and do a swift counter directly to the Bog Yeti¡¯s waist.


    .....


    However, the monster is undeterred, instead; he bes more vicious, and wse out of his hand. Anne, thinking that Justice maybe in big trouble, remembered about the crystal de from Horden. The crystal de is safely tucked inside her dress by a long chain ne. Anne reached into the crystal de and whispered.


    ¡°I know I don¡¯t have any magica, but maybe you can lend me some of your power, even just for a bit.¡± Muttered Anne while she hold the miniature crystal de in her palm.


    Her bangle shined and miraculously the miniature crystal de grew. She grabs the handle and runs towards the Bog Yeti, just in time before a direct punch into Justice. She aimed at the monster¡¯s feet and plunge the de repeatedly into its foot.


    The monster fell to the ground and wailing, Justice saw an opening to run. He called for Anne with an extended arm towards her. They run away holding hand where Justice lead while Anne followed, although thetter has a tough time running. Anne was panting like crazy, her vision was blurry, and sweatsing all over her body. She was exhausted.


    Her hand loses grip, and she falls to the ground behind him. Justice turns his attention immediately. Justice was trying to help Anne to stand up when the Bog Yeti came out of nowhere. It was toote for him to pull her away, instead, he embraced her and shielded her from the Bog Yeti¡¯s sudden attack.


    Somehow, there was nothing, no pain or even anything. Justice looks up and saw a powerful shield already cast on them. The Bog Yeti is in the middle of fighting with Xavier and Vale.


    ¡°Hey Justice, are you alright?¡± Asked Henry to Justice. However, he was in for a surprise when Justice revealed the girl he was protecting in his arms. ¡°Anne? Why are you doing here?!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no time. Let¡¯s get out of here. I¡¯ve been stabbed, and she¡¯s exhausted.¡± Said Justice to Henry.


    ¡°Alright, Jason is here. He will help both of you.¡±


    ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    He smiled at Justice, even gave him a wink, ¡°I have a monster to fight!¡± Henry then draw his crystal sword and lunged himself at the Bog Yeti.


    ¡°Show off.¡± Said Justice with a smirk on his face.


    Anne saw the crystal sword in Henry¡¯s hand, it look simr to her crystal de that was safely tucked inside her dress in miniature size. They got out safely from the maze and were brought inside the pce secretly through the underground secret tunnel. Prince Jason exined that the pce ball was still being held on the upper level, there was no need to alert the mass of people.


    Several people came inside arge suite of the crown prince, with four bedrooms circling a living room and a terrace. It is one of thergest suites in the pce. While Anne takes a rest in the living room, Justice was treated by the pce healers. Fifteen minutes went by, when Henry, Vale, and Xavier came inside the crown prince¡¯s suite. They were soaked in blood, makes the two people in the living room, Prince Jason and Anne got alerted immediately.


    ¡°Oh my God! What happened to the three of you?!¡± Asked Anne, she immediately took the first aid kit box from the table.


    Henry is smiling and raised his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s the Bog Yeti blood. We have some tough time because the monster went berserk.¡±


    His exnation doesn¡¯t give Anne¡¯s mind at ease. ¡°Still... Let me take a look, please. All of you sit on the sofa.¡±


    The three of thempliant with her demand, they took a seat and gotfortable on the sofa while Anne check on them one by one. Prince Jason was trying to prevent her, but Henry looks at him and said.


    ¡°Jason, she¡¯s a healer. Let us be examined by her.¡±


    Jason looks at the girl in front of him once again. ¡°Oh, you are? You seem too young to be a healer, though.¡± Asked Jason towards Anne.


    ¡°I am a healer but not yet a certified healer yet, your majesty.¡± Anne tried to answer him while she was checking on Vale.


    In the middle of the conversation, the healers from inside Justice¡¯s bedroom step outside the bedroom.


    ¡°How¡¯s my brother?¡± Asked prince Jason as calm as possible, Justice is his most treasured brother.


    ¡°My apology, your majesty, I need to ask something first,¡± said an older gentleman with a white beard. He is the chief healer at the pce. ¡°Who¡¯s the person who gave the crown prince herbs medicine?¡±


    Raising her hand, Anne then said, ¡°It was me, sir.¡±


    The chief healer of the pce looks astonished when he saw Anne. ¡°You?! Such a young girl, you know what you just did?!¡±


    Inside her mind, Anne prayed she didn¡¯t make a fatal mistake, or else the trouble she may be getting into. Our poor heroine just couldn¡¯t catch a break.

 Chapter 45

    45 Without a Magica (part 2)


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but what happened to Jus... I mean, your majesty the crown prince?¡±


    Anne was nervous. She treated the wound with care, and based on her knowledge, but in her line of work, you never know what could happen.


    The Chief Healer take a sigh and surprisingly, smiled at Anne. ¡°No, miss, I just wanted to say, what you had done to the crown prince is remarkable.¡±


    Now, she was more confused than before. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Anne tried to ask Obatto, the chief healer, once again.


    ¡°Just like I said earlier, your quick thinking prevented him from losing his arm,¡± Said Obatto, still smiling at Anne, ¡°Dryad barks have a toxin that has a flesh-eating bacteria, using redonian killed all the bad bacteria, using first aid healing will never work.¡±


    The others look at her with mixed expressions. The three-man who knows about her looks so proud and amazed by her, but not the other healers under Obatto. They have what you called curiosity and jealousy. They never saw Anne, and the chief healer was already singing praises for her.


    ¡°Oh... I... I don¡¯t know what to say.¡± Said Anne, who be nervous, feel joy and was also wary. She doesn¡¯t want to stand out. She knows the cost of bing that person.


    Obatto turned his attention to prince Jason, ¡°Your majesty, I know it is toote to gain an entry for this year¡¯s civil service exam. Maybe you could give her the silver pass for the next time.¡±


    Jason nced at the flustered purple hair girl, ¡°Well, this young girl is already entering the exam to be a certified healer, chief healer.¡±


    .....


    ¡°Her name is River Anne from Viora vige. She¡¯s also a recipient of a silver pass.¡± Added Vale.


    Obatto chuckled and look so astonished by the fact, ¡°What a piece of news! I will look into these years¡¯ exams thoroughly.¡±


    The chief healer leave the suite, while Anne stood there looking at the door where the chief healer just went through. Henry stood beside her, squeezing her on her shoulder. She turned her face to Henry.


    ¡°I... I wasn¡¯t dreaming, right? He... he was praising me?¡± Anne tried to ask Henry, but her lips quivered, and even her hands were shaken.


    ¡°Yes, Anne, you were doing a good job. Take the win.¡± Said Henry to Anne.


    Prince Jason goes back from inside the crown prince¡¯s bedchamber and told them that Justice wishes to have a talk with Anne. The four of them looked at each other, a bit confused by Justice¡¯s wishes.


    ¡°Do you mean he wanted to talk to Anne alone?¡± Xavier, who¡¯s the one with fewer spoken words, finally talked after a while.


    Prince Jason nodded his head, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what he said, you may go inside now, miss Anne.¡±


    Carefully entering Justice¡¯s bedchamber, Anne closed the door and took steps into Justice, who looks at her with annoyance.


    ¡°I am not asleep. You don¡¯t need to sneak walking!¡±


    Couldn¡¯t believe what she just heard. Anne looks astonished by his usations. ¡°I was being considerate!¡±


    ¡°Gods! Alright, just sit here, beside me, I need to talk to you.¡± Said Justice while pointing at the chair beside his bed.


    ¡°Is that an order? Your majesty?¡± Anne asked the crown prince, trying to be careful with her tone.


    ¡°Fine! That¡¯s an order, and called me Justice,¡± Gruntled Justice, and then added some words, ¡°That¡¯s an order too.¡±


    Rolling her eyes, and sitting in the chairs, Anne looks at Justice and said, ¡°Fine, but permission to call you Justice only when there¡¯s the two of us, Justice.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you want us to be alone from time to time?¡± A smile came on his face, a naughty smile with a lot of teasing in his words.


    ¡°I was just trying to be considerate, once again, Justice.¡± Anne looks annoyed, but deep down inside, she contained her fluttered heart.


    For Anne, romance is not on her list right now, especially getting attention from one of the most powerful men in the kingdom. She knows Justice¡¯s intention, and not just him. She doesn¡¯t have much experience, but Anne knew when a man has a romantic intention toward a woman.


    She was ttered, but a simple life is the one that she wants, and being a certified healer will help tremendously.


    ¡°I need to know. When did you aware of my identity?¡± The crown prince seems curious about how Anne recognized him as the crown prince.


    Anne smiled at him. ¡°I knew it when I saw your initials at the reserved seats, JHV, Justice H Valorian, the same initials on your insignia at my entrance exam eptance letter.¡±


    ¡°That f*cking initials!¡± Muttered Justice.


    ¡°You have a tendency to curse a lot.¡± She was amused by how vulgar the crown prince is.


    ¡°I¡¯m d that my bad habit is amusing to you,¡± Said Justice with a warm smile on his face. ¡°Could you call for Xavier, Vale, and Henry? I need to talk to the four of you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you still wanted me here? I thought I was already...¡±


    Clearing his throat, Justice avoided Anne¡¯s eyes and said, ¡°No, I need to talk to the other three about yourck of magica.¡±


    ¡°Oh my God! Justice! No, I don¡¯t need more people to know about my problem right now!¡± Anne was furious. This is what she feared the most. People came and tried to help. Anne is a private person, she likes to solve her problem by herself.


    ¡°Look, why don¡¯t you call for the three of them, and we talk about it.¡±


    From the looks of it, Justice doesn¡¯t take a no for an answer. Anne let out a sigh and goes outside the bedchamber to call the other three. Prince Jason had already left the suite, and there were only Xavier, Vale, and Henry in the living room.


    ¡°What happened? Why did Justice call for you?¡± Asked Henry, full of curiosity.


    Meanwhile, Xavier and Vale were lounging on the sofa, with no wordsing from their mouth. Anne nervously told them to go inside with her. They followed immediately, not even questioning our heroine.


    The three of them scattered around the bed. Anne was thest person to gather.


    ¡°Listened up, I need to tell you something about Anne.¡± Said Justice to the three of them.


    Anne closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This time there¡¯s noing back for her.

 Chapter 46

    46 The Secret from a Magi


    (Warning, this chapter contained some mental health problem, reader please be cautious)


    Xavier, Vale, and Henry look at each other, confused by Justice¡¯s words.


    ¡°Is that something wrong with you?¡± Asked Henry to Anne directly.


    Nervously, Anne took nced at Justice, he gave her encouragement to speak up about her problem.


    ¡°Yes, I have some problem. All of you already realized that I treated Justice¡¯s wound by using herbal medicine, rather than using first aid healing magic.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and the chief healer praised you for your act,¡± Said Vale, he scratches his head confused, ¡°So, what exactly was the problem?¡±


    ¡°The problem is that it wasn¡¯t intentional. I don¡¯t know that first aid healing will never work against Dryad toxin.¡± She confessed while biting her nails, her hand still shaken.


    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t intentional, why don¡¯t you use the first aid healing, then? That is the basic magica for any healers.¡± Xavier asked her, curiosity nowing to him.


    Anne took a deep breath and said, ¡°Because I don¡¯t have any magica.¡±


    .....


    The other three then gasped. In this new world, it is impossible to have no magica inside of you. There are cases where people have ten percent of magica but never go to zero.


    ¡°Really? You don¡¯t have any magica? Even one percent of the magica?¡± Asked Vale, for magi who have almost a hundred percent magica inside, Vale couldn¡¯t believe there is a person who has less than ten percent, let alone none.


    ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t have any. First aid healing was my first training to be a healer. That was the first time they noticed that I don¡¯t have magica inside of me.¡± Said Anne bitterly. The feeling of bing a failure and making her adopted parents disappointed is lingering.


    The feeling that she carried from her previous life, her birth parents¡¯ disappointment, frustration, and desperation. She has to see with her own eyes, her mother felt into desperation, because having a daughter who can never give her true happiness. Day by day, her mental health suffered and the doctor¡¯s visit be more frequent.


    Her father hates her. He med little Anne as the one who makes everything worse in his life. Little that he knows, his beautiful wife already had a problem with her mental health since her teen years, she cover it up and seeks no professional help. They got married when they were still young, a man in his youth but a rich heir to a beautiful youngdy from a prominent family.


    They can¡¯t see their own fault and med their bundle of joy, if only they can see between their own fa?ade and try to ept their daughter with all the inadequacy. Thankfully, Ed and Martha never med Anne. They embraced her and told her there was nothing wrong with having none of the magica. For Ed and Martha, Anne is perfect the way she is.


    Anne bravely faced the four of them. She doesn¡¯t know what would happen. Are they reporting her anomaly to the administrator and then making her dismissed from the exam? Or maybe banished the poor girl immediately from the pce because of her anomaly?


    ¡°This is indeed never happened before in the Valorian,¡± Muttered Vale while his fingers tapping his chin. He then nced at Xavier, ¡°Do you heard something like this before?¡±


    Xavier let out a sigh and shook his head. ¡°No, this is the first time I heard about someone that doesn¡¯t have any magica.¡±


    ¡°We need to do something, maybe tried to increase her magica?¡± Said, Henry.


    Vale massages his temple. ¡°It will be a futile effort because she doesn¡¯t have the magica at all.¡±


    ¡°Then what should we do? The aptitude test is next week.¡± Xavier asked everyone. His head goes to the left and right.


    The four of them discussed the best way to approach the administrator. Xavier even tried to convince Anne to cheat. The only thing inside Anne¡¯s mind is how willing they were. She never thought that instead tried to keep their distance, the four of them tried to help her.


    ¡°All of you were not repulsive by myck of magica?¡± Asked Anne with a flustered face.


    Anne has a point when she asked them, in this world, magica held an important role in everyday life. It is mind-blowing for them to see her with no magica.


    Xavier tilted his head. ¡°Why? Because you don¡¯t have any magica? Big deal, it¡¯s not the end of the world.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with you. Why do you feel inferior suddenly?¡± Said Vale, scratching his head.


    Henry, the one that sat beside Anne, was poking her nose and gave her a warm smile. ¡°Come on, River Anne,ck of magica is not a shameful thing. It¡¯s unusual, of course, but that¡¯s it!¡±


    Looking around the room, Anne felt so relieved that she, for one, trusted Justice and let him reveal her secret. Even rice never knew about herck of magica. Only Ed and Martha knew. Anne¡¯s tears came running down her eyes. She cried and sniffled, making all of them look at each other in confusion and panic.


    ¡°Hey, do you have to cry now? You know that we still need to help you get through the second exam, right?¡± Said Justice at Anne, he doesn¡¯t mean to be so rude, but his sharp tongue always goes ahead before connecting with his mind and heart, he looks at her and felt concerned about how rude he was, ¡°Anne, I am so...¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right,¡± Wiping her tears, she put on a brave face and smiled at Justice who tried to ask for an apology, ¡°I am sorry everyone, this is not the time to cry, this is my problem and I am thankful that all of you are willing to help me.¡±


    A warm and fuzzy feeling came to justice. he felt relieved and full of joy; she doesn¡¯t angry, sad, or even offended by how rude he was. This purple hair girl doesn¡¯t mind his sharp tongue and felt a deeper meaning in every word that came from Justice¡¯s mouth.


    A very sweet smile came onto his face. ¡°Yes, Anne, we are here for you. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    She nodded her head, and even took Justice¡¯s hand, Anne whispered to him, a grateful gesture that make her have a clearer head. Henry patted her back and pointed at the living room.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go outside. Justice needs some rest.¡± Said, Henry.


    Vale came to them in a hurry. ¡°Wait! Before you go, I need...¡± Said Vale while holding onto Anne and Henry, ¡°Right... Oh alright, you can go now.¡± He let go of their hand and go outside before Henry and Anne even reached the door.


    ¡°What the hell is wrong with him?¡± Asked Xavier, who was already standing beside Anne.


    Henry just chuckled and shook his head in disbelief, ¡°Well, you know him. Come on, I think I know how we could have approached Anne¡¯s case.¡±


    They said goodbye to Justice, and while the crown prince looks at him in silence, he hold his left hand, the hand that Vale also touched. He knew Vale was into something. Justice is determined to know the reason, and hoping only to hear good news.


    Meanwhile, Henry excused himself for a minute. The others sat on the sofa. Vale also excused himself to go onto the terrace. Anne took the time to befortable, and Xavier looked into the terrace where Vale was having a conversation with his familiar. Curious, he sneaked into the window and saw the magi captain in the middle of tying a small bottle of pink liquid into Silver Hawk¡¯s feet.


    After he saw Silver Hawk was safely gone, Vale took a deep breath and said, ¡°You might want to step out from thatme cover and just confront me.¡±


    ¡°Fine!¡± Xavier came out from his hiding ce with two hands in the air. ¡°Gods! Did you put a spell on the surrounding? How do you know I was there?¡±


    Vale gave him a smirk. ¡°Your humongous b*tt was all over the ce.¡±


    ¡°I knew this sexy body of mine will be a hindrance!¡± Said Xavier, responding to Vale teasing his body, but then, he looks at Vale with a serious expression, ¡°Joking aside, what the f*ck were you doing? What kind of liquid that you gave to Silver Hawk?¡±


    The atmosphere was tense, Vale staring at Xavier and still deciding if he could reveal his n to him. Xavier is one of his best friends, but then, he needs to be sure before he revealed the information to all of them.


    ¡°Do you trust me?¡± Asked Vale, nervously.


    ¡°Of course, you idiot, I am the one who is supposed to ask that question!¡± Xavier replied, getting a bit more heated than what he actually intended.


    Suddenly, a young woman¡¯s voice came from inside. ¡°What are you guys doing here?¡±


    They turned around to see Anne with messy hair and make-up looked so confused at the two of them. Vale and Xavier share a nce, and they both took this argument to another day.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± said the two of them at the same time.


    Staring at Xavier and Vale, she knows they were hiding something. ¡°Henry is here. They brought food and books.¡±


    ¡°Hey, what are you doing here? Come on, I know how to help Anne!¡± Henry was calling from inside the living room.


    The two other men step inside in a hurry, followed by Anne. The knight captain was in the middle of reading a book. It turns out to be the book of Valorianw.


    ¡°I found it! Anne, this is how we can help you!¡± With enthusiastic words, Henry pointed at onew that was written in the book.

 Chapter 47

    47 When the night still young


    ¡°Valorian book ofw? What exactly you¡¯re intending to do with this, Henry?¡± Asked Xavier, he scratched his head, confused but also curious.


    ¡°I need to see thew about the civil service exam, I found it in the second edition. Now, look into the use about aptitude test.¡± Henry exined to all of them in the living room.


    Vale took thew book and read the use loudly, ¡°Aptitude test, regarding stamina, magica, and skill, every participant is equal in the eyes of the exammittee, regards of the age and status,¡± He cleared his throat and continued to read, ¡°Stamina and magica need to be measure using the right tools and condition, while still need to be observed by the right branch of the intended job.¡±


    ¡°Alright that¡¯s the basicw for civil service, and then?¡± Asked Xavier once again.


    Vale raised his head and turn around to Henry, ¡°I get it, that¡¯s genius, Henry.¡±


    ¡°I know you¡¯re going to be the one who catches my intention, Vale!¡± Said Henry with a grin on his face.


    Anne was busy pouring them buttered moomilk, and although she realized thew had its ws, she smiled while handing them their drinks, Vale took a nce at Anne, he can see there was a hidden meaning behind her smile.


    ¡°Did you understand Henry¡¯s intention, Anne?¡± Asked Vale to Anne.


    Hesitation came into her, to be discreet and look as normal as she can be is her way, she knowpletely what Henry was trying to say. In the uses, there is never a mention of how many magica a person needs, which means, Anne will never get a dismissal because of hercking any magica.


    .....


    ¡°In a way, yes.¡± Said Anne, nodding her head, although she knewpletely about his n.


    ¡°Great!¡± Said Henry, a bit enthusiastic that he intended, ¡°So, we presented this to the exammittees and argued our case.¡±


    Horrified by the prospect of four nobles trying to help her, Anne holds Henry¡¯s hand immediately, ¡°Wait, please let me argue about my case, alone.¡±


    Vale, Xavier, and Henry were quiet suddenly, it was Xavier who then tried to pry some answers from Anne.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want our help?¡±


    Panicking, Anne raised her hand and exined her reason. ¡°No... Not like that! I was so grateful for all of your help, I truly am!¡± Suddenly she holds one of her wrists, ¡°But...¡±


    The three of them suddenly realized her wrist, which yesterday was still being covered by bandages. Burn marks are still visible if you look closely, thanks to her own skill, she managed to treat the wound faster. They know, there¡¯s a bit of regret in Justice¡¯s mind, when they knew about the bullying that she needs to endure.


    ¡°Then you can just do it from here?¡± Asked Vale to Anne. He understood deeply. This is one of the moments that they couldn¡¯t give more attention to Anne. Henry already took her to lunch. Vale basically her date for tonight. For now, they need to be in the shadow, and let her take care of her problem.


    ¡°Vale! Are you serious? You will let her go to debate about the problem with the exammittee on her own?!¡± Xavier yelled at the magi captain, he was so upset that Vale seems reluctant to help her now.


    Henry holds his friend at once, and he tried to calm Xavier¡¯s nerves, the anger issue is one of his main problems for Xavier. Sometimes, he just couldn¡¯t control his anger. Henry whispered to him, and the Huntsman scoffed and go back to sit on the sofa. Our heroine saw everything. The tiny gesture, the tension between Xavier and Vale, even a tiny glimpse of panic from Henry¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Look, it¡¯s almost midnight, probably it¡¯s best for me to go back to my dorm,¡± Said Anne to the three of them, suddenly she took the book ofw and even grab into Henry¡¯s hand, ¡°Henry, would you be kind to be the one who takes me back to my dorm?¡±


    Henry was flustered, never in his mind, Anne was going to ask him, ¡°What? but... You came here with Vale?¡±


    Anne took nced at Vale and then Xavier, ¡°Uhm... I want you to teach me to defend myself from the exammittee.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but Anne!¡±


    She never let Henry argue, with a swift move she said her goodbye and practically wrangled Henry away from the room. Vale and Xavier look at the two of them with some amazement. Their eyes were wide with gaping mouths, shocked by her action and chuckles came to the two of them.


    ¡°Safe to say. She heard us arguing on the terrace,¡± Xavier said to Vale, trying to open a conversation.


    ¡°Yeah... The poor future Duke Spencer though, Heirim will chew him alive if she knows he abandoned his sister to take home a silver pass peasant.¡± Vale told him, full of sarcasm.


    Then they grew quiet again. Xavier rustled his hair in frustration while he stands up from the sofa. He took a document from a desk and step out of the room.


    Vale tried to call him, and said, ¡°Xave! Give me some time, I¡¯ll give you the answer soon.¡±


    ¡°Whatever. I need to report the incident anyway, not to mention one casualty. That poor servant...¡± Muttered Xavier, He stopped and turned his head to Vale, ¡°Just... don¡¯t take too long, okay?¡±


    Nodded at Xavier, they part ways while the night has begun to linger. Vale went back to the barrack and took a rest. On the other side, inside Duke Spencer¡¯s carriage, Henry and Anne were sitting while looking around ufortably, while the blue eyes Knight captain was sulking in his seat.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you dragged me out from the pce, while I wasn¡¯t even your partner in the first ce.¡± Gruntled Henry.


    Anne felt guilty for Henry. The reason she pulled him was for Vale and Xavier to speak about their problem. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Henry, I really want you to teach me about these Civil Service Exam Rules.¡±


    Henry let out a sigh and smiled at her, ¡°Gods! I don¡¯t know what should I do with you! Here, let me exin it to you.¡±


    For the rest of the journey, Henry mentored Anne on how to argue her case, in case the exammittee gives her a hard time. She was impressed by how fluent the yboy knight captain was with the Valorianw, and then it came to her realization, a dukedom is one step behind the royal family, they¡¯re the first in line when the royalty perishes.


    The royalty and the duke¡¯s children, probably growing up together, have the same education. Henry caught her staring at him.


    ¡°I know that I have one of the most beautiful faces in this kingdom, but must you stare at it for that long?¡± Chuckled Henry, while Anne was blushing in her seat.


    ¡°Oh, shut up! I was curious. Why do you choose to be a knight, rather than a magic knight?¡± Said Anne to Henry. That was in fact the truth. She knows about Heirim took the exam to be a magic knight, but Henry is choosing to be a regr knight, which baffled her, ¡°Your sister took the magic knight entrance exam, but why did you decide to be a knight? Although it is totally fine if you don¡¯t want to answer my curiosity.¡±


    He loved how she was kind of noisy and also reserved smiling at her, Henry then said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, It wasn¡¯t a big secret anyway, I became a knight because I have a low percentage of magica.¡±


    Our heroine¡¯s eyes got widened, she never knew that a noble could have a low level of magica, ¡°Really? Like how low? Wait, you don¡¯t have...¡±


    ¡°No, I have told you it is okay. My percentage is twenty percent, while Heirim has like eighty-two percent.¡±


    ¡°Oh wow! She has a lot of magica, almost as much as Vale.¡±


    ¡°Well, to tell you the truth, Vale¡¯s percentage of magica is the highest in all the kingdom.¡±


    She remembered the peered eyes of the nobles at the dorm, ¡°Yeah, I can see people stared at him when hees to the dorm. He is famous, now I can see why.¡±


    ¡°Yes, there are so many lords that want him to offer their daughter to him.¡± Henry winked at her, trying to tell her about how massive Vale¡¯s poprity was.


    Laughter came from the carriage, Henry¡¯s charm was spreading around, and it kind of rubbed on Anne. Suddenly, when they passed one of the parks, Henry told the driver to stop.


    ¡°Wait, Henry, why do we need to stop here?¡± Asked Anne, a bit confused.


    Henry just gave her a grin and extended his hand. ¡°Come on, you¡¯ll need to see this.¡±


    The moment she goes out of the carriage, her mouth gaped open and her eyes sparkle with amazement. They were inside the citizen festival, and therge majority of the people that didn¡¯t get invited to go to the pce were having their own festivities in the park. Henry knows she doesn¡¯t have much time to enjoy the pce ball.


    ¡°Oh, Henry this is amazing!¡± Squealed Anne, while her hand tightly held onto his arm. ¡°Thank you so much.¡±


    A feeling of Joy came into him, nudging at her. He whispered to Anne, ¡°This is just one of my surprises.¡±


    In the middle of the crowd, the knight captain pulled her into the middle of the festival. Anne¡¯s heart was throbbing as crazy, anticipation and excitement came into her at the moment. What could be the surprise that Henry was telling her?

 Chapter 48

    48 How to charm the purple hair girl


    The shining light came from the hovering orbs and the sound of children and adults around the festival. The array of delicious foods, and a melodious tune from the musical instruments. Anne was having the time of her life. She loved the pce ball, but behind all the morous ces, there were nobles who always took advantage of the peasants but belittled them at the same time.


    At this festival, however, all people were equal. Anne could see some nobles from the pce ball were already there, having fun with each other.


    ¡°Henry, where are you taking me?¡± asked Anne. They were still running towards the center of the park.


    Henry turned his head to the curious Anne. ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡±


    When they arrived at the center of the park, the girl finally realized they were standing in the center of a stage, a dance stage. A melodious orchestra was ying music in the background and there were people dancing around them. Henry¡¯s hand was holding tightly to Anne¡¯s hand.


    He bowed to her with his lips getting closer to her hand, and with his beautiful smile he said, ¡°River Anne from Viora vige, would you like to have a dance with me?¡± and he kissed her hand softly.


    Her heart skipped a beat, Henry¡¯s sweet gesture moved her so much, she just nodded her head in approval and the knight captain swoop her from her feet. They glided onto the stage, and Henry led and guided her. The couple was so mesmerizing, everyone around them just instinctively stop dancing and focused on the two of them. The handsome and charming knight, with his elegant and beautiful partner and her enchantingly purple hair.


    People were smiling, whispering, and enjoying the scene in front of them. Henry is a good dancer, and he knows how to guide Anne with every melody from the music. She enjoyed the moment so much, Henry hold on her tightly in his arms, his eyes looking at her the whole time, while he danced gracefully with Anne. Minutes after minutes went by, and they dance until the music ends. When they stop, everyone around them pped their hands.


    ¡°Bravo! Bravo!¡± shouted an older gentleman, who then threw flower petals at Henry and Anne.


    .....


    Anne looked around. Her body was still in the arms of the handsome knight captain.


    ¡°Oh my God! Henry, what happened?¡± She looked flustered, her breathing still heavy from dancing with Henry on the stage.


    ¡°What do you mean, what happened? They were mesmerized by!¡± Said Henry, a smile came to his face. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s bow to show our appreciation.¡±


    They bow to the audience, and when the two of them walk away from the stage, a little girl presents Anne with a beautiful blue flower.


    ¡°This is for you because you dance like a princess.¡± Said the little girl shyly to Anne.


    Anne took the blue flower and smell a very wonderful and elegant aromaing from the blue flower. ¡°Oh, this is wonderful, thank you,¡± Anne said gratefully to the little girl with a smile on her face.


    The little girl goes to her mother while waving to Anne and Henry. Our heroine¡¯s heart leaped. She spoke to Henry and said thank you to him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me yet. There¡¯s plenty of entertainment around,¡± Henry told her with a wink. He guided her into another area of the festival. ¡°Now, how about a portion of good food? I bet you¡¯re hungry from all the dancing.¡±


    ¡°Not to mention, almost got killed by monsters on the maze,¡± Muttered Anne.


    Laughter came from Henry when he heard her sarcasm about the encounter with various monsters inside the maze. They settled on a bread stand, and while Henry ordered two warm buttered moomilk and berryberry jam bread, Anne looks around for the festival.


    The festival is lively; she assumed it is almost midnight, but the children still running around, ying hide and seek or enjoying their days with a family member, there are also couples, walking and having a conversation, or a citizen that just wanted some alone time enjoying the festivities.


    ¡°What are you thinking?¡± Asked Henry to her.


    Smiling at him, she answered Henry with a glee tone, ¡°Everything, this festivity, reminds me a lot of my vige. Well, not on this scale. My vige, after all, is a small and secluded one.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t like the pce ball, then?¡±


    ¡°No... not that I don¡¯t like it, it¡¯s just...¡± She huffed and sip her warm buttered moomilk, refusing to answer Henry further.


    Henry got a chuckle, ¡°It¡¯s not you, right?¡± Said Henry, while he served her a slice of a berryberry jam bread.


    ¡°Yes, I am sorry, everyone envied me when they saw me going to the pce ball, wearing an exquisite dress, and having a handsome captain as a partner for the day,¡± Anne¡¯s eyes go directly to Henry, ¡°But, that wasn¡¯t me.¡±


    ¡°River Anne, the beautiful young girl from Viora vige, prefers to be in the crowd of peasants rather than to be with the nobles and royalty.¡± Henry teased her, which makes Anne throw a piece of bread into his face.


    They have a great time together until Da, and David came to greet them.


    ¡°Anne? What are you doing here? I thought you were having fun at the pce?¡± Da gave her a warm embrace, and her eyes then goes to Henry, ¡°Good afternoon, lord Henry.¡±


    ¡°Good afternoon, Da and David,¡± Replied Henry, he took nced at the clock tower and stands up from his chair. ¡°I think it is my signal to leave. You should have some fun with your friends now.¡±


    ¡°Wait, where are you going?¡± Asked Anne. She was a bit upset to see him leave right away.


    A smile came onto Henry¡¯s face. ¡°I need to go somewhere. Besides, you have them with you. Oh, I asked the carriage driver to wait for you, so you could use it with your friends to go back to the dorm.¡±


    Still, with disappointment on her face, Anne tried as best as she could to smile, ¡°Thank you, Henry, that¡¯s so kind of you.¡±


    With a kiss on Anne¡¯s hand, Henry steps outside the festival, leaving our heroine with Da and David. Before she could exin everything, her friends already sat at the table with her, Da was curious, while David was grinning ear to ear.


    ¡°So... Care to exin how on Gods you go to the pce ball with Sir Vale, but then end up here in the citizen festival with Lord Henry?¡± David tried to pry some answers from his friend.


    Rolling her eyes to David, Anne tried to answer his question in a much simpler way, ¡°Vale had something that he needs to do. That¡¯s why Henry... Lord Henry offered to take me home.¡±


    ¡°Well, this is not our dorm, though.¡±


    ¡°Yes, David, it wasn¡¯t, but just leave it there, alright?¡±


    Da was trying so hard to contain herughter. She knew Anne will never answer them thoroughly. Da realized the young girl was not the type that loved to be open about anything. She isn¡¯t a quiet girl, but also not a vocal one. A mysterious kind girl with beautiful purple color hair, that¡¯s Anne in Da¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°David, just leave it at that. At least she¡¯s happy,¡± Da tried to stop David while trying to order for the two of them.


    David sighed and red at Anne. ¡°Fine! You win, but at least you could tell us more about the pce ball. You can do that, right?¡±


    Smiling and nodding at David, Anne agreed to tell a story about the pce ball, however, her encounter with the mysteriousdy and the maze remained untouched. Anne had a good time with her friends untilte at night, and as Henry promised, the carriage was waiting for her. The three of them go back to the dorm inside the luxurious carriage with the insignia of Spencer¡¯s family.


    When the morninge, at the captain¡¯s barracks, Vale was already awake from his restless night. Last night, after he arrived at his room, Silver Hawk was already waiting on his perch near the window.


    ¡°So, did Brom get the sample?¡± Asked Vale to his familiar. He couldn¡¯t contain how nervous he was, even when in the middle of putting off his official uniform.


    Silver Hawk stares at his master. ¡®Yes, master, mister Brom also said the result wille at six hours, and he also asked for a piece of a cake for his breakfast.¡¯


    ¡°Ugh... he always the odd one, cake for breakfast,¡± Shook his head in disbelief, Vale already knew about Brom¡¯s peculiar taste, he gave a piece of meat to Silver Hawk and brushes his feather, ¡°Thank you Silver Hawk, and have a good night.¡±


    ¡®Good night, master, sweet dream.¡¯


    He never knows if he could have a sleep, let alone a sweet dream. His prediction bes the truth. He ride his horse into the bakery near his barrack; he bought a cake for Brom and some loaves of bread. His destination is in the outer region of the capital, a ce where the magi could conduct an experiment alongside the alchemist. They call it Alchemia Tower. A giant high tower with fifty floors, a structure heavily imbued by magica.


    Vale needs to go to the twentieth floor, where Brom and Amaris conduct the test for him. He knocked on the door and immediately open the door before hearing any answer. An older woman, with ck and greyish hair, smiled at him.


    ¡°Oh, good morning to you, Captain Vale. Care to wait for us to tell you toe in next time?¡± Said the woman.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Amaris, forgot my manner there.¡±


    Amaris smiled at him and then patted his back. ¡°I was joking. Anyhow, Brom is still asleep, but I have the result.¡±


    He took a deep breath and nervously looked at Amaris. ¡°So, what¡¯s the result?¡±


    ¡°Your suspicion was right. The four of you are being bewitched.¡± Said Amaris.

 Chapter 49

    49 Inside the Alchemia Tower


    Brom was staring at the moonlight from the window, he was bored and prefer to sleep, most of his magi colleagues were enjoying either the pce ball or the citizen festival. He just wanted some sleep or to help his mother with her experiment. A knock came from his bedroom door.


    ¡°Brom! Vale¡¯s familiar was here.¡± Said a voice of a woman.


    He open the door where Amaris was standing in his door frame, ring at Brom.


    ¡°Son, everyone was enjoying either the ball or the festival. What are you doing coop up in your room?!¡±


    Brom scratches his head. He was still sleepy and needed some strong drink to fight the sleepiness. Amaris looks concerned suddenly.


    ¡°Are you okay? Is iting again?¡± She held her son on the shoulder. She was worried.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m alright, just a bit sleepy, don¡¯t worry.¡± Brom was trying so hard to convince his mother, but every time he got his episode, Amaris will be hysterical, he look around to find the Silver Hawk, ¡°Where is Silver Hawk?¡±


    ¡°I perched the bird on theb. I need to analyze the sample immediately before the preserved magica disappearedpletely.¡±


    ¡°Come on, let me help you, then.¡± Said Brom with a forced smile on his face.


    .....


    His mother shook her head and pointed at the door. ¡°Go to themunal kitchen and make some Caftea with moomilk. It will be good for you. Afterward, then you can join me.¡±


    Huffing his breath, Brom steps outside their apartment, they are living permanently in the Alchemia tower, since his mother is the chief Alchemist, only the chief and the higher-ups of the Alchemist department have the spot to live in the Alchemia tower, Amaris as the chief has the biggest apartment and permission to live with her member of the family.


    Brom was in the middle of making his caftea with moomilk when another alchemist enter themunal kitchen. It is one of the master sergeants named Darren. He smiled when he saw Brom, although thetter just ignored him.


    ¡°Hey Brom, you don¡¯t go to the ball? Oh right, nobles only.¡± Said Darren with a bit of arrogance in his tone.


    Brom just chuckles and shook his head. He knows very well better to stay away from Darren. Everyone knows how snobbish he was, the illegitimate child of an earl in a remote town. He came with a golden pass and passed the rare alchemist entrance exam. Unlike other exams that are held every year, some formations like Alchemist are so rare to be open. Thest time the Alchemist formation in the entrance exam was five years ago.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with you private? Demon cat got your tongue?¡± There¡¯s an annoyance on Darren¡¯s face. He doesn¡¯t like to be ignored, especially by the chief alchemist¡¯s son.


    ¡°Nothing, master sergeant, just making my caftea with some moomilk.¡± Brom doesn¡¯t want any confrontation with him right now. He just wanted to finish making a warm drink and go away.


    ¡°Good, finally you talk to your superior. I thought you¡¯re a mute sometimes, f*cking fr*ak.¡±


    Brom¡¯s hand was shaking, a crackle wasing from his left hand. He was so ready tounch a thunderbolt at the arrogant master sergeant behind him, but then someone called him from outside themunal kitchen.


    ¡°Brom, what took you so long?¡± It was Amaris. The older woman took nced at Darren and knew immediately there was something brewing inside the kitchen, and it wasn¡¯t the caftea. ¡°Master sergeant Darren, what are you doing here?¡±


    Darren¡¯s face changed, he is now standing straight and very nervous when he saw his chief. ¡°Chief Amaris, I thought... I thought you were gone to the pce ball?¡±


    ¡°Tsk... It was a boring event, anyway. What about you? I know you like to mingle with those pompous people all day.¡± Amaris replied to Darren with a lot of sarcasm involved. She knows how ambitious Darren is and is aware of how he likes to pick on his son.


    Darren¡¯s face changed color to a red beet. He was ashamed, but there was nothing he could do against his own chief of staff. ¡°I... Uhm... I think I need to go now. Good night chief, Brom.¡±


    Running away as soon as possible, Darren used the elevated floor to go to his own apartment on the tenth floor. Amaris scoffed and shook her head. She knew his father, Earl Bradford, is a tyrant, who likes to collect women rather than marry them. He was a good-looking earl, even in his old age, sadly not about his lecherous behavior.


    ¡°He was just like his father, too bad. Histe mother was a kind woman.¡± Muttered Amaris.


    Brom handed his mother the caftea, ¡°You know his mother?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we were closed... Anyhow, enough with him. Come on, you need to help me with the sample.¡±


    Inside theboratory, a pink liquid was already inside a brewing jar. Brom looked into the liquid and know immediately what the content of the liquid was.


    ¡°Amore potion, it¡¯s a bewitched test. How many people that you need to check, besides my captain?¡± Asked Brom while sipping on his moomilk caftea.


    ¡°Four men with one woman, a young girl, actually,¡± Amaris answered Brom, questioned with a speck of sparkling dust on her hand. It was fuel for the green fire that brewed the amore potion.


    Brom chuckled, and stir the potion, ¡°I think I know who are they, even the young girl.¡±


    Amaris turns her head to Brom. Curiosity came at her. ¡°Really? Well, this is interesting. Who is she?¡±


    ¡°Do you remember when I was having a patrol in the forest of the lost?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you said there were three exam participants who got lost and got attacked by the snaillog. One of them was a unique girl. Was that her?¡±


    Brom shook his head, ¡°No, that wasn¡¯t the girl, but another one, the one that my captain seems too invested with her. He also asked the girl to be his partner for tonight at the pce ball.¡±


    ¡°Hmm... is she pretty? Kind?¡±


    Brom shrugged it off, ¡°I guess so, unique hair though, purple color.¡±


    Suddenly, the sound of broken ss came from behind. Brom turns around to see his mother already on the floor trying to clean the floor from the broken cup of caftea.


    ¡°Mother, what happened?¡± Brom asked her. He was in shock, and when he saw blooding dripping from her hands, he cast a first aid spell immediately.


    Amarisughed nervously, ¡°Oh, nothing, it was so clumsy of me, let me... Uhm... It¡¯s alright son, it¡¯s nothing much, it¡¯s already healed.¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re not a clumsy person. What happened to you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already said nothing, calm down!¡± Amaris let out a sigh and push her son gently, ¡°Maybe you could go to Silver Hawk and tell him that the test will be done in six hours, and you should get some rest after.¡±


    Brom stared at her for a moment. He could feel his mother getting restless. She was hiding something. Although for now, pushing her to answer his curiosity will cause her denial. Brom step out of theboratory, but before he walked outpletely, he turned his head to Amaris.


    ¡°Mother, whatever the result of the test, I think it¡¯s best for you to not over-informed my captain.¡±


    Amaris never answered him, but knowing his mother¡¯s nature, she already agreed with her son¡¯s advice. In the living room, Silver Hawk was perching on the chair, his eyes looking at Brom.


    ¡®Good evening private Brom, six hours, was it?¡¯


    ¡°Always forgot that you have very good senses. Add a cake for my breakfast, will you?¡± Said Brom with a wink to Silver Hawk.


    ¡®Affirmative, have a good rest, private Brom.¡¯


    The silver-wing bird flies away from the alchemia tower. Brom looks at the view from the window. When the morninge, Brom still sleeping soundly in his bedroom, Amaris tried to calm her nerves. The result is definite, the four of them were being bewitched. She heard a door knock and a man with wavy brown hair and green emerald eyes appeared from the door.


    ¡°Oh, good morning to you, Captain Vale. Care to wait for us to tell you toe in next time?¡± Said Amaris, teasing the young man.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Amaris, forgot my manner there.¡± Said Vale, with a grin on his face.


    Amaris smiled at him and then patted his back. ¡°I was joking. Anyhow, Brom is still asleep, but I have the result.¡±


    He took a deep breath and nervously looked at Amaris. ¡°So, what¡¯s the result?¡±


    Amaris needs to look at his face. This is not a good answer that he will get from her. Not to mention how she is so fond of Vale. She knows histe grandfather and thinks of him as her own son.


    ¡°Your suspicion was right. The four of you are being bewitched.¡±


    Vale grunted in frustration. ¡°I suspected it, but still hoping it wasn¡¯t the truth.¡±


    ¡°Vale, I do need to ask you about something else.¡± Amaris nervously looked into Vale, her mannerism changed immediately.


    ¡°Yes, what do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°How much do you know about the girl?¡±


    Vale looked at Amaris, a bit taken aback by her curiosity. ¡°Why do you want to know more about her?¡±


    Looking around the room, Amaris put her hand on Vale and said, ¡°Well... It is because...¡±

 Chapter 50

    50 Before the mission


    Before Amarispleted her sentence, Brom had peeked from his bedroom door.


    ¡°Captain, do you have my cake?¡± Brom asked him with his innocence-looking face.


    Vale turned his attention to Brom. A smile bloomed on his face. ¡°Hey, sleepyhead, I got your cake.¡±


    Hearing about his breakfast, Brom¡¯s eyes lit up. He run into Vale and took the basket that fills with cakes and loaves of bread.


    ¡°So, where¡¯s mine? Give me, I¡¯m hungry!¡± Asked Brom, a bit enthusiastically.


    Ducking his head, Vale was trying to reach for the piece of cake intended for Brom. Little that he knows, Brom actually gave a warning to his mother. The mother and son have their own code, and right now Brom needed his mother to stop talking and not revealed anything to Vale.


    ¡°Here you go Brom, your cake.¡± Said Vale, handing his subordinate the cake that he wanted.


    He took his slice of cake and took it into theb. Amaris yelled at Brom and warned him about not getting any cream into her tools. Vale befriended Amaris just recently when Brom officially became his subordinate. The old woman came into his barrack and told him to take good care of her son.


    Every other captainughed. They saw her as the controlling and doting mother, not for Vale. He looked into her eyes and saw love and, concerned; he saw a mother¡¯s love. a kind of love that he never received as a child. Vale¡¯s mother fell ill when he was just a month old, and after one year of struggle, she left the world with a kiss of goodbye to her one-year-old son. His two fathers sadly passed away not long after.


    .....


    Georg, the name of Vale¡¯s grandfather, is a very prominent alchemist in his day. He raised his grandson alone in one of the border towns named Berzerk. He lived there with Georg for ten years, having to see his grandfather fighting the hoard along with other military officials, until that cursed daye. A day when Georg died in front of him.


    ¡°What is in your mind right now?¡± Asked Amaris to Vale.


    Vale gave her a bittered smile. ¡°My grandfather, I remember him.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Georg, he was a very good mentor of mine. We lost him deeply. Every high official practically knew about him.¡±


    ¡°What I remember about him the most was his wild nature. When my two fathers passed away and he was the only living rtive, he was my parent in a way.¡±


    Amaris looks into Vale. She remembered the day when everyone knew about Georg¡¯s death and the news about his grandson. ¡°How old were you when Georg took you in?¡±


    ¡°Four years old, I was in a temporary orphanage when he came and pick me up. Right away raising me on Berzerk.¡± Vale¡¯s chuckling, remembering how tough but loving grandfather Georg was.


    ¡°That was very Georg, raised you on Georg, one of the most dangerous border towns.¡± Said Amaris, reminiscing about Vale¡¯s grandfather.


    ¡°Anyway, enough about my grandfather. You were going to say something to me earlier. What was it?¡±


    Amaris gave him a smile and then a pat on his back. ¡°Nothing, don¡¯t you worry about it.¡± Vale doesn¡¯t believe her. He goes quiet but then trusted Amaris for now. The chief alchemist immediately changes the subject. ¡°You have a bigger problem right now. A bewitched spell is one of the high-level spells. She must be a high-level magi like you.¡±


    Vale turned his head to Amaris. With squinted eyes, he then asked Amaris, ¡°Did Brom never tell you? The girl is the exam participant, but not as a magi. She is a healer.¡±


    ¡°A healer?! Fascinating! I never thought she will be a healer?¡± Muttered Amaris while she was in deep thought.


    Vale saw a deeper meaning from her and muttered, ¡°Never thought that you know the girl already?¡±


    A bit took aback, Amarisughed nervously, ¡°Uhm... Yes, Brom told me about her a bit.¡±


    ¡°I see...¡±


    ¡°Yes! Now, would you like me to help you break the spell?¡±


    Vale rustled his hair and grunted, ¡°Yes, of course, but how?! We need to encounter it with a high-level spell as well, right?¡±


    The chief alchemist gave him a grin. ¡°Not exactly. We have a potion, a very intricate one though, but a potion that could heal any curse.¡±


    ¡°Bewitched spell is indeed a curse! That is genius, Amaris!¡±


    ¡°I am the chief alchemist, after all, captain, don¡¯t you forget about that,¡± said Amaris, with a scoff from her voice, ¡°Anyhow, I need so many items before I could brew the potion, and...¡±


    ¡°And, what?¡±


    ¡°You need to tell your best friends about this curse, Vale.¡±


    Vale took a deep breath and blows it in frustration. ¡°I know, guess I need to...¡±


    Before he could have finished his sentence, a knock came from the door. Amaris opens the door and the mail deliverer gave her an envelope. A military assignment just came to Brom. Vale knew the content of the letter even before Brom open the letter. It was for the border, a hoard wille in Gaftan, one of the Bordertown, close to a vast valley,


    When the hoard ising, the military officials in the capital will take turns to help in the hot zone. The hot zone in every border is random, but a huntsman with a tracking skill will be able to determine when the hoard will being. Looks like this time it wille to Gaftan.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the location?¡± Asked Vale to Brom. He can see the young man¡¯s hands were shaken.


    ¡°Gaftan, we need to go as soon as possible.¡±


    Vale doesn¡¯t like this. When they asked them to go as soon as possible, it means now he said goodbye to Amaris and asked Brom to be ready in two hours. The young magi were nervous. Vale can see it. This is his first assignment to defend the border town from the hoard. Even his mother was nervous. The chief alchemist was biting her lips. Vale left them with their own thoughts. This is a private matter, as they know the risk of bing an active military official.


    He galloped into his barrack right away. The bewitched spell, though, is a high-level curse. It is not a curse that will have a negative physical effect on your body. He postponed informing the others about the bewitched spell. There¡¯s danger looming in Gaftan. While he pack his suitcase, Xavier came inside his apartment.


    ¡°Let me guess, Gaftan?¡± Said Xavier, while he drop his body into Vale¡¯s bed.


    Knowing about hisid-back attitude, Vale just shook his head and continued on, ¡°Yeah, Gaftan, did you get yours?¡±


    ¡°No, Henry got the mission envelope for Gaftan though. Guess that makes the two of you.¡±


    Turning around to see Xavier, Vale actually was a bit surprised by it. ¡°Henry? That¡¯s odd. He rarely gets into the border defense mission.¡±


    Henry, as the future Duke Spencer, has the avoidance credit, which means that he couldn¡¯t go to any orange and red level area. In the Valorian kingdom, every area has its own color tag, with the blue area as the lowest dangerous level and the red area as the most dangerous level.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Gaftan is in the yellow level area. Our precious future duke will be fine.¡± Xavier makes a joke while he getsfortable in Vale¡¯s bed.


    Looking at his best friend, Vale knew Xavier¡¯s intention was toe to his apartment. He decided to tell him the truth.


    Vale took a nce at Xavier, ¡°Henry should hear about this.¡±


    A smirk came to Xavier¡¯s face. ¡°Finally, took you a bit to realize.¡±


    Vale throws Xavier a pillow. The huntsmanughed and run away through the door. Afterward, Henry, Xavier, and also Vale were sitting in the living room of Vale¡¯s apartment. Henry got bored and just lounging, not for Xavier, he was waiting for it sincest night.


    ¡°I heard you wanted to talk to us. What is it?¡± Said Henry to Vale.


    Vale took a nce at Xavier, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s about something that got into my mind since our confession at the bar.¡±


    ¡°Confession? What did you mean by our confession?¡± Asked Xavier with a frown on his face.


    Vale clutches his hand, he was in deep thought trying to create a sentence that could have a minor impact on the two of them, ¡°You know, our confession about our attraction to Anne, I... I sense something was peculiar about it, so I tested it.¡±


    Henry curses and res at Vale. ¡°F*ck, that touch, you¡¯ve used it, aren¡¯t you?!¡±


    Xavier looked at the two of them. He was confused and fed up with the hidden meaning, ¡°Speak clearly you two!¡± Shouted Xavier. That makes Henry and Vale turn their head to Xavier, ¡°Now, tell me, what were you exactly doingst night, Vale, what kind of liquid that you handed to Silver Hawk?¡±


    ¡°Amore potion.¡± Muttered Henry.


    Xavier looks into Henry right away. ¡°What? Amore potion?¡±


    ¡°Amore potion, or love potion. It¡¯s a temporary potion to make you attractive to a certain someone, a forbidden potion.¡± Said, Henry. He was still ring at Vale.


    ¡°So? Why are you having the forbidden potion? Did you try to use it on Anne?!¡±


    Vale massaging his temple, now everything bing moreplicated. ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t Xave, I¡¯m using it to test a spell, a high-level spell.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you get it, Xavier, don¡¯t you remember when the four of us with Anne, inside Justice¡¯s room?¡± Asked Henry to Xavier.


    ¡°Vale was touching us, so?¡± and then, he remembered a cold and damp sensation from the touch, ¡°He put amore potion on all of us.¡±


    Henry took a deep breath. ¡°Yes! And he uses it to test a high-level spell. This b*stard without our knowledge tested a bewitched spell to all of us.¡±


    Xavier was in shock. ¡°No, tell me it wasn¡¯t the truth, Vale, the four of us... were we?¡±


    Vale rubbed his face in frustration. His emerald eyes looked into Xavier, and then he said, ¡°Yes, we got bewitched into loving Anne.¡±


    Suddenly, a sound of a frame being punched came from behind them. The three of them turned around to see Justice looking so angry toward Vale. ¡°What the f*ck? Vale!!¡±

 Chapter 51

    51 The Bewitched Spell


    ¡°Henry and Vale got the defense mission on Gaftan?¡± Asked Justice to his guard, Bernard.


    He feels refreshed this morning, even though his arm still hurt like crazy when his medicine lost its effect. He ignores the pain and opts to work as usual on his studies; the healers put him in a sling, and he will work with one hand for a while. Bernard presents him with the list of soldiers that will go on a defense mission on Gaftan.


    ¡°Well, it will be fine for Henry. Gaftan is a yellow-level area. Besides, he needs to polish his. It¡¯s been how long since hisst defense mission, one year?¡±


    ¡°One and a half years.¡± Said a voiceing from the open door.


    Justice turns around to see Horden smiling at him.


    The crown prince¡¯s face lit right away. He always admires Horden¡¯s bravery on the battlefield. He even thinks of him as his own grandfather. ¡°Horden, it is so nice to see you.¡±


    ¡°How are you? I¡¯ve heard from Leon about your wound,¡± Said Horden, looking at Justice¡¯s arm that has a sling on.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll live,¡± Said Justice while both of them goes to sit on the sofa, Justice asked him a question after they gotfortable, ¡°I believe you came today to ask me about Henry¡¯s defense mission, do you want me to cancel his deployment?¡±


    ¡°No! If I want him out of the mission, I should¡¯ve asked him to voluntarily deploy himself, right?¡±


    .....


    Couldn¡¯t believe what he was just said, Justice asked him one more time, ¡°You asked him to voluntarily go to Gaftan? Why?¡±


    ¡°He lost his touch, Justice. Did you know he couldn¡¯t even fight the Bog Yeti? He got punched one and pass out!¡± Said Horden with a shame, ¡°He was the future Duke of Spencer, a military dukedom, and look at him, you fought the Bog Yeti with one arm and still able to par with the monster.¡±


    ¡°Horden, you¡¯re too hard on him.¡±


    ¡°No, he needs this. He needs to be a man now.¡±


    ¡°Why? Was it because you finally gave the crystal de to a girl that you thought would be perfect for him?¡± Justice said to Horden with a smirk on his face.


    Instead of being surprised, Horden actuallyughed, ¡°Oh, this is perfect, you have met Anne?¡±


    ¡°All four of us have met her. How did you meet Anne?¡± Asked Justice, curious.


    ¡°We were on the same carriage back when she was going to the capital. We have a very interesting encounter with one of the dark and mischievous road monsters. That¡¯s when she got imprinted by the demon kitten that she owned now.¡±


    ¡°That spawn of Satan? He always hissed at me.¡± Gruntled Justice.


    ¡°Probably thought you were such a hard*ss.¡± Said Horden, trying to hold hisughter.


    ¡°So, you gave her the crystal de because you have a history of killing a monster together? Great way to bond, I guess.¡±


    ¡°What?! are you crazy? The crystal weapon is the Spencer family¡¯s heirloom, I will never give some random woman the crystal de,¡± Horden frowned when Justice teased him about how short their time together, but Horden already trusted her with the crystal de, he then added, ¡°Especially when I have already decided the owner to be the next maternal figure for Spencer Dukedom.¡±


    ¡°That will be quite hard, though.¡± Said Justice with a soft voice.


    ¡°What? what did you say?¡±


    He tried to hide his amusement, and then shook his head, ¡°Nothing, just for your information, though. I don¡¯t think your grandson knows Anne is the new owner of the crystal de.¡±


    ¡°Thought as much. He was a kind and generous boy, but never the sharpest.¡±


    A frown came into Justice¡¯s eyes, he knows Horden and Henry never have a close rtionship, but to have him belittle Henry like this, he just couldn¡¯t ept it, ¡°No, don¡¯t say that about your grandson, Henry is smart, he was just...¡±


    ¡°Lazy? Ignorant?¡± Said Horden with a bittered smile on his face, ¡°I know you feel obliged to defend your best friend. He is close to you, even more than your own brother.¡±


    ¡°If you think about the past, please, Horden...¡± Justice¡¯s voice became softer. He remembered everything like it was just yesterday, the trauma that Henry, his grandfather, and his father have gone through. The tragedy broke them apart.


    With glistening eyes, he tried to smile at Justice, ¡°I¡¯m trying, the three of us are trying our best, that¡¯s why I asked him to go to Gaftan, and I wille with him, I need to train him properly now.¡± Said Horden with sniffles.


    ¡°That¡¯s good Horden, I wish both of you luck. My deepest regret is that I couldn¡¯te as well.¡±


    ¡°No, no, you need to rest. Besides, Gaftan is the safest border town. We are going to be fine.¡±


    They gave each other a short embrace, and when Horden said his goodbye, Justice turned his attention to Bernard.


    ¡°Prepare the carriage. I need to go to the captain¡¯s barracks.¡± Said Justice.


    Bernard gave a bow to Justice. ¡°At once, your majesty.¡±


    Almost an hourter, the red hair crown prince arrived at the captain¡¯s barrack. He saw Vale and Henry¡¯s subordinates. They were in the middle of preparing the carriage and the horse for their journey. Martin came to Justice immediately, his fake smile came to his face.


    ¡°Your majesty, so nice to see you here.¡± Said Martin to Justice.


    Justice took a nce at the young noble. ¡°Yes, Martin, where¡¯s your captain?¡±


    ¡°They were inside, with Lord Henry and Sir Xavier.¡±


    Nodding his head, Justice stepped inside the barrack, but before he was gone, he looks back to Martin, ¡°Next time Martin, you called your superior as their specific rank. You¡¯re on active duty now. There are no nobles or peasants here, only soldiers.¡±


    Martin¡¯s eyes widen, and he replied to Justice with a stammered in his voice, ¡°I... I am sorry... your majesty.¡±


    Brom and the other soldiers gave him chuckles. Martin is the overproud noble that entered the civil service to be magi. he was a good magi with seventy percent of magica inside of him, too bad he was too cocky and proud of his heritage and his blood rather than his own talent.


    Meanwhile, Justice standing outside of Vale¡¯s front door, he can hear the conversation inside, and how he just couldn¡¯t believe it, a high-level spell and Vale feels the need to test the four of them with Anne, without even informing him, Henry, or even Xavier.


    Justice punched to the door frame. That was when Henry, Vale, and Xavier saw him.


    ¡°What the f*ck? Vale!!¡± Shouted Justice.


    Justice plunged himself towards the magi, but Henry and Xavier shield Vale from the angry crown prince.


    ¡°Justice, calm yourself. He got a point!¡± Said, Henry.


    ¡°This is not about the spell itself! He withheld his suspicion and let us in the dark. That was upsetting for me!¡± Justice was hurt. He trusted Vale. He never questioned him. But to realize that he doesn¡¯t feel the same makes his heartache.


    Vale came to his best friend and put his hands on his shoulder. ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to keep it a secret, Justice! I was being careful. What if I told you about all of this and turns out it wasn¡¯t the truth? We never got bewitched, don¡¯t you get it?!¡±


    Henry¡¯s trying to calm Justice while Xavier shielded the two of them. Finally, after a while, the four of them already sat on the sofa, and Vale, once again, need to exin his reason.


    ¡°Sorry for earlier, Vale, I don¡¯t know that you wanted to protect us and Anne.¡± Said Justice after some exnation from Vale.


    Xavier patted Vale¡¯s back. ¡°I¡¯ve told you though, you always think that you need to protect us all the time.¡± He grinned at the three of them and said, ¡°We take care of each other, right?¡±


    Justice, Henry, and Vale gave him a warm smile. When it is time for Henry and Vale to go to Gaftan, Justice, and Xavier were standing in the street, seeing their best friends off to Gaftan. Before Vale and Henry ride their horses, they saw a girl running from across the street, a young girl with purple hair.


    ¡°Anne?!¡± Henry shouted at the girl.


    The two of them came to her right away. Her breathing was fast.


    ¡°I am... I¡¯m d that I could catch up with the two of you.¡± Said Anne to Henry and Vale.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Asked Vale, even though he was so happy to see her.


    She looks at the two of them, and smiles, ¡°Someone told me that the two of you are going into a short-term mission, so...¡± She took two bottles of potion from her basket, her familiar also sleeping soundly inside the basket, ¡°I wanted to gave you this, energy potion, it will be good for your fatigue.¡±


    ¡°Oh Anne, you shouldn¡¯t have.¡± Henry feels guilty. He still feels a certain feeling toward her, but now he tried to me him at the spell. He forlorn the feeling, it doesn¡¯t feel so right for him.


    ¡°You... you don¡¯t want it?¡± There¡¯s a sadness in her voice and her eyes reflected the sadness.


    They feel guilty and took each of the bottles. There¡¯s a reason the two of them felt a bit of distance from her. Until they know how to deal with the bewitched spell, they are going to keep their distance from Anne. Vale and Henry said goodbye and go on their way. Justice put on his coat and go inside the carriage right away. He said nothing to her. Only Xavier who kind enough to greet her and even apany her to the central carriage station.


    Unbeknownst to all of them, there was someone looking at them with a very sinister smile. Through the shadow of the uncertainty of the future, the witch¡¯s n brews.

 Chapter 52

    52 Through the distance


    ¡°Anne, someone¡¯s here for you.¡±


    Her matron¡¯s voice came from her bedroom door, she looks at her table clock and tilted her head in confusion. This is too early to have a guest. Though she figured there was no harm in going down and seeing the guest herself. She put off her pajamas and wear one of her shirts and skirt. She tied her hair up and go down to the lobby.


    A beautiful maturedy was sitting on the sofa, she never saw her before.


    ¡°River Anne?¡± asked thedy to her, they shake hands for formality.


    Anne tried to remember her face, maybe the woman on the B street, a vendor or a caf¨¦ owner, but nothing came to her mind. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but, have we met?¡± She politely asked thedy in front of her.


    ¡°My name is Amaris. I¡¯m the chief alchemist in the Alchemia tower. You may have met my son, Brom.¡± Said Amaris to Anne.


    Anne looks at her while trying to remember someone named Brom, and then she realized, Vale¡¯s subordinate, the quirky one, his name is... ¡°Brom! Oh yes, the quirk... I mean one of Vale¡¯s subordinates, right?¡±


    Amari¡¯s smile was blooming and even had to be held by herughter. She knows for a fact that her son is weird and appreciates that Anne holds the opinion that she has for herself. When Amaris looked at the purple hair girl, kindness and maturity came within the girl.


    Feeling a little guilty, Amaris apologized to her, ¡°I¡¯m sorry toe here so suddenly.¡±


    .....


    ¡°Oh, no, it¡¯s alright, but may I know the reason for the visitation?¡± Said Anne, towards Amaris. She felt thedy was someone with a kind heart, but why she wanted to see her? What is the reason?


    ¡°I... I¡¯ve heard from Vale that you havee from Viora vige. That¡¯s actually where Ie from.¡±


    Hearing the excuse that came from Amaris, Anne¡¯s eyes got lit with excitement. ¡°Really?! Oh, I was so happy to see a fellow Viora viger here in the capital.¡±


    Pulling Amaris into the seating area, she was excitedly asked for anything about Viora vige at Amaris.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I was looking eager, that must be scared you a bit.¡± Said Anne with a giggle.


    The chief alchemist could see how adorable and lovely this young girl. Although her face is not a beautiful one, her face is what you called as the pretty one, not to mention her kind attitude. If it¡¯s not for the bewitched spell, Amaris thought the four of them will be eventually smitten by her naturally.


    ¡°That¡¯s alright, miss. I just wanted to see your face. It was so rare that I¡¯ve got to see my fellow viger as the exam participant, let alone a silver pass recipient.¡±


    Anne blushes at Amaris¡¯pliment. ¡°Ah yes, thank you very much. It was a coincidence and very grateful and honored by it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that you are taking the exam to be a certified healer?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my parents are the healer of the Viora vige. Since childhood, I hoped to be a certified healer.¡± Said Anne, her mind goes away, reminiscing about her days in Viora vige.


    Amari¡¯s heart immediately skips a beat, she turns her head to Anne and asked her a question, ¡°Ed and Martha, they¡¯re your parents?¡±


    Anne nodded her head, and smile, ¡°Oh, did you know my parents?¡±


    Her lips perfectly close together, a forced smile came to her face, ¡°Yes, when I was still living in the vige, I know them very well, although...¡± A hesitation came into Amaris, but she told her anyway, ¡°I know that Ed and Martha couldn¡¯t have a child on their own.¡±


    A sour taste came into Anne¡¯s mouth. She bitterly smile while her eyes stared at the floor, ¡°Well, I was adopted, seven years ago, when I was just a ten-year-old girl.¡±


    ¡°Oh child, I¡¯m sorry, I... I don¡¯t have any intention of prying in.¡± Said Amaris, and she feels guilty about it.


    Anne then raised her hands and said to Amaris, ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be. Ed and Martha are good parents for me, and I love them dearly.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I can see that. They raised you well.¡± Said Amaris, with her hands holding into Anne¡¯s hand, ¡°Well, I don¡¯t want to take your time anymore, Anne it was so nice to meet you, let us meet each other in the future, maybe after the second exam?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I would love that, chief,¡± Anne confirmed it, with real enthusiasm in her tone.


    ¡°Please, called me, Amaris.¡±


    Amaris opens her hand and embrace Anne. It was a short hug but meaningful to the two of them. Although the word meaningful here was different for Anne and Amaris. Our heroine sees her off from the dorm, but before she goes inside her carriage, she turned around to Anne and spoke about Vale.


    ¡°Oh, I know you¡¯re a friend of Vale and Henry. The two of them will go away for a while.¡±


    A surprise came into her face. ¡°Wait, where are they going?¡±


    ¡°Defense mission, in Gaftan. I know of such a mission because Brom will also go with them,¡± Once again, hesitation came from her face, but she then said to Anne, ¡°They lived in the captain barracks, Go and said to them best of luck child, they will need it.¡±


    As the carriage disappears from the street, Anne holds her hand together and runs as fast as she could to her room. Before she reaches the stairs, she falls to the floor with a loud thud. One noble tripped her until she fell on the wooden floor. There are a handful of nobles in the hall. Everyone just stared at her, some even giggled.


    ¡°Oh, look it here, the golden peasants of the capital have fallen.¡± Said the smug noble.


    With gritted teeth, Anne tried to stand up on her own. She ignored all of them and ascend the stairs immediately. For her, she just wanted to go as soon as possible to see Henry and Vale. It will be toote if they went for their mission. Ignoring the stubborn pain that came from her knees and her elbow.


    Her familiar rubbed his body into Anne¡¯s leg. While Anne was busy packing two bottles of her energy potions, Chikara jump into the basket and settled himself inside. She brushed the fur of her familiar and put on her straw hat and her shoes.


    When Anne arrived at the Z street, she asked the pedestrian and run as fast as she could to the location of the captain¡¯s barrack, how d she was to see Henry and Vale. Both of them run into her, a bit surprised to see Anne.


    ¡°I am... I¡¯m d that I could catch up with the two of you.¡± Said Anne to Henry and Vale.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Asked Vale, even though he was so happy to see her.


    She looks at the two of them, and smiles, ¡°Someone told me that the two of you are going into a short-term mission, so...¡± She took two bottles of potion from her basket, her familiar also sleeping soundly inside the basket, ¡°I wanted to gave you this, energy potion, it will be good for your fatigue.¡±


    ¡°Oh Anne, you shouldn¡¯t have.¡± Henry feels guilty. He still feels a certain feeling toward her, but now he tried to me everything at the spell. He forlorn the feeling, it doesn¡¯t feel so right for him.


    They have the kind of reaction that Anne couldn¡¯t even predict. There was something wrong with them. They were distancing themselves from her. She could feel it, and truthfully, she felt a bit hurt by it.


    ¡°You... you don¡¯t want it?¡± There¡¯s a sadness in her voice and her eyes reflected the sadness, although she tried to hide it.


    ¡°No, of course not!¡± Said, Henry. He took the bottles and gave one to Vale, a smile came to Henry¡¯s face. ¡°Thank you, Anne. This will be useful for us.¡±


    Vale awkwardly looked at the clock tower, and said to Anne, ¡°We really need to go,¡± Unexpectedly she took Anne¡¯s hand, the one that is wearing the wood bangle from him, no one saw his eyes glow for a bit, and transferred a bit of his magica to the wood bangle, ¡°Remember to wear this all the time, and take care of yourself, okay?¡±


    Anne nodded her head. She is fond of them, and with a warm smile, she holds Henry and Vale¡¯s hand. ¡°You take care of yourself, alright? Be safe.¡±


    They depart after, with our heroine looking at them until only the sound of the galloping horses at the Z street. She took a long sighed and saw Justice step inside his carriage. Xavier on the other hand, walks toward her.


    ¡°Anne, are you alright?!¡± His concerned face looked at her thoroughly.


    ¡°Yes? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? You¡¯re bleeding!¡± Shouted Xavier at her.


    A bit took aback, she finally looks at her elbow and knees, scrapes and blood were visible on her body. Xavier asked her to step inside his apartment, but she refused to do so.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I could easily treat the wound in my dorm.¡±


    Xavier looked at her. He bet she was leaving the dorm in a hurry, with a straw hat and mismatched clothes. He felt sorry for her and wanted at least to reciprocate the kindness that she gave to Henry and Vale.


    ¡°At least let me apany you to the carriage station, okay?¡±


    ¡°I would appreciate thepany.¡± Said Anne, smiling at Xavier.


    While they were walking away, another carriage go away from the shadow of the alleyway. Amaris looked at the couple, while her hand carry a bottle with rainbow color water and a strand of purple hair inside the bottle.

 Chapter 53

    53 Seeking Answer


    ¡°Anne, are you ready for tomorrow?¡±


    Turning her head to the source of the voice, she smiled and winked at David, who was standing on her doorframe, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m going to bed as early as I can be. What about you?¡±


    ¡°Same as you, although I have noticed a certain handsome and muscly man, the huntsman captain, isn¡¯t it?¡± David was teasing her endlessly after Xavier insist of escorted Anne until they arrived at the dorm.


    ¡°Yes, I was... saying goodbye to some of my friends. Xavier happened to be there.¡±


    David¡¯sughter echoed throughout the hall of the third floor. ¡°That¡¯s it? Just because you were been in one ce? Oh, my sweet friend, you need to convince me more than just a lousy excuse.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, fine. He saw my wound and thought it was best for me to have him escort me back here, now, happy?¡± Said Anne while rolling her eyes.


    Hearing about her wound, David¡¯s face was changed, and he charge inside the room, ¡°What happened?!¡± Asked David.


    ¡°Ugh, you¡¯re just as worse as Da. She was screaming at me earlier. I¡¯m fine. I fall to the floor.¡± Answered Anne while she showed David the wound on her elbow.


    David let out a sigh, and with his eyes staring at Anne, he once again asked her, ¡°Who did it?¡±


    .....


    ¡°No one, I was clumsy, that¡¯s why. Oh,e on David, we have our exam tomorrow. Let¡¯s focus, okay?¡± Anne tried to lie to David, but David and Da knew better.


    ¡°Fine! Just go to bed early, okay? Da and I will bring your dinner here.¡± Said David, while saying goodbye to Anne.


    Aghast by the prospect of being viewed as a coward by the nobles, she shouted at her friend outside, ¡°No! David, just pick me up when you¡¯re ready to go to dinner with Da.¡±


    ¡°Anne...¡± David¡¯s voice is soft, pleading to his friend.


    Let out a sigh, Anne stepped outside her room, and whispered to David, ¡°The moment the two of you shield me from their view, is the moment they will think that I am a coward and hiding behind my friends,¡± A determination brewing in Anne¡¯s eyes, ¡°I may be a low peasant, but I am not a coward, so... pick me up to go to dinner, please.¡±


    ¡°Alright, calm down, Anne. I¡¯ll be here with Da when dinner is ready.¡± David¡¯s trying his best to ease the tension within the hall. The bully will never give up, even once. Yesterday, cold drinks fall into her head, or when some rotten fruits fly through her windows and into her bed, every little thing, every kind of small bullied.


    Although Da and David thought they were getting out of hand, injuring the poor girl. When Anne closed her door, David knocked at Da¡¯s room, he goes inside and close the door immediately. Da was in the middle of reading a monster¡¯s encyclopedia.


    ¡°Let me guess, she wanted to go downstairs to have dinner with us?¡± Da said to David, with chucklesing from her mouth.


    David rustled his hair in frustration. ¡°Stubborn as always. Now, what should we do?¡±


    ¡°What else? We just need to be with her, and pray that this time, only a small prank that goes to her.¡±


    David curses, his hands sped together in rage, ¡°F*ck those nobles, they already belittling us, and now to bully Anne like this.¡±


    Da put the monster encyclopedia into the dresser and stare at David. ¡°You do know why they were targeting Anne, right?¡±


    ¡°I know, but just because she got rescued by a noble, the nobles don¡¯t have to be so extreme about it.¡±


    ¡°Not just the nobles, David.¡± Muttered Da. She gave David a handful of dirty papers.


    When David takes a closer look at the papers, he got surprised and his eyes go to Da immediately. The dirty papers were actually a letter full of threatening words and curses for Anne. ¡°This is horrendous! Where did you get this?!¡±


    ¡°From her mailbox, I just knew that it was strange to see so much mail in her box. When I open the box, this hideous mails came out from it.¡±


    David read one of the letters, ¡°Noble f*cker! You gave us a great shame. Just go back to your puny vige!¡± David was horrified by the words, ¡°Oh God! That was horrifying. Are you sure this is not from the noble?¡±


    ¡°Only one of us could conjure a chain letter like this, just looks at the stamp mark, it came from the inns all over the capitals.¡± Da pointed at the stamp mark in some letters.


    ¡°The bronze pass. They got angry and humiliated, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Truthfully, If I know nothing about Anne, I¡¯ll be angry as well.¡± Said Da, she feel guilty expressing her opinion, and that was the harsh truth.


    Bronze pass recipient doesn¡¯t have as much privilege as silver pass recipient, they don¡¯t have free amodations, transport, and also the recognition from the town or the vige. They were just themon people that wanted to be civil servants and serve their country. Da feels the privilege, as she wasn¡¯t the only one from Marlbooro town that came to take the civil service exam this year. The jealousy that came from their eyes still burned in her mind.


    David has been quiet for some moments. Da thought he was just being considerate. When the clock chimes on seven at night, Da called for Anne to have dinner together. Step outside from her room. Anne was ready to face the bullies and have an enjoyable dinner.


    Meanwhile, at the Alchemia Tower, Amaris was in a hurry to go back to her apartment. Another high-rank alchemist tried to call her, to which she replied with a simple excuse that she couldn¡¯t be disturbed right now. Amaris opens her door and goes to theb.


    Another test, with a new spell and strand of her, came for a certain girl with purple hair. She was in her element, brewing the potion, cutting and getting the right size to fit the requirements, and adding more speckles of dust into the green fire. Hours have gone by until Amaris felt she was being watched. She chuckled and just shook her head, ignoring the intruder.


    ¡°So, what is actually your n? Just standing there and observing me?¡± Said Amaris with her body turning around to see the intruder atst, ¡°Your majesty the crown prince.¡±


    A bit taken aback, Justice gave his best shot at smiling charmingly at Amaris. ¡°Miss Amaris, uhm chief Amaris, it is so lovely to see...¡±


    ¡°Cut the chase!¡± Amaris cut his words, and not letting him finish his sentence, ¡°So, what do you need from me? I am busy.¡±


    ncing at the brewing jar, he can visibly see a strand of purple hair inside the rainbow color potion. ¡°It seems so. What exactly you¡¯re going to do with Anne¡¯s hair?¡± He asked directly the obvious question that has been bothering him from the moment he saw the alchemist carriage at the Z street.


    The reason Justice goes in a hurry was to intercept Amaris. Somehow, he thought she was going to be inside the alchemist¡¯s central office on the capital; he was wrong. Justice doesn¡¯t know that she was going to conduct an experiment using Anne¡¯s strand of hair. When he was waiting outside the Alchemist central office, Amaris has already gone back to the alchemia tower.


    ¡°Your majesty, I was thinking, that wasn¡¯t your first question in the first ce, right?¡± Amaris took a deep breath and escorted the crown prince to her living room. ¡°Let us have a civil conversation in my living room. I need to brew the potion for another hour, anyway.¡±


    They walked together to the living room and get cozy on the sofa. She offered him Caftea and cookies. He awkwardly stared at the drink and took a peek at her.


    ¡°My crown prince, I¡¯m the chief alchemist, not going to poison you here,¡± Amaris said to Justice with a mysterious grin on her face. Justice took one of the cookies and carefully bite the cookie. It was amusing to see the crown prince that seems to be afraid of her, and Amaris took that to her advantage. ¡°So, you saw me looking at your dearly beloved from my carriage at the Z street, am I right?¡±


    ¡°My beloved, well, she was hardly...¡±


    ¡°One confirmation about the bewitched spell and everything was changing for you? Dear your majesty, you just don¡¯t know anything, do you?¡± A burst ofughter came to her. Amaris shook her head in disbelief. ¡°Oh, all of you know nothing about the bewitched spell, nothing at all.¡±


    The crown prince¡¯s face went pale. Another shocking discovery came to light, or was it just another tease by the chief alchemist? Justice needs to seek her answer. ¡°What? what exactly transpired on that spell? And please, answer my question, why the sudden interest in Anne?¡±


    Amaris stands up and goes to her window. She opens thettice, lets the afternoon winde into the room. The moon will soon appear and the sun will shy away from the sky. She felt sympathy for them, including Anne. Amaris decided to help them.


    ¡°The bewitched spell is one of the strongest and high-level spells, dear, and of course, with some rules attached to it.¡±


    ¡°Rules? What rules? Please, just give me the answer.¡± Begging Justice, he was desperate, and with Vale and Henry going for a while. There¡¯s only him and Xavier now.


    ¡°The Arcana Tome, that¡¯s your answer.¡± Said Amaris to the red hair crown prince.

 Chapter 54

    54 Shadow and Obsession


    Amaris stared into Justice¡¯s eyes, and whispered, ¡°The Arcana Tome, that is your answer.¡±


    ¡°The book of forbidden spell? Please tell me that...¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Yet, Amaris cut his words, before he couldn¡¯t even finish, ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I said, you need to find the arcana tome. You will find your answer to the bewitched spell inside it.¡±


    A bit annoyed by her other interruption, a frown came into the crown prince¡¯s face, ¡°and what about another one of my questions? Why do you have a sudden interest in Anne?¡±


    ¡°Why not? A girl from a secluded vige has a particr color of hair and a silver pass recipient.¡± Said Amaris. Justice can see amusement in her eyes.


    ¡°Somehow, the answered wasn¡¯t convincing enough for me,¡± Justice said to the chief alchemist with gritted teeth.


    ¡°Yet, somehow, you¡¯re trying to avoid the girl but still wanted to know any of her d*mn business!¡± Amaris reciprocated with more sarcasm inside every word.


    A cold gaze goes into Amaris. A harsh tone came from the crown prince. ¡°I want to protect her.¡±


    Amaris scoffed, she challenge the cold gaze that came from Justice with her own re in her eyes, ¡°Protect her from who? Her bullies? Well, I must say you haven¡¯t had a good job doing that.¡±


    .....


    ¡°What do you say so?¡±


    ¡°And you said that you want to protect her, yet you failed to notice how she walks in limp and full of bruises on her elbow and knees.¡± Said Amaris with a trace of bitterness in her voice.


    ¡°F*ck! I never noticed. I... I try so hard to avert my gaze. That¡¯s why I noticed your carriage, and you looking at Anne from afar.¡± A regret came from the crown prince. ¡°I was a fool. Why did the four of us make those agreements in the first ce?¡±


    Before Henry and Vale go to Gaftan, they have made an agreement to be as far as they could from Anne, until the four of them could figure out what to do with the spell. Somehow, after a lot of thought, the decision wasn¡¯t a good one.


    ¡°You can always back down from a bad agreement, all of you. I have to tell you now, going away from her will never work.¡± Amaris tried to convince him. She even held his hand to calm him down.


    He does agree to a certain degree, ¡°Yes, pushing her away will going to be hurtful for Anne. We are constantly in Anne¡¯s face, and for us to ignore her, is cruel from our end.¡±


    ¡°Finally, you nobles need to learn these words,mon sense.¡±


    Laughing at Amaris¡¯s joke, He look into her and saw a motherly figure on her, which reminded him of his own mother. Tough exterior with a soft heart.


    ¡°Thank you, chief Amaris, appreciate your suggestion.¡±


    Amaris gave him a warm smile. ¡°The pleasure is mine, your majesty.¡±


    ¡°Although you never answered my second question.¡± Said Justice, stubbornly at the chief alchemist.


    ¡°The answer is still no... For now.¡± Answered Amaris, teasing the crown prince a bit.


    Let out a sigh. Justice put the caftea cup back on the table and excused himself from Amaris. ¡°Fair enough. I know I can trust you enough as the chief alchemist. You would never hurt her.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do promise you, my test is about magica leveling test.¡±


    Justice stopped at that moment, a frown came to his face. ¡°We already have a magica test kit, and it was more simple and faster than using the alchemy test.¡±


    ¡°I am afraid. The magica test kit only works to test how much a person has magica inside their body. The alchemy test, however, revealed much more than just her level of magica.¡± Amaris exined the moreplicated alchemy test that she had conducted.


    ¡°How much more? And, Should I be worried?¡± Asked Justice once again.


    Amaris smiled at the crown prince and shook her head, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when I get the answer, your majesty, and for you, it¡¯s best to search the arcana tome and get them answered you seek about the bewitched spell.¡±


    For a while, he stared at Amaris. Justice was thinking about which was continuing to push her further or to retreat. He let her go for now. With a smileing from his face, Justice said his farewell to the chief alchemist.


    ¡°Alright, I bid you farewell then.¡± Said Justice, while extending his right hand for a handshake.


    She took the right hand and shake it with confidence. Amaris knew Justice will never let her go. The bewitched spell is a strong love spell. Once people are ensnared by its spell, they will have a hard time letting go of the object of their desire. This means the more they tried to ignore the object, the more they will suffer heartache.


    From the window of her living room, Amaris saw the crown prince go away from the alchemia tower. He skillfully rode his horse, a beautiful ck horse, with the apaniment of one guard behind him with his brown mare. She recognized the guard; it was Bernard. She actually takes part in the civil service exam in the same year as him. They were never close, but knew each other well. She let out a sighed of relief and continued her test inside theboratory.


    At the pce, after two hours¡¯ ride from the alchemia tower, Justice was in his room, ready to go to sleep, when he heard a sounding from his balcony. A shadow of a man appears from the window. He took a deep breath and pulled the curtain. A ck-haired man with a pair of golden eyes leaning on his balustrade.


    ¡°Took you long enough.¡± Grinned Xavier at Justice.


    ¡°Seriously, you need to stop sneaking from the woods and go to my room. They will think that we are lovers.¡± Said Justice while he smirk at his best friend.


    Xavier snorted and thenughed uncontrobly. ¡°Hey, I was a good catch, rather than having that brooding magi or that yboy knight.¡±


    ¡°True.¡± Justice raised a ss to Xavier¡¯s excuse. ¡°I know why youe here.¡±


    Xavier¡¯s expression suddenly changed. ¡°Why the f*ck did you go to the alchemia tower?¡±


    Pointing at the sofa, Justice took a seat before Xavier, and when he gotfortable, he exin his sudden visit to the alchemia tower, ¡°I saw the chief alchemist snooping on Anne, I followed her, and have a civil conversation with her.¡±


    ¡°Means, that you interrogating her, right?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. We knew from Vale that she was the one who conducted the test. I thought she take an interest in Anne.¡±


    ¡°Why? What did she do? And what exactly did she say to you?¡± Xavier¡¯s curiosity peaked when Justice exined how Amaris took an interest in Anne.¡±


    A frown came onto Justice¡¯s face. ¡°Calm down, she tried to help us. At least that¡¯s what she said to me.¡±


    ¡°Well, you never know. I think we need to take a closer look at that woman.¡±


    ¡°Xave, what are you doing?¡± This time, Justice felt ufortable. He knew something about Xavier, his uncontroble obsession with anything or anyone.


    Ignoring Justice, Xavier turns his head into his shadow. ¡°Ageha, you know what to do.¡±


    ¡®At once, master.¡¯


    A ck butterfly appears from Xavier¡¯s shadow, she flies away and disappears into the night. Justice massaged his temple, already thinking of the headache that willeter.


    ¡°Xavier, you sent Ageha to spy on Amaris, the chief alchemist, really?!¡±


    ¡°This is just for a precaution. No need to be alerted, Justice.¡±


    ¡°You spy on someone. That was an invasion of her privacy! Get it together!¡± Justice was yelling at him. He med himself for not taking a counter-measurement of Xavier¡¯s behavior earlier.


    ¡°It will be fine. Ageha would do nothing. She is just going to observe.¡± Said Xavier to the crown prince, and he would not back down on the matter. Xavier took a leave and walk to the balcony, but, before he go away, his head turned once more to Justice, ¡°You know, she was hurt, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Amaris told me, I... I wasn¡¯t aware before, too infested on Amaris, and tried to avoid her like we were agreeing to.¡± Justice answered his question with a face full of regrets.


    ¡°That stupid agreement. I never said I agreed to it. So, I¡¯ll be protecting her, whether or not the three of you like it.¡±


    The crown prince prevents Xavier from going, ¡°Wait, before you go, Amaris also told me that we need to search for the arcana tome.¡±


    ¡°What for?¡± Asked Xavier, he was so uninterested in the arcana tome, until Justice exined the content of the forbidden book to him.


    ¡°The bewitched spell, the arcana tome have one whole session exining about the spell.¡±


    ¡°Well, we need to search for it, then I¡¯ll go to the main library tomorrow.¡±


    Justice nodded in an agreement with Xavier, ¡°I¡¯ll search the pce library. Let¡¯s meet up at the bar tomorrow night.¡±


    With the verbal agreement between the two of them, Xavier then jumped from the balcony of the third floor of Justice¡¯s room. He couldn¡¯t care less, he know Xavier will never get hurt. The only thing that they need to care about is how to find the arcana tome.


    The next morning, our purple hair girl already wakes up and looks refreshed for the day. Da, her friend, was already waiting for her in the hallway of their third-floor dorm.


    ¡°Ready for today?¡± Asked Da with a grin on her face.


    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go!¡± Anne answered her friend, trying not to sound so nervous.


    The second exam finally begins.

 Chapter 55

    55 The Second Exam (Part 1)


    (Warning! This chapter contains an act of bullying, readers¡¯ discretion is advised)


    Anne and Da descended to the first floor, David already waiting in the breakfast room, with three simple meals set on the table. Today, the menu is a simple breakfast, consisting of fresh moomilk, slices of bread, jams, and turchick bacon and eggs. He smile at his friends and asked them to seat right away.


    ¡°Come on, we have three hours, and the carriage will take us in one hour from now, but we hate to bete, right?¡± Said David directly to Anne, making the other two cringe at him. ¡°Oh,e on, that was a good joke, right?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Said Da and Anne at the same time.


    Da red at David, while her hand smack his shoulder. ¡°What exactly are you doing? Anne is already nervous and you think getting into her nerves will help her?¡±


    ¡°I am sorry, alright, I thought she willugh, but... obviously not.¡± Said David, while whispering an apology to her.


    Anne smiled at David, in her mind, everything that David could do will never make herugh right now. She was a nervous wreck, the thoughts of defending herself in front of exam administrators already making her stressed enough.


    ¡°Oh, Anne, your exam building will be at the main hospital. You know about that, right?¡± Asked Da, she was worried that Anne might end up lost again.


    ¡°I know Da, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Said Anne to Da, she genuinely tried to ease her friend¡¯s mind. Day by day, David and Da be a part of her life in the capital, and of course, four men that¡¯s constantly confused her from time to time.


    .....


    One hourter, the carriages came and everyone go inside their designated carriage. Da and David, and two others silver pass recipients were already inside the carriage, when it¡¯s Anne turned to go inside, a hand appears from behind. She turned around to see Xavier¡¯s face smiling at her.


    ¡°Xavier, what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, I¡¯m going to take you to the main hospital.¡± Said the huntsman, while instructing the carriage to go without Anne.


    Panicking, she tried to call for the carriage to stay, but to no avail. Everyone, whether they were inside the golden pass carriage or the silver pass carriage, is livid and in shock. Xavier. Although not as famous as Vale, is one of the customs noble with talent on his own, not to mention his tall and muscr body, making him popr in thedies¡¯ eyes.


    Let out a sigh. Anne immediately berated Xavier for his rash decision.


    ¡°Are you out of your godd*mn mind?!¡±


    ¡°Godd*mn? I never heard such a word?¡± Asked Xavier, a curiosity came into him. ¡°What¡¯s that mean? Godd*mn?¡±


    Anne then thought everyone here respected or was too afraid of their gods and put no curse sentence into the holy name itself. Not to mention they have over one, that¡¯s why sometimes people said God with a plural meaning.


    ¡°Nothing important!¡± Anne immediately said to Xavier, and she shift his attention to him being so randomly this morning, ¡°Now, since you¡¯ve already sent my carriage away, you need to take me to the main hospital, now, I can¡¯t bete again.¡±


    With a smirk on his face, he carries Anne in his arms. Our heroine doesn¡¯t even have time to prepare herself. Xavier picks her up and put Anne onto his horse, a huge ck stallion, the biggest horse breed in the kingdom after he was so sure that the girl isfortable sitting on his horse, he gets on the horse and gallops through the street of the capitals.


    Anne tried to talk to the man while holding onto the horse. ¡°Why are you doing this, Xavier?¡±


    Xavier smiled when he heard a curious question from Anne. ¡°I hate to deny everything anymore.¡± Said Xavier, trying to answer her question a bit mysteriously.


    ¡°Way being mysterious, good job Xavier, now just take me to the main hospital as fast as you could!¡± Gruntled Anne, the girl never afraid to ride a horse, but this the first time for her to ride a horse alongside anyone, not to mention it is Xavier.


    ¡°As you wish, my beautiful miss.¡± Xavier teased her, and nudge his horse using his leg.


    Xavier used the road for the horse driver only, even though there were so many horses on the road, he could maneuver and took a sharp turn, and galloped skillfully. Anne¡¯s heart beat faster, she smiles and evenughed. She can feel Xavier¡¯s strong arms holding the rein and also protecting her. Anne felt safe with him, a feeling that had long gone from her mind.


    They arrived at the main hospital before the carriage. Sheughed and squealed in joy when Xavier helped her get off from the horse.


    ¡°Oh, God! I couldn¡¯t believe it! I finally got a ride on a horse again, and to be here before those snooty golden pass carriages, a win-win situation!¡± said Anne, jumping with joy.


    Xavier stares at her. He never regretted his decision to forget about the agreement. His feelings for Anne, although beginning from a spell, he was so sure the feelings were already blooming into a real and pure one. After all, his obsession grew every day for her.


    ¡°I need to go now, Anne. There is something I need to do. I¡¯ll be picking you up, after your exam,¡± Xavier told her, while he look around the main hospital area.


    The look on his face gave Anne a frown on her face, ¡°You want to pick me up? What for? I could go home on my own, you know?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Shouted Xavier suddenly, the looks on Anne¡¯s face making him conscious about how rude he was. ¡°My apologies. I was trying to protect you.¡±


    ¡°As I said, Xavier, I¡¯m okay. Please, I¡¯m handling the situation quite alright.¡±


    ¡°But, I really want to...¡±


    Raising her right hand, she stopped Xavier from voicing his opinion once more. ¡°Please, no need to say it. I am going to ace this second exam and go home alone.¡±


    There cannot be any more argument on Anne¡¯s opinion. Xavier rustled his hair and awkwardly smiled at the purple hair girl, who was standing in front of him. The bruises all over her body were being covered by her long sleeves and an under-the-knee skirt. She was trying her best; she was fighting her best as she could.


    ¡°I am sorry, Anne, I might be made it worse by driving you here by myself.¡± Xavier regretted it wholeheartedly. He just wanted to cheer her up before her second exam, and, of course, to assess the surrounding bullies.


    She gave sighed with relief, and her smile bloomed, ¡°It¡¯s alright, Xavier, I do appreciate your gesture, and it cheered me up.¡±


    ¡°How about if we go to lunch?¡± Asked Xavier with a grin on his face. He immediately added, ¡°Tomorrow, of course! Not today.¡±


    ¡°I would love that.¡± Said Anne. She was thinking of a way to repay his kindness.


    Xavier took off from the main hospital with a lighter feeling. At least he knows, Anne would not reject his offerpletely. Once again, he galloped into the street, his next destination, the main library.


    Step inside the main hospital, Anne gave the exam administrator her name and also her silver pass. They escorted her to the waiting room. There were three other people inside already. Some of the bronze passes were here from the early morning. They are mostly the bronze pass who were living at the farthest inns from the main hospital. Their eyes when Anne go inside the waiting room were like the burning fire that came from the hottest firepit.


    ¡°Oh, the lovely silver pass girl was here already? I thought she is going to bete again since she already had that kind of leverage before.¡± Said one of them, a girl with a double French braid. She is a tough girl with piercing ck eyes.


    ¡°Oh, shush Rosy, do you want her to tattle about your rudeness to her noble?¡± Another one, a man with protruding front teeth, cackling and making a mock gesture to Anne.


    Anne ignored thempletely and with a hum took one corner of the room and take out her notes from her bag. The three of them don¡¯t take it lightly. They were making so much ruckus, especially Rosy, the girl with the French braid. She walks in front of Anne and throws her notes to the floor.


    ¡°Hey! What are you doing?!¡± Anne was screaming. She was never thought that they could be so desperate for her attention.


    She took a deep breath and tried to retrieve her note from the floor. Suddenly, her hand got stomped, and she screamed in agony. Anne falls to the floor, wailing in pain.


    ¡°Stop! What are you trying to do?!¡± Shouted Anne. She just wanted some peace, but the trio just won¡¯t let her. Tearsing from her eyes, her right-hand throbbing like crazy, and blood wasing from her index finger. Apparently, Rosy¡¯s shoes destroyed Anne¡¯s index fingernailpletely.


    The second examprised a skill test, which required the use of both hands and agility. Would Anne survive the second exam with an injured hand?

 Chapter 56

    56 The Second Exam (part 2)


    The room door was opened ajar, and two of the exam administrators saw Anne crying on the floor, while the other three nced at each other. Not one of them spoke any words, they just stands on the corner while Anne suffered on the floor.


    ¡°Oh, Gods! The blood! Called a healer, quick!¡± said one of the administrators. He then dropped onto the floor and tried to assist Anne, ¡°Miss, are you alright? Oh my Gods the finger, calm down helps is on the way.¡±


    While her body was shaken because of the amount of pain that she needs to endure, Anne shook her head and tried to say something to the administrators, ¡°Please... Just... Just take me to the emergency room now, They... Could give me pain... Relief... Reliever and bandage my wound.¡±


    The administrators hold the injured hand carefully. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to take you to the emergency room immediately.¡±


    Before the administrator holds her, Anne grabs the cor of the administrator, ¡°But, I... I... Must get back here, my exam... My exam will begin in less than an hour.¡± Her breath was shallow, not to mention the shiver that came from her body.


    The administrator left speechless. He doesn¡¯t want to make a promise to Anne, and that¡¯s when another group of people came into the room.


    ¡°What happened here?!¡± asked an older gentleman with the official garment of the healer, a white robe with a sky-green stripe in every seam. He looks at the blood on the floor and gasped when he saw Anne. ¡°Gods! That¡¯s not a minor wound, Stephan! What are you thinking?! Let¡¯s take the young miss to the emergency room at once!¡±


    Once again, Anne refused to be held and stayed put. ¡°No! Please, Please! You... you need to promise me that I... I will be able to take the exam.¡±


    The older gentleman was in shock. There is only a trace of determination on the young miss face. She was shivering and tearing up, but that was all because she was clearly in great pain. The older gentleman called for one healer that was arriving on the scene with him.


    .....


    ¡°Nathan!¡±


    Anky and tall healer, wearing thick sses, came rushing to his side. ¡°Yes, chief! What can I do for you?¡±


    ¡°Perform the first aid healing and then carry her to the emergency room.¡± The chief healer of the main hospital gives orders to the healer.


    ¡°What about my ex...¡±


    ¡°Let us treat your wound first, and then I will let you take the exam!¡± said the chief to our heroine, his firm decision finally making Anne give in to his request.


    Nathan and the other healers were busy treating her wound, while the chief looked around the room. He saw three other people whispering and looking at the wounded girl with no sympathy at all. He steps away from the group and walks into them.


    ¡°Would the three of you care to exin what exactly happened to the poor young miss?¡± Asked the chief to the three of them.


    ¡°It was Rosy, not me!¡± said the cowardly man of the three.


    ¡°No! It was an ident, believe me!¡± Rosy was panicking, she bite her lips and tears came welling down from her eyes, ¡°I... I just wanted to help her, she dropped her notes, and when I was in a hurry to pick her notes, her hand got stepped on by my shoes.¡±


    The chief was staring at Rosy. He tried to read her face. The girl, however, was undeterred. He gave up, for now. Anne was already being carried to the emergency room. Only the exam administrators and he were inside the room now, besides the three exam participants.


    ¡°Chief Hale, what should we do here? The other participants were waiting in the hall.¡± Said the exam administrators.


    Chief Hale observed the room. The blood on the floor will cause panic. He instructed the exam administrators to open another room and close this room.


    ¡°Write their name and call the guards. I want this incident to be investigated immediately.¡± Whispered Chief Hale. He didn¡¯t want the three of them to be alert.


    The exam administrator then turns around to see the three of them. ¡°What should we do afterward? About those three.¡±


    ¡°Separate the three of them, but let them take part in the exam. I will observe these three.¡± The exam administrators bow and excuse themselves. Chief Hale also gave another instruction regarding the three of them. ¡°After the exam, handed them to the guard. I think they were hiding something from me.¡±


    ¡°At once, chief Hale.¡± said the exam administrators.


    Chief Hale stared at the group once more. He felt the gaze of the girl directly at him. Rosy would not back down, she need to shut her mouth. She did nothing wrong. It was an ident. She repeatedly chanted the words in her head and tried to be convincing when they asked them several times.


    The emergency room treated Anne with care. She feels grateful for the junior healers that carefully put the medicine in her hand. Chief hale stops by to look at her condition. He asked the junior healers about the right hand.


    One of the junior healers exined the condition of Anne¡¯s hand to Chief Hale. ¡°Nothing is broken, but sadly, her nail on the index finger...¡±


    ¡°What happened to it?¡± Asked Chief Hale while observing the finger. He saw the main problem immediately. ¡°I see, the nail, it is tearing apart. There¡¯s nothing we can do about it.¡± Said Chief Hale while his face turn into Anne¡¯s.


    Anne felt sympathying from the chief. His eyes were fixated on her pale face. She let out a sigh and said, ¡°Then please cut the nail. I¡¯ll endure it.¡±


    The junior healers and chief Hale were shocked to hear Anne¡¯s honest request.


    ¡°Miss, are you sure? Yes, the nail will grow in a month, but you will need to endure the pain for a while.¡± The junior healer tried to exin the situation.


    ¡°Yes, I am aware, one of my parents had treated this kind of case before, I knew what I should take so that I could endure the pain for a few hours,¡± Her gaze then goes to chef Hale, ¡°That¡¯s if the administrator will let me eat the herbs, of course.¡±


    He can feel the pleading on the girl¡¯s face. As a healer himself, using unknown or untested herbs was something that he would not rmend to everyone. But seeing her face, make him wonder and curious, what exactly the kind of herbs that she will use to numb the pain?


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll ask the exam administrator. We will call you here when it is your turn, so get ready.¡± Chief Hale said it to Anne, and although he doesn¡¯t like Anne¡¯s idea, but her determination wins him over. He let out a sigh and gave further instructions to the junior healer.


    When the chief was gone from the emergency room, one of the senior healers came with their small operation kit. He smiled at Anne while preparing to do the small operation.


    ¡°Hey, my name is Tim. I¡¯ve heard from my junior that was a ballsy move for a young girl. I¡¯m impressed!¡± Said Tim, the senior healer towards Anne.


    Nervously, and with a throbbing pain in her hand, she carefully asked Tim for his reason, ¡°I am sorry, but I have done nothing impressive at all.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you gave them a firm decision, even in front of chief Hale, that was a brave move,¡± Tim exined to Anne, he was chuckling and tried to cheer her spirit byplimenting her action, ¡°Not to mention you asked the broken fingernail to be removed when you¡¯re going to have an important exam on your own.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I... I just don¡¯t want to be failed, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°I doubt it, you seem like a very smart girl,¡± Said Tim while smiling at Anne, he then pick two small knives and gave some instructions to the junior healer beside him, ¡°Did you bring the concoction that she wanted you to brew?¡±


    The junior healer nodded his head. ¡°It will be ready in five minutes.¡±


    Tim nces at the clock. He knows they are going to make her do the exam at thest minute. He begins to apply the salve to the area and re-asses the wound. Tim felt a pair of eyes staring at him, curious eyes.


    ¡°Excuse me, could you tell me why you need to apply salve and then let it dry on my finger?¡± Asked Anne at Tim, her eyes still focusing on the wound.


    A bit shocked by her enthusiasm and curiosity, Tim gave her a smile and begin to exin the method to her, he knows for a fact that her wound still hurt a lot and she will need courage and also a will to continue on her exam, he really wishes for her to pass the exam. Tim wanted her to be on his team.


    The medicinal concoction is ready. She drank it until thest drop and let Tim finish the most excruciating part of the operation, removing the broken fingernails. The junior healers were keeping Anne in her ce, while the senior healer cut and took the broken part away. She was screaming from the excruciating pain. Sadly, in this world, they don¡¯t have a full anesthetic avable. After the operation, she felt the throbbing pain dissipate. There was still mild throbbing pain, but she could handle the pain better, and just in time for an exam administrator to go inside the emergency room.


    ¡°River Anne? It¡¯s time for your second exam.¡±

 Chapter 57

    57 The Second Exam (Part 3)


    It is too quiet, too quiet in Anne¡¯s mind. She was walking alongside the exam administrators. It was a long walk to get to the exam room. The exam administrator had told her that the exam rooms were relocated to another building. She suspected it already. Her room where Rosy stomped her hand must be sealed and guards were going to investigate it.


    She felt the numbness on her hand, as suspected when you use a Lavengar flower and mix it with Aloeroot and Gaaram, the best painkillers that her parents have thought her. She kept some mixture a secret from the healers. After all, it could be her leverageter on.


    Before she step inside the room, Anne then took a deep breath. She opens the door and was ready for whatever happened, but one thing was for sure, she will never give up. Bing a healer is her ambition, the first ambition she has, whether in the old world or in this new world.


    Inside the exam room, there are three examiners and a dozen of exam administrators. There¡¯s also a peculiar ck screen, stuck behind in the corner. The other exam participants were kept in the waiting room after they have being evaluated. The three examiners called for Anne to step forward onto the tform in front of them.


    Chief Hale, as one of the examiners, smiled at Anne and pointed at the chair on the tform. Carefully, she took a seat on the chair and look nervously at the examiners.


    One examiner, a woman with red hair and ck eyes, is the one who speaks to her, ¡°River Anne, my name is Chief Ca, thank you for your patient, as you already know this second exam will test your knowledge, skill, and your magica in a real situation.¡±


    ¡°Yes, thank you for the chance. I am ready.¡± Said Anne, she nodded her head. Her hands were shaken a bit, half of it from her nervousness, half from the pain that she need to endure. The concoction works wonderfully. Nevertheless, the sharp festering pain still lingered around her finger.


    Chief Ca noticed the tremble on her hand. ¡°River Anne, are you alright?¡± Asked Chief Ca. She has a bit of sympathy for the girl but is wary of her behavior. Chief Ca thought Anne was an opportunist, especially when the first exam incident happened.


    ¡°I am alright, chief Ca, thank you for your concerned.¡± Answered Anne, while she carefully rubbed her injured hand.


    .....


    nces at the ck screen behind her, Chief Ca continued her exnation, ¡°Right, we begin with your knowledge test, after, we have your skill test, and then the magica,¡± she turned her head to the other two chiefs, and said, ¡°Let us begin.¡±


    The first test was basically questioned about herbs and medicine, or how to treat wounds or diseases. The chiefs will be asked one question each, and Anne needs to answer one question at a time. She eloquently answered every question urately. Chief Hale was again admiring how intelligent these young women were. Chief Ca remains undeterred. Anne has the perfect answer and most likely the best answer she had heard from all the participants. The girl is intrigued by her eyes.


    Proceed to the second test. The effect of the painkiller was almost dissipated. Anne can feel it, the sharp pain that came from her index finger. She tried to endure the pain by concentrating on the task in front of her. Her second test is to bandage an open wound that doesn¡¯t get any treatment for days. The injury has a rotten smell and bacterial infection already appears from the flesh inside. The wounded came to the main hospital today, and have brown and dirty shirts. His ck short hair was scruffy and fleas were everywhere.


    Ignoring her own pain, Anne bites her lips and assesses the wound. She observes and also sniffs the wound, much to the examiner¡¯s dismay. The three of them observe her every move. She put the sterile gloves on and hold the hand of the patient carefully. Calluses were everywhere in his hands, and she disinfect the wound using distilled water.


    ¡°May I asked you something first?¡± Anne tried to ask the man a question.


    ¡°Wait, is it really necessary? We just need your observation and you just need to ry your answer about how to treat the wound to us.¡± said chief Ca, with a frown on her face.


    ¡°Let it be chief Ca. I wanted to see where this is going.¡± Said the other examiners to the reluctant chief. He turn away to look at Anne, and said, ¡°You may continue, miss.¡±


    Anne nodded her head, ¡°Thank you chief,¡± Said Anne, as she begin to question the wounded. ¡°What is your job?¡±


    The wounded answered, ¡°I am a farmer, miss.¡±


    ¡°Did you use mountain fertilizer in your farnd?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am.¡±


    ¡°Did your injurye from one of your farming tools?¡±


    ¡°Yes, miss, the sickle that I use on my farnd.¡±


    Anne gave him a warm smile and said, ¡°Thank you. You may rest now. You¡¯re in good hands here.¡±


    The wounded man had a certain calmness afterward. The healers took him away immediately to be treated. Our heroine, on the other hand, suffers from the pain of her crushing finger. She winced and tried to hold the hand, rubbing it continuously. She tried so hard to dull the pain while trying to focus on her answer.


    ¡°So, what is the right method to treat his wound?¡± Asked chief Hale to Anne.


    ¡°We... Uhm... we need to apply the mixture of Redonian and Nettleroot ashes,¡± Said Anne, at this point, the pain is almost unbearable, she goes through it by pinching his thigh with her healthy hand, ¡°And... and then, uhm... use the infused water of dried Aloeroot with Calugold, to ease the burning flesh.¡±


    The three examiners were gasping. They are looking at each other, surprised by Anne¡¯s answer.


    ¡°Miss River Anne, the farmer was suffering from a sh wound, not a burn wound. Why do you suggest using Aloeroot and Calugold?¡± Asked chief Ca curiously.


    ¡°Because... Ugh... Because the sh wound has a slight burn wound, chief, when I sniffed the flesh there was a slight smell of burnt flesh inside of the wound.¡±


    Murmuring begin in every corner of the room, even the man from behind the ck screen was intrigued by her answer. Anne stood there, suffering from her pain, but bravely looks at the examiners, ready to give them the answers that they need.


    ¡°The... the burnt flesh resulted from the fertilizers that the farmer uses, mountain fertilizer means that he uses active volcanic ashes. I... I suspected the farnd suffering from harsh conditions, so he needs to make thend fertile again.¡± Said Anne to the examiners.


    The examiners were shocked. Out of twelve participants this year, Anne was the only participant with a correct answer. One of them also noticed the burnt flesh but failed to give the correct medicine for it. As for Anne, not only did she notice the burnt flesh, but she also knew the correct medicine to treat the wound. Chief Hale is smiling, the same as the man on the ck screen behind him.


    Exhausted, Anne ask for permission to sit down, chief Hale agreed immediately, and when she getsfortable as she can be, arge crystal was brought upon, arge crystal with a meter from zero to one hundred, there was a bangle attached to the crystal by a thin translucent thread. The exam administrator asked Anne to raise her healthy hand, they put the bangle on her, and chant a spell to the crystal.


    Anne nervously waited for the result. Everyone in the room grew quieter. The man behind the ck screen even stands up from his chair, anxious about the result. The crystal begins to glow with a rainbow color; light shines inside the meter, and it stopped at five.


    ¡°That is impossible!¡± said chief Hale. ¡°The girl only has five percent of magica?!¡±


    As much as how surprised everyone is, Anne was shocked. She was ready to see if the crystal will be down at zero. Never she could imagine that she gets five percent of magica inside of her. Not for the man behind the ck screen. He goes back to his seat and smirks. He whispered into a monster behind him.


    ¡°Go to Gaftan right away. Tell Vale that our n is sessful.¡±


    ¡®At once, your majesty.¡¯ said the monster in the shadow, a monster with a shape of a big wolf, disappearing through the wall.


    The man looks at Anne from the crevices of the ck screen, his red ruby eyes focusing on the purple hair girl, her beautiful face, and then goes to her wounded hand. His hands sp together and he turns his nces to another man behind him.


    ¡°Bernard, I need you to investigate the incident involving River Anne¡¯s injury. I want you to give me the name of the culprit and the story behind the incident, do you hear me?¡±


    Bernard bows at the red ruby eyes man, who is sitting in front of him. ¡°At your service, your majesty.¡±


    Justice¡¯s eyes fuming with anger, he can see how Anne has struggled so much, and not long after the magica revtion, she passed out in the chair. He wanted so badly to run and carry her, but not for now. His infatuation with her will be a burden for the poor girl. He let her be carried away to the infirmary, and that¡¯s when he appeared from the ck screen.


    The three examiners look at him with a wary face. Fears are visible on their faces, while Justice calmly stood in front of them.


    ¡°I assume you know why I insisted on observing the exam by now?¡± Said Justice. His calm face will fool no one in the room.

 Chapter 58

    58 The n


    Justice was having a bad day, his head throbbed, and not to mention he need to lie to a certain someone. The fact that the four of them stayed as far away as they could from Anne was just a concoction of a lie. A lie to protect her from the vicious people, the surrounding bully.


    ¡°We need to make sure that we never have a direct interaction with her for the time being, especially when Henry and I are in Gaftan.¡± Said, Vale.


    Xavier raises his hand, his face says it all, he doesn¡¯t like the idea of having to stay away from Anne, ¡°No, I can¡¯t do it, I need to at least be with her, you need to make an exception for me.¡±


    The other three share a nce at each other. They know Xavier has an obsession, an obsession with everything that he cares for. An unhealthy obsession that is sometimes unsettling. Sometimes it was for animals, or maybe one of them, but this is the first time in the twenty-three years of his life he got an obsession with a girl. A certain purple hair girl, with a beautiful smile and a temper to match.


    Justice leaned on the sofa, his red eyes focusing on Xavier, ¡°What do you want us to do? All of us be the j*rks at her and you came in as the savior?! No, Xave, all of us will do this.¡± Justice¡¯s face remain the same, but his red eyes of his were ring at Xavier, demanding a subjugation that fits the authority of a crown prince.


    Looking at the red eyes, Xavier know, he could never win this argument, he mumbled a few words and prefer to lean on the window. Vale and Henry took a deep breath. At least the crisis was averted for now. Vale begins to speak about his n thoroughly.


    ¡°Tomorrow is the second exam, right? Justice, you need to be there, supporting her from behind.¡±


    Disbelief came into his face. ¡°Are you sure about this? I mean, most of the exam administrators recognized me as Anne¡¯s savior back then.¡±


    ¡°Exactly! You¡¯re the only one who can do this because they¡¯ve already known you as the savior of Anne from the first exam.¡± Vale enthusiastically said to Justice, his eyes glinting, and a grin came to his face, a rare tradeing from brooding magi, ¡°You need to make sure, they epted Anne¡¯s low-level magica, and press them to keep your identity as Anne¡¯s savior a secret.¡±


    .....


    ¡°I think you make a mistake here, Vale. Anne doesn¡¯t have any magica, like, at all.¡± Muttered Henry, the captain knight was leaning on the door frame, going to observe the other three from afar.


    ¡°No, she has some now.¡± Whispered Vale. He tried to avoid his three friends¡¯ gazes at him.


    Xavier stands up from the ledge of the window. He got closer to Vale demanding and answered, ¡°Vale, what did you do?!¡±


    With an awkward smile, Vale has a confession to his friends, ¡°I... I may be gifted Anne, my elderwood bangle.¡±


    The looks on Justice, Xavier, and Henry were priceless. They went up and surrounded Vale in a short amount of time. Justice just sat beside him in disbelief at his looks.


    ¡°You what?! How can you do this, Vale?!¡± The enraged Xavier was practically standing in front of Vale and giving him a little private space.


    ¡°Unbelievable! You gave her your one and the only elderwood bangle, the token of a soulmate for a magi?!¡± Said Henry while he massaging his temple. His eyes were ringing endlessly after Vale¡¯s confession.


    ¡°Wait! I can exin, please hear me out!¡± Said Vale, panicking at the amount of pressure that his three friends were giving him.


    The most level-headed in the group right now, Justice the crown prince, tells the others to be quiet. He wanted to hear the excuses conjured by the captain magi himself.


    ¡°Thank you, Justice,¡± said Vale, sincerely to Justice, he continued to exin everything, ¡°I did it for her you know, elderwood bangle is not only for decoration, it¡¯s also a source of sharing magica to each other, in a short term, she can give me her magica and I also could give him, my magica.¡±


    ¡°What happened when you give her your magica?¡± Asked Justice. He seems curious about the elderwood bangle.


    ¡°Nothing will happen to her body physically, only that she will have a small amount of magica that she can use. I need to see her before I go, though, need to recharge it for tomorrow.¡±


    Unexpectedly, Henry wasughing out loud after hearing Vale¡¯s confession about the elderwood bangle. ¡°What a sly man you¡¯re. Now you have your excuse to meet her since you need to recharge the magica inside the bangle.¡±


    ¡°F*ck! You¡¯re right Henry, why didn¡¯t I think about that? What a cheeky b*stard.¡± Xavier said to Vale, his anger already vanished from the earlier mishap.


    Justice, on the other hand, was losing his own thought. He remembered something. Back then, when Anne helped him fight the Bog Yeti, a certain dagger appears in her hand. The crystal dagger only shapeshifts when there¡¯s a magica involved. ¡°So that¡¯s why...¡± muttered justice, a smile blooming on his face, remembering how brave Anne was back then.


    Henry turns around to see Justice. He tilted his face and asked him, ¡°What? Did you want to say something, Justice?¡±


    He takes a closer look at Henry¡¯s face. Horden had already told him about Henry¡¯s infatuation with a woman. It¡¯s not the same as Xavier¡¯s obsession, but him being thinking that he was in love with Anne makes him vulnerable in his time for this crucial mission. Justice decided it was best to keep a secret about the crystal dagger from Henry for now.


    ¡°Nothing, just...¡± Sad Justice, smiling at Henry, then voicing his opinion so Henry doesn¡¯t pry anymore, ¡°Anyway, I just wanted to say that it will be a tremendous help for Anne tomorrow at the second exam.¡±


    ¡°It will only be from the range of five percent, though.¡± Vale reminded Justice about the magica transferred.


    ¡°Five percent is better than zero, five percent I could make an excuse for her, there¡¯s a record about someone having a four percent magica, but zero percent...¡±


    Vale and Henry nodded their head. They agreed with Justice¡¯s statement, ¡°Yes, she will be another center of attention if it¡¯s a zero percent magica.¡±


    Xavier yawned, and stretches out his huge body, ¡°So, I guess it¡¯s settled then, Justice, better for us not to talk about this regrly.¡±


    ¡°Agreed, let¡¯s go, Gaftan needs the two of you.¡± Justice took his coat and step outside of Vale¡¯s door. He then turn his head and said, ¡°Be safe, alright?¡±


    Vale and Henry chuckles and answered the crown prince, ¡°Always.¡±


    Back in the recent event, at the main hospital, Justice and the other examiners were sitting in the private lounge area for the high-ranking officers. Chief Hale looked at him curiously. It urred to Justice that the rumor about him being the savior was contained to a handful of people only. Chief Ca is one of them. She looks at Justice with a resentment that he can¡¯t even describe. He never knew what kind of fault he had done to deserve any resentment from one of the main hospital chiefs.


    ¡°So, your majesty, I¡¯m kind of surprised that you actuallying here today to observe the exam.¡± Asked Chef Hale. He was friendly to Justice, knowing a lot about his father, Leon.


    ¡°Yes, chief Hale, you may say so.¡± Said Justice, with a calm demeanor. One of his traits is to appear as calm as possible in any situation.


    Chief Ca take her cup and spoke to the crown prince, ¡°Or maybe, to observe only one girl that has just finished her second exam, right, your majesty?¡± sipping her Caftea, she looks at Justice, wanting to see his reaction.


    Remained undeterred, Justice sips his caftea, put the cup back, and said, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re absolutely right. I came here to observe thest girl on the second exam, River Anne, was it?¡±


    Chief Ca scoffed at the crown prince. She didn¡¯t believe him at all. It was obvious to the chief how much Justice cared about the safety of River Anne. His gaze when Anne was carried to the infirmary it wasn¡¯t your typical curiosity, but rather a concern that he tried to hide from the others. He deeply cared about the purple hair girl.


    ¡°So, you came here to assist her? Wait, are you her sponsored? Cause I know she is a silver pass recipient.¡± Asked Chief Hale to Justice. He was actually in his own way, very curious about Anne himself. Her skill was beyond anything that he could hope for from an exam participant.


    ¡°Yes, I am her sponsor. I... have some duty in her vige back then, when she and her parents save my friend¡¯s lives.¡± Justice sincerely tells his story to chief Hale, as for he knows this is good bait for the chiefs to have more sympathy for Anne, ¡°I do realize she doesn¡¯t have much magica, but her skill and knowledge is something that you can¡¯t...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I need to stop you there, your majesty.¡± said chief Ca, suddenly, ¡°As for now, River Anne might be failed on her second exam evaluation.¡±


    Justice¡¯s calm demeanor shifted. His red ruby eyes stared at chief Ca, challenging her directly because he doesn¡¯t like what he had just heard from the chief¡¯s mouth, herself.

 Chapter 59

    59 We can talk about her


    There¡¯s tensioning from chief Ca and Justice, both of them looking like they¡¯re going to start a war anytime soon. The two of them still looking at each other, hardly moving or even blinking. The other chief looked at them, trying so hard to ease the tension.


    ¡°Maybe we need to be exined to the crown prince clearer this time, chief Ca?¡± Said, chief Hale. He was so fed up with how judgemental chief Ca can be.


    Justice¡¯s attention finally went to chief Hale. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Said Justice to chief Hale.


    ¡°You heard her, she said might be, so the answer is not definitive,¡± Chief Hale exined the situation more clearly for Justice, ¡°Our evaluation will go through another group of high-ranking healers, they will reassess and re-evaluate everything, and then it will determine the final score for the second exam.¡±


    ¡°So... that¡¯s mean...¡±


    ¡°River Anne still needs to be evaluated, just like the rest of them.¡± Said Chief Hale, his eyes ncing shortly at chief Ca. He didn¡¯t like how she remained quiet in her seat. ¡°Am I right, chief Ca?¡±


    Chief Ca let out a sigh and finally agreed with chief Hale, ¡°Yes, she... like the rest of them still going to be judged by the other high-ranking healers,¡± Her eyes goes to Justice, trying so hard to question his authority inside the main hospital, ¡°You see, your majesty, a certified healer is a prestige that is not for everyone could achieve, especially for a person who thinks that she could use any way to be one.¡±


    A rage came into Justice. chief Ca was not just questioning Anne¡¯s motive, she also undermining his authority, his hand trembling, not from fear but from a fuming rage that came from inside of him. A smirk was visible on chief Ca¡¯s face. She was trying to provoke Justice, thankfully the crown prince saw her mischievous way.


    He masked the rage that came byughing as hard as he can, making the three chiefs astonished by his sudden change of mood.


    .....


    ¡°You¡¯re an amusing person, chief Ca, I was so entertained by your humor.¡± Said Justice while he wiped a tear from his face.


    Chief Ca¡¯s face bes grim all of a sudden. She red at him, voicing her opinion. ¡°I don¡¯t see any words that I have spoken as humor, your majesty?¡±


    ¡°It is, for me.¡± Said Justice, challenging chief Ca, ¡°You see, chief, when you¡¯re questioning River Anne¡¯s ability as a healer, you¡¯re also questioning me as her sponsor. Did you question my intention as her sponsor, chief Ca?¡± Justice¡¯s ruby-red eyes were ring with anger. His face was smiling, but not in his eyes.


    The atmosphere inside the lounge room bes unbearable to the others, while chief Ca and Justice stare at each other. Chief Hale tried to be in the middle of the confrontation. He cleared his throat and attempted to speak to Justice.


    ¡°I must say, your majesty, chief Ca never meant to undermine your motive or your authority, her words sometimes brazen but it wasn¡¯t with ill intention.¡±


    Looking at the good intentioning from chief Hale, Justice finally gives in. he stands up from his seat and excuses himself.


    ¡°As for how eloquent your words are trying to defend your colleague, I will leave this matter as it is,¡± said Justice, smiling at chief Hale, and then his eyes goes to chief Ca, ¡°For now.¡±


    He step outside of the lounge room as soon as he gave the indirect warning to chief Ca. Bernard already waiting for him in the hallway, with documents in his hands.


    ¡°That was all?¡± Asked Justice to his chief guard.


    ¡°In their defense, the investigation is still ongoing, your majesty.¡±


    Justice scoffed, expressing his dissatisfaction. ¡°Ugh, fine. You go ahead to the carriage and wait for me.¡±


    Bernard was surprised. He tried to chase Justice, ¡°Your majesty... Her majesty the empress already waiting for you.¡±


    ¡°I will be quick. Just wait for me, and don¡¯t you dare to follow me!¡±


    Leaving his chief guard behind, Justice fastens his walk and goes to the inner side of the main hospital. Meanwhile, in the lounge room, chief Hale has a heated debate with chief Ca. The other chief already excuses himself away from all the negativity. For chief Hale, the one that was oozing negativity was chief Ca.


    ¡°You know Ca, what exactly is your problem with the crown prince?¡± Asked chief Hale, he tap his fingers on his cheek, while his eyes gaze into chief Ca, curiosity blended with annoyance came into him, ¡°You basically questioning your majesty¡¯s motive and also mocking the most brilliant young girl that we ever saw, just because the crown prince is her sponsor.¡±


    ¡°A brilliant girl with a five percent magica? You¡¯re kidding me, Hale.¡± Ca gave him a look, even scoffed at him, a sign of how low she thought about Anne, ¡°Not to mention her at such a young age, already seducing the crown prince, and I¡¯ve heard not only our crown prince, also his...¡±


    Chef Hale ms the wooden table with his bare hand. ¡°Would you just stop, Ca! Get a hold of yourself!¡± His expression says it all. He was fed up with her ndering attitude, ¡°Ca, you¡¯re my friend and I respect your ability as one of the best medicinal healers in this kingdom, but your clouded judgment makes you...¡±


    Chief Hale couldn¡¯t even finish his sentence, he walks away from chief Ca and intend to get out of the lounge room.


    ¡°I do hope you will change your mind in the final evaluation, Ca...¡± Said chief Hale, chief Ca still in denial, she sips her caftea and pretend she doesn¡¯t hear any words from chief Hale, ¡°Please, Ca, she is a talented young girl, have a heart, do you want to destroy her dream over some baseless rumor?¡±


    He left the lounge room, where Ca stay behind, alone with her own mind. Chief Hale could never guess what kind of act chief Ca will do at the final evaluation. He prayed Anne will do an excellent score on her third exam.


    ¡°Aaah... it is a month from now,¡± mumbled chief Hale, while his face basked in the sun by the window. ¡°I wish you good luck, girl, with purple hair.¡±


    In the other ce of the Valorian kingdom, in the main library, Xavier was in a disarray, his huge figure towering over everyone around. He looks in every section for the tome, but to no avail. Murmuringing from every corner of the room, Xavier does stand out from the crowd, a ck hair with full red lips, and eyes with a color of shimmering gold.


    ¡°Excuse me, sir Xavier?¡±


    Someone called for him from behind, Xavier looks up to see a librarian smiling at him.


    ¡°Yes? Can I help you?¡± Asked Xavier, confused to see a librarian calling for him.


    ¡°Our chief librarian wishes to see you, sir.¡± said the librarian to the huntsman captain.


    One of his eyebrows raised from this unexpected news, ¡°Your chief librarian? What happened?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s best if you would follow me. I will escort you to our chief office, sir.¡± The librarian refused to give him the answer.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll follow you then. Lead the way.¡± Xavier finally give in to the request, he rustled his hair and follow the librarian.


    The office of the chief librarian was on the third floor of the main library, there was also a lounge room, administrative office, and a ce to rest on the third floor, every civil service building always has a lounge room and a ce to rest for their civil servants. Every building needs to be kept a close eye for any intruder. That¡¯s why there¡¯s a twenty-hour with three shifts for the civil servants.


    The librarian takes him to one of the chief librarian¡¯s offices with the namete Rody. He knocked and someone asked them toe inside. Xavier saw an elder gentleman inside, smiling at him.


    ¡°Ah, there you are. Thank you so much, Andy, you could go now.¡± Said the chief librarian to the young librarian, who escorted Xavier to him.


    When there¡¯s no one around anymore, Xavier looks at chief Rody with a frown on his face, ¡°I am sorry, but do I know you?¡±


    Chief Rody chuckled at the young man. He then asked him to sit on the chair in front of his desk. Xavier was reluctant at first, but finally sat after much consideration, after all, he could just overpower the elder if he want to do something funny to him, thought Xavier.


    ¡°I know that you¡¯re confused about this whole situation, but let me assure you, I wanted to help. Your majesty, the crown prince asked me to assist you to search for a certain tome.¡±


    ¡°D*mn, old man, why don¡¯t you say so?!¡± Said Xavier, a bit enthusiastically, he then realized that he was cursing in front of a high-rank officer and also an elderly, ¡°My apology, chief, I have a crude way of speaking sometimes.¡±


    The chief librarian raised his hand, ¡°No need to apologize, now, after researching the tome on my own, sadly the tome is no longer here in the main library.¡±


    ¡°Really? What happened to the tome? Was it destroyed in the great fire seven years ago?¡±


    There was a fire that happened in every library in the whole kingdom. Rare manuscripts, tomes, and books were destroyed and be ashes. It takes five years to rebuild everything. They never catch the culprit.


    ¡°The copy, yes. But... the original, it survived.¡± Answered chief Rody to Xavier.


    Xavier¡¯s eyes glinted with hope. ¡°Thank Gods! So, where can I find the real deal?¡±


    Smiling at Xavier, chief Rody ps his hands and leans to his chair. ¡°It was located inside a mausoleum, so, hope you¡¯re not afraid of a ghost?¡±

 Chapter 60

    60 To find a clue


    Inside the chief librarian¡¯s office, there was our huntsman captain, having a conversation with the chief librarian. With Justice¡¯s order, chief Rody gave the location of the lost forbidden tome. Although the copy was destroyed by the great fire seven years ago, the real tome is hidden inside a mausoleum.


    ¡°Inside a mausoleum? Why is it a freaking thing that a precious, rare tome will be located inside a mausoleum?¡± Xavier just couldn¡¯t believe his ears, not because he needed to go into a probably haunted ce to retrieve a forbidden tome. ¡°Why were there no attempts to retrieve the books from the mausoleum? Isn¡¯t one of the librarian¡¯s jobs to preserve documents and every kind of literature in the kingdom?¡±


    ¡°The crown prince has already warned me about your brash attitude,¡± said chief Rody, with a smile on his face. He kind of liked the young man, amoner who became a custom noble because of his achievements. Chief Rody is one of the crown prince¡¯s loyal followers, a custom noble himself. He owed everything to King Leon, Justice¡¯s true father.


    ¡°Can¡¯t help it, just in my nature,¡± replied Xavier with a smirk. He was indeed brash and rude sometimes, but that wasn¡¯t really his intention. Unlike the three of his best friends, Xavier was raised in an unconventional household.


    Tilted his head, trying to figure out the person in front of him, chief Rody just agreed with Xavier, ¡°I guess so, we never know about someone¡¯s past, and, of course, their nature.¡± He gave Xavier a set of keys, an old engraved one. ¡°This is the key to the Beyor cemetery, the tome was inside one of the mausoleums.¡±


    Xavier frowned, a disbelievable look came into his face. ¡°You are joking, right? Beyor cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries with almost a hundred mausoleums and it took us one day by carriage to reach it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not the one that decided to keep a forbidden tome in there, captain.¡± Chief Rody smirked at Xavier, obviously amused by his reaction, ¡°Just think of it as an adventure.¡±


    Xavier scoffed, ¡°Yeah, easy for you to say, you¡¯re not the one who¡¯s going to an old cemetery for a book.¡±


    ¡°Oh, trust me, I don¡¯t want to go there myself, and I suggest you wouldn¡¯t go there alone as well,¡± said chief Brody. He called reached into a small mirror in his desk and called someone through the mirror.


    .....


    They called it a two-way mirror is a short-distancemunication. Recent technology from the Alchemists¡¯ department, they are trying to increase the distance but as for now, the only way themunication will work is inside an enclosed area.


    There¡¯s a knocking on the door. Chief Rody gave permission to enter, and the librarian who took Xavier here ising inside the room.


    ¡°Ah, Andy, thank you foring, so let me introduce you once again to the captain of the huntsman, sir Xavier,¡± Chief Rody introduced Xavier to the librarian once more, and gave the two of them a piece of surprising news, ¡°You will be apanied sir Xavier to retrieve an old tome on Beyor Cemetery.¡±


    ¡°Ye... Yes, chief Rody?¡± Andy was nervous, he looks at Xavier and then his chief several times, ¡°I... I am sorry. Could I maybe forfe...¡±


    ¡°No, you can¡¯t Andy, you¡¯re a junior librarian, you need this new skill more than everyone here.¡± Said chief Rody ring at the already scared librarian, ¡°Besides, what exactly you¡¯re afraid of about Beyor cemetery?¡±


    ¡°Well... it¡¯s everything about it, chief, Beyor cemetery is a legendary haunted cemetery.¡± The poor librarian tried everything he could to avoid the mission.


    Xavier was intrigued by the interaction. It was visible to him that the junior librarian was afraid of a ghost, or it was supposed to be by the looks of it. He tried to calm Andy and gave him a good reason not to be afraid, but all the reasons just make the librarian more afraid than before. With a pale face and with a heavy heart, Andy epted the mission while excusing himself from the room.


    ¡°Should he really go to this mission?¡± Xavier asked chief Rody, while his finger was pointing at the door behind him, ¡°I mean, that poor man almost fainted just by the mention of Beyor cemetery.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll live,¡± Said chief Rody, waving his hand casually, ¡°Now, the important question is, when do you n to go?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m on active duty this week, and, of course, still need to discuss this with the crown prince. I¡¯ll keep in touch as soon as possible.¡±


    They parted ways with a handshake. Xavier immediately goes back to the main hospital, hoping to see Anne from afar before he return to his office in the east forest. He galloped for the entire journey, just in time to see four guards enter the main hospital. Curious about the sightings, he took the horse to the stable station and entered through the same door where he saw the guards earlier.


    He followed one of the guards into the inner building. A chief healer talks to the guard and takes them away. Xavier tried to follow, but a hand grabbed his arm from behind.


    ¡°Xavier? What are you doing here?¡± Asked one of the guards.


    Xavier knew the guard, they seldom have a chat in the bar, ¡°Hey Foster, I could ask the same question, what the hell happened?¡±


    ¡°It was madness, one of the exam participants got injured and was brought to the emergency room,¡±


    ¡°Really? Who?¡±


    Foster¡¯s face was grim, he gave a sympathetic look and pointed at the room where the incident happened, ¡°I don¡¯t know, I just got here, but I¡¯ve heard the suspect was a fellow participant as well, that poor girl, her right hand was crushed.¡±


    Xavier had a bad feeling about this. He asked Foster one more time, ¡°A girl? Who is it?¡±


    ¡°Hmm... She¡¯s a silver pass recipient, her name... Oh yeah, Anne, she has very beautiful purple-colored hair that I have never seen before.¡±


    As soon as Foster says the victim was Anne, Xavier rushed into the emergency room, ignoring the call from Foster. He asked around frantically trying to find her until one of the senior healers saw him.


    ¡°Excuse me, what happened here? You¡¯re disturbing the other patients.¡±


    Xavier turns his face to the senior healer, ¡°Anne, where is she? Answered me, where is she?¡±


    ¡°Alright, calm down...¡± The senior healer saw the uniform with the captain¡¯s emblem attached, ¡°Captain, you need to calm down, Anne... Anne who?¡±


    ¡°Anne... Uhm... River Anne, the silver pass participant, where is she?¡±


    ¡°Oh, miss Anne, she is undergoing a small surgery right now. You could wait at the...¡±


    Xavier grabs the shoulder of the healer, ¡°What?! A surgery?¡±


    The captain huntsman¡¯s voice echoed throughout the hall of this vast hospital, everyone around them either looking confused or afraid of him. The senior healer tried once again to calm him down. One thing that he needs to be sure of is the peaceful environment for the patients and their families.


    ¡°Captain, please followed me, miss Anne will be alright, like I said, it was just a small surgery.¡± Said the senior healer, with a soft-spoken voice.


    Xavier nodded his head and followed the healer. When they reached the room, he peeked through the window where he saw Anne being treated by another senior healer. She was smiling at the senior healer, while enthusiastically talking about something. He didn¡¯t like even one bit, he was fine if Anne conversed and smiled to his best friends, but not with another man outside his circle.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the b*sta... I mean the senior healer who treated the girl?¡± Asked Xavier, his eyes still focusing on the room.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s Tim, the senior healer in the emergency room. Don¡¯t worry, she is in good hands.¡±


    The senior healer then excused himself, while Xavier stared at the scene from the emergency room. Although he hated to see how Anne made an acquaintance with the senior healer, he didn¡¯t want to leave her until the operation was done. Her right hand was in bandages. The junior healer informed him that one of her fingernails was crushed by the impact, it appeared someone stomped into her hand.


    Xavier knew right away, the act was intentional. He left the emergency room and left the main hospital. When night came, Xavier and Justice were already inside their usual room at the bar. They were drinking in silence, and each of them have their own set of problems, to begin with.


    ¡°What happened to Anne?¡± Xavier was the first to voice his concern.


    Justice let out a sigh, ¡°I was hoping you wouldn¡¯t notice it this early.¡±


    ¡®The f*ck Justice! She got bullied again, am I right?!¡± Xavier said to Justice, his hand mming into the wooden table.


    ¡°Calm down, nothing is for certain, I¡¯ve already ordered Bernard to lead the investigation.¡±


    ¡°How can you calm the f*ck down?! her fingers were crushed, and one of them is without a nail after the incident. You know how painful that was?!¡± Xavier was insanely desperate to find some answer from Justice. ¡°At least tell me who¡¯s the suspect.¡±


    ¡°No need to, Bernard is already on the case, we have another thing to do,¡± Said Justice while massaging his temple. He couldn¡¯t let Xavier get a hold of the name of the culprits, obsessions sometimes know no boundaries, ¡°Chief Rody told me about the Beyor cemetery, we need to go there as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°No! What about Anne?¡±


    ¡°Xavier, the case is in the middle of being investigated, and Anne is already in recovery. She is in good hands, trust me!¡± Justice gave him a scold, also in an attempt to calm him down. ¡°Please, Xave, the good thing we need to do for her, is to set us free from any dangerous spell. We never knew how the spell would affect us or Anne in the long run.¡±


    Xavier looked into Justice¡¯s eyes, he let out a sigh and sat with his hands folded on his chest, ¡°Fine! But I want to do one thing first.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°We need to tell Anne about the bewitched spell,¡± Xavier said the words with full confidence towards Justice, who was surprised by the words he uttered.

 Chapter 61

    61 For Her


    The seriousness on Xavier¡¯s face made the crown prince a bit surprised. He maintained his calm exterior and leaned into his seat. ¡°F*ck! I almost got fooled by it, a good one, Xave.¡±


    ¡°I am being serious, Just! Don¡¯t you think we are also the bad guys here? Don¡¯t you think she was also the victim?¡± Xavier¡¯s words are embedded directly into Justice¡¯s mind.


    ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right, such a high-level spell, it would be impossible for her to create, not to mention...¡± He remembered how distraught the poor girl was when they came into her and tried to be intimate or be inside her safe cocoon of trust. They were pushy, and he realized everything, ¡°We were also at fault here, no... All of us were the victims.¡±


    Looking at how Justice finally makes sense of his words, Xavier feels content to give him more of his opinion. ¡°Right? So please, let her know. I hate to see her in the dark like this.¡±


    ¡°Alright, as soon as Vale and Henry are back from Gaftan, let us tell Anne, everything,¡± Said Justice while smiling at Xavier, his expression then changed into a frown, ¡°For now, we need to focus on getting our hands on the arcana tome.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right, did chief Rody tell you that we need to bring a librarian with us?¡±


    ¡°Ugh, he did. Something about wanting to give the junior librarian a new skill,¡± Justice replied at Xavier¡¯s, while a wince came into his face, remembering the awkward conversation with the chief librarian earlier.


    ¡°Skill? He seems very attached to his junior librarian, a bit more caring than usual if I may say so.¡± Said Xavier while calling for the waiters for another drink.


    ¡°Well, the junior librarian is his true son, after all.¡± Justice gave Xavier the reason, which made the two of usugh, thinking how different the two of them were. Chief Rody with his calm and collected demeanor, with Andy was full of a nervous wreck.


    .....


    ¡°Poord, he almost passed out when his father informed him that he needed to go to a haunted cemetery for a book.¡± Chuckles Xavier, remembering his encounter with the father and son duo.


    ¡°He is a good father, though, a bit doting, especially when you have almost a dozen sons.¡± A warm smile came onto Justice¡¯s face. ¡°He is Leon¡¯s best friend, so I know every son that he has with his wife and another two husbands of hers.¡±


    ¡°No wonder you put your trust in him.¡±


    ¡°Yeah... especially after Javier¡¯s f*cking deration of love towards that merchant¡¯s daughter.¡± Gruntled Justice, his mind was everywhere afterst night¡¯s dinner with his family.


    Xavier took a nce at his best friend. He knows Justice loves his brothers, and already felt something bad about Amelia, the merchant¡¯s daughter. Her failed attempt to seduce Justice, and how she quickly swiftly turned her attention to Javier. Justice knew all along about Amelia¡¯s target, the empress¡¯s seat, the seat that would vie for all the women in the Valorian kingdom.


    ¡°Are you okay with it? I mean, I know she is repulsive, but having her close to Javier will be a much bigger problemter on.¡±


    Taking a long sigh, Justice wore his coat and stepped outside the bar. ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do, Javier is very much in love with her. Anyway, let¡¯s talkter. I need to wait for Kirara to return from Gaftan.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I have to go back to the east forest as well. My subordinates are probably crying by now...¡± Suddenly, Xavier remembers something important. He grabs Justice, and asked him, ¡°Wait, where is Anne? I¡¯m going to visit her.¡±


    A bit overwhelmed by Xavier¡¯s obsession, Justice gave him a re, ¡°Do you have to go? She is fine, her friends are there, also there are guards protecting her. You being there will be a new fuel for those haters and bullies.¡±


    ¡°I will go... Whether you tell me.¡± A determination from Xavier¡¯s eyes gave Justice a second thought.


    ¡°Fine, but you wille with me, that way, they will think that you¡¯re just been there because of me,¡± He gave up and shook his head, Xavier¡¯s obsession seems grew at a fast pace these days, ¡°Meet me at the main hospital, tomorrow at one o¡¯clock.¡±


    ¡°Alright, thanks Just, see you tomorrow.¡±


    They separated outside the bar. Justice took a turn back to the pce, while Xavier goes to the east gate, maintaining the east forest, one of his duty as the huntsman. The pce is still full of activity. The servants sometimes work untilte at night maintaining the pce. Justice walks to his room while giving praises to all the workers. He may be a cold prince based on his everyday expression, but he is also the mostpassionate of the three princes.


    ¡°You¡¯reing homete, again?¡±


    Justice turns around to see Javier leaning on the wall with his hands on his chest, smiling at Justice.


    ¡°You¡¯re not sleeping yet? Assuming Amelia stays the night.¡± Justice gave him a crude remark about how unconventional Amelia and Javier¡¯s rtionship is.


    ¡°She¡¯s not here, already gone home. I was so fed up with her sometimes.¡± Said Javier, while holding the back of his neck.


    Seeing how tired Javier was, Justice assumed Amelia was desperately clingy and demanding. That¡¯s Amelia. She is one of the most beautiful girls in the kingdom, with golden hair and icy blue eyes to match. Everyone was mesmerized by her for some time. Justice, at one time, also got ensnared by her beauty. He was thankful for his three friends, especially Henry¡¯s shocking revtion about her bad habits, also her sneaky intention to be the empress.


    ¡°Brother, do you really love her?¡± Asked Justice suddenly to Javier. He admitted he was curious about Javier¡¯s feelings towards Amelia.


    Javier brushed his hair and smirked at his brother. ¡°If I told you that I am, would you believe me?¡± Heughed, shook his head, and said goodnight to Justice.


    The next day, When noon finally came, Xavier already waiting for Justice, before the clock tower even chimed at one o¡¯clock. The crown prince chuckled when he saw Xavier bring something unusual in his hand.


    ¡°Why in God you brought flowers with you?¡± Justice was amused by how awkwardly Xavier right now, a huge man with scruffy hair, brought flowers and a basket of what he assumed was freshly baked food.


    Xavier red at him. ¡°None of your business! Can we just...¡± He gruntled while rustling his scruffy hair ¡°Come on, I want to meet her already.¡±


    ¡°Follow me. She¡¯s in the infirmary on the third floor.¡± Said Justice. His amusement lingered whenever he saw Xavier with the flowers and basket of food.


    They arrived on the third floor. When Xavier saw the room where Anne resided, he scoffed and took nced at Justice.


    ¡°You b*stard, you gave her your private room?¡± Xavier gritted his teeth. He pointed at the insignia with Justice¡¯s initial on the door.


    Smiling sweetly at Xavier, he said to him, ¡°she deserved the best.¡± While his hand knocked on the door.


    Rolling his eyes, Xavier then followed Justice into the inside of the room, Anne was lying on the bed, with David and Da sitting beside her on the chairs, when her eyes saw Justice and Xavier, she immediately gets up from herfortable position.


    ¡°Your majesty, Xavier, I wasn¡¯t aware that you wereing today?¡± Asked Anne with a flustered look on her face.


    ¡°Yes, I do apologize. This man here insisted on seeing you.¡± Justice gave her an answer while giving a slight nudge to Xavier.


    Xavier nced at her hand. The healers told them before they go inside that she got her homemade remedy of painkillers, and that she will take a rest at home by tomorrow. He could see that her face already had some color, unlike the pale face he saw yesterday.


    Smiling at her, Xavier goes to Anne and gave her the flowers that he brought. ¡°Hey, how are you?¡±


    A pleasant feeling came into Anne, ¡°Oh, what a beautiful flower bouquet, thank you, Xavier,¡± She said thank you and gave the flowers to Da, ¡°Please asked one of the healers to lend us a vase, beautiful flowers like this should be on a disy here.¡±


    ¡°Let me go with you.¡± David also excused himself, and the two of them goes away to give the three of them some privacy.


    Xavier and Justice getfortable on the chairs when Anne noticed a basket in Xavier¡¯s other hand.


    ¡°Oh, what else did you bring?¡±


    Grinning from ear to ear, Xavier raised the basket and said, ¡°I bought pie, from the famous bakery outskirt of the capital.¡±


    There¡¯s a glimmer of excitement on Anne¡¯s face. She squealed at the basket in Xavier¡¯s hand, ¡°Oh, wonderful, let us eat it together!¡±


    A slight smile came onto Justice¡¯s face. He loved to see her smiling and getting excited about a small thing. When he became so enamored with a person thest time, he forgot. He embraced the joy that he has. Being bound by a spell is not a curse for him anymore.


    The three of them enjoyed the Moomilk Cream pie together. It was a delicious pie, and when the two of them engaged in a conversation, Anne got lulled by the breeze from the window. She closes her eyes to take a short rest. She couldn¡¯t remember the exact time when she awaken from her quick nap, it seems Justice and Xavier were standing in front of her bed, talking about something.


    She looks into Xavier who had a grim expression, speaking to Justice, who had a simr expression.


    ¡°I just hope after we get the arcana tome, we could exin to Anne about the Bewitched spell that the four of us got from her.¡±


    Feeling aghast, she nervously asked the two of them, ¡°What?! what did I do to the four of you?¡±


    Justice and Xavier turn around to see Anne looking at them.

 Chapter 62

    62 Her resolution


    Murmuring, voices everywhere, the restless Anne just couldn¡¯t take a break. She opened her eyes slowly. Justice and Xavier seemed to have a heated debate in front of her bed. Both of them don¡¯t realize that Anne is already awake and has heard their conversation because they turn their backs on Anne.


    ¡°F*ck, I hope they find her guilty. Just imagine that kind of bully got to escape,¡± Xavier spoke his opinion after Justice exined about the suspect.


    ¡°I doubt it. Did you know that the girl and her friends were already going back to their inn?¡± A bitter smile came to Justice. ¡°The guards couldn¡¯t determine whether the case was an ident or an incident.¡±


    Anne¡¯s heart was broken when she heard the news. Rosy¡¯s malicious act was definitely not an ident. The girl had the full intention of destroying her hand. Anne knew from the moment she met Rosy. Justice and Xavier are still having a debate about her case.


    ¡°She was suffering here, while her assant ran free, so great, give my regards to Bernard.¡± Gruntled Xavier at Justice.


    Justice sighed and tried to calm Xavier, ¡°It wasn¡¯t Bernard¡¯s fault. They already announced it to him when he tried to take over the case.¡±


    ¡°The f*ck! Tell me you¡¯re going to re-open the case, right?¡± Xavier pursued Justice, obviously furious about the turnout.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I asked Bernard to re-investigate the case stealthily, though. I will not let her go. I was so furious when I saw her hand.¡±


    A smile bloomed on Anne¡¯s face, Justice and Xavier cared so much about her well-being, it warmed her heart when the two of them talked about helping her. She thought she lost their trust and support, and she never figured out why suddenly they seemed distant from her.


    .....


    Xavier gave a sigh of relief, ¡°As you should, but why do you need to keep silence about the re-investigation?¡±


    ¡°Someone may have helped her. The two other witnesses gave statements in favor of the culprit.¡± Justice exined the situation as best as he could, he knows Xavier would do worse if he revealed more than he should. ¡°For now, let us focus on retrieving the arcana tome. I¡¯m worried that the effect will linger or even worse.¡±


    Anne was frowning. She had never heard about arcana tome before; they were talking about something that maybe Anne shouldn¡¯t have heard. She felt the need to remind them about her presence, but before she could speak to the two of them, Anne overheard Xavier talking about her.


    ¡°I just hope after we get the arcana tome, we can exin to Anne about the Bewitched spell that the four of us got from her.¡±


    Feeling aghast, she nervously asked the two of them, ¡°What?! What did I do to the four of you?¡±


    Justice and Xavier turned around to see Anne looking at them. Her face was something that Justice and Xavier wished they had never seen in her. A devastating face from the shocking news. The two gentlemen shared a nce.


    ¡°Anne, how long are you...¡± asked Justice carefully.


    ¡°Long enough, I tried to distract the two of you but you seem so infested with your conversation,¡± She nced at Justice and then at Xavier, trying so hard to get an answer that she needed, ¡°Please, you need to tell me, what happened?!¡±


    Desperation on Anne¡¯s face, and also the guilt-ridden feeling that he had, gave Justice enough reason, to be honest to Anne, ¡°It will be a long story, please bear with us.¡±


    Anne nodded her head, with firm eyes locked on justice.¡± Shoot me!¡±


    Theical expression came to Justice and Xavier, ¡°What?!¡± both of them asked our heroine at the same time.


    Realizing her mistake, using metaphorical words from her old world, sheughed awkwardly and said, ¡°Nothing~ please continue~¡±


    The two of them squint their eyes, while Anne just grins at them.


    Shrugged it off as just her giving a bad joke. Justice cleared his throat and exined everything to Anne, ¡°We... I mean Vale, feel something happened to the four of us, something instantaneous and peculiar.¡±


    ¡°What? What is it?¡±


    ¡°Uhm... Our feeling... for you, Anne.¡± Xavier gave the answer to Anne while he rustled his hair.


    Her eyes widened. She never expected the answer to be something romantic, ¡°Feelings?! The... The four of you have feelings for me?!¡±


    The realization came to Anne a bit toote. She never thought about every tease, smiled, asionally nced, and smiled. There was a feeling involved. In her old world, not every interaction could be a feeling. Later on, that¡¯s why she never borated on their closeness towards her. Now she felt foolish.


    Chuckling at Anne¡¯s shocking confession, Justice walks towards her, and cups her chin, ¡°Listen here, miss River Anne. As the crown prince of this kingdom, I rarely pay any attention to a girl, but here we are.¡± He said the words with full confidence to Anne.


    Flustered by it, she couldn¡¯t even say any words back to Justice. Her eyes lingered on his red-ruby eyes, for once. The crown prince loved her reaction, his thumb rubbed her chin softly, an intoxicating smell tempting his nose so suddenly. Xavier took it upon himself to pry the crown prince away from our heroine.


    ¡°This is why we need to be careful! You said it yourself, now look at you!¡± Xavier gruntled while he pulled Justice away from Anne.


    There¡¯s a reason why the bewitched spell is categorized as a high-level spell. The effect is intoxicating and sometimes even deadly. Vale has a very good reason to be afraid. He wasn¡¯t worried about himself and the other three; he was worried about the safety of the girl. For them, Anne is bing a flower, a very sweet aroma thates from her will entice them to be near her, and to break open the flower to taste what¡¯s left inside of her.


    Justice shook his head several times, trying to break away from the spell. He looks at Anne and Xavier, ¡°D*mn! The spell is getting stronger now.¡±


    ¡°Your fault as well. Why do you even go to her, so casually.¡± Said Xavier, while he put his hands on his hips. He was ring at his best friend.


    ¡°Are you alright, your majesty?¡± Anne asked the crown prince, even though her face was flustered by the romantic gesture that she had received earlier.


    ¡°I¡¯ve told you to call my name when there¡¯s no one around.¡± Justice looked at her, while a sigh came from his mouth.


    Anne then pointed out Xavier, ¡°But... There¡¯s Xavier here.¡±


    ¡°When I say alone, the three of them also consider as the extended version of mine, so they call me casually even when Xavier, Vale, and Henry are around.¡± Said Justice, trying to exin how deep his friendship with Henry, Vale, and Xavier.


    ¡°I... I¡¯ll keep them in mind... Justice.¡± With a meek voice, she called Justice¡¯s name.


    If it¡¯s not for Xavier, Justice would have run towards Anne and given her something that he had never done to another girl. It seemed to him, the spell still lingered a bit. Xavier ordered him to sit far away from Anne, while he tried to continue their conversation about the spell.


    Justice was in a bit surprised, Xavier seemed to be unaffected as much as him. He stared at him while Xavier spoke to Anne.


    ¡°We never know who¡¯s the one who made us inflicted, or when, but it was possible it happened in the Viora vige.¡± Said Xavier remembering their conversation at the captain¡¯s barracks.


    Our heroine feels pressured, she feels like everything happened because of her. ¡°What should we do? Please, you need to trust me, I will never...¡± Once again, the feeling of being an outsider appeared on her mind, not the best feeling for her.


    During her first three years in Valorian, she always felt uneasy, even though the vigers and her adoptive parents treated her as one of them. As time went by, she learned to be more expressive and caring, and finally has a feeling that Viora vige is her hometown.


    Xavier touches her shoulder, and smiles, ¡°You don¡¯t have to feel so bad about the whole thing, you¡¯re also a victim just as much as we are.¡±


    Anne then smiled back at him, feeling grateful that the two of them didn¡¯t have an inch of anger towards her, but, another doubt came to her mind. Was it because of the spell or their genuine feelings? Anne was trying her best to hide these uneasy feelings.


    ¡°So, what is the arcana tome that the two of you spoke about earlier?¡±


    ¡°You never heard about arcana tome? We study about the tome in the elementary second grade,¡± asked Justice while frowning.


    Giving Justice one of her warmest smiles, she tried to exin her situation back then, ¡°I lost my memory at the age of ten, so...¡±


    Her words gave him quite a surprise. ¡°Oh, I am sorry Anne, so, you never regained your memory?¡± He really does feel sorry for her.


    ¡°No... Well, it¡¯s alright now, I am making peace with it,¡± said Anne to Justice. She asked Xavier another question about the arcana tome, ¡°so you need to find the arcana tome, right? Do you know the location yet?¡±


    ¡°We do. Would you believe it if I said it was in a haunted cemetery?¡± Xavier gave her a grin. He was so excited about going to Beyor cemetery.


    Even justice gives him chuckles, realizing how enthusiastic Xavier is.


    ¡°Cemetery... Hmm...¡± Mumbled Anne, while tapping her chin with her healthy hand, she took a deep breath and looked at Justice and Xavier, ¡°Take me with you.¡±


    The captain huntsman and the crown prince stop for a moment and look directly in disbelief.

 Chapter 63

    63 Giving up to her request


    The two gentlemen were horrified to hear that Anne was intending to join them at the Beyor cemetery.


    In a rage, Justice looked directly at Anne and said, ¡°Absolutely not. We are not going to have a pic, Anne!¡±


    ¡°I know! I just wanted to help, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Sorry Anne, I must agree with Justice. It would be dangerous for you to be with us.¡± Xavier also tried to persuade Anne to abandon her wish to go to Beyor¡¯s cemetery.


    ¡°I can help you, you know my skill in medicine, and now, I even have a bit of magica inside of me.¡± Anne still trying to convince the two of them, although the increase in her magica is still a mystery to her.


    A sympathetic look adorned Justice¡¯s face, he hated to be the bearer of bad news. ¡°Anne, your magica ising from the bangle that Vale gifted to you, that¡¯s the portion of Vale¡¯s magica inside of you.¡±


    ¡°I see, I knew it was too good to be true.¡± She feels bitter, thinking that the magica doesn¡¯t belong to her.


    ¡°Wait, Anne, we tried to help you. Having less magica is better than not having any of it in the first ce. Please, don¡¯t feel bad about this.¡± Xavier once again tried tofort her.


    ¡°I... I don¡¯t know how I feel about this, maybe after I talk to Vale,¡± Said Anne, being honest with Justice and Xavier, ¡°and about the Beyor cemetery, please let me go with you. My hand will not be a hindrance. It will be less painful within the week.¡±


    .....


    The two friends look at each other. They don¡¯t know how to convince her to give up. The journey to Beyor¡¯s cemetery is not even an easy one; one day and an encounter with a dark and mischievous road. Anne¡¯s condition is one thing that the two of them need to consider as well.


    Anne lean on her pillow, while Justice carefully took the chair. Xavier opts to be behind the crown prince, staring at the two of them. He saw a desperate and heartbroken girl, but he noticed a fire inside her. d to see her with hope in her deepest heart.


    ¡°You can join us, Anne.¡± Xavier suddenly said that, making the crown prince in front of him turn around and re at him. He ignored him and continued to speak, ¡°But I don¡¯t want you to go in this condition. We are going to give you one week. If your condition is better than that, then...¡±


    ¡°Xavier, are you out of your mind?!¡± Justice was livid. He had never in his wildest dream that Xavier would allow Anne to go into Beyor cemetery. ¡°We couldn¡¯t bring her. Do you know how dangerous the ce is, and possibly the road.¡±


    ¡°Justice!¡± Anne shouted at him, while her hand grabbed into Justice¡¯s arm, her eyes pleading to the crown prince, ¡°Please, give me a chance, I know I could be useful, and it could also help me with my next exam.¡±


    He remembered the third exam was the training field test, and although one officer was standing on guard, anything could happen. She could benefit if she joined this expedition. Justice still has a doubt, but now, he sees the good factor if she goes with them. Besides, having him and a captain of the huntsman would be safer for Anne.


    ¡°Fine! You can join us, but as Xavier said, you need to be healthier and also prove that you can defend yourself,¡± Justice, with a heavy heart, agreed to let Anne join them, ¡°One week from now, and you need to take a full rest, alright?¡±


    Her eyes shine brightly, and even though her finger that lost the nail still hurt like crazy, Anne still smiled at Xavier and Justice, ¡°Thank you so much, Justice, Xavier... I¡¯ll be healthy in one week.¡±


    Getting off his seat, Justice excused himself from our heroine. ¡°We need to prepare for the journey. I¡¯ll be seeing you a week from now. Remember, you promised to take a full rest.¡±


    Nodded at the crown prince¡¯s request, Anne cheerfully said goodbye to the two of them. Xavier was especially content to see her spirit raise. It was a good thing that he agreed to her request, and thankfully, Justice also follow suit.


    ¡°Thank you, Justice. Never imagined that you will agree to her request. I thought for sure that you would be rejected by the request and be confined in your private infirmary.¡± The two of them are on the way to the stable, as Xavier is still on duty in the east forest, and Justice also needs to go back to his studies in the pce.


    Justice gave Xavier a smirk. ¡°Confined her in the infirmary, Xavier, I am not you. All I think is for her to be healthy, so the third exam will never be a burden for her.¡±


    ¡°Oh shut up, you know I will do anything for her, even though I won¡¯t put her inside a golden cage.¡± Justice insinuated Xavier about his unhealthy obsession.


    ¡°Well, so am I. Don¡¯t you think I will let her inside a cage?¡± Then Xavier grew quiet. He turned around to Justice and said, ¡°Point taken, now. Would you give me the name of the girl that hurt our sweet girl?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think Anne would appreciate you calling her sweet,¡± Chuckled Justice, ¡°and, no, I would never give her name to you, and you should stop asking around.¡±


    ¡°Why?!¡±


    ¡°Because it is dangerous for her and you. So, I asked you nicely, Xavier, stop!¡± Justice is fed up with his way of thinking sometimes, ¡°Look, let Bernard do his job, I trust my chief guard, and we need to focus on getting the arcana tome.¡±


    There was no answering from Xavier, the only thing he did is to grunt at Justice. They parted ways as soon as they arrived at the stable. Xavier realized there was something wrong with his mind, but he just couldn¡¯t help it, something inside of him makes him the way he is. He let out a sigh and galloped his horse to the east forest.


    Justice arrived at the pce and at once went to his studies. He saw Kirara sleeping on her bed, next to the crown prince¡¯s desk.


    ¡°Kirara, you¡¯re back.¡±


    How d he was to see his familiar safe and sound. He brushed Kirara¡¯s fur softly while the familiar yipped excitingly at her master.


    ¡®I am back, master.¡¯


    ¡°I am sorry. It must be a tough journey for you.¡± He said to Kirara in a heavy tone. He felt sorry for his familiar. Gaftan is a Bordertown, so Kirara needed to run and took a short rest, only to deliver the news and then get back to him with another piece of news.


    ¡®I am fine, thank you for your concern, master. I have some news from Sir Vale and Lord Henry.¡¯


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡®The ndestine tower is still on the red warming color. The Hoard has not begun yet. They are in the middle of constructing a lot of traps. Sir Vale also asked you to keep an eye on Sir Xavier, and Lord Henry asked you to send her regards to Miss Anne.¡¯


    With a sigh and a smile, Justice spoke to Kirara while giving her a small piece of a chunk of meat, ¡°So, the ndestine tower crystal is still in a glowing red? That means the hoard is still waiting for something, but what?¡± Muttered Justice. Talking to himself, Kirara stared at her master, waiting for another delicious meat. Laughing at her family, he gave her another chunk of meat. ¡°Thank you, Kirara. You should take some rest now. We are going to have a long journey next week.¡±


    He let his familiar finish her meal, and while he took a seat at his desk, there was a lot of paperwork that he needed to review. As the crown prince, the quarter half of the duty in the kingdom goes to him. Mostly in the military section, as he is the head of the military himself.


    As minutes change to hours and hours go to a day, and day bes a week. Finally, a time to go has arrived. Anne enthusiastically waited for Justice and Xavier in her room, while Da folded her hands, sulking at her friend.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re going on an expedition,¡± gruntled Da at Anne, ¡°You¡¯re still recuperating, still need to drink your medicine regrly, that nail to not grow without that medicine!¡±


    ¡°I know, Da, I¡¯ll take my medicine regrly, alright?¡± Anne looked at her friend and gave her a warm smile. She was thankful for her friend¡¯s concern, but she knew there was something more than concern there. It was jealousy. Da is a girl that loves adventuring. She wanted the excitement of a huntsman herself. Now, only Anne had gotten the opportunity.


    After she packed her belongings, Anne turned to her familiar. ¡°Do you want to stay? I¡¯ll ask the matron to give you your meal every day.¡±


    Refusing to stay behind, Chikara meowed at his master. He jumped onto her shoulder and settled there. Anne smiled and take her basket to Chikara¡¯s bed for the rest of the journey. She walked into the lobby and hoped to wait for Justice there, another pair of blue eyes looking at her with a fit of obvious jealousy on her expression.


    Heirim steps in front of Anne, and mocks her, ¡°I see that you¡¯re waiting for your sponsor. Pity that you¡¯re bing a servant. I bet they take you along just for Justice to have his own personal maid.¡±


    ¡°Stop it Heirim!¡± Everyone around, including Heirim and Anne, turned their attention to the source of the voice. Justice stands at the front door, eyes ring at Heirim, ¡°As usual, you spewed your poison tongue everywhere, if it wasn¡¯t for your brother...¡±


    The re from the red-ruby eyes was enough for someone to tremble and submit. Heirim was shaken and with mumbled words, she ran away back to her room. Anne just stared at her, not an inch of sympathy or happiness for her.


    ¡°I can see that you¡¯re healing pretty quickly, so shall we go now?¡± said Justice, while taking her to the carriage.


    The Beyor cemetery expedition is now begin.

 Chapter 64

    64 The expedition begin


    ¡°Anne! So d that our esteemed crown prince allowed you to apany us on this expedition.¡±


    Xavier suddenly gave Anne a tight hug, very unexpected for Anne, everything became more awkward after Justice entered the carriage.


    ¡°Alright, what happened here?¡± Asked Justice after he saw how red Anne¡¯s face was.


    ¡°I hug her, so suddenly, that¡¯s why,¡± Said Xavier with a grin, he then turn to his left, where Anne was seated. ¡°I will me it on the spell if it¡¯s alright.¡±


    ¡°Ugh! Xavier, you¡¯re crazy,¡± Anne mumbled while she looks out the window, ¡°What exactly happened to you? I mean, I know Henry is the one that has all the romantic gestures, but you?¡±


    ¡°Oh, Xavier is just as bad as Henry, you just don¡¯t know it yet.¡± Justice chuckled while he let off his leather glove, ¡°Truthfully, the four of us sometimes do something spontaneous like this, so... maybe you should get used to it.¡±


    With a very confident smirk, The crown prince stared at the bashful Anne. She still pretends to not listen to either of them. Xavier and Justice throw each other a nce, and they burst intoughter, knowing how stiff Anne was right now.


    ¡°Anne, I am sorry, I truly am.¡± Said Xavier, his hand wiping tears from his eyes, ¡°I am not going to do it again.¡±


    The words that wereing from Xavier¡¯s mouth finally gain some attention from Anne. Her eyes gazed into the captain huntsman. ¡°Promise?¡±


    .....


    ¡°Yes, with all my heart, my beautiful Miss Anne,¡± Xavier says to Anne with a very soft tone and mncholia in his golden eyes.


    No word can be uttered by our brave heroine, just as she was also bewitched herself, even though she isn¡¯t the one under the spell. The two of them continued to have a conversation, while Anne took care of Chikara on herp.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t believe it, almost two weeks and the hoards did not even appear.¡± Xavier was gruntling. He was worried about the peculiar sign on the ndestine tower.


    The ndestine tower is the invention of the alchemia tower. A crystal inside the tower will give a sign of warning for the kingdom, a pre-warning for the citizen in the border town. The tower begins to change color, from the safe green into the warning yellow, when the color changes to red, that¡¯s when the hoard is approaching. A red color stays inside the crystal for almost two weeks now.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Vale and Horden were there. It¡¯s also a good time for Henry to practice,¡± Justice tried to calm Xavier, his eyes then nces at Anne, ¡°How are you getting along with him?¡±


    Anne turns his attention to Justice. ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    He pointed at Chikara, who was happily eating his small chunk of meat. ¡°That familiar of yours, it¡¯s a demon cat, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the retired knight named Horden told me about him, but Chikara is not a pure demon cat species. He is a hybrid.¡± Said Anne while her hand brushed into Chikara¡¯s fluffy fur.


    ¡°Horden told me about your encountered, a very interesting one.¡± A mysterious smirk adorned Justice¡¯s face.


    Xavier looks at Chikara, he asked permission to take a looks at the cat, Anne nodded her head, and he pick Chikara from Anne¡¯sp, his hand brushed at her thigh for a short moment, she doesn¡¯t know how to feel about the sensation that lingered on her.


    ¡°Yes, he is, I believe it was the snow leopard that has mated with the demon cat, based on his white fluffy fur and the type of square ears he has.¡± Xavier assessed Chikara¡¯s traits, while he examined and brushed on his fur and body.


    ¡°Snow leopard? No wonder, his mother had ck short fur, and he got white and fluffy fur all over him,¡± She smiled at her familiar, who meowed back at her, ¡°You hear that Chikara, you¡¯re a hybrid, just like as we suspected.¡±


    Xavier gave Chikara back to Anne. Justice smiled at her and said, ¡°Xavier is a good huntsman. He knows how to determine the monster and animal traits just by observing them.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so not every huntsman can do as Xavier does?¡± Asked Anne, she turn to Xavier, who seems a bit shy after getting praise from Justice.


    ¡°Of course not. The other needs the traditional method of using their scan spell. Sometimes even need extra work with an alchemist using the monster or the animal blood sample.¡± Once again, it was Justice who answered Anne¡¯s question, while thetter just smiled in his seat, not even uttering any words.


    Feels like Xavier have something to say as well, she pokes into his arm and tried to ask him directly, ¡°Really? So you¡¯re that good?¡±


    A warm smile goes directly from Xavier, he shakes his head as the answer, ¡°No, I easily saw the traits of every animal and monster but not for any hidden power, I still need to use my scan spell,¡± Xavier then kick into Justice¡¯s leg, ¡°Stop making stuff up, seriously Just.¡±


    Justiceughed at him while raising his hand, ¡°Oh,e on, no need to be modest. You be a captain two years ago. If it wasn¡¯t for Vale, you¡¯re the youngest captain in the history of the Valorian kingdom.¡±


    ¡°No need to hear his bbered, Anne.¡± Said Xavier while he tried to close the crown prince¡¯s mouth.


    Anne could see how close they were, smiling when the two of them wrestling around the carriage. They evenughed so naturally at each other. She tilted her head and asked either of them, ¡°So, how old are you?¡±


    ¡°Henry and I are the oldest, twenty-five years old, while Xavier is twenty-three and Vale is twenty-two.¡± Answered justice while he was panting and his red hair bing scruffy after he wrestled with Xavier earlier. Anne desperately wanted to run his hand all over his hair.


    Justice sees a strange expression on Anne¡¯s. ¡°Anne, are you alright?¡±


    Realizing that she must stare creepily at Justice, her face flushed with all shades of red, ¡°Oh, uhm... nothing, so... Xavier, Vale, and Henry be civil servants in the same year, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they were, Henry was entering the same year as them because at first, he doesn¡¯t want to join the military, he wanted to be an administrative servant rather than the military branch of the civil service,¡± Justice exined everything to Anne with his vast knowledge, while Anne looking at him, concentrating in every word that came from his mouth.


    In the Valorian kingdom, the civil servants have two branches that you can choose from, the administrative branch, such as a librarian and the alchemist. As for the military side, there is a healer, knight and magic knight, huntsman, and of course the magi.


    Anne, lost in her thought for a moment, afterward, she looks into Xavier and Justice, trying to figure out something odd, ¡°So originally, Henry doesn¡¯t want to be a knight? Howe? I¡¯m sorry if I seem to be a noisy girl, but I¡¯ve talked to Henry before... never urred to me that he hates to be a knight.¡±


    The two men looking at each other, this time it was Xavier who answered her question, ¡°The truth is, we never know the main reason for it, he never told Justice about it, and of course to me and Vale as well.¡±


    The carriage suddenly stop, it wasn¡¯t even two hours gone by. Anne saw a man wearing a cloaking inside the carriage, a young man, with pale skin and small beady eyes. He was nervous, especially when his eyes met with Xavier and Justice.


    ¡°Ah... uhm... your majesty, sir Xavier,¡± The young man nces at his side and saw Anne, ¡°Miss, how do you do?¡±


    A polite man from Anne¡¯s perspective, too bad he was a nervous wreck, couldn¡¯t even stop shaking after he was seated beside her. Xavier opts to sit beside Justice and let Anne seated in front of the crown prince, it was obvious that he tried to help the nervous young men. The carriage begins to speed up, this time they almost reach the north gate and go to the Beyor cemetery.


    Xavier introduces the young man to our heroine, ¡°Anne, let me introduce you to Andy, he is the junior librarian that will help the expedition.¡±


    ¡°How do you do, mister Andy? My name is Anne.¡± Said Anne with a smile to the nervous young man beside her.


    ¡°Please, just call me Andy, miss.¡±


    ¡°Then you should call me Anne as well. Deal?¡± Anne offered him her hand, and he smiles and shakes the hand.


    Looking at the interaction between the two of them, Justice¡¯s gaze immediately goes to Xavier, just as he suspected, Xavier red at Andy. Clearing his throat, he tried to distract Anne and Andy. Vale was right, he need to keep an eye on Xavier all the time.


    ¡°So, Andy, your chief librarian told me you¡¯re so afraid ofing to Beyor¡¯s cemetery. Howe?¡± Justice needs to make a conversation with Andy just to distract the young man¡¯s attention away from Anne.


    Apparently, it is working in Justice¡¯s favor. Andy is skittish and mumbled, ¡°Oh, your majesty, it¡¯s because of the history of the ce... you know... the massacre.¡±


    Anne immediately focuses on Andy. ¡°What?! the massacre?¡±

 Chapter 65

    65 Legend of the Beyor family (part 1)


    ¡°What? What massacre? Did you mean there¡¯s a massacre inside the cemetery?!¡±


    Never urred to Anne¡¯s mind that Beyor¡¯s cemetery had a dark past. The only thing she heard about the ce was how, for generations, people were so afraid of Beyor¡¯s cemetery, supposed to be the most haunted ce near the capital. Her face begins to pale. One thing that she always hides from everyone in her old world is that she was actually a coward.


    She could handle one or two jumping scared whenever she goes to a haunted house theme park with her friends. After all, she is a woman who doesn¡¯t have any expression. Anne could never scream properly or even cry because of how scared she was. Anne handled the scare with no console from anyone.


    They thought she was a brave woman, not in the slightest. For Anne, living with her Alexithymia was a struggle. Society always saw her as the cold one, the one with no grasp on the situation, which was wrong. She felt everything, but she never knew how to express the feeling that came from any situation. If it wasn¡¯t for Ed and Martha, she still doesn¡¯t know the meaning of every expression that she finally gained.


    Andy looking so confused at Anne, ¡°You never know the legend of the Beyor family?¡±


    ¡°No... I know that Beyor¡¯s cemetery is actually a family burial ground, but I never knew there was a massacre involved.¡± Anne tried to give Andy her reason to be so gullible about the history of the Beyor cemetery.


    ¡°Anne wasn¡¯t from the capital, Andy, she is the silver pass recipient for this year¡¯s entrance exam,¡± Said Justice to Andy, it was admirable to Anne how Justice tried to help her, but then, he said, ¡°She was living on a remote vige, not very knowledgeable beside her capacity as a good healer.¡±


    Looking aghast at Justice, Anne blurted out words to defend herself, ¡°Excuse me Jus... I mean, your majesty?!¡±


    A smirk came on Justice¡¯s face. ¡°What? it¡¯s the truth though,¡± He get closer to Anne, his body engulfing her, while his red-ruby eyes stared directly at her, ¡°Do you have any objection, miss River Anne?¡± his warm breath tingling her senses.


    .....


    Xavier got annoyed by her reaction. He pulled Justice back to his seat, while Andy looks at the three of them with confusion on his face. Xavier gave Justice a warning look, but the crown prince just shrugged it and chuckled in his seat.


    ¡°We have a long journey until we reached the inn, Andy. Why don¡¯t you tell us about the legend? I¡¯m sure Anne would appreciate it.¡± Said Xavier, after he red constantly at Justice.


    Andy became so excited, ¡°Yes, sir, that¡¯s a good idea!¡±


    The other passengers of the carriage were d. Andy looks calmer than before. He cleared his throat and begin his story.


    ¡°Once upon a time, there was a distinguished noble called Richard Beyor. He was a schr, a high-ranking alchemist.¡± Andy¡¯s storytelling waspelling and had a good tone. He built up the tension even from the beginning. ¡°Richard Beyor had a wife and three handsome sons, Troy Beyor, Ralf Beyor, and Drake Beyor. They lived happily in their own plot ofnd away from the capital until the empress called for Richard Beyor to go to the capital for urgent matters.¡±


    Anne¡¯s eyes grew to widen, she was so infested by Andy¡¯s story she failed to notice two pairs of eyes looking at her with admiration. Justice and Xavier knew the whole story of the Beyor cemetery. Both of them were focused on Anne instead, rather than Andy.


    ¡°Richard Beyor goes to the capital immediately, leaving his family behind, some said that Richard Beyor was bing the new lover of the empress,¡± Andy still enthusiastically telling the story, this time with more hand gestures and movement, ¡°Some said he had a lover inside the capital, some said his dedication to his work, every rumor lead from a fact that Richard Beyor never leaves the capital until his demised five yearster.¡±


    ¡°Five years? I mean, there was plenty of time for his family to go to the capital. Howe they never visit Richard Beyor?¡± Anne tried to ask a question to Andy.


    Andy scratches his head, thinking of an answer. ¡°That... that was true. Howe they never visited Richard Beyor for five years?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s simple. There¡¯s no record of his family going to visit him for five years. That¡¯s why the story mostlyes from the surviving document over the years.¡± Said Justice, while he stretches his arms, seems like he was going to take a nap inside the carriage.


    Anne immediately grab his arm and asked, ¡°Wait, so the legend is based onpiling documents? There¡¯s a timeline for the story, then?¡±


    ¡°Sadly, we never know, it was allegedly the real documents about the story of the Beyor family, but there are no other living people that could get us the real story about the family,¡± Answered Justice, he pull his arm from Anne¡¯s grip, ¡°Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me, I have a long day, you can hear the story more from the librarian.¡±


    With it, Justice snoozes over in his seat. Anne could see dark shadows under his eyes. The crown prince was tired. Xavier touch her shoulder and smiled at her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind him. He rarely slept this past week, so much paperworking for him.¡±


    Anne nodded her head, ¡°Yeah, I can see his dark circle, poor man, I¡¯ll brew him some tonic when we arrived at the inn,¡± Anne then turned her head to Andy, ¡°I wanted to know more of the story, but please maybe not as loud as before.¡±


    A slight smile came onto Justice¡¯s face. He felt warm inside when the girl noticed his unfit condition. An unfamiliar feeling, but he loves it all the same. He continued to lull into his sleep, leaving Xavier and Anne to hear the rest of the story from Andy.


    ¡°So, that¡¯s about it, five years in his own townhouse, until deathes knocking on his door.¡± Andy¡¯s storytelling evolves. In Anne¡¯s mind, the young man really fits into bing a narrator.


    ¡°So, what happened after his death?¡± Asked Anne. She was invested in the story now.


    ¡°They called his family, and that¡¯s when his now grown sons came to fetch the deceased, they rest inside the townhouse, waiting for the morning toe...¡± Only the sound of a galloping horse outside that can be heard inside the carriage, everyone grew quieter, waiting for Andy to continue his story, ¡°They make a deal to guard their father¡¯s dead body in turn for every three hours, Troy got the first shift, while his brothers get some much need its rest. The night was still young when Troy heard a sounding from his father¡¯s study room.¡±


    The atmosphere bing creepier by the minute, it is high noon right now, Andy took nces at his audience, both of them were looking at him, he cleared his throat and continued the story, ¡°Troy came inside the room, there¡¯s a golden device on the desk of his deceased father. He tried to pick up the device, when a scream came from the other room, the room where they kept Richard Boyer¡¯s dead body.¡±


    ¡°Oh my God.¡± Anne was muttering, while her face be much paler than before.


    Xavier noticed and asked her, ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes... Yes, continue Andy. I want to know the ending.¡± Said Anne, nervously at the librarian.


    Andy nodded his head, ¡°I¡¯ll make it quick, Troy never knew where the screaming wasing from, and when it¡¯s Ralf turn, the same thing happened again, the sounding from the study, a golden device that cannot be touch, and a screaming from the deceased body being kept.¡± His eyes looking around the carriage, he wanted to make sure that Anne was stillfortable enough, ¡°and thene Drake¡¯s turn, the same thing happened, a sound from the study room, he looked and saw the golden device, before he reached the device, a screaming from the other room. But, unlike his two brothers, Drake ignored the screams and took the golden device, he put the device inside the trunk with all the valuables that they will take home... Afterward, he goes back to the room where his father¡¯s dead body resided...¡±


    ¡°And then? What happened?¡± Asked Anne.


    ¡°Drake Beyor saw Richard Beyor¡¯s dead body was in the position of trying to get out of his casket, with a terrified look rigidly stered on his face.¡±


    ¡°My God! What happened? Was he... still alive?¡±


    Andy shook his head, ¡°No, the body was already being separated from his organs, and got pumped by all the mortuary liquid to be preserved. If he wasn¡¯t dead before, he was surely dead in the mortuary, by all of those chemicals.¡±


    ¡°Make sense,¡± Muttered Anne while her hand tapping on her chin. Xavier was tempted to grab the hand and kiss it, until her eyes met with him, ¡°What? Why are you looking at me like that?¡±


    ¡°Oh nothing, just wanted to say that we are almost arrived at the first inn to have some lunch.¡± Xavier tried to avoid any of her questions while he cleared his throat.


    They, in fact, were already inside a small vige near the capital. The carriage stopped in front of a small inn with huge benches outside for serving lunch. Anne looked around the carriage. Xavier was in the middle of waking Justice from his nap, and Andy was putting hisrge bag on his shoulder.


    ¡°Wait, what about the story?¡± Anne was asking Andy, disappointed about the anti-climactic end.


    Andy smiled at her and said, ¡°To be continued.¡±

 Chapter 66

    66 Legend of The Beyor Family (Part 2)


    The four of them were sitting on the outside benches, waiting for their food to be delivered. Anne carefully touched Justice¡¯s arm on the table, he looks at her with a frown on his face.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Obviously, he wasn¡¯t thrilled to be waking up.


    ¡°Uhm... I wanted to brew you some tonic, Xavier told me. You have a rough day, so...¡± Anne said to Justice while her eyes looked at his face, a tired face from the crown prince.


    ¡°Fine! Just do whatever you can. I doubt it will work, though.¡± Gruntled Justice, then grab a loaf of bread and one cup of fresh moomilk, he turned to Xavier, ¡°I¡¯m going to eat this inside the carriage. I think I really need that sleep.¡±


    The three of them saw him entering the carriage, with a loaf of bread and a moomilk in his hand. Xavier let out a sigh and smiled at Anne. ¡°Don¡¯t mind him. He bes cranky when hecks some sleep.¡±


    ¡°No... It¡¯s fine. I do worry about him. I¡¯ll check my supply after we eat our lunch. Hopefully, I get what I need to make the tonic for him.¡± Anne does understand how stressful Justice¡¯s life can be. He is the crown prince, one of the prominent figures in the Valorian kingdom. Of course, ites at a higher price than any other job, but his duty alwayses first above all, especially the pressure to find the next empress is increasing every day.


    Their food was finally being served, Andy munching on his meat broth a little excited, Anne giggled when he saw the young man ravaging the soup.


    ¡°You must be so hungry,¡± Anne has spoken to Andy, with fascination in her eyes.


    ¡°Yes! Yes, I do, I am sorry, it was ungentlemanly of me to eat like this in front of a girl,¡± Andy smiling at Anne, and then trying to say, ¡°Especially for a beau...¡±


    .....


    Xavier immediately cleared his throat and red at Andy. ¡°Are you finished? Just eat your food.¡±


    The poor young man eats in a more quiet manner afterward. Anne huffed her breath. She was upset about how Xavier treated Andy earlier. Xavier couldn¡¯t care less. In his twisted mind, Anne belongs to him, and of course to his three friends whom he considers his brothers. They eat lunch quietly, and after the hearty but stressful lunch, they continued the journey, but not before Anne pulled Xavier away from the carriage.


    ¡°I wanted to talk to you.¡± Said Anne briefly to Xavier. The two of them walk into the backyard of the inn, where Anne already standing with her hands on her hips, ¡°Oh my God, Xavier, do you have to be so rude to the poor man?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Xavier tries to act gullible in front of Anne. ¡°I like to eat peacefully. He was too noisy... for his own good.¡±


    Gasping at how rude Xavier is, Anne unexpectedly stomped her feet and took one chair, and put it in front of Xavier who looks confused about whatever she was doing. Unexpectedly, she stands up on the chair and flicks Xavier¡¯s nose.


    A stinging pain spread from Xavier¡¯s nose to all over his face. ¡°Ouch! Hey, what was that for?!¡± Xavier rubbed at his now reddened nose and looks at Anne with a sulked face.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but naughty boys need to be punished sometimes,¡± Anne giggled at him while she was still standing on the chair.


    He took his revenge by carrying her from the chair into his arms. Anne squealed and held onto Xavier.


    ¡°Xavier, what are you doing?! Put me down!¡±


    Xavier¡¯s eyes looked directly into Anne, while his smile appeared. Anne could see a fang appear, she never notices it before.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to put you down, I¡¯m a naughty boy after all,¡± With a smirking on his face, Xavier walked back to the carriage with Anne on his arm, ¡°Little girl, next time, make sure you punished me harshly so that my revenge will be more severe.¡± He whispered into her ears, giving her a sensation of a tingling that wasing from his warm breath. She can also feel his lips touch a bit of her earlobe.


    She entered the carriage with a blushing face. Justice had already woken up, he looks at Anne¡¯s face and asked her with some annoyance in his tone.


    ¡°Where were you? We need to catch up with the light before we arrived at the inn.¡±


    Anne mumbled some incoherent words about Justice and prefer to sit quietly in her seat. Xavier entered the carriage while whistling. They continued on, with Justice ring at Xavier and Anne, while both of them prefer to be silent.


    ¡°Ah, Andy, how about we continued with the story now?¡± Anne tried to ease the tension by asking Andy to continue the story, also because her curiosity wager more than her fear.


    Andy looks between Justice and Xavier and nces at Anne, where the young girl nodded to encourage him.


    ¡°Just continue the story, Andy. I¡¯m going back to sleep, and at least one of us here will be entertained by it,¡± Justice said while his finger pointing at Anne.


    ¡°Yes, Anne needs to hear the story thoroughly, so, continue Andy.¡± Said Xavier, his eyes gazing at Anne, whom thetter choose to avoid his stare.


    Andy can sense the three of them were struggling right now, seems like a tension that can be cut with a knife. He let out a sigh and nodded his head. ¡°Alright, let us continue the tragic tale of Richard Beyor.¡±


    The carriage took them into the lush forest, while Andy begins the story once again. ¡°When Drake Beyor looks into the room, he was screaming as loud as he can, calling all of his brothers toe. The three of them were horrified when they saw the dead body of Richard Beyor protruding from the casket with a rigid terrifying look on his face¡±


    Clearing his throat, he continued on, ¡°Horrified, they examined their father¡¯s dead body. There¡¯s no reaction from the dead body, and they put him back in the casket with so much effort. Afterward, the dusk finally and the three of them went home as soon as possible.¡± Looking to his right and left, Andy¡¯s storytellingpelled Anne so much, Justice and Xavier couldn¡¯t help themselves stare at the girl.


    ¡°The carriage with Richard Beyor¡¯s casket was galloping through the road. They wanted to arrive at the mansion in less than one day. After changing horses, they took a short rest. They never rest at any inn. They were afraid that people will notice an anomaly in Richard Beyor¡¯s dead body.¡± Andy cleared his throat, and with a whispering sound, he said, ¡°The anomaly wasn¡¯t about the odd and terrifying found of Richarding out from his casket, it was because they noticed a knocking sound thating from the inside of his casket...¡±


    Anne¡¯s face grew pale, but she couldn¡¯t help to say, ¡°Really? So... Richard Beyor¡¯s dead body...¡±


    ¡°No... When they arrived at the mansion, and open the casket, the bodyy still in his solemn pose with two hands sped together, his three sons even more terrified than before. Was it a dream? Or is it because they have already been haunted by their own father?¡± Andy said, while Anne looks at Andy with focus and also with her terrified expression, ¡°The awake for Richard Beyor was being held, all of his immediate family came to do their final respect to the astounding alchemist, the three sons of Richard Beyor were so protective and guarded the casket twenty-four hours, they slept beside the casket, and look so grim whenever people tried to look inside the casket.¡±


    ¡°They... they were afraid, right?¡± Asked Anne directly at Andy.


    Andy nodded his head, ¡°Yes, they were afraid, and guarded the casket, in case their dead father¡¯s trying to do another mischievous or sinister deed, three days went by, and the funeral will be held in the family¡¯s cemetery behind the mansion in the morning.¡±


    ¡°So, what happened?¡±


    ¡°No one knows what happened that night. The witness that came for the burial saw the mansion burned, and they can hear blood-curdling screaminging from the inside of the mansion. They couldn¡¯t do anything, the fire was already spread everywhere. After the fire was gone, the once beautiful mansion was now already in ruin and rabbles, with burned bodies everywhere,¡± With widened eyes, Andy continued, ¡°But... there¡¯s only one thing that survived the long night, which was the casket with Richard Beyor¡¯s dead body fully intact.¡±


    ¡°The end!¡± Shouted Xavier, making Anne squeak and spontaneously hold on to Justice.


    ¡°Well, I must say, Xavier, need to surprise you more, River Anne,¡± Smirked Justice at our heroine. His face has a bit of color now, even though his hair bing scruffier than before.


    Anne muttered a word at him, ¡°Shut up, your majesty, it was just a spontaneous reaction.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we can see that, and...¡±


    Suddenly, the carriage driver was screaming from outside. They were tumbling inside the carriage, and not long after stopped with a deafening silence. Dust from the dirt road came inside the carriage. Anne took Chikara from the basket and hold him tightly. Justice was holding her tightly, protecting her from the ident.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± He asked Anne with a concerned face.


    Anne looks at him and saw blood dripping from his head. ¡°Justice, you¡¯re hurt!¡± She tried to reach into him, but then another scream came directly from the door of the carriage. They turned their attention to the door and look aghast at the figure outside the carriage.

 Chapter 67

    67 Another adventure another danger


    The scream wasing from Andy; he was trapped between the carriage frame and a huge shadow that could be the entity that attacked the carriage. Xavier was groaning. Seems like he was unconscious for a short time. Anne felt so relieved to see him awake.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Asked Xavier while his head looked around the carriage.


    ¡°A monster attacked us, Andy got thrown out, and we need to save him,¡± justice exined the situation with Anne beside him, assessing his injured.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go outside,¡± Xavier spoke to Anne directly. ¡°Make sure he was alright before he goes outside.¡±


    ¡°I will be careful, Xavier.¡± Smiling at Xavier, she tried to boost his morale before he goes outside, not that he needed more, but it was also for reassurance on her behalf. Anne was scared, but she tried to hide it by concentrating on Justice. ¡°We need to check on the driver and the horses.¡± Anne tried to talk to the crown prince, while her hand rubbed an ointment at Justice¡¯s wound.


    Thankfully, there¡¯s only a cut wound near his eyebrow. It will be healed in no time, and for Anne, it would be a beautiful battle scar for Justice.


    ¡°I know, I¡¯ll go to help Xavier and you go to look at our driver, just be careful,¡± He gave instruction to our heroine, and for a moment, he hold Anne¡¯s right hand and took something from the deep pocket of his coat, a ring with a tinum band and a red jewel adorned the ring. ¡°I want you to wear this.¡± With the pleaded words, he then put the ring on Anne¡¯s finger.


    The ring fits perfectly into Anne. Even Justice was in awe when he saw the red ruby shimmering in Anne¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Justice, what is this?¡± Anne feels somethinging from inside the ring and coursing through her body. ¡°Why did you give me this?¡±


    .....


    Smiling at Anne, Justice approached the door and said to her, ¡°Keep it. The ring will protect you!¡±


    Left alone, there was nothing she could do. She let out a sigh and climb the window to go to the other side of the carriage. She crouched around, trying to locate the driver of the carriage. The horse whimpered in the grass behind arge tree. She run as fast as she could to the horse. There was a big gash of a wound on its lower abdomen. Anne looked around the area and spotted thetleroot nt. She took her sickles and harvest the nts; she ground thetleroot and put it on the wound.


    She then reached into her basket, and pour a warm metee tea from her wood tumbler directly into the horse¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Here you go, that will calm you down a bit.¡± Said Anne with her hand brushing to the horse¡¯s mane, Anne put the tumbler back into the basket, and softly whispered to the horse, ¡°Get some rest sweetheart, I¡¯ll go search for the driver now.¡±


    The horse seems calmer, and Anne feels confident about leaving it by now. She once again looks around the area to find the driver and the other horse, hoping that they¡¯re still safe and sound. A roar came from the other side. Anne bet it was the monster fighting Xavier and Justice. Anne can¡¯t be distracted right now. She had to do her duty as promised to Justice before.


    ¡°Help... help me!¡±


    A scream came right from the forest, she need to inspect the source of the scream. Anne ran as fast as she could and saw the driver holding onto his limping arm. She approached the driver while Chikara jump from her shoulder, hissing at the shadows from the lush forest on the side of them.


    ¡°Chikara, what is it?! Come here, boy!¡± She tried to call for her familiar while treating the driver¡¯s broken arm.


    Once again, she gave the driver the metee tea and created a simple tourniquet for the broken arm. Chikara never stopped hissing. He was determined to fight something in the shadow, and the only thing that Anne could do was to calm him down while her two hands treated the poor driver.


    Chikara ignored her, even after more pleading. He would never stop hissing, and after she finished treating the driver, she look around to find her familiar. Chikara was nowhere to be found. Desperate, she carefully let the driver rest in one of the tree bark, and ran as fast as she could towards the dark side of the forest.


    ¡°Chikara! Where are you?!¡± desperate, Anne screamed to find her familiar, her heart beating faster, hoping that she could see Chikara¡¯s alive and well.


    ¡°Meow...¡±


    She stopped for a moment, trying to pay attention to the source of the sound. ¡°Chikara?¡±


    ¡°Meow...¡±


    The soundes from the left side of the forest. With no hesitation, she goes to her left and screams Chikara¡¯s name.


    She gasped after something appeared in front of her, arge brown sludge creature with a very wide mouth and with no eyes, it walks slowly towards Anne, with a protruding tongue, a long and slimy tongue. Anne took nced at a small figure behind the monster. It was Chikara, jumping directly at the sludge monster, trying to attack with his small body of his.


    ¡°Chikara!! Don¡¯t!¡±


    Anne run into the monster and swiftly grab her familiar away from the sludge monster she got away unscathed. But the monster now chased her endlessly, while Chikara was being fussy and wild in her arms.


    ¡°Stay still, Chikara, you couldn¡¯t fight it right now! Let¡¯s go back to...¡±


    Before she could finish her sentence, she slipped from the slippery ground below her, screaming. Anne and her familiar crouched away from the sludge brown monster. The slippery ground turned out to be the slimy saliva thating from the sludge monster¡¯s tongue.


    She feels her hand throb again. Anne needs to drink her medicine. Trying to make a brave face, she forces herself to stand up and run, but to no avail. Chikara whined in her arms, smiling at her familiar, Anne then said.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯m right here with you.¡±


    The monster elongated its tongue and tried to grab our heroine. She braced herself for any painful impact, or worse, being eaten alive. She closed her eyes, but nothing happened. Anne open her eyes and see something incredible in front of her.


    A transparent and luminescent shield protecting Anne¡¯s body from the sludge monster, the shield is huge and grandeur and an obvious insignia embedded on the shield gave her an obvious answer about the owner. The insignia of the Hargreaves, royalty of the Valorian kingdom.


    ¡°Justice?¡± Anne was muttering in her mouth, with awe looks on her face.


    ¡°Yes, right here.¡± Said a man from behind.


    She turns around to see Justice and Xavier carrying their weapon and smirking at the monster. They run toward the sludge monster and attack it endlessly. They even have some time to have a conversation.


    ¡°Good gods Justice, you gave her your ring?!¡± Xavierined to the crown prince when he was hacking the monster¡¯s tongue with his great axe.


    ¡°Yeah! And you should be thankful for that, you *ss!¡± Said Justice back, while his fire sword slice the monster into pieces.


    The sludge monster was defeated in less than a minute. Anne run into the two of them and smiled.


    ¡°Oh wow, that was amazing.¡± Her heads turn left and right, searching for something or someone. ¡°Wait, where¡¯s Andy?¡±


    Xavier grinned at her, ¡°Oh, he¡¯s fine, just fainted, we already put him in a safe ce.¡±


    ¡°What about the driver?¡± Asked Justice.


    ¡°He is also fine. He got a broken arm, so I treated him already,¡± Anne answered his question while pointing at the area where she hid the driver.


    Justice was staring at the ruby ring on her finger. He was so proud that she also wears something that belong to him, although he never revealed to her that the ruby ring was actually one of the most treasured heirlooms in his family.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back. Ageha already calls the guards from the nearest town. They should be here any moment.¡± Said Xavier, he look aghast after his golden eyes staring at Anne¡¯s body, ¡°Oh Gods! The Slobbered slimes are all over your body. What happened?¡±


    ¡°Oh great, I almost got eaten by a monster named Slobbered,¡± Anne grumbled, her hand trying to clean some of the slimed off her purple hair.


    Little that she knows, Anne¡¯s pink shirt was drenched, making her body now visible to see by the two males in front of her. Chikara hissed at Justice and Xavier, kind of like gave them the warning to look away from his master.


    ¡°Wait, Chikara, why are you hissing at the two of them? Calm down, they¡¯re not the monster here.¡± Anne was gullible about her shirt malfunction.


    ¡°Actually, I could be an animal anytime right now,¡± Whispered Xavier to Justice. ¡°Gods! I am sinning. Let us go now. I¡¯ll carry the driver. You and her go back to Andy and the carriage, and for the love of Gods, gave her your coat!¡±


    Justice felt the same. She shook his head and put her coat on Anne.


    ¡°Wait, why are you giving me your coat?¡±


    ¡°You know, as a healthy man, we like what we saw, but us here going to be the gentleman... Your shirt was drenched and make your waistline and uhm... bust area visible.¡± Said Justice with a red blushing face.


    Anne squeak and punched Justice¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Oh my God! You should have told me earlier!¡±


    ¡°Well, I tell you about it now! And also gave you my coat!¡± Justice gasped at her punch, they walk to the road together, and before they arrived, he turn to Anne once more, ¡°Oh, and make sure you punched Xavier as well!¡±


    ¡°Fine! I will! Ugh, I really need to take a bath, well, Chikara and I.¡± She sniffed at her body and also at Chikara.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the good news, we almost arrive at our inn.¡±


    She froze and gaze at Justice. ¡°So, did you mean that...¡±


    ¡°Yes, we are closer to the Beyor cemetery now.¡±

 Chapter 68

    68 The town


    ¡°Wee to the Crescent Inn. How may I help you?¡±


    After two hours on the road with a new carriage and a new driver, they finally arrived at their lodging, tired and dirty. The only exception was Anne, who the guard graciously offered her time to bathe in their barracks bathroom.


    ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m so tired... I think I will jump happily when I saw the bed right now.¡± Anne wasining, she was getting some beaten by the slobbered after all.


    ¡°Let us take the key first, go getfy on the sofa for now.¡± Justice pointed at the lounge room, where the inn also served free beverages.


    Andy¡¯s face was lit, and when he saw them also serving aggrus, he walk as fast as he could to the free beverages table. Anne opts to go straight to the sofa and getfy, her familiar Chikara¡¯s already sleeping in the basket. After the fight with the Slobbered, they both felt tired.


    ¡°Hey, are you alright, Anne?¡± Andy was asking her question with a ss of aggrus in his hand.


    Let out a sigh. She shook her head at Andy. ¡°No, I was mentally tired. I mean, fighting the monster was hard, never imagined it myself.¡±


    ¡°I know, right? That¡¯s why I became a librarian, even though I have seventy percent magica, they told me I should choose a magic knight and or magi, but I don¡¯t want it,¡± Andy tells her the story, the aggrus aroma fills the room, while he reminiscing his childhood, ¡°My father, one of the chief librarian always bring books for me, I like to read lore and legend story, it was my childhood dream to be a librarian.¡±


    ¡°I think it was admirable you choose your job not because you¡¯re supposed to, but because you wanted to.¡± Said Anne, her smile blooming, thinking how simr Andy¡¯s circumstances were to hers.


    .....


    Andy looks at Anne and said, ¡°I think you and I will be a great friend, I just knew it.¡±


    Both of them burst outughing, even when Xavier came to give them their room keys. The three gentlemen will upy one room, while Anne will use the room beside them on the second floor. Justice already entered the room, Xavier told Anne that he was tired and need to go to sleep immediately.


    Worried about Justice¡¯s health, she made the tonic right away. After carefully putting Chikara on her bed, she looks at her herbs and dry flowers, hoping they would be good enough to make a good tonic. She brought a mentolitus flower and metee, now she just needs some caftea powder. She goes downstair and asked one of the staff.


    ¡°Excuse me, do you have some caftea powder?¡±


    The receptionist smiled at her while pointing at the lounge room, ¡°We have a pot full of fresh caftea right there, miss.¡±


    ¡°I need the caftea powder. I¡¯m sorry. Maybe there¡¯s a store where I could buy the caftea powder?¡±


    The receptionist scratches his head. He seems baffled by how determined Anne was. ¡°We have a general store two blocks from here, but... it is almost eight o¡¯clock at night right now.¡±


    Feeling d that there was a general store nearby, she said thank you to the receptionist and walk outside the inn.


    ¡°Wait, miss, but it is...¡±


    Anne never heard the receptionist plead at her, she walk outside and immediately goes into the general store. The night here differs from the capital or Viora vige. It was cold and foggy, and hard to see. Thankfully, she put one small light orb in her pocket all the time.


    The small orb hovering in front of her provided an ample amount of light to walk. She never knew the name of this town. Few people walk outside at this hour, and most of them were on duty. Anne felt an unsettling feeling came creeping inside of her. She walks faster, thinking that she just needs to buy the powder, and runs back to the inn.


    Thankfully, she found the general store. The owner was ready to close the store when Anne came inside.


    ¡°Wee Miss, how may I help you?¡± Said the store owner. He looks at her with curiosity on his face.


    ¡°I... I need one small bag of caftea powder, please.¡±


    He took one big ss jar from one of his shelves and, using the scale, he measure a small bag of caftea powder for Anne.


    The owner gave her the small bag and smiled. ¡°It will be five iron coins, miss.¡±


    Anne gave her one bronze coin, and while the owner counted the change for Anne, she asked her a weird question, ¡°I¡¯m sorry miss, it may sound rude of me, but why are you out here at this hour?¡±


    ¡°Err... I just need the caftea to make a tonic for my friend. I mean... are we forbidden to walk outside at this hour?¡±


    The owner then smiles nervously at her, ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s not forbidden, so you¡¯re not from around here?¡±


    ¡°No, sir, I¡¯m a healer who took an exam at the capital, I and my friends are on the journey right now,¡± Anne answered the owner politely.


    The owner was still a bit nervous. Anne could see it. There was something odd about this town. The owner gave her the change, and tell her to go back to the inn as soon as possible. Anne tried to ask him the reason, but the only thing that he said was, ¡°It was almost nine o¡¯clock. They could be anywhere.¡±


    He closes the store immediately afterward. As weird as it sounds, Anne agreed with the owner, she need to go back as soon as possible. The fog was getting thicker by the minute. Anne walked and walk, feeling disoriented by theyout of the town, and it came down to her that she was lost.


    Panic sets in, and she looks around, trying to find any guards to help her. Suddenly, a hand touched her shoulder. She screamed and turned on her back.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry miss, you seem lost. Are you alright?¡± There¡¯s a young man with red hair and ck onyx eyes. He smiled at her, revealing his perfect set of teeth.


    ¡°I... Yes, I am. I need to go back to the inn. Would you show me where the inn is? I think the name is Moonlight inn? oh no, Crescent inn.¡± Anne asked the stranger. She doesn¡¯t want to feel desperate, but the truth was that she was.


    The man smiled in what Anne could describe as a smile that could give you a creep. ¡°Of course, in fact, let me take you there.¡±


    ¡°Oh no! You just need to give me the direction, I... I don¡¯t want to take your time more than I¡¯ve already had.¡± Nervously, Anne tried to politely refuse his offer.


    On the contrary, the man seems more excited after her refusal, his eyes glowing, and his smile getting wider than before. ¡°Oh no, I would like to help a pretty girl like you.¡±


    The hair on the back of her neck raised, and once again she refused and this time, Anne was running as fast as she could. Hisst words sound like a warning to Anne. The fog makes her harder to see, but Anne will never stop, for as long as the creepy man is around the area until she bumped into someone.


    Afraid that it might be the same man, she screamed at the man, ¡°Stay away! I don¡¯t need your help!¡±


    The man held her tightly in his arms, and then said, ¡°Anne, it¡¯s me, Xavier!¡±


    She looks at the man in front of her, and teared up as soon as a pair of golden eyes stared back at her, ¡°Xavier! Oh, thank God you¡¯re here!¡±


    Xavier¡¯s hand hold into Anne¡¯s face, trying to see if she was injured. ¡°What happened? Are you alright?¡±


    Anne took a nce at her back. There was nothing there, only a thick fog and silhouettes of people around. ¡°I... I¡¯m alright, let¡¯s go back now,e on.¡±


    She asked Xavier to get her back to the inn. He was still baffled by how terrified she was. He holds his hand and they go back to the inn right away. After they arrived at the inn, the receptionist from earlier rushed to their side with a concerned face.


    ¡°Oh, you have found her, thank Gods, miss, what did you do? You go away as soon as I wanted to give you a warning.¡± Said the receptionist.


    Xavier still holding onto Anne, can feel how terrified she was. He let out his anger directly at the receptionist. ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you? You should chase her outside!¡±


    ¡°But sir, I tried to chase her, but she disappeared in front of me.¡±


    Anne frowned at the receptionist. ¡°Disappeared? I was walking and then... Ugh, what is going on in this town, anyway?¡± Xavier and the receptionist take a nce at each other while she looks at the two of them. ¡°Well, I¡¯m waiting.¡±


    ¡°Nothing is wrong here, miss, just a normal town like the others, unless...¡±


    ¡°Unless what?¡± Asked Anne, still distraught from the earlier encounter.


    ¡°Unless you came here at the Hallow Eve month.¡± Said the receptionist nervously at Anne and Xavier.

 Chapter 69

    69 At the Hallow Eve


    ¡°Hallow eve? What¡¯s that?¡± Anne was confused by the name. She tried to ask the receptionist about it.


    ¡°It was the name that this part of the kingdom use as the celebratory month for the death,¡± It was Xavier who answered her question, he took her hand and guide her back to the second floor, ¡°Come on, you need to rest, I will exin everything tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Uhm, okay, I will give you some hard time tomorrow,¡± Said Anne to Xavier.


    He chuckled and apany her until in front of her room; he was waiting for Anne to go inside her room, but strangely, the girl just standing in front of her door. Xavier asked her, concerned that something had happened to her.


    ¡°Anne, what happened?¡±


    ¡°Uhm... I... I hate to be alone inside my room right now.¡± Her face is flustered while her eyes gaze into Xavier directly.


    Xavier feels all kinds of emotions from the gaze that Anne gave to him. He feels protected from her right now, but on the other side of his, the feeling that a man feels when they saw the girl in their dream pleaded with her cute face. He took a deep breath, trying to hold the temptation in front of him.


    ¡°How about this? I will stay here, guarding your door until the morninges.¡± Xavier being the gentleman, offered to stay outside while still protecting her.


    Anne felt guilty. The thought of Xavier needing to stay all night in the hallway wasn¡¯t ideal for her.


    .....


    ¡°I mean, Xavier, you could...¡±


    Xavier smiled and raise his hand stopping her to talk further, ¡°Please Anne, I¡¯m trying to be the gentleman here, and you don¡¯t have to worry, I¡¯m used to sleeping in a jungle, this hallway is a luxury for me.¡±


    ¡°But...¡±


    Xavier¡¯s golden eyes shimmered under the light, his hand then trapped Anne¡¯s body on the front door of Anne¡¯s bedroom, Anne gasped, surprised by his sudden intimate move, ¡°Listen here Anne, I know you put your full trust in us, and I am delighted, but right now, under the influence of the bewitched spell and... some other thing, it was best for me to guard your door instead.¡±


    Trapped inside his warm body, Anne somehow felt less threatened than the other man before, maybe because she knew Xavier long enough, or maybe because of how protected Xavier was. Never in her time in her old world she had met a man like the four of them.


    The urge to touch his firm chest when Xavier¡¯s warm breath tickles her face. She held out and whispered to Xavier, ¡°You¡¯re right, that was so silly of me. I¡¯m sorry, Xavier. You can go back to rest. I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°Just go get your rest. I¡¯ll be here.¡± Xavier cups her chin and smile at her.


    Finally, Anne gives in to his request. She said good night and thought about making two tonics in the end, one for Justice and, of course, one for Xavier. She enters her room and makes the potent tonic. Meanwhile, Xavier was gettingfortable on the wooden floor in front of Anne¡¯s room door.


    ¡°Naron, do you hear me?¡±


    A huge fire lizard with a ck winging from his shadow, the second familiar of Xavier, one of the four types of dragonling. His reptilian eyes stare directly at Xavier, ¡®Yes master, Naron is here.¡¯


    ¡°Go and protect the window of this room, let nothing enter the room,¡± Xavier order Naron to guard Anne¡¯s window, the thoughts of her being scared still embedded in his mind.


    ¡®At once, master.¡¯


    Naron climbs the wall and disappears to the window outside. Xavier trusted Naron, one of the dragonlings that he hatched inside a fire cauldron for one year, and Vale helped him hatch the fire egg. The fire needs to be at a certain temperature and it needs to be lit for a year long. He remembers the day Naron was hatched and imprinted Xavier, one of the best days of his life, even better after Ageha and Zty be his familiars afterward.


    As the huntsman, Xavier has the ability to imprint more than one familiar. Many huntsman never took over two familiars. The tension of linking your magica with your familiar will be too much to handle for even a skilled huntsman, not Xavier, he links his magica with three familiars with no strain to the magica inside of him.


    ¡°Time to rest, Ageha. Please look after the hallway for me.¡± Said Xavier while yawning.


    The beautiful dark butterfly fluttered in front of Xavier, ¡®Yes master, have a good night.¡¯


    The night changes into the morning. Xavier wakes up and gazes at the sun. The town is still engulfed with a thick fog, but at least the moonlight already shies away. Justice wakes up earlier. When Xavier enters the room, he was already on the sofa, lounging and fresh from the bathroom.


    He took nced at Xavier and asked him, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me? Your obsession is getting worse. You¡¯ve ended up sleeping at her door listening to her.¡±


    Squinted at Justice, Xavier then throws the pillow at him, ¡°No! I was protecting her!¡±


    ¡°From yourself?¡± Asked Justice again.


    Rolling his eyes, Xavier scratches his head. Annoyed by the crown prince teased, ¡°For once in your life, you need to see me as one of the good men, instead of dwelling on my past lover¡¯s experience?¡±


    ¡°Well, I must say, you don¡¯t have a clean record about any Paramore that you had.¡± Sad Justice, smirking at Xavier.


    ¡°Whatever!¡± Xavier goes to the bathroom, ignoring Justice.


    ¡°Be quick! I want us to go there before dark. Next time, I¡¯ll make sure we pass the Hallow Eve before going to this d*rn town.¡± Justice grumbled while he stare at the fog outside. He forgot about how crazy this town was about hallow eve.


    The three of them go downstairs to eat some breakfast. When they¡¯re in the middle of enjoying their Leekto soup and Bullcow smoke meat, Anne turns up with a smile, giving them a warm greeting.


    ¡°Good morning, your majesty, Xavier... Good morning, Andy.¡± Said our heroine, looking a bit fresh thanst night.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± Justice reciprocated with a slight smile, he looks at the pouches in her hand. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    She took out two small bottles of potion from the pouches, ¡°It is my potent tonic, very good to eliminate fatigue and giving stamina,¡± Hesitate for a while, she handed one bottle to Justice, ¡°Here, it will be good for you.¡±


    Examining the ss bottle, he gave her a simple question, ¡°How do I know that this... liquid is going to be good for my health?¡±


    Anne, who was in the middle of munching her food, shrugged it at Justice, ¡°Well, you don¡¯t, you just have to trust me.¡±


    When the three of them heard the response that came from Anne, Xavier and Andy snorted while Justice looked a bit annoyed and impressed by her.


    ¡°Miss River Anne, you know who am I, right?¡± Justice calmly asked our heroine while leaning into his chair, his eyes locked on Anne.


    ¡°Yes, the crown prince of this country, so?¡± Anne, with her carefree attitude, gave him a big smile and nothing else.


    ¡°Fine! Give me that d*mn potion!¡± Gruntled Justice.


    Anne and Xavier shared a nce when Justice finally drank the tonic, not long after, she also handed the other tonic to Xavier.


    ¡°This is for you. It must be tiring to sleep in the hallway, so I made two bottles.¡± Anne, with her wide smile, gave one portion of the tonic to Xavier.


    In awe, Xavier took the tonic and looks directly at Anne, ¡°I... Thank you, Anne, I¡¯ll treasure this forever.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Gods! Just drink the d*mn potion.¡± Said Justice while rolling his eyes.


    Chuckles at the duo¡¯s antics. She eats her portion of food while looking around the breakfast room. Apparently, there were not alone as the inn guests. There were two other people eating breakfast a bit farther from their table.


    ¡°Oh, there are guests besides that. I thought we were the only one guest...¡±


    ¡°They are my bodyguards.¡± Answered Justice calmly, he wiped his mouth using the napkin and excused himself from the table, he stop for a moment and touched Anne¡¯s shoulder, ¡°I do appreciate the potion, thank you.¡±


    Anne felt like a warm breeze just swipe her away. It is rare for Justice to give her his gratitude, a smile blooming on her face. Xavier then pokes into her shoulder.


    ¡°So, Anne, just like my promise, I¡¯ll tell you about Hallow Eve,¡± Xavier enthusiastically spoke to her, ¡°Hallow Eve was the old tradition for the remembrance of our dead rtives in the Valorian kingdom, in the past people will hold a big celebration in the first date and thest date of the hallowed eve.¡±


    ¡°That seems interesting. Why did they were stopped celebrating hallow eve?¡±


    Andy continued the story after Xavier, ¡°Actually, we never know. We have the documents dated about two hundred years ago about the royal decree of the banishment for Hallow Eve, but that¡¯s about it.¡±


    Anne tapped her chin, thinking, ¡°So, they banned Hallow Eve suddenly, that¡¯s weird...¡±


    ¡°What are you doing there?!¡± Shouted Justice from the lobby. The three of them turned to see the crown prince, already in his coat, ready to go. ¡°Get your coat and everything that you need. The fog is gone. Time to head up to the cemetery.

 Chapter 70

    70 Facing your fear in the odd ces


    Once again, they were in the carriage, heading into the Beyor cemetery. Anne was sitting beside Justice, while Xavier was in front of her. Andy was out of luck, having Xavier beside him, and the crown prince in front of him. Anne asked the three of them about hallow eve.


    ¡°I have never heard of this tradition. I mean Viora vige elder, never even mentioned the hallowed eve.¡±


    Andy looks at Xavier and Justice, seems he wanted to exin but is afraid to barge in. Justice let him be the one that exined everything to Anne.


    ¡°It¡¯s because when the royal decree, when the royal decree gave the banishment announcement, it meant that everything about hallow eve will be forbidden to be spoken on the entire kingdom.¡±


    She looks at the view from the window and muttered, ¡°Makes you wonder what else has been destroyed because of the royal decree.¡±


    Justice pokes at her and smiles. ¡°It seems like the royalty is having a full reign on this kingdom, but the truth is, we don¡¯t. There are the nobles and high-ranking officials that gave their opinion, but the empress needs to have the versatility and consideration towards all of her objects,¡± He lean on his seat and said, ¡°Bing an empress is not morous, I have heard a story of a mad empress, a in empress, and of course a sess story as well, what kind of empress that a woman can be, depends on herself.¡±


    She went quiet, imagining the reason Justice to gave her the history of the empress, Anne wanted to know why he felt a need to tell her about the empress¡¯s obligation. The crown prince seems to wait to see her reaction. Anne tilted her head and gave her opinion.


    ¡°You said that being an empress means she has to hear the opinion of the nobles and the high-ranking officers, right?¡±


    Justice nodded his head. ¡°Yes, one of her duty is to hear the councils and then decide the best possible oue for the kingdom. The councils here are the nobles and the high-ranking officials.¡±


    .....


    Anne then smiles at Justice. ¡°Then what about themoners?¡±


    His eyes stared directly at Anne, this young girl giving her brave thought, and with such freedom asked him about how the empress left themoners¡¯ opinion over the nobles and the high-rank officials. His mother, Empress Liberty Hargreaves, came from the bloodlines of the nobles. The Hargreaves family is a noble warrior family, with highly decorated knights and magic knights.


    Empress Liberty, as the ruler, has the ability to rise the kingdom¡¯s economy, but somehow neglected the unification of the noble and themoner. Justice has a hard time making his mother see his vision, one of the reasons he gave the custom noble title to Xavier and Vale. He doesn¡¯t want the councils to have an objection to how he befriendedmoners. For once in his life, he sees another opportunity. The opportunity was in the shape of a young girl with beautiful purple color hair.


    ¡°We are almost there. I can see the top of the mausoleums from here.¡±


    Xavier spokes and pointed his finger to a mass of old roofs of grey structures. Anne and Justice peek from Xavier¡¯s windows, while Andy cowers in his seat. The poor young man doesn¡¯t even want to see what¡¯s going to be the ce of their expedition.


    ¡°Oh wow, there are so many mausoleums inside. This is a vast cemetery.¡± Mumbled Anne.


    ¡°Yes, I have heard, the cemetery has like fifty mausoleums.¡± Said Xavier, his eyes looking directly at Andy with a smirk on his face, ¡°One of them contained the hidden library for any forbidden books or tomes. Aren¡¯t those excited for you, Andy?¡±


    Andy almost gets a heart attack. From the looks of it, he seems trying to imagine another ce, rather than to see the cemetery that little by little was closing in. Any took a long sigh and gave Xavier a meek smile.


    ¡°Xavier, do you have to tease Andy? Look how pale he is right now,¡± Anne scolded the huntsman captain, not without a reason. Andy looks like he was going to be passed out anytime soon. Anne worried for him, ¡°Are you alright, Andy? Here, drink this metee water. It would calm your nerves.¡±


    Andy took the metee with gratitude towards Anne. He was afraid, and he felt he wasn¡¯t the only one that was afraid.


    ¡°Anne, you don¡¯t have to take care of him, this is his job, being a librarian meant not just reading books all the time, taking care of documents and retrieving ancient or forbidden books is also his duty,¡± Justice scolded the girl while looking at Andy, ¡°Every job have their own set of duty, this is Andy¡¯s duty as the librarian.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but...¡± She feels sorry for the junior librarian, who cowers in his seat.


    Justice took a deep breath and hold her shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re a girl who loves caring for others. It was admirable, to say the least. But, let me tell you this, you can¡¯t be with him and protect him all the time.¡±


    Taken aback by the crown prince¡¯s words, she looked bittered and nodded her head, ¡°You¡¯re right, he needs to be able to face his fear,¡± Her eyes then goes to Xavier and Justice, ¡°I need to confess also, I acted brave all the time, but I... I¡¯m also afraid.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we know you¡¯re actually a coward, Anne,¡± Xavier¡¯s chuckled, remembering aboutst night, ¡°I was with youst night, but that¡¯s how you¡¯re different from Andy, you tried to face your fear, he doesn¡¯t¡±


    The movement of the carriage suddenly halted. They look outside and saw the iron gates of the Beyor cemetery. They have arrived, and not a moment too soon. Xavier and Justice walk outside, while Anne holds Andy¡¯s hand.


    ¡°They were right, Andy. I felt your fear, and so do you. How about we proved ourselves to that pompous man right there?¡± Anne tried to give encouraging words to Andy.


    ¡°Thank you, Anne, you¡¯re younger, but you¡¯re also wiser.¡± Said Andy to our heroine.


    Anne shook her head. ¡°No, I am no wiser. I just... know how to handle my fear.¡±


    They step outside and immediately being thrown back by a cold breeze that wasing from the cemetery. Anne remembered any old cemetery from the old world, the creaking front gate with therge namete of the cemetery, with stone walls around the cemetery. The only one that missing is the crows cawing from inside.


    ¡°This ce seems... too quiet.¡± Muttered Anne. She already felt overwhelmed by the aura of the ce.


    ¡°Yes, there are no other animals around the cemetery area. It seems weird for me.¡± Said Xavier, he already assessed the nearby area, as the huntsman, his instinct will be sharper than the rest of them, he senses not even small critters have a nest near the cemetery, ¡°Even in the cemetery small critters like chipmunks or birds were nestled inside, but not in this one.¡±


    Justice came back from the carriage, wearing a heavy coat, and gave one to Anne, ¡°I¡¯ve told the carriage driver, my guard will apany us inside,¡± He let out a sighed, ¡°That bloody slobbered, if only we don¡¯t fight those monsters, my mother would¡¯ve allowed me with no guards.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, you don¡¯t have them before, so they muste with us after we encountered the monsters.¡± Anne realized how the protection of the prince goes, Justice has a wild way to go on his adventure, and his security details was zero to none when he goes to Viora vige, she asks Justice with suspicion, ¡°You file no report when you¡¯re going to any expedition, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Burst outughing, Xavier steps inside the cemetery while teasing Justice, ¡°She got you.¡±


    The crown prince alsoughed, and when he followed Xavier outside, he turned to Anne and said, ¡°I do, I hate security details that my mother gave me, besides, it would be impossible for us to meet back then if I¡¯d been surrounded by my bodyguards, right?¡±


    Smiling while shaking her head in disbelief, she followed the other two and step inside the cemetery, Andy and the guards were following close behind. The inside of the cemetery was more unsettling than the outside. If the thought of all of them about Beyor¡¯s cemetery was the same as the other cemetery that urred before, it would have vanished when you entered the cemetery.


    The graves were so neatly arranged the tombstone was clean even when most of it already missing the engraving words. There was no tilted tombstone everywhere.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with this cemetery? It was too neat, it gave me chills.¡± Said Xavier, looking around the cemetery.


    Justice and Anne couldn¡¯t agree more. Somehow, there are people taking care of the graveyard but not even bothering to spruce the ce with flowers or even green grass.


    ¡°Hey, you don¡¯t even wonder why there¡¯s no living tree inside this ce?¡± Justice Asked no one in particr while he looked around the cemetery.


    The revtion camete for some of them. Anne looked around and there was no single living tree inside the cemetery, and then she looked at one peculiar tree from afar. A tall shadow, looming from one of the trees, a ck shadow in a shape of a person.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s that?¡± She screamed while her finger pointed at the shadow.

 Chapter 71

    71 Andy¡¯s secret


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡±


    Anne was shouting at one tree with arge shadow beside it. Xavier instinctively pushes her body while shielding her. Justice and his guards walk carefully towards the shadow, and he shouted to Xavier to stay behind with Andy and Anne. When they saw the shadow, a slight reliefe into Justice. Goes back to Xavier and Anne, and he told them about the shadow.


    ¡°It was a linen.¡±


    ¡°A what? You¡¯re joking.¡± Xavier couldn¡¯t believe him in the slightest.


    His guards came back with a long white fabric in their hands. Justice handed the fabric to Xavier.


    ¡°It was hanging in one of the branches. From afar, it looks like a shadow of a person using a long coat.¡± Justice exined everything with the white fabric still in his hand, ¡°Anne, you must be imagined it.¡±


    Anne grew quiet for a short time, and then a smile came to her face. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. I must imagine things. Come on, just... let¡¯s go.¡±


    Nervously, she stepped into the graves, leaving them behind. She tried not to mention anything about the shadow anymore because she knew something that the others didn¡¯t see. The shadow also had red eyes. It was a person, not a fabric. They searched for some clues in some mausoleums until Andy sees some particr object in the mausoleum.


    ¡°Hey, I think this is it!¡± Shouted Andy with excitement in his voice.


    .....


    Justice raised one of his eyebrows. ¡°Are you sure? Because we need to open the gate by force, I don¡¯t want to be disrespectful.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I read the Aksara. This is a secret location of a tome.¡±


    Aksara is a rarenguage that came from the ancient time of the Valorian kingdom. In the olden days, people used Aksara as their preferrednguage, but not anymore. Aksara is the old tongue, the forgottennguage that only the librarian has the skill to read and spoke, the linguistic skill of the librarian gave them the ability to read or even spoke any forbidden or forgottennguage.


    Justice order his guards to pry open the gate, while Andy was busy copying the words engraved on the wall of the outer part of the mausoleum. The gate opened with a loud nging. Dust and debris exploded from the inside of the mausoleum. Anne cover her face and coughed from the dust. Justice gave her his handkerchief to cover her mouth.


    ¡°Maybe you should stay outside with the guards,¡± Said Justice to Anne.


    Anne shook her head. ¡°No, I¡¯m going inside with you.¡±


    Looking frustrated by her stubbornness, Justice replied with very stinging words, ¡°You¡¯re going to be in our way, so better just waiting here.¡±


    There were no other words afterward. She reluctantly agreed and waited for them outside with the guards. The inside of the mausoleum was not as wide as they predicted. There was only a small hall fit for one person to squeeze in, and the three of them looks at each other.


    ¡°Alright, Andy, prepare yourself,¡± Said Xavier, pushing Andy towards the way.


    Andy looks surprised. ¡°What?! Why me? We should go for the one with the most votes.¡±


    ¡°We did, and we chose you, so hauled your *ss.¡± Justice proimed it to Andy while leaning on the wall, smirking at the poor young man.


    Let out his frustration with a short grunt, he reluctantly steps inside the small hall. Thankfully, it¡¯s just a short walk to the other room, an altar with a book in the middle of the altar. Andy reached for the book with a shaken hand, he opened the book and put it inside his bag immediately. He goes back to the other room where Justice and Xavier already waiting.


    ¡°Well, did you find it?¡± Asked Xavier.


    He looks at Xavier and Justice. ¡°It wasn¡¯t the book that you were searching for. We need to open another mausoleum. Don¡¯t worry, I saw another Aksara back then.¡± Andy said to Justice, and Xavier tried to be calm as he can.


    The way he walks outside, make Justice suspicious of how he acted. He put his hand on the way out, blocking Andy to go outside, ¡°Wait! Where¡¯s the book?¡±


    Andy was sweating bullets, he answered Justice with his nervous tone, ¡°Boo... Book? No, this is not the book that you wanted, so...¡±


    ¡°No, what I meant, where¡¯s the book inside these mausoleums?¡± His gaze gave Andy a chill to his bone.


    ¡°I... There¡¯s no book inside... I swear!¡± Andy screamed the words and was dazed to the outside of the mausoleum.


    Anne and the others were slightly disturbed by Andy. She rushed to him and with concern asked him directly. ¡°Andy, what happened?¡±


    The fear in his eyes couldn¡¯t even exin this wrongdoing inside the mausoleum, ¡°No... Nothing, let¡¯s go inside the other, that¡¯s not the mausoleum where the...¡±


    ¡°Andy! How dare you! You took the book inside, right?!¡± Xavier came screaming, with Justice behind him, walking slowly while his eyes fixed on Andy. Xavier grab into Andy¡¯s cor shirt and red at him. ¡°What is your y here? Why do you have to lie?!¡±


    Struggling on Xavier¡¯s hold, he screamed with hisst breath, ¡°Yessss! I¡¯ll... Exin anything, please... put me down.¡±


    Xavier throws Andy to the ground. When she looks at the poor young man, Anne immediately examined him, checking his injuries. Justice sat on one stone, his eyes fixed on Andy.


    ¡°Now, tell us everything, leave nothing, do you hear me?!¡±


    ¡°Yes, your majesty, I¡¯ll exin everything.¡± Andy was crying, but thankfully he didn¡¯t have any major injuries, only bruises and cuts. While Anne treated his wound, he exined everything to them. ¡°Actually, the main reason I wasing here was to retrieve all the tomes from the cemetery. There were several attempts before this expedition... But...¡±


    ¡°But? Hey, exin it properly.¡± Xavier tried to intimidate as he can be. It works tremendously at the looks of the poor librarian.


    ¡°They... they go missing!¡± Said Andy with a cracked voice.


    The others couldn¡¯t believe what Andy just says, especially Justice and Xavier.


    ¡°Missing? How could I never be aware of this? I never even received any report!¡± Said Justice, stunned by Andy¡¯s confession.


    ¡°We cover it up because the tomes are forbidden. It will have raised many questions from the empress and the councils.¡± Andy was whimpering with tearsing from his eyes, ¡°I¡¯ve lost my friends, that¡¯s why I¡¯m the only junior librarian now. Most of them were missing, and the rest decided to resign.¡±


    ¡°How many expeditions before ours?¡± Asked Xavier.


    ¡°Five, at first they sent only two librarians, the number increased but still...¡±


    Xavier shares a nce with Justice. ¡°All of them were nevering back.¡±


    Stands up from the ce he sat, Justice pulled Andy from the ground and looked him in the eyes, ¡°How many?¡±


    ¡°Wha... What? What do you mean?¡± Andy stuttered, afraid of how those red eyes looked at him directly.


    ¡°I asked, how many forbidden tomes are in here?¡± said Justice to Andy.


    Andy tried so hard to count, and finally have the answers, ¡°Including Arcana tome, three, your majesty.¡±


    ¡°Good thing not that many,¡± Gruntled Justice, while he rustled his hair in frustration. ¡°Come on then, where to next?¡±


    Stunned by the crown prince¡¯s words, Andy just stands on the ground while looking at Justice, ¡°What? your majesty?¡±


    Xavier took a deep breath and smack him from behind. ¡°Come on! We are going to help you, that was what your majesty said before.¡±


    ¡°Oh, God! Thank you, your majesty! Thank you so much!¡± The shimmering eyes on Andy showed how his burden was finally being lifted. He got helped, and he doesn¡¯t have any secrets from the group anymore.


    With his ability, he easily located another mausoleum of the forbidden tomes, and this time the arcana tome was inside, settling on the altar like the other tome before. Justice insisted on keeping the tome on his side, and they continued on to search for thest forbidden tome.


    The mist came creeping down, less for a bit and bing thicker, not that long. Our group catches their breath and took a rest in one of therge dead trees.


    ¡°Oh, Gods! What kind of tome that you need to be retrieved? The first one was easy enough, even for the arcana tome, but thest one...¡± Xavier wasining while sitting on one of the branches of the dead tree.


    ¡°What I have right now was the Liven tome, and you must be already guessed what forbidden tome I need to search for.¡±


    Stands up immediately, Justice looks at Andy with a concerned face, ¡°No... Doomen tome? What in Gods name they wanted to be kept it in the main library!¡±


    ¡°Oh no, your majesty, we have a safe ce for the forbidden tomes now, so it will be...¡±


    ¡°No! Doomen tome was the ancient document about death, its ce not inside the capital, it should be here in this... cursed ce!¡± His eyes were ring, and the sound of his voice was full of rage and fear.


    Anne could see in Justice¡¯s eyes, he was afraid of the tome, but why? But, before she could ask Justice, once again she catch a glimpse of something peculiar. This time, it wasn¡¯t far from the way they sat. She walked over and wiped the writing on one of the protruding stones on the ground. When she read the writing, she rushed back and informed Justice and Xavier.


    ¡°You need to go with me.¡± Said Anne to them.


    Both of them were alerted by her. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Remember about the Beyor mansion that is being burned to ashes in the story?¡± She gulped and nervously continued, ¡°I think We are inside the Beyor mansion right now.¡±

 Chapter 72

    72 The Cer


    Anne, with her big eyes, and a blushed cheek, came to inform the others about what she was just found earlier.


    ¡°I think this is the location of the mansion, the Beyor mansion.¡± Said Anne to the others.


    Justice is flustered and looks at Anne with a frown on his face. ¡°What? that was impossible. The record never gave a specific location of the mansion.¡±


    ¡°Exactly! Remembered the story, the mansion burned down, reduced to ashes, but not the smallest part of the mansion,¡± Anne grabbed the hand of Justice, and pulled him into the location where she found the ck stone, already buried on the ground, she pointed at the name engraved on the stone, ¡°Look, this is the stone part of the mansion is using the traditional style, by using stones for the ground level and woods for the upper level. I knew this because my friend¡¯s mansion in my vige still uses this traditional style.¡±


    Xavier and the rest of them followed the two of them, he looks around and muttered, ¡°So, this is...¡±


    ¡°This is the Beyor mansion, and somehow, they built the cemetery right above that once glorious mansion,¡± Justice replied, while he touch the stone b of the mansion, the remnant of the past. ¡°I think this is the builder or the maker¡¯s engraver, it was damaged beyond repair so we couldn¡¯t determine the specific year, I¡¯m afraid.¡±


    ¡°But at least we know the location of the mansion...¡± Xavier then thought something, ¡°I got to admit, the person that builds the cemetery above the mansion ruin where people are being ughtered was not right in the head.¡±


    ¡°Agreed, Gods, this is sick!¡± Justice shook his head in disbelief. ¡°No wonder this ce is cursed. This is not a proper final resting ce for anyone.¡±


    Andy looked around and seems trying to find something. Anne goes to him and asked the librarian directly, ¡°What¡¯s on your mind?¡±


    .....


    ¡°If my hunch was right, the Doomen tome is somewhere around here, I saw the aksara depicted of a hidden ce beneath us,¡± He crouched and feel every inch of the ground, if it wasn¡¯t for the pressing circumstances, Anne wouldugh seeing the awkward Andy with her bottom raised and aical expression on his face.


    She goes back to Justice and Xavier, exining about Andy that assumed a secret ce.


    ¡°Are you sure it was not inside the mausoleum?¡± Asked Justice.


    Nodding her head, Anne pointed at Andy. ¡°He told me about another aksara that depicted an underground ce, a tunnel or...¡±


    ¡°A cer, a mansion like this must have a vast cer beneath the ground,¡± Said Justice, his eyes wandering around the area trying to locate any entryway.


    Running in the other direction, Xavier was trying to search for the entryway in another area, Anne and Justice stayed with Andy when one of the guards call for him from another area.


    ¡°Your majesty, I think we have found the entryway.¡± Said the guard to Justice.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll follow you,¡± Justice nodded his head and turned around to Andy, ¡°Andy, call Xavier back, asked him if we found the entryway.¡±


    ¡°At once, your majesty.¡±


    The librarian run as fast as he could, calling for Xavier, while Justice and Anne go with the guard. The entryway was located on the surrounding dead trees; they need to lift the iron door together, the two guards, Justice and Xavier need to work together to open the iron door. The musty air engulfed everyone. No one knows how many years the cer was closed.


    They lighted their small orb, and finally see the inside of the cer. The room is filled with shelves and a big table that upy the middle section, there¡¯s dust and ayer of spiderwebs upying the room.


    ¡°It seems we need to find another secret door, great!¡± Xavier¡¯s frustration goes to everyone, they wanted this to end immediately, but it seems it will need a lot more than just getting the book at the altar.


    ¡°Let me search for another clue. I might be able to find it here somewhere.¡± Andy looked around the room and tried to find any Aksara.


    Meanwhile, Anne felt a pair of eyes, watching her from behind, the force thating from behind her make her ufortable. Her pale face got noticed by Xavier, he took her hand, and asked her calmly and with a soothing voice.


    ¡°Hey, what happened? You looked so ufortable right now.¡± Anne¡¯s eyes went wild. She tried to look at behind her, beside her, but there was nothing, only the void, and emptiness. Xavier hold into her shoulder, concerned about how unresponsive Anne was. ¡°Anne, are you listening to me? Anne, answer me.¡±


    Justice looks at Xavier and Anne. He then holds her hand while asking Xavier, ¡°Xavier, what¡¯s the matter? What happened to her?¡±


    Shaking his head to Justice, Xavier couldn¡¯t muster any words. Anne still looks like she was not with them right now until her eyes begin to flutter and she passed out in Xavier¡¯s arms. The two of them screamed, and not long after, all of the hovering orbs flickered and the lights out from every orb. Andy was screaming. Justice and Xavier were panicking, only darkness and the echoes of their own voice inside the room.


    ¡°Xavier, call for Ageha,¡± Justice trying to call for Xavier, his eyes were trying to adjust to the surrounding darkness. He waited for an answer, but only silence came from Xavier, he tried to reach for his friend, and thankfully, a hand was connected to his, ¡°Xavier is that you?!¡±


    The owner of the hand whispered to Justice, with a slight giggle, ¡°No.¡±


    The unfamiliar voice for Justice, he pushed the body away and called for his me sword, the room lit by his soaring me, his eyes grew wide at the entity in front of him, a man with long red hair and ck onyx eyes, smiling at Justice.


    ¡°Well, hello there, your majesty.¡±


    ¡°Who are you?!¡± Justice screamed at the person in front of him.


    Without answering his question, the mysterious person disappeared into thin air. Justice looked around and noticed he wasn¡¯t inside the cer anymore, and he was alone. ¡°F*ck! Where am I? Xavier? Andy? Where are you?!¡± He then looked around the room and noticed something, this is a mausoleum, where a single stone crypt was ced in the middle of the room.


    ¡°Hello? Anyone here? Answered me!¡± He shouted while cautiously walking around the mausoleum.


    Suddenly, the stone crypt begin to move, and the grounding of the two stones slowly moved, where the crown prince stand and was ready with his me sword, waiting for anything that wasing from inside the stone crypt. His heart beat faster. When a hand appear from the crypt, he was ready to sh the entity but stopped immediately after the head with purple color hair appeared.


    ¡°Anne?!¡± Said Justice with his sword ready to attack.


    Looking at Justice, Anne then let out a sigh of relief, ¡°Oh thank God! It was you. I thought it was that creepy man again. Please help me get out of here.¡± She extended her arm.


    ¡°Creepy man? What do you mean?¡± Asked Justice while he helped Anne get out of the crypt.


    ¡°I¡¯ve met with him at the moonlight town, and when we entered the cer, I saw him in the room¡¯s corner, standing, waiting,¡± Anne spoke about the man that he has met in the town, as the same man that Justice encountered earlier.


    He located the mausoleum door, and pry it open. Justice took Anne¡¯s cold hand, and with the light from the me sword, they walk through the intricate underground tunnel. The sound of the water dripping and the stench of the water gave him the idea of where they were right now.


    ¡°We are inside the underground sewer right now. Who would have thought that there was a mausoleum inside a sewer? Must be the least favorite person in the family.¡± Justice trying to make a light joke to ease the tension. Although Anne didn¡¯t seem so impressed, she was quiet the whole time they were together.


    ¡°He was the one that put you inside the crypt?¡± Justice tried another tactic. By asking a question, Anne¡¯s cold hand was holding into his hand tightly.


    ¡°Uhm... yes... he was.¡± The reply was short and simple.


    He was curious to see her, and also worried about her well-being, Justice wanted to see if she was fine, and look so d to see a light, a golden light, an indication that it was already an afternoon, time passing by quickly when they reached the end of the sewer, a voice calling for his name. It was Xavier running towards him, waving his hand.


    ¡°Justice! Oh, thank God! I was so...¡± His smile turned into a rage when he saw another person behind Justice, ¡°Who are you?! Why do you holding my friend¡¯s hand?!¡± Shouter Xavier.


    The hair on the back of Justice raised. He slowly looked behind him, and there he was, the man with red long hair and ck onyx eyes, smiling ear to ear to him.


    ¡°Well, hello again, your majesty.¡±

 Chapter 73

    73 A sweet kiss vs dangerous kiss


    ¡°Well, hello again, your majesty.¡±


    The creepy man then pushed Justice and make him stumble at Xavier, the two friends were ready to face the man, but they were cautious of him.


    ¡°I have to say my gratitude to you, your majesty.¡± Said the mysterious man. He even bows to Justice with an exaggeration.


    ¡°Why? Why do you owe me gratitude? I don¡¯t even know you?!¡± He shouted at the man, confused and also afraid to gaze at his ck eyes, the creepy ck color that now fills his eyes.


    ¡°Oh, but I do know you, recognized you immediately,¡± He smiled and slowly got closer to him and Xavier.


    ¡°F*ck, what is this? Howe you have gone with him from the sewer?¡± Whispered Xavier, his great axe already in his hand, ready to attack anytime that he wished for.


    ¡°Tell me that Anne is with you the whole time? Because that f*cker over there shapeshifted into Anne.¡± Justice pointed at the mysterious man with a face full of rage. He felt deceived.


    The realization goes to Xavier¡¯s face immediately, ¡°What... did you just say?!¡± He throw his great axe, and straight punched the man in the face. He was getting out of control until Anne shouted at him from afar.


    ¡°Xavier?! Xavier what are you doing?! Oh my God!¡± Anne rushed into him, but before she could reach the man, Justice was already there to prevent her from getting closer to Xavier.


    .....


    ¡°Don¡¯t, Anne! It¡¯s dangerous for you to get closer!¡±


    Anne turned her head, obviously panicking and frustrated. ¡°Then do something!¡±


    Justice saw his guards and Andy came closer. He asked them to hold Xavier and let him pin the mysterious man alone. They seed to calm Xavier, especially after he saw Anne unharmed by the mysterious man. She hold his hand and tried to ease his anger.


    ¡°Xavier, I¡¯m right here, don¡¯t worry,¡±


    With a panted breath, he looks at the girl and put his head on her shoulder. ¡°Oh, Anne, I thought... I thought he was doing something to you.¡±


    Tightly, Anne gets a hold of his huge body while Xavier gets to savor her scent, a peculiar but sweet scent. He likes it and really has a calming effect on Xavier. Justice saw them and was surprised by how easily Anne calmed the nerves of his friend.


    The mysterious man beside him chuckles like a maniac, ¡°Jealous, your majesty? It seems your friend was hogging the attention of your woman.¡±


    Frowning at the mysterious man, he asked him while his guards tie him up in the dead tree, ¡°Jealous? Then you know nothing about me. Who are you anyway?¡±


    The man creepingly smile and said, ¡°I amplicated.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?!¡± Xavier, who¡¯s already calmed his nerved came around and red at the man.


    The man whiffed the air around, and somehow the creepy smile widen, ¡°Apparently, so do you.¡± He said, while staring at Xavier.


    Xavier clutched his hand, and with gritted teeth, he walk closer to the man and said, ¡°Shut your d*mn mouth, you know nothing!¡±


    Looking at Justice, Anne tucked into his coat and asked him, ¡°What did he say about Xavier?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, it was gibberish. Stay close to me. We need to know about this man.¡± Said Justice to Anne.


    ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve met him at the moonlight town.¡± Muttered Anne.


    Justice turned to see Anne. ¡°He told me about it.¡± He then walked in front of the man. ¡°Who are you? Are you a magi? Where did youe from?¡±


    ¡°I was once a magi, and I am from here. I am what all of you couldn¡¯t possibly know about.¡± The man gave an answer that raised more questions than before.


    Justice frustratingly rustled his hair. ¡°Was a magi?ing from here? Just tell us your identity already!¡±


    The man unexpectedlyughs maniacally, and from nowhere came a lightning strike into the dead tree where the man is being held, Justice, Anne, and Xavier got thrown away by the force of the lightning strike, and the dead tree got burned in front of them. The mysterious man somehow remains unscathed and now hovering above Justice.


    ¡°What? what do you want?¡± Justice bravely confronted the man, his eyes looks around and saw Anne being saved by Xavier and Andy, he looked at his sword, but before he could reach for the sword, the man pulled him from the ground using a raw magica from the palm of his hand.


    Looking at his friend in distress, Xavier plunged himself into the man, but a force field threw him into the ground, meanwhile, inside the force field, the man spoke to Justice while looking at his face thoroughly, ¡°My, my, you¡¯re perfect as one of my helperter on.¡±


    ¡°What? what did you say?!¡± Asked Justice. He tried so hard to release the grip of the man while questioning his motive. The man just gave him a smirk and do something odd and terrifying. Fangs appeared from his teeth, and he bit Justice¡¯s neck.


    Screaming in agony, Justice could finally call for his sword and release himself from the grip of the mysterious man. The force field was destroyed, and Anne and Xavier go to Justice immediately, the bite wound still bleeding profusely, and Anne close the wound immediately with her hand and asked Andy to grab her bag on the carriage. Xavier fought with the man. He was raging, and although trying so hard to sh or grab the man, not once he seeded.


    ¡°You will never defeat me, young man, you need practice and much more power within you,¡± said the man hovering around, ¡°Tell your friend, I will be back, and I hope you will be ready for me,¡± his crimson long hair flowing from the wind, a pair of wings appear from his back, and he flew away from the cemetery.


    Cursing at the sky, he goes to look into his friend. Anne was in the middle of stopping the bleeding from the bite wound but to no avail.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Asked Xavier.


    ¡°The bleeding was too severe... I don¡¯t have the correct medicines for it,¡± Anne was panicking, the bite wound, although small but could nick into one of the arteries.


    Justice still screaming in agony, she need to find a solution fast or he could pass out from the bleeding. Anne asked Xavier to hold Justice in a certain position while she run outside the cemetery as fast as she could. The afternoon loomed while the moonlight almost appear, Anne frantically looking for the perfect nts. Maybe because of her prayer or a coincidence, a waning light from the afternoon sun shining directly into a yellow flower around the bushes.


    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± She shouted excitedly and brought the flower to the cemetery. She ground the petals and mix them with the crystal water. Afterward, Anne rubbed the concoction to Justice¡¯s wound.


    Thankfully, the nt worked wondrously, and Justice breathed regrly and finally calm down. Xavier and the guards brought him back to the carriage. He put his head into Anne¡¯sp, and before nighte, the carriage was on the way to the moonlight inn once again.


    ¡°Thank God you found the nt. What is it anyway?¡± Asked Xavier to Anne.


    ¡°Sheperdoes, the wildflower origin. I remember my father used the flower to treat any bleeding from a stab wound.¡± Anne answered his question while her hand caressed the crown prince¡¯s hair. ¡°I think I¡¯ll be going to apany him all night, just to make sure. Can you put him in my room instead? I have a double bed and a sofa, perfect for attending the sick.¡±


    ¡°Alright, but take a rest from time to time. I don¡¯t want you to get ill.¡± Said Xavier.


    ¡°I will, thank you for your concerned,¡± Smiling at Xavier, she gave him another of her hand to be held by him, for Anne they are bing more and more irreceable for her.


    Long night for Anne, she cared for Justice while asionally taking a nap here and there; he got a fever at two in the morning, and she change his clothes and also tend to his need, he wasn¡¯t lucid enough for a couple of days and Anne doesn¡¯t want to risk his health. They stayed at the inn, Xavier informed the pce, and they send prince Jason along with chief Obatto to assist Anne.


    After a week, Justice¡¯s fever subsided, and he was healthy as he can be. Chief Obatto praised our heroine for how caring she was looking after the crown prince almost with no rest. She doesn¡¯t want to get any credit, although Justice knew. He felt every touch and every soothing voice from Anne. When chef Obatto excused himself to inform prince Jason, Justice gazed at the young woman that had been by his side for almost a week.


    Her purple color hair shines brightly from the sunlight. It feels magical to him.


    ¡°Justice? Are you alright?¡±


    He wasn¡¯t realized for a moment his eyes were following every movement of Anne until the girl is close enough to his face. She looks concerned at him, ¡°did your fever raise again?¡± Anne put his forehead into his.


    Suddenly, Justice took a deep breath, and with his two hands, he lock her face and kissed her softly. Her eyes widen at his sudden action, how his lips caressed hers, how her eyes closed and enjoyed every moment. This is not her first kiss, but this is what you called an adoration and longing from Justice. A sweet kiss from the crown prince, and Anne feels so alive by it. Afterward, he smiles at her, with his thumbs rubbing at her blushed cheek.


    The sweet moment dissipates immediately when Xavier and Jason entered the room. Their face says that something bad just happened.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Asked Justice to the two of them.


    Xavier then said, ¡°Silver Hawk was here. Gaftan is in grave danger.¡±

 Chapter 74

    74 Border town


    Anne and Justice were surprised by the news. Gaftan is one of the safest border towns in the Valorian kingdom. Even Anne knew not every border town was as dangerous as it can be.


    ¡°Gods! What happened at Gaftan?¡± Justice turned to see his brother demanding an answer from him.


    ¡°The hoards, it was alreadying, they vanquished it, but the ndestine tower orb stays red,¡± Jason exined the situation to Justice.


    ¡°Impossible! It was supposed to be back into a green color or yellow even though thetter rarely urred, but red?¡± Justice gave his opinion to Jason and Xavier, asking his brother for another task, ¡°We need to go there with more army.¡±


    Nodding his head to his brother, Jason agreed and with another request at hand, ¡°Of course, Xavier and I will go there immediately. You need to make the assignment papers as soon as you arrive at the pce.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll go with you!¡±


    ¡°Justice, your fever just subsided. I¡¯m not going to let you go to Gaftan. You need rest.¡± Jason doesn¡¯t want to take a risk by bringing Justice along.


    ¡°I am fine. I have plenty of rest already.¡± Said Justice stubbornly, ¡°Besides, I need to ask Vale about something.¡± His hand instinctively goes to his neck where there were two puncture wounds lived.


    Jason saw how stubborn his brother was sometimes. He took a sigh and asked for chief Obatto to assess Justice¡¯s health. ¡°I will not let you go with us if Obatto doesn¡¯t agree, and that is final.¡± Warned Jason to his brother.


    .....


    Not long after, chief Obatto came inside and assess the crown prince¡¯s health, with Anne as his assistant. Satisfied, he informed prince Jason that the crown prince is already healed and had a good bill of health.


    ¡°Not only that, the crown prince seems to have much more stamina than before.¡± Said chief Obatto.


    ¡°How is that possible?¡± Asked Jason to Obatto.


    ¡°I am lucky that such a talented healer was by my side all week. She even gave me a breath of fresh air.¡± Smirked Justice while his eyes goes to Anne in the room¡¯s corner.


    She blushed uncontrobly when he mentioned their kiss earlier, so subtly in front of the surrounding people. Though Anne tried so hard to hide her face, Xavier saw a glimpse of her blushing face and knew what was happening between them earlier.


    ¡°Fine! We go in one hour, get some warm bath and breakfast,¡± Jason looked at Anne and asked her, ¡°You took care of my brother for a week, I¡¯ll make sure you will bepensated after I go back to the pce.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for thepliment, my prince, but it is my duty as the healer to help everyone in need, and it was the crown prince.¡± Said Anne to prince Jason.


    ¡°As I recalled, your third exam wille soon, right?¡± Asked Jason again.


    ¡°Yes, field training exam, your majesty.¡±


    ¡°Field training exam? Perfect! Then your exam wille sooner than the rest of them.¡± Said Jason to Anne.


    ¡°I beg you a pardon, your majesty?¡± Asked Anne, confused by his words.


    Prince Jason then asked chief Obatto, ¡°Is it possible for her to be in the border town as a part of her third exam? I want her to apany my brother.¡±


    The chief healer of the pce looks at Anne, and nodded his head, ¡°Yes it is possible for the exam participant to go away in a call for an emergency.¡±


    ¡°Perfect. Send chief Hale to the border town as a part of the healer reinforcement, and the evaluator for the girl.¡± Prince Jason enthusiastically spoke to chief Obatto, he excuse himself afterward to manage the provisions along with chief Obatto.


    Inside the room, Xavier leaned on the wall and chuckled at Anne, who was sitting beside him. ¡°Well, looks like you¡¯reing with us.¡±


    ¡°Not funny, I¡¯m worried now.¡± Whispered Anne, conveying her feeling to Xavier.


    ¡°No need to be worried, border town has the underground shelter for the citizens when the hoard ising, you¡¯ll be safe there.¡± Xavier convinced her. His hand goes to hers and stays there for a while.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I¡¯m worried about, I... I have already had a hard time because of my first exam, I¡¯m afraid about... You know.¡±


    Anne was talking about the bacsh, how the others perceived her after the first exam, and the heinous act at the second exam. Now, she even apanied Justice, her sponsor. She doesn¡¯t afraid of the bullies, but she is afraid that others will discredit her skill over her scandal.


    ¡°So, you better have typical field training, rather than the actual field experience?¡± Said Justice with a frown on his face. ¡°I know you aren¡¯t scared of those bullies. I saw your wounds and bruises. So what are you scared for?¡±


    ¡°My credibility, you realize that I¡¯ve been save at the first exam which made almost all the exam participants enraged, and in the second exam they know that you¡¯re my sponsored, and now I will get an exempt for the third exam.¡± Anne let out a sigh. ¡°What do you think will happen?¡±


    Justice stand up from the bed, and walk slowly to Anne, ¡°First of all, I was the one who saved you from the immediate dismissal, and second of all, you should be proud because I¡¯ve sponsored no one before,¡± He grab Anne shoulder and smiled, ¡°the third, you¡¯re going into a border town, the ce ten times more dangerous than any forest near the capital. I bet most of them wanted to be in your position right now.¡±


    ¡°So, are you going to be scared forever, River Anne of Viora vige?¡± Teased Xavier.


    ¡°Or going to fight and once again proved to the haters what exactly you¡¯re made of.¡± This time it was justice that talked to her.


    Looking at the two of them, Anne took a deep breath and said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go with you.¡±


    In another ce, five men are sitting in a war room, one of the special rooms in every border town. They all look exhausted and fed up with the crisis that they were being through. Horden goes inside the room bringing aggrus and bread for everyone.


    ¡°All of you should eat. Can¡¯t go into fighting if you are hungry.¡± Said Horden while handing the cup of aggrus to everyone.


    ¡°Are we sure that crystal orb isn¡¯t broken?! I mean, we need to wait for almost three freaking weeks for the hoards!¡± Henry mmed the table. There was a ck circle under his eyes, the obvious sign of how tired he was.


    Vale let out a sigh and look as tired as Henry. He chug his aggrus and scolded the captain knight himself. ¡°Calm down Henry, let¡¯s wait for Silver Hawk. Hopefully, we got the reinforcement that we need.¡±


    ¡°Hope it was sooner. I... I really wanted to go home now. I missed... the capital.¡± Henry was muttering while thinking about a certain girl with purple color hair. He missed her smile and how she blushed with a ray of sunshine on her face.


    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one who misses the capital, Henry.¡± Said Vale, he throws some of the bread crumbs to his friends. He was smiling, remembering the information from Kirara about the five percent magica inside Anne that came from him. Now, whenever Anne uses the magica from the bangle, he could feel the magica on Anne.


    Horden chuckled, looking at the two of them, ¡°Ohe on boys, don¡¯t you give up yet, as soon as we defeat another hoard you can go back to miss capital, sooner.¡±


    Henry red at Horden, while gruntled at him, ¡°Shut up gramps, I still hate you for the crystal dagger that you gave to a random girl.¡±


    Vale immediately chokes on his drink. He knows the owner of the crystal dagger. He locked eyes with Horden that smiled at him and gave him a wink. Horden knew about Anne and was satisfied to know that his grandson was actually smitten with his intended fianc¨¦ all along.


    ¡°Captain, are we going to wait for two weeks again?¡± Brom was lying on two chairs asking Vale in his groggy voice, ¡°I am bored.¡±


    ¡°Brom! For a bloodyst time, this is our assignment, not a vacation!¡± Shouted Vale with a re in his eyes at his subordinates.


    ¡°Teran, do you hear anything from the citizen?¡± Henry called for his subordinate, a huge man with golden brown skin and curly hair.


    ¡°Nothing captain, they are all tired and just wanted to get into their daily activity.¡± Said Teran.


    From the other corner of the room, Martin scoffed at Teran, ¡°Aren¡¯t we all.¡±


    Teran looks at him with hidden animosity. Brom saw it, but prefer to ignore it. He tried to go to sleep again, but suddenly another aura came to his attention. He jilted from his chair, surprising everyone in the room.


    ¡°God! Brom, what happened to you?¡± Said Vale at Brom.


    A young woman knocked on the door and entered the room. Her beautiful face had some simr features to Teran¡¯s. ¡°Captain, I¡¯ve got good news.¡±


    ¡°What is it, Taissa?¡± Asked Henry, curious about the good news.


    ¡°The crown prince Justice and prince Jason are here with the reinforcement!¡±

 Chapter 75

    75 Brom¡¯s Dillema


    The situation in the war room suddenly lit. The iing carriage of the royalty is the breath of the fresh air that they need. Vale and Henry rushed outside, waiting for the carriage. Up on the horizon, Silver Hawk flew low to his master.


    ¡°Wee back, Silver Hawk.¡± Vale was happy to see his familiar once again.


    ¡®I am back, master. I can be assured that you will be so happy to see the inside of the carriage.¡¯


    ¡°Yes, I know Justice was there. You can go back now. Good job, Silver Hawk.¡±


    ¡®It¡¯s not just the crown prince, I¡¯ll go back to take some rest now.¡¯


    Vale was frowning, and tried to ask Silver Hawk once again, ¡°Not just the crown prince? Who?¡± But Silver Hawk already flew inside Vale¡¯s shadow.


    ¡°That was weird? I wonder who that was?¡± Asked Henry. He was also curious about Silver Hawk¡¯s information.


    ¡°It is your girl, captains.¡± Muttered Brom, while he was yawning, with his uninterested face from behind them.


    ¡°Our what?!¡± Shouted Vale and Henry at the same time.


    .....


    The carriage was already arriving when Vale and Henry still berating Brom. Xavier jumped from the carriage and grab the neck of his two friends.


    ¡°Hey! I missed you guys!¡± Shouting at them with a silly grin on his face.


    Vale and Henry smiled when they saw Xavier, but after another person came out from the carriage, they were flustered and in awe.


    ¡°A... Anne?! What are you doing here?!¡± Henry asked her as Vale was frozen beside him.


    Anne warmly smiled at Henry and Vale. ¡°I came here to help, and also as the attending healer for the crown prince.¡± No one knows how happy Anne was when Henry and Vale appeared from the window of the carriage. She wanted toe and hug the two of them, but it will be a show for everyone around.


    Vale and Henry looked at each other. The knight captain then tried to ask her, ¡°What happened to Justice?¡±


    ¡°It was a long story. Let¡¯s talk about it after we discuss Gaftan.¡± Justice was already out of the carriage, with Jason behind him.


    The other nodded at them, and Anne took her bag and basket. ¡°I¡¯ll go unpacking in my room, just asked someone to call for me if you need me.¡± She said to Justice while her hand touched his shoulder.


    The other three saw the subtle but intimate move from Anne, and also the serene faceing from the crown prince. Henry knows the face. He snorted andughed, making the other look at him like he just losing his mind.


    They saw Anne walk away with one officer, Vale, and Henry. Although worried also delighted to see her again, no words can describe of how they missed her. The bewitched spell took a toll on their sanity. Vale tucked on Justice¡¯s shirt, trying to ask about their mission.


    ¡°So, did you get the book?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we got it. Let¡¯s look at the arcana tome when we are done in the war room.¡± Answered Justice to Vale.


    Inside the war room, they discussed the oddity of the ndestine tower. Horden gave them the overall report of the first wave of the hoard.


    ¡°Basically, two days ago, the hoard was finallying, the portal opened normally and there were two colossal, ten medium, and hundreds of small onesing out from the portal.¡±


    Justice and Jason listened to Horden with the written report in their hands. Jason¡¯s face was frowning when he read the report and listened to Horden. ¡°This is just a typical hoard, not even the biggest group.¡±


    ¡°Exactly your majesty, the abnormality was from the timing of the hoard, when the ndestine tower change color to red, sometimes we just need to wait for three days or one week for the hoard to begin, but this time, we were waiting for two weeks,¡± Horden exined to Justice and Jason and gave them another paper documents this time with the sketching from the battle artist, ¡°Gaftan battle artist drew this, you can see the type of monsters thating, we yed all of them but somehow the tower still on red.¡±


    Justice looked at the sketches and cursed, ¡°F*cks! Howe the monsters have different elements on them? Look, Snaillog is an earth type, but there was Pixikeep here in the wind element. This also never happened before!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right, we thought we were going to fight the same element of monsters also, but not only we got that pesky pixikeep, but we also got some fire type.¡± Henry handed Justice another drawing of a monster.


    A frown came onto Justice¡¯s face. ¡°I have never seen this monster before, Xavier, do you recognize this monster?¡± He asked Xavier to look at the drawing.


    Xavier came and surprisingly, never saw the monster, either. The hoard in Gaftan is bing a stranger by the minute. The reinforcement will arrive tomorrow. They discussed the provisions and camps for the reinforcement, and also the carcass of the yed monsters.


    ¡°We have it restored in the cold room, but not all of it. The pixikeep, of course, dispersed and the fire-type monster burned into ashes.¡± Martin reports everything to Justice and Jason.


    ¡°Ugh... I do hope I could see pieces of that fire monster, but I was d there were no casualties this time.¡± Said Justice, hepared the documents with the old documents of another border town, ¡°Although, Gaftan is always the safest, so we are going to double the guards, plus a magi and a huntsman in every rotation, the reinforcement willprise magi, huntsman and healer.¡±


    ¡°I agree, we have too many knights here, and magic knight still a rare type in the kingdom,¡± Henry spoke out the fact, with a bittered expression, his dream is to be a magic knight, sadly he doesn¡¯t have enough magica inside of him.


    ¡°Alright, let us hope the second wave ising after the reinforcement settled in tomorrow.¡± Said Jason.


    Justice squeezes into his brother¡¯s shoulder, trying to be supportive, as the prince, even though he was the oldest, Jason is always supportive of his little brothers, he never wanted the throne and hopes for a peaceful moment as the aide for Justice. As the true son of king Ascend, he knew his ce as soon as Justice was born. He knows who is going to be the crown prince.


    They had a discussion for almost three hours. Only the captains and Horden were there, apanying Justice and Jason, nning and rescheduling the rotation for the guards. Meanwhile, Brom met with Anne on the terrace of the barracks. He saw the purple color hair peeking at the bushes. Anne was in the middle of reading the herbology book. Brom peeked from the bushes, making Anne jump from her seat.


    ¡°Oh my God! Brom, you scared me.¡± Anne shouted at him, her book is now down to the ground, she cherish the book so much because it is her father¡¯s book that he gave to her the moment she decided to be a healer.


    Brom doesn¡¯t even bother to apologize, he just looks at her and thought about something. ¡°Hey, could I ask something?¡±


    Anne, who was a bit annoyed by him, just shrugged at Brom. She concentrated on cleaning her book, ¡°Yes? What is it?¡±


    ¡°When you came inside Gaftan, did you feel me?¡± Asked Brom.


    Anne frowned after hearing the question from Brom. Her head tilted and her eyes look directly at Brom. ¡°What? What kind of question was that?¡±


    His eyes still gaze at our heroine, mostly wondering about the feeling that came into him the moment Anne was entering Gaftan. He doesn¡¯t know why but he can feel her now, and the closer he was the feeling get stronger. ¡°Because I can feel you.¡± Said Brom to her.


    Brom answered, making Anne horrified. She whispered to Brom, ¡°You... You¡¯re not under the spell, right?¡±


    ¡°No, this is not the bewitching spell,¡± Said Brom. He was confused by this feeling, not an adoration that came from the bewitched spell. This was something else. He asked him another question that makes her even more terrified than before. ¡°What are you?¡±


    ¡°I... I don¡¯t understand. I¡¯m the same as you. Maybe just have less magica, that¡¯s all.¡± Anne stuttered at Brom. She was afraid Brom knew about her origin, and the truth that she already epted her situation made her restless again.


    ¡°No... You are something else.¡±


    Stepping closer to Anne, Brom was trying to confirm the new senses that came unbeknown to the two of them. But another hand grabs onto Brom¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°The f*ck you¡¯re doing here?¡± Xavier looked annoyed at Brom.


    ¡°Nothing, I just wanted to confirm something, that¡¯s all, captain.¡± Brom wasn¡¯t afraid of anyone, even Xavier, he politely excused himself away.


    Xavier¡¯s eyes lock on Brom, who¡¯s getting away, while Anne gets back to her seat.


    ¡°What did he want with you?¡± Asked Xavier, annoyed by another man¡¯s presence so close to Anne.


    Smiling at Xavier, Anne told him to sit beside her. ¡°Nothing. He asked me something weird, though. About how he can feel about me.¡±


    ¡°What?! What did he say?!¡± Enraged by the confession from Anne.


    Anne can sense the angering from Xavier, she steps up and calms him down. ¡°No, I think it was a mistake. I¡¯m going to have a talk with him.¡±


    Xavier nodded his head, ¡°Alright, look, we need to talk to you about the arcana tome. Let¡¯s go inside.¡±


    She packs her books and followed Xavier to the rest area. Her mind lingered on Brom¡¯s words, whether or not it was a good thing, she doesn¡¯t know about it for now.

 Chapter 76

    76 How to heal a bewitched spell


    The rest area is the ce for soldiers to have some entertainment and a good meal. There are private rooms intended for high-ranking officers. As soon as Anne get inside the rest area, all eyes were on her, the low-ranking looking at her either with a stinking eye or pure curiosity. She let out a sigh and just followed Xavier into the private room.


    Justice and Henry were already inside the room, sittingfortably on the sofa, they look up and beaming when Anne entered. The roomprises sofas for a casual meeting and a dining table with six dining chairs. Anne goes into one corner of the sofa and smiles nervously at all of them.


    Henry feels a little silly looking at her shyness in front of them. ¡°Anne, you can get closer to us, you know. We don¡¯t bite.¡±


    ¡°Oh... Uhm... Yeah sorry,¡± Flustered, she get closer to Henry and Justice and the two of them gazed at her in every movement.


    The two of them felt it, the longing and adoration is worsened, and thankfully they will have the answer inside the arcana tome. Xavier looks around to search for someone.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Vale?¡± Asked Xavier.


    ¡°Order some food for us,¡± Answered Justice. He then put the arcana tome on the table.


    Henry and Anne look astonished by the arcana tome, they stare at the forbidden book for a while, and even when Valees inside the room, the two of them open every page and admire the name of the spell and the be aghast when they read at the cursed section.


    The tome was being closed by Vale. He red at Henry and Anne while he took the forbidden tome from the two of them. ¡°What are you doing? You can¡¯t open the forbidden tome before I scan it?!¡±


    .....


    ¡°Sorry Vale.¡± Said the two of them at the same time.


    Vale snorted, but tried so hard to hide hisughter. The two of them look so cute together.


    Justice was loving it. He loved the mood between the four of them and Anne. He just hopes that the long time nned will follow through in the future. Vale begins their discussion by looking at Anne.


    ¡°So d that you knew everything. I hope by now you¡¯re not getting weird by our behavior.¡±


    Took a nce at Justice. The crown prince was actually smirking at her, knowing full well what he was doing to her. She blushed and tried to hide it. After she regains her expression in the new world, Anne has a hard time controlling any expression that she had.


    Her hand instantly goes to her lips, while her eyes locked into the ruby red eyes of Justice. She remembered every touch of his lips and how his hands cupped her face. Her first-time kiss in this new world came from the crown prince himself.


    ¡°Anne? are you here with us?¡± Henry tilted his head, blocking the view between Anne and Justice.


    Anne blinked several times, ashamed at how she was openly flirting with Justice in front of three other men. ¡°Oh, I am sorry, uhm... should we continue?¡±


    Henry and Vale shared a nce. They need to have a conversation with Justiceter on. Vale cast the scan spell, his glowing eyes staring carefully at the arcana tome, and thankfully he doesn¡¯t see any trap or curse on every page of the tome.


    ¡°It was saved to open,¡± said Vale. He looks at Anne and Henry with a smile on his face. ¡°I think both of you like to open this now?¡±


    The two of them enthusiastically open the arcana tome and search for the bewitched spell. Every page included information about the spell, and also how to prevent and cure the effect of the spell.


    ¡°There! We found it!¡± Anne pointed at the page with a very weird and terrifying drawing on it. a person takes out their heart and presents it to the other person. Anne got horrified by the drawing. ¡°Wait, that¡¯s a heart, right?¡±


    Vale peeked at the book and nodded his head. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what happened if we never release by the effect of the spell.¡±


    The terrifying effect of the bewitched spell that Anne could have never imagined. She felt sorry for them and will do her best to help them free from the spell. Henry saw Anne¡¯s face grow paler, he took the arcana tome and read the information of the bewitched spell.


    ¡°The Bewitched spell, an amore spell that needs over fifty magica of the user. It could be intended for the user or another.¡± Henry got amazed by how high the magica that it needs to cast the spell, He continued, ¡°When a person is affected by the bewitched spell the object of their affection will be their everyday mind, begin with dreams, a longing and passion, it will be ended with obsession.¡±


    ¡°Wow! That was... terrifying, we need to break free from the spell as soon as possible. We don¡¯t know what kind of danger Anne could expose herself to because of us.¡± Xavier felt the pressure. He knew how obsessive can be destructive.


    Vale calmed Xavier down. He was the one who knew Xavier¡¯s mood all too well. ¡°It¡¯s alright, we are going to be free from the spell.¡±


    Xavier nodded his head, Justice, and Henry looking grim. The exnation of the bewitched spell finally came down to their mind. The horrifying image of them getting too obsessed with Anne was too much to handle.


    ¡°So, how we can be free from the spell?¡± Asked Justice.


    ¡°It is here. We need to make a dispel potion, the potent one with premium ingredients.¡± Answered Vale while listing the ingredients that they need, ¡°Locussativa, Rosemaryberry, Gaaram, the hair of the object of affection, so it¡¯s you, Anne. This four is probably the easiest to get, but not the other three ingredients.¡±


    Xavier¡¯s face-palming on the sofa, he grumbled thinking how hard it will be when even the captain magi said so, ¡°Ugh... That¡¯s what I¡¯m afraid of, so what is it?¡±


    ¡°Mandragora, Echinavea, these two are probably inside the dark and mischievous road, I know some hot zone, prepared tobat though,¡± Vale said to everyone in the room, but then he stop for a moment before continuing on, ¡°thest one... it¡¯s the eggshell of the dragonling.¡±


    Almost everyone curses except Anne and Xavier. Dragon is rare, and almost all mature dragons were extinct because of the war of the gods one thousand years ago. One of the mature dragons in the Valorian kingdom is the twenty-year female dragon named Rhaemonda, empress Liberty familiar. A beautiful red-scaled dragon with white color eyes, the only female mature dragon.


    ¡°F*ck, it will be hard for us to get the eggshell of a dragonling. Rhaemonda doesn¡¯ty eggs in the past seven years now.¡± Justice was being truthful with the others, he knows about Rhaemonda. He sometimes apanies his mother to visit her familiar in herir and they saw no eggs, although Rhaemonda has three dragon mates.


    Xavier suddenly raised his right hand, trying to get everyone¡¯s attention, ¡°I know where we can get a dragon egg,¡± Everyone stopped talking all of a sudden and concentrated on Xavier, He then scolded Justice about Rhaemonda, ¡°and you, howe you never told me about Rhaemonda condition?¡±


    ¡°Well, she¡¯s my mother¡¯s familiar, and she told me to never revealed this to anyone, even my fathers never knew about this.¡± Justice was already fed up with the secret, but d that it wasn¡¯t his only secret anymore.


    Henry chuckled at him, whispering teased at the crown prince, ¡°So, the mama¡¯s boy has a shared secret with his mama.¡±


    Even Anne giggles from Henry¡¯s not-so-perfect timing for a tease, but they kind of need it right now. Gathering the ingredients will be arduous. After dinner, Anne and Xavier excused themselves, she need some rest, and so does Xavier. Justice, however, is trapped inside the room by Vale and Henry. They need an exnation of what happened between him and Anne.


    Anne said good night to Xavier in front of her bedroom door, Chikara already waiting for her, rubbing all over her leg to get her attention. Anne picks him up and after she freshens up and was ready to go to bed. She sleeps beside her familiar. Every day she could feel her rtionship grow, and to see him bing a mature demon cat will be astonishingly amazing.


    She slept without dreaming, and the restless night was gone. Suddenly, a loud thud came from her door. She jumped from her bed; the thud bing louder. It was a knock, a loud knock. Anne, with her raspy voice, called for anyone that knocked on her door.


    ¡°Anne? Are you awake already? It¡¯s me Henry, please open the door.¡± Anne put her coat in a rushed and open the door, Henry is wearing his shirt and pants, seems he was in a hurry to put his clothes on, ¡°You need to take shelter right away, take your familiar with you.¡± Henry was on edge and his sword was already in his right hand.


    ¡°What happ...¡± Anne gasped as her face is getting paler, ¡°The hoard? It ising now?!¡±

 Chapter 77

    77 The Second wave


    ¡°Now tell us, what did you do to her? You little sh*t!¡±


    Henry red at Justice while Vale chuckled with a cup of aggrus in his hand.


    Justice rolled his eyes. ¡°I do nothing to her. Calm down.¡± He was obviously lying.


    ¡°We have our deal! We weren¡¯t supposed to get in touch with her. How in Gods she was here? Even as your attending healer?!¡± As much as he and Vale love to see Anne, he also worries for her safety.


    ¡°Fine! It was because of the f*cking second exam, someone hurt her, and we thought it will be best for us to protect her if she were closer, and of course to tell her the truth.¡± Justice trying to exin everything to Henry and Vale as short as possible, but he exhausted to tell them the whole story where something peculiar happened to him, ¡°We got the book from the Beyor cemetery, we got some interesting journey to get that bloody book.¡±


    ¡°What kind of interesting journey, Justice?¡± Asked Vale. Justice was disturbed by his sudden question, but he knows Vale was a meticulous man, unlike Henry.


    ¡°We met someone,¡± It was Xavier, talking to them after apanying Anne back to her room, he walk and plunged himself onto the sofa, with his hands go behind his head he talks about the incident at Beyor cemetery, ¡°Anne met with someone who turned out to be another being that separated us briefly at the cemetery,¡±


    Henry and Vale shared a nce, Xavier knew immediately they are worried, ¡°Nothing to worry about, she was safe, turned out when we were separated, Anne got propelled with the guards to another room, while I was with Andy a junior librarian.¡±


    ¡°What about you, Justice?¡± Asked Vale.


    .....


    ¡°I was alone...¡± His face briefly looks at Xavier, warning him not to talk further. ¡°He got away though. We don¡¯t know who he is.¡±


    The room grew quieter for a while. Henry was obviously not very interested in the story as long as Anne was safe, and Xavier was being shutpletely by Justice, Vale, however, grew suspicious. He could see that something happened in the Beyor cemetery, people know the legend of the Beyor cemetery, but no one wanted to go there, even the crown prince and a huntsman captain.


    Standing up from his seat, Justice stretches his body and yawned, ¡°How about we go to sleep now? All of us need some sleep.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I was exhausted. Horden trained me like a f*cking amateur every day.¡± Henry goes out from the rest area before the others.


    Vale followed him from behind, but from his side eye, he saw Xavier having a serious confrontation with Justice. He close the door and walked back to his room. Vale was convinced that something terrible happened at Beyor¡¯s cemetery.


    Opening his door, he looks at Silver Hawk perched on the canopy of the bed.


    ¡°Silver Hawk, I need to ask you something.¡±


    ¡®What is it, master?¡¯


    ¡°When you were away to inform Justice, did something happen around him?¡± Asked Vale, while he put off his shirt and put it on the chair beside the firece.


    ¡®Nothing happened around him, master.¡¯


    Frowning, he turned around to see his familiar, ¡°Really? Nothing happened?¡±


    ¡®Yes, nothing happened, master, because it was prince Jason who received your message. He told me that the crown prince was still resting in his bedchamber.¡¯


    Suddenly, Vale mmed the bedpost. ¡°That¡¯s it. Something happened to Justice at Beyor¡¯s cemetery, but why does he need to cover it up?¡±


    Silver Hawkically tilted his head to Vale. ¡®Truthfully, I don¡¯t know, master.¡¯


    He smile at his familiar, ¡°No, my question wasn¡¯t intended for anyone. Thank you, Silver Hawk. You can go back to rest now.¡± Silver Hawk, althoughing from the strongest bird species in the kingdom, he¡¯s not the brightest one out there. His personality is almost childlike.


    ¡®Alright, good night master.¡¯


    ¡°Good night, Silver Hawk.¡± Said Vale. He was in the middle of adding more firewood to the firece.


    Afterward, Vale¡¯s mind was wandering around. He gets a restless sleep, thinking about his friend. Something was in the back of his mind when Justice mentioned Beyor cemetery. He remembered histe grandfather told him the legend back then, but his version of the legend differed from the others.


    ¡°If only I remembered.¡± Muttering Vale with his head on the pillow, not long after he felt his eyes getting heavier, and he fell asleep with Silver Hawk beside him.


    In another room, Henry and Xavier not feeling tired at all, decide to continue their conversation in Henry¡¯s room. They enjoy the aggrus, wallowing on the moon, and having a nice conversation. Hours went by when Henry suddenly wanted to ask him something.


    ¡°Now, you know what I¡¯m about to ask you, right?¡± Said Henry to Xavier.


    Xavier felt nervous all of a sudden, Justice already warned him about the incident at Beyor cemetery, he sips his drink and took a nce at Henry, ¡°Fine, but I¡¯m not going to tell you anything about Justice, he¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Wait, did something happen to Justice?¡± Asked Henry with a frown on his face.


    Xavier rustled his hair in frustration. ¡°F*ck, that wasn¡¯t your question. Justice will kill me.¡±


    ¡°Xave... What happened?! Just tell me,¡± Henry practically begged Xavier to speak the truth. He could see the matter was more serious than he thought.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll tell you, remembered when he said that there was someone, he was something else, when we fought with him, he...¡±


    Suddenly the sound of a siren ring from outside, Xavier and Henry stand up immediately. They summon their weapon and look at each other.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go fetch Anne.¡± Said, Henry.


    Xavier nodded his head. ¡°I¡¯ll go fetch Vale and Justice.¡±


    They separated in the middle of the hallway. The siren can¡¯t be heard anymore, but the echoes of a resounding horn came from inside the portal. Xavier pounded at the door in all the rooms. When he reached Justice¡¯s room, Vale was there with Justice beside him. Both of them look at Xavier, and he immediately knew what they were going to ask.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Henry¡¯s with her. He will make sure she goes to the underground shelter,¡± Xavier tells them, and together they run into the portal.


    The portal was already half open, and the small monster came out, scattering around, terrorizing the citizens who were trying to go inside the shelter. Justice and Xavier called their familiar to help. Kirara and Ageha came from their master¡¯s calling. The pixikeep brought mayhem. They bite and scratch everyone around, even gouging some of their eyes, It was hard to kill the pixiekeep it¡¯s because they are small and agile.


    Xavier grab two from onedy that lose half of her hair and with scratches around her face, he mmed the pixiekeep together and stomped on it. They instantly dispersed into glittering ashes. Justice shed so many of them with his fire sword, while Kirara gnawed on three of them.


    Henry saw Kirara, and disgusted by it, ¡°Oh God! She was a messy eater.¡± His hand skillfully pierced and shed two of the pixiekeeps.


    ¡°Oh, shut up Henry, just waited until Sabrina matured. She will be messier than Kirara, I am sure of it! Where¡¯s Anne?¡± Shouted Justice at Henry, while he was busy dodging two angry pixiekeeps.


    ¡°Safe inside the shelter, don¡¯t worry.¡± Said, Henry.


    As soon as the three of them heard she was safe, they were actively destroying the small size that keeping. Vale uses the tornado and also the protection spell on all the soldiers, but when Xavier looks up into the portal and saw three Minotaurs and five Bog Yeti get out from the portal. He immediately informed the others, ¡°The medium size is here!¡±


    They cursed and prepare themselves to eight medium and even stronger sizes than the monster.


    ¡°Vale, you go with Xavier, while Henry, you assist me, the other captains, make a team and pick your opponent wisely, good luck everyone!¡± Justice shouts at the whole garrison, which makes them cheer and prepared for fullbat.


    All of them were already exhausted. The enemies don¡¯te as the first wave, but it¡¯s already taken a toll on them. Jason came to his brother¡¯s side, and together they rally the attack against the group of medium size monsters that came into them. The formation from the gant knight, the magical circle that came from the magi, and also the battle cry from the huntsman.


    The attack was brutal, as much as they tried to handle the monsters the soldiers were already losing so much stamina and magica, Justice looked around to see Vale, Henry and Xavier managed to kill three of the Bog yeti, he looks at his brother and together they charge into one minotaur that was in the middle of pounce a soldier into the ground. Justice seeded in cutting one hand, and when the minotaur is in much pain, Jason came and impale the head of the minotaur using his spear.


    The medium size was all being in. They have destroyed the second wave. The soldiers were cheering. They were living in the moment until two humongous hands with ws appear from the portal.


    A colossal monster appeared from the portal, dark scales all over the body, a huge head with a big elongated horn on each side, yellow eyes, and fangs all over the mouth.


    Xavier looks at the monster and knew the species right away. ¡°Sh*t, it¡¯s a Bahamut.¡± He turned to Justice and said, with a horrified face, ¡°We are doomed.¡±

 Chapter 78

    78 Mighty Bahamut


    The Bahamut is a mighty monster that came from the soul of a fallen dragon. A beast that, ording to people, was one of the hardest monsters to kill. It roared even before all of its body left the portal. Most of the soldiers were injured and fallen. Justice looks at his brother. He doesn¡¯t want to look desperate, although the youngest, he is the crown prince of this kingdom.


    Justice grabs the arm of his brother Jason, and talks to him while calling for all the captains in the area, ¡°Brother, we need to do something. We have time. Therge size always has a dy when they tried to get out of the portal.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, maybe if we make a holy trap we could cage him for a while.¡± Said Jason.


    Xavier warned Jason immediately, ¡°No, Jason, do not do it. Bahamut may be a dark element, but going with the holy element will be easy for the Bahamut to destroy the trap.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the only way for now. Look at the soldiers. They were exhausted, and we already lost too many.¡± Jason¡¯s voice was cracking. He was tired, just like the other.


    ¡°Yes, but dark and holy elementsplement each other, unlike the other elements.¡± Valeing from the other side. He was in the middle of supporting Henry, who¡¯s passed out on his shoulder.


    Justice and Xavier were surprised to see Henry¡¯s condition. They run into their friends and look at a ghastly open wound on his stomach.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Asked Justice.


    ¡°The bog yeti gets him good. We need to get him into the healer tent immediately.¡± Said, Vale.


    .....


    A girl with purple color hair came towards them. She brought her leather medicine bag with her.


    ¡°Henry! Oh my God, quick, bring him to the healer¡¯s tent!¡± Anne pointed at the farthest healer¡¯s tent located inside the marketce. They never asked her reason to put Henry in the deepest part of the tent.


    They put him in the bed, and she treats his wound immediately. The wound was severed, but Anne was positive that it wasn¡¯t a life-threatening wound. ¡°He lost a lot of blood, but he will be fine, no organ failure. He was lucky.¡± Said Anne while casting the first aid spell on Henry.


    Vale felt a tingle in his senses. She uses his magica from inside the elderwood bangle. It felt strange, but also fascinating for him at the same time. She stopped the bleeding using the first aid spell and afterward mixed the correct medicine to apply to the wound.


    Justice saw something unusual when Anne rubs the medicine. ¡°Wait, why don¡¯t you bandage the wound right away?¡±


    ¡°We need to wait for the certified healer first. I¡¯m not qualified to give the final assessment to a patient.¡± Anne gave an apologetic smile to Justice. She felt like she couldn¡¯t give her best in front of people in Gaftan.


    ¡°How¡¯s our patient here?¡± Asked the healer with a sergeant pin on his sleeve.


    ¡°I gave him first aid and also half sheperdoes andvengar, mix with crystal water.¡± Anne nervously exined her method to the healer sergeant.


    ¡°Wait, we are run out of sheperdoes, where do you get it?¡± The healer sergeant looks at the strangest girl in a round of the important people in the kingdom with curiosity.


    ¡°I came here as the crown prince¡¯s attending healer. I realize Gaftan is in the valley, sheperdoes grow in the forestry area. I pick up as much as I could because I thought Gaftan healers will need it.¡± Said Anne carefully to the healer sergeant.


    The healer sergeant gave her a smile, ¡°Thank you we really need it, please go to the herbalist section, they will help you make it into a paste, as for captain Henry, I¡¯ll attend to his wound,¡± He looks at Anne and finally realized something, ¡°You¡¯re that silver pass girl that will be evaluated here as the substitute of the third exam, right?¡±


    ¡°Ye... yes, it was me.¡±


    ¡°Great, I can see a lot of potential in you,¡± said the healer sergeant to her. ¡°Now go, we need a lot of sheperdoes now.¡±


    Beaming with the recognition from the healer sergeant, she excused herself from the tent. They saw her running with a much bigger purpose and recognition from one of the certified healers in Gaftan. Justice asked the healer sergeant to treat Henry and all of them go back to fight the Bahamut.


    ¡°Now, tell me, does someone have some kind of a clue of how we are going to fight that b*stard?!¡± Justice looked around from Vale and Xavier, hoping for one of an idea to fight the beastly monster.


    ¡°I do. We need to use an elemental shield. It will tire the rest of the magi, but we can give you time to rally the troops and attack the Bahamut from all directions.¡± Said Vale to Justice. He wasn¡¯t confident of this n, but at least it will be sufficient until the other soldier gain some stamina. He took a small ss bottle from his pocket and drink all the liquid inside immediately. It was the energy potion from Anne, the potent liquid give him so much energy he yell at all the magi and instructed them to cooperate for the elemental shield, ¡°Remember, focusing on the body of the beast, not on you and the other, we want the Bahamut to be contained, understand?!¡± Said, Vale.


    Justice proudly smiled at his friend. He turned to Xavier, ¡°Just look at him, being all and mighty.¡±


    ¡°Let him shine, for now, it must be because he was bragging about the energy potion that Anne gave him,¡± Said Xavier whileughing.


    The Bahamut finally came out from the portal. The magi cast the elemental shield on the Bahamut. There were eleven magi left, including Brom and Martin. The size of the Bahamut was a problem for the magi. The Bahamut is huge, and they were fewer of them. Vale endured for as long as he could until he and the rest of the magi fall to the ground. They couldn¡¯t manage the elemental shield for long.


    Justice and Jason rally the knights and huntsmen as fast as they could, Jason looks at his brother and before they reach for the Bahamut, he does something unexpected to his brother. Jason knock him into the ground until he passed out. He called for one young private to take him to the farthest healer tent.


    Xavier saw everything before he could ask Jason. The prince gave him the reason, ¡°He was the crown prince, and the kingdom needs it him the most.¡± Jason then runs towards the Bahamut, leading the troops while Xavier looks at him in awe.


    That¡¯s when Xavier knew how Jason love his brother dearly, he smiles and promised Justice to protect Jason as best as he could. The attack was brutal. They were in the lost, the colossal monster against the tired and beat-up soldiers, not to mention they weren¡¯t that many of them in the first ce.


    The Bahamut did not even use his powerful attack, his arm just swing around. Some knights made a small cut here and there, but it was not enough to even make the Bahamut stop the attack. Xavier saw the opening. He called for three huntsmen to help him. They attack the same point at the Bahamut foot; it was one of the toes, and they seed to cut the toe of the Bahamut together.


    The Bahamut went berserk and the yellow eyes glow, all of them prepared for their fate. Xavier looks into Vale on the ground. They smile at each other, waiting for their fallen toe. But then, the sound of the galloping horseses from behind the Bahamut. They look and there are hundreds of soldiersing to assist.


    Five magic knights attack the Bahamut riding the Pegasus, twenty new magi cast full protect on all the tired soldiers, including Jason. The new arrival knight and the huntsman asked them to go back inside the town with the newly arrived healers. Vale and Xavier all helped the injured, while the reinforcement handled the Bahamut.


    The fight did notst that long. The in Bahamut head is now on disy at the gate, with people cheering along. Jason gazed at the ndestine tower, the orb color now back into the green color. Gaftan will be safe for a while. He walked inside the tent and saw Justice already conscious.


    His red ruby eyes red at his brother. ¡°What the f*ck brother?!¡± Berated Justice at Jason.


    ¡°I do what I need to do, which is to help our kingdom from losing their cherish crown prince.¡± Said Jason calmly to Justice.


    Justice stand up from his bed and punched his brother. ¡°But what about me? Do you think I will be happy if I lose you?!¡± He walk out of the tent, while Anne and Henry saw everything inside the tent.


    Someone tucked on Anne¡¯s shirt. It was Henry. He whispered to her suddenly, ¡°Go... he needs you know.¡±


    Anne nodded her head at Henry. ¡°I¡¯ll be back for you, okay?¡±


    She rushed outside the tent to look for Justice; she tried to look at the other tent, the crowds that weed the new troops. The crown prince was nowhere to be found. When she turned to see into another area, a voice calling her from behind.


    ¡°Miss Anne, fancy meeting you here?¡±


    She turned around to see Heirim in her armor, smiling at her.

 Chapter 79

    79 Justice and his condition (Part 1)


    ¡°Lady Heirim? What are you doing here?¡±


    Anne never expected to see Heirim in Gaftan, especially when the third exam will be held tomorrow. They look each other, assessing one another until Anne said goodbye to her.


    ¡°Wait, why do you go away in a hurry? Aren¡¯t you curious why I¡¯m here?¡± Heirim wanted to provoke her, trying to make Anne be something that wasn¡¯t special.


    ¡°Not really,¡± said Anne, shrugging at Heirim. ¡°Now, will you excuse me,dy Heirim? I have some important matters right now.¡±


    Before Anne left Heirim alone, thedy grab into her arm. She was enraged at her, ¡°Listen here, you b*tch, you should never think that you¡¯re something special.¡± She looks at Anne with pure hatred oozing from her body, ¡°You think because the crown prince needs you that you get an exemption and be here to get your third exam score? Don¡¯t be joking, you¡¯re merely a healer while I am the magic knight. Many people could be you, but few people could be a magic knight like myself.¡±


    Let out a sigh, Anne looks with a disinterested expression at Heirim, ¡°Look,dy Heirim, I really need to go right now, if you really have some spare time maybe you should visit your brother, he got hurt in the second attack of the second wave.¡±


    ¡°Henry? Wait, don¡¯t mess up with me, you peasant!¡±


    ¡°I am not, just go to the healer¡¯s tent beside the marketce, he will be there,¡± said Anne looking at her, while pulling his arm from Heirim¡¯s grip, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he was stable and just need some rest, now, I fare you a goodbye.¡±


    ¡°I let you go for now because of my brother. Just remember that!¡± She red at Anne for thest time, and walk away from Anne.


    .....


    ¡°Good riddance.¡± Muttered Anne.


    Once again, Anne tried to look into Justice, but the wave of the healers that were helping outside the town distracted her. She found Xavier and Vale on her way outside.


    ¡°Oh, thank God I found you two.¡±


    Xavier had a concern immediately. ¡°Anne, what happened?¡±


    ¡°Something happened to Justice, he was mad at prince Jason, and I couldn¡¯t find him everywhere,¡± Anne was worried sick, make matter worse she need to help the other healers, ¡°I need to help the others right now, please, found Justice for me, I was worried.¡±


    Vale holds her shoulder and smiles at her. ¡°We will search for him. You can go and help the other. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    After hearing the reassuring words from Vale, Anne tighten her medicine bag and run into one of the healer¡¯s tents, she met with chief Hale coincidentally inside the tent.


    ¡°Anne, ah so d to see you, so I¡¯m already talked with chief Obatto, and I will evaluate your progress,¡± Chief Hale told her while his hand was still busy mixing medicine, ¡°For now, you need to help me mix some ingredients and I want you to assist me on the field afterward.¡±


    Feeling nervous, she couldn¡¯t muster any words toward chief Hale. She just nodded at him, and immediately goes into action. She put every herb in order for easy ess. Chief Hale asked for a specific medicine and she mix the ingredients while chief Hale observe her. Next, they rushed into the outskirts of the town next to the ndestine tower. Anne needs to be brave. There were bodies all over the ce, the fallen bodies and the injured. She tried as best as she could to concentrate on her duty at hand.


    Together with chief Hale, they treated the wounded soldiers with care, chief Hale gave her instructions while asking for her opinion, the pressure of caring for the patient in the middle of once a battlefield, chief Hale trying to see how she could take the pressure.


    Meanwhile, Justice was strolling around the town and helping the soldiers take care of the fallen. The Fallen is the term that they are using in the new world to identify death. There are many of the fallen that need to be identified and tagged so their loved ones could bury them. Justice always hates this process, to see the fallen and thinking about their family.


    His father, king Leon, gave him the talk once empress Liberty dered him as the crown prince. He needs to think about the people of the kingdom first, choose the crown princess based on how she could lead the kingdom, not because of his own feelings, and protect the kingdom at all costs. These were the conditions that king Leon gave to Justice. At first, he never knew the meaning of protecting the kingdom, but after he saw how devastating the aftermath of every battle against the hoard was.


    He helped to arrange the body of the fallen with the soldiers. He could see the tears from some of them. It must be the friends of the fallen, not only the family that will be mourned. His shirt is stained from the blood of the fallen, but he doesn¡¯t care and follows the other group who¡¯s going to take care of the fallen near the ndestine tower. One of the soldiers cried beside him, while the others tried to console him.


    ¡°What happened to him?¡± Asked Justice to another soldier.


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t want to go to the front. We heard it was the most devastating aftermath, your majesty.¡±


    He knew the feeling all too well, the devastating feeling, a gripping pain of the thought for every fallen soldier in front of them. He needs to try his best to mask his feeling, especially when the smell of blood is everywhere. Somehow, he felt a strange feeling when the smell of blood was stronger.


    ¡°Your majesty, are you alright?¡± Asked one soldier when he saw Justice fall to the ground.


    Justice felt dizzy all of a sudden. One of the soldier call for the healer. Anne, who was in the area for a while, run towards them and saw Justice.


    ¡°Your majesty, are you alright? What happened?!¡± Anne looked into Justice and examine the crown prince.


    ¡°Anne? What... What are you... doing here?¡± Asked Justice with his shortness of breath.


    ¡°It¡¯s my duty. I was taking care of the wounded soldiers here.¡± Said Anne while he look at his face and feel his chest, ¡°You need to take a rest now. Go back to your room. I¡¯ll go and check on you as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°But I want... I want...¡±


    ¡°No, Justice, go back to your room,¡± Anne looks to the right and left. She called for one of the soldiers, whispered something to the soldier, and let him leave.


    ¡°What... What are you doing whispering to the soldier?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, so stay here with me, alright?¡± Anne gave a squeeze on his hand, and smile warmly at Justice, while her eyes stared at him, she was worried, something is wrong with him, and she need to get a full check on him, ¡°Stay with me, Justice, how are you doing? Justice?¡±


    Justice in between his shortness of breath manage to smirk at Anne, ¡°You called my name, even when there are soldiers here.¡±


    ¡°Well yes, I know you like it, so tried to take a good deep breath, and follow my lead.¡± Anne gave him an instruction, her hand staying in Justice¡¯s hand.


    Xavier and Vale,e into the two of them, turns out Anne was asking for the soldier to call Xavier and Vale, and he found the two of them at the same time. Anne stands up and waves at the two of them. She was d to see them, while Justice¡¯s grip on her hand got tighter. Justice sniffed at Anne¡¯s aroma. Somehow, it calms him the most.


    ¡°Anne, what happened to him?¡± Xavier asked her, concerned about his condition.


    ¡°Please take him back to his room. He was helping the soldiers arrange the fallen soldiers. I think something happened back then.¡± Said Anne.


    Vale crouched and look at Justice. He felt something was wrong. ¡°She¡¯s right, Xavier, let us carry him back to his room. It would be less crowded than the healer¡¯s tent.¡±


    Justice was being carried to his room. He finally let go of Anne when she promised to see him as soon as she was done treating the wounded. His gaze never goes away from Anne.


    Anne continued on her duty with another healer, chief Hale asked her to stay in the healer¡¯s tent for a while, until finally, the night came, she take a look at Henry and asked about his condition, Horden was there, looking after his grandson. Afterward, she goes to Justice¡¯s room, just like she promises earlier.


    Felt so tired, Anne already thinking of having a warm bath after she go to check on Justice¡¯s condition. Knocked on his door, and she felt cold all of a sudden. Opening the door of the room, Anne peeked inside to see a dark and cold room.


    ¡°Justice? Are you alright?¡± Asked Anne, carefully she entered the room, and look around.


    Someone suddenly grabbed Anne from behind. She was screaming and tried to release herself from her assant.


    ¡°Anne... It¡¯s... me...¡±


    Anne¡¯s eyes grew wide with fear, she recognized the voice, ¡°Justice?! What are you doing?! Let me go!¡±


    ¡°Anne... I... I am sorry.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    He asked for her forgiveness when he suddenly put his lips on her neck and sharp fangs pierce into Anne¡¯s neck.

 Chapter 80

    80 Justice and his condition (Part 2)


    The legend of Beyor, the one that Vale seems forgotten, but it¡¯s always in the back of his mind. He was in his thought while Xavier help Justice onto the bed. Vale looks at Justice. His friend looks worse than before.


    ¡°What happened to him at the Beyor cemetery?¡± Asked Vale to Xavier.


    Xavier gave out a sigh and finally being truthful to Vale, ¡°He got attacked by that mysterious man,¡±


    ¡°What?! and you failed to inform us about this?!¡± Vale was upset with Xavier when the three of them have their solemn vow to help Justice and protected him along with his chosen empress. Just like king Ascend and king Edward as the best friend of king Leon back then.


    ¡°He told me not to inform the two of you, but looking at him right now...¡± Xavier seems concerned, he was thinking about the infection that may have spread from his wound, ¡°Did he get an infection? Anne worried about the wound as well.¡± Muttered Xavier.


    Vale open the cor of Justice¡¯s neck, and he saw two puncture wounds that were already ckened. He doesn¡¯t see any infection in the wound. The two of them left Justice to rest, they go and saw Henry; they saw Heirim having a fight with his brother.


    ¡°I told you before, if only you just listened to our father, now look at you?!¡± Heirim spats her frustration to Henry, while he justy there epting the anger, ¡°Father told you that you should just quit after epting the captain rank, you should focus on bing the future duke, rather than this kind of grueling and dangerous mission!¡±


    Henry was not in the mood to hear anything from his sister. ¡°Heirim, please stop. I need to get some rest now, so... maybe just...¡±


    ¡°What?! I warned you, do not tarnish the Spencer¡¯s name, and here you are fighting as a mere knight, while I...¡±


    .....


    ¡°Heirim that¡¯s enough!¡± shouted someone from the other side of the tent.


    All of them saw Hordene inside. He was ring at Heirim, while the girl just sulking beside Henry¡¯s bed.


    ¡°What are you doing here?! I thought they were evaluating every exam participant right now!¡± Horden asked his granddaughter while scolding her openly.


    ¡°I... I thought my exam was already done after the Bahamut was in?¡± Said Heirim, nervously at her grandfather.


    Horden let out a sighed and pointed at the door, ¡°Go! Go and seek your evaluator. Your duty wasn¡¯t done after you in the monster.¡±


    ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll go, just to let you know. I was doing this town a favor bying here. Magic knight power is ten times better than a mere knight!¡± Said Heirim while scoffing at her brother and grandfather.


    She goes away from the healer¡¯s tent, giving Vale and Xavier ess to enter. Horden and Henry smile at the two of them, Xavier even joking about the furious Heirim.


    ¡°I take it that she will never win the sister of the year after that humiliation, Henry?¡±


    Henry rolled his eyes at Xavier, ¡°She never will. What are you two doing here, anyway?¡±


    Smiling at his friend, Vale gave a chair to Horden while he opted to lean on the post of the tent. ¡°We came from Justice¡¯s room. Anne asked us to help him get some rest in the room.¡±


    ¡°So, she found him. Thank God, Justice was having a verbal fight with his brother here, poor Jason. He thought he was doing a favor for him.¡± Said Henry, remembering the fight between the brother inside this tent.


    ¡°Well, in a way, he was, not just for Justice, but also for the kingdom,¡± Horden reminded Henry and the others. Justice, after all, is their crown prince, the key for the new ruler to enter the royalty. The future of the kingdomy in his hand, and if something happened to him, Jason and Javier will have a fight over the throne, a civil war, something that every kingdom or nation doesn¡¯t want to deal with.


    ¡°Gramps, do you know something about Beyor¡¯s cemetery?¡± Asked Henry all of a sudden.


    A frown came onto Horden¡¯s face. ¡°Beyor cemetery, who on earth goes to Beyor¡¯s cemetery?¡±


    ¡°Well, apparently, they did,¡± Said Henry, pointing at Xavier, ¡°They need to find something inside the Beyor cemetery, so along with a librarian and Anne, they go for an expedition at Beyor cemetery.¡±


    ¡°Well, you guys are crazy. You do know that ce is dangerous? There¡¯s a reason there was never anything that could stay alive inside the cemetery.¡± Horden muttered while shaking his head.


    ¡°Yeah, we noticed, there was no grass or live trees, although the graves were so clean.¡± Said Xavier to Horden.


    ¡°What did you say? The graves were clean?¡± Vale asked the question to Xavier, there was a high intonationing from his question.


    Even Xavier realized the changed intonation, ¡°Yes, why do you have to be so surprised about it?¡±


    ¡°No... it¡¯s because of the legend...¡±


    Suddenly a magi sergeant came inside the tent. ¡°Captain Vale, we need your help.¡±


    Vale immediately goes to the sergeant, excused himself, and gets out of the tent. Xavier had also gone away. Another huntsman called for him.


    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Asked Horden to Henry, when the others goes away from the tent.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, gramps, it¡¯s weird to see you worried about me, you know.¡± Chuckled Henry.


    A sad expression came into Horden all of a sudden, ¡°You know, I¡¯m always worried about you and Heirim, the two of you are my grandchildren, it¡¯s just because I could never express it so well,¡± He awkwardly smiled at his grandson, ¡°Your grandmother always tells me to express my feeling more, I guess she was right.¡±


    Henry felt so wrong after he teased Horden. He took one of his hands and grinned at him, ¡°I was joking, gramps, although we never had seen eye to eye sometimes. I know you care about us.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re such a b*stard.¡± Said Horden back, although he felt the warmth of every word that came from Henry.


    ¡°Oh, Horden, I mean duke Spencer, you¡¯re here?¡± A woman¡¯s voice echoed inside the room. It was Anne,ing with her medicine bag. She was tired, but felt content.


    ¡°Oh Anne, please just Horden.¡± Said Horden to Anne. He asked her to sit in the chair.


    Anne refused the offer, she smiled at Henry, while her hand goes to his temple, ¡°I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t, I just wanted to look at Henry,¡± Anne check up on him, and was satisfied with the result, ¡°Good, you don¡¯t have any fever, and no uneasiness everywhere? A pain, or maybe nauseated?¡±


    Shooked his head, Henry spoke at her with a sweet tone, ¡°I¡¯m fine, Anne, it¡¯s good to see you here, though.¡±


    Sitting in the corner, Horden can see their interaction with one another, they are alreadyfortable with each other. A sense of pride came into him, looking at maybe the future for his beloved grandson, and a smile came onto his face.


    Meanwhile, Vale and Xavier were met in the war room, where the other captains and amander have a heated argument about the ndestine tower. Xavier yawned and tried to sleep in the corner until Vale came and flick his nose.


    ¡°Captain Xavier, please remain seated and alert. We have a good bashing to be viewed here,¡± Vale whispered to Xavier while the heated argument in the middle of the room continued.


    Xavier¡¯s chuckled, ¡°Ohe on, this is typical of the magic knight captain, always the best and the right one.¡±


    ¡°Hear Hear.¡± Said another captain beside Vale.


    Now all of them snorted and needed to contain theirughter. Xavier then looks at Vale. ¡°Surely they are the most toxic captain around, like those blood gues hundreds of years ago.¡±


    Something came into Vale¡¯s mind. ¡°Sh*t! I know what happened to Justice.¡± Said Vale so suddenly at Xavier.


    Xavier looked confused. ¡°What? about our fight at the Beyor cemetery? Yeah, we know!¡±


    ¡°No, something about the blood gue...¡± He went quiet for a short time and run as fast as he can from the room.


    Xavier followed not long after, ¡°Vale, what the f*ck happened? Why are you running away?!¡±


    ¡°We need to go to his room, to Justice, something is wrong about him, f*ck!¡± Vale was shouting at Xavier, he even use haste to speed up their movement to Justice¡¯s room.


    When they reached the barracks, a scream came from the second floor. Xavier and Vale look at each other.


    ¡°Oh no! it wasing from Justice¡¯s room!¡± Said Xavier.


    They entered the room and look aghast at the view in front of them. Justice was in the middle of drinking Anne¡¯s blood from her neck, the intoxicated face of Justicebined with the helpless body of Anne, giving the two of them a shock. Xavier¡¯s eyes shimmered with anger. He tackled Justice and punched him in the face. Vale immediately goes to Anne and casts full protection. How d he was when he saw a serene expression on Anne, although she pass out immediately.


    Vale look into Xavier, who was punching Justice repeatedly, even though there was no paining into the crown prince¡¯s face. Only satisfaction and a smile.


    ¡°F*cker! You hurt her, why are you smiling?!¡± Wailed Xavier, he was frustrated and enraged.


    Vale shouted at Xavier, ¡°Stop! Justice wasn¡¯t himself right now, so stop Xavier!¡±


    Stopping his punches, Xavier turned around to Vale. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Vampirism, the blood gue. That¡¯s what happened to him.¡± Said Vale, with a grim expression.

 Chapter 81

    81 The Blood gue


    ¡°What about Anne? Is she alright?¡± Xavier asked Vale while he hold Justice.


    The crown prince was terrifyingly calm and just sat on the floor like he had done nothing wrong. Vale looks at him warily. He doesn¡¯t look like the friend that he knows. Brom suddenly came running inside, his face bing paler. When Vale shouted at him to close the door, not even he closed the door, but he also casts a time-space bubble.


    People will never see or heard anything from the room from now on. Brom looks into Anne, while Vale goes to look at Justice.


    ¡°What should we do to him?¡± Asked Xavier to Vale, who examined Justice. He told Xavier that he could release him now, ¡°Are you crazy?! Not a chance!¡± Xavier gruntled and red. He was devastated to see Anne.


    Brom put his hand to Anne¡¯s wound, he was worried about her condition and informed his captain, ¡°Captain, she lost a lot of blood. I think I need call for a healer.¡± Said Brom.


    Vale nodded his head at Brom. ¡°Called for chief Hale, we can trust him and say nothing. Just asked him toe with you.¡±


    Brom was put unconscious Anne on the bed. He then runs as fast as he could to find chief Hale. At the other end of the room, Vale and Xavier grab Justice and force him to sit on the sofa. Vale step into the bed and pressed at the puncture wound, just to make sure she wouldn¡¯t lose too much blood until chief Hale came into the room.


    On the sofa, Justice panted so hard, his eyes blinked and he saw Xavier locking his eyes on him. He knows what he had done to Anne. The hunger and desperation set in as he was conscious the whole time. Justice tried to lock himself, but it was toote when he heard Anne calling for him.


    ¡°How is she?¡± Justice asked Xavier about Anne¡¯s condition.


    .....


    Xavier coldly looked at him, and the only words that he could muster were that they will need to wait for the healer. Xavier know it wasn¡¯t his fault, it was something else, but he just couldn¡¯t see his face without going to throwing a punch at him.


    A knocking came from the door, Xavier open the door and saw Broming in with chief Hale. He looks at Justice and runs into him.


    ¡°Your majesty! Are you alright?!¡± Asked chief Hale when he saw blood came dripping from his lips.


    Justice wave his hand to chief Hale, ¡°No, no, chief Hale, it wasn¡¯t me, it was her, got to Anne.¡± his hand pointed at the unconscious Anne on the bed.


    Looking at her, he rushed to Anne¡¯s side, and barking order to Vale and order, ¡°Quick! Grab my medicine bag. It¡¯s inside my bedroom, two rooms from here!¡±


    Vale and Brom go outside immediately and into chief Hale, they go back in record time, while Brom fixed his time and space bubble, and chief Hale treated Anne¡¯s wound. Vale, Justice, and Xavier were having a heated discussion.


    ¡°Are you joking? Why Justice? Why?¡± Xavier grab into his hair, frustrated at howe his friend could do something so cruel to the woman that they care so much about.


    Justice wipe his mouth with his handkerchief, he would stare at the bloodied handkerchief, and it was down on him, ¡°This is her blood,¡± Muttered Justice, ¡°Smells like blood now, but before it smells like... like home and hope.¡±


    Vale and Xavier look at Justice with devastating faces. The way he described Anne¡¯s blood aromas made them chill all over their body. His subtle satisfaction made Vale finally remember every detail of the story of the Beyor cemetery.


    ¡°His lust for blood came when the others mourned for the father. At the end of the day, Beyor lost every living descendant and the cursed mansion became the cursed cemetery.¡±


    Justice¡¯s red eyes go to Vale. ¡°That was different. In the story that general people have some knowledge about, we never knew what happened inside of the Beyor mansion.¡±


    ¡°and who was he? The one that has a lust for blood?¡± Asked Xavier to Vale. He was pretty much curious about the other takes on the legend.


    ¡°Apparently in my grandfather¡¯s hometown, they have another version of the legend, where they knew about what happened inside the mansion,¡± Said Vale. He even said another thing, ¡°The legend actually has the origin of the blood gue,¡±


    Chief Hale immediately gets closer to Vale, and so does Brom, blood gue is one of the strongest and most horrific gues about three hundred years ago, but the record never shows where the gue originated from, some say it¡¯sing from the outer sea of the neighboring nation, other says it was a cursed from the Gods.


    ¡°What do you mean that the Beyor cemetery legend came from the blood gue origin?¡± Asked chief Hale. He then pointed at Anne. ¡°You know, the girl over there has a wound that is simr to vampirism, a disease that shouldn¡¯t be existing in our kingdom anymore!¡±


    Everyone around went quiet, while chief Hale looking around the room. Justice let out a sigh and asked chief Hale about Anne¡¯s condition.


    ¡°Is she okay?¡± Asked Justice. There was despair on his face.


    ¡°She will be alright, but now we need to wait if the vampirism will spread or not.¡± Said chief Hale.


    ¡°How long?¡±


    ¡°About two or three days. If there¡¯s no blood lust, then it will be a miracle, but we need to observe her for three days max, and also the one who bites her...¡± Said chief Hale to everyone in the room.


    Justice leaned on the sofa, his eyes wandering to the ceiling. ¡°We need to be in the solitary room for now. Maybe we need to be moving right away?¡±


    Chief hale nodded his head, ¡°I agreed, we need to move your majesty and miss Anne into a perfect ce, where we could analyze them,¡± He then tapped his chin, and gave them some suggestions, ¡°How about the main hospital?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s the worst ce for the two of them.¡± Vale shook his head, and he turned around to see Brom. ¡°Brom, there¡¯s a free space on the alchemia tower, right?¡±


    Brom, who was in the middle of staring at Anne, got distracted and said a quick yes to Vale. Xavier clenched his fist. He wasn¡¯tfortable with how Brom always set his eyes on her.


    ¡°Alchemia tower? Interesting, we could ask Amaris, and she also could analyze the two of them.¡± Said Chief Hale.


    ¡°Brom, I want you to inform your mother immediately, maybe using your familiar.¡± Vale once again turns his head to Brom. He even called for the young man to be sat on the sofa. He was concerned for his safety, looking at how Xavier already growling while looking at Brom.


    Yawning and looking disinterested as always, Brom sat on the sofa, and to make it worse, he sat beside Xavier, the young man really doesn¡¯t have any fear in his bone.


    ¡°Sorry captain, I don¡¯t have any familiar.¡± Said Brom to Vale.


    ¡°What? You¡¯re a talented magi, and you don¡¯t have any familiar?¡± Asked Vale, frowning at his subordinate.


    Brom just shrugged, although there was a reason for hisck of familiar. He couldn¡¯t form any bond with a monster or animals around. He tried but always failed in the process. Somehow, the animals are either scared of him or feel some kind of animosity toward him before the bonding process.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, let me send my familiar,¡± Chief Hale said to Vale, and continued to give instructions to everyone, ¡°Now, I need you to prepare two carriages for us to use, we are going to leave Gaftan in one hour.¡±


    ¡°Let me ask one maid to prepare Anne¡¯s luggage and maybe changed her clothes?¡± Said Justice.


    ¡°Are you mad?! The maid will see those blood all over her. She will be another target of conversation.¡± Xavier red at Justice, thinking that the crown prince may be lost his mind.


    ¡°So, how do you reckon we are going to do with her? We can¡¯t leave her all bloodied for the entire journey back?!¡± Justice felt frustrationing from Xavier and gave him to look at his point.


    Brom stands up from the sofa and voices his opinion to Justice, Xavier and Vale, ¡°Then how about the three of you changing her clothes then?¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± The three of them shouting at the same time.


    ¡°Why not? Just close your eyes and tried to not touch anything forbidden.¡± Said Brom with a shrugged and excused himself from the room with chief Hale.


    ¡°But... But... Brom, are you sure?¡± Asked Vale, flustered by his subordinate suggestion. However, Justice and Xavier already consider it.


    Brom gave his captain a smirk. ¡°Or, you could just wait for her to be conscious. It will probably be sooner. I can feel she has already regained her consciousness.¡±


    When Brom and chief Hale were gone from the room, they heard a moaning from the bed. Anne was finally conscious of her ordeal with Justice. They went quiet and stiffed. As for the vampirism, Anne could have gone berserk as soon as she awaken, now the three of them need to be prepared for anything.

 Chapter 82

    82 The Next Journey Home


    The looks on the three of them made Anne so curious. They have the looks that


    She asked them while trying to get up from the bed, ¡°Why are you crowding on me?¡±


    ¡°Anne, are you... are you alright?¡± Justice nervously asked her. His hand helped her, how d he was when there was no uneasiness towards him.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine...¡± Then everything came back to her. She was shaken and took nced at Justice, ¡°You... you bit me!¡±


    ¡°I know Anne, I am so sorry, I don¡¯t know what¡¯sing on my mind at that time,¡± Said Justice, feeling remorse towards Anne.


    Xavier took the charge of holding Anne and asked for Justice to mind his distance from her. Justiceply and retreated to the farthest from the other two. Anne looks grateful towards Xavier, although that drudge feeling still lingered at Justice.


    ¡°I know that something happened to you at Beyor¡¯s cemetery, but I¡¯m sorry Justice, I can¡¯t even look at you right now.¡± Said Anne meekly at Justice.


    Agreed with her opinion, although Justice feels bittered by her reaction, ¡°I agreed, I will take my distance from you, don¡¯t worry, however...¡± He looked warily at Vale and Xavier, ¡°We need to discuss something.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like the sound of that. What is it?¡± Anne let out a sigh when she looks into the three of them.


    .....


    Trying tofort her, Vale patted Anne¡¯s hand. ¡°Anne, we need you and Justice to be in an istion chamber for maybe about a week.¡±


    Her ears were ringing, and Anne¡¯s eyes goes to Vale, ¡°What? I am sorry, but I need to take a minute about what you said earlier. You said one week in an istion chamber?¡±


    ¡°Yes, unfortunately, Justice had a disease that he might transmit to you.¡± Xavier carefully exined the situation to Anne.


    Vale, smiling at Anne, tried to give her thefort that she might need. ¡°We also need to go as soon as possible. We never know when uhm...¡±


    ¡°When the bloodlust will set in, I know I read about Vampirism before.¡± She then took a deep breath and exhale it, ¡°So, where do you take us now? I mean one week in istion will be hard, and I reckon we need to in a secret about this. Thest thing people wanted right now is another gueing into their life.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, that is a good mindset for a healer, Miss Anne.¡± A voice came from behind them. It was chief Hale, smiling at her, ¡°We need to go as soon as possible. You may change your clothes first. Brom already set two huge carriages for us.¡±


    ¡°Chief Hale, I am surprised to see you here, sir.¡± Anne felt a bit taken aback.


    ¡°How are you feeling? I gave you some painkillers. Maybe you feel a bit nauseous?¡±


    Shaking her head, Anne finally realized chief Hale was treated her wound. ¡°Thank you so much chief, I¡¯m fine for now.¡±


    Chief Hale looks satisfied. ¡°Good. Now maybe these three gentlemen could help you go back to your room?¡±


    ¡°No, thank you, chief, I could go back by myself,¡± Said Anne smiling at chief Hale, ¡°Although, I am so sorry, is it alright for me to go into istion when the announcement of the civil service exam came out?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s quite alright, miss Anne, I got all the evaluation that you need. The announcement wille in two weeks so, there¡¯s time.¡± Says chief Hale reassuringly smiling at Anne.


    Anne gave out a sigh of relief. Now all she needs to do is to go into the istion chamber. Justice, on the other hand, feels some pressure on him. He asked Vale to call for Jason. They need to have a serious talk. Anne excuse herself back into her room when Jason came inside.


    ¡°What happened? Why are you packing your bag?¡± Asked Jason, he looks confused by how busy the maids were inside Justice¡¯s room.


    Looking around the room, Justice called for Jason to go outside and talked on one of the terraces, the barrack has a special terrace with chairs and a small table, and soldiers can have afortable conversation while looking at the view of the botanical and herbs garden below.


    They sat on the chair, where Justice begin to speak, ¡°Look, I know you have my best interest in your heart, but next time, please be more considerate next time and maybe asked me beforehand.¡±


    Jason chuckled at his brother, ¡°You do realize the Bahamut already peeking at the portal, right? I don¡¯t have the time, little brother. What I had in my mind was how to save you, as the prince of this kingdom. Protecting you is my main duty.¡±


    Frustrated with his brother, Justice rustled his hair and spoke his mind, ¡°No brother, you are what you are. I want you to think about yourself before me! I can protect myself, and you also need to protect yours.¡± Justice was frustrated by his brother, Javier was the cold and calcted brother, while Jason always put Justice¡¯s interest above all. For the young Justice, the love from his brother isforting, but not for the adult Justice, the one that has everything figured out and is capable of his own. ¡°Brother, I love you, and you¡¯re the one that I can count on since I was a toddler, but you can¡¯t dote on me so much.¡±


    The realization came downing on Jason, ¡°I... I never thought you felt like this about me, I guess This is why you spent your time more with your best friends than with me,¡± said Jason bitterly, he nced at his little brother, ¡°You do know that I never intended to be possessive at you, right?¡±


    ¡°I do, brother, you always have a strong sense of duty above Javier and sometimes, even me,¡± Justice smiled at his brother, he holds into Jason¡¯s shoulder, ¡°But I want you to be the man you want to be, not as the prince that need to sacrifice everything for the crown prince.¡±


    Jason closed his eyes and the warm breeze of the dawn wind came through his face. He nodded and smiled at Justice. What he saw before was the young crown prince with loose two front teeth grinning at him. Now, it was a handsome young man, smiling at him with his red hair and red ruby eyes.


    The two of them have a discussion about Justice¡¯s disease. He gave him the information, but not as much as Jason need to know. Jason asked him to keep it a secret from Javier. The second prince will do anything to get the crown prince¡¯s position. When he knows that is something wrong with his little brother, Javier will definitely dispute everything in front of the councils.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about Javier. I will try to divert his attention for a while,¡± said Jason to Justice. ¡°I need to have someone take your paperwork every day, maybe Bernard? and what about the mysterious man that bites you?¡±


    Justice froze for a moment. ¡°I... I never thought of him, f*ck you¡¯re right, I¡¯ll have the discussion with everyone in the carriages.¡±


    ¡°Be careful brother, whoever he was, I sensed that wasn¡¯t thest encountered you¡¯re going to have with him,¡± Jason warns his brother before he goes back to the war room, his duty, for now, is to observe Gaftan and observe the ndestine tower.


    Already finished packing her bag, Anne waited for the others on the terrace. She never meant to overhear Justice and Jason, but it will be more awkward for her to go away. She sat so low between the hedges, avoiding the brothers. After hearing their conversation, a hand caressing her cheek, she squeak and saw Justice smirking at her.


    ¡°What do we have here, a young girl hiding and overhearing the conversation of the royalty,¡± Justice chuckled at her, ¡°You realize that purple color as the hair will never hide you from even the dense hedges or nts, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    She was pouting at Justice. ¡°I don¡¯t know you have a private conversation with your brother. Believe me, I tried to go, but both of you will notice.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I was noticing the flowy purple hair before you even sat on the chair. Good try though.¡± Said Justice while softly poking at her nose.


    Anne rubbed her nose and red at Justice, ¡°Fine, I¡¯m sorry, your majesty, I didn¡¯t intend to overhear the conversation, happy?¡±


    ¡°Good, just wait for my punishmentter on,¡± Justice smirked at her and go back to his room. One thing that he was realized, Anne doesn¡¯t have any fears in her eyes anymore, it was enough for him.


    The carriages were ready for them, one carriage is being loaded the trunks and bags, while the other was packed by everyone, the drivers and another servant arranged the pieces, while Anne, Vale, Xavier, Justice, chief Hale, and Brom took their seat inside the massive carriage.


    Sitting at the end of the carriage with the view from the window is how Anne loved to sit on every journey. She took a deep breath and look all over around the carriage, it will take almost two days non-stop to go back to the capital. What a long journey with very different natures of people.

 Chapter 83

    83 The sons of Richard Beyor


    The carriages go fast. In just half an hour; they were already leaving Gaftan. Anne sighed while her eyes looked at the view from the window.


    ¡°I never said my goodbye to Henry and Horden. I was hoping I could say at least a goodbye.¡± Anne whispered to Vale, who sat beside her.


    Vale tried to calm her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I wrote a note. When he is fit for traveling, he will surely go to the alchemia tower.¡±


    ¡°Then, in four days, he will be fit for traveling.¡± Muttered Anne, her hand stroking into the soft fur of her familiar, Chikara¡¯s purringfortable enough to sit on his master¡¯sp.


    ¡°Miss Anne, how are you feeling right now?¡± Asked chief Hale. He was sitting next to Justice, observing either the crown prince or her.


    ¡°I am perfectly fine, a little lightheaded maybe, but nothing serious.¡± Anne gave him the proper answer before looking out the window once again.


    ¡°What about you? Your majesty? Any difort?¡± Asked chief Hale to Justice.


    Shaking his head to chief Hale, Justice gave him a clear answer of his condition. ¡°I feel fine and strangely feel healthy as ever.¡±


    Chief Hale took out his healer note and begin to ask questions to Justice, although the alchemist is the one that had done the experiment, healers need to give the assessment to their patients, that¡¯s why the healer and the alchemist are the units that need to stand beside each other.


    .....


    One of them was still curious about Vale¡¯s story. It was Xavier, he looks at Vale and asked him truthfully, ¡°I just couldn¡¯t understand, Vale, who¡¯s the man on your side of Beyor¡¯s cemetery legend? It was so puzzling to me.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let me tell you the side of the story, the first part of the story is the same,¡± Vale give in to Xavier¡¯s request, after all, they have a lot of time on their hand right now, ¡°Although, the only difference in my grandfather story that after the sons brought the dead body of Richard Beyor, on the third night of mourning, one of the Richard Beyor sons ughtered the family.¡±


    Everyone inside the carriage was suddenly interested in Vale¡¯s story, even Brom, who was sleeping soundly the minute ago.


    ¡°What? so Richard Beyor wasn¡¯t the killer?¡± Asked Xavier, he was so infested with the story now.


    ¡°No, in my grandfather¡¯s version, Richard Beyor never awaken, and the ughter wasmitted by one of his sons. The mansion also wasn¡¯t burned immediately.¡± Vale continued on, looking at the other people, ¡°Instead, the whole family came outside andmitted killings in the nearby town, they dried up the victim¡¯s blood, and the victims became the same as the assant, hence the origin of the blood gue.¡±


    ¡°Interesting, so, Richard Beyor wasn¡¯t the killer, and the ughtered be the origin of the blood gue,¡± Muttered chief Hale. His mind then goes to another point in the story. ¡°Which of the Richard sons, though?¡±


    ¡°They never knew, only one of them, so not all of them, but which one, we never know.¡± Answered Vale to chief Hale.


    Suddenly, Anne remembered something in her old world, where technology is the key to civilization. There was a certain gue that came originally not from humans but it was man-made. The gue came from inside theb, from the ss tube into the immune system of the human.


    ¡°Oh, my God! I think I know who¡¯s the one that ughtered the entire Beyor family.¡± Said Anne to the others.


    Justice frowned and curiously asked our heroine, ¡°Really? Who was it?¡±


    Anne excitedly answered Justice, ¡°Well, it was obvious, the one who took the golden device, Drake Beyor.¡±


    ¡°Why? Why him?¡± This time, it wasing from Xavier.


    ¡°Because all of you questioning who is who but not what is what, obviously the golden device was the trigger of all the tragedy, and who¡¯s the one that grabbed the golden device? It was Drake Beyor!¡± Said Anne. She then gave them her reason. ¡°Look, the first son saw the golden device, but never took it. So does the second son, but the third son grabbed the golden device.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense. Miss Anne, I think you¡¯re into something here... interesting.¡± Chief Hale was more impressive than ever to Anne.


    ¡°What a fact, very impressive Anne.¡± Vale smiled proudly at Anne, his hand teasing her arm, making Anne nce at him. They look at each other fondly until Chikara meowed at his master and hissed at Vale. Justice chuckled from the other corner of the carriage. He knew very well about Anne¡¯s obsessive familiar.


    Brom, who¡¯s sitting between Justice and Xavier, once again staring at Anne. His new fascination with the girl was a surprise for him.


    ¡°What the f*ck are you looking at there?¡± A voice whispered in Brom¡¯s ear.


    Turned around he saw ring eyes from Xavier, Brom shook his head and close his eyes, but after he was whispering to Xavier, ¡°I was just looking, no need to growl at me, you don¡¯t want her to know about your true nature, right?¡±


    Xavier clenched his fist. Brom surely knows something more about Xavier than he should. Vale saw the anger inside his friend. He called his name and gave Xavier a silent warning. This is not the time for them to argue.


    At the other corner of the carriage, Justice tried to remember the face of the mysterious man who gave him the wound. He touched the bite mark and nced at Anne. Guilty remorse always came into him whenever he saw a glimpse of the bite mark on her neck. He feels disgusted by himself; he doesn¡¯t know who else is going to be his victim. In his mind, he needs to find a cure as soon as possible.


    They took a rest at one restaurant near ake, getting to see the beautifulke, even though they need to eat in a hurry, Gaftan and the capital are actually three days journey, they tried to reach it in two days, not impossible but an arduous task.


    ¡°How long since we go out from Gaftan?¡± Asked Xavier, he was in the middle of pouring some moomilk for Anne and chief Hale, while Justice, Vale, and Brom already munching on some bread and butter.


    Vale took out his MoonSun dial and put it on the ground. He took a peek and said to Xavier, ¡°Almost five hours, remember we need to be back on the road in half an hour.¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on, was it already that long?¡± Xavier bes grumpier, he then stands up from the ground and runs in a circle.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Asked Anne to Xavier, she was shocked to see him running around.


    Vale and Justice chuckle when they look at Xavier, they already use to Xavier¡¯s antic. Chief Hale came from the carriage, he got some rest one hour before they arrived at the restaurant. All of them don¡¯t want to wake him up, since the second wave, and this is the first rest that he could get.


    ¡°Ah, why don¡¯t you wake me up?¡± Said chief Hale. He sat on the nket and drink the moomilk, while Anne prepared him the bread and butter.


    ¡°Are you alright, chief? We don¡¯t want to wake you up since you look so tired, and all of us thought you need the rest.¡± Anne exined their reason and handed him the bread and butter.


    He munched the bread and butter and let out a sigh of relief. Anne feels sorry for chief Hale, and she offers him her homemade tonic, which he gratefully took. Justice told chief Hale that the tonic is potent and good, although he never locks eyes on Anne anymore. Justice feels afraid even to stare at her. He was hoping Amaris, the chief Alchemist, know the cure.


    Drinking the tonic, chief Hale could feel the energy going back into his system. The tonic really works wonders for him. He looks at Anne and praises her, ¡°This is amazing, miss Anne. Would you be willing to patent your tonic?¡±


    A bit surprised by chief Hale¡¯s suggestion, ¡°Really? I mean, I know it was good for your body, but I never thought to patent the tonic.¡±


    ¡°Why not? After you patent the tonic, you can sell it everywhere. It will help so much for the exhausted soldiers everywhere.¡± Said chief Hale.


    Anne looked around and finally made a confession, ¡°The tonic is my family recipe. I don¡¯t know if my parents want it.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you should ask them first?¡± Justice gave his opinion to Anne while trying to avoid her eyes. ¡°You don¡¯t know how much it means for the soldiers everywhere. You even saw them. They were struggling.¡±


    After thinking for a while, Anne gave in and said yes, ¡°Alright, I will ask my parents, but I can¡¯t guarantee the answer. My father never intended tomercialize his creations.¡±


    Chief Hale leaped and even shouted in the air, making everyone around him surprised by his excitement, ¡°Oh, Gods almighty, thank you so much, miss Anne! You don¡¯t know what it meant for the soldiers in the front line everywhere.¡±


    One hourter, they are preparing to go back on the road. Anne was in charge of bringing back all the tes into the restaurant. However, she doesn¡¯t realize there¡¯s a pair ofzy eyes following her from behind. The curious eyes tried to find some kind of answer from the girl with purple color hair.

 Chapter 84

    84 Sharing floor


    ¡°What are you?¡± Said the voice of a man from behind Anne.


    Anne squeaked and almost lose her bnce, Brom catches her before she fall to the ground, ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Brom? What are you doing sneaking up from me like that?!¡± Anne was so angry, she pulled herself away from Brom.


    The young man, however, didn¡¯t budge and just stands up to his ce, ¡°I am sorry, I came here to help you.¡±


    ¡°Help me with what?! Look, Brom, you¡¯re getting weirder nowadays, the question is supposed to be what happened to you?!¡± Anne had enough of his weird behavior. She looks at him and demands an answer.


    Brom put his hands inside the pocket of his trousers. The only answer he gave to Anne was, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I have never been interested in you, but why I can feel you?¡±


    Slowly, Anne took a deep breath and spoke calmly to Brom. ¡°I don¡¯t know Brom, I really don¡¯t know, you should be the one who seeks for the answer.¡±


    ¡°But, that¡¯s why I asked you, what are you? You have zero magica, you have a particr color of hair, and you have more than one skill.¡± Brom slowly walked closer to Anne, ¡°What... are you?¡±


    ¡°Anne, what are you doing there?¡± Another voiceing from behind Brom. Anne and Brom turned around to see Xavier standing up with his hand folding in his chest, ¡°I asked you once again, what are you doing?¡±


    .....


    Nervously, Anne tried to form a smile on her face. She was scared, but not for her safety. Her eyes nced to Brom, ¡°I was going to go back, but I met with Brom coincidentally.¡±


    Xavier towering beside Brom, he looks at Brom and growled, ¡°You really are one of a kind, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Unexpectedly, Brom bravely looks at Xavier and smirked, ¡°Yes, I am one of a kind, you just don¡¯t know it yet.¡±


    That was the first time Brom gave them a different expression, other than his usual unamused andzy face. Even Xavier was taken aback by his changes. Anne took the time to pull Xavier away from Brom. Thest thing that she wants was another confrontation, and from the looks of it, Brom was ready to have that confrontation with Xavier.


    Together with Xavier, Anne was rushed to enter the carriage. She turned on her back and see a peculiar sight. She just couldn¡¯t believe her eyes, her step bing faster than before.


    ¡°Anne, slow down, what happened?!¡± Asked Xavier, he was surprised by her changing attitude.


    Anne¡¯s face grew paler, ¡°No... Uhm... nothing, we need to go back, now!¡± Stuttering, she pointed at the carriage, where she basically dragged Xavier to the carriage, ¡°Oh look! Look! The carriage, oh I was so tired, going to sleep right away!¡±


    Suddenly, before she goes inside the carriage, Xavier pulled her hand. ¡°Anne, look at me,¡± He said to her, ¡°What happened? Why were you suddenly getting so nervous?¡±


    Anne¡¯s eyes nced into the other person behind Xavier, and a sigh of relief came into her. ¡°No, not a problem anymore. Come on, everyone¡¯s waiting.¡± Anne said to Xavier, and she enter the carriage immediately.


    ¡°What happened to her?¡± Vale, who¡¯s thest thates from the town, asks Xavier after he saw Anne¡¯s weird behavior.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. She looks so terrified. I tried to ask her, but she didn¡¯t answer.¡± Answered Xavier.


    Meanwhile, Anne rushed inside the carriage. Justice and chief Hale were stunned by how fast Anne jumped into her seat. Justice saw how pale her face was. He called her name, but Anne never budged. He carefully touched her hand to get her attention.


    ¡°Anne, are you okay?¡± Justice calmly asked her.


    When Anne saw Justice¡¯s face, somehow she felt a rushed of relief, and a smile came into her face.


    ¡°I am fine now. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    He doesn¡¯t believe it in the slightest, but also couldn¡¯t pressure her to speak. Justice then smiled at her and go back to his seat. When Xavier and Vale go inside the carriage, not long after, Brom also took a seat, and they continued their journey back to the capital.


    One by one, they fell asleep. Brom was the first one, while Xavier continuously red at him, and Vale questioned his behavior towards his subordinate.


    ¡°I can never understand, why we need to be brought him along?!¡± Gruntled Xavier, his finger goes to sleeping Brom beside him.


    Vale took a nce while he was busy putting a nket on Anne. ¡°Oh, I never told you? Brom¡¯s mother is the chief of the Alchemia tower.¡±


    ¡°No wonder... You should never take your eyes off him.¡± Said Xavier to Vale.


    A frown appears on his face. ¡°Why? He¡¯s a good magi, though he was a bit peculiar most of the time.¡±


    Xavier¡¯s scoffed at Vale¡¯s defense for his ¡°A bit peculiar? He was more than that. Did you know that he even threatened me at one time?!¡±


    Vale tried to shush Xavier, ¡°Alright, calm down, everyone was sleeping, what happened with you and Brom?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. I have a feeling this fellow beside me doesn¡¯t fall asleep at all. So, let us speak about thister.¡± Xavier closed his eyes, grumbling, while Vale smiled and leaned on thefortable seats. He and Xavier already promised each other that one of them will take turns sleeping.


    Protecting Anne and also observed Justice¡¯s condition were the main focus for the two of them. Vale took a nce at Brom. He tried to make sense of Xavier¡¯s paranoia about Brom. Vale liked Brom and also respects his mother Amaris, as far as how Xavier saw him. All he got, for now, was the benefit of the doubt towards Brom.


    The carriage took them to the capital faster, rather than two days. They arrived at the capital in one and a half days. Amaris was standing at the front gate, waiting for their arrival. She ushered Anne and Justice immediately to the highest floor.


    ¡°There are three rooms and one kitchen, so it will be sufficient enough for miss Anne,¡± Exined chief Amaris, she took a nce at Justice, ¡°I don¡¯t know about the crown prince, the room is just a basic bed and wardrobe, but the view is beautiful though.¡±


    Justice gave her a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, chief, I am used to a harsher environment.¡±


    ¡°Having to sleep on themoner¡¯s bed wasn¡¯t the harsher environment, your majesty.¡± Amaris reciprocate the smile with some sassy words.


    Vale and Xavier look at each other. They knew something happened between these two. They can feel the tension in the air.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how I can breathe the same air with these two. They already suffocating me.¡± Whispered Xavier at Vale.


    Vale whispered back, ¡°Don¡¯t mind us. What about Anne? The poor thing was trapped between those two.¡±


    Our heroine was indeed standing between Justice and Amaris. The only thing that she could manage was to smile awkwardly while the two of them argued. Thankfully, chief Hale, thest one that enter the floor with Brom, interrupted Amaris and Justice.


    ¡°Amaris, what are you doing to make the poor girl stand? We were exhausted. I am sure she needs to rest.¡± Chief Hale gave her a warning and took Anne¡¯s hand away, he choose the middle room for her. ¡°This is the perfect room for you. The view is amazing.¡±


    Entering the room, she look around and saw a single bed with a musty mattress, and a wardrobe with a creaking sound when you open the door. The whole room also felt stuffy, but she smile at Amaris and said thank you.


    ¡°I will get you some fresh linen, dear. I am sorry this is the most isted area on the tower that can amodate more than two people.¡± Chief Amaris said to Anne, while her hand pointed at the bathroom, ¡°There¡¯s only one bathroom as well. I¡¯m afraid you need to share it.¡±


    There¡¯s nothing Anne can do. The thought of sharing a bathroom with Justice, Xavier, and Henry already horrified her so much. She put on a brave face and nodded her head.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I need to go now,¡± Said chef Hale, looking at the MoonSun dial on the table. ¡°I need to submit miss Anne¡¯s result and have a meeting afterward.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll send you the letter when I got the result.¡± Chief Amaris said to chief Hale, ¡°I¡¯ll take care of them, don¡¯t worry Hale.¡±


    Chief Hale said his goodbye to Amaris and escorted him back to the ground floor. Justice took the room on the right side of Anne, while Xavier and Vale shared a room on the left side of Anne. When she dusted the room, Brom came inside with fresh linen for her. Anne almost jumped when Brom called for her.


    ¡°I was just going to drop this bed sheet, I mean I know you were upset about my behavior before, I am sorry,¡± Brom felt so guilty after he was pushing her over his curiosity before, ¡°I hope you wouldn¡¯t afraid of me afterward, I saw you look so terrified after our confrontation.¡±


    Anne could see he was really trying to make amends. She took a deep breath and told Brom the truth of what happened back then, ¡°It wasn¡¯t you that makes me horrified Brom. It was someone behind you.¡±


    Brom was stunned. He asked Anne one more time, ¡°Who? Who did you see?¡±

 Chapter 85

    85 The woman on his dream


    Brom¡¯s expression changed immediately, his eyes grew wide and his face was as white as the linen sheet that he brought.


    ¡°Brom, are you alright?¡± Asked Anne, while she helped him to sit on her bed. He was having a hard time breathing, Brom was in shock, and cold sweats came from his body.


    Looking at his condition, Anne goes to the kitchen right away and makes some metee drinks for him. It will calm him down, at least for now. He drank it gratefully and after some color back to his face, Anne asked him the same question as before.


    ¡°Thank God! Are you alright?¡± Asked Anne.


    Brom nodded his head, ¡°Thank you, yes, I am fine now, thanks to you.¡± He gave her a smile that he rarely showed to anyone.


    Anne sympathizes with him. She asked him another question afterward, ¡°What happened to you Brom?¡±


    The room was quiet for a short time until Brom spoke again, ¡°That person who you saw behind me, do you know her?¡±


    Now, it¡¯s Anne that went quiet. She stared at Brom, and when she tried to ask him again, her bedroom door opened. There¡¯s Vale outside of her room, stunned to see Anne and Brom sitting in the bed.


    ¡°Anne? What are you doing with Brom?!¡± Thankfully, Vale is one of the most level-headed men. He rushed inside the room and shut the door. ¡°Oh, my Gods! You¡¯re lucky I was the one who found you. Do you imagine if it was Xavier?!¡±


    .....


    ¡°Oh, shush Vale, can¡¯t you see I was trying to help Brom,¡± Anne exined to Vale while rubbing Brom¡¯s back.


    Vale looked at her while squinting his eyes. ¡°Why are you rubbing his back?¡±


    ¡°I am trying to calm his nerves! He had a panic attack earlier.¡± Anne tried to reason with Vale, while Brom sipped on the metee drink in his hand.


    Hearing the truth from Anne, Vale immediately goes to Brom and asked him a question, ¡°Was it your dream? Was iting again?¡±


    ¡°A dream? What kind of dream?¡± Asked Anne, even though the two of them pretended not to have heard anything.


    ¡°I¡¯m alright, captain, it wasn¡¯t like that, I got...¡± He looks directly at Anne, giving her a hint for her to be quiet for now, ¡°Maybe because the room is too stuffy, right Anne?¡±


    The two of them looked at her. While Vale demanded some answers, Brom prevents her from speaking. She chose thetter, ¡°Yes, probably the fatigue finally set in...¡± She tried to find a good answer, ¡°How about this, you take a rest, for now, I¡¯ll be checked on you tomorrow, alright?¡±


    They have their understanding, and their conversation will be continued tomorrow, in private. Brom excused himself afterward. Anne took the fresh linen and change her sheet. She took nced at Vale and asked him.


    ¡°Alright, you saw me. What do you need from me?¡±


    Vale scratches his hair. ¡°Well, we need you to, uhm... help with the sheet.¡±


    Frowning at Vale, she asked him once more, ¡°Yes? What happened to the sheet?¡±


    All of a sudden, a knock came on the door. ¡°Vale, how is it? Could Anne help me put the linen sheet?¡± It was Justice¡¯s voice, and she was in awe of the two of them.


    Opening the door of her room, she smiled at Justice and make a sweet voice, ¡°Oh my God, your majesty, what an honor!¡± Anne¡¯s smile went missing, and she red at Justice, ¡°You want me to change your linen sheet? Dream on!¡± She mmed the door in front of Justice.


    Vale was terrified. ¡°Did you just?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I was rejecting the crown prince¡¯s offer to grace my presence in his bedchamber. Now you, captain magi, get out of here!¡±


    After Vale also got out of her room, she took a deep breath and finally could rest well. The next morning, she feels refreshed and ready to have a good shower; she opens her door to see Xavier and Vale in the kitchen having a conversation.


    ¡°Good morning.¡± Anne smiled at the two of them.


    They called for her to go into the kitchen. Turns out Vale was cooking some breakfast. She sat on the chair and begin to eat. Xavier and Vale discussed their duty, as active soldiers, all of them have their duty that they need to do. As for the soldier that has a mission, Vale will be granted two weeks¡¯ rest before he was go to his active duties again.


    Xavier will go today. He got the twenty-four hours of guard duty at the west forest. Vale will apany her with another person.


    ¡°Who is it?¡± Asked Anne.


    ¡°It¡¯s Bernard, justice chief guard. He was great, a bit stiff, though.¡± Said Vale and then sipped on his caftea.


    ¡°Bernard?¡±


    Justice came out of his room. He yawned, and asked for a cup of caftea from Vale, ¡°Yes, Bernard, my chief guard, I hope our lovelymoner here will be fine with that?¡±


    Seems like Justice was still a bit upset about thest night. Anne saw how the obvious aura of annoyance came from the crown prince. She chuckles and tried to start a conversation with him.


    ¡°So, have you seeded in folding your linen, your majesty?¡± Anne couldn¡¯t help herself tease Justice.


    ¡°Shut up. I just wanted to ask for some pointers. You know I¡¯m trying to do it myself, right?¡± Said Justice with a frown on his face.


    ¡°Alright! I¡¯m sorry, I was so tired. Let me help you with your bedter on, alright?¡± Anne tried to persuade him with a little charming smile intended just for the crown prince.


    Xavier saw the charming smile, he curses and muttered, ¡°D*mn! Now I want to sulk just because someone doesn¡¯t want to change my bedsheet.¡±


    Vale almost chokes on his caftea after hearing Xavier. After an hour, Vale asked Anne to go downstairs to meet with chief Amaris. She casually go to chief Amari¡¯s floor and saw Brom eating his breakfast outside at the lounge. Every floor of the alchemia tower has a designated public room. For this floor, it was a lounge room with a breakfast nook, with a view of the open kitchen.


    ¡°Morning Brom. How are you feeling today?¡± Asked Anne to Brom.


    He saw Anne, and with his casualzy eyes greeted our heroine, ¡°I¡¯m fine, thank you miss Anne, do you want to see my mother? I think she was inside herb all night. Probably will take a break in one hour.¡±


    ¡°Wait, did you say that your mother was inside herb all night?¡±


    Brom nodded his head, ¡°Yes when she has a new project, she will take a short break now and then.¡±


    She was stunned. As a healer, she always assesses everyone¡¯s health, and to have a short break wasn¡¯t ideal even using any health tonic. She gives in for now, after all, Anne doesn¡¯t want to offend Amaris as she was the guest in her alchemia tower.


    ¡°Thank you forst night. I don¡¯t want to make my captain worry.¡± Said Brom, opening the conversation between them.


    ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± Anne smiled at him. She decide this is the right time for the two of them to talk privately. ¡°Now, you can talk about the woman that gave you the nightmare. Who is she?¡±


    ¡°Wait, how do you know she was a woman?¡±


    Smiling at him, she gave him the answer, ¡°When you asked me about the person behind you, I never said it was a woman. I guess you unconsciously remembered her.¡±


    Taking a deep breath, Brom nodded his head, ¡°Yes, I was afraid of her. She was entering my dream for such a long time.¡±


    ¡°Was she a scary-looking woman?¡± Asked Anne. She was so invested in his story now.


    ¡°No, she was a beautiful woman, so beautiful that she doesn¡¯t look real to me. With her long ck hair and rainbow color eyes, she always tried to reach me with her slender figure.¡± Brom tells Anne about the woman while closing his eyes. Even when he remembered her in his mind, he was shuddering with fear.


    She knows the woman, she already saw the woman, the woman that Brom mentioned was the same mysterious woman who bothered her in the forest in the Viora vige and the same one at the pce ball. Everything bes much clearer for Anne now. It must be why Brom felt something from her. That woman was the reason for it.


    ¡°Brom, she was in fact the woman that I saw beside you,¡± Anne gave him the answer that make Brom bittered.


    He took a deep breath once again. ¡°I thought it wasn¡¯t her, but it turns out it was her after all. She likes to wander around, sometimes when I was alone, or even with people around me.¡±


    Anne feels sorry for him. ¡°Is that why you don¡¯t like to be surrounded by people?¡±


    Brom went quiet. He stared at Anne and said, ¡°You know, you¡¯re a weird girl. Seems like your age doesn¡¯t add up with your appearance.¡±


    ¡°I guess so...¡± Answered Anne calmly at Brom.


    Amaris came out of the room and saw Anne, she told her to go inside herb, and after she excused herself, Brom quietly stared at Anne from behind, when the door went closed, Brom then muttered to himself, ¡°I guess I was right, she really is a stranger to this world.¡±

 Chapter 86

    86 The son of the sons


    This is the first time Anne entered Amaris¡¯sb. She was in awe; she imagined theb that was featured in the fantasy book, where there was an array of ss vials everywhere, colorful liquid bubbling on the burner, and one wooden panel with forms of some kind of experiment written in it. Anne was right, all of her imagination came true.


    ¡°I was not disappointed at all.¡± Mumbled Anne.


    Chief Amaris turned around to her, ¡°Yes? Did you say something?¡±


    ¡°Oh, nothing!¡± Said Anne while waving her right hand. She gave chief Amaris a smile. ¡°I was admiring this room.¡±


    Smiling proudly at herb, she nodded at Anne. ¡°I know, right? Almost every new experiment was created here.¡±


    ¡°You really love your duty, I could see it in your eyes.¡± Said Anne to chief Amaris.


    ¡°I do, my father is one of the high-rank magi, but I never had it in me to be a magi, all I do was experimenting all day in my room, and here I am.¡± She excitedly tells Anne while going to her table and taking a crystal and a needle, ¡°I need to take the sample of your blood, is that alright with you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please go ahead.¡± Anne extended her arm for chief Amaris to draw her blood sample.


    The blood drawing technique here in the new world was different. Just as the people depend on magica and crystal, chief Amaris pricked into her fingers and she let the blood run through the crystal. The crystal shined and changed form to a crystal bubble. Anne¡¯s name appeared on the crystal bubble that contained her blood.


    .....


    ¡°Alright, I need one day to determine if any disease came inside your system or not.¡± Chief Amaris said to Anne. The crystal bubble was in her hand, and she ced it on her table.


    ¡°Thank you so much, chief Amaris. I... I have a request if that¡¯s alright?¡± Anne reluctantly said to the chief of the Alchemia tower.


    ¡°Of course. What do you need?¡±


    ¡°I wanted to call my dorm friends to bring all of my essentials to the alchemia tower. I mean, I don¡¯t have any fresh clothes.¡± Anne almost pleaded at this point, she was indeed in need of fresh clothes.


    Chief Amaris, humming and thinking for a while, she looks at Anne and gave her a suggestion, ¡°How about making a good excuse at first, as you know we don¡¯t want this disease to be heard by the public.¡±


    Feel the need to make a good excuse, Anne closed her eyes for a moment, until she finally came up with a good one, she spoke to chief Amaris immediately, ¡°I could say to them that it was one of my given duty by the pce as the attending healer of the crown prince.¡±


    ¡°Good idea. Maybe you could ask one of the gentlemen to lend you their familiar.¡± Said chief Amaris. Her eyes never go away from the grey liquid on the burner.


    Feeling that she was intruding on chief Amaris, Anne excused herself from theb. She goes outside and ascends back to the twentieth floor, where the istion chamber for her and Justice was located. When she arrived, Xavier was nowhere to be seen and there was an older gentleman sitting with justice in the lounge area. Justice saw her and asked Anne to sit.


    ¡°Anne, I would like to introduce Bernard, my chief guard.¡± The crown prince introduced the older gentleman to Anne.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, miss.¡± Said Bernard, nodding his head to Anne.


    Anne smiling at Bernard, ¡°Nice to meet you, chief Bernard.¡±


    After the introduction, Justice stand up from the sofa and left the floor. He also needs to get a checkup at Amari¡¯sb. Bernard tried to follow him from behind, making the crown prince frown.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Asked Justice, looking annoyed at Bernard.


    ¡°Followed you. What else, your majesty?¡±


    Face palming, Justice then scolded his chief guard, ¡°Listen here Bernard, you don¡¯t need to follow me around all the time.¡±


    Bernard, flustered by the crown prince¡¯s rejection, ¡°But, your majesty...¡±


    ¡°Stay... Here.¡± Said Justice coldly and walk away.


    Looking at Bernard, Anne felt so sorry for him. She patted his shoulder and asked Bernard to join her in the kitchen.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to cook some lunch. Would you care to help me?¡±


    Bernard can see the gentleness of the way Anne smiled. He agreed to be her cook assistant, and even jokes that he makes a killer steak once in a while. They had a lovely time cooking with the limited ingredients inside the pantry. Bernard surprisingly has good skills as a cook. He even taught some new methods of cooking to our heroine. Just when it¡¯s time to eat lunch, the meal on the table makes Vale and Justice so excited to taste it, the meal even invited another man from another floor.


    Brom, with hiszy attitude, already takes a seat at the table. It was the seat opposite Anne. Justice was upset by the arrangement. He red at the man and asked him to move.


    ¡°But I wanted to be here.¡± Said Brom with a sulk on his face.


    ¡°What?! did you just...¡±


    Vale let out a sighed and scolded his friend, ¡°Justice... It¡¯s just a seat,e on let us eat,¡± turns out, Justice wasn¡¯t the only one that got scolded, he also red at Brom, ¡°and you, be respected once in a while, it will never hurt you.¡±


    After the scolding, Anne, Bernard, and Vale have a peaceful lunch together, not for Justice and Brom. They had a cold war by ring at one another constantly. After the meal, all of them lounge around on the sofa. That¡¯s when Anne asked for a favor at Justice and Vale.


    ¡°Can I ask you two for a favor?¡± Asked Anne nervously.


    Vale and Justice look at each other. ¡°Sure, what is it?¡± Justice asked her back, while his body lean on the sofa.


    ¡°I need to ask my friends, Da, and David, to bring me some changing clothes.¡±


    Justice¡¯s body immediately straight up once again, ¡°What?! are you crazy?! We need to keep this istion a secret.¡±


    ¡°I know, that¡¯s why I will tell them that you¡¯re ill and I am your attending healer.¡± Anne was full of hope that Justice will agree with her reason.


    Chuckling at Anne, hey once again on the sofa, ¡°Rejected! I¡¯ll call one boutique near the tower to bring some of their women¡¯s collection here.¡±


    Anne gasped at him, ¡°You what?! I don¡¯t want to have new clothes. I have my own clothes, thank you!¡±


    With her stubbornness on disy, Justice can only give her a red and rejected her proposal once again until Vale came to speak his opinion.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s good, Justice, she needs her friend here,¡± Vale said to Justice, while he look at the desperate Anne, ¡°At least so they could confirm that she is fine.¡± And a smile came to his face, the calming smile that Anne knew from him.


    ¡°Tsk... Fine! But I¡¯m not going to lend you Kirara. She was exhausted after the battle.¡± Justice told her, with annoyance on his face.


    ¡°Let me do it.¡± Said one voice in the corner.


    All of them turned to see Brom, yawning with his right hand raised, ¡°I¡¯ll do it after lunch. I need to buy something at the capital, anyway.¡±


    Anne¡¯s face perked, she took Brom¡¯s hand, and she was grinning ear to ear, ¡°You do that?! Oh, thank you so much, Brom!¡±


    Nodding his head at Anne, Brom then asked Anne to write a note for her friends. ¡°Just wrote everything that you need. I¡¯ll handle the rest.¡±


    ¡°I will. Thank you so much, Brom.¡±


    While Justice looks at the scene with so much bitterness, Bernard was in the middle of having a conversation with Vale about the crown prince¡¯s illness.


    ¡°Was it vampirism, sir Vale?¡±


    Vale looks at Justice and answered the chief guard, ¡°I¡¯m afraid so, but we need to wait for the test result. That¡¯s why we are here, not just to hide, but also to use chief Amaris¡¯sb.¡±


    Bernard sped his hand. His head was muddled by something that was in his mind for so long. ¡°Vampirism, huh? I remember the Beyor family. Did you know that one of the sides of their legend had them as the origin of the blood gue, the epidemic of vampirism?¡±


    Everyone immediately went quiet. Vale then asked him, ¡°I know about the other side of the legend. My grandfather told me about it.¡±


    ¡°Really?! Your grandfather must be from the warrior tribe at the mountain up in the hill, the tribe with a magic knight descendant.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. How do you know about it? Few people know about the round table tribe anymore.¡± Said Vale with admiration on his face.


    Bernard suddenlyughed, ¡°Well, that wasn¡¯t the most shocking news actually, you know that Beyor¡¯s family? They have living descendants, the secret pregnancy from the empress, it was the truth, Richard Beyor was the secret lover of the reigning empress back then,¡± Bernard then looks at Justice, ¡°A son with red hair, and a handsome face, the Beyor was your ancestor, your majesty.¡±

 Chapter 87

    87 Dear Da


    Everyone went quiet, and the sudden chills came oozing down, especially for Justice. Never in his life that he knew about this.


    ¡°Did my family know? I mean, my mother or my fathers?¡± Asked Justice to Bernard.


    Bernard frowned and unexpectedly asked Justice back, ¡°I thought you have knowledge about this? Her majesty and his Majesties, of course, knew about this. You can even see the Beyor family portrait in your ancestral hall.¡±


    He couldn¡¯t ever imagine that there was a family portrait of the Beyor. Justice confirmed it once more with Bernard. ¡°What?! Are you serious?! I mean,e on Bernard, the Beyor family, the one that was suspected as the catalyst of the blood gue? The Beyor family?!¡±


    ¡°Yes, your majesty... I mean, I thought you knew.¡± Bernard scratches his balding head, a bit astonished by the crown prince¡¯s confession.


    ¡°Well, thest time I walk to the ancestral hall, maybe when I was a teenager, and there was no name te in all the paintings, not imagined I hate those creepy portraits so I use another hallway.¡± Said Justice to all of them in the lounge room.


    Anne suddenly smirked at Justice. ¡°Creepy? Did you be afraid of somethinging out of the portrait?¡±


    ¡°No... I am not! Did you see me at the cemetery? Did I look afraid?!¡± Justice immediately defended himself.


    Vale then whispered to Anne, ¡°Justice hates to see portraits. He always thought that the people inside the portrait wille alive and chase him.¡±


    .....


    The smirk changed into a burst ofughter, Anne just couldn¡¯t believe what she just heard from Vale, even though Justice was ring constantly at her.


    ¡°Would the two of you stop whispering at each other? We were having a serious conversation here.¡± Justice was annoyed by how Vale and Anne whispered and giggled at each other, he turn his attention to Bernard once again, ¡±


    ¡°Well, it was funny to have thought that you have a fear of portraits.¡± Said Brom casually to Justice.


    The crown prince squinted his eyes at Brom. ¡°Are you finished? I thought you wanted to go to the capital?¡±


    Brom shrugging at Justice. He says goodbye to them but not before asking Anne to write her note. The girl then rushed into her room right away and begin listing the items that she need, including fresh meat for Chikara.


    At herb, Amaris was in the middle of writing a form while mumbling to herself. Brom was already at the door, looking at his mother.


    ¡°Mother... Could I have some of your attention, please?¡± Said Brom, when he was still in the stage of consciousness. One thing about Brom was that he had such disinterest sometimes that it makes him sleepy all the time.


    Chief Amaris turn around to her son, and told him to speak theatrically, ¡°Yes, what do you want with me, my son?¡±


    ¡°I need to go to the capital. Do you need something?¡±


    Thinking for a moment, chief Amaris shook her head, ¡°Nothing for now. What are you doing to the capital?¡±


    ¡°Anne needs a favor, so I was happy to help her.¡± Brom shrugged at his mother.


    She was stunned and even stop shaking the ss jar for a moment. Chief Amaris looks into her son with a frown on her face, ¡°That was generous of you? And so weird of you to do a favor.¡±


    ¡°Well, you tell me to do good sometimes.¡±


    Rolling her eyes, chief Amaris then chuckles, ¡°Like I¡¯m gonna believe that. Just go now, so you go back before it went dark.¡±


    When Amaris goes back to her experiment, Brom, still standing at the door, leaning to see his mother, ¡°Mother...¡±


    ¡°Yes, Brom?¡± Amaris answered her son, but her eyes focused on her experimenting jar.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re right about her,¡± Brom said the words and exited the room.


    Chief Amaris stop for a moment, and smiled, ¡°Interesting, so our theory could be right about her.¡±


    The horse galloped towards the dirt road into the capital, Brom wearing his magi hood, and go as fast as he can to the Icarus dormitory. He doesn¡¯t know why he feels he wanted to be the one that sent the note to Anne¡¯s friends. He was excited to see a certain someone.


    Two hourster, Brom arrived at the Icarus dorm and went over to the stairs. The matron saw him and immediately called for him.


    ¡°Excuse me, magi, what are you doing? That¡¯s the private ces, exclusive for the exam participants that lived here.¡± The dorm matron looks at him while her hands were on the hips.


    Brom looking at the matron, ¡°I am looking for David and Da, the silver pass participants.¡±


    The matron huffed and pointed at the lobby. ¡°Fine, please wait in the lobby. I¡¯ll call for them.¡±


    Waiting in the lobby, Brom was bing the center of attention, people looks at him and whispered. Although entric, Brom has a distinct beauty that makes him distinguished from most men. Even when he yawned and looked at everyone with such disinterest, some people were still mesmerized by him.


    Not long after, David and Da step into the lobby and look at Brom with curiosity.


    ¡°Excuse me, were you looking for us?¡± Asked Da to Brom.


    Brom turns around to see the two of them, ¡°Hello, I am Brom...¡±


    He went quiet and keep staring at Da. David look at him and cleared his throat. ¡°Yes, we know. Remember that you¡¯re saving us at the first exam incident.¡±


    Although David spoke to him, Brom, on the other hand, just looked at Da and never let go of his eyes. Da was getting nervous. She brushed her hair and asked Brom, ¡°Err... you need something from us?¡±


    Suddenly, Brom said to Da, ¡°You, I need you.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Both Da and David shouted at Brom.


    ¡°Oh my Gods, man, you are officially weird.¡± Muttered David to Brom.


    Da, on the other hand, snorted andughed at Brom¡¯s words, ¡°Oh stop it, David, he was funny.¡±


    David gasped at Da, ¡°No, he was just... weird. Just looks at him! He kept staring at you, like the weirdo he was.¡±


    ¡°Well, a handsome weirdo.¡± Said Da, she then looked at Brom with her hands folded on her chest, ¡°So, private Brom, what do you need from me?¡±


    A note was handed to Da directly from Brom. Da and David read the note, Brom still looking at Da like there was no tomorrow if his eyes faltered from her. The first time he saw Da, he thought he was an interesting girl. She wasn¡¯t slender but plump; she doesn¡¯t have white porcin skin but golden brown skin, with short brown hair.


    ¡°So, Anne was going to be in the Alchemia tower for a week?¡± Asked Da.


    Brom nodded his head.


    ¡°As the attending healer for the crown prince?!¡± Asked David after Da¡¯s question.


    Brom once again nodded his head.


    Da let out a sigh. ¡°Can you do anything besides nod your head?¡±


    Brom nodded his head, despite Da¡¯s annoyance. David, on the other hand, felt entertained by him. ¡°My my, Da, let him be,¡± David looks at Brom once again, ¡°Alright, we are going to be there tomorrow, at lunchtime, please tell Anne, thank you so much, private Brom.¡±


    Brom tilted his head and asked them a question, ¡°Do you know where the location of Alchemia tower is ?¡±


    ¡°Well, we can ask around.¡± Said, David.


    Saying no words, Brom walks away from them, before he goes outside the dorm, he looks at Da for thest time and said, ¡°I wille and pick the two of you, wait for me.¡±


    The two of them were just stunned at their ce, puzzled by how unpredictable Brom was. Da and David chuckle afterward. They read the notes once more and decide it to go to the market to buy something for Anne.


    The next day, Da was already waiting for Brom in the lobby while enjoying some warm moomilk and biscuits. She looked at some and sneered at her, probably because of the number of biscuits on her te. Da was conscious of how much food she consumed every day. She enjoyed the food that she ate, besides; she was built this way. Her family lineage depends on food to produce the lost magica.


    They have their boundary as well, but unlike people everywhere that will gain their magica while resting, Da could gain her magica just by eating. She was the only girl of ten siblings in her household. Of her nine older brothers having to work various jobs, she was the only one that choose to be a huntsman.


    ¡°Morning lovely, Did you pack the things for Anne?¡± David came to the lobby, he was yawning and fall to the sofa.


    ¡°Morning, you should eat some breakfast first. It will be a two or three hours¡¯ journey, I¡¯ve heard.¡± Said Da to David.


    ¡°Ugh... Anne will owe us so much favor now. We got her things and the meat for that savage familiar to her.¡± Davidined while eating one of Da¡¯s biscuits.


    ¡°Well, she couldn¡¯t help it. The crown prince asked her personally to be his attending healer.¡±


    Another person heard their conversation from the hallway, he walk as fast as he can to the garden where Heirim was sitting on the benches with a book in her hand. The snooping man fed her the information. The book came flying to the ground. Heirim was enraged. She already felt something was wrong when Justice was missing, along with the other of his best friends and Anne.


    Heirim bit and chewed her nails. She promised herself to investigate what happened to Justice and Anne, whatever it takes.

 Chapter 88

    88 Brom¡¯s ufortable feeling


    The tenth street was alive with many activities, while Da and David waiting for Brom on the outside of the Icarus dorm gate, they observed a peddler that sell knicks knacks, the paper boy yelling about thetest issue of the hot gossip, and a man and woman that were in a hurry to catch the central carriage. Both of them were bored.


    ¡°How long should we wait for this man?! Seriously!¡± Gruntled David, he was already fanning himself while his head turn from left to right, trying so hard to find Brom.


    Da, on the other hand, was closing her eyes and enjoying the warm breeze of today¡¯s weather. She sighed and open her eyes when there was a silhouette of a person in front of them. It was Brom, looking disinterested as always. This time, he brought a carriage with him. David was already inside the carriage, yelling at her to go inside immediately.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Asked the disinterested man curiously at Da.


    Da stands up and smiles at Brom, ¡°I was enjoying the warm breeze of the noon.¡±


    Brom tilted his head, ¡°Enjoying the warm breeze? Why? It wasn¡¯t something special.¡±


    ¡°Really? It is so special to me.¡± Da looks at him while giggling, ¡°I¡¯ll teach you about itter on.¡±


    Somehow, her smile makes Brom feel ufortable all of a sudden. He muttered incoherent words, and climb into the driver¡¯s seat. They begin their journey to the alchemia tower. David looks at Da with an amused face.


    ¡°You really dopatible with that weirdo.¡± Said David, teasing her.


    .....


    Da rolled her eyes at him, ¡°Oh, do shut up David, he is a good young man, awkward maybe, but a good man nheless.¡±


    ¡°Fine! He is a good man, happy? Gods, Da, do you have some kind of feeling towards him now?¡± David can¡¯t hide his smirk, which makes him tease Da more.


    Da¡¯s face reddened just like a ripe motato. ¡°What?! I... I am not! Shut up, David.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Da and the weirdo, sitting on the wismushroom.¡±


    The endless teasing makes Da a bit ufortable. She throws one of the carriage pillows to David¡¯s face; heughed and finally gave up. Little that they know, Brom actually hears their conversation and also senses there¡¯s a person following the carriage from behind.


    After an hour, when they reached the outer gate of the capital, Brom get inside the carriage and talked to David and Da.


    ¡°I think we are being followed.¡± Said Brom to the two of them.


    David tried to peek outside from the window, but a hand pulled him back to his seat. Da red at him. ¡°Are you crazy? The one that followed us shouldn¡¯t know that we already know their existence.¡±


    ¡°What should we do? I hate this kind of situation.¡± Grumbled David.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I had a n.¡± Da was smiling from ear to ear, while the other two were curious about her n.


    After a while, the carriage finally came back on the road, and the stalker followed the carriage from behind. There were two stalkers, two men, the Heirim fans. As one of the most beautiful and prominent families in the Valorian kingdom, Heirim has its own fans club. The men have an undying love for the daughter of Duke Spencer. She used her fans¡¯ club to do some of her dirty work from time to time.


    The man from the first exam, who made Anne get lost, was an example of Heirim¡¯s fans. Also, the man that defended Rosy¡¯s bad deed on the second exam, was also Heirim¡¯s fan. The two men were the bronze pass recipients, the lowest strata in her fans¡¯ club. In order to get to the next level, they need to do a big favor for Heirim.


    They followed the carriage not too closed, but also enough for them to know the position of the carriage. Three hours after they had gone, the carriage never even stop for a break. They were so confused, until finally the carriage parked on one of the inns on the road near the meadow.


    When the carriage door opened, they saw three children and two womening outside. Theyughed and looks like they were having a good conversation.


    ¡°Oh, it was a good thing the handsome young man told us to use their carriage. I mean, imagine if we need to go back here by horses with those rambunctious children.¡± Said one woman with plump figure and kind eyes.


    The other woman, the slender but with the most obnoxious,ughed and said, ¡°I concur, oh how nice of him.¡±


    The two men finally knew that they were being tricked. With pale faces, they go back to the capital and already imagined how furiousdy Heirim will be. Meanwhile, Brom, Da, and David had already arrived at the alchemia tower by horses. Anne goes to her friends and gave them a warm hug.


    ¡°Da! David! Oh, thank you foring, I miss you guys!¡± Anne squealed at them, feeling so happy to see her best friends.


    ¡°Anne, maybe it would be best to ask your friends inside? You can go to the garden below the tower.¡± Chief Amaris pointed at one of the most peculiar basement doors that they have ever seen. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be inside at myb. You two behave, alright?¡±


    All of them saw chief Amaris gone, David still in awe looking at the woman, until Da had to poke his nose. Anneughed at her friend¡¯s antic, she pulled them to the basement door, and when they entered, there was only a dark and dingy hallway with hovering light orbs for the lighting.


    ¡°Where are we going? Some kind of traps?¡± Grumbled David to none in particr.


    ¡°Just follow me. It will be worth it.¡± Brom, who take the lead of the group, gave them a sign with his right hand.


    ¡°Alright then, pretty boy, we trust you this time, right Da.¡± David teases Da again. Luckily this time Da just pretended not to hear it.


    ¡°We are here,¡± Brom said to the three of them, while his hand open the steel door.


    When their feet touched the inner part of the garden, they were astonished by how beautiful the inside was. Glowing mushrooms everywhere, with a creek in the middle, where nightly flowers bloom with luminescent butterflies flying to have a taste of the sweet honey inside the nightly flowers.


    ¡°Oh, my Gods! So beautiful!¡± Da¡¯s eyes shimmer when she looks at the beautiful underground garden.


    ¡°So beautiful. I have never seen a ce like this before.¡± Muttered David, while he raised his right hand to one of the glowing butterflies.


    Anne looked around the ce, and her eyes met with one alchemist who was in the middle of culturing the glowing mushroom. He looks furious and walks toward Brom to confront him.


    ¡°Brom! This is not a private ce. Why do you even dare to bring strangers here?!¡± The man looks into every one of them one by one. There was a fury inside his eyes.


    ¡°Ah Darren the highest, there you are.¡± Said Brom, reciprocating the ill feeling towards the master sergeant Darren.


    There was an obvious animosity between the two. ¡°It is master sergeant Darren, you *ss! How dare you belittle me?¡±


    Brom doesn¡¯t even budge. He scratches his head and stares at Darren. ¡°But I used the highest for your name. It was ttering enough for me.¡±


    All of them could see how furious Darren was. His eyes bulged and his face reddened in anger. He pped Brom so hard, making the others gaped mouths.


    Anne felt sorry for him. She goes to Brom and checks his face. ¡°Brom, are you okay?¡± Said Anne.


    His cheek was swollen, and there was a handprint on it, Darren felt proud of his wrongdoing and excused himself right away. He walks towards the door, but something made him fall to the ground. A loud thud can be heard resounding in all over the underground garden.


    Darren turn his head to Da, his nose was bleeding and there was dirt all over his body, ¡°F*cker! Why did you tackle my feet?!¡±


    Da smirked, while her hands folded on her chest, ¡°Oh, I wasn¡¯t tackling you. What was it? Master Sergeant Darren, maybe if you use the highest, you could see better from the high above.¡±


    He saw the big build of Da¡¯s and immediately retreated from the underground garden. The only thing he could muster was curses toward Da and Brom. Brom saw everything that she do, somehow the ufortable feelinging inside him once more.


    Anne then asked Da to apany Brom while she gets her medicine bag. David insisted oning with her. He felt that the sketchy master sergeant was still waiting somewhere for some revenge. She reluctantly agreed. Justice was taking some rest. Vale was outside of the tower, while Xavier will be back at night. She opens the door for David and asked him to wait in the waiting area.


    ¡°Can I go to your floor?¡± Asked David.


    Looking at him with a bittered smile, Anne then said, ¡°I can¡¯t, I¡¯m sorry, but you can wait here though. Don¡¯t worry, he couldn¡¯t do anything to me.¡± She took the lift and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    At Amaris¡¯sb, the chief was feeling a bit tired; she walk to her bedroom with the thought to take a nap; she doesn¡¯t know how long she was sleeping. When she heard a noiseing from herb, she open the door and saw David with a terrified face looking at her.

 Chapter 89

    89 How to be a matchmaker


    As the door opened to herb, chief Amaris saw an unusual sight of a man inside. David was in the middle of reading the form with one of the colorful liquids in the jar in his hand. She mmed the door and shouted at the young man.


    ¡°Excuse me! What are you doing here?!¡±


    David jumped after hearing chief Amaris shouting, he smiled awkwardly at the chief of the alchemia tower while carefully putting the ss jar back on the table.


    ¡°Oh, hello, so this is the famousboratory of the chief.¡±


    Chief Amaris frowned, she looks at David, trying to figure out about the young man, ¡°I am sorry, but you were not supposed to be here. So, what... are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°Alright, please let me exin. I was curious about the tower, so when Anne gave me ess, I took a chance to go... exploring.¡± David exined it to chief Amaris with nervousughter came from his mouth.


    ¡°Young man, please, safe the reasoned for anyone that should believe you.¡± Said chief Amaris, annoyed by how easily David reasoned, and how she couldn¡¯t believe it.


    Desperate, David came and pleaded to her, ¡°Please, I was just...¡±


    ¡°I said, save it!¡±


    .....


    ¡°Mother? What happened?¡± Brom came inside theb and saw chief Amaris and David, ¡°Oh, there you are, we¡¯ve been looking for you, Anne was worried.¡±


    David¡¯s face was lit. He took the opportunity to excuse himself from the room and go straight downstairs, where Anne was already waiting. Brom and chief Amaris saw him gone from their floor, she took a sighed and checked every item in theb.


    ¡°What is he doing here?¡± Asked Brom, looking at his mother who frantically checked every item.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s the problem, I don¡¯t know,¡± Said chief Amaris, while she told her son about what happened, her face was pale and she was nervous, ¡°I was in my room taking a nap when I heard a sounding from theb, that¡¯s when I saw him, with this jar on his hand while he was reading my form.¡±


    Brom already knows his mother. She acted like a tough woman all the time, but the truth was she was a nervous wreck, that¡¯s why she was mostly cooped up in herb alone doing her experiments. He goes to her and touched her shoulder.


    ¡°Mother... calm down, it¡¯s alright.¡± Brom was trying to calm his mother, even though he was always disinterested in so many things, but not about her. Brom is really caring for her.


    While she take a deep breath, chief Amaris tried to focus on her son once again, ¡°I... I am fine, thank you, Brom, thank you, my son.¡±


    ¡°Good, now, write everything unusual here, and I will keep an eye on Anne¡¯s friend.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I will. Just be careful of him. I sense he wasn¡¯t an ordinary person.¡± Whispered chief Amaris to Brom.


    Brom looks at his mother and nodded his head, ¡°I know, although just a faint hint about him, unlike Anne herself.¡±


    When Brom steps downstairs, Anne already waiting for him with David, he looks at David directly and asked him bluntly.


    ¡°What did you do inside my mother¡¯sb?¡±


    Panicking, David turned his face to Anne and pleaded for her to help, Anne took the matter into her hand and begin to exin David¡¯s reasoning, ¡°David told me everything, he was tired of waiting for me, that was when he goes upstairs and saw Amaris¡¯sb.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I believe you,¡± Brom said to David, he open the front door and ushered them outside, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go, Da is waiting.¡±


    Feeling puzzled by hisid-back attitude towards the problem, David whispered to Anne, ¡°He was so strange, sometimes he gave me heebies jeebies.¡±


    ¡°What strange words you got there, besides David...¡± Said Anne, ring at her friend, ¡°You should be grateful that Brom let go of you easily, next time, be more careful David. I was a guest here, and you are just a visitor. Remember that.¡±


    She walks away from her friend, David, on the other hand, just stands and never moves from his ce. He looks at Anne and Brom with a cold expression, an expression that he never revealed to anyone before. Afterward, he followed the other two, David¡¯s expression changing to his usual self again.


    Da was waiting inside the garden with Chikara. The demon kitten was looking at her from the other end of the table. She smiles at him, even though the demon kitten refuses to budge. Da, as the huntsman knew that sometimes animals or monsters need some more time to be warm to the other people other than their master. Especially if it¡¯s a powerful monster like Chikara.


    Anne enter the underground garden and warmly embraced Da from behind, ¡°Da, sorry to keep you waiting, I hope Chikara¡¯s being good to you.¡±


    ¡°Hey, wee back,¡± Said Da, smiling at her. She turned around to see David and Brom entered as well, ¡°Oh, you found him, thank Gods!¡±


    ¡°Imagined how I found him...¡± Anne tried to exin, but she looks at Brom and decided not to give in any story for now. ¡°Anyhow, just listened to David when you go back to the dorm.¡±


    Feeling there was something more to the story, Da just nodded her head and sit on the rock at the stream. Anne followed her, and together they y in the clear water at the stream.


    ¡°This is an exquisite ce, Brom. Thank you for having us here.¡± Said Da, smiling at Brom who sat beside Da.


    ¡°I saw you earlier. You are trying to y with Anne¡¯s familiar.¡± Brom asked her an unexpected question.


    She turned to him and frowned, although curious about his question, ¡°Yes, and why do you asking?¡±


    ¡°Do you want a familiar that is as strong as Anne¡¯s familiar?¡± Asked Brom again, and he said something unthinkable for any people, ¡°Because I can help you get one.¡±


    Not even Da, who was surprised by it, but even Anne seems to look at Brom.


    ¡°Wait, you are telling me that you can help me find a powerful monster as my familiar? Are you... are you being serious here?!¡± Da looks at Brom with doubt on her face.


    ¡°Yes, I am being serious. We can go right now.¡± Brom was very serious with his offer, even Da and Anne couldn¡¯t say anything because of how bizarre he had be.


    Anne then pokes into Da. ¡°Well, what do you think?¡±


    Looking at Brom, she doesn¡¯t even know what to say to him, ¡°I... I am honored Brom, but I can¡¯t go right away.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Brom asked her while he tilted his head, making Da lose for words.


    Anne took a lead. ¡°Maybe because it was so sudden for her. How about some other time, Brom?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Yes! Anne was right, this was all too sudden.¡± Da nodded her head and sure was on board with Anne.


    Brom was quiet for a while, and he finally said, ¡°Alright, when do you want us to go?¡±


    ¡°Us? You mean all of us here, right?¡± Da muttered, a bit taken aback.


    Anne whispered at her, ¡°Da, I think he said us, meant just the two of you, without me and David.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Da was astonished, she question Brom about this sudden request.


    Meanwhile, Anne and Brom were looking at each other with a meaningful looks. The truth was that this was all Anne¡¯s n. Brom told her something and Anne felt it was appropriate for him to get a chance, the chance about his unsettling feeling towards Da.


    With the unsettling feelings he got whenever Da was around for Anne, Brom was confused about his fascination with her and his admiration towards Da. It was never the same, Brom was interested in her because of her past and the connection with the woman in his dream. Anne was inside his mind but not inside his heart, and she would be honored to help Brom know about his heart for a little.


    ¡°What about this? You can go together when I go back to the dorm, so you have time to prepare everything.¡± Anne excitedly gave suggestion for the two of them.


    ¡°Alright, but I want you to join us, maybe with David as well.¡± Said Da to Anne, she was pleading at her.


    Anne finally gives in and say yes to her. At least she will try to go away from the two of them as much as possible. Da hugged her, and after one hour of a meaningful conversation, David and Da were ready to go back. They need to be on the road so they could be in the capital before dark.


    Saying goodbye to her friends, Anne then goes inside the tower with Brom by her side, they go to the highest floor, where Justice and chief Amaris already waiting for the two of them, the crown prince asked her to go and sit on the sofa with them.


    Confusion came into Anne¡¯s face. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Asked our heroine to Justice.


    ¡°Our result is already here. We need to hear it together.¡± Said Justice to her.


    She took a deep breath, eager to hear the result from chief Amaris.

 Chapter 90

    90 The Vampirism and The Bewitched Spell


    Right in the middle of looking at all of her inventories, chief Amaris saw the result for Anne and Justice¡¯s blood were done. She took the liquid andpare it and was astonished by the results.


    ¡°Interesting... I have never known I could get this kind of result.¡± Mumbled chief Amaris while she was busying herself scribbling everything on the paper.


    Afterward, she goes upstairs to the highest floor looking for the crown prince, who¡¯s actually in the middle of eating his lunch.


    ¡°Ah, there you are, your majesty. I¡¯ve got your blood test result with me.¡± Chief Amaris said to Justice while she grab one te and took some of the food on the table.


    Justice saw her and got annoyed. ¡°Please help yourself,¡± Said Justice in full-on sarcasm.


    Chief Amarisughed at Justice while munching her food, ¡°So sorry about this, I haven¡¯t eaten for like a day, just got a nap and some man goes to myb without my permission and then...¡±


    Intrigued by her story, Justice then cut chief Amaris¡¯s words, ¡°Wait, some man came sneaking into yourb? How is that possible? The alchemia tower has the prohibited spell active all the time. It would be impossible for intruders toe inside with no permission.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but one of Anne¡¯s friends came inside with her permission,¡± She took sighed and ask Justice for an apology, ¡°I do apologies your majesty, I have never meant to put the me on Anne, but this friend of hers was a bit suspicious for me.¡±


    ¡°I think I know who¡¯s the one that you were talking about,¡± Said Justice, he took a napkin and wipe his mouth, and proceed to drink from his cup and talk to chief Amaris again, ¡°I do find him a bit suspicious, now you raise my suspicion for him even more.¡±


    .....


    ¡°I think you should investigate the young man. I¡¯ve checked my inventories. Good thing I have nothing missing, but it was possible because I was interrupting him.¡±


    Nodded his head to chief Amaris, Justice gave her some reassurance, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m going to, right now I was waiting for Bernard for the result of another case in hand, after the result came, I¡¯ll ask him to investigate this young man named David.¡±


    Not long after he mention his chief guard, Bernard came with a document in his hand. Justice and chief Amaris turn around to wee Bernard together.


    ¡°Wee back. So how¡¯s your task at hand? I presume the case was done sessfully?¡± Justice asked Bernard while he read the document.


    ¡°I have some bad news and good news. Your majesty, the girl, miss Rosy, and her two friends were free from the suspicion.¡±


    Justice throws the documents and res at Bernard. ¡°The f*ck that happened Bernard?! I thought you got this case already?!¡±


    ¡°Yes, but the witness changes their statement, they told the investigators that miss Rosy doesn¡¯t have any ill-intended to miss Anne,¡± said Bernard, trying so hard not to make him angrier, ¡°The three of them got a huge deduction score for their second exam as thepensation of the incident.¡±


    Listening to Bernard¡¯s exnation, Justice could onlyugh and shook his head, ¡°Unbelievable. Just couldn¡¯t believe it. Now, how am I going to tell Anne about this?¡±


    ¡°I believe Miss Anne would be alright, your majesty. She knows how hard you¡¯re trying to get her the justice that she deserves.¡± Chief Amaris tried to console Justice. She knew how controlling the bewitched spell can be.


    Justice never answered her. He let out a sigh and goes to the lounge room, leaving Bernard and chief Amaris.


    The two of them looks at each other and finally followed the crown prince to the lounge room. They waited for Justice to calm himself before chief Amaris gave him the blood result. Justice shook his head and asked her to put the results on the table.


    ¡°Let us wait for Anne. I want her to hear the results with me. I have nothing to hide.¡± Said Justice to chief Amaris.


    While they were waiting, Justice asked the chief guard Bernard to investigate David, Anne¡¯s friend. Bernard looks at him and tries to have a reason for this private investigation.


    ¡°I can¡¯t give you the reason yet, but all I wanted to know was, who is he? Where did he came from? And why he wanted to be close to Anne.¡± Justice was firm with his decision. The only thing Bernard can do was obey the order.


    Anne finally came back with Brom behind her. She looks at Justice and gave him a smile. Justice, on the other hand, was quiet and just asked her to join them in the lounge area. She looks puzzled but immediately sits beside Justice.


    ¡°What happened?¡± asked Anne to everyone around the room.


    ¡°Chief Amaris has the results of our blood test. I think you want to hear this with me.¡± Said Justice at Anne.


    Anne nodded her head, keen to hear the result. All eyes are on chief Amaris. She cleared her throat and begin to read the results.


    ¡°Miss Anne, thankfully I don¡¯t see any infection in your blood. You are clean.¡±


    She gave a sigh of relief, ¡°Oh, thank God, so I am not going to have a rage like Justice?¡± Then, it all came drowning in her, ¡°Wait, then how about Justice?¡±


    Chief Amaris took a nce at the crown prince and there was a hint of sympathy on her face, ¡°I am sorry to say, your majesty¡¯s blood got infected, and probably needs to be in the istion much longer.¡±


    Curses after hearing the bad news, Justice can only sit and rustled his hair, ¡°Out of luck for me then,¡± He also looks into Anne and gave her a bittersweet smile, ¡°But it¡¯s a good thing you don¡¯t get infected, I will be miserable if you got infected as well.¡±


    Feeling sorry for him, Anne proceeds to hold Justice¡¯s hand. ¡°Oh Justice, don¡¯t you dare take the me for everything? It was an ident. That mysterious man was to be med for everything.¡±


    Smiling at her, Justice patted the warm hand of Anne. He wanted to kiss her, but considered the audience. He just gave her a thank you. All of them now focus back on chief Amaris. The chief alchemia tower shook her head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the cure. Vampirism was supposed to be extinct such a long time ago. There were no healers or alchemists alive that knows the recipe of the cure anymore.¡± Said chief Amaris with a long sigh.


    ¡°I think I know where we can get the cure.¡± Muttered Brom from behind.


    Everyone turned around to see Brom, who was like usual, just yawning and giving them a disinterested face.


    ¡°So? Where can we find the cure?¡± Asked Anne impatiently to them.


    ¡°Not the cure directly, but the recipe, the Doomen or the Liven tome must be the key to the cure, right?¡± Said Brom to Anne.


    Anne¡¯s face was lit like the hovering orb in the ceiling. ¡°You¡¯re right, one of the tomes has the key to the cure.¡±


    Justice took a nce at Bernard. ¡°Called for chief Rody, I want him toe here tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Understood, your majesty.¡± The chief guard goes to the capital immediately.


    When he reached the lift, he met with Vale, who just got back from outside the tower. He saw everyone have a serious conversation, and not wanting to barge in, Vale settled to sit beside Anne. Looks like chief Amaris also got a strange discovery in the mix.


    ¡°About your thirst for blood, your majesty. It seems the blood that you will seek is a set of a peculiar scent of blooding from a certain person.¡± Said chief Amaris with her eyes looking into Anne, ¡°I mean, when the crown prince has the urge to... uhm... drink blood, he will be always seeking for your blood.¡±


    She was taken aback by this revtion. Anne looked around the room and tried to make sense of the situation. ¡°I mean, why me? Because I was his first, uhm... you know, the first blood that he drank?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, probably because of that, or probably for something else,¡± Chief Amaris shook her head, puzzled by the discovery as well, ¡°One thing that I know for sure, your majesty¡¯s blood was drawn to you the whole time I put them together in theb.¡±


    Vale finally spoke after being silent for a while. ¡°Maybe because of the bewitched spell, it got the effect of the vampirism.¡±


    Hearing Vale, chief Amaris smack her hand, and enthusiastically pointed at Vale, ¡°that¡¯s it! the bewitch spell took a toll on you and the effect also transferred to your preferred target, which the target was miss Anne herself.¡±


    ¡°it fixed then. We need to find the cure ingredients for the bewitched spell as soon as possible. I don¡¯t want to make her suffer because of this disease.¡± Said Justice to Vale, to whom thetter agreed. But, Suddenly, Anne put her hand on Justice, and she remember something, a very important mission that she thought only she could¡¯ve done, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Said Anne slowly, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to take the bewitched spell cure right now.¡±


    Justice was stunned by her words, ¡°What?! What do you mean I shouldn¡¯t take the cure of the bewitched spell?!¡±


    What is inside Anne¡¯s mind right now?

 Chapter 91

    91 Taking care more than one in her heart


    Everyone went quiet, while Justice have a heated debate with Anne. The crown prince bes so angry because of how bluntly Anne prevents him from taking a cure for the bewitched spell. They were ring at each other now.


    ¡°I said why? It will be beneficial for you to be released from our obsession. Isn¡¯t that what you want?!¡± Justice asked Anne with frustration on his face.


    Anne could see that she got a misunderstanding at her hand. Raising her hands, she exins everything to Justice, ¡°Wait, hear me out first. I do have some good reason.¡±


    He scoffed, but still let her give him the reason. ¡°Fine! Give it to me.¡±


    ¡°I mean it will be good for all the people if your urge for blood is contained by just one person, me!¡± Said Anne to Justice, ¡°and also I was immune to the disease, so... it will be for the best if you used my immune to prevent the spread of the infection.¡±


    ¡°It was actually a good idea, Miss Anne,¡± Said Justice while smiling sweetly at Anne, ¡°But we don¡¯t know for sure if it was because of you¡¯re immune to the disease or maybe because I couldn¡¯t infect anyone.¡±


    ¡°Well, you wanted to find out? Go ahead, bite anyone then.¡± Anne challenged Justice with a smirk on her face.


    Cursing, Justice went quiet, making Anne¡¯s words actually have the truth in them. Vale is actually in the same boat as Justice, he doesn¡¯t want Anne to be in this kind of situation. Imagining the horror when he saw her bitten by Justice. The blood oozed from her neck, crimson liquid drenched her dress, and a silent wail came from her lips.


    ¡°Anne, please think of this.¡± Vale basically pleaded with her. There was a crack in his voice, ¡°I... I don¡¯t want to... to see you like that anymore...¡±


    .....


    ¡°Oh Vale, don¡¯t worry, I am not going to be hurt like before. We are going to find a harmless way for my sake and for Justice¡¯s sake.¡± Anne saw the fear in Vale¡¯s eyes. She knew what had happened. He remembered the moment when Justice gorged on her blood.


    Chief Amaris gave her encouragement and also praised her bravery, ¡°Miss Anne, I admire your courage, and your selflessness on this matter,¡± She cleared her throat and spoke one more time, ¡°But know that the host which in case, the crown prince, need to drink the blood directly from your body. You can¡¯t transfer the blood to, uhm... A container or something else.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know chief Amaris, and I am willing to do that for him and for the safety of other people.¡± Said Anne, she was already considered every possibility, and in her mind, the way to do was to be the only source of blood for Justice, ¡°I will do the best I could until we know what is the cure for his infectious disease.¡±


    Vale asked Justice to go for a second from the room, they go to Justice¡¯s room and lock it from the inside.


    ¡°I know, you don¡¯t want me to agree with her, but she got all the reasons right.¡± Said Justice immediately after he close the door.


    Vale gasped, and he frowned at Justice. ¡°Are you insane?! I know I wanted to respect her decision, but what you need to consider is it will be a struggle for her.¡±


    Justice massaged his temple. ¡°Then what do you want me to do differently?!¡±


    ¡°Drink the d*mn cure for the bewitched spell! We got almost everything, all we need now are the mandragora and the eggshell of a dragonling,¡± Vale was firm on his request, ¡°Right now, Henry wasing back from Gaftan while looking for Mandragora on the dark and mischievous road everywhere, and Xavier was gone for few days, tracking the eggshell of a dragonling.¡±


    Justice was hesitant, and Vale can see it through his eyes, the crown prince shook his head and stepped outside the room, he grab Anne¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Alright, done deal, I will take your offer, for now, I will never drink the bewitched spell cure until I was cured from my vampirism.¡±


    Vale came around and did something unimaginable, he grab Justice¡¯s cor and punched the crown prince¡¯s face. People around were stunned. Even Brom could never predict the oue. Vale was angry. He tried to punch him once again, but chief Amaris and Brom already separated them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like this! His behavior resulted from the bewitched spell. You should know that by now!¡± Said chief Amaris to Vale.


    Smirking at Vale, Justice wipes the blood that came from his lips. Anne felt helpless and stared at the two of them. She doesn¡¯t know what she can do, but she respects and cares for the two of them. Chief Amaris looks at Anne and shouted at her.


    ¡°Miss Anne, you need to be in the center. Because of the spell, they will definitely obey your words!¡±


    Anne heard the request and went to the center where she tried to put their senses back into them. ¡°Justice! Vale! Please calm down! You don¡¯t have to be like this. Let us talk about this in the most civil way!¡±


    Interestingly, both of them went quiet and proceed to sit on the sofa, although as far away as possible. Chief Amaris whispered her praise to Anne, and once again they talked about the vampirism problem. The tense atmosphere still lingered, but this time at least there was Anne that can be the neutralizer of the quarrel.


    Looking at both men, chief Amaris let out a sigh and speak, ¡°Look, whether or not you like it, miss Anne already decided that she will be the only source of blood for the crown prince¡¯s vampirism. You need to respect her decision, captain Vale,¡± Vale felt so bittered by the words, while Justice gave him a smug grin, but chef Amaris wasn¡¯t going to let him go easily, ¡°But! It doesn¡¯t mean that you! Your majesty has full authority over her. Remember, she was offered this solution not just because of you, your majesty.¡±


    Both of the gentlemen gruntled, they gave chief Amaris a very faint agreement, and then Vale shifted the story into another piece of news for the group.


    ¡°Henry sent me his familiar. He was on the way to the tower as we speak, and also trying to find the mandragora, and Xavier also went into another expedition, and told me about a lead of a possible dragon¡¯s egg location.¡±


    Chief Amaris was relieved by the oue. The only ingredients left were the mandragora and the dragon¡¯s egg shells. She already mixed the other ingredients, and thankfully she put them inside her secret container. All of this conversation made her remember David again. She could never get his image away from her mind.


    ¡°What we need, for now, was for the two of them to go back here and then we can proceed with the cure for the bewitched spell.¡± Said chief Amaris, her eyes never going away from either of Vale and Justice.


    ¡°So, we are going to be waiting? Am I right?¡± Asked Justice towards chief Amaris.


    She nodded her head and told them to get some rest. Chief Amaris took nce at Anne, ¡°especially you, Miss Anne. You need a rest because we never know when Justice will enrage and demand some blood.¡±


    ¡°Alright, but could I perhaps ask for permission to borrow some books from the library downstairs?¡± Anne pleaded with chef Amaris. She would love to read whileying on her bed, a bad habit of hers that she could never let go.


    Chief Amaris smiled at her, ¡°Of course, you can let...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you,¡± Vale¡¯s sudden offer doesn¡¯t leave Anne with no choice. ¡°Don¡¯t worry if you don¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, it will be alright, thanks Vale,¡± Said Anne. She turned her face to Justice, ¡°But please wait, I need to heal Justice¡¯s cut wound.¡±


    Still a bit angry towards Vale, Justice red at his friend and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine, Anne. It will heal.¡±


    Anne put her hand on his mouth and begin to give him the first aid spell. After the cut wound healed, she smiled at Justice, ¡°Now, you look like a handsome prince again,¡± Said Anne with a bit of tease.


    A warm feeling goes inside the crown prince¡¯s mind. He was so sure it wasn¡¯t the spell effect. Both Vale and Anne left the floor, Justice¡¯s gaze lingered on the lift that brought Vale and Anne, Brom saw the crown prince and then said to him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry your majesty, Anne will be capable to love more than one man because she already had the thought of it.¡± and with that final word, he waves his hand and leaving the floor as well.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to say, I still think your son is an *sshole.¡± Said Justice to chief Amaris.


    Chief Amaris just gave him the smile, knowing full well about what kind of son he was. Meanwhile, Vale and Anne spend an hour in the library looking for a good book to read.


    ¡°I must say, I never knew you like to indulge in a book that it¡¯s not about medicine or healing,¡± Vale said after he saw how enthusiastic Anne was over a book about the little monster and beyond.


    ¡°Hey, I do have some hobby,¡± Anne sulked at Vale, ¡°You know in my world I never...¡± Anne suddenly closes her mouth. She looks to her side and saw Vale frowning at her.


    ¡°In your world? What do you mean by that?¡±

 Chapter 92

    92 The library incident


    Anne curses her own error, but the damage had been done. Vale stared at her, obviously demanding an answer. She smiles at him and begins to make some excuses.


    ¡°Ah, I mean whenever I read any book, I was in my own world, you know.¡± Said Anne with a very awkward grin on her face.


    Vale squinted his eyes, looking suspiciously at her. ¡°Really? So, you like to be in your own world while reading about nts and wild monsters?¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah, why not...¡± Anne went quiet, and she took Vale¡¯s arm into another corner of bookshelves, ¡°Oh, what do we have in this corner?!¡± She tried so hard to look enthusiastic.


    Looking at the book one by one, Anne was talking non-stop to Vale, preventing him from talking about her mishap earlier. Vale give up and just enjoyed the time that he had with her. The library was empty for now. There were only the two of them roaming around the room, finding books.


    ¡°You know, this tower is so high, but I rarely saw any alchemists around here?¡± Anne asked Vale out of curiosity.


    Vale looked around the room, and he suddenly had a naughty smirk on his face. ¡°What happened? Did you get nervous about being alone with me?¡±


    A blushing face from Anne, answering his question, even though our heroine tried so hard to deny it, ¡°Oh stop it! I wasn¡¯t what I meant to ask about that!¡±


    Chuckles, Vale poke her nose and teased her once again, ¡°I was joking. Come on, let¡¯s sit in the chair by the window over there.¡±


    .....


    They sat on the chair in a veryrge window facing the garden behind the tower. It was a perfect ce for someone to sit and enjoy the sunshine. Vale pointed at the garden where there are like almost twenty alchemists were doing some kind of experiment, individually or in a group. Anne was in awe, she smile while looking at how they conducted the experiment outside their room.


    ¡°That is amazing! I never knew that alchemists did their experiment beyond their ownboratory?¡± Anne was intrigued.


    Vale could see her eyes lit by how excited she was, he was amused by her genuine reaction, ¡°They have to do it in the outside of theirb sometimes, because of howrge the experiment, like their newest experiment of the new iron carriage or shield for the familiar.¡±


    Grabbing at Vale¡¯s arm, Anne asked him once again, just to be sure that she wasn¡¯t hearing it wrong, ¡°Wait?! Do they have a shield for the familiar now?! Seriously?!¡±


    ¡°Still in development, because you do realize, once the familiar is mature, they will have a permanent ce in our shadow.¡± Said Vale to Anne.


    ¡°I wonder about it. How is it going to work for them?¡± Anne asked him while her face make a cute frown at Vale.


    Vale shrugged. ¡°Well, we never know. It was known to be, but we know that they need to consume our magica to have the energy to fight.¡±


    She asked Vale another question. ¡°But they still need to eat and drink, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course, what I meant using our magica to fight is about using their power potential. Every monster and animal has their own set of the potential power that they used to fight the hoard and another wild monster.¡± Vale exined it to Anne. While the girl sat there thinking hard about something, he finally realized something had happened. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Anne turn her head and gave him a weak smile, ¡°Oh no, I was... I was thinking about Chikara, that poor demon kitten can never defend himself because myck of magica,¡±


    Suddenly, Vale touched her cheek and brushed it softly. ¡°Why do you think I gave you the magica?¡±


    A bittered smile came to her face, ¡°But is it enough for Chikara, though? I¡¯m sorry, I know it was enough for me, and I am thankful,¡± Said Anne while she biter her lips ,¡±Everyone praised me that I got a rare monster as my familiar, but turned out I am going to hinder his potential!¡± tears came flowing, not because she was scared, but because once again she felt she was useless, ¡°Imagined, my familiar, mature and... couldn¡¯t even unlock his power because of his master is a useless person in this world.¡±


    All the memories from her old world came again, the eyes of judgment that came from her parents, the blind expectation, and the remorse came afterward. Even though Martha and Ed helped her with her confidence and emotion, the demon was always there, creeping around behind her. But then, blinding sunshine came on her face, Vale saw her shimmering in the sunshine.


    He can help himself. When his hand cup into Anne¡¯s small face, Vale kissed her at first with a simple kiss, a short but oh-so-sweet kiss. His full and luscious lips brushes into her red and silken lips, she loved it, and somehow she wants more. She closes her eyes and Vale couldn¡¯t help to groan. He tried to control himself and only gave her another kiss without demand from his end.


    He open his mouth and gave her a kiss that was longer than before but not so passionate but still in control. Afterward, they look into each other eyes, and a smile appears on their face.


    ¡°I... I¡¯m sorry, I just can¡¯t help it when I saw your face.¡± Vale said to Anne with a flustered face.


    Anne, also flustered by the sudden kiss, cleared her throat and shook her head, ¡°No... Uhm... It¡¯s alright, I... Uhm... well, I think I¡¯m going to head back now.¡± She waves her hand to Vale and runs away from the library, but not without a few words first to Vale. ¡°I... It was lovely, I mean... the kiss, and thepany, of course.¡±


    Looking at her running away with a fluster and shyness on her face makes Vale chuckle. He took a long sigh andy his head when the sunshine came drowning on his face. Vale couldn¡¯t help himself touch the lips that were kissing hers earlier. He was grinning ear to ear and close his eyes.


    Meanwhile, in another area, on the outskirts of Gaftan, Henry curses at how slowly the carriage that took them away from Bordertown Horden saw him and shook his head.


    ¡°Just calm down Henry, you still need to rest but you opted to go to your girl as soon as possible!¡± Muttered Horden to his grandson.


    Henry then gave him a re while hissing at him, ¡°Well, if only you had told me about the crystal dagger being in the girl¡¯s hand that I have feelings for a while now, I wouldn¡¯t be like this!¡±


    ¡°There was never a good time! When I know about the fact that you¡¯re in love with Anne all along, you were going on a mission on Gaftan, and we decided not to tell you anything until the mission ispleted,¡± Said Horden to Henry, ¡°Besides, it wasn¡¯t like she was going to choose your friends and not choosing you at all you¡¯re a part of them.¡±


    ¡°We? So, all of them know about Anne keeping the crystal dagger, but not me?!¡± Henry shouted while he throw his hand in the air.


    The oncemander of the kingdom army looks at his grandson with some desperation on his face, ¡°As I said, there was never a good time. I want you to concentrate on your training.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need training, it wasn¡¯t like I will have time to be greater than the crown prince,¡± Said Henry while he scoffed at Horden, ¡°I was the second on everything, I tried so hard and to be what? the best friend of the crown prince, what joke.¡±


    Horden could see the hurtful eyes of his grandson, he tried to reach his grandson, ¡°Henry... I never thought that you...¡±


    ¡°No, you will never think about anything besides for the greater good of the kingdom!¡± Shouted Henry so suddenly towards Horden, ¡°When I wanted to be the administrative side of the civil servants, you convinced me that it wasn¡¯t a good choice for me, you even asked father for it.¡±


    ¡°Henry... No, it wasn¡¯t my purpose, it was because...¡±


    Henry raised his right hand, He tried so hard in the past to believe him, but for Henry, the trust almost diminished, ¡°Please stop the speech or the excuses, I was done to hear...¡±Darkness engulfed the carriage all so sudden, the horse wailing while the carriage driver screamed, Henry called for Horden, ¡°Gramps! Are you alright?!¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Yeah! I am fine, son! Don¡¯t you worry! Just hold on tight!¡±


    The carriage abruptly stopped, sending the two of them tumbling all over the ce. Henry could hear the horses running away, while a sound of a big monster from the outside could make everyone¡¯s skin crawl out of fear. A hand grabs into Henry¡¯s. He knew right away it was Horden.


    ¡°Did you hear that?¡± He whispered to his grandson.


    ¡°Yes, it was close, probably a medium size?¡± Henry whispered back to Horden. He called for his crystal sword and said to Horden, ¡°Are you ready?¡±


    Even though Henry can¡¯t see his face, he could feel how excited his grandfather was. ¡°I am as ready as you¡¯re. Let¡¯s get that b*stard.¡±

 Chapter 93

    93 Henry¡¯s dedication


    In the darkness around the area, while two gentlemen crawling from the inside of a carriage, Henry and his grandfather Horden tried to locate the driver first.


    ¡°Did you see him?¡± Whispered Henry to Horden.


    Horden look around and heard a whimpering from the other side of the carriage, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve heard it.¡±


    ¡°Good, what should we do then?¡± Henry asked Horden, while he tried to locate the monster.


    Horden pointed in the driver¡¯s direction, ¡°I¡¯ll go and search for the monster. You tried to save the driver. After you hide him, go back and help me.¡±


    ¡°Wait, aren¡¯t we supposed to go together?¡± Henry held onto Horden¡¯s right arm. He was actually nervous. For him, fighting monsters with his friends was enjoyable, but not if it involved his family member. ¡°Let us find the carriage driver first and handle the monster.¡±


    ¡°Then we let the monster to ambushed us when we are trying to hide the driver?¡± Horden whispered his frustration, ¡°Go! I have Panthera with me.¡±


    ¡®At once, master.¡¯ Said the red fur panther.


    Henry voiced his protest, but seems his grandfather had already ignored him. He groaned and sneaked into the other side of the carriage. Horden walks around the bushes with Panthera by his side. He tried to walk as quietly as possible until Panthera told him to stop. He crouches and hides and begins to question Panthera.


    .....


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡®I can sense the monster. Seems like it lingered on one spot.¡¯


    ¡°Lingered? in one spot? How is that possible?¡± Horden asked his familiar once more.


    ¡®I am sorry, master, that was as much information that I could give. I know nothing else.¡¯


    ¡°Where¡¯s the location?¡± Asked Horden again.


    ¡®You¡¯re near. It was passing the small river... No, it was inside the river.¡¯


    ¡°Shit! two dimension monster, just what we need right now.¡±


    ¡®You need it, master?¡¯ Panthera tilted her headically, not realizing the sarcasm.


    Horden gave her a smile and even patted her head, ¡°Just... let¡¯s go, sneak attack as always. We don¡¯t know what kind of monster we are dealing with here?¡±


    ¡®Yes, master.¡¯


    The two of them carefully walks into the river bank, the sound of the calming water couldn¡¯t even peace of mind to Horden, he was nervous, two dimension monster means the monster was capable to go to thend while having the ability to swim or flying, or one of thebination.


    Finally, they saw the monster, a long body with thick grey skin, and a snout with three reptilian eyes. The body is elongated in the river with a sharp tail and four short legs that fill with warts. Horden knew about the monster, he curses and call for another weapon, a hatchet.


    ¡°Shit! A Gargator! Thankfully, it is the grey skin gargator.¡±


    ¡®Did you recognize the species, master?¡¯


    ¡°Yes, I fought it a long time ago, fearful beast, they alsoe in four colors, grey, ck, red, and rainbow colors.¡± Whispered Horden, ¡°Grey is the easiest. We just need to roll it and hack the stomach.¡±


    ¡®What do I need to do, master?¡¯ Panthera is so eager to fight the monster, Horden smile and brushes her fur.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we need to wait for Henry. After all, it was a mid-size monster. We need any help that we can get... even though it wasing from myzy grandson.¡± Muttered Horden.


    ¡°Well, sorry then If I was thatzy b*stard,¡± Henry mumbled from behind Horden.


    ¡°God!¡± Horden was in shock, he tried to muffle his voice as much as possible, ¡°Are you trying to give me a shocked till I die?!¡±


    Henry rolled his eyes. ¡°Rx, you¡¯re one of the strongest old people that I know.¡±


    ¡°After the shock, now you¡¯re mocking me? Some grandson you are.¡± Mumbled Horden.


    ¡°Can we just focus on thatrge monster over there?¡± Henry gritted his teeth while pointing at the gargator on the river.


    Horden lifted his hatched, and red at Henry, ¡°Fine! It was a medium size gargator, actually.¡±


    Looking at how stubborn his grandfather was, Henry just huffed his breath, ¡°Fine, what should we do with that mid-size gargator?¡±


    ¡°What about the driver?¡± Asked Horden, suddenly remembering about the poor driver.


    ¡°Besides the obviously broken leg, he is fine. I hide him in a good ce.¡±


    Satisfied with the answer, hey his n to Henry, ¡°Good, now I want you to wait here, while I distracted him, you can use your rapier to pierce the stomach of that monster.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I thought the gargator had a thick skin, rapier will never pierce through it, how about my long sword?¡± Henry call for the long sword and showed the hardened steel to Horden.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, now wait for my call and quick attack the stomach.¡±


    Before Henry gave him the answer, Horden already strike the gargator, ¡°That bloodymander, wait for my approval first!¡± He shouted at Horden, who was busy handling the gargator.


    Horden tried to hack the monster but swiftly avoided him. Panthera, however, sessfully wed her middle eye. The monster roars and shakes his head in pain. It¡¯s tried to snap and crushed into Panthera¡¯s body, but the red-fur panther is agile and can easily maneuver around the area.


    Horde took the chance and hack the ground beside the gargator, the force make the gargator reveal its stomach, and Horden shouted at Henry. The Knight captain immediately shed the stomach with three quick attacks. The monstery t on the ground with an open stomach wound from Henry¡¯s attack. They look at the gargator together.


    ¡°Good job, son! Now, help me find those horses. We need to alert the nearest vige about this road.¡± Said Horden while patting Henry¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°You can go to the vige first, I need to find a mandragora since this is a perfect ce for the nt to grow.¡± Henry told Horden and pointed at a ck stallion drinking on the side of the river, ¡°Look, we already found the horse.¡±


    ¡°Alright, you stay put with the driver after you found the mandragora, I¡¯ll go to the nearest vige.¡± Said Horden to his grandson.


    They part way not long after, Henry walks around the road with a hovering small orb, trying so hard to find the mandragora, while Horden gallops the carriage horse to the nearest vige. Vale sent him the sketch of the mandragora. The nt has a broad and expanded leaf with a stem shaped like a plump bubble with an earthy color.


    ¡°Sabrina,e out, my darling.¡± Said Henry to his familiar, while he was busy staring at the many nts on the ground.


    ¡®Did you call me? Handsome?¡¯ a perky red cardinal appears from Henry¡¯s shadow. ¡®Oh dearie, this is a dark and mischievous road. What are you doing here, my master?¡¯


    ¡°I need to find a mandragora. Please help me by scanning the area,¡± Henry orders the red cardinal that perches on his shoulder.


    ¡®Mandragora? Why do you want to be associated with a sassy b*tch?¡¯ Comined Sabrina with her pitched voice.


    ¡°Sassy b*tch? What do you mean?¡± Henry turns his attention to Sabrina, trying to find an answer.


    ¡®Mandragora is a female nt from the Mandracus family. The male counterpart of the family was called Mandrake.¡¯


    ¡°Wow, I never knew that even a nt has its own species.¡±


    Sabrina flew into the sky and scan the area. ¡®Well, only the healer and the alchemist know about this kind of thing.¡¯


    He bitterly smiles at the sky, where his familiar fly around, ¡°True, although the book specifically said mandragora, not mandrake.¡±


    ¡®Because, unlike mandragora that has many healing effects, mandrake is a poisonous nt.¡¯


    ¡°You¡¯re so well informed, Sabrina, how so?¡± Asked Henry, a bit curious when he saw his tiny familiar.


    Sabrina never answered his question. She instead tells him about the location of one of the mandragora, when they found a handful of the mandracus, she even helps differentiate the two.


    ¡°You know, I don¡¯t even have to learn any of this, Sabrina.¡± Said Henry while huffing his breath.


    ¡®Now, now, your future partner is a healer. Don¡¯t you think you will help her tremendously by knowing all of this?¡¯


    A gleeful smile came into Henry, ¡°You¡¯re right, now tell me about mandrake once again?¡±


    The little red cardinal patiently teaches Henry, and after, like forever, Horden finallyes with the guards from a nearby vige. The wounded driver gets carried to the nearest clinic, while Henry and Horden go back to the capital by horses. They stop only to get a little break and feed the horses. Henry can¡¯t wait to see Anne¡¯s face, he doesn¡¯t care if it¡¯s because of the effect of the bewitched spell or not, for Henry, the feeling is real.


    One dayter, Henry arrived on the doorstep of the alchemia tower, he go down from his horse and let it go to the nearby stable to be fed and rest. He asked one alchemist to open the door for him, carefully he step inside, and in front of him, there was a girl carrying heavy books in her hand. Her long purple hair color swayed every time the breeze catches it.


    When Anne saw Henry, she dropped the book with a surprise on her face. Henry runs into her immediately and embraces her in his arms.


    He inhale every sweet scent that emitted from her, and said with a smile on his face, ¡°Anne, I¡¯m here.¡± Surprisingly, Anne pushed him away. There were tears in her eyes. Henry¡¯s smile disappear when he demanded an answer from her, ¡°What happened, Anne?¡±


    ¡°Oh, Henry... it was Xavier,¡± Anne exined to Henry while her lips trembled and tears came running from her eyes.

 Chapter 94

    94 The problematic cure


    ¡°What happened to Xavier?¡± Asked Henry, and he tried to ask Anne as calmly as possible.


    ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± Said a voice from the upper stairs. Henry and Anne look up and saw Vale. He orders the two of them to go to the highest floor. ¡°Let¡¯s go. We talk about everything upstairs.¡±


    After collecting every book that fell into the floor, the two of them then followed Vale from behind, Henry¡¯s wondered about something else, ¡°I thought this ce has an invention called lift?¡± Henry wasining non-stop, he was tired from the long journey from Gaftan.


    ¡°The lift got a scheduled maintenance, it will be operatable tomorrow.¡± Said Anne. She could see how tired Henry was. ¡°I¡¯ll give you my tonic so that you can replenish some of your energy.¡±


    Henry gave her a grateful smile. ¡°That would be helpful. Thank you, Anne.¡±


    After like forever, the three of them arrived at the highest floor where Justice, Bernard, and chief Amaris were waiting in the lounge room. Justice saw Henry and immediately a grin appeared on his face.


    ¡°What took you so long?¡± Said Justice, weing Henry.


    ¡°Sorry, I was looking for the dark and mischievous road, and look what I found.¡± Henry put the bag on the table. Vale opens the bag and was d to see the mandragora.


    ¡°Thanks, Henry,¡± Vale patted Henry¡¯s back and handed the mandragora to chief Amaris, ¡°We can finally brew the cure.¡±


    .....


    ¡°I¡¯ll make it into four portions.¡± Said chief Amaris, she then excused herself from the floor, ¡°I will focus on your cure, best of luck for the... other matter.¡±


    Henry, Justice, and Anne said their gratefulness to chief Amaris, and once again there was a deafening silence in the room. Henry took a seat and asked them.


    ¡°Alright, what happened here? I thought we still need the dragon¡¯s eggshells from Xavier?¡± Asked Henry to everyone in the room.


    ¡°We got the eggshells. That¡¯s why chief Amaris could proceed to make the cure.¡± Said Justice with a gloomy voice.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Xavier? He was in charge of founding the dragon eggshells, right?¡± Henry look around the floor, hoping to see Xavier.


    Suddenly, another person came from the stairs, a man with shortcut red hair, he got a piercing eye with a faint scar on his left cheek. He looked at all of them and was almost out of breath ascending the stairs. Henry knew the man. It was Junjin, a subordinate of Xavier. He saw Henry and nodded his head.


    ¡°Captain Henry, so nice to meet you here.¡± Said Junjin full of formality.


    ¡°Oh, Junjin,¡± Henry handed him water and asked him to sit on the sofa, ¡°Where¡¯s Xavier? He goes with you to search for the dragon eggshells, right?¡±


    Junjin finished the water in one gulp. Even Anne was impressed by how fast he drank the water. He put the cup on the table and sighed. ¡°I lost my captain when we retrieved the eggshells from the nest.¡±


    Henry¡¯s mouth gaped open. He muttered while trying to make sense of the situation, ¡°What? how was that possible? Xavier is one of the top huntsman captains out there. You know he also can...¡±


    ¡°Henry! Watch your mouth.¡± Justice warned him from another end of the sofa, while Anne look confused by the warning.


    ¡°When we took the eggshells, the captain sensed there was another person nearby. He asked me to go back to the inn first.¡± Junjin exined the situation once more to Henry, since the others already heard it, ¡°I tried to go along, but he shouted at me and said that he was the only one that can handle the person.¡±


    ¡°The person? That was weird, and he nevere back to the inn after?¡± Asked Henry again.


    Junjin nodded his head, ¡°Yes, I tried to search for him, but I thought you need the eggshells first and probably wanted to know about Xavier,¡± Said Junjin to everyone, he then added, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I put a note at the inn if he in fact wasn¡¯t missing and I was just overreacting.¡±


    Looking at Justice, Henry wanted to know his opinion. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    Justice massaged his temple. ¡°I think we need to go there and check. I hate this situation.¡±


    ¡°Yes, the cure will need to be brewed for four days anyway, so it will be plenty of time to go.¡± Said Vale, agreeing with Justice.


    However, henry can feel there¡¯s something wrong with Justice and Vale. They rarely talk to one another, and even their bodynguage is stiff to one another. Not to mention Anne felt like she was trapped between the two of them. Henry doesn¡¯t like this. He ps his hand, making everyone on the floor surprised by his sudden act.


    ¡°Alright, Junjin, thank you so much. Let us discuss this first, and get back to you,¡± Said Henry, while he pushed him to the stairs. ¡°Did you have a room here? Or do you need to go back to the capital?¡±


    Flustered by Henry¡¯s action, all that Junjin can do was answer him properly before he descended the stairs, ¡°I... I will spend the night with my alchemist friend here, on the tenth floor.¡±


    Henry smiles at Junjin. He basically told him to go away, after he sessfully kicks out Junjin, Bernard, and even Anne are next. He told Bernard to go take some rest, while convincing Anne to go asked chief Amaris if she need some help.


    Don¡¯t want to intrude. Anne knew Henry needs to have a conversation with the two of them. She nodded and excuse herself from the floor. Henry realized what she did and gave her a silent thank you. Finally, there were only three of them. Justice and Vale tried to speak, but Henry raised his hand.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard the highest floor has a terrace, let¡¯s go there,¡± He smiled at the two of them and even brought an aggrus decanter with three cups.


    There was nothing they could do besides follow Henry to the vast terrace near Justice room. the wind blowing a bit hard, but Vale cast a wind spell, just to calm the wind for a bit. Justice already sat on the chair while pouring the aggrus into the cup.


    ¡°Vale hit me two days ago,¡± Justice says directly, with no exnation.


    ¡°What?!¡± Shouted Vale and Henry at the same time.


    ¡°Vale, what happened?¡± Asked Henry.


    Vale looked frustrated at Henry. ¡°Well, you asked him, did you know he got the blood gue disease now and wanted Anne to be the only source of blood?¡± Said Vale, while pointing at Justice.


    Henry looks at Justice and calmly asks him, ¡°Vampirism? What happened Justice? Where did you get the disease?¡±


    ¡°Probably from his encounter in the Beyor cemetery. I knew it would be dangerous to go there.¡± Vale exined to Henry. He was in his thinking mode, eyes straight into the sky, while his right hand brushed his chin over and over.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry over a spilled aggrus,¡± Said Henry to Vale, his eyes turning to Justice once more. ¡°and you? Why do you need Anne¡¯s blood specifically?¡±


    Rustling his hair, Justice red at Henry, ¡°It was because Anne offered it to me, alright?!¡±


    ¡°Oh, God! No need to be a grumpy crown prince, I was just asking.¡± Henry told Justice while shielding himself from the crown prince¡¯s red.


    Surprisingly, Henry¡¯sical act made Justice and Vale snort andughed, Henry is their glue to each other, and his easy-going manner and also his carefree attitude were the very opposite of Justice. for Henry, the three of them were not just friends, they are brothers in arms, and he will do anything to protect their brothers in arms.


    ¡°Gods! We could never fight against your attitude, seriously Henry,¡± Said Justice while wiping his tears.


    Henry then smiled at the two of them, his finger pointing at Justice directly, ¡°Good, now tell me, why did Anne offer herself as the sole blood source for you?¡±


    ¡°Because she was immune to the infection, and for now, because of the bewitched spell, Justice has only drawn to her.¡± This time it was Vale who answered his question.


    ¡°This girl was bing more and more mysterious every day.¡± Chuckles Henry being amused by the story, ¡°So, she was immune and now bing the sole blood source for this infected b*stard? Then there¡¯s only one thing we should do.¡±


    Vale and Justice look at Henry. ¡°Which is?¡±


    ¡°First of all, every time you need to drink Anne¡¯s blood, one of us should apany you two. We need to protect the girl, just in case.¡± Henryid his n on the other two.


    Justice nodded his head and agreed with Henry¡¯s term. ¡°You¡¯re right. We need to protect her.¡±


    ¡°You said first, there are more?¡± Asked Vale.


    ¡°Of course, the second one is we need to find the cure for vampirism. I know it must be hard since it was supposed to be extinct from our kingdom.¡± The other two let out a sigh, while henry looked so confused at them, ¡°What? What happened?¡±


    ¡°We found the cure, well at least how to cure the vampirism.¡± Said, Vale.


    Henry was ecstatic. ¡°Well, what are we waiting for? Remember, we have a little time. Xavier is probably in danger.¡±


    Justice once again shares a nce with Vale.


    ¡°It will probably be hard to find the cure for now.¡± Said Justice, while rustling his hair.


    ¡°Why? Why is it hard?¡±


    Vale took a deep breath and exined to Henry, ¡°In order for Justice to be fully cured, the source of the vampirism needs to be death.¡±

 Chapter 95

    95 Some ally, or some enemy


    The three of them were on the terrace, still couldn¡¯t believe the words inside the Doomen tome about the blood gue, the


    ¡°So, howe we need to kill the main host to cure the vampirism?¡± Asked Henry to his two friends.


    Vale let out a sigh, ¡°It was written inside the Doomen tome, apparently, vampirism is a cursed that is given to one person, and thus he gives the cursed to another and another, making the cursed be a disease and the disease bes...¡±


    ¡°A pandemic.¡± Muttered Henry.


    ¡°And the only cure is to kill the main host in order for me to break from this curse.¡± Said Justice. He shook his head in disbelief. ¡°What a joke.¡±


    ¡°Well... that would be difficult to achieve for now.¡± Mumbled Henry.


    Justice scoffed while sipping on his aggrus, ¡°Yeah, right, imagined that he was out there somewhere...¡± But suddenly, he stopped and came to a realization, ¡°Wait, don¡¯t you think he was out there looking for another victim? Maybe... Just maybe, I am not the only victim of his!¡±


    ¡°The kingdom will be in trouble. He could infect so many people by now.¡± Vale was nervous. ¡°What should we do?¡±


    Justice sped his hand, trying to think of the best way to get through all of their problems, he looked at Vale and Henry, voicing his opinion, ¡°We need to see the area where there is a strange urrence happened in one week of time, I¡¯ll ask Jason for it, and let¡¯s search for Xavier, I think he needs us the most right now.¡±


    .....


    ¡°I Agreed, going around blindly will be a foolish move,¡± Vale loved the idea. He then looks at Henry for another opinion. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    Henry nodded his head. ¡°Yes, a good move. I agree as well.¡±


    ¡°Good, tomorrow Jason wille here to discuss some of my duties that I¡¯ve delegated to him temporarily, afterwards, we should go searching for Xavier right away.¡± Justiceid out his n to henry and Vale, he tried to make it as simple as possible, even though the situation was a bit dire, ¡°How about it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, good enough.¡± Said Henry, and when everyone went quiet, he asked them another question, ¡°Why do all of you feel the need to hide the fact that Anne was the owner of the crystal de?¡±


    Justice and Vale shared a nce. They don¡¯t want to offend their best friend and tried hard to make some excuses.


    ¡°Look, we wanted to tell you immediately, we do, but we think that you going on a Bordertown mission with no distraction,¡± Vale tells him their opinion, which is actually half the truth.


    Henry smiled and said, ¡°Alright, so it was because I need to concentrate on my mission, not because you think it will be best to hide the fact from Anne that the crystal de also meant something else?¡±


    The other two went quiet. Henry¡¯s usation actually rings the truth. It was on the back of their mind that prevented Anne from knowing about the real meaning of the crystal de. They thought Anne would favor Henry more if she knows about the crystal de, or she could go away from them because of the overwhelming feeling that came from the crystal de.


    An engagement bond from the small item, even Anne isn¡¯t aware of it.


    ¡°It would be better if you tell me about the crystal de as soon as possible, I could tell her about the meaning of the crystal de and probably give her a choice,¡± Henry whispered to Vale and Justice, exining to them about their mistake, ¡°Because when all of you hide it from her, and someone else told her before me, what do you think will happen?¡±


    The truth came downing on them. Justice looking nervous at Henry. ¡°You¡¯re right, I am sorry Henry... No, we are sorry.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Hey we could always me it on that bewitched spell, right?¡± Henry was joking around, he was truly forgiven their past mistake, ¡°I will talk to Anne when I have the chance, don¡¯t worry I¡¯m not going to push her into anything, and she could wear the crystal de as a token of a friendship if she wanted to.¡±


    ¡°Although you prefer it not to be a token for a friendship, right?¡± Teased Vale.


    The three of themughed and enjoyed the noon with goodpany. Meanwhile, Anne was helping chief Amaris inside herb. They conversed about the bewitched spell cure chief Amaris brew. Chief Amaris was impressed by Anne. She asked her questions about the ingredients and the correct way to blend the medicine.


    ¡°You¡¯re one of the weird healers that I have ever known.¡± Chief Amaris said to Anne with a smile on her face.


    Anne smiles, ¡°I am not a healer, well, a certified healer, though.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re already an established healer for me. Ed and Martha will be so proud when you get your certification.¡± She patted Anne¡¯s back, giving her the encouragement that she need, ¡°You know the story about your parents, right?¡±


    ¡°Story? What kind of story?¡± Anne curiously asked chief Amaris.


    Chief Amaris shrugged. ¡°Well, don¡¯t you ever wonder how two brilliant healers never got a certification?¡±


    For a short time, Anne just scribbled on her note and never spoke, until she goes to see chief Amaris, and she finally answered her, ¡°I don¡¯t know, the two of them never shared their exam story, I do curious about it, but I think the story itself doesn¡¯t have a happy ending, with... you know them as the uncertified healer.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that was understandable, although it wasn¡¯t all tears of sadness, my dear.¡± Said chief Amaris to Anne.


    Anne frowned, listening to chief Amaris. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Better you ask them by yourself. Trust me, it will be a very interesting story.¡± Chief Amaris gave her a wink, while her grinning from ear to ear.


    Shaking her head, she snorted andugh, Anne likes this dynamic between her and chief Amaris. At the capital, she has two good friends but doesn¡¯t have a mentor yet, even though chief Amaris is an alchemist, but their duty nature is simr to one another. In every hospital, they also have the alchemia room, where every new case wille to the room, to provide more answers by investigating the disease.


    However, Anne became an unusual individual on her own. Her fascination with something other than healing is perceived as odd in this world. As we already see, everyone in this world has one duty and the duty will be their sole focus for their entire life. Even though sometimes the duty evolves, just like the crown prince that in the future will be evolve into a king.


    ¡°So, how long is the cure for the bewitched spell to be finished?¡± Asked Anne, while staring at the medium ss jar brewing the cure with a white fire.


    Chief Amaris peek at the cure, andmenting on Anne¡¯s question, ¡°Probably, about four days, I need to maintain the temperature.¡±


    ¡°Oh, then you should have this.¡± Anne reached into her pocket and handed her a tonic. ¡°This is a good tonic when you¡¯re too tired. You should drink it. I¡¯ll make some more.¡±


    Taking the tonic gratefully, chief Amaris then raised the tonic and said, ¡°Thank you, dear, I know all about this tonic, I helped your father enhance the effect.¡±


    Anne was fascinated by her words. ¡°Really?! That¡¯s amazing.¡±


    ¡°Not really, I just came to your family clinics back then and saw your father scribbled some kind of potion recipe,¡± Said chief Amaris to her, ¡°I saw the recipe and muttered at him, that he need to tweak the recipe a bit.¡±


    A glimmer of excitement came to Anne. ¡°My father never told me about it. I will definitely ask him about this story as well.¡± Chief Amaris stare at her. She was trying to say something. Anne tilted her head, trying to question her, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    With a determination on her face, chief Amaris begin to open her mouth, ¡°Anne, are you...¡±


    Suddenly, a knock came on the door. They turned around and saw Henry smiling at Anne.


    ¡°Oh, there you are. Justice needs to talk to us. Come on.¡± Said Henry to her.


    ¡°But... Chief Amaris...¡± Anne turned her attention back to chief Amaris.


    Smiling calmly, chief Amaris then said to Anne, ¡°Don¡¯t worry dear, we can talk another time. You should go to the crown prince now.¡±


    A bit hesitant, Anne reluctantly followed Henry to go back to her floor. After Anne was gone, Brom came inside theboratory. He stared at his mother while he was yawning and leaning against the wall. Chief Amaris took a nced at him.


    ¡°Be patient, my son, be patient. We are going to get her soon enough.¡± Chief Amaris calmly talked to her son while she handled the ss jar in her hand.


    ¡°I know, but be careful mother, we never know her nature and what exactly she was.¡± Said Brom, looking with a disinterested expression as usual.


    ¡°Oh, but we know one thing, son. We know one thing about River Anne.¡± Chief Amaris smirked while looking at the ss jar with Anne¡¯s name engraved on it.

 Chapter 96

    96 The viiness in the making


    When Anne looks at Justice and Vale in the lounge room, she felt a burden just lifted from her body. The two of them, even though still have some tension with each other, talked calmly on the sofa. She took a nce at the aggrus decanter on the table and suspected half of the job came from the almost empty decanter.


    Justice and Vale saw her. They asked her toe and sit with them. Anne knew what had happened.


    ¡°So, when are we leaving?¡± Anne asked the question as soon as she sat on the sofa.


    ¡°Well, clever girl, you have it all figured out.¡± Justice gave her a smirk while his bodyy on the sofa.


    Anne rolled her eyes. ¡°Of course, I know. As soon as Xavier¡¯s subordinate said that he went missing... We need to go.¡±


    ¡°We will don¡¯t worry.¡± Smiling at Anne, Vale tried to calm her.


    Henry and Junjin arrived, and they talk about their journey tomorrow.


    ¡°So, where exactly is the location?¡± Anne looks at Junjin, asking him every detail of the case.


    Junjin open the map sheet, and showed them the location in it, ¡°It was in the south, there¡¯s a town called Wolg, and...¡±


    .....


    Henry cut Junjin¡¯s immediately, ¡°Wait, did you say, Wolg?¡±


    ¡°Yes, do you know about the ce?¡± Asked Junjin, a bit taken aback.


    ¡°Of course, Wolg is Xavier¡¯s hometown.¡± Said Henry, he look at Justice and Vale. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the two of you forgot about this already?¡±


    Vale shook his head. ¡°No, I remember. Well, he wasn¡¯t very fond of it, though.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. I remember this, Wolg. The town on the south was the town where Xavier register himself.¡± Said Justice, while thinking hard about any other details.


    ¡°One of thergest towns in the south, also with a dense forest on right and left.¡± Henry added to him, ¡°Remember when he said that the orphanage had like fifty children with one orphanage matron?¡±


    Anne couldn¡¯t believe what she just heard. ¡°Excuse me, one orphanage mother? That was impossible. The orphanage in my vige has like twelve kids and they have two orphanage matrons.¡±


    That much is the truth. Anne sometimes does volunteer at the orphanage where the orphanage matron, as the caretaker of the orphans, needs help to take care of their welfare and health.


    Taking care of a dozen children was already hard for two people, imagined handling fifty.


    There was a gloomy atmosphere surrounding Justice. ¡°We already handled the case for such a long time, sadly. The town isn¡¯t the one that loves to share information.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I gathered as much,¡± Said Junjin, agreeing with Justice wholeheartedly, ¡°Although I was curious why the captain never revealed that Wolg was his hometown.¡±


    Henry chuckles at Junjin, ¡°Well, do you think you would be so proud to have Wolg as your hometown? I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    ¡°Fair point.¡± Junjin grinned and immediately agreed with Henry¡¯s opinion about Wolg town.


    ¡°Alright, so tomorrow, after I have my conversation with my brother, we will immediately go to Wolg town,¡± Justice tells everyone when suddenly he feels the urgeing.


    A grunt came from Justice, he cover his face while his body shook. Everyone got alerted immediately. Anne and Henry took him away as soon as possible. They pulled Justice to his room and close the door right away. Junjin was shocked. He doesn¡¯t know about Justice¡¯s infectious disease.


    ¡°What? What¡¯s just happened? Is the crown prince alright?¡± Asked Junjin, with confusion on his face.


    ¡°He is fine, don¡¯t worry,¡± Vale tried to make some excuses, he saw the opportunity when he remembered about Junjin¡¯s friend¡¯s invention, ¡°Oh, Junjin, I remembered about Kino¡¯s new invention, the long-distance two-way mirror version, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, he was so proud of it.¡± Junjin¡¯s face was lit. He was indeed so proud of his friend, ¡°Although he was trying to find people to test the item before it goes to the patent department.¡±


    ¡°Then, he finds the people now,¡± Said Vale with a grin on his face. ¡°Let¡¯s go to his floor. I wanted to see this new invention.¡±


    Vale practically dragged Junjin away. He was, of course, trying to make Junjin away from Justice as much as possible. The more time Junjin got on the same floor as Justice, the more curious he be, besides Vale was genuinely curious about the new version of the two-way mirror. Henry hear them descending the stairs, while Anne tried to calm Justice.


    ¡°How is he?¡± Asked Henry. He turned his face and looked at Justice.


    ¡°Not good.¡± Anne doesn¡¯t want to sugarcoat anything. She could see how Justice was struggling. ¡°He needs the blood now.¡±


    Contrary to his red ruby eyes, Justice¡¯s eyes changed color to a ck color, two fangs elongated from his teeth. He grunted and groan while tightly embracing Anne in his arms. His eyes red at Henry, possibly because of how possessive he was right now toward Anne. Henry tried to calm him down.


    ¡°Justice, I am here just to take care of Anne, alright? Don¡¯t worry, I am not going to fight you, so go ahead, do what you going to do.¡± Said Henry to the possessive Justice. Anne was nervous. She was trembling while she offer him her hand. Henry locked his eyes with her, trying so hard to calm her down, ¡°Don¡¯t worry Anne, I am here. Take a deep breath, alright?¡±


    Nodding her head, Anne braced herself. The sharp fangs go deep into her hand. She cried and even screamed, but her eyes keep focusing on Henry. He smiled and praised her all the way when Justice was enjoying her blood. Little by little his consciousness was back, and after a while, he blinked rapidly and the red ruby eyes appeared.


    Justice look around and saw Henry in the middle of holding Anne¡¯s hand. He saw blood dripping from the hand, ¡°Oh my Gods! Anne, did I?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, the bite wasn¡¯t deep. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Said Anne, trying to be convincing as she can be to Justice.


    ¡°Anne, where¡¯s your medicine bag?¡± Henry asked Anne while his hand still put some pressure on her hand.


    ¡°It was in my bedroom, let¡¯s go there,¡± Anne stands up from the bed, but her face keeps looking at justice, ¡°Are you... are you alright now?¡±


    Justice nodded his head, but his face was never looking at Anne of Henry. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m good now. Don¡¯t worry about me. Worry about yourself.¡±


    ¡°I will, I¡¯ll go now, alright?¡± Anne still managed to care for Justice. Somehow Henry was a bit annoyed by how caring she was towards the one who feasted on her blood earlier.


    When they reached Anne¡¯s room, Henry looks at her and sounding his frustration towards her.


    ¡°You know, as silly as it may sound, I couldn¡¯t believe you have a time to worry about him.¡± Said Henry with gritted teeth.


    Anne gave him a bitter smile and begin to care for her bite wound. The wound was severe; it was torn because of how carelessly Justice gorged on her blood. Henry felt hurt just by looking at Anne¡¯s wound. He held her hand and clean the blood. There were no words thate from his mouth, only silence between them.


    After the wound got bandaged, Anne took Henry¡¯s hand and smiled, ¡°Thank you, Henry, you¡¯ve calmed me down back then. I was so grateful you were there for me.¡±


    ¡°You know I will be always there for you, right?¡± Said Henry to her, he looks at her and bite her lips, ¡°Anne, I was so sorry about earlier, I don¡¯t know it hurts me so much to see you on that condition, not to mention you made the time to ask for... for that person condition?!¡±


    Anne felt another trouble is brewing, she doesn¡¯t know if it was because of the bewitched spell or something else, she will never allow this kind of animosity, and it was all because of her. Anne took a sighed and gave him a calm smile.


    ¡°Henry... listen to me... I was getting hurt by Justice, yes, but it wasn¡¯t his fault, he was sick and I was volunteering to be the blood source,¡± She brushed Henry¡¯s back to calm him down, ¡°I need to ask Justice because I don¡¯t want his bloodlust got into the other, I need to see if the bloodlust was satiated for now. Not because I was caring for him more, it is because I saw my duty as the healer.¡±


    ¡°I... I know, I was just... When I saw him bite and gorged you like an animal... No wonder Vale got so mad at him.¡± Henry sped his hand. There was fury in his eyes.


    ¡°Then I don¡¯t want you to apany me next time.¡±


    Henry turns his focus. She really took him by surprise. ¡°But Anne, why?¡±


    ¡°Because if you all going to make Justice a viin over something that he couldn¡¯t control, just because of how you took pity on me, I don¡¯t want it,¡± Anne red at him, she was really upset, she don¡¯t want her to be the object that brings a separation into their unity, she hates that, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be something that separated you from your best friends!¡±


    Henry tried to calm himself while Anne gave him a warm embrace. They stay for a while until she was sure Henry was calm enough. One of her biggest fear came true, she bes a viin for the four of them, the woman that could be a thorn in their rtionship.


    Anne needs to do something.

 Chapter 97

    97 Kino the entric


    Vale on the other floor came into the alchemist¡¯s room named Kino, an entric pale skin man with two protruding teeth. Junjin called for him, and Kino have a huge grin on his face.


    ¡°Ah, there you are, look I got something new.¡±


    Kino handed Junjin a device that look simr to the two-way mirror. Two small pocket mirrors with a small bead in the center of the mirrors.


    ¡°I¡¯ve perfected the distance. Now it can even reach greater distance!¡± The way Kino talks to Junjin and Vale was veryical and entertaining for them. Kino is a bright and cheerful person, a bit unique in his own way.


    Junjin calmed his friend a bit, ¡°Alright, calm yourself a bit. Captain Vale is here with me.¡±


    A surprise came into Kino¡¯s face, ¡°Oh Gods! I am so sorry captain Vale, I didn¡¯t see you at all.¡±


    Vale snorted. His confession totally took him by surprise. ¡°Wait, really?! Howe?¡±


    ¡°I am so sorry captain Vale, but that was how kino was,¡± Junjin felt apologetic to Vale. Not everyone could handle Kino¡¯s weirdness.


    Waving his hand to Junjin, Vale grinning from ear to ear, ¡°Not a problem for me, did you see Brom?¡±


    .....


    ¡°Oh, right, I forgot about your own subordinate.¡± Muttered Junjin. Everyone knows about how entric Brom can be, even though he is one of the genius magi in the department.


    ¡°So, Kino, could you show me how to use this item?¡± Vale asked Kino while checking on the item. He was intrigued by it.


    ¡°The Orbim, that¡¯s the name of this long distance!¡± Kino, with his hyper-enthusiastic energy towards Vale and Junjin.


    ¡°The Orbim?¡± Vale and Junjin asked Kino at the same time.


    Kino nodded his head enthusiastically. ¡°Yes! The abbreviation from the orb mirror. I mean, who wants to use three sybles for an item? It was stupid!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve warned you, kino! Shut Up!¡± A shout came from the lounge room.


    Kino open the door and shouted back, ¡°Shut up Gon! It wasn¡¯t my fault that you use some stupid long name for your invention!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Said Gon, back to Kino.


    ¡°No, you shut up!¡±


    They were going back and forth until Junjin had enough and shut the door.


    ¡°Come on Kino, you know Gon will try to get on your nerves!¡± Said Junjin while massaging his temple. Clearly, this is how Junjin dealt with Kino¡¯s weirdness.


    ¡°Yeah... Yeah... I am sorry, he just got on my nerves sometimes.¡± Kino exined to Junjin.


    As funny as the situation may have looked, Vale can see the tension between these two. Although he can¡¯t do anything about it, every department has its own policy and rule, especially inside the alchemia tower.


    Vale held onto the orbim and kindly asked Kino how to use the item. Kino gave him the instruction, and he asked him several questions regarding the orbim.


    ¡°How many people couldmunicate with the orbim at one point?¡±


    Kino scratches his head, thinking hard, and then he said to Vale, ¡°For now, only two people at the same time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough for now,¡± said Vale, smiling while looking at the orbim, ¡°I would like to bring this tomorrow. I have an expedition with my friends. This item would be so much helpful for us.¡±


    The strangest thing happened. A hand touches Vale¡¯s arm, he looks aside and saw Kino was in tears with a creepy grin on his face.


    ¡°You... Did you want to use the orbim? Really?!¡± Kino wastching on to Vale. The magi captain was speechless and couldn¡¯t muster any words.


    Junjin pried him away from Vale, ¡°Oh my God! Kino! Stop, don¡¯t be such a weird one.¡±


    ¡°But... But... he wanted the orbim!¡± Kino struggled so much, trying so hard to go back to Vale.


    Vale tried so hard to get away from Kino, but he never lost the smile on his face. ¡°Yes, Kino, but maybe you could calm down for a bit?¡±


    ¡°Ah, right, you¡¯re right, I am sorry.¡± Kinoughed and immediately sat on the table for his experiment, rather than sitting on a chair.


    Vale and Junjin shared nces. At this point on, Vale just needs to shrug it off. He took the items and go back to the highest floor, where Henry and Anne were cooking in the kitchen. Vale¡¯s eyes immediately go to the bandages on her hand. Anne gave her a smile that makes something flutter inside his stomach.


    ¡°Hey, wee back. I was looking for you.¡± Asked Anne. A spat was in her hand. She was stirring meat soup in the pot.


    Henry gave her a smile, and he saw some of the soup ssh into her hand. Vale took her hand, and his tongue trailed where the soup water sshed. Anne squealed while Henry shouted at him. Vale was having fun with her, and after the unexpected kiss at the library, Vale was more daring than he used to be.


    ¡°Gods! If I have known better, the two of you might have been sharing a kiss already.¡± Gruntled Henry, while he cut the meat on the butcher block. The flustered face of Anne and Vale says it all. Henry gasped and pointed his knife at Vale. ¡°You... F*ck! You kissed her already?!¡±


    Anne hide her face when Vale raised his two hands to Henry. ¡°In my defense, it was purely idental!¡±


    Squinting his eyes, Henry asked Vale a question. ¡°How long?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Asked Vale.


    ¡°How long was the kiss?¡± Asked Henry again.


    Vale scratched his head. ¡°Ten seconds? Maybe?¡±


    ¡°Ten seconds?¡± Henry frowned when he heard the short time of their kisses, ¡°Oh, you need to...¡±


    Then Vale cut his words. ¡°Not for the second time, though.¡± He even winked at Henry.


    Henry put his knife on and tried to chase Vale away. ¡°Second?! Alright,e here you...¡±


    Both of them were running around in the lounge room, while Anne need to finish cooking, they stop for a moment when Justice appeared from his room. Anne¡¯s smile was blooming on her face. She called the crown prince from the kitchen.


    ¡°Oh Justice, there you are. Help me slice the fish. I can¡¯t count on those two.¡±


    Vale could see that Justice was hesitant to answer until Henry called him.


    ¡°Well, what are you waiting for, you fool? Go and help her.¡± Said Henry to Justice.


    A warm feeling came over Anne. After her conversation with Henry, she was wary about the interaction between them. How d she was to see Henry was trying to make amend. Justice stand beside her and tried to slice the fish. Anne could see that he had never done any kitchen work before.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably safe if you just sat and let me do the cooking.¡± Said Anne with a nervous grin on her face.


    Justice gave her a sigh of relief. ¡°Thank Gods! I don¡¯t know what to do.¡±


    She smirked at his confession while asking him to sit and wait at the dinner table. He watches her cooking, and that¡¯s when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Vale, smiling at him. Henry, on the other hand, was going back to the kitchen, helping Anne once again.


    ¡°It looks peaceful, right?¡± Asked Vale to Justice.


    Smiling when his eyes were focused on Anne, Justice nodded his head. ¡°Yes, it is.¡±


    ¡°By the way, I have some helpful items that we can use tomorrow.¡± Vale say it to Justice and handed him the orbim.


    Looking at the items, Justice tilted his head. ¡°The two-way mirror?¡±


    ¡°No, this is the enhanced version. The alchemist that invented the items calls it the orbim, or the orb mirror.¡± Said Vale, after he getsfortable on the chair.


    Justice snorted at the mention of the name. ¡°What? The orbim? What a silly name.¡±


    Vale chuckles, remembering about Kino. ¡°Hey, do not say that directly to the alchemist. He was... an entric one.¡±


    From the kitchen, Henry¡¯sughing, ¡°I bet it couldn¡¯t even top your subordinate, Brom.¡±


    Even Anne chuckles after the mention of Brom. They all know how entric Brom was. Justice was staring at the orbim, still doubting the item.


    ¡°Are you sure it could help us? I mean, even the two-way mirror still has a lot of ws in the design.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t guarantee anything, but it doesn¡¯t hurt to have the item, right?¡± Vale trying so hard to convince Justice.


    ¡°Oh, let me see the item,¡± Anne felt intrigued as she overheard the conversation. ¡°So, how does this work?¡±


    Vale informed her about how the orbim works. ¡°You face the mirror and said the name of the other one that has the other items, and it will connect to you. You can see their faces and even hear their voices.¡±


    ¡°Oh, kind of like video call!¡± Anne was so excited, she was forgetting where she was now for a moment, the words video call that had never been uttered in this mysterious new world.


    The three gentlemen looking at each other, the slipped tongue from her end, making Anne so nervous, she tried to find a way to escape from the questions that she felt wereing.


    The cold sweats came from her face when Justice said, ¡°Anne, what is veedeeo coll?¡±


    But, before Anne answered his question with some meaningless excuse, Bernard came to the floor and called for the crown prince.


    ¡°Your majesty, I am sorry to interrupt, but prince Jason is here to meet you.¡±


    A frown came on Justice¡¯s face. ¡°My brother? I thought he wasing tomorrow?¡±


    Prince Jason was already on the floor. He put off his coat with a stern face directly to his brother. ¡°I need to talk to you, right now!¡±

 Chapter 98

    98 Into the Wolg (Part 1)


    Prince Jason was standing in the lounge room looking at his brother with a wary look. Anne and the others were curious about his early visit.


    ¡°Jason? What happened? You should be here by tomorrow morning?¡± Justice asked his brother, of course very curious also.


    ¡°I need to talk to you, alone.¡± Said Jason to Justice, he looks around and then asked his brother again, ¡°Where¡¯s your room? we need to talk, now!¡±


    With concern on his mind, Justice gave him the location of his room, he then turned to see Anne and the others that he promised to tell him everything. Anne saw them enter the room, she look so concerned and hoping there was nothing happened.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he will be alright,¡± Vale whispered to her, trying to calm her down.


    Anne nodded and smile at the rest of the people on the floor, she invite Bernard to have lunch with them, but for now, all she need to do was wait. Meanwhile, Justice and Jason have a conversation inside the room, where the crown prince sat on the bed while his brother the prince were pacing around.


    ¡°Could you just sit and be calm? What exactly happened? Seriously.¡± Said Justice scolding his brother, he was getting annoyed by his restlessness.


    Raising his hand to Justice, Prince Jason finally gives in and goes to sit on the sofa, ¡°My apologies, I was just so annoyed by Javier.¡±


    ¡°Javier? What happened with him?¡± Asked Justice with less curiosity than before.


    .....


    Jason chuckles, ¡°He... he proposed to Amelia.¡±


    ¡°What?! Javier... That crazy f*ck! What was inside his mind?!¡± Justice was furious.


    He raised his right hand and asked Justice to calm himself, ¡°Calm down, the proposal isn¡¯t official yet.¡±


    Justice put his hands on his face, ¡°Tell me, where did he propose to that snob merchant¡¯s daughter?¡±


    Jason took out a long sighed and answered Justice, ¡°At dinner,st night, in front of father Edward, and mother.¡±


    ¡°Now he is out of his mind, in front of mother and father Edward?!¡± Screamed Justice, he knows very well the temper of his second brother. Javier never loved one woman, he likes to party and indulge, ¡°He only did this to get back at me.¡±


    ¡°By taking Amelia as the fiance? That was stupid, everyone knew that you despised Amelia.¡± Jason just couldn¡¯t believe Javier¡¯s motive on this matter.


    Looking nervous at his brother, Justice shook his head, ¡°No, not because of Amelia, I mean every woman will do, Amelia just got lucky because she was around,¡± He gave Jason the real reason, ¡°He wanted the throne by securing a potential empress, I¡¯m not surprised if Amelia will be doing her training as the royal family soon.¡±


    Jason smacked the chair and cursed, ¡°D*mn! He really wants that title so much, but why? I never saw him as the man with that kind of ambition.¡±


    ¡°He has it for such a long time now, brother, trust me...¡± Justice muttered while remembering how the envy came from little Javier¡¯s eyes whenever people praised him, or when the woman mored over him as the crown prince, rather than his brother who stand on the corner despising him, ¡°Every man have their own ambition, recing me as the crown prince, is Javier¡¯s ambition.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he will not gets what he wants, we need to find a way to stop the official proposal,¡± said Jason, he looks at Justice and asked about his condition, ¡°Did you get any information about the cure?¡±


    Justice let out a sigh, ¡°We did, but it¡¯s not going to be easy I¡¯m afraid.¡±


    ¡°Why? What¡¯s the matter?¡± Asked Jason, and a glimpse of worry and curiosity came to him.


    ¡°In order to be free from the cursed, I need to kill the main host, the one that bites me.¡±


    ¡°Well, that would be hard, you said that he disappeared right after he attacked you, right? Said Jason.


    Suddenly a headache came and he felt it, Justice massaged his temple while huffing his breath, ¡°I know brother, I knew it very well, I saw that b*stard flew, while I was in agony.¡±


    ¡°What would you then?¡± Asked Jason again.


    Justice looks at his brother, ¡°I need your help with that.¡± He said to His brother with a smile.


    ¡°Ugh... That¡¯s why you were so eager to meet me, so what is it?¡± Jason let out a sigh and focused on Justice.


    ¡°I want you to investigate any mysterious urrence from two or one week ago until now.¡±


    A frown came into Jason¡¯s face, ¡°What kind of mysterious urrence are we talking about here?¡±


    ¡°People¡¯s missing? New kind of disease? Or someone seeing a ghost or something unusual?¡± Said Justice with a shrug, ¡°You know.¡±


    Jason sighed, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll take this investigation, hopefully, there will be something,¡± He then took a long stare at Justice, ¡°What will you do? you can¡¯t stay hidden in the alchemia tower forever?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, after I find Xavier, I¡¯ll go back to the pce immediately, with someone though.¡± Said Justice to Jason.


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°With Anne, she was my blood source now, I need her to stay close until we found tangible information about the main host.¡± Justice finally informed his brother about Anne.


    ¡°Miss Anne bing your blood source? Your only blood source?! Are you insane?!¡± Jason screamed at his brother.


    Feeling the need to shut his ears, Justice tried so hard to calm him, ¡°Calm down brother, she volunteered to be my main blood source.¡±


    ¡°Still, why does she even think that would be a good thing to do?¡±


    ¡°Because I am attracted to her blood only, and she was immune, she doesn¡¯t have the infectious disease,¡± Said Justice, hoping Jason will understand, ¡°Xavier was missing, so we need to go for another expedition, please investigate any abnormality cases, and do something about Javier, will you?¡±


    Jason already feel the abundant duty that he need to do, he took sighed and nodded at his brother, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go now since this is a very absurd case that you handed me, not the mysterious investigation, but handling Javier.¡±


    The two brothersughed together and Jason even eats at the table with Justice, Anne, Vale, Henry, and Bernard. He said farewell afterward, and when Bernard excused himself to check the security, Anne once again had the talk to the three of them sitting on the sofa.


    ¡°Look, I just wanted to make sure that the three of you don¡¯t have any animosity towards each other because of me,¡± Said Anne. At the same time, her eyes go to look at the three of them, ¡°Because of the bewitched spell, I know about the obsession bing worse every day, but it doesn¡¯t mean that all the me will automatically go to Justice.¡±


    Vale tried to calm Anne by smiling at her, ¡°Anne, don¡¯t worry, we will never...¡±


    ¡°No Vale, I can sense the tension between the two of you towards Justice! I mean, all of this is not his fault, he got the infectious disease and couldn¡¯t control himself. So please... do not me Justice.¡± Anne¡¯s hands were trembling, she looks around and saw all of them looking at each other nervously, ¡°See, you saw it, you saw the effect of the obsession begin to blind your judgment.¡±


    ¡°Yes we do, whenever we saw you got hurt we just can¡¯t help to help you and hurt the assant back,¡± Said Vale to Anne, ¡°God! We are bing crazier and crazier by the day.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and I must say, I almost punched Justice earlier, just because of how we have engrossed ourselves in Anne,¡± Henry confessed to all of them in the room.


    Justice took a sip of his drink, and said, ¡°I do know about your anger, trust me, when... when I was having my bloodlust, it wasn¡¯t me in whole but it¡¯s also me,¡± Said Justice, he opened himself because of the disease, and hopefully getting his friends to trust again, ¡°It means, I was conscious the whole time but I don¡¯t have the control of my body at all.¡±


    ¡°Wait, so you¡¯re conscious inside your body, but you don¡¯t have control of your body?¡± Anne immediately asked him, and she even begin to scribble on her note, ¡°I need to write this, every piece of information about the disease is important.¡±


    All of them were stunned to see Anne getting excited, Henry was amazed by it, and Justice and Vale were amused by it. She asked questions to Justice, and the crown prince happily answers all of the questions wholeheartedly. When night time ising, all of them decided to go and have some rest, they can leave early after the sudden arrival of prince Jason.


    The morninges, and Anne and Vale are already busy in the kitchen, they prepare the food for the journey, the one-and-a-half-day journey into Wolg, a new town for them, and actually the hometown of Xavier. After they put every case into the carriage, Justice asked the driver about another item.


    ¡°Did you bring the wolfsbane?¡±


    The driver nodded his head, ¡°Yes, your majesty, it was inside the small trunk.¡±


    Anne was frowning, ¡°Wolfsbane?¡±


    ¡°A weapon, well, just in case the folklore from the town is real.¡± Answered Henry.


    ¡°Folklore? About what?¡± Curiosity begins to seep into Anne.


    Justice gave her a smirk, ¡°Werewolf.¡±

 Chapter 99

    99 Into the Wolg (Part 2)


    ¡°Werewolf?! No! You¡¯re joking, right?¡± Anne looks around at the three of them. Vale looked away, while Henry and Justice just grinned from ear to ear at Anne. ¡°Oh,e on, I was being serious!¡±


    ¡°Look, how about if we enter the carriage for now, and we will tell you about the folklore in our journey?¡± Justice open the carriage door and convinced Anne to go for their journey right away.


    ¡°Alright, we go now, but as soon as we are out.¡± Anne¡¯s eyes locked onto Justice.


    Nodding his head, Justice offers her his hand to help Anne enter the carriage. She grumbled but take the hand and enter the carriage. The rest of them followed her, and the journey begin to the Wolg.


    From the middle floor of the Alchemia tower, two people looking at the carriage went away. The mother and son duo stared at the four of them from the moment they were packing their bags and having a conversation outside the carriage.


    ¡°She will be back. Her destiny brings her to this world, even though we don¡¯t know what exactly her journey is.¡± Said chief Amaris.


    Brom leans into the window frame with his eyes looking into the distance, ¡°That¡¯s the problem, mother, we don¡¯t know who she is, or was.¡± He left his ce and sat at the chair, ¡°All we know about her is that she wasn¡¯t from this world and I felt her presence all of a sudden.¡±


    ¡°Son, maybe you begin to have feelings for her.¡± Chief Amaris teased Brom while a test ss pipe was in her hand. She was still in the middle of brewing the cure for the bewitched spell.


    Brom shook his head, ¡°No not that, I have this talk with Anne, and she told me that my attraction to her was purely out of curiosity,¡± Brom lean on the wall, remembering the conversation that he had with Anne, ¡°She wasn¡¯t wrong, I knew it now.¡±


    .....


    ¡°Then, whoever she is, we hope she wasn¡¯t something that we were afraid of.¡± Muttered Amaris to Brom.


    ¡°Yeah, let us hope so.¡± Said, Brom.


    Meanwhile, the carriage goes further and further away from the Alchemia tower. Inside the carriage, there¡¯s a grumbling purple hair color girl. Justice, Henry, and Vale looked at her with slight giggles and chuckles at their end.


    ¡°Hey, I thought you were going to tell me about the werewolf story. Now the three of you just teasing me.¡± Anne gruntled while she was ring at all of them, ¡°Where¡¯s my story?¡±


    Vale had never seen this cute side of her, he give up and begin to tell the story, ¡°I don¡¯t know why you have never heard of this, just amon story about a direwolf that falls in love with a beautiful woman, and together they have children together.¡± His voice then changed, with a huge grin on his face, ¡°thenes the time for the children to be something else, not a people, not a wolf, but both... A werewolf.¡±


    ¡°Awoooo!!!¡± Henry begin to howl, making Anne scream and jumped from his seat.


    The three gentlemenughed while Chikara hissed at them. Sometimes he gave them a re. Anne¡¯s familiar never liked them out of jealousy. Sometimes there¡¯s a species of animal or monster that is clingy to its master.


    Anne, of course, was intrigued by the story. The story was like her old-world lore of the werewolf. Although some elements of the story were not the same, the main object of the story was the same. Werewolf is a hybrid of wolf and human, or the word in this new world, people. The people in the new world never identify themselves as human.


    Anne always tried to figure it out. She asked her parents about it, and the only thing that they said was that they had never heard the word human. She continued on to ask Justice about the mysterious item, wolfsbane.


    ¡°So, what is the wolfsbane?¡± Asked Anne.


    Henry took the small trunk under his seat, and open the trunk to reveal a small silver knife, ¡°Wolfbane, one of the most expensive and rare knives in the kingdom, only a hundred being made because the metal is so rare.¡±


    ¡°Silver?¡± Anne muttered when her hand held the knife.


    ¡°You know the name of the metal?¡± Justice asked her as he, puzzled by Anne¡¯s answer, ¡°You do know thatmoners are never aware of this metal because it went extinct for such a long time.¡±


    Anne knew right away that she was in trouble, looking at the face of the three of them.


    ¡°Oh, so I wasn¡¯t supposed to know the name of the metal? Really?¡± Asked Anne, very carefully to Justice.


    ¡°Well, even just a handful of nobles knew the name of these metals, Why do you know about this?¡± Justice won¡¯t give up. He was so curious about her answer.


    ¡°I knew it from my best friend, she... I mean, her father told me the name of the metal a long time ago.¡± She knows that it was a weak answer, but that was the only excuse she could conjure for now.


    ¡°Oh, your friend, the one from the pce ball, right?¡± Said Vale to her. ¡°Look, the two of you should remember. I also knew about silver. I knew it from my grandfather¡¯s friend, so of course, there aremoners that knew about the rare metal.¡±


    Hering Vale trying to defend her, making Anne almost jump from her seat and hug him. The only thing that makes her stay seated was Justice staring at her, studying her, until Henry softly punched his arm.


    ¡°Hey, why are you looking creepily at her? You don¡¯t need blood anymore, right?¡±


    Justice flustered, shook his head and answered, ¡°No, of course not. I was just curious, that¡¯s all.¡±


    Looking at the situation, there¡¯s only one way Anne could avoid the suspicion.


    ¡°Curious about what, Justice?¡± Anne asked him directly, instead of cowering in her seat.


    It was working. They feel guilty, especially Justice. She looks at them without a hinge, making sure that she doesn¡¯t nervous at all. She looks like the innocent party that is hurt by any suspicion thates from them. If she is nervous or withdrawn to her seat, it will raise their suspicion more.


    Thinking out of the box, that¡¯s what Anne needs to do, she felt that there was a target on her back now. Not just from Justice, Vale, Henry, and Xavier, but also from Brom and his mother. She maybe looks like a fragile young girl, but her mind was wiser than her teenage body. The carriage was away and getting closer.


    On the other way, inside the capital, Heirim and some of her friends were having a conversation, and one of them just have the juiciest gossip about the nobles around the capital.


    ¡°You know my uncle is the chief of the kitchen staff in the pce, right?¡± Said Bechone, a girl with a pudgy nose and a wide eyes, ¡°He just told me some amazing news!¡±


    Heirim¡¯s eyes go to Bechone. Most of the time she ignored her because her ranking as the noble is the lowest of all of them, but she was intrigued when Bechone mentioned about the pce.


    ¡°Tell us, what happened inside the pce?¡± Asked Heirim to Bechone, although she masked her curiosity by sipping her caftea and fanning her face.


    Bechone face was lit, she adored Heirim so much, she nodded her head and begin to tell the story, st night my uncle came to visit and he told me that two days ago, prince Javier brought his girl friend, the merchant¡¯s daughter Amelia to dinner with his true father and the empress, and out of nowhere that yboy prince do the unthinkable.¡±


    Whispering came from all over the table. Heirim knew where this story will go, but she asked the girl to continue the story anyway, ¡°What Javier has done this time?¡± Heirim always loves to put her superiority by calling the prince just by his name.


    ¡°Alright, so prince Javier... proposed to that merchant¡¯s daughter, in front of King Edward and the empress Liberty!¡± Said Bechone with a dramatic intonation.


    Everyone screaming and some evenughed. Heirim, on the other hand, kept her calm expression and just gave them a smile. ¡°Oh, he finally did it. I never knew he had it on him.¡±


    ¡°I know, right? And know this, not everyone happy about it, only king Edward looks ecstatic, prince Jason just storm out, and empress Liberty?¡± Bechone put a paused for a dramatic storytelling, ¡°Oh wow, she was livid! I heard from my uncle she was yelling at prince Javier, king Edward even need to calm her down.¡±


    stor, one of Heirim¡¯s best friend, gave her a snicker, ¡°That was because you never getting closer enough to empress Liberty, she was a very brazen empress.¡±


    ¡°True, my aunt told me. She was more into sword fights than having tea with the socialites.¡± Said another noble.


    ¡°Well, if it¡¯s involved your mother, I would prefer to go into sword fight either.¡± Muttered stor.


    Most of them snorted on their caftea, while the bickered begin on the table, Heirim was lost in her own thoughts, she remembered about Amelia on one of the party not long ago, Heirim was thinking to throw a party after the exam announcement, and she will make sure Amelia the merchant¡¯s daughter will be on the list of the VIP. Heirim begin to hatching a new n while she was smiling behind her caftea cup.

 Chapter 100

    100 Into the Wolg (Part 3)


    The night hase, a chilly night for them. Winter is already peeking from aside, ready to give them the harshest time of the year. They arrived at the inn to take a rest. The inn is surprisingly big, and they even get a room for all of them individually. Anne gets the best view with a plush single bed and a firece. Originally this was Justice¡¯s room, and he insisted Anne to use it. Anne reluctantly switches room with him, but in the end, loves the switch anyway.


    Chikara already sleepingfortably at the foot of the bed, Anne brushes his head and went to the bathroom to get a fresh bath, the inn matron already draws a bath for her, and one of the considerations of Justice to give the room to Anne, this is the only room with a private bathroom. While Anne refreshed herself in the private bathroom, the other three gentlemen goes to wash the dirt and soreness in the public bathroom along with other people.


    The three of them went to the public bathroom with the towel on their shoulder, woman around the inn looks at them and whispered. With beautiful and handsome faces like theirs will very likely draw some attention. One woman even tried to ask them to apany them to a winter festival.


    ¡°What¡¯s a winter festival?¡± Asked Vale to the girl.


    The girl with long ck hair smiled coquettishly. ¡°Oh, you didn¡¯t know? It was a small festival in Wolg. You need more coats, though. Wolg already snowed for a few days ago.¡±


    ¡°Really? but it¡¯s not wintering yet.¡± Said, Henry.


    Another girl was excited to see Henry begin to take some interest in them. ¡°Oh, but it always happened in Wolg, my hometown. I brought my two best friends with me to enjoy the festivities.¡±


    The three gentlemen looking at each other seem like they need to have some n before heading to Wolg. Justice gave a sign to Henry, and after he and Vale get away from the three obnoxious women, Henry stayed around with them, charming them with his beautiful smile. He tried to gain more information from them, for once, he just asked meaningless questions just to entertain them more, until he goes to ask the real questions.


    ¡°So, a winter festival, is it alright for us to go there? I mean, some festival in towns or viges were private and can¡¯t be attended by outsiders like me?¡±


    .....


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, it wasn¡¯t a close festival. Everyone cane, but not many outsiders, though.¡± The girl was giggling and even twirled her hair in front of Henry.


    Henry almost rolled his eyes, before he met Anne, he was dating so many women, a woman like the one in front of him was the mostmon of all, ¡°Oh, so I just need to go there, and it wasn¡¯t going to be a problem, right?¡±


    The three woman¡¯s eyes were lit like the orb¡¯s light on the ceiling. ¡°Yes, of course, they are probably more weing than ever at this time of the year. Oh, pleasee with us, would you?¡±


    After hearing the information that he needs, Henry then smiled and said to the girls, ¡°I think I need to ask our fiance¡¯s permission first. Hopefully, we will be seeing you there.¡±


    The three woman¡¯s mouths were gaping open, one of them even curses, while Henry goes away waving his hand to them. After reaching the public bathroom and putting off the clothes that he was wearing, Henry goes inside a closed bathroom where only men could enter, the public bathroom is clean and look brand new, with an array of the semi-private bathtub, and also vast bathtub for the customers to join in together and maybe having a conversation. Not everyone loves the idea of changing words with a stranger while naked. That¡¯s why they install some semi-private bathtubs.


    Looking around, Henry finally saw Justice in one of the big bathtubs. The public bathroom was almost empty, probably because it was nighttime, and travelers prefer to go to sleep immediately. He plunged himself into the bathtub and joined his friends.


    ¡°So, what you get from the noisy woman out there?¡± Asked Justice. He was in the middle of resting his body on the bathtub, a small towel was wrapping his eyes.


    ¡°Besides, we need to buy a thick coat. It will be alright to go there, and they are more weing than ever,¡± Henry exined to Justice while he sshes his face several times with the water.


    Vale gave Henry the small warm towel, ¡°Here, use this. I will be checking the store tomorrow morning to buy us some warm coats.¡±


    ¡°I think I need to get to rest until you go back from the store. I was so tired after fighting the gargator.¡± Said Henry to Vale.


    Justice snorted in his seat. ¡°You fought a grey gargator, the weakest from all the gargator species, I mean,e on.¡±


    ¡°Hey! I didn¡¯t see you fighting any gargator before!¡± Henry gave a big ssh of water to Justice, whoughed when he felt the water on his face.


    ¡°Joke aside, at least we have the cure for the bewitched spell. Now we can reduce the obsession with Anne... I mean to see her crying because of how we were fighting for her.¡± Vale remembered yesterday when Anne asked them to stop ming each other for her expense.


    ¡°The three of you need to drink the cure, as for me, I need to find the b*stard that makes me like this.¡± Said Justice, there was desperation in his voice, ¡°I can feel every blood that I took, and not to mention something else controlling me, I hate every second of it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry, she truly is a brave girl. We will be with you and her until we found the main host.¡± Said Henry while he patted the back of the crown prince.


    ¡°Ah, I missed Xavier, he would love to take a bath together. When¡¯s thest time we have done this?¡± Vale asked the other. He tilted his head, trying to remember the date.


    ¡°It was in the Viora vige before the carriage arrived.¡± Answered Henry tly.


    ¡°Hmm... Yes, I remembered you go visited Anne who was unconscious at that time.¡± Justice remembered, and a frown came into his face, ¡°Wait, you took too long inside the room. What are you doing there?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, just admiring her pretty face, that was all.¡± Said Henry with a grin on his face.


    ¡°Oh really? Even unsupervised, because, as I remember it, Martha and Ed were with us the whole time.¡± This time Vale joins the conversation. He looks at Henry full of suspicion.


    Henry rolled his eyes and goes to sit on the other end of the bathtub, ¡°I said nothing, really!¡±


    Squinting his eyes towards Henry, Justice warned his best friend once again, ¡°Henry... Tell us the truth.¡±


    Henry took a deep breath, and finally tell them the truth, ¡°Fine, I kissed her.¡±


    ¡°You what?!¡± Vale and Justice shouted together at Henry.


    ¡°Henry, are you mad?! She was unconscious!¡± Vale frustratingly called out to his friend.


    ¡°And you dare to call me ungentlemanly?! Seriously Henry!¡± Said Justice, ring at his friend.


    Henry was panicking, he felt that the two of them got him in the corner, ¡°Okay, it was wrong, but I just couldn¡¯t help it, she was just... Oh wow, I remember now, after the kiss I change.¡± He was truly in shock.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare make excuses, Henry?¡± Warned Justice.


    ¡°No, no! listen to me, I really do change. I mean, I never thought about ying with the woman after we were back in the capital, right? Seems all of my minds justpletely goes to her.¡± Henry exined while remembering those days to Justice and Vale, ¡°I think whenever we go intimate with her, the passion and obsession grew.¡±


    ¡°Toote for the three of us, then?¡± Muttered Justice without realizing that the other two didn¡¯t know about the kiss.


    ¡°Seriously?! When you will tell us about the kiss, your majesty?!¡± Said Henry, while he and Vale surrounded Justice in the corner.


    ¡°Oh, shut up! At least she was conscious and probably loves it.¡± Justice gave Henry a sassy remark.


    Henry smirked and pointed at Vale. ¡°Oh yeah, did you kiss her twice? Because this one was.¡±


    Justice¡¯s mouth gaped open. ¡°Vale! You b*stard!¡±


    Vale justughed hearing the crown prince get mad at him. They have bickering until one of the matrons told them politely that the public bathroom was closed. The nighte and from the distance, a howl from the pack of wolves was being heard throughout the night. Anne was already in her night dress, ready to go to bed. She put the medicine book on the table and added some more wood to the firece.


    ¡°It was a chilly night, don¡¯t you think so Chikara?¡± Asked Anne while her familiar was staring out the window, smiling at Chikara, she go to her pet and tried to see what kind of thing piqued Chikara¡¯s interest, ¡°What have you been looking out for, boy?¡±


    Her eyes widen, and she looks into a shadow beyond the woods with fear, a ck shadow that looks like a man, but with a peculiar head, a wolf¡¯s head.

 Chapter 101

    101 Into the Wolg (Part 4)


    (Warning! The chapter has mentioned about child abused, readers discretion needs it)


    The refreshing bath makes the three gentlemen ready to hit the bed. They walked warm and toasty, and tired.


    ¡°I was too tired, probably going to bed immediately,¡± Said Vale while yawning.


    ¡°Vale dried your hair first, you could get coldness.¡± Henry scolded him. He even handed the magi captain a new dry towel.


    Justice saw the interaction and chuckled, ¡°Taking care of your little brother, Henry?¡±


    The other two looks at the crown prince and scoffed at him.


    Henry smirked and yfully punched Justice¡¯s arms, ¡°Shut up, Justice, You know...¡±


    Before Henry could finish his sentences, a girl came out of her room. Fear was visible on her face, her purple color hair swayed with the nightgown that she wear.


    ¡°Anne!¡± All of them muttered while they rushed towards the girl.


    .....


    A relief came into Anne when she looks at three men that came running towards her.


    ¡°What happened? Why are you running from your room?¡± Justice asked her, with his hand grabbing into her shoulder.


    ¡°I... I saw something!¡± Anne¡¯s face was pale, she was stuttering while her hand trembling pointing at her room.


    ¡°What did you see, Anne?¡± Asked Henry to the terrified girl.


    There are no wordsing from Anne anymore. Vale opts to go into her room. He checks every corner and found nothing. He asked Anne, who was just going back to her room with Justice and Henry.


    ¡°There was nothing here. What exactly did you see?¡±


    ¡°I saw it by my window, outside in the small forest nearby.¡± With a meek voice, she exined the source of her fear to the three of them.


    Henry swiftly peeks at the window, but there was nothing in his sight, ¡°There was nothing there, Anne, probably it went away already,¡± Said Henry to Anne, he turned his attention to the girl once again, ¡°Tell us, what did you see?¡±


    Trembling in fear, Anne told them about the peculiar sighting, ¡°I... I saw a man with a normal body but... but the head... the head... it was a wolf¡¯s head!¡±


    All three gentlemen got alerted immediately. Justicemanded Vale to stay with Anne while Henry and himself go outside into the walking path of the small forest. They draw their sword expecting any danger. Justice looks up to the second floor and saw Vale at the window. Looking at them, he pointed to the ce and Vale gave him a thumbs up.


    ¡°It was here. Look for the footprints.¡± Said Justice.


    ¡°Yes, I saw it, definitely one of them,¡± Henry confirmed to the crown prince, he scratches his head and looks at Justice, ¡°What should we do?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do for now. We just need to go to Wolg and figure out what happened to Xavier.¡± Justice gave him a sigh. This founding makes their expedition a lot ofplicated mess.


    ¡°Ugh, Xavier, if only they gave us some news,¡± Grumbled Henry, he withdraws his weapon and stands up from the ce he was founding the footprints, ¡°Now, look at us, we were even brought Anne, the one that we are trying to protect at all cost!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we are going to find Xavier, punched him, and go back home to hear the result about Anne bing the certified healer.¡± Justice gave Henry a smile, and both of them were walking back to the inn.


    Vale and Anne were already waiting. When they saw Justice and Henry, Anne demanded answers immediately.


    ¡°So, how was it? There was something, right?¡±


    Justice and Henry shared a nce, and the crown prince then smile, ¡°Nothing, it probably branches that make an odd and terrifying shape.¡±


    A frown came over Anne¡¯s face. ¡°Really? Are you sure? I mean I saw...¡±


    ¡°Nothing, I can assure you,¡± Said Henry, cutting Anne¡¯s sentence immediately, ¡°Now, you must be tired. We have another half journey tomorrow. Probably it will be best if you go to sleep right now.¡±


    Looking reluctant, she finally gave up and nodded her head, ¡°Oh... alright, you might be right, maybe... maybe you could please close the window tightly, Vale?¡± She pleaded at Vale with her doe eyes.


    Vale chuckles at her attempt to plead, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll cast some spell for your window...¡±


    ¡°And her door, please Vale.¡± Muttered Justice before he goes outside, ¡°Go to sleep, Anne, you must be tired now.¡± He gave a meaningful look to Vale and go outside with Henry.


    Vale know there was something going on. He cast the strongest ward spell for the whole room, and tell Anne that she would be safe. After they exchange a good night, he closes the bedroom door and goes to Justice¡¯s room as soon as possible.


    The two of them were sitting on the sofa in front of the firece, their faces looking so gloomed and morose. Vale enters the room and begins to add more wood to the firece.


    ¡°Gods! What did the two of you see on that bushed, seriously?¡± Vale asked them while his hands were busy poking the new woods inside the firece.


    ¡°There were here, probably watching us from a distance for now.¡± Said Justice with a sigh.


    Vale turns his head to Justice. ¡°Wait, you don¡¯t mean?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and I was sure now that Xavier was in danger or already in a dangerous situation.¡± Justice gave Vale a bittered smile.


    Henry punched Justice on his arm, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he isn¡¯t a coward. He will persevere. I trusted himpletely.¡±


    The three of them have a silent moment. Although they know how strong Xavier is, this new threat wasn¡¯t something that they could fight easily. Henry takes a deep breath and goes to one of the trunks. He revealed a decanter fill with aggrus, and the other two nodded their head.


    ¡°God! To have them here, closer than we think, and I just couldn¡¯t believe that everything that Xavier said about them was real.¡± Henry said to Vale. A ss of aggrus was in his hand.


    ¡°Xavier never lied, when he told us about who he really is and also the abused that he was going through in that orphanage,¡± Vale looks into the fire crackling in the firece, ¡°You know, how he will starve for days because of the matron and the scarred on his back from the whipped...¡±


    ¡°I remembered little Xavier already through it all,¡± There¡¯s sadness in Henry¡¯s voice, ¡°Thankfully he got away, and secured a spot on the civil service exam. He promised to never take a step on Wolg anymore, but looks at him now, all because of finding the dragon¡¯s eggshells.¡±


    Justice put his empty ss on the table. ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do for now. We just need to go as fast as we could to Wolg and find some clues about Xavier¡¯s whereabouts.¡±


    The other two nodded their heads, they go back to their designated room. The morninge, and Vale was getting ready to go to the tailor to buy some coats. When he almost reached the door, a knock can be heard resounding from the door. He open the door and saw Anne with Chikara on her shoulder looking at him with one eye closed.


    ¡°Anne? what are you doing here?¡± Asked Vale to the girl.


    ¡°I... I can¡¯t sleep and when I saw it was morning already, I thought to have a walk in the town with Chikara, and perhaps you wanted to join me?¡±


    Vale could see the obvious puffy eyes on her face, he smile at her and said, ¡°Come on, I¡¯m going to the tailor anyway, we need thicker coats.¡±


    ¡°Oh, then can I choose the coat for me?¡± Her face was lit, looking at Vale with such excitement.


    ¡°Of course, you can even choose our coats.¡± Said Vale to Anne. He tried to amuse her by giving her more than she want.


    Inside the tailor, Anne had so much fun picking coats for her and also for the three gentlemen, Vale was negotiating the price for the coats. In every shop in the kingdom, you can have a chance to negotiate a price, especially if you buy items in bulk. Anne hummed while looking at other clothes in the shop. Chikara was sleeping on the cushion above a table. That¡¯s when she looks at someone outside, someone wearing a cape covering his face, looking directly at her.


    ¡°Anne, what happened?¡± Vale asked her. He felt the energy as well, someone definitely looking at them from outside. He looks beyond the window and the man tried to get away after realizing that Vale noticed his presence.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re not going away!¡± Said Vale, he run outside and order Anne to stay put inside the shop.


    He chases the cape man from between the alleyway. The cape man was fast, but Vale know better than just speed. He cast a slow spell on everyone in the alleyway, including the mysterious cape man, and when he finally reached him, Vale tackled him to the ground after releasing everyone from his spell.


    The cape man revealed himself whileughing so hard, ¡°Gods! I just knew that I could never have a fight with the genius magi of this century.¡±


    When Vale saw his face, he shouted and get annoyed by the presence, ¡°Xavier?! What in the world?!¡±


    The cape men gave Vale a smirk. ¡°Oh, you know my brother?¡±

 Chapter 102

    102 The monster in her


    Vale and Anne looking at the man with such a shocking surprised, the man really looks like Xavier, his golden eyes and brown hair, but Vale recognized a difference.


    He looks like the younger Xavier, the one that he befriended eight years ago.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re Xavier¡¯s little brother?¡± Vale asked the man, while trying to shield Anne from his view.


    ¡°You can say it like that,¡± Said the young man smugly, ¡°Although he never turn back to see me even once after he gained his certification, so I don¡¯t know if you could still called him my brother.¡±


    ¡°You really are Xavier¡¯s younger brother?¡± Anne looked at the young man and feel fascinated by him.


    The young man shrugged and gave Anne a grinned, ¡°Yeah, from the same mother and father, He was older by seven years.¡±


    Vale looked a bit suspicious of the young man, he asked him another question, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Xander, my name is Xander.¡± Answered the young man.


    ¡°Alright, Xander, what do you want from us?¡± Vale carefully asked the young man, his body still shielded Anne from Xander¡¯s view.


    .....


    ¡°My matron wanted to see all of you in Wolg.¡± Said Xander to Vale.


    ¡°Matron?¡± Asked Vale again.


    ¡°The orphanage matron, you know the same matron that raised Xavier.¡± Said Xander.


    Anne gasped, she never knew that Xavier has a brother, and the little brother still living in the orphanage nheless.


    ¡°Do you still lived there? Even in this age?¡± She asked the young man with a disbelief eyes on her face.


    Xander¡¯s frowned when Anne questioned him, ¡°What?! Does it felt so weird if I was living in the orphanage at this age, little girl?¡±


    Anne giggles at how Xander was trying to insert his dominant behavior by calling her a little girl, turns out her giggles making Xander furious.


    ¡°Hey! What¡¯s so funny about it?!¡± He yelled at Anne, probably thought that sheughed at his dependent at the orphanage.


    Anne gave him a smile, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean toughed.¡±


    ¡°Whateveryway, Vale scratches his head trying to figured out how to ry the message to Justice and Henry.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± He asked the girl, wanted to know about I¡¯lll opinion.


    ¡°I thinop99ok we should tell everything to Justice and Henry. Thinking that he need to came here and informed us, probably something more than just ryed the message.¡± Said Anne to Vale, she feel the young man was odd, if he came just to ry message, he could just came into the store and tell them about the message.


    They go back to the tailor, Vale pay for the coats and they rushed to go back to the inn. They told Justice and Henry about the encountered with Xavier¡¯s little brother. The two gentleman looked at each other and can¡¯t believe what they have just heard.


    ¡°Wait, Xavier has a brother named Xander?¡± Henry asked them with a disbelief in his eyes.


    Vale nodded his head, ¡°Yes, and they want us to go to the orphanage immediately after arriving at Wolg.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Justice seems puzzled and curious at the same time, ¡°Why the matron of the orphanage wanted to meet with us?¡±


    ¡°The important thing is, howe they know where to find us? This is supposed to be a secret expedition from the capital.¡± Henry remind Justice while pointing the obvious.


    ¡°Sh*t, you¡¯re right, this seems to be too suspicious, we need to be alert at all time.¡± Justice clenched his fist, and his face filled with concern.


    ¡°Yes we should, I¡¯m sorry to say the moment he ran from Vale and tried to avoid him, it was too weird through and through.¡± Anne finally gave them her opinion.


    Henry agreed immediately at her point of view. ¡°Anne was right, it was too suspicious to be something more than just rying a simple message.¡±


    ¡°Yes, so we go to the orphanage, but stay alert, although I hate this request from someone that we don¡¯t even know,¡± Justice clenched his fist, ¡°I smelled something terrible has brewing inside Wolg.¡±


    The room grew quieter, this is possibly one of the thing that they wasn¡¯t anticipated.


    Just as Xander told them, as soon as the carriage arrive at Wolg, two little boy approach the carriage and demanded for the driver to follow.


    Justice, Vale and Henry were anticipating of any possible oue, Anne looking at the children with a pity on her eyes, they wear a raggedy clothes, and a simple shoes with an unkempt hair. Bones and little flesh as their body, Anne felt that they can¡¯t get enough nutrition for themselves.


    ¡°Those orphans...¡± Muttered Anne while staring at the orphaned children by the window.


    ¡°Yes, what about them?¡± Henry heard her.


    ¡°They... they were starving... poor child.¡± Anne trained eyes as the healer gave her an ability to see the health of the children just by looking at their mass weight, skin, and movement.


    Vale, who sat besides her, took her hand and hold it tightly to his, that¡¯s how Vale loves to show how he was care for her. Anne on the other hand, felt ufortable, not because she doesn¡¯t love the how Vale express of how he care, but because the thought of losing all of them when they¡¯re cure from the bewitched spell.


    ¡°We are here.¡± Justice tell her, when she was lost on her thought.


    All of them looked outside from the window, and the old sign of the orphanage being disy from the rusty old gate. The four of them gets out from the carriage and chills came through their body. The orphanage in front of them is an old and decrepit building with three story and a broken clock tower. There¡¯s a wildflower garden where three teenagers have done some gardening, even though they seems doing a horrible job at it.


    The other older children were keeping an eye for the little children around the dirt yard where all they have were meager stuffs. They all have the same raggedy clothes and an unkempt look, All Anne wanted to do is to hug the little one and make them feel safe.


    Justice saw her expression and immediately whispered at Anne, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare go to the little children and embrace them, we came here to talk to the matron, we don¡¯t know about them at all.¡±


    Anne gasped at him, ¡°Do you have to be so heartless? It doesn¡¯t mean I want to have them a false hope or anything?¡±


    ¡°You taking care of them and then disappear afterwards is what they called a false hope!¡± Said Justice with a gritted teeth at Anne.


    Although Justice bluntly Reminding her, Anne could see the truth from the harsh words. She let out a sigh and followed the others from behind, they enter the orphanage without looking back at the children.


    The two children from before were guided their way to the matron office. When they open the creaked old door and there she is, the only matron of the Wolg orphanage.


    An olddy with a snicker on her face, ¡°Wee our knight captain, magi captain, and the crown prince of this kingdom,¡± She turn her face to Anne and gave her a creepy smile, ¡°and this youngdy with an unsual beautiful purple hair.¡±


    ¡°Just make this quick, what do you want from us?!¡± Said Justice to the matron with a very demanding voice.


    The matron make a fake sad expression, ¡°Oh, you really hurt me your majesty, please how about we have a civil conversation first.¡±


    Justice gave her a sneer, ¡°We don¡¯t need any civil conversation, just tell us what you need and we are going out from your ce as soon as possible.¡±


    The matron face then distorted into a cynicalughed with a wicked eyes, ¡°My my... no wonder you could befriended with that ungrateful child of mine,¡± She red at them and shouted, ¡°Fine! Tell me where he is! I want to meet that ungrateful child who left his brother behind and all of us here!¡±


    ¡°Shut up! Xavier left this town because of you! You drive him away, and when he tried to get his brother, you said that he was already death!¡± Henry was in rage, he shouted directly to the matron while his hand m into her desk.


    ¡°No!! He left us! He left his brother behind!¡± Screamed the matron, ¡°I know he was in Wolg, somewhere! He tried to stop the festivities, our feast!¡±


    The horror came into the three gentleman¡¯s face, they curses, Henry immediately grab into Anne¡¯s hand, they run as fast as they could. The matron was changing, she transformed I to another being, a body of a human with a Wolf head, Anne look in horror when the matron walk towards them.


    It was the monster that came to the inn, Anne remember the shape, it was definitely the matron.


    ¡°She... she changed! It was her! The one that I saw!¡± Shouted Anne to the three of them.


    ¡°We know! Why do you think we told you to run!¡± Shouted Justice back at her.


    They tried to get out from the house, but the front door was barred, the four of them were trapped. The monster who was the matron not long ago already came closer, with the elongated jaws, and the huge body.


    Justice, and Henry already called for their weapon, while Vale tried to cast protect spell, but the room seems repelled any magic that being casted. Justice shielded Anne to his back, and they prepared to defense themselves from the matron.


    The matron jump with a long w ready to tear them apart, but a huge shadow crash into the matron, a huge brown wolf with an earring on his ears. Anne saw it and immediately recognized the wolf.


    ¡°Xavier?!¡±

 Chapter 103

    103 The Lycans and The Werewolf


    The brown wolf snarled at the matron, the fight between them was inevitable, Henry and Vale pulled Anne over, and Justice was in the corner, seems like the matron wasn¡¯t the only one who transformed.


    There were three people in total, Vale cast protects and reflects Spell, he protected Anne in the other room while Henry was helping Justice.


    ¡°That was Xavier, right?! Tell me I wasn¡¯t wrong!¡± Anne shouted at Vale, she was confused and somehow felt deceived.


    Vale stared at her, he was quiet for a while and finally spoke a few words, ¡°Not right now.¡±


    His answer already confirmed what she need to know, as for now, they were in a distressed situation, Anne saw one of the open doors in the left room, she took Vale¡¯s hand and pulled him to the left door. They were outside in the orphanage back yard.


    ¡°We need to run!¡± Said Vale to Anne.


    ¡°Wait, what about the others?!¡± Anne was screaming she doesn¡¯t want to leave anyone, especially anyone that she begin to care about.


    Vale went quiet and just pulled her away from the orphanage. The carriage was still parked on the road, where the driver still waiting. He open the carriage door and asked Anne to go inside.


    ¡°Go to the inn on the outskirts of the town!¡± He orders the driver to go away, ¡°Go! As fast as possible!¡±


    .....


    The carriage horses neighed and galloped away leaving dust behind, Anne called Vale¡¯s name while the young man smiled at her, he cast a full shield for the carriage. After he was sure that Anne will be safe, Vale put on his hoodies and crafted a powerful wind spell, a thunderstorm came and a whirlwind of a tornado came to wreak a havoc on the orphanage, half of the building got destroyed, and one of the transform people got sucked in and thrown meters away.


    Justice and Henry run from the inside and curse at Vale.


    ¡°Seriously?! You¡¯re not going to wait for us to run outside!¡± Justice red at the magi captain. Their body is full of debris from the fallen building.


    Vale smirked and winked at Justice, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know all of you will survive.¡±


    ¡°This f*cker really be so c*cky just because he managed to cast a high level spell now.¡± Said, Henry.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Xavier?¡± Asked Vale, ignoring the tease from Henry.


    ¡°He chased the matron, she got away with half of the children.¡± Said someone from their behind.


    The three of them turned their head to the source of the voice, they saw Xander standing smugly at them.


    Justice frowned at him, ¡°So, I guess you¡¯re the one that Xavier saw in the forest back then?¡±


    ¡°You guessed correctly, your majesty.¡± Said Xander at Justice, he even bow theatrically, mocking the crown prince.


    Henry was in a rage, he walk faster and when he was in front of Xander he punched the teenage boy in his face. Vale and Justice don¡¯t even tried to stop him. Xander smirked while he wipe the blood from his mouth.


    ¡°I deserve that, don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t even feel the punched anyway.¡± He still managed to mock Henry.


    ¡°Careful, he maybe looks the weakest of us all, but there¡¯s a power within him.¡± Justice warned the arrogant teenager, he then frowned at Xander, ¡°What exactly happened here? Care to exin?¡±


    ¡°My brother will exin everything, let¡¯s go back to the inn, after all, the cute girl with purple hair will need to hear everything as well.¡± Said Xander to Justice.


    ¡°What?! What did you call her?!¡± Henry, who was still furious at Xander, now ring at him.


    ¡°Wow, please, I don¡¯t mean any harmed, I know that the girl is off limits, my brother already warned me as well.¡± Xander chuckles at Henry¡¯s annoyance, ¡°Come on, just follow me, my brother is probably already at the inn right now.¡±


    Xander was right, on the inn, Anne was trying to go back to the orphanage, and she demanded the carriage driver turn the carriage back to the orphanage. Until arge and firm hand touched hers from the window, she turned at the owner of the hand, Xavier was looking at her.


    The man just wearing a simple shirt with pants, he seems in a hurry to wear anything to look decent.


    ¡°Xavier...¡± Anne whispered when she look into the golden eyes of the man that had her worried for couple of days.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go inside, it was cold out here, you can catch a cold illness.¡± Said Xavier to her.


    ¡°Talk to yourself, you barely have any clothes on.¡± Muttered Anne, while she take a step into the inn, she ignored Xavier the whole way inside, until they reached the corner of the supposed lobby.


    Walking closer to Xavier, Anne then pped his face as hard as she could, s she felt a stinge all over her hand. She curses and shakes her hand, Xavier catches the hand, he looks thoroughly at the hand that pped him earlier.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Asked Xavier worried about Anne¡¯s hand.


    She red at him, ¡°Why am I the only one that felt hurt, ugh!¡±


    ¡°I am sorry, I can¡¯t help it, it was in my blood.¡± Said Xavier, he grinned at her while our heroine curses repeatedly at him.


    ¡°Xavier!¡± Shouted an unknown man at Xavier.


    The two of them turn around to see an elderly man leaning on the post beside the door, ¡°Why did you bring a youngdy to this inn? I¡¯ve told you to keep your private life at the capital out from our business at Wolg!¡±


    Anne couldn¡¯t take off her eyes off the elderly man, somehow he reminds him of someone. That someone actually stand still beside her. Xavier scratches his head awkwardly.


    ¡°Sorry uncle, they came looking for me, I need to make sure she was saved.¡± Xavier gave the elderly man an apologetic smile.


    The elderly man let out a sigh and stare at the two of them, ¡°Then, go inside to the hideout, don¡¯t you dare to talk about anything in there.¡±


    ¡°Xavier, who is he?¡± Asked Anne to the huntsman captain.


    ¡°He was my grandfather¡¯s brother, the one that left us in the orphanage.¡± Xavier exined to Anne while he brushes her hand, ¡°How¡¯s your hand? I am sorry.¡±


    ¡°Sorry for what? I¡¯m the one who hit you.¡± Grumbled Anne to Xavier.


    He smiled at her grumbling, ¡°Come on, I¡¯ve heard my brother already here with the others¡±


    ¡°Wait, Xavier!¡± Anne pulled him making the big man almost fall.


    ¡°Whoa! Hold on Anne, you almost make me fall.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry... uhm... I¡¯m d you¡¯re okay.¡±


    After she spoke about her feelings, Anne immediately run to inside of the hideout. He felt a warm tingling just by her words. Xavier¡¯s grinning from ear to ear while he rustled his hair.


    When Anne and Xavier entered the hideout, Justice, Vale, and Henry red at Xavier. Xander on the other hand was smirking at the corner, he was enjoying the drama that will ensue.


    ¡°Would you care to exin what the hell was happening?!¡± Justice asked his friend demanding a tangible answer.


    ¡°I am sorry, I don¡¯t have enough time to exin everything,¡± Xavier felt a bit guilty that all of his friends and even Anne have toe to the Wolg for him.


    ¡°So Xander¡¯s here was in your group all along?¡± Asked Henry, he was eyeing the teenager¡¯s with such annoyance.


    ¡°Yes, he asked for my help to eradicate the lycans, they already outnumbered the werewolf, I need to help them before they be more powerful,¡± Xavier exined their situation, while Anne tried toprehend the situation.


    She raised her hand with confusion on her face, ¡°Excuse me, so... Xavier is a werewolf?!¡±


    Xander chuckles while he teased His brother, Xavier, ¡°Gosh, brother, you never told her about your ancestry?¡±


    ¡°Shut up Xander!¡± Xavier scolded his brother while pping his head.


    ¡°Hey! I wasn¡¯t wrong! If you wanted her to be your ma...¡±


    Xavier ms the table, cutting the sentence if his little brother, ¡°Xander... Do shut up!¡±


    Anne knew what was inside Xander¡¯s thoughts, and truth to be told, she doesn¡¯t hate the idea. Her face blushed with all shades of red, and everyone was noticing. Xavier cleared his throat and felt happy by looking at Anne¡¯s reaction.


    The old man from earlier, just goes inside the hideout, his eyes looking around the new group that infiltrates his hideout.


    ¡°So, this is your friends, quite a remarkable group, a crown prince, a duke in a making, and a talented magi.¡± His eyes then go to Anne, ¡°Who¡¯s this youngdy?¡±


    Xavier took a nce at Anne, ¡°She...¡±


    ¡°My name is River Anne, but you can call me Anne, I¡¯m a healer... Well, an exam participant this year.¡± Said Anne to the old man, before Xavier could finish his sentences.


    ¡°Oh, so you are... Hmm...¡± The old man grinned at Xavier, ¡°I can see why you like her, hmm... all of you apparently.¡±


    Now it is them who flustered, while Anne was smiling.


    ¡°Alright, enough of the simple conversation, Xavier, I can see that the matron and herckeys escaped, but what about the children?¡± The old man looked at Xavier, back to his serious expression.


    ¡°We captured most of the children, I¡¯ll let you decide their fate.¡± Xavier informed his uncle, in his hand, there¡¯s a parchment containing the name of the captives.


    ¡°Wait, let us help!¡± Said Justice to the old man, ¡°Xavier is my sworn brother, all of us wanted to help.¡±


    The other three including Anne nodded their head. Xavier and the old man looking at each other.


    ¡°Hmm... We could use a pair of the capable hand of course.¡± The old man smiled and said, ¡°Then get ready to battle, at the festival in two days.¡±


    ¡°Why do we need to wait? Why not attack right now?¡± Asked Vale.


    ¡°Because the lycans will be gathered at the same spot at the festival, where they feast on people who came to visit.¡±


    All of them gasped.

 Chapter 104

    104 The past sin


    ¡°Wait! So that festivities were for them eating the people?!¡± Anne felt horrified, she can imagine the faces of the people that she had met along the way to the Wolg, ¡°Howe everyone still going here if they have this kind of grotesque festivities?¡±


    ¡°Because, they don¡¯t have any memory about the missing people, there¡¯s a powerful circle of magica right in the center of Wolg, when you step inside and perish, your family, friends, basically everyone that knows about your existence will be forgetting about you.¡± Said the old man, he exined everything to Anne who seems to be the most confused one, ¡°That¡¯s how powerful the blood of the wolf is, even lycans have their own magica.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s horrible! Just imagine the family that have been left off, not to mention the innocent victims...¡± Anne then nced at Xavier, ¡°You... you don¡¯t like... you know...¡±


    ¡°You mean eating people? No, don¡¯t worry, pure blood or a werewolf don¡¯t have the desire to eat people like the lycans.¡± Xavier answered Anne with much confidence in his tone.


    ¡°So, lycans and werewolves, they¡¯re different species?¡± Asked Anne once again.


    This time, it was the old man who was answering Anne¡¯s questions, ¡°Werewolf is called the pure blood because they¡¯re being born as a shapeshifter, while the lycans were being made as a shapeshifter monsters by blood ritual.¡± The old man then brushes his chin, ¡°In other words, they gain power in the expenses that they need to consume people¡¯s flesh once a year.¡±


    ¡°We have a different shape as well, as for the pure blood, when we transform, we be a wolf, a direwolf, as for the lycans, they be the monster that you just saw, a people¡¯s body with a wolf¡¯s head.¡± Seems like the old man be the designated teacher for Anne, while the others also heard the exnation with so much focus.


    With deep thought Anne gave herment about the new knowledge that she gained, ¡°So when you transform into a wolf, you¡¯re a werewolf. But if it¡¯s the people¡¯s body with a wolf¡¯s head, you¡¯re a lycan, right?¡±


    ¡°Exactly, Xavier and Xander¡¯s here ising from one of the powerful were tribes that have been in this kingdom for many generations.¡± The old man stands proudly at his nephews.


    .....


    ¡°Then why did you let them stay with that horrible people at the orphanage?¡± Asked Anne to the old man.


    Everyone went quiet, as much as how the old man shared hispassion towards his nephews, Anne couldn¡¯t evenprehend about the fact that he left two small and probably fragile children in the hands of an abuser.


    ¡°Anne, my uncle has their own reason, it must look so daunting for you, but not in my species.¡± Said Xavier to Anne.


    Anne¡¯s mouth was gaping wider, ¡°What? I am sorry Xavier, tradition or not, it doesn¡¯t really catch into my mind... I am sorry Xavier, I will help you with your personal vendetta or whatever, but I don¡¯t want to see how you ughtered an innocent child!¡± She then excuses themselves from the hideout, stating that she will get some rest on the second floor.


    The old man chuckles at Xavier, ¡°Well, despite her soft and unusual color of hair, she was actually fiery inside, good job, Xavier.¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on uncle, just... let us go back to strategize for now, alright?¡± Xavier looks at him and lets out a sighed, this is what he feared all along, Anne knowing about his nature and tradition.


    Although brutal, every werewolf has their tradition to leave the young pups in the element of danger, it will build up their strength and mental, although to be fair, the old man leaves Xavier and Xander at much younger age. Normally, the parents will leave their young child at the age of twelve, but Xavier and Xander are left behind at the horrible orphanage at the age of seven and four.


    Xavier basically needs to defended his little brother all the time, although his uncle never told him the reason for the early abandonment. He always asked Xander in every letter that he sent to him, why must their uncle abandon them so early? What happened to him that makes him so repulsive towards his two grand-nephew?


    The old man put therge town map on the big table, the other werewolves begin to enter the hideout, one of the biggest and bulkiest was reported immediately to the old man.


    ¡°We found her nest, but it was empty, but they will surely go back to eat the fresh flesh on the festival indefinitely.¡± Said the bulky men to the old man.


    The old man thinks hard, ¡°No, this is wrong, we have failed, I think we need to think this through.¡± He taps his fingers on the table, ¡°Where is she? We need to kill her before the henchman, or the baby since the soldiers can heal themselves if they are closer to the host.¡±


    ¡°That would be hard, she was swift and could hide in every nook and cranny, despite her age and her body mass,¡± Xander told his uncle with much doubt in his tone.


    The old man red at Xander, ¡°Xander, I know that you have spent so much with her as our spy, but there was nothing about her that you need to be afraid of!¡±


    Xander is flustered by his uncle scolding him directly, ¡°I... I am sorry uncle, I wasn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°He was just trying to be careful, you don¡¯t have to me Xander over anything.¡± Xavier tried to defend his brother.


    Most of the time, he could tolerate his grand uncle, but truth to be told, he kept a resentment towards him, as the only family that they have but his early abandonment towards the two of them gave him a festering wound for ages.


    ¡°I am not ming him, Xavier, I was reminding him, who is the pure blood race and also the superior one, they need to know their ce.¡± Said the old man to Xavier.


    ¡°Oh, I was familiar with the fact, uncle, that¡¯s why we are bing like this in the first ce, the once strongest species in your assumption, look at us now!¡± He challenged his uncle openly, while the old man just shook his head.


    ¡°Brother, that¡¯s enough, there are too many people here,¡± Xander whispered at Xavier, while his brother tried so hard to get closer to their uncle.


    ¡°Now, now son, calm down, we are all in the same team here, right?¡± The old man tried to calm his nephew.


    ¡°I am not a child anymore, uncle, so quit your soothing demeanor toward me, it¡¯s not going to work anymore!¡±


    After the confrontation, Xavier went out from the hideout. Henry, Justice, and Vale look at him going outside the hideout. The old man folded his hand and challenge the three of them.


    ¡°So, aren¡¯t you going to chase him? I thought all of you are a tight group, you know brotherhood.¡± The old man mocking their tight-knit bond.


    Justice, who was being quiet for almost the whole conversation now giving smirked to the old man, ¡°Why? He was right though, he was not a child anymore, maybe something that you should think thoroughly whenever your adult grandnephew was trying to give you his opinion.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re one a smug b*stard, you know that?¡± Said the old man with gritted teeth.


    ¡°Yes, I know it perfectly well, thank you so much,¡± Justice replied with a smile towards the old man, the words giving Vale and Henry some giggles on the side.


    While the hideout has some another heated arguments, Xavier goes upstairs to go and meet with Anne, he felt that he needs to exined about himself to the girl one more time. He saw her on the sofa beside the firece. The bedroom was cozy enough for her to snuggle up with one nket and a book in her hand.


    She took a peaked from behind the book, ¡°Hey, did the meeting was over?¡±


    ¡°No, I just want to see you.¡± Xavier shook his head, and smile at her.


    Anne could see there was something that troubles him, she put her book on the table beside her, and asked him to sat on the other sofa in front of her, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? I can see that something is troubling you.¡±


    Let out a sigh, he took a seat and gave her a desperate smile, ¡°Look, I know that you were supposed to ept everything in one day, I mean the whole werewolf and lycans, and me holding it into my secret, but you need to know that I¡¯ve done this just to make sure...¡±


    Anne raised her right hand, stopping Xavier to talk further, ¡°Just stop, I know you meant well, I was just upset by your so-called uncle, I am sorry, but his arrogancy is too much for me.¡±


    Chuckling over the mention of the old man, he epted Anne¡¯s opinion immediately, ¡°I know, why do you think he asked us to call him uncle instead of a grand uncle? He likes to appear young and just wanted to remember his glory time as the once powerful species.¡± He said the words with a much exaggerated expression making Anneugh and even punched him in his chest.


    They looked at each other without saying a word between them, Anne gave Xavier a smiled and said, ¡°Xavier, I know that you maybe felt afraid that I will be changed if I know about your true nature, but I don¡¯t, I know you have your gentle heart in behind those big body of yours.¡±


    ¡°No... I do have my personal demon inside of me Anne, a secret that I don¡¯t even share with the others.¡± With a forlorn face, Xavier¡¯s stared at the firece, trying to avoid Anne.


    Looking at how desperation came into his face, Anne was wondering, what kind of sin he was doing.

 Chapter 105

    105 The personal vendetta


    A knock came from the door of Anne¡¯s bedroom door. The two of them turned their heads and saw Vale standing and staring.


    ¡°Hey, your grand uncle almost got into a sword fight with our dear crown prince.¡± Vale leaning on the doorframe with a grin on his face.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Asked Anne. She was nervous that something serious came to Justice.


    ¡°It was fine. They mostly gave red at each other for most of the time.¡± Said Vale with a chuckle, he remember the epic scene between the old man and Justice, how the old man still wanted to assert his territorial instinct, while Justice nonchntly ignore him all the time, He once again looked into Xavier, ¡°However, we never know how bad the situation in Wolg was? Howe you never told us about this grotesque appetite of the Lycans to us?¡±


    Xavier scratches his head. He tried to find the best sentences to Vale¡¯s question. ¡°How should I describe this... The people sacrifice, I never knew it was happening on a much bigger scale than before.¡±


    ¡°What?! so you knew all of their brutality all along?! Xavier!¡± Anne couldn¡¯t believe what Xavier just confessed to them.


    ¡°Wait, listen to me first, I know about lycans¡¯ serious appetite for people¡¯s meat, even Justice¡¯s ancestors knew about it, that¡¯s why they always send the death row convict to the Wolg.¡± Xavier tried to exin about the lycans and werewolves to Anne, ¡°It was cruel, yes, but you need to know, lycans already with us from the century, they weren¡¯t easy to eradicate.¡±


    ¡°Do you think by giving them the death row convict it will be less cruel? Are you kidding, Xavier?!¡± Anne screamed in disbelief, ¡°And now, look at them, they were feasting on innocent people! Clearly, there is no more control from the authority!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, I don¡¯t even know about their grotesque appetite until today.¡± Said Justice from behind Vale. He enter the room along with Henry, and Vale closed the door to give them some privacy, Justice sat on the bed with his hands sped between his legs, ¡°You need to trust me, I know about the lycans, but I never know about their annual tradition. If I know it, of course, I will eradicate them long ago.¡±


    .....


    ¡°The old man always tried to hide the fact from the outsiders, because he felt that he still have some control over the lycans. He was wrong. The lycans never listened to him in the first ce. The matron raised the lycans and makes them into her private soldiers.¡± Xavier gave another word to Justice, trying to justify his action.


    ¡°And you think by keeping it quiet after a long time, it will make it better?¡± Henry¡¯s snarkyment came with a scoff from his face.


    Xavier red at him. ¡°I will never try to make myself better because of it. Why do you think I was so eager to get into the high-ranked officer? It is so I could get my own army and send it to Wolg. There are too many of the lycans here.¡± Said Xavier bitterly, ¡°Whenever my uncle tried openly to fight the lycans, they always lost.¡±


    ¡°Of course, because your uncle was a fool, using open fight will never work because they are more powerful than your race, just like your ancestors wanted to make them as your weapon,¡± Vale muttered to Xavier while he added more logs to the firece.


    Shocked by the new information, her eyes then go to Xavier, ¡°Wait, your own species created the lycans?!¡±


    ¡°The lycans were created to be the soldiers of the werewolves, the powerful and obedient soldiers.¡± Said Henry, his eyes ncing at Xavier, ¡°All of us knew the story.¡±


    ¡°It means they wanted a ve, right?¡± Anne makes a deduction, ¡°and the ves now biting the owner¡¯s hand, one by one.¡±


    Xavier let out a sigh. ¡°Exactly what happened. They multiplied because they knew the procedure to make more lycans. As for the werewolves, the pack couldn¡¯t produce pups that easily. Now, there are twenty lycans for one werewolf.¡±


    ¡°Oh my God, that¡¯s too many of them,¡± Anne was in shock. She tried to ask another question, Xavier, ¡°But could you just... I mean re-educated them?¡±


    Shaking his head, he gave a bittered smile at Anne, ¡°It wasn¡¯t that simple, Anne, this is not about habit, but more of a necessity, they need the people¡¯s flesh to survive every year, if they¡¯re not consumed any people¡¯s flesh in a year, they will dwindle down and madness will be taken their sanity, afterward they will be rabid and thrice powerful than before, it will be harder to kill them after.¡±


    ¡°What about the children? Can we do something for the children?¡± Asked Anne again.


    ¡°Actually, we never know. They begin to shift at the age of sixteen, but before, they just basically just some normal children until they havee of age.¡± Xavier answered her. This time, he answered her with some assurance in his voice.


    Anne suddenly stands up from her sofa, and excitement appears on her face, ¡°That¡¯s it, we can not re-educate the adults, but there¡¯s hope for the children!¡±


    The four gentlemen looked at each other, confused about how Anne could have that kind of opinion. Justice was curious and asked her immediately, ¡°What makes you believe that we could have a chance with the lycan children?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you get it? You said they need to do some kind of ritual to be the lycans. I am almost positive that the children never actually be lycan because the ritual needs to be conducted at a certain age, which is sixteen years.¡± Anne almost mumbled the words of Justice, just to sum up how excited she was.


    ¡°and if they are just being brainwashed, it means it was possible to heal the childrenpletely!¡± Henry also bes excited just as much as Anne.


    Wearing his thinking face, Justice trying to deduce the best way, ¡°So, you mean, we just need to eradicate the adults but not the children?¡± His fingers tapping into his chin, ¡°I think maybe we can analyze their blood to the alchemist,pare it with the lycans, just to make sure they arepletely clean.¡±


    Vale nodded his head. ¡°Agreedpletely! That means we don¡¯t have to kill those innocent children if they really are clean from the lycans influence.¡± He is also excited about this prospect, knowing that the innocent children will take good care of.


    Anne face now turned into Xavier, ¡°So? What do you think?¡±


    He smiled weakly to Anne, ¡°That¡¯s a good n, truly is, but I don¡¯t know how we could convince my uncle about this n, his hatred towards the lycans already embedded deep inside his heart.¡± He chuckles at them, ¡°Why do you think he let us, the innocent yet too young, be abandonment to be inside the orphanage?¡±


    ¡°He had some grand n from a long time ago, right?¡± Justice said to Xavier, even smirking at his friend, ¡°From the looks of it, your grand uncle has some personal vendetta against the lycans.¡±


    ¡°The lycans almost eradicate my pack...¡± Muttering Xavier, everyone looks at him quietly, while he was staring at the fire, ¡°They ambushed us in the middle of the night, and killed most people, they... they killed my parents where they are trying to hide me from the lycans.¡±


    Anne steps in front of Xavier and holds his hands. ¡°Oh, Xavier, I¡¯m so sorry.¡±


    His sad eyes glistened with tears, Xavier then whispered to Anne, ¡°I¡¯ve told you I was a sinful man, right?¡±


    The way he was saying the words, makes Anne taken aback by the way she was crouching in front of Xavier, ¡°No! Xavier, why do you think so? That wasn¡¯t...¡±


    ¡°It was my fault, if only I didn¡¯te back to the house to pick my stupid toys, they...¡± He sniffles and then cried on Anne¡¯s shoulder, the only thing that Anne could do is try to calm him, while the other three looks at him with much sympathy in their eyes.


    ¡°Should we try to calm him down as well?¡± Asked Henry to Justice.


    Justice saw the scene unfold in front of him, never a fit of jealousy but just sympathy towards his friends. He shook his head and said to Henry, ¡°Let Anne be the one whoforts him.¡±


    ¡°Then, we should go, and let them have some privacy, I am sure Xavier was trying to say something only to Anne.¡± Said Vale to Henry and Justice.


    They decide to leave the room quietly and tried to go back to their bedroom to get some rest. Before they reach the bedroom, Xander appears from the first floor with confusion stered on his face. Henry grabs his arm to stop him from wandering around the second floor, worried that he might be going to bother Xavier and Anne.


    ¡°Hey, stop, why are you in a hurry?¡± Henry asked Xander with much disdain in his voice.


    ¡°Where¡¯s my brother?¡± Asked Xander panicking.


    Justice came along and tried to talk some sense into the young man. ¡°He was busy at the moment. Why do you need to talk to him?¡±


    Xander¡¯s face went pale. ¡°It was my uncle. He wanted to kill the orphanage children immediately! We need to stop him!¡±

 Chapter 106

    106 The trial by fire


    The one who stayed behind after the discussion, Xander, faces his uncle alone in the room with a bunch of his cronies.


    ¡°Leader, I think it was best for us to just killed those children immediately!¡± Said one of the soldiers.


    Xavier nced at the soldier, ¡°That was a rush and stupid decision, it was better to wait until we¡¯re done with the raid.¡± He tried to prolong the time for the children until he find a way to rescue them.


    The soldier red at Xander and begin to mock the teenager, ¡°Who makes you the designated leader here? Let him decide their fate, and you just shut up!¡±


    Furious by the mocking of the soldier, he shouted back, ¡°No, you shut up! I was trying to make sense here! When they knew the children were missing and we already killed them, it will anger them, and trust me, they will guard the festivities and traps us there, to avenge the loss!¡±


    The old man thought for a while, he stay quiet and tried to listen to everyone who tried to give their opinion in every corner of the room. Xander was frustrated, he knows how much hatred his uncle had for the Lycans, and he knew exactly what kind of moves he will be doing right now. All Xander needed right now is to convince him to halt whatever things that he wanted to do to the poor innocent children and tried to release them after the ambushed.


    ¡°Uncle, please... Listen to me, it is not wise to do something to the little ones right now.¡± Whispering to the old man, Xander practically begged him to consider the brutal action once again, ¡°We could decide their fate after the ambushed, that would be a good solution for all of us, right?¡±


    The old man turn his face to Xander and red at him, ¡°little ones? I knew leaving you at the orphanage for too long will be messing up with your head, did you know what those little ones will beter in the future? A destroyer? A carnivorous monster that will eat people.¡±


    ¡°Killing them right now, is still not the best choice, uncle!¡± Said Xander, to the old man, whose face was full of desperation, pleading with his uncle.


    .....


    The old man sighed and patted Xander¡¯s shoulder, ¡°You should leave this ce, like your brother was, a long time ago.¡± He then looked at all of the soldiers, ¡°Prepare thebustions woods, we are going to burn the shed where we kept the Lycans¡¯ children.¡±


    Xander¡¯s eyes go wider, and his face went pale, he runs from the room as soon as possible and goes to the second floor where he met with Justice, Vale, and Henry.


    ¡°Hey, stop, why are you in a hurry?¡± Henry asked Xander with much disdain in his voice.


    ¡°Where¡¯s my brother?¡± Asked Xander panicking.


    Justice came along and tried to talk some sense to the young man, ¡°He was busy at the moment, why do you need to talk to him?¡±


    Xander was panicking, ¡°It was my uncle, he wanted to kill the orphanage children immediately! We need to stop him!¡±


    As soon as Justice heard the news, he barked orders for Henry and Vale while running back to Anne¡¯s bedroom, the two of them gasped when they saw the crown prince, ¡°Sorry to interrupt, but Xavier, we need to go.¡± Said Justice.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Xavier asked the question while he clean his face on the small basin.


    ¡°It was your uncle, he¡¯s going to kill the orphanage children right away.¡± Said Justice while leaning himself to the door, keeping it open for Xavier.


    Xavier was flustered when he heard Justice, ¡°He what?! my f*cking uncle went mad!¡± He curses and steps outside the bedroom right away.


    They meet with Xander and the others already on their coat and the horses, Anne gave Justice his coat, and together they are galloping into the hidden shed inside the deepest forest, Xander told all of them that the soldiers need topile thebustion woods first in order to create enough density to fire all of the shed.


    ¡°Wait! They are going to fire the children alive inside the shed?! What kind of cruelty that your uncle could disy in just one day?!¡± Henry was in shock, he couldn¡¯t believe that the old man wanted to do something beyond his imagination just because of hatred.


    Anne was already imagining the horror, ¡°That was too cruel, being burned alive?! Oh my God! Come on guys let¡¯s hurry!¡± she galloped her horse throughout the forest matching Xander and Xavier¡¯s horses on the front.


    They almost arrived at the hidden shed, fire from the torches is visible from their view. Xavier pointed at the hidden shed, and everyone stops the horses and tied them to one of the branches, they circled up, strategizing before confronting the old man.


    ¡°I think we need to go in two teams, team one, trying to get some sense back to the old man, and team two prepare for the worst.¡± Said Justice to everyone.


    ¡°I agreed, but I don¡¯t think there was a single person here having a warm moment with the old man.¡± Vale gave his reason to Justice.


    ¡°I think you can, Vale,¡± Justice gave him a smirk, remembering every single person that seldom talks to the grumpy and vengeful old man, ¡°Oh, also you, Henry, how about the two of you, with Anne and Xavier go to them, let me and Xander, be ready to ambushed from behind.¡±


    All of them nodded their heads, but Henry asked him one other question, ¡°Howe you know when it¡¯s time to ambush or not?¡±


    Vale handed out an item to Justice¡¯s hand, the orbim, ¡°It¡¯s a good time to use this, Anne will hold the orbim since it looks like a regr mirror from the outside, so if everything went sour, she could inform you right away through orbim.¡±


    ¡°Good idea, we¡¯ll be ready,¡± Justice put the orbim in his pocket, and when he separated from the other, Justice pulled Anne away from the others, and his right-hand caressed her cheek, ¡°Be careful, alright?¡±


    Anne felt the warmness through his cold and short words, ¡°I will, you too.¡±


    Anne, Vale, Henry, and Xavier run into the crowd, they could hear the cryinging from the shed. Anne was trying to go to the shed door but the old man grab her hand and throw her into the ground. Xavier, Vale, and Henry were furious when they look her fallen.


    ¡°Anne!¡± Xavier screamed, when Henry helped the girl, his face turned to the old man, ¡°Uncle, are you going insane?! Howe you are going to burn the orphanage children alive?¡±


    ¡°Do you prefer we killed them first instead?¡± the old man asked Xavier.


    Gritting his teeth, Xavier tried to put a perfect sentence to his uncle, ¡°No! I prefer you stop all of this ridiculousness at once!¡±


    The old man ring eyes go straight to Xavier, ¡°This is not a ridiculous notion, Xavier! They will be our gue ten years from now! Eradicating them immediately would be the best decision!¡±


    ¡°But not like this, uncle! We need a bigger n, remember? In two days, the festivities, they will be gathering in one ce, taking turns to y the innocent victims,¡± Xavier exined to the old man, trying to reason with him, ¡°If... if we killed the children right now, they will be scattered around and it will be hard for us to fight them, remember we are the one with the smaller number here, uncle.¡±


    ¡°But... what if they find this shed before the festivities? We don¡¯t have many soldiers to guard the shed.¡± The old man once again was frustrated at the situation.


    ¡°I can help you!¡± Shouted Anne, every eye now goes upon her, she nervously bite her lips and said once more, ¡°I... I can help you.¡±


    ¡°How? How a mere uncertified healer could help me?¡± Scoffed the old man to Anne.


    ¡°Just hear her first, then judge.¡± Henry is furious when the old man seems to underestimate Anne¡¯s ability.


    The old man shrug and sat on the ground, ¡°Fine! What will you do?!¡±


    ¡°Before I exined, you need to promise me something first.¡± Said Anne again to the old man.


    ¡°What? you want some leverage also?¡± The old manughed, he was amused by it, ¡°Alright? Let me hear this deal first.¡±


    ¡°If I seed to hide them away, after the battle, I want to take all of them to be tested at the capital, f they don¡¯t have the Lycans trace inside their blood, they need to be free.¡± Said Anne, she was nervously waiting for the answer.


    ¡°What?! Do I have to release them if they don¡¯t have the Lycan¡¯s trace inside their body? are you insane?! They will be changing on their sixteenth birthday!¡± The old man was screaming, seems unlikely he will be agreed by now.


    Anne wasn¡¯t giving up that easily, ¡°No, they got brainwashed from early childhood, yes, but the process to be the Lycans begins with the ritual at sixteen, there is a chance for them, please!¡±


    The old man looked around, the soldiers, the werewolves that dwindled in numbers, and then to his family, the grandchildren of his brother. He let out a sigh and finally told everyone to extinguish the torch.


    The old man then turned to Anne, ¡°So, what kind of brilliant n that you have for us?¡±

 Chapter 107

    107 Battle for pride


    Finally, the old man gives in. This is Anne¡¯s chance to save the orphanage children.


    ¡°We need to hide them closer, even though the shed was hidden, but it doesn¡¯t effectively guard,¡± Anne said to the old man while tapping her fingers into her face, ¡°Do you perhaps have a cer at the inn?¡± she asked the old man once again.


    ¡°Yes, the aggrus cer, on the third floor.¡± Said one soldier.


    Vale and Anne looks at each other and nodded, Vale took the opportunity to exin to the others, ¡°We hide them in the aggrus cer, there it will be a good temperature for the children to befortable, and also we could guard them properly together.¡±


    The old man massaged his head. ¡°You forgot one thing, though, their scent. I hide them here because the bushes and the flowers could hide their scents from the Lycans.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we are hiding them in the aggrus cer. The aggrus aroma will mask their scent.¡± Said Anne once again.


    The others murmured while two soldiers talked to the old man. Xavier squeezed Anne¡¯s arms and whispered, ¡°Great job. Now let me convince him.¡± He joins the conversation and has a heated debate with the two soldiers.


    When Anne saw Xavier smile and nodded at her, she open the orbim and saw Justice¡¯s face in the mirror, ¡°Hey, we did it. You should be ready to transport the children to go back to the inn.¡±


    Suddenly Justice¡¯s face changes into Xander, ¡°Oh Gods! Really?! I¡¯ll go there right now!¡± and once again his face appears but with such annoyance to the teenager.


    .....


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you there, and we need to talk just the five of us.¡± Said Justice to Anne by the orbim.


    Anne nodded her head and then close the orbim. Vale and Henry were talking to some of the soldiers, discussing the transport of the children. Anne finally get the chance to open the door, she tried to pry open the chain, until two strong hands break the chain easily, it was Xander, and when he opened the door, two dozen orphanage children with various conditionsy on the floor.


    ¡°Vale! Please bring my medicine bag. I put it on my horse.¡± Anne shouted at Vale, where the magi captain rushed into the horses right away.


    With the medicine bag on her, Anne begins to treat every wounded and ill children. Looking at their poor condition, she was d that she was here on time. There were three children with fever, and two thirteen years with major wounds, possibly from the debris of the fight.


    ¡°What do you need? I¡¯ll bring it here immediately.¡± Justice said to her, while his right hand squeezed at her shoulder.


    ¡°I want you to take the healthy children away first. This way, I could concentrate on the sick and the wounded.¡± Anne instructed Justice, while her hand was busy making the herbs mix for the feverish little boy beside her.


    ¡°I¡¯m on it.¡± Justice steps outside the shed immediately, arranging the transport for the orphanage.


    Xander was looking at Anne and her interaction with all four gentlemen. He was actually impressed by how well they worked together. All he could see was that Anne was the center of them all, they circling around the girl, even the crown prince, as the kingdom¡¯s beloved royalty.


    ¡°That girl will be something greater for this kingdom.¡± Said a voice from beside Xander. Xander turns around to see the old man also looking tentatively at Anne. ¡°Xavier looks so infatuated with her, all he talks about was her. It was kind of annoying.¡± Mumbled Xander to his uncle.


    ¡°Are you jealous that your brother finally met with his mate?¡± chuckles the old man to Xander.


    Xander scoffed at his uncle. ¡°Not because of that! Xavier won¡¯t stop talking about the girl like she was some kind of special thing.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re jealous of her, the one that getting all of your brother¡¯s attention?¡± the old man was smiling, he then patted Xavier¡¯s back several times, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you will get your time with him, after all, you¡¯re his family.¡±


    Xander looks at his brother Xavier, he was in the middle of holding the young children inside the carriage, and together with Henry, they disy good teamwork together, ¡°I don¡¯t think so, uncle, I can see that he obtained a new family now.¡±


    Two hours went by, and Anne finally finished taking care of all the sick, orphaned children. She instructed that the cer had adequate bedding and nkets, especially for the ill and the wounded one. Thankfully, the cer has enough room for the children. They could sit and even sleepfortably on the bedding with fresh new clothes.


    After tending to the sickness and the wounded, Anne now checked the healthy ones. She asked the cook to prepare a bone soup with moobull meat and herbs to help them build up the nutrition in their body. Henry helped her distribute the food while she and Vale feeds the wounded and the sick. Justice and Xavier were inside the hideout once again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget your promise. Anne already delivered hers, even using her skill to help you treat the children.¡± Justice reminded the old man, giving him a warning so that he couldn¡¯t forget his own promise.


    The old man red at him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will keep my promise. However, I never asked for your girl to treat the prisoners.¡±


    ¡°The prisoners?!¡± red Justice back at the old man. ¡°They are young children! Who clearly desperately needed a healer! You should be thankful for Anne because I don¡¯t see any healer on your soldiers.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t need any healers. Dying on the battlefield is an honor for every werewolf.¡± Said the old man with a puffed chest, heaving with pride.


    ¡°What a good mindset, and you always wonder why your species are dwindling,¡± Justice said to the old man, while he calmly sip a ss of aggrus.


    Being offended by Justice¡¯s words, the old man asked the crown prince once again, ¡°Are you mocking me, your majesty?¡±


    ¡°I can assure you I was just telling you the truth and nothing more.¡± Justiceid his words, not even trying to mince sweet or considerate words toward the old man.


    Justice was, in fact, telling the truth. The other error of the werewolf was that they relied on so much of their own ability of fast healing, they intend to ignore other crucial job for their species, like the alchemist and the healer. They only be huntsmen or a knight, sometimes a magi like the old man and Xander.


    The fast healing has its own set of challenges, and the old man, as the only leader of the remaining werewolf pack, never saw any problem. Unlike the Lycans who distribute their soldiers¡¯ power evenly, they set a healer, and even have their own alchemist, the Lycans knew to cover their weakness very well.


    The old man stared at Justice for a while, and then he let out a sigh. ¡°Just go back to rest. Tomorrow, more soldiers wille and the preparation for the fight will begin.¡±


    They disbanded as soon as the discussion was over. Justice and Xavier were waiting for Anne and the others at the cer. He orders some food for all of them, thinking that they will be hungry when they go back to the room. His instinct was right, Anne, Henry, and Vale wereing with tired bodies and hungry bellies. They eat the food wholeheartedly while discussing another secret matter.


    ¡°Kirara is already back from the capital.¡± Said Justice to everyone in the room. Vale, Henry, and Anne stop their movement for a while. They were waiting for Justice to continue. ¡°Bernard will being with my army, hopefully before the battle.¡±


    ¡°Is it possible, though? I mean, the lycans are in their element here, not to mention their power and number.¡± Henry still doubts the backup troops that will being for them.


    ¡°Better than nothing, do you think we could fight that monster without the help of the army from the capital?¡± Justice asked the questions back to Henry.


    ¡°Justice was right, werewolf is powerful but not as powerful as the glycans,¡± Xavier¡¯s statement run deep into his own mind, ¡°To make matter worse, the arrogance of my own family, could ruin the whole thing, we will never defeat the Lycans with werewolf pack alone, we need a backup army, and thankfully Justice idea to order Kirara for a backuping as soon as he sense how crucial the win for the werewolf.¡±


    ¡°If only you told us about this sooner.¡± Muttered Vale, a bittered smile stered on his face, ¡°But, that was your decision after all. What can we do about it.¡±


    ¡°I am sorry, everyone, I... I just don¡¯t want my private problem to be another problem for all of you.¡± A guilty conscience came into Xavier.


    Justice heaved a breath, he stepped in front of Xavier and hold his shoulder, ¡°Xavier, whether you like it or not, this private matter of yours will be the problem of our kingdom if you and your uncle failed in the battle against the lycans, do you ever thought about that?¡±


    The only thing Xavier could muster is to shake his head. Anne stands up and smiles at everyone. ¡°Now that everyone already cleared their heads, how about we go and get some rest? There will be a long day ahead of us.¡±


    Justice suddenly held Anne¡¯s hand before she went and sat on the chair again. ¡°Anne, before you go, I have some information for you.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Asked Anne curiously.


    ¡°It¡¯s about your exam result.¡±

 Chapter 108

    108 Separation anxiety


    The whole room went quiet, just as much as Anne, the others were anxious about the other information regarding her result.


    ¡°So, what happened with my exam result?¡± Asked Anne to the crown prince.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s nothing wrong with it. The result will be announced in three days. That was it.¡± Justice smirked at her. ¡°Did I get you?¡±


    Gasping at Justice¡¯s tease, she punched softly at his arm, ¡°Oh God! I was so worried. How dare you!¡±


    With excitement, and a naughty smile, Justice was chuckling after receiving a punch from Anne, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but joking aside, you need to go back as soon as possible, Anne.¡±


    ¡°Justice was right. In order for you to arrive in time for the announcement, you need to go from Wolg right now.¡± Said Vale, holding into Anne¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°But... But I want to help all of you...¡± Anne meekly looked at the four of them.


    Henry steps in front of her and smiles while his finger touched her chin. ¡°You already helped us enough,¡± Henry said with his soft voice and his charming smile, trying to convince the purple hair girl to stay away from the battle.


    ¡°No... What about the orphanage children?¡± Said Anne, shaking her head.


    .....


    Justice then had an idea, ¡°The orphanage children, that¡¯s it, you could go back to the capital with the injured orphanage children, they will be taken care of effectively and the alchemist at the capital will have enough time to run their test.¡± He excitedly looks at Anne, ¡°You need to go, bring those injured and ill children, please Anne.¡±


    She look around the room where all their eyes were on her. Anne let out a sigh and said, ¡°Alright, but you need to give me time to pack and prepare some medicine for all of you.¡±


    Henry smiled at her, he brushes her purple hair with a smirk on his face. ¡°Yes, of course, and don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll being with you. Someone needs to protect you and the children on the road.¡±


    ¡°Finally, you talk some sense. Just tell us that you¡¯re bored and don¡¯t like to dirty your set of a good shirt.¡± Xavier¡¯s chuckled, teasing Henry on the side.


    ¡°Shut up! And by the way, this is the finest silk. I wear cotton to a fight.¡± Henry winked at Xavier, reciprocating his teasing.


    All of themughed at the banter, as much as Anne wanted to help them here, they were right, it would be dangerous for her to be closer to the lycans, especially now, that she had a bunch of orphanage children that need to be treated intensively. She excuses herself from the four of them, and begin to walk outside the inn, Vale was following her.


    ¡°What are you doing here? Vale? I was just going to pick some herbs and flowers.¡± Said Anne, happily waving her sickle. Chikara was prancing beside her, happy that his owner now had some time with him.


    ¡°Let me join you. I¡¯m not going to be a hinder, just trying to protect you.¡± Vale says it to Anne while he matches her steps into the valley of the flowers near the inn.


    Anne put her medicine bag on the ground. She begins to search and digs on the ground, while Vale tries to y with Chikara. His attempt was admirable, although Anne familiar only loves his master. Chikara hissed all the time as Vale tried to shower it with flower petals. The magi captain loves teasing the demon kitten. While Justice was irked by Chikara¡¯s presence, Xavier tried to befriend him, and Henry wanted to avoid the demon kitten.


    ¡°Do you like to anger my familiar that much? Seriously Vale?¡± Said Anne without even looking at what Vale was doing beside her.


    Vale, looking at Anne, loves to see the tingles in her eyes whenever she gathered the herbs, makes medicine, or treats her patient. Anne¡¯s face is the best on his mind in every situation. ¡°Yes, I love to see his small body hissing at me so much.¡±


    ¡°You do realize, soon that tiny body will change into a proper demon cat.¡± Muttered Anne, feeling a bit silly about Vale¡¯s teasing.


    ¡°I was waiting for it, of course.¡± Said, Vale. He was lying on the ground with his two hands folded as his pillow. ¡°When that happens, he will be able to protect you properly.¡±


    ¡°He was already saving me, a tiny body of his, my salvation because of how I was taking some part of his mother being killed,¡± Anne said once again to Vale, she will be remembered how Chikara¡¯s mother died by Horden with her help. Chikara, being her familiar, has the ironic end to the sad adventure of her and Horden back then.


    Vale could see how she harbor guilt inside of her, he gets up and sit beside Anne. ¡°Anne, you tried to defend yourself from the wild demon cat. It needs to be done. It wasn¡¯t your fault.¡±


    Looking at how patient and careful he was, Anne found a warmness in every word that he said. She nodded her head and smile at the sky above. ¡°Thank you, Vale, I was promising Chikara¡¯s mother. I will be taking good care of her son.¡±


    For almost two hours she collected and mixed the herbs in the valley, while Vale was sleeping beside her. She brews some tonic for the three gentlemen who stayed behind and makes some salves for cuts and bruises. She also makes something unthinkable for Vale. A white liquid potion with a bitter aroma and with a cold fragrance to entice the nose.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Asked Vale.


    ¡°Ether, it is good for anyone that is being poisoned, or dropping in health.¡± Anne said to Vale, while she meticulously measured the liquid into small vials, ¡°I¡¯ll make as many as I could, but you couldn¡¯t drink this more than two vials a day.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to work so hard, Anne. Justice asked for healers toe with the troops, so you don¡¯t have to be worried.¡± Vale said to the nervous Anne.


    ¡°I know, Vale, I just... I just don¡¯t want to leave all of you empty-handed, that¡¯s all.¡± Anne blurted out, but then stop for a moment before talking again, ¡°No... I was lying, I don¡¯t want you to depend on other healers, I... I don¡¯t know why I feel this way.¡±


    Chuckling after hearing Anne¡¯s confession, Vale knew exactly what happened to the girl. ¡°Oh my darling Anne, are you feeling jealous?¡±


    The blurted answer from Vale, probably confirming her feeling, Anne flustered and never answered him back. They go back to the inn where the old man was already waiting for her in the inn¡¯s lobby.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard from the crown prince, you¡¯re getting back to the capital today.¡± Said the old man.


    Anne nodded her head. ¡°Yes, I need to be there for my exam results, and probably it will be for the best if I take the ill and wounded orphanage children with me.¡±


    ¡°Is it wise, though? they only will slow you down.¡± Said the old man again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already installed the biggest carriage with four of the fastest horses for her,¡± Justice said to the old man, he also pointed at Henry who was already prepared for the journey, ¡°The knight captain will be joining her also.¡±


    The old man looking at Justice, ¡°Wait! That means we are going to be short on soldiers?¡±


    ¡°Not like Henry will make a difference, though.¡± Whispered Xavier at Justice and Vale.


    Both of them snorted, but trying so hard to control their expression, Justice went to the old man and said, ¡°I have a n that I couldn¡¯t give to you right now. Please be patient.¡±


    ¡°Fine! I do hope this is a good n,¡± Scoffed the old man. He looks directly at Anne, ¡°Promise me one thing, as soon as you saw that they have the lycans inside of their body, you must kill them.¡±


    ¡°What?! that would be...¡± Anne was devastated after hearing the old man.


    ¡°Then you can¡¯t take them with you.¡± The old man said to Anne with a firm voice.


    Anne tried to protest, ¡°But!¡± Another hand grips into hers. It was Henry.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do it myself. You have my word. If they have the lycans trace inside of their body, I will kill them.¡± Said Henry to the old man.


    ¡°Henry! How could you?¡± Anne whispered frantically at the knight¡¯s captain.


    ¡°We need to do something fast!¡± Whispered Henry back to her. He then gave her a reassuring smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I trust you. There will be no victim here.¡±


    ¡°Fine, I trust you.¡± Whispered Anne to him. ¡°I¡¯ll go prepare for the journey now. We meet here in one hour.¡±


    When she packed her belonging, a knock came on her door, she open the door and saw Xavier standing awkwardly in front of her.


    ¡°Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?¡±


    Smiling at Xavier, she asked him to go inside the room, ¡°So, what happened?¡± Asked Anne while she close the door, but when she turned around, Xavier presented her with a surprise in his hand.


    ¡°Xavier, what is this?¡± Asked Anne with her eyes staring at the items in front of her.

 Chapter 109

    109 The Separation


    Two small silver earring is tucked inside a velvet box.


    ¡°Xavier, what is this?¡± Asked Anne to the shy gentleman.


    ¡°Well, this is sound a bitte, but I custom-made this earring for you,¡± Xavier told Anne, with the small silver earring being put on Anne¡¯s palm.


    ¡°This is for me? Oh my, Xavier, this is too much, I mean it is silver, right?¡± Anne felt reluctant to take the earring.


    Xavier chuckles, ¡°Anne please take it, it is actually the pieces of silver from my earring.¡± He gave Anne a view of his earring, there¡¯s a chip on the left and right earring.


    ¡°Oh, your beautiful earrings, why do you have to go to such an extent?¡± Anne was upset, she brushed the earring that Xavier wear.


    ¡°I thought I need to do something, after the bangle from Vale, the red ruby ring from Justice, and even the crystal de that was unintentionally paired with Henry¡¯s crystal sword.¡± Muttering incoherent words, Xavier tried to exin the reason he gave her the earring.


    ¡°What crystal sword? I never knew about the crystal dagger has a pair?!¡± Anne was flustered, this was indeed the first time she know about Henry¡¯s connection to her crystal de.


    ¡°You have plenty of time to ask that yboy knight,¡± Xavier said to Anne, he pointed at the earring once again, ¡°Now, the earring has some magica in it.¡±


    .....


    ¡°Oh my God! Not your gift too...¡± Muttered Anne, rolling her eyes.


    ¡°No no, hear me out first, the earring will let usmunicate with each other, only if you need to speak with me, same as mine.¡± Xavier gave her the instructions tomunicate with each other, ¡°this is a specially made earring, only two of this that sessfully being made in the entire kingdom, so never revealed about this earring to anyone.¡±


    Anne nodded her head, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll wear it all the time, don¡¯t you worry.¡± She proves it to Xavier by wearing the earring right away, ¡°How do I look?¡± Anne asked the earring giver to show him the small piece of the item that adorned her ear.


    ¡°No, you also have a piece of me.¡± Said Xavier to Anne.


    His hand automatically caressed her ear, and lingered on her cheek before his face demanded more than just a smile, he kissed her, softly and slowly at first.


    ¡°Now, I win your kiss as well,¡± Xavier smirked, even tasting his lips, the moment it separated from Anne.


    ¡°Stop...¡± Said Anne with flushed cheeks and a bashful face, ¡°You¡¯re making my lips like some kind of trophy, well the four of you did.¡±


    Xavier¡¯sughed and gave her a big warm embrace, he took her face and brushes her lips, ¡°I am sorry our dear healer, it¡¯s just our feelings for you are strong, and as our desire consumes us more and more.¡±


    Giggled came spontaneously, when Anne heard the corny love deration from Xavier, ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough Xavier, you already making me blush.¡±


    His eyes still locked into her, ¡°That¡¯s the problem, woman, I just can¡¯t get enough of you.¡± And once again, he kissed her, but this time his lips demanded more than just a sweet kiss.


    The warm and full lips of the werewolf is hungry for more, Xavier groan while his tongue enters Anne¡¯s mouth, they were dancing, the rhythm of the two lovers who thirst for each other. Anne could never tell the longing that she felt for them, it grew each day, and she couldn¡¯t do anything to stop this.


    The taste of the sweet lips of the purple hair girl gave Xavier something that he never felt for another woman in his life, he felt it grow from each touch of their kisses. He immediately withdraw himself and tried to calm down on the corner.


    ¡°Xavier? Are you... are you alright?¡± Anne was worried, she thought that something happened when they were kissing.


    While trying to cover himself, Xavier¡¯sughed and tried to prevent Anne to go much further, ¡°I¡¯m alright, just a bit excited, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Oh...¡± Said the girl finally understanding whate into Xavier.


    They awkwardly stood in silence, until a knock came by her room once again. Anne open the door and saw Justice.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m sorry but I need your blo... Xavier? What are you doing here?¡± Justice was baffled to see the huntsman captain.


    ¡°Err... I was just leaving now,¡± Said Xavier with a blushing face, he nced at Anne once, ¡°I¡¯ll go and help the children to the carriage.¡±


    Equally as shy as Xavier, Anne could only muster a few words, ¡°Ah, yes, I¡¯ll see you there... uhm... alright.¡±


    After Xavier closed the door, Justice squinted his eyes and with a tilted head he smirked at Anne, ¡°He kissed you and got excited, am I right?¡±


    Gasping after the truth came out from Justice¡¯s words, she tried to deny everything, ¡°Just... shut up! Come on, I¡¯ll let you drink my blood on the sofa, what good timing this is.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, now you could leave me for a few days,¡± He nces at the bed, ¡°Any chance for the bed?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± red Anne to the crown prince, she firmly pointed at the sofa, ¡°Sofa, now! I am busy.¡±


    Chuckling, Justice turned to Anne with a smile, ¡°You know, you¡¯re the only female in Valorian that is brave enough to bark an order to the crown prince.¡±


    While she folded her sleeve, Anne was smiling at Justice, ¡°Juste over here, no need for the teasing.¡±


    ¡°See... the only female, and the crown prince even obey.¡± Justice gave her a winked and sat obediently on the sofa.


    One hourter, Henry, Xavier, and Vale sessfully transferred all of the ill and wounded children to the carriage, there was even enough room for Henry and Anne inside.


    Anne was satisfied with the makeshift carriage, ¡°This carriage is so big, what is this originally?¡±


    ¡°A trunk carriage, we have to make holes for your window inside, but it¡¯s more room for the sick children to sleep and also for you and Henry to have some rest,¡± Vale exined to Anne with a sense of pride on his face. The makeshift carriage was his handiwork, along with the others.


    ¡°This is more than enough, thank you, Vale!¡± Said Anne with a smile, she turn around to the others, ¡°Thank you, everyone.¡±


    Vale helped her enter the carriage, and before he released her hands, he mark the hand with a tender kiss from his lips.


    ¡°Take care of yourself, alright?¡±


    Anne sped his face and smiled tenderly at Vale, ¡°I will, my magi, you take care of yourself as well.¡±


    ¡°I will...¡± Said Vale to her.


    ¡°Wait for us at the dance ceremony, we areing to celebrate the result with you.¡± Said Justice to Anne.


    ¡°And thest dance will be mine, girl.¡± Said Xavier which makes a grine into her face.


    The brief goodbye came to an end when the three of them saw the carriage go away.


    ¡°Did you cast the spell at the carriage?¡± Asked Justice towards Vale.


    Vale nodded his head, ¡°Yes, I cast full protect, the carriage will be protected for two days, I¡¯ve recharged her bangle as well.¡±


    ¡°Perfect, your share of the medicines is already inside your room, let¡¯s go to the hideout, there¡¯s much that I need to tell that stubborn old man.¡±


    The three of them went inside the hideout, where the old man already waiting with Xander and two mysterious men.


    ¡°I was waiting for a while now, your majesty.¡± Said the old man to Justice, reminding him about how inefficient himself with time.


    ¡°The carriage that carrying the people that I care about was gone like minutes ago,¡± Justice said to the old man, he then takes a seat and stare directly into his eyes, ¡°Frankly speaking, I don¡¯t care if you need to wait, you... Will be waiting.¡±


    Vale and Xavier shared a look of amusement, at the expense of how furious the old man looked. Somehow the sentiment came to Xander as well, he looks at Justice with a look of amazement.


    ¡°So, this is the crown prince from the capital? Seems so arrogant.¡± One of the mysterious men begins to speak.


    Justice nced at the mysterious man, ¡°I am sorry if I came in strong, would I know the name of the man who¡¯s speaking to me?¡±


    ¡°They are the two leaders of the remaining werewolf pack, including me.¡± The old man answered Justice¡¯s question, giving the realization that came downing on the crown prince.


    ¡°So, it¡¯s the truth, that the Werewolf pack was decreasing in number?¡± Muttered Justice.


    Xander, who¡¯s the one leaning on the pir, finally voiced his opinion, ¡°My uncle was never lying, you can see it with your own eyes now.¡±


    ¡°Yes, all I can say is that thank God that we are here, or else Xavier will be going to his death.¡± Said Justice looking directly at Xavier.


    ¡°So... the crown prince of the Valorian kingdom, I hope you have a good tactic for us,¡± Xander smirked at Justice, half teasing him.


    Justice let out a sigh, ¡°No, I don¡¯t have any tactics for you.¡±


    Almost everyone in the room was bbergasted, they protested to the crown prince, and some even begin to yell at each other. Until another voice came from outside.


    ¡°Leader! There is a huge army heading into this inn!¡± Shouted the man from outside.


    Justice smiled at the three leaders of the werewolf pack, ¡°Now, that¡¯s my answer to your question.¡±

 Chapter 110

    110 The preparation


    They go outside immediately to wee the troops from the capital. Justice was standing in front while they heard the galloping of the horses thate their way.


    They weren¡¯t disappointed. There are few troops thate but it was sufficient for the crown prince.


    Vale counts the army that arrives. There are two dozen knights, ten magi, ten huntsmen, and eight healers, one even a healers captain. To their surprise, Vale¡¯s subordinates and Xavier¡¯s subordinates all came to their captain¡¯s request.


    ¡°Are you sure? This is not the official request, you will gain nothing from it.¡± Xavier tried to reason with his subordinates.


    ¡°Oh,e on captain, this is such a fun adventure, we are not going anywhere.¡± Said the youngest subordinate, named Malek.


    ¡°Speak for yourself Malek, your partner already tire himself thest time he was here.¡± Xavier points at Junjin, who¡¯s ready by the looks of the polished armor that he wears.


    Junjin chuckles at his captain, teasing him, ¡°Well, thest time I was here, I lost my captain out of nowhere.¡±


    Smiling at Junjin¡¯s remark, Xavier hold his shoulder and said, ¡°I owe you my gratitude, Junjin, if it wasn¡¯t for you, my sworn brothers will never be here.¡±


    ¡°They woulde anyway, captain.¡± Said Junjin to Xavier.


    .....


    In the other ce, Vale looks at his subordinates with disbelief on his face.


    ¡°Both of youe? Why?¡±


    Martin and Brom just gave him a shrug but demanded to have a bed to sleep in.


    ¡°I need my beauty sleep before the battle, captain.¡± Said Martin to Vale.


    Vale let out a sigh and then looks at Brom. He demanded a reason from him as well.


    Brom yawned and said to Vale with a disinterested, as always, ¡°Me? I just need to sleep.¡±


    Gruntled at the sight of his subordinates, Vale calls the two of them to follow him upstairs, ¡°Just use my bed for now.¡±


    ¡°Good, can I cuddle with Martin?¡± asked Brom.


    The groan came from Martin, and while the three of them go to the second floor, Justice met with the healer captain that came along with the troops.


    ¡°Nice to meet you Captain, good to see a senior healer on the field right now.¡±


    The healer captain bowed to Justice, ¡°Thank you so much your majesty, my name is Nathan, the senior healer at the main hospital. The chief gave the permission after I revealed I wanted to help my hometown.¡±


    Justice frowned at Nathan. ¡°Wait, Wolg is your hometown?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the huntsman Xavier wasn¡¯t the only one that came from Wolg,¡± said the senior healer at Justice. ¡°Most of the volunteers here are calling Wolg their hometown.¡±


    ¡°Fascinating, I never knew that they are plenty of people that became civil servants from Wolg...¡± Suddenly another concern came to Justice, ¡°They... they are not...¡±


    ¡°No, your majesty, they¡¯re not lycans. Six of them are Werewolves, but most of them, like me, are just ordinary people.¡± Said Nathan to Justice.


    Justice nodded his head. He lead Nathan to the hideout where the old man already waiting, ¡°Alright, let us talk in the room first, the others will get a rest for now.¡±


    When Justice and Nathan enter the room, the old man assesses the senior healer and is impressed by it.


    ¡°I assume you have more experience from the looks of it. Wee to the team.¡± The old man couldn¡¯t even hide his excitement at seeing Nathan.


    ¡°Thank you so much. It¡¯s good that I coulde and help my hometown.¡± Said Nathan to the old man.


    The old man was a bit surprised by Nathan¡¯s confession, ¡°Wait, you¡¯re from Wolg?¡±


    ¡°I was born here, but... my mother took me away from Wolg seven years ago,¡± Nathan exined his situation to the old man.


    ¡°Ah, I see your family escaping the purge.¡± The old man muttered with a dark expression on his face.


    Justice remembered the purge, he was a teenager when his mother talked with the three kings about the purge that happens in Wolg. The lycans were on a rampage, killing endlessly and without mercy to anyone.


    The empress needs to bring her personal troops to put the lycans in check, sadly they forget to save the werewolf. Half of the werewolf pack was eradicated during the purge. They have failed to see the big picture. That¡¯s why Justice doesn¡¯t want to give the information to the empress, since his mother would never have agreed to the eradication of the lycans.


    ¡°The purge killed my two fathers. The only ones who got away were me, my mother, and my two sisters.¡± Nathan said with a certain glum on his face.


    The old man steps In front of Nathan and holds his shoulder, ¡°Don¡¯t worry son, today you will have your revenge against those lycans.¡±


    Justice hates those words. There¡¯s nothing good that came from an act of revenge. He just wanted to help Xavier and help the people from the lycans¡¯ threat. Turns out, the old man has one thing on his mind.


    ¡°We should probably wait for two hours before we begin the meeting. The troops were exhausted. Nathan needs to build the healer¡¯s tent as well.¡± Justice said to the old man, while he instructed Nathan to go with him.


    The old man looks towards the crown prince before he goes out with Nathan. Nathan looks around the inn, trying to decide the perfect space to build the healer¡¯s tent.


    ¡°If I remember correctly, you¡¯re one of the senior healers on the second exam, right?¡± Said Justice to Nathan.


    Turning around to look at Justice, he finally remembered the crown prince beside him. ¡°Yes! You were there! Observing your favorite...¡± After the slips of the tongue, Nathan corrected his sentences right away, ¡°My apologies, your majesty, I mean, you were there to observe your candidate.¡±


    Chuckles, finally Justice, knew that the rumors already circling around about him and Anne¡¯s rtionship, ¡°No worries, I knew about the rumor already.¡±


    ¡°Then you already know what happened to miss Anne, right?¡± Said Nathan, trying to figure out a bit about Justice.


    Justice could see that Nathan was trying to assess him. He just gave him a smile and said, ¡°That¡¯s why you don¡¯t see miss Anne here. She was already on the way to the capital.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, we have met them, sir Henry was also there,¡± Nathan remembered the odd shape carriage with four Horses that they have met, ¡°I just say, it was a good choice, your majesty, the new rules need her to be there to hear the result or else, the immediate dismissal will be given right away.¡±


    Hearing Nathan gave him the new rules, Justice needs to hide his sigh of relief. That was close. If they asked Anne to stay, she will get immediate dismissal for sure.


    ¡°This is a new rule, right? We have got no immediate dismissal of the exam result before.¡± Asked Justice with a calm face.


    ¡°Yes, actually it was one chief that suggested the rules. I don¡¯t know who¡¯s the chief, though.¡± Nathan answered his question with no thoughts.


    ¡°One of the chiefs? Interesting...¡± muttered Justice. He will investigate this matter.


    ¡°Ah, I prefer this side for the healer¡¯s tent, your majesty, close to the kitchen and fresh water.¡± Nathan gave the location for the healer¡¯s tent. Justice look the location and gave him permission to build the tent.


    ¡°Better to get some rest first. We are going to have a meeting in two hours.¡± Justice gave his suggestion to Nathan, which he gratefully epted.


    Two hourster, all the captains and subordinates attended the meeting.


    ¡°So, tomorrow, the feast begins in the moonlight. They probably killed the first victims right before the moon came.¡± The old man exined to everyone in the room.


    ¡°Wait, we need to save them before they¡¯re being killed, then.¡± Said Nathan, ¡°So, probably ambushed them by noon?¡±


    Xavier shook his head, ¡°No, worst idea. The lycans will gather in the afternoon, right before the first kill, so we need to act fast, but right on time.¡±


    Nathan looks at the map. He was worried now. ¡°That would be almost impossible, then. I don¡¯t want innocent people to be hurt in the process.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why the magi will be our first garrison, along with the werewolf and the knight.¡± Said Vale to Nathan.


    ¡°What?!¡± his two subordinates clearly didn¡¯t receive the note. ¡°Captain, are you sure that is a good idea? We are always the second or third garrison in every battle.¡±


    ¡°Not for tomorrow¡¯s battle. We are going to save the victims and let the werewolf and the knight fight their way. After we rescued those victims to the healers, then we assisted the troops.¡± Vale exined to his subordinates.


    Justice looks at Vale and admires his initiative and bravery, ¡°A good one Vale, I agreed, we need to save the victims first, I¡¯ll be in the first garrison as well, to make sure the victims are saved and the lycans don¡¯t go out from the circle.¡±


    ¡°Then the huntsman and some of the werewolves are waiting for the second wave as the second garrison.¡± Said Xavier to the old man.


    The old man, thinking about it for a moment, got some concerns about cing the troops. ¡°I don¡¯t want all the magi in the first garrison. Maybe put two or three at the second garrison as well.¡±


    ¡°I can feel your concern. I¡¯ll put two magi in the second garrison.¡± Vale said to the old man and then converse with his subordinates for the candidates.


    Justice¡¯s eyes are lit with excitement. This is the first battle where he got the initiative andmand. Sadly, the battle will be his encounter with a certain someone, the one that he desperately needs to defeat and conquer.

 Chapter 111

    111 Into the hell¡¯s wrath


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you going to sleep?¡±


    Justice turns his head to the owner of the voice. It was Xavier, and Vale also came from behind with him. It waste at night; the troops were sleeping and the three gentlemen prefer to sit around in Justice¡¯s room.


    ¡°Why are youing to my room?¡± Said Justice, back to Xavier.


    Xavier added more firewood to the firece and then sat on the floor in front of the cozy firece. ¡°I gave my room to my subordinates, plus four huntsman.¡±


    ¡°And you? What¡¯s your excuse?¡± Justice asked the Magi captain, who was now getting cozy on the sofa.


    ¡°Brom and Martin, what else can I say?¡± Vale gruntled and took the nket. He tried to getfortable and sleep on the sofa.


    ¡°I wonder where Anne and Henry are right now.¡± Justice was muttering, while his hand holding onto his aggrus ss.


    ¡°Probably going to take a rest in the first inn. I just hope there¡¯s nothing wrong, though. Their familiar isn¡¯t the reliable one.¡± Said Xavier letting out a sigh.


    ¡°Chikara¡¯s need to be mature enough, but Sabrina, what is Sabrina, actually?¡± Vale jumped from his sofa, forgetting about sleep already.


    .....


    ¡°We already established this. She¡¯s a red Cardinal, what else?¡± Xavier rolled his eyes and red at Vale.


    Vale challenged Xavier once again. ¡°Seriously, a red cardinal bird that was hiding on the dark and mischievous road? I mean, how?¡±


    It really bes a question when Vale put it that way. Sabrina came to them three years ago, when Henry and the three of them encountered the dark and mischievous road. The red cardinal imed she was saved by Henry and to repay his kindness, she became his familiar.


    ¡°Look we could wonder as much as we want right now, but the fact is we will never know until Sabrina reveals it to us, so let us take a rest now, we have a long day ahead of us.¡± Justice reminds them about the battle that wille sooner.


    They took some rest in every ce in the room. Justice took the bed, while Vale was on the sofa and Xavier prefer the carpeted floor with a pillow from the crown prince. At least for tonight, they will have plenty of rest for the battle that will ensue.


    When morninges, Justice already wakes up. He let Vale and Xavier get some more rest, and walks all around the inn, observing the troops and the werewolf. The healer¡¯s tent is, surprisingly, already done.


    Walking inside the tent, he got a sense of how important the healer¡¯s job is, the array of medicines on the makeshift cab, one dozen patient beds, and four stretchers. Nathan was already inside, giving instructions to the other healers.


    ¡°I am impressed. You¡¯re building this tent in such a short amount of time,¡± Justice said to Nathan, his eyes going around the tent. ¡°I hope you have some time to sleep, though.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t sleeping. Well, I will get my sleep now since the tent finally finished,¡± Nathan confessed to Justice with a huge grin on his face.


    Justice¡¯s eyes almost bulged out from his face, ¡°Are you serious?! You got like one hour of sleep before the meeting and you just going to get some sleep now?¡±


    The other healers around the tent chuckled when they heard how astonished Justice was. Nathan finally gave some answers to Justice¡¯s confusion.


    ¡°Your majesty, for a healer like us, having some time to sleep is a luxury.¡±


    Frowning at Nathan¡¯s confession, Justice asked him to exin his words, ¡°What do you mean, a luxury?¡±


    ¡°Well, resting is basically not the primary concern for us, healer...¡± Nathan tried to simplify his exnation. ¡°Let me ask you something. How long does a knight or huntsman shift?¡±


    ¡°Twenty-four hours, and then two days¡¯ rest.¡± Answered Justice to Nathan¡¯s sudden question.


    ¡°One day of work and two days of vacation day?! What a luxury!¡± shouted one of the healers, whereas the other was quick tough it up.


    ¡°Hey, be quiet and get to work.¡± Nathan smiled and scolded the healers. He shook his head with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m sorry about themotion, your majesty.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s quite alright, but it baffles me how having one dayck of sleeping is a luxury for all of you?¡± Said Justice to Nathan.


    ¡°Because, your majesty, our shift is two days workdays and one day for vacation,¡± Nathan said to Justice with a smirk on his face.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry what? You have two days of workdays, and one day for resting?!¡± Justice always thought that all workday shifts were the same everywhere, never in his wildest dream that the healer doesn¡¯t have the same workload as the other job.


    ¡°It¡¯s a given, your majesty, our job isn¡¯t finished when the monster is dead, or when the monster got captured, our job begins when our patientse and they go home healthy,¡± Nathan said to Justice, and afterward he excused himself to have three hours rest.


    Having the conversation with Nathan, giving Justice another perspective on Anne¡¯s job as a healer. After a quick check around, he took the liberty of ordering some breakfast for the three of them in his room and woke them up before the food wasing to the room.


    ¡°What time is this?¡± Asked Xavier yawning on the floor. The man always feltfortable sleeping anywhere.


    ¡°Almost ten. Come on, go wash yourself, already order some food for us.¡± Said Justice.


    Vale jumped right away to use the bathroom before Xavier, ¡°Sorry, that rascal always hogging the hot water, so I¡¯m going first.¡±


    ¡°What do you expect from a scruffy werewolf?¡± Chuckles Justice.


    Xavier throws his pillow to the crown prince, ¡°Hey, I am not that scruffy, you *ss!¡±


    ¡°You literally could sleep on every surface, not to mention that long hair of yours!¡± Justice spoke to Xavier while throwing the pillows back to his face.


    Half an hourter, while they enjoyed the meal, the discussion goes back to the healer¡¯s workload.


    ¡°I never thought that they have long hours, two days workdays with one day vacation. She will have hard days for sure.¡± Muttered Justice, with a piece of moobull meat in his mouth.


    ¡°She survived, she knew about the hard work already, remember, she was trained by her parents and we already know how capable Martha and ed are.¡± Vale reminded Justice of how hard Anne was practicing back then, with her mentoring parents by her side.


    ¡°I know. I don¡¯t think it will be possible to have her room in the pce. Every newly appointed healer needs to live in the dorm next to the main hospital.¡± Said Justice while sighing. He smiled at Xavier and Vale. ¡°I do know the result of the exam already. She got in, but with some consequences.¡± Vale and Xavier curse and Justice tried to calm them down. ¡°Well, what can we do? At least she now will be a certified healer.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Asked Xavier.


    ¡°There¡¯s an inn near the main hospital. I¡¯m going to live there for a moment. Rotating my time between the pce and the inn.¡± Said Justice to Xavier and Vale.


    ¡°Gods, it will be good for you to have met with the main host faster,¡± Xavier said to Justice. He was concerned for his friend and also Anne.


    ¡°I know, I hope Jason will have some clue by now,¡± Justice let out a sigh, ¡°It was so exhausting, and not to mention it will be so hard for Anne, the poor girl always in pain because of me.¡±


    ¡°It will be. Don¡¯t worry, the bewitched spell cure has almost done as well.¡± Said Vale, his face going glum all of a sudden. ¡°I hope there¡¯s no negative side effect from drinking the cure.¡±


    A knock came suddenly from outside, and one of the werewolves asked them to go to the hideout immediately. The three of them share a nce, the Moonsun dial gave the time on the twelfth at the noon.


    ¡°It is too soon. What exactly happened?¡± Asked justice to the messenger.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, your majesty, probably best that you go to the hideout to get the answer.¡± Said the messenger to Justice.


    With curiosity in their minds, they go to the hideout immediately and saw the old man with Xander; they were in the middle of discussing something, and from the looks of it there¡¯s something serious happening at the moment.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Why are you calling us at noon time?¡± Asked Justice to the old man.


    ¡°We have some problems, it appears that they are taking precautions against any attacks. They will begin the feast in one hour.¡± Said the old man to the three of them.


    ¡°What? That is too soon! The moonlight is the key for their spell to be triggered.¡± Vale was frantically talking. He was the one that researched the lycans feast festival.


    ¡°They don¡¯t need to use the spell anymore, Vale. The spell is only for the victims to be forgotten by everyone.¡± Said Xavier.


    Justice pointed at Xavier, ¡°He was right, they are desperate, and desperate people mean they will do anything to be seeded.¡±


    The old man looked at all the people around the room, ¡°Get ready then, we are going into the hell¡¯s wrath!¡±

 Chapter 112

    112 The blood of the family


    The noon was in high gear; the sun came up strong, and everyone was tense. This is not the ideal time for an ambush, but they need to do it now. The first victim will be sacrificed sooner. Justice was getting ready, along with Vale and Xavier.


    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Asked Justice to the other two.


    ¡°Well, we need to be ready. What can we do about it?¡± Xavier let out a sigh. He punched Justice and Vale into their arms. ¡°Don¡¯t die on me yet, alright?¡±


    ¡°Shut up, the second garrison, you will be getting our leftovers, anyway.¡± Vale teased his friend by grinning ear to ear.


    They separated right before the troops go into two garrisons, the first garrison where Justice and Vale are the leaders, and the second garrison where Xavier, Xander, and the old man are getting ready to attack after the first garrison brings the victims into the safety.


    ¡°Remember, the cloak spell only holds for five minutes, so get ready on your position as soon as the magi cast the cloak spell on you.¡± Vale begin to instruct the troops while Justice called for his me sword.


    ¡°I¡¯ll wait here until all of you are in the position, make sure to get all the victims. There are ten victims, including the first kill,¡± Justice tells Vale while he tried to hide in one of the bushes.


    Vale nodded his head, and begin to cast a cloak spell on the troops. There are almost a hundred troops. The magi cast the cloak spell as fast as they could. It wasn¡¯t a problem for Brom and Vale, who got a crazy amount of magica inside them. Martin struggled a bit, but hepensated by steadily giving the knight and the werewolf a good amount of cloak spells.


    Half of the troops were in the position. Justice saw the victims being caged in three different areas. The lycans choose the young girl who they met at the inn near Wolg. The young lycans eye the girl who cries in her own individual cage, the cage for the first kill. Their n is to extract the victims first and get them into the carriage that will bring them to the healer¡¯s tent.


    .....


    The hard one to save, of course, is the first kill. The altar is in the middle of the stage where all the lycans already line up to taste the flesh of the poor girl. Finally, most of them are already in the position and when the five minutes are up, one by one they appear behind the lycans, beside the cage, or even trying to hide for another sneaky attack. Justice runs with a small group and attacks the nearest lycan from his path.


    The lycan is big, with broad shoulders and dark skin. He is probably already a big man without his lycan power. Justice jump and tried to sh the lycan, but got short out and just sh into the wind. The big lycan seize the opportunity and tried to w into Justice¡¯s body. Thankfully, Vale was already there, helping his friend. He cast a thunderbolt and send the big lycan into the air and then drop to the ground with half of his body charred by the powerful lightning.


    ¡°Good one, now. Can you do it for the dozens of them on the stage?¡± Asked Justice, while trying to get up from the ground.


    ¡°That some powerful sh*t, you *ss! I need to do it because apparently we almost lost our dear crown prince.¡± Said Vale, mocking Justice, ¡°You good now?¡± He still asked for his welfare, and when Justice nodded his head, he run into the stage and cast the full reflection on all the cages of the victims.


    One by one, the knights were fighting the lycans and the magi assist. Vale was focusing on the extraction of all the victims at the moment. He begins by the nearest cage with five people inside, two elders and three young men. There are three lycans in front of the cage. Vale and Justice coborate and seize the opportunity to attack the three lycans. Justice, although not a magi, has the potential to be a fire element. He called for a twin dagger with a ming edge. Vale was smiling. It¡¯s been so long since Justice uses his twin daggers in the fight.


    Justice¡¯s movement is more agile now using the twin daggers. He jumps and shes every surface on one body of the lycans. Vale knew when Justice uses his twin daggers, he meant it as real as it can be. Justice has the power whenever he used the broadsword, but he could also be so fast and sneaky when the twin daggers were in his hands. The ming surface of the twin daggers makes a burn sensation all over the lycans.


    Seeing the opportunity to make more damage, Vale cast a me tornado toward the three lycans. It¡¯s not a great fire, but enough to inflict more damage from the burn in their body. The charred bodies of the three lycans fall to the ground. Justice immediately opens the cage and called three knights to bring them to the healers that were waiting behind.


    The second cage sessfully being opened by Brom, Martin, and two werewolves, their cooperation was superb in tackling four big lycans. Thest cage where the first kill is being held is now empty. Vale cursed while Justice looked around to find the girl.


    ¡°I think they took the first kill away. We need to find her!¡± Said Vale to Justice.


    Justice nodded his head and gave the signal to the second garrison, the second garrison where Xavier was being held, came right away and join the fight. The lycans were almost overwhelmed. They will certainly seed and now only need to find the first kill. A huge brown werewolf with golden eyes came to be beside Justice and Vale.


    ¡°Xavier, we need to find the first kill. They took her away!¡± Shouted Vale to Xavier while he dodged one lycan w.


    Xavier grab the lycans hand and bites it until it was separated from the body, he then viciously gnaws into the neck of the lycans and when he was done, he sniffed around the cage and howled to his two friends to follow him. Vale called for Brom and Martin to follow suit, while Malek and Junjin also join his huntsman captain. The six of them followed Xavier in his werewolf form into the abandoned building not far from the stage.


    They entered the building and heard a screaming from the third floor.


    Vale looked into Brom. ¡°You stay here with Junjin. If they ran, killed them immediately.¡±


    Brom agreed with his captain¡¯s request. He waited with Junjin on the first floor, blocking the door. The others go upstairs as fast as they could. Xavier reached the third floor and looked in every room to find the first kill. So far, he didn¡¯t smell any blood, and it was good until another scream came from the middle section of the third floor. Justice, Vale, Martin, and Malek arrive on the third floor and hear Xavier growl at the middle section of the third floor.


    ¡°Let me open the door. All of you, get ready to fight right away.¡± Justice orders the others that immediately prepare for closebat.


    When he opened the door, Xavier lunged in front of Justice. What they saw was something unexpected. Five lycans, with one of them being the matron of the orphanage. But the most shocking thing was the first kill was being held by another, not a lycan, but a man with long red hair, pale skin, with ck eyes. Justice and Xavier recognize the man. It was the main host of the vampirism, the man who bites Justice.


    ¡°You! What are you doing here?!¡± Justice asked him, the grip on his twin daggers tightened. Xavier was growling and ready to attack at any time.


    The man looks at them and pretends to be surprised by their presence. ¡°Oh, fancy seeing you here. Care to join me? The first kill of maybe theirst kill for these poor creatures.¡±


    ¡°We are notughing here! Why are you here?!¡± Justice frustratingly asked the man once again.


    Man throws the first kill to the floor, Vale cast his full reflect on the girl immediately, protecting her from the lycans. The lycans growl, furious when they couldn¡¯t even touch the girl anymore. The man justughed and steps forward to Justice.


    ¡°So, how does it feel, lusting for blood?¡± Asked the man for Justice.


    Justice was nervous. Vale gave a signal to Malek and Martin. But not before they saw Bernarde rushing from the first floor.


    ¡°Your majesty! I am here to assist you!¡± Bernard shouted and go to protect the crown prince by the man.


    Justice, Vale, and werewolf Xavier got their surprised by the sudden appearance of Justice¡¯s chief guard.


    ¡°Bernard? what are you doing here? You¡¯re supposed to help Jason.¡± Asked Justice, ignoring the man in front of them.


    Bernard wiped the sweat on his face, while his right hand still firmly grip on his sword, ¡°I came here right away after I noticed something from the portrait that I saw on the pce, and when I saw him now, my suspicious came true.¡±


    The man smirked. He tilted his head to his audience. ¡°Oh, so this old man recognized me? Was it my family portrait? I hope I still look as handsome as before.¡±


    Bernard chuckles at the man, ¡°Oh you do, you still do look the same after hundreds of years. The resemnce is uncanny, sir Drake Beyor.¡±


    Justice¡¯s heart leaped. He was shocked to get the revtion from his chief guard. ¡°What did you say?¡±

 Chapter 113

    113 All at lost


    ¡°Your majesty, he is Drake Beyor, your ancestor.¡± Said Bernard to Justice.


    The shocking revtion gave a chill to Justice and Vale. While Xavier growled viciously at the lycans that were trying to reim their first kill. Justice was shaken, Vale could see pure rage and also fear mixed on his expression.


    ¡°Justice, calm down, you know what you need to do to him, right?¡± Vale tries to calm him down and reminded him about his goal, which is to kill the main host, in order for him to be free from the curse.


    The man that is imed as Drake Beyor smile at Bernard, ¡°Old man, you have done your homework, you exposed my real identity, I hope it was enough to stop me, though.¡±


    ¡°What do you want from the crown prince? I know you have some bad intentions in this kingdom.¡± Bernard doesn¡¯t even scared, he just looks at the man and asks him a question.


    ¡°You know something, don¡¯t you?¡± This time Justice asked his chief guard.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell youter, for now, you need to defeat him, as your main host, right? I¡¯ll help you.¡± Says Bernard with some mystery in his voice.


    Justice prepares his weapon once more, ¡°You owe me a lot of exnation, old man.¡±


    With one strike they plunged themselves into Drake Beyor, while Xavier fought the matron with Malek assisting him, and Vale with his subordinate Martin gave a hard time for the other lycans. Justice and Bernard have a hard time with Drake Beyor, while the crown prince uses a swift move, the chief guard Bernard tried to hack Drake Beyor with his great axe.


    .....


    ¡°What in the world old man? I was supposed to be the one who killed him, not you!¡± Justice screamed at Bernard when he saw the chief guard almost cut the head of Drake Beyor.


    Bernard gave the crown prince a grin, ¡°Then, do a better move!¡±


    In the other fight, Xavier wed into the matron, while Malek jump into the matron¡¯s shoulder, and with his cleave he hacked the head of the matron, killing her instantly. Werewolf Xavier looks into his subordinate and snorts.


    ¡°What? Was I supposed to wait for your great move or what?!¡± Malek shrugged and teased his captain.


    The two of them then helped Vale and Martin fight the remaining lycans together, Vale uses full reflection on himself and sends two of the lycans flying into the floor, and Martin cast his firewall and burns the body of one lycan. Xavier fought one and gnawed into the head of the lycan, with his big w, he shredded the body of the lycan into pieces.


    ¡°Xave, calm down, he was dead already.¡± Vale tried to calm werewolf Xavier, sometimes when he takes so long in his werewolf form, his animalistic instinct takes in and gave him a hard time reconnecting to his man self again. The two lycans stand up once more, Vale looks into Xavier and said, ¡°Go helped Justice, I¡¯ll take care of these two,¡±


    Werewolf Xavier run towards Drake Beyor, but the main host predicted his jump and with his right-hand catches Xavier¡¯s face and locked him in the palm of his hand. The man finally showed them his true strength, the one that Justice saw back then.


    Drake Beyor observes Xavier and then smiles at him, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re the man that doesn¡¯t want to reveal your true nature to that beautiful girl, am I right? So, did she knows about you, about how you¡¯re this grotesque animal?¡± Said Drake to Xavier, mocking him about his werewolf form.


    Suddenly, Xavier transform into his man self, and with his two hands grab into Drake Beyor¡¯s arm and crushed the arm with his pure power, when he saw Drake writhing in pain, Xavier smiled at him, ¡°Oh, she knows about it already, and she loves what she was seeing.¡±


    He throws Drake Beyor to the floor and then screams for Justice toe over. The red hair crown prince jumped with a great sword in his hand, he plunge the sword directly through Drake Beyor¡¯s heart. Blood came spurts from Drake Beyor¡¯s body, the man looked directly at Justice and whispered a few words to him.


    Justice and Xavier heard the final words from the main host, and with a blood-curdling scream, Drake Beyor is no more living, only the pool of ck color blood on the floor, with a red jewel as the remains of Drake Beyor, Justice picked the red jewel and with his great sword break the red jewel into pieces. A ck miasma came out from the jewel, Brom looks at it and immediately ce the ss container into the broken jewel.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Justice looks at him with a frown on his face.


    ¡°We need this, my mother asks for a sample of the lycans and now I have more than the lycans.¡± Brom has a weird smile going on his face, and Justice with Vale shudders to see him.


    The crown prince goes to Vale and whispers, ¡°He really is one of the weirdest and scary men around.¡±


    ¡°Give you some thought of what else he could do, right?¡± Whispered Vale back to Justice, he then take a look at his friend, ¡°Are you alright? How do you feel?¡±


    ¡°Strangely enough, I feel free, like no more anxiousness, but time will tell...¡± Said Justice to Vale, he was still bothered by thest words thating from Drake Beyor¡¯s mouth.


    Xavier steps in front of them, with a stark naked body full of dirt and dried blood everywhere. The other two look at him with a grimace on their face.


    ¡°Put some clothes on, will you?!¡± said Vale and Justice to the shameless Xavier.


    Malek saw his captain and whistled, ¡°D*mn captain, you will give some girls a lot of a hard time with that size.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll take that as apliment any day.¡± Xavier gave smirked at Malek, while Vale and Justice rolled their eyes.


    With a second, Vale take off his cloak and gave it to Xavier, ¡°Put this on, I have enough of savagery in one day.¡±


    The three of them walk outside of the abandoned building, Nathan is already inside to check on the first kill, the girl was in shock but she will live. The lycans¡¯ dead bodies were everywhere, they stop in some spots to ask about the casualties. So far the lycans were being counted, and they do have some casualties from their side, werewolves and some of the knights, one mage lost a limb, and healers still trying to stop the bleeding.


    ¡°We knew this is going to happen, and they knew about the risk,¡± Vale said to Justice, he saw how his guilty conscience begin to eat up from the inside.


    Justice gave him a stern smile, ¡°I know Vale, I know... Just... Let us do some rounds, make sure we are taking good care of them, that¡¯s the least we could do.¡±


    Before they could walk further, one of the healers came to them and shouted Xavier¡¯s name, ¡°Please, I need to talk to captain Xavier.¡±


    Xavier steps in, ¡°I¡¯m Xavier, what happened?¡±


    ¡°Oh, someone named Xander was asking for you, captain, it was about your uncle.¡±


    Xavier take a deep breath, he was shocked by the news, and they followed the healer back to the inn. Inside the healer¡¯s tent, they saw an old man lying on the patient¡¯s bed. Xander took nced at them and stands up from his seat, his face says it all, the old man is dying.


    ¡°Brother, he... he tried to save me and the lycan was...¡± He cried on Xavier¡¯s shoulder, reimagined how the old man was now in bed with hisst breath, where a ghastly wound was exposed on his chest.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright Xander... Come on, let me talk to him, alright?¡± Xavier tried to calm his brother and asked him to step aside.


    Following his brother¡¯s request, he stands up in the corner, while Xavier sits and holds the old man¡¯s hand. the old man smile at his grandnephew and with his raspy voice begins to speak.


    ¡°Take care... Of... Of your brother...¡±


    Xavier smiled back at his uncle, ¡°I will don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going to leave him again.¡±


    The old man smiled, and patted the strong hand of Xavier, ¡°I... I knew I could always count on... Xavier... Please forgive me...from my deepest heart...¡±


    ¡°I know, and yes I forgave you,¡± He called for Xander toe by his side, they were holding into the old man¡¯s hand, ¡°We forgive you, grandpa.¡±


    The old man dies peacefully not long after, Xander wailed holding the body of his once treasured uncle, while Xavier gets up, trying to cry alone in the corner. Justice and Vale look at him from afar, giving him some space but also telling him that he wasn¡¯t alone, and that¡¯s when Bernard came to talk to Justice.


    ¡°Your majesty, I am sorry to barge in, but we need to talk.¡± Bernard whispering to Justice doesn¡¯t want to interrupt Xavier¡¯s mourning on the corner.


    Justice nodded his head, ¡°I was trying to see you as well, we have a lot to talk about, Bernard.¡±

 Chapter 114

    114 Reaching into them


    They waited until Xavier calm down. They asked him to join after he was done arranging his uncle¡¯s funeral. Justice asked Bernard to go inside his room. Vale sat on the sofa right away while Justice pour some aggrus for them.


    ¡°So, tell me, Bernard, why are you so sure he was Drake Beyor? And what happened with Jason that took you here in the first ce?¡± Justice sat on the sofa while his eyes stared at Bernard.


    Bernard took a deep breath. He sat on the sofa with his aggrus in his hand. ¡°Where should I begin? Oh yeah, maybe when prince Jason and I got news about the flesh-eating people on Wolg, where someone being orchestrated from the first time they were created a long time ago.¡±


    Vale and Justice exchanged looks, and the magi decide to ask, ¡°So, did you mean Drake Beyor was involved in the creation of the lycans? Come on Bernard, that was absurd.¡±


    ¡°It was the empress who revealed it to us, Richard Beyor and his sons, actually an alchemist, and a famous one back then. Drake was the genius one, so I took a shot, and turned out to be the truth. The werewolf needs troops, but they can procreate fast enough. The Beyor gave them the form to create perfect soldiers for them.¡± He went quiet for a while, and then continued the story, ¡°Little that they know, the creation has some major ws. They love the taste of the people¡¯s flesh.¡±


    Justice flicked his chin, and he got another thing on his mind. ¡°So, the Beyor was an alchemist family. Fascinating makes you wonder, though, what kind of grotesque creation that they made besides the lycans.¡±


    ¡°Well, it is simple, the blood gue, of course.¡± Said Vale, chuckling at his friend.


    Dumbfounded by Vale¡¯s words, everything went in full circle when he connected the dots. The story was about a family that loses their father, and one of them bes another being entirely, wreaking havoc for one town and almost the whole kingdom.


    ¡°Of course, they were the ones that invented the vampirism, and the lycans actually have their first experiment before they perfected the vampirism.¡± Said Justice with a revtion.


    .....


    ¡°Exactly, they saw the lycan project as their opportunity, and when they saw the w in the lycan, they tried to perfect the form once more,¡± Vale exined to Justice and also Bernard, who was invested in the story as well.


    ¡°Oh Gods, I could never connect the two and two together, so the lycans were the first trial so that the Beyor could have perfected the vampirism?¡± Bernard was in awe of the story.


    ¡°The werewolf gave them the opportunity,¡± Xavier talking from behind them, the three of them saw him walking from the outside and sitting on the sofa, ¡°They never expected the result though, what they want was an obedient soldier, but what they got a killing maniacally monster instead.¡±


    ¡°Are you good? Do you still need some time?¡± Justice asked his friend, worry that he was too fast to get back to them.


    ¡°No, I am fine. Xander will handle the rest at the moment. I... let¡¯s just continue the conversation. For now, I need this distraction.¡± Xavier gave them a meek smile. He needs this distraction. He lost his uncle, and although they never had a close bond, he was a family that Xander always relied on.


    ¡°Oh yes, I got another piece of news. Your cure will be ready tomorrow. Captain Henry will pick the cure so you could go back right away to the capital.¡± Said Bernard to the three of them.


    Justice nced at his chief guard. ¡°Did you meet them? Henry and Anne?¡±


    Bernard nodded his head. ¡°Yes, when I was in a hurry to go here, I saw the odd-looking carriage with captain Henry and Anne inside. I was actually helping them fight two lycans. Thankfully, we seeded.¡±


    ¡°Wait, there were two lycans on their tailed?¡± Gods! I need to write the record about this, we thought every lycans already counted.¡± Xavier was devastated. He was so sure there was no pursuer because of the feast.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I was expecting this. I was already sent Kirara to Jason right now. He will send spies to every town and vige.¡± Justice patted his shoulder, trying to give Xavier some reassurance.


    Bernard follows suit, ¡°Yes, miss Anne and captain Henry almost reached the capital. In fact, I was so sure they are already reaching the capital by now. Don¡¯t worry about it, captain Xavier.¡± He gave Xavier a convincing smile, which Xavier gratefully epted.


    ¡°Now, for another remaining question,¡± Justice gave them another thing to discuss, ¡°Xavier, and I heard something when we defeated Drake Beyor. It was something that actually we hate to hear from him.¡±


    Bernard and Vale, looking at Justice, don¡¯t know about another set of words thating from Drake Beyor¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°He said something to the two of you?¡± Asked Vale to Justice and Xavier.


    ¡°Yes, just short words, but pretty effective to give us a small doubt in our mind,¡± Xavier answered Vale¡¯s question with a dark expression on his face.


    ¡°What did he say to the two of you?¡± Bernard¡¯s curiosity peaked.


    ¡°He said it wasn¡¯t thest of him.¡± Said Justice, revealing Drake Beyor¡¯s words to Bernard and Vale.


    ¡°What was that even mean? Was he alive?¡± Vale turned his head to Justice. ¡°Wait, how do you feel?¡±


    ¡°I told you, the curse has been lifted. I can feel it. He was my main host, and I defeated him.¡± Justice said to Vale. He even revealed his neck where there was a certain bite mark before. Now it is clean, with no more bite marks.


    ¡°He was right, Justice is clean, and the main host is Drake Beyor...¡± Vale confirmed, but immediately his mind was in overdrive, ¡°What exactly did Drake Beyor have in mind?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do for now. It was probably bogus, or there was a truth in it,¡± Justice said with a sigh. ¡°We could discuss this at the capital after we buried the casualties and even the lycans.¡±


    Xavier nodded his head. ¡°You¡¯re right. For now, we need to focus on the task ahead. I¡¯ll go back to Xander for now. Need to bury my uncle tomorrow.¡±


    Vale tapped his shoulder, ¡°I¡¯ll join you, I wanted to help with the burial,¡± He looks at Xavier for a moment, and gave his opinion, ¡°Probably it¡¯s best for you to take a bath first, I mean... You reek.¡±


    Scratching his head, he got to agree with Vale. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. I¡¯ll take a shower first. Wait for me.¡±


    After half an hour, Vale and Xavier took the job of handling the burial for the battle victims, even for the lycans, while Justice and Bernard oversee the destruction of every building and the feast¡¯s intended victims. He took the liberty of assessing the damage and n to rebuild the whole town. Wolg was named a mysterious and cursed time because of the long history of the people¡¯s feast. Now, Justice had time to save this town and gave it its former glory as a mining town again.


    Meanwhile, in another ce, the odd-looking carriage finally arrived at the capital. Anne, our purple hair girl, arrived in front of the Icarus dorm. Henry was apanying her to the front gate, where two people came and gave her a warm embrace. It was David and Da.


    ¡°Oh, thank God you¡¯re here. We were so worried that you were not going to make it.¡± Said Da to Anne.


    The exam result will be announced tomorrow after lunchtime. They need to be there first thing in the morning, gathering for lunch and the announcement. Thankfully, they arrived at the right time, and although still tired because of the long journey, Anne was still worried about the children in the carriage.


    ¡°I think I still need to join you in the alchemia tower. I mean, the children...¡± Anne pleaded with Henry. It was Henry¡¯s suggestion to take her back to the dorm first.


    Henry shook his head, and with a firm face he told Anne to go inside, ¡°Go get your rest, your need it tomorrow, don¡¯t worry about the children, you were already taking good care of them.¡±


    ¡°He is right, Anne. You need to get some rest. Your face was so pale, I bet you took no rest on your journey back.¡± David was helping Henry to convince his friend.


    Anne finally give in, ¡°Alright, please take good care of them, and get some rest as well.¡±


    Henry smile at her, and gave her a warm embrace, he would love to continue their conversation inside the carriage, where he confessed about the crystal dagger and his crystal sword, but it will be for another day, at least he gets some closure by knowing that Anne knew about the story of her crystal dagger.


    Looking at the carriage went by, Anne gave a smile to Henry, who waves at her from the window of the carriage. She knew something was on the horizon. Besides the announcement, the cure for the bewitched spell was done, and the effect of the cure was actually being written on the forbidden tome. Although Anne never revealed the devastating effect to anyone, she takes a long look at the carriage and goes inside the dorm with a heavy heart.

 Chapter 115

    115 The announcement


    Morninge to the Icarus dorm, and our heroine took her time to get up from the bed. Chikara, her familiar already meowing at her, seeking breakfast from his master.


    Anne was groaning, ¡°I can¡¯t wait for you to be independent of me.¡±


    Chikara¡¯s relentlessly purred in Anne¡¯s ear, making her give up to get more sleep and begin to give him the breakfast that he want. She took sighed and smile at her familiar, after all, she consider him as a family now.


    One hourter, she was ready to go to the ce for the gathering, her friends already waiting in the breakfast room, they waves at Anne with a grin on their faces.


    ¡°So, are you ready to hear the announcement?¡± Asked David enthusiastically toAnne.


    Anne was in the middle of munching her pouched birdie egg, she nodded her head to David, ¡°I am ready, and can¡¯t wait for the result to be announced.¡±


    ¡°Really? You¡¯re not nervous at all? I mean, girl, your story is as scandalous as it can be.¡± Chuckles Da with a caftea cup in her hand.


    ring at her friend, Anne gave her a warning, ¡°Come on Da, I just want some peace right now, you know what happened because of all that scandal.¡±


    Da raised her hand, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to have you on edge, it was a cruel joke, Anne.¡±


    .....


    ¡°Apology epted, now let¡¯s have some breakfast and go to the gathering ce, alright?¡± Said Anne with a smile on her face.


    Since the day that Anne tried to be a cupid for Da and Brom, she was getting more friendly to Anne. In her mind, it was probably because everything went well with Brom and she was happy for her.


    A red cardinal came flying to the breakfast room and perch on Anne¡¯s shoulder. She knew immediately it was Sabrina.


    ¡®Miss Anne, my master gave you the information that all is well for the children and you can be at ease for the announcement today.¡¯


    Anne took a piece of bread and give it to Sabrina, ¡°Thank you, Sabrina, really appreciate the information, send my regards to Henry.¡±


    ¡°Sabrina? Why are you here?¡± Said another voice from their back. Turning around, Anne saw Heirim looking at her and the small red cardinal on her shoulder with astonishment, Sabrina excused herself and fly away without talking to Heirim. Heirim was furious and feeling humiliated, ¡°You! Answer me, why does my brother¡¯s familiare to you.¡±


    Snorted at the furiousdy, Anne just raised her eyebrows at her and said, ¡°Why not? Henry is my friend, and we are in the middle of doing something together.¡±


    ¡°You! I will never ept this!¡± Heirim was not only furious, but her eyes also red fire at Anne, ¡°You do something to all of them, don¡¯t you? You do something that makes them adore you¡±


    Anne was shaking, Heirim actually said something that half of it was the truth, she would never do something so horrendous as to cast a bewitched spell on innocent people, in fact, she kept some information about the effect of the bewitched spell cure. The information could make her the only one that will gain nothing and end up being the miserable kind.


    ¡°Please,dy Heirim, we were trying to enjoy ourst time together here, would you please just ignore her for the rest of the day?¡± Da practically begged Heirim, she had enough of her shenanigans for now, especially when she thought that Heirim was just being ridiculous.


    Heirim eyeing on Anne, and she whispered directly into her ear, ¡°This is not over, peasants! In fact, this is just the beginning.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, after the announcement, you will be d, and probably never to see me again.¡± Whispered Anne back at Heirim.


    ¡°What?! What do you mean?¡± Heirim was bbergasted, even when stor took her far away from Anne, she looks at Anne with disbelief on her face.


    David stare at Anne and asked her a question, ¡°What did you say to Heirim? She looks so surprised right now?¡±


    ¡°Surprised? More like her whole life just sunk in, she was in shock!¡± Said Da to David, her eyes ncing at Anne, ¡°So, what did you say to her?¡±


    ¡°Just some meaningless words, nothing important.¡± With a mystery on her face, Anne was smiling at her friends, denying anything.


    The two of them gave up trying to get more information, they end up having a good small conversation and end up on the first carriage that will get them to the hall of the main administrative building near the pce. The silver pass recipients were so excited to be headed into the main administrative building, anxious about their result altogether.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard most of the failed ones came from the knight section.¡± Said one of the silver pass recipients inside the carriage.


    Anne, David, and Da were not engaging in their conversation, they have their own time to converse, and for now, they just want to listen.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a given, knight positions were so easy to obtain, and probably they don¡¯t have any high demand right now.¡± Said another silver pass recipient.


    ¡°Well, we do know who¡¯s going to easily get the certificate right away.¡± The two of themughed together, ¡°Yes,dy Heirim of course, they need so many magic knights, and there were only two candidates this year for magic knights, they probably already gain their certification right now.¡±


    It is not a secret anymore, magic knights are rare in the kingdom, every year only two or three people applied to be magic knights, and the truth, this time of year was the first time in seven years two people applied as certified magic knights. Their power inbat and also they¡¯re adept in magica makes them powerful opponents in every battle, Anne knew right away that Heirim will get certified even if she never attended the exam, and she apud her dedication to following the rule anyway.


    She always thought, if only she wasn¡¯t a vengeful girl, they could be a friend. Sadly, she knew that it will never be the case for both of them.


    ¡°Hey, we¡¯re almost there, I was so nervous.¡± Said Da to the other silver pass recipient.


    ¡°Yes, and thank goodness that the golden pass recipients don¡¯t want to sit with the peasants, look at us, we practically couldy down inside this big carriage.¡± The gossiping silver pass recipient was joking about the golden pass that refused to go inside the carriage with them.


    ¡°They don¡¯t want to get our poor and peasantness rubbed into their body.¡± Joking David makes the whole situation more ridiculous than before.


    They have arrived at the administrative building, many bronze recipients alreadying from all over the inn scattered at the capital. As usual, they look at the silver recipient with stinking eyes, full of envy of their fortunate times as the elevated recipient. Although they all are equal in the eyes of the judges.


    ¡°Let¡¯s look for a table first, I heard they will be giving us some entertainment before the announcement.¡± Da pull Anne and called David to follow them, all that she wants is to have fun before they begin to hear the announcement.


    They settled on the corner table for four, in the middle section of the huge hall, everyone trying to sit on the good table at the front section, little that they know, the front section was always the ce for the golden pass recipients. When the golden pass recipientse inside they red at the people who took their seats.


    ¡°They are always being ridiculous, I mean, it wasn¡¯t even being put out there that the front seat is for the golden pass recipient.¡± David was gruntling looking at the golden pass recipient that force themselves to grab the table at the front from the bronze recipient.


    ¡°Just let them be, when we get the job, we are equal with them anyway.¡± Said Da to David with a slight giggle.


    David suddenly have a wicked smile on his face, ¡°Then you don¡¯t know nothing, you know that if we get certified, we are then eligible for stars to gain rankter on,¡± With squinted eyes, he smirked directly at Da, ¡°Did you know that the golden pass always gets one more star than the silver and bronze pass?¡±


    Anne and Da gasped, they in fact never knew about this, ¡°No! you¡¯re joking.¡± Said the two girls at the same time.


    ¡°I am not,¡± David said with a grin on his face, ¡°They have their noble¡¯s privilege, after all, we are going to get one star from the five stars that we need to collect to gain the first rank, but the nobles will get one or two stars more.¡±


    ¡°That will be unfair to us! I mean I thought the judging process will be equal!¡± Da was practically screaming, and almost all of the people near their tables turned their heads to see Da.


    David lock his hand on Da immediately and hissed at his friend, ¡°Shut up Da! Now you make us more visible than before.¡±


    ¡°But David just thinks of it, they will gain rank faster than we are!¡± Said Da to David.


    Let out a sigh, Anne hold into her friend¡¯s hand carefully, ¡°Da, it is given that the nobles always have their advantage, probably we should...¡± Suddenly Anne went quiet, her eyes captured a figure from afar, a figure that she thought will never be here, ¡°I... I need to go, right now.¡±


    Standing up from her seat, Anne left the room and follow the figure to the other rear alleyway, ignoring David and Da who constantly called her name.

 Chapter 116

    116 The unexpected encountered


    Our heroine, run towards the rear alleyway. Her breathing was irregr and fast. She was nervous, but curious as well. When her hand reaches the figure, a woman looks at her with a frown on her face.


    ¡°Yes? May I help you, miss?¡± Said the woman, who turned out to be the cleaning staff of the building.


    ¡°I... I am sorry, I thought you are someone else.¡± Anne said her apology to the cleaning staff when she walk back to her table, but she still tried to find the woman.


    Da was running into her. She would grab Anne¡¯s shoulder and ask her, ¡°What are you doing running away like that? You scared us.¡±


    ¡°I thought I saw someone, but I was wrong.¡± Muttered Anne, her head still looking all around the room.


    ¡°Anne! do you even hear me?!¡± Da was upset. Whoever the person was, Anne was surely invested in seeing the person.


    Turning her head around to see Da, Anne tried to fake a smile at her friend. ¡°Sorry, just let¡¯s go back to our table. The show will begin soon.¡±


    When they go back to the table, David res at Anne and asked her incessantly, ¡°Where were you? You make us worried!¡±


    ¡°I am sorry, I thought I saw someone... You know what, just enjoy the show.¡± Anne waves her hand to the stage that is now upied by dancers and singers.


    .....


    The show for the exam participants is full ofughter and actually a very good show through and through. Anne has a lot of fun looking at the show with her two friends. The fact that she wanted to have a memory with them as she decide to go back to Viora vige after gaining her certification.


    She was sure to gain her certification, even though she would probably gain some blows on her starster on. Her heart ached bit by bit, thinking that she would probably lose contact with the four gentlemen with whom she had a fond feeling. She tried to cast their shadows away, the caring Henry, the sweet Vale, the overprotective Xavier, or even the rude but loving Justice.


    ¡°Anne! look! It¡¯s theedy duo that I have told you about!¡± Da was so excited to see every performance, mostly because she never told Da and David about her intention to go back to her vige.


    Two hours into the show, the staffs begin to bring the meal of the day, a lunch feast to end the tiring three months¡¯ period of the exam. They enjoyed lunch while there was a singing and dancing performance on the stage. Anne tried to engrave all the memories within her heart. She never knew when they will have time to gather around like this.


    Lunch is over, and it is time for the announcement, the chief of staff will read the result for the ten best scores and the rest will have a note delivered to them at their table, they will see the score and their stars if they indeed gain the certification.


    The chief of staff that announce the ten best scorers was Chief Ca, she look absolutely stunning in her long flowery dress, smiling from ear to ear to all the participants.


    ¡°Hello everyone, so nice to end the three months of grueling exams for the civil servants. I hope all of you have a good time at the capital and, of course, with a good result in hand.¡± She said to all the participants, and afterward, she open the envelope in her hand, ¡°What I have here is the top ten best scorers for the whole exam, the ten names will gain their certification and automatically get three stars on their resume.¡±


    The hall went livid. They never knew how much bigger the advantage the top ten scorers will get. Heirim, on the other hand already smiling widely. Her eyes met with chief Ca, who reciprocated the smile that Heirim gave her.


    Chief Ca opened the envelope and begin to call the names one by one. Three golden pass recipients and two silver pass recipients, and then she called two bronze pass recipients as well. Eight people already get their certification and three stars, and only two spots remained.


    ¡°The second high scorer goes to lord stor Creed!¡± Said chief Ca with an enthusiastic word.


    ¡°Her nephew, the magic knight, that¡¯s why she was so excited about it.¡± Whispered David to his two friends.


    After stor walks to the podium and received his certification, chief Ca read thest name, ¡°and the best scorer goes tody Heirim spencer! Congrattiondy Heirim, we are so proud of your achievement!¡± She basically screaming her name and they could even see tearsing from chief Ca¡¯s eyes.


    With a disy of ufortable affection from chief Ca, Heirim gets her certification with a wide smile on her face, she found Anne from all over the crowd, and smugly shows her that she was way ahead of her on the stage with her three stars.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Anne, that means nothing, at least we will get our certification now, and of course government money for us to live in for the rest of our life.¡± Said David with a wink.


    Daes in, ¡°Yeah, who cares about the top ten. For us, the certification is the goal, right?¡± She said to Anne while drinking more aggrus.


    Chuckling at her friends, Anne of course was thankful about how they tried so hard to cheer her up, ¡°Yes... The two of you were right, now let¡¯s enjoy this feast and wait for our certification!¡±


    They drink their aggrus and wait for the staff toe and give them their envelope. The envelope will be contained in their rejection letter or their certification and stars. Not long after, two staff with a tray of envelopes go to their table, one of the men asking for their name.


    ¡°Alright, miss River Anne, here¡¯s your envelope, and this is for mister David and miss Da.¡± They leave the table and gave them a quick smile, ¡°Good luck.¡± He said to the three of them.


    David has already opened his envelope. He squealed and even had tears in his eyes, ¡°Oh my! A certification, with two stars!¡±


    ¡°Anne! I got two stars as well!¡± Said Da while she hold tightly to Anne¡¯s arm.


    The two of them begin to dance in front of Anne while she opens her envelope. She knows this would happen to her. She holds a certification with one star in it. They deducted her star out of nowhere. Although she was grateful, at least now, she could give her parents a clinic with a certified healer in it.


    There were tears and regrets everywhere. Just as the prediction, the exam participants for the knight job are scarce, and most of them don¡¯t get the certification that they wanted. Anne was already grateful for her certification. After the announcement, the dance party will be held tonight to honor all the participants, Da already thinking of some dress that they could rent, and while David was already gone, he said something about renting a good suit from the market that was a bit far from their location.


    ¡°So, will the four charming princes of yourse and get you to the party?¡± Da teased Anne incessantly when they walked together through the marketce.


    ¡°No, they were busy, I don¡¯t even expect them to...¡± Anne went quiet for a while and gave Da a re, ¡°Hey, they are not mine, Da, you naughty girl!¡±


    She chased her friend all the way to the dress shop. The dress shop is an equivalent of a tailor and costume shop in the same ce. There are sections for a rented dress. The girls with a tight budget could wear a very good and beautiful gown for a day, at a small expense only.


    Some of the bronze pass recipients were already inside the dress shop. Da tried to entice Anne with a very cute dress, although our heroine seems to eye on another dress entirely. They were bickering over a good dress for Da when someone caught Anne¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Wait! I saw rice out there walking in the market!¡± Anne said to Da, and not a momentter, excuse herself to chase her good friend.


    On the outside, Anne chased down rice who seems to be a bit confused at the moment, she touch her friend¡¯s shoulder and called her name.


    ¡°rice? What are you doing here?¡±


    rice¡¯s eyes widened with excitement, and then tears came down to her face. ¡°Oh Anne, thank God that I found you!¡± She even embraces Anne tightly, and not for a second moment, she begins to cry excessively.


    ¡°Calm down rice, what happened to you?¡± She tried to calm her friend when she heard a ramblinging from her.


    rice, almost hysterical, with her squeaky voice frantically spoke to Anne, ¡°Oh Anne, please... Please, you need toe home immediately, your parents! Viora vige!¡±


    Hearing her friend¡¯s confession, her heart almost drops, and she felt her world begin to turn upside down. ¡°What happen rice? what happened at Viora vige?!¡±

 Chapter 117

    117 The future for her


    The sound of galloping horses from afar broke the noon of the Valorian kingdom. Justice, Vale, and Brom were in the middle of going to the capital, Xavier stayed for another day, where he need to attending the needs of the werewolf pack and also his brother. Justice can¡¯t wait to see the face of the girl that he was dreaming about almost every night, he doesn¡¯t even care if it¡¯s the effect of some kind of lethal and forbidden spell.


    One hourter, they arrived at the Alchemia tower, where Henry and Amaris already waiting for them.


    ¡°Hey, where¡¯s Xavier?¡± Asked Henry when he saw there were only two of them who got back.


    ¡°He will be here tomorrow, need to do something for his pack first.¡± Answered Justice, he sit on the sofa andy his head for a moment, it was a tiring day of non-stop riding to the capital for him.


    Chief Amaris looked around, hoping for another person to appear, Vale notice her confused face and gave her the answer.


    ¡°Brom was already heading to the capital, he wanted to see someone immediately.¡± Said Vale to chief Amaris.


    Surprised by the revtion all she could do is tough, ¡°What? this is uncalled for, I never knew that my son could do such an action.¡±


    ¡°Anything for love.¡± Whispered Henry, making Vale and Justice snort from their seats.


    ¡°Would you care to exin something, captain Henry?¡± Asked chief Amaris with a frown on her face.


    .....


    ¡°No, nothing chief Amaris... Nothing at all.¡± Said Henry while clearing his throat.


    Don¡¯t want to make the situation worsen, Justice stands up from the sofa and goes to pour everyone a drink, he then asked about the orphanage children.


    ¡°How were they? I hope you can take care of them until all of the samples are here to conduct proper research.¡± Said Justice to chief Amaris.


    Chief Amaris gave him a wave of her hand, ¡°Oh nonsense, I can take care of them just fine, we have plenty of rooms and they are actually a darling,¡± She took a seat opposite Henry and asked the crown prince one more question, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that it will be more of them toe?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Anne and Henry only brought the ailed one, they need intensive care which was not an idealistic way to keep them on the battlefield with us.¡± Justice exined the situation while he sip on his aggrus.


    ¡°Oh, speaking about her, I have finally finished the cure, let me give it to you.¡± Chief Amaris enthusiastically run towards her room and afterward handed them a small ss vial that contained a neon green liquid.


    ¡°This! Is our cure?! Look so disgusting!¡± Henry wince after he got his portion of the vial.


    Looking at the disgusted look of Henry, chief Amaris could only give him a shrug and said, ¡°This is my first time making the cure, and I could tell you with confidence that no other person knew the effect or the taste of the cure for two hundred years.¡±


    Vale piqued with interest, ¡°Wait, did you say, two hundred years? The bewitched spell cure never being brew for two hundred years?!¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve researched about the cure before making it,¡± Said chief Amaris to Vale, she continued to inform the three of them, ¡°The only record that I have obtained is that there¡¯s only one alchemist that sessfully brews the cure for a man that have the symptoms of bing lovesick because of the bewitched spell.¡±


    ¡°Interesting, so there were other victims two hundred years ago,¡± Vale was muttering, he got the look of a person that was deep in his own thought, ¡°I guess the spell is a powerful one if the only sessful attempt is after two hundred years.¡±


    ¡°Or, there¡¯s no need to use the spell after all,¡± Henry says with a chuckle, ¡°Wicked spell like this was totally unnecessary, and whoever did this to us definitely has their own agenda.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you finally realize it?¡± Justice raised his eyebrows and gave Henry a smirk, ¡°I knew right from the beginning, there was a cruel joke that has been nted on us.¡±


    Vale went quiet the whole time, as for him, he knows something more than a sinister joke. He actually suspected the culprit of this forbidden spell that has been embedded into them, the question that remains on his mind, was the motive.


    ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you going to drink the cure immediately?¡± Asked chief Amaris, breaking the silence of the room.


    Justice put his cure in his deep pocket, ¡°Not for now, I wanted to attend the party and congratte Anne.¡±


    ¡°You seem certain that she gets her certification, your majesty.¡± Said chief Amaris with a grin on her face.


    ¡°I do actually, I know that she got her certification, I¡¯m the one who signed all of the documents after all.¡± Justice exined everything to chief Amaris while he prepared to go to the capital.


    ¡°I forgot about your duty sometimes...¡± Muttered chief Amaris, she was a bit reluctant to ask the crown prince one more question, but she asked him anyway, ¡°So... What are you going to do if something happened after all of you drink the cure?¡±


    The three of them looked at chief Amaris with confusion on their face, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Asked Justice to chief Amaris.


    ¡°I mean, what about the girl? Are you going to leave her alone now? Or do all of you have some grand n for her? I mean, you¡¯re the crown prince, you have your duty for the kingdom.¡± Chief Amaris¡¯ words send a shockwave to all of them.


    Her words ring some truth in them, Justice needs to think this through, his duty as the crown prince needs to be his priority over anything, although he doesn¡¯t want to betray his heart. The three of them excused themselves from chief Amaris, they descended to the ground floor of the tower with a lot on their mind.


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Vale asks Justice, after they jump on their horses, ready to go to the capital.


    Hearing Vale¡¯s question, Justice can only give him a vague answer, ¡°I will take care of this, but for now, let us go back to the capital, the dance party will begin in one hour.¡±


    Vale and Henry looked into Justice who was already leaving the alchemia tower in a hurry, the knight captain then took a nce at Vale, ¡°As usual, he doesn¡¯t even give us a satisfying answer.¡±


    ¡°Knowing Justice, he probably thinking of something radical right now,¡± Henry gave his opinion, and then together with Vale they follow Justice to the capital.


    They arrived at the capital almost two hourster, Justice suggested that the three of them go immediately to the dance hall, and Vale and Henry agreed with his proposition, after all, they want to see Anne¡¯s face immediately. The dance hall is located on C street, where all kinds of rented buildings are located.


    The dance hall was already filled with people, it seems the excitement from the announcement at lunchtime still gave them a high spirit. The three gentlemen were standing in front of the dance hall awkwardly.


    ¡°Well, should we enter the dance hall, immediately, or what?¡± Asked Vale to Henry and Justice.


    The other two red at him, ¡°Does it looks like we have the solution either?¡± Said Justice and Henry at the same time.


    There¡¯s one person that recognized the three of them, he grabs Vale¡¯s shoulder and grins at the three of them, ¡°Captains? Your majesty? What are you doing standing in front of the dance hall?¡±


    Vale almost jumped from the ground, until he recognized the source of the voice, ¡°Brom? What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to meet with Da inside, what about the three of you?¡± Asked Brom with his usual uninterest expression on his face.


    Justice saw this as an opportunity, he took Brom¡¯s arms and they walked together inside the dance hall, Vale and Henry were following from behind. Inside the dance hall are filled with white orbs that flow around the room, with an orchestra on the right side, and an array of foods on the right and left corner, people with partners already flock to the dance floor, with the melodious tune of the music from the orchestra.


    The three gentlemen were looking around the room, trying to find a beautiful girl with purple hair color. Anne was nowhere to be found, instead, Da came to their side and smiled ear to ear with Brom.


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re finally here!¡± Da said to Brom with a very enthusiastic voice, she then twirled to give Brom his first look at her dress, ¡°So, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes, very good.¡± Said Brom with an approving nod to Da.


    Henry almost face-palming himself, whispered to Vale, ¡°I really need to teach your subordinate about how to woe a woman.¡±


    Vale chuckles at Henry, ¡°I don¡¯t think you need to.¡± Said Vale pointing at how Da was blushing right now.


    ¡°Excuse me, miss, I need to know where Anne is right now.¡± Justice, who doesn¡¯t even care about the romantic atmosphere around Da and Brom, straight into asking Da about Anne.


    Da, who finally realized there were three other men besides Brom, gave them a quick smile, ¡°I am so sorry your majesty, doesn¡¯t realize that Brom wasn¡¯t alone.¡±


    ¡°Oh wow, that¡¯s a first for me.¡± Muttered Henry, making Vale roll his eyes.


    Justice was ignoring his friend, and still waiting for Da¡¯s answer.


    Da finally gave him the answer that Justice wanted, although it wasn¡¯t a very satisfying answer from Da. ¡°Anne is not here right now.¡± Said Da to Justice.


    Justice, Vale, and Henry were surprised by Da¡¯s answers.


    ¡°What do you mean she is not here?¡± Asked Justice frantically at Da.

 Chapter 118

    118 The bigger fish in the pond


    The three gentleman looks astonished by Da¡¯s words, the girl even looks more surprised by them.


    ¡°Wait, I am sorry, but she never told you about this?¡± Asked Da to the three of them.


    ¡°No! She never told us about this.¡± Vale gave the answer to Da, who was now looking at them with a paler face.


    ¡°Oh, Anne, why do you need to lie...¡± Da¡¯s muttering with quivering lips.


    Brom holding into Da¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Calm down, you look like this will never help everyone here.¡±


    She looks up at Brom and finally nodded her head. Da begin to take a deep breath, ¡± When we were going dress shopping, Anne met with her best friend from her vige...¡±


    ¡°rice? The noble girl with blonde hair?¡± Asked Henry.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the one, she looks disheveled and her face was a mess, with an unkempt look and puffy eyes, I asked her if she was alright, but Anne told me to never asked her about it,¡± Da went quiet for a short while, she tried to remember every detail about what happened a few hours ago, ¡°Anne then told me that she needs to go back to Viora vige immediately, I was worried but she told me it was nothing and she goes there just to make sure that her friend doesn¡¯t have a wedding jittery.¡±


    ¡°As I remembered, rice does have two fianc¨¦ and they will have their wedding soon,¡± Vale confirmed to the others, his face still confused about the situation. ¡°But why does she look distraught? Anne told me that the marriage will be a happy one for her.¡±


    .....


    Henry looks at Justice, he was voicing his concern, ¡°I don¡¯t like this.¡±


    Agreed with his friend, justice nodded his head. ¡°I know. Something was off. We need to go to Viora vige as soon as possible.¡±


    Vale and Henry agreed with Justice¡¯s n.


    ¡°I will send Silver Hawk to Xavier, it will be best for him to go to Viora vige immediately.¡± Said, Vale. He runs outside immediately after.


    ¡°Let¡¯s change our horses in the pce. We need much faster horses.¡± Justice suggested to Henry.


    Before they go away from the dance hall, Da immediately grabbed Henry¡¯s hand. ¡°Wait, let me go with you.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? We don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen and what kind of danger we are dealing with.¡± Justice asks the girl first. He doesn¡¯t want someone who isn¡¯t aware of the grave situation that is going to happen.


    With a firm face, Da nodded at the crown prince, ¡°Yes, I am aware of the situation, and I insist you must bring me along.¡±


    ¡°I wille as well.¡± Said Brom from behind Da.


    Justice and Henry share a look at each other. ¡°Better to go with a carriage then.


    ¡°Yes, a carriage with four horses. Hopefully, we could catch on to her as soon as possible.¡± Justice looks at his entourage and prays that nothing will happen to the girl that he cherishes with all his heart.


    As Justice, Henry, and Vale, along with Da and Brom, were on the way to chase our heroine, Anne was, in fact, in the middle of a predicament inside rice¡¯s carriage. She looks at the window, trying to concoct a n to escape.


    ¡°Anne, what are you so quiet?¡± Said the girl who she thought was rice a few hours ago.


    With a fake smile stered on her face, Anne looked at the girl and shook her head. ¡°Nothing, I was just thinking about my parents, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we are going to do this trip without resting.¡± Said rice with a bittered smile.


    Chikara meowed towards his master, where Anne looks at him and brushed into his fluffy fur. She packed her bag in a hurry, leaving most of them in her dorm room. Anne doesn¡¯t know, but her instinct told her something was wrong with rice¡¯s story. That¡¯s why Anne felt that sending notes to the four men was just a futile attempt on her behalf. She needs to take care of this matter alone. Bringing them into this will make her feel more guilty after how the bewitched spell messed up their life.


    ¡°rice...¡± Said Anne without even looking at her friend, ¡°What happened to you?¡±


    ¡°What? What do you mean, what happened to me?¡± rice nervously answered Anne¡¯s question.


    ¡°I know you since elementary school, you are one of the bravest girls that I have ever seen in my entire life, even when your favorite grandfather was dying, you cried one time at his funeral and refused to cry afterward...¡± Anne steps in front of rice, slowly, she is determined to get some answers from rice, ¡°Now... rice, since you got me inside the carriage now, I want you to be honest with me... What... Happened... To you?!¡±


    Hearing the threatening voice that came from her best friend, rice finally gives in. She cast down her head and talks to Anne about the truth, ¡°My fiances, they... They were missing.¡±


    ¡°What? what do you mean they were missing?¡± Anne looks at rice, still puzzled by her confession.


    Tears came running down her face. rice¡¯s voice cracked and hoarse. She was crying uncontrobly while trying to exin it to Anne, ¡°They were missing in the valley when they... they tried to find a lovesick flower for our wedding day.¡±


    ¡°Oh, rice, I am so sorry. Are you alright dear?¡± Anne goes to her friend and gave her the hug that she need.


    ¡°No! No, Anne, I am not alright, not just because of my fianc¨¦e, but because of you as well!¡± rice was hysterical now. She buried herself in Anne¡¯s embrace. ¡°Turns out they weren¡¯t missing. Someone kidnapped the two of them and demanded I bring you back to Viora vige as soon as possible.¡±


    Anne¡¯s eyes widen after her confession, ¡°What? what did you say?¡±


    Sniffles on Anne¡¯s arm, rice trembling in fear, ¡°Oh, Anne, I must ask for your forgiveness! She... she asked me to bring you with me, or else, not just my fianc¨¦ that will get in trouble, but also the whole vige of Viora.¡±


    ¡°She? Who is she, rice? Who¡¯s the one that threatened you like this?¡± Anne demanded more answers from rice. She could grab her shoulder and determine for her to be calm and collected for now.


    rice could see that Anne was persistent. She knew Anne was always the one that would be wise enough not to be panicking at a time like this. She takes a deep breath and wipes her tears. Anne gave her a metee tea from the basket, the metee tea helped her tremendously to continue her story once again.


    ¡°The woman came to my manor two nights ago, iming that she has my fianc¨¦ as her captives, and demanded me to go and pick you up at the capital.¡± Said rice with the metee tea cup in her hand. She was savoring the calming aroma of the metee.


    ¡°And you believe her, just like that?¡± With a frown on her face, she was questioning rice¡¯s answer.


    ¡°She had tangible proof with her, Anne!¡± The fiery personality from rice finally red back, she red at her friend and muttered about her reason, ¡°I wasn¡¯t dumb enough to believe a beautiful woman that turns out to be evil if she wasn¡¯t giving me enough proof at first.¡±


    Even though she was d that her friend found herposure back, rice¡¯sst word got her intrigued, ¡°Wait, did you say that she was a beautiful woman?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I never said she was ugly or hideous, though!¡± Said rice with a scoff, and then she gave Anne the description of her, ¡°She was exquisite, with her long ck hair, and those disturbing rainbow color eyes.¡±


    Anne¡¯s heart almost stops. She knows who she is; it is her, the witch of the mountain, the one that Justice, Vale, Henry, and Xavier were hunting at Viora vige almost four months ago. What did she want? Why does she need her to go to Viora vige? Something about this makes her uneasy.


    ¡°What else that she wants from you?¡± Anne tried to get as much information from her friend.


    rice shook her head, ¡°Nothing, she just wants you to be there, in Viora vige.¡±


    ¡°That was a weird request, so, anything else besides me going to Viora vige right away?¡± Asked Anne to her friend, rice.


    ¡°Only that she wanted me to make it as stressful as it can be so that everyone will suspect you going away so suddenly,¡± rice answered Anne¡¯s question with a slight curiosity on her part as well.


    Anne thinks for a moment. She tried to delve into the witch¡¯s weird request and how extremely her way was just to make sure she go back to Viora vige, and with a slight disturbance for everyone at the capital. Then it came to her mind. What if she is not her target all along? What if she needs her as bait? A bait for something bigger.


    ¡°No! a bait for someone bigger.¡± Muttered Anne, her eyes wider with the revtion. ¡°She doesn¡¯t want me. She wants the four of them!¡±

 Chapter 119

    119 Into the Viora


    Three gentlemen were in a hurry to go away from the capital as soon as possible, they got their horses and decided using horses would be much faster. Five horses galloped into the night sky of the Valorian kingdom. Da as a huntsman was already trained to ride in every shape of animals, she even leads the group halfway into the road. Brom was admiring her from behind, the way she ride on the horse and very efficiently dodging every obstacle.


    The sun was almost up when they reach the next town, they took a short break to grab something to eat and give the horses time to rest. Da and Brom were looking at the other three who were still frantically asking around the town for a possible sighting of a girl with purple hair.


    ¡°They really care for Anne so much.¡± Muttered Da, she was looking at Henry who doesn¡¯t even make time to eat something.


    Brom, who knew about the bewitched spell has a hard time to exined the situation to Da. He went quiet and decided to keep the secret from Da. The only thing that came to his mind is to give her another reason for their disy of devotion towards Anne.


    ¡°She must be leaving them a very nice impression on Viora vige, imagined four men leaving everything just to make sure that you¡¯re safe and sound.¡± Said Brom to Da.


    ¡°Yes, but isn¡¯t it weird that they falling head over heels for her in a short amount of time?¡± Da was curious and determine to get some answers until Brom gave her the statement that makes her speechless.


    ¡°Well, I am head over heels for you in a short amount of time,¡± Brom said the words with much confidence making Da blush in every shade of red.


    Justice took a seat at the table beside Da and Brom, he huffed and asked for a drink and meal from the innkeeper, Vale and Henry came not long after. Their faces were gloomy and dark, there was no sighting of Anne everywhere in the town.


    ¡°Look, maybe they weren¡¯t stopping here, this is a small town, probably going to stop at Ventopi.¡± Brom was trying to console the three of them.


    .....


    ¡°I just couldn¡¯t imagine why she need to go as soon as possible, like... she doesn¡¯t even leave a note for us.¡± Said Justice, he ignored Brompletely, and there was only one in his mind, which is the heroine herself.


    ¡°Why? Why did she ignore us and go away?¡± Now, it is Vale who bes morose and desperate.


    Brom could feel that their desperation and anxiety not only came from their own self, but it must also be the effect of the bewitched spell. The spell is getting stronger by the day, and Brom doesn¡¯t like to see how they be useless when the object of their affection was going away from them.


    When Da excuses herself to go to order some food to take away, Brom immediately took the time to confront the three of them.


    ¡°Look! You must drink the cure right now, the three of you are a mess!¡± Said Brom to Justice, Vale, and Henry.


    ¡°I... I can¡¯t, I need to prioritize her, I don¡¯t want the cure to cloud my judgment.¡± Vale gave his excuses to Brom, which is actually just some bogus one.


    ¡°No! Captain! The spell clouded your judgment, you¡¯re not thinking clearly!¡± This is the first time Brom was so frustrated by his captain.


    ¡°Brom, what¡¯s the matter? Why are you yelling?¡±


    Da came from behind him, looking so curious.


    ¡°Nothing, so you get the food?¡± Trying to make Da look the other way, Brom asks her about the food that they need to save.


    ¡°I got the food, we could go right now, or do the three of you still need to get some rest?¡± Da takes nces at Justice, trying to see if the crown prince was calmed down from his stressful ordeal.


    The three of them stand up immediately and get back into their horses back, Justice looks into Da and Brom, ¡°We go now.¡±


    They decided to go non-stop and only take a little break once in a while. Brom doesn¡¯t want them to be wasting their energy and stamina, but what can he do, the three gentlemen were so adamant about their decision, they want to arrive at Viora vige as soon as possible.


    Brom was worried, this journey will take a toll on himself and the others, his captain and the other two were out of their mind already. They refused to rest and only thought about Anne all the time, he hopes Ventopi town have seen the girl and the three of them could finally take a breather. Brom, however, was amazed by Da¡¯s full stamina, she doesn¡¯t evenin the whole journey, and when they took a small break, she make sure the horses were in perfect shape and with plenty of grass to eat.


    ¡°Thank you for your hard work,¡± Brom said to Da when she finally join him to take a bite at some bread and drink some moomilk.


    Da smiled at him, she stuffed the bread into her mouth and gulped the moomilk in one go. Many men will be disturbed by how crude Da is as a girl, but not in the eyes of Brom, he looks at her with a fascinated face, he was admiring her unconventional way of eating with a fascination on his face.


    Looking at the two love birds from the other side, Vale was thinking deeply, is it a good thing for Anne to be with them? They are prone to have a dangerous journey, and also their involvement with the witch of the mountain made them tangled with her. Although, there¡¯s always something that embedded inside his mind, why Anne? Why the witch of the mountain makes her the object of their affection?


    Within half an hour, they go back to their journey and finally reached Ventopi town before midnight, they were so tired by now, Brom almost fainted by the time the gate of Ventopi town appears in front of them.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Da was worried when she looks at Brom.


    Brom smiled meekly at Da, ¡°I am alright, just need to get some rest.¡±


    Vale came towards the two of them and handed them two ss bottles of potions, ¡°Drink this tonic, it will make you refresh once more.¡±


    They knew who was the one that make the tonic, Brom knew how talented Anne is, even though she wasn¡¯t born here. Her aura was different and herck of magica already an indication that she is made from a different structurepletely.


    ¡°Vale! Henry! They saw her!¡±


    A shout came from the direction of the crown prince, he was talking to the guard at the front gate, and it seems they noticed the girl with purple hairing inside the Ventopi town and going out immediately from the other gate.


    ¡°When did they see her?¡± Asked Vale to Justice, he and Henry went to him as soon as they heard Justice yell about the guard having a glimpse of Anne.


    ¡°Almost half a day ago, sir.¡± Said the guard, ¡°I saw her take a peek from the carriage, her purple hair was unusual of course, and when your majesty asked for a girl with purple hair color, I knew immediately it was her.¡±


    Henry looks at Justice and Vale, ¡°She goes to Viora vige, just like she was intended.¡±


    The two guards then surprisingly shouted at Henry, ¡°Captain! Sir! Please do not go to Viora vige right now.¡±


    The three of them look at the two guards with astonishment, Vale even needs to tell them to calm down for a bit.


    ¡°Alright, what happened? The two of you seem to experience some horror.¡± Vale said to the two guards with a calm demeanor.


    ¡°I am sorry sir, I mean captain, but Viora vige was on the brink of destruction right now.¡± The guard told them with a slight sadness in his tone.


    They were devastated by now, this is not a piece of good news, Justice grab one of the soldiers and demanded more answers.


    ¡°Tell me, what exactly happened? Why do you say that Viora vige was destroyed?!¡± Justice practically yelled at them.


    The guards were nervous, they were stuttering when they tried to answer Justice, ¡°No... No, Your Majesty, we meant that it was on the brink of being destroyed, there was... There was an earthquake two days ago, the source tells us it wasing from Viora vige.¡±


    Not wasting any moment, the three of them jumped into their horses and galloped their horses towards the Viora vige. Brom looked at them and worry came into his face, the two guards yelling in frustration towards the three gentlemen who were already gone from their view.


    ¡°What happened?! Why were they in a hurry?!¡± Da grab into Brom¡¯s shoulder and demanded an answer.


    Brom was in shock as well, he turn his head to Da and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened, but I know for sure, it wasn¡¯t good news.¡±

 Chapter 120

    120 Come,e into the forest


    The night has fallen, moonlight in the sky radiating the way of Justice, Vale, and Henry through the forest and the road. They weren¡¯t stopping even for a drink or something to eat, they only stop in order to make the horses have some rest. That was the time Brom and Da could finally catch up with them.


    ¡°Must you leave us behind like that, Captain?!¡± Brom red at the three of them while he needs to take a deep breath after another tiring journey.


    Da took the horses to the small stream where the other three horses were already enjoying some refreshing water. She took five homemade pills from her pouch and gave them to all the horses. Henry saw her and was curious about the pills.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Asked Henry, pointing at the leftover pills in Da¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Energy pill, so the horses would not be easily tired and sick.¡± Said Da to Henry, she looks at Henry and tried to pry for more answers, ¡°I am sorry, captain, but I need to be asking you something.¡±


    Henry looks at her and curiosity alsoes to him. ¡°Yes, what is it?¡±


    ¡°It maybe looks like that I was prying in, but... Howe the four of you could be so obsessed with Anne?¡± Before Henry could answer her properly, she raised her hand and said, ¡°I mean, I am happy for her, but the four of you seem a bit of excessive with your fascination towards her.¡±


    ¡°I am sorry Da, if only we could give you the proper exnation,¡± Said Henry to Da, he then gave her another reason for his feeling for Anne, ¡°But I could tell you with much confidence, that I... We are so much in love with her and care for her wellbeing, she gave us something that we never had before.¡±


    Smiling at Henry, she nodded her head, ¡°That¡¯s all I wanted to ask, captain, thank you so much.¡±


    .....


    Half an hourter, they were on the road again, mountains and valley, and they will reach Viora vige soon.


    Vale smelled something foul, an unpleasant odor that make his nose wrung. He screamed at Justice, just to make sure that he also smells the odor, ¡°Justice! did you smell it?!¡±


    Justice nodded his head, and with a frown, he told Vale about the odor. ¡°Yeah, that was burning flesh.¡±


    ¡°This is bad! Something definitely happened at the vige!¡± Screamed Henry. He even tried to make his horse run faster.


    Brom begins to cast a powerful spell, a spell called Insight, which could give him a better sight of anything that is in front of him, miles and miles away. Using an insight spell, he gets to see Viora¡¯s vige right away. What he saw was something out of a horror show. Burning buildings and houses, avnches that trapped people inside their houses, wailing and desperation everywhere.


    ¡°Brom, what did you see?¡± Asked Da, she knows about the new powerful spell that Brom has gained.


    After a while, he cast off the spell and looked frustrated into Da. ¡°Not good. We need to stop before we reached Viora vige.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s ask them to stop, for now. I¡¯ll take care of the horses and you speak with them.¡± Said Da to Brom.


    Brom requested them to stop, and while Da took the horses to eat, he speak to the three of them about the situation in the Viora vige.


    ¡°Captain, I was gaining the new powerful spell that acquired me to see afar with my eyes, and what I saw in Viora vige is not good.¡± He looked into Vale and tried to convey the message as calmly as he could.


    Vale, Henry, and Justice look at each other. They are not ready to hear that what they were afraid of s bing the truth now.


    ¡°Tell me, what happened there?¡± Asked Vale to Brom.


    Taking a deep breath, Brom let out his concern, ¡°About the earthquake, turns out it was the truth, captain... There was an earthquake and everything inside the viger was destroyed.¡±


    The devastating news makes the three of them stunned and horrified. Justice still holds hope that the rumor about the incident in the Viora vige turns out to be false, but it wasn¡¯t the case. Henry curses and even punches one of the trees. Vale shook his head and with a pale face, he turn his attention to Brom.


    ¡°No! Are you sure, Brom?¡± Asked Vale to his subordinate.


    Brom gave him a grim look, his memory still fresh with what was in store for them at Viora vige, ¡°I¡¯m afraid so, captain.¡±


    ¡°Well, what are we waiting for? Let¡¯s go!¡± Justice screamed at all of them. He was panicking.


    Brom hold into Justice¡¯s shoulder, and prevented him from going to his horse, ¡°Wait, your majesty, I need to tell you something as well.¡±


    Justice looks at him with a frown on his face, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I saw Anne, and she was trapped inside of jail bubble deep into the forest beside a drainedke.¡± Brom finally gave the information that he withheld for a moment.


    Vale turns his head to Justice. ¡°It is the forest where you have met with the witch of the mountain, right?¡± Asked Vale to Justice.


    ¡°Yes, I saw her there, with an unconscious Anne...¡± He went quiet for a short time, and with frustration in his voice, Justice rustled his hair, ¡°Gods! Thisplicated all of it.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we need to save the vigers, but also Anne.¡± Vale agreed with Justice. He tried to find an excellent way to get through this predicament.


    Not long after, a big bird with silver furs flew lower to them. Silver Hawk was here, he perch on Vale¡¯s shoulder and gave them some news.


    ¡®Master, captain Xavier was already inside the Viora vige. He brought the werewolf pack with him.¡¯


    All of them were surprised by the news. Vale talks to his familiar before jumping into his horse. ¡°Good job, Silver Hawk. You can get some rest now.¡±


    ¡®I must refuse the order, for now, master,¡¯ Said Silver Hawk to Vale. ¡®I wanted to help you, and will take the liberty of resting afterward.¡¯


    Smiling at his familiar, Vale brushed into Silver Hawk¡¯s fur, ¡°Thank you Silver Hawk, but remember to get into my shadow when you¡¯re tired.¡±


    Rushing into the vige, Justice, Vale, and Henry were anxious as soon as they heard about Xavier that arrived early in the vige.


    ¡°Gods! He must be using his werewolf power to reach the vige. He probably enrages right now.¡± Muttered Justice.


    ¡°Knowing Xavier, you¡¯re probably right,¡± Henry told Justice with a slight smirk on his face. Henry calmed down for a bit after they heard the news about Xavier.


    They were right. As soon as they reached the vige, the werewolf pack was already working to save the vigers, although there were casualties. At least they can minimize it after evacuating them to the safest point of the area.


    Xavier was already transforming back, and when Justice saw him, he shook his head in desperation, ¡°We need healers. There were too many victims, this is bad, and I don¡¯t even see Anne everywhere.¡±


    ¡°Sabrina, go to Ventopi and asked for Healer¡¯s request.¡± Henry talked to his familiar, and soon after, a small red bird came from his shadow and flew away.


    Looking around the ruined vige, Justice asked Xavier about another two people, ¡°Where¡¯s Martha and Ed? Did you see them?¡±


    ¡°No... I asked the vigers, but there were no signs of them everywhere.¡± Xavier shook his head with a grim face.


    Cursed at the bad news, Justice called for his sword and asked the other three to follow him, ¡°I know where Anne was. Let¡¯s go and prepare your weapon.¡± He walks with his weapon ready in his hand. ¡°We have a witch to kill.¡±


    The four of them step carefully into the forest, the condition of the forest is still the same as three months ago. The charred trees with only ck and sadness inside this forest, Vale saw something that make him gasp. There was a big hole in the ground, with a lighting from under the hole, a rainbow color light.


    Dropping into the ground, Vale calls for everyone to see what he found. ¡°You need to see this... This is the first impact of the earthquake.¡±


    ¡°So, the earthquake wasing from here?¡± Said Justice, observing the big hole in the ground.


    ¡°Yes, your majesty, did you like my work?¡± Said a woman¡¯s voice from one side of therge tree.


    They ready the weapon and put a defensive mode into the source of the voice. The witch of the mountain was standing in front of them, with her beautiful long ck hair, slender body, and her rainbow color eyes. She smiled at them and, in a seductive manner spoke to all of them while embracing the tree.


    ¡°Hello, my heroes, so lovely that I finally see all of you together like this.¡± Said the woman whom they called the witch of the mountain.

 Chapter 121

    121 Is this a goodbye?


    In front of the four of them there she stand, the woman whom they were searching for such a long time. The woman with a beautiful face, long ck hair, and unusual rainbow color eyes. She wasughing maniacally while dancing around.


    ¡°Oh, how I long for this day toe, another chapter of my life, meeting with the four handsome hunters who were frantically searching for me in every corner of the kingdom.¡± Said the woman that they were calling the witch of the mountain.


    ¡°You... What do you want exactly?!¡± Screamed Justice to the woman, his eyes red with fury, ¡°And where is Anne? Why do you keep her with you?!¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes, the girl with an unusual purple color hair...¡± The witch gave a specific trait of Anne with a smirk on her face, ¡°So, what about my gift? Did all of you like her? Oh, wait, I guess you all do.¡±


    ¡°It was you who cast the bewitched spell on us, right?¡± Said Vale to the witch. ¡°I know you¡¯re capable of doing wicked things like this.¡±


    The witch¡¯s eyes go straight to Vale. ¡°I guess one of you could put two into tow together. Good job, magi, and for your question, I was the one who put the bewitched spell on four of you.¡±


    Justice, Xavier, and Henry were astonished when they heard the fact, although not so much for Vale. They were wondering about this, about who¡¯s the one that could inflict an ancient and powerful spell of the bewitched spell. Not to wonder about the insanity that is induced by the spell, how they be obsessed with an innocent woman, and almost make her life turned upside down.


    ¡°You make us obsessed with Anne. Why?¡± Xavier tried to pry the witch with a tangible answer. ¡°Why do you want us to be obsessed with an innocent girl like her?¡±


    The witch suddenly giggles, and when the giggles turn into a burst ofughter, she looks into the four of them. ¡°Innocent? Are you sure that the girl is innocent? How much do you know about her? The sweet girl, the kind girl from a rural vige, is it really her true identity?¡±


    .....


    Justice clenched his fist. He was done talking to the witch. On the other hand, Vale was trying to get more information from her. He carefully grabs into Justice¡¯s hand and whispered.


    ¡°Not yet. We need to know the whole story from her. I mean, there must be something about Anne that makes her decide to use the girl as the object of affection.¡± Vale was desperately trying to convey his reason to his friend.


    On the other hand, Justice couldn¡¯t take it anymore and almost jumped into the witch if it was not for Xavier who hold him from behind. They knew the desperation, the rage, not just because the witch was ying with their feelings, but because she also made Anne the victim of their disputes.


    ¡°No, Justice, listen to Vale, we need to know the whole truth!¡± Xavier desperately clings to Justice.


    Theughter from the witch just made the crown prince agitated. He squirmed, even though Xavier overpowered him. Vale and Henry stepped closer to the witch, and both of them could maintain their calm and collected manner towards the witch.


    ¡°Tell us! Why us? And why Anne? what exactly do you want to achieve here?!¡± Asked Henry. He was as furious as the others, but like Vale, he wanted to know the whole truth.


    The witch looked at the four of them with a mocked on her face. She was enjoying this moment, the moment that she always cherishes more than once.


    ¡°Aaah... it¡¯s good to see that I could still irritate the four of you this bad.¡± The witch moaned with such pleasure when she spoke to them once more, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the next chapter has just begun. Be patient since the main character will never be changing.¡±


    The four of them were stunned. The witch was talking with puzzling words, and nothing make sense from everything that she spoke of.


    ¡°Still irritated us?¡± Asked Vale, he tried to get closer to the witch, trying to get something, or anything from her face, ¡°We never met you before, this is the first time for me, Xavier, and Henry to see you in person, even Justice just get a glimpse of you and never more until now.¡±


    As it turns out, the witch never even intended to answer any more of their question. Her eyes flicker, and her long ck hair was raising into the air. She was hovering andughing maniacally once again. Vale was trying to cast a powerful spell but the witch¡¯s hand pointed at him, she makes Vale lose his voice, and he even tried to gasping for air.


    Justice and Xavier jumped into her with their weapon ready to hack the witch, but reflected protection put the two of them on the ground immediately. Henry tried to defend his friend, knowing his capacity in battle will always be the weakest.


    ¡°Stand back! What do you want from us?!¡± Henry tried to intimidate the witch, who was trying to get closer to them.


    Before the witch attacked the four of them, Brom wasing from behind and cast full protection on the four of them.


    ¡°Captain! Everyone! Are you alright?!¡± Shouted Brom at them.


    Henry looked into the witch, but what he saw was something out of the ordinary. The witch looks horrified. Her eyes lock onto Brom, and in a second, she runs into the darkness of the forest and disappears.


    ¡°Henry! what happened?!¡± Justice finally awakens after getting knocked out from the fall.


    ¡°Oh, thank God! We almost got killed by the witch.¡± Said Henry, while he helped Justice back to his feet.


    Brom came and tried to help Vale, who was still gasping for air. He cast a spell that proved to be effective and Vale could breathe once more. Henry stared at Brom, he knows the witch run away because of Brom. Something about him made the witch afraid.


    ¡°Anne! we need to find Anne, now!¡± Justice screamed and run as fast as he could into the deepest of the forest.


    After walking for five minutes, they saw her inside the jail bubble. She was sitting in the center of the bubble. She was scared and had not even noticed her rescuer.


    ¡°Anne, are you alright?!¡± Henry asked her, while he tried to break the jail bubble.


    ¡°Henry?¡± Anne finally looks up and saw the others. ¡°Oh everyone, you¡¯re all here.¡±


    ¡°Stand back! I¡¯ll use my axe to tear this jail apart!¡± Shouted Xavier to Anne.


    Hearing how serious Xavier was, Anne goes as far away as she can be, and when Xavier sessfully broke the jail, they look at her with the same relief. They knew she was safe, and somehow, in their twisted mind, that¡¯s all that mattered to them.


    ¡°Oh, I am so d to see all of you?¡± Anne said to them with a smile on her face, but as soon as her smile bloomed, she remember something else, ¡°Oh my God! rice! My parents!¡±


    ¡°I saw rice helping the vigers with her fianc¨¦.¡± Said Brom to her, he then added, ¡°As for your parents... I am sorry, Anne, I wish I have some piece of good news for you.¡±


    Anne dropped into the ground and wailed, Xavier need to carry her along the way to the vige, everyone still trying to recover, the houses and the buildings were gonepletely, and the victims were being put in one ce for identification. Anne walked into the tent, and rice was there to give her somefort. Two bodies with some distinguishing features were being put into the corner.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already identified them. It seems your father was trying to protect your mother from the debris from the clinic.¡± rice whispered to Anne. She tried so hard to calm Anne by embracing her whole body. ¡°I am sorry Anne...¡±


    Anne could see the two bodies of her parents. They were smiling and with their hands tangled with each other. Her tears ran down her face while she held onto her parents¡¯ dead bodies. Justice, Henry, Vale, and Xavier couldn¡¯t do anything for her. They were mad and felt how weak they were at this moment.


    One day after, the funeral was held for the victims of the earthquake. Anne was sitting inside the tent while the priests and priestesses sang the mourning song for all the victims. The four gentlemen following her into the tent tried to engage in a conversation with her, but to no avail.


    Justice was trying to open a conversation with her. ¡°Anne, it¡¯s probably best that we...¡±


    ¡°Did you know how my parents found me?¡± Said Anne so suddenly to the four of them, she smiled with tears running down her face, ¡°They found me on the crystal river, closer to the valley, they took care of me and always think of me as their own daughter.¡±


    Henry look sympathizes with her, ¡°Anne... You don¡¯t have to tell us...¡±


    ¡°Even though they knew I wasing from another world.¡± With her bravery, Anne told them the truth. Their faces were awestruck, never urred to them that Anne was from the same world as them. She took her mourning hat and open the tent. Before she goes outside, she looks at the four of them, one by one, ¡°I want all of you to drink the cure, and forget about me. Goodbye.¡±


    Her smile widened, but her eyes were telling them lies. She walked away from them and, with a sigh of relief, left the four of them inside the tent.


    Justice¡¯s hand was shaken. He took the cure from his deep pocket and drinks the whole vial; the others follow suits; they leave the once rural and beautiful vige of Viora after the funeral. Anne saw them leaving her behind, and with a whispered goodbye, she walked onto the opposite road from the four men who were now upying her heart.

 Chapter 122

    122 Two yearster


    A red hair man with red eyes was in a very distressing situation, he looks at his chief guard and slightly begged him with pleading eyes. Justice was inside his study, doing mountains of paperwork. He was already tired and frustrated looking at the documents.


    ¡°Come on Bernard, I was cooped up inside this study for more than three hours now. I need to take some breather as well!¡± Justice throws his quill into his desk and even sulks like a child.


    Bernard rolled his eyes, fed up with his antics. ¡°Your majesty? Did you really need to behave like this?! you¡¯re a grown man, the crown prince of this nation!¡±


    ¡°Yet, I could even get enough free time, just for once. I¡¯m already cooped up inside the pce for a week!¡± Justice was so frustrated by his situation, he even rustled his perfect style of red hair just to make his point.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t do anything about it, the empress herself gave me a direct order for you to stay in this study until all of these documents are reviewed, approved, and signed with your signature, your majesty.¡± Said Bernard with a firm voice standing beside Justice.


    ¡°Ugh, seriously hate this.¡± Gruntled Justice, while his eyes red at his chief guard.


    A knock on a door makes the two of them a bit surprised because of how quiet the study room was. A pce attendant came inside and said, ¡°Captain Vale, your majesty.¡±


    The crown prince just instructed the attendant to let him go inside and then added, ¡°It¡¯s primary captain Vale now, don¡¯t you forget.¡±


    ¡°Stop! Do you have to remind people everywhere about my new rank?!¡± Vale grunted and then sit on the sofa. He was tired after training the new magi in the new training center in the outer region of the capital.


    .....


    ¡°What are you doing here? I am busy, as you can see.¡± Justice was muttering, showing Vale another document in his hand to be reviewed.


    Vale was in the middle of pouring the aggrus into a ss. ¡°Xavier told me that Henry will be back soon.¡±


    Justice was intrigued by his words. ¡°Really? Finally, after almost two years following Horden everywhere.¡±


    Two years have gone by, and after the incident that destroyed Viora¡¯s vige from the map, Justice, Vale, Henry, and Xavier after drinking the cure of the bewitched spell, no longer have an obsession with a girl named River Anne. She disappears entirely from their life, and the four of them moved on, doing everything they could day by day.


    Just recently, Vale got a new rank as a primary captain, while Xavier took Xander on his wings as one of the newest graduates of the knight. The only thing that stays the same was Justice, doing his crown prince duty with Javier and Jason as his helper, while Henry decided to take an indefinite leave from his knight duty and join his grandfather on a journey to every corner of the Valorian kingdom. He sent them news every once in a while. Seems like Henry was so keen to improve himself after the incident with the witch of the mountain.


    They were hurt, body and soul. The witch was too powerful, and when Henry saw what kind of destruction, the witch has done. She could incapacitate Vale in a second, and put Justice and Xavier on the ground, while he couldn¡¯t even do anything as fear came rushing in. Henry knew he needs to be stronger if he want to fight the witch once more. Hence, the journey begins with Horden, where he learns a new fighting skill and gains knowledge from his adventure.


    Justice never resented Henry¡¯s decision. He would love to do the same if he could, but dutyes first as he is the crown prince of the kingdom. Vale also had done a tremendous job in just two years. He was able to be the primary captain and was now inmand of the captains with their subordinates.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Xavier right now? We need to talk.¡± Said Justice to Vale, while he sat beside the primary captain and took the aggrus ss.


    Bernard felt the need to remind his crown prince about his leeway. ¡°Your majesty, you need...¡±


    ¡°Five minutes, Bernard! I just need some breather!¡± red the crown prince to his chief guard.


    ¡°Come on, he was just doing his duty,¡± Vale was chuckling, looking at how stressed Justice is right now. He tried to save the old chief guard. ¡°Right Bernard, you¡¯re only doing your duty.¡±


    ¡°Right... Primary captain Vale.¡± Said, Bernard.


    ¡°If only you could just call me Vale.¡± Vale looked at Bernard with a sigh.


    ¡°He will never do it, too proud for his own good,¡± Scoffed Justice at his chief guard, he let out a sigh and go back to his desk, ¡°I guess, I need to finish this and finally be able to join you and Xavier for weing Henry back.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯ll do that,¡± Teased Vale to his friend, he stands up and walk into the door. ¡°And for me, it would be a long day on my bed then.¡± Said Vale, waving his hand and leaving the crown prince¡¯s study.


    Both of them looking at Vale, who was leaving the study. Bernard turned his attention to the red hair crown prince on the desk, and a pang of sympathy came to him. Just like Vale, Justice¡¯s daily life is full of duties, and resting in his chamber, he goes to meet with his best friends from time to time, but never does Bernard saw him with a femalepanion.


    ¡°Your majesty... are you going to get some rest in your chamber after this?¡± Asked Bernard to Justice.


    Justice took a nce at Bernard and chuckled, ¡°Yes, Bernard, what else that I supposed to do? My mother already tiring me with these documents already.¡±


    Bernard went quiet for a moment and then asked him the questions that he sometimes wanted to convey to the crown prince, ¡°About miss Anne...¡±


    A m on the desk makes Bernard immediately stop asking him the questions, Justice then gave his chief guard a smile and said, ¡°I think I will need to rest now, so take these that I have already signed, I will do the rest, tomorrow.¡±


    After giving the instruction to Bernard, Justice walks out of the study room without looking on his back. Bernard could only give a sigh and shook his head. That was the typical reaction from Justice whenever Bernard mentioned a certain beautiful young woman with astonishing purple hair. He never knew what happened to them two years ago, when he got back to the capital with a defeated expression and only announced to his family about Viora¡¯s destruction. When the empress and her kings came to once the beautiful vige of Viora, it was already toote. Thend was redeemed, unliveable, magma was flowing from underground, everything burned to a crisp, and not even a single tree was alive.


    The vige bes a cursed one, and they put fences over the Viora vige and the survivor goes away to live in another area. Anne¡¯s whereabouts were uncertain. The only people that she had been in contact with were her two friends on the exam period and Brom, which already be a captain by now.


    A man came out from a small inn. He looked around and there was only an empty street. Let out a sigh and he goes to another part of the town, where there lies a garden with a bench. There he found the man that he had been looking for, a beautiful man with long blonde hair and blue eyes.


    ¡°Henry, what are you doing here? You need to go to sleep. We have a long day tomorrow.¡± Said the man to Henry.


    Henry turned his head to see Horden looking back at him. The old man smiled and then sit with him on the bench. ¡°Couldn¡¯t sleep again?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, still the same nightmare...¡± Muttered Henry while he look up into the clear night sky, ¡°The moon looks beautiful today.¡±


    ¡°Henry, sooner orter you need to face this nightmare of yours.¡± Horden looks into his grandson with concern on his face.


    After the Viora incident, Henry came to him with a broken heart and asked him to teach him to be a better fighter. Horden then took him away for a long journey, thinking that his grandson might need it the most. They be closer after two years of adventure together.


    Henry let out a sigh, andined to his grandfather, ¡°Could we just... Enjoying the night together? We are going to go back to the capital tomorrow, you know?¡±


    ¡°I have some news, Henry.¡± Said Horden as calmly as possible.


    Henry finally turned his attention to Horden. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Well, I just got some urgent assignment for you. It was all in this letter.¡± Horden gave Henry an envelope with a knight insignia attached to it. He opened the letter and cursed, ¡°Great! Tell me this is not the truth?!¡±


    ¡°About your reassignment as the captain of the knight?¡± Asked Horden, trying to avoid another hidden assignment on the letter.


    Frowning at Horden, Henry tried to let his grandfather admit his new assignment, ¡°Grandpa, just tell me...¡±


    Horden let out a sigh and looks at Henry with a firm face, ¡°Fine, they wanted us to go and search for the missing registered healer named River Anne.¡±

 Chapter 123

    123 The reassignment letter for the knight captain


    The night in the small town was quiet, but the stars were brighter. Henry looks up and tried not to think about his reassignment. Thinking that he will meet with her once more, the one that lies, who gave them heartbreak and distraught.


    He always kept the rage inside of him, but also, there were so many questions that he wanted to convey to her, the girl with mesmerizing purple hair, that will always amaze him. He let out a sigh and stands up from the chair.


    ¡°Sabrina, are you there?¡±


    A beautiful red cardinal came out from Henry¡¯s shadow. ¡®Yes, my brooding handsome master, I am at your disposal.¡¯


    ¡°I want you to go to Justice and told him that I got my reassignment, and he could shove his great sword into his *ss!¡± Said Henry to Sabrina, he was full of anger because of the reassignment and suspected that Justice was the one who gave him the reassignment mission.


    ¡®I am sorry, master. Do you want me to convey the message wholeheartedly?¡¯ Sabrina tilted her small head, trying to convince henry about his crude message.


    ¡°Yes, and I mean every word of it,¡± Henry said to Sabrina with gritted teeth.


    Sabrina flies away, but not before grumbling, ¡®How rude to let ady say that kind of words.¡¯


    Henry saw his familiar fly into the night sky. He chuckles, looking at her, and then walks away back to the inn, trying to take some rest even when he knows it was a futile attempt. Horden saw him take the other bed beside him, and he stared at his grandson for a while, even though Henry didn¡¯t make any sound or move around. Horden knew he wasn¡¯t sleeping at all.


    .....


    Worried about henry¡¯s health, he hoped that meeting with Anne would give him a cure for his unhealthy habit. Although he knows, it is also not a good idea to meet with the one source that gave his grandson anxiety. He asked about her, and there was no answer from his grandson. His eyes darken and his mannerism bes more crude and brash.


    The next day, the two of them eat breakfast in the inn restaurant Horden got a headache about Henry¡¯s reassignment.


    ¡°Now, to my knowledge, the young miss never revealed to everyone where exactly she was going for two years, how we are going to find her now?¡± Horden grumbled while his eyes were on the ss map on the table.


    The ssmap is the new invention of the alchemia tower. Instead of looking into an old scroll of the map with ancient drawing, you will now get a view of the actual town and vige, you can even pinpoint the location of a person, as long as the ss map already get the image of the person.


    ¡°I know three people that knew her whereabouts.¡± Muttered Henry during his time in between chewing the meat and some aggrus, another unhealthy habit that Henry developed over the course of two years.


    ¡°Oh, do you mean her two friends during the exam period?¡± Said Horden, remembering two people that were sometimes apanying Anne.


    Henry nodded at Horden, ¡°Yes, and also Brom, since he was dating Anne¡¯s female friend.¡±


    ¡°Brom? The now magi captain Brom? Oh, never knew the day where he is getting a female friend where you don¡¯t even interact with one.¡± Snickered Horden towards his grandson.


    Henry just red at his grandfather. He wasn¡¯t even denying Horden¡¯s usation. Two years after the Viora incident, part of his heart died with the cure. He wasn¡¯t the same afterward. The one who likes to flirt or have fun with people at parties, with his bright smile and neat look, was gone. He was being reced with a brood swordsman, with long blonde hair and an unkempt look.


    Looking at how persistent his grandson was to be as quiet as possible, he let out a sigh and asked Henry again, ¡°Fine, so where should we go now? Capital is a long way to go to ask Brom.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know that one of her friends was on a mission in the nearest Bordertown.¡± Said Henry with disinterest on his face. Looks like boredom just came to him.


    ¡°Who? The huntsman?¡±


    Henry shook his head, ¡°No, the magi, I forgot his name. Darius or something... Oh David, yes, his name is David.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to meet with this, David. Chief Hale needs to meet with her as soon as possible.¡± Said Horden while he put the empty ss of moomilk on the table.


    Henry turns his attention to Horden. ¡°Wait, who¡¯s the one who reassignment me?¡±


    ¡°Prince Jason, on a request of chief Hale, tried to develop a new medicine and believes that Anne already gained the knowledge of the recipe,¡± Horden exined to him with a frown on his face, ¡°I assumed you already knew about this.¡±


    ¡°No! I thought it was Justice who sent me the reassignment mission!¡± Henry was frustrated. He couldn¡¯t believe that he sent Sabrina to berate his friend.


    ¡°Howe you think it was from the crown prince?! You can even see prince Jason¡¯s initials on the back of the envelope!¡± Horden, face-palming himself, knew immediately that Henry was doing something with a clouded judgment. ¡°You¡¯re making me worry now, Henry.¡±


    ¡°Why? Because I thought this stupid reassignment was from Justice?¡± Henry asked his grandfather a bit more harshly than he intended, he hate it when Horden could see far inside his mind. Henry doesn¡¯t like to be judged, ites with a territory nowadays.


    ¡°No... because I don¡¯t like to see what are you going to do when you meet with her.¡± Muttered Horden, his face looking into his grandson with sympathy.


    Henry gave him sighed, he stands up from the table and excused himself for a while. Horden knew that he just wanted to avoid him for a little while before departing to Bordertown.


    ¡°Ah, Anne, what did you do to him?¡± He muttered while sipping into another ss of moomilk.


    They arrived at Merlinni town, a new border town that was a fisherman town one year ago. The ndestine tower is in green color, a sign that the town is now safe from the hoard. People already walking around where the military personnel are giving them a hand in every destruction that urred. Henry and Horden tried to find David by asking around, but so far, the guards couldn¡¯t give them a definitive answer.


    ¡°Excuse me, may I acquire the identification from both of you?¡±


    A sweet voice came from behind them when Horden and Henry turned to look at the source of the voice. What they see is a petite woman with a guard uniform. She was smiling at them with her right-hand open in front of them.


    ¡°Identification please, gentlemen.¡± Said the woman once again, with a very addicted smile on her face.


    Horden took a nce at Henry, ¡°Gave her your reassignment envelope since you don¡¯t have your badge right now.¡±


    ¡°I lost the envelope.¡± Said Henry with disinterest on his face.


    Horden¡¯s eyes grew wide, ¡°You lost your reassignment letter?! Oh my God! Henry!¡±


    ¡°Rx. What else can she do to us? Arrested two innocent people?¡± Henry said to his grandfather while yawning.


    The petite girl put her hands on her waist, she was smirking, and said, ¡°Yes, that was exactly what I was going to do, boys! Take them to jail.¡±


    The two of them got thrown into jail, where Horden just can¡¯t stop berating Henry over his mistake.


    ¡°Unbelievable Henry! Now what?!¡± Horden was gruntled while he paced around inside the jail.


    ¡°Rx, she will release us sooner. Now I could get some rest.¡± Henryy on the small bed and gave a sigh of relief.


    Horden stared at his grandson for a moment, ¡°Son, are you trying to dy your mission?¡±


    Gasping, Henry was appalled by Horden¡¯s usation. ¡°No! I am not! I was just trying to find David as much as you do!¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?! What I saw earlier looks like a horrible act from you. Just tell me the truth!¡± Said Horden while he m into the obsidian ss jail.


    Henry stands up from the bed abruptly and yelled to his grandfather, ¡°Fine! I was buying some time, so David and all the army were already gone when I gave them the reassignment letter that was inside my deep pocket all along!¡± He said to Horden straight up, where his sunken eyes and quivering lips were trying to tell Horden something.


    Looking at Henry, the only thing that came out from Horden¡¯s mouth was full-on sympathy. ¡°Son... what happened to you? Two years and you look like a lost man, you rarely smile, can¡¯t even maintain a good rest and not to mention...¡±


    Henry dropped to the floor, his face full of agony, ¡°I... I don¡¯t know what happened to me anymore. The cure definitely helps with the obsession, but...¡±


    ¡°The cure? What are you talking about, Henry?¡± Horden was confused by the poor man¡¯s answer.


    Before they couldmunicate more, two people came into the jail room. The petite guard brings another person, a man with a white pale skin and a corporal magi badge on his uniform.


    ¡°There they are, Corporal David, just like when you saw them from afar.¡± Said the petite guard.


    David looked at the two of them with slight astonishment. ¡°Captain Henry, what are you doing here?¡±


    Henry and Horden look at each other, and the elderly man smile at David, ¡°We came looking for you.¡±

 Chapter 124

    124 Never again for her


    David, Anne¡¯s best friend, looks at the two men inside the jail. He recognizes Henry and Horden but is surprised to see there was a change in Henry¡¯s personality. He asked Marina, the chief guard in Merlinni town, to release the two of them and invited henry and Horden to have lunch together at a small seaside restaurant.


    The fisher was back on the boat after the army fought hard to defeat the monsters on the hoard. They say goodbye to their family and went away for a day. Living here means there¡¯s a ny percent chance that your family is a fisher or has a family¡¯s own business rted to the fishery. Merlinni town, once a thriving fisherman town, until a year ago, the portal conjured on this beautiful town.


    After ordering food for them, David huffed and looks at Henry and Horden once again.


    ¡°So, I am afraid I must ask you now, why are the two of you searching for me?¡± David asked them with a frown came into his face, of course, curiosity wille since Henry and Horden never actually spoke to him before.


    Horden keeps ncing at Henry, and when thetter just keeps his gaze on the ocean, he let out a sigh and speaks to David, ¡°We need to see miss Anne, and I was being told that you¡¯re one of three people that know her location.¡±


    ¡°I kind of knew that you were here to meet me because of Anne.¡± Chuckles David, his eyes turn into Henry, ¡°Was it for your reassignment, captain Henry?¡±


    ¡°Yes...¡± Answered Henry without turning his head to David, he just kept looking at the ocean, trying to disconnect from the two of them entirely.


    Looking at Henry, David was convinced the man was not even trying to meet with his friend. He never even speak anything, and only gave him small talk. Henry was, in fact, not interested in seeing Anne right now. He just wanted to be reassignment, and once again he cursed his bad luck.


    ¡°Look, no offense to your grandson, but I don¡¯t think Anne wanted to see him, right now,¡± David was hinting at Horden while he nudge his face towards Henry, ¡°There was something going on, between them two years ago, and Anne felt she need to go away from the capital so that they could have some breather to each other.¡±


    .....


    Somehow, David¡¯s words gave Henry chuckles. He finally turn his head to David, and said the unthinkable, ¡°Alright, you¡¯ve intrigued me. Where¡¯s Anne right now?¡±


    David was amazed by a changing manner in Henry. ¡°Are you joking, captain? I was just said...¡±


    ¡°Yes! And that¡¯s why I wanted to see the lies when she said those words directly to me.¡± Even though he wasughing but his eyes were empty.


    Chills came right into David. Whatever happened to the most beautiful knight with a charming smile? He was gone and reced with this cold man with no trace of warmness inside. Anne never actually told David and Da about what happened to them after the destruction of Viora vige. They were always wondering, whatever happened back then definitely changes her rtionship with the four gentlemen who fall deeply in love with Anne.


    ¡°Look, captain Henry... I don¡¯t know if I should give to the location of my best friend, I need to make sure that you will do no harm to her.¡± David was adamant, Anne is his best friend, even though he was going to betray her decision to hide away from the people in the capital.


    Horden prevented Henry from casting another doubt in David¡¯s mind, ¡°I¡¯ll be there, so don¡¯t you worry, I will never let miss Anne be alone with Henry.¡±


    Let out a sigh. David finally gives in to Horden¡¯s request, ¡°Alright, I give up, I¡¯ll give you Anne¡¯s location for now.¡±


    Now, even Henry was surprised. ¡°For now? What do you mean by for now?¡± Asked Henry to David.


    ¡°Anne never settled in one ce, she... Loves to go around any viges or small towns helping everyone that needs her as a healer.¡± David gave the answer, with his eyes still observing Henry¡¯s behavior. He wanted to see if there were still sparkles of excitement or adoration on his face.


    ¡°I see, I guess it will be hard to pinpoint her location then...¡± Muttered Henry with a scoff.


    Horden gave him a warning look, ¡°I¡¯m sorry about him, he just needs to get some rest.¡±


    David could see how sunken Henry¡¯s eyes were, he tried to give a sarcastic remark and said that he need more than a rest, but decided that it was probably a bad idea, ¡°Let¡¯s get something to eat and prepare for the journey, it will take one day to reach her location from Merlinni town.¡±


    Two hours passed by, and they were ready to go and leave Merlinni town. David says goodbye to all of his magi friends, and with the permission of his captain, they departed the Merlinni town to meet with Anne.


    Meanwhile, at the capital, Justice was in the middle of eating his lunch with Xavier and Vale. This time they also asked Xander to join in for the celebration as his sessful exam period, and now gaining his certification as Knight.


    ¡°Congrattions to Xander who¡¯s going to be a little minion for our friend Henry.¡± Xavier was teasing his brother while the othersughed at his antics.


    Xander red at him. ¡°I know that captain Henry is still on indefinite leave, so I¡¯ll takefort in that.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll be back soon. He was going to ask for a reassignment task when he reached the capital.¡± Vale informed Xander with a slight chuckle.


    ¡°No! you¡¯re joking, right? Oh, I never even talk to him...¡± Xander cowers on his table, while the other three are amused by his reaction.


    For two years, Xander filled the empty seats of Henry. When Henry went away, Xander came and be the new acquaintance, and by time like the new addition to their group. Henry, of course, was aware of this. He doesn¡¯t mind, because they need the three of them to let go of him as for his journey to be a stronger person.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re going to like Henry,¡± Said Justice, but then he went quiet for a while, something was weighing on his mind, ¡°Although, I felt he was... Not like the Henry that I knew... I mean, every letter or his message from Sabrina was so tense.¡±


    Xavier looks at Justice, ¡°I thought I was the one who notice something was wrong with him,¡± Xavier said, his concern to Justice as well.


    ¡°Look, probably he was in a dark ce right now, and we could help him back when hee home.¡± Said Vale to the other two. He always tried to be the calm one out of the three of them, especially after the Viora incident.


    Xavier muttered, his sad face saying it all, ¡°Let us hope so, just thinking about the devastation two years ago...¡±


    Trying to warn Xavier, Justice red at him and cut his sentences. ¡°Xavier! We already had a deal, never talked about the incident from two years ago, right?!¡±


    ¡°Calm down Justice, no need to be so agitated!¡± Xavier looks at him and tried to calm Justice, he then muttered a few words, ¡°Seriously! Not just Henry, that was changing.¡±


    ¡°Xave... Please, can we just have a good lunch?¡± Vale wasining, his appetite almost gone. Whenever Xavier tried to mention Anne, Justice will be agitated and Vale shut himself and went quiet all of a sudden.


    ¡°Eventually, we need to face her. You know that, right?¡± Xavier warned the two of them, while Xander tried to eat his lunch in peace.


    Justice drops his napkin on the table. ¡°You know, Xavier, you can just...¡±


    ¡®Your majesty.¡¯


    A voice of a familiar called for Justice from the window. All of them turned around to see Sabrina, and one of the pce attendants, open the window to let Sabrina in. She immediately flies to Justice¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡®Good day, your majesty, I came here sending a private message from my master.¡¯ Said Sabrina to Justice.


    ¡°Hello Sabrina, good to see you, yes you can give me the message right now,¡± Justice said to the little red cardinal while giving her bread crumbs.


    ¡®Right here... Your majesty?¡¯


    All of them look into Henry¡¯s familiar with a question in their head. Justice asked her once more, ¡°Yes, why are you hesitating?¡±


    ¡®Affirmative, this is my master¡¯s message... He got the reassignment, and your majesty could shove your great sword into your *ss.¡¯


    Xander choked on his food, while the other was shocked by the message.


    ¡°Wait, he was mad at me?¡± Asked Justice to Sabrina.


    ¡®Yes, he was furious. It seems the reassignment mission wasn¡¯t the one that he will enjoy.¡¯


    Thinking for a moment, he tried to remember who else besides him had the authority to instruct such a mission.


    ¡°Thank you for the message Sabrina, I¡¯ll make sure you get some rest and food before going back to Henry.¡± Said Justice who then gave the red cardinal to the pce attendant, he stands up from his table and tell the others that he will be right back.


    Rushing to the third floor, he goes straight to Jason¡¯s study and when he opens the door, Jason was in the middle of reading documents from his attendant.


    ¡°What kind of reassignment that you gave to Henry?!¡± Justice demanded the answer from his brother.


    Jason looked at Justice and let out a sigh. ¡°The kind that you probably never going to give him.¡±

 Chapter 125

    125 A fantastic encountered


    It was a dark and gloomy day. Justice was already sitting on the sofa, while Jason reviewed one document before he dismissed his attendants away from his study. Jason took nced at his stubborn brother on the sofa, he took a sigh and pour some drinks.


    ¡°Alright, I assume you know about Henry¡¯s reassignment?¡± Asked Jason to his brother while he handed him a drink.


    Justice took a sip and looks at Jason tentatively. ¡°I am aware that you¡¯ve given him some ridiculous reassignment mission, and I wanted to know about the mission.¡±


    ¡°Actually, the mission request came from the chief of the main hospital, chief Hale to be exact,¡± Jason said to his brother while they were enjoying the drink, an attempt from Jason to calm his brother for a bit, ¡°There¡¯s a new form of a disease that bes a major headache on the main hospital, after trying immensely to get a cure, there¡¯s an information came from a traveling circus staff about a kind healer that cures people with the same disease... A healer... With a striking purple color hair.¡±


    As soon as Jason finished the sentence, Justice¡¯s eyes went bigger, and his hand begin to shake, ¡°You... Gave a reassignment mission to Henry that involving that girl? Are you insane Jason?!¡±


    Chuckling at his drink, Jason looks at his brother and said, ¡°Insane? By what? I am not the one who put my private matter affecting my duty here?!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, brother!¡± Justice warned his brother with gritted teeth.


    ¡°Look, brother, whatever happened with the four of you and miss Anne will need to be solved by the four of you,¡± Jason said to his brother with a firm tone.


    Justice rustled his hair in frustration. ¡°You don¡¯t know what she was done to me, she... She lied to us, and that makes us angry.¡±


    .....


    ¡°Oh, so the four of you were disappointed because of the lied, but not because the four of you already lost your feelings for her?!¡± Jason smirked at the frustrated Justice, giving Jason a ring re from his brother, he raised his hand, showed that it was enough for the sarcastic remarks, ¡°Joking aside, there¡¯s nothing you can do about it. Whether or not you like it, Anne woulde back to the capital, so be prepared.¡±


    Thinking hard for a moment on the sofa, Justice couldn¡¯t conjure appropriate words for his brother. They were drinking in silence for a while. For Justice, what Jason had said has some truth in it. They prepare for it. Whenever Anne decided to go back as the healer in the main hospital, she has the certification after all.


    From the looks of it, what happened in the main hospital was something that the healers need to handle carefully. Even chief Hale needs to ask for Anne¡¯s help. In Justice¡¯s mind, the healers in the main hospital were desperate.


    Before he excused himself from Jason¡¯s study, Justice turn his attention to his brother. ¡°I have a request then.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Asked Jason, curious per his request.


    ¡°Please tell me her answer, whether she will be back in the capital or not.¡± Justice pleaded with his brother, who then gave him his approval.


    He went out of the study room, where Jason looks at him and gave out a long sigh of relief. Justice goes to the sshouse, the ce where they always take a breather after a hard day of work. Xavier, Xander, and Vale were already waiting for him and demanded an exnation.


    ¡°What happened? Howe you just go outside?¡± Xavier looks at Justice. He was surprised by his sudden walk away earlier.


    Without telling them anything, Justice prefers to drop into the plush sofa and looked into the greenery from the upper deck of the sshouse, the beautiful nts and flowers dominating the space, he knows one girl that she would love to be on the upper deck, and admiring the flowers.


    ¡°Justice... What happened? Why you went quiet?¡± This time it was Vale who asked him.


    He took a deep breath, and said to the two of them, ¡°Henry¡¯s reassignment mission, I know all about it now.¡±


    Xavier and Vale share a nce, and then Xavier asked him further, ¡°So, what is it? What makes Henry so angry?¡±


    ¡°They want Henry to take Anne back to the capital.¡± Muttered Justice. His heady on the headrest, and his eyes were closed, telling him that he really need some rest after this headache.


    ¡°What?! That is madness! What the f*ck that Jason was thinking?!¡± Xavier was practically yelling while Xander put his book on the table.


    ¡°Wow, so prince Jason gave a reassignment mission to bring back the purple girl, huh?¡± Said Xander, he chuckles and looks at the three of them, ¡°I guess your brother just wants to have some kind of drama going on around you, your majesty.¡±


    ¡°F*ck him...¡± Gruntled Justice prefers to stay quiet and shut his eyes.


    ¡°What should we do?¡± Xavier desperately asked Vale.


    Vale shook his head, ¡°There¡¯s nothing we should do, this mission is for Henry, not us,¡± Vale gave his point and another opinion, ¡°Although, all of us will need to think a way when Anne is here.¡±


    ¡°What? do you think she will be here? I doubt it.¡± Said Xavier full of doubts.


    ¡°Well, we just need to wait and see, aren¡¯t we.¡± Justice talks to them with his eyes stay closed.


    One day has gone by, and Henry, David, and Horden continued their journey after a good rest in one of the inns. Through the ssmap, David already pinpoints the location of our heroine. She was helping people in a small vige named Quaker. It is actually a traveling circus group that built the vige to cater to their growing family and elders in one ce.


    ¡°So, the whole people in the vige are the extended family of the traveling circus group?¡± Asked Horden to David. They took time to rest in the meadow, where the horses will drink and eat grass.


    David nodded his head. ¡°Yes, the elders who can¡¯t perform anymore and also the wife and the children. Theye twice a year to take a month of rest before going back on the road.¡±


    ¡°Fascinating life that they lived in, but how about guards and clinic, or any grocers?¡± Horden seems fascinated by Quaker vige life.


    ¡°They have a moomilk and moobull farm for their need, and they nt their veggies. I never saw guards, though. That¡¯s why Anne was settled for a while there. They were in desperate need of a healer back then,¡± David exined to Horden everything about the Quaker vige, and even gave him the reason Anne was there.


    ¡°How long she was there?¡± Surprisingly, the question came from Henry, making David and Horden a bit surprised.


    A bit nervous, David answered the question. ¡°Three months, give or take. We even celebrated her twenty birthday in the vige.¡±


    Henry turns his head to David. ¡°Twenty? But Anne was gone two years ago, and she was seventeen back then.¡±


    ¡°Actually, at the time of the exam results back then, it was also her eighteen birthday.¡± Muttered David, remembering how she need to face her parent¡¯s demised not long after.


    ¡°The poor girl.¡± Said Horden.


    Henry just went quiet and stared at the meadow. Horden looks at his grandson and wonders about what is inside his mind. Stands up, Henry decided to go back to their journey. He told the other two, so they shouldn¡¯t waste any time. Don¡¯t want to make Henry grumpy for the rest of the journey. The other two just followed suit, even though they wanted to admire the meadow a bit longer.


    Galloping the horses, Henry looks a bit hesitant to go to Quaker vige. Horden felt he could never guess what was inside his grandson¡¯s mind. They were almost at the vige when they noticed something was wrong. People were screaming around. The three of them stopped before reaching the front gate.


    ¡°Intruders! Something hostile was inside the vige!¡± David screamed while he look around, a bit panicking.


    Not going to waste any time, Henry call for his crystal sword and go inside the front gate, while Horden and David followed. They saw a group of robbers taking valuables with their weapons in their hands, threatening the vigers. The children were crying, while the woman and the elders tried to calm them down.


    Henry charge recklessly at the group, he managed to scatter them, and even incapacitated arge number of them, until a huge people with a big hammer came into him and smash the ground beside him, he was fallen from his horse, blooding from his temple, a bit dizzy, he fought the huge man with good precision, the huge man once again smashes the ground and almost smashed Henry. The huge man needs some time to stable himself. Henry saw the opportunity and sh the back of the giant, and then stab his neck.


    The huge man fall to death with a loud thud, Henry looks around and saw that the rest of the robbers already run away, heughed, satisfied with his handiwork, until he saw someone close to him, a young woman with a simple dress and a basket of nts on her hand. A young woman with beautiful purple hair color, looking directly at Henry. His eyes widen and all the memories flood in.


    ¡°Anne?¡± After saying the word, Henry dropped his weapon and fall unconscious to the ground.

 Chapter 126

    126 A decision has been made


    The next time he was conscious, Henry was alreadyying on the simple bed with a wooden small table beside it. He looked around and saw a simple but cozy room the owner projected, dried flowers everywhere, and the smell of herbs enticing his nose. Henry already guested the owner of the room.


    As soon as he thinks about it, Anne enters the room. Henry was astonished just by looking at her face. She is changing, but in a good way, her face was maturing, her nose although not as sharp but still pretty to look at, her mouth now features more full lips than when she was a teenager, and her eyes now shapes to be rounder but beautiful to looks at, the purple hair color remained, but it¡¯s now in more volume and fluffy than two years ago. In a way, Anne now looks more beautiful than before.


    Their eyes met, and the situation be awkward all of a sudden. She smiled at Henry and asked him a question.


    ¡°How do you feel?¡±


    Henry tried not to look directly at her, just gave Anne a cold treatment and asked her back, ¡°What happened to me?¡±


    ¡°You fell unconscious after fighting with a half-giant.¡± She answered Henry while mixing some herbs into a ss of water.


    Scoffed after hearing Anne, Henry now feels a bit light-headed. He winces and Anne rushes into the man with the medicine in her hand.


    ¡°Take this, you had a concussion. This medicine will help ease the pain.¡± Said Anne to Henry.


    Anne tried to hand him the medicine, but Henry refused, not even trying to look at her face.


    .....


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t need the medicine.¡± He said to Anne while looking away from her.


    A sigh came from Anne. She almost pleaded for Henry to take the medicine from her hand. ¡°Please, just take the medicine.¡±


    No other words came from Henry¡¯s mouth, only a scoff, and not long after a grunt, the headache came in full force. Anne tried to check on him, but Henry rejected her hand immediately.


    ¡°Stay away from me, I don¡¯t want you to touch me!¡± Henry warned her while his face looking at the window beside the bed, ¡°Why am I here, anyway? In your room?¡± Gruntled Henry, trying to manage the pain in his head.


    ¡°How do you know this is my room?¡± Asked Anne innocently.


    Flustered, Henry stuttered at Anne, ¡°I... Well, I just knew... Now you can put the medicine on the table... I¡¯ll drink it after you leave me alone.¡±


    Anne sighed, but after all, giving in to his request, she put the medicine on the small table and leave Henry alone, but not before warning him about the consequences if he refused to drink the medicine. Henry gave her a nod, and still not going to see her face.


    The other two, Horden and David, have waiting in her living room, they stand up when she goes out of her bedroom.


    ¡°How was he?¡± Asked Horden to Anne, his face was full of concern.


    Smiling at the old man, she tells him the results, ¡°He is fine, just a concussion, already gave him the medicine, and is probably going to sleep right now.¡±


    The two of them let out a sigh of relief. Horden smile at Anne and tried to express his gratitude, ¡°Oh, thank you, Anne, if it wasn¡¯t for you...¡±


    Putting her hand in front, Anne grinned at Horden immediately, ¡°Oh it¡¯s alright Commander, I will do it for everyone, not just for Henry, it¡¯s my duty after all.¡±


    ¡°I know, dear, but still, please ept my gratitude.¡± Horden warmly smiles at Anne.


    Anne served them a caftea and begin to have a conversation.


    ¡°So... Seeing my friend, David is here, I suspected you asked him for my whereabouts?¡± Anne asked Horden while David just drink his caftea, trying to be quiet.


    ¡°Yes, I am sorry, my dear. I really need to meet you. Well, actually, chief Hale really needs to meet you.¡± Said Horden, with a guilty conscience on his face.


    A frown came on Anne¡¯s face. ¡°Chief Hale asking for me? What happened at the capital?¡±


    ¡°Apparently something serious,¡± Horden tried to exin with a sigh, ¡°There¡¯s a new variant of the disease that came to the capital, and many people are already infected by it, he was afraid that the disease will be a new pandemic soon.¡±


    ¡°What? That was absurd. Not every variant of diseases will have a potential risk of being a pandemic.¡± Anne said to Horden. She was a bit taken aback by how chief Hale tried to conclude the disease that fast.


    ¡°But he was so sure about it, and remember, the spread of the disease is triple in just two months.¡± Horden said to Anne once again, ¡°Chief Hale worried about the spread, and when he met with a member of a traveling circus that in a treatment at the main hospital for a crushed toe, he... He said something that was intriguing.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me. He told chief Hale about me, the healer that stayed in his vige.¡± This is what Anne is afraid of, someone telltale about her staying in this vige. She already begged all the men to keep her whereabouts a secret. But something tells her that the situation was so dire that the circus member needs to inform chief Hale about her.


    ¡°He did, and he also informed him about your capability to heal the new variant of the disease,¡± Horden went quiet for a while, and afterward, decided to ask Anne, ¡°Did you really have the cure for the disease?¡±


    Shaking her head, Anne looks at Horden with a bittersweet smile, ¡°There¡¯s no patented cure, I just tried to concoct some medicine that will fight the disease, it was actually a trial-and-error right now.¡±


    ¡°So, it wasn¡¯t a cure at all, just your attempted and valiant effort to help the people fighting the disease.¡± Horden put his hands on his head, frustrated by her honesty.


    ¡°I must apologize for disappointing you and chief Hale, but I truly don¡¯t have the cure.¡± Said Anne once again.


    ¡°How many people that you have treated with this new variant?¡± Said a voiceing from Anne¡¯s room. They turned around to see Henry leaning on the door frame, his face remain stiff when he looks at her, ¡°So? How much?¡±


    Anne tried to remember the exact number. ¡°Err... it was twenty people for about two months. This is a small vige, after all.¡±


    ¡°How many people that you sessfully treated?¡± Asked Henry again.


    ¡°Eighteen, two people had sadly died from the illness.¡± Her head was down, remembering the nice grandma and the ten-year-old boy that was dying in her arms.


    Horden, David, and even Henry were astonished by how high her percentage of the curing rates was.


    ¡°Anne, did you know how much percentage of the curing rates in the main hospital against this new variant of disease?¡± Horden asked her, trying to give her the reality of how crumbling the main hospital is right now, ¡°It was thirty percent, chief Hale will never ask you to go back if it¡¯s not for this dire situation that he was facing right now.¡±


    Remembering the letter that she sent to chief Hale back then, she wanted to rescind her certification and go wandering the world. Chief Hale immediately goes to her, riding a horse to the mansion of her best friend, where she stayed for a while. He asked her to keep the certification and be the certified healer in every ce that need her help.


    Anne owed her a job right now because of chef Hale. He was very convincing, and she even received her monthly sry for a one-star junior healer. With her sry, she could help people in rural areas with ease, because she doesn¡¯t need to think about coins all the time. She was a frugal person, after all. One gold coin with ten bronze points was enough for her and Chikara, who is now already a full fledge Demon cat that can hunt for his own food.


    Henry looks at Anne with a frowned. ¡°So, what¡¯s your decision, mind you? If you refused to go with me, I will use brute force to take you with me.¡±


    Anne knew immediately that it wasn¡¯t a bluffing from Henry¡¯s mouth, although she just reply to her with a sarcastic remark, ¡°Well, cry me a river, I really like to see you¡¯re trying though, since Chikara is already maturing, and now ready to attack from inside my shadow.¡±


    ¡°Would the two of you stop?!¡± Horden was not having it, ¡°Henry, you stop with your rude threat already. I have enough of it!¡± After he warned his grandson, he looks at Anne and asks her, ¡°So, do you really refuse to go back and be a healer in the main hospital?¡±


    Anne looked around her small hut, and with a sad voice. She gave Horden her answer. Two dayster, a letter came for prince Jason. It was from Henry, regarding his reassignment mission. When he read the letter, he walks immediately to Justice¡¯s study room.


    He gave a light knock and enter the room before Justice says his permission to enter.


    ¡°Well, hello to you too, brother.¡± Teased Justice. He was sitting at his desk, reviewing documents.


    ¡°Henry sent me a letter. He found Anne.¡± Said Jason immediately after he entered the study.


    Justice was frozen. He calmed himself for a while before replying to Jason, ¡°So, what did he say exactly?¡±


    Jason took a deep breath and said, ¡°River Anne agreed to go back to the capital, and resume her duty as the healer in the main hospital.¡±

 Chapter 127 - 127 Justice and Henry

    127 Justice and Henry


    Hearing news from his brother, Justice couldn¡¯t even say any words. He took a sigh and excused himself from the room. Jason hold his arm and asked him a question.


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Asked Jason to his brother. There was tension on Justice¡¯s face, he tried to think of a good answer for his brother, but then, Jason release his hold from Justice¡¯s arm and said, ¡°You know what, never mind, you have a lot on your te right now.¡±


    He let go of his brother and remained in Justice¡¯s study room, while Justice roamed around the third floor like a lizard losing its tail. Bernard looks at him and was curious about his nervousness.


    ¡°Your majesty, I thought you were reviewing the documents. What are you doing outside?¡± Bernard asked Justice with a frown on his face. He had just arrived from training the new guards in the pce.


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re back, no¡­ I was¡­ Never mind,¡± Justice was adamant to say a word to his chief guard, instead, he asked him another question, ¡°Bernard, is it possible for me to join you tomorrow for the field training?¡±


    Bernard took a hard stare at Justice. ¡°Do you want to join me for a week? To train the newbie guards in the north forest?¡± He cast a doubt on his face, ¡°Really?!¡±


    ¡°Yes! Was it so hard for you to ept that I sometimes enjoyed practicing with the guards?¡± Justice red at his chief guard.


    ¡°But, your majesty, you never join a field training with the new guards?!¡± Bernard stated the fact with a face that couldn¡¯t even ept his fate to babysit the crown prince in the field training for a week, ¡°But, we don¡¯t have the amodation for¡­¡±


    Justice, with a fake smile on his face, put his hands on Bernard¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Good! Now arrange everything for me. I¡¯ll be ready first thing in the morning.¡±


    .....


    Before Bernard could even muster a rejection or even any word, Justice said his goodbye and go back to his study. At least he got a week to avoid Anne and think of something. He let out a sigh, and sit on his study the shining blue sky and the mild breeze entice him to shut his eyes for a while. Justice always remembers the day Anne told the four of them about her identity.


    She smile so beautifully and there was a pang of sadness on her face, ¡°I want all of you to drink the cure and move on with your life.¡±


    ¡°What?! We should drink the cure, but we will never give up on you.¡± Xavier practically screamed at Anne.


    Anne shook her head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t want all of you to do that, drink the cure and move on.¡±


    Vale, the quiet one and the thinker of the four of them, confront her and demanded, answered, ¡°Give us the valid reason you don¡¯t want us to pursue your feelings anymore? Or we would never agree on drinking the cure.¡±


    Anne took a deep breath. The words that she gave to them afterward will give a huge rift between her and the four of them. ¡°Because I¡¯m a stranger in this world, I would never qualify to be someone here. Seven years ago, Ed and Martha found me on the river and took me as their daughter, despite knowing I¡¯m a woman from another world.¡±


    The four men were in shock. Henry bit his lips and with a wave of swollen anger, he asked Anne, ¡°A woman? What did you mean?¡±


    ¡°I was a forty-year-old woman in my old world, and when I got thrown here, I reversed back into the age of a ten-year-old.¡± She had said everything about her, and it makes her feel the weight finally being released from her, ¡°That¡¯s why I don¡¯t have any magica, I got thrown here by some kind of force and living my life as the adopted daughter of Ed and Martha.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ What about your name, was it really Anne? and how long were you going to keep this a secret from us?!¡± Justice felt so deceived, he was angry but he also thought he need to find more reason, feels like he tried to justify her lies and deception.


    ¡°Yes, that was my name, and¡­ I don¡¯t think I need to exin more than I already have.¡± She turned her head to avoid the four of them, tears already running down from her eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s not fair. You know everything about us, but you!¡± Her betrayal in Henry¡¯s mind was uneptable and, of course, he need to know more about the story.


    Sighing, Anne walks to the front door of the tent. ¡°Yes, That was all the exnation that you need to know from me. Please respect my decision.¡± She took her mourning hat and open the tent. Before she goes outside, she looks at the four of them, one by one, ¡°I want all of you to drink the cure, and forget about me. Goodbye.¡±


    Justice and his heartbreak, but also with unanswered questions. He was ming Anne, but it doesn¡¯t mean he was angry and furious at her. For him, Anne was evolving in his heart, from a blind obsession and now a mystery with a thorn in his heart. He smiles and goes back to his duty, thinking of the best way to release his frustration towards the new recruits.


    Meanwhile, Henry was in trouble on his own, they decide to rest for the long way tomorrow, as the captain that being held ountable for Anne¡¯s safety until they reached the capital. Although Anne felt she doesn¡¯t need anyone to guard her, as she has one of the strongest familiars now. Henry actually agrees wholeheartedly, he saw Chikara when Anne asked him to join them for a lunch. The humongous body of the demon cat with ck and fluffy fur came out from Anne¡¯s shadow. Chikara looks at him and hissed immediately, two years have gone by, seems the hatred has never gone.


    Horden took the initiative to book the room while he sat with Anne. David already went back to Merlinni town. He said that his duty was not over yet. Henry thought that he just wanted to avoid the bloodshed between him and Anne. For two days, the only thing that he and Anne were doing was throwing shade at each other. Horden and David even needed to give them a separate floor room until the bicker turned into a silent treatment to each other.


    They waited while avoiding talking to each other. Henry basically refused to look at her even for a second, while Anne didn¡¯t even want to talk to him. They were so close, but the distance between them feel so far away. Anne sometimes took a nce at Henry. His face rarely smiled, unlike his old self, but the beauty still remained there. The charming young man with blue eyes makes every woman felt hypnotize by it, into a cold fa?ade of a beautiful man that gave the woman a cold treatment with his piercing blue eyes and now long tinum blonde hair, making his appearance more dangerous but alluring.


    Horden came back with a disheartened look on his face.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Asked Henry to his grandfather.


    ¡°I look everywhere, but there was no room avable in this town.¡± Horden felt a bit worried now. They need to take some rest before going back to the capital. The guards reported that there was a sight of the dark and mischievous road on the road to the capital.


    ¡°How about asking for a room in the barrack?¡± Said Anne to Horden, she then added some exnation, ¡°Sometimes, on my journey, when there was no inn avable, I asked the administrative office for a room.¡±


    After hearing how Anne exined about the room on the barrack, Horden¡¯s face went lit like the orb¡¯s light, ¡°Oh, I forgot about those rules, you¡¯re absolutely right, Anne!¡± He looks at the two of them and forces Henry and Anne to go together to the administrative office for a room.


    Anne and Henry reluctantly joined Horden. They tried to distance themselves from each other. Horden could feel the rift between them, it saddened him, and to make matter worse, he never knew the reason for their broken rtionship.


    The administrative office in this town is just a two-story building with three women and ten men doing all the job, with three chiefs as their guidance. One of thedies came to them. Her eyes never go away from Henry, while thetter just leans on the wall looking around the office.


    ¡°How may I help you?¡± Asked the administrator to Henry.


    Horden answered thedy because waiting for his grandson to answer would be a futile attempt, ¡°Ah miss, the two of them civil servants that need a room on the barrack, since all the inns were fully booked.¡± He then gave her Anne¡¯s badge as proof.


    ¡°Wait, I need the gentleman¡¯s badge as well.¡± Said thedy while ncing at Henry.


    Henry took a deep breath, and his blue eyes go to thedy. ¡°I¡¯m on my reassignment mission right now. Just search in your document and look into the name Henry Spencer.¡±


    All the people around the room gasped when they heard Henry¡¯s full name. Thedy in her panic state just look into the room on the barrack while her face was blushing.


    ¡°Oh, my Gods! What should we do?¡± Muttered thedy towards Horden, ¡°Only one room is avable for tonight, sir.¡±


    Henry and Anne shouted at the same time, ¡°What?!¡±

 Chapter 128 - 128 Nice to meet you sir magic knight

    128 Nice to meet you sir magic knight


    The tension that came from the two of them gave the others to feel the chill that permeated from Henry and Anne. They look at the administratordy and demand a more eptable answer, which is about there¡¯s plenty of room for everyone.


    ¡°Please tell me that it wasn¡¯t the truth?!¡± Pleaded Anne to thedy at the administration office.


    The administratordy looks at her and felt sorry for her, ¡°No miss, we don¡¯t have enough room because tomorrow the royal couple wille here to meet with the governor, and we will hold a festival in the honor of Prince Javier and Princess Amelia.¡±


    ¡°Sh*t! I forgot they already married privately.¡± Muttered Henry from behind.


    Horden asked his grandson without turning his back, ¡°I never heard the wedding reception being held already. They usually have a big announcement for all the people throughout the kingdom.¡±


    ¡°They will hold the wedding reception after they go around the kingdom, probably in two or three months,¡± Henry answered Horden¡¯s question with a yawn. He was exhausted and wanted to take some sleep immediately. ¡°Just take the room. I can sleep on the sofa or on the floor.¡±


    ¡°No! At least all of us could sleep on a bed, I know you¡¯re also tired as I am.¡± Anne has her own reason to worry about Henry, she needs to observe his injured head, she is after all still a healer.


    ¡°The room has two bunk beds, miss, so the three of you could sleepfortably in a bed.¡± The administrator gave Anne a warm smile. ¡°It also has a curtain for your privacy.¡±


    The kind administrator was already making sure that Anne felt safe andfortable, she smile gratefully towards the administrator while Horden was waiting for the key to the room. Henry just couldn¡¯t say anything and grumbled from behind. Ten minutester, they arrived at the barrack.


    .....


    Army barracks mostly have the same model in every town. The big difference probablyes from the way theyyout the room. With a bigger barrack, the civil servants could live with one roommate only or sometimes have a small room for themselves. But in a small barrack, they will cramp in one room.


    This town has a typical small barrack with two bunk beds and a small firece to share. Henry immediately took one of the lower bunk bed and go to sleep without even cared to ask Horden or Anne.


    Horden put his bag on the floor and pointed at the upper bed of Henry¡¯s bed.


    ¡°No, you could use the lower bed. I¡¯ll climb thedder.¡± Said Anne, trying to prevent him from going to the upper bunk bed.


    Looking at Anne, Horden chuckles and gave her reassurance, ¡°I¡¯m alright, dear. I am not some senile old man.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I am sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to¡­¡± She looks at Horden with a pleading look.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry so much,¡± said Horden and proceed to climb thedder and rest in the upper bunk bed. He looks at Anne from above, ¡°Maybe you want to wash before going to bed?¡±


    Smiling at Horden, Anne nodded her head and excused herself. Horden goes to bed after Anne closes the door. Anne goes around to find someone to ask about the public bath. It is nine o¡¯clock in the evening, and people are probably busy in the town hall weing the new royal couple.


    She remembered Justice¡¯s brother, a handsome but womanizer prince Javier. He finally has met with the love of his life. When she heard the news for the first time, she almost dropped onto the floor, thinking that it was Justice who was going to get married. Her feelings for the four men, although hidden inside her deepest heart, she cared so much about them. But another hurdle wille around them if she pursues the feelings. That¡¯s why she needs to be hostile toward the four of them.


    But, she knows, even avoiding them like a gue carrier will never work. Anne knew something, and she promised herself to keep it a secret for the good of everyone in the kingdom. She took a sigh and failed to see a huge bodying from the opposite direction. Anne screamed but thankfully did not fall to the floor. A hand save her, it was the hand of the huge body that collided with her.


    ¡°Are you alright, miss?¡± Said the man.


    Anne looked up and saw one of the blue eyes he ever saw in her life, even bluer than Henry¡¯s eyes. Nervously, she asked the man to release the hold, and awkwardly the man finally let her go.


    ¡°I¡¯m alright sir¡­¡±


    ¡°Arthur, miss, my name is Arthur.¡± Said the man with a grin on his face, ¡°Thank God that you¡¯re okay.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir Arthur, I am fine.¡± Anne has a slight giggle when she looks at the man. She knows immediately that Arthur is a kind man.


    Arthur gave her a loudugh, he smile at Anne and said, ¡°No sir, just amoner here, miss ordy?¡±


    ¡°Miss Anne, but you can also call me Anne. Nice to meet you, Arthur.¡± Anne extended her hand and Arthur shakes it twice.


    ¡°Well, from the looks of it, you¡¯re also a civil servant, a new army member?¡± Arthur was frowning while rubbing his chin.


    Chuckling at his behavior, Anne then revealed her job. ¡°Well, not quite. I am a healer, going back to work at the capital.¡±


    Arthur¡¯s blue eyes got wide with excitement. ¡°Really?! Oh, I am going to be posted in the capital two months from now. Please let us meet again?¡±


    A bit hesitated, Anne awkwardly smile at him, ¡°Uhm¡­ Sure, I¡¯ll be waiting, for now. Could you give me a direction for the public bath?¡±


    ¡°Oh, of course, let me escort you, beautiful miss.¡±


    Arthur and Anne have a nice small talk while he takes her to the public, and when they reach the front of the public bath, Arthur asked her one more question, ¡°So, you¡¯re going to work at the main hospital, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ and thank you so much for this, appreciate that you took your time to apany me.¡± Said Anne wholeheartedly to Arthur.


    ¡°Until we meet again, miss Anne,¡± Arthur said formally, with a slight bow, making two visitors to the public bath squeal.


    When Arthur left, Anne went inside the public bath and met with the two visitors in the changing room. They still giggled at Anne, and when Anne excused herself to use another box to put on her clothes, one of thedies gives her a nudge.


    ¡°How lucky you¡¯re to befriend Arthur, the handsome captain of the magic knight.¡± Said thedy.


    Anne looked at the two of them. ¡°I am sorry, who?¡±


    The twodies looked at each other when thedy who spoke earlier exined to Anne, ¡°Oh¡­ You don¡¯t know about Arthur? The magic knight who vanquished the hoard huge monster by himself? That¡¯s why he raised to a captain rank in just three years.¡±


    Suddenly, Anne remembers the heroic and epic story of a magic knight one year ago. Now, she knew the story based on Arthur, a man with warm blue eyes and a charming smile. She takes a dip inside the public bath, and afterward, she goes straight into her room. The snoring from the upper bunk bed showed that Horden was already in his own dreand.


    When Anne prepare her bed, Henry called her from the other side of the bed.


    ¡°Anne, where were you?¡± He asked her while his cold blue eyes stared at her while he lies on his bed.


    Anne quipped and jumped. She never expected to see him still wide awake. ¡°Henry, I thought you were sleeping already? Just got back from a bath, need to freshen up a bit.¡± Said Anne with an awkward smile on her face.


    ¡°Right¡­ You don¡¯t happen to have met with a man with a muscle for days and have a very good conversation.¡± Henry says it with a very good dosage of sarcasm in it.


    With a gaping mouth, she looks at the already turn Henry and tried to make her voice as quiet as possible while still putting a punch to Henry directly, ¡°Did you spying me?! Oh my God, Henry! Get a life!¡±


    With an angry grunt, Anne goes inside her bunk bed and closes the curtain. At midnight, when Anne already fell into a deep sleep, someone open her curtain carefully. The blue eyes of Henry, staring right into Anne¡¯s face, there¡¯s a bit of hair lingering on her face. Henry brushes it away with his finger. ¡°What should I do with you? You¡¯ve betrayed us by lying, but you already took a piece of my heart with you,¡± He whispered to the sleeping Anne. Henry stared at her for a while until he went back to his bed and finally get some sleep.


    Horden heard everything from the upper bunk bed, there was a determination on his mind, he must know their secret, the one that kept them apart, and he swore from his family name, River Anne will be the most important person in Valorian kingdom, with Henry and the other three gentlemen by her side.

 Chapter 129 - 129 The unpredictable chief Hale

    129 The unpredictable chief Hale


    The morning sun was changing into the bright noon, and the three of them were inside the barrack¡¯s restaurant having their brunch and packing some food. It would take six hours on horseback to reach the capital. Henry munching his meat and veggies with a hunger that Horden never saw in his grandson.


    ¡°Slow down, Henry. The meat¡¯s not going to run away from you.¡± Said Horden with a chuckle.


    Henry ignored his grandfather and just continue to eat his brunch, although he finally eat in a proper manner. Anne took a sigh and eat her food while avoiding Henry¡¯s eyes. After the fightst night, Henry became weirdly obsessed with Anne. When he woke up, his head automatically turned to the bed beside him. Anne was reading on her bed when her eyes locked with the cold blue eyes of Henry.


    Feeling the cold blue eyes sometimes nce at her, Anne couldn¡¯t even eat her soup and bread properly. She took on herself to excuse herself from the table; she needs to go away from Henry just for a moment. Anne walked outside the restaurant when she met Arthur. He was in the middle of having a conversation with two young women; he looks at Anne and waved excitedly at her. She waved back and smile at him. Suddenly Arthur left the two young women behind, the two women shouted their disappointment.


    ¡°Hey, I thought you have already left the barrack?¡± Arthur said to Anne as soon as he reached her.


    Anne gave him a smile while her eyes nced at two angry young women from behind him. ¡°Is it okay to leave the two of them?¡±


    Arthur, not even bothered to turn on his back, just shrugged at Anne. ¡°I don¡¯t even know them. They keep pestering me when I was going to the restaurant to get something to eat. So your turn answered my question.¡±


    ¡°My¡­ friend, he was sleeping soundly and we don¡¯t want to wake him up, since I know he needs the rest.¡± She answered Arthur¡¯s question while looking around, searching for something. ¡°Did you know where can I find the general store? I need to buy some supplies.¡±


    Arthur whisked her hand and said, ¡°Oh, Let me help you¡­¡±


    .....


    ¡°Anne!¡± Before Arthur could even finish his sentences, Henry called for Anne and grab her hand from Arthur¡¯s grip. ¡°What are you doing here? We need to go now.¡±


    Henry looks a bit annoyed by Arthur¡¯s presence. ¡°Excuse us, but we need to go right now.¡±


    Arthur gave him a smile and raised his hands. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I am not going to take her away, just going to apany her to the general store.¡±


    Turning his attention to Anne, Henry asked her about Arthur¡¯s confession, ¡°You need to go to the general store?¡±


    Looking directly into Henry¡¯s eyes, Anne answered the man with a bit of a challenged looks on her face, ¡°Yes, I need to resupply my medicine. Some of the ingredients are in the general store.¡±


    ¡°Fine, we stop at the general store and then head to the capital, happy?¡± Said Henry to Anne. He challenged her back with his cold blue eyes.


    ¡°Ecstatic!¡± Gruntled Anne, she said goodbye to Arthur and walk away from both men, but not before she stomped on Henry¡¯s foot.


    Cursed and red at Anne¡¯s back, he then turned to Arthur. ¡°What are you doing?¡± He asked Arthur, with a frown on his face.


    ¡°Nothing, I just wanted to help her. Was it so hard for you to grasp the idea of someone just doing a good deed?¡± Arthur looks at Henry and gave him a smile.


    ¡°Just¡­ Stay away from her,¡± Henry warned Arthur before leaving him.


    Arthur saw the back of this mysteriously handsome, brooding man, with long tinum blonde hair, he scratches his head, and mumbled, ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to?¡±


    After another bickering involving Arthur, Anne refused to talk to Henry, even when they were stopping at the general store. Entering the store, Henry went inside as well, making Anne feel a little ufortable over his obsessiveness.


    ¡°Please, you could have waited for me outside, I am not going anywhere.¡± Said Anne to Henry while she took a deep breath calming herself.


    Henry appears to ignore her and goes browsing the store. ¡°Just do your shopping. I need to buy something as well.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, no need to go cranky on me.¡± Grumbling Anne, however, Henry immediately took her hand, she was in shock and Whispered to the man, ¡°What are you doing so suddenly? You almost gave me a heart attack.¡±


    The tension came from Henry¡¯s face. ¡°Careful with your words, cranky was never on our vocabry.¡± Whispered Henry back at her.¡±


    Anne red at him and hissed at Henry, ¡°I am aware, but even the general store owner doesn¡¯t even bother by it, so stop¡­ making it¡­ so obvious.¡±


    Annoyed by Henry, Anne took on herself to rush into buying everything that she needs, when she was done, just as she suspected Henry also go outside the general store immediately.


    ¡°I thought you have something that you need inside?¡± Anne asked the man and proceeded to check his two hands. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem that you have anything, though?¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t have what I need. Come on, we arete as it is.¡± Henry muttered and ride his horse immediately after.


    ¡°Just said that you just wanted to babysit me.¡± Mumbled Anne towards Henry, who was already riding in front of her.


    Horden smiled when he saw their interaction. He even saw how henry could manage to take a good rest. He saw the change in him, even just a little. He told everything to Anne about how Henry had some trouble sleeping and also had some urrence of nightmares. Anne went quiet for a while and then said to Horden that she will try to do something. He was so sure that Anne already had done something behind Henry¡¯s back.


    They were riding for six hours and finally reached the capital. Anne was nervous. Two years after, she left the capital. Now, she was here, riding to the main hospital to have a meeting with chief Hale. Horden could see how nervous Anne was feeling right now.


    ¡°You know, Henry and I left the capital two years ago, and we never sent any letter to our family,¡± Horden revealed the truth to Anne while they were riding slowly to the main hospital. Henry scoffed when he heard it. He was riding his horse a bit behind the two of them.


    ¡°Why? I mean, they are your family. Don¡¯t you think they will not worry about the two of you?¡± Anne asked Horden with a bit of curiosity in her mind.


    ¡°Well, myte daughter-inw is probably going to be worried sick, but not for my granddaughter or my son, sadly.¡± Said Horden with a bittered smile on his face.


    Anne felt sorry for the two of them. ¡°I¡­ I am sorry, sir Horden, If only I never asked.¡± She forgot something about this world. Men are viewed less than a woman.


    For Anne, this was never eptable, even when she was the one who get the full advantage as the woman. In her own world, women were sometimes valued less than they were the majority and viewed as fragile beings. The man saw them as the infinite supply. They yed with one and wreck the other, because, for the man, a woman is everywhere to be found. Anne never epted the concept and doesn¡¯t want even in this new world.


    ¡°We have arrived, Anne. Let¡¯s take the horses to the stable first.¡± Horden¡¯s words took her back to reality.


    Anne immediately steers her horse to the nearest parking stable. It was already noon, going into the night, the red sky and the crows flying in their nest. Henry, Horden, and Anne go to the fourth floor, where chief Hale¡¯s office resides. How surprised Anne was when she looks at the main hospital, everyone wearing a health mask. One healer even gave them masks to wear. The situation was even more concerning than before.


    The three of them reached the front door of chief Hale. Henry knocked on the door and permission came from the other side. Inside the office were three people. Anne knew the three of them.


    Chief Hale looks at Anne and feels so happy when he saw her. ¡°Miss Anne, oh so d to see you here.¡± Said Chief Hale, and he proceed to shake her hands a bit vigorously.


    Overwhelmed by his enthusiastic wee, Anne just smiles awkwardly at chief Hale. ¡°I¡­ Yes, thank you so much, chief Hale. I hope we weren¡¯t intruding on something.¡± Anne said to chief Hale while looking at Nathan and Tim.


    Nathan was smiling at her, ¡°No, miss Anne, actually we were here waiting for you, because¡­¡±


    ¡°Where is she? Is she here already?!¡± Another voice came from outside of the office. They all turned around to see chief Ca there standing while ring at all of them.


    Chief Hale nervously weed his peers. ¡°Ah, chief Ca, we were trying to¡­¡±


    Unsuspectedly, chief Ca walks inside and ps chief Hale in front of Anne. Everyone was gasping and looked in horror towards chief Ca, thetter just screaming to chief Hale, ¡°You! How dare you bring this outcast to the main hospital without my permission!¡± her finger pointed at Anne so fiercely.

 Chapter 130 - 130 The connected hearts

    130 The connected hearts


    ¡°Please, chief ra, calm yourself!¡± Senior healer Nathan put himself between chief Hale and chief ra, trying to stop her to make another move on chief Hale.


    Anne goes to chief Hale and observes the wound. ¡°Are you alright, chief?¡±


    Nodding his head, even when he still winced when Anne touched the red mark on his cheek, ¡°I am fine, miss Anne, please don¡¯t bother about it.¡±


    ¡°But, chief¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he will be fine, but you¡­¡± Senior healer Tim took her hand and pulled her away from the room. ¡°Probably best for you to follow me right now.¡±


    Henry followed them from behind. ¡°Wait! I¡¯ll go with you.¡±


    Senior healer Tim, Anne, and Henry leave chief Hale while chief Ca screams Anne¡¯s name from behind them. Anne was shocked. She never knew that chief Ca was so against her, as for now, staying calm was all she could do.


    Senior healer Tim pointed at the healer¡¯s lounge and ushered the two of them inside, ¡°Quick, enter the healer¡¯s lounge. It will probably be empty because most of us still working on the critical patients right now.¡±


    They sat on the corner lounge where it will be hidden from the door. Tim looked around and heave a sigh of relief with his body sinking onto the sofa.


    .....


    ¡°Oh wow, that was intense. We never suspected that chief Ca wille back this soon.¡± He grinned at Henry and Anne.


    Henry frowned at Tim, baffled by his excitement. ¡°Why are youughing? That woman pping a chief, for not a very good reason.¡±


    ¡°Henry, you don¡¯t have to be so rude.¡± Warned Anne to the brooding man.


    ¡°No, he was right. This is a bad situation,¡± Tim confirmed to Anne, while he scratches his head.


    Anne looks at Tim and asked him about chief Ca¡¯s sudden outburst. ¡°I assumed chief Ca was against my sudden invitation to the main hospital?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and No, I mean she couldn¡¯t be against something that she doesn¡¯t know, right?¡± Said Tim to Henry and Anne.


    ¡°What?!¡± Anne and Henry shouted at the same time.


    ¡°Yeah, this is actually chief Hale and chief Obatto¡¯s wishes, chief Ca was actually scheduled to be back in a week, she was following the new royal couple as their health staff,¡± Tim was disappointed and also grim by the prospect to get punishment from chief Ca, ¡°I just hope she could have some decency to let you stay. She will punish me and Nathan for sure, but as long as you¡¯re here, Anne, at least our sacrifice isn¡¯t futile.¡±


    A bit curious by how senior healer Tim said the words, Henry asked him directly, ¡°Any decency? Punishment?¡±


    Scratching his head, Tim was actually a bit reluctant to answer Henry¡¯s question, ¡°The thing is, everyone in this main hospital already knew about chief Ca¡¯s admiration towards the nobles.¡±


    Henry knew immediately what Tim was insinuating. ¡°Ah, she¡¯s a Noblevian, right?¡±


    Tim nodded his head, but Anne looked confused by the term. ¡°Noblevian? What is that?¡±


    ¡°Means amoner who loves to be associated with the nobles,¡± Tim was answering the question, but his head turn around, and he whispered, ¡°Our new princess is a former noblevian, actually.¡±


    Raising his eyebrows, Henry saw this senior healer as a man who loves to rumor around his work area. Not long after, senior healer, Nathan found them, and the look on his face means it wasn¡¯t something good.


    ¡°They call you back inside chief Hale¡¯s office.¡± Said Nathan to the three of them.


    ¡°What happened now?¡± Asked Anne to Nathan, her concern was stered all over her face.


    Nathan was lost for words. He just smile at Anne and said, ¡°Let us go, for now. Don¡¯t worry, Horden and chief Hale will be there for you.¡±


    Henry took Anne¡¯s hand and pulled her softly from the chair. ¡°Come on, worry about it will change nothing, just face it and be done with it.¡±


    Even though Henry never saw her face when he said all the words, Anne knew he meant well. Smiling at all of them, she knew better to face chief Ca now than have to be worried all the time. She just hope that there was even slight good news for her. All of them arrived at the office once more. Chief Hale asked Anne to join them on the seater, while the others opt to stand around. Chief Ca¡¯s eyes were locked on Anne¡¯s every move, even when she was already settled in her seat. Anne just couldn¡¯tprehend the fact that chief Ca seems to hate her so much.


    ¡°Alright, miss Anne. After a conversation with chief Ca, she agreed to my proposal to give you a position in the main hospital.¡± Said chief Hale with a smile on his face.


    Anne just couldn¡¯t believe it. She gasped and turn into chief Ca, ¡°I¡­ Thank you so much.¡±


    Chief Ca immediately turns her face away from Anne. ¡°Don¡¯t thank me just yet. I have a condition in order for you to be here.¡± Finally, this is the one that makes senior healer Nathan gave them a fake smile earlier. He knew about the condition that chief Ca demanded of chief Hale. She smiles wickedly while looking out the window. ¡°First, I want them to cut your pay until all the amount from two years ago has been paid back. You running away after your certification, you should be fired!¡±


    Henry clench his fist, he doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s chief Ca¡¯s problem towards Anne, and he doesn¡¯t really need to know, he just want to grab her cor and asked her howe you need to be so cruel to the lonely woman that doesn¡¯t even have a family anymore. But then, he remembered, the four of them also did the same thing to her.


    Looking at Anne, Henry could see the strength in her eyes. She was bravely challenging chief Ca, and admiration came into him like a strike of lightning.


    ¡°I can feel that it wasn¡¯t the only condition that I will have.¡± Said Anne carefully to chief Ca.


    Chief Ca snorted and finally looked at Anne, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right young miss, instead of two days of work and one day of rest, you will get three days of work and one and a half days of resting, this will go for two years, and then you will get to have your normal shift back.¡±


    Even senior healer Tim was protesting, ¡°What? that was tortured! Three days without even a proper rest? Please, chief Hale, do¡­¡±


    ¡°I am the one who decided these conditions!¡± Chief Ca ms the table, her eyes ring at Tim. ¡°Chief Hale couldn¡¯t do anything about this! So you and Nathan should shut your mouth!¡±


    Something that Henry has never done was interrupt something that isn¡¯t actually his problem. Right now he is going to do the opposite, but before he could speak his mind, Anne already stands up and gave chief Ca a warm smile.


    ¡°I ept the conditions.¡± Said Anne.


    Henry¡¯s eyes widen when he heard Anne bravely take the cruel terms from chief Ca. He saw how she was keeping her smile, even though her hand was steady. Anne was ready. Henry couldn¡¯t even say anything to her. His heart almost skipped a beat looking at her, and he knows this was the real Anne, not the fragile girl that they always portrayed two years ago.


    Chief Ca scoffed, ¡°Fine! Now, I will let chief Hale do everything from your room at the barrack and also your shifts.¡± She excused herself, and the room got lifted immediately.


    ¡°What¡¯s her problem?! She approves nothing about miss Anne!¡± Muttered Tim, he looks at her, and sympathy came into him. ¡°I am sorry, Anne. Now you need to have more shifts.¡±


    Anne shook her head and gave Tim a smile. ¡°No worry, I love a challenge. Besides, I will have more time to find the cure for the new variant of the disease.¡±


    Horden and chief Hale feel so proud to see her, Anne put up a fight when she needed the most. Chief Hale gave her the first sheet of her shifts and the key to her new room at the healer¡¯s barrack.


    ¡°You will be on senior healer Nathan¡¯s team, and you will work in two days from now, so please use your free time wisely,¡± Chief Hale proceed to hold Anne¡¯s shoulder, ¡°and miss Anne, I am so sorry, my hands are tied, but one thing for sure, you¡¯re an incredible healer, and will bring many good things to us in the main hospital.¡±


    A bit of tear came from Anne¡¯s eyes, she nodded her head and smile gratefully to chief Hale, ¡°There is so much gratitude that I need to convey, as you are one of the reasons why I decided to go back to the capital and dedicated myself to the main hospital.¡±


    After the heartwarming reunion, Nathan took Anne to her new room, while Henry and Horden need to report to prince Jason and Henry will put on his captain badge once more. There wasn¡¯t even a goodbyeing from Henry¡¯s mouth, but one thing Anne knew for sure, the connections between them were never broken, and Anne need to close the link.


    ¡°Just stayed with them, because that is my gift to you. Use them, love them, and be with them.¡± The witch of the mountain words had lingered inside of her mind.

 Chapter 131 - 131 The new home

    131 The new home


    ¡°I hope you had a pleasant journey?¡± Asked the senior healer, Nathan, to Anne.


    Anne just gave him a slight smile and then said, ¡°Yes, although so exhausted, three days¡¯ journey by horse. The small vige was a bit far from the capital.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see, the kind of vige where they don¡¯t have general stores and healers, am I right?¡± Teased Nathan to her.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why I was staying there for almost three months,¡± Anne told Nathan, while she remembered the vige, where she will always be reminded of her own, the Viora that was already gone, even from the ssmap.


    Went quiet after Anne answered his questions, and Nathan opt to just walk together to the healer¡¯s barrack. He knew exactly what was going on inside Anne¡¯s mind. Everyone already knows what happened to Viora vige two years ago. Everyone once had a rumor about Anne, the poor silver pass recipient who get a one-star certification and also lost her hometown almost at the exact moment.


    The barrack is three blocks from the main hospital. It will take ten minutes by walking to reach the main hospital, a very good location for every healer with a below rank of chief. When Anne saw the barrack for the first time, she was in awe already.


    ¡°Oh wow, I imagined it being a very huge building, but this¡­ this is massive!¡± Her eyes say it all, sparkles of admiration towards the four-level building with a rooftop garden for everyone to enjoy a bit of gardening of their own.


    ¡°Not as tall as alchemia tower, but still much more convenient for us.¡± Said Nathan proudly, he turn to Anne and grinned, ¡°We have the lift now, so it will be easier to go everywhere.¡±


    ¡°Oh good, I remember when I was staying at the alchemia tower. If it wasn¡¯t for their lift, I probably have a good muscle calf by now.¡± Anne was chuckling, imagining her time on the alchemia tower.


    .....


    The two of them were inside the first floor of the healer¡¯s barrack when Anne revealed about her memory on the alchemia tower. Unbeknownst to Anne, Nathan was looking at her with some kind of admiration.


    ¡°Oh, you had been on the alchemia tower? So exciting! Did you know it was so hard to gain permission to enter the tower?¡±


    ¡°Err¡­ right, I¡¯ve actually apanied my friend there for a while.¡± She was sweating bullets, and Anne was forgotten about how strict the alchemia tower was.


    ¡°Huh? Guess I need to befriend some alchemists, then. I really love to see the tower up close.¡± Muttered the senior healer.


    Anne could see a glint of excitement on his face whenever he was talking about the alchemia tower. She will try to ask chief Amaris about this.


    ¡°Alright, this is the first floor. We have four barrack matrons, and also chefs for our canteen, and cleaning staff that will keep every room on this barrack spick and span.¡± Nathan said with a gleeful smile, ¡°Our canteen for us to eat breakfast, lunch, and also dinner, and also the lounge area when you¡¯re having guests, all located on the first floor.¡±


    ¡°Nathan, dear, what are you doing here?¡±


    A woman¡¯s voice came from behind them, and when they turned around, Anne saw an elderly woman with a very kind smile looking at them. Nathan goes to the elderdy with wide arms.


    ¡°Ah, Emma, you¡¯re here, I would like to introduce you to the newest member of the main hospital, junior healer, miss River Anne.¡± Nathan holds the kind elderdy and introduces her to Anne, our heroine could see, how fond Nathan is towards the elder.


    The elderdy extended her arm, which Anne took immediately. The elderdy then introduces herself. ¡°My name is Emma. I am one of the four matrons here. Nice to meet you, miss River Anne.¡±


    ¡°The pleasure was all mine, matron Emma.¡± Said Anne, warmly smiling at the elderly matron.


    Matron Emma nodded her head and turned her attention back to Nathan. ¡°Are you going to escort her to her room?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I want her to know some element of this building because this is her first time being inside the healer¡¯s barrack,¡± Nathan confirmed to the matron.


    ¡°Alright, just be careful upstairs, the cleaning staff were in the middle of sweeping the second floor.¡± Matron Emma gave the two of them a warning.


    Nathan let out a sigh. ¡°Did someone fail to clean their shoes again?¡±


    Smiling at Nathan, matron Emma unexpectedly patted his back, ¡°Oh dear, don¡¯t you go mad at all the junior healers, they were not used to the cleaner yet.¡±


    ¡°The cleaner?¡± Asked Anne to Nathan. She never heard the name before.


    Both Nathan and matron Emma pointed at the peculiar items on the corner of the stairs, a box-like, with a swirling wind inside the box. Anne walk closer to the box and could see three wind orbs attached to the box.


    ¡°What¡¯s the purpose of this item?¡± Asked Anne to Nathan.


    ¡°Ah, I forgot. You¡¯re going to resume duty in two days. This is for all the wood ashes that stick on our shoes after our shifts.¡± Nathan exined to her, which actually makes Anne give him more questions.


    ¡°I am sorry, wood ashes?¡±


    Scratching his head, he winces at Anne, ¡°Ah, yes, another thing, we use Gaaram wood ashes and cover the mask, the gloves, and our shoes with gaaram wood ashes.¡±


    ¡°Gaaram is the cure for bacterial infection, after all.¡± Muttered Anne. She tapped her chin, thinking about the other efficacy of gaaram.


    ¡°Come on, Anne, let¡¯s go to the fifth floor already,¡± Nathan called her from the stairs. He was already on the upper staircase, looking at her.


    ¡°Wait for me!¡± Anne rushed to follow Nathan. ¡°What about the second floor?¡±


    ¡°The captain¡¯s room and the captain¡¯s lounge. Unlike the other barracks, the healer¡¯s barrack doesn¡¯t separate the captain and the other lower-rank healers.¡± Nathan exined while the two of them ascended to the second floor.


    When they arrived at the third floor, Nathan tells Anne that the third floor is for the junior healer¡¯s second rank, the one that will go into the exam to be the senior healer or the captain soon. The fourth floor is for the junior healer¡¯s first rank, Anne¡¯s rank. But, somehow, Nathan goes straight to the fifth floor, which is the rooftop.


    Anne mped into Nathan¡¯s clothes, almost making the senior healer fall. ¡°Wait, where¡¯s my room?¡±


    ¡°Gods! Anne, your room is upstairs. Come on, follow me.¡±


    Embarrassed by her own silly act, Anne goes to follow Nathan to the fifth floor. As soon as he opens the rooftop door, the sweet smell of fruits and flowers teases their sense of smell. Anne¡¯s eyes got a treat of the beautiful view of the garden.


    ¡°Oh, my God! This is beautiful.¡± She look in awe everywhere, ¡°So, where¡¯s my room?¡±


    ¡°Err¡­ it was there.¡± Nathan pointed at a small shack on the corner of the rooftop.


    Looking back at Nathan, she was bbergasted by the revtion of her new room, ¡°But¡­ but that¡¯s the tool shed!¡±


    Meanwhile, in the other part of the kingdom, Henry was going to the pce, where he need to get his reassignment approval and finally his badge. Fifty minutester, prince Jason wasughing looking at Henry¡¯s looks.


    ¡°Oh, Gods! Henry, what happened to you after two years, I am sorry but¡­ where¡¯s the charming fourth prince aura that you ooze way back then?!¡± He was chuckling, while the reassigning captain just took a seat on the sofa drinking the expensive drink. The oldest prince stared at Henry. He knew about his problem after the Viora¡¯s destruction, but he never knew it was so severe, he almost couldn¡¯t recognize him. ¡°Where¡¯s your grandfather?¡± Asked Jason to Henry.


    Henry pointed at the door. ¡°He saw Bernard on the way to your study. Seems the old farts are going to have a drink in the pub.¡±


    ¡°God, two years on the road, you¡¯re already speaking likemoners.¡± A voice of a man came from the door. Henry and Jason look at the source of the voice and their smile bloomed.


    ¡°Xavier! Good to meet you, brother!¡± Henry immediately run into him and gave him a tight hug.


    ¡°Ouch, careful. I just got back from my forest duty. Those snaillogs really gave us a lot of trouble. One of them injured my body.¡± Xavier said to Henry, and thetter could see the obvious wound on his chest area.


    ¡°Damn! Even the snaillog could injure you this much? Seems like someone has be so dull after two years.¡± Teased Henry.


    Those words gave Henry a punch into his stomach. He winced while Xavier¡¯s grinned when his hand was not actuallynded on Henry¡¯s stomach because Henry¡¯s hand already hold the punch.


    ¡°It seems someone finally learns something after two years.¡± Said Xavier with a grin.


    Afterward, the three of them were having a drink in the breakfast room. Every prince has their own favorite room. For prince Jason, the breakfast room is the perfect ce for him. Henry pointed at Xavier¡¯s wound once again.


    ¡°So, tell me, why in God you could get hurt by a mere snaillog?¡±


    Xavier¡¯s rolled his eyes. ¡°Snaillogs. There were like fifty of them. Someone cuts too many of the gaaram nt.¡± Grunted Xavier while he traces his wound.


    ¡°You should go to the main hospital toin. The healers were the culprit.¡± Prince Jason handed the huntsman captain permission to over-cut the gaaram nt.


    Xavier put the document, and then cursed, ¡°F*ck, then I need to go there to ask for this.¡±


    ¡°Be careful, though. Anne was already here.¡± Henry warned his friend immediately.


    There were no wordsing from Xavier¡¯s mouth, only a grunt that makes him cower and go back to his seat. Jason was curious. Howe one girl could make the four of them cower like this?

 Chapter 132 - 132 The unexpected guest

    132 The unexpected guest


    The rooftop is a bit windy today. Our purple hair heroine was still trying toprehend her living situation. She red at Nathan, while her mouth is wide open. The tool shed, although spacious, was dirty and full of broken and used gardening tools. The smell of fertilizers from the corner of the room makes their noses wince from the smell, the wooden floor is full of flowers and herbs seeds, safe to say the room was messed up.


    ¡°I am sorry, but actually we don¡¯t have enough room for a junior healer right now. We have the captain¡¯s room¡­ But everyone already locked their eyes on you. We thought that you already have more heat from your haters.¡± Nathan said while scratching his head.


    ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ and¡­ actually, this is perfect!¡± Anne gave her senior healer a warm smile, she look around the room with positivity on her mind.


    Nathan tilted his head, confused by her cheery attitude. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re not upset about this?¡±


    ¡°Why? This ce is actually the best room in this building.¡± Anne gave Nathan a smile while answering his questions.


    ¡°But Anne, this is not even a sleeping quarter! This is a tool shed! Aren¡¯t you mad at us for giving you this horrible amodation?!¡± Said Nathan with obvious frustration in his voice.


    Giggles at Nathan¡¯s outburst, Anne then tells him her reason to be excited about this tool shed room, ¡°Well, first of all, this room isrger, almost double the size of the junior healer room. Am I right?¡± Nathan nodded his head. Anne then continued, ¡°Second, did you look at the endless possibility of me on this rooftop? I could begin cultivating herbs for the medicine, and the third, the view¡­¡± She pointed at the sky above them, ¡°Would you look at that? senior healer Nathan, I would look at this view every day.¡±


    Huffing his breath, Nathan could only smile at Anne, who bravely disyed how patient she was. ¡°I would ask for the cleaning staff to help you and then bring your furniture here.¡±


    Anne, who was already cleaning the floor, gave her gratitude to Nathan. When the senior healer goes downstairs to ask for help, suddenly a pair of big cat eyes appear from Anne¡¯s shadow.


    .....


    ¡®Master, do you need my help?¡¯


    ¡°What are you going to do, Chikara? wing this room, or light your fire breath here?¡± Anne asked her familiar, who then blinked several times before he disappear.


    ¡®Makes sense, good day master¡¯


    ¡°Wait! Chikara!¡± Anne immediately called on her familiar, before he disappeared into her shadows, ¡°how about instead of helping me here, you called on Da and Brom toe and help me.¡±


    ¡®That I can do. I¡¯ll be as fast as I can be, master.¡¯


    After Chikara said the word, the mighty demon cat hybrid jumped from Anne¡¯s shadow, his body was as huge as the tool shed, thankfully as a familiar, he also gained the ability to be invisible from everyone besides his master, and the body will be able to go through in every surface.


    Chikara run by driving the wind, making him look like he was flying, another ability that wasn¡¯t from his demon cat heritage. Sniffed into the air, he was looking for two people that helped his master so much for two years. He loves Da and Brom; they came to visit asionally, bringing food or herbs that Anne might need it. Sometimes there was a time Brom left behind with Chikara, while Da and Anne go to have theirdies¡¯ time. Chikara knows about his master¡¯s feelings for the four gentlemen, and that¡¯s why he never likes them. Deep down in his two hearts, he knows that the four of them will someday break his master¡¯s heart.


    He found Da inside her barrack, the huntsman barrack was in the outer region of the capital, between the forest and the main road. The huntsman barrack actually resemnce a tree house, instead of giving them rooms in one building, the huntsman actually lived inside tree houses scattered in the outer forest, with only a small building for the staff¡¯s room thatprising matrons, cleaning staff, chef, the canteen, and the lounge room for the visitors.


    Da¡¯s room was newly constructed two years ago. It is a small but cozy tree house, with a bed and study, also a small kitchen custom made by her, because of how hungry she was sometimes. Da was in the middle of reading a book on her patio, a cup of moomilk was beside her, and variants of biscuits.


    ¡®Miss Da.¡¯ Said Chikara from behind her.


    Da screamed and almost drop her book into the forest floor. She cursed and look at her back, ¡°Chikara! Are you crazy?! I almost dropped my book. There¡¯s plenty of my colleague down there!¡±


    ¡®I am sorry, miss Da, actually my master needs your help.¡¯


    Hearing Anne¡¯s being mentioned by her familiar, Da immediately stands up and faces Chikara who was hovering in the air, most huntsman already know who he is. Chikara sometimes came to Da¡¯s barrack to give her a message from his master.


    ¡°What happened to Anne, Chikara?¡± Asked Da to the demon cat familiar.


    ¡®She is fine, but she need help to clean her new room in the healer¡¯s barrack.¡¯


    ¡°Finally, when she told me that she will be back here, I thought she was joking.¡± Da chuckles, while she goes inside her room, ¡°I¡¯ll be there immediately. Please search for Brom to meet me in the healer¡¯s barrack. He was in the north forest, with his team.¡±


    ¡®Thank you, miss Da, I¡¯ll see you soon.¡¯


    But then, Da turned back to Chikara, who¡¯s already walked away to go to Brom. ¡°Sh*t! I forgot to tell him something important.¡± She scratches her head and doesn¡¯t know what to do.


    Meanwhile, Anne was apanied by Nathan and two cleaning staff were trying to lift her bed to the rooftop. The bed wasing from one of the empty captain¡¯s rooms and chief Hale already agreed to allocate the furniture to her room on the rooftop.


    The problemy when they need to carry the bed to the rooftop. They can use the lift because of the size of the bed and the only way they can carry the bed was by the stairs.


    ¡°Who¡¯s idea¡­ to carry¡­ this heavy oakle wood bed¡­ to the rooftop by hand?!¡± Screamed Nathan, full of frustration.


    ¡°It was you that told us to carry it by hand, senior.¡± This time, Anne red at him.


    ¡°Oh, Gods! I think my days are already numbered!¡± sounded the other cleaning staff.


    Almost one hourter, they could only carry the bed to the third floor. Every floor was almost empty. The one that has free time sometimes uses it to go somewhere, and the others, of course still inside the main hospital. But just at the right time, Da came upstairs and looked amused by their attempt to carry the heavy oakle woods bed.


    ¡°Oh, Gods! Is that oakle woods? No wonder you guys are almost out of breath.¡± She prepared herself and with a bit of a grunt, Da lifted the bed. The others were stunned by her disy of raw power. Da then huffed and red at them. ¡°Well? What are you waiting for? Let¡¯s bring this bed together!¡±


    They finally brought the bed onto the rooftop. When Da saw her room, she actually grinned at her best friend.


    ¡°Hey, not bad, have good sunshine from the window, and a sunroof!¡± She squealed when she pointed at the sunroof. ¡°This could be the best room in this building after fresh paint. I mean, look at how spacious this ce is?!¡±


    Anne was smiling at her friend, she feels the same when she saw the potential in this tool shed. ¡°You¡¯re right, that¡¯s why I¡¯ll need to buy some paint first thing in the morning.¡±


    ¡°D*mn! My shift started at midnight. I can¡¯t go with you.¡± Said Da with a curse.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I can go by myself. For now, how about helping me carry the rest of the furniture? It will be easier since it could fit into the lift.¡± She tried to cheer Da, and it actually works wonders. She knows how Da sometimes likes to be called a helpful friend.


    Da run to the rooftop door and shouted at Anne, ¡°You stay here. Let me help Nathan and the cleaning staff carry your furniture.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Da!¡± Anne shouted at her, while she put a temporary sheet into her bed. Tomorrow she needs to paint her now-called shed and decorate everything.


    Every tool is already being put in outside, just beside her shed, while the fertilizers and seeds are being carried into the side of the wall near the door, there¡¯s enough roof to keep them dried for now. Anne was thinking about making a closed cab or probably a small tool shed for all the previous items that were scattered here before.


    Singing while she put the sheet, and even twirl a bit, Anne never expected that two men were at her door, watching her move around until one man cleared his throat to warn Anne of their presence. Squealed, Anne turn her body and saw Brom with a man that she recognize from two years ago, a man with wavy brown hair and green emerald eyes, staring back at her.


    ¡°Vale? What¡­ What are you doing here?¡± Asked Anne with obvious panic in her eyes.

 Chapter 133 - 133 What a heart wants

    133 What a heart wants


    The way how Vale looks at her makes Anne flustered and tried so hard to hide her face. Brom looks at the two of them and, as usual, scratches his head and just shrugs it off.


    ¡°Well, primary captain, you wanted to be here¡­ helping. What are you doing standing there in front of the room owner?¡±


    Vale was indeed staring at Anne. He never thought after two years, once a pretty teenager already be a beautiful young woman in his very eyes. He can¡¯t believe his eyes, and with all of his strength, tried so hard not to run into her and hold her tightly, although he was already free from the bewitched spell.


    ¡°How is this possible?¡± Muttered Vale, while Anne and Brom looks at him with a frown.


    ¡°If youe here to help, please help me rearrange the bed, but if you¡¯re here just to see my face, I guess you got what you want already.¡± Said Anne with her hands on her hips.


    Vale looks around the room. ¡°Where do you want to put the bed?¡±


    ¡°Besides the window on the right, but I want to save some space so I could paint them tomorrow.¡± She pointed at the ce, and before Anne instructed the three of them, Vale cast his wind spell and put the bed into the position easily.


    Anne red at him while Brom rolled his eyes. He even whispered to his primary captain, ¡°Seriously?! Do you really want to brag right now? Why not paint her whole room, then?¡±


    ¡°Err¡­ what? you can do that?!¡± Anne¡¯s mouth gaped open when she looks into Vale.


    .....


    Vale takes a look at her and chuckles, ¡°Anne, I maybe a primary captain, but I can perform the miracle here.¡±


    She raised one of her eyebrows and smirked at Vale. ¡°Just as I suspected.¡±


    Vale looks around the room, and once again talks to Anne. ¡°I could help you paint everything in just one second using my wind spell, but of course, still need the liquid color to be here. So yeah, in a sense, Brom was right.¡±


    Giving Vale a smile, Anne reluctantly said, ¡°No need. I¡¯ll be painting the room tomorrow by myself. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re too busy to help.¡±


    ¡°I am not¡­¡± Said Vale, giving a slight pause on his words, ¡°Busy at all tomorrow¡­ shops will be open at eight, I could take you to one of the good tool shops in the capital, I¡¯ll be here at eight.¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­ fine!¡± Muttered Anne, not even trying to look in Vale¡¯s direction.


    Brom saw their interaction. Somehow, the old feeling that he remembered came back. How Vale looks at Anne with a softer gaze and a warm smile on his face, even though the smile never blooms like it used to, the softer look in his eyes remains the same. No doubt in Brom¡¯s mind that Vale still has strong feelings for Anne.


    Da came back with Nathan and the cleaning staff. They carried most of the furniture that Anne could use, like a study desk and a wooden chair, and also two small wardrobes. Other furniture, like the kitchen set and lounges, is only avable for the captain ranks and above. Anne felt a bit deted when she knew she couldn¡¯t have a kitchen set until Da whispered to her something so brilliant that she wanted to copy it immediately.


    ¡°You know, they don¡¯t want you to have a kitchen set, but you could always put a kettle with fire orbs inside,¡± Whispered Da to Anne, ¡°Oh, and maybe buying a cup set, would be fantastic when you have a few friends visiting here.¡± She then gave a wink at Anne.


    ¡°How about if we built a small table and a few chairs as well? This room could amodate as much.¡± Added Brom, which is rare, where he spoke with much excitement.


    The excitement of Da and Brom, gave a smile on Anne¡¯s face, she took a sigh and arrange all the furniture, when they were done helping Anne, it was almost midnight already, the cleaning staff was gone two hours ago, also Nathan who will have a shift tomorrow. The remaining people on the rooftop are Brom, Da, and Vale. To show how grateful she was, Anne make them some butterbread and caftea.


    They took the luxury of sitting on the wooden floor of the shed, chatting about some small things like what were they doing when they have their shiftsing or even what happened when they were on their shifts. Brom told the three of them about the time he lead his new team to their first hoard, one of his sub-captains spells full protection while crying so much. The sub-captain is noble and quite close to his mother.


    ¡°Wait, don¡¯t tell me? He calls for his mother when he was crying?!¡± Said Vale to Brom.


    Brom nodded his head, ¡°Worse, he called for his mommy.¡±


    All of them wereughing hearing Brom¡¯s confession. The night is gettingte, although no one realized it.


    Da was next, she tell her story about their time with one captain, ¡°One time, when I got into my shifts, the captain and the sub captain asked me to go and check one meadow, he told me that there was a report of a gargator lurking.¡±


    ¡°Really? And then what happened?¡± Asked Anne to Da, she was already invested in the story.


    ¡°So, I go into the meadow with my axe ready in my hand.¡± She tells her story, while the other three, looking at him with curiosity, ¡°turns out there¡¯s a couple making out on the meadow, their sound of¡­ uhm mating being misunderstood as the sound of the gargator.¡±


    Another set ofughter came afterward. Vale was chuckling but sometimes. His eyes took a nce at Anne, herughter, her face, and the cute twinkle on her nose whenever she got excited or curious about their stories. Vale misses all of this about her, especially with her mature face.


    A shadow came from outside of the shed. Da calls for their weapon immediately while Brom and Vale are ready to cast some spells. The shadow turns out to be a huge smander. Vale knew the familiar right away.


    ¡°Naron? What are you doing here?¡± Asked Vale to Xavier¡¯s familiar.


    ¡®Primary captain Vale, you have been summoned to the usual pub and have a drink with my master and captain Henry.¡¯


    Anne¡¯s heart almost skip a beat. She wanted to ask Vale about a name that has been missing from Naron¡¯s words. Anne doesn¡¯t know that the crown prince is trying to avoid her by joining the new guard¡¯s field training. Vale stands up and huffs.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ming! Tell him, Naron..¡± Said Vale with a slight annoyance.


    Naron disappears, and when they clean their trash. Da looks around the room and realizes.


    ¡°Wait! Oh, sh*t, who has a moonsun dial right now?¡± Said Da unexpectedly.


    Vale takes out his moonsun dial and announces the time. ¡°Twelve thirties. Why do you ask?¡±


    After hearing the time from Vale, Da curses and runs to the stairs immediately. She didn¡¯t even say goodbye. Which makes Brom just shrug his shoulder and followed Da. Vale and Anne were alone. They look so awkward, which makes Vale excuse himself in a rush. Anne waved her hand at a person who didn¡¯t even look back at her. She let out a sigh and closed her door.


    Meanwhile, Vale rushed into the pub, thinking about how to exin everything to his friends, about the new feeling that blossomed inside of him. When he reached the pub, Henry and Xavier had already begun their chain of drinking. Vale cleared his throat to announce his arrival. The others, with their tipsy face, turn around and shouted so louder one of the pub servers almost drops his ss.


    ¡°Heeeey!! Our primary captain! Finally!¡±


    Vale looks at them, and a grin came on his face. ¡°You two already begin without me?! You jack*sses!¡±


    The party begins for the three of them. Chain drinking is their way to celebrate any asion for the four of them. Today is the celebration of Henry getting reassignment as the captain. They were singing, dancing, and getting drunk, afterward dancing on the bar while some women check into Xavier with his broad shoulder, shoulder-length ck hair, and his golden eyes. Henry notice they were staring at him.


    ¡°Dang! Look, Xavier, some of your fans!¡± Teased Henry.


    Vale took a peek and chuckled, ¡°Some of them actually not just a fan, but his conquered for two years.¡±


    ¡°What?! some of them were you, lovers?!¡± Henry stared at him with a mouth gaped open.


    ¡°No, just¡­ uhm¡­ drinking friends, that¡¯s all.¡± Said Xavier with a re.


    ¡°Shut up! I can¡¯t believe this! Xavier took all of my past glory!¡± Henry gruntled while looking at the woman who was mesmerized by Xavier¡¯s presence. Henry looks at Vale, and asked him a question, ¡°What about you, Vale? Got any girlfriendtely?¡±


    Vale shook his head and smiled. ¡°No, not yet, but I have met with an amazing young woman today.¡±


    Henry¡¯s intrigued by it, while Xavier stayed quiet, ¡°Really? Who is it?¡±


    Putting his cup onto the table, Vale then stared directly at Henry. ¡°Oh, a new recruit for the main hospital, and with her mesmerizing purple color hair.¡±


    After what Vale had said, Henry jumped from his seat and attacking Vale like a maniac.

 Chapter 134 - 134 His big mistake

    134 His big mistake


    It was six o¡¯clock in the morning, and Anne tiredly forced herself to wake up from her bed, one pair of eyes peek at her shadow, and Chikara came to greet his master, this was their routine since the little demon kitten matured into a young demon cat.


    ¡®Good morning master, how are you feeling today?¡¯


    ¡°Oh, good morning Chikara, I am fine and ready to conquer the world.¡± Said Anne, smiling at her familiar, ¡°Did you have your meal of the day?¡±


    ¡®Not yet, I am going to hunt some turchick in the forestter on, but for now, I need to be in your shadow.¡¯


    Rolling her eyes, she confronted Chikara for his reason to stay with her, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me because I am going to meet with Vale today.¡±


    ¡®¡­ One of the reasons.¡¯


    ¡°Ugh, we are just going to buy some paint!¡± Said Anne while ring her eyes at her familiar.


    Without even saying any words, Chikara excused himself and disappeared. She knows that her familiar never like the four gentlemen, but to be this alert all the time by their presence feels a bit annoying from Anne¡¯s perspective. But, she can never me Chikara for it. Her familiar knew the misery that she had gone through for two years, how she cried thinking about her adopted parents and how perfect her life seemed with the four men who adored her.


    As much as she wanted to have a piece of that happiness again, her conversation with that woman still lingered a gift that she hadn¡¯t expected but had been given. The witch of the mountain had yed her, yed with her destiny and also the fate of the four of them. She took her time on the bed and go outside to enjoy the morning sunshine. When she stepped outside, no other words can describe how happy she is right now.


    .....


    ¡°I was right. This is a perfect room for me.¡±


    The flowers begin to bloom when the sunlight touched, and small birds and butterflies came to feast with the abundant variety of nts and flowers everywhere. The sweet smell of an array of aromas that came from it also teased her nose. Anne inhaled the smell and begin her routine light exercise.


    ¡°Oh sh*t, she really was living in the tool shed!¡±


    A voice of a man gave Anne a surprise, she turns around to see a group of men looking directly at her.


    ¡°Hey, we came to check on our flowers and nts, please¡­ just ignore us.¡± Said one man.


    Forgetting about the general garden policy, Anne looks at almost ten of her seniors and colleagues scattered around in their own nter boxes. Only one or two heads ncing at her and then whispering to each other, she found herself trap like a zoo animal, a bit ufortable. Anne went into the public bath, avoiding all the healers that upied the rooftop.


    Somehow, she thinks that having a shed in a room wasn¡¯t such a good idea at all.


    ¡°I should¡¯ve been asking for a dorm room instead!¡± Gruntled Anne, when she finally reached the public bath that was on the first floor.


    One hourter, Anne was enjoying her breakfast. She was sitting on the corner, observing every healer on the table. Surprisingly, everyone just ate their breakfast in silence. Not so many conversations were going on inside the breakfast room. Until Nathan came with a young man to her table.


    ¡°Hey, I thought you were still sleeping in your she¡­ I mean, your room.¡± Nathan said cheerily to her.


    Anne gave him a smile. ¡°Good morning senior, always wakes up at six, bes a habit of mine.¡±


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s probably good for you. The gardening club likes to check on their nts at six in the morning. It will be chaos on the rooftop.¡± Said Nathan while munching on his butterbread and turchick egg poach.


    ¡°Wait, the gardening club? So not everyone can use that nter box?¡± Asked Anne, while looking at his superior.


    The other young man who apany Nathan was the one who answered her question, ¡°No, only the gardening club has the authority to use the nter box, so, if you want to use the nter box, you need to join the gardening club.¡± Somehow, a frown that came from Anne¡¯s face made the young man grin and suddenly introduce himself to Anne, ¡°Hey, my name¡¯s Leo, I¡¯m a junior healer under Senior healer Nathan, just like you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, hello, pleased to meet you.¡± She offered her hand, and he epted the friendly gesture. Anne likes the man, Leo looks like a cool tonic friend that you could be with.


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you could be friendly to each other. You¡¯re going to spend a lot of time together.¡± Nathan reminded them, as their senior healer who got five healers under hismand.


    ¡°Alright, senior,¡± Leo was smirking at his superior. He even added a salute, he turn his attention back to Anne, ¡°I¡¯ve heard you¡¯re going to begin tomorrow morning. We have the same shift.¡±


    Anne nodded her face and asked her new acquaintance, ¡°Where should I report to duty tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go together, I¡¯ll show you around.¡± Said Leo to Anne. He was genuinely want to help her, feeling a deep sympathy after everyone told him about her tragic story.


    Feeling grateful for his kindness, Anne smiled and asked him about the time for them to meet the next day. They agreed on the time and continued to have a small talk before Anne got distracted by a big bird that wasing on her way. The bird with a silver feather, perching on the open window beside Anne, Nathan and Leo, almost falls from their chairs.


    ¡°Gods! What a big bird! Who¡¯s the master of this huge bird?!¡± Leo looks at Silver Hawk with admiration in his eyes.


    Silver Hawk ignores him, and the two beady eyes go directly to Anne.


    ¡®Miss Anne, my master suddenly fell ill and needs to be contained in his room.¡¯


    She put on her fork and suddenly worried about Vale. ¡°Oh, what happened? Should I go and check on him?¡±


    ¡®My master also said that he just needs to rest to fully recover. You don¡¯t have toe¡­ That was my master¡¯s words, not mine.¡¯


    Giggling at how blunt Silver Hawk was, she couldn¡¯t help herself brush into the soft feather of the magnificent bird, ¡°Alright then, I will go to the captain¡¯s barrack and probably identally send him some medicine, so what happened to him?¡±


    Silver Hawk remained silent for a while. He pretends to groom himself, which makes Anne give him stink eyes. ¡°Alright? What exactly happened, Silver Hawk?¡±


    ¡®Probably it¡¯s best for you to bring some salve, he¡­ was fallen into the ground.¡¯


    Anne¡¯s mouth gaped open, while Leo and Nathan really enjoyed the conversation between the two of them. ¡°Oh my God! Was it bad?¡±


    ¡®No, just bruises all over his face.¡¯


    A frown came over Anne¡¯s face. ¡°Did he fall face first? Nothing broken?¡±


    ¡®No¡­ Just¡­ Bruises.¡¯


    ¡°Bruises? Silver Hawk, did you hide something from me?¡± Anne red at the bird, giving him a warning look.


    ¡®Oh, my master is calling. I should go now, nice to meet you miss Anne.¡¯


    Running away from our heroine, Silver Hawk flies to the vast blue sky leaving Anne wondering what exactly happened to Vale.


    ¡°I was so entertained by the conversation, thank you, Anne.¡± Said Nathan and then he excused himself as he hates to bete for his shift.


    This leaves Leo and Anne to be alone at the table, thankfully she already finished eating all of her porridge and also excused herself from the breakfast room. As much as she loved to meet new people, she still feels a bit awkward having a small talk with Leo, especially when she is now worried about what happened at Vale.


    At eight o¡¯clock, the gardening club has already gone from the rooftop. She finally could enjoy a little peace before preparing herself to go to the marketce. She also brought along her salve and some drink that could help Vale. The busy morning already begins on the street. Anne took the central carriage and go to the marketce.


    This morning, not so many people were shopping at the marketce. Anne used this to her advantage, she goes to the delivery service station and rent one delivery man to be carried all of her items back to the healer¡¯s barrack. In this world, they have a system that is like a delivery service. Anne finally got all the items that she need and after signing the paper and giving the delivery boy the address and his fee, she rushed into the central carriage once again.


    ¡°You gave him a terrible answer, you *sshole!¡± Xavier was lounging on Vale¡¯s sofa while the magi primary captain put some ice orbs at his ckened eye.


    With one healthy eye, Vale looks at his friend and throws one of the ice orbs to him, ¡°Shut up! That was the truth, Xave, she looked¡­ God! She looks so beautiful,¡± Hey once more and imagined Anne¡¯s beautiful face, ¡°You should see her, Xave.¡±


    ¡°No, I refused to see her, I¡­ I can¡¯t¡­¡± Said Xavier to Vale. He stays quiet for a while and then his eyes go to Vale. ¡°Vale, I need to tell you something¡­¡±


    Vale just groaned at Xavier, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I think I was making a big mistake right now.¡± Muttered Xavier, the words just enough for Vale to ignore his pain for a moment.

 Chapter 135 - 135 What does it give?

    135 What does it give?


    (Warning: This chapter has a heavy issue of an adult problem, reader discretion is a must)


    The tension around the room grew heavier. Vale looks at his friend, trying to guess what kind of trouble that he had brewing. Xavier on the other hand, just kept pacing around the room, having a hard time conveying his feeling to Vale.


    ¡°Oh, Gods! Xavier, just tell me what exactly happened?!¡± Gruntled Vale, who¡¯s already suffered from a headache, not to mention having a fight with Henry, and now, Xavier was weirded out, while Justice wasn¡¯t around.


    Xavier turned to his friend, but before he could muster any words, a knock came from Vale¡¯s front door. They heard a sweet voice of a youngdy from the opposite side of the door.


    ¡°Vale? It¡¯s me, Anne, are you alright? Can Ie in?¡± Said Anne with a bit of hesitation in her voice.


    The two men inside the room were quite surprised. Xavier rushed into the window, trying to escape from the room. Vale looks at him and asked him about his stunt act.


    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Whispered Vale with a frown on his face.


    ¡°Going out of here, I don¡¯t want to see her face¡­ Not right now!¡± Said Xavier with gritted teeth.


    ¡°But Xave, this is the third floor!¡± Vale already yelling a bit because of how frustrated he was right now.


    .....


    ¡°Vale? Are you there?¡±


    Anne must be hearing his voice, and with hesitation, Vale tells her toe inside. When he looks at the window, Xavier already missing. Anne carefully open the door and saw Vale sitting on his sofa trying to smile properly at her.


    ¡°Ah Anne, how¡­ how may I help you?¡± Asked Vale with a grin on his face.


    With a mouth gaped open, Anne looks at Vale and just couldn¡¯t believe how calm he was. ¡°How you can help me? Vale, look at your face!¡± She rushed to his side and check all the bruises on his face. ¡°How are you feeling right now? Any difort on the face? Headache? Blurry vision?¡±


    ¡°Anne, I was fine, really!¡± He then smirked. ¡°You should see my opponent¡¯s face, though.¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t the point here.¡± Said Anne with frustration in her tone. She then let out a sigh and tried to calm herself. ¡°Let me give you some salve for the ckened eyes, and here, drink these. It¡¯s good for your headache.¡±


    Vale smelled the drink first. It has some sweet and pleasant aroma in it. ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°A metee and rosemaryberry tea, good for a headache.¡± Said Anne with a smile.


    Vale drinks the tea and felt the result almost immediately. ¡°Wow, this is amazing. I feel so much better already!¡±


    Satisfied with the result, Anne was grinning at Vale. ¡°Good¡­ Now, don¡¯t forget to put this salve every three hours, and the bruises will heal in two days.¡±


    ¡°Two days?! But I have my shift tomorrow!¡± He was basically screaming in desperation at Anne.


    When she heard theint, Anne put her hands on her hips and red at Vale, ¡°Well, good thing I wasing here uninvited then! Because if I wasn¡¯t here, those bruises will heal in one week and not two days!¡±


    ¡°Oh, Okay, thank you by the way.¡± Muttered Vale, while shrinking on his sofa. Anne could be so hard-headed and pestering if it involved her patients.


    After she was done treating Vale¡¯s wound, right in the middle of her putting her medicine back into her basket, she nces at Vale and tried to start a conversation, ¡°Vale, may I ask you something?¡± Anne asked Vale a question but her eyes were fixed on her medicine basket.


    ¡°Yes, what is it?¡± Said Vale with curiosity.


    Her hands were still busy fixing her medicine basket, but Anne determine to ask Vale, a question that already lingered on her mind, ¡°Why are you being nice to me?¡±


    ¡°What? Anne, what kind of question is that?¡± Vale was chuckling after the questions were revealed to him.


    ¡°I am serious!¡± She was firm in her question, making Vale surprised by it. ¡°I¡­ I mean, I know I was wrong¡­ Even Henry, he¡­ the point is, why are you being nice from the very first time we¡¯ve met.¡±


    The only answer that Anne was getting from Vale was another question. ¡°What did Henry have to dine to you? Seriously?!¡±


    Anne waved her hand several times, ¡°No¡­ No¡­ He wasn¡¯t doing any serious threat¡­ Look, just tell me, why are you being so nice? While the other two even refused to see my face.¡±


    The green emerald eyes of Vale immediately stared at our heroine. ¡°Why¡­ are you?¡±


    ¡°Justice as my sponsor was the only one missing when I was here in the first ce, while Xavier¡­ I can smell his scented wood aroma when I go inside this room,¡± Anne gave him the reason about how she knows about the other two who avoided her presence, she then pointed at the open window, ¡°I was convinced he jumped from the window with the obvious fresh dirt on the window frame.¡±


    Letting out a sigh, Vale just smile bitterly at Anne, ¡°I couldn¡¯t hate you, Anne, I don¡¯t know why¡­ I¡­ I felt sorry for you.¡±


    ¡°You feel sorry for me? Why? Because of my past as the person that got thrown into another world? Because I was losing my parents?! My vige?!¡± Said Anne with frustration on her face, ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t need your pity!¡±


    Shaking his head, she warmly smiles at her, ¡°I know, but¡­ how about this, instead of being so distance from each other like a stranger, we can be a friend, right?¡±


    As the two of them look into each other eyes, for Vale, the feelings were there, but vague and didn¡¯t have any meaning besides his admiration towards her beautiful face. For Anne, her feeling is actually deeper, but knowing the consequences of her action will be so severe for everyone, she will remain as tonic as she can be, although it will hurt her.


    ¡°Yes, we can be¡­ friends, Vale.¡± Anne gave him a smile, a smile that never reached her eyes.


    She excused herself after a short while, and when Anne closed Vale¡¯s door, tears came from her eyes. She wiped it immediately and run as fast as she could from the captain¡¯s barrack. Friend, as much as Anne wanted their feeling to be entangled once again, she knew that her lies and also the fate of everyone else makes it impossible to even dream of it.


    She took a deep breath and walked into the central carriage station to go back to her own barrack. She had so much to do, and crying over a spilled milk was not one of them.


    After Anne was gone, Vale nced at his room and shouted at Xavier, ¡°You can go out now, coward! She was gone already!¡±


    The bedroom door creaked open, and the big man with golden eyes walked towards Vale. ¡°How do you know I was hiding in your bedroom?¡± Xavier asked his friend with a tilted head, confused that Vale could have guessed it correctly.


    ¡°It was easy actually,¡± Said Vale, while his head lies on the cushion, ¡°I never heard any screaming from the outside, man as big as you would have made amotion if you jumped from the window of a third floor.¡±


    ¡°I sometimes forgot how sharp you are.¡± Chuckles Xavier, his hand picking the salve on the table, ¡°But I guess, so does she.¡±


    ¡°You heard her? Good, why do you feel the need to avoid her?¡± He asked Xavier, feeling that his friend was being ridiculous, just like Henry was.


    Xavier took the salve in a bottle and throws it repeatedly on his hand, ¡°Vale, you¡¯re the kindest and the most sensitive of the four of us, I know you¡¯re never mad at her.¡± Xavier told his friend, with a slight smile, ¡°As for Henry it was a rage, and anger because of the lies, Justice¡­ well, Justice is in denial.¡± He chuckles when he remembered how pale his face was when he knew Anne woulde back to the capital. ¡°I can assure you, he will be tried to avoid her like a gue.¡±


    ¡°How about you?¡± Asked Vale tantly at Xavier, ¡°How will you describe your feelings for Anne? Sympathy like mine, or anger like Henry? Oh, I know, you¡¯re also in denial.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ My feelings were something else, and even though I tried to avoid her, but I will never deny her presence like Justice.¡± He said to Vale with much confidence in his eyes.


    Vale snickered at his best friend. ¡°Yeah, right? You can¡¯t even describe your own feeling right now. How would I know if you¡¯re actually still in lo¡­¡±


    ¡°Vale, I¡¯m going to be engaged soon.¡± Xavier immediately cut Vale¡¯s sentence. His face wasn¡¯t even happy when he announced the news to his friend.


    His friend, Vale, sit properly on the sofa and asked Xavier, ¡°What?! You¡¯re joking, right? Tell me you¡¯re joking?!¡±


    A bittered smile came into Xavier¡¯s face, ¡°No¡­ I¡­ I got her pregnant.¡±

 Chapter 136 - 136 The first shift (Part 1)

    136 The first shift (Part 1)


    (Warning: Inside the chapter, there¡¯s a problem with a serious conversation of an implied sexual rtionship, and having children out of marriage, reader¡¯s discretion is a must.)


    The look on Vale¡¯s face makes Xavier so ashamed. He drops himself to the sofa and closes his face with his two hands.


    ¡°But, Xave, you¡¯ve told me that they were just your drinking friends. You touched no one of them.¡± Said Vale to his friend, who looks so desperate.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t lying. They were just my drinking friends. I do nothing to them, besides maybe flirt a bit and drink together.¡± He said with a sigh, ¡°But then, two months ago, I was so drunk when I was at some drinking party with them, I don¡¯t even remember any detail¡­ Until I woke up the next day with one of my drinking friends beside me.¡±


    ¡°What? What?! That¡¯s why I¡¯ve told you never got so drunk!¡± Vale felt the headacheing again. He took some time to lie down and gruntled at Xavier, ¡°Oh my Gods! Xavier, what did you do?!¡±


    Looking desperately at his friend, he tried to exin the situation, ¡°I¡­ Honestly don¡¯t know. I mean, Henry in the past always yed with women all the time and he doesn¡¯t have any consequences, right?¡±


    ¡°Henry took a medicine,¡± Vale told his friend,ying out every reason for Xavier, ¡°He took some medicine every month so that he can¡¯t sire any children. That¡¯s why he could y so much back then, no unwanted diseases, and also prevented anyone from taking advantage of his noble rank.¡±


    ¡°Why have all of you never told me about this?!¡± Xavier so frustratedly shouting at Vale right now.


    Vale calmly tells him the reason. ¡°First of all, I thought you knew already. Second of all, I thought you wanted to remain pure, you sh*thead!¡±


    .....


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t even remember anything, I was so nk¡­ and she told me about itst night when we met at the pub¡­¡± Xavier closed his eyes, remembering aboutst night after he stop Henry and Vale¡¯s fighting on the floor.


    The look of anger on Henry¡¯s face was something out of the ordinary for Xavier to see in his best friend. Henry was rarely angry, even with his obnoxious sister. Butst night, when Vale said something about Anne, he went berserk and attacked Vale. It¡¯s a good thing Vale immediately cast a protection spell or his face will be broken in no time.


    Henry bes so powerful after two years of journey with his grandfather. He hates to admit it, but it will be hard to fight his friend now in empty-handedbat. Not the case two years ago, when he was the weakest of them all. After Henry was gone with a small burn on his cheek from Vale¡¯s desperate attack, he leave the two of them and go somewhere else. Xavier tried to chase him, but a hand of a woman prevented him from going.


    The woman is Yasmine, a beautiful woman with dark short hair, and the eyes like the green leaves of the forest. She looks at Xavier and told him that they need to talk, and after Vale goes home on his own, Xavier let Yasmine talks about her problem. The problem that has now also be his, when he heard the news, his ears were ringing, and he almost threw up right at the table. As apologetic as she could be, Xavier was confused and his golden eyes staring at Yasmine, He told her to give her some time, and she gave him a week to decide.


    ¡°You already make your decision, then. You will marry her.¡± Said Vale to Xavier, who was now sitting in the window, staring at the street below.


    ¡°Yes, I will announce after Justice is back from his hiding ce.¡± Xavier not denying Vale, he was going to marry the girl but will wait for Justice toe back, and also he will try to get Vale and Henry on speaking terms once more.


    Vale looks at his friend and shakes his head. ¡°Are you sure, Xave? I mean, you could just be the father, but you don¡¯t need to marry the mother. We have thew for it.¡±


    Smiling at his friend, Xavier gave Vale his reason. ¡°No, I will do this in the right way, and the right way for me is to marry the girl and be a father.¡±


    ¡°Xavier, you don¡¯t even love the girl.¡± Said Vale bluntly at him.


    With a bittered smile on his face, Xavier said, ¡°I could try.¡±


    Now, after themotion and the news, we are going back to see our Heroine, who was satisfied with the looks of her room, she took a day just to paint and decorate her room, with a white pearl color of a fresh coat of paint, inside of the shed looks brand new, she added twoyers of the curtain on every window for privacy and even brought flowers in the vase and a jar of cookies for her familiar, Chikara, who loves to eat cookies and cakes.


    ¡®Can I sample one, master?¡¯


    A sound of a pestering monster inside of her shadows gave some giggles to Anne. She nodded her head and drop the cookie into her shadow. In just a second, the cookie was gone. She smiles and gets back to work.


    ¡°In three days, we probably could go to the nearest river for you to be materialized there. It will be big enough for you.¡± Said Anne, softly to her familiar.


    ¡®I would love that. I think I know the perfect ce for it, master.¡¯


    ¡°I know, Chikara, now, let me finish decorating my humble but pretty shed so I could take a rest early.¡± With a huge smile on her face, she walks around her shed and makes a small touch to every corner of her shed.


    At nine o¡¯clock, she went to rest and ignore dinner time. She put on her nightgown after the refreshing bath and look into the moonlight at her window whileying on her bed. A feeling of contentment came into her and slept as soon as she closed her eyes, while a big shadow of a man staring at her from afar.


    The moonlight shies away from the sky and the sunlight came bravely and shines on the world. Anne, as usual, was already awake and begin her light exercise before the gardening club came and terrorize the rooftop. Fifteen minutester, a handful of people already cared for their nt. Anne bravely approached one of them.


    ¡°Excuse me, I wanted to enter the gardening club. How could I apply? Or maybe meet with the coordinator of this club?¡± She asked a young woman with brown hair.


    The brown-hair healer saw her and immediately extended her hand. ¡°That would be me, miss Anne. How do you do? My name is Aly.¡±


    She was an odd young woman, with cute freckles on her face and majestic brown eyes that almost match her hair color, she wear a straw hat and seems never to care if her hand was full of dirt. A green thumb, that¡¯s what she is, the rare talent where a person could use their hands and grow magnificent nts everywhere.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, miss Aly, so when can I apply?¡± Asked Anne politely to the young woman that seems not even in her mid twenty yet.


    Chuckles at Anne, she stands up while cleaning her hands, ¡°Eager I see, well, I will give you the form to be signed, and you will be officially one of us. I¡¯ll send the form to your temp bed at the main hospital. I know that you have a busy schedule there.¡±


    Aly, the quirky coordinator of the gardening club, then leaves our heroine without even saying anything. Anne is already impressed by her carefree attitude. She took a deep breath, savoring the sweet aromas of the flowers, and go to have her bath and breakfast. At seven-thirty, Leo was already waiting for her in the lounge, and they walked together to the main hospital.


    ¡°So, I will give you a tour before we begin our shifts. From there, senior Nathan will give us the instructions for our duty today.¡± Said Leon when the two of them still walking along the streets.


    Nodding her head. Anne took the time to ask Leo another question. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I thought chief Hale giving me an instruction to see the disease patient immediately.¡±


    ¡°Although chief Hale is the leader in the main hospital, the one that gives us our dutyes from the senior healer that was in charge of us.¡± Answered Leo to the eager Anne.


    When they arrived at the hospital, Leo showed her the temp bed first. The temp bed was actually bunk beds where healers could rest for one or two hours during their shift. Her temp bed is in the room with Nathan¡¯s name on the door. As soon as Leo open the room, she knew they will sleep together as a group, where their senior healer also have their bed close to their bunk bed.


    ¡°Leo, could I ask you one more thing?¡± She smiles nervously at her acquaintance.


    Leo was leaning on the desk and just shrug his shoulder, ¡°Sure, what do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°How many females are in senior Nathan¡¯s team?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re the only girl on our team.¡±


    She almost drops onto the floor, thinking that she will share a room with a group of men that she doesn¡¯t even know.

 Chapter 137 - 137 The first shift (Part 2)

    137 The first shift (Part 2)


    The horrified look on Anne¡¯s face confirmed for Leo that she had actually never done this shared room with a man before. He walks to her and revealed a curtain on the lower bunk bed with a mini window beside it, the bunk bed that has been changed especially for her.


    ¡°We know you might feel ufortable to have us around, that¡¯s why our senior, Nathan, gave a suggestion to put a curtain on your bunk bed.¡± Said Leo with a very wide grin on his face.


    Anne was so surprised by their kind gesture, she actually felt a lot better. It means all of them thought about her well-being. She touched the curtain. It was in a soft purple color light fabric that will block people from the outside to see the inside, while the inside has the ess to see the other side. Not long after, Nathan appears looking so exhausted with two other men that seem to be part of Nathan¡¯s team.


    ¡°Oh, you see the bed, so, do you like it?¡± Nathan asked her while he drop into his chair, trying so hard to be awakened, while the other two men just smile at her and go to their respective bunk beds.


    ¡°Thank you so much for this¡­ Really appreciate how considerate you all are, senior.¡± Anne even bows her head to Nathan.


    ¡°Oh, no need to be so formal, you are all part of my family now,¡± Said Nathan smiling at her, even though his eyes were trying to be close at any time, he then open one of his drawers and gave Anne a metal namete, ¡°This is yours, you need to bring it at all time, it is for the ess orb on the most critical and infectious patient, ess to almost all the nearest facility, and also for the free three times a day meal on the main hospital canteen.¡±


    Anne looks into the metal namete, her name engraved on the namete, with her rank being engraved on the other side. ¡°What about my badge? Do I still have to wear it?¡±


    Nodding at her, Nathan then exined the difference between the two items, ¡°Yes, your badge was the main item, so you need to carry it everywhere, while the namete was essential for the times you will be spent inside the main hospital.¡±


    ¡°Alright, thank you, senior, so what¡¯s my first duty of the day?¡± Anne was so eager to begin her day inside the main hospital.


    .....


    Nathan¡¯s brushed his tired face and chuckles to her, ¡°Rx, you¡¯ll have your worksheet here after Leo takes you around,¡± He tried to calm her burst-out energy first, by giving her some instructions, ¡°You need to know the inside of the main hospital and remember every location after he was done giving you a tour, go back here, and you will find your worksheet in my desk.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you will soon be lost some of that energy.¡± Leo said to her with a grin on his face when he open the door for the two of them, ¡°Come on, let me show you around.¡±


    They walk around the main hospital where Leo shows Anne the way to the canteen, lounge area, and then the patient¡¯s room, he also takes her to the newest room in the main hospital, the alchemia room, inside the room where the alchemist on duty for the main hospital, there are three alchemists working hard today, they tried to find the cure for the new disease that came haunting inside the capital.


    ¡°We can¡¯t go any further than this. There¡¯s ab inside, but with so many hazardous materials and samples, so let¡¯s continue.¡± Said Leo, after he waved goodbye to the alchemists.


    Observing their interactions, Anne was intrigued. ¡°You seem to know all of them very well.¡±


    ¡°You will, especially since one of them is a part of our team.¡± Said Leo with a smirk on his face. Anne tried to turn around, curious about the alchemist that is one of her teammates, but Leo pull her away gently, ¡°You will see him when the time is right. Come on, let¡¯s go. We have some rooms left.¡±


    After half an hour of a quick tour, Anne and Leo go back to the team¡¯s room and saw Nathan already fast asleep on his own bed, their worksheetsid on Nathan¡¯s desk. Anne took hers and saw that she need to report to the alchemia room and discussed the cure with the alchemist in charge.


    ¡°Uhm¡­ Leo, I have a question.¡± Said Anne while handing Leo her worksheet. ¡°I don¡¯t see any word about resting here.¡±


    Leo took her worksheet and read it carefully. ¡°This is normal.¡± He exined to Anne and pointed to something on her worksheet, ¡°You see this? Observe the patient¡¯s wards, now this is the time for us to take a rest because, after your round, you will take this time to take a quick nap or maybe eat something in between the shifts.¡± He then gave her some suggestions, ¡°I¡¯ll suggest taking food that is easy to digest and quick enough for you to take a bite.¡±


    ¡°Alright, thank you, Leo, you were being so helpful to me.¡± Anne was gratefully thankful for her newfound friendship with Leo.


    ¡°No problem, now good luck on your first day. I¡¯ll see you around.¡± Leo waved at her and go away into his own shifts.


    Anne saw him who walk leisurely, she heard Leo whistling and even strutting while greeting the healers around the main hospital. She could see that the man was friendly and probably popr. Anne smiles and takes and then inhales the air. If Leo could have a good mood when he is on duty, then she could also prevail on her first day.


    Nervously, Anne opens the door of the alchemia room, everyone inside looking at her with frowns on their face. Her level of anxiety just keeps getting higher. She was confused about their reaction, especially when a woman came forward with her hands folded in her chest.


    The woman red at her, with the others just ignoring her, but with the tensioning from all over the room, the animosity goes to our heroine directly. Anne let out a sigh and once again, another hurdle came her way.


    ¡°What are you doing here, outcast? We don¡¯t need any healer here!¡± Said the woman in her firm stance right in front of Anne.

 Chapter 138 - 138 The patient zero

    138 The patient zero


    The alchemia room inside the main hospital was in a ruckus. However, they stopped for a moment when Anne interrupted their busy day by entering the room. Riya, the alchemist in charge, gets so annoyed to see here barging inside. She stared at Anne, trying to intimidate our heroine.


    ¡°So, tell me, what are you doing inside the alchemia room? don¡¯t you have a task to do, like tending to your patients?¡± Riya asked her, with her eyebrows up far along. Even Anne was scared it might lose from her face.


    Anne tried to smile at Riya, even though she was vtile towards her. ¡°Senior Nathan gave me my worksheet with instructions that I will assist the alchemists for the next four hours, probably because of my experience with¡­¡±


    Sneering at her, Riya look at Anne¡¯s worksheet and said, ¡°Experience? What did you know about this new variant, after all?!¡±


    ¡°Moskeet fever? I have treated patients with a moskeet fever before the first variant and also the second variant.¡± Anne bravely stared back to fight the animosity that came from Riya, the alchemist in charge.


    Moskeet fever was a disease that wasing from a bug name moskeeto, it bes a problem almost ten years ago, in one particr area of the kingdom, thankfully the alchemist and the healers back then sessfully concocted the cure before the disease bes a pandemic. Now unbeknown to everyone, Moskeet fever got a new variant that even the previous cure couldn¡¯t even make the patients heal and make it worse.


    The alchemist was in charge, just looking at Anne, furious when she walked towards our heroine, ¡°You know what?! No wonder chief ra never liked you. You¡¯re one of the¡­¡±


    Another alchemist that just came inside immediately cut Riya¡¯s sentences, ¡°Oh, miss River Anne, I was wondering when can I finally meet you!¡± The alchemist was a man with a friendly smile, he turn around to Riya and asked her permission, ¡°Can I take it from here, miss Riya? I am her teammate after all.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, fine, Hector, just don¡¯t let her near me for now. I was so irritated by your senior¡¯s decision.¡± Gruntled Riya, while walking away from the two of them.


    .....


    ¡°So sorry for that, believes me, she is a kind woman, just¡­ Well, something private came along.¡± Said the man who had just came inside. ¡°My name¡¯s Hector. I am under Nathan¡¯s supervision as well, so nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you, too. Thank you for earlier, Hector. Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t hold grudges.¡± Anne said, while giving him a wink.


    He chuckles and takes her into theb. Inside, there were two other alchemists working on the vials at the burner with a fire orb. Hector handed her the report and exined to her about the cure for the new variant of moskeet fever.


    ¡°So, we were trying to make the exact cure from the original moskeet when we have the patient zero. However, the cure failed to heal him, and instead of making him worse, we don¡¯t know what went wrong with it.¡± Said Hector to Anne, exining the first man who was suspected as the one that is infected first. They called him patient zero.


    Anne read the report of the cure, and just like Hector said, the cure failed in a worse way. ¡°This is strange, I mean¡­ Wait, do you have the thorough report on patient zero?¡±


    ¡°There were inside the archived room with the librarians, but I could take you there.¡± Hector lead her outside the alchemia room and into the library, Anne turn her head to the alchemia room door when they were already outside, Hector nced at her and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°My worksheet, I mean senior Nathan, instructed me to help in the alchemia room. I thought I need to be inside to help?¡± Anne pointed at the alchemia room, questioning her cement from the worksheet.


    Hector looked at her and gave her a grin, ¡°We are not cooped up inside those rooms for hours, you know, same as you, and the purpose of your cement inside the alchemia room is to assist us to find the new variant cure.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well, it is essential for me to read the report of patient zero first.¡± Muttered Anne to Hector.


    When the two of them arrived at the archived room, only one librarian that was inside, he was humming while on his back, and even failed to see Anne and Hector. Hector needs to clear his throat to alert the librarian. The librarian finally turns around and fixed his sses. Anne recognized the librarian as soon as she looked at his face.


    ¡°Wait, Andy? What are you doing here?!¡± She rushed to the librarian, who was also surprised to see her.


    ¡°Oh, Anne, you¡¯re here already. I heard a rumor about your arrival.¡± He gave her a warm embrace that makes Hector a bit surprised.


    ¡°So, the two of you know each other?¡± Asked Hector when he observed their interaction.


    Andy nods his head enthusiastically. ¡°Yes, she was my old friend. We knew each other for years.¡±


    ¡°Great, then you two shouldn¡¯t have a problem working together.¡± Hector told them, and when he nced at the moonsun dial on the wall, he excused himself, and tell Anne to wait for him in the archive room, ¡°I¡¯ll be here in two hours. Familiarize yourself with the case file first.¡±


    The only thing Anne could say before Hector was gone from the door was some incoherent words. Andy was chuckling when he looks at Hector that was gone as soon as he enter the archived room.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it wasn¡¯t your fault, he¡­ Wasn¡¯t fond of this room in particr.¡± Andy then walk away and told Anne to follow him, ¡°Come on, the report about patient zero was in the back.¡±


    Half an hourter, Anne was already invested in reading the thick document about patient zero. A mushroom farmer in his forty, living in the wet soil part of the kingdom, was exposed by the moskeeto nest and got bitten all over his body. When he got a fever, the family thinks it was just the original moskeet fever. Turn out, it was more than that.


    ¡°ckened bruises all over the moskeeto bites, coughing, and also high fever. The cure failed and somehow made him worse than before.¡± Anne was reading the report with a frown on her face.


    Andy came inside and bring her some caftea, ¡°Hey, I¡¯ll put this on the desk. Take a break once in a while, alright?¡± Anne never took her eyes off the book. She ignores himpletely. When Andy saw it, he took a sigh and said, ¡°It¡¯s almost like you¡¯re actually a librarian at one point in your life.¡± And then walk away from her.


    Anne took nced at Andy¡¯s back and remembered her time in her old world, she was a librarian and was very good at it, but another wicked smile appear in her imagination, the words of an evil witch of the mountain, that will always be inside her head.


    ¡°A gift for you, my newest girl.¡±


    Shuddered, she goes back to read the report and tried not to think about her.

 Chapter 139 - 139 The unexpected encountered

    139 The unexpected encountered


    ¡°So, did you find anything?¡±


    Anne looks up to see Andy. He pointed at the door and said, ¡°Two hours were up. Your escort is waiting.¡±


    Anne muttered while putting together the documents, ¡°Wait, I need more time, there was¡­¡±


    ¡°Anne, we need to go back to the room.¡± Hector was calling for her from the door of the room. ¡°Come on, you can go back here when you have the time.¡±


    ¡°But Hector, I need to read all of this thoroughly.¡± Anne was practically pleading with the man.


    ¡°You need to see the patients as well, not just the report, right?¡± Said Hector. He then walks away while his hand waves at Anne to follow him outside.


    Andy tried to console her, ¡°You should follow Hector, for now. Don¡¯t worry, I could lend you the report so you can read it in your spare time.¡± Andy trusted her because of how kind Anne was when they were on the journey together.


    Anne, who doesn¡¯t want to be taken advantage of by Andy¡¯s kindness, rejected his offer immediately. ¡°Thank you so much but I don¡¯t want you to get into any trouble,¡± Anne saw him look a bit discouraged by it, she then tried to give him another solution, ¡°But, I¡¯ll visit here when I have the time, would that be okay?¡±


    After hearing the alternative way from Anne, Andy was so happy, he nodded his head, forming an agreement. He doesn¡¯t know when Anne will have the time, since healers rarely have the time to rest or even eat when they are on duty. It was notoriously known by all civil servants that healers took care of others, but never took care of themselves. Anne reluctantly followed Hector to the alchemia room. He handed her a sheet of report.


    .....


    ¡°We have another case, a child, still suspected.¡± Said Hector while Anne read the report. This time Hector lead her into another area, rather than taking her back to the alchemia room.


    Confused by how Hector led her into another area, Anne asked him directly, ¡°Where are we going?¡±


    ¡°Senior Nathan asked you to assist him. You will have ess to the new patient and could see firsthand if the child is infected or not.¡± Hector exined to her while opening the door to the emergency room, ¡°Every suspect case will be brought to the red door immediately, so use the protective gear before entering the red door, alright?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing that you will not follow me?¡± Asked Anne when Hector remained on the other side of the area.


    ¡°Yes, the alchemist job is in theb. I¡¯ll be looking into the samples and we will discuss this at the briefing.¡± Said Hector to her, ¡°Good luck, Anne.¡±


    After they separated, Anne was in a hurry to wear the protective gear, one of the healers gave her a quick course on how to use the protective gear, which is basically a coat that was already soaked in the gaaram¡¯s wood ashes and got dried in the sun, Anne also need to use a face mask.


    ¡°How do you feel?¡± Asked the healer when Anne was inside the protective coat and the mask.


    ¡°A bit heavy, and hard to breathe a little, but I can manage.¡± She gave the healer a thumbs up, which makes the healer a bit confused.


    ¡°Why did you raise your thumb?¡±


    Flustered, Anne was giving the healer an awkward smile and said, ¡°Oh, nothing, just some friendly gesture, that was all.¡± She forgot that not all gestures were the same as in the old world, she took sighed and walks into the red door.


    Inside the red door, Anne saw there were healers running around, trying to revive one patient. She never thought that the condition of the new disease was already this critical. A hand grabs her arm. Anne turn around to see Nathan in protective gear. He pulled her into another room where they put the suspect into another enclosed. Inside the room there was a child,ying on his back, crying for help.


    The child was in so much pain, Anne sympathized with his condition, not to mention the blisters all over his body. Nathan asked her for an opinion, and she tried to do the assessment as well as she can be, without hurting the child so much.


    ¡°He got a high fever, blisters all over the body, and shortness of breath.¡± Said Anne, trying to exin the child¡¯s condition to her senior.


    ¡°Good, and then?¡± Nathan asked her back, it seems Anne was missing something.


    If it¡¯s not because of the face mask, Anne would bite her nails ferociously. Somehow, the act could get her into a clearer mind. She closed her eyes, remembering every patient that she was already treated before. Finally, she remembers, she tried to open the child¡¯s eyes and saw how red his eyes were right now.


    ¡°This is it, his eyes bing so red,¡± Anne told her senior, which makes Nathan satisfied with her answer.


    ¡°Good job. You definitely treated this new variant before.¡± Nathan gave her approval, and gave her the report sheet, ¡°Now, you¡¯re in charge of this child, whatever that you need to do, either check him into the intensive care as one of the new variant moskeet fever patients or gave him the negative mark so he will be brought into the regr care room, it will be your decision.¡±


    Anne nodded her head. She will never back down from this kind of challenge. Nathan was impressed by how calm Anne can be. He had some doubts when chief Hale told him about how Anne has the ability to treat the new variant. That¡¯s why he was testing her and also observing her today, hoping to see the talent that chief Hale insinuated about Anne.


    ¡°Alright, first thing first, we need to shut their eyes using cloth already soaked with calendure leaves brew.¡±


    Nathan and all the helpers look at her with confusion on their faces.


    ¡°Calendure leaves? And why do we need to shut their eyes with cloth?¡± Asked one of the helpers to her.


    Anne was in shock, she goes to the other room where the patients of the new variant were being treated. All of them didn¡¯t have the cloth to shut their now very swollen eyes. She hurried back to the room with the suspected child.


    ¡°You need to shut your eyes. Because of the high fever, the eyes will be so swollen and it will be painful for them. We need to make them asfortable as we can.¡± Anne told the helpers, while Nathan observe from behind.


    ¡°But if we were able to heal them, there is no need to make themfortable now.¡± Said the helper.


    Anne shakes her head. ¡°No! Theirfort is one of the ways to a rapid healing process. If they got morefortable, the less stress that could contribute to the severity of their illness.¡±


    The helpers look towards Nathan, who gave them a nod, which means they will do as Anne instructed them. Most of them already gruntled before they went to make the soaking cloth with the calendure leaves brew. Nathan goes to stand beside Anne, looking at the helpless boy.


    ¡°I assumed this poor child got infected already?¡± Asked Nathan.


    Anne sadly nodded her head. ¡°Yes, he was in the early stage right now.¡±


    Nathan holds her shoulder. ¡°I will put on the soaked cloth immediately. Now, you have another task that you need to do.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I need to inform the bad news to his family.¡± Said Anne with a long sigh, another task that she hate, informing the bad news.


    When she arrived at the waiting room, Anne already wearing a fresh coat with her badge, she put her hair into a ponytail and tried to make a small smile at the family. A man with a young woman, the father, and the sister of the infected patient.


    ¡°Are you the healer in charge of my boy?¡± Asked the man to Anne.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m afraid I have some bad news, sir.¡± Anne tried to keep herself calm. ¡°He was indeed infected, and will be inside the intensive care room.¡±


    The man dropped onto the floor, and the young woman cried. While holding her father, Anne tried to help the family, when another man came to assist the young woman. Anne looked up at the big man and how surprised Anne was when she looked into a pair of golden eyes. Xavier looks at her with a t expression. He carried the young woman, who was now crying, at his shoulder. Xavier walked away without turning around to see Anne again.

 Chapter 140 - 140 You and Her

    140 You and Her


    Xavier was sitting inside the waiting room in the main hospital, his hand holding onto a woman¡¯s shoulder, trying to support her, to calm her. Another man, a much older man, came towards the two of them and sat beside the young woman.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he will be fine, for all that we know he is still a suspect, right, Yasmine?¡± Said the old man to his daughter, Yasmine.


    ¡°But father, I saw him unconscious. Even Xavier saw him. I don¡¯t know what to do! I could have lost my little brother.¡± Yasmine was hysterical, she was panicking in the waiting room.


    Xavier looks at the families in the waiting room, and immediately whispered to Yasmine, ¡°Look, I don¡¯t want you to be hysterical about it, because every eye was all on you right now, so remained calm, alright?¡±


    ¡°But Xavier! My brother?!¡± Yasmine was still hysterical, no matter what Xavier does to calm her down.


    Giving up, he handed the young woman to her father and opt to take a breath of fresh air in the main hospital garden. He loves the garden in this hospital, not only because it was the biggest, but the garden also has a small park for patients to do some healing walks every morning. It was almost noon; the sun was at its peak. Xavier remembered how he found the poor boy on the floor when he visited Yasmine¡¯s house.


    Trying to have a civil discussion with the young woman before he asked Justice and Henry¡¯s opinion. Instead, there he was, Yasmine¡¯s little brother, unconscious on the floor, and to make things worse, he touch the boy before calling for the healers toe into the house.


    ¡°I¡¯m in trouble now, sh*t!¡± Muttering while he basked in the sun, his wolf¡¯s instinct grew. He really wants to transform and run toward the woods right now. Yasmine is a good girl, but sometimes she could get so intense, like today.


    ¡°Sir Xavier?¡±


    .....


    A woman¡¯s voice called him from behind. Xavier turned around and saw a young helper looking straight at him. He nodded his head and said, ¡°Yes, how may I help you?¡±


    ¡°Miss Yasmine asking for you, the healer wille shortly to exin about young mister Yego¡¯s condition.¡± The helper said to him with a polite tone.


    ¡°Thank you, miss. I¡¯ll go back to her as soon as possible.¡± Xavier gave her his thanks and looks at her going away.


    Taking a deep breath, he saunters to the waiting room. Xavier was anxious, he seems going deeper into Yasmine¡¯s life even though he was still trying to know more about her private life. The only thing he knew about Yasmine is about her drinking habit and her unsessful timing to be funny, he never even kissed her, but only because of his ckout that he had done something that he wasn¡¯t even remembered and now he must face the consequences of his action.


    Not that he doesn¡¯t want to, he will be responsible for the child, but deep down inside of his mind, Yasmine is never in the picture. There¡¯s another young woman who miraculously stayed inside even though a wicked bewitched spell already vanished within his system, a young woman with purple color hair, and the most beautiful smile that he ever saw.


    Before Xavier turn into the waiting room, he heard Yasmine¡¯s voice, with a sound of distress in it. He peeks and his heart skips a beat for a second. Yasmine was talking with Anne, the young woman who sometimes haunted his dream. What he saw right now wasn¡¯t the same young woman that he was looking after two years ago. This is the mature version of her. Her long hair is in a ponytail, with the healer¡¯s coat covering her dress, her face bing more beautiful with her full lips and cat eyes like eyes. Xavier couldn¡¯t handle it. He doesn¡¯t want to meet with her, not because he hates her or sympathizes with her. Xavier wanted Anne for himself and was afraid that the obsession that he had before will grow once again.


    Doesn¡¯t know what to do. He leans on the wall, trying to catch his breath. He doesn¡¯t even run, but his heart now pounding faster, seems like his wolf almost came out just from looking at her face. The sweet girl is now bing a beautiful young woman in front of his eyes. Xavier almost turns around and left the main hospital, but then the sounds of people panicking make him go back to the waiting room. Yasmine was crying and hysterical. While her father was dropping to the floor, Anne was trying so hard to calm the two of them, but to no avail.


    ¡°F*ck!¡± He cursed before walking towards Yasmine and lifting her from the floor.


    For a short time, his eyes were locked on her eyes, they look at each other and Xavier could see the longing that came from Anne; she misses him, and somehow it makes him so happy to know the fact that Anne missed him. He carries Yasmine away from Anne and tried to resist so hard not to turn around to see her face. Yasmine was crying hysterically. It really got on Xavier¡¯s nerved, but he tried to calm himself, remembering that she was pregnant right now.


    ¡°Oh, Xavier, what should we do?¡± Said Yasmine in his arms.


    ¡°What happened?¡± He tried to ask her, but the young woman keep weeping profusely. Xavier then put her on the bench in the corridor and hold her shoulder, ¡°Yasmine, Yasmine! I need you to focus right now! What happened to your little brother?!¡± He frantically tried to pry some answers from Yasmine.


    ¡°Yego¡­ Oh, Yego is¡­¡± Yasmine really tried to make some coherent words.


    ¡°Miss Yasmine, sir Xavier.¡± A voice of a woman calling for them, a voice that Xavier will never forget whenever he was. He looks up and saw Anne with a file in her right hand, looking at the two of them with a t expression. ¡°I am sorry, but young mister Yego was infected by the new strain of the moskeet fever.¡±


    Xavier stands up, leaving Yasmine, still crying hysterically on the bench, ¡°Is he¡­ Is he alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes, he is stable for now, that¡¯s what I was trying to convey to miss Yasmine, before.¡± Said Anne with a bit of annoyance in her voice.


    ¡°Yasmine¡­ well, she¡¯s a bit sensitive,¡± Xavier informed the healer that was right in front of him, a charming healer with a ponytail and a frowning face.


    A smirk came into Anne¡¯s face, ¡°Well, it seems you know her quite a lot.¡± Muttered Anne.


    ¡°Of course, she¡­ I have a close rtionship with her.¡± Xavier hates to admit it, but she will know the truth, eventually.


    Xavier could see a slight disappointment in Anne¡¯s expression, but she soon recovered and tell her another bad news, ¡°Uhm¡­ Alright, so it will be no problem if I put the two of you into the observation room together then.¡±


    Couldn¡¯t believe what he just heard, Xavier asked Anne for confirmation, ¡°Wait, observation room?! What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Both of you had some contact with young mister Yego, so we need to do some observation for three days. Don¡¯t worry, we will release you if the results are good.¡± Anne told both of them in an attempt to calm down the still-hysterical Yasmine.


    ¡°Alright, so what do we need to do right now?¡± Asked Xavier while he tried to calm Yasmine in his embrace, ¡°and please, gave us separate rooms.¡±


    Anne stared at them for a moment. She called for two helpers with protective suits toe forward. ¡°The helpers will escort the two of you to the observation room, and a healer wille to check on you every six hours. Good day, Xavier, miss Yasmine.¡±


    Before Anne could walk away, Xavier called her once again, ¡°Wait, who¡¯s my healer in charge?¡±


    ¡°That would be me.¡± Then Anne walks away, not even bothering to see him.

 Chapter 141 - 141 She knows... She knows...

    141 She knows... She knows...


    (Warning: This chapter contained an adult problem of pregnancy before marriage, and a hint of alcohol abuse, reader¡¯s discretion is a must.)


    ¡°You¡¯re in big trouble, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Inside the safe visitation room, there was Henry, looking so annoyed at Xavier on the other side of the safety ss. Hees visiting as soon as one of Xavier¡¯s subordinates tells him about him going to be inside the main hospital for three days after making a contact with an infected new variant of moskeet fever.


    Xavier look so glum, he stared at his friend for a little too long. His beautiful face was still there, but the smile and his sparkling eyes, who were full of lives, those eyes were gone. Now, he bes brooding and has a face filled with the animosity that could stun everyone that looks on his way.


    Scoffing, he said to Henry about his condition, ¡°I¡¯m fine, Henry, I felt nothing¡­ So, what happened to you?¡± Xavier asked him back, he couldn¡¯t resist after seeing how he was changing a lot in these two years.


    ¡°What happened to me, asked that f*cker who gave a cut on my lips!¡± Hissed Henry while pointing at the torn lips that look so painful even at a nce.


    Xavier winced when he looks at the bruises all over his face. ¡°You should probably go and ask for medication. After all, you¡¯re inside a hospital right now.¡±


    ¡°I am fine, Xave! Ugh¡­ I came here worrying about you and here you are mocking my minor injured.¡± Henry was gruntling, while he looks around the visitation area, ¡°But, it¡¯s good that you¡¯re alright then.¡±


    Looking at his friend, Xavier was smiling and shook his head, ¡°No, I mean, what happened to you for thest two years? At the pub, we were just chugging drinks. I talk and you stared at some empty space. Really, what happened to you, Henry?¡±


    .....


    ¡°Nothing happened to me!¡± Henry was practically yelling, impromptu everyone to look over their side. Henry curses and tried to avoid the conversation. ¡°Okay, look, can we keep the discussion about you entirely? Just... leave my problem out of this, okay?¡±


    Still couldn¡¯t believe how Henry tried to avoid his question, Xavier¡¯s raised his hand, and smile at him, ¡°Fine, if you don¡¯t want to talk about this, but sooner orter¡­¡±


    Before Xavier could finish his sentence, a healer came knocking on his side of the room. ¡°Captain Xavier, the healer, is here to check on you. We need you to go back to your room.¡±


    ¡°You heard him, I¡¯ll see you soon, alright?¡± He excused himself from Henry.


    Before he leaves the room, the brooding Henry asks him another question, ¡°Wait¡­ is she¡­ is she here right now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ She¡¯s my healer in charge.¡± Said Henry while scoffing at him.


    ¡°D*mn! What a luck that you have Xavier.¡± Muttered Henry.


    He left the main hospital by walking through the corridor to the horse stable. He heard a helper calling for his name from behind. Turning around, Henry saw the helper that had called for Xavier before.


    ¡°Wait¡­ Sir¡­ I¡­ I have something for you.¡± Said the helper when he finally reached him, ¡°Oh Gods! You walk so fast I thought I could never catch you.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Asked Henry to the helper.


    He handed Henry two vials with a piece of paper attached to them. ¡°This medicine is from the healer, for¡­ for your bruises.¡± Said the helper a bit nervous.


    Henry looks at the vial and the piece of paper with a frown on his face. After a short while, he took the vials and the note from the helper¡¯s hand and gave him a short thank you. He read the note while walking away.


    ¡®For your bruises and cut, get well soon. From Anne.¡¯


    After reading the note, he threw it into the bushes but kept the vials carefully inside his pocket. Henry goes back to the barrack, preparing for his shift. This time there¡¯s a hint of a smirk on his face when he left the main hospital.


    Meanwhile, Xavier was waiting for Anne. Inside his istion room, he was nervous even though he tried so hard not to show it. A momentter, Anne entered the room, along with one helper with a paper sheet in his hand. Both of them use a mask soaked with ckened gaaram wood ashes.


    ¡°Good day, sir Xavier, my name is River Anne, this is a routine checkup for¡­¡±


    ¡°You know who I am, Anne, stop with the formality, please, it bothered me so much, so just¡­ Just begin your routine check-up.¡± Xavier told her, while massaging his forehead.


    The helper looks at Anne and then Xavier; he doesn¡¯t know about the history of these two, and he senses another potential rumor that could go around the main hospital. Anne let out a sigh and begins to check on Xavier.


    She asked Xavier to open his shirt, and when he opened the shirt, Anne and even the helper were practically drooling over every muscle that Xavier have, and the man loves when he saw her genuine reaction. Xavier was proud of his body, he know one of the attractive traits of his is his tone abs, height, and of course the golden color of his eyes. The helper even take a deep breath and gave him a praising look.


    Anne need to clear her throat when she touched his chest and his face. Their eyes met for a moment. She can feel his hot breath breezing into her face. Anne needs to muster all of her will not to touch the full lips of Xavier, while his eyes stared into her constantly. His broad chest and his hot breath hypnotized her senses.


    ¡°Err¡­ Healer Anne? are you¡­ are you finished?¡± The helper saw their intimate interaction, and he then tried to warn the healer before something unexpected happened, or probably something that Anne and Xavier expected to happen.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see any sign of infection, which is good¡­ For now.¡± Said Anne while trying to clear her throat, her eyes still ncing at Xavier, ¡°For now, I¡¯ll give you some fruits, are you having trouble sleeping?¡±


    ¡°No, not really? When I want to sleep, I just close my eyes and sleep right away.¡± Answered Xavier to her.


    Anne nodded her head. ¡°Good, then take a good rest. How about drinking?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I like drinking alcohol, sometimes¡­¡± Xavier remembered his ckout episode two months ago, ¡°Sometimes a bit excessive.¡±


    Anne stared at his face, she doesn¡¯t say any words and turned to the helper. ¡°Gave him a kelpie soup every morning, and more fruits at noon, especially aggrus fruits. It will help him a bit if he needs the urge to drink.¡±


    Xavier knows what she was doing. ¡°I am not an alcoholic, Anne!¡± He said to her and then rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Still¡­ Just to be saved.¡± Anne shrugged her shoulder and stands up from her seat.


    ¡°Wait, Anne, are you going to see Yasmine now?¡± Asked Xavier to her.


    Anne turned on her back a bit to nce at Xavier, ¡°No, I¡¯ve already seen her, don¡¯t worry, she¡¯s calmer now, granted I almost gave her a sleeping potion.¡±


    Panicking, Xavier stands up and shouts at her, ¡°What?! you don¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t give her the sleeping potion,¡± Anne warned him and goes away. Before she close the door, she turned once again to Xavier, ¡°I know she is pregnant.¡± Whispered Anne, the expression on her face felt something that Xavier wouldn¡¯t predict, a disappointment.


    Before Xavier could say anything, Anne walk away and closed the door.

 Chapter 142 - 142 The old world knowledge

    142 The old world knowledge


    She never thought that there was another story between her story when she looks at the beautiful Yasmine, the beautiful pregnant Yasmine.


    Smiling at Anne, she tells her about how she wasn¡¯t expected to be pregnant after a one-night stand with Xavier. Hearing this makes her heart ache, but for the sake of Yasmine¡¯s mental well-being, she stays and tried to focus on her story.


    ¡°I mean, you can see how I was so much in love with him. Just look at his body¡­ Not to mention his ruggedly handsome face.¡± Yasmine keeps talking while Anne checks on her body, our poor heroine just smile at her. Then, Yasmine tells her about the day, ¡°Two months ago, we were fallen into the wagon, he passed out on the table, that¡¯s when I asked the pub owner to lend us the room, I mean I don¡¯t want the poor guy to be Ill.¡± Yasmine took a sigh, and smile at Anne, ¡°I mean what can I say, one thing leads to another, right, miss healer?.¡±


    Anne stopped for a while and stared at Yasmine. She couldn¡¯t believe her eyes. The girl knew something about her and definitely knew Anne¡¯s history with Xavier. She cleared her throat, and gave her evaluation to the helper, Yasmine, however, keep maintaining her smile throughout Anne¡¯s routine check-up.


    ¡°Alright, I will prescribe some tonic and probably it will be good for you and your pregnancy.¡± Said Anne with a t tone.


    ¡°Thank you so much, miss healer. I¡¯m sure Xavier and I will be d that you¡¯re taking good care of this child.¡± Yasmine said to Anne, with her hands holding onto the tummy.


    When Anne and her helper were walking outside into the corridor, the helper gruntled with his head still turn at Yasmine¡¯s room.


    ¡°Seriously, miss, everyone can see how she was gloating about her condition. Didn¡¯t you see how she practically danced gleefully on her mind because she gets what she wants by trapping a man into a rtionship.¡± The helper was still muttering while strutting into Xavier¡¯s room.


    Anne was amused by his behavior. She tried to give the helper some of her insight. ¡°I think both of them weren¡¯t meant for it to be happening.¡±


    .....


    The helper gawked at her, ¡°I am sorry, miss, but I can assure you, the woman from the previous room, meant everything to be happening. You just hope the poor man inside of this room knows what to do with this situation.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your concern, but It¡¯s not like he knows nothing about it. This is sir Xavier¡¯s decision, not mine.¡± Anne tried to convince the helper before entering another room, although how an arrogant smileing from Yasmine¡¯s face still bothered her so much.


    One hourter, inside the canteen with a sandwich and moomilk on the table, Anne couldn¡¯t forget Xavier¡¯s expression back then when Anne revealed that she already knew about Yasmine¡¯s pregnancy. Was it a disappointment that Anne saw from his eyes? She took sighed and finished her lunch in a hurry.


    ¡°Oh, miss healer, you have time to eat. That¡¯s good.¡± Anne looks up to see the helper that had been with her for the rest of her shift. He smiles widely and sits in the opposite direction of her. ¡°So nice to meet you again. My name is Marty, if you were wondering.¡±


    With a little scratch on her head, and awkwardly smile at the helper named Marty, ¡°Yes, nice to meet you, Marty, err¡­ yeah, just got some time to eat.¡±


    Gasping at Anne, Marty looks at the chosen menu of our heroine. ¡°Wait, this is your first meal of the day? I mean¡­¡± He look at therge moonsun dial on the wall and gasped dramatically, ¡°Nine o¡¯clock in the evening?!¡±


    The healers and the helpers turned around to see who was the one that makes a ruckus inside the canteen. Anne needs to duck her head in shame. Marty, on the other hand, still enjoying the array of delicacies on his te.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Marty, I ate something at lunch, so I will be fine. Thank you for your concern.¡± Said Anne to the amusingly noisy gentleman in front of her. She did eat something, three moomilk candies and a piece of bread before she got called for another emergency.


    ¡°Miss Anne, I don¡¯t want to barge in into anyone¡¯s problem, but I was a bit curious.¡± Marty looks at her and with a small grin on his face he said, ¡°But could I ask something?¡±


    Knowing Marty¡¯s behavior, she already knew what exactly he was going to ask. ¡°Alright, something is inside your mind? Marty?¡±


    Looking around the canteen, he whispered to Anne, trying to keep it between the two of them. ¡°That¡­ young woman, Yasmine, the one in the observation room, I was curious about her story¡­ I don¡¯t know, miss, but she seems obsessed with, you know, your friend, Xavier.¡±


    ¡°Well, you don¡¯t say.¡± Anne chuckles while sipping on her moomilk. She shakes her head at Marty, ¡°Could I please ask you to stop bothering miss Yasmine? I mean, she¡¯s a patient, and so does sir Xavier, their problem is not mine.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ miss, from the looks of how miss Yasmine was talking, sir, Xavier probably was being trapped,¡± Marty said desperately to Anne.


    ¡°Marty, we already check on her. She is, in fact, pregnant.¡± Anne had enough of this. She took her tray and said goodbye to Marty.


    Walking outside from the canteen, she opts to go to get some rest. Inside the resting area, she met Leo, who was trying to sleep above her bed. He smiles at Anne with a letter in his hand.


    ¡°Hey, how¡¯s your day? I heard it was bing quite a drama for you?¡±


    Anne rolled her eyes and drop herself to the bunk bed below Leo. ¡°Ugh, please don¡¯t remind me about it. I need to take some good rest now.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you will sleep like a newborn, even if it¡¯s just for a short time.¡± Said Leo with a chuckle. There were no sounds for a moment, and then he said something to Anne, ¡°By the way, do you ever assist in anybor when you were on your journey of finding yourself?¡±


    ¡°What? a journey of finding myself? What kind of¡­¡± She gets out of her bunk bed and looks at Leo who was sleeping above her bed, ¡°Right¡­ Haha, so funny Leo, anyhow, yes I was helping a young woman inbor when I was in my¡­ journey of finding myself.¡±


    ¡°Then you do know something about an early monthbor, right?¡± Asked Leo to her.


    Early monthbor is the equivalent of prematurebor in Anne¡¯s old world. She was familiar with the terms, although she had never assisted a premature birth before. It makes her curious and wanted to know more about this question that came from Leo.


    ¡°I never assisted one, but I know something about it. What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Leo sighed and looks at her, ¡°My friend, a healer in another town, told me that he almost got in trouble because of a strange date of one of his assistedbor, he was so sure the child was fully developed and the mother wasn¡¯t an early monthbor.¡±


    ¡°Let me guess? She was recently getting married to the father of the child?¡± Said Anne with a smirk.


    ¡°Yes! That¡¯s why he was questioning the real date of the consummation, because the mother¡¯s family was trying to get him in jail. Which is ridiculous.¡± Leo gruntled while he continued to read the content on the paper.


    ¡°Wait¡­ the date of the consummation?¡± Anne was muttering, like she was just remembering something important, ¡°Oh my God, you¡¯re right, Leo! Thank you.¡± She practically screamed and hurry out of the room, leaving Leo in a confusion.


    She run into the helper¡¯s room and hoped to see someone familiar inside. Thankfully, Marty was inside, having augh with his fellow helpers. She called for him, and when they were in the corridor¡¯s corner, she admitted something to Marty.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, I was bothered by how miss Yasmine seems doing something to Xavier, I am sorry that I was kind of¡­¡±


    Marty raised his right hand to stop Anne. ¡°It¡¯s quite alright miss Anne, I totally understand that you don¡¯t want to abrupt their privacy, so¡­ what¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°I need your help to do some testing to determine how far along miss Yasmine¡¯s pregnancy is.¡± Said Anne while she took a deep breath.

 Chapter 143 - 143 A cried for help

    143 A cried for help


    The silence between them was unsettling. Marty, the helper, was so curious and surprised by the sudden change in Anne¡¯s mind; he scratches his chin, trying to guess what was inside of her mind. Anne just kept it as it is. She was ready for questions that wille from Marty.


    ¡°I assumed you wanted to know why I changed my mind about the whole¡­ pregnancy ordeal?¡± Anne was the first to break the silence between them.


    ¡°I do. I mean, you were so adamant at first, and then you came back, and decided it was the good time to check about the young miss pregnancy, anyway?¡± Marty shakes his head in disbelief, his eyes then goes to her, ¡°I know I was a bit pushover, but it seems so strange that you change your mind now.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because I need proof.¡± Said Anne to Marty, ¡°I care about Xavier, he is¡­ he is my friend, but I can¡¯t give him a reason with no tangible proof of it! I need proof, and of course, if Xavier wanted to continue on, I¡­ I respect that.¡± Anne said the words with a bittered smile, she looks at Marty, the man that she knows nothing about, but somehow, she felt she could trust him.


    Looking at how sad Anne¡¯s face was, Marty took deep sighed, and nodded his head, ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll help you, miss Anne, but you need to know that we need the mother to consign to get a thorough examination of her pregnancy.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will find some way,¡± Anne gave him a confident expression, and proceed to ask Marty about his schedule. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re still on duty tomorrow, right?¡±


    ¡°As a matter of fact, yes, so I will be your helper tomorrow again, miss healer.¡± Marty gave her a smile and excused himself from Anne.


    She looks at Marty, that goes inside the helper room. Anne feels satisfied by it, and the only thing that she needs to do is to give a valid reason for the consign agreement of a thorough pregnancy check. She goes back to her room and tried to get a rest.


    One hourter, another helper called for her, she wipe her face and get ready to go on another shift. Leo has already gone from his bed as well. The hellish night, as the senior healers told her at the canteen, you will never get a good rest, and not to mention nothing to eat. Anne checks on the emergency patient, with Nathan by her side, and afterward goes to another round to check on the infected patients.


    .....


    ¡°The boy is stable. Your medicinal soaking cloth already works wonders.¡± Said the helper while Anne looks at the boy¡¯s condition closely.


    Anne was happy with the helper¡¯s answer, she touch the boy¡¯s cheek with her ash-soaked gloves, ¡°Good, now feed him with fruits that I rmended only and if his fever went down tomorrow, we don¡¯t need the medicinal-soaked cloth on his eyes anymore.¡± Anne remembered the other patients. ¡°For the others, I¡¯m afraid they still need it for the time being.¡±


    ¡°Alright, miss healer, I¡¯ll tell the other helpers.¡± Said the young woman who assisted her tonight.


    The helper in the hospitals is thrice the number of the healers, their job were to attend to the patient¡¯s needs and also to assist the healers, because of the mass work that they need to do, there are always more helpers at the hospital than the healers, and there are not part of the civil service.


    Anne took nced at the moonsun dial and saw that it was almost morning already, she goes to bed once more and hoped that she could get at least two hours¡¯ rest this time. While Anne was sleeping peacefully on her bunk bed, Vale get some visitors in his bedroom.


    ¡°You know, Kirara, at least let me have a good rest before you barge in!¡± Gruntled Vale to Justice¡¯s familiar that was sitting in the corner, looking directly at him.


    ¡®My apology, sir Vale, but I don¡¯t know where to go after prince Jason and...¡¯


    There¡¯s something in Kirara¡¯s voice that makes Vale jump up from his bed. ¡°What happened, Kirara? Something happened to Justice?¡±


    ¡®No, not him, but please, I need you to bring miss Anne to the guard encampment on the east forest, sir.¡¯ Kirara practically pleaded to him.


    A frown came into his face. ¡°Anne? Why do I need to bring her along?¡±


    ¡®Because there was a signed that the guard encampment already got infected by the moskeet fever.¡¯


    ¡°What?! Oh, my Gods! Did prince Jason know about this?¡± Vale took his shirt and put it in a hurry.


    ¡®Yes, he will go to the main hospital to talk with the chiefs.¡¯


    After he was fully clothed, Vale nodded at Kirara. ¡°Good, now go back to your master and tell him to stay inside of his tent, let the healer tend to the infected. We will be there as soon as possible.¡±


    When Vale ride on his horse, he saw a huge shadow run in the opposite direction. It was Kirara who was in a hurry to go back to her master¡¯s side. Vale was also worried about Xavier, he should see him today at the hospital. It seems Vale got two reasons to visit the main hospital. He arrived just in time with prince Jason. They look at each other for a moment.


    ¡°Kirara came to you?¡± Asked prince Jason.


    Vale nodded his head. ¡°Yes, he wanted me to go there as well. I don¡¯t know the reason, though.¡±


    Prince Jason let out a sigh, ¡°It¡¯s best that we go inside. Chief Hale was already alerted about this.¡±


    They go together to chief Hale¡¯s room, and unexpectedly, Henry was already there, leaning on the corner. Vale and Henry look at each other. The bruises on their faces still need some time to heal, and apparently, also their egos. Vale chooses to sit without even saying anything to him, and Henry keeps leaning on the wall, ring at Vale from behind.


    Prince Jason had a tired expression on his face. He sat with his back slouching on the sofa, ¡°Chief Hale, I am sorry that I was bothered this morning, but I got a distress call from my brother, the crown prince.¡±


    ¡°I know about this, it seems captain Henry met with Kirara before the two of you, let us wait for miss Anne,¡± Said chief Hale while pouring his guests the freshly brewed metee tea, ¡°I¡¯ve already asked a helper to call for her, she must be on her temp bed, resting.¡±


    ¡°Resting? But this is like eight in the morning?¡± Henry looks at chief Hale with a frown on his face.


    ¡°Ah, our young duke doesn¡¯t know about our shift in the hospital.¡± Chief Hale has those smiles when you understand that someone could be gullible about the intensity of a healer¡¯s job.


    ¡°Excuse me, chief Hale, do you need me?¡± A soft-spoken voice of a woman draws the attention of everyone in the room.


    There she was, our heroine, with her purple color hair in a ponytail, with a wet face, probably her attempt to look fresh. Vale and henry could see how tired she must be feeling right now, her eyes already reddened and not to mention the puff that was already appearing below her eyes.


    Chief Hale, smile at her and ushered her inside, where Anne¡¯s eyes were back and forth looking at Vale and Henry.


    ¡°Ah, miss Anne, I have heard about your new technique. In one day you already amazed everyone. Good job.¡± Said Chief Hale with his overwhelming praise towards Anne.


    Looking nervous, Anne just gave him an awkward smile. ¡°Oh, it was nothing, chief, but could I go now? I need to check on my patients.¡±


    Prince Jason suddenly stood up, before Anne could exit the room, ¡°I am sorry miss Anne, but I need you to go somewhere else for a while.¡±


    Anne turned around and looked at prince Jason. ¡°What happened, your majesty?¡±


    ¡°It was my brother, Justice. He is in grave danger.¡± Said Jason while he took a deep breath.

 Chapter 144 - 144 The east forest mission (part 1)

    144 The east forest mission (part 1)


    The moment prince Jason mentioned Justice, Anne immediately walk in front of the prince, asking for the welfare of the crown prince.


    ¡°What? I am sorry, your majesty, what happened to Justice?¡± Anne was worried and demanding answers by prince Jason. Even forgot to use formality in Justice¡¯s name.


    ¡°Look, let us sit for now, and I will exin everything.¡± Prince Jason ushered Anne onto the sofa. His hand touched the back of our heroine, making Vale and Henry shoot a dagger at the prince.


    ¡°Now, can you tell us what exactly happened? Because Kirara went all vague on me.¡± Said Vale, who switch his ce to be closer to Anne.


    ¡°Kirara told me that they have ten suspects of the new variant of the moskeet fever inside the guard¡¯s encampment. One of them was Bernard.¡± Said prince Jason to everyone in the room.


    All of them were surprised to hear the information, especially chief Hale. They have been friends for a long time, since the day they have be silver pass recipients together. Looking so distressed, and even though he wanted to know more about Bernard¡¯s condition, chief Hale let prince Jason continue to exin the situation in the east forest.


    ¡°Justice knew, sending the mailman will be a risk of an infection and probably will be toote, so he sent his trusted familiar to me and to his best friends.¡± Said, Jason. He was fidgeting, nervous, and he should be, because what he was about to say will make the others nervous as well. ¡°He asked for healers that could contain the infected inside the encampment, and knights, before¡­ before one of the guards lose from the istion order.¡±


    ¡°Oh no! they were rioting, probably panicking after they know about the infection.¡± Vale rustled his hair, he cut it short but still makes the wavy hair be disheveled, his eyes goes to Anne, ¡°This is concerning, I don¡¯t think bringing Anne¡­ err, I mean miss Anne into an agitated person who has physical prowess would be a good idea.¡±


    Anne shakes her head. ¡°No, I need to go there. If it¡¯s the case, the new variant, I need to handle it immediately, and I have the experience of isting the infected from a healthy crowd.¡±


    .....


    ¡°She was right, you need to bring her there,¡± Said chief Hale, agreeing with Anne¡¯s statement, he turned his attention to Anne and gave her some instructions, ¡°I will be asked all the rest of Nathan¡¯s team to go with you, after all, you¡¯re under his team now. Now, go make some preparation after you checked on your patients, and I will give you the assignment permits.¡±


    Anne stands up from her seat and nodded at the chief of the main hospital. ¡°Thank you, chief Hale. I¡¯ll go and make my preparation.¡± She look around the room and excused herself, ¡°Gentleman, see you soon.¡±


    When Anne goes outside, Henry gave an annoyed look at Vale, clearly annoyed by him. ¡°Why don¡¯t you prevent her from going?¡±


    Vale, who doesn¡¯t want to be the one to be med, red at Henry. ¡°Why don¡¯t you do it yourself? She is an adult, Henry. We can¡¯t treat her like a child!¡±


    ¡°Gentleman! Please, could both of you be civilized for now!¡± Jason massages his temple while shouting at the two bickering men.


    The two gentlemen finally stopped talking to each other entirely, giving prince Jason the opportunity to ask the chief the good n to be used in the encampment. ¡°How many healers we could bring from the main hospital?¡±


    ¡°Only Nathan¡¯s team, that¡¯s included miss Anne, so six of them, and six other helpers.¡± Chief Hale looked at prince Jason with a bittered smile. The main hospital does have a shortage of healers. Chief Hale reluctantly needs to tell them that he had already lost three healers because of the new variant.


    Prince Jason senses the hesitation in chief Hale¡¯s behavior. ¡°Something that you wanted to tell me, chief Hale?¡±


    Hiding his face, chief Hale look so fragile in his old days, his eyes then stare at the three of them, ¡°I need to tell the three of you this, but please do not reveal it to the people out there, we don¡¯t want a mass hysteria right now.¡±


    Jason, Vale, and Henry shared nces at each other. ¡°What happened?¡± Asked Jason to chief Hale.


    ¡°We¡¯ve lost three healers, they¡­ they got infected.¡± The chief took a deep breath and close his eyes.


    Vale had a frown on his face, looking so confused at chief Hale. ¡°But I thought the healers use protective gear? How was that possible?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know, that¡¯s why we can¡¯t spare more than one team, I¡¯m afraid,¡± Muttered chief Hale, with his tired face, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll send one team from the nearest town to help as well, I think it will suffice for now, although they don¡¯t have the same experience as the healers on the main hospital.¡±


    ¡°That would be enough,¡± Said Prince Jason to chief Hale, he then turned to Vale and Henry, ¡°Prepare your man, we need four teams of a knight to be on patrol outside the encampment, to prevent a runner, and maybe two teams of healers.¡±


    ¡°I will round them immediately,¡± Henry said to Jason as he walks outside. ¡°Don¡¯t forget the assignment permit for us.¡±


    ¡°Will do. How about you, Vale?¡± Prince Jason turns his attention to the primary captain of the magi. ¡°You don¡¯t have to go, you know.¡±


    Vale shakes his head. ¡°Not in a chance. I will go.¡± He also exited the room. ¡°I¡¯ll see you at the east gate in three hours?¡±


    ¡°Make it two hours. You need to go as fast as you can. I will wait for the healers here and go together at the east gate.¡± Jason warned him, and when Vale has finally gone, he took a sighed and rest his head on the sofa.


    Two and a half hourster, the team was ready to go to the east forest. Anne tried to avoid Henry and Vale by sitting inside the carriage with all of her fellow teammates. Unbeknown to her, the carriage is big that could be carried on dozen people inside. Safe to say, Anne now sitting inside the carriage with two men that she actually tried to avoid.


    Leo was yawning so hard and then looking at Anne, who sat beside him. ¡°Let¡¯s take a good rest. The journey will be half a day.¡±


    Nodding her head to Leo. Anne agreed with his offer, ¡°You¡¯re right, But I need to wait for my familiar, get some rest before me.¡±


    Henry looks at her interaction with Leo, he gruntled and asked Anne out of his curiosity, ¡°Just three days and you already have a guy friend. Good on you.¡± His insinuating remark makes Vale shake his head and scoffed at him.


    On the other hand, Anne just rolled her eyes and said to Henry, ¡°Yes, Henry, I do have the penchant to befriend with the opposite gender, or maybe this is another case of a bewitched spell.¡±


    Hearing it from Anne¡¯s mouth, Vale just couldn¡¯t control hisughter until a pair ofrge eyes appear from inside Anne¡¯s shadow. Chikara look into his master and gave her a message that he clearly waiting for a while now.


    ¡®Master, the woman agreed on the full test.¡¯


    Anne tried to avoid the stares that came from Henry and Vale, and muttered some words to her familiar, ¡°Thank you, Chikara, you can get some rest now.¡± As soon as Chikara goes away, Anne closed her eyes immediately to prevent the two of them from asking her further.


    As for now, she will never be told the four of them about the pregnancy test for Yasmine. She just hopes what she will be doing will never get any consequencester on.

 Chapter 145 - 145 The east forest mission (Part 2)

    145 The east forest mission (Part 2)


    Inside a tent in the guard¡¯s encampment, there was a man walking around anxiously until a guard came to his tent.


    ¡°Your majesty, we heard from the second tower, there are troops that came our way.¡± Said the guard to Justice.


    ¡°Are you sure? Tell me more!¡± Justice was hopeful he put on his face mask and get out of his tent. He could see there was so much desperation in the guards¡¯ eyes. He was so hopeless, and feel guilty, thinking that Bernard was in pain right now.


    The guard was in a hurry to take him to the second gate. ¡°Right here, your majesty, they will arrive soon.¡±


    They were waiting for the arrival of the troops. For Justice, it seems like forever, until he heard the sound of galloping horses and the creaking sound of the carriage. They were finally here, and Justice couldn¡¯t even contain the smile that came into his face. Vale and Henry get out of the carriage and walk into the crown prince immediately.


    ¡°Vale and¡­ Henry?! it¡¯s good to see you two!¡± He gave them a warm embrace. Until his eyes caught a glimpse of someone other than the two of them, a woman, beautiful woman with purple color hair, her long hair gracefully frame her body perfectly even though she was wearing the healer¡¯s coat.


    Before Anne could turn to her right and see Justice, Leo patted her shoulder and makes her focus on him instead. They talked for a while and then went in the opposite direction. Justice couldn¡¯t take his eyes off her.


    ¡°She¡­ she bes more beautiful than before. How is it possible?¡± Muttered Justice with full adoration towards Anne.


    Vale patted his back and took a deep breath. ¡°I know what you¡¯re feeling right now. Come on, let her do what she does best.¡±


    .....


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s go back to my tent. There will be plenty of room there.¡± He said to Vale and Henry, his eyes never looking away until Anne disappeared into one of the tents.


    Took a nce at Vale. Henry raised his hand and walk away. ¡°You guys can go ahead. I need to have a briefing with the knight, if¡­¡±


    ¡°Someone tried to run away!¡±


    The three of them heard a screame from one of the guard¡¯s tents. Henry, Vale, and Justice run into the source of the fight. They saw three people struggling to hold on to a man and a woman wearing a guard uniform. The girl desperately tried to escape. Vale cast a prison bubble spell and trapped the two runners.


    ¡°Please, let me go! I wasn¡¯t sick! I just wanted to go home!¡± The girl was practically wailing right now.


    ¡°I see that the situation is already being controlled,¡± Said Henry while he look at the two runners inside the prison bubble. ¡°I¡¯ll go now. There is so much that I need to do.¡±


    He walks away from the others, not even trying to offer any help furthermore. Justice looks at his best friend with a frown on his face. He turns to Vale for some exnation.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you everything at the tent. For now, let me ask Brom and his subordinates to take care of the runners.¡± Said Vale to the crown prince.


    There¡¯s nothing Justice can do besides nodding his head to Vale. ¡°Alright, I will wait for you at my tent. Be careful and wear a mask all the time.¡±


    They separated afterward, Justice walking away back to his tent, while Vale called for Brom, the captain, to put the runner into confinement. The magi will build a safe confinement for every runner, the ones that were trying to escape from the solitary encampment. Brom came with his disinterested attitude as usual and goes to Vale directly.


    ¡°You call for me, primary captain?¡± He spoke to Vale, who was in the middle of looking at a wooden bangle in his hand.


    Brom saw the bangle and knew the previous owner of the item. ¡°You bring the bangle here? Why?¡±


    ¡°Brom, next time, tried not to look into other people¡¯s business?¡± Said Vale with annoyance in his tone. He put the bangle back into his pocket.


    Shrugging at his primary captain, Brom then asked him once again, ¡°So, what do you need from me, primary captain?¡±


    Taking a deep breath, Vale pointed at the two runners inside her bubble prison. ¡°You need to handle the runners and make sure they couldn¡¯t escape from the encampment.¡±


    After another instruction for Brom, Vale goes to justice¡¯s tent where the crown prince was already waiting with food and drinks. Vale gratefully took the te of food and begin to eat it.


    ¡°I already suspected that all of you never took a rest on the way here.¡± Justice smile at his friend who still munching the food. He took a ss of water and waited for Vale to finish the food first. ¡°Now, would you please tell me why the two of you have bruises all over your face? And not to mention the foul attitude that wasing from Henry?!¡±


    ¡°We had a fight at the pub.¡± Muttered Vale, in his mind. He just wanted to forget the whole ordeal with Henry.


    Stunned by Vale¡¯s confession, Justice tried to ask her about the matter between them. ¡°What happened? What makes you fight with each other?¡±


    ¡°He mentioned the girl.¡± Said a voice from the front door of the tent. Both Justice and Vale turned and saw Henry enter the tent. He sits opposite Vale and gorges the food and drinks. ¡°I was starving, forgot to bring any light meal for the journey.¡±


    Justice stared at him. He wonders how much of the old Henry was left, his smile gone and just a glint of light in his blue eyes. His tinum blonde hair has left unkempt and long, his eyes were puffy with a ck circle, the sign of a person who hardly sleeps every day.


    ncing at Justice, Henry asked his friend with a smirk on his face, ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡±


    A sympathy came into Justice, something just happened to him that day, two years ago, ¡°Henry, what happened to you?¡±


    ¡°A lot has to happen, and that¡¯s the only thing that you need to know.¡± Henry basically deflected Justice¡¯s question and he refused to talk about it.


    Justice and Vale share a look. They couldn¡¯t do anything about it if Henry didn¡¯t even want to share what was troubling him. Meanwhile, Anne and her fellow teammates busily treated the suspected patients, including Bernard.


    The old guard looked at Anne and smiled, even though with a rough breathing, ¡°Oh, Miss Anne¡­ Nice¡­ To meet¡­ You¡­ Again¡­ You¡¯re bing more¡­ Beautiful.¡±


    ¡°Oh, save your breath, sir Bernard, take a good rest for now, alright?¡± She skillfully put the medicine-soaked cloth to his eyes and gave him a soft voice. ¡°Now, took some rest, do not think about anything, and just sleep.¡±


    Nathan called for her. She came outside the healer¡¯s tent and saw Leo and the others gathering. ¡°It seems we have a positive case here. Leo and Anne, you will have the first shift, and the others go take some rest for now. I will schedule the shift tomorrow after the regional healerse.¡±


    The regional healers are certified healers that failed to enter the hospital inside the capital, they were put into clinics and small hospitals in every town and vige from around the kingdom. The request for more healers prompts the nearest town and vige to send one of their healers to help the encampment.


    ¡°How many regional healers that wille to help us?¡± Asked Leo to Nathan.


    ¡°Not much, only five, but what else can we do.¡± Nathan said to Leo, he was already so tired although get a six-hour sleep inside the carriage, he stands up and looks at Leo and Anne, ¡°They wille before midnight, so the two of you need to give them instructions and also to show them our tent.¡±


    Leo and Anne nodded their head, and after the others go away to get some rest, they begin their grueling twelve-hour shift. Before midnighte, they were so exhausted and need to get a rest, Anne was in the middle of checking a pulse and the breathing of one patient when Leo patted her from behind.


    ¡°Anne, they were here, the regional healers.¡± Whispered Leo, they don¡¯t want to disturb any patients.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go and meet with them,¡± Anne said to Leo, and together they go outside the tent.


    The night was dark, only the floating orbs that gave them some kind of light. When Anne saw every healer, one particr healer, catch her attention, she gasped and pointed at the healer. ¡°You¡­ What are you doing here?¡±


    The healer smirked and cursed, ¡°Can¡¯t believe this, you¡¯re now a capital healer?! The world really does some unfair thing.¡±


    Anne then said to her with gritted teeth, ¡°Same here, Rose.¡±

 Chapter 146 - 146 The east forest mission (Part 3)

    146 The east forest mission (Part 3)


    ¡°Rose? My name¡­ is Rosy¡­ Did you forget about it already after wearing the capital healer¡¯s badge?¡± The healer, with a brash attitude, tried to remind Anne about their history.


    Anne put a smile on her face and replied to Rosy, ¡°Of course, Rosy, I am sorry. I¡¯ve already forgotten about you.¡± Said Anne to Rosy, which makes her angrier than before. She turned her attention to the other healers. ¡°All of you must be tired. Leo will take you to the tent. Please wait for our team leader to brief you in the morning. Good night.¡±


    Already tired, Anne wants nothing to do with Rosy. She walks and goes back to the tent, but before she goes inside, a hand grabs her arm. Rosy looks at her with fury in her eyes. She gritted her teeth and the grip on Anne¡¯s arm be tighter.


    ¡°You, how could you be a capital healer in just two years? You should be out there, bing an uncertified healer, helping peasants! I thought you were quitting the civil service?!¡± There were so many things that Rosy need to know, but one thing was for sure, she doesn¡¯t like to see Anne here as a capital healer when she was rotten in the countryside as the regional healer.


    Anne release Rosy¡¯s grip on her arm, and hissed at her, ¡°I don¡¯t need to tell you everything, Rosy, and you should take some rest. There will be a long day ahead of us tomorrow.¡± She put on her mask and go inside the tent, leaving Rosy behind.


    ¡°Hey, excuse me, what are you doing here?¡± Leo call for Rosy and, a bit upset, she left the group and go back to the tent, ¡°Please don¡¯t leave the group unexpectedly. It¡¯s dangerous here, especially at night.¡±


    The obnoxious girl ignores Leopletely, until he gets her attention, with him standing in front of her with his hands folded in his chest, ¡°Miss, I call for you¡­ You need to go with me, now!¡±


    Rosy red at him, and said to Leo a handful of words, ¡°You know, I was going to tell you something. You may be part of the capital¡¯s healers, but you have no right tomand me!¡±


    ¡°For your information, miss, I canmand you, because as a rank 2 junior healer, I have more authority than you. So, please follow me!¡± Said Leo with the same harsh intonation that Rosy used to him.


    .....


    After he takes Rosy back to her room, Leo goes to the istion tent where he saw Anne still looking at the patient¡¯s condition. She gave instructions to the helper. Leo came to both of them. It seems something happened to one of the patients.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Asked Leo to Anne.


    ¡°It¡¯s Bernard. His fever wasn¡¯t going down at all. I need to get more purified ice for him, but I don¡¯t think we have already used all the pure ice that we brought.¡± Anne was so concerned Leo can see it in her eyes.


    ¡°You stay here. I will try to ask the magi. Maybe they can help us with their magica.¡± Leo tried to calm her down, and with a weak nod, she drop herself into the chair inside the tent.


    They were all exhausted. Leo looks at the moonsun dial and they still have like two hours before their shift was over. Leo then asked a helper to take Anne into the other tent, so she could take some rest, although she refused and told him to go as soon as possible and let her observe the patients.


    Leo runs into the Magi tent. The tent was so quiet, only the sound of snoring and mumbling. He looks around frantically, looking to see if there¡¯re any magi who were awake right now.


    ¡°Excuse me, what are you doing here?¡± Said a voice from behind Leo. He turned around to see Vale, looking at him with a frown on his face. ¡°You are Anne¡¯s work friends, right? Can I help you with something?¡±


    ¡°Teammates, we are in the same team, Nathan¡¯s team, primary captain Vale.¡± Leo recognizes the man, Vale, the genius magi, who gets a record for the most percentage of magica in the entire kingdom. Not to mention he is so easy on the eyes as well with his wavy brown hair and green emerald eyes.


    ¡°Alright, Anne¡¯s teammates, can I help you with something? All the magi were exhausted. We were creating the reflector for the whole encampment. I may be the onlyst magi standing tonight.¡± Said Vale, while rustling his hair.


    Leo stared at Vale for a moment before he asked him for help. ¡°Please, sir, we need your help. We don¡¯t have any pure ice anymore, and one of our patients still has a high fever.¡±


    Vale immediately changed his expression. He looked directly into Leo and asked him to go to the istion tent. Vale put on a mask and enter the istion tent with Leo, who reached out to Anne that keep brushing a wet towel into Bernard¡¯s body.


    ¡°Anne, I found a magi that can help us.¡± Whispered Leo to her.


    Turning her head around, she looks directly at Vale, and all that he could see is how tired the young woman was right now. Her eyes were bloodshot red, the ck circle, and unkempt look. He wanted to go to her and embrace her.


    ¡°Anne, you should take more rest. Let me take care of the chief of the guard.¡± Said Leo again, while his hand touched Anne¡¯s shoulder.


    Anne smiled at him, she even held onto Leo¡¯s hand, making Vale almost walk in between them. ¡°Alright, I think you can handle this now with Vale. I¡¯ll be in the next tent.¡±


    When Anne goes away, she tried to ignore Vale¡¯s eyes as much as possible. The warm emerald color makes her smile brightly every time. She doesn¡¯t like to reminisce about the four of them, because that was a proof that she awfully missed all of them.


    After Anne disappear into the other tent, Vale asked Leo about her condition. ¡°She doesn¡¯t look very healthy to me.¡±


    ¡°Who? Anne? Oh, she was so tired, the much sleep that she got was inside the carriage, she slept like what? Five hours?¡± Said Leo with a shrug. The reality of bing a healer is how much workload you need to handle in just one shift.


    Vale scolded the young man. ¡°At least you would care for her. I know she is also a healer, but she is new with the whole full shift of the main hospital.¡± He doesn¡¯t like how lightly Leo treated his workmate¡¯s welfare, although he could see that he was almost as tired as Anne is.


    Leo looks at Vale for a while, almost chuckling. He then just nodded his head to him. ¡°Yes, I am sorry that I saw a poor disy of caring towards my teammate earlier, primary captain.¡±


    Giving a sigh, he looked at Leo and asked the healer to put the patients that have a spike of fever to be in one area. Vale exined about the spell that he would be performing.


    ¡°Ice hail, this is a middle-rank spell, you will be able to cool the one with a high fever inside three beds, I will put the spell inside the bed, and it willst for six hours, if the bed bes warmer, go to the magi tent and asked them to performed ice hail into the three-bed once again.¡± Vale gave Leo a clear instruction as for he need to remember it because pure ice will be hard to obtain in the east forest.


    Pure ice is the original form of ice that could maintain the temperature, unlike the ice orb that could give chills if it¡¯s been used for a long time. Pure ice will keep the temperature cool but not colder. After he cast the ice hail spell, he excused himself from the tent. Yawning, Vale was thinking to hit the bed immediately, but before he could walk away, he saw a ck shadowing out from the other tent, the tent where Anne was taking a break earlier.


    ¡°Oh no, Anne!¡± Vale screamed for her name and run into the tent.

 Chapter 147 - 147 The east forest mission (Part 4)

    147 The east forest mission (Part 4)


    When he saw therge shadow, Vale already thought the worst. He shouted Anne¡¯s name and open the tent only to see Anne was in the middle of writing on a small desk. She looks so surprised and almost dropped her quill.


    ¡°Oh, my God! Vale? What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ You¡¯re alright?¡± Vale looks around the tent and finds no suspicious-looking shadow. ¡°I guess it was gone already.¡±


    A frown came over Anne¡¯s face. ¡°Gone? What do you mean, gone? What happened, Vale?¡±


    Walking towards Anne, Vale took one chair and sit in front of Anne. ¡°Nothing, I saw something, but it must be my imagination.¡±


    ¡°Alright, but why are you sitting in front of me right now?¡± Asked Anne to the primary captain, she feel ufortable by his sudden appearance.


    Vale rustled his short hair and begin to fidget on his chair. ¡°You know, the thing is¡­ We are friends, right?¡± Vale asked Anne with his emerald green eyes looking at her directly.


    She was giggling and then nodded her head. Anne was deeply amused by him. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re my friend, just like Brom and David, so¡­¡±


    Vale got excited all of a sudden. ¡°Outstanding! That¡¯s what I wanted to hear from you.¡± He said to Anne, although inside of his deepest mind, he denied that being a friend with her was a good result for both of them.


    .....


    The long silence between them prompted Anne to ask him about his sudden move to sit so close to her, ¡°So¡­ anything else?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ Uhm¡­ Actually, I wanted to give you something.¡± Clearing his throat, Vale took the elderwood bangle from his pocket and handed it to Anne. ¡°I want you to wear this again.¡±


    Anne was flustered to see the elderwood bangle on her hand, the bangle that she put off from her hand two years ago, along with the earrings, ne of the crystal dagger, and the ruby ring. Anne gave the items back to their rightful owners. What Anne doesn¡¯t know is what happened to all the items afterward. Vale kept it close to him, but never wears the bangle, hopeful that one day it will be on Anne¡¯s wrist once again.


    ¡°Vale¡­ I¡­ I don¡¯t know if I could ever receive this, I know the history about this bangle, you should give it to your partnerter on, not¡­¡± Anne stopped for a moment before saying the words with a bittered smile on her face, ¡°Not me.¡±


    ¡°Anne, I know about the carriage ident one year ago.¡± Whispered Vale to her. He then took Anne¡¯s hand. ¡°Brom told me everything, and how distraught were you back then.¡±


    ¡°He told you about the ident, I see¡­¡± Said Anne and memory about the ident appeared once again.


    One year ago, when Anne already felt much confidence in her skill and what she could do for people in the kingdom. Anne had her journey into many remote ces, treating the ill and wounded with a smile always adorned her face. One day, when she was preparing to go into the next vige, she secured a ce on a carriage with a family that was going to move to a new town.


    The family has three children, with two husbands and a strong woman who be the pir of the family. They were kind to her and knew how much help Anne was contributing to their vige. Anne was thinking about how lucky she was to have a wonderful two-day journey with a loving family. Sadly, it went crumbling down, when they were trapped inside the dark and mischievous road.


    ¡°I failed to save one of her children, because of myck of magica, the first aid spell that was needed to stop the bleeding¡­ I¡­¡± Anne confessed while her tears came running down from her eyes.


    Vale took her arms and pulled her into his embrace. He calmly tried to soothe her while speaking softly in her ears, ¡°It¡¯s alright¡­ It wasn¡¯t your fault, Anne, it¡¯s alright.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ everything was my fault if only I have magica! If only I wasn¡¯t thrown here!¡± She tried to speak as quietly as possible. She was miserable. The thought of losing the patients because of something that she couldn¡¯t control was a nightmare for her.


    Vale heard thest sentences and his heart ache for her. Never in his wildest thought that Anne was actually feeling like an outsider. After how harsh the reality of her origin, back then. All he wanted was to forget about herpletely, but everything always reminded Vale of her. The bewitched spell cure makes his intense feeling of love gone, but the memories that they were built together still remain.


    He waited until Anne was ready to sit back and wipe her tears. Vale gave her a handkerchief that she used to clean the traces of tears from her face.


    ¡°Thank you. I don¡¯t know what hase after me. I¡­ I am sorry.¡± She smiled at Vale and felt ashamed for her own behavior earlier.


    Vale stared at the young woman in front of her for a while. He contemted but then said to her, ¡°If you feel sorry for all the people that you failed to save because of yourck of magica, then wear the bangle.


    Anne was taken aback by Vale¡¯s request. She demanded an answer from him. ¡°What? Do you think I could be able to save the one that I lost after I wear this bangle again? The guilt is still there. It will never heal my feeling for the loss of my patients.¡±


    ¡°But it will heal your future patients, am I right?¡± Vale, with a lot of confidence, reminds her about what she missed from his intention. ¡°Anne, your memory of the past, of course, lingered in your mind, but you must remember to face your future as well.¡± He kneels in front of Anne and puts the bangle in her left hand. ¡°Consider the bangle as your tool. Use it as necessary, even if I am not a part of your life.¡± He fills the bangle with his magica, and the two of them feel the magica coursing through every cell in their body.


    Vale goes back to his tent, leaving Anne with all different kinds of feelings.


    ¡°You b*stard, how am I going to forget all of you, if you¡¯re going to be this way.¡± Said Anne with a red face, flustered by Vale¡¯s action earlier.


    Two hourster, Anne made a final check on every patient before changing the shift. She took a sigh of relief when Bernard¡¯s fever finally went down, Leo touch her shoulder and told her that the second shift was waiting outside.


    Anne took out her mask and finally could breathe the fresh air outside. The sun will appear soon, and when she expected to see the second shift, she will never expect to see another man standing behind her. A man with red ming hair and a pair of ruby-red eyes. Justice was staring at her, with Henry behind him as well.


    Leo goes to him and immediately bows, ¡°Your majesty, what makes youe to this istion tent at this hour?¡±


    ¡°I came here because someone told me that Bernard was getting worse.¡± His eyes never go away from Anne, who cowers behind Leo. ¡°I was worried.¡±


    ¡°No need to worry, his fever already went down and he was taking a good rest right now.¡± Said Leo to Justice.


    ¡°I would like to see him, just for a minute,¡± Justice asked for permission, while Henry yawned from behind, losing interest in the conversation, although his eyes nces at Anne more than one time.


    Leo smile at Justice, and said, ¡°Of course, the healers for the second shift will happily escort your majesty.¡± While Leo pointed at the two healers that were waiting to go inside.


    ¡°No!¡± Said Justice with a firm voice, ¡°I don¡¯t want them to apany me inside, instead, I want her.¡± His finger goes to Anne, who looks flustered by his request.

 Chapter 148 - 148 The mission under a mission (Part 1)

    148 The mission under a mission (Part 1)


    ¡°I wanted miss River Anne to apany me and Henry inside.¡± Said Justice in front of everyone.


    An awkward smile stered into Anne¡¯s face while she was trying to give her reason, ¡°I am sorry Jus¡­ I mean, your majesty, I need to take some rest and the second shift will happily apany the two of you.¡±


    Justice looks at her face, and immediately said, ¡°No, I want you and not everyone else.¡±


    Leo need to step up and gave a slight warning to Justice, ¡°Given that my friend is so tired after twelve hours shift, it would probably be best if I go with you instead of Anne.¡±


    The crown prince just ignore the plea that wasing from Leo and just keep staring at Anne with his red ruby eyes. Anne knew he will ignore everyone at this point. Taking a deep breath, she patted Leo¡¯s back and asked him to go back to the tent and take the much need it rests, while she ushered Justice and Henry inside the tent.


    While inside, she asked them to be quiet to let the patients have a good rest. Justice looked around the room, his red eyes bing more prominent when he wore the mask. Anne couldn¡¯t take his eyes off the crown prince, while Henry observe her from behind.


    He grabbed Anne¡¯s hand and hissed at her, ¡°Stop looking at him. Don¡¯t you have manners?¡±


    Anne looked back at Henry and red at him. ¡°I look at what I wanted to look. You have no right to tell me otherwise.¡± And then she pulls her hand away.


    Justice pretended that he didn¡¯t hear the animosity between the two of them and turned his back to Anne. ¡°Where¡¯s Bernard? I don¡¯t see him here.¡±


    .....


    ¡°Oh, we took him deeper inside the tent. He was using a special bed right now, because of the fever.¡± Anne pointed at the far corner of the room when Justice saw Bernard. He took his hand and smile at his elderly chief guard.


    ¡°Who¡­ who is it? Who¡¯s holding my hand?¡± Bernard was panicking. His eyes were still receiving treatment from the medicine-soaked cloth.


    ¡°It¡¯s me, Bernard¡­ Justice.¡± Justice was choking when he mentioned his name.


    He was always fond of his guard, even considering it more of a father figure than his own three fathers. Because Bernard was always there for him when he was just a five-year-old grumpy boy, into a ten-year-old aloof young boy and a rebellious fifteen-year-old teenager, Bernard was there for him.


    ¡°Oh, your majesty, I am sorry you need to see me¡­ like this¡­ Please I am fine now, Anne took care of me so diligently.¡± He spoke to Justice with bated breath.


    Justice almost crumbled in front of Bernard, but before he was crying in agony, a warm hand touched his arm. He turns his head around to see Anne.


    ¡°Your majesty, I think you should let chief Bernard take some rest now.¡± Whispered Anne directly at him.


    He whispered back at the healer, ¡°Howe he was so weak? Your friend told us that his fever already went down.¡±


    ¡°He is, it was because of the medicine that I¡¯ve given him, so he could take a good rest, he will be sleeping for a while now.¡± Said Anne to Justice, her hand staying on his shoulder, she felt the need to support him, knowing how much Justice love his chief guard.


    He finally agreed with Anne, and let himself out of the tent. Henry patted his back and walks away from Justice and Anne. Anne told the second shift to begin to work, and afterward, she excused herself from the crown prince. Before she could go away from him, Justice grab her hand unexpectedly, he then embraced her from behind.


    Anne wasn¡¯t expected this. She tried to let go of his hold, but the crown prince was persistent.


    ¡°Justice, please, someone may be watching.¡± She whispered at him, but the hand never budged.


    She felt his body trembling, and a faint sobbing came from the crown prince, ¡°Please¡­ Anne, let me hold you for a while¡­ I¡­ I never see him this weak and so fragile before.¡±


    Being considerate to him, she let him cry without everyone seeing the tears. For the kingdom, he is the crown prince, the pir for the future empress. In Anne¡¯s eyes, he is just a man named Justice, who also has raw feelings, like everyone else. Anne even put her hand into his, giving him thefort that he needs right now.


    They remain still for a while until someone cleared his throat, reminding them about their situation. Justice released his hold, and quickly wipe his tears, Anne dusted her dress so awkwardly, even though there was no dust visible. Henry looked at both of them and red.


    ¡°What the f*ck are you doing here, Justice?!¡± Henry was livid, his finger then pointed at Anne, ¡°I thought you said it yourself, she¡­ was forbidden, for the four of us!¡±


    Although Anne was prepared for this kind of word to appear from one of them, still it was heartbreaking to hear it personally. She excused herself before she heard any kind of harsh words from Henry. Both of the men were staring at Anne until she disappearedpletely.


    ¡°You know, Henry, you¡¯re being in rude to us. I was fine with it¡­¡± Said Justice to Henry. He turned around to see his friend and scolded him, ¡°But you were so rude to her! That was uneptable! Think about her feeling for once.¡±


    Henry just shrugs and goes away, but Justice didn¡¯t let him go away that easily. He followed him from behind; he goes into the third gate and entered a resting tent for the knight captain. As soon as Henry saw Justice who followed him, his face went sour.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare run away this time, Henry? When we were trying to have a conversation earlier, you gave us a thousand excuses.¡± Justice tried to pursue him, and he didn¡¯t want to hear any more excuses from him. ¡°Seriously, what happened to you?¡±


    ¡°What do you want to hear from me? About my adventure with my grandfather? Or how I was fooling around with all thedies in the rural area?¡± Henry mocks his friend and pretends that he wanted to go to sleep. ¡°Just go. I wanted to sleep already.¡±


    ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll refuse to leave this tent, then.¡± Said Justice. He took another bed andy beside his friend.


    Henry scoffed when he saw his friend¡¯s action, he gruntled but let him stay by his side. Five minutester, Henry was sitting on his bed, while Justice was already fast asleep. ¡°You told me that you demanded some answer, but fast asleep just like this? Unbelievable.¡±


    Henry stayed on his bed for almost two hours until a voice came from outside his tent. Henry recognized the voice. He goes out of his tent to see Anne in the middle of a heated debate with the knights.


    ¡°Please, sir, I need to go and see it for myself. It could save so many lives!¡± Anne desperately tries to persuade the knight.


    ¡°I am sorry miss, everyone from inside the encampment is forbidden to go outside at any cost.¡±


    Anne stubbornly stayed in her ce. ¡°But I know the cause of this! I need to see it so the alchemist could have the samples!¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Justice came out from the tent, probably awakened by themotion.


    Anne turn her attention and saw both Henry and Justice, full of confidence. Anne spoke to both of them. ¡°I finally know the cause of this new variant.¡±

 Chapter 149 - 149 The mission under a mission (Part 2)

    149 The mission under a mission (Part 2)


    ¡°What did you just say? Tell me you were not lying right now.¡±


    Henry looks at the girl with a bit of a threat in his tone. Justice need to step between them, and tried to calm his friend. ¡°Rx, Henry, let miss Anne exin everything before you make more assumptions.¡±


    ¡°Fine! I just hate when someone gave us some false hope, that¡¯s all.¡± Said Henry, who thankfully walk away from Justice and Anne.


    Justice took the chance to ask Anne with no one surrounding the two of them, ¡°Were you certain? Tell me, Anne, are you sure?¡± His face was full of concern for her.


    ¡°Look, all I was trying to say, was that I have a breakthrough about this new variant¡­¡± She then look around the area, ¡°I need to tell you something, I got some news from the man hospital just now, could we probably go to your tent?¡±


    Intrigue by her information, Justice nodded his head, ¡°Of course, we could talk in my tent¡­¡± He took nced at Henry before he whispered to Anne, ¡°You should probably know, Henry will be there as well.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, It¡¯s going to be fine, but perhaps, you could also call for Vale?¡± Anne asked Justice innocently, and the crown prince begin to have some sort of jealousy towards his friend.


    ¡°You¡­ asking for Vale? Why?¡± Asked Justice to her.


    ¡°We are going to need a magi to protect us on the journey, don¡¯t you think?¡± Said the healer, giving him some points.


    .....


    Flustered by her innocent answer, Justice grew quieter and chose not to meddle in his embarrassing disy of jealousy. He called for Henry and asked the knight to call for Vale. The three of them go to Justice¡¯s tent in silence, because no one wanted to do some small talk.


    Inside the tent, there¡¯s a small drawer, arge bed with a curtain for privacy, there¡¯s a desk with so many documents, and three single sofas with a table and a small stove. It was a cozy tent, but not with all the fancy or luxurious add-ons.


    ¡°Let me brew some caftea, Vale will probably take some time to be here,¡± Justice said to both of them, his hand already holding into a teapot.


    ¡°He was sleeping, of course. It will take a while.¡± Henry agreed with Justice, something that only a close friend knows.


    Vale indeed came after half an hour passed. Anne, Justice, and Henry kept it civil between them by not talking to each other for the whole half an hour they were waiting. When the primary captain of the magi walking inside the tent, the looks on the three of them were full of relief.


    ¡°My apologies. I was fast asleep.¡± Said Vale with a smile on his face, he looks at Anne and tried to ask her directly, ¡°I¡¯ve heard Anne. Did you get some sleep? I left you before your shift, so¡­¡±


    Anne intercepted his sentence. The ring eyes of two other men already gave her a red g. ¡°Oh, no! I am fine, I got some sleep, thank you, Vale.¡±


    ¡°Could we just begin with your story already?¡± Henry was already annoyed, after seeing how intimate Vale interacted with Anne.


    Anne took a deep breath, already used to the rudeness Henry disyed on her, ¡°Last night, I asked my familiar to¡­ Uhm¡­ assessing one patient that I just gave permission to get a test¡­ Little that I know, I got another piece of news, most of the critical patients having another high fever, sadly three of them are dead.¡±


    ¡°F*ck! This is not good news.¡± Muttered Justice, he asked Anne another question. ¡°But there must be a breakthrough that makes you want to go outside of the encampment. I mean, you probably realize something amiss, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I need to confirm my suspicion first, and to do that, I need to go to the valley where the first victim gets infected.¡± She looked around, and tried to exin to them of how crucial this step is, ¡°I know this could be dangerous, but, please believe me, this is the only way, I need to confirm it, well, me and Hector.¡±


    ¡°Hector?¡± The three gentlemen raised their eyebrows, demanding Anne to exin another man¡¯s name.


    Rolling her eyes to the three gentlemen, Anne told them about who Hector is, ¡°He was my teammate, an alchemist. He will be the one that conducts any test of all of my foundingter on.¡±


    ¡°Oh, your teammate I see, it was funny to see that you have so many men on your team.¡± Henry tried to mock her, but Anne stayed quiet this time, there is a more pressing matter than having a fight with Henry.


    Justice took a stand and goes to his desk. ¡°I¡¯ll make the assignment paper now.¡± He nces at the other three with his piercing red eyes. ¡°Well, what are you doing here? Pack your things. We are going together.¡±


    ¡°Wait? You¡¯re going with us as well?¡± Asked Anne, a bit flustered by Justice¡¯s decision.


    ¡°Yes, I¡­ I need to make sure this mission will be sessful.¡± He answered Anne with a warm smile on his face, although there was another reason for his involvement. Henry and Vale still refused to make amends. Justice needs to be there to be the in-between person.


    ¡°How far this ce is?¡± Henry asked his friend, who already know that he will go with them.


    Justice put the ssmap on the table. ¡°Not that far, only three hours¡¯ walk from here, but the terrain is what concerns me.¡±


    Vale stared at the ssmap and saw the detailed picture of the area. ¡°Oh, Gods! It is on a cliff? Howe?¡±


    ¡°The water source was inside a cave, pure water. The guard got bit by the moskeetos after he was bathing inside the cave.¡± Said Justice, while he put everything that he need inside his pocket.


    ¡°Wait, the guard got bitten after he took a bath inside the cave?¡± Asked Anne so suddenly.


    ¡°Uhm¡­ ording to the report that I have got, yes.¡± Justice gave her the confirmation.


    ¡°No¡­ I need more tangible proof¡­¡± muttered Anne. The three gentlemen were curious by her sudden question. She looks at Justice, ignoring their curiosity. ¡°Let us meet at the gate in ten minutes. We must go as soon as possible.¡±


    Anne, who¡¯s having thought about another thing, left Vale, Justice, and Henry in a hurry. The three of them just look into each other and let out a sigh. For them, this journey is going to be an interesting one indeed. Whether or not they were ready for it.

 Chapter 150 - 150 Always on her mind

    150 Always on her mind


    The sun was almost at its peak when the other three finally met with Anne at the third gate. When they saw her wearing overalls and a straw hat and waved at them, the three of them were mesmerized immediately. Justice goes to her while trying to focus on her eyes, while Vale and Henry trying not to look in her direction.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m ready now. Since we are going up on the cliff, I thought I borrowed some overall from my friend.¡± She said to Justice with a grin on her face. ¡°So, how do I look? This is a good outfit to use, right?¡±


    Clearing his throat, Justice gave his approval, ¡°Yes, it was a good outfit¡­ Come on, we need to go fast before the sun is setting down.¡±


    They asked for the horses, and each one of them will ride into the nearest ravine area to climb the cliff. Of course, looking at Anne, there was no possibility she had any physical training. Anne also realized herck of physical training. Thankfully, she found a way that could be worked for her.


    ¡°We are going to ride for two hours, so prepare your drinking water, we are not going to stop for anything,¡± Justice said to the three of them, and then he goes through the dense of forest while the rest followed him from behind.


    They were riding together in a group. Anne and Justice were in the front, with Vale and Henry in their back. Although they were not on speaking terms right now, they knew their role was to protect the young woman and their best friend. Justice never saw himself as someone more than the other person around him, although he looks like arrogant royalty all the time. Everyone who truly knows him how kind and caring he is from the fa?ade that he always disys.


    Anne looks around where her hand holding tight to the rein, enjoying the scenery while riding a horse. She missed this activity so much, having a horse is too expensive for her, and her journey before makes her never able to use a horse, public transportation in this world mainly by using a carriage, using a horse is too personal and looks as insufficient formoners. Justice could see the smile and the excitement in her expression. Somehow, looking at Anne as being happy makes him happy as well.


    Suddenly, Kirara and Chikara jump in front of Justice and Anne. Thankfully, all of them was a master at riding a horse, they stopped just in time before they collided with their familiar. Vale and Henry, who came from behind, look at the two familiars along with their master.


    ¡°What happened here? Why were the two of them going out from the shadows?¡± Henry looks into the two familiars who are now looking at their master.


    .....


    ¡°Chikara, what happened?¡± Anne tried to ask Chikara, who was staring at her with his four feet on the ground.


    ¡®Master, there¡¯s andslide happened in front of us, it was so sudden. Kirara and I need to warn the four of you.¡¯


    ¡°What?! andslide?!¡± Justice was surprised by the news, he took nced at Vale and Henry, who gave him a slight nod.


    They dismounted from their horses and walk into the area where Kirara and Chikara mentioned. It was the truth. There was andslide, if only not for their familiars. They probably fall into the ground below. Vale cast his insight spell and look into the below. He was searching if there were any victims.


    ¡°How was it? Any victims?¡± Asked Justice to Vale.


    Vale let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Thankfully, there were no victims, probably because of the new variants. People were afraid to use this road.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I guess the silver lining for everything.¡± Justice nodded his head while his hand brushed into his chin. ¡°Come on, we need to use another road, and tell our healer that the journey will be twice as long.¡±


    Anne was in the middle of giving a drink to their horses, she turn her head to the three of them and asked Justice regarding the newly found disaster. ¡°How bad was the damage? Any victims?¡±


    ¡°Well, I have bad news and good news.¡± Said Justice to her.


    ¡°Oh, no¡­ There were victims?¡± Anne was horrified by the possibility. She tried to pull Justice back to thendslide area, thinking that she might have a chance to help. ¡°I may be able to help. Vale gave me back his elderwood bangle¡­¡±


    Henry took a stance in front of Anne. ¡°Hold up, Vale¡­ Gave you back his elderwood bangle?¡± His eyebrows raised, and he was shooting daggers directly at Vale.


    Anne was nervous. She never thought that Henry and even Justice will take poorly over the news, ¡°Err¡­ Yes, but no worries, it was because he was trying to help me gain some magica.¡± She force a smile and tried to go to thendslide area again, ¡°So, any victims?¡±


    Justice holds onto her overall cor, preventing her from going any further. ¡°That was the good news, miss healer, no victims. Would you calm down already?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ Oh, thank God! I thought¡­¡± She let out a sigh of relief, but still avoid Henry¡¯s ring at her and Vale, ¡°Anyhow, what¡¯s the bad news?¡±


    ¡°We need to use another road, the long road. It will take us three hours more to reach the cliff to the pure water cave.¡± Said Justice to her.


    ¡°Oh great, will take us longer to go back, ugh¡­ such bad luck.¡± Anne was gruntling, but Vale couldn¡¯t dismiss what Anne mentioned earlier.


    While the others get ready to continue the journey, Vale asked them to wait for a moment, he walks carefully to thendslide and looks for something in particr. Henry huffing his breath, impatiently waiting for Vale to go back. Half an hourter, Vale was back with his robe disheveled and there were cuts and bruises everywhere on his arms. Anne gave him a first-aid spell. It heals the minor wound instantly.


    Henry and Justice stared at the two of them and felt a slight pang of jealousy. Justice tried to hide the feeling and asked them to mount their horses at once, while Henry curses and rides his horses ahead of everyone. Anne saw everything, she feels everything, but there was nothing she can do besides hide her feelings and maintained the lies.


    The witch from the mountain smile is always there, inside of her mind, reminding her about the gift that she wasn¡¯t supposed to touch and the gift of four men¡¯s feelings of love to her, the love that wasn¡¯t supposed to be her in the first time. For in her mind, she thought of herself as the viin of this story.

 Chapter 151 - 151 She is definitely from another world

    151 She is definitely from another world


    ¡°How much longer you¡¯re going to stay aloof while riding your horse? It¡¯s dangerous.¡±


    Anne, flustered by Justice¡¯s words, nodded at him and concentrated on the road. They have no time to spare, thendslide just makes them lose more precious time than they already were. This time it was Henry and Justice who lead the way, while Vale and Anne stay close behind them.


    Vale couldn¡¯t ignore how Anne reacted back then, she was thinking about something, and he wanted to know what happened to her, he gave a big speech to Anne about bing friends, although what was inside his mind was something more than just a friend. He chuckles and shakes his head, thinking about how foolish he was right now, moring over a girl while they were trying to investigate the new variant source.


    Justice turns his attention to Anne. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Asked the crown prince to the healer.


    ¡°Yes, I am fine. Just keep going. We don¡¯t know what hurdles that could dy our journey again!¡± She gave a weak smile and not said a single word afterward.


    Justice let out a sigh and continued on riding the horse. They are almost two hours into the journey, and from the looks of it, they will arrive at the cliff four hours before sunset. He just hopes the journey doesn¡¯t have any more obstacles.


    Henry took nced at Justice, ¡°Just let her be. Right now, we need to reach the cliff as soon as possible.¡±


    Henry was annoyed. Knowing Vale already gave her back, the elderwood bangled. He never expected her to agree to Vale¡¯s request. He remembered the day that Anne gave them back the items and said she wasn¡¯t meant to wear any of the items.


    They arrived at the cliff in less than three hours. After the exhausting journey, all four of them need to take a break. Vale put his fire orb and Anne immediately sat closer to the source of heat. She feels strangely cold and a bit nauseous.


    .....


    ¡°Anne, are you alright?¡± Vale asked her. He knew that there was something wrong with her. ¡°Your face¡­¡±


    Anne shakes her head and forces a smile toward the primary captain. ¡°I¡¯m alright, Vale, don¡¯t worry about it, probably because of theck of sleep.¡±


    ¡°You brought your tonic, right?¡± Said Justice, although he didn¡¯t look into her directly.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll drink it in a minute. Just let me breathe a bit.¡± Anne rolled her eyes at the crown prince.


    Henry, on the other hand, was chuckling when he saw their interaction. ¡°Wow, look at the two of you! Just reminiscing your old feelings, aren¡¯t we?!¡±


    The other three immediately stared at the knight captain, while Vale and Justice ignored him. Anne sighed and gave Henry her opinion. ¡°Stop the sarcasm, Henry! It doesn¡¯t suit your image.¡±


    ¡°Image? Like I cared about your view on me right now.¡± Said Henry with a scoff, while his icy blue eyes looked at Anne.


    Anne shakes her head in disbelief, she looks at Henry once again, ¡°Look, Henry, I don¡¯t know what hase to you, just¡­ be civil, alright, we came here to investigate the moskeeto¡¯s nest and what happened to the first patient¡­.¡± She then added, ¡°You don¡¯t have to talk to me if you don¡¯t want to.¡±


    For a moment, Henry just sat on the fire and has no more words to conjure. He stands up and walks to the cliff.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Justice intercepted him before he was gone from their view.


    ¡°I¡¯ll search for a good route for our hike. Just stay there, eat something and take some rest,¡± Henry told his friend and goes away.


    Anne handed them a piece of bread, and she muttered some words to the other two, ¡°He told us to rest, but he actually needs the rest more than us.¡±


    Vale and Justice share a look, there were already aware of Henry¡¯sck of sleep. Never urred in their mind about Anne, who realized something was wrong with Henry. Two years ago, after she left the four of them, Henry probably felt the heartache the most. He gradually lost his smile and suddenly went missing with a small note that informed Justice, Vale, and Xavier about his sudden adventure with his grandfather.


    Vale cast a spell that put the fire on the fire orb dissipate, and after eating a light meal with some drink, they walk to the cliff and saw Henry already on higher ground, looking at them.


    ¡°What took you so long?¡± Gruntled Henry, he pointed to one colorful branch where the three of them noticed small steps. ¡°Go from there. It was not very steep, perfect for our fragile miss healer.¡±


    Walking down the steps, Anne couldn¡¯t even react to Henry¡¯s remark. Justice climbed first and extended his hand to Anne.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to. I have my own way to go up.¡± Said Anne, while giving Justice a grin.


    Vale has a frown on his face. ¡°How do you going to go up without climbing?¡±


    ¡°By using my familiar, of course,¡± Anne answered Vale¡¯s questions while calling for Chikara. ¡°Did you hear that, my boy? Time to show them what we are capable of doing.¡±


    ¡®As you wish, master.¡¯


    Chikara materialized in front of them, with his demon cat body. Even though the fluffy fur stayed with him, the color of the fur was changing into a grey color with a purple color tail, like his master¡¯s hair. Anne climbed on Chikara, while Justice and Vale looked in awe at her.


    ¡®Ready, master?¡¯ Asked Chikara.


    ¡°Not yet.¡± Said, Anne. She turned her attention to Justice and Vale. ¡°Both of you, go ahead. I will join after the three of you reached the cave.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ Really going to ride with your familiar?¡± Vale was asking her with disbelief in his eyes.


    ¡°Yes, and I urged the two of you to climb before Henry loses his mind.¡± Said Anne with her eyebrows raised as a warning.


    Needless to say, Anne arrived safely at the opening of the cave, with the three of them looking at her with various expressions, of disbelief, curiosity, and astonishment.


    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± Anne was wondering why all of them seems surprised about her act.


    ¡°Because you were riding your familiar, Anne.¡± Justice looks at her with astonishment on his expression, ¡°There are no people in this kingdom who could ride their familiar before, even the four of us.¡±


    ¡°What? Really? I thought it was normal to ride your familiar.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, like Justice will suddenly mount Kirara,¡± Said Henry, while a slight chuckle came from his mouth. His expression, however, suddenly changed to a serious tone. ¡°No, people in this world couldn¡¯t ride their familiar. So, if you don¡¯t want the others wondering about your peculiarity, I suggested that you be careful from now on.¡±


    ¡°Noted.¡± Anne said while her eyes focused on Henry, kind of challenging the brooding knight captain, ¡°Happy?!¡±


    ¡°Ecstatic¡­¡± Mumbled Henry, his head looking around the cave, ¡°It¡¯s too dark here. How about we put some light?¡± He put out the light orb from his pocket.


    Anne¡¯s eyes grew bigger, and she screamed at Henry, ¡°No, Henry, put the light off!¡±


    It was toote. The moment Henry lighted the cave, a huge nest of moskeetos were in front of them, with the bugs buzzing around them.

 Chapter 152 - 152 A mere curiosity

    152 A mere curiosity


    The buzzing sound of the moskeetos already invading their ears. The bug is the size of their palms already outside of its nest, waiting to attack. Henry put out the light right away. Thankfully, it was at the right time before the moskeetos became violent.


    ¡°What happened here? Someone please exined.¡± Henry was confused and demanded an exnation by whispering to everyone.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to whisper, the moskeeto can¡¯t hear anything,¡± Anne answers his questions. She pointed at the nest, arge cocoon attached to the wall. ¡°They have a very keen eye, though. Da told me that they always attack people in broad daylight or people that use a light orb.¡±


    ¡°You should tell us about this beforehand.¡± Said Henry with gritted teeth, getting annoyed at Anne.


    Doesn¡¯t want to be med, Anne hissed at him and said, ¡°Well, I thought all of you already knew. Besides, this ismon knowledge nowadays, since the new variant of the moskeeto guing the capital.¡±


    ¡°So, what should we be doing right now? I don¡¯t want to stay here longer.¡± Said Rafe, he was trying to adjust his eyes to the dim light of his surround, ¡°The cave has some light, it was not enough to annoy the moskeetos in their nest, probably that¡¯s why the first victim could go to the pool inside.¡±


    Justice looks around and said his opinion on the matter, ¡°Yes, he probably thought that he could get away by walking to the deep pocket of the darkness.¡±


    ¡°We should go inside. I need the sample of the water, and something else.¡± Anne look around at everyone. ¡°I¡¯ll go first.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± The three of them shouted at her at the same time.


    .....


    ¡°Alright, who will go first?¡±


    Vale cast another spell, full protection, at Anne. He then raises his hand and said that he will be the one who steps inside the deeper part of the cave. Justice goes after him, while Henry asked Anne to be the third one.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be thest one, just in case something happened to thest person.¡± He said to Anne.


    Anne awkwardly nodded her head to Henry, never expecting that the knight captain could be this caring. ¡°Errr¡­ thank you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. I do this because it will be a hassle if something happens to you.¡± He straightforwardly says it in front of Anne.


    Anne just took a deep breath and smile at him, ¡°Still, thank you, Henry.¡±


    She followed Justice, who was already waiting for her halfway. Henry walks not long after her. They walk carefully, with the moskeetos nest all over the wall. Anne felt a bit ufortable. They keep hearing the buzzing sounding from the moskeetos. Getting close to them is not a good idea. The bite from moskeeto could give you moskeet fever, but Anne needs to be sure about something before she handed the chief healers her theory.


    Vale had already arrived at the pool of pure water. He was mesmerized by how beautiful and clear the water was. When Anne, Justice, and Henry arrived, Vale already put his hand inside the water.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Anne asks Vale, who¡¯s ready to drink from the pure water.


    ¡°I¡­ I kind of tempted to drink it.¡±


    Anne immediately ps Vale¡¯s hand, the pure water spilling from his hand. ¡°Please don¡¯t. Pure water is actually toxic for you. Do not drink the substance.¡± She took a ss vial from her bag and fill the vial with pure water. ¡°I need to see the connection between the pure water and the vegetation surrounding the cave. Please help me search for any nts that you saw in every corner of the pool. I¡¯ll give you a small straw bag, each.¡±


    ¡°Well, not me. I¡¯m going to sit here, enjoying the view.¡± Said Justice, and true to his words, he sat and begin to put off his shoes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to dip your feet inside the pure water?¡± Anne gave a disbelieving look towards Justice.


    ¡°Well, I wanted to dip all of my body, but you¡¯re here. I don¡¯t want you to file any indecent report.¡± Justice gave her a smirk that makes Anne let out a sigh and leave him alone.


    Henry and Vale took the small straw bag and begin collecting the nts nearby. Anne was in the middle of putting some dirt and moss into the ss vial. Justice saw her concentrating on doing her own task. He always admires her tenacity, and how she was so dedicated as a healer.


    ¡°How¡¯s your own world looks like?¡± Justice asked her something that he never thought he wanted to know about.


    Looking in Justice¡¯s direction, Anne tilted her head, confused by the sudden question, ¡°That was uncalled for.¡±


    Shrugging his shoulder, he gave Anne a warm smile and asked her again, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I was just wondering what kind of life that you had before¡­ well, being thrown into our world.¡±


    ¡°My world? Probably you can say it was more advanced in technology than this world. We have various transportation, everyfort items that you can imagine¡­ so many things.¡± Said Anne to Justice while her mind reminisce about her old world.


    ¡°Wow, seems like a good world.¡±


    Shaking her head, she answered, ¡°Not really, people there¡­ anyhow, you have something that we don¡¯t have.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Justice was intrigued.


    ¡°Magica, as you can see, I wascking in magica because I came from another world.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you weren¡¯t born here?!¡± Another voice asks Anne the question. Both of them turn around to see Vale, the one who was asking her.


    ¡°No, I thought all of you knew about this?¡± Said Anne with a frown on her face. She then stands up from the ground. ¡°Anyhow, we are losing light. It¡¯s best that we go back now.¡±


    ¡°We have everything? Right? Cause I hate to go back here.¡± Henry asked her while he handed her the full straw bag.


    ¡°Yes, this is enough. Let¡¯s go now.¡±


    They were prepared to go outside. Just after Justice put his shoes back, something concerning happened. The pool begins to light, a dazzling blue lighting from inside the pool.


    ¡°Gods! Run everyone!¡± Shouted Justice at all of them. Vale cast shield and full protection to every single one of them, including himself.


    The cave gradually became brighter than before; the moskeetos were flying around, trying to bite all of them. Anne was screaming and felt a sigh of relief when she looks outside of the cave. Vale cast fire on the moskeetos, but surprisingly, the moskeeto¡¯s body is fireproof.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t burn them?! Gods!¡± Vale shouted at everyone.


    ¡°Still, do something, the shield almost disperses now!¡± Henry shouted back at him, while he used his sword to y some moskeetos.


    ¡°Look! We are almost there!¡± This time, it was Anne who shouted at them.


    They rushed to get out of the cave, and after they saw the end of it, Vale cast another spell at the entrance of the cave, full protect spell sealed the entrancepletely. They finally could let out a sigh of relief breath afterward. After they descended from the cliff, they were in the middle of walking to their horses.


    ¡°Wow! That was intense!¡± Henry excitingly shouted at them.


    ¡°Just calm down, Henry. We almost got bitten by a gue bearer.¡± Anne was already exhausted, not to mention she felt dizzy and had a hard time walking. She tried to walk slower.


    Henry turned around trying to scold Anne, ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you¡­¡± he stopped and screamed her name, ¡°Anne!¡±


    Justice and Vale abruptly stop. They saw Anne lose her bnce and fall to the ground in their very eyes.

 Chapter 153 - 153 In the palm of her hand

    153 In the palm of her hand


    ¡°Anne! Oh my God!¡± Vale was shouting when he saw our purple hair color healer unconscious in Henry¡¯s arms.


    ¡°What happened?!¡± Justice looks into Henry, trying to get some exnation from his distraught friend.


    Henry was so flustered, he looks at Justice and shakes his head, ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know. She just suddenly falls to the ground.¡±


    Looking at how panicked his two friends were, Justice took the matter into his hand. He carried Anne to his horse and asked Vale to help him put Anne into his horse. Carefully, her head rested on Justice¡¯s broad chest. Still unconscious, he checked her temperature.


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t have a fever. Is that a good thing?¡± Asked Justice to Vale.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it is better for us to go back as soon as possible. Let me ride in front of you.¡± Vale said to Justice, and then he turned his attention to Henry, ¡°What are you doing?! Get onto your horse, and don¡¯t forget to tie Anne¡¯s horse with you.¡±


    ¡°Vale, he was in shocked, let him be.¡± Scolded Justice to his friend.


    Vale shouted at Justice, clearly feeling annoyed by Henry. ¡°Well, all of us are! But we need to act fast!¡±


    With a sigh, Justice whispered to Anne, ¡°I guess they are still going to be an enemy for a while.¡±


    .....


    Ten minutester, they are on their way to go back into the encampment, Vale using his spell to cast two light spheres circling around him. It was so much easier to ride through the woods with the light, although Justice was struggling for a bit. Having to hold on to Anne and go as fast as he can riding his horse. He doesn¡¯t want to lose her, even though two years ago he resented her so badly. Not because of the lost feeling, but the lies that she told all of them. He was disappointed because Anne never trusted the four of them.


    Justice thought that they had something special, even though half of the feeling came from the bewitched spell, but half of it he knows as the truth. He was genuinely smitten by her, the way she smiled or frowned whenever something interesting happened in front of her. Justice may not be obsessively in love with her, but he was in love with her. He tightens the hold that he has on Anne, trying to feel the warmth thates from her body.


    ¡°Justice, do you want me to switch ces with you?¡± Henry called for him. He was riding on behind, with Anne¡¯s horse following his horse.


    Justice immediately tells him, ¡°No, just followed us. The sooner we got back, the better for Anne.¡±


    ¡°How¡­ How is she?¡± Asked Henry once again.


    ¡°She is fine¡­ For now, so don¡¯t worry.¡± Said Justice, trying to calm him down.


    ¡°Justice! Silver Hawk told me the area in front of us will be changing into a dark and mischievous road.¡± Vale told him, trying to warn the crown prince.


    ¡°What should we do now? It could dy us!¡± Justice shouted his frustration, but then Henry galloped faster.


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay and fend them. You two just keep riding!¡± Said, Henry.


    Although Vale was surprised by Henry¡¯s offer, he slightly turned his head to His friend. ¡°Are you crazy? Fighting a dark and mischievous road monster alone?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine!¡± Henry said to Vale. Besides, we don¡¯t know what happened to Anne. You need to go back as soon as possible!¡±


    Vale cast a full protection spell on Henry and told him to be safe. Henry just grunted at him. Justice gave the two of them a smirk. For the time being, having them talk to each other is enough.


    ¡°Careful, alright?¡± Said Justice to Henry.


    Henry grumbled, but still nodded his head to his friend, ¡°Just shut up, I will be fine!¡±


    ¡°Well, would you?!¡± Shouted Vale in the front. Justice and Henry could sense he was so amused by Henry¡¯s words.


    ¡°Well, for two years, I was learning from the best!¡± Henry replied to Vale, while the three of them galloped through the road that was getting darker.


    The dark and mischievous road is a phenomenon that came almost twelve years ago. They never knew what triggered the appearance, but the road always appears randomly everywhere, sometimes at the same ce, sometimes on another new and unbeknown road. One of the main duties of the huntsman in the Valorian kingdom is to eradicate every monster inside the dark and mischievous road.


    Henry paces himself and when they go inside the dark and mischievous road, Henry stops the horses, calls for his bow and saw Justice and Vale riding away from this dangerous road. He activates the skill that only a high-level knight could obtain, the skill that he was honing under the strict supervision of his grandfather.


    Knight sense, where the knight could hype every sense that they have, just like the magi when they activate their magica, the knight would also have glowing eyes when the knight sense is activating. His glowing icy blue eyes sense a medium size monster on the corner, trying to ambush his friends. He prepared his bow andunched it straight into the monster that was almost grabbed onto Vale¡¯s shoulder.


    The cry of the monster made Henry get more excited than before. It was a Gardoran, a bird monster that has arge beak and golden-like feathers with three red eyes on its face. Henry shouted at his friend, telling them to go away as soon as possible.


    ¡°Go! I can handle this!¡±


    Vale and Justice were finally gone from view. The Gardoran tried to fly, but Henry¡¯s arrow pierced into one of its wings. With a wicked smile on his face, Henry called for his great sword. He was ready to tear the Gardoran until another screech came from his behind. He turn his head around to see another Gardoran flying into him with hisrge ws pointed into Henry¡¯s body.


    After two hours of the non-stop journey, Vale and Justice finally arrived at the encampment. Brom and Hector were already waiting anxiously at the east gate. They saw the unconscious Anne still in the crown prince holding.


    ¡°What happened to Anne, your majesty?!¡± Asked Hector to Justice.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know. She just fell unconscious so suddenly.¡± Replied Justice to the Alchemist. He carefully carried her inside the encampment, even though his body was already exhausted. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the healers for now!¡±


    Nathan check on her while asking Justice a set of question, ¡°Does she ever awaken on your hold?¡±


    ¡°No, she mumbled something incoherently, but never fully conscious.¡±


    Nodding his head, Nathan continued his observation, ¡°I see she has a slight fever, but not in¡­ Wait, what is this?¡±


    He opens the palm of Anne¡¯s right hand, and what they saw makes everyone stunned on their feet.

 Chapter 154 - 154 An unexpected guest

    154 An unexpected guest


    When Nathan open the right palm of Anne¡¯s hand, all of them couldn¡¯t believe what was inside her hand. She was holding onto a big needle, or an item resembling a big needle. Nathan and Hector already know what is actually the item was.


    ¡°What¡¯s that? A needle?¡± Vale looked at the item with curiosity.


    ¡°This¡­ is a moskeeto stinger, poisonous, and suspected as the source of the moskeet fever. ¡± Said Nathan while he carefully took the stinger with a handkerchief from her hand. ¡°But the reason why Anne clutches so hard on this poisonous item, I can¡¯t even imagine.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can, senior,¡± Hector whispered. Fear was detected in his voice.


    Justice¡¯s head turns into the alchemist. ¡°What is it? Tell us everything.¡±


    ¡°She¡­ well, she and I may have discussed something in the tent. About how she could heal the new variant more than the main hospital percentage.¡± Hector tells them the story, everyone listening to him without saying any words, ¡°When she goes back to the tent, I asked her what happened, because she was crying, and¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait, did you just say that she was crying?¡± Justice cut into Hector¡¯s sentences as soon as he heard about Anne crying.


    Hector nervously nodded his head. ¡°Err¡­ yes, I heard a sniffle and asked her. She said it was nothing. I wanted to distract her and we begin to discuss the new variant,¡± Hector answered Justice¡¯s question, while the crown prince was taken aback by the truth, Hector continued on, ¡°and when I mentioned to her about how lucky she was that she never had the new variant after treating so many patients made her think of something.¡±


    Vale nodded his head, ¡°Continued¡­¡±


    .....


    ¡°She¡­ she thought she might be immune to moskeet fever, and the new variant. That¡¯s why we have some ideas to test if she is really immune from the new variant.¡± Hector looks around the room. ¡°Hence why we need to have collected some samples from the nest.¡±


    Justice suddenly chuckles from the ce he was leaning on, ¡°We? What an amusement.¡± His red eyes look threatening to Hector, even though his face was calm, but the coldness in his tone says it all, ¡°You! Let her go alone to pick samples. You! Never told us to protect her.¡±


    There was a dreaded feeling goes to Hector, ¡°I¡­ I am sorry, your majesty, never thought that she was going to take the stinger by grabbing it like that.¡±


    ¡°Well, what do you expect her to do? You embedded this crazy and dangerous thing on her, and you don¡¯t even join her to share the workload!¡± Justice massaged his temple, and the next words thate from his mouth gave a chill into Hector¡¯s bone. ¡°Pray that she will be alright, or I will make sure you pay for this.¡±


    ¡°I will put your word inside my mind and work hard for the cure.¡± Hector took the stinger and the samples from Anne¡¯s bag, he then excused himself from the tent.


    ¡°Put some guards on him. I don¡¯t want him to leave the alchemist tent before he got some results!¡± Said Justice to a guard.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to go overboard. I mean, Anne probably has the same thought as him.¡± Vale scolded his friend, feeling sorry for Hector.


    Justice red at Vale. ¡°Even though both of them were guilty, he is not the one who lying down here, right?¡±


    ¡°Still, Justice, cing your anger at the poor man will not make Anne better.¡±


    The words that came from Vale were giving Justice the harsh truth. He let out a sigh and sit in the chair, waiting for Nathan to be done treating Anne. She was so pale, her face was losing so much color, it makes them worried.


    ¡°Nathan, how is she?¡± Asked Justice to the senior healer.


    Nathan took a deep breath and asked one of the helpers for some acupuncture needles. ¡°I need to take some of the poison out of her system. Using acupuncture will help.¡±


    ¡°So, is she infected?¡± This time it was Vale who asked Nathan.


    ¡°No, at least for now. We need to wait for three days.¡± Answered Nathan to Vale, he couldn¡¯t give the two of them false hope and continued his exnation, ¡°There was a possibility the moskeet fever came from the stinger on the moskeet, but we need to be sure first, and on the other hand if Anne was immune like how she and Hector suspected¡­¡±


    ¡°Then she will get through this.¡± Muttered Justice.


    Nathan¡¯s head turned into Justice, ¡°If she really was immune, then we need to find out by the antibody test. Hector will surely work hard for the test.¡±


    Vale looks into her. He feels helpless right now. ¡°How long till we find out about this test?¡±


    ¡°About one or two days. For now, I will make sure she wasfortable enough in the suspected patient¡¯s tent.¡± Nathan looks at the two gentlemen, and carefully handed the mask to them. ¡°Please wear a mask at all times. I¡¯m not going to allow you to visit her if you don¡¯t wear the mask properly.¡±


    ¡°I need to be here,¡± Justice stubbornly still sat on the chair, he wear the mask but refused to go away. ¡°I will make sure first that she will be stable and then I will leave the room.¡±


    Nathan gives up. He took the needles and stands up, his hand already reaching out to a privacy curtain. ¡°Alright then, but I need to use the curtain while you¡¯re here.¡±


    ¡°Be my guest, as long as I could see that she wasn¡¯t in any kind of pain because of those needles.¡± Justice gave him a shrug and leaned on his chair.


    Vale and Nathan just shook their head. The treatment took a while. Both Justice and Vale need to wait while turning their head from Anne. The curtain wasn¡¯t helping to give her some privacy. The silhouette of her body was so clear to see by the two gentlemen. After Nathan was done with the procedure, Justice finally could see some color on her face.


    ¡°She is stable for now. Though, I don¡¯t know when she will be conscious. I suggested that both of you go and take some rest. It must be a tiring day for both of you.¡± Nathan said to Justice and Vale.


    After Nathan asked them to go and get some rest, in the east gate, someone ising back from a hard fight with two monster birds, his body was drenched in blood, and while he was taking a deep breath, he gave the knight tworge heads of the Gardoran.


    ¡°Cap¡­ captain Henry?¡± Said the knight, nervously.


    Henry just gave them a re and said, ¡°Put those heads in the chilled room. The huntsman needs to inspect them.¡±


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t bother to ask anyone else. There¡¯s a huntsman captain here.¡± Said another person from behind him.


    Henry turned his head and was in for a surprise. ¡°You? What are you doing here?¡±

 Chapter 155 - 155 Who are you?

    155 Who are you?


    A beautiful youngdy with red hair and green eyes was staring at Henry. She smiled warmly at him. ¡°It¡¯s good to meet you again, Henry.¡±


    ¡°Sabina, what are you doing here?¡± Henry¡¯s eyes were far from the warm gaze. All he had was a cold expression of curiosity in it.


    ¡°Well, I was just passing by, and I happened to see you.¡±


    Henry gave a sigh, ¡°Would you believe that?¡± Said Henry with a tone of sarcasm, ¡°Now you already saw me, you can leave now.¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on! Don¡¯t you miss me? Even a bit?¡± Asked Sabina with pouted lips.


    ¡°Suit yourself, I must tell you, we were in the middle of an istion right now, if you go in, it would be hard to go out.¡± Henry goes away, leaving Sabina alone with the guards and the knights, but not before he turns around one more time, ¡°Oh, and I never miss you, not in the slightest.¡±


    ¡°Liar!¡± Shouted Sabina while she looks at the man who was already walking inside the encampment.


    Henry was a bit worried, he knows Sabina, probably a bit too much. Thinking that Justice could help him, he heads out to the crown prince¡¯s tent hoping to see him there. What a relief Henry was when he looks at Justice, who walks towards his tent with Vale. Both of them saw him and were distraught to look at the blood all over Henry¡¯s body.


    ¡°Henry?! Good Gods! What happened?!¡± Asked Justice to his friend.


    .....


    ¡°I am fine. This was the monster¡¯s blood.¡± Said Henry, he looks at Vale and Justice. ¡°How¡¯s Anne?¡±


    Both Justice and Vale refused to discuss her outside the tent. He proposed to Henry to go inside his tent after he cleaned himself in the public bath. Not more than thirty minutes, the knight captain was already inside Justice¡¯s tent, with fresh clothes and a clean body.


    ¡°I assume since you told me to freshen myself first, Anne would be alright?¡± Henry asked Justice while he prepare a cup of caftea.


    ¡°She was stable, but I need to ask you, did you see something before Anne copsed?¡± Said Justice to Henry.


    Henry knows something was wrong when Justice gave him a vague answer, and even asked the man about something that Henry doesn¡¯t even aware of. Henry looks at Justice and asked him back, ¡°What do you mean? What happened to her, actually?¡±


    Justice drink his caftea and then exined to him carefully, ¡°She¡­ had something on her palm, it was moskeeto¡¯s stinger.¡±


    There was a wave of anger in Henry¡¯s eyes, he stand up from his seat and shouted, ¡°She what?!¡±


    ¡°Calm down, shouting and being frantic isn¡¯t going to help her.¡± Scolded Justice to Henry.


    ¡°Nor giving a punishment to Hector, either.¡± Muttered Vale while Justice gave him a re.


    ¡°I hope she was at least not in any pain, right? I mean¡­ she¡­¡± Henry was afraid that he will lose her one more time. ¡°I can¡¯t believe how I was always trying to get on her nerve, Gods!¡± Henry close his eyes, and with soft whispers asked his friends once again, ¡°How is she? This time, please just tell me the truth.¡±


    Vale and Justice looked at each other, Vale is the one who gave the whole truth to Henry, ¡°Look, all we know for now, is that she was fighting for her life, and Hector the alchemist still conducted the antibody test on her.¡±


    ¡°So, was she conscious?¡±


    Justice shakes his head. ¡°Not for now, she¡­ Had a fever, probably resulting from the stinger that she was holding for a while.¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± Vale looks at the table, he remembered the conversation he had a while back, ¡°She was tired and overworked,¡± He then looks into Justice, ¡°Did you know that Xavier was being treated at the main hospital right now?¡±


    Justice was intrigued. He doesn¡¯t know about this. ¡°No, what happened?¡±


    ¡°He was a suspect patient, one of hisdies¡¯ friend¡¯s brother got infected, and he happened to be there.¡± Henry exined to him, and after he cleared his throat, he also tells him about the other matter, ¡°He also¡­ impregnated hisdy friend, that was why he was at her house, he was visiting.¡±


    ¡°Dear Gods! Such a fool! Howe he could be so unprepared?!¡± Justice was in shock, over all of his three friends, only Xavier and Vale who remain celibate in the past, although not as indulgence as Henry, Justice was carefully chosen his bedchamberdy before Anne arrived in their life.


    ¡°He was unconscious. The only thing that he remembered was the morning afterward. He was too drunk back then.¡± Said Vale again.


    ¡°Then he was a fool!¡± Henry said suddenly to both of them.


    Justice looks at Henry and warned him, ¡°Careful, Henry, he was still our friend.¡±


    ¡°Then you get my meaning all wrong, what I have meant is that he was supposed to be asking around about the night where the baby was conceived, and also there was a test to determine the age of the pregnancy of the woman.¡± Henry solemnly drinks his caftea, ¡°There once a woman who tried to do this kind of trap towards me, knowing full well the wealth and my family name.¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Asked Vale to Justice.


    Justice nodded his head. ¡°Worth a try. I¡¯ll be writing a letter for Xander, he knows what to do.¡± He sat on his desk and make a letter, while he wrote the letter he asked the other two to leave him alone, ¡°I need my rest, and both of you need it as much as I do, you should probably go now.¡±


    Yawning, and doing some stretching, Vale excused himself and leave Henry and Justice alone. Henry, on the other hand, stubbornly sat on the sofa, waiting for his friend to be done with the letter. Justice knew there was something that he needs to be asked of him.


    ¡°Alright, what do you need?¡± he was tired, but knowing full well that Henry was rarely asked for help nowadays makes him curious.


    Henry awkwardly scratched his head, ¡°There¡¯s a huntsmandy that came here, she¡­ was an acquaintance of mine. Could you perhaps give her a task that will make her as far as possible from me?¡±


    A smirk came onto Justice¡¯s face. ¡°Well, it seems that you still have your past charm, I see?¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Said Henry, rolling his eyes. Before he goes out of the tent, Henry gave him the name of the girl. ¡°Her name was Sabina. She was probably observing the Gardoran¡¯s heads that I brought.¡±


    Looking around the area, Henry still trying to hide from the persistent Sabina, he thought to go to visit Anne, but knowing that she was probably still unconscious or need it much rest, Henry opt to ask the helper that he saw instead.


    ¡°Oh, miss Anne?¡± Said the helper. ¡°They move her into the observation tent. I¡¯m afraid you need to wait the next morning to visit her.¡± The helper pointed at the small tent behind tworge trees.


    He goes right away to the front of the tent. He was standing in front of one of thergest trees, intending to climb the tree and observe her tent. Before he was climbing, however, a faint voice came from inside the tent.


    ¡°What are you doing here? Can¡¯t you just leave me alone?!¡± It was Anne¡¯s voice. It seems there was another person inside her tent.

 Chapter 156 - 156 Sharing a secret

    156 Sharing a secret


    Henry was stunned. He was about to climb the tree to keep on watch at Anne¡¯s tent while hiding from thedy huntsman that kepting to see him coincidentally. He knows that Sabina was a piece of bad news as soon as he rejected her advance after they kissed one year ago. Instead of sessfully hiding from the young woman, he heard Anne confronting someone inside the tent.


    ¡°What are you doing here? Can¡¯t you just leave me alone?!¡± Anne was desperately trying to repel the other person, Henry tried to eavesdrop for a moment until he figured if Anne was in some kind of danger.


    ¡°Now¡­ now¡­ my child, why do you need to be so alerted when you look at me?¡± The other voice finally spoke, the hair on the back of Henry¡¯s neck raised. He recognized the voice, the witch of the mountain.


    ¡°I need to, you¡­ you bring suffering to these people. I will never forgive you for what you have done to them.¡± Anne was furious and Henry heard all of it from the outside of the tent.


    A sound ofughter came from the witch of the mountain. ¡°But child, I do everything for you. I even gifted you¡­¡±


    Anne, screaming at the witch of the mountain, seems she doesn¡¯t want to know whatever she was going to say. ¡°Enough! I don¡¯t want to get involved with you, just go away from me, you¡¯ve already been giving me so much suffering¡­ Just¡­¡±


    Henry heard enough when the next thing he heard was Anne sniffles, he open the tent, making Anne flustered. ¡°Anne! Are you alright?!¡±


    ¡°He¡­ Henry! What are you doing here?!¡± Said Anne nervously at him.


    He ignored her for a moment and check on every corner of the tent, strangely there was nothing inside the tent. When he finally looks at Anne, she was actually wearing a nightgown in front of Henry. The soft color of beige is veryplimenting Anne and her skin tone, but the most surprising about all of it was how sexy she is.


    .....


    ¡°Err¡­ I¡­ I am sorry, I must have mistaken the voice.¡± Henry said to Anne. His eyes keep staring at her, or safe to say, her body.


    Anne red at him while trying so hard to cover her body from his view. ¡°Alright, then, what are you doing still standing there? Don¡¯t you see I was in the middle of resting here? And you were supposed to wear a mask!¡±


    Flustered by her rage, Henry turned on his back, ¡°I¡­ I am sorry, I never knew that¡­¡±


    ¡°Ugh, knew about what?¡±


    Henry took a nce towards her, this time just to make sure he saw her expression. ¡°I never knew that I would hear the voice of the witch of the mountain inside of this tent.¡± He was distraught when Anne¡¯s expression was full of fear.


    ¡°What do you mean, there was the witch of the mountain here? That is absurd!¡± Said Anne, trying to deny Henry¡¯s im, although her face says otherwise.


    Sensing that Anne would never reveal the truth to him, Henry give up and excused himself from her tent. Before he was leaving the tent, Henry spoke to her one more time, ¡°Anne, I was so rude towards you after we had met again after two years. I am sorry about everything. I¡­ I will try to be kinder.¡± Unexpectedly, gigglese from her direction. Henry just wondered because he couldn¡¯t look directly at her. ¡°Did you justugh?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I was so amused by your heartfelt apology.¡± Said Anne while she stop the ridiculous giggling, ¡°Thank you, Henry, I would love that. Let¡¯s be friends, alright?¡± Asked Anne to Henry.


    ¡°Friend? Hmph¡­¡± He left the tent without giving her a proper answer.


    After Henry left the tent, Anne looked around and gave a sigh of relief. The witch of the mountain was, in fact,ing here and had a conversation with Anne. It seems she always followed her from time to time. The only one who knew about this was Brom. Both of them were trading information regarding the witch of the mountain. She remembered thest time they talked; they were inside her hut. He was trembling in fear as he stared at the moon from the window.


    ¡°She came today, in my dream, when I saw her¡­ That face.¡±


    Anne gave him a metee tea. To calm his nerves, it always works wonders for Brom. ¡°Did she yell again? Or maybe grab your hand and hit you like thest time?¡±


    Brom shakes his head, ¡°No, this time she¡­ She was smiling, her smile however, gave me chills, I woke up screaming, My mother even came to my room.¡± Brom tells her his dream while sipping on the tea, his eyes then go to Anne, ¡°Was shee to you, again?¡±


    Anne nodded her head, biting her nails profusely while reminiscing about the witch of the mountain visited recently, ¡°Yes, she came here and talked gibberish like always, it makes me so afraid and angry at her, I don¡¯t know what she wants.¡±


    ¡°At this stage, I¡¯m afraid both of us don¡¯t know what she wants from us.¡± Said Brom with a smirk on his face.


    Anne let out a sigh. She called for Chikara, her familiar who resided in her shadow.


    ¡®Yes, master.¡¯ Said a pair of eyes that appear from her shadow.


    ¡°Goes to Brom, and informed him that I was having another encounter with the witch of the mountain. I want him to record this on our share book log.¡± Shemanded her familiar while thinking about the next sentences, ¡°Also, tell him, that he needs to be careful, both of us are connected to her, every time she came to visiting, he will definitely dream about that cruel witch soon.¡±


    ¡®As you wish, master.¡¯


    Chikara goes outside the tent in form of arge shadow, the demon cat failed to sense Henry from behind the tree, and he turns his face to the tent, knowing full well that Anne and Brom were keeping a secret about the witch of the mountain.

 Chapter 157 - 157 The truth and nothing else but the truth

    157 The truth and nothing else but the truth


    Xavier was in a lot of trouble, he was outside of the main hospital, begging for someone to tell him what exactly happened to Anne, he feel like a *sshole, worrying for another girl while the other girl carrying his baby was resting in her home. Both Yasmine and Xavier tested negative, and her brother was having some progress.


    The one that he was missing was his healer, Anne. He was expected to see her during their routine check-up, but another healer came inside. Xavier tried to ask him, but the only answer that he got was her team got a mission and need to go elsewhere. Whatever Anne¡¯s mission was, no one was saying a word to Xavier.


    He gave up for today, and prefer to go back to his barrack. Strangely enough, Vale and Henry also go missing.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know where your captain was going?¡± Asked Xavier to Taissa. The former sub-ordinates of Henry.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry captain Xavier, but captain Henry wasn¡¯t my official captain anymore. I only know that he goes somewhere to guard an isted encampment.¡± Said Taissa to Xavier.


    ¡°and you don¡¯t know anything more?¡±


    She shakes her head. ¡°No, I am sorry.¡±


    He let out a sigh and thanked Tassia for her time. Xavier thought it was a good night to head into the pub. He was convinced that Yasmine was searching for him, as for now, his mind doesn¡¯t go to her. Arriving at the pub, he asked for a bottle of his favorite drink. His mind goes back to when Vale advises him about Yasmine.


    ¡°What is going on with you today, sir? You seem not enjoying yourself as much¡­¡± Said the bartender, but then he goes quiet, and chuckled, ¡°Oh wait, you never really enjoy yourself at much though, even with those prettydies around you all the time.¡±


    .....


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know about that,¡± Xavier said to him with a snicker.


    ¡°Oh,e on sir, I know you, always the gentleman. That¡¯s why I even helped you to guard thedy that insisted on being inside the room that I¡¯ve provided.¡± The bartender chuckles, probably remembering the bizarre day. ¡°She was so persistent, even sleeping outside in another room until the morninges when she jumps into the bed.¡±


    Xavier¡¯s eyes went wide. He looks at the bartender. ¡°When has the event happened?¡±


    The bartender tried to think about it. ¡°Maybe like two months ago?¡±


    His hands were trembling. He asked the bartender once more, ¡°So, I got so drunk and you even need to take me into one of your rooms?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not just drunk, sir, you were so drunk, I need to be asked some people to help me put you into the room, and suddenly the young womane and even begged me to let her inside the room to treat your hangover.¡± He chuckles while shaking his head, ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to let that happen, sir, especially when you scream a woman¡¯s name. So I took my stand and guarded you inside while the young miss slept in another room.¡±


    He looks down immediately. Yasmine was lying. After he asked the bartender to write everything on paper, he excused himself from the pub. Tomorrow morning, he will be visiting Yasmine and uncovering her lies. That¡¯s when he bumped into a person he knew.


    ¡°Xavier? Hey, so d to meet you here.¡± Foster, the guard, is an acquaintance of Xavier, his drinking friend.


    With a lot on Xavier¡¯s head right now, he tried to get away from Foster, ¡°Foster, hey, sorry, I need to go now, I have¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on, I am starving, let me treat you to a nice meal before you go.¡± Foster insisted on pushing him to go inside, but Xavier doesn¡¯t have much of a choice.


    They were sitting on the corner seating while Foster asked for two specials of the night. He smiled at Xavier who tried to smile back at him.


    ¡°I love this pub a lot. I was here almost every night.¡± Said Foster to Xavier.


    Xavier nodded his head. ¡°I have another pub that my best friends and I always frequented. I came here when I wanted to be with another crowd.¡± Muttered Xavier, remembering where he always got drunk and invited a woman to go and have some little fun with him, when he was drinking, The face of the woman sometimes changed into another face, a young woman with purple color hair and a beautiful smile.


    ¡°Yes, I noticed. I saw you here always with ady friend, though, but it seems not anymore.¡± Foster gave him a chuckle, definitely teasing Xavier.


    ¡°I guess those days are over for me,¡± Smiled Xavier, with a glimpse of Anne¡¯s beautiful face in his mind. He got calmer and initiated a conversation with Foster. ¡°So, what are you doing nowadays? I remembered you told me that they are moving you into another post?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, it was inside the capital, thank Gods for that, but now I was guarding the east gate, and I am a master sergeant now.¡± Foster proudly tells Xavier about his promotion, ¡°Soon, I¡¯ll be a captain as well.¡±


    ¡°Yeah? Keep on dreaming.¡± Xavier chuckles at him. They teased each other back and forth.


    They enjoyed tonight¡¯s special menu with a light conversation until a guard entered the pub.


    ¡°Master sergeant!¡± Said the guard to Foster.


    ¡°Oh sh*t, you found me.¡± Gruntled Foster to the guard, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a mage that needs permission to go outside the capital, master sergeant.¡±


    Foster seems intrigued. The capital is always on lockdown from ten before midnight until six in the morning. Everyone that wanted to go outside or inside the capital need permission from the captain or the master sergeant in charge. Tonight is master sergeant Foster¡¯s shift.


    ¡°Fine, give me the permission letter.¡± Foster read the permission letter and signed it. After he handed the permission letter, Foster talks to Xavier, ¡°Just a mage captain that wanted to go to into the istion encampment.¡±


    It intrigued Xavier. ¡°What istion encampment that we were talking about here?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I guess you don¡¯t know about this¡­ few people knew though, but the guard encampment where they were supposed to go into their field training got infected by the new variant.¡± He looked around and whispered to Xavier, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that an important person also got infected, so everything was so secrecy about the mission.¡±


    For Xavier, everything makes sense now. Justice was trying to avoid Anne by going to the new guards¡¯ field training, the healer¡¯s secret mission, also the disappearance of Vale and Henry. All of them were there, in the new guard field training encampment.


    Foster then added, ¡°I guess captain Brom just wanted to meet with someone inside the istion encampment. It will not be easy to go inside, though.¡±


    ¡°Wait, the permit that you had just signed earlier was for Brom?¡± Xavier asked Foster carefully.


    ¡°Oh, yes, you know captain Brom?¡±


    Nodding his head, he then asked Foster a favor, ¡°Foster, about the permit, could you also give it to me?¡±


    A bit taken aback by his sudden request, he asked Xavier the reason. ¡°I guess I could, but what for?¡±


    He smiled at Foster, ¡°I just love some adventure and danger.¡±

 Chapter 158 - 158 The recurring nightmare

    158 The recurring nightmare


    The moonlight lit up in the sky. Brom was sitting on the east gate post, waiting for the permit. When Chikaraes, he knows what exactly he was going to say to him. Choosing to have a discussion with Anne immediately, he asked for an unexpected mission to the mage¡¯s house.


    Tonight, the guards were taking a little breather. Since the infected case went around the kingdom, fewer people were entering the capital. One guard came to Brom and gave him a cup of caftea. He gratefully took the cup and take a sip. Looking at the moon with a cup of caftea in his hand was surely a good moment to cherish. He always loves the moonlight, especially on these rare quiet nights.


    ¡°Sorry for the wait, captain Brom.¡± The guard who took his permit to be signed finally back with the signed permission for him.


    He smiled at the guard while shaking his head, ¡°It was quite alright, I was the one whoplicated things for you.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s my duty, and I am happy to help.¡± Said the guard, handing him the permit to his hand.


    ¡°Thank you, so may I go outside right away?¡±


    Nodding his head, the guard took him to the stable, and help him to prepare for a horse, when someone shouted in their direction.


    ¡°Wait! Captain Brom, wait!¡± said the guard, who happened to be master sergeant Foster.


    Brom turned his attention to Foster with curiosity, ¡°Excused me, do I know you?¡± Said Brom to Foster.


    .....


    ¡°Ah, no, but I came here to send you a message from captain Xavier, he told you to wait for him.¡± Foster ryed the message, even though almost out of breath in the process. ¡°Gosh, someone gets me a drink.¡±


    One of the guards gave Foster a ss of water that he drank in one gulp, Brom patiently waited for him to finish the drink before asking him a question, ¡°Why did Xavier, I mean captain Xavier ask me to wait for him?¡±


    ¡°He said that it will be safer to go together because of how dangerous the road is at night.¡± Said Foster, while asking for another ss of water.


    Brom let out a sigh. He cast a spell on Foster¡¯s empty ss, and the water appears on the ss. ¡°There, the ss will always have water inside.¡±


    Everyone around them, two of them and also Foster, just stared at Brom while the mage leaned into the sofa. ¡°I¡¯ll wait then.¡± The only words that he said.


    The guards looked at him with disbelief, especially Foster, who held the ss tightly, safe to say. He never drinks from the enchanted ss anymore.


    ¡°Brom, sorry for waiting. I need to get my permit and pack.¡± Xavier came after half an hour with a bag on his shoulder.


    Looking at him tentatively, Brom went quiet and just took his own bag to the stable. They took the horses by walking and rode them outside the gate. They don¡¯t want to disturb the sleeping residence with the galloping horse sound all over the gate tunnel.


    ¡°What are you doing, Xavier?¡± Asked Brom, he knows full well that Vale and Henry refused to give any information to Xavier.


    Xavier shrugged his shoulder, ¡°What do you mean? I missed my best friends and wanted to go there. Was it so hard to believe?¡±


    Brom stared at him after they were both on the back of their horses. ¡°No, I will never believe it, so please just tell me, what are you doing, going to an istion encampment?¡±


    Staring back at Brom, he challenges Brom with his golden eyes. ¡°What about you then? What are you doing going to the istion encampment? If Da was your excuse, I just saw her going to her shift with her captain.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ you didn¡¯t tell her anything, right?¡± Brom nervously asked Xavier.


    ¡°Rx, we don¡¯t have a conversation, just a quick nodded to each other,¡± Xavier said to the nervous Brom. He then chuckles at him, ¡°How about we kept our reason to ourselves? I will never question your motive and you don¡¯t need to question mine?¡±


    Brom gritted his teeth, ¡°Agreed.¡±


    They were riding into the night, trying to reach the istion encampment before noon. Meanwhile, in the istion encampment, Henry just as usual,ying on his bed trying to catch up on some sleep, he got like one hour of rest and immediately wakes up when the nightmare begins to haunt him. He wanted to go outside from his tent but was afraid to meet with Sabina.


    Not because he was afraid of the woman directly, but because her obsession was terrifying for him. Just from one innocent kiss, she tried to cling to a future hope together with Henry, when he even had no thought of her that way. Henry tried to get some rest when he looks at the moonsun dial, the hours still in the early morning. After two hours of a failed attempt, he gets up from the bed and walked into Justice¡¯s tent.


    When he opened the tent, Justice wasn¡¯t alone, a pair of golden eyes with long ck hair staring at him.


    ¡°Xavier?! What are you doing here?!¡±


    Xavier rolled his eyes, annoyed by his innocence questioned, ¡°How ironic, I could say the same to you, Henry.¡±


    ¡°I came here for a mission! Knights were holding the istion encampment so the guards couldn¡¯t run away.¡± Said Henry while he drop himself onto the sofa, right in front of Xavier.


    ¡°Well Vale and you could at least inform me, I was panicking because Anne went missing when she was supposed to be my healer.¡± Gruntled Xavier, he was munching on a cream soup with meat for the breakfast.


    ¡°We can¡¯t because we were in a hurry, and you were supposed to be in your istion chamber, am I right?¡± Henry strikes back into Xavier¡¯s im.


    Xavier red at his friend, admitting defeat. ¡°Fine! The good news is they let me go. That¡¯s why I am here today, trying to help.¡±


    ¡°A good news indeed for you, Henry. Now you can get rid of that huntsman girl.¡± Justice begins to tease Henry.


    ¡°A girl? Wow, this is new.¡± Said Xavier while his eyes goes to Henry.


    Henry let out a sigh, and gave another attack to Xavier, ¡°How¡¯s Yasmine?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, and I don¡¯t care. The baby wasn¡¯t mine.¡± Xavier cheerfully tells all of his friends, ¡°The girl tried to trap me into marriage.¡±


    ¡°Xave, I am sorry.¡± Justice patted his hand, for he knows how devastated he must be.


    ¡°It was alright, really? Not that I don¡¯t want the child. If it¡¯s mine, I would dly help Yasmine, but to do this wicked thing¡­ I feel sorry for the baby.¡± He buried his face with his two hands.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry so much, for now, be happy that you knew about this before it was toote,¡± Justice tells him while handing Xavier a ss of water.


    Unbeknown to them, Henry dropped his te to the ground. He felt dizzy all of a sudden. Justice and Henry helped him to rest in bed.


    ¡°I am fine, don¡¯t worry,¡± Henry said stubbornly to his friends.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re not. You were fighting monsters, alone, and from the looks of it, you don¡¯t even have enough rest.¡± Justice said to him while asking for a guard to call for a healer.


    ¡°Henry, what happened?¡± Asked Xavier, he was worried for Henry¡¯s wellbeing.


    ¡°I think there¡¯s no more of hiding it anymore,¡± Henry said to both of them with a bittered smile, ¡°I¡­ I was having a nightmare since two years ago, and it makes me harder to get good sleep.¡±


    ¡°Nightmare? What kind of nightmare?¡± Asked Justice.


    Henry looked straight into Justice and said, ¡°Nightmare about my death.¡±

 Chapter 159 - 159 Same lies, same truth, same nightmare

    159 Same lies, same truth, same nightmare


    The atmosphere inside the crown prince¡¯s tent suddenly changed. Justice and Xavier shared a nce, while Henry was just absent-minded, sitting on the sofa, remembering the nightmare that he had been living on for two years.


    ¡°It¡¯s always the same, the ce, the killer. The only difference is the time and the way.¡± Said Henry to the two of them.


    ¡°You never told us anything about this, Henry, if only we know¡­¡± Justice looks at his best friend with sympathy in his eyes.


    ¡°It was me on the wrong here. I couldn¡¯t believe that all of you could help me. I was trying to run away, even though I don¡¯t know what or whom that I tried to run away from.¡± Henry bitterly said everything to them.


    ¡°You said the killer is always the same. Who might it be? Did you recognize the killer?¡± Asked Xavier to Henry.


    Henry shakes his head. ¡°Only the silhouette, but always the same silhouette. It drives me crazy, and as time goes by, mycked of sleep grew. At first, I could get sleep like six or five hours, but now¡­ I will be lucky if I can have three hours of undisturbed sleep.¡± Exined Henry to both of them.


    The two of them couldn¡¯t even say anything to Henry. Two years ago, when Anne told them to drink the cure of the bewitched spell, and Viora vige was gone from the map, for Justice and Xavier was a very traumatic event. But imagining that Henry will have a scar in a shape of a nightmare.


    ¡°I never imagined it myself, of course, the four of us have our own traumatic event that day, but nightmare¡­ I am sorry, Henry.¡± Xavier sps his hand, he remembers his own way of dealing with the eventful tragedy between the four of them and Anne.


    ¡°You have your own demon to deal with, Xavier, believe me, it wasn¡¯t because I can¡¯t trust the three of you.¡± Taking his time to continue, he sipped a cup of caftea while staring at the fire, ¡°I do trust all of you, but I saw the impact of that day had given us our own scarred, I even saw the scarred from Anne, the way she tried so hard to amuse us whenever she said that we were just friends in her eyes.¡±


    .....


    ¡°Henry, thank you for telling us all of this. Believe me, we are going to be tried to help you. So, don¡¯t you dare to leave us again!¡± Said Justice firmly to his friend.


    Henry looks at Justice and Xavier, he knows he just has done the right thing, although the nightmare still lingered, at least now he got a ce that he could count on. His best friends gave him a smile, a reassurance that they will reveal this mystery and the nightmare gone forever.


    They resumed eating breakfast, while Henry was treated by Nathan.


    ¡°I can see that you¡¯re exhausted, not to mention have depleted on magica. What did you do? You almost lost all of your magica?¡± Nathan asked, his patient with concern on his face.


    ¡°He fought two Gardoran. He was lucky that depleting magica is the only thing that he got.¡± Said Justice, while he burst outughing.


    Nathan, on the other hand, looking straight at Justice, ¡°I am sorry, your majesty, this noughing matter, losing so much magica could also be dangerous for our body.¡±


    Xavier and Justice stopped at the same time, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Asked Justice, curiously, ¡°I never heard such a imed before.¡±


    ¡°Because this is new for us also,¡± Said Nathan with a grim voice, ¡°Using too much of your magica will have a severe consequence for your body. We have a patient that literally died after using all of his magica.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure it was from the depleting magica?¡± Asked Xavier, he wasn¡¯t too convinced of Nathan¡¯s story.


    ¡°Oh, we were very sure. He was a young mage who got a new captain, and he tried to impress his captain. When he was gone on a mission, got his magica until one percent and he passed out.¡± Solemnly, Nathan continued the story. ¡°He died on his captain¡¯s arm. The event probably will never be forgotten by all of us and, of course, captain Brom.¡±


    ¡°Brom, as if the weird Brom, the former subordinate of Vale?¡± Asked Xavier to Nathan.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the one, and I saw him just a moment ago.¡± Nathan answered him, while he gave some medicine to Henry, ¡°Seems like he was waiting to visit Anne.¡±


    Henry kept his silence, even though he knew why Brom was there. In his mind, the secret belongs to Anne. Although he already has the n to talk with Brom. Justice and Xavier keep talking about the depleting magica case, but Henry is never worried about something that seems trivial to him.


    ¡°We already have a proposal for you, your majesty, about this case, but it got pended because the new variant gave us all the new concerned afterward.¡± Said Nathan again to Justice.


    Justice nodded his head. ¡°Gave me the report when we got back to the capital, hoping all of us wille home safely, though.¡±


    ¡°Oh, please, have faith will you, this will be over soon, trust me.¡± Xavier, tried to raise the positivity in the entire room, he turn his attention to Nathan once again, ¡°What do you know about Brom¡¯s sudden visit to Anne?¡±


    ¡°I know nothing. He just came by and asked for permission to visit her.¡±


    Henry then gave him another reason. ¡°He and Da are best friends of Anne, probably getting worried, and got surprised when he learned about Anne¡¯s getting into the istion tent.¡±


    ¡°Then howe Da doesn¡¯t know he was here?¡± Said Xavier suddenly, ¡°I came here with Brom, and when I mentioned Da, he was panicking.¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know.¡± Henry shrugged his shoulder, although he felt the suspicion nowe into him as well.


    ¡°I gave you a sleeping medicine now, to help you get some rest. We rarely gave this to patients, but there¡¯s nothing I can do. You need this rest.¡± Said Nathan to Henry. He was genuinely concerned about his health. ¡°Please drink this.¡±


    He saw the ss vial in Nathan¡¯s hand and asked him a question, ¡°If I drink this, how many hours I will be sleeping? and¡­ Will I have a dream?¡±


    ¡°Why are you concerned about dreaming?¡± Said Nathan with a frown on his face, ¡°We don¡¯t know if you will dream or not, but you will be sleeping for twelve hours.¡±


    ¡°Then I can take it now. I have something that I need to do, a very important thing.¡± Said Henry, while he gets up from the bed and put the vial in his pocket.


    ¡°Wait, captain Henry, you really need to rest.¡± Nathan hold his arm, and stubbornly asked him to go back to bed.


    ¡°It will be quick, I¡­ I just need to see Anne¡¯s condition and I will be sleeping in my tent, alright?¡±


    Huffing his breath, there¡¯s nothing Nathan can do. ¡°Alright, but I will be checking the knight¡¯s captain¡¯s tent in one hour. If you are not there, I will ask permission from the crown prince to detain you.¡±


    ¡°Fine, one hour, I promise.¡± Henry gave up his promise, and go to Anne¡¯s tent as quickly as he could. Nathan also excused himself, determined to get a hold of Henry in one hour.


    Justice and Xavier look at each other. They know something is wrong.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Said Justice to Xavier.


    ¡°Ageha,e here.¡± Xavier suddenly called for his familiar.


    ¡®Yes, master?¡¯ Ageha appeared, with her elegant wings and a wispy voice.


    ¡°Go and see what Henry was doing, discreetly,¡± Xavier said to his familiar.


    ¡®At once, master.¡¯


    The familiar disappears, leaving Justice and Xavier to question Henry¡¯s motive and prepare for any information from Ageha.

 Chapter 160 - 160 Finding allies

    160 Finding allies


    ¡°Captain Brom, you may visit miss Anne now,¡±


    A healer called for Brom as he was waiting outside the tent, waiting for permission to get inside Anne¡¯s tent. He said his gratitude to the healer and walked into the isted tent in the back. When he opened the tent, Anne was sitting on her bed with a book in her hand.


    ¡°Hey, how are you feeling?¡± Asked Brom to his friend, the two of them bing such best friends in the past two years. They¡¯re bonding with the certain facts of an insidious personality haunting them both, their own share secret.


    ¡°Feeling weak, but thankfully nothing more. I don¡¯t think I got infected.¡± She smiled at Brom, but immediately added, ¡°Keep your mask on, just in case.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully, your blood could be the answer for a cure,¡± Brom said to her while sitting on a chair beside the patient¡¯s bed. ¡°Have you eaten anything yet?¡±


    Anne shakes her head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t have an appetite.¡±


    ¡°You know, I rarely saw you eating nowadays. When we met, there was only me and Da who were eating and you just stare at us and smiled.¡± Teased Brom to Anne, although there was a deeper meaning in it.


    Anne gave him a bittered smile and asked for one of the bread, she hate to make his best friend worried. Brom stared at Anne while she munched on the bread. She didn¡¯ty. Anne hardly had any appetite, and it was already taking a toll on her health.


    ¡°So, our suspicion was right. I get the nightmare again.¡± Said Brom, while he let out a sigh. ¡°What did she really want from me? I just saw her once, and the nightmare getting frequent, not to mention she kept visiting you for no apparent reason.


    .....


    ¡°Yeah, it was disturbing nheless¡­¡± Anne said while she was shivering, remembering her once more, ¡°She¡­ she was worried about me, and even gave me some ridiculous advise.¡±


    ¡°Worried? Well, that was new.¡± Scoffed Brom.


    ¡°Tell me about it. I almost choke on my drink when she appeared and asked about my well-being.¡± Chuckles Anne while Brom shakes his head.


    ¡°Well, as for me, this time she was waiting for me in some kind of valley.¡± Said, Brom. He closed his eyes, trying to remember the details. ¡°Would you believe me If I said that it was a peaceful dream, where she didn¡¯t even look mad and tried to kill me?¡±


    ¡°How strange, so it wasn¡¯t a nightmare this time?¡±


    ¡°Oh, believe me, for me it was still a nightmare.¡± Brom shook his head while he chuckles at her, ¡°I never had a good feeling if it¡¯s about her.¡± Muttered Brom.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, I felt it too¡­ She¡­ She was terrifying in her own way.¡± Anne agrees with Brom¡¯s remark.


    ¡°Let¡¯spare our notes. Probably there was more connection this time.¡± Brom handed her a small leather-bound book. This is their secret book note. Brom suggesting about this one year ago, and they tried to investigate why the witch of the mountain keep haunting both of them.


    While they discussed the new entry on their secret note, another man was hearing everything from outside. Henry was listening while he rested on one of the trees. He also wrote a note. Sabrina suddenly appears from his shadow, the red cardinal flying around him, trying to be a nuisance.


    ¡®Eavesdropping? How gentlemanly are you, master?¡¯


    Henry was ring at her. He whispered to his cheeky familiar, ¡°Shut up, Sabrina, what are you doing here?¡±


    ¡®Oh,e on, I was bored. You never called out for me, even when you were fighting those monsters!¡¯


    ¡°You know I can¡¯t. Using my knight power already exhausted my magica, let alone calling your true power.¡± He said to Sabrina in a soft voice, ¡°Sometimes I wonder, why did you want me as your master?¡±


    ¡®Why not? Henry, you¡¯re strong, you just don¡¯t realize your own potential.¡¯ Sabrina tried to encourage her master. ¡®As soon as I saw you, I knew that you¡¯re the one.¡¯


    ¡°I thought you courting me for my good looks?¡± Teased Henry to the little red cardinal, who is now perched on his finger.


    ¡®Well, that too.¡¯ Giggled Sabrina. ¡®Joke aside, master, please use me when you¡¯re in need of my power. I will do as best as I could not to make you suffer the withdrawal again.¡¯


    ¡°Sabrina, remembered, never revealed this to my friends, alright?¡± He looks at Sabrina, who went quiet, ¡°Please, I will be more careful, so no more withdrawal.¡±


    ¡®Fine, but one more piece of news about your depleted magica, I will go straight to the crown prince or that beloved girl of yours who was talking with a strange man inside that tent.¡¯ Sabrina berated her master while looking like a cardinal chirping loudly at Henry.


    ¡°Strange men? What do you mean by strange men?¡± Asked Henry, to his familiar.


    ¡°Lord Henry?¡± A voice came from the ground, distraught Henry, he looks below and Saw Brom looking at him. ¡°Sorry to have kept you waiting. Let¡¯s go. We could discuss this while I eat some breakfast.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you know that I was here? The whole time?!¡± Henry went down from the tree looking so surprised that Brom actually noticed his whereabouts.


    Brom¡¯s hand waving around. A mist appeared and disperse immediately. ¡°Misty protection. This spell will keep an enemy from losing their way when they wanted to go inside the tent. So I always know what happened from inside and out.¡±


    ¡°Wait, howe I don¡¯t get lost?¡± Asked Henry, baffled by Brom¡¯s spell.


    ¡°Well, because you¡¯re not an enemy, just a man that needs to have some answers,¡± Said Brom, smiling at him, ¡°Shall we?¡±


    ¡°Right, we shall then. I know the way to the canteen,¡± Henry tells Brom. While Sabrina still lingered on his shoulder, looking curiously at Brom.


    ¡°Wait, for now, probably a private ce like a crown prince¡¯s tent would be a good idea to eat some breakfast while discussing our problems.¡± He stop for a moment, and turned to his right side, ¡°Am I right? Ageha?¡±


    A beautiful butterfly suddenly appears in front of Henry and Brom. ¡®Ah, you saw me.¡¯


    ¡°Ageha?! So Brom never trusted me, after all!¡± Gruntled Henry.


    ¡®It was the other way around, lord Henry, but I guess captain Brom trusted your friends more than you do.¡¯


    ¡°It never was a good look if you go with this sass around, Ageha. Leave it to my familiar here.¡± Replied Henry to Xavier¡¯s familiar.


    Brom yawned when they saw their interaction, he walk slowly, leaving them behind, for Brom, this is another n that he and Anne were concocted, they need their power and resource and hoping by making the four of them new allies, they will have more answered about their weird and terrifying phenomenon.

 Chapter 161 - 161 A bogus tale

    161 A bogus tale


    Justice gets grumpy all of a sudden. He was nning to visit Anne when the time was right but turns out, the time never was right for him. When he was finished eating breakfast, while waiting for Ageha toe, another knight came with a sort of document for him. When he tried to get out of the tent, Vale came and tried to have a conversation with him, and when he could finally save himself from the boring conversation of the new formation of the knight and mage, Brom and Henry came inside the tent.


    He red at the weird mage captain while he tried to tell them his story and Anne. ¡°So, let¡¯s hear this important story of yours!¡±


    Vale frowned after he heard the crown prince. ¡°Why are you being such a pr*ck?¡±


    ¡°I am not! I was just¡­ Ugh fine, I got angry because all of youing here making mete for my¡­ appointment.¡± Gruntled Justice, while leaning on his desk, still ring at Brom.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Justice, Anne will go nowhere, so calm down.¡± Xavier grinned while the others almost choke on their drink.


    ¡°Shut up Xavier!¡± He muttered while getting embarrassed on his desk, ¡°Just¡­ tell us everything, Brom!¡±


    ¡°Can I finish my breakfast first?¡± He asked calmly to everyone.


    Xavier whispered to Vale, who happened to sit beside him, ¡°He was sure a weird one¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, this is just the portion of his weird behavior. I got used to him so much that I need to consult his own subordinates.¡± Said Vale, with a smile on his face.


    .....


    They were waiting impatiently for Brom to finish eating his breakfast. They just sipped on their caftea with asional nces at the hungry mage captain. When he was finished, he looks around looking at the others.


    ¡°Alright, all of this begin so suddenly, I got a dream about a certain woman, at first it was just a short dream, I walk and then I saw her, smiling at me¡­¡± Brom paused at the moment, trying to gather some courage, he still have chills when he remembered his young self. ¡°The dream grew into a nightmare when¡­ when she tried to chase me in my dream, getting angry and even yelling at me some words that I couldn¡¯t remember.¡±


    ¡°Who was the woman? Did you know her?¡± Asked Vale suddenly.


    ¡°She is the witch of the mountain.¡± This time, it was Henry who spoke.


    ¡°What?!¡± Vale and Xavier shouted at the same time, they gave nced at Justice, who just happened to be quiet the whole time.


    ¡°I know it was her. I happened to see her back then in Viora vige, two years ago.¡± Said Brom, continuing his story.


    Justice thought for a moment and finally asked Brom some questions. ¡°That was your first encounter with her? You never saw her before in your life?¡±


    Brom shakes his head, ¡°No, I never saw her before the Viora vige incident.¡±


    Vale and Xavier shared a nce, while Justice muttered, ¡°That was so strange. Howe she was haunting your dream?¡±


    ¡°Probably, he had some connection with the witch of the mountain.¡± Henry gave his opinion to all of them.


    Vale, Xavier, and Justice agreed with Henry¡¯s theory, while Brom didn¡¯t want to ept it.


    ¡°No, my family came from a long line of famous alchemists. My mother was a descendant of a famous alchemist.¡± Said Brom to Henry. He was a proud fellow, if it¡¯s about her mother.


    Henry scratches his chin, countering his im. ¡°I am sorry to say this, but you know nothing from your father¡¯s side, weren¡¯t you? Your mother has you out of wedlock and she never revealed the identity of your father.¡±


    ¡°That was irrelevant!¡± Brom shouted at Henry, the one thing that he rarely disyed to everyone around, a raw emotion.


    ¡°No, Brom, I am sorry that you never care to know about your real father before, but this might have some connection with the witch of the mountain,¡± Vale looks at his former subordinate full of sympathy, he knows full well how Brom neverfortable if it was about his father. Vale turns his attention to Justice. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°I think Brom and I need to have a conversation with Chief Amaris about this,¡± Justice said to everyone in the tent.


    ¡°Brom, what do you think?¡± Asked Vale to Brom again.


    Brom gruntled but finally agreed on Justice¡¯s proposal. Henry raised his hand, reminding everyone that the story was far from over.


    ¡°Brom still has more than just his own dream, though.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes, It concerned the young woman to whom all of you have a deep affection,¡± Brom said the words without thinking of it for a moment.


    The four of them curse, Vale even voicing his objection, ¡°Oh, do shut up, Brom!¡±


    Brom shrugged on his shoulder, ¡°None of you denied the im, though.¡±


    Clearing his throat, Henry tried to make Brom focus on his story again. ¡°Probably not the best time right now, Brom. Just tell us what kind of connection your dream has with Anne.¡±


    ¡°We tell each other our secret after Brom speaks up about his current nightmare.¡± A voice of a young woman came from the entrance of the tent. Everyone was surprised to see Anne standing at the entrance.


    ¡°Anne, what are you doing here?!¡± Asked Justice, baffled by her sudden appearance. ¡°Wait, you were supposed to be inside the istion tent!¡±


    She let out a sigh, and enter the tent, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I was confirmed negative by Hector. I came here because I knew Brom will reveal anything to all of you. It was our n, after all.¡±


    ¡°So fast? My test gets out in three days,¡± Xavier gave hisint, although his face says differently when he looks at the young woman in front of him, ¡°Still, it was good to see you, Anne.¡±


    ¡°Save the tearjerker reunion,ter on, Xave.¡± Said henry while rolling his eyes. He then looks directly at Anne. ¡°So, what¡¯s happening to you? I think you have another piece of news for us, very important news.¡±


    Anne, ignoring Henry¡¯s brazen words, just nodded at him, ¡°You¡¯re right, it was about the new variant of the moskeet fever.¡±


    ¡°So, did your blood really immune from moskeet fever and the new variant?¡± Asked Vale to her.


    ¡°No, sadly, there are no recorded people that have the immunity for the moskeet fever,¡± Anne answered Vale¡¯s questions, but still look so excited all along.


    ¡°That was not a good news, but why do you look more excited about it?¡± Xavier asked her with curiosity on his face.


    Anne looked around the room, and gave them a wide smile, ¡°Because there was never a new variant of the moskeet fever in the first ce. You see! We can finally help all of those people!¡±

 Chapter 162 - 162 Finding the real culprit (part 1)

    162 Finding the real culprit (part 1)


    ¡°What do you mean there was no new variant in the first ce?¡± Asked Justice to Anne, while the others looked at her with the same curiosity.


    ¡°I have talked with Nathan. After he came and told me about my result, I found something peculiar about the case in the vige and the capital.¡± Said Anne to all of them.


    ¡°What of it?¡± Asked Justice again.


    ¡°Here, this is one of the culprits.¡± Anne handed them a ss vial filled with ck soot. ¡°The overuse of Gaaram wood ashes.¡±


    ¡°But we use this to block the infection to enter our system, right?¡± Xavier said, while curiously staring at the ss vial.


    ¡°Yes, and that was the wrong conclusion about all of this new variant debacle.¡± Said, Anne. She enthusiastically goes to the backboard that is filled with a strategic formation for the new guards and wipes it clean. Justice wanted to stop her, but it was already toote. He just cringed on his desk and went silent. Anne then draw a tree, which came beautifully drawn. ¡°So, this the gaaram tree, for many years, people use the ashes as a living agent for anti-bacterial in every household. We use it to clean the floor, and even dishes.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why the healer uses it as the prevention of the new variant.¡± Vale nodded his head, remembering the first time he saw the healers use all the soaked protection suits.¡±


    ¡°Exactly, but actually, that was the wrong way to do it.¡± Anne pointed her finger at Vale. She was full of energy, determined to exin everything to every one of them in the tent. She draws multiple arrows and draws a healer with a mask in one of the arrows, ¡°This is the nurse that treated the infected patient with a moskeet fever, Nathan told me that the first patient zero is the one who came to the main hospital because of the moskeet fever.¡±


    ¡°And the healer and helper who treated him using these masks?¡± Said Vale, while pointing at the new mask on the dresser.


    .....


    ¡°Yes! They use the prototype mask!¡± Said Anne to Vale. The four gentleman loves to see her this excited. Admiring her love for the work that she had been doing is one of the main reasons Anne still stands out in their heart. She draw another line of the arrow, she was drawing of the farmer of gaaram nts ¡°I could finally know the reason was because of the gaaram wood ashes being used mainly throughout the huts on thest vige that I had my journey on, they also a gaaram nts farmer, which obviously they use the ashes mainly as their household cleaning product.¡±


    Henry stands up from his seat, after connecting her story, ¡°Wait, don¡¯t tell me that these anti-bacterial actually¡­¡±


    Anne nodded her head, confirming Henry¡¯s suspicion. ¡°Yes, the gaaram wood ashes are making every infected moskeet patient worse than before, hence the misinformation that came from all around about the new variant.¡±


    Everyone couldn¡¯t even say any words, they look at each other in disbelief, still trying to wrap their mind around this news.


    ¡°Unbelievable! So, this outbreak just came from a misunderstanding?!¡± Shouted Justice, he m his hand, there was some obvious anger in his eyes. ¡°Those people! Even Bernard, we can prevent all of this from happening. If only we knew about this!¡±


    Regretful, this emotion came into Anne, she doesn¡¯t have enough research when she treated the patients in the vige, and the only way she could get a good result was because she never used gaaram wood ashes to disinfect her house, there¡¯s another alternative that Anne feels more reliant than gaaram wood ashes.


    ¡°We failed you.¡± With a sad voice, Anne looks at Justice, even bowing in front of him, ¡°As one of the healers, please forgive all of us, if only we knew about this sooner.¡±


    Justice took a deep breath. He then walked to the girl with purple hair with a look of despair and regret. His hand brushed into the fallen hair on her face, and he warmly smiled at the girl. ¡°No, this is not your fault, Anne. You worked hard with your team, and clearly gets a good result, we lose so many people, but thankfully now, we could also save so many lives.¡±


    thankful for how caring Justice was, Anne nodded her head and smile back at him, ¡°Yes, thank you, your majesty. As part of Nathan¡¯s team, I will work twice as hard to cure the people.¡±


    Looking at Justice and Anne, Brom yawned and leaned into his chair, ¡°As much as I love the heart-warming and romantic scene that you both disyed, Anne, I think Nathan here wanted to meet with you.¡±


    All of them turned their attention to a man that was awkwardly standing at the entrance of the tent. It was Nathan, smiling, and gave a bow to Justice. ¡°Ah, Your Majesty, I¡¯m sorry, but I need to borrow Anne for a moment. We need to make the cure that she makes on her journey.¡±


    Clearing his throat, Justice immediately separated himself from Anne, who pretended to wipe invisible dirt on her dress. ¡°Alright, miss Anne, Nathan, good luck.¡± He said to both of them.


    Before Anne and Nathan leave the tent, Brom tells them to stop. ¡°Hold on, what about wearing a mask? We don¡¯t need it anymore?¡±


    Smiling, Nathan told Brom to throw the mask or give it to the helpers that came to collect all the soaked ashes mask.


    ¡°We are going to collect some samples and burn the rest. It turns out the content of the gaaram wood ashes was toxic for us.¡± Said Nathan to Brom and the rest of them.


    ¡°Wait, we need to inform the main hospital, then?!¡± Vale said to Nathan, worry about the others in the capital.


    Nathan gave him some reassurance. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the rest of my team is getting ready to go back to the capital, along with some evidence.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear, so what about the other guards?¡± Asked Justice again.


    ¡°That was also being handled right now. We are separating the healthy people and they could go back to the capital with my team, as for the ones who sadly got infected with the moskeet fever, they need to get some rest first.¡± Before everyone got wary, Nathan raised one of his hands. ¡°We can assure you, they will be fine, even the critical patient.¡±


    Hearing that even Bernard will regain his health, Justice feels relieved. His eyes met with Anne who gave him a smile. She knew how sorry he was for his beloved chief guard.


    Almost half a day before Hector and two other healers on Nathan¡¯s team finished their preparation to go back to the capital. Thankfully, there were ten guards that have full health after the thorough check-up. Nathan, Leo, and Anne will stay behind to treat everyone who was infected. They saw the carriage go along the winding road. Henry saw the scene from the tower, his work still not over there, the new dark and mischievous road that appear, and also, helping the rest of the guards who got ill.


    ¡°Captain Henry, This is the leave report from every gate.¡± Said a knight to Henry.


    Henry took the documents, and a frown appear on his face, ¡°Wait, I thought only two healers went out from the encampment. One of them is the alchemist, Hector, right?¡±


    ¡°No, captain, there was also one alchemist that went out, six hours ago, a healer named Rosy.¡±

 Chapter 163 - 163 Finding the real culprit (Part 2)

    163 Finding the real culprit (Part 2)


    The name was never embedded deeply in Henry. As much as he hated how many antagonists came into Anne¡¯s life, he had forgotten about Rosy altogether; he remembered the act but called her the jealous woman who tried to destroy Anne¡¯s future.


    ¡°Miss Rosy? That was odd. I never heard Nathan write the name for the permit to go back to the capital.¡± Said Nathan to the knight. He even doubled check the permit sheet. ¡°See, there was no Rosy¡¯s name on the list.¡±


    ¡°She gave us the healthy checks pass. I thought it meant everyone could get out of the encampment?¡± The guard now seems more confused than before.


    Enraged, Henry mmed the table. ¡°Idiot! That healthy pass was intended for the guards only! Healers, alchemists, mages, and knights still need to get permission from their direct superior!¡±


    The fear in the knight¡¯s eyes was real. This is his first encounter with Captain Henry. His reputation wasn¡¯t the one that his friends informed him of. There¡¯s no warmth in his eyes. He never smiles and the blue color in his eyes, the color of the ice, felt with coldness.


    Henry let out a sigh, ¡°You should go to every gate and inform the knight about this mishap, remember, only the guards who get permission to get out of the encampment with a healthy pass only, the other jobs need to apply for another permit.¡±


    ¡°Right away, my lord! I¡­ I mean captain!¡± He stormed out of the room as soon as possible.


    ¡°God, Henry, what did you do to that poor knight? He was terrified.¡± Vale, who happened just came inside the room saw the knight who run away with a fresh fear on his face.


    Chuckling, He shakes his head, ¡°I gave him a bit of a lesson about listening and acting as a good knight, that¡¯s all.¡± He then looks at the primary captain mage. ¡°What are you doing here, anyway?¡±


    .....


    Vale raised a bottle of Aggrus with a grin on his face. ¡°A peace offering?¡± he turned his head to another person behind him. ¡°Also, Brom, tell me about another conversation that you wanted to have with him.¡±


    Brom came inside the room and look around, ¡°This is a good ce to talk, shall we do it now?¡±


    ¡°You two always barge in as you wish,¡± Gruntled Henry, even though he pointed at the chairs in front of him, ¡°Just take the chairs, I have the ss here.¡±


    Not a minuteter, Vale is already pouring the drink into the ss while Brom initiates a conversation with Henry.


    ¡°So, what kind of dream that you had? I¡¯ve heard from the primary captain that it was severe¡­¡± He paused for a moment and then said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to say that it was already affecting your body.¡±


    Henry stared into the window beside him, remembering one of his countless nightmares. ¡°I remember it like it was yesterday, the first time I got the nightmare. Two years ago, after the devastating loss of Viora vige, we came back to the capital feeling defeated and even lost the woman that the four of us share a moment with.¡± He took a sip of the aggrus and continued on, ¡°The first night we got back, all of us were drinking in the bar, staring at the items that we had given to Anne, after a while, I just grab the ne with the crystal de pendant in it.¡±


    ¡°I remember the night also, my heart has broken when she let go of everything and put it on the table, we kind of crushed that night at the pub.¡± Vale said with a slight smile on his face, ¡°You left early, saying that you need some rest, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I kind of regret it now, that first nightmare¡­ I¡¯ll never forget the feeling that I got, the chills.¡± He shivered even from the memory alone.


    Brom, on the other hand, just looked as usual bored self and demanded Henry tell him the nightmare.


    Henry red at the weird mage captain. ¡°Fine! My nightmare was about being killed in every way possible, satisfied?!¡±


    Ignoring the annoyance from Henry¡¯s voice, Brom seems intrigued about his dream. ¡°Oh, interesting nightmare? So, tell me about the scenario of your dream, was it clear or¡­¡±


    ¡°If you mean did I see the person¡¯s face? No, the face blurred, even though the method of the killing was different sometimes.¡± Said Henry to Brom. He took another sip of the aggrus, feeling the sweet and sour tasteplimented together in their mouth. The favorite drink of the kingdom, even though no one really knew the history of aggrus. ¡°Oh, but I think the one who killed me, always the same though, a male, never a female.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ So, it wasn¡¯t a female? I wished our nightmare will be connected, but I don¡¯t think so.¡± Said Brom, the disappointment on his face was visible.


    ¡°Still, it was probably connected with Anne, don¡¯t you think?¡± Vale gives them another thought of another possibility. Henry nced at Vale, and knowing him, he exined that Brom already told them about the witch of the mountain visit, ¡°It begins two years ago as well, although your nightmare seems to ur every night, while Anne and Brom don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°In another hand, if you think clearly, everything always goes to her, every connection, always directed at the girl who came from another world.¡± Muttered Brom, his eyes looking at the ceiling. No one really knows what is inside his head. ¡°Let me ask both of you something. Did you think Anne was dangerous or not?¡±


    Vale and Henry look at each other and are very troubled by Brom¡¯s seemingly innocent question.


    ¡°Gods! Brom, what kind of question was that?!¡± Said, Henry. He still couldn¡¯t believe the question that came from the weird magi captain. While Vale went quiet and had nothing to say, Brom took a nce at his primary captain and knew he was also thinking the same way.


    Another hour went by, and when Justice was sitting inside the patient¡¯s room, thankfully Bernard already getting better and being transferred into a private room, he was looking at the crown prince who took some of his documents and put them inside his tent. Justice was determined to apany him for a while.


    ¡°Must you do it inside my tent, your majesty?¡± Asked Bernard with a sigh.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, old man, just take your d*mn rest,¡± Justice replied to him, even though his eyes were focusing on his documents.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ I¡¯m fine, Justice. You should take some rest as well.¡± Bernard gruntled and gave the crown prince his back.


    Ten minutester, Justice heard a snoreing from Bernard¡¯s bed, ¡°Good, he was fine now.¡± Said Justice to himself. He took his documents and carefully left Bernard¡¯s tent.


    While on his way back to his tent, Xavier came to him with a pale face.


    ¡°Justice! something terrible has happened!¡±


    With a frown on his face, Justice tried to calm Xavier, ¡°Alright, take a deep breath, Xavier. What happened?¡±


    ¡°The group who goes back to the capital¡­ Oh, Gods! They¡­ they were being attacked!¡±

 Chapter 164 - 164 Finding the real culprit (Part 3)

    164 Finding the real culprit (Part 3)


    The sudden terrible news keeps ringing in Justice¡¯s mind. He was standing and couldn¡¯t muster any words from his mouth.


    ¡°Hey, did you hear me?!¡± Xavier even shakes his shoulder for him to be convinced that Justice was listening or not.


    The distraught crown prince nodded his head, even though he still couldn¡¯t believe the news. ¡°Yes, yes, I heard you¡­¡± He went quiet for a short time and begin to ask Xavier the details, ¡°How many casualties?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know for now.¡± Answered Xavier to Justice.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the one that reported the attack? A witness or one of the group?¡± He asked Xavier once again.


    Xavier pointed at the west gate. ¡°It was a witness, a pair of farmers. They were inside the west tower right now.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go there.¡± Said Justice. He leads Xavier to the west tower.


    Inside the west tower, there was a pair of an elderly couple, with Henry and one of his new subordinates, a female knight named Ruby. Henry and Ruby were in the middle of questioning the witnesses, justice doesn¡¯t want to interrupt him, he prefer to go into the corner and listen to their story.


    ¡°So, both of you really don¡¯t see anything?¡± Asked Henry to the couple.


    .....


    The woman took a nce at her partner. She let him do the talking for both of them. ¡°My husband probably saw something, captain.¡±


    ¡°Stupid woman, I¡¯ve already told you to shut up!¡± The man scolded his wife.


    ¡°Wait, you should never hide something from us. We will eventually know,¡± Henry warned the farmer.


    The farmer tried to look at Henry¡¯s ice-cold stare. He shivered and told him everything, ¡°We¡­ we saw a troop, captain.¡±


    Justice, Henry, and Xavier were shocked by the news. Justice goes in front of the farmer and asked him another question. The farmer was in shock when he saw the man in front of him. ¡°Did you see their banner? Or something significant?¡±


    Both of the witnesses shake their heads, ¡°No! No, your majesty, we saw some faces, but¡­ nothing else.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Asked Xavier from behind.


    ¡°Yes¡­ Yes, we were sure, captain, we saw nothing more¡­¡± The two farmers were trembling. ¡°Please, we came here to report.¡±


    Feeling some sympathy for them, Xavier hold Justice¡¯s shoulder and whispered, ¡°Vale and his teams will already go into the location to investigate. Do you want to go as well?¡± He then continued on, ¡°Let these two farmers alone. I think they had enough already from Henry.¡±


    Justice looked into the two farmers, and just like Xavier was saying, they were terrified. Probably already traumatized by the terrible event, and when they came to report, as all the good citizens should, they interrogated them like some criminal instead.


    Huffing a breath, Justice told Henry to stop the questioning. However, they still need to keep them inside the tower for a while. Henry thankfully agreed with Justice. They walked outside, and let Ruby and the lower-rank knight guard the entrance.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let everyone get inside, but gave them some food and drink.¡± Order Henry to his subordinates.


    ¡°You still have some heart, after all.¡± Teased Xavier while the three of them were rushing to take the horses from the stable.


    Henry smacks Xavier¡¯s back, but his face tells them that he was amused by his friend¡¯s teasing, ¡°Shut up! This is no time tough. You do know Anne would be devastated by this news.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right, this is her teammates we were talking about, even though she knows them recently.¡± Xavier¡¯s agreeing with Henry, while Justice just kept his silence.


    In the stable, they saw Nathan already waiting for them. His face was pale, and it seems he had just woken up from a much-needed rest.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Justice asked him, while the others prepared their horses.


    Nathan looks at Xavier and Henry, who were preparing the horses. ¡°Please, let me join you. I need to see them.¡±


    Shaking his head, Justice tried to prevent the tired senior healer from going with them. ¡°No, just wait here. We don¡¯t know the condition of the incident.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I need to be there!¡± Nathan shouted at Justice. He was so concerned about his team and probably clouded his judgment.


    Xavier saw him and walk as fast as he could to Nathan, he punch the senior healer¡¯s face. Everyone was surprised by his action, including Nathan himself.


    ¡°Why¡­ Why did you punch my face?¡± He asked Xavier with a confused face.


    ¡°Did I clear your mind yet?¡± Said Xavier, with a stern face towards Nathan. ¡°The witness reported that there were no survivors! Do you want to go and see your teammates¡¯ bodiesying down on the road?!¡±


    Nathan¡¯s face says it all. He falls to the ground, holding his swollen cheeks, and tried to say a few words with a trembling lip, ¡°I¡­ I¡­ Oh, my Gods!¡±


    ¡°Senior Nathan!¡±


    The soft voice of a young woman makes all of them turn around. They saw Anne rushing into her senior healer. The obvious traces of tears were visible on her face. ¡°Senior, let the crown prince and the others go there. We should wait here.¡± Justice, Xavier, and Henry don¡¯t know how to console the two of them, especially Nathan, who looked so devastated by the tragic news. Anne turns her attention to the three of them. ¡°All of you should go now. Let me handle senior Nathan.¡±


    ¡°Alright, don¡¯t worry Anne, we are going to get more clues about this.¡± Said Justice to her.


    She nodded her head and smile at him. She consoles Nathan while the three of them ride their horses out of the encampment. The moonlight shining the road, making it easier to go through the thick forest and cliff. Almost five hours went by when they finally reached the ce. They were so distraught by the looks of the terrible crime that was happening in these ces.


    They were searching for Vale and found him with Brom in one of the dead bodies that were already being covered. The primary captain of the mage saw them. His face looks so grim.


    ¡°This is terrible.¡± That was his first word to the three of them.


    Justice feels his desperation. ¡°So, there¡¯s no survivor, after all?¡±


    Shaking his head, Vale confirmed it to Justice. ¡°We counted. All of them were here.¡± He open the cover on the body that was lying on the road. It was Hector, the alchemist. ¡°He was here, alone, while the others were dead on the road.¡±


    ¡°Anne would be sad. He was one of her first friends at the main hospital.¡± Justice was muttering with a bitter smile, looking at Hector, but then his eyes saw something, a peculiar piece of fabric on Hector¡¯s hand.

 Chapter 165 - 165 Finding the real culprit (Part 4)

    165 Finding the real culprit (Part 4)


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Justice said to the others. He pointed at the piece of fabric in his hand of Hector. Xavier retrieved the fabric carefully from the deceased and handed it to Justice. ¡°Strange, I know this fabric, but where?¡±


    Vale warned Justice by giving him a ss jar. ¡°Better keep it for now. We need to take these poor people back to the capital.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll go back with your team, let the knight and the huntsman stay at the encampment with me, we are going to hasten the process and when the sick people are getting better, we could all go back to the capital, hopefully in a few days,¡± Justicemanded Vale, while he looks at Henry and Xavier who were going around helping to collect more evidence and clues.


    Vale agreed with him. ¡°Justice, it is probably best if we kept this a secret for a few days until you go back. We don¡¯t want to alert the culprit.¡±


    ¡°What? what do you mean?¡± Justice looked at his friend, baffled by his request.


    Looking around the area, Vale exined everything by whispering to Justice, ¡°Whoever the culprit was, this was probably have something to do with the founding of the cure and also the news about the misinformation of the new variant.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, probably it will be best if you use some cloaking spell for the bodies,¡± Whispered Justice back to Vale. ¡°Can we trust your team, then?¡±


    ¡°I will make sure they shut their mouth, don¡¯t worry.¡± Said Vale while he gathered the mages in preparation to be discreetly back to the capital.


    ¡°Oh, and Vale, one more thing.¡± Justice called him before he goes away with Henry and Xavier, ¡°Please treat their body with the utmost respect manner.¡±


    .....


    ¡°Of course, stay safe, my friend.¡± He said to Justice while he look at him riding away with Henry and Xavier.


    ¡°Primary captain, are you sure we are going to be safe doing this on our own?¡± Even Brom wasn¡¯t convinced that the mage group alone can handle this situation.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Brom, we are going to be discreet, you heard me earlier, right?¡± Said Vale to his former subordinate. He stared at Brom and saw him get distraught a little. Even the people like Brom could be quite disturbed by this scene, ¡°By the way, how many teams that we have here?¡± He asked Brom, calcting the best way to transport the death while not making it so obvious.


    ¡°There are three teams, including mine, something that you want to share?¡± Asked Brom curiously.


    Let out a sigh, he smile and patted Brom¡¯s back, ¡°You know, Brom, sometimes you don¡¯t even know the situation where you should be a bit appropriate to your superior, and this is one of them.¡±


    Brom was in shock, ¡°I¡­ I am sorry, primary captain, I don¡¯t mean to¡­¡±


    ¡°No worries, I need to warn you about this because not everyone would treat you like me and my best friends were. You were lucky that there was no one else in that tent.¡± Said Vale with a hiss. Henry told him about Brom¡¯s reckless behavior in front of Justice.


    Remembering his brash behavior in Justice¡¯s tent, Brom finally realized that Vale was trying to warn him about his rank in front of the royalty. ¡°Understood, primary captain. I will keep that in mind.¡±


    He grabbed Brom¡¯s shoulder and smile at him. They walked back to the crime scene, handling the dead bodies with the utmost care, and nning their secret entrance to the capital. Meanwhile, after the exhausting journey back to the encampment, Henry was rushing to go back to the tower, trying to enforce another lockdown.


    ¡°Are you sure that is wise, Justice?¡± Xavier looks into the encampment, concerned by the crown prince¡¯s n.


    Justice gave him a nervous look. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but this is the best we can do for now. We need to be discreet, so the culprit would think that everything was going smoothly for them.¡±


    ¡°Why?! We should chase them as fast as we could, I¡¯m a good tracker, you know.¡± Xavier looks so frustrated by it.


    ¡°It will be a futile effort, Xavier, they will be long gone, and trust me, they were not the real culprit.¡± Justice tried to remain calm while the two of them walk to the healer¡¯s tent.


    ¡°Fine! I trust you right now. Hopefully, your instinct wasn¡¯t wrong.¡± Gruntled, Xavier while he walked inside the healer¡¯s tent.


    Inside the tent, there were healers who tried to get some rest and there was Nathan, Anne, and Leo, sitting on the other end, probably waiting for any news. When Justice and Xavier enter the tent, the three of them stand up in unison. Their faces were pale, and they look disheveled.


    ¡°Anne, do not tell me that you don¡¯t get some rest?¡± When Justice looked at her, he tried to get closer, but the healer retreated, trying not to be so close to him.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, your majesty, we got some ample amount of rest.¡± She awkwardly smiled at him.


    Xavier look between the two of them, ¡°Shall we continue here, your majesty?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes, my apology. Let us all befortable now.¡± He tried to smile after his rejection from Anne, but it failed to reach his eyes. He was hurt by her treatment.


    The three healers were sitting on therge sofa, while the crown prince gettingfy in another set of sofa in front of them, Xavier saw a caftea pot and asked one healer to brew some for them, the long journey already takes some toll on their body. Anne saw their tired faces and put two tonics on the table.


    ¡°Please, drink these, it will be good for your body.¡± Said, Anne.


    Xavier drinks the tonic and gratefully smiles at Anne.


    On the other hand, Justice, who was still hurt by Anne¡¯s rejection earlier, ignored her offer and begin to exin the situation. ¡°We found all of them, and the mages are going to bring them back to the capital.¡±


    Nathan was crying, and Leo even need to console him, while Anne asked them more questions, ¡°What should we do now?¡±


    Justice and Xavier never expected Anne to ask such a question. ¡°For now, we need to make sure that the patients could get better soon, so we could go back as soon as possible. Also, we are going to keep quiet about the incident.¡±


    She understand the procedure and gave them some reassurance, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, because we already know what we are dealing with here. In two days, even the critical patient will be able to sitfortably on the carriage.¡± Informed Anne, the two of them.


    ¡°Good, now, it¡¯s best for all of you to tend to the patients. Let us handle the investigation.¡± Said Justice before he excused himself.


    Anne watched the two of them go out of the tent, behind her, Nathan finally calm himself and asked her for the next shifts.


    ¡°It would be me and Leo.¡± Said, Anne.


    Nathan cleared his throat and take a deep breath. ¡°Good, the two of you should take a breather now.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, senior Nathan.¡± One healer came to them with a sheet for Nathan to check.


    Nathan read it and asked the healer, ¡°So, two healers were going back to their vige before the group goes to the capital?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they were in a hurry to go back. Cassius¡¯ vige was in need of more healers, to prevent the moskeet fever, and Rosi also went back after she saw Cassius.¡±


    Nathan then curious, ¡°What was her reasoned?¡± The healer panicking, admitted to Nathan that he never asked her reason to go back as soon as the gate was open. Nathan tried to smile at him and warned him to be careful next time. ¡°we lost two healers on the incident, please. If any of them wanted to go back, tell them toe to me.¡±


    Excused himself by Nathan, the healer tried to go away as soon as possible, but before he go back to his duty, Anne grab his arm and asked him, ¡°Which gate Rosi took to go back to her vige?¡±


    The healer was confused by her question, but still answered her question. ¡°She was getting out by the west gate.¡±


    Anne¡¯s eyes grew wide. ¡°Are you sure?¡± She asked him again.


    ¡°Yes, I saw it with my own eyes.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no¡­¡± She rushed to the outside of the tent, ignoring Nathan and Leo, who called her.


    She goes straight to Justice¡¯s tent. When she walked inside, Justice, Henry, and Xavier were discussing something on the war table.


    ¡°Anne? What is the matter?¡± Justice, who saw her first, asked her and was curious about her sudden appearance.


    ¡°It was Rosi. She was the one who caused this to happen.¡± Shouted Anne to everyone.

 Chapter 166 - 166 Another candidate

    166 Another candidate


    Justice, Henry, and Xavier looked at each other, baffled by Anne¡¯s information.


    ¡°I am sorry, but what happened?¡± Asked Xavier, a frown came into his face.


    ¡°She¡­ she disappear before the group who went back to the capital, most likely she was the one who¡­ who¡­ Oh my God! I don¡¯t know what, but she must be rted to the case somehow.¡± She became doubting her suspicion, and when Anne looked around the room, all eyes were on her.


    ¡°Why are you so adamant about her? I mean, she probably just came here for her duty.¡± Said Henry to Anne.


    Justice nudge him and whispered, ¡°Rosy was the one who assaulted her on the second exam back then.¡±


    ¡°Wait, that b*tch who stomp on your hand?!¡± Henry said it so brazenly, even Justice need to clear his throat to warn him about his attitude. He corrected the words immediately. ¡°My apology, I mean the one who got you injured.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that was her. She was a bit taken aback when she saw me here as the capital healer.¡± Anne said to all of them, confessing about the first day that they have met in the encampment.


    Justice huffed his breath and said to her, ¡°That shouldn¡¯t bother you at all. She already gets her punishment. She got the certificate as the registered healer, but only a dream could make her enter the hospital in the capital.¡± Justice gave her the reason, but without the hidden truth about the matter, that he was actually the one who gave the punishment to Rosy after he heard the news about her being freed from the allegation.


    After hearing the objection that came from Justice, she was dumbfounded and felt the need to apologize to all of them. ¡°You¡¯re right, it was probably my imagination running wild. I¡­ I am sorry for my sudden arrival that might disturb you all.¡± She excused herself from the tent before Xavier could ask her to stay around for a cup of caftea.


    .....


    ¡°Let her be, Xavier, she has her duty and so does ours.¡± Said Justice, without even taking his eyes from the war table.


    ¡°The two of you were so rude, seriously!¡± Xavier went outside of the tent and said that he will apany Anne to the tent. The other two just stayed around and not even bothered to reply.


    ¡°What should we do after we go back? Assuming that Vale would seed in hiding the truth for now.¡± Asked Henry to Justice. They were in the middle of discussing how to investigate the incident based on the evidence that they had.


    ¡°Wait, I was so curious about this fabric in Hector¡¯s hand. I would say this is a fine garment that only nobles could have.¡± Justice said to Henry, after observing the green dye fabric on the ss vial.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re right, this is a high-quality fabric, and look what I found in one of the guard¡¯s bodies.¡± Henry handed Justice another ss vial with another piece of evidence. ¡°Piece of a broken sword.¡±


    He observed the piece and got intrigued. ¡°That was strange. If it was a noble, howe the sword was a bit rusty?¡±


    ¡°Like you always take care of your sword.¡± Chuckles Henry, teasing his friend.


    ¡°I do, you b*stard, you just never saw me before.¡± Justice get a bemused smile and then said to Henry, ¡°Well, I call for my sword and gave it to my servants, so, fair point.¡±


    ¡°Which sword that we were talking about here?¡± Again, another amusing tease from Henry.


    ¡°Shut it you manwh*re!¡± Warned the crown prince, even though he wasughing so hard.


    Henry replied to him with another amusing word. ¡°Oh yes, like our prude crown prince will know.¡±


    They have a goodugh and even have to wipe a few tears. Justice stared at his friend and smiled, ¡°I love that you can rx, even just for a bit.¡±


    Henry went quiet and let out a sigh. ¡°A rare asion, though, but I do feel calmer today.¡±


    ¡°Probably because of a certain someone, or maybe a woman?¡± Xavier said from the entrance of the tent. The two of them look directly at him and smile.


    ¡°So, how is she? I suspected she was calmer now.¡± Asked Henry with a grin on his face.


    Xavier gasped and pointed at him, ¡°You¡­ b*stard! You intended to ignore her, so she will be going out of the tent, weren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°We have to, or else she will be exposing herself to this gruesome evidence that we collected.¡± Muttered Justice, still observing some of the evidence.


    ¡°Well, I was d that I don¡¯t take the hint after both of you look so d*mn like a wall!¡± gruntled Xavier to both of them.


    ¡°Rx, I intend to visit her after we finished our discussion here,¡± Said Justice while giving Xavier the broken sword. ¡°What do you think about this?¡±


    ¡°Amon sword, widely used by the lower rank knight, huntsman, and guards, but this one was beaten.¡± He gave it a thought for a bit and looked carefully at the sword.


    ¡°Oh, Henry, about the girl that Anne was talking about. When did she get out of the encampment?¡± Asked Justice, so suddenly.


    Henry tries to remember his discussion with the guard back then. ¡°She went out almost as soon as the gate was open. Although It was intriguing to know that she wasing from the south gate but be away from the west gate.¡±


    ¡°Intriguing indeed, I think we need to inspect this young woman,¡± Said Justice, he walked to the entrance, intending to do something, ¡°Let me call for my second guard, Bernard will need to rest even after we go back to the capital.¡± He then talked to the guards at the entrance and asked them to call for his personal guard.


    ¡°I think this is a perfect time to give Bernard the much-needed rest. Justice, it¡¯s time for you to choose another man as your chief guard,¡± Xavier told him, with a very wide grin on his face.


    Henryughed and even patted Xavier¡¯s shoulder, ¡°You said that so he will be surely choosing him as his new chief guard, right?¡±


    Xavier gruntled, ¡°Of course not. Bernard is tired. Just think about it. The poor man needs to retire and enjoyed life.¡±


    Not long after the conversation, Xander goes inside their tent in his formal guard uniform, he salutes everyone and then talked to Justice, ¡°You called for me, your majesty?¡±

 Chapter 167 - 167 Side by Side

    167 Side by Side


    (Warning: This chapter contained a subtle hint about another form of a rtionship of an adult, reader¡¯s discretion is a must)


    The young man came inside the tent, a newbie knight who gets assigned as one of the crown prince¡¯s private guards. Xander looked around the room and saw his brother and Henry, his head, turn to the crown prince.


    ¡°Did you call for me, your majesty?¡± Xander asked him with a stern look.


    Justice gave him a chuckle. ¡°Xander, why so serious? Come on, get inside, and have a drink.¡± She pours a cup of caftea for him, ¡°It¡¯s just a caftea though, we are still on duty.¡±


    Xander takes the caftea gratefully, and then he leans on one post, finally getting rxed for a bit. ¡°So, I guess you have some odd jobs for me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I want you to go back to the capital and assist Vale discreetly.¡± Order Justice, who had reasons to convey this duty to Xander, ¡°Your duty as my new private guard is still unofficial yet. No one will suspect a single knight who came back early from the istion encampment.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, I am still a knight on paper, but what kind of task that I have to do besides assisting the primary captain?¡± He smirked at Justice and the others, knowing fully well that the crown prince has something in store for him. ¡°You got some side assignment for me, I assumed?¡±


    Justice looks at Xavier, ¡°You know, your brother is bing bolder and bolder. I don¡¯t know if I wanted him into my private guards now.¡± He said with a wince.


    ¡°Take him, at least this one will keep you in check, and that¡¯s what you need right now.¡± Said Xavier with a grin on his face.


    .....


    ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡± Nodded Henry from beside him.


    Justice rustled his hair and said to Xander, ¡°Guess in this way, I could assess your work. So, I need you to retrieve some files for a healer named Rosy. She got the certification as the regional healer two years ago, the same year as our Anne.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s attention goes to Justice immediately. Even the crown prince curses when he realized his slips tongue.


    ¡°Wait, our Anne?¡± Asked Henry with his eyebrow rising. ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s our Anne now, not just miss Anne or River, Anne?¡±


    ¡°Oh, shut up Henry. I know you¡¯re overjoyed by his words.¡± Xavier teased Henry, even giving him a wink.


    Xander looks at all of them andughed. He was indeed happy for his brother and knew how miserable he was when Anne was gone from his life. Xander saw him hopping around from one bar to another, having a drink with a questionable fellow or woman. Looking at him here in peace with his friends is the best thing for his brother inside Xander¡¯s mind.


    ¡°Your majesty, I do have a question. How can I get all the documents about miss Rosy?¡± Asked Xander to him. He doesn¡¯t need to know how to gain the entrance of such delicate matters.


    ¡°I have someone inside the library. He will give you ess to everything that you need inside the main hospital library.¡± Said Justice. He then handed Xander a coin with a small red stone in the center. ¡°This is my seal of approval. Only my trusted man has this. When he saw this, the man will surely gain your permission immediately.¡±


    Xander felt the coin in his hand. He was delighted by this task, because it was his dream to work together side by side with his brother, and now, he even be the new private guard of Xavier¡¯s best friend. Xander took one of the horses and galloped away to the capital.


    Meanwhile, Anne and Leo were trying to get some rest before they begin their duty in about six hours. Leo just stared at the tent, don¡¯t know what to do. He and Hector were best friends, even inseparable. Now, he will never see his face again.


    Tears rolled down from his eyes. He would wipe the tears, but another came rolling just the same, not long after the whimper be a wail. Almost everyone heard the cry, but Anne was there, trying tofort his newfound friend.


    ¡°Oh, Leo, are you o¡­ alright?¡± Said Anne, when her arms embrace the frail body of Leo.


    Leo looks at Anne. ¡°Oh, Anne, I¡¯m sorry, it just came downing on me, that¡­ That I will never see Hector again.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, let it all out, you need to¡­ On second thought, let us go out at once, it will be good for you.¡± She pulled Leo away from the bed and they took it upon themselves to walk around the encampment.


    The fresh air of the night, with a wind cascading into their face, gave Leo much need it time to calm himself. Anne saw his face and smiles warmly, she holds into his arms when he talks about his story with Hector.


    ¡°We met at the civil servant exam. I was the bronze pass recipient, while he was a silver pass recipient, we knew immediately that we will be¡­ A special friend. Actually, after I gained my certification, I should go back to my vige and open a small clinic.¡± He took a sigh when his eyes gazed at the stars above. ¡°Everything changed when Hector decided to remain in the capital for a while. I was mad, but then, also intrigued, he was very dedicated to his work, his newfound experiment.¡±


    ¡°I thought that was one of his qualities that you have admired?¡± Said Anne with a smile.


    Leo chuckles, from Anne¡¯s teasing remarked, ¡°Indeed, and of course, just like you said, he had many qualities.¡±


    They took a walk for a while until Anne was sure that Leo was ready to go to bed, Henry look at the two of them from the shadows, this is one of the moments that he enjoyed, looking at her from afar, admiring her undetected. Although a bit weird in this author¡¯s eyes.


    At another time, the werewolf Xander, already passing the front gate of the capital, took the liberty of taking some supper and continued to the main hospital. Xander doubled check the name of who is working at the main hospital today. When he saw the intended name, he smile at the helper and rushed into the library. He knocked on the library door, and when a man asked him toe inside, he met with a man with thick sses and a wide smile.


    Xander smiled and said, ¡°Mister Andy? Hello, my name is Xander.¡±


    ¡°Yes, how may I help you, mister Xander?¡± Asked Andy, a bit curious when he saw Xander.

 Chapter 168 - 168 One missing clue, one crucial evidence

    168 One missing clue, one crucial evidence


    Andy was smiling at Xander, he seems excited to see the young werewolf in his library.


    ¡°Oh! I know you, you¡¯re sir Xavier¡¯s younger brother, right?¡±


    Xander nodded his head at Andy. ¡°Yes, I am. Nice to meet you.¡±


    Andy enthusiastically approached the young man and shakes his hand, ¡°Oh, Yes! Nice to meet you, so how can I help?¡±


    Reluctantly, and cautiously, Xander gives Andy a glimpse of the crown prince coin.


    ¡°Oh, you¡­ you have it as well.¡± Said Andy and he took a simr coin from his deep pocket. ¡°So, I think you have like a secret mission¡­ from¡­¡± He look around the room, although they were the only people inside the library, ¡°You know who.¡±


    Winced at the weird behavior of the fellow, Xander could only awkwardly smile and said, ¡°Yes, I need to retrieve some profile document of one healer named Rosy, she enter the civil service two years ago.¡±


    ¡°Oh, alright, pleasee with me. I don¡¯t know anyone wondering why a knight was here in the main hospital library.¡± Andy said to Xander, while he directed him into the inner private room.


    Xander waited with a caftea in his hand. The enthusiastic Andy left him alone in the room while he searched for Rosy¡¯s file. One hour went by, and Xander was anxious about how long Andy was gone for just one file. Until finally, he came inside the private room.


    .....


    ¡°Oh, took you long enough.¡± He tried to make a light joke, although a bit annoyed by how long Andy took to get the file.


    Andy came to him empty-handed, ¡°I don¡¯t know how to say this, but¡­ Miss Rosy¡¯s file was missing.¡± He said to Xander with a pale face, ¡°That¡¯s why it took me a while to search for it, but I don¡¯t think the file was inside the library now.¡±


    ¡°Strange, howe her file wasn¡¯t inside the main hospital anymore?¡± Muttered Xander.


    ¡°Anyhow, I will be asking the other librarian, we have three librarians that got into rotation every two days, so, probably one of the two knew about this,¡± Andy replied to Xander, while the two of them walks into the front door of the library.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have any visitors log in here? Or maybe a file to record every file that went out from the library?¡± Asked Xander again. He can¡¯t get the file out of his mind.


    Andy shakes his head, ¡°I am sorry, we don¡¯t have a visitor¡¯s log, we do have a record system, but I checked earlier, and there was no record of Miss Rosy¡¯s file being borrowed or view for thest two years.¡±


    ¡°Two years, mean her file was here, but somehow it went missing.¡± Said Xander again to Andy.


    ¡°Yes, every other file, including miss Anne¡¯s file, was here, but someone just came and took one file, that was miss Rosy¡¯s file.¡±


    Both of them took a long deep breath, clueless and also desperate to find more. Xander left the library, with Andy promising that he will be asked the other two administrators and will send the message tomorrow to him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll send my familiar, a ck owl named Kuro.¡± Said, Andy before Xander excused himself out from the library.


    Xander left the main hospital and go to the alchemia tower where Vale and his teams were lying low for now. Chief Amaris really amodate them and even helped to keep the secret of the incident. When Xander finally saw the alchemia tower, Vale was already waiting for him outside in the yard.


    ¡°Wee, Xander.¡± Said Vale with a warm smile on his face. Xander knew, between the four of them, Vale was the gentle and also the most mysterious of them. Henry took the cake as the most brooding, but he knew, behind those gentle green emerald eyes, there was a secret that he kept.


    ¡°Primary captain, so good to see you.¡± He said also with a smile on his face.


    They walk inside the new andrger lift that now can amodate four people. Vale cranked the mechanism that will take them to the intended floor. Xander saw the act and chuckled. Vale took a nce and know exactly why he wasughing.


    ¡°Yes, I know. It will be hard work if we need to go to the highest tower.¡±


    ¡°Do we have to crank it as many as the intended floor?¡± Asked Xander, and he was curious about this new invention.


    Vale was quiet for a while as he was busy cranking the lift. Since they need to go to the fifteenth floor. Finally, after like forever, he huffed his breath and wipes the sweat from his face. ¡°Ah, they need to change the button into the crank. Since it bes heavier, the button will not work.¡± He look around the lift, and added, ¡°Well, that was what Kino said, though.¡±


    ¡°Kino?¡±


    ¡°The alchemist, in the alchemia tower, the one that invented this newly design lift.¡± Said Vale to Xander.


    When they reached the fifteenth floor, there were so many people around, Xander was a bit surprised by it. It seems Vale¡¯s teams were only able to use this floor. Brom saw the two of them, and he came closer to greet Vale and Xander.


    ¡°You¡¯re here, primary captain.¡± Brom said to Vale and then turned his attention to Xander, ¡°Oh, hello, have we met?¡±


    Xander was stunned by Brom¡¯sck of memory of him. ¡°You don¡¯t recognize me at all, captain Brom?¡±


    He tilted his head and said another shocking reply to Xander, ¡°Should I?¡±


    ¡°What?! unbelievable!¡±


    Vale snorted. Looking at another of entric style by his former subordinate, he patted Xander¡¯s back and asked him to go inside his room. ¡°We could have a conversation there.¡± He said to Xander.


    Inside the room, there is a set of a chair, and in the center is a small table with bread and aggrus. Xander took a seat and also one of the bread. Brom took another chair, while Vale was standing in front of the two of them.


    ¡°As you all know, we tried to keep the incident a secret, until everyone was back from the encampment, so, Xander, I hope you have some news for us.¡± Vale tried to get some more good news from the young werewolf.


    ¡°Yes, primary captain, the patients will be able to travel in two days, and also they have found two pieces of evidence that might help. It was a fine fabric that you already saw and a rusty tip of a good sword.¡± Xander gave the information that Justice need to ry to Vale.


    Vale brushes his chin, thinking for a bit, ¡°Fine fabric? Hmm, then it was the same evidence from what we have, right, Brom?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right, primary captain.¡± Brom excused himself from the room, and back with a ss vial in his hand, ¡°Look, this is the fabric that we have found.¡± He handed the ss vial to Xander, who take a closer look at the evidence.


    Xander was surprised to see the evidence. ¡°Wait, this is¡­¡±

 Chapter 169 - 169 The moonlight monster

    169 The moonlight monster


    Xander look into the fabric, and he noticed a half embroidered that was attached to it.


    ¡°Wait, this is an insignia, right? I wasn¡¯t sure, because it was only half of it.¡± He said to Vale, still curious about the fabric inside the ss vial, ¡°There¡¯s no doubt this is the same fabric that the crown prince showed to me in the encampment.¡±


    Vale nodded his head. ¡°Yes, this is an insignia, and from the looks of the fine fabric, there¡¯s no doubt now that the one who attacked the group was a part of the nobles.¡±


    Hope came from Xander¡¯s face. ¡°So, the only thing that we need to know is that the nobles whom the insignia belong to, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, although it will be hard, since it¡¯s only a portion of the insignia is attached to the fabric.¡± He reminded Xander, there was a possibility they failed to recognize the insignia. ¡°The insignia record book was inside the main library. Please go discreetly and find which nobles use this insignia.¡± Said Vale, while handing him the sketch of the insignia.


    ¡°Alright, after I eat my meal, I¡¯ll go to the main library.¡±


    Brom, who was quiet the whole time, suddenly spoke to the two of them, ¡°Primary captain, permission to go with Xander to the capital?¡±


    ¡°Well, this is a sudden request from you? What happened?¡± Asked Vale with a frown on his face.


    ¡°Urgent matter?¡± Brom said to Vale without thinking twice about his reason.


    .....


    Vale chuckles and not even tried to stop him. ¡°Fine, but don¡¯t let others see you, alright?¡±


    ¡°Primary captain, I would like to give my report about one other thing.¡± Xander took the time and finally have the chance to talk about Rosy.


    He exined to Vale about Rosy, who disappears before the group and even without her superior permission after he took the time to go to the main hospital library and somehow the profile record about Rosy was nowhere to be found.


    Vale leaned on the wall. He was thinking the case was strange and probably connected. ¡°That was strange. Do they have some guest log or maybe the record for every book that went out from the library?¡± Asked Vale to Xander.


    Xander shakes his head. ¡°No, they have the log and also the record for every borrowed document, but there is no trace of the missing profile record of miss Rosy.¡±


    ¡°That was indeed strange, although we don¡¯t know if this case is rted or not, but something definitely strange about this girl.¡± Muttered Vale. He then remembers Anne¡¯s incident two years ago. ¡°The girl really kept her hatred over Anne for years. I wonder what makes her hate Anne so much?¡±


    A knock on the door makes the three of them turn their heads. A young mage came inside, looking nervous. He spoke to Vale, ¡°Uhm¡­ primary captain, there¡¯s a weird familiar pass out on the balcony.¡± The mage put a small ck owl on the table. Xander remembered his conversation with the administrators at the main hospital library.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s mister Andy¡¯s familiar!¡± He shouted while poking at the ck owl, ¡°What happened to it?¡±


    The owl suddenly opens its eyes and flies around the room. ¡®So rude! I¡¯m a female ck owl. Keep it in your mind!¡¯ Vale and Xander raised their eyebrows. The ck owl was brash, and despite its size, she was so brave. ¡®So, who¡¯s the man named Xander, my pathetic master has a message for him.¡¯


    Xander raised his hand. His eyes never go away from the small ck owl. ¡°That would be me.¡±


    The ck owl stopped mid-air and then perches on Brom¡¯s shoulder. This act makes the mage look at the familiar with wide eyes. Never in his life, a familiar would be so close to him. That was the reason he doesn¡¯t have any familiar.


    The ck owl begin her speech, ¡®Mister Xander, my name is Hoot, the message that I have been entrusted with, begin with, Xander, I tracked the two administrators, and got the unsatisfactory answer, they weren¡¯t encountering any suspicious people, and there were no healers or hospital managements that took miss Rosy¡¯s file. End of the recording.¡¯ The ck owl gave the message like Andy was there in the room and talking to them in person.


    They were amazed, although the ck owl named Hoot was a weird and brazen familiar. Her talent was something else, and it was certain that she knew about it. ¡®I know, right? I am amazing and thank you for your time. Hoot is done with her task and needs to have someplimentary food and water.¡¯


    Vale, even though baffled by her behavior, immediately went to the door, intending to call one of the mages, ¡°Ah¡­ alright, I¡¯ll call one of the boys to¡­¡±


    ¡°No need. I¡¯ll take her to the kitchen.¡± Brom stands up and goes outside the room, while Hoot is still perched on his shoulder.


    The kitchen was empty right now; It was already past the lunch break, and everyone preferred to stroll around the tower or have a break in the lounge room. Brom pours water into a bowl and cuts an apple for the small owl. He put it on the table where Hoot gratefully eats and drinks.


    After a while, Hoot tilted her head and look into Brom. ¡®I knew you wanted to ask something, and I already know what kind of question it will be.¡¯ Hoot said mysteriously to Brom.


    Brom, staring at the small owl and said, ¡°Then, what is your answer, tell me, howe animals avoided me, there were never any animals that came to me, sometimes even the sight of me already make them run as fast as they could.¡± He gets closer to Hoot, ¡°But why? You, a small ck owl, could easily perch on my shoulder? What makes you different from the others?¡±


    ¡®It¡¯s because of what you are, and it¡¯s not just me, my species, moonlight monsters. All of us could get closer to every dark matter.¡¯ Says, Hoot. Her beak takes some water, and she even put her small body inside the bowl.


    ¡°Moonlight monster? what¡¯s that? And dark matter?¡± Brom tried to get some tangible answers, but came out with more questions than before.


    ¡®I must go now. Thank you for the meal.¡¯ Hoot begins to fly away from the kitchen, but before she goes out from the window, she flies around Brom and said, ¡°Go to the nest of the moonlight, monster, you¡¯ll find the answer that you seek. Bring the young woman with striking purple hair with you.¡¯


    Brom looks into the window, where Hoot just flies away. Not long after, Xander came into the kitchen.


    ¡°Oh, captain Brom, d to see you here. Come on, we need to go to the capital before the nightes.¡± Xander urged the fellow to go as quickly as possible.


    Brom, look into him and nodded his head, ¡°You¡¯re right, let us not waste any time.¡± As for him, he got another purpose that he needs to do after this baffling case.

 Chapter 170 - 170 The mysterious Insignia

    170 The mysterious Insignia


    ¡°So, I presume that you¡¯re not going to join me inside the main library?¡±


    Xander and Brom were closing into the front gate of the capital, while Xander trying to start a conversation. Brom seems in his own world thinking about something else. Before they reached the gate, Xander tried to ask the mage once again.


    ¡°I am sorry, but you need to go alone. I¡­ have some urgent matter on my own.¡±


    Brom gave him the answer, and before Xander said anything, he galloped away from Xander, leaving him with so many questions.


    ¡°Well, guess he was in a hurry.¡± Muttered Xander, while he get off his horse and meet with the guard.


    ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you the same person who was here six hours ago?¡± Asked the guard to Xander.


    Xander forgot. The shift rotation doesn¡¯t even change, and he is already back in the capital. ¡°So much for a discreet thing.¡± He whispered, curses to himself, and tried to smile at the guard, ¡°I forgot something inside err¡­ my barrack.¡±


    ¡°Barrack? So you¡¯re a civil servant?¡± Said the guard again.


    Once again, Xander makes a fatal mistake. He muttered a curse and nodded his head. ¡°Yeah¡­ I am a¡­¡±


    .....


    ¡°Xander? What are you doing here?¡±


    A man¡¯s voice makes Xander and the guard turn their attention. They saw Foster smiling at Xander. Another mistake wasing into Xander, and the only thing he could do was smile and wave at Foster. As one of Xavier¡¯s drinking friends, Foster asionally saw Xander when he apanied his brother at the pub.


    Somehow, Xander saw a silver lining. He pulled Foster away and faked a smile. ¡°Foster! Good to see you! Come on, we need to catch up! First, drink on me.¡±


    They were inside the pub, and there were so many people. The chairs were full, they couldn¡¯t even get an empty seat. Xander had a sigh of relief, while Foster chuckles at him.


    ¡°Did you just make me as your excuse to enter the capital?¡± Asked Foster. He was still amused by Xander¡¯s action in front of the guard.


    Xander¡¯s grinned, and he patted the back of Foster, ¡°Let¡¯s just say it that way. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me, I need to go somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Where? Maybe I can help?¡±


    Shaking his head, Xander says his goodbye to Foster, ¡°No, sorry, you can¡¯t at this moment. Thank you for the offer, though.¡±


    He walks out of the pub and took his horse from the public stable. The main library was on the inner road of the capital. It took him half an hour by horse, and when he arrived, it was already dark and the road was almost empty. Walking inside, Xander saw an administrator on duty.


    ¡°Good afternoon, miss.¡± Said Xander to the administrator.


    The administrator looks at Xander briefly and pointed into a room behind her. ¡°I am not on duty. Go to the room, there.¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much, miss.¡± Said Xander while smiling at her.


    The administrator never said anything afterward and was just in a hurry to go outside, Xander notice she had arge bag with her, but then, the administrator of the library always had books and bags everywhere. He shrugged it off and go to the room that was surprisingly empty. Confused by it, Xander opt to look around the area and noticed a peculiar scene.


    There was a deafening silence, and no one was around the main library, which was odd. The main library, although in the middle of the night, always has administrators on shift. Xander uses his instinct and begins to concentrate. He whiff and tried to smell anything peculiar. What he feared just came true. A smell of blood from inside the main library.


    ¡°By the moon, something was wrong!¡±


    Xander traced the smell of the blood, and it brings him into a small dark alley. He saw an unconscious man on the floor. Xander approach the man and gave a sigh of relief when he looks that the man was still breathing.


    ¡°Hey, are you alright? Who did this to you?¡± He tried to ask the man, after being convinced that he will be surviving the wound.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ please stop her¡­ a woman with ck hair, she took my administrator uniform and steal a precious book¡­¡±


    ¡°Sh*t! it was the administrator earlier!¡± He stands up and runs as fast as he could, ¡°Hang in there, I¡¯ll call for help.¡±


    Thankfully, he met with two guards on duty and asked for their help. Afterwards, Xander traced the woman, and get a clue by sniffing around the area. He looked around and saw there was no one around, took the chance to go to an alleyway and transform into his wolf form. Wolf Xander howled into the moon and chased the woman. He can smell the woman using a horse to get away. He snarled and knew he need to use his haste power.


    Another power that only a werewolf could use is haste, making the user speed up and go faster twice than before. It will drain his magica but it was the only way to catch up with a horse. Wolf Xander¡¯s eyes glow, a sign of the haste power being activated, and after running for quite some time, he could see the woman in the horse obviously trying to go into a gate of the capital.


    Wolf Xander took the chance and jump into the woman. A shriek came from her mouth when she fell with Xander into the ground. Wolf Xander¡¯s front paw kept the woman in the ce. Fear came from her face, and not long after, she passed out because of the terrifying moment from looking closer at a werewolf¡¯s face.


    Xander transforms back and carries the woman into the gate, ironically she almost reached the gate before Xander catches her from behind. When he reached the gate, Foster was there, and he screamed when the naked Xander carried an unconscious young woman to the gate.


    ¡°Oh, my Gods! Xander, what happened?!¡± He asked Xander who handed the young woman to the guard on duty.


    ¡°No time to exin, but I need you to keep the woman locked in the cell, but bring her some healer.¡± Xander makes his request and also asks for a shirt and pants. He just noticed there was a blushing female guard looking in his direction.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the woman? Why do you need her to be locked up?¡± Asked Foster again, although he already orders the woman to be locked inside the cell.


    ¡°I believe she was stealing from the main library. She even injured one of the librarians.¡± Answered Xander to Foster.


    Foster had a frown on his face. ¡°Book? what kind of book?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I have the bag that she was carrying. Let¡¯s take a look.¡± Xander open the bag and took out the book from inside the bag. They were so surprised when they saw the book.


    ¡°This¡­ this book¡­¡±


    Xander, who went quiet for a while, then said, ¡°Yes, this is the information of every noble and royalties bloodline, along with their insignia.¡±

 Chapter 171 - 171 A girl and the problematic case

    171 A girl and the problematic case


    ¡°Who¡¯s this youngdy? Did you know her?¡±


    Foster asked Xander while they were in the dungeon, staring at the mysterious young woman who was now being treated by the healer. Xander shakes his head. He has never met the young woman in her life. Her long ck hair was unraveled onto the makeshift bed. He felt bad for her, to be treated inside the cell, but there was nothing he could do. She was the suspect of thievery and assault; she needs to be ced inside a cell.


    ¡°Anyhow, let¡¯s make her asfortable as we could, I feel bad for attacking her already.¡± Said Xander to Foster.


    Foster huffed his breath. ¡°There was nothing you can do about it. The young woman tried to escape from her crime. Thankfully, the man that she assaulted was alive.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s true¡­¡± Xander agreed with Foster, his eyes never going away from her. ¡°Anyhow, I¡¯m already sending Terran to primary captain Vale. Hopefully, he could be here as soon as possible.¡±


    Foster turns around to Xander immediately after hearing his statement. ¡°Wait, I thought primary captain Vale was inside the istion encampment?¡±


    ¡°Well, actually, so many things happened afterward.¡± Xander tried to give Foster some kind of answer, though still a vague one. He need to be careful, as Justice told him that this mission of his was a secret one.


    Knew that he probably won¡¯t get a better answer. Foster just nodded his head and smiled. ¡°I guess you were on a mission right now. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m going to keep her lock until the primary captain came here to ask her directly.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, master sergeant Foster. I can rest assured now, since I need to visit the victim.¡± Xander gave him a sketch from one guard. ¡°Thankfully there is a talented painter here. I asked her to draw the young woman¡¯s picture and she delivered. Now the victim could give us some confirmation if she really was the thief or not.¡±


    .....


    Xander leaves the gate and rides into the branch hospital where the victim of the main library assault has been treated. It took him fifteen minutes to reach the hospital. Xander look around in a hurry, trying to locate the victim, until he saw him on the corner bed, talking to a healer.


    ¡°Excuse me, is this a bad time?¡± He asked the two of them.


    The healer and the victim turn their attention to Xavier.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re the young man that saves my life,¡± The victim spoke fondly to Xander, he turns to the healer and said, ¡°This is him, the one that saves me and informed the guards.¡±


    ¡°Ah, thank you for your swift action, young man. Mister Gavin almost lost a lot of blood, but got saved in time because of your help.¡± Said the healer gratefully to Xander.


    Xander raised his hand. ¡°Oh, it was my pleasure.¡± He went quiet for a while and asked a favor from the healer, ¡°I am sorry, but could I have a moment alone with mister Gavin?¡±


    ¡°Oh, of course, but make it brief. He needs to have some rest.¡± Said the healer.


    After the healer excused himself from the two of them, Xander immediately gave mister Gavin the sketch of the suspect. ¡°This is her, right? The one who attacked you.¡± Asked Xander to the victim.


    Mister Gavin looked at the picture and nodded at Xander, ¡°Oh yes! This is her, the one who attacked me. Did you also find the book?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the book about Bloodline and Insignia. I have it with me for safekeeping.¡± Xander gave him reassurance since he was so worried about the book.


    His face lit up after Xander¡¯s good news about the book. ¡°Oh, thank God! Thank you so much, err¡­¡±


    ¡°Xander, my name is Xander, I am a knight on the crown prince¡¯s service,¡± Said Xander with a smile on his face, he took a chair and sat beside the patient¡¯s bed, ¡°Would you give me a detail about the incident?¡±


    ¡°Uhm, I don¡¯t know, she came at some peculiar hour and asked for the bloodline and insignia book,¡± Said mister Gavin with his hand on his chin, trying so hard to remember the incident, ¡°The book although not forbidden it also prohibits to be borrowed, it could only be read with the assisted of the librarian. When I gave her the book, suddenly she hit me from the back, and that was thest thing that I remember before you reached out to me.¡±


    ¡°I see, so she specifically wanted the book.¡± Muttered Xander, he then smile at mister Gavin, ¡°Thank you so much for your time, as we already apprehended the suspect. The case will be going to the capital guard force. They will be asked for your official statement.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I just need some rest, and thank you so much, mister Xander.¡±


    Xander excused himself and leaves mister Gavin alone, but before he goes away from the branch hospital, the healer came to Xander and asked for his time. ¡°I need to tell you something. It was about mister Gavin¡¯s head wound.¡±


    ¡°Yes, is he alright?¡± Said Xander, growing wary of mister Gavin¡¯s health.


    ¡°No, no, he is fine. In fact, I believe someone performs the first aid spell on him. That¡¯s why he was conscious when you came to rescue him.¡±


    The new information, although baffling to Xander, it also made sense. The girl is a healer, and she tried to minimize the damage that she had inflicted on mister Gavin. he goes to the gate with the girl in mind, and after waiting for three hours, the mage primary captain finally arrived at the capital.


    Xander and Foster wee him and together they look at the young woman who¡¯s being kept in the cell. The young woman was sitting in the cell when the three of them came to the dungeon, her bittered face just trying so hard to avoid the three men who stares at her.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re here, don¡¯t you know how confused we were trying so hard to find you, miss Rosy.¡± Said Vale to the young woman inside the cell who gave them a threatening look, like a stray animal who got caught.

 Chapter 172 - 172 The revenge of the fallen (part 1)

    172 The revenge of the fallen (part 1)


    The bewilderment on Rosy¡¯s face says it all. She knew it was over for her. Vale took a long sigh and asked the others to go upstairs for a moment when Xander turn his head to her. He could see the desperation on her face, and somehow, felt sympathy for this girl.


    ¡°Alright, so miss Rosy now is the prime suspect of the incident. Most likely, she informed her associates about the team, and they ambushed them at the right time. Now the problem is, who are they?¡± Vale has a hard time trying to put the puzzle together.


    ¡°How about we tried to ask the young woman herself? You know, there was a method that we could use.¡± Said Foster vaguely to Vale.


    Xander eyes grew wide. ¡°Did you mean torture? How could you?! She was just a young woman!¡± He couldn¡¯t believe what Foster had just suggested to Vale.


    Raising his hand to stop Xander, Vale then gave another suggestion to them. ¡°First of all, let¡¯s take a look at the book. The insignia most likely was there since this young woman be a criminal just to take this book.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± said Foster with more enthusiasm than he should be. He goes out for a while and goes back with Rosy¡¯s bag. ¡°It seems heavier. I think there might be more than just one book inside.¡±


    Vale took the bag and open it. He nods his head. ¡°Yes, there¡¯s also her profile record inside this bag.¡±


    ¡°What? So, she was also the one who took her file?¡± Xander was amazed. He read the profile record while a question came to his mind, ¡°Howe the administrators never put her on the record?¡±


    ¡°Probably because one of them was working together with miss Rosy,¡± Said Vale to Xander, he turn to Foster with an instruction, ¡°I need you to arrest all the main hospital administrators, one of them was cooperating with the downstairs miss.¡±


    .....


    ¡°Affirmative, primary captain. I¡¯ll put them in the central jail and will be waiting for further instructions.¡± Foster salutes Vale and goes outside the tower.


    Vale took a ss of water on the table and drink it immediately, but as soon as the water touches his mouth he coughs the water out. Xander was surprised and jump from his seat.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He asked Vale, looking so confused by his behavior.


    ¡°Some magi enchanted this f*cking drinking ss!¡± Answered Vale after he put the ss that was now full of water again.


    Xander chuckles, ¡°Really?! Who on earth bothered themselves to enchant a drinking ss?¡±


    ¡°Some weirdo probably, anyhow, I want you to read her profile record while I check into the bloodline and insignia book.¡± Said Vale to Xander, the book already half open in his hand.


    ¡°Right, let me check her profile record. Hopefully, we get some tangible information by now.¡± Xander¡¯s agreed with Vale¡¯s suggestion.


    For an hour, they were busy reading Rosy¡¯s profile record and the bloodline and insignia book. Xander read about her personality trait, talent, and family. He put a note on everything that may have be a clue. Vale, on the other hand, just doesn¡¯t get any luck on the insignia.


    ¡°This is strange, this insignia is nowhere inside this book, I¡¯ve been back and forth between the nobles and royalties but¡­¡± He went quiet for a while, and shouted, ¡°Wait a second! Oh, I was such a fool!¡±


    Xander was shocked. ¡°Oh, God! What happened now?!¡±


    ¡°Make sure those attitude doesn¡¯te around when there are military personnel around us,¡± said Vale, ring at Xander who raises his hand and apologizes to the primary captain immediately. ¡°Good, so, I realized that even though this is a genuine insignia, the weapon that they chose was not in a good condition, that will be strange for a noble, who probably could maintain the integrity of their weapon or buy a new one.¡±


    ¡°Yes, so they are not noble, butmoners, then?¡± Xander gave his opinion to Vale.


    Shaking his head, Vale then said, ¡°No, having insignia was forbidden formoners, and this insignia was definitelying from some ancient noble family. There is just one answer for this.¡±


    Xander raised his eyebrows at Vale. ¡°And that was?¡±


    Opening one section of the book, Vale shows him the picture inside. ¡°Take a look at this.¡±


    When Xander saw the picture, he shouted excitedly at Vale, ¡°This is it! This is the insignia, right? But why was it so hard for you to find this insignia?¡±


    ¡°Look at the page section where the insignia picture belongs to.¡± Said Vale again.


    Reading the section, he was stunned. His head turning so quickly to Vale, ¡°The Fallen Noble, Bacardy family¡­ God! So, they were nobles that condemn to bemoners!¡±


    ¡°Exactly. That¡¯s why they have the insignia, but don¡¯t have enough stiption to maintain their lifestyle. Theirnd was already confiscated, and they were condemned into amoner¡¯s life.¡± Exined Vale to Xander, So, miss Rosy, is probably part of this Bacardy family.¡±


    ¡°She was adopted, though, into a farmer¡¯s family in a rural vige, where she worked as the regional healer now,¡± Xander said to Vale, while he handed Rosy¡¯s profile record.


    ¡°We need to question miss Rosy, and you send your familiar to the encampment, and also need to find the farmer that adopted her.¡± He grabbed Xander¡¯s shoulder before he walked outside the room. ¡°Be careful and be discreet. I think this case is bing much bigger than before.¡±


    Nodding his head. Xander agreed with Vale¡¯s statement. While the primary captain magi goes back to the dungeon, preparing to question Rosy, Xander goes to the highest floor of the tower. He looks into the night sky, and after feeling the breeze, he called for his familiar.


    ¡°Terran, are you here?¡±


    A white thunderous light came outside from his shadow, a medium size peregrine falcon with peculiar white eyes flying in front of Xander.


    ¡®You called me, master?¡¯


    ¡°Yes, I want you to send a message to the crown prince, telling him that he needs to send knights to Beraz vige, and apprehend the adopted parents of miss Rosy. Also, give him this note.¡± He put the small parchment and bind it tightly into his leg. ¡°Be careful, and afterward, you can go hunting for a while.¡±


    ¡®Really? Well, then I need to go right now.¡¯


    Before Xander could say goodbye, Terran already fly away into the night sky. He smiles and goes downstairs, how shocked he was when a blood-curdling screamed ising from the dungeon. Xander run as fast as he could, but when he arrived at the dungeon, he saw Vale with his glowing eyes cast a water spell inside Rosy¡¯s cell.


    ¡°Vale, stop!¡± Screamed Xander to him.

 Chapter 173 - 173 The revenge of the fallen (Part 2)

    173 The revenge of the fallen (Part 2)


    Vale was dunking her head repeatedly into the water. Rosy was gasping for air, and her eyes pleaded for help from Xander. Feeling sorry for her, he tackled the primary captain. Getting the water magic also disappears. Rosy coughed a lot of water and finally could breathe normally.


    ¡°Are you crazy?! You could kill her.¡± Shouted Xander to Vale, he turn his attention to Rosy and asked her if she was alright. Rosy nodded her head, but still rubbed her chest.


    ¡°She won¡¯t talk, that¡¯s why I need to y hard for a bit.¡± Vale talked to Xander with no remorse for his action.


    ¡°y hard?¡± Xander was yelling at him, his finger pointed at the young woman, ¡°Look at her, she almost died in there. Are you insane?!¡±


    With a cold look, Vale turn his head to Rosy and asked her, ¡°Miss Rosy, did I almost kill you with my spell?¡±


    There was fear on Rosy¡¯s face. Xander doesn¡¯t know what kind of trick Vale makes, but the girl is so terrified by now, Xander doesn¡¯t go to let him do everything that could make great harm to Rosy. He turned his attention to Vale and asked him a favor.


    ¡°Would you let me interrogate her?¡±


    ¡°What? Why do you want to interrogate her? You don¡¯t have any authority here.¡± Vale said with much more authority in his tone. ¡°As the primary captain, I have the authority over every branch of the civil servants.¡±


    Xander was desperate. This time he practically begging to Vale, ¡°Please, let me do it my way. We don¡¯t know if it will be working or not before I try it first, right?¡±


    .....


    Vale let out a sigh. ¡°Fine, I will give you a chance. We need to know about her associates.¡±


    With a sigh of relief, Xander gratefully smiles at Vale, ¡°Thank you so much, primary captain. I¡¯ll do my best.¡±


    Turning his attention back to Rosy, Vale pointed at the girl and said, ¡°I¡¯ll call back the healer, just to make sure.¡±


    After Vale was gone, and the healer checked on her again, Xander was sitting on the bench on the other side of the cell, the healer took a rough check and said to Xander, ¡°Thankfully the young woman was fine, she just need a warm drink and she needs to change her clothes.¡± The healer look around the cell, ¡°So, howe there was a flood inside this cell only?¡±


    Awkwardly, Xander just gave him a grin. ¡°Well, you see¡­¡±


    The healer raised his hand. ¡°You know what? Don¡¯t tell me anything. I¡¯m here just to do my duty.¡±


    Ten minutester, with fresh clothes and a warm soup from the guard¡¯s kitchen, Rosy was sittingfortably inside her cell. She looks at Xander with a curious face. The man just sitting there, doing nothing, he doesn¡¯t talk to her or even look at her. Xander just sat and close his eyes on the bench in front of Rosy¡¯s cell.


    ¡°Why are you so nice to me?¡± Rosy finally talk to him, but after the silence felt a bit ufortable for her.


    Xander took a nce at her and gave her a warm smile. ¡°Oh, you have a voice, after all, so how are you feeling right now?¡±


    ring at him, Rosy then said, ¡°You don¡¯t even answer my question.¡±


    ¡°Oh, about being nice? I mean, why not? You¡¯re a suspect, but it doesn¡¯t mean we may do some harm toward you, am I right?¡± Said Xander again.


    ¡°Oh, you will if you know what I have done in the past.¡± Muttered Rosy. The warm soup in her hand alreadyforted her.


    ¡°Look, I don¡¯t know what kind of crime you have done, but I never judge people based on their past.¡± Xander said to Rosy, his face getting closer to her inside the cell, ¡°I believe people could change for the better, don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    ¡°It probably not going to happen for me¡­¡± Said Rosy with a bittered smile on her face.


    ¡°Why? Why do you have to be so bitter about anything?¡± Asked Xander, with a frown on his face, ¡°Yes, you make a big mistake, but of course, you have the time to fix the mistake that you made!¡±


    A snicker on Rosy¡¯s face gave a chill on Xander, she drink the warm soup and stare at the ceiling, ¡°You know, I was so happy back then when I got my bronze pass to enter the civil service exam, my adopted parents and the vigers overjoyed by my achievement, I had a high hope that my real family finally going to ept me.¡± Rosy tells her story to Xander, while asionally drinking the soup, the chilled weather still came inside the cell, ¡°What I got was a mocked and more insulted remark, because of a girl, with a striking purple hair entered the civil service exam by getting a silver pass.¡±


    Xander was upied by her story now, knowing who the girl with the striking purple hair was, making him curious about Rosy¡¯s story. ¡°What happened with this purple hair girl?¡± Asked Xander, pretending that he didn¡¯t know who Anne was.


    ¡°Oh nothing, She just got pardoned after making a fatal mistake on the first exam, and she is also being sponsored by the crown prince himself. Imagine that. She has the same story as mine, adopted from childhood, but got special treatment everywhere.¡± Xander could see how much envy came from Rosy¡¯s face. She even bit her lips when the memory of Anne came into her. ¡°What makes her so special? We have simr circumstances, but why people around her adored the girl so much?¡±


    ¡°Miss, that¡¯s not a good¡­¡±


    Rosy suddenly shouted andughed, ¡°Oh right! You probably don¡¯t know. On the second exam, I even crushed her right hand with my feet. That¡¯s how mad I was when I saw her face!¡±


    Xander was speechless. He was furious at how blinded her jealousy towards Anne. On the other hand, he also felt sorry for her. In Xander¡¯s eyes, Rosy looks like a girl that has nothing and needs to have her own light. Her envy came when she looks into a girl that already has a shining light on her own.


    ¡°You know, miss, what about if I said to you that with everything that you have just said, you can redeem yourself? There¡¯s nothing evil inside of you, only people that have lost their way.¡± Xander said to Rosy, his hands held into the cell bars, and grinned into the lost girl inside the cell, ¡°Trust me, you can have your own shine in this world as well, you just need to fix the mistake that you¡¯ve done.¡±


    Rosy looked at the young man with bewilderment on her face. Not long after, Xander was running as fast as he could, searching for Vale. He found him resting on one of the guard¡¯s beds; he shakes Vale¡¯s body, trying so hard to wake him up.


    ¡°Primary captain, please wake up!¡±


    Gruntled at Xander, Vale then red at Xander, ¡°Gods! Finally, I have my rest. What do you need now?!¡±


    ¡°It was about the girl. I mean, miss Rosy, she¡­ She is going to tell us everything! She is going to confess!¡± Shouted Xander excitedly.

 Chapter 174 - 174 The revenge of the fallen (part 3)

    174 The revenge of the fallen (part 3)


    ¡°What do you mean she is ready to confess?¡±


    Vale was sitting on the bed, with his hand folded on his chest, looking so annoyed at Xander. The young man came unexpectedly and with a very excited tone waking him up, although he was content w the way Xander could persuade the young woman.


    ¡°Well, just like what I said, she will confess and tell us about her associates, soe on!¡± He was too excited even to be polite. Vale just smirked and shook his head.


    ¡°Alright, let me wash my face, and I¡¯ll join you with the guard on duty. We. We need to record her statement.¡± He asked Xander and slowly ushered him out of the room.


    Ten minutester, Vale was sitting on the benches in front of Rosy¡¯s cell with the guard on duty. He let Xander be the interrogator. The young man seems too eager, and Vale doesn¡¯t even go to steal his thunder over his sess to persuade Rosy.


    Looking nervously at Vale, Xander cleared his throat and begin to questioning Rosy in a politely manner as possible. ¡°Uhm right, miss Rosy, would you tell us your story about this family of yours?¡±


    Rosy looked around, she was still nervous around Vale, but thankfully because of Xander, she get braver than before, ¡°The Bacardy was my family from my father¡¯s side, when I was just three years old, they were already a fallen noble that lives in a small house at the rural vige.¡± She told them her story while she reminisced about her childhood, even though reminiscing wasn¡¯t a proper word for it. ¡°They gave me to a rich farmer family as their adopted daughter, not because they wanted me to have a good life, they¡­ they have an arrangement, if I be the rich farmer¡¯s daughter, twenty percent of their supplies will go to my family.¡±


    Xander and Vale look at each other. They. They were thinking the farmer probably was involved, after all. ¡°I hope Justice can apprehend them in time.¡± Muttered Vale. He. He was already developing a headache already.


    Xander¡¯s shrugged, ¡°One can hope.¡± He turns his attention back to Rosy. ¡°What supplies that your original family would get?¡±


    .....


    ¡°Mostly food, but sometimes medicine and herbs.¡± Answered Rosy.


    ¡°Herbs? What kind of herbs?¡± Vale was suddenly interested in the mention of herbs.


    Rosy, who couldn¡¯t even stand to look into Vale, gave her an answer by staring at the ground. ¡°The herbs, sir, were all kinds of nts from medicinal, or the most dangerous kind, mean, even the poisonous one.¡±


    ¡°Poisonous nt? What are they for?¡± Asked Vale again.


    ¡°Honestly sir, I don¡¯t know, but I do know that my original family hired an uncertified alchemist, the alchemist that suddenly became a long-lost family.¡± Said Rosy with a bittered smile on her face, ¡°The fallen noble, the word that my family forlorn, you see, they¡­ they thought that the demise of their great name was not because of their wrongdoing, but it was all the royalty¡¯s fault.¡±


    ¡°Royalty? So, this was revenge? The attack was for revenge on the royalty?¡± This time it was Xander who asked her.


    Vale raised his hand to stop Xander from more unwanted spection, ¡°No, You¡¯re wrong Xander, the attack was something else,¡± Xander turned his head to Vale, while the primary captain pointed at Rosy, ¡°Am I right, miss Rosy? You informed your immediate family at the capital hoping for them to intercept the group, and while they¡¯re ughtering those innocent people, you, go around the capital to erase your existence, hoping that run away from all of this crime that your immediate family has done.¡±


    Rosy suddenly burst into tears. She. She was wailing and her hands grab into the cell bars, eyes bewildered to Vale, ¡°Yes! I run from the encampment, wishing that this will be over after I told them about the group and that I wille back to the capital! I was so miserable and don¡¯t want to be involved with them, but as the only daughter amongst five siblings, and to be bound by the so-called duty of the Bacardy family!¡± She was crying while her body drop into the ground. Xander tried to help her, but Vale asked him not to help, as for her not yet done with her story. ¡°You know, I asked them not to kill the group, just to capture them and keep them somewhere¡­ They¡­ They killed them, and I will regret my decision for as long as I lived.¡±


    Vale, stands up from his seat and walked closer to Rosy, ¡°Although, you¡¯re to be med for your wrong decision, miss Rosy, there¡¯s always a way to repent, tell us, did all of your immediate family equally to be med for this revenge plot?¡± He carefully asked Rosy. This time was full ofmitment to help her. He felt her tears were genuine and anyone could see how miserable she was right now.


    Rosy nodded her head and sniffled. She told Vale about her entire family, ¡°Yes, my¡­ mother and my three fathers, along with my four brothers.¡±


    ¡°I see, then we must capture them at once.¡± Vale gave an order to one guard, who immediately walk away to carry out Vale¡¯s order. Xander asked for permission to join the guards, but Vale stopped him to go. ¡°No, stay here with us. I need to ask something to miss Rosy.¡±


    Puzzled by Vale¡¯s suggestions, the only thing that Xander can do was to ept it. He. He sat beside the guard who write the confession, while Vale begins to question Rosy once more.


    ¡°Miss Rosy, as you always talk about your family¡¯s n for revenge, it kept me thinking, what kind of n that would be suited for the misery of the family that gave yours shamed and banishment from society.¡± Said Vale to Rosy, he was leaning on the wall, he frowning, and suddenly asked Rosy, ¡°The borate n where some of the citizens of this kingdom need to be suffered as well, am I right?¡±


    Looking so horrified at Vale, Rosy realized he knew about the whole n of her family, the n that her mother and her sibling concocted for such a long time, even surpassing her birth. Nothing ising from her mouth. She. She was trembling and dropped to the ground with her hands still holding tightly into the bars.


    ¡°Wait, what are you talking about, primary captain Vale?¡± Xander was curious. He still needed to process the words that came from Vale¡¯s mouth.


    Vale turns his head to Xander, ¡°This false new variant of moskeet fever, it was all the Bacardy family¡¯s n.¡±


    The thunder rumbling, a sign of a storming, another fact of this wicked family n has been revealed.

 Chapter 175 - 175 Good girl, bad girl

    175 Good girl, bad girl


    Xander¡¯s eyes were wide open. He couldn¡¯t believe Vale¡¯s words, he turn into Rosy and asked her. ¡°It was wrong, right miss Rosy?¡±


    Rosy¡¯s face begins to lose color, and she couldn¡¯t even say anything to Xander anymore. The man himself was standing from the seat and looking into the two of them in bewilderment.


    ¡°No¡­ For the purpose of so-called revenge, your family killed more innocent people? Did you know hundreds lost their lives, right?!¡± Xander grabs the bar and looks at Rosy, demanding an answer.


    Rosy gave him a buttered smile. ¡°I¡¯ve told you that I was beyond safe, right?¡± She wipes her tears and talks to Vale. ¡°It was right. The alchemist that they hired was the proof. You found him and he will definitely confess.¡±


    ¡°Where is he right now?¡± Asked Vale again.


    Rosy tried to remember, thankfully she remember herst conversation with her mother, ¡°Thest time I heard, he was in hiding with my adopted family. If you go to my vige, they probably will be hiding in the mountain. We have a small hunting log.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give the information to our chaser.¡± Vale almost reach the door when Rosy shouted at him.


    ¡°Wait! I have one more piece of information.¡±


    Vale turns his attention to Rosy once more. ¡°What is it?¡±


    .....


    ¡°It involves someone inside the main hospital, a family I have never known. They were helping the family from the inside.¡± Said Rosy to Vale, her eyes then staring at the ground. ¡°I am sorry, that¡¯s all I have known. The rest will depend on your way to apprehend all the culprits.¡±


    Vale let out a sigh, ¡°I know that you have done terrible things, miss Rosy, but somehow, I do believe in Xander¡¯s confidence in you, I do hope you will find a way to make peace in this world and be a better woman.¡± He then added, ¡°I am truly sorry for my behavior earlier. Take care, miss Rosy.¡±


    When Vale left them, he also asked for the guard on duty to follow him, which leave Xander alone with Rosy. The two of them just stand on their respective side without any wordsing from their mouth. Rosy took a peaked at him and finally break the silence.


    ¡°You should go and help the primary captain. I need to get some rest, anyway.¡± She said to Xander while dragging her body to the bed.


    Xander called for Rosy one more time, ¡°Wait before I go. I need to say something.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Rosy asked the man without even turning around.


    ¡°I¡­ I was stunned about the crime that your family had done and probably a bit upset towards you, but¡­ But it doesn¡¯t mean that I wasn¡¯t going to trust you anymore! I believe you can be better miss Rosy.¡± He smiles at her, even though only the back of Rosy was visible to his eyes, ¡°Take care, and don¡¯t give up on life.¡±


    He walk away from the cell, but Rosy then shouted his name, ¡°Mister Xander!¡± Xander stop for a moment and took a nce at Rosy, ¡°Woo¡­ Would you visit me sometime? I mean¡­ if you can¡¯t, it is fine!¡±


    Smiling at her, he said, ¡°Of course I will miss Rosy.¡±


    Seems like Xander¡¯s smile was infectious. She also smiled at him and said, ¡°Please call me Rosy, and thank you so much for everything.¡±


    They parted ways after the warm farewell. Afterward, Vale already sends Silver Hawk to the encampment, and Rosy is transferred to the main cell of the guard headquarters. She will be on trial first, but will gain a lighter sentence after her cooperation.


    Meanwhile, at the encampment, the note from Xander was already on Justice¡¯s hand. Nathan, Leo, and Anne were inside his tent right now. They are waiting for Henry and Xavier who went away to apprehend Rosy¡¯s adopted parents in her vige.


    Anne was shocked when she heard about Rosy being captured in the capital.


    ¡°I never realized that she was capable of doing such action.¡± Muttered Anne. She was sitting on the sofa with a metee tea in her hand.


    Leo scoffed at her, ¡°She hated you, injured your hand. She even has the audacity to pick a fight with you. What¡¯s new?¡±


    Looking at her friend, she finds his rage to be understandable. He lost a precious partner, all because Rosy allegedly informed her associates about the group. She hold Leo¡¯s hand, and smiled at him, ¡°I knew very well that she hated me, but it doesn¡¯t mean that she wasn¡¯t a kind woman, her associates at the regional hospital told me that even though she was a quiet and reserved woman, she was a good and caring healer towards her patient.¡± She stirred a cup of metee and handed the cup to Leo, ¡°I was convinced that Rosy has a reason for her wrongdoing, and of course, she will need to repent her fault after she was found guilty.¡±


    Leo just went quiet and drink his metee tea. For now, he just wanted to see Rosy be miserable in jail. He was ready to be in front of the seat when thew officials gave her the punishment.


    Justice and Nathan were standing at the war table, discussing the current condition of the patients and also the right way to be back to the capital.


    ¡°So, there were only four patients that were on bed rest, right? The rest is already in remission and will be in full health in no time.¡± Justice asked Nathan. He was so anxious to go back. After all, it was almost three days after the group was ughtered and they still need to inform the main hospital.


    Nathan smiled at Justice, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we will be ready to go back tomorrow. The four patients, although still need to be in bed, they are strong enough to be traveling on the carriage.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± Justice smiled and took out a sigh of relief after hearing the news.


    Suddenly, someone went inside the tent. Anne look into it and was surprised to see Henry and Xavier.


    ¡°Oh, the two of you were back already?¡±


    They were smiling, happy to see Anne¡¯s face as soon as they are back.


    ¡°Yes, the farmers were in hiding on some hunting log at the mountain. Thankfully, we captured them before they went deep into the woods.¡± Henry informed her, while Justice and Nathan walked toward the two of them.


    ¡°Wow, they are suspicious indeed.¡± Said Nathan while shaking his head in disbelief.


    ¡°Not just all. They were with someone else.¡±


    A frown came into Justice¡¯s face. ¡°Someone else?¡±


    ¡°A man, and from the looks of it, he was an unregistered alchemist.¡± Answered Henry to Justice.


    Xavier walked inside and patted Justice¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we take all of them here. They were inside the cell right now, ready to¡­¡±


    Before Xavier finished his sentence, a guard called for Justice in front of the tent, ¡°Your majesty, Primary captain Vale¡¯s familiar is here for you.¡±


    ¡°Silver Hawk? Why is he here?¡±


    Unbeknown to all of them, Silver Hawk came bearing news about the three people inside the encampment cell, and also the suspicion of an important person inside the main hospital. All will be revealed soon.

 Chapter 176 - 176 The Alchemist named Medley

    176 The Alchemist named Medley


    Everyone was baffled to see Silver Hawk here in Justice¡¯s tent. Henry and Justice look at one another, while Xavier put Silver Hawk on the war table. He also asked for someone to bring him water and food. On the glimpse, he saw the bird was exhausted, which means he was trying to get here as quickly as possible.


    Anne handed him a cup of water and whispered, ¡°I¡¯ve already asked for some small chunk of meat from the kitchen helper.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Anne,¡± Xavier said gratefully to her. His fingers brushed into her fingers, and he could see a little blush on Anne¡¯s cheek. Somehow, it makes him happy. Happy that he still has some effect on her.


    Justice on the other hand, was busy interrogating Silver Hawk, he sat on his desk chair and sp his hand together while his eyes look into the huge bird, ¡°So, tell me, what kind of urgent message that Vale had for us?¡±


    Silver Hawk drinks the water first and then speaks to Justice, ¡®Your majesty, it has been confirmed that miss Rosy is part of the fallen noble, the Bacardy family in fact was the cause of the false information about the new variant of moskeet fever.¡±


    Everyone besides Justice and Anne was stunned to hear this information. The two of them seem to have some inkling about this. The crown prince took a nce at Anne and then asked her.


    ¡°You knew about this, right?¡±


    Anne looked at him and nodded her head. ¡°Just an instinct, though. I feel that this illness was too good to be just some coincidence, not to mention the incident that happened. They want to cover this up, of course.¡±


    ¡°Good instinct,¡± Praised Justice to our heroine, who seems a bit flustered by Justice apuded.


    .....


    This day, Anne couldn¡¯t contain her feelings towards the four of them, how Vale¡¯s kindness had touched her, Henry¡¯s brash but caring attitude, Xavier¡¯s aloof but protective behavior, and then there¡¯s the crown prince, who seems uncaring and cold, but always the first one who noticed her presence,


    She needs to fight this feeling. After the witch of the mountain, she never had any confidence to be closer to them anymore, although she need to remind them that they are friends, at this point, Anne was already lying to herself.


    Silver Hawk continues to convey the message, ¡®My master also said that the adopted family were supplying the Bacardy family from their farms, along with herbs and nts.¡¯


    ¡°I guess it was their way to feed their army with no added expenses.¡± Said Henry, like Justice, who knows everything about the so-called fallen noble. He also knew about the Bacardy family. ¡°Count Bacardy, one of the merchant nobles, gained their wealth by their way distributing farm products to every corner of the kingdom. My grandfather told me their story once.¡±


    Anne was curious. ¡°What happened to the family that makes them condemned to themoner¡¯s rank?¡±


    ¡°Chain corruptions.¡± Answered Justice, he was leaning on his chair, when he also remembered the story of the Bacardy family, ¡°They were a corrupted family that amass their wealth by taking little by little products from the capital supplies, all the family was in these unforgivable acts.¡± He turns his attention back to Anne. ¡°Did you know, when my father, the crown prince at that time, knew about this act, they already gained a fortune more than the royalty.¡±


    ¡°That many?!¡± Anne almost lost her voice because of how loud she screamed.


    Understandable to Justice, everyone who heard about this story for the first time probably will react the same as Anne. ¡°Four generations of corruptors. They were sneaky, but my father was able to reveal their crime, along with Henry¡¯s father.¡±


    An admiration came onto Anne¡¯s face, she look at Justice and Henry back and forth. ¡°You need to tell me about this story sometimes.¡±


    ¡°It was just some boring story about my father.¡± Said Henry, while he put the bowl of meat chunks in front of Silver Hawk. ¡°Come on, we need to question the farmers and the alchemist.¡±


    As usual, Henry tried to ignore Anne, sometimes it was a failed attempt and he end up walking to the healer¡¯s tent to get a glimpse of her, but some other times, this kind of thing happened, he just couldn¡¯t sort of his feelings towards Anne just yet.


    Leo held onto Anne¡¯s shoulder, ¡°We should go back to the tent, there are so many things that we need to do.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, we need to do our best for the patients as well.¡± She was smiling at Leo, and together they excused themselves from the tent.


    ¡°Seriously, Henry, you should be a bit polite towards her, what exactly is wrong with you?¡± Xavier just couldn¡¯t believe himself when he looks at Henry being hot and cold at Anne, ¡°Just choose already, do you want her, or you don¡¯t?¡±


    Xavier gruntled while he walked away, while Justice just took a sigh and patted Henry¡¯s back. As for the knight captain, he also doesn¡¯t know the answer for himself. Xavier, Henry, Nathan, and Justice were inside the cell tower, staring at the frightened farmers and their wife. Another man was sleeping in the corner bed. He doesn¡¯t care about his situation.


    ¡°Please¡­ We know nothing about their wrongdoing, your majesty¡­¡± Said one farmer, he was trembling and tears came into his eyes, ¡°We¡­ we of course adopted Rosy as our daughter and exchanged her with farm products and herbs, but that was it.¡±


    ¡°Liar! You also supplied them with nts, some of them were poisonous nts!¡± Xavier was good for bing a threatening individual, he was tall and muscr, and with his ck long hair, almost every man will cower in front of him.


    The poor men even embraced each other. They cried that they never questioned the family about the supplies and they just wanted Rosy because they didn¡¯t have children of their own. The other man then begins to speak.


    ¡°You will get nothing from them, you know.¡± Said the man.


    Justice look at the man. He was a bit older than him, but hisid-back attitude made him look younger. ¡°Why do you think so?¡± Asked Justice to the alchemist.


    He finally turn his head to all of them, ¡°Because it was the truth, they just knew about their crime recently, when it was toote for them.¡± He scratches his head and said, ¡°Let this poor fellow go. I knew everything about Bacardy¡¯s family n, and I was the alchemist who invented the false new variant.¡±


    ¡°I will never promise that the farmers will be free, but rest assured I will do the best I could to help them,¡± Justice said to the man, he was telling the truth, he couldn¡¯t negotiate their freedom, since the case will fall to the guards and then stand trial in front of the councils.


    ¡°That should be good enough. My name is Medley, the unregistered alchemist that they hired to make a poison that could resemble a disease. After I sessfully created the poison, they call for their family, who was a healer in the main hospital.¡±


    All four of them were distraught by this information. Nathan even approached the man and tried to pry for more answers.


    ¡°What? A healer in the main hospital?¡± Asked Nathan to the alchemist.


    ¡°Sorry, I never met the healer. They were a close-knit family and always treated me like an outsider. I just gave them the samples, and they were handling the rest.¡± Said Medley to all of them.


    ¡°What kind of samples that you gave to the Bacardy?¡± Asked Nathan again.


    Medley tried to remember the first sample, ¡°It was a ck sooth, at first there will be no harm to healthy people, but if it¡¯s got into contact with the moskeet fever, it will worsen the effect.¡±


    Nathan¡¯s hand was trembling, he turn his head to Justice. ¡°Your majesty, I know who¡¯s the culprit that gave this poison in the main hospital.¡±

 Chapter 177 - 177 The one who went away

    177 The one who went away


    Xander was eating his breakfast along with the primary captain. He end up sleeping on the sofa in Vale¡¯s room after they had escorted Rosy to the guard post. The healer will be further questioning inside the guard post, but for the most detail, they have already been informed by Vale and Xander.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard from one of the chief guards that you requested a plush bed and a nket for Rosy¡¯s cell,¡± Vale asks Xander while he picks the butter from the table. He seems indifferent when he asked, but Xander knows better.


    ¡°Yes, I asked politely, if they could facilitate Rosy. I mean, miss Rosy with an ample bed and nket, that was it.¡±


    Sighing, Vale put his bread and butter. His eyes look directly at Xander, ¡°I hope you know what you¡¯re doing, Xander.¡±


    ¡°What? I was just being nice and caring towards¡­¡±


    ¡°Xander!¡± Vale shouted at him, while his face looking at the young man with a re, ¡°She is now a defendant in a serious case, and soon, you¡¯re going to be called in front of thew councils to a crime against her! People will look at your behavior towards her.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care, really.¡± He said to Vale, shrugging his shoulder, ¡°and so should you, look, I know that she was doing a very wicked thing to Anne in the past, but I think she is trying to change her way now, don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    Vale covers his face with his face and begins tough. ¡°Oh, Xander, how gullible you are, yes I can see that the young woman tried to redeem herself, but she only redeem herself because you caught her.¡±


    Xander was stunned. Vale has a point. She was trying so hard to get away, and after she get caught by Xander, Rosy begin to change her tune. Although he believes in her redemption way, he also can¡¯t give her a benefit of the doubt.


    .....


    Sulked, he bowed his head to Vale, ¡°I¡­ I am sorry, you¡¯re right, I shouldn¡¯t give her any special treatment.¡±


    ¡°Seems you¡¯re quite smitten by the young woman,¡± Vale asked him with a grin in his voice. He kind of like teasing Xander nowadays.


    ¡°Ugh, shut up! I was just feeling sorry for her. That was it.¡± Said Xander with a gruntled.


    Vale sip into his caftea and then said to Xander. ¡°You know, someone else was quite taken by you on the guard tower.¡±


    Nervously, he looks at him and asked, ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°You know the woman guard that was helping you with the sketch? She was asking about you constantly. I got annoyed and tell her to ask you directly, but I think she was too shy, funny girl though.¡± Said Vale, smiling at the act that the girl was doing to get some information about Xander.


    ¡°Oh, what about you, primary captain? Don¡¯t you get smitten by how funny she was?¡± Xander tried to turn the subject to him.


    ¡°No, my heart belongs to someone else. I guess no other girl will impress me as much as Anne.¡± He said to Xander without any hesitation.


    Xander shakes his head and smiles, ¡°Gosh, you¡¯re already head over heels, aren¡¯t you? And I guess my brother as well.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ you¡¯re right, about me though,¡± Vale put his cup and sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t know about Xavier, he¡­ He goes around and bes a heavy drinker, not to mention he was flirting around.¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t believe what you¡¯ve heard about my brother, yes he was drinking a lot, but never even once he brought any woman home or even goes together alone, except for histest case that was thankfully already being resolved.¡± Xander was mentioning about Yasmine and her lies.


    Not long after, they heard a knocking from the front door of his room. Vale open the door and saw Foster.


    ¡°Good morning, primary captain. I came to give you the documents about miss Rosy¡¯s full confession.¡± He said to Vale while handing the man a bundle of papers.


    ¡°Oh, pleasee in Foster, I was in the middle of eating my breakfast. Would you like to join us?¡± Said Vale while he put the documents on the table in the living room.


    ¡°Oh, that would be fantastic. I was doing all the work, couldn¡¯t even get a good rest and just biting some dried nuts for a while.¡±


    Foster hurry himself to the table and took a whole loaf of bread for himself. Xander was ring since he also had a big appetite. Vale was reading the documents. Seems Rosy being tell the guards the exact same story but more urately, like how many family members that were involved. Vale also read about how secretively they had been working. That¡¯s why she could never know about her family who was working inside the main hospital.


    ¡°The family probably already has high-rank officials inside the main hospital. That¡¯s why they can start their revenge n.¡± Muttered Vale. He can seem to think of anyone that could be rted to the fallen noble.


    A big gust of wind suddenly came from the open window. Vale protected the document and saw Silver Hawk perch in his ce.


    ¡®Master, I have some urgent news from your majesty. You need to apprehend chief ra as soon as possible. She was the main culprit in the distribution of the new gaaram wood ashes.¡¯


    All three of them stand up from their seats. Vale asked his familiar once again, ¡°So, it has been confirmed? Are you sure that was Justice has been saying to you?¡±


    ¡®Yes, master, go and took chief ra into custody immediately. That was his order.¡¯ Silver Hawk said to his master when Vale saw how exhausted the big bird was.


    He put his hand on Silver Hawk¡¯s head, and restore his energy. ¡°Thank you, Silver Hawk. Now you can take some rest.¡±


    He put on his magi cloak and, together with Xander and Foster, they are heading into the main hospital. The main hospital is still in shambles but because of Vale¡¯s order, they have already removed the trace of every gaaram wood ashes. He was hoping that his sudden act will never alert the main culprit.


    They run towards chief ra¡¯s office and were surprised to see the office was empty, not just because she wasn¡¯t there, but her belongings also missing from her desk.


    ¡°Sh*t! she was gone already!¡± Cursed Vale, he turns to Xander and gave him an order, ¡°Go to everyone inside this main hospital, asked them where the chief was right now.¡±


    ¡°Affirmative!¡± Said Xander, he run to get more information, while Foster was trying to find any chief that may be aware of chief ra¡¯s whereabouts.


    Not long after, one of the helpers had a clue about chief ra.


    ¡°I saw her just a couple of hours ago. She was in a hurry to pack her items and go away with her private carriage.¡±


    ¡°Do you know which way she was going?¡± Asked Foster to her.


    ¡°Yes, she goes towards the east gate.¡±


    The three of them thank the helper and they once again ride their horses to the east gate. Foster warned Xander and Vale that once they go outside the east gate, it will be a possibility to encounter the dark and mischievous road.


    ¡°We need to take the risk! Do not let the chief go away!¡± Shouted Vale. His face was so tense but Vale make a promise that he will get the woman no matter what it takes.

 Chapter 178 - 178 The other road, another choice

    178 The other road, another choice


    The galloping horses into the way of a runaway healer, Vale, Xander, and Foster were trying the best that they can to catch chief ra¡¯s carriage.


    ¡°Sh*t! we are officially two hours behind her. She could be anywhere!¡± Screamed Foster towards Vale, while he ride into the road, where Xander was behind the two of them on his own horse.


    Vale nodded his head to Foster. ¡°You¡¯re right, let me do something!¡±


    He cast retrace and finally saw the carriage that was allegedly being used by chief ra. He informed the other two and lead the search for them. Vale rode in the front while Xander and Foster followed from behind. Vale used the retrace and saw the movement of the carriage from hours ago, hoping they could get into her in time.


    ¡°Primary captain, how much time do we have?!¡± Asked Xander, from behind.


    ¡°Too much, we are so far behind!¡± Shouted Vale to Xander.


    Anxious, Vale was hoping the carriage will be dyed, rather than stopped to take a rest or if they were lucky, the dark and mischievous road could get into the carriage. But then, it could be fatal for everyone inside the carriage, and he never wished that for anyone, even for a family that almost cause the kingdom to ruin because of a false gue.


    He suddenly has some ideas, ¡°Foster! You know about this area, don¡¯t you?¡± Vale asked the master sergeant of the guard, hoping that this was one of his routes.


    Every guard in the kingdom has their own route to patrol. They have a skill called mapping, where instead of using any kind of map, they will use the mapping skill to memorize the road. It¡¯s a high-level skill that only a master sergeant and above that will be able to learn the skill, and he was hoping Foster is already learning it.


    .....


    ¡°I know the area, but I must tell you, I just memorize this road a couple of days ago, so need to concentrate for a bit.¡± Said Foster with hesitation, he was nervous, and hope that the skill will work. ¡°This is also my first time using the skill.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, you can do it, Foster!¡± Said Vale, giving a bit of encouragement to the man. ¡°I need you to find a shortcut for us and see if there¡¯s a small town or vige nearby. She probably stopped to get supplies or rest.¡±


    They stopped for a moment, to let Foster use his mapping skill. He close his eyes and concentrate, and Vale and Xander took nced at each other, hoping that this skill will be working in their favor. They were already losing so much time.


    ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± Xander doubted the method that Vale wanted to use, but it was the only way to get ahead.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have much choice. This is the only way.¡± Said Vale to Xander, and he was telling him the truth. They really don¡¯t have much of a choice.


    After a while, Foster open his eyes, and informed the other two, ¡°We got a shortcut on the way to a small town, we will have our chance to go there faster.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Asked Xander to him.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure because the road is for the pilgrim and the on-foot travelers. The carriage won¡¯t fit. But it was at a top of a hill and it could be dangerous.¡± Said Foster to them.


    ¡°We are going to take that chance!¡± Vale said to them while casting full protect on all three of them, including the horses. ¡°Let¡¯s go, gentleman! We don¡¯t have much time.¡±


    They back into the saddle and this time Foster will lead the team. The road is just as the master sergeant guard predicted. It was up into a hill and narrow. They need to ride the horse one by one. Vale just hoping there won¡¯t be any dark and mischievous road ahead of them.


    Thankfully, after an exhausting two hours on the narrow road, they reached the small town that Foster mentioned. Vale used the retrace once more and confirmed that chief ra was inside this small town.


    ¡°We should be careful. She probably knew that she was already being exposed. We need to be vignt.¡± Said Vale to Xander and Foster, and then his attention turned to Foster. ¡°How many gates that this town has?¡± Asked Vale.


    ¡°Just three, this small one for any on-foot travelers, and two that were facing each other on the south.¡±


    ¡°Good, that¡¯s good, we just need to guard the other two gates, Xander, you go into the position,¡± Vale order the young man who obeyed him immediately, Vale also gave an order to Foster, ¡°I want you to go to the guard post and asked for help, despite that, keep it vignt, do not alert the woman.¡±


    ¡°Affirmative, primary captain.¡±


    After the two of them leave Vale alone, he used retrace once again to locate chief ra. He goes around from the small gate, and finally saw her, eating in a small restaurant with two men sitting with her at the table. Vale sat on the opposite road, hiding from her. He could just go and capture the woman, but the street was busy, and there were too many people walking around. Vale intended to get into them when they were going through the gate.


    Half an hourter, chief ra leisurely walked outside the restaurant, seems she wasn¡¯t aware that her pursuer was already in the same town. Vale tightens his hood, making himself conspicuous from the crowd. He follows the three of them back to their carriage. Chief ra and another man sat on the passenger seat, while the other man became the coachman and drove the carriage towards the south gate.


    Vale run as fast as he could to the south gate, he curses when he saw there were women and children in front of the gate. He was reluctant to use his magic and opted to call for Foster, who saw him and the carriage.


    ¡°Stop the carriage!¡± Screamed Vale to the master sergeant.


    The coachman saw him and speed up the carriage into the crowd; he doesn¡¯t seem to care about the safety of the people around. People were screaming, two girls were fallen down in the path of the carriage. Vale doesn¡¯t have a choice. He cast the whirlwind spell that sends the carriage spinning and crashing into the other side of the road.


    People were screaming when they saw the wreck of the carriage. The two girls from earlier were saved, but with a cost of the people at the carriage. Vale dropped himself in the street. He looks into his hand and punches the ground repeatedly.

 Chapter 179 - 179 The depressed magi

    179 The depressed magi


    ¡°Where is she?¡±


    The firm voice of the crown prince makes the guard got nervous. They even stand straight when Justice goes inside the room. It has been two days since the ident that Vale caused. Everyone was already back in the capital, and all the Bacardy family were already captured, all but one.


    A chief guard bows to Justice. ¡°Your majesty, we kept her body in the chill room, along with the other two.¡±


    ¡°Take me there.¡± Justice order the guard and took a nce at his behind. ¡°Are youing or not?¡±


    Henry rustled his long hair and gruntled at his friend, ¡°Should I be there as well?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you do know I would like somepany. Come on, be a champ for me.¡± Justice endlessly teased Henry, he knew that his friend prefer to go with Anne and Xavier who were going to visit Vale.


    ¡°Fine! Just¡­ Just let¡¯s go now before I changed my mind.¡± He was gruntling endlessly to Justice.


    The crown prince ignored him and prefer to speak with the chief guard, ¡°How about the primary captain? There¡¯s nothing wrong with the report of the ident, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, your majesty, he was already being released from charged, since the witnesses testified in his favor.¡± The chief guard informed Justice about the good news.


    .....


    Justice was happy about the report. ¡°Good, that was good, and how about the Bacardy family?¡± He then asks the chief guard about the notorious fallen noble that makes havoc in the capital.


    ¡°They were already in the cell. I rotated the guards every six hours for their individual cell, just in case.¡± Said the chief guard to Justice.


    After hearing about the rotation, Henry continued the conversation. ¡°That was too much for just the whole family. I mean, six hours per rotation?¡±


    Unexpectedly, the chief guard stops for a moment, his eyes looking into Henry directly, ¡°Captain, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re not aware of the severity of their crime. They killed hundreds of people in the name of revenge. Just yesterday, our team needs to build a barricade outside the headquarter because of masses going to break in.¡±


    ¡°Oh, the victims¡¯ family, so the rotation was for safety measures.¡± Henry nods his head and they continue walking toward the morgue.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I wanted to protect the family, it¡¯s more that I don¡¯t want the innocent people bing a criminal because of their act, they already lose their loved ones.¡± Said the chief guard to the others, who went quiet all of a sudden.


    Meanwhile, Anne and Xavier were standing nervously in front of Vale¡¯s room. With a basket of biscuits and cake, Anne took a nce at Xavier.


    ¡°So, just knock on the door, Xavier, this basket is heavy!¡±


    Xavier immediately takes the basket out of Anne¡¯s hand. ¡°I can¡¯t I don¡¯t know what to say to him. Should we just put the basket and go away?¡±


    Anne couldn¡¯t believe what he was just saying, she punch his arm and red at Xavier, ¡°Oh,e on Xavier! He is our friend. Vale needs us right now!¡±


    Huffing his breath, Xavier look into Anne, ¡°Yes, but Anne, I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    Suddenly, the front door of Vale¡¯s room was open. They turn their head to see Brom leaning into the doorframe and eyes looking at them.


    ¡°You know we can hear you from the opposite of the door, right?¡± Said Brom with a smirk on his face.


    Anne punches his arm one more time. ¡°I told you to just knock on the door.¡±


    ¡°Ouch, would you stop that!¡± Xavier look into her and winced, ¡°We can enter now, miss, no need for violence.¡±


    ¡°Right, my apology,¡± Anne said to Xavier and run inside the room immediately. She looked around and saw Da in the living room.


    ¡°Da? Oh, I didn¡¯t expect to see you here?¡± Anne gave her friend a warm embrace.


    Da smiled, and both of them sat on the sofa. ¡°Yeah, I know, since the huge argument that I have to end up in such a not-so-peaceful way.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Asked Anne to her.


    Brom came and gave her a cup of caftea, ¡°Monsters happened, and that¡¯s the only thing that you will hear from us.¡±


    ¡°I guess this is a bad time, and we need to focus on Vale¡¯s condition.¡± Anne nodded her head, and then she turned to Da and whispered, ¡°Next time, you need to tell me everything.¡±


    Xavier sat on the dining chair and asked Brom while pointing at Vale¡¯s room, ¡°How is he?¡±


    ¡°Terrible, he couldn¡¯t sleep and I need to put a sleeping spell on him so he could get a sleep.¡± Brom looks so confused and glum. ¡°I never saw him like this.¡±


    Hearing the news from Brom, Anne held onto Brom¡¯s shoulder and gave him some encouragement. ¡°You did good, Brom. How about if you and Da go back to your barrack, let us be here for Vale?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure, Anne? I mean, we tried to give him some food, but he won¡¯t even touch it.¡± Da said to Anne, it seems they already tried every way just to give Vale somefort.


    Standing up from his chair, Xavier convinced them to let Anne and himself stay in the room, taking care of Vale. ¡°Trust me, it would be better if the two of you are taking some rest.¡±


    Finally, ten minutester, Brom and Da took their leave. Xavier and Anne were sitting in the kitchen, nervously ncing at Vale¡¯s bedroom. They don¡¯t know what to do about his situation.


    ¡°I mean, we are at war, but with demons and monsters, I guess Vale never imagined himself identally killing people when he was just doing his duty.¡± Xavier gave Anne a bittered smile. He was having the same problematic feeling and know what Vale had been through right now.


    Anne couldn¡¯t even think what the four of them have been through, going into the battlefield, and seeing people dying everywhere and now it just got worse for Vale.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to check on him. You¡¯ll stay here, alright.¡± Anne patted Xavier¡¯s back and then walk into Vale¡¯s bedroom.


    She opened the door, and darkness engulfed her. Vale put away all of his light orbs and close the curtains. The room bes more depressing when she looks at the bed. All she saw was the pillow and the nket. Vale wasn¡¯t sleeping on his bed. She was confused and nervous.


    ¡°Vale, where are¡­¡± Before Anne could finish her sentence, someone grab her from behind and throw her into the bed.


    She was screaming at Xavier, but the room door close in front of him before Xavier could enter the room.


    ¡°Anne!¡± Xavier desperately tried to open the door in many ways possible, feeling that something terrible would have happened to her inside the room.

 Chapter 180 - 180 Dear brother (part 1)

    180 Dear brother (part 1)


    When Xavier heard a screaming from Vale¡¯s bedroom, he rushed into the room but the door shut closed right in front of him; He punch the door several times while calling Anne¡¯s name.


    ¡°Anne! Oh my God! Are you safe?!¡± He desperately called for her, and this time he tried to pry in by mming his body to the door, ¡°Anne! Did you hear me?! Talk to me?!¡±


    When there was no response from the other side of the door, Xavier transform himself into his wolf form. He was wing and gnawing the door, reducing it into a pile of wood. When he was finally able to go inside, he saw Anne in the bed embracing Vale.


    Wolf Xavier growled menacingly towards Vale, but Anne immediately stop him.


    ¡°No¡­ No, Xavier! It¡¯s fine. Vale just needs me here by his side. It¡¯s alright.¡± Said Anne while she was brushing Vale¡¯s back and keeping the man close in her tight embrace. Wolf Xavier doesn¡¯t stop growling and snapping at Vale, ¡°Please, Xavier, I¡¯ve already had enough,¡± Anne pointed at Vale who got possessive at her, ¡°I can¡¯t handle you¡­ You like that, so please, stop.¡± Either jealousy or possessiveness, Anne just couldn¡¯t fathom saying the word.


    After a while, Xavier transformed back. He leans into the wall while his breathing begins to pace up. ¡°Are you alright?¡± He asked our heroine, who was still trapped on the bed with Vale tightly embracing her body.


    Anne gasped for a moment when the werewolf doesn¡¯t realize his own condition. She closed her eyes and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine, but please put on some clothes, you¡­ You¡¯re naked right now.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± He was so confused until he look at his torn clothes outside, he awkwardly tried to cover his under area with his hand, ¡°Oh, so sorry about that, I¡­ I just get something on Vale¡¯s wardrobe then.¡±


    ¡°Yes, just be quick, I will cover my eyes until you¡­ You¡¯re fully clothes.¡± She talked to him, even though she was already looking at his fully naked body earlier, and somehow Anne couldn¡¯t erase the image of the young man only wearing his birthday suit.


    .....


    After excruciating minutes, Xavier put on some pants and said to Anne that he will be sitting outside. ¡°I will not take another risk. He put a spell on the door to prevent me from entering his room earlier. So, just called me if you need me, alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I will. Don¡¯t worry, he was calm for now.¡± Whispered Anne to Xavier.


    Xavier left the two of them alone, knowing full well that Vale will never do something unforgivable to Anne. He goes to the kitchen and calls for one of his familiars.


    ¡°Ageha, are you there?¡±


    A beautiful butterfly emerges from inside Xavier¡¯s shadow.


    ¡®Yes, master.¡¯


    ¡°I want you to go and find Justice and Henry, and informed them about Vale¡¯s condition,¡± Xavier spoke to Ageha while roaming around the pantry, he wanted to cook something for the three of them, thinking that Vale will eventually back on his right mind and released Anne.


    Inside the bedroom, Anne whispered to Vale, while her hand steadily brushing his back. ¡°It is fine, Vale, Xavier¡¯s gone now. Let me go. I will not go anywhere.¡±


    The man never replied. He was trembling and shaking, Anne heard sniffles, and not long after Vale begin to cry. Anne tried to calm him by whispering some sweet words to him. One hour went by until the magi spoke to Anne.


    ¡°Oh, Anne, it was horrible, I¡­ If only I wasn¡¯t so stubborn and just captured them right away.¡± Seems like he is still full of regrets about chief Ca¡¯s incident, his voice was coarse but he insisted to speak to her, Vale needs this, and Anne knew about this. ¡°I kept seeing the image of the carriage on my mind, when I was casting whirlwind and when the carriage¡­ Flew to the pavement¡­ Oh the horror, the screamed!¡±


    ¡°Oh Vale, how miserable are you right now, I am so sorry.¡± She really feels sorry for him. Anne already knew the whole story, that Vale was in a difficult position of saving two young girls from the path of the carriage. ¡°Look, I will be here with you. I¡¯m not going anywhere, alright?¡±


    She apany the wounded Vale, even whispered asionally to him, until his tired body finally gave in. Anne left him in his bedroom after tucking him under the nket. She caressed his face and even gave him a kiss on his cheek. When she goes outside of the room, Justice and Henry were in the living room with Xavier sitting on the window. Somehow, looking at the three of them made her feel a bit better.


    ¡°How is he?¡± Asked Justice. They came to his barrack as soon as Ageha informed them about Vale.


    Anne sat on the dining chair and gave a sigh. ¡°He was crumbling, but at least now he was sleeping.¡±


    ¡°Really? You gave him a sleeping drought?¡± Said Henry innocently at Anne.


    ring at the knight captain, Anne gave him some sassye back, ¡°Yes, like that is the only thing that healers do, chugging people with medicine.¡± Justice and Xavier snorted after hearing the words. Anne spare the knight when she shook her head and tell him that Vale was sleeping on his own. ¡°He is probably so tired that he can¡¯t even feel anything after a while.¡±


    Justice approached her and held onto her shoulder. ¡°Thank you, Anne. We really appreciate what you had been doing for him.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need. You know very well I will do as best as I could for all of you.¡± She smiled at all of them.


    Her words gave them a warm and fuzzy feeling. Even Henry tried to cover his face to hide a smile that appeared on his broody face. Xavier just turns his attention to the outside and grinning from ear to ear, Justice looks at the two of his friends and notices that they wouldn¡¯t even look at Anne. He takes his chance and gave Anne a quick kiss on her lips.


    ¡°Thank you. I know I could always count on you.¡± Whispered Justice after his lip brushes into hers.


    Anne¡¯s face was turning into all shades of red. She excused herself into the bathroom while covering her face. Justice took a nce, and a naughty smirked was stered on his face. Xavier, on the other hand, saw something from afar, a familiar that flew into the window. He caught the bird and put it inside.


    ¡°Justice, it was your brother¡¯s familiar.¡± Called Xavier the crown prince.


    Justice looked at the dying bird and recognize it as Javier¡¯s familiar. ¡°Castor?! What happened to you?¡±


    ¡®Your majesty, help¡­ Your brother¡­¡¯


    Before another word coulde from the poor mangled bird, he died on Justice¡¯s hand. The dreaded feeling immediately came to him. Something horrible was happening to his brother.

 Chapter 181 - 181 Dear brother (Part 2)

    181 Dear brother (Part 2)


    When Anne was back from the bathroom, she look into the living room where lies a dead body of a bird with beautiful feathers that she ever saw. She rushed into the bird, but sadly, there was nothing she can do anymore.


    ¡°His name was Castor. He was my brother¡¯s familiar.¡± Justice said to her while he take a seat in the dining chair, he closed his face with his two hands, can¡¯t fathom what just happened, ¡°Something is happening to my brother, Javier, but how am I going to know where he was, or he¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that, Justice. Don¡¯t you dare say those words.¡± Xavier pointed his finger at the crown prince, a disy in a manner that it shouldn¡¯t be done to the seeker of the heir to the throne. But as the best friend of the crown prince, Xavier do have some excuses, and even Justice himself doesn¡¯t mind about it. Xavier approached him and squeeze his shoulder, ¡°Castor died, but we don¡¯t know about your brother¡¯s fate for now, so, don¡¯t you dare take this as a sign that he was already gone.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re right, thank you, Xavier.¡± He raised his hand and patted his friend¡¯s hand.


    Anne always admired their friendship. That¡¯s one factor that she was really afraid of being broken because of her presence. She looked at three of them, one by one, and knew how much her heart was already being taken by all of them, including Vale. Although the witch¡¯s voice will forever linger in her mind.


    He stands up on his seat and put on his coat, Justice reached the front door and said, ¡°I need to go back to the pce now, my parents and Jason need to know about this, I will call all of you as soon as possible.¡±


    When the crown prince left the room, all of them sat in silence. Justice also brought Castor with him, he want to bury the bird on the pce ground.


    ¡°What else should we do for Justice?¡± Anne asked the other two men who seems to know what to do in this case.


    Henry looks at her, his blue eyes staring tentatively at her. ¡°Waiting. There¡¯s something that we need to do for now.¡± He said to the concerned young woman.


    .....


    ¡°Henry was right, I¡¯m afraid. We need to be waiting until Justice was ready to ask for our help.¡± Xavier let out a sighed and gave Anne a bittered smile, ¡°This is the royalty matter for now.¡±


    Anne looks at them and finally nods her head, ¡°I guess both of you were right. For now, I will be tending to my patient in the hospital and also to Vale.¡± She calls for his name when her head turns to the dark room, where the magi were asleep soundly.


    ¡°Then, you should do that, Anne,¡± Henry said to her with a very soft voice, his hand even caressing her face.


    ¡°Henry¡­¡± Xavier called his name in a threatening manner.


    A smirk came on the knight captain¡¯s face. He raised his two hands as a sign of surrender to Xavier, ¡°I am sorry, Just trying to calm her nerves, that is all.¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯re not, you cheeky b*stard.¡± Said Xavier with his squinted eyes ring at his friend.


    After a deafening silence, to Anne¡¯s surprise, both of them begin tough. They throw some bread crumbs at each other, and they evenughed more than before.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ men¡­¡± That was the only word that Anne could muster. She let herself go by walking towards Vale¡¯s room.


    When Anne saw the magi still sleeping soundly, she was d. At least now he got a good rest. After knowing about Henry¡¯s nightmare, she was trying so hard to find a cure for him. If she addressed his insomnia through the sleeping drought, he will still have those nightmares. She doesn¡¯t know how to treat Henry right now. That¡¯s why she bes wary after knowing what happened to Vale.


    The man has sweat all over his body. She goes outside and ignores the other two. She took a towel and a bucket full of water, but when she tried to enter Vale¡¯s room, two sets of hands prevented her froming inside.


    ¡°Whoa¡­ why are you bringing in a fresh towel and a bucket of water inside?¡± Asked Xavier to her.


    Anne rolled her eyes and looked at the two of them. ¡°He was drenched with sweat. I need to bathe him and change his clothes.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to do what?!¡± The scream of the synchronized shouting from the two men makes her ears almost go deaf.


    Until a shadowes from inside of the room, it was Vale, looking still a bit weary but annoyed.


    ¡°Would you all be quieter than this?! I need to sleep!¡± He screamed right in front of them.


    ¡°Oh, Vale, I just wanted to bathe you, but these two lunatics hold me from entering your bed.¡± Said Anne while gruntling at the two of them.


    Vale¡¯s eyes shifted. His green emerald eyes were getting darker, and a smirk came into his face. ¡°Oh, you want to bathe me? I don¡¯t see any harm in that.¡±


    ¡°Not a chance, virgin!¡± Said Xavier while he was also mocking him.


    Henry was chuckling, and said whole different paragraphs, ¡°Well, atst, I know you¡¯re going to learn someday.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, the three of you just shut up!¡± Gruntled Anne, she then hang the towel into Vale¡¯s shoulder and handed him the water bucket. ¡°Go wash yourself and put on some new clothes. You reek.¡±


    She stormed out of the room and said that she will be back in a few minutes.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Asked Xavier while a frown stered on his face.


    ¡°On the hall, while waiting for Vale to finish washing and fully clothes.¡± She said to Xavier, but before she close the door once again, he hold the door handle and offer himself to apany her, ¡°Alright, I just want to go to the hall though.¡±


    ¡°No, let¡¯s go to buy some supper. There¡¯s a famous bakery near the barrack.¡± He then shes her a bright smile, where his golden eyes glitter with happiness, ¡°I am starving.¡±


    Anne could never reject his offer, especially when he gave her those kinds of smiles. She agreed and both of them visited the bakery. She can smell the aromatic fresh bread and feast her eyes on the array of cakes and pastries. The bakery was indeed famous by the looks of how many people were getting into the line. Anne tried to enter the bakery, afraid that their famous moomilk bread will be gone from the shelves. She opened the door, but a body of a big man collided with her.


    She falls to the floor, and Xavier goes to her immediately, ¡°Are you alright, miss?¡± Said the man while offering her a hand. Anne doesn¡¯t have time to see his face and just took his hand. When their eyes met, she was in for a surprise.


    The handsome man with a tall build was smiling after he saw her face. ¡°Wait, miss River Anne?¡±


    She was gasping and couldn¡¯t believe her eyes. ¡°Oh God, Arthur, is that you?¡±

 Chapter 182 - 182 Dear brother (Part 3)

    182 Dear brother (Part 3)


    Xavier was eyeing the gentleman, who was having a conversation with Anne right now. He was ring at him like a hawk, even though he was a werewolf. Anne, on the other hand, was happy to see Arthur again. She was excited to talk to him after abruptly separating from the barrack.


    ¡°Oh wow, I saw you back then on the barrack and you told me you will being here to the capital,¡± Anne said to him while a smile came right on her face, Xavier hate it.


    Arthur reciprocated the smile and even touched Anne¡¯s shoulder even though it was briefly. Xavier had the thought to just transform into his wolf form and mangled on the arm that had touched Anne. He took the initiative to approach Anne and made a fake smile.


    ¡°Anne, I never know you have a friend?¡± Xavier was looking into Arthur from up and down. Arthur also does the same to the man. Somehow they know that they were rivals.


    Anne, still gullible about the two of them, just gave them a short introduction, ¡°Yes, this is Arthur, we met at a barrack in a small town when I was in the middle of going back to the capital with Henry and Sir Horden.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you never even mentioned the man? Probably forget about him, huh?¡± Xavier gave him a sassy remark, and Anne even had any answers, because, in her mind, that was actually the truth. She was forgotten about Arthurpletely.


    Arthur, don¡¯t even mind it, he smirked at Xavier and said, ¡°Well, it¡¯s alright Anne, I knew that our meeting was brief, but I¡¯m here to stay, so we will have plenty of time to catch up.¡±


    Xavier was so close to grabbing his cor and asking him into a brawl, thankfully Anne sense the tension between the two of them, she grabs into Xavier¡¯s arm and pull him inside the bakery, ¡°Come on Xavier, everyone¡¯s hungry, let¡¯s buy the bread and get back.¡± She looked at Arthur again and smile, ¡°Nice to meet you, Arthur.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you¡¯re living in the healer¡¯s barrack, am I right?¡± Asked Arthur before the two of them enter the bakery.


    .....


    ¡°Yes, of course, but I was busy though¡­ like¡­¡±


    He was pushing her and seemed doesn¡¯t want to hear any rejection, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll catch up on you sometimes, see you, Anne.¡± Arthur walks away while ring at Xavier, and not surprisingly, Xavier also does the same thing to him.


    When they went back from the bakery, Anne told them to wait in the living room while she prepared the sandwich for the three of them. Xavier took the chance to talk about Arthur with Henry. The knight captain was livid and curses a lot.


    ¡°So, the t*rd was able to see her, huh? Unbelievable.¡±


    Vale who was still a bit aloof, even a bit curious about the man, ¡°I¡¯ve heard a story about him, some of the new magi even idolize the man, I remember one of them said something about Arthur the hero of the Valorian. After he was defeating thatrge size monster on the Hoard.¡±


    ¡°What the? He just defeated one monster at the Hoard, and he was the kingdom¡¯s hero now?!¡± Chuckles Xavier still couldn¡¯t believe the story.


    ¡°He was defeating the big monster, alone, Xave, what should not be to believe?¡± Said Henry, full of sarcasm.


    Vale gave them a shrug. ¡°Well, probably the truth, though. The man is a beast and also a magic knight.¡±


    ¡°What is it with those magic knight people? Acting high and mighty all the time makes me sick!¡± Gruntled Henry.


    Vale and Xavier looked at each other. They know the words were not just for Arthur; it was also for Heirim, her younger sister who¡¯s now a captain on her own. Henry and Heirim have a bitter rtionship. They never close from the moment Heirim grew into a teenager. She always belittles her brother and never thinks him worthy of Spencer¡¯s name.


    ¡°Did you talk to your sister, yet?¡± Anne asked Henry while her hand was holding into his arm. They were in the middle of eating the sandwich on the dining table.


    Henry snorted when Anne asked about Heirim, ¡°No, thest time I had a long conversation with my sister was two years ago when I went on a journey with my grandfather.¡±


    Feeling sorry for him, Anne put her head on his shoulder, and the brooding knight captain has a small smile on his face, he likes the feel of her hair brushing into his skin. Vale and Xavier look at the two of them and only felt the warmness between them. They are beyond jealousy and boundary now, somehow, for the four of them, the young woman bes something that they can treasure together.


    At another time in the pce, Justice went straight into Jason¡¯s study room. His brother was in the middle of having a conversation with one of his staff. They turned his attention to Justice when he open the room door. Jason immediately orders his staff to leave them for a while, and he goes to give his brother a warm embrace.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯ve already been back. Good work to cover the false disease and the connection with fallen nobles.¡± Jason said to Justice when they finally settled into the living room.


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± Justice doesn¡¯t know how to say the words to his older brother until Jason himself saw how pale his brother¡¯s face was.


    ¡°Justice, what happened? Why are you looking so pale right now?¡±


    Justice took a nce at his brother while he put the dead body of Castor on the table. Jason jumped from his seat. ¡°Gods! Is that Castor?¡±


    ¡°Yes, he came to me and tell me something about our brother. He flew so hard to get into me, the poor bird.¡± Muttered Justice, while he brushed softly into the feathers of Castor.


    ¡°Justice, what happened to Javier? Tell me!¡± This time around, Jason was already panicking and demanded an answer from his younger brother.


    Suddenly, the door was open and came along Liberty with her three kings. She looks at her two sons, one by one.


    ¡°Jason, stop it! Justice doesn¡¯t know the whole story yet.¡± Said Liberty to her sons.


    The two of them turn around to see their mothere inside and put the bird in her embrace. ¡°Thank you, Castor, for everything that you have done.¡± She cried for the bird that risk his own life to give the crucial information to the royal family.


    ¡°Did Castore to you first, mother?¡± Asked Justice.


    Liberty nods her head, ¡°Yes, he just flew into my room and tell me all about it. I tried to hold him down, but he said that he needs to finish his duty to inform you as well.¡±


    Justice looked at his brother, then asked his mother again, ¡°So, what exactly happened to Javier?¡±

 Chapter 183 - 183 Founding clues

    183 Founding clues


    ¡°Mother! Did you know something that I don¡¯t know?¡±


    Justice was in the middle of having a conversation with his brother when their mother enter the study and interrupted them, knowing full well about what was happening to Javier. Liberty then asked all of them to sit, including her husband, who was with her all along.


    ¡°Javier was held captive by an unknown extremist group.¡± Said Liberty, while she massaged her temple.


    ¡°What about Amelia? Was she alright?¡± Asked Jason to Liberty.


    Liberty shared nces with all of her husbands and took a sigh, ¡°We know nothing so far, besides that they held Javier.¡±


    Leo, one of Justice¡¯s fathers embraced his wife, he also looks to Justice, ¡°Son, we were sorry that you have to be handled the false infection alone, you need to know, we tried as best as we could to go back here from Erdorian.¡±


    Erdorian is the farthest town from the capital, but also the secondrgest town after the capital. It takes a whole ten days to go there, and another ten days to go back to the capital. When the false infection begin to spread, they had already arrived at Erdorian, and when they came back, the whole case was already solved.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, at least we solved the case now. Let¡¯s just focus on Javier.¡± Justice smiled at his parents, trying to convince them that he was alright.


    As the crown prince of the vast kingdom, Justice bes an independent child almost immediately. Somehow, he knew how demanding his rank will be. The jealousy of his brothers, especially Javier, and he sometimes felt it in Jason as well. His parents sometimes forgot that he was one man alone and not a whole army.


    .....


    ¡°What should we do? And why they were targeting Javier?¡± Asked Jason, his face full of curiosity about this ordeal.


    ¡°As for now, we don¡¯t get any demand. They told us to wait for two days.¡± Ascend tells his son when he was pouring some drinks for all of them.


    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s odd, something tells me that it was more than just gaining a rare treasure from the inside of our vault.¡± Said Justice with his hand rubbing on his chin, he was trying to think thoroughly about his brother¡¯s case.


    Jason looks at his brother and at his mother. ¡°Did you know which way where Castor flew?¡±


    Edward was the one who answered Jason¡¯s question. ¡°I saw him fly from the south, pretty sure about this because I was on the balcony at that time.¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Asked Jason to his brother, Justice.


    ¡°Worth a try. Let¡¯s go investigate.¡± Justice immediately took his coat from the sofa. ¡°I¡¯ll contact Vale. We need his magica.¡±


    King Edward, hold Jason to go back into his seat. ¡°Let me go with you, son. I need to make sure of something.¡± He said to Justice after he gave a kiss to his beloved wife.


    Justice and Jason were puzzled by his request, butplied nheless. Justice and Edward took the horse, with four guards following them on the horses as well. They stop at the captain¡¯s barrack and he asked Edward to wait for a while.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be at the pub two blocks from here, be quick!¡± Said Edward to Justice. He galloped away with Justice looking at him from behind.


    When he entered Vale¡¯s room, all of them were in the living room without Anne.


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re back. That was fast.¡± Xavier said to him, while Justice looked around the room.


    ¡°Yes, I need to speak to Vale, by the way. Where¡¯s Anne?¡±


    Vale was looking at Justice. With a frown on his face, he answered his friend¡¯s question, ¡°Already back at her barrack, she begins her shift tomorrow, so I tell her to get some rest.¡± He shifted his body, curious about how Justice needed to see him. ¡°What happened? Why do you need to see me?¡±


    With a sigh, the crown prince drop himself to the sofa, ¡°Javier, he was being kidnapped.¡±


    Xavier, Henry, and Vale were stunned. They were focusing on him and trying to hear the whole story.


    ¡°What?! Really?! Oh my God! Justice, that was terrible!¡± Vale was indeed surprised. ¡°Who in the right mind was brave enough to kidnap royalty?¡±


    Rustling his hair, Justice then winced, ¡°Apparently one of the extremist groups did have some balls to kidnap my brother, and I need you to help me to search for some clues.¡±


    Xavier raised his right hand. ¡°Hold up, Vale¡­ Vale still needs to get his rest.¡±


    ¡°I am fine, Xave, I can handle this.¡± Vale was trying to convince his friend after the ident involving Anne.


    Scoffed at Vale, Xavier red intensely at the magi¡¯s primary captain. ¡°No, you¡¯re not! I saw how¡­¡±


    ¡°Xave! I am fine!¡± Shouted Vale at him.


    The atmosphere somehow got heavier than before. Vale was looking at Xavier, giving him a warning. Henry and Justice were afraid of getting into the two of them, while Xavier tried so hard to convince his friend. He gave up when Vale won¡¯t budge and decided to leave the room.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting back to my barrack, have my shift in the morning. Just¡­ Just be careful, alright?¡± He looks at Vale and gave him pats on his back.


    ¡°I will, Xave, don¡¯t worry.¡± Vale was smiling at him, trying to give Xavier some reassurance.


    Justice looks at Henry. ¡°What about you? Do you have your shift tomorrow?¡± He asked him, while they were waiting for Vale to change his clothes.


    Henry shook his head. ¡°No, I am sorry. I need to go back to my family¡¯s home before my shifts. Keep me updated, alright?¡±


    The two of them leave the barrack with Henry waving goodbye to them. After meeting with Edward at the pub, they continue the journey to the southern gate. Vale already cast a retrace spell and find out the bird actually flew from the southernke.


    ¡°Are you sure Castor wasing from theke?¡± Asked Edward to Vale.


    Vale, with the retrace spell still active, nods his head and points at the furthest way of theke. ¡°Yes, his majesty, Castor flew from the other side of theke. We need to cross theke to find a clue.¡±


    ¡°What should we do?¡± This time, the king asked his son¡¯s opinion on this matter.


    Justice took a deep breath and then said, ¡°Looks like we need to use the ship.¡±

 Chapter 184 - 184 The handsome magic knight

    184 The handsome magic knight


    ¡°Anne, good to see you back.¡±


    Andy was thrilled to see her again at the main hospital. It was almost noon when Anne met with Andy at the canteen; she has some time to get a meal before she checks on the patients. Anne gave him a warm hug, and they sat at the table together to enjoy the hot lunch of creamy meat soup with pastries.


    ¡°So, I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯re one of the heroes that uncovered chief ra¡¯s insidious plot!¡±


    All eyes are on them instantly, Anne winced and tried to calm Andy down, ¡°Alright Andy, that was enough, I am not a hero, all of us just helping the people as best as I can, besides¡­¡± She look around the room and whispered, ¡°Tomorrow is the funeral of our fallenrades, so please do have somepassion.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I forgot about that, my apology.¡± He apologizes, finally realizing his fault. ¡°Are you going to the funeral?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we got special permission. All of Nathan¡¯s team, I mean, all of us are going to the funeral.¡± Anne said to Andy while she munched her food faster. She doesn¡¯t have a lot of time. An older patient just came this morning. She got a hard time breathing and has terrible allergies. Anne needs to see her condition after applying some cream and oral medicine for her.


    Andy was amazed by how fast she was eating her food. ¡°Anne, you need to chew the food a bit slower. Your patient can wait for another ten minutes.¡±


    She doesn¡¯t even intend to listen to Andy, ¡°I am sorry Andy, I have some emergency patients that I need to check.¡±


    She waves goodbye to her friends and begins her round, checking on the sick baby with a cold in the maternity ward, continuing to the other building, and checking on the elder woman that wasing this morning. She open the curtain and saw a familiar person inside the room with the elderlydy.


    .....


    ¡°Arthur? What are you doing here?¡± Asked Anne when she looks at the big man who was sitting beside the elderdy.


    ¡°Anne, oh yes, you¡¯re working today. Uhm¡­ this is my former nanny who was living with us.¡± Arthur stood up from his seat and looked genuinely surprised.


    Anne looks at him with some amazement. ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know that you¡¯re a noble.¡±


    ¡°Just a country noble, and it doesn¡¯t even matter to me.¡± Said, Arthur. He sat back in his seat when Anne begin to check on the elderlydy.


    Anne was smiling. She could see that he was genuinely humble with her. She looks at the elderlydy again. ¡°Alright, so, miss¡­¡±


    ¡°Miss De, my name is De, miss healer.¡± The elderly woman looked at Anne and a warm smile came to her face.


    Anne reciprocates her smile, with her hold on miss De, ¡°Nice to meet you, miss De. My name is Anne. I am your healer that will treat your illness.¡±


    ¡°Oh, what a beautiful healer. So lucky to have you as my healer.¡± The nice elderly woman patted Anne¡¯s hand, and then turn to Arthur for a moment, ¡°Aren¡¯t we, Arthur?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we do, Nana De,¡± Arthur said to her nanny, calling her with his term of endearment. Anne snorted when she heard Arthur calling his former nanny with a term of endearment. The man noticed and put his hands on his hips, ¡°Oh,e on, I maybe an adult, but she will always be my nana.¡±


    ¡°Alright, fair assessment. Now, would you let us alone for now? I need, uhm¡­ to check on miss De¡¯s body.¡± Said Anne slowly, she open the room door and called for the helper that will assist her with the examination.


    ¡°She¡­ she will be alright?¡± Arthur asked her with his jacket on his arm. Anne gave him a smile and nodded to convince the young man, ¡°I will wait outside, then.¡±


    Anne chuckles when she looks at how awkward Arthur was, when she turned around, miss De smiling and said, ¡°I never saw Arthur like that before, I mean he was always confident in front of young women, but not in front of you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, he was just embarrassed that I asked him to go outside, that was all.¡± Anne was trying to evade the obvious questions from missing De. For Anne, right now wasn¡¯t a good time for a new romance, especially when her heart was already being taken by four remarkable men who she can¡¯t even have.


    After the examination, Anne calls for Arthur to go inside, the two of them eager to hear the verdict from her.


    ¡°Well, good news. It was definitely some kind of allergic reaction, and the medicine already working. We still need to observe you for a couple of days.¡± Anne informed the two of them, and gave her helper some note, ¡°Because we need to determine what is that you¡¯re allergic to.¡±


    ¡°In this old age of mine, I never thought that I still had some kind of allergic.¡± Miss De was baffled, and so does Arthur.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think nana was eating something new in the past few days though.¡± Said Arthur to Anne.


    Anne smiled at the two of them. ¡°Allergic reaction wasn¡¯t onlying from food, even touching something that you¡¯re allergic to will trigger your body¡¯s immune into a protection mode.¡±


    ¡°Wow, that was amazing, this is the first time I have heard this.¡± Arthur was indeed amazed by it, and his eyes were looking at Anne with adoration, ¡°That was wonderful, miss Anne, thank you to exin all of this to me.¡±


    Miss De saw how smitten Arthur was with her healer. ¡°Arthur, you shoulde here when you have some free time, alright? You know I hate to be alone.¡± Whispered miss De to him.


    Anne just smile and excused herself from the two of them. After checking on her patient, Anne was tempted to take a nap on her bed, but before she reached her room, a helper came and asked her to follow him.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Asked Anne to the helper.


    ¡°Chief Hale is calling for you, miss healer.¡± Said the helper.


    She was a bit surprised by this summons, but need to follow through, a bit curious about why chief Hale wanted to meet with her. When she arrived at his room, chief Hale was smiling and asked her to sit in the chair in front of his desk.


    ¡°Did you receive the special permission to leave tomorrow?¡± Asked chief Hale to her.


    Anne nodded her head to the chief, thinking that this was the news that she needs to hear. ¡°Yes, All of us receive the letter. Thank you for the special permission, chief¡­ So, I guess that was¡­¡±


    ¡°No¡­ No, miss Anne, I have another piece of news for you,¡± Chief Hale said to her. His hand sped on the table while he spoke to her, ¡°So, you remember about your pay cut? The pay cut actually came from chief Ca, and as we all know that she be a prime suspect in a heinous crime, the chiefs will rebuke the pay cut. You will get your full sry starting next month.¡±


    Anne was so happy to hear the news. She was strapped on coins for a moment, and this news couldn¡¯te early for her. ¡°Oh, thank you so much, chief Hale! You don¡¯t know how happy I am right now.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I still have one more news for you.¡± Said chief Hale, while raising his right hand.


    ¡°What? Uhm¡­ Please don¡¯t give me bad news after the good news.¡± Anne¡¯s shoulders dropped, and her heart be heavy with anticipation.


    Chief Hale handed her a pin, along with a wax-sealed letter, Anne looks at the pin and was gasping, chief Hale then said, ¡°Congrattions, as your major contribution to fighting the false infection and helping to put the criminals, we are decided to raise your rank. So, miss Anne, you¡¯re now a junior healer of a second rank.¡±

 Chapter 185 - 185 A dark fairytale

    185 A dark fairytale


    A solemn funeral is being held for all the victims of the false infection. Anne was sitting with Nathan and Leo, outside of the MoonSun temple. Leo tried so hard not to cry. He was a mess. Anne even needs to drag him from his bunk bed so that he can join them at the funeral.


    She holds his hand, trying tofort him, even for a bit.


    ¡°Stop it, Anne, I was trying so hard here.¡± Whispered Leo at her.


    ¡°You can do it, I¡¯ll be here for you, Leo.¡± Said Anne, her hand now holding tight to Leo¡¯s hand.


    The MoonSun temple is the main temple in the Valorian kingdom, while some people like to say plural words for God, which means that they worship more than one deity, and if they just say some singr word, meant they worship the main deity only. The MoonSun God is the main deity in the kingdom of Valorian. That¡¯s why every funeral and wedding is always being held at the MoonSun temple.


    The temple priest begins to sing the ck melody, the song to honor the dead who were passing into the afterlife.


    ¡°To the Gods, to the MoonSun, where all of us will submit and go,


    For the honors of the Moon God, the bride of the Sun God, hear our wish, save them from despair,


    To the Gods, to the MoonSun, when the time hase for us,


    .....


    For the love of the Sun God, the groom of the Moon God, protect our being, guide us to the path.¡±


    Everyone hears the chant that will be delivered to all the victims. Anne saw the empress was with prince Jason for today. They are sitting on the high balcony, listening solemnly to the chant. It seems Justice is still on his journey to find the clue. Anne knew about the journey when Kirara came to her room in the barrack. The direwolf was waiting beside her shack while she was in the middle of nting some herbs.


    Finally deciding to join the garden club, and was able to acquire two medium nters for herself. She wanted to make an herb garden for her need to brew her own medicine. Kirara caught her when Anne was in the middle of enjoying her time nting some new herbs.


    ¡®Miss Anne.¡¯ Said the familiar.


    Anne was screaming. She turned around quickly to see the direwolf sitting beside her shack. ¡°Oh, my God! Kirara! You almost gave me a fright!¡±


    ¡®I am sorry, miss Anne, but my master wanted to give you a message. He will leave the capital to find any clues about his brother¡¯s disappearance.¡¯


    ¡°Oh, Justice was leaving the capital again? seems like he was never inside the capital for more than a week.¡± Anne was chuckling, trying to make a joke, but she remembered, whenever he was on a journey, danger always came lurking, ¡°Just¡­ Just tell him to be safe, alright.¡±


    ¡®Yes, miss Anne, and I do have one more piece of information for you.¡¯


    Anne was intrigued. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡®Sir Vale will join us for this expedition, along with king Edward.¡¯


    Gasping, and enrage, Anne curses when she heard the news, ¡°What?! Oh, that stubborn magi!¡± She raised her hand to Kirara and rushed into her shack. Shees back with three sets of vials to Kirara. ¡°Please, can you bring this for Vale and Justice? This one Vial is a sleeping drought so Vale can get into a deep sleep, while these two are tonic for Justice and Vale.¡±


    Kirara tilted his headically. ¡®How am I going to carry these, miss Anne?¡¯


    ¡°Oh, by using this!¡± Anne brought a bundle of cloth that she then put on Kirara¡¯s neck. ¡°Now, I trust you can carry this safely, Kirara?¡±


    ¡®I¡­ I really hope I will, miss.¡¯


    A smile bloomed on Anne¡¯s face. She brushed into Kirara¡¯s soft fur and even gave him a hug. ¡°You will seed, Kirara.¡±


    That was two days ago before she go back to her shifts. Now, she doesn¡¯t even know where are Justice and Vale were, and only hopes that the two of them will be alright.


    ¡°I always hate this song.¡± Said Nathan to her.


    Anne turned her attention to her senior. ¡°Why? Because it was for a funeral, senior?¡±


    Nathan shakes his head. ¡°Not really. It was more of a morbid curiosity of mine about the legend of the MoonSun.¡±


    ¡°Legend? What legend?¡± Now, this is something that Anne never heard before.


    ¡°More like a fairytale than a legend,¡± Said Nathan to her. He tried to remember the details of the story. ¡°You know that the Moon is the bride of the Sun, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, when the two of them join in one, the new kingdom of Valorian emerges. We study this at the primary school.¡± In fact, this is the first knowledge that Anne had gotten in her days as a student in this new world.


    ¡°Yes, but there was actually a dark rumor about the story, some sort of dark fairytale.¡± Nathan exined to her, this time he was more excited than before, ¡°In this dark fairytale, the Moon actually trying to leave the Sun.¡±


    ¡°Why? Because she was fed up with bing Sun bride all the time?¡± Said Anne with a bit of joking around.


    Snorted, Nathan was grinning for a bit, ¡°No, not because of that, Well, Moon probably left the Sun because Moon doesn¡¯t want to be Sun¡¯s bride anymore,¡± Nathan said to his junior, while they were still trying to focus at the priest, ¡°But, not because Moon was fed up with Sun, but because Moon was in love with someone.¡±


    ¡°Oh wow, a love story? Really? How ssic.¡± Now, she mixed sarcasm for a bit.


    ¡°Not this time, it wasn¡¯t a happy ending, because when the Sun knew the truth, the Sun then banished the Moon and cursed the Moon to walk the life of a condemned without even knowing how to love, or even feel.¡± Nathan¡¯s face turns to Anne, and he dramatically said, ¡°The End.¡±


    Anne was shivering. Somehow, this dark fairytale was getting into her more than she should. Both of them went quiet for a while. They tried to focus on the procession instead, and when the funeral was over, she go back to her shift, somehow trying to forget about the fairytale that she was just heard earlier.

 Chapter 186 - 186 How to mend a past relationship

    186 How to mend a past rtionship


    Xavier attended the funeral as the representative of the huntsman, along with Da and one other huntsman, they were sitting in the middle row, but his eyes still catches on Anne who was sitting in the front seat with all the family of the victims. He saw Anne trying tofort Leo, who was a mess up and having a conversation with Nathan.


    He never catches on to any of the prayers, because his eyes never waiver from the beautiful young woman in front, the young woman with her long purple hair, who always catches his attention.


    ¡°Makes you think a lot about life, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Da was whispering through him.


    Xavier turn his attention to her and scoffed, ¡°What¡¯s with you and a sudden interest about life?¡±


    Da shrugged and smirked at her captain, ¡°Probably having a lover really rubbed on me.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, where is he, anyway?¡± Xavier asked her, while looking around.


    ¡°He wasn¡¯ting. Something about his beloved primary captain stuff.¡± Gruntled Da at Xavier.


    ¡°Oh,e on, it wasn¡¯t that bad. At least you have some alone time with him, once in a while. Am I right?¡± Xavier reminds her, trying not to be jealous about their loving rtionship.


    ¡°Oh,e on cap, you have her.¡± Said Da while her finger pointed at Anne, ¡°What is wrong with you? Just confessed already.¡±


    .....


    ¡°It¡¯s not that simple.¡± Argued Xavier at her.


    Scoffing at Xavier, Da shook her head in disbelief. ¡°Oh, really? Howe? Care to exin it to me?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ look it¡¯s justplicated, alright?¡± Xavier couldn¡¯t even give her a good reason, because of the secret that they kept between themselves about Anne¡¯s story.


    ¡°I need to tell you something, then if you and the other three stubborn friends of yours don¡¯t have any courage. Someone bound to take an interest in her. She is one of the most beautiful girls that I have ever saw, she is also smart and humble.¡± Da gave him a piece of her mind. She got restless whenever she looks at her best friends with these four prominent men.


    Xavier huffed his breath, rolled his eyes, and spoke to Da with a re, ¡°I know, just as much, so your point is?¡±


    ¡°My point is, if all of you never take some action at her, I am sure the other will surely be happy to rece you in her heart.¡± Da gave Xavier the same re, she will never back down from this debate, ¡°My best friend needs someone that could give her a life and happiness, not someone who just thinks to give her a casual flirt and then disappear only toe back and make the same mistake.¡±


    Xavier felt a pang of guilt. He tried to exin to Da that the decision wasing from Anne, but he was also guilty of not trying to hold her tightly and making it work for all of them. Instead, they let her go and me her for all of their misery.


    When the funeral procession ended, Xavier excused himself from his team. Da called for him, but the only thing that he said was he was trying to cut any loose ends. The house that Xavier visited after the funeral was a cozy townhouse belongs to a merchant. When a maid open the front door, he asked her if he could meet with the youngdy of the house. How surprised the youngdy was when she looked at Xavier in her living room.


    ¡°Xavier, what are you doing here?¡± Said Yasmine with a frown on her face.


    Xavier stood up from his seat. ¡°I came here to hear your reason, and also to apologize.¡±


    Chuckling, Yasmine asked him to take a seat and after they gotfortable, the young woman began to speak, ¡°It was me who need to apologize to you for almost trapping you into a loveless marriage.¡± Her teary eyes stared into the cold firece. ¡°I was in love with you, and my feelings turn into an obsession. I tried so hard to win your heart, but knowing about the beautiful healer that you were being in love with makes me thought I don¡¯t have any ce in your heart.¡±


    ¡°Yasmine¡­ I am sorry.¡± He felt sorry for her. He felt he was leading her on when he thought he lost Anne forever. The only thing that he can do was drink and flirt.


    Yasmine shakes her head, ¡°No, it was me, Xavier, after I failed to make love with you that night, I was so desperate that I took a chance on some random man that I met in the pub, he is the father of this baby.¡± Said Yasmine while caressing her tummy.


    ¡°Did he know? About his baby?¡± Asked Xavier to Yasmine.


    ¡°Yes, he knows. I tell him everything after I received your letter.¡± Yasmine answered the question with a face that he could describe as happiness, ¡°In fact, we are getting married soon.¡±


    Xavier¡¯s face perked up. This is a piece of very good news for her. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear! Congrattions, Yasmine.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, and he is a good man. Actually, he was my childhood friend, a shy man, but look at me wearing our engagement ring.¡± Yasmine¡¯s bright smile makes Xavier heave a sigh of relief. She then said something to Xavier, ¡°Xavier, tell Anne about your feeling, I don¡¯t know if it will be reciprocated or not, but at least you¡¯ll know.¡±


    A bittered smile came on his face, ¡°God! What a day. I have twodies who gave me rtionship advice.¡±


    Theyughed after hearing about hisint, and the two of them have some small talk for an hour before Xavier went home. At the front door, they shook hands.


    ¡°I¡¯ll invite you to my wedding, make sure you attend it with Anne,¡± Yasmine shouted while waving her hand at Xavier.


    Xavier looks at the streetlight where the orbs begin to glow, the afternoon almost disappears, and a new day for him will also begin.


    A month went by, and Anne was having a very busy day at the hospital, Leo was actually pretty worried for her, when they have some time to eat the food, his concern begin when he saw how Anne was alwayste to eat her food, or not even consumed enough food, her already slim figure now be more prominent.


    ¡°Anne, would you please add more nutrition? Seriously, girl!¡± He was grunting when he looks at Anne¡¯s meal. One bread with a bowl of creamy soup.


    ¡°This is nutritious enough, Leo, what do you mean?¡± Answered Anne with a shrug.


    ¡°I gave up, and by the way, captain Arthur came in again, at least said something to him, Anne,¡± Leo spoke with a grumble. He was too fed up with how intensely Arthur was trying to catch her attention.


    ¡°I will speak to him, sorry Leo,¡± Anne whispered with a small smile on her face.


    ¡°Oh, the two of you are here! Good.¡± Nathan approached the two of them. He looks at the food on the table. ¡°Go to chief Hale¡¯s office when you¡¯re done with your food.¡±


    Leo and Anne shared a nce. When you need to go into the chief office, which means there¡¯s something important happening. They eat as fast as they could, and when the two of them entered the office, Anne was surprised to see Arthur, Henry, Brom, and Xavier inside chief Hale¡¯s office.


    Nathan asked them to go inside. Chief Hale was looking a bit pale. He let out a sigh after looking around the room. ¡°I hope all of you will be prepared to hear this news.¡±


    Anne was nervous, there was something important that happening, important and probably not a good news.

 Chapter 187 - 187 The rescue team (Part 1)

    187 The rescue team (Part 1)


    Chief Hale stands up from his seat and talks to all of them. ¡°Listen up! King Edward, Crown Prince Justice, and theirpany went into the search for the missing prince Javier.¡± He looks around and begins to speak again, ¡°Three days ago, they finally have some breakthrough and nned to set home to take an army and set up provisions¡­ However, another letter came not long after, they couldn¡¯t reach home and tell us to be prepared for an attack.¡±


    ¡°What?! So they were held captive?! In some unknown area?!¡± Henry was furious. He sat anxiously, giving Anne time to put her hand on his thigh, enough to make him calm.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Henry, calm down, we know nothing yet.¡± Said Anne to the manic knight captain.


    Arthur saw the two of them, and a sh of jealousy came into his eyes. Xavier even smirked at him, while he approached Anne by putting his shoulder close enough to hers. In one month, these two always tried so hard to vie for Anne¡¯s attention, something that Anne was fed up with.


    Chief Hale continued on, ¡°I have already spoken to the empress. The gate is already being strengthened, and we called all the best guards and knights to go into the capital.¡±


    ¡°Then what about us? I am sure you are not calling us just to inform us about this.¡± Nathan leans on the bookcase, looking directly at chief Hale.


    Chief Hale nods his head, ¡°Yes, As for the part of my conversation with Empress Liberty, she decided to make a rescue team, knights, Magi, Huntsman, and the healer¡¯s group, and this time she requested to put magic knight as well.¡±


    ¡°Oh, fancy, I thought magic knights always work alone?¡± This time, it was Leo who spoke. People tend to not like the magic knight, hence because they are powerful and rare. Not to mention they have double the sry than the other jobs.


    Arthur turn his attention to Leo, and a smile appeared on his face, ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, magic knight also has some hobby to talking with other people. We are not just some lonely creature.¡±


    .....


    Anne snorted, while Leo was disgusted by his remark, chief Hale shakes his head and begin to hand the paper to everyone, ¡°This is your letter of order directly from the empress herself, keep that so you could go into every inn and store, free of charge.¡±


    Reading the letter of order, Anne saw the stamp and the sign from the Empress in golden ink. She put the paper carefully in her pocket. Arthur stared at her and she could feel the heating from him. She tried so hard not to look at him directly.


    ¡°Captain Brom, Captain Henry, Captain Xavier, and Captain Arthur, I¡¯m afraid you must go alone without your subordinates, and for Senior healer Nathan, you can only bring your junior second rank with you, which are miss Anne and mister Leo.¡± Chief Hale talks to all of them and then pointed at the moonsun dial, ¡°I give all of you two hours to pack and gather at the southern gate, there will be further instruction there, I bid you all good luck.¡±


    They left chief Hale as soon as possible. Xavier and Henry hold Anne¡¯s hands, preventing her from walking away.


    ¡°We will pick you up in one hour, alright?¡± Henry kind of ordered him, and with how he delivered his words, there will be no questions asked.


    Anne took a nce at Leo, who was now running away from theplication, and just gave her a wish of good luck. ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll be waiting.¡± Said Anne with a sigh.


    The two gentlemen, satisfied with her answer, finally let her go and walk away to pack their belonging. Arthur, who saw everything, approached her afterward.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired of how they were treating you?¡± Arthur asked her, he seems upset to see Henry and Xavier were forcing something on Anne.


    Anne took a nce at him and almost says that he was also doing the same thing to her, but she prefer to make it a civil approach. ¡°They just thought it was the best for me, that was all. Now, please excuse me, Arthur, we need to pack.¡±


    She left him in the hall, alone with his own thoughts. Anne just couldn¡¯t deal with all of them right now, and at least she will have an hour to deal with them once more. She went back to her staff room first and saw Nathan talking with her teammates.


    ¡°Ah, there you are. I want you to take these lists to the supply room, and afterward, go straight to the barracks and pack.¡± Nathan gave her the list, as his face began to gloom. ¡°Another¡­ danger, when this is going to be over, I mean¡­¡±


    She knows what Nathan is trying to say. He was tired of all of this fighting. Anne rubbed his back, supporting his senior. She knows the feeling all too well.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be going then, senior, let us meet up at the gate.¡±


    Nathan nodded his head. ¡°I¡¯lle home. When I finished gave them the new shift list.¡±


    After she handed the list to the supply room, Anne need to wait for another half an hour for all the items on the list, she gruntled but what she can do; they need the supplies to take on the journey.


    ¡°Oh, miss Anne, fancy meeting you here?¡±


    Anne turn her head and saw miss De, walking towards her with a cane. She smiled at her. Miss De was already released after she took a test to see what kind of items or food she was allergic to. Anne saw the cane and asked her.


    ¡°Oh, this is a new walking stick. I remember the one that you have before, the red oak. Am I right?¡±


    Miss De sighed. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t use it anymore, dear. Turns out I was allergic to red oak.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, miss De. I knew how much you like the cane.¡± Said Anne with a sad face.


    ¡°Oh, no worries dear, It is fascinating to see that I have these allergies though.¡±


    Anne smiled at her once again. ¡°There¡¯s even a nt that almost everyone is allergic to, so you never know.¡±


    Miss De giggled at her. In Anne¡¯s eyes, she really is such a nice elderdy. ¡°That was fascinating. I was learning so much from you. Oh, I must go now. Let us meet sometime, alright.¡±


    They parted ways, and after half an hour, Anne could finally pack her clothes. One hourter, Xavier and Henry were already waiting in the lounge area. They looked at her with such annoyance.


    ¡°We have told you in one hour. What took you so long?¡± Gruntled Henry, but he took her luggage, anyway.


    ¡°Well, I am sorry. I need to restock for the journey!¡± She actually doesn¡¯t feel sorry about it, and Xavier knew. He gave her a smile while he shakes his head in disbelief.


    ¡°Come on then, we have a long journey ahead of us.¡± Said Xavier to her while he open the carriage door for her.


    The new journey begins this time. Will it be as hard as the previous one or maybe more than that?

 Chapter 188 - 188 The Rescue team (part 2)

    188 The Rescue team (part 2)


    They finally arrived at the southern gate. Anne prefers to wait at the guard tower, along with Nathan and Leo, while Xavier, Brom, and Henry were discussing the best transportation to reach thest ce where Justice was hiding.


    ¡°Thest time, Justice sent his message was through Kirara and the only thing that he said was about him, his father, and Vale hiding on one part of the Bornego ind,¡± Henry spoke to everyone when Arthur just came inside, his eyes were ring at the magic knight captain at the moment. ¡°You hear us, Arthur?¡±


    ¡°Loud and clear!¡± Said Arthur with a salute.


    This tension between Henry and Xavier towards Arthur bes deeper after they knew his intention against Anne. Even though the healer herself, she thought of Arthur as her new friend and nothing more than just a friend.


    ¡°Alright, so we need ess to a ship, Bornego ind is two days by ship, I already contact one of the small private ships, it will be ready on the fishing town which is three hours from here,¡± Henry instructed everyone, while looking at the captains who joined him below the tower, he already spoken to Nathan and his team, and right now, time is of the essence. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go! We can purchase supplies at the fishing town.¡±


    Arthur was looking around, trying to find one person. ¡°Where¡¯s Anne?¡±


    Xavier scoffed. He just couldn¡¯t believe how brash he was. ¡°Wow, really, champ? She was upstairs with the other healers. They will go in a carriage while the rest of us will ride a horse. So, probably just minding your own business.¡±


    Arthur smiles, but with gritted teeth, he approaches Xavier, with a re in his eyes. Both of them have the same build. Although Arthur has a broader shoulder than Xavier, which will never make the werewolf whimper in fear.


    ¡°Oh,e on you two!¡± Brom wasining, he rolled his eyes and gruntled, ¡°I will tell the healers that we are leaving, both of you¡­ Just go take your horses and deal with whatever you two are havingter!¡±


    .....


    Henry pulled Xavier away from Arthur and took him into the stable. Xavier pushed Henry and scolded him.


    ¡°What is wrong with you?!¡± Yelled Henry at Xavier.


    Xavier rustled his long hair and frustratingly screamed at Henry, ¡°Did you see how arrogant that magic knight was? I hate it when he always asked or needs to be closed to Anne!¡±


    ¡°Get it¡­ together, Xave!¡± Henry put his hands on Xavier¡¯s shoulder. ¡°We need to be level-headed right now. We can¡¯t let our emotions get into the best of us, not when Justice and Vale needed us.¡±


    Xavier closes his eyes for a moment and then nods his head, ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ You¡¯re right, I was too worked up by the sight of that d*mn magic knight, since he saw her, he bes so relentlessly in pursuit of¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey! Hey! Look at me Xave. Trust Anne, she is not the type of girl who came to liking a guy almost immediately.¡± Henry tried to convince his friend, even though he also has his own doubt, but for him, the safety of Justice and Vale is his priority and nothing else. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s take our horse and get into the ship as soon as possible.¡±


    As the other two gentleman goes to prepare their horses, Anne walks downstairs with Brom. He helped her put the supplies in the carriage, and when Anne was trying to enter the carriage, Brom pulled her aside. Leo and Nathan look at them, wondering how he needs to step aside.


    ¡°Hey, we are in a kind of hurry right now!¡± Shouted Nathan to Brom.


    Brom waved his hand, ¡°It¡¯s only for a second.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Brom? You kind of scared me out right now.¡± Anne whispered to her friend, she took nced at Leon and Nathan who were waiting for her to enter the carriage.


    ¡°It is about the moonlight monster. I finally found their nest.¡± Said Brom at her.


    ¡°Really? We can talk about thister on, you know?!¡± Anne was furious. She knows how tactless Brom can be sometimes.


    ¡°Anne, the nest is in Bornego ind, we can finally have some information about our problem!¡± He was ted while our heroine was already fed up with him.


    ¡°Alright Brom, that is a good news, now, can we go?¡± Said Anne with a forced smile on her face.


    He finally let go of the purple hair healer and go to the stable. When Leo asked her what happened, he only answered that came from Anne¡¯s mouth that Brom got a shiny new spell that he need to show to her. Nathan shakes his head and orders them to go inside the carriage. The rescue team goes to the fishing vige of Kapaltaru, where the small ship will be ready to take them to Bornego ind.


    The road is clear, and while the captains using the horses, the healers were inside the carriage, putting their supplies in their medicine bags.


    ¡°We brought so much medicine. Howe senior Nathan needs this much?¡± Leo had difficulty putting the medicine and medical supplies inside his bag.


    Anne shrugged her shoulder. ¡°I don¡¯t know. You should ask him. All I was doing is to go to the supplies room with the list that he wrote.¡±


    Leo was stopping, his eyes then looking directly towards Anne. ¡°What did you just say? He¡­ make a list?¡±


    Anne looks back at Leo, with all the questions inside her head, ¡°Yeah¡­ he¡­ he gave me the list and I even need to wait for thirty minutes for it.¡±


    Leo went quiet, but afterward, just begin to work again. They get all the medicines and medical supplies in their bags and also at Nathan, and Leo even need to put in another bag to put the rest of the supplies. For the rest of the journey, he never spoke anymore until they finally reached Kalpataru. Nathan opens the door for them, but before he could approach the other captains, Leo holds Nathan¡¯s arm and forced the senior healer to stop.


    ¡°Tell me the truth, senior¡­¡± Leo asked Nathan while ring at him. ¡°This is not just some rescue mission, am I right?¡±


    Anne was baffled. She asked Leo the meaning of his words, ¡°What did you mean?¡±


    Leo took a nce at her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you get it? This many supply means one thing, we are going into a battlefield.¡±

 Chapter 189 - 189 The rescue team (part 3)

    189 The rescue team (part 3)


    ¡°Leo, please, be quiet!¡± Nathan tried to calm his junior, his eyes nced at all the captains who were in the middle of taking care of their horses. ¡°Look, let us talk inside. I¡¯ll exin everything.¡±


    They were actually waiting for the ship at the inn with ake view. Nathan ushered his juniors to the corner table, hoping the other captains will leave him alone for now. He orders some food and drinks for the three of them and while they are waiting, he begins to exin everything.


    ¡°Chief Hale summoned me first, before the other captains. He told me that the empress got a very peculiar letter from a certain¡­ Extremist group.¡±


    Leo was angry. He mmed the table and look fiercely at his senior. ¡°F*ck, senior, this is not some unusual situation.¡±


    ¡°I know, Leo, what can I say? Chief Leo wanted me to shut my mouth for now.¡± Nathan massaged his temple. He was already stressing out.


    ¡°Howe chief Hale needs to keep this a secret? Was it because of the empress?¡± Asked Anne to Nathan.


    Nathan shook his head, ¡°I truly don¡¯t know, the only thing that I know was the extremist group imed that they have the crown prince, along with prince Javier, andrge numbers of their army wille to the capital to destroy the rest of the royalties.¡±


    ¡°Oh, my God! So, Just¡­ I mean the crown prince was already captured by them?!¡± Now, Anne is panicking, she maintained her calm exterior earlier, thinking that Justice and Vale were fine and probably hiding somewhere, but turned out, there was another im about him.


    Leo hold her hand, and softly spoke to her friend, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he will be fine¡­ They will be fine, have some trust in their abilities.¡±


    .....


    Anne looks at her friend. She was grateful that Leo was always there for her. In just a couple of months, they already be such a best friend, that Leo could grieve silently with Anne by his side. Anne could also count on Leo as her best friend whom she can rely on inside the main hospital.


    ¡°Look, I was tired, and I bet the two of you also feel the same. We were on our shift when this new mission came to us, so, let us eat and drink in silence, alright?¡± Nathan was grumbling. Since the false infection case, the rather heartwarming senior was disappearing in their very eyes.


    ¡°Let¡¯s call for a truce. I was kind of hungry as well.¡± Leo patted Anne on her back. He tried to lighten up the mood for a bit.


    Anne agreed, there will be plenty of time to discuss this on the ship, they need to reach Kalpataru ind in two days after all. They enjoyed some butterbread and moomilk. Anne once again doesn¡¯t have much to eat, Leo put another loaf of bread on her te.


    ¡°Eat, or I will force you to eat it by any means necessary.¡± He red at Anne, and the girl nods immediately. Leo took a sigh. ¡°Seriously, Anne, you need to eat properly. Remember, we are going to¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you done?¡± Said a voice from the front door of the inn.


    The three of them turn around and saw Henry with his hands folded on his chest.


    ¡°Almost. I need to pay for the food and drink.¡± Says Nathan to him. As usual, there¡¯s rarely a trace of a smile on his face.


    Henry nodded his head, ¡°Just use the letter of order from the empress.¡±


    Nathan disagrees with Henry. ¡°No, this is not the right time. I¡¯ll use my own money.¡±


    In fact, that Henry knows nothing makes Nathan a bit cautious. They go into the port, where everyone was already waiting. Xavier took Anne¡¯s hand before Arthur could do something. Leo just rolled his eyes, looking at their action. He was one of the witnesses of how ridiculous these two men were in the past month.


    ¡°Should we go to our designated room for now?¡± Nathan gives every captain a key, while Leo and Anne follow him into a room.


    ¡°Wait, hold up!¡± Arthur stopped the group from walking any further. ¡°Where is Anne¡¯s room?¡±


    ¡°Arthur, I¡¯m going to sleep with them. That¡¯s why we are using thergest bedroom, which will be three beds inside.¡± Anne answered his question. She smiles awkwardly at the magic knight captain.


    Arthur was stunned. He stuttered when he tried to speak to her after Anne gave her a simple answer, ¡°But¡­ but you¡¯re a young woman, and they are¡­¡±


    ¡°And we don¡¯t care. Anne is our colleague. Guess magic knight doesn¡¯t know this kind of family by their duty thing.¡± Leo pushes the magic knight away, even giving him a stinky eye, he also pulls Anne away, while the others just chuckle at this drama, ¡°Dear captain of the magic knight, please, go down from your high horse and let us get some rest, we are already exhausting from our shift.¡±


    Brom grabs Arthur¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Look, we do know that for a magic knight, you always have the privilege of your own tent, probably that¡¯s why you never care to see how the others need to share a tent, especially the healers since they need to put their patients above all.¡± He then patted the shoulder and looks at the magic knight captain once again before leaving him alone. ¡°Oh yeah, you¡¯re sharing the room with me.¡±


    Arthur was in disbelief. As the magic knight, he was having a privilege that no other jobs have. In every mission, if one of them joined, they will have their own tent, even though not as posh as the royalty¡¯s tent. This kind of treatment is unbeknown to the magic knight, especially Arthur, with the rank of captain.


    Henry and Xavier walk away from Arthur. Xavier even winked at him and said, ¡°Wee to our level, dear magic knight. Hope you enjoy your stay.¡±


    When both of them enter their room, they could onlyugh. Henry sat on the only chair in their room, and Xavier drop himself to the lower bunk bed. Both of them wereughing at Arthur, even Henry, whoes from the nobility, and hates to be surrounded by any kind ofvish lifestyle. Justice also felt the same, and that was the reason both of them are best friends since childhood.


    ¡°That d*mn magic knight always looks themselves better than their own royalty. Seriously, even Justice will never think twice about sharing a bedroom with anyone if he has to.¡± Xavier mumbled, still a bit upset at the earlier incident.


    Henry chuckles at him, ¡°Justice will abhor such an entitlement, that¡¯s why he never like Javier¡¯s pompous act.¡±


    They converse for another hour, even hearing the whistle of the ship. When they finally leave the port, both of them already grew tired and almost fell asleep, but then.


    ¡°Henry, Xavier, can Ie in?¡± Anne¡¯s voice wasing from the other side of their bedroom door.


    Xavier and Henry took nced at each other. Henry opens the door for her. He let her go inside and even took some time to see if someone probably saw her. Henry closed the door and asked her to sit in the chair.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no one saw me here.¡± She said to Henry, while her eyes going to Xavier and Henry, nervously, Anne cleared her throat and said, ¡°I need to tell you, guys, something. Justice and Vale probably were in danger right now. They¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait, Anne, we know.¡± Xavier cut her sentences. He approached her and hold her hand. ¡°We know about them because Justice himself already told us.¡±

 Chapter 190 - 190 For the information to be secret

    190 For the information to be secret


    ¡°Tell me, what exactly happened on that ind? What happened to the two of them?¡±


    Anne was surprised by this and still needs to process this new information. Henry and Xavier shared nces. They never tried to keep this secret from her, especially if it¡¯s involving the four of them. Xavier cleared his throat and volunteered to be the one who tells her everything.


    ¡°Justice was, in fact, sending a letter to his mother, empress Liberty, but he also sent us Kirara. As you already know, using familiar is faster than using the mail.¡± He stopped for a moment to look at Anne¡¯s reaction after she convinced him to continue, he spoke once again, ¡°Justice told us that he was in fact hiding with Vale in a remote area on the ind, king Edward and Xander were also with them, sadly they lost all the guards.¡±


    ¡°Wait, so even though they weren¡¯t captured, they were still in grave danger, then?¡± Said Anne, she looks at the two of them with a horrified expression. ¡°Should we tell the others? I mean, we need all the help that we can get, right?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea for now.¡± Xavier tried to warn Anne, ¡°Remember, we know nothing about this extremist group, and we never knew if one of them, excluding Brom, is part of this extremist group?¡±


    ¡°Xavier¡¯s right, the only one we can trust beside us here is Brom,¡± Henry told Anne, while he pour water from a drinking ss. As usual, he was still agitated about going to sleep, and the recurring nightmare was always there, haunting him whenever he tried to rx.


    Anne could see how tired he is, she hold into his hand and whispered, ¡°Would you like me to be here until you sleep?¡±


    He looks at her with bewilderment, ¡°Would you¡­ Would you do that for me?¡±


    Anne smiles and nods her head. ¡°Of course, if I could help, of course, I will do that.¡±


    .....


    Xavier rustled his hair. ¡°Well, it means I will sleep in the upper bunk bed now.¡±


    Half an hour passed by, Henry unexpectedly sleeping soundly, with Anne by his side, her hand sometimes brushing into his forehead whenever he winced and groaned in his sleep. Finally, an hourter, after she is convinced Henry will get some decent sleep, Anne goes back to her own room and gets some sleep as well.


    She woke up when the red sound of the ship¡¯s horn came inside the room.


    ¡°Hey, good morning sleepy head.¡± Leo was smiling at Anne. He was in the middle of enjoying his caftea with a book in his hand while he sat on the chair.


    ¡°What time is it?¡± Asked Anne. She felt a little dizzy, she thought, maybe from theck of sleep.


    ¡°It¡¯ste, people already ate breakfast and waiting for lunch, so you probably could have some brunch if you go to the kitchen right now.¡± Leo looks at her with some annoyance on his face, he prayed that Anne would ept his offer for her to take some brunch.


    ¡°I guess, you¡¯re right, I am starving right now.¡± Muttered Anne.


    He looks at her and approaches her immediately, ¡°Wait, let me look at you.¡± Leo begins to check on her face, ¡°Hmm¡­ Anemic, your face is so pale. Did you sleep inte hourst night?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ Uhm¡­ I guess I was too invested in reading the new herbs dictionary, kind of forget the time.¡± Said Anne nervously at Leo.


    Leo squinted his eyes at his friends, suspicious of his friend. ¡°Right¡­ so, reading, huh?¡±


    Anne rolled her eyes. ¡°Oh, just shut up, Leo. Let me take a shower first and we can go to the kitchen together.¡±


    ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll be waiting in the kitchen, ordering some food for both of us, alright?!¡± Shouted Leo at Anne who is already going to the public bathroom outside the room.


    She took a turn left and suddenly collided with the hard body of someone.


    ¡°Anne, we should stop seeing each other like this.¡±


    She looks up and saw Arthur grinning at her. Anne just couldn¡¯t handle him at the moment.


    ¡°Arthur, fancy meeting you here.¡± Said Anne when he helped her stand up.


    He looks at her and once again the admiration expression was there, ¡°Yeah, just took my shower. I didn¡¯t see you at breakfast, though?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Just get up, so will you excuse me? I need to get my shower now.¡± She tried to get away from Arthur, but, stubbornly, he held onto her arms.


    ¡°Wait, Anne, I need to ask you something. It was aboutst night¡­ I¡­ I am sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to mock everyone, especially you.¡±


    Letting out a sigh, Anne smile at him. ¡°Look, we do know that magic knights have all the perks that other jobs couldn¡¯t even dream of. I understand that, truly, but you need to understand our situation as well.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I guess all the magic knights need to have a hard lesson about how privileged we are and tried to be respectful towards the other jobs,¡± Arthur said to Anne in an apologetic manner.


    Anne nods her head, and for a moment they just stood looking at each other, until she cleared her throat and excused herself. Arthur finally realized and let her go inside the bathroom. Her body brushed into his. She tried so hard not to mind it.


    Anne refreshed herself and go to the kitchen where Leo was already waiting for her. Henry and Brom were also there at another table. She sat on the chair and begin to gulp the soup and the sd. Leo even gave her a te of moobull steak.


    ¡°Leo, this is still in daylight!¡± She red at her best friend when she saw the moobull steak.


    Leo was looking around the room and then whispered at her, ¡°You need more protein, or should I shove the Avopar leaves into your throat? The one before we brew it for twenty hours.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, you won¡¯t!¡± Said Anne with squinted eyes towards Leo.


    ¡°Then, eat your steak.¡± Said Leo with the same intensity.


    She finally gave in to her friend¡¯s request. When she was in the middle of eating the steak, Arthur came into the kitchen and approached her immediately. There¡¯s tension on his face, and the first word that came from his mouth almost chokes Anne.


    ¡°Anne, what are you doing inside captain Henry and captain Xavier¡¯s bedroomst night atte hours?¡±


    Anne looks so horrified, she turns her attention to Arthur. This time, she doesn¡¯t know what to say to the young magic knight captain.

 Chapter 191 - 191 Secret of the Kalpataru island

    191 Secret of the Kalpataru ind


    Everyone inside the kitchen was suddenly on stand still, Anne look so confused, she shared nces with Henry. Meanwhile, Arthur still demanded an answer from her, he stand in front of her, not even budging in. Henry took a long sigh and approach him.


    ¡°Look, probably it will be for the best if you could sit down and let Anne exin everything.¡± Henry, who has the best sleep after a while, was trying to be calm with Arthur.


    ¡°Oh good, you¡¯re here, please tell us, what are you doing¡­¡±


    Henry tried so hard to calm Arthur, and Anne saw everything. She praised his calm approach towards the agitated magic knight captain. ¡°Just! Just sit down for now. You¡¯re scaring her.¡±


    ¡°You heard him, Arthur, please be a gentleman and just sit down!¡± Xavier¡¯s voice came echoing in the kitchen, we look at him, leaning on the door frame and ring at Arthur.


    Leo held onto Arthur¡¯s shoulder. Even though he was shorter than Arthur, Leo do the best he could to force him to sit on the bench on his side. Anne gave him a grateful silence when Arthur finally gave in. Henry also asked Xavier toe and sit with them.


    ¡°Wait, all of us need to hear this.¡± Said, Anne. She then turns her head to Brom. ¡°Could you please search for our senior? Nathan probably was on the deck.¡±


    Brom nods his head and goes outside. Henry and Xavier look tentatively at Arthur. Both of them were irritated by how nosy this magic knight captain is.


    ¡°Now, before Anne gave you the answer, we need to know, how the f*ck do you know about her being in our roomte at night?¡± Xavier asked him. This time, he was already a bit mad about this whole situation. He felt Arthur was too much when he asked Anne some embarrassing questions in front of everyone, and also because now, they need to inform everyone about Justice.


    .....


    ¡°I asked the captain of the ship¡­¡± Arthur seems nervous, he was looking at Anne and said, ¡°At first I was just having a nice conversation and then he asked me about you, the captain told me that she saw youing out from captain Henry and captain Xavier¡¯s room in ate hour.¡± When Anne gave him a shocking expression, Arthur added, ¡°He¡­ he was just curious though, not snooping in. He thought that you probably dating them, so¡­¡±


    ¡°But¡­ That was absurd! Even though I probably dating them, it doesn¡¯t mean that he has some right to snoop into my privacy!¡± Anne was livid, she almost stand up from her bench and confront the captain.


    Xavier took her hand and asked her to sit. He whispered to Anne, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will make sure to scold the captain. For now, let¡¯s deal with them.¡±


    Sighing, Anne nods her head, ¡°Fine, I just hope we are doing the right thing here.¡± She was indeed pessimistic, not that she didn¡¯t trust Leo and Nathan, she actually didn¡¯t trust Arthur that much.


    They heard the kitchen door open, Brom and Nathane inside and looked around. Henry told them to sit at the other table. After they settled, Xavier begin to tell them the story. At first, they were listening to the whole story with no words, until Xavier told them that they were in fact hiding from the extremist group.


    ¡°So, the group was real? There is an extremist group out there?! unbelievable!¡± Nathan was holding his breath seems to Anne and Leo he was already panicking.


    Henry looks at all of them and nodded his head. ¡°The group is real, and so is their threat. The only lie was about them holding captive of our crown prince. They never captured Justice, and... the others.¡±


    Leo raised his hand, ¡°Look, Nathan also has some story, and you probably already know by now,¡± He said to all of them, he turn his attention to Nathan once again, ¡°Please tell us your version now, senior, and I hope you won¡¯t keep anything from us.¡±


    Nathan was disturbed by Leo¡¯s usation. He furiously asked Leo, ¡°So you didn¡¯t trust me? After all that I said?!¡±


    ¡°I am sorry, senior, but I can sense that you still hiding something from us. Please, tell us everything.¡± Leo was pleaded with Nathan, and the others just waiting for any reaction from the senior healer right now.


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right.¡± Said Nathan while huffing his breath, ¡°I kept something from the two of you. But, believe me, I did it because I wanted to protect you¡­ The two of you.¡±


    Anne and Leo look at each other. ¡°Protect us from what, senior?¡± Asked Leo again.


    ¡°Protect our sacred job from the traitors, because all the healers on the Kalpataru ind were siding with the extremist group. Actually, ny percent of the inhabitants of the ind are the traitors of the royalty now.¡± Said Nathan in a grim voice.


    Everyone holds their breaths, Kalpataru ind has two thousand inhabitants in it, it is the most popted and the richest ind in the whole kingdom. This means Kalpataru now is the nest of the hidden extremist group.


    ¡°Did the empress never know about this?! I mean Kalpataru ind is one of the most pivotal points of the kingdom, the empress bound to know something?!¡± Henry frustratingly voiced his opinion, he can¡¯t fathom how much loss the kingdom will be getting if the Kalpataru ind really is the hidden nest of the extremist group.


    ¡°We never knew, because someone always hides every information about the ind, and as long as the ind has a clean report, Empress and the kings probably will hear nothing about this.¡± Nathan gave him the answer with a long sigh, ¡°Understanding how our kingdom, whoever kept the information wasing from one of the high-rank officials inside the pce.¡±


    All of them went quiet. This mission is on a whole new level, not just about one family or the whole pack of werewolves. This is about a thousand people in all of the variations of jobs living on the ind. Anne felt the shivering through her body, and then a realization.


    ¡°Oh, my God! The captain, the captain, and the sailors, who recruited all of them?¡± Said Anne, with a panic set in her eyes, looking at the others.


    Henry, Xavier, and Arthur stand up immediately. They call for their weapon and go outside the kitchen. Brom looked at all of the confused healers and said, ¡°We recruited them. They alle from the Kalpataru ind.¡±

 Chapter 192 - 192 Another girl

    192 Another girl


    ¡°What?! Are these ship crewsing from Kalpataru ind? Are you guys insane?!¡± Nathan screamed while he was looking at Brom in disbelief.


    ¡°Well, maybe if you and chief Hale were more honest in the first ce, we are not going to be in this mess!¡± Said Brom back at Nathan. He left the three of them alone and cast a protection spell into the kitchen.


    ¡°He was right, senior, if only you tell us the truth.¡± Leo looks at Nathan with a wince on his face.


    Nathan red at him. ¡°Shut up! I¡¯ve already felt so bad, so just¡­¡± He took a long sigh and sat back on the bench. He nced at the kitchen door. ¡°So, Anne, did your friend just lock us in here?¡±


    Anne shakes his head, ¡°No, senior, he just put a protection spell on the room, so, any intruders will have a hard time¡­¡± Suddenly, two ship crews saw them inside the kitchen, he tried to walk inside but was thrown by the spell. She smiles at Nathan and Leo. ¡°See, I told you Brom is the best¡­ After Vale, of course.¡±


    Leo just shakes his head and smiles. ¡°Girl, you really praise your man like no other.¡±


    Bashful of Leo¡¯s teasing, she stuttered and tried defending herself, ¡°I¡­ I am not praising all of them.¡±


    Nathan looked around the room and found a hiding ce in the pantry. ¡°Shush¡­ Shut up, you two, let¡¯s hide. I don¡¯t think the spell willst longer if we are here being a sitting duck.¡± He called for the two of them to follow him.


    After Anne and Leo safely go inside the pantry, he shut the door. They went quiet, trying not to distract any more ship crews. Anne still has a high hope of the protection spell that Brom cast inside the kitchen. She looks around the small room and found a ce to sit.


    .....


    ¡°Did you know how many crews are inside this ship?¡± Asked Nathan to the two of them.


    ¡°Howe we know about that certain kind of thing? All we know is that we are aboard this thing to go to Kalpataru ind.¡± Gruntled Leo to his senior, clearly for Anne that he was so annoyed by how Nathan felt necessary to be hiding some information from them.


    Huffing his breath, he look at Anne and Leo, ¡°Look, I am sorry that I need to keep certain things from all of you, I thought that knowing the danger of this level, would bring some¡­ Some trauma of the recent event.¡±


    Leo¡¯s face turned bitter. He knew exactly what kind of event Nathan meant. Anne took a long sigh and stared at the pantry door. Minutes by minutes went by. They were anxiously waiting for any news. Nathan approached the door, making Leo agitated.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± he asked his senior while his hand grabbed into Nathan¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Calm down. I was trying to see if there¡¯s everyone outside.¡± Said Nathan to Leo. He then pulled his arm from Leo¡¯s grab and tried to peek at the door.


    Anne and Leo were standing behind him. That¡¯s when the door suddenly wide open and a big body appeared in front of them. The three of them looked at the captain of the ship. The big man was furious. There¡¯s a saber in his hand and he tried to attack them.


    Nathan sessfully dodge the attack, Leo pulled Anne away and took a kitchen knife, he push Anne into the corner of the kitchen and the man himself bravely charged at the furious captain; he plunged the kitchen knife into the captain¡¯s back. The captain wailed, but turn around to see Leo who was running away outside, he chased the man.


    Thankfully, Henry is already in the hall. With a bow and arrow, he aims at the captain and shoots it right into his heart. The captain lie dying in the hall, and the other captains came and inform that all the crews were already captured or killed by them.


    Anne gets out of the kitchen with Nathan. How d she felt when she looks at the unharmed Henry and Xavier.


    ¡°Did he hurt you?¡± Henry asked her when they finally settled back in the kitchen.


    She shakes her head and smiles at him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine. By the way, we need to figure out how to steer the ship, and¡­ the bodies.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the crew is still willing to steer the ship, within our control, of course.¡± Xavier brushed into her back and asked her the same question as Henry, ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    She reciprocates the smile and holds his hand. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine, don¡¯t worry. What about theirs? We can¡¯t leave them like that, Xavier.¡±


    Henry look around and said, ¡°We are going to give them a proper burial.¡± Anne looks at the dead bodies and a sad expression came to her. Henry squeezes her shoulder. ¡°What can we do when we found them in a group, and they are already preparing themselves to kill us?¡±


    ¡°I see, So they already n to kill us in the open water I guess.¡± Muttered Anne. She stands up and helps Nathan and Leo to prepare the dead bodies for burial.


    Henry and Xavier look at each other. Henry then said, ¡°Actually, their n was to take us to their leader and make us as the bait. They want to lure Justice and king Edward to go out from the hiding ce.¡±


    ¡°That was a sinister n. Thank goodness Leo senses that Nathan is still hiding something from us.¡± Anne huffed her breath, thankful that they were escaping some dangerous encounter.


    ¡°Don¡¯t feel relieved yet. We still need to find the king and the crown prince.¡± Arthur came around, he whispered to Anne, ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    Leo, who happened to be closer to our heroine, rolled his eyes, ¡°I swear to all of my Gods, if another man came and asked for Anne¡¯s wellbeing, I¡¯m going to be livid!¡±


    After the funeral procession to honor the dead, Anne took her time to get some rest, and then came a soft voice directly through her ear.


    ¡°My, my, the beautiful girl. Aren¡¯t you tired of resisting me?¡±


    ¡°Sigh¡­ What do you want? Just go away.¡± Anne open her eyes and saw the witch of the mountain sitting in front of her.


    ¡°Dear, I miss you, and I am so d to see that you are still closer to all of them. Why deny your feeling so much? Just embrace the feelings? They belong to you.¡± The witch of the mountain grins, her beautiful face got distorted and a wicked smile appears on her face.


    Trying to confront the witch, Anne gets up from her bed and hissed at her, ¡°No! I refused to y your game, and they are not mind, they¡­¡± She begin to cry, and the witch of the mountain gave her a soft kiss on her head and disappear, Anne continued to speak her mind, ¡°They belong to someone else¡­ The original girl.¡±

 Chapter 193 - 193 Another hurdle

    193 Another hurdle


    ¡°What happened? Your eyes seem puffy¡­ Did you cry?!¡±


    Leo shouted thest word, making Henry, Xavier, and Arthur turn around to see her. They were inside the captain¡¯s room. It is already nighttime, and the prisoners were kept inside the pantry with the help of Brom bubble spell to lock them inside. Only two crew they let into the steering room, the navigator and the helmsman, they took turns to guard them every six hours.


    This time, it was Brom and Nathan¡¯s turn to watch, while the others discuss the safe ce tond on the ind.


    ¡°What happened? Why are you crying?¡± Xavier demanded some answer from her.


    Anne, who is ring at Leo because of his loose lips, now is in dire need to conjure some reason for Xavier. ¡°I¡¯m alright, actually, I¡­ I was fallen on the bed, and my knee¡­¡±


    Xavier was immediately dropped on his knee and took Anne¡¯s feet. ¡°What happened to your knee? Which one?!¡±


    With a bored look, Leo teased the overprotective Xavier, ¡°You know she is a healer, right? Dear Gods, just calm down. She probably already healed the d*mn thing!¡±


    ¡°I was just¡­¡± Xavier tried to defend himself, but it fell short. ¡°Ugh, who am I joking here? I will always worry about this one.¡± He gruntled while pointing at Anne.


    Although tter, Anne just gave him a smile and mouthed thank you to Xavier, she once a blushing teen in this world, but as she knew how much she was meant to the four of them, Anne would not be surprised anymore, but, ttering feeling and the butterfly on her stomach, whenever they whispered sweet nothing, smile, or just being closer to her, already enough for Anne to know how deep their feelings for her.


    .....


    ¡°I¡¯m alright Xavier, don¡¯t worry.¡± She smiles at the huntsman, even touching his arm, trying to calm him for a bit. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s discuss the best route for us.¡±


    Henry saw their interaction from the other end of the room. He will never be jealous of Xavier, as he is his best friend, and having her as one of them is already a part of his n. What he was worrying is the new man who keeps insisting to be close to Anne, the popr magic knight captain, with his broad shoulder and gorgeous look.


    ¡°Henry, what did you think about this port?¡± Xavier call for him to look into the ssmap, Henry approach him and saw two ports that were seemingly maintained.


    Shaking his head, he got another opinion on that matter. ¡°These two ports are obviously already in control of the group. We need another ce tond, the most inauspicious ce tond. Did we have a ce like that?¡±


    Xavier turn around the map, he search thoroughly all over the corner of the ind, until he saw something, ¡°This! How about thisnd?¡±


    All of them look at the map.


    ¡°You¡­ You want us tond in this creaky and swampy port?!¡± Arthur grimace when he saw the picture.


    ¡°Actually, it is the perfect ce tond, hidden and unpredictable for them. I am sure it will be safe for us tond there.¡± Anne grinned at all of them. She even tried so hard to convince Arthur.


    ¡°Err¡­ Yes, you are probably right, uhm¡­ If Anne agreed, then so am I.¡±


    The other man in the room just rolled their eyes, but, at least for now, they could proceed to use this route. The chosen area is not an easy one. After the ship goes through a canal, they need to make a way into a swamp area where there¡¯s an old port for them tond.


    ¡°This is a risky move, but better than using the regr port.¡± Muttered Xavier, he nods his head to everyone, ¡°I guess we are going to do this, I¡¯ll tell this to Brom and Nathan, the rest of you could take some rest, especially Arthur and Leo since you turn to watch will begin in three hours.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I think I¡¯ll take a nap. Bye for now.¡± Leo yawned and wave his hand to all of them.


    The magic knight captain looks tentatively at Anne, who realized his warm gaze. She excused herself immediately, citing that she will be cooking some food for all of them, how d she was when Henry offers to help her.


    ¡°When will this ship arrive at the ind?¡± Asked Anne to Henry, she was stirring some creamy soup in arge pot.


    Henry, who was in the middle of chopping fish, took nced at her, ¡°In this speed, in another sixteen or fifteen hours, why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, just curious that¡¯s all¡­¡± She thought about the prisoners and asked him once again, ¡°What will be happened to them?¡±


    ¡°We took them into a safe and remote ce, Brom and Nathan already volunteered to stay and stay with the prisoners,¡± Said Henry, while he put the fish inside a big cook pan, ¡°I mean¡­ We can¡¯t just free all of them, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I guess you¡¯re right. I just worried for them, that¡¯s all.¡± She said to Henry with a bittered smile on her face, ¡°Even when they were trying to kill us.¡±


    Henry takes a look at her and suddenly walks towards Anne. He embraces her from behind. The sudden move makes Anne flustered. She never expected such an intimate move from Henry. Her heart beat faster. Henry can feel it, also the sweet smell of her hair. He was intoxicated.


    ¡°Anne, you¡¯re such a sweet young woman, did you know that?¡± He whispered directly to her ear, his lips softly brushing her earlobe. He just can¡¯t get enough of her.


    ¡°Henry¡­ Please¡­ Not like this¡­¡± She was so nervous, not that she didn¡¯t like it, but the voice of the witch of the mountain always haunting her in every way possible. ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t, Henry.¡±


    Henry felt her rejection. He released his grip and apologize to her. Afterward, Anne prefers to be inside her room or in the kitchen, either to sleep or to make food for everyone. She tried to minimize her interaction with Henry and Xavier. Finally, after the long seventeen hours, Leo goes inside their bedroom and informs her.


    ¡°Did you already pack? We¡¯ve arrived at the port.¡±


    Anne nods and smiles at her friend. ¡°Yes, I am ready, so¡­ how¡¯s the port?¡±


    Leo took a long sigh. ¡°Better to see it yourself.¡±


    A bit curious after the words that came from Leo, Anne put her bag and hurry into the deck, she looks at Henry, Xavier, and Arthur, who were looking with confused expressions on their faces. Anne turned to look at what made them so confused and gasped.


    ¡°By God! How are we going to deal with this?!¡± She screamed in horror.

 Chapter 194 - 194 Finding Justice (part 1)

    194 Finding Justice (part 1)


    There are Gargators all over the swamp, not just one or two, but a dozen of them. Anne and the others were stunned. Leo came by her side and took a sigh.


    ¡°How we are going to survive this one? Such a headache.¡± Said Leo while huffing his breath.


    Xavier rustled his hair. ¡°We just need to fight all of them, right?¡±


    Henry, Arthur, and Leo turn their heads to Xavier.


    ¡°Are you mad? There are a dozen of them and we got like this many people!¡± Arthur spread his hand and emphasize their small group number of people.


    They got his point, one reckless move, and they could lose one of them. There¡¯s no doubt that they have the ability to obliterate the Gargators. They need a good strategy for this. Henry walks from the end of the deck into the other. He observes the monsters and calls the men to follow him.


    ¡°Look, we got one red gargator and one ck gargator, the rest of them are the grey gargators. It will be possible to fight without anyone getting injured or killed.¡± Said Henry to all of them.


    ¡°Did you fight this monster before?¡± Asked Arthur to him.


    Henry gave him a smirk. ¡°Oh, it seems like the magic knight captain never encountered this two dimension beast before.¡±


    .....


    ¡°Shut up! It is not because I am weak, it¡¯s because they rarely gave us a simple job for this type of monster.¡± He said to the others that make them more worked up than before.


    ¡°Excuse me! So, you think our job is not as important as yours?!¡± Xavier was furious. He almost jump at Arthur, if only Henry wasn¡¯t there.


    Henry grabs his arm and shakes his head. ¡°We need the two of you at a peak condition, so just bear the insult for now.¡±


    Arthur blinked and gasped, ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t mean to insult, I was just¡­¡±


    ¡°Speaking the truth! Yes, we know.¡± Said Henry and Xavier at the same time.


    Witnessing the interaction from behind, Anne couldn¡¯t stop herself fromughing. She loves how they could finally have more friendly bickering, rather than useless fighting, with one another. Leo asked her to go inside and not bother them.


    ¡°We should wait with Nathan inside and be ready if they got hurt.¡± Said Leo to her.


    Took a nce at Anne, who followed Leo, d that at least Leo had some sense to ask her to go inside. Now they have time to n their move and fight the monsters without worrying about the safety of the girl.


    ¡°Henry, I think I could trap the red and ck gargators and the rest of you just need to kill the ten grey gargators.¡± With a very confident voice, Brom look into everyone, like he was just concocted some good n for them.


    ¡°You¡­ told us, to kill ten of gargators, just me, Xavier, and Arthur, don¡¯t you think how absurd it was?¡± Henry squinted his face, while a bit perplexed by how Brom¡¯s mind was actually working.


    Shrugged his shoulder, Brom then said, ¡°I don¡¯t see, why not? The four of us are captains, this should be an easy task for us¡­¡± He looks at Arthur, ¡°This one even killed a big monster on the hoard, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but it was because the beast was already weak enough for me to strike it with a final blow.¡± Sighed Arthur while he red at Brom.


    ¡°Oh,e on, don¡¯t be modest magic knight, at least you can help us, kill five of the grey gargators.¡± Smirked Henry, he even winked at Arthur.


    Arthur rolled his eyes. ¡°Fine, so how can I kill the grey one?¡±


    Henry got excited, he ps his hands and begin to instruct everyone, ¡°Alright, this is how we are going to do.¡±


    Everyone was focused on Henry. The knight captainid out some ns one by one, Arthur and Xavier asked questions while Brom just leaned into the ship¡¯s wall, waiting for the time to attack. They are determined to get through this, and when the n is ready to be executed, Henry, Brom, Xavier, and Arthur are standing on the edge of the ship, ready to attack the group of gargator.


    ¡°Alright, remember our n, Brom. You can begin,¡± Henry said to Brom, whom the Magi captain just gave a slight nod to.


    Brom jump from the ship with his magi cloak, ready to cast a spell on the monsters. He calls for a wind spell and knocked almost all the grey gargators, and before the red gargator plunged its huge jaw into Brom, he locks the monster with a bubble prison spell.


    ¡°Ready!¡± He yelled at Henry, Arthur, and Xavier.


    Xavier calls for the great axe and easily hacks into two of the grey gargators, Henry calls for his spear and pierces one, while Arthur uses a fire sword to sh three of them. Brom, having a hard time, keeps the red gargator inside the prison bubble. He maximizes the spell by adding a chain to the bubble prison, hoping that it will hold the monster inside.


    Henry, Arthur, and Xavier were almost done with the ten grey gargators. After thest one is ughtered by their cooperation, Arthur looks around and feels something is wrong.


    ¡°Wait, Brom gets the red gargator, right? I thought there was another gargator, the ck one.¡± Said Arthur to Xavier and Henry.


    Xavier and Henry look at each other, and they curse in unison, ¡°F*ck! The ck one is hiding!¡±


    Arthur run to Brom with a lightning bow in his hand, ¡°Brom! The ck one, it is missing!¡± Screamed Arthur to Brom.


    Brom turns his head to Arthur, ¡°What? I can¡¯t hear you.¡±


    Just as soon as he finished the sentence, a big shadow jump towards Brom from behind him. Brom looks at the ck gargator with its big jaw and is ready to bite his head. He screams, and then a thunderous sound came from the sky. A lightning blow pierces into the body of the ck gargator, just inches before it gets into Brom. Brom put the red gator inside the prison carefully, before he falls to the ground. Arthur came to him and asked if he was alright.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ I am fine. Was it you who killed this beast?¡± Brom asked the magic knight captain while he was panting hard after the near-death experience.


    Arthur shakes his head and helps him stand up. ¡°No¡­ No, it wasn¡¯t me.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ who?¡± Asked Brom with a frown on his face.


    ¡°It¡¯s me, Brom.¡± A man appeared from the shadow, he wear a magi cloak, with emerald green eyes. Vale was smiling at them. ¡°Hey, are you alright?¡±

 Chapter 195 - 195 Finding Justice (Part 2)

    195 Finding Justice (Part 2)


    (Warning: There will be a triggered mental health, reader¡¯s discretion is a must)


    Anne heard the ruckus from the inside of the ship. She tried to peek from the window, but to no avail. Leo grumbled and came to her. He knocked her head and, with his hands on his hips, scolded his friend.


    ¡°What are you doing? Let them do the fighting and you just stay out of their way. You¡¯re only making it worse!¡±


    Anne looks at Leo in bewilderment, ¡°What?! No, I was just trying to¡­ uhm¡­ trying to peek.¡± Said Anne to him.


    Leo took a sigh and pull her away. ¡°Come on! Let us wait here with our senior, who seems like the entire world just befall on him.¡±


    As they approach Nathan, Anne could see how true Leo¡¯s im was earlier. He was terrified and curled up in the corner. She knew this kind of case and encountered one of the victims in her old world, PTSD. She took Nathan¡¯s hand and smile at him.


    ¡°Senior, you should tell us if you have a problem like this. Why do you have toe along? You should ask chief Hale to let you out from this mission?¡± Anne tried to calm him with some metee tea and a soothing voice.


    Gratefully to Anne, Nathan took the tea and drink it immediately, ¡°I am sorry, I don¡¯t know what happened to me, I never felt like this in the hospital. This¡­ this mission consumed me so much.¡±


    She put a nket over his body and brushed his back several times. Leo rustled his hair, totally confused by the whole situation. Not long after, the front door through the deck is open, and Henry, Xavier, Arthur, and Brom go inside the room. Thest person who came inside gave them a surprise.


    .....


    Anne run towards the man and embrace him as tightly as she could.


    ¡°Is it really you? Are you alright?¡± She asked Vale with a trembling voice.


    Vale inhaled her scent and knew immediately that he was safe with her. He felt at home all of a sudden. ¡°Yes, it is me, Anne. I¡¯m safe.¡±


    She release him and tears came from her eyes, but a smile adorned her face. ¡°Oh, God¡­ You¡¯re safe. I was so scared.¡± But, suddenly, she realized someone was missing. ¡°Where¡¯s Justice?¡±


    ¡°I am sorry, Anne, we got separated a day earlier, one of the patrolmen got some information about our hiding ce. Justice went with his father. While I go with the rest of the army, we were the bait.¡± He put his hand to her, and said, ¡°They caught most of the men, including Xander, only the fate of Justice and king Edward were unknown to me.¡±


    ¡°So Xander is now a prisoner?¡± Asked Xavier to Vale.


    Vale nodded his head. His face was grim. ¡°Yes, I am sorry. He tried to protect me, but got captured. I hide myself from them and tried to find Justice and king Edward. Instead, I found you guys.¡±


    Taking a long sigh, Xavier hold into Vale¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°We are going to get them back, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Anne admired how calm Xavier was, since it was his brother who got captured. She wipes her tears and takes her bag, checks on everyone. Grateful that everyone was alive, even though bruises, cuts, and injuries were visible on their bodies. She looks at Henry first. While Leo checks on Arthur, Nathan tried to calm himself and treat Brom¡¯s gash wound.


    Henry senses something is wrong with Anne. She holds her face with his right hand, while our heroine was in the middle of treating his left hand. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, I just felt relieved but also¡­¡± Her eyes look into Henry, ¡°Oh, Henry, I hope Justice¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he will be alright, you¡¯ll see.¡± Whispered Henry and then he gave a quick kiss on her forehead.


    No one sees what happened. There¡¯s only the two of them sharing a moment. She smiled at him, and he also smile at her. Although once again, the dreaded feeling came to Anne, for now, she will try to hide all of this dreaded feeling and help them find Justice. Soon, though, she will reveal everything to them.


    ¡°Where¡¯s thest time you saw Justice? Did the two of you talks about a rendezvous point?¡± Asked Xavier to Vale.


    Vale shakes his head. ¡°No, unfortunately, it was toote for us. I cast the spell to hide them and tell him that I will be searching for the two of them after Xander and I dealt with the pursuer.¡±


    ¡°How about we go back to your hiding ce, then? Maybe he was waiting there with king Edward?¡± Arthur gave his opinion after Leo was done bandaging his hand. His magic bow snapped the moment a lightning strike impaled the ck gargator.


    Vale looked at Arthur, a bit curious to see why the magic knight was deployed on this mission, ¡°No, that¡¯s not Justice¡¯s pattern, as soon as he knew that the hiding ce waspromised, for sure he will leave and find another ce to hide.¡± Said Vale to Arthur.


    Anne finished treating the wound on Henry and goes to Xavier afterwards. ¡°Still, probably he left some clues for you.¡± Muttered Anne, while her hand skillfully put some ointment and bandage on Xavier¡¯s arm.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Asked Vale curiously to her.


    Anne stopped for a moment, and look into Vale. ¡°Justice may be gone from the ce, but realizing that both of you never discussed another ce to hide, probably make him think to put any clues, don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    ¡°You¡­ Are right!¡± Vale stands up immediately and enthusiastically called everyone to follow him. ¡°We need to go there. The ce is close, less than an hour by foot.¡±


    Everyone load their bag and supplies. When Anne and Leo say goodbye to their senior, Brom informed his primary captain about the prisoners.


    ¡°We decided to stay. Both me and Nathan need to guard the prisoners.¡±


    Vale stared at him for a short time and nods his head. ¡°Alright, good luck, Brom. See you soon.¡±


    ¡°See you soon.¡± Replied Brom, and he grab Anne to talk for a while. ¡°Remember, the moonlight monster is here. We need to go and search for them.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know, Brom, but not right now, alright?!¡± Hissed Anne to Brom. She was curious just like Brom, but, for Anne, he need to ce his priority right.


    They went down to the swamp area, and just a moment before they leave the area, Anne put her gloves and took some nts into the swamp.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Arthur asked her, with a curious face.


    She put the mysterious reddish nt carefully into arge jar, ¡°Kangcoon, a curious nt with a healing remedy if you prepare the nt in the right way.¡±


    ¡°What about if you prepare it the wrong way?¡± Asked Arthur again, with a slightly amusing smile.


    Anne never actually answered his question, and the journey to another area begins. She hopes Justice will hide some clues for them and prays that he will be safe wherever he is right now.

 Chapter 196 - 196 Finding Justice (Part 3)

    196 Finding Justice (Part 3)


    The way to the hideout was rough, with the wet ground and so many bugs around, Anne can¡¯t imagine how they can live in such conditions for days. She looks at Vale and thought to check his health properly along with the others. That is the only thing she can do. Anne felt bitter sometimes that she constantly need to be protected by them. Although Anne managed to harness her way into this world by bing a healer, that¡¯s her strong point and will always be her way of protecting them.


    ¡°Wow, this is how you guys live for a while?¡± Arthur looked around the area with a grimace on his face.


    Vale rolled his eyes, pretty annoyed by his condescending question. ¡°Yes, and we could always endure harsher conditions than this magic knight captain. You should try it sometimes.¡± He stops and looks at Arthur directly.


    Seeing how Vale doesn¡¯t appreciate his tone, he felt bad and apologizes immediately, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, primary captain, I came as a bit condescending.¡±


    ¡°Well, at least you begin to learn now.¡± Muttered Vale, making Henry and Xavier chuckles.


    Leo and Anne saw their interaction and just shook their heads. They always knew the tension between the magic knight and the other jobs, and for them, this little bickering proves they could be their friend. The magic knight could learn to adapt to the other jobs, and so do the others to the magic knight.


    ¡°We are here, that¡¯s hour hideout.¡± Vale points into a dry ground with a wide cave. ¡°The cave is actually wider and deeper, so it¡¯s a perfect ce for us.¡±


    Henry stops everyone in their tracks. ¡°Wait, before we go inside, probably best if you scan thoroughly inside, Vale.¡±


    ¡°I did¡­¡± Vale said when his eyes just changed back from luminescent green to his emerald green eyes. ¡°It¡¯s safe. There¡¯s nothing inside.¡±


    .....


    ¡°There are no wild animals or monsters either.¡± Said Xavier, who uses his skill as well.


    ¡°Good.¡± Henry nods his head. ¡°We can safely go inside then.¡±


    Vale and Xavier look at each other with a frown on their face, ¡°I think Henry just elected himself as our leader.¡± Said Xavier, while cringing at his friend.


    ¡°And they said I am the primary captain now.¡± Teased Vale again.


    Henry red at them, ¡°Shut up *ssholes!¡±


    Theyughed together afterward. Anne would miss this kind of interaction with them. Her heart was once again touched by the absurdity of her case. Leaving them would be a nightmare for her, but staying with them would be wrong in her mind.


    ¡°Anne, what are you doing there? Come on.¡± Leo was already inside the cave with the others. She was practically standing in her ce, imagining another worst scenario.


    ¡°Brom would scold me if he knows about this.¡± Murmured Anne while she waved her hand to Leo, followed along with others.


    The inside of the cavern was not as bad as Anne thought it would be. They managed to make the bed from the big dry leaves and orbs. She could also see the amenities.


    ¡°I guess you all managed to make this ce a bit cheery.¡± Said Anne while looking around the cave.


    ¡°You should see Justice¡¯s spot. He got a room just for himself deeper into the cave.¡± Vale said to her while a smirk came into his face.


    Anne was intrigued and excuse herself to go deeper into the cave. She walked inside and saw so much light moss that makes this area lit better than the previous one. Anne could see the charm of this room, and how Justice put his items. She could see him in this room, lying on the leaves, probably reading or just taking his much-needed rest.


    She touched the dry leaves with him in her thoughts.


    ¡°Did you got anything in here?¡± Vale asked her while he looked around the small room.


    Anne shakes her head. ¡°I don¡¯t see anything yet. What about you?¡±


    Shrugged his shoulder, Vale crouched beside her. ¡°No, we don¡¯t have anything.¡± He said to Anne with a long sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t think he came back after the raid.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t give up just yet. He must be hiding something. Oh, what about Kirara?¡± Anne enthusiastically asked Vale about Justice¡¯s familiar.


    ¡°Oh, Xavier and Henry didn¡¯t tell you? Kirara was injured when he sent the message to them. He was resting at the pce right now.¡± Vale informed her, which makes her surprised.


    ¡°Oh my God, he¡¯s fine, right?¡±


    Putting his hand on her back, Vale brushes the back and nods his head. ¡°He will be fine, don¡¯t worry, but sadly, he can¡¯t assist Justice right now.¡±


    ¡°I was so scared for both of you, at first I just thought this will be a way for us to assist the king and the crown prince, but when Henry and Xavier told me about how all of you need to be hiding and almost every poption in this big ind is a traitor.¡± She whispered to Vale when he brushes her back.


    ¡°Anne, did you know what makes us stronger when we were here?¡± He whispered back to her, a smile appearing when he reminisce the past month, ¡°We thought about you.¡±


    Anne turns her head away from Vale. ¡°Vale, it¡¯s because of the bewitched spell. The trace of the spell probably lingered inside all of you.¡±


    ¡°No! That¡¯s not how the bewitched spell works, Anne.¡± Stubbornly he grab her shoulder, probably a bit tighter than he should have, she winced and he released the grip immediately, ¡°I¡­ I am sorry, it¡¯s just, please you need to read the bewitched spell description again, the effect will never linger, but the memory will be intact, all the moments that we have been through together, those memories are the things that kept us for loving¡­¡±


    ¡°No! Vale, please stop! Just don¡¯t say it! Just, not right now!¡± She shouted and tried to get away from his side, but a piece of material almost make her trip. Vale put his hand, preventing her from falling to the ground.


    ¡°Hey, are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, there¡¯s something here that almost makes me trip.¡± She said to him.


    They look at each other and realize, both of them begin to scatter the dry leaves around. When Anne touched the item, they look and screamed in joy together. The ssmap with a red dot beeping inside the ss of the ssmap, the red dot represents Justice and his location.

 Chapter 197 - 197 The missing heart

    197 The missing heart


    They screamed and brought the ssmap to the others. Arthur needs to close his ears when the two of them approach Henry and Xavier.


    ¡°Look, we found it. He left the ssmap with his mark inside.¡± Anne was ecstatic to present them with the ssmap. She put the ssmap in the big rock and let them observe.


    ¡°Wait, are we sure this is Justice?¡± Asked Xavier to Vale.


    Vale nodded his head. ¡°Yes, positive, this is the ssmap that I¡¯ve given to him, and he even told me, if he ever appears on this ssmap, it will be in his signature color. Red.¡±


    ¡°Where is he, exactly?¡± Asked henry, he was so focused on the red dot, he didn¡¯t even blink.


    Vale look into the ssmap and tried to determine Justice¡¯s location. ¡°It¡¯s a bit far from here, about six hours¡¯ journey. Strangely enough, it¡¯s closer to the enemy¡¯sir.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what is he doing there? It is too dangerous, especially when we finally know about the enemy¡¯s intention.¡± Xavier couldn¡¯t believe how reckless Justice had be.


    ¡°Let¡¯s trust him on this. The problem is, how we are going to reach him undetected?¡± Henry said to all of them, his eyes focusing on the ssmap.


    Anne raised her hand with much confidence. ¡°How about we travel there separately?¡±


    .....


    Arthur, in an instant, also raising his hand, ¡°Good idea. I¡¯ll go with Anne.¡±


    Vale, Henry, and Xavier looked at each other. They were annoyed and also amused by how aggressive this magic knight captain was. The three of them were smiling and tried to hide their amusement. Xavier and Henry also agreed with the n.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good n. We can travel undetected. A bit risky, though.¡± Xavier already considering it, but of course still hesitant.


    Vale assured him, ¡°It is a good n. I will apany our dearest healer, along with the magic knight, and the rest of you could go together.¡±


    Xavier and Henry look at each other and shrugged their shoulder. They agreed immediately and afterward make a copy of Justice¡¯s red dot on another ssmap. After they gathered some supplies, the two groups go into their separate ways. Anne looks into Xavier and Henry, who are walking away with Leo.


    ¡°Hey!¡± She called them, making the three of them turn around to see her. ¡°Be careful, alright?¡±


    ¡°We will don¡¯t worry.¡± Henry assured her, with a bit of a smirk on his face, ¡°You also need to be careful with that magic knight. I¡¯ve heard he¡¯s a handful fellow.¡±


    Arthur rolled his eyes. ¡°Oh, do shut up!¡±


    Theyughed and said goodbye in a very light-hearted moment. Although Henry and Xavier don¡¯t want to get away with her, but they gave their chance to Vale, the two of them just being considerate to their best friend.


    ¡°Well, it would be a lot of a boring journey for almost six hours, gentleman. We don¡¯t have a pretty face around here.¡± Xavier was jokingly spoken about theirck of women in the group.


    Henry¡¯s chuckling at his friend, ¡°I don¡¯t know though, most of the men imed that I have what you call a rare beauty.¡±


    ¡°Rare beauty indeed. Your smug and brooding face, along with that tinum-long hair of yours, could make some monster run away.¡± Xavier teased him relentlessly, and they chased each other out into the woods.


    ¡°Oh, Gods! They are so childish. I miss Anne already.¡± Said Leo with a long sigh.


    While the other three were taking their journey in a lighthearted way, Anne could feel a bit of tension between Arthur and Vale. She took a sigh and just walked as fast as she could into Justice¡¯s hiding ce. The road that they have chosen wasn¡¯t an easy one, but also the one with the lesser patrolmen because of the hard terrain.


    They have already walked for five hours straight. Anne was looking pale. She was trying so hard to keep up, but her strength was almost depleted. It is because she rarely eats anymore. She took a bit of bread or chewed on vegetables, but rarely eat any meat or protein. Vale was looking at her and finally requested that they took some rest for thirty minutes.


    Anne was so grateful. Her feet were already trembling and she could just pass out in a second. When she reached into her medicine bag and tried to chug on a tonic, Vale immediately prevent her from drinking it.


    ¡°No! You need to eat first, Anne,¡± He said to her while giving her a moobull dry meat. ¡°Eat this. You will be much better.¡±


    She rejected the dry meat and show him a piece of bread. ¡°No, I have my bread, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°No, the bread will never give you much strength, you need to eat this!¡± Said Vale, stubbornly at her.


    Arthur saw the bickering back and forth between them, and felt how much bond actually Anne already created with all of them, he could see howfortable Vale was to scold her, and how Anne could just tantly reject him without thinking about his high rank.


    Vale was so desperate, he even pleaded with her, ¡°Please, just one of these, alright?¡±


    Anne look at him and smile, she took the dry meat and said, ¡°Fine, since you insist on it so much.¡±


    He was d when Anne begin to chew the moobull dry meat; he saw how skinnier she look, her chubby cheek almost gone and there was a deep cheekbone in the rece of her healthy face shape, the red blush on her cheek was waning. She was definitely malnourished and Vale needs to know what happened to her.


    ¡°Anne, are you¡­¡±


    Arthur cut him when he saw a ck shadow appear from the west. ¡°We gotpany!¡± He shouted at Vale and Anne.


    They look and knew exactly what it was: a dark and mischievous road. Arthur calls for his weapon, while Vale cast some protection spells on all of them.


    ¡°Anne, hide yourself. Let both of us fight the monster.¡± Whispered Arthur to her.


    Anne absolutely agreed with this, not because of how scared she was, but because she could be the obstacle who was getting in their way. She hides between the rock and looks at the two men who are fighting two giant dryads. Arthur uses his ming sword, which reminds her so much of Justice¡¯s weapon. Vale casting firewall, preventing the dryad from getting closer to them.


    Both of them fight bravely and skillfully, and in no time, the dryad is bing a pile of ashes on the ground. Anne stands up, thinking that the fight was already over, Vale and Arthur already walking toward her, but a huge shadow appears from behind her.


    Another dryad, ready to attack Anne. Vale was screaming when he saw the monster¡¯s hande closer to her. Suddenly, a me sword cut the hand of the dryad. Arthur and Vale were stunned when they see Justice protecting Anne with his own body, his hand caressing her cheek, looking at her directly with his red ruby eyes.

 Chapter 198 - 198 His majesty king Edward

    198 His majesty king Edward


    Anne was cheering for Arthur and Vale. She stood up from her hiding ce and screamed in joy. Vale and Arthur saw her from afar. They wave their hand but then realized a shadow appear from behind her. Another dryad, ready to attack by using its long branch arm. Vale screamed while he and Arthur run as fast as they could to her. When Anne saw the dryad, she closed her eyes, ready for the attack.


    Somehow, the attack never came. Instead, a warm body engulfed her, and the voice the asking her, ¡°Anne, it¡¯s me. Are you alright?¡±


    She open her eyes and saw a pair of red ruby eyes, with a sway of red hair on his cheek. She rejoices immediately, ¡°Oh, Justice, is that you?!¡±


    The crown prince smiled, how he was longing to kiss her lips and caress her cheeks, ¡°It¡¯s me, Anne¡­¡±


    The roar came from the dryad who Justice manage to cut the arm before, the arm that almost hurt his beloved Anne. He looks at her and asked her to stay hidden. Thankfully, Vale and Arthur arrived, ready to assist. Anne once again hiding, the three of them fight the dryad and not a minuteter go into the ashes along with the other.


    ¡°Let me patrol the area, just in case,¡± Arthur said to Vale, while he and Justice helped Anne to step away from her hiding ce.


    Justice saw Arthur walk away and got intrigued. ¡°I was so sure mother would never let any of her precious magic knights in any mission like this?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, the empress knew about the scale of the threat, and to think king Edward and the crown prince were trapped on the ind full of traitors?¡± Vale chuckles, his hand helping our heroine to climb the rocks.


    ¡°Traitors? What do you mean, traitors?¡± Asked Justice, genuinely confused by Vale¡¯s words. He went quiet for a short time when his eyes gaze on a young woman with long purple hair who swayed when the wind blows, ¡°Anne, it¡¯s good to see you¡­ I¡­¡± Without even any words that he can convey, he pulls Anne into his warm embrace. ¡°I miss you.¡±


    .....


    The two of them share a moment together, while Vale looked at them with a bright smile, and Arthur saw everything from the far side. He took a deep breath and approach the three of them; he tried so hard to fake a smile when Justice saw him.


    ¡°Your majesty, I came as one of your protectors. My name is Arthur, and I¡­¡±


    ¡°I know who you are. I remember the day when you got promoted as the captain after you slew arge hoard monster alone.¡± Said Justice to him, he look around the area and then said, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go back to my ce. We never know when the other monsters wille on this dangerous road.¡±


    ¡°Agreed, even though dryad is a middle-tier monster, but to fight more than this would be exhausting,¡± Vale informed the others when his head was looking around the area cautiously.


    They walk together into the new hiding ce. At first, Vale and Arthur were surprised to see that they had arrived in a small town.


    ¡°I was hiding here, one of the lords is a close friend of my father.¡± Said Justice when he asked them to follow him by the back alley. ¡°Let¡¯s go. This is our way to go inside.¡±


    The back alley is narrow, but it is walkable, although muddy and dirty. Justice never let go of his hold on Anne¡¯s hand. Arthur can only swallow a hard pill when he saw her and the crown prince. Vale took a nce at him, but never said anything. Instead, he asked Justice about the lord that granted him the protection.


    ¡°Who is he, really? Howe we never heard of him before?¡±


    Justice scoffed and shrugged his shoulder. He pointed at a ck wooden door. ¡°That¡¯s his house. He lives there with his daughter and a partner. Their wife was dead two years ago.¡±


    Justice knocks on the door, but then Vale¡¯s hand grabs his shoulder. ¡°Hey,e on, are you sure this is a safe ce?¡±


    Before Justice could reply to his question, the door was opened, and appear a beautiful young woman with radiant red hair appeared, a different shade from Justice¡¯s red hair. The young woman saw Justice and her face immediately lit. ¡°Oh, your majesty, you¡¯re back.¡± She went closer but then back down when her eyes goes to Anne, who was standing behind Justice. She even took nced at his hand, who held onto her. ¡°Oh¡­ Who are they?¡±


    ¡°Aliena, this is my friend Vale, the primary captain of the magi, and this is Arthur, the magic knight captain.¡± Said Justice to her.


    Aliena¡¯s eyes go directly to Anne. ¡°and who¡¯s this young miss?¡±


    ¡°Anne? Oh, she is my close friend, a healer from the capital.¡± Justice even emphasizes the close friend, while he pulled Anne closer to his body.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Uhm¡­ pleasee in. The others are already waiting.¡± She nervously smiled and let them go inside. After she close the door, she told them to go to the second floor, ¡°They were waiting on the second floor, along with King Edward.¡±


    ¡°The others? Oh, did you mean, Henry, Leo, and Xavier?¡± Asked Vale to the lord¡¯s daughter.


    ¡°Yes, primary captain¡­ Uhm¡­ would you excuse me, gentleman¡­ miss Anne.¡±


    After she excused herself, Aliena goes to the other room, leaving them in the back door kitchen. Justice took a sigh and lead them to the second floor. Anne could see there was something going on between the two of them.


    The second floor of the mansion is surprisingly big. They even have a third floor. On the second floor of the lounge room, king Edward was sitting on the sofa with Henry reading in another chair. Leo was looking out the window, and Xavier leaned into the firece. When they go inside the lounge room, all eyes are on them.


    ¡°Oh, finally! I¡¯ve been worried sick.¡± Xavier took a sigh and embrace Anne as soon as he saw her face. ¡°Are you hurt?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m alright Xavier, Justice came at the right time.¡± Said Anne while smiling at him.


    ¡°What?!¡± Xavier and Henry were shouting at the same time. Henry abandoned his chair and book and approached her. ¡°What happened?!¡±


    She was giggling and shook her head, ¡°Nothing happened, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Xavier asked her again, and the only answer from her was her warm smile and a slight nod.


    ¡°Well, well, now I can see it myself. How obsessed the four of you are with this girl. Jason already tells me about her.¡± Anne turns her attention to the unknown voice. She saw a handsome, slightly older man smiling at her. It was King Edward himself. ¡°Hello, miss healer, nice to finally meet you in person.¡±

 Chapter 199 - 199 The young miss and The king

    199 The young miss and The king


    ¡°Ah, the beautiful purple hair healer, the one who makes my son and his three friends smitten for more than two years. Finally, I met you.¡±


    King Edward keep looking at Anne, while she tried so hard to smile at the king. Never in her wildest dream, she will sit in front of the knight king, the true father of prince Javier. He was looking at her and even chuckles a bit.


    ¡°Fear not, young miss, I am not judging anything here, I came from a family of a custom noble, met with Leon and Ascend on the civil service exam, being best friends and now partners ever since.¡± King Edward, although have a broad shoulder and tall frame, he also looks at Anne with gentle eyes, which reminds her of Horden, Henry¡¯s grandfather.


    ¡°It is an honor, your ma¡­ I mean His majesty, I never met with other royalty besides prince Jason and crown prince Justice.¡± Said Anne with a nervous tone.


    ¡°Wait, you never met my son? I for sure thought he met you before.¡± King Edward asked her with curiosity.


    ¡°He probably saw her from afar. Now, let us go back to what exactly we are doing here, father?¡± Justice was annoyed by how fixated king Edward was on Anne. He knew that when it was time for him to announce his choice of the new empress, every set of eyes in the pce will turn to the woman. This is one of the factors why he always postpones his official announcement.


    The official announcement of the crown prince differs from the prince. The prince, like Javier, could marry below the rank and marry right away. A month before the wedding, there was an announcement. As for the crown prince, the announcement will lead to the future empress, where the woman will have to stay inside the pce and be the empress in training.


    Justice doesn¡¯t want an isted life for Anne. He knew how she loves being a healer, and also how they never put a name for the bond that they had.


    ¡°Hey, we met someone on the road. They told us that prince Javier was hiding in the northern area along with his wife.¡± Xavier was leaning on the firece again, but this time closer to the ce where Anne was sitting.


    .....


    ¡°In the northern area? That was close proximity to the group who wanted to kidnap him in the first ce. What exactly that idiot son of mine was thinking?¡± King Edward close his eyes and huffed his breath.


    ¡°Father, Javier must be had a good reason for it.¡± Trying to help his older brother, Justice tried to calm king Edward.


    ¡°No, Justice, this is typically your brother¡­ Ugh, why can he just like you or Jason?¡± He groaned and Anne immediately gave him a cup of drink, he took it and gratefully thanked Anne, ¡°Appreciate it young miss, oh, is this metee tea?¡±


    ¡°Yes, his majesty, you need to drink it so you can feel calmer.¡± Said Anne with a smile on her face.


    King Edward reciprocated her smile and patted her hand. ¡°Oh, what an angel you¡¯re. If only my son could have such a lovely young miss like you.¡±


    ¡°Father¡­ Careful, he is married to her now.¡± Justice warned his father immediately.


    A bittered smile came into king Edward¡¯s face, ¡°Yes, and sadly so¡­ Anyhow, what should we do now?¡±


    ¡°Better to let the familiars gather information for us.¡± Said Xavier, ¡°I¡¯ll send Ageha for now.¡±


    ¡°Wait, why don¡¯t you send all of your familiars?¡± Asked Anne to Xavier.


    A chuckle came to the huntsman captain. ¡°Well, for once, I¡¯m tired, and my magica is depleting. Asking the three of them will be the death of me.¡±


    ¡°Wait, the familiar drain our magica?¡± This is the new revtion for Anne. ¡°I thought they only need our magica when they are using power.¡±


    ¡°Surely Anne, you should know this by now, young miss.¡± Said king Edward with amusement on his face, ¡°There¡¯s a reason that my darling wife rarely rides Rhaemonda anymore. The dragon needs to consume arge amount of magica.¡±


    Vale went quiet. He approached her and put his hand on the elderwood bangle that he gave back to Anne. ¡°Weird, you lost just a bit of magica from the bangle, so howe Chikara could go around outside?¡±


    She shook her head, also confused like the rest of them, ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know, I mean, for two years, Chikara just¡­ growing¡­¡±


    ¡°And he never consumed any magica from her because Anne doesn¡¯t have any magica.¡± Muttered Vale.


    King Edward jolted from his seat, his rxed face disappearedpletely. ¡°What do you mean, she doesn¡¯t have any magica? That was impossible.¡±


    The four of them looked at each other. They tried to protect her all the time, but there will be a time this kind of information will be going to everyone¡¯s ears and eyes.


    ¡°It seems it was possible because Anne doesn¡¯t have any magica. They already check on the second exam. I guess you never read the report.¡± Justice said to his father, while Anne¡¯s face went pale.


    King Edward was staring at Anne with tension on his face. ¡°Yes, I guess I never actually read the report thoroughly. That was Ascend¡¯s job, after all.¡± He stand up from his chair, and excused himself from the room, ¡°I¡¯ll be going to my room to take a rest. It would be best if we discuss this tomorrow at lunch.¡± He closed the door, leaving all of them speechless for a moment.


    ¡°Wow, what happened here?¡± Asked Xavier while he brushed the stubble on his chin, ¡°Your father seems a bit distraught when he heard about Anne¡¯sck of magica.¡±


    Justice, turn his head to the door. He was as baffled as the others. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I hate this. He was keeping something from me.¡±


    ¡°He probably just tired.¡± Anne gave them a smile and then a yawn came. ¡°Oh, I guess I was also tired. Can someone show me my room?¡±


    Leo stands up from his seat. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll take you there. I¡¯m going to bed as well.¡±


    They walk outside the hall together, when Leo turns to her, ¡°So, no magica at all, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, is that going to be a problem for you?¡± Anne asked him a bit carefully.


    He snorted, ¡°Are you joking? You got a silver pass and also helped the kingdom from the certain doom of a false disease, without any magica.¡± A grin appears on his face. ¡°Probably I am bing more impressed than before.¡±


    What a relief for Anne, she hate it when someone gave him a cold shoulder for something that she doesn¡¯t have the power to change. Leo escort her to her room, and after they say goodbye, Anne was waiting for his friend to go inside his own room. Before Anne closes her door, a hand suddenly stops her.


    ¡°Wait, young miss, I need to talk to you.¡±


    She looks up, and there is king Edward staring back at her.

 Chapter 200 - ADD

    ADD


    200 The Prophecy of Another World


    The night was still young, but Anne was already tired, she look up to seeking Edward walking side by side with her. They walked to the front garden of the house. There¡¯s a small maze garden where they can speak without everyone hearing them.


    Inside the maze, there¡¯s a patio with a bird cage, an empty bird cage. They settled inside the patio where she ufortably wait for king Edward to speak.


    King Edward took a sigh and smile awkwardly at her. ¡°I am sorry to interrupt your time to rest, but what I am going to discuss with you is a matter of a secret.¡±


    Looking at how nervous a king is, Anne already guessed that this was an important conversation. ¡°I was already guessed when you seem distraught after the knowledge of myck of magica.¡±


    ¡°Yes, possible because of that¡­¡± He tried to give her a smile, but ite more like a wince, ¡°I¡­ I need to say, I was so nervous because, somehow, you really fit the prophecy except for one thing.¡±


    ¡°Prophecy? What prophecy?¡± Anne asked the king with more curiosity than before.


    ¡°Did you know about the round table tribe?¡± Rather than answering her question, the king gave another question to Anne.


    Anne nods her head, ¡°Yes, Vale once told me about histe grandfather that came from this mysterious tribe.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Vale¡¯s grandfather, and also one of the greatest alchemists that came for the tribe. I knew his story because myte father always told me about his achievement.¡± King Edward reminisced with a warm smile appear on his face, ¡°Many magi came from the tribe. I guess I was an exception.¡±


    .....


    ¡°Wait, round table tribe is your tribe as well, his majesty?¡± Anne was surprised by the fact, while the king was chuckling at her.


    ¡°You seem surprised about the fact, young miss?¡±


    Seeing the face of king Edward, Anne then said, ¡°Yes, I was surprised, because Vale told me that the tribe always lived in secrecy.¡± She look at the king and shrugged her shoulder, ¡°Vale I can understand, since he never actually was inside the tribe, but you¡­ You came from the tribe.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I came from the tribe. I was born and raised there until I got my silver pass after I safe a noblemen¡¯s daughter.¡± King Edward lean on the seat and took a deep breath, ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the prophecy. This is actually the prophecy that the elder of my tribe teaches us on Monday at school. They call it a tale of two worlds, a story about a young woman who was living a miserable life in her world, but when she tripped inside a ck tunnel, she arrived in another world.¡±


    Anne almost lost her breath. The prophecy is about her, her miserable life, and she was being thrown into thispletely different world. ¡°Then what happened to the woman?¡±


    ¡°She found herself to be younger butck the power of the new world and finally decided to live as a daughter of a childless couple. She was happy until four men came into her life. She was the child of the outsider but could be potentially found the key to open the door and lift the curse.¡± King Edward was finished with his story and now waiting for any kind of reaction from Anne. ¡°So, tell me, young miss, did you reallye from another world?¡±


    Let out a sigh, she looked directly into king Edward¡¯s eyes and said, ¡°Yes, I came from another world, nine years ago, as an eleventh-year-old, a healer couple take me into their house and adopted me as their daughter.¡±


    ¡°Oh, by God! You¡¯re real?! You¡¯re not just a tale from a crazy elder.¡± He was amazed by her, and quite frankly, has a conflicted feeling. ¡°Then it means the curse is real? I hope not.¡±


    ¡°Err¡­ excuse me, what kind of curse?¡± Asked Anne to him.


    ¡°Good question, I don¡¯t know either. I knew the tale but never bothered to read the whole prophecy, the elder told us just the portion of the tale¡­ and there¡¯s also that¡­¡± Said king Edward, he then pointed at her hair, ¡°The elder always told us that the girl has an exquisite auburn hair, your hair color, is an unusual color of purple, not auburn.¡±


    She touched her hair out of habit. All the details of the story were matched, but why do they don¡¯t have the same hair color? What makes her so special? Why is it that the prophecy of the round table got one detail wrong? Anne was nervous, and also excited, finally some answer for her.


    ¡°How can I get in touch with the tribe?¡± Anne asked him. Now she was eager to learn more about the prophecy.


    ¡°It would be almost impossible for an outsider to go inside the tribe unless there¡¯s a member of the tribe that apanies you.¡± King Edward gave her another hurdle. ¡°How about if I go with¡­¡±


    ¡°No, his majesty, she will be going with me.¡± A voice came from the bushes of the maze garden. Vale appears with Justice, Xavier, and Henry. Vale approached them and hold Anne¡¯s hand. ¡°Even though I was born outside the tribe, myte grandfather and myte mother was a member of the tribe.¡± His emerald green eyes stare into Anne. ¡°I¡¯ll go with her.¡±


    Flustered by their appearance, she hissed at Vale, demanding answers, ¡°What are you doing here? Were the four of you snooping?¡±


    A frown came into Vale¡¯s face. ¡°What does snooping mean?¡±


    King Edward red at his son. ¡°Justice, you shouldn¡¯t be here. This prophecy is about this girl, and I will be the one who apanies her.¡±


    ¡°No, we will go with her, all of us,¡± said Justice, he stands in front of his father. ¡°As you also probably knew by now, father, we were also mentioned in the prophecy, remember? The four men who came into her life.¡±


    ¡°That was us, obviously.¡± Said Xavier with folded hands on his chest.


    ¡°Well, and also the fact that we promise ourselves to be with her in every way possible,¡± Henry exined to him with a wink at Anne.


    Standing up from his seat, king Edward told his son, ¡°Fine, as soon as we were finished dealing with this problem, we are going to visit Gendry town.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you¡¯reing as well?¡± Asked Justice to his father.


    ring at his son, king Edward gave him a pat on his shoulder, ¡°Oh, yes, son, and your mother will hear about this.¡± He waves goodbye to all of them and with final words, ¡°Go back to bed, tomorrow we are going to save prince Javier.¡±


    The night was indeed still young, but Anne now could see clearly the way to the truth about her who washed away into another world.

 Chapter 201 - 201 Heart to heart

    201 Heart to heart


    The four gentlemen saw king Edward go back to the mansion. Anne was staying behind, she need to know why the four of them were here. The obvious reason for her is that they knew king Edward would ambush her and will ask her so many questions.


    ¡°What are you really doing here?¡± Asked Anne to the four of them.


    Xavier pretended to be innocent, ¡°Well, I saw you came out here with his majesty and I thought¡­¡±


    ¡°You thought what?! Ugh, just tell me that you already suspected that king Edward woulde to me, and the four of you were curious.¡± Anne was fuming, she hate that they need to stalk her around and not trust her to tell themter on, but then, they actually have a point, she keep everything from them, the proof is how she was closer to Brom, because of their shared secret. ¡°I am sorry. I know I wasn¡¯t being honest some of the timetely, but I was going to tell you about this.¡±


    A chuckle came from Henry, his cold blue eyes looking into Anne directly. ¡°Are you really? Do we need to tell you how you always lured us in and when we get closer, you tried to run away once again? Or maybe how you tried to hide from us so badly, but end up going to us once more.¡±


    A pang of guilt came to her immediately, she almost cried but tried so hard to hold the tears, ¡°I¡­ I tried so hard since you already knew about me, I¡¯ve already told you how old I was, how I am not the girl for all of you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think we care about it?!¡± Xavier holds the table with his two hands and looks tentatively at Anne, ¡°Yes, You thought yourself old in your previous world, but don¡¯t you think you¡¯re already experiencing a rebirth in this world and your mind from your previous incarnation intact?!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know what to think about it.¡± Anne closes her face and immediately Justice goes to her side and embraces her.


    ¡°Foolish girl, why do you have to cry all the time.¡± He whispered to her and brushed her hair, ¡°Anne, what we wanted for you is a second chance. We already knew your story but decided to stay, because we love you, River Anne.¡±


    .....


    Anne couldn¡¯t breathe for a moment. Justice gave her a deration of love. She was ttered, but also terrified. Anne pulled away from the crown prince and said, ¡°No, don¡¯t say it to me, please.¡±


    ¡°See, you always do that kind of action!¡± Henry was gruntling, he took Anne¡¯s hand and force her to look him in the eyes. ¡°Anne, just tell us what you feel about us. Because what Justice said earlier is the truth, as much as I hate this longing feeling, I need you in my life.¡±


    Vale pulled Henry¡¯s hand away and softly wipe Anne¡¯s tears. ¡°Don¡¯t cry, I hate it when I saw you crying like this, look if you can¡¯t answer us right away, that¡¯s okay, we have time.¡±


    ¡°No! That¡¯s not what I¡¯m trying to say. The four of you should not fall in love with me. I was the other girl. I was the viin of this story!¡± She cried harder, which makes Xavier run into her immediately.


    Xavier embrace her from behind, and whispered, ¡°Who said that you¡¯re the viin, who hurt you this bad? Tell me?¡±


    As usual, Xavier and his obsession, Anne, were already used to it. She patted his arms and wipe her tears again. ¡°No one, I make the assumption myself¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the witch, right? She¡¯s the one that embedded this twisted thought inside of you. Am I right?¡± Justice, who was observant for a while, finally puts two and two together.


    ¡°She¡­ she just told me something. That is the truth.¡± Muttered Anne, thinking there was no turning back now, ¡°She¡­ she told me that the four of you are a gift to me, after she pull me from my old world and into this world, she told me that it¡¯s my right to have the four of you and to live happily together until the end of the story.¡±


    The four gentlemen were stunned by her words. They never actually thought that the witch was the culprit, though Justice had suspected her, but never as deep as this.


    Let out a sigh, the crown prince, hold Anne¡¯s face, and the red ruby eyes stare deeply into Anne¡¯s eyes, ¡°Do you think you can trust every word that came from the witch¡¯s foul mouth, you do know how she created madness everywhere, she even destroyed your vige, and you trust her than us?¡±


    Like a lightning bolt, Justice gave a harsh truth to her, stuttered, she looks around, and said, ¡°I¡­ I never saw it that way, but she was right though¡­ I¡­ I came from another world.¡±


    Henry rolled his eyes. ¡°Yes, yes! Old story, we knew that, and would you please be confident now, imagine, you, the girl that came from nowhere, are making four influential men go crazy over you.¡± He throws something at the table, a ne with a small dagger as the pendant, it is the crystal dagger, ¡°Wear that, we are going into a dangerous area soon, and I want you to be protected.¡± He walked away and shouted, ¡°This is not over. We are going to discuss thister!¡±


    The other three were chuckling and somehow, another warm and fuzzy feeling came into Anne, she finally smile and after she put the crystal dagger, Anne look at Justice, Vale, and Xavier, this time with determination in her eyes, ¡°I am sorry, let us talk about this further when we got some answer from the round table tribe.¡±


    Justice gave her a smile and even kiss her on her cheek, she caresses her cheek and said, ¡°There¡¯s no rush. We have time, but please, don¡¯t run away from us again.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t, I promise.¡± Anne was honest about it. She won¡¯t run away from her feelings anymore.


    Vale, Xavier, and Justice have a sigh of relief. Xavier kissed her head, while Vale touched the elderwood bangle and give a peck to her hand. After a while, they decided to go back inside. Vale stretches his arm and looks into the sky.


    ¡°This is bizarre. Never in my life that I thought my tribe has something to do with you.¡± Vale said to her, and then shrugged his shoulder, ¡°But then, I never actually visited this so-called tribe.¡±


    Justice rustled his red hair, and wave his hand to everyone, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go to sleep now. We have a very busy day tomorrow, can discuss thister after we found my brother.¡±


    It was gettingte, and they never know what wasingter, after another deade haunting them, once again.

 Chapter 202 - 202 Aliena鈥檚 wishes

    202 Aliena¡¯s wishes


    ¡°Miss, time to wake up, miss.¡±


    A maid came into Anne¡¯s room and asked her to wake up from her slumber. She open her eyes and saw the beautiful morning by the window. Two maids actually were inside her room, one helped her with her clothes, and the other was busy opening the curtain.


    ¡°Miss, would you like to take a warm bath? We are going to help you.¡± Said the maid.


    Anne looks flustered. ¡°What?! No, no, it¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll take a shower instead.¡±


    The two maids were looking at each other, and one of them was trying to convince her again, ¡°Miss, are you sure? We can help you take a bath, our flowery bath will surely¡­¡±


    Anne was smiling. She nodded her head. ¡°I am positively sure, but thank you for the offer.¡±


    The two maids excuse themselves, and she finally can take a shower in private. After wearing the white shirt paired with an overall, Anne took her book from the nightstand and also doubled check her medicine bag. She was always careful whenever she was on the journey. A huge shadow appear from the window, she took a nce and knew the shadow immediately.


    ¡®Master, captain Brom and your senior named Nathan were fine.¡¯ Said Chikara from the corner of the room.


    ¡°Thank you, Chikara.¡± She smiled at her familiar while giving him his favorite moobull jerky. ¡°Anything else?¡±


    .....


    ¡®Yes, from captain Brom. He is waiting for you to go into the moonlight monster¡¯s nest.¡¯


    Groaning, Anne dropped herself to the bed. ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m screwed. Not only do I need to go to the other town, but also this moonlight monster thing.¡±


    ¡®Master, you can¡¯t be in two ces at the same time.¡¯ Chikara said to her with aical expression on his face.


    ¡°Of course, I can¡¯t! oh God, what should I do now?¡± Before Chikara answered her again, Anne raised her right hand to Chikara. ¡°No Chikara, I wasn¡¯t asking you.¡±


    ¡®Then, may I go and take some rest, master?¡¯


    Anne stand up as fast as she could from her bed, ¡°Wait! Chikara, I need to ask you why you never demand magica from me?¡±


    ¡®Magica?¡¯ Asked Chikara while he tilted his head, ¡®But, Master, you don¡¯t have any magica.¡¯


    ¡°Yes, I knew. That¡¯s why I was asking you. I thought familiar will only drain the magica when they use their power, hence why I never asked you to use your power before.¡± She walks around the room, thinking this through, ¡°Turns out, I was wrong, every familiar after they mature need to eat on the magica of their master, but you¡­¡± She approaches her familiar who seems to grow bigger day by day, ¡°You never ate any of my magica, so why did you survive for so long?¡±


    ¡®What do you mean, master? Eating magica? Why do I need to eat magica, when I can eat yummy food here?¡¯


    A frown came from her face. ¡°Well, you need it to survive, right? I mean, you never even absorbed the magica from inside my bangle.¡±


    Somehow, Chikara never even said a word, she give up and asked him to take a rest inside her shadow. She took a sigh and carry her bag outside. One maid asked her to enter the dining room, where everyone was already waiting for her.


    King Edward was smiling at her when she enter the room.


    ¡°Ah, good morning miss Anne, let me introduce you to our generous host here.¡± He said to her and introduce her to lord Darren, ¡°This is Albert Darren, and you already know his daughter,dy Aliena Darren.¡±


    Anne bow her head to the lord and took a seat to enjoy the breakfast. Justice, Henry, Xavier, and Vale were already enjoying the food. Xavier, who sat on her right side, approached her and whispered.


    ¡°Where were you? We tried so hard to chew slowly so we can apany you.¡±


    Anne took a nce and whispered back at him, ¡°Chikara¡¯s back. I asked him to check on Nathan and Brom.¡±


    ¡°How are they?¡± Whispered Vale, who sat on her left side. ¡°They were alright?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they were fine.¡± Anne patted Vale¡¯s hand, making him smirk at Xavier.


    Gasping, Xavier red at her, ¡°Howe you touched his hand and not mine?¡±


    Anne just rolled her eyes and continued to eat her breakfast. Justice and Henry from the other side were staring at her. Afterst night¡¯s heart-to-heart conversation, they finally put a word for their rtionship. Although the future is still uncertain, at least they have each other now.


    There was a pair of eyes who observed their interaction for a while. She felt a raging jealousy toward Anne, especially when Justice never even bothered to look on her way when she appeared from the door. Aliena was obsessed with Justice since she saw him at the pce ball, fall in love, and wait for the time to get closer. How happy she was when she thought as the mainpetition, Lady Heirim got rejected two years ago.


    Now she knows why the crown prince rejected the powerful noble. ¡°It was all because of her, right?¡± Asked Aliena to Henry.


    Henry turns around to see her. ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°I mean, he rejected your sister two years ago. It was because of miss Anne. Am I right?¡± She tones down the volume of her voice, so as not to distract her father and the king.


    Henry chuckles at her, ¡°Well, mydy, Justice wasn¡¯t the only one who got taken by her charm.¡±


    At first, she was puzzled by Henry¡¯s words, but it¡¯s all make sense when they are outside in the courtyard, preparing to go north of the ind, the four of them interacted mostly with her, they mored at her, adored her, and also the sense of protection that the young woman gets from four powerful men by her side. She... envies her.


    Aliena stood beside her father as they said goodbye to the host. They look at the carriage, which goes away, leaving the estate. They wave their hands, and when the carriage disappeared from view, Aliena turns her head to her dear father.


    ¡°Father, I changed my mind.¡± Said Aliena.


    Lord Darren was shocked to hear his daughter¡¯s words. ¡°Wait, are you sure? Because if we help them, there will be no turning back.¡±


    With a bittered smile, Aliena nods her head to lord Darren. ¡± I am sure of it. If I can¡¯t get the crown prince, then no one can¡¯t.¡±

 Chapter 203 - 203 Prince Javier鈥檚 fate (part 1)

    203 Prince Javier¡¯s fate (part 1)


    ¡°Where are we going right now?¡± Justice was asking his father inside the carriage.


    King Edward was yawning and leaning on his seat. ¡°We are going to the northern side of the port, just like the intel has told us.¡±


    Not impressed by how his father was reacting, Justice, approach him and asked him again, ¡°Father, he is your true son. Aren¡¯t you worried about him?¡±


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s it.¡± King Edward p into his leg and pointed at his red hair son, ¡°I was this calm because I knew he was alright, in fact, he was the one who sent me the information, that¡¯s why I trusted Xavier¡¯s wordsst night!¡±


    Justice drops himself back to his seat. ¡°So Javier is alive and well. Huh¡­ That *sshole.¡±


    ¡°Wow,nguage my son, but then, he is actually the *sshole of the family.¡± Said king Edward, while the four gentlemen tried so hard not tough at the very honest remark.


    Anne just couldn¡¯t even contain herughter. She was giggling, and the other looks at her as soon as they could hear the cutest sound that wasing from her. This is, of course, the mind of the four gentlemen, and as their eyes always look at her, Xavier who is sitting directly in front of her, grabs her hand and smirks.


    ¡°Oh, was it that funny to hear it directly from the king himself, huh?¡± He teased her endlessly, making Anne blush and gruntled.


    The four of them were awfully cheery today. Sincest night¡¯s confession, they finally can put a word over the feelings that they shared for a while. King Edward observes everything from his seat, how they seem to be enjoying their time with her, and how she looks more rxed around them.


    .....


    ¡°So, I guess you¡¯re going to have a serious conversation with your mother soon, Justice?¡± Said, Edward. This time, he tried to be the one who teased his son.


    With a confident smile on his face, Justice smirked and said, ¡°Yes, of course, soon, but not too soon. We still need to go to Gendry town, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right¡­¡± He was a bit taken aback that the teasing was backfired. He saw it himself how serious Justice and his three best friends were toward Anne. ¡°I think Valorian will have four future kings now.¡± Muttered Edward. He was smiling widely when his eyes looked at the morning light from the carriage window.


    After three hours on the road, the carriage stops in the small town in the north, Edward and Justice get out of the carriage, the crown prince borrowing Vale¡¯s cloak and wearing it hastily, Justice¡¯s appearance with red eyes and red hair will be too conspicuous.


    ¡°Wait for us here. We don¡¯t want to alert many people if we go inside in a big group.¡± Said Justice to the others inside the carriage.


    Anne touch his face and said, ¡°Be careful.¡±


    He chuckles and his hand grabs into her and he kissed her, savoring her taste and even licking her lips for the aftertaste. A smirk came from his beautiful face. ¡°You should never tease us like that again, now that you¡¯re officially ours.¡± He whispered to her, and close the carriage, not before he winked at the other three.


    Anne touch her lips and giggled. Somehow, she felt the happiness engulfing her in a warm nket. The other three, however, cursed and felt so aghast by the crown prince¡¯s action.


    ¡°Seriously, he stole yet another kiss!¡± Comined Xavier, he turn his attention to Anne. ¡°I need you to count our kisses from now on, so we could have an equal amount of kisses from you.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I am not going to do that. Are you mad?!¡± Anne was bbergasted by his silly request.


    ¡°Yeah, Xavier, why do we need to count something that is so simple,¡± Said Henry with a scoff, his icy blue eyes then looking into Anne, ¡°We need to count something more than a kiss.¡± Anne could see the desire who is build up inside his icy blue eyes.


    ¡°Shut up, Henry!¡± Shouted Vale. He took Anne¡¯s hand and smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to them, they just ying around.¡± He gave a peck to her hand, making Xavier and Henry livid.


    She chuckles and loves their interaction. She looks at the three of them and took a deep breath, stand up from the carriage and gave each of them a kiss on the cheek. They look so at Anne like she was an impostor. Anne just shrugged her shoulder.


    ¡°It seems you guys need some kisses, so I just go for it. Oh, and I am still not going to count anything.¡± She said to them with a warning at the end. They touched their cheek and surprisingly all of them liked it. Anne was surprised by it. ¡°Wait, why do the three of you seem to like it that much?¡±


    Henry took out of himself to tell her the truth. ¡°Because this is the first time for all of us that you initiated something intimate like this.¡±


    She was blushing and gave all of them a smile. At least our heroine could be more truthful to her feeling than before.


    Meanwhile, Justice and king Edward were going inside a small house right up in the alley. The house was in the style of a cottage with a thatched roof and two small windows; the door was from a nk of wood that is creaky when they open it up. Edward and Justice go inside, expecting to see prince Javier. Instead, what they found is an empty room with no pieces of furniture.


    ¡°This is odd. Are you sure this is the address?¡± Asked Justice to his father.


    King Edward nods his head, ¡°Yes, pretty sure this is the one.¡±


    ¡°Father, there¡¯s no one here!¡± Justice raised his arm to make a point of his father.


    ¡°Strange though, why is it this empty¡­¡± Muttered king Edward, but as soon as he spoke, a knife shoot from somewhere in the room, he dodge it and even catch the knife in midair. As a knight rank for the empress, king Edward knew what happen right now, ¡°Justice, prepare yourself. This is a trap!¡±

 Chapter 204 - 204 Prince Javier鈥檚 Fate (Part 2)

    204 Prince Javier¡¯s Fate (Part 2)


    ¡°Justice, run!¡±


    King Edward kicks the door open, just in time for a group of people, trying to ambush the two of them. One of the attackers had a crossbow, and he was aiming at Justice. Edward saw him and immediately call his familiar.


    ¡°Alexander, protect us!¡±


    Appear a golem with a hardened crystal body, the arrow just broken in half when Alexander covers the father and son duo. Justice was trying to run back to the carriage, but Edward prevented him in time. He shouted at his son for his rash decision.


    ¡°No, fool! Do you want your beloved to be in danger?! Let¡¯s go to the other side.¡± Edward pulled Justice away from the carriage, he was eyeing the small alleyway to ambush them.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Asked Justice to his father. His eyes were still focused on the location of their carriage.


    ¡°There¡¯s an alleyway. We can ambush them together.¡± Said his father, with his right hand calling for his great sword.


    The alleyway is in front of them; the attackers are already behind them. Justice called for his ming sword, and begin to fight all the attackers, although there were so many of them and there were only two of them. Thankfully, Alexander protects them from getting fatally injured.


    ¡°Aargh¡­ there¡¯s too many of them!¡± Justice yelled at his father, who was in the middle of dealing with two attackers with daggers.


    .....


    Justice dodges another attacker, only to be shed by the one behind him. They are at wit¡¯s end. If it¡¯s not because of Alexander, they were already dead by now. Justice wailed. The wound on his back is deep, and he was already on his knee on the ground. Edward saw him and tried to reach Justice in time. Alexander perish after so many attacks that targeted the two of them.


    Justice close his eyes, ready to meet his demise, the thought of Anne came into his mind, ¡°Well, at least I¡¯ve already kissed her goodbye.¡± Chuckles Justice.


    ¡°That¡¯s not enough.¡± A voice came directly in front of him.


    ¡°What?!¡± He open his eyes and saw Vale with glowing eyes already cast full protect on him and Edward.


    Xavier and Henry already joined the attack, while the primary captain of the magi cast fire hail. Half of the group got trapped in a fire prison, while the rest of them were already being taken care of. He falls to the ground as soon as he feels safe. Anne was running towards him. She was concerned about his health.


    ¡°He got a ghastly wound on his back. I need to clean and treat him immediately!¡± Anne shouted at the other, while she used a first-aid spell to dy the bleeding.


    Xavier and Henry carry Justice right away. ¡°There¡¯s a house there. We will take him there.¡±


    Hearing the two of them, Anne, who is already beside king Edward and treating his wound, nodded her head to Henry and Xavier, ¡°Alright!¡± She turns her attention to Vale. ¡°Vale, please bring my suitcase to the house. I need to treat king Edward here.¡±


    Vale nodded his head ande running back to the carriage. Anne focuses on king Edward¡¯s wound at the moment, while the king wasining and refused her treatment.


    ¡°No! No! Go to my son. He needs you right now!¡±


    Anne stubbornly stays with him. ¡°Yes, but just as soon as I have finished treating your wound.¡±


    King Edward still refused, even though his injured hand need to be bandaged right away. ¡°Just go, my son is¡­¡±


    ¡°His majesty!¡± Anne was shouting at him, she even hold his cor, ¡°Just¡­ Stay still! If you¡¯re this stubborn, I can¡¯t get to Justice in time! So stay still!¡±


    He was stunned by how stubborn Anne was. King Edward then gave her his injured arm and Anne treat the wound skillfully. He looks at the young woman and smiles. For him, Justice has found a good match, a brave woman who put her duty over her personal feeling. He can feel how distraught she was. Tears even flowed from her eyes. She was thinking about Justice right now.


    Finally, with not a minute to waste, she was done treating king Edward¡¯s injury. Anne excused herself right away and run into the house where she need to treat Justice. Arthur came running with Vale, while Vale goes inside the house. Arthur stays with king Edward, helping him to walk to the house.


    ¡°I am sorry, his majesty, I came outte and couldn¡¯t protect you and the crown prince.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright Arthur, so, did you find anything?¡± Asked king Edward to him.


    Arthur nodded his head. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll tell you everything inside.¡±


    They go inside and saw how Anne holding a crystal de and a bottle of liquid in her hand; she was in the middle of treating Justice. She was so focused no one even dare to speak to her. Anne put some powder on the gash wound on his back, her dress was bloodied and so does her hands, she turn to Vale and asked him to hold her hand.


    ¡°What?¡± Vale was confused.


    ¡°Hold my hand, I need your magica!¡± Shouted Anne to him, ¡°Hurry!¡±


    Vale share his magica through Anne¡¯s bangle immediately, Anne use it to cast a more powerful spell for Justice, a shining gold thread came from Anne¡¯s hand, and the gold thread begin to suture the open wound on Justice¡¯s back, everyone was amazed by this new spell from Anne.


    After the wound was finally closed by her golden thread, she let go of Vale¡¯s hand and drop into the floor. Xavier is already beside her and carries her into the chair. King Edward observe his son and he saw that Justice finally has some color back on his face.


    ¡°He will be fine now, his majesty, don¡¯t¡­ worry,¡± Anne said to the king. In her hand, there was a ss of water from Henry. She took gulped and thanked him.


    ¡°That was an amazing technique, Miss Anne. What is that?¡± Asked king Edward, curiously at her.


    Anne just smile at him, ¡°Just some ancient technique that I have learned from an old book.¡± Her eyes felt heavy as soon as she was finished with her sentence, and she pass out in front of everyone. Xavier carries her into another room right away.


    Half an hourter, they left her to sleep while all of them gathered in the main room. Vale exined to everyone about Anne¡¯s condition.


    ¡°It¡¯s because of the high-level spell that she created through my magica. After all, the magica isn¡¯t her, so when she used the high-level aid spell, her body strained much more than us.¡±


    Henry and Xavier look at each other. ¡°We need to prevent her from using the spell often, then.¡± Said, Henry.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will never let her do it again.¡± Said, Vale. He was so concerned about how fragile her body was, but didn¡¯t have the courage to share it with the others about it.


    ¡°If only we came right on time, Justice will never have to be in this condition¡­¡± Xavier was mumbling, his eyes then ring at Arthur, ¡°Where were you?!¡±


    Arthur was ready to give him the reason, but king Edward raised his hand. ¡°It was because of me. I order him to stay behind. I need to be sure about something.¡±


    The three of them shared nces. This must be something so crucial if he had to order Arthur to go some ce else.


    ¡°What happened, his majesty?¡± Vale asked him carefully.


    With a bittered smile, he looks at all of them, and lets out a sigh, ¡°I got betrayed.¡±

 Chapter 205 - 205 Prince Javier鈥檚 fate (Part 3)

    205 Prince Javier¡¯s fate (Part 3)


    ¡°Wait, so Arthur went away from us because you order him to spy on your friend? That was¡­ Why, his Majesty?¡± Xavier couldn¡¯t believe what he just heard. King Edward put no faith in his own friend.


    Edward took a deep breath before he inform the other, ¡°Actually, my friend, Albert, is not what it seems, he¡­ He was different since he lost his wife, not to mention he was dotting his daughter too much.¡±


    Vale was curious and asked him, ¡°What about lord Darren doting on his daughter that was scary, I mean, he probably just love her so much.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the point, Vale!¡± Edward ps his hand and finally revealed something that he never had done before, ¡°He¡­ had an ulterior motive, I thought he was purely helping me out of our friendship, butst night, after I was talking with miss Anne, he came to my room and asked me, no, begging me to betrothed Justice to Aliena.¡±


    ¡°What?! We know about Aliena smitten with Justice, but asking to be betrothed after just a day of meeting the man?! Amazed by his story, Xavier was chuckling, but he stop when he saw Henry from afar. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡±


    Henry looks at Xavier and said, ¡°Actually, I know about Aliena, she¡­ She was obsessed with Justice since the pce ball.¡±


    ¡°And you just tell us, now?!¡± Shouted Xavier, Vale even need to hit his head for once, he didn¡¯t want to awaken Anne and Justice.


    ¡°Justice never thought that this obsession will be deadly?! Even I never predicted this.¡± Said Henry, he sigh and drop himself onto the chair. ¡°He told me about some mail and even a trap of a love potion in one of the mail. It never worked though¡­ because...¡±


    ¡°He was under the influence of the bewitched spell at that time.¡± Muttered Vale.


    .....


    ¡°What a sick woman!¡± Said Xavier while he bites on his nails.


    Arthur cleared his throat. ¡°Not just that. Apparently, they were in preparation to go somewhere. They¡¯re closing their townhouse.¡±


    King Edward hit the table out of nowhere. Even Xavier never expected it from him. ¡°My Gods! Albert, what have you be? All of this just for your lovesick daughter?¡±


    ¡°His majesty, please calm down, we don¡¯t know the whole story yet.¡± Said Arthur to king Edward. He also took nced at Vale, trying to get help to calm the king.


    Vale nodded his head. ¡°Yes, he was right, his Majesty. We can¡¯t apprehend them right now. We need to know the motive and every aplishment that they may have first.¡±


    ¡°Both of you were right. We need to know the one who cooperates with them. But, we know this for sure. This family is the one who funded the extremist group.¡± Said king Edward with gritted teeth, ¡°He is the most wealthy lord on this ind. He could easily fund the whole ind if he wanted to.¡±


    ¡°But, all of this just to kill Justice? Really?¡± Henry doubted this, although epted lord Darren¡¯s involvement with the extremist.


    Vale tells King Edward, ¡°Something doesn¡¯t add up, but what exactly? I don¡¯t know.¡± He stood up from his chair and excused himself. ¡°I¡¯m going to look into Justice and Anne, his majesty. Please go and take some rest. We have a long day.¡±


    ¡°What about my son?¡± He asked Vale. He looks exhausted. There was already a ck circle in his eyes.


    ¡°Let us look after him. He is our best friend. I will let nothing happen to him.¡± Xavier tried to convince the king. After all, he was telling the truth, and he would guard his best friend against anything that could happen.


    Finally giving in, king Edward took the other empty bedroom and took some rest. Vale, Henry, Xavier, and Arthur were staying in the room and discussing the rotation.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take the first shift.¡± Said, Arthur.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Said Henry to him, a smile appearing on his face, ¡°I am sorry, I still couldn¡¯t trust you.¡±


    Arthur took a deep breath and whispered, ¡°None was taken, *sshole!¡±


    Vale and Xavier smile, looking at the two of them and went out to guard the perimeter of this empty house.


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Asked Xavier to Vale.


    ¡°Going to look after Anne. What are you going to do?¡± Asked Vale back to him.


    Xavier looked around the room and finally pointed at the room where Justice recuperated. ¡°I¡¯ll be sleeping in Justice¡¯s room.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be sleeping in here then.¡± Said Vale to him. Both were already exhausted, and they just wanted to take some rest before their shift.


    Three hourster, during the dawn break, Xavier heard someone entering Justice¡¯s room. He pretended to sleep for a while, and he turned to see Anne holding a knife beside Justice. ¡°Anne, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I was checking on my equipment and all, that¡¯s all.¡± She told Xavier and carefully put the knife on the bedside table again. She also put some medicine and a ss vial in there with the knife. ¡°Please never touch this medicine. I need to know the order of everything.¡±


    Xavier just nodded his head, still a bit curious to see her here in the middle of the night, not to mention holding a knife. ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t. You need to take some more rest, Anne. He will be fine.¡±


    At first, she stopped and went quiet, and then she smile at Xavier, ¡°Hey, I was a bit hungry. Want to apany me to eat? I mean, you will only go for like half an hour.¡±


    He sighed and stand up from the makeshift bed. ¡°Come on, we have bread and moomilk in the kitchen.¡±


    Anne was eating slowly, while Xavier looks at her. There are no words, only a moment that they share together. ¡°Anne, I need to ask you. Do you really mean it when you said you care for all of us? I mean, the four of us?¡±


    Anne almost choke on her moomilk, but a smile came from her face, ¡°I do, and I am sorry that I don¡¯t say it soon enough¡­.¡± Anne went quiet and then said, ¡°Xavier, I need to ask you something¡­¡±


    A sound came from outside of the house. Xavier and Anne stood up immediately. They rushed into Justice¡¯s room and saw the window was already broken. Xavier tried to climb the window, but Anne held him down.


    ¡°No! There¡¯s ss everywhere in the window¡­ Besides, you can catch whoever they are.¡±


    Xavier desperately looked from the window, and saw Arthur and Henry fighting a group of people, he grab Anne¡¯s shoulder and asked her to stay inside with Justice, ¡°I¡¯m going to ask Vale to stay with the two of you.¡±


    Anne turns her head to the window and the bedside table. One item was missing, and she tried to hide a smile from Xavier, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be here with Justice.¡±

 Chapter 206 - 206 Save Justice, save the island

    206 Save Justice, save the ind


    The situation almost bes uncontroble. Xavier runs outside and shouts at Vale, who was sleeping soundly in the living room. Not a second to waste, the primary captain of the magi run inside Justice¡¯s room and saw Anne holding Justice¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± He asked Anne while looking at her and Justice.


    Anne smiles at him. ¡°We are both alright. Someone came inside, but Xavier and I came at the right time.¡± Looking around the room, Vale tries to clean the broken ss from the window, but Anne holds his hand immediately. ¡°Wait, use gloves and never let your skin touch the ss.¡±


    He frowns at her. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Errr¡­ I don¡¯t want you to get hurt, that¡¯s all.¡±


    Although Vale was still curious as to how Anne asked him something so futile, he gave in and wear gloves. Meanwhile, Xavier helps Henry and Arthur to chase the assassins. Arthur uses his me sword and burns ten of them, while Henry pierces the other and killed two with a crossbow. Xavier approached them with a great axe but look around into the street. The assassins were already running or killed by Henry and Arthur.


    ¡°Oh, it seems I was toote.¡± Said Xavier scratching his head.


    Henry red at him. ¡°Yes, you¡¯rete. Where were you?!¡±


    ¡°I need to protect Justice and Anne. Someone sneak inside Justice¡¯s room.¡± He informed the other two while they clean themselves.


    .....


    Arthur looked around and felt something was wrong. ¡°This attack feels wrong. Something doesn¡¯t add up.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s inside your mind?¡± Asked Henry to Arthur.


    ¡°I mean, they lured us away from the house, and then someone sneak inside the room where the crown prince was recuperating?¡± Said Arthur to the other two.


    Henry shook his head. ¡°The target is Justice.¡±


    ¡°D*mn, let¡¯s go back right now. We need to speak with king Edward.¡± Xavier asked them to go back and worry about the other, although he believes in Vale¡¯s skill.


    Inside the house, king Edward was already awakened and looked so angry at the situation. Xavier tried to inform him, but he gave him the hand.


    ¡°I know, they are targeting my son! It has be so obvious by now. But why? Because of one girl obsession?!¡± He gritted his teeth and hit the table.


    Xavier sighed and called for one of his familiars. ¡°Ageha, where are they?¡±


    ¡®Almost here, master. They were on the ship and will be arriving at the designated rendezvous tomorrow.¡¯


    King Edward, who heard the information, nodded his head. ¡°Good, the reinforcement will being in. Now, I just need to find my other son.¡±


    ¡°Wait, his majesty, it would be a rash decision to go away now? We need to wait for the reinforcement army.¡± Said Arthur to him.


    ¡°No! I am going, I almost lose Justice, I don¡¯t want to risk it, I need to find Javier.¡± Said king Edward, stubbornly.


    Xavier stared into the back window, and took a long sigh, ¡°That¡¯s his decision, Arthur, we need to respect it.¡±


    Arthur was shouting at Xavier, ¡°Well, someone needs to apany him.¡±


    ¡°of course, I¡¯ll go with him.¡± Henry offered himself and look into Arthur, ¡°You also came with us. We never know how much of them that they need to fight.¡±


    A bit flustered, Arthur tried to argue, ¡°Wait, but this ce¡­¡±


    ¡°Will have enough people, don¡¯t worry.¡± Said Henry before Arthur could finish his sentence. He looks at king Edward and asked him another question, ¡°Where should we go?¡±


    ¡°I think I know where Javier is right now. He probably got kidnapped before we came here, and if I wasn¡¯t wrong, he will be inside the guard station at the heart of this town.¡± He pointed at the small area on the ssmap. ¡°Let me mark it so it would be easy for us.¡±


    Vale look into the window for a while and then informed king Edward, ¡°His majesty, how about if you took the forest behind the town, it would be a good shortcut.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea, Vale, thank you.¡± King Edward gave them a smile and asked them to prepare everything for the mission.


    Anne came and gave them tonic and healing salve. ¡°This coulde in handy. Please be careful.¡±


    While Arthur and Henry smile at her, king Edward holds her hand and said, ¡°Please, take care of my son, while I¡¯m gone.¡±


    ¡°I will, his majesty, don¡¯t worry and take care of yourself,¡± She nodded her head and goes to Henry, ¡°You as well, be safe, alright.¡±


    They embrace each other. Henry even gave her a light kiss on her lips. Arthur pretended not to see the affectionate gesture and walk outside, he wait for king Edward and Henry without even going back inside the house anymore. Anne saw them walk away from the forest through the window. Xavier came and embrace her from behind.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he will be fine.¡± Said Xavier to her.


    ¡°I know, but¡­¡±


    ¡°God! I left you for a month and finally some improvement in your rtionship.¡±


    The stranger¡¯s voice from the door made Xavier and Anne turn around. Xander came inside the house wearing only trousers and nothing else.


    With a sigh of relief, Xavier approached his brother and gave him a warm hug. ¡°Took you long enough! You know how worried I was!¡±


    ¡°Well, from the looks of it, I don¡¯t think you¡¯re worried that much, though.¡± Teased Xander to his older brother, ¡°I am sorry brother, your girl¡¯s here gave me another task.¡±


    Frowning, Xavier look into Xander and Anne, ¡°Wait, you two already met? When?¡±


    Anne and Xander look at each other, Xander pointing his finger to our heroine, ¡°Two hours ago, I came inside from her window, and she looks at me, and then I tell her about the intruder who came from the forest behind the house, I tried to warn all of you but she told me not to and even asked me to clear the way to the town by the forest.¡±


    ¡°So, that¡¯s why you asked king Edward to go into the forest because it would be the safest way.¡± Said Xavier to Anne. He was impressed by her wit. Although he was curious for another detail, ¡°But, howe you never told us about the intruder?¡±


    ¡°It was for another setup, actually.¡± Said Anne with a smile on her face, ¡°A setup for the real culprit who tried to kill Justice.¡±

 Chapter 207 - 207 The Golden Thread Spell

    207 The Golden Thread Spell


    Xavier couldn¡¯t believe what he was just hearing from her. A frown came into his eyes and he looks at her beloved with curiosity.


    ¡°Wait, so you know that Justice is going to get attacked, but you let me go outside, making him vulnerable.¡± He let out a sigh. ¡°Anne, what did you do?!¡±


    ¡°Look, I know that wasn¡¯t very logical and risky, but I will never have tangible proof of whoever the one that was trying to kill Justice.¡± Said Anne in her calm manner, although deep down she was terrified, and panic sets in when she thought the killer had already gotten into Justice.


    Xavier¡¯s scoffed. He shakes his head, still in disbelief, ¡°Oh God! I don¡¯t have any words for how disappointed I was with your action.¡± His eyes look at her with adoration and also anger. ¡°You can just inform me and we could do your n together!¡±


    ¡°I was trying to tell you. Remember when you apany me to the kitchen? I tried¡­ but I guess it was a bit toote.¡± Said Anne, with a guilty grin on her face.


    ¡°You think?! Thankfully, we came running on time. But what if it¡¯s not?¡± He tried to make sense of her decision, he really does, but his disappointment came because she didn¡¯t even try to involve them in her n.


    ¡°Look, I know you¡¯re mad, but believe me, the real culprit is already being marked, and it wouldn¡¯t be long before we know who¡¯s the one who bears that mark.¡± Said Anne to Xavier.


    The werewolf just looks at her, staring at her for a while, until he asked her, ¡°What kind of mark?¡±


    Before Anne could answer Xavier, Vale came inside the room. His face was pale. ¡°Anne, I need your help!¡±


    .....


    She knows immediately that something is wrong with Justice, and without wasting any seconds, she enters Justice¡¯s room and saw him trying so hard to breathe. Instead getting panic, Anne actually rejoiced. She asked for Vale¡¯s hand and hold him tightly. ¡°Quick, I need your magica!¡±


    Vale was intrigued. Giving in to her request, she hold Anne¡¯s hand, and another spell came from Anne¡¯s mouth. The golden thread that was binding Justice¡¯s wound was now being released, and the wound flesh now intertwined once again. After a long process that seems like forever, the golden thread swirled into Anne¡¯s arm and disperses inside her flesh.


    With a gasp, Justice open his eyes, and at the same time, Anne was closing hers. Vale catches her body and carries her into another room. Justice stared around the room, looking so confused. ¡°What¡­ what happened? Why am I here?¡±


    ¡°Wait, you don¡¯t remember?¡± Asked Xavier, he sat beside him on the bed, and tried to reason with him, ¡°Justice, you were hurt badly, and Anne¡­ I guess she saved your life.¡± And it¡¯s all juste drowning at him, Xavier¡¯s smiling and shook his head, ¡°Yes, she saved your life.¡±


    ¡°What is thest memory that you had?¡± Vale asked Justice while leaning on the door frame.


    The crown prince tried to remember thest memory that he had. ¡°I remember that I kissed her on the carriage, her soft lips against¡­¡±


    Vale and Xavier raised their hand and prevented him from speaking about it. ¡°Yeah! Yeah! We know that! And then?¡±


    ¡°One of the ambushers strikes me from behind, and that was it. I ck out afterward.¡± Said Justice to them.


    ¡°You don¡¯t remember the process of how she was healing you, then.¡± Vale came inside and smile at his best friend. ¡°It was remarkable. She basically stitches up your wound.¡±


    ¡°Does it hurt?¡± Asked Xavier, he was trying to see the wound but failed to see even a tiny mark, ¡°What?! there¡¯s nothing in your back, Justice, there¡¯s no scar!¡±


    Justice and Vale looked shocked at Xavier when he informed them about the missing scar. Vale took the mirror on the wall, and both of them look at his back, and just as Xavier¡¯s said, no scar was even visible. The ghastly wound from yesterday now disappear and not even a tiny prick of the scar was visible on his back.


    ¡°Gods! This is¡­ Something else.¡± He looks at his two friends who also have the same expression, ¡°This is new. I have never seen this spell before.¡±


    Vale nodded his head. ¡°So am I. As the magi, we need to know the extensive list of the magica. I have never actually known about this magica before.¡±


    ¡°She used your magica, right?¡± Asked Xavier, ¡°How much magica that she needs to do¡­ You know, this!¡± Xavier¡¯s hand gestured towards Justice.


    ¡°Apparently not so much. This is certainly a high-level spell, but the magica that is used only as much as the medium-level spell.¡± Vale tells his friend, also pretty disturbed and somehow intrigued by Anne¡¯s new spell.


    ¡°How is she?¡± Xavier asked Vale, while his eyes were staring at the ground.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, she just¡­ asleep.¡± That was a lie. Vale knew Anne¡¯s body was crumbling, possibly because of the new spell. He kept it for himself and will discuss thister on after Justice confronts his problem on this ind.


    ¡°I said some things to her, some mean things¡­¡± Xavier was full of regret, and Justice could see it from the look on his face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she will be fine, although look fragile. Anne is one of the strongest women that I have ever known.¡± Justice said to Xavier, his hands patted on his friend¡¯s shoulder, while he tried to walk out of his bed.


    They follow him into the kitchen. Xander was outside, guarding the house. There were only four of them inside the house right now. Justice stopped for a moment in Anne¡¯s room. He saw her sleeping peacefully, and couldn¡¯t resist the temptation, he goes inside and caressed her cheek. Xavier and Vale were standing patiently beside him.


    ¡°Justice, let¡¯s go outside. We need to let her rest.¡± Said Vale, carefully at him.


    Justice then turns to Vale and Xavier, ¡°We need to keep her new spell from everyone, I mean, she was already being targeted by one of the dangerous beings in the empire, I don¡¯t want her to suffer by another wrong hand again.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t,¡± Whispered Vale, although there was a double meaning in his words. As to whatever happened to Anne, Vale needs to ensure her safety from the new spell that he never even knows to exist in this world.

 Chapter 208 - 208 The precious girl in our heart

    208 The precious girl in our heart


    ¡°Where¡¯s my father?¡± Justice asked Xavier and vale, when they were in the kitchen, eating stale bread and out-of-date moomilk from the pantry. They have no choice for now.


    ¡°He was gone with Henry and Arthur, your father thinks that he knows where Javier was.¡± Said Xavier, he winced at how Justice could easily eat the food. ¡°You know what, for royalty, you do have a strong stomach. How could you eat this food?¡±


    Shrugged his shoulder. Justice shows him the stale bread, ¡°If you tear the bad one, you can still eat the rest of it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna pass, thank you,¡± Xavier said to Justice with a grimace.


    ¡°And for a werewolf, you really are a picky eater, privilege *sshole.¡± Muttered Justice while he enjoyed the food.


    Vale¡¯s eyes never go away from Justice. ¡°Do you really heal already? Are you sure?¡±


    With a sigh, Justice turns his attention to Vale. ¡°What do you want me to say? That I was actually in pain, but hiding it from all of you? Seriously, Vale, I¡¯m alright, hungry though, but I¡¯m healed.¡±


    Xavier stands up from his seat and excused himself from the room, ¡°I¡¯m going to apany my brother, you two just discuss this thing together, as for me Vale, I think he has healed already and probably tried to focus on another matter?¡±


    ¡°What another matter, seriously?!¡± Vale raises his hands, totally confused.


    .....


    ¡°Ugh, this is about a trap that Anne set up inside Justice¡¯s room.¡± He confessed to Justice and Vale, a bit flustered that he forgot to inform them.


    ¡°A trap?! What kind of trap?!¡± Asked Justice with confusion on his face.


    He looks outside and thought that Xander can wait for a minute. He sat again and begin to tell them about how he noticed that Xander and Anne weremunicating with each other.


    ¡°She then revealed her n to me. I scolded her, of course, since it will put Justice and her in danger.¡± Xavier ended the conversation and excused himself. ¡°Look, I do hate to scold her, but she needs to trust us, now that she has us as her¡­ You know.¡±


    As soon as Xavier leaves the room, Justice and Vale look at each other. They chuckle together, listening to Xavier¡¯s bashful words.


    ¡°Looking at his track record, that f*cking werewolf should be an expert of romantic words by now, but he can¡¯t even dere that we are in a rtionship with Anne now.¡± Said Justice with a smirk on his face.


    Vale just shakes his head, feeling ridiculous by his friend¡¯s shyness over their newfound rtionship with Anne.


    ¡°I¡¯m intrigued by her n, though. She was doing something suspicious in your room, but I don¡¯t know what.¡± Said Vale to Justice.


    Wiping his face from the bread crumbs, Justice calmly reminded Vale, ¡°What she has done was, for our sakes, it doesn¡¯t mean that she kept it a secret because she was trying to cover something, have faith in her.¡±


    ¡°Well, you don¡¯t have to convince me. It was that stupid wolf who need convincing.¡± Vale shakes his head and still feels a bit silly about Xavier¡¯s behavior.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him. As for Ann, are you sure she is fine?¡± Justice tried to ask Vale again, but his intuition gave him some inkling that Vale didn¡¯t tell them the whole truth.


    With a sigh Vale gave Justice a weak smile, ¡°Nothing could ever pass you, huh?¡± He took his time and then with a voice who almost like a whisper he said to Justice, ¡°She is weakened, I don¡¯t know how to describe it, but her body is crumbling.¡±


    ¡°How is that possible?¡± Justice looks at Vale and, at the same time, worried about Anne, ¡°Because she is not from this world? Is that it?¡±


    Vale shakes his head, ¡°I truly don¡¯t know, but as a magi, I was able to detect any anomaly inside everyone, truthfully, she has something inside of her that was so destructive but I don¡¯t know what is that destructive force.¡±


    ¡°And you wouldn¡¯t be able to help if you don¡¯t know anything first.¡± Added Justice. He close his face and went quiet for a while, until his red eyes begin to open and look into Vale, ¡°Let us concentrate on the problem in front of us right now, remember, we are going to go to your hometown and meet with the round table tribe.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s hope that they have some tangible answer.¡± Vale tried to put on a bright smile.


    Meanwhile, Xavier walks outside, searching for his brother. He looks around the area when a voice calls him up on the roof.


    ¡°Looking for me?¡± Xander called for his brother while waving his hand.


    He looks up and grins at Xander, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ming there.¡±


    With a jump from the wall and into the chimney, Xavier could easily go to where Xander is. They meet and have a slight punch in the arms.


    ¡°How are you? So nice to see you, brother.¡± Said Xander with a grin on his face.


    ¡°So good to see you as well. I got worried when Justice told me that you got separated from him and the king.¡± He looks at his brother and the concern is still there.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I am resourceful, beside, I got to hook up with a hot innkeeper when I was in hiding.¡± Xander winked at his brother while implying a wicked gesture in his hand.


    Rolling his eyes at his brother¡¯s antics, he gave another punch on his arm, ¡°You rascal! I know about your other Paramore in the capital, a beautiful guard who helped you with the false infection case.¡±


    ¡°Oh, her, she was just¡­ friend with benefits?¡± Said Xander with a t voice.


    ¡°What happened to you, brother? You never like this before? Something is changing in you.¡± Xavier looks at Xander with concern on his face.


    The only thing that Xander could say to his brother, that he was alright, although his mind always goes to a certain ck hair girl, who is waiting to be trial for the unforgiven act of conspiring against the royals.


    Suddenly, Xander remembers something that the noisy maid of the inn has told him.


    ¡°Oh, brother, there is something that the girl told me. It was about the prince, prince Javier.¡±

 Chapter 209 - 209 The silence trap

    209 The silence trap


    ¡°Javier, what about him?¡±


    Xavier was frowning. This is news for him, while Xander looked at him with a shrug. ¡°She told me that the prince was actually renting a room for a while at the inn.¡±


    ¡°Really? And how¡¯s his condition? Battered or stressful?¡± Asked Xavier to Xander.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that though, but she knew about this because she was the one who would carry his food to the room.¡± Xander answered him while yawning, ¡°God, I was so tired, you know. That girl of yours was actually a bit bossy.¡±


    A grin came over his face. ¡°She is bossy, I admit it, pretty hot though.¡±


    Xander¡¯s head turns to look at his brother. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re not going to deny it anymore? You used to give me a bunch of sh*t if I reminded you about Anne, but now, you¡­¡± He finally knew something happened, and his finger pointed at his brother, ¡°You¡­ the two of you finally making it official, am I right?¡±


    A bit flustered, Xavier then tells Xander, ¡°Well, the four of us are with her, all of us are finally in a rtionship with her.¡±


    ¡°A huntsman captain, who happened to be a werewolf, a talented primary captain of magi, who is also talented with his magica. Not to mention, a prominent noble, and a knight captain, plus! The crown prince of this kingdom!¡± Xander¡¯sughter almost gave Xavier chuckles. He shakes his hand and looks into Xavier, ¡°She is the one, huh? A lucky young woman indeed.¡±


    ¡°Hey, she wasn¡¯t the only one who got lucky.¡± Said Xavier, warning his brother.


    .....


    ¡°I know, I know. The four of you are also lucky to have her.¡± Said Xander while rolling his eyes.


    They have some quality time together, something that Xavier was doing for two years after their fallout because of the werewolf case, but now, as Xander has his job in the capital, they tried to make time to be together, just like this.


    Xavier can¡¯t get Xander¡¯s story out of his mind, ¡°Hey, about Javier, when did he leave the inn?¡±


    Xander tried to remember his conversation with the innkeeper girl. ¡°Oh, two days ago? He just disappears, and the girl never knows why.¡±


    ¡°Really? Two days ago, huh? Strange indeed.¡± Muttered Xavier, he decided to tell this news to the others, ¡°I¡¯ll go inside, just howl if you said a suspicious movement.¡±


    ¡°What?! I thought you were going to stay. Ugh, at least bring some food. I¡¯m starving.¡± He was grumpy when Xavier already jump into the ground below.


    Xavier enter the house and saw Justice and Vale having a conversation in the living room. They felt it was a bit odd to see Xavier.


    ¡°Hey, I thought you were going to apany your brother until morning?¡± Asked justice, a ss of moomilk is in his hand, and Xavier just winced, thinking it was probably out-of-date moomilk. He chuckles and said, ¡°Rx, Vale enchanted the moomilk, it is fresh again.¡±


    ring at his friend, Xavier just couldn¡¯t believe him. ¡°Why don¡¯t you say so? I was so thirsty and hungry.¡± He pours a ss of the moomilk and a piece of bread, he chugs the moomilk, and eats the bread, not long after, he spat the bread from his mouth, ¡°Wait, the bread it¡¯s still stale bread!¡±


    Justice and Vale calmly looked at him. ¡°Well, we never said I¡¯ve enchanted the bread as well.¡± Said Vale while he gave him a wicked grin.


    Cursing at his two friends, Xavier drops himself to the sofa. He pours another moomilk. ¡°You two need to grow up, seriously!¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on Xavier, it was a harmless doing,¡± said the primary captain of the magi, his hand touching the stale bread and his eyes glowing, he enchanted the bread, giving it the time back when the bread was still fresh from the oven.


    The aromatic bread hits everyone¡¯s nose, and they munch the bread while remaining themselves to give Anne and Xander some of the bread and the moomilk. Vale took the rest of the bread and the moomilk to the kitchen. Xavier looks at Justice and tells him about Xander¡¯s information.


    ¡°Javier? Really? So, he wasn¡¯t kidnapped?¡± Asked Justice to him.


    Xavier shakes his head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t know about this. He was there for a month and the girl that informed Xander told him that there were no other people who can enter the room besides her. Not to mention they gave her arge sum of coins for the secrecy.¡±


    Thinking hard about the information, Justice stared at the ground. ¡°So, he is probably being kept inside the inn, but why do they need to move him away?¡±


    ¡°Maybe because we were so close to him by now? Or maybe for the other reason? I don¡¯t know, Justice, this whole thing was something else.¡± Xavier shakes his head. He never bes the one who could be thinking hard. He put a soft punch into his friend¡¯s arm, ¡°Hey, best of you to take a rest. I¡¯ll be heading out for now, bringing food for Xander and finally apanying him. That man gets lonely too much.¡±


    Scoffing, they bothugh at Xander¡¯s personality. Vale and Justice go to Anne¡¯s room. They took a chair and never left her side, while Xavier was on the roof with Xander. When morninges, the werewolves sniff something in the air.


    ¡°Brother! It¡¯s blood.¡± Said Xander to his brother, Xavier.


    They jump from the roof and go to where the trace of the smelles from. How shocked they were to see Henry, Arthur, and king Edward came along with a young woman. Xavier recognized the woman.


    ¡°Amelia?!¡± Said, Xavier.


    It was indeed Amelia, the wife of prince Javier. She was injured and there was a ghastly rash on her right hand. She wears a cape to hide her face, even though it was almost unrecognizable right now, the rash already spread into her right cheek.


    They took her inside the house, where Justice and Vale look horrified.


    ¡°What happened? Where¡¯s Javier?¡± Asked Justice to his father.


    ¡°I can¡¯t find him, instead I found her, when we were trying to go back to the house, she was already chasing us.¡± Said king Edward to the others.


    Amelia was looking around the room and with tears in her eyes, she plead to all of them, ¡°Please, safe Javier, we need to go to the port right away, they are going to kill him!¡±


    ¡°What?! Why you didn¡¯t say so before?!¡± King Edward then asked everyone to join him, ¡°We need to rescue Javier, right now.¡±


    ¡°But, without the reinforcement, it would be a futile attempt, father.¡± Justice trying to convince his father.


    Panic sets in. King Edward was desperate, while Amelia keeps crying for them to go to the port as soon as possible.


    ¡°No! Stay! It was a trap.¡± They went quiet and turn around to see Anne, she points her finger at Amelia. ¡°She¡­ she was lying. She doesn¡¯t get the rash because she got tortured.¡±


    King Edward looked at Anne with a frown on his face. ¡°Why do you say so?¡±


    ¡°Because I was the one who gave her that rash!¡± Answered Anne, while her eyes keep focusing on Amelia.

 Chapter 210 - 210 [Bonus chapter] For the first time we have met

    210 [Bonus chapter] For the first time we have met


    It is a beautiful morning in the valley of the flowers, when four men walk at their own pace, trying so hard to look around. There¡¯s a tall man with ck hair and golden eyes, walking with steps while whistling away, annoying the rest of the group, especially the man with red hair and stunning ruby-red eyes.


    The tinum blonde hair and blue eyes man just chuckles, listening to his dear friend, and there is also a brown-haired man with green eyes, focusing to read the map.


    these are the story of how Justice, Henry, Vale, and Xavier met with Anne, more like their side of the story of the time they met with a beautiful young woman with stunning purple hair in the small vige called Viora.


    ¡°Are you sure that someone told you the witch of the mountain was spotted here?¡± Said Justice, grumbling at Vale. He was impatient, probably because of how much he needed to deal with his duty as the crown prince.


    Vale, the recently appointed magi captain, just nodded his head without even looking at his friend. ¡°Yes, I am sure. He even gave me some proof.¡±


    ¡°Proof, what kind of proof?¡± Asked Henry to Vale with curiosity.


    Xavier, the tallest of them all, justughed and keep walking at his own pace, ¡°Probably just some proof of how timid you are besides those girls in the bar, earlier.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Xavier! You¡¯re just like Henry. The two of you are such a manwh*re!¡± Shouted Vale at Xavier.


    Justice was having a st, he looks at Henry and Xavier and teased both of them, ¡°He is right though, you saw any girls and then chasing theirs skirts like a dog in a heat.¡±


    .....


    Xavier gasped, and Henry was smirking at Justice¡¯s remarks.


    ¡°Can¡¯t help it though, there are so many men but few of them women, and I love it when they adore me so much.¡± Said Henry, winking at his friend, ¡°I called you to join in with the fun, but as usual, you rather talk to your old guard, Bernard.¡± This time, it was Henry who got to tease him.


    ¡°Justice, the crown prince who saved himself for the future empress.¡± Xavier chimes in, this time making all of themugh at his antics.


    They have walked for ten minutes when Xavier told them to stop. He asked the other three to hide while he check what was on the other side of the valley.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go out until I came back.¡± Said Xavier, warning the three of them.


    They trust him the most in this situation, his skill as the huntsman and also the fact that he is a werewolf, giving him the upper hand in the wilderness. Justice, Henry, and Vale were waiting patiently for Xavier toe. After almost ten minutes and there was no sign of him, they be restless and decide to follow him.


    They found Xavier, fighting a minotaur. The three of them look at each other and immediately run toward Xavier. Henry called his crystal sword, Justice with his me sword, and Vale aid them with protection and casted fireballs at the monster. Henry jumps and sh the arm of the minotaur, while Justice pulls Xavier away for a moment.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Asked Justice to him.


    ¡°Took your time, huh? I was almost squished to death by that beast!¡± Gruntled Xavier.


    ¡°We were waiting for you!¡± Shouted Justice, a bit grumpy by the usation from Xavier¡¯s end.


    ¡°Guys!¡± Screamed Henry, ¡°A bit of help, here!¡± As soon as he was asking for help, the minotaur stabbed Henry with his horn, he got thrown in the air, Vale tried to catch his body using the wind spell, while Justice and Xavier block another attack from the minotaur.


    ¡°Vale, take Henry into one of the bushes over there, we check on him after we were done with this monster!¡± Justice asked his magi friend, even though he was worried for Henry, but the minotaur need to get exterminated before it goes to the nearest vige.


    Not long after, Vale is already back and assisted his two friends, they struggled because of the size of the monster, Justice almost got stabbed if it was not because of Valeing to help him with the firewall, he jumps away from the monster, trying to catch some breath.


    ¡°Hey, are you alright?¡± asked Vale, worried about him. ¡°Go and check on Henry. I can assist Xavier for a while.¡±


    Nodded by his friend¡¯s request he run into where Vale hide Henry, and then he saw two people, a man and a woman with mesmerizing purple hair looking at his friend, thinking about a robbery that goes near the vige nowadays, he jump and shouted at them.


    ¡°Halt! Who are you?!¡±


    They turned their heads and as soon as Justiceid his eyes on the woman; he was awestruck. Not only that, her hair is in an oddly beautiful color, but her face was also just as lovely. Her eyes somehow got a silver tint, and her pucker lips with red blushed cheek. in Justice¡¯s mind, she is the most beautiful young woman that he is ever seen.


    After a moment, the misunderstanding finally disperses with the help of Vale, who cameter on with Xavier, and the two of them almost have the same impression about Anne just like Justice. The three of them saw how talented the young girl was, and how she managed to help her parents at such a young age, and they could also see how kind and caring she was towards the patients.


    When the night came, Henry was finally conscious, he looked at Anne, and for the first time in his life; he didn¡¯t have any words to say. Which is quite rare, since he was the famous flirt in the kingdom. He closed his eyes when the girl goes towards her.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I could swear that I saw this mark before. But where?¡± Mumbled Anne, pondering.


    Henry suddenly opens his eyes, and the blue eyes stare right at the colorful eyes with a glint of silver hue. ¡°I see that you have a hobby to stare at something beautiful?¡± Said, Henry. He was nervous but finally, manage to make the situation lighten by his flirting.


    The other three came to visit him not long after. Anne excused herself to make some food, and that¡¯s when they said the same thing about the young woman.


    ¡°She¡­ How can I say it, beautiful? No, she is more than beautiful. I never saw any girl like her in my entire life.¡± Said Vale, the youngest of them all.


    Henry rolled his eyes, ¡°She is beautiful, but you don¡¯t need to exaggerate, Vale.¡±


    ¡°But, she is, Henry, she¡­¡±


    ¡°Did you see her stunning hair? Never saw those colors on hair before.¡± Muttered Xavier, he was thinking about Anne right now.


    Henry just chuckled, even though deep down he was agreeing with them. Her soft voice when she whispered, and those colorful eyes. Her warm hand when she tucked his nket, and the caring smile that she always gave to every patient in the room. Henry doesn¡¯t want to admit it, because this newfound feeling makes him ufortable.


    Justice was quiet. He couldn¡¯t say anything and also couldn¡¯t mutter words that will be satisfactory right now. This girl really is something else, her brazen attitude and also how she can handle pressure, and her kindness and caring nature. All four of them see the quality of the young girl, something that they have never seen in one woman.


    ¡°Look, as beautiful as the young woman is, we have a mission, and she is just a vige girl who needs to be protected from the witch, just like the rest of the kind people, here,¡± Justice warned his friends, trying not to think of this vige girl so much, and the rest of them reluctantly agree with him.


    While they were trying to counter the little seed of feelings that grow inside each of them, a woman peeked from the window, a woman with long ck hair and rainbow-colored eyes. She was creeping into the shadow and saw the seed of love that need to be nurtured inside the four of them, smiling; she begin to cast a spell, the spell thatter be the conduit of their feelings for the young girl. The high-level spell that is ancient in nature, which every magi is never able to master. The infamous, bewitched spell.

 Chapter 211 - 211 The heartfelt wound of king Edward

    211 The heartfelt wound of king Edward


    ¡°She¡­ She was lying. I know that mark for a second. Iid eyes on it.¡±


    They went quiet, and you can almost hear the wind blowing until Anne asked them to wait and said that she had the proof.


    Amelia, on the other hand, was furious. ¡°She¡­ She was lying. Who¡¯s that peasant girl, anyway? Howe she was here? Is this her house?!¡±


    ¡°Careful, Amelia, that girl is a healer and also my lover, so better behave,¡± Justice warned her while his red eyes red at Amelia.


    ¡°Oh, really? I am sorry Justice, I don¡¯t know. But she was wrong, this is not¡­¡±


    Anne came just as soon as she could. She was wearing her leather gloves and brought with her a piece of ss and some ss vials. She put everything on the table and look around the room.


    ¡°This is my proof.¡± She said confidently by showing the piece of ss first. ¡°This is a ss from the broken window by Justice¡¯s room. The one who breaks the ss is the assant, and guess what I thered on the ss?¡± She showed another ss of vial with a clear liquid in it, and she put a nt on the table as well, ¡°This is Kangcoon, we use the sap inside to be used as bug repellent, and the leaves are good to cure headache and tremor from heatstroke, but you probably know why you should never touch Kangcoon without wearing gloves.¡±


    ¡°Because of the poison from the leaves that can give you a bad rash.¡± Said king Edward while his eyes go to Amelia¡¯s hand where she constantly scratches the itch that came from the rash.


    ¡°Yes, I gave her the allergy.¡± Said Anne with confidence in her eyes.


    .....


    ¡°Amelia, how could you? I thought we were your family.¡± King Edward took a seat, still shocked by the revtion.


    Still trying to avoid Anne¡¯s used, she was thrown herself to the ground and tried to hold into Edward¡¯s hand, ¡°No, father, she was lying. Believe me, your son is in danger! Please believe me!¡±


    ¡°I can give you another proof.¡± Said Anne calmly beginning to mix some potion and approaching Amelia. ¡°I can cure her. In just one hour, the rash will be healed.¡±


    Justice looks at Amelia and then turned his attention to Anne. ¡®Are you sure, Anne?¡±


    Nodding her head, she sat beside Amelia. ¡°Yes, I am.¡± she was waiting for Amelia to give her the hand with the ghastly rash on it.


    He looks at Amelia again to ask for her permission. ¡°Amelia, give her your arm. If you wanted us to believe your story, you need to give your permission to use the healing salve on you.¡±


    With a trembling lip, Amelia gave her hand that is full of rash to Anne, she thered the arm with the salve and she can feel the difference already; the itch was almost gone, but Amelia stayed quiet and just sat quietly on the sofa.


    King Edward called Anne and Justice to another room. His face was confused, and he was trying to make sense of the situation. Anne already feels sympathy for the king, knowing his daughter-inwmitted this heinous crime, and not to mention wondering about his son.


    ¡°Did you think that Javier was involved in this¡­ This attempt assassination of you?¡± The king was trembling, not because he was afraid, but because he was thinking that he was probably going to fight his true son.


    ¡°To tell you the truth, I don¡¯t know. I never close to Javier, so I never knew his temperament.¡± Said Justice to his father, but suddenly his hand seeksfort by holding into Anne¡¯s hand without king Edward noticing it.


    Anne knew that Justice was sure Javier was in this. He just doesn¡¯t want to make his father get even sadder than this. Anne squeezes his hand, giving him thefort that he needs, while she begins to talk to king Edward.


    ¡°His majesty, let¡¯s wait for the salve to work, and we can begin to interrogate Princess Amelia. For now, let me take care of you. I can see that you have cut wounds everywhere.¡± She smiles at king Edward and excused herself to take some of the medicine that she needs.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re a lover now, huh?¡± Said king Edward when Anne goes away from the room. ¡°That¡¯s quite an improvement in just a couple of days. Good on you, son.¡±


    With a blush on his face, he chuckles and tried to warn his father to stop teasing him, ¡°Alright, you can stop now, and don¡¯t you ever tell mother before me, ¡¯cause I am going to tell her myself.¡±


    ¡°I know son, I can see how you¡¯re so in love with her, and I am proud of you that you have to choose a girl from your heart and how brave she is, handling everything and not being dependent on you as her man.¡± He smile and took a deep breath, ¡°I just hope your mother could see how much of her real value she is.¡±


    As soon as the words came from his father, Justice knew, he will have a hard time convincing the empress about Anne. Her mother although virtuous and a good empress, also believed in the higher value of blue blood, as a noble from birth, Empress Liberty sees that only a noblewoman could be an empress and themoners¡¯ value is below the noble who have the higher education and privilege life.


    Justice, on the other hand, hates her other side of arrogance, that¡¯s one of the main reasons why he loved to go on an adventure, he doesn¡¯t want to stay inside the pce sitting side by side with her mother and her high virtue as royalty.


    Anne came inside the room and treated king Edward¡¯s wound immediately. She was also informed then that Amelia was detained inside the prison bubble and waiting for the healing salve to work. ¡°You should take a rest his majesty, we have some time before the rash will be gonepletely.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I guess I¡¯ll take some shut eyes. Please wake me up in time.¡± He said to Anne and Justice and walk towards his room, and before he goes inside, he turn and said to his son, ¡°I am sorry, but I do hope that the salve will not work for her.¡±


    He knew what his father meant to say if the salve doesn¡¯t work, then Amelia is innocent, and so does Javier. Although, the truth finallyes, when one hourter, king Edward came back to the living room and saw Amelia¡¯s hand almost heal from the ghastly rash on her hand. He dropped to the ground and wailed.


    ¡°Oh, Javier, what did you do, son?¡±

 Chapter 212 - 212 The truth of Amelia

    212 The truth of Amelia


    The tension is palpable. Amelia was crying inside the prison bubble, and king Edwards was sitting in a chair, looking gloomy. Justice, Xavier, Vale, and Henry couldn¡¯t say any words, only Anne, who sees that she needs to do something.


    ¡°Amelia, we have already caught your lies, so please, for leniency how about you tell us everything that you know.¡± Said Anne to the helpless woman inside the prison bubble.


    With eyes full of hatred, she hissed at Anne. ¡°That¡¯s princess Amelia to you. I¡­ Work hard for this title and there you are trying so hard to destroy everything!¡±


    ¡°You have done everything just for a title?¡± Said king Edward, he looks at Amelia with disbelief in his eyes, ¡°Really, Amelia? Just for the title? We ept you as part of our family.¡±


    ¡°What family? The empress always sees me as the noble wannabee, and Javier was so invested with my family fortune, spending on gambling and whatnot.¡± Sheughed while looking at the king, ¡°The only thing that he can repay me is by making me the empress!¡±


    Justice looks up. He stared at Amelia and asked her, ¡°So, my brother really into this?¡±


    ¡°Who else? You know he hates you so much, and I think he was so jealous of how everyone always sings praise for you.¡± Amelia tried to mess with his mind, but Justice never believe her.


    ¡°The only thing I knew was that you¡¯re probably nting the seeds of hatred for my brother. You know your mother? Louisa? Well, she was rted to the Bacardy family, isn¡¯t she?¡± Justice was smiling, while Amelia turn paler and even tried to hide her face, Justice continued on, ¡°Turn out your branch of the family was helping the Bacardy by adopting a girl named Rosy, the wealthy farmer where the wife has a sibling, named Louisa, who got married into a wealthy merchant. Louisa, who is your mother, and also the one who introduces the Bacardy to her sister.¡±


    Everyone was stunned. Turns out Amelia was also part of the Bacardy family, even though not as close rtives.


    .....


    ¡°Justice, so, you knew all along?¡± Said king Edward to his son.


    ¡°I knew about her, yes.¡± Justice pointed at Amelia, and then shakes his head, ¡°But I don¡¯t know what her big n is, and I don¡¯t even have proof.¡± He looks at Anne with a proud face. ¡°I do know.¡±


    ¡°D*mn, so Amelia is also involved with the false-infected case?¡± Said Xavier turning around to see the young woman who was hissing and ring at all of them, ¡°How about your brother?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know if he is fully involved with everything.¡± Justice admitted, he look around the room and said, ¡°At this point, we need to hide and waited for the reinforcement.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, waiting for the reinforcement before we got captured ourselves, besides we need to protect Justice.¡± Said Henry to them.


    Vale runs inside the house and uses his insight. He walks into the perimeter, just to make sure that no one or troopsing into the house for now. He went back inside and informed the others.


    ¡°We are safe for now, but we need to move fast.¡±


    Henry rustled his hair. ¡°Yes, but where?!¡±


    ¡°The ship!¡± Muttered Xavier, he stand up and yelled, ¡°The ship, we can wait and hide inside the ship!¡±


    Henry points his finger at Xavier, he also gets excited immediately after, ¡°You¡¯re right, the ship!¡±


    They screamed and even hug each other. Justice just frowns and asks around, ¡°What ship?¡±


    ¡°The ship that we were using to get here, it¡¯s hidden in a dangerous swamp with a healer named Leo and captain Brom.¡± Arthur answered his question, while he check on king Edward, ¡°His majesty, are you alright?¡±


    He nods his head to Arthur, ¡°Yes, thank you, Arthur, I was a bit shocked that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°You should, when you know what kind of thing your son is willing to do to get the crown on his head.¡± Said Amelia, smirking at Edward.


    Anne red at her and sat beside Edward. ¡°Please don¡¯t hear him, his majesty, she could be lying and just trying to make you more confused than before.¡±


    ¡°Tha¡­Thank you. You¡¯re right, she was probably trying to mess with my head.¡± Said king Edward gratefully to Anne.


    Amelia was screaming. She tried to yell some incoherent words. Anne gave a code to Vale to shut her mouth. She doesn¡¯t want her to give her a hard time to Edward. Vale nods his head and cast a spell into the prison bubble. He muted the inside of the prison bubble to prevent her from getting heard by anyone.


    Meanwhile, Justice, Henry, and Xavier already discussing the best way to get into the ship.


    ¡°We could use the carriage, and probably be there in twelve hours if we go fast enough,¡± Henry suggested while looking at the route from the ssmap.


    ¡°It should be alright, the horse gets a good rest as well, but what about the seat? We have another three people now.¡± Mentioned Justice to them.


    ¡°Easy, I will transform into my wolf¡¯s form with Xander, Amelia could take my seat, and Arthur can control the horse along with Henry.¡± Xavier gave his suggestion and the other two agreed.


    They pack everything, although there¡¯s nothing more than just Anne¡¯s medicine bag and some provisions, Xavier helps Henry and Arthur to put the reign on the horse, ¡°I¡¯ve already given them their food for today, and Anne also gave them some tonic, they will be able to take us far.¡±


    Not long after, all of them get inside the carriage. Vale has a duty to take a close eye on Amelia. They tighten a rope on her body and also muffle her sound with a rag. Anne was looking at Xavier from the window. He runs closer to the carriage, with his brother in their wolf form.


    That¡¯s when she looks in front. Another dark cloud means the dark and mischievous road is ahead of them. She shouted at Xavier, warning him and Xander, Vale cast a spell to the carriage and also to the werewolves, cast full protect spell and when they are in the middle of crossing the dark and mischievous road, anticipating what could be inside of this doom road.


    ¡°It¡¯sing! Prepare forbat!¡± Henry was screaming at everyone.


    A huge shadow already waiting for the prey that ising into them, a huge shadow with three glowing white eyes that roars into the dark sky.

 Chapter 213 - 213 The irregularity

    213 The irregrity


    ¡°Arthur, I¡¯ll stop the carriage, and you should attack the monster right away with Xavier and Xander.¡±


    Henry asked him while giving a code to wolf Xavier beside him.


    ¡°Alright, let us handle the big abomination first. Don¡¯t take too long,¡± said Arthur with a grin on his face.


    If it¡¯s not for his blind adoration towards Anne, Henry could probably befriend him, but then, he thought, he could probably be their drinking buddy. Arthur jumps from the carriage, while Henry stops the carriage. Justice and king Edward get out of the carriage.


    ¡°Let us help.¡± Said king Edward to Henry.


    Henry tantly refused. ¡°No, his majesty. Please stay here with Justice to protect Anne and princess Amelia. I¡¯ll go there with Vale.¡±


    They agreed and right away Henry and Vale run towards therge shadow. They can see the sparking from afar, probably from Arthur, and when the two of them saw the monster, their mouths went agape.


    ¡°F*ck! Is that?!¡± Vale couldn¡¯t even say any words afterward.


    ¡°Bahamut¡­¡± said Henry while taking a deep breath.


    .....


    Xander ad Xavier was attacking by jumping and wing into the Bahamut¡¯s body, Arthur using his climbing skill to use. Giving Vale and Henry a confused feeling.


    ¡°What¡¯s Arthur going to do by climbing Bahamut¡¯s body?¡± Asked Henry to Vale.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know? So weird though.¡± Muttered Vale.


    Arthur looks at them from below, while avoiding Bahamut¡¯s hand, ¡°What are you doing? Help me! Bahamut¡¯s real weakness is the small gem in between its eyes!¡± He angrily points at the small gem, which was almost invisible if it were not for the sun shining through the gem.


    Vale immediately cast a wind spell and lifted Arthur before the Bahamut wed into his body. Wolf Xavier was able to jump onto the Bahamut¡¯s arm and bite the hand. The monster roared once again, and Henry took the chance to climb into the Bahamut.


    Vale repeatedly cast full protect on everyone, because the attacking from the monster was intense. Henry manages to go into the shoulder of the monster and calls for his crystal sword, the beautiful crystal sword with light reflected on the sword. Wolf Xander came and tried to signal Henry to jump into his body. With a doubt, Henry reluctantly sits on wolf Xander¡¯s body and then he wed into the face of the monster. Xavier held onto the right hand of the Bahamut, while Arthur made the right hand busy with his attack.


    Vale cast thest full protect on Henry while he jumps from Wolf Xander¡¯s body and pierces into the ck gem between the Bahamut¡¯s eyes. The monster wailed and fell to the ground, and not long after, the dead eyes of the Bahamut looked into them.


    ¡°Gods! This was intense!¡± Said, Henry. He sustained some mild injury, and Anne was already beside him, healing their wound.


    King Edward was stunned when he saw what kind of creature they had fought. ¡°This¡­ This is Bahamut, although it was the medium size, it¡¯s in fact Bahamut.¡±


    ¡°Yes, strange¡­ Bahamut only appears on the Hoard. Howe it was here on the dark and mischievous road?¡± Justice came forward and take a closer look at the monster.


    Xavier and Xander shifted back to get treated by Anne, he looks at the monster and shakes his head, ¡°Howe the hoard¡¯s type of monster could jump into the dark and mischievous road?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯m sure we will hate the answer.¡± Muttered king Edward.


    They go on their way after Anne was done helping everyone. They finally arrived at the swamp where they saw Leon call for them from the ship. Anne was d to see her friend¡¯s face. He asked to go back, worried about Nathan¡¯s health. As soon as they met, Anne gave him a warm embrace.


    ¡°I¡¯m d that you¡¯re alright. I was worried when Vale told me that you insisted on going back here.¡± Said Anne to Leon.


    Leon look so concerned and whispered to Anne, ¡°It was Nathan, he got worsen.¡±


    Anne took a sigh and asked Leon about his whereabouts. He told her that he gave him some sedatives. Brom came outside and immediately seeks Anne. His hand holds tightly onto her arm.


    ¡°She came again, right?¡± Brom doesn¡¯t even aware of his surroundings, where everyone focuses on their conversation.


    ¡°Brom, everyone is here, look around you.¡± Whispered Anne, warning her friend.


    Finally, realizing his mistake, he make a small smile and rustled his hair, ¡°I am sorry, got a little tense, let¡¯s go inside, it will be a bit cold here.¡±


    Taking her hand, Justice whispered to Anne, ¡°He was talking about the witch, right?¡±


    ¡°Not right now. We have another thing to do, remember?¡± Anne whispered back at Justice.


    They go inside the ship, and Anne looks so impressed by how clean the ship is. She knows who¡¯s the one who cleans everything. It was Leon. She knows the man is a clean addict. Vale put Amelia in one of the rooms, he also cast some lock spells. Brom tilted his head and asked his primary captain.


    ¡°She¡¯s the new bride of prince Javier, right? Princess Amelia?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and also part of the n of the attempt assassination of the crown prince.¡± Said, Vale. He pours liquor into the ss and looks into his magica. ¡°I need to lie down, almost drain my magica.¡±


    The primary captain goes to the captain¡¯s room. Anne excused herself with Leon to the healer¡¯s room, checking on her senior¡¯s condition. Justice, Brom, Xander, Arthur, and Xavier are now sitting together, thinking of a good strategy to attack the port, while Henry and King Edward aremunicating with the reinforcement troops through their familiar.


    ¡°We need to wait for the reinforcement. We don¡¯t know what kind of skill and how many troops that the enemy has.¡± Said Arthur to Justice.


    Justice¡¯s hands brushed into his chin, where the stubble already appears, he nods his head and agree with Arthur, ¡°Amelia could give us some insight.¡±


    ¡°She could lie to us, though?¡± Xavier added to Justice, ¡°Already tried once.¡±


    ¡°True, but we need to know something, just anything.¡± Justice begins to look so desperate.


    ¡°I can help,¡± Brom said while raising his right hand. All eyes go to him, and a smirk appears on his face, ¡°But it could be harmful to her.¡±

 Chapter 214 - 214 The truth spell

    214 The truth spell


    The others look at Brom and figure out howe he can be so cold and heartless when he offered to pry some answer from Amelia. He looks at them with his uninterested attitude that only a handful of people understood about the weirdness of Brom, and one of them it was sitting with the other.


    ¡°Look, Brom, how much pain do princess Amelia will have to endure?¡± Asked Vale to the not so much enthusiastic Brom, ¡°I mean, we couldn¡¯t harm her.¡±


    ¡°Why not? She was the antagonistic woman. Am I right? So let her get some pain.¡± Brom asked him with a shrug.


    A horrified look came over everyone¡¯s face. Xavier even whispered to Justice, ¡°I¡¯m already saying this, but I¡¯m going to say it again. This man is terrifying.¡±


    Justice whispered back at him, ¡°You terrified of him? I am terrified for the safety of Anne. They are best friends.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not going to be that painful. Maybe just sting a little if she resists.¡± Said Brom again while yawning, ¡°You want her to talk, right? She will be if you use the spell that I just learned.¡±


    Vale was in disbelief. ¡°You want to use a new spell that you have just learned to her?!¡±


    ¡°Oh, trust me, primary captain, I never even once ruin a spell.¡± Said Brom towards Amelia¡¯s room, ¡°So, shall we?¡±


    The others look at him with doubt. Only when king Edward said that he may go and do as he wishes, that¡¯s when the others let out a sigh. King Edward has the authority, and everyone will obey. Brom and Xavier put Amelia on the chair while they were circling her.


    .....


    ¡°Well, I must say, now I know how thedies with more than two husbands were feeling.¡± She said with a bit of a tease to all of them.


    King Edward was disgusted by her. From his chair, he shouted to her, ¡°Stop that, Amelia, you¡¯re still married to my son.¡±


    She turned to see the king, ¡°Oh yeah, did you not remember what did I say to you? Your son was one of the conspirators of all this thing!¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Amelia!¡± Shouted Justice, ¡°I know from the moment I saw you that you¡¯re really bad news for my family, now, you can either voluntarily give us the information about this secretive army or we are going to need to use a harmful spell on you.¡± He sat in front of Amelia, while his hands folded on his chest, ¡°Your choice, ¡¯cause we are going to get the information, no matter what.¡±


    ¡°Oh, just let me have her. I am itching to use this new spell!¡± Brom circled on Amelia, with his eyes staring at her, like looking at his new prey. ¡°Please, I really want to see the effect on her.¡±


    ¡°Brom, just calm down, please.¡± Warned Vale, he was sitting closely with Xavier on the other side of the room. Observing from afar.


    Amelia was nervous. She can feel how all of them were so eager, she know that there was noing back. She med her family because of her misfortune. They mor for a connection to be one of the blue blood. They have the wealth, but never the noble blood. When they saw the opportunity toe in a form of a prince, they don¡¯t even think twice about offering her as bait. Amelia never love Javier, at least not in the way that she wanted to, not to mention she felt that Javier just wanted her fortune and the connection of her family.


    She took a sigh and said to Justice, ¡°I want leniency. If you give me a promise, then I will tell you anything that I knew.¡±


    Justice turn his attention to his father, and they went quiet for a while, until Edward nodded his head, ¡°Alright, everyone here is my witness, tell us everything, and don¡¯t you dare to hide or even change the information, or you will suffer the consequences.¡±


    For the next two hours, Amelia was being interrogated for everything that they need to know about the enemies, their armies, the capacity, the form of defenses, and even the organization itself, Amelia tell them everything that she could until warm hands engulfed her face. She looks up and saw Anne ring at all the men in the room.


    ¡°Enough! You interrogated her for two hours. She was exhausted.¡±


    Justice looks at her and nodded his head. ¡°She¡¯s right. We got everything that she needs from her. Let her rest in the room.¡±


    Anne and Vale took her back to the room, and when Anne look into her condition, she wasughing at her. ¡°You are just unbelievably nice, aren¡¯t you? Was this your acting whenever you¡¯re surrounded by your men?¡±


    Anne was checking on her pulse and even tuck her into the bed, ¡°No, I was worried for everyone because this is my job as a healer,¡± She said to Amelia, and when Vale and she are exiting her room, she turned to Amelia and said, ¡°Oh, and they are not my men, they are who they are, the same as mine, the only thing that is different that we love each other. Be on your own person, princess Amelia.¡±


    When she close Amelia¡¯s bedroom door, Vale rushed into the spell and push Anne to the wall. He imed her mouth spontaneously, making Anne a bit surprised by it. Their lips intertwined for a while, and his hands trying so hard not o touch her body, her lips feels like a sugary sweet that melted in his mouth, a sweet that he can taste every time and never get bored.


    When he stopped, they look at each other. Anne then caressed his face. ¡°That was a nice surprise. What was that for?¡±


    ¡°Just because¡­.¡± Said Vale with a husky voice.


    They can go on if it¡¯s not because of Henry, who cleared his throat from the other end of the hall. ¡°Well, no wonder you took so long. We were waiting.¡±


    They smiled at each other, and not long after, they go back with Henry looking at them from behind. Xavier and Justice looked at them and knew exactly what had just happened from the looks of Anne¡¯s and Vale¡¯s lips.


    ¡°Gods! You two!¡± Xavier gasped theatrically, ¡°Alright, Anne, next is me.¡±


    ¡°Xavier, this is not apetition.¡± Justice tried to tell him while rolling his eyes.


    ¡°Well, good on you. You already kiss her recently.¡± Muttered Vale while smirking.


    Anne could almost drown herself in front of everyone, especially when king Edward was here, with them. Brom takes a seat beside her. She tried to avoid the subject by asking Brom about his new spell.


    ¡°So, if you use the spell on Amelia, did she really going to tell you the truth?¡±


    Brom looked at her with a frown on his face, ¡°How should I know? There¡¯s no such a spell, anyway.¡±


    Anne¡¯s eyes got wide at the revtion. ¡°What?! So you lied?!¡±

 Chapter 215 - 215 A friend in need is a friend indeed

    215 A friend in need is a friend indeed


    (Warning: This chapter contained discussion about an adult rtionship which is probably not suited for some people, reader¡¯s discretion is a must)


    Anne was stunned by her friend¡¯s statement. ¡°That was a lie? Oh my God, Brom! How could you?!¡± She could almost feel her anger build up, all because of how detached Brom into the world sometimes.


    ¡°Well, she spoke up, right? So, it serves the purpose.¡± Said Brom with a shrug. He looks around the room and revealed the reason, ¡°I saw how lost everyone was at that time, so I just gave some hope, which the crown prince took the chance for.¡±


    ¡°You¡­You are something else.¡± Muttered Xavier, even to the extent of shaking his head.


    Justice looks at Brom, and said, ¡°You took the risk, and I don¡¯t know if I need to apud you or be scared of you.¡±


    His words gave Brom a burst ofughter, he looks at Justice and said, ¡°How about we call this a help? We get the information that we need and do with it.¡±


    With a gasp, Anne even punched Brom¡¯s arm. ¡°No need to be rude, Brom! What¡¯s gotten into you!¡±


    ¡°I am not!¡± He tried to protest, but afterward just mumbled and go away.


    Anne took sighed and excused herself to chase after her friend. The others stayed behind and discussed all the information that they gathered from Amelia.


    .....


    ¡°Should we trust her?¡± Asked Arthur to Justice, ¡°I mean, we don¡¯t know if she was lying.¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t have any choice. Like it or not, Brom¡¯s n was actually working.¡± Justice answered Arthur and then look into his father, ¡°Amelia told us that the main troops are guarding the main port, because there¡¯s Javier was located, and the others roaming the area in a small group.¡±


    ¡°Not so small, remember? Almost two thousand rebels and there¡¯s only what? one thousand reinforcement?¡± Xavier told him while looking at the map.


    ¡°Yes, but they don¡¯t have two crucial jobs, the magi and magic knight. They only have like fifty magi and the rest are knights. They don¡¯t even have a magic knight.¡± Vale get his own opinion and asked king Edward and Justice, ¡°How about if we focused on prating their defense from one side?¡±


    ¡°That would be a hastened attack, but it could work.¡± Said king Edward, he still trying to concentrate, even though he tried to hide his mixed feelings about his true son, siding with the enemy.


    While the others have a discussion in the main room, Brom and Anne were sitting on the deck together.


    ¡°Did you hear anything from Da?¡± Asked Anne to Brom.


    ¡°Yes, she is going to be here, with the other reinforcement.¡± Brom answered her and he looks at Anne, asking her another question, ¡°What did she say to you this time?¡±


    Anne knew what Brom was trying to ask about, ¡°Nothing, just some mumbling of the same old words, what about you?¡±


    Brom stared at her for a short while and then replied, ¡°The same old thing. I wondered if Henry got his nightmare again?¡±


    Immediately going defensive, Anne tried to stop Brom. ¡°Don¡¯t! He already got through enough, and I was finally able to give him some good rest.¡±


    ¡°What did you do? Did you¡­¡±


    Anne red at him. ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t, seriously Brom, not everything is about the physical connection here.¡±


    He chuckles when he looks at how flustered Anne was. ¡°I was joking. Oh, why do you always so pure about this kind of thing? I mean, you have four gentlemen who love you dearly, and assuming now you are more than just a friend with them, it is time for you to take your rtionship to another level.¡±


    ¡°Do you think that¡­ That they think about this kind of thing, also?¡± Anne was trying to avoid the subject from the four of them, but felt that she didn¡¯t need to be alerted about Brom. He is her best friend and already has a lover of his own.


    Brom took a long sigh and look at his friend, ¡°They already have feelings for you for a long time now, of course, they thought to have bedded you for a while now.¡± He leans on his chair and looks into the sky, ¡°Look, even Da and I have our own time to do some romance, I do look like the uncaring man sometimes, but not if it¡¯s involved Da. I saw her and another instinct as a healthy man always sumbs to me, the instinct that I surely asked for permission from her if she wanted as well, or not.¡±


    ¡°This is my first real rtionship with a man, and not to mention I have four at the same time.¡± Anne was giggling nervously at Brom.


    Brom smiles while his face still looking at the sky, ¡°And it is normal here in this world, four, five, even ten. I presume it is not the same in your old world?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, my old world was not that progressive, although the eptance of any type of free love has already been going on, not as progressive as this world.¡± She answered Brom, trying to imagine her old world, even though it¡¯s more like a vague imagination, rather than a vivid image.


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re the people in this world now, don¡¯t you dare think otherwise,¡± He said to her, and this time, he looks directly at her, ¡°Meanwhile, as for the other thing that I had mentioned, probably it will be best if you asked Da about it. I feel ufortable talking about it with you, after all.¡±


    Anne wasughing. ¡°Oh, this is one of the rare moments that you can finally express your feelings.¡± He tried to shut her up, and Anne raised her hands, she looks at him and tried to talk to him, ¡°Brom, look, about the other things, you know, the midnight monsterir¡­¡±


    ¡°What about it?¡± Asked Brom, but he spun his head to Anne, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re not going to apany me now.¡±


    Before they could discuss it furthermore, the sound of a horn making the two of them stand up, Brom¡¯s eyes begin to glow, ready for anything that mighte for them, but Valees from inside the room and smile at them.


    ¡°They are here. The reinforcement troops are here!¡±

 Chapter 216 - 216 Another girl is changing

    216 Another girl is changing


    ¡°They are here! The reinforcement army.¡± Said Vale to the two of them, and the way he was spoken about it, he was really excited about it.


    Brom tried to take a look at the ship from the deck and saw nothing. ¡°There¡¯s nothing there, just an empty channel to theke.¡±


    ¡°The ship is too big. We are going to go to them instead. Prepare for sail, Anne. You need to go inside.¡± Vale¡¯s suggestion was agreed on by Anne¡¯s side. She walks back to her room.


    Nathan was sitting on his bed, looking at the window, while Leo was busying himself packing his bag. Anne approach her senior, and a smile came into her face. Nathan, however, remains aloof.


    ¡°Hey, how are you?¡± Asked Anne to Nathan.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Anne. You don¡¯t have to worry about anything all the time.¡± He gave her a snarky answer. Making Anne and Leo take nced at each other. When the ship begin to move, Nathan¡¯s eyes went wide from anxiety. ¡°Why are we moving? Is it the enemy?!¡±


    Leo and Anne jump to him at the same time, ¡°No, no, senior, the reinforcement is here, we are going to go out and meet them at theke.¡± It was Leo who informed Nathan. Both of them were worried about how Nathan¡¯s worsened every day.


    Anne knew what was going on with him, Post Trauma Stress Disorder, or PTSD. Nathan had some mental issues. However, in this world they don¡¯t know anything about mental health which is worrying for her, there¡¯s just a little that she can do for now. Leo asked her to go outside, while Nathan keep staring into the window.


    ¡°We need to do something about Nathan. He got worse.¡± Whispered Leo to Anne. They are outside of the room but need to be careful, as Nathan could easily hear them.


    .....


    She took a nce at the door and pull Leo away from their room. They settled on the other end of the hall, near the deck door.


    ¡°Alright, Leo, we need to be careful. Nathan was unstable, and he only has us for now.¡± Anne doesn¡¯t want her friend to panic as well. She needs another person to be level-headed as she is.


    ¡°I know, I know, I was just¡­ Oh no, Anne, what should we do?¡± Leo was indeed already exhausted every medicine for Nathan, only metee tea that works wonders for Nathan, but there¡¯s only so much that one medicine can do.


    ¡°For now, we gave him the metee tea in a small dose every six hours, and also tell the other healers that he get an inside infection, but just not to get them the specific.¡± Said Anne, giving her the input for Leo.


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right, we need to protect him, and after we go back to the capital, maybe try to find a cure for him.¡± Finally, Leo seems a bit enthusiastic, which gave Anne a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Go and eat something before we reached the other ship. I¡¯ll make the metee tea for Nathan.¡± She gave a squeeze to Leo¡¯s shoulder, giving him thefort that he need.


    Not long after, the small ship is finally met with the reinforcement ship. The enormous size of the ship is giving them an awe expression. King Edward told them that this is a brand new ship, and this is the first time the ship sail into theke.


    ¡°It could hold like two thousand people, easily. Ascend, Leon and I were the ones who design it.¡± said king Edward full of pride.


    They go up inside the ship, leaving only Arthur and Henry to guard the smaller one until they can figure out what they need to do to the prisoners. Anne and Leo carefully hold Nathan, while the others go to the war room and meet with the captain and the other high-rank.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you after the meeting.¡± Said Justice to Anne, who gave him a slight nodded and a smile.


    How surprised they were when they saw a familiar face inside the war room. Prince Jason was there, and he gave a warm embrace to his brother and father.


    ¡°I am so d to see both of you. You know how worried all of us are ?!¡± He said to them with tears in his eyes.


    ¡°Gods, Jason! No need to cry that much. We were fine.¡± Said Justice to his loving brother.


    King Edward, on the other hand, was carried on and talked to three high ranks that also came. He asked them to facilitate the prisoners and also informed them about one of them as the special prisoner. Prince Jason and the others cannot believe it when king Edwards said the name of the special prisoner.


    ¡°No! you¡¯re lying, Amelia? Javier¡¯s wife?!¡± Jason was stunned and look at Justice who prefer to look away.


    ¡°What happened, his majesty? Howe princess Amelia is involved?¡± It was Horden. He came as one of the volunteers.


    King Edward took a sigh, and sit on the chair with a gloomy face. ¡°We believe it wasn¡¯t just Amelia, Javier was also involved.¡±


    Horden and the others were stunned. The oldmander then sat beside him and gave a hold of his shoulder. Justice couldn¡¯t even say anything to his brother. Jason went quiet and offer himself to transport the prisoners into the ship.


    When he goes to the deck, Jason met with a young woman whom he knew since her childhood. She grabs her arm, and prevents her from going away.


    ¡°Heirim? What are you doing here?!¡± Said Jason, still in disbelief.


    Heirim looks around and then settled her gaze on Jason. ¡°I volunteered.¡± She said to him while sighing.


    ¡°You? Volunteered? Why? You always called this a mundane task or waste of time.¡± Said Jason, and he wasn¡¯t exaggerating, he knows how privileged Heirim¡¯s life was, and to think that she got so much magica and be the elite magic knight captain in just two years, gave Jason the impression that the girl probably thinks herself higher than anyone else.


    She pulled her arm from Jason, and somehow, she got nervous and said, ¡°I¡­ I just wanted to help, alright? So, just leave me alone, will you?¡±


    Heirim walks away from him. Jason does wonder if something is changing, and her attitude is not like the Heirim that he used to know. But then, another question came, what exactly happened to her that make her change so much?

 Chapter 217 - 217 Brother and Sister (Part 1)

    217 Brother and Sister (Part 1)


    Anne was taking a stroll on the ship, she was alone, Leo still taking care of their senior, and the four gentlemen still have a heated discussion in the war room and escorted the prisoners, ording to Brom, they probably going all night strategizing for the war.


    She took a sigh and looked around at the people on the deck, and somehow her eyes met with someone that she never thought to see here, on this ship. Heirim also looks at her, and surprisingly approached her, another unexpected move from Heirim that Anne couldn¡¯t predict.


    ¡°Miss Anne.¡± Said Heirim, her snobbish manner still there, but Anne saw she was softened a little. Something happened to Heirim that makes her change her attitude towards her.


    ¡°Lady Heirim¡­ I must say, that I never expected to see you here.¡± Anne doesn¡¯t know how to react to her sudden approach. She was still ufortable being around here.


    She took a sigh, and said to Anne, ¡°I volunteered, if you can¡¯t believe it though.¡±


    That took her by surprise. ¡°I am sorry? You¡­ Volunteered to be the reinforcement army?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I am not into Justice anymore, or any man for a while. I was just¡­ trying to change my view in life.¡± She took a long sigh and look into the sky, and deep inside Anne¡¯s heart, she believed her. ¡°I saw the prisoner. All of you sessfully captured Amelia, huh?¡± Said Heirim again.


    ¡°Yes, thankfully, she came on her own, trying to lure us, but failed.¡± Answered Anne to her. ¡°I am sorry, but what happened to you?¡± She was curious as her instinct told her how the girl was changing. Not significant, but in a subtle kind of way.


    ¡°Ah, Heirim, there you are.¡±


    .....


    Someone calling for Heirim. From the other end of the deck, they turn around and see Arthure towards them. Heirim bowed and smiled at Arthur.


    ¡°Captain Arthur, it was so nice to see you again. How long has it been? One year since the hoards?¡±


    Arthur never replies and didn¡¯t answer her also, instead he asks another question to Heirim, ¡°What in God¡¯s name happened here? Why they demoted you to junior second rank?!¡±


    Even Anne couldn¡¯t believe what she had just heard from Arthur. She silently stare at Heirim, when she exined the situation to Arthur.


    ¡°About that, Imitted a crime and confessed.¡± Anne and Arthur were in shock, but the only thing that came from Heirim was a smile, a tiny fragile smile. ¡°The councilman demoted me and I got a pending trial right now.¡± She smiled again, but Anne could see how hard for her to maintain the smile, she know, Heirim still had something on her mind.


    ¡°Lady Heirim, did your brother know about this?¡± Anne asked her, as she thought about how devastated Henry was if he heard about this.


    She shakes her head. ¡°No, but I¡¯ll tell him everything after they were done with the meeting.¡± Heirim looks into Anne¡¯s again. ¡°Please, let me be the one who exined everything to my brother?¡±


    ¡°I understand, don¡¯t worry.¡± Said Anne to her.


    ¡°Thank you, miss Anne.¡± When Heirim says the word, it was like a strange taste in your mouth, an unfamiliar taste.


    ¡°Alright, we need to go. Now, since you¡¯re going to be my subordinate, go gather the magic knight and I¡¯ll meet you at the canteen, already reserve a table there.¡± Arthur orders her to go and she obeys immediately.


    When She was gone away, Anne¡¯s mouth was gaping and her eyes never wave away from Heirim. Arthur looks at her and wonders, ¡°You seem so fascinated by her.¡±


    ¡°Well, I know her. We entered civil serving in the same year. She was¡­ Well, let us just say that we were not on the best term all the time.¡± Anne went quiet and then added, ¡°She seems different, though.¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know much about her. We had met one year ago at one of the hoards. She was a very good magic knight. I was curious about what happened to her, though.¡± Said Arthur to Anne.


    Anne then muttered, ¡°So was I.¡±


    Arthur excused himself from Anne, leaving her alone again, so many questions came into her head, and she wanted to believe her so bad, but it is hard for her after how Heirim was treating her way back when they were still civil service candidates.


    She took a long sigh and prefer to go into her room instead; she needs to make potions and medicines, supplying the healer¡¯s tent for the battleter on.


    ¡°Hey, I called you, repeatedly, don¡¯t you hear me?¡± Said someone from behind her.


    She turns around to see Henry smiling at her. ¡°Henry, you¡¯re here, so, all the prisoners already on this ship?¡± Anne was trying to maintain her smile, trying so hard to hide Heirim¡¯s shocking news from him.


    He squinted his eyes. ¡°What happened? You seem nervous.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I wasn¡¯t! I just need to go back to my room. Healers are going to concoct medicine together for the supply, oh, and Justice and the others probably searching for you in the war room.¡± She pointed her finger to the other end of the hall, the location of the war room.


    Henry was chuckling, ¡°Alright, but, after this.¡± He grab Anne¡¯s waist and took her into the corner of the hall, she kissed her passionately, while everyone walked from right to left, they were busy on each other in the dark corner, his hot breath swayed into her cheek, and his mouth demanded more of her. The scent of her is intoxicating for him. He groaned and his tongue twisted and twirled inside her.


    When they were finished tasting each other, Anne knew something about Henry. He is an excellent kisser.


    ¡°Wow, leave it to the yboy, to sway me up from my feet and take my breath away.¡± Said Anne with a red and swollen lip.


    He caressed her lips and said, ¡°And now, it will be forever yours and yours only.¡±


    Theyughed together after his corny but actually sweet deration. The two of them took their time together before Leo caught her with Henry. Turns out the other healer is already gathering at the ship¡¯s clinic. Before Henry got away, she called for him.


    ¡°Henry, wait!¡±


    Henry turns his head to Anne. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°If you are done with the meeting, you need to see Heirim.¡± Said Anne, nervously.


    A frown came into his face. ¡°Heirim was here?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ She¡­ she needs to talk to you.¡± Anne then excused herself right away, leaving Henry baffled by her information.

 Chapter 218 - 218 Brother and Sister (Part 2)

    218 Brother and Sister (Part 2)


    Henry was walking through the hall, his mind still on how Anne, but not about all of her this time. It was something that she said. Something about his sister, the one proudest child of Spencer¡¯s family. He was curious as if something has changed, well, something did change, because Heirim never volunteered or done any charity whatsoever.


    He open the door to the meeting room and saw everyone was in a foul mood. There was only silence, and he retreated to where Xavier was sitting.


    ¡°What happened here?¡± Asked Henry to Xavier, at least he was not a stressful face in the room right now.


    Xavier took a sigh and gave Henry a drink. ¡°They need to settle for a formation, but everyone disagrees with Justice¡¯s proposal. I don¡¯t know why he was so stubborn about it.¡±


    Justice red at his father, while Jason looked at the two of them with a long face. Henry feels sorry for him. He probably just wanted to be civil, but Henry knows how stubborn Justice can be.


    ¡°No! You¡¯re wrong. If you take the magi as the full aggressive attack, the knights and the others will suffer!¡± Said Justice to Edward. He was so frustrated, he even punch the table.


    Jason tried to calm his brother¡¯s nerves, ¡°Calm down, Justice, this is not supposed¡­¡±


    ¡°No! Jason, this is wrong! Yes, Amelia told us everything that she knew, but she could be wrong, or she could be lying. The possibility is still there.¡± Said Justice to his older brother.


    Jason give a code to Vale, and after Vale nodded his head, he announce a break time for two hours. ¡°Take a rest or probably take something to eat. See you in two hours.¡±


    .....


    Hearing the sigh of relief from everyone inside, Henry knew that Jason and Vale had already nned this from the beginning. Vale calls for Xavier and him to get closer.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the canteen. I¡¯m starving.¡± Said Vale to the three of them.


    Justice was trying to pass, but when he saw that his friends were waiting for him, he took a deep breath and finally give in. He needs to calm his nerves and the best way is to get something to eat. They held onto his friend and took him to the canteen.


    The canteen was almost at full capacity, but lucky for them, they got a table in the middle of the room. Everyone¡¯s eyes go to the four attractive gentlemen on the middle table, there¡¯s a group of the young knight that looks at them and whispers, the crown prince and their best friends, any girl dreams to catch the eyes of the crown prince and his friends. Imagined, you will be able to be an empress.


    Some of them thought about the glory, the highest title in the Valorian kingdom, and not to mention the four men as potential partners. Some of them just want them, even without their titles and fortune. They are all very handsome and attractive men. But, soon their wish will be crumbling apart when a peculiar beautiful young woman with purple hair color enters the canteen.


    She looks at the four of them and smiles, ¡°Oh, did the meeting finally over? I juste to buy some moomilk for the healers.¡±


    Suddenly, Justice stands up from his seat and pulls Anne into his embrace. The rowdy canteen suddenly grew quiet. They were in shock to see the crown prince embracing a woman in front of everyone. The other three just smiled. They knew what¡¯s going to happen, and the crown prince made up his mind. He chooses his soon-to-be empress in front of everyone in the canteen.


    Anne was confused, but she felt something was strange. She doesn¡¯t mind everyone around her gawking at the two of them. She already dered that no matter what, they were in this together. She is worried about Justice, while Justice still holds onto her. Anne whispered, ¡°Are you alright? Did something happen?¡±


    He releases his hands and smiles at Anne. ¡°I am now. You should go. They were probably waiting for the moomilk.¡±


    She took her jugs of moomilk and said to them, ¡°I¡¯ll see you soon, alright?¡±


    After the young woman was gone, the ce became crazy all of a sudden. The gossip will be spreading like a wildfire. Justice couldn¡¯t care less and he just leans on his chair while drinking some aggrus.


    ¡°What a naughty man you are.¡± Said Xavier while chuckling.


    ¡°I was too enraged because of my fight with my father. I need to calm down, well, looking at her and embracing her will do the trick for me.¡± Justice gave his reason while smirking at them.


    Vale looked at him and whispered, ¡°So, did you bring the ring?¡±


    He took out a chain ne under his shirt. ¡°The ring never left my side.¡±


    They started cheering all of a sudden, the other tables begin to notice the four of them were bing cheery after the woman came. They know they were already losing thepetition. Everyone, including the magic knights, who were having their meetings in the far corner of the room. Heirim saw how Arthur seems in shock when they saw Justice gently embrace Anne.


    ¡°You fall for her, aren¡¯t you, captain?¡± Whispered Heirim to Arthur.


    Arthur was trying to deflect Heirim¡¯s question byughing at her. ¡°I don¡¯t even know what are you talking about?¡± The other three magic knights looked at him with the same sympathy look like Heirim. A frown came into his face. ¡°You know what? I think we need to take a break here, one hour, and go back to this table.¡±


    Heirim and the other magic knights look at Arthur, who was trying to run away from answering the obvious question from Heirim.


    ¡°What a silly and interesting captain he was.¡± Muttering Heirim with an amusing smile on her face, but her head goes to see her brother, she took a deep breath and walks to the four gentlemen¡¯s table.


    Henry looks into his sister. ¡°Heirim, what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°I need to talk to you,¡± Heirim said to his brother. This conversation,ter on, will be the turning point between these siblings, and also this story.

 Chapter 219 - 219 Brother and Sister (Part 3)

    219 Brother and Sister (Part 3)


    Henry and the others were looking at each other, surprised by Heirim¡¯s arrival and sudden request. She nervously looked at her brother and waited for his answer.


    ¡°How are you doing, Heirim?¡± Justice asked her, feels bad because Henry doesn¡¯t even give her any answers.


    Heirim gave him a smile. ¡°Not really good, but I can manage.¡± She tilted her head and actually amused by Justice¡¯s and Anne¡¯s interaction earlier, ¡°I saw your lovely moment earlier, So, I guess all of you are getting officials with Miss Anne. Congrattions.¡±


    The four of them were looking at her with such disbelief expressions. This is the first time Heirim mentioned Anne¡¯s name in such a polite and uncondescending way. Vale¡¯s mouth dropped. He looks at Xavier, who gives him a shrug and chuckles.


    Henry, still looking at his sister, finally decides to follow her. They go outside, leaving the other three so curious.


    ¡°Woah, did you hear her? She was saying, miss Anne.¡± Xavier turns around to look at Justice and Vale.


    Vale gave a slight chuckle. ¡°That was surely amusing to hear.¡±


    Justice, however, felt something was wrong with Heirim. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Something was happening with her, something that makes her humble.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing? You always said that she was a rude and arrogant young woman. I mean, look at her now.¡± Xavier gave his point to justice. ¡°She even mentioned Anne as miss Anne, not the girl or the peasant.¡±


    .....


    ¡°Yes, I know it is a good thing, but her changing tone, just in a short amount of time. Something impacted her life severely.¡± Muttered Justice to the two of them.


    ¡°Whatever it is, it gets my vote. It humbles her now, and I hope it will be forever,¡± Xavier said, not even going to be sorry for her.


    Henry and Heirim took a seat on the outside deck. It was almost empty at the moment since everyone was busy preparing for the iing battle or just eating at the canteen. He looks at his sister and wonders why exactly she was trying so hard to talk to him.


    ¡°So, what happened? I¡¯ve heard from Anne that you¡¯re here.¡± Said Henry to her.


    ¡°Oh, she told you about me?¡± Heirim was a bit surprised. Never expected Anne to care about her. ¡°A bit surprised. Did she tell you anything else?¡±


    He felt strange but shakes his head, ¡°No, she just told me that you¡¯re also on this ship, and asking me to see you.¡±


    She look down at the floor and with a bittered smile said to Henry, ¡°She is a kind woman, and to think how I have treated her before.


    Thinking about how vicious his sister was before, he took sighed and look at Heirim, ¡°What do you need, Heirim? I mean, you asked me out here, and when we rarely even talk before.¡± He stared into the vast water. ¡°We are brother and sister, but not a loving and caring one. You and father always single me out of everything, and I always envy your talent and your roles in our family.¡±


    Heirim went quiet for a while, until she said, ¡°Henry, I might go to jail.¡±


    The shocking revtion from Heirim took Henry by surprise. ¡°Are you serious?! What¡¯s happening to you? Did father and grandfather know about this?¡±


    ¡°Alright, one at a time, I¡¯ll tell you everything,¡± Heirim told her brother, overwhelmed by his reaction. ¡°I¡­ I confessed a crime that I hadmitted to my chief, and he apanied me to the guard station. It was in a pending investigation. That¡¯s why I was still free, but my department already demoted me.¡± She gave her brother a smile. ¡°I¡¯m a second-rank junior now, not captain Heirim anymore.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing that you volunteered and are now under Arthur, am I right?¡± Said Henry to her.


    ¡°Yes, and I know what you¡¯re thinking, I wasn¡¯t volunteering to get a good point on my pending investigation and trial, it¡¯s because¡­¡± She took a deep breath and her eyes stared into Henry, ¡°I wanted to change, brother, my case really open my eyes.¡±


    ¡°Heirim, I still need to know, what happened?¡± Henry now invested so much in his sister¡¯s story.


    ¡°Did you know about this case right now? The attempt assassination of Justice?¡± Heirim asked her brother, ¡°Well, I was the one who reported about the people in this ind to the empress.¡±


    Henry was stunned. ¡°Wait, you know all about this? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re one of them.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t know the whole thing, the attempt assassination, that captain Arthur, told to every one of us, and before that, only the portion of it, because of my friendship with Amelia.¡± Said Heirim to Henry. She nervously continued her story. ¡°You do know how I be her best friend after the tea party that I held not long after graduation.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I was in the middle of packing my things to go on my journey with grandfather.¡± Muttering Henry, ¡°Forgot the guests, since I was just walking away from the room.¡±


    ¡°Amelia was one of them, and I tried so hard to be her best friend because of her rtionship with prince Javier.¡± She awkwardly reminded her brother, ¡°It was the time when I was still obsessed with Justice.¡± with a few giggles, Heirim continued her story. ¡°Anyhow, we have be best friends that see each other value, her looking at my noble connection, and me looking at her closeness to royalty.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s you, alright, only befriended people with the connection.¡± Said Henry, so bittered at his sister.


    ¡°I know, and now I¡¯m paying the price.¡± Sheughed while looking at the sky, ¡°Such an irony when I know I was in such danger, that all the people that I considered as my friend, close the door for me, not every single one of them was trying to help me. But, I guess, the crime was heinous indeed.¡±


    ¡°Heinous? What did you mean, Heirim?¡± Henry was even more confused than before.


    ¡°You know chief Ca? The one who brought the falsely infected serum to the main hospital?¡± Asked Heirim to Henry.


    Henry nods his head. ¡°Of course, she bes the head of the chieftain. That¡¯s why she was able to have brought the serum undetected, and spread it in the main hospital, making the case worsen.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and I was the one who used our family connection and gave thete chief Ca the highest position in the main hospital.¡± Said Heirim to Henry, her lips now quivering, and the tears came falling down, ¡°Henry¡­ I¡­ I¡¯ve murdered those innocent people!¡±

 Chapter 220 - 220 Brother and Sister (Part 4)

    220 Brother and Sister (Part 4)


    Henry couldn¡¯t muster any words for his sister. Instead, he takes her into his arm and embraces her. Somehow, he felt, that she need an act of courage and someone who really cares, someone that will never judge her, a family.


    They were hugging each other for a while until Heirim calm her nerves and wipe her tears; she release her brother and smile gratefully at him.


    ¡°Gods! This is embarrassing. Never thought my brother need to console me like that.¡±


    Henry patted her back. ¡°Why not? We are brother and sister after all, although not a close one, but at least you still have a family on your side.¡±


    She nodded her head and look into the sky together. There was a time long ago when Heirim wasn¡¯t an arrogant, noble youngdy, and when Henry could see his sister as a cute, innocent young girl. The two of them used to y in the garden andy down on the grass to look into the blue sky. Heirim asked him about the many shapes of the clouds, and he will tell her many stories by looking at the sky.


    He always abhorred his father¡¯s decided to bring the governess for Heirim. She changed her, making her cruel, self-centered, and arrogant. Their father even makes it worse by standing still for everything that Heirim has done back then. He was too proud of getting a woman in his bloodline. He doesn¡¯t even care if his little girl bes a foul woman growing up.


    He hold her shoulder and said, ¡°I¡¯ll try the best that I could to save you.¡±


    Heirim pushes him so suddenly and shakes her head. ¡°No, brother, I don¡¯t want to! I tell you everything not because I need your help. What I want is a family by my side, my brother. But what I have done is my wrongdoing alone, and I will bear the consequences.¡±


    Henry tried to voice his concerned, ¡°But, Heirim.¡±


    .....


    ¡°No! Brother, please, let me handle this alone. Whatever the decision of the investigation, I will ept it.¡± Said Heirim with a smile, ¡°This is my sin, brother, and mine alone. I want you, father and grandfather to just be on the sideline, cheer for me as I need to face this alone.¡±


    There¡¯s nothing Henry can do besides agreeing on her, they have a small talk for a while, and afterward they go back to their own table, Heirim with her fellow magic knight, and Henry with his best friends.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Asked Justice, worried after he saw Henry¡¯s expression.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you allter. There are too many people here.¡± Said Henry to them, he begin to eat his now cold soup and bread.


    Vale, Xavier, and Justice look at each other. Whatever Henry is going to say, it would be something more serious than they initially thought. They let him go for now, and instead go back to the meeting room after Henry was done eating. They saw Anne inside the clinic, diligently pouring medicine and making some bandages while having a conversation with her fellow healers. The four of them just looked at her from the other side of the door.


    ¡°Never in my life. I was going to be so mesmerized by a girl so much like her.¡± Said Henry to the others.


    Justice patted his back and grinned. ¡°Not just you.¡±


    They went back to the meeting room and saw Jason still around with Horden. There were only the two of them and no other people everywhere. Jason approached Henry and asked him that very question that he thought he wasn¡¯t aware of it yet.


    ¡°Is it true? Heirim was involved with the false infected diseases case?¡± Jason¡¯s face went pale, and the other three gentlemen were looking at Henry with shocked expression on their faces.


    Henry looked into Horden and knew immediately that his grandfather was already aware of Heirim¡¯s problem. He took sighed and nods his head. ¡°Yes, it was a pending investigation, and I am not sure how deep her involvement in the case is .¡±


    ¡°Can we do something for her? Anything?¡± Jason asked Henry, and there was concern on the prince¡¯s face.


    ¡°I offer her help, but she refused. She told me that she will ept whatever punishment from the pce.¡± Said Henry. He feels hopeless, and actually doesn¡¯t want to discuss his sister right now.


    ¡°Jason, you need to calm down.¡± Justice asked his brother, and ushered him to the chair, ¡°Now, tell us what exactly Heirim¡¯s crime was?¡±


    Jason begins to exin everything. His story was simr to what Heirim had told Henry earlier. Horden was silent for the entire time. He just pours a drink and chugs all over it. Henry needs to stop him after a while.


    ¡°Stop, you¡¯re going to get yourself killed because of the excessive drinking.¡± Said Henry to him.


    He scoffed and p his grandson¡¯s hand, ¡°and you¡¯re going to get yourself killed by daring me not to drink, let me have this, at least.¡± Said the old man to his grandson.


    Justice, Vale, and Xavier look at the two of them and felt worried over these circumstances.


    ¡°Honestly, I never felt sorry for Heirim,¡± Said Xavier to everyone, ¡°But I do feel, it could be a huge problem for the Spencer family.¡±


    ¡°Xavier is right, we need to do something, Justice.¡± Said Vale to Justice.


    Justice took a deep breath and went to Horden. ¡°Look, there¡¯s nothing we could do for her right now, but I¡¯ll promise to help with the investigation after we have done dealing with this¡­ messed.¡±


    Horden gave him a meek smile, ¡°Thank you, your majesty, but I will refuse the kind offer.¡±


    Jason stands up from his seat. ¡°What?! Horden, this is for her sake, don¡¯t you feel sorry for your granddaughter?!¡±


    ¡°No, I am not!¡± Horden words sent chills to everyone around, ¡°She make a huge mistake that end up costing so many lives, she will need to repent and do many good deeds, after all, my granddaughter was blinded by her own privileged life, and this is how she needs to go through her life.¡±


    Jason couldn¡¯t believe what he just heard from Horden, ¡°But¡­ Horden.¡±


    ¡°My grandfather was right, Jason.¡± Said Henry to the prince, ¡°I do feel some level of sympathy for my sister, but for her not having any consequences after what she has done, it will be wrong for all the family that lost so much because of the case. Let the investigators do their job and us, focusing on the battle ahead.¡±


    ¡°How could you be so heartless! She is your family!¡± Jason was screaming at them and rushed outside, he open the door and saw Anne in the hall.


    ¡°I¡­ I came to give all of you some drinks.¡± Said Anne nervously to Jason.

 Chapter 221 - 221 Promises for their beloved

    221 Promises for their beloved


    Anne saw them walking away from the door. She knew that Henry was finally talking to Heirim. The girl herself came to the clinic and gratefully thanked her. She really hopes this time Heirim could change her way.


    ¡°Hey, I need to go somewhere. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± She asked for permission from one of her colleagues.


    Anne went into the canteen and asked for a pitcher of aggrus. She felt like a nosy woman, but she need to know what exactly happened to Heirim. Anne walked into the hall, and before she open the door of the war room, someone was yelling from the room inside.


    She heard everything from the crevice of the slightly open door. Her hand was trembling. She even needs to put the pitcher on the floor. Never in her life had Anne thought about Heirim¡¯s involvement in the false infection. The case was already deemed an unforgivable act by the royal family. The door suddenly opened and Jason came out looking directly at her.


    ¡°I¡­ I came to give you all some drinks.¡± He said meekly at Jason.


    Justice rushed into her, and put his hands on her shoulder, ¡°Anne, did you hear everything?¡±


    She looks at Justice and nods her head. ¡°I am sorry, I need to know, and I meant to ask you directly, but¡­¡± She apologizes while looking at Jason and Justice back and forth.


    ¡°No need to apologize. We are going to tell you everything, otherwise.¡± Said Justice, smiling at her. He stared at his brother. ¡°Look, both of you need to go inside, brother. Let¡¯s talk about this, together.¡± Jason took sighed and went inside. Anne take the pitcher of aggrus with her, sending a giggled from Justice, ¡°Are you seriously taking some aggrus here? When we already have more than ten pitchers here?¡±


    Awkwardly, Anne looked around the room. ¡°No wonder the cooks are looking at me in a weird way.¡± Said Anne with a blushing face while she put the pitcher on the table.


    .....


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry sweety, I love to drink a cold and fresh aggrus. Nice of you to bring some.¡± Horden patted her head and pour the drink into his cup.


    ¡°Why do you always need to pick on her side?¡± Henry looks at his grandfather with a disbelief expression.


    ¡°Well, why do you care so much? She will soon be my granddaughter-inw, anyway.¡± Said Horden to Henry.


    Anne just gave the old man a warm embrace. She always feels wee with Horden, especially after losing her adopted parents two years ago. The four gentlemen looking at the scene unfolded in front of them. They look at each other and, feel proud, their feelings finally reached out to her, no more denial from her end, only eptance.


    ¡°Look, Jason, as much as you wanted to help her, we can¡¯t right now, and she was not in danger right now. Remember, it was a pending investigation, which means we still have time.¡± Xavier came to Jason. He still couldn¡¯t figure out why the prince was so distressed over Heirim¡¯s matter.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Jason, I said I wasn¡¯t going to help her, but it doesn¡¯t mean that I won¡¯t investigate. I owe her that much.¡± Said Horden to the prince.


    Jason gave a smile of relief and nods his head. ¡°I am sorry, Horden, I shouldn¡¯t doubt you.¡±


    ¡°Your emotion got the best of you, brother.¡± Said Justice, teasing Jason.


    ¡°Indeed, gosh, what happened to me.¡± He said to Justice, while giving a chuckle.


    Knowing very well what happened to Jason, Anne went quiet and prefer for him to realize it by himself. The prince has a feeling for Heirim. She doesn¡¯t know when it begins to develop, but the bloom of a new flower came to a realization after how livid he was about Heirim¡¯s situation.


    ¡°You knew right away?¡± Whispered Vale to her. ¡°Well, all of us knew it from long ago. He was in love with her.¡±


    ¡°I am sorry to say this, but falling in love with such a mean girl?¡± Whispered Anne back to him.


    ¡°Well, love is blind sometimes.¡± Chuckles Vale.


    Not long after, some of the generals came inside. Anne knows this is her cue to go away. She said goodbye to all of them and leaves the war room. They agreed to end the conversation about Heirim for now. There is a more pressing matter that needs to have their full attention.


    The meeting finally concluded after midnight. They were exhausted and ready to go to bed. Justice massaged his temple and was very exhausted, but he saw a glimpse of purple color from the outside deck. He takes a look and see Anne was looking at the moon.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you going to sleep? It waste.¡± He said to her while leaning into the door frame.


    She turns around and smiles at him, ¡°The moon, it¡¯s like calling me right now.¡±


    He joins in and put his arm into her body, engulfing her with his warmness. ¡°The moon is indeed beautiful today.¡± He said to her while looking at the moonlight above.


    ¡°Justice, if one day something was happening to me, what are you going to do?¡± Asked Anne. Her voice was soft and wispy.


    He turn his attention to her, ¡°What kind of morbid thought that you had? There¡¯s nothing going to happen to you? We are going to make sure of that.¡±


    She shakes her head and puts her hand to his face. ¡°We never know what kind of consequences we are dealing with here! Anything could happen, and I want you to promise me that the four of you will move on and forget about me!¡±


    ¡°Move on? As In, forget all about you?! Are you insane?!¡± He put his hand on her shoulder, ¡°I lost you, two years ago, I was angry with myself because I never had the courage to chase over you, all of us were angry with ourselves. Believe me, Anne, we are not going to let those happen again.¡±


    Her tears came running down her face. She doesn¡¯t know how to answer him; she knew for a fact that something will happen to her and to what extent, but she still doesn¡¯t know about it. Justice wipes her tears and kisses her lips. Their kiss was slow and longing, their feelings transcended in the desire that form into the kiss.


    Until Justice releases her face and smiles at her, ¡°I don¡¯t know what will happen to us, but I know my feelings for you will never go.¡± He does something that was so surprising to Anne. Justice bends his knee and present her with a ring, the same ring that she gave to her two years ago for protection. ¡°Anne, will you marry me?¡± Said the crown prince, in front of his beloved.

 Chapter 222 - 222 [Bonus chapter] The curse tea party

    222 [Bonus chapter] The curse tea party


    Let us go back a little bit, when the time of Anne separated from the four gentlemen when she engulfed herself with fear and mourned. That is the peak time for another girl, a girl that has everything on a silver tter since the day she was born, the girl named Heirim Spencer.


    She was anxious and excited; this is her first tea party after her certification. Heirim decorates the mansion withvish and extravagant decorations, the best gold-ted porcins, and expensive crystals. She spares no expense for the party and her father just goes with whatever his precious daughter wants, as always.


    ¡°You, get into the garden now and pick some of the colorful roses. I want fresh flowers on every corner of this room.¡± She barked an order to one of the maids. Lavinia is the name of the maid, and also the maid that grew up together with her.


    She looks at the youngdy and nods her head. Heirim never talked to the servants with the exception of ordering anything from them. She never thought there was a purpose to being friendly to the people whom she consider as the lower ss.


    Another maides to her and tells her that a tailor hase with her dress. She shoves the maid away and wees her favorite seamstress to her room. The seamstress is one of the seek all of the nobility around the kingdom. Her service was expensive, but it never bothered Heirim in the slightest.


    When the afternoon came, the guests finally arrived, carriages with all of her noble friends and also a new friend that she was so longing to see for a while now. Amelia arrives with her brand new and heavily decorated carriage, she looks nervous when she saw noble faces around.


    ¡°Amelia! Oh, there you are! It¡¯s so nice to finally meet you in person.¡± Heirim approached her immediately. She locked her arm and pulled her to the tea room. ¡°Come! We have so much to talk to.¡±


    They settled in a small area next to the window. A maid came and serve them the tea and cakes, while Amelia looks around the room with adoration.


    ¡°I must say, you have a very beautiful mansion,dy Heirim.¡±


    .....


    Heirim smiled and hold her hand. ¡°Oh, such a kind word. Call me Heirim, and my mansion could never bepared to your new vi on theke.¡±


    She blushed and sip her tea. ¡°Oh, you read my letter.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I am! I really want us to be best friends, and I always being sincere about it.¡± Although Heirim spoke the truth, even though it wasn¡¯t pure, and it was involving a certain royalty with red hair and ruby red eyes.


    ¡°Oh, I wish we could be best friends, Heirim.¡± Said Amelia with a very wide smile on her face.


    They have a conversation about mundane things, and when Heirim was bored, she called her best friends and introduced them to Amelia. Giving her more exposure that the merchant girl was moring for all along.


    Amelia was excited, finally, she gained ess to the blue blood of the kingdom. When she was receiving mail from Heirim Spencer, Amelia has open the door to an opportunity that she will never pass. The level of vain and ignorant that Heirim Spencer has on her was perfect in many ways, just like how she could control the other arrogant blue blood with her beauty.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Javier right now?¡± Heirim asked her, trying not to be obvious about it.


    Amelia put her tea cup and looked at Heirim, hearing her calling Javier without his title, trying to tell her how powerful her position is, ¡°Oh, he got a duty on the winter pce with the crown prince right now.¡± Said Amelia to her, trying so hard to give her a smile.


    Another noblee to her table, a youngdy with a very excited expression. She was giggling at Heirim, ¡°Oh my Gods! Heirim, you never told us that your brother was home?¡±


    Heirim was as surprised as thedy was, she stand up and goes outside the room to see Henry walking to go upstairs. He took nced at his sister but did not even say any words. Heirim pulled his arm and tried to question him.


    ¡°Hey, where are you going?¡± She asked him, although she was asking just for the sake of the audience who were looking at them from the tea room, Heirim know how popr her brother was, and she know he was romancing nobledies here and out, but he never touched any of her friends. Now, she tried to set him up with the giggled, respecteddy that was really into Henry.


    Henry rolled his eyes and answered her in a veryzy tone, ¡°Going to my bedroom. I was exhausted.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go to my tea party instead.¡± She tried so hard to look like a loving sibling. She really needs to get closer to the giggling nobledy because her father will be Heirim¡¯smander in a few months. The way to her heart is by setting her up with Henry.


    Henry look so suspicious, and when he looks at the crowd in the tea room, he took a long sigh and whispered to his sister, ¡°Look, whatever you¡¯re trying to do right now, just stop! I was so sick of you scheming around.¡±


    She still tried to look friendly at him, ¡°But, brother, I was just¡­¡±


    Henry, who had just lost the grip of reality, losing the woman he loved, grab into Heirim¡¯s shoulder and hissed at her, ¡°Just¡­ Shut up!¡±


    ¡°Or what? you¡¯re going to try to find that peasant girl again, brother? Well, I must say, good riddance that she was gone!¡± She challenged her brother, knowing full well about the tragedies that happened in Viora vige.


    He was so close tonding his hand on Heirim, but a bit of self-control that he still has prevented him to do so, instead he walks away and said his farewell to his sister, Horden already asked him to go on a journey, and he never knows when he will be back.


    As he passes the hallway to his room, he met with a maid who looks at Heirim and her friends. Henry stops for a moment and initiates the conversation with the maid. ¡°You do realize that she will never consider you as her friend anymore, Lavinia?¡±


    Lavinia looks at Henry and smiled, ¡°No, Henry, I can sense it, there¡¯s a small trace of goodness inside of her.¡±


    ¡°I do hope so, Lavinia, and I bid you farewell. Take care of yourself, alright?¡± Said Henry to the maid.


    He leaves her alone, where Lavinia the maid sps her hand together, praying for the days when Heirim can finally change her way of life and look at her as the best friend, again.

 Chapter 223 - 223 The Night Battle (part 1)

    223 The Night Battle (part 1)


    Almost two days ago, when the reinforcement arrived on the ind, everyone was preparing for this day. This is the day when they are finally going to attack the port. One thousand people, consisting of knights, huntsmen, mages, healers, and even magic knights, are ready into their position. Anne was in charge of one smaller unit to raise the healer¡¯s tent and prepare the medications.


    She looks so dissatisfied as the list of duties came upon her hand. Anne wanted to help in the front line, but there was nothing she can do anymore. She just took sighed and will do her best as usual. A hand softly held onto her back. She turned to see Da smiling at her.


    ¡°Be careful, alright?¡± Said her best friend, while giving her a warm hug.


    Anne couldn¡¯t believe what she just heard. ¡°Be careful? Da, you¡¯re going to battle, but I will be in the tent, praying for everyone. It should be me that said those words!¡±


    ¡°Hey, listen to me!¡± Da held onto Anne¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Your duty isn¡¯t less important to us. We could always count on every healer to give us the best care, and you are one of them.¡±


    She knows that she could always count on her best friend to give her the confidence that she needs; they gave each other a warm embrace and separated into their own units. Anne goes with her fellow healers, and Da took her ce with the others to prepare for battle on the ground.


    The knightsnded first and then followed by the healers. Henry reach out to Anne and helped her to carry the supplies for the healer¡¯s tent.


    ¡°I was anxious that we have to leave you alone. What if there¡¯s an ambush?¡± He said to his beloved.


    Anne smiles and holds his arm. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we are protected.¡±


    .....


    They set up the camp when Vale and Xavier approached the two of them.


    ¡°Already set up? Need more help?¡± Asked Vale to Anne.


    She looks around and shakes her head. ¡°No, we are good here. Go to your position already. I¡¯m good here.¡±


    The three of them look at each other, and Vale was the first one who embraced her and whispered, ¡°Take care of yourself, alright?¡±


    ¡°You too, be careful¡­¡± She wipes her tears and looks at the other two, ¡°All of you, be safe.¡±


    To her surprise, Xavier carry her in his arms and gave her a kiss, ¡°Don¡¯t worry my love, we are going to be safe.¡±


    They can hear the army who were passing off the tent cheering and whistling, theyughed, even though Anne¡¯s face was blushing. When Xavier released her, Henry came and cuddled her, giving a light kiss on her temple.


    Justice was riding a horse when he saw everything. He didn¡¯t stop and just looked at them from afar. There¡¯s Heirim, Xander, and Arthur by his side.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to go to her first?¡± Asked Heirim to the crown prince.


    He shakes his head, but a smile appears on his face. ¡°Not right now. I need to focus. Looking at her face is enough.¡±


    ¡°Gosh, your majesty, you¡¯re so awfully unromantic right now.¡± Muttered Xander, who is walking beside him.


    Heirim turns her head to Xander, asking Xander a question with a frown on her face, ¡°Unromantic? This is just him being reasonable.¡±


    Xander look into the young woman, he never met her in person, only just from a story or rumor, about a nobledy who was obsessed with the crown prince, he shrugged his shoulder and chuckles, ¡°No, you¡¯re so wrong, I will have done it, differently.¡±


    With a gasp, Heirim was ring at the young man. She was thinking about this rude man who was now Bernard¡¯s recement. ¡°Then let me ask you something. Just tell me how exactly your different approach was?¡±


    ¡°Easy, I will be running into her, touching her face, looking into her eyes, and giving her the kiss that she could ever forget and blow her mind,¡± Xander said to her with a winked and a naughty smirk towards Heirim. The young werewolf just makes Heirim speechless. She just scoffed at him and fasten her pace. Xander looks into Arthur and Justice. ¡°What have I done?¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re just giving her a blush, something that I have never seen on Heirim.¡± Said Justice, totally amused by their interaction.


    Xander¡¯s mouth went agape, ¡°Wait, don¡¯t tell me she never experience any romance before?¡±


    ¡°Well, you already know that she was obsessed with him that thankfully she was,¡± Said Arthur, pointing at Justice. He then added, ¡°Don¡¯t you think that she would have a proper romance before? I mean, thedy just move on quite recently.¡±


    ¡°Shut up! She¡­ she really was gullible about romance, then?¡± Muttered Xander, while his eyes stared at Heirim, who was already further away from the three of them.


    ¡°How about you gave her a proper romance then? I¡¯ve heard from Xavier that you¡¯re quite a yer.¡± Said Justice, while chuckling.


    Heughed at the confirmation. ¡°No, he was lying, well, a bit.¡±


    ¡°Although Heirim was going through something right now, so, I don¡¯t think romance will be in her priorities.¡± Said Justice, while exchanging a look with Arthur.


    The words just intrigued Xander more, as for thedy who before just one part of a rumor and a story, who¡¯s now visible to him, a beautiful, nobledy, that is now making him so curious. They continued on to their position, with Xander¡¯s hoping to see Heirim again.


    Justice came forward to meet with his father and brother. They will be taking the center formation, hoping to see Javier. They were standing on the hill overlooking the port. Magi¡¯s cloak gave them protection from being seen by the guards on the port.


    Everyone is nervous. During a night-time raid will have its own advantages and also disadvantages. For one, much more magica to use, to disguise everyone, but with this, they couldunch a sneak attack. When the three of them looked around, the troops were ready, and they knew the time hase.


    ¡°Father,¡± Justice said to King Edward.


    He looks so determined. His two sons were beside him, although thinking about Javier, hoping that he was wrong about the usation. He took a deep breath and finally said, ¡°It¡¯s time.¡±


    The night raid finallymence.

 Chapter 224 - 224 The Night Battle (Part 2)

    224 The Night Battle (Part 2)


    ¡°Anne, they¡¯re asking for more bandages!¡±


    The battle happened for an hour already. She could hear screaming and explosions everywhere from the port area. Anne was already busy treating wounded soldiers. Just in the first ten minutes, there were already casualties from both sides.


    She goes to the crate, frantically searching for bandages. She looks at five rolls of the bandages and gave the healer two rolls. The healer looks at her with a frown. ¡°Come on, this is not enough.¡±


    She huffed and gave him another roll. ¡°Use it wisely. This is thest one that I could spare on the frontline.¡±


    ¡°Then make more!¡± Said the healer and he left before she could hear herining.


    ¡°Heining again?¡± Muttered one of the healers, who was busy stitching a knight who got an open wound from a spear.


    ¡°Yes, as usual¡­¡± She answered while rolling her eyes, she took an empty basket and told the healer to attend to the patients, ¡°I need to make more bandages, I saw Tenun trees near the river, I could make more bandages.¡±


    ¡°Wait, Anne, are you going there alone?¡± Said the healer.


    She smiles and waves at her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, It¡¯s not that far, and besides I have protection.¡±


    .....


    The ce is really not that far, and with the hovering light orb, the Tenun trees are visible for her to see. Anne activates the crystal de and begins to cut the huge leaves of the tenun trees, in this world, tenun leaves are one of the main items to make a fabric, the softness and the smooth contour of the leaves give it the number one quality as a fabric.


    There are plenty of leaves that she finally gathered. She washes them carefully on the river and rolls it to put in the basket. That¡¯s when she heard a scream, she knows something was wrong in the healer¡¯s tent.


    ¡°Chikara!¡± Anne called for her familiar right away.


    A huge ck entity came out from her shadow, ¡®Master.¡¯


    ¡°Something was happening at the healer¡¯s tent. Let¡¯s go!¡± She put the basket on the ground and rode her familiar to go as fast as she could back to the tent.


    When she arrived, there were three knights attacking the tent. This is a random target and, sadly, the only soldiers around were the wounded ones. They tried to fight as best as they could, even on the stage as they are right now.


    Chikara plunged itself into one of the enemies, while Anne with the healers jumped into one of them, while the other one was fighting the wounded soldiers. They were struggling so much, as the healers never had anybat training. She has the crystal de in her hand and immediately stabs the feet of the knight.


    The enemy wailed, but manage tond a blow on Anne¡¯s face, she fall with blood dripping from her forehead, her friends screamed and gave him a good fight until Anne could finally stand up and go into the medicine cab, she took metee powder and Cami powder; she mixes it with the pure water and drips it into the handkerchief.


    She tells her friend to hold the knight, and she jumps into his face and put the stained handkerchief directly to his mouth and nose. He drops to the ground immediately. She runs into the other knight and does the same.


    The two knights were now unconscious, finally able to restrain them. Anne checked into the third knight. Chikara was in the middle of sitting on his body. How d she was when she heard him screaming from underneath her familiar.


    ¡°Good job, Chikara.¡± Said Anne while petting his head.


    He let her take the knight with two mildly wounded soldiers, keeping him at bay and restraining him with the rope. She was grateful to these knights and huntsman; they tried their best even with the injuries that they sustained.


    ¡°Thank you, you can go back to your stretcher, let me handle this.¡± Said Anne to the two knights.


    ¡°Miss, we need knights to guard us here. It¡¯s not safe.¡± Said one of them after looking at how messed up the tent is right now, ¡°Just look at us. We can¡¯t handle another attack.¡±


    ¡°They are fighting right now. I don¡¯t know if they can spare any troops.¡± Said Anne, full of doubts. But looking at the tired and wounded troops, I know that they weren¡¯t safe anymore. ¡°I¡¯ll go, and in the meantime, please guard the tent, and turn off all the light orbs. The enemy probably saw the lights.¡±


    ¡°Alright, be careful, miss.¡± Said the wounded knight.


    She nods her head and took her bag with her. Anne begins to descend to the area of the battle. She knew the position since Justice gave her the map of the formation. Chikara was ready to take her, but she refused to do so.


    ¡°No, I want you to ask for help from one of them. I¡¯ll be here, waiting.¡± Said Anne to his familiar.


    ¡®But I don¡¯t want to leave you alone, master.¡¯


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Chikara, I¡¯ll be hiding, just be quick.¡± She finally convinced him, and when she looks at her familiar¡¯s gone, she took it upon herself to hide in the bushes.


    Not long after, there were voicesing to go to the healer¡¯s tent, two knights, ready to take another ambush, she panics but knew that she need to do something. She prayed and run towards the knights; she incapacitated one by cutting the foot, but the other one grabs her arm. She was in danger.


    Xavier wasing ahead. With Da, Chikara sense something happened to his master and run to the cliff, Xavier and Da followed suit, and they run towards it when they saw a shining red lighting from one area. They saw Anne engulfed with arge shield and a protection spell engulfed her body. Chikara chased the knight who was running after saw the spell thating from her, he bite one of his arms, and the knight fall with a blood-curdling scream.


    Xavier run towards Anne, ¡°Anne, are you alright?¡± Asked Xavier with concern on his face.


    Anne smiled, although her face was full of bruises. She raised her right hand and show him a red ruby ring on her ring finger. ¡°I told you, I have protection.¡±

 Chapter 225 - 225 The Night Battle (Part 3)

    225 The Night Battle (Part 3)


    ¡°Oh, my God! What happened to you, Anne?¡± Xavier was in shock when he looks at Anne¡¯s face, the blood on her forehead that was untreated, and also bruises on her arm and cheek, he was livid, and he asked her with gritted teeth, ¡°Who did this to you? Was it the two of them?!¡±


    She shook her head, trying to calm him down, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, we need to go back to the healer¡¯s tent, the other¡­¡±


    ¡°No! I will crush this two¡­¡± His anger was so out of control, Anne need to hold tightly to his body.


    ¡°No! Xavier, there is a more pressing matter, just restrained them and let us go back to the healer¡¯s tent.¡± She was desperate. She never thought he could be this stubborn.


    Da already finished restraining the two enemy knights. She turns her attention to her stubborn captain. ¡°Look, Anne was right. Besides, she can heal herself inside the healer¡¯s tent. You should pay attention to her wound now.¡±


    He looks at Anne, his thumb brushing into the scratches and bruises on her face, Xavier took a deep breath and carries Anne on his arm while talking to Da. ¡°You took those two. Let¡¯s go to the healer¡¯s tent.¡±


    They work quickly and run to the healer¡¯s tent. Thankfully, there were no other sudden attacked, probably because they encountered Anne, earlier. The purple color hair healer jumps into one of the patients and tending their wounds. She once again ignores her own injuries.


    Da and Xavier looked at each other and rolled their eyes, they knew that she will be going to tend to her patient first and not even going to heal her own wound.


    ¡°Cap, you need to do something. She¡¯s your lover, your responsibilities now.¡± Whispered Da, half teasing her captain.


    .....


    Xavier¡¯s red at her, not amused by her teasing, ¡°Shut up, and where is your own lover? He disappears as soon as he was done helping you in the battle.¡± He goes to Anne and begins to put a salve on her face. ¡°Where is he, anyway?¡±


    ¡°Helping his one true love, the primary captain Vale.¡± Said Da with a gruntled.


    Brom indeed follows Vale into the deeper section of the port, both of them were assisting Justice and Jason, while King Edward took a retreat after sustaining some injuries, Henry is taking him to the healer¡¯s tent, with other knights ready to defend the king.


    Justice took his time to retrace the leader of the rebels, while the others tried to control and took dominance of the rebels¡¯ headquarters, they gain control of the port, but never saw Javier in every part of the attack.


    ¡°I¡¯m not liking this, Justice, where is Prince Javier?¡± Said Vale, while he tried so hard to use retrace spells in every room that they can find in this secret undergroundplex.


    ¡°Primary captain, should I help you?¡± Asked Brom with an enthusiastic remark, and Vale already knew if Brom acted a bit enthusiastic, he was going to do something unthinkable.


    ¡°Err¡­ let me do it, Brom. Just conserve your magica for now.¡± Said Vale nervously.


    Just couldn¡¯t give it up, Brom pleaded once again to Vale, ¡°Oh,e on, I have this new spell¡­¡±


    Huffing his breath, Vale looks at Brom, trying to scold him as calmly as he could. ¡°Brom! Enough! Let me work¡­¡±


    The blue light spread into the surrounding area. It was Brom, using a retrace spell but with bigger coverage than Vale¡¯s retrace spell. Brom smirked at Vale, which in response looked at him with concern on his face.


    ¡°Now, we have more area to cover, right primary captain?¡± Said Brom with a smug, he walk away with Jason and the other troops behind him.


    Justice looks at his concerned friend. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Turning to Justice, he took a sigh and said, ¡°Brom power, it terrifies me.¡±


    Justice gave him a shrug. ¡°Well, he is clearly a talented magi, just like you. Imagine pulling a spell that covers arge area, the amount of magica that he needs to use.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Vale gave his point to Justice. ¡°He was fighting alongside us for a while, but look at this level of the spell, how much magica he needs to conserve. Even I don¡¯t have this much magica left.¡±


    ¡°How many percentages does Brom has?¡± Asked Justice, both of them observe Brom from behind.


    ¡°I forgot, but it¡¯s closer to mine, although lesser.¡± Answered Vale to him.


    He was in shock, ¡°Then, that was unbelievable?! Imagined you probably lost more than half of your magica already at this point.¡±


    ¡°And he just wasted another half by using this enormous retrace spell.¡± Vale looks at Brom again, this time he went curious, ¡°How is that possible, is like he got an endless amount of magica inside of him.¡±


    Justice went quiet for the whole time after that. He was thinking of something, and whatever that is, he doesn¡¯t like it, even for a bit.


    ¡°I got him!¡± The voice from another room makes the two of them run as fast as they could, and they saw it, just like Jason and Brom. It was Javier¡¯s retrace scene, sitting and waiting anxiously, and then running outside into the winding hallway. ¡°He was here just a moment ago.¡±


    ¡°Then, we must hurry!¡± Said Justice to all of them.


    Together they followed the retrace spell of Javier, seeing their brother with a terrified look on his face, gave Justice and Jason a concern.


    ¡°Why does he look so terrified?¡± Asked Jason to Justice.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but whatever it is, I got a sense we are not going to like it either.¡± Muttered Justice to his brother.


    They have to walk for almost ten minutes, following Javier¡¯s retrace, and that¡¯s when they saw arge ck door. Vale and Brom touch the door, and they turned to Justice. They knew Javier was inside.


    ¡°Everyone prepared your weapon.¡± Said Justice to all of hispanions.


    Brom use the fire spell that blew the door into pieces, they gathered around and run towards the other area beside the ck door. What they are seeing in front of them was something that they could have never predicted before.


    Javier¡¯s body was unconscious in a pool of blood, right in the middle of the room.

 Chapter 226 - 226 A changing fate

    226 A changing fate


    ¡°Javier!¡±


    Justice and Jason screamed at the same time, overlooking their brother in the middle of the room, bloodied and unconscious. Vale and Brom immediately cast full protect on both of the princes, the two magi along with the other troops were looking around, cautiously.


    Brom who was walking in front of Vale. Noticing something in the corner, he throw the light orb and his eyes got wide for the revtion and turns his head to Vale.


    ¡°Primary captain¡­ I think this is.¡±


    ¡°A cage and it¡¯s big. They kept something inside this room. Prepare yourself.¡± Said Vale to Brom, and when he look at the other corner, he saw it. A big Tarantuga, a Spider monster with eight furry legs and ten small eyes, with two big jaws, bloodied jaws. ¡°F*ck! Justice, prepare yourself, it was a Tarantuga!¡±


    Vale and Brom ran toward the crown prince and his brother. They activated their magica and throw firewall spells before the Tarantuga could do any harm to the princes. Justice, who¡¯s crouching beside his brother, now calling for his fire sword, as he leaps to the tarantuga. He was furious, noticing the wound on his brother and looking into the bloody jaw of the tarantuga.


    A fireball spell wasing from Vale. As Brom took his time to cast a much higher level spell, Justice manage to sh one of the legs, the huge monster roared and the much smaller version came from every direction of the room. The troops protecting Javier¡¯s body alongside Jason.


    Justice got a puncture wound from one of the spikes on the tarantuga legs, but he didn¡¯t even budge. All he wants is to kill this monster. He was blinded by anger. Vale looks into Brom and shouted.


    ¡°Brom, how much longer?!¡±


    .....


    Opening his eyes, Brom glowing eyes, with his two hand raising to the sky, he then shouted back at Vale. ¡°Now! Took Justice away from the monster!¡±


    Vale jumped and throw himself to Justice, they fall to the ground just enough time for Vale to casted a full protect spell once again, and Brom¡¯s hand then dropped, and the roof caved into the monster alone, the underground facility now has an opening, and as soon as the roof copsed, small meteors came running down to the monster, Brom throws full protect to everyone in the room, and the meteors sted, destroyed the gargantuan, and not long after the armies of the small critters also followed suit.


    Everyone emerged from the rubbles, Jason and Justice took Javier into the healer¡¯s tent as soon as possible. Vale stayed behind, with Brom by his side.


    ¡°Brom, what exactly happened earlier?¡± Asked Vale, helping the troops rescue the rest of them from the rubbles.


    Broms stayed as gullible as ever, questioning back Vale¡¯s question. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Brom¡­ Stop, I am serious.¡± He warned the once subordinate of his, knowing full well how Brom sometimes does this to him. ¡°That high-level spell, I never saw it before, and from the looks of it, it is much higher level than what I was imagining, before! Brom, what is that? And what happened to you?¡±


    His mysterious eyes locked to the green emerald eyes of Vale, he went quiet for a while, just looking at his primary captain who is admired so much, ¡°I can¡¯t tell you about this right now, not¡­ Not before I discuss this with certain people.¡±


    ¡°Why? Why do you need to discuss this with someone else before you can even talk to me? How is that matter?¡± He just couldn¡¯t believe him. Vale was thinking Brom just wanted to hide everything from him. ¡°Just tell me, Brom.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t, alright?! Because you¡¯re not involved¡­ You¡­ and the rest of the others¡­ are just¡­¡± He shook his head and walk away from Vale.


    Vale, who was curious, hold Brom¡¯s arm, preventing him from going away. ¡°What do you mean, the rest of the others? Who do you need to talk to first? Tell me.¡± Brom pulls his arm out, but Vale never budges, ¡°Anne, it was her, right? Was she involved in this? Why do you need to talk to her first?¡±


    ¡°Primary captain! Get a hold of yourself!¡± This time, it was Brom who got impatient, ¡°Look, I¡¯ve already promised, I will tell you everything, but at the right moment, alright? Please, trust me, Vale.¡±


    This is the first time Brom calls Vale without his military title. He got stunned and just watches his former subordinate walk away from him. For Vale, Brom is still the same for him, his mannerism, his uninterested look, all of it is Brom. But, somehow, there¡¯s a subtle change that he can¡¯t put directly at him. He took sighed and look into the sky.


    ¡°Primary captain!¡± Said a voice of a woman. He turned around and see Heirim.


    ¡°Lady Heirim, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Said, Vale. He just notice Arthur and Xander were walking with her.


    ¡°Just Heirim, please. I was demoted to the second junior rank, and we are now on active duty.¡± She said to Vale, with full respect for him.


    Vale was surprised to see how much change wasing from Heirim, he grunted to himself, ¡°First, Brom, now this youngdy, are we going to the end of the era?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Heirim looks at him with a frown on her face.


    ¡°Umm, nothing¡­ So, why do you call for me?¡±


    ¡°The crown prince asked for you in the healer¡¯s tent. It is about Prince Javier.¡± She said it to me, and Vale could see in her eyes, something bad is happening to the prince.


    He run as fast as he could and felt that Heirim, Arthur, and Xander were following closely from behind. He reached the tent, where Anne was standing outside. Xavier held her tightly on his arm while her left hand held onto Henry. Their faces were nothing but mournful, he open the tent and saw Justice sitting while crouching, there are tears in his eyes. Jason, leaning on the post of the tent, covers his face, but he can hear him sobbing.


    The most heartbreaking of all is to see king Edward wailing, holding into the dead body of Prince Javier.

 Chapter 227 - 227 A Confession of a Prince (Part 1)

    227 A Confession of a Prince (Part 1)


    ¡°You should take care of this wound first. How did you expect yourself to treat your patient when you¡¯re in this condition?¡±


    Xavier was in the middle of treating Anne¡¯s wound. He also scolded her after Anne refused to be healed and stubbornly tending all the patients. Only when all of her patients were treated carefully, she gave Xavier permission to treat her injuries.


    ¡°I hate to see someone in pain just in front of my eyes.¡± Said Anne, when she winced at the stings from the salve that Xavier put on her face. ¡°Hey, be careful, it sting.¡±


    He smiles at her, ¡°Don¡¯t be a baby, you make this salve yourself.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but it doesn¡¯t mean I like to put it.¡± Anne was ring at her beloved, it seems Xavier was having a good time treating her wound.


    He feels so good to see she can depend on him, the thought of protecting her fragile body of her, giving his obsession instinct back louder than ever. She just wanted to put her into a bubble and kept it inside, never letting her be seen by anyone that could harm her.


    Xavier touch her face and gave her the crystal earring in her hand. She was gasping when her eyes look into the shining crystal earring. ¡°Xavier, this is?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s only fair if you put something from me as well. After all, we are going to be together for a long time.¡± He whispered at her, his hands skillfully putting the earring into her ears. Anne was smiling and even gave him a kiss on his cheek.


    Their loving moment got interrupted when Henry came with the injured King Edward. Anne jumped and immediately assembled the healers to help her. After all, she is still dependable on Vale¡¯s bracelet for her supply of magica.


    .....


    ¡°Everyone who is not injured, go outside, please!¡± She firmly told the others while she concentrate to heal the king with three other healers.


    Henry and Xavier, with the other troops waiting outside, were waiting anxiously for the healers to tend to the king¡¯s injuries.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you need to go back into the port?¡± Asked Xavier to Henry.


    Henry shakes his head. ¡°No, we are winning already. Justice and Jason followed another trail, supposedly where Javier was located.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully, they found him, God! I hate this, Henry, them to be confronting their own brothers. It is so twisted.¡± Xavier feels so bad for the princes, he knows Javier, although not as much as Henry. He saw some good in him, even though his own wife said otherwise.


    ¡°Sad though, I mean I hate Heirim, sometimes, but it doesn¡¯t mean I never love her as my sister. She is still my dear sibling.¡± Said Henry while looking into the night sky.


    Half an hour went by, and Anne goes out of the healer¡¯s tent. She sat on one of the crates and took a deep breath. Henry and Xavier asked her about King Edward¡¯s condition.


    She smiled at them, ¡°He¡¯ll live, don¡¯t worry, the wound wasn¡¯t severed enough to give permanent damage.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Anne.¡± Henry gave her a warm hug, feeling how tired she was after treating the king for almost an hour.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t just me; I can¡¯t do this without the others.¡± She said humbly when Henry¡¯s warm body was still attached to her. ¡°Can I¡­ Lean on you for a while? I need a shoulder right now.¡± She bashfully asked him, with a meek voice.¡±


    ¡°Sure, my love.¡± He smiles and kisses her head. He already feels her drift into sleep.


    Xavier came and put a nket on her. ¡°Poor thing, just so exhausted.¡±


    ¡°I saw her head and her face. What happened?¡± They were speaking in a whisper, don¡¯t want to wake up the tired Anne.


    ¡°Enemies happened, the tent got attacked and they need to defend themselves.¡± Xavier exined everything to Henry while he caressed her face, ¡°I almost killed that b*stards, but she told me to stop. If it wasn¡¯t for her, we probably have fewer enemies right now.¡±


    ¡°Such a shame that she stopped you. Fewer enemies are better anyway.¡± Muttered Henry, and Xavier agreed.


    They were sitting in silence until a screaminging from the area of the road into the port. Anne got awake immediately, alerted by the screams. They saw Justice and Jason run towards them; they were carrying a bloody Javier, which makes Annee inside the tent and warned her fellow healers.


    ¡°Anne, safe him, safe my brother!¡± Justice screamed in agony with his body drenched in his brother¡¯s blood.


    Anne put her hand on prince Javier¡¯s body, and she shouted to the healers to put him into the patient¡¯s bed. Jason held onto her arm. His face was pale and just like Justice, his body was drenched in Javier¡¯s blood.


    ¡°How is he?¡± Asked Jason to Anne.


    Anne took a nce at Javier and then, answering his brother¡¯s question, ¡°I sense his pulse. It¡¯s weak though and he was already losing so much blood. Let me try, but I can¡¯t guarantee anything.¡±


    Jason Nods his head. The brothers then saw Anne taking charge and trying so hard to save Javier¡¯s life. She looks at how bad Javier¡¯s condition is, knowing everything could never have worked for him when she looks at the puncture mark on his stomach. Anne knew what the mark was, and it was not good news.


    She goes outside the tent, with blood all over her hands, the princes hoping for good news, which sadly Anne doesn¡¯t have.


    ¡°I saw a puncture mark on his stomach. That was from the Gargantua, right?¡± Asked Anne to them.


    ¡°Yes, how do you know about it?¡± Said, Jason.


    Anne took a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I have bad news. Javier¡¯s body lost so much blood, on top of that, he also got bit with Gargantuan¡¯s venom.¡±


    Justice¡¯s face got hardened. Anne just wanted to give him a hug. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean, Anne?¡±


    Anne looks into the eyes of her beloved crown prince. ¡°He will not make it. I am sorry, Justice, the venom already spreading. He will be lucid for a while, but¡­¡±


    Justice and Jason shared a nce. He gave her a bittered smile. ¡°That would be enough for us. We just need some answer from him.¡±


    Anne opens the tent for the two of them. ¡°Then, you can ask him now, he already waiting for the two of you.¡±

 Chapter 228 - 228 A Confession Of a Prince (Part 2)

    228 A Confession Of a Prince (Part 2)


    The two princes go inside the tent. They saw Javier lying on the bed, with King Edward by his side. The eyes of the king say it all.


    ¡°He¡­ He is getting weaker.¡± Said the king, with tears welling in his eyes.


    Justice approach him and squeeze his shoulder, he saw Javier¡¯s face getting paler; Javier stares at Justice while panting. He doesn¡¯t have much time, Javier raised his hand and called for his brothers, reluctant at first, Jason and Justice took nced for a moment, but finally gives in.


    Jason took his hand, and Justice crouched beside him.


    ¡°Brother, I think you should rest,¡± Jason said to Javier, trying to speak as calmly as possible.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ Brothers¡­ I am sorry¡­¡± A husky voice of Javier resounding in the tent, he is weak and fragile, but he wanted to make things right, ¡°Amelia and her¡­ her family¡­ Convinced me to¡­ To try for the thr¡­ throne¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Javier, just rest¡­ I¡­ We understand.¡± Justice is already choked up, they have their differences, sometimes even hurting each other, for Justice, Javier is still a part of his family.


    ¡°No¡­ I¡­ I must¡­ There¡¯s no¡­ Time¡­ About¡­ The rebel¡­ Only¡­ One family that wasn¡¯t the part¡­ Of this¡­¡± He coughed and blood sttered all over his face, Justice took some clean cloth and help Javier by cleaning his bloodied face. Jason is already tearing up, while King Edward staring at his dying son in tears.


    ¡°What is the name of this family, Javier?¡± Justice was still as calm as he could, although his mind was already in shambles.


    .....


    ¡°Darren family, they¡­ they stay loyal to you and in the end be a re... recluse family¡­¡± Justice was surprised, they thought Lord Darren was part of this conspiracy, but he will never question his brother¡¯sst testimony, after all, he will never gain anything if he was lying. Prince Javier continued on, ¡°The¡­ The ledger with the list¡­ Of everything¡­ It was inside the loose floorboard in¡­ In the ind inn¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright brother, you can take your rest now. Please don¡¯t talk anymore.¡± Justice couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He was sobbing while speaking to his brother. ¡°I¡­ I love you, Javier. Even though we have our own fair share of difficult rtionships as siblings, I still love you. You¡¯re my brother and the one that always protected me when I was a young boy.¡±


    Javier was smiling, ¡°I still rooting¡­ For Jason though.¡± Teased Javier while smiling, ¡°I wish mother¡­ and fathers were here¡­ I¡­ I love you all.¡± He closed his eyes and they feel him drift away. Anne came around to check on his pulse. She felt nothing on him. His body still warm, but there was no life inside his body anymore.


    ¡°My condolences, I will leave you with thete prince¡¯s body, for now.¡± Said Anne, leaving the family to grieve in silence.


    Xavier and Henry were waiting for her, Xavier open his arm, and Anne goes into the warm embrace of the werewolf.


    ¡°How is he?¡± Asked Xavier to her.


    ¡°Oh, terrible, he¡­ he will be needing our help now.¡± Whispered Anne, a tearing down her cheek. ¡°I never met with Prince Javier, but I know what Justice felt and needs to go through right now.¡±


    They sat quietly for a while, until Xavier break the silence, ¡°Did you know my name originally was Javier? Myte mother was an admirer of King Edward. She tried to name me Javier, but my father wants his children to have X as the first alphabet of their name.¡± He chuckles, probably remembering the silly memories regarding his name. ¡°Theypromise and gave me a name, Xavier.¡±


    ¡°Javier has his own difficulty, but he also had his own merits. He was in charge of changing the orphanage system, practically saving the orphan from the abusive household or a sh*tty orphanage.¡± Henry looks into the sky, thinking about Javier.


    ¡°Anne!¡±


    The three of them turn around to the source of the voice. It was Vale,ing after Henry asked for his sister to find Vale for them. The primary captain of the magi look into them and asked about Javier¡¯s condition. Anne asked him to go inside the tent, and when he go inside, the royals were grieving in their own way.


    Vale holds onto his best friend¡¯s shoulder. ¡°My condolences.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s the situation in the port?¡± asked Justice with an empty stare at his own family. He tried to normalize his grief and want to look strong.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everything is under control. Just take care of your father right now. He would take this harder than you thought.¡± Vale said to Justice, giving him time to grieve. ¡°I¡¯ll be outside with the others.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Vale, and also to Anne, she¡­ she helped us so much.¡± Justice smiled at his friend, still trying to look stronger.


    Vale left the tent and put his hand on his chest. Now, the kingdom will grieve, even though Javier¡¯s died as a traitor, but for the people that know him so well, he will be mourned and missed. Minutes be hours, and hours be days.


    They were already back in the capital, the royal family holding a private funeral for prince Javier, while his wife, the former princess Amelia was incarcerated for two major crimes, and Lady Heirim will be a key witness, she will also get into trial in the near future.


    Anne was looking at the road while sitting on the rooftop garden in front of her house.


    Vale looked at her and a smile appear on his face. ¡°Do you need to wait for any news while staring at the road like that?¡±


    She turn around and saw him, ¡°Only for the news, not for Brom.¡±


    ¡°Good, ¡¯cause I will be so jealous if you¡¯re waiting for him. After all, he goes to the moonlight monster area with Da.¡± He gave Anne a cup of moomilk and joined her on the bench.


    Brom decided to ask Da to apany him into the moonlight monster area, he gave her a tangible reason that she need to be with Justice, helping him through his tough time of grieving.


    ¡°We almost caught all the conspirators. That list from Javier definitely helps us so much.¡± Said Vale to Anne.


    ¡°In the end, he helped Justice and protect his family.¡± Muttered Anne, remembering how shattered the crown prince was at the private funeral yesterday.


    ¡°Although, just as Javier said to Justice, Darren family was not on the list. Arthur was so sure that they were packing their things and disappeared permanently from their townhouse.¡± Vale was curious about this family so much, but then give up and shrug his shoulder. ¡°Oh well, probably they know of how dangerous the ind is and moving somewhere in another area.¡±


    Anne tried so hard to agree with his conclusion, but somehow, her guts tell her that this is not thest time they will be meeting with Darren¡¯s family, and she has a bad feeling about this.

 Chapter 229 - 229 Life after Javier

    229 Life after Javier


    Empress Liberty sat on his sofa inside her bedchamber, King Ascend, King Leon, and King Edward joining her when the grief still engulfed inside the empress. When they were back, never that she thought, Prince Javier will being home inside a casket.


    How she run into his dead body and wailed, even king Edward have a hard time calming her as the funeral procession began, she is a mother who lost her children, there was nothing that could console her, as her world crumbled when the casket goes under andnd closing in.


    The funeral procession was over, the two princes remained in their own bedchamber, and Empress Liberty just stared into the void. She rarely eats and couldn¡¯t even function.


    King Leon has enough. He stands up and looks at his wife. ¡°Liberty, just eat something already. It¡¯s been three days! You need to eat!¡± The Empress just stare at him and then close her eyes, ignoring himpletely. ¡°Oh,e on, Liberty!¡± Shouted King Lion, who got frustrated by her.


    ¡°Leon, just let her for now. She lost her son, let her do what she wants.¡± King Ascend, the wisest of the three, just trying to defuse the situation.


    ¡°Ascend, all of us here lost a son, and also, she needs to eat, for her strength, she is after all still the empress of this kingdom!¡± King Leon has enough, he huffed and then leave the bedchamber, stating that he will be in his study room and go straight to bed at his own bedchamber.


    King Edward took a stand and asked the maid to bring fruits and porridge. ¡°I¡¯ll go talk to her, Ascend, leave this to me. You should get some rest now.¡± He asked Ascend to leave, so he could also have a talk with the empress, alone.


    King Ascend looks at Empress Liberty, who ignores all of them for a while now, he took a sigh and smiles bitterly at King Edward, ¡°I will leave her to you, please, get her to eat something.¡±


    He looks at him go, and when the maides with porridge and fruits, he takes a small bowl and approached the empress.


    .....


    ¡°Liberty, wake up. You need to eat something.¡± He shakes her body, knowing full well that she didn¡¯t actually sleep.


    ¡°Leave me alone, Edward, I want to be alone and mourn my son!¡± She spoke to him but never bothered to turn around.


    ¡°You¡¯re being reasonable, Liberty. Javier is my son as well!¡± Edward was in despair, he begin to cry but didn¡¯t want the others to hear him wailing. He muffled the sound by closing his face with his hands. ¡°Please, Liberty, just eat something. Javier doesn¡¯t want you to be like this!¡±


    Empress Liberty turn so fast to King Edward, she wailed and push him from the chair, ¡°How dare you give a thought that Javier will hate me for this! No! He is my firstborn! I bear him for nine months, fed him, watched him grow, and even got married!¡± She went quiet for a while, and then grab into King Edward¡¯s cor. ¡°But now¡­ Now, he was gone, Edward, our son! He was gone!¡± The brave and beautiful Empress of the kingdom now bes a fragile little ss that could break in no time.


    ¡°After all these years, this is the first time I saw you as what you¡¯re, Liberty, I thought you were going to be stronger, but instead you¡¯re the one who fall so deep.¡± Muttered King Edward, his hand then pulling the Empress into his embrace, ¡°I have my fair share of mourning before you, dearest wife. Now, let me be your pir of support.¡± He heard her sobbing and took her time. They were in the same position for a while until she finally said that she was hungry.


    They eat the cold porridge and fruits together, and this time, there were no tears involved.


    ¡°How¡¯s your mother?¡±


    Anne was asking Justice, who was sitting with her on the bench in front of the rooftop hut. He suddenly came in the middle of the night, demanding her to apany him outside. Now, they were sitting and admiring the moon and the stars.


    ¡°My mother finally getting a little better. I think my father was finally able to pursue her to eat something.¡± He said to Anne, giving her a smile that was missing for a week. She nods her head, d that everything went well. ¡°When are you going back to work?¡± Asked Justice to her. Anne was granted two-week vacation time, she was able to rest and do some gardening, while doing some correspondence with Brom and Da.


    ¡°Three days from now.¡± She answered his question and then got curious. ¡°Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°Our journey. We need to halt it for a while until everything is organized at the pce.¡± He took a sigh, feeling sorry for Anne, who is waiting to get some answers from the round table tribe. ¡°I am sorry, Anne. I know how you¡¯re so eager to go on this journey.¡±


    She chuckles, and put her hands on his face, ¡°Look it here, my handsome crown prince, I may lose some of the time to get into the answered to the very questions for my arrival in this world, but it doesn¡¯t mean I can put my priority before any one of you.¡± She caressed his cheek while staring at his red eyes and ming red hair, ¡°I love you, Justice Hargreaves Valorian, and I will do anything to make you, Vale, Xavier, and Henry feel that I am worthy to be your partner.¡±


    All the warm and fuzzy feeling came into justice, his genuine smile adorned his handsome face, he push her hand away, and instead pull her closer and he kissed her softly, she gasped while he whispered in her ear, ¡°I love you too, River Anne, and I will forever love you, and no one else.¡±


    They kiss like there¡¯s no tomorrow, her lips being ravaged by his. He was hungry for her and just wanted to taste everything that she has. He stopped for a moment and, with a blushed face, said to her in his hoarse voice, ¡°Anne, could we¡­ I¡­ I want you¡­ right now.¡±


    Anne knew what exactly Justice meant. He saw his desire from his look and from something that was so obvious on his body. But, before she could answer his desperate question, Brom appears in front of them. The two of them screamed, horrified by his sudden appearance. The man in question doesn¡¯t even care and just shouted at our heroine.


    ¡°Anne, something happened. We need to talk.¡±

 Chapter 230 - 230 The Selective Memory

    230 The Selective Memory


    ¡°Brom! Seriously, perfect timing, like ever!¡± Justice gruntled while Anne snorted, she does feel sorry for him, thinking how hard he was trying to be considerate and then finally asking for intimate time together, it wasn¡¯t easy for him.


    Brom just turn his attention to Justice and look surprised, ¡°Your majesty, I didn¡¯t know you were here?!¡±


    Anne just gave him a weak smile. She is one of the people who already get used to Brom¡¯s antic. ¡°Brom, what happened?¡± She asked him, knowing fully well that he would never leave, even when the crown prince was the one who asked him to leave.


    ¡°It¡¯s the midnight monster. They told me something surprising.¡± He pulled Anne to go inside her hut, while Justice looked at them with a gaping mouth.


    ¡°Wait¡­ Wait, Brom, let Justice inside as well!¡± She held him in the door frame and then pointed at Justice, who stayed behind.


    Brom tilted his head, confused at how panicking Anne was. ¡°Of course. I¡¯m not going to lock you up inside. I still value my life.¡± Said Brom, teasing his best friend.


    The three of them go inside. Justice sat in the chair, looking so ufortable. After all, he tried to ask her to go inside here, just a couple of minutes ago. She looks at him and felt awkward as well, thinking about how they almost doing the deed inside this small and dingy room if it were not for Brom¡¯s sudden arrival.


    ¡°So, what happened, Brom? And where was Da?¡± Asked Anne to the entric magi.


    Brom, just look around the room, ¡°Da¡¯s already back in her dorm, don¡¯t worry, she knows I will be going here.¡±


    .....


    ¡°She probably knew that even though she doesn¡¯t want you to go, you will still go anyway.¡± Anne was muttering, while Justice chuckled, hearing her rambling andining.


    Brom took a ss of water and sat on the floor, ¡°It was mind-blowing, Anne, they are together and looking at me, and telling me something that both of us never knew before.¡±


    ¡°What was that?¡± Anne asked him, now getting curious after all.


    ¡°That we are rted, both of us are born on the same fragment.¡± He said to me with sparkling eyes, ¡°Anne, maybe we are siblings thate from the same mother!¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Anne and Justice shouted at the same time.


    Anne shakes her head in disbelief, ¡°No, No! You¡¯re wrong, I know what am I, Brom, I am not born from this world.¡±


    He took her shoulder and hold it. ¡°Are you sure about that? Probably that was just your imagination. I mean, you never know.¡±


    Hearing the opinion of Brom gives hope to Justice, but Anne immediately refused the theory, ¡°No, I know what my previous life is in another world, Brom, and I can assure you, I am not born in this world.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, I mean, I hope so though, but we couldn¡¯t have what we want.¡± His head looked to the floor, feeling sympathy. Anne embraces her friend.


    ¡°I am sorry, Brom if only that was the truth either, but I truly am not, I was a forty-year-old woman who got thrown in this world and gets to relive my life back as a ten-year-old girl.¡± She smile bitterly and continued her story, ¡°Lucky enough to be adopted by a wonderful couple, and now, have four wonderful partners.¡±


    Justice hold her hand and nted a kiss on her hand, they look at each other deeply, making Brom roll his eyes and groaned.


    ¡°What exactly did the night monster say to you?¡± Asked Justice, while Anne made some warm moomilk for them.


    ¡°The midnight monster senses a dark presence from the two of us.¡± Said Brom tantly.


    ¡°What?! A dark presence?!¡± Justice was stunned, while Anne stop for a moment, getting intrigued by Brom¡¯s words.


    ¡°No, not in an evil kind of¡­ Well, probably evil, but, anyhow, that¡¯s why the midnight monster doesn¡¯t even afraid of me, and they also sense the same dark auraing from Anne, although not as much as I do.¡± Brom just exined it to them, and for Justice, all of that was making some sense.


    ¡°The two of you could probably rte.¡± He said it to Anne and Brom, but before Anne tried to speak, he prevented her and exined his theory, ¡°Not in siblings kind of way, but a connection that forms, probably when you¡¯re arriving in this world.¡±


    ¡°A connection?¡± Brom was genuinely baffled.


    Justice, on the other hand, asks for a pencil and a piece of paper. He begins to draw a diagram. ¡°Now, Anne, you arrived in this world ten years ago, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, on the rainbow crystal river, where Martha and Ed save me and adopted me.¡± Anne was trying to ask him, with a frown on her face, ¡°I don¡¯t know how¡­ this is¡­¡±


    ¡°No, please let me make the connection first.¡± He raises his hand, already invested in his own theory. ¡°Now, Brom, what happened to you ten years ago?¡±


    Brom took a nce at Justice, and shrug his shoulder, ¡°Uhm¡­ just living my life, as usual.¡±


    Taking a sigh, he tried to be patient with this entric magi, and almost lose his patience, but instead, he took a deep breath and asked him once again, ¡°Alright, I mean did you have something significant happen to you, ten years ago? Maybe a new power, or a monster trying to eat you.¡±


    ¡°Why? Monsters hate me. They never even tried to like me. Just ask your familiar.¡± Brom was chuckling, and Justice begin to massage his forehead.


    Anne feels bad for him. She scolded his friend, knowing that Brom was actually teasing Justice, ¡°Brom¡­¡±


    Brom gets annoyed at his best friend but finally gives in, ¡°Fine! I wasn¡¯t lying to you your majesty, I don¡¯t know anything ten years ago, because I really don¡¯t know anything ten years ago.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Anne put the moomilk cups on the small table that she had. She and Justice were waiting so anxiously for his answer.


    Brom stared at Anne, and then said something that even Anne never knew before, ¡°Because I lost my memory exactly ten years ago.¡±

 Chapter 231 - 231 The Unknown Truth

    231 The Unknown Truth


    ¡°I lost my exact memory, only in that precise year.¡± Said Brom again.


    They were talking about the timing of Anne¡¯s arrival with Brom, who just tell them casually that he lost his memory ten years ago.


    ¡°Wait, I am confused. Did you lose all of your memories ten years ago?¡± Justice asked him with a frown on his face.


    ¡°No, it was a selective memory loss. I lost my memory ten years ago, but only at that moment in ten years ago.¡± Answered Brom to Justice.


    ¡°What moment?¡± Asked Justice again.


    He shrugs at him. ¡°I don¡¯t know. That¡¯s why I called it memory loss.¡±


    Anne saw that Justice almost lose his patience. She tried to talk to her friend calmly, trying from a different perspective. ¡°Brom, even though you are lost your memory, someone ought to tell you something about it, right? I mean, you can just lose your memory without triggering something.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really care, but my mother probably knew something. After all, the event happened at our family vi.¡± With his own take, Brom answered his friend, and this time, at least Anne and Justice get a hint about his memory loss.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go to the Alchemia tower right away.¡± Said Justice, to Anne.


    .....


    Anne stand up immediately when she heard him. ¡°Wait, I¡¯ll go with you!¡±


    Gruntled, Brom followed the two of them from behind. ¡°Just when I thought I have a rxing time. Now this is happening.¡±


    Justice took Anne into his horse, and Brom rode with his own horse. Together they went to the Alchemia tower in the basking of the moonlight. Justice called Kirara toe out, a big shadowes out, and the direwolf ran beside Justice¡¯s horse.


    ¡®Yes, master.¡¯


    ¡°Called for Vale, Xavier, and Henry asked them to meet me at the Alchemia tower, as soon as possible.¡± He gave an order to Kirara, thinking that this news need to be heard by the entire group. When Anne saw Kirara¡¯s gone away, she asked him what kind of n that he had. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but the more people heard about this, the more ideas we cane up with.¡±


    Anne was impressed. She tried to turn around, but they were in the middle of riding a horse. As for now, the only thing that Anne can do is praise him and promise him a kiss when they arrived at the Alchemia tower.


    Two hourster, the Alchemia tower was finally in front of them. Brom took a lead and called for someone to open the door, while Justice helped Anne go down from the horse, but he never let her go with his arm. Instead, the crown prince carry her into the corner of the tower and took her mouth into his.


    His hands were all over the ce, at her shoulder, at her hips, and at her chest, while his mouth taste her lips like a hummingbird drinking all the nectar of the flower. He was hungry, and in need of her, and Anne couldn¡¯t even bother to scold him, since the flower now blooming and wanting the hummingbird as well.


    ¡°Can the two of you do this another day? I mean, this is a public ce.¡± The two of them gasped and turn around to see Brom looking at them with disinterest on his face. ¡°Come on, we can wait for the other on my floor.¡±


    ¡°Wait, did you watch us the whole time?¡± Justice pried on him, hoping that he will deny it.


    Instead, a smirk appears on his face. ¡°For a crown prince, I must admit, you have the experience, and here I am thinking that you just talk and no action.¡±


    ¡°Oh, my God! Brom! Unbelievable! You were watching us?!¡± Anne was furious. She took it upon herself to approach her friend and stomp his feet. Brom screamed in agony and she goes inside unhinged. Justice followed her from behind and chuckled the whole way into the lift.


    ¡°Gods! I wanted so bad to kiss you again, but probably for the next time?¡± He asked her, whispering into her ears, with the warm air blowing from his mouth, directly to her. She gets ticklish and giggled the whole through of the lift ride.


    When the lift door opened, Chief Amaris was already waiting for them, with some hot caftea and moomilk. She smiles at them and asked them to sit on the sofas.


    ¡°Let us wait for the others, shall we.¡± Said chief Amaris, and she even gave Anne a big hug. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s so nice to see you again, dear, you shoulde by more often.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ Oh, alright, Amaris, did you already predict that we were going here to ask you about Brom?¡± Asked Anne, squinted her eyes to the chief.


    ¡°Yes, dear, as soon as Brom told me about the midnight monster nest, I knew right away that sooner orter you will be here, asking me questions about the event from ten years ago.¡± Said chief Amaris to the two of them, she turn around to see Broming out from the lift, ¡°I assumed we still need to wait for another three people.¡±


    Turns out, in less than an hour, Vale, Xavier, and Henry already arriving at the tower. Justice exined to them about Brom¡¯s encounter with the midnight monster and their information about Anne and Brom. They are now as invested as Anne and Justice after hearing the whole story.


    ¡°Now, Mother, you can tell us what exactly happened ten years ago.¡± Said Brom, while he drop himself to the chair.


    ¡°God! I need to remember the exact time when you lost your memory. It happened at the family vi in the countryside. That day, Brom was ying in the backyard, alone.¡± She looks at her son attentively before she continued, ¡°Our vi is located near a forest, not a dense one, just enough but also doesn¡¯t fill with danger. I saw him enter the forest, and the next thing I know, he was screaming so loud, even the stableman heard him from afar.¡±


    All of them went quiet. This is the moment that they have been waiting for, the answer to the question.


    ¡°Then, what happened?¡± Asked Vale, since Chief Amaris just went silent for a moment.


    She looks at his son with a look of fear, which is something that you would never expect from her. ¡°I¡­ I came to the source of the scream, which is my son, turned out there was a stray animal that terrifies him. He screamed and fall to the ground.¡± She took a sigh and walk into the window. ¡°I must tell you this, please kept this information between us for now, especially you, your majesty.¡±


    Justice nodded his head. ¡°Yes, we promise, Amaris.¡±


    ¡°Good, because the information that I will tell you right now is something that could change your perspective about my son.¡± All of them were shocked, including Brom, since he never heard this story before. ¡°When I saw him on the ground, the animal that surprised him was gone¡­ Instead, in front of us back then was a ck pool of shadows that went dispersed in every direction.¡±


    Brom stands up from his seat, and shouted at his mother, ¡°No, you¡¯re lying, no, mother.¡±


    She wipe her tears and took his eyes away from her own son, ¡°I am sorry Brom, but, it is the truth, the Dark and Mischievous road was created by you.¡±

 Chapter 232 - 232 Pieces of the puzzle

    232 Pieces of the puzzle


    Everyone was shocked when Chief Amaris drop the staggering information, especially Brom, this is the first time he heard about him as the catalyst of the dark and mischievous road, and the only thing that he can do is stood in silence, looking at his mother.


    ¡°I am sorry, Brom, I think it was the time that you need to know about this.¡± her sobbing while staring into the view at the window was poetic.


    She doesn¡¯t want to see her son¡¯s face. The memory was still fresh like it was yesterday. She was looking at the mysterious light, running towards it, and saw the unconscious Brom on the ground, while a dark matter formed in front of him, the dark matter then exploded into pieces and the small dark orbs goes everywhere into the sky like aet.


    She finally turns around and sees Brom. ¡°We take you back home. You have a fever that day, and when you are finally conscious, you forgot everything that happened to you. I don¡¯t want you to have trauma. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been keeping it to myself.¡±


    He finally regained his weird self, shrugging his shoulder, and said, ¡°It wasn¡¯t really a trauma if you never remember anything.¡± He even goes to her and gave her a warm embrace. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mother, I am alright.¡±


    One thing they finally knew about Brom. Even though he was one of the weirdest people around, he loves his mother very much so. Anne got teary eyes, remembering her own adoptive mother, Martha, she wipe her tears and felt a hand on her back. It was Vale who then kissed her head and engulfed her with his body.


    After Chief Amaris finally calmed, Justice gave her a follow-up question, ¡°Are you sure these two cases were rted? I mean, we never know the date of Anne¡¯s arrival and Brom creating the dark and mischievous road at the same time.¡±


    ¡°I can confirm it, I asked the pair, which are Anne¡¯s adoptive parents.¡± Said, chief Amaris.


    Anne was in shock, she never knew about this. ¡°Wait, you have met my parents?¡±


    .....


    ¡°Yes, after I know about your existence, I make a journey to your vige and spoke with your parents, they told me about how they found you at the crystal river, a moment after they saw a bright light on the crystal river and ck meteors on the sky.¡± She told them everything, while Anne was getting emotional all of a sudden. Chief Amaris approached her and hold her shoulder. ¡°I am sorry, dear. I need to keep it a secret.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I was just¡­ getting sentimental. I never saw their¡­st moment.¡± Her tears ran down from her eyes, she was heartbroken just from hearing about her parents. Vale gave her a hug and tried to soothe her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if this could give you some closure, when I met them, the only thing that they have been talking about was your achievement, Anne.¡± Said chief Amaris to her, giving Anne a smile on her face even though tears still running.


    They took the time to wind up and discuss the best way to reveal more about the mystery of the connection between Anne and Brom.


    ¡°Not just these two, the witch of the mountain always connected herself with them, she always haunting Anne and also giving Brom a nightmare.¡± Justice gave his opinion while sipping the caftea.


    ¡°Why are you getting obsessed with her in the first ce?¡± Asked Brom to the crown prince, ¡°I mean, I know that you go to Viora vige to hunt the witch back then, but what is the reason?¡±


    The four of them were stunned. Somehow, Brom¡¯s words just opened their eyes.


    ¡°Yes, good question. Why are we chasing the witch back then?¡± Xavier looks around the room, having the same questions as Brom.


    The mother and son duo share nces with each other. For the two of them, this meant something.


    ¡°Safe to say that the four of you don¡¯t know the reason why you¡¯re there in the first ce.¡± Said chief Amaris, her mind is working so hard, and she tried so hard to put the puzzle together. ¡°Let me ask the four of you, did you remember anything about that day?¡±


    They look at each other, and Henry reluctantly said, ¡°Umm¡­ About Anne, when we first met her? Our encounter with her was the most prominent, I think.¡±


    ¡°Oh, God! No! Do not discuss your lovesick encounter with your lover!¡± Chief Amaris put her hands on her face, while Anne chuckles at the silliness.


    ¡°Oh, that¡­ Umm¡­ No.¡± Said Henry again, this time he feel so silly, he goes to sit beside Anne and cowered. Ann gave him a pat on his back and put her head on his shoulder.


    ¡°So, All of you don¡¯t know anything? Really?¡± Chief Amaris doesn¡¯t give up. She stares at the other three, searching for an answer.


    ¡°Well, I remember about the pub, we were drinking and someone came to us, and told us about the witch of the mountain location.¡± Justice finally answered her, even though he need to think hard about it.


    ¡°Alright? So, you were in the pub to get a rest, so the four of you were chasing the witch of the mountain.¡± Said chief Amaris again to Justice.


    He gasped and look at her, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know what are we doing at the pub back then.¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on, your majesty, there must be a reason for the four of you to go into the pub.¡± Even Brom getting so curious about this.


    Justice looking at Brom, his eyes say it all, ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know, all I remember was the pub door, and the four of us goes inside, take a seat, and begin to drink and chat.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Justice¡¯s right. That is also my memory.¡± Muttering Xavier to everyone. He then turned to Vale and Henry. ¡°And I bet that is also your memory.¡± The two of them nodded their head, agreeing with Xavier¡¯s statement.


    Chief Amaris took her time. She walks around the room and looks at all the people in the room. Somehow, the puzzle in her mind was half finished. ¡°Yes, how stupid of me.¡±


    ¡°What, Mother?¡± Brom asked her, knowing full well that she know something already.


    ¡°This is not just about Brom and Anne.¡± She put her hand on the window sill, looking at the moonlight waning in the sky, ¡°This is about all of you.¡±


    ¡°What? What do you mean?¡± Asked Xavier, looking gullible.


    ¡°What I mean is that the four of you are connected with Brom and Anne, all of you in this room, were being connected by the witch of the mountain!¡± Said chief Amaris, with a smile on her face, after putting another puzzle piece in the correct ce.

 Chapter 233 - 233 The round table tribe (Part 1)

    233 The round table tribe (Part 1)


    ¡°All of you here are connected, whether it is what you call fate or some other thing.¡± Chief Amarisid down her observation to the four gentlemen, Anne, and also her son.


    ¡°Why were you think that we are connected? I mean, it was probably just a coincidence.¡± Xavier just couldn¡¯t believe it, mainly because he never had a single thought of it before.


    Justice, Vale, and Henry, on the other hand, think differently. They know something was wrong from the moment they go to search for the witch of the mountain. But they kept it in their mind for a while, since Anne came around in their life.


    ¡°It makes sense now, right, Justice?¡± Said Henry to the crown prince.


    Justice nodded his head. ¡°Yeah, just as we expected.¡±


    Xavier looks at his best friend with a frown on his face, ¡°Expected about what?¡±


    ¡°That we were actually never remember anything before the moment we entered the pub.¡± Said Justice to him, ¡°I talked about this with Henry and Vale, we tried to talk about it with you as well, but¡­ You seem not to care about it that much.¡±


    The huntsman captain seems a bit hurt by the usations. ¡°Hey, in my defense, you tried to discuss this when I was drunk. Of course, I will say that I don¡¯t care about it.¡±


    ¡°Alright! That¡¯s enough, all of you!¡± Chief Amaris had enough of the bickering between the four gentlemen. She put her hands on her hips. ¡°Now, what do you need to do? Any ideas?¡±


    .....


    ¡°Actually, Mother, they are going to go to the round table tribe,¡± Brom tells his mother, while he was walking around the room, kind of like an agitated horse. Even Anne was curious.


    His mother, Chief Amaris, looks at them with a frown on her face. ¡°What are you going to do in that mysterious tribe, anyway? They are scary.¡±


    All eyes then go to Vale. He winced at Chief Amaris and spoke, ¡°Actually, I am one of them. My mother was from the round table tribe.¡± The woman was just bbergasted and stared at Vale, he scratches his head, ¡°Yeah¡­ Although I never even go there in the first ce, my grandfather raised me in¡­¡±


    ¡°Gendry town, yeah, I know all about it. The tribe lives in an unnamed vige near Gendry town.¡± She muttered and tried to remember details, ¡°I know about you from your grandfather, although the old fart never told me that your mother was the round table tribe woman.¡± Vale gasped, surprised at her words. She shrugs her shoulder. ¡°Your grandfather is my long-time friend; I can call him the old fart if I want to¡­ Well, was my long-time friend. What are you going to do there, seriously?¡±


    Anne, who for the most part of the conversation was a quiet one, decided to take part in this discussion, ¡°King Edward, told me about the prophecy thate from the tribe, it was about my arrival on this world, he thought it is about me.¡±


    ¡°Wait, first, I need to say¡­ King Edward is from the round table tribe?!¡± She looks in awe and even stares at Justice, ¡°You never told me that¡­¡±


    Justice immediately raised his right hand to Chief Amaris. ¡°For the record, I don¡¯t know about it either.¡±


    ¡°Alright, fair enough.¡± Chief Amaris looks annoyed, but then questions Anne about the im, ¡°Are you sure this is a good way, dear, I mean, the round table tribe is so mysterious and secluded, the librarian doesn¡¯t even have a record about the tribe.¡±


    Anne gave her a bittered smile, ¡°What else should I do? She bothered me endlessly and even gave Brom a nightmare. I don¡¯t even want to think that she is the one responsible for¡­ many things in their lives.¡± Said Anne while pointing at the four gentlemen, trying to hide Henry¡¯s recurring nightmare.


    Valees to her once again, giving her the warm hug that she really needs. He knows fully well that she feels a lot of sympathy and guilt over their problem after she left two years ago. They forgive each other, but the guilt that she bottled up remind always on her mind. Vale knew it, and the others obviously knew it.


    ¡°So¡­ The round table tribe, huh? When are you leaving?¡± Asked chief Amaris again.


    ¡°Sadly, we can¡¯t go for now. I have too many obligations after Javier¡¯s funeral, and Anne needs to go back to her duty first, and so does the other.¡± Said Justice to Chief Amaris.


    She doesn¡¯t like the answer, and shakes her head, ¡°No, no, you need to go, as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°No, mother, your majesty is right. I mean, the round table tribe will always be there. We still need to go back to our duty first.¡± Even Brom agreed with Justice.


    ¡°No, I have a bad feeling about this, son. That¡¯s why I want you to go as soon as possible.¡± She is still adamant about her choice, and will convince them to follow, ¡°Think about it, who¡¯s your enemy, the one that triggered the event that connected Brom to the arrival of Anne, and afterward, giving the introduction of the four influential men into the lives of a vige girl in the middle of nowhere.¡± The others were quiet. They heard her carefully, absorbing every piece of information. ¡°The one that is able to create a powerful spell that all of you need to work hard to find the cure.¡±


    Brom, yawning so hard, rolled his eyes and asked his mother about the opinion that she was justid on them, ¡°So, what exactly you were trying to say, mother?¡±


    ¡°What I wanted to tell all of you is that the witch of the mountain is a powerful being that needs to be destroyed before she could wreak havoc in people¡¯s life.¡± They look at each other. Chief Amaris senses doubt and she doesn¡¯t like it. She ms her hands on the table. ¡°What else do you need to know? Oh, I know, I think she is now going to target the round table tribe because possibly, she doesn¡¯t want Anne to know about this prophecy!¡±

 Chapter 234 - 234 The Round Table Tribe (Part 2)

    234 The Round Table Tribe (Part 2)


    ¡°Did you have anything?¡±


    Anne turns around to see Xavier towering behind her, ¡°Yes, my permit from the chief of healer, and my essentials and the medicine.¡±


    They were back in the capital, but need to go to Gendry town, tomorrow. Anne was in the middle of packing the essentials while Xavier¡¯s making some caftea on her kitchte. For thest couple of weeks, the four gentlemen took a turn to protect her, whether in the hospital or at her house. They even have their own bed inside the hut, literally never letting her alone twenty-four-seven.


    ¡°Yes, Xavier, and you don¡¯t have to ask it like every five minutes.¡± She huffed her breath, trying not to roll her eyes so badly. Thinking for a week, she was getting stalked by them, it would already be enough for her. ¡°Ugh¡­ Why Chief Amaris need to ask the four of you to be by my side all the time was beyond me.¡±


    ¡°She had her reason, Anne, and please don¡¯t be so agitated by it. We tried so hard to be discreet, even when we were here, inside this small hut.¡± He was trying so hard to give her a reason, but the woman just red at him. ¡°Hey, I am not the one who rejected Justice to use his small garden vi in the pce.¡±


    ¡°And being subjugated by the pce staff? No, thank you.¡± Said Anne, full of sarcasm. ¡°You know, even the hospital staff were already whispering.¡±


    His eyes go to her, ¡°Everyone would bound asking questioned and even gossiping, I mean, Justice gave you a warm embrace inside a canteen full of people!¡±


    Feeling defeated, Anne drops herself to her bed and looks at Xavier with a bittered smile. ¡°I know that it seems like a fairytale, having a crown prince, and in the near future bing the empress. Did you know how much I was trying so hard to make this into a dreame true back in my original world?¡± He sat with her and took her into his embrace. Anne took a sigh and tell him a story about Anne in the original world. ¡°I was a cold woman, but not as I intended to, but it¡¯s because I was born with a rare disease that rendered me incapable of feeling any emotion.¡±


    ¡°Really? None whatsoever?¡± He teased her and gave her a giggle.


    .....


    ¡°Hey, I was trying to tell you my story. Bepassionate a little.¡± Said Anne, and then flick his nose.


    He winced and chuckles. ¡°Alright, alright, my beautiful miss. So, tell me about the forty-year-old woman named Anne?¡±


    Anne flicked his nose once again. ¡°Shut up! I was a forty-year-old beautiful woman, you know.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ I can see that.¡± His voice changes his tone, his right hand goes to caressing her face, and the golden eyes shine when he stared at his beloved River Anne, ¡°I see this beautiful young woman who gets a second chance in life, and we¡­ The four of us are truly blessed to call her our lover and partner.¡±


    They share a moment, and the lips meet each other in the entanglement of the blissful, happy moment. His hot breath brushes her blushed cheek, she was shy, but he was there for her. The kiss got deeper and more intimate and his hand begin to go under. That¡¯s when he saw the doubt on her face.


    ¡°I should stop now, or I would never be able to stop.¡± He said to her with a bated breath.


    Anne nods her head, ¡°Yes, it is for the best for now¡­ We still need to know about the connection that we have.¡± She looks at him, and suddenly put his face in between her palms. ¡°But, I want you to know this, the thing that we are trying to do just now was never a mistake for me. I love you, Xavier of Wolg town, just as much as the other three. I would love to be one with you when the time is right, and it would be the most magical moment for us!¡±


    His golden eyes shine brightly, and her deration of love got him warm and fuzzy. ¡°Anne¡­ I love you, but could you let me go? I feel I could be drooling in no time cause you pressed my cheeks so much.¡±


    She let him go right away. ¡°Oh, I am sorry!¡±


    He snorted and then shakes his head whileughing. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I am alright, but next time, just gently pressed it, and we can continue to explore how deep is our love for each other?¡±


    Now it is Anne who gets a giggle and even ps his arm. They were having a moment together, sweet memories for each other, and when the sun was rising, the two of them were waiting at the front gate of the capital. Not long after, Vale and Henry came. They brought the carriage because of the three days¡¯ journeys to Gendry town.


    One hourter, Justice came with a carriage, along with Brom and Xander. His face was nothing if it was not an annoyance. Anne saw him and sense something was wrong. She approached the crown prince and asked him directly.


    ¡°Is something wrong? Howe you seem to agitate?¡±


    Justice took nced at her and tell him the reason, ¡°I don¡¯t know how to tell you this, but it seems my mother knew about our rtionship through the hideous gossip that goes around the pce.¡±


    She was flustered. She knows this will be happening sooner orter. But of course not like this, not from the mouth of the gossipers between the tea time of the nobles and royalty. ¡°Oh no, I hope she is not angry or something.¡± Anne was worried now.


    ¡°That¡¯s the thing. I wanted to tell her myself, just like we nned it, but now it went down the drain. Even my father, Edward, couldn¡¯t help me that much.¡± He looks around, and Anne can sense fear in his eyes.


    ¡°Alright, Justice¡­ What is happening? You can¡¯t even calm yourself right now.¡± Anne asked him carefully, while her hand brushed his back, trying to calm him down.


    He looks at Anne, still a bit agitated, ¡°She wants to meet you, in person.¡±


    ¡°What? What do you mean?¡± Asked Anne again.


    Taking a long sigh, Justice then said, ¡°The Empress, she wanted to meet you in person, just the two of you.¡±

 Chapter 235 - 235 The Round Table Tribe (Part 3)

    235 The Round Table Tribe (Part 3)


    Anne¡¯s face says it all. She was terrified and nervous. ¡°What? Like¡­ Like right now?!¡±


    ¡°No! No, don¡¯t worry, after we deal with the round table tribe, of course.¡± He chuckles at her naivety and gave her a peck on her cheek. ¡°But, my father is here though, he wanted to join us.¡± Whispered Justice while he took a nce at the carriage.


    Anne looks at the basic army carriage and whispered to Justice. ¡°How is he? Is it alright for him to go with us?¡± She trying to make excuses because she doesn¡¯t want to sound so condescending. ¡°I mean, I know it¡¯s been a month since¡­ But¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, don¡¯t worry, my father Leon said it will be good for him.¡± He brushes her hair and goes to the other. That¡¯s when they saw Arthur and Heirim riding horses and approaching them. ¡°Arthur? Heirim? What are you doing here?¡± Asked the crown prince with a frown on his face.


    Arthur got off his horse and bow to Justice, ¡°Your majesty, we are here to assist you on the journey to Gendry town as the guard for King Edward.¡±


    ¡°Oh, from my mother, I see, alright, my father was inside the carriage. Anne and I will apany him inside. You and Heirim could ride the horses at the rear of the carriage.¡± He gave Arthur his permit and nodded his head to Heirim, while he asked Anne to go inside the carriage. ¡°I¡¯ll go to meet the guard with the others. probably it is for the best if you go and sit with him right away.¡±


    Anne would love to meet with King Edward again. He was kind to her, and she also loves to help him get through his grief. When the funeral of Prince Javier, Anne needs to sit in the corner, along with the long-time friends of the royalty. The empress was sobbing and wailing, really making the whole funeral a miserable drama, while her husbands grief in their own way.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go inside, but, tell Brom to go inside the carriage with us.¡± She pleaded with Justice, even though the crown prince thought it was a ridiculous request. ¡°King Edward needs to hear everything from Brom, and so does the other way around.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense.¡± Muttered Justice. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips and agreed with her. ¡°Alright, I asked him to go with us.¡±


    .....


    Heirim is already used to it by now. Strangely enough, after she could let go of her obsession, she feels free and overall could just enjoy the life while waiting for her trial. Not for Arthur, his jealousy was apparent, and the only thing that he could do just stared at her from afar.


    ¡°I was like you before, you know.¡± Said Heirim to Arthur. ¡°Vying on a man, thinking that he will be the one for you, even doing cruel things to an innocent girl who won his heart.¡±


    Arthur scoffed at Heirim. ¡°Heirim, I know all about your obsession with the crown prince and also the cruel thing that you do to Anne. I may be a bit gullible at first, but I catch up.¡±


    ¡°Then you know that she was already off-limit for you,¡± Heirim told him with gritted teeth. She got so annoyed by how stubborn Arthur was. ¡°Seriously, Captain, open your eyes! She is happy. She is with her beloved, four gentlemen with high rank and prestige.¡±


    ¡°Just pack our things and put them into the first carriage. You can ride the carriage with your brother and let me ride the horse in the rear, alone.¡± Arthur just doesn¡¯t want to be near Heirim right now. While the youngdy was agape and just huffing her breath, and took her horse to the stable.


    Henry was flustered to see his sister sitting beside the coach¡¯s seat. He will be in charge to drive the carriage for today and will be taking shifts with Xavier and Xander. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Asked the knight captain to Heirim.


    ¡°My captain orders me to sit in the carriage, so¡­ Here I am.¡± She tried to jest at her brother, although they never had any proper discussion as a sibling before, let alone jest around. ¡°Just please let me sit here with you. I can¡¯t stand that werewolf named Xander.¡± She was practically pleading with her brother.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll let you sit there.¡± Said Henry, finally giving in to his sister¡¯s request. ¡°Just mind you, though, I hate small talk.¡±


    ¡°So am I, look we are bonding already.¡± Said Heirim, so chirpy at her brother. Henry just rolled his eyes, seeing how ridiculous Heirim¡¯s behaviortely is.


    She sent Casca repeatedly to Henry, just to send him a good wish message. One day she even delivers cookies, which makes his subordinates tease him so much. Although, Anne consoles him and said that she meant well, and trying to bond as siblings.


    ¡°Give her time, Henry, forgive her and saw her as what she truly is now, a sister who seeks your forgiveness.¡± Said Anne back then, and now, with his blue eyes, he looks at her and wishes that forgiveness wille eventually, and they can be a regr sibling atst.


    Xander was in the middle of packing the trunk when he saw two long tinum blonde hair on the coach seat. ¡°Lady Heirim? I thought you were going on the journey riding behind with your captain?¡± Xander was surprised but also excited at this change.


    Heirim, on the other hand, was smiling nervously at Xander, ¡°Err¡­ yes, hello. Looks like I will be here until Gendry town.¡±


    ¡°Really?!¡± Heirim almost jump from her seat, when Xander came to them with a very excited face.


    Henry, who is surprised but also amused by their interaction, just pushes Xander away and tells him that he could be the next coachman for this carriage. Heirim was already looking so horrified at her brother¡¯s promise to Xander.


    Xavier came and called for Henry to look into the supplies. He goes to him with a wide smile on his face.


    ¡°Why are you smiling? Stop, it was terrifying.¡± Said Xavier with a wince on his face.


    ¡°Hey, two years ago I was one of the nobles who got a beguiling smile, and I think I still have it.¡± Henry protested and looks annoyed at his friend.


    Vale came walking with Justice and tell them to go into their position. Brom gets inside the royal carriage, where King Edward and Anne were already inside and having some conversation going. The king looks at the weird magi and smiles. ¡°Ah, you must be Brom.¡±


    Brom nodded his head, ¡°Yes, his majesty.¡±


    Not long after, Justice came and close the door immediately. He looks at the group and said, ¡°Everyone¡¯s ready?¡± without waiting for an answer, he tap the carriage, allowing the coachman to guide the horse on the way to Gendry town.

 Chapter 236 - 236 The Round Table Tribe (Part 3)

    236 The Round Table Tribe (Part 3)


    The view of the surrounding area couldn¡¯t even entice Anne at the moment. The four of them are looking at each other inside the carriage, especially King Edward, whose eyes were transfixed on Brom. He was amazed when he looks at Brom.


    ¡°You know, you¡¯re such a unique man. People just couldn¡¯t see it by themselves.¡± Said king Edward to Brom.


    Brom, looking at him, asked the king with a tilted head because of curiosity. ¡°What is it, his majesty? I mean, I consider myself a normal people.¡±


    Justice knew that it wasn¡¯t the case for this young man. He remembered Vale¡¯s words when they were in the middle of searching for thete Javier. There¡¯s something weird about Brom¡¯s power and his father knew something about it.


    ¡°Alright, let us forget about it just for now.¡± Said king Edward while raising his hand to Brom. ¡°Let us discuss your connection, so I¡¯ve heard from Chief Amaris about the connection between all of you. I do wonder about this. Can you tell me about your dream?¡±


    ¡°It was not exactly a dream, it was a nightmare, I mean almost in all the dreams, she kind of chased me down, whether looking angrily at me, screaming at me, or even just ring at me.¡± Brom was trying so hard not to look nervous by looking out the window. ¡°When Anne told me about her, of how she kept creeping into her, giving her vile suggestions and just disappearing into a thin air, that¡¯s when I realized that my dream is connected with her being ghosted by the witch of the mountain.¡±


    ¡°What happened next?¡± Asked king Edward again.


    Anne and Brom took nced at each other before he answered the king¡¯s questions. ¡°We¡­ actually writing a share note. Anne wrote the first entry and then gave me the note, and so on.¡±


    King Edward suddenly begin more interested than before. ¡°Fascinating. Where¡¯s the note now?¡±


    .....


    ¡°I have it, here.¡± Said Anne to him, she open her medicine bag and took out a book that be their share note.


    Carefully, King Edward asked permission to read the content of the book. Anne gave it to him after Brom gave his permission. Justice, who¡¯s never seen the content, took a peek at the content of the book, and together with his father, they read the first entry of the note.


    ¡®Entry number one, Date xx Month xx Year xxxxx


    She came and told me to go back to the capital; she keep telling me to go back to my beloved. I don¡¯t want it. I said to her that they were better off without me. I cried because it is hurt, and she keeps enticing me to go back. She finally disappears after I keep yelling at her.


    Ps: Because of her, now the innkeeper kicks me out of the inn. Please go to the western cave of the town. I¡¯ll be there until I get some cheap and more permanent solution.¡¯


    Justice¡¯s heart skip a beat. He never expected Anne to have a harsher life after she go away from the four of them, two years ago. ¡°You need to sleep inside a cave?¡± His voice became hoarse. He wanted to hug her and tell her that everything will be alright from now on. ¡°I never knew¡­¡±


    Instead of thinking about how hard her life was, Anne gave him the biggest smile and hold his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I slept in that cave for two days only. Da came with Brom and they helped me to find a more permanent hut. I even stayed in the town for two months.¡±


    King Edward, waiting for Justice to read the note, shakes his head. ¡°I think I have enough. Just tell me if you get valuable information.¡± He refused to read more about how Anne was suffering back then. He was also aware of the reduction payment that she got from Chief Ca, but never thought of the cost of living that she needs to endure. ¡°I¡­ I was so gullible, I never knew how themoner need to think carefully about their expenses.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what happened if you just thought about the journey but never bothered to look into the other side, your majesty.¡± Brom gave his opinion tantly, even King Edward took nced at him, but only a slight chuckle came from the king himself.


    ¡°He was right, Justice. You¡¯re so out of touch with reality sometimes.¡± King Edward agreed with Brom. ¡°I know that you¡¯re the most frugal prince among the others, but the coins that you have been carried around are actually heavier than Miss Anne¡¯s one-year sry.¡±


    No words areing from Justice. He feels ashamed of himself, and he always thinks that him going outside of the capital is his devotion to the people¡¯s crown prince. Brags about themoner¡¯s inn and that he prefers to sleep over his lengthy journey, or maybe just sleep in the jungle, with the simple but most efficient tent. He could never imagine that Anne need to sleep inside rock hard ground, and only her familiar to protect her from any attacker.


    ¡°I hate myself, right now.¡± Said Justice while he shake his head and chuckling. ¡°Here I am, thinking that I was the wiser crown prince, but I was just like the rest of them.¡±


    Anne could feel the guilting from Justice, took his hand, and then pinched the skin. He screamed, making the King and Brom quite the surprised.


    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Justice re at her while blowing into his reddened hand.


    ¡°I need to pinch you so you stop giving me a pity look!¡± Said Anne and with a scary re at Justice as well. She huffed her breath and put the crown prince¡¯s hands into her face. ¡°Look here, your majesty, I am fine! Nothing was missing and also it makes me have more experience as a healer.¡±


    ¡°Anne¡­ I¡­ I am sorry.¡± He got flustered and once again admired how positive her attitude is nowadays. A genuine smile came onto his face, and he touched her lips and gave her warm kisses. Even when King Edward and Brom are present. ¡°You just don¡¯t know how much love that I have for you, River Anne.¡±


    They look at each other, and Anne knew this was the love that she mored for from her old world, and thinking that how lucky she is, to have four of them just for her.


    King Edward suddenly cleared his throat, and the two of them were back to reality, where Brom even raised his eyebrows, looking at them. ¡°So, finally have the attention of the two of you.¡± Teased King Edward while he handed Justice the note. ¡°Read this entry. Don¡¯t you think it was strange?¡±


    Justice read the entry and his eyes widen, he looks at Brom and then Anne. ¡°This entry¡­ was it real?!¡±

 Chapter 237 - 237 The Round Table Tribe (Part 4)

    237 The Round Table Tribe (Part 4)


    Brom and Anne were curious about the one entry that makes King Edward look so distraught. They look at the entry on the note and read it carefully.


    ¡®Entry number ten, Date xx, Month xxx, Year xxxx


    I was dreaming about her, as usual, but something is strange. She just stood there and pointed at the river. She told me that she lost her key and I needed to help her find the key.


    Ps: After some research with Da, I finally found the river. It was the crystal river. Strange enough, I remember that you came from the same river.¡¯


    ¡°The crystal river, so the witch mentioned the crystal river and Anne came from the river. How could you never put it together?¡± Justice asked the two of them.


    ¡°We have already talked about this after we met directly. It is on the crystal river but it wasn¡¯t in the same area. Anne was found in the crystal river right in the valley of Viora vige. The witch shows me a crystal river, but it¡¯s not in the same area.¡± Said Brom to Justice and King Edward.


    ¡°So, it is in another area where the crystal river is flowing as well. Do you know where the exact location is?¡± Asked Justice again.


    ¡°Wait, Justice!¡± King Edward halted his son and then focused on Anne. ¡°Miss Anne, so, you came from the inside of the crystal river?¡±


    Anne nods her head. ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t know how though. I got hit by a truck and thrown into the river in my old world, and when I regained my conscious, I was already in Ed and Martha¡¯s home.¡±


    .....


    ¡°So, they told you everything, that they have found you on the crystal river?¡± Asked king Edward again.


    ¡°They told me everything, but not the peculiar ck meteor in the sky, I knew about thetter from Chief Amaris,¡± Anne exined to King Edward, who was still having a thought, probably trying to piece the puzzles.


    ¡°Father, did something bothering you?¡± Asked Justice to King Edward.


    King Edward looks at Anne, Brom, and Justice. ¡°Yes, because I was distraught by the mentioning of the crystal river and the mentioned of a key.¡±


    ¡°Why, his majesty?¡± Anne was so curious by now.


    ¡°Because the round table tribe considered crystal river sacred, they believe it as the water source that came from the Moon and Sun Gods.¡± He shakes his head and chuckles. ¡°This whole thing be so much bigger now, and when she mentioned key.¡±


    ¡°What is the key, actually?¡± Even Justice was confused.


    ¡°We never actually know about this key, but¡­ hear me out, the crystal river actually has a whole dark story, it¡¯s about the deceit and betrayal of one God to another God, and the crystal river is formed after the feud.¡± Said king Edward again. ¡°But I don¡¯t know the whole story, just the parts of it.¡±


    ¡°So, this key, probably part of the story as a whole, Anne and Brom, were actually rted to this part of the story as well.¡± Justice looked at her and muttered. ¡°I just hope it will be a happy part of the story.¡±


    Anne gave him a weak smile and hold his hand.


    Meanwhile, Henry and Heirim were quiet for the whole journey, he took a slight nce at his sister and huffed his breath. ¡°You can talk to me, right?¡±


    A re goes to him directly from his sister. ¡°Of course I can. I was afraid that you will reject me trying to have small talk. Remember that you used to leave every time I initiated any conversation?!¡±


    ¡°Fine! Now I am here, so talk.¡± Henry was hissing, Heirim took it personally.


    ¡°Fine! Let¡¯s talk about my dolls that you mutted when I was just an eight-year-old girl.¡± Heirim begins to stitch many problems from their childhood. ¡°Oh, and my beautiful flower wallpaper on my yroom, you dare to scribble on it with Justice!¡±


    Looking Aghast, Henry turn around and screamed. ¡°That was like so long time ago.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, but I never hear any apology from you.¡± Said Heirim while holding her head high.


    ¡°Are you for real? All of this for doll heads and an innocent drawing in just some stupid wallpaper?!¡± Henry basically screeched, while Heirim raised her eyebrows.


    ¡°First of all, the doll is an expensive porcin doll that our father custom-made for me! And that flower print wallpaper is a limited edition item wallpaper!¡± Heirim says it calmly and stared at the road with a pouty mouth. ¡°See, you just don¡¯t get it. The items were precious to me.¡±


    ¡°Do you know why I destroyed your doll and scribbled on your wallpaper? Because all of it came from our father.¡± Said Henry to her. Heirim turn his head and was a bit taken aback by his words. ¡°Father never gave me any sentimental items, not even once, especially when you were born, he¡­ he adored you but felt that I was just a burden for the family.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Henry, I never thought that you¡­¡± Heirim couldn¡¯t say any words and just choke up.


    Henry smiled bitterly, remembering the memories from his childhood. He handed his sister a handkerchief to wipe her tears. ¡°I am sorry. I never intended to hurt your feelings. It was just a fit of childish jealousy towards the favorite child.¡±


    ¡°No! you should never apologize! I should be the one who apologize, I was blinded by our father¡¯s affection, and also¡­¡± Instead of saying any words, she wraps her arms around his brother¡¯s shoulder.


    Surprised by his sister¡¯s sudden affection, he doesn¡¯t know how to react properly but tries his best by patting her back. Finally, after the long journey, they settled at the inn by theke. Most of the man opt to have a drink at the local pub, while Heirim decline, sitting on the coach seat is not thatfortable at all, and wanted to rest her back on the bed.


    She took her key room to the innkeeper and go upstairs. When she walked into the hall, a scream came from the room beside her.


    ¡°Just leave me alone! I don¡¯t want anything from you!¡± She recognized the voice, it was Anne who opt to take a rest as well.


    Sensing that she was in danger, Heirim call for her rapier and bust the door. ¡°Miss Anne, are you alright?!¡±


    Right in front of her, there she is, the witch of the mountain, with her long ck hair and her colorful rainbow eyes. The witch was distraught when she looks at her. ¡°You! What are you doing here?!¡± Says the witch to Heirim. ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to be here!¡± With a blood-curdling scream, the witch dispersed into a ck thick smoke and went instantly from the room.


    She approached Anne immediately. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    Nodded her head. She was so grateful to see Heirim. ¡°Yes, thank you so much you¡¯ came here.¡± After she calm her nerves a bit, Anne look into Heirim. ¡°Howe she spoke like she know you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know... But it seems I knew her, I don¡¯t know why.¡± Says Heirim, so baffled by the encountered.

 Chapter 238 - 238 Connection Between the Nightmare

    238 Connection Between the Nightmare


    ¡°Are you perfectly fine?¡±


    Heirim asked Anne again, while the purple hair healer took a stand from her bed. She smiles at thedy and nodded her head.


    ¡°I am fine, no worry¡­¡± She went quiet for a while and look into Heirim. ¡°I was just curious though, she really surprised to see you here.¡±


    ¡°To tell you the truth, I do feel like she was someone that I knew, but I can¡¯t just pinpoint who.¡± She rustled her head, thinking so hard about the witch of the mountain. ¡°She seems scared as well, I wonder why?¡±


    ¡°You know who else that she seems so scared of?¡± Said Anne to Heirim. ¡°It was Brom. He told me they encountered at my vige, two years ago. She wasn¡¯t happy to see him, in fact, she ran as fast as she could.¡±


    ¡°Just like the earlier encountered.¡± Said Heirim, she folded her hands on her chest. ¡°Interesting.¡±


    Suddenly, the door opens abruptly, Henry came inside with Brom.


    ¡°Anne, are you alright?¡± He goes to his beloved and checks if she was alright. Heirim rolled her eyes and was kind of fascinated to see his softer side.


    ¡°She was fine, brother, I was here with her.¡± Said Heirim to him.


    .....


    ¡°Your sister is right, and besides, the witch will never harm her¡­ Physically though.¡± He say it so confidently even Heirim winced when she heard it.


    ¡°Excuse me?! Captain Brom, even though physically she was fine, but consider her feeling as well, she was being harassed!¡± Heirim was livid and even red at Brom.


    Unhinged by her, Brom then said. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a junior of the second rank now? Please respect me as the higher rank.¡±


    Henry and Anne look at them with aghast, this is the first time in history, for both of them, as Heirim has never been challenged by themoner, and Brom never actually pull his rank towards the lower rank before. Henry took a sighed and finally asked them to go outside.


    They eventually go outside, but not before Henry asked his sister if she was alright. Heirim just gave him a shrug on her shoulder. ¡°I am fine, she seems scared of me, because as soon as she looked at me, she run as fast as she could.¡±


    Brom and Henry look at each other.


    The magi captain gave his opinion to Heirim. ¡°That¡¯s weird, the only one that she kind of disys a fear was¡­¡±


    ¡°You, yeah, Miss Anne already told me, anyhow, I¡¯m exhausted, going to sleep now.¡± She wave goodbye to them and entered her room.


    ¡°Asked Anne to write on the note, we can discuss this,ter at dinner time.¡± Brom gave his request to Henry and then went away.


    Entering the room once again, Anne was in the middle of pouring some metee tea into the cup. She was smiling and handed one cup to Henry. ¡°I need this to sleep now.¡±


    ¡°So was I.¡± He sat on the chair by the firece. ¡°I was with Brom on the stable when I heard you screaming, we ran as fast as we could.¡±


    Anne took the note and begin to write everything. ¡°I am fine, thankfully your sister was nearby, she help me so much, or I probably going to be harassed for a long time.¡± He nods his head mumbling some incoherent words. Anne could see he was already tired but still afraid to sleep. ¡°Henry, how about you¡¯re sleeping here, by my side.¡±


    His eyes went wide. ¡°Anne, are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Hold your thought for a moment.¡± She stop him and finally gave him the reason. ¡°I am going to sleep beside you to make you rx, I mean, you¡¯re getting better, but Vale told me about how you¡¯re tossing around and just get like three hours of sleep.¡±


    ¡°Vale talks too much.¡± Muttered Henry.


    ¡°Vale was right though, that¡¯s why I asked you to have apaniment as well, I know how bad your sleeping habit is.¡± She approaches him and crouches in front of him, holding his hand and smiling. ¡°Let me help you, I know you can sleep better if you¡¯re closer to me.¡±


    Huffing his breath, Henry rustled his hair in frustration. ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll sleep in this room, but not with you on the bed.¡±


    She tilted her head, curious of his reason. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Well, for one, I may be able to sleep, but my other mind will never let me sleep, especially when it is someone that I love.¡± He smirked at her, and Anne was blushing at his statement.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Err¡­ I¡¯m sorry, you¡¯re right. At least let me put some nket, I don¡¯t want you to sleep on a hardwood floor.¡± She insisted to give him the nket, and there was nothing that he can do.


    After a while, they set in to take a six hours rest before dinner time. Anne was settling down on the bed, while Henry sleeping beside her on the nket just to make him a bitfortable.


    ¡°How is it?¡± Asked Anne to Henry.


    She hears him chuckling. ¡°To tell you the truth, this is heavenpared to the time when I was on a journey with my grandfather.¡±


    Anne went quiet for a while and then tried to ask her questions about his journey with his grandfather. ¡°I heard from Justice that you don¡¯t even send them any news for a year.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡­ I don¡¯t feel it was necessary.¡± Said Henry to her.


    ¡°I am sorry.¡± Muttered Anne so suddenly.


    Henry took it by the heart and jump out to see her directly. ¡°Would you stop with all of the apologies? I mean, we know better now, obviously for you as well.¡± He was furious at her. ¡°Anne, we love you! We do have our fallen for two years, but I think that was making us stronger now. My journey, Justice¡¯s way to overwork, Vale focusing on his missions, and Xavier¡¯s way to morose at some bar. All of it just makes us know something in our heart.¡±


    ¡°And what is that?¡± Asked Anne.


    ¡°That we are in love with you.¡± He smiled at her and slowly put his hands on her face. ¡°My nightmare wasn¡¯t your fault, Xavier, Vale, and Justice never even considered that everything is your fault. So¡­ Can we please just love each other and think about our future?¡±


    Tearse running down from her eyes, he gets closer and licks it directly, with a slight giggled from Anne, her lips met each other and tangle for a moment. Until sleepe from them. They go to sleep and this time with a smile on their face.


    But, after three hours of a well-rested sleep, Henry was screaming and got startled. His body was full of sweat while he looks at Anne who was sleeping soundly on the bed. He caressed her cheek and go outside. Justice saw him at the hall of the inn.


    ¡°I was looking for you, where have you been?¡± Justice asked him, noticing that his face was pale, he approached his friend immediately. ¡°Henry, what happened?¡±


    His eyes were looking around the hall, he was panicking and said to Justice. ¡°I¡­ I saw the person¡¯s face, I finally saw the killer in my nightmare.¡±

 Chapter 239 - 239 The Faces inside of a Dream

    239 The Faces inside of a Dream


    Justice was walking around the hall, he was already standing in the corner for almost two hours as they were back at the inn. Brom told them what happen to Anne when they went away.


    ¡°Luckily, Heirim heard the conversation and goes inside, only to see her running away.¡±


    Vale and Justice shared a look. ¡°Wait, did you just say¡­ That the witch of the mountain running away when she looks into Heirim?¡± Asked Vale to Brom.


    Brom shrugged his shoulder. One of his antic whenever he was exhausted to speak about anything. ¡°You can ask Henry after he wakes up. He was also there.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s Henry right now?¡± Justice asked him, thinking that he was sleeping in their share bedroom.


    ¡°He was sleeping in Anne¡¯s room,¡± Brom said to them, unbothered by the chaos that he just ensued.


    ¡°What?! That adonis f*cker got to share a skin while sleeping in the same bed?!¡± Xavier was livid, if only not for Justice and Vale, that holding him tightly before he make another reckless decision.


    ¡°Just calm down, Xavier, even if they share a room, it doesn¡¯t mean something was happening.¡± Says, Justice.


    Vale, also trying to calm him down. ¡°Remember when we were protecting Anne every day? We sleep in the same hut, but she makes a bed for us to sleep in, that must be the case here.¡±


    .....


    Justice nodded his head. ¡°Yes! Yes! Vale was right. Anne knew that Henry rarely had a nightmare if he got closer to Anne.¡±


    Finally, after a short argument, Xavier opts to go to his bedroom and take a rest, Arthur and King Edward already in their respective bedroom, don¡¯t want to involve themselves in a trivial matter of a rtionship.


    ¡°Do you trust Henry?¡± Asked Vale, after they saw Xavier enter his own bedroom.


    Justice took a long sigh and spoke. ¡°No! From all of us, he was the most womanizer of them all.¡± He shakes his head and chuckles. ¡°I mean, the man even admitted that he lost his virginity while we are still at the academy.¡±


    ¡°Academy? So¡­ seventeen?!¡± Vale¡¯s eyes got widened at the realization.


    ¡°Tried, sixteen, and by one of the respected nobledies, nheless.¡± Whispered Justice to his distraught best friend. ¡°Not to mention, afterward, he got a bit addicted.¡±


    Rolling his eyes, Vale looks into Justice. ¡°Well, thank goodness for the infertility spell, then.¡±


    Justice raised his ss to Vale. ¡°Indeed.¡±


    Back to the current time, when Vale also decides to go back to his share bedroom with Xavier. Justice, on the other hand, got worried and stuck in the corner of the hall where Anne¡¯s room was located. After two hours, Henry walks outside the room, carefully, because he doesn¡¯t want to awaken Anne.


    The crown prince was panicking and finally made up a story. ¡°I was looking for you. where have you been?¡± Justice asked him, noticing that his face was pale. He approached his friend immediately. ¡°Henry, what happened?¡±


    His eyes were looking around the hall. He was panicking and said to Justice. ¡°I¡­ I saw the person¡¯s face. I finally saw the killer in my nightmare.¡±


    ¡°What?! Henry, are you sure?¡± Justice, looking around the hall, doesn¡¯t want everyone to hear about this, so he opts to take Henry to Vale and Xavier¡¯s room.


    The two men got disturbed by the crown prince, who wakes them up and exined the situation.


    Xavier¡¯s yawned and red at Henry. ¡°So, are you not sleeping in the same bed with Anne? Not even¡­ ummm¡­ You know.¡±


    Henry looks distraught at Xavier. ¡°No¡­ Xavier! I was sleeping with a nket on the floor. Anne was trying to let me have a good rest, happy?!¡±


    ¡°Oh my God, I was just asking a question, you don¡¯t have to be so mad.¡± Muttered Xavier, a bit afraid by Henry¡¯s annoyance at him.


    Justice patted his back, feeling amused by their exchange. ¡°Now, now, wolfy.¡± And then he turns around to see Henry. ¡°Now, tell us, who¡¯s the killer in your dream?¡±


    Henry went quiet, his hand sped together, while his eyes goes to stare at the floor. ¡°Believe it or not, it was you.¡± The other three were shocked, and even more surprised when Henry said. ¡°The three of you.¡±


    ¡°What?! Henry, we never even considered doing something that horrible to you.¡± Vale was the one who got so surprised, he remember the day when he identally killed Chief Ca, and even the thought of killing his best friend, will never ur in his mind.


    Henry looks into Vale. He knows what is going on inside the mind of the youngest of the four. He tried to calm him for a bit. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know, Vale, I know.¡±


    ¡°What exactly happened in this dream of yours?¡± Asked Justice again.


    He tried to remember the detail, ¡°Well, first it was you, with your red hair and ruby red eyes, stabbing me with your dual daggers, and the second one, in another scene,es Xavier, gnawing at me on his werewolf form¡­¡± He cleared his throat, a bit nervous about the next part of the story. ¡°Thest scene¡­ It was you, Vale, you¡­ you cast your powerful thunder-lightning magic and burn me to a crisp.¡±


    Vale turn around, and with a frown on his face, he asked Henry. ¡°Lightning magic? But I have a less affinity for lightning magic. I don¡¯t even have any high-level spell that is associated with lightning.¡± He stands up and begins pacing around the room. ¡°Your dream isn¡¯t a premonition, right? I mean, it was probably just some mixed-up judgment and it be a reality inside of your dream.¡±


    Henry rustled his hair in his frustration. ¡°But that was happening in my dream, your faces, and¡­¡± Somehow, he forgot another detail from his dream. He looked around the room and muttered. ¡°There was¡­ a woman, she was always screaming, and calling my name, crying when I was on the brink of the death door.¡±


    ¡°Was it Anne?¡± Asked Xavier to him.


    Shaking his head, he looks at Xavier. ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t her, because there¡¯s only one young woman who has the privilege of calling me brother.¡± He shakes his head in disbelief. ¡°It was Heirim.¡±

 Chapter 240 - 240 The Expected Encountered (part 1)

    240 The Expected Encountered (part 1)


    ¡°Heirim? In your dream?¡± Asked Justice with a frown on his face. ¡°Probably because she tried to reconnect with youtely.¡±


    Henry doubts the theory and just shakes his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Justice. I mean, howe the three of you were trying to kill me? And howe Heirim is crying in my dream?¡±


    ¡°You said that she was crying because you¡¯re dying while lying in her arms, probably because your connection is stronger than before.¡± Said Vale to Henry.


    ¡°All of you were worried about Heirim going inside Henry¡¯s dream?¡± Xavier took a sigh and looked at his friends one by one. ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried about the three of us killing Henry?!¡±


    ¡°Xavier¡¯s right, we need to investigate this, howe we be the killers of his dream, I mean¡­ have you ever thought how ridiculous that was?¡± Said Justice to the others.


    ¡°I think we need to ask the round table tribe about Henry¡¯s dream, our faces as the killers, and Heirim?¡± Vale can¡¯t even wrap his head over Henry¡¯s nightmare, but sadly, they don¡¯t have any answer for now.


    They decide to ask the round table tribe about the nightmare and focus on the journey instead. At dinner, King Edward is already eaten his dinner with Anne by his side, along with Arthur, Heirim, and Brom. The four gentlemen just came inside the restaurant together, Anne looks at them and points at the other table for them to eat dinner.


    ¡°Should we talk to Anne and Heirim about my dream?¡± Asked Henry to Justice.


    The crown prince looking at the purple hair healer who isughing at something that King Edward said to her. ¡°Yes, but not right now, let us wait until dinner.¡±


    .....


    Henry turns his head to the other group. He was hesitant about the other girl. ¡°You¡¯re right, we need to be honest with Anne, but what about Heirim?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to ask your sister? I mean, I know she was a bit of a b*tch in the past, but she was trying.¡± Xavier gave his opinion, while Henry, Vale, and Justice looked at him with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°Xavier, I never knew that you could be so considerate. Good for you.¡± Teased Justice, while Vale and Henry chuckles.


    Xavier was flustered, after teasing from Justice. ¡°Shut up! I mean, after all, she is your family, Henry.¡±


    ¡°I will, don¡¯t worry.¡± Said Henry, while he stares at Anne from his seat.


    One hourter, after dinner, they discuss the journey to Gendry town. King Edward gave a pointer to the ssmap. ¡°Remember, Gendry town is one of the Bordertown, where the Hoards potentially appear at all times.¡±


    ¡°We need to be cautious. As a border town, the road surrounding the area will be full of the dark and mischievous roads.¡± Added Justice to the others. ¡°Always be cautious and alert at all times.¡±


    ¡°How long until we arrived at Gendry town?¡± Asked Heirim.


    ¡°One and a half days, if we take a short break from here and there,¡± Vale answered her question, and everyone just groaned after hearing the answer.


    ¡°That¡¯s why all of us need to take this time to rest as we need to hurry ourselves to Gendry town.¡± King Edward reminds them of their journey tomorrow. ¡°We are going at nine in the morning.¡±


    They stand up when King Edward excused himself to his room. Anne approached Justice and whispered. ¡°I worried about him; he was bottling his feeling so much.¡±


    Justice held unto her arm and kissed her face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll talk to him.¡±


    She squeezes his hand and put her head on his shoulder. ¡°Yes, please, I can see that he was trying so hard to smile and acted like there¡¯s nothing happened, but imagined how painful he must feel¡­¡±


    ¡°By the way, we need to talk to you.¡± Said Justice again.


    With a frown on her face, Anne asked him what this is about. After the four of them were convinced that the others were already going back to his room. They asked Anne to sit at the corner table of the restaurant, and Henry begin to tell her about the nightmare.


    Anne just couldn¡¯t believe what she had heard from Henry. ¡°God! This is terrible! I just couldn¡¯t believe that they could do something terrible to you, but Henry, it could be just another, well¡­ dream.¡±


    ¡°Anne, we already established by now that Henry¡¯s nightmare is not your simple dream.¡± Said Justice to her. ¡°After the conclusion from Chief Amaris, there¡¯s a possibility the connection is getting stronger and probably it triggered Henry¡¯s nightmare.


    She took a sighed and stare at the floor. ¡°But I will never believe it. The four of you are brothers, mates. There¡¯s no way one of you has the gall to kill your own best friend.¡±


    Vale caressed her cheek and smiled. ¡°Come on, Anne, we know that there¡¯s something wrong with his nightmare. We just wanted to have some exnation, especially since Henry was haunted by the nightmare for so long now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we are going to ask the round table tribe about his nightmare as well.¡± This time, it was Xavier who spoke to her. ¡°So, don¡¯t worry, we tell you all of this because we promise to be honest with you.¡±


    She put on her bittered smile and nods her head. ¡°Yes, and I appreciate it. I do hope the round table tribe will give us some tangible answer.¡±


    They feel relieved after telling Anne everything and also decided not to tell Heirim anything about Henry¡¯s nightmare, for now. When they are going back to get some rest, Anne looks at them and spoke. ¡°It seems Heirim is also connected to us.¡±


    They stopped walking and turn their head to Anne.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Said Justice to her. ¡°Anne, that wasn¡¯t possible. Heirim was never even close with us in any way possible. She rarely got tangled in any of our problems, unlike Brom.¡±


    Anne shakes his head. ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong. Heirim is now connected to us because she is changing. She epted her brother and also begins to open her heart about the noble andmoner. Don¡¯t you all see it? She is now part of the connection!¡±

 Chapter 241 - 241 The Expected Encountered (Part 2)

    241 The Expected Encountered (Part 2)


    ¡°Everything is ready?¡±


    Henry asked Xander who was now in charge of the carriage full of trunks, while Heirim looked at him with her hands on her hips, really annoyed by the arrangement. Xander tells him that the carriage was ready, and he goes away to get more fresh water for the journey, leaving the siblings by themselves.


    ¡°Why do I have to stay in the coach seat with him?¡± Asked Heirim to her brother.


    Henry took sighed and exined it to her. ¡°For the second time, it was because your captain asked you to, as the junior second rank, you need to do exactly as your captain instructed you.¡±


    Gasping, Heirim couldn¡¯t just believe how her brother let her sit beside Xander. ¡°So¡­ So, I need to sit with that flea-infesting werewolf?! Oh, Gods!¡± As she stormed away from his brother.


    ¡°Where are you going?!¡± Yelled Henry to his sister.


    ¡°To Captain Arthur! This is outrageous!¡± Yelling Heirim¡¯s back, while Henry shook his head, cause he already knew the answer.


    Ten minutester, he was helping Anne to go inside the royal carriage, with Brom, Justice, and King Edward. Heirim, with her disgruntling self, sits beside Xander, while Henry goes inside the carriage with Vale.


    ¡°Why did you let your sister sit beside Xander, she obviously hates to have a sit with him?¡± Asked Vale to Henry.


    .....


    A smirk appears on Henry¡¯s face. ¡°Actually, Arthur wanted her to sit inside the carriage, but I asked him to let her sit with Xander instead. Now I will have a good time sleeping inside the carriage while she deals with Xavier¡¯s brother.¡±


    Vale just couldn¡¯t believe what he just heard. ¡°You¡¯re a monster.¡± he shakes his head and begins tough.


    ¡°Give me some credit, you don¡¯t want her inside as well, so, you¡¯re wee.¡± Said Henry, still with a smirk on his face.


    In the other ce, Heirim was ring at Xander, who was now sitting beside her.


    ¡°Well, are you ready, princess?¡± Asked Xander while grabbing onto the horse¡¯s rein.


    With gritted teeth, she mouthed words to Xander. ¡°Don¡¯t call me princess. I am the duke¡¯s daughter, a noble, but not royalty.¡±


    Xander stared at her, and when she refused to look directly at him, he whispered straight into her ears. ¡°Well¡­ Who cares?¡±


    Heirim turns to look at Xander with a gaping mouth, while thetter just smiles. The carriages begin to go away from the inn and onto the dangerous road of Gendry town. The groups maintained the journey through the roads, getting a short rest now and then, and after twelve hours in the dense forest, they can feel that the danger is getting closer than ever.


    Justice looks into his father, who stared with an empty eye through the road. ¡°Father, I was curious about your life as one of the tribes back then.¡± He tried to divert his attention to something else, as he nced at Anne, asking for her approval. ¡°I mean, your tribe is one of the most mysteriousmunities in the kingdom.¡±


    He gets his attention immediately. ¡°Son, I do appreciate you wanted to know more about my culture, but let¡¯s not call my tribe amunity, shall we?¡±


    Shrugging his shoulder, Justice asked him again. ¡°Alright, so it¡¯s a tribe, but what is the round table tribe?¡±


    ¡°The origin of the round table tribe is a nomad tribe. They look into the charts of the moon and stars while worshipping the Moon and Sun Gods.¡± Said King Edward to everyone in the carriage. Anne, Justice, and even Brom focus on hearing him. ¡°My ancestors are being called the fortune teller in the whole world, and they always tell their youngsters about legends and prophecy, through their teaching or by their song. Don¡¯t you know, the wedding and the funeral song came from the round table tribe.¡±


    Anne¡¯s eyes were lit. ¡°Oh, that beautiful song that kind of like a story?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the round table tribe uses it for the wedding and the funeral song inside of the tribe only, but one of the empresses in the Valorian kingdom likes it so much, that she deres it as the song for the wedding and the funeral in the kingdom.¡± King Edward said to her while trying to remember the lyric of the song. ¡°It is the story of the round table tribe Gods since the tribe only worshipped two Gods, the Moon, and the Sun.¡±


    ¡°Now, I kind of want to hear the lyrics for the wedding verse. I¡¯ve heard from my senior that the verse for the wedding is different from the verse for the funeral.¡± Anne do really curious about the song, but King Edward shook his head.


    ¡°I am sorry, Miss Anne. I don¡¯t know the exact verse of the wedding song.¡± Said King Edward to her.


    Disappointed, she looks at Justice who shakes his head, and when she goes to Brom, thetter just asked her to wait until they have met with the round table tribe.


    ¡°They knew the verse really well, you just have to wait.¡± Brom tantly said to her, while yawning, looking to get a nap.


    Before he can even close his eyes, the carriage begins to wobble and drifted into one of the trees. Justice immediately held into Anne, while Brom cast a prison bubble at the four of them. The carriage crash and the prison bubble protect the four of them from a major impact.


    ¡°Anne! Justice! Are you alright?!¡± It was Xavier, who jump as fast as he could from the carriage.


    The other carriage stops abruptly and looks into the damage. The four of them get outside from the bubble and were looking around the area with a confused thought.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Asked Justice to Anne, he look at her, trying to find any injury.


    Anne shook her head. ¡°No, no, I am fine. What about you?¡±


    ¡°I am fine, don¡¯t worry.¡± Muttered Justice while pulling her into his arms.


    ¡°What happened?!¡± Asked Heirim while looking around. She was as surprised as the others.


    Xander looks at the road in front of them. His eyes widen and he appears so distraught. ¡°Well, that¡¯s probably the cause.¡± Said Xander pointing at the anomaly.


    A dark portal appears in the road, and the small monsters came flying out from it. The Hoards are open in front of them.

 Chapter 242 - 242 The Expected Encountered (Part 3)

    242 The Expected Encountered (Part 3)


    ¡°The hoard?! What is happening? This is not a border town?!¡± Xander was screaming frantically, while the others just continued to stare at the dark portal, which gotrger by the second.


    ¡°Xavier! Protect Anne. Don¡¯t forget to transform yourself.¡± Justice pushes Anne to Xavier¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Be safe! All of you!¡± Anne shouted encouragement when Xavier begin to pull her away. She knew that she will be a burden when a fight ensued, better for her to stay hidden and help them when they need any treatment.


    They were hiding in the bushes, when Anne looked into the smaller monsters that hade and attacked the group she grope into Xavier¡¯s arm. ¡°Go! help them. I¡¯ll be fine here.¡±


    He looks at her and then turns around to see the others fighting the hoard monsters. ¡°No, I can¡¯t leave you alone!¡±


    ¡°I am fine, Xavier!¡± She looked around and saw a much denser bush. ¡°Look, I can go hide in there. Don¡¯t worry about me, just go and help them, please!¡± Anne was adamant and she never let him back out of her request.


    He knows that the group needs help, but he is also reluctant to leave his girl alone. ¡°I just can¡¯t. I can¡¯t leave you alone!¡±


    Anne smiles at him and kisses him. ¡°Xavier, they need you, and I¡¯ll be fine. I have this.¡± She gave him a look at her crystal dagger, ruby ring, and the elderwood bangle.


    ¡°You also have this.¡± He touch the silver earring that he gave and gave her a soft kiss into her mouth. ¡°Be safe, my love.¡±


    .....


    He left them while running in his wolf form. Anne goes to hide in a dense bush with the crystal de in her hand, and she prays for the safety of her beloved and for the people that were fighting with them.


    Xavier jump into the swarm of pixiekeeps that were attacking Vale, the primary captain then put full protection on himself, and cast a firewall for the pixiekeeps. The pixiekeeps burned and fly away, leaving him alone.


    ¡°Xave, where¡¯s Anne? You let her alone in there?!¡± Vale scolded the werewolf while casting full protection on everyone.


    Being in his wolf form, Xavier couldn¡¯t even answer Vale¡¯s question. He run into two pixies that kept wing at Heirim¡¯s hand and biting their heads off. Heirim nodded at him and says thank you. She continued to run into her brother and sh two pixiekeeps and then burn four of them.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have, but thank you anyway!¡± Henry said to his sister, while she clean her rapier with a smug face.


    ¡°You¡¯re wee, by the way.¡± She muttered while Henry goes away to help Justice and the king.


    They finally obliterated the pixiekeeps in a short amount of time. Justice and King Edward round up everyone, fearing for the medium size monster that will being soon from the dark portal. They look around desperately, and out of nowhere, Annees to them with vials in her hand.


    ¡°Anne, what are you doing here?! You should go hide, now!¡± Justice scolded her, but the only thing that she does to him is re and gave him one vial.


    ¡°Drink this to replenish your magica, all of you need it!¡± She goes around handing them the tonic, she even looks into Heirim¡¯s wound on her arm. ¡°I¡¯ll give you antitoxin and inmmatory salves. Pixiekeeps have a little bit of toxin on their body. Don¡¯t worry, it will never conflict with the tonic.¡±


    Looking a bit taken aback, Heirim just nods her head and observes her working on her hand. She was impressed by how fast and efficiently she was tending to her wound. She drinks the tonic and feels some of the magica got replenished immediately.


    Anne gave thest one to Vale. He drinks the tonic as fast as he could and touch the bangle in her hand. She smiles and puts her hand on his face. ¡°I still have your magica intact, don¡¯t worry. Now, be safe, alright?¡±


    ¡°We will, take care of yourself.¡± Said Vale and gave her a warm embrace.


    She ran back into her hiding ce, just in time for the big monster toe from the dark portal. They were stunned to see the monster, some were speechless, while the others curses.


    ¡°Gods! Those are not medium sizes!¡± Screamed Heirim while her eyes nted on the monster that will go into them.


    The monster, called Marloboro, is an octopus-like monster with eyes attached everywhere in its head. The size is already a problem, but the tentacles are more than a problem, their tentacles are venomous, and two Marloboros are heading their way.


    ¡°Son!¡± King Edward called for Justice. ¡°This is going to be a tough battle, take care of yourself.¡±


    Justice looks at his father, and he walks into him, giving him a warm embrace. ¡°You too, father.¡±


    The marloboros go to the group at a high speed. They don¡¯t produce any sound, because there¡¯s no mouth, only frightening eyes and venomous tentacles on their body. Vale and Brom cast full shields and reflect, so the Marlboro can¡¯t punch them directly with their tentacles. Heirim, Justice, and Henry call for their bows, while Arthur and Xavier called for their javelin.


    They keep aiming into their eyes because that is their number one weakness. They need to find one of their eyes that controls the brain. One from almost a hundred eyes. Using fireballs, Vale and Brom also helped them and aimed at the eyes. King Edward calls for Alexander when the shield and the reflections are almost crushed by the other Marlboro.


    ¡°We were running out of options, even though we can¡¯t defeat this one, the other is still alive!¡± King Edward screamed at Xander, he look around to see if there was another way to defeat two titan size monsters with venom on their body.


    Just when they were almost lost any hope, a me of arrows came running down into the marloboros. Vale and Brom focus on casting full shields and reflect again, while the arrows keeping out of nowhere. One of the Marlboro got destroyed, and the other one still standing. They tried to fight once again, but then saw arge group of people wearing capes all over their bodies, jumping into the Marlboro and poking into every eye on the monster.


    ¡°They¡­ They weren¡¯t affected by the venom?¡± Muttered Heirim while looking so impressed at the group.


    The Marlboro went down, and half of the group goes to the dark portal while the others stay behind, looking into Justice and the others. Their weapon is still ready in their hands when one of them approaches them and opens the cape that covers the face, excluding the eyes.


    ¡°Edward? Is that you?¡± Said the man to King Edward. King Edward can¡¯t believe his eyes. He smiled and tried to give him a hug, but he told them to back away. ¡°No, I still have the Marloboro venom in my cape, but it is you, right, Edward?¡±


    Tearse down from King Edward¡¯s eyes. ¡°Yes¡­ Yes! It¡¯s me, brother.¡±


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