“Send a message to the Assassin Guild. We want them to kill Saintess Marianne.”
‘!?’
“Your Majesty, I don’t understand. Instead of Princess Olivia, why are we—” The old man’s sentence was cut short by Leud’s interruption.
“Isn’t that girl currently on the borders of the Selvius kingdom, involved in charitable deeds? What if she were to suddenly die there?” Leud was aware of Maria’s actions.
Maria, besides staying within the kingdom’s borders, had been visiting various places, assisting the impoverished who couldn’t reach her.
“There might be a revolt?” The old man began to grasp the implications: the death of a weak, eleven-year-old saintess in the wilderness would render the kingdom, which had restricted religious groups from maintaining their own private armies within its borders, vulnerable and easily susceptible to the overthrow of the royal family.
“Yes, and furthermore, isn’t there an inauguration ceremony for the Teleportation Gate tomorrow? Position some of them there and bring me the head of the crown prince.”
“Why the crown prince?” Standing witness to the woman’s slow loss of life, the old man felt confused about the lack of concern for killing someone from the royal family instead of the woman who took her last breath.
“Brats who don’t know their place should be the first to die,” Leud growled, recalling an incident from two years ago when delegates, including that particular kid, had come.
That child had placed his shoes on Leud’s face and uttered those words.
// Hey, LEWD, the moment you laid your hands on Karina Reinguard, I will tear you apart. She will become the Crown Princess of the Selvius Kingdom, and to not let you forget this….//
Gritting his teeth, he felt his gaze shift downward, noticing only one ball hanging where there should have been two.
It was a cruel reminder of the consequences he would face.
‘You bastard! I’ll kill you!’ Anger surged through him, and as he moved his hips, he felt a sudden cold instead of warmth.
“Tch, can’t even hold a breath for ten minutes.” Rising from the bed, where the lifeless maid lay unclothed, he turned to the old man and demanded, “Tell the Reinguards to send their daughter here, or they’ll face the consequences.”
“But, Your Majesty, the Reinguards possess the strongest military power,” the old man voiced his concern, knowing the dire consequences if they forced that family.
“Hahaha, those fools can’t touch me,” Leud chuckled, confident in the loyalty of the so-called swords of Aidiac.
Moving to wear his bathrobe, he continued, “Those dogs will never dare to challenge me.”
Leud’s eyes fixated on a ring with a ruby and a spiderweb inscription, a symbol of the ancestral knighthood oath imposed on the entire Reinguard bloodline, reducing them to mere slaves he could kill at any moment.
The sole disparity between a slave seal and a knight’s Oath: Status.
He felt delighted in the knowledge of how, with a mere snap of his fingers, he could control those like some dogs, who prided themselves as the strongest swords.
“HAHAHAHAHA!”
His laughter resonated through the Royal Palace, filled with mockery and the cruel twist of fate that had turned the mighty Reinguards, capable of resisting even the Selvius Kingdom, into mere lapdogs due to their ancestor’s mistake.
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Inside the royal palace of the Selvius Kingdom, moonlight gently fell through the hall’s windows, accentuating the details of a woman sitting with her amber eyes, legs folded, while looking towards another girl.
With blonde hair and ruby eyes reflecting the woman’s figure, Olivia felt memories of the past few years flooding back as she gazed into those amber eyes.
‘He still isn’t here,’ she couldn’t help but notice Ryuk’s absence, whom she hadn’t seen much of in these past few years except during the times she crafted some impressive artifacts.
Each time a new artifact was announced, every member of the Selvius Royal family had to be present at the ceremony to unveil it to the nobles.
This gave her some interaction with him, even if it was limited to nods, but it was enough.
‘You will regret this.’ Olivia’s patience wore thin day by day.
After putting in so much hard work for years to finally create a teleportation grid and still not seeing the one she had waited for, her mind finally snapped.
“So, why are you here at this time, Olivia?” Alisia inquired.
Normally, she would have assumed it was to meet Ryuk, but noticing Olivia’s changes over these past few years, where she never once took the initiative to meet him, Alisia dismissed that thought.
“Your Majesty, I wish to obtain the mana mine that Miss Bella found in Gobian Valley,” Olivia proposed, hoping to acquire the mana mine that should have rightfully been hers just like in the previous life, but Bella had discovered it during her training.
Unbeknownst to Olivia, this had all been orchestrated by Ryuk to control future progress according to his desires while ensuring he held a bargaining chip in his possession.
“That mine has now been granted to Bella; you cannot have it,” Alisia prioritized Bella, whom she felt connected to, over Olivia, who wasn’t as close to her.
“I will grant full rights to the Teleportation Gate to the Selvius Kingdom,” Olivia proposed, a decision that would determine the fate of her hard work.
The urgent need for the mine pushed her to make this offer.
Although she didn’t care much about the mine itself, Olivia’s main goal was to surpass her previous life while ensuring that the boy who had either ignored her or shown hatred regretted his decisions.
“Why would you go to such lengths for just a mine?” Alisia narrowed her eyes, already aware of the presence of a large amount of Elemental stones inside the mine.
Her extensive knowledge exceeded the norms of this continent, making her aware of stones that could enhance Elemental affinity.
However, Alisia couldn’t fathom why Olivia would invest so much in Alia, whose loyalty wasn’t guaranteed.
From Alisia’s perspective, it seemed foolish to invest in someone who could betray you at any moment.
“I simply wanted a large amount of mana crystals to sustain my experiments,” Olivia feigned ignorance and concocted a lie that only degraded her standing in Alisia’s eyes.
Three years ago, after Olivia’s inventions, she had been granted access to unlimited mana crystals, and even the Royal family of Selvius Kingdom supported her.
Alisia found Olivia’s excuse utterly foolish.
“I understand, but you’ll have to discuss this with Bella; she’s at her training location,” Alisia calmly stood to leave, knowing it wouldn’t be easy for Olivia to obtain the mine she had personally bestowed upon Bella.
A smile formed on her face as she thought about the child who had become incredibly attached to her, going far as to add her name in title.
Normally, if it were a human, Alisia would have doubted it as an act of sugarcoating.
But knowing about cat-kins who held pride, it made her clear about the thoughts Bella holds for her
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Bella’s POV
BANG!
“Ha… haa…” Exhausted, I glanced toward his window, irritation flooding over me once more as he remained absent.
It had only been a week since our fight, yet I’d already made improvement in countering the move he used against me.
‘Should I challenge him again?’ Conflicted, I turned toward the spot where swords were kept, the one I’d previously used now broken.
“‘If you wish to be my Knight, then defeat Bella.'”
‘!?’
Startled by the familiar voice, I turned towards the window where he stood, causing me to grit my teeth as I sensed his mocking gaze.
‘You bastard!’ Frustration surged within me as I realized his intentions.
Swish~
“Ugh.” A sudden breeze carried the scent I most wanted to avoid and detested.
‘Why does he have to be the one?’ My anger toward him surged, feeling resentful about my fate.
‘I can’t even call his name.’ It was infuriating to refer to him due to an unfamiliar feeling that arose whenever I attempted to.
Unlike humans, we cat-kin possess inherent pheromones that determine our hierarchy within our community.
The denser our pheromones, the greater their dominance over others.
However, as cat-kin, we are bound to a partner from birth, identified by a distinct scent we find favorable.
This arrangement meant not every cat-kin found a partner for life, as marrying incompatible ones led to impurities and weakened bloodlines.
My frustration arose from the fact that I found that human’s scent appealing.
‘I have to defeat him.’ The only way to soothe this frustration was to overpower him, to ensure his scent faded beneath the dominance of my pheromones.
There was only one means for me to rid myself of this sensation: to eradicate his unique scent entirely.
I was resolute in making his scent vanish at any cost.
It was only with the presence of Mother that I found it easier to restrain myself.
Being near Mother was preferable as her own scent dominated over that of the human, providing me relief.
This was why I usually spent more time with her than with him.
“Hello, it’s nice meeting you, Miss Bella.”
Suddenly, a voice interrupted my thoughts, prompting me to turn toward it.
‘Is she going to challenge me?’ I was already aware of the human’s plan, and I had no intention of accepting the challenge.
“Yeah, and if you’re here to challenge me, just go back. I’m not in the mood.”
I wanted her to stay away from me directly.
Handling his mind games was already frustrating, and if I started training some random human, it would only intensify my agitation.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll leave then.”
“Yeah, you should.” I turned toward the swords, drawing one, readying myself for another round.
“By the way, can I ask, why do you have a tail?”
‘?!’
‘This bastard!’ I turned toward the pink-haired boy, feeling deeply pissed off.
Thud
“Take it.” I threw a sword towards him, disregarding his surprised expression, and moved to the center of the platform.
‘It will be your turn once I deal with this. You bastard!’
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In the borderlands between the Selvius Kingdom and Aidiac Kingdom lay a small town filled with illegal immigrants and fugitives.
Inside one of the buildings in that town, which was filled with orphans, a footstep reverberated in the wooden hallway.
tap tap
Bang!
A room’s door swung open, revealing a little girl with black hair and eyes of the same color.
“Sister! Wake up, it’s already night,” Arvi called out to her sister, who always fell asleep from the day’s exhaustion.
“Um… Arvi, why are you crowing like a rooster?”
GASP
“How dare you call me a rooster!” Arvi, hearing her sister’s lazy voice while she hadn’t even turned from the bed, swiftly ran and tried to pull the blanket.
“Wake up, you pig.” While pulling with her small hand, Arvi kept trying to wake her sister, who hid her face in the blanket, making Arvi more frustrated.
“Ugh… go away, rooster, come in the morning.” Amayara, already awake and wanting to tease her sister more, added fuel to the fire.
“You’ve finally done it, sister!” Arvi swiftly climbed onto the bed before launching herself onto Amayara’s body.
“Kughhh… I accept defeat, stop it now,” seeing how she just got body-slammed, Amayara accepted defeat.
“Hmph, don’t go to work if you’re just going to sleep,” Arvia sat back, folding her arms, feeling satisfied with her victory.
She continued, “If it’s about money, I had just sold one of those potions… Oopsie,” suddenly realizing her tongue slipped, she covered her mouth with both hands.
‘?!’
“What did you do again?” Amayara’s eyes widened upon hearing what she had most wanted to avoid.
Slowly moving her hand towards Arvi, she placed it on her sister’s shoulder.
“Arvi, I’m asking you something,” she said, slightly tightening her grip, causing Arvi to slowly turn towards her.
“I made that potion and sold it.” Arvi felt nervous, knowing Amayara had expressly told her never to make that potion again, but she did it anyway, not wanting to see her sister hurt.
“Arvi! I told you not to make it.” Amayara clenched her head, feeling a sudden surge of anxiety swirling her mind, fully aware of the potential consequences of the potion.
“Sniff… I… I’m sorry.” Amayara’s sudden loud tone startled Arvi, causing her to break into tears, feeling hurt.
She just wanted to help her sister, who kept going to mercenary guilds to kill monsters and sell them.
Not a single day had passed without Arvi seeing her sister returning home wounded.
Two days ago, everything reached a limit when Amayara returned with a completely wounded body, drenched in blood.
As the Orphanage director tended to her wounds, Arvi had seen everything through the window – a body marked with nothing but wounds, a big burn mark on her shoulder, stretching down to her waist, and numerous cut marks in several places.
“It’s fine, don’t cry now.” Amayara, realizing her actions had caused Arvi to cry, slowly hugged her, trying to console her.
“I hate you… hic, I did everything for you and… sniff.” Arvi felt deeply hurt; despite all the hard work she put into preparing the potion, all she received in return was reprimanding, especially from her sister, making her even sadder.
“I’m sorry, you know how much I care about you. Please, in return, you can have my cookies too.”
Arvi pouted, weighing her options, and finally decided to forgive her sister.
“Okay, but if you yell at me again, I’ll take ten times more than this.” Arvi chuckled, feeling calmer and accepting her sister’s offering as she forgave her.
“By the way, whom did you sell it to?” Amayara, aware that Arvi was still a child, tried to gather information about the person to whom she had sold the potion, understanding that in this barren land, it was challenging for Arvi to trust someone easily.
“It was a big sis with purple hair, she was helpi…”
Amayara’s mind went blank as she heard Arvi speak. The thing she had tried most to avoid was finally happening – ‘No, I can’t lose Arvi again.’
Her anxiety surged, remembering her past life from a time just like this, when Arvi had prepared a potion somehow, sold it, and came back with some coins, making everyone happy that day.
Until several people entered the orphanage at night, killing everyone, burning the building, and taking Arvi with them, leaving Amayara to die in the burning place.
She couldn’t forget the figure who had saved her at that time, a boy with amber eyes running amidst the flames to rescue her.
The hands that reached out to her amidst despair, the touch, and those eyes reflecting her body in that burning place – everything was still vivid until it all changed.
Her savior and love became the first steps toward reaching her sister, influencing her choices amid many variables that arose.
Her only regret: she couldn’t see her reflection in those amber eyes at the end of her life.
This time, she would get everything – her sister and what should have belonged to her. Everything.
Gritting her teeth, she swiftly stood from her bed.
“Sister! Where are you going now?” Arvi, seeing Amayara swiftly moving from the room, called out, feeling confused.
SWISH
“Nothing, I’ll be back by tomorrow. You eat my portion.” Amayara’s body blurred, causing Arvi’s eyes to widen as she witnessed something that felt like magic.
“Wait!” Suddenly realizing she forgot to stop her, she shouted, “You idiot! You’re not getting three day’s worth of meals!”
…..
‘Where is she?’ Amayara swiftly moved toward the town’s center, her eyes searching for a purple-haired girl, a glint filled with killing intent passing through her eyes.
‘Sorry, but you have to die, Maria.’
