Bella entered the depths of the royal palace. She was overjoyed to have found the royal family’s treasure vault after such a long search. After sending all the maids away and searching alone inside, Bella finally lost her temper.
“Where are all the jewels!”
Instead of jewels, the place was filled with books. A vast space passed by a strange wind’s trace.
Wiping her forehead full of cold sweat with her hand, she flopped down on a dusty sofa. It was comfortable not having to pretend to be elegant, which neither suited nor felt right for her.
Across the sofa, a tapestry embroidered with the shape of a black dragon was hanging. Bella, who had only known it as the national emblem, thought of the deceased king.
She remembered moments of madness, like rummaging through the former queen’s room or grabbing her and shaking violently, demanding the queen be handed over, among many strange behaviors, especially peculiar moments.
Bella shuddered as she stared into the eyes of the black dragon on the tapestry.
The king’s eyes at that peculiar moment came to mind. His pupils narrowed vertically, screaming at her.
[You are a fake! You’ve hidden my consort! Haven’t you? Hand over my mate at once!]
The words still echoed in her head, not easily forgotten. Shivering involuntarily, she wrapped her arms around herself tightly.
Bella, who had to share a room with the king, had to live holding her breath. Sometimes, she ran to the garden and waited for the king, who never returned, and encountered Felix.
At that time, it was clear to Bella. Even the son, Felix, was afraid of his father, the king.
Was that why? Even though she knew Felix closely resembled the king, she felt pity for him. No, the fact that there was someone more pitiful than her allowed her to endure.
As a child, Bella had to endure her mother’s brutal beatings. “You’re useless because you’re a daughter,” her mother began, blaming all misfortunes on her.
Bella’s mother had a one-night stand with the previous Viscount of Lansmorris and got pregnant unexpectedly. The Viscount, although displeased, did not dismiss her mother, thinking it might be worth it if the child was a boy.
However, when the child turned out to be a girl, the Viscount coldly turned away. Strangely, the Viscountess took her mother and her in.
Initially, Bella thought the Viscountess took pity on them, but soon understood her intent was to torment Bella’s mother, a maid turned lover, and Bella, by keeping them in the annex.
Her mother was brutally humiliated by the Viscountess and would beat Bella until she bled whenever she returned from such ordeals. And her half-brother, the Earl of Lansmorris, despised and scorned her from a very young age.
Reminiscing about her childhood, Bella muttered blankly while staring at the tapestry.
“It’s all your fault. You’re the one to blame, Felix. If only you had told the truth… I wouldn’t have had to suffer like this. Then… I might have spared you.”
With blurry eyes, she remembered her actions towards Felix and clenched her lips. Taking a long trembling breath, she tore her gaze away from the tapestry.
She couldn’t return until she found what her brother wanted. After resting briefly, Bella slowly stood up and walked towards the deeper parts of the interconnected treasure vault.
****
Ethan checked the injuries of his members and felt relieved. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries. After treating them with the emergency bandages and herbs he had, his gaze turned to the plate in front of him.
The bright red flesh looked incredibly appetizing. The members who had finished their treatments were also biting into it, bursting out in exclamations of delight. Jeremy rushed over to Ethan and asked.
“Aren’t you going to eat, Captain?”
“Yes, I will.”
“Aww, I was going to eat it if you didn’t.”
Ethan smacked Jeremy on the forehead playfully as he picked up a piece of watermelon.
“Have you already eaten your share?”
“It tasted so good. This fruit was also included in the lunchboxes Sylvia used to sell. Its name was… watermelon, right?”
Jeremy mumbled, tilting his head, and Ethan hurriedly bit into the watermelon as well. The refreshing moisture was great, but the sweetness seemed to soften his brain, which had been tense from stress.
Thibault, sitting opposite him, also kept exclaiming in admiration as he ate the watermelon. The taste of the fruit he was experiencing for the first time and the magic scene he had just witnessed left him in utter disbelief.
Sylvia stayed close to Felix, cutting the watermelon into bite-sized pieces for him and placing them on a plate. She took care of everyone else’s portions too, but she paid special attention to Felix’s share.
Watching this, Felix’s eyes narrowed. Even as he chewed, his gaze remained fixed solely on Sylvia.
“Does it taste good?”
Sylvia asked, splitting a new watermelon in half. Despite the piled-high watermelon rinds in front of him already answering for him, Felix replied with an innocent voice.
“Yeah.”
“Then, try this too.”
Crack, the inside of the split watermelon was bright yellow. Seeing the yellow watermelon, which he had tasted once before, Felix threw the rind of the watermelon he had finished eating forward.
It was cut not into triangles but rectangles and moved to Felix’s plate. Jeremy, who had been watching, rushed over and said to Sylvia.
“Miss Sylvia! I want to eat the yellow one too.”
Having already finished his share and still wanting more, Jeremy didn’t miss the opportunity.
“Just a moment.”
Sylvia grew more yellow watermelons, cut them into large pieces, and used wind magic to move them onto everyone’s plates. Jeremy, looking at the watermelon on his plate, then looked at the watermelon Felix was eating and asked Sylvia again.
“Miss Sylvia! Can’t you cut it for me like that? Somehow, that shape looks tastier.”
Felix, who was already not pleased with Jeremy intruding, gave him a cold look. Ethan, who was behind Jeremy, called out to Felix after seeing his expression.
“Come on and eat.”
“But…”
As Jeremy was about to add something, Sylvia replied with a bright smile.
“Mr. Jeremy, you have a big mouth, you see. As you can see, Mr. Felix has a small mouth. His face is small, so naturally, his mouth is too. Besides, Mr. Felix has always liked eating watermelon like this.”
Sylvia’s straightforward ‘just eat it’ was embellished with excessive justification, making Jeremy blink in disbelief. It was undoubtedly a personal attack.
“Are you saying I have a big face? A big mouth means a big face, right?”
Jeremy protested loudly, and Felix glared at him while Sylvia tilted her head and replied cheerfully.
“Is that what it means? I didn’t intend that. But honestly, Mr. Jeremy, your face isn’t on the smaller side. Look at Mr. Felix. A small face means like his. Just small? How strikingly handsome he is. Even though I say we’re close friends, wrong is wrong!”
Jeremy’s face turned red as he shouted in response to her brutally honest answer.
“That’s too much! I know we shouldn’t be compared in looks, but for Miss Sylvia to say that! I’m shocked and hurt!”
Realizing she might have been too harsh, Sylvia gently consoled him.
“Come on, Mr. Jeremy, you have a charming appearance. Aren’t you popular? I know there were many ladies talking to you at the city gate?”
Somewhat mollified by Sylvia’s words, Jeremy seemed to calm down a bit. Ethan quickly intervened, grabbing Jeremy by the back of the neck as he was about to add more.
“Ha! Delicious. I’ll enjoy it, Sylvia.”
And he quickly retreated to the back.
Ethan was watching as Felix’s expression gradually hardened. He relaxed for a brief moment, seeing his face lighten up, but as it turned cold again, he whisked Jeremy away.
Felix, looking at her with a puzzled expression, urged her.
“Give me more, Siri.”
“Ah? Okay… yes.”
Still not quite used to using formal language, Sylvia smiled brightly. She had decided to be more cautious in front of others.
Thibault, having finished eating the new watermelon, sent the fragrance collected in a scent pouch back to the kingdom’s castle with wind magic. It was a communication method agreed upon to notify when they found the person of interest. While it couldn’t relay the location, it could convey the primary intention, making it a useful communication tool in the kingdom.
Given that the demonic beasts they had encountered were not in their usual state, returning to the castle seemed challenging. Thibault could have managed alone, but he couldn’t leave his members and go back to the kingdom.
Thanks to the vine cedar trees playing their part well, the beasts couldn’t approach nearby, but the sheer number visible from a distance was alarming. Thibault looked around and sighed softly. Not only their knight order but other affiliated knight orders must have been deployed as well.
Yet, the situation with the beasts was too worrying not to be.
***
Carl, who was working in his office, suddenly stood up from his seat when a strand of fragrance wafted in through the window. His aide, Roy, looked at Carl with a surprised expression.
“They’ve found her!”
With a voice full of ecstasy, Carl exclaimed.
“This scent, it’s from the 1st Division.”
“Yes, it’s Thibault’s scent.”
“It’s truly fortunate. Sir Estri will bring her back safely.”
They had no doubt that Thibault would successfully bring Sylvia back. They had prepared a heartfelt gift, and the idea of receiving thanks from the royalty was so meaningful that they couldn’t imagine her declining.
Carl, who had been chatting with a bright face, quickly hardened his expression upon encountering another scent that followed. Roy barely managed to speak, his expression one of disbelief.
“This scent is…”
Carl continued in a voice filled with disbelief.
“Yes, this is… the scent sent in case of the knight order’s annihilation.”
Each division of the kingdom’s knight orders carried a unique scent pouch. It was a measure devised for small-scale demonic beast subjugations, characteristic of the kingdom’s knight orders.
And the magical activation of a scent in the event of an annihilation was designed to ensure their bodies could be retrieved and brought back. Carl sat on the sofa, enveloped by the two different scents swirling around in his office.
“It’s unclear what happened. The 3rd Division shouldn’t have fallen to demonic beasts.”
The knight orders sent were elite units, specifically to find the benefactor. But why they were annihilated was beyond his understanding.
“We have no choice.”
As the prince of the kingdom, he couldn’t leave the annihilated unit as is.
“Roy, prepare for deployment.”
“Yes, your command will be followed!”
Roy quickly left the office after responding. Carl was deep in thought about the incomprehensible situation.
“Could it be related to the Visconti family?”
Muttering darkly as he recalled the disappeared Lucino, Carl considered the moment he realized the jewel magician wasn’t the duke. He also thought of the existence of a bastard child.
Such occurrences were not uncommon among the nobility. In the kingdom’s aristocracy, internal conflicts over illegitimate children had led to outright wars within families.
With a worried expression, Carl stood up from the sofa. He had to stop his work and go to the Emperor’s palace. Surely, the scent had reached there as well.