“Yes. That’s exactly it.”

The demon folk who used black magic tried to sacrifice countless human lives for greater power, and the Death Gorge was where these humans were killed.

Naturally, the place became the demon folk’s stronghold, overflowing with death energy and all kinds of corrupted magical power. The contamination was so severe that even after the demon folk vanished, the remnants of black magic lingered, making it a place people still avoid today.

At most, only priests who perform periodic purifications or mages from the Magic Tower who volunteered to manage and eliminate the corrupted magic would go there.

Other than that, if one had to name someone else, it would be criminals convicted of magic-related offenses by the Magic Tower who were imprisoned there. Of course, I’ve never seen anyone who survived coming out of there.

“Why would magical fluctuations suddenly occur in the Death Gorge? Hasn’t this never happened before?”

“Strictly speaking, it’s not that it has never happened. The last disturbance was 112 years ago, and before that 239 years ago, 302 years ago, 476 years ago, 503 years ago, 600…”

“Stop, that’s not information I want to know. Shut your mouth.”

I immediately silenced Rigan as the numbers kept coming endlessly.

Rigan shrugged his shoulders, then slightly furrowed his brow and said:

“Anyway, it’s a place where problems occur periodically.”

“But why now, when I’ve turned into a child… Do you think it’s right to just dismiss it as a coincidence?”

This time there was no answer.

Instead, Rigan slightly adjusted his glasses and sighed.

The perplexity on his face showed that he couldn’t really draw a conclusion either.

I found his lukewarm reaction puzzling, since normally he would have immediately said something like, “Could there be a connection?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Actually…”

At my question, Rigan’s eyes took on a subtle look. It seemed like worry, or anxiety, or perhaps some subtle emotion I couldn’t identify.

My face twisted at his uncharacteristic hesitation.

“Speak quickly. Before I hit you.”

“Well, it’s just…”

As soon as I mentioned hitting him, Rigan flinched reflexively, having physically caught countless cushions, pens, and documents I had thrown at him over time.

Then, with a long sigh, he reluctantly opened his mouth.

“If this issue is truly connected to Your Majesty, would you go to the Death Gorge?”

“Why couldn’t I?”

“Absolutely not! That’s no place for humans to go!”

Finally, I understood why Rigan was making such a fuss.

I couldn’t help but smirk at the absurdity.

“What? You were worried I might go to the Death Gorge?”

“Yes! You’re exactly the type who would go twice, and then I’d have to deal with all the aftermath.”

“……”

“Well, of course I’m also concerned about Your Majesty’s well-being.”

“…Also?”

“Of course my concern for Your Majesty is greater.”

“You’ve been unusually cheeky lately.”

“Understood.”

I shook my head.

Returning to our earlier topic.

“Even I wouldn’t suddenly barge into the Death Gorge. But separately… honestly, it’s hard to believe that such an incident happening at this point has nothing to do with me.”

“Still, it would be best to observe for now. Taking care of yourself is more important than rushing to the gorge based on a single clue.”

Honestly, I agreed with that.

I would go if necessary, but the reasons for going were still quite insufficient.

“For now, let’s wait for follow-up messages from the Magic Tower before deciding again.”

“Understood.”

Rigan looked extremely relieved that I wasn’t insisting on going to the gorge.

Honestly, I was starting to get curious about his mental image of me, but I decided to deal with that issue later.

Soon Rigan left the office.

Left alone, I searched for a pen to continue processing documents when my ring suddenly caught my eye.

‘Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve seen Lerrhagen in the past few days.’

Honestly, given the nature of our contract, there was no reason Lerrhagen had to stay within my sight.

And since I had made the contract with Lerrhagen, I wasn’t particularly concerned as long as he didn’t cause trouble.

‘With his personality that hates bothersome things, he’s unlikely to cause any trouble.’

Thinking that, I fixed my gaze back on the documents.

The day passed safely, and in the evening.

After finishing my bath and changing into pajamas, I lay down in bed after Sela’s final greeting.

“Then, have a peaceful night, Your Highness.”

Click.

Soon the door closed, and the room was completely immersed in silence.

How much time passed? Though I hadn’t done anything particularly tiring, sleep came surprisingly quickly, and I naturally closed my eyes.

Deep slumber, and what followed was.

– …promise.

A woman with long blonde hair.

Her curly hair reflected the sunset, giving off a reddish glow, and beneath it, her fluttering red cape was dyed blood-red.

I narrowed my eyes at the strangely familiar sight.

Who is she?

The suddenly appearing scene flickered before me like an unidentifiable mirage.

It blurred then sharpened, wavered then stabilized again.

I unconsciously lost myself in it.

I found myself captivated by the woman’s appearance, seemingly entranced.

– …….

‘What is she saying?’

I could see the woman moving her lips, appearing to speak.

However, the fragmentary voice that occasionally reached me was difficult to recognize. I tried to listen to what she was saying, but it scattered around me like something torn to shreds.

After some time passed like this, the woman seemed to be smiling.

I say “seemed” because her hair, swaying in the wind, obscured her face, making it impossible to see properly.

Nevertheless, I thought the woman was saying something.

I stepped forward, wanting to hear even a little.

And at that moment.

– Promise me.

The woman’s clear voice whispered directly into my ear, and the previously bright surroundings suddenly turned pitch black.

And then.

Splash-!

Bright red blood embroidered the air.

Before I could come to my senses amid the screams that scattered in an instant, the woman swung a dagger.

I gasped at the blood droplets that scattered like rubies. And simultaneously-.

“Ugh.”

‘Suddenly, a headache.’

I clutched my head and collapsed to the ground.

Actually, I’m not sure if I really collapsed. That’s just how I perceived it.

Struggling in the swamp of consciousness, I cradled my head.

Then a tingling pain surged from around my neck.

Like a snake coiling around me, I felt an intense choking sensation and eventually squeezed my eyes shut.

Am I going to die like this? That can’t be right.

I gritted my teeth. No, I can’t die like this. I must not die like this. I absolutely won’t die!

Just as I thought that.

Crash!

“…up.”

“……”

“…wake up!”

“……”

“I said wake up! Estria!”

“Gasp.”

I opened my eyes, my entire body soaking wet.

I thought I had fallen asleep peacefully, but my body felt constrained, bound by invisible chains, unable to move at all.

What is this?

The moment I recognized this, my stomach suddenly churned.

It was similar to the nausea and headache I felt the day Lerrhagen gave me the ring.

I grimaced.

Suddenly, a shout came from beside me.

“Are you awake?”

Swoosh.

The owner of the voice was none other than Hasis.

Why is he here?

I thought I heard something being cut along with his voice, but I couldn’t tell. I wanted to turn my head but couldn’t.

Instead of answering, I closed my eyes again.

I didn’t know what was constraining my body. However, escaping from here was the priority.

I concentrated and channeled magical power into whatever was wrapped around my body.

A warm energy enveloped me, and in the blink of an eye, whatever was constricting my body disappeared.

Rising immediately, I gaped at the scene before me.

“What is this?”

Whatever had happened, all three balcony windows that had been hanging in my room were shattered to pieces.

The glass that had fallen onto the carpet had already turned to powder, and torn curtains fluttered above it.

But what shocked me even more was the black energy swirling beyond the windows.

The black energy, which looked like smoke or fog at a glance, suddenly scattered into several strands and took the form of dozens of snakes seemingly aiming for my life, flicking their tongues near the balcony.

Hiss-!

Suddenly, one black snake entered the room.

Before I could raise a defensive barrier, Hasis, who was standing a short distance from me, swung his sword.

Slash-.

Despite appearing to have physical form, the snake vanished into smoke the moment it touched the transparent blade.

Hasis turned his head.

“Are you fully awake?”

“What’s going on?”

“Can’t you see? Intruders. Damn, good thing I was patrolling around here just in case. Otherwise… And why were you sleeping so deeply? Are you always such a heavy sleeper?”

I would normally have snapped at Hasis’s words, but instead, I kept my mouth shut.

That can’t be right.

I usually sleep very lightly, and sometimes I even stay up all night, unable to fall asleep.

‘I did fall asleep easily today. And I don’t usually dream…’

Suddenly remembering the scene from my dream, I put on a serious face.

Could all of this be related?

The answer was obvious.

Cursing my unknown enemy, I got out of bed and approached Hasis.

“Hey, don’t come over here.”

Hasis frowned as I approached.

At that moment, another snake that had been swirling by the window lunged at us.

But unlike before, this time I wasn’t caught off guard and swung my hand.