Had things gone slightly differently, it would have been his daughter lying there. No, if his beloved daughter had been hit, she wouldn’t even be lying there at all.

Thinking this made it impossible to contain his surging anger.

Nox, now a sinner, couldn’t bring himself to speak and bowed his head deeply.

“I’m sorry.”

Shadows move for the imperial family. They collect information, handle secret affairs, and risk their lives to protect their masters.

There was one shadow attached to Adelia and five watching over the princess.

Yet all of them had failed to detect the assassin’s presence.

Their master had been hit by an arrow. The shadows protecting them were already prepared for death.

“Did you catch the scum who dared to defile this place?”

“…Even if I had ten mouths, I would have nothing to say.”

Nox bowed his head so deeply that it almost touched the floor.  

His short, green hair barely grazed the ground.  

The Emperor silently looked down at him.  

Such was the ferocity of his gaze that Nox’s orange eyes were filled with fear.  

“Bring that damned man before me immediately. Keep him alive. I will punish him myself.”  

“As you command.”  

“Leave.”  

As the Emperor waved his hand dismissively, Nox quickly left the scene.  

The bedroom regained its tranquility.  

The three members of the imperial family silently pressed their lips together, only the sound of their breathing could be heard.  

“Lucian.”  

“Yes, Father.”  

“What happened afterward?”  

Nox, having been struck by an arrow, could not have known what happened next.  

To them, Adelia wasn’t as important as the princess, so their reports were focused on the princess as well.  

Lucian spoke calmly.  

“When I arrived, she was bleeding with an arrow stuck in her back. It was a malicious assassination arrow, and the knights didn’t even think about pulling it out.”  

“It’s standard not to pull out an arrow meant for assassination.”  

“I pulled out the arrow and brought her here. She treated herself and then fell asleep.”  

Lucian turned his head to look at her.  

The arrow had not penetrated deeply, but the pain from pulling out such a vile arrow is unimaginable.

Hearing his words, the prince gasped and looked at him with wide eyes.  

“Don’t tell me you…!”  

“What are you talking about… She purified herself and then went to sleep.”  

Lucian sighed as he looked at the prince, who was eyeing him suspiciously.  

Despite his explanation, the prince still glanced at him doubtfully.  

“With her body in that condition, she managed to purify herself?”  

“Yes. All I did was pull out the arrow and lay her down here.”  

Feeling unjustly suspected when he had no way to help was frustrating.  

Seeing Lucian’s slightly lowered eyelashes, the prince finally dropped his suspicion.  

“Do white mages feel less pain? If it was an assassination arrow, even strong men would die from shock due to its potency.”  

The Emperor recalled his memories from the battlefield.  

He had spent decades on the battlefield. He had never been hit, but he had used them before.  

Assassination arrows are designed to kill with one shot by causing extreme pain with poison.  

They were frequently used during wars, and he had lost more than a few comrades to them.  

“It’s true that she saved Ariana.”  

“She saved the imperial family.”  

“She saved the empire.”  

For once, the three members of the imperial family agreed.  

If that arrow had struck their beloved princess. If they had seen her harmed or in pain.  

The three beasts would have rampaged without seeing anything else. Not just in the capital but possibly endangering the empire and even the continent’s peace.  

“The debt for saving Ariana is something we can never repay.”  

She had saved their daughter’s life.  

Before being an Emperor, he was a father. He was willing to grant her whatever she might ask for.  

“The fiancée of the Crown Prince was injured while saving the princess. It would suffice if rumors circulated that she fell after being hit by a regular arrow and was saved and tenderly cared for by the Crown Prince.”  

Perhaps that’s what she would want.  

Hearing the Emperor’s words, the prince nodded.  

He was famous as a little devil, but he was more sociable than both the Emperor and the Crown Prince.

Spreading such rumors was one of the prince’s specialties.  

“Lock up the guard in prison and deal with him yourself. It concerns not only Ariana but effectively the Crown Prince’s fiancée being injured, so it’s best if you handle it.”

“Understood.”  

With the authority to decide their fate handed over to Lucian, their end was sure not to be peaceful.  

Both the Emperor, who gave the order and Lucian, who received it knew this well.  

They took their places on a sofa in one corner of the room.  

Ariana would be coming here, so they planned to stay as well.  

In the imperial family, this was perfectly normal logic. Their aides had already moved documents to be processed to a nearby room.  

Not wanting to disturb the sleeping Adelia, they naturally fell silent again.  

That’s when it happened.  

“I knew this would happen.”  

A large wolf suddenly appeared.  

Its fur shone silver with golden tips, as if melted gold had been poured over it. Its golden eyes gleamed.  

Lucian muttered under his breath with a grimace on his face.  

“Could it be… the Guardian of Light?”  

“Oh? Are these descendants of that guy? It’s been a thousand years since the empire was established, but red eyes and black hair are still around.”  

Kai tilted his head in wonder.  

That guy Kai referred to was the First Emperor of the empire.  

The first human to obtain white magic and a holy sword, a particularly memorable figure because of his uniqueness.   

It was also surprising that his appearance was still somewhat recognizable today.

“Now why is my master like this? I was worried since she’s already so frail.”   

Kai sauntered over to Adelia.   

He sniffed around with his large snout before gently pressing his head against hers.   

A small light flashed, and brief memories flowed in.

“To protect herself like this… It’d be fortunate if she doesn’t end up as a short-lived white mage in history. Tsk.”   

Kai grumbled but diligently checked her condition.

He even infused her with some of his white magic before settling down under her bed.

Lucian spoke up after hearing about the Guardian of Light from Adelia.

“I heard you’re usually traveling and not around much.”   

“Recently, yes. But if my master calls me, I can come anytime. Right now, her white magic is weak so she called me instinctively.”   

Kai claimed his place proudly.

The First Emperor was a white mage and owner of a holy sword, as well as a contractor with the Guardian of Light.

He left a message for his descendants that if ever the Guardian of Light appears, they should not turn away.

Moreover, with Adelia’s condition not being good, there was no one who disliked Kai being here.

“It will have to be said publicly that I gifted her a companion wolf for her mental and physical stability.”

“Being compared to a mere wolf is unpleasant… but it can’t be helped.”

Although displeased to be compared to a mere beast, Kai, who knew of Adelia’s plan, readily agreed.

“Ugh…”

At that moment, a groaning sound came from the bed.

Kai quickly got up and jumped onto the bed.

Despite his large size, his steps were surprisingly light.

“Kai…?”

Adelia murmured in a voice as if she was not fully awake.

As she wriggled and sat up, she rubbed her eyes, still half-asleep.

Reaching out her hand, she felt soft fur gently tickling between her fingers.

Only then did Adelia realize that the bundle of fur in front of her was not an illusion.

“Did I call you?”

Adelia leaned her body into the soft fur enveloping her.

The always clean and silk-like fur smelled of warm sunlight.

“I don’t know why you’re here, but it feels good, so it’s fine.”

“The master instinctively sought me out when you were in danger.”

“Is that so…”

Her pronunciation was muffled as she buried her face in Kai’s body.

Adelia, standing on the border between dreams and reality, was still groggy.

Her body had not fully recovered, and after experiencing severe pain, both her body and mind were exhausted.

The fact that she couldn’t even fully open her eyes and was limp was proof of this.

“This isn’t why I gave you strength… to whine like this. Instead, you got hit by an arrow.”

“Don’t… I didn’t know it would hurt so much…”

“Just push it away. Why did you embrace it?”

“That… It had targeting magic on it. It was aimed at the heart, so if left alone, it would have pierced the heart… Even after hitting my body, it was difficult to destroy because it was trying to penetrate…”

“It’s malicious.”

“I could have died… Holding onto consciousness, even the inside of my mouth got all torn up. It hurt…”

In her half-asleep state, Adelia let slip these hidden stories.

Unlike usual, she spoke slowly and slurred, calmly stating the facts.

Before the men could even make a sound, she had already said something tremendous, causing them to freeze in their seated positions.

“Why go to such lengths.”

Each of her words seemed to pierce their hearts.

They knew the pain of being hit by an arrow was considerable. But to destroy the magic of an arrow burrowing into flesh, and to bite herself to maintain consciousness…

Who could possibly imagine that pain? Even the thought felt sinful.

They were not related by blood, having only met just over a week ago. So what could be the reason for her to endure such pain to save the princess?