Ariel jumped up and started running. There was only one place she hadn’t checked yet. It was the vast pasture of the Frenderick dukedom, where the hunting dogs were usually let loose.

She thought Lionel wouldn’t be there because there was no place to hide.

But if he was there…

“Lionel!”

“Woof! Woof!”

Ariel ran with all her might. Sure enough, she saw a rottweiler barking and wagging its tail towards a large tree in the middle of the pasture.

…And up there.

“Lionel!”

Lionel was sitting on the thickest branch, looking down at the fiercely barking dog. He was probably stuck up there, unable to come down because of the dog.

“I’ll save you now!”

Ariel looked around and grabbed a tree branch before running towards the dog.

“Hiya!”

“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

The hunting dog, having noticed Ariel, barked fiercely and started running towards her. As the dog charged at her, Ariel thought.

‘Ah.’

It’s going to hurt if it bites me.

The sharp fangs protruding along its jaws, the tongue hanging out. The skin flapping in the wind as it ran at full speed, unable to hide its excitement.

The closer the dog got, the clearer its teeth became, looking strong enough to tear through anything. There was no need to mention the fragile flesh of children.

A momentary fear pressed down on the back of Ariel’s neck. But Lionel must be feeling the same. A boy who always seemed unafraid, how scared must he have been to climb up a tree and hide?

‘I have to protect him.’

That was the only thought in Ariel’s mind.

“Shoo! Shoo!”

So instead of running away, Ariel stood her ground on trembling legs and wildly swung the thick tree branch. She didn’t know where the strength came from.

“Go away!”

She wasn’t unafraid, but what was more important was making sure Lionel didn’t get hurt.

She didn’t even consider that Lionel, who was already being noted as a promising holy knight candidate, might be better at wielding a branch than she was. Her flailing must have looked quite unsightly to others.

But whether it was the power of love or something else…

“Yip!”

Lady Luck momentarily sided with Ariel. Perhaps she found Ariel’s insignificant heart endearing.

“Hing! Hing!”

The hunting dog, having been struck square on the nose by Ariel’s swinging branch, flailed and kicked her away. Ariel fell but quickly got up and shouted to Lionel.

“Run, Lionel!”

“…Ariel?”

“I’ll protect you!”

“Woof!”

The dog, enraged by the hit to its nose, barked and charged at Ariel. She rolled on the ground to avoid it but lost her balance and fell again. Soon, the sharp teeth were right in front of her.

‘Ah…’

Just as Ariel froze, unable to move, a savior came running from afar.

“Johnny!”

It was Lionel’s older brother, Rayen, the owner of the hunting dog. He was the only one the fierce hunting dogs listened to.

“Johnny! Calm down! Come here!”

“Woof! Woof!”

The hunting dog, as if it had never been angry, ran towards Rayen with a cheerful demeanor. Rayen grabbed the dog and scratched its neck while attaching a sturdy leash.

“Sit, stay!”

“Phew.”

Only then did Ariel, covered in dirt, stand up. She could feel her heart pounding belatedly. The branch fell from her trembling fingers with a thud.

“Ariel? Are you okay?”

Rayen approached her with a worried face. Ariel, rolling on the dirt, looked nothing like a noble lady. She only felt embarrassed about that.

“Should I call a doctor…”

“I’m fine! Lionel is still up in the tree!”

“Oh.”

Rayen sighed and looked at the large tree.

“I see.”

Rayen sighed, fixed Ariel’s messy hair, and then walked towards the tree. Soon, he was talking to Lionel, who was still up in the tree.

Lionel’s face was cold and stiff. Judging by his mouth, he seemed to be snapping at Rayen.

‘…I’m tired.’

Ariel walked over on shaky legs and leaned against the large tree. Lionel had come down from the tree and was staring intently at Ariel. Rayen, seeing this, shook his head and spoke to Ariel.

“I’ll take you home, Ariel.”

“I’m fine, Rayen.”

“But…”

“Really. I’ll just rest a bit. Just take the dog away.”

When Ariel said this and leaned against the tree with her eyes closed, Rayen didn’t insist further and took the dog away.

Lionel stood by her side, watching her the whole time.

His gaze swept over Ariel from head to toe. His hand, unable to reach her, moved towards her several times before dropping again.

“……”

Ariel opened her eyes belatedly and looked at him.

“Lionel, are you okay?”

At her worried voice, Lionel’s ears turned red. While Ariel stared at them as if mesmerized, he spoke stiffly.

“…I would have been fine if you hadn’t come running, Ariel.”

“What?”

“…Johnny only barks loudly but doesn’t actually bite people. I would’ve been fine too.”

“……”

“If anyone got bitten, it would have been you, provoking a guard dog like that. Ariel, doing something so dangerous…”

A small sigh, seemingly restless, came from above Ariel’s head. Lionel continued speaking with a still stiff face.

“There was no need to provoke it and risk getting hurt. You could have been seriously injured.”

“Are you worried about me?”

“…If the Marquis’s young lady gets hurt at the Duke’s estate, my father would feel ashamed in front of Marquis Tenia.”

With that, Lionel gently touched Ariel’s face.

“Ah.”

Ariel felt a sharp pain on her cheek. She must have scratched it when she fell.

As Ariel flinched, the holy power flowing from Lionel gently enveloped her cheek. Unlike his always stern and cold face, and the sharp words he had just spoken…

It was a very gentle and warm light. It even seemed to carry a hint of shyness.

The light cautiously swept over Ariel’s face and then circled her body as if checking for more injuries. Wrapped in the warm light, she felt no pain. In fact, it felt like all the fatigue from searching for Lionel had disappeared.

Even as Ariel was dazed by the warmth, Lionel continued speaking.

“I would have come down on my own even if you hadn’t saved me. Before you came, I was enjoying my alone time…”

“But Lionel, you were up in the tree just now. You climbed up to avoid the dog, right?”

“That’s…”

“I know you’re not fond of hunting dogs. You don’t like the noise they make either.”

“What do you…”

“Every time Rayen takes the dogs for a walk or when they bark loudly… your eyebrows knit slightly.”

“……”

“Oh, I get it. You’re actually scared of big dogs, aren’t you?”

Lionel didn’t answer and just lowered his hand. Ariel let out a small sound of regret.

“Ah.”

By the time she touched her cheek again, all the small scratches on her body had been completely healed. Only her dirty clothes showed that she had been rolling on the ground for a while.

“…Don’t try to protect me on your own.”

“……”

“I mean, take care of yourself and your future first.”

Lionel looked at Ariel’s healing cheek, then turned away sharply and started walking again. He seemed very angry. The back of his neck was flushed, showing that he was holding back some irritation or anger.

Ariel stood there with her mouth open, then belatedly jumped up.

“Let’s go together! Lionel!”

Ariel thought.

Lionel, who was always so mature, must be really scared of big animals to get that angry.

‘Lionel is really…’

He’s as delicate as his pretty appearance.

‘Wait.’

But isn’t Lionel supposed to train to become a holy knight? When he comes of age, he’ll have to fight monsters.

Realizing this, Ariel’s mind started racing again.

‘How is a boy who’s scared of hunting dogs going to fight monsters?’

What if he gets hurt fighting those monsters with that pretty face?

‘What if Lionel really gets hurt?’

Ariel’s heart quickly filled with worry and affection for Lionel. The more she thought about the holy power he had used to touch her cheek, the more her affection grew.

A boy with such delicate and gentle holy power fighting monsters? It was unthinkable.

The conclusion came quickly.

‘Then I have to protect him.’

…Thus, at the age of twelve, Ariel decided to enter the Academy, following Lionel when he came of age.

Of course, there were significant hurdles to this.

“Father! I want to enter the Holy Academy!”

When Ariel said this to the Marquis, who was drinking tea in the drawing room, he couldn’t hide his discomfort and replied.

“Ari, I’ll support whatever you do, but… you don’t have holy power.”

“Really?”

“To enter the Holy Academy, you need holy power.”

“I’ll create it now!”

“Ari, that’s…”

“Please! You can develop holy power even later with the blessing of the priests!”

It wasn’t wrong. The Holy Kingdom had prepared various training methods for people without holy power to develop it to fight monsters.

The easiest way was to receive the blessing of the priests to open a ‘pathway’ for holy power to reside in the body. Once the pathway was opened, it became possible to contain a small amount of holy power.

However, calling a priest was expensive. And even if the pathway was opened, there was no guarantee that one could hold a significant amount of holy power.