At the boundary of the Black Forest.

That place was one of the most dangerous locations on the continent, rumored to have an entrance to the demonic realm, and people hesitated to approach it.

In fact, due to the powerful magical field that spread throughout the forest, there were many instances where weak demons lost their lives upon entering.

But to Vlady, the forest held a very special meaning.

It was the place where he first met his companion, Daphne.

“An errand? What exactly is written in the message that…”

“…It says there’s a Venian there. It’s written to take it to the kingdom.”

“That rare species you’re talking about?”

Walter looked pleased at the thought of Venian becoming an excellent trophy, but Vlady’s mind wasn’t so comfortable.

In fact, there was other content included in the message that Elga conveyed.

[My lord. This old man has one request. If you go to the Black Forest, you’ll find a young male Venian. Take that child to Rose Palace. You know, your daughter is no ordinary child. Either she’ll cause a magical explosion, or she’ll die of exhaustion. I think you don’t want that.]

Upon reading that, Vlady was engulfed in an urge to smash the magical orb.

How dare she judge whether I want to save my daughter or not?

Even my emotions, which I myself do not know.

[Even if you say no, think of doing it for me, who considers Sione as a child. You are eligible for that much reward, aren’t you? If you don’t like that, stop by for a walk. Who knows? You may find that your choice was right later on.]

Elga’s message ended there.

As she said, Elga was more than entitled to a larger reward.

It was Elga herself who was protecting the wide border area adjacent to the empire, boiling with monsters, with her magic.

Elga chose to protect her race and the kingdom instead of honor and position.

But Vlady did not find her request palatable.

Sione, who disobeyed his command and walked into Rose Palace of her own accord, was equally disgusting to look at.

Whether it’s master or student, both were as annoying as dirt under the fingernail.

But.

He was bothered by Elga’s words that he might think differently later on.

“……Walter, I’ll leave you in command. Be sure not to slack off in guarding against a possible night attack.”

“Are you planning to visit the Black Forest? I know it’s quite a distance.”

“If I travel alone under the cover of night, I can return before the dew forms. Don’t bother thinking of attaching an escort.”

Vlady took off his armor soaked with monster blood and put on lighter gear for travel.

Walter tried to stop Vlady, who was about to leave the guardhouse alone with a sword, but he was no match for him.

‘Assassins had entered Rose Palace.’

Even in the midst of the battlefield, Vlady was hearing all the news within the palace.

That wasn’t all.

From how the assassins died to who was behind them. He was separately investigating, including the parts that were hard for Sione, the wet nurse, to probe.

But all he had done was issue a lord’s natural directive, not taking additional action for the safety of his daughter.

Pursuing the assassins’ background was solely to protect the royal family’s honor and authority.

‘Do I want my daughter to die, or do I wish for her to live?’

There was a time when he wished she would never open her eyes.

Or rather, like she had never been born, to become a handful of ashes and disappear.

But when Bella woke up from anesthesia and looked at him with eyes the same color as Daphne’s, he realized that something had gone terribly wrong.

And he soon became afraid.

Daphne. The only lover he first loved and the last he gave his heart to.
Because of the distinct premonition that she would once again experience the powerless and cruel agony she felt when she died.

“……We’ll find out eventually.”

She would neither save nor kill.

She simply intended to watch how far her daughter, whom she named Bella, could grow.

If she couldn’t find Benian in the Black Forest tonight, there would be nothing more she could do for her daughter.

The effort she could now make for her daughter was just that much.

(This is a time delimiter.)

“Yawn.”

Ah, why am I so sleepy?

I, who almost stuck my nose in a glass of juice, drooping with drowsiness since noon, rubbed my eyes roughly.

‘My body feels a bit off these days.’

Sione has been working hard with her master to research, so the efficacy of her magic replenishment desserts has improved a lot, and I even have an artifact made from a dragon’s magic stone.

But I’m overcome by sleep often, and the fatigue doesn’t go away all day; it’s a little excessive.

I was sometimes afraid that another sleeping disorder might come, but I never let anyone around me know.

I’m already inadvertently putting many people through trouble, and I didn’t want to worry them more, so I felt sorry.

‘Maybe this is due to a lack of magic.’

My body’s growth has long stopped, and I only need magic lessons as much as necessary.