Chapter 1

The castle was peacefully quiet.

Everything was covered in black.

Black curtains, black insignia, and black clothes.

A hanging oxen’s head cast a shadow on the floor.

Nina suddenly spoke in a low-pitched voice.

“You just sat there with those bitter people.”

Adrian, who was reading a book by the window, raised his head.

“Nina, are you going to keep talking in Jin’s tone?”

“But they were so bitter.”

They could see their breaths every time they spoke, even though they’re inside a room. The room that was given to them was located at the corner of the castle, and they were not given firewood.

Adrian smiled.

“It’s true that I am an illegitimate son.”

“They didn’t have to be so fussy about it. Besides, is it your fault that her son died?”

Nina grumbled.

Her hair looked neat thanks to Adrian who trimmed it, but that’s not all.

With her short hair and a slightly loose uniform, she looked both like a boy and a poor knight as she stood in the shadows.

They attended a funeral earlier.

No, the word attend sounds too positive. They were left out throughout the whole funeral.

Adrian wasn’t even able to stand with the rest of his family members.

The Duke of Luvwayne had three sons.

The illegitimate son, Adrian, and the duchess’ sons, Gerald and Jayden.

Even though he is an illegitimate child, the duke acknowledged Adrian and gave him a right to succeed him.

Of course, Gerald and Jayden have the upper hand.

Today is Gerald’s funeral. Nina knew exactly what the duchess, who lost her eldest son, would do.

And she’s here to stop it.

Adrian, her friend and a knight colleague, seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

She knows how strong Adrian is, yet she can’t help but worry.

‘How can he survive in a tough world like this?’

Their colleagues, Jin, Kiril, and Louis, a squadron’s deputy commander, were sent back yesterday.

The reason was that the Violet forest could not be left unguarded for a long time. Adrian tried to send Nina back too, but she stood her ground.

With a look of helplessness, Adrian allowed Nina to stay.

Knock, Knock-

“Come in.”

With Adrian’s response, Nina approached and opened the door.

For some reason, a servant was standing there.

From the first day they arrived, they hadn’t seen a single one in place, so they had to go around and look for the servants themselves to ask for the schedule daily.

Jin, a former mercenary, almost hit a servant.

And now a servant came to them first?

“The Duchess wants you to join her for tea.”

It was an invitation that Adrian cannot refuse.

Nina snorted.

A servant, who was never seen before, is properly used at times like this.

“I understand. I will get myself ready–”

“You are being called right now.”

Nina’s eyes narrowed.

She stood with her legs wide apart, while Adrian stood up and closed his book.

“If she’s in such a hurry, then I’ll see her right away. Nina, if you could please stay here……”

Nina took note of Adrian’s defeated expression.

“Yeah, I don’t think so.”

He nodded his head. Nina followed right behind him, while the servant did not say anything.

The more they walked, the brighter the castle became. It has been so long since she last went to the Silver Lake Castle, so Nina was a little confused with the directions.

The castle was breathtaking.

It was a little hot when they entered the duchess’ room.

The duchess greeted them without standing up.

Wearing a black mourning dress and a black pearl necklace, she had a mild complexion. However, her expression was, in contrast, bland.

“Greetings to the duchess.”

Adrian bowed politely, his hair flowing softly.

“Sit down.”

When Adrian was seated, the duchess poured him a cup of tea.

Nina took a step forward. She was going to do the usual routine.¹

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1.) Check if the food is poisoned.

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“It’s alright, Nina.”

With his soft, melodic voice, Adrian stopped her from taking the cup.

The duchess spoke.

“There is something I’ve been thinking about these days. Gerald was a very smart and wonderful child.”

The duchess’ voice was drowned out to Nina. The only thing she could hear was the sound of the glass teacup as Adrian picked it up.

‘This is it.’

This is it. This must be it.

No, it doesn’t matter if it’s not.

‘I can’t let it get into his mouth!’

As soon as Adrian lifted the cup, Nina grabbed it from his hand and took it away, which made the lukewarm liquid splash on her hand.

Nina gulped the tea down.

Its odd smell hovered at the tip of her nose.

“Nina!!”

Adrian got up from his seat in a flash, the chair falling backwards.

At that moment, a flower of fire seemed to have bloomed inside her stomach and throat.

Nina hurriedly covered her mouth.

She couldn’t stand up straight. Blood seeped through the gap of her fingers.

‘It hurts.’

It felt like her stomach was melting. She collapsed at where she stood.

“Nina, Nina!”

Adrian’s shouts sounded similar to a beast that was being taken to a slaughterhouse.

“Cough, cough……”

Nina was dumbfounded as she coughed a lot of blood.

‘No way, how did Adrian survive after drinking that tea?’

Adrian wrapped his arms around Nina, who had collapsed, and looked around.

The servants that stood in line wore calm faces as if there was nothing going on.

The servant standing next to him brought a new cup and placed it on the table. The duchess filled the cup languidly.

“Come on, let that rude escort be and have a drink.”

The knights clasped Adrian’s shoulders. This meant that they were going to force him back to his seat.

Adrian gritted his teeth and held Nina tighter.

He felt afraid as he tightened his hold on her.

He had never been so scared before.

Furthermore, he had never been so angry.

He jumped up from his position. At the same time, shadows rose around him. The knights yelled.

The shadows at his feet confronted the enemies with determination. It was a strange sight.

The smile, which was always seen on his face, was completely gone.

“Get out.”

He said these words out of mercy, not of threat, but the men did not understand.

Rather, the knights halted. It is considered treason to point a sword at Adrian, who has a right to succeed the duke.

But no one thought so. Adrian didn’t think so either. He ignored them and began to run.

“Dark, tear them all down.”

The spirit of darkness faithfully carried out his order.

A mixture of screams and shouts were heard. His opponents did not get hurt by being stabbed, nor did they get cut. There was no emotion nor mercy in the spirit’s touch.

Leaving the metallic smell of blood behind, Adrian continued to run. Adrian immediately arrived downstairs, forcibly pulled a horse out of the stable, and sped out of the place.

He begged as he held Nina, who was freezing cold, in his arms.

“Don’t do this to me, Nina. Please, please.”

Nina wanted to see his face, but she couldn’t open her eyes.

She couldn’t even lift a finger.

Fire and ice were fighting inside her body. It keeps changing between hot and cold.

Nina had no intention of rebelling against it. The ice in her was desperate to protect her from the fire that was burning her inside.

Her spirits, ‘Northern Wind’ and ‘Frost’, are both trying to slow down the spread of the poison.

As she felt like she was sinking beneath a glacier, Nina dreamed of a scene from her memory.

Her memory from a ‘different world’.

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