Crack!
The door to the royal study closed again. Inside, King Ramposa III and the Minister of Interior resumed their discussion on how to handle E-Rantel, while Princess Renner left the room, her steps light yet cautious.
"Looks like a failure," a smiling voice reached her ears. Princess Renner turned to look at the other side of the corridor with a helpless smile on her face.
Not far from the gate, two figures, a man and a woman, stood side by side, as if they had been waiting for a long time. The woman among them wore full plate armor shimmering with platinum and gold, and her long golden hair was coiled into a spiral ponytail. She was Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra.
Because Lakyus could use Sixth Tier magic [Teleportation] for long-distance travel, she could quickly return to the capital from E-Rantel. Besides delivering the official documents written by Gazef Stronoff to the king, she also returned to explain the situation to her close friend, Princess Renner. After that, the Blue Roses team no longer accepted tasks to investigate the powerful undead that appeared in E-Rantel.
"Lakyus, I'm sorry to keep you waiting," Renner approached the two of them and greeted them. She then looked at the young man beside her with a hint of apology on her face. "I'm sorry, Climb. My father didn't allow me to go to E-Rantel."
"No! Princess, you don't need to apologize for this!" The young man named Climb felt flattered when he saw Renner apologize to him, and quickly said, his tone full of loyalty, "In my opinion, it's best if you don't go to that place. After all, we don't know much about the God of Destiny. If you go with him, you might be in danger."
"Hmmph!" Renner seemed a little displeased with what Climb said, and pursed her lips slightly, as if pouting. "But I just wanted to go with you. If there's any danger, Climb, you'll protect me, won't you?"
"Of course! I will protect the princess with my life!" Climb swore without hesitation, his eyes full of determination.
Lakyus, standing there, observed the daily interaction between master and servant, and an ambiguous smile played in her eyes. Climb was an orphan whom Renner had picked up and brought into the palace. The boy the princess saved had once sworn to fully protect her and devote himself to her.
But from Lakyus's perspective, Renner's attitude towards Climb was not merely a superior-subordinate relationship between a princess and a knight, but more like a young girl's feelings for her lover.
Climb was not a dull person, and he should have felt the princess's special way of treating him. Only because of his low status, he dared not accept these feelings at all, and he remained with the princess as the rescued one.
Though regrettable, it was the correct thing to do. One of them was an adopted orphan, and the other was a royal princess. Given the kingdom's system, it was almost impossible for them to be together.
Even so, Climb was quite satisfied with his role as the princess's bodyguard. So as not to disgrace the princess, he had trained diligently, hoping to become a strong professional like the royal warrior captain, Gazef. Unfortunately, it was not easy to become a high-tier professional.
Climb had no talent for any profession, and his current strength had reached its upper limit, roughly equivalent to a Gold-ranked adventurer. There was no room for improvement.
This time, Renner proposed to the king that she wanted to go to E-Rantel because she wanted Climb to come into contact with the being called the God of Destiny, so he could break through his own limitations and become stronger, an obsession that was beginning to form.
"Alright, alright, that's enough of your two-part confession of affection," Lakyus interrupted the interaction between master and servant with a smile, amused by the drama unfolding before her eyes. Then, she said to Renner, "Later I will take Climb to meet Evileye. Just leave it to me. I will definitely bring him back to you in one piece."
"Then I'll leave it to you, Lakyus," Renner nodded, but she seemed a little worried and couldn't help but remind her, "Make sure to bring Climb back safely."
"Don't worry."
"Then, Your Highness, I will leave now. I will try to return as soon as possible." Lakyus and Climb each bid farewell to Princess Renner, then left the door of the royal study with the princess's hopeful parting gaze, preparing to meet Evileye outside the Royal Capital.
When they disappeared at the end of the corridor and were no longer visible, Princess Renner, who remained there, revealed an expression that could make one's blood run cold. Her beautiful eyes had lost their luster at this moment, revealing an expression of disgust towards everything, and her mouth was slightly agape with a strange smile, like a terrifying monster—her true face.
Her beauty, cuteness, kindness, and usual gentleness were merely a disguise. Renner with this expression was her true appearance, a mad alien monster.
The love she had for Climb was not the type of love known to humans, but rather an obsession with a "cute little pet" and a terrifying possessiveness that made her want to break the pet's legs and keep it by her side forever.
As for Lakyus, from beginning to end, Renner never considered her a friend, but merely used her as a tool to maintain her external disguise.
Snap!
The door behind her opened. Renner realized someone was approaching and immediately reverted to her gentle and beautiful appearance, her mask perfectly back in place.
"Hello, Minister Hermann."
"Your Highness," the Minister of Interior bowed his head respectfully to the beautiful Golden Princess, completely unaware of what kind of monster was hidden beneath this gentle exterior.
At this moment, in the capital of another nation, the same intelligence document was held by a smiling young man. He had short blonde hair, narrow deep purple eyes, and carried an innate aura of a ruler—a charismatic and authoritative figure.
Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix, that was his name. However, he also had a famous and resounding moniker, the Emperor of the Baharuth Empire - the Blood Emperor.
Jircniv reclined on a luxurious sofa, placing the document in his hand, turned his head and looked at the old man sitting beside him, "Old man, what do you think about the contents of this intelligence?"
The old man had a white beard half his height, and his hair was also snow-white, but not thin. His face was full of wrinkles, as if he had lived for a long time, and his eyes were full of sharp and intelligent light, indicating profound wisdom.
His name was Fluder Paradyne and he was the head court Magic Caster.
Hearing the Blood Emperor's question, Fluder seemed to have just snapped out of his deep contemplation, and quickly replied to the emperor: "I apologize, Your Majesty, your servant was a little distracted."
"It's alright, old man," the Blood Emperor waved his hand nonchalantly. "By the way, you're old now. I apologize for still relying so heavily on you."
"You are too kind, Your Majesty," Fluder bowed slightly to the emperor, then looked at Jircniv and said, "Let me return to your question. I wish to go to that city personally to confirm the authenticity of the information. Allow me to do so."