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  The silence of the frozen forest was broken only by the wind.

  The dark sky had cleared a few minutes earlier as Victor walked on, sinking into the snow. He felt freer. His mana had returned to normal.

  Then he stopped.

  He had already understood two things since leaving the castle. Serena had not been alone when she was attacked. And whoever had done it was not far.

  Now, he heard something. His hearing would not lie. It was so faint that no human could hear it, so he was sure it was Serena.

  Focusing on his speed, he vanished, still careful in case he was being watched by someone else.

  A few seconds later, he slowed down with his sword in hand. He arrived at an even more distant area, where the trees were massive and their trunks stood close together.

  Beneath a large fallen tree, there was a hole. Inside it, an ice structure rose.

  ‘It’s here.’

  Descending carefully, he found himself in an ice corridor. It was extremely smooth, making it hard to keep his footing. It seemed that [Ice Rose] had created that path to protect Serena, or at least hide her.

  At the end of the corridor, he saw only a wall. A dead end.

  He could hear rapid breathing coming from behind it. But he couldn’t break through. If [Ice Rose] identified him as an enemy, it would cause problems.

  “Serena, it’s me. Victor. Can you hear me?”

  After a second, the wall opened. Carefully, Victor stepped inside. The place was white and bitterly cold. At the back, leaning against the ice wall with her body curled up and her knees hugged close, was Serena.

  Her blue eyes met Victor’s for a brief moment.

  “Serena, I was worried about you. I’m glad I found y-”

  “STOP! D-don’t move! Stay away from me!” she shouted, terror flooding her voice.

  Her breathing became erratic. Her eyes darted between him and the ground, her body trembling as she panted.

  Victor obeyed and did not move. He tried to understand what was happening. Panic after being attacked would be expected, but this felt like something more.

  ‘I see. [Ice Rose] let me in, not Serena. That means this is personal to her.’

  “It’s okay. I won’t come closer.” He slowly crouched down, placed his sword on the ground, and raised his hands to face level.

  An uncomfortable silence settled in. Serena’s eyes kept shifting, her mouth slightly open, lips dry and trembling. Her racing heart was loud enough for Victor to hear.

  She tightened her arms around her legs, fingers digging into the fabric as if trying to anchor herself.

  “Don’t come closer… don’t come any closer,” she repeated in a low voice, her words breaking. “If you get closer… I don’t know what will happen.”

  The air around her grew heavier. It wasn’t an attack or a defense. It was instability. The ice walls cracked, thin fissures appearing and vanishing in the same instant.

  She pressed her hands against her legs, as if trying to keep something from breaking free.

  Victor swallowed.

  “You won’t hurt anyone,” he said slowly, choosing each word as if stepping on fragile glass. “I’m not moving. I’m here. That’s all.”

  Serena shook her head hard, her hair sticking to her face, damp with cold sweat.

  “You don’t understand…” She let out a humorless laugh, a broken sound that didn’t belong there. “I felt it. It’s too fast. If I think wrong… if I breathe wrong… someone gets hurt.”

  She looked up again. Her blue eyes were unfocused, far too full for someone so small in that moment.

  “It was like this… when my mother…” She stopped, holding her breath, then exhaled. “She was like this too. She was there. Where you’re standing now. So please, stay away from me. I don’t want to hurt anyone anymore… I can’t take this anymore…”

  The cold intensified for an instant. Not an advance. A warning. Victor felt his skin prickle, not from immediate danger, but from excess mana being forcibly restrained by Serena.

  “I don’t… want to be like this.”

  Then he understood where that chaos came from. It wasn’t hostility. It was fear. Not fear of being killed or hunted, but fear of herself.

  She squeezed her knees tightly, as if they might tear apart.

  ‘Serena… I had no idea you were trapped in something this deep. You must have tried so hard to seem okay.’

  Victor remained still for a few seconds after her words.

  He took a deep breath. Once. Twice.

  “Do you trust me?”

  She didn’t answer right away, but when she did, there was no doubt in her voice.

  “I do. But… I can’t trust myself.”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Victor then slowly sat down on the ground, showing no intention of approaching. He crossed his legs and placed his hands in front of him.

  “Then, if you allow me, I’d like to share something too. Since you told me so much about yourself.”

  Serena turned her head toward Victor, listening.

  “The truth is… I put a lot of pressure on myself. You know? I don’t have solid memories of who I was back then. I feel like an impostor. And seeing so many people trust me like that makes me really anxious.”

  He leaned back, staring at the white ceiling.

  “Compared to everyone I’ve met so far, I feel behind.” He paused, then sighed. “And still, look at the situation I’m in. Honestly, I have no idea how I survived this long.”

  Serena seemed calmer. She looked away, her expression sad.

  “I’m sorry… I didn’t know.”

  He smiled.

  “It’s okay. You don’t have to know everything. This isn’t your fault. This is on me for not stopping to grab a book and study.”

  He gave an awkward smile.

  “Well, things must’ve improved in the kingdom by now. So I thought I’d come here and save you or something, but that’s kind of stupid. I doubt someone like me can save anyone at all. So… would you come back to the capital with me? That way, I’d at least earn a reputation as the nice guy who rescued the princess.”

  Serena looked at Victor, then looked away again, a bit embarrassed.

  But a small, almost imperceptible smile appeared.

  “You’re not stupid…”

  His expression turned serious after a short silence.

  “You were attacked, weren’t you?”

  Serena’s demeanor shifted as well, calmer now.

  “Yes… I was in my room. My father and Mr. Hogan were outside with some soldiers. I could see their temperature, but then…” She grew restless, rubbing one hand against the other.

  “Something attacked them, and I couldn’t see anything. As if it wasn’t alive.”

  “Did that thing chase you here?”

  “I… I don’t know. When I realized it, [Ice Rose] had already brought me here. Luckily I fell into this place, and it created this area as a hiding spot.”

  ‘This is bad. We’re far from the city… what if I fail her?’

  He pushed the thought aside and stood up.

  “So for now, how about a truce? Once we’re safe, I promise I’ll listen to everything you want to say. And I’ll tell you everything too. Until then, please let me stay by your side, even if that’s all.”

  ?????°???°?????

  Somehow, I managed to calm Serena down. We left the hiding place that [Ice Rose] had created for her.

  I was still uneasy about it, but staying there wouldn’t be good for anyone. All I could do was remain on guard at all times.

  Serena followed closely behind me. I told her to stay near, just in case. She walked while holding onto the edge of my clothes.

  I didn’t like how we were moving between the giant trees. I wanted an open area. That way I’d have better visibility if any threat approached.

  ‘I’ll let [Analytical Perception] handle this for now.’

  “Serena, you said the one who attacked you seemed dead. That your father, Hogan, and the others in the corridor were thrown around. But when exactly did he come after you?”

  Serena tightened her grip on my clothes.

  “Actually… my father had gone to check on me when the tremors outside the castle started. Then something arrived. It was invisible to me. [Ice Rose] attacked on instinct, and that’s when he ignored the others and focused on me… so I ran.”

  Given the state of the soldiers, that person would have killed them all. So [Ice Rose] attacked at the moment the soldiers were struck down, giving the attacker just enough time to injure the king and Hogan, but not finish them off.

  “You did the right thing, Serena. Thanks to you, your father and Mr. Hogan are alive.”

  Serena nodded. A faint smile of relief appeared on her face.

  I didn’t miss it. The king had gone to check on her. Probably the first time in a long while that she had spoken with her own father.

  I hope that lit at least a spark of hope in her frozen heart.

  ‘There’s something here.’

  I stopped, scanning the surroundings, expecting suspicious movement, but none came. Instead, a familiar figure emerged between the trees.

  The Aurora Guild master, Orion.

  Brown hair, trimmed beard, and a red overcoat over his battle clothes. He looked relieved.

  “Oh, thank goodness. You’re safe. No need to worry. The monsters have been defeated. Many of my men were searching for the princess. I’m glad I found you.”

  ‘I suspected as much. Good that it ended well. But…’

  “Sorry. Where are these men you mentioned?”

  He laughed, scratching the back of his neck.

  “You know, they’re around. I mean, many were injured, so we don’t have many searching right now. That’s why I had to join in.”

  I was about to press further, but then Serena leaned toward my ear and whispered.

  “Victor, who are you talking to? There’s no one here.”

  Cold. That’s all I felt.

  “Agh!!!”

  Serena screamed as a metal object was placed around her neck. The next moment, a blow struck my back, sending me crashing into a tree.

  Then I saw it. Two Orions, standing side by side. The one speaking to me hadn’t moved. The other, to my left, seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. My senses hadn’t registered his presence at all.

  “Agh!!”

  Serena continued letting out small cries of pain, her hands clutching her neck where the device, something like a collar, was. She collapsed violently to her knees.

  “Hey! What did you do to her?!”

  I stood up immediately, never taking my eyes off either of them. Then the one on the right vanished, turning into a shadow, shifting into a liquid state before dissolving into the trees’ shadows.

  “That’s called a transversor. Though I doubt a monster like you could understand,” he said, disdain written all over his face, completely different from the Orion I had known.

  “What?”

  “That little thing converts any use of mana into agony. In other words, the more Serena tries to use her power, the more pain she feels.”

  Serena lay on the ground thrashing, her hands gripping her head.

  [Ice Rose] was trying to attack Orion, but it was hurting Serena. The skill was automatic, and it wouldn’t stop.

  “Honestly, I don’t know where those people got a device like this. But it doesn’t matter. That’s one less problem. Without that skill interfering, this becomes much easier. It’s a shame there wasn’t another. I’d have loved to use one on you.”

  I rushed at Orion immediately. But he dodged my strike and leaped several meters back.

  I looked at Serena. The pain seemed to have stopped for now. [Ice Rose] stopped trying to attack Orion now that he was farther away.

  Serena breathed heavily, gasping, her eyes filled with tears that, this time, did not freeze.

  “What’s your problem?! You’re the traitor, aren’t you?!”

  He shrugged.

  “That’s right. I even went through the trouble of covering my tracks using that so-called logistics coordinator. Had to get rid of him so he’d take the fall.”

  ‘Of course. As guild master, Orion had access to all expedition routes, and likely some way to locate us.’

  “You’re insane. I should’ve suspected it. I won’t let you get near Serena again.”

  He let out a short laugh.

  “Don’t worry. I won’t. Actually, I have business to settle with you first, scum. After I kill you, I’ll make sure Serena dies in the most painful way possible.”

  “With me? Is this about Dragan?”

  He shook his head.

  “And why would I care about that useless man? Power without reason is as worthless as reason without power. He served no purpose. My problem with you is older. Thirty years ago, to be exact.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Disgust twisted his face as he looked at me. Orion sighed before answering.

  “I can feel that thing’s mana on you. That abomination that tore my father apart right in front of me, when I was only five years old.” He laughed, covering his face. “You’re her descendant, aren’t you?”

  I clenched my fists.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He seemed to grow more irritated with every word I spoke.

  “I have never been so humiliated in my life. My father was my hero. And what did it amount to? Killed by some random monster on some random day. Then, on a horrible day, you show up, nearly killing one of my adventurers…”

  He drew a dagger from his waist.

  “You have her scent, her eyes, and that disgusting mana. I’ve never wanted to kill someone this badly before. I’ve hated you since the first time I saw you. Just being near you makes me want to vomit. But it doesn’t matter. The moment has come.”

  A shadow rose, identical to Orion, now holding a dagger as well. Without hesitation, both of them lunged at me.

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