CHAPTER 26.
The day before the banquet, Emperor Leodian warmly received guests from the Grand Duchy.
They were guests who had helped with the safe return of the precious imperial princess.
The young duke and his uncle—who had recently returned to the Grand Duchy—faced Emperor Leodian in the imperial audience chamber.
“I have brought the item I promised to Your Majesty,” said the young duke, offering a box containing a black cloak to the emperor.
It was the magical cloak Asterios had used to help Roziana escape from the palace—a cloak that could conceal a person in an instant.
“I cannot accept a gift from someone who has already done us the great favor of returning the princess safely. Your goodwill is enough,” Leodian said, refusing the gift. Instead, he turned his attention to the tall man standing behind the young duke.
A young man with the same black hair as the duke.
He wore a mask to hide a large scar on his face, but his golden eyes mirrored those of the emperor.
“You must be Clouser’s younger brother.”
“Asterios of Tenebres, younger brother of Clouser Tenebres, greets Your Majesty. May the glory of the dragons and the sacrifice of darkness be with you.”
“So it’s true you share the same name as your nephew, the young duke. May I call you Duke Tenebres?”
“It would be an honor, Your Majesty.”
“The young duke told me your role in the princess’s safe return and growth was especially significant. I wish to express my gratitude.”
“I only did what I had to.”
Asterios’s low and calm voice held modesty, even in the face of the emperor’s praise.
The young duke then added, “Your Majesty, to avoid confusion with my uncle, I have decided to use ‘Henriet,’ which was my father’s childhood name.”
“I see. Henriet, I hear you’re beginning the formal process to inherit the Grand Duchy?”
“Yes. Now that my mother is here, I plan to take over as head of the family and lead alongside her.”
Leodian had met Duchess Penelope several times before. She had raised the young duke and protected the Grand Duchy steadfastly in the place of the late Duke Clouser.
“Indeed. With your abilities, I have no doubt you will lead your house well with the duchess. I look forward to the day you come for my official approval, young duke.”
After concluding his conversation with Henriet, Leodian turned again to the masked Asterios.
“I would like to bestow a great reward upon you, Duke Tenebres. Is there anything you wish for?”
It was Leodian’s way of showing his gratitude for bringing back the princess safely.
Raising a child outside the palace was no easy feat. Though it was done with trust in Asterios’s abilities, Leodian had felt his heart tighten every day Roziana was gone.
She had been sent away for her safety, to escape the danger within the palace and to eliminate the great sage Graham. But sending his daughter out had been a torment for both Leodian and Empress Ariana.
Now that she had grown and returned safely to his arms, how deeply moved he had been!
The moment he saw her from afar, Leodian had felt it instinctively:
“I recognized her at once.”
She had grown so much, but his blood ran in her veins—it was unmistakable.
A child whose life had been in danger from birth, who always seemed to attract misfortune and unwanted desires.
Worrying for her had allowed strong emotions to settle deep within him.
Roziana had told him directly that Asterios and a certain priest had helped cultivate her power and guide her growth in the Grand Duchy. Leodian could see the immense hidden strength within the young man before him.
After a brief silence, Asterios finally spoke.
“If I may be so bold, I would like to request a position.”
A position? Leodian’s eyes gleamed with curiosity. Perhaps this young man had more ambition than he’d thought.
“What kind of position?”
“I wish to become Her Highness the Princess’s personal guard knight.”
Leodian’s brow furrowed ever so slightly.
‘My daughter must have a fate that draws people in…’
From the beginning, Graham and the great sage had been obsessed with her.
Even as a baby, everyone in the palace and her family had adored her.
Then there was the tower lord who had proposed a betrothal the moment he met her.
‘And now, the Duke of Tenebres.’
Names and faces flashed through Leodian’s mind.
Though most seemed instantly captivated by her charm, there was something different about this duke.
“Because I want to be her sword.”
Perhaps it was because he spoke only of protecting her?
“I’ll consider it,” Leodian replied, ending the audience with those words.
And now, as time passed and the grand banquet unfolded—
Leodian had kept a close eye on Asterios, deciding to observe him more before officially appointing him as the princess’s knight.
“Your Majesty, an urgent message from the Mage Tower,” whispered Cedric, handing over a note.
“The Mage Tower?”
It must have been serious. Elthor, the palace’s chief steward, stood behind Cedric, his face pale.
“Yes, a carrier pigeon arrived just moments ago.”
A pigeon? Leodian frowned.
Hadn’t Edwin developed a magical orb for real-time messaging, calling pigeons a relic of the past?
“They didn’t use the magic orb?”
Something serious had definitely happened.
Leodian opened the note, and as he read it, his brow deepened and the paper crumpled in his grip.
“Evacuate Roziana?”
The message stated that the dark mage Mephisto had attacked the Mage Tower, destroyed it, and stolen the cage. Edwin speculated that Mephisto’s purpose was Roziana.
“That dark mage… wants my daughter too?”
She had only just returned to him.
He remembered the anguish of having to evacuate her himself, when her power overwhelmed her and her fever wouldn’t break.
“And now they want me to go through that again?”
Something inside him seemed to snap.
Flames flickered in Leodian’s eyes.
In the elegantly adorned room of the imperial princess—
After the banquet, Roziana had gone alone into the bath, insisting she wanted to wash by herself.
Nighttime had become her sacred personal time.
During the day, she was surrounded by family, and even after they left, there were still the guards: Marie, who had come with her from the Grand Duchy, and three Gold Guardians.
‘Ugh, everyone was so overwhelming at the banquet today…’
Her dazzling presence alone drew everyone’s attention. Crowds were inevitable. If not for Alex and William shielding her from the onslaught of interest, she might’ve lost her temper.
‘I don’t plan on hiding my personality forever, but… I just got back. Better to pretend to be the graceful princess for now.’
It would help ease people’s guard and allow her to influence things more easily.
Roziana wasn’t the only one with awakened powers. Though not on her level, Marie was trained in stealth and highly sensitive. And as long as Nox was still bound to her, she couldn’t fully relax her thoughts.
‘I have to rescue Nox first!’
“Nova.”
With a whisper, a majestic golden griffin appeared—lion’s legs, eagle’s body, and a tail as lavish as a peacock’s.
Every night since returning to the palace, she had summoned Nova for their secret searches.
The beast shrunk its large form to a more manageable size, enough to carry Roziana.
“Did you find him?”
The griffin slowly shook its head, eyes closed.
Nothing.
“Not even the western palace?”
Nova nodded solemnly.
“Is he really trapped in the palace?”
Kyuu? Even Nova tilted its head in confusion.
Since returning, Roziana had searched thoroughly—starting with her central residence, then the north tower.
The next day, she’d checked the east and south wings, and today, the west and the garden.
Even with Nova’s divine senses, there were no suspicious or sealed areas.
‘It’s not the north tower or the underground prison…’
All the likely places were ruled out. Not even the treasury.
‘Nox… are you really still in the palace?’
[…]
Nox couldn’t speak about where he was held.
To ask for rescue but not be able to reveal the location meant one of two things:
Either he wasn’t allowed to say—or…
‘Don’t tell me… he doesn’t know where he is?’
That didn’t seem likely.
‘No, it’s a magical seal. He knows, but can’t say.’
His silence made that clear.
“Is there anywhere I haven’t checked?”
She had searched every space.
Under the moonlight, Roziana quietly pulled out the hidden map of the palace she had stashed in her bathroom.
At night, she rode Nova to scout personally. During the day, she sent him alone. Every location had been double-checked.
“Take a rest for now, Nova. You did well today too.”
Drawing a circle in the air with her finger, a glowing violet aura appeared like a floating donut.
Crunch!
Like biting into a delicious snack, Nova devoured her magical offering. The griffin shimmered, wrapped in golden light, and vanished—
—returning to his nest in Roziana’s subspace.
Now alone, Roziana quietly removed her clothes and sank into the bath.
Warm water splashed gently, wrapping her in comfort as it overflowed.
“Haa… this is nice.”
As her body relaxed into the warmth, so did her mind.
Then—suddenly—an idea flashed.
“Wait a second!”
Splash!
She sat up abruptly, sending water sloshing.
“Don’t tell me… the space he’s trapped in isn’t part of a building?”
