Chapter 5
The grand duke’s mansion reception room.
People were gathering one by one to verify Arisha’s mana.
Rael, who arrived first, gnawed at his fingernails, barely holding back his anxiety.
Because of Arisha’s warning not to be late, he had arrived a full hour early.
‘S-She’s here!’
Rael jumped to his feet and bowed with rigid politeness.
“O-Oh, you’ve arrived.”
Seeing Rael sweating and stammering, the grand duke asked,
“Are you unwell?”
“Pardon? Ah, n-no. I’m perfectly fine.”
Rael quickly glanced at Arisha to gauge her mood. Fortunately—or unfortunately—she didn’t seem particularly interested.
Rael was the type of man who had become a third-rank official at a young age precisely because he was sharp at reading the room.
He hurried over to Arisha and spoke quickly.
“O-Oh, today I arrived a whole hour early, Grand Duke’s Daughter!”
“Why would you waste time like that.”
If it were her, she would have rather knitted at least one more stitch in that time. Or taken another nap.
Stunned by the unexpected reply, Rael immediately glued himself to Arisha’s side and began attending to her.
“T-This way, please.”
He truly was quick to change his stance.
As they followed Rael’s guidance, a man who had been seated stood up.
It was someone Arisha had never seen before.
He didn’t even glance at Arisha, instead greeting the grand duke directly.
Arisha, having no intention of inserting herself, withdrew her interest and looked around the room instead.
‘This would be a great place for a nap.’
Sunlight streamed in through the stained glass decorating the ceiling, making the room look pleasantly warm.
‘If I put a blanket here… and pile up a bunch of knitting supplies beside it. And then put cake next to that.’
Mm.
Just imagining it made her feel good.
Arisha decided that someday, she would definitely carry out that plan in this reception room.
Just then,
The man who had finished greeting the grand duke extended his hand toward her.
“It has been a while, Grand Duke’s Daughter.”
His voice was flat, and the greeting insincere.
And yet—
In that instant, Arisha caught the scent of summer grass on a warm night.
His face stood out unmistakably.
The man had dark blue-black hair, blue eyes, and a refreshingly sharp impression—a strikingly handsome man.
With large hands, broad shoulders, a solid build, and a height at least a head taller than Arisha, he was imposing.
Dressed neatly in formal wear, he evoked the image of deep night. A thick, dark night when everyone holds their breath and sleeps.
A powerful sense of déjà vu washed over her.
[Skill ‘Character Search’ activated]
[Collecting surrounding data!]
[Searching for the most relevant individual.]
[A missing link exists.]
[Search complete. Data completion rate: 63%]
[>Character Profile
/Name: Kylelop Cyroan
/Age: 22
/Height: 188 cm
/Nationality: Pangaea Empire
Brief Description
/The second prince of the Cyroan imperial family, second in line to the throne.
/Returned to the capital after long training, for the first time in five years.
/A supporter who helps the novel’s male lead, Dail, grow.
Traits: Lead-class supporting character, Ruler of the Night, One Who Follows Traces.
……]
No.
That wasn’t the information she was looking for.
‘I definitely know him…’
At that moment, light poured into the room.
Arisha squinted, then opened her eyes again.
Multicolored light spilled down through the stained glass ceiling. A gentle breeze curled through the reception room. Outside the window, leaves rustled softly.
After those sensations brushed past her, her focus locked onto the man standing right in front of her.
And their eyes met.
A man with a missing link.
A mere 63% data completion rate.
And an unusually intense sense of familiarity.
Arisha was certain.
She knew this man.
Over hair the color of deep midnight, a dark ash tone overlapped. In his blue eyes, a fleeting trace of black passed by.
She knew him. Without a doubt.
“Hunter Roan.”
“…!”
[Missing link found.]
[Updating data.]
[Skill ‘Character Search’ activated]
[>Character Profile
/Name: Kylelop Cyroan
Hunter Codename: Roan (new!)
/Age: 22
/Height: 188 cm
/Nationality: Pangaea Empire
Brief Description
/The second prince of the Cyroan imperial family, second in line to the throne.
/Returned to the capital after long years of training, for the first time in five years.
/Lived as a stateless hunter on Earth before returning after five years (new!)
……]
[1,532 data entries have been added.]
“What did you just say…?”
Prince Kylelop’s blue eyes flickered, trembling faintly as they shone.
Arisha looked straight into those eyes.
“Just now—”
Kylelop was about to speak.
Sensing that the situation was turning strange, Rael hurriedly stepped between them.
“T-Then, since the Grand Duke’s Daughter is busy, shall we proceed quickly?”
“……”
After staring at Kylelop for a moment, Arisha withdrew her gaze.
There were too many eyes here.
“Let’s.”
Leaving behind Kylelop, who still hadn’t taken his eyes off her, Arisha took her seat.
“O-Once we begin the verification, t-temporarily, n-negative memories from the past m-may surface.”
At Rael’s words, the grand duke smiled gently.
“If my daughter’s mood is spoiled, your life will be in danger.”
His tone was warm, but the content was chilling.
Rael looked like he was about to cry.
“Ab-Absolutely, absolutely. Please know that I have no intention whatsoever of upsetting the Grand Duke’s Daughter.”
Rael’s trembling hand touched Arisha’s forehead.
She could feel him swallow hard.
Arisha closed her eyes. Her consciousness faded.
When she opened her eyes, she saw herself at nine years old.
It was a dark, damp dungeon.
Her body was small and gaunt, as if she hadn’t eaten properly for days. There were wounds all over her.
Soon, Arisha’s consciousness slipped free of control.
She became nine-year-old Ari from within the memory.
Chzzzt—.
The sound of a malfunctioning system echoed.
[Ne—w bo$@dy adju$!ting…]
[Sy!^?&st1@?# error#@.]
[—Self re?pair bｄ restarting.]
The leaking voice was chaotic.
“Dad… Dad……”
She couldn’t remember why she had fallen into this place. All her memories were blurred.
She was sure her father’s hand had been right in front of her eyes—but when she turned around, all she could see was deep darkness.
Ari buried her face between her knees, barely managing to find traces of her father within her hazy memories.
“──Don’t leave this place. Stay here and wait. ──I’ll come find you.”
What kind of expression he had, what kind of tone he used—
She couldn’t remember any of it.
Only the warmth of her father’s fingertips brushing hers just before they parted remained.
He told her to stay here.
‘He said he’d come find me…’
Ari wiggled her small fingers.
Suddenly, she felt something strange.
Were her hands always like this?
They felt awkward, as if they were someone else’s hands.
Over her battered hands, another hand—white and clean, completely different—seemed to overlap.
At the same time, her head throbbed.
The afterimage scattered and disappeared.
Ari slightly lifted her head.
The dungeon was deep and dark. Complete darkness, with not a single ray of light.
It was damp and cold. At night, from somewhere unknown, the sound of bleak winds could be heard.
Trying to feel even a trace of her father’s warmth, Ari fidgeted with her fingertips.
Her whole body ached as if she’d been beaten repeatedly, uncomfortable all over.
Ari clenched her fists and curled her body inward.
“I’m hungry…”
Her body was cold, and everything hurt.
‘But Dad told me not to move.’
He said he’d come find her, so she couldn’t leave this place.
She had to sit here, and wait, and wait again.
He would come.
Her father would definitely come find her. He promised.
Ari gathered damp branches and forcibly lit a fire using mana.
Crackle, crackle. The campfire burned.
Lying quietly beside it, Ari repeated the few remaining memories of her father’s voice like a prayer.
“Dad will come find me.”
She was nine years old.
Knowing nothing.
Three days passed like that.
When Ari’s hunger reached its limit—
A crow-shaped magical beast landed in front of her, sharp talons bared.
Caw—.
The beast’s predatory gaze flashed.
Ari reflexively shrank back.
The beast lowered its body, ready to strike at any moment.
Ari stared back silently.
Whooo—. Whooo—.
From deep within the cave, the bleak sound of wind echoed again.
After flapping its wings a few times, the beast lunged straight for Ari’s eyes.
Ari’s black pupils gleamed ominously.
[System repair 100% complete]
[Executing automatic protection protocol.]
[Mana Class Level 4 ‘Light Thorns’ activated]
Sharp thorns erupted from the ground, severing the beast’s life.
She had already gone three days without food.
Ari’s body moved instinctively toward the beast’s corpse.
Any human revulsion had long vanished in the face of starvation on the brink of death.
She tore into the dead beast’s flesh, devouring it desperately to stay alive.
And so, corpses of magical beasts began to pile up around Ari.
Unable to tell night from day, she didn’t know how many days had passed.
What was certain was that the stench of blood boiled thickly around her.
Piling bones. A vibrating smell of death.
It was less survival, and closer to one-sided slaughter.
The magical beasts began to avoid Ari.
The crows kept a fixed distance, merely circling her quietly.
Hundreds of sinister eyes watched the small child.
As if waiting only for the moment she would die.
