The Lyndis Empire had many members of the imperial family.

Of course, not all members held the same status. Deorte el Lyndis had many children, but only one prince possessed a potential comparable to Crown Prince Alberth el Lyndis. That was, of course, Vashas el Lyndis.

Unlike Alberth, who belonged to the emperor's faction, Vashas belonged to the noble faction, and the two had been rivals for a long time.

Alberth sought to secure his position and prepare for Lyndis's future, while Vashas dreamed of a powerful state seized by quickly succeeding the throne with an iron fist.

All in all, they were like oil and water. Their methods differed, but their devotion to the empire was genuine. The only true difference was whether they pursued peace or tyranny.

Still, Vashas had one major problem. It was his troublemaker jerk son, Belluard.

Unlike Alberth, Vashas was notoriously ruthless, yet even he struggled constantly to raise a son so lazy, cruel, and vicious. He was pretty much beyond redemption.

Born with a silver spoon in his mouth and raised to believe he was special and destined to be emperor, Belluard fully displayed his wicked nature from a young age. No matter how poorly beastfolk were treated, killing one in the middle of the street was a seriously stupid move.

Yet, he had once done just that.

Even as a political rival or a member of the noble faction, acting foolishly enough to ignore the emperor's strict orders was unacceptable. However, Belluard simply didn’t understand what was wrong with harming a beastfolk. Baron Gorneo had once said that he was the type of person who couldn’t easily empathize with the pain of others.

As Belluard kept causing trouble with his bizarre lack of empathy for pain, Vashas preferred that he hang out with the outliers and stay out of the emperor's sight rather than enter politics.

Evangeline had come face-to-face with the result.

“It's an order,” Belluard sternly told his companions.

“Your Highness?”

“Subdue that wench. Make her kneel before me.”

Following his chilling command, his followers exchanged glances and then slowly approached Evangeline.

If Crown Prince Alberth, who was known for his kindness, was the one who brought her, they figured he must have brought her to work in the palace. They didn’t think she was simply a woman he was infatuated with.

Alberth had the reputation of a rare devoted husband who didn’t pay attention to any other woman than his wife.

Plus, they had the justification that Belluard had commanded them, as well as the excuse that a mere commoner had dared to speak disrespectfully to a member of the imperial family.

So, there was nothing to hold them back.

“Don't blame me, girl. This is the punishment for daring to defy Belluard.”

Then, one of the followers crouched low and quickly lunged toward her.

“I'll try to contain my power...” Her face was tense, and her hands trembled. Seeing this, the man thought she was frightened by his unexpected speed.

However, it didn’t take long for him to realize his mistake.

The man approached at a speed most people couldn’t even react to.

Shatter!!

Evangeline mercilessly swung a wine bottle and knocked him in the head. “There we go. Perfect.”

“Arghhh!!"

The mana-reinforced wine bottle shattered to pieces, causing the man to scream and roll on the floor with glass piercing his body. His face was caved in from the impact.

“W-what the?!” Belluard jumped to his feet in shock.

He knew the man to be incredibly skilled, despite his light-hearted nature. Seeing him go down that easily, Belluard couldn’t help but rub his eyes in disbelief.

“You know this is dangerous, right?” Evangeline calmly said, holding up the broken edge of the wine bottle that glittered in the light. “I'm not exactly in a position to go on a rampage right now.”

“A measly, wretched beastfolk!!”

Her expression soured. “You keep saying weird stuff. I'm sorry, but I'm not a beastfolk girl.”

“Then are you saying you're a demon?”

“A demon? A demon... Have you ever seen a demon?”

He fell silent at her question. Even during the war with the demons in the past, he’d only lived comfortably in the imperial palace and barely encountered them.

“If you haven't seen one, you shouldn't be talking. Haah. What the heck am I even doing...” She sighed and waved her hand dismissively. “Whatever. Stop bothering me and just go.”

“Don't be ridiculous. What are you doing?! Don't just stand there, subdue that wretch!”

“B-but Your Highness!”

The followers, having begun to grasp how dangerous the woman before them was, hesitated.

Belluard ruthlessly kicked the skilled mercenary in the stomach. Then, he plunged a sword into them.

“GAAA!!!”

“Useless bums! Fine. I have a way, too.” Saying that, he pulled out a small, whistle-like object from his pocket.

Fweet!!!

A high-pitched sound echoed.

Evangeline instinctively winced at the sound, but the others showed no change in expression, as if they couldn’t hear it.

However, just because no one else heard it didn’t mean nothing was happening.

Thud! Thud!!

The sound of steel greaves hitting the floor echoed powerfully from the distance, approaching rapidly.

Knights of the Lyndis Empire quickly appeared, having rushed to the location upon hearing the alarm whistle that signaled a member of the imperial family was in distress.

Yet, they simply stared blankly once they arrived.

“What are you doing?! She's a crazy wench trying to assassinate a member of the Imperial Family! Subdue her, now!”

“Y-your Highness Belluard. W-what is this...”

“W-what are you all doing?!! I told you to subdue her!”

The problem was that a large number of the knights knew just who Evangeline was.

Belluard spent most of his time at his manor rather than the imperial palace, so he didn’t know much about Evangeline.

The knights had met her when she occasionally visited the Lyndis Imperial Family, and began to wonder how they should handle the situation. According to the law, obeying the imperial family member Belluard was the right thing to do. Of course, subduing Evangeline was also difficult since she was practically a grandchild of the emperor.

On paper, Belluard had the higher status and influence.

Yet, the problem was the fact that Evangeline was the daughter of the famous Grand Duke of Heins Territory, as well as the blood relative of Aeria el Lyndis, the emperor's favorite daughter.

“Your Highness, what's going on?”

When the royal attendant and a number of maids appeared from inside the annex, Belluard scowled and snatched a crossbow from a nearby knight. Then, he immediately pointed it at Evangeline.

“Y-Your Highness!” one of the knights quickly called out.

“You can't, Your Highness! She’s—!”

“Ehh!!! Shut up, all of you!” Belluard shouted, interrupting them. “Are you protecting this wretched commoner who trespassed into the Sun Annex, a place only members of the imperial family may enter?! Do you all want to be arrested for insulting the imperial family?!”

“Put that down. Before you regret it.” Evangeline tried to calm him down, wanting to defuse the situation as quietly as possible.

If she used too much power, her father would find out, and a complete disaster would follow.

“N-no, Your Highness!”

“Ehh!”

Thwang!!

Following a heavy sound, a mana-imbued bolt rapidly flew toward Evangeline.

At the same time, her expression hardened. “Commoner this, commoner that. You’re seriously annoying.”

Evangeline tossed the bottle she was holding and quickly ducked.

Boom!!

A massive explosion occurred. At the same time, she snatched Belluard by the head and slammed it into the ground.

“GAAA!!!”

She had caught the rapidly flying bolt and immediately subdued him.

She mercilessly threw the bolt she held in one hand and clarified, “This is self-defense, right?”

The man who escorted her hesitated. “Princess... Ah...”

“Yes or no.”

“Please calm down first. The duke might find out.”

Evangeline shook her head at the old gentleman's words. “It's fine. The interference barrier’s up, and I barely used any power.”

“Is that so?”

“Yep! I know my limits.” Evangeline, who was answering with a bright smile, suddenly noticed that all the knights, the old gentleman, and the maids were completely frozen. “Huh...?”

Only then did she sense something was wrong.

When she slowly turned her head, she saw Aeria smiling brightly, looking down at her.

“M-mom, why are you here...?”

“I just got here. More importantly, Eva...”

“A-AHHH!!” Evangeline, instinctively sensing danger, quickly spread her wings and flew up.

She had heard that her father, Davey, came to the Lyndis Empire. She was thus planning to hide until he let go of his suspicions and left.

“Evangeline! Stop right there!” Aeria shouted from below, but Evangeline was busy scramming.

Once she made up her mind to run, there was no one there who could catch her.

* * *

Aeria had decided to check the Lyndis Empire’s imperial palace thanks to Perserque’s advice. Perserque, who had been scouring the Earth, belatedly realized that Evangeline had fled to Tionis and returned to Heins territory.

She heard that Evangeline flew toward the Lyndis Empire, and that Davey had already left, so she followed them. Aeria had insisted on coming, believing that if Evangeline was in the Lyndis Empire, someone might try to hide her away.

Unlike Davey, Perserque searched for her separately after arriving, and Aeria immediately headed for the Sun Annex.

Aeria was a direct descendant of the emperor. Therefore, she could enter without issue, only raising a slight bit of fuss upon entry.

She knew the Lyndis Empire well, and knew her father even better. That was why she was able to find Evangeline as soon as she arrived.

“What exactly happened? This is...” she asked the old man.

“Yes. That is Prince Belluard,” he confirmed.

Belluard el Lyndis. Technically, he was her nephew, but the age difference between Vashas and Aeria was so big that the gap between them wasn’t great.

“Tell me. What happened?”

“Even we... do not have a full grasp of the situation...”

“Are you saying that the people guarding this place don’t know what went on in their own backyard?” Aeria asked with a rare, resolute voice.

The old gentleman slowly bowed his head. “I deserve death, Grand Duchess...”

The knights were shocked to see his humility.

“Sir...” 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

“We received His Majesty's order, but our failure to properly attend to the Princess was our fault.”

“Why did you leave Eva alone?” Aerie demanded.

“We are sorry.”

He offered no excuses. Either way, Aeria already had an idea of what had happened.

The garden there was so beautiful that one could wander all over without realizing it. She figured Evangeline had probably gotten distracted by the garden and ended up ditching the servants and maids.

“Get up! You should know that a mere mercenary daring to enter the Sun Annex, which only members of the imperial family may enter, is a crime punishable by death!”

“P-Please spare me!” The man, the only one still conscious besides the two who were knocked out, shouted with a pale face, “I-I just did what His Highness told me to do!”

“Tell me clearly,” she coldly commanded. “What exactly happened?”

The follower’s eyes darted around. It didn’t take him long to realize that he’d meet his end if he didn’t answer properly. In the end, he spilled the beans, detailing everything that’d happened since they first arrived.

Aeria listened to his story in silence. Evangeline had been hiding in the Sun Annex to avoid Davey, only to be found by Belluard, the long-troublesome imperial grandson, who acted arrogantly toward her and started a fight.

“Sir Bord, execute him,” Aerie commanded, gesturing at the mercenary.

“Yes, sir.”

When a knight with a dignified face drew his sword at the royal attendant’s command, the man went on his knees and screamed, “P-please spare me! Please!”

“Daring to threaten the Grand Duchess, who is staying here by His Majesty's command, is a direct challenge to the emperor's authority.”

“P-please sp—!”

Sling!!

The sword flashed instantly, and his head flew off.

Aeria, who watched silently, lowered her head with a stern face. “I'm sorry, Royal Attendant, for all this trouble.”

“Not at all, Grand Duchess. Knights, clear the body. I will report this matter separately to His Majesty...”

Just then.

“What is going on here?”

Everyone flinched and turned their heads at the sound of a cold voice.

A man with a chilling gaze slowly walked in and said, “I came here after receiving a report. Is this what I think it is?”

“B-brother Vashas...” Aerie called out.

He stared silently at her and then looked coldly at the collapsed Belluard. “Stupid fool...”

Then he waved his hand.

Some knights approached, attempting to take the unconscious Belluard away.

“Stop, Your Highness the Prince! If you take Lord Belluard now...!”

“Who are you giving orders to, Royal Attendant?!”

“Your Highness,” the old man insisted.

“Royal Attendant, I absolutely hate anything that gets in my way. If you were not someone trusted by His Majesty, you would be lying here dead right now.”

His oppressive presence, exuding an eerie killing aura, pushed down on the surroundings. He was Vashas el Lyndis, the Swordmaster of the Lyndis Empire.

“And why are you here, you bitch?” he barked, turning to Aeria.

“Excuse me?”

“You don’t have the right to be here, do you?”

“That's...” Aeria bowed her head in silence, and he stared coldly at her.

“I’ll let this matter slide. So, take your daughter and get out of my sight, you filthy thing.”

Aeria bit her lip at his behavior, which made no attempt to hide his disdain for her.

He’d hated beastfolk for a long time. Rather, to be more precise, he despised Aeria el Lyndis.

She knew the reason, too. It was not just hatred born from a belief in racial superiority.

In the past, she would’ve trembled in fear. But now, things were different. She had spent time with her husband Davey, and built up a lot of confidence in the meantime.

“I can't do that, Brother.”

He was shocked to see her dare retort. “What?”

“Belluard intimidated, threatened, and insulted my daughter. Even if he’s an imperial grandson, I can't just let this kind of insult slide.”

His eyes widened slightly at her resolute answer. “Aeria...”

“Brother, apologize directly to Eva on Belluard’s behalf. I cannot tolerate the insult of demanding that my child serve him as a nighttime attendant or pour wine.”

Vashas silently glared at her. At the same time, an immense battle energy began to pour out from his body. “How dare... you wretched woman...”

“I cannot back down here. I must receive an apology.” Aeria showed an unexpectedly firm attitude, and he seemed quite flustered.

“Hmph. This was a simple problem between kids. Are you telling me to bow my head and apologize to you now?”

“If you don't, I will take it as a direct provocation of Heins.”

“How dare you...”

Thud!!!

A heavy killing aura constricted her.

The knights were caught between the prince Vashas el Lyndis and the former princess Aeria el Lyndis, and didn’t know what to do.

Normally, Aeria would’ve turned pale, gasped for breath, and collapsed. In fact, she wouldn’t have been the only one. Everyone would’ve reacted the same. Yet, for some reason, Aeria didn’t easily collapse.

Seeing her endure, Vashas pressed her even harder.

However, he didn’t know the full story of why Aeria was there. He had only heard what happened between her and Belluard. He wasn’t aware of the implication if he recklessly released his killing aura in that place.

Thud.

As he stepped closer to Aeria, steadily pressuring her, the tension reached its peak.

Then, someone grabbed his shoulder.

“Who—”

Boom!!!

An unimaginable pressure traveled from the hand, pressing down on his entire body.

Shatter!!

His sturdy muscles, well worthy of a Swordmaster, crumpled without a chance to resist. He fell to his knees in an instant.

“Gaaa?!”

A polite yet utterly chilling voice simply asked, “Prince Vashas, are you out of your mind?”

When he slowly turned his head with a surprised look, he realized who had grabbed him. He saw Davey, whose face was expressionless yet carried a terrifying chill. When he slowly turned his head further, he also saw the enraged Emperor Deorte and Alberth.

Next to them, he also saw the Grand Duchess of Heins.

Perserque watched him silently.

“A fight between kids is normal to happen. It's true that Evangeline hit the troublemaker, no matter what he said.” Davey slowly lowered his body. “But you shouldn't do that. Directing killing aura at my wife, your sister? Right in front of me?”

He spoke while gently crushing his shoulder, “Perserque, go get Evangeline. She couldn't have gotten far.”

“I will...”

Emperor Deorte had tried his best to hide Evangeline, but Vashas’s massive release of killing aura eliminated any possible excuses he could use to stop Davey.

Her great escape caused one incident after another. Evangeline, the cause of the whole mess, urgently spread her wings to escape amidst the confusion.

She wondered why Aeria wasn’t chasing her, but she figured she had to survive first before worrying about other things. She knew well that it wasn’t just about spending money.

Just then, she felt a faint killing aura spread through her senses.

'Who could it be?'

She flinched, stopped flying, and turned her head. The killing aura was thick, but didn’t spread far. It was as if the aftershock of the killing aura was muffled by a barrier.

“Don’t tell me...”

Stunned by the strangeness of it, she thought about returning. But after sensing how strong the killing aura intent was, she immediately shot forward.

‘It's gotta be Dad!’

His face paled, knowing that going back would mean being caught by him.

‘I'm sorry, Dad...’

As she took off again, she heard someone talk to her, calmly saying, “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I have to get out of here. It's dangerous here. My mom and dad are figh—” Evangeline, who desperately answered without thinking, froze mid-sentence.

Bright blonde hair fluttered in front of her eyes. She swallowed hard and took a step back.

“Seems like someone’s in a rush, aren’t they?”

“W-well...”

“You sure did spend a lot, didn't you?”

Evangeline trembled all over as she met eyes with Illyna.