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“I’m just what in the world did I do?”

On the fourth day of the escort mission, Stella, who had been exhausted as usual, suddenly felt refreshed.

She was consoled by someone she had just met and, to make matters worse, she cried in their embrace.

At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to kick the blankets right off.

“Why on earth am I sleeping here?”

Waking up in the luxurious guest room’s bed prepared for her, she tried to recall the events of the previous day.

“Did I really fall asleep right after being comforted by the Duchess? How crazy…”

It was an embarrassing situation to be found sprawled out in a guest room while leaving the important escort target, the princess, unattended.

Filled with shame for such an unthinkable mistake and the anxiety of what might have happened, Stella rushed out of the room toward the princess’s chamber.

‘Since it’s already evening, I must have collapsed into a rough sleep for about three or four hours.’

Fortunately, she could sense the princess’s presence inside Duke’s Manor without issue.

According to reports, an assault by Akandis was predicted within the week.

Now, halfway through that week, they didn’t know when or where these guys would strike.

Arriving at the door, Stella could sense someone else was inside the princess’s room, aside from the princess.

“That’s not the presence of an ordinary person…”

As Stella opened the door, she saw Siel intently staring at a chessboard while seated at a table.

Across from her sat the enigmatic man known as Unknown, seemingly playing chess with Siel.

“That guy… said he wouldn’t approach us…”

The two were deeply engrossed in their game, with Siel focusing on the board, oblivious to Stella’s presence, their fingers moving swiftly as they calculated their next moves.

When Unknown made a move, Siel carefully followed with her own.

The two were seriously immersed in their game atop the chessboard.

“Now, what should we do in this situation?”

Siel pondered over the chess pieces while glancing at Stella, who finally noticed Siel’s gaze and greeted her cheerfully.

At the same time, Unknown swiftly moved his piece with lightning speed.

“Wait a minute. So… um… oh! You’re back… how’s your health?”

“Princess, making sneaky moves is against the rules.”

“Hehe… now that I’ve been caught, Unknown, just go easy on me a little.”

As Stella approached them, she briefly surveyed the chessboard on the table.

Just seeing the arrangement of the pieces made it evident that an intense mental battle had unfolded.

She thought, if this man was formidable, how surprising it was that a seven-year-old child could play like this.

“Princess, when did you learn to play chess?”

Siel contemplated for a moment before answering.

“My father taught me. Since I was little. Playing chess with him was really enjoyable.”

‘The cold-blooded Duke seems a bit unexpected.’

Then, narrowing her eyes coldly at Unknown, Stella inquired,

“Unknown, why are you in the princess’s room? I thought you said you wouldn’t approach.”

“Well, where’d the person who said they would block me go?”

With a nonchalant shrug, Unknown casually returned her words.

Needless to say, Stella had no words to counter his remark.

She had let a target she was supposed to be guarding approach, and now found herself relying on someone else.

“I think you actually owe me thanks here, Mage.”

“Ugh…”

While Stella couldn’t lift her face in embarrassment from her mistake, Siel, as if to protect her, began to pout at Unknown.

“Don’t speak to her like that! I made her struggle. That’s why she collapsed from exhaustion!”

“Princess…?”

“I wanted to show her my mother, so it’s my fault in some sense.”

‘No, this is entirely my fault for not managing my condition and losing control over my emotions, crying, and falling asleep…’

Since coming here, she’d been cold toward everyone, so she couldn’t understand why they were treating her this way.

One thing was clear: the girl in front of her, who looked mature but was just a child at heart, was actually more grown-up than herself.

With a serious expression, Stella stared at Siel and said,

“I apologize for my behavior. Princess, no matter what happens, I will protect you.”

“You’ve done well so far. And he’s here too, so you don’t need to overdo it.”

Turning to Unknown, Stella sincerely expressed her gratitude.

“Unknown, I’m thankful for you and sorry for doubting you. Thank you for protecting the princess instead of me.”

Unknown waved it off, still calmly moving the chess pieces.

“You’re too kind. I’m merely doing my job. It’s unfair for one person to shoulder everything, which is why I assume the Duke hired two escorts.”

“Oh wow, you really know how to deal with people… now I understand why you got along with everyone here so well.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Though Stella found his nonchalance absurd, her guard against Unknown lessened.

For some reason, this conversation felt oddly familiar to her, and she stared intently at Unknown’s face.

“Um… have we met somewhere before?”

Unknown briefly paused at Stella’s question, then chuckled and replied.

“If I had seen a cute mage like you, I would definitely remember… sadly, that’s not the case.”

“…Hearing that from the guy who touched my chest feels a bit strange…”

“…I’m sorry.”

*

Meanwhile, while Nova and Stella were engaged in their escort mission within Duke’s Manor, Nova’s assassin partner, Luke, was gathering information within the territory.

If they were planning to kidnap the princess, Nova theorized they would be preparing nearby.

“I’ve been searching for days and have seen nothing.”

Despite scouring every alleyway where dangerous folks might dwell, he found no results.

He was thinking of luring them out using his child-like appearance, yet all he encountered were lowly thugs.

Once again, today, he strolled through a shabby alley, cloaked, pretending to be a weak little girl.

“Look at that? A little girl wandering through such an alley?”

“Is she lost? Hehe… wanna play with the uncles?”

Seeing men look at him like he was a toy made Luke scowl and click his tongue.

“Tch… another dead end.”

A sharp gust of wind began swirling in his hand, gathering energy as the thugs looked on, confused.

Before they even realized they were dead, a sharpened gust pierced through their foreheads.

They hadn’t even comprehended what had happened, their smiles frozen as their bodies crumbled.

“It’s been four days since declaring an assassination… are these guys not planning to show up this week?”

The notorious criminal organization known as Akandis, among them, the dangerous man known as ‘Arhan’—a madman labeled a brutal murderer, had declared he would kidnap the princess.

He had a history of making gruesome promises before committing horrific murders.

“I heard the famous Mage Tower’s disciple is here to protect the princess. Are they too scared? Damn it.”

As a guard, it should be typical to feel relieved, but Luke, thirsty for results, felt disappointed.

Just as he resigned to leave the alley, he felt someone watching him.

Turning his head, he caught a glimpse of a silhouette disappearing quickly.

“Finally found you…!”

With a burst of wind beneath his feet, Luke explosively leaped in the direction of the silhouette.

In a whirlwind, he chased the silhouette right to a suspicious tavern.

Upon entering, he was greeted by a space filled with dangerous-looking individuals, all with eyes that spoke of trouble.

“This isn’t a place a child should be entering. Who are you?”

“Ha… finally found you, you mole-like thugs.”

Faced with men two to three times his size, all armed, Luke wrapped himself in a gust of wind and pulled out his knife with a battle-ready grin.

“I’ll take you all down and finish this before that bastard gets the chance to show up.”

*

After the barriers of emotions broke down, Unknown watched as Stella and Siel played chess.

Originally, it had been meant as a game for Stella and Siel together, but due to repeated losses by Stella, Siel remarked.

“Stella, you’re so bad it’s boring.”

“Haha… I was just letting you win a little, you know?”

The only thing she knew about chess was what she had seen over her mentor Oz’s shoulder while he played with the elders.

Siel, known for her genius in chess, was not an easy opponent, far from it in fact.

Despite that, the competitive spirit in Stella was strong, and she kept challenging for a duel.

At first, Siel found her reactions amusing and played along, but soon enough, being seven (mentally), she lost interest.

“I think I’m done. You should at least put up a fight for it to be fun. This is just one-sided.”

Siel had intended to humor the Duchess, but instead, she felt like she was the one being toyed with, leaving her puzzled.

But more frustrating for her was the presence that annoyed her should have been a relief.

“Oh no, that’s not how you play…”

“…”

It was Unknown, interjecting annoying comments every time she made a move.

The absurdity of it was that Siel, unfazed, continued to make her moves.

As if granting her an easy handicap was okay with them, it only irked Stella more.

“Oh…! You should have moved there, what a waste!”

“Ugh… you little brat…”

“Wow! To think you’d place it there… you’ve just thrown away your chance!”

“Shut up already, you jerk!”

Stella, trembling with frustration as she made her next move, was clearly losing her cool.

Unknown, fully amused by the situation, continued to tease her.

Finally, fed up, Stella carefully placed her chess piece down and clenched her fist.

Getting up and approaching him threateningly, Unknown sensed he may have gone too far.

“Uh… Mage, calm down, let me just say one thing.”

“Ugh… what is it?”

With Stella appearing as though she might unleash her last words, he couldn’t hold back.

“But that last move was not supposed to go there…”

“YAAAAH!!”

Siel genuinely admired Unknown for mocking Stella right up to the end.

And then, she prayed for the unfortunate man turning into mush before her eyes.

 

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