Mikael's eyes had closed — his blonde lashes framing a face which took on a sickly pallor. The air around them was still cold, and as Irene hugged his heavy and limp body close to her, she struggled to completely grasp everything that just transpired.

Everything happened so fast, and yet to Irene — it felt as though an eternity had passed.

The prince's affinity for magic somehow awakened, and it was far more powerful than she anticipated. In the original novel, Mikael was adept at creating ice and using the water vapour in the air to create whatever he willed.

But she never imagined his power would be this strong. Mikael should have only been able to create small objects of ice — and yet the entire bedroom had been laced with frost, with the exception of the small area where she sat.

Ahead of her, the frozen body of Sophia Cather looked like nothing but a still, lifeless corpse. Her severed head had rolled across the room and the distorted face of anguish remained plastered to it. It was, really and truly, an incredibly ugly way to die.

Snow was soon released from the demons who bounded him to the wall — as they disappeared into thin air with subdued shrieks. The eerie atmosphere seemed to gradually clear, and the air no longer felt heavy with a baleful presence.

It wasn't long until several servants soon came swarming into the room in a frenzy - and Irene recognised them as the ones who would often carry out their chores in this wing of the manor. Their expressions became expectedly mortified, at the scene in front of them. One of the maids took one look at Sophia Cather's body, and ran out of the room due to the sudden sickness rising in her stomach.

The sight of scarlet blood soiling the pale carpet left them in a state of bewilderment. And the way Irene was holding the unconscious prince protectively in her arms — instantly gave them an idea of what happened here.

"Milady, are you alright?!"

"What in the world happened here??"

Servants stepped over the broken glass and ice, heading to Irene and Mikael in attempt to take the two children to safety. Irene struggled to move for a moment, but the kind and concerned gazes of the servants who she often saw around, brought her back into reality. As she let the servants take the prince out of her grasp — they rushed his unconscious body out as quickly as they could, at the sight of all his injuries.

Rudien arrived just then, being driven to a halt at the sight of servants carrying Mikael out of the room in completely battered shape. Unfortunately, he had been at the knight's training camp instead of his office — which left the servants with no choice but to head out of the mansion to find him. And a deep feeling of regret settled in the duke's chest when he saw the prince in such a state.

The bruises littering Mikael's pale little body, the blood pouring from the stab wound in his hand, mismatched with the look of tranquility on the boy's face. As if he was finally in the midst of a peaceful slumber.

When Rudien took a glance into the room, a grim expression painted over his visage. The corpse was without a doubt - the maid Mikael brought in with him, but she was a person he never once spoke to. Inspecting the severed head from the doorway, he turned to a nearby servant.

"Where is my daughter?" Rudien questioned, and the maid quickly led the man to the other side of the room. His eyes widened in a mix of contrition and relief at Irene's state.

Blood stained the soft yellow fabric of her dress, and her little figure was surrounded by broken glass from the ornaments which fell over her from the shelves. There were some small scratches on her skin, but other than that she was safe. Rudien immediately went over to her, kneeling down as he gazed closely at the dazed look on her face.

"Irene?" He called out to her, gently holding her by the shoulders. And as of her father's voice had brought her back to reality, the girl finally regained her senses.

Her vision cleared; relief flooded through her veins at the familiar face of her father.

Immediately, he pulled her into his strong and comforting arms. "I'm sorry for being so late..." Rudien apologised desperately, kissing her head whilst scooping her up in his embrace. Irene could feel his arms trembling against her back - and the rapid beating of his heart. The light smell of sweat resonating off his body indicating he ran all the way here in a hurry.

He must have been busy, and yet he ran all the way here... The warmth of Rudien's body calmed Irene down slowly, as she buried her face into his shoulder. "I wouldn't have been, if Mikael didn't save me," She clutched his shirt, her voice barely audible. "I'm alive thanks to him."

Rudien silently listened to his daughters words, and stroked her hair gently as he took them in. "Can you tell me what happened here?"

"...The maid attacked us, and she used dark magic."

As though petrified into stone - Rudien froze.

"Dark magic?" He repeated, his grip around her body tightening. "How is that possible?"

Irene wrapped her arms tightly around Rudien's neck, and he broke out of his trance. He realised this wasn't the right time to be shocked - because Irene was his main priority right now.

After all, this was her first time seeing someone die in front of her in such a brutal way. And even the renowned strongest man in Laydel, knew just how difficult it was the first time around.

She's a Cherliann — we're known for being a house that sheds blood on a daily basis.

Irene was bound to be exposed to dangerous situations such as these, sooner or later. Because not a single Cherliann could have a peaceful or uneventful life.

He sighed softly, closing his eyes. Although the memories were bitter, Rudien remembered some of the words of his father, back when he was young.

No child of this family can avoid bloodshed. And that was truer now than ever.

Rudien held Irene in his arms for a little longer, grasping the situation and thinking of what to do, before calling a maid so that his daughter could be tended to.

"Bring Joanne to see to my daughter. Have a servant go and alert Rayvis to return immediately. And tell River Alvenicht to meet me at my office, along with Sarah immediately," he instructed some of the servants, who had been awaiting his orders. "I have to go and check on the prince's condition."

It wasn't long until Irene's nanny, and Rudien handed over his daughter to the maid who took care of Irene. Joanne gently took her back to her room, hurriedly preparing a bath for the girl whilst changing her out of her blood-stained clothes and throwing them away. The whole time, Irene remained silent.

After all, she did just watch her closest friend get beaten, and then suddenly gain some frighteningly strong powers; have a dark magician try to kill her, and witness that same magician getting beheaded. Irene knew that life as a Cherliann was never going to be free of bloodshed from the day she was born as one — but not once did she expect to see it coming from the prince and his secretive witch of a maid.

Warm water trickled against her skin as she basked in her bath, calming down her nerves and allowing her thoughts to clear up little by little. A flowery and soothing fragrance wafted into her nose, displacing the stench of blood from earlier. She tried to remove the picture of Ms Cather's severed head from her vision.

Mikael awakened... She thought, gazing down at her hands. But he was almost too powerful compared to before...

From the way things would look for him, Mikael wouldn't regain consciousness again for a few days. He'd come down with a fever while his body adjusted to its newfound strength, and by the time he got better, he'd be able to manipulate ice with as much ease as he did earlier. This was what happened to Isabella when she first gained her powers, as well as every human who had magic inside them.

Right now — Irene knew she needed to prioritise Mikael over anything. Rudien would soon ask Irene what happened, and she was determined to use this as a chance to make sure no one ever doubted the second prince ever again.

She promised him he would have only good memories, and yet he would likely remember this terrible day for the rest of his life. Irene couldn't help the feeling of disgruntlement in her heart.

In the end, she was protected by him, and Mikael dealt with the situation all on his own.

Mikael murdered a person... Does that make him a villain? The question rose up in her mind like the steam from her bath, but she quickly answered it on her own.

Ms Cather was a person even Irene felt the desire to kill, for a brief moment. There was so much hatred, rage and bloodlust accumulating inside her back when she saw how badly Mikael was beaten. She felt no remorse for the maid who died in such a pathetic manner.

And that was what made her feel guilty. The fact that she felt not an ounce of pity. Perhaps it was because the maid truly deserved it more than anything.

Whether or not Mikael was a villain didn't matter anymore. His actions earlier were full of reason. Things could've gone much worse - he could've tortured the old lady to death if he wished it so. But he didn't — he gave her a quick death instead.

Everything that happened today... I don't think it'll be my last encounter with such troubles... Irene thought, her brows narrowing as she gazed at her reflection in the rippling waters. She couldn't let her guard down again — because peace never lasted long. And although she had achieved a lot in only the first eight years of her life as Irene Cherliann, it didn't mean she'd be completely off the hook.

Laydel was an unstable empire right now. Their late rulers were dead, a battle for the throne between Daniel and Mikael was brewing, and even the existence of dark mages was now an issue. Nothing would come to solve on its own, and as the daughter of one of the most prominent men of the nation — there was no way she'd remain uninvolved.

I have to get myself in check. Mikael or Daniel may not kill me in this life...

But someone else might try to.

Especially if there are more of these "dark magicians" out there...

After her bath, Irene dressed in fresh new clothes and tucked into her bed to rest. It was still too early for her to fall asleep, considering she still hadn't eaten dinner yet — but even as Joanne had her meal delivered to her door, Irene couldn't seem to stomach the food in front of her.

Ms Cather's body was still vivid in her head, and her mind was still wracked with worries for Mikael. She asked if it would be possible to go and see him, but Joanne insisted she stayed in her room to rest.

In the end, Irene hardly touched her food - feeling nauseous at the sight of Ms Cather plastered to her mind. She huddled into a ball under her covers, soft white hair fell over her eyes, which stared emptily into space.

It wasn't long until her parents soon came to check on her condition, alongside Sir River, who came all the way from the tower to investigate what happened.

"Rene!" Sarah called out, her snow-white hair fluttering behind her as she rushed to her daughter's side and engulfed her in a hug. "I'm so relieved you're safe..."

The two men were both totally silent — and Irene could tell just by looking, that they were finding it difficult to discern what happened in that room. Snow perched on the headboard of Irene's bed, and he made brief eye contact with River for a moment. The look on the Phoenix's face read "I'll explain the details to you later."

"Irene, I know this may be hard for you," Rudien sighed softly, taking a seat beside her on the bed. "Can you explain what happened in detail?"

She remained silent for a moment, but River's gentle gaze indicated he also wanted to know the truth.

"Sophia was a dark magician. And from what Mikael said... She'd tormented him for a long time," she began, her voice calm and composed. "Mikael suddenly awakened when I was about to be killed by her. And he used ice magic to kill her."

The three adults listened to her calmly, silently grasping their heads around the unexpected events. Sir River looked the most perplexed —his brows knitting together.

"A dark magician, in Laydel..." River crossed his arms, gazing down in deep thought. His silky strands of black hair fell over his shoulder, as the rounded-glasses on his nose fell forwards slightly. "The art of dark magic was swept clean off the face of this world, during the First Saintess' descent. And this was three-thousand years ago."

Rudien glanced at the mage. "Do you think it's possible for them to have come back?"

"...It should be impossible, unless someone was approached by a powerful demon. But the Saintess killed those malevolent beings millennia ago — leaving behind only the mindless monsters that exist in Klone Forest today." Sir River turned to face the Duke with a stern gaze.

"If it's true, and there's a chance that other dark magicians exist in Laydel, we're certainly going to be having trouble, Your Excellency," His expression became grim. "No one can fight or even detect those things unless they have holy magic. But the only person in existence who had it was the First Saintess."

The room fell into silence. Irene had realised it earlier as well — but dark magic seemed truly dangerous and potent if it overwhelmed even Snow, who was a powerful spirit himself. And the worst of it was, it couldn't be traced. Only those who became a target of the magic would be able to see it, and they'd likely be dead within seconds.

It was then Irene remembered something — and she glanced up at Sir River with a curious expression. "Actually... When Cather attacked me with dark magic earlier, it didn't have any affect on my body," she told them. "For some reason, it slipped past me and disappeared."

The room was quiet again, but it didn't seem like her question surprised them all that much. Sarah then gently stroked her daughter's hair, and smiled softly before answering. "It's because the Cherlianns are descendants of the First Saintess."

Wait... What?!

The Cherlianns had such a legendary heritage? Since when?!

Irene's jaw dropped from those words - but she tried to conceal her shock as Rudien sighed softly. "It's true. Majority of the children born into our family have silver hair — which in itself is a sign of our blood being tied to the Saintess," he told her. "Dark magic has no affect on us."

Irene couldn't help but feel slightly overwhelmed by this newfound knowledge. "How come you never mentioned this before, Papa?"

He shook his head. "There was never any need to. Dark magic was lost thousands of years ago. The only reason I know about this was because I happened across an old scripture in my father's office, back when I was a child."

As the four continued to discuss everything that happened, Rudien then instructed Sir River to investigate as much as he could about dark magic. The mage was even given permission to survey Ms Cather's corpse for testing, which lit a spark in the man's dark eyes. Snow flinched for a moment upon seeing River getting so excited over something so vile.

Irene never anticipated her family would have such an important bloodline. Something like this was never written in her original novel — so it felt odd having such a large piece of information appear from thin air against her will. The First Saintess was a legendary figure who existed in ancient times, and she was described as having powers that were holy and stronger compared to any living being in the world.

Despite her understanding of the past, Irene didn't know much about the Saintess other than the fact that she was an important historical figure in Laydel — which was a long-standing empire. But now that dark magic seemed to be making a return to the world, it would probably be a good idea for her to keep an eye out.

"For now, we should wait for Prince Mikael to fully recover and finish his awakening," Rudien said whilst standing up. He then turned to his wife, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "In the meantime, how about we spread word of this incident in our favour, so that people stop deriding the boy?"

Sarah offered her husband a look of strong resolve. "Leave it to me! I'll make sure His Highness never hears another insult again."

They're likely planning to spread a rumour that Mikael saved my life, and have him earn the favour of the people... Irene smiled softly. The more favourable he was, the less people would target him. As always, they use their power cleverly.

That night, Sarah offered to sleep beside Irene to keep her company, because she knew her daughter would likely struggle to sleep after seeing such frightening things. It had been a while since Irene spent time alone with her mother, and her flowery scent put the girl's heart at ease rather quickly.

But Irene's mind was still filled to the brim with thoughts. Even after Sarah fell asleep, she was still wide awake, pondering for hours. And her mind couldn't seem to stray from Mikael, and how much pain he must have suffered during his lifetime.

I really hope that he's okay... She thought, closing her eyes when they became glassy with tears. Mikael... Please wake up soon.

😭