After hesitating for a moment, he tilted his head with a smirk.

“I sense a very special energy from Lady Vee.”

I was speechless. It felt like he was asking me if I knew the way on the street—utter nonsense.

Seeing my displeased expression, Kilian seemed flustered and waved his hand.

“If you’re not interested, just go away.”

“Oh, no, I didn’t mean it that way…”

Tedious. I glared at Kilian with a cold look.

“Is my request for you to leave so amusing?”
“No, Your Highness Vee. Just in case any problems arise later, please remember that I am the best at magic in this world. Perhaps, when it comes to theory, I know much more than His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“What nonsense.”

Kilian flinched, gave a slight bow, and turned away, disappearing.

“Oh, did I just say that out loud?”

I briefly pondered but decided to blame him for saying strange things in front of me.

Praying that my bedding wouldn’t be kicked away during the night,

I cursed Nathaniel, who still hadn’t arrived, rubbing my palms together.

“What’s with that thief-like attire.”

He appeared unexpectedly and grumbled while scanning my outfit from top to bottom.

I had been quite angry until a moment ago, but as soon as I saw his face, the anger melted away like snow in the sun.

“It could be troublesome if I’m caught, you know.”

I gestured for him to lower his body and put on an outer garment.

Completing it with a hood, it was perfect.

“To be honest, isn’t sneaking out secretly kind of exciting?”

“No, it’s not.”

I couldn’t say it was a hundred percent untrue, but I decided to stick with the duck feet.

Nathaniel looked skeptical.

Pretending not to notice, I nestled in his arms, waiting for our departure.

He lightly pulled my waist and moved his magic.

Since our marriage, this was the first time we were going out together, not including when we went up to the clock tower to watch fireworks right after the wedding.

My body floated gently.

Without realizing it, I tightened my grip on the hand that held me.
“Don’t be scared; we’re not falling.”

“Your Highness is used to it, so you say that.”

“Then how about going like this until you get used to it?”

I got annoyed by his playful tone and slapped his back.

“This side is risking our lives.”

“Do you think I’d worry about that when I’m here?”

His self-assured attitude left me speechless.

He gracefully crossed the night sky.

The sparkling stars and the cityscape spread below felt different.

Who would have thought I’d see such a sight in a place where I can’t take a plane?

We crossed the city and arrived at the edge of the capital near the forest.

The recently melted snow moistened the ground, filling the air with the scent of earth.

“It feels eerie for some reason.”

“Night forests are like that by nature.”

Unlike before, there was nothing to lean on except moonlight, creating a creepy atmosphere.

It wouldn’t be surprising if a masked murderer wielding an axe jumped out between the trees.

I tightly held Nathaniel’s hand and clung to his side.

Nathaniel’s eyes looking down at me were filled with concern.

I deliberately straightened my posture and put on a confident expression.

“It’s not that scary.”

“That’s why I told you to stay in the castle.”

“What if I went alone, turned into a dragon, and got eaten?”

“Just because you’re there doesn’t mean I can handle monsters.”
Having said that, there was nothing more to say.

Nathaniel sighed and created illumination with magic.

The small beads of light brightly lit up us and our surroundings.

“Is this enough?”

“Yes.”

The surroundings were brighter, which was a relief.

We entered deeper into the forest.

Nathaniel spread his magic widely, trying to find the monster family we had seen before.

“They seem to be hiding quite deep.”

It seemed that they had hidden more thoroughly after revealing their identity to Nathaniel.

“But why would they hide? I’ve never heard of monsters having such thoughts.”

Monsters were fundamentally close to beasts.

They weren’t very intelligent, although not entirely stupid, and they didn’t develop enough intelligence to hide from weaker humans.

“Didn’t I tell you? The monster that seemed like parents for their child was trying to sacrifice themselves.”

“That’s unbelievable. I mean…”

It was completely different from the monsters I knew.

Nathaniel, with a perplexed expression, headed deeper into the forest.

Even if we met them, there was no clear solution.

“Wait a moment.”

As we reached the middle of the hill, Nathaniel suddenly stopped.

He bent down and lightly touched a thin thread connecting the trees with his fingers.

A rustling sound could be heard from somewhere.

It seemed like some kind of alert device.

“This… doesn’t seem like something monsters would make?”

“It does seem that way.”
Gradually, the thought crossed my mind that these monsters were not ordinary monsters.

Nathaniel and I carefully navigated through traps and ventured inside.

And finally,

“Keyaak!”

A monster, appearing to easily surpass three meters, wielding a crescent-shaped sword, appeared before us.

Surprisingly, though amateurish, it even wore clothes, making it look remarkably human.

Nathaniel calmly stepped forward, removing his hood to reveal his face.

“You might not remember me.”

He maintained a reasonable distance, waiting for the monster to calm down.

However, the opponent did not easily relax, maintaining a tense posture.

“Hmm, as expected, can’t remember, huh?”

[Dash] Human, get out of here!

At first, I thought I was hearing things.

[Dash] We just want to live quietly here. We have no intention of harming humans.

But soon, I realized that it was not the case.

Nathaniel remained still, not reacting to the monster’s words.

I quietly raised my hand and pulled Nathaniel’s hood.

“Nathaniel, can’t you hear what the monster is saying?”

“What?”

I looked at Nathaniel, who was staring at me as if it was impossible.

I became certain that this voice was only audible to me.

“Um… I think I can help these monsters somehow.”

The monster, perhaps understanding our conversation, widened its eyes and looked in my direction.

[Dash] Human, can you help us?
“Now that I understand what you’re saying, I might be able to help.”

The monster suddenly dropped the sword it was holding.

And then, it crouched on the ground.

[Dash] Please help our family. I beg you.