If Venian’s magic could be extracted by possible humane means, that would be good, but if not, a somewhat rough method might be chosen.

If that method ended up harming Raven, it might be a great injury to young Bella.

‘Anyway, Bella’s health must be the top priority. If there is a sacrifice in that process… it cannot be helped.’

Somewhat distressed, she hid her expression by shifting her gaze to her teacup.

If the princess before her eyes found out what extent she was contemplating to protect Bella, she might regard her as a devilish, dreadful being.

Meanwhile, Raven, who was sitting across from Sione, had equally complicated feelings.

‘Really strange kid.’

Not long ago, when he ran into Bella in the library, Raven was very surprised.

He had been floundering to find a way to break the dependency spell he was under, and the final solution he came up with was to search the books.

There were quite a lot of books in Rose Palace’s library and storage, and because he couldn’t get far away from Bella, the library was the only place where Raven could find answers.

‘I tried to learn to read in secret to find a way to escape. And I even ended up helping her…’

Of course, Raven never even dreamed that Bella knew that.

She looked much smarter than her age, but still, in the boy’s eyes, Bella was a little child who deserved someone’s protection.

‘And she even said she’d protect me.’

The boy glanced sideways at Bella as he put a cookie filled with chocolate chips in his mouth.

“No. No one can do that. You are my responsibility now. Because you are mine.”

“I promise. No one will harm you. If someone tries, I’ll protect you.”

“I’ll even break my father’s spell later. I’ll set you free.”

Was it because she was a naive little royal?

Raven couldn’t understand where the courage came from to blurt out such tremendous words.

While anger welled deep in his heart, he felt strangely choked up, almost like tears were coming.

He realized that the words Bella had said to him were the very ones he had fervently prayed for every night in his bed during his distant, forgotten childhood.

‘Please help my mother and me live freely. Please make people not treat my mother lightly. Please protect us, and keep us from living in fear….’

In fact, at that time, Raven didn’t even know if something called a god existed.

He only knew that the village people went to church on weekends to make wishes to some entity.
And the story goes that if you desperately wish for something, it will surely come true.

But there was no fulfillment of Raven’s prayer, and his mother, who was the most devout of all, lost her life.

At the hands of none other than the villagers.

“I mustn’t get any closer to that child. I feel like I’m getting stranger.”

Wouldn’t he pat her back as her mother used to do when she was a little child? Wouldn’t he generously hand over delicious snacks that she had never tasted before?

Despite being the daughter of the man who brought her to this strange place and even cast a weird spell on her, she somehow couldn’t hate him.

If affection developed, she didn’t know how far she would change.

“What are both of you doing? Not talking, Bella’s upset!”

At that moment, Sione and Raven’s eyes widened in surprise.

Unaware of the passing time, they had completely forgotten that they were engrossed in their thoughts.

“I apologize, Miss Bella. I was momentarily distracted thinking of a new dessert recipe.”

“Huh? What’s that? Tell me!”

Sione calmly explained the recipe to Bella, whose large eyes were blinking, and Raven quietly brought the cooled teacup to his lips.

Thus, an awkward afternoon flowed peacefully among the three people on the surface.

(This is a time separator.)

A few days later.

Finally, word came from Elga that she would arrive in the capital within five days.

It was time to quickly clear up the tasks that had been postponed.

‘I must ask Raven for help, and I have to talk to Sione about the magic stone. I can’t delay any longer.’

Although she had been trying to build intimacy by deliberately spending time with Raven, who had just started learning to write, it was impossible to close the gap in a short time.

She didn’t know how Raven would take her request for help, but she had done her best, so there was no regret.

Making this decision and getting up from the chair, she was suddenly overwhelmed by an intense feeling of anemia.

‘Uh…? What’s happening to my body?’

She wobbled.

More than ever, she felt as if all the blood vessels in her body were contracting quickly.

“Ugh.”

With pain as if someone was wringing her heart and a strong constriction in her throat.

She fell to the cold floor without even a chance to cry out.

“Ah, Apo……. ”

They say if it’s too painful, you can’t even voice it.

That was exactly how she felt.

‘I can’t use magic. I need to call Sione right now.’

Struggling to the death, she crawled on the floor, seeking help from outside.

But no matter how hard she tried, it took all her strength to move more than a step by adult standards.

‘I’m not going to die like this, am I?’

She was momentarily engulfed in the thought that it might happen, with goosebumps running down her spine.

The pain she was feeling now was more intense than ever.

Should she say it felt like standing precariously at the edge of a cliff?

How much time had passed?

When she was almost losing consciousness, beyond her powerless view reaching out towards the door, she saw someone’s feet approaching.