“On hot summer days, you can summon a breeze to cool people off, and you can ventilate a stuffy room even without windows. It’s a really useful spell.”

“Sounds kind of lame.”

“It might seem that way, but trust me, it will definitely come in handy. The key is to adapt. Adaptability is what matters.”

The moment I recalled Sione’s teaching on adaptability, I realized my own foolishness for only trying to counteract the poison.

‘Right, that’s it!’

As a solution came to mind, I immediately executed it.

Whoosh!

With a sharp whistling sound, a powerful wind blew, sweeping away all the poisonous gas that had filled the room.

‘Did it work…?’

The strength drained from Raven’s arms that had been tightly wrapped around me, and my breaths became much easier.

The night air, cold and fresh, filled my lungs, a stark contrast to just moments before when breathing was painful.

And the moment I opened my eyes, I witnessed an astonishing sight.

“…My God.”

Raven stared up in disbelief at the now shattered ceiling.

In an attempt to blow away the poison, I had unintentionally destroyed the entire building.

“Did you do this?”

“Heh heh. Maybe?”

Why are you looking at me like that?

Even I didn’t know I was this powerful!

‘I only meant to ventilate the room… I never thought I would blow the roof away.’

Was it because the magic inside me was still unstable?

Even in classes with Sione, I often failed to control the intensity of my spells.

Improving my magical skills would require frequent practice, but given my chronic magical depletion, it was an impossible task.

As I was pondering how far the missing roof had flown, Sione, who had spotted me, rushed over and hugged my shoulders.

“Princess Bella! You’re safe. Did you get hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine. What took you so long?”

“I’m sorry. My lab is on the outskirts, so I arrived late.”

She had been pulling an all-nighter with Elga in the lab when she realized that I had clashed with Rina.

However, her lab was located at some distance from Raven’s room, and by the time she ran over, the area was already covered in smoke.

“By the way, have you seen Rina? She escaped.”

“Rina?… The new maidservant you’re referring to?”

Belatedly catching on to who had caused this situation, Sione ordered her pursuit.
But we soon heard that Lina had escaped from the palace.

Although she should have been unable to leave the Rose Palace due to the barrier set up by Sione, she somehow managed to break through it.

“Sione, treat Raybun Apo immediately.”

Frantically grabbing the hem of Sione’s garment, she quickly grasped the gravity of the situation and hugged Raybun.

“It looks like you’ve been poisoned. We should consult with the master.”

“What are you doing? Let go…!!”

“If you move, your wound will worsen. Just stay still and I’ll heal you quickly.”

Raybun turned his face away, his ears flushed with embarrassment, clearly humiliated by being in Sione’s arms.

His wounds were healing quickly, a trait of the Benian race, but the poisoned areas appeared to need additional treatment.

So, Sione headed to the lab where Elga was, and I returned to the room with the maidens.

Although it was late and I was sleepy, I stayed awake until I heard the news that Elga had completely healed Raybun.

‘I wonder what happened to Lina, who ran away?’

She seemed to have barely survived my attack, but she had suffered significant injuries.

She was bleeding heavily, so it would be difficult for her to get very far.

‘It would be good to capture her alive to identify who is behind this.’

She had infiltrated the Rose Palace, hiding her identity and putting both Raybun and me in danger.

What would have happened if I hadn’t secretly visited Raybun’s room?

Just thinking about it sent shivers down my spine.

Sione briefly stopped by the room later but seemed preoccupied with various tasks, including fixing the broken building.

After deciding to discuss the details of the incident later, I fell into a deep sleep.

In a forest near the royal palace.

Talia, dodging the soldiers who were hot on her heels, suddenly stopped.

‘Damn it, the bleeding is too severe.’

Once she escaped from the Rose Palace, fortunately, the ice around her wound had melted, but the penetrated area was quite severe.

She touched the bandaged wound and saw that it was still bleeding profusely.

‘Can I safely reach my hiding place like this?’

Talia frowned as she looked down at the ground where liquid was dripping.

Although she had several hideouts within the capital, even the closest one was risky to reach without passing out.

If she were found unconscious by the pursuers, she’d be unable to resist and would be sent back to the palace.

Somehow, she had to avoid that.

‘Should I end my own life?’

Talia chuckled, almost in self-mockery.

As an assassin, she had expected to face such a situation someday, but not this soon.

Her self-pride was certainly soured.

But, all circumstances pointed toward the last option she wanted to choose.

“I never thought I’d use this with my own hands.”

Taking out a small vial of poison from her pouch, she grinned wryly.

It was something given to her when she was a young girl, just before starting her first mission, by the person who was like a captain to her.

He had said that she would undoubtedly need it someday.

‘That must mean that the fates of assassins aren’t very favorable.’

Just as Talia was about to ingest the poison, a man suddenly appeared and grabbed her wrist.

“Hey, you can’t just die on your own accord, that would be inconvenient.”