Chapter 4
Sophie enjoyed life in the small village.
She could do her part and be confidently acknowledged as a member of society.
“What’s this, sis?”
Sophie had gone out early in the morning to buy groceries.
“This is a spirit stone.”
Spirit users wore spirit stones as necklaces.
Some even had them embedded in their foreheads, though that was very expensive.
“A spirit stone?”
“Mm… you can think of it as a house for spirits.”
“A house? Then give me one too! I want a house!”
“No can do… this is everything I own.”
It was relatively cheap for a spirit stone, but for Sophie, it was the best she could afford.
She didn’t understand why spirit stones were so expensive. Buying just one was backbreaking.
Moreover, the stone she had could barely house one low-level earth spirit.
“If I gave this to you, I’d probably starve to death.”
The amber-colored gem, capable of housing an earth spirit, sparkled faintly.
It was also the only proof that Sophie was a spirit user.
To her, it was the last shred of pride she had left.
“Oh no, I don’t want you to starve! I won’t take it!”
“You’re so sweet. You’ll grow up to do great things.”
A low-ranked earth spirit user was insignificant in the capital.
Besides, she was only being summoned to serve tea.
She’d rather quietly live here, maintaining her modest pride as an herbalist.
Sophie didn’t mind the life surrounded by trees and flowers.
“Sophie, did you hear?”
The fruit vendor asked as he handed her some apples.
“Hear what?”
“There’ve been reports of bandits coming down from the mountains lately.”
“What?”
The vendor clicked his tongue disapprovingly.
“It’s a mess. They say even the local patrols have been mobilized.”
“Bandits… could it be because of the monsters?”
“Yeah. The monsters have been especially active lately.”
Monsters existed all across the continent.
From mischievous, lying creatures to monsters that could melt entire villages.
They usually lived in dark, damp places or deep valleys, but recently, they had started descending from the mountains to attack.
“Injured bandits have even been spotted entering nearby villages. You should be careful.”
Sophie hated the thought of her precious herbs being stolen.
Especially if the injured bandits targeted her clinic for supplies.
‘If it’s just bandits, I can handle it.’
She had spirits with her, after all.
If they were small-time bandits, two spirits would be enough.
“Why do you look so relaxed?”
The vendor looked at Sophie’s expression suspiciously.
“This isn’t something to take lightly! These bandits are no joke!”
“I’ll be careful. I don’t want my clinic robbed either.”
The fruit vendor, pleased with the pain-relief herbs Sophie had given him before, added three more apples to her bag.
“I heard a noble stopped by your clinic recently. Is that just a rumor?”
Apparently, news about Arthur had already spread.
“He came by for treatment.”
“Your herbs must really work. Even nobles are coming to you.”
The chatty vendor handed Sophie a cookie, clearly eager to keep the conversation going.
“That painkiller I got last time worked wonders.”
“I liked it too. I couldn’t believe he bought five whole bundles of it.”
“You think I bought those? My husband did!”
“Oh really? You two are still so close.”
The vendor giggled.
“But still, getting involved with nobles is never good, right?”
“He only came for treatment. There’s no reason for us to get involved further.”
Sophie simply wanted a quiet life in this small village.
She didn’t want any more noise in her life.
“They say Prince Valentis returned recently…”
Prince Valentis was a formidable warrior—intimidating even to foreign kingdoms.
Even the current emperor couldn’t overrule the prince’s will.
“They say His Majesty once tried to imprison the prince.”
Fascinated by the prince’s power, people began to rally behind him.
“Rumor has it he killed a dragon.”
In the Sylon Empire, dragons were feared more than admired.
Like monsters, dragons were born of chaos and magic.
They were greedy and cunning.
Among monsters, they were the apex predators.
In the past, dragons had massacred humans.
Most of them had been slain by dragon slayers, but not all.
‘Like that has anything to do with me.’
Sophie let the gossip drift through one ear and out the other.
Valentis was known for personally leading troops to hunt monsters or fight in wars.
While people speculated about the next emperor, Sophie didn’t care.
Sophie spent the day roasting tea leaves, blowing gently on them to cool.
Once dried under the midday sun, the process would be done.
Squatting down, she spread the brittle leaves evenly over a cloth.
That’s when she felt a presence behind her.
“I’d like to buy some herbs.”
A cool voice rang out.
Sophie cautiously turned her head.
“…!”
His eyes were like ice.
Like a basilisk’s gaze, meeting his eyes made her entire body freeze.
It felt as if she were facing an overwhelmingly powerful being. Her legs trembled.
“…I’d like to buy some herbs?”
When she didn’t respond, the man asked again.
“What kind of herbs are you looking for?”
He had jet-black hair and golden eyes.
“Let’s see… something useful for treating wounds.”
“Then you’ll likely need something to stop bleeding as well.”
“That would be good. People around me tend to get hurt a lot.”
His voice was low, calm, and unwavering.
She could feel his eyes scanning her. Sophie pretended not to notice as she gathered the herbs.
‘Is he a knight?’
The large sword on his waist made him look like one.
Or maybe an assassin or mercenary.
“Do you grow your own herbs?”
“Yes.”
“No one helps you? No wizard? No physician?”
“I run everything alone.”
Despite his sharp tone, Sophie answered evenly.
“You look ordinary.”
“I am ordinary, as you can see.”
Sophie gave him a bright smile as she handed him the herbs he requested.
She hoped he would take them and leave quickly.
But then, the man gave her a small smile.
“Well, we’ll see about that.”
He didn’t take his eyes off her.
His gaze and demeanor seemed arrogant, but to Sophie, it felt more like the confidence of someone truly strong.
After he left, a strange unease lingered in her chest.
It was time for Arthur to arrive. She stood up to head to the greenhouse out of habit.
“Huh? James? Ben?”
Instead of Arthur, James and Ben showed up.
“His Grace won’t be able to come today, so we came to inform you.”
“He could’ve told me next time… no need to come all this way.”
“His Grace didn’t want to be rude.”
Arthur wouldn’t be visiting tonight. That meant she might get a quiet evening.
Maybe she’d take the time to process some herbs now.
“Um, I’d like to buy some herbs too.”
“Tea leaves?”
“My daughter has a persistent cough…”
“Is it a respiratory issue? Do you know the diagnosis?”
Sophie prepared a bundle of herbs for James’s daughter.
He bowed so deeply his forehead nearly touched the ground, promising to repay her kindness someday.
Feeling more relaxed, Sophie plucked some herbs from the greenhouse to begin processing.
Herb preparation was tedious and time-consuming—roasting, drying, steaming, boiling, crushing, or slicing.
If she didn’t get ahead of it during her free time, it became overwhelming.
“Oh, my back…”
She gathered the herbs that had been drying in the sun and prepared others to cool under the night dew.
She spread them out in the garden behind the clinic.
“…?”
She spent some time outside, and as night fell, she returned to the clinic.
‘I sense something.’
Thinking it might be an emergency patient, she looked around. But no one was calling for her.
“Who the hell are you?!”
A ragged man shouted.
As Sophie entered the greenhouse, she saw two scruffy men and, sitting casually on a chair, the same man from earlier.
‘That man…’
It was the one who had bought herbs for treating wounds.
“They said the owner was a young woman!”
The two men, brandishing daggers, shouted at him.
“I’m not the owner. I just had something I wanted to check…”
He had been inspecting the greenhouse earlier.
“Spirits and herbs. Just low-level spirits. Nothing special.”
It seemed he had noticed Sophie standing outside the greenhouse. He rose from his seat.
He had clearly seen the spirits inside.
He could sense mana.
“…Are they thieves?”
Sophie carefully stepped into the greenhouse, watching the situation.
The spirits waited for her command.
“They’re the thieves. I still have business here at the clinic.”
Could these be the bandits the fruit vendor had warned her about?
The man, just three steps away from the bandits, seemed completely unbothered.
“Tch! Whatever! Let’s just grab what we came for!”
One of the bandits lunged forward, dagger raised.
The man casually leaned back, dodging easily.
He reached out and grabbed the bandit’s wrist.
With a dagger hovering in front of his stomach, the man still smiled.
“Seems today’s not your day. Unfortunately, I’ve already made a prior appointment with the clinic owner.”
With one hand holding a bandit’s wrist, he kicked the other in the jaw.
Even without drawing his sword, his power was overwhelming.
The bandit tried to escape, but his wrist only trembled.
“Uwaaagh!”
Still smiling, the man twisted the wrist until it snapped.
Without stepping more than a foot from where he stood, he took down both bandits.
As they lay sprawled on the ground, Sophie stood among them.
[That man… he seems dangerous.]
Silco, who rarely spoke first, surrounded Sophie protectively.
His expression was tense, and the other spirits were on high alert too.
‘That’s strange.’
Even powerful warriors didn’t make spirits this wary.
‘A monster…?’
Then, a faint but distinct red gleam flickered in the man’s golden eyes.
It was the glow of magic-infused eyes—common only to monsters.
“Valentis Cylon.”
“…”
The man revealed his name.
“That’s enough introductions. I’d rather skip to the point. Will you let me?”
Cylon.
The imperial prince of the Sylon Empire… why was he here?
And more importantly, she had definitely seen the telltale glow in his eyes.
‘Don’t tell me… is the prince a monster?’
Sophie swallowed hard.
