CHAPTER 09
As the blue light burst from the magic stone, golden waves surged around the princess’s body, now floating in the air.
“Wow! That’s amazing!”
“Is it working?”
The two princes shouted with voices full of hope.
But that was all.
Moments later, the princess’s body gently floated back down onto the bed, and the blue glow within the magic stone vanished.
A heavy shadow passed over Leodian’s golden eyes.
“It seems that divine power cannot be replaced by a magic stone.”
At the Emperor’s words, the Master of the Magic Tower immediately responded.
“That’s correct. Honestly, I didn’t have high expectations. Our Tower has conducted hundreds of experiments and already confirmed that no healing magic is completely identical to divine power.”
At those words, the two princes looked disappointed. The Empress, puzzled, asked,
“Then, what was the reason for coming all this way yourself…?”
The Master of the Tower was the ultimate authority and overseer of all magic users in the world—locating them, training them, managing them, and deploying them.
Someone so busy that they barely had time to concern themselves with worldly affairs—that was Edwin.
Knowing this, Ariana couldn’t help but be curious. If he already knew the magic stone wouldn’t work on Roziana, why had he personally come to the Empire?
“In truth, it was because I wanted to see the Princess in person. She’s a very special person to me.”
“Special… what do you mean?”
Everyone looked bewildered. Only Leodian’s expression twisted darkly.
“No… don’t tell me, Sir Edwin.”
“Ah, yes. Perhaps His Majesty the Emperor remembers the engagement.”
With a sly smile, Edwin’s words made the Emperor’s brow furrow dangerously.
“Engagement???”
The Empress couldn’t believe her ears.
“But there wasn’t even a written oath—!”
“I have it. The token of the engagement.”
Before the Emperor could finish his sentence, Edwin cut in and turned to call another mage.
“Here it is, Master.”
A mage-attendant opened a box he was holding.
Inside was a single sheet of gold-colored paper, clearly valuable and regal in appearance.
Edwin lifted the document and presented it to the Emperor with a smile.
“Here it is. The written oath from the late Emperor Bartigan, who promised that if he had a granddaughter, he would betroth her to me.”
“What?!”
“!”
The Emperor and Empress both went pale at the sight of a son-in-law older than themselves suddenly appearing before them.
‘Is he really going to demand we honor a promise made by the former emperor?’
The Emperor’s eyes turned deadly. No matter how much Edwin had done for his father, turning a casual remark into a formal oath and even preserving the document…
‘Is he insane?’
They all knew the Tower Master was eccentric—but this was a headache.
‘That was 30 years ago!’
After returning victorious from a battle against monsters, the late Emperor, overcome with joy, had asked Edwin what he wanted as a reward.
Edwin’s answer? “An engagement with a princess of the Dreat royal family.”
At the time, Leodian had been just six years old, and though Bartigan had another son, he had no daughter yet.
Female members of the Dreat royal line were rare, and Roziana was the first princess born after that promise.
But come to think of it, the promise didn’t necessarily have to involve Roziana. She could have a younger sister someday—or even a niece could be adopted as a princess.
‘Should I just adopt a daughter right now?’
While Leodian seriously considered this, Ariana addressed Edwin with a calm but firm tone.
“Master of the Tower, I understand that arranged engagements or betrothals between royal or noble families—especially during pregnancy or among predecessors—are not uncommon. However, our princess is especially precious to us.”
Edwin nodded, listening respectfully to the Empress.
“The most important thing here is Princess Roziana’s own will.”
Ariana’s gaze was serious and resolute.
If Roziana grew up and accepted Edwin as her fiancé, the Empress wouldn’t object.
But if the opposite happened, then she would do everything in her power to block this engagement.
“I agree with Her Majesty,” Edwin said without hesitation.
He seemed unusually reasonable, considering how impossibly young he looked for his age.
“And I am confident the Princess will come to like me as her fiancé.”
His baffling confidence made everyone swallow hard.
Gulp.
They were all thinking: What if it really happens?
Somehow, it felt like this man might actually succeed.
But among them all, one very adorable gulp stood out.
‘What’s that old guy saying?’
It was Roziana.
‘Excuse me?’
This wasn’t bad at all!
A handsome man was passionately wooing her, even though she was just a baby.
And it was the Master of the Magic Tower.
‘I actually don’t like them too young, you know.’
Her body was a baby’s, but she was a witch who had lived for hundreds of years.
She didn’t know how far into the future Nox had sent her, but she had been a witch for well over 200 years.
And this Tower Master definitely felt about 200 years old too.
‘He’s actually my type, though…’
But people had to be observed over time.
That Tenebres guy who once claimed to love her with his life had ended up stabbing her in the back.
‘You can only truly judge someone’s character after a few centuries. Yup.’
So there was no need to rush. Besides, she liked assertive men anyway.
‘Admirable. Trying to win my heart and all.’
And he was handsome! No need to cold-shoulder such a devoted pretty boy.
‘Right. If he’s good-looking.’
Nod, nod. Roziana decided to give him a chance.
[So, you do prioritize looks, huh?]
‘Ack! Nox, I told you not to read my thoughts!’
[Can’t help it if I hear them.]
‘Cover your ears! Isn’t there a way to stop you from listening?’
[If you complete my request, it’ll be solved.]
Ah, right. She had momentarily forgotten—her mission was to find where he was imprisoned and rescue him.
‘I need to save you first. There’s no privacy like this. Where are you trapped?’
[If I could tell you directly, I would have. But there are reasons I can’t.]
‘No clues or hints?’
[Why do you think I made you the princess of Dreat? Think carefully.]
‘Hmm… so you can’t say directly, huh?’
Was there some curse or binding oath involved?
Like one that killed the speaker if they revealed a secret?
‘Then that means he’s imprisoned somewhere only a princess could access…’
Somewhere in the palace?
‘I need to start by finding out whether the palace has a tower or prison.’
With effort, Roziana flipped herself over—but that was still all she could manage. She couldn’t even crawl properly yet.
‘At this rate, I’ll be too late! Okay, chickie, you’re up!’
Since the baby chick would grow faster than her, Roziana planned to use her divine beast to explore the palace.
‘I’d prefer using people, but if they discover my powers, it’ll be a disaster… but still…’
Who on earth had locked up Nox, who could bend time and space?
‘I don’t want to think about it.’
She tried to avoid the thought, fearing Nox would hear it.
Somehow, she didn’t want to know who had imprisoned him.
No—she felt she shouldn’t know.
Witch Erica’s instincts warned her so.
Ever since learning that the magic stone was ineffective, perhaps out of concern, her family had been visiting her room frequently. Today again, surrounded by family taking turns hugging and doting on her, Roziana rolled her eyes.
‘Since I pulled off that flip, they basically never leave me alone.’
There was the nanny, three knights in golden uniforms, and a maid named Anne assisting the nanny.
The three in gold were the “Gold Guardians”—royal protectors.
There was Fiona with her hair tied back, the short-haired Angela, and the sole male knight, Thomas.
After she succeeded in flipping over, her mother, father, and brothers had caused quite the stir. Since then, the guards hadn’t taken their eyes off her.
When she flipped, her dad had said proudly:
“As expected of my daughter.”
Her mom was a little more worried.
“But Rozie seems to be developing too quickly. If her body grows suddenly, she might start feeling pain.”
Her brothers comforted her mother quickly.
“Mother, I’ve heard that royal children with strong dragon power grow rapidly. Don’t worry.”
“Right! And Rozie already summoned a divine beast! She’ll be fine!”
They probably meant her pet chick, “Chickie,” who had done nothing but sleep ever since her dad took it somewhere.
‘What did he make you do that you’re this tired?’
Did he make it dance? Sing?
Anyway, that wasn’t the point. The real issue was the lack of alone time!
‘If no one’s around, I can use Chickie to search for where Nox is imprisoned…’
Ugh!
She let out a silent scream of frustration.
‘I can’t. This is exhausting.’
Time to pretend to sleep. Best strategy ever! Yaaawn. As she yawned, her mom whispered,
“Shh. Rozie must be tired.”
“Mother is right. Her eyes are closing. Father, Mother, William and I will excuse ourselves.”
“Yes. I also have a meeting.”
As her family left the room, she celebrated internally. Yes!
Then, a voice echoed in her head.
[So the biggest names of this era really are gathered in the palace.]
‘Huh?’
[The Emperor of Dreat, Black Breath Asterios, the Great Sage of Graham, and the Tower Master himself.]
‘Now that you mention it…’
[You’d better be careful.]
‘Of what?’
[When major figures gather, someone’s bound to target them.]
Her senses sharpened instantly.
He was right. Just letting outsiders in meant tons of security concerns.
As if to prove Nox’s point, her father the Emperor, who had been in her room for a long time, finally left and issued an order to the knights.
“We’ll strengthen the palace’s security. Don’t slack off when it comes to protecting Rozie.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Once her parents and brothers left and the nanny started patting her to sleep, the three knights quietly stepped forward.
“We’ll protect you, Princess. Don’t worry!”
Fiona clenched her fists with determination.
“That’s right. We won’t take our eyes off you for a second.”
Thomas, with his brown hair, nodded eagerly. His clear eyes were strikingly sincere.
“Me too! Ahh… but you’re just so cute.”
Angela, blushing, looked at her as if she couldn’t resist.
“Wung. Awung. Awoo.”
‘Okay, okay. I get it.’
Adorable bunch. With that energy, they could probably punch out a monster.
Grateful, she wriggled her fingers in a little greeting.
“Oh my gosh! She did the baby wave!”
“I saw it too!”
She must be adapting to the situation, because their cheers no longer felt strange.
But she was tired, and hoped they didn’t get too obsessed.
Yaaawn. This time, the yawn was real—maybe thanks to the nanny’s soothing pats.
“Shh! Her Highness must be very tired. Everyone, keep it quiet now.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
At the nanny’s words, they all quietly returned to their posts.
And then, after some time had passed…
Roziana opened her eyes instinctively—startled by a silent, killing intent.
