Chapter 39
Daphne came out of the alley and let out a breath when she realized the monsters were no longer chasing them. She lowered her daughter, Jacquette, and sat down heavily on the ground.
She knew a duchess shouldn’t be sitting on the ground like this.
But keeping up appearances required energy, something she didn’t have right now.
She noticed the crown prince looking flustered, but decided to ignore it.
“Are you alright, Lady?” he asked.
“Ah, yes,” Daphne replied.
“Of all times, this had to happen during a secret outing”
The crown prince muttered and stared at the large door.
“So it’s true. The bigger the door, the slower it opens.”
He gently set down the child he had been carrying.
“I’m sure the Duke is already preparing for this,” he said.
“I hope so,” Daphne nodded.
Jacquette clutched Daphne’s arm tightly.
“Mom, are you okay?”
Her face was a mess of tears and snot, but seeing her daughter safe helped Daphne calm down a little.
“…Yes.”
She pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped Jacquette’s face.
“By the way, Lady, are you a Transcendent? I didn’t hear about any Transcendent from Himonas.”
“I woke up after marriage. Just recently,” Daphne replied.
“When a Transcendent appears, their priority should be closing the gate to minimize damage. But you didn’t do that.”
“That’s because—!”
Before she could explain, the crown prince suddenly bowed his head.
“But thanks to you, I was able to save my little brother. I’m grateful.”
Daphne was stunned into silence.
For royalty to bow to a lesser noble it was like throwing away pride and status.
The crown prince noticed her shocked expression and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.
Considering their first meeting hadn’t gone well, his embarrassment made sense.
Then Michael asked, catching everyone off guard:
“Brother, why are you calling her ‘Lady’? Jacquette calls her Mom, so isn’t she married?”
The crown prince flinched.
“Ah, sorry, Lady no, Madam. I forgot.”
“It’s alright,” Daphne replied politely.
“Madam, I’m Michael, Halio’s younger brother.”
“Michael, greet her properly,” Halio said.
“But being your little brother is already impressive…”
“Even so, manners matter.”
Michael straightened.
“I’m Michael Athanasius, First Prince.”
Michael Athanasius?
Daphne mouthed the familiar name, then gasped and quickly covered her mouth.
“Madam?”
Well, of course, she was surprised.
Michael Athanasius was the male lead in the original novel!
“He had an older brother once but he died to the monsters.”
That old line from the novel popped into her head.
So the brother who was supposed to be dead…
Daphne slowly turned to stare at the crown prince — Halio.
So he was the older brother of the boy who would later give Jacquette such a hard time?
My daughter has high standards…
And she had seen that face before.
He wasn’t even fully grown yet, but his features were already perfect golden hair that shone like sunlight and bright blue eyes, just like Halio’s.
The classic prince looks, right out of a storybook.
Daphne squinted at Michael’s face for a moment, then quickly grabbed Jacquette’s cheeks and inspected her.
No way… she couldn’t be in love already, right?
But Jacquette just looked at her with a completely innocent face.
That face helped Daphne breathe easier.
Looks like my daughter will stay with me a while longer.
“Lady, are you not feeling well?” Halio asked.
“Ah—no, I’m fine.”
Only then did Daphne realize Halio had been staring at her seriously.
He gently rubbed her cheek to check if she was in pain.
“I should’ve introduced myself sooner. My apologies.”
“No need. It’s okay,” she said.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Daphne Anaxi. This is my daughter, Jacquette Anaxi.”
“Anaxi? Wait — Jacquette, you’re an Anaxi?!”
“Yes. Is something wrong?”
“My brother’s very interested in the Anaxi Duke. He believes the Duke might be the first Transcendent who didn’t die.”
Daphne pinched her leg to keep a straight face.
This kid is sharp.
“But brother—!” Michael started.
“Alright, I get it. We’ll talk about it later. It’s too dangerous now.”
“You have to listen later!”
“I will,” Halio replied.
Seeing Michael’s bright smile reminded Daphne:
No matter what the novel said, he was still just a kid.
“Duchess Anaxi.”
“Yes?”
At Halio’s call, she quickly wiped away her amused smile.
He politely extended his hand.
“May I help you up? You can’t stay sitting there forever.”
“Oh—yes, thank you.”
As soon as she gave permission, Halio reached out.
Her legs were still a bit shaky, but she managed to stand.
“We should regroup with my party,” she said.
“Who’s in your party?”
“My husband.”
Halio nodded in understanding.
“Hmm… Let’s look around and see if we can find him. I don’t have anyone I can send right now.”
Suddenly, the bird sitting calmly on Daphne’s shoulder flew into the air.
[The gate is opening!]
“What?”
Daphne turned her head quickly.
The gate, which had been opening slowly before, was now being forced open rapidly — as if someone was prying it apart.
But Theophanes wasn’t even here…
“Can you sense the energy of the man we met earlier?” she asked her divine beast urgently.
The bird fluttered down to Jacquette’s head and flapped its wings.
[I can’t sense spring energy.]
Maybe because it was a Himonas divine beast, it couldn’t use its full power in Anaxi.
“Then if a monster appears, can you create that shield again?”
[Yes!]
Its eyes sparkled and glowed blue.
Daphne looked at Halio, now calm despite the urgency.
“We should move to the opposite side of the gate. We can’t fight with children here.”
“Agreed,” Halio said.
Daphne tried to lift Jacquette again, but Halio stopped her.
“If you carry the child, it’ll slow you down. Let me.”
He was right. In her condition, she wouldn’t get far carrying Jacquette.
“Jacquette, is that alright?”
Jacquette nodded quietly, understanding the danger.
[It’s coming out!]
The divine beast shouted.
All four of them started running in the opposite direction.
Daphne glanced back — something black was pouring out of the gate.
She quickly looked forward again, afraid she might trip.
“Brother! It’s flying!”
Michael grabbed Halio’s shoulder.
“It must be a flying-type beast!”
“Flying-type?” Daphne asked.
“They’re extremely fast!”
Jacquette tilted her head and stared at the sky.
“It’s getting bigger!”
“It’s coming closer!”
“What?!”
Halio looked up — a huge shadow loomed over all of them.
Big enough to swallow them whole.
[No! Go away!!]
A loud slicing wind followed as something flapped above.
When Daphne looked up, she saw the divine beast forming a shield — and a giant black bird beast flapping furiously above it.
Its talons looked strong enough to tear a person apart, and its three red eyes stared at them relentlessly.
[I’m too weak — the shield won’t hold for long!]
They had to escape now.
Daphne scanned their surroundings and saw a narrow alley.
A human could squeeze through, but that big beast probably couldn’t.
“This way!”
She darted in first, Halio right behind.
The beast flailed, unable to enter, then flew up again.
“We need to keep using alleys like this.”
And just like that, the chase with the monster had begun.
