The head of the Shadow Forces looked at the second princess, Jina Joul, and said,
"As I recall, at first all the girls began looking at Shion Lan differently after his reputation improved. There was naturally some admiration, especially when people saw a man who relied on himself, cared for his mother, and rose in status through his own efforts without anyone's help. Admiration in such a case is unavoidable.
But in Your Highness's case, it has gone beyond mere admiration. Your feelings for him have become much deeper."
Jina quickly tried to deny it.
"You're imagining things."
The commander looked at her suspiciously. The princess tried avoiding his gaze while sweat formed on her face.
The commander then said,
"Your Highness, His Majesty assigned us to monitor the situation surrounding the struggle for the throne in order to keep an eye on Jayden. But when I read the reports about you and saw how you reacted whenever Shion was mentioned, I began doubting myself… and now I am certain that you are in love with him."
The princess blushed and replied,
"And what is wrong with that?"
She looked at him with eyes carrying warmth and affection as she continued,
"Is a queen not allowed to love? Or have you not seen the agreement Jayden made and the filth he was dragged into?
With you, I feel like the Crown Princess. With my father, I am the Second Princess. With everyone else, I am a figure of authority. But Shion… Shion only saw me as a girl.
He treated me gently without asking for anything in return except justice for his family. He gave me something precious to me, so naturally I should give him the best I can offer as well."
The commander sighed.
"Your Highness, do you remember the incident at the Neumann Family Providence that we kept secret?"
Jina nodded.
"Yes. That was when Solan Neumann appeared and news about her started spreading."
The commander replied,
"That was only the surface. There was something much deeper beneath it…"
He then recounted everything that had happened during that incident: the appearance of the head of the Shi Family, Shiu Won Lan, and the overwhelming power they had displayed at the time.
After informing the princess of everything, the commander asked,
"Those reports are classified, but you have the right to know them since you are the Crown Princess.
After hearing all this… what do you think about Shion?"
Jina stood motionless in thought.
The commander continued,
"When I investigated the poison incident, I discovered something important. The poison used was capable of killing even eighth-level individuals. So how could Shion Ranus — a weak water mage and the kingdom's trash at the time — survive it?
Most likely… another soul entered Shion Ranus's body after his death."
Jina stumbled backward.
"Y-You must be joking… Shion…"
The commander interrupted her.
"What was he like before he consumed the poison?"
Jina remembered that disgusting face from back then — the pathetic person she had rejected — and compared it to the current Shion.
Her legs lost strength, and she sat down.
The commander continued,
"At first, we believed the Radiant Star — his supposed master — was a real person. But after more than half a year of investigation, there is not a single trace of such a figure anywhere on the continent.
Still, we cannot deny that someone stands behind Shion. One of my men encountered that individual before, and the man was so powerful that he erased his memories without even fighting him.
With the appearance of those figures during that incident, we can assume that the Radiant Star is actually the master of the Shi Family — someone powerful enough to force the academy director back without battle and capable of raising a monster like Shiu Won Lan.
We do not know his intentions… but we do know that he is connected to the changed Shion."
As he continued speaking, Jina's heart grew colder and weaker. Her face gradually lost all expression until it became lifeless.
When the commander noticed this, he stopped speaking and waited for her response.
Jina remained silent, replaying every memory she had with Shion:
every meeting,
every gentle pat,
every smile,
every rescue.
And she realized that he truly had been another person all along. He could not possibly be the Shion who was supposed to exist.
She finally asked,
"But… what about my father? Why did he grant Shion a noble title, land governed under him, entrust him with guarding the cursed sword, and continue giving him opportunities whenever possible?"
The commander paused before replying,
"Ever since His Majesty began his path, no one has ever been able to understand him completely. Somehow, he always obtains the best results through methods beyond our comprehension.
But when he heard the report, he showed no particular concern, and honestly… I cannot understand him either."
Then he looked at the depressed princess and said,
"It is not that you have no right to love. It is that Shion is unpredictable. His background is beyond anything we can imagine, and we have no idea what he intends to do."
Jina silently nodded and left.
She kept walking until she reached her room in the royal palace. The distance was long, yet all she could think about was Shion.
That night, Celesia Joul delivered the final blow.
"Just as I expected! That boy was strange from the very moment I saw him! You should listen to your mother and the commander of the Shadow Forces. Follow my advice and stay away from that boy!"
Celesia continued speaking ill of Shion, filling Jina's mind with negative thoughts until the Second Princess gradually lost her passion toward him.
Finally, Jina said in a dry voice,
"Ancestor… please stop. I do not care anymore."
As those cold words left her mouth, her eyes became dull, and tears streamed silently down her cheeks without her even noticing.
The next day, she went to Karath Academy and summoned Shion.
This time she wore her formal attire and waited calmly.
The maids were confused, since they had never seen the princess behave like this before — especially when the visitor was Shion.
Only minutes later, Shion arrived. As usual, he was handsome, carrying that perfect smile and calming gaze. Yet now Jina doubted him and could no longer accept the warmth he radiated.
When Shion noticed this, he asked,
"What is wrong, Your Highness? Are you ill?"
But Jina responded coldly,
"Sit down. We have business to finish."
Seeing her distant attitude, Shion thought to himself,
'It seems her mood is troubled. Since she does not wish to tell me, I should not pressure her.'
He bowed before sitting and waited for the response he had requested.
Jina brought him the reports.
Shion began reading them and learned that there had been several assassination attempts against him:
one while he was still inside his mother's womb,
another during that bitter memory in the basement,
the third when he met his father's second wife,
and the fourth involving the poisoning incident Shi Yun Lan had told him about.
The poison described in the report was powerful enough to kill even eighth-level individuals.
When Shion read the report, his expression darkened.
"Thank you, Your Highness, for fulfilling my wish. I hope my information helps you secure the right of succession."
Then he left without another word.
The Second Princess remained seated silently, unable to speak.
The maids quietly withdrew as well, and Jina locked herself inside her room.
Meanwhile, Shion left the princess in confusion. Something felt wrong.
Yet he thought,
'My relationship with the princess is good. If something were troubling her, she would tell me. Still… perhaps I should not interfere in the affairs of others. Since she refused help, then this matter likely concerns only herself.'
Shion tried to comfort himself.
Then his expression changed as thoughts of the Ranus Family filled his mind.
"It seems a storm is about to strike this family."
And he headed toward the training grounds.
Inside the Ranus Family estate, Shion's father's second wife sat in her usual gloomy room, taking care of her son.
The area she was allowed to move within was extremely limited, and she was forbidden from going beyond it.
After her son left, she sat at her desk under the dim light coming through the window and opened her book, which was filled with notes and memoirs.
She was close to finishing it.
Taking up her pen, she began writing new thoughts:
"These days, the Kingdom of Ostiferos is extremely unstable. Conflicts, conspiracies, and hidden schemes are everywhere.
The royal family, two of the Six Great Families, certain traitors, and still-unknown identities are all colliding with one another.
Despite this level of chaos, the Ranus Family — the family I married into — has also been dragged into the storm, all because of the family head's son, Shun Ranus."
She watched her children being scolded by the family head's daughter before continuing calmly:
"I once belonged to a family in the north of the Kingdom of Norsis. My family was famous for divination magic.
Another family from the Kingdom of Amoritchi possessed the same abilities as us, and to avoid future conflict, the Kingdom of Amoritchi created chaos within our nation and destroyed my family.
Because I was the only child who had never learned divination magic, they spared me after confirming that I possessed neither books nor inheritance related to the art."
She continued writing.
"Because of that, I was released alongside many others. Some joined that family in the Kingdom of Amorichi, while others, lacking any foundation for divination, were forced to learn different forms of magic instead.
Afterwards, I tasted the bitterness of life from the age of twelve onward until I eventually joined a merchant caravan traveling to the Kingdom of Ostiferos."
The second wife continued recording the details of that journey like memories from the distant past until she reached a certain point.
"After selling the goods, I was supposed to leave.
But at that time, I found a small noble child who looked utterly lifeless. He was eight years old, and his face was so beautiful that I wanted to take him with me.
What I did not expect was that the child was genuinely lost, so I ended up taking him along."
She smiled faintly.
"I asked for his name. It was Shion Ranus.
Then I asked for directions to the estate and brought him back. I expected some kind of reward, but instead I witnessed a scene I never forgot."
Her expression darkened.
"The father's gaze — the man who later became my husband — was filled with complicated emotions.
It was the only time in my life that I ever saw him overwhelmed by fear and despair.
The safety of his child did not matter to him at all… as if he himself had thrown the boy away from the beginning."
She continued:
"So I coughed awkwardly and asked for my reward, though I believed I would receive nothing.
But the father stared at me in shock, grabbed my hand, and bluntly said:
'Marry me.'"
The second wife laughed bitterly and wrote:
"I immediately refused and tried pulling my hand free, but it seemed the marriage would happen by force.
Then he said:
'You must stay here and suppress this monster!'"
She paused.
"He was pointing at his son, who looked at us with sorrowful tears before quickly running away."
Her writing slowed.
"Shion's mother was merely a maid incapable of protecting her son.
I do not know whether I felt pity or sympathy toward Shion at that moment, but after seeing that child… I made one of the worst decisions of my life."
She wrote the final line slowly:
"I said:
'Fine. I will marry you.'"
Then she continued writing more rapidly.
"At first, I took care of Shion and his mother and protected them from the father's violence.
Things continued this way until… I saw someone in my dreams who resembled Shion."