ARC II — A New Life
Two springs passed.
The willow tree in the inner garden had grown taller, its branches now brushing the stone wall like quiet fingers.
Time moved strangely in this world.
Slow… and yet suffocatingly fast.
In these monotonous days, the only thing that gave color to my existence was the voice of my nanny.
Her stories.
Five hundred years ago, she said, when the sky cracked open in pillars of divine radiance, the Apostles of God descended upon Athelgard.
More than one.
They were chosen.
Blessed.
Summoned to end the tyranny of the Demon King.
They brought peace.
They brought order.
And under the guidance of the Divine Light, the world stabilized once more.
Athelgard was divided into three great realms:
The Land.
The Sea.
And the Floating island above the clouds.
Each possessed its own Emperor.
The Land — known as Valtherion — stood as the heart of civilization.
It was divided into Five Grand Dominions, each governed by a Grand Duke from one of the ancient noble houses, all sworn to the Imperial House beneath the Emperor.our family is also one of them.
Beyond these territories lay mixed-race provinces, forbidden forests where demonic beasts prowled, and lands even the Empire dared not claim.
That was the story.
But stories always felt… cleaner than reality.
As usual, I sat by the window with my untouched breakfast.
The estate was unusually noisy today.
Boots.
Voices.
Metal shifting against armor.
Something had disturbed the mansion's calm.
Clack. Clack.
The door opened.
A soldier stepped in, scanning the room sharply.
"Pardon my intrusion, Young Master. I have been ordered to guard you. An intruder has breached the estate and was last seen heading this direction."
So that's it.
His tone lacked refinement. More focused on duty than courtesy.
"Very well," I replied.
He stepped outside. The door closed.
Moments later, a maid entered.
"Good morning, Young Master. I have come to prepare your breakfast."
I frowned.
"I haven't seen you before."
She smiled gently and nodded.
Something felt wrong.
I have already The breakfast on my table…
Dhamm.
A falling noise outside.
"Young Master," she asked sweetly, "would you prefer sweet or sour today?"
Her smile didn't reach her eyes.
"…Are you the intruder?"
She tilted her head.
"Oh my. So pretending won't work anymore."
My fingers slowly moved toward the small knife near the plate.
"Why are you here?" I asked.
"Why?" she hummed. "Your existence has become… inconvenient. There are powerful people who dislike unpredictability."
She stepped closer.
"You understand what that means, don't you?"
Assassin.
"As this is our final meeting," she said softly, "do you have any last wish?"
"Can you not kill me?"
She laughed lightly.
"No. I was paid. And my organization does not tolerate failure. But… I can make it quick."
I lunged.
Pain exploded through my wrist.
Crack.
She had broken it instantly.
"You don't even form magic circles properly," she sighed.
A kick slammed me into the wall. My vision blurred.
Heat gathered in her palm.
Fire magic.
So this is it.
Am I going to die again?
"Goodbye, Young Master."
She thrust her hand forward—
"Frozen Horizon."
There was no flash.
No visible strike.
The air simply… split.
Her body divided cleanly in two.
Frost bloomed along the severed edge, crystallizing midair.
Silence.
Behind her fallen corpse stood a young man.
He looked to be in his early twenties — perhaps twenty-three or twenty-four. Well-dressed, composed, his posture relaxed but steady. There was nothing exaggerated about him, yet the air around him felt controlled.
I hadn't sensed him enter.
He glanced briefly at the frozen corpse before turning his attention to me.
"Nice to meet you, Little nephew."
He approached calmly.
"Are you injured?"
He gently took my broken wrist, poured a clear liquid over it, and murmured a short incantation. The pain disappeared almost instantly.
Efficient.
Precise.
"My apologies," he said lightly. "I intended to introduce myself under better circumstances."
He straightened and gave a small smile.
"Allow me to correct that."
He placed a hand over his chest.
"Averion Myravel."
"Your cool and rather handsome uncle."
He glanced at the frozen corpse.
"…It seems I arrived just in time."