The sound of soft, silk fabric dragging against the marble floor broke their conversation. The fifteen-year-old girl stepped back into the hallway, having changed into a loose, flowing crimson night dress.
"Oh, sorry," she said, her voice dropping into a smooth, elegant cadence as she adjusted her hair. "I completely forgot to properly introduce myself to my guests. My name is Seraphina."
She paused mid-sentence, her breath catching in her throat as her eyes locked onto Leonhart's newly unsealed face. Her gaze darted between the two boys, her composure completely shattering. "Wait... a second ago you were... You're Leonhart, right? How did you turn so incredibly handsome in the span of two minutes?!"
Leonhart simply crossed his arms, his tone entirely casual. "I just removed my mask. That's all."
"No way..." Seraphina whispered, her cheeks flushing a deep pink as she stared at his masculine features. She quickly pulled a heavy bronze key from her robe and extended it toward him. "You... you look completely different. Here, take the master key to the adjacent wing. You can even search my person if you think I am hiding any weapons or traps."
Kairo stepped between them, his ice-cold diplomatic tone cutting through the tension. "No, thank you. We trust your current alignment. Let's just head to the room as you originally intended."
Seraphina blinked, slightly taken aback by Kairo's detachment. Gathering herself, she lifted the edge of her embroidered frock in a traditional gesture of high-born honor, turning on her heel to guide them down the grand hallway. Kairo and Leonhart followed a single pace behind, their eyes meticulously tracking every shadow, every decorative curtain, and every shift in her posture, keeping their guard up for any immediate sign of betrayal.
They reached the guest suite, and Seraphina stepped inside, immediately pulling the heavy oak door shut behind them.
CLICK.
The sound of the lock turning echoed sharply in the silent room. Kairo's hand instinctively drifted toward his concealed mana channel. Did she just lock us in from the outside? he thought, his muscles tensing.
But as he turned, he realized she was still standing inside the room with them. She had locked the door from the inside. A soft, beautifully feminine smile spread across her face as she looked at their defensive stances. "Yeah... I know you're judging my every move."
Leonhart exhaled, slowly relaxing his shoulders as he realized there was no immediate threat. "Our apologies for the misunderstanding, young lady," he said, taking a step forward to clear the doorway.
Seraphina's blush deepened instantly. She took a half-step back against the locked door, her hands pressing against the wood. "Hey... don't get too close to me like that. Unless... you know, unless you actually want my body."
Leonhart and Kairo exchanged a look of pure, unadulterated confusion. Their disciplined, combat-focused upbringing in the Land of Harmony had left them completely blank on the concept.
"What's the actual utility of your body?" Kairo asked, his voice entirely clinical as if analyzing a blueprint. "How is that supposed to help us destroy the central palace?"
Seraphina stared at them for three seconds, completely dumbfounded by their innocence, before she burst into a quiet, amused giggle. "Oh, wow... you two really are just warrior kids, aren't you? They don't teach you anything about that in the outer training sectors, huh?" She shook her head, a tired but gentle expression returning to her face. "But sorry... I've worked way too hard managing the estate logistics today, so I'll explain the mechanics to you next time. For tonight, I will take the sofa. You both can sleep on the floor."
Kairo and Leonhart let out a synchronized breath of relief. "Ok. If you say so."
Seraphina walked over to a cedar chest, pulling out a thick, heavily padded cotton mattress. She tossed it onto the polished floorboards. "Don't worry. It's completely cleaned."
"Hmm. Thank you," Kairo replied.
The two twelve-year-olds laid the mattress flat against the floorboards near the corner of the room, furthest from the windows. They lay down side by side, closing their eyes as their heavy physical fatigue from the three-hour sprint and the lake excavation finally caught up to their bodies.
From the sofa across the room, Seraphina looked over the edge of the cushions, watching their steady breathing. A small, quiet giggle escaped her lips. They really are just kids... younger than me, she thought, her eyes softening as she pulled her blanket up to her chin. Well... I could have gained a massive fortune by turning them over to the guards, but I personally think these two deserve a real shot at tearing this place down. Sweet dreams, little elites.
She closed her eyes, her breathing soon shifting into the deep, rhythmic pattern of sleep.
But Kairo's eyes didn't remain closed for long.
Beneath the covers, his face was set in a cold, rigid expression of absolute vigilance. He was acting completely asleep, but his consciousness was wide awake, keeping a thread of active mana running. Deep within the walls and beneath the floorboards of the grand estate, a network of microscopic mud clones was already deployed, systematically surveying every single entrance, window frame, and corridor of the house to ensure that if a single soldier or tracker crossed the perimeter, the trap would trigger instantly.
As the midnight fog thickened outside the frosted glass windows, the air inside the guest suite grew deceptively heavy. Kairo's eyes, which had been tracking the subtle seismic vibrations of his subterranean mud clones, suddenly grew intensely unfocused.
A wave of severe, unnatural dizziness crashed over his central nervous system, blurring the corners of the room into a hazy smear of gold and crimson.
"Uhh..." Kairo groaned, his hand pressing hard against his temple as his internal monologue slowed to a crawl. "I feel like my entire mana pool and body are completely drained..."
Beside him, Leonhart let out a ragged, uncoordinated breath, his heavy shoulders slumping sideways into the padded cotton. "Uhh... I don't know, man. I don't know what's happening... It seems like... well, just sleep already..."
Across the room, Seraphina sat up slightly on the sofa, her dark eyes reflecting the dim amber glow of the single lantern. A soft, knowing smile spread across her beautiful features as she looked down at the prince's struggling form. "My, my," she murmured, her voice a soothing, liquid whisper that seemed to echo inside Kairo's skull. "You are a prince, aren't you? And yet you've slept like..."
As Kairo's consciousness began to violently fracture, slipping rapidly into the dark void of involuntary slumber, a cold, desperate realization sparked in his remaining thoughts. Here we go again... his mind whispered in the dark. I fell straight into a trap...
Through the thick veil of his closing eyelids, the final image he processed was Seraphina looking directly at him through the gloom, her expression entirely calm. "Yeah," she whispered softly into the quiet room. "You shouldn't have done that."
When Kairo's eyes snapped open, the oppressive, heavy weight from the night before had completely vanished. Brilliant, crisp morning sunlight was streaming through the heavy curtains, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air.
He instantly rolled into a defensive crouch, his fingers pulsing with mana as he scanned the room.
Seraphina was sitting directly against the far wall near the locked door, her knees pulled tight to her chest, her eyes closed in a light, exhausted doze. She hadn't stayed on the comfortable sofa; she had spent the entire night sitting on the cold floorboards right by the entrance.
Kairo stood up, his footsteps making zero sound as his passive skills muffled his stride. He walked straight toward her, his expression unreadable. "Sera. Wake up."
Seraphina's eyes fluttered open, her gaze taking a moment to clear before she looked up at him with a tired, faint smile. "Sera, huh? That's actually a pretty good nickname."
Behind them, the blankets rustled violently as Leonhart vaulted upright, his hand instinctively reaching for his non-existent broadsword. He looked at the bright sunlight, then at Kairo, his jaw dropping in utter disbelief. "Wait... did we just sleep through the entire night? We didn't even switch places on guard duty!"
Kairo didn't answer him. He kept his eyes locked onto the girl sitting against the wall. "Thank you, Sera," he said, his voice dropping into a steady, measured register. "To be completely honest, I spent the last few hours thinking you were going to betray us to the perimeter guards. But I guess I was just bluffing myself."
Seraphina let out a soft, weary chuckle, rubbing her tired eyes as she stood up, smoothing down her crimson night dress. "Hey, hey, it's completely fine. I know exactly what kind of situation you're in. You're operating deep inside an enemy land, experiencing life-or-death scenarios at every turn. No wonder you're going to be incredibly wary of me. But from now on, to ensure your safety in the streets, I will tell everyone you are my brothers."
Kairo's brow furrowed slightly. "Will the district officers actually buy that story?"
"Well, our people routinely have hundreds of children across the estates," Sera explained, walking over to the window to check the street rotation. "And since I am technically the King's daughter, even I don't get that much personal recognition or scrutiny from the lower tiers. But because of your newly unsealed beauty, the common soldiers might actually mistake you for the King's direct chosen bloodline. Just be extremely careful—only act that way around normal patrols. The moment you see elite soldiers or my other brothers, you must immediately shift your behavior and act as if you are low-ranking elite guards."
Kairo and Leonhart nodded in perfect, silent unison.
Leonhart watched her pass them a fresh flask of water, his simple, honorable warrior mind completely re-evaluating her worth. She had every single opportunity to hand us over while we were completely incapacitated, he thought, his grip tightening around the flask with a surge of profound gratitude. Instead, she actively chose to protect us. A true warrior values actions infinitely more than words. His trust in her, which had been practically non-existent, solidified into a firm, reliable anchor.
Kairo, however, remained deeply suspicious. His hyper-analytical brain was constantly looping the data: Why? No one in a territory built on pure malice helps complete strangers without a structural reason.
Yet, as he ran the numbers, several hard facts bothered his deductions. Fact one: She locked herself inside the room with us. If a high-tier patrol had breached the house, she would be executed as an equal conspirator. Fact two: She gave us the safest, most reinforced corner of the room to sleep in. Fact three: She gained absolutely zero material wealth or leverage by keeping us alive through the night.
Either she is incredibly foolish... Kairo concluded coldly, or she is entirely sincere. He chose to trust her—but only within a strictly defined parameter. I'll trust her for now. But secretly... if she ever steps out of line or tries to betray Leonhart, I will personally ensure she doesn't survive the night.
Leonhart stepped forward, looking down at Sera's pale, fatigued face. "Why didn't you sleep on the sofa? Why were you sitting by the door the entire time?"
Sera offered a faint, resilient smile, her voice quiet. "If the tracking squads or the inquisitors actually managed to bypass the perimeter arrays and came for the house... someone had to be awake to shake you out of that slumber."
The sacrifice hit both boys instantly. The sheer contrast of her spending the night on the hard floor while they rested on a clean mattress shattered their remaining hostility. They were all criminals in the eyes of the regime now; the shared risk bound them to the same operational fate.
Kairo leaned his shoulder against the cedar chest, his sharp eyes narrowing as he analyzed her physical tells. People can easily construct lies with elegant words, he thought, tracking the slight tremor of exhaustion in her hands, her complete lack of autonomic fear, and the total absence of greed in her aura. But the physical body always reveals the absolute truth.
"Understood," Kairo said aloud, his voice turning crisp as he adjusted his civilian tunic. "Let's get to work."