“Yhness, if I may ask, did you e with your brothers?” Hestia asked respectfully, subtly ging the subjebsp;
“No, I came alone,” Amara responded, letting out a small sigh. “My brothers are busy dealing with the borders and the situation with the monsters… so they don’t have much time to focus on other things.”
Emily blinked, uo stop her curiosity from getting the better of her.
Since childhood, she had heard vague rumors about strange creatures and beings, but always thought they were just stories to scare children.
“Monsters?” Emily asked before she could stop herself. “Is it true that... they exist?”
The question seemed to surprise the princess, whht a hand to her mouth, suppressing a small ugh.
“So, there are still people who doubt their existence, huh? Well, it makes sense if you live around here...” Amara said with a hint of amusement ione. “I’m starting to uand the kind of person you are.”
Emily blushed slightly, feeling a bit childish uhe princess’s gaze, but she couldn’t help but listen ily.
Amara turned slightly to face her, her expression now more serious.
“Yes, monsters exist, just like demons and... even more dangerous creatures. Dragons, for example, inhabit the mountains to the north of the kingdom.”
Emily’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Dra-dragons?” she stammered, uo believe it. “Are you... are you serious?”
“Of course,” Amara responded naturally. “That’s why no kingdom has ever stopped its researprove its...” —she paused, searg for the right word— “bat and defeeiques.”
The expnatio Emily breathless.
Though she had heard the occasional story about mythical creatures and dark beings, she hought they were real, let alone so close.
Emily swallowed hard as her thoughts raced.
“Are they... dangerous?” Emily asked, trembling slightly.
The priilted her head with a mischievous smile.
“Do you expect creatures that act purely on instinct to have a versation with us?” she teased, waving her hand gracefully. “Monsters are as dangerous as the legends say, and they won’t hesitate to attack you if you run into them.”
Emily shuddered and quickly lowered her head.
“S-Sorry, I didn’t mean to ask silly questions...”
“Don’t worry,” Amara replied more kindly. “Curiosity isn’t a bad thing, especially when it es to uanding the world around you.”
Notig Emily’s disfort, Hestia intervened with a warm tone.
“Emily, you don’t have to worry. Right now, you’re in the safest p the entire kingdom,” she reassured her with a f smile. “The ter of the capital is well protected. There are many lines of defense and magical barriers, so monsters ’t get close. You’ll never have to face them.”
Emily rying to calm herself.
But deep down, the princess’s words still echoed in her mind.
How could something like that be real?
Princess Amara observed her in silence for a few moments, then, with an expression that mixed i and curiosity, leaned slightly toward her.
“Tell me, Emily... what is Non like?” she asked in a casual tohough her eyes reflected something more.
Emily blinked, surprised by the question, a a light blush form on her cheeks.
“Ah... he’s...” she paused, searg for the right words. “He’s pretty calm. He thinks things through before ag, and... he’s a really good teacher.”
Amara raised an eyebrow with i, but it was Hestia who leaned forward, intrigued.
“Teacher?” she asked softly. “Has he been teag you something, Emily?”
“Yes, wind magic,” Emily replied, a little excited, not notig the surprised expressions that formed on both the healer’s and the princess’s faces.
Hestia straightened up, her eyes wide.
“Are you serious?”
Emily nodded enthusiastically.
“Yes, he taught me some tricks to trol the wind and...”
But Amara interrupted her in a soft voibsp;
“Is... that Non’s main magibsp;
Emily paused to think.
Was wind magic his specialty?
Before she could answer, a distant thundercp rumbled, followed by a bright fsh that lit up the sky.
Emily jumped slightly in surprise, her hands trembling as she looked around.
Amara ughed gently.
“How cute you look like that,” she ented, her smile widening.
Emily blushed deeply and looked away, embarrassed.
“Thank you...” she murmured quietly.
However, the moment of calm tly shattered when the sound of steel echoed from the church courtyard.
The metallic g of swords reached their ears, followed by a choked scream.
“What’s happening?” excimed Hestia, turning toward the source of the noise.
Emily’s heart raced as she followed Hestia and the prioward the otion.
Rounding the er, they were met with a disturbing se.
A knight, wide-eyed and breathing heavily, held a sword covered in blood, while the body of another knight y on the ground, his chest pierced and a pool of blood f around him.
Emily’s stomach ed at the sight of the blood, a sudden wave of nausea causio step babsp;
The image of the fallen knight, his bnk eyes and sweat-covered face, left her frozen.
“What is happening here?” demahe princess in a firm voibsp;
A healer from the church staff, pale and visibly frightened, quickly stepped forward.
“That knight... ossessed by a demon,” he expined in a low but urgent tone.
Hestia frowned, but seeing the fusion on Emily’s face, she leaned in and spoke softly.
“Lately, we’ve seen more cases of people losing sciousness and being aggressive. It’s as if something is trolling them from within,” she murmured. “We call it ‘possession,’ but we still don’t kly what causes it.”
“And... what’s the source of all this?” Emily asked in a faint voibsp;
Hestia shook her head, her expression grim.
“We don’t know yet. But it seems to only affeights who spend a lot of time outside the walls, expl the wilderness. We believe it has something to do with some kind of corruption or... dark influehat follows them back. That’s why many e here to the church to heal, but it seems it was too te for him...”
Emily swallowed hard, feeling a knot iomabsp;
Then, a terrifying thought crossed her mind.
‘What if... all of this is my fault?’
If there was ohing that had apanied Emily throughout her life, it was her bad luck.
