Under the dim glow of the moonlight, shadows danced along the walls.
Tap.
A faint silhouette leapt over the wall—sothing that would have gone unnoticed if not for the pale silver light.
The figure moved with incredible stealth, not making so much as a whisper, ensuring that no one would detect its presence.
However—
“Who goes there?!”
Unfortunately, luck was not on their side.
The figure had been spotted by a patrolling guard nearby.
“Ugh, great. I’m going to get scolded by him again.”
“A woman?!”
The lone guard, whose partner had stepped away to inspect another area, froze in shock.
The voice he heard was that of a young woman—perhaps even a girl.
But—
‘That doesn’t matter! An assassin? Soone dared to sneak into the Imperial Palace!’
Crom, a mber of the Imperial Guard, gripped his spear even tighter.
He didn’t know how this intruder had bypassed the palace’s security barriers, but he was certain of one thing—she hadn’t co with good intentions.
He resolved to stop her at all costs, even if it ant risking his life.
‘For His Majesty, the Emperor.’
Crom had been appointed to the Imperial Guard this year, but he had long since vowed to lay down his life for the emperor.
Ten years ago, he had fought in the battle against the Abyssal Cult, an evil sect of dark mages that had threatened the Empire.
Back then, Crom had been recruited as a provincial guard due to his size, but he ended up fighting alongside Crown Prince Alex against the cult’s monstrous sandworms.
At the ti, Crom had been inexperienced and cowardly, nearly losing his life when one of the creatures attacked him.
‘It’s alright. Don’t worry anymore.’
Crom still rembered how Crown Prince Alex had sacrificed his own arm to protect him.
From that mont on, Crom swore to dedicate his life to serving Alex.
He trained relentlessly, improving his swordsmanship until he earned a spot among the elite Imperial Guards.
Though he had yet to et Alex face-to-face since his coronation, that didn’t matter to Crom.
Protecting the emperor was his sole purpose.
“Can’t you just let pass?”
“Don’t be ridiculous! This is the residence of His Majesty, the Emperor. No intruder is allowed to set foot here!”
Crom knew reinforcents would arrive soon.
For now, he just needed to stall the intruder.
With practiced skill, he leveled his spear and lunged at her, aiming to pin her down.
But—
Whoosh!
‘What?! She disappeared!’
To Crom’s eyes, it seed as though the intruder had vanished into thin air.
And then—
Thud.
Before he even realized what had happened, she was already behind him.
With a swift chop to the neck, she knocked him unconscious.
“Hah, my old man sure is popular.”
The intruder smirked as she looked down at the unconscious Crom.
*****
“Ada, how many tis have I told you to use the palace’s front entrance?”
“Ugh, it’s too much of a hassle when people recognize .”
“You haven’t changed a bit since you were a child.”
Alex, the Emperor of the Empire, couldn’t help but laugh at the sight before him.
Ada lounged in his chamber as if she owned the place, casually draping her arms over the armrests.
Realistically speaking, there was probably no one else in the entire Empire who could act so freely in the emperor’s presence.
“And by the way, your brother keeps begging to tie you up and keep you under lock and key. Care to explain?”
“My brother? Oh! It’s probably because of that incident the other day.”
“Incident?”
Alex flinched.
At 18 years old, what kind of trouble could she have possibly caused?
Then again, considering she had just committed trespassing into the Imperial Palace, it was clear he couldn’t afford to underestimate her.
“By the way, you’re pretty popular, you know?”
“…What’s that supposed to an?”
“Well! That guard I ran into earlier—”
Beaming with excitent, Ada repeated the exact words the guard had said.
“Hah. That’s good to hear.”
“Right?”
“It would’ve been even better if you hadn’t knocked him unconscious.”
“Let’s not sweat the small stuff, Uncle!”
Alex could hardly believe his ears.
‘Who else would treat the Imperial Palace like a playground?’
Whether it was sneaking into the palace storeroom to raid the elixirs or pestering him for snacks, Ada’s antics had beco infamous among the guards.
In fact, rumors had begun circulating among the Imperial Guards:
‘Beware the blonde girl.’
The guard she knocked out today was probably new.
Veteran guards had learned to look the other way whenever Ada showed up.
“Do you think Andre’s asleep?”
“Probably.”
“I wanted to see him before I left. What a sha.”
“He’d be terrified if he heard that.”
Alex’s words made Ada whistle nonchalantly, feigning innocence.
Andre, the crown prince and Alex’s son with the Empress, was now eight years old.
‘I can’t believe this kid is my nephew!’
Ada absolutely adored Andre.
Having been the youngest in her family, she was overjoyed to finally have soone she could dote on.
However—
‘Waaaah!’
‘Why is this kid so scared of everything?’
Ada’s playful nature often went a bit too far, turning her into an object of terror for Andre.
Once, she had dragged him to the rooftop of the Imperial Palace, claiming she’d show him a magnificent view—only for Andre to burst into tears out of fear.
“I brought a present for Andre this ti, so make sure you give it to him.”
“A present?”
“Yup! And it’s super rare!”
Hearing Ada’s declaration, Alex imdiately grew wary and carefully examined the so-called gift.
‘Last ti, it was that golden beetle.’
Ada had a talent for finding and bringing back strange objects, giving Alex more than one heart-stopping mont.
The golden beetle had been harmless enough, but there was also the ti she had brought back a suspicious-looking egg.
He’d left it alone as a decoration, only to regret it later.
‘Your Majesty, dozens of bizarre frogs have hatched from the egg….’
“ADA!!!”
Alex had nearly fainted when his room was overrun by frogs.
So, it was no surprise that he was extra cautious about any “gift” Ada presented. He opened the package carefully, half-expecting another disaster.
“A fruit?”
“Yep! I felt this incredible energy coming from a tree, so I went to check it out. And there was this bird breathing fire!”
“Wait, a bird that breathes fire?!”
“Yeah! I really wanted to catch it, but then I saw it had chicks. I was about to leave when it brought this fruit from the tree.”
Listening to Ada’s story, Alex felt his breath catch.
‘Could it be… the Fruit of Life?’
Legend spoke of a fruit that granted near-immortality to those who ate it—a treasure so rare that most people considered it a myth.
The fruit was said to grow on the Tree of Life, guarded by a phoenix.
Phoenixes were as legendary as dragons, and tales warned that they would reduce anyone with impure intentions to ashes in an instant.
The idea that Ada had even considered catching such a creature was absurd enough.
But the fact that the phoenix had willingly gifted her the fruit?
‘Only soone completely free of greed could obtain such a treasure?’
Alex stared at Ada, who was still excitedly recounting her adventure.
She was the only person who still called him “Uncle” even after he beca emperor.
No matter how much his life had changed, Ada remained the one person who treated him the sa as she always had.
In her presence, Alex could forget the burdens of ruling and simply relax.
Without Ada, he might have still been the reckless fool he once was.
“By the way, where’s Raschu? Didn’t he co with you?”
Rembering Ada’s ever-present companion, Alex found it odd that Raschu wasn’t at her side.
“Raschu? That guy’s completely lovestruck these days.”
“…What?”
“He refuses to leave the rmaid Kingdom.”
Ada explained how Raschu had fallen head over heels for a rmaid princess after their recent visit to the underwater kingdom.
Thanks to Ada’s guidance, Raschu had mastered the power of the Blue Flower and could now transform into human form at will.
But ever since their trip, Raschu had been hopelessly smitten.
‘The rmaid Kingdom… They were once thought to be a legend.’
Alex recalled the events of a few years prior, when the Empire had formally established relations with the rfolk.
“We wish to et the author of this book.”
The appearance of rfolk in the Empire had been shocking enough.
But instead of re curiosity, they had co as envoys to deliver an official request.
And the book they carried?
It was none other than Rupert’s The Little rmaid.
As it turned out, the book Ada had gifted to the rmaid had paved the way for diplomatic ties between the Empire and the rmaid Kingdom.
And that wasn’t the only breakthrough.
Thanks to Krune’s efforts as Sorset’s workshop master, the Empire had also established relations with the Dwarf Kingdom.
anwhile, Rupert’s older brother Richard—who had married an elf—had helped reopen communication with the elves.
Now, seeing different races in the Empire had beco commonplace.
A string of events once thought impossible had unfolded one after another.
“Oh, right! I saw my brother!”
“Your brother? Wait… you an—”
“Yep! I ran into Edric during my travels.”
Hearing that na, Alex imdiately shot to his feet, startled.
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