A FEW MINUTES PRIOR...
Cecelia sat on the ground, clutching her head in her arms.
After she’d mustered enough strength to pull herself back up, she practically curled herself into a ball.
’Why did I say all of that...’
Despite furiously lashing out at Blaine not too long ago, she began to regret her prior actions after taking a few monts to let her raging emotions cool off.
’He went through so much for my sake, yet I treated him like that. I’m horrible.’
Having gone through hell the past few days, Cecelia’s already tense nerves had finally snapped, and it just so happened that Blaine ended up being the target of her pent-up aggression.
The hunger and exhaustion didn’t help her ntal state either.
’Perhaps... It’s better if I die here... At least that way, he’d have a better chance of making it out alive.’
She was nothing more than deadweight, just like always...
If that was the case, she might as well do sothing useful for once.
Peeking her head above her arms, she threw Blaine a complicated look.
They didn’t have much history together, having only properly interacted once before this mission. Still, her first impression of him was the worst.
However, in hindsight... A large portion of it was her own fault.
Cecelia was soone who was always desperate to prove herself for various reasons.
While she wasn’t too talented with the art of combat, her ingenuity as a scientist was one of the few things she could genuinely be proud of.
Due to this, she often got absorbed in her research to the point that she began to skip als and even sleep and easily lost track of ti in the lab.
She would be so engrossed in work that she completely forgot about prior ti commitnts.
On one such occasion, it just so happened that she didn’t show up for an important eting.
Naturally, as the princess of the Clairmont Kingdom, she had her royal duties to balance on top of her hobby.
While she was careful to avoid skipping out on her actual work, this ti, she was on the verge of a massive breakthrough with her invention.
Being too thoroughly engrossed in her work, she neglected to attend a eting with her father, Sir Alford, and... Blaine.
Since the two didn’t interact growing up, their parents decided that it was about ti they at least t.
After all... Blaine was going to be in charge of her safety in the future.
The Lionheart family had sworn themselves to the Royal family’s protection for generations. As such, each Lionheart was tasked with protecting a specific mber of Cecelia’s family.
For example, in the past, Blaine’s mother, Rosalyn Lionheart, was the bodyguard of the current King, Reynold Clairmont. However, after Alford married into the Lionheart family, protecting the King beca his task, while Rosalyn tended to the queen instead.
This was taken so seriously that the head of the Lionheart clan would intentionally sire children at the sa ti as the King.
While one might think this was taking things a little too far, it was essential for the safety of the young princes and princesses.
Naturally, this was because of the ’Trials of the Gods.’
People of a higher rank couldn’t accompany lower-ranked people during their trials, so normal humans couldn’t just ask a 1-Star or a 2-Star to clear their trial.
While it was impossible to rely on stronger people, Trials are known to be progressively easier if accompanied by teammates, up to a maximum of ten challengers.
Any more than that, the group would be forcibly broken up into separate trials.
However, sotis, the worst threat isn’t the sword aid at your front but the knife aid at your back.
Betrayals were quite common in trials, and no one could keep track.
People wouldn’t just self-report their cris after all.
Since not undergoing the trials wasn’t really an option, the Royal Family naturally needed a workaround.
Their solution was none other than Blaine’s family.
If they could at least have soone they could wholeheartedly trust, their trial would be exponentially easier.
While Blaine broke tradition and did his first trial without Cecelia, they were expected to at least do their second one together.
As such, they needed to build a connection and then forge it into a bond of trust.
While it was a good idea, unfortunately, one of the two people didn’t even show up.
Since arranging another eting would be too much trouble, the King tasked Blaine with fetching Cecelia instead.
If the two would et anyway, sending Blaine to bring her would be better.
Unfortunately... This proved to be a terrible decision.
As Blaine made his way to the science wing, the fire alarms happened to go off.
Springing into action, Blaine went to the room where Cecelia was supposed to work.
Just as he made his way in, he was greeted by the sight of Cecelia and Mavis trying to fiddle with a fire extinguisher while a desk was up in flas.
Before the two could react, he dashed, grabbed both of them and pulled them out of the room.
Without wasting a mont, he took both of them and ran all the way to the fire escape.
By the ti they could process what exactly had happened, they were already outside.
For soone carrying two girls in his arms, Blaine was able to run surprisingly fast.
However, this ti, his nigh-superhuman strength was his undoing.
If he had been any slower, the two ladies would have been able to stop him, but unfortunately for them, Blaine was far too fast.
And that’s where the troubles began...
Since Blaine had evacuated both of them, neither could prevent the spread of the fire.
By the ti the firefighters arrived on the scene, the fire had already consud countless papers and precious prototypes, sending their research back by entire weeks.
While Blaine’s intentions were noble, had he left the two there or tried to put out the fire himself, their hard work wouldn’t have gone up in flas.
After this incident, Cecelia began to feel distaste towards the auburn-haired youth.
After being constantly compared to Blaine her whole life, the man himself had personally co to ruin the only thing she could take pride in.
How could she hope to look at him positively?
However, she had evidently let her emotions cloud her better judgent.
Both tis, he had only acted in her best interest, for whatever reason he might have.
Furthermore... He didn’t abandon her, even when his life was in danger.
As she rembered his bloody and battered body, Cecelia felt a sharp pain in her heart.
After what he did for her, lashing out and taking her anger out on him wasn’t right.
’I should apologize... Properly.’
As she thought this, Cecelia was about to get up to her feet but stopped midway through.
Her eyes widened in shock and disbelief as she watched Blaine.
’Did he just ’fish’ out an ten-foot-tall Unknown?!?’
Suddenly... Cecelia lost all desire to earn the boy’s forgiveness.
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