“You did what?” Xander was surprised when Sera came home with their father’s knights. He had been looking for her all day yesterday but she just went back that day and he was welcomed by a surprise that she had been investigating and that she raided the auction house from yesterday until this morning.
“Papa allowed me this time, brother,” Sera said proudly. “I did my task in the name of Duke Fiore.”
Xander let out a sigh of disbelief. His sister who was supposed to be preparing for her coming-of-age ball today raided a hide-out of a big criminal organization instead. Sometimes he was wondering if they raised her right or they pampered her too much?
“So how did it go?” Xander asked as he raised his brow.
He wanted to hear how Sera’s first mission went. Though she hasn’t officially debuted, she was already knighted when she turned sixteen so she was officially allowed to go on missions. They
Sera was sitting idly in front of the mirror, her face was filled with boredom and her mind wandering somewhere, as Mary was prepping her for the Ball. She had gotten used to the luxurious dress that the duchess asked to be custom-made for her and to the overly expensive jewelry that adorned her.It was the coming-of-age ball but she couldn't find herself to be excited. How could she? After all the lives that were lost because of her.Though she knew that she wasn't in the wrong, she couldn't stop herself from being guilty. Why did such people have to be so cruel? If they could just change after a small talk, then knights like her wouldn't have to kill anyone.Now she was realizing how heavy the weight of her rank was. The sword wasn't just heavy because of the blade but also because of the lives it carried and the blood that was spilled from it.Would she even get used to it completely?Mary backed off as soon as she was finished with her hair. Sh
"Lady Sera!" The princess waved her hand excitedly at her as soon as she saw her. "It's also nice to see you here, Lady Hailey.""It's my honor, Your Highness." Hailey bowed politely."You being so stiff around me reminded me of Lady Sera when we were younger." Eli laughed softly as she dragged the two to her table."The two of you seemed quite close, Your Highness," Hailey commented after they were all seated."Of course!" Eli said proudly. "The two of us were playmates and study mates. She is also my one and only friend!"Sera felt something warm tugged her heart after hearing Eli. She knew that she was her only friend knowing her picky personality. Somehow she felt lucky because the princess thought of her that way, but she was also annoyed sometimes because she was always in between her and her brother when they would always bicker about her."You can also be Princess Eli's friend, Lady Hailey." Sera smiled at the young lady who seemed t
"My ears suddenly felt itchy, now I know the reason why."Sera's eyes grew wide when she heard a familiar voice. Though they only had a few exchanges, she could remember his voice because he caught her attention back in the auction. What was he doing there?She looked in the direction of the voice's owner and she couldn't believe her eyes. It was the same dirty blond hair and sparkling blue eyes. He had a warm and friendly smile that would make any girl's heart flutter added by his approachable vibes, no wonder girls blushed while talking about him."Greetings, Your Highness. I am the second son of House Gale, Tyrone von Gale." Tyrone bowed his head politely."It's nice to meet you, Lord Tyrone. I apologize that this is my first time hearing from you, so I don't know you," Eli said with a dignified tone."No worries, Your Highness." Tyrone smiled and his gaze landed on her. It was my fault that I didn't choose to visit my hometown during my breaks.
“Lady Sera, is it true that you are going to learn magic from Lady Hailey?” Eli said as soon as Sera arrived in the palace. That day was meant for Eli and Sera’s history lessons under Countess Igor’s teachings.“Yes, Your Highness. She checked my mana aptitude during the ball and she told me that I’m capable of using magic with my mana.” Sera smiled excitedly.Though she was troubled by the gifts that the deity bestowed upon her, she was also excited to learn something different. She loved the sword but she thought that maybe she would grow stronger if she could wield both at the same time.A magic swordsman. Xander already introduced the idea to her when she was younger, but after the mana overflow when she was kidnapped, she wasn’t allowed to use more mana than she had to. She was also banned from using mana unless needed so she ended up not knowing about her magic abilities.She was aware that her family
"You're training again, Sera?" The duke asked his daughter who was still inside the training grounds in the middle of the night.It had been months since he allowed her to study magic and Hailey updated her that she was learning fast. Though Sera had always been a fast learner, he was proud. Who wouldn’t be proud when all his children exceeded his expectations?"Papa, why are you here?" Sera smiled when the duke put his coat on her shoulder."I just thought that I'd check on you before going to sleep but you're not in your room." He held his daughter's hand and led her back to the manor. "It's cold out here so we better go back before you get sick.""Can't I train a little more?" Sera felt as if she was about to break through with her mana core so she didn't want to stop yet."Aren't you overdoing it?" The duke sounded serious so Sera went silent.No matter how much she wanted to learn faster, she still had to take care of her health.
"I heard that you broke through again?" Rupert asked in the middle of their spar.The clashing sounds of their swords were loud so Rupert had to yell for them to understand each other. Because of that, Rupert's words reached the ears of the other knights.They looked at their young lady with awe and admiration written on their faces. They watched her train and engraved her form and postures in their mind."Do you really have to announce it?" Sera blocked Rupert's sword and kicked him on the knee but the latter immediately stepped backward to dodge her."I'm just proud." Now it was Rupert who blocked Sera's sword. "You're so good, so why are you focusing on healing magic?"Sera rolled her eyes and stepped back. "I hurt people with my sword, so I'll heal people with my magic.""But you can be a magic swordsman if you want!" Rupert said with a regretful tone as he attacked Sera again."It's not like I pushed aside the idea, okay?" Sera l
“Your grace!” the maid forgot to knock and just barged in the duke’s office. “The duchess and the lady…”The girl was panting when she said those words. The sons were also in the duke’s office so they were surprised by the sudden urgency from the maid.“What happened to them?” The duke was wide-eyed as he felt a touch of nervousness in his heart.“The tea… poisoned…” The girl said in between her ragged breathing.“Poisoned?” The men all stood up and left the office to go to the pavilion where the two were supposed to be having tea.The duke had his fists clenched as he ran towards the direction where his wife and daughter were. Behind were his sons who were also nervous about the condition of their mother and sister.“Steph, Sera!” Alejandro shouted when he saw the two lying on the floor. “Sera!”The light on Sera&rsquo
“Lady Sera was what?” The crown prince stood up when he heard what his sister had to say. He was surprised that she just barged into his office while crying, but he didn’t expect what he heard.A Fiore who had a strong immunity to small doses of poison was unconscious because of poisoning? And of all people, why did it have to be her?Ric lifted his head and closed his eyes. He slowly clenched his fist when he imagined Sera’s unconscious body lying on the bed.“Who did it?” Ric asked calmly but his tone was serious.“They still don’t know. They were stuck when the maid who poisoned her burned all her things and killed herself in the end,” Eli said while crying. “My poor friend. She’s so kind yet people always try to harm her!”Alaric bit his lips. Though the duke wouldn’t let it end like that, it would be hard for him to trace who the mastermind was.“Eli, ca
“Sera, it’s time to go home,” the duchess called for her daughter who stood in front of the big tree in the middle of the ranch.“I’ll be leaving now, Tyrone. Wish me luck and I hope that you’re not jealous up there.” Sera giggled as she stood up and waved the tree goodbye. She walked towards the carriage and smiled when her mother hugged her tight.“That would be the last time that you’ll get to visit him, right?” Stephanie asked her daughter. She thought that she would be crying like she usually did, but she faced her with a warm and gentle smile.“I could still visit him from time to time, but I don’t think it would be as often as I did before.” Sera let out a sigh.“You’re lucky that your husband is not a jealous man.” Stephanie laughed as she let her daughter lean her head on her.“I’m not yet married to him.” Sera blushed so she h
The three of them ran towards the stable and mounted three horses. Since the assassins seemed to be endless, they needed a safe place to go. Tyrone was sure that the marquis wouldn’t hide his attacks anymore because he was caught and he was threatened not just by his own son but also by the Fiores.Xander was in the front while Tyrone chose to be on the tail so that they could both protect Sera. They spent almost half an hour riding their horses back to the duke’s estate but the assassins kept on chasing them.Just when they were just half a kilometer away from the estate, an assassin shot Xander with an arrow.“Brother!” Sera went down her horse to help her brother who fell from his horse. She looked at the bleeding wound and took a deep breath.“Don’t you dare heal me, Sera!” Xander said in a serious tone. He remembered that magicians only transfer the poison to their bodies every time they heal poisoned victims
“Sera…” Tyrone called her with a pleading tone. He tried to look to her eyes but she wasn’t looking his way. Though he was hidden, he saw her tremble a little.Though she heard him, Sera didn’t want to listen. Was it all a ploy to lure her out? She shouldn’t have followed her useless emotions!“Don’t you dare call her name with that filthy mouth of yours!” He really wanted to cut his neck at that moment but he restrained himself. He didn’t want to break Sera’s heart out of his anger.“Sera… Please, listen to me.” He tried to take a step towards her but Sera took a step back as if she already closed her mind about him. She just said that she would trust him!But how could he trust her words? She knew that Sera went through a lot. She had a terrible trust issue and he was lucky that she trusted him. He should’ve told her earlier. He should’ve told her before Xa
After that, Alaric went back to the palace while the duke told his family – except for Sera – about what he heard. The three were enraged and the duchess had to stop them from killing Tyrone who was waiting for the duke to open the gates for him.How could he be so brazen to request an audience with their father? They entrusted their precious sister to him because they believed that Sera chose the right man but he was the one who almost brought her to her deathbed!Xander sat beside Sera and tucked a few strands of her hair to her ear. “Wake up now, will you?”He bit his lips. Though the priest said that she was out of critical condition, she still needed to be monitored. They were also instructed not to wake her up because her body needed to recover from the stress and the poison.“If not for Mother, I would have killed that bastard out there,” Andric said in gritted teeth. Did they have fun trying to lure Sera out of
“I finally found the evidence that the prisoner talked about, Your Imperial Highness.” Andrew gave his master the documents that he asked to take as evidence.Alaric smirked. “Did you say that this is from the House of Gale?”“Yes, Your Imperial Highness.”Alaric put down the documents and clenched his fist. How dare them? How could they send their son to seduce her and attempt to take her life from the shadows?“The lady has to know about this.” Alaric stood up and prepared himself to visit the Fiore Duchy.On the other hand, Tyrone stormed into his father’s office with clenched fists and gritted teeth.“My Lord, you shouldn’t do this!” The butler tried to stop him but he just pushed the old man away.“What is this commotion about, brother?” Tiana asked when she saw the fuming Tyrone being held back by his father’s knights.
Sera woke up the next day with a bright smile on her face. She was in a good mood because she would be having a date with Tyrone that day.“You seemed inspired today, My Lady.” Mary teased her.“Well, I’ll be out on a date today.” Sera giggled in excitement.“Then I should make you the loveliest girl in the empire today.” Mary laughed as she prepared her bath.“I don’t think I need that anymore,” Sera said confidently. “I bet I’m the loveliest in his eyes no matter how I look.”“I bet he’s just a blind man in love.” Andric entered his room and sat on her bed.“What are you doing here, brother?” Sera asked before she entered her bathroom.“I just went to check on you before my morning training.” Andric stood up and walked towards the door. “Sera, be careful always, okay?”“Don’t worry. I
Her brothers were worried when she went home that day. They thought that Sera wouldn’t have the courage to reject Prince William or that she would have no choice but to marry the crown prince instead. They were mad when they thought that it was a ploy of the emperor to marry her into the imperial family.That was why they were all shocked when Sera returned with a grin on her face.“What happened?” Xander asked with his left brow raised when he saw how happy Sera was.“I’m going on a date tomorrow.” Sera smiled and continued walking inside the manor.“You’re going on a date with the second prince? I thought Lord Tyrone was your lover?” Andrei exclaimed loudly that even the servants looked in their direction.“What are you talking about, brother?” Sera asked him in surprise. “Why would I go on a date with the His Highness William? Of course, I’ll go on a date with Tyrone!&
The duke sent a reply asking for permission to visit the palace instead of just simply sending a letter as an answer. When Sera’s brothers heard about the sudden proposal, they rambled about how the princess only saw Sera as a mere tool that would give them an advantage in their power struggle.Because of that, their view of Tyrone became better. They believed that Tyrone would treat Sera better than any other guy because he only saw her as her and not as the duke’s daughter.“You better give him a piece of your mind, Sera,” Andrei said with a gentle smile.“I think smacking his head would be better,” Xander suggested.“No, brothers. She just needed to tell them to stop bothering her and tear the proposal right in front of him,” Andric added.Sera laughed awkwardly. Just why were her brothers suggesting she do something that would send her to the palace dungeons?“Don’t mind your br
“We’re done!” Xander laughed as he laid himself on the grass. He hugged his sheathed sword and rolled around to go towards Sera.“Brother, why are you playing around?” Sera crouched down and messed her brother’s hair. “You’re not your usual mature self.“Give me a break from time to time, will you?” Xander chuckled as he closed his eyes, savoring the warm touch of his sister. “You’re grown up now so I could relax a little more.”Sera sat on the grass and moved Xander’s head on her lap. She didn’t know how to express her gratefulness towards the brother who gave her his time to teach her the sword. She knew it wasn’t an easy task knowing that he was also training with the sword and training as a successor.“Thank you, brother.” Sera smiled as she continued to brush his hair with her fingers.“Why are you thanking me suddenly?” Xand