The grand dining hall of the Rosenberg mansion was blanketed in a profound, heavy silence.
The massive crystal chandeliers cast a soft, ambient glow over the long obsidian table where Grand Duke Killian and Princess Evelyn were quietly eating their dinner.
The echoes of the day’s brutal battlefield had faded, leaving only the rhythmic sound of silver forks against fine porcelain.
Killian, his towering frame wrapped securely beneath layers of pristine white bandages under his dark silk tunic, set his glass down.
His midnight-blue eyes locked onto her pale, delicate face as he broke the silence, his voice deep and smooth.
“By the way…
do you possess no other members within your family?”
Evelyn paused, her fork hovering in the air as her amethyst eyes clouded with a sudden, private sorrow.
She shook her head gently, a bitter smile gracing her lips.
“No.
There is only my mother and my biological brother…
and they are both actively hunting after my very life.
Because I am entirely magic-less and do not know any spells, they firmly believe that I am completely ruining the pristine reputation and name of their imperial family.”
The stoic mask on Killian’s face hardened instantly, his eyes turning incredibly dark and cold.
A freezing aura drifted from his posture as he responded with absolute authority.
“It matters not.
I shall personally put a permanent end to the chapter of this imperial family of yours very soon.”
Hearing his casual mention of absolute destruction, Evelyn’s eyes snapped wide open, a flash of genuine anger coloring her features.
She looked at him fiercely, her voice rising in a sharp command.
“No!
You are absolutely not permitted to do anything of the sort right now, do you understand me?!
At this moment, you must strictly rest.
Look at your own broken physical condition first before you think about fighting any battles!”
Killian set his fork firmly onto the table, completely freezing at her words.
For a long, silent second, he stared at her blushing, furious face before a genuine, subtle laugh escaped his throat.
“Hahaha…
this is truly the very first time in my entire existence that someone has dared to offer me a direct command.”
Evelyn adjusted her posture, her cheeks flushing a delicate pink as she met his piercing gaze defiantly.
“You were the one who formally granted me the absolute rights of your fiancée.
Therefore, you are obligated to listen to my words at least a little bit.”
Killian’s gaze softened by a fraction of an inch, his voice dropping into a low rumble.
“Indeed…
after all, I was the one who personally selected you.”
Evelyn blinked in total bewilderment, her heart doing a sudden, violent flutter.
“What…
what exactly do you mean by that?”
Killian adjusted his collar, his expression instantly locking back into a wall of stoic indifference.
“Nothing.”
He elegantly wiped the corner of his lips with a linen napkin, his voice returning to its smooth register.
“Very well.
My dinner is completely finished.
I shall take my departure now.”
Right at that exact second, Sebastian stepped out from the shadows of the dining hall, approaching his master with absolute, deadpan efficiency.
The head butler extended his strong arm, providing a firm, professional support to lift the Grand Duke’s heavy frame from the chair.
Killian began to walk slowly out of the hall, and Evelyn rose instantly from her seat, following closely behind them down the dimly lit corridors.
Sebastian guided the injured Duke all the way back to the master bedchamber, throwing the heavy double doors wide open.
As they stepped onto the plush carpets, Killian turned his head slightly toward the butler, his voice gravelly from exhaustion.
“Sebastian…
guide me directly toward the sofa.”
Before the butler could take a step, Evelyn lunged forward, her voice fluttering with frantic worry as she interrupted.
“Killian!
Please, go and sleep comfortably upon the grand bed this instant!
I shall take my rest upon the sofa instead!”
Killian’s midnight-blue eyes snapped toward her, his tone leaving absolutely zero room for argument as he spoke sharply.
“No.
I am entirely fine over there.
Do not worry about it.”
Sebastian, maintaining his flawless deadpan mask, carefully assisted Killian onto the long, velvet sofa.
Once the Duke was seated comfortably against the cushions, the head butler stepped back, bowing elegantly.
“Have a peaceful rest, My Lord, My Lady.” He turned on his heel, exiting the master chamber and closing the heavy wooden doors softly behind them.
Killian quietly adjusted a plush pillow behind his back, shifting his long frame until he was lying flat down across the velvet sofa.
Evelyn stood near the center of the dark room, her face burning with shyness as she walked into the adjacent dressing closet to change into her silk nightgown.
The crystal lamps had been completely extinguished, leaving the vast chamber illuminated only by the pale, silver beams of the midnight moon pouring through the high arched windows.
Evelyn walked quietly toward the grand royal bed, sliding beneath the heavy silk blankets.
She closed her amethyst eyes, attempting to force her frantic mind into a state of deep sleep.
However, the peaceful silence did not last.
After a short while, Evelyn’s eyelids fluttered open in the darkness.
Her ears caught a low, painful sound cutting through the quiet room.
She turned her head sharply toward the sofa and gasped in pure, wide-eyed horror.
Killian was actively groaning and writhing in deep agony against the cushions.
Because the sofa was far too narrow and rigid for his towering stature, the constant shifting had violently strained his fresh wounds.
The thick white bandages wrapped around his torso and arms were already heavily soaked through, dark crimson blood rapidly oozing out across his flesh.
Panic seized Evelyn’s chest instantly.
She bolted upright, scrambling off the grand bed as her heart hammered wildly against her ribs in pure ghabrahat.
She ran across the cold floor, dropping to her knees right beside the bleeding Duke.
”Killian…!” she cried out, her hands trembling violently as she frantically pulled out fresh rolls of linen from the medical kit.
“I told you…
I explicitly told you to sleep comfortably upon the grand bed!
But you stubbornly refused to listen to my words!”
She began wrapping the clean white bandages tightly around his abdomen, her eyes filling with desperate tears as the dark blood continued to seep through the cloth, staining her fingers.
“His blood…
his blood is absolutely not stopping at all!
What on earth am I supposed to do?!”
Evelyn desperately pulled the bandages with immense, tight force, trying to staunch the rapid flow, but her human efforts were completely useless.
The overwhelming terror of losing him broke her completely, and she began to cry out loud, her hot, heavy tears spilling rapidly from her amethyst eyes.
Drip.
Drip.
Two of her radiant tears fell directly through the air, landing softly onto the gruesome, open flesh of Killian’s abdominal wound.
FLASH!
Without a single fraction of a warning, a brilliant, blinding explosion of light violently erupted from the point of contact.
The sheer, magnificent illumination flooded the entire master bedchamber, shattering the midnight shadows.
Evelyn froze in absolute, wide-eyed bewilderment as she witnessed the dark crimson blood suddenly slowing down, its flow halting completely within seconds.
She stared at her own glowing palms, her voice cracking in pure, unadulterated shock.
“This…
this…
did this truly occur strictly because of me?!
But…
but how can this be?!
I do not possess a single ounce of magic…
I do not know any spells!”
Instinctively, driven by a sudden, powerful impulse, Evelyn extended both of her trembling hands directly over Killian’s bleeding abdomen.
The next instant, a magnificent, brilliant emerald-green light violently burst from her palms, pulsing with a divine, deeply rejuvenating life-force.
The pure green aura enveloped Killian’s entire torso, and right before her very eyes, the deep, gruesome lacerations from the stone arrows began to rapidly knit together, the shredded flesh closing up with absolute, flawless perfection.
However, because the stone wounds were incredibly deep and laced with residual dark energy, the sudden, rapid acceleration of the healing process inflicted a violent, burning wave of pain through Killian’s system.
”Agh…!”
Killian’s eyes snapped open in the blinding light.
In a semi-conscious state of absolute agony, seeking a desperate anchor to survive the burning sensation, he violently reached out his long arms.
With immense, unyielding force, he grabbed Evelyn’s slender frame, pulling her down flat against his powerful torso.
He locked her into a suffocating, incredibly tight hug, burying his face against her golden hair as his body trembled from the intense pain of the magic.
”Killian…
wait!
You…
you are—” Evelyn gasped out, her entire face turning a brilliant, burning crimson red as pure panic and shyness exploded within her soul.
But before she could even attempt to pull away from his iron grip, the sheer, staggering magnitude of unleashing such high-level emerald magic took its absolute toll on her ordinary body.
A wave of profound, crushing exhaustion washed over her brain.
Her eyelids turned remarkably heavy, and within a single second, Evelyn lost consciousness completely, collapsing limply right across Killian’s chest.
Locked tightly within each other’s embrace, the two fell into a deep, peaceful, and eternal sleep, lying together upon the narrow velvet sofa under the fading moonlight.
The pristine rays of the morning sun officially broke over the Rosenberg estate, pouring a warm, golden light through the high glass windows of the master chamber.
Killian’s heavy eyelids fluttered open, his midnight-blue eyes instantly regaining their razor-sharp clarity.
The moment he attempted to shift his weight, he realized a comfortable, warm pressure was resting flat across his body.
He looked down and froze completely in absolute, wide-eyed astonishment.
Evelyn was lying fast asleep directly in his lap, her head resting softly against his chest as her golden hair cascaded across his shoulders.
Killian slowly sat upright, carefully pulling back the edge of his torn silk tunic to examine his torso.
His jaw dropped slightly in pure, unadulterated bewilderment.
”This…
every single wound has been completely healed,” Killian whispered to himself, his voice laced with immense awe as he looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms.
“Did…
did Evelyn truly perform this miracle all by herself?”
Moving with absolute care so as not to disrupt her deep rest, Killian gathered her slender frame into his large, powerful arms, lifting her up effortlessly in a classic bridal carry.
He walked across the plush rug, approaching the grand royal bed, and laid her body down with immense gentleness onto the velvet sheets.
He pulled the heavy silk blanket over her shoulders, adjusting it securely before turning on his heel to exit the chamber to prepare for the day.
A short while later, Evelyn’s amethyst eyes snapped wide open.
She sat up abruptly on the mattress, her mind entering a state of sudden, frantic hadbadi as she yelled out loud, “Killian?!”
She darted her eyes around the vast room, realizing it was entirely empty.
She bit her lip in frantic worry, scrambling out of the bed as her soul screamed, ‘Oh no!
Where on earth did he go?!
Was he alright?!’
Without even fixing her disheveled hair, she sprinted across the room, violently pulling the heavy oak doors open and bursting out into the corridor.
But the very fraction of a second she cleared the threshold, she crashed directly face-first into a towering, solid obstruction.
”Whoa—!”
Evelyn staggered slightly, realization hitting her as she looked up.
Killian was standing right in front of her, entirely shirtless, his powerful, chiseled torso completely exposed to the morning light.
Because of the sudden collision, Evelyn’s head was pressed directly against his bare, warm chest.
Before she could even scramble backward, Killian reached out with both of his long hands, firmly wrapping them around her waist and pulling her body tightly against his bare frame.
Evelyn’s entire countenance turned a spectacular, vivid shade of crimson red, her shyness completely short-circuiting her brain.
Killian looked down at her flustered, burning face, a dangerous, deeply seductive smirk tugging at the corner of his lips as he spoke in a low, resonant murmur.
“Is this how it is?
You spent the absolute entirety of the night lying flat across my body like this, meticulously healing my deep wounds…
and yet you run away now?”
Evelyn’s heart hammered so violently she felt it in her throat, her hands pressing against his bare chest as she stammered frantically in extreme blush, “I—I…
I was merely attempting to ensure you did not bleed to death!
And…
and you were the one who violently locked me into a tight hug because of the intense pain!”
With a desperate surge of strength, Evelyn forcefully pushed herself backward, breaking away from his iron grip as she darted her eyes away nervously.
“I…
I must depart this instant!
I need to take a proper bath!
Yes, I am going to bathe right now!”
Without waiting for a single second, her face burning like a raging fire, she turned on her heel and practically fled down the hallway, her footsteps echoing frantically.
Killian stood alone in the sunlit corridor, watching her retreating, panicking figure.
Slowly, his long fingers rose, pressing flat against the center of his chest.
Deep within his soul, that identical, fluttering warmth erupted with an unyielding intensity.
’Every single time she steps this close to my person…
this bizarre, profound sensation takes over my mind,’ Killian thought beautifully to himself, a genuine, soft smile gracing his handsome features.
‘It seems…
I have truly, absolutely fallen in love with this girl.
That is the sole reason I have become so entirely consumed by her safety.
I merely need to put a permanent end to the chapter of her imperial family first…
so that she may reside peacefully by my side in this place for the rest of our days.’
Meanwhile, far beyond the borders of the peaceful duchy, a dark and ominous storm was brewing.
The two royal carriages carrying the Empress, the young Prince, and the remaining dark wizards had officially arrived at the base of the forgotten mountain peaks.
Even though it was the dead center of the afternoon, the entire territory was cast in a terrifying, absolute darkness, thick black clouds swirling violently overhead.
The terrain was a nightmare of twisted, dead ancient trees and jagged rocks, while violent bolts of blue lightning continuously crackled across the dark sky.
The howling wind was so fierce that the royal horses whimpered in pure terror, completely refusing to take another step forward on the treacherous path.
BOOM!
A massive bolt of lightning violently struck the earth right beside the carriage wheel, sending sparks flying through the air.
The horses panicked, rearing back as the carriage violently tilted.
Inside the velvet interior, the Empress slammed her hand against the leather seat, her face contorted into a furious scowl as she snarled, “What on earth is the meaning of this insolent delay?!
What is happening outside?!”
The Prince braced himself against the window frame, looking out at the howling storm as he responded with a sinister, confident smile.
“Calm your wrath, Mother.
After all, we are currently entering the absolute personal territory of the black magic sorcerer.
A minor disturbance of this magnitude is a price we must comfortably suffer.”
The carriages managed to force their way through the final clearing, halting before a massive, towering cavern structure constructed entirely out of ancient, jagged black stone blocks.
The Prince pushed the carriage door open, stepping out into the freezing wind as he turned his arrogant gaze toward his mother, a look of pure, murderous ambition flashing in his eyes.
”Mother…
we have officially arrived at the designated location.”