The guards, with their military boots, casually walked in and audaciously searched the princess’s bedroom.

“What’s this, there’s no one here?”

“Nothing on your side too? This is strange.”

“Did she just press it by mistake?”

Luckily, they didn’t check inside the wardrobe. But she had a bad feeling.

One of the guards then approached the princess, who stood quietly in a corner, and asked rudely:

“Did you press it by mistake?”

“…”

“Is it? Your Highness.”

Their behavior towards the princess was unbelievably impudent.

There was a brief silence.

Then one of them sighed, and right after that-

“Ah!”

With a slashing sound and the sensation of the princess falling, Rosha’s eyes twitched.

After all that she had been through, she didn’t show any signs of distress, like taking deep breaths or showing discomfort. However, that didn’t mean her heart wasn’t heavy.

Soon after, there were unbelievable remarks one after another.

“Why hit her when she can’t speak anyway?”

“Well, she screams when she’s hit. Who knows, her speech might return if she’s struck.”

“Hmm…”

“And if she pressed something wrong, shouldn’t she be punished? I was just getting into the mood with my drink, and then I had to gear up and climb all the way up here in the middle of the night.”

“You’re right. I did feel something off as I was coming up. Who are we training, a dog?”

The guards began to gather around the fallen princess. One of them, cracking his knuckles, tauntingly said:

“If she truly regains her speech, she should thank us, right, Your Highness?”

Hearing their banter, Rosha clenched her fists.

It was clear what might happen to the princess if things continued this way.

But if she killed those guards here, the Emperor, sensing something amiss, might undo the progress she made with the princess.

‘What should I do?’

Then, at that moment.

“I can take care of this cleanly. Shall I handle it for you?”

Froy whispered very softly in her ear.

“Say no now if you don’t want me to.”

There was no reason to refuse if he had a clean solution. But how would he resolve this?

Rosha stretched out her palm, drawing a circle on it. Seeing this, he slowly moved his fingers.

Swooosh-

A colorless, void-like energy emerged from the tips of his elongated fingers. That power, which she had felt before, passed through the closet door like a ghost and silently stretched out.

And then.

“Wha… What?”

“Ahh!”

“What’s happening?!”

Rosha had no idea what was happening outside the closet.

All she knew was that the guards, who were threatening the princess, had vanished from the room in an instant with a scream.

Creaking open the closet door, she hurriedly looked around.

The princess’s bedroom was serene, as if nothing had happened. The fallen princess was half-sitting up, blankly staring at the spot where the guards had been.

Rosha then whispered to Froy, who came out of the closet after her.

“Did you kill them?”

“No, not yet.”

The man, dusting off his wrinkled clothes, calmly replied:

“Killing them outright would be troublesome, so I’ve stored them somewhere for now.”

“…”

“I’ll handle it so you won’t have to worry. You’ll know by tomorrow.”

It seemed like he might have gotten rid of the bodies completely, but thankfully, it didn’t appear to be the case.

Suddenly, she remembered what Cedric had told her after visiting the secret auction.

-Duke Echerzen… he controls the dark markets of this Empire. It’s a business that’s been passed down in his family. So, it’s best not to get too close to him.

Cedric probably meant for her to end her relationship with Froy.

However, in these times when life was as light as a feather, perhaps a person like him was even more necessary. Just like her, who now didn’t flinch at the talk of killing.

‘The Guide God’ conveys the request from the God of Prophecy to undo the brainwashing now that the hindrance is gone.

‘The Guide God’ grumbles about being a messenger conveying someone else’s message.

Spotting the message from the god, Rosha glanced briefly at the night sky. The meddling stars shining above seemed particularly annoying today.

But as per the gods, she still had work to do.

“Alright, the bad guys are gone now, Your Highness the princess.”

“Lady Roshanak…”

Carefully helping the princess to her feet, Rosha began to draw upon her powers.

Now, it was her turn to act.

* * *

The next morning, the guards whom Froy had banished were found dead in the backyard of a bar they frequented, stabbed by each other’s swords.

Due to the testimony of the bar owner who saw them that night, it was concluded that a drunken quarrel escalated to a deadly fight. Fortunately, the incident didn’t cause much fuss.

Why? Because a warning appeared before everyone’s eyes.

Warning! The second trial is approaching somewhere on the continent.

The capital was in chaos.

How could the second trial be approaching when the first had just ended?

It was completely unexpected news for the citizens of the capital.

“We haven’t even rebuilt the fallen walls and another calamity is upon us?”

“Stay calm. It says ‘somewhere on the continent’.”

“We should hope it’s not here. And if it is, we should hope someone will protect us again…”

Their gazes turned in one direction – towards the Count Apper’s mansion.

And from that very mansion, Rosha, having breakfast, sighed while reading an official letter from the imperial palace.

“What is it?”

Cassis snatched what was in her hand and read it.

“Tomorrow afternoon, a noble meeting is scheduled to prepare for the trial, so the Empire’s Guardian Knights are requested to attend… This is quite direct.”

Indeed.

‘Ugh, I’m so busy because of the trial, and now I have to get involved in politics.’

It felt like adding insult to injury!

* * *

The noble meeting is a conference that any head of a noble family within the Empire can attend, and it’s held irregularly when there are significant matters concerning the country.

Of course, Rosha had received the First Class Guardian Medal along with the honorary title, but since she wasn’t the head of a family, she wasn’t eligible to attend.

However, given the critical times the Empire was facing, it seemed she was invited on the grounds of her Guardian Knight status.

But she wasn’t the only one who was called.

“Hey, all the people we fought with back then are here.”

On the day of the noble meeting.

Cassis, who entered the conference hall with Rosha, muttered.

This semi-circular amphitheater-style seating area set outdoors was already quite full. Probably because many nobles had not left the capital after the trial.

Among them, his gaze was drawn to a group sitting on one side.

There sat the pink-haired lady and a taciturn-looking man who had come to help with the trial along with Duke Feriel.

It seemed that those who had demonstrated their abilities during the last trial were also invited to this meeting.

‘I knew this would happen. No wonder we received three official letters at home.’

Cedric, attending the noble meeting on behalf of the head.

Cassis, who was invited as the possessor of the special ability.

And Rosha, who came as a Guardian Knight.

It seemed her entire family was in attendance.

Rosha glanced at Cedric’s empty seat in the front row. He would already be at work in the palace, and it seemed he was delayed because of the workload.

“Ah, there she is.”

“Is that woman the one from the rumors?”

“Isn’t that Roshanak Aper?”

As she walked down the aisle, people quickly recognized her.

It was rare for women to be at an event where the heads of families gathered, and even rarer for a woman not wearing a dress, so she stood out.

Indeed, Rosha deliberately wore pants and boots instead of a dress, and a sky-blue jacket similar to a uniform.

The intricately gold-decorated jacket was the ‘Cape of the Dark Dawn’ she received as a reward for completing the trial.

‘I tried changing the design and color once a day as it was said, and it’s pretty good.’

It fit like it was custom-made and was also lightweight, so there was no discomfort in moving.

She was briskly making her way forward, when…